In my last two columns, I wrote about the legacies of Ninoy and Cory Aquino. There is no doubt in my mind that both deserve to be honored as national heroes. The contributions of this couple to nation building is beyond reproach. There are of course Aquino haters, blinded by their loyalty to Ferdinand Marcos. There are also those who are looking for perfection in our politicians and find that the Aquino couple had faults and therefore feet of clay. If I adhered to such standard, I would not find anyone in our history to extolnot Rizal, nor Bonifacio, Mabini, Luna, Del Pilar, etc. If perfection is our standard, lets just abolish National Heroes Day and go to work this coming Monday.

The legacy of Noynoy Aquino, the son of Ninoy and Cory and the predecessor of President Rodrigo Duterte, is another matter. For now, and as long as he is alive and well, his legacy is unfinished. For sure, from todays standpoint (it could change in the future as distance gives fresh perspectives), it is a mixed legacy.

A scion of a family of prominent politicians, Benigno Noynoy Aquino never really had much choice but to follow in the footsteps of his parents. He had the misfortune of growing up as an adult during the Marcos years where his father, Senator Ninoy, was in the thick of the fight against his erstwhile nemesis, President Marcos. But it was also his fortuneor is it?to be the political beneficiary of his parents political legacy. Had her mother, beloved by the masses for her sacrifices to the country, not died when she did, Noynoy could have remained in the Senate and ended his political career in the political shadows. Following the death and funeral of President Cory, many people began clamoring for Noynoy to run for presidency. Senator Mar Roxas, then the Liberal Party standard bearer in the presidential elections, heeded the public clamor to give in to Noynoy. And the rest is history.

Noynoy belong to a family who has seen many struggles. Imagine going into self-exile with his mother and siblings, going through the agony of seeing his father being persecuted, seeing his father emaciated after a hunger strike as a gesture of protest, and seeing him assassinated. Even when his mother was president of the Philippines, he had to risk his life when he was shot by mutinous military trying to storm Malacanang. He was shot five times but survived. To this day a bullet is lodged in his neck.

His presidency was also tumultuous. Eight months into office, the Manila hostage crisis erupted. Eight Hong Kong hostages died. The political backlash was compounded when he was seen smiling on national television hours after the hostage crisis. His apparent insensitivity would dog him for the rest of his term.

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But for all his faults and shortcomings, PNoy was never blinded by the glitter of corruption. Just like his mother, Cory, no one could honestly accuse him of using power to aggrandize himself. He presided over a burgeoning economy, which posted record growth rates during his term. He introduced the K-12 program which despite kinks, ushered the Philippine educational system to follow international standards. He presided over a successful peace process with the MILF, derailed however by Mamasapano, although his administration did not make progress in the peace talks with the communists. The expansion of the Conditional Cash Transfer (its beginning in the GMA administration must be recognized), the institutionalization of a universal health care program, and the passage of the reproductive health and sin tax laws are also notable achievements. However, in spite the economic gains of his administration, enabled by excellent stewardship by Aquinos world-class economic managers, some would belittle them as the poor did not benefit from the economic gains.

Despite also progress in the gains in economic front, crises and scandals hounded PNoys administration, the most serious being the destruction wrought by Typhoon Yolanda of Leyte and nearby provinces and the Mamasapano incident with the massacre of 44 Special Action Force policemen. Even as the nation was mourning for the death of the SAF 44, to the chagrin of many, he chose to attend the opening of a new automotive factory.

The most serious failure of the Aquino administration was its failure to institute political reforms. I would have thought that its budgetary innovations and its commitment to social accountability would have enabled radical change in our politics. But it did not. Instead, traditional politics became even more entrenched by the end of PNoys term, including using impeachment improperly for political reasons. The same characters that went after Corona are now also doing the same thing but this time the targets are perceived enemies of President Duterte.

Worse, the Aquino presidency consolidated power in the presidency and in imperial Manila, setting the country up for the strongman president that we now have. Finally, the disgraceful way the Liberal Party tried to secure victory in the 2016 elections, by viciously and immorally attacking the stronger opponents (VP Jojo Binay and Senator Grace Poe) of its weak candidate, directly led to the election of Duterte. As a Liberal friend of mine once told me, that strategy which included a soft gloves treatment with Duterte on the belief that his strength in Mindanao would weaken the LP candidates opponents, backfired and resulted in where we are now. To my friend, those responsible for that strategy have blood in their hands.

All of these shortcomings are of course water under the bridge. The good things the PNoy administration has done will hopefully last; the bad things can still be corrected.

I am happy for example with the latest developments in the Liberal Party. With VP Leni Robredo and Senator Francis Pangilinan now undisputedly at the head of the party as Chair and President respectively, and with the recent appointments of Ifugao Rep. Teodoro Teddy Baguilat and former Quezon City 4th District Rep. Lorenzo Erin Tanada were as Vice Presidents of the Party, the LP is now in very good hands. I know these politicians very well (Pangilinan was my student in UP Law and all four are colleagues in the Kaya Natin Movement for Good Governance). I have great trust in them, that they have learned the lessons from the 2016 electoral debacle among others. I believe that they will be able to rebuild the Liberal Party which, with good strategy, will benefit immensely from the mass defections of traditional politicians who have moved to the ruling party. This defection is the best thing that has happened to the party so it can undergo an authentic purification process.

As for PNoy, he will hopefully have many years ahead of him. I hope he will rise to the stature of his mother and former President Fidel V. Ramos. We need statesmen in this country, those who will rise above the politics of both trivial issues and hate, speak truth to power constructively, and unite us. PNoy as president divided the country by his style of governance and obsession with Gloria Macapagal Arroyo; hopefully, PNoy as retired president will have seen the light that divisive politics has terrible consequences. If PNoy learns to do this, become a statesman, we will have a grateful nation and he will occupy and join the same place of honor that are now permanently occupied by his parents.

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German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel Thursday indicated that the behavior of the current Turkish leadership is the major roadblock in the way of the countrys membership to the European Union.

It is clear that in this state, Turkey will never become a member of the EU, Gabriel told German popular newspaper Bild.

Its not because we dont want them but because the Turkish government and Erdogan are moving fast away from everything that Europe stands for.

Germany and the EU bloc have been wary of the behavior of the Turkish leadership, accusing the Turkish President of cracking down on dissents and muzzling democracy.

The EU has shelved Turkeys membership talks over several reasons including democracy deterioration. The bloc also feared sweeping powers seizure by Erdogan during April referendum and Ankaras nationwide crackdown following last year failed military coup.

Ankara has accused Berlin of proving shelter to terrorists, in reference to members of Gulenist Group (FETO) and the PKK it lists as terror groups.

Tension has further risen between Ankara and Berlin recently after Turkish police forces have detained a Turkish-German journalist and a German human rights activist.

Also, prior to the referendum, Erdogan accused Berlin of Nazi-like behavior after Turkish officials were denied permission to campaign in Germany.

Germany and several other EU countries have recently indicated that they would oppose Turkeys bid to host the next NATO meeting.

To further hype the tension between the two countries, Erdogan urged German Turks to boycott Germanys main parties in next months general election. About 3 million Turks live in Germany. Half of the number can vote in the election on September 24.
Former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh Thursday was reaffirmed as key player in restoration of peace in the poorest Arab country as thousands of supporters of the deposed leader turned up at a rally in capital Sanaa to defy Shia rebel Houthis who have called for his death despite being an ally.

Supporters who arrived in throngs from all sides of the country cheered the 75-year old strongman who addressed the gathering from bulletproof glass, surrounded by heavily armed guards.

The supporters waived blue flags of Salehs Arab nationalist General Peoples Congress (GPC) as the rally also marked the 35th anniversary of the party.

We are political pioneers with a solid anchor, and we have been facing conspiracies against us since 2011, Saleh said.

Analysts say the rally is a defying sign towards Shia Houthi rebel group now in control of the Yemeni capital.

Saleh joined the Iran-backed rebel group in 2014 to ouster Saudi-Arabia-backed President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi. The coalition drove President Hadi out of capital Sanaa in 2015 and the Yemeni leader had to relocate in the second city of the country, Aden.

The alliance has established National Salvation Government in Sanaa in parallel to Hadis government in Aden. The Salvation Government is not recognised by the international community.

Tension has brewed between the GPC and the Houthis recently. The Shia rebels have vowed death to Saleh whom they accused of negotiating with Saudi Arabia, which leads an international coalition of Arab countries fighting the Iran-backed rebels and GPC.

The GPC also has accused the rebels of monopolizing the government and media organs.

GPC refused to be a junior partner in its alliance with the Houthis against the Saudi-backed government of President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, the GPCs Secretary General Arif al-Zouka noted.

The alliance has also fallen apart over the GPCs contribution to the war, representation in peace consultations, judicial issues and educational curricula, reports say.

Saleh was forced to step down in 2012 after surviving the Arab Spring.

Yemen has been in a state of war since 2014 and UN peace efforts have so far failed. Over 10,000 people have been killed since 2015 according to the UN.

The poor country has been also struck by a cholera outbreak, which has killed so far more than 2,000 people.
The Qatari embassy in Ndjamena was closed on Wednesday (August 23) and Qatari diplomats were given 10 days to leave Chad and the following day, Qatar announced the closure of the Chadian diplomatic mission in Doha giving 72 hours to its occupants to leave.

NDjamena busted ties with the Gulf Emirate it accuses of seeking to destabilize its territory from Libya, according to Hissein Brahim Taha, Chadian Minister of Foreign Affairs.

In order to safeguard peace and stability in the region, we call upon Qatar to cease all actions that could undermine our internal security as well as those of the countries of the Lake Chad and Sahel basin, said the Chadian Foreign Affairs.

Qatar rejects and condemns the reasons contained in the statement issued by the Chadian Foreign Ministry justifying the closure of Qatars Embassy in NDjamena, the Qatari Foreign Ministry said.

Several Chadian soldiers were killed last weekend near the Libyan border by a heavily armed group said opposed to President Idriss Deby.

The violent clash resulted in the death of 2 officers and 7 soldiers in the ranks of the Chadian army and losses of war material.

According to press reports, Chadian opponents were arrested in Sebha and al-Jofra in Libya by the men of Marshal Khalifa Haftar, the strongman of eastern Libya.

Ndjamena, believed close to Libyas United Arab Emirates-backed Khalifa Haftar, blamed Qatar for supporting the Libya-based group to ouster the Deby regime.

Qatar rejected the blame arguing that the accusation is baseless and is a political blackmail against the State of Qatar with the intention of joining the sieging countries for very well-known reasons.

Qatar has been embroiled in regional diplomatic dispute with its neighbors namely Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain plus Egypt since early June after the four countries accused it of supporting terrorism and destabilisation.

Chad had recalled its ambassador on June 8, aligning itself with the position of the Saudi-led bloc.

Several other Muslim countries including Mauritania and Senegal also severed ties with the tiny-gas rich country.

However, Senegal this week decided to send back its ambassador to Doha. The thaw in ties followed a phone conversation between the two countries leaders.
Russias ambassador to Sudan, Mirgayas Shirinskiy, was found dead in the swimming pool of his Khartoum residence on Wednesday, police said.

The foreign ministry in Moscow told Russias RIA state news agency: We grieve to announce that on 23 August in Khartoum, the Russian ambassador to Sudan, Mr Shirinsky died.

The Sudanese foreign affairs minister, who confirmed the information in a statement, did not give a cause of the death.

Mirgayas Shirinskiys death comes after a string of similar incidents. Actually, he is the sixth senior Russian diplomat to die suddenly overseas since last year November.

Several deaths have been described as heart attacks or the result of a brief illness by officials, in some cases despite evidence to the contrary

Mirgayas Shirinskiy, who was known to have suffered from high blood pressure, is also believed to have died of natural causes, a spokesman for the police told Reuters.

The ambassador showed symptoms of an acute heart attack, embassy staff told the state broadcaster.

Embassy spokesman Sergei Konyashin said the staff called an ambulance but doctors were not able to save the ambassador.

Shirinskiy, a graduate of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) held diplomatic positions at Russias embassies in Yemen, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Rwanda.
Nine soldiers of Khalifa Haftars army, known as the Libyan National Army (LNA), were killed in an attack by an unknown armed group in Jufra district, central Libya, on Wednesday. Two civilians were also killed in the assault.

The soldiers belonging to Battalion 131 were manning checkpoint 400, some 100 km south of Misrata when they were summarily slaughtered and shot in the dead.

The Libyan commanders LNA took control of Benghazi and districts around the Libyan second city early last month, crushing Benghazi Defence Brigades (BDB), declared as terrorists by Haftar.

It is unknown who carried out the Wednesday assault but all accusations have been directed to the Islamic State group (IS), which is said have regrouped in Jufar district. The terrorist group has reportedly also stolen weapons.

The terror group lost its stronghold of Sirte late last year after forces aligned with the UN-backed nominal Prime Minister Faiez Serra drove the militants out.

Haftar has condemned the onslaught and promised to respond without mercy.

Speaker of the House of Representative, Ageela Saleh, known as Haftars political supporter, also condemned the attack calling the LNA to strike with an iron hand the terrorists that had carried out the attack, Libya Herald reports.

Serraj also stood on the side of the victims but called for the establishment of a unified Libyan army to tackle terrorism.
Angolas ruling party, the Peoples Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), won Wednesdays election, according to provisional results from the electoral commission.

The party in power for nearly four decades has obtained more than 64.57% of votes in the first batch of results, the electoral body said.

The results are not confirmed yet. According to the electoral commission spokesperson, Julia Ferreira, 15 polling stations did not open on Wednesday. The provinces of Benguela and Lunda Norte are concerned.

They [polling stations] were delayed in opening because the helicopter transporting ballot papers to these remote areas had crashed in the town of Moxico Ferreira said.

However, the ruling party already claimed victory. We can affirm that the future president will be comrade Joao Manuel Goncalves Lourenco, Joao Martins, MPLA secretary for political and electoral affairs, said.

The main opposition Unita party, which has reportedly received 24.04% of the vote, disputes the electoral commissions count.

Wednesdays election marks the end of President Jose Eduardo dos Santos 38-year rule of the oil-rich country where poverty, corruption and human rights concerns are unlikely to dissipate anytime soon

His successor as president  should the MPLA projections be confirmed  will be Joao Lourenco, the 63-year-old defense minister and party veteran.

Joao Lourenco, in his last message before the polls said he would not share presidential powers with outgoing leader Eduardo dos Santos.

The ex-president will however, retain control of the Peoples Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA).
Togolese opposition parties gathered in the Combat for Political Change (CAP 2015) and the Pan-African National Party (PNP) called for Ghost Towns this Friday (August 25) across the country to pay tribute to victims of recent protests against the 50-year long ruling dynasty.

About seven protesters were killed and 13 others wounded in Togo last weekend when security forces opened fire to break up demonstrations against the ruling Gnassingbe family.

Twelve gendarmes had also been wounded according to official figures released by the security ministry.

The opposition had planned to embark on a demonstration next week after todays Black Friday to push for an amendment of the Constitution to prevent the continued rule of the Gnassingbe Family in the West African nation.

The government later on Thursday called on the people to ignore the oppositions call for workers to declare a Black Friday.

There are a lot of messages around on social media about Togo mort (Black Friday) this 25th August 2017 but government wish to remind all citizens of Togo that theres nothing like Black Friday so the 25th August remains an ordinary day, therefore people can go to work and undertake their normal daily activities, the government said in a statement .

Also on Thursday, the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) has cautioned Ghanaians against travelling to Togo on Friday.

According to the GIS, it has picked up intelligence that the opposition in the country is planning a political protest in the capital Lome and it will be in the best interest of Ghanaians hoping to travel there to hold on.
@alextdaugherty

Florida politicians began expressing their support for expanding a temporary program that would allow Venezuelans who have fled Nicolas Maduros regime to stay in the United States, aligning themselves with a growing chorus of Venezuelan activists who are pushing the Trump administration to take additional action.

Sen. Bill Nelson said Friday at an event in Little Haiti that he wants the Trump administration to grant Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelan nationals already in the United States.

Just as in Haiti with natural disasters, there is a political disaster in Venezuela, Nelson said. Increasingly, with the economic chaos in Venezuela... I think Venezuelans ought to be considered.

The TPS program allows foreign nationals already in the United States from 10 countries to stay in the United States for a designated period of time. President Donald Trump, who continues to espouse a tough-on-immigration line in Washington, hasnt indicated that hes open to extending the program to another country.

Ive been to the White House and talked to the national security people about this, Nelson said. They have it under consideration, and well see what they intend to do.

President Trump, not Congress, must make the decision.

Nelsons position has bipartisan support, as Republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz said they support extending TPS to Venezuelans.

I'm in favor of TPS for Venezuelans, as well as for Haitians and other groups in our community who contribute greatly to our area and whose native country lacks the most basic commodities, Ros-Lehtinen said in a statement. However, raising false hopes is not productive so I advocate for our immigration system to be more compassionate when individual cases come before those officials.

I strongly support granting Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to all eligible Venezuelans who seek safe haven from a regime that has employed official violence and political oppression, and left that nation devastated by food and medical shortages, Wasserman Schultz said in a statement. President Trump must grant this essential status for the safety of Venezuelans who came to the U.S. out of fear for theirs and their families safety.

Republicans Marco Rubio, Mario Diaz-Balart and Rick Scott, who have all urged tough sanctions against Venezuela after Maduro installed a constituent assembly with the power to rewrite the nations constitution, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the TPS program.

More here.
The previously unreported meeting held by States undersecretary for political affairs, Tom Shannon, stunned proponents of stronger sanctions with Venezuela, who are now blaming the official for undermining President Donald Trumps promise of strong and swift economic sanctions meant to punish Venezuela.

Instead, the administration issued softer sanctions that exclusively targeted President Nicolas Maduro, giving the Venezuelan leader an opening to ridicule the president and his administration as weak.

The State Department confirmed that the July 23 meeting between Shannon and then-Foreign Minister Samuel Moncada, took place. But State would not discuss any details about the discussion.

We do not discuss diplomatic conversations, a State Department spokesperson said. We maintain diplomatic relations with Venezuela and raise at all levels our call for the government to suspend the Constituent Assembly.

Its unclear whether the White House knew of the meeting. The White House did not immediately respond to questions about whether they were aware of the meeting or had any concerns about it.

More here.

Photo credit: Carl Juste, Miami Herald staff


@PatriciaMazzei @FrancoOrdonez

The U.S. imposed its first economic penalties against Venezuela on Friday, hitting the South American countrys financial sector in an attempt to starve President Nicolas Maduros government of cash.

The Trump administration banned trades of Venezuelan debt, prohibiting Maduros government and its state-run oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela SA, from selling new bonds to Americans or in U.S. financial institutions. President Donald Trump signed an executive order approving the sanctions Thursday.

In an effort to preserve itself, the Maduro dictatorship rewards and enriches corrupt officials in the governments security apparatus by burdening future generations of Venezuelans with massively expensive debts, Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement.

These measures are carefully calibrated to deny the Maduro dictatorship a critical source of financing to maintain its illegitimate rule, protect the United States financial system from complicity in Venezuelas corruption and in the impoverishment of the Venezuelan people, and allow for humanitarian assistance.

Barring Venezuelan debt purchases could cripple Caracas ability to raise money to pay off interest on its growing national debt, as the oil-producing country has been doing in the middle of an unprecedented economic collapse. The U.S. suspects PDVSA, the source of most of the governments funding, has become a corrupt, money-laundering enterprise.

Most existing Venezuelan debt traded in the U.S. was issued by PDVSA. The sanctions dont prohibit the resale of those bonds, only purchases and trades of new PDVSA debt.

But trades of existing bonds issued by the Venezuelan government  which are different from PDVSA bonds  will be barred, a move intended to harm and sow discotnent among Maduros inner circle. Much of that debt is held by high-level Venezuelan government leaders, who will now be forced to turn to other so-called secondary markets (say, in China or Russia) to sell.

More here.

Photo credit: Fernando Llano, Associated Press
For picture posts from 2010 and earlier, see the Earlier Picture Posts Page
Lizzie Borden  a Victorian New Englander tried and acquitted for the ax-murders of her stepmother and father  whetted our national appetite for tales of violent death. The swarming press and salacious public made her the O.J. Simpson of her day.

She is memorialized in the Lizzie Borden Bed and Breakfast Museum in Fall River, Mass., where the crime stunned and stimulated a nation. The scene  skulls crushed among a prim, well-to-do family  defiled our cherished sense of domesticity.

And  125 years later  she lingers in the jump-rope chant:

Lizzie Borden took an ax

And gave her mother forty whacks.

When she saw what she had done,

She gave her father forty-one.

Our fascination continues partly because the mystery was never solved, the murder weapon never found. Its chief suspect shattered Victorian notions of the feminine. The public could barely imagine a woman, let alone a daughter, capable of poisoning  certainly never a bloody, effortful chopping. Scholars believe this failure of imagination helped land Lizzie her acquittal.

Now comes Sarah Schmidt, a clever Australian, whose imagination does not fail. She keeps the reader guessing about Lizzies innocence until the final seven words.

See What I Have Done is a barn-burning, fever-ridden first novel. It makes blistering reading out of first-rate historical fiction, which must walk the tightrope of established facts while fashioning a story anew. Hilary Mantel, in her brilliant re-creation of Thomas Cromwell in Wolf Hall and Bringing Up the Bodies, may be the best practitioner alive, but this book announces Schmidt as a new sister in the craft.

She begins without clearing her throat. The first chapter is Lizzie, August 4, 1892, and the first two sentences are He was still, bleeding. I yelled, Someones killed Father.  Father is Andrew Borden, 69, a prosperous and stingy property owner who lived the entirety of his life in Fall River. The narrator is Lizzie.

Schmidt stays entirely in the voices of Lizzie and three more narrators: Emma Borden, Lizzies older sister by a decade; Bridget Sullivan, the familys Irish live-in maid; and Benjamin, a violent drifter and Schmidts fictional creation. He is a bold stroke, and gives the author a quasi-witness outside the Borden home.

See What I Have Done is the perfect title  it might be a command from any of these speakers. The reader dwells for hundreds of pages in the claustrophobic house at 92 Second St., in the oppressive August heat and in the churning, unhappy minds of this quartet. Before the book steps off, Schmidt plucks an aphorism from another famous New England spinster, Emily Dickinson: We outgrow love like other things / And put it in the drawer.

The Bordens are not merely loveless, their household seethes with malevolence. They practice all kinds of cruelties, some unintentional. Their days are filled with tedium; rancid mutton broth simmers and splashes in the kitchen. The roof creaks and pops and is a roost for Lizzies pet pigeons, which have their part to play.

Adding to the dread is a psychological haunting. The Borden daughters had a sister between them, Alice, who died at age 2. Their dead mother, Sarah Morse, adds an inescapable burden. She extracted a deathbed promise from 12-year-old Emma to protect and love toddler Lizzie, and another from her creepy brother John to watch over his nieces.

On the day of the murders, John is in Fall River. Emma, 42, is not; she is visiting an out-of-town friend. Emma yearns to break away from her miserable family: I knew deep down that I ought to abandon the fanciful and take what was real, that I lived with my father and stepmother, lived with a sibling who would never give me up. My time to be anything, anyone, had slipped. I had to live with my disappointment and I wished Lizzie would do the same.

Back home Lizzie is repeating a favorite childhood prayer, one Andrew taught her: As the Lord liveth, there shall no punishment happen to thee for this thing. The macabre surges, and Schmidt salts her book with repetition, casting an incantatory spell.

The writing is vivid to the point of hallucination. Emma notices a noisy neighbor, her cabbage cheeks ballooned in talk. Lizzie says, Sweat ran down my temple, came to the corner of my mouth. I sipped it up. Nothing made sense anymore.

Over and over, the mantel clock tick-ticks, a descendant of Edgar Allan Poes Tell-Tale Heart. It is dark indeed.
Cody Marble, whose 2002 rape conviction was overturned in January, was arrested in South Dakota on Wednesday on a fugitive from justice charge, according to the Lawrence County Sheriffs Office in that state.

Earlier this summer, Missoula County District Court issued a $25,000 warrant for Marbles arrest after ordering him in May to turn himself in after a misdemeanor assault charge in Conrad, according to an article in the Missoulian.

That assault charge violated the terms of his five-year suspended sentence from a 2013 drug charge. Marble didnt turn himself in and stopped reporting to his probation officer, according to court documents.

Thursday, Marble appeared in Lawrence County Court and agreed to be extradited to Missoula, according to Chief Deputy Paul Hansen.

Sounds like hell be headed back to your country, Hansen said.

Deputy Missoula County Attorney Jason Marks said he had not heard anything about Marbles arrest as of Friday afternoon. His office is only notified if Marble resists extradition, or arrives in Missoula.

In January, Marble was exonerated on a 2002 rape charge in Missoula County District Court after the Montana Innocence Project took up his case.

Marble was on probation from a 2013 incident, in which he drove away from a traffic stop with methamphetamine, a hypodermic needle and syringe and other drug paraphernalia in his car, according to a Missoulian article.
The University Faculty Association filed a grievance Thursday alleging the University of Montana violated its own policy when it notified lecturers  some who have taught full time for many years  that they wouldn't have jobs come spring.

This month, UM sent letters to some lecturers stating their employment would terminate at the end of the fall semester. But the union said the letters fail to honor the right of lecturers to a reappointment annually.

"The UFA is unaware of any instance when the U of M has issued lecturers a semester contract," said the grievance.

The union also alleges UM is sending "mixed messages to lecturers" by sending written notices that it won't reappoint them but giving some a verbal guarantee of employment.

The grievance summarized the complaint as such: "The U of M has violated its contract with the University Faculty Association, its policy, its past practice, and even its own notices of intent not to reappoint, necessitating this grievance on behalf of all university lecturers."

Paul Haber, association president, announced the decision to file the grievance on behalf of roughly 40 lecturers at a union meeting Thursday afternoon to members who largely expressed distrust in the administration, confusion about unexpected changes to their contracts or proposed contracts, and concern for the students they mentor.

"The students, you know, are going to take the hit. And they're not going to keep coming back for more," said George Price, a lecturer at UM for 19 years.

Instructors also expressed uncertainty about their personal lives.

"Obviously, one of the hardest things about getting a letter is not knowing whether you're going to be able to pay your bills in January," said Mark Hanson, a lecturer.

Others noted the lack of sound data and information coming from Main Hall, an ongoing theme at UM. Alex Bulmahn, a grievance officer and lecturer, said the union needs to hear directly from lecturers about their experiences and contracts.

"Obviously, we're not getting information out of Main Hall," Bulmahn said.

In a letter to UM interim President Sheila Stearns, the union is asking the university to issue lecturers who are union members full contracts for the 2017-18 school year.

In an email, UM communications director Paula Short said the president received the complaint and is reviewing it.

"There is a timeline by which she will respond to the UFA. We respect the grievance process and will prepare and provide our response accordingly," Short said.

The union noted the president has a deadline of 10 working days to meet with Haber and then another 10 to resolve the matter. Arbitration is possible if the parties don't settle the dispute in these 20 days.

UM has experienced a decline in enrollment of some 24 percent since 2010 and ensuing budget trouble, and it is trying to cut spending on faculty salaries.

Last school year, the university counted 552 tenured or tenure-track faculty, according to UM. It has 41 fewer tenured or tenure-track faculty this school year from buyouts and other departures, and the administration plans to continue to reduce spending on instructors.

UM policy notes lecturers are "subject to reappointment annually" and are subject to reappointment at UM's discretion, "with one semester's advance notice of intent to not reappoint."

***

At the meeting, Haber said the union understands the difficult financial situation at UM and earlier attempted to negotiate a solution, but the administration refused to do so.

"This is not how we hoped to start such a critical semester at the University of Montana, but we are left with no other option," Haber said in a prepared statement.

He said lecturers are critical faculty members who teach many of the general education courses and ones with highest enrollment, and he said the reappointment on an annual cycle protects both the teachers and the university.

"(Lecturers) have usually demonstrated themselves to be effective and caring teachers, and therefore, the university created a special policy," Haber said in the statement, noting the annual contracts for lecturers. " ... This gives the faculty member time to find another institution and the university time to ensure another faculty member can teach their course."

He later said that if UM pulls the plug on lecturers at the end of fall, it will create a mess for programs. He said UM will either have to hire adjuncts at the last minute  adjuncts receive course-by-course assignments  or it will have to ask tenure-track faculty to teach  including ones who might have grant commitments or haven't ever taught the specific class.

"That sounds like a train wreck to me," Haber said.

***

At the meeting, a couple of longtime lecturers questioned the types of contracts UM had given them or discussed with them.

Price said he has taught at UM for 19 years, and of those, he's taught 18 years full time. A full-time load has been teaching three courses in the fall and three courses in the spring, he said, but this year, he received an offer to teach two courses each semester  at half the salary instead of two-thirds of the pay.

"That just seemed astounding to me that they would expect me to accept the math on that," said Price, who has taught in Native American studies, history and African-American studies.

He was considering retiring in May anyway, but he said his heart goes out to young lecturers who have families with children in school and may need to relocate.

"There seems to be no feeling on the part of the administration regarding that," Price said.

Several other participants questioned the competence of administrators and the fairness of decisions coming from Main Hall. One said UM continues to hire and replace administrators who earn six figures; she considered it "beyond the pale" that the administration would announce an interim replacement for the outgoing vice president of finance the same week it sent lecturers notice.

Haber said union leaders are committed to ensuring that the administration follow the collective bargaining agreement, and are seeking a quick resolution to the disagreement.

"We will be enforcing the CBA like hawks," he said.

The union president also said he didn't know if Main Hall could let the vice president of finance position stay open, but he also urged union members to acknowledge that UM has a true challenge with its revenues not matching expenses.

"The problem is bigger than that," Haber said of a couple of six-figure salaries. "So we can't just whine, you know, about that. We also have to stand up and say, 'We get that.'"
Seeley Lakes third annual celebration of its most famous resident writer will feature a celebrity appearance and a final-day stop in Missoula.

Actor Tom Skerritt and members of the creative team from Robert Redfords far-rippling film, A River Runs Through It will highlight the three-day In the Footsteps of Norman Maclean Festival that starts Friday, Sept. 8.

The Oscar-award winning movie based on Macleans 1976 novella turns 25 this year, and the festival is set to examine and fete it from many angles.

Skerritt played Rev. John Maclean, father to Norman (Craig Sheffer) and Paul Maclean (Brad Pitt.) Hell be at the Wilma Theater in Missoula on Sunday, Sept. 10, for a 1 p.m. program.

Skerritt, 83, has film credits that date back to the 1962 film War Hunt, which was also Redford's first credited film. Skerritt will share how A River Runs Through It affected his life and career. On the same program, Jean Maclean Snyder will recount how Redford courted her father to win the film rights for his novella and how she advised Redford and screenwriter Richard Friedenberg.

Friedenberg was nominated for an Oscar for his screenplay, and hell be in Missoula to tell how he translated Macleans mesmerizing story to the big screen. Also on the program will be producer Patrick Markey and Norman Macleans grandsons, Noah and Jacob Snyder, who played roles in the films production.

The movie itself will be screened after the presentations.

The festival will kick off Friday in Seeley Lake with a choice of guided and self-driving tours and an afternoon literary program at Double Arrow Resort. The latter includes keynote speaker author Richard Manning, troubadour Jack Gladstone, authors Debra Earling and Stephenie Ambrose Tubbs and rancher Juanita Vero of Greenoughs historic E Bar L Ranch. A $125-a-plate gala dinner on the banks of the Blackfoot River will cap the first day.

Saturdays schedule at the Double Arrow includes panel discussions on new insights on Macleans writing and on Headwaters: Montana Writers on Water and Wilderness, a 1996 compilation of short stories, essays and poems edited by Annick Smith. A tour of Macleans favorite fishing holes and an evening wine tasting will follow.

Sundays program in Missoula will start with a free chuckwagon pancake breakfast at the newly opened National Museum of Forest Service History on West Broadway, with Normans son, John Maclean, presenting Growing Up Together: The Macleans and the Forest Service. Thatll be followed at 9:30 a.m. by a screening at the Roxy Theater on South Higgins Avenue of Shadow Casting: The Making of A River Runs Through It.

An all-access pass to the festival is $200. For other pricings and information go to macleanfootsteps.com.

Alpine Artisans is joined this year by the Montana Film Office in presenting the Maclean Festival.
Missoula saw rain  a little  Thursday, easing the smoke for most of the afternoon and cooling temperatures.

Corby Dickerson, meteorologist for the National Weather Service, said that the storms moving through the area earlier in the day did not drop a lot of precipitation, except for brief heavy downpours near the centers of the storms.

Much of the rain wont penetrate past the forest canopy, Dickerson said, which isnt a whole lot of good news.

The rain keeps humidity up, which means less fire behavior, Dickerson added as a positive.

But the storm fronts heading into Montana Thursday evening lent an air of foreboding to meteorological predictions. Storms expected to rumble over the Bitterroot Thursday evening looked to be stronger than the ones that passed through earlier in the day.

And, warned Sarah Coefield, the Missoula City-County Health Department's air quality specialist, "things start to get hairy on Saturday ... We're headed toward a prolonged smoke event starting Saturday and lasting until mid-week next week."

Weather conditions will make it difficult for smoke to leave the area, and new smoke will continue to pour in from outside. The result? "Conditions will deteriorate."

***

In other western Montana fires, according to the Thursday-afternoon updates from InciWeb, the national wildfire information service:

Lolo Peak fire: The Lolo Peak fire was in for another red flag warning Thursday evening as strong and gusty winds moved into the area, bringing the threat of dry lightning.

The fire became active Wednesday night between Carlton and Tie Chute Creeks, and the threat of the fire moving south caused the evacuation order. The fire did run into a burnout operation from earlier in the week, stopping it from moving toward Florence. Firefighters were prepared for the fire possibly jumping Highway 12 Wednesday evening, but that didn't happen.

At around 8 Thursday evening, the Ravalli County Sheriff's Office announced that that the evacuated area from Tie Chute Lane north to West County Line Road had been moved back into an Evacuation Warning status, and residents could move back into their homes.

Sunrise fire: Containment has grown to 57 percent as the Sunrise fire slows down.

Significant progress has been made in the Trout Creek drainage and crews are now patrolling the area, according to Inciweb. Aircraft are being used where burnout operations are too hazardous for crews and fire growth has been weak over the last day.

Crews have moved into full suppression repair operations while continuing strategic burn operations. Suppression repair activities such as chipping and burning slash, spreading brush on lines and building water bars are now in operation around the Sunrise fire.

Fire activity was reduced as relative humidity recovered over Wednesday night, though warm and dry conditions will make their way back to the Sunrise fire over the next few days.

Liberty fire: The Liberty fire has burned over 14 square miles, half the size of Missoula, and is at 9 percent containment.

The fire has been moderately active and has moved into the Liberty Meadows and Gold Creek drainage. Crews are suppressing spot fires and mitigating snags and other hazards near roads.

Weather is a worry as dry thunderstorms move into the area, causing concern for fire movement and spotting with wind gusts up to 40 miles per hour and lightning potentially causing new starts.

Rice Ridge fire: The Rice Ridge fire is just about the size of Missoula and is at 9 percent containment.

Weather on Wednesday caused fire activity to jump up in intensity. Fuel reduction work expanded around the Double Arrow development, according to Inciweb. An evacuation warning is still in effect in areas around Seeley Lake.

Weather might cause fire activity to jump in intensity Thursday night, increasing smoke production. Hot and dry weather will make its way back to Rice Ridge Saturday and will continue through next Wednesday and will be monitored closely.

The Missoula County Sheriff's Office issued an evacuation warning Thursday along Forest Service Road 17507, which runs north into Cottonwood Canyon.

Residents affected by the order were directed to the UCC Church at 405 University Ave. in Missoula.

An evacuation warning was issued for residents in the Kozy Korner Meadows area, its eastern boundary starting in the 7500 block of Woodworth Road, running west to Cottonwood Lakes road, then north through the Rich Ranch.

Sapphire Complex: The Sapphire Complex of fires has burned over 38,000 acres, but has reached nearly 50 percent containment.

The Little Hogback Fire is being attended to through fireline creation, and crews are focused on structure protection. Crews are prepared for initial attack on any fire starts due to dry lightning from thunderstorms. The Little Hogback fire is at 25 percent containment.

The Goat Creek fire will see helicopter use to cool interior hotspots in the interior of the fire. It is at 95 percent containment.

The Sliderock fire has been quiet and is currently at 75 percent containment while firefighters patrol and monitor the fires status.

A community meeting was scheduled for Thursday at Philipsburg High School at 5 p.m. to update the community about the progress made on the fires according to Inciweb.

Sprague fire: Glacier National Park's Sprague fire has jumped up to 1,500 acres, and will transition to a Type II Incident Management Teams leadership Friday, August 25.

The Sprague fire is near the path of predicted dry lightning and gusty winds as a cold front moves in across Glacier. The fire burned actively on Wednesday as spot fires burned around the perimeter.

Firefighters are protecting the Crystal Ford footbridge with hose lays and sprinklers, and Sperry Chalet has multiple water tanks, hose lays and sprinklers deployed to keep it as safe as possible.

Less than 1 percent of the park is affected by the fire.

Meyers fire: The Meyers fire was cooled by cloudy skies, smoke and light rain Wednesday as managers saw minimal fire spread and activity. Thunderstorms and cooler temperatures throughout Thursday made for better firefighting conditions, but warmer temperatures will return over the weekend.

Montana National Guard members arrived at the Meyers fire Wednesday to support firefighting operations after Gov. Steve Bullocks July 23 executive order made them available to use in response to the extreme drought conditions ravaging parts of the state.

The Guard is being used to staff roadblocks allowing firefighters to do firefighting operations and other duties.
HAMILTON  The Bitterroot Valleys state-run Job Service office is closing.

The six employees, and one temporary staffer, were told Wednesday that due to ongoing reductions in federal spending, their jobs are being cut effective Oct. 31, and people in Ravalli County who are searching for work will need to use the Missoula facility.

Job Service offices in Anaconda, Dillon and Lewistown also will be shuttered, according to Scott Eychner, the Workforce Services administrator for the Montana Department of Labor, affecting a total of 16 employees.

The irony of Job Services losing the jobs isnt lost on those involved in the decision.

We are offering six positions for those 16 people who are impacted, Eychner said, which includes two positions in the Missoula office. Unfortunately, this is what it will look like when funding gets cut. It translates to fewer opportunities for Montanans.

Jake Troyer, the Department of Labors spokesman, noted that since 2002, the federal Workforce Services Divisions federal funding has plummeted 55 percent, from $33 million to $15 million. Closing the four offices will save an estimated $800,000.

Vickie Steele, who manages the Bitterroot Job Service office and has worked there for about 25 years, said between telephone calls and walk-ins, they serve about 100 people each day. She understands the reasons behind the office closure, but is worried that people who are unemployed may not be able to afford to drive to Missoula. Shes hoping Job Service may provide a staff person to travel to Hamilton once or twice a week.

None of the bugs have been worked out yet, but I want to reassure our clients that they will continue to be served, just from a little farther away, Steele said. Many people contact us by phone or electronically, so the distance hopefully will not be that far for folks.

Its too soon to know how this all will pan out in specifics. But I want to reassure folks in Ravalli County that we will make every attempt to serve them well.

Steele said that while many people call Job Service the unemployment office they offer a wide range of services.

Our customer base is both those seeking work and those wanting to post jobs.  Theres a myriad of things that we do that are far beyond just matching job seekers with employers needs, she said, adding that they also help update resumes, teach interview skills, and administer grants that help improve job skills.

One item that wont change is filing for unemployment. Thats been moved mainly to an online process, and will continue as normal at https://app.mt.gov/ui4u/index. Other online services are available at https://jobs.mt.gov/jobs/home.seek.
The first two months of nonstop daily flights between Billings and Dallas have been so popular that its almost certain that a quarterly financial guarantee due to American Airlines this fall wont be necessary.

Kevin Ploehn, the citys director of aviation and transit, said Thursday that during June, the flights were at 87 percent of capacity, and 81 percent in July. The break-even point for the airline is about 70 percent full, he said. The revenue guarantees are due to the airline following every three-month period that the carrier doesnt make money on the route.

August numbers for passenger loads between the two cities are down slightly so far, Ploehn said, but probably not by enough to kick in the financial guarantee.

Pledges by more than 20 Billings companies and organizations, including The Billings Gazette, and a federal grant contributed $1.45 million to the airline toward the first-year cost of providing direct daily flights between the two cities.

The nonstop service began June 2. Upon arrival, passengers on that first flight from Dallas were handed swag bags and were greeted by public officials, including Lt. Gov. Mike Cooney and Billings Mayor Tom Hanel.

Northbound flights have been slightly fuller than those headed south.

We are getting a lot of tourism coming out of the Texas market, Ploehn said. The car rental companies (at Billings Logan International Airport) are smiling because the Dallas flight has brought them a lot of customers.

We serve Eastern Montana, which has been taking it in the teeth lately with drought, fire and low agricultural prices, Ploehn said. Our parking lot is not as full as it normally is, so I dont think our friends in agriculture are coming in and flying out. But weve had the same kind of (passenger) numbers (year over year), so we think tourism is really coming through for us. We hope it continues to be a success all the way through the coming year.

Billings Chamber of Commerce President and CEO John Brewer said the chamber is pleased with the numbers we are seeing so far both ways. The feedback we have heard so far has been very good.

Efforts are underway to keep the momentum going throughout the fall and even into the shoulder season, which begins after Christmas and runs into the spring thaw.

During shoulder season, flights are generally less full  mainly because of a drop-off in tourism travel.

Brewer said a number of tourism and marketing groups are spreading the word about the nonstop flights throughout 36 ZIP codes in and around Billings.

But the larger emphasis beginning this fall will be in the Dallas area, with both vacationers and business travelers in mind.

A number of groups and a handful of grants totaling $200,000 will help market the nonstop service, and that may seem like a lot, but it doesnt go far in a market like Dallas, Brewer said.

Groups like Visit Billings, which the chamber manages, are currently nailing down plans for a few low-cost innovative, unconventional guerrilla marketing campaigns, including taking over a Dallas airport-area coffeehouse for a day to pour free coffee and hype the service with the Big D flying public.

Brewer said hes heard from chamber members in the business community that they, too, are pleased with the new services. BNSF Railways headquarters are in Fort Worth, Texas, and a number of oil and gas companies have interests in both communities.

So far it has exceeded our expectations, Brewer said. But theres still 10 months to go. A lot of people are going to have to go through those gates to make sure its successful.
Ride-sharing service Lyft Inc. received the green light to expand into Montana on Thursday after the Montana Public Service Commission voted 4-1 to approve its operating license.

Lyft is the second ride-sharing company to be licensed to operate in Montana. Raiser-MT, an agent for Uber, was licensed in December 2015 and began operating in the spring of 2016 after state law was changed to authorize app-based ride-sharing companies.

Lyft and Uber have led to a major shakeup in Montana transportation services, and their presence signals the emergence of companies involved in the sharing economy, an economic system in which computer technology allows assets or services to be shared between private individuals.

In the past, existing operators held what amounted to a competitor's veto over newcomers, said Commissioner Travis Kavulla, R-Great Falls. That is no longer the case, and today, any firm can compete, so long as they can demonstrate that they are a fit operator.

The PSCs approval allows Lyft to begin operations immediately. But Chelsea Harrison, a spokeswoman for Lyft, provided no immediate timetable on when and where Lyft would roll out its Montana operations.

We are pleased the Public Service Commission has approved our application for operations in Montana and look forward to bringing Lyft to Big Sky Country in the near future, Harrison said Thursday via email.

Last January Lyft announced that it planned to expand its services in 100 new communities during 2017. Today, Lyft operates in 360 communities. Its services are available to about 80 percent of the nations population, according to the company's website.

During the 20-day protest period last spring, the PSC received a single objection to Lyfts application from Carrie Pintar, the owner of Amazing Taxi in Livingston. At a June hearing, Pintar called into question Lyfts fitness to operate on the grounds that the company could not meet its legal obligations related to insurance.

By law, a Technology Network Carrier is required to carry minimum insurance coverage of $50,000 for death and bodily injury per person, $100,000 per incident, and $25,000 for property damage. When a driver is engaged in a pre-arranged ride, the requirements go up to $1 million for death, injury, or property damage as well as uninsured motorist coverage.

Pintar argued that Lyfts insurance could be inactive in instances where a driver loses connection to the digital network while driving through a cellular dead-spot.

Timothy Burr, a Lyft witness, testified that contrary to Pintars claims, gaps in cellular service do not impact insurance coverage, as coverage exists from the moment the first passenger enters the vehicle until the last passenger exits during a prearranged ride.

Pintar said ride-sharing services don't have to play by the same rules as taxi companies

"I've always tried to take care of my area, but I've lost a lot of airport rides, which was my gravy," Pintar said. "The rules they're given are broken constantly, but the PSC doesn't seem to care."

The commission is satisfied that Lyft has met all of the statutory requirements established by the Legislature, and is a fit, willing, and able operator, said PSC Chairman Brad Johnson, R-East Helena.

Commissioner Bob Lake, R-Hamilton was the lone dissenting vote.

As a regulator, my job is to ensure that essential services are there when they are needed most," Lake said. "Unlike existing regulated motor carriers, out-of-state corporations like Uber and Lyft operate with very little oversight from the PSC and they are not obligated to serve the public. Im concerned that if these firms are allowed to squeeze out mom and pop taxi companies, critical portions of our population could be left without essential transportation services, he said.

Critics argue that ride-sharing services often exploit drivers, who work as independent contractors rather than employees.

Earlier this year, a California law firm filed suit on behalf of Uber drivers who are seeking reimbursement for expenses that drivers say Uber should pay for.
BOZEMAN  It takes a good dose of myth, a well-built legend and an unusual nickname to keep a man like John Johnston alive in peoples memories 115 years after his death.

John who? Never heard of him, you might be thinking. Yet if I used the name Liver-Eating Johnson, even if you had never heard of him you would want to know more.

The stories about him, he keeps getting taller and heavier, said Nathan Bender, who has researched the history of a Hawken rifle and Bowie knife owned by Johnson, also known as Johnston and Liver-Eating Johnson. They are all the same man.

Even in real life he was a large man, more than 6 feet tall and weighing around 230 pounds, according to some accounts. The Sioux Indians named him Black Bear because of his barrel chest, according to one story.

The rifle and knife were donated in 2000 to the Cody Firearms Museum in Cody, Wyoming. While head of special collections and archives at the University of Idaho Library, Bender examined the articles and wrote a paper published in Arms & Armour in 2006. He recently presented the paper to a gathering of the Montana Historical Gunmakers Guild in Bozeman, members of which waded in with a few comments.

Whats in a name?

Johnston became famous more recently from the 1972 movie Jeremiah Johnson, starring Robert Redford, which was loosely based on Johnstons life. Yet in his own time the frontiersman was more commonly known as John Johnston, reportedly a fake last name he took after striking an officer and deserting the Navy. He was actually born John Garrison in Little York, New Jersey, in 1824.

The movie portrays Johnston as a madman bent on revenge after Indians kill his native wife. His liver-eating name came from tales of him supposedly dining on his victims innards as a further means of revenge. The more likely scenarios for him receiving his nickname are quite different, although just as gruesome. One story has the incident taking place along the Musselshell River, near its junction with the Missouri River, where Johnston and several companions had a run-in with a band of Sioux warriors.

The men were working as woodhawks, workers who cut wood to sell to steamboats traveling up and down the Missouri, when they were reportedly attacked by the Sioux. Outgunned, few of the Indians escaped, and those wounded were tracked down, scalped and then killed. In an attempt to send a grisly message, the white men boiled the dead warriors skulls and displayed them on sticks along the river as a warning to others, according to the book Red Lodge, Saga of a Western Area.

The book quotes Johnston as saying one Indians liver inadvertently stuck to his knife after he killed the warrior and he jokingly made believe he was eating the organ.

I was all over blood and I had the liver on my knife, but I didnt eat none of it, the book quotes Johnston as saying. The liver coming out was unintentional on my part.

But one of his companions said he had dined on the mans liver and for the rest of his life Johnston was wedded to the name. Another account attributes a similar live incident after Johnston killed two Sioux warriors who were following him and a greenhorn as they hunted along the Musselshell River north of Billings.

Johnstons real life put him at the center of one of the Wests most enduring stories. He acted as an Army scout in the late 1800s as Gen. Oliver Otis Howard pursued the Nez Perce Indians during their flight from an Oregon reservation. The Indians escape sent them traveling through the Big Hole Valley, Yellowstone National Park, past Billings and Laurel while on the way to the Bears Paw Mountains near Montanas northern border.

Johnston spent his later years as a deputy sheriff in the town of Coulson, where a Billings park along the Yellowstone River now sits, and in Red Lodge.

Provenance

Bender wrote that the knife and rifle in possession of the Cody Firearms Museum fit easily with other known historic sources of information about Liver-Eating Johnson in the 1860s-90s in Montana, Wyoming and Canada.

The items reportedly came from William W. Alderson, who met Johnston when Alderson served as an Indian agent at the Milk River Agency in Fort Peck from 1873 to 1875. The two became friends, and Johnston reportedly gave the items to Alderson before he died.

Alderson was a founder of Bozeman, where a street still carries the family name. He also served as a state representative to Congress for Montana and published one of Bozemans first newspapers. The rifle and knife supposedly passed from Alderson to a gun collector, then back to a family member and then another collector before being donated to the museum.

Although one affidavit accompanied the donation, there was no documentation of the original sale to aid in Benders research. Consequently, he was left to speculate as to whether the origins of the gun and knife fit into the same timeframe as Johnstons life.

The Hawken was a pretty good hunting rifle up until the 1870s, said Dan Phariss, a Livingston historic rifle maker. They were supplanted by the rolling block and Sharps in the early 1870s."

Knowing that Johnston was an avid hunter and sharpshooter, it would make sense that he owned a Hawken, Phariss said.

Ive shot a lot of critters with them, ranging out to about 150 yards, he added. So they were a very viable hunting arm until other guns came along to displace them.

Bender agreed.

There are tales that Johnson had a lot of rifles, he said. He used to (pawn) them to the bartender to stand him for drinks.

The Cody Firearms Museum is more certain of the Hawkens provenance. Well we know that this is the .56 caliber half-stock Hawken rifle that he carried during his time in the West, wrote curator Ashley Hlebinsky in her blog. He was photographed with the firearm as well.

The end?

Such speculation about Johnston, his legendary life and even his personal possessions would likely please the man. His mythic stature continues to live on. But in reality his life did not end in a blaze of glory like an old Western movie.

After having served several terms as constable of the coal mining town of Red Lodge, in 1897  at the age of 73  he settled on 160 acres south of Red Lodge. Two years after receiving the patent for his land, Johnston left for the Old Soldiers Home in what is now Los Angeles. He was there less than two months before dying.

In 1972, after learning of his burial in California, a class of Los Angeles middle school students lobbied the Veterans Administration to have Johnstons remains dug up for reburial closer to his mountain home. The owner of Old Trail Town in Cody, Wyoming  Bob Edgar  agreed to take the remains. On June 8, 1974, Johnston was reburied as a crowd gathered, some dressed as if living in the mountain man era. Actor Robert Redford  who had portrayed Jeremiah Johnson  served as one of the pallbearers, drawing a large crowd to the event.

The ceremony had something of a circus atmosphere, wrote Gary Svee for the Billings Gazette at the time.

Last fight

That Johnston was reburied in Cody instead of Red Lodge did not sit well with some. An attempt to get a restraining order to halt the move was denied by a federal judge, despite the intervention of then-Sen. John Melcher. Testimony in that case included a sworn affidavit by Red Lodge resident Fred Longmore. Longmore said as a child he held Johnstons hand on the railroad platform before he departed for California.

He looked at the Beartooth Mountains and tears rolled out of his eyes and I said, Dont feel sad, Mr. Johnston, because youll come back. They wont keep you down there long. Johnston replied, Oh, Freddy boy, Ill never see them mountains again.

He would have abhorred the reburial at a tourist stop near some warehouses in a Wyoming town, wrote Harry J. Owens in his Red Lodge history book. Nowhere can be seen his beloved Beartooths. Liver Eating Johnston would enjoy the last laugh, however, as all that was left of his earthly remains when the grave was opened was a large leg bone and a few fragments of the cedar coffin he had been buried in. And, although this tourist stop now claims his remains, they did not capture his spirit. The spirit of John Johnston still roams wild and free over his Beartooths and, in the final reckoning, that is what really counts.
Montanas landscape tells its story. From our treasured state and national parks to old mining camps, Montana has a rich and diverse history. For decades, miners and loggers put their blood, sweat and tears into their work to put food on the table, while powering a nation and building a future for their children.

And while we continue to see the benefits of natural resource development, our state has also seen some downsides. We need look no further than Zortman-Landusky, Beal Mountain, Montana Tunnels or the Berkeley pit to see that mining jobs can come at a cost, not just to local economies that once depended on good jobs, but to taxpayers who are still on the hook for cleaning up the mess left behind. According to a recent article in the Missoulian, the Montana Tunnels open pit mine owes $5 million in back taxes to Jefferson County and is also in danger of collapsing, which would destroy a nearby creek. Thats got to change. We have a duty as citizens  and an obligation as legislators  to continue to develop our natural resources as safely and cleanly as possible and with the least impact on jobs as possible.

When it comes to protecting our state, the Legislature should do what our parents and grandparents did: look to the future. In the 1970s, our citizen Legislature funded the coal trust, which funds everything from schools to roads. Montana also did what other states wish they had done. We diversified. Today, our public lands hold the key to the second largest industry in our state. Tourism currently accounts for 64,000 jobs and $3.5 billion into our economy. In 2016, over 12 million people traveled to Montana to enjoy our clean rivers and healthy forests. Consider that for a moment: for every Montanan living here, a dozen people came to our state to visit.

One of the crown jewels of our tourism economy is the Smith River. It is a place filled with grand views, clean water and abundant wildlife. Even those who havent had the chance to float the Smith understand what this spectacular river means to our state both in terms of our heritage and our economy. Thats why I introduced House Bill 593, a bill that called for a reasonable approach to Montanas Hardrock Mining Act.

HB 593 would have added some simple, reasonable changes to mining operations in Montana. First, the bill sought to hold companies  not taxpayers  accountable for mines that included sulfide ores. When exposed to air and water through the mining process, sulfide ores create the risk of acid mine drainage. Too often, acid mine drainage has been the death knell for healthy streams and rivers in Montana because it is essentially impossible to stop once it starts. So, my bill simply asked companies engaging in the process to put up enough money to protect taxpayers from being on the hook perpetually.

HB 593 also called for reasonable auditing. Right now, companies only have to report on their activities once every five years. My bill would have simply changed that to three years. A lot can happen to a mining operation in five years, and we deserve to know that companies are following the law, just like everyone else. Periodic, independent assessments of operations to ensure that promises are being kept is a no-brainer.

I proposed to grandfather in all current mining operations, so that companies werent stuck with a cost they didnt bargain for. Even with that concession, big international companies resisted. Why? Because they've got their eyes on projects like the Black Butte Copper Mine at the headwaters of the Smith River. It was disappointing to learn that a multi-national corporation could succeed in resisting reasonable steps to protect Montanas vital outdoor economy.

As citizens, we have the right to expect our elected representatives to look to the future. We can protect our outdoor economy while asking corporations to play by the rules. Its a long tradition in Montana, and one worth honoring.
A man sentenced in 2012 for his 10th DUI offense and who is now facing a new set of accusations  including that he started a brush fire with his car while attempting to evade police  made an initial appearance in Anaconda district court Wednesday.

Bryan Kelvin Hutchinson, 56, is facing five counts of felony negligent arson in relation to an incident that occurred Aug 4.

According to court documents, police responded to an area near the Church of Christ on Stumptown Road in response to a report that a man, later identified as Hutchinson, had rammed a gate with his car and descended off the road on to a hill leading to a creek.

The documents say that when police arrived they observed that Hutchinsons vehicle was stuck and that the 56-year-old was revving his engine and spinning his wheels in an attempt to break free.

After being confronted by police, Hutchinson allegedly refused to get out of the vehicle and continued to spin his tires. He then started to reach inside of the vehicle where officers could not see his hands, telling the officers to kill him, court documents say.

According to Hutchinsons affidavit, as the 56-year-old continued to rev his engine smoke began to appear from the rear of the vehicle. Officers pepper sprayed the man, but Hutchinson still refused to exit the vehicle. At this time, officers also observed Hutchinson allegedly drinking a can of Steele Reserve.

Eventually, documents say, the brush surrounding the vehicle ignited and the vehicle appeared as though it would soon be engulfed in flames. Police attempted to pull Hutchinson from his truck, but he refused and grabbed onto the sides of the vehicle.

The documents state that police were finally able to pull Hutchinson from the car after they shot him with a Taser. At that time, three-fourths of the car were on fire, according to police accounts.

Police later determined that Hutchinson was driving with a suspended or revoked license and without insurance.

Court documents also state that officers believed he was driving under the influence and that he appeared dazed and his speech was incoherent, slurred and laced with profanity. Hutchinson allegedly refused field sobriety tests, but police obtained a warrant for a blood test and are currently awaiting the results.

On Wednesday Hutchinson pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor charges of driving with a suspended or revoked license, driving without insurance and criminal mischief. He also pleaded not guilty to a fourth-or-subsequent DUI charge and five counts of felony negligent arson.

In 2012 The Billings Gazette reported that Hutchinson was sentenced to eight years with the Montana Department of Corrections with three years suspended for a felony DUI  his 10th drunken-driving-related offense.

In that case, Prosecutors said Hutchinson had nine prior DUI convictions dating back to 1985. Most of the convictions were in New Mexico, with one prior conviction in Wyoming in 2010, the Gazette reported.

Meanwhile, Hutchinson remains in Anaconda Deer-Lodge County jail.

Judge Ray Dayton set Hutchinsons bail Wednesday for $15,000 and scheduled an omnibus hearing for Sept. 27th.
Drugs with intent to sell

When Butte-Silver Bow Police searched Jonathan Kovash, 20 of Butte, at about 3:30 p.m. Wednesday at Park and Montana, they allegedly found 3.6 grams of methamphetamine, syringes and spoons. A subsequent search of Kovashs residence allegedly yielded additional drug paraphernalia in the form of syringes, glass pipes and baggies used to distribute methamphetamine.

The initial search took place because BSB Police were assisting probation officers. Kovash was booked for two felony counts: criminal sale of dangerous drugs and possession of dangerous drugs; one misdemeanor: possession of drug paraphernalia and a parole violation.

Intending to harm

Police booked Justin Gelling, 21 of Butte, for allegedly trying to run over the father of a juvenile Gelling followed home at about 9 p.m. Wednesday.

Gelling followed two female juveniles turning from Harrison Ave. onto Civic Center Road. When they got to their house in the 1800 block of Elm St., the father of one of the juveniles came out of the residence to confront Gelling. Gelling reportedly left, but when the 42-year-old male stepped into a nearby alley, Gelling drove down the alley, swerved at the male, and just missed hitting him. Police located Gelling at Civic Center Road and Harrison a few minutes later and pulled him over at Oregon and Front St. When attempting to arrest Gelling, he allegedly tried to flee.

He was booked on one felony count of criminal endangerment, and two misdemeanors, resisting arrest and no liability insurance in effect.

Partner-family member assault

George Zachary, 23, of Butte, allegedly got into an altercation with his girlfriend, pushing her down twice, over cigarettes and a play station game at about 8:30 p.m. Wednesday in the 1200 block of East Second Street. He was booked on a misdemeanor charge of partner-family member assault.

Man and dog criminal trespass

Aric Blakey, 33, of Lakewood, Colorado, was picked up, along with his Rottweiler, at about 2:40 a.m. Thursday in the Front Street Safeway parking lot. A group of males standing at the corner of Main and Platinum St. allegedly saw Blakey get into a parked vehicle at about 1:20 a.m. Thursday. Nothing was taken, but police booked him on criminal trespass to a vehicle, a misdemeanor. The Rottweiler was taken to the Butte animal shelter.

No plates

Police pulled Justina Guida, 33, of Butte, over at Platinum and S. Montana St. at about 10 a.m. Wednesday for allegedly driving without a license plate on her car. She was booked for driving with a suspended or revoked license, no liability insurance, no license plate, and habitual offender, all misdemeanors.

Speeding

Jace Skogen, 20, of Whitehall, was spotted by police allegedly driving 60 mph in a 35 mph zone heading west on Front Street at about 11:30 p.m. Wednesday. Police report that as they chased him, Skogen ran through stop signs. He was stopped at Delaware and First Street and was booked for three misdemeanors, reckless driving, speeding and eluding police.

Stop yields two arrests

An officer allegedly recognized Brady Holland, 22, of Butte, at Second and Main St. and knew Holland had a suspended license. The officer stopped Holland at First and Maryland St. He was booked on three misdemeanors: habitual offender, driving on a suspended license and no liability insurance in effect.

While police were booking Holland, they also ran information on Hollands passenger, Kimberly Lambert, 26, of Butte, and found an outstanding warrant for her arrest for failure to appear in City Court. She, too, was booked.
A man has been arraigned on theft charges after police said he stole and crashed two pickup trucks and then took off on someones ATV before being arrested  all on the same night.

Ricky Lee Cooley pleaded not guilty to three felony counts of theft and a count of felony criminal endangerment before District Judge Brad Newman and remains in jail pending an Aug. 31 bail hearing.

Prosecutors say the incidents began around 1 a.m. on July 2 when a man left his Ford pickup truck running in the driveway in the 2500 block of Elm Street while he got out to talk to a friend. Someone jumped inside and took off.

That truck was involved in a one-vehicle rollover on Blacktail Loop shortly afterward, then someone reported their Ford truck had been stolen from nearby Ketchum Lane. That truck was found in the 5300 block of Saddle Rock Road, where it had gone through a yard, hit a fence and stopped.

It was unoccupied when police arrived, but officers then heard dogs barking at a residence on Blacktail Loop and saw an ATV leave. Police set up a perimeter and were able to catch Cooley when he rolled the ATV on its side near a fence next to Interstate 90.

MAN SENTENCED FOR ASSAULT

A Butte man accused of assaulting his wife and firing an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle round at her feet pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge Thursday and received a deferred one-year sentence.

In a plea deal, prosecutors dropped a felony charge of assault with a weapon against Michael Kieran Dunne. He pleaded guilty to misdemeanor partner/family member assault, admitting that his wife was justified in fearing for her safety.

According to charging documents, Dunne was arguing with his wife on Feb. 18, grabbed her by the wrist and threw her down. She told police he then grabbed the AR-15 and shot a round into the floor of their home, just 1 foot from her.

She said he had been drinking all day and over the past three or four months had lost it, believing among other things that she was getting people to go after him.

Dunne told police, and Judge Newman again on Thursday, that the rifle discharged accidentally. But he told Newman he was still responsible for not paying attention.

His attorney said he had voluntarily gotten a mental health evaluation but Newman still ordered up to 40 hours of counseling as a condition of his deferred sentence.

Newman said Dunne did not have a significant criminal history, was employed and was able to support himself and others, so a deferred sentence was appropriate.

WAVING A PISTOL

A man pleaded not guilty to allegations he put a handgun to a womans back and then pointed it at others inside and outside of Spud McGees bar on South Main Street in Butte on June 29.

Sean Krebs, 27, is charged with two felony counts of assault with a weapon and a misdemeanor count of carrying a concealed weapon while under the influence.

The woman told police that after pointing the gun at people, he walked off down Platinum Street. Police located him and found he was carrying a .45-caliber Desert Eagle pistol with one round in the chamber and the hammer pulled back.

Krebs told police the incident began when members of the Cossacks motorcycle club began pushing him in the bar.

Krebs said that he is from Oklahoma where there are real gangsters, so he wasnt going to put up with the Cossacks, the charging document states. So he went and got the gun, it says.

Krebs remains free on $2,500 bond.

DUI CHARGES

Carl James Standing Elk pleaded not guilty to a felony fourth or subsequent DUI charge, driving while suspended and having an open container of alcohol while traveling on a highway.

A man called Butte police on July 2 to report that someone was driving a gold Cadillac recklessly. Police located the car and found Standing Elk behind the wheel.

He was booked and later released on his own recognizance, but was rearrested this month for not abiding by requirements that he take and pass a breathalyzer twice daily to show he had not been drinking.

Newman allowed him to go free again on Thursday pending more court proceedings, but said it was imperative he resume and meet the breathalyzer conditions and other bail mandates.

Were going to try this one more time, Newman told him. Basically, this is a one-time-only offer.
The state Department of Labor and Industry will close Job Service offices in Anaconda and Dillon at the end of September.

L&I Communications Director Jake Troyer blamed a cutback in federal funding for the closures, which were announced Thursday. Two more offices, in Hamilton and Lewistown, will be closed at the end of October, he added.

The Job Service offices assist both prospective employees and employers. They help job-seekers polish resumes, learn about networking and help them with career planning and identifying training needs and opportunities.

The decision about which offices to close was "data driven," said Scott Eychner, administrator for L&I's Workforce Services Division. But he added that "intangibles" were taken into consideration, such as the fact the Butte office is relatively close to Anaconda and Dillon.

"It was a tough way to start the day," Anaconda Chief Executive Bill Everett said Thursday of a phone call from Labor & Industry notifying him of the incipient closure.

"I think maybe they don't know how important that office is to us. It's a step in the wrong direction at a time when we have so many positive things going on here in Anaconda," Everett said. "We've been utilitizing that office more recently than probably any time in the past five years."

He said the county has used the Job Service exclusively to fill county vacancies.

Everett said it is the third state agency in recent months to pull state jobs out of the area. He pointed out that half of the 23 jobs lost when the Title and Registration Bureau was moved from Deer Lodge to Helena were held by Anaconda residents. And the state Department of Revenue pulled a position from Anaconda last month, he said.

"They call them FTEs. We call them employees and residents," Everett said. Enough's enough."

Mayor Michael Klakken of Dillon expressed similar regrets.

"That office helps a lot of people get training and get jobs," he said. "It's a real blow to lose it.

"I don't know the logic behind it but it is certainly a tough thing for Dillon."

While six full-time jobs will be affected in the Anaconda and Dillon offices, three of the positions will transfer to the Butte office to help with the increased workload there, resulting in a net reduction of three jobs. The people losing their jobs in Dillon and Anaconda will be given preference for the new Butte positions.

Overall, Troyer said, 16 positions are affected in the four offices, and six of those positions will be kept in new locations, resulting in a net loss of 10 positions. Savings will also include the cost to rent and maintain the physical offices.

Eychner said that even though the unemployment rate in Montana is low, the work the offices have traditionally done is still sorely needed.

"The catch is that the people we're seeing want jobs and have barriers to getting them," he said. "They have more challenges to employment and we do our best to help them. Meanwhile, we expect workforce shortages in many industries to continue through the next decade."

He said both offices have been open "for a very long time. One of the people in Anaconda has worked at the office 27 years."

The job service office in Dillon is at 730 N. Montana Street and the Anaconda office is at 307 E. Park Avenue. The Butte office is at 2201 White Blvd.
SATURDAY, AUG. 26

FARMERS MARKETS

 The Butte farmers market is 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays on West Park Street. Bedding plants, eggs, fruits and vegetables, baked goods, flowers, and arts and crafts are sold. Call 406-565-2249 or visit www.mainstreetbutte.org/fmarket.htm.

 The Whitehall farmers market is from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Saturday in Legion Park.

17 VOICES

The Ballroom Players will present 17 Voices, a theatrical and musical collaboration of some of Montana's finest writers and local Butte performers, honoring the centennial of 1917. There will be two performances  at 7 p.m. Saturday and a matinee performance at 3 p.m. Sunday  at the Clark Chateau. Suggested donation is $10. The event features original monologues and songs written by David Abrams, Anastasia Bartsch, Cassidy Duddy, Susan Dunlap, Fred Giacomino, Rebecca Gonshak, Sid Gustafson, Matthew Haynes, Al James, Adrian Kien, Milana Marsenich, Megan McNamer, Virginia Reeves, Russell Rowland, and Callison Stratton.

CAR SHOW

A swap meet and car show will be from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Lost Creek Raceway in Anaconda.

FREE HIV TESTING

The Butte-Silver Bow Health Department will be offering free rapid HIV testing from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Butte Public Library, 226 W. Broadway St. Testing will be located on the third floor. Its recommended that anyone between the ages of 13 and 65 be tested for HIV at least once in their lifetime.

AIRPORT FLY-IN

The Anaconda airport will host a fly-in from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. with more than 20 aircraft expected.

CAVERNS CONCERT

Montana State Parks will host the final Music by the Caverns concert for 2017 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park, 25 Lewis and Clark Caverns Rd., Whitehall. This family-friendly event gathers the community together to support local music and Montana State Parks. The concert will highlight several local artists including Bob Ringler & Friends and Gary The Ferg Ferguson with Rick Wine and David Cogley.

MAGIC SHOW

Butte Magics Eric the Excellent and Sir James the Magnificent will perform at 2 p.m. at Bannack State Park, 721 Bannack Rd., Dillon. These two accomplished magicians follow in the footsteps of a long tradition of traveling magic shows, which includes juggling, sword-swallowing, and fire eating. This is a great show and fun for all ages. Details: 406-834-3413.

FAIR IN BOULDER

Jefferson Countys annual fair and NRA rodeo, A Fair of the Heart, continues through Sunday at Jefferson County Recreation Park, south of Boulder. Admission to the fair is free, and parking is $2 per car. To attend the rodeo, the cost is $8 for adults, $4 for youth. The rodeo parade is at 1 p.m. Saturday with the NRA rodeo starting at 5 p.m. There is also a beef barbecue and a barn dance featuring the music of the Insufficient Funds Band.

CLASSIC CARS

The 25th annual Boulder Area Chamber of Commerce Classic Car Show is from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Veterans Park in Boulder. Over 80 classic cars will be on display, and admission is free. Anyone who is interested in participating by showing a classic car or any type of vintage car are welcome. Visit the Boulder Chamber website at bouldermtchamber.org for more details, or contact Stan Renskers at 406-225-4228.

CLUBS AND MEETINGS

BUTTE

An anxiety and depression support group meets at 1:30 p.m. at 721 S. Utah St.

Adult Children of Alcoholics meets at 10 a.m. in the Atherton Apartments community center room, 4500 Continental Dr. Details: 406-396-4112.
FLORENCE  Two federal cabinet secretaries joined two-thirds of Montanas congressional delegation at the Lolo Peak fire base to decry the effect of lawsuits on firefighting.

We cant do anything about the weather, but we can do things about forest management that make sense so we can diminish forest fires in the future, agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said after a closed briefing with fire incident commanders on Thursday. He was joined by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and Montana Republican Sen. Steve Daines and Rep. Greg Gianforte in arguing that litigation was keeping forests in an unhealthy state.

Perdue, whose department oversees the Forest Service, noted that fire spending has grown from 15 percent to 55 percent of the agencys annual budget. He said the agency needs to get away from emergency funding of fires to an ongoing funding format. That would give its personnel more resources toward efforts to reduce hazardous fuels in the forest, such as the Stonewall Vegetation project near Lincoln thats currently blocked by a lawsuit and burning in the Arrastra Creek and Park Creek fires.

Thats because of litigation that has stopped fire management, Perdue said We talked about Stonewall; thats a good example of whats happened. Thats whats evolved into the 55 percent because you couldnt do some of these things that you wanted to. It is a cause-and-effect situation.

Gianforte said the federal Equal Access to Justice Act, which allows those who successfully sue the government to recover their legal costs, needed reform to reduce frivolous lawsuits.

Its been hijacked by environmental extremists who use it to create a business model to shut down almost every forest management project here in the state, Gianforte said. Over 50 percent of planned forest management projects in the state are challenged in court, tied up, and ultimately they burn.

Forest Service officials in Missoula could not confirm that claim on Thursday. However, U.S. Sen. Jon Tester had to retract a similar claim in 2015 when the Montana Democrat initially said every logging sale was being litigated, and then restated to say half of 2014s awarded timber volume was under litigation. An examination by the Washington Post found that 14 percent of the 97 sales had active litigation and only four were enjoined from any logging.

Alliance for the Wild Rockies director Michael Garrity, whose organization sued the Forest Service over the Stonewall project, said AWR was actively litigating three timber projects and following a federal appeal of a fourth. There are at least 30 Montana timber projects currently listed on Forest Service websites.

Democracy only works if you have citizen oversight of the government, Garrity said. If they dont like us suing, theres a simple solution. Mr. Gianforte and the others need to oversee the Forest Service and ask them why they arent following the law.

Zinke, who was re-elected to Montanas lone congressional seat last November before joining the Trump Administration in the Interior Department, said front-line government workers were too burdened by micromanagement and bureaucracy to get out in the field.

We need more resources on the front line, to give them the flexibility they need and get rid of the lawsuits so they can do their jobs Zinke said. Thats where we can focus on near-term gains.

Tester also visited the fire on Tuesday and discussed efforts to end fire-borrowing within the Forest Service budget that strips forest management dollars away to pay for wildfire activity. While Tester called for legislation that would cover wildfires more like hurricanes or floods, Perdue said he looked for passage of the Resilient Federal Forests Act authored by Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-Arkansas and a related bill by Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho.

Rain started falling on the Lolo Peak fire shortly before the Washington leaders started their press conference. They briefly toured the incident command post, which now supports 1,237 personnel fighting the 34,184-acre fire.

We are tired of breathing the smoke, Daines said. Were tired of seeing catastrophic wildfires. Either were going to better manage our forests, or the forests are going to manage us. Were spending too much time and money fighting fires. We need to instead spend time and money managing our forests.
Update: No significant growth or fire activity over the evening. Crews built fireline and extinguished small flare ups that would start due to the dry conditions. Evacuations of Holmes Gulch and Martinez Gulch are still in place.

******

Several neighborhoods near Helena were evacuated Thursday afternoon after lightning sparked a wildfire about 2-3 miles south of the State Capitol.

The Holmes Gulch fire was reported around 2:15 p.m. near the Eddye McClure Trail between Martinez Gulch Road and Holmes Gulch Road in Jefferson County, about a mile from Helenas city limits. Heavy winds pushed the fire southeast toward homes and other structures, and it eventually crossed Holmes Gulch Road.

The fire was considered about 5 percent contained by Thursday night, said Butch Kroll with the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. Some early estimates put the fire at nearly 300 acres, but later estimates with better mapping put it closer to 100, but broken up into multiple small fires with spotting.

Video: Community meeting on the wildfire burning south of Helena A community meeting was held at 8 p.m. at the Montana City Volunteer Fire Department Station with updates on the Holmes Gulch Fire located south of Helena.

When I came around the corner I could see the fire running up Mount Ascension on the backside. The fire was spreading quite rapidly, on an uphill slope, nothing but dry fuel, Montana City Fire Chief Rick Abraham said at a community meeting Thursday evening.

Abraham then requested air support, which included a helicopter and two small air tankers, followed later by a large air tanker.

The fire initially burned to the north toward Helena, but then the wind changed directions and drove it back into Holmes Gulch threatening multiple structures.

The Jefferson County Sheriffs Office ordered the evacuation of Holmes Gulch Road, Martinez Gulch Road, Mule Trail Road, Doe Mountain Court, Timber Lane, Ponderosa Road and Saturn Drive within a matter of hours.

As the fire burned downhill, it triggered a fast and furious evacuation. The fire cut off some evacuees that had to go over the top into Davis Gulch, Jefferson County Sheriff Craig Doolittle told 200-300 people at the Montana City firehouse Thursday evening.

At this point in time with what this fire couldve done and we thought it was going to do, it had to happen right now, he said of the evacuation speed. In the time that we did the evacuations this whole thing couldve swept through the whole entire South Hills, and into Jackson Creek and down into Clark Creek.

Fire officials expressed some cautious optimism about progress on the fire and said crews would remain on the scene overnight Thursday. Officials remained concerned about prevailing weather patterns, which could stoke the fire overnight and into Friday.

Holmes Gulch and Martinez Gulch remained evacuated Thursday night.

I was texted by a friend that said there was a fire and I ran up to the house and the fire was going wild, and I turned up all the sprinklers and then got the pets and ran out the door, and by that time they were evacuating everyone on Holmes Gulch Road, area resident Anna Nash said Thursday afternoon. Now Im down watching it and I can still see my rooftop and hoping that the fire wont reach it.

The City of Helena also issued an evacuation advisory for the South Hills area Thursday, noting that residents were asked to remain alert to changing conditions and be prepared to evacuate if ordered to do so by law enforcement.

Those in the areas being evacuated were advised to leave their sprinklers on.

The fire burned very close to a couple of structures but none were lost. The state will take full command of the fire on Friday.

Area residents at the community meeting asked questions of fire officials and law enforcement, and then erupted in applause when they called on one person who said he simply wanted to say thank you.

The American Red Cross opened a shelter for evacuees at the Helena Assembly of God Church, 2210 Dodge Ave. in Helena.

Valley Veterinary Hospital at 4880 North Montana Ave. in Helena offered to take dogs, cats, and a limited number of large animals. Anyone wanting to shelter an animal should call first, 442-0188.

The Lewis and Clark County Emergency Operations Center will have a public hotline at 447-1605 staffed at 7 a.m. Friday.

Fire information is also available at 616-2581, https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/, or by emailing holmesgulchfire@gmail.com, and DNRC is launching a Holmes Gulch fire Facebook page.

The resources that responded to the fire included wildland firefighters, four large air tankers, four DNRC helicopters and another with the National Guard. The 171-foot-long DC-10 firefighting supertanker jet stationed in Helena, which is one of only three of its kind in the United States, also responded. About 130 personnel were on the fire.

Another community meeting will be held at 8 p.m. Friday at Montana City Station 1, 1192 Highway 282.
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COLUMBUS JUNCTION, Iowa  Returning to his hometown on Friday, Democratic candidate for governor, Nate Boulton, visited his old elementary school teachers and saw the new facilities at Columbus Community schools.

The Columbus Junction native, who graduated from the city's high school in 1998, toured schools in the district as part of a week-long campaign stint. Boulton, an attorney and first-term state senator, met with educators at colleges and schools throughout the state, and Columbus Junction was one stop at a rural school district in Iowa.

In May, Boulton made his official campaign announcement in Columbus Junction and returned to the town to hear from Superintendent Gary Benda about problems facing the school district. Due to statewide budget cuts, Benda said, the schools have been losing staff, plus recruiting new teachers is increasingly difficult.

"Changes in collective bargaining will lead to a rapid decline in rural district teachers," Boulton said.

Boulton argued it is already difficult to convince new teachers who just graduated from college to move to rural Iowa communities. And, in the last legislative session, Republicans "gutted" teachers' rights to bargain for better wages, which will likely stop some young people from entering the field.

Districts in Louisa County have been sharing some staff members from the Mississippi Bend Area Education Agency, such as social workers who travel between Columbus Junction, Louisa-Muscatine and West Liberty schools, according to Benda.

"When they're focusing on that many kids, it's hard to provide the right level of support," Benda said.

The superintendent relies on AEA staff for social work, school psychology and other services that are hard to come by in rural Iowa. Boulton said children and the state's most vulnerable citizens are also suffering from cuts to the Department of Human Services and mental health facilities.

Columbus Junction, Benda said, is also struggling to meet the needs of its diverse population. More than half of the school's population is Latino and about 10 percent of students originate from Burma. Benda said there is a great need for ESL and other language teachers, as well as paraeducators.

Between all three school districts, Benda said Louisa County has lost 50 students, and he is concerned enrollment will continue to drop. He said Columbus schools are now competing with two online learning programs, and argued the state should reconsider the open enrollment process.

He also claims transportation, a lack of funding for resources and growing debt are problems facing Columbus schools. By allowing school districts to have more control over spending, Benda said, some of these problems could be resolved.

Iowa, Boulton said, has underfunded education for seven years in a row. He argues that part of the problem is the state's pattern of offering tax credits and incentives to big businesses. Boulton cited the announcement that a $1.3 billion Apple Data Center will be built in Waukee, Iowa, receiving more than $213 million in incentives.

"While I'm pleased to see good-paying jobs come to Iowa, handing out a $213 million combined tax coupon to the world's most profitable company to create 50 unspecified jobs raises some concerns that this administration is stuck in its ways of handing out excessive corporate tax credits to the detriment of other essential Iowa services and a sound budget," Boulton said in a statement following the announcement from Apple.

Boulton said offering tax breaks to large corporations is a "short-term plan" because businesses often move to a different state after a couple of decades. He proposes Iowa develop long-term solutions to keep businesses in the state, especially in rural communities, with the local, skilled workers they need.

After visiting Columbus Junction, Boulton stopped at the Council Bluffs Public Library.
MUSCATINE  Drivers can expect some delays throughout the next month when trying to access businesses between Park Avenue and 2nd Avenue in Muscatine.

Work began last week to reconstruct Cleveland Street, the road connecting McDonald's and Hy-Vee. All American Concrete, of West Liberty, was awarded the roughly $404,000 project last month, which includes removing and replacing existing concrete.

The first phase of the project is under way, according to a construction update from the city. Crews are replacing pavement from Park Avenue to just east of the McDonald's entrance off Cleveland Street. The west entrance remains open and McDonald's has added a temporary entrance to the north side of the restaurant off Frontage Road.

Next, construction will move to the section from 2nd Avenue to west of Coventry Lane. The project includes four phases, and the city said access to businesses will be provided at all times, but there may be delays. The work is scheduled to be completed Sept. 30.

Mississippi Drive Corridor Project

In the past few weeks, City Engineer Jim Edgmond said the reconstruction of Mississippi Drive has been progressing on schedule, with the first phase of the project still set to be complete in mid-October.

At the council meeting last week, Edgmond said sanitary storm sewer work is nearly finished on Chestnut Street. He said underground work needs to be completed from Pine to Broadway streets before work stops for the winter.

Edgmond said the next challenge is coordinating with the hotel construction to rebuild Chestnut Street.

"It's not going to be easy. They need it built and we need it, but we are to that point now," he said.

There are road closures signs at Pine Street, but drivers can access business on Mississippi Drive from 2nd Street by taking Alley #1 off of Pine.

West Hill Sewer Project

Crews are focused on the 4th Street Park area, as sanitary sewer work progresses on the west side of the park, making its way up to Cherry Street.

According to a city update, paving work is being completed at the West 4th and Locust Street intersection. Grading work has moved to Broadway and alleys on the east side of the park, then sanitary sewer replacement work moves between Cedar Street and Iowa Avenue.

On Thursday, the intersection of East 5th and Cedar streets was closed while Muscatine Power and Water replaced a fire hydrant.

Kent-Stein to Deep Lakes Park trail

On Monday, Muscatine Conservation Board Director Curt Weiss said paving has been finished in the Deep Lakes Park area, on a trail that will connect with Kent-Stein Park.

Crews are still working on the base and dirt work between the two parks, according to Weiss, and could begin paving after Sept. 1. He said connecting the main trail to the beach at Deep Lakes will be done in a separate contract.

City officials are asking that people remain off the trail as work continues. There is still shoulder work to do on all sections of the four-mile long trail, which is set to be completed this fall.
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 []
Dear Len & Rosie,

I am married, and we have a 10-month-old boy.

We both work, but live paycheck to paycheck. We have a mobile home, which I bought before I met my wife.

If anything happens to me, the house is hers. I do not even mind putting her on title.

Now that we have a child, what paperwork should we be doing?

Also, what paperwork do we need to do to say what we want to happen with our son if something happens to both of us?

Richard

Dear Richard,

You and your wife do not need a trust, because you do not have an estate subject to probate in the courts.

An estate worth less than $150,000 can be collected using small estate affidavits under California Probate Code section 13101, and the value of your automobiles and mobile home do not count against that limit.

What you need are wills, and the cheapest way to get one is to get one for free.

If you do an Internet search for California Statutory Will you will find direct links to a free form will written by the California Legislature. Its available at the State Bar webpage under consumer information at calbar.ca.gov.

Be careful filling out the form. You want your estate passing to your wife if she survives you and then to your children if she does not.

The form also allows you to nominate guardians who will have custody of your minor children if your wife dies before you. Her will should mirror yours.

The wills must be witnessed by two adults who are not inheriting from you. Please note that in California, wills are never notarized.

In addition to wills, you and your wife should have Advance Health Care Directives and Durable Powers of Attorney so that you may make important medical and financial decisions for one another in the event one of you should become incapacitated.

You should be able to get Advance Health Care Directive forms from your medical provider, or just email us at len@lentillem.com and well send one to you.

Advance Health Care Directives should be witnessed by two adults, one of whom cant be related to you or inherit from you, or you can skip the witnesses and just have it notarized.

For Durable Powers of Attorney, theres a California Statutory Durable General Power of Attorney form you can search for on the Internet.

Its good for most purposes and should be signed before a notary public.

Keep in mind the risk of doing your own estate plan.

You may make mistakes without knowing that you did, and not having an attorney review your completed documents does put you at risk that your estate plan wont work the way you want it to.

Len & Rosie
AMERICAN CANYON COMMUNITY CHURCH

Worship at 10 a.m. Programs for children and youth during worship service. 2 Andrew Road, American Canyon.

ARBOR ALLIANCE

Join us Sundays at 5 p.m. Why 5 p.m. worship? It is a good time for busy people and young families. Kids church and nursery available. 721 Trancas St., Napa. thearborchurch.org; 530-304-4704.

BEIT ABBA

Messianic Jewish ministry of The Fathers House is held the first and third Friday of each month at 7 p.m. Child care provided for ages infant to 7 years old. 2557 Napa Valley Corporate Drive, Napa. tfh.org/beitabba.

CARMELITE MONASTERY

Mass times: Sunday, 9 a.m.; Monday through Saturday, 8 a.m. (except for the first Saturday of the month, Mass will be at 11 a.m.). Morning of recollection every first Saturday of the month: Spiritual Talk, 9-10 a.m.; Confessions, 10-11 a.m.; Mass, 11 a.m. Bible study, on Tuesdays with Father Michael Buckley: Tuesdays, 8:30-9:30 a.m. following the 8 a.m. Mass (contact the office to confirm time and day at 944-2454, ext. 103). Confessions-English: Monday, Wednesday, Friday; 10 a.m.-noon, 3-5 p.m., 8-9 p.m. Confessions-Spanish: Wednesday, 10 a.m.-noon, 3-5 p.m., 8-9 p.m. The 39th Annual Carmelite Benefit Dinner will be held on Sunday, Sept. 10. 944-2454; oakvillecarmelites.org.

CENTER FOR SPIRITUAL LIVING

Services are 9 and 10:30 a.m. with Youth Program at 10:30. Aug. 27, the Teen Group will be doing both services. Their topic will be Love is Love is Love is Love. Fall classes-- Beyond Limits with Rev. Jay (Tuesday evenings, 6:30-9 p.m., 10 weeks starting Sept. 12) and Spiritual Growth through Prayer with Rev. Julie (Thursday evenings, 6:30-8:30 p.m., four weeks starting Sept .14) Spiritual Cinema Night will be Sept. 8. 1249 Coombs, 252-4847.

CHRISTIAN SCIENCE CHURCH

Sunday service and Sunday school for youths up to age 20 at 10 a.m. The Wednesday evening service is at 7:30. Child care provided at all services. New hours for the Reading Room, located in our church building, open to the public weekdays except Wednesdays, 1-4 p.m. All current Christian Science literature, including the writings of Mary Baker Eddy and the renowned Christian Science Monitor, are available to all to read or purchase; 2210 Second St., Napa; 255-5255; christiansciencenapa.com.

CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS, NAPA  SECOND WARD

Sacrament meeting is each Sunday at 10 a.m., followed by Sunday School at 11:15 and Priesthood and Relief Society at 12:10 p.m. Young mens and young womens programs are on Tuesdays at 7 p.m. Corner of Trower Avenue and Dry Creek Road, Napa. 224-6496.

COMMUNITY CHURCH OF LAKE BERRYESSA

We will continue with our journey through the Book of John. We will be looking at chapters five and six, learning of Jesus compassion and the conflict he would encounter on his way to the Cross. We are a non-denominational Christian church welcoming all to enjoy the eternal life changing power of Jesus Christ. A weekly food distribution and AA group is available along with groups and activities. 6008 Steele Canyon Road at Moskowite Corners. 252-4488.

CONGREGATION BETH SHALOM

We will have Pre-Oneg Shabbat with a glass of wine and nosh on Friday, Aug. 25 at 5:15 p.m. followed at 6 by worship services. 1455 Elm Street, Napa, 253-7305, cbsnapa.org.

CORNERSTONE MINISTRIES

Sunday service is at 10:15 a.m. Spanish Church begins at 1:30 p.m. Sunday school and childcare are available at both services. Our midweek service is at 6:30 on Wednesday nights. There is childcare and childrens activities at this service. Middle school and high school study meets on Wednesday nights as well at 6:30 p.m. in the Youth Room. On Thursdays at 6:30 p.m., Freedom From Bondage meets in our Youth Room. 3305 Linda Vista Ave., Napa; 252-2909. cmnv.org.

COVENANT PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

10:30 a.m. Sunday, Rev. Lynda Hyland Burris will lead the service assisted by liturgist Don MacInnes . Rev. Burris sermon, Unlikely Saviors, Messiah and God, will take a close look at who leads us in times of oppression. The Union Band  including CPC member Bill Lockhart - will bring special music. Children and youth remain in worship with their families during the summer. Sunday School will resume on Sept. 10. 255-9426; facebook.com/cpcnapa; cpcnapa.org. 1226 Salvador Avenue, Napa.

CREEKSIDE COMMUNITY CHURCH

Weekly worship service is Sunday at 10:30 a.m. Services and attire are casual with a blend of fellowship, music and teaching. Child care and childrens church offered during service. 1050 Hagen Road, Napa. CreeksideChurchNapa.org; 255-7266.

CROSSWALK COMMUNITY CHURCH

You're all invited to movie night in the courtyard this Friday night at 7 p.m. Featured film Zootopia , popcorn and smores. Sunday at 10 a.m. for services, children's programs available. 2590 First Street, 226-1812.

FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH

This summer, weve had several guest speakers sharing on different topics, and it has been really great. Whats the best way to top off a really great summer series? Hearing from some of our own about their summer experiences. This Sunday, we will hear from and be inspired by a Napa family who traveled to Greece to help refugees, and well hear from students who attended camp and are being challenged in new ways. Sunday services are at 8:45 and 10:30 a.m. Address: 2659 First Street, Napa. fccnapa.org.

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

Please join us this week for Aloha Sunday. Pastor David will be preaching at both services and his sermon topic will be The Fruit Everyone Needs  But No One Wants. Scripture reference will be Galatians 5:2223. Our services include: one at 9 a.m. and one at 10 a.m. This week we will have special music and Hawaiian dancing at both services. After both services, in our Welcome Center, there will be Hawaiian treats. Childcare for newborn to age 5 is available all morning. Sunday School: Friendship Class meets at 10 a.m.; No Childrens Class this week. 1333 Third St., 224-8693, fpcnapa.org.

GRACE CHURCH OF NAPA VALLEY

Sunday services: Worship service at 9 a.m. and 10:40 a.m. Adult Sunday school classes at 9 a.m. Childrens service at 9 and 10:40 a.m. Nursery and preschool care available. Junior high ministry meets Tuesday, 7 p.m.; high school meets Wednesday at 7 p.m. at 3765 Solano Ave., Napa. 255-4033, GraceNapa.org.

HIGHLANDS CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP

If youre a regular church attendee, never been or maybe its just been awhile, we invite you to come join us this Sunday and start the adventure with us at 10:30 a.m. Spanish speaking service on Sunday evenings at 6:30 and an Alcoholics Anonymous group that meets weekly on Monday and Wednesdays from 6-7 p.m. 970 Petrified Forest Road, Calistoga.

HILLSIDE CHRISTIAN CHURCH

We meet at 9 a.m., 11 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. at 100 Anderson Road, Napa. 255-3036; hccnapa.com.

HOLY FAMILY PARISH

Holy Mass is celebrated at 9 a.m. on Sundays and in the traditional Tridentine Latin (Extraordinary) form of the Roman Rite, according to the 1962 Missal, at noon. Before Low Masses there is a recitation of the Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary at 11:30 a.m. Confession is available after every Low Mass. Holy Family Parish is a Catholic mission-parish of St. Joan of Arc in Yountville. 1241 Niebaum Lane, Rutherford. 944-2461.

HOLY GROUND CHRISTIAN CENTER

Sunday worship begins at 10 a.m., and Bible study is Wednesday at 7 p.m. 3860 Broadway, Suite 111, American Canyon. 373-2015.

LIVING VINE CHURCH

We meet every Sunday morning at 10. 3305 Linda Vista Avenue, Napa. 226-5551.

MEMORIAL CHAPEL AT VETERANS HOME OF CALIFORNIA, YOUNTVILLE

Sunday worship service, 10:15 a.m. Coffee fellowship one hour before service. Bible study on Wednesday at 1 p.m., Fellowship Room, with refreshments served; prayer meetings Thursday at 1 p.m. The memorial chapel is on the Veterans Home at Yountville campus on California Drive, across from the administration building. 944-4840.

MONT LA SALLE CHAPEL

Roman Catholic liturgical services are open to all in this chapel of the De la Salle Christian Brothers at 4401 Redwood Road, Napa. Sunday Mass is celebrated at 11 a.m.

NAPA COMMUNITY SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH

Have you ever been tricked into believing in something was not true? It does not feel good to be fooled. This Saturday, Aug. 26, join us as we look at a story of Jesus where he offered the real thing, no tricks, no gimmicks, only the real thing. Come and hear Pastor Glenn Gibsons sermon, Close Encounters: No Tricks, No Gimmicks. The worship service begins at 11: 15 a.m. napacomm.com, 1105 G Street, 252-2444.

NAPA METHODIST CHURCH

Please note a service time change this Sunday, Aug. 27, we are marking the third anniversary of the Napa earthquake with one all-church service at 10:30 a.m. in the Sanctuary, immediately followed by a potluck picnic. There will be no 9:30 a.m. Sanctuary service or 11 a.m. modern-style Fusion Worship service that day. G.R.A.P.E. Express Children's Ministry also will not meet; instead children are invited to participate in the 10:30 a.m. service. 625 Randolph Street. 253-1411, napamethodist.org.

NAPA-SONOMA FRIENDS MEETING (QUAKERS)

Sunday worship at 10 a.m. Silent meeting in the custom of Friends. Meet at the VOICES Youth Center, 780 Lincoln Ave., Napa. Enter at parking lot on left side of building, using door at end of wheelchair ramp. Quaker signs will be posted on Sunday mornings. We welcome visiting friends or those who are new to Quaker practice. nvquaker@gmail.com; 253-1505.

NAPA VALLEY BAPTIST CHURCH

Join us Sundays at 9:30 a.m. for Bible Study for all ages, 10:30 a.m. for worship service and a fun, interactive and energetic childrens program for preschool through fifth grade. Nursery provided for all Sunday services. Sunday evenings at 5 p.m., join us for A Study in Revelation with Steve McCoy. Steve will guide you verse by verse through the book of Revelation. Learn all about what the Bible says about the end times and what it means. The public is invited. 303 Trower Ave., Napa. napavalleybaptist.org; 252-2100.

NAPA VALLEY BIBLE CHAPEL

We start Sunday services by remembering the Lords death, burial and resurrection during a time of worship and thanksgiving at 9:30 a.m., followed by a fellowship and coffee time starting at 10:30 a.m. At 11 a.m., we enjoy a time of Bible teaching. On Wednesdays at 6 p.m., we meet for a brief Bible study and a time of prayer. A movie night/home Bible study is held in downtown Napa at 6 p.m. on Fridays. 1559 Second Street, Napa. napavalleybiblechapel.com.

NAPA VALLEY COMMUNITY CHURCH

This week we open God's Word to one of the most well-known passages in the Bible, Hebrews 11. "What is faith and how important is it to the life of the believer?" Join us at 10 a.m. on Sunday at 4149 Linda Vista Ave, Napa for a time of praise and the study of the Word of God. Childcare and Sunday school provided. 337-4328. NapaValleyChurch.org. NVCC is a ministry of the Christian Reformed Church.

NAPA VALLEY LUTHERAN

Sunday worship at 10 a.m. Season of Creation. Fellowship time follows. All are welcome because all belong to God. The church is located at the corner of Jefferson and Elm, Napa. 226-8166, napavalleylutheran.org.

NAPA VALLEY UNITARIAN UNIVERSALISTS

Aug. 27, 11 a.m.: Be the Change Traditional Service with Rev. Julie Schmidt and Sunday Service Assistant Anne Jungerman. Exploration of Gandhis message about being the change you want to see in the world. Rev. Julie Schmidt is a minister with the Centers for Spiritual Living and part of the interfaith community of Napa. Her background is based within many traditions. Currently, she is the assistant minister at the Napa Valley CSL. Infant care, child care, and religious education provided. 1625 Salvador Ave., Napa; nvuu.org; 226-9220.

NEW LIFE TABERNACLE

Sunday school at 10 a.m., followed by worship service at 11 a.m. Sunday evening service the first Sunday of every month. Bible study on Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. 2625 First St., Napa. 255-1062; NewLifeNapa.com.

ST. APOLLINARIS CATHOLIC CHURCH

Join us each third Saturday at the crossroads of faith and culture. St. Apollinaris Catholic Church 3700 Lassen St. Napa. 257-2555.

ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST

St. John the Baptist Church holds daily masses in English at 7:30 a.m. and 12:05 p.m. Weekend masses are Saturday at 5 p.m. (English) and 7 p.m. (Spanish) and Sunday 8 a.m. (Spanish), 10 a.m. (English), noon (Spanish), and 5 p.m. (English). Wednesday evening mass at 7 (Spanish). Corner of Caymus and Yajome in downtown Napa.

ST. JOHNS LUTHERAN CHURCH

Sunday at 8:30 a.m. and 10:15 a.m. Childrens Church during the 10:15 a.m. service. 3521 Linda Vista Ave., Napa. 255-0119; StJohnsLutheran.net.

ST. MARYS EPISCOPAL CHURCH

Worship on Saturdays at 5:30 p.m. or Sundays at 8 a.m. or 10 a.m. (organ and choir). Childrens Chapel (Sunday school) is at 9:50 a.m. Sunday. Nursery care is provided during the 10 a.m. service. Coffee hour follows the worship services on Sunday. 1917 Third St., Napa. 255-0991; StMarysNapa.org.

ST. STEPHENS ANGLICAN EPISCOPAL CHURCH

Sundays at 8 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., sing using the 1928 Book of Common Prayer. Refreshments and social time after the 10:30 service. Evensong and Bible Study Wednesdays at 6 p.m. 1250 Oakville Grade, Oakville. 944-8915; ststephensoakville.org.

ST. THOMAS AQUINAS CHURCH

Mass times are Saturday at 4 p.m. (English), Sunday at 8 a.m. (English), 11 a.m. (English) and 1:30 p.m. (Spanish). Daily mass is at 9 a.m., except on the first Friday, which is at noon and in English. 2725 Elm St., Napa. 255-2949; stthomasaquinasnapa.com.

SALVATION ARMY

Join us for services Sundays at 10 a.m. 590 Franklin St., Napa. napasalarmy.org.

THE FATHERS HOUSE

Service times are Saturday at 6 p.m., and Sunday at 9 and 11 a.m. Child care and Kids Church are available (ages infant through sixth grade). Youth ministry Encounter meets every Wednesday night at 7. Celebrate Recovery meets on Monday nights at 6:30. 2557 Napa Valley Corporate Drive, Napa. tfh.org.

UNITY SPIRITUAL CENTER IN NAPA VALLEY

Sunday, Aug. 27, 10 a.m. service, we are happy to welcome back our Spiritual Centers Chief Financial Officer John Gallaway as our guest speaker this week. His message title is The Sidewalk of Life. Are you happy with the decisions that you make or the decisions that others make that affect your life? Sunday Service music is selected and performed by Lon Eakes. 11:40 a.m. : In lieu of a Sunday Forum, Erika Angelheart will lead a hands-on one-hour workshop for attendees to paint small, smooth rocks with symbols, images or inspiring brief messages. The rocks are then hidden around Napa for others to find. Historic Grange Hall, 3275 Hagen Road (1/2 mile east of the Silverado Trail), Napa. Parking next to the building. UnityinNapaValley.org.

YOUNTVILLE COMMUNITY CHURCH

Aug. 27, New Schedule: Sunday Bible Classes (all ages), 9 a.m. and Worship service, 10 a.m. Lead Pastor Jim Huckaba is teaching from a sermon series called Fellowshipping With God . Sundays sermon is entitled Lets Enjoy Forgiveness Even More! Psalm 103:12, Matthew 6:12, 14-15, I Corinthians 11:23-24. Adult Bible Class, 9 a.m, in the Ministry Outreach Room. Childrens classes, 9 a.m. in the Callison Ministry Center Room 1 Jesus and Me. (birth-kindergarten), and first-fifth grades are offered. Vertical Student Ministry 9 a.m.; fifth-eighth grades and high school students in the Conversation Pit. 6619 Yount Street, Yountville, 944-2179.
In my previous column, I discussed the recent increase in limb failures in trees of certain species that responded to last winters heavy rainfall by producing heavy loads of new growth.

Here are two examples of a different kind of result:

1. The route of our daily, early morning walks follows neighborhood sidewalks, passing under numerous trees. Some of these are Chinese hackberry trees (Celtis sinensis) a sturdy deciduous shade tree resembling its close relatives, the elms.

During the recent years of drought, I had often wondered why the neighborhood hackberries were so clean. That is, they showed no sign of the notorious pest, the Asian wooly hackberry aphid (Shivaphis celti). It is a sucking insect that became a rampant pest from Florida to Texas and north to Tennessee after its introduction to the U.S. in the 1990s. It appeared in California in 2002, causing a widespread mess in most areas where hackberries are grown, including Napa.

As the aphids suck sap from the leaves, they excrete the excess honeydew, which drips onto surfaces under the tree canopies.

This summer, the hackberry canopies are lush with vigorous growth, the sidewalks under the trees are dark and sticky with honeydew and the leaves show the typical signs of the wooly aphis. The correlation: Plenty of sap in vigorous new shoots feeds and allows the aphid population to increase.

The University of California Pest Notes (#74111, June 2005) advises: Avoid fertilizing hackberry unless nutrient deficiency has been diagnosed. Excess nitrogen has been shown to increase aphid numbers on certain plant species.

I am pretty sure the trees, growing in curb strips, did not receive any fertilizer, but they did receive a big boost from the generous rainfall.

2. On a property I have visited regularly for a few years, there are a couple of unusual elms I tentatively identified as rock elms (Ulmus thomasii). I have been pleased to see that they have not shown signs of wilting and dieback caused by Dutch Elm Disease, nor the skeletonized foliage resulting from Elm Leaf Beetle infestation. Both problems are common in the Napa area.

This spring and summer, the trees have shown phenomenally lush growth. Like the hackberries, they have not received fertilizer. Abundant rainfall last winter and spring is the most likely cause of the lush growth.

And, like the hackberries, these trees began to show shiny, sticky honeydew on the leaves and on the asphalt driveway under the canopies.

A close look at the new shoots revealed a heavy infestation of scale, a different kind of sucking insect, (species not determined) on the stems.

The trees look as healthy as can be, and the owners prefer to avoid the use of insecticides as much as possible. Although many tree diseases have insect vectors, as far as I have been able to determine, scale insects do not vector elm tree diseases. So, in this instance, I see no urgent need for intervention.

Going back to the hackberry wooly aphids, University of California IPM

discusses management of this pest in detail.

Regarding damage, it says: This aphid is a pest because it produces copious honeydew excretions upon which blackish sooty mold grows creating a sticky mess on leaves and surfaces beneath infested trees. However, no long-term or serious damage to hackberry trees has been found after years of aphid infestations. Insecticides apparently are not warranted to protect the health or survival of infested trees but are applied when honeydew excretions are intolerable to people.

Where the sticky mess is intolerable, UC offers the following options and caveats:

 Biological control with insect predators such as lady beetles and lacewing larvae: In many areas in California, these do not provide adequate control.

 Non-residual contact insecticides such as spray oils, soaps, pyrethrins: Follow label directions. Take steps to conserve natural insect predators and avoid unintended consequences of insecticide over-spray and runoff.

 Dormant oil spray before leaves emerge in spring: Unlikely to give complete control and will not kill aphids that fly in afterward.

 Systemic insecticides: If properly applied, these can provide an entire growing season of control. Systemics can get into other plants and poison beneficial insects.

 Injection: Avoid this on hackberry. It can spread a certain, unexplained disease.

 Residual sprays: Persistent insecticides such as carbamates, organophosphates, and pyrethroids are not recommended for aphid control in landscapes. They are toxic to beneficial insects, may cause outbreaks of spider mites, and may runoff into waterways where they kill aquatic organisms.
There is no longer any doubt about whether anti-Semitism exists in America and on California college and university campuses. Even before the racist, white supremacist violence of mid-August in Charlottesville, Virginia, regents of the University of California recognized this, declaring unanimously last year that Anti-Semitism, anti-Semitic forms of anti-Zionism and other forms of discrimination have no place at (UC).

Its possible that statement and the call for individual campus chancellors to create rules tamping down on anti-Jewish hate speech and actions caused the 2016-17 academic years relative quietude on this front.

But even with things a bit more civil on UC campuses, five of them ranked among Americas top 10 for anti-Semitic incidents in a study last spring by the watchdog group AMCHA Initiative.

Although campuses saw less outright anti-Semitic rhetoric, incendiary speech and advocacy of violence against Jews became prominent this summer at major mosques near UC campuses, mosques where many Muslim students worship. This was weeks before Charlottesville.

The California hate speech outbreak came less than a week after three Israeli Arabs shot two Israeli Druse Muslim border guards just outside a gate to Jerusalems landmark Temple Mount (known in Islam as the Noble Sanctuary), site of the landmark Al Aqsa Mosque. Jews revere the hilltop compound as the site of their ancient Temple, burned by Roman occupiers; its also the location of legendary episodes in the lives of the Biblical Abraham and the prophet Mohammad. Christians know it as the place where Jesus overturned the tables of money changers.

Israel set up metal detectors at the gate after the shootings, sparking a non-violent Muslim protest seeing worshipers refuse to enter the area so long as there was added security.

In reacting, imams at mosques near UC Davis and UC Riverside launched anti-Semitic tirades, going far beyond criticism of Israel and its actions.

In the Islamic Center of Davis, directly across a street from the citys UC campus, Imam Ammar Shahin prayed for Allah to liberate the Al Aqsa Mosque from the filth of the Jews and to annihilate them down to the very last one. Do not spare any of them. Thats a call for killing Jews everywhere, not only in Israel.

Of course, no Jews occupied the mosque. If students in Shahins audience were to act this fall against Jewish students at Davis, should anyone be surprised?

The Davis mosque quickly pulled footage of Shahins polemic from YouTube, but left up a video of the 30-year-old Egyptian-born cleric smiling as he taught a UC Davis class on Muslim marriages.

At almost the same time Shahin preached hate in Davis, Imam Mahmoud Harmoush of the Islamic Center of Riverside, near UC Riverside, also preached a hateful, factually false sermon. First, he claimed a plot between World Wars I and II to steal land in Palestine from Muslims through killing, crime and massacres.

He added that Jews are now trying to extend the Israel-Arab conflict to most of the Middle East, and even  to Mecca and Medina. He ended with a call for Allah to destroy them and rend them asunder and turn theminto the hands of the Muslims. Like Shahin, he did not target Israeli government policy, but used historically false libels in his call for destruction of all Jews.

Both imams Arabic-language comments were translated by the authoritative Middle East Media Research Institute; both later apologized. Shahin said he let emotion cloud my better judgment and that he understands speech like this can encourage others to do hateful and violent acts. For this I truly apologize.

Said Harmoush, All life is sacred and every person has a sacred right to respect, safety and liberty.

Which words from these men will most influence students in their congregations?

No one knows, but the founder of one organization tracking campus anti-Semitism said, Our studies show the more anti-Semitic rhetoric, the more anti-Semitic actions on campuses

While these two sermons were clearly anti-Semitic, no one outside their organizations knows how often the imams have spoken similarly. None of this occurred on campuses, so it doesnt fall under UCs anti-discrimination policies. But UC and other institutions where both imams have taught clearly would be wise to keep both imams out of publicly-funded classrooms in the future.
President Donald Trump has unleashed a barrage of tweets that were somewhat cryptic in their specifics - he suggested GOP leaders could have easily hiked the debt ceiling by attaching it to another unrelated bill, which is fanciful - but the overall upshot was clear: Trump was clearly telegraphing his intention to dump all of the blame for the expected governing chaos this fall on his fellow Republicans.

Taken in isolation, these tweets would mean little. But they need to be viewed in the context of another Trump threat that today is being widely taken very seriously by Republicans and news organizations alike: His threat to force a government shutdown to gain funding for his cherished wall on the Mexican border.

All in all, what Trump is really threatening is to inflict a massive political nightmare on the congressional leaders of his own party. This political nightmare actually has multiple dimensions, which becomes apparent when you step back and recap all the things that are up in the air right now:

The debt ceiling must be raised by some time in October, or we'll be at risk of default and economic calamity.

The government must be funded by October (or a continuing resolution must be passed), or it will shut down, and Trump is insisting that he is prepared to let that happen if Congress does not fund his wall.

Trump must decide by some time in September whether to continue supporting the Obama-era executive action that grants work permits and protection from deportation to some 800,000 people brought here illegally as children, a.k.a the "dreamers."

Trump must decide whether to keep funding the "cost-sharing reductions," or CSRs, that subsidize coverage for lower income people, or Republicans must decide whether to appropriate that money. If they are stopped, insurers could exit the individual markets, meaning they could melt down and leave millions without coverage options.

Trump must decide whether to go through with his pardon of Joe Arpaio.

It's hard to say how these things will overlap with one another in this fall's negotiations. But here's what we know so far. The administration wants a debt ceiling hike, but, with some congressional conservatives sure to demand spending cuts in exchange for going along with it, the talks over the debt limit will get tangled up with the talks over funding the government. Trump is demanding border wall funding or he won't sign a bill keeping the government in business, but Democrats have drawn a hard line against that.

At the same time, the White House may use the fate of the dreamers as a "bargaining chip" to try to compel Congress to fund the wall (and make other concessions as well), which is also unlikely to sway Democrats. Meanwhile, Democrats may demand that Republicans agree to fund the CSRs as a condition for their support for a budget, which GOP leaders are likely to need, since they'll lose some conservatives.

It is easy to see Trump caving on all these fronts. He has already threatened in the past to hold up government funding over the wall and not to fund the CSRs - and he has backed down on those fronts. He campaigned on a vow to scrap all of President Barack Obama's executive actions immediately - including the one protecting dreamers - but balked once in office, in part, at least, because the political fallout would have been crushing.

But here's the problem: Trump has boxed himself in, perhaps to a far greater degree than a few months ago. At his Arizona rally, Trump bashed Congress for failing to help him build the wall, which unleashed a great roar from the crowd: "Build that wall! Build that wall!" The New York Times reports that former chief strategist Stephen K. Bannon privately told Trump that getting the wall funding is an absolute must, because Trump's base will not tolerate another loss after the failure to repeal Obamacare. Never mind that repeal would have hit Trump voters particularly hard; Bannon believes Trump must have a "win" - if it isn't the sight of Trump stomping all over something with Obama's name on it, the wall will have to do - or the base will be crushed with shame and disappointment over their loser president.

Add to this the fact that Trump also broadly hinted a pardon of Arpaio is coming, which also elicited a tremendous roar of approval from the Arizona crowd, strongly suggesting that they expect Trump to deliver here, too. After all, pardoning Arpaio is making the right people (the elites) angry, and Trump won't surrender to elites lecturing him about the limits on his power, right?

We also know that, with the Russia probes closing in, Trump views keeping the base strongly in his corner as crucial. The upshot: Trump may feel more pressure to deliver for them. Indeed, as Brian Beutler argues, multiple conditions are now in place for Trump to break free of the self-preservative constraints that limited him before, and go through with some of these vows once and for all.

But the political threats here have to spook Republicans the most. The bulk of the blame for a government shutdown - or, perish the thought, default - would likely fall most heavily on Republicans. Same goes for the fallout from 800,000 dreamers losing work permits or from the insurance markets melting down.

A pardon of Arpaio, an authoritarian racist with a history of abusive treatment of Latinos, will lead to a major escalation in discussion of Trump's lawlessness and force Republicans to take a position on it. In these scenarios, Trump is leaving his fellow Republicans with options that range from terrible to horrible. And it's unclear whether Trump understands this - or cares about it if he does.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 00:36:32|Editor: ying

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VIENTIANE, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- Chief of the publicity department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Commission for Discipline Inspection Zhu Guoxian led a delegation to Laos from Aug. 20 to Thursday.

The delegation gave lectures on new ideas and strategies of state governance of General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee Xi Jinping, as well as CPC's experience on strict party governance.

During their stay in Laos, Zhu also met with president of the ruling Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP) Central Committee's Commission for Inspection Bounthong Chitmany, and head of the External Relations Commission of the Central Committee of LPRP Sounthone Xayachak.

The Lao side highly appreciated the new achievements in state governance of the CPC Central Committee with Xi Jinping as the core, and hoped to boost exchanges of experience in party and state governance between the two parties, thus promoting the development of China-Laos relationship.
From: Central Bank of Nigeria < exlight@netvigator.com >

To: Undisclosed-recipients:;

Subject: NOTIFICATION OF PAYMENT

Date: Mon, 27 Mar 2017 21:28:04 +0800 (HKT)









CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA

INTERNATIONAL REMITTANCE DEPARTMENT

CORPORATE HEAD QUARTERS

TINUBU SQUARE, LAGOS

Account Statement

infohsbank65@gmail.com





NOTIFICATION OF PAYMENT







Be informed that your over-due fund of the understated amount has been

stashed in your name in our Bank for immediate settlement with your

nominated bank account.



We hereby send to you this information submitted by Mr. John T. Kehoe U.S.A

of California, with an application to receive your fund of

$8,500.000.00,(EIGHT MILLION FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND UNITED STATE DOLLAR)on

your behalf from this bank.



Please as a matter of urgency, you are required to verify the following

information and inform us if you are aware, or know anything about this

development.



Mr. John T Kehoe, came claiming that you instructed him to come and receive

the payment on your behalf with some representatives, therefore after

several interviews with them,

I told them to come back tomorrow as they did not provide any power of an

attorney from you as a proof that you send them, This was to enable me

contact you to verify how genuine this people are to you.



Firstly. Did you instruct one Mr. John T. Kehoe of 122 Fitch Way,

Sacramento, Ca. 95864. whose information is below, to claim and receive the

payment on your behalf? Secondly. Did you sign any 'Deed of Assignment' in

his favuor thereby making him the current beneficiary with the following

account details:



Account Name: Mr. John T. Kehoe Group Ltd,

A/C #USD114-25567-8,

Bank Name: Bank Of America

Swift Code: SCBL 11K111.



Finally, you are hereby advised to contact immediately, via if you are the

person that instructed Mr. John T. Kehoe to come for the claim of your fund





NOTE: Your full name and telephone number is needed for

easiercommunications, while

We wait for your urgent respond to this effect





For more information's

Thanks

Godwin Emefiele,

New Governor

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)

E-mail: (infohsbank65@gmail.com)



De la: central bank < centralbak521@gmail.com >

Trimis: Luni, 31 Iulie 2017 23:29:11

Subiect: CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA



CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA

Central Business District,

Cadastral Zone,

Abuja, Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria

REF: - CBN/OG/XX140/06

ATTENTION;



I the central bank of Nigeria governor held a meeting with the senate community and the foreign affair minister concerning your inheritance fund and contract that you have not receive from our bank here in Nigeria today the senate community and the foreign affair minister have authorize me to stop the bank in charge of your payment here in Nigeria not to further the transaction with you because of the delay they have delay your fund not to have transfer into your bank account.

As a matter of urgency we have authorize the royal bank of Scotland London UK to further the transaction with you and see that your fund transfer into your bank account, you are advise to contact the royal bank of Scotland to transfer your fund into your bank account. Below is the contact information of royal bank of Scotland

Bank name: royal bank of Scotland Your payment officer name: Mr Adams Powell Telephone: +447700099850 Email:foreignoperationrbos2016 @outlook.com <Email%3Aforeignoperationrbos2016@outlook.com>

As soon as you contact royal bank of Scotland London UK, tell them that you are directed by me central bank governor of Nigeria, and you should keep me inform as soon as you can contact the royal bank of Scotland.

Mr. Godwin Emefiele

CBN GOVERNOR From: "GODWIN EMEFIELE"<

Date: August 5, 2017 at 4:11:31 PM EDT

To: office@cbn.gov.ng

Subject: MARK IBE THE DELIVERY MAN I SENT HAS ARRIVED CALL HIM NOW (469 217-5546)

Reply-To: < govgodwin_emefele100@yahoo.com >



"GODWIN EMEFIELE"< govgodwin_emefele@zaw.com August 5, 2017 at 4:11:31 PM EDT FROM THE EXECUTIVE GOVERNOR, CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA (CBN) GOVERNOR GODWIN EMEFIELE govgodwin_emefele100@yahoo.com URGENT NOTICE, ATTENTION: BENEFICIARY This is to inform you that your delivery man has arrived with your inheritance cash trunk boxes value $10.3 million dollars in El Paso International Airport Texas as their transit. I want you to know that you have 24 hours to call him now with this line (469 217 5546) or email ( markibe24@deliveryman.com ),then ask to speak to the diplomatic deliveryman in person of Mr.Mark Ibe in the United States.Let us know if you are still interested to get your two trunk boxes delivered to you today? As he has been waiting to hear from you to enable him get to your home address without missing his way. For your information, the deliveryman with your package is not aware of the content of the boxes for security purpose. Please do not tell him to avoid running away with your funds. On no account should you let him know about the content of the consignment to avoid evil intention. Most importantly you are advised to send your full data to him,which include (1)your Full Name, (2)Current Residential Address,(3) Direct Cell Number,and A copy of any identity card to verify that you are the right receiver to avoid mistakes. Note that you must call me as soon as you receive this email for more discussion, Also reconfirm your full current address and valid phone number to the Delivery officer via his above email address once you receive this email to enable him deliver your cash consignment boxes to your house without any further delay or mistake. You are advised not to waste his time at the airport,so that he would not be stranded in any way because he will return if he finds out that you are not doing anything to get him over to your house. CONGRATULATION. GODWIN EMEFIELE, NEW EXECUTIVE GOVERNOR, CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA

From: "Mr.Godwin Emeifele" < godwin.e009@gmail.com >

To: undisclosed-recipients:;

Subject: Mr.Godwin Emeifele

Date: Sat, 5 Aug 2017 20:06:45 -0700



Mr.Godwin Emeifele

My office monitors and controls the affairs of all the banks and

financial institutions in Nigeria. I am the final signatory to any

transfer or remittance of huge funds moving within banks both on the

local and international levels. I have before me list of funds, which

could not be transferred to some nominated accounts as these accounts

have been identified either as ghost accounts, unclaimed deposits and

over-invoiced sum etc.

I will add your name among the people expecting their funds to be

transferred into their account, on this note; I wish to have a deal

with you as regards to this funds. As it is my duty to recommend the

transfer of these surplus funds to the Federal Government Treasury and

Reserve Accounts as unclaimed deposits, I have the opportunity to

write you based on the instructions I received two days ago from the

Senate Committee on Contract Payments Foreign Debts to submit the List

of payment reports expenditures and audited reports of revenues. Among

several others, I have decided to remit this contract sum following my

idea that we have a deal agreement and I am going to do this legally.

MY CONDITIONS ARE:

1. 1. The sum of USD$5.1 Million. Only will paid into an account I

will provide you after you have confirmed the $10.2 million total

amount transferred into your account by telegraphic Transfer (T/T),

confirmable in 3 working days.

2. This deal must be kept secret forever, and all correspondence will

be strictly by email / telephone, for security purposes.

3. There should be no third parties as most problems associated with

fund release are caused by agents or representative.

4.Receive the funds into a business/private bank account.

5.Please note well that we are going to make financial commitment

during the course of transfer, processing and legalization and the

Cost of of transfer COT.

If you agree with my conditions, l advise you on what to do

immediately and the transfer will commence without delay as I will

proceed to fix your name on the Payment schedule instantly to meet the

three days mandate. I hope you don't reject this offer and have your

funds transferred.

AT YOUR ACCEPTANCE FORWARD THE FOLLOWING TO ME:

[1] Official Full Names:

[2] Age and occupation

[3] Company or Personal profile including working and home address:

[4] Direct Telephone Number:



[5]Sex

I anticipate hearing from you.



Best Regards.



Mr.Godwin Emeifele

Office Of The Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)



On Mon, Aug 7, 2017 at 6:17 am, infohs bank < infohsbank65@gmail.com > wrote: CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA

INTERNATIONAL REMITTANCE DEPARTMENT

CORPORATE HEAD QUARTERS

TINUBU SQUARE, LAGOS

Account Statement





NOTIFICATION OF PAYMENT







Be informed that your over-due fund of the understated amount has been

stashed in your name in our Bank for immediate settlement with your

nominated bank account.



We hereby send to you this information submitted by Mr. John T. Kehoe U.S.A

of California, with an application to receive your fund of

$8,500.000.00,(EIGHT MILLION FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND UNITED STATE DOLLAR)on

your behalf from this bank.



Please as a matter of urgency, you are required to verify the following

information and inform us if you are aware, or know anything about this

development.



Mr. John T Kehoe, came claiming that you instructed him to come and receive

the payment on your behalf with some representatives, therefore after

several interviews with them,

I told them to come back tomorrow as they did not provide any power of an

attorney from you as a proof that you send them, This was to enable me

contact you to verify how genuine this people are to you.



Firstly. Did you instruct one Mr. John T. Kehoe of 122 Fitch Way,

Sacramento, Ca. 95864. whose information is below, to claim and receive the

payment on your behalf? Secondly. Did you sign any 'Deed of Assignment' in

his favuor thereby making him the current beneficiary with the following

account details:



Account Name: Mr. John T. Kehoe Group Ltd,

A/C #USD114-25567-8,

Bank Name: Bank Of America

Swift Code: SCBL 11K111.



Finally, you are hereby advised to contact immediately, via if you are the

person that instructed Mr. John T. Kehoe to come for the claim of your fund





NOTE: Your full name and telephone number is needed for

easiercommunications, while

We wait for your urgent respond to this effect





For more information's

Thanks

Godwin Emefiele,

New Governor

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)





On Fri, Aug 11, 2017 at 12:01 pm, CBN Governor's Office < studioiorio@tim.it > wrote: Dear Sir/Ma,



Via attached your urgent ATM Card shipping notice.



Governor's Office

Central Bank of Nigeria.

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Plot 33 Abubarkar Tafawa Belewa Way,

Central Business District, Cadastral Zone-Abuja-Nigeria

Annex Office: Tinubu Square, Lagos, Nigeria

P.M.B. 12194, Lagos.

Office of the Honorable Governor

CENTRAL BANK REMITTANCE UNIT,

CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT,

CADASTRAL ZONE, ABUJA,

FEDERAL CAPITAL TERRITORY,

CONTRACT #: MAV/NNPC/FGN/MIN/013,

SWIFT CODE: BPH KPL PK,

A/C#: 329606=101244=169=678

FOREIGN REMITTANCE GAZETTE

Date: August, 2017

Our Ref: CBN/IRD/CBX/021/17

CONTACT:

D/Tel: +234-80-50665895

Text Mgs: +234-90-98934336

CBN MASS Sender: cbngov.office@onet.pl

Reply-to-email: cbngovernors.office@aol.co.uk

APPROVED US$5,000,000.00 ATM CARD SHIPMENT NOTICE

.

To the attention of: Voluntary

Foreign Contract and Inheritance Entitlement,

Be informed that you're ATM Card valued $5,000,000.00 part-payment is now drawn ready in our custody for shipment to your address which required $125 DHL shipping cost ONLY. The tracking registration

number will be mail to you as soon as the cost is paid with THE four (4) digits secret PIN-CODE: XXXX Number privately for you alone.

Therefore, send your current address for the registration immediately along with the $125 shipping cost via Money Gram.

Receiver's Name: Adetola Osibodu

Address: Lagos  Nigeria

Zip Code: 23401

Your advice to email copy receipt of the Money Gram transfer which will be attached with your DHL shipping documents. Call or text directly through the above numbers provided.

Thanks for your co-operation.

With Best Regards,

DR. GODWIN EMEFIELE

Executive Governor

Central Bank Nigeria

CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT,

CADASTRAL ZONE, ABUJA,

FEDERAL CAPITAL TERRITORY,

CONTRACT#: MAV/NNPC/FGN/MIN/013,

Swift Code: BPH KPL PK,

A/C#: 329606=101244=169=678

FOREIGN REMITTANCE

Our Ref: CBN/IRD/CBX/021/11

Board Members: Chairman, Dr. Garry G. Poser, Secretary, Kenny Douglas, I.O Anselem Legal Affairs Director,

Roger Hedges Director Debit And Payment Dept, Dr. Mrs. Dora Williams,

Director Telex Dept, Mr. David Vaughn Member.

On Fri, Aug 18, 2017 at 9:02 am, Mr. Godwin Emefiele < godemefiele.nigcbngov@gmail.com > wrote: Dear Beneficiary,





Last Chance,. . . As the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)

investigation carried out reveals that you are one of several foreign

beneficiaries that has lost so much money to the Nigerian criminals

but advise you to work with me if you want to receive your overdue

$35.5 million dollars this time ok. To prove that you are the real

beneficiary, I advise you to reconfirm all your details so I can

cross-check if it tallies with what we have in our system to avoid any

mistakes ok.



As a matter of urgency and to avoid any mistakes trying to release

your fund since we have conflicting details, kindly reconfirm your

details to me now while I advise you what you can do to receive your

overdue $35.5 million dollars. Note that if you want your payment by

Atm Card, Draft or Cheque, do indicate it so we shall work towards

your chosen payment option to avoid any further delays but if you want

to receive your fund by wire transfer, state your receiving Bank

details to me same time ok.



Lastly, your payment has been enlisted among the 10 claims to be

released any moment from now while assuring you that you are dealing

with the real Governor of CBN now and you can be sure you will receive

your fund if all genuine fund release documents are complete in your

file and if not, I will advise you what to do to receive your fund ok.

I am expecting you to respond to this mail promptly and if you fail,

it means that your claim is fictitious and non-existed and would be

treated accordingly. Note that my investigation to find out if you are

the real beneficiary of the fund starts from your name, address and

phone number and possibly your Bank details while awaiting your

details so we can move ahead ok.





Mr. Godwin Emefiele,

Executive Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)



On Tue, Aug 22, 2017 at 1:38 am, Mr. Godwin Emefiele < godemefiele.nigcbngov@gmail.com > wrote: Dear ,





I have got your complete address and phone number and to avoid any

further delays, I hired a reputable Lawyer to proceed to all the

relevant ministries, agencies and parastatals to secure all your

genuine fund release documents to your favour and the Lawyer have

stared work today. Why I hired the Lawyer to secure all your genuine

Government fund release documents to your favour is because there was

no genuine government fund release documents seen in your file.



secondly, in my effort to assist you so you can reward me when you

receive your $35.5 million dollars, I have given the Lawyer my

savings the past one year to pay for all the needed genuine fund

release documents and the bribe fees to be paid to the officials of

different ministries, agencies and parastatals responsible for urgent

fund release approvals since Nigeria is a country where you use what

you have to et what you want and with money all things are possible in

Nigeria. The name of the Lawyer is Barrister DURU DADA( SAN) Senior



and his e-mail address is barr.durudadaniglaw08@gmail.com and I advise you to send a Thank You Mail to him now so he can feel

appreciated by you.



Lastly, with the amount I have given to the Lawyer today I believe

that he will start securing some of the needed genuine fund release

documents and send to you this Thursday but NOTE that I will not

hesitate to ask you to contribute your own fee if the money I gave to

the Lawyer is not enough to pay for all the needed documents while

hoping that you will assist me if the need arises or do I ask the

Lawyer to stop work? note that before you ever send any fee to me or

contribute any amount you must have received and seen some of the

secured genuine documents with my money and if you are satisfied then

you contribute whatever you can afford while awaiting your urgent

response ok. You can call or text me on + 234-80-69021083 any time you

wish to speak to me and goodluck.





Mr. Godwin Emefiele,

Executive Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)





On Thu, Aug 24, 2017 at 4:20 am, Mr. Godwin Emefiele < godemefiele.nigcbngov@gmail.com > wrote: Dear ,





This is to inform you that the Lawyer I hired to process your $35.5

million dollars have secured 6 genuine government fund release

documents to your favour but I have directed him not to send any of

the secured documents to you unless you agree to pay the $750 dollars

Affidavit fee to the Federal High Court. .



I was surprise that after you sent your details to me last Friday I

could not hear from you again and I beginn to wonder if you are a

ghost or what? having told you that the Lawyer have secured your 6

genuine fund release documents and only $750 dollars Affidavit fee is

needed to release your $35.5 million dollars now, when can you send

the $750 dollars to me so we can conclude your payment???



Lastly, I can ask the Lawyer to send the 6 secured genuine documents

to you only if you agree to send the $750 dollars to me otherwise I

will ask the Lawyer to proceed to the Federal High Court to secure a

counter-affidavit to change your name to another beneficiary who can

pay the fees and receive your $35.5 million dollars and reward me

since I cannot lose all my savings the past one year I spent to hire

the Lawyer, pay for the 6 secured documents and the bribe / lobby

fees. I am expecting your urgent positive response asap and my regards

to your family.





Mr. Godwin Emefiele,

Executive Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)



From: Windows Live <ffccentbnng@hotmail.com>

To: Undisclosed-recipients:;

Subject: INFORMATION

Date: Wed, 30 Aug 2017 06:43:17 +0000



My name is Godwin Emefiele, Governor, Central bank of Nigeria. We have just received a sworn affidavit from Mr.Jeorme F Karlz of United States of America,that you are dead and that you signed a deed agreement with him to re-route your overdue outstanding

amount of $12.3 million to him as the Next of Kin. You are advise to get back to this office immediately also re-confirm the following information. Thus:



1. Your full name:

2. Your Contact address

3. Your contact cell phone number:

4. Your age:

5. Your sex:

6. Your occupations:

7. Your country and city:



I await your response



Regards

Godwin Emefiele

Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria If you received a similar letter, please ignore it. Do not answer it. If you do, you will end up on more of the mailing lists used by the criminals behind this fraud. Read more....
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 00:41:37|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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BRATISLAVA, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- Slovakia produces more eggs than it consumes, but only 72 percent of eggs on retail chain shelves are actually from Slovakia, the rest are imported, the country's poultry union (UHS) director Daniel Molnar said Thursday.

Last year, Slovakia produced 1.24 billion eggs, up by 37 million on the year. Of this figure, 60 percent were produced at large specialized farms.

"Comparing production and consumption, it follows that we're at 104 percent of self-sufficiency," said Molnar, saying that imports weren't necessary.

Slovakia last year imported eggs worth 2.6 million euros (3.06 million U.S. dollars), with the largest volumes originating from the Czech Republic.

Amid the fipronil contamination scandal, the illegal insecticide that was found in Dutch eggs, Molnar stressed that Slovak inspectors hadn't found any irregularities in this respect at Slovak farms.

"This is why it's important for Slovak consumers to buy only Slovak eggs, which are without scandals, under steady supervision, fresh, healthy, quality and most of all, safe," added Molnar. (1 euro = 1.18 U.S. dollars)
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 01:22:13|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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by Chris Mgidu

NAIROBI, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- Kenyan police on Thursday arrested a 17-year-old girl, the latest suspect over the murder of the head of ICT at the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

The body of Chris Msando was found in a forest in the outskirts of Nairobi hours after he had gone missing on July 28. An autopsy results showed that Msando was tortured and then strangled to death.

The police said the girl's phone was allegedly used to send threatening messages to the late Msando. The messages were sent in June, a month before he was killed.

The police said the girl was arrested in Migori County of Western Kenya on Wednesday and later brought to Nairobi.

Msando had in December 2016 complained of receiving threatening messages on his mobile phone and reported the matter to police.

The latest arrest brings the number of suspects in police custody to three over the July 28 murder of Msando and a 21-year-old woman Maryanne Ngumbu whose bodies were found dumped in a forest in Muguga.

Msando was responsible for the entire body of electoral data that is the basis of the August election, including the Kenya Integrated Election Management System (KIEMS).

That includes voter identity verification, results transmission and the entire electronic tallying process.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 02:12:36|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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TEHRAN, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- Iran and Indonesian navy commanders on Thursday discussed boost of cooperation between the two countries, Tasnim news agency reported.

Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari and his Indonesian counterpart, Ade Supandi, held the meeting in the Indonesian island of Bali on Thursday.

An Iranian delegation have attended the third International Maritime Security Symposium (IMSS) 2017 in Nusa Dua, Bali.

In the meeting, Sayyari expressed the hope that coordination and cooperation among all countries would develop by holding such symposiums and conferences.

Navy delegations from 43 countries have attended the two-day meeting in Nusa Dua to discuss ways to strengthen cooperation on maritime security among their respective countries.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 02:17:41|Editor: ying

French President Emmanuel Macron (2nd L) and his wife Brigitte Macron (1st L), and Romanian President Klaus Iohannis (2nd R) and his wife Carmen Iohannis pose for photos during a welcome ceremony at Cotroceni Palace in Bucharest, Romania, on Aug. 24, 2017. Romanian President Klaus Iohannis stressed on Thursday that the current posted workers system of the European Union (EU) was not good enough and needed improvement. Iohannis made the statement at a joint press conference with his visiting French counterpart Emmanuel Macron who is touring Central and Eastern Europe to win support for a reform of European labor market rules.(Xinhua/Cristian Cristel)

BUCHAREST, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- Romanian President Klaus Iohannis stressed on Thursday that the current posted workers system of the European Union (EU) was not good enough and needed improvement.

Iohannis made the statement at a joint press conference with his visiting French counterpart Emmanuel Macron who is touring Central and Eastern Europe to win support for a reform of European labor market rules.

"It is inadmissible to see the discontent in Western Europe on the one hand -- over incoming workers -- and on the other hand, to have the desire of the people from the East to live better," said Iohannis, underlining that the system had produced such disagreements and divergences.

"The directive is not clear and good enough," the Romanian president said about the posted workers system.

According to Macron, the directive currently has a weak framework that allows companies to hire workers and pay them salaries from their country of origin.

"I cannot accept that French transporters do social dumping hiring workers from other European countries at lower costs," he said, stressing that revising the system was a must as it doesn't represent the European spirit.

Macron arrived in Bucharest on Thursday, after a meeting Wednesday with the heads of government from Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia in Salzburg. He heads to Sofia on Friday, the last stop of his tour.

The increased use of posting noted in some EU countries and cases of unfair competition and fraud detected led major Western European countries to advocate for reform.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 02:22:43|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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by Bedah Mengo

NAIROBI, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- After planting their maize crop some seven months ago and hoping to harvest around this time, tens of Kenyan farmers are waking up to the reality that they may not get anything.

Diseases, pests and erratic rains have conspired to deny East African nation farmers harvest from the staple consumed by millions of residents.

The diseases include head smut and the pests are mainly fall armyworms that invaded thousands of acres in the food basket regions of the Rift Valley and western.

The armyworms have since spread to other parts of the country including in Nyanza, Central and at the Coast.

Rift Valley accounts for up to 60 percent of Kenya's maize produce while Nyanza and Western have a 25-percent share.

Farmers in the East African nation, especially in the bread basket regions, normally start to harvest towards end of this month after planting in February and March.

But this season, many grappled with low harvest while others may not harvest anything at all.

"This is the worst season I have ever experienced as a maize farmer. It has never been like this ever in the close to 20 years I have grown maize," Simon Ambuche, maize farmer in Kitale, Trans Nzoia County, said Thursday.

Ambuche grew maize on 10 acres but the crop has performed poorly that instead of the at least 80 bags of maize he normally harvests, the farmer would be lucky to end up with 10 bags from the whole venture.

Most of his crop is currently blackened by head smut disease and it is stunted with nearly half having not yet tasselled, seven months later.

"I do not think it will tassel which means I have no maize yields. Someone even suggested that I cut it and sell to dairy farmers to minimise my losses," he said.

As many other farmers in the region, Ambuche spent the better part of this season battling armyworms. The pests have invaded over 100,000 acres of maize crop in the county, according to the Ministry of Agriculture.

"I spent some 400 U.S. dollars fighting the pest and hoped that things would be better. The pest seemed to have disappeared and I was happy but not the crop is affected by head smut. It is painful," he said.

The farmer, as many others in the region, had to contend with depressed rains, armyworms and now head smut, which attacks maize at the tasselling stage.

Kenya's Ministry of Agriculture announced invasion of fall armyworms in the country in April, and supplied farmers with chemicals to fight the pest but the battle has achieved mixed fortunes.

"It has been a bad season for farmers across Kenya. From my 25 acres, I would be lucky to harvest five 90kg bags of maize," said Bernard Njuguna, a farmer in Rongai in Nakuru.

Njuguna blamed his plight on erratic rains that started late in April and ended early June.

"I planted early March in anticipation that the rains would be adequate but this did not happen. The plants flowered early and the rains disappeared. I did not even apply CAN because the fertiliser would have burnt the crop," he said, noting his maize is now stunted to a metre high.

Kenya consumes up to 4 million bags of maize every month, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, with the country production peaking at 40 million bags in best seasons, while the rest is imported.

The ministry estimated that maize production would drop by 12 percent this season or 4.3 million bags due to delayed rains and armyworm attack.

The harvests this season, according to the ministry would fall to 33 million bags, down from 37.1 million last year.

"Poor crop performance is expected to continue over most parts of southeastern Kenya, the situation is, however, likely to improve in the agriculturally high-potential areas of Kitale, Eldoret, Kakamega, Kericho, Kisii and Nandi Hills areas," said the ministry in a recent report.

However, while these were the projections over a month ago, the situation has changed on the ground as farmers like Ambuche stare at huge losses amid high production costs.

"The situation on the farms is bad this time round. A good number of farmers would not harvest anything. I visited a farmer last week whose five acres were ravaged by armyworms and advised him to cut the crop and sell to dairy farmers," said Bernard Moina, an agricultural extension officer in Kitale, a breadbasket region.

He noted that the country would continue to rely on imports for the coming months due to poor harvest.
The Chinese giant panda Tian Tian enjoys its ice lolly at Edinburgh Zoo in Scotland, Britain, Aug. 11, 2016. (RZSS/Katie Paton)

LONDON, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Tian Tian, the only female Chinese giant panda in Britain, is pregnant, and a cub could be born as early as Friday, local media reported here Thursday.

Edinburgh Zoo staff believe giant panda Tian Tian is pregnant, after the release of emails suggesting a cub could be born as early as Friday, said the reports.

Documents released Thursday showed that in late July this year, Tian Tian's pregnancy was "on track" and the mother-to-be is "doing real well."

Scottish government officials and staff at Edinburgh Zoo discussed in late July that Tian Tian was definitely pregnant and that her expected date, at the time, was Aug. 25, according to the reports.

If a cub is born, it would be the first birth of a panda in Britain.

Tian Tian, which means Sweetie in Chinese, was born on Aug. 24, 2003 at the Beijing Zoo in China. She is currently living at Edinburgh Zoo, Scotland.

Tian Tian and Yang Guang, meaning Sunshine in Chinese, are Britain's only pair of pandas. After their arrival, Edinburgh Zoo instantly became one of Scotland's most popular attractions.

Tian Tian has failed to produce a cub despite repeated artificial inseminations since her arrival at Edinburgh Zoo in December 2011.

The decision to go ahead with artificial insemination came after the zoo decided there was now no prospect of Tian Tian and Yang Guang ever mating naturally.

Panda reproduction is very difficult, partly due to the very short breeding window with ovulation occurring only once a year.

The zoo said that a pseudopregnancy, in which female pandas show physiological and behavioral signs of pregnancy without actually being pregnant, is possible. Many female pandas undergo pseudopregnancy and Edinburgh Zoo is using a battery of tests to try to rule it out.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 04:23:42|Editor: ying

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WASHINGTON, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- A hostage situation at a restaurant in Charleston, U.S. state of South Carolina, has ended after police shot and injured a gunman, the city's mayor said Thursday.

Mayor John Tecklenburg said the restaurant employee shot by the gunman earlier has died.

Interim Charleston Police Chief Jerome Taylor said all the hostages were rescued safely but did not specify the number of the hostages.

The assailant was shot by police and taken to a local hospital in critical condition.

Earlier, the man, believed to "a disgruntled employee" reportedly shot one person and held several other hostages in the restaurant in downtown Charleston.

The shooting is not an act of terrorism or racism, Tecklenburg told a press conference.

"It's a disgruntled employee who has come on the scene of his employment," he said.

The shooting was reported just after noon in downtown Charleston near a row of restaurants and shops popular with tourists, according to Charleston Police spokesman Charles Francis.

Local reports said the police department sent SWAT teams and a bomb disposal unit to the area. Police asked people to stay inside and those outside to avoid the area.

Witnesses, who left from a back door of the restaurant, said a man emerged from the kitchen with a gun in his hand, saying "there's a new boss in town."

The site is a few blocks away from Emanuel AME church, where a white man killed nine black members of a church during a prayer service in 2015. The gunman was sentenced to death early 2017.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 05:19:00|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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BEIRUT, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said on Thursday that Lebanon must dislodge Islamic State (IS) militants from Lebanese territories, especially its border with Syria.

"Securing the Lebanese-Syrian border leads to at least distancing Daesh (IS) from the Lebanese border toward the Syrian interior so that it is no longer a threat to Lebanon and its army," Nasrallah said in a televised speech.

He also stressed the need to rescue the kidnapped Lebanese servicemen from the IS militants.

"Another objective is to unveil the fate of the Lebanese military men with Daesh and return them back to their families," the Hezbollah general secretary said.

In August 2014, nine Lebanese servicemen were abducted by IS militants from the border town of Arsal.

"The Lebanese Army Command and the families of the servicemen should be reassured that we won't overlook these troops," Nasrallah added.

According to Nasrallah, the Lebanese army has liberated 100 square km of the IS-controlled 120 square km land.

"Dozens of Daesh militants were killed and in Syria, dozens have handed themselves over to Hezbollah or the Syrian Army," the Hezbollah leader said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 06:59:28|Editor: ying

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SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- A new study by Stanford University scholars Jon Krosnick and Neil Malhotra shows that despite most Americans' recognizing that smoking can lead to life-threatening diseases, they don't understand how much that risk increases.

The cause, the two researchers assumed, lies in the misperception of the risk.

Published in PLOS ONE, the study analyzed data from survey interviews of more than 13,000 adults in the United States, including smokers and non-smokers, about the prospects of developing lung cancer.

In some previous studies, researchers had asked survey respondents to report how likely they thought it is that smokers and non-smokers will develop lung cancer. If a respondent thought smokers had a 30 percent chance of developing lung cancer and non-smokers a 10 percent chance, that person thinks that smokers are 20 percentage points more likely to develop cancer.

In the new study, the researchers realized that some people might not be thinking about risk that way. Instead, they proposed, people might perceive risk as the ratio of the two numbers, like answering the question, "How many times more likely to get lung cancer is a smoker than a non-smoker?" This ratio is called the "relative risk." In the 30 percent vs. 10 percent example, a person thinks of the smoker as three times more likely to develop lung cancer.

This seemingly small change in analytic approach has big consequences: most Americans overestimate the difference between the two rates of lung cancer, namely the risk of smoking, but the vast majority underestimate the relative risk. In essence, they are underestimating how much more likely it is for a smoker to develop lung cancer than a non-smoker.

The researchers did find that people who perceived more relative risk were less likely to start and more likely to quit smoking and those who perceived more of a difference between the two cancer rates were no more or less likely to start or stop smoking.

Therefore, Krosnick, a professor of communication and political science at Stanford, and Malhotra, a professor of political economy in the Graduate School of Business, suggested that if people naturally think about such dangers in terms of a ratio, then perhaps rates of smoking would be reduced if Americans are properly informed about such ratios.

For the time being, cigarette package labels in the United States include warnings from the Surgeon General that smoking can cause specific health problems without providing numeric figures to quantify the impact; while in Australia, cigarette labels include quantitative data such as, "Tobacco smoking causes more than four times the number of deaths caused by car accidents."

"Telling people how many times that a person's chances of getting lung cancer increase due to smoking may help the public make more informed choices," Krosnick, the lead author, was quoted as saying in a news release.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 06:59:29|Editor: ZD

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CHICAGO, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- The Defense Counsel of Defendant Brendt Christensen who is accused of kidnapping a Chinese scholar has on Wednesday submitted a request to continue the pretrial conference and jury trial settings for Zhang Yingying's kidnapping case.

In an e-filed motion released by the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois Urbana Division Thursday, defense attorneys Thomas Bruno, Anthony Bruno and Evan Bruno of Bruno Law Offices state that allowing for the voluminous discovery in the case, and the fact that the U.S. Attorney plans to tender additional discovery that is not yet available, they request the "Honorable Court" conduct a status conference on August 28, 2017, and enter an order continuing the pretrial conference and jury trial settings in this case.

"The ends of justice would be served by continuing this matter," the defense attorneys said.

The e-filed motion shows that the defense attorneys have reached an agreement with the U.S. attorneys on this matter.

Wang Zhidong, a U.S. lawyer who is offering legal advice to the family of Zhang Yingying on a voluntary basis, said the motion of continuing pretrial conference and jury trial settings is within his anticipation, and the judge will approve it and reschedule new dates.

Zhang Yingying, a visiting Chinese scholar at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), went missing on June 9 after entering a black Saturn Astra. FBI arrested Brendt Christensen, the car owner, on June 30, accusing him of kidnapping Zhang on June 9 in Urbana, 225 km southwest of Chicago. The police and FBI believe Zhang is dead, but her body has not been found.

Christensen has pleaded not guilty at the courthouse.

UIUC has the largest Chinese student population studying here in the U.S., totaling 5,600.
Ivanka Trump (R) joins her father U.S. President Donald Trump (2nd L), flanked by International Justice Mission CEO Gary Haugen (L), National Center for Missing and Exploited Children COO Michelle DeLaune (3rd R) and White House Senior Counselor Dina Powell (2nd R), as he holds a meeting with experts on addressing human trafficking at the White House in Washington, DC, U.S. February 23, 2017. (REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst)

by Robert Stanton

HOUSTON, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- Earlier this month, American police in Texas found 17 undocumented immigrants locked inside a tractor-trailer parked at a gas station about 32 km from the border with Mexico. Fortunate enough, none of these people need medical attention.

Others are not as lucky. For even hardened investigators who used to seeing death and destruction on their beats, it was a heartbreaking scene: at least nine men were found dead in a sweltering tractor trailer in San Antonio, Texas.

In all, 30 people were removed from the steaming-hot trailer on July 22, many of them suffering from heat stroke and exhaustion and clinging to life. Temperatures inside the trailer, which had no air-conditioning, reached up to 100 degrees (F), San Antonio firefighters said.

While tragic human smuggling cases are on the rise in the United States, as more people leave their home countries in search of better lives, and to escape gang violence and war.

"It's a serious issue," said Mary Magness, assistant special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Houston. "Houston has been known for being a hub not just for narcotics and contraband, but human commodities. It poses a serious threat to our national security as people from other countries enter the U.S."

"It's unfortunate when human smugglers transport human cargo, women and children, over difficult terrains and often without food or water," she said, adding that "These people face tremendous hardships, and some of the aliens are beaten or even raped."

Texas remains a top destination for human smugglers because of its more than 2,000 km border with Mexico, a porous area that provides numerous points of entry for undocumented immigrants. It is also one of the most dangerous.

In the deadliest smuggling incident in U.S. history, 70 people were found trapped inside a stifling truck trailer in Victoria, Texas, on May 14, 2003. Among them, 19 of victims died of dehydration, overheating and suffocation.

They were immigrants from Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. Federal prosecutors indicted 14 people, including the truck driver, Tyrone Williams, who was sentenced to 34 years in prison after a federal appeals court overturned the multiple life sentences he received.

Many undocumented immigrants who make it into the U.S. quickly find their dreams dashed at the hands of unscrupulous smugglers, or coyotes, said Constance Rossiter, director of the Trafficked Persons Assistance Program at the YMCA of Greater Houston.

"Usually they come here because they're looking for a better life and were promised a job in the U.S.," she said. "They paid a lot of money and sometimes take out a loan in their country of origin, and they have even put up their homes (for collateral)."

"They find themselves with a huge debt and threats are made against their family and children," Rossiter added. "There's no jobs or green cards, and they find themselves not being able to get back. They have absolutely no money and a huge debt to pay. Sometimes they get a job illegally, or they (jobs) don't pay as much as promised."

Established in 2003, the YMCA Trafficked Persons Assistance Program helps victims of human smuggling to get back on their feet. There's everything from crisis management, to emergency shelter, housing, employment services and legal immigration help.

Tragically, some victims resort to illegal activities in order to pay back the smugglers. Many find themselves working in prostitution, selling their bodies at so-called spas and massage parlors located throughout Houston area.

The Office of the Harris County Attorney has used civil litigation to shut down over two dozen illicit massage establishments in Houston in the last two years, said Assistant County Attorney Julie Countiss.

"Many of the spas open up in strip shopping centers where they lease space from the property owner," she said. "Law enforcement investigations confirm a high rate of prostitution arrests and violations of state and local massage establishment regulations at these spas."

Children at Risk (CAR), which advocates for children across Texas, is at the forefront of efforts to help victims traumatized by human trafficking. One of their successful programs is Cities Empowered Against Sexual Exploitation, or CEASE.

"The pimps and traffickers are well insulated," said Caruthers of CAR. "They don's take a lot of risks, so it's hard for law enforcement to find them. We work with law enforcement to increase buyer arrests and deterrence."

"When you arrest a prostitute in a hotel room, you're re-victimizing her," Caruthers said. "The buyers are culpable and easy to find."

In December 2016, there were more than 313,000 victims of human trafficking in Texas, which included 234,000 victims of labor trafficking and 79,000 minors and youth victims of sex trafficking, according to a report by the School of Social Work at the University of Texas at Austin.

Last year, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) has launched 2,110 investigations into human smuggling reports, Magness said. Where possible, the agency works with foreign governments to target criminal organizations in the source countries.

HSI investigators are seeing a steady number of human smuggling victims from Middle Eastern countries, she said.

"They come through Mexico quite a bit," she said. "One of the problems is there's obviously language barriers. That presents tremendous hardships not only for officers, but for these individuals because we need to identify where they are so that we can get in touch with the foreign governments."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 07:54:39|Editor: ying

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BRASILIA, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- Two recent boating tragedies in Brazil have claimed a total of 39 lives, authorities said on Thursday.

The latest incident occurred earlier Thursday near Salvador, capital of Brazil's eastern state of Bahia, where a ship carrying about 116 passengers and four crew members capsized shortly after leaving port at 6:30 p.m local time, drowning a total of 18 people.

Bahia's Health Secretariat said 89 people had been rescued in the afternoon.

In the predawn hours of Wednesday, a tour boat capsized on the Xingu River in Para state, in Brazil's northern Amazon region, killing 21 people.

According to the state Secretariat of Public Security (Segup), 23 people were rescued in that incident, and five people are still missing.

The boat captain said only 49 people were on board at the time, though initially as many as 70 passengers were reported to be sailing.

Survivors said it was raining and a gale tipped the boat over.

River boat accidents are common in Brazil, especially in the Amazon region, where much of the transportation is done through waterways, and boats are often overloaded with passengers.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 09:04:56|Editor: Yang Yi

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KHARTOUM, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- The relationship between Sudan and China is making continuous progress towards new horizons after the two countries agreed to promote their ties to a strategic level, Sudanese analysts have said.

"The two countries are heading towards consolidating their standing ties on mutual benefits and sharing of balanced development," Mohamed Hassan Saeed, a Sudanese political analyst, told Xinhua.

"Since the visit of the Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir to Beijing in 2015, where he agreed with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to promote bilateral ties to a strategic level, the two countries have achieved remarkable progress in the development of relations in all fields," said Saeed.

"The two countries can utilize their potentialities and enter into new economic partnerships, particularly in the field of agriculture, where Sudan enjoys huge fertile lands, water resources and labor force, and China, in turn, maintains advanced agricultural technologies," he said.

Saeed regarded China's Belt and Road Initiative as another opportunity which Sudan can benefit from.

The Belt and Road Initiative, proposed by China in 2013, aims to build trade and infrastructure networks connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient Silk Road trade routes to seek common development and prosperity.

"Sudan is one of the first countries which welcomes the Belt and Road Initiative. Sudan regards the initiative as it would achieve prosperity for the friendly countries, actively contribute to the development of the areas along the initiative and promote the level of relationship among these countries," he said.

He added that the initiative would bring about great economic gains for the concerned developing countries as it consists of development and trade projects, pointing to how Sudan can benefit from the initiative.

"The initiative is likely to reactivate Sudan's internal and external trade activities and avails great investment opportunities for Sudan under the huge projects that China would establish in countries covered by the initiative," he said.

"Sudan needs Chinese funding to develop its infrastructure with reasonable interests and longer periods of repayment of the loans. Sudan needs basic infrastructure such as railway lines and free trade zones," he said.

In the meantime, Balla Ali Omer, also a Sudanese political analyst, told Xinhua that "Sudan and China, throughout the years, have maintained model ties that embody profound significance and represent a model for the South-South cooperation."

He added that Sudan-China ties are deeply-rooted, saying: "This was evident in the Chinese pottery works found in the ancient (Sudanese) Meriotic Kingdom thousands of years ago."

"China has greatly supported Sudan, both in the past and present, where during the 1970s, China gifted Sudan the Abu Usher Hospital, Hantoub Bridge and Medani-Geddarif Road," said Omer.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 09:40:05|Editor: ying

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WASHINGTON, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- A white man convicted of two racially-motivated murders was executed Thursday in the southeastern state of Florida with an anesthetic never used before in U.S. lethal injections.

Mark Asay, 53, was the first white man in Florida's history to be executed for killing a black victim since the state reinstated the death penalty in the 1970s.

Asay was pronounced dead at 6:22 p.m. (2222 GMT) at a state prison, after taking a three-drug injection that began with the anesthetic, etomidate.

Etomidate, recently approved by the Florida Supreme Court, was under criticism as being unproven in an execution. It replaced midazolam, a drug harder to acquire as many drug producers refused to provide it for executions.

During the execution, the injection of Etomidate was followed by a dose of potassium acetate, a paralytic, and then rocuronium bromide, a muscle relaxant which stops the heart.

Asay was sentenced to death in 1988 for killing two men in separate incidents on the same day in 1987. One of the victims was a 34-year-old black man, and the other was a 26-year-old man of mixed race, white and Hispanic.

The state's top court rejected earlier this month a motion filed by Asay's attorneys to prevent the injection on the claim that etomidate would cause too much pain.

The execution came shortly after the murder's final appeal was denied.

A spokesman for the Florida Department of Corrections said Asay asked for a fried ham, fried pork chops, french fries, vanilla swirl ice cream and a coke for his last meal.

According to the Death Penalty Information Center, Asay is the 93rd convicted inmate to have been executed since the U.S. Supreme Court reintroduced the death penalty in 1976.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 10:15:21|Editor: ying

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YANGON, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- The Myanmar government has pledged to set out a full roadmap soon for implementing advisory commission's recommendations on Rakhine issue, said a statement of the Office of the State Counselor on late Thursday.

The Myanmar-government-appointed Advisory Commission on Rakhine State is chaired by former Secretary-General of the United Nations Kofi Annan.

As an immediate step, a new ministerial-led committee will be established for overseeing delivery and reporting regularly on its progress, the statement said, adding that the new committee will be supported by an advisory board on Rakhine state involving international experts and local nationals.

The statement recounted that a number of recommendations with regard to healthcare access, creation of job opportunities and infrastructural construction has been implemented in accordance with the commission's August interim report, while working to promote religious harmony and communal relations.

The statement also said the government is developing a strategy and timeline to move forward the national verification process and close internally displaced camps in the state, of which three camps have been closed.

In cooperation with the European Union and the United Nations, the Myanmar government is working for capacity building for police and security forces in the areas of human rights, child protection and gender-based violence.

However, the statement pointed out that a resurgence of violence in recent weeks was seen with troubling signs of external interference aimed at aggravating an already difficult situation.

Welcoming the recommendations for meaningful and long-term solution, the statement pledged to give the report full consideration with a view to carrying out the recommendations to the fullest extent and within the shortest timeframe possible in line with the situation on the ground.

Annan arrived in Nay Pyi Taw on Tuesday to present the final report to the government, titled "Towards a Peaceful, Fair and Prosperous Future for the People of Rakhine", after visiting Rakhine state late last year.

The report recommends urgent and sustained action on a number of fronts to prevent violence, maintain peace, foster reconciliation and offer a sense of hope to the state's hard-pressed population.

The report put forward recommendations to surmount the political, socio-economic and humanitarian challenges that currently face Rakhine state.
Source: Xinhuanet| 2017-08-25 10:58:42|Editor: Yang Yi

Prof. Zvi Shiller, Chairperson of Israeli Robotics Association, gives an interview to Xinhuanet in Beijing, Aug. 22, 2017. The World Robot Conference 2017 is held in Beijing from Aug. 23 to Aug. 27.(Xinhuanet/Zhang Tianyu)

BEIJING, Aug. 25 (Xinhuanet) -- China and Israel have been cooperating on robotics by investing in establishing mature companies, said Prof. Zvi Shiller, Chairperson of Israeli Robotics Association.

"The robotics industry is actually at very early stages. We want to grow more companies with the assistance of Chinese market and Chinese investors ," Shiller told Xinhuanet in a recent interview during the World Robot Conference 2017.

"By increasing this form of cooperation, we can see in one or two years much bigger robotics industry that can actually produce and sell products," said Shiller.

The robotics products that interest Shiller most are the good robots-- robots that do good for people.

There is one problem with robotics. People can actually do bad things with them. So I prefer robots that help people, such as consumer robots and service robots, said Shiller.

By focusing on control systems and artificial intelligence, Shiller aims to invent smarter good robots that can cooperate with humans.

He made some wild guesses regarding the future.

According to Shiller, there will be a huge market for robots that assist the elderly people, because robots can help them do many things they cannot do by themselves, such as taking a shower.

I am very optimistic about what robotics are going to bring to us, Shiller said, I think we have just seen the tip of the iceberg.

When we look around 10 or 15 years later, we will see robots around in a way that you will say I could not understand how we managed to live without them, he added.

Shiller has high hopes for Chinese market.

What I foresee is that the bigger market in China in the near future will be a consumer market,  he said.

Shiller also noted that there is a large middle class in China who are fond of technology and high-tech products, and they will be very good customers for consumer robots and service robots.

Shiller is dedicated to producing more products and creating more companies as he has great confidence in the huge potential for cooperation between China and Israel.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 11:00:34|Editor: ying

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CARACAS, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- Venezuela's National Constituent Assembly (ANC) will begin to draft a new Constitution starting next week, ANC's President Delcy Rodriguez said Thursday.

"As of next week, we constituents...will be writing the chapters of the new constitution for the program goals we were called for," said Rodriguez.

The ANC's 545 members, representing a cross-section of society, were elected in July 30 elections for the task of amending the 1990 Constitution.

The initiative was proposed by President Nicolas Maduro in May in a bid to break the protracted political deadlock between the ruling progressive party (PSUV) and the coalition of conservative groups (MUD).

The MUD boycotted the elections, and has condemned the ANC for usurping the legislative powers of the country's opposition-led National Assembly.

Among the ANC's objectives are: promoting peace amid political tensions that have fueled violent anti-government protests, diversifying the oil-reliant economy, enshrining social programs in the constitution, and bolstering the judicial system, said Rodriguez.

In addition, constituents will also include environmental protection articles "to preserve life on the planet."

The ANC members, representing regions or different sectors of the civil society, such as teachers, workers and students, must now consult with their constituents, said Rodriguez.

According to the body's guidelines, "after concluding deliberations on the constitutional project, the ANC will approve the constitutional text and fix a date for a referendum to approve the new document."

If approved in the referendum, the document would then be enacted by the president.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 11:05:37|Editor: Yang Yi

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JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli said here Thursday that he believes China-Saudi Arabia cooperation is going to enter a new era, being more robust, sustainable and fruitful.

Zhang, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, made the remarks while meeting with Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud during his visit to the Gulf Arab nation.

In their meeting, Zhang noted that Chinese President Xi Jinping and the Saudi king exchanged visits in the past two years, ushering in a new era of fast and comprehensive development for the two countries' relationship.

In January 2016, Xi paid a state visit to Saudi Arabia, during which the two countries agreed to upgrade the bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership. King Salman visited China in March.

China always views its relations with Saudi Arabia from a strategic and long-term perspective, and has stayed persistent in promoting long-term friendly cooperation with the country, said Zhang.

"My visit this time is to implement the important consensus reached between President Xi and the king so as to continuously deepen the Chinese-Saudi comprehensive strategic partnership," he added.

Noting that the Belt and Road Initiative has won growing global recognition, he said Beijing appreciates Riyadh's active participation in the initiative and welcomes the country to become a global partner.

The Belt and Road Initiative, put forward by Xi in 2013, is aimed at building the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road through concerted efforts of all related countries to benefit all participants by promoting unimpeded trade, financial integration, infrastructure connectivity and closer people-to-people exchanges.

"We also support Saudi Arabia in making its 2030 vision a reality, and would like to be a partner as the country diversifies its economy," said Zhang, adding that the two sides are in the middle of negotiating a plan to merge the Belt and Road Initiative and the 2030 vision.

The Saudi growth strategy was put forward last year in a bid to diversify its heavily oil-dependent economy.

Saudi Arabia values its friendship with China, and is willing to deepen bilateral cooperation in energy, trade, investment, security as well as in other areas, said King Salman.

The Saudi king added that his country expects to further promote bilateral ties with China through exchanges of quality visits and the establishment of a high-level joint steering committee, a mechanism the two countries agreed to set up during Xi's visit to the Gulf Arab country last year.

In August last year, Zhang and Saudi Arabia's then Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman co-chaired the first meeting of the committee in Beijing.

Saudi Arabia is the second leg of Zhang's four-nation tour which has already taken him to Kuwait. He will also travel to Sudan and Namibia.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 11:15:40|Editor: ying

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by Matthew Rusling

WASHINGTON, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- The United States could be in Afghanistan for years to come, after 16 years of presence in the war-torn country, U.S. experts said.

The fight in Afghanistan will probably be a "generation-long struggle," Michael O'Hanlon, a senior fellow on foreign policy at the Brookings Institution, told Xinhua, adding that Afghanistan is part of the long-term U.S. fight against extremism in the region.

The comments came after U.S. President Donald Trump outlined a new Afghanistan strategy earlier this week, which includes a modest troop increase there and less micromanagement by Washington of U.S. forces stationed in the South Asian nation.

The United States waged a "war on terror" in Afghanistan not long after the 9/11 attacks. The terror group al-Qaida, which masterminded the attacks, was given safe haven in Afghanistan.

While al-Qaida is now a shell of its former self, the Islamic State(IS), which took control of large swathes of land in Iraq and Syria, remains dangerous, having inspired radicals to carry out myriad attacks in Europe and the United States in recent years.

O'Hanlon said he believes the United States needs a number of assets in key parts of the Middle East, in order to wage the long-term war against extremism, adding that Afghanistan is a piece of the broader U.S. anti-terror war.

Jim Phillips, senior Middle East research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, told Xinhua that a long-term U.S. deployment in Afghanistan will be an asset in fighting radicalism.

"A permanent U.S. military presence in Afghanistan would help the fight against terrorism and help stabilize Afghanistan," he said.

"U.S. bases in Afghanistan would potentially have a limited utility in gathering intelligence on Iran and facilitating air strikes or a limited commando-style raid, but would be almost entirely focused on the security situation inside Afghanistan," he said.

"What it could do is to help protect our gains of the last 16 years so that we can preserve the existing bases which do, in fact, have considerable capability against extremists in the region, especially the tribal areas of Pakistan," he added.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, General John Nicholson, the top U.S. military commander in Afghanistan, said Trump's new strategy signaled a long-term U.S. commitment to the war-ravaged country.

Calling on the Taliban to come to the negotiation table, Nicholson said the insurgents "cannot win on the battlefield. It's time for them to join the peace process. We will not fail in Afghanistan, our national security depends on that as well."

Currently, the U.S. forces in Afghanistan number around 8,400, lower than the roughly 100,000 troops deployed during former U.S. President Barack Obama's troop surge several years back.

Under Trump's new plan, the size of the U.S. troops in Afghanistan will be boosted, but it is widely believed the pledged increase is more of a tweak than a surge.

Trump also threatened to cut off aid to Pakistan, which borders Afghanistan, as the U.S. government accuses Pakistan of harboring terrorist networks.

Pakistan responded with indignation, with the country's army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa telling U.S. ambassador to Pakistan on Wednesday that his country does not seek U.S. aid but wants acknowledgment of Pakistan's sacrifices in the war against terrorism since 2001.

Under the previous administration, the United States already halved aid to Pakistan. "I think what would be expected would be just a continuation of the downward trend," O'Hanlon said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 12:05:51|Editor: ZD

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SUVA, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Fiji's Investment and Export Seminar opened here Friday by Minister for Industry, Trade, Tourism Faiyaz Koya.

He said it was great to see important exporters and investors to have a huge role to play in pushing Fiji's economy forward.

Koya said various Fijian agencies had refined their roles and processes to provide businesses and investors with a better service.

"The Fijian government has always been mindful of the needs of our investors and exporters.

"Over the years, we have set in place stable policies that provide the impetus of growth for the nation," Koya said.

The Fijian economy is on track to achieve 3.8 percent growth in 2017, which will be the eighth consecutive year of positive growth.

Fiji's total exports from January to May 2017 was more than 368 million U.S. dollars.

Fiji's major export commodities are mineral water, fish, gold, garments as well as fruits and vegetables.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 13:01:07|Editor: An

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Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli (L) meets with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Aug. 24, 2017. (Xinhua/Wang Ye)

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- China and Saudi Arabia agreed here on Thursday to set up a package of bilateral energy cooperation mechanisms.

The agreement was reached when Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the Saudi Red Sea resort of Jeddah during Zhang's visit to the Gulf Arab country.

Also during the talks, the two compared notes and reached broad consensus on bilateral cooperation in the fields of energy, finance and industrial capacity, among others.

They vowed to push forward a sea water desalination project using high temperature gas-cooled reactors, as well as a Chinese industry park in Saudi Arabia's southern border region of Jizan, and support the construction of a power plant in the western Saudi coastal town of Rabigh.

The two sides also agreed to promote cooperation over petrochemical projects and security matters, and enhance international coordination so as to further boost their bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership.

Also on Thursday, Zhang and Mohammed co-chaired the second meeting of a high-level steering committee, a regular meeting mechanism set up during Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to the Gulf Arab country last year.

The two co-hosted the first meeting of the committee in Beijing last August.

At the second meeting, the two sides agreed that the two countries have maintained close high-level exchanges, noting that Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud visited China while a number of Chinese leaders have visited Saudi Arabia.

They also agreed that the two countries have made smooth progress in key projects, and signed 30 major projects over industrial capacity and investment cooperation.

Two-way trade has developed soundly with Saudi Arabia being China's largest trading partner in the region of West Asia and North Africa over the past 15 years.

Both sides pledged to strengthen coordination and communication on such multilateral platforms as the UN and the Group of 20 gatherings on major issues that concern the world system and order as well as the rights and interests of developing countries in a bid to cement strategic trust.

Beijing and Riyadh also vowed to further synergize their development strategies, and promote practical cooperation and cultural and people-to-people exchanges for shared benefits and win-win results.

They were also committed to stronger cooperation and exchanges in the fields of culture, education, health, technology, tourism and journalism.

After the meeting, the two sides signed the minutes of the meeting, and the two leaders witnessed the signing of a host of cooperation agreements involving investment, trade, energy, postal service, communications and media.

Earlier in the day, the Chinese vice premier met with King Salman.

Saudi Arabia is the second leg of Zhang's four-nation tour which has already taken him to Kuwait. He will also travel to Sudan and Namibia.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 13:11:10|Editor: ying

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SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- Apple Inc., the technology company with iPhone smartphone as its flagship product, announced Thursday its plan to build a new data center in Waukee, Iowa, a midwestern U.S. state.

Headquartered in Cupertino, California, the company said the data center will be 400,000 square feet, or more than 37,160 square meters.

The Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) said Apple plans to purchase 2,000 acres, or 8.09 square km, of land in Waukee, a city with a population of nearly 14,000.

Short of providing details, the IEDA said its board had approved tax incentives for Apple.

At a ceremony in Des Moines, the state capital of Iowa, Governor Kim Reynolds and Waukee Mayor Bill Peard joined Tim Cook, Apple's chief executive officer (CEO), Thursday afternoon to announce the project, which is expected to cost more than 1.3 billion U.S. dollars.

"Our new data center in Iowa will help serve millions of people across North America who use Siri, iMessage, Apple Music and other Apple services," said Cook, who also committed his company to contributing up to 100 million dollars to a Public Improvement Fund dedicated to community development and infrastructure around Waukee.

To be established and managed by the City of Waukee, the fund is expected to support projects like parks, libraries and recreational spaces.

Like all Apple data centers, said Cook, the new facility will run entirely on renewable energy from day one. Apple claimed to have reached the goal of operations with 100 percent renewable energy in the United States and 23 other countries.

Apple's data center project in Waukee, some 20 miles, or 32 km, west of Des Moines, is the result of 20 months of negotiations with state, regional and local officials. The IEDA boasts that Iowa is well-positioned to attract data center investments because of its geographic location, which is safe from hurricanes, earthquakes and rolling blackouts, coupled with affordable electric rates and high percentage of electricity generated by wind.

The IEDA, which reportedly would provide nearly 20 million dollars of tax credit in addition to more than 188 million dollars of property tax abatement from the city of Waukee over the next 20 years, said the project will create at least 50 jobs at a qualifying wage of at least 29.12 dollars per hour.

However, other than saying it will create over 550 construction and operations jobs in the Des Moines area, Apple did not specify how many of the job positions will be long-term ones.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 13:21:12|Editor: ying

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BRASILIA, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- Two fatal ferry wrecks in Brazil have claimed at least 39 lives as rescue operation continues.

"We deeply regret the loss of tens of lives in the boat accidents in Para and Bahia," two states in the north of the country, President Michel Temer tweeted Thursday.

The latest maritime incident took place earlier Thursday near Salvador, capital of Brazil's eastern state of Bahia, when a ship carrying about 116 passengers and four crew members capsized shortly after its departure at 6:30 p.m. (2130 GMT) local time.

A total of 18 people were drowned, and 89 others were rescued in the afternoon, Bahia's Health Secretariat said.

The death toll has been revised down to 18 from the initial report of 22 as rescue operation went on.

Some passengers swam to shore and others were picked up, said the navy.

Three rescue teams were dispatched to the site before local fire department personnel joined the operation.

More than 30 people were being treated for injuries, the Bahia state health department said in a statement.

The state has declared three days of mourning following the tragedy.

"I have been personally following this difficult operation from an early stage and all measures have been taken immediately," said Bahia Governor Rui Costa.

The accident occurred two days after a tour boat sank on the Xingu River in the northern state of Para overnight Tuesday, leaving at least 21 dead.

Twenty-three people were rescued and five others were still unaccounted for, said the state's Secretariat of Public Security.

The vessel's captain said only 49 people were on board when it sank, though initial reports said it carried as many as 70 passengers.

The cause of the sinking remains unknown.

Survivors said it was raining and a gale tipped the boat over. Military personnel were still engaged in rescue efforts at the site.

The capsized vessel was not legally authorized to transport passengers, authorities said.

Accidents are frequent as a lot of precarious boats are overloaded with passengers on rivers in the Amazon basin. The most common means of transportation in the region depends on waterway.

On Aug. 2, a container ship and several rafts collided on the Amazon river. Nine people were listed missing.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 13:31:14|Editor: ying

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MOSCOW, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Russia's sixth-generation warplane may serve as a transition from manned to unmanned aviation, a top military official said Thursday.

"We may begin with the manned version and then switch to the unmanned version, but I think that precisely the sixth-generation aircraft will be the last plane when the pilot performs main tasks in air environment," Russian Aerospace Force Commander-in-Chief Colonel General Viktor Bondarev told Zvezda TV Channel.

The commander also said that a sixth-generation aircraft should not be only a fighter-interceptor, but should be present in all the branches: strike and military transport aviation, as well as long-range strategic aviation.

Meanwhile, Sergei Korotkov, chief designer of Russia's United Aircraft Corporation, told the Russian news network Zvezda that Russia's sixth-generation fighter jet will be equipped with an artificial intelligence system capable of making key decisions without the pilot's involvement in certain emergency situations.

Earlier on Thursday, Russian Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov said military aircraft developers are creating scientific and technical groundwork for developing the sixth-generation fighter jet.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 14:21:25|Editor: An

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Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli (L) meets with Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Aug. 24, 2017. (Xinhua/Wang Ye)

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli said here Thursday that he believes China-Saudi Arabia cooperation is going to enter a new era, being more robust, sustainable and fruitful.

China and Saudi Arabia reached broad consensus on bilateral cooperation in such fields as energy, finance and industrial capacity, and on key cooperation projects when Zhang met the Saudi king and crown prince in the Saudi Red Sea resort of Jeddah.

NEW ERA

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud exchanged visits in the past two years, ushering in a new era of fast and comprehensive development for the two countries' relationship, Zhang said when meeting with King Salman.

In January 2016, Xi paid a state visit to Saudi Arabia, during which the two countries agreed to upgrade the bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership. King Salman visited China in March.

China always views its relations with Saudi Arabia from a strategic and long-term perspective, and has stayed persistent in promoting long-term friendly cooperation with the country, said Zhang.

"My visit this time is to implement the important consensus reached between President Xi and the king so as to continuously deepen the Chinese-Saudi comprehensive strategic partnership," he added.

Noting that the Belt and Road Initiative has won growing global recognition, Zhang said Beijing appreciates Riyadh's active participation in the initiative and welcomes the country to become a global partner.

The Belt and Road Initiative, put forward by Xi in 2013, is aimed at building the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road through concerted efforts of all related countries to benefit all participants by promoting unimpeded trade, financial integration, infrastructure connectivity and closer people-to-people exchanges.

"We also support Saudi Arabia in making its 2030 vision a reality, and would like to be a partner as the country diversifies its economy," said Zhang, adding that the two sides are in the middle of negotiating a plan to synergize the Belt and Road Initiative and the 2030 vision.

The Saudi growth strategy was put forward last year in a bid to diversify the country's economy which is heavily dependent on oil.

BROAD CONSENSUS ON COOPERATION

China and Saudi Arabia agreed, among others, to set up a package of bilateral energy cooperation mechanisms when Zhang met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Also during the talks, they vowed to push forward a sea water desalination project using high temperature gas-cooled reactors, as well as a Chinese industry park in Saudi Arabia's southern border region of Jizan, and support the construction of a power plant in the western Saudi coastal town of Rabigh.

The two sides agreed to promote cooperation over petrochemical projects and security matters, and enhance international coordination so as to further boost their bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership.

Also on Thursday, Zhang and Mohammed co-chaired the second meeting of a high-level steering committee, a regular meeting mechanism set up during Xi's state visit to the Gulf Arab country last year. The two co-hosted the first meeting of the committee in Beijing last August.

They agreed that the two countries have made smooth progress in key projects, and signed 30 major projects over industrial capacity and investment cooperation.

Two-way trade has developed soundly with Saudi Arabia being China's largest trading partner in the region of West Asia and North Africa over the past 15 years.

Both sides pledged to strengthen coordination and communication on such multilateral platforms as the UN and the Group of 20 gatherings on major issues that concern the world system and order as well as the rights and interests of developing countries in a bid to cement strategic trust.

Beijing and Riyadh also vowed to further synergize their development strategies, and promote practical cooperation and cultural and people-to-people exchanges for shared benefits and win-win results.

They were also committed to stronger cooperation and exchanges in the fields of culture, education, health, technology, tourism and journalism.

After the meeting, the two sides signed the minutes of the meeting, and the two leaders witnessed the signing of a host of cooperation agreements involving investment, trade, energy, postal service, communications and media.

Saudi Arabia is the second leg of Zhang's four-nation tour which has already taken him to Kuwait. He will also travel to Sudan and Namibia.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 14:36:32|Editor: Yang Yi

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NANNING, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- More than a year ago, Ma Sunjie was haunted by fear that explosions at nearby quarries might damage his house.

Ma, 47, lives in the village of Majiacun by the other-worldly Lijiang River, where clean water flows between picturesque karst mountains in Guilin, a prime tourist destination in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The area has several UNESCO World Natural Heritage sites.

"Work at the quarries began in 2002, and they have been blasting the mountains day and night ever since," Ma said. "The explosions caused cracks in my house and threw a lot of dust in the air."

But from now on, Ma can rest safe in his bed, as the Guilin government has closed illegal quarries, 21 of them so far.

Only a year ago, explosions were often heard along the otherwise tranquil river. Ma's village was a constant tumult of quarrying machines and trucks carrying rocks away, leaving behind trails of dust and scarred mountains.

Behind the quarrying were huge profits. One quarry was extracting 540,000 tonnes each year, while the authorized annual amount was just 150,000 tonnes. Each tonne of rock represented about 30 yuan (4.5 U.S. dollars) of profit. That meant more than 16 million yuan each year.

Guo Chunqing, an environment professor with Guilin University of Technology, said that the mountains along the river are of typical karst formations, characterized by thin soil and little vegetation. If damaged, it will be very difficult to restore the landscape.

"The crazy over-exploitation meant pollution of the river and a threat to the entire ecosystem there," Guo said.

Fortunately, Guilin realized the severe consequences of over-exploitation and has taken tough steps.

In Lingchuan County, for instance, the local government has closed a quarry in Majiacun and spent 190 million yuan on restoring the environment. Now the site of the quarry is covered with Bermuda grass, which can be fed to domestic animals and is used in traditional Chinese medicine.

In Guilin's Qixing District, a quarry paid about one million yuan in taxes in the past few years, but damage to the nearby mountains cost a staggering 10 million yuan to restore, said Yi Lidong, the deputy district head.

By mid-August, the Guilin government had spent about 258 million yuan restoring 136 hectares. The government has also banned all new quarries and 37 officials in Guilin have been punished.

Law enforcers use drones to inspect quarries. If any illegal activity is spotted, the government takes action, 319 times from January to July this year.

But with the closure of the quarries comes a loss of jobs.

In Ma Sunjie's village, the quarry was a major source of income for most of the 230 households, bringing in about 700,000 yuan in rent annually, and jobs for villagers.

"I bought a truck a few years ago to carry the rocks, which brought me at least 50,000 yuan a year," said villager Ma Qiansheng. "Now the quarry is gone, I had to sell the truck and now find whatever work I can."

To help the villagers, a company has signed a deal with them to transform the quarry site. Villagers lease their land to the company, while the latter plants flowers and vegetation there to develop rural tourism. Revenue from tourism will be shared, with 30 percent going to the villagers.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 14:46:35|Editor: Yang Yi

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SEOUL, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- A South Korean court on Friday sentenced Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, an heir apparent of Samsung Group, the country's biggest family-run conglomerate, to five years in prison.

Lee was found guilty of five crimes, including bribery, embezzlement, concealment of criminal proceeds, illegal asset transfer to overseas and perjury, acknowledging all of the five charges levied by special prosecutors.

The independent counsel demanded a 12-year jail term earlier this month.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 15:01:39|Editor: Yang Yi

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CANBERRA, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has declared that Australians should be proud of their nation's history even if the first Australians were not perfect, rubbishing claims that some monuments remembering historical figures should be edited or changed.

Earlier this week, respected Indigenous journalist and activist Stan Grant said some statues, such as one which declared that James Cook founded Australia in 1770, should be edited to show that it was in fact Indigenous Australians who were the first people.

But speaking on Macquarie radio on Friday, Turnbull said that trying to "edit" Australia's colonial history was "dead wrong."

"I am an admirer of Stan's but he is dead wrong here," the prime minister said, "trying to edit our history is wrong."

"All of those statues, all of those monuments, are part of our history and we should respect them and preserve them -- and by all means put up other monuments, other statues and signs and sights that explain our history."

He said that Australia was the "greatest country in the world," declaring that Australians should "be proud" to acknowledge the colonial past even if the relationship between white settlers and the Indigenous population was fractured during the early years.

Meanwhile former Prime Minister and Liberal Party leader John Howard agreed with his contemporary, saying that while Australia's colonial policies were "not without fault," acknowledging them was crucial to understanding and forgiveness.

"Their settlement policies, their colonial policies, were not without fault, but they were infinitely better than the alternatives from around the time," Howard said.

"If you start mucking around with statues then you might as well start tearing down the pyramids."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 15:14:54|Editor: Yang Yi

A representation of a giant fish, 30 meters long and 7 meters high, floats through the Pinheiros river, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Aug. 24, 2017. The floating urban intervention called "Pintado" is a work of the Brazilian plastic artist Eduardo Srur, and is part of an event called "Virada Sustentavel", that takes place on Aug. 24 to 27 in Sao Paulo, with the objetive of taking to society the actions related with sustainable living. (Xinhua/Rahel Patrasso)
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 15:21:47|Editor: Zhou Xin

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SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- Several popular online dating platforms and social networking websites in the United States have started to ban hate speech and white supremacists in the wake of the Charlottesville violence.

Days after the deadly white supremacist violence in Charlottesville, a historic college town in the U.S. state of Virginia, the matchmaking site OKCupid said via Twitter that it had banned a newly famous white nationalist.

The man, Christopher Cantwell, gained notoriety for taking part in Charlottesville nationalist rallies. He has turned himself in to Lynchburg Police Department in Virginia soon after he was put on the wanted list.

"Yesterday, members of the OkCupid community alerted us that white supremacist Christopher Cantwell was on OkCupid. We banned him within 10 minutes. We make a lot of tough decisions every day. This was not one of them," Elie Seidman, CEO of OkCupid, said in a statement posted to OkCupid's blog on Aug. 18.

"OkCupid has zero tolerance for racism," said Seidman. "The privilege of being in the OkCupid community does not extend to Nazis and supremacists."

Meanwhile, another matchmaking platform, Bumble, also announced that it was seeking to ban "all forms of hate," calling on its users to block and report anyone they saw expressing hate.

OkCupid and Bumble are among a list of internet firms to take strong steps against extremism after the event in Charlottesville.

Companies that offer hosting services, including GoDaddy and Google, have removed white nationalist and neo-Nazi sites.

Twitter moved to suspend the account belonging to The Daily Stormer, an American neo-Nazi and white supremacist news and commentary website, whose previous website was known as Total Fascism.

Facebook added tools that allow users to report hateful messages. It also banned a range of pages with names like "Right Wing Death Squad" and "White Nationalists United."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 15:41:56|Editor: Lu Hui

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Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong (R) arrives for a trial at the Seoul Central District Court in Seoul, South Korea, on Aug. 7, 2017. South Korean prosecutors on Monday sought 12 years in prison for Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, an heir apparent of Samsung Group, the country's biggest family-run conglomerate, on bribery charges. (Xinhua/Lee sang-ho)

SEOUL, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- A South Korean court on Friday sentenced Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, an heir apparent of Samsung Group, the country's biggest family-run conglomerate, to five years in prison.

Lee was found guilty of five crimes, including bribery, embezzlement, concealment of criminal proceeds, illegal asset transfer to overseas and perjury.

The Seoul Central District Court acknowledged all of the five charges levied by special prosecutors, who demanded a 12-year jail term earlier this month.

Two former Samsung executives were jailed for four years and arrested inside the courtroom immediately after the verdict was handed down.

Two other former executives were sentenced to three and two-and-a-half years in suspended jail terms respectively.

The court ruled that the de-facto Samsung chief bribed impeached former President Park Geun-hye, who is now in custody and standing trial for the corruption scandal bringing her impeachment, in anticipation for favors in power transfer from his ailing father Lee Kun-hee, chairman of Samsung Electronics.

The younger Lee has controlled the country's biggest corporate empire since his father was hospitalized for heart attack more than three years ago.

The ruling said the case was about an immoral link between political and business powers, describing the ongoing cozy ties between politicians and businessmen as "shocking."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 17:07:23|Editor: An

Tomas Alcocer Gonzalez works at his office in Mexico City, Mexico, on July 25, 2017. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been growing in popularity in Latin America in recent years, especially in Mexico. Tomas Alcocer Gonzalez first saw acupuncture treatment during his internship in a small community in the southeastern state of Campeche after he graduated from Mexico's National Autonomous University in 1980, and immediately became fascinated with the healing technique that has thousands of years of history. After finishing his undergraduate courses on traditional medicine in China, he continued postgraduate studies in acupuncture before he returned to Mexico and opened his clinic. Meanwhile, Alcocer, who also teaches traditional Chinese medicine in Mexico, has taken on the laborious work of translating Huang Di Nei Jing, literally the Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor, which dates back to more than 2,200 years ago and is considered the definitive work on traditional Chinese medicine. (Xinhua/Xu Rui)
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 15:52:00|Editor: Zhou Xin

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NEW DELHI, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Death toll in the ongoing floods in India's eastern state of Bihar has risen to 393, officials said Friday.

The water in Burhi Gandak and Bagmati rivers is flowing above danger mark and have inundated new areas.

"The flood situation has aggravated in Muzaffarpur, Samastipur and Darbhanga districts," a disaster management official said.

The floods so far have affected 17 million people spreading over 21 districts.

According to officials, seven teams of Indian army, 51 of disaster response force National Disaster Response Force and State Disaster Response Force have been deployed to evacuate people from the flood affected areas.

"Relief and rescue operations are in full swing. Dry food packets are being airdropped per day in the inundated areas where people are still surrounded by flood waters," a government spokesman said.

Floods have left number of people homeless.

The state Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has asked all lawmakers to camp in flood affected areas and oversee relief and rescue operations. Kumar has also appealed them to contribute to state's flood relief fund.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 15:57:01|Editor: Zhou Xin

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SUVA, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Fiji's Office of the Prime Minister will take on more projects to enable rural Fijians to have access to quality infrastructure and services.

This follows the signing of grant agreements between the Office of the Prime Minister and three local contractors in Suva on Friday.

At the signing ceremony of the agreements, permanent secretary in the Prime Minister's Office, Yogesh Karan said the requests were made by the communities during Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama's recent visits around Fiji.

"The projects are to assist those who are underprivileged and the needy largely targeting children. The Office of the Prime Minister and the Construction Implementation Unit of the Ministry of Economy will ensure these projects are successfully completed," Karan said.

The grant agreements were signed with Deuba Point Limited, Super Construction & Civil Works Limited and Matanakilagi Community.

Deuba Point Limited will undertake kitchen refurbishment works at Ratu Kadavulevu School in Tailevu.

Super Construction & Civil Works Limited will work on the refurbishment of Queen Victoria School kitchen.

The construction company will also build a resource center in Nabua.

Matanakilagi Community has been given a grant to build a retaining wall and drainage system at the settlement in Tacirua East.

The projects will be funded through the Small Grants Scheme.
Mariam Nabatanzi Babirye alias Nalongo Muzaala Bana (the twin mother that produces quadruples) washes her children's clothes in the central Ugandan district of Kayunga, Aug. 22, 2017. 37-year-old Nalongo is a single mother who gave birth to 38 children, including twins, triplets and quadruplets. (Xinhua/Ronald Ssekandi)

KAYUNGA, Uganda, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Mariam Nabatanzi Babirye has five squeezed houses in her compound. It gives a semblance of a school as children run around playing.

The 37-year-old single mother, who has given birth to 38 children, is a known figure in the dusty small town of Kasawo in the central Ugandan district Kayunga.

With the alias Nalongo Muzaala Bana (the twin mother that produces quadruples), Babirye has delivered mostly twins, triplets and quadruplets.

Babirye's first assignment every day is to wash a heap of clothes for her children. She has to do it early in the morning to save time for other daily housework.

Breakfast time, the children seated in a circle. One loaf of bread was not enough and the children run to Babirye. She has to dig into her pockets to buy another loaf.

Photo taken on Aug. 22, 2017 shows some of the children of Mariam Nabatanzi Babirye alias Nalongo Muzaala Bana reading books. (Xinhua/Ronald Ssekandi)

She did the counting, and 14 children have missed. She gives money to one of the children to go to the shop to get more bread.

Babirye's story did not have a happy start. Her mother abandoned her at young age following a break-out with her father.

At 12, Babirye's father married her off in exchange for cows, as per the cultural norm then.

She barely remembers her first pregnancy. She was 13 years old when she first got pregnant back in 1994. Those days, pregnant women in villages were going to Traditional Birth Attendant (TBA) to give birth. Babirye's own grandmother was a TBA.

Now Babirye has six sets of twins, four sets of triplets, three sets of quadruplets and two single births. She said at some point she had a miscarriage of five babies when she was five months pregnant.

Babirye delivered all these children at home except the last born. She tried several birth control plans but they could not work as she got severe side effects.

"I used to have a lot of side effects when I use family planning methods, so the health workers asked me to stop using them. They told me to continue giving birth or else I would die," she told Xinhua in a recent interview.

Local media reported that some doctors said her high ovary count could bring severe side effects to her if she stopped getting pregnant.

Charles Kiggundu, a consultant gynecologist at Uganda's national referral hospital, Mulago Hospital, argues that although it is not common, some women can have such a number of births.

He said that scientifically every month a woman recruits between 12 to 15 eggs potential meaning these eggs can be fertilized. In normal cases one or two are fertilized, meaning that a woman can have two babies in her womb.

Kiggundu said there is a possibility of having more than two eggs being fertilized.

"They may be genetic factors, environmental factors but scientifically it is possible."

"The media has publicized her, so in current literature she is the most fertile woman on record in Uganda," Kiggundu said.

Babirye has an uphill task to take care of the children singlehandedly. She left her husband a few months ago after a misunderstanding. Her eldest daughter finished a nursing training but is yet to get a job.

"She has tried to look for jobs but to no avail. Everywhere she goes they keep asking for money in order to get her a job," Babirye said.

Babirye does all sort of work to ensure there is food on the table.

Despite the odds, she said she had no option but to soldier on. Luckily, some of the children are taking advantage of the free education provided by the government.

Some well-wishers also sent food to the mother at times.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 16:32:12|Editor: Zhou Xin

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ANKARA, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- The Turkish government on Friday issued a new state of emergency decree to dismiss 928 public workers suspected of having links with terrorist organizations and groups.

The decree also allows 57 public workers who had been previously sacked to return to their positions.

Meanwhile, three pro-Kurdish media outlets in southeastern Diyarbakir province, Dihaber Agency, Sujin Newspaper and Rojeva Newspaper, were closed by the latest decree law under state of emergency imposed after last year's attempted coup.

The Turkish government has dismissed more than 150,000 officials in purges since the July 15 coup attempt, detaining some 50,000 people including soldiers, police, and civil servants.

The decree established the National Intelligence Coordination Board under Presidency. The president's permission will be required for the head of the MIT national intelligence agency to be investigated or to act as a witness.

The decree also enabled the intelligence agency to conduct activities within the Turkish army and defense ministry personnel.

The state of emergency was declared in July 2016 in the wake of a defeated coup that left 250 people martyred and some 2,200 injured, and has since been extended.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 16:57:21|Editor: Zhou Xin

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YANGON, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Eight more policemen have been killed in renewed terrorist attacks in Maungtaw, Myanmar's Rakhine state since Friday morning, bringing the total number of the police losing their lives to 13, according to a release from the Defense Services Office.

About 24 police posts in Maungtaw region were attacked with handmade bombs by extremist terrorists at 01:00 a.m. local time.

Also, about 150 extremists attempted to break into the light infantry battalion No. 552 military base at 03:00 a.m. local time.

The combined forces of the military and the police are still waging an attack against the extremist terrorists, according to the release.

The attack continued till noon and about 15 bodies of the terrorists have been seized so far.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 17:12:28|Editor: Yurou

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SEOUL, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Shares of Samsung Group, South Korea's biggest family-controlled conglomerate, were affected Friday by the court's ruling that sentenced Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, the group's heir apparent, to five years in prison.

Shares of Samsung Electronics, the crown jewel of the group, declined 1.1 percent, and Samsung C&T, the de-facto holding company of the group, retreated 1.4 percent.

However, Samsung Life Insurance, the life insurer unit, advanced 2.5 percent, and the shipbuilding affiliate Samsung Heavy Industries gained 2.8 percent.

Lee, the third-generation head of Samsung, was convicted of all of the five charges levied by prosecutors, including bribery, embezzlement, concealment of criminal proceeds, illegal transfer of assets to overseas and perjury.

The prosecutors demanded a 12-year imprisonment for the Samsung heir earlier this month.

Samsung Electronics posted its biggest quarterly earnings in the April-June quarter though the de-facto Samsung chief was brought into custody in February.

Some worried that the prolonged detention of the Samsung heir would deal a blow to Samsung's future on absence of the leadership which decides on major investments and large-scale M&As.

Others expected the leadership absence to have little effect on the Samsung future as the tech giant is being run by professional executives and the well-organized system.

Meanwhile, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) inched up 2.67 points, or 0.11 percent, to settle at 2,378.51. Trading volume stood at 337.56 million shares worth 4.55 trillion won (4 billion U.S. dollars).

The court ruling on the Samsung heir had a negative effect on the KOSPI moves, but local institutions raised stock holdings on expectations that the ruling's effect would be limited.

South Korea's currency finished at 1,128.2 won against the greenback, down 0.3 won from the previous close.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 17:12:29|Editor: Yurou

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by Peter Mertz

DENVER, the United States, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- Conservationists in America's West breathed a sigh of relief Thursday as the Trump administration's changes to the protected wilderness areas were reported less harmful than many had feared.

"Yes, it could have been worse," said Loni Kepaa, a Native American from the Ogallala Sioux Tribe in South Dakota state.

"But my tribe has no trust for (President) Donald Trump," the 52-year-old artist told Xinhua. "We will see what happens next."

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke's long-awaited report reviewing the 27 national monuments designated since 1996 was sent to Trump Thursday.

The report will not touch 2.6 million acres, or 10,000 square km, involving six national monuments that can be vast wilderness areas given extra federal protection and limited public use.

But the report advises Trump to reduce the size of at least three national monuments: Oregon's Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument and Utah's Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments, the Washington Post reported Thursday.

"The secretary failed to take the time to listen to the very people who know best what is at stake at Bears Ears, and ignored overwhelming support in Utah for the monument," the Native American organization Utah Dine Bikeyah said in a statement.

The White House confirmed Thursday night that Trump had seen the report that wants to "redraw the boundaries of a handful" of national monuments, but will not call for the elimination of any sites.

It is likely the president will approve all or most of the report in the next few days, Washington insiders said.

"Neither the secretary nor this president have spent time with tribal leasers, yet they are making decisions that directly effect us ... not good," said Kepaa, whose grandfather, a Lakota Sioux, was awarded a Purple Heart in World War II after surviving a Japanese attack in the Pacific.

Zinke said this week that his new plan will give Native American tribal officials the authority to co-manage "designated cultural resources."

"The recommendations were not made in a bubble in Washington D.C.," Zinke said.

Tribal leaders and conservationists around Utah had long pressed the federal government to protect the 1.35-million-acre (5,500 square km) Big Ears land -- that former President Barack Obama signed into protection in December 2016.

Even though Zinke has stated on the record that many tribes are happy with the new measures taking place, both Sioux and Navajo nation leaders say they have never been happy with the secretary.

In fact, Zinke, a former U.S. Navy Seal who rode a horse to work on this first day to work in downtown Washington, D.C., has received a torrent of criticism after details of his review had been leaked to the public in the past few days.

This week, Arizona Democrat Representative Raul Grijalva blasted the review for suffering "from a nearly complete lack of public transparency."

The secretary's report follows a 120-day review mandated by Trump in late April. Zinke delayed the release in June to gather more information.

The assessment included 27 monuments designated since 1996, all but one of which encompass more than 100,000 acres (405 square km).

Thursday's summary of the review states that comments from the public "were overwhelmingly in favor of maintaining existing monuments and demonstrated a well-orchestrated national campaign organized by multiple organizations."

Zinke's recommendation to shrink Bears Ears National Monument was a response to conservative ranchers and politicians, who opposed Obama's designation of the 1.3-million-acre (5,500 square km) area in December 2016, conservationists claim.

"Each of these monuments needs to be carefully reviewed, case by case, and that's what Secretary Zinke has done," said Kirk Blue, a former U.S. Navy engineer and Trump supporter.

"Generally Conservatives believe in using the land, and Zinke wants that too -- from allowing the grazing of cattle to oil exploration," Blue told Xinhua.

"Protecting federal land doesn't mean not using it," he added from his home in the mountains of Colorado.

"What do you think conservative means?" Blue asked. "We conserve things -- resources, money, and the land," he said.

Blue thinks liberal politicians went too far by protecting land that's "not that unique or valuable," and went overboard in this process, Blue asserts.

"When you don't let people use the land -- from ranchers or Native Americans," then you've failed," he told Xinhua.

The "National Monuments" were created by the Antiquities Act of 1906 and were used by famous American presidents, Teddy Roosevelt in 1908 to protect the Grand Canyon, and by Woodrow Wilson in 1918 to protect Alaska's Katmai National Monument that totaled 2,800,000 acres (11,000 square km).

The act is a unique instrument of American law whereby a sitting president can designate an area a "national monument" without approval or consent of anyone, including Congress.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 17:17:31|Editor: Yurou

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ANKARA, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- The Turkish government on Friday said nearly 38,000 new policemen, judges and prosecutors would be hired under a statutory decree as part of the state of emergency.

Nearly 32,000 new police officer positions were created for the central and peripheral organizations of the Turkish police, according to the decree.

In addition, 4,000 positions for judges and prosecutors, in addition to 2,000 positions for judge candidates were established for Justice Ministry peripheral organizations.

Since the July 15 coup attempt last year, Turkish government has dismissed more than 150,000 officials while detained some 50,000 people including soldiers, policemen, and civil servants.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 18:02:51|Editor: Yurou

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LUANDA, Aug. 25 (XINHUA) -- The Angolan main opposition party, National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), has disputed the first provisional results released on Thursday by the National Electoral Commission (CNE) in the framework of the last Wednesday's elections.

This position was voiced out Friday in Luanda by the UNITA party agent, Jose Pedro Catchiungo, stating that CNE is wrong and the announced provisional results are false.

The preliminary results from the 2017 general elections give victory to the ruling People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), with 64.57 percent of the votes cast.

According to data released by NEC at mid-afternoon on Thursday, of the votes cast, MPLA has achieved 64.57 percent of votes, while UNITA occupied the second place with 24.4 percent.

The first provisional results indicate that the Broad Convergence for the Salvation of Angola - Electoral Coalition (CASA-CE) comes in third position, with 8.56 percent of the valid votes. This political force also disputes the results released by CNE.

The Social Renewal Party (PRS) is at fourth place with 1.37 percent of the votes, the National Liberation Front of Angola (FNLA) with 0.95 percent and the National Patriotic Alliance (APN), with 0.52 percent.

These results are related to 16,692 (65.53 percent) scrutinized voting tables out of a total of the foreseen 25,474.

These provisional results indicate a 23.17 percent abstention.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 18:02:52|Editor: Yurou

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KABUL, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Casualties feared as gunshots heard near a mosque in Kabul on Friday, a local television channel Tolo reported without providing more details.

Meantime, eyewitnesses said a blast followed by gunshots targeted a mosque in Qala-e-Najara locality in precinct 11 of Kabul city at around 01:20 p.m. local time Friday.

The incident took place while scores of faithful people including children and teenagers gathered inside the mosque to offer their Friday prayer.

Security forces have rushed to the area and efforts are underway to rescue those trapped inside the mosque.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 18:02:53|Editor: Yurou

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by Xinhua writers Zhi Linfei, Li Ziheng

KHARTOUM, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Through fruitful and mutually beneficial cooperation with Sudan, China is turning the African nation's two major resources in black and white, namely oil and cotton, into gold.

The China-Sudan cooperation now shines as a model for developing Sino-African relations, showcasing China's contribution to Africa's development.

Thanks to the funding and technological aid from China, Sudan has largely achieved energy independence by establishing its own oil industry. Similarly, China is helping Sudan transform its economy, through its efforts to create a cotton industry with a complete chain of production.

To illustrate the close economic and trade relationship between the two countries, China is the biggest trade partner for Sudan, which is the third largest African trade partner for China.

"Our relationship with China is historical, deeply-rooted and strategic. This is a model relationship that we hope will continue and shift to wider horizons," Awad Ahmed al-Jaz, a Sudanese presidential aide in charge of Sudan's ties with China, told Xinhua in an interview.

KHARTOUM REFINERY: MODEL OF SUDAN-CHINA COOPERATION

When Sudan and China signed a deal on building the Khartoum Refinery Co. in 1997, no one expected it to become such a success story like today.

Located on the east bank of the Nile river 70 km north of Sudan's capital Khartoum, the 50-50 joint venture between Sudan's Ministry of Energy and Mining and China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), has successfully turned the oil-rich African country from an importer of petroleum products to an exporter.

With the help of China's funding, technology and personnel training, the refinery was built in less than 20 months, and has expanded to increase its yearly output to 4.5 million tons.

It has not only met Sudan's domestic demand for petroleum and diesel, but also exported high grade petroleum products to neighboring countries to earn the much-needed hard currencies.

A new city was also born around the refinery as it has attracted a number of petrochemical factories, power plants, oil-trading companies, and other service companies.

In the past 20 years, the Sudan oil industry, including the refinery and other oil-related investments, has generated over 100 billion U.S. dollars in direct and indirect revenues for Sudan's economy, according to official estimates.

Jia Yong, general manager of CNPC International (Nile) Co., the Chinese partner of the Khartoum Refinery, said the refinery is a model showing how China helps an African state realize industrialization.

"The project has not only helped Sudan realize energy independence, but also ensured its safety of national energy supply," Jia told Xinhua.

In addition to the economic benefits, China's oil investments have also brought about huge social benefits for local communities. For example, China has trained a contingent of Sudanese oil engineers and technical workers, many of them are even later recruited by oil-rich Gulf nations.

Over the years, CNPC Co. has contributed more than 120 million dollars to varied charity and poverty relief projects in Sudan, by building and donating 104 schools, 50 hospitals and clinics, and 400 water wells, to fulfill its social responsibilities.

This refinery is so successful that several other African countries have requested China's help to build a similar one in their countries.

"So far, we have made progress in helping Algeria, Chad and Niger build similar refineries, following the Sudan model," Jia said, adding that this model could be applied in China's Belt and Road Initiative.

CHINA AIMS TO TURN SUDAN'S COTTON INTO WHITE GOLD

In addition to oil, Sudan is also famous for growing quality cotton. But it has failed so far to establish a complete industry with a production chain from cotton farming, processing, to textile and clothing making.

Now, China is making huge efforts to help Sudan build a cotton industry, based on its successful experience in the oil industry.

China has already achieved success in helping Sudan improve its cotton farming. In Al-Faw in Al Qadarif state, 260 km southeast of Khartoum, a China-funded modern cotton research center, China Aid Agricultural Technology Demonstration Center, has successfully introduced a new type of quality cotton seeds from China.

The seeds, named as China 1 by Sudanese government, have notably increased cotton yields per mu (0.04 hectare) by 150 kilos. The seeds are so popular that 94 percent of Sudanese cotton farmers now plant them, earning an average of 8,400 Sudanese pounds (1,259 U.S. dollars) in increased income per household a year.

In August last year, the Sudanese government and Chinese companies signed a Memorandum of Understanding to allow the latter to grow 1 million acres of cotton in Sudan, including 112,000 hectares in Al Jazirah, a major cotton growing state of Sudan.

In addition to cotton growing, Chinese companies plan to help Sudan build textile and ready-made clothing factories to complete the cotton industry's chain of production.

In the Al Rahad irrigation zone, China Shandong International Economic & Technical Cooperation Group joined hands with Shandong Lumian Group in 2012 to invest 50 million dollars in building a 6,667-hectare modern farm of cotton farming and processing.

It envisions building a complete chain of production comprising of cotton growing, processing, textile manufacturing and clothing making factories, as well as animal farming and meat processing facilities. Raw cotton seeds can be processed to make cooking oil, and its left-over can be turned into animal feeds.

With the help from China's ministries of commerce and agriculture, the farm has been training Sudanese in cotton farming and processing. So far, the Al Rahad farm has held 4 sessions of training under a three-year deal with the UN Food Programme.

"We have achieved an inspiring model in the field of oil industry and now we are heading toward turning agriculture into another model for cooperation after oil industry. We are now ready to make Al Rahad Agriculture Project a model for cooperation in the agricultural field," Awad Ahmed al-Jaz said.

EAGER TO RIDE ON THE WAVE OF BELT & ROAD INITIATIVE

Sudan, benefiting so much from the previous cooperation with China, is now eager to take advantage of the new opportunities offered by China's Belt and Road Initiative.

The initiative aims to build a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa, by building roads, bridges, ports and other projects to seek common development and prosperity.

Al-Jaz said he was optimistic that the initiative would inject a new impetus to the China-Sudan ties as Sudan can serve as the link between the African continent and the Arab region.

Bushra Al-Sheikh Dafalla, a Sudanese diplomat and political analyst, told Xinhua that the partnership between the two countries have brought about so many benefits, now Sudan needs to get more help from China in the field of infrastructure construction.

"China can establish land transport lines linking the Mediterranean Sea to Cape Town, which can connect the whole African continent across Sudan," he said, noting China boasts world-class railways construction expertise.
The bird-eye view of Khartoum Refinery, a China-Sudan joint venture hailed as a model of China-African cooperation that showcases China's contribution to African development. (Xinhua photo/Li Ziheng)

by Xinhua writers Zhi Linfei, Li Ziheng

KHARTOUM, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Through fruitful and mutually beneficial cooperation with Sudan, China is turning the African nation's two major resources in black and white, namely oil and cotton, into gold.

The China-Sudan cooperation now shines as a model for developing Sino-African relations, showcasing China's contribution to Africa's development.

Thanks to the funding and technological aid from China, Sudan has largely achieved energy independence by establishing its own oil industry. Similarly, China is helping Sudan transform its economy, through its efforts to create a cotton industry with a complete chain of production.

To illustrate the close economic and trade relationship between the two countries, China is the biggest trade partner for Sudan, which is the third largest African trade partner for China.

"Our relationship with China is historical, deeply-rooted and strategic. This is a model relationship that we hope will continue and shift to wider horizons," Awad Ahmed al-Jaz, a Sudanese presidential aide in charge of Sudan's ties with China, told Xinhua in an interview.

Chinese Ambassador to Sudan Li Lianhe met with Awad Ahmed al-Jazi, Sudanese presidential aide in charge of the Sudan-China relations. (Xinhua Photo/Li Ziheng)

KHARTOUM REFINERY: MODEL OF SUDAN-CHINA COOPERATION

When Sudan and China signed a deal on building the Khartoum Refinery Co. in 1997, no one expected it to become such a success story like today.

Located on the east bank of the Nile river 70 km north of Sudan's capital Khartoum, the 50-50 joint venture between Sudan's Ministry of Energy and Mining and China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), has successfully turned the oil-rich African country from an importer of petroleum products to an exporter.

With the help of China's funding, technology and personnel training, the refinery was built in less than 20 months, and has expanded to increase its yearly output to 4.5 million tons.

It has not only met Sudan's domestic demand for petroleum and diesel, but also exported high grade petroleum products to neighboring countries to earn the much-needed hard currencies.

A new city was also born around the refinery as it has attracted a number of petrochemical factories, power plants, oil-trading companies, and other service companies.

In the past 20 years, the Sudan oil industry, including the refinery and other oil-related investments, has generated over 100 billion U.S. dollars in direct and indirect revenues for Sudan's economy, according to official estimates.

Jia Yong, general manager of CNPC International (Nile) Co., the Chinese partner of the Khartoum Refinery, said the refinery is a model showing how China helps an African state realize industrialization.

"The project has not only helped Sudan realize energy independence, but also ensured its safety of national energy supply," Jia told Xinhua.

In addition to the economic benefits, China's oil investments have also brought about huge social benefits for local communities. For example, China has trained a contingent of Sudanese oil engineers and technical workers, many of them are even later recruited by oil-rich Gulf nations.

Over the years, CNPC Co. has contributed more than 120 million dollars to varied charity and poverty relief projects in Sudan, by building and donating 104 schools, 50 hospitals and clinics, and 400 water wells, to fulfill its social responsibilities.

This refinery is so successful that several other African countries have requested China's help to build a similar one in their countries.

"So far, we have made progress in helping Algeria, Chad and Niger build similar refineries, following the Sudan model," Jia said, adding that this model could be applied in China's Belt and Road Initiative.

Jia Yong, general manager of the CNPC International (Nile) Co., the Chinese partner of Khartoum Refinery Co., talked to workers during an inspection tour. (Xinhua photo/Li Ziheng)

CHINA AIMS TO TURN SUDAN'S COTTON INTO WHITE GOLD

In addition to oil, Sudan is also famous for growing quality cotton. But it has failed so far to establish a complete industry with a production chain from cotton farming, processing, to textile and clothing making.

Now, China is making huge efforts to help Sudan build a cotton industry, based on its successful experience in the oil industry.

China has already achieved success in helping Sudan improve its cotton farming. In Al-Faw in Al Qadarif state, 260 km southeast of Khartoum, a China-funded modern cotton research center, China Aid Agricultural Technology Demonstration Center, has successfully introduced a new type of quality cotton seeds from China.

The seeds, named as China 1 by Sudanese government, have notably increased cotton yields per mu (0.04 hectare) by 150 kilos. The seeds are so popular that 94 percent of Sudanese cotton farmers now plant them, earning an average of 8,400 Sudanese pounds (1,259 U.S. dollars) in increased income per household a year.

In August last year, the Sudanese government and Chinese companies signed a Memorandum of Understanding to allow the latter to grow 1 million acres of cotton in Sudan, including 112,000 hectares in Al Jazirah, a major cotton growing state of Sudan.

In addition to cotton growing, Chinese companies plan to help Sudan build textile and ready-made clothing factories to complete the cotton industry's chain of production.

In the Al Rahad irrigation zone, China Shandong International Economic & Technical Cooperation Group joined hands with Shandong Lumian Group in 2012 to invest 50 million dollars in building a 6,667-hectare modern farm of cotton farming and processing.

It envisions building a complete chain of production comprising of cotton growing, processing, textile manufacturing and clothing making factories, as well as animal farming and meat processing facilities. Raw cotton seeds can be processed to make cooking oil, and its left-over can be turned into animal feeds.

With the help from China's ministries of commerce and agriculture, the farm has been training Sudanese in cotton farming and processing. So far, the Al Rahad farm has held 4 sessions of training under a three-year deal with the UN Food Programme.

"We have achieved an inspiring model in the field of oil industry and now we are heading toward turning agriculture into another model for cooperation after oil industry. We are now ready to make Al Rahad Agriculture Project a model for cooperation in the agricultural field," Awad Ahmed al-Jaz said.

Chinese and Sudanese cotton experts held discussions during a field tour of the cotton farm in Al-Faw in Al Qadarif state, Sudan. (Xinhua photo/Li Ziheng)

EAGER TO RIDE ON THE WAVE OF BELT & ROAD INITIATIVE

Sudan, benefiting so much from the previous cooperation with China, is now eager to take advantage of the new opportunities offered by China's Belt and Road Initiative.

The initiative aims to build a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa, by building roads, bridges, ports and other projects to seek common development and prosperity.

Al-Jaz said he was optimistic that the initiative would inject a new impetus to the China-Sudan ties as Sudan can serve as the link between the African continent and the Arab region.

Bushra Al-Sheikh Dafalla, a Sudanese diplomat and political analyst, told Xinhua that the partnership between the two countries have brought about so many benefits, now Sudan needs to get more help from China in the field of infrastructure construction.

"China can establish land transport lines linking the Mediterranean Sea to Cape Town, which can connect the whole African continent across Sudan," he said, noting China boasts world-class railways construction expertise.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 18:12:57|Editor: Yamei

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Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying (Photo source: fmprc.gov.cn)

BEIJING, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- China opposes any unilateral sanctions imposed by any country outside the framework of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Friday.

Spokesperson Hua Chunying said at a daily news briefing that China especially opposes sanctions against Chinese entities and people.

Japan's Cabinet on Friday approved the imposition of new unilateral sanctions on a number of companies and individuals from China, Namibia and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) in a bid to further pressure Pyongyang over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

China is comprehensively implementing DPRK-related resolutions of the Security Council, Hua said.

"We oppose unilateral sanctions imposed by any country outside the framework of the Security Council, and in this case we oppose sanctioning Chinese entities and individuals," Hua said.

China is dissatisfied with and strongly opposes Japan's moves, Hua said, urging Japan not to follow in the footsteps of some countries.

What the Japanese side has done has seriously harmed China's interests and brought tremendous political obstacles to China-Japan relations, the spokesperson said.

"If Japan continues to act arbitrarily, it should pay the consequences," Hua said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 18:17:58|Editor: Yurou

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SANAA, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- At least 16 people, including six children, were killed when a Saudi-led coalition warplanes hit a family home in central Sanaa, the Yemeni capital, early on Friday, medics and residents said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 18:28:07|Editor: An

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BEIJING, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Despite the exhibition hall's vast size and being filled with hundreds of children, there is no running, screaming or fighting. Instead, the children are all calmly holding pictures books, attentively reading.

The Beijing International Book Fair is now in its 24th year, but the picture book exhibition only started in 2015 and quickly became a hit with parents and children alike.

Liang Dan, 33, cuddles her son at a corner of the fair, reaches for a book, opens it and begins reading softly. Her son's eyes are glued to the drawings.

"I came here alone in 2015, but have brought my son every year since," she says. "There are picture books from all over the world and my son likes them a lot."

Only four years old, Liang's son has read more than 300 picture books.

A book sales report by Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com showed sales of children's literature was the highest among all book categories on the its website in 2016, taking up over 30 percent of the total. Sales of picture books ranked second at 20.2 percent.

A similar report from Dangdang.com, China's major online book retailer, had the same result. Of its 14 billion yuan (about 2 billion U.S. dollars) book sales last year, 26.5 percent came from children's literature, another 18.7 percent were from picture books, yearly growth of over 37 percent.

The burgeoning Chinese picture book market has lured publishers from every corner of the globe. This year's fair has attracted more than 2,500 exhibitors from 89 countries and regions, with overseas exhibitors accounting for 58 percent.

It has also set up an "international childhood education hall" for the first time, comprising picture books, illustrations as well as textbooks.

The picture book exhibition displays over 10,000 books in 13 languages, a feast for Chinese parents that attach great importance to early childhood education.

Experience from developed countries showed when the per capita GDP exceeds 5,000 U.S. dollars, the picture book industry booms. In China, the per capita GDP surpassed 8,000 U.S. dollars last year.

Tiia Stranden, a Finnish publisher, came with her peers in Sweden and Denmark, bringing picture books from Northern Europe.

"I know that a lot of our Finnish publishers have their children's picture book copyrights [to China] sold out already. So it's amazing to see how the demand has grown," she told Xinhua. "My experience was that the Chinese publishers are interested in all the titles, so there is demand for a big variety of children's books and picture books."

Li Jia, from Lelequ, a company that specializes in publishing children's books, says Chinese parents were looking for picture books that can help build good emotional intelligence for their children, rather than simply delivering knowledge.

"Everything a child may encounter from making friends in kindergartens, to the topics that parents may find awkward explaining, such as divorce and sex education, are included in the picture books," Li says. "It has become an important communication channel between kids and their parents."

With more imported picture books coming, Chinese publishers are also working to make original Chinese picture books.

According to Li, all of their earliest publications were imported, but now almost 30 percent are Chinese originals, with some even entering overseas markets.

In September last year, Lelequ published a pop-up picture book "Havoc in Heaven," based on the story of the monkey in Chinese classic novel "Journey to the West".

Opening each page unfolds life-like characters depicted in the book, in rich colors and vivid detail. Lelequ wants the book to become an ambassador to introduce traditional Chinese culture to the world.

"The book consists of over 300 parts, each manually pasted, so it is pricy. Our team put a lot of work into the drawing. For instance, the color of the clouds came from the renowned Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes. It is very classic," Li says.

At 329 yuan, the book is indeed expensive. But many Chinese parents believe that the money is worth it.

"I spend thousands of yuan on picture books every year. A picture book that sells at about 100 yuan is acceptable to me, but some books are delicate and innovative, and I will buy it for my son even though it may be costly," Liang says.

A traditional Chinese version of "Havoc in Heaven" is on sale in Taiwan, and English and French versions are under discussion.

"We have published another three-dimensional book 'Chinese Spring Festival,' and its copyright has been sold to many countries. We are very proud," Li says.

Stranden says she had never seen a Chinese picture book in Northern Europe before 2016, but knows one was published in Sweden last year.

"When we promote Finnish literature outside Finland, of course you cannot go only one way. I think with more Finnish picture books getting exported to China, then the other way will also happen," she says.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 18:33:09|Editor: An



A Chinese naval formation conducts transverse replenishment of fuel and drinking water in western Indian Ocean waters on Aug. 25, 2017. A Chinese naval formation consisting of the destroyer Changchun, guided-missile frigate Jingzhou and supply vessel Chaohu conducted a live-fire drill in the waters of the western Indian Ocean, military sources said Friday. (Xinhua/Xu Shouming)

ABOARD CHANGCHUN, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese naval formation consisting of the destroyer Changchun, guided-missile frigate Jingzhou and supply vessel Chaohu conducted a live-fire drill in the waters of the western Indian Ocean, military sources said Friday.

The fleet carried out strikes against "enemy" surface ships and completed transverse replenishment of fuel and drinking water during an exercise that lasted for several days.

The drill is aimed at improving the ships' performance under real combat circumstances, said Chen Denan, chief of staff of the Chinese fleet.

The fleet is on a half-year friendship visit to Asia, Europe, Africa and Oceania and has conducted joint exercises with foreign navies from 10 countries since it started its voyage on April 23.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 19:08:27|Editor: Zhou Xin

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KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Up to 42 armed insurgents have been confirmed dead and 25 others wounded after an overnight of Afghan forces operations backed by airstrikes conducted in Shah Walikot district in Taliban former stronghold southern Kandahar province, police said Friday.

The incident took place in Seyasang and Buri areas of Shah Walikot district after the armed Taliban attacked security checkpoints in the districts, said Kandahar police chief General Abdul Razeq.

"Air force was called for help in the area, resulting in killing 42 Taliban rebels and 25 others wounded," Razeq told Xinhua.

The official also confirmed that four security personnel had been killed and some others injured.

The is the militants' second offensive launched in the province, after U.S. President Donald Trump announced his strategy on Afghanistan.

Taliban militants who have vowed to continue the war against the U.S.-led coalition forces in Afghanistan earlier attacked security checkpoints in Nish district of Kandahar and the neighboring Uruzgan provinces.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 19:08:30|Editor: Zhou Xin

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PHNOM PENH, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- A Cambodian court on Friday convicted a minor opposition chief of inciting soldiers to disobey orders and sentenced him to five years in prison, according to a verdict.

Sourn Serey Ratha, 44, president of the Khmer Power Party, was arrested red-handed on Aug. 13, a day after he posted to his Facebook criticizing the Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen's decision to dispatch troops to confront with Lao troops in a disputed border area.

Phnom Penh Municipal Court said Ratha's comments had affected social security and security of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces, and charged him with three counts: inciting military personnel to be disobedient, demoralization of military personnel, and provocation to commit crimes.

"The court decided to sentence Sourn Serey Ratha to five years in prison and to fine him 10 million riel (2,500 U.S. dollars)," said the verdict.

During a three-hour hearing on Thursday, Ratha defended his words, saying that he just expressed his view as a politician and had no intention to insult or incite the army.

The convict has one month to appeal against his guilty verdict.

Ratha returned to Cambodia from self-imposed exile in the United States after receiving a royal pardon in July 2015 for terrorism conviction.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 19:13:34|Editor: Zhou Xin

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YANGON, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Resident Coordinator in Myanmar condemned the series of coordinated attacks on the security forces by extremists in the early hours on Friday.

In his statement released here on Friday, UN Resident Coordinator Renata Lok-Dessallien expressed deep condolence to the bereaved families of the police who lost their lives in the attacks, wishing a speedy recovery to the injured.

The statement called on all parties to refrain from violence, protect civilians, restore law and order and resolve issues through dialogue and peaceful means.

Extremists launched renewed attacks on 30 police outposts in Maungtaw in the early hours on Friday, killing 13 policemen.

Two hours later, about 150 extremists attempted to break into a military base of the light infantry battalion No. 552.

So far, 59 bodies of the terrorists have been seized with one captured alive as the fighting continued till noon.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 19:33:46|Editor: Zhou Xin

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JAKARTA, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- The government of Indonesia has taken steps to thwart penetration of extremism to universities across the archipelagic nation.

The move was made following findings of evidence that several Indonesian university students in domestic and abroad have engaged in terrorist activities.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Friday met with 16 rectors of universities, stressing that campus must be free from radicalism, according to Indonesian Minister of Research and High Education Muhammad Nasir.

"I have ordered rectors to make a list of those implicating in radical groups activities," he said at the State Palace.

Cooperation with the country's counter-terrorism agency would be undertaken to prevent the spread of the extremism to campuses, Nasir added.

A meeting of rectors from all universities in the country is scheduled to be held at the end of next month in Bali in a bid to strengthen commitment of the universities to upholding the country's basic principle and combating the extremism, the minister said.

The meeting will find the way to step up the implementation of the principle in the behaviors of students, he added.

"There has already had a lesson of Pancasila, but the principle must be well implemented in the behaviors," Nasir added.

Pancasila is Indonesia's state ideology, which includes belief in god, the unity of the country, social justice and democracy, and which enshrines religious diversity in an officially secular system.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 19:43:48|Editor: Zhou Xin

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TEHRAN, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Ministry on Friday dismissed Bahrain's claims that Tehran is behind a terror cell that has been busted by Bahrain's police, Press TV reported.

On Thursday, Bahrain announced that it had arrested seven "suspected members of a terror cell backed by Iran."

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi rejected the latest allegation by Manama as "baseless and ridiculous," saying that "the Islamic republic has never been a promoter of violence and destabilizing actions in neighboring countries, including Bahrain."

Qasemi said it is not the first time Bahrain comes up with such accusatory statements, calling on the Arab kingdom to stop "playing a blame game" against the Iran.

He urged dialogues and peaceful methods to end the political conflicts in the country.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 19:48:50|Editor: An

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HONG KONG, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal Friday rejected two disqualified legislators-elect's application for leave to appeal over the case of their disqualification. The final judgement means the pair now have no more room to appeal against their disqualification.

Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal opened a court hearing of the two disqualified legislators-elect, Leung Chung-hang and Yau Wai-ching's appeal on Friday. After listening to the arguments of their lawyers, the Chief Justice Hon Ma and two other permanent judges of the court dismissed their appeal, saying their cases were not reasonably arguable.

Leung and Yau used derogatory language insulting the country and nation when taking their oaths at a swearing-in ceremony of the new Legislative Council (LegCo) on Oct. 12, 2016. Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) government filed a judicial review requesting the pair should be disqualified as LegCo members.

The pair was disqualified by High Court on Nov. 15, 2016, their appeal was rejected by Court of Appeal on Nov. 30, 2016. Then Leung and Yau filed an appeal application to Court of Final Appeal, the highest court in Hong Kong on Feb. 13, 2017.

Responding to the dismissal, Hong Kong Chief Executive Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said Hong Kong's judiciary is independent. About the by-election arrangements, she said the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau would handle the matter according to laws and regular procedures.

The Legislative Council President Leung Kwan-yuen said its secretariat would issue letters to Leung and Yau requesting them to return 1.8 million HK dollars (about 230,000 U.S. dollars) they took as salary and other expenses.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 19:58:55|Editor: Lu Hui

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by Xinhua writers Cheng Lu, Bai Xu and Li Meng

BEIJING, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- While few people would associate inanimate objects such robots with having artistic capabilities, the ongoing 2017 World Robot Conference in Beijing is shedding light on their creative abilities.

Dressed in a suit and tie, TeoTronico sits in front of a piano center stage in an exhibition hall, moving its fingers with great accuracy and speed to play a piece from Mozart.

Unlike a human pianist, TeoTronico has 53 "fingers." It is a purpose built pianist robot, created in Italy.

After participating in many concerts, TeoTronico has gained recognition worldwide. It has even faced off with a human pianist in a musical battle.

In addition to playing piano, it can talk, sing and make amusing facial expressions, interact in conversations, and move its head, mouth, eyes, eyelids and eyebrows.

"The robot serves as a musical education assistant, giving some insight for music learners," said Peter Chang, China representative for TeoTronico, who added that they currently don't plan to mass produce the the robot pianist.

Chang said the robot performing at the conference is the third generation. The fourth generation, which has the ability to spontaneously compose music, is available in Europe.

"We don't think that robots will replace humans. This robot is intended to cooperate with its human counterparts," he said.

While TeoTronico is busy at displaying its musical talent, Saidaqian is staging an exhibition of its paintings in another area of the conference.

Wearing a peaked cap and glasses, and sporting a handlebar mustache, the 1.55-meter tall artist robot stands in silence, fully devoting to sketching portraits of visitors in black ink.

Saidaqian was created by Shenzhen Academy of Robotics. A user's photo can be sent to the robot's system, it will then begin to draw the portrait, taking around five minutes to complete it.

According to Fang Siwen from the academy, Saidaqian's appearance was designed to resemble the stereotype of foreign street artists. The robot can be used in museums, shopping malls and restaurants to teach drawing or attract customers.

The company has already sold two portrait robots prior to the conference, at a price of around 300,000 yuan (45,000 U.S. dollars) each. Customers can also rent a robot for nearly 8,000 yuan per month, said Fang.

If a robot pianist and artist fail to amaze you, how about a robotic arm capable of writing traditional Chinese calligraphy? At a time when humans are slowly forgetting how to write by hand, robots are willing and able to do the job and do it precisely.

A robotic arm called Dobot Magician paints a Chinese couplet with a brush pen and ink, attracting many onlookers. The arm is already well-known in China after its appearance on this year's Spring Festival Gala online broadcast.

However, Dobot Magician's main function is not writing characters, said Xiang Haibing, regional manager of Shenzhen Yuejiang Technology, the robotic arm's creator. "It can also be used in other fields such as 3D printing and laser engraving."

Xiang said that the company has sold more than 5,000 similar robotic arms worldwide. Most of them were purchased by educational institutes to inspire students to be more innovative.

He admitted that anything is possible in the world of robots. In the future, perhaps robots will have self-learning abilities, have their own memories or even ideas.

"So we will have higher demands on artists," Xiang said.

However, human artists are not worried about losing their place to robots.

"Robots cannot replace humans in the arts," said Chen Zhe, a Chinese composer. "The interpretation and creation of music is basically the expression of feelings."

Chen said robots can increase public interest in learning music, but they cannot effectively teach music. As they are based on programmed procedures, they cannot adjust their teaching approach according to students' learning speeds and personal feelings.

"Robots don't have creativity," said Qiu Zhijie, president of the School of Experimental Art at China Central Academy of Fine Arts.

When an artist sees beautiful scenery, he may immediately make a sketch, paint an artwork 20 years later, or just write a poem about what he saw.

"When we see his work, we can recall his experience and be moved by his feelings. The same painting produced by a robot would not touch our heart in the same way," Qiu said.

Qiu is not worried about robots stealing jobs from artists. He said the emergence of photography brought about modern paintings and several of the great painters, for example Vincent Van Gogh.

Jia Xiaoning, a Chinese painter, was interested in the artist robot Saidaqian. After appreciating its work, he said: "The biggest difference between humans and robots is that we have life and emotions."

"Different feelings push people into different states, which will affect what they see, hear and think, and eventually these feelings are shown in their paintings in terms of color and drawing strength," Jia said.

Can an artist's hand be replaced by a robot's touch? "Let's wait and see," Jia said.

(Zhang Manzi and Lin Li also contributed to the story)
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 20:14:03|Editor: Zhou Xin

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (L) shakes hands with Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo in Warsaw, Poland, on Aug. 25, 2017. (Xinhua/Jaap Arriens)

WARSAW, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- The deployment of international combat groups in Poland and Baltic States represents "a sign of NATO's unity, strength and decisiveness," said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg here after meeting with Polish Prime Minster Beata Szydlo on Friday.

The meeting between Stoltenberg and Szydlo in Warsaw was aimed at discussing the implementation of the decisions made at the 2016 NATO summit in Warsaw, NATO's adaptation to new threats, regional security and development of the Polish army.

During a joint press conference, Stoltenberg emphasized the fact that the NATO presence in Poland and Baltic countries - Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia was of a vital importance. He also praised Poland for using 2 percent of GDP on defense spending and further commitments to even more increase.

As to the Zapad'17, an upcoming large-scale Russian-Belarusian military exercise to be held in Belarus from Sept. 14 to 20, he said that the ally will closely monitor its course and called on Russia to fulfill its obligations under the Vienna OSCE document. He said the NATO will send two observers.

NATO chief also added that the countries had right to conduct military exercises, but should respect transparency commitments.

"In the face of the changes in the security environment it is in the common interest of all allies that NATO should maintain unity and efficiency", said Szydlo, adding that the country's authorities were pleased to note the deployment of allied forces in Poland and the Baltic States.

She informed that in the next months, one of Poland's priorities will be strengthening allied deterrence and defense capabilities.

Meanwhile, the Polish PM assured that Poland was and would be an active and loyal member of the debate on the future of the Alliance in the course of preparations for next year's NATO summit. She also informed that a bill on steadily increasing the country's defense spending to 2.5 percent of GDP by 2030 has already been placed in Sejm, the Lower Chamber of Polish Parliament.

Earlier on Friday, Stoltenberg met with Polish, Romanian and Turkish FMs. Later the same day, he will inspect a NATO multinational battalion group in Orzysz, northeastern Poland.

Stoltenberg arrived in Warsaw on Thursday evening and held meeting with Polish President Andrzej Duda.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 20:14:04|Editor: Zhou Xin

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by Bedah Mengo

NAIROBI, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- A clamor by the recently elected Kenyan legislators to have their pay raised has angered citizens, who are currently grappling with high cost of living.

The legislators on Wednesday started a push to have their salaries raised and some of allowances the salaries commission had done away just before the Aug. 8 elections restored.

In a new pay structure the salaries agency announced in July, salaries of Members of Parliament (MPs) were fixed at about 6,000 U.S. dollars, down from 7,000 dollars and their plenary sitting allowances of 50 dollars were done away with.

The salaries team further did away with MPs' car grant of 48,543 dollars and replaced it with 67,961 dollars car loan in addition to 194,174 dollars mortgage.

Their mileage allowances were also fixed as the salary commission's move was to save the country 78 million dollars.

The new pay structure, which also affected the president and other workers in the public service, was announced before elections so that aspirants may know what to expect as they seek office.

Therefore, as Kenyans went to elections on Aug. 8 to vote in the president, senators, MPs, Members of County Assemblies and Woman Representatives, they did not expect the salary the legislators earn would be an issue afterwards.

The about-turn by the leaders, in a country where millions live on less than a dollar a day and unemployment rate is over 50 percent, has shocked and angered many.

So angered are citizens that in some parts of the country they have started to collect signatures to recall their legislators even before the new leaders are sworn into office.

"These MPs take Kenyans for a ride. When they were campaigning for office, the salary issue did not even feature anywhere. Now that they got elected, they believe they need to live off the electorate. This is unacceptable," Simon Muchira, a trader in Nairobi, said Friday.

Muchira, who sells clothes at a stall, said he earns about 200 dollars a month from the business, which is not even enough to sustain him and his family of two for a month.

"This is the money I make in a good month after paying rent and other business expenses. Then someone says their 6,000 dollars salary is little. That is an insult," he said.

James Mosoke, a social worker with an NGO, could not believe that he patiently waited for five hours to vote on Aug. 8 hoping for change that are not likely to happen.

"We are tired with the greed of our leaders. Instead of thinking of how they would better the lives of citizens, they are thinking of how they would bleed us. Kenya is an interesting country," he said.

The subject has remained a hot topic on social media as citizens vent their objections on a fatter pay for MPs.

"Any elected legislator who is not happy with the salary review should just quit. We cannot be taken round in circles every five years," said Mohammed, contributing to the debate on the pay on Twitter under the hashtag MPsPay.

"It took five minutes to hire six people into office and decades is all that it takes for a graduate whether high school or university to get a job. And yet the former earns 20 times more. Insanity," said Eassy.

"MPs, you campaigned knowing very well your salary and with no mileage and sitting allowances. Don't try our patience," Njuguna added.

In Kiambu County, on the outskirts of the capital, residents Thursday started a petition to recall their MP, who supported the pay rise.

Some Kenyans, however, have backed the higher perks for legislators noting elected leaders are viewed as cash-transfer sources to the citizenry.

"With slashed pay and zero allowances, don't expect them in your fundraisers when you call them," said Sammy on Twitter.

The legislators pushing for pay hike, however, have stood their ground, noting that they cannot use their sources to do constituency work.

"I can assure you that a majority of MPs are in support of higher perks. On this one we will fight tooth and nail and we will join hands," said Seme MP-elect James Nyikal.

The MPs said they would arm-twist the executive to get their wishes by blocking the approval of Cabinet Secretaries, Principal Officers and other key appointments.

President Uhuru Kenyatta has, however, weighed in on the issue, noting that he would not sign any law passed by MPs to raise their salaries and allowances.

"I will not endorse any increase even if they want to hate me. When they were contesting for the seats, they knew the salaries so they cannot turn around even before they are sworn in and start complaining," he said.

Even with reduced salaries, Kenya MPs remain among the best paid in the world if their pay is equated to the country's gross domestic product (GDP), according to the International Monetary Fund.

They are ahead of their counterparts in Singapore, Indonesia and South Africa, countries that have higher GDP.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 20:19:07|Editor: Zhou Xin

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NEW DELHI, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- At least seven people were killed and scores injured Friday after violence broke out in northern Indian state of Haryana following conviction of self-styled godman and spiritual guru Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a rape case, officials said.

Police fired tear gas and warning shots to disperse thousands of Singh's followers that had gathered outside court in Panchkula district near Chandigarh, the capital city of Punjab and Haryana, apparently in a bid to show solidarity with their leader.

Singh was found guilty of raping his two women followers in 2002.

The irate mob attacked policemen and media vans to protest the court verdict.

Singh has been arrested from the court and sentence is likely to be pronounced on Monday.

Local TV news channel News 18 reported that Singh's supporters set two police stations on fire and two railway stations in Punjab have also been torched.

Authorities have deployed massive security in the state in anticipation of trouble in Haryana and Punjab. An alert has been sounded in the twin states. Even army has been put on stand-by to tackle any eventuality.

The court has sought personal appearance of Singh on Friday while delivering the verdict. Singh arrived in a 200-car cavalcade.

The 50-year-old Singh heads a religious sect locally called Dera Sacha Sauda. The sect claims to be a "social welfare and spiritual organization."

Singh, the flamboyant and controversial chief, claims to have 50 million followers and runs a spiritual empire. In his movies "MSG: The Messenger of God" and "MSG2", Singh wears dazzling costumes, rides motorcycle, and is seen sending villains flying.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 20:24:14|Editor: Zhou Xin

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TBILISI, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- The Armed Forces have joined firefighting efforts in central Georgia's Borjomi Gorge where a massive forest fire broke out six days ago and is still burning, the Prime Ministry said on Friday.

Currently, more than 1,000 soldiers from the Eastern Command of the Georgian Armed Forces are joining more than 1,500 firefighters, rescuers and rangers to battle the fire, said the ministry in a statement.

The involvement of the army was authorized by a decree issued by President Giorgi Margvelashvili upon the request of Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili.

The prime minister said the fire has been stopped from spreading and the next step is to put out the fire.

The ferocious fire breaking out Sunday in Borjomi Gorge has been raging in central Georgia for six days. According to Infrastructure Minister Zurab Alavidze, so far more than 100 hectares of the forest have been destroyed.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 20:29:16|Editor: Zhou Xin

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LIVADIA, Greece, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Lying at the foot of the mountain Elikon, Livadia, a small town in central Greece, located around 90 km northwest of Athens, has made around 400 refugees feel at home this year.

Syrian refugee Asad Bairam is one of the thousands of refugees who entered Greece hoping for a better life in northern Europe after fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East.

But, after the closure of the borders along the Western Balkan route in mid-February of 2016, they have been stranded in Greece living in camps in dire straits.

"For ten months, we felt like the walking dead. There was no education. No schools. There was no life... We suffered a lot in the camp," Asad said.

All that changed after moving into an apartment with his family at Livadia provided by UNHCR under the ambitious accommodation program ESTIA (Emergency Support to Integration and Accommodation) funded by the European Commission.

"We came here, and they welcomed us. I felt safe. Even though we have a different culture and language when you feel safe and you see a human being like you, barriers can be avoided," Asad said.

Making the refugees feel safe was a big challenge for locals, mayor of Livadia Yiota Poulou told Xinhua.

"We managed to accommodate the refugees in apartments across the city providing them human living conditions in a secure and peaceful environment," she said.

The 400 refugees who live in 70 apartments have found their smile again, the children go to school, the official noted.

After the success of the program in Livadia, which was the first small scale town after the capital Athens and big city port of Thessaloniki in northern Greece that participated in the program, ten more municipalities have followed.

Under the program ESTIA, a total of 30,000 places will be available in apartments and buildings by the end of 2017.

"There are around 18,000 places in apartments and buildings. We need to create with municipalities and some NGOs 12,000 more by the end of the year," Philippe Leclerc, UNHCR Representative in Greece told Xinhua during a recent interview.

Even though the living conditions have been improved drastically in the camps, Leclerc pointed out that the primary objective of the Greek government is to gradually close the camps on the mainland.

"We have seen some camps closing last year and this year in Macedonia, in northern Greece. We hope that more camps can close so that people can again live under normal conditions," he said.

For that to happen, more municipalities need to follow Livadia's example.

From their experience, Leclerc and Poulou agreed that there were many advantages for both the refugees and the local community.

"We have seen that asylum seekers feel more comfortable in their relationship with the local population of Greece and the municipalities gain a lot of expertise," Leclerc said.

"Through the program, the benefit for our society is that by the end of 2017 a total of 1.5 million euros (1.77 million U.S. dollars) is added in our budget reinforcing our local economy," Poulou added.

Despite the success, there were also many difficulties. Initially some locals expressed concern amounting to xenophobia.

"A network of solidarity developed that helped the local community to be prepared for the reception of the refugees," the mayor explained.

With a roof over their head, living next door to Greek neighbors and with cash assistance, the integration of the refugees in the local community would be the next big challenge. Many will remain in Greece and will not be relocated or resettled. ESTIA program must be supported, Poulou and Leclerc underlined.

"We need the European Commission to continue its funding, we need a commitment from the government to do and design an integration policy which is adapted to Greece of today," Leclerc said.

For the UNHCR Representative in Greece, it is essential that the asylum seekers get a tax number, a social security number, Greek language lessons, and not only subsidies by the European Commission, but also the government.

"(It is essential) to build as early as possible the capacity of the State, of the municipalities, the civil society which has shown its willingness to help despite the social and economic crisis that Greece is facing," Leclerc said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 20:34:26|Editor: Zhou Xin

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PHNOM PENH, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- The Cambodian government on Friday approved the next three-year public investment program (2018-2020), which would need a total capital of 5.41 billion U.S. dollars to implement 586 projects.

The approval was made during a weekly cabinet meeting presided over by Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen, an official statement said.

The government has contributed 537 million U.S. dollars to the program, as development partners have pledged 2.91 billion U.S. dollars, it said, adding that the country is seeking another 1.96 billion U.S. dollars to cover the whole cost of the program.

According to the statement, 44 percent of the total investment would be focused on economy-driven projects, 26.9 percent on infrastructure projects, 15.3 percent on social projects, and 13.8 percent on service sector projects.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 20:39:30|Editor: Zhou Xin

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BERLIN, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- German growth held steady in the second quarter of 2017, data released on Friday by the Federal Statistical Office (Statistisches Bundesamt) confirmed.

The report was published shortly before the respected Ifo Institute for Economic Research's business sentiment index revealed that the country's firms remained very optimistic for their future earnings.

The Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden re-affirmed an earlier forecast for Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of 0.6 percent in Q2 and corrected its earlier estimate for Q1 growth upward to 0.7 percent.

Growth between April and June was driven by a jump in domestic spending by traditionally frugal Germans. Private households increased their consumption significantly by 0.8 percent, compared a 0.6 percent rise in public consumption.

In contrast, the Eurozone's largest economy received "mixed" signals for foreign demand according to the government statisticians. While exports of goods and services in Q2 rose by 0.7 compared to Q1, imports grew at a much faster rate of 1.7 percent.

Germany's controversial current account surplus, the largest in the world in 2016, shrunk as a consequence. U.S. president Donald Trump and the International Monetary Fund, amongst others, have criticized the country's high savings rate and export driven growth as a source of global imbalances.

At the same time, the Munich-based Ifo institute closely-watched regular business sentiment index fell slightly from 116.0 to 115.9 points for the first time in 2017. Ifo president Prof. Clemens Fuest noted in a statement that the decline was largely due to a downgrading of assessments of the current economic situation and that business sentiment remained highly favourable.

Fuest wrote that the signs still pointed towards future growth as expectations for the coming half year rose to the highest level since 2014.

Notably, the string of "dieselgate" and "cartel" scandals which have struck German carmakers did not appear to have had a measurable effect on the automotive industry's sentiment.

However, retail sector firms, and above all car dealerships, surveyed by Ifo downgraded their view of the contemporary business environment significantly.

In contrast, the construction sector continued to go from strength to strength as Germany's housing shortage tightened, reaching new record levels for firms' assessment of their current situation, as well as their future expectations.

Speaking in the "Financial Times", Carsten Brzeski, chief economist for Germany and Austria at the bank ING, described the figures released on Friday as an "almost breath-taking" proof of German economic momentum. "...(T)oday's Ifo index sends a clear signal that the German economy is powering ahead," he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 20:39:32|Editor: An

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BAKU, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Azerbaijan intends to increase wine exports to China, Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO) said on its website Friday.

The issue of expanding cooperation between Azerbaijan and China in the area of wine trade was discussed at a meeting participated by local winemakers and the trade representative of Azerbaijan in China Teymur Nadiroglu, according to AZPROMO.

During the meeting, the trade representative pointed out that as a wine-producing country, Azerbaijan has a significant potential to increase wine supplies to China.

China's wine import has been showing rapid growth in both volume and value since 2015. China's import market is dominated by French wine, which has a 40 percent market share. Other top performers are Australia, Chile, Spain, Italy and the United States, according to Nadiroglu.

With a growing taste for imported wines, the potential for a third-tier, medium-priced market is emerging and is set to grow as demand increases in China, the participants concluded.

Last year, Azerbaijani local companies concluded an agreement with the Chinese side on export of 500,000 bottles of wine to China.

They believed that besides wine, energy, especially alternative sources, tourism and agriculture are major prospects for economic cooperation between the two countries.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 20:49:39|Editor: Zhou Xin

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NAIROBI, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Kenya's waste management lobby on Friday opposed the government's plastic ban that takes effect on Aug. 28 on the grounds that it will lead to the loss of thousands of jobs that are dependent on plastic bags.

Chege Kariuki, chairman of Waste and Environment Association of Kenya (WEMAK), told a media briefing in Nairobi that while waste bin liners have in theory been exempted from the ban, this is really not the case.

"The conditions set for waste companies as well as manufacturers to receive an exemption are such that it will be impossible for the waste management industry to comply. As a result we envisage that the sector will have to scale down operations and hence reduce its workforce in order to comply with the law," Kariuki said.

The environment ministry has banned the use, manufacture and importation of all plastic bags used for commercial and household packaging.

The ban targeted carrier bags with handles, with or without gussets, or flat bags without handles and with or without gussets.

Offenders face 40,000 U.S. dollar fine or four months imprisonment. A group of manufacturers and importers of plastic bags have gone to court to prevent the plastic ban from taking effect on Monday.

The National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) has urged Kenyans to use alternatives such as bags made from cloth, sisal or paper.

Kariuki said that the waste management sector has increased tremendously in the past two decades due to rapid urbanization.

"The development of high rise flats makes it more convenient for waste to be carried via plastic bags as opposed to bulky waste bins," he added. The plastic ban outlaws use of plastic waste bin liners.

The chairman said that using other alternatives to plastic waste bin liners will also not be possible due to their prohibitive costs.

"So unless the government reconsiders the ban, waste management will become impossible for all waste companies from next week," he added.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 21:45:13|Editor: Zhou Xin

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GENEVA, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Since March 2015, the UN Human Rights Office has documented 13,829 civilian casualties in Yemen, including 5,110 killed and 8,719 injured, a spokesperson said on Friday.

The spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Liz Throssell told a press briefing here on Friday that these numbers are based on the casualties individually verified by its Yemen Office, and the overall number is "probably much higher".

According to the UN official, in the week from Aug. 17 to 24, 58 civilians have been killed in the war-torn country, including 42 by the Saudi-led Coalition.

"Our Office in Yemen has been gathering more information about an airstrike by Coalition Forces that hit a hotel in Sana'a Governorate on Wednesday 23 August," she told, saying that so far they have confirmed that 33 civilians were killed and another 25 injured in the attack.

Also on Aug. 23, she said, an airstrike by Coalition Forces hit a house in Raimat Hameed village, in Sanhan district, which is also in Sana'a Governorate, killing six civilians and injuring another 13.

In all these cases, the UN official stressed, witnesses said that there had been no warnings that an attack was imminent.

"We remind all parties to the conflict, including the Coalition, of their duty to ensure full respect for international humanitarian law. We call on the relevant authorities to carry out credible, comprehensive and impartial investigations into this incident," she noted.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 21:45:15|Editor: An

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NAIROBI, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Kenya's Ibrahim Osman was exposed to the vagaries of life at a tender age, having been born in the semi-arid Mandera County where natural disasters and inter-communal hostilities over grazing land and water points are the norm.

The 18-year-old son of an elderly pastoralist from northern Kenya was determined to pursue formal education despite myriad obstacles, aware that it could open new opportunities in future.

Osman was among 140 Kenyan youth who benefited from this year's scholarships funded by the Chinese government to pursue elite disciplines like law, medicine and engineering in the Asian giant's leading universities.

Speaking to Xinhua at a pre-departure ceremony for beneficiaries of China-funded scholarships on Thursday, Osman was upbeat a degree in clinical medicine will transform his life and that of communities in the remote corners of northern Kenya.

"As a son of a cattle herder, I'm accustomed to life's drudgeries hence my determination to study hard in school and achieve my childhood dream of becoming a doctor. The opportunity to study in China is golden and will have a positive bearing in my future and that of my community," Osman said.

He graduated from high school last year and was among top scorers in national exams and was alerted by a mutual friend to apply for a scholarship funded by the Chinese government early this year.

"The thought of being selected for the Chinese government scholarship program sounded like a mirage in the beginning since I had minimal interaction with the rest of the world," said Osman.

He vowed to utilize his study tour in China to gain insight on a rich culture while acquiring knowledge on the latest discoveries in medicine.

At the same time, Osman said he will relocate back to Kenya after completing his under-graduate degree in clinical medicine and contribute to the transformation of health sector in the country.

"More importantly, I look forward to providing badly-needed health services in my locality where poverty, broken infrastructure, insecurity and harsh terrain have conspired to worsen the disease burden," Osman said.

Kenyan youth who benefited from this year's China-funded scholarships will start their under-graduate and post-graduate degree courses soon.

They were selected through a competitive process and will in future join the rank of highly skilled professionals the East African Nation is counting on to power its industrial progress.

Wamuca Kimani, a 24-year-old law graduate in a local private university was delighted to secure a scholarship to study for a masters in international law at Xiamen University in East China's Fujian province.

The ambitious youth has always dreamt of a career in diplomacy or international commerce and hopes that an opportunity to study in China will bring him nearer to the goal.

"I was elated upon learning that I had been selected to study in China for a masters in international law under a fully funded government scholarship scheme. My parents and siblings too are excited about this new milestone," Kimani told Xinhua.

Her longtime friend, Vanessa Atieno was also excited by the prospect of joining Beijing-based Communication University of China where she will pursue a post-graduate degree in communications.

The 23-year-old daughter of middle class urban professionals intends to utilize her study tour in China to forge long-term friendships, improve proficiency in spoken mandarin and sample globally acclaimed cuisine in her new abode.

"Like everyone else, am delighted to join a prestigious university in China and pursue a career that I have always cherished since childhood. I hope to land a job in an international media agency upon finishing the masters degree," said Atieno.

Paul Muisyo, a 36-year-old government worker, likened the opportunity to study in China for a masters degree program in business administration to a leap into a bright new dawn.

"Given my humble background, it would have been unimaginable that one day I would board a plane and head to a foreign land for further studies. The Chinese government scholarship will fulfill my long-cherished dream of becoming a successful entrepreneur," said Muisyo.

The Chinese government has been offering annual scholarship to Kenyan youth to pursue courses of their choice since the two countries formalized diplomatic ties decades ago.

Chinese Ambassador to Kenya Liu Xianfa disclosed that Beijing has so far provided about 1,000 government scholarships to Kenyan students in a bid to upgrade their skills and enhance their ability to survive in a fiercely competitive job market.

"This year, we are providing 128 scholarships of different types to young Kenyan students," said Liu, adding that Chinese firms have also been at the forefront in providing technical skills to Kenyan youth.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 22:10:25|Editor: Zhou Xin

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BAGHDAD, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi security forces battling Islamic State (IS) militants on Friday freed a town near the city of Tal Afar in Iraq's northern province of Nineveh, while the troops pushed further in Tal Afar and recaptured five neighborhoods, the Iraqi military said.

The Iraqi army and paramilitary Hashd Shaabi units freed the town of Mahalabiyah, some 35 km southeast of the battlefield city of Tal Afar, after they defeated IS militants in 13 of the town's neighborhoods and suburbs, Lt. Gen. Abdul-Amir Yarallah from the Joint Operations Command (JOC) said in a brief statement.

Meanwhile, the troops made significant progress during the day as the troops retook control of five more neighborhoods, forcing the extremist militants to withdraw deep inside the neighborhoods of the city center.

In one of the neighborhoods, the army's armored vehicles and Hashd Shaabi units freed al-Jazira al-Janoby neighborhood in southeastern Tal Afar, after heavy clashes with IS militants, Yarallah said in a separate statement.

The army's armored vehicles and Hashd Shaabi fighters also retook control of the nearby neighborhood of al-Khdraa in southeastern the city, Yarallah said.

Also in the day, the commandos of the Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) recaptured al-Nidaa neighborhood in southern Tal Afar, and initiated a new push into the adjacent neighborhood of al-Talei'a, Yarallah added.

Hours later, the CTS freed the al-Talei'a neighborhood after defeating IS militants who withdrew to the nearby old al-Qal'a, or Tal Afar Citadel, which is a ruined Ottoman fortress, located in the center of the city.

In addition, the federal police forces and the Hashd Shaabi fighters freed al-Saad neighborhood in northwestern Tal Afar and the nearby power station and raised the Iraqi flags on some buildings, according to Yarallah.

Tal Afar area is about 3,206 square km, which consists of the city of Tal Afar itself and three towns: Zummar, which is under control of the Kurdish security forces, Mahalabiyah, which the troops freed from IS militants during the day, and Ayadhiyah, some 11 km northwest of Tal Afar, which is still under IS control.

The city of Tal Afar consists of 30 neighborhoods, while the whole Tal Afar area consists of 47 villages scattered around the city of Tal Afar and its three towns.

The majority population of Tal Afar area are Sunni and Shiite Turkomans, in addition to the minority of Kurds and other minorities.

On Aug. 20, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, also the commander-in-chief of Iraqi forces, declared the start of an operation to retake control of Tal Afar and nearby areas from IS militants.

Tal Afar, some 70 km west of Mosul, is the last IS redoubt in the province of Nineveh.

The United Nation's International Organization for Migration estimates that some 10,000 to 40,000 people are still living in Tal Afar and surrounding areas.

Earlier, the army's Maj. Gen. 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.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 22:20:28|Editor: Zhou Xin

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NAIROBI, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Kenya's wildlife agency on Friday launched a new partnership with local conservation lobby, Space for Giants, to enhance speedy prosecution of criminals involved in slaughter of iconic mammals for their trophies.

The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) said the partnership will involve increasing the number of highly skilled lawyers charged with prosecution of organized criminal gangs involved in illegal trade in wildlife products.

Acting KWS Director General Julius Kimani hailed the new initiative to strengthen the capacity of Para-legal officers to prosecute wildlife crimes.

"While we have put in place policies, mechanisms and structures to deal with the menace of poaching and illegal trade in wildlife products, our efforts will not succeed unless we join hands with stakeholders in tackling these challenges," Kimani said.

He added that strategic collaboration with key partners in surveillance, prosecution and law enforcement has led to a drastic reduction in wildlife crimes in Kenya.

"Our collective effort is the surest way to deal with perpetrators of wildlife crime. We have started witnessing the fruits of new wildlife act in confronting poaching of rhinos and elephants," said Kimani.

Under the new partnership with Space for Giants, KWS will create a specialized prosecution unit comprising 12 lawyers who will benefit from skills upgrade to enhance their capacity to prosecute individuals accused of poaching.

Kimani said a critical pool of highly trained prosecutors with a refined grasp of wildlife laws is key to containing the menace of poaching that pose serious threat to survival of giant mammals.

The Space for Giants on its part will provide extensive training to KWS legal and forensic experts in a bid to boost apprehension and prosecution of criminals involved in illegal trafficking of wildlife products.

Max Graham, the CEO of Space for Giants, underscored the critical role of a well equipped prosecution unit at KWS to reenergize war on poaching.

"A ranger in the field should not have to experience the frustration of confronting a wildlife criminal they arrested a week earlier walking free again because of a failed prosecution. This is a critical step up in the battle against illegal wildlife trade," Graham said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 22:40:39|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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OSLO, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- The eight Nordic and Baltic countries said on Friday that they will strengthen their cooperation to fight against terrorism and prevent violent extremism.

"We will continue to strengthen our resolve to counter terrorism and prevent violent extremism, and ensure accountability for those responsible," foreign ministers of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden said in a joint statement.

Norway is chairing the Nordic-Baltic cooperation (NB8) in the area of foreign policy in 2017 and Norwegian Foreign Minister Borge Brende hosted this year's meeting of the eight countries' foreign ministers in Oslo on Friday.

"The recent terrorist attacks on innocent people in Barcelona and Turku are appalling," the joint statement said. "We strongly condemn all terrorist attacks worldwide and stand united in the fight against terrorism."

"While the terrorist threat and spread of violent extremism in Europe and its neighborhoods continues to be high, we need even closer cooperation and exchange of information at all levels -- national, regional and global, to counter and prevent this threat," it said.

The Nordic-Baltic foreign ministers also voiced their support for the coalition fighting the Islamic State (IS) and the United Nation's Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy.

"Our primary line of effort is to prevent radicalization, recruitment and mobilization of individuals into terrorist groups and address the evolving threat of foreign terrorist fighters and returnees as well as self-radicalized individuals," they said in the statement.

At the meeting, the foreign ministers discussed relations with Russia, transatlantic cooperation, issues relating to the UN and Europe, and security in the Nordic-Baltic region, according to a press release of the Norwegian government.

They agreed to boost efforts to further the women, peace and security agenda by holding an annual meeting on the topic. The first of these meetings will be held in Copenhagen, Denmark in November this year.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 22:50:41|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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KABUL, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- The terrorist attack on a mosque in Kabul on Friday, which left 12 people dead including two attackers, has drawn wide condemnation among Afghans from all walks of life.

Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, in a statement released by Presidential Palace, described the attack as a coward terrorist offensive against humanity.

The president also termed the attack as an attempt to damage the "unity of Afghan nation" and called upon the religious scholars of Muslim world to condemn it.

A group of terrorists shot indiscriminately and exploded explosive devices inside the mosque of Imam-e-Zaman, where scores of Muslims gathered for Friday prayers, at around 1:30 p.m. local time (0900 GMT).

The attack, which triggered a gun battle and lasted for about four hours, according to Kabul Garrison Chief General Afzal Aman, left 12 people, including two attackers, dead and 23 others injured.

"We can confirmed that 10 people, including five women, were killed and 23 others, including five security personnel, sustained injuries in the attack on Imam-e-Zaman mosque in Khair Khana neighborhood of Kabu city today," Gen. Aman told reporters at the site of the bloody incident.

He also noted that two terrorists who targeted the mosque were also killed in the firefight and the situation was under control.

The Islamic State (IS) has claimed responsibility for the attack.

All those at the site of the blast including the worshipers and eyewitnesses, described the attack on the mosque as "inhuman terrorist act" which goes against teaching of Islamic values.

Zabihullah Majahid, who claims to speak for the Taliban outfit, has also condemned the attack on the mosque as an attempt to spark sectarian violence in the country.

The IS group also claimed responsibility for mosque attacks in Kabul and in the western Herat province.
Afghan army soldiers inspect at the site of a U.S. bombing in Achin district of Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, April 28, 2017. (Xinhua/Rahman Safi)

by Matthew Rusling

WASHINGTON, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- The United States could be in Afghanistan for years to come, after 16 years of presence in the war-torn country, U.S. experts said.

The fight in Afghanistan will probably be a "generation-long struggle," Michael O'Hanlon, a senior fellow on foreign policy at the Brookings Institution, told Xinhua, adding that Afghanistan is part of the long-term U.S. fight against extremism in the region.

The comments came after U.S. President Donald Trump outlined a new Afghanistan strategy earlier this week, which includes a modest troop increase there and less micromanagement by Washington of U.S. forces stationed in the South Asian nation.

The United States waged a "war on terror" in Afghanistan not long after the 9/11 attacks. The terror group al-Qaida, which masterminded the attacks, was given safe haven in Afghanistan.

While al-Qaida is now a shell of its former self, the Islamic State(IS), which took control of large swathes of land in Iraq and Syria, remains dangerous, having inspired radicals to carry out myriad attacks in Europe and the United States in recent years.

O'Hanlon said he believes the United States needs a number of assets in key parts of the Middle East, in order to wage the long-term war against extremism, adding that Afghanistan is a piece of the broader U.S. anti-terror war.

Jim Phillips, senior Middle East research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, told Xinhua that a long-term U.S. deployment in Afghanistan will be an asset in fighting radicalism.

"A permanent U.S. military presence in Afghanistan would help the fight against terrorism and help stabilize Afghanistan," he said.

"U.S. bases in Afghanistan would potentially have a limited utility in gathering intelligence on Iran and facilitating air strikes or a limited commando-style raid, but would be almost entirely focused on the security situation inside Afghanistan," he said.

"What it could do is to help protect our gains of the last 16 years so that we can preserve the existing bases which do, in fact, have considerable capability against extremists in the region, especially the tribal areas of Pakistan," he added.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, General John Nicholson, the top U.S. military commander in Afghanistan, said Trump's new strategy signaled a long-term U.S. commitment to the war-ravaged country.

Calling on the Taliban to come to the negotiation table, Nicholson said the insurgents "cannot win on the battlefield. It's time for them to join the peace process. We will not fail in Afghanistan, our national security depends on that as well."

Currently, the U.S. forces in Afghanistan number around 8,400, lower than the roughly 100,000 troops deployed during former U.S. President Barack Obama's troop surge several years back.

Under Trump's new plan, the size of the U.S. troops in Afghanistan will be boosted, but it is widely believed the pledged increase is more of a tweak than a surge.

Trump also threatened to cut off aid to Pakistan, which borders Afghanistan, as the U.S. government accuses Pakistan of harboring terrorist networks.

Pakistan responded with indignation, with the country's army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa telling U.S. ambassador to Pakistan on Wednesday that his country does not seek U.S. aid but wants acknowledgment of Pakistan's sacrifices in the war against terrorism since 2001.

Under the previous administration, the United States already halved aid to Pakistan. "I think what would be expected would be just a continuation of the downward trend," O'Hanlon said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 23:25:56|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ARUSHA, Tanzania, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- A grape farmer was trampled to death by a stray wild elephant in Tanzania's central district of Chamwino, police said on Friday.

Ernest Kimola, acting Dodoma Regional Police Commander, said the elephant might have been strayed from Ruaha National Park or Kizigo Game Reserve as the affected village is close to the two sanctuaries.

He said the 25-year-old man was attacked by an elephant when he was preparing a grape farm in the area located 187 kilometers from Tanzania's capital Dodoma.

He said that incident occurred on Thursday at around 9 a.m. when the man was busy digging canals in his grape farm. Dodoma is the only region growing grapes in the east African nation and this time around people are busy preparing new farms for the lucrative crop.

Another villager was badly injured and has been hospitalized at the Mvumi Mission Hospital for treatment.

The regional police chief said that wildlife rangers have been sent into the affected village to chase the strayed elephant into the wilderness.

Peter Songoro, medical doctor in-charge of Mvumi Mission Hospital, said the injured man had already undergone surgeries, as one of his legs and ribs were broken.

One of the eyewitnesses, Silvester Kwanga, said that the elephant landed in the village at around 9 a.m., when people were busy with their farming activities.

According to Kwanga, the elephant disappeared into the wilderness soon after the incident.

The tragedy came barely few weeks when villagers in central Tanzania's district of Bahi were reported to have been living in fear following the frequent invasion of wild elephants.

In May, four elephants roamed the University of Dodoma campus, bringing the university to a standstill for the day. Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA) rangers were called in and the elephants were eventually scared off.

In June, elephants in Arusha destroyed 43 hectares of crops. Also that month, two farmers in Singida were killed by a herd of 32 elephants.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 23:25:58|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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RUKLA-VILNIUS, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- German-Lithuanian relations could not be better than at this moment, given cooperation within NATO as well as close bilateral ties, President of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier said on Friday while visiting German troops serving at NATO battalion deployed in Rukla, central Lithuanian region.

"Our bilateral relations can hardly be better than they are today," said the president.

The president has welcomed the decision regarding Germany's leadership in forming the NATO battalion in Lithuania, calling it a fair and necessary change in the security situation in Europe.

The German president emphasized Germany's historic responsibility towards the Baltic States and noted that Germany has to "better understand the Baltic States, because we ourselves have been on the dividing border between the West and the East".

Presently, 450 German soldiers serve at the Alliance's forward presence battle group, deployed in Lithuania. Germany has assumed responsibility to lead this group.

Dalia Grybauskaite, Lithuania's President, who was visiting the German soldiers at NATO forward presence battalion in Rukla together with his German counterpart, underscored that Lithuania highly appreciated Germany's decision to play the key role in ensuring security of the Baltic countries.

"Germany, which has the greatest political and economic weight in Europe, has repeatedly assumed responsibility in resolving complex crises in the EU; presently, Germany demonstrates leadership in ensuring security of NATO's eastern flank and that of the entire Alliance," Grybauskaite was quoted as saying in a statement released by the presidency.

Meanwhile, Saulius Skvernelis, the Prime Minister of Lithuania, noted that Germany has been among the most important partners of Lithuania in Europe, the EU, NATO and other international organizations.

"The government and I personally are very happy with the very close bilateral relations, strong political, economic, cultural and other ties," Skvernelis was quoted as saying in a statement.

According to the head of cabinet, Germany is also among Lithuania's most important trading partners.

"I believe this trend will continue, gaining ever greater momentum in the future; just like the interest of the German people in our country, which has been witnessed by the growing number of tourists", said the Prime Minister.

Germany is the second largest trade partner and the third largest foreign investor of Lithuania.

The German president has been visiting all the three Baltic countries this week.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 23:36:03|Editor: Yamei

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BEIJING, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- It has now entered the third month since Indian military trespassed into Chinese territory, to which China has shown the utmost tolerance. India must take any possible consequences if it continues to miscalculate the situation.

On June 18, over 270 armed Indian troops with two bulldozers crossed the eastern boundary into Doklam, China's sovereign territory, to obstruct Chinese infrastructure construction.

It is a double standard, as India has approved the building of a military road to facilitate troop deployment near the western part of China-India border to "ensure the strength of the Indian border troops."

On Aug. 22, Chinese troops, patrolling on the Chinese side of Pangong Lake, suffered injuries from the reckless actions of Indian troops, which once again reflected India`s insincerity and self-contradictions in resolving the Sino-India border issue peacefully.

A senior Indian official has said that the country has not attacked any other country and has no ambition to expand its boundaries.

However, the Indian military has trespassed over the mutually recognized boundary that has been abided by both sides for nearly 130 years and its troops remain on Chinese territory.

China has proved its sovereignty of Doklam to the international community with convincing evidence, including the historical convention from 1890.

Meanwhile, China has not closed the door to diplomatic dialogue with India to ease tensions.

Since the 1960s, through negotiation and consultation, China has delimited 20,000 kilometers of land boundary and is in complete accord with 12 out of its 14 land neighbors.

"India thinks that the international situation is good enough for it to test China's bottom line," Li Qingyan, an expert on South Asia issues at China Institute of International Studies, told Xinhua.

But India may have miscalculated China's stance in defending its sovereignty. China's bottom line is the border line, as shown in the Sino-Indian border conflict in 1962.

China values peace and the interests of innocent people on both side of the border, that is why it has remained patient in the face of such encroachment.

China has never made the first move in wars fought since 1949 but it would not flinch if a war were to be inflicted upon its people.

The prerequisite for settlement of the border standoff is the unconditional withdrawal of all trespassing personnel and equipment to the Indian side.

China has sent this message openly to India through many channels over the past 60 days.

Now, it is time for India to abide by the law, respect historical facts, to match words with deeds and make the wise decision based on reasonable strategic calculation.

China and India are two developing giants with a wide range of common interests. A sensible bilateral relationship will benefit more than two billion people, nearly one-third of the global population.

The ball has been placed in India's court.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 23:51:14|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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THE HAGUE, Aug.25 (Xinhua) -- The Dutch capital of Amsterdam is investigating the possibility of taking additional measures to protect busy places in the city from terrorist attacks, Amsterdam Mayor Eberhard van der Laan wrote in a letter to city council on Friday.

Whether measures are taken, and if so, which and in which places, is to be decided in close consultation with the entrepreneurs of the city.

"We are looking at certain busy places in the city with a great international symbolic value," the mayor wrote.

One such place mentioned by the mayor was Kalverstraat, the biggest shopping street in Amsterdam. The mayor wrote that, after the Barcelona attack, it is more conceivable that such a terrorist attack would also be possible in Amsterdam.

"Attacks abroad show that terrorists can strike at any conceivable place, at any time, and in many different ways," Van der Laan wrote.

Amsterdam business owners called on the city board to take more measures after the Barcelona attack. The mayor emphasized that there was no concrete information about an attack in his city.

The public prosecutor, the police and the mayor of Amsterdam have now decided, after consulting with entrepreneurs, to investigate what measures can be taken. Next week, the parties will also meet with the representatives of tourist attractions in the city.
Photo taken on Aug. 24, 2017 shows empty storage in a market in Houston, the United States. The residents in the southern part of Texas are preparing for significant impacts from Hurricane Harvey as it is expected to make landfall as a Category 3 Hurricane from the Gulf of Mexico on Friday. (Xinhua/Zhong Jia)

HOUSTON, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- People in the southern part of Texas are preparing for significant impacts from Hurricane Harvey as it is expected to make landfall as a Category 3 Hurricane from the Gulf of Mexico on Friday.

According to the National Weather Service forecast, impacts on the City of Houston in the U.S. state of Texas are expected to mostly be significant rainfall. The forecast currently indicates that Houston will see close to 50 cm of rainfall over the weekend and into early next week.

This is likely to cause dangerous flash flooding, and could cause area flooding throughout the entire Houston region.

Houston emergency services urge residents to take measures for both the impact of flooding and Tropical Storm force winds, including enough supplies for 5-7 days of water, food, medications and emergency items.

An employee holds a sign showing water has sold out in a chained market in Houston, the United States, Aug. 24, 2017. The residents in the southern part of Texas are preparing for significant impacts from Hurricane Harvey as it is expected to make landfall as a Category 3Hurricane from the Gulf of Mexico on Friday. (Xinhua/Liu Liwei)

Furthermore, the emergency services advice residents should plan to park their vehicles out of streets beginning Friday, especially those prone to flooding.

Meanwhile, the Houston Fire Department is preparing evacuation boats and swift water rescue assets ahead of the arrival of the storm.

The Houston Police Department and Public Works and Engineering Department (PWE) is preparing high water rescue vehicles to be used in the event they become necessary. In addition, PWE has identified 41 intersections that are prone to flooding, and will make barricades available as it becomes safe to do so.

The General Services Department, Department and Neighborhoods and PWE are preparing to conduct rapid damage assessment following the impacts from this storm.

The Office of Emergency Management (OEM) is coordinating the City' s disaster response with neighboring jurisdictions, the State of Texas and federal agencies as necessary. In addition, OEM will activate the City' s Emergency Operations Center Friday evening in support of anticipated emergency actions.

The island of Galveston would be the frontline facing the hurricane. Galveston issued on Thursday a voluntary evacuation for the West End of Galveston Island. Especially, the residents who have medical needs or other conditions are urged to move elsewhere, since high tides and heavy rains could cut off access for those in need of help from emergency responders.

"The forecast is becoming more certain as the storm strengthens and the impacts to our area could be significant as we remain on the east side of the storm," Niki Bender, emergency management coordinator for the City of Galveston, told Xinhua.

"Residents should prepare their homes for tidal flooding from a potential 4- to 5-feet (1.2 to 1.5 m) storm surge, gusting tropical storm force winds, and possible rains in excess of 15 inches (38 cm) through the duration of this system passing through our area," Bender said.

The City of San Antonio's Office of Emergency Management has activated the emergency operation center in preparation for rain and weather conditions that may be caused by Hurricane Harvey.

Local residents in San Antonio, 320 km west of Houston, are encouraged to prepare their household for heavy rain and flooding by having enough water and food for at least three days, any necessary medications and an evacuation plan.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-26 00:06:23|Editor: ying

French President Emmanuel Macron (L) shakes hands with Bulgarian President Rumen Radev after a joint press conference in Varna, Bulgaria, on Aug. 25, 2017. French President Emmanuel Macron here on Friday said he and his Bulgarian counterpart Rumen Radev had agreed on creating a Europe that better protects its citizens. (Xinhua/Wang Xinran)

VARNA, Bulgaria, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- French President Emmanuel Macron here on Friday said he and his Bulgarian counterpart Rumen Radev had agreed on creating a Europe that better protects its citizens.

The two presidents agreed on the reform of the current Posted Workers Directive of the European Union (EU), Macron said at a joint press conference after bilateral talks.

The posted workers directive aims to make the internal market fairer for workers who are sent by their employers to another EU member.

In turn, Radev said, "Bulgaria is against social security fraud and circumvention of rules," and called for enhanced cooperation and control over the protection of workers' rights and improvement of working conditions.

The Bulgarian president also underlined that the so-called social dumping was not limited to the issue of the posting of workers. Issues such as corporate and tax dumping should also be discussed, Radev said.

Later on Friday after a meeting with Macron, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said there is no doubt that there was indeed a problem with the EU posted workers system, but he was confident a solution would be found. But all parties must be listened to.

The two also discussed migration and border control issues as well as defense, agreeing they would undertake joint actions in line with the geopolitical situation.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-26 00:06:25|Editor: Mengjie

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BEIJING, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- China's securities regulator will continue to support the mixed ownership reform of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) within its responsibilities in the future, a spokesperson said Friday.

For such reforms of SOEs involving initial public offerings, refinancing or mergers and acquisitions, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) will give full support based on laws and regulations, spokesperson Chang Depeng said at a press conference.

Meanwhile, if reform plans involve capital market issues, the company should "strictly follow securities regulatory laws and regulations and existing supervisory rules," Chang said.

He made the remarks after the CSRC issued a statement supporting the mixed ownership reform of telecom carrier China Unicom as an "exceptional case."

Last week, the company published a plan to introduce new investment mainly by issuing shares to buyers including China Life and Tencent, but soon withdrew all filings with Shanghai Stock Exchange citing "technical reasons." Analysts believed the plan may breach a 20-percent cap for listed companies issuing new non-public shares.

The plan reappeared on the Shanghai bourse website Sunday night, followed by a supportive announcement from CSRC saying it treated the plan as an exceptional case exempted from the stricter refinancing rules effective since February.

Chang reiterated that the China Unicom case carried "great importance as a pilot for deepening reform of centrally administered SOEs."

"The company had made the mixed ownership plan earlier under the instruction of departments including the National Development and Reform Commission before the CSRC adjusted refinancing rules on Feb. 17, 2017," he explained.

Mixed ownership reform is believed to be able to raise the efficiency of state-owned capital and improve the vitality, influence and anti-risk capability of SOEs.

China will deepen the mixed ownership reform and seek progress in industries including petroleum, natural gas, railways, telecommunications and defense, according to this year's government work report.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-26 00:46:37|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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by Justice Lee Adoboe

ABURI, Ghana, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Ghana expects its mining reform program to make the mining sector a leading catalyst of economic development, Coordinator of the Multi-Modal Integrated Project (MMIP) Isaac Karikari said.

According to him, mining is also expected to boost the livelihoods of mineral-rich communities and eliminate child labor in mining.

Speaking to Xinhua on Friday during a two-day National Multi Stakeholder Workshop on the African Mining Vision, Karikari explained that job creation, especially in mining communities, would be the key economic benefits Ghana could derive from the implementation of the project.

The project, which is expected to cost 200 million U.S. dollars, will see the Ghanaian government funding 20 percent while development partners provide 50 percent of the total, with the rest coming from Public Private Partnership (PPP) sources.

"A strong capacity building is another key content in the reform program with the Minerals Commission, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Precious Minerals Marketing Company (PMMC), and Water Resources Commission as part of the implementing agencies," Karikari said.

The five-year project to be launched by President Nana Akufo-Addo next month has five components, namely review and enforcement of legal and regulatory regime, reclaiming degraded lands, dredging silted water bodies, and free lands for agribusiness.

It also has a social intervention component that will facilitate livelihoods creation in mining communities.

"The social interventions component seeks to eliminate the worst forms of child labor, eliminate prostitution and teenage pregnancy in mining communities, eliminate conflicts in land use, eliminate mine-related accidents and pre-mature deaths in mining," the coordinator said.

The environmental and health benefits, according to Karikari, include: "reversing the pollution of water bodies, reverse the uncontrolled use of mercury in mining, reduce the excessive land degradation as a result of mining as well as reduce the deforestation and loss of farms to mining."

According to him, the project document being developed through the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, Minerals Commission and the JFK Consultant was completed and going for printing.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-26 01:01:48|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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MOGADISHU, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) -- The Somali military said Friday that eight Al-Shabaab terrorists were killed in a joint security operation in southern Somalia.

Somalia National Army (SNA) General Sheegow, who is the 20th Brigade Commander, said the militants were killed by SNA and foreign forces in Lower Shabelle.

"The SNA carried out an operation this morning against a farm in Bariire with known Al-Shabaab presence. Al-Shabaab started shooting at SNA forces after our soldiers entered the farm," Sheegow said.

"The individuals shooting at the SNA soldiers were Al-Shabaab fighters; they were not farmers. We talked to the farmers in the area and instructed them to put their weapons in their homes to avoid confusion," the commander said.

The Somali security forces have in the past two weeks successfully disrupted multiple Al-Shabaab tax stations and removed key militant leaders in various strategic locations in the Horn of Africa nation.

In the latest operations in Bariire, Sheegow confirmed that no civilians were harmed or killed.

Although the insurgents have largely been expelled from Somali cities, they have continued suicide attacks, killing five people and ambushing Africa Union peacekeeping mission's convoy in southern Somalia both on Sunday.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-26 02:02:12|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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HOUSTON, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- As Hurricane Harvey approaches, Governor Greg Abbott on Friday asked all Texans heed the warnings of local officials.

"My priority, as we prepare for Hurricane Harvey, is the safety of those on and near the Gulf Coast," said Governor Abbott, adding "that is why I am strongly urging all Texans in Harvey's path to heed warnings and evacuation orders from local officials before this storm makes landfall. My office is coordinating local, state and federal resources to prepare for and respond decisively to this storm-Texans must also take action and treat this storm seriously."

According to the press release from the governor's office in Austin, the capital city of Texas, the governor also asks Texans to review important safety information, instructions and tips, such as looking at the evacuation maps ahead of time.

As Friday morning progressed, the weather service said the coast only had a handful of hours remaining to prepare for the storm, which began to strengthen.

Hurricane Harvey continues to intensify and is expected to become a major hurricane as it moves toward the Texas Coast. According to the National Weather Service, the Houston region could begin seeing the worst of the storm starting Friday night.

The storm system has prompted officials to issue voluntary and mandatory evacuations of some coastal areas, school districts to postpone a return to classes and local governments to brace for life-threatening floods that could last through Monday.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-26 02:17:20|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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WASHINGTON, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump has signed an executive order imposing new financial sanctions on Venezuela, said White House in a statement released on Friday.

The new sanctions will prohibit dealings in new debt and equity issued by the government of Venezuela and its state oil company, according to the statement.

"It also prohibits dealings in certain existing bonds owned by the Venezuelan public sector, as well as dividend payments to the government of Venezuela," it added.

Meanwhile, primarily targeting the Venezuelan government, the U.S. Treasury was issuing general licenses that allow for transactions that would otherwise be prohibited by the executive order.

The new sanctions did not mention cutting off U.S. imports of Venezuelan oil, which could be critical to Venezuela's economy as well as U.S. oil refiners.

It was the latest round of sanctions slapped by the Trump administration on the South American country after Venezuela held elections for the National Constituent Assembly (ANC) at the end of July.

On Aug. 9, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on eight Venezuelan individuals involved in the creation of the controversial ANC.

The move came after Washington blacklisted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on July 31, one day after Venezuela held elections for the ANC.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced on Tuesday that his government is taking steps to defend the country against U.S. economic sanctions.

Speaking at a press conference in the capital, the president said that Washington is planning a "commercial, oil and financial blockade," which would worsen the economic situation in the country.

Maduro also noted that Venezuela-U.S. relations were at their worst moment.
A Russian fifth-generation T-50 fighter lands after performing aerobatics in an air show outside Moscow on July 18, 2017. (Xinhua/Bai Xueqi)

MOSCOW, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Russia's sixth-generation warplane may serve as a transition from manned to unmanned aviation, a top military official said Thursday.

"We may begin with the manned version and then switch to the unmanned version, but I think that precisely the sixth-generation aircraft will be the last plane when the pilot performs main tasks in air environment," Russian Aerospace Force Commander-in-Chief Colonel General Viktor Bondarev told Zvezda TV Channel.

The commander also said that a sixth-generation aircraft should not be only a fighter-interceptor, but should be present in all the branches: strike and military transport aviation, as well as long-range strategic aviation.

Meanwhile, Sergei Korotkov, chief designer of Russia's United Aircraft Corporation, told the Russian news network Zvezda that Russia's sixth-generation fighter jet will be equipped with an artificial intelligence system capable of making key decisions without the pilot's involvement in certain emergency situations.

Earlier on Thursday, Russian Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov said military aircraft developers are creating scientific and technical groundwork for developing the sixth-generation fighter jet.
File photo

WASHINGTON, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- A top national security adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that no military action plan was currently being considered in the near future for Venezuela.

The national security adviser H.R. McMaster said at a White House press conference that the United States had no plans to take military action in Venezuela, but that President Trump intended to take advantage of a broad range of "integrated options" in the future.

McMaster's remarks came after the announcement of a new round of U.S. economic sanctions earlier in the day on the South American country, restricting the Venezuelan government's access to U.S. debt and equity markets.

Trump said earlier this month that he would not rule out a "military option" in Venezuela.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-26 03:57:54|Editor: Mengjie

John Njiraini, Commissioner General of Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), speaks during the launch ceremony of China-aided container scanners in Mombasa port, Kenya, on Aug. 25, 2017. Kenya's Mombasa port on Friday launched three China-aided container scanners to enhance efficiency in cargo clearance. (Xinhua/Li Baishun)

by Lu Duobao and Li Baishun

MOMBASA, Kenya, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Kenya's Mombasa port on Friday launched three China-aided container scanners to enhance efficiency in cargo clearance.

Speaking during the launch ceremony, John Njiraini, Commissioner General of Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), said the newly-installed non-intrusive cargo scanners include two fixed units and a mobile one, which will enhance KRA's capacity to scan all cargo of interest from a risk management perspective.

"Presently we scan about 500 containers every day and expect to increase this to about 750 containers or approximately 30 percent of all cargo with the newly-installed equipment," he said.

Njiraini recalled his visit to China's Shanghai and the port there. "I've seen how they use technology to facilitate customs process. There's no people at the big port and all the work is done automatically," he said, adding that Kenya will continue deepening engagement with China in utilization of customs clearance technology.

The Kenya official also expected the scanners to better facilitate business flow, clamp down on smuggling and thus generate more revenue.

Guo Ce, Economic and Commercial Counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Kenya, said he hoped the three advanced container scanners could help Mombasa port operate more efficiently and safely, so to drive local economic development and spur Kenya's economic growth.

He said with the two countries' economic cooperation deepening and expanding, areas adjacent to China-driven mega flagship projects are becoming a booming economic belt, where accelerated growth and investment have led to revitalized development in Kenya.

Guo said China's two centenary goals mirror the aspirations of Kenya's Vision 2030, and China will continue economic cooperation with Kenya, with the cargo scanners handover being one demonstration.

"I sincerely believe the project can bring better communications and pass down the Chinese-Kenyan friendship," he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-26 04:07:58|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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BISHKEK, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- An international snow leopards protection meeting held here on Friday called for intensifying efforts to protect the endangered animal and their ecosystems.

All 12 countries of the snow leopard habitat approved the Bishkek Declaration of 2017 at the International Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Forum in the Kyrgyz capital. The Declaration reflects the determination of the participating countries to preserve snow leopard populations and to ensure the cultural, social and economic well-being of mountain communities.

Speaking at the forum, President of Kyrgyzstan Almazbek Atambayev urged leaders and heads of relevant agencies from the countries of the snow leopard habitat to develop a comprehensive project to preserve its population.

He said that it is known that 15 years ago this species was on the verge of extinction. "As a result of joint efforts and with the support of partner countries, international organizations and financial institutions we managed to stop the snow leopard population decline in Kyrgyzstan," he said, noting snow leopard a sacred animal for Kyrgyz people and a vivid symbol of the mountain ecosystem of the Republic.

The forum brought together representatives of governments and international organizations of 12 range countries, donor agencies, conservation organizations and scientific institutions.

Forums on the conservation of the snow leopard have been holding since 2013. The purpose of the event is to attract the attention of the world community to the threat of the snow leopard disappearance, to agree on the cardinal steps to preserve the population of this animal and to discuss the protection of its areas at the international and national levels.

Snow leopard is a large predatory mammal from the family of felines, listed in the international Red book. Now in the wild, there are a little more than 3,000 individuals, about 300 of them on the territory of Kyrgyzstan.

Kyrgyzstan adopted the National Snow Leopard Strategy and to preserve the unique animal, the national nature park Khan-Tengri was established in the republic, the area of which exceeds 275,000 hectares. On its territory, scientists do a great job of monitoring the rare animal, which until now remains poorly understood due to the inaccessible habitat.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-26 04:23:04|Editor: ying

U.S. National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster (L) addresses a press conference with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin at the White House in Washington D.C., the United States, on Aug. 25, 2017. The National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster said at a White House press conference that the United States had no plans to take military action in Venezuela, but that President Trump intended to take advantage of a broad range of "integrated options" in the future. McMaster's remarks came after the announcement of a new round of U.S. economic sanctions on the South American country, restricting the Venezuelan government's access to U.S. debt and equity markets. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu)

WASHINGTON, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- A top national security adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that no military action plan was currently being considered in the near future for Venezuela.

The national security adviser H.R. McMaster said at a White House press conference that the United States had no plans to take military action in Venezuela, but that President Trump intended to take advantage of a broad range of "integrated options" in the future.

"Any decision will be in conjunction with the partners of the region," he added.

Trump said earlier this month that he would not rule out a "military option" in Venezuela.

McMaster's remarks came after the announcement of a new round of U.S. economic sanctions on the South American country, restricting the Venezuelan government's access to U.S. debt and equity markets.

Earlier in the day, White House said in a statement that Trump has signed an executive order prohibiting dealings in new debt and equity issued by the government of Venezuela and its state oil company.

Primarily targeting the Venezuelan government, the U.S. Treasury was issuing general licenses that allow for transactions that would otherwise be prohibited by the executive order.

The executive order also carved out short-term financing for most commercial trade, including the export and import of petroleum, said U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin at the same press conference held at the White House.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced on Tuesday that his government is taking steps to defend the country against U.S. economic sanctions.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-26 04:28:09|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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HAVANA, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Experts at Cuba's Center for Immunoassay (CIE) have developed a monoclonal antibody to enable the early detection and diagnosis of cystic fibrosis (CF), local media reported on Friday.

The development is to be used to screen newborns, Dr. Rebeca Gonzalez, a CIE research specialist, told online magazine Bohemia.

The product will allow the detection of the disease long before the appearance of the symptoms, said Gonzalez, adding that can significantly improve quality of life and life expectancy in patients.

CF is a genetic disorder that affects mostly the lungs, but also the pancreas, liver, kidneys and intestine, and can lead to chronic lung disease and pancreatic insufficiency.

Cystic fibrosis refers to the characteristic fibrosis and cysts that form within the affected organs.

While medical advances in pharmacology and genetics have helped to develop new treatments to mitigate symptoms, there is no cure for the disorder as yet.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-26 04:38:18|Editor: ying

People take part in the March in Solidarity with Venezuela in Havana, Cuba, on Aug. 25, 2017. Hundreds of Venezuelans, Cubans and people from other parts of the world marched through a central avenue in Havana on Friday to reject recent military threats by U.S. President Donald Trump against Venezuela. (Xinhua/Joaquin Hernandez)

HAVANA, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Hundreds of Venezuelans, Cubans and people from other parts of the world marched through a central avenue in Havana on Friday to reject recent military threats by U.S. President Donald Trump against Venezuela.

The march, organized by the Cuban Institute of Friendship and Solidarity (ICAP), took place along several blocks of the Avenue of the Presidents of the Cuban capital until it reached the monument to Venezuelan hero, Simon Bolivar.

With banners urging Trump to stay out of Venezuela and photos of late President Hugo Chavez, as well as current leader, Nicolas Maduro, the participants expressed their support for the so-called Bolivarian Revolution.

"We reject U.S. interference. Mr. Trump does not seem to know that the greater the challenge for Venezuela, the greater the greatness of its people," said Venezuelan Ambassador in Cuba, Ali Rodriguez.

He also rejected Washington's continued threats against Caracas aimed at overthrowing President Maduro's government.

"We do not want a war, we want peace, because only in that context can we take advantage of our potential for development," Rodriguez said.

The diplomat said the White House seeks to restore the old policy where Latin America was the backyard of the United States.

"They use their power to establish their military, economic and even cultural domination, as we have seen in recent times," added Rodriguez.

ICAP President Fernando Gonzalez affirmed Cuba's position of supporting Caracas and indicated that nation "is on the right track" despite its deep economic and political crisis.

"A country who is respected will always fight for its independence and sovereignty. The recent military threat by the United States does not intimidate Venezuelans, on the contrary, it dignifies the values of that nation," he said.

In the march and rally to support the Bolivarian Revolution were present foreign students, workers of different sectors, groups of solidarity and diplomats.

Earlier this month Trump said that Washington does not rule out a "military option" in relation to the crisis in Venezuela, a country that, in his opinion, is in a "very dangerous mess."

In the last few weeks tensions between Washington and Caracas have increased over Venezuela's controversial Constituent National Assembly (ANC) formed after an election late last month.

On Friday, the White House imposed new sanctions against Caracas that involve its financial operations in U.S. dollars and sale of bonds to pay debts.

The national security adviser H.R. McMaster said at a White House press conference on Friday that the United States had no plans to take military action in Venezuela, but that President Trump intended to take advantage of a broad range of "integrated options" in the future.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-26 05:03:28|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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by Xinhua writers Gui Tao, Zhang Jiawei

LONDON, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese company which takes one third of stakes in the French-led Hinkley Point C project in Britain expects a new China-led nuclear power plant to get approval from the British government.

Robert Davies, Chief Operating Officer of the General Nuclear International, a UK subsidiary of China's Shenzhen-based General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN), told Xinhua Friday that he is "very confident" with the China-developed third-generation HPR1000 nuclear reactor getting through the ongoing government assessment.

"We finished the first stage of the four stages in Generic Design Assessment (GDA) and we are about to start the second," he said. "So by the end of this year we will be about 25 percent through."

The British nuclear regulator has begun the GDA for the HPR1000 nuclear technology that is proposed for the new nuclear power station at Bradwell in Essex.

Davies said the company hopes the HPR1000 to have gone through the GDA in four and a half years' time.

Zheng Dongshan, CEO of General Nuclear International, told Xinhua that the second stage of GDA is expected to start in November as the assessment process is "in general going well".

"The Chinese-developed nuclear technology's installation in the Western developed countries such as Britain is a symbol of China transforming 'from big to strong' in its nuclear power development," Zheng said.

CGN is China's largest nuclear power plant operator and world's largest nuclear power plant constructor. Countries including Thailand, Indonesia, Kenya, Czech Republic and Malaysia have developed strong interest in CGN's third-generation nuclear power technology.

Mao Qing, CGN's Chief Technical Officer in Britain, said the China-developed third-generation nuclear reactor, is both mature and economically-efficient.

Responding to media reports that the Hinkley Point C project is over budget and a year behind schedule, senior officials with the Chinese nuclear power plant builder all shrugged off the concerns.

"Since the project is still in the preliminary stage, it is still too early to say that there will be an extra investment and delay," Zheng said.

Davies said even though there is "a little bit of learning and settling down", the project is "doing extremely well" and "in full gear".

The veteran nuclear expert told Xinhua that China's nuclear technology is top-notch worldwide.

"China is leading because it is building," Davis said. "The only way to bring cost-effective nuclear to a country is by building fleets of reactors."

Britain has closed some 25 percent of all its power station since 2010 as the country is going through a process trying to decarbonize its economy.

"It needs to have new generation assets which give cost-effective, low-carbon energy with security supply," Davies said. "China is bringing stability, experience to help these projects to be successful."
Ontario MPP Soo Wong talks about the challenge from the Japanese government against her private Bill 79 in Toronto, on Aug.24,2017. (Xinhua/Haitao Li)

By Li Baodong

Ottawa, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- "It is important for Ontarians to reflect and educate themselves about the enduring lessons of the Nanjing Massacre," said Ms. Soo Wong, who is a member of Provincial Parliament of Canada's Ontario province.

Wong has devoted her efforts introducing a private member's Bill No. 79 to designate December 13 as Nanjing Massacre Commemoration Day here in Ontaria in southeast Canada.

The bill passed the second hearing last December, and will go through a third hearing later this year. If passed, December 13 will become an official commemorative day in the province. Up to date, more than 90,000 signatures have been collected across the province in support of the bill.

Ontario is home to Canada's largest Asian community. It is reported that there are nearly three million Asian Canadians, including almost one million population of Chinese origin. Some Ontarians have direct relationship with victims and survivors of Nanjing Massacre.

The Nanjing Massacre is also known as the Rape of Nanking in the Western world. In December 1937, Japanese troops captured the city of Nanjing, then capital of China, and committed mass murder and raping with more than 300,000 local Chinese being killed.

The bill for the commemorative day has encountered strong opposition from Japan. Some Japanese lawmakers reportedly have sent a letter to the Ontario government against the bill and Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party will send its lawmakers to Canada to lobby against the designation of the Nanjing Massacre Commemorative Day.

In an exclusive interview with Xinhua Thursday, Soo Wong said she had heard of a letter being sent from Japanese MPs to Ontario.

Wong is the first female Chinese-Canadian to be elected to the Ontario Legislature. She serves as deputy speaker and parliamentary assistant to Ontario minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services.

"I'm not going to comment on something I haven't read. I'm going to comment on the fact that this is about Ontario government and as a member of Ontario provincial parliament, I do have the ability and authority to introduce private member's bill on matters that are factual, and based on evidence," Wong said.

However, Wong said she had received a postcard from Japan with no signature on it, which gives an alternative number of deaths killed in Nanjing during the Second World War.

"We know the history, we also know the fact," she said.

She said the designation of Nanjing Massacre Commemorative Day in Ontario will provide an opportunity for all Ontarians, especially the Asian community, to remember and honor the victims and families affected by the Nanjing Massacre.

However, supporters of the bill are worried that Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne will not push hard for the legislation to pass.

Dr. Joseph Wong, founder of Toronto Alpha (Association for Learning and Preserving the History of the Second World War in Asia) told Xinhua Thursday that he is concerned with the influence from the Japanese government.

Dr. Wong said the letter from the Japanese ruling party should not cause any ripple in the Ontario government, which should be intelligent enough not to be influenced by any foreign interference.

After Bill No. 79 passed second reading, Dr. Wong has met Progressive Conservative Leader Patrick Brown and New Democratic Leader Andrea Horwath in Ontario Parliament. Both leaders, he said, have promised that their caucuses would support the bill without reservation.

"This is the human rights legislation," said Dr. Wong.

However, Dr Wong said a meeting with Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne made him feel that she is reluctant to let it pass.

Dr. Wong said the premier was concerned the bill adoption would be "divisive" for Ontario's Japanese and Chinese communities.

He assured the premier that will not happen, as remembering the Nanjing Massacre will promote dialogue between local Japanese and Chinese communities. "We don't see Germans and Jews fighting on the streets of Canada because of Holocaust education," he stressed.

Toronto author Joy Kogawa, who is Japanese Canadian, told a news conference last month that she fully supported the bill to designate December 13 as Nanjing Massacre Commemoration Day, even though that means people in Japan think she's a traitor.

"The facts are the facts, and it is wrong to deny them," said Kogawa, who's been awarded the Order of Canada and Japan's Order of the Rising Sun.

It's time for atrocities in Asia to be as well-known as those in Europe or Canada, Kogawa said, adding she has met and argued with many Japanese people who think the Rape of Nanking did not exist.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-26 05:43:35|Editor: Yamei

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Investigators inspect the site of an attack in downtown Brussels, capital of Belgium, on Aug. 25, 2017. A man was shot, and seriously injured, by Belgian soldiers on Friday evening after trying to assault them with a knife, local police said. (Xinhua/Ye Pingfan)

BRUSSELS, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- A man was shot, and seriously injured, by Belgian soldiers on Friday evening after trying to assault them with a machete in downtown Brussels.

He later died at hospital, according to the Federal Prosecutor's Office of Belgium, calling him "terrorist".

The incident took place at 8:20 p.m. local time at Emile Jacqmain Boulevard in downtown Brussels. The man attacked a patrol of two soldiers while shouting "Allah Akbar" twice. The soldiers fired back and shot him.

"We think it is a terrorist attack," the prosecutor said in a statement. The prosecutor's office opened an investigation into "attempted assassination in a terrorist context".

The neutralized man, a Somali born in 1987, is not known for terrorism, according to Brussels prosecutor's office.

"All our support to our military. Our security services remain attentive. We follow the situation closely with the crisis center of Belgium," Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said on Twitter.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-26 05:58:39|Editor: Mengjie

Photo taken on Aug. 25, 2017 shows the signing ceremony of a memorandum of understanding between Belarusbank and China's UnionPay International (UPI) in Minsk, capital of Belarus. Belarusbank, the largest bank in Belarus, signed a memorandum of understanding with China's UnionPay International (UPI) on financial service cooperation, the press service of the bank said on Friday. (Xinhua/Wei Zhongjie)

MINSK, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Belarusbank, the largest bank in Belarus, signed a memorandum of understanding with China's UnionPay International (UPI) on financial service cooperation, the press service of the bank said on Friday.

The memorandum is aimed at establishing relations and applying to the services of the UnionPay payment system cardholders in the network of Belarusbank ATMs, retail and service organizations cooperating with the bank in accordance with the acquiring agreements.

UnionPay International (UPI) is a subsidiary of China UnionPay, focused on the growth and support of UnionPay's global business. In partnership with more than 1500 institutions worldwide, UnionPay International has enabled card acceptance in 162 countries and regions with issuance in 42 countries and regions.

Belarusbank is actively expanding its cooperation with China's financial institutions in various business areas, said Chairman of the Board of Belarusbank Viktor Ananich.

"Our interest in cooperation on acquiring UnionPay bank payment cards in Belarus is obvious," he added.

The Bank is also ready to continue the dialogue with China's financial community on cooperation in all areas of banking services, Ananich said.

"Fruitful cooperation between us will contribute to further deepening the Belarus-China relations," he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-26 05:58:39|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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DAMASCUS, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- U.S.-led airstrikes on Friday destroyed parts of the general hospital of Raqqa city in northeastern Syria, a monitor group reported, as the Islamic State (IS) group launched a counter offensive against the Syrian army in eastern Raqqa, killing 34 soldiers.

The "violent" shelling by the U.S.-led coalition also led to an electricity outage in other parts of the hospital, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The airstrikes are the latest in a string of violent shelling by the coalition in its bid to back the ground forces of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in their push to defeat IS in Raqqa, the main stronghold of the terror group in Syria.

The SDF has already captured 60 percent of Raqqa city since unleashing an attack on the city two and a half months ago.

In an earlier report, the observatory said that as many as 773 civilians have been killed by U.S.-led strikes and shelling of the SDF since the operation against Raqqa began in June of this year.

The London-based watchdog group said 197 children and 119 women were among those killed during the battles in Raqqa.

The Syrian government has repeatedly urged the UN Security Council to dissolve the coalition to stop its "crimes" against civilians in Raqqa.

On Thursday, the UN urged international powers to ease military operations around Raqqa amid intensifying concerns about the safety of thousands of civilians trapped inside the city.

More than 270,000 people have already fled the city since the coalition offensive began, and between 16,000 and 25,000 people are still trapped inside the city, with activists blaming both the coalition airstrikes and IS for the severity of the humanitarian situation inside the city.

Meanwhile, the observatory said Friday that 34 soldiers with the Syrian government forces were killed in Raqqa countryside by the IS militants, who launched a counter offensive on Thursday against the areas that have recently been taken by the army and allied fighters in the eastern countryside of Raqqa.

It said the IS militants regained several areas from the army, pushing the government forces to around 30 km from the city of Ma'adan, the last IS-held city in the eastern countryside of Raqqa.

Earlier this month, the Syrian army reached the outskirts of Ma'adan, close to the eastern province of Deir al-Zour, which is the ultimate goal behind the Syrian military operations in the countryside of Raqqa and the desert region in central Syria against IS.

It's worth noting that both the SDF and the Syrian army are fighting separate battles against IS in Raqqa, as the SDF is focused on the city itself, while the army on the countryside.

A day earlier, the Syrian army said it had laid a siege on IS in the Syrian desert, following an operation that has been dragging on since May, aiming to end the IS presence in around 90,000 square km of desert area in the central region.

For the army, the operation in the desert is so important as the desert region connects key Syrian cities with the Jordanian and Iraqi borders.

It also helps the army forces break the IS siege on Deir al-Zour, an oil-rich city that has been in place since 2015.

The IS controls much of Deir al-Zour, save for small part of the city which is still under the government control. The Syrian government airdrops food and aid to the besieged people and soldiers in Deir al-Zour, as all routes into the city are blocked by IS.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-26 06:28:45|Editor: huaxia

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TORONTO, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Canada's main stock index edged down as gains for a string of financial stocks were partly offset by a plunge in Tahoe Resources.

The Toronto Stock Exchange's benchmark Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite Index inched down 20.17 points, or 0.13 percent to closed the day at 15,055.99. Six of its 10 main groups fell.

Tahoe THO.TO ended down 18.7 percent to 5.58 Canadian dollars after hitting an all-time low as a Guatemalan court upheld the suspension of the license for its Escobal project, one of the world's largest silver mines. The stock plummeted from around 11 Canadian dollars a share to seven Canadian dollars in early July when the mine was first closed.

Hudson's Bay Co. surged 14.2 percent to 11.45 Canadian dollars after the department store operator is seeking to carry out a review of its strategic options amid pressure from an activist investor.

Construction company Aecon Group Inc jumped 20.2 percent to 17.24 Canadian dollars after it had engaged two financial advisers to explore a potential sale.

Pipeline companies weighed on the energy group, with Enbridge Inc down 1.5 percent at 50.40 Canadian dollars and TransCanada Corp off 0.8 percent to 62.89 Canadian dollars.

The Canadian dollar edged up 0.03 cents to 79.93 U.S. cents while oil prices picked up 19 cents to 47.62 U.S. dollars a barrel and gold prices rose 4.30 U.S. dollars to 1,296.30 U.S. dollars an ounce. Enditem
 

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Police hunt for kidnapped cousins

According to reports, Dale Lutchman, 45, of Oropouche Road, Sangre Grande, his son Darryl Lutchman, 14, and Brandon Sam were allegedly abducted.

Early yesterday, Dale Lutchman was released in the same area from which he was allegedly kidnapped. He was unable to give any useful information to the police except to confirm that his son and nephew were kidnapped. He could not say where they were taken.

According to reports, at about 10.30 am yesterday, Darryls mother Ria Lutchman received a phone call from a man claiming to have her son and nephew in his custody.

The man demanded that she pay a ransom of $350,000 for their safe return or the teens would be killed.
Womans body found in Valencia

According to reports at about 3.30 pm yesterday, Eastern Division police received calls from residents that a woman was seen down a precipice in a heavily forested area off Oropouche Road. Police went to the scene and found the body of the woman believed to be in her late thirties in a blue three-quarter jeans and blue striped t-shirt lying face down.

Police said the body showed marks of violence and foul play has not been ruled out. An autopsy is expected to be done today to determine a cause of death. Newsday was told the body is said to match the description of a woman who reportedly went missing several days earlier. However, up until press time, police were unable to confirm whether this was the missing woman.
Security guard detained in $620,000 robbery

The guard remained in custody up until yesterday and investigators were hoping to secure a statement from him.

Police said at about 1:30 am on Monday, burglars entered the building at Chacon Street, Port-of-Spain by cutting a hole in the roof on the eastern side.

The guard, who was on duty, claimed he was held up at gunpoint by the burglars who then used a blow torch to cut away a vault belonging to Western Union. The men allegedly removed $620,000 which was in the vault and then allegedly took the guard into their custody.

He claimed he was dropped off in the Central area and he made a report to the police.

Sergeant Anthony Williams interviewed the guard and later detained him.

Two other people from Laventille were also held but released pending further investigations.

Police are hoping to secure camera footage to assist them in identifying the suspects.

They are expected to approach the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution for directions. Yesterday Assistant Commissioner of Police Irwin Hackshaw and Superintendent Ajith Persad met Williams and reviewed the progress of the investigation.
Nurse to be charged for assault of toddler, two

Yesterday, Director of Public Prosecutions Roger Gaspard SC gave instructions to Inspector Coggins of the Child Protection Unit to charge the woman. She was expected to be detained last evening.

On Sunday she was interviewed for several hours by Coggins and she vehemently denied ever physically assaulting the girl.

Yesterday the child remained in critical condition at the Intensive Care Unit of the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex with a slim chance of survival.

She has undergone two surgeries to repair a ruptured colon and is on life support.

Two Saturdays ago, her father left her with the woman and when he returned, his daughter complained of pains to her stomach.

The suspect told the girls father she was constipated hence the reason for her complaining of pains, and one day later the child began vomiting and was taken to hospital where doctors found she had a ruptured colon as a result of blunt force trauma. This prompted a police investigation and several people were interviewed including the woman.
Businessman in court on $1.4M fraud charge

Gregory Reece, 37, of Lalla Road, Chaguanas appeared before Senior Magistrate Nanette Forde-John in the Port of Spain Magistrates First court on four counts of uttering a forged cheque and two counts of fraudulently obtaining over $1.4 million.

Reece was accused of depositing three fraudulent cheques into his business account on August 3. The cheques were drawn on the account of the Arima Borough Corporation in the sum of $1,424,958.83. The account was flagged after it was discovered the cheques were deposited with fraudulent items. Reece was arrested by members of the Fraud Squad and the Chaguanas CID.

The matter was adjourned to September 20.
Hiker died of broken neck

A post-mortem on his body by forensic pathologist Dr Valery Alexandrov yesterday at the Forensic Science Centre, St James revealed he died from blunt force trauma to the neck which ruptured his spinal cord. Death was instantaneous.

Meanwhile, the Permanent Local Content Committee (PLCC) for the energy sector in a statement praised Baird as a true patriot explaining,  through his representation of the credit union movement and as a member of the PLCC since its inception in 2004, he brought the important input of the small financial sector to the fore. The PLCC recalled that last Wednesday Baird spent several hours working on a plan to strengthen and enrich our country, in these difficult times, taking the lead on one of three initiatives; one that he championed. The committee said he left the meeting after a productive session with his trademark smile. Baird, a computer technician at Petrotrin, was described as thoughtful, patient, good humoured and accommodating.

Baird, a father of six, disappeared following a hike to Aripo on Saturday evening. A seasoned hiker, he had complained of cramps on the way back and was last seen sitting on a log as hikers made their way out of the dense forests. After three days of searching by Police, Fire Services, soldiers, hunters and volunteers, Bairds body was discovered at the bottom of a precipice where he had fallen on Tuesday but it was not until Wednesday that the body was removed.

Funeral arrangements are yet to be finalised.
Murder accused sympathises with magistrate

Akiel Paris, Renderick Junior Paris and Maseo Murphy appeared before acting Chief Magistrate Maria Busby Earle-Caddle in the Port of Spain Magistrates Eighth Court to face charges of murder. Earle-Caddle informed the men that their attorney Melissa Mano, who is currently on maternity leave, was not present at the hearing and she would have to adjourn the matter to October, at this point the accused expressed their discontent with such a late adjournment. However, Earle- Caddle informed the men that the only other available time for the matter to be heard will be in November.

Akiel said he understood Earle- Caddles challenges in scheduling a date for the matter and, while he appreciated that the fault was not hers, he and his associates had already spent two years languishing behind bars awaiting a trial date.

Your worship, I understand that this isnt your fault, it is you alone here having to deal with all of these cases, and I appreciate you trying to move this along, but we have been in here for the past two years. Weve been coming here and our lives are just wasting away on the inside. After deliberation, Earle-Caddle rescheduled the trial to September 4, where cross-examination of witnesses is expected to resume. The matter is one of the fifty-two cases that has been restarted in the wake of Marcia Ayers-Caesars ascension as a High Court judge.

The trio are accused of killing Nicholas Joseph aka BJ on Carnival Tuesday night in 2015.
Grocery thief jailed for four years

Magistrate Kerrianne Byer, presiding in the San Fernando Magistrates court, said that she was minded to jail Sunil Ramkissoon, 42, of Moonridge Drive, Phillipine, to six years because he has chalked up a record 23 previous convictions for larceny and narcotic offences which characterises that of a career criminal.

Considering that he pleaded guilty, she reduced the sentence by two years for his guilty plea, that on Tuesday, he broke into V&S Supermarket on SS Erin Road, Phillipine. The prosecutor Sgt Ian Sylvan, told Byer that at about 3 am, while on police patrol, officers responded to a wireless report of a break-in at the supermarket. Upon arrival, they saw that a window and burglarproof to the businessplace were broken. Sylvan said police went into the building and confronted Ramkissoon, who had in his hand a bag with $30,747 . The bag also contained US$40. He was arrested and charged with larceny.

The prosecutor told the magistrate Ramkissoon had previous convictions for housebreaking and narcotic offences and they amounted to 23 over just a few years. Byer commended the police for their diligent police work in responding immediately to the crime and arresting the defendant in the act.

The business owners must have been contented that all of the money was recovered, for, it is not often the perpetrators are caught with the loot and a lot of time they remain at a loss,  Byer said.
3 BURNT TO DEATH

Dead are Michelle Harrylal, 26, her common-law husband Michael Applewaithe, 35, and another male who remained unidentified up to press time.

At about 8 am, a villager in a car was alerted to the tragedy when he saw Harrilals four year old son wandering barefoot along the roadway. The villager said the boy appeared to be traumatised.

The crying child told the woman his mommy was burnt in a fire and is in heaven.

The villager, who knew the boy, drove to the familys home and saw the house burnt to the ground. The house is located miles off the Carlsen Field Road in a forested area and there are no houses in close proximity to the structure. Members of the Police and Fire Services were contacted and when they arrived, police said a trail of blood was found near the ruins.

Investigators are working on the theory that the occupants were killed and their bodies set on fire in the house.

Residents said they had seen smoke earlier that day but many assumed it may have been a bush fire in the area. Newsday was told the boy lived with his mother and step father at the location for the past year.

It was shortly after 2pm fire fighters removed the skeletal remains of three people. They were viewed by district medical officer Naresh Singh who instructed the police to take the remains to the Forensic Science Centre. Investigators said tests would have to be done to confirm the identity of the victims. Yesterday, villagers expressed shock as they watched crime scene investigators remove charred bodies. Harrylals sister, Dana Babwah, 20, had to be consoled by relatives. She told Newsday she could not understand why someone would want to harm her sister. I cant believe this is happening, she said as her hands trembled. Babwah said she was happy her nephew was not harmed. It is a really a miracle he is alive.

He ran from the fire and did not know where he was going but he just kept running until he reached the roadway where he was found wandering. Babwah said she last spoke to her sister on Monday.

My sister and her son were very close. You never saw Michelle without her son, it breaks my heart what happened. The man she was living with, Michael, treated her son like his own and (the child) would call him daddy. Babwah said she was unaware of any threats made on her sisters life.

The child was was taken to the Chaguanas Health Facility were he was examined and discharged.

Homicide Region Three police officers are investigating.
250 hrs community service for crying false rape

Magistrate Nalini Singh said in the Princes Town Magistrates court that she was minded to sentence Isahark, 45, a telephone operator at the San Fernando Magistrates court, to six months in jail which is the maximum penalty for making the false police report in addition to a $1,000 fine.

But the man, taxi driver Deonath Ramsubhag, whom she made the report against, poured out his heart inside the courtroom for the magistrate to have mercy on Isahark.

Taxi drivers laughing at me.

People dont want to travel with me but please have mercy on her Your Honour, Ramsubhag pleaded. No, No, please dont do that to her. Isahark had pleaded not guilty when she appeared on Thursday last before Singh but yesterday she changed her plea.

Prosecutor Sgt Shazeed Mohammed, related that at about 8.30 pm Isahark went to the Barrackpore Police Station and reported she was raped. Corporal Neil Nanan spent five hours investigating the matter in which he recorded a statement from Isahark then took her to the Princes Town District Health Facility.

The necessary medical tests were conducted with a view to sending them for analysis at the Forensic Science Centre. He arrested Ramsubhag, who was placed in a cell in the Princes Town Police Station for an entire night. But after Nanan had interviewed Ramsubhag and confronted Isahark, she admitted, I never get rape. I lied. Attorney Petronella Basdeo made a stirring plea on Isaharks behalf, saying she was most contrite, had no previous convictions and the victim had forgiven her.

But Singh said that Ramsubhag was the important person in determining how the court treated with the matter and she called him forward.

Whats your view with respect to this matter? she asked.

Ramsubhag began to plead for Isahark, saying, I forgive this lady for this....dont send her to jail please. Please dont do that. With all this thing I gone through, I forgive she. I know my reputation get damage; taxi men telling me all kinds of things. Singh told Isahark, a mother of one and employed for the past 12 years, that she could have faced six months in jail. When the magistrate said that, Ramsubhag erupted with more pleas, No no, please dont do that. Please, dont let she lose she wuk. What will happen to she? Singh told Isahark that to fabricate a rape case against a man, is one of the most horrendous things one can do, because at the end of the day, all a man has is his word. The magistrate went on to tell her that her actions could have the effect of diminishing the publics view about genuine rape victims.

Isahark is to report to the Probation Office, San Fernando, where it would be determined the nature of her 250 hours of community service. She is to return to court on September 21.
Media mourns journalist Deborah John

According to her brother Tony Ansou John, Deborah passed away peacefully on Wednesday night at 11 pm, after a valiant battle with cancer. She was 61 years old.

Educated at St Francois Girls Secondary, Carimac and the University of the West Indies (UWI), Deborah pursued a career in journalism and remained in the field for approximately four decades.

However, very early last year, Deborah, daughter of the late veteran journalist George John, began treatment for cancer. She was already at the stage-four level but she fearlessly fought it and lived her life as comfortably as she could.

But last Saturday at 11.40 am in her last posting on Facebook she said: Basil breds, that friend request..

no...stay in the bush. It was the first sign of what culminated on Wednesday night.

Deborahs only child, Nadia, announced her passing in a Facebook post early yesterday morning and thanked everyone who supported the family during their difficult time. On learning of Johns death, people in and out of the industry only had favourable comments to make about her, such was her great personality. Express editor-in-chief Omatie Lyder said their editorial staff was shaken and deeply saddened by the news of Deborahs passing. Lyder said: Deborah was an experienced editor, exhibited expert knowledge on pan, calypso and the arts and a mentor and friend to many journalists. Her death is a great loss to the Express and the media fraternity. One of Deborahs closest friends Leroy Clarke, master artist and poet, told Newsday: It mash me up. She tried hard. She had a hard act to follow in her fathers footsteps. The Trinidad and Tobago Publishers and Broadcasters Association (TTPBA) also extended its condolences to the family of the long-standing journalist.

A release from the TTPBA said, Ms John may have got her love for journalism from her father, the late George John, who was recognised, posthumously, for his contribution to the media industry.

The TTPBA is certain that Deborah John will be sorely missed by members of the media and by her colleagues at the Express newspaper.

And to them, we also extend our heartfelt condolences. Pan Trinbago also issued a release that stated, It is with deep regret that our organisation learnt about the passing of Ms Deborah John, one of your esteemed editors.

Ms Johns profound personality is memorable, she was also an avid pan music lover and was always seen at our concerts and competitions.

Rest assured her presence will be missed. She was hard working and skilful and her work will go a long way to benefit future generations. Pan Trinbago expressed its deepest sympathy to the John family, her extended Express family and the media. Several other high-profile people sent condolences to the John family including musicians, artistes, and other members of the media. Deborah leaves to mourn her daughter Nadia, brothers Anthony and Gregory, sisters in law Paula and Lydia, family and friends. Funeral arrangements are still being finalised.
CNMG to close, TTT is back

The minister said the new TTT will focus on local programming and Government information.

Recalling that consultations were held about the future of CNMG in December 2015, Cuffie said stakeholders at those consultations felt CNMG had lost its mandate.

He said CNMG currently has 112 employees and 37 freelancers, all of whom would be free to apply for jobs at the new TTT. The new company will be formed from the assets of CNMG and Government Information Services Limited (GISL) which was wound up this year. The winding up of CNMG is expected to see 99.1 Next FM and 91.1 Talk City being closed. However, Sweet 100FM will be retained.

In another interview, Cuffie said CNMG is currently doing a manpower audit exercise.

The only change is that the audit will look at what we will need for CNMGs operations, he said.

Cuffie also said TTT still had a brand recognition and an affinity which CNMG never attained. The minister will hold a news conference today at the NALIS Building in Port of Spain to provide further details on yesterdays Cabinet decision.

TTT commenced operations on August 24, 1962. The station was closed on January 4, 2005 due to financial difficulties. CNMG started operations in 2005.
Le Hunte: No blight in ministry

In an impromptu media conference after the formalities at Presidents House, St Anns, reporters noted his four predecessors  Ancil Antoine, Fitzgerald Hinds, Marlene Mc Donald and Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley  and asked if this high turnover meant the ministry was blighted? Le Hunte replied, No. Its not blighted.

No. I see it as a challenge.

I see it as something that is there that needs to be done. Le Hunte was once a Peoples National Movement (PNM) alderman on the San Fernando City Corporation and said that Rowley offered him the job about two weeks ago.

Saying the ministry affectss peoples daily lives such as their water supply, he said, I think its a honour that Ive been given the opportunity to work in this ministry to try to make the lives of those people a bit better. Le Hunte said he had a successful four years in HFC Bank in Ghana (a Republic Bank subsidiary) and now heeded the call to serve in the TT Cabinet utilising his business sector skills. He said he built a fantastic team at the bank over the past four years and they were now able to carry on.

He said, Im leaving the bank at a very pivotal point where weve moved from losses to the highest level of profitability. Newsday asked Le Hunte what motivated him to join a Cabinet with challenges in crime, economy and aspects of governance? Service. One word.

Service, Le Hunte replied. I strongly believe that if good people do not get into politics then a void is created. You must be authentic as a leader in whatever you do, and so when asked to serve I could not stand by and see all the challenges that we are facing  and you know them probably better than me  and then say well because of the challenges I cannot. Earlier, Le Hunte read from a formal statement saying, It is indeed an honour to be part of Prime Minister Dr Rowleys Cabinet, especially during these times. I know hes rallying a team together to take us to another level.

Im aware that Public Utilities is a very sensitive ministry, with responsibility for water, electricity, things that affect the daily lives of all our citizens. Lingvobalt vertim? biuras Lietuvoje

I am going to give dedicated hard work, passionate work, as Ive done in the private sector, to try to make the ministry as effective and efficient as possible. Oblakasalon.lt - Limfodrena?inis masa?as, Depiliacija, Lazerinis jauninimas, rand? naikinimas, fir?ros koregavimas, k?no ?vyniojimas ir plauk? ?alinimas lazeriu Vilniuje

Especially during these times, where efficiency is going to be very important when we have a lot less to go around. When asked about Mc Donald, Le Hunte said he had not spoken to her and that her issues were in the past while he was looking at what was ahead.
Mouttet meets Port Authority

Members of the board have met with Mr Mouttet, she told Newsday. She also said Mouttet, has requested a number of documents which the Port is addressing. On August 15, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley appointed Mouttet to investigate the circumstances surrounding the procurement of the Cabo Star and the Ocean Flower II and the entering into the charter party agreement for these vessels. The Integrity Commission and the Land and Physical Infrastructure joint select committee (JSC) of the Parliament are also conducting enquiries into the procurement of these vessels.

Lewis also disclosed that the authority was successful in getting an extension on the license of the Cabo Star to transport passengers on the domestic sea bridge.

Lewis said, I have been advised that the license was extended to November. This was subsequently confirmed by TT Inter-Island Transportation Company marketing and public relations manager Vilma Lewis-Cockburn.
Carmona laments societys failing mental health

He added that the problem had found its way into business and politics.

Carmona made the remarks yesterday during the swearing-in ceremony of Professor Gerard Hutchinson as a member of the Mercy Committee. He said the issue of mental health was one that deserved full focus with Hutchinsons appointment.

One thing I must mention is the degeneration or deterioration of societys mental health, Carmona said. In recent years more and more people are becoming more combative and belligerent and it is an issue which is found in politics, business to even the man in the street. In that regard, I am pleading to Professor Hutchinson to continue his proactive role in his new position as a board member. Carmona also called on society to show greater compassion and understanding to the plight of others, citing the plight of former inmates in readjusting to life after serving their sentence. He further urged the mercy committee to exercise institutional mercy, pardon and compassion when deserved.

I know many of you may be associated with the prison inside but there is also the prison outside. Carmona said. I say this because when a person is released from prison, he has that stain on him for the rest of his life.

He is unable to apply for a job in the public sector, he is unable to join the protective services, sometimes he cannot even obtain a visa to go abroad. In other words, that person lives in a daily cell through a lack of opportunity. After the ceremony, Hutchinson said that while he understood the responsibility before him was a large one, he was not daunted by the task ahead.

He said, The responsibility does seem like it will be a lot of work but I believe that I will be able to do the best that I can through this appointment.

And I know, that in my new role, psychology will be able to assume a greater focus. Hutchinson added that while crime and violence continued to remain top-tier priorities, it was important that society maintained compassion and understanding for one another.

Mercy and forgiveness should be at the heart of the countrys agenda but it is important that despite violence we understand that crime from somewhere and we must treat with these root causes. Hutchinson currently serves as a Professor at the University of the West Indies Faculty of Medical Sciences and is the head of the psychology unit at the Mount Hope General Hospital.
Nick Jr. Italy (Italia) has picked up the broadcast rights to the popular CG-animated preschool series, and will start to premiere and show the brand-new Russian-Spanish co-production in September 2017!is a new preschool TV series focused on outdoor play patterns with a social curriculum that mixes friendship, nature, and imagination.follows the adventures of Oto, Mai and Vik - three children who simply love to play outside. The enthusiasm and energy they put into their games awakens the magical creature called Yoko, who takes ordinary childrens games and turns them into extraordinary adventures, where playgrounds become spaceships, or the sun switches off because camping is just more fun in the dark, making every day in City Park a new and exciting challenge!The series is aimed towards kids 4-7 and is co-produced by Russian production company Wizart TV Series (the television department of feature producers Wizart Animation), Spanish animation studios Somuga and Dibultoon, and Spanish broadcaster TVE. Jetpack Distribution serves as the property's global distributor.made its world debut at the Russian Cinema Stand at MIPTV in April 2015, and made its world TV debut on Russian national channels CTC and Karousel at the end of 2016. The series also recently launched in Spain on TVEs kids channel CLAN and made its Basque language premiere on ETB.is written by an international team, including Andy Yerkes (), Kevin Strader (), Evgenia Golubeva (), Leo Murzenko () and Edorta Barruetabena ().Season one offeatures 52 12-minute episodes, and a second season is currently in production.Somugas Juanjo Elordi, one ofs producers, told: is about playing outdoors with your best friends. It is the dream of all children.uses large doses of fantasy and imagination to place its characters in extreme situations. Maintaining friendship in difficult conditions is the goal of our characters. It is the goal of all children in the world to be part of a fun-loving group of friends.Elordi added: Co-productions present many challenges, but when you work shoulder to shoulder with hardworking people such as the Wizart team, it is a rewarding experience.Ahead of its TV debut,was named Animated Series with Highest International Potential by Reed MIDEM, the organising body behind global content markets MIPTV, MIPCOM, MIPJunior and MIPFormats.Yuri Moskvin, the series producer for Wizart, told: We are very happy to receive this award from Reed Midem, and we expect that broadcasters will also appreciate Yokos potential for international markets. We are also in negotiations with licensing partners.On's licensing front, Bauer has been named master toy partner in Russia and will launch construction sets based on the property. Pacts have also been signed with Russias DUM (wooden toys) and Alliance (creativity kits). Additionally, Bizak will serve as master toy partner in Spain with a range of items including plush, action figures and construction sets launching next winter.
In the wake of the terrorist attacks that shook Barcelona and Finland, several media outlets and self-proclaimed pundits took the easy way of putting the blame on Morocco, the country of origin of most of the radicalized youth, instead of lambasting the European laxism and intelligence failure.

The desperate attempts at pushing the name of Morocco whenever a radicalized member of its expatriates commits a terrorist attack is indicative of a shortsighted analysis. The situation in Morocco where IS has never been able to commit a single attack since its creation in 2014 discredits those who try to sow confusion over terrorism in Morocco.

The Kingdoms security services have on multiple occasions played a pivotal role in averting terrorist attacks in Europe. The Moroccan counterterrorism intelligence helped France, Belgium and Spain thwart a number of terror attacks. It was Moroccan intelligence that helped locate Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the mastermind of the November 2015 attacks in Paris.

Moroccos intelligence service also alerted German counterparts in September 2016 that Anas Amiri was about to perpetrate a terrorist attack on German soil three months before he did.

Most of those claiming Moroccan origins and who are involved in terrorist attacks in Europe have been radicalized and raised in Europe. Hence the need for European countries to monitor the religious discourse in their mosques.

The Spanish interior ministry has on multiple occasions underscored Moroccos key role in promoting the European Unions counterterrorism efforts, saying that the Kingdom is Spains best partner in addressing the global scourge of jihadism.

In a statement to the Spanish news agency EFE, Spains Interior Minister Juan Ignacio Zoido said, Morocco helped Spain arrest 178 dangerous individuals and cooperated in the dismantlement of 10 terrorist cells.

In a recent report, the International Crisis Group, said that Morocco has robust security services and comprehensive counterterrorism strategy that made the country the most insulated against ISIS attacks in the MENA region.

Last April, Morocco has been described as the country least affected by terrorism in North Africa and the Sahel with zero attacks reported in 2016. The remarks came in the annual study dubbed: Terrorism in North Africa and the Sahel in 2016, issued by the Inter-University Centre on Terrorism Studies (IUCTS) and the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies.

The pro-activeness and effectiveness of Moroccos anti-terrorism approach, which resulted in busting several terrorist cells before they moved into action and geared efforts towards tackling the root causes of extremism was also commended by the US State Department.

Morocco is a stable security-exporting partner in North Africa and is the only African nation to contribute military assets to the Defeat-ISIS Coalition campaign in Syria and Iraq, underscored the US State Department in its Country Reports on Terrorism 2016.

The US State Department also shed light on the key role played by the Moroccan Central Bureau of Judicial Investigation (BCIJ), since its establishment in 2015, as the primary law enforcement agency responsible for counterterrorism law enforcement. The BCIJ conducted operations in cooperation with international partners leading to numerous disruptions of alleged terrorist cells and prosecutions of associated individuals, adds the document.
Army commander Ahmed Gaid Salah Thursday brushed aside calls by the opposition to take control of the country in a bid to end the seemingly power vacuum at the head of the country as many doubt President AbdelAziz Bouteflika rules the North African country.

Salah in a speech in Constantine, Northeastern Algeria, noted that the army will not interfere in the political affairs of the country and will remain loyal to the constitution, El Watan reports.

The National Popular Army (NAP) will remain a republican army, committed to defend the national sovereignty and the territorial integrity of the country, protect the independence, he added.

The opposition had urged the army to use article 102 of the constitution on the ground of power vacuum to seize power in order to set order and reorganize the North African country.

Salah in 2011 pledged loyalty to the constitution rejecting the calls urging him to topple President Bouteflika.

Algeria has been in a state of political crisis since President Bouteflika suffered a stroke in 2013 that stuck him in a wheelchair.

Unable to make public appearances, the presidents health condition triggered speculations and increased the power struggle amidst a deteriorating economic situation.

More questions have been raised this month after Abdulmajeed Tabboun appointed as Prime Minister on May 24 was fired last week and replaced by Ahmed Ouyahia; a veteran politician and close aid of the ailing Algerian President.

Critics doubt the sacking was ordered by the President, arguing that Tabboun was fired under the instructions of business tycoons in the Presidents entourage.
UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson visited Thursday Benghazi wherein he met Field Marshall Khalifa Haftar, the Head of the Libyan National Army, as well as members of the local House of Representatives, challenging the government of Fayez Al-Serraj.

This is the first visit by a UK government minister to Benghazi since 2011 and the first time that the Foreign Secretary has met Field Marshall Heftar.

This reflects UK efforts to reach out to Libya to persuade all parties to engage in the political process and work together to bring peace and stability to Libya.

According to Boris Johnson, a secure and stable Libya, better able to deal with the threat from terrorism and the challenge of migration, is firmly in the UK interests.

The Libyan people need a stable state that can meet their fundamental economic and security needs. That requires all sides to compromise and work together. Only a united Libya can defeat the terrorists and smuggling networks who are exploiting the instability, he said in Benghazi.

Thats why we are reaching out to all sides in Libya in support of the United Nations work to amend the Libyan Political Agreement so that it delivers for all Libyans, added the top British diplomat.

Field Marshall Haftar has a role to play in the political process. I urged him to adhere to the commitments he made during recent meetings in Paris, to respect a ceasefire, and to work with Mr. Ghassan Salame (UN special representative) in order to amend the Libyan Political Agreement, underlined Boris Johnson.

Ultimately it will be for Libyans to decide what an acceptable compromise looks like. I have encouraged all sides to resolve their differences by dialogue, not conflict, and to respect international human rights law, he went on to say.

The Foreign Secretarys visit to Benghazi follows meetings in Tripoli yesterday with Prime Minister Fayyez Al-Serraj, the President of Libyas High State Council Abdurrahman Swehli and a visit to Misrata to meet with political leaders there.

During his last visit to Libya in May, the Foreign Secretary met the President of the House of Representatives Agila Salah, in Tobruk.

In Benghazi the Foreign Secretary also met with representatives from the Benghazi Free Zone and discussed opportunities for UK companies to help stabilize Libya. The project is designed to help diversify the citys economy and is already being supported by UK companies.

Libya is likely to feature high on the international agenda during the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) week in September. Ahead of UNGA, the Foreign Secretary will be working intensively with key partners to galvanize international support for a renewed effort to break the political deadlock in Libya and the UK will be at the forefront of efforts to support the new UN Special Representative, Ghassan Salame to revitalize the political process.
Armed rivals in northern Mali reached a landmark truce enabling the return of a state governor to the desert city of Kidal for the first time since 2014.

The return of the states representative came after the main warring rivals, the Coordination of Azawad Movements (MNLA), a coalition of Tuareg separatists, and the pro-government militia known as the Platform, signed the ceasefire agreement on Wednesday in capital Bamako.

The truce comes after a series of confrontations leaving scores of deaths in the majority Touareg area despite the peace deal signed in Algiers in 2015.

Observers see the deal as a prelude to reinforcing state authority in a region plagued by racial grievances and terrorism. The truce is also conducive to Malian and French troops in their war on terrorist groups who briefly seized north Mali in 2012.

Last Sunday, nine peacekeepers have been wounded when their convoy was hit by a roadside bomb in northern Mali.

Such attacks have become increasingly common in northern Mali, where a number of Islamic extremist groups are active. Earlier this month, an attack on a U.N. camp in Timbuktu killed seven people.

At least 100 peacekeepers have died in recent months, making it the most deadly U.N. mission to date, while the number of attacks on aid workers and their compounds has soared this year. U.N. convoys and the Malian military have been frequent targets.

The U.N. mission has been working to stabilize Mali, where jihadists seized control of the north in 2012 before a French-led military operation scattered them the following year.
The Japanese Foreign Minister made it clear that Japan has never recognized the Polisarios self-proclaimed republic and deplored the maneuvers of Mozambique authorities in their desperate attempt to give a seat to the separatist entity at the follow-up meeting of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD), held on August 24-25 in Maputo.

During talks in Maputo on Friday with Moroccan Foreign Minister, Nasser Bourita, the Japanese top diplomat, Kono Taro, expressed his deep regrets about the incidents and the confusion during the opening session of a TICAD ministerial meeting, following the attempt by Mozambique authorities to impose the participation of the Polisario delegation.

The Japanese Minister who reiterated that his country does not recognize the so-called SADR said he was astonished at the Mozambican authorities maneuvers to give Polisario officials access to the TICAD meeting through backdoors, deploring that invited delegations, including members of the Japanese embassy, were mistreated by Mozambican authorities.

In a letter addressed last May to the Chairperson of the African Unions Commission, the Japanese Foreign Ministry reiterated that Japan does not recognize Western Sahara as a state, either explicitly or tacitly.

The letter, signed by Ambassador Takeshi Osuga Director General of African Affairs at the Japanese Foreign Ministry, explained that as Japan does not recognize the Polisario, the Algerian-funded separatist entity has never been invited to past TICAD meetings.

The letter stressed further the multilateral character of TICAD saying clearly that the initiative is not a Japan-AU bilateral forum, but rather a multilateral forum for the international partnership with African countries, led by Japan and co-organized with international organizations.

In this context, Japan reiterated its firm stand against the participation of the separatist entity saying that past TICAD practice should be followed and that Western Sahara will not be invited as an African state to the August ministerial meeting in Mozambique.

Japans standpoint about the participation of the Polisario in the TICAD was very clear; thats why the Foreign Minister described the confusion sowed by the separatists at the opening of the Japense-African event as a serious security problem and Japan vigorously protested to the host country about this inadmissible behavior.

Kono Taro made it clear that Japan will no longer tolerate such organizational problems and will settle them definitively.
Flames rise from the Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico. Photo: U.S. Coast Guard/Getty Images

President Trump took office with a promise, laid out in his America First Energy Plan, to eliminate burdensome regulations on the oil and gas industry, a move that he said would bring cheaper gas and more jobs to the American people.

Now, as changes to those regulations are beginning to take shape, an unexpected voice has emerged to tell Trump to slow down  the oil industry itself. Politico reports:

Publicly, petroleum companies and their trade groups are cheering Trumps efforts to undo former President Barack Obamas environmental regulations, including restrictions on fracking-related pollution, pipeline permits and offshore drilling. But quietly, people in the industry are growing worried that deregulation could backfire on them, according to interviews with a dozen executives, lobbyists, lawyers and analysts.

Among the biggest fears inside the industry is that the loosening of standards will lead to another disaster like BPs Deepwater Horizon explosion, which killed 11 crewmembers aboard the rig in 2010 and pumped nearly 5 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. Its worth noting that the ExxonMobils and Shells of the world arent afraid of another oil spill because theyre worried about the coral and the guppies. Rather, they know the damage these disasters do to the industrys image and theyre loathe to relive 2010.

Its not helpful if regulations are streamlined so as to allow something to happen  say, a methane explosion or a spill  and wed be painted with it as an entire industry, an anonymous oil-company employee told Politico.

The opposition to the Trump administrations zeal for removing oil and gas regulations appears to be confined to the largest multinationals. These are the companies that have already spent millions to comply with Obama-era regulations, which gives them an advantage over smaller firms scrapping to catch up.

The split between how big and small oil companies perceive this change mirrors the differences in how they reacted to Trumps scrapping of the Paris climate accord. While companies such as ExxonMobil, Chevron, and BP urged Trump to remain in the agreement, smaller companies without international operations wanted out. As a lobbyist told the Houston Chronicle in May, for these firms, climate change is a non-issue. No wonder the oil giants are afraid of what damage theyll do.
G20 protests in Hamburg, Germany. Photo: CHRISTOF STACHE/AFP/Getty Images

The debate over free speech in the United States is complicated (a lotta ins, lotta outs, lotta what-have-yous). Sometimes, supporting free speech means opposing state censorship; other times, it means opposing activists who try to preempt speech they disapprove of through protest or pressure campaigns  which is to say, through free speech. So, the argument isnt a binary one.

But on the American left, one of the more prominent views is that our nations free speech absolutism is misplaced: Giving proponents of violent, racist ideologies free rein to promote their worldviews does real harm, and that harm is disproportionately visited on disempowered social groups. Letting Nazis march is more dangerous than giving the state the power to prohibit them from doing so. Governments can bar advocacy for genocide without becoming totalitarian  as Europes liberal democracies have proven.

Another prominent view on said left is: Uh, have you seen the state lately? Or, more precisely, why do you trust the police departments and district attorneys offices that (by your own account) systemically discriminate against African-Americans with the power to determine what is and is not hate speech? Did you not see the NYPD Sergeants Union suggest that outrage over police killings of unarmed suspects is blue racism? Or that a bipartisan group of senators is trying to make boycotting Israel (in support of Palestine civil rights) a jailable offense? The left is too weak to make the state restrict speech as we would wish it to  so, were better off safeguarding our own speech rights by supporting the broad coalition in favor of absolutism.

On Friday, the German government provided the second camp with some fodder for their case. As the New York Times reports:

An influential website linked to violence at the Group of 20 summit meeting in Hamburg last month has been ordered to shut down, in the first such move against left-wing extremists in the country, the authorities in Germany said on Friday.

Thomas de Maiziere, the interior minister, said that the unrest in Hamburg, during which more than 20,000 police officers were deployed and more than 400 people arrested or detained, had been stirred up on the website and showed the serious consequences of left-wing extremism.

 Linksunten.indymedia, founded in 2008, billed itself as a weapon in the social struggle and said it was a decentrally organized global network of social movements.

 In Hamburg last month, about 500 police officers and an unknown number of protesters were wounded in scenes of looting, improvised firebombing and setting cars on fire close to where world leaders had gathered. The ministry said that the website had referred to police officers as pigs and murderers, and had featured instructions for creating Molotov cocktails.

The German government argued that the website had worked to legitimize violence against police officers, and constituted an expression of an attitude that tramples human dignity.

Now, its possible for an American progressive to believe that all speech that advocates violence should be regulated  and that the benefits of stymieing white-supremacist organizing outweigh the costs of forcing Black Lives Matter activists to be very careful about how they describe police officers. And, of course, the argument if we keep going down this road, we could end up like Germany still does a lot more to support the case for censoring fascist speech than allowing it.

Nonetheless, its hard to imagine Attorney General Jeff Sessions using his power to restrict speech more judiciously than Angela Merkels government  and rather easy to picture him doing the opposite.
Uncorked. Photo: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images; Paul Morigi/Getty Images

Last week, President Trump suggested that some white supremacists who march with torches and chant Jews will not replace us are actually very fine people. Days later, Tennessee senator Bob Corker said that there needed to be radical changes at the White House.

I think the president needs to take stock of the role that he plays in our nation and move beyond himself  move way beyond himself  and move to a place where daily hes waking up thinking about what is best for the nation, Corker told local reporters in Tennessee. 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.

More than a week later, Trump decided to rebut these allegations, by waking up and thinking about how he could humiliate Corker for wounding his ego.

Strange statement by Bob Corker considering that he is constantly asking me whether or not he should run again in '18. Tennessee not happy!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 25, 2017

Clearly, a president who revives a week-old piece of bad press  by divulging the (supposed) details of a private conversation he had with a key Senate ally over Twitter  is not self-absorbed, incompetent, or unstable.

Corker is far from the only Republican lawmaker to be cyberbullied by the president in recent weeks. Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan, Lindsey Graham, and Jeff Flake have also been the subject of Trumps tweeted tirades. And these public attacks have been accompanied by private dust-ups. Earlier this month, Trump reportedly had an acrimonious phone call with Corker, in which he tried to convince the Senate Foreign Relations chairman to kill the Russia sanctions bill that was poised to pass the upper chamber by a veto-proof majority.

On Thursday night, the Washington Post reported that Trumps routine criticism of his own partys leadership was not a product of the billionaires emotional incontinence, but rather, a calculated strategy to put distance between the president and a failing Congress.

The ostensible thinking here is:

1) Trump won the presidency by speaking to the publics frustration with a D.C. political Establishment made up of do-nothing, career politicians who dont know how to make good deals.

2) While Trump had some talent for articulating these grievances, he has approximately none for actual deal-making. And this, combined with the congressional GOPs own incompetence, may lead to a first-term devoid of significant legislative accomplishments.

3) Thus, Trump shouldnt let the fact that he is president stop him from doing what hes good at, and campaigning as an outsider whos fed up with the D.C. Establishment in 2020.

Of course, this is probably just a post hoc rationalization for letting Trump do whatever he feels like  which is to say, allowing the president to pursue his true agenda.

Trump did not launch a presidential campaign because he had deep policy convictions that he wanted to implement. He ran for president because there is a hole inside him that can only be filled with media attention. Bob Corker may think that Trump needs to demonstrate stability to be successful  but thats because Corker is defining success in legislative terms. On the list of things that Trump would like to do with power, diligently shepherd laws through Congress doesnt place high; use the bully pulpit to embarrass my betrayers does.

So Corkers wrong: This president doesnt need to move beyond himself or demonstrate stability to fulfill his highest political ambition  namely, to make Trump feel dominant again.
Protesters and police at the Boston Free Speech rally on August 19, 2017. Photo: Salwan Georges/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Heres a question: At last Saturdays massive rally against hate in Boston, what were 30,000 or so people actually protesting? The event in question was not organized by a neo-Nazi group, the KKK, or any other recognized hate group, but by an outfit called the Boston Free Speech Coalition. Its Facebook page claims they are a coalition of libertarians, progressives, conservatives, and independents aiming to peaceably engage in open dialogue about the threats to, and importance of, free speech and civil liberties. In the days before, the organizer, 23-year-old John Medlar, had insisted that contrary to a lot of the rumors out there, the purpose of the rally is to denounce the kind of political violence that we have seen, a sort of rising tide throughout the country and particularly most recently in Charlottesville. He said his group is small and young. At 23, he says he is the oldest.

If you want to check him out some more, heres an interview he gave to the radio station WGBH: I describe myself as a Libertarian, so Im very much a small government guy. I think that its  Ive also had a very Catholic upbringing, so my parents raised me to put a very strongly  emphasis on personal responsibility and virtues. And I think that you cant have virtue when, you know, the government is compelling you to do things. I think society is better off when individuals take it upon themselves to build themselves up and to be the best possible people that they can be rather than, you know, that and shirking those responsibilities and leaving it to government bureaucrats who are less efficient at everything. Not exactly elegant, but you get the drift.

And if you were ever a young libertarian and conservative (that would be me), youd recognize these people pretty quickly. Young, over-their-heads, self-described free-speech absolutionists, [sic] theyve read a little too much Ayn Rand, and tend toward easy, abstract extremism and a lot of naivete. And so it doesnt completely surprise me that their original speaker list did indeed include far-rightists, eager to use their platform: anti-feminist flame-thrower Gavin McInnes; Augustus Invictus, a young eugenicist with a fascist haircut who has apparently engaged in goat sacrifice; Joe Biggs, an Infowars nut behind Pizzagate; and one genuine New Zealand white nationalist, Kyle Chapman. But the group had always insisted they were open to far-leftists as well, and openly invited anyone to speak.

One who signed up was Rinaldo Del Gallo, a Bernie Sanders supporter, who is a candidate for the Massachusetts State Senate, and favors, among other things, single-payer health care, GMO labeling, and free college tuition. In the end, he didnt speak. The police told him he was not on their speaker list and when he demanded to be allowed in, antifa activists surrounded him menacingly, yelling White trash! I thought I was going to be lynched, he told the Boston Herald. Another, Samson Racioppi, a young congressional candidate, wanted to use the occasion to denounce hate, neo-Nazis, the KKK, et al. He didnt make it to the podium either because the crowd was too large to get through, he said.

Someone who actually spoke was Deaconess Anne Armstrong of the Healing Church, a cannabis-centered religious group which recently petitioned to conduct a service in a chapel at Washingtons Catholic Basilica, as long as it had comfy chairs. (She was seen blowing weed smoke out of a shofar before the event.) Another speaker was an Indian immigrant, Shiva Ayyadurai, who is a Republican candidate running against Elizabeth Warren, and who claims to have invented email. In one photo of his speech, he was surrounded by posters saying Black Lives DO Matter, and railing against Monsanto. He says he wants to unite all races against the Establishment.

What about the handful of their supporters? The Daily Beast reported that they were mostly young men from Massachusetts, in their teens and early 20s, as well as several young men of color, and a few women. The one thing, it seems, that most of them agreed on was drug legalization. Somehow, Im not surprised.

What did they say? We still dont know, and may never know. And thats what bugs me. The reason is that Bostons mayor and police department actually banned reporters and members of the public from being close enough to the rally to hear it (and the group couldnt even afford a sound system). The reason was safety, but its hard to believe that a few reporters  lets say, just one  couldnt have been allowed close enough to hear the speeches and let us know what was in them. If an event is in a public space, and is advertised as a free speech rally, doesnt the press have a right to access? In an interview, the mayor, Marty Walsh, shrugged: Why give attention to people spewing hate? In another: You can have your free speech all day long, but lets not speak about hate, bigotry, and racism. The Boston police commissioner was more explicit: Im not going to listen to people who come in here and want to talk about hate. And you know what? If [reporters and others] didnt get in, thats a good thing because their message isnt what we want to hear. As it was, the scheduled two-hour event lasted less than 50 minutes, none of the far-rightists spoke, and the few speakers were rushed out in vans for their safety.

Who cares who they were, if the point was to denounce the hatred displayed in Charlottesville? Well, I do. I find it creepy that a crowd of 30,000, a city government, and a police force effectively shut down an event that was designed to defend free speech! I find it even creepier that masked members of the violent antifa group, who openly despise free speech, mixed openly and easily with the crowd and delighted in disrupting the event, while hurling rocks and bottles of urine at the police.

Mercifully, a few others have weighed in. WBUR reporter Bruce Gellerman recalled Frederick Douglasss Plea for Free Speech, where Douglass took on Bostons mayor and police department for suppressing an abolitionist rally. There is a right to speak, Douglass said, but equally clear is the right to hear. Veteran free-speech advocate Harvey Silverglate also wrote a stirring piece: Boston shortchanged itself and the nation last weekend when, in effect, it gamed the First Amendment.

As Boston, an allegedly liberal city, undoubtedly did. It seems to me that the acid test of whether a free speech rally is just a cover for white supremacists is whether it truly upholds free speech (which means inviting a spectrum of opinion, including the far right and the far left), whether it invites people of many races, whether it denounces violence, and whether it invites dialogue and engagement. This one did all of the above  and the organizers were deemed Nazis for it.

This is what happens when a society is at war with itself. Nothing matters but which side youre on. And for a week, the Boston free-speech activists were on the wrong side and suffered the consequences. They do, I suppose, have one consolation. If their intent was to prove how parts of the left and Bostons mayor and police department now oppose freedom of speech if they disagree with it, well, they succeeded beyond their wildest imagination.

A simple posting on the web broke my already broken heart this week. It was by Freddie deBoer, one of the heroes of the old blogosphere, and one of those old-school lefties who is prepared, at times, to take on his fellow socialists. Hes also a beautiful writer and a brilliant thinker. Money quote: Shortly I will be headed to the Richmond University Medical Center to pursue intensive treatment for my mental illness. My day-to-day existence has become entirely unmanageable, and I fear for my health and safety  It is clear that I can never return to my old ways of engaging online, and I must leave semi-public life permanently, among many other changes. All I want is to build a quiet and simple existence where I can live and work privately without hurting myself or others. And then, as so often with Freddie, the shocking honesty: I would give everything I own to be anyone other than who I am. Goodbye and thank you for everything.

Freddie is someone I barely know in physical space, but feel intensely close to. In the years of hourly blogging, he was one of a handful of people I always tried to read and who guest-blogged for me on my vacations. I happily gave space to someone whose views are very different than mine because they were so sincerely held, so clearly expressed, and he was capable of challenging his own side. There was something of Orwell in him. But I also discovered in those years what he found out: that living online is deeply dangerous to mental and physical health, that the pressures of the online crowd can overwhelm individual thought, and, in the end, thought itself. Twitter is not a place to air diverse viewpoints; it is a desiccating swarm of like-mindedness, moving as a single mutating mass, shimmering with every minuscule ripple in the news cycle, destroying all perspective, undermining learning, destroying the very process of reading, and deeply corrosive of a liberal society. If you are in the middle of the online stream, as I was for a decade and a half, and you are intelligent and attempt to be conscientious and honest, the emotional toll will be crushing. If, like Freddie, you are already bipolar, it is a deeply unsafe space.

Freddie saw this very clearly only a week ago, explaining why he had drastically culled his online content: I wanted to look past what we once called ideology: I wanted to see the ways in which my internet-mediated intellectual life was dominated by assumptions that did not recognize themselves as assumptions, to understand how the perspective that did not understand itself to be a perspective had distorted my vision of the world. I wanted to better see the water in which my school of fish swims. So he tried to find a new perspective, but still failed. He realized what I once saw. You cannot edit this stream. It edits you in the end. This is self-knowledge: [T]he fact that so many people like me write the professional internet, the fact that the creators of the idioms and attitudes of our newsmedia and cultural industry almost universally come from a very thin slice of the American populace, is genuinely dangerous.

It is  and getting more so. I just want to say this to my friend: You have checked yourself in not because you are insane, but because you tried to retain your sanity. It is America that is going nuts; and the internet is one reason why.

The art of the public apology is one few have mastered  although there are many public-relations pros who can tell you how to do it. I suspect its become even rarer these days because true contrition has as well. In our president, we see a man who has contempt for any idea of self-reckoning, and I worry that this will make things even worse. (Everything this man touches, including this country, he befouls.)

And then you stumble across a little story and regain a little hope. I refer to the column a Catholic priest just wrote, prompted by the Charlottesville horror. It speaks for itself: What most people do not know about me is that as an impressionable young man, I was a member of the Ku Klux Klan. Its public information but it rarely comes up. My actions were despicable. When I think back on burning crosses, a threatening letter, and so on, I feel as though I am speaking of somebody else. Its hard to believe that was me. But it was. The images from Charlottesville are embarrassing. They embarrass us as a country, but for those who have repented from a damaging and destructive past, the images should bring us to our knees in prayer.

What he sees is something easy to forget: Those marchers were not merely propagating evil, they are also its victims. Believing that human beings are somehow inferior or superior because of their innate characteristics is not only to believe a lie; it is to live in a prison. It is putting you and others into a false category from which none of us can escape. To see nothing in ones own body and soul but whiteness or blackness dehumanizes the self and others. Those marchers, like the president who excused them, are not just hateful; they are also miserable. Sometimes I think we see transcending racism as a delusion, and perhaps it often is. I share the view held by the civil-rights movement in its heyday that transcending it is only possible through a greater power than ourselves; and that its essential characteristic is liberation. It is a pathway to being fully human.

The priest, by the way, is not merely writing beautiful words. In a note appended to the article, the Diocese writes: Father William Aitchesons article was written with the intention of telling his story of transformation. He voluntarily asked to temporarily step away from public ministry, for the well being of the Church and parish community, and the request was approved.

See you next Friday.
An anti-government protester in Caracas. Photo: Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP/Getty Images

The Trump administration on Thursday announced new sanctions on Venezuela, aimed at weakening President Nicolas Maduro as he consolidates power amid economic upheaval and violent protests in the South American country. The sanctions bar Americans from new financial transactions with Maduros government and Venezuelas state-run oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela SA.

These measures are carefully calibrated to deny the Maduro dictatorship a critical source of financing to maintain its illegitimate rule, protect the United States financial system from complicity in Venezuelas corruption and in the impoverishment of the Venezuelan people, and allow for humanitarian assistance, the White House said in a statement.

As I said in Latin America last week & Wed. to the Venezuelan community in Miami, @POTUS Trump & USA will not standby as Venezuela crumbles. pic.twitter.com/2kZtAz1ZDB  Vice President Mike Pence (@VP) August 25, 2017

The move comes as Maduro endures global criticism for his authoritarian streak. Earlier this month, a new 545-member legislative body was installed after an election rife with alleged fraud. Last week, the new body wrested control from the opposition-controlled National Assembly, giving Maduro a new assembly comprised completely of supporters.

In Venezuela there is no hunger: In Venezuela, theres willpower, said Delcy Rodriguez, president of the new constituent assembly. Theres no humanitarian crisis: Theres a crisis of the political right.

But there is a humanitarian crisis in the nation of nearly 32 million, thanks largely to the economic devastation brought on by falling oil prices and production. Since 2014, the countrys economy has shrunk by more than a third. Food shortages and blackouts have become common for Venezuelans, some of whom have resorted to stealing and eating zoo animals to survive.

The sanctions imposed Friday mark the fourth round of economic punishments for Maduro and his cronies handed down by the U.S. this year. Earlier this week, Vice-President Mike Pence traveled to Florida to meet with Venezuelan exiles. He told them, We are with you and we will stand with you until democracy is restored in Venezuela. Maduro, meanwhile, criticized Pence for meeting with terrorists.

On Friday, Maduro accused congress president Julio Borges of being the mastermind behind the sanctions.

Youve got to be a big traitor to your country to ask for sanctions against Venezuela, he said.

This story has been updated.
Trumps on solid ground with his base in expressing sympathy for white racial grievances  so long as he is constantly aware of the line David Duke crossed in snuggling up to Nazis. Photo: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images; Shaban Athuman/Richmond Times-Dispatch via AP

In the wake of the violence in Charlottesville and the presidents reaction to it, a potentially important divide has opened up between rank-and-file Republicans and their elites. GOP elected officials have been unusually willing to put some distance between themselves and Trump on the validity of protests to defend Confederate and neo-Confederate symbols. But as my colleague Eric Levitz pointed out last week, that sentiment has not been shared by the large pro-Trump segment of the Republican base. Indeed, these voters are far more likely to agree with Trumps reaction to Charlottesville than with the health-care legislation he has been promoting all year.

Thats the most important reason the presidents shocking expression of solidarity with the fine people among the open white supremacists carrying torches in Charlottesville has not much affected his approval ratings. Its true, as Nate Silver observed this week, that Trumps public standing is so generally low that a negative reaction to any one development might not move the needle much. But there was a visible erosion of support for Trump that appeared after earlier missteps, such as the firing of James Comey, and his embrace of a very unpopular health-care bill. Voters expect Trump to be  well, if not racist, then anti-anti-racist. And his supporters responded to demands to take down symbols of unvanquished southern white pride much as Trump did in his infamous August 14 press conference: as just another politically correct imposition on perpetually hard-pressed white people. As Silver puts it:

Issues related to race, gender, sexuality, religion and social class have long been an animating force in American politics, of course. But theyve come back in an especially strong way in the Trump era, so much so that views on these questions tend to be stronger markers of support for Trump than views on economic and policy issues.

Drawing on research about the attitudes of 2016 Trump voters, Thomas Edsall goes further, suggesting that the presidents base easily identifies with white protesters against alleged offenses to our history, our legacy, as Trump himself put it in this weeks rally in Phoenix. Indeed, political scientists looking at Trumps emergence as the shocking front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination last year noted at the time that white racial identity and beliefs that whites are treated unfairly are powerful predictors of support for Donald Trump in the Republican primaries.

A more recent study by prominent political scientists zeroes in on the importance of white racial grievances to core Trump supporters, as Edsall explains:

The three authors describe a rapidly growing sense of white victimhood. They cite surveys showing that among Republicans, the perception of discrimination against whites grew from 38 percent in 2011-12 to 47 percent in January 2016.

A February 2017 survey by the Public Religion Research Institute separately asked voters whether there is a lot of discrimination against various groups. 43 percent of Republicans said there is a lot of discrimination against whites, compared to 27 percent of Republicans who said that there is a lot of discrimination against blacks.

These findings help us to understand the special rage Trump supporters exhibit when they (or their leader) are accused of racism. They think of themselves as the victims of anti-white racism. And Trump has frequently fed that perception, as Christopher Ingraham reports:

Trump has used the word racist or racism at least 56 times on Twitter, according to the Trump Twitter Archive, a website that tracks and archives all the presidents tweets. In two-thirds of those Tweets, Trump levied accusations of racism at individuals or groups of people. And those accusations followed a very clear pattern: Trump has directed accusations of racism toward black people three times as often as he has done so against whites.

Heres a Trump classic, from back in 2013:

Isn't it intetesting that anybody who attacks President Obama is considered a racist by the real racists out there!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 7, 2013

Trumps current determination to view anti-racists demonstrating in Charlottesville as just as objectionable as, if not more objectionable than, the white marchers whining about being replaced fits into this pattern, and has evoked a predictable, if shocking-to-elites, response from his core supporters.

You can argue all day long that this makes them, and him, prima facie racists. But racists or not, they are definitely anti-anti-racists who manifest a knee-jerk negative reaction to protests against racism as advancing the interests of non-white people who, in their view, have been coddled for too long. They oppose the removal of the statues of the Confederacy, not because they particularly care about them, but because anti-racists would like to see them removed. That is an attitude that is just beneath the surface in their attitudes toward race-tinged conflicts involving police violence and immigration, as well as monuments to the Confederacy and Jim Crow.

But even Trump must be careful not to take anti-anti-racism too far; there are limits to what even his core followers will support out of antipathy to his opponents. A quarter century ago, when David Duke (who was, like a political zombie, present among the white rioters of Charlottesville) was on the very brink of being elected governor of Louisiana, he wasnt brought down by his past as a Ku Klux Klan leader. It was when photos of him wearing a swastika arm band as an LSU grad student started circulating (punctuated by opponent Ed Edwards saying to him in a televised debate, I was working on welfare reform back when you were still goose-stepping around Baton Rouge) that white Louisianans had second thoughts about making him their governor and national symbol. There were, of course, a lot more World War II veterans alive back then. Still, Trump must learn to keep his anti-anti-racism semi-respectable. Its not an easy balancing act, particularly for a man of our presidents temperament.

But it could take many steps over the line to convince Trumps base that hes doing anything other than standing up for their rights. He may lose support for breaking economic policy promises, but on the cultural and racial front, they are quick to take his side against those they view as oppressors of the white majority.
Not sure if you can tell, but this feels amazing.

Fidget spinners are literally everywhere, which means they are also no longer cool. Would any self-respecting 7-year-old show up to her first day of school with a toy her moms co-workers are also all talking about? Absolutely not. So in an effort to find out whats next, we reached out to Judy Ishayik, owner of New York Citys Mary Arnold Toys, who pointed us in the direction of squishies: Things that look like other things that are also really amazingly, satisfyingly, squishy. Heres what theyre all about.

When were fidget spinners over?

Once they were everywhere. Literally, the newspaper guy down the street was selling them, so I was like, Okay. Its a little bit saturated. I dont know if you know about Shopkins, but those were collectibles that were really hot, and it seemed there was room in the market again for collectibility. The spinners were selling out, the Shopkins were selling out  someone needed to take the place of that.

And how did the next it thing come about?

We started hearing about squishies in the spring. The first ones were called Kawaii Squishies, and we just thought they were super cute. As the kids were going for camp, it was something that was being packed in the trunk and then asked for on visiting day. Then more and more vendors started making them. The other day, one of my associates was pricing them in the register area, and as she was pricing them, customers were looking through what she had. We were selling some literally right out of the box, so I think its going to be another weekly order sort of thing just like it was with the fidgets.

How do kids play with them?

A lot of them come in a key-chain version, so its more a cool accessory. People mostly make squishy collections, though. Ive seen cool videos of smushing squishies on the internet. Theyre so cool to touch, just like a really cool texture. Its sort of like a kiddie stress ball. Like a cool fidget toy, I suppose, you could call it.

So is that part of their marketing?

I think so. Its cuteness factor, and then collectibility. And then its also just a satisfying squeeze. That sounds weird, but.

What makes for a good squishy?

The slower they rise, the better. After cuteness, thats what people should pay attention to.

What are some of the hot styles?

The fruit are doing really well. Bread is doing really well. I know we sold out of the apple super quickly, and the hamburger. We just got in a unicorn, Im sure thats gonna go. We got in strawberry shortcake  not the doll  but the actual cake. Super, super cute. And then we have some that look like panda bears. Theyre food and animals.

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Holy cow. This statement from Tammy Duckworth about Trump's transgender troops ban is worth a read. pic.twitter.com/Re2FTCAP9p  Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) August 24, 2017

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When I was bleeding to death in my Black Hawk, I didnt care if the troops saving me were gay, straight, transgender, black, white or brown pic.twitter.com/FTzjHpZuuH  Tammy Duckworth (@SenDuckworth) August 24, 2017

Straight from the original poster:

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ty

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this statement is amazing

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Copying Gaga when she brought gay and lesbian soldiers to the VMAs to protest DADT

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Mte when she wore the meat dress for our sins



"Equality is the prime rib of America" - Ms Stefani ARTPOP NottaGermanbutItalian

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Stop reaching



Nobody is copying GaGa except Nicki Minaj who is equally as ridiculous and irrelevant.

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Tbh, I would believe MTV's request as genuine if it wasn't to their struggling award show that's desperate for viewers

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Yeah this year's show is shaping up to be a disaster and a half, especially since it's going up against GOT



Their "special performer announcement" being Demi and not Taylor really confirmed what a shitshow it's going to be

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The performer lineup this year is so bad it's like MTV knows it's not even worth it

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I remember when I was a little girl and that show was can't miss. Now it's don't care.

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That's cool of them.

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Haven't those troops suffered enough

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thats awesome tbh

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i mean this is nice of them and all but its 100% a publicity stunt.



i honestly give this ceremony another 8-10 years before its gone for good.

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i would say less tbh!

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8-10 years is SO generous sis. I feel like it's on it's last legs, the ratings last year were absolutely horrible and are probably going to be worse this year. I feel like they are going to replace it with some online voting/performance shit in a different format

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im only being generous because i dont want egg on my face if i say only 2-4 years and this irrelevant show is still kicking by then lmaoo.

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it's a good thing that it's a publicity stunt imho. if they think being more transgender etc friendly makes them money, good. means us free minded people have a power over the companies (money) and they're aware of it.

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THE SONG IS OUT AJEKGFVNARILKDGB

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i cant get it to load though!!

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It sounds like a Melodrama B-side

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This production is so bad, lmfao.

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Ok why does this song sound like something I've heard before. And I'm kind of shocked bc it's not what I expected but like... Lol idk

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That's cool, but obviously a publicity stunt



The new T Swift is out....

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Tbh I feel like they could make up for lackluster performers by creating more idk meaningful controversy. Controversy doesn't have to be desperate or cheap. If they made a real bold political stand I could see it getting ppl to talk. I'm sure its because I'm older now and the internet exists to kinda spoil things sometimes but I miss being surprised by the VMAs. The messiness seemed interesting. Now the messiness seems more contrived and meticulously planned. But maybe it was back then too and I was too young and naive to notice.



I think it was just a different time too. Celebs can be so PR trained and polished now that everything in general seems more boring. Like who is gonna rip up a pic of the pope for this gen???



OK tangent over. I'll go get my cane and yell at cloud.

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This is nice even for a publicity stunt, but my ex works for this shit show so



Anyway where the fuck is the tay swift post

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Nobody is watching this, another flop on Katy's resume. Isn't she tired of failing? I mean, I admire her persistence but it's just mess after mess after mess.

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The whole thing is upsetting. Some backwards Trump-loving bitch on PreviouslyTV (RHONY thread) was posting things like, "there are standards for every job and you can't always get what you want. doesn't matter who you are, or who you THINK you are." I hope her Dear Leader manages to take her health care away and make her life shit. /rant

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It's interesting how MTV is pretending they care trans people and gender non-binary people by doing things like this and renaming the Moonman to Moonperson and removing gendered categories, but they let someone co-host the pre-show who a couple of weeks ago was laughing over the idea of murdering trans people.

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"Any patriot who is putting their own life at risk to fight for our freedom"



Yeah killing people overseas is fighting for your freedom, putos gringos I swear to god.



And this is an obvious stunt, this thing used to be an event, now people barely care, specially with this sunday being GoT finale.

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who tf is threatening to enslave america...ever? that line always throws me

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You should be mentally prepared to watch this movie . Especially If you are already a fan of Death Note .

I warned you . But I try to see this as total different thing . Maybe You can try .

Every character in this movie with no inteligence . You can enjoy this movie as comedy or some kind of skit .

Every character are constantly yelling and shouting .

cry easily . sometime or mostly overact than Tatsuya Fujiwara(whom I think overact) .



Light Turner screamed like a girl when he saw Ryuk at First . it was really high pitch screaming .



The Plot was basically I got a Deah Note, I got a Girl , Let's have a sex .

I didn't know Death Note has some kind of sex magic . Light like to brag Death note to mia . it was so easy and fast .

Light Turner hides his Death Note in His high school locker ,even in the final act .

FBI and L don't serch his high school locker. How ? Why ? Isn't he a prime suspect ?

Mia Sutton and Light talking a loud about death note in the High school .

There is L was in Tokyo scene in this movie ,

Japanese woman with top less dead bodys and other dead bodys are all over in a Tokyo Night club .

L was speaking Japanese in Tokyo scene and Sorry But I couldn't understand what he is saying .

Masi Oka can't act . He had a cameo as Japanese cop ,I think He can't act in English also in Japanese .

L lose his temper easily , was crying like other character also shouting .

I think Ryuk's face was deformed . WATARI was really just a puppet .



Mia was kind of sex crazed . Light and mia melodrama was boring . I really hoped they can get killed fast .

Every one in this movie is so simple minded . The dialoges were really weird . Editing was odd .

The Ferris wheel slow motion was so ametur and cringe . It really made me laugh .



The critic praised Lakieth Stanfield and Margaret qualley but I didn't think They are that good .

So I Think The critics still have mercy and being nice .

This movie had me confusing . Because They tried to be comedy or ended up comedy by accident .

Before End roll, There is some small behind scene ,

I wonder they were really serious or trolling while making this movie .

the video footage end with Margaret Qualley doing ballet . I was like "Are you provoking me ? "

I wonder what kind of sexual favor Adam Wingard did to get job . How this hack got Godzilla vs King kong job .

Masi Oka you really dissapoint to me , maybe Masi It's time to go back to CGI department .

These Sell out Asian american producer shoulg go to some therapy for fix their sell out mind .

Roy lee ,Dan Lin Miri Yoon , Masi Oka .saw the Miri Yoon on the red carpet she seems really smug with smug face .



They should change the title to CRINGE NOTE HOME COMING .
Lot of dated songs coming out today huh. I like the background music.

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no one did it for me this year. not even lorde.

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dreamer should have been a fucking single, it would have been an absolute smash

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White roses & Babygirl are EVERYTHING to me

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White roses >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

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Ariana won't deliver without some pointless rap ft shoved in so don't hold your breath

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Mh, I like this, reminds me of Neneh Cherry back then. I'm 53, so me liking it is probably not a good thing for Fergie. :)

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who does the intro remind me of? it sound super familiar

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It reminds me of a song from Shakira's latest album.

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it reminds me of a song from last summer and I am breaking my head trying to remember the name....I have tune in my head but the lyrics are mumbled.

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It takes two (to make a thing go right)?

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For some reason the opening lyric melody reminds of the DJ Snake/AlunaGeorge song "You Know You Like It" when she sings "I'm no fool, no...". That's about it, though.

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Literally 12 years too late

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hmm, not for me

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Hit PAUSE & went to find DJ E-Z Rock & Rob Base



Now I'm happy



It takes two to make a thing go right

It takes two to make it outta sight

It takes two to make a thing go right

It takes two to make it outta sight

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Right?



Here's the palate cleanser





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right the sample is the best part

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i'd take it if minaj weren't a part of it.

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Are there any new songs on the album that weren't in the leak?

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I really dislike hard sampling, I just do. This song is a fucking mess with or with sampling. Her peak was years ago, she just missed the memo. milf$ was a sad showing of someone who thought the industry froze and was waiting for her.

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Thank you! The world has already forgot all about ha!

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If you're gonna sample Rob N Base sampling James Brown, can't it be in a more, I don't know, joyous sounding context?



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she peaked with

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love this!

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I only hate this song because I hated the "SATC" movies. It was on the soundtrack.

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Her content is very embarrassing.

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thats happens when you don't embrace your lane.....you are not fergelicious from the 2000's...needs evolution.

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Tech leader Elon Musk is expanding his influence to include crafting just war policy in a new letter to the United Nations calling for laws to ban the creation and use of killer robots during conflicts.

Muskone of the major forces behind the artificial intelligence push for self-driving carssays AI poses a bigger threat than nuclear North Korea, and the development of autonomous weapons threatens to become the third revolution in warfare.

Musk isnt the only tech leader. The letter was co-signed by 115 other experts who believe deadly autonomous weapons will unleash a scale of violence seen only with the use of chemical or biological weapons.

Lethal autonomous weapons threaten to become the third revolution in warfare, the letter, released to the public on Monday, 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. These can be weapons of terror, weapons that despots and terrorists use against innocent populations, and weapons hacked to behave in undesirable ways.

The experts hail from foremost technology companies and the worlds global robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) communities. Scientists from countries including China, Israel, Russia, and Britain addressed the letter to the United Nations Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, which specializes in containing the spread of devices considered to cause unnecessary or unjustifiable suffering to combatants or to affect civilians indiscriminately.

Government entities are notorious for falling behind the tech world in creating protective policies.

Izumi Nakamitsu, the U.N. head for Disarmament Affairs, said the lag is particularly dire in the killer robot field.

There are currently no multilateral standards or regulations covering military AI applications, Nakamitsu wrote. Without wanting to sound alarmist, there is a very real danger that without prompt action, technological innovation will outpace civilian oversight in this space. Related: Is OPEC Throwing In The Towel On U.S. Market Share?

So far, laws to control robotic consciousness have most famously been devised in sci-fi writer Isaac Asimovs short story Runaround. The three laws, ingrained in the fictional Handbook of Robotics, 56th Edition, 2058 A.D., declare as follows:

1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.

2. A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.

3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws.

Moving forward, countless sci-fi writers utilized the three laws in their own works to elegantly explain their robot characters code of ethics. By the time Asimovs cannon had robots in control of entire planets, a zeroth law had come into play as well: A robot may not harm humanity, or, by inaction, allow humanity to come to harm.

Although popular in the world of fiction, it would be foolish for the U.N. to adopt these rules to control AI. As pointed out in Elijah Baleys book The Naked Sun, loopholes abound within this system, in which criminal masterminds or warlords could use a robots obedience as a handy tool to commit violence. Related: EIA Spreads Optimism With Double Draw

What happens when a robot is asked to add a substance to a drink and serve it to someone, when, unbeknownst to the robot, the special ingredient is poison? The device will continue its work as commanded because of its ignorance of the commanding humans intent. Thinking bigger, a network of thousands of robots, each completing a separate task that partially, but not directly or completely, contributes to a devastating attack on a civilization, would not be thwarted by AI developed by the aforementioned laws. The robots simply do not have enough information to stop themselves.

In any case, the real world is almost always more complicated than can be depicted in a sci-fi novel. New laws regarding autonomous cars and other brained technology pass often, but the policy legwork to prevent the weaponization of the cutting edge is still caught in the Middle Ages.

Time to follow our thought leaders to bring our AI laws into the future.

By Zainab Calcuttawala for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
As Hurricane Harvey, set to be the strongest hurricane to hit the U.S. in almost 10 years, quickly approaches the Texas coast, energy prices are set to rise due to several facilities coming offline.

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Friday, August 25, 2017

Energy prices are on their way up as a major hurricane is set to hit the U.S. within hours. Hurricane Harvey, at the time of this writing, is forecast to become a high Category 3 hurricane, the strongest hurricane to hit the U.S. since at least 2008, and perhaps since 2005. The storm is heading directly for the coast of Texas between Houston and Corpus Christi, where many oil refineries are located. It is becoming pretty clear this morning that Harvey will be mentioned alongside Katrina and Sandy in the history books, Todd Crawford, chief meteorologist at The Weather Company, told Bloomberg.

Hurricane Harvey forces shut downs. The Gulf Coast is home to 45 percent of the U.S. refining capacity, and nearly 20 percent of the nations oil production. Corpus Christi is also a major port for oil and refined products coming in and out of the country. Gasoline prices spiked more than 4 percent to their highest levels in weeks as roughly 1 million barrels of refining capacity was shut down over the past 24 hours. But crude oil prices did not receive the same attention  only a few offshore platforms were affected, and the expected outage of refineries actually means demand for crude will dip as downstream operations pause. Up to 35 inches of rain are expected, brining life threatening winds, floods and storm surge. Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS.A), ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) and Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE: APC) evacuated their employees from the area. As of now, government data suggests that 10 percent of the Gulfs oil production  about 167,000 bpd  along with 14 percent of its natural gas production will be curtailed.

Oil and gas industry cautions Trump admin on deregulation. According to Politico, the U.S. oil and gas industry is growing a little concerned that the Trump administration is giving them too much. The deregulatory push at the EPA and Department of Interior have handed the industry huge wins, but some are concerned that it could set the stage for some sort of accident  and oil spill or methane explosion  from an individual company that would result in serious damage to the entire industry. At worst, the regulatory apparatus could swing back in the other direction, especially under a new administration. Companies like ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) and BP (NYSE: BP), for example, see only minor costs to complying with methane emissions rules, which are targeted for rollbacks by the Trump administration. Its a rare case of an industry cautioning the government not to grant them too many favors. Related: Kurdish Independence Could Deal A Major Blow To Oil Markets

OPEC to consider extension of deal at November meeting. The WSJ reports that OPEC will consider all options when it meets in Vienna in a few months, including an extension of its production cut deal beyond March 2018. And at least one member, Angola, is pushing for an extension. It is better to cut the level of production and make the price of oil rise instead of producing at the max level and selling at low prices, Angolas oil minister Jose B. de Vasconcelos, said in an interview. Also, an OPEC source told the WSJ that abandoning the production cuts, as of right now, looks unlikely. OPEC is not looking at an exit strategy, the person said. OPEC is looking at a continuity strategy. Its not like every member will go their own way.

Chevron CEO to step down. The WSJ reported that Chevrons CEO John Watson is expected to step down, although the company declined to comment. The transition will be gradual, but the WSJ says that Chevron is seeking someone to help them evolve with the rapidly changing energy landscape. The oil majors are eschewing megaprojects and looking for leadership adept at squeezing every last dollar from a barrel through refining, and shorter-term investments that turn a profit faster. For now, the leading candidate is Michael Wirth, a refining specialist at Vice Chairman at Chevron.

EIA data offers tepid support for bullish case. The EIA reported drawdowns in both crude oil and gasoline inventories this week, a sign that market tightening is continuing. However, the inventory declines were smaller than in recent weeks. Crude oil production also ticked up once again, rising by an additional 26,000 bpd. The market continues to proceed towards rebalancing, but major investors are waiting to see if the drawdowns continue after summer when peak seasonal demand subsides. Related: Billions In Oil Deals Shield Iran From U.S. Sanctions

BHP Billiton to exit shale. BHP Billiton (NYSE: BHP) announced plans to dispose of its shale assets after a lengthy review. The announcement pleased unhappy shareholders who have argued that shale was not a part of the companys core business. That was our approach. We didnt see it fitting strategically in BHP. We think they can realize value ahead of market expectations for the U.S. onshore business, Tribeca analyst James Eginton said. Tribeca was trying to push the company to dispose of its shale assets. The sale is another sign that U.S. shale is losing some of its luster.

Renewable energy transition means geopolitics of rare earth minerals. The rapid adoption of electric vehicles (transportation) and solar and wind (electricity) will not solve the problem of geopolitics of energy. While countries might reduce their dependence on the volatile Middle East, the raw materials used to make clean tech also come from a relatively few  and in many cases, unstable  nations. Cobalt in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, indium in China, lithium in South America, to name a few. A new report looks into the geopolitics of renewable energy.

By Tom Kool for Oilprice.com

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-WTI traded in an unusually narrow $48.75/$47.03 range this week despite an extreme weather event in the worlds refining hub and geopolitical tensions in from MENA to DC.

- In geopolitics we continue to see storm clouds over OPEC producers. Venezuelan credit moved sharply lower this week after the US banned trading in the countrys government bonds as well as PDVSA debt. RBC also authored a note discussing a potential PDVSA default in October or November. While any scenario for decreased output in Venezuela is hard to quantify, its becoming easier to accept that the most likely path for Venezuelan production is lower. We also saw more disruptions in Libya this week which failed to make a material dent in supplies but provide an important reminder that their supply gains have climbed a slippery slope in a politically volatile country.

- Away from the oil market currency, bond and equity traders are increasingly concerned about the worsening White House drama. Trumps Tuesday speech and subsequent Tweets seemingly heightened the odds of a government shutdown and debt ceiling whiff by engaging congress (and specifically attacking House and Senate leaders) in a game of chicken over the building of the Mexican border wall. Treasury Secretary Mnuchin believes that he will not be able to pay all of the governments bills on September 29th without an increase and this weeks theater lead to a weakening of front end US Treasuries vs. longer maturities. While US political turmoil can obviously shift bond and currency markets as they did in 2011, our view is that the fundamental underpinnings of the sideways market in crude remain extremely strong and we would look to fade any drastic macro shifts that moved oil markets via short-vol strategies.

- Despite the weather events, central bank events, geopolitical turmoil and inventory draws taking place this week that main story to us on crude is still the painfully sideways price action. We marked WTI V17 vol below 26% at one point this week representing a 4-month low in prompt WTI implied vol. WTI has achieved just a $3.97 range in August after trading in a $6.76 range in July. Option traders continued to bet aggressively on a sideways market this week by selling $45/$50/$55 iron flys in H18-M18 maturities.

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Harvey pushes WTI spreads lower

WTI m1-m2 moved sharply lower this week on concerns that USGC refinery outages would move more barrels into Cushing. On Friday morning the spread submitted a weekly low of -28 for an 18 cent loss on the week but recovered to the -25 area suggesting that traders dont think expect a life-altering event for crude stocks. WTI-Brent arbs also continued to dive bomb and the Z17 contract fell to a low of -3.89 for a loss of about $1 over the last two weeks. CSO flows were largely short-vol this week with several funds and trading groups looking to liquidate length in 4q17 puts and add new short-straddle positions in 4Q17 on the -15 strike. Related: Kurdish Independence Could Deal A Major Blow To Oil Markets

For US producers we saw a continuation of the same trends this week- higher output, a stale rig count and increased hedging. US crude production enjoyed a small w/w increase last week to 9.53m bpd representing a 25-month high despite continued flattening in the rig count. US rigs have increased by 16 over the last ten weeks after jumping by 69 in the previous ten week period. Hedging has been muted in the North American market with NYMEX WTI producer/merchant gross shorts -7% over the last five weeks. However, ICE BRENT has seen increased hedging on recent market strength and has jumped 15% over the last six weeks.

Option vols sink to four month low

Crude option implied volatility continue to shift lower this week and prompt vol in WTI dropped below 26% for the first time since April. Short-vol strategies remain popular and there was continued fund selling of $45-$50 strikes opposite wing buying in Z17 through H18. As of Thursday afternoon WIT V17 atm vol traded 26.5% while 25d calls implied 27.5% and 25 delta puts implied 28.5%. 20-day realized volatility sank to 24% due to continued sideways price action and away from the oil market politics drove vol higher with the VIX trading in a 11.5-12.5 range.

Fund net length doubles over the last eight weeks

Hedge funds were net sellers of NYMEX WTI last week for small volume and were net buyers of ICE BRENT for 18k contracts. Combined net length between the two contracts stands at 693k contracts which is +108% over the last eight weeks. The combined net length of 693k contracts is 34% above its two year average which in our view is not large enough to be susceptible to some sort of violent short cover on a market correction. On the short side, combined fund gross shorts stand at 149k contracts which is lower by 58% over the last eight weeks and 25% below its two year average.

In refined products funds were net sellers of NYMEX RBOB by about 8k contracts reducing net length by about 17% and added to net length in Heating Oil to the tune of 7k contracts for an increase of about 30%. The USO saw weekly inflows after six straight weeks of selling with a net buy of $92 million on the week.

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Cushing stocks slowly increasing

 US crude stocks fell 3.3m bbls last week and are lower y/y by 6%

 The headline draw (which came despite a large import number) is obviously continued evidence of market performance but headwinds remain in the form of increased US production, Cushing stocks which have been basically flat over the last five weeks and mixed product data Related: Oil Prices Rise As Texas Braces For Hurricane Harvey Landfall

US crude inventories fell to a 20-month low last week at 463m bbls following a 3.3m bbl w/w decline. Overall crude stocks are -6% y/y. Regionally, PADD I stocks are -14% y/y, PADD II stocks are 03% y/y, PADD III stocks are -7% and PADD V inventories are lower y/y by 6.5%. As for trading flows there was a massive jump in USGC imports this week and with PADD III taking 3.4m bpd. Overall imports at 8.8m bpd are lower y/y by 3% over the last month with PADD II imports +8% and PADD III imports -16%. Crude exports also jumped to 936k bpd and are +19% y/y.

US refiner inputs printed 17.5m bpd last week and are higher y/y by 4.5% over the last month. On a regional basis PADD I runs are +4.7% y/y, PADD II runs are +4.3% y/y, PADD III runs are +4.9% y/y and PADD V runs are +2% y/y. Refinery utilization is currently 95.4% and +3% y/y. US refining margins shot higher late in the week as hurricane threats increased with LLS 321 rallying from $12/bbl to $13/bbl. The WTI 321 crack traded near $18/bbl late in the week and in overseas markets the gasoil/brent crack rallied to $12.50/bbl.

US gasoline data was more bullish than expected beginning with a 1.2m bbl draw. Overall gasoline stocks are currently lower y/y by 1% at 230m bbls. PADD I gasoline stocks fell 1.8m bbls this week and are -9% y/y while PADD II inventories jumped to +9% y/y and PADD III stocks fell slightly to +5% y/y. Gasoline production saw a sharp w/w jump of 518k bpd to 10.6m bpd and is +5% y/y over the last month. Gasoline exports printed 700k bpd last week and are +53% y/y while domestic consumption at 9.6m bpd is flat y/y.

US distillate stocks were flat w/w and continued to move into a more aggressive y/y deficit. Overall US distillate inventories are -3% y/y, PADD IB stocks are -11% y/y, PADD II inventories are +4.7% y/y and PADD III stocks are 8% y/y. Distillate production is running 5.1m bpd and is +5% y/y. As for demand, domestic consumption is currently 4.1m bpd and +7.6% y/y over the last month. Distillate exports printed 1.1m bpd and are -10% y/y.

By SCS Commodities Corp.

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Buyers do not support Iraqs plan to change the way it prices its Basra crude for the Asian markets, because longer lead times between pricing and delivery would make it more difficult to hedge against price changes, Reuters reported on Friday, citing sources and market analysts.

In a bid to increase oil revenues and possibly setting the stage for its own benchmark crude grade, Iraq told customers earlier this week that it might change the way it prices Basra crude for the Asian market. According to a letter by Iraqs state oil marketing company SOMO, seen by Reuters, the company is asking customers for input by August 31 regarding the plan to change the Basra crude pricing for Asia to Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME) Oman futures beginning next year, dropping the average of Oman and Dubai quotes by S&P Global Platts.

The Iraqi plan was seen as a breakaway move from the leading Middle Eastern exporter, Saudi Arabia, whose official selling prices (OSP)using S&P price assessments for decadesare usually followed by the other main producers in the region.

Iraqs new pricing method would use the monthly average of DME Oman futures two months before the loadings, which means that if a loading is scheduled for October, it would use the August futures contracts. Buyers would know only in the middle of September if they had successfully bid for the cargo, which would leave them little time to hedge against price changes.

Other Middle Eastern exporters, including Saudi Arabia, price the crudes based on the loading month.

According to traders who spoke to Reuters, the lag time in pricing and loading would also make it difficult to compare the prices of crude grades.



Related: Kurdish Independence Could Deal A Major Blow To Oil Markets

Commodity analysts see the plan as a very significant change in pricingand one that will be closely watchedbut which they described as very ambitious and very hard technically to implement.

Moving right away to DME Oman is very ambitious. I think it will cause a few hiccups because technically its going to be very hard, Adi Imsirovic of Britains Surrey University Energy Economics Centre, told Reuters.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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Riyadh plans to surpass its commitment to generate 9.5 gigawatts of energy from renewables in order to boost its commitment to green energy and climate-friendly initiatives, according to a government official who spoke to Reuters.

"We plan to exceed 9.5 gigawatts," Turki al-Shehri of the Renewable Energy Project Development Office said during a Sino-Saudi investment forum in Jeddah. "The whole idea of this is to give investors a sense of comfort that the Kingdom has a long-term vision for renewable energy.

Saudi plans to meet its 9.5 GW goal by 2023 by investing between $30 billion and $50 billion in 60 green energy projects. The end goal is to generate 30 percent of the Kingdoms electricity from renewable sources by 2030, with the remainder to come from natural gas. Shehri did not offer more details on the extent of the KSAs plan to surpass this goal.

The Saudi government has been talking a big game on renewable energy for several years now. To date, the country only has a measly 10 megawatts of capacity, a single project located at the headquarters of Saudi Aramco, Bloomberg reports. In fact, the government has gone back and forth on its solar ambitions in recent years. Back in 2012, the government laid out a proposal to install 41 GW of solar by 2032, using a mix of photovoltaics and concentrated solar power (CSP). The ramp up was to begin immediately.



Related: Is OPEC Throwing In The Towel On U.S. Market Share?

There was little news regarding the solar push even as the country continued to burn valuable barrels of oil for electricity  at a time when crude often traded above $100 per barrel. The collapse of oil prices in 2014 dashed all urgency for a clean energy transition.

Last year, the Saudi government sought to revive its solar program, although with much more modest goals. The 2030 goal was vastly scaled back, with a target of only 9.5 GW of renewable energy instead of the original 41 GW.

By Zainab Calcuttawala for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
JioPhone can now be pre-booked, starting today, and the hype train seems to be going full-steam. The Jio website has been swamped with visitors looking to get their hands on the first ever 4G feature phone online within the first few minutes since pre-bookings opened. This haste can be justified as the JioPhone will be available on a first come, first serve basis.

The JioPhone can be booked online - through the Jio official website or the MyJio application - or offline at Jio retailers or multi-brand retail outlets. JioPhone was launched in the last AGM of Reliance Insdustries Limited, with Chairman Mukesh Ambani promising to deliver cheaper data to all through this device.

The beta-testing of the handset began from August 15 where Jio gave the device to its employees for identifying technical problems to be rectified. The JioPhone will be available for an effective price of Rs 0, but a refundable security deposit of Rs 1,500 has to be paid.

How to book JioPhone online

The JioPhone can be booked online on the official Jio website or the MyJio app for a sum of Rs 500. Users will have to provide a Jio number and delivery PIN code. Once through, you will move to payment options.

Later a booking ID will be generated which has to be shown to the retailer at the time of purchase. The sum of Rs 500 charged at the time of booking will be adjusted against the security charges of Rs 1,500. The rest of the Rs 1,000 will have to be paid at the time of delivery, though.

How to book JioPhone offline

The Jio retail stores or multi-brand retail devices can be visited for pre-booking the JioPhone offline with an Aadhaar card. Some retail stores reportedly had begun taking pre-orders even before August 24.

JioPhone pre-order: Online vs. Offline

The online channels for pre-booking the JioPhone are expected to face some increase in traffic, as seen on the first day today. The three-step registration will be easier than going to a store, which even might have lines in front of them, last seen at the time of rollout of Jio 4G networks. With pre-bookings open on first come first serve basis, online will be faster option to go about it, given that the Jio website and MyApp do not quiver under the pressure.

What JioPhone promises

JioPhone is the first ever 4G feature phone ever to be made. The handset comes with a 2.4-inch, and an alphanumeric keypad under it. The phone works on KaiOS. It does not have a camera or the popular applications like Facebook, Youtube, WhatsApp or such which are usually found on smartphones.

The phone, however, promises a 4G internet connection. The JioPhone also comes with the usual of Jio. The JioTV app can even be streamed on any television set using a proprietary cable bundled with the phone.

The phone offer 4G speeds for a pack of Rs 153 or smaller packs of Rs 53 and Rs 23.
Khawaja Asif rejected Donald Trump allegations

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif on Thursday rejected US President Donald Trumps allegations and reiterated that Pakistan backed all international efforts for a peaceful Afghanistan.



Giving a policy statement in the Senate, the minister denied US allegations that Pakistan wanted to destabilise Afghanistan.



Pakistan has been supporting all international efforts for a peaceful Afghanistan. Islamabad backs Washington and Kabul in their efforts to restore peace in Afghanistan through talks, he said.



The minister said the National Security Committee, in its meeting on Thursday, had completely rejected Donald Trumps allegations against Pakistan. Scapegoating Pakistan will not stabilise Afghanistan, he said.



Due to the Afghan issue, there has been an influx of refugees, drugs and arms in our country. Safe havens against Pakistan have been formed on the Afghan soil. Pakistan has always taken indiscriminate action against terrorists and has suffered over $120 billion losses in the war on terror. We dont allow our soil to be used against any country and expect other states to reciprocate, Asif said.



The foreign minister also said the country was ready to cooperate with the United States and Afghanistan for lasting peace in the region.



The minister slammed India over its role of spreading terrorism in Afghanistan and called it a sensitive issue. India wants to de-stabilise Pakistan from both east and the west, he said. The minister further mentioned that the NSC members had condemned aggressive Indian policies of waging war in the region, calling it a threat to regional peace. He accused India of using terrorists in order to fulfill its state policies.



Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi assured the Senate that he would probe why the Pakistan Television (PTV) had not provided live coverage to the debate on the US President Donald Trumps recently announced South Asia strategy.



Earlier, Senate Chairman Mian Raza Rabbani had expressed concern over the non-coverage of the debate.



The PM said he would investigate why a directive in this regard had not been complied with.



During the proceedings, the Senate chairman suggested that the session be extended as the houses foreign affairs committee was in the process of formulating its recommendations on the issue.



To this, the prime minister said the committee should finalise the recommendations which could be communicated to the National Assembly after being adopted by the Senate.



Even a joint session of the parliament could also be convened on the matter, he said.



Prime Minister Abbasi said the federal cabinet had discussed the issue for three hours and the National Security Committee had also deliberated over it during its four-hour long meeting.



Earlier, senators had strongly denounced the statement made by US President Donald Trump about Pakistan and said that the whole nation was on one page against the US new policy.



They were discussing a motion over the US presidents new strategy for South Asia and Afghanistan and remarks about Pakistan. They said that Pakistan was a strong and brave nation and Pakistanis knew well how to defend their motherland. The senators said a national narrative against terrorism should be formulated in consultation with all the stakeholders and the parliament.
NSC rejected India role as security provider in the South Asia region

ISLAMABAD: The National Security Committee (NSC) Thursday demanded an immediate US military effort to eliminate sanctuaries harbouring terrorists and miscreants on the Afghan soil and rejected the notion that India could be the net security provider in the South Asia region.



The committee, while rejecting specific allegations and insinuations against Pakistan by US President Donald Trump, said the country had an abiding interest in peace and stability in Afghanistan. Scapegoat[ing] Pakistan will not help in stabilizing Afghanistan, a strong statement issued at the end of the meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi at the PM Office said.



Afghan war cannot be fought in Pakistan, the meeting, which was also attended by all services chiefs and senior cabinet members, agreed after a threadbare discussion on the Trump administrations South Asia Strategy. More specifically, we would like to see effective and immediate US military efforts to eliminate sanctuaries harbouring terrorists and miscreants on the Afghan soil, including those responsible for fomenting terror in Pakistan.



The NSC pointed out that being immediate neighbour, Pakistan had an abiding interest in peace and stability in Afghanistan. India cannot be a net security provider in the South Asia region when it has conflictual relationships with all its neighbours and is pursuing a policy of destabilising Pakistan from the east and the west.



The meeting expressed deep concern at Indian policies inimical to peace in the region, including interference in the internal affairs of neighbouring countries and using terrorism as an instrument of state policy. It condemned state inflicted repression on the people of Indian-held Kashmir and reiterated Pakistans continued diplomatic, political and moral support for their struggle for self-determination.



The committee reaffirmed Pakistans resolve to protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity. The NSC, the countrys highest civil-military forum, observed that Pakistan had to manage the blowback of a protracted conflict in Afghanistan that resulted in deluge of refugees, flow of drugs and arms, and more recently in the shape of terrorist safe havens in eastern Afghanistan from where anti-Pakistan terrorist groups continue to operate and launch attacks inside Pakistan. The fact remains that the complex issues and internal dynamics inside Afghanistan pose a grave challenge not only to Pakistan but to the broader region and the international community.



While noting the US commitment to continue to shoulder the burden of Afghanistan and reverse the expanding ungoverned spaces in the country, the committee observed that Pakistan had consistently supported all international efforts for a stable and peaceful Afghanistan and had also committed more than a billion US dollars for infrastructure and social development in that country.



Over the years, the meeting said, Pakistan had worked with both the United States and Afghanistan to promote peace through a politically negotiated outcome which, in Pakistan's view, remained the best option to bring stability to the war-torn country. "A prolonged military campaign in Afghanistan has resulted in destruction and killing of hundreds of thousands of Afghan civilians," the NSC noted and pointed out that Pakistan had also endorsed and supported all Afghan-owned and Afghan-led initiatives for peace.



"It is Pakistan's expectation that any strategy adopted to stabilise Afghanistan will succeed to end this protracted conflict and usher in an era of peace in the country paving way for the dignified return of millions of Afghan refugees residing in Pakistan for which we are willing to extend all possible cooperation."



The committee said on its own part, Pakistan had taken indiscriminate actions against all terrorist networks and sacrificed thousands of troops and civilians in that fight. The demonstrated security improvement inside Pakistan, it said, would not have been possible without eliminating all terrorist hideouts. Moreover, successful cooperation with the US in the past against the common enemy, terrorism, reflected Pakistan's unflinching commitment to eliminate this menace, the committee added.



Referring to Donald Trump's assertion of payment of billions of dollars to Pakistan over the years, the committee said instead of any financial or material assistance, there should be understanding and recognition of Pakistan's efforts, contributions and sacrifice of thousands of Pakistanis and over 120 billion US dollars of economic losses. "We consider the lives of the citizens of other countries as sacrosanct as those of our own and, therefore, Pakistan is committed to not allowing its soil to be used for violence against any other country. We expect the same from our neighbours."



The NSC said the claims of billions of dollars in aid to Pakistan were misleading to the extent that the reimbursements to Pakistan since 2001 only accounted for part of the cost of ground facilities and air corridors used by the United States for its operations in Afghanistan, rather than any financial aid or assistance. "Pakistan's effective counter-terrorism operations have clearly proved that tide of terrorism can be reversed and we are willing to share our experience with both the US and Afghanistan." This would require working together and focusing on core issues of eliminating safe havens inside Afghanistan, border management, return of refugees and reinvigorating the peace process for a political settlement in Afghanistan, it added.
Putting pressure on Pakistan may seriously destabilise region-wide security situation: Russian Presidential Envoy

BEIJING: China's top diplomat has defended Pakistan's "important role" in Afghanistan in a phone call with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, after President Donald Trump accused Islamabad of harbouring terrorists.



Trump, in unveiling his Afghanistan strategy this week, said Pakistan was playing a double game by accepting American aid while giving safe haven to insurgents who kill Afghan and NATO troops.



But China State Councillor Yang Jiechi told Tillerson that "we should attach importance to the important role that Pakistan plays in the Afghanistan issue, respect (Pakistan's) sovereignty and legitimate security concerns," according to a Foreign Ministry statement.



It is the second time Beijing has defended its South Asian neighbour this week, with Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying praising Pakistan on Tuesday for making "great sacrifices and contributions to fighting terrorism".



Beijing is investing around $50 billion in Pakistan as part of a plan unveiled in 2015 to link its far-western Xinjiang region to the Pakistani port of Gwadar in Balochistan.



Yang said Beijing was committed to "advancing the peace and reconciliation process in Afghanistan" and that political dialogue was "the only way to solve the Afghanistan problem".



He added that China would like to continue to "maintain communication and coordination on the Afghanistan problem with the US side".



Pakistan has been battling militants for years. It sees Afghanistan as a vital strategic interest and a bulwark against old rival, India.



China and Pakistan consider each other "all-weather friends" and have close diplomatic, economic and security ties. Beijing has its own security concerns in the region, in particular any links between militants in Pakistan and Afghanistan and militant groups China blames for violence in its far western region of Xinjiang.



The call between the US and Chinese diplomats came after new tensions arose between the two powers on Wednesday as Washington slapped sanctions on Chinese companies accused of links with North Korea, angering Beijing.



China has also warned Washington against triggering any "trade war" after Trump ordered an investigation into Beijing's intellectual property practices.



But the ministry statement issued late Wednesday did not say whether Tillerson and Yang discussed the trade issue, the sanctions or the North Korean nuclear crisis.



Yang said Washington and Beijing communicate and cooperate on a "wide range of areas" and the two diplomats discussed Trump's planned visit to China later this year.



He also voiced hope that the two sides maintain "mutual respect" and "handle disputes properly and jointly to uphold the good momentum of development of Sino-US relations".



On the other hand, after China's strong message defending Pakistan's role in Afghanistan and asking the global community to acknowledge its sacrifices in war against terrorism, Russia echoed similar sentiments following US President Donald Trump's allegations that Pakistan was offering safe haven to terrorists.



Russian Presidential Envoy to Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov slammed Trump's Pakistan strategy and insisted that Islamabad is "a key regional player to negotiate with."



"Putting pressure [on Pakistan] may seriously destabilise the region-wide security situation and result in negative consequences for Afghanistan," the presidential envoy to Kabul told Russia's 'Afghanistan' daily.
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Biddeford-Saco-OOB Courier

"When you shake a veteran's hand today, look them in the eye and give them a heartfelt thank you," said USAF Ret. Col. Jen Fullmer, parade grand marshal, who spoke at the event.
Theres been a lot of talk about fake news of late.

But the term is not a new one.

More than a century ago, United Press Association accused upstart rival news organization Associated Press of fabricating abstracts it published of annual reports of four New York state agencies, according to a Jan. 13, 1895 New York Times report.

Representative of the four agencies, which the United Press interviewed, all said that their 1894 reports had not yet even been completed. All four said the abstracts the Associated Press purported to be genuine were faked, according to the Times report on file in The Addison Colvin Scrapbooks at The Folklife Center at Crandall Public Library in Glens Falls.

Colvin, of Glens Falls, who served as state treasurer at the time, was publisher of The Glens Falls Times and a co-founder of United Press Association.

Superintendent of Prisons Lathrop said the abstract of the report was faked from figures taken from the annual report of 1893 and from an interview with him, the Times reported.

Lunacy Commissioner Goodwin Brontly, when asked about the abstract of his commissions report, pronounced it a fake and said not a word of the annual report for the Lunacy Commission for 1894 had not yet been written, the Times continued.

The state Department of Public Information and state Comptroller Roberts labeled the alleged reports the Associated Press published as fake and a fake, respectively.

Roberts said the alleged Comptrollers report apparently was based on figures in the governors annual message and in the state Treasurers report.
When Sarah Kaufman arrived at the fair, a group of little boys recognized her at once.

The cheese lady was back!

Kaufman carves blocks of cheese into sculptures. The boys quickly asked her if she'd carve the eclipse  and a cow jumping over it.

So she did.

On Friday, she was working on a huge carving of the entire milking parlor at the fair.

How did she learn such a complicated skill?

"I did not learn. I just do it," she said.

For years, the Wisconsin native worked as a marketing artist for the Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin.

"I would hire people to carve for us. It didn't occur to me I could do it," she said.

She gave it a try with one of the carvers during a trade show. Then she started freelancing.

"It grew and grew until I had to quit my real job to do my unreal job," she said. "It's wonderful. I go all over the country."

She has carved for Disney and at the Super Bowl.

While she does a few state fairs, Washington is the only county fair she does regularly.

"This is the sweetest fair. The children, the 4-H, the families  this is so America," she said. "It's truly different here."

Do what it takes

Dairy farmer Matthew Trinkle was in it to win it Friday.

He wanted his Ayrshire cow to win the dairy competition, so he got up at 3 a.m. to milk her.

Other farmers went to the milking parlor as late as 10 p.m., trying to make sure their cows would have the right amount of milk in their udders for the midday competition.

Trinkle's cow calved a month ago, so he knew she'd need to be milked much later than other cows.

"You gotta make sure you put the right amount of milk in your cow, so her udder looks perfect," he said.

At home he milks at 4:30 p.m. and 4:30 a.m. But 3 a.m. was the right choice: he won reserve grand champion.

"You gotta do what you gotta do," he said with satisfaction. "Make it as perfect as you can get 'em."

She produced 59 pounds of milk when he was finally able to milk her again at 2 p.m.

Farmers are on the honor system at the fair: Stewart's collects all the milk from the parlor, and pays the fair. The fair distributes the money to the farmers, based on their self-reported pounds of milk produced.

Although it sounds like a lot, 59 pounds doesn't pay much, Trinkle said.

"Not a lot. But by the end of the week, it adds up," he said.

He knows precisely how much his three milking cows at the fair should produce. He'll make about $266 in milk this week, he said. That's less than it cost to bring the cows to the fair.

"But we also come here because it's good for the kids. That's what it's all about," he said. "They're going to be the next generation."

Educational fire

BOCES instructors sold their career and technical program to passing children by offering to let them hold the tools of the trades.

Kids pounded nails into real wood with real hammers, making birdhouses. They used clamps and pipes to build plumbing.

And a lucky few even got to hold a welding torch.

Bobby Brisbin, 10, of Hudson Falls, donned protective gear and painstakingly welded a box out of six pieces of metal.

Brisbin had already done all of the other activities offered at the BOCES booth. But they announced welding would start in an hour, so he waited.

Welding instructor Clay Corey tried to teach him how the torch worked, but quickly gave up.

"I see his eyes glaze over. They just don't like the theory," he said cheerfully. "All right, let's shoot some fire!"

Brisbin spent 15 minutes on his box.

"It was pretty cool," he said when he finished.

But welding isn't in his future.

"I really loved the plumbing," he said. "Just how everything worked in connection together."
GRANVILLE  The schools special education program was cited for 30 instances of noncompliance in a state audit conducted last year, which has led to some administrative changes.

About 21 percent of the districts 1,068 students in the 2016-17 school year had some type of disability and received special education services, according to the report, which was obtained by The Post-Star through a Freedom of Information Law request.

State investigators randomly selected 30 students and reviewed each ones individualized education plan to see if the services were being provided. Among the issues that state investigators found were lack of access to the full range of programs and services, failure to modify instructional techniques to help students meet diploma requirements, lack of development of plans to address student behavior and lack of monitoring of progress in improving behavior.

The report cited the district for not stating in students individualized education plans where they currently are academically or how the disability affects their progress through the curriculum and for not developing academic goals for the student.

Special education students goals after high school also need to be developed, and where appropriate, strategies to help them transition to independent living, along with ways to involve outside agencies in meeting those goals. The district was cited for not identifying providers who can provide services to students during the summer months.

There were 35 instances of compliance with the standards, including providing copies of IEPS to parents, ensuring that students are not removed from regular classrooms solely because of their disabilities, having students participate in state tests and providing consultant teacher services in regular education classes.

The state Education Department has set a deadline of Oct. 31 for Granville to demonstrate compliance. School officials have already taken steps to address the problems.

Earlier this month, the district announced that Camille Harrelson has moved from being high school principal to director of special education  a position she held from 2012 to 2013. Colleen Jennings, the previous director, is taking on the newly created role of elementary assistant principal/504 plans coordinator for both Mary J. Tanner School and Granville Elementary School.

Superintendent Thomas McGurl said Friday the changes are meant to make sure we have the right person in the right jobs.

In July, the school board voted to hire David Mitchell as a consultant to review its special education programs and come up with recommendations to improve them. Mitchell is executive director for Oak Hill School, a school for students with special needs in Scotia. He previously served as director of special education for Ballston Spa schools.

He will be paid $450 per day when he is in the district and $75 per hour when working from home, which will be for shorter periods of time. There is a cap of $10,000 for his services.

McGurl said Mitchell is confident that, with Harrelson in her new position, his services are not needed right away. McGurl said Mitchell will be in a standby role until the district looks in January at some long-term improvements.

The district has numerous short-term priorities, according to McGurl.

We need to look at immediate concerns of IEP construction and the services that were providing, he said.

The districts special education population of 21 percent is well above the state average, so McGurl said school officials need to look at how students are placed into special education.

The district must ensure it is providing a wide array of services based upon student need, he said.

People get concerned when they hear about an audit, but the district needs to build upon this report, he said.

I look at it as an opportunity for somebody from the outside to come and look at the program to say this is whats working and what needs improvement and it gives you a structure to fix those things, he said.
GLENS FALLS  When the Rev. Joseph Manerowski came to St. Marys Church in 2007 from the Immaculate Conception Church in Hoosick Falls, he said he hoped it would be his last move.

As it turned out, it was.

Manerowski will retire Sept. 1 after 23 years as a priest, and the church will be holding receptions for him on the church lawn after each of this weekends masses, which are scheduled for 4 p.m. Saturday and 7:30, 9 and 11:15 a.m. Sunday.

I am looking forward to the Masses and to bidding farewell to my parishioners, he said Thursday. We will have a tent set up for a reception after each Mass.

Before his seven years in Hoosick Falls, he also served at St. Peters Catholic Church in Delhi and St. John the Evangelist in Schenectady.

Before that, Manerowski had an unusual background for a priest  he was a married school guidance counselor with three children. He had been aiming at a career as a school principal, but after his marriage was annulled, he opted for the priesthood.

Manerowski was born in Brooklyn and grew up in Long Island. In his years prior to the priesthood, he received a bachelors degree in elementary education from Hofstra College and later got a masters degree.

He attended St. Johns University and Sacred Heart School of Theology in Wisconsin.

The new pastor will be Rev. Thomas Morette, who is at All Saints on the Hudson, which has churches in Mechanicville and Stillwater.

Morette, who was ordained in 2005 and has been in his current post since 2012, has also served at Holy Trinity in Johnstown, St. Josephs in Broadalbin and St. Francis in Northville. He was an associate pastor at St. Henrys in Averill Park and St. Michael the Archangel in Troy.

He attended Siena College, SUNY Albany, St. Josephs Seminary in Yonkers and St. John XXII Seminary in Weston, Massachusetts.

Morette was initially ordained a deacon by Cardinal John OConnor of the Archdiocese of New York in 1988 and served as a permanent deacon in New York before he became a priest for Albany.

The Most Rev. Edward B. Scharfenberger, bishop of the Albany Diocese, had kind words for Manerowski.

Throughout his priesthood, Father Joe has been well loved for his kindness and gentleness, particularly in his care the sick and homebound, Scharfenberger said. He is esteemed as a good confessor, and the school children especially will always remember his good humor. Our prayers and best wishes go with him.
















Irans new army chief warned that the Zionist regime will not exist in 25 years.





The general, Abdolrahim Mousavi, was speaking at a cultural event in the city of Qom on Thursday evening and said that acts of devotion from Iranians would thwart Israel.





As an example of such devotion, Mousavi cited Mohsen Hojaji, an adviser sent to Syria, taken captive by Islamic State earlier this month and beheaded two days later.





According to a report of his comments by the Iranian Tasnim news agency on Friday, Mousavi also warned that if any country chose to enter a war with Iran, it would be Iran that would decides how the war would end. According to Tasnim, Mousavi said that the world has realized that it is impossible to attempt military engagement against the Islamic Republic.

Mousavi was appointed on August 21 as the commander of the Iranian army, an entity separate from the countrys Revolutionary Guards Corps. His comments on Thursday echo a prediction made by Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei earlier in 2015. In a quote posted to Twitter by Khameneis official account on September 9, 2015, the Iranian leader addressed Israel, saying, You will not see next 25 years, and added that the Jewish state will be hounded until it is destroyed.

The quote was published against a backdrop of a photograph apparently showing the Iranian leader walking on an Israeli flag painted on a sidewalk. After negotiations, in Zionist regime they said they had no more concern about Iran for next 25 years; Id say: Firstly, you will not see next 25 years; God willing, there will be nothing as Zionist regime by next 25 years. Secondly, until then, struggling, heroic and jihadi morale will leave no moment of serenity for Zionists, the quote from Irans top leader read in broken English.

The quote was apparently taken from a speech given earlier in the day.












Finding Peace of Mind: Discover These Five Places in Europe to Unwind
If a five-story building is to be approved for the Village of East Davenport, it will require court action.

Davenport's Zoning Board of Adjustment, or ZBA, on Thursday rejected a request for a "hardship variance" from businessman Gregg Ontiveros for the five-story, 48-unit apartment building. He owns the oddly shaped parcel along River Drive, between Mound Street and the railroad truss to the west, and has proposed a 60-foot tall building with retail on the first floor.

Ontiveros has spent nearly a decade trying to come up with a development plan for the site. But the high cost of building on the former sawmill property pushed his plans higher. To make a "reasonable rate of return," he said, the ZBA would have to grant a variance and waive the three-story height restriction for the Village.

After an hour of presentations, public comment and discussion, board members voted 3-1 against the variance. Their chief objection was that Ontiveros did not provide sufficient evidence that a five-story building is necessary for the project to yield a "reasonable rate of return."

The City Council chamber was a near full-house for Thursday's hearing, and a solid two-thirds of those in attendance stood in support of the project. City planners, however, did not endorse it.

Planner Matt Flynn said Ontiveros had not produced evidence of a hardship, including specific financial demands. He recommended the ZBA deny the variance request.

But Ontiveros' attorney, architect, contractor and engineer said the cost of developing the property is especially high, because contractors would have to dig 34 feet to reach bedrock. After that, as much as $1 million in pilings alone would be required, just to ensure the structure is built on solid ground.

"We can't make this go, financially, without the five stories," attorney Greg Jager concluded. He said "catastrophic" foundation issues in the one-story strip mall that previously occupied the Ontiveros property led to its demise.

Ontiveros arranged to buy the Southeast National Bank branch at Mound and River Drive "to spread the cost" of redeveloping the whole property into a profitable project, Jager said.

Among those objecting to the development were several of Ontiveros' neighbors on Mississippi Avenue. Nearly everyone who spoke against the project had nothing against the building, except its size.

Over the past two decades, taxpayers have invested in several studies of the Village of East Davenport, and each has concluded that a three-story limit be enforced.

Even so, Ontiveros made a final pitch for approval of what he warned is likely to be his last attempt to develop the site.

"I'm a lifelong resident. I've invested in the neighborhood," he said. "I give you my word you won't be disappointed in this project. All these people who have concerns, I won't let you down."

Even so, ZBA Chairwoman Cathy Hart emphasized that personal opinions of the project are irrelevant to board members. They are charged, first and foremost, with seeing to it that guidelines are met. Absent proof that a financial hardship would result from a smaller project, she voted it down. Board member Kerry Strayhall cast the only favorable vote.

After the meeting, Jager said he had not yet asked Ontiveros whether he wishes to appeal the ZBA vote to district court, which would be the next step. Although it is unlikely, he said, he also did not rule out an appeal.
The Davenport School Board on Monday will host two public hearings to consider the sale of real estate that has been on the market for almost a year.

Both buildings are to be sold above the original asking price, and both are to be used for housing and commercial options.

One hearing is for the former Lincoln Elementary School, 318 E. 7th St., Davenport, which the district closed as a school in 2012.

The listing price was $721,000 last September, but D.J. Land Co. has offered $730,000 and proposes to use it for low- and mixed-income residential development.

The D.J. Land Co. is part of The Woda Group, Westerville, Ohio. According to its website, the company is "experienced developers, general contractors and property managers specializing in the design, construction, and management of affordable housing in rural, suburban and urban communities."

The second public hearing involves the Achievement Service Center, 1606 Brady St., Davenport. The district plans to move its administrative offices to the former J.B. Young K-8 School next year.

That building has partially reopened on the first floor and now is undergoing reconstruction in other areas.

The Achievement Service Center was listed at $900,000, and the sale would be to Newbury Living, Des Moines, for $950,000. The plan is to use it for commercial and/or residential development.

The sale of both properties is being handled by Mel Foster Commercial Real Estate Services, Davenport.

The public hearings are during the regular board meeting at 6 p.m. Monday in the third-floor Jim Hester Board Room of the Achievement Service Center.
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Two Western Illinois University administrators have made a $100,000 donation to WQPT, the Public Service Broadcasting media service operated by Western in the Quad-Cities.

The donation by Joseph Rives, vice president for the Quad-Cities and planning, and his spouse, Scott Brouette, assistant director of student services, will be used to expand the station's ability to tell local stories and provide educational outreach to life-long learners in the region, according to a news release.

Rives' interest in WQPT goes back to 2009 when he joined the board at a time when it was struggling to find its financial footing. The station's previous owner, Black Hawk College, had cut off funding in 2007, saying the station did not fit in its core mission, and the board was trying to keep the station afloat.

The station's general manager asked Western for help with payroll and insurance and Rives countered with the idea of the university taking over as owner-operator.

Not only did this add financial stability to WQPT, but it allowed Western to increase its community service and public outreach.

Brouette's interest in WQPT is in the area of children's programming. He worked 24 years as a pre-school teacher, so "pre-school education is my passion," he said.

In fact, he creates of his own programming  one-minute shorts called "Let's Explore with Mr. Scott." The shorts present ways in which parents and children can get outside and do fun and educational activities together without having to spend a lot of money.

"WQPT was a very good fit for our money to go," Brouette said.

Other local programming that will be boosted by the couple's gift are "The Cities with Jim Mertens" and "Vibrant Neighborhoods."

WQPT is nearing its 35-year anniversary providing local public television in the Quad-Cities and surrounding counties.
"White supremacist": It's a label that's come to dominate our conversations in the wake of deadly violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, but it's also one that has a deeply rooted history in the United States.

As the FBI would tell you, the effort to disrupt violent hate groups and combat the threat of homegrown terrorism has been going on for decades. In fact, one of the Bureau's most remarkable investigations revolves around a white supremacist group that existed more than 30 years ago. It was known as "The Order."

In order to dismantle it, the FBI had to rely on a skilled undercover agent to methodically gather intel against the group. In new interviews with CNN's series "Declassified," the agents involved describe what it took to see The Order fall.

Going undercover

It was the early 1980s, and white supremacist leaders were beginning to lure followers from multiple extremist groups with the intention of recruiting them to stage revolts against the US government, which they believed to be under heavy Jewish influence.

To build a case, the FBI sent a single agent to a small city in northern Idaho called Coeur D'Alene. It was home to the racist religious group The Aryan Nations.The Northwest Pacific region was also home to a group called The Order, which at the time was a lesser known religious and political terrorist organization.

To infiltrate this world, the FBI tapped Special Agent Wayne Manis. He'd been working undercover for the Bureau since 1967, and had gained experience investigating hate groups like the New Left in Chicago and the Ku Klux Klan in Alabama. He knew how to deal with radical idealism, and was familiar with their methods to organize into larger ranks.

Gathering intelligence

But before Manis and his FBI colleagues could launch a full federal investigation in Idaho, agents had to demonstrate to the US attorney general the presence of a real threat to the United States and its interests. For agents like Manis, this meant most days were spent gathering intelligence to prove that threat.

Working alone, Manis spent months sifting through records trying to connect the dots between several crimes in Coeur D'Alene. After meeting with local law enforcement, Manis was able to narrow the scope of his investigation.

"We pinpointed about five or six different crimes and probably 30 or 40 different people. That was sort of the beginning of the playbook," Manis recalled.

Further investigation proved the network was larger than originally suspected.

The Order was led by Robert Mathews, a known white supremacist in his early 30s with ties to anti-Semitic groups.

Agents described Mathews as charismatic. "He had been involved in the right-wing movement, especially the National Alliance for years," retired FBI Supervisory Senior Resident Agent Tom McDaniel told CNN's "Declassified."

Tracking the crimes

At first, when Manis arrived in Idaho, he was not aware of The Order or Mathews, but after following months of research Manis would discover the new subject of his investigation and begin to put the crimes together.

To fund operations, The Order robbed several banks and attacked armored trucks.

After accumulating more than $3.5 million, the group was well situated to move forward with their mission, which at that point remained a mystery to the FBI.

The Order's first attacks targeted a synagogue in Boise. No one was reported hurt. Two months later, the group murdered Jewish radio host Alan Berg outside of his Denver home, the FBI said.

Manis now had enough information to get approval from the Department of Justice. "I commenced my investigation in about March of 1984, and finally in July I got the authorization to do a full-scale domestic security investigation of the terrorist organization called The Order," Manis recalled.

Eventually, according to the University of Maryland's Global Terrorism Database, the FBI was able to tie The Order to an eye-opening series of crimes, including:

September 1983 -- counterfeiting December 1983 -- bank robbery January 1984 -- bank robbery March 1984 -- armored car robbery April 1984 -- armored car robbery April 1984 -- synagogue bombing June 1984 -- murder of radio host Alan Berg July 1984 -- armored car robbery

Finding 'The Turner Diaries'

With the backing of the DOJ, the FBI sent a large team of agents to help Manis, who began to catch up with Mathews and other members of The Order.

They traced motels where suspects had stayed. They tracked the phone calls they made and vehicles they used.

Manis and his team successfully placed an informant inside The Order who led them to Mathews and "The Turner Diaries," a work of fiction by neo-Nazi leader William Luther Pierce written under the pseudonym Andrew Macdonald.

The story depicts the violent overthrow of the US government and the extermination of all non-white enemies.

Mathews, a follower of Pierce, took the name of his group from the book and used it to guide his decisions as the group leader.

"They were following 'Turner Diaries' like a map," ex-FBI agent McDaniel recalled. "It's a scary thought because the principal character in 'The Turner Diaries' blew up FBI headquarters."

In the novel, a resistance movement sparked by white nationalists gains control of the government and furthers their mission to attack and disenfranchise non-whites.

Equipped with the plot Mathews was following, agents tracked his movements more closely. "Through some informants ... we were able to locate the whereabouts of Bob Mathews and six members of The Order at his hideout on Whidbey Island on the Puget Sound in Washington," Manis said.

Agents closed in on the hideout in December of 1984. Mathews was holed up in a house.

"We did everything we could to get him out of there," Manis said. When the FBI moved in, Mathews began shooting, and the FBI returned gunfire. "While all this was going on, the house caught fire. The fire was from a flare that was in the bottom of the house," Manis said. "The shooting continued all night. It was a war zone."

"At daylight I walked up to the cabin and I found Bob's body lying in the rubble," Manis said. Mathews had died in the burning house, and six other members of The Order were arrested at the scene, Manis said.

In the following weeks, additional agents were sent into the field to find other members of The Order.

As the FBI started making arrests, some suspects would offer valuable information that led to the capture of other members.

"We really broke the back of The Order at that point," said retired FBI Supervisory Special Agent Donald Wofford, who also worked the case.

A two-month trial resulted in several convictions on racketeering charges. Ten members of The Order were sent to prison to serve substantial sentences, Wofford said.

The fight continues

"The Turner Diaries" would remain popular among white supremacists and continue to inspire domestic terrorism, according to authorities.

A decade after the fall of The Order, Pierce's novel would serve as a blueprint for one of the deadliest domestic terrorist attacks in American history.

On April 19, 1995, Timothy J. McVeigh, an anti-government terrorist, detonated a truck filled with explosives outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

McVeigh's attack left more than 500 people injured and killed 168, including 19 children.

"He'd read 'The Turner Diaries' and he picked up where The Order left off," Manis said.

More than 20 years after the tragedy at Oklahoma City, the former agents say the Justice Department still finds it necessary to go undercover to gather intelligence on violent white supremacist groups and other domestic terrorist threats.

On August 12, the racially charged protest in Charlottesville, Virginia, which led to the death of 32-year-old counterprotester Heather Heyer -- provided a disturbing reminder that racial intolerance still fuels deadly violence.

"The belief system is still here," Manis said. "It's still with us."
DES MOINES  Many of Iowas biggest cities may be putting out the fuse on fireworks, but that is not stopping sellers from making big plans for next year.

Although some fireworks retailers are exercising caution as Iowa cities rethink allowing home fireworks displays under a new state law, others said that will not dissuade them from making big plans for next Fourth of July.

Were definitely going to continue our expansion plan into Iowa, said Vince Bellino, who manages the Nebraska-based Bellino Fireworks.

Iowa this year legalized home fireworks displays, lifting a ban that had been on the books for nearly 80 years. The ban was implemented in 1939, shortly after fireworks-sparked blazes caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in property damage to a pair of small northwest Iowa towns.

But the new law also permitted local governments to develop their own fireworks regulations. After this summers Fourth of July holiday, many residents in some of Iowas biggest cities complained about the noise caused by their neighbors shooting off fireworks. The backlash was significant enough to lead multiple Iowa cities to consider reducing the time residents can display fireworks or reinstituting the ban altogether.

For example:

 Davenport and Cedar Rapids reinstituted home fireworks bans. Davenport wasted no time, deciding to reinstitute its ban on July 5. Now Davenport, Bettendorf and Scott County are discussing a revised policy to limit the use of fireworks. The Cedar Rapids council just this week voted to ban home fireworks in the city.

 The Cedar Falls council has gone back and forth on the issue and most recently sent it back to committee for further study. Waterloos council also is debating the issue; its latest proposal is to allow home fireworks displays only on July 4.

 Sioux Citys council has been debating the issue for months. While no formal proposal has been made, all council members have gone on the record supporting at the very least a smaller time frame for home fireworks displays.

 Mason City shortened its home fireworks display window to July 3 and July 4. Clear Lake instituted a ban before this years Fourth of July holiday.

 Des Moines, the states largest city, limited fireworks displays to six hours on July 4.

Despite those restrictions in the states most populous areas, and potentially more to come, many fireworks retailers say they are making even bigger plans for 2018.

Bellino said his company sold from 45 locations across the state this year, and he plans to expand next year. He said he hopes to have 100 locations in Iowa in 2018.

I think there was some excitement around year one, and I still think theres plenty of room for growth in year two, Bellino said. Definitely, theres still some room to grow for year two.

The potential for a dwindling time frame for fireworks in Iowas biggest cities also won't hamper the plans for Mitchell, Iowa-based Flashing Thunder Fireworks, according to Katie Mostek, one of the companys owners.

It really doesnt change anything for us, Mostek said.

Mostek said that even though Iowas biggest cities are restricting fireworks displays, many smaller cities and rural areas are allowing fireworks.

And Flashing Thunder sells to many out-of-state customers as well, she said.

Theres still a lot of people from a lot of towns that are still allowing the shooting of fireworks, Mostek said. Im confident were still going to have a lot of sales. ...

Sales went pretty well, I think, for the first year. And well be better prepared to do even better.

Zach Terhark, with Urbandale-based Iowa Fireworks Co., said this year went well but the company is being cautious before deciding how to proceed next year. He said the company, which had 21 locations in Iowa this year, is watching with interest as the various cities hash out their plans for 2018.

Were still kind of in the planning stages of what next year is going to look like for us, and a lot of that does come down to what cities are going to try to continue changing the rules as far as allowing sales and allowing use, Terhark said. Its definitely something were paying close attention to, and well do our best to plan accordingly.

The state does not have an estimate for the fiscal impact of fireworks sales this year under the new law.

A spokeswoman said the revenue department tracks sales tax collected from various types of personal property, but not fireworks specifically.

And Dan Wood, an inspector with the state fire marshals office, said the office initially attempted to track figures for fireworks sales, but the task proved too difficult for a variety of reasons.

The states nonpartisan fiscal estimating agency estimated fireworks sales revenue in Iowa would be $17.8 million in fiscal year 2017 (July 2016 through June 2017) and $24.8 million in fiscal 2018 (July 2017 through June 2018).

The agency estimated that would yield $1.1 million in state sales tax revenue for fiscal 2017 and $1.5 million for fiscal 2018.

The fire marshals office did report taking in $238,400 in licensing fees for fireworks retailers this year.

Wood said the fire marshals office was not budgeted extra funding to add staff to oversee the new fireworks law, and he does not expect the office to be able to hire more staff in time for next year, either.

Wood said he does not know whether a potential drop in license fees would hamper the fire marshals offices ability to oversee the fireworks law.

Were asked to license people, and were asked to do inspections. We can only really do what were asked to do, Wood said. I dont know the financial impact until we do it.

Even without additional staff, Wood said he expects the office will operate more smoothly next year. He said the time crunch  the bill was signed into law just three weeks before retailers were allowed to begin selling  complicated matters this year.

Now the fire marshals office has a bit less than four months to prepare for the next legal home fireworks display period  over the Christmas and New Years holidays  and nine months to get ready for the next Fourth of July holiday.

Retailers similarly expect smoother sailing next summer.

It was kind of last minute thrown together by the state, Mostek said. I think it should go better next year because well be able to get our permits earlier, well know what the state fire marshal is looking for. ... Itll be better because well be able to be more prepared.
CEDAR RAPIDS  A Waterloo man was charged in federal court Thursday for sending threatening tweets last week to U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst on two of her Twitter accounts.

Joseph Hilton Dierks, 33, was charged in U.S. District Court with transmitting a communication containing a threat in interstate commerce.

U.S. Chief Magistrate C.J. Williams granted the prosecutors request to hold Dierks in custody pending a detention hearing set for Monday.

The tweets from Dierks account to Ernsts Twitter accounts were posted Aug. 13 to 16, when the senator had public appearances in Iowa.

Most of the tweets, according to the criminal complaint, included slurs and curse words, some are nonsensical, and others are threatening: I want u to die, sorry, not sorry and U were almost a widow tell ur husband I said.

Dierks also posted clips from YouTube, including a movie about a man who has to kill his wife because shes a terrorist, with Dierks tweeting, I just want u to know Id put a bullet in your head if u were my wife not that Ill ever have one, the affidavit states.

FBI Special Agent Scott Irwin said in the affidavit that Waterloo police contacted Dierks Aug. 15 at his home, and he admitted to sending the messages. The officer told Dierks to stop sending threatening tweets to Ernst, R-Iowa, or he would face criminal charges.

Dierks told him the tweets werent legitimate threats. I just play funny. Ill definitely tone it down.

After police left, Irwin said, Dierks then posted more tweets about the police coming to his house and said his remarks were taken out of context.

He also called Ernst more slurs and threatened her again. Dierks continued to send tweets to Ernst on Aug. 16.

Irwin and another special agent interviewed Dierks outside his workplace in downtown Waterloo on Aug. 18.

Dierks claimed he had been sending tweets to Ernst since she was elected because he wanted her help in getting a waiver so he could enlist in the military. He told the agents he needed the waiver because of his criminal history and age.

Dierks said he wanted to get Ernsts attention but didnt think his messages were threatening, Irwin said in the affidavit. Dierks also said more than once that he understood Ernst could perceive his tweets as threats, Irwin said.

Dierks said he first started sending sweet tweets to Ernst, but she never liked those tweets.

Dierks has a current protection order against him in state court for harassment of two adults and a child, and he pleaded guilty to sending threatening text messages to relatives in May 2016, according to court records.

Dierks criminal history includes charges for drunken driving, possession of marijuana and carrying weapons, according to Iowa Courts Online.

In another case involving Ernst, an Omaha man, Robert Simet, 64, was charged in July in U.S. District Court in Iowas Southern District with threatening Ernst because he believed she was part of ISIS, and he told others he might kill her at an event that was to be held in Pacific Junction in southwest Iowa.

U.S. Magistrate Helen C. Adams released Simet on July 18 pending trial under special conditions, which are sealed. His trial date has not been set.

An affidavit said Simet was identified as the suspect by employees and others at Loess Hills Harley-Davidson in Pacific Junction. Ernst was scheduled to speak at the shop and lead a motorcycle ride to Hamburg.
The field appears to have settled on seven Democrats seeking to become the partys nominee for Iowa governor in 2018.

And those seven Democratic candidates are honing their message to voters nine months out from the party's primary.

Each appeared in Des Moines this week at a meeting of one of the states largest union groups, the Independent Federation of Labor. The candidates were asked topical questions, but also had the opportunity to give opening and closing comments. It was during those 3-minute windows that candidates were free to make their pitch to a group of voters who are likely to be motivated and mobilized in 2018.

Obviously issues central to organized labor were prominent in the discussion. It should surprise no one that the new collective bargaining law --- passed by the Republican-led Iowa Legislature and signed by then-Gov. Terry Branstad --- was addressed (and opposed, of course) by all seven Democratic candidates.

But the candidates also used their time to make their cases more generally.

John Norris and Andy McGuire, for example, talked about the need for Democrats to recoup voters lost in rural portions of the state. Thats an issue Democrats are talking about across the Midwest, and its a critical issue for Iowa Democrats if they are to win a statewide race for governor in 2018.

McGuire said while traveling across the state as chairwoman of the Iowa Democratic Party, she observed that many people feel left behind. And Norris touted his farm roots.

I am from rural Iowa, said Norris, who was raised on his family farm in Montgomery County. I understand rural Iowa. I am passionate about it.

Fred Hubbell pitched himself, as he has throughout his campaign, as the candidate with rich experience in both the public and private sectors. Hubbell was chairman of Younkers and president of Equitable of Iowa, and also served on state boards overseeing economic development and renewable energy.

Like many other candidates, he criticized the incentive package --- a combination of state and local incentives --- awarded to Apple for the new data center it plans to build in suburban Des Moines. Hubbell said he could have negotiated a better deal for the state.

I have training and experience to do that, he said.

Cathy Glasson has carved out her niche in the field as the bold, progressive candidate. She uses the phrase often on the stump and did so again this week when speaking to the labor group.

Nate Boulton was on quasi-home turf in addressing the labor group. Boulton, who has been endorsed by 23 labor organizations across the state, received a standing ovation when he was introduced. So naturally the bulk of Boultons comments were on labor-related issues.

If all seven Democrats remain in the field, each candidates message will be critical to help himself or herself separate from the crowd. Already voters can get a sense of the lanes the candidates are picking to travel the primary trail.

Reynolds, Boulton win straw poll

Kim Reynolds and Nate Boulton were the most popular choices among those who cast votes --- and kernels --- at the Iowa State Fair.

Reynolds, the successor incumbent Republican governor, and Boulton, a Democratic state senator, garnered the most votes in a pair of straw polls conducted throughout the State Fair: by the Iowa Secretary of State office and by Des Moines TV station WHO-TV.

In the Secretary of States poll, which was also available online, Reynolds got 77 percent of the votes cast for Republican candidates. Cedar Rapids mayor Ron Corbett was a distant second at 12 percent.

Boulton got 38 percent of the votes in the Democratic field. Fred Hubbell was second with 17 percent.

At WHO-TVs Cast Your Kernel booth, voters placed a corn kernel into jars labeled with the candidate they support. The field was not separated by party.

Reynolds received the most kernels, snaring 51 percent of the overall vote. Boulton was second, and tops among Democrats, with 22 percent.

No other candidate reached 10 percent.

This all means, of course, absolutely nothing. But its a fun Iowa State Fair tradition.

Although, for what its worth, the winners of the 2015 Cast Your Kernel polls were Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.
I have to say, President Trump is radical in his statements at times and that I agree he could be better by following teleprompters for his public speaking events.

However, I do agree with him in that the media does attempt to sensationalize stories for the sake of raising public blood pressure and anxiety levels. This type of excitement does not help anyone.

You may not be old enough to have lived through the Vietnam War, but I was. I saw how we were sent over there and our American people were behind our troops in the beginning. Then I saw the deterioration of our country's support of our troops, division and hate toward each other, police authority, and our troops; sensationalization created by the media.

I remember when our returning troops were spit on and abused when they got off a plane to set foot on their beloved American soil. It was the wrong then and it is wrong now.

Words are powerful and members of the media should never lose their right to freedom of speech. However, they owe it to all of us to choose their words carefully and responsibly.

Our history is just that, history, a point of reference to see how far we can actually improve.

Let's embrace ourselves and the people around us. Look for the good and find ways to help. Let's respond (not just react). Learn from our past, live in the present, and choose to build a better future for our tomorrow.

Patricia C. Dexter

Moline
Bettendorf residents are very fortunate to have two exceptionally well-qualified individuals running for Bettendorf School Board on Sept. 12, Pepper Trahan and Maxine McEnany. Their passion for students and the Bettendorf Community School District is quite strong.

Parents with elementary-aged children approached these two individuals in early 2016 with the concerns of the outrageous class sizes in K-5 as several kindergarten classes had as many as 26 students and the other grades had as many as 28. The states goal is 17 students per class and allocates $31 million dollars per year across Iowa districts for this purpose. Bettendorf was in the bottom 3 percent of all schools in Iowa with such large elementary class sizes. Our Pleasant Valley, North Scott and Davenport neighbors boast 19 to 21 students in their kindergarten classes.

Pepper was instrumental in listening to many concerned parents, but was also successful in advocating for our children with her colleagues on the board, some of whom sadly were very resistant to this proposed policy change. Maxine worked diligently to determine if the districts finances could support this request and clearly illustrated to the board that indeed, there was money available to support this effort. Today our class size maximum matches that of our neighbors at 22.

As a parent of elementary-aged children, I thank Pepper and Maxine for their dedication to doing what is best for all children. Please join me in supporting Pepper and Maxine on Sept. 12 for Bettendorf School Board.

Traci Huskey

Davenport
CUSTER  Cowboy poet Badger Clark will be celebrated in song and stories at special free events on Sept. 2 in Custer State Park. It begins at 10 a.m. at the The Badger Hole with music and stories by all the presenters.

At 3:30 p.m. at the Peter Norbeck Outdoor Education Center, there will e a viewing of "Mountain Thunder: The Ballad of Badger Clark" with commentary by playwright kenn Pierson.

At 7 p.m. at the Tatanka Barn Theater, music and stories will be heard from all the presenters.

The event is free.

This year marks three milestones in Clarks life, said Michael Lewis, president of the South Dakota Historical Society Foundation, 2017 is the 100th anniversary of the publication of his volume of poetry, Grass Grown Trails. Its the 80th anniversary of Clarks being appointed South Dakotas first poet laureate and the 60th anniversary of the cowboy poets death.

The South Dakota Historical Society Foundation, the nonprofit fundraising partner of the South Dakota State Historical Society at the Cultural Heritage Center in Pierre, oversees the reprinting and distribution of Clarks work as well as other materials about Clark.

Clark was born on Jan. 1, 1883, in Albia, Iowa, but moved with his family to a homestead south of Plankinton when he was three months old. Clark turned four years of being a cowboy in Arizona into a career as one of Americas most successful cowboy poets. His first volume of poetry, Sun and Saddle Leather, was published in 1915.

Grass Grown Trails was Clarks second volume of poetry and was later included in the reprinting of Sun and Saddle Leather. Gov. Leslie Jensen named Clark the first poet laureate of South Dakota in 1937, a title he held until his death 20 years later.

Performers and presenters on Sept. 2 are Pegie Douglas and the Badger Sett Band, Rex Rideout, Greg Scott and Kenn Pierson.

The Badger Sett Band formed in 2012 to present the life and music of Clark. Douglas, the leader, has set Clarks poems to music and discusses Clarks life.

Rideout is a historical musician and entertainer. He has been studying the song and verse of the Old West for more than 30 years. He was the cowboy fiddler in the movie Cowboys and Aliens.

Scott is the editor of Cowboy Poetry: Classic Poems & Prose by Badger Clark. Scott is a fourth-generation Arizonian and a retired history teacher. He spent decades studying Clarks life in Arizona Territory and beyond. As a scholar for the Arizona Humanities Council, his most popular program was about Clark. He presented programs about Clark in Arizona, other states and at the annual cowboy poetry and music gathering in Elko, Nev.
The FFA corduroy jacket is more than part of Official Dress. To its owner, the FFA jacket is a physical reminder of the personal accomplishments achieved through the organization - a symbol of commitment and dedication for all who wear the corduroy. The jacket unifies members in a long-standing tradition and reminds them that they are part of something larger than themselves. Lets give every member the chance to be part of the tradition. The SD FFA Foundation Blue Jackets Bright Futures FFA Jacket Program is helping carry forward that long-standing tradition of pride, dignity and honor, by providing jackets for members to earn through a short essay application.

"As an FFA member, putting on that blue corduroy jacket with your name on for the first time is something you never forget," says Sandy Osterday, SD FFA Foundation president. "Whether it's putting on your jacket for the first time, seeing a mob of 50,000 blue jackets wandering the streets at National FFA Convention, or proudly hanging your jacket in the closet after an event, each FFA jacket holds a lifetime of memories and accomplishments. We want every SD FFA member to have that experience, if your FFA jacket still holds fond memories for you, we invite you to sponsor a jacket." The SD FFA Foundation is seeking sponsors, with a goal of 300 jackets, to award October 1st. Jackets can be designated for a specific chapter, or for any student in need. The 2017-18 school year welcomes six new SD FFA chapters also, creating a need for jackets for more members than ever!

When students join the FFA, they typically purchase or borrow jackets to compete in the many Career Development Events offered through FFA. The jacket is their team "uniform" to be worn at all official FFA events. The blue corduroy FFA jacket has been the status symbol of the national FFA organization since 1933, when delegates to the national convention voted to make the jacket part of the organization's official attire, thus creating the long standing tradition.

Individuals and businesses interested in sponsoring an FFA jacket for a SD FFA member can do so online at: http://sdffafoundation.org/, or contact Gerri Ann Eide, SD FFA Foundation Executive Director at 605-765-4865 or gerri@sdffafoundation.org. Sponsorships are $65 per jacket.

The SD FFA Foundation is proud to support Agricultural Education and the FFA's mission to make a difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education. For more information about the South Dakota FFA Foundation and South Dakota's FFA programs, visit www.sdffafoundation.org or like us on facebook.
For now, proposed funding cuts to The Journey Museum and Allied Arts Fund are off the table, the Rapid City Council decided Thursday night. But the same cannot be said for the Retired Senior Volunteer Program, Human Services Community Investments Fund and two other city programs.

At a special council meeting on the proposed 2018 budget, members voted against Mayor Steve Allenders budget proposal calling for a $30,000 cut to The Journey Museum and $27,000 cut to the Allied Arts Fund. The citys undesignated cash reserve will be used to fund those programs.

However, other proposed cuts remain, such as the elimination of the citys $40,000 funding for and sponsorship of the Retired Senior Volunteer Program and a $52,000 reduction in funding to the Human Services Community Investments Fund.

Retired Senior Volunteer Program

At the start of the meeting, Alderman Ritchie Nordstrom made a motion to reinstate the $40,000 in funding to Retired Senior Volunteer Program, which offers adults 55 and older the chance the volunteer for a variety of area nonprofits.

Nordstrom said he believed the citys Government Efficiency Committee, which reviewed the program earlier this year, didnt approach it with an unbiased perspective.

I feel like they already made up their mind before the evaluation even started, Nordstrom said, noting his belief that the decrease in volunteerism was due to the generation that uses the program passing away.

In 2016, 682 volunteers completed 155,658 hours of community service in Rapid City, Pennington County and Fall River County, Angie Weeks, director of the Retired Senior Volunteer Program, told the Journal in an interview.

A bit later at Thursday's meeting, a second motion was made by Alderman John Roberts to reduce funding to the Performing Arts Center by $36,100 and funding to the Cornerstone Rescue Mission by $3,900 and to transfer those funds to the Retired Senior Volunteer Program. Both motions ultimately failed and as it currently stands, funding and the citys sponsorship of the program will be eliminated.

By relinquishing sponsorship of the program, the federal grant monies the program receives each year would return to the Corporation for National and Community Service, the federal agency that administers the funding. That agency would then decide whether or not to reopen those funds for competition from other organizations in South Dakota. In essence, by eliminating the citys sponsorship of the grant, the Retired Senior Volunteer Program could cease to exist.

In the past, the possibility of the program being picked up by another area nonprofit like the 211 community service organization have been floated but as was made clear at Thursdays meeting, that is no longer a viable option.

Thats not something our president really wants to do because they found it is somewhat restrictive working with it in Sioux Falls, said Lynn Taylor Rick, the Rapid City volunteer connections coordinator at the Helpline Center, which sponsors the Retired Senior Volunteer Program in Sioux Falls.

Allied Arts Fund

The proposed $27,000 cut to the Allied Arts Fund  which administers more than $200,000 annually to Black Hills arts groups like the Black Hills Chamber Music Society, Black Hills Dance Theatre, Rapid City Concert Association and Dakota Artists Guild  was rejected. The vote, 6-3, with Alderman Steve Laurenti and Alderwomen Amanda Scott and Becky Drury voting nay, would see the funding restored using the citys undesignated cash reserves.

Were an economic engine for Rapid City, said fund President Joe Doyle, adding that the fund helps support arts and tourism, driving sales tax and tourism dollars into the citys coffers.

Multiple council members including Alderman Chad Lewis, who made the motion to restore funding to Retired Senior Volunteer Program, Allied Arts and The Journey Museum, explained that the quality of life was more important than having perfect streets.

Laurenti and Scott repeatedly lambasted the use of the citys undesignated cash reserves to fund the programs. As the budget currently stands, $1.3 million from that fund would be used to balance the budget.

Along with Lewis, Alderwomen Darla Drew and Lisa Modrick also made clear that the cuts seemed relatively insignificant when compared with the citys overall $164 million budget.

Journey Museum

The proposed $30,000 cut to The Journey Museum was rescinded by a 6-3 vote, with Laurenti, Scott and Drury voting nay. The funding will come from the citys undesignated cash reserves.

This museum houses our collections as a city, Alderwoman Darla Drew said. Its our responsibility to keep those collections for future generations, and I think $30,000 is a small price to pay.

The museums executive director, Troy Kilpatrick, noted that attendance continues to rise, with a 9 percent increase in 2016 compared with 2015 and a 10 percent increase thus far in 2017.

Last year, The Journey Museum received $331,500 in funding from the city, covering about half of the museums expenses. The museum collected enough revenue to earn about $12,000 in profit. This year, Kilpatrick said the museum is close to doubling that amount.

Allender, who has in the past proposed moving the museum from its current location at 222 New York St., called the museum a great idea with a terrible location.

Human Services Community Investments Fund

Described by Allender as a fund that gives a large number of small awards to area organizations, Allender said the Community Investments Fund wasnt as effective as if it were to give large awards to a smaller number of organizations. The $52,000 funding cut was approved, 8-1, with Modrick voting against the cut.

Live Streaming and Crossing Guard Program

The elimination of the live streaming of city meetings ($18,000) and the citys crossing guard program ($17,000) were both approved. An agreement between the city and school board was reached that transferred the responsibility of the crossing guard program to the schools, meaning the program will still remain.

Jim Gilbert, head of the citys IT department, said the city will continue to look into streaming the meetings but that currently, the streaming service would be discontinued. Video of the meetings would still be available on the citys webpage.

The first reading of the overall appropriations ordinance was approved after the cuts were discussed, 6-3, with Laurenti and Alderwomen Scott and Drury voting against the ordinance. The second reading of the ordinance will occur at the councils regularly scheduled meeting at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 5 in the council chambers within city hall.

Changes to funding can still be made at that time. The budget must be formally approved and submitted to the state by the end of September.
A Rapid City man accused of killing his girlfriend in 2015 is preparing to mount a defense claiming she died of an illness.

Brian Duncan, 61, is charged with second-degree murder in the death of 60-year-old Helen Wright. Her body was found in November 2015 at the Western Thrifty Inn on East North Street, in a room that investigators say she shared with Duncan.

Duncan had left Rapid City by the time Wrights body was discovered. He was charged with her murder in May 2016 and was arrested in Texas the following month.

Duncan believes Wright died from pneumonia, and this is what hell assert at trial, said defense attorney Jeff Fransen. Duncan is scheduled for a two-week trial at the Pennington County Courthouse starting Sept. 5.

Our defense is: She died of natural causes, Fransen told Circuit Judge Matt Brown at a hearing Thursday. The defense will call experts to testify to this, Fransen said, which would support the statements Duncan gave police investigators to explain how his partner died.

Fransens statements came after a prosecutors objection to the trial testimony of an expert who would explain why Duncan left Rapid City after Wrights death. Assistant Attorney General Scott Roetzel said the clinical psychologists diagnosis that Duncan suffered from unspecified personality disorder, characterized by paranoia would open the door to a mental health defense.

Wrights death certificate states she died of suffocation, or asphyxiation by strangulation, as a result of someone assaulting her, according to court records.

Police said Wright had been dead for at least 48 hours when her body was found Nov. 4. Duncan told investigators he saw Wright dead on the motel bed on Oct. 31, and a few hours later left town.

According to the News-Times newspaper, Duncan and Wright met in Danbury, Conn., around 2009 when Duncan helped Wright with a rent dispute involving the local housing authority. He had reportedly introduced himself as a civil rights investigator and activist.

Judge Brown said he will rule on the pending pretrial matters by today. Brown acknowledged that his ruling would likely lead to additional requests from the prosecution or defense, which will need time to resolve and could push back the trial.

Second-degree murder is defined in Duncans charging document as not a premeditated killing but shows a depraved mind without regard for human life. The crime carries a penalty of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Wright's death is among Rapid City's nine murder cases from 2015, a record-breaking year for homicides in the city.

Duncan is detained at the Pennington County Jail in lieu of a $750,000 bond.

Aug. 29, 2017, update: The spelling of defense attorney Jeff Fransen's last name was corrected.
DEADWOOD | Despite flatlined gaming numbers and a decrease in hotel occupancy in July, Deadwood gaming operators remained optimistic Thursday that a bolstered regional economy will help pull them out of the revenue cellar.

In a role reversal from recent monthly trends, gaming revenues in July increased a modest half-percent from the same month a year ago, while overall hotel occupancy declined slightly more than 2 percent for the month.

According to data released late Wednesday by the South Dakota Commission on Gaming, bettors wagered more than $99 million on slots in July, up nearly 1.8 percent from the same month of 2016. Meanwhile, gamers bet $6.4 million on table games in July, a decline of nearly 15 percent for the month. Overall, gaming revenues were up 0.57 percent in July, the commission reported.

Year to date, Deadwood gaming revenues from slots are down 3.3 percent, while table games are off by more than 6 percent, commission data revealed. Overall, gaming revenues have declined nearly 3.5 percent this year.

Deadwood hotel occupancy rates for July slid when compared with 2016 numbers. According to monthly data released Tuesday by Deadwood's City Finance Office, hotels in Deadwood had an occupancy rate of 74.5 percent for July 2017, a 2.1 percent decline from July 2016. July hotel occupancy shows Deadwood hotels sold 1,003 fewer room nights this July than last year.

Despite the downturn in lodging business and the slight uptick in gaming revenues, an industry spokesman said that gaming operators remained optimistic about the future.

Given the reversal from recent reports showing gaming slightly up and hotel occupancy slightly down, the industry is hopeful that this is the beginning of an improvement in the regional economy and will continue to have a positive impact on Deadwood gaming numbers, said Mike Rodman, executive director of the Deadwood Gaming Association.

Rodman said the towns new multimillion-dollar welcome center was meeting its mission by allowing visitors to explore attraction options they may not have previously considered.

Since July was the first full month of operation of the new Deadwood Welcome Center, the local business community believes it might be increasing visitors' lengths of stay in Deadwood, he said.
A research director for a leading national think tank will speak about Facts, Public Trust, and the Future of the Internet at a luncheon next week in Rapid City.

The luncheon, hosted by the Black Hills Knowledge Network as part of its Knowledge at Noon Speaker Series, will begin at noon Tuesday in the Surbeck Ballroom at South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, with Lee Rainie speaking and taking questions from about 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.

Rainie is the director of internet and technology research at the Washington, D.C.-based Pew Research Center. He is also a former managing editor of U.S. News & World Report and has authored and co-authored numerous books on the internet.

Eric Abrahamson, the board chairman for the Black Hills Knowledge Network, said Rainies talk will include insights into ongoing national debates about so-called fake news.

Over the last year, the issue of fake news on the internet has undermined the publics trust in a variety of information sources, Abrahamson said. Lee Rainie and Pew Research have been talking to experts across the nation about how we can restore that trust. On Tuesday, hell be sharing insights from their newly released report on this issue.

Tickets are available for purchase at bhknowsinternet.eventbrite.com. Questions about the event should be directed to Rochelle Rogers by email at rochelle@blackhillsknowledgenetwork.org or by phone at 716-0058.

The Black Hills Knowledge Network describes itself as an online community information service that connects people to local information and ideas within the Black Hills region. The network works with librarians and community organizations to aggregate and organize local news, resources, data and historical archives from a variety of sources.

Abrahamson said Rainies research will help inform the networks efforts.

The Black Hills Knowledge Network was created to respond to the tremendous changes taking place in the way we all access news and information in our community, Abrahamson said. Pews efforts to understand these changes have informed the work of news organizations, public libraries and engaged citizens across the nation. Having Lee Rainie in Rapid City gives us all an opportunity to learn and think about where were headed.
Teenagers guilty of cruelty to animals sentenced up to 4 years in prison

MOSCOW, August 25 (RAPSI)  The Industrialny District Court of Khabarovsk has sentenced a group of young criminals to prison terms varying from 3 to 4 years for cruel murders of animals, incitement of hatred, and other crimes, press-service of the Russian Investigative Committee states on Friday.

Two young girls and one young man were found guilty of cruelty to animals, robbery, violation of religious feelings, and incitement of hatred. One of the girls was sentenced to 4 years and 3 months, another one to more than 3 years, and the young man was sentenced to three years in jail.

The court found that in summer of 2016 two girls were cruelly maiming and murdering animals and published images of their actions online. Investigators alleged that they abused about 15 animals and birds. More crimes were revealed later.

In 2015 and 2016, one of the girls published images and texts violating religious feelings of people of faith on her VKontakte page. From March to October 2016, she and her accomplice published video containing scenes of abasement of human dignity. According to investigators, in July 2016, the girls committed an assault related to robbery against a Khabarovsk resident.
Member of Gagiyev Gang sentenced to 18 years in prison

MOSCOW, August 25 (RAPSI, Yelizaveta Ponomareva)  The Moscow City Court has sentenced Alexander Staykhevich, a member of a crime syndicate allegedly led by Aslan Gagiyev, to 18 years in prison as he was found guilty of murders, gangsterism, and other crimes, the press service of the Russian Investigative Committee informs on Friday.

The court said that in 2004 Staykhevich joined a criminal organization established by Georgian-born Aslan Gagiyev, which operated in Moscow, Moscow Region, and North Ossetia. Staykhevich took part in 14 murders and kidnapping.

Russian investigators claim that Georgian-born Aslan Gagiyevs gang has been operating since early 2000s and includes over 50 members.

Members of the gang have reportedly committed more than 60 murders in Moscow and North Ossetia, including murders of officials, law enforcement officers and businessmen.

Twenty two members of the gang have already received long prison terms; two of them have been sentenced to life.

Some alleged members are still in detention; 9 are on the Russian and international wanted lists.

Gagiyev, who was arrested in Austria in January 2015 but released on bail, faces life sentence in Russia.
Montana U.S. Rep. Greg Gianforte was photographed and fingerprinted Friday, days after a judge ordered him to be booked after pleading guilty to assaulting a reporter on the eve of the special election that put him in office.

Gallatin County Attorney Marty Lambert declined Friday to release the mug shot that Democrats would likely use against him during the 2018 election cycle. Lambert's practice is not to release mug shots without a judge's order. The Bozeman Daily Chronicle reports it filed an application in District Court Friday asking a judge to release it.

Gianforte, 56, pleaded guilty in June to assaulting Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs on May 24. Jacobs said Gianforte "body slammed" him and broke his glasses when he asked a question about a bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act that had passed the U.S. House. Audio taken by Jacobs recorded the sounds of a scuffle followed by Gianforte yelling, "Get the hell out of here!"

The former software executive was ordered to pay a $385 fine, complete 40 hours of community service and 20 hours of anger management counseling. Part of his settlement with Jacobs included a $50,000 donation to the Committee to Protect Journalists. He was given a 180-day suspended sentence, but was ordered to report to jail to be booked.

Gianforte's attorneys argued against him having to be booked because he was not formally arrested in the case.

Justice of the Peace Rick West last week ordered the Bozeman Republican to be booked by Sept. 15 or be held in contempt of court.

"Greg has fulfilled the terms. The matter is resolved," Travis Hall, Gianforte's communications director, said Friday. "He remains 100 percent focused on serving the people of Montana."

Jail records indicate Gianforte's booking process took 23 minutes, beginning at 6:37 a.m. A jail spokeswoman confirmed he was booked and released.

Lee Hanson with ROC Wheels confirmed that Gianforte had completed his 40 hours of community service with the program that builds custom wheelchairs for children.

Courtney Radsch, the advocacy director for the Committee to Protect Journalists, said the $50,000 donation was made soon after Gianforte was sentenced.

He also paid $4,600 for Jacobs' medical bills and travel costs to attend the June hearing. Gianforte also apologized to Jacobs in court, adding: "And if and when you're ready, I look forward to sitting down with you in D.C."

A spokeswoman for the Guardian says they're still working on that.

"Ben Jacobs first reached out to Congressman Gianforte for an on-the-record interview on June 22 and has been in ongoing communication with his office since then. So far, the Congressman has yet to commit to this interview," a spokeswoman said. "However, in light of his promise to sit down for an interview with Ben in the courtroom before being sentenced on June 12, we fully expect the Congressman to be a man of his word."

Hall, Gianforte's spokesman, said: "We've offered times for Ben to sit down with Greg in September."
Amazon-Target

Amazon has committed to opening a massive fulfillment center in the tiny Cuyahoga County village of North Randall, where more than 2,000 people could find jobs.

(Reed Saxon/Associated Press)

NORTH RANDALL, Ohio - Amazon will bring more than 2,000 jobs to the tiny Cuyahoga County village of North Randall, where a massive fulfillment center is slated to rise from the demolition dust of Randall Park Mall.

The e-commerce giant finalized a lease deal Thursday on a planned 855,000-square-foot building, which could open during the second half of next year on a 69-acre site at Warrensville Center and Emery roads. News of the potential deal broke in July, after the project cropped up on a public meeting agenda. But North Randall was vying against other, unidentified sites.

Reached late Thursday night, Mayor David Smith was exultant.

"I'm lost for words, because we are so fortunate to get this project," said Smith, who watched the decline and eventual death of what was once called the world's largest shopping center imperil the community he's led for 14 years and called home for nearly twice as long.

The mall closed in 2009. Demolition started in late 2014.

Now Seefried Industrial Properties, Inc., of Atlanta plans to build a $177 million facility on the site for Amazon, according to documents circulated last month at a Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority board meeting. Workers in the building, with assistance from robots, will pack and ship smaller items including electronics, toys and books. Amazon uses robots at 20 percent of its fulfillment centers, including one on the Columbus area, a spokeswoman said.

A rendering displayed at a July Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority board meeting shows what the proposed Amazon fulfillment center in North Randall might look like.

The jobs will be full-time positions. Amazon isn't saying how much employees will be paid, but they'll be eligible for benefits including health care and retirement plans.

The company will start advertising jobs six to 10 weeks before the facility opens.

"We pay a competitive, market wage and, on top of that, offer benefits starting on the first day," spokeswoman Lauren Lynch said.

Amazon also will cover 95 percent of the costs of tuition and books for employees of at least a year who pursue studies in high-demand fields, even if the workers then leave Amazon for other jobs. That opportunity is huge, said Deb Janik, senior vice president for real estate and development at the Greater Cleveland Partnership, the regional chamber of commerce.

"This is about not just providing work and a wage," she said. "It's providing accessibility to resources for continued individual betterment, which leads to family betterment, which leads to community betterment."

Joe Roman, the chamber's president and chief executive officer, described the Amazon deal as a "game-changer" for the village and the broader region. "We know the work is just beginning, and we look forward to a long, successful partnership with Amazon," he said in a written statement.

JobsOhio, a private, statewide economic-development corporation, also had a hand in the deal, as did Team NEO, a local economic-development group that is JobsOhio's regional partner.

"We are pleased to partner with Amazon to revitalize and bring jobs back to a property that has stood vacant for too long," John Minor, JobsOhio's president and chief investment officer, said in a written statement. He noted cooperation among many parties, including the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority, which will issue taxable lease revenue bonds as part of the project financing.

The state hasn't announced any financial assistance for the North Randall project - yet. A JobsOhio spokesman said the organization will recommend incentives for the North Randall facility. Details of that funding will become public after approvals.

Amazon secured job-creation tax credits for fulfillment center projects outside of Columbus, where the company now employs 4,500 people. JobsOhio and the state also have worked with the online retailer on data centers, a sorting center in Twinsburg and other initiatives.

"In the bigger picture, what it means is that Ohio keeps moving forward in the digital economy," said Ted Griffith, managing director for information technology and distribution at JobsOhio. "We're taking on the next generation of e-commerce and where e-commerce and e-retail is going. ... From the local viewpoint and lifting families, we're deeply excited for North Randall and the area."

A site plan shows the location and orientation of a planned Amazon fulfillment center in North Randall, on 69 acres of the former Randall Park Mall site.

Amazon picks its fulfillment-center sites based on myriad factors, including proximity to customers and labor. Being close to population hubs is even more important as the company promises increasingly swift delivery - within two days, one day, or mere hours - and extends its reach into other businesses, including groceries and prepared foods.

"Our ability to expand in Ohio is the result of two things: incredible customers and an outstanding workforce in the state," Sanjay Shah, Amazon's vice president of North American customer fulfillment, said in a written statement. "We very much appreciate the state and local elected leaders who have supported Amazon's arrival in North Randall and look forward to bringing more jobs and investment in the coming months."

The company has tied up smaller spaces at other properties in Northeast Ohio. And The Plain Dealer reported in May that Seefried has a deal to buy a second dead mall, Euclid Square Mall in Euclid, for another large project. Seefried won't identify its tenant, and Amazon won't comment on the proposal. But plans submitted to the city show a 650,000-square-foot building that could be expanded to 1 million square feet.

Last month, a Seefried executive said the North Randall and Euclid developments are on parallel tracks. So they both could happen. Just this week, Euclid City Council approved rezoning of 70 or so acres of the former mall site from retail to industrial use, to support the project.

North Randall also rezoned its dead mall for industrial repurposing after Chris Semarjian and Stuart Lichter, a prolific investor-developer pair, managed to acquire much of the property. Semarjian and Lichter are selling the future Amazon site to Seefried after securing the final, key parcels, including a former Burlington Coat Factory and a onetime J.C. Penney building that Ohio Technical College had been using for its PowerSport Institute programs.

Smith said Lichter and Semarjian also will buy a vacant, dilapidated hotel on Northfield Road, at the edge of the mall site, from the village and demolish the building within the next six months. Amazon wanted assurances that the blighted hotel would come down, said Smith, who hopes that restaurants and other businesses will flock to the edges of the site to serve a worker base that will be almost twice as large as the village's population.

The North Randall Village Council and the Warrensville Heights Board of Education have approved 15 years of 75 percent property-tax abatement for the Amazon facility. School board records show the village will pass along 33 percent of its income-tax collections from workers at the fulfillment center to the district.

Smith never publicly identified Amazon as the tenant during discussions about the project, which was code-named as Project Goliath. Now, after decades of holding out hope for a turnaround - and months of holding their tongues - he and other public officials have plenty to say.

"We have been persistent in our effort to prepare the old Randall Park Mall site for economic development," Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish said in a written statement. "For nearly two years, we worked with Mayor Smith, the land bank and the prosecutor's office to put a vacant property back into productive use. Bringing Amazon to this site is a huge win for Cuyahoga County."
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Dhaka Tribune - August 14, 2017

by Afsan Chowdhury

In Bangladesh, 1947 is a distant memory, erased by the bloody 1971 liberation war against Pakistan

It was May 16, 1971, when soldiers from the Pakistan army rounded up all the Hindu men in Jogisu village in the Rajshahi district, about 300km from Dhaka, the capital of what was then East Pakistan and is now Bangladesh. There were 42 in total. They were all shot dead and the Muslim villagers were ordered to dig a hole in which their bodies would be dumped. Nine widows in white saris recounted the scene for a show I was filming on the atrocities committed during the Bangladesh war of independence, fought between Pakistan, then known as West Pakistan, and East Pakistan and India.

aThe soldiers then urinated on the grave,a one of the widows, 60-year-old Sri Shundar, recalled.

Jogisu was one of the thousands of villages that faced such a fate.

But were the events of that year the product solely of the war of independence or could they be traced back to 1947 and the partition of British India?

In Bangladesh, 1947 is a distant memory, erased by the much fresher bloody ones of 1971. The partition was experienced by India and Pakistan, but for Bangladesh, it is both partition and unification a of Punjab in the West and Bengal in the East to make Pakistan a that haunts its national consciousness. It is Pakistanas birth that pains us.

Marginalised Bengalis

My father grew up in Kolkata but in 1948 found work in Dhaka, then the capital of East Pakistan.

He was contemporaries with Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who led the Bangladeshi nationalist movement and went on to become the first president of independent Bangladesh, and Abu Sayeed Chowdhury, the countryas second president. They all stayed at the Baker hostel for Muslim graduate students in Kolkata in the early 1940s and all came from the rising Muslim middle class, which resented, but also respected, the Hindu elite against whom they had become competitors for jobs.

During the holidays, they would return to their East Bengal villages, where the peasants waited for the day when the British colonial rulers would go away and with them the zamindars (landlords). The peasant and the aspirant middle class shared a common dream: an end to British and Kolkata-Hindu domination in jobs and trade. This was not an issue of Hindu or Muslim identity but of economics.

After the Lahore resolution in 1940, which called for the creation of atwo statesa in the two majority clusters of Muslims (Punjab and Bengal) the future seemed better for my father. But the political future would not be controlled by Bengali Muslims. It was in the hands of the elite, Urdu-speaking North Indian politicians of the Muslim League and led by Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan.

There were no Bengalis, who were already being marginalised within Indiaas Muslim politics, in Jinnahas circle of political friends.
sacw.net - 25 August 2017

President Trumpas address to the nation on August 21, 2017, in which he underscored his governmentas stance vis-a-vis South Asia, gave me a sense of dAjA vu.

The line of demarcation between neoconservatives and neoliberals in the United States is thinner than some people realize. In terms of interventionist politics and foreign policy; support for the ramifications of globalization, some of which are the corporatization of agriculture and structural adjustment programs in the developing world; and being harbingers of peace through preemptive strikes, the two have much in common.

Going back to my sense of dAjA vu, subsequent to the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1989/ 1990, India lost its powerful ally. Indiaas relations with the US reeked of distrust and paranoia at the time. This worsened when senior officials in the first Clinton administration questioned the legality of the status of Kashmir as a part of the Indian Union. The nonproliferation agenda of the US in South Asia actively undermined Indiaas proliferation strategy in the early and mid-1990s.Washingtonas agenda was propelled by the fear that South Asia had burgeoning potential for a nuclear war in the future (see aPrepared Statement by John H. Kelly, assistant secretary for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs before Subcommittee on Asian and Pacific Affairs, House Foreign Affairs Committeea ). Pakistanas policy of abetting insurgents in Kashmir and Afghanistan led to its political insularity and seemingly legitimized Indiaas proactive approach. The US adopted the policy of persuading both India and Pakistan to actively participate in the nonproliferation regime by agreeing to comply with the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) and to an interim cap on fissile-material production (aInterview with Strobe Talbott,a The Hindu, 14 January 2000).

Washingtonas political volte face became apparent when it explicitly demanded that Islamabad withdraw from occupied Indian positions and maintain the legitimacy of the Line of Control (LOC) in Kashmir. It was implicit in this demand that it saw Pakistan as the egregious aggressor. In his construction of Pakistan and Afghanistan, President Trump has reduced the two countries to safe havens for terrorists. Although President Trump would have us believe that his government has no intention of telling Afghans how to run their country, military aid, in any way, shape, or form, always comes with strings attached.

Washingtonas incrimination of Pakistanias stance mitigated New Delhias fear that internationalization of the Kashmir dispute would spell unambiguous victory for Pakistan. Indiaas strategy of coercive diplomacy increased the international pressure on Pakistan to withdraw its forces from Indian territory.

India took recourse to limited conventional war under nuclear conditions, prior to President Clintonas March 2000 visit to New Delhi. At this point in time, proliferation was relegated to the background in IndoaUS relations.

The Kashmir issue further receded to the background during the Bush administration. The neo-conservatives in that administration zeroed in on India as a country in the AsiaaPacific region that would offset Chinaas burgeoning economy, which I see as an attempt to reconstruct the cold-war paradigm (aUSaSouth Asia Relations under Busha 2001). President Trumpas avowed support for further building ties with India in order to enhance its economic and military dominance in the Indo-Pacific region gives the Modi government and its ultra right-wing Hindutva agenda a pat on the back.

US strategic ties with New Delhi were further consolidated in the wake of 11 September 2001, when the links between militant/ insurgent groups and Pakistanas military and militia forces were underscored. As one of the consequences of the decision of the Bush administration to eliminate Al-Qaeda and its supporters in Afghanistan, Pakistanas General Pervez Musharaff found himself with no option but to sever ties with the Taliban. Following this drastically changed policy decision to withdraw political and military support from the Al-Qaeda and the Taliban, Islamabad found itself unable to draw a clear line of distinction between aterroristsa in Afghanistan and afreedom fightersa in Kashmir. Islamabadas quandary proved New Delhias trump card.

New Delhias strategy was validated by US military operations in Afghanistan, and the deployment of US forces in and around Pakistan to restrain Pakistani aggression. India was assured by the US that it would stall any attempt by Pakistan to extend the Kashmir dispute beyond local borders, which might disrupt its operations against the Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Also, deployment of the US military in Pakistani air bases strengthened New Delhias confidence that Islamabad would hesitate to initiate nuclear weapons use. The result of Indiaas policy of coercive diplomacy was that the Musharraf regime was pressured by the US to take strict military action against the mercenary and militant groups bolstering the insurgency in Kashmir (PBS interview with US Undersecretary of State, Richard Armitage, 30 August 2002).

Regardless of the possibility of nuclear restraint in South Asia, a resolution of the Kashmir dispute and insistence on accountability for human rights violations through transitional justice mechanisms would put a monkey wrench in the drive in both countries to beef up their nuclear arsenals. It would also dampen the belligerence of an interventionist American foreign policy, hence my sense of dAjA vu.
The Economist, August 17, 2017

Seventy years after the two countries split, many Hindus and Muslims are still trying to separate

EVERY year in mid-August India and Pakistan celebrate their independence in much the same way. School kids sing anthems; politicians make speeches; soldiers rattle sabres. The two countries share a quieter, more introspective ritual too: memories are hauled out and dusted off and then, after a great deal of tut-tutting and head-shaking over the folly and sorrow of Partition, they are put away again, and the forgetting resumes.

Time has made both countries skilled at this. Not at forgetting their own injuries, to be sure, or at forgetting the bad things the other side has done. Seventy years after India and Pakistan won freedom from British rule, their mutual forgetfulness has more to do with ignoring, or perhaps simply not noticing, how much unfinished business remains from Partition, and how few of its lessons have really sunk in. The hardest one is the insidious nature of the very idea of dividing people along religious lines.

Such forgetting is not merely a matter of, for instance, preferring not to think very much about the troubled region of Kashmir. This is where, in the attempt to separate the two new countries neatly in 1947, the zipper, so to speak, got stuck. It remains jammed: India and Pakistan both claim parts occupied by the other, and each proclaims that the regionas people, themselves a cocktail of faiths and ethnicities, are a natural part of their own nation. But just as the retreating British colonialistsa hasty drawing of borders between the future India and Pakistan relied on guesswork more than on the inhabitantsa wishes, neither side has taken much interest in finding out what Kashmiris want.

There are other untidy borders. Until recently one of the messiest was between India and Bangladesh. So rushed was the carving out of what was then known as East Pakistan in 1947 that many enclaves, counter-enclaves and even one counter-counter-enclave got trapped on the awronga side of the frontier like bubbles in amber. India and Bangladesh finally fixed the anomaly in 2015 with an elaborate exchange of land and people.

Pakistan and India have gone some way, too, to tidying internal anomalies left by the British Raj. In the place of small aprincelya tributary states, India has created larger, language-based administrative units. More division would be a good idea: the size of Uttar Pradesh, a state with 220m people that is a legacy of the Raj-era United Provinces, makes it hard to govern and too influential in national politics. Belatedly, Pakistan is taking steps to bring the running of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), a chronically violent, backward region, into line with the rest of the country. Britain had regarded these lands as too bothersome to rule, and yet useful as a buffer, an formula unhelpful to FATAas people that Pakistan blindly preserved.

But many of Partitionas unfinished challenges have little to do with physical borders. Take the saga of the Hyderabad Fund. Back in 1948 the Nizam of Hyderabad, then Indiaas biggest and richest princely state, sent envoys to London with a purse of A1m to give to Pakistan, which had been shipping him arms. By the time they deposited the money, an Indian invasion had forced him to switch sides. He revoked the order, but the bank balked at returning the money. The cash, said to amount to A35m ($45m) now, has languished in London, with only lawyers profiting from the interminable haggling between India, Pakistan and the nizamas heirs.

Another dispute requiring Solomonic justice has run almost as long. Back in 1949, a Hindu idol amiraculouslya appeared inside a mosque in the Indian city of Ayodhya, substantiating, in popular imagination at least, claims that the 16th-century mosque stood on the site of the birthplace of Ram, an incarnation of Vishnu, a Hindu god, and the hero of ancient epics. Local Hindus felt empowered to claim the site, and Indiaas government responded by closing the mosque to Muslim prayers.

The lawsuit filed by Muslims in 1950, asserting title to the mosque, is due to be ruled on by Indiaas Supreme Court later this yeararather late considering that 25 years ago a Hindu mob destroyed the building. However the ruling falls, there is little likelihood of Muslims praying at the site again. Hindu nationalists have successfully incorporated Ayodhya into their narrative of suffering and redemption, and the site has become a magnet for pilgrims. Among its souvenir stalls, those doing the briskest trade are the ones playing videos on a loop of Hindu fundamentalists demolishing the mosque.

The subtext is widely understood: whatever Indiaas pretensions to being a secular state, effective power lies with its Hindu majority. In recent years, as the strength of the ruling Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has grown, so too has the notion that non-Hindus are not really pukka Indians.

Muslims, in particular, are often subtly put in their place. For Independence Day, the BJP government of Uttar Pradesh ordered Muslim religious schoolsaand no other schoolsato provide videos to prove that their students had sung the national anthem. Earlier this month Narendra Modi, Indiaas prime minister, made a gibe at the countryas outgoing vice-president, Hamid Ansari, who happens to be a Muslim. A solemn former diplomat, Mr Ansari had said in a parting interview that Indiaas minorities feel growing unease. Mr Modi commented that perhaps Mr Ansari now felt liberated to return to his roots among acertain circlesa where he felt more comfortable. Indian Muslims took this as an insinuation that they could never represent India wholeheartedly.

There is little such subtlety in Pakistan. Granted, earlier this month it appointed a Hindu as a junior minister in a 46-member cabinet. But he is the first member of Pakistanas 3.3m-strong Hindu minority to be elevated to such rank in 25 years. Almost from the day it was born Pakistan has been forgetting that its founding father, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, envisaged a secular state, not a religious one. Somehow, Partition remains an unfinished process of separationaeven if it is largely now in peopleas heads rather than on the ground.
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" " A South Korean soldier watches TV footage of North Korea's July 2017 test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said the country's second ICBM test demonstrated its ability to strike the United States. JUNG YEON-JE/AFP/Getty Images

In August 2017, North Korea and Kim Jong Un brought the world to the brink of nuclear war when Kim threatened to attack the U.S. territory of Guam. At the time, former President Donald Trump answered the North Korean leader by saying he'd respond with "fire and fury like the world has never seen" if Kim continued to intimidate the United States and its allies.

Rhetoric between the two leaders lasted for days while citizens of Guam and other nations worried if Kim actually had the capability to launch a nuclear attack on its neighbors, let alone had a nuclear warhead small enough to fit on to a missile that could reach the United States.

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But four years later, the United States has a new president  Joe Biden  and analysis completed in July 2017 by the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency shows that North Korea has produced a miniaturized nuclear warhead that could fit inside its missiles. But do those missiles have the capability of reaching the United States? And is the rogue state on the verge of testing more missiles after being silent since Kim himself declared its nuclear mission a success in April 2018?

It's quite possible. "North Korea traditionally has done some kind of strongly provocative action early in both U.S. and South Korean new administrations," Bruce Klingner, senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, told CNN.

" " A man in South Korea watches a broadcast of the October 2020 military parade in Pyongyang commemorating the 75th anniversary of North Korea's ruling Workers Party. During the parade, North Korea unveiled a much larger, never-before-seen ICBM (seen here). JUNG YEON-JE/AFP via Getty Images

Bigger Solid-fuel ICBMs

What's more, North Korea also appears to have a much larger ICBM than ever before. "In October 2020, North Korea unveiled a new ICBM considerably larger and presumably more capable than the systems they tested in 2017, further increasing the threat posed to our homeland," Air Force General Glen VanHerck said in a statement before the Armed Services Committee March 16, 2021. "The North Korean regime has also indicated that it is no longer bound by the unilateral nuclear and ICBM testing moratorium announced in 2018, suggesting that Kim Jong Un may begin flight testing an improved ICBM design in the near future." The move, he said, would increase tensions between Pyongyang and Washington. The ICBM VanHerck is referring to is a solid-fuel ICBM North Korea displayed at a military parade in October 2020.

Since 2006, North Korea has tested nuclear explosive devices in 2006, 2009, 2013, twice in 2016 and once in 2017. According to the Nuclear Threat Initiative, the DPRK is also capable of enriching uranium and producing weapons-grade plutonium, and believed to possess biological and chemical weapons.

The regime also successfully tested three intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), two Hwasong-14s, and one Hwasong-15 that could potentially reach the United States. The first Hwasong-14 test was July 4, 2017, which North Korea's state media said flew 580 miles (933 kilometers), reached an altitude of 1,741 miles (2,801 kilometers) and was airborne for nearly 40 minutes.

The second Hwasong-14 was launched from Mupyong-ni on July 28, 2017, and traveled about 621 miles (1,000 kilometers) into the Sea of Japan, according to the U.S. Department of Defense. Then-U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson released a statement condemning both ICBM launches and calling for the international community to stand strong against North Korea by maintaining and strengthening U.N. sanctions. "The United States strongly condemns North Korea's launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile, the second this month, in blatant violation of multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions that reflect the will of the international community," Secretary Tillerson said.

The Hwasong-15 ICBM was launched Nov. 29, 2017 from Sain Ni, North Korea. In a statement, the U.S. Department of Defense said it "detected and tracked the missiles that traveled about 1,000 kilometers [621 miles] before splashing down in the Sea of Japan. The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) determined the missile launch from North Korea did not pose a threat to North America, our territories or our allies."

Reports show that the Hwasong-15 reached a maximum altitude of 2,796 miles (4,500 kilometers) and that it flew for about 54 minutes. According to David Wright, physicist and co-director of the Union of Concerned Scientists Global Security Program, this missile would have a range of more than 8,100 miles (13,000 kilometers), a significantly longer range that previous missiles. It would also have more than enough range to reach Washington, D.C., and any part of the continental United States.

Earlier in September 2017, North Korea also conducted a test of what it claimed was a thermonuclear weapon. The test released 140 kilotons of TNT equivalent, according to The Diplomat, making it larger than all previous tests combined, though other analysts estimated it may have been as large as 250 kilotons.

North Korea has also continued to test its short-range rockets, including the submarine-launched ballistic missile SLBM-Polaris 1, which it launched in 2014 and 2015, as well as a failed test of the KN-11 SLBM in 2015. On March 24, 2016, it conducted tests of a solid-fueled rocket motor, and on April 23, 2016 a successful test of what experts believe was a genuine solid-fueled SLBM that flew about 18 miles (30 kilometers). But a few months later in August, North Korea launched a second solid-fueled SLBM, which traveled 310 miles (500 kilometers) landing in Japan's air defense identification zone.

So North Korea's clearly advancing its nuclear arsenal. What now? And what countries are most at risk?
Black Metal Veins unflinchingly documents the dark realities of despair and morbid self annihilation surrounding the lives of five heroin junkies. The addicts' intertwining stories of pain, loss, sadness, and abandonment lead the viewer down the agonizing and hideous path of horrifying psychological and spiritual destruction as the grim disease of heroin addiction infects and decays the bodies and minds of five young people.
What kind of man is Menashe? A valid question, considering his own initial apparent fluidity on the rigidity of his own cultural rules and restrictions.

In a deeply sensitive portrayal by the talented Menashe Lustig in his debut role, the film tells the story of a down-on-his-luck widower whos bucking the rules of his devoutly Hasidic Jewish culture in his efforts to retain custody of his adolescent son. The arbitrators of his insular modern-day community, nestled in the beating heart of New York City, have deemed him an incapable father, an unmotivated nonstarter, and a directionless slob.

Never mind that he only wants to raise his son What if they're right??

Also, there are rules. Including a big rule, stating that a child must be raised by both a mother and a father. When the official matchmaker attempts rectify this problem by pairing Menashe with a nice single lady, he endures the date by being difficult. And that, as they say, is that.

In any other case, Menashe would be a rebellion picture, a film about an individual waking up to the fact that he's allowing himself to be cloistered by the system, and then moving to act against said system. A wonderful thing about this film is that it subtly subverts that expectation, instead unfolding as a tale of an individual (albeit a very frustrated individual) working to reconcile his place within the system. These are the heart lessons; difficult, humbling, and for the most part, internal.

If the film does bear any kind of rebellious aspect, it would be its spoken language: Menashe boasts to be the first fully Yiddish language film since the 1940s. This courageous choice is just another way in which the film strives to authentically present its world.

For this critic, completely unfamiliar with most Hasidic Jewish customs, rules and decorum, the fact that it is so deeply rooted in those very things presented no barrier at all. On the contrary, Menashe is an easy way into understanding a culture many of us might notve known about or considered, despite it being situated in the bustling hub of the United States grandest city.

The film's young director, Joshua Z. Weinstein, makes a wonderful career stride with Menashe, which he also cowrote, produced, and shot. Menashe is short and scrappy, but don't be fooled by its haphazard visual style (an element that is wholly in keeping with the nature of its main character), there isnt a portion of its refreshingly lean eighty-two minute running time that is sloppy, unwieldy, or beyond Weinsteins control. This despite the fact that, as its reported, he doesnt even speak Yiddish, and had to rely on an interpreter for the duration of production.

What kind of man is Menashe? He's at once every one of us, and his own unique person. His struggles are palpable but pure. His journey and resolution is something we can all benefit from experiencing along side of him.

This movie, depicting him in what is not his finest hour, isn't heavy or weighty per se, but it is its a felt and affecting work, one that is worthy of the sometimes religious experience of cinema.
Suffocating in its intimacy, Theodore Collatos' Tormenting the Hen revolves around two women who have reached a turning point in their relationship, whether they realize it or not.

Claire (Dameka Hayes) is an African-American playwright who travels to the Berkshires in Massachusetts to complete rehearsals for her latest stage drama, which is about to debut. She is accompanied by her fiancee Monica (Carolina Monnerat), a Brazilian environmental engineer who is evidently anticipating a bit of a vacation. Claire and Monica have been living together in New York City for some years and, from outward appearances, they are a happy, loving couple.

The morning after they arrive, they have a minor disagreement that reflects their strong, independent-minded personalities. Claire then heads out to work on her play, while Monica is left to relax at the guest house where they are staying. Claire's play features two actors, Joel (Brian Harlan Brooks) and Adam (Dave Malinsky) in vociferous disagreement. They are a prickly pair, and it quickly feels like Claire is trying to harness a building storm of anger. Or is that the play itself?

Monica's relaxing day is interrupted when a neighbor returns home from a camping trip and revs up his riding lawn mower. He's revealed to be Mutty (Matthew Shaw), and over time we learn that his parents own the property; they are away in Florida and rented the guest house (or made it available) to Claire and Monica, without telling them about Mutty.

Then again, Mutty's exact circumstances are unclear. His behavior is unusual; he's a big fellow, and physically imposing because of it. His personality is gentle and meek, yet insistent. He appears to be self-sufficient, able to feed and care for himself, yet he also makes statements that are, at the least, rude and insensitive.

In other words, he's not an easy person to get to know, especially since he has appeared out of nowhere. Initially, Monica is unnerved by him -- it's supposed to be a vacation for her, and she didn't expect this sort of company -- and then gradually the friction between them builds.

Claire, too, is dealing with increasing friction generated by her actors. The rehearsals become increasingly disagreeable as the actors rebel against the text and their director, even though, off the stage, the trio get along fine, comfortable and relaxed when the pressure to perform is off.

At home, the relationship between Claire and Monica reaps the consequences. Monica is more unhappy than Claire. She's spending days in the country, her only company a disagreeable stranger. That leads to more contention, more drunkenness, more regrets. Monica begins to dream very strange dreams, involving a hen -- the guest house was formerly a hen house -- and ... stuff.

Theodore Collatos, who wrote, directed, photographed and edited (the latter with George Manatos), favors extremely tight closeups during key scenes, which makes them uncomfortable and downright suffocating in their intimacy. There's no escaping the drama, which approximates the emotional intensity the characters are no doubt experiencing.

Certain details are left vague, which is at times frustrating as far as understanding the characters fully, yet it also approximates the way that people who know each talk in private conversation. Tormenting the Hen is not a plot-driven film; it follows two people in in a long-term relationship and wonders whether love can truly conquer all, raising more questions than it answers in a thoughtful, artful, mesmerizing manner.

The film will screen at the Sidewalk Film Festival in Birmingham, Alabama, on Saturday, August 26.

Full disclosure: Ben Umstead served as a producer on the film. He is this site's U.S. Editor, but was not involved in the assigning, writing or editing of this review.


Seguin, TX (78155)

Today

Sunshine to start, then a few afternoon clouds. High 62F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies this evening will become overcast overnight. Low 46F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph.
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 "Procedures for Proportionate Sentences: The Next Wave of Eighth Amendment Noncapital Litigation" | Main | Supreme Court of Wyoming continues to interpret Graham and Miller broadly 

August 25, 2017

Florida completes (historic?) execution 30 years after double murder

As reported in this local article, headlined "In a first, Florida executes a white defendant for killing a black victim," a demographically notable execution was carried out late yesterday. Here are the details:

For the first time in 18 months, Florida carried out a death sentence, killing Mark James Asay as final punishment for two 1987 murders in Jacksonville and making Asay the first white man ever executed in the state for killing a black victim. Asay was pronounced dead at 6:22 p.m. Thursday. He was 53. The execution began at Florida State Prison after the U.S. Supreme Court, without comment, denied Asays final appeal. At 6:10 p.m., a curtain lifted between the death chamber and a room for witnesses. The lighting flickered, and the air-conditioning was turned off, making for an eerie quiet. Mr. Asay, do you have a final statement? a guard asked. No, sir, he replied. I do not.... Asays chest moved up and down, and then it stopped. The guard shook Asays shoulders, then stood back. Eight minutes later, a doctor emerged. The state executed Asay because a jury found him guilty of killing Robert Lee Booker and Robert McDowell minutes apart in Jacksonvilles Springfield neighborhood. The jury recommended he be put to death by a vote of 9 to 3. The U.S. Supreme Court later ruled that death sentencing system unconstitutional, and though the Florida Supreme Court now requires unanimous jury decisions, the new standard applies only to cases going back to 2002. Asays attorneys said the best argument for stopping the execution would have been to say that 2002 is an arbitrary date, and because the death sentence vote wasnt unanimous, he should be resentenced. Asay refused to let them make that argument, attorney Marty McClain said, instead asking them to argue he wasnt guilty of murdering Booker, the black man. When Asay was arrested, his arms bore white supremacist tattoos, and witnesses said he referred to one of the victims by the N-word. Frank Booker, Robert Bookers brother, said Thursday afternoon that weve been waiting for this since 1987, and thats a long time. I feel a lot of pressure and anxiety will be off me, and Ill be able to continue in life, I think, a lot more peaceful because this was something that touched a lot of us really, really deep. I know he feels sorry now, but he shouldve thought about that in 87 when he did what he did. He did it. All the evidence pointed that way. Asays brother and another friend who were with him the night of the killings testified that the three were drinking and looking for sex. While his brother was talking to Booker, Asay used racial slurs. He then shot Booker in the stomach and fled. The men then hired McDowell, who was dressed as a woman and using the name Renee Torres, to perform oral sex, according to their testimony. Asay then shot and killed McDowell. One of the witnesses said Asay killed McDowell because he felt ripped off. A jailhouse informant later said Asay referred to McDowell using a derogatory word for gay men. Asay admitted this week to News4Jax that he killed McDowell, who was white. The race of Asays victims matters because a racist motive can help prove a murder is cruel, calculated and premeditated, and worthy of execution. The execution of Asay included the use of two drugs never before used in Florida: potassium acetate, which was used by accident in an Oklahoma execution in 2015, and etomidate, which had never been used anywhere for an execution. States that still carry out the death penalty have struggled to acquire the necessary drugs for lethal injection and have started changing their cocktails. Asays lawyers argued that the new injection mixture would violate his constitutional right to be free of cruel and unusual punishment. On Thursday afternoon, a corrections official handed out packets about how the new injection process would work, but she wouldnt answer questions about how the state chose the drugs. Since Asays trial in 1988, Duval County has led the state in handing down death sentences, with Assistant State Attorney Bernie de la Rionda getting more death sentences than almost any prosecutor in the country. Asays execution was the first of de la Riondas death sentences to be carried out.

As hinted in the title of this post, I am not sure I want to use the label "historic" to describe the fact that a southern state has carried out the execution of a white murderer who had a black victim. At the same time, I do think it worth noting that this murderer was actually sentenced to death for his crime way back in the 1980s, and thus this execution might be deemed historic simply because it took three decades for Florida to be able to carry out his sentence. Also historic, in some sense, is an execution based on a a non-unanimous jury death recommendation, which will not be possible any longer.

August 25, 2017 at 09:47 AM | Permalink

Comments

All racial unfairness of the death penalty was against black murder victims. This execution should not count as a remedy because he had a white victim as well. That is why there should be mandatory sentencing guidelines enforced by a computer algorithm. Human judges cannot be trusted to avoid personal feelings and biases.

Posted by: David Behar | Aug 25, 2017 10:06:27 AM

"do think it worth noting that this murderer was actually sentenced to death for his crime way back in the 1980s, and thus this execution might be deemed historic simply because it took three decades for Florida to be able to carry out his sentence."

Since 1976, 93 people were executed.

Posted by: Joe | Aug 25, 2017 10:15:41 AM

Various ways to die 

I have not confirmed the data below 

https://www.documentingreality.com/forum/f10/how-does-feel-die-drowning-heart-attack-bleeding-death-fire-etc-75339/



Posted by: Docile/Kind Soul in OR | Aug 25, 2017 10:55:23 AM

What the abolitionists want is a perfect death, rather than a reasonable death. The perfect death is to die in one's sleep, without pain, fear, or knowledge of doom.

The other ways of dying feel horrible. Over 90% of us will experience that death, and only 10% will experience the perfect death.

Why is the lawyer privileging the most horrible people on earth, vicious, heartless murderers, with demands for the perfect death? To generate appellate court jobs and to steal $billion in tax payer money for worthless make work.

Posted by: David Behar | Aug 25, 2017 11:53:31 AM

The article neglects that Rocuronium bromide was also used - so this was a variation on the theme of sedative, paralytic, potassium. I'm curious why he guard shook him - I suspect to demonstrate that the etomidate had indeed rendered him unconscious. Also curious about K acetate - is it bc K chloride cannot be obtained, or because it is proposed that it burns less?

Posted by: Scott A | Aug 25, 2017 12:07:41 PM

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/florida/fl-reg-florida-execution-asay-20170824-story.html

Posted by: Scott A | Aug 25, 2017 12:07:59 PM

The closest one may come to a perfect death is to drop the complicated, unreliable, and controversial cocktails. Only a lawyer could have come up with them, and among lawyers, only appellate court judges.

Get a veterinarian. Vet can order carfentanyl, now available for large animal anesthesia, 10,000 times as potent as morphine, 2000 times as potent as heroin, 100 times as potent as fentanyl. Vet can inject it IV, being an expert at euthanasia. Pass away reliably and high.

One may also order enough to do in 10 people for 300 euros, on line, with a 5 star rating. This is from the light not from the dark web.

http://allwedoissupply.com/product/buy-carfentanyl-online/

Posted by: David Behar | Aug 25, 2017 12:42:29 PM

It's the potassium that stops the heart. Potassium acetate probably has every bit the same ionization in the bloodstream as potassium chloride (i.e., complete). In other words, the two substances are the same. KNO3 would probably do the trick every bit as well.

This was a bad guy.

Posted by: federalist | Aug 25, 2017 12:49:10 PM

Hey, Florida lawyer morons. See this guy. He can help you with highly effective execution poison.

Smuggled heroin in his artificial leg. How come this handicapped victim of society can figure it out and you cannot. Morons.

https://www.clickorlando.com/strange-florida/man-used-fake-leg-to-try-to-smuggle-heroin-into-jail-deputies-say

Posted by: David Behar | Aug 25, 2017 9:09:54 PM

Those who would abolish capital punishment are not urging British to embark upon a new and hazardous experiment, or traverse uncharted seas, but merely to follow the lead of the many other countries where the death penalty as already dispensed with.

Calvert Roy. Capital Punishment in the Twentieth Century. Putnam. London. 1927 p 45



Posted by: Claudio Giusti | Aug 26, 2017 5:12:54 PM

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 Supreme Court of Wyoming continues to interpret Graham and Miller broadly | Main | As he had hinted, Prez Trump decides to make his first use of the clemency power a pardon for Joe Arpaio 

August 25, 2017

"Jeff Sessions Should Be Screaming Bloody Murder About a Potential Joe Arpaio Pardon"

The title of this post is the headline of this interesting Reason commentary authored by Mike Riggs. Here are excerpts:

President Donald Trump did not pardon former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio at his Arizona rally on Tuesday, but CNN reports that the paperwork and accompanying talking points are ready. Should he pardon Arpaio at some point in the near future, it would be both completely legal and an affront to everything his attorney general supposedly holds dear. "One of the talking points is that Arpaio served his country for 50 years in the military, the Drug Enforcement Administration and as Arizona's Maricopa County sheriff," CNN's Kaitlan Collins reports, "and that it is not appropriate to send him to prison for 'enforcing the law' and 'working to keep people safe.'" Arpaio is not facing six months behind bars for "enforcing the law" or "working to keep people safe," any more than drug dealers are sentenced to prison for "making people happy." Arpaio disregarded a judge's order and was convicted of felony contempt of court. He did the crime, by his own logic and that of the U.S. Attorney General, and he should now do some time. But if Trump decides to spare the 85-year-old Arpaio six months of incarceration  we won't know until October if he'll actually serve any time behind bars  he has that power. Yes, it would signal a break with historical precedent, but that's really the only constraint on executive clemency.... If anyone in Trump's orbit should be discouraging him from pardonning Arpaio, it's Sessions. When Pres. Bill Clinton pardoned financier Marc Rich in the final hours of his presidency, Rich had not even stood trial. He fled the U.S. in 1983 after being indicted for trading with Iran during the hostage crisis, and spent the rest of his life living comfortably abroad. During his absence, Rich's family in the U.S. funneled more than a million dollars to the Democratic National Committee, the senatorial campaign of Hillary Clinton, and the Clinton Presidential Library. When Clinton eventually pardoned him at the behest of Israel's government, the prosecutors who worked to indict Rich were understandably furious, as were many members of Congress. "From what I've seen, based on the law of bribery in the United States, if a person takes a thing of value for himself or for another person that influences their decision in a matter of their official capacity, then that could be a criminal offense,'' Sen. Jeff Sessions told the New York Times in 2001. One might think Sessions would feel similarly about the current president rewarding a campaign surrogate with a Get Out of Jail Free card. Sessions also objected to the clemency initiative, which Obama launched in 2014 and continued through the end of his second term. This was the most systematic attempt to heal the wounds of a stupid war since President Jimmy Carter pardoned men who evaded the draft for Vietnam. Sessions, however, declared Obama's efforts to shorten insanely long drug sentences a betrayal of the American justice system. "To unilaterally determine that a sentence was unjustified simply because the president disagrees with the underlying criminal justice policy is a thumb in the eye of the law enforcement officers, prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, court and prison personnel who put time and resources into these cases," Sessions said in 2014. Just a month ago, Sessions said he was committed to holding law-breaking cops accountable. "Just as I'm committed to defending law enforcement who lawfully have to use deadly force to defend themselves while engaged in their work," he told the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, "I will also use the power of the office I'm entrusted with to hold any officer responsible who violates the law." If Arpaio is an exception to Sessions' position on executive clemency and holding criminal cops accountable, I can't wait to hear his explanation.

A few prior related posts:

August 25, 2017 at 11:07 AM | Permalink

Comments

Silly nitpicking by what I thought was a libertarian magazine, but is a Democratic Party talking points, unhinged, propaganda outlet.

The entire conviction was a political witch hunt. It violated several rules of procedures and of ethics. The conviction is itself retaliatory. It is not a crime to enforce federal law, and to cooperate with federal police authorities. It is a crime to use one's public office for tawdry, partisan, political attacks. It is the Hispanic prosecutor and the feminist judge who should be investigated, arrested, tried and sent to prison. To deter.

Posted by: David Behar | Aug 25, 2017 11:47:08 AM

Surpassing silliness. Arpaio ain't in the same ballpark as Marc Rich.

Posted by: federalist | Aug 25, 2017 12:52:24 PM

"an affront to everything his attorney general supposedly holds dear"

Oh please. Yes, this isn't Marc Rich, or any number of major cases.

This is a petty case of Trump teasing (a usual technique of his) some possibility, here using his pardon power, to appeal to his base. If this violates everything Sessions holds dear, unsure why he was an early Trump supporter.

"Sessions said he was committed to holding law-breaking cops accountable."

Well, who wouldn't be? The Attorney General isn't going to say he ISN'T for that. He isn't like Trump telling police officers to not be too careful when putting people in squad cars and vans. He has some finesse.

I'm sure this violates Sessions overall principles and wouldn't be surprised if he isn't a big fan of Trump floating the idea. If nothing else, since it is such a petty thing to do (at the end of the day, what really is the guy likely to serve? he's in his 80s). But, "bloody murder"? Grow up.

Posted by: Joe | Aug 25, 2017 1:55:29 PM

Joe. The only people breaking the law ware that biased Hispanic prosecutor, using his position to attack his political enemies, and that feminist judge who failed to recuse herself.

Posted by: David Behar | Aug 25, 2017 2:53:26 PM

To be clear, surely, a pardon here would be a lousy idea, particularly regarding the message it would send on more than one matter, but it doesn't violate some grave principle of Jeff Sessions & to the degree it's horrible, it's on principle not on the breadth of the crime committed ala various cases.

Posted by: Joe | Aug 25, 2017 3:09:18 PM

Has lightning struck? I mostly agree with Joe, and to the extent I don't, I am just going to hold my tongue.

Posted by: federalist | Aug 25, 2017 3:48:09 PM

Seems like it happened at least once before. Might be like a clock.



Posted by: Joe | Aug 25, 2017 4:12:26 PM

I'm disgusted by the pardon but yes the commentary is overblown.

Posted by: Joe | Aug 25, 2017 8:09:46 PM

Joe. Do you know why you are disgusted by the pardon?

I know the answer.

Posted by: David Behar | Aug 25, 2017 9:12:43 PM

There are so many incompetent Judges. Look at the Ninth Circuit Court and my county and how many more that are completely unqualified to judge others, they are glorified attorney's.

Posted by: LC in Texas | Aug 26, 2017 7:49:08 PM

A spokesman said House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) opposed the pardon. He was the highest-ranking Republican lawmaker to do so.

The speaker does not agree with the decision, Ryan spokesman Doug Andres said in a statement. Law-enforcement officials have a special responsibility to respect the rights of everyone in the United States. We should not allow anyone to believe that responsibility is diminished by this pardon.

Posted by: Emily from Iowa | Aug 27, 2017 1:36:42 PM

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 Florida completes (historic?) execution 30 years after double murder | Main | "Jeff Sessions Should Be Screaming Bloody Murder About a Potential Joe Arpaio Pardon" 

August 25, 2017

Supreme Court of Wyoming continues to interpret Graham and Miller broadly

A helpful colleague made sure I did not miss an interesting opinion handed down yesterday by the Supreme Court of Wyoming in Sam v. Wyoming, No. S-16-0168 (Wy. Aug. 24, 2017) (available here), involving the Supreme Court's juve sentencing jurisprudence. Here are concluding passages from the majority opinion ruling for the defendant in Sam:

Mr. Sam argues that his consecutive sentences of a minimum of 52 years, with release possible when he is 70 years old, is unconstitutional.... In Bear Cloud III, we analyzed the United States Supreme Court case law leading up to Miller and concluded that the prohibition of life without parole sentences required a meaningful opportunity to obtain release based on demonstrated maturity and rehabilitation. 2014 WY 113,  21, 334 P.3d at 139 (quoting Graham, 560 U.S. at 75, 130 S.Ct. at 2030). And we held that [t]he prospect of geriatric release . . . does not provide a meaningful opportunity to demonstrate the maturity and rehabilitation required to obtain release and reenter society as required by Graham . . . . Bear Cloud III, 2014 WY 113,  34, 334 P.3d at 142 (quoting State v. Null, 836 N.W.2d 41, 71 (Iowa 2013) (internal quotation marks omitted)). Since then, the United States Supreme Court has confirmed that the release for juveniles contemplated by the Roper, Graham, and Miller courts should allow them hope for some years of life outside prison walls . . . . Montgomery, 136 S. Ct. at 736-37. We held in Mr. Bear Clouds case that his sentence of a minimum of 45 years, with possible release when he is 61, was the functional equivalent of life without parole. Bear Cloud III, 2014 WY 113,  11, 33, 334 P.3d at 136, 142. In this case, the sentencing court has made the determination that Mr. Sam is not one of the juvenile offenders whose crime reflects irreparable corruption. An aggregated minimum sentence exceeding the 45/61 standard is the functional equivalent of life without parole and violates Bear Cloud III and Miller and its progeny. The sentence imposed on Mr. Sam of a minimum 52 years with possible release at age 70 clearly exceeds that. We therefore reverse and remand with instructions to the sentencing court to sentence Mr. Sam within the confines set forth in Bear Cloud III.

A dissenting justice in Sam took a distinct view, and here are conclusing passages from the dissenting opinion:

Mr. Sam did not act from impulse, immaturity, or at the invitation or inducement of others. He intentionally prepared for his crimes, baited the victims into an ambush, committed multiple aggravated assaults on numerous victims, and culminated the spree with an execution-style murder. Proportionality requires that those factors be considered in his sentence, as well as the remote possibility of rehabilitation. The U.S. Supreme Court has not defined a meaningful opportunity to obtain release. Nothing in any Supreme Court decision suggests that a meaningful opportunity to obtain release must be the same for every defendant. To the contrary, the proportionality required by the Eighth Amendment indicates that a more mature defendant who commits multiple crimes including murder should receive a lengthier sentence than someone who is less mature or commits only one crime. In this case, the district court did all it was required to do in sentencing Mr. Sam. It conducted a thorough individualized sentencing hearing and considered multiple times Mr. Sams youthful factors, family history, and participation in the crime as required by Miller and Bear Cloud III. It crafted a sentence it felt was appropriate based upon all of these factors, and it believed this sentence did not constitute a de facto life sentence. It concluded that Mr. Sam deserved a longer sentence than if he had only committed the murder, or the murder and one additional aggravated assault. The majority remands this case to the district court to impose an aggregate sentence of something less than the 45 years that was rejected in Bear Cloud III, concluding that Mr. Sams sentence denies him any meaningful opportunity for release before he is geriatric. I disagree. If Mr. Sam is motivated by the possibility of parole and comports himself well while in prison he will receive credit for good time under Wyo. Stat. Ann.  7-13-420 (LexisNexis 2017) and Department of Corrections rules. He will then be eligible for parole on the last of his sentences at about age 61. I do not agree that release at that age deprives Mr. Sam of all meaningful portions of life.

August 25, 2017 at 10:20 AM | Permalink

Comments

These sorts of "what did they mean" questions are somewhat easier in states that decide the federal floor is too low for the law of their own states. But, of course, a state court will sometimes not decide to do that on their own, finding state law does not require it.

Still, when possible, it always to me seems best for state courts when possible just to forthrightly say they have more discretion & it light of a federal rule that is broad enough to allow it, they are deciding "x." This would also be an "independent state ground" and the federal courts would stay out as much as possible.

Posted by: Joe | Aug 25, 2017 11:06:40 AM

These sorts of "what did they mean" questions are somewhat easier in states that decide the federal floor is too low for the law of their own states. But, of course, a state court will sometimes not decide to do that on their own, finding state law does not require it.

Still, when possible, it always to me seems best for state courts when possible just to forthrightly say they have more discretion & it light of a federal rule that is broad enough to allow it, they are deciding "x." This would also be an "independent state ground" and the federal courts would stay out as much as possible.

Posted by: Joe | Aug 25, 2017 11:06:41 AM

Graham and Miller may be ignored by the states. The latter may decide to execute adults down to age 14. That is the real age of adulthood according to nature (the age of reproduction is adulthood in all plants and animals), according to all religious rituals around the world, and in all cultures, and according to 10,000 years of history of human civilization.

Judicial review by any appellate court is unlawful, in violation of Article I Section 1, giving law making power to the Congress. Unlawful decision are void, not voidable. No part of Article III supports judicial review. At best, these Supreme Court decisions are the feelings of Ivy indoctrinated morons, and totally discretionary.

The federal marshal service is part of the executive branch. The President should declare his refusal to send any federal police to enforce any Supreme Court decision, in accordance with our constitution.

If one shows up in a state executive branch, such as an execution chamber, taser, pepper spray, beat his ass, expel from the state, roughly. To deter.

If you lawyers want to have judicial review, to generate your worthless, make work appellate jobs, enact and ratify an Amendment to our constitution.

Posted by: David Behar | Aug 25, 2017 10:03:10 PM

Love reading the recommendations of other people I am always looking for new blogs to read, I will take a look into this!

Posted by: Stuart Broad | Oct 12, 2017 10:56:17 AM

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While our search engine and email overlords down in Mountain View surely love the fact that their brand name Google has entered our everyday vernacular as a verb for to conduct an online search, they are less pleased when people use their trademarked name for their own business purposes. And by less pleased, I mean They will haul your ass to court. Thats exactly what they did to some joker named Chris Gillespie, who back in 2012 registered more than 750 Internet domain names with the word Google in them (among these were GoogleGayCruises.com and GoogleDonaldTrump.com). His cybersquatting dreams were shattered when Google won arbitration and he had to surrender the domains, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that decision this past May.

That joker named Chris Gillespie is not done yet. He and his business associate David Elliott have filed a petition for the case to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court, Consumerist reports. They argue that use of the term Google is now commonplace as a verb, and should no longer have trademark protections. There is legal precedent for brands whose trademarked terms become household names, a phenomenon known as genericide.

The English language is dynamic, the cybersquatter's attorneys argue in their petition to the Supreme Court. One increasingly common trend is the verbing of trademarks, i.e., the appropriation by the public of trademarks to express an action associated with the class of goods or services to which the product originally associated with the trademark belongs. We now refer to magazine cover photos as photoshopped; we windex our windows to remove streaks; we xerox exhibits; we rollerblade down the street on our inline skates; we wite-out the mistakes in a term paper; and we read a news article about the police tasering a resistant suspect. This appropriation by the public is not something to be prevented; rather, it is something to be encouraged.

The word Google is, in fact, an original term. The word describing the numerical entity of the digit 1 followed by one hundred zeroes is spelled googol, and the companys name is a play in this word. Both the Oxford English Dictionary and Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary added Google as an English language verb in 2006.

That move prompted Google to provide guidelines on using the term within its trademark, specifically that it had to be capitalized, and it had to refer to specific use of the Google search engine.  You can only Google on the Google search engine, wrote then-Google marketing writer Michael Krantz. If you absolutely must use one of our competitors, please feel free to search on Yahoo or any other search engine.

The Supreme Court will consider taking the case, and if so would consider the merits of the complaint. If they decline to take the case, the lower courts decision is upheld and their trademark remains as is. But if Google is worried about how some two-bit cybersquatters are using the term "Google," they do not want to see how Urban Dictionary is using their name.

Related: Google Thinks They Own The Word 'Glass' Now


Conservative speaker, alt-right commentator and relentless controversy-stirrer Milo Yiannopoulos plans to hold a "Free Speech Week" at the University of California, Berkeley next month because, you know, things went so well last time.

According to the DailyCal, rumors abound that former White House chief strategist and clean-living enthusiast Steve Bannon, and conservative commentator and Comedy Central Roast bullseye Ann Coulter will be joining Yiannopoulos in lauding freedom of speech from September 24 through 27.

"The campus's understanding is that invitations have gone out to Yiannopoulos and Coulter and they have been confirmed. We did not invite these people, so any information we have is secondhand," said campus spokesperson Dan Mogulof.

Conservative campus newspaper, the Berkeley Patriot, first invited Yiannopoulos back to the university. When asked about "Free Speech Week" and invited speakers, Berkeley Patriot editor Pranav Jandhyala said, "We have no comment on that at this time."

UC Berkeley Chancellor Carol Christ sent an email to students stating that the 2017-2018 academic year was the "year of free speech." According to CBS 5, (exhausted) school officials are still negotiating with the Berkeley College Republicans over their plan to bring former Breitbart News editor-at-large Ben Shapiro to campus  this after offering them a smaller venue for the event, and handing them a steep bill for security costs that they say they can not pay.

Yiannopoulos, as I'm sure we all remember, was scheduled to speak at UC Berkeley last February but his appearance was cancelled as the campus and the streets of Berkeley erupted in chaos and violence over his sure-to-be incendiary presence.

We later learned he planned to "out" undocumented students at the school from the stage.

Trump should give a rally speech every week. The American people are the only force that can overcome the Swamp.  Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) August 23, 2017

Previously: Milo Yiannopoulos Vows To Return To Berkeley For 'Free Speech Week'



All previously Milo Yiannopoulos coverage on SFist.
The mass migration from the Bay Area to the Black Rock Desert begins this weekend, and while it may not be true that SF loses any significant portion of its population to the playa, things tend to feel pretty quiet around town this last week in August, what with lots of people on vacation anyway.

For those headed up 80 and over the Sierra to get to Burning Man, experienced Burners like SFist's own Joe Kukura have some hot tips for places to stop along the way, both to fuel up food-wise, and to gather last-minute supplies on the cheap along the route. Here are our suggestions.

Taqueria Guadalajara - Davis

For cheap, delicious tacos and more, don't line up at the Taco Bell drive-thru near the freeway with everybody else. Head to Taqueria Guadalajara, which has two locations in Davis  the original is a little further from 80, and some Yelpers claim it's a bit better, but they have a second location right off Exit 75/Chiles Rd. that has some nice outdoor seating. The tacos are a buck-fifty each, but they also do solid burrito and enchilada work, and they serve something we don't get much around here: carnitas fries.  Jay Barmann

417 Mace Blvd, Davis; and 640 W Covell Blvd, Davis









Back 40 Texas BBQ - Roseville

If you want to fill your belly with meat before you get out to the desert, Back 40 is a good bet just outside Sacramento  and it has a handy general store attached where you can grab some last-minute items. Owned by a couple of Bay Area natives, this place consistently takes First Prize at that National Rib Cook-Off in Reno, for what its worth. And $22 a person gets you a full dinner with sides, salad, and dessert.  Jay Barmann

1201 Orlando Avenue, Roseville





An Ikeda's pie. Photo: Facebook

Ikeda's - Auburn

Founded in 1970 by Japanese-American couple Sam and Sally Ikeda, this produce market and burger stand is a charming family business that also boasts something you potentially use for barter at Burning Man: really good pies. The burgers are delicious if you have time to stop, and the market also boasts an array of house-made salsas, frozen chicken pot pies, marinated chickens for roasting, and breakfast treats like peach muffins  all for pretty reasonable prices.  Jay Barmann

13500 Lincoln Way, Auburn





Photo courtesy of Moody's

Moody's - Truckee

If you're doing the drive one shot and you want to have one last civilized adult dinner before hitting the playa, this is the place to do it. It's one of the better restaurants in the Tahoe vicinity, they make great cocktails, and if it's prime time on a weekend it may not be so easy to get a seat right away. The burger: very good.  Jay Barmann

10007 Bridge Street, Truckee





Image: The Peppermill Reno via Yelp

The Peppermill - Reno, NV

Reno has plenty of tacky resort casinos with high-calorie buffets, hot tubs, and inexplicably cheap holiday rooms. But the Peppermill has been named the place to Never visit the week after Burning Man! by elderly grouches complaining on TripAdvisor, indicating the degree to which Burners essentially take the place over. The Peppermill is known more as an on the way home destination more than on on the way there destination, because those showers and hot tubs can so magnificently wash all the desert detritus from your hair, fingernails, and rear end regions. But even at this early moment before the gates have opened, there are hundreds of Burners already lodging at the Peppermill smoking in non-designated areas, going through their drugs way too soon, and bringing tremendous discomfort to parents staying with their children.  Joe Kukura

2707 South Virginia Street, Reno, NV





Image: Google Street View

Loves Travel Stop - Fernley, NV

There is absolutely nothing special about this formula truck stop in Fernley, Nevada  except for rows and rows of free porta-potties that lure every single Burner traveling by car for the obligatory pee stop once they finally make the turn off of I-80. The turnoff from the interstate to the windy, low-speed-limit road of Nevada State Route 447 kind of unofficially marks your exit from the default world, giving this little convenience store an iconic place as a milestone on the trek to Burning Man. And pro tip: On the way home, Love's Travel Stop will take your grey water off your hands for ten bucks.  Joe Kukura

I-80, Exit 46 at Highway 95A, Fernley, NV





Image: Amy S. via Yelp

Empire General Store - Empire, NV

Yes, the traffic flow is a goddamned nightmare at this last-chance gas station in tiny Empire, Nevada. And yes, you will be accosted by crusty Symbiosis and Oregon Eclipse refugees desperately begging for a ticket or a place to hide in your trailer or luggage. But the almost there! euphoria will begin to fully set when you stop at the Empire General Store, and it never hurts to buy a couple more $20 LED blinkie accessories at the makeshift vendor tents, or to grab some Indian tacos or taxidermied animal bodies to support the locals.  Joe Kukura

Mile Marker 69 at State Route 447, Empire, NV



Related: Get Excited, Burners: New Video Recaps All The Playa Art From 2016


In the event description for Saturday's Patriot Prayer rally at Crissy Field in San Francisco, organizer Joey Gibson has been touting that he has a "transsexual" speaker in his lineup, and he's been touting the diversity of the lineup generally, which he says includes "3 black, 2 hispanic, 1 asian, 1 Samoan, 1 muslim, 2 woman [sic], and 1 white male." Setting aside the fact that Gibson doesn't know the preferred term is "transgender" and that the white male he's booked is alt-right figure Kyle "Based Stickman" Chapman, who can be heard in this video praising a Ukrainian town that allegedly "shot up" a Muslim neighborhood in their midst, and saying things like "multiculturalism doesn't work," Gibson has, disingenuously or not, been trying to put the word out that "We are here to spread a message of love," and "you will not find any hate speech" at his rally.

The "transsexual patriot" Amber Gwen Cummings who will be speaking Saturday is an interesting figure herself, and she's the organizer behind Sunday's "No to Marxism in America" rally happening in downtown Berkeley. A resident of the Bay Area  she won't say exactly where  Cummings was a party to the pro-Trump, right-wing rallies in March and April in Berkeley, both of which erupted into violence between Trump supporters, white nationalists like Nathan Damigo, and counter-protesters on the left, now commonly referred to by the alt-right's internet epithet for them, antifa.

The fact that she's an LGBT person who supported President Trump does not make her unique, but it may be informative as we head into this contentious weekend of rallies and counter-protests  and sadly inevitable physical confrontations  to understand some of the confused rhetoric fueling the fire behind these rallies, and the contradictory figures who are spearheading these events  the attendance at which remains totally up in the air. (The SF event shows 439 going on Facebook, and the Berkeley event shows 325 going, while the counter-protest happening in Civic Center tomorrow has 2,600 people saying they're coming.)

Berkeleyside did a piece yesterday about Cummings, who set up a table on a Berkeley sidewalk on Tuesday and took questions from reporters.

She called claims that Sunday's rally would promote white supremacism "an outright lie that this mayor is propagating, referring to Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin. "White supremacy is not allowed at my rally. We do not want racist people there. We do not want hateful people there."

Carrying a sign that said "Jail Antifa 4 Life," she went on to rail against the antifa who, she says, "violently accosted [me] for nothing more than showing up" to the March 4 rally in Berkeley, and who she says burn "Free Speech" signs and are seen "attacking veterans, attacking police, attacking the elderly." (At the March 4 rally, Cummings was photographed carrying a sign that said "Trans women for Trump.")

"Antifa bring the violence," she said when confronted by a man in the gathering crowd, as Berkeleyside reports, and he then engaged in a shouting match with her as she put a bandana over her face to prove a point about left-wing activists trying to be anonymous in these confrontations.

Cummings claims that her primary motivations have to do with free speech, and putting an end to "Marxism" taking hold in the US.

On Facebook yesterday Cummings wrote, "What scares me is we live in a Nation right now where the Media is covering up for violent terrorists like Antifa and BAMN [the group By Any Means Necessary]. The media is not covering the Marxism being taught at UC Berkeley. That to me is more scary then any of these events. I want all our children to have a future in this nation. EVERY person and child deserves to live free and happy in America."

She also writes, "We need to send a different SOS out and my SOS is to the people of SF and Berkeley. We stand with you against racism, fascism, and loathe white supremacy," but she goes on to repeatedly refer to leftist activists as "Anti-American," "terrorists" and "thugs," and suggests that they are promoting Marxism in lieu of fascism.

Berkeleyside points to a photo of Cummings standing side by side with devout white nationalist Nathan Damigo at the Berkeley rally in March  who is also not a fan of the antifa.

Gibson has said that neither Damigo nor white supremacist Richard Spencer are welcome at his rally, and Cummings reiterated to Berkeleyside, "Neo-Nazis would not stand with somebody like me. And I would not want them there."

Cummings began planning the Berkeley event back in June, and got an almost immediate "I'll see you all there" comment from Kyle Chapman. She did not, however, seek a permit from the city until August 17, the week after the tragic incidents in Charlottesville when this and the SF rally began getting media attention. That turned out to be less than the required ten business days before the event that the city requires, so they denied the application on Thursday, which clearly is not deterring anyone from showing up.

Cummings has done less public speaking and vlogging than her Pacific Northwest counterpart, Gibson, who preaches some similar "anti-Marxist" stuff along with anti-government, libertarian stuff and seems to contradict himself often. He has frequently tried to talk his way around the fact that his rallies have attracted white nationalists  and that alleged commuter train stabber  in the past, and he is not white himself. At a rally he held in Seattle the day after Charlottesville, Gibson shouted from the stage "Fuck white supremacists! Fuck neo-Nazis!" Meanwhile, as the Southern Poverty Law Center points out, he had just the week before organized a protest in Portland against "leftist violence" that attracted members of the openly white supremacist group Identity Evropa, along with some skinheads and "III Percent" militiamen.

"We will be the louder voice that everyone hears and this Anti American hatred will come to a end," writes Cummings. "This [sic] traitors will be exposed and I suspect jailed from society. Please have faith and stand strong, we will not forget you Berkeley and we are the good guys and we will expose this corruption and intimidation in your city. We the American people stand with you."

Update: The Daily Cal dug back into Cummings's Facebook to find that in July, she announced she was partnering with Chapman to sell signed sticks and shields, for use in their battles.

Further she suggested to the Chronicle that the rally Sunday won't be going on, and she was discouraging others from showing up. She said, dramatically, "It will be me alone attending, no one else please. In the event I am hurt or killed attending this rally, I ask you to please not retaliate on each other as a result of my injuries. Let my life be the last one lost."

Related: Berkeley Denies Permit For 'No To Marxism' Rally Sunday, But Expect A Street War Anyway


Going into , I'll admit I had some trepidation. Is now really the time for a story about a white girl who wants to become a rap star? Also, didn't 8 Mile already cover this sort of thing well enough? But it didn't take long for Patti Cake$ to quell those fears, thanks to a completely winning performance by Danielle Macdonald as Patti.

Set in an unnamed town in New Jersey, where the Manhattan skyline is a constant visible taunt to those with dreams of making it there (or anywhere), Patti Dombrowski, AKA Killa P, AKA Patti Cake$ (and AKA Dumbo, to the bullies in town) is 23 but still lives at home, working part-time jobs as a bartender and a catering waiter to help support her alcoholic and perpetually unemployed mother Barb (Bridget Everett) and ailing Nana (Cathy Moriarty). She also has notebooks full of rhymes and big dreams, both figuratively and literally (her daydreams are brought to life onscreen) of becoming a rap star, like her idol and fellow Jersey-ite O-Z (Sahr Ngaujah).

Her best friend Jheri (Siddharth Dhananjay) provides her backbeats and choruses, and shares in her big-league dreams, pushing her forward whenever she doubts herself or feels crushed by the Jersey boys who won't ever let her forget her plus-size, white girl status. When Patti sees an open mic performance by a weird African American goth kid (Mamoudou Athie) who calls himself Basterd the Antichrist, she recognizes the musical genius behind his oddball facade, and convinces him to join her and Jheri.

Patti Cake$ is a musical, and it adheres to many of the cliches inherent in musicals; maybe too many  underdog status; meeting your idols; a final Big Show. And like most musicals, it succeeds or fails based on the strength of its music. Luckily, the music in Patti Cake$ is surprisingly catchy, especially when the oddball trio (with the addition of Patti's Nana on a vocal) lays down their first track "PBNJ" (also the name they give their band).

Director and screenwriter Geremy Jasper, who started out as a musician, wrote all the music and rhymes in the film. The result is nice blend of hip-hop and rock, with a touch of industrial. All the main characters in the film rely on music, in some way or another, to get them through the dreariness of their New Jersey lives, and I imagine Jasper's musical background and Jersey native status played a large part in making that feel believable, with some additional heavy lifting from the talented cast.

Bridget Everett is famous for her raunchy cabaret act, and the film definitely benefits from her larger-than-life presence and excellent singing voice, as her character tries to relive the glory days of her rock star hopeful youth. And Dhananjay's Jheri is funny, charming, and the ultimate hype man, both on and off the mic.

But Patti Cake$ would not be half as enjoyable without star Danielle Macdonald. Macdonald is Australian, but she manages the Jersey accent, and more importantly, the vocal swagger needed to convincingly sell all the raps in the film. Her Patti manages to have both pride and vulnerability, and such a belief in music (when she puts headphones on, Jasper shows her literally being lifted into the air by its power) that you can't help but root for her. The story in Patti Cake$ may not be the freshest, but Macdonald's Patti most definitely is.




Samples tested positive for H5N6, said Arlene Vytiaco, head of the Department of Agricultures Bureau of Animal Industry for Animal Disease Control Section, adding that this is a dangerous virus strain for poultry and might be transmittable to humans, though its transmission rate is low.



Only 20 people across the world have been infected by the virus H5N6 since it was discovered in 2013, she noted.



Previously, on August 11, the Philippines reported the avian influenza outbreak in a poultry farm in Pampanga province on Luzon island.

Several days after, the countrys Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Pinol confirmed that avian influenza had been found in a farm in Nueva Ecija province, also on Luzon island.



The government then ordered a cull of some 400,000 poultry to prevent the spread of the disease, and imposed a ban on transporting poultry from Luzon to other areas, source from Vietnamplus.
CorreCtionville Jog down our main street! The Correctionville Chamber of Commerce invites you to explore our town! Throughout the year, the Chamber hosts activities for the community including: Pancake Day, the Easter Egg Hunt, a Summer Picnic, the 4th of July Fireworks and the Christmas Party. Relax in one of our 3 parks in town. The Pocket Park located in the business district, the Roadside Park along Highway 20, and Copeland Park west of town along the Little Sioux River.  The 10-acre lake has angling opportunities for large-mouth bass, bluegill and channel catfish.  There is a designated swimming beach area.  Hiking trails offer opportunities to explore the marsh, native trees, shrub plantings, native prairies and food plots.  Two campgrounds, Bellamy and Riverside, offer 95 sites with electricity, water, modern restrooms and showers. Playground equipment WE HAVE A KNAACK FOR CARS!  Auto Body Repair & Painting  Windshield Replacement and Chip Repair  Tire Sales & Repair  Wheel Alignments 712-372-4786 Hours: Mon-Fri, 8-12 & 1-5 AAA Certified. We work with most insurance companies. is located near the campground. Four camping cabins are available for rental as well. Approximately 50 non-electrical campsites are located on the west side of the lake with access to modern restrooms and showers.  The Union Bridge Trail connects the park to the town of Correctionville with a ten foot wide concrete HOFFMAN path that winds AGENCY AGENCY through scenic YOUR INSURANCE STORE areas and crossing the Little Sioux River with a Ron Petersen Peterson & & Denise Wright Ron spectacular Correctionville Correctionville 712-372-4495 bridge. 712-372-4495 800-696-0010 800-696-0010  Diesel Repair  24 Hour Towing & Flatbed Service The Little Sioux Park is located 2 miles southwest of Correctionville. This 609-acre area provides a wide variety of recreational opportunities for the public. 504 Driftwood Correctionville, IA 51016 Locally Owned, Locally Active, & Proud to be your Bank. FNB Bank 712-372-4421 fnbcorrectionville.com  Member of FDIC JOY AUTO SUPPLY Where NASCAR fans get their parts 712-372-4589 307 5th Street, Correctionville
There are at least five films youre reminded of the minute The Hitmans Bodyguard begins to unfold. Another dozen, equally forgettable, come into focus as it wears on.

And yet, Samuel L. Jackson and Ryan Reynolds are a great duo, deserving of much more than a pat story about guys who hit and run.

Reynolds is a down-on-his-luck bodyguard who has been reduced to watching coke addicts. He gets a call to help transport a hitman to International Criminal Court where the guy will testify against a particularly bad bad guy (Gary Oldman). Naturally, plenty of people want him dead.

When the two meet, they discover they have a mutual dislike of each other. Still, an assassins got to do what an assassins got to do.

On their way to the Hague (where this court with a ticking clock occurs), theyre shot at so many times its a surprise they arent Swiss cheese. Luckily, Jackson knows how to remove bullets and does so before they have to run and jump.

Directed by Patrick Hughes, The Hitmans Bodyguard has a driving, almost obnoxious soundtrack that borrows plenty from the heyday of 48 HRS. Theres more than a little nod to Midnight Run, too, but without a surprise element.

Here, anything thats glass will be shattered; anything thats vehicular will be chased.

Both men have women in their lives but theres little romance until the deadlines are met. Reynolds has a love-hate relationship with the agent who hired him; Jackson has a foul-mouthed wife (Salma Hayek) whos in prison. We get plenty of their backstory before Bodyguard brings them in proximity of one another.

Because so much of it looks it was shot on a studio lot, its hard to believe some of the elaborate stunts were actually executed. When Jackson drives a speedboat through the Hague its clear hes not anywhere near the water.

Reynolds races a motorcycle, too, and before you know it, theyve covered every possible chase scenario before the clock ticks down.

Sadly, theres not much comedy to tie it all together. The two yell a lot, but its unmotivated and so loud its amazing others dont kill them before the bad guys show up.

Even though Bodyguard has a lot of characters, theyre hardly as important as the two in the title. Even Oldman gets short-changed, even though he gets a nice little speech in the courtroom. By the time everyone shows up, we know its not over, just ready for the big ending that comes when the heroes are carted off by emergency personnel.

In Deadpool, Reynolds had a great facility with snark; in Django Unchained, Jackson was both funny and terrifying. Combining the two should be explosive.

Instead, The Hitmans Bodyguard is more miss than hit. It aims, but not in the right direction.
SIOUX CITY | A little over a week after Owen Putzier was born, mysterious blisters began forming on his forehead.

Riley Coleman, of Mapleton, Iowa, said her son seemed to be sleeping quite a bit, but wasn't running a fever.

Coleman and Owen's dad, David Putzier, took him to the doctor for a checkup on July 14. A day later, Owen's blisters had worsened, and he was admitted to UnityPoint Health-St. Luke's pediatric unit.

"When he was awake, he was a happy baby," Coleman said. "He would eat his full bottles. There was never any other symptoms other than the blisters."

While Putzier and Coleman were waiting for the results of Owen's skin swabs, blood draws and spinal tap, they heard about Mariana Reese Sifrit, an infant who developed viral meningitis after likely being kissed by someone with herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1), the virus that causes cold sores.

Mariana, whose story received national media coverage, died from the infection at the University of Iowa Children's Hospital in Iowa City on July 18. She was just 18 days old.

"After we saw that, we were kind of in a panic, because we had to wait all weekend to get the results back from Mayo," Coleman recalled.

A sample of Owen's spinal fluid revealed he did in fact have HSV-1, which came as a shock to Coleman. She said Owen's doctors remained in constant contact with an infection team in Omaha, Nebraska, as they treated his condition with intravenous antiviral medication.

"When the doctor had said it was a herpes virus, the first thing you think of is the other kind. I never knew that cold sores were a herpes," Coleman said.

An estimated 3.7 billion people under age 50 worldwide have HSV-1, which typically produces sores around the mouth and lips, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Another 417 million people ages 15-49 have HSV-2, a sexually transmitted infection that causes lesions in the genital area. Most show no symptoms.

Kristi Klein, a neonatologist at St. Luke's, said HSV infection in newborn babies can be dangerous because their immune systems haven't fully developed. Signs of the virus include low grade fever, poor feeding, irritability, listlessness and a skin rash in the form of pimples or blisters. In rare instances, HSV can develop into meningitis, an inflammation of the protective membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord.

Klein said HSV-1 commonly spreads through saliva, skin-to-skin contact or by touching an object handled by an infected person.

"If someone has a cold sore, what we would recommend is they're not kissing the baby, they're not having the baby anywhere near the lesion. That applies to anyone with a cold sore, not just mom or dad," Klein said. "They also shouldn't be putting things in their mouth that the baby may then put in their mouth -- like cleaning off a pacifier."

An infant can also be exposed to HSV in the genital tract during delivery, but the WHO says neonatal herpes is rare, occurring in an estimated 10 out of every 100,000 births globally.

To prevent the spread of HSV-2 at birth, Klein said obstetric providers require women who have active genital lesions to give birth via C-section rather than deliver vaginally to keep the baby from coming into contact with the virus in the birth canal. She urges women with a history of genital herpes to talk to their doctor beforehand.

Klein said health care staff at St. Luke's see cases of HSV in newborn babies from time to time, but she said serious complications that arise from a case of influenza or respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are more common.

RSV causes moderate to severe cold-like symptoms in children and babies that can progress to a severe lung infection, lead to serious breathing problems and ultimately result in hospitalization.

"Usually an adult isn't going to know if they have RSV," Klein said. "Anybody that has fever, cough, runny nose -- unless it's a mom or dad, who obviously cannot leave their child alone -- those visitors shouldn't be coming into the home if you have a newborn."

Klein said parents and anyone else caring for a newborn should be up-to-date on their immunizations. When the baby comes home, especially in the winter months, she recommends that the parents keep a bottle of hand sanitizer in every room in the house.

"Hands are the place where you're going to transfer germs," she said. "If you are holding the baby and you set the baby down, you should wash your hands before you come back to pick the baby up again."

For the first four weeks after birth, Klein said parents should be wary about whom they let into their homes and where they take their babies. Shopping malls, grocery stores and even churches, she said, should be avoided, if possible, to prevent the baby from coming into contact with someone who's ill.

"Make sure you're saying, 'If you're sick. Please don't visit until you don't have any symptoms anymore,'" she said.

Coleman said family did visit Owen while he was hospitalized in St. Luke's neonatal intensive care unit after his birth on July 3. During labor, which Coleman described as "a little rough," the umbilical cord tore. Owen, who weighed 8 pounds, 2 1/2 ounces at birth, remained in the NICU until July 7.

From the time Owen returned home to the time he was admitted to St. Luke's pediatric unit, Coleman said not many friends and family members visited their home. How exactly Owen contracted HSV-1, she said, still remains unknown.

"Unless it's the mom or dad, don't be kissing up on the baby, because we're not sure still how Owen got it," Coleman warned. "There's plenty of time when they're older."

After a 21-day hospital-stay, Owen has fully recovered from HSV-1 and Coleman is grateful for the care the medical staff at St. Luke's provided her son. She said Owen is sleeping through the night and has gained quite a bit of weight since the illness.
North Koreas military says its recent barrage of missile tests were practices to mercilessly strike key South Korean and U.S. targets such as air bases and operation command systems with a variety of missiles that likely included nuclear-capable weapons. The North's military said Monday its missile tests were reaction to last week's massive air force drills between the U.S. and South Korea, which Pyongyang views as an invasion rehearsal. The announcement underscored leader Kim Jong Uns determination not to back down in the face of his rivals push to expand their military exercises. But some experts say Kim also eventually wants to use their drills as an excuse to modernize his nuclear arsenal and increase his leverage in future dealings with Washington and Seoul.
SIOUX CITY | A Dakota Dunes man was arrested on a felony charge after the Union County Sheriff's Office responded to an emergency call that indicated a person had been shot at a residence.

Union County Sheriff Dan Limoges said Friday no one was found injured at the residence in the home in the 200 block of Costa Lane. Limoges said Roger Miller, 68, was arrested in his home as part of that Tuesday incident, on the charge of possession of a controlled substance.

The sheriff said more charges could be filed related to the incident.

Miller is out of jail after posting $10,000 bond.
SIOUX CITY | Sioux City Councilman Dan Moore on Friday announced his intention to seek a second term on the city's governing council.

Moore, who also serves as mayor pro tem, was first elected to the Sioux City Council in 2013.

This councils focus on job creation and quality of life enhancements has paid dividends and there are more opportunities on the horizon. I want to continue my work to make Sioux City the best city in Iowa to work and raise a family," Moore said in a release.

Three positions on the Sioux City Council will be decided by voters in November.

Moore's addition to the field brings the number of anticipated council candidates to seven, which could trigger a primary vote to reduce the number of candidates who will make it to the November ballot.

The Woodbury County Auditor's Office said that primary will be held Oct. 10, if all seven people or more file nomination papers at the City Clerk office.

Councilman Pete Groetken and residents Nick Davidson and Brett Watchorn have filed petitions to be candidates. Additionally, Councilman Alex Watters and residents Jake Jungers and John Olson have announced they will also be filing papers.

Moore has lived in Sioux City for 40 years, practicing law as his profession.

Moore pointed to significant job creation projects like Seaboard Triumph and the citys renewed focus on support of small businesses. He said the citys attractiveness to young families has been enhanced by projects such as the development of Cone Park, the addition of recreation trails and splash pads.

In another four-year term, Moore said he would bring a renewed focus on ways the city can strengthen police and fire protection for every neighborhood, including the changes that are coming in ambulance service.

We have some great days ahead of us and I want to be a part of the team that sustains the momentum Sioux City has enjoyed the past four years," Moore said.
SIOUX CITY | The first hogs have been slaughtered at Sioux City's new pork plant as officials continue to test equipment ahead of a Sept. 5 opening.

Mayor Bob Scott said Seaboard Triumph Foods processed about 100 hogs at the Sioux City plant Wednesday.

"Theyre going slowly to test their equipment... the pork producers were in town and we met with them last night and they said they saw them kill a hundred hogs," Scott told the Journal editorial board Thursday.

The 925,000-square-foot plant, which will start with a single shift and up to 900 production workers, will have the capacity to process about 10,500 hogs per day initially. Two-thirds of the animals will come from the plant owners, a joint venture between Guymon, Oklahoma-based Seaboard Foods and St. Joseph, Missouri-based Triumph Foods. The rest would be purchased on the open market from independent producers.

The $300 million plant, announced in May 2015, has been under construction for nearly two years in Sioux Citys Bridgeport West Industrial Park.

We are testing equipment to make sure that everything is going smoothly on the line and calibrating equipment, Seaboard Triumph Foods spokesperson Tori OConnell said Thursday. We have a lot of state-of-the-art technology in there  a very technologically advanced facility  (and were) making sure those machines are set to proper specs.

O'Connell confirmed commercial production is set to begin on Sept. 5, the day after Labor Day.

To operate its first shift at full capacity, Seaboard Triumph needs about 900 hourly workers, along with 200 office staff.

While metro Sioux Citys unemployment rate remains at historic lows, Scott said he has heard the company has been making steady progress on the hiring front.

I had breakfast with Terry Holton and Mark Campbell  the two CEOs of the parent companies  and they told me that day, which was three or four weeks ago, that they had 521 or so employees they were going through the process of getting physicals for, Scott told the Journal editorial board.

Company officials have said they intend to start with a few hundred workers and quickly ramp up to about 1,100 for the first shift. A second shift, anticipated to begin in late spring or early summer of 2018, would require hiring an additional 900 production workers, bumping total employment to around 2,000.

With a second shift, the slaughter capacity would grow to about 21,000 hogs per day, or 6 million per year.

The Journal's Dave Dreeszen contributed to this story.
Canada  August 25, 2017  J. F. Conway

When it comes to the crime of fraud, single mothers

who, out of desperation, cheat on welfare, have most

often gone to jail Impoverished family breadwinners,

who, also out of desperation, cheat on unemployment

insurance, have most often gone to jail [Some] who

illegally obtained money from the government by

means of false expense claims have gone to jail,

though not all. Queens Bench Justice Ross Wimmer upon sentencing

Michael Hopfner, former Tory MLA and Caucus Whip,

for fraud to 18 months in jail and a restitution order of $56,000.

You may have noticed that former Tory premier Grant Devine has returned to public life in Canada. Brad Wall, the current premier of Saskatchewan, has appointed Devine, his old mentor, to the Board of Governors of the University of Saskatchewan. This marks Devines second attempt at a return to public service. Back in 2004 he declared his candidacy for the federal Tory nomination in the district of Souris-Moose Mountain. Though Devine had strong local support, the partys interim national council nixed his candidacy and leader Stephen Harper made it clear he would not sign his nomination papers. Devine was on track to win the nomination and inevitably the seat  the Tories could run a dead dog in Souris-Moose Mountain and win handsomely. But Devine had too much negative political baggage and the prospect of his joining the federal Tory caucus was just not acceptable to the party, despite his cringing whine, People in government do make mistakes They happen.

Wall obviously has more political courage than Harper. On the other hand, he probably knew he was about to resign as premier when made the gesture honouring his mentor when Wall was a lowly ministerial assistant. Wall wont have to live with the political fallout that may come.

Going From Economic Basket to Financial Mess

Given the present financial mess of the University of Saskatchewan, one must question the wisdom of appointing a former premier who left the province an economic basket case upon his defeat in 1991. One should also worry about Devines management skills. After all, many of his selections for cabinet and senior caucus positions ended up convicted of fraud and/or breach of trust  14 pleaded guilty or were convicted at trial, five of whom received jail time. Operation Fiddle, as the RCMP dubbed their investigation into the elaborate fraud scheme hatched by those in charge of the Tory caucus office, was very, very serious business.

According to the alternative truth of Grant Devine, that is just not the case since a whole bunch of it was nonsense, as he assured us in a recent interview in the Regina Leader-Post .

We will never know exactly how much money was misappropriated by the fraud scheme. Investigators and prosecutors estimated it was between 1 and 2 million dollars. But the investigation was hampered: the four numbered companies incorporated to issue false invoices to the government for services never rendered were dissolved after the 1991 Tory defeat and their records destroyed. Similarly all Tory caucus office records were destroyed. The funds were largely distributed as cash for expenses and bonuses delivered in envelops. $240,000 in thousand dollar bills was recovered from two safety deposit boxes under the name of Fred Peters, an alias used by John Scraba, the caucus communications director. $455,000 appeared in the individual bank account of a Tory MLA and all but $69,000 was never recovered. Given the destruction of the records of the numbered companies and the Tory caucus office, the investigation was limited to following the paper trail left by payments by the government finance office to individuals and the numbered companies. Some of those charged also became witnesses for the prosecution. At the end of the day it looks like the fraud scheme involved rather large sums of money. The total remains a mystery.

Not so, according to Grant Devine. It was a couple of hundred thousand dollars, so it wasnt a lot of money. The RCMP, the army of prosecutors, the juries, and the presiding judges at the trials apparently got it all wrong.

Devine makes no mention of numbered companies and safety deposit boxes rented under a false name. It was really not that elaborate. We pooled the money so that they can [buy] advertising. And if you werent careful about which account [you used] you took from the wrong pool. Well, a whole bunch of it was nonsense. We finally have the real alternative truth of the so-called fraud scheme  it was just a matter of a few accounting errors. They were charged and then they were found guilty of taking it out of the wrong funds.

What a relief. Finally, the truth is out. The victims of all this? Certainly not the public whose funds held in trust by the government for running the province were stolen. According to Devine the real victims were those charged and convicted. It caused heartbreak. It caused a lot, a lot of pain for people who didnt deserve to be treated like that.

Shame on you RCMP. Shame on you prosecutors. Shame on you judges.

In the era of Donald Trump the alternative truth about Operation Fiddle has finally been revealed.
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.
PERRYVILLE, Md. (August 25, 2017)Maryland State troopers arrested a Virginia woman Tuesday for stealing a charter bus from a company for whom she worked.



The suspect, Mellat Zerihun Kassa, 24, was served a warrant from Prince William County (Virginia) Police for the stolen bus.



Shortly after 7:45 p.m. Tuesday, MDTA police contacted the Maryland State Police JFK Highway Barrack in reference to a stolen green and white Omni charter bus. The bus was reported stolen by its company Potomac & Rappahannock Transportation, located in Woodbridge, Virginia. The bus was being tracked by the company utilizing GPS.



The bus company told police the bus was driven by Kassa, who had not been answering her phone or the radio. Kassa was an employee of the bus company, and for unknown reasons, decided to ignore her route, not pick up any passengers and drive through Maryland.



The company told police Kassa may be in distress and was the sole occupant on the bus. Troopers located the bus on I-95 North in Harford County. A trooper then activated his emergency equipment in an attempt to make a traffic stop on the bus.



According to investigators, the bus changed lanes, accelerated and drove away. Troopers continued to follow the bus as it traveled north on I-95. Throughout the pursuit, the bus changed from lane to lane to pass slower moving traffic.



Kassa continued to drive the bus until she reached the toll plaza for the Tidings Memorial Bridge. She stopped as she was in a lane designed only for passenger vehicles. Troopers ordered Kassa out of the bus and she complied.



Kassa was arrested without incident. No one was injured and no vehicles were damaged as a result of the incident.



Kassa is being held without bond at the Harford County Detention Center.



The investigation continues.
UPPER MARLBORO, Md. (August 25, 2017)Maryland State Police investigators arrested a Virginia man this morning involved in an alleged highway shooting incident in Prince George's County.



The accused is identified as Jonathan Paul Boykin, 30, of the 6300 block of S. Kings Highway in Fairfax, Virginia. After consultation with the Prince George's County State's Attorney, Boykin was arrested and charged with first and second degree attempted murder, first and second degree assault, use of a firearm in the commission of a crime, and reckless endangerment. Boykin is currently incarcerated at Fairfax County Detention Center and faces charges in both Maryland and Virginia.



The victim is not being identified at this time. She was uninjured in the incident. The vehicle she was driving at the time the incident occurred, sustained damage from the alleged gunshot. hortly before 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday, August 22, 2017, troopers from the Forestville Barrack responded to a residence in Prince George's County to meet with the victim who reported the incident. The victim told police she was driving home from work on southbound Route 4/Pennsylvania Avenue between Suitland Parkway and Woodyard Road when she noticed a blue Chrysler Sebring tailgating her in the left lane. She waited until traffic cleared to move over into the right lane.



While traveling into the right lane, the victim told police that two African American men passed her in an aggressive manner. As the vehicle passed, the driver, later identified as Boykin, brandished a handgun. She said Boykin intentionally drove in front of her and slowed down, forcing her to slow down in her own vehicle. Moments later Boykin maneuvered his vehicle so that he was behind her.



While the victim continued to drive on southbound Route 4, in the rear view mirror she could see Boykin pointing the handgun towards her. She witnessed three muzzle flashes and heard the sound of a gunshot hit her car. After the alleged shots were fired, she said Boykin and his passenger exited at Woodyard Road off of Maryland Route 4 in Upper Marlboro. She called police as soon as she arrived home.



Maryland State Police from the Criminal Enforcement Division, Central South Region immediately began the investigation. Information received revealed the driver of the Chrysler Sebring to be a Virginia resident with open arrest warrants. Through the course of the investigation, the suspect in the case was positively identified as Boykin. A search warrant was executed at Boykin's home where police located several illegal firearms and ammunition to include a tech nine sub machine gun. Police arrested Boykin at his home at 3:30 a.m. this morning without incident.



Investigators continue to investigate how this shooting occurred. They believe everyone possibly involved has been identified and is being interviewed.



Although the shooting incident allegedly occurred in Prince George's County, assistance was provided by the Fairfax County Police Department, the Metropolitan Police Department, the Prince George's County State's Attorney, state troopers from the Forestville Barrack and the Criminal Enforcement Division, Central South Region. The investigation is active and ongoing.



Anyone who may have witnessed this crime or has information relevant to this incident is urged to call investigators at the Criminal Enforcement Division at the Prince Frederick Barrack at 410-535-1400. Callers may remain anonymous.



Updated 2017-08-28: Updated charges. Should have read "attempted murder" and not "murder."
Rescued from a closet in Orlando, an educational HIV/AIDS exhibit has new life in Wilton Manors.

On Thursday evening, Unmasked: Real Faces of HIV was unveiled at the World AIDS Museum and Educational Center. Around 30 people attended the opening reception, including three of the actual faces of the exhibit.

A social worker from Orlando, Joee Pineda said he has no shame about his HIV positive status. When speaking to students at the University of Central Florida, Pineda said he often hears remarks about his appearance.

They say you dont look sick, he said. And I say, what am I supposed to look like?

Originally produced by the Florida Department of Health, the exhibit toured the state to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS. According to the Centers for Disease Control, one out of 54 Floridians will receive an HIV positive diagnosis in their lifetime.

Anthony Johnson was first diagnosed HIV positive 23 years ago. Johnson, a gay man, said the diagnosis pushed him back into the closet.

Ive wanted to die many, many times because of this, Johnson said.

Johnson said he decided to participate in the Real Faces of HIV exhibit to reduce stigma and shame, correct false information related to HIV, help others infected and/or affected and encourage all to know their status. His video has more than 89,500 views on YouTube.

For me it was part of my awakening and catalyst for my advocacy, said Johnson, a Wilton Manors resident.

Tracey Dannemiller joined Johnson and Pineda at Thursday nights reception. A straight woman, Dannemiller lives in Lakeland. She is a married mother of six children and has been HIV positive for 32 years.

I want to make a difference, she said when asked why lent her likeness to the exhibit. Theres still so much stigma and misinformation out there.

Dannemiller described Polk County as backwards. Dannemillers daughter Leslie also attended Thursday nights reception. Leslie, 27, was born HIV positive.

Were very public about our status, Tracey Dannemiller said. And weve been fired from jobs and kicked out of churches because of it.

World AIDS Museum Chief Executive Officer Hugh Beswick welcomed attendees and gave an update on the progress of educating Broward County high school students about safe sex practices. Beswick admitted talking graphically to teenagers about HIV and STIs (sexually transmitted infections) is not easy work, but the mission has been well received and WAM has been invited back this year to continue the discussion.

We teach a stigma conversation with students, Beswick said. The elimination of stigma is really what were all about.

Beswick said when he thinks of stigma Nathaniel Hawthornes novel The Scarlet Letter comes to mind. In the book, a woman is forced to wear a scarlet A on all of her clothing as punishment for adultery.

Thats a pretty good definition of stigma, Beswick said.

The ultimate antidote to stigma, Beswick said, is compassion.

Compassion is really mercy and a step beyond awareness, Beswick said. Compassion requires putting ourselves in another persons shoes and walking around in those shoes until we can wear them comfortably. We at the museum believe the more we can humanize HIV/AIDS the more comfortable well all be with HIV/AIDS.

WAM operations manager Ed Sparan retrieved the Real Faces of HIV exhibit from storage in Orlando earlier this summer and is planning to take it to Miami next month to continue its educational tour.

More Info:

World AIDS Museum and Educational Center

1201 N.E. 26th Street, Wilton Manors

954-390-0550
Parents are throwing a fit over a flag meant to celebrate inclusivity.

Last week, an Auburn High School classroom in Alabama put an LGBT pride flag on display made by members of a school club. Now, hundreds of people have signed a petition to have it torn down.

The online petition compares the pride flag to a Confederate flag due to its political nature.

Flying of the Pride Flag can create a hostile and uncomfortable learning environment for students who come from families that do not support the LGBTQ+ community, the petition stated. Subjecting or explicitly exposing students from diverse political backgrounds to political views differing from theirs can make students uncomfortable and distract them from learning the material assigned to them, preventing them from reaching their full potential."

The petition also claims this brings attention and alienates students with unpopular political and/or religious views which further deteriorat(es) the classroom and learning environment.

[We] would like for you to consider the uproar and chaos that would ensue were a teacher to hang for example a Confederate, Christian, or Heterosexual Flag in their classroom. There would likely be protests, emails from teachers, and threatening of lawsuits from parents with differing viewpoints.

[We] ask that the Pride Flag be removed from Auburn High School in order to preserve a welcoming, beneficial, and unbiased learning environment for students from all political backgrounds attending Auburn High School.

But there are two sides to this decision, and the opposing side  led by student Brandon Sinniger  has created a rival petition to combat the removal of the rainbow flag.

The pride flag and the AHS Educate club has served to provide a healthy environment for our LGBT+ peers to feel comfortable being who they truly are, it said. The flag represents this safe space, and frankly, the sentiment for removing the pride flag is an affront to the work that has been done nationally to fight for recognition of the community.

[We] not only refute the points of the original complaint, but stand by [the teacher]s decision and right to display the pride flag, especially as the sponsor of the AHS Educate club.

Auburn City Schools Superintendent Dr. Karen DeLano released a statement on the pride flag and rivalling petitions, stating that as of noon that day she was not given the petition and that the issue would be handled internally.

It is our mission to ensure each student embraces and achieves his or her unique intellectual gifts and personal aspirations while advancing the community through a school system distinguished by compassion for others, symbiotic relationships with an engaged community, the creation and sharing of knowledge, inspired learners with global perspectives and the courage to determine our future, the statement read. In our country today, people are often seen addressing their objections through violence and hate. It is my sincere desire to assist our students in learning to address their opinions and their values in a calm and respectful manner.

As of Tuesday morning, the pride flag still stands in the classroom, Sinniger told Alabama news station WRBL.

Obviously, the administration and my community have sent a pretty clear message that the flag is going to stay exactly where it is, he said. I hope it stays exactly where it is. I have talked personally with the signer of the original petition, but basically, this is where we stand right now, and unless something drastic happens, which I doubt, but the flag is going to stay up, and Im glad that it is.
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.




Astronaut Peggy Whitson is pictured at work inside the Unity module. Unity is the node that connects the Russian segment of the space station to the U.S. segment. Credit: NASA. NASA

A pair of Expedition 52 astronauts checked out new, smaller exercise gear today. The crew also worked on a variety of human research while a new cosmic ray detector has begun scanning outer space.

The space stations two newest astronauts, Paolo Nespoli and Randy Bresnik, joined forces today to measure the effectiveness of the new Mini-Exercise Device-2 (MED2). The MED2 is smaller and less bulky than other space exercise equipment providing more habitability room on a spacecraft. The duo worked out on MED2 and took photographs to demonstrate its ability to provide motion and resistance during an exercise session.

Flight Engineer Jack Fischer scanned his leg artery with an ultrasound device after a short exercise during the afternoon. The Vascular Echo study is examining how blood vessels and the heart adapt to microgravity. Astronaut Peggy Whitson spent her afternoon swapping cell cultures inside the Advanced Space Experiment Processor.

The Cosmic Ray Energetics and Mass Investigation, or CREAM, is now observing cosmic rays coming from across the galaxy. CREAM was attached to the outside of the Kibo lab module on Tuesday after a handoff from the Canadian robotic arm to the Japanese robotic arm. CREAM was delivered aboard the SpaceX Dragon and will help determine the origin of the cosmic rays and measure their features across the energy spectrum.

On-Orbit Status Report

Miniature Exercise Device (MED-2): The crew set up cameras in Node 3 and Cupola to capture video from multiple views of the Advanced Resistive Exercise Device (ARED) and MED-2 hardware, applied body markers, performed exercises and transferred video for downlink. The microgravity environment of space weakens muscle and bone, so orbiting crew members spend significant amounts of time exercising with equipment that is large and bulky. MED-2 aims to demonstrate that small robotic actuators can provide motion and resistance for crew workout sessions during long-duration space missions with exercise equipment that is smaller in size and mass that equipment currently being used on the ISS.

ADvanced Space Experiment Processor (ADSEP): The crew will removed Cell Culturing (CellCult) cassettes from ADSEP, inserted cells into each cassette and reinserted them into ADSEP. ADSEP is a thermally controlled facility that accommodates up to three cassette-based experiments that can be independently operated. A collection of experiment cassettes are used to accommodate experiments in cell technology, multiphase fluids, solution chemistry, separation science, microencapsulation, and crystal growth. For CellCult investigations, each cassette contains a rotating filtered bioreactor, a reservoir for fresh media, two peristaltic pumps, a waste reservoir, and up to 6 sample-collection or reagent containers connected by a manifold to the reactor. Cultures can be operated in continuous perfusion, batch fed, static, or sampling modes. The removal of samples and the addition of additives to the reactor volume can be programmed or teleoperated.

Microbial Tracking-2 (MT-2): The crew collected saliva samples for the Microbial Tracking-2 investigation and placed them in a Minus Eighty Degree Celsius Laboratory Freezer for ISS (MELFI). After the samples are returned to Earth, a molecular analysis of the RNA and DNA will be conducted to identify the specific microbes that are present on ISS. MT-2 monitors the different types of microbes on ISS over a 1-year period and how they change over time.

Vascular Echo Ultrasound: With guidance from a ground expert, a crewmember performed an ultrasound of the femoral artery on their right leg after a one minute light leg exercise. The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) Vascular Echo investigation examines changes in blood vessels and the heart while the crew members are in space, and then upon their return to Earth. The results could provide insight into potential countermeasures to help maintain crew member health.

Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI) Biomission: The crew deinstalled Biomission experiment containers from the Kubik 5 facility in the Columbus module, completing the fifth run. Each of the containers will be placed into a Minus Eighty Degree Celsius Laboratory Freezer for ISS (MELFI) in order to preserve the scientific samples. Kubik 5 supports Biomission investigations by providing a small controlled-temperature incubator / cooler for the study of biological samples in a microgravity environment. Kubik is equipped with removable inserts designed for self-contained, automatic experiments using seeds, cells, and small animals.

Lighting Effects: This morning a crewmember provided a sleep log entry for the Lighting Effects investigation. The light bulbs on the ISS are being replaced with a new system designed for improved crew health and wellness. Fluorescent bulbs are being replaced with solid-state light-emitting diodes (LEDs) that have adjustable intensity and color. Investigators will determine if the new lights improve crew circadian rhythms, sleep, and cognitive performance. Results from this investigation also have implications for people on Earth who use electric lights.

Todays Planned Activities

All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.

Lighting Effects Sleep Log Entry  Subject

Columbus Circadian Rhythms items repack

Video for episode 5 of Space Yura and Nura cartoon

DUBRAVA. Observation and photography using Photo Equipment

Preparation of Reports for Roscosmos web site and social media

Recording Greetings Video

ECON-M. Observation and photography

Regenerative Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) Recycle Tank Drain

Miniature Exercise Device Hardware Gather

Terminate discharge of the 3rd Orlan 825 Battery Pack (Stow in spares kit 1_2_221_1)

Soyuz 735 Angular Rate Integration Unit () telemetry setup

JEM System Laptop Terminal Reboot

Regenerative Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) Recycle Tank Drain Part 2

Teardown of charger [-] setup, start

Miniature Exercise Device ARED Session 1st Crew

Bone Densitometer Express Rack Relocation

JEM Camera Robot Activation

On MCC GO Demating TLM connectors from -

Health Maintenance System (HMS) OCT Setup

JEM Camera Robot Shooting

Teardown of battery charger [-] setup, end

Hardware prepack for return and disposal on Soyuz 735

Miniature Exercise Device ARED Session 2nd Crew

JEM Camera Robot Deactivation

Temperature and Humidity Control (THC) Intermodule Ventilation (IMV) Flow Measurement Survey

Regenerative Environmental Control and Life Support System (RGN) Wastewater Storage Tank Assembly (WSTA) Fill

DAN. Experiment Session

Health Maintenance System (HMS)  OCT Exam

PROBIOVIT. Insertion of Probiotic kit No.1 in Glovebox-S and turning the light on

Health Maintenance System (HMS) OCT Stow

Regenerative Environmental Control and Life Support System (RGN) Wastewater Storage Tank Assembly (WSTA) Fill

Crew Departure Preparations for Return to Earth

PROBIOVIT. Filling Kit No. 1 Water container from 

In Flight Maintenance (IFM) Waste and Hygiene Compartment (WHC) Full Fill

Space Technology and Advanced Research Systems Locker Installation

PROBIOVIT. Photography of water filling of the container from []

PROBIOVIT. Filling Kit No. 1 Product container in Glovebox-S

PROBIOVIT. Photography during filling in the Glovebox

In Flight Maintenance (IFM) Waste and Hygiene Compartment (WHC) Full Fill

PROBIOVIT. Kite retrieval from Glovebox-S, Probiotic No.1 kit transfer and setup in - No.02 at +37 deg C /

Verification of -1 Flow Sensor Position

ADSEP MELFI Removal #3

Crew Departure Preparations for Return to Earth

Regenerative Environmental Control and Life Support System (RGN) Wastewater Storage Tank Assembly (WSTA) Fill

Advanced Space Experiment Processor Cell Collection

Filling (separation) of  () for Elektron or -. Fill - cover No.1201 (00068432R, 1_1_110) from  cover No.1296 (00071688R, 1)

Vascular Echo Exercise PDOP Measurement

PROBIOVIT. Setup of Probiotic kit No.2 in Glovebox-S

Regenerative Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) Recycle Tank Fill Part 3

Environmental Health System (EHS) Grab Sample Container (GSC) Sampling Operations

PROBIOVIT. Filling Kit No.2 Water container from []

PROBIOVIT. Filling Kit No. 1 Product container in Glovebox-S

Hardware prepack for return and disposal on Soyuz 735

PROBIOVIT. Kit retrieval from Glovebox-S, Probiotic No.2 kit transfer and setup in - No.2 at +37 deg C

PROBIOVIT. Photography of Probiotic kit No.2 in - No.02 at +37

Regenerative Environmental Control and Life Support System (RGN) Wastewater Storage Tank Assembly (WSTA) Fill

PROBIOVIT. Dismantling Glovebox-S Hardware

Pre-pack cargo items for return or disposal on Soyuz 735

Probiotics Item Gathering

Experiment Container deinstallation

ADSEP MELFI Sample Insertion #2

ASI Experiment Container insertion into MELFI

Microbial Tracking-2 Saliva Setup

Health Maintenance System (HMS) Eye Exams

Completed Task List Activities

SABL2 Door Open  Morning

50S US Prepack

Ground Activities

All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.

ADSEP cell collection

THC IMV flow measure

Three-Day Look Ahead:

Friday, 08/25: Genes In Space, RR habitat restock, 50S prepack, WHC maintenance, Dragon transfer ops

Saturday, 08/26: Crew off duty, Mouse Habitat maintenance, ADSEP cell collection

Sunday, 08/27: Crew off duty, Marrow sampling

QUICK ISS Status  Environmental Control Group:

Component  Status

Elektron  On

Vozdukh  Manual

[] 1  SM Air Conditioner System (SKV1)  Off

[] 2  SM Air Conditioner System (SKV2)  On

Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Lab  Standby

Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Node 3  Operate

Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Lab  Idle

Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3  Operate

Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA)  Process

Urine Processing Assembly (UPA)  Process

Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab  Full up

Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3  Off
No matter the city you visit, you can tell a lot about it by the coffee culture it has fostered. In a city like Hamilton, Ontario, though, the locals would rather you didnt judge them entirely on their 80-plus outlets of the ubiquitous Canadian coffee chain, Tim Hortons. One thing the iconic chain, birthed in the city in 1964, has done for Hamilton was highlight the need for a local and independent shop providing a quality coffee experience.

Since 2011, Hamilton has earned a spot on many peoples radar for its affordable rents and developing neighborhoods. So much so that Canadian media outlet CBC asked if Hamilton was turning into the next Brooklyn. While no one is quite decided on that claim, the rise of rent prices in Toronto found many restaurateurs and cafe owners taking the 45-minute drive westbound to stake their claim in a newly flourishing culinary scene.

Fueled by the arrival of younger residents purchasing homes and starting their own businesses, the city has transformed. From roasters to cafes, the Hamilton specialty coffee scene began to pick up steam with an abundance of opportunities for cafe owners to create successful spaces that rivaled nearby Toronto. Popping up across the city to serve new and old residents alike are cool, hip, and affordable cafes in developing areas that give people a space to taste and participate in the citys developing coffee revolution. For this guide, we selected five cafes that have been championing the coffee culture in Hamilton.

Smalls Coffee

In this teeny tiny storefront located downtown, youll find Smalls Coffee. The small takeaway counter owned and operated by Ian Walker and Jess Glegg is simply designed: standing room only, with stark white walls and splashes of black. What the cafe doesnt offer in the way of space, it offers in heart. Because of thesmallnature of the shop, youll be hard pressed to find a barista here who doesnt already know your name or order by heart. Using a La Marzocco Linea Classic and Mazzer Robur, the shop proudly brews coffee from local roaster Detour Coffee Roasters as well as De Mello Palheta Coffee Roasters for espresso and drip coffee.

The shop is known for its perfectly poured flat whiteswhich a customer on my visit assures me are the best in town.

Saint James Espresso Bar & Eatery

One of the great things about cafes in Hamilton is that unlike Toronto, most of them offer table service and a curated food menu. Case in point, Saint James Espresso Bar & Eatery, co-owned by David Barhouma and David Rocky Ricottone (formerly of Torontos Dark Horse Espresso Bar). The 600-square-foot restaurant/cafe is sleekly designed with finished brick walls, large windows and a large open kitchen for visitors to peer into. Behind the bar, they work exclusively off the La Marzocco GB5 and Mahlkonig EK 43 grinder, and a Marco Jet. Their roaster of choice is Edmontons Transcend Coffee, while tea comes from Montreal-based Camellia Sinensis. Customers are also able to order coffee brewed exclusively on the shops Alpha Dominche Steampunk machine, one of only three cafes in Ontario offering the unique device.

In the kitchen, Ricottone has created a roster of seasonal takes on classic dishes that has people talking. The handwritten menu, scrawled across a roll of kraft paper, has rotating daily specials and everyday favorites, like their Drive Thru sandwich, which is a take on a Sausage McMuffin with a hash brown inside. Youll also find things like burgers, pulled pork sandwiches, and shawarma on the lunch menu.



Salty Espresso (formerly The Pinecone Coffee Company)

If youre visiting Hamilton from Toronto, chances are youll be taking the GO Train into the city. If you are, then the first place you should stop into is Salty Espresso, formerly The Pinecone Coffee Companya quick five-minute walk from the station. The shop came under new ownership in June 2017 by Ray and Dahlia Turner. The two new owners owned their own coffee shop in Australia previously (Ray is an Aussie himself, Dahlia a Canadian) and moved to Hamilton hoping to open their own Australian-style cafe. Wanting to keep much of the same neighbourhood vibe that The Pinecone Coffee Company had, the pair decided to inject a bit of their offbeat Aussie attitude into this relaxed space.

The cafe is sweet and simple, with honey-colored wood floors, big windows, and local art adorning the walls into what they describe as coastal ocean aesthetic. Behind the bar, baristas work with beans from West Coast roasters 49th Parallel Roasters. Pulling shots off their La Marzocco Linea Classic machine, they offer filter coffee brewed fresh by the cup on an AeroPress or batch brewed by FETCO, and use Mahlkonig Guatemala and Nuova Simonelli Mythos One Clima-Pro grinders. Want to try something different? Try their take on the Spanish Latte (espresso, condensed milk, milk with a dash of cinnamon). One of the biggest things that Ray and Dahlia have now introduced at Saltys is a full kitchen menu which includes Coastal classics like Smashed avo on sourdough, fresh house-made muesli, a brekkie burger, and Australian favourite, the house-made sausage roll.

The Cannon

For many baristas visiting from Toronto, a stop into The Cannonone of Hamiltons first Third Wave cafesis necessary. On any given day, you can find owners Anne Cumby and Cindy Stout behind the bar taking orders and making recommendations on their menu. To say that they take their coffee seriously would be an understatement: Cumby has placed in the top five during both the Eastern Canada division of the Brewers Cup and the Central Regional Barista Competition. From the outside, the neighborhood coffee shop may look fairly unassuming. But once through the doors, youll find an incredibly welcoming space featuring a wooden community table with bright yellow chairs, huge windows offering a perfect street view from their corner unit, and a lighting installation by Toronto designer Enoch Khuu.

Behind the bar, shots are pulled off a La Marzocco Linea Classic machine using Hamiltons own Detour Coffee Roasters. For filter coffee, they batch brew on their BUNN brewers using Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters and Reunion Island Coffee. Visitors can also treat themselves to a fresh filter coffee brewed using a Chemex or a tea by Hamiltons own Short and Stout.

If youre hungry, the cafe prides itself on its waffle sandwiches, including the grilled vegetable or the Black Forest ham sandwichto name a few. But if that doesnt tickle your fancy, doughnuts from Donut Monster and house-made scones, muffins, and cookies are also available.

Detour Cafe

About a 15-minute drive from the downtown Hamilton core is Dundas, Ontario, the home of Detour Cafe. Co-owned by Crystal and Kaelin McCowan, the cafe is an offshoot of Detour Coffee Roasters, which started roasting coffee in 2009 from the back door of the same building that houses the cafe. Like many of the other cafes, Detour serves up fresh food using locally sourced ingredients and has earned an official FeastON certification which ensures 25% of the food served is from Ontario. On the menu are classic comforts like mac and cheese to quick and easy avocado toast.

The decor is cozy with a hint of retro feel with rows of wooden tables, big windows, and an adjacent patio for warmer days. Behind the bar, baristas work on the La Marzocco FB80 and Mahlkonig K30 to pull shots of the latest roasts that Detour Coffee has to offer. Though its not in Hamilton proper, Detour fuels so much of the citys best coffee that its always worth a visit to the source.

Amanda Scriver (@amascriver) is a freelance journalist based in Toronto. Read more Amanda Scriver on Sprudge.

Cafe photos courtesy of Kailee Mandel. Top photo courtesy of Hamilton Tourism Board.
Coffee Design is proudly sponsored by Savor Brands , your boost in coffeedence through maximizing designs in packaging, sustainability and tech.

Over at our sister site Sprudge Wine weve got an appetite for good looking wine bottlesbut a good looking bottle of coffee? Now weve seen everything! Foreigner Coffee founder Brandon Paul Weaver (seasoned barista competitor, bartender extraordinaire, and occasional Sprudge Writer) teamed up with Elizabeth Chai (award-winning designer, Coffee Sprudgecast guest host and Sprudge contributor) to make a coffee package that really stands out.

To learn more, we spoke digitally with Brandon Paul Weaver from his home base of Seattle, Washington.

Hi Brandon Paul Weaver! Tell us a bit about Foreigner.

Foreigner a little roasting project that allows me to stay involved in the coffee world but on my own terms. Because it is not my main source of income, the business does not have to bear the weight of sustaining a human and is thereby afforded a little more freedom than other coffee roasters to make ethically-minded choices. Essentially it is a repository for my idealism.

This is true in a few ways. Foremost, coffee itself is foreign. Unless youre Ethiopian drinking coffee from Ethiopia (which is not my market), coffee is foreign. Yes, it grows in Colombia et. al. but it is not from there. It was put there by someone at some time. There is a story there and we often wash over these stories because they are not often pretty. My hope is that by implying this history, maybe we can start a conversation with consumers that can lead to a more equitable future for folks in coffee lands.

Second, people are foreign to each other. There is often some fear about people that are different from ourselves and people can react negatively to this fear. My hope is that we can use coffee as a means to facilitate interactions, share our stories, become familiar: Lets grab some coffee and chat!

Ultimately, engagement with foreign-ness is embroidered in the fabric of the coffee world. For me, it is important to leverage this engagement toward a more equitable society. What if we confront the foreign, not with fear and rejection, but with earnest curiosity? Cultivating this sort of socio-cultural engagement with difference is the ultimate goal of this project.

Do you like the band Foreigner?

LOL. To be honest, I wasnt super familiar with the band outside of some Arrested Development references. Certain people like to bring up the band when I tell them the name of the project. I like to note that as far as bands of that era/coffee companies go, Im in good company with Heart and Slayer.

When did the coffee package design debut?

It debuted as a recipient of the Coffee Expo Design Lab Award in April of this year! I was thrilled that it received such an accolade with its birth. I also used Foreigner coffee in the US Coffee Champs, so the bottles were floating around that area too.

Who designed the package?

The package was designed by the incomparable Elizabeth Chai. She is a truly singular designer who has an astute understanding of the coffee industry and a tenacious ability to see projects through to their inception. I was honored that she took the project and am ecstatic with the results.

Brandon, the bottles are beautiful. But why bottles?

Because I look like a pirate! 99 Bottles of seeds on the wall, 99 bottles of seeds! No. Just kidding. A lot went into this decision beyond its aesthetic qualities and relative rarity. Part of my goal is to find creative ways to combat issues plaguing coffee. One of those issues is sustainability of products and the use of bottles allows me to buy back packaging from guests by offering them a discount on returned bottles. After cleaning them, I can reuse them and stamp them with a new coffee (like a passport) meaning that we have fully reusable packaging. This means you spend less, I spend less and we both generate less waste.

What coffee information do you share on the package?

I share a minimal amount of information. Basically just the farm, location, variety, and basic taste notes. I want the barrier to entry to be low for folks so that we can build a relationship before getting into the heavy stuff. I hope that people are taken by the beautiful design and that leads them to the deliciousness within. From there, hopefully, we are building some trust and maybe they will ask about the name and we can get into the nitty-gritty.

For the nerds, what kind of printy-labely-screeny process is it?

As per Liz Chai, Labels are digital full color on Avon brilliant white, 80# classic linen text.

I ran out of coffee. Can I get my bottle refilled?

Definitely. For local buyers who return bottles, I am happy to take a dollar off your next coffee. The more we recycle the more we all save!

Your website is selling out of coffee! When will more be available online?

There is more now! I just put up a fantastic washed Mexican coffee that is easily the best one of its kind I have ever had. It tastes like blackberries! I also have a Ndaroini from Nyeri, Kenya coming soon.

Where can I enjoy your coffees in the wild?

At the moment it is available at Liberty Bar, No Anchor and Squirrel Chops in Seattle.

Thanks so much! <3

THANK YOU OMG YOURE THE GREATEST.

Company: Foreigner Coffee

Location: Seattle

Country: United States

Design Date: April 2017

Designer: Elizabeth Chai

Coffee Design is a feature series by Zachary Carlsen on Sprudge. Read more Coffee Design here.
After skipping the second leg of the Define The World Series the Ben Baillargeon-trained Alarm Detector went into Thursdays rich final fresh, fit and fierce. And he didnt disappoint an army of backers that sent him off as the overwhelming favourite.

Alarm Detector, who was sent off at odds of 1-9, was parked by Cantabernet to the quarter pole in :28.2, but the favourite eventually muscled his way to the top in the backstretch. He cruised through middle panels of :58.1 and 1:26.4 before scooting home in :29.1 to win by 2-1/4 lengths over Cantabernet in a series record clocking of 1:56. Will Can Go was third.

Trevor Henry mapped out the winning trip for the two-year-old son of Chapter Seven-Final Countdown. The colt, who is owned by Tom & Elizabeth Rankin, Claude Hamel and Santo Vena, is now 4-for-4 in his career. The lions share of the purse bumped the rookies bankroll to $38,400.

To view results for Thursday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Thursday Results  Mohawk Racetrack.
Its been more than 25 years since the North American Amateur Drivers Association has competed against their Hungarian counterparts, but on Friday, September 1 and Saturday, September 2, a five-man NAADA team will renew the challenge at Kincsem Park in Budapest.

The participating members of NAADA team traveling to Hungary for the International Friendship Competition next weekend include NAADA president Joe Faraldo and NAADA vice president Alan Schwartz, along with Peter Kleinhans, Paul Minore and Bob Davis.

This will be our third overseas International Friendship Competition since the late spring, noted Faraldo. Earlier this year we raced against our counterparts from France and from Italy, and as usual we were treated like royalty. Were now making plans to offer the French, the Italians, and the Hungarians a chance to come to America and let us entertain them  and race against us on our dirt.

As usual, winning is secondary in International competitions. According to Faraldo, Winning or losing is incidental in these international driving competitions. Its all about sharing the camaraderie weve fostered over the years and we, and they, look forward to these annual races in each of our countries.

(NAADA)
Some high-profile youngsters and one blast from the past were out for Fridays (August 25) qualifying races at The Red Mile on a perfect Bluegrass morning. Temperatures were in the low 70s Fahrenheit (low 20s Celsius), and a slight breeze faced the horses as they turned homeward.

The opener was for freshman trotters, and Dewayne Minor unveiled a nice Donato Hanover colt named Found My Sloan with a front-end 1:59.3 win over Prince William (Tony Alagna). The winner is owned by Glat Kosher Racing, who made a winning bid of $18,000 for the colt at last falls Lexington Selected Yearling Sale (LSYS).

Americam Nation went for the second time today, and was a 1:55.1 winner for trainer-driver Tony Alagna. With virtually no competition, the unraced American Ideal three-year-old from Docdor Cameo set his own fractions and sprinted home into the breeze with a 27.4 final quarter handled confidently. Brittany Farms, Deo Volente Farms, In The Gym Partners and Americam Art Stable may find hes been worth the wait.

The Yankee Glide freshman trotting filly Glide Baby Glide took a nice mark of 1:58.3 this morning, setting all the fractions for driver Tom T. Tetrick and trainer Rodney Debeck. She was adding the trotting hopples today and that change apparently made all the difference, as she stayed flat and went three seconds faster than any previous line. She was a LSYS $5,000 bargain for owners Kathy Montgomery and Terry White, both of Mt. Sterling, Ky.

Tony Alagna drove the freshman Cantab Hall colt Gallant Man ($350,000 LSYS) to an impressive second-place finish from the pocket gaining on the winner late, falling just short of being a winner at first asking.

The Alagna stable finished one-two in the next race with a pair of sharp looking three-year-old trotters when Signal Hill won for Tony over Chardonnay Hill (Melander) in 1:55 flat. They followed along as Jackie Gray and Beer Dad sailed past the half in :55.4. At that point, Alagna moved Signal Hill around the pacesetter on the turn with Chardonnay Hall in hot pursuit, and they came to the wire together.

Making a trip in from the past via the was 2015 Messenger Stakes winner Revenge Shark, who hasnt been seen in competition on the racetrack since the Bluegrass Stakes that fall. Alagna drove the now five-year-old to a 1:53.3 milenot bad off a two-year hiatus. Alagna still owns Revenge Shark in partnership with Brad Grant.

Kentucky Sire Stakes freshman trotters return for their second leg on Saturday night (August 26); post time is 7:00 p.m. Eastern.

(Red Mile)
The Mohawk Racetrack race office would like to inform horsepeople of an immediate change to the track's qualifying schedule.

Beginning next week, qualifiers will only be held on Tuesday mornings at Mohawk Racetrack. The qualifiers will begin at 10 a.m. (Eastern).

The entry box for Tuesday qualifiers closes at 10:30 a.m. on Mondays.

Below is a list of the upcoming qualifying dates.

Tuesday, August 29  10 a.m.

Tuesday, September 5  10 a.m.

Tuesday, September 12  10 a.m.

Tuesday, September 19  10 a.m.

Tuesday, September 26  10 a.m.

(WEG)
Undercover Journalist Daleiden Enters Not Guilty Plea in San Francisco Court

Contact: Tom Ciesielka, 312-422-1333, tc@tcpr.net SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 24, 2017 / Standard Newswire / -- David Daleiden and his attorneys, including Thomas More Society Special Counsel Peter Breen, spoke to a supportive public following a hearing in the Superior Court of the State of California, County of San Francisco. Daleiden entered a plea of "not guilty," after a hearing on his demurrer, which objected to the validity of the complaint filed by California Attorney General Xavier Becerra against Daleiden. Judge Christopher C. Hite did not grant Daleiden's petition but, according to Breen, he did acknowledge that Daleiden will receive a hearing on his affirmative defenses at an upcoming preliminary probable cause hearing. Daleiden's primary affirmative defenses are, first, that the undercover recordings at issue were made in public places and, second, that he sought and uncovered evidence of illegal partial birth abortions and medical battery on women seeking abortions, bringing his recording efforts under the violent crime safe harbor in the California recording statute. "We're going to get a hearing on this," declared Breen, who called the charges weak and outrageous, adding that "This case should have never been brought."The charges revolve around undercover videos made by Daleiden and colleague Sandra Susan Merritt during their research for the Center for Medical Progress. Becerra is accusing Daleiden of privacy violations, even though the film footage was shot in public locations, including restaurants and hotel conference rooms. The videos expose the alleged involvement of Planned Parenthood in trafficking aborted baby body parts."We remain very confident in a total victory for the pro-life side against Planned Parenthood and their allies in the California government," asserted Breen. Publicity surrounding the San Francisco criminal case has been fraught with allegations about close ties between Planned Parenthood, Beccera and his predecessor, now U.S. Senator, Kamala Harris. Both received thousands of dollars from the abortion provider for their political campaigns, and have been shown to collaborate with Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, Harris going so far as to ask for support of the organization via her campaign website.Breen addressed the overarching legal scenario, and mentioned a recent victory in Washington state, "David didn't just release these videos and stop. He is committed to ongoing research, some of which he is conducting through public records requests." The case Breen referred to was brought by University of Washington research lab employees and affiliated abortion facility personnel. They are trying to block release of information about their use of aborted human fetuses, at the school's taxpayer-funded Birth Defects Research Laboratory. Breen also mentioned charges brought against Daleiden and Merritt in Harris County, Texas, which he pointed out were spurious, and added that the California charges were even more so. The Texas cases were ultimately dropped. Breen also drew attention to the national movement to defund Planned Parenthood, provoked by the release of Daleiden's videos.Breen addressed press and a diverse crowd outside of the courthouse, along with Daleiden and his criminal defense attorneys Brent Ferreira, a former Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney, and Steve Cooley, a former Los Angeles County District Attorney.About the Thomas More SocietyThe Thomas More Society is a national not-for-profit law firm dedicated to restoring respect in law for life, family, and religious liberty. Headquartered in Chicago and Omaha, the Thomas More Society fosters support for these causes by providing high quality pro bono legal services from local trial courts all the way up to the United States Supreme Court. For more information, visit www.thomasmoresociety.org
At 16, Lynda Johnson was ready to learn how to drive. Yes, she had a progressive eye disease, retinitis pigmentosa, which already had stolen her night vision. But throughout her childhood, the Millbrae, California, girl had kept up with her brother and sister, climbing trees, skateboarding and even riding a bike. She had studied the Department of Motor Vehicles manual and passed the written test. All she needed for her learners permit, the DMV clerk told her, was a physicians note saying she could get behind the wheel.

When an ophthalmologist subsequently refused to give her the green light, Johnson was heartbroken. I stormed out of his office, slamming every single door. And then I got so depressed, she recalls. People would ask me, What do you want to do when you graduate? and Id say, I dont know. Im going blind.

Today Johnson is a marriage and family therapist with a thriving practice in San Mateo, California, the mother of a 19-year-old son, and a counselor and support group facilitator at Palo Altos Vista Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired. She reads and writes with the help of a laptop computer that converts text into speech, and her guide dog, a golden retriever named Mackenzie, helps her get around.

Sometimes she wonders, though: What if scientists came up with a device, similar to a cochlear implant for deaf people, that could help her to see again? At 58, Johnson still remembers the old Six Million Dollar Man television series  the one where the injured test pilot, Steve Austin, gets new bionic limbs and a left eyeball with a 20:1 zoom lens and infrared capabilities. Wouldnt it be weird if I could go from this point to that? she says, laughing. I would so do it.

Scientists and engineers still are a long way from creating a visual prosthesis that works as well as a real human eye, let alone a superhuman one. Nevertheless, two Stanford research teams are making steady progress in what was once the realm of science fiction. One of their promising new devices, a bionic vision system based on photovoltaic implants, is awaiting approval for human clinical trials in Europe. A second system, based on in vitro studies of the retina, could be ready for animal testing within four or five years. Both inventions have the same goal: to give back some measure of sight to people like Johnson, who have progressive diseases of the retina  especially retinitis pigmentosa and macular degeneration.

Certainly the need is there. According to the National Institutes of Health, retinitis pigmentosa is the leading cause of inherited blindness, affecting 1 in about 4,000 people in the United States. As in Johnsons case, the disease usually begins with a loss of night vision in childhood, and progresses to involve peripheral and then central vision, gradually robbing young people of the ability to read, drive, recognize faces and do routine daily tasks.

Macular degeneration, in contrast, is one of the leading causes of vision loss in Americans 60 and older. By 2020, the NIH estimates that as many as 3 million people in the United States may be living with various stages of the disease, which gradually destroys the densely packed light-sensitive cells, called photoreceptors, in the retinas center, or macula. Many of these folks are going to be losing their central vision, says Chip Goehring, president of the American Macular Degeneration Foundation, so it is absolutely vital that we have options for the restoration of sight, including biological and mechanical approaches  stem cell therapies for photoreceptor replacement, gene therapies to restore dysfunctional retinal tissues, and prosthetic retinas that can serve an even wider population of people with vision loss.

Worldwide quest

Normal retinal tissue consists of photoreceptors: light-sensitive cells resembling rods and cones at the base of the eye, topped by interconnected layers of neurons. The signal travels from the rods and cones, through bipolar cells to ganglion cells, then via the optic nerve to several brain areas, including the visual cortex. Scientists still arent exactly sure why the rods and cones break down in patients with retinal diseases, nor have they figured out ways to prevent, slow or reverse the process.

There is one silver lining, however: Retinitis pigmentosa and macular degeneration tend to spare some of the bipolar and ganglion cells. This means that the neurons in these patients retinas can be stimulated artificially, with micro-electrodes, bypassing the damaged rods and cones altogether.

Daniel Palanker, PhD, a professor of ophthalmology at Stanford, has an up close view of how devastating diseases of the retina can be: His mother-in-law has age-related macular degeneration and requires high-power magnifiers to read. Trained as a physicist, Palanker directs Stanfords Hansen Experimental Physics Laboratory, and has developed and patented numerous devices over the years to diagnose and treat eye diseases. Among them are a neurostimulator for enhancement of tear secretion in patients with dry eye syndrome, a femtosecond laser for cataract surgery, and a patterned laser scanning photocoagulator that surgeons use to treat multiple retinal disorders, including diabetic retinopathy, without excessive damage to the delicate tissues around the treatment spots.

The development of a visual prosthesis may be Palankers most challenging project yet. It requires a combination of multiple skills, he explains, sitting outside his laboratory on the Stanford Engineering Quad, a short walk from his collaborators at the School of Medicine. You need a good understanding of optics, electronics, neuroscience and ophthalmic diseases.

Currently there are about 20 research groups working on bionic vision systems around the world, including teams in Australia, China, Germany, Japan, Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States. Yet to date just one retinal prosthesis has been approved for the U.S. market  the ARGUS II, developed by scientists at USC and Second Sight Medical Products Inc. Used by about 200 patients worldwide, the system consists of a miniature video camera mounted on a pair of goggles, a pocket-sized video processing unit, a transmitting antenna mounted on the side of the goggles, a pea-sized receiving antenna with electronics case attached to the side of the patients eyeball, and a 60-electrode array, tacked to the front of the retina. People who use the system say they can see broad patterns of light, such as open doorways or stripes on the floor.

A camera mounted on the PRIMA bionic goggles captures an image, say a flower. The attached video processor and microdisplay convert that picture into pulses of near-infrared light, which are projected from the goggles into the eye. Photodiode arrays, implanted under the retina, pick up these signals and convert them into electrical pulses that stimulate the bipolar cells directly above them. The brain perceives these pulses as patterns of light.

A more recent system, the German-built Alpha-IMS from Retina Implant AG, has been used successfully by a handful of patients in Europe. Its implant  a tiny video camera with 1,500 light-sensitive pixels, each having an amplifier and a stimulating electrode  is placed under the retina. The device, powered via a cable that exits the eye and passes under the skin to a receiver implanted behind the ear, enables users to see the ghostly shapes of nearby objects, such as apples and bananas on a table.

Palankers new prosthetic device, called PRIMA, is being commercialized in partnership with Pixium Vision of France. Like the ARGUS II, it features a tiny video camera mounted atop futuristic-looking augmented reality goggles, connected to a video processor about the size of a cell phone. Yet it doesnt require the implantation of a bulky electronics case and antenna, or a cable coming out of the eye, like the German system. Instead it relies on multiple arrays of photodiodes, each about a millimeter in diameter and containing hundreds of pixels, which work like the solar panels on a rooftop. Surgeons can lay down these tiny chips, like tiles, replacing the missing light-sensitive rods and cones in the central retina.

When PRIMAs camera captures an image of, say, a flower, the video processor transmits that picture to a microdisplay mounted inside the goggles. Powerful pulses of near-infrared light illuminate this display and are projected from the goggles into the eye, like the invisible rays of a TV remote control. The implanted photodiodes pick up these signals and convert them into tiny pulses of electrical current, which stimulate the bipolar cells directly above them. The signals propagate to the ganglion cells and then to the brain, which perceives them as patterns of light: a flower!

Each implant contains scores of pixels. The more pixels there are in the eye, the sharper the resulting vision will be. For the next generation of the device, researchers are aiming for more than 12,000 pixels within just a small section of the visual field.

To test the system, Stanford researchers implanted PRIMA chips in laboratory rodents and exposed them to flashes of light, or to flickering patterns on a computer screen. By recording the resulting electrical activity in the animals visual cortices, the scientists measured their visual acuity. It turned out that the prosthetic acuity exactly matched the 70-micron resolution of the implant, which is half the acuity of the rats natural vision, Palanker says. Since the stimulation thresholds were much lower than the safety limits, we decided to develop even smaller pixels to enable better vision. More recent behavioral tests, conducted by the French collaborators in primates, have confirmed our results with rodents.

Of course, until the implants are done in human patients, he adds, we wont know for sure. But when human clinical trials do start later this year in Europe, they hope to achieve resolution corresponding to 20/250 vision with 70-micron pixels. That still is worse than the standard for legal blindness, 20/200, but it may be enough for a user to read very large print, or to see the face of a newborn granddaughter.

In the next generation of the device, Palanker says, We should be able to put more than 12,000 pixels within 15 degrees of the visual field, taking the system to 20/150 or even better. And while PRIMA cant reproduce color vision yet  only various shades of gray  We are working on single-cell selectivity in retinal stimulation, which might enable color perception, he says. With more experience, surgeons also might be able to expand the visual field to about 20 degrees.

The next generation

Scientists ultimate dream is to build a visual prosthesis so small and powerful that it can stimulate specific neurons inside the retina, rather than sundry patches of them. Thats the goal of E.J. Chichilnisky, PhD, a Stanford professor of neurosurgery and of ophthalmology.

Think of the retina as an orchestra, Chichilnisky explains. When you try to make music, you need the violins to play one score, the oboes to play a different score and so on. Likewise, the retinas 1 million or so ganglion cells are composed of about 20 distinct types. Each plays a slightly different role in transmitting the perception of shape, color, depth, motion and other visual features to the brain.

Chichilnisky joined the Stanford faculty in 2013, after 15 years at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. Since his days as a Stanford doctoral student in the mid-1990s, he has worked with a variety of physicists and engineers, notably Alan Litke, PhD, of the UC-Santa Cruz Institute for Particle Physics, to develop small but powerful electrode arrays capable of measuring neural activity at the cellular level.

To better understand the patterns of electrical activity in the retina, Chichilnisky and his colleagues use eye tissue taken from primates that have been euthanized for other medical studies. By placing small pieces of retinal tissue atop the microchip arrays, then exposing those samples to various patterns of light, theyve been able to record and study the distinctive electrical responses of five different types of retinal ganglion cells, which together account for 75 percent of the visual signal sent to the brain. Theyve also developed techniques to replicate those electrical patterns, artificially stimulating the ganglion cells with high precision, comparable to the natural signals elicited by the rods and cones.

Think of the retina as an orchestra. When you try to make music, you need the violins to play one score, the oboes to play a different score and so on.

By learning how to replicate these complex signals, Chichilnisky and his team are one step closer to their ultimate goal: a high-acuity visual prosthesis that behaves like an orchestra conductor, signaling the retinas myriad neurons to fire in precisely the right ways, at precisely the right times. Im not saying weve got it nailed, he says, but we certainly now have proof of concept for how to make a better device in the future.

Chichilnisky says the next challenge will be to fit his labs formidable computing power onto an implantable electrode array that can do its job safely inside the eye, without overheating surrounding tissues, and autonomously, without any graduate students or postdocs running it, he says, laughing. If all goes well, a prototype of the implant could be ready for testing in lab animals in four to five years.

With offices near each other at the Hansen Experimental Physics Laboratory, Chichilnisky and Palanker frequently get together to discuss their research informally and debate the best ways to proceed toward replicating the natural function of the retina. Both men have the sense that they are pushing scientific boundaries  and that their work someday may help more than blind people. Electro-neural interfaces already are being used to assist in the control of several vital organs, including the heart, bladder and limbs. Before long, they even may be hooked up to different parts of the brain, helping people with memory loss, for example or, incredible as it sounds, even enabling telepathic communication.

As Palanker says, We live in an era when we are starting to overcome the limitations imposed on us by our biological nature  This is how evolution goes.
Ukraine turned into the proving ground for the new generation of US biological weapons, European mass media report.

In 2015, American alternative media outlet InfoWars accused the Pentagon of developing new types of biological weapons in secret military laboratories in Ukraine. The facilities were constructed under the terms of the bilateral agreement signed between the Ministry of Health of Ukraine and the Department of Defense in 2012.

Today thirteen American military bio-labs operate in Ukraine, The International Mass Media Agency reports. They employ only American specialists being entirely funded from the budget of the Department of Defense. Local authorities have pledged not to interfere in their work. These military labs are reported to be mainly involved in the study and production of disease-causing agents of smallpox, anthrax and botulism. The facilities are located in the following Ukrainian cities: Odessa, Vinnytsia, Uzhgorod, Lviv (three), Kharkiv, Kyiv (four), Kherson, Ternopil.

The network of military bio-labs in Eastern Europe gives the hawks the opportunity to avoid the Geneva Convention of 1972 on the prohibition of development, production and stockpiling of biological and chemical weapons the US Senate ratified in 1973. So we witness the blatant violation of international laws.

Local media in Ukraine have frequently reported about splashes of contaminant diseases in that country since the beginning of the 2010s, the time American military facilities were opened. Western European media also express concern over splashes of contaminant diseases in that country this summer and point at American bio-labs as pockets of infection.

Experts warn this kind of weapon may be captured by terrorists due to the lack of security measures in Ukraine, the country being suffered from frozen conflict with pro-Russian rebels in its Eastern part and ongoing political turmoil after the flee of the Kremlin-backed leader Viktor Yanukovych in February, 2014. Latest terrorist acts in Europe show the jihadists are looking for new methods of attacks. Use of bio-weapons in densely populated regions will bring catastrophic consequences.

Chemical and biological weapons may be dangerous for the whole world because of their infectious effect. Modern diseases can travel through countries and reach any continent with just one plane passenger. And that is the big problem. Despite the remoteness of potential objects of infection from the territory of the United States, viruses still can reach the North American continent.

Goran Lompar is a free journalist and postgraduate at University of Donja Gorica, Montenegro.
DenKuvaiev/iStock/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) -- A Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee wants to investigate the naturalization of Russian-American lobbyist Rinat Akhmetshin, who has emerged as a key figure in the Russia investigations following his meeting in Trump Tower with Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort in 2016.



"I certainly want his naturalization looked at. Id like to find out how committed he is to the United States over Russia," Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., said in an interview.



"Id certainly like to ask him questions under penalty of perjury," said Speier, who said she didn't know whether Akhmetshin had been contacted by congressional investigators.



Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, has asked the Department of Homeland Security and State Department for Akhmetshin's immigration and visa records, and is investigating whether his travel raised any red flags when he applied for citizenship.



"Failing to disclose or willfully misrepresenting information to obtain an immigration benefit can lead to a finding of inadmissibility, or denaturalization if the individual has already obtained citizenship," Grassley wrote in his July letter to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and then-Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly.



Speier recently traveled to Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and Hungary with the House Intelligence Committee, and said the trip provided "background" for the panel's ongoing Russia investigation.



"It shapes my understanding of our intelligence responsibilities vis-a-vis Russia and what Putin is doing in these countries to ingratiate himself, and what he does to gain both visibility and allegiance," she said.



Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Tauranga City Council has granted consent for a transitional housing development in Opal Drive, Papamoa, which will see about 80 families housed every year.

Tauranga now has 41 transitional housing places available for local families with a further 19 due to open by December, says Associate Minister for Social Housing Alfred Ngaro.

Site works at the Opal Drive site will begin in early September, with the first homes likely to arrive on site in late September and the full site up and running by December.

Changes to the original plans, such as shifting two driveways from Doncaster Drive to Opal Drive, have been made in response to community feedback.

Weve worked really hard to bring our innovative transitional housing model to Tauranga so lm pleased to see these plans come to fruition and local families receiving the help they need, says Alfred.

The homes are expected to be used by families and children who live in the area already and seek temporary accommodation.

They will be managed by an on-site provider, who will look after the properties and also provide support to the people living there.

Families are required to be assessed by the Ministry of Social Development and the provider for suitability to determine their fit within the neighbourhood.

These will be families who have found themselves without somewhere secure and stable to live. They may have been in an overcrowded living situation, or unable to find somewhere affordable to live.

The Ministry of Social Development will be partnering with the Tauranga Community Housing Trust to help provide support for families living in the homes.

Families will stay in the houses for an average of 12 weeks or longer if required, while they are helped to secure housing that is more permanent and continue to receive support for a further three months.

Providers like TCHT, Te Tuinga Whanau and The Salvation Army are providing locals with both housing support and also tailored help to address other challenges our families face - from budgeting and parenting advice to cooking lessons and cultural and community connections, says Alfred.

Previously concerns over the proposed development include who would be living in the transitional housing, for how long, and the impact on local schools and the neighbourhood.

Tauranga City Councillor Leanne Brown says the Ministry of Social Development has been working to ease these concerns.

When the project was initially announced there was a lot of resistance and there was a lot of unanswered questions but this time theres been a lot more work done to try and put some of those concerns to rest.

Theyve done a letter drop to 360 houses around the area theyve contact all the people that come to the open day that we had a few months ago  theyre a lot more prepared, says Leanne.

People have got information they know who to talk to, they know where to go.

"Initially there were concerns that there was going to be undesirable people living in there  theres absolutely not, its going to be families that have got an absolute need for housing.

Theres going to be onsite management at all times, all visitors will need to be given permission they will need to be registered.

She says the development will provide necessary housing for locals.

Everyone has the right to housing opportunities and as a council we have to take care of our community.

There will still be people that are unhappy about it particularly those who are perhaps selling and feel that it may have an impact on their houses, but theres no evidence to support that at this stage.
A 31-year-old woman has sued the Kelso School District, saying it failed to protect her from a teacher who allegedly abused her in 1996.

In a civil complaint filed in Cowlitz County Superior Court on Tuesday, lawyers for the plaintiff  named as M.S. to protect her identity  accuse the district of failing to use reasonable care to supervise and/or control the teacher, Walter Monroe Knowles.

Knowles, a former fourth-grade teacher at Butler Acres Elementary School, taught in Kelso for 21 years. M.S. is alleging that Knowles sexually abused her on multiple occasions when she was a fifth grader at Butler Acres Elementary  two years before he was arrested and later convicted for sexually abusing another girl.

M.S. attended Butler Acres from kindergarten through sixth grade, according to Daniel Fasy, one of her attorneys. She was a student in Knowles fourth grade class the year before he allegedly abused her, Fasy said.

The complaint also states that Knowles alleged crimes were done with the districts knowledge and/or acquiescence.

Were alleging that the district was negligent in allowing this to happen, Fasy said.

The suit could hinge on whether the district had knowledge or evidence at that time that Knowles was sexually abusing children. Fasy said its too early to comment on whether theres enough evidence to support his clients claims. The discovery phase has yet to begin and neither side has all of the facts, he said.

Don Austin, an attorney with the Seattle law firm Patterson Buchanan Fobes, which is representing the district in the matter, said he was unable to comment because the district still hasnt been served with the complaint.

These are situations that we naturally take extremely seriously and were looking into the allegations, but we arent able to comment because we dont yet know what the exact allegations are, he said.

In 1998, Knowles was convicted of first-degree child molestation for having sexual contact with a girl in his elementary school classroom.

In April 2016, Knowles  now in his late 70s  was sentenced to nine months in jail after he was caught asking for sex through Facebook from a fictitious 14-year-old girl. The girl was actually a Cowlitz County Sheriffs deputy.

According to the Washington State Department of Corrections, Knowles is still incarcerated at Stafford Creek Corrections Center.

This is the first time M.S. has made formal allegations about Knowles, Fasy said. She now lives in Florida.

With the trauma of child sex abuse, often times it manifests later in life and people have a tendency to avoid dealing with the fallout and its only until later in life that it surfaces, he said, explaining why his client waited 21 years to come forward.

M.S. is seeking an unspecified amount in damages to be determined at trial and compensation for attorney fees.
If R.A. Long were to step inside the Monticello Hotel today, he would find it looking much like it did when he was busy founding the city of Longview in 1923.

The historic hotel, the first major building to rise in the new town, is nearing the end of a multimillion-dollar renovation. It is packed with turn-of-the-century antiques and old paintings. The ceiling plasterwork of its Crystal Ballroom, long covered by a drop ceiling, is fully restored, and the arched ceiling is again flanked by plaster columns.

Mr. Long would find plenty of new features, too: a red-hued speakeasy with burgundy wood bar, crystal chandeliers, a stage for performers and dozens of newly-renovated apartments in the second and third floors.

Ten months after purchasing the iconic property for $2.8 million, the new owners are celebrating the complete remodel of the Crystal Ballroom and progress in other areas of the hotels renovation with a Prohibition-era themed party Friday night. The sold-out party is expected to attract more than 300 attendees.

The new owners faced a host of challenges along the way, from shakeups with management, financial constraints that forced out local owners, negative media coverage and struggles finding a company to run the hotels restaurant.

In spite of the drama, the $3 million to $4 million restoration project is nearing completion. The restaurant remodel will be done within 60 days, according to management. Monticello Place, the corporate owner, is negotiating with potential partners to run the hotels restaurant. The hotels 52 apartments are nearly all full, and there is a long waiting list of prospective tenants.

And the owners are the early stages of planning for a renovation of the adjacent ugly-duckling motel, with an idea of expanding it from 20 rooms currently to 70 to 120 rooms and refacing the exterior to match the colonial brick facade of the main hotel.

It feels great just to say, Hey this is where were going to go with this. Its a 20s atmosphere. We want to bring it back to the original look, said Sharon Walker, general manager of Monticello. We want to bring it back to the community and make it a landmark.

Heres a review some of the work that has been done so far and whats on the horizon.

 Restaurant: About 60 days away from completion, much of the floor of the restaurant was lowered four feet, revealing the original tiling. The walls will feature dark burgundy wood paneling and 1920s-style wallpaper with a red background and a gold floursih pattern on the top. Patrons can order drinks from a 1904-vintage zebra wood bar or watch chefs prepare meals in front of display cooking bar. Carpet will be installed in the next month in some sections of the restaurant. During restoration, workers discovered a heavy-duty crane wheel that historically was used to hoist food from the basement to the first floor. The crane will be on display at the restaurant. A massive, six-foot high crystal chandelier originally from the Orpheum Theatre in Seattle will be installed above the dining area (it was previously in the Crystal Ballroom.) Outside the restaurant is original mint green tiling previously covered up by concrete, as well as a concrete patio for outdoor seating.

 Restaurant management: With a working title of the Rogue Steakhouse, the restaurant will have a fine dining menu of steaks and seafood, although thats subject to change depending on the final partners who manage the restaurant. The owners say they have prospective restaurant, but no deals have been finalized.

 Cafe: The old Fireside Lounge has been gutted and will be replaced by a bakery and cafe. The owners expect to begin the 90-day project to build out the cafe soon, once the restaurant is complete. The hotel is still negotiating a potential partner for the cafe.

 Crystal Ballroom: The old drop ceiling was removed, as were the concrete floors that covered original tiling. Thousands of dollars were poured into intricately restoring the plasterwork ceiling. A salvaged column was sent to Las Vegas to be replicated, and now 42 mint-green and gold columns line the ballroom, mimicking photos of the original space.

 Speakeasy: To the right of the ballroom is the Speakeasy, a red-toned, dark wood-themed room featuring an 1920s-era Al Capone wood bar from Chicago, VIP seating and a separate stage. The speakeasys red chairs and red doors on the far wall are all from an old popular restaurant in in downtown Kelso, Peters. Right now the doors are shuttered close but eventually theyll lead into the hotels future gift shop. Nearby the red doors is a 200-year old stained glass window mounted on the wall, and two large stained-glass, four-foot tall lamps marking the corners of the stage,which will be host to live music, jazz, comedians and other performances.

 Apartment remodel of second and third floors: All but one of 10 luxury apartments have been rented out, Walker said. A new fire alarm system was installed, along with a new heating/cooling system, and new electrical, plumbing, steel stud framing and sheetrock is complete. New tiles, six-foot tubs and new appliances, and new kitchen cabinets were installed, too. The second floor apartments also got a significant refreshing, too.

Throughout the renovations, Walker said shes been overwhelmed with an outpouring of community support in the form of donated time, materials or just simple encouragement from people who want to see the hotel succeed after a long history of financial struggles and troubled ownerships.

On a daily basis, we get people wandering into the ballroom to look around, Walker said. The Longview Rotary Club, Chamber of Commerce and other civic groups already have signed up to host events at the hotel. The ballroom is booked through the holiday season.Its great to have someone pat you on the back. It keeps you going and keeps you positive, Walker said.
WASHINGTON  And so, on one day, we had an unhinged and divisive rant by Donald Trump in Phoenix. Then, the next day in Reno, a call for national unity and reconciliation. Multiple political personality disorder. Rhetorical schizophrenia.

The gap between Trump extemporaneous and Trump scripted is canyon-like. The normal role of a speechwriter is to find, refine and elevate the voice of a leader. The greatest professional victory comes when a president thinks: This is the way I would sound if I had more time to write and more talent with language. In these circumstances, speechwriting is not deception; it is amplification.

But what about speechwriting that is designed to give a leader a different voice? Here moral issues begin to lurk. Is it ethical to make a cynical leader appear principled? A violent leader seem pacific? A cruel leader seem compassionate? This calculation is difficult, because most of us have an incongruous mix of such traits. Or maybe a speechwriter can hope a president will eventually rise to the level of his teleprompter.

My purpose is not to indict the presidents speechwriters. It is to point out that, in Trumps case, there is no doubt which is his authentic voice, because he leaves no room for doubt. In rambling stemwinders such as the one in Phoenix, he plays rhetorical games with the artificial (for him) constraints of being presidential. Nobody wants me to talk about your other senator  whos weak on borders, weak on crime, he said of (conservative Republican) Jeff Flake. Now everybodys happy. Here the nobody clearly included his own concerned advisers. Trump often uses speeches (and Twitter) to cut the strings of their counsel.

Trump deserves a patent on the idea that political authenticity means spontaneity. So it was the real voice that we heard in Phoenix, attacking a man with brain cancer  Sen. John McCain  without any wish for his recovery. The real voice defending a supporter who had been fired by CNN for writing Sieg Heil on Twitter. The real voice making fun of a TV anchors height. The real voice again widening racial divisions by defending Confederate monuments as our history and our heritage. (Instead of the royal we, the white we.) It was the real voice expressing greater passion in criticizing journalists than white supremacists.

Trump dares us to take him at face value. His self-revelation comes unbidden, even involuntarily. And his transparency reveals a disordered personality.

Why does this matter? For one thing, his Phoenix remarks indicate a loose connection to reality. His response to the violence in Charlottesville was, in his view, perfect. The North Koreans, he claimed, are learning to respect America (for which there is no evidence). I dont believe that any president has accomplished as much as this president in the first six or seven months, Trump claimed of himself. I really do not believe it.

What if Trump really does believe what he claims? Then he would be, not deceptive, but deluded. A deluded man in charge of North Korean policy. A deluded man who could employ nuclear weapons at a moments notice (actually two to three minutes to order a launch). This appears to be the reason that national security professionals such as former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and former acting CIA Director John McLaughlin have been particularly disturbed of late. Trump is not merely acting unpresidential; he is erratic and grandiose.

This also matters in a domestic context. On the evidence of the Phoenix speech, Trump believes that a government shutdown is preferable to giving up on funding for the southern border wall. This involves a different type of delusion. Poll after poll demonstrates that about 35 percent of Americans support Trumps wall. You cant hold national parks and veterans payments hostage over an issue like this and expect to win. Adds one Republican budget expert I spoke with: It also takes careful management of the levers available to the administration in a shutdown to keep it from becoming a nightmare immediately, and OMB [Office of Management and Budget] is not doing the work to prepare. Incompetence is the death of these guys over and over.

Both Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan know a shutdown would not turn out well. But Trumps version of reality appears to make another Republican legislative and political disaster inevitable. The unified control of House, Senate and presidency means little when the president lives in a reality of his own.
US updates travel warning for its citizens in BD

UNB, Dhaka :

The US Department of State has warned the US citizens of continuing threats from "terrorist groups" in Bangladesh and asked them to consider the risks of travel to and throughout the country.

The Department has updated the travel warning to reflect the change in the US Embassy in Dhaka's status to "partially accompanied", effective from August 24 allowing all spouses, partners of the US government personnel to remain in or return to Dhaka.

Previously, only adult family members employed by the US government were

permitted to remain or return to Dhaka.

"Minor dependents are still prohibited from residing in Dhaka," reads the travel warning posted by the US Passports and International Travel wing.

The US Embassy, it said, remains open and will provide all consular services. This travel warning replaced the travel warning dated January 5.

US government officials and their adult family members are not permitted to travel on foot, motorcycle, bicycle, rickshaw, or other uncovered means on public thoroughfares and sidewalks in Bangladesh.

In addition, the travel alert said US government officials and their family members remain severely restricted in their ability to visit public establishments and places or to attend large gatherings in Bangladesh.

The US citizens should take stringent security measures, remain vigilant, and be alert to local security developments, it said.
Over 1.4 m pilgrims arrive in SA before Hajj

AFP :

More than 1.4 million Muslims have so far arrived in Saudi Arabia for the hajj, authorities said Thursday, with the annual pilgrimage marked by the return of Iranians after Tehran's boycott last year.

More than two million people are expected to participate in this year's hajj, a pillar of Islam that capable Muslims must perform at least once in their lives, which starts next week.

"So far 1,313,946 pilgrims have arrived by air, 79,501 by land, and 12,477 by sea-an increase of 33 percent compared with the same period last year," the state-run Saudi Press Agency said, citing passport officials.

That includes more than 400 Qatari pilgrims, local media reported, despite an intensifying row between Doha and Riyadh over arrangements for the

religious event. All Qatari pilgrims arrived through the Salwa border crossing with Qatar. The hajj has been clouded by the worst political crisis in the Gulf in decades, with Saudi Arabia leading a four-state bloc that suspended all ties with Doha on June 5 over accusations the emirate backed Islamist extremists. Qatar has denied the charge and said this week it was worried pilgrims from the emirate would be treated badly. But the Saudi media has repeatedly broadcast images showing officials courteously assisting Qatari pilgrims. The hajj ministry has said the kingdom, home to Islam's holiest sites, welcomes all pilgrims from different nationalities.

The ministry added it was equipped to handle the additional crowds after the completion of expansion works at the Grand Mosque in Mecca, the most revered site in Islam. More than 1.8 million faithful took part in last year's hajj.

But Iran's 64,000 pilgrims stayed away for the first time in three decades after tensions between Riyadh and Tehran boiled over following a deadly stampede during the 2015 pilgrimage.

An agreement was reached earlier this year to allow Iranians to take part in the hajj.

Iran and Saudi Arabia will soon exchange diplomatic visits, Tehran said this week, in a possible sign of tensions easing after the archrivals cut ties last year.
Several thousand BD pilgrims may miss Hajj

Staff Reporter :

Several thousand Bangladeshis will not be able to perform Hajj this year due to fraudulency of the agencies and brokers.

Today is the last date of Hajj flight by Biman Bangladesh while tomorrow is the last date of Hajj flight by Saudi Airlines.

According to the Askona Hajj office in the city, some 1,09,051 pilgrims out of 1,27,198 pilgrims have reached Mecca till date.

On Friday, some 6,540 pilgrims were supposed to reach Jeddah by 15 flights of Biman and Saudi Arabia.

But Biman had not received 12 additional slats for carrying those of the aspirants who missed flights earlier due to visa problem. Some 13,000 aspirants are still in state of uncertainty.

About 300 aspirants are trapped at the Askona Hajj office in the city as agencies did not confirm tickets and visa for them though they paid booking money for performing Hajj this year.

Some 993 pilgrims' passports were not submitted by the agencies for visa and there is no chance for them to perform Hajj this year though they paid fees on time to the agencies.

Hajj regulatory committee President BH Haroon said, the government will not take the responsibility of fraudulency.

BH Haroon also raised question about the necessity of 1400 Hajj agencies

in the country and announced to take stern action against the defaulted agencies which failed to serve the aspirants accordingly.

On the other hand, the Hajj Agencies Association of Bangladesh (HAAB) blamed government and ministries for the mismanagement of Hajj issues.

For consecutive three years, mismanagement has been hampering the pilgrims' travel, agencies and government blaming each other, without delivering smooth service to the pilgrims.

Hajj pilgrims have alleged that mismanagement and sufferings mount every year though they pay essential fees as demanded by the agencies and the embassy.

Hajj Camp Director Syful Islam told journalists that some 27,171 pilgrims have not yet been able to leave the country for performing holy Hajj. Fifty agencies have been accused of not confirming tickets and harassing the pilgrims. Some 1,26,193 pilgrims have received visa for performing Hajj but agencies are harassing them.

Meanwhile, due to cancellation of 33 flights of Biman and Saudi Airlines pilgrims are suffering from shortage of flights on the last minute and the uncertainty is looming accordingly.

Hundreds of pilgrims has alleged that brokers and agencies disappeared with their money and have not applied for visa clearance.

Pilgrims demanded adequate actions from the ministry and HAAB for solving the issue of such mismanagement.


Dhaka Edn Board Secy hurt by cop's accidental shot

Staff Reporter :

The Secretary of Dhaka Education Board, Shahedul Khabir Chowdhury was accidentally shot at by an on-duty constable of Police in front of Westin Hotel in the city's Gulshan area on Thursday night.

Shahedul Khabir was shot when he was standing outside the hotel after a meeting with education cadre officers.

Few policemen were on-duty there, said Abu Bakar Siddique, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Gulshan Police Station.

Shahedul, who is also the Secretary General of BCS General Education Association (BCSGEA), was rushed to United Hospital immediately, the police official said.

"Suddenly, a bullet from one of their guns hit the BCSGEA Secretary. He is now out of danger," he said.

"Constable Imran, who is a member of Public Order Management unit of DMP, was suspended over the matter," the police official said.

"Dhaka Metropolitan Police has formed a three-member probe body led by Assistant Commissioner Rezaul Karim to look into the incident," the OC said.


NATO chief demands Russian 'transparency' on war games

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks during a joint news conference with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko (not seen) in Kiev.

AFP, Warsaw :

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Friday urged the Kremlin to comply with rules on transparency as it gears up for huge military exercises along the alliance's eastern flank next month.

The drill, named Zapad 2017 ("West"), has stoked fresh alarm in NATO-members Poland and the Baltic states as a more assertive Russia pushes back against what it sees as the alliance's unjustified expansion into eastern Europe.

"I call on Russia to ensure compliance with its obligations under the OSCE Vienna Document, because predictability, transparency is especially important when we have increased military activity along our borders," Stoltenberg told reporters in Warsaw at a joint press conference with Poland's right-wing Prime Minister Beata Szydlo.

The Vienna Document requires all sides to provide advance information about exercises and allow observer teams so as to avoid any dangerous misunderstandings.

The NATO chief had much stronger words for Moscow on Thursday in Italy when he said that "the aggressive behaviour of Russia has undermined stability and security in Europe."

He vowed on Friday that the alliance would "be watching very closely as this (Zapad) exercise takes place next month" in Belarus, which borders alliance members Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.

Under Vienna Document provisions, manoeuvres involving more than 13,000 troops must be notified in advance and be open to observers.

Belarus has said Zapad 2017 involves 12,700 troops, just under the limit, but Lithuania and other critics claim there could be as many as 100,000.

According to NATO, Belarus has invited military liaison missions to attend a special visitors day on its territory, with two alliance experts due to go along.

Meanwhile, Russia's Interfax news agency reported this week that the Belarusian defence ministry had invited "observers from seven countries, namely Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Sweden, and Norway ... to this (Zapad 2017) event."

Russia has dismissed concerns over the exercises, with Russian Deputy Defence Minister Alexander Fomin telling the Rossiya 24 news channel that "I do not see any reason to be afraid. Everything, as usual, will be open and friendly."

Stoltenberg was due to visit later Friday a US-led NATO battalion based in the northeastern Polish town of Orzysz.

The multinational unit is one of four deployed by NATO this spring to Poland and the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in order to reassure its easternmost allies unsettled by Russia's frequent military exercises near the region in the wake of its 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.

General Ben Hodges, commander of US ground forces in Europe, said last week that "Poland has become for the United States Army the centre of gravity for everything that we're doing in terms of deterrence" regarding Russia.

Aside from leading the NATO force in Orzysz, the US Army set up a new European headquarters in Poland in May to command some 6,000 of its troops deployed in NATO and Pentagon operations across the alliance's eastern flank since the beginning of the year.
Rohingyas again fleeing Myanmar

71 killed as fresh clash erupts in Rakhine state: 150 pushed back by BGB

Residents of Rathedaung township of Myanmar\'s Rakhine state leaving the area on truck for a safe place amid escalating violence in the wake of fresh army crackdown in the state.

Special Correspondent :

Hundreds of Rohingya are fleeing Myanmar for Bangladesh amid escalating violence in the country's western Rakhine state.

Myanmar security forces have launched a fresh crackdown on Rohingyas, a Muslim minority living in Buddhist Myanmar, forcing them cross into Bangladesh to escape violence.

Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) on Friday pushed back nearly 150 Rohingyas who were trying to infiltrate into Bangladesh through the Naf river at Teknaf upazila in Cox's Bazaar.

"They have tried to cross into Bangladesh following news of army operation in Myanmar's Rakhine state," said Major Saiful Islam Jamaddar, Deputy Commander of Teknaf BGB battalion-2.

At least 3,500 Rohingyas have arrived in the refugee camps in Cox's Bazaar since Myanmar authorities deployed troops into the troubled Rakhine state, according to Rohingya community leaders living in the camps.

Those, who arrived in refugee camps, described tales of mass beatings, indiscriminate killings, arbitrary arrests and barbarism by Myanmar security forces.

Myanmar authorities announced a military build-up in Rakhine earlier this month to ramp up

counterinsurgency efforts there.

Meanwhile, deadly clashes have erupted in Rakhine state on early hours of Friday after rebel group launched attack on police check posts and an army base.

At least 59 Rohingyas and 12 members of Myanmar's security forces were killed in Rakhine state after a rebel group launched pre-dawn raids on police posts and tried to break into an army base.

The office of Myanmar's de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, announced the death toll in a statement on Friday, claiming the Rohingya killed were fighters.

The statement said that an estimated 150 fighters staged coordinated attacks at around 1am in the northern Maungdaw township.

Friday's fighting exploded around Rathedaung township, where there has been a heavy build up of Myanmar troops in recent weeks, with reports filtering out of killings by shadowy groups, army-blockaded villages and a renewed exodus of refugees heading towards neighbouring Bangladesh.

Some 20 police posts came under attack in the early hours of Friday by an estimated 150 insurgents, some carrying guns and using homemade explosives, Myanmar's military said.

"The military and police members are fighting back together against extremist Bengali terrorists," Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing said in a statement on Facebook, using the state's description for Rohingya militants, according to AFP.

The clashes came hours after a panel led by former UN chief Kofi Annan urged Myanmar to lift restrictions on movement and citizenship for Rohingya.

The Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) claimed responsibility for the attacks in a Twitter post, but did not mention casualty figures or how many fighters were involved.

ARSA, accusing the Myanmar forces of killings and rape, said on Friday it was "taking defensive actions" in more than 25 different locations.

The township of Rathetaung in northern Rakhine has been under "a blockade for more than two weeks which is starving the Rohingya people to death", it said.

"As they prepare to do the same in Maungdaw  we had to eventually step up in order to drive the Burmese colonising forces away."

The group warned of more attacks to come.

Suu Kyi's office said "extremist Bengali insurgents attacked a police station in Maungdaw region in northern Rakhine state with a handmade bomb explosive and held coordinated attacks on several police posts".

Used the term "Bengali" is a derogatory way to describe the Rohingya, implying they are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

The fighters had seized weapons from police, Suu Kyi's office said.

The UN has expressed concern over Friday's violence, urging "all parties to refrain from violence, protect civilians and restore order".

The clashes mark an escalation in a conflict simmering in Rakhine since last October, when similar events prompted a massive military operation that caused more than 80,000 Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh.

After a period of easing violence, tensions rose again in recent weeks with the military moving hundreds of troops into remote villages to flush out fighters amid a spate of killings of Buddhists.

The Rohingyas are denied citizenship in Myanmar and are classified as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, despite claiming roots in the region that go back centuries.

There are approximately 1.1 million Rohingyas in Myanmar.

The mistreatment of the Rohingya, often described as the world's most persecuted minority, has emerged as Myanmar's most contentious human rights issue as it makes a transition from decades of military rule.

The UN believes Myanmar security forces may have committed crimes against humanity against the Rohingya. The military rejects the allegations.

Annan's Rakhine commission said Suu Kyi's government should respond to the crisis in a "calibrated" way without excessive force.

It warned of radicalisation on both sides if problems were not addressed quickly, advising Myanmar to address "legitimate concerns" of the Rohingya.

The Commission was formed last year at Suu Kyi's request, and her government has previously vowed to abide by its findings.

Journalists and observers are denied access to northern Rakhine, and the government has refused entry to a UN mission seeking to investigate human rights abuses there.
US to limit visas from 4 nations that won`t take deportees

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson speaks at the State Department in Washington.

AP, Washington :

The Trump administration is poised to impose visa restrictions on four Asian and African nations refusing to take back their citizens who've been deported from the United States, officials said Thursday.

The officials said Cambodia, Eritrea, Guinea and Sierra Leone would soon be subject to sanctions. They're meant to coax "recalcitrant" countries into accepting the return of individuals the U.S. tries to remove. Under federal law, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson can stop all or specific types of visas from being issued to such nations.

Tillerson isn't likely to ban all visas, the officials said. Rather, he would target government officials and their families, as the U.S. has done previously. The officials were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. They wouldn't say when Tillerson would act.

The Homeland Security Department said Wednesday it had recommended the State Department take action against four nations out of a dozen it considers recalcitrant. The agency didn't name the countries.

Asked for comment, the State Department confirmed it received the Homeland Security Department's notification. It also wouldn't identify the nations by name, saying only that each one has "refused to accept or unreasonably delayed the return of its nationals." It will make public the exact penalties after affected governments are informed.

"Our goal is to get countries to agree to accept the return of their nationals," DHS spokesman Dave Lapan told reporters.

The State Department has been traditionally reluctant to impose visa sanctions because affected countries often retaliate through reciprocal restrictions on U.S. citizens and officials. The measures have only been imposed twice before, against Guyana and The Gambia.

DHS currently identifies China, Cuba, Vietnam, Laos, Iran, Guinea, Cambodia, Eritrea, Burma, Morocco, Hong Kong and South Sudan as being recalcitrant in accepting deportees from the U.S.

It was not immediately clear why only Cambodia, Eritrea and Guinea were selected for the sanctions or why Sierra Leone, which was last identified as "at risk" for recalcitrance, was included.
HC directive orders no industrial units within 10 kilometres of Sundarbans

THE High Court on last Thursday directed the government not to allow setting up of any industrial unit within 10 kilometres range of the Sundarbans. The HC Bench consisting of Justice Moinul Islam Chowdhury and Justice JBM Hasan passed the order after the primary hearing on a petition. Moreover, the court has also asked the government to submit a list of the industries already built within the 10 kilometres of the Sundarbans within the next six months.

Now with the country's highest legal authority's clear directive, rooms for all doubts, confusion and debate should come to an end. Given the sour relationship between the judiciary and the government over the 16th Amendment verdict and its observations, we have witnessed a spree of extreme objections and hateful remarks hurled at the country's judiciary's direction. However, we expect the government not to try over-ruling this directive under any circumstances.

The directive also issued a rule - seeking explanation as to why the approval of industries and factories within 10 km areas of the forest will not be the violation of the gazette notification of the Environment and Forest Ministry issued in 1999, and why those should not be removed. The Secretaries of the Environment Ministry, Industries Ministry, Land Ministry, Director General of the Department of Environment, Deputy Commissioner of Khulna, Bagerhat, Satkhira, Barguna and Police Superintendent of Khulna have been asked to respond to the rule.

We call for the stated authorities concerned to respond to the rule promptly by logically explaining their respective viewpoints. All institutions of the country - be it public or private - should respect and abide by the law and therefore, remain accountable for their conducts. These state-run ministries and the government officials working under them are expected to respond because for violating a very important gazette notification.

In the past on several occasions, we said that no authority should do anything that may cause irrepairable loss to the bio-diversity of the area and ultimately endanger the very existence of the Sunderbans - the world heritage site.

Lastly, The High Court is the ultimate court of appeal in the Bangladesh judicial system. Additionally, the HC also has the final word on the interpretation and application of all Bangladesh laws, so instead of creating political disruption any further, we expect the government to patiently and respectfully act in the light of the latest directive on the prohibition of setting up heavy and harmful industrial units near the Sudarbans. Let the law of the land follow its own course.


Mannan assigns as Acting Secy of BSOA

Chittagong Bureau :

Additional General Secretary of Bangladesh Shop Owners' Association, Chittagong chapter and General Secretary of Terribazar Merchants Association Abdul Mannan has been assigned as Acting General Secretary of BSOA, Chittagong unit in absence of incumbent General Secretary Md Sagir who went to Saudi Arabia to perform holy Hajj. Md. Sagir left chitttagong for Makkah on August 22 last.

The was informed by the President of BSOA, Chittagong chapter Alhaj Saleh Ahmed Suleman through a press release issued to media yesterday.


Circumstances leading to presumed delivery of letters, notice or summon

(From previous issue) :

21. The learned Advocate for the petitioner submits that after the amendment by Act No. iii of 2006 according to Section l41(c) of the Act no court interior to that of session shall try any offence punishable under Section 138. But the instant trial is found to have been held by the Joint Metropolitan Session Judge, 7th Court Dhaka and according to Section 17 A of the Code of Criminal Procedure all Joint Sessions Judges are subordinate to the sessions Judge as such if the trial is allowed to be continued by the Joint Metropolitan Session Judge, will be deemed to have been acted upon beyond its jurisdiction for which reason the same is liable to be quashed in order to meet the deemed of justice.

22. The learned Advocate for the petitioner next submits that the instant proceeding is hit by Sections 177 and 179 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. It appears from paragraph 4 of the complaint petition that the impugned cheque was dishonored by the Islami Bank Bangladesh Ltd. Chapainawabgonj Branch and, as such, according to Section 179 of the Code of Criminal Procedure the trial is to be held by the Session Judge, Chapainawabgonj having local jurisdiction under Section 177 of the Code of Criminal procedure and, as such, the instant Trial being held by the Joint Metropolitan Session Judge, 7th Court, Dhaka is liable to be protected by this Hon'ble court for the ends of justice.

13. The learned Advocate for the petitioner lastly submits that since the instant trial is going to be held by not a competent court it is liable to be interfered with by this Hon'ble Court to secure the ends of justice.

24. The learned Advocate for the petitioner in support of his contention has referred the case of Abdul Quader Chowdhury vs State reported in 28 DLR (AD) 38, the case of Eusof Babu vs State reported in 68 DLR AD 298. The aforesaid citation as referred by the learned Advocate appearing for the petitioner have no manner of application in the facts and circumstances of the present case.

25. The rule is being contested by opposite party No.2 by filing counter affidavit against the application filed under Section 561A of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

26. Mr Nazmul Karim, the learned Advocate appearing for the opposite party No. 2 contested the rule by filing a Counter Affidavit and submits that this opposite party duly served the required notice and which the accused petitioner refused to receive the notice was returned showing the remark OcOvcK gvevBj gvag wPwV MOnY KwiZ A^xKvi Kivq gZ dirO on 8-9-2011 by the concerned Postal Peon and this opposite party already exhibited the same in the Trial Court on 21-7-2016. It is thus evident that having had due knowledge as to the dishonor of the Cheque in question, the accused-petitioner refused to receive the notice with a view to evade payment of the cheque amount by adopting unfair means.

27. He further submits that whether the notice as required to be served under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 is essentially a question of fact to be proved by adducing evidence at the time of trial, inasmuch as there is a specific assertion in the complaint itself that such notice was served by this opposite party and the accused-petitioner refused to receive the same. Hence, this fact cannot be decided by this Hon'ble Court exercising jurisdiction under Section 561A of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

28. He next submits that it is now well settled in law that such deliberate refusal as in the instant case would amount to constructive service of the notice upon the accused-petitioner. Besides, by virtue of sub Section 1A (b) as amended by the Negotiable Instrument (amendment) Act 2006, sending the notice by registered post with Acknowledgement Due (A/D) to a person at his usual or last known place of abode or business in Bangladesh is only required and by dint of Section 27 of the General Clauses Act, 1897 the service shall be deemed effective if the notice issued by properly addressing, prepaying and posting by registered post. Hence, even if the notice is not served physically, sending by registered post shall be deemed as effective service.

29. He also submits that the other ground taken in the supplementary affidavit regarding the requirement of filing the complaint by the Power of Attorney Holder, it is submitted that this opposite party is a Private Limited Company and it has to be represented by a natural person and such person if so authorized in writing in the letter head of the company would suffice.

In the instant complaint, it has been positively stated in the cause title that the company would be represented by its named Officer and the respective letter of Authorization was duly filed therewith and in the capacity of the authorized person, the complaint was filed. Thus the contention got no merit at all and it should be rejected in limini.

30. He lastly submits that the trial of the respective sessions case commenced. On 29-6-2011 charged was framed and on 21-7-2016, the authorized representative of this opposite party was examined and all documents including the notice as well as the returned notice with the endorsement were exhibited. Subsequently, at the instance of the accused-petitioner, the cross examination was deferred on 17-8-2016. Now the next date of the case was fixed on 23-2-2017 for taking steps under Section 342 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Hence at this stage when trial already begun and prosecution witness is examined, quashment of the proceedings is not permissible.

31. In support of his contention the learned Advocate for the opposite party No. 2 has referred the case of Sheikh Mashuk Rahman vs State reported in 62 DLR 2010 28, the case of Md Kamal Uddin @ Md Kamal Ahmed vs Md Mezbah Uddin reported in Xl ADC 2014, the case of Abdul Alim vs Biswajit Dey reported in 59 DLR (2007) 236, the case of Abdur Rob Malla vs Shahabuddin Ahmed reported in 12 BLC (AD) 188, AIR PC 102, 52 CWN 659, 39 CWN 934, 6 DLR 267, 17 DLR (WP) 26, 22 DLR 664 observed it appears, therefore, that except for the solitary decision reported in AIR 1915 Cal 313.

32. He lastly refers the case of Sarwar Hossain Moni vs State reported in 66 DLR (AD) 283.

33. We have heard the learned Advocate of both sides perused the impugned proceedings of the Courts below also considered the submissions as advanced by the learned Advocate in support of his contention and also considered the citation as referred by the learned Advocate for opposite party No. 2.

34. In the case of Abdur Rob Molla vs Shahabuddin Ahmed reported in 12 BLC (AD) 118, it is held that:-

"In the afore state of the matter the High Court Division was of the view that there was due and proper service of summons through the process server on the respondents. We are of the opinion that the mode in which personal service of summons was effected on the respondent No.2 of the Miscellaneous Appeal No.7 of 1989 i.e. appellant herein, in the eye of law was not a due and proper service of summons or the petitioner in the Miscellaneous Case who was respondent No.2 in the Miscellaneous Appeal since his mother was not his authorized agent to receive the summons of the Miscellaneous Appeal on his behalf."

35. The learned Additional District Judge, was in error in holding since acknowledge receipt was not received by the Court consequently summons sent by registered post cannot be considered due service of summons by registered post as because proviso to sub rule 2 of rule 19B of the Code of Civil Procedure provides that when the summons was sent by registered post with acknowledgment receipt due and that after 30 days even if acknowledgment receipt is lost or mislaid or for any other reason; was not received by the Court it would be considered that the summons was duly served by the registered post.

36. The question when summons or a letter is sent to a particular address which is the correct address of the addressee by registered post and the postal peon returned the envelope with the endorsement "refused" shall be considered that there has been due service of the summons or notice or of tendering of the letter came up for consideration in the case of Harihar Banerji vs Ramshashi Roy reported in AIR 1981 PC 102 (the same case has also been reported in 45 IA 222) and therein it has been observed:

"If a letter properly directed, containing notice to quit, it is presumed that the letter reached its destination at the proper time according to the regular course of business of the post office, and was received by the person to whom it was addressed and that presumption would apply with still greater force to letters which the sender has taken the precaution to register, and is not rebutted but strengthened by the fact that a receipt for the letter is produced signed on behalf of the addressee by some person other than the addressee himself".

37. In the case of in the matter of part cargo ex steamship "Belgia" reported in AIR '1918 PC 338 it has been held:

"As a general rule the Court will assume, unless the contrary is proved, that letters which are proved to have been mailed do arrive in ordinary course of post, and it is on those who disputed that inference to show the contrary'. So, from the ratio of the aforementioned cases it is seen that one who disputes the delivery of the letter, herein summons, sent by registered post the onus is on him to prove that the letter, as in the instant case the summons sent by registered post, was not tendered to him by the postal peon."

38. To invalidate such a service the defendant must expressly prove, to the satisfaction of the court, that what would happen in the ordinary course did not happen and that he did not get an opportunity to accept it; and for the purpose it is open to him to prove that he never refused it and that it never was tendered to him. A mere denial that it was never delivered to him is not sufficient. The similar question came up for consideration before the Dhaka High Court in the case of Monomohan Roy Chowdhury vs Ajit Kamal Dutta reported in 6 DLR 267 and therein the learned Judge upon noticing the ratio of the cases reported in AIR 1918 PC 102, 39 CWN 934 and 52 CWN 659 observed:

"In a case where a registered notice has come back with the postal endorsement "refused", it is for the defendant addressee who denies receipt of the registered notice to prove that the notice was not properly addressed to him or it was never tender to him. The plaintiff need not prove the service of the registered notice duly addressed,"

39. Similar question also came up for consideration before the High Court Division in the case of Dr Jamshed Bakht vs Md Kamaluddin reported in 1981 HID 97 and the learned Judge of the said Division after noticing the ratio in number of cases including AIR 1981 PC 102, 52 CWN 659, 39 CWN 934, 6 DLR 267,17 DLR (WP) 26, 22 DLR 664 observed:

"It appears, therefore, that except for the solitary decision reported in AIR 1915 Cal 313 the preponderant view, is that when a notice under Section 106 of the Transfer of Property Act is sent by registered post and is returned to the sender with the endorsement "refused" on it, the service of notice is deemed to be a good service and it is not necessary to examine the postal peon to prove the endorsement view that mere denial by the defendant that he did not receive the notice or that it was not tendered to him is not sufficient. He is to adduce evidence that he was not tendered any notice and that he did not refuse any notice."

40. From the ratio of the aforementioned cases it is seen that when the summons is sent by registered post from the court and if the postal peon returned the envelope in which the summons was sent to the defendant/respondent with the endorsement "refused" and if it is not established by the addressee, that the address to which the summons was sent was not his address or that postal peon did not tender the registered envelope to him and, as such, he had no occasion to refuse the acceptance thereof, then it shall be considered that the summons has been duly served on the addressee.

In the instant case, the appellant who was respondent in the Miscellaneous Appeal No.7 of 1989 did not lead any evidence to show that the address at which summons was sent by registered post was not his address at the relevant time and that postal peon did not tender the registered envelope to him and, as such, there was occasion for him to refuse acceptance thereof. In the afore state of the matter, we are of the view the High Court Division was quite correct in holding that summons of the appeal i.e. Miscellaneous Appeal No.7 of 1989, was duly and properly served all the respondent No. 2 in the Miscellaneous Appeal No.7 of 1989, who is the appellant in the instant appeal.

41. The implication of illustration (f) of Section 114 of the Evidence Act and the provision of Section 27 of General Clauses Act are that in case of posting of letter, sending notice or summons by registered post to the correct address or to the address of the addressee known to the sender i.e. while no other address of the addressee was made known to the sender or, in other words, change of address of the addressee was not intimated to the sender, the presumption is that such letter, notice or summons sent by registered post to the person addressed to have been delivered and if the registered envelope is returned with the endorsement of the postal peon "refused" by the address, then too it shall be considered that the letter, notice and the summons has duly and properly been received or served unless the addressee establishes that letter, notice or summons was not sent to his correct address and, as such, he had no occasion to refuse the acceptance of the registered letter or the envelop. The person who is disputing or trying to deny the statutory presumption of the matter as provided by the provision of Section 27 of the General Clauses Act and that the presumption of correctness or genuineness of the matter as implied by illustration (f) of Section 114 of the Evidence Act is to rebut the said matter or genuineness/ correctness of presumption of fact upon producing evidence. So, letter sent, notice or summons sent by registered post and if returned with the endorsement "refused" shall be accepted as good and due service of notice or summons and the delivery of the letter to the person addressed unless the addressee rebuts the presumption of good service or delivery of letter by adducing evidence.

42. In the case of Sheikh Mashuk Rahman vs State reported in 62 DLR 28, it is held that:

"The submission made by the learned counsel for the accused-petitioner as to whether the notice served or not, as required to be served under Section 138 of NI Act, is essentially a question of fact, to be proved by adducing evidence at the time of trial, inasmuch as there is specific assertion in the complaint petition that such a notice was, in fact, served. Hence, this fact cannot be decided by this court exercising jurisdiction under Section 561A of the Code of Criminal Procedure and this is to be decided by the trial court upon receiving evidence. The principle of law in this respect has been set at rest by the Appellate Division in the case cited above."

(To be continued)

43. In the case of Md Kamal Uddin @ Md Kamal Ahmed vs Md Mezbah Uddin reported in XI ADC 2014, it is held that:-

"A criminal proceeding shall not be stifled before trial, when there was a prima facie case for going to the trial........

"With regard to the submission that the Assistant Sessions Judge does not have jurisdiction to hear the matter, we may refer to the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure (the Code) which provides in Section 6 that, apart from the Supreme Court and Courts constituted under any other law, there shall be two classes of criminal courts, namely courts of Sessions and Courts of Magistrate. An Assistant Sessions Judge or Joint Sessions Judge as mentioned in Section 9(3A) of the Code is also a Judge of the Court of Sessions. Section 141(c) provides that no court inferior to that of Court of Sessions shall try any offence punishable under Section 138.

The Section does not say that any case under Section 138 may not be tried other than by the Sessions Judge. The Court of Assistant Sessions Judge is also a Court of Sessions and, as such, there is no illegality in the trial continuing before the Court of Assistant Sessions Judge. Moreover, we may refer to a decision of this Division in the case of MK Bazlur Rahman vs Md Johurul Haque reported in VI ADC (2009), 809, where this Division affirmed the judgment of the High Court Division.

44. In the case of Abdul Alim vs Biswajit Dey reported in 59 DLR 236 where it is held that:-

"The submissions made is not sustainable either in law or on the facts of the given case. The offence under Section 138 of the Act can be completed with the concentration of a number of facts i.e. (i) drawing of the cheque, (ii) presentation of the cheque, (iii) returning of the cheque unpaid by the drawee bank, (iv) giving notice in writing to the drawer of the cheque demanding payment of the cheque amount and (v) failure of the drawer to make payment within 15 days of receipt of the notice. As per provisions of sections 177, 178, 179 and 180 of the Code of Criminal Procedure if the aforesaid five different acts were done in five different localities any of the courts exercising jurisdiction in one of the five local areas can become the place of trial for the offence under Section 138 of the Act and complainant can choose anyone of the courts in whose jurisdiction any of the 5 components of the said offence was done. The legal notice was issued from a lawyer at Chittagong District Bar and the complainant, for encashing the cheques, presented the same at a bank at Chittagong. As such, on the ground of initiating the proceeding at Chittagong this proceeding cannot be quashed."

45. In the case of Sarwar Hossain Moni (Md) vs State reported in 66 DLR (AD) 283 where our apex court held that:-

''It is true that in the judgment sought to be reviewed, there has been no detailed discussions as to the point raised before the High Court Division that the respective petition of complaint having been filed before expiry of the statutory period as stipulated in clause (c) of the proviso to Section 138(1) of the Act, 1881, was barred by law, this division having affirmed the judgment and order passed by the High Court Division which took the view that though the respective petition of complaint was filed before expiry of thirty days from the date of receipt of the notice issued under clause (b) of the proviso to Section 138, was maintainable in law, in fact, gave the answer. Be that as it may, since in these review petitions, specific question has been raised to the above effect, we need to answer the same with reference 10 clause (c) of the proviso to Section 138 of the Act, 1881 read with Section 141 thereof."

46. On perusal of the application under Section 561A of the Code of Criminal Procedure and the counter affidavit filed by the opposite party No.2 and the citations as referred by the learned Advocate for the opposite party No.2. We find no merit in the submissions of the learned Advocate appearing for the petitioner on the contrary we find merit in the submissions of the learned Advocate appearing for the opposite party No. 2 and the citations as referred by the learned Advocate for the opposite party No. 2 are fully applicable in the facts and circumstances of the present case. We find no merit in these rules and, as such, both the rules are devoid of any substance.

47. In the result, both the rules are hereby discharged without any order as to cost. The order of stay as granted at the time of issuance of the rule is hereby re-called and vacated. The learned Joint Metropolitan Sessions Judge, 7th Court, Dhaka is hereby directed to dispose of the CR Case No. 321 of 2011 now pending in the 7th Court of Joint Metropolitan Sessions Judge, Dhaka expeditiously as far as practicable preferably within six months from the date of receipt of a copy of this judgment positively.

The office is hereby directed to transmit a copy of this judgment to the concern Court forthwith for information and necessary action.




All Germany's gold returned from French vaults

AFP, Frankfurt :

The Bundesbank, Germany's central bank, said Wednesday it had returned to German soil all of its gold kept in Paris and some reserves from the US, three years ahead of schedule.

Some 374 tonnes of the metal, 11 percent of the German stock, left the vaults at the Banque de France, or Bank of France, while 300 tonnes have been removed from the Federal Reserve in New York to the Bundesbank vaults in Frankfurt, board member Carl-Ludwig Thiele told journalists.

The secret shipments were finished far ahead of the 2020 deadline at a cost of some 7.7 million euros ($9.1 million), bringing the share of German gold stored at home to 50 percent.

Shipments have been underway since a 2013 board decision to return the precious ingots home.

Germany began securing its reserves abroad during the Cold War, when the Bundesbank preferred to keep most of its gold safe from the prospect of a sudden Soviet invasion.
Aug 21 grenade attack case plaintiff stabbed

Staff Reporter :

Badar Aziz Uddin, the plaintiff of one of the August 21 grenade attack cases, was stabbed by unknown miscreants in Dhania area of the city early Friday.

Police said, Badar Aziz came under knife attack when he came out of his

home around 4:00am to go to Haymchar in Chandpur district to attend a programme. A microbus was scheduled to pick him up along with his one of neighbours.

As he was moving towards East Sheikhdi area, the attacker stabbed him indiscriminately and fled the scene, leaving him injured, said Rahat Khan, Inspector (Operation) of Jatrabari Police Station quoting the victim.

By the time, Rahat said, the driver of the vehicle and the neighbour reached the spot and took him to Dhaka Medical College Hospital with stab injuries in his right chest, left hand and leg.
Dhaka clarifies rights concerns to UN HR chief

UNB, Dhaka :

Bangladesh on Friday clarified to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein its position on the concerns raised allegedly by vested quarters against it about human rights issues.

Law Minister Anisul Huq and State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam met the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights at the Office

of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Geneva and had discussion on areas of collaboration in various human rights issues.

They clarified the position of the government on the concerns, including violence against women, discrimination against religious and other minorities, child marriage, Rohingya issues, death penalty, International Crimes Tribunal, human rights violations by security forces and shrinking of democratic space and freedom of expression.

Al Hussein commended Bangladesh's continued efforts to work for the full realisation of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, including promotion of democracy, rule of law and good governance at all levels, said the Foreign Ministry here.

He also lauded Bangladesh's commitment to the principles of 'no one left behind' and 'reaching the farthest first' as part of the 2030 agenda for sustainable development.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights particularly praised Bangladesh's role in remaining engaged with the UN Human Rights mechanism on important issues.

The Law Minister said as a responsible UN member state and elected member of the Human Rights Council (HRC), Bangladesh attaches highest priority to fulfilling its commitment to ensure human rights for all of its citizens.

He reiterated that Bangladesh holds democracy, human rights and secularism at the core of its national values and ethos.

Anisul said Bangladesh has always endeavoured to remain alert and watchful to misperceptions about the human rights situations.

Within the capabilities and with clear intention to do the needful, Bangladesh has responded to issues or comments on situations of human rights brought time to time to the attention of the government, he said.

Bangladesh Ambassador and Permanent Representative in Geneva M Shameem Ahsan also remained present at the meeting.
UP chairman shot dead in Narail

UNB, Narail :

Chairman of a Union Parishad in Kalia upazila of the Narail district was gunned down by miscreants at his Gazirhat farmhouse in Dighalia upazila of Khulna district early Friday.

The miscreants fired gunshots at Nahid Hossian Mollah, 50, chairman of Hamidpur Union Parishad, around 4:00 am while he was asleep at his home, leaving him critically injured, said Officer-in-Charge of Kalia Police Station Md Shamsher quoting his family members.

Miscreants fired shots on him through the window

on the first-floor room of his two-storey building.

Hearing the gunshots, family members rushed in and took Nahid to Khulna Medical College Hospital where doctors declared him dead.

Though Nahid Hossain was a UP chairman in Narail he had a farmhouse at Gazirhat in neighbouring Khulna district.
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"Defendant YU and co-conspirators in the PRC [People's Republic of China] would establish an infrastructure of domain names, IP addresses, accounts with internet service providers, and websites to facilitate hacks of computer networks operated by companies in the United States and elsewhere," the indictment reads.

The FBI has arrested a Chinese citizen for allegedly distributing malware used in the 2015 massive OPM breach that resulted in the theft of personal details of more than 25 Million U.S. federal employees, including 5.6 Million federal officials' fingerprints , identified by the agency as the pseudonym "GoldSun," was arrested at Los Angeles international airport on Wednesday when he was arrived in the United States to attend a conference, CNN reported The 36-year-old Chinese national is said to face charges in connection with the, which was not only used to breach the US Office of Personnel Management (OPM) but also breached Anthem health insurance firm in 2015.The Anthem breach resulted in the theft of personal medical records of around 80 million current and former customers of the company.Sakula is a sophisticated remote access Trojan (RAT) that was known to be developed by, a China-based advanced persistent threat group (known as APT19) and could allow an attacker to remotely gain control over a targeted system.However, after a few months of the discovery of the OPM breach, Chinese government arrested a handful of hackers within its borders in connection with the OPM hack, dismissing its own involvement Pingan's arrest was similar to that of, a 22-year-old British security researcher who has been accused of creating and distributing the infamous Kronos banking Trojan between 2014 and 2015.According to an indictment filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of California on 21 August, Pingan has been charged with one count of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and is also accused of conspiracy to commit offence or defraud the United States.The indictment suggests Pingan collaborated with two unnamed hackers to acquire and use malware to conduct cyber attacks against at least 4 unnamed US companies from April 2011 through January 2014.Although the indictment filed doesn't name the companies that were targeted, it does note that the affected companies were headquartered in San Diego, California; Massachusetts; Arizona; and Los Angeles, California.Pingan's role in those cyber attacks was to supply advanced malware to other unnamed Chinese crooks for hacks against United States organisations.Pingan remains behind bars pending a court hearing on his detention next week.
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On September 5, 1607, the British trade ship Dragon found itself off the coast of Sierra Leone, and Capt. William Keeling and his Portuguese interpreter were entertained by the sailors staging what is supposedly the earliest recorded production of William Shakespeares Hamlet. We are informed that the play was presented to keep the crew from idleness and unlawful games, or sleep. While the existence of the so-called bad quartos assures us that Hamlets premiere was on the stage of the Globe in Southwark, England, the earliest specific dated mention of the play being staged was aboard the warped wooden planks of this worn vessel (though some have convincingly doubted the veracity of Keelings diary). If the accounts are to be believed, at the outset of what would be a three-year voyage to round the Cape of Good Hope in search of Indonesian spices, the seamen working on behalf of the East India Company performed the play and in the afternoone went altogether ashore, to see if [they] could shoot an elephant. Shakespeare was still alive when this production of the Danish play first premiered, his celebrated sonnets to be printed two years after that evening aboard the Dragon and a year before the ship would once again find itself in the port of London. Fully eight more plays were to be written by the Bard after this extemporaneous staging of his most famous play in view of those white-sand beaches of the gold and ivory coastsand in view of the slaving castles, which the English had operated for a generation already.

Tellingly, one of those eight plays yet to be written was The Tempest, Shakespeares prescient allegory of colonialism, a tale of A brave vessel, /Who had, no doubt, some noble creatures in her; if the records are to be believed, the noble creature in the Dragon was Shakespeares words. Prospero is an appropriate corollary to the crew, being as they were only the first in a long line of travelers who brought Shakespeare along on their trips to Africa, both in pamphlet and pig-skin bound volume, including characters as varied as the Victorian adventurer and translator of the Kama Sutra Richard Burton, the infamous self-promoter Henry Morton Stanley in search of Dr. Livingstone, Teddy Roosevelt on a post-presidential safari, the Danish coffee magnate and writer Karen Blixen, and the communist revolutionary Ernesto Che Guevara holed up in the Cuban embassy at Dar es Salaam reading from the folio.

Yet it is the Dragon as origin myth that provides the most arresting image. Hamlet, as it were, has many African origins; if the Dragons seafaring production was the first we have official record of, than the first talkie film version of Shakespeare found its genesis in 1935 Mombasa, where Indians brought by the British to build eastern Africas network of rails had their Urdu production Khoon ka Khoon pressed to celluloid.

Both anecdotes are recounted in Cambridge professor and Shakespeare scholar Edward Wilson-Lees fascinating Shakespeare in Swahililand: In Search of a Global Poet. Reflecting on how the earliest recorded production of Hamlet was a command performance for a Portuguese-speaking native of the West African coast is part of his project to move a bit closer to that Holy Grail of Shakespeare studies: an understanding of Shakespeares universal appeal while remaining painfully aware of the fact that that very universalism [has been]used as a tool to exclude [some] from the bounds of the human. Raised in Nairobi by American conservationists, Wilson-Lee is aware of the ways in which Shakespeare was often handmaid to the subjugation of people by English colonialists, who used the playwright as evidence of British superiority, while at the same time acknowledging the complicated ways Shakespeare was used by people across Africa in their own striving for national self-determination.

There are, of course, unmistakable political implications for a white Oxbridge African such as Wilson-Lee writing about Shakespeares reception across Africa. Readers may be uncomfortable at Wilson-Lees recounting of a colonial childhood of wild monkeys in the yard and mango for breakfast, but the author doesnt shy away from acknowledging his privilege, freely admitting to luxuries such as travelling throughout East Africa by rail, where white-gloved stewards turned down starched sheets, visits to Kenyas air-conditioned shopping malls constructed in imitation of American suburban convenience, and G&Ts at the Aero Club of East Africa. This privilege is most damningly on display in his reflections on the nature of white guilt at his familys employment of black domestic laborers, a theme he sees in Shakespeares obsession with master-servant relations.

Wilson-Lees is an odd hodgepodge of a bookpart memoir, part travelogue, part historical account, part literary criticism. And yet despite its chimerical nature, it is an effective book, combining as it does an adept theoretical orientation, an admirable facility with the Explication de texte of Shakespeares language, and a humanism that is sometimes lacking in the most arid of literary theory. Too often, conservative defenders of Shakespeare against some imagined threat to the canon obscure the very real ways in which both Shakespeare in particular and English literature in general were used to erase the lives and culture of people in colonized lands, as a type of soft artillery. But Wilson-Lee isnt wrong when he says that its hard not to feel that Shakespeare almost alone among writers, defies such cynicism. He conjectures that though Shakespeares genius may simply be some grand collective delusion, a truism rather than a truth, he cant help but find that every time, the dawning freshness of a turn of phrase, a short exchange or an orchestrated speech makes dull the cleverness which wrote these impressions off as nostalgic. In what is one of the books most poignantly beautiful scenes, Wilson-Lee describes listening to two surviving records of that Urdu production of Hamlet preserved at the British Library (the film itself being lost to posterity), explaining that the music of that production was pressed neither on vinyl nor wax cylinder, but rather on discs made from shellac, crushed beetle-shell. And so he could hear the same sounds that would have rung out of the ramshackle theatres onto the Mombasa streets, the love songs of Hindustani Shakespeare, preserved in the carcasses of beetles which had once footled around the forests of Bengal.

Shakespeare in Swahililand functions both as a historical account of the role that the Bard has played in east Africa, as well as the authors own travelogue through the historically Swahili-speaking parts of the continent, including Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania, with stops outside of Swahililand in Ethiopia and South Sudan, noting that one of the first books printed in Swahili was a Shakespearean one in the form of a translation of Charles and Mary Lambs sanitized Victorian bestseller Tales from Shakespeare. His historical account moves from Shakespeares own day through 2012 when the South Sudanese delegation to the Cultural Olympiad staged a Juba Arabic performance of Cymbeline for Londons Globe Theater. Shakespeare in Swahililand is replete with fascinating anecdotes about the poets reception, while never losing sight of the complexities of that reception. These include descriptions of Roosevelt in the bush reading the Collected Works by gas lamp; Blixen arguing with her servant Farah about The Merchant of Venice, the latter interpreting Shylock as the unequivocal hero of the play; Tanzanian president Julius Nyereres scholarly Swahili translation of Julius Caesar, a performance of that same play with the title role being filled by Ugandas future president Apollo Milton Obote in a 1948 version staged at Makerere University; and the brilliant performance of one of that universitys first Muslim female students, Assiah Jabir, in the role of Volumna in Coriolanus. There are even shades of our current controversy over the Central Park Shakespeare in the Park production of Julius Caesar, as a similar imbroglio occurred in Ethiopia in 1952 when the Roman tyrant reminded audiences of Emperor Haile Selassie.

Wilson-Lees story isnt an uncomplicated one of people across Africa simply taking to the essential core of the Bard; the playwright was enlisted as a subject for Indians to pass exams for the Colonial Service, and after Britains empire collapsed, theaters were funded by the CIA front the Congress for Cultural Freedom to further American corporate interest, ensuring the continuation of capitalism, with unprofitable east African theaters regularly subsidized by the American oil company Caltex. And yet for all of the imperial usages of Shakespeare, a subversive core endures, as he becomes something that can be made distinctly and confidently African.

Its a conclusion which neither reduces Shakespeare to Immutable Platonic Genius, nor to to colonial handmaiden viewed as great only because a bunch of genocidal Englishmen forced people to say so at the point of a bayonet. Rather, Shakespeare becomes a multivocal, contradictory, expansive author, one for whom the inconsistencies become precisely the point. This is a universalism born not of a shared and distinct experience but of mutual contemplation of something so vast and varied as to accommodate every point of view. And so we have an Indian version of Twelfth Night titled Bhul Bhuliyan, which recasts the opening Illyrian shipwreck as a tragic railroad bridge collapse, with Wilson-Lee reminding us that few members of the Mombasa audience would not have known or been related to at least one of the 2,498 men who died during the construction of the line which ran from the coast to Lake Victoria. Or we have Nelson Mandela, imprisoned on Robben Island reading and rereading the plays to keep his sanity and his spirit intact. Or the linguist Alice Werner who in 1913, while studying Bantu, had The Story of the Flesh and the Thigh told to her as an indigenous tale, realizing later that it drew its narrative from Edward Steeres Swahili version of The Merchant of Venice.

The most famous challenge to the supposed universalism of Shakespeare is in anthropologist Laura Bohannans 1966 classic Natural History article Shakespeare in the Bush. She recounts how she is asked to tell a story by a gathering of Tiv tribal elders in the highlands of Nigeria, and so she ultimately chooses Hamlet. The elders supposedly reacted with incomprehension at the strange tale: all Tiv know that ghosts are not real, no Tiv would ever scold his mother as Hamlet does, and Ophelia could not have drowned herself because only a witch can do that. As Bohannan records, the elders said We believe you when you say your marriage customs are different, or your clothes and weapons. But people are the same everywhere; therefore, there are always witches and it is we, the elders, who know how witches worka telling if ironic inversion of the normalcies of western triumphalist universalism.

And yet, while Bohannans anecdote was meant to demonstrate the fallacy of literary universalism, Wilson-Lee would argue that it only proves that universalism is innately complicated. Witness Hamlet looking for his fathers ghost on Mughal battlefields, or the Marathi translation of Romeo and Juliet inventing an entire backstory for Romeos first lover Rosalind (she marries Tybalt and is responsible for losing Friar Lawrences message about Juliets sleeping potion). Such revisions are as if watching someone you love in costume, newly beautiful but still the same. As Wilson-Lee takes pains to explain, despite Shakespeares original role in colonialism, African liberation proponents and other political agitators became adepts at using the colonials cultural totems against them, just like Caliban cursing Prospero in his own language. Yet Caliban need not only curse, for the subaltern may speak, and sing too. As a result, across Shakespeare in Swahililand we discover that Wilson-Lees African Shakespeare is both colonizer and colonized, Prospero and Caliban, invading Roman of Cymbeline and resisting Celt of that same play, for everyone can, to an extent, find their own Shakespeare. This then, is the other side of appropriation, the sublime poetry of subversion.
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ELKVILLE  Sometimes things turn out better than expected, as it did for more than 40 cats and their owner earlier this month.

Jackson County Animal Control Officer Lloyd Nelson was called to a home in Elkville for a reported animal hoarding situation. When Nelson arrived, he quickly determined that it was not a hoarding situation, but merely a case of feline overpopulation.

This all started basically as a landlord/tenant dispute, according to Nelson. The landlord called animal control and said cats were being mistreated.

What this was a case of creeping overpopulation. She had cats; they reproduced and reproduced and there became an enormous number of them, Nelson said. This whole situation does not fit the hoarding definition by our state law.

In animal hoarding, Nelson explained, officials expect to find animals in poor conditions. The owner is protective of the animals and does not want to surrender them to authorities.

That is not what he found in Elkville. He talked to the tenant, and she was willing to give up the animals.

She understood she had too many animals. The cats were in very good shape, and they were well socialized. It wasnt like they were running wild in the house, Nelson said. She fed them, she watered them and they were taken care of.

Chelsea Trieb, manager of Humane Society of Southern Illinois, agreed that the cats were in good condition and very social when they were brought to the shelter in Murphysboro. The cats were all friendly and easy to handle.

It was pretty amazing, Trieb said.

What happened next is the really good news.

During summer, Trieb said the shelter is usually full of cats and kittens. As an open access facility, Humane Society of Southern Illinois does not turn animals away, regardless of their current shelter population or the condition of the animal. They received 43 cats from Elkville, plus more than 20 from other places over two days.

That made this an emergency situation. So, we made a plea on social media and reached out to local contacts for assistance first, Trieb said. Unfortunately, they were basically as full as we were.

Hospice Hearts, a rescue organization in Urbana, heard about the cats and began raising funds to care for them. They raised $4,000 to care for the animals. Students in University of Illinois Veterinary Program provided an emergency spay and neuter clinic. They also took the cats, plus some that were not from Elkville.

Because the fundraising covered the costs, Hospice Hearts was able to offer the cats to good homes at a discount. Most of them were adopted the next weekend during an adoption event. Trieb believes they found homes for around 80 animals during the event.

They all needed help immediately, and as a rescue community, we were able to help them, Trieb said. It was successful and that was the important part.

She added that it was a real team effort to pull off. Wright Way Animal Rescue and other shelters also helped.

Trieb and Nelson say the way to prevent overpopulation of cats and dogs is to have pets spayed and neutered. Reach out early if you need help controlling your animal population.

In the end, I wasnt the outcome she would have liked, but it did work out well, Nelson said.
DU QUOIN  The operator behind the rides at the Du Quoin State Fair said his company has gone above and beyond to ensure fairgoers safety.

Last month, an attraction at the Ohio State Fair split apart mid-ride, killing one man and leaving several others critically injured.

Freddy Miller, owner of Miller Spectacular Shows, said he takes extra precautions to ensure the amusement rides at the midway are safe.

In Illinois, fair rides must undergo an initial inspection by the state that is good for one year; theyre also subject to random checks.

Two ride safety inspectors began performing the state checks on the rides at the Du Quoin State Fair Aug. 21, said Ben Noble, public information officer with the Illinois Department of Labor.

Our inspectors are looking for mechanical safety, making sure that these rides are structurally sound to operate. That includes checking restraints and other parts of the rides, Noble said.

The faulty ride involved in the accident at Ohio State Fair, called the Fire Ball, swung riders in the air while spinning them; it malfunctioned due to corrosion on one of its beams. The Department of Labor suspended the use of similar rides at the Illinois State Fair last month. There are no rides similar to the Fire Ball at the Du Quoin State Fair, according to Noble.

In addition to the state inspection, Millers rides have been checked by a testing laboratory based out of St. Louis. He hires the lab every year when the rides come to Du Quoin, he said.

The company uses nondestructive testing techniques to evaluate the strength of materials without causing damage. One technique involves using a giant magnet to spray metallic dust over the sides of rides, making cracks visible on the surface. The company also does radiation testing to determine the thickness of pieces of metal.

They started yesterday morning  and they were there all day testing equipment, Miller said.

He said some carnivals only get inspected once a year, but Miller Spectacular travels so much that all the rides have already undergone state inspections in Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Kentucky and Illinois this year.

Even with all that, we still have our own men inspect every ride every day prior to opening, Miller said.

State inspectors will be available onsite for most of the fair, Miller said. If theres a potential concern  if a ride is making abnormal noises or motions  one of his workers will stop the ride, perform an inspection and call in a state inspector if necessary.

Miller Spectacular has provided the carnival at the Du Quoin State Fair for the past 17 years.

Through the years  (weve tried) to pass it on that the biggest thing that can happen here to improve safety is the public themselves, Miller said.

Parents should not let their children on rides if they dont meet the height requirements, he said.

The other thing is  we tell parents to watch a ride in operation before they put their kid on it. Watch and see what it does. If that ride goes up in the air, and you know your child is afraid of heights, dont put them on, Miller said, adding that in such a case, a child might try to get out of the restraints.

Some of the rides featured at Du Quoin State Fair include Orbiter, Pharaohs Fury, Super Shot, Sizzler, High Flyer, Zero Gravity and Eclipse. There are over 40 in total, Miller said.
CHESTER  With barely a moment to catch a breath from Mondays eclipse celebrations, Randolph County officials begin the countdown to the Illinois Bicentennial on Saturday. Local leaders are seeing this as a point of reflection  recognizing the hard times the state has endured and looking forward to its future.

Saturday, Kaskaskia Island will see throngs of visitors, including Gov. Bruce Rauner, for a ceremonial signing of the 1818 Illinois Constitution. According to a news release from Rauners office, this event will mark the kickoff of a 100-day countdown to Dec. 3, the day Illinois was officially recognized as a state.

The days festivities will also include stops at several other Randolph County historical sites, including the Pierre Menard Home, near Chester.

Chester Wingerter is the site supervisor for the Kaskaskia complex of historic sites, including Fort Kaskaskia and the Menard Home. He said budget cuts in the last decade or more have made it difficult to maintain the sites. He said the recent state budget impasse made it especially hard.

We couldnt even buy fuel for our mowers, he said of the financial strain.

To that end, he said places like the Pierre Menard Home look as good as they can given the incredibly limited resources available over the last few years. The Menard Home, Wingerter said, is in serious need of a new roof and could use a new coat of paint. Things looking this way may not be a bad thing, though. Wingerter said seeing such important places in the states history look a little rough around the edges might have an impact on state leaders.

Let them see whats happened over the last several years without money and without attention, he said. It is a chance for them to see with their own eyes of issues that we have.

Emily Lyons, curator for the Randolph County Archives and Museum, shared a similar sentiment.

Were hoping that they will be able to have more of an impact in their memory when they start planning whats good for the state, she said.

Randy Dunn, SIU System president and Bicentennial Commission co-chair, said he hopes that the events beginning this weekend to celebrate the states 200th birthday can help start to regenerate goodwill. He said he hopes the next year of celebration will help citizens and politicians alike set aside partisanship.

I hope thats how the bicentennial is viewed, Dunn said.

Dunn said he hopes the trip to the place where Illinois began, borrowing Randolph Countys slogan, will help the state leaders visiting from Springfield to recognize the treasures that exist downstate.

With the state budget now in place, Lyons explained that maybe spending money on such historic sites might be a good, visible way of reminding residents and visitors that the damage done by the impasse is slowly being repaired.

Wingerter said he has never known the good old days, as his co-workers might have. Nevertheless, he said no matter what has happened with budgetary or personnel restrictions, he has always done the best with what he has had.

I still want the place looking good, he said. Wingerter added that Julys news of the long-awaited state budget has given him a bit of hope about the future of these important sites that are to be celebrated this weekend.

At least that gives me something to look forward to, he said.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to correct Emily Lyons' last name. An earlier version used an incorrect name.
"Tracy and I can't thank the people of Southern Illinois enough for their support and their prayers. Our victory tonight sends a powerful message to out-of-touch politicians everywhere that we're unified and unyielding in the fight for our conservative values. Joe Biden's going to be held accountable for destroying the economy, ignoring the border crisis, and taking us from America First to America Last in two years flat. But none of this would be possible without the trust of voters from across our vast 12th District. Serving you is truly the honor of a lifetime."
ZEIGLER  In a standing-room-only special meeting Thursday, the Zeigler City Council answered heated questions from citizens about multiple FBI raids in the city earlier in the day, the subject of which was Ryan Thorpe, the citys treasurer.

Reading a written statement City Attorney Rebecca Whittington explained that Thorpe has been placed on administrated leave until further notice. The council also made it clear the leave was without pay.

The statement also laid out the timeline of events.

On the morning of August 24, 2017, FBI agents executed a search warrant at City Hall in Zeigler, Illinois, Whittington read. It was also noted during the meeting that agents  Mayor Dennis Mitchel estimated 15 total  were seen at Thorpes home as well, removing ATVs, firearms and a motorcycle.

During the new business portion of the meeting the council decided to temporarily stop all e-pay options for the public, also to remove Thorpe as a signatory on the citys accounts and to temporarily appoint Chris Scroggins as the citys CPA.

Public comment ran the gamut. Some were concerned about a conflict of interest in Thorpe being removed from his position but leaving City Finance Commissioner and alleged personal friend of Thorpe, Jim Flood.

Flood reminded those in attendance that Thorpe is innocent until proven guilty.

In an interview after a lengthy executive session, Mitchell said the relationship between Flood and Thorpe was typical of a small town. He said it would be hard not to be tied to someone in some way or another. He said their friendship made sense. He said it wouldnt make sense if they had an adversarial relationship.

It opens yourself up to speculation, certainly. But, you like to have some type of relationship with your employees, Mitchell said.

One crowd member responded that logic would say to separate the two.

Another question posed was why was the issue not caught prior. Mitchel was not sure. He said Dennis Uhls, who has performed past city audits, said he stood behind his work. Mitchel said the reports did not show any missing funds.

All tax monies were accounted for. All checks were paired with bank statements to verify those, Mitchell said the auditor told him. The most recent completed audit was through April 30, 2016.

Mitchell said Thorpe would have potentially had a hand in gathering information to be delivered to the audit team.

Mitchell explained that, like many small towns, Zeigler has been cash-strapped in the past.

As many small towns we have financial issues, Mitchell said.

One in attendance wanted to know how long it would be until the city knew how much was missing. Mitchell said he did not know. He said though their current audit is not due until December, he thought it was reasonable to ask that the auditor expedite the process.

Mitchell said he did not realize anything was up until he drove by city hall on his way to work.

Responding to a question about the possibility of federal money being mismanaged  leading to a federal investigative team coming to the office  Mitchell said Thorpe does have ties to federal dollars.

Our treasures office is also a treasurer for the federal drug task force. We sponsor that for the drug agents, Mitchell said.

Mitchell said he has been told that the investigation would not take long, but how long he was not sure.
ABCNews.com(WASHINGTON) -- National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster weighed in Friday afternoon on what he envisions as success in the Unites States ongoing war in Afghanistan.



"Winning in Afghanistan is really aimed at allowing Afghanistan to be Afghanistan. Not to create a state in the United States image," McMaster said on Friday.



"Winning in Afghanistan means that there are not terrorist groups who are able to control key parts of the territory and population centers there, that could be used to mobilize resources, raise funds, use those funds to then organize, plan and conduct attacks against us and our allies and partners," he said.



McMaster said that he wants "a sustainable outcome in the South Asian country.



"The outcome is to ensure that a threat from that region doesn't threaten the safety and security of the American people," McMaster said.



The question about his definition of success in Afghanistan came during a Friday press briefing at the White House, four days after Trump laid out his administration's plan for the country, where the U.S. has been at war since 2001.



McMaster's comments echoed portions of Trump's speech, as both stressed that it will be up to residents of Afghanistan to determine their country's fate.



"Ultimately, it is up to the people of Afghanistan to take ownership of their future, to govern their society, and to achieve an everlasting peace. We are a partner and a friend, but we will not dictate to the Afghan people how to live, or how to govern their own complex society. We are not nation-building again. We are killing terrorists," Trump said during Monday's address.



"The stronger the Afghan security forces become, the less we will have to do. Afghans will secure and build their own nation and define their own future. We want them to succeed," Trump said Monday.

Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
WASHINGTON -- Columbia native, Lower Richland High School and South Carolina State University graduate Bruce T. Crawford was promoted to lieutenant general on Aug. 17 in Washington, D.C.

Crawford was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the Chief Information Officer of the Army on Aug. 1, 2017. In his role as the CIO, Crawford is responsible for the Armys information technology strategies and policies. In addition, he manages the Armys $10 billion in information technology investments to support the Armys warfighting capabilities, information security, force structure and communications equipment.

I am humbled by this appointment and can think of no greater honor than being afforded the opportunity to continue to serve as the Armys CIO, Crawford said.

A native of Columbia, Crawford is a 1981 graduate of Lower Richland High School and has over 31 years of military service in a variety of leadership positions at all levels. Crawfords many command and staff positions have prepared him for his new role, but he credits his experiences growing up for his accomplishments. He credits his success to his grandparents, Heyward and Grace Spigner, both deceased, his mother, Sarah Crawford, and his father, Daniel Alston Jr.

Crawford learned valuable lessons about the importance of self-worth from his mother, who still resides in Columbia. From his father, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who also resides in Columbia, he learned the value of education and self-discipline.

Dr. Clarence Hill, veteran, Columbia resident, and his former high school teacher, took Crawford under his wing and convinced him to continue his education after a learning guidance counselor told Crawford he was not college material. When asked about his leadership philosophy, Crawford said that leaders must treat people with dignity and respect at all times. He understands the importance of taking advantage of opportunities and is forever grateful for the many people in his life who have placed opportunities in his path.

Crawford met his wife Dianne while they were students at South Carolina State University. They are the proud parents of two sons, including one currently serving in the U.S. Army and another studying computer science at West Virginia University. Crawford was commissioned as an Army officer through S.C. State's Army ROTC program after graduating in 1986 with a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering. He also holds masters degrees in administration from Central Michigan University and in national resource strategy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces.

Previous assignments include commanding general of the Armys Communications-Electronics Command in Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland; commanding general, 5th Theater Signal Command in Wiesbaden, Germany; and director of cyber in Europe. He has also served in numerous command and staff positions in Washington, D.C., Hawaii and North Carolina, including multiple deployments to Iraq with the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
The 2017 Freedom Fund Banquet sponsored by the Orangeburg Branch NAACP will be held Saturday, Aug. 26, at Edisto Fork United Methodist Church Christian Life Center, 356 Lariot Road (Highway 301 South) in Orangeburg.

"The mission of the Orangeburg Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is to ensure political, educational and economic equality of all people and to eliminate race-based discrimination," stated Barbara Johnson-Williams, president of the Orangeburg Branch NAACP.

She said the banquet raises funds to provide, adults and youth in our community with the opportunities and resources needed for educational, economic, personal and social development."

The event will begin at 5:15 p.m. with a reception and silent auction, followed by banquet seating a 6 p.m. The banquet theme is I Believe the Promise: Vote!

The keynote speaker is the Rev. Ellis White Jr., pastor of Edisto Fork United Methodist Church in Orangeburg.

A native of Lynchburg, S.C., he received a bachelors degree in political science from the University of South Carolina-Columbia and the Master of Divinity degree from Erskine Theological Seminary.

White is an ordained elder in the South Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church. He serves on the Orangeburg Area Boys and Girls Club board as chairperson of the Operations Committee.

Awards will be presented to several individuals who have made an impact on Orangeburg and surrounding areas as well as South Carolina and the nation.

For additional information concerning tickets, questions or concerns, contact Broadus J. Jamerson III at 803-534-2286 or Johnson-Williams at 803-534-1598.
The Charlottesville, Virginia, events were an eye-opening experience. They reminded us of the past and showed us how, if we don't learn from past mistakes, we are prone to repeat them. The demonstrations are a prime example.

Let's review our history. This is a history lesson being taught at levels at which everyone should be able to relate. America is the feminine Latin version of the first name of Amerigo Vespucci, an Italian explorer. Amerigo was born in Florence, Italy, in the early 1450s. Christopher Columbus, who many were taught discovered America, was born a little before that. Neither discovered America. Leif Eriksson and his explorers may have been the first Europeans to set foot on America. Columbus could have been the second European and Vespucci the third. Now that, hopefully, I have dispelled that myth, let's move on.

Another history lesson: America has never been totally occupied or owned by white people. When white people arrived on its shores, it was occupied by Native Americans. They could have lived peacefully together as long as the environment was protected and lives were respected. But the whites got greedy and wanted it all. They committed genocide to get it. So when they talk about taking America back, I ask, back to where? Back to where there were only Native Americans or back to where whites thought they could and should control everything?

Now to the Civil War. Three events happened that marked the beginning of the Civil War. It started with the secession from the Union, followed by the formation of the Confederate States of America. Then the firing of the first shot from Fort Sumter in South Carolina. This happened during the period of January to April 1861. By this point, the Confederate soldiers were no longer citizens of the United States of America but were citizens of the Confederate States of America.

They forfeited their citizenship when they withdrew from the Union. They forfeited their citizenship to fight for the right to own enslaved people. Mind you, only a few of the soldiers were actually slave-holders. Most were not, simply because they were too poor.

Contrary to some folks' information, the Civil War was fought about slavery. Numerous original authoritarian documents from that era say so. As a result, more than 700,000 people lost their lives. The Confederate States lost the war, a large portion of their male citizens and most of their property. Robert E. Lee was charged with treason and was saved from death by his fellow West Point graduate, Ulysses Grant. The surviving soldiers of the Confederacy had to sign loyalty oaths to get back their citizenship and some of the property they lost. The bottom line is that they lost the war. Losing was not the fault of the former slaves, it was a result of being ill prepared, inhumane and ignorant.

Reconstruction began after the war ended and the country began trying to pull itself back together. There was still a lot of anger, but the federal soldiers seemed to keep it under control. However, when they left, a lot of what had been achieved began to unravel. Most of the animosity was taken out against the former enslaved people. Those who held elected offices in the local, state and federal governments were removed by one means or another. They were denied the opportunity to vote and hold certain kinds of jobs, and they never received their promised 40 acres and a mule so vital in beginning their new lives as free people. Those who could left the area and ventured out west or to Canada or Nova Scotia. The rest remained in the South and suffered more indignities and loss of life.

Nathan Forester in Tennessee founded the KKK as a means of intimidation and this organization spread from state to state. The Confederate flag, which was not a battle flag, became one of its symbols. It is always found in places where people try to intimidate black people. It is the sign of a loser. Most of the statues of the Confederate heroes that were erected came about more than 50 years after the war ended. They were erected in retaliation for what was never to be again. They were erected because the South was angry that it lost, that black people had acquired the vote, that many were acquiring land and an education and were leaving the poor white Confederate wannabes behind.

Now let's skip ahead about 70-75 years to World War II. During this period, a man by the name of Adolph Hitler promised Germans that he would make Germany great again. He just didn't tell everyone how. Ultimately his plan was to eliminate the gypsies, the Jews and any other group that did not belong in the group known as Aryans. (Aryans were described by Nazis as members of the master race who had Nordic features and were not Jewish.) This was done by forcing them into concentration camps and then systematically killing them. More than 7 million people lost their lives. The United States sent thousands of soldiers to Europe to fight the Nazis. Many Americans died, but they saved many Jews, gypsies and others from death. As can be expected, the Nazis lost.

Does some of this sound familiar? We see some of that happening here now. I call it the whitening of America. The people who are being deported are people of color. You don't hear about any Europeans being deported. Some of the most ruthless criminals in this country are Russian. The new immigration regulations that the president wants to institute will eliminate the possibility of people of color entering this country as immigrants. The travel bans were directed at people of color. Think about it. Make America great again!

Now, in Germany, it is against the law to utter any Nazi slogans or give the salute. Recently, a 41-year-old American was seen doing that while visiting Dresden, Germany. He was beaten to within an inch of his life, supposedly by a German citizen. I expect that he will also have to face charges for violating the laws of the country.

What is it that the skin-heads, neo-Nazis, white supremacists, KKK and the rest of their ilk see in trying to emulate these losers? It's probably because, psychologically, they are losers too. Many come from undereducated, underemployed circumstances and feel that because they are white they should always be in better circumstances, whether they deserve it or not.

However, there are some who do not come from those circumstances. They are college-educated, have good jobs and live the American dream. The problem there is though they were probably brought up in Christian homes, they do not live a Christian life. They hate, they don't love. They are greedy, they are envious, and they are selfish. They have no moral core.

The face of that movement was a man who was interviewed on one of the cable news stations. He talked about possibly killing people, indicated that he was carrying a gun that he was not afraid to use and that he felt no sympathy for the young woman who was killed. However, when confronted with the fact there was a warrant out for him, he started getting weepy. A typical bully. As long as he has his gun and his people around him, he's big and bad. When he finds out he is alone, he's an impotent wimp.

We have a president who has no moral core. He lies, he has the temperment of a child going through the terrible 2s, he thinks he knows it all and his world revolves around him. He has empowered these losers who are trying to wreak havoc on our country. It is now up to us to voice our displeasure. Vote, become educated and make America develop all of its potential, in spite of him.

America must stay awake. We don't want to have to repeat any of those awful, painful lessons.
Regarding your editorial "Journalism is a noble profession" in the Aug. 24 edition, I would like to voice my complete agreement. There is no doubt that "... journalists work hard, honestly, and without improper influence."

However, in my estimation, there are two problem areas of modern-day journalists that cause concern:

 The tendency to cite some news sources as "anonymous due to the sensitivity of information."

 Not including all the facts of a situation, condition or perspective when trying to relay a consistent theme or informational track.

When reporters do not feel they can divulge source names, they are at that point, whether they like it or not, of directly injecting their own biases of what is right or wrong to report, rather than perhaps simply stating: "No information was available for this story."

Indeed, The T&D has the policy (and rightly so) that letters to the editor must be signed to be published, and the identity of the author known. I could not send an anonymous letter and be published. But having no anonymous sources causes problems for editors in that reporters may not be able to report news.

However, in those cases, news should be reported as undocumented rather than as anonymous news. Hence, anonymous news then becomes what it really is: either real news or apparent heresy. Yes, it could indeed be "fake news." Using anonymous sources has become a major complaint of the Trump administration, and frankly, is somewhat justified.

With regard to the media not including all facts in coverage of an event, condition or perspective, your editorial did rightly acknowledge the "big media," which the editorial suggested included television, as having "interwoven opinion and news in their programming ... leaving the consumer to decide between objectivity and subjectivity," harming the image of "all media all the way down to community papers."

And unfortunately, I see the same tendency in major newspapers of South Carolina and the nation, as well as our beloved community paper, The T&D. For example, in the same Aug. 24 edition as the above-mentioned editorial, the front page's very excellent pieces written by staff reporters and John Mack on the Aug. 23 County Council meeting (which I attended) about the business license fee and Yonder Field compliance respectively were very articulate and forceful, about citizens objecting to both the fee and Yonder Fields policies and practices.

But there was no balance -- nothing from citizens who might support the business license fee as well as from owners and supporters of Yonder Field -- except for predictable endorsement quotes from County Administrator Harold Young, who rightly should back his own County Council.

From the content of the articles, I would suppose there was massive resistance to both the business license fee and Yonder Field, which may or may not be the case. But fortunately, I was there and I know WHY The T&D articles had no pro-people. No pro-business-license people or Yonder Field people actually spoke, and in balanced reporting that would have been good for the reporters to have stated -- perhaps something like, "No one was present to speak in favor of the business license fee or Yonder Field venue," or something like, "No pro-license or pro-Yonder Field people were available, or able to be reached, etc."

I should say that I myself do not favor the business license fee, and I'm unsure of the impact of Yonder Field. But notwithstanding my own feelings, objective and balanced reporting is needed.
The Times and Democrat has written previously about the issue of history and monuments, statues and memorials. On this page today, we offer viewpoints of two contributors related to the issue. Below, are examples of how two newspapers, just as people, can see the issue differently.

 Houston Chronicle: A long running controversy came to a quiet culmination at the University of Texas at Austin as workers removed three Confederate statues from their pedestals on the campus of our state's flagship university.

It's about time. More than a century has passed since a former Confederate officer, Major George W. Littlefield, specified in his will that he wanted life-size likenesses of Confederate war leaders positioned around the campus.  Generations of Texas students seeking a higher education have since been subjected to these monuments honoring men who committed an act of treason in defense of slavery. What happened in Charlottesville, Virginia, earlier this month finally provided the impetus for an action that was long overdue.

The statues of Confederate generals ... won't be destroyed. Instead, they will be moved to the Briscoe Center for American History on campus, the same place where the university decided to move a statue of former Confederate President Jefferson Davis in 2015. That's an altogether appropriate locale for likenesses of men whose movement was long ago consigned to the dustbin of history.

 The Daily News of Bowling Green, Kentucky: The Civil War happened in this country. It is a part of our history, which faithfully records the good, the bad and the ugly.

There were those who fought for the Confederate and Union armies. They were all very brave men who fought for their convictions and their beliefs.

After the Union defeated the Confederates in the war, monuments to both Confederate and Union soldiers and their leaders went up across the country in the late 1800s and early 1900s. 

During the past few years, we have sadly seen an all-out attack on monuments, primarily Confederate monuments 

According to a new poll conducted by Marist for NPR/PBS "NewsHour," 62 percent of Americans want Confederate statues to remain where they are. We really do believe it is a slap in the face to descendants of Confederate veterans for local elected officials to have these monuments moved. ...

 We view these Confederate monuments as historical markers that honor courage of those who fought bravely and in many cases died for their beliefs. They need to be left alone for future generations to see and learn from.
Betricia Stowe and her mother, her number one supporter, share a deserving moment of satisfaction.

Betricia Stowe said that, although she may not have achieved the grades she was hoping for, it was still quite an achievement to obtain 13 passes in one sitting in this years Caribbean Examinations Council Secondary Education Certificate Examinations (CSEC).





And having sat and passed Mathematics while still a Fourth Form student, young Stowe boasts 14 CSEC subject passes.





In all, she obtained eight Grade Is, four Grade IIs and two Grade IIIs.





She obtained Grade I passes in English A, Mathematics (which she earned a year ago), History, Information/Technology, Electronic Document Preparation and Management, Office Administration, Theater Arts and Principles of Business.





Grade IIs were obtained in French, Social Studies, Physics and Biology, and the two Grade IIIs were in Ad Mathematics and Chemistry.





"I feel really good that I am second for my school, but when I initially got my results, I was upset about Chemistry, Stowe told THE VINCENTIAN.





She explained that her scheduled was such that she had to write Chemistry and Theatre Arts on the same day, with a mere five-minute break between the papers.





But she was nevertheless satisfied with her overall effort although she admitted to not being a very disciplined individual as it pertained to getting school work done.





Stowe said that she had to force herself into a routine, buckled down, and made sure she spent quality time studying, focusing on the subjects she said she knew were challenging.





On reflection, she said that she was grateful to her teachers and friends and God, and all those who supported her along the journey.





But she was particularly thankful to mom Patricia Baptiste who she said was her number one supporter.

"There were times when I thought that I could not do it anymore, but then she helped me to start over again and I was able to do it, Stowe said.





She will be entering the Division of Arts, Science and General Studies of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Community College where she intends to further her studies in Maths, Biology, Chemistry and IT. She admits that she expects the Math and Chemistry to the most challenging for her.
Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Ambassador Irwin LaRocque has urged Sweden to use its position in two major international organisations to highlight the unfair labelling of some of the Communitys Member States as "non-cooperative tax jurisdictions.





Speaking at the CARICOM Secretariats Turkeyen, Guyana headquarters during the accreditation ceremony of Swedens news Ambassador to the Community, Her Excellency Elizabeth Eklund, the Secretary-General said, "As we seek to diversify our economies and build our services sector, some of our Member States, engaged in financial services, have been labelled as non-cooperative tax jurisdictions. This is despite the fact that the countries in question are not so designated by the relevant global authorities, such as the Financial Action Task Force and the OECD Global Forum.





"As a member of the EU and the OECD, Sweden can assist in encouraging these bodies to be guided by the informed position of the relevant global regulatory authorities and desist from their unnecessary seemingly punitive actions, he added.





The Secretary-General called attention to the decision earlier this year by the European Union Council to screen some CARICOM Member States to determine whether they were co-operative tax jurisdictions, using new criteria. "The stated criteria go beyond the generally accepted international tax transparency and accountability standards which our countries have been meeting over the past several years, he pointed out.

It was extremely onerous for small countries to address different international initiatives which dealt with the same, similar or related subject matter yet stipulated different sets of criteria, he observed. "There appears almost to be a predisposition to blacklisting our countries, Ambassador LaRocque stated.





He said a major consequence of this blacklisting was the "de-risking strategies being employed by certain international banks which had resulted in the withdrawal of crucial correspondent banking relationships.




Dr. Julian Ferdinand was said to have brought a breath of fresh air to a style of politics that had become stale.

Opposition Senator Dr. Julian Ferdinand says that his decision not to avail himself for future consideration as the New Democratic Partys candidate for the West St George constituency, does not mean that he has turned away from active politics.





Speaking to THE VINCENTIAN via telephone on Wednesday, Dr. Ferdinand explained that he had requested not to be considered as the candidate for West St George on the grounds that he has a tight schedule at the University of the West Indies, where he lectures, and that in anticipation that there will be snap elections, it would have meant that he would not have been able to effectively fulfil his obligation to the party.





"So I decided that it was in the best interest in the party and country that I step aside, he said.





Ferdinand admitted that he could be wrong with the prediction of a snap election, but still held out that a high possibility was that the next General Elections could be held before the 2021 date when it is constitutionally due.





"And when you look at this, the responsible thing for me to do is to step aside in anticipation of a snap election, he reiterated.





Dr. Ferdinand emphasized that he continued to fully support the NDP.





Earlier this week, news broke that prominent lawyer Kay Bacchus-Baptiste was being considered to replace Dr. Ferdinand as the candidate to contest the West St George constituency against, more than likely, the incumbent Cecil McKie.





Dr. Ferdinand, lecturer, columnist, author and business consultant, first contested the seat back in the 2015 General Elections and was subsequently appointed as one of the two opposition senators in Parliament.
Left;The debris rested against the window, blocking the view from inside the house. Right: The rains caused the high earth bank to come tumbling down on the back of the house.

Yvette Glasgow is a 76-year-old spiritual Baptist. She worships at the St. Bethel Baptist Church at Block 2000, Kingstown.





Glasgow, though, resides at Edinboro and has done so for the last 38 years.





She was, up to Wednesday this week, trying to restore a sense of normalcy at her residence, after the rains and water flows associated with the passage of Tropical Storm Harvey  Friday 18th August  caused a rush of water and debris into her home, destroying furniture and household equipment, and leaving a collection of materials outside and inside the house.





"It was like a river, Glasgow recalled, especially with a return of heavy showers in the evening.





Last Wednesday, Glasgow summed up her situation as "waiting and hoping and watching that when things can move back in its rightful place.





She regards herself as being "blessed, even though her prevailing situation might be unbearable.





She is thankful for two direct reasons. The first is that the damage occurred during the daylight hours - around nine that morning - and secondly, burglar bars at her residence served as a barrier and prevented even more debris from crashing into the house.





"I still have to give God thanks and praise, Glasgow outlined.





Even though some family members, including her son Thaddeus and grandson Raphael Dennie, moved swiftly to tackle the cleaning job, Glasgow had to seek refuge for a few days, at her sons residence in Calder Ridge.

Since her return to Edinboro, a team from Bridges, Roads and General Services Authority (BRAGSA) has effected some cleaning. A follow up exercise was slated to have taken place during the week.





Glasgow suffers from diabetes. Her husband Joseph Glasgow, a former Banana Growers Association worker, died in 1999. Her children have since dispersed, although Thaddeus and Raphael give her close attention.

The Edinboro district is prone to the dislocation of stones, carved into the steep terrain of the hills that form a skyline around the city. Glasgow is aware of this, but this is the first time she has been directly affected.





Raphael, a fifth form student of the Dr. J. P. Eustace Memorial Secondary School located in Edinboro, assured that the family had heeded the advice attendant to the storm warnings, and had taken some precaution. For example, those rooms below the hills were vacated. The family was safe, but furnishings and household equipment will have to be replaced.





Thaddeus is "glad everything worked out. He was thankful that there was no loss of life, and that the damage was not total.




Members of Vincy Liberators SVG, including President Artis Davis (right), and Ms. Karen Johnson (2nd from left) at the presentation ceremony.

On 22nd August, 2017, Vincy Liberators SVG handed over a quantity of supplies, including adult disposal diapers and walkers, to the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital.





In presenting the items, Mr. Artis Davis, President of Vincy Liberators SVG, stated that his organization was pleased to be of assistance to the Hospital in this manner, and promised further assistance in the future.





Ms. Karen Johnson, who represented the Hospital Administrator, thanked the members of Vincy Liberators SVG for their kind donation, and wished that the collaboration betweenthat organization and the MCMH would continue to grow.





Ms. Johnson assured that the supplies and equipment will be of great benefit to the patients at the facility. (Contributed).




Thousands of Vincentians from all walks of life on Saturday converged on Heckscher State Park in East Islip, Long Island, outside New York City, for the annual Vincy Day USA Picnic.

Nationals, friends and supporters from across the United States and Canada, and even from home, descended on the picturesque campgrounds, in picture-perfect weather, for the 6th annual family day.

Picnic-goers feasted on mouth-watering Vincentian delicacies  such as breadfruit and saltfish, blackfish, callaloo soup, pelau, souse and roasted corn  and washed them down with local drinks  mauby, ginger and sorrel beers, and Ju-C.

They also, among a host of other things, renewed acquaintances, "old talked and partied before the huge stage on the eastern end of the mammoth grounds, where soca and reggae artistes entertained the crowd.

"We feel at home, we feel welcomed, well come again, said Millicent "Millie Johnson, sitting at a table with her sisters, Frances and Althea, in a VINCENTIAN interview. The Johnson sisters  all Georgetown natives and Brooklyn residents  attended the picnic for the very first time.

"Its good to see so many people, chimed in Althea. "Its really nice.

Frances agreed: "Its beautiful. Ill love to come again.

Olson Thomas, also a Georgetown native and president of the Brooklyn-based St. Vincent and the Grenadines Humanitarian Organization, said the most important thing to him was meeting friends he had not seen in "donkey years.

"The weather today is beautiful, said Thomas, a retired public and private school teacher in Brooklyn, and former head teacher of the Union Methodist School at home, who attended the picnic for the 4th consecutive year. "This is nice. Were enjoying it.

Audrey Horne of Georgetown, Silvern Hackshaw of South Rivers, Joyce James of Kingstown, and Ann White of Troumaca, feasted on pelau a short distance from the central stage.

"Its the best thing for the closing of the summer, and we look forward to it, said Hackshaw, stressing that she is a "true, true Vincy.

"It just come here to relax and to see people Ive not seen in a very long time, Horne added.

Allison Vincent of Belair, came from home to be part of the Vincy get-together.

"Ive heard and read about it in papers, and its nice, said Vincent, attending the picnic for the first time, as family friend Ron John of Mesopotamia, barbecued chicken on a small grill. "The atmosphere is good.

Clyde Griffith of Byera, brought along his Jamaican friend, who wanted to be identified only as "G.

"Its very good, love it! exclaimed Griffith, barbecuing chicken and pork on a grill, who lives on Union Street in Brooklyn. "The unity, my Vincentian people in one place, the togetherness  its a beautiful thing.

Calbert Pierre of Chateaubelair was hanging out with his girlfriend Shelly King of Belair, and his daughter Shirley John of Prospects.

"Its a good thing, they said, in unison, about the picnic. "You re-acquaint with friends you have not seen in a long time. Its a good outing.

The James cousins, of South Rivers  Cheryl, Daphne and Lana  shared their meals and drinks, as most picnicgoers, with passersby.

"Its good that Vincentians get together once a year for this special event, which were so proud of, said Daphne, a registered nurse at St. Luke-Roosevelt Hospital in Manhattan, serving as the unofficial spokesperson for the family. "Nice to see everybody together, drinking, having fun. Its a beautiful day, and we love the spirit of unity and togetherness.

James Cordice, the former president of the Philadelphia-based St. Vincent and the Grenadines Organization of Pennsylvania, Inc. (SVGOP), said two bus-loads of nationals trekked from Pennsylvania.

"I think its a wonderful idea to have his gathering, said Cordice, the Clare Valley-born architect of St. Vincent and the Grenadines participation in the annual Penn Relays at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, before helping to serve rice and peas and other delicacies. "I think its a good idea to bring Vincentians together, especially the young.

Nearby, Lorenzo DeCaul, also a former SVGOP president, who hails from Biabou, "shoot the breeze with his homeboys Donald Jacobs and Lennox Daniel, a former St. Vincent and the Grenadines Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations.

"Its good to see people you have not seen for so long in an atmosphere thats friendly and loving, said DeCaul, sipping a drink from a plastic glass. "This is truly what Vincentians are  loving, peaceful. You cant beat us.

As the initial vice chair of the VINCY DAY USA Organizing Committee, Daniel said he had predicted that the picnic would "expand beyond everyones expectations.

"Vincentians get the opportunity to display a variety of Vincentian dishes, including my favorite breadfruit and bowljowel [saltfish mixed with onions, peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes and other ingredients], he said. "Its always an opportunity to meet new friends within St. Vincent and the Grenadines and the wider Caribbean Community.

Daniel met Olton Olliver, of Barrouallie, director of Site Engineering with New York City Department of Design and Construction, for the first time.

"I support it [picnic] because it promotes togetherness among Vincentians, said the South Ozone Park, Queens resident. "This is the only time when I have the opportunity to be among a large amount of Vincentians.

Marlene Alves of Bequia said she was able to reconnect with a high school classmate after over a decade.

"Its like rejuvenation, she said. "Hopefully, well get to have a soiree in the near future.

Crispin and Ancilla Friday brought along their two daughters, Christine and Krisann.

"Its a loving atmosphere, theres no animosity, said Ancilla, who hails from Ratho Mill. "When you come to New York, everybody is together. Everybody lets their arms down in peace and unity.

"Its a homogenous feeling, added Crispin, a former Beachmont, Kingstown resident, who traces his roots to Bequia. "Ill like this togetherness to transfer to back home. Theres no politics in it [VINCY DAY USA Picnic].

Junior Hewitt, president of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Association of Massachusetts, said two busloads of nationals came from Massachusetts.

"We all feel good coming down [to the picnic], said the Sion Hill, Kingstown native, flanked by his wife, Ann, of Dorsetshire Hill, Kingstown, and other members of the group. "Were glad we got lots of people to come down, and were looking forward to having more people come next year.
Left: Five-day-lunch scholarship awardees TKaya Williams (left) and Kayanna John (right) with Mrs. Julia Richardson, Proprietor of Vee Jays Restaurant and Bar. Right: Shamur Williams  one-Friday lunch scholarship awardee, pictured with his mother.

In this, 2017, its 40th year of providing exceptional local cuisine and impeccable customer service to locals and visitors alike, Vee Jays Restaurant and Bar, with its main outlet on Bay Street, Kingstown, is into executing a year of activities to commemorate the milestone.





As part of that year of activities, Vee Jays launched a School Lunch Scholarship Programme which, commencing September 2017, will offer lunches each day for five days a week, for the expected five-year period at secondary school, to two successful CPEA students.





In addition, the Scholarship Programme will extend one Friday lunch under the same conditions, to a child of a long-standing customer.





Towards this end, Vee Jays announced earlier this week that Kayanna John - of the Barrouallie Anglican School and TKiya Williams - of the Biabou Methodist School were awarded the five-day-a-week lunch scholarships, and Shamur Williams of the Troumaca Government School, the one Friday-a-week lunch award.





Kayanna and TKiya will attend the St. Josephs Convent Kingstown, and Shamur is heading for the Thomas Saunders Secondary school.





The two five-day-launch awardees were recommended by their respective principals, based on their performance at this years CEPA.
A 62-year-old Belair woman has complained to THE VINCENTIAN of a terrible experience she encountered during her recent visit to these shores.





Elsie Green, who has been living in Toronto, Canada for 29 years, said she arrived at the Argyle International Airport on July 19, for a four-week vacation in her homeland.





She was scheduled to depart SVG on August 18, but due to a Tropical Storm Warning issued for that day, all flights were cancelled indefinitely.





Fortunately, the tropical storm was not as severe as predicted, as it passed over mainland St. Vincent. The warning was discontinued and the airport was reopened at 4:00pm that day.





"When I heard it was reopened, I hustled with my 18-year-old daughter and grandchildren to get there. I got there between 5:30 and 6:00 p.m. The woman at the desk took my documents, but handed them back to me, saying she did not see any connecting flight for me from Barbados, Green explained.





The upset woman, who preferred not to be photographed, noted that her flight from St. Vincent was originally scheduled for departure at 11:00 a.m., to arrive in Barbados for 12:15 p.m., for a connecting flight to Toronto at 3:45 p.m.





"Since then, I have been stuck here. I am diabetic, the medication I brought to last me for the month has finished, the woman complained, adding that her husband is also seriously ill with a heart problem in Toronto.





Green believes that if the woman who dealt with her at the airport had put them on a flight to Barbados, they could have been able to get out, as she had her daughter and three grandchildren, ages 3, 6 and 7 with her. She was scheduled to arrive in Toronto at 9:27 p.m. that night.





Green said she subsequently called her travel agent in Toronto, and was told she would not be able to get out until September 3.





Green, who said she has been a Nursing Assistant at a hospital in Toronto for the past 15 years, is worried that her job might be at stake.





"I cant go because I am stuck here, I cant get out until September 3. I only came for four weeks. I am upset, I am mad that I am still here.





The woman, who said she returns to her homeland every three or four years, declared, "I born here, but I would not feel to come back, having gone through this terrible experience.




By Azernews





By Sara Israfilbayova

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries intends to invite Libya and Nigeria to the next meeting of the Joint OPEC-Non-OPEC Technical Committee (JTC) or the Joint OPEC-Non-OPEC Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC).

The next JMMC Meeting is scheduled for September 22 in Vienna.

The Cartel of 14 oil nations added that the JMMC will continue to monitor other factors in the oil market and their influence on the ongoing market rebalancing process.

All options, including the possible extension of the Declaration of Cooperation beyond Q118, are left open to ensure that all efforts are made to rebalance the market for the benefit of all, the OPEC reported.

The JMMC was established following OPECs 171st Ministerial Conference Decision of 30 November 2016, and the subsequent Declaration of Cooperation made at the joint OPEC-Non-OPEC Producing Countries Ministerial Meeting held on 10 December 2016.

The meeting sow 11 (now 10) non-OPEC oil producing countries agree with the 13 (now 14) OPEC Member Countries in a concerted effort to accelerate the stabilization of the global oil market through voluntary adjustments in total production of around 1.8 million barrels per day. The deal that came into effect on 1 January 2017 was for six months.

In May 2017, the OPEDC and non-OPEC states agreed to extend the voluntary production adjustments for another nine months commencing 1 July 2017.

Libya and Nigeria were both exempted from the OPEC oil output cut deal.

The JTC earlier reported that the compliance level of OPEC and participating non-OPEC countries has dropped from 98 percent in June to 94 percent in July.

Compliance with the deal has been high so far but OPEC production hit a 2017 peak in July, in part on increased output from Libya and Nigeria.
By Azernews





By Laman Ismayilova

The Azerbaijani Embassy in China has arranged the country's stand at the 25th International Book Festival, which opened in Beijing.

The stand features 1,000 books and magazines that highlight the life and activity of national leader Heydar Aliyev, promote Azerbaijan's arts and culture, literature, carpet weaving tradition and tourism potential.

Moreover, the books provide an insight into the causes and consequences of the Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Azertac reported. There are also encyclopedic publications about Azerbaijan in Chinese, Russian and English languages.

Asias largest book fair brings together 2,500 exhibitors from 89 countries and regions.

Of the 300,000 titles on exhibit, 10,000 were selected for display in a special area of influential books published in the past five years.

Oman, Azerbaijan and Ukraine attended Beijing Book Festival for the first time.

The Azerbaijani stand at the exhibition has aroused great interest of local and foreign visitors.








By Azernews





By Ali Mustafayev

Since Turkey announced its intention to ink customs deal with the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), it has prompted public and political debates regarding status of the Turkish-Armenian border.

The Turkish-Armenian border has been shut since 1993. The occupation of the Azerbaijani territories by Armenian Armed Forces, ethnic cleansing against Azerbaijanis and Yerevans claims to recognize the so-called Armenian genocide were the reasons for the closure.

Although the Foreign Ministers of Turkey and Armenia signed protocols on normalization of the ties back in 2009, Ankaras demand to free the occupied regions of Azerbaijan as a point of the agreement was refused by the Armenian side and the deal was undermined.

As Yerevan is desperately looking for different ways to get out of the isolation, the country began to dream of rapprochement with Turkey through the EEU, the member of which is Armenia.

Armenian media began to disseminate reports about soon opening of the Turkish-Armenian border -- the only land border between Turkey and the EEU customs area stressing that any deal between Turkey and the Russian-led trade bloc would have to be backed by all EEU member states, including Armenia.

Turkeys former minister for EU affairs Egemen Bag?s, commenting on the issue, emphasized that opening of the Turkish-Armenian border is out of the question.

Turkey will not take any steps that could hurt Azerbaijan's interests, Bag?s told Trend, adding that, the two countries are strategic partners.

For years, Ankara conditioned any improvement in bilateral relations with Yerevan on Armenian troop withdrawals from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijani MP Elman Nasirov believes that opinions that the treaty between Turkey and the Eurasian Union may prompt an initiative to open the Turkish-Armenian border are baseless.

Noting that the Turkish government has not yet approved signing of any customs deal with the EEU, Nasirov added that even if Turkey intends to make such a step, it doesnt mean that the border with Armenia will be opened.

It is impossible. President of Turkey Recep Tayyip has repeatedly announced that the border with Armenia will remain closed until Armenia puts an end to the occupation of Azerbaijans territories and Armenian troops are withdrawn, he said.

Nasirov reminded that Armenia's declaration of independence, the state emblem and its constitution contains territorial claims against Turkey.

Therefore, Turkey's borders with Armenia can not be opened, the MP said, noting that Armenian reports have no real basis.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding regions. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations.

Armenia still controls fifth part of Azerbaijan's territory and rejects implementing four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding districts.

More than two decades have passed since the ceasefire agreement. For all these years, the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has been supposed to find a solution by peaceful means. However, the reluctance of Armenia does not let to end the conflict and to restore peace in the South Caucasus.
By Azernews





By Ali Mustafayev

Elnur Guliyev, the father of little Zahra murdered by Armenian militaries, said that a complaint was submitted to the European Court of Human Rights over the murder of his daughter and mother.

The two-year old Azerbaijani toddler was killed together with her grandmother Sahiba Guliyeva by the Armenian armed forces on July 4 during the shelling of the Alkhanli village of Azerbaijans Fuzuli region. Salminaz Guliyeva, 52, who got wounded, was taken to a hospital and was operated on.

We filed a complaint to the European Court of Human Rights, on the murder of my daughter and my mother by the Armenians, the grieving father told local media. All the necessary documents were sent. The whole world must know that my child and my mother were savagely murdered by Armenians for no reason.

This is not the first time when innocent Azerbaijani children become victims of the criminal regime of Serzh Sargsyan. Armenia constantly resorts to vile military provocations with the aim to kill Azerbaijani citizens living in frontline settlements.

Most recently they targeted the Garalar village of Azerbaijans Tovuz region, where they wounded teenager Ramil Yusibov. The boy was in the yard of his house when an Armenian shell fell there. Receiving multiple shrapnel wounds, Ramil was urgently operated in the region hospital.

Since a war in the early 1990s, Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities.

For more than two decades the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict fails to be resolved due to Armenias unconstructive position and unwillingness to engage in negotiations with Azerbaijan.

However, the international community remains blind to these terrible crimes, as Armenia still remains unpunished for them.
By Azernews





By Ali Mustafayev

Qatars Foreign Ministry has announced the embassy for Chad was closed in retaliation for Chads decision to cut diplomatic ties. Doha gave personnel 72 hours to leave the country.

The emirate had decided "to close the Embassy of the Republic of Chad in Doha and to give diplomats and embassy staff 72 hours to leave the country," said Qatari Foreign Minister Ahmed bin Saeed al-Rumaihi, Daily Sabah reported.

The statement was announced 24 hours after the same move was made by the African state. The Chadian Foreign Ministry announced closing of the embassy of Qatar in N'Djamena and requested the departure of the ambassador and diplomatic staff within 10 days over Dohas alleged attempt to destabilize the country through neighboring Libya.

The Qatari side added that the reason of closure of the Qatar Embassy in NDjamena is political blackmail against the State of Qatar with the intention of joining the siege countries for very well known reasons.

In early June, Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing Doha of supporting terrorist organizations and destabilizing the situation in the Middle East. Several other countries followed suit. Mauritania and Senegal also recalled their ambassadors from Qatar in June. Doha rejected the accusations.

Kuwait, acting as a mediator in the crisis, handed over the four Arab states' ultimatum containing several demands to Doha. However, Qatar refused to comply with the demands.

Senegal later decided to restore its embassy in Doha and announced willingness to cooperate in order to regulate the Gulf Conflict.
By Azernews





By Amina Nazarli

Once you travel to Azerbaijan be sure to visit Kish, one of the oldest villages located in the northwestern region Sheki.

The village roads are made of fluvial stone. Thats why it is recommended to wear comfortable shoes, and enjoy the majestic view. Here, fluvial stone is present everywhere. Streets, fences around the homes, and even houses are built of this beautiful stone.

The village is well known for its unique ancient Albanian temple - mother of Alban churches. This ancient monument of Azerbaijani-Albanian architecture is believed to be the oldest church in the Caucasus, founded in the 1st century by the Apostle Eliseus.

Researches show that the Kish church can be considered as one of the cradles of Christianity and embodies this country's ancient history and rich cultural heritage through the centuries.

For centuries, the church functioned as a spiritual center and place for enlightenment for people of the East.

The tiny village populated with some 6,000 inhabitants may not impress you at first glance. However, just walk the quiet cobble-stoned streets to the Kish church to see a captivated perspective against a background of lofty mountains.

A steep but manageable climb up to the church, beautiful quiet setting with some amazing views all around definitely deserves it.

This temple attracted famous Norwegian explorer and scientist Thor Heyerdahl in 2000. Study, restoration and conversion of the ancient church started the same year and finalized in 2003 jointly by Norway and Azerbaijan.

Nowadays, the church is functioning as a museum that is open for all the curious tourists. About 10,000 tourists from Russia, Spain, Italy, Germany and Arab countries visited the church just since early 2017, said Ilhama Huseynova, the Director of Kish Historical and Architectural Reserve.

The Kish Alban temple was included in the list of world-wide monuments by the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan dated August 2, 2001 and protected by the state as a historical and architectural monument. In 2003, the Historical-Architectural Reserve Museum was established in the area of the temple.








FinTech Hive at the Dubai International Finance Centre (DIFC), the first-of-its-kind accelerator in the region, has the commencement of its inaugural accelerator programme today (August 21).



The programme features 11 finalists and brings together an emerging generation of technology leaders and entrepreneurs to address the evolving needs of the regions financial services industry by providing a platform in which they can collaborate with leading regional and international financial institutions.



Today marks a pivotal moment for FinTech Hive at DIFC. Not only are we kicking off the first cycle of the accelerator programme but we are also excited to announce our first batch of finalists. These 11 start-ups demonstrate a delicate balance of remarkable vision, practical application and commercial potential in the FinTech space, said Raja Al Mazrouei, acting executive vice president of FinTech Hive at DIFC.



The accelerator programme, launched in partnership with Accenture, is a key component of FinTech Hive at DIFC. It consists of a 12-week curriculum in which a group of selected finalists work closely with financial institutions and other stakeholders to create real solutions that aim to address the evolving needs of the regions financial services industry.



Several criteria were used to evaluate finalists, including the level of business maturity, the potential to thrive in the FinTech Hive at DIFC ecosystem and degree of fit with the partnering financial institutions.



We received an overwhelming number of applications for the programme a testament to the demand for such an initiative and the quality of proposals was very impressive. I would like to thank all candidates for their efforts and strongly encourage them to continue to work hard towards progressing their FinTech ideas. I have no doubt the sector is one that will only pick up pace and create more opportunity in the future, added Al Mazrouei.



The programme will run for 12 weeks. In the first phase, each finalist will meet with executives from the accelerators financial institution partners - including Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Citi, Dubai Islamic Bank, Emirates Islamic, Emirates NBD, HSBC, Mashreq, Network International, RAKBANK, Standard Chartered and Visa -in which they will discuss industry challenges and possible solutions to address them.



Participants will also meet with representatives from strategic partners, Dubai Islamic Economy Development Centre (DIEDC) and UAE Exchange. During these meetings, the executives will hear more about the technology, provide preliminary feedback and discuss potential mentorship opportunities.



The second phase will revolve around engagement with partners and mentorship by the financial institutions, as well as other select partners who will cover technology, legal, Islamic Finance and regulatory themes to name a few. DIEDC will connect the finalists with fellow entrepreneurs in Islamic FinTech at a dedicated start-up event, while leading international law firms Clyde & Co, Simmons & Simmons and Support Legal will offer advice on how to navigate the regions legal landscape.



In addition, Envestnet | Yodlee, Facebook and IBM have been brought on board as technology partners. Careem will provide discounts on transportation services for the duration of the programme and Rove Hotels will offer special rates on accommodation for participants.



Telecommunication partner, Etisalat, will enable Wi-fi connectivity in the workspace and provide mobile SIM cards to the programme finalists. Furthermore, Erevena will leverage its global network of tech professionals to connect participating FinTech firms with a diverse talent pool, supporting the growth of their teams and business.



Senior executives from DIFC Authority, Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) and Accenture will also be available throughout the programme to provide clarity around business procedures and the regulatory framework in the Centre.



The third and final phase will be pitch preparation for the Investor Day in mid-November. On this day, each start-up will promote its product to a host of investors, bankers, government officials and members of the media.



Participating companies will benefit from the recently introduced Innovation Testing Licence (ITL), which allows qualifying FinTech firms to develop and test their concepts from within the DIFC, without being subject to the regulatory requirements that normally apply to regulated firms.  TradeArabia News Service
Dubai Exports, the export promotion agency of Dubai Economy, has expanded its network with the opening of a new overseas trade office (OTO) in Hong Kong.



The new OTO is part of the Dubai Exports strategy to widen its global footprint and boost exports from Dubai and the UAE in general by enabling local companies to reach out to promising markets and potential buyers overseas.



The Hong Kong office  seventh in its growing international network for Dubai exports - will open up new channels for local companies to connect to the Far East where growing demand for competitive products and services have created a diversity of opportunities.



"We are delighted to launch the Dubai Exports office in Hong Kong, which is a significant value addition to the exports trade and an ideal opportunity to sustain the growth of our local companies in international markets, particularly those in East Asia, which are witnessing continued growth and diversification," said Sami Al Qamzi, director general of Dubai Economy.



"These overseas trade offices represent a competitive service destination for promoting productive linkages. They are a valuable platform for UAE companies to benefit from unique trade promotion expertise as well as periodic studies on business landscape and opportunities in their host countries and neighbouring markets," added Al Qamzi.



"Total non-oil trade in Dubai reached Dh327 billion ($89 billion) in the first quarter of 2017, representing an increase of 2.7 per cent over the same period last year," said Engineer Saeed Al Awadi, CEO, Dubai Exports. "The Asian region remained the top non-oil trade partners for Dubai in the first quarter of 2017 and that reaffirms Hong Kong as a strategic growth opportunity for us in Asia."



Al Awadi added that Dubai Exports had organised six trade missions through its OTOs during the first half of 2017. The missions helped local companies connect with 353 international buyers and the overseas trade offices facilitated 232 bilateral meetings for local exporters in H1 2017 compared to 201 in the same period last year. The OTOs also received more than 70 import requests in H1 2017.



"The growth seen in exports from Dubai has inspired local companies to seek new opportunities abroad," commented Al Awadhi. "Through the overseas offices, Dubai Exports assists local companies on the critical aspects of penetrating foreign markets, starting with good preparation as well as knowledge of the business landscape and export opportunities in the medium term."



Speaking at the launch, Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Group Chairman & CEO, DP World, said: "We are delighted that Dubai Exports is opening a new office in Hong Kong. Both Hong Kong and Dubai are at the crossroads of world trade and we share a common history as capitals of commerce, with well-developed logistics infrastructure that has enabled the growth of our economies over the years.



We are proud to be playing a significant role in trade between the two cities through our flagship operations in Jebel Ali Port and our operations in the Port of Hong Kong building on firm partnerships already exist especially through Jebel Ali Freezone in Dubai which is home to 32 Hong Kong companies and saw trade worth $339.7 million with Hong Kong in 2016. In addition, DP World and our partners are investing $1.9 billion in China port terminals until 2020 and we already have operations alongside Hong Kong, in Qingdao, Tianjin and Yantai. The region will continue to play a major role in our global network across 40 countries and we look forward to working with Dubai Exports to grow trade there for the long term."



Nabil Sultan, divisional senior vice president, Emirates SkyCargo, commented: "I'm delighted to congratulate Dubai Exports on establishing a footprint in what is undoubtedly one of the world's busiest and biggest air freight markets. Emirates has been flying to Hong Kong for well over two decades and we currently have 26 freighters and 28 passenger flights connecting Hong Kong to the rest of the world weekly through our global network of over 155 destinations across six continents. Emirates SkyCargo is a leading facilitator of trade - connecting suppliers, manufacturers and end customers around the world, and we look forward to working with Dubai Exports to help regional exporters from Hong Kong connect to their customers in Dubai and beyond."



Dubai Exports also organised a panel discussion on the sidelines of the opening of the new office with representatives of the Hong Kong Trade Development Authority, Dubai Ports World and Emirates SkyCargo in attendance. The participants highlighted the importance of linking Dubai and Hong Kong, both prominent re-export hubs and gateways.  TradeArabia News Service
Saudi Arabia is expected to restart work on the $26.6-billion expansion of the Grand Mosque in Makkah next month, nearly two years after work was stopped on the project, a Reuters report said.



Saudi Binladin Group, the main contractor stopped the work in the wake of a crane collapse at the site that killed 107 people in September 2015.



Work will resume after the annual Haj pilgrimage, and Saudi Binladin will pay outstanding salaries owed to staff involved in the project beginning on August 20, Reuters said quoting a notice that the company sent to banks.



Saudi Binladin, one of the country's top construction conglomerates, and the the Ministry of Finance were not immediately available to comment, the report said.



The plan to restart construction at the Grand Mosque is a fresh sign of the rehabilitation of Saudi Binladin, which was temporarily banned from winning new state contracts after the crane collapse.



Earlier reports said another stalled government project in which Saudi Binladin is involved, the $3.5-billion construction of the Abraj Kudai hotel complex in Makkah, will restart in coming months.



The company also restarted work earlier this year on the new King Abdulaziz Airport in Jeddah, Reuters said.
More than 120,000 people entered four of Wyomings state parks during eclipse weekend, setting records and far exceeding expectations.

About 45,000 people visited Glendo State Park between Aug. 18 and Monday, the day of the eclipse, said Domenic Bravo, Wyoming State Parks, Historic Sites and Trails administrator. That number doesnt include the hundreds or even thousands of people who pulled off the interstate near the park or stayed in the town of Glendo.

An average August for Glendo State Park typically records about 39,000 visitors. The town of Glendo itself has a population of 203.

More surprising for Bravo was the nearly 40,000 visitors who went to Boysen State Park, a long reservoir nestled halfway between Casper and Lander. The closest town to Boysen is Shoshoni, population 644.

Usually only about 16,000 people go to Boysen in an average August.

It was pretty amazing, Bravo said. Ive done many events throughout my career in Nevada and here, and it was an amazing thing.

The parks had very few issues, and many visitors left the park cleaner than they found it, he said.

Guernsey State Park, an off-the-beaten-path hideaway near the small towns of Guernsey and Hartville, experienced a surge of 31,693 people. The four days of visitation is about triple what the park usually receives in a month.

Even Sinks Canyon State Park near Lander, which was on the edge of the path of totality, had a jump in traffic. About 1,600 people went through the one-room visitors center on Monday alone.

Weve been planning this for two years, Bravo said. Our volunteers were absolutely amazing. Our volunteers helped us and tripled our staff. We wouldnt be able to do without them.

In the northwest corner of the state, traffic increased in Grand Teton National Park by about 40 percent compared with the last two years during Mondays eclipse, the park reported Friday.

For the first time in the parks history, all backcountry permits were issued for three straight days leading up to the eclipse. Park campgrounds were near capacity, and the park bookstores had record-setting sales.

Park officials spent two years working with other agencies and businesses in Teton County to prepare for the influx of visitors. They expected Monday to be the busiest day in the parks history.

Early estimates show Wyomings population of about 585,000 may have almost tripled during the eclipse. The path of totality  when the moon passed directly over the sun  ranged from Wyomings northwestern corner to the southeastern one, providing many viewing options.

Many agencies and businesses working in tourism hoped the eclipse would not only provide a boost in revenue for the weekend, but also generate return visitors.

While state parks doesnt have money from park fees tallied quite yet, Bravo does believe those state parks near totality will continue to see more users.

We will be thoughtful how we do marketing around it, he said. I was working Guernsey, and there were bottlenecks and people saying we didnt realize the park existed. They realized the amazing venues we have up here and loved the customer service and will come back and enjoy them again.
Flickering lanterns line the walls, light bulbs dangle from rope over the bar and paintings of 1920s-era pinup girls and gangsters adorn the indoor columns.

Welcome to The Gaslight Social, one of downtown Caspers newest bars.

It was only one day after the official opening on Aug. 16, but the drinking establishment already appeared to be a hit.

Patrons crowd in at the bar and servers in black tank tops and jeans scurry throughout the 11,000-square-foot structure, passing out cheeseburgers and pepper jack macaroni and cheese.

Co-owner Matt Galloway takes a seat and explains hes running on only four hours of sleep  not that hes complaining.

It was amazing, he said about the opening night, adding that about 800 customers stopped by.

Opening right before the Wyoming Eclipse Festival  which was expected to bring in about 35,000 visitors  might seem a bit brazen, but Galloway is no stranger to running a bar.

He also co-owns The Keg and Cork and Galloways Pub, both of which are located on the outskirts of Casper. But the entrepreneur said he wanted to be part of downtowns revitalization.

New businesses, like Raccas Pizzeria Napoletana and Urban Bottle, have been popping up in Caspers core since the city started planning the David Street Station, a downtown plaza which opened this month.

City officials, who have spent years working to develop the downtown area, intended for the plaza to have this effect and hoped it would result in a livelier city center.

I thought to myself Im going to be on the outside looking in, recalled Galloway. I wanted to be part of this major movement.

Plans for The Gaslight Social began a year and a half ago, and Galloway said his initial goal was to create a diverse establishment that appealed to different ages and offered a range of activities.

People want to do different things in one night, he explained.

In addition to the main space, the bar includes a quieter lounge area with booths and blue sofas and a back room filled with arcade games and a photo booth.

Theres also a 6,000-square-foot outdoor space, which patron Jennifer Mayer said she enjoyed.

Pointing out that that summer doesnt last long in Wyoming, the Casper resident said she likes to soak up the sun during the warmer months.

Although her favorite area was outside, Mayer said she was impressed with the entire establishment.

It feels like youre not even in Casper anymore, she said, explaining that the bars interesting decor isnt like anything else in town.

Much of the decor was created by locals, according to Galloway.

Metal work was done by a local welder, local craftsmen created the wooden tabletops and a local tattoo artist named Peanut painted the pin-up girls and gangsters.

Anytime we could get it done locally, we got it done locally, said Galloway. Its important to me to pay it forward.

Shira Ferwerda, who formerly worked at Galloways Pub, said she was excited to switch to the Gaslight.

Opening night was crazy, according the bartender, who said she heard nothing but positive feedback from patrons.

Theyre excited about how many beers we have on draft, she said.

The bar has 32 beers on tap and will eventually offer 13 handcrafted cocktail options.

All patrons, however, werent there for the alcohol.

Novella Marvel said she wasnt interested in drinking but still wanted to check out the new establishment.

I like to go to the newer restaurants in town, she explained, adding that she thinks its especially important to support businesses that are locally owned.

Marvel said the Gaslight is an interesting concept.

I like the idea of games with food, she said.

Eight entrees and one cocktail special were offered during the first week, but Galloway said the menu will be expanding later this month.

An abbreviated menu made it easier to handle eclipse crowds, he explained.

Adding that the Casper community has always been enthusiastic about his new businesses ventures, Galloway said he wants residents to know he appreciates the support.

I cant thank them enough, he said.
A federal humanities program selected a University of Wyoming project as one of 245 programs to receive federal grant money so that the university and its partners can explore the relationship between elk and the tribes on the Wind River Indian Reservation.

The $150,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and matching money from private donors will fund the multiyear program, slated to begin in 2018.

The project, titled Understanding and Communicating the Role of Elk on the Wind River Indian Reservation, involves research and educational programs to discover and understand the traditions of the two tribes on the Wind River reservation, the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho. The two tribes have had a long relationship with the big-game species, which has been included in the tribes songs, art and stories for years.

The program involves five partners: the universitys High Plains American Indian Research Institute, the Wind River Native Advocacy Center, the Wyoming Humanities Council, and Fremont County school districts No. 14 and No. 21.

Led by Jason Baldes, head of the advocacy center and an enrolled Eastern Shoshone, an objective of the program is to gather songs, oral histories, tribal language vocabulary, and chants of the tribes in order to create an elk cultural collection, Baldes said in a statement.

The collection will be used to create a K-12 program guided by tribal members. The curriculum will be opened to teachers in the Wyoming Indian and Fort Washakie schools in the projects third year.

Too many of our states residents know little to nothing about the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho people, Shannon Smith, director of the state humanities council, said in a news release. It is time to bring their stories into the mainstream of our educational system, and Im delighted that this project can take steps to rectify that situation.

Besides the curriculum, the program will also include a social media campaign and website to spread information about elk and their impact on tribes culture to communities. There will also be an internship program and a professional development workshop for university and Wind River Tribal College faculty and students.

This award is something we are very grateful for and excited about, James Trosper, director of the research institute, said in a statement. This is a unique opportunity to capture and communicate the stories, legends, and beliefs of the people of Wind River in regard to elk, and its a great way to tie the humanities with science.
Natrona County students ACT scores fell slightly last year and were just below the state average, and officials at area high schools are doing deep dives into their data to turn scores around.

Were not pleased with where we are, Associate Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Walt Wilcox said Wednesday, six days after the ACT scores were released by the state Department of Education.

Eight-hundred and eleven Natrona County 11th-graders averaged a 19.3 on the ACT  out of a possible 36  last year, down nearly a half-point from the year before and below the statewide average of 19.7 (itself a drop from the previous years 20.0). Though the declines are small enough to be considered statistically insignificant, Wilcox said the district still wanted to see improvement.

Wilcox and Charlotte Gilbar, the director of assessment, said Natrona Countys ACT benchmarks include the score typically needed to enter the University of Wyoming  a 21  and standards set by ACT itself.

For instance, the benchmark for English is 18, reading is 22, math is 22 and science is 23.

If a student were to get one of those scores, ACT would say they are ready to go on to a post-secondary education, Gilbar said. So we would love our students to hit those.

Natrona County School District students averaged below the ACTs benchmark scores for all areas except English.

Wilcox and Gilbar said the districts four high schools  Midwest, Roosevelt, Kelly Walsh and Natrona County  either have completed or are in the midst of taking a deeper look at their testing data.

Theyre identifying the what, Gilbar said. The harder part is the why. So the high schools are doing that, and the teachers are doing that so the people who are closest to the data are the ones doing that work.

Last month, the Department of Education released the assessment scores for third- through eighth-graders, and the findings were similar: The district generally fell below state averages. Though students had made improvements compared to previous years, the strategy for raising those scores was virtually the same for boosting ACT results: continue working to align teaching efforts across the district and identify students who need additional help.

Wilcox said for Natrona County and Kelly Walsh, which averaged scores of 19.1 and 20.3, the number of students in the schools  and the number of teachers needed to instruct them  can make it difficult to make sure the curriculum is uniformly aligned from class to class.

Were not comfortable with where the scores are now, Wilcox said.

Midwest  which tested only nine 11th-graders  and Roosevelt averaged a 16.1 and 15.3, respectively. Wilcox said that while those schools are also developing work plans to lift their scores, both have extenuating circumstances that help explain their low scores.

For instance, Midwests low number of test-takers means that one very low score can skew the entire sample. Roosevelt, which is an alternative school, has doubled in population in recent years, putting a strain on staff there.

The ACT has taken on increased importance of late, as lawmakers debate Wyoming students success and the amount of money invested in that success. Wilcox acknowledged the ACT has been somewhat politicized, and he stressed that in any case, the results are still valued greatly by districts.

But he reiterated what some lawmakers and other educators have repeated: Wyoming is one of less than 15 states that tests all students, whether theyre heading to college or not, and that can have an impact on the data.

He said the younger students assessments, which are performed nationwide and on which Wyoming students typically score well, are a better indicator of student achievement. The ACT, meanwhile, was never meant to do that, he said; its meant as a way to gauge readiness for a post-secondary education.
Wyoming sent its new statewide education plan to the federal government recently, outlining several long-term academic goals for the states schools, including an 88 percent high school graduation rate and higher proficiency levels for students.

The plan  which sets benchmarks for the next 15 years  is a requirement of the Every Student Succeeds Act, the replacement for No Child Left Behind. It sets standards for student and school achievement and includes provisions to help those that fall short of the goals.

Generally, the new law gives states more control over their own education systems, state Superintendent Jillian Balow has said, and it avoids punishing underachieving schools.

Our charge is clear: school needs to be relevant for all students, and we can do better than we did under No Child Left Behind, she said in a department press release.

The deadline for states to submit their the plans is Sept. 18. The U.S. Department of Education has 120 days to conduct a peer review, evaluate the plan and offer feedback, according to the press release.

In addition to the graduation rate, the plan calls for:

59 percent of third- through eighth-graders to be proficient or better in math;

65 percent of third- through eighth-graders to be proficient or better in reading;

46 percent of high school students to be proficient or better in math;

39 percent of high school students to be proficient or better in reading.

The benchmarks are not a statewide average, officials have said. Schools have 15 years to hit the targets, with incremental goals along the way.

The plan also identifies four indicators for elementary and middle school achievement, and five for high school. They include achievement on the statewide assessment, graduation rate, English language proficiency and post-secondary readiness.

The plan is ambitious: The statewide graduation rate is now less than 80 percent, and Wyomings third- through eighth-graders have not hit the 59 percent proficiency level in math for at least three years, according to department data.

In Natrona County, the graduation rate is 74 percent, and most students fall below the proficiency levels targeted in the plan.

This signifies the official end to No Child Left Behind. The shift from compliance and success for some students ... to responsibility and success for all students through a well-rounded education ... will not happen overnight, Balow wrote in a memo sent to superintendents recently.

Officials hope the 15-year timeline gives schools enough time to meet the goals. State aid will be available for those that struggle. For instance, schools with a graduation rate below 67 percent will participate in state-led supports such as data reviews, assessment literacy training, professional learning communities, and implementation of Multi-Tiered System of Support, according to the department.

The 73-page ESSA plan also includes information on how the department will use federal funds.

The department gathered data from listening sessions, town halls and public meetings throughout the drafting process. Gov. Matt Mead also had 30 days to review the plan and signed off on it in a letter dated Aug. 17.
CHEYENNE  The fourth town hall meeting sponsored by the nonpartisan organization, Wyoming Progressives, wasnt as well attended as the first three but may have been more productive overall.

As usual, the audience members were allowed to state their views and address their questions to the three missing members of Wyomings congressional delegation.

The three, Sens. Mike Enzi and John Barrasso and Rep. Liz Cheney, were represented in a familiar tableau  their photographs propped up on folding chairs.

Their representatives had attended the first town hall meeting but have sent letters of regret instead for the last three sessions explaining why they werent there  other commitments and so forth.

Although Wyoming Progressives is politically nonpartisan, the meetings attract more liberals than conservatives.

When moderator Dave Lerner asked for a show of hands from the group of about 30 people last Tuesday evening at the library, only three identified themselves as conservatives; the rest were left or left-leaning.

Given that uneven representation, the conservative congressional delegation, if they had shown up, could have contributed to a balanced discussion of the issues, one member claimed.

The goal of the organization, according to its purpose statement, is to increase awareness and to support progressive issues through active civic engagement and activism.

To bring back the power of the vote to all citizens.

In keeping with that goal, the first speaker was Ken Chestek, chairman of Wyoming Promise, the grassroots group promoting the ballot effort to overturn the U.S Supreme Court ruling in the Citizens United case.

The petitions now being circulated call for a 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would do that through a statewide ballot initiative.

The purpose is to get dark money out of politics, Chestek said.

The deadline for submitting the signatures collected is February 2018 to get on Wyomings November 2018 general election ballot.

The group also heard a detailed discussion of the Affordable Care Act or Obamacare and the funding perils to the program that may come from the Trump White House.

Floyd Esquibel of Cheyenne, a former long-term member of the Wyoming Senate, said he would have asked the states delegation why the government didnt negotiate with the pharmaceutical companies to lower the cost of drugs.

This set off a discussion about bills before Congress, alive and dead, that would foster such negotiations.

Tensions began to creep in when one of the three conservatives said he supported President Donald Trump and believes he will remedy the mistakes off of his predecessor, President Barack Obama.

The remark sparked murmurs of disagreement.

One member demanded that the conservative give examples of mistakes made by the former president.

The conservative replied by citing the Keystone pipeline.

Another member said that project violated the treaties with the Indians.

The conservative said he didnt blame the congressional delegation for turning down the town hall visit, given the poor treatment one of their staff members received at the first meeting which he had also attended.

All you wanted to do was pick him to pieces, he added.

He said he felt sorry for progressives.

Most progressives and liberals that I have talked to are like a closed book, he added.

Look in the mirror, the other member shot back.

At that point Lerner, a former anchor with Channel 5 in Cheyenne, quickly stepped in to cool things off.

He suggested starting a conversation with some things everyone agrees with, such as support for the Wyoming Cowboys and the Denver Broncos or even tourism.

The meeting then settled down into some quiet, prolonged discussions of various issues.

Lerner said later that he was pleased with the meeting because it allowed people to get a serious discussion about the issues. In the previous meetings, the people were given two minutes to explain their viewpoints which because of the larger turnout meant insufficient time for deeper discussions.

This was what I was hoping for, Lerner said. That we could focus on key issues.

And I can attest that these were all Wyoming people engaged in civic activities, not outside agitators or paid protestors said to infiltrate other town meetings around the country.
It was a Saturday morning in late August: State Fair Parade day. I was up early as usual and took care of chores. I hooked up the horse trailer and loaded my horse, saddle and dogs. The drive through town was slow. Progress was impeded by vehicles, floats, trailers and horses, and people were all in a hurry and impatient to get to wherever it was they were going.

Chairs lined the streets for blocks. Bleachers and rows of reserved seating hemmed the center street. Colorful banners draped across the streets fluttered and snapped in a late summer breeze.

I maneuvered through the chaos until I reached the south end of town  and I kept driving south.

I drove until I reached the end of the pavement, and rolled onto a dirt road. Billows of dust rose and settled lazily behind me, marking my trail as the miles separated me from small-town Wyoming, where droves had gathered to attend the annual Wyoming State Fair.

Known also as the showcase of Wyoming this event is one that most folks work and look forward to from year to year. Livestock shows, exhibits, rodeos, concerts, carnivals and more draw people near and far. To the local folks, its a reunion of sorts: time to see old friends and make new ones.

In the past, I participated in what seemed like hundreds of state fairs, showing horses and competing in rodeos. This year was different. I was seeking something else.

My journey eventually took me to other dirt roads, each less used than the last, until I coasted to a stop in a small mountain meadow.

Soon I was riding deep into the timber, dogs trotting along. I stopped to pull wild ripe raspberries from thorny branches that hung heavy with fruit. In the clean sand alongside a tiny creek I found the paw print of a black bear. I placed my hand in the print, comparing size. My horse drank deep, and the dogs lowered their bellies into the cool water. Summer songs from the high country birds drifted down through the branches of evergreens and aspen.

Indescribable beauty, peace and tranquility was everywhere. The rays of the sun sifted through the trees, mingling with rich scents of the mountain. I drew in the warm, earthy smells and soaked in the serenity.

This was the salve that I needed: a place of pristine beauty, rich in nature and gilded in peace. I wanted to hear only the soft sighs of Wyomings autumn breezes whisper through the trees. I hungered for time to think, to hear my own heartbeat, and to escape mortal mayhem.

I needed a recharge.

My life isnt full of sweet, harmonious music. Sometimes the gust of life pushes me off center. Sometimes its darn right messy. It tastes of salt, bewilderment, and broken dreams. Its a pickpocket that robs in the darkness and escapes capture.

Nostalgia is the collaborator. It stirs up the memories of when you walked away from a rodeo with team roping buckles or a trophy saddle. A movie in your brain plays and replays, and once again you are that strong, independent cowgirl who trained her own horses and worked more than one job to support her ranching habit and have money for rodeo entry fees. The ringing of the phone early in the morning was commonplace: someone calling to ask if you can come help brand, gather or work cows because youre a good hand. It brings up the painful awareness of lost confidence and the bodys failure to maintain youth. Yearning fails to light a fire hot enough to destroy the beast of self-doubt within, and all that remains in the ashes left behind are the memories and the deep ache of wanting to be that girl again.

Recharging is my life jacket. The quiet illuminates all the things that Im blessed with: a good life full of contrast  soft rains, good horses, contented cows, sunshine, grasslands, mountain views, Wyoming skies, the American flag and the Wyoming flag. It is embellished with adventure and rich with opportunity.

Sometimes we end up doing something that makes no sense, but a little voice inside whispers:

Thats it, right there. This is why youre here.

Your heart skips a bit, and you realize the truth.

Embrace life for all it has to offer. I need to do it more often, and Im so grateful that I live in Wyoming. Its the perfect place to do just that.
They are devious hitchhikers, uninvited houseguests of the worst kind.

Bedbugs - those tiny bloodsuckers that sneak into your home, hide in cracks and crevices and come out at night to feast. On you.

While bedbugs have been around just about as long as man has - they were found in Egyptian tombs and Aristotle wrote about them - their presence started making headlines a few years back, as hotels, apartments, dorms and homeowners battled the little buggers.

In Tucson, bedbugs weren't much of a problem until fairly recently, when local pest control professionals started noticing a steady rise in reports.

"It definitely seems to be an increasing problem," said Dawn Gouge, public health entomologist with the University of Arizona College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

"But we certainly are getting better at learning how not to invite them home and what to do if we find out they have arrived."

So how do you keep bedbugs from invading your home? And what should you do if you suspect you are not alone in your bed?

"First of all, don't panic," Gouge said. "Breathe. Understand that bedbugs are not associated with unclean environments and they do not transmit disease. But they should be taken extremely seriously."

Signs that you may have bedbugs include finding the bugs themselves, eggs or excrement; small spatters of blood on your sheets and, in some people, red, itchy welts from an allergic reaction to their saliva.

Gouge said having bedbugs - which can live weeks, months or even a year between feedings - can be one of life's more stressful situations. Recent studies have linked bedbug infestation to reports of anxiety and even suicide.

While it takes dedication and persistence - and a really good pest control professional - you can win the war over bedbugs, Gouge said.

"The sooner you contact a pest management professional, the easier, the faster and the cheaper it will be," Gouge said. "There are no over-the-counter products that will eradicate bedbugs. You can kill them, but to truly eradicate them you need pest management professionals that have equipment, access to specialized products and the knowledge of how to use them."

She said frustrated victims of bedbugs can make the problem worse.

"A lot of the things people do are often far more damaging and dangerous than the bedbugs themselves," Gouge said. "People will put gasoline or rubbing alcohol around the edges of their mattress. They will spray pesticides on their bed, they will apply pesticide even to their own person. You should never do that."

She said following fairly simple rules can prevent infestation and minimize treatment.

Doug Brunner, contract administrator at University Termite and Pest Control in Tucson, said residents often wait until the problem is out of hand.

"Residents are reluctant to make that call because of the social stigma," he said. "It's the impression that if you have bedbugs you are obviously doing something wrong, and that is not the case."

He said people can pick up bedbugs anywhere and bring them home. "Bedbugs are everywhere. They are in restaurants, movie theatres, on trains and airplanes. bedbugs are kind of like hitchhikers. It's an accidental introduction."

University uses integrated pest management - everything from vacuuming to targeted pesticide application - to kill the bugs. Residents must follow a protocol that will keep pests from resurging. In general, treatment costs $70 an hour, with an average home requiring three to four hours, Brunner said.

Treatment is followed up two weeks later with reinspection and more treatment, if needed.

Vacuums and pesticide are not the only methods effective in killing bedbugs. Burns Pest Elimination also uses dogs and heat to find and eliminate bedbugs.

Sage Garvey, director of technical operations at Burns, said the company has 13 specially trained dogs that sniff out bedbugs statewide.

The team of canines includes labs, beagles, Bassett hounds and others trained on the scent of bedbugs.

"They are far better and faster at detecting bedbugs than humans," Garvey said. If dogs smell the bugs, they alert the handler, who makes visual confirmation.

Burns uses chemicals or heat - which is pricier - to kill bugs. Treatment can cost $400 to $2,000, depending on the size of the property and extent of the infestation.

Garvey said a convection oven is built in a home or business. The building is heated to 138 degrees for up to 10 hours, killing the bugs.

Garvey said the increase in bedbugs "took the pest control industry by surprise."

"We are just now probably at our peak in terms of incidence," he said.

Prevent bedbugs from taking up residency in your home:

 Never move furniture from the curb-side or from a dumpster into your home.

 Avoid moving secondhand furniture, especially a mattress or box spring, into your home.

 Inspect rented furniture before accepting it into your home. Avoid renting bedroom furniture.

 When traveling, check motel/hotel rooms before unpacking. Check the mattress, box-spring, and behind the headboard for signs of bedbug activity. Do not place luggage on the bed or on the floor near the bed. The safest place to stow luggage is in the bathtub or shower.

 Upon returning home, leave your suitcase in the garage and machine-wash and dry all clothing at a high temperature or dry clean.

 Reduce clutter. An uncluttered home is much easier to monitor and remediate.

 Wash bedding weekly and dry items on high heat (140 degrees) for an additional 40 minutes after they are dry.

 Do not take blankets, pillows or stuffed animals to hotels or other homes.

 Consider placing bedbug monitoring devices such as ClimbUp Interceptor traps under bed legs.

 Vacuum weekly at a minimum and discard bags or canister content into outdoor receptacles.

 Fit mattresses and box-springs with encasings designed to prevent the movement of bedbugs in and out of bed sections. If an encasement tears, it should be replaced immediately.

More online

 www.cals.arizona.edu/pubs/insects/az1563.pdf

 www.epa.gov/bedbugs

 www.bedbugbmps.org

Common bedbug myths

Myth: You can't see a bedbug.

Reality: You should be able to see adult bedbugs, nymphs and eggs with your naked eye.

Myth: Bedbugs live in dirty places.

Reality: Bedbugs are not attracted to dirt and grime; they are attracted to warmth, blood and carbon dioxide. However, clutter offers more hiding spots.

Myth: Bedbugs transmit diseases.

Reality: There have been no cases or studies that indicate bedbugs pass diseases from one host to another.

Myth: Bedbugs won't come out if the room is brightly lit.

Reality: While bedbugs prefer darkness, keeping the light on at night won't deter these pests from biting you.

Myth: Pesticide applications alone will easily eliminate bedbug infestations.

Reality: Bedbug control can only be maintained through a treatment strategy that includes a variety of techniques plus careful monitoring. Proper use of pesticides may be part of the strategy, but will not by itself eliminate bedbugs.

Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Did you know?

In 2011, Arizona joined several other states enacting bedbug legislation. The legislation assigns specific responsibilities to landlords and tenants in multifamily housing. This law does not apply to a single-family residence. Landlords are required to provide existing and new tenants with educational materials on bedbugs. Additionally, landlords are prohibited from knowingly leasing a bedbug-infested residence. The legislation requires tenants to notify the landlord of a bedbug infestation.

If you detect bedbugs:

 Do not panic.

 Call a pest control professional.

 Do not move items in or out of infested rooms, including electronics, which can harbor pests.

 Do not use foggers or bug bombs. Certain products encourage the movement of bugs into wall voids, making remediation more challenging and expensive.

 Do not host visitors while you are battling bedbugs.

Source: University of Arizona Cooperative Extension and UA entomologist Dawn Gouge

Contact local freelance writer Gabrielle Fimbres at gfimbres@comcast.net
We've collected a few front pages from newspapers.com to give you a look at some Aug. 25 papers in history. With a subscription to newspapers.com you can search the Arizona Daily Star and many other newspapers using keywords or dates, and download articles or pages.
Bodies of Fritz Sisters Found on City Outskirts

Girls Missing Since Aug. 16

By DAVE GREEN

Skeletons of the Fritz sisters, missing since Aug. 16, were found yesterday by detectives in a desert area north of the city and a 23-year-old ex-boyfriend of the oldest girl has been charged with murder.

Charles Howard Schmid, of E. Adams St., was charged with two counts of homicide after an informer led city detectives to a hill north of the city near Alvernon Way and Pontatoc Rd.

There detectives discovered the bones of Gretchen Fritz, 17, and her 13-year-old sister, Wendy. Identification was made last night by Dr. Louis Hirsch, pathologist.

How the girls were killed is not yet known. It is presumed that death was caused by strangulation since there was nothing found yesterday to indicate that the girls were beaten or shot to death.

Police Chief Bernard L. Garmire said the first break in the case came late Monday night when the informer called Tucson police from Columbus, Ohio, and said he knew where the bodies of the missing girls could be found.

Detective Sgt. Robert Wilhelm was sent to Ohio and returned to Tucson with the informant who was said to have taken police to the northside area yesterday morning.

The bodies were not buried. The bones were lying on the ground atop a small hill and detectives pointed out that fresh tire tracks and beer bottles at the location indicated the desert area was most likely recently used by some person.

Detectives expressed doubt that someone had not seen the bones of the missing girls prior to their discovery yesterday. Remnants of clothing were found on one of the bodies but the other was unclothed. Garmire said it could not be determined yesterday whether the girls had been sexually assaulted.

Schmid was identified as a suspect in the case by the informant, according to detectives. He was taken into custody at his home shortly after noon yesterday.

Both the informer and Schmid had been questioned a short time after the disappearance of the two girls.

An anonymous caller to the Star last night identified the informer as a one-time friend of Schmid and said he thought the suspect to be innocent of the crimes.

Police would not reveal the name of the informer and would only comment that "he is available to us."

The Fritz girls were two of four teenagers who disappeared in Tucson during the past 18 months.

It was a pretty Palo Verde sophomore, 15-year-old Alleen Rowe, who was first reported missing from her home at Cuernavaca Pl. on May 31, 1964.

The mother awaited the return of her daughter home from school on the following day but she never returned.

From the beginning Mrs. Norma Rowe insisted her attractive daughter was the victim of foul play.

City detectives began an investigation and during the course of that probe Schmid's name first came up. He was named by the missing girl's mother and by Alleen's friends as an ex-boyfriend of the blonde sophomore.

Although official sources remained mute last night, there were strong indications that a search will be started today east of the city where county authorities believe the body of Miss Rowe might be hidden in the desert.

Other sources close to investigators said there also was fear that Sandra (Dusty) Hughes, 14, who disappeared on Sept. 10, has been slain.

While the investigation continued into the disappearance of the Rowe girl, the Fritz girls left home on the evening of Aug. 16 after saying that they were going to a movie at the Cactus Drive-In Theatre. That was the last time they were seen alive.

The daughters of Dr. and Mrs. James Fritz of E. Elm St. took the family car which was found later at the Flamingo Hotel annex at N. 7th Ave. and E. Mabel St.

During the probe into the girls' disappearance, city detectives talked with dozens of teenagers and older friends among whom were Schmid and a Richard L. Bruns, 19, of E. Winsett St.

It was learned last night that Bruns was placed on probation by a city court magistrate about two weeks ago after an east side family complained to police that he was bothering their 16-year-old daughter whom he had previously dated.

The family told a reporter last night that Bruns was placed on probation on the stipulation that he leave Tucson for residence in Ohio. The family said city police informed them that he was returned here in connection with the slaying of the Fritz girls.

The 16-year-old ex-girlfriend of Bruns described him as a good friend of Schmid and said they often were seen together.

Schmid was arraigned before Justice of the Peace Toby LaVetter in Justice Court yesterday and a preliminary hearing was set for 10 a.m. on Dec. 13. He is being held without bond.

As early as Aug. 17, the day following the Fritz girls disappearance, an anonymous caller told police that persons he knew as Richie Bruns and a friend called "Smitty" had information regarding the two girls. He said he believed the two knew the whereabouts of the girls.

On the same day Mrs. Fritz, insisting that her daughters were dead, told city detectives that she was considering hiring a private detective to watch a boy who she said she felt knew more than he was telling.
A major conflict is brewing between Arizonas copper industry and environmentalists and recreationists over the future of Ironwood Forest National Monument and two other monuments.

As part of the Interior Departments ongoing review of 21 national monuments, the multinational mining giant Asarco has asked that more than 11,000 acres be pulled from the 129,000-acre Ironwood monument northwest of Tucson so it can mine more copper there, next to its existing Silver Bell copper mine.

The mining company said in a letter to Interior this summer that it wants the land removed to carry out an expansion it says has been blocked since Ironwood was designated 17 years ago. The company says the agency erred on legal and technical grounds in designating the monument.

Asarcos letter coincides with a broader effort by the states mining industry to shrink Ironwood and two other Arizona national monuments that were named by President Clinton. The others are the Sonoran Desert National Monument lying north of Ironwood in Pinal County and the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument in Coconino County.

The Arizona Mining Association, the Southern Arizona Business Coalition and two other industry groups wrote Interior their own letter making many of Asarcos points on a broader scale. Asarco also joins the much smaller Liberty Star Uranium & Metals Co. of Tucson, which has asked Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to eliminate the monument.

At issue are points of contention between the industry and environmental advocates over whether the monuments scale violates requirements of the 1906 federal Antiquities Act that Clinton used to set aside land without congressional approval.

Zinke made recommendations Thursday to President Trump for these and other monuments located from Maine to Southern California, but did not release them to the public. News reports have said, however, that Zinke, besides recommending trimming two Utah monuments and a third in Oregon, is open to scaling back other monuments or allowing traditional uses in them such as mining.

U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva, a Tucson Democrat and vocal monument advocate, predicted Thursday that the Trump administration will be sued if it decides to shrink Ironwood and other monuments.

The whole review by Zinke is an industry-driven, extraction-driven review, whether its gas and oil in some areas and mining in others, said Grijalva, whose district includes most of Ironwood. This process that Zinke and Trump are directing is contrived to see how much land can be opened up.

The reason Ironwood was designated was to protect its habitat and protect its land in perpetuity, said Grijalva, who sat on the Pima County Board of Supervisors when it unanimously voted to recommend creating the monument in March 2000. There are no private rights to public property.

Asarco, however, says its unable to make economic use of 880 acres it owns and 4,050 federally owned acres on which it has filed mining claims within monument boundaries. It calls that a taking of its property rights.

Its Silver Bell mine, abutting the monument to the southwest, has produced copper and other minerals for more than 65 years and lies within one of five historic mining districts near and inside the monument, the companys letter to Zinke said. But Asarco says its been prevented from exploring the monument land to assess its mineral deposits  an act it says would be in accord with the 1872 Mining Law.

In 2000, Asarco pegged its economic losses due to its inability to exploit those claims at $146 million, wrote Nancy Johannesmeyer, the companys senior manager for environmental affairs.

How much is too much?

Since Zinkes monument review began this spring, more than 36,000 written comments have poured into Interior that at least mentioned Ironwood monument. The overwhelming majority favored leaving it alone, although a large number were identical, likely generated by advocacy campaigns.

In one comment, the National Parks and Conservation Association wrote that Ironwood arose from a transparent effort to permanently protect the natural resources and landmarks, structures, and historic and scientific features of Arizonas Pima County.

It said the monument campaign drew support from a wide range of interest groups: landowners, ranchers, preservationists, and the Tohono Oodham Nation to provide significant and lasting protections for the areas natural features, antiquities and traditional uses.

But this protection runs afoul of a federal requirement that monument land be no larger than the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of the objects to be protected, Asarco and the mining groups wrote to Interior. The language comes from the Antiquities Act, which protects items of historical and scientific interest.

In 2000, officials working on the monument should have conducted what the company calls a proper identification of discrete objects of interest worthy of protection, Asarco wrote. They failed, which led to Ironwoods expansive designation, Asarcos Johannesmeyer wrote.

The objects protected in the case of (Ironwood Forest) are not valid objects of scientific and historic interest. Thus, the area designated to protect those unjustified objects is equally invalid.

As Asarco sees it, the Antiquities Act and its legislative history show a clear intent to preserve works of man such as Indian archaeological sites. The monuments saguaro cacti, ironwood and palo verde trees, desert bighorn sheep and federally protected cacti and bats dont fit that category, Asarco wrote.

Science debated

Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry, however, recalled that the monument plan was based on pretty sound science that supported the countys Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan. It included the Ironwood monument as an area to be preserved.

The plan talked about conservation ratios of lands that would be disturbed versus conserved, about the productivity of the ecosystem and of the large blocks of land that would be contiguous rather than fractionalized small patches, he said.

Since the state of conservation biology in 1906 was not sophisticated at all, interpretation of that years Antiquities Act should evolve as more knowledge is gained about the lands scientific value, Huckelberry said.

In this case, the ecosystem is fairly unique. It needs a certain size of conservation area to be protected. You cant protect it with small pieces, he said.

Some boundary changes would be OK as long as theyre done through a public process, he said. But to be biologically valid, any lands removed should be replaced at a 5-1 ratio, as called for by the countys Sonoran Desert plan, Huckelberry said.

If Asarco wants 11,000 acres removed, there ought to be a discussion of how to add 55,000 acres, he said.
An undocumented immigrant, who was hiding in grass, was injured by a tractor mowing vegetation on the sides of the road southwest of Bisbee, authorities said Thursday.

The 27-year-old injured man appeared to have a broken leg and was treated by a Bisbee Fire Department crew before he was taken to a Tucson hospital, said Carol Capas, a Cochise County Sheriff's spokeswoman.

On Aug. 24 at about noon, deputies responded to a report of an accident at the intersection of Wilson Road and Willow Way southwest of Bisbee, Capas said.

During the investigation, authorities learned that a Cochise County Road Department worker was using a tractor to mow the grass in the area. The tractor's safety equipment chain snagged onto the man's leg, said Capas.

The man was dragged about 15 feet before the worker saw him and stopped the machine.

The Cochise County Sheriff's Office and the Bisbee Police Department are conducting a joint investigation into the incident.
PHOENIX  Supporters of universal vouchers of tax dollars for private and parochial education have opened a second legal front in their attempt to keep voters from getting the last word on the issue.

A second lawsuit filed in Maricopa County Superior Court contends there are irregularities with the petitions turned in to refer the question to the 2018 ballot. Attorney Kory Langhofer cites nearly four dozen situations where he said the petitions do not comply with the law.

If a judge agrees, that would leave the referendum drive without sufficient signatures.

Voucher supporters raised some of the same issues with the Secretary of States Office in a bid to have the office void the petitions. Elections Director Eric Spencer did not agree with their legal arguments, giving the petitions preliminary approval.

But Langhofer pointed out that Arizona law requires referendum petitions be in strict compliance with all election laws.

He wants the judge to order Secretary of State Michele Reagan to reject all sheets and signatures in the referendum petition that do not strictly comply with all governing provisions of Arizona law.

The referendum is aimed at undermining a measure approved earlier this year by the Republican-backed Legislature and signed by Gov. Doug Ducey to allow more Arizona children to get public dollars for a private education.

The original program approved in 2011 was designed to provide what are formally called Education Scholarship Accounts to students with special needs that could not be met in public schools. But voucher supporters have slowly widened the door to where the program now includes foster children, children from reservations and children who attend schools rated D and F.

This years legislation removes all those restrictions, saying any student could get a voucher.

To get the votes, however, supporters had to agree to a cap of 30,000 vouchers by 2023 out of more than 1.1 million children attending public schools. But that cap can be removed by a future Legislature.

On Thursday, Ducey defended the use of tax dollars for private and parochial education amid complaints Arizona spends less than virtually every other state on its public schools.

I am a supporter of public education, he said. Public education means educating our public.

Nor is he dissuaded by the fact that public funds can go toward providing a religious education.

Were allowing parents access to their tax dollars in the service of their childs education, Ducey said.

Opponents of an expanded voucher program argue that it diverts dollars that would otherwise go to underfunded public schools. But Ducey said vouchers dont by themselves take money from public schools, though if more children use vouchers to go to private schools, state aid to public schools is reduced.

Having lost the legislative battle, foes of expansion are taking advantage of a provision in the Arizona Constitution that gives voters the last word if they are able to gather signatures equal to 5 percent of the people who voted in the last gubernatorial election. Thats 75,321, a figure the referendum organizers appear to have met, the Secretary of States Office said last week after apreliminary review.

Langhofer and fellow attorneys hope to chip away at that number.

For example, one contention is that signatures do not count unless they have both the signers street address as well as a zip code. There also are claims that people who were paid circulators did not first register with the state as required by law, some names of circulators did not match their signatures, and that the date a notary put on a circulators affidavit is incorrect.

The lawsuit also says there are situations where signatures are illegible or where the persons printed name, which is also required, looks just like the persons signature.

Spencer, the elections director, already found some of those arguments lacking.

For example, he disputes that Arizona law requires both an address and a zip code.

And Spencer said there are people whose signatures just happen to look like their printed names.

But Spencer said some of the arguments made by voucher supporters about the petitions were beyond the scope of what he could decide.

One appears to be largely a technicality.

Arizona law requires that referendum petitions tell would-be signers not just the bill number of the measure at issue but in which legislative session that bill was approved.

This measure was approved in the First Legislative Session of the 53rd Legislature, with each legislature running two years. But Langhofer pointed out the petitions said the measure was approved at the 53rd session of the Legislature, which legally never existed.

Dawn Penich-Thacker, spokeswoman for the Save Our Schools campaign pushing for the referendum, said no one was misled.

What this comes down to is, did Arizona voters know what they were signing? she said. And absolutely, they did.

Langhofer, however, said that under the strict compliance for referenda, things can be disqualified from the ballot even in the absence of confusion.
You could have guessed this was coming.

When the Tucson Unified School District board emerged from executive session Tuesday and voted on a new superintendent, the vote was not unanimous. It was 4-1.

And once again, that one no vote came from board member Mark Stegeman.

Oh, he had a reason. This time, his reason for voting against the naming of interim Superintendent Gabriel Trujillo as permanent superintendent was this: He thought they should not name the finalist until a contract is signed.

That seems fine in isolation, but not when you look at the pattern.

On Aug. 28, 2012, Stegeman voted against an extension of the contract of then-Superintendent John Pedicone. That foreshadowed a split with Pedicone that led to his decision to resign, in part due to Stegeman, in March 2013.

I voted against Pedicones extension because I thought the timing was bad, he told me Wednesday.

Once Stegeman had contributed to the departure of Pedicone, it was time for the district to hire another superintendent. They did another of those vaunted nationwide searches and came up with H.T. Sanchez. On June 18, 2013, the board voted to hire him, 4-1. Stegeman voted no.

I voted no because I felt that his record did not support his elevation to a job as difficult as this at this point in his career, Stegeman said at the time.

Again, a defensible argument, especially considering Sanchezs tumultuous few years. But only in isolation.

When you look at the pattern, you see Stegeman undermining a superintendent again and again. Perhaps its to preserve his own deniability, so he can say I didnt vote for the guy if things go bad. Perhaps he doesnt like commitment.

In the case of the current hire, Stegeman had made it very clear that his favored candidate was Stephen Trejo, former principal of C.E. Rose K-8 school. So maybe thats another reason for his no vote on Trujillo, though again Stegeman said his reason was strictly procedural.

Stegeman wrote me a lengthy email Thursday explaining why he thought Trejo was a better pick than Trujillo, so clearly that wound hasnt healed.

Pedicone told me, when I called him Wednesday, that split votes are normal in the day-to-day business of school boards, but unanimous votes are important for incoming superintendents.

Boards should be critical. They should not make these decisions lightly, Pedicone said. But, he added, When you do what he did, it creates that little doubt, even if he makes the excuse that thats because he wants to see the contract first.

Board President Michael Hicks told me that Stegeman is the only one on the board who had taken that position.

There was nothing that was written that we werent going to name the candidate prior to the contract, Hicks said. Thats just something Mark had decided.

Undoubtedly, once a contract is negotiated, Stegeman will join the rest of the board and unanimously approve Trujillos hire. But hes already planted that seed of doubt and preserved that bit of deniability if things dont go so well.

Donations roil Tucson Democrats

The latest round of campaign-finance filings for the upcoming Tucson City Council elections included two details that got local Democrats riled up.

One was a donation by a Democratic council candidate, Felicia Chew, who is running for the partys nomination in Ward 3. On Aug. 9, the day of a forum on sustainability attended by all the council candidates from all the wards, Chew donated $10 to Ward 6 Green Party candidate Mike Cease.

Ward 6 incumbent Steve Kozachik, a Democrat, called it a poor decision to help an opponent of mine to qualify for public matching funds.

This of course added to the perception that Chew may not be much of a Democrat at all. She previously acknowledged voting for Bernie Sanders in last years Democratic presidential primary and Green Party candidate Jill Stein in the general election.

Meanwhile, Ward 3 Democrat Paul Durham cried foul at another set of donations  to the third Dem in the race, Tom Tronsdal. He received $1,000 total in two contributions from Republican mega-donors Jim and Vicki Click.

Tronsdal told me hes never even met the Clicks but had some association with them through a couple of charities. And he pointed out that he had lots of donations from Democrats, too.

Im not ashamed of their donations, but I didnt ask for them, he said.

Miller AWOL again

Last week, former Pima County Supervisor Ray Carroll texted me and said Ill bet Honorable Ally Miller doesnt show up.

He was referring, of course, to the Pima County Board of Supervisors meeting on Monday. Protesters showed up Monday and there was much public criticism during the meeting of her insensitive-at-best Facebook comment the day of the vehicle attack against protesters in Charlottesville.

And Carroll, who fought with Miller during much of their shared time on the board, was right: Miller didnt show up.

This isnt the first time shes absented herself when sharp criticism was occurring or forecast. On June 21 last year, Miller abruptly left a meeting during a discussion of her response to public-records requests about the infamous Arizona Daily Herald episode, in which a staffer for Miller secretly set up a short-lived online news site.

On Thursday, Carroll proposed and I accepted a double or nothing, though Im still not clear whats at stake: Hes betting Miller wont show up on Sept. 5, when the board discusses what it can do in response to Millers Facebook post.

Thats not possible, is it?
The University of Arizonas efforts to prevent the respiratory infection valley fever in dogs just got a major boost from the federal government.

A $4.8 million, four-year grant from the National Institutes of Health announced this month provides needed funding to get the delta-CPS1 vaccine to market, said Dr. John Galgiani, director of the UA Valley Fever Center for Excellence and principal investigator of the NIH grant.

The vaccine could hit the market as soon as five years from now, Galgiani said.

Though the vaccine will be initially developed for dogs, the intent is to eventually use it in humans, too, UA researchers say. There is currently no prevention or cure for valley fever, which is potentially deadly in both humans and dogs.

The live vaccine was invented by UA fungal geneticist Marc Orbach. It is a mutant spore that has already protected mice from valley fever, but it has never been tested on dogs. The UA holds the intellectual property rights on the vaccine.

An estimated 30,000 people and 60,000 dogs in Arizona get sick from valley fever, also known as coccidioidomycosis, every year. The cocci fungus that causes the disease is found mainly in dusty areas of Arizona and California. State health officials say it contributed to the deaths of 54 people in Arizona last year.

Its a strategic decision to go to dogs first, Galgiani said. We will see if its harmful for dogs, see if it works. ... It will make the momentum to go to humans that much stronger.

A canine vaccine would go through the U.S. Department of Agriculture Center for Veterinary Biologics to get to market, while a human vaccine would need to go through the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for approval. The FDA is generally a slower path, UA officials say.

The NIH funding comes from its National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The UA research team also applied for $250,000 in seed money for its vaccine development from the Arizona Biomedical Research Commission but was turned down, Galgiani confirmed.

The NIH grant is an encouraging validation of the vaccine and the UAs plans for developing it, he said.

Anivive Lifesciences Inc., a California-based biotechnology company, has licensed the vaccine from the UA through Tech Launch Arizona and will provide additional investment and expertise to fully develop the dog vaccine, Galgiani said. Tech Launch is the UAs commercialization arm.

Scientists at Colorado State University are also collaborating on the UAs vaccine project through CSUs College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and the lab of Dr. Richard A. Bowen.

Some dogs with valley fever are euthanized because their owners cannot afford to treat them. The anti-fungal medication that is often necessary to keep valley fever at bay for the rest of a pets life costs $4 to $6 per day, and blood tests and associated veterinary costs can run into the thousands. Also, blood tests can give false negatives and require additional testing and money.

Dogs will often lose large amounts of weight and the disease causes lameness and pain, or paralysis if the infection moves into the bones of the back.

This should drive us a long way. I am ecstatic and this is exactly the kind of funding we needed to get this ready for clinical trials in dogs, said Dr. Lisa Shubitz, a UA veterinarian and researcher who is part of the delta-CPS1 team.

Shubitz has seen firsthand the effects of canine valley fever on many of her patients and on her own dogs, too.

The risk factor for acquiring valley fever is the same for dogs as for humans  breathing  and in parts of California and Arizona, impossible to avoid.

It takes inhaling just one cocci spore to become infected, though, like humans, most dogs who acquire valley fever will not get sick from it. For the ones that do, the disease can result in amputations and worse.

At least two previous serious attempts at creating a valley fever vaccine failed. The first resulted in sore arms but no conclusive proof it worked. The second was a laboratory-created hybrid protein vaccine made in a yeast strain using DNA from the valley fever fungus. It looked promising but stalled because of its cost.

Politics and funding are problems for getting any valley fever vaccine to market because it is a regional, not national, disease. In humans, it affects fewer than 200,000 people per year, which gives it orphan status. That also means its harder to get drug companies interested.

But since delta-CPS1 is a spore, theres no expensive protein purification step as there was with other vaccine attempts.

The UA team faces several more hurdles in getting its vaccine to market, including proving to the USDA that it is safe and that it works. The team also needs to figure out how to make the vaccine as a commercial product with a shelf life.
More than $53,000 poured into campaign coffers in the last six weeks for the three Democrats vying to replace retiring City Councilwoman Karin Uhlich in Ward 3.

Teacher Felicia Chew, attorney Paul Durham, and small-business owner Tom Tronsdal relied heavily on the citys campaign finance matching funds, taking in more than $36,400 during the last campaign cycle.

The voter-backed program allows qualified candidates to receive $1 in public matching funds for each dollar received in individual contributions.

In the last weeks before Tuesdays primary, all three candidates dug deep into their campaign war chests to pay for mailers and ads.

Durham raised the most during the six-week pre-primary election cycle, reporting $20,805 in total contributions. Since becoming a candidate, he has received a total of $40,600 in public matching funds, $17,770 in the last campaign cycle.

During the same period, his campaign spent $36,582 during the six-week period with $32,610 going to a Phoenix-based firm, Radar Strategies.

A line item states the Durham campaign bought $9,240 in digital-based ads and spent $23,369 for the printing and postage of several campaign mailers.

The campaign sent out at least two print-based attack ads on Chew.

Chew took in $19,830 in total contributions. Since becoming a candidate, she has received a total of $13,774 in campaign public matching funds, and all of it came during the last six weeks of the most recent campaign cycle.

Chew spent nearly $10,000, with $5,868 going to the Tucson-based Gloo Factory for mailers, stickers and postage.

During the shortened election cycle between July 1 and Aug. 12, Tronsdal raised a total of $12,505.

Tronsdal received two donations from political action committees  $500 from the Arizona Multihousing Association and $1,000 from the Tucson Metro Chamber.

His campaign spent $22,749 during the six-week period, primarily on printing and mailing campaign material with three Tucson-based firms: AZ Jet Mail, J&R Graphics and Printing and Wholesale Litho.

A political consulting firm, SIMG, received $4,758 from Tronsdal, which included costs for graphic design and monitoring of social media in addition to political advice.

A fourth candidate, independent Gary Watson, reported $8,715 in contributions during the same period. Most of the contributions  $7,000  came in from political action committees representing various firefighters across the state.

Watson works for Northwest Fire District and will face the winner of the Democratic primary in November.

The only other contested primary Tuesday is in Ward 6, between Green Party candidates Michael Oatman and Mike Cease.

During the six-week cycle, Oatman raised about $4 and spent the same  leaving his campaign with $3.68 in its campaign war chest.

Cease raised $451, but chipped in $410 of his own money to pay for various campaign related costs. His campaign fund has $42 at the end of the reporting period.

How to vote

The election is by mail-in ballot for city voters in Wards 3, 5 and 6. Its past the deadline to send back completed ballots in the mail, but the city will have several locations open Tuesday until 7 p.m. to drop off ballots.

Liggins Recreation Center at 2160 N. Sixth Ave.;

Randolph Park administration building, 900 S. Randolph Way;

El Pueblo Senior Center, 101 W. Irvington Road.

For information, call 791-3221.
The state visit of Vietnamese Party chief Nguyen Phu Trong to Myanmar from August 24 to 26 has opened a new chapter for the two nations relationship.

Trong, who is the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, joined talks with Myanmarese President Htin Kyaw in Naypyidaw on Thursday evening following his arrival on the afternoon of the same day.

During the meeting, President Kyaw considered General Secretary Trongs visit a historic milestone that will open up a new phase in the two countries ties.

Replying to his host, the Vietnamese Party chief noted that the visit will allow both sides to outline strategic orientations, creating a new hallmark, height, and impetus for cooperation across all fields.

The two leaders expressed their satisfaction with the positive development of Vietnam- Myanmar bilateral relationships in the past years.

Two-way trade turnover topped US$548.3 million in 2016, exceeding the original target of $500 million, they stated, adding that Vietnam has become the ninth largest trade partner and the seventh largest foreign investor of Myanmar.

Given the positive results, General Secretary Trong and President Kyaw reached a consensus on the establishment of the framework for a comprehensive cooperative partnership.

They discussed and agreed to lay out new vision to bring the two countries cooperation to a new height.

The Vietnamese leader took the opportunity to express his gratitude toward Myanmar for creating favorable conditions for the Vietnamese businesses to operate in the country, hoping for further support from the Myanmarese government.

On the same evening, the Vietnamese Party chief also met with Mahn Win Khaing Than, Speaker of the Amyotha Hluttaw, the upper house of the Myanmar parliament.

Both parties agreed to contribute for a united Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and preserve peace and stability in the East Vietnam Sea in accordance with international law.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Dr. Chris Brown is in Ireland this week on The Living Room, and visits a Game of Thrones location at Castle Ward.

Travel with Chris Brown: Game of Thrones

Chris travels to Castle Ward in Northern Ireland, the ancient castle where Game of Thrones is filmed. Chris meets the cast and goes behind the screens. He visits the home of House Stark, Winterfell, with William Van Der Kells as his tour guide. Chris has a dream to become a true Stark but if he wants to cut it in the brutal world of Game of Thrones, he will need to learn how to bow, deal with the shows wolves and face the ultimate test of keeping his head at a real Game of Thrones banquet.

Renovation for Profit with Cherie Barber: Facade (Toongabbie)

Jaclyn and Mick purchased their fibro house in Toongabbie NSW 15 years ago. They have enjoyed many happy years living in it, raising their daughter, but they have now outgrown it and need more space. Their house is not in pristine condition and, in its current state, would turn off potential buyers. With a budget of $10,000 and the help of renovation guru Cherie Barber, they transform the facade of the house so it is ready to put on the market.

Food with Miguel Maestre: Blood Orange Desert

Miguel heads to the NSW regional centre of Griffith to visit blood orange farmer Len Mancini, whose family have been growing blood oranges there for generations. The Mancini family gather together each week to celebrate their unique product. Miguel joins them to whip up an orange dessert that is sure to be a hit.

Quickie with Baz: Ryobi

When hanging heavy items, fixing a stud into a wall ensures items hang securely without falling. Armed with two great Ryobi products, Barry explains what a stud is, how to find it in a wall and how to hang anything dead straight, every time.

7:30pm tonight on TEN.
Help India!

By Mirza Mosaraf Hossain

Women organizations in Kolkata on Friday welcomed the Supreme Court decision on Triple Talaq terming it historic which will usher in new era for Muslim women.

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Organisations including Rokeya Nari Unnayan Samity and South Kolkata Society for Empowerment of Women also roped in several victims of Triple Talaq, professors, lawyers and others.

Speaking on the occasion, Khadija Banu, Secretary, Rokeya Nari Unnayan Samity (RNUS), elaborated the plight of Muslim women due to instant talaq in Bengal. Islamic laws have been updated in accordance with time and civilizations in many Muslim countries like Arab. If Muslim countries can update Islamic Sharia from time to time, then why a secular, liberal country like India cannot do so?, Banu said. She also claimed that her organization will fight for equality, security, safety and equal right in properties for women.

Former Judge of Kolkata High Court, Malay Sengupta who is also President of South Kolkata Society for Empowerment of Women highlighted the politicization of Sahabano case during his short lecture.  Few Muslim politicians are ruining the lives of thousands of Muslim women by formulating merely some laws and not introspecting the aftermath of the laws that adversely accelerate the plight of the women, he said.

Tahamina Bewa, a 36 years old widow and victim of triple talaq who came from Domkal, Murshidabad district to attend this programme, also narrated her plight. Its a matter of great joy for many Muslim women like us who are forced to live in plight due to instant triple talaq. Men pronounce Talaq by writing on a piece of paper and even uttering on phone, she said. My husband left me by saying triple talaq when I was 22 years old and married other woman. I am forced to live with my father who is very poor, she said.

Several other women Ira Khatun, Saira Khatoon, Rahima Bewa, Ulia Khatun, all victim of triple talaq or polygamy, too attended the program. Most of them expressed satisfaction over on SCs verdict and hoped no one else will face the same sufferings anymore.
The Ku Klux Klan or KKK is not the organisation that it was where once membership was measured in the millions. From the 1920's onwards membership dropped where until today membership has fallen to the thousands. The organisation nowadays presents itself as a more polished affair trying to broaden its appeal via social media, television and radio.

The Group says it has changed and its principles now are based on the teachings of Jesus Christ. While this maybe true in some regards there will always be the hardliners that resist change within the group.

Leader Thomas Robb who took over from David Duke in the 80's lives 15 miles from the city of Harrison in Arkansas.

Speaking to Sky News he said the prospect of more KKK gatherings like the one in Charlottesville is more likely if politicians don't condemn far left groups as they have done the far right. Certainly since Obama and now Trump, there does seem to be a worrying divide between the races in the U.S. making clashes more certain and the extremes of right and left are exploiting this.

Thomas Robb: his views

While seeming to be a more moderate group now, Thomas Robb pulls no punches on his views of homosexuals, for example, calling them an "Abomination." On the subject of race, he says black people have the right to be who they are and what the KKK does nowadays is not racist.

It is, according to Robb protecting and preserving European Americans and this is backed up by one of his posters that broadcast "Diversity is genocide".

Many thought that since the 1960's civil rights and race relations had improved in the United States. Obviously, race relations between all ethnicities have come a long way but there is still much work to do or so it would seem.

The issue of racism and extreme politics have been highlighted again in Charlottesville and also in other places so it would seem in many ways the U.S .has gone backwards since the Obama era and it has carried on with the Trump administration.

A balanced view

Donald Trump was attacked by the left and liberal media when he condemned all sides in the Charlottesville rioting.

Trump has come out since condemning racism and bigotry but whether he really meant it is unknown.

The arguments about Trump having links with far right groups and his attitude to non-European Americans will rage on no doubt. Even Obama, despite having a European American mother was accused by some of preferring his African heritage to his European, again like Trump just speculation perhaps.

The media should be balanced and should endorse Trump and other politicians when they condemn violence from which ever side it comes.

Finally, let us hope that common sense prevails on all racial and political divides in the U.S.
In as little as four weeks New Zealand goes to the polls and elects a new government under our MMP system. It may very well be we reelect the incumbent National government, its certainly looking that way. The National government swept into power in 2008, a party led by John Key, after a successful career in banking the popular PM with his deputy leader Bill English balanced the books and lowered unemployment to almost zero. In December 2016 Key resigned and handed the role to Bill. Bill is a quietly spoken man, an ex-farmer and wiz at numbers has been a successful Finance Minister.

When John stepped down it was akin to Justin Bieber stopping midway through a set and telling the screaming crowd he was handing the mic over to his accountant.

The only other party of any significance is the Labour party who have only just changed their leadership, their previous leader was a union man of very little significance, now they are lead by Jacinta Adhern who has been in Parliament since 2008 and many times said she didnt want to be leader - three weeks ago she accepted the job. She has few policies, but no matter, she has a strong PR strategy working for her and a malleable press whipped into a frenzy to help her over the finish line.

Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand

After the NZ First party, the only other in the running is the left-wing Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand run by co-leaders James Shaw and Metiria Turei.

The Greens have 14 seats in parliament and stand for environmental issues, legalising cannabis (insanely wrong!) and sustainability. The Greens partnered up with Labour which sounded like a great idea until Metiria dropped a bombshell on the NZ public two months ago. When introducing the Greens welfare policy at a conference she began to talk about her own struggle as a single mum while raising her child on the benefit and studying law during the 1990s.

She admitted she lied to social welfare about how many flatmates she had which meant she claimed more money than she was entitled to. She was vague about the details which prompted the media to investigate accusing her of living with her childs father, this meant she was collecting a benefit that was meant to help out solo mums.

She explained she had only registered herself at the fathers address so as to vote for a friend in an upcoming election. So, she didnt lie, no wait she did, but only a little bit. Well, I guess thats ok then.

The implosion begins

The Green party closed ranks around her and she held her ground while James Shaw looked like a deer caught in the headlights. Two long standing Green members, one a founding member of the party, broke ranks and resigned in disgust, while the coven and Metiria pushed on promising more money to people on the benefit so they didnt have to live hand to mouth like she had. But wait, it appears she didnt, people who knew her way back when began to talk to the media, not only did she lie about lying, she had lied about being poor.

Family had helped her out, her daughter didnt starve, nor did she. This was too much, shed been caught out, she resigned. Still not facing the reality of her deception she blamed the media, but by now no one cared. Just go for goodness sake!

Metiria Tureis lies had left a once strong proud political party in a mess, of course, its her fault, but I blame the party for not having the guts to stand up and say this is not us, we are not liars. The Labour party have picked over the carcass and are now claiming the Greens policies for their own. The Greens have crawled away into a corner to lick their wounds and I hope think about their behaviour and what they can do to put it right, This debacle has left a nasty taste in the mouths of the Kiwi voter. Now, all there is to choose from is Beibers accountant and a PR spin machine. I know who Im going to vote for.
Boris Johnson, the foreign secretary, has finally admitted that the UK will be meeting its legal obligations by footing the bill for the Brexit process. Johnson had previously acted all chill about the legal requirements, saying that the European Union could go whistle about the price-tag of Britain leaving the EU. The Brexit process has been speculated to cost somewhere between 60 billion and 100 billion.

Thats a hefty amount to expect someone to go whistle about. Thats why Johnson has finally conceded that the UK will be paying for it, as is required by law.

Brexit is being referred to by the Brexiteers who support the EU leave as a divorce between Britain and the EU, while the cost is being called the divorce bill.

Johnson told House of Commons 100 billion bill is extortionate

Some of the pro-Brexiters are demanding that Britain refuse to fork over a single penny for the Brexit process (even though it was their idea and they asked for it, so they pretty much just want to have their cake and eat it too). According to leaked notes from a Conservative meeting on Downing Street months ago, having their cake and eating it too is their strategy for leaving the EU, anyway. Last month, Johnson told the House of Commons that if the EU price the Brexit process at 100 billion (approximately 92 billion), it would be an act of extortion.

Today, Johnson has changed his go whistle tune as, while he did say that he does not recognise the 100 billion cost estimate, the UK will certainly have to meet our obligations. Speaking on BBC Radio 4, he said that the numbers hes been presented with thus far seemed to be very high, which he provides as the reason for his initial hesitation to commit to paying.

However, Johnson said for the second time that we will meet our obligations. He told the Today programme on the radio station that the British people are law-abiding, bill-paying people, and that this will be reflected in our payment for the Brexit process. He also proudly said that the economic contributions made to the world by the UK have been hundreds of billions over the years.

Johnson unsure of what Britains legal obligations are

Johnson is not fully sure that Britain is legally obligated to pay for the EU leave.

Its Michel Barnier, the top Brexit negotiator for the EU, who made what Johnson calls an interpretation of the laws on what Britains obligations are when it comes to paying for something that they themselves asked for. The foreign secretary said, Im not saying that I accept Barniers interpretation.

But theres one thing Johnson is sure of. He said, for the third time now, that he is certainly saying, no doubt about it, that we have to meet our legal obligations as we understand them, adding that meeting legal requirements is what youd expect the British government to do. Bit presumptuous of him to say, but whatever. Basically, what Johnson is saying is that we will fulfil our legal obligations, but only depending on what they are and how we see them.

This is a different tone than Johnson had last month

Johnson is showing a marked change of tone from what he was saying last month at the House of Commons, when he said that the EU would definitely be paying for Britain to leave and they could go whistle if they expected Britain to pay. This morning, he was asked about the comments he made last month and he said that back then, he was being faced with quotes of very large sums of money in the 100 billion range that the EU commission suggested we were on the hook for. Its a figure he chose not to recognise. He refused to quote a figure that he would consider fair.
US President Donald Trump has recently given a heated speech in Phoenix, Arizona, condemning the press for their coverage of the events in Charlottesville and then lying blatantly to his audience. The speech lasted an agonising 75 minutes, and one of the topics covered was the issue of illegal immigration. This is a big issue in the border state of Arizona, and a big issue in Trumps election campaign, where he promised to build a wall along the US/Mexico border.

Trump suggested that he would pardon Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who was convicted for breaking immigration law on a border patrol.

The President asked the audience, Do the people in this room like Sheriff Joe? to which there was uproarious applause. They chanted, Pardon Joe! and the guy was even in the crowd. Trump asked, Was Sheriff Joe convicted for doing his job? He should have had a jury. He predicted that Sheriff Joe is going to be just fine.

Trump then turns his sights to the wall

Then Trump returned to mentioning the wall. He hasnt mentioned the wall in a while, but it was one of the cornerstones of his election campaign. He threatened that he would shut down the federal government if Congress doesnt approve funding of the walls construction. He called the Democrats obstructionist and mentioned that the House has passed a spending bill for its funding and that now its in the hands of the Senate.

But Trump said that even if it requires him to close down our government, were building that wall. He added, The American people voted for immigration control. Were going to get that wall. The crowd cheered and started chanting, Build that wall!
Prime Minister Theresa May has been changing up her partys Brexit strategy. They were previously rushing into it as quickly as possible, even going to Saudi Arabia in search of an alternative trade deal, but now theyre taking their time with a more gradualist approach. Theyve apparently come to the realisation that no deal will be particularly bad, and therefore no deal is off the table in the Brexit considerations.

The plan is to mirror the Brussels arrangement

Mays plan with Britains departure from the EU is to mirror the deal with Brussels as closely as possible.

They also plan to leave the EU customs union at the same time that we leave the EU in the March of 2019, instead favouring a new and time-limited customs union. One of Mays main goals with the Brexit process is to flee from the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice, which certainly sounds shady.

The EU have been calling Britains Brexit proposals one big fairy tale and the pro-Brexit press have called Mays changing stance and tone a betrayal of their trust, but the PM maintains that everything will work out fine. According to Michel Barnier, the top Brexit negotiator for the EU, citizens, settling accounts, and Ireland are the first things to figure out, and then customs and the future relationship between Britain and the EU can be worked out afterwards.
The deeds for Eleanor Rigby's grave-space will go under the hammer at a Beatles memorabilia auction in Warrington next month. The deeds will be sold alongside a miniature bible dated to 1899 with the name Eleanor Rigby inside the front cover. The items are likely to sell for between 2,000 and 4,000. Also on sale will be the original score sheet for the song. The 51-year-old score sheet for the Paul McCartney penned song was handwritten by producer George Martin and indicates that the music should include four violins, two violas, and two cellos.

The inspiration for Paul McCartney's famous character

Since the release of The Beatles single 'Eleanor Rigby', a double A-side with 'Yellow Submarine' and 'Eleanor Rigby''s parent album 'Revolver' on the 5th August 1966, Paul McCartney has often been asked, "Who was Eleanor Rigby?" McCartney always maintained that it was simply a name that came to him and fitted with the song. However, it was later pointed out to McCartney that there is a grave inscribed with the name in the graveyard of St. Peter's Church in Woolton, Liverpool. St. Peter's Church was the site of the first meeting of McCartney and John Lennon at the Woolton Village Fete on 6th July 1957. McCartney conceded that he may have been subconsciously influenced by the name on the gravestone.

However, Paul McCartney has also stated that the name "Eleanor" was taken from the actress Eleanor Bron, who starred in The Beatles' 1965 film 'Help!', whilst "Rigby" derived from the name of a shop in Bristol named 'Rigby & Evens Ltd, Wine & Spirit Shippers", which he noticed whilst in the city to see his girlfriend at the time, Jane Asher, performing in the play 'The Happiest Days of Our Lives'.

In 1984, McCartney said, "I just liked the name. I was looking for a name that sounded natural. Eleanor Rigby sounded natural."

The latest of many Eleanor Rigby related items to be sold at auction

So strong is the fascination with who Eleanor Rigby actually was that the grave deeds and a miniature bible, as well as George Martin's original score sheet, are just the latest in a long line of items relating to the character to be sold at auction.

In November 2008, a 1911 salary register from Liverpool City Hospital containing the details of an 'E. Rigby', a 14-year-old scullery maid, sold for 150,000. On this occasion, Paul McCartney responded to the sale, telling the BBC, "Eleanor Rigby is a totally fictitious character that I made up. If somebody wants to spend money buying a document to prove a fictitious character exists, that's fine with me."

Whether the Eleanor Rigby who was laid to rest in the grave in St. Peter's church on 18th October 1939 was the inspiration for the song or not, the lucky buyer of the grave space will be granted 99 years worth of burial. Once these rights have expired, they must be purchased again before anybody else is buried there.

According to UK law, human remains can only be disturbed after 75 years of their burial. Given that the last person to be buried in the grave was in 1949, whoever buys the grave deeds can be legally buried there in seven years time.
Armed terrorists have attacked a Shiite Mosque in Kabul, Afghanistan during early morning prayers on Friday leaving dozens of people dead.

Gunmen are reported to have stormed the compound after throwing grenades at security guards at the entrance, according to the worshipers who had to jump out of windows and flee the scene barefooted. A spokesperson for the Interior Ministry, Najib Danish, said that two police officers and 14 civilians are dead, while several others are injured.

This is another in a series of attacks on Shiite Muslims in Afghanistan.

The New York Times reported that the Taliban, who were first thought to be responsible for the attack, have denied such allegations. "We are not involved in today's attack on a mosque in the Khair Khana area of Kabul," said Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban. Mujahid said that those responsible for the atrocities "are trying to create discord within our nation."

Cleric killed

The mosque was packed with worshipers for Friday prayers. The police were rapidly deployed to the scene and surrounded the mosque in northern Kabul to prevent further killings. Sounds of gunfire and explosions could be heard from the site, as the Security Forces engaged with the militants.

Mir Hussain Nasiri, a Shiite clerical council member, said that the cleric who was performing the day's prayers was killed.

Muhammad Salem Almas, who leads the crime investigation department of Kabul police, put the number of assailants to have entered the compound at two. But other eyewitnesses and officers involved in the fight claim there were at least four armed militants.

"Half of the mosque was full of worshippers - women upstairs and men downstairs, hundreds of men and women," said Eidi Muhammad Akbari who managed to reach safety.

"They threw a grenade inside and entered,"The New York Times reported.

Special forces called in

Special forces with drones and bomb sniffing dogs arrived at the scene shortly afterwards. They were immediately engaged with gunfire by the terrorists at the entrance. Unable to enter that way, the security forces tried to enter the compound through the buildings behind the mosque.

Residents in the surrounding areas were forced to evacuate their homes. "My son is not answering the phone, what do I do?" asked one bereaved mother to the police officers standing guard around the mosque.

There was another attack on Shiite Muslims where 32 people lost their lives when armed men stormed a mosque in the western Herat province, The so called Islamic State took responsibility for that attack, We are yet to receive news on who carried out Friday's attacks in Kabul.
Qatar's minister of defence Khalid al-Attiyah has warned that the Arab countries who have imposed blockades on the country must first apologise before engaging in any dialogue to settle the Gulf Crisis.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt have accused Qatar of supporting terrorism in the region and for being 'too close' to Iran. The coalition of Arab countries have imposed travel restrictions and economic sanctions on Qatar since June. Qatar, obviously, categorically denies each and every one of those allegations.

Media hacking allegations

In July, the Qatar News Agency was hacked to post false quotes. al-Attiyah says that Qatar seeks apologies for all of these issues before allowing the coalition to sit down with state leader Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani.

"The solution to the Gulf crisis is clear," he said. "The siege countries should apologise for hacking the QNA website and fabricating statements attributed to the Emir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, lifting the siege, and then going to Kuwait for the dialogue."

al-Attiyah vehemently maintains that Qatar is wholeheartedly willing to engage in peace talks to solve the Gulf crisis.

The comments were quoted in Moscow where al-Atti yah was meeting Russia's defense minister Sergey Shoigu in order to discuss potential arms deal as well as strengthening bilateral relations between the two nations.

"As far as our mutual cooperation is concerned, this is not just the purchase of air defence systems but also technologies," he added. "We would like to develop this industry and bring this technology to Qatar."

Ties with Iran renewed

Despite the Arab nations' indignation, Qatar restored full diplomatic ties with Iran earlier today and vowed to strengthen bilateral relations with the country "in all areas" the tiny emirate had recalled its ambassador from Tehran in 2016 when Saudi diplomatic missions were attacked in Iran after Saudi Arabia executed a Shiite cleric.

Although it is still unclear when Qatar's ambassador to Iran will resume office in Tehran. This announcement came after Qatar's Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman al-Thani held talks with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif via telephone.

A statement issued following the talks claims the two men "discussed bilateral relations and means of boosting and developing them as well as a number of issues of common concern."

The statement did not mention any dialogue on the Gulf crisis. Saudi Arabia and its allies are yet to release a statement on the renewed diplomatic relations between Qatar and Iran.
The revised immigration policy of the United States under the Trump administration has forced migrants to seek asylum in Canada and a majority of them are from Haiti apart from Syria, Honduras and Yemen. They want to lead normal lives and hundreds of them arrive regularly at the US-Canada border. The route they usually follow is via New York and from there to the border.

Exodus from the U.S.

CNN reports that Haitians had entered the United States in large numbers after the outbreak of cholera in 2010 followed by an earthquake in the same year. Their numbers were in excess of 55,000 and they enjoyed Temporary Protected Status (TPS).

This is scheduled to expire in January 2018 and, hence, there is a rush for these migrants to leave the U.S. because the Trump administration has indicated that it would not renew the status.

Obviously, the authorities at the US-Canada border have to cope with the large number of asylum seekers who arrive every day and the authorities have installed tents to process the claims and carry out background checks. The process is a long one and there are occasions when a bottleneck occurs and the migrants have to wait for their turn to come. Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) has had to deal with nearly 7,000 such persons in Quebec and the breakdown is 3,000 in July, and almost 4,000 in just the first half of August.

Canada accepts the challenge

Canada feels it is duty-bound to accept the responsibility of asylum seekers as a part of its humanitarian service. These people are disenchanted with the policies of the Trump administration and the attitude of the United States towards migrants who feel Canada is a better option to begin life afresh.

The spurt in their arrival at the US-Canada border has forced the authorities to accommodate them in Montreal's Olympic Stadium, which was home to the 1976 games.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his government have accepted the challenge and have geared up the immigration machinery to accept more migrants. The logic is simple  if the individual is clean and has no criminal record, he is welcome.

The country of origin is not a criterion for Canada because the asylum seekers belong to not only Haiti but also hail from countries like Honduras, Syria and Yemen. They have been forced to seek shelter in alien countries due to circumstances, mostly from violence. They are ordinary people and want to escape from situations where their lives and the lives of their near and dear ones are always in danger.
Officers with the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at the Otay Mesa port of entry into the U.S. discovered a Tiger Cub on the floor of a Chevy Camaro on Wednesday. 18-year-old Luis Eudoro Valencia, who hails from Perris in California, was arrested and faced charges on Thursday of attempting to smuggle a Bengal tiger across the border into the U.S.

Tiger cub seized at Otay Mesa port of entry

When CBP officers examined a 2017 Chevy Camaro at the Otay Mesa port of entry on Wednesday at around 1:30 AM over an issue with the vehicle's identification number.

However, on closer inspection, they discovered the tiger cub lying on the floor on the passenger side of the vehicle. According to the teenager, he had purchased the tiger cub for $300 from a man he met, walking the streets of Tijuana with a fully grown tiger on a leash. He wanted to bring the animal home as a pet.

Teen arrested in US after allegedly trying to bring tiger cub from Tijuana https://t.co/YvF9HDwmuw pic.twitter.com/uZABSfMVZK  CP24 (@CP24) August 25, 2017

Tijuana has a tiger problem

Police say several tigers have been seized in Tijuana this year and it appears to be a growing problem. According to officials, a four-month-old tiger cub was seized in January after residents reported a man with a tiger on a leash, walking around the area.

The cub had reportedly been living in a private Tijuana home with young children.

The International Business Times reports that in another case, a nine-month-old tiger cub was seized in Tijuana after it fell from a third-floor balcony onto a neighbors patio. Despite the fall, the cub was reportedly in good health.

Riverside County teen accused of trying to smuggle tiger cub into U.S. from Mexico https://t.co/DfQjgXFRR4 pic.twitter.com/bvnKpUjh7j  Los Angeles Times (@latimes) August 24, 2017

The director of CBP field operations in San Diego, Pete Flores, said their officers often experience unusual situations.

In the case of the tiger cub, he said officers faced the challenge head on and helped to preserve the life of the endangered animal. Officials seized the male tiger cub, placing it in a crate ready to hand over to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. The cub is now in the care of the San Diego Zoo Safari Park.

As reported by the Albuquerque Journal, since a law went into effect prohibiting exotic animals in Mexican circuses, they have been trying to offload a lot of tigers.

The big cats tend to be popular with drug lords in the country, who delight in keeping them as pets.

However, all tigers fall under the Endangered Species Act and importation of such animals into the U.S. requires a U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service special permit, along with a declaration filed with that agency. Valencia was found to have not complied with those rulings but was released on a bond of $10,000. The teenager will be heading to a preliminary hearing on September 5 in the San Diego Federal Court and could face up to 20 years behind bars if convicted.
It's been reported that the court case of a DREAMer who was supposed to be protected under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) program but was deported anyway, is currently being handled by a federal district judge who is looking into potential violations by the trump administration. The judge is currently working to get the administration to hear Juan Manuel Montes' argument on his status after holding hearings on Tuesday and Wednesday with attorneys representing both sides. Overall, Curiel also wants to see Montes for himself to determine his well-being.

Juan Manuel Montes is the first of two DREAMers since the DACA act reported to be detained by border patrol but the only one to be deported.

DHS claims no record of deportation

The judge handling the case is Gonzalo Paul Curiel who is pressing attorneys on both sides for an immediate trial in order to resolve the case quickly, especially since the Trump administration claims that there is no record showing when Montes was initially deported. The administration, via the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has also provided conflicting statements where they made false claims about Montes' status only to correct themselves later. Judge Curiel said during the hearings this week that he had never seen a case where border enforcement did not have a record of deporting someone.

It was reported that Montes was in Calexico, California, standing outside of a restaurant in February when he was approached by a border agent. He was then detained because he did not have any documentation, was questioned for two hours and forced to walk into a neighborhood into Mexico. He apparently tried to jump the border wall a few days later, but was caught by border agents and deported again.

With DHS claiming that there was no record for the first deportation, it's likely that they do have records for the second in order to reinforce the administration's manipulated and therefore only proof that Montes tried to enter illegally and therefore, was appropriately deported.

Manipulating the argument, typical Trump

But by not producing documentation for the first deportation, the administration is able to better defend their claim that Montes "voluntarily" left the U.S.

and therefore deny that he had been detained and deported. Montes said that he tried to tell the agents that he was protected under the DACA program but they ignored him. Judge Curiel clearly doesn't have much to work with under the claims by DHS and is pushing for an immediate trial to better determine the issue. This is especially the case since DHS also made the mistake of first saying the Montes' DACA protection had expired in 2015, only to confirm it was still active the following day and refer back to their argument that he voluntarily left, thus, forfeiting his protection.

Judge Curiel has "tangoed" with Donald Trump before he became president, where he handled the case over Trump University last year.

Trump made headlines than when he said that Curiel needed to recuse himself from the case because as a Hispanic judge, he would be biased against him. His reasoning was because he was going to build a wall between the Mexican-American border.
Princess Diana's personal chef, Darren McGrady, predicted that Prince Harry might probably pop the question to Meghan Markle before the year ends. In his interview with HELLO! Online, the Kensington Palace staff suggested December could be the perfect month for the couple to get engaged.

Harry and Meghan ready for royal wedding?

Darren McGrady explained that the couple cannot trump Princess Diana's 20th death anniversary on August 31 or Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip's platinum wedding anniversary on November 20. Therefore, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will have to delay their engagement until December for them to get married in 2018.

"I think that's what's going to happen," Darren McGrady said. "Meghan can join the royals at Sandringham at Christmas because she'll be engaged and part of the fold."

The famous chef went on to commend the "Suits" actress and gushed about how she is compatible to the British royals. Darren McGrady thought Prince Harry had found someone who is like Princess Diana.

Harry celebrates first anniversary with Meghan in Africa

The two were first mired in dating rumors in October 2016. Although both parties refused to confirm nor deny these reports, eagle-eyed fans spotted Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's matching beaded bracelet in the wake of the dating controversy.

The British royal was the first to break his silence regarding his rumored relationship with the Hollywood actress.

In November, Prince Harry stepped out to defend Meghan Markle from online abuse and harassment. Shortly after their romance was made public, the "Fringe" actress was spotted at Kensington Palace where her beau is residing.

The prince was seen in Toronto on several occasions where he spent time with his girlfriend. The actress was formally introduced to Kate Middleton in January.

According to reports, the 36-year-old actress has been spending most of her free time in London to support her beau in his public activities. In fact, Meghan Markle was present at the Audi Polo Challenge where Prince Harry competed for the benefit of WellChild and Sentebale in May.

She was also present at the reception of Pippa Middleton's wedding to James Mattews.

Meanwhile, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry were recently in Africa to celebrate their first anniversary just a few weeks shy of a full year. The British royal also prepared a small birthday bash for his girlfriend who turned 36 on August 4.

Despite latest reports about their possible engagement this year, both parties have remained tight-lipped about the matter.
"Days of our Lives" spoilers for the end of the week reveal that Lucas Horton and Gabi Hernandez are both in for a surprise. The two will be in different parts of Salem, but will both be forced to deal with some sticky situations that will leave them feeling less than great as the week ends on "DOOL."

Lucas gets a shock when he wakes up with a dead body next to him

According to the latest "Days Of Our Lives" spoilers, Lucas will wake up feeling rough after getting completely drunk and busting into Adrienne/Bonnie's hotel room. Lucas tells Bonnie, who is pretending to be Adrienne, that he can not live without her, and Bonnie wasn't abel to resist Lucas' charms.

The two ended up in bed together, with Lucas believing he was making love to Adrienne. Later, Angelica and Hattie stop by to talk about the plan with Bonnie and find Lucas in her bed. Angelica is furious about Bonnie straying from the plan, but that won't be the most shocking part. Angelica will drop dead and when Lucas wakes up he'll find himself lying next to her dead body. Of course, he'll be completely shocked, and he may have some serious explaining to do when the police show up. Will he even be able to remember anything?

Gabi will be heartbroken when she learns about Chad and Abigail's wedding plans

Meanwhile, "Days of our Lives" viewers will see Gabi be completely crushed when she hears the news that Chad and Abigail are not only back together, but that they are already engaged and planning their wedding.

As "DOOL" fans know, Chad and Gabi just broke up when it was revealed that Abigail's marriage to Dario was fake, and that Chad still had serious feelings for his ex-wife. Chad immediately ran to Abigail to confess his love, and couldn't hold back his feelings. He proposed to her and the pair have decided to get married yet again, believing that they are soul mates and nothing can keep them apart.

Sadly, it looks like Gabi has lost in love yet again, and fans are hoping the show will give her a more substantial relationship in the very near future.

Many weddings ahead on 'DOOL'

This means that Salem is about to have a plethora of weddings. "Chabby" will be getting married in the near future, and Paul and Sonny also recently got engaged.

There are rumors that the friends may decide to have a double wedding, and that things will go very wrong when an uninvited guest shows up. Meanwhile, "Days of our Lives" fans will also likely soon see Hope Brady and Rafe Hernandez tie the knot as well. Be sure to tune into "DOOL" weekday afternoons on NBC to watch all of the drama go down.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle flew off to Botswana earlier this month for a three-week vacation to celebrate the Markle's 36th birthday. As the couple enjoyed their Africa trip, reports have it that the royal prince already proposed to his girlfriend.

However, a former royal staff member predicted that the younger brother of Prince William has not proposed to his longtime girlfriend yet. The chef suggested that Harry and Meghan might announce their engagement in December instead.

Harry to propose around Christmas?

Hello! Online sat down with a certain Darren McGrady to enquire into his thoughts about the never-ending engagement rumors hounding Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's relationship.

In the interview, the ex-head chef of Princess Diana shared that Harry might propose around Christmas to avoid clashing with other royal celebrations.

"I really do think they would have been engaged by now," McGrady exclusively told HELLO! Online. "But with Princess Diana's 20th anniversary this month in August, they can't trump that. And then November is the Queen and Prince Philip's platinum wedding anniversary so they can't trump that either, he went on.

He, then, claimed a December announcement is more ideal and they would be free to tie the knot next year. Dareen McGrady also said that Meghan could probably join the royal family at Sandringham Palace at Christmas as she will "be a part of the fold" soon.

McGrady also shared the similarities between Princess Diana and Meghan. He said that the actress is naturally like Harrys mom who loves children and is hard working.

While these claims could possibly be true, it should be noted that neither Prince Harry nor Meghan Markle has confirmed anything as of yet. Therefore, fans should take these speculations lightly until everything is proven true and correct.

Harry-Meghan engagement reports are made up?

Meanwhile, Gossip Cop previously debunked the stories that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are already engaged. The news outlet lambasted a HollywoodLife report that claimed the prince proposed to his girlfriend with a $1 million heirloom ring in Africa.

An unnamed source told HollywoodLife that Meghan was stunned by the expensive ring and she accepted the proposal without second thoughts.

The same insider added that the 35-year-old star has been preparing for their engagement but she was totally blown by the romance of it all.

However, Gossip Cop boldly debunked the claims and said that the report is totally fabricated. The publication also claimed that HollywoodLife does not have a real tipster from Kensington or Buckingham palaces.

The couple has yet to comment on these reports. Stay tuned for the latest news and updates about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
More than a hundred CEOs of companies specialized in robotics and Artificial Intelligence, including the billionaire Elon Musk, have sent an open letter to the United Nations to launch a warning about "killer robots", according to AFP. The killer robots which these entrepreneurs and experts are complaining about are autonomous weapons that could be used in wars.

The open letter says that offensive autonomous weapons created to kill will allow armed conflicts to reach an unprecedented scale, but also an unprecedented speed. The letter was published in the UN Convention on weapons.

Call to ban the 'killer robots'

Elon Musk  the owner of Tesla and the CEO of SpaceX  has joined a group of researchers who are asking the United Nations to ban the use of AI robots in war. Along with Musk, the open letter was signed by 115 other people from 26 countries, including researchers, experts, and specialists in robotics and artificial intelligence. Mustafa Suleyman from the British company DeepMind (owned by Google and specializing in artificial intelligence) is also one of the people who signed the letter.

The letter warns that the robots with artificial intelligence could trigger the third revolution in armed conflicts, after the first two revolutions generated by gunpowder and nuclear weapons.

Elon Musk (also a member of the Future of Life Institute  a nonprofit organization that warned about the potential negative effects of technology), insisted about the dangers generated by artificial intelligence, stressing that artificial intelligence could be used to build killer robots.

Could killer robots be used in wars?

The people who signed this letter said they feel responsible to trigger an alarm signal about this issue, especially because their companies set up robotics and artificial intelligence technologies. They are afraid these technologies could be diverted from their basic purpose and turned into autonomous weapons.

In a document published on Sunday by the Future of Life Institute, the people who signed this letter continued arguing that these technologies could become horrible weapons, weapons that can be used by dictators and terrorists against innocent people.

They also said there is not much time to act on this threat. They are afraid that once this "Pandora's box" is opened, it will be difficult close. They are asking the United Nations to find a way to protect them from these dangers.

The United Nations is analyzing the issue of killer robots

The United Nation has been analyzing these types of weapons since 2013. According to the United Nations' website, a series of meetings about this issue should have taken place on Monday in Geneva, but they were finally postponed for November this year.
Growing vegetables on a plateau 4,000 meters above sea level is hard work.

But Bainang county in Xigaze prefecture, the Tibet autonomous region, has made it possible, thanks to the help of farming experts from Shandong province in East China and other regions of the country.

Bainang, about 300 kilometers from the world's highest peak, Qomolangma, has been a traditional agricultural base in Tibet. Highland barley, which is suitable for high-altitude areas, is the staple crop.

But after about two decades' effort, vegetable plantations, mostly in greenhouses, have become an emerging industry in the county.

Penpa Dundrob, Party chief in Phengtsang village, Bardrag township, was one of the pioneers in growing greenhouse vegetables in the county. Now in his 70s, he has managed several greenhouses together with his son.

Residents in his village began to grow vegetables in greenhouses in 1998, he said.

"Initially, the villagers lacked confidence because only a few had experience in growing radishes, potatoes and cabbages in open fields, in addition to highland barley.

"It was Zhang who taught us how to plant vegetables and helped us to build confidence."

He was referring to Zhang Jiming, a vegetable expert from Shandong who has worked in Bainang for 17 years.

About 50 vegetable experts and skilled farmers from Shandong traveled to Bainang to help the locals to grow vegetables. With their help, Bainang has become one of the most important vegetable producing regions in Tibet.

Shandong iself is a leading vegetable producer in China, and its support has been crucial in helping Bainang's vegetable industry to rise quickly.

More than 3,200 households in Bainang are now engaged in vegetable farming, the county government said.

There are 5,428 greenhouses covering 780 hectares used for vegetable farming, producing 25,000 metric tons or 100 million yuan worth of vegetables a year.

Huang Xiaoguang, deputy Party chief of Bainang, said improving vegetables' adaptability to the high altitude of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is a big challenge that the experts and technicians from Shandong are tackling head on.

Huang is also an official from Shandong. He came to Bainang to fulfill his responsibility to help the Tibetan people to improve their lives by using resources from Shandong.

Shandong's farming experts have been developing vegetable varieties with better adaptability for the past 19 years and have made great progress, he said.

Despite Bainang's high altitude, Huang said it is suitable for greenhouse vegetable farming because of the plentiful sunshine and fertile and pollution-free soil.

"In nearly two decades, vegetable farming has become a promising industry in Bainang."

Shandong's experts have also endeavored to make their technologies and expertise better understood by more local farmers.

They have established a demonstration park for vegetable farming in Bainang, using modern technologies and equipment. Zhang is the chief technology officer of the park.

"Here we offer training courses on greenhouse vegetable farming for local people in Bainang," Zhang said.

Feng Jikang, deputy mayor of Xigaze, and who is also from Shandong, said Bainang county should foster its own brands of organic vegetables, relying on the support of Shandong's experts and the concerted efforts of local farmers.

Bainang county has begun to implement a new development plan for the vegetable industry, focusing on promoting a "companies plus households" operation model, Feng said.

"The integration of farmers as individual growers with companies that have better technologies and sales channels is expected to increase the industry's scale and expand marketing channels."
Despite the host of online dating options available today, television shows are still considered by many as the most credible matchmaking platform in China

"You have entered my world in a very special way. Despite our brief interaction, do you think we can develop something further?" said 28-year-old Guan Yongxiang, who had his hand extended as a gesture of courtship.

Yan Mengjian, who stood an arm's length away from her suitor, contemplated for a moment but was interrupted before she could give a reply.

"What is this something? Are you trying to develop a property with her? Why don't you just say: 'Would you be my girlfriend?'" quipped Zhu Zhen, the host of Date on Saturday.

The audience burst into laughter. The producer nodded with a satisfactory smile. The 27-year-old Yan then gave her consent by placing her hand in Guan's.

One of China's first dating shows, Date on Saturday has been aired every Saturday evening in Shanghai since 1998. Over the past two decades, more than 500 couples who got to know each other through the program have tied the knot and many of them have also become parents to children who have been dubbed "Saturday babies". Some of these offspring are now old enough to look for their own partners on the program, joked Zhong Wei, the producer of the show.

Every show takes between two and three hours to film but only an hour of it is shown on air. In each episode, the two hosts attempt to matchmake four single men with four single women through a series of games and a question and answer segment. A relationship consultant is occasionally featured.

"The show has enjoyed such a long-lasting popularity because it offers a peek into the most intimate and private aspect of other people's lives," said Zhu, who has been hosting the program for six years.

Asked if he ever worries about being too nosy or invading the privacy of others, the eloquent host argued: "I think young people today have a very clear idea of the type of privacy that can be displayed on TV or social networks, and the type that cannot be shared with the world.

"Besides, it's TV. We need something entertaining," he added.

Parents gather at Peoples Park in downtown Shanghai to exchange matchmaking information for their single children.

Reel life versus real life

But most would agree that the reality of dating and getting hitched in China is anything but entertaining.

"Women are getting stronger financially, intellectually and in almost every aspect, and they are now less likely to settle for minimum requirements," said Zhong.

This phenomenon is reflected clearly in the show. The rate of men and women holding hands on the show - the action signifies a mutual agreement to enter a relationship - has fallen from 20 percent a decade ago to less than 10 percent in recent years.

"Still, we boast one of the highest success rates among dating agencies and matchmaking websites," said Zhong.

Ni Lin, the female host of the show who has been with the program since the very beginning, did not mince her words.

"I think the reason there are so many single people today is because men have greater access to sex and women have greater access to money. These factors make marriage less necessary," said the 44-year-old who is single.

Dubbed as China's most famous matchmaker, the Shanghai native and local celebrity has a famous theory on "single Class A women and Class D men" that has been widely quoted across media platforms. She posits that as Chinese men usually prefer women who are inferior in social status as their spouses (Class A men looking for Class B women), it is only natural that the people left in the marriage market are the high-caliber "Class A" women and "Class D" men.

Statistics from the national ministry of civil affairs showed that by the end of 2015, the single population in China was more than 200 million, the equivalent of the combined population of Britain and Russia. The ministry also found that the proportion of single men and women in east China, the most economically developed region, is the highest at 26 percent for both groups.

These figures are worrying to the government. People not getting married means lower birth rates, which in turn exacerbates problems related to an aging population.

During the latest meeting of the China Youth League in May, the organization included "getting young people out of singlehood" as one of their 10 priorities for the decade spanning 2016 to 2025. Following the meeting, the official Sina Weibo account of the League even posted that "the China Youth League is duty-bound to help you find a better self and the best him or her".

The last time romantic relationships became a national and political agenda in China was almost a century ago in 1919. Then, hundreds of thousands of students demonstrated to demand an end to arranged marriage and access to democracy and science.

Arranged marriages were the norm for thousands of years in China. In some cases, parents decided who their child would marry even before they were born. This practice, together with keeping concubines and the denial of a woman's right to get out of a marriage, has been banned since 1950.

Date on Saturday has been aired every Saturday evening in Shanghai since 1998. photos by Gao Erqiang / china daily

Dating options aplenty

There is no lack of means for young Chinese to meet their potential partners today. The Alibaba-backed dating app Momo, which is regarded as the Chinese equivalent of Tinder, claims that it has 60 million active registered members, 20 million more than Tinder.

The application allows users to make new friends based on proximity or a shared hobby and communicate via instant messages. While Momo made the headlines a few years ago for its reputation as the go-to app for one-night-stands, it is today still considered one of the best online platforms for those seeking serious relationships.

Jiayuan.com, a dating website that was created before smartphones became prevalent, currently boasts a membership of over 170 million members. Founded by a countryside girl who said she felt humiliated after traditional matchmaking agencies deemed her to be not good looking enough, the website markets itself as a serious place "to find beautiful serendipity".

There are even special corners of the city where parents can matchmake their single children. In Shanghai, the famous marriage market at People's Park sees an average of about 1 million people every year pedaling their children's futures. The weekly fair, which was first set up in 2005, has grown to such a scale and reputation that it is now a popular tourist destination. In light of declining marriage rates, similar fairs have also sprouted in other Chinese cities.

TV: a credible medium

Despite the host of dating options available, television shows like Date on Saturday are still considered by many as the most credible matchmaking platform.

After all, there is a strict screening process for applicants of such shows. Potential guests have to declare personal details including their marital status and occupation. The producer of Date on Saturday added that there are also other "soft barriers" like age and education background which aim to eliminate "unsuitable guests". One in every five applicants gets featured on the show.

Ni noted that many of those who sign up for the program today are the relatively traditional types who believe in the credibility of mainstream media and the value of marriages.

"I think one of the primary reasons our show is sustainable is because it's real. It's like a newspaper, filled with real happenings every day. As long as there are single men and women, our program will go on," said Ni.

She also claimed that the show does not have a script to ensure that there are screen-worthy conflicts or cliff-hanger moments. There is also no rehearsal for participants. As a result, Ni admits that the show can at times be incredibly boring if there is no chemistry between the guests.

Such programs, however, have faced their fair share of criticism during their peak around 2010 when almost every local TV station produced its own dating show. Viewers soon slammed the new programs for being "morally ambiguous" and "too showy".

The participants of such shows often came under the spotlight, too. Once, a 22-year-old model rejected the offer of a motorcycle ride with her jobless suitor, saying: "It's better to cry in the backseat of a BMW than smile on a bike." Such incidents led viewers to accuse participants of being more interested in seeking fame than looking for a genuine partner.

The allure of being on national television is very real. Yan admitted she was drawn to taking part because she has been watching the show since her teenage years.

When approached by China Daily USA separately, Yan and Guan said that they were not actually serious in pursuing a romantic relationship. Yan admitted that with six cameras pointed at them, saying yes to the man seemed like the best thing to do. Besides, holding hands on air does not qualify as a firm commitment in her eyes.

Guan's response was similar. He said he was merely following the program's routine of making an introduction, playing games and initiating the proposal. According to the producers, male guests can skip the proposal if they don't find anyone suitable.

Despite the false alarm of getting a potential son-in-law, Yan's father, who was at the filming of the program, was not disappointed with the actual result.

"It's important to respect the kids' will. But as parents, the earlier the kid starts her own family and enters motherhood, the better," said the father, who married his wife 30 years ago after meeting her on a blind date set up by a mutual friend.

But all was not lost for Yan and Guan. Though they decided not to start a relationship off-screen, they did agree on one thing: it never hurts to have an extra friend.

xujunqian@chinadaily.com.cn
Childrens books make up more than 40 percent of the total sales volume of books in China. Gao Erqiang / China Daily

Children made up a large proportion of the more than 400,000 visitors at the Shanghai Book Fair which took place at Shanghai Exhibition Center from Aug 16 to 22.

The annual fair is the city's largest celebration of books and reading every August when China's students have their summer vacation.

According to the city's publishing and press administration, children's books accounted for more than 40 percent of the total sales volume of books in China. In addition, the market for children's books has been growing by 10 percent annually over the past decade.

However, this rapid growth has been met with criticism that the genre is becoming overly commercialized. Some of the best-selling books were criticized for containing content that is too violent and scary.

"There has been much anxiety among parents as they are eager to buy good reading materials but just don't know how to find them," said Zhao Ping, a children's book editor with Shanghai Translation Publishing House.

As such, a large number of reading clubs have emerged in China to help parents find suitable books. Many of these clubs are hosted by publishers and educators.

Zhang Hong is the founder of Magic Mothers' Reading Club, an online community with around 100,000 registered members. One of the objectives of this club is to help parents impart the joys of reading to their children. As simple as such a task may seem, Zhang said that children nowadays are more interested in playing with mobile devices and games than read.

To encourage reading, the club has invited parents to contribute voice recordings of themselves and their children reading. Since its launch in 2014, more than 16,000 families in Shanghai have participated in the initiative. Encouraged by the success, the club launched a campaign to select the 10 best original Chinese children's books in 2015. Zhang said another reason for creating this campaign was due to her dissatisfaction with previous bestselling lists, adding that many of the books she deemed to be good were not given enough recognition.

In 2016, the club's list of 10 recommended books received votes from more than 10,000 users. A jury panel consisting of educators and community leaders also weighed in with their opinions.

At the Shanghai Book Fair, Zhang hosted the launch of the collection of books titled Chinese Stories in Pictures which was published by Hunan Children's Press. Featuring traditional Chinese folktales, the series of five books was created by Feng Jiannan, a 77-year artist in Shanghai who used to work at the Shanghai Animation Film Studio.

Feng's first picture book was based on the classic show Nine-colored Deer which he directed in 1981.

"Books are more accessible than the film," he said. "I wanted to improve the drawings, such as backgrounds and movements, to address what I felt were imperfections in the film."

The book, which features a drawing style inspired by ancient Buddhism fresco art in Dunhuang in Gansu province, won the best illustration award at the Bologna Children's Book Fair in 1983.

Feng went on to turn more traditional Chinese tales into drawings, boldly borrowing colors and painting styles from China's folk art.

"I have learned a lot from illustrating these folktales," he said.

"Don't underestimate the children. They have their own aesthetics. We need to bring them quality work that they are able to understand and resonate with."
Science fiction is fast gaining popularity among Chinese readers. gao erqiang / china daily

Science fiction was featured at this year's International Literary Week, a key part of the annual Shanghai Book Fair.

Thirty-one authors and scholars from home and abroad took part in the festival, signing books, giving speeches and participating in discussion panels on the literary genre which is gaining more popularity in China.

Ye Xin, a deputy chairman of the China Writers' Association, said that a number of Chinese authors have gained international recognition in science fiction writing in recent years.

During the Literary Week, Chinese author Chen Qiufan spoke about his experiences in participating in the annual Worldcon, which is organized by the World Science Fiction Society, since 1939.

"I saw how people could be much more passionate about the fantasy world, such as the one that was created by George RR Martin, than the real world," he said.

Chen said that to regard the world we live in as the one and only reality is to dispel and belittle any other possibilities of reality and values.

"We seem to forget reality is a plural noun and there are innumerous parallel universes out there. Science fiction and fantasy allows people to enter a common reality and share their emotions. There is so much power and magic in here," he said.

Today's world is filled with changes and uncertainty and everyone is constantly worried about whether his or her reality will be part of the future, added Chen.

"With the power of words and imaginations, we can fill the gaps between different realities, pacify fears and worries, and inspire emotional resonance in this age of technology. Literature is not forgotten. On the contrary, it will glow and bloom to be a guiding star. It's time to redefine the realities," he said.

Chinese author Curtis Chen, who recently had the Chinese edition of his novel Waypoint Kangaroo published by CITIC Press, spoke about his childhood days in Taiwan when he watched shows like Bewitched and Star Trek on television. He became more immersed in the world of fantasy and science fiction when he moved to the United States aged 5.

He began writing science fiction in high school and it was only 20 years later that he got his works published. Waypoint Kangaroo, Chen's first published novel, was only available in the US a few years ago.

As Chen has been fascinated with the Japanese cartoon series Doraemon since his childhood, he created a spy nicknamed Kangaroo who possesses an extra-dimensional pouch that allows him to store and retrieve items. During a vacation, Kangaroo is roped into the investigation of a double murder on the passenger liner to Mars.

The book was lauded as "an auspicious start for the author and his wisecracking series" on Publishers Weekly. Kangaroo Too was published earlier this year and was hailed to be "as smart and sassy as its title character" on Publishers Weekly.

Another author present at the International Literary Week was Rysa Walker, who just had her first novel Timebound published in Chinese by Zhejiang Literature and Art Press. She gave a speech at Shanghai Library on Aug 20. The novel was originally titled Time's Twisted Arrow.

Published in 2012, Timebound won the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award in 2013. The book has since developed into The Chronos Files series which consists of three novels and three novellas.

Timebound is about a teenage girl who discovers that her grandmother is a time-traveling historian from the future. The latter sends the teenager back to 1893 to stop her grandfather from altering the course of history.

Walker noted that time travel is the most popular theme in fantasy stories in China where a number of time-traveling novels have gained large numbers of fans. Many novels have also been turned into TV series and movies.
A scholarship leads to a three-week exchange program that opens a young man's eyes to a different culture

To Andrew Mayhew, a sophomore at State University of New York (SUNY) Maritime College, his three weeks in China were a life-changing experience.

Mayhew, who won a scholarship from the Connecticut Maritime Association (CMA) Education Foundation, was the first American student sent to China by CMA.

"I really cannot stress how amazing it was," said Mayhew, as he recalled the trip in Rockville, Maryland on Aug 16.

Andrew Mayhew (center), a sophomore at State University of New York Maritime College, with Huang Liang (right) and Zhang Hongtao (left), a pilot and training pilot at Port of Shenzhen, stand on the deck of a tugboat on Aug 1. Provided to China Daily

Mayhew arrived in Qingdao on July 17 and visited three other cities, Weifang, Shanghai and Shenzhen.

"I went out to see the culture, the people, ate lots of different foods," he said.

Mayhew didn't speak any Chinese but traveled by train himself from Qingdao to Weifang.

"It was a good experience. It was very quick," he said of the train ride.

In Weifang, Mayhew met with teachers and students at Shandong Maritime Vocational College.

"When Sun Qisheng, who was vice-mayor of Weifang and now is the secretary of the Politics and Law Committee, visited the US in April 2016, he expressed a strong desire to build connections with US companies and colleges, especially in the area of maritime.

That's why I introduced Andrew to visit Shandong Maritime Vocational College to explore possibilities for future collaborations," said Larry Liu, board director of CMA.

The SUNY Maritime College has exchange programs with students from many countries but not in Asia.

"We talked about the possibility of creating an exchange program where Chinese and American students can go back and forth," Mayhew said.

"They are a very good school. They actually have more simulators than my school. They have six simulators for navigation while we have two," Mayhew said.

Mayhew spent 10 days in Shanghai, the first half exploring the city and the second half interning at COSCO, the largest integrated shipping company in China and the second largest in the world.

"It's extremely impressive. It's a massive company. Everybody seems to be very happy, and they were very generous to teach me about their side of the business. "

Shanghai was Mayhew's favorite city on the trip.

"The infrastructure was great. The city is clean. I did not realize how big it is until I got on to the top of the Shanghai tower. It's huge," he said.

Mayhew got to ride one of the shared bikes.

"I like it that they have a network of bikes. That was mind-blowing to me why we don't use that in the US? It's a simple thing, but it really helps a lot of people," Mayhew said.

Shenzhen was the most educational part of the trip to Mayhew. With the help and support of the Port of Shenzhen, he had the chance to board the world's largest container ship and get hands-on experience as a harbor pilot, which he never had done before.

A harbor pilot or master is essentially a traffic controller for the sea. As a ship pulls into port, the harbor pilot climbs aboard and helps guide it safely to shore.

"I've never been on a pilot bridge. They brought in eight different ships while I was there. It was a very interesting and educational part of the trip," Mayhew said.

Mayhew and his family knew "very little" about China before this trip.

"We were a little bit shocked when we thought about sending him half way across the global to a country that we didn't know anything about," said Christina Mayhew, Andrew's mother.

Both of Mayhew's parents and two of his brothers have never been to China.

Mayhew's parents installed WeChat on their phones and learned how to use the application so that they could receive real-time photos and video of Andrew's adventures in China.

"It was cool to see the different things that he was doing in China. All of our family and friends, everybody wanted us to keep them in the loop about what Andy was doing," said his mother. "So I feel like it wasn't just an experience for Andy. It's an entire experience for our family and friends, who really now have a better understanding of Chinese people, the culture, the opportunities over there."

Mayhew said that the best part of the trip was learning about a different culture.

"I don't think each country really understands the culture as much as they should, especially not in the American education system," Mayhew said.

"It really enlightened us about the Chinese people, the culture that he was experiencing," Christina Mayhew said. "It's not only an education for him, but we feel like the whole family was educated on Chinese culture."

Both Mayhew and his parents are very grateful to the Chinese people who Mayhew encountered on his trip.

"Everyone that he was associated with, they were wonderful. They treated him so kindly, so graciously," his mother said.

"I learned to respect their culture and share my own culture," Andrew Mayhew said.

"I'm still in touch with a few of them. We still contact through WeChat. I told them that whenever they come to the US, I'll treat them the same way," he said.

leshuodong@chinadailyusa.com
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan (R) shakes hands with US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis during their meeting at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Turkey, on Aug 23, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

ANKARA - President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed Turkey's unease over US support to the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) during his meeting with US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Wednesday.

During their meeting in capital Ankara, Erdogan and Mattis discussed bilateral and regional issues, according to Anadolu Agency, citing a presidential source.

The discussion included US support to the YPG and Turkey's possible military operation against the YPG in Syria. Erdogan stressed Turkey's unease with the US support for the Syrian Democratic Unity Party military group, to which YPG is aligned, and the alleged Syrian affiliate of the outlawed Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK).

Erdogan and Mattis emphasized the importance of maintaining the territorial integrity of Syria and Iraq, as Kurdish northern Iraq gears up for an independence referendum in September.

The two sides also reiterated their determination to fight against PKK and Islamic State in the region, the source said.

During his visit, Mattis also separately met his Turkish counterpart Nurettin Canikli.

Mattis's visit comes after Iranian Chief of Staff Gen. Mohammad Hossein Bagheri visited Ankara last week to discuss with Turkish officials a joint operation against the Kurdish militants in Iran.
US protectionist measures, including Section 301 of the US Trade Act of 1974, have not only imposed huge costs on American consumers and its own economy, but also failed to achieve their primary policy aims, according to a report published this week.

Scott Lincicome, an adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute, surveyed academic literature throughout US history - from the founding of the US to its entry into the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in 1947; from the GATT's early years to the creation of the World Trade Organization in 1995; and the current World Trade Organization (WTO) era.

"The surveys show that, contrary to the fashionable rhetoric, American protectionism has repeatedly failed as an economic strategy," he said.

While most trade specialists and economists agree that US protection measures are costly and not effective, the fact that these measures produce winners and losers is exploited by politicians, according to Lincicome, who is an international trade attorney.

He explained that winners are concentrated, with concentrated benefits, while losers are very diffuse and have diffuse costs.

"So, there is clearly this area for political gain by President Obama or by President Trump to pursue trade measures for political gain despite the potential economist cost," Lincicome told China Daily on Thursday.

A Peterson Institute for International Economics analysis cited in the study shows that threats of retaliation through Section 301 failed to achieve even partial success more than half the time, with actual retaliation working less than 20 percent of the time.

"These outcomes would likely be worse if similar policies were implemented today, owing to increased American integration into the global economy, the proliferation of global supply chains, the rise of other economic powers, and the creation of the WTO," Lincicome wrote in the paper.

The US launched a Section 301 investigation on China over technology transfer and intellectual property last week.

Lincicome believes it's far better for the US to go to the WTO, but it's also too early for people to react much.

"I would agree that in terms of rhetoric, President Trump's rhetoric is easily the most protectionist of any president in the last several decades. On actual policy, the jury is still out," he said.

According to the study, US antidumping law, including measures against Chinese imports, has repeatedly been found not only to hurt US consumers and many large American exporters but also to improve only rarely the state of the protected industry. Instead, what often lies in the wake of this protection is the bankruptcy of the very firms that lobbied for it.

The paper cited the high cost of protectionism in Obama's imposition of "special" safeguard duties on Chinese tire imports from 2009 to 2011. The US tariffs imposed $1.1 billion in additional costs on US tire consumers in 2011, and the cost per manufacturing job saved was at least $900,000 that year.

Most moves did not benefit US workers, but foreign producers in countries such as Thailand, Indonesia and Mexico, which replace Chinese imports. The US tariffs also killed 2,351 jobs in retail and other industries.

In response to the US tire tariffs, the Chinese government retaliated against US exporters of chicken parts, costing that industry about $1 billion, according to the study.

Lincicome noted that the US has struggled in recent years to adapt to significant economic disruptions due to trade, automation, innovation or changing consumer tastes, and it is legitimate to discuss policy ideas in response.

"What should not be up for debate, however, is whether protectionism would help to solve the country's current problems," he said. "History is replete with examples of the failure of American protectionism; unless our policymakers quickly relearn this history, we may be doomed to repeat it."

chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com
Arts festival - San Francisco

Luo Linquan (center), Chinese consul general in San Francisco, joins representatives of cultural societies to introduce the fourth "Across the Pacific-China Arts Festival" at a press conference on Thursday at the consulate general in San Francisco. Lia Zhu / China Daily

Greener tomorrow - Washington

Ming Yang, a senior climate change specialist at the International Fund for China's Environment (IFCE), a global organization based in Washington with offices in several Chinese cities, chats with participants of IFCE's Future Green Leader Training Camp on Aug 16. Provided to China Daily

Happy anniversary - New York

Xu Yongji, education consul at China's Consulate General in New York, speaks at an event organized by People's University of China Alumni Association to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the founding of the university. Provided to China Daily

New sound - San Francisco

Jeremiha Douglas (center), senior product manager of Dolby Atmos, shows off a recently launched series of Huawei Matebook laptops, the world's first equipped with a Dolby Atmos Sound System, on Tuesday at the company's headquarters in San Francisco. Lia Zhu / China Daily

Audio files - Skywalker Ranch, CA

Steve Boeddeker (left), sound designer with Skywalker Sound, and Josh Lowden (right), general manager of Skywalker, share behind-the-scenes stories on Wednesday at the company's Stag Theater. The studio did post-production sound for a number of Chinese films, including The Great Wall and Light Chaser. Lia Zhu / China Daily

Zhejiang calling - New York

Xu Peng, deputy director of tourism for Zhejiang province, talks about the picturesque landscape and culture of the coastal province during an event in New York on Tuesday. American tourists made more than 550,000 trips to Zhejiang last year. Provided to China Daily

Poignant memento - Champaign, IL

Poignant memento - Champaign, IL

A copy of missing Chinese scholar Zhang Yingying's diary, put together by the University of Illinois, is presented to her father by Chancellor Robert Jones at a press conference held on Tuesday in Champaign, Illinois. The original is still being held as evidence in the investigation. Zhang Ruinan / China Daily

Having a ball - San Francisco

Spectator Erfu Wang (left) and volunteer Mimi Chiang attend the 7th San Francisco Chinatown Ping Pong Tournament opening ceremony at Portsmouth Square on Sunday. Zhizhi Cen / China Daily
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Naypyidaw, August 24 (VNA)  Vietnams Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and President of Myanmar Htin Kyaw agreed to establish the bilateral comprehensive cooperative partnership during their talks in Naypyidaw, the capital city of Myanmar, on August 24.



President Htin Kyaw stressed that Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trongs visit is an important historic milestone and will open up a new chapter in the two countries ties.



Meanwhile, Party chief Nguyen Phu Trong noted that the visit will offer the two sides to outline strategic orientations to create a new hallmark, a new height and a new impetus for the bilateral ties across sectors.



They expressed their delight to see the Vietnam-Myanmar ties growing across diverse areas, especially since former Party General Secretary Do Muois visit in 1997. Two-way trade hit 548.3 million USD, exceeding the set target of 500 million USD. Vietnam has become the ninth largest trade partner and the seventh largest foreign investor of Myanmar.



Both sides agreed on major orientations to lifting bilateral ties to a greater height by intensifying political links at all levels, especially at the highest level while continuing to strengthen bilateral relations on the Party, Government, National Assembly, sector and local channels.



Further attention will be paid to people-to-people exchange, especially young leaders and people.



On national defence-security, they pledged to soon establish the national defence policy dialogue mechanism at the deputy ministerial and vice chief of the general staff levels and the Joint Working Group mechanism at the head of the external relation agency level.



The two countries will reinforce joint work in defence industry, army medical training, sharing of information, consultation and mutual support at bilateral forums, especially within the framework of the ASEAN Defence Ministerial Meeting (ADMM) and the ADMM Plus.



They vowed to not allow any individuals or organisations to make use of this countrys territory to sabotage the other country.





Regarding economic cooperation, the two sides proposed promoting the current development momentum and actively supporting each other to host trade and investment promotion activities to increase trade value.



They suggested focusing on cooperation in banking, finance, aviation, telecommunication, and other supplementary fields such as mining, agro-forestry-fisheries, tourism, and consumer products.



It is also necessary to increase exchanges and share experience in economic management, reshuffle and institutional reform.



Vietnam and Myanmar agreed to enhance air, land and sea route connectivity through stronger cooperation in seaport construction, maritime and aviation transport, and shipbuilding, as well as consider the establishment of an aviation joint venture and the development of roads connecting the two countries and within the cooperation framework of ASEAN, Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS), and Cambodia-Laos-Myanmar-Vietnam (CLMV).



The transport of passengers and goods along the bilateral economic corridors will help promote trade, investment and tourism exchanges between Vietnam and Myanmar in particular and in the region as a whole.



Party leader Trong took this occasion to thank President Htin Kyaw and the Myanmar Government for creating favourable conditions for the Vietnamese businesses to make investment and hoped the country will provide more support for them to do more for the host countrys development efforts.



President Htin Kyaw welcomed Vietnamese firms to step up investment in Myanmar for mutual benefits and highly valued Vietnams investment of 500 million USD in tourism.



The two leaders also exchanged regional and international issues of mutual concern and affirmed Vietnam and Myanmar have shared a lot of benefits and similar viewpoints on regional and global security matters over the past few years. The two sides have actively coordinated and supported each other at sub-regional, regional and global forums.



They agreed to push ahead with information and viewpoint exchanges in such organisations as the GMS, the East-West Economic Corridor (EWEC), and the Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (ACMECS) to intensify cooperation in using effectively and sustainably water resources from the Mekong River for the common development and prosperity of the region and each country.



President Htin Kyaw affirmed Myanmar supports Vietnam to run for a non permanent seat at the UN Security Council in the 2020-2021 tenure.



As regards the East Sea issue, the two leaders shared the same opinions that any disputes in the East Sea should be settled through peaceful measures and in accordance with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).



They called on the involved parties to implement fully and effectively the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and soon reach a Code of Conduct in the East Sea to maintain regional peace, stability, security and cooperation.



Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and President Htin Kyaw emphasised that Vietnam and Myanmar need to promote role and strengthen coordination with other ASEAN member nations to maintain internal solidarity and unity as well as promote the central role of ASEAN in regional architectures, realise the ASEAN Communitys targets, and contribute to peace and stability in the region.



Late on the day, President Htin Kyaw hosted a banquet in honour of Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and the Vietnamese high-ranking delegation.

VNA/VNP
HA NOI  The 9th International Exhibition of Shipbuilding, Shipping, and Offshore Technology (Vietship 2018) will return to the capital early next year, the events organisers announced on Thursday.

The forthcoming expo will draw the participation of leading enterprises, including those from foreign countries having developed maritime industries, such as Japan, South Korea, Singapore, China, France, Norway, Belgium and the Netherlands.

The biennial event will offer a good chance for businesses and investors to approach useful information, share state-of-the-art technologies and seek investment opportunities to further accelerate the development of the shipbuilding industry, organisers said.

Hosted by the Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (SBIC), Vietship 2018 will take place at the National Convention Centre from January 24 to January 26. It is expected to attract more than 10,000 visitors. Conferences on the shipbuilding and maritime industries will be held on the sideline of the expo.

The previous event saw 19 contracts and agreements worth over VN500 billion (US$22.4 million) inked between domestic and foreign partners. It had 220 stands from 130 companies, including 78 foreign firms.  VNS
HA NOI  Property developer FLC Group will organise a large-scale roadshow and seminar in Japan on September 7 to promote Viet Nams resort real estate market to the world and expand the Japanese-Vietnamese business network.

This event is expected to attract over 200 individual and institutional investors, investment funds and real estate companies from Viet Nam, Japan and all over Asia.

Investors will be able get updated with the most recent trends in the Vietnamese hospitality market  a regional star thanks to abundant natural resources.

In addition, this will also be an opportunity for Japanese suppliers in various industries such as construction, technology, agriculture and healthcare to learn more about partnership opportunities with a leading multi-sector corporation in Viet Nam.

During this event, many world-class resort developments will be introduced to Japanese investors.

In recent years, real estate investment regulations for foreigners in Viet Nam have become increasingly welcoming, especially with the amended Housing Law that allows foreign property ownership, and the 8th Resolution of the Politburo that determines tourism as a key industry.

Speeches of guests such as the Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Nguyen Quoc Cuong, former Japanese ambassador to Viet Nam Norio Hattori, and CBRE Viet Nam and FLC Groups directors will provide valuable insights into the countrys holiday property market, outstanding projects, investment processes and policies for foreign investors.

This event aims at carrying forward the recent success of a roadshow and seminar held by FLC Group in Singapore in June, which attracted over 300 individual and institutional investors, investment funds and real estate companies from all over Asia.

Foreign investors were impressed by the large scale of the event and said it helped provide much needed information on the Vietnamese real estate market for investors in Singapore.  VNS
QUANG NINH  Residents of the northern province of Quang Ninh can now avail of Grab ride hailing services.

At the launch ceremony on Wednesday, the provincial Department of Transport said Grab Viet Nam has been allowed to carry out a pilot project for passenger transport using contracted cars in the province.

From Wednesday, GrabCar and Grab Taxi services have been operational.

Quang Ninh Province has become the fourth region to offer Grabs ride-hailing services, after HCM City, Ha Noi and a Nang City.  VNS
Bilateral ties between Viet Nam and Turkey have room to expand, Deputy Prime Minister Vuong inh Hue told a business conference held on Thursday in Ha Noi. VNA/VNS Photo Quang Quyet

HA NOI  Bilateral ties between Viet Nam and Turkey have room to expand, Deputy Prime Minister Vuong inh Hue told a business conference held on Thursday in Ha Noi.

Viet Nam attaches importance to developing collaboration with Turkey, which is Viet Nams leading trading partner in the Middle East, Hue said.

Two-way trade stood at nearly US$2 billion in 2016 and is growing fast towards the goal of $4 billion in 2020. Currently, Turkish investors run 13 projects valued at $730 million in Viet Nam.

Besides trade and investment, he also outlined industry, agriculture, mining, oil and gas, maritime, supporting industry, human resources, training and tourism as other promising sectors for co-operation.

The Deputy PM encouraged firms from the two countries to lead in carrying out bilateral economic-trade co-operation agreements while vowing to facilitate Turkish enterprises to operate in Viet Nam.

During his speech at the event, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said Viet Nam and Turkey share common aspirations for economic co-operation expansion, in which the two business communities should play the biggest role.

The two governments will remove barriers and open up opportunities for businesses, the PM said, adding that the two countries need a free trade agreement to promote connections between the two business communities.

The legal corridor should be more open and transparent to support the enterprises, he noted.

Turkish businesses have begun to study the Vietnamese market, intending to invest in infrastructure and healthcare, fields in which they have a wealth of experience, he added.

Despite rapid expansion in recent years, two-way economic ties remain far below potential, said the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) vice chairman oan Duy Khuong.

Last year, trade hit US$2 billion, from $1 billion in 2012, with Viet Nams main export items being mobile phones and accessories, fibre and yarn, computers, electronic products and accessories, fabric, and rubber.

In term of investment, Turkish businesses have to date pumped $730 million into 13 projects in Viet Nam.

Khuong hoped that the forum, which was attended by nearly 200 businesses including 70 Turkish companies, will help the two sides explore business opportunities, especially in infrastructure development, agro-forestry-fisheries, petrochemicals, renewable energy and health care.

The forum was held by the VCCI and the Foreign Economic Relations Board of Turkey (DEIK) on the occasion of the official visit of the Turkish Prime Minister to Viet Nam. It was also attended by Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.  VNS
CAN THO  APEC officials and leaders of agricultural businesses in the region met on Thursday to discuss responsible use of resources that will ensure long-term food production and decent living standards for everyone.

They also discussed the roles of the public and private sectors in this process.

Tran Hong Ha, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, hailed the private sector for "actively participating in doing research and promoting science and technology application in production, and efficiently using natural and human resources to ensure productivity to meet consumption demands."

The business communitys participation has facilitated the work of authorities in mobilising various social resources, including qualified personnel and diverse financial sources for infrastructure investment and services, modern post-harvest management and other activities, Ha said.

Acknowledging practical benefits of the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model, Viet Nam has made great efforts over the last few years to develop and consolidate an enabling environment for it, he said.

Agricultural infrastructure development and services that link production, processing and consumption are areas with high potential for PPP investors, he added.

Pham Ngo Quoc Thang, CEO of Lavifood JSC, said that enterprises have received a lot of support from the Government, but needed more.

"The Government has made great efforts to support agricultural processing enterprises. I think this is a great improvement on the domestic side. What we need now is more information about technical barriers [in accessing foreign markets] and new technologies."

Thang said that he hoped that the forum would help enterprises learn about new technologies from international friends to improve productivity.

Anne Ruston, Australias Assistant Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources, stressed the need for open discussions in the region, saying all APEC economies could learn from one another.

She said that though each APEC economy had a different set of circumstances, priorities or objectives, a forum like the current one can guide discussions towards things that they can do along the way like investment in research and development, innovation and technology, and best practices to promote food and sustainability, making sure people in every economy would all have jobs that provides them with standard living conditions.

Policymakers, experts and CEOs attending the forum highlighted challenges preventing the PPP model from realising its full potential.

Grahame Dixie, executive director of World Economic Forum  Grow Asia Initiative, said there were three major challenges that have not been discussed much.

The first is a platform for public and private sectors to talk more openly to one another, the second, needed policy changes.

"Stability in policy is very important for private-public investments to actually take place."

Finally, implementation of regulations should be far more effective, he said.  VNS

Caption: APEC authorities and Agriculture CEOs on Thursday discussed responsible use of resources to enable long-term food production and ensure decent living standards for all stakeholders.  VNS Photo
HA NOI  Viet Nam has been making efforts to mobilise international and domestic sources in order to support national energy development and achieve a sustainable energy system with low emissions, experts have said.

This includes ensuring a reliable power supply at an affordable price for the countrys continued socio-economic development, optimising the efficient use of energy sources and promoting the use of clean and renewable energy, they said.

Speaking at the conference on sustainable energy and a low emission economy in Viet Nam yesterday, Vice Minister of Industry and Trade Hoang Quoc Vuong said that energy security has always been regarded as a top priority in policy and strategy development for Viet Nams energy sector.

The nations energy demands have increased at a remarkable rate over the last 15 years, with a commercial energy growth rate of about 9.5 per cent per year. Power consumption has been increasing at about 11 per cent per year between 2011-2016.

Viet Nam faces challenges with its increasing energy demands, which put pressure on energy security and the national economy. Thus, the country has switched from being an energy exporter to an energy importer, and plans to import 17 millions of tonnes of coal in 2020.

Vuong said the Government has put forward significant funds to set up, reform and complete mechanisms and policies in energy development to improve clean and renewable energy. It would gradually increase the ability to mobilise internal finance in enterprises operating in the power sector, attract more foreign direct investment for development of power projects, and develop a healthy and competitive market for enterprises.

Wolfgang Manig, Charge dAffaires of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Viet Nam said that Germany is leading the way in decarbonising the economy, which is necessary in the face of climate change.

The country was willing to share experiences made in the energy transition process and support Viet Nam in increasing renewable energy and energy efficiency.

At the conference, experts suggested that Viet Nam needs to use energy sources efficiently and enhance the development of renewable energy sources, as well as an intelligent power grid and a high share of distributed power generation. This would help ensure a reliable power supply, successfully optimising the efficient use of energy resources, while also addressing climate needs for continued decarbonisation.

Waste to energy

Producing energy from waste is a practical solution to deal with solid waste, predicted to increase between 10 and 16 per cent annually, in big Vietnamese cities, experts have said.

Ingmar Stelter, director of the Energy Support Programme implemented by the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the German Organisation of International Cooperation, said converting waste into energy has proven to be a practical solution worldwide to cope with environmental and land use challenges in metropolitan areas.

In Viet Nam, some 35,000 tonnes of solid waste from urban areas and 34,000 tonnes of rural solid waste have been released in recent decades. However, some 85 per cent of solid waste was treated through landfills, which required a lot of land and posed risks of environmental pollution.

It was time Viet Nam transformed solid waste into energy, he said. There were opinions that producing power from waste was much more costly than from hydro-power or coal, but other benefits, such as no more waste to be buried on land or eco-friendly technology, should be taken into consideration.

He said he hoped the country could apply a more effective and sustainable approach for solid waste in the coming decades to help reduce environmental pollution, enable more efficient land use and utilise the energy market in the country.

Pham Trong Thuc, head of the Ministry of Industry and Trades Renewable and Recycled Energy Department, said the country has not taken advantage of waste to energy production.

The challenge was the shortage of a sustainable source of waste. In fact, many investors still found it difficult to approach the source of waste, which was the key issue, to invest in the field of waste.

Thuc said converting waste into energy was a good choice for Viet Nam to ensure energy security, social welfare and environmental protection, he added.

In Germany, all kinds of waste are utilised. For example, one tonne of waste in Germany could be sold at a price of 40 euros, but in Viet Nam, the Government had to pay several tens of dollars to bury waste.

Viet Nams Government has made efforts to increase electricity generation to ensure sustainable and green economic development and energy security. According to the Renewable Energy Development Strategy, which was enacted in late 2015, the utilisation rate of solid waste in urban areas for energy purposes is expected to increase from the current level to 30 per cent in 2020 and 70 per cent in 2030.  VNS
A scenic area in the southern coastal province of Khanh Hoa, Van Phong looks like a sleeping beauty on an endless sea.

From the city of Nha Trang, we travel 80km north, until we reach Van Phong on a beautiful, sunny day.

The bay is known as an ensemble of many small gulfs and multi-shaped islands.

The most recognisable island is Bip Island, also named iep Son (Mountain of Butterfly Island), with 83 households with limited access to electricity and fresh water.

Parting of the sea: The road under the sea level in iep Son island.  Photo vivudulich.top

The island consists a group of three smaller islands and the journey to explore the island starts from Van Gia Town. After an hour on sea, dreamy iep Son Island began to form on the horizon.

The most staggering thing about the island is the unique and stunning road a metre under sea level, which is 700m long and connects the middle island with the Mountain of Butterfly Island.

Strolling on this road brings about extreme excitement, a thrill and a bit of scare when we walk among the infinite ocean. I really like to watch the fish swimming on the two sides and wave to boats passing by, said my travel partner Nguyen Thanh Thuy.

Tranquil: Hon Ong (Whale Island) in central Khanh Hoa Province.  Photo Phuot.com

We spent a short time on iep Son Island before heading to Ong Island (The Whale Island). Different from other tourism islands in the fact it is uninhabited, we only found a resort called Whale Island Resort, which provides all services on this island.

Environmental protection is a taken seriously on the island, showed by the signboard my friend read saying, no fishing or bird hunting are allowed on the island.

I think the island is created for sea lovers, who would like to explore unspoilt, desolated and pristine destinations, or who wish to temporarily escape the suffocating urban life, as well as newlyweds on honeymoon.

A couple from New Zealand who were vacationing there told me the island was nine or 10 stars in terms of style and location.

Greenery: The scenery of Hon Lon Island.  Photo ivivu.com

Staying several days on the island, we hired a boat to reach am Mon Peninsula. With a total area of 128 squ.km, including 20 islands and a primival forest, am Mon Beach is silent, calm and fresh. Since it is covered and protected by Hon Gom and Hon Lon peninsulas, big waves rarely hit the beach.

Across the peninsula, we headed to Son ung (or Xuan ung) Hamlet. A small one with only ten households, the hamlet is home to the ang Ha ethnic minority, whose ancestors are Malaysians or Indonesians who were shipwrecked on the island in the 18th or 19th century.

The hamlet has no roads, as people travel across the sand. As for the beach, I have never seen anywhere so picturesque, probably as it was devoid of visitors.

Magnificent: The iep Son Island.  Photo zing.vn

What is odd here is you can find fresh water from the beachs sand. Taking a few steps from the sea, digging sand close to the salt water, fresh water will rise in the small hole. Not far from the beach is Lach plain, a breathtaking site of coral and stone.

Northwest of Van Phong Bay is Hon Gom Peninsula, a natural complex of small mountain ranges and sand dunes. Hon Gom looks like outreached hands treasuring the diamond of Hon Lon (Big Island). The island covers and protects Van Phong Bay so ships can shelter from big storms.

We finished our trip by boating to Twins Cape at Hon Gom. Bearing the name because of two stones pointing to the East Sea, we couldnt take our eyes from the imposing view of the bay and the stone masterpieces.

To me, Van Phong Bay should be known as the Mother of islands instead of Sleeping Beauty, as the beauty of this place is far from hidden.  VNS
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, who was on an official visit to Viet Nam from August 22-24 at the invitation of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, has granted the Vietnam News Agency an interview.  VNZ/VNS Photo Thong Nhat

HA NOI  Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, who was on an official visit to Viet Nam from August 22-24 at the invitation of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, has granted the Vietnam News Agency an interview.

PM Yildirim emphasised that he is the first Turkish Prime Minister to visit Viet Nam since the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1978.

He noted the visit is late but is a good start for more high-level visits between the two sides in the future, which would contribute to the improvement of Viet Nam-Turkey relations.

PM Yildirim highlighted Turkeys location between Europe and Asia, while Viet Nam is a member of ASEAN. Both nations have relative large populations and rapid economic growth, with comparative advantages to do fruitful things together.

The target to increase bilateral trade to US$4 billion by 2020, which now stands at less than $2 billion, is achievable, he stressed, adding his delight at strong investment between the sides across many fields.

The official said daily flights from Istanbul to Ha Noi and HCM City have facilitated travel between Viet Nam and Turkey and recommended that easing the visa regime could help activities thrive.

Concerning measures Turkey would take to enhance trade with Viet Nam, Binali Yildirim said his country is ready to start negotiating a free trade agreement and has already decided upon double taxation avoidance and trade facilitation with Viet Nam.

The PM said investors from Turkey are eyeing the Vietnamese sectors of infrastructure, tourism, renewable energy, tourism, textiles, mining, and ship-building.

Many Turkish businesses operating in Viet Nam said they are happy with the investment climate and appreciate assistance from the local Government, he added.

Talking about the importance of Viet Nam in Turkeys foreign diplomacy, he said the countries are working together in various bilateral and international areas.

He stated Turkey supports Viet Nams bid for a non-permanent seat in the UN Security Council in 2020-21, and asked Viet Nam to back his countrys effort to become a member of UNESCOS executive board for 201721.

He also pointed to education as an important cooperative sphere, saying Turkey is willing to offer scholarships for Vietnamese students and take part in student exchange programmes.

The PM said during his trip so far, he has been impressed with the sincerity and hospitality of Vietnamese people and strong will of Vietnamese leaders in boosting bilateral ties.

He noted Viet Nam and Turkey will jointly celebrate 40 years since the founding of diplomatic relations next year.

He congratulated Viet Nam on the celebration of the 72nd anniversary of National Day (September 2) with a belief that younger generations would inherit and sustain achievements Viet Nam had obtained under the leadership of the late President Ho Chi Minh.  VNS
Heavy rains and subsequent flashfloods have claimed the lives of 34 people and left 11 others missing since the beginning of August.  VNA/VNS Photo Huong Thu

HA NOI  Cubas leader has expressed his sympathy in response to heavy losses in recent floods in northern mountainous provinces.

First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba Central Committee, President of the Council of State and the Council of Ministers of Cuba Raul Castro Ruz sent the messages to Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, President Tran ai Quang and Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. The Cuban leader also expressed his sympathy to families of victims and those affected by the natural disasters.

According to the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control, heavy rains and subsequent flashfloods have claimed the lives of 34 people and left 11 others missing since the beginning of August.

The floods also swept away and collapsed 231 houses, damaged 245 houses, submerged 338.5ha of rice, and forced 398 households to leave their homes for safer places.

They also blew away over 25,000cu.m of national roads and 117,706cu.m of provincial and district roads. Finally, they damaged 145 irrigation works and 2,072m of river dike, causing over VN940 billion (US$41.3 million) in total economic losses in the provinces.  VNS
NAY PYI TAW  Viet Nams Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and President of Myanmar Htin Kyaw agreed to establish a bilateral comprehensive co-operative partnership during their talks in Nay Pyi Taw on Thursday.

President Htin Kyaw stressed that Trongs visit is an important milestone and will open up a new chapter in the two countries ties.

Meanwhile, Party chief Trong noted that the visit will allow the two sides to outline strategic orientations to create new impetus for bilateral ties.

They expressed their delight to see Viet Nam-Myanmar ties growing across diverse areas with two-way trade hitting US$548.3 million last year, exceeding the target of $500 million. Viet Nam is the ninth largest trade partner and seventh largest foreign investor of Myanmar.

Both sides agreed on major plans to lift bilateral ties to a greater height by intensifying political links at all levels, especially at the highest level while continuing to strengthen bilateral relations via the Party, Government, National Assembly, sector and local channels.

People-to-people exchanges will be increased, especially for young leaders and people.

On national defence-security, they pledged to soon establish a national defence policy dialogue mechanism at the deputy ministerial and vice chief of the general staff levels and a joint working group at the head of the external relations agency level.

The two countries will reinforce joint work in the defence industry, army medical training, sharing of information, consultation and mutual support at bilateral forums, especially within the framework of the ASEAN Defence Ministerial Meeting (ADMM) and the ADMM Plus.

They vowed to not allow any individuals or organisations to make use of either countrys territory to sabotage the other country.

Regarding economic co-operation, the two sides proposed promoting current momentum and supporting each other to host trade and investment promotion activities to increase trade value.

They suggested co-operation in banking, finance, aviation, telecommunication, and other supplementary fields such as mining, agro-forestry-fisheries, tourism and consumer products.

It is also necessary to increase exchanges and share experience in economic management and institutional reform.

Viet Nam and Myanmar agreed to enhance air, land and sea route connectivity through stronger co-operation in seaport construction, maritime and aviation transport, and shipbuilding, as well as consider establishing an aviation joint venture and developing roads connecting the two countries, within the co-operation framework of ASEAN, the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS), and Cambodia-Laos-Myanmar-Viet Nam.

The transport of passengers and goods along bilateral economic corridors will help promote trade, investment and tourism exchanges between Viet Nam and Myanmar and in the region.

President Htin Kyaw welcomed Vietnamese firms to step up investment in Myanmar for mutual benefits and lauded Viet Nams investment of $500 million in tourism.

The two leaders agreed to push ahead with information and viewpoint exchanges in organisations like the GMS, the East-West Economic Corridor (EWEC), and the Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Co-operation Strategy to intensify co-operation in using water resources from the Mekong River sustainably for the prosperity of the region and each country.

President Htin Kyaw affirmed Myanmar supports Viet Nam candidacy for a non-permanent seat at the UN Security Council in 2020-21.

As regards the East Sea (South China Sea) issue, the two leaders agreed that any disputes in the sea should be settled through peaceful measures and in accordance with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

They called on involved parties to fully implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea and soon reach a Code of Conduct in the East Sea to maintain regional peace, stability, security and co-operation.

The leaders emphasised that Viet Nam and Myanmar need to strengthen co-ordination with other ASEAN member nations to maintain internal solidarity and unity as well as promote the central role of ASEAN in the regional architectures, realise the ASEAN Communitys targets, and contribute to peace and stability in the region.  VNS
Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong meets with Speaker of the Myanmar Parliament Mahn Win Khaing Than in Nay Pyi Taw on Thursday.  VNA/VNS Photo Tri Dung

NAY PYI TAW  The enhancement of relations between the Vietnamese and Myanmar legislatures is one of the most important pillars in political ties between the two nations, said Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong.

During a meeting with Speaker of the Myanmar Parliament Mahn Win Khaing Than in Nay Pyi Taw on Thursday, the Party chief hailed the effective and practical co-operation between the Vietnamese and Myanmar parliaments, especially the maintenance of delegation exchanges and exchange activities of friendship parliamentarian groups.

Viet Nam always wants to strengthen co-operative relations with Myanmar and supports the countrys national reconciliation, he said.

The Burmese Speaker voiced his hope that more and more Vietnamese businesses would invest in Myanmars market in the future.

Trong proposed the Myanmar parliament provide legal and policy support for Vietnamese enterprises to do business in the country.

The two leaders also shared viewpoints on building an ASEAN of solidarity, unity and strength, contributing to regional and global peace, stability, co-operation and development.

They supported the peaceful settlement of disputes in the East Sea (South China Sea) on the basis of international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 (UNCLOS), while strictly implementing the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and soon reaching a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).  VNS
THUA THIEN-HUE  Residents of central ThuaThien-Hue Province have set up tents to monitor illegal sand mining since local authorities have failed to stop miners from illegal dredging.

A month ago, villagers in Ha Village in the provinces Duong Hoa Commune, formed a farmer taskforce team to keep watch of the river section of Ta Trach, an upper stream contributing to the Huong (Perfume) River, which borders the village.

Le Van Truoc, head of the villagers, said the team includes 10 members for alternate shifts, ensuring the whole day is monitored.

Truoc said villagers had mobilised cash to buy the team an engine boat to drive the sand miners away from the local river section. The team also built a bamboo tent as a shelter for members during their shift.

We help discover illegal sand mining activities and sound the alarm for all villagers. In case the miners ignore us, we will sail to the site to drive them away, Truoc said.

The monitoring tent set up by Ha villagers to monitor illegal sand miners.  Photo moitruongnet.vn

Le Van Tan, a team member, said villagers were determined to perform the task despite the danger from possibly violent miners because they had witnessed a major landslide in the locality, caused by the illegal sand mining.

In difficult situations, team members would inform the local police for help to catch the miners and impose penalties.

Earlier, sand miners came to the river section to conduct sand mining with engine-powered suction pipes throughout the day, causing landslides of 5km along the riverbank and some 15m inland.

Le Van Thuc, the communes deputy chairman, admitted illegal sand mining occurred in the locality, saying it had been taking place for three years now, but local authorities had failed to catch the violators.

With the villagers watch team, sand mining has reduced. Last week, the team caught two boats that were dredging at the river section and transferred them to the commune authorities for punishment.

Thuc said the commune would assist in the formation of a similar team at Buong Village, which is adjacent to Ha Village and experiences landslides due to illegal sand mining.  VNS
HCM CITY  More effective strategies for health financing are needed to improve community health and promote sustainable development in APEC economies, said senior officials at the 7th APEC High-Level Meeting on Health & the Economy held yesterday in HCM City.

The meeting, held within the framework of APECs Senior Officials Meeting (SOM 3), discussed the challenges faced by APEC economies in raising sufficient public revenue for health care and achieving a good rate of return on public investment in health care.

Harnessing public and private innovations to expand access to health care services, and reaching the goals of the Healthy Asia-Pacific 2020 plan, were also part of the meetings agenda.

Dr Lokky Wai, representative of the World Health Organisations Western Pacific Region, said that finding sufficient resources to support the health sector particularly in human resources was a major challenge, especially in many of APECs middle-income economies.

Viet Nams Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien agreed, saying that securing sufficient funds for health was crucial but that it was not the single prerequisite needed for universal health coverage.

Using available funds efficiently and strategically, arranging appropriate service delivery models, regulating health service quality and safety, and empowering people and communities about health awareness are all needed on the pathway to universal health coverage, Tien said.

Also speaking at the meeting, Vu uc am, Viet Nams deputy prime minister, said that occupational diseases as well as non-communicable diseases were silently affecting societys health.

Eighty-two per cent of Viet Nams citizens are covered by state health insurance, with 16 million contracts from 40 private insurance companies, am said, adding that the government aims to have all citizens covered by health insurance in the near future.

The government has allocated a large budget to buy health insurance cards for the poor, children and the elderly, am said.

Viet Nam devotes 6.6 per cent of its gross domestic product to health care, according to am.

Over the last 20 years, the country has increased public investment in the health sector, reducing individuals out-of-pocket spending on health care to 40 per cent from 60 per cent in the past, according to Deputy Minister of Health Pham Le Tuan.

The Ministry of Health aims to reduce the out-of-pocket spending for health care to 30 per cent by raising the number of people covered by health insurance, he added.

Universal health coverage

Matilde Maddaleno, head of Chiles Ministry of Healths International Co-operation and Affairs Office, said: We need to develop better universal health coverage and expand the number of people covered by health care.

In Chile, 80 per cent of people are covered by public health insurance and the rest by private insurance, she said.

Malaysias Deputy Minister of Health Dr. Hilmi Bin Haji Yahaya told Viet Nam News Agencys television, Vnews, that 23 per cent of the population of Malaysia had health insurance, but that premiums were becoming more expensive.

Malaysia plans to set up a voluntary, nonprofit health insurance scheme managed by the Ministry of Health, he said, adding that payments would be lower and coverage would be more comprehensive.

Professor Ian Wronski of the Division of Tropical Health and Medicine at James Cook University in Australia said that Asia-Pacific countries had done a good job of controlling infectious diseases, but more needed to be done.

At the same time, the population is getting older and we have to think about how we can provide health services for them, he said.

Viet Nams Deputy Minister of Health Pham Le Tuan told Viet Nam News on the sidelines of the meeting that insurance coverage and access to quality health care services were vitally important.

Late last year, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc approved a new effort to improve grassroots health care by integrating preventive health care and comprehensive primary health care services, thereby reducing costs, especially for people who must travel from their hometowns for care, Tuan said.

Many people in rural areas in Viet Nam choose to travel to central and city-level hospitals for treatment, adding to their out-of-pocket expenses, he added. VNS
HCM CITY  Lack of funding for investment and development is a major challenge for remote areas in the Asia-Pacific, posing a threat to quality of life and sustainable economic growth in the region, experts said on Thursday at a meeting in HCM City.

Representatives from the academic sector and officials from 21 APEC economies met at a high-level policy dialogue on bridging the gap in economic development in remote areas in the APEC Region.

Speaking at the meeting, Valery Sorokin, APEC Senior Official from Russia, said: Currently, the development of remote areas is one of the most pressing issues both for global and regional economies.

The high-level dialogue, chaired by the SOM Steering Committee on Economic and Technical Cooperation (SCE), discussed Russias revised proposal on convening the policy dialogue.

One of the major challenges is the lack of funding which hinders remote areas in the Asia-Pacific region from developing and prospering, he told Viet Nam News. These areas are faced with limited budgets for socio-economic development.

The Asia-Pacific region is diverse in terms of its economic development, but many remote areas suffer from deep economic and social problems.

These problems can only be solved with active support of the governments and business communities, and timely application of appropriate measures, he said.

Challenges

Osborne Sandra, delegate from Papua  New Guinea, said remote areas faced a number of general bottlenecks, including a lower level of industrial and social development and weaker development of infrastructure.

Insufficient development of remote areas hinders economic growth and brings a number of problems, such as social tension, a financial burden and irregular distribution, corruption and crime, he said.

In 2015, 90 million people in East Asia and the Pacific live in extreme poverty and another 300 million people are vulnerable to falling back into poverty as a result of climate change, natural disasters, disease, and economic shock, according to the World Bank.

The majority of the poor live in rural communities in remote and isolated areas.

Representatives from APEC member economies also discussed the feasibility of implementing new holistic approaches aimed at enhancing the development of remote areas in the APEC region.

The Russian delegates said specific projects and initiatives concerning aspects of remote area development had been carried out separately without any coordination. In addition, there had not been a comprehensive approach to this problem in the APEC region.

No common definition is used by APEC economies for the concept of remote area, they added.

The SCE coordinates and manages APEC members agendas for economic and technical cooperation, which was outlined in the Osaka Action Agenda.

In 1996, an APEC Framework for Strengthening Economic Cooperation and Development was adopted to guide members in implementing the Osaka Action Agenda.

The SCEs objectives are to support the implementation of APECs economic and technical activities by prioritising work based on commitments made by leaders and ministers and overseeing the work of APEC.  VNS
HCM CITY  HCM City will need massive investment from the private sector if it is to meet its goals for transportation, flood control and other areas over the next three years, municipal authorities said at a meeting held on Thursday.

To implement its seven major programmes for the 2016-20 period, the city needs around VN850 trillion (US$37.7 billion). The citys budget, however, could only cover 20 per cent of the total investment capital necessary, said Nguyen Thanh Phong, chairman of the municipal Peoples Committee, adding that it meant the city must count on the private sector to step in.

The seven programmes were approved at the citys 10th Party Congress last year. They include human resource quality improvement; administrative reform; a more competitive business climate; traffic calming; climate change response; pollution reduction; and urban refurbishment and development. Sixty per cent of the capital will be mobilised for transport infrastructure, environment and flooding issues, Phong said.

Phong said the city will work to entice potential investors. Strategies will include administrative procedure reform to faciliate investors to access opportunities.

Deputy Director General of the Commercial Joint Stock Bank for Foreign Trade of Viet Nam (Vietcombank) Pham Manh Thang said Vietcombank has registered to take part in 61 projects related to the seven programmes. The projects total investment capital is over VN100 trillion ($4.4 billion). The projects focus on education (23 projects), roads and bridges (16 projects), hospitals (7 projects) and urban development (9 projects).

With State resources under strain, applying the model of public-private partnerships (PPP) is a growing trend to develop public infrastructure and services, according to Thang.

The city should also focus on projects that will be attractive to investors and commercial banks, he said. Greater transparency and publicity in PPP investment would help, too.

Participants at the meeting witnessed the signing of Memoranda of Understanding to provide credits for eight PPP projects with a total investment capital estimated at VN26 trillion ($1.15 billion).

They include projects to build North-South axis road, Nguyen Tat Thanh road and Tan Phu hospital.  VNS
HA NOI  There will be no amnesty for inmates ahead of National Day this year, the Directorate of Criminal Judgment Enforcement and Judicial Aids announced on Thursday.

Instead, eligible prison inmates will be released before term three times a year.

This is a part of the national plan on conditional release for inmates, approved by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc in July 2016. The plan will be implemented as of January 1, 2018.

Under the plan, over the next two years, around 20,000 inmates will be released before their sentence terms are over. Every commune and ward will be responsible for overseeing two or three such inmates. An official from the directorate told Vnexpress.net that the release actually means the inmates would serve their sentences at home instead of in prisons.

The early release is expected to save the state budget VN200 billion annually, as well as help reduce around 3,000 employees working in prisons.

Previously, on major national occasions such as the National Day (September 2) and Reunification Day (April 30), amnesty was granted to thousands of inmates who served their sentences with good behaviour.

Last year, on National Day, nearly 25,000 inmates had their prison terms reduced under the amnesty programme. While 2,100 prisoners were cleared the rest of their jail time and returned home, 130 others had their life sentence reduced to 20-30 years in jail.  VNS
HCM CITY  The HCM Citys Peoples Court on Friday sentenced Viet Nam Pharma companys former top executive Nguyen Minh Hung and an associate to 12 years imprisonment for smuggling and counterfeiting seals and documents of agencies and organisations.

As per the indictment, from 2013 to 2014, Hung, former chairman of Board of Directors and general director of Viet Nam Pharma Company, ordered Vo Manh Cuong, director of H&C International Maritime Company, to purchase imported medicines reportedly manufactured by Canadas Helix Pharmaceuticals Company and supply the drugs to Vietnamese hospitals. This included 9,300 boxes of H-Capita 500mg Caplet, a cancer treatment drug. The consignment was worth around VN5.3 billion (US$230,000).

Hung then ordered his staff to fake documents related to the drug and submit them to Drug Administration of Viet Nam, under the Ministry of Health. Viet Nam Pharma also faked receipts and payment procedures to acquire the drug import licence from the ministry.

According to the ministrys assessment, 97 per cent of the imported batch consisted of low-quality capecitabine, a chemotherapy drug, of unknown origin and not permitted for treatment.

Hung also committed a series of violations, including using the seal and signatures of two companies that were no longer operating legally in Viet Nam, and raising the price of the cancer drug, the indictment said.

The defendants action was dangerous for society and violated State management activities. This behaviour needs strict punishment. However, the defendant reported the case to the health ministry so the drug batch could be sealed and consequences avoided, so the court decided to extenuate penalty, the court said.

Seven other defendants, all former senior employees of Viet Nam Pharma, were handed between two and five years of imprisonment for smuggling and counterfeiting seals and materials of agencies and organisations.

The court also proposed clarifying the matter of the company giving VN7.5 billion ($326,000) to doctors as commission so that the doctors would prescribe the specific medicines supplied by it.

Health Ministry on the defensive

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on Thursday asked the Ministry of Health to submit a report before August 31 on its responsibility in the case pertaining to the import of low-quality cancer drugs by Viet Nam Pharma.

Lawyers pointed out that the responsibility of Drug Administration of Viet Nam must also be investigated as the agency is in charge of checking and supervising pharmaceutical activities nationwide.

Nguyen Van uc, a lawyer from the HCM City Bar Association, told the Nguoi Lao ong (Labourers) newspaper that blame for importing fake cancer drugs lies with the Drug Administration, which approved the documents and granted import licence.

Cancer patients spent a lot of money on these fake drugs, and may still lose their lives. The culprit has caused serious consequences and must be prosecuted for criminal liability, he said.

On Thursday, the health ministry released a statement responding to media queries about the case. It said that after the court ruling, the ministry would impose strict punishment on violating units and individuals under its management without shielding anyone.

The ministry appreciates the efforts and responsibilities of investigative agencies and other authorities in bringing Viet Nam Pharma Companys violations to light and working with the ministry to identify its violations, the statement said.

The ministry also proposed that authorised agencies impose stiff penalties on those spreading false, baseless information that tarnishes the reputation of the medical sector.  VNS
HA NOI  In recognition of the importance of agriculture to the Australia-Viet Nam bilateral relationship, Assistant Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources Senator the Hon. Anne Ruston launched the "Australia in Vietnam Agriculture Strategy" in Can Tho on Thursday.

The strategy identifies economic, innovation and security priorities for both nations that offer the greatest returns and maximise common interests.

We have built the foundation of our agriculture relationship through over 40 years of collaboration in the agriculture, fisheries, forestry and water sectors, Assistant Minister Ruston said.

It is a foundation that provides us with great opportunities to expand and grow in the future. The Australia in Vietnam Agriculture Strategy recognises the value of growing our bilateral trade in agriculture and building on the investments both nations are already making, Ruston added.

The Australia - Viet Nam agriculture partnership is largely complementary, says a press release issued by the Australia Embassy in Ha Noi on Friday. Australia predominately exports raw materials, which are processed and value-added in Viet Nam.

Australian technologies are being utilised in Vietnamese agribusinesses to improve productivity and safety and Australias investments are diversifying Viet Nams manufacturing industries beyond textiles and electronics and into food processing.

Australias agriculture relationship with Viet Nam cuts across all key pillars of our bilateral relationship -- economic, innovation and security, Australian Ambassador to Viet Nam Craig Chittick said.

As ambassador, I am constantly impressed with the breadth and depth of our work in agriculture, from projects that help smallholder farmers establish a business supplying safe vegetables to supermarkets in Ha Noi, to large Vietnamese companies using Australian technology to pioneer sustainable shrimp farming in Viet Nam.

Australia is also importing an increasing range of Vietnamese agricultural products, including seafood, nuts, tropical fruit and manufactured timber.  VNS
HA NOI  Viet Nam has over 15,000 scientific journals published internationally in the last five years, marking an average yearly increase of 17 per cent, according to Web of Science.

Web of Science is a multidisciplinary research platform which enables simultaneous cross-search of a range of citation indexes and databases. It offers access to research tools such as citation reports and cited reference searching, and personalised features such as saved searches and alerts.

In 2011, Vietnamese scientists and researchers had nearly 1,500 internationally-published journals and the number increased to over 3,800 in 2016.

According to Ministry of Sciences and Technology, the increase is the result of the National Foundation for Science and Technology Development (Nafosted) -- a State fund that was established in 2008 and is annually given VN300 billion (US$13 million). To be ratified, every study subsidised by Nafosted must produce at least two journals that are published by the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI).

Viet Nam is among the top five southeast Asian nations with the largest number of internationally published scientific journals, along with Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.

However, Viet Nams journal number is just one third of Thailands, a quarter of Malaysias and one fifth of Singapores.

Scientists estimated that it will take Viet Nam over 50 years to catch up with Thailand and Malaysia.

Professor Nguyen Van Tuan from New South Wales University, Australia, said Viet Nam had been left behind by neighbouring countries in term of both quantity and quality of scientific journal publications.

He said Viet Nams studies relied heavily on external resources as up to 80 per cent of the studies were co-authored or in co-operation with foreign researchers, vnexpress.net reported.

Tuan said scientists/researchers were obligated to publish their studies on scientific forums as a way to report their work to those who funded the studies, including State budget, organisations or donors.

Publication also enhanced the reputation of the institute or university where they worked, and more notably, increased the competitiveness of their country, especially in intellecture-based economy, he added.

Professor Pham uc Chinh from the Viet Nam Academy of Sciences and Technology said international publication of scientific studies was considered researchers way of contributing to progress.

Publication not only helped assess their ability but also the international economic value of sciences, he said.  VNS
HCM CITY -- Special policies are needed to help HCM City develop faster and better, thus contributing more to the countrys development, Nguyen Thien Nhan, secretary of HCM Citys Party Committee, has said.

The citys population rose from 3.4 million in 1975 to 8.9 million in 2016, and the figure is expected to increase to over 10 million by 2019.

Today, the citys population is six times higher than the average population of each province (1.5 million), accounting for more than 9.1 per cent of Viet Nams population, Nhan said at a HCM City Party Committee meeting held last week.

The citys population density is 4,000 people per sq.km, while the average population density of provinces across the country is only 280 people per sq km.

The figure in HCM City is expected to increase sharply in coming years, Nhan said, adding that the rise in population had worsened traffic congestion.

Because of the huge increase in population, HCM City now produces a massive volume of waste, 15 times higher than the average amount in other provinces.

The demand for clean water in the city is 20 times higher than in other provinces, according to Nhan.

At least 21.6 per cent of the countrys GDP is contributed by HCM City, with each sq km of land in the city contributing an average of VN463 billion to GDP each year, 34 times higher than the average rate of other provinces, he said.

The city has important advantages over other localities, including a workforce composed of 27 per cent of university graduates and a high rate of labour productivity.

Of the 477,000 enterprises in the country that pay tax to the state, 160,000 are from HCM City. The citys enterprises contribute up to 33.6 per cent of the total national budget.

Challenges

However, 55 per cent of the citys land is used for agricultural produce, contributing 0.8 per cent of the citys GDP, while the industrial and service sectors use only 6.8 per cent of the citys land, contributing 99 per cent to the citys GDP.

Thats an irrational proportion, said Nhan. If land priority was given to the industrial and service sectors, the citys GDP would increase.

Despite its rapid economic growth, financial resources remain the biggest challenge facing the city.

In 2003, HCM City maintained 33 per cent of the citys revenues, but the figures dropped to 20 per cent, 26 per cent and 23 per cent in the following years, and to 18 per cent in 2016.

The city also faces challenges in transport infrastructure, which remains underdeveloped, affecting all sectors of society as well as public confidence, Nhan said.

Attracting more foreign investment remains a challenge as well. In 1997, FDI contributed 38 per cent to the citys total investment capital, but that figure has dropped to 15 per cent for several reasons, including land issues, infrastructure and transportation development.

Lower foreign investment rates have resulted in lower exports. Fifteen years ago, the citys export turnover contributed 56 per cent of the countrys export value, but the figure has fallen to 18 per cent.

The city is also dealing with the effects of climate change, including land erosion and saline intrusion.

Nhan said to cope with natural disasters, the city must build sea and river dikes, but finding funds to build them would not be easy.

Another challenge to sustainable development is the number of patients newly infected with HIV, accounting for 16 per cent of the countrys total figure. In addition, the birth rate is 2 per cent lower than the rate of the entire country.  VNS
SALVADOR, Brazil  Two Brazilian ferry wrecks in as many days left at least 39 people dead, authorities said on Thursday, as rescuers searched for several more who were still missing.

"We deeply regret the loss of tens of lives in the boat accidents in Para and Bahia," two states in the north of the country, President Michel Temer said on Twitter.

Regional authorities in north-central Para state said 21 people were confirmed dead so far after a boat sank on the Xingu river late on Tuesday.

That vessel, the Capitan Ribeiro, had 49 people on board, 23 of whom were rescued.

Emergency teams were still searching for five more, the department said in a statement.

Separately, the navy said 18 people died when a ferry sank early Thursday off the northeastern state of Bahia.

Naval commander Flavio Almeida lowered the death toll in that accident from an earlier count of 22.

That boat reportedly had at least 120 people on board. Almeida said at least 21 of them had been rescued by official means, but he added that many more were believed to have been picked up by civilian vessels.

The boat was running the short route from the island of Itaparica across the bay to the city of Salvador, capital of Bahia state, when it went down in a storm.

"It was raining... a wave came and the boat turned over. There were a lot of people" on board, one survivor, Edvaldo Santos de Almeida, told top news website G1.

The naval commander said scores of military personnel were working on rescue efforts at the site.

The state government declared three days of mourning.

"I have been personally following this difficult operation from an early stage and all measures have been taken immediately," said Bahia governor Rui Costa.

Search for survivors

In the incident in Para, in a northern Amazon region, survivors told local media that the boat got caught in a rainstorm.

The vessel had left the port of Santarem bound for Vitoria de Xingu. The regional public safety department said 21 people were confirmed to have died in that sinking, including two children.

Rescuers were searching for others missing in the Xingu river.

"Its a hard-to-access area," Colonel Augusto Lima, from the Para firefighters service, was quoted as saying on Wednesday by the newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo.

The victims who were rescued got out by swimming, Globo news reported, saying the boat went down about 500m from the riverbank.

Ferries, fishing vessels and big commercial ships ply the Amazon waterways as one of the main forms of transport in a region with relatively few roads.

Some 1,160 people have been killed in accidents on rivers in the Amazon since 1981, according to Folha.  AFP
WEST UNION  The Fayette County Sheriffs Office is continuing its investigation into the theft ring and has filed charges on another person involved.

Charges were filed on Chad Anthony Palmer, 45, of Elgin, for possession of a firearm as a felon, a class D felony. Palmer possessed and sold firearms that belonged to the victim.

Six others have been arrested in a theft ring that targeted a West Union resident.

The investigation uncovered people who took advantage of a resident by posing as caretakers and home repair workers and stealing thousands of dollars from his account.

An outstanding arrest warrant was issued for Palmer, and the Sheriffs Office is seeking any information on his whereabouts. Anyone with information should contact the Sheriffs Office at (563) 422-6067.

Dump truck rolls on Highway 20

WATERLOO  A dump truck driver was injured Thursday afternoon after his truck blew a tire and rolled.

Paramedics with Waterloo Fire Rescue took the driver to Covenant Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries.

The single-vehicle crash happened around 2 p.m. Thursday when the truck was headed west on U.S. Highway 20 and blew a tire just past the Sergeant Road exit, according to the Black Hawk County Sheriffs Office. The truck veered toward the median and rolled, spilling its load of gravel before coming to a rest.

Iowa Department of Transportation crews cleared the road of gravel.

Police investigate overnight stabbi

ng

Waterloo  Police are investigating an overnight stabbing that injured a Waterloo man.

According to police, the victim arrived at UnityPoint-Allen Hospital around 3:30 a.m. Thursday with a stab wound to his neck. The injuries arent considered life threatening.

The attack is under investigation, and it wasnt immediately clear where the incident occurred.

One injured

in Waterloo crash

WATERLOO  One person was injured in a Thursday afternoon crash where one of the drivers walked off.

Details werent available, but paramedics and police were sent to the intersection of West 11th and Washington Street around 1:35 p.m. Thursday for a crash involving a pickup truck and a passenger car.

One woman was trapped in a vehicle and was taken to a local hospital for treatment.

The pickup truck driver left the scene before officers could talk with him, according to police.

Construction hits

natural gas line

EVANSDALE  Construction crews hit a natural gas line while working in Evansdale on Thursday afternoon, according to police.

The breach led to a voluntary evacuation of three or four nearby homes, and one woman who was outside collapsed apparently after being overcome by the gas. She was revived a short time later and examined by paramedics with Evansdale Fire Rescue before declining an ambulance ride to the hospital, according to Evansdale police.

The leak happened around 4:30 p.m. near the intersection of South Evans Road and Morrell Avenue while crews were working on curbs in the area, police said.

Workers from MidAmerican Energy were call to the scene to fix the break.

Floyd County murder

trial delayed

CHARLES CITY (AP)  A trial has been delayed for a man suspected of shooting another man to death in northern Iowa.

Court records say the new trial starting date is Oct. 10 for 36-year-old Antoine Williams. Hes pleaded not guilty in Floyd County District Court to a charge of first-degree murder. His trial originally was set to begin Sept. 12.

Authorities say Williams shot 36-year-old Nathaniel Fleming, of Mason City, several times in Charles City on June 30 before pulling Fleming out of a vehicle and fleeing the scene.
WATERLOO  Two teens told police they were robbed at gunpoint during an early morning encounter on Friday morning.

According to police, an 18-year-old male and a 17-year-old girl were in a vehicle in a parking lot in the 800 block of West Fifth Street around 1:20 a.m. Friday when a three suspects in their late teens or early 20 came up to the vehicle.

One of the assailants was armed with a handgun and began pummeling the 18 year old with the weapon while another suspect entered the vehicle and started taking items, according to police.
CEDAR FALLS  A Cedar Falls native who once traveled the country educating children about nature has been sentenced to prison.

Judge James Gritzner sentenced Barry Dean Devoll, known to most by his stage name Bixby, to 10 years behind bars following a guilty plea to charges of attempted enticement of a minor Thursday in U.S. District Court in Des Moines.

Following his prison time, Devoll will be on supervised release for 10 years and will have to participate in sex offender treatment, register as a sex offender and cant have contact with minors without permission of his probation officer. He also was ordered to pay $5,705 in restitution.

Of course, with this conviction he will be unable to continue with this career, defense attorney J. Keith Rigg noted in the sentencing memo filed earlier this week.

Authorities said Devoll, 33, has sent lurid text messages to and exchanged nude photos with a 15-year-old boy who was working for him during the course of their sexual relationship in the fall of 2015.

During sentencing, Devolls attorney argued against going beyond the 10-year mandatory minimum for the federal enticement charge, noting that under Iowa state law, the offense of having sex with a minor  which Devoll wasnt charged with  is punishable by a maximum of 10 years in prison with the possibility of probation without any time behind bars.

The question is whether the fact that Mr. Devoll texted rather than simply spoke to the minor, or the two sent pictures or videos rather than seeing each other in the flesh, demands that the penalty be doubled or tripled from what would be imposed for actually having sex with a fifteen year old, Rigg wrote in a defense sentencing memo.

Rigg also noted photos and videos werent distributed to anyone else.

Nature show operators face enticement charges CEDAR FALLS  The operators of a nonprofit that brought nature and conservation shows to chi

Prosecutors argued the stiff sentence was warranted because Devolls crime wasnt victimless, and the prison time will allow the victim to rebuild his life without worrying about Devoll.

Devoll groomed and seduced a teenage boy into a sexual affair. ... Devoll selected a particularly vulnerable victim. He chose a young man from a broken home, being raised without significant involvement by his father. He did not choose a stranger. He chose a young man he employed, who looked up to him, who admired him, who trusted him, Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Gaumer wrote in the governments sentencing memo.

The teen is still suffering from guilt, embarrassment and shame as a result of the crime, and he has been suicidal at times, Gaumer wrote.

Court records detail Devolls rise as a local star, starting as a child who found refuge in magic to escape an abusive home life.

On his own at age 16, he complete high school, opened a magic store as a teenager and began touring state fairs and other venues as a magician.

He later founded the nonprofit Blue Trunk Educational Series, a traveling show that taught children about nature and conservation and featured Devoll as the character Bixby.

A federal grand jury indicted Devoll and Blue Trunks director, Christopher Charles Kaiser, in May 2016 as the two were starting to build a childrens zoo at a rural Fredericksburg farmstead. Kaisers federal case remains pending, and court records indicate he plans to plead to a state enticement charge for allegedly messaging the teen on Devolls behalf.

Zoo plans in question following enticement indictment FREDERICKSBURG  A childrens zoo is planned for land owned by the director of an educationa
WATERLOO  The milling machines, lathes and a plasma cutter have been delivered to Bob Plagges new advanced manufacturing class.

But students arriving Thursday at the Waterloo Career Center got to familiarize themselves with a more basic piece of equipment.

Plagge asked them to assemble a couple wheeled carts if you want to see how mechanically inclined you are. The four students then moved on to filling tool chests they will use in the class with brand-new sets of tools.

Contract awarded for more remodeling at career center, Central WATERLOO  Peters Construction was awarded a $560,354 contract Friday for the next phase of 

We just took control of the room yesterday, said Plagge. Until then, contractors had been setting up the 3,500-square-foot classroom and lab space and some of the machinery had not yet been wired.

Electricians are still finishing up work, said Plagge. Plus, they are waiting on the arrival of three computer numerical control lathes.

Thursday was the first day of classes in Waterloo Community Schools and the career center, located on the north end of Central Middle School, was debuting three new programs. Others included information technology and early childhood education, which is actually holding its classes at the Elk Run Preschool for the first year. Two other programs, nursing assistant and digital graphics, started at the center last fall.

All are part of the districts push to expand its career and technical education offerings, which will eventually grow to at least 15 programs. Students at all three of Waterloos high schools can enroll in classes at the center, offered in 90 minutes blocks during morning and afternoon sessions. Many of the programs will be designed to earn a certification that can help students get a job in the field.

Jeff Frost, the districts executive director of professional education, said there are about 140 students in all of the programs this fall. That compares to 56 students in the first two programs last spring. Students drive or are bused from their high school.

Eight Cedar Falls High School students also are enrolled. In Cedar Falls, officials said the Center for Advanced Professional Studies career program has enrolled at least three students from the Waterloo district.

Renovations were completed this summer in the middle school portion of the building, as well. Sixth-grade classes were moved from the second floor above the career center, where more programs will be located, to a first-floor area at the other end of Central.

There are nine renovated classrooms in the new sixth-grade wing. While they were all ready for the first day, something was still missing in the hallways.

Lockers are the last piece of the puzzle, said Central Principal Ross Bauer. Nonetheless, its been a pretty positive response from what Ive heard from the teachers so far. He noted staff and students felt more isolated from the rest of Central in the old sixth grade location.

With plans under development to renovate the second floor of the career center, a number of the classrooms will shift from their current location next year. The advanced manufacturing program, though, is in its permanent space. The large space with a high ceiling fits the industrial purposes of the program.

Students will be learning the basic principals of what milling machines do. Then metal lathes, explained Plagge, who also works part-time at West High School as an industrial technology teacher. Afterwards, they move on to CNC mills and lathes and then work on computer-aided design. Basically, this is hands-on, he said.

Thats the sort of class students were looking for when they enrolled.

East High School junior Tyler Feltz got interested in the program after taking a metals class. Expo High School senior Adam Meier hopes to open a mechanics shop and said he will be able to machine his own parts with the skills learned in the program.

Ive been taking engineering classes since freshman year, said East senior Jared Smock. Noting his brother is a CNC machinist at John Deere, he added, I just always kind of liked this stuff.

Like Smock, West senior Caleb DeKoster plans to study engineering in college. He has taken classes in the subject with Plagge at West and the advanced manufacturing program piqued his interest.

I honestly just wanted to take a class out here, he said.
A sudden, very troubling development has caused us to urgently use this space today to issue a journalistic Amber Alert  hopefully in time to mobilize all clear-thinking Americans and prevent a horrific killing.

An assassination, in fact  of a journalist, or perhaps even a cluster of journalists, who are increasingly in danger of becoming targets of convenience simply for doing their jobs, covering the president of the United States.

Because Americas 45th president also is Americas first chief executive who has transformed his presidency into an ever-escalating campaign of vitriolic anti-journalist tirades. It now seems obvious that, sooner or later, Trumps torrent of hateful invectives and flat-out falsehoods will inevitably incite some wrongheaded individual into falling for Trumps sick lie the news media is Americas enemy. After all, thousands of his faithful supporters have been cheering his favorite anti-news media attack lines every time Trump, clearly battling his latest wave of defensiveness, opts to veer off-script.

And Tuesday night at a huge rally in Phoenix, the president apparently reached his defensive pique after days of being attacked ever since his initial unwillingness to condemn by name the Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazi and white supremacists in Charlottesville, Va. He careened into a massive anti-media tirade that lasted a half-hour as he cycled and recycled through his litany of attack lines as never before.

These are really, really dishonest people, and theyre bad people, and I really think they dont like our country, Trump said, pointing at the White House press corps and especially the TV cameras. And later: Im really doing this to show you how damned dishonest these people are.

Trump worked even-handedly to be abusive and unfair to all the presidents press corps. He attacked the failing New York Times, which is like so bad and then attacked The Washington Post, which I call a lobbying tool for Amazon, OK, thats a lobbying tool for Amazon. Of course he lashed out at CNN, which is so bad and so pathetic and their ratings are going down  and that cued his rally faithful to begin chanting: CNN sucks! CNN sucks!

So Trump sought to spread his venom more evenly: I mean CNN is really bad, but ABC this morning  I dont watch it much, but Im watching in the morning and they have little George Stephanopoulos talking to (U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations) Nikki Haley, right? Little George  And Trump puts his hand, down palm down, to hip level to show his impression of the ABC anchors stature.

Later, he was back to ecumenically questioning the patriotism of the entire press corps: These are sick people. You know the thing I dont understand?  You would think theyd want to make our country great again. And I honestly believe they dont.  If you want to discover the source of the division in our country, look no further than the fake news and the crooked media, which would rather get ratings and clicks than tell the truth.

In decades of covering American presidents, I have observed Republicans and Democrats with strong convictions and impressive statures. But I have never seen a president who frequently seems to become massively unhinged in the way that has become Trumps normalcy.

Tuesday night, on CNN, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said of Trump: I really question  his fitness to be in this office. He added, worry about the fact that as president, Trump has access to nuclear codes for launching a nuclear attack.

That is a problem official Washington has been privately whispering about for months now. And indeed, Trumps fitness for office is of frightening concern for us all.

But I also have a concern for the safety of my news media colleagues  because I am convinced even this out-of-control bully-at-the-presidential-sealed-pulpit doesnt fathom the inevitable sinister consequences of his own words.

Amber Alert: The Republican Partys senior leaders in Congress must limo down to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, where they will be joined by the presidents own cabinet. And speaking with a unity that will be a new experience for their once-Grand Old Party, they must tell their president his newly perilous anti-media tirades must stop.

I dont believe Trump, even at his worst, wants to be responsible for triggering an assassination, let alone a massacre.
University of Northern Iowa President Mark Nook didnt waste any time in addressing incoming students on the thorny issues of race that are currently gripping the nation.

Before classes even began, Nook noted this academic year starts under the shadow of violence, racism and hatred that erupted in Charlottesville, Va., and the University of Virginia.

As a university community, we cannot look away from these tragic events and pretend that they dont affect us at UNI or that they cant happen here, he emailed students, faculty and staff.

These racist acts of terrorism were intended to intimidate and silence others. We can never allow such acts to occur without a response, especially when those acts come under the guise of free speech, he added.

Were relieved to see him step up so quickly. Its a sign of leadership; the type of leadership that is needed on our nations campuses  where emotions regarding social issues can run high.

In recent years, UNI students have raised concerns about the treatment of minority students. Nooks comments were reminiscent of an episode in 2014, when an anonymous comment with racist overtones on the social medium Yik Yak surfaced. Yik Yak is a mobile phone app that allows users to post and talk anonymously with other users in a 1.5-mile radius. It had been reported among the comments were, I chose UNI because I didnt see a single black person on my visit that day.

The university president at the time, Bill Ruud, was recovering from a surgery. However, UNI interim provost Michael Licari, who had assumed responsibilities as acting UNI president at the time, quickly stepped up.

Upon learning of the comments, Licari sent a campuswide email, in which he urged those posting the comments to understand the impact of your actions and stop. He added that the comments hurt the UNI community, but your thoughtless attempts to undermine the very fabric of our community when you speak hate under the cloak of anonymity will fail.

In another recent incident on the Iowa State University campus in Ames, a picture was posted to Twitter of three men standing next to the Black Engineering Building sign with an inappropriate, racially sensitive caption.

In that case, a male freshman was identified as posting the caption. He had quickly deleted the post but not before someone had taken a screenshot.

Its definitely a lesson learned for me and everyone, he said. Im not racist at all. I was just trying to be funny and it turned out to be not funny. Just manage your social media account and dont do stupid stuff, it sucks.

The freshmans advice, albeit realized after the fact, should still be considered by all. In this era of heavy social media usage, a persons thoughts arent that far away from documentation for the world to see.

Let us all realize the University of Northern Iowa has played a large part in introducing and maintaining a modicum of diversity into the Cedar Falls community for generations and will continue to do so for generations to come. The same goes for Iowas other public universities.

As always, we hope the values of respect and common sense prevail.
Although cryptocurrencies have been studied and argued for a long time, they are just now becoming known as financial tools t
HANCOCK, N.H.  TempleFest 2017, the annual summer festival of the Temple of Witchcraft, was held last weekend. Attendees and presenters traveled from all over the country to partake in workshops, panels, and rituals. Did these witches find what they were looking for?

Folklorist and anthropologist Dr. Sabina Magliocco says Pagans attend festivals for a range of reasons, Everything from seeking to immerse themselves completely in Pagan culture, to reconnecting with old friends, experiencing nature in the company of other Pagans, and participating in large group ritual. Some go just to party with friends.

She says there is no single reason common to all attendees.

A feeling of home

Mat Auryn, a frequent TempleFest attendee, says a feeling of community is what keeps him coming back, One thing that I keep hearing over and over from people when its their first time at TempleFest is how amazed they are at how authentic and sincere everyone is in regards to both their spiritual practices and their desire for genuine community.

Psychologist Dr. Drake Spaeth agrees that a feeling of community with like minded persons is part of the draw to successful festivals and conferences, but feels there is something deeper at play.

I wonder if it is not about a sort of spiritual homesickness, Dr. Spaeth says. Pagans are often very aware of feeling dis-connected from mainstream community contexts, even as their deep longing for connection with the spiritual nature of the world turns them onto less trodden paths.

Dr. Spaeth says gatherings allow Pagans a sense of being home in the same sense of the Welsh word hiraeth means longing for a place that doesnt, or no longer, exists.

Author and TempleFest attendee Devin Hunter finds home at TempleFest and similar gatherings, Home. We are looking for the spiritual current that makes us feel like we are home and in an environment where we can thrive.

Hunter says Pagans are a weird, misunderstood bunch of people, and it is rare for them to be able to have conversations with people who understand their spiritual virtues. Festivals offer a place for those conversations to take place.

TempleFest keynote speaker Ivo Dominguez Jr. found camaraderie and shared experience at TempleFest. He says that the discussions shared while sitting around a fire were remarkably rich, and that these types of experiences are what make our community real and grounded.

Education

Pagan gatherings go to great lengths to bring in speakers, presenters, and panelists. The days of the event are often filled with multiple tracks of educational offerings from which to choose.

First time attendee Rhonda Chapman says that, although she chose carefully, she missed some sessions she wished to attend because they were running currently.

Ms. Chapman was there as part of the Assembly of the Wheels annual retreat. For many of the students of the Temple of Witchcraft [this] is the one event they will attend all year where they are face to face with their classmates, said Chapman.

Mr. Hunter agrees, saying that the event was full of serious Witches who want to grow and learn, so the work and focus are centered on providing avenues for that. Hunter added that each year he learns new magical techniques that improve his practice.

Mr. Dominguez notes that the festivals education was so targeted because it was geared towards a specific audience, Most of the attendees at TempleFest identify as Witches unlike most other festivals and conferences that I attend that have a wider gamut of paths.

This allows me to teach my classes with a different focus, and with less back tracking to fill in pieces of knowledge that are more witchcraft specific.

Ritual

Phaedra Bonewits has attended Pagan festivals, conferences, and gatherings for decades. She doesnt foresee a time when conferences or gatherings go away, but says rituals may, if too many attendees attend poorly run rituals.

People go to a bad ritual or two and think, well, whats the point, I got nothing out of it. Of course, many, including ritual facilitators, dont really grok that youre supposed to get something out of it.

Dominguez agree that rituals need to be done correctly in order for them to be of value. He says TempleFest 2017 hosted an excellent main ritual.

I particularly liked the Lammas ritual which served as their main ritual, he says. I attend many events where it feels like theyve given up on the main ritual being immersive, transformative, and participatory.

Dominguez noted the specifics of what he liked about the Lammas ritual. He said it was meaningful, encouraged participation, and included chanting that raised energy. He also said that it indeed accommodated for those with mobility challenges.

The Lammas ritual was also a favorite of Chapman

The working was very powerful, she says. Choosing bread from a basket representative of one of the Three Rays of the Temple, eating a portion and offering a portion into a larger basket that was then offered to the Sacred Fire. I mean, who doesnt like a ritual that includes working with Sacred Fire?

Dr. Magliocco says that effective group rituals are designed to create intense experiences like Chapman and Dominguez described. They also can bind together a group of relative strangers in a temporary intimacy.

Judy Olson, co-author of the book Taking Sacred Back: The Complete guide to Designing and Sharing Group Ritual, also highlights that rituals can bind diverse people together.

The ritual really becomes an experience that unites them in a common purpose, whatever that may be.

Mr. Hunter, who hosts rituals across he nation and frequently talks about the power of rituals on his podcast, says our extended communities need shared rituals at gatherings.

Shared rituals offer an opportunity to build bridges across traditions and that is something I think is very important in contemporary Paganism.

Mr. Auryn felt the overall success of the event was due to the entire festival being treated as one continuous ritual. The festival itself feels like a huge ritual and I think it is to some degree. What I mean by that is just like entering a magickal circle, you leave behind all your drama and personal baggage outside of the circle. Once inside, the focus becomes on the working itself, the education, the connecting with others and the serving of the gods.
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Actually many times I have had thrown in my face about how barbaric Russians are. They even do not have decent brooms

No lie, I have had the simple fact about making homemade brooms used as a deficit effect against Russia

The brooms you see most often in Russia look like what is in the image. In fact I use a broom very much like the one on the left. It is factory made and is probably the most effective broom I have ever used. The broom of twigs on the right is mainly a street sweeping broom and can be made from all the trees growing almost anywhere around Moscow and all of Russia

* * * * *

It is strange to me that a number of people from my home country actually look down upon a broom and actually use it as a bases for how pathetic Russia is

I find it interesting and just right as Svetochka would say. The brooms are cost effective, left broom can be bought for around 20 rubles and cost is negligible for the right broom. That makes them exactly the right brooms. For the job is to sweep and that they do with efficiency, both physically and financially

* * * * *

If you want to teach people a new way of thinking, dont bother trying to teach them. Instead, give them a tool, the use of which will lead to new ways of thinking.  R. Buckminster Fuller

* * * * *

I taught my managers to utilize tools at hand to accomplish what they could to succeed. Tools should be financially attainable and usable. Tools need to last and tools need to be able to be reproduced expediently and with in a budgeted restraint

The cheapest thing that we had at our disposal in a business was humans and the labor they could do. I use to say, The scrubby pad was the greatest invention of all time! It utilized the human, it was cheap and it was efficient. No Restaurant could function without a scrubby pad and or should function without such a perfect tool.  Kyle

The lowly scrubby pad could clean the whole world, with enough humans and like the ditch digger in life digging ditches, we need to clean. Soap and water cleaned and polished anything, with a scrubby. Even the ditch digger can be scrubbed with a scrubby 

Therefore, like the broom, it is vital to have in plenty and to have attainability, cheaply

Business survives not on fancy, but on effectiveness

Why do we look down upon others who are more efficient than we are?

Remembering that Ill be dead soon is the most important tool Ive ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything  all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure  these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important.  Steve Jobs

Pretty clear to me who has the wrong idea about life and what makes it tick

WtR
Aug 25, 2017 | By Benedict

This years International PEEK Meeting, which took place in Washington D.C. in April, revealed that a number of important medical research projects are being conducted into the 3D printable polymer. The material is proving especially useful for implants.

Researchers are exploring the use of PEEK for dental implants

Polyether ether ketone, commonly known as PEEK, is a thermoplastic polymer that is starting to have a real impact in the 3D printing industry. It has been used to make 3D printed satellites, 3D printed car parts, and could potentially find its way into a number of other areas.

Back in April this year, researchers gathered in Washington D.C. for the International PEEK Meeting, an event that brought together engineers, scientists, regulators, and clinicians from academia, industry, and government agencies to discuss research on advancements in medical-grade PEEK and its clinical applications.

The meeting, which was only the third of its kind in history, focused on a number of PEEK-related topics, including (but not limited to) the additive manufacturing of PEEK, bioactive PEEK composites, and formulations for dental, trauma, and arthroscopic implants.

Of course, what were mostly interested in is what the group had to say about 3D printing. And thankfully, its good news.

A wealth of research and clinical experience is confirming that PEEK polymer-based implants have an established position due to potential patient benefits and, what is more, they still offer immense development possibilities, commented Drexel Universitys Steve Kurtz, organizer of the event. While additive manufacturing in medical is in its infancy, we think it could revolutionize the ease, speed, and accuracy with which implants are manufactured.

The 3rd International PEEK Meeting took place in Aprilwill you be there for the 4th?

As we know, one of the big advantages of putting PEEK through a 3D printer, rather than fabricating it in other ways, is customizability. The researchers reaffirmed this belief during the meeting, discussing how additive manufacturing can result in highly customized patient implants, while also noting how it provides a direct connection to digital patient models.

Researchers at the meeting also talked up a PEEK-compatible FDM 3D printer, one that we havent discussed on 3Ders before, built by Germanys Apium Additive Technologies. The 3D printer been used by researchers at Drexel University (located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) to print intervertebral lumbar cages with experimental PEEK filaments.

Of course, PEEK isnt limited to any one kind of medical implant. The meeting closely examined the use of the polymer for dental, knee, spinal, and trauma implants, and there are likely many more devices that could be made from the material.

And these devices could be made even stronger with the use of PEEK composites like carbon fiber-reinforced PEEK. The meeting highlighted the huge potential of composite plates for fracture fixation made with carbon fiber-reinforced PEEK, a material that would provide high fatigue strength and a favorable modulus of elasticity.

Synthesis of PEEK

The potential benefits of a less stiff construct on healing are hugely attractive and the results from some early clinical comparative work with metals, which will be released in October, will only increase the interest in these materials, said John Devine, Medical Business Director at Invibio Biomaterial Solutions.

More details about the International PEEK Meeting can be found here.

Posted in 3D Printing Materials

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Aug 25, 2017 | By Tess

Shining 3D, one of Chinas leading 3D printing and scanning companies, has announced the release of its latest product: the Einstart-C desktop 3D printer. In addition to launching the new 3D printer, the company will be introducing a 3D printing educational starter package in collaboration with PrintLab International to help bolster STEAM learning in schools.

Lets first look at Shining 3Ds newest 3D printer and what it has to offer. The Einstart-C, reportedly in development for the last year, is the latest addition to Shining 3Ds Einstart desktop 3D printer series. Readers might recall that we got our first glimpse of the technology in January at CES 2017 .

With an overall footprint of 364 x 386 x 380 mm, the Einstart-C 3D printer is compact enough for the home, office, or classroom, and boasts a number of improvements over its predecessors in terms of speed, stability, and performance.

The FDM 3D printer is reportedly capable of continuous printing for up to 300 hours thanks to its fully-enclosed body and innovative structure. According to Shining 3D, with a speed of 100 cc/h the 3D printer is also twice as fast as its previous Einstart-S 3D printer.

The new 3D printer also includes such features as an automatic bed leveling system, wireless connectivity, a user-friendly interface, out-of-the-box installation, and stringent safety features. Other specifications for the Einstart-C include a build volume of 153 x 153 x 153 mm, and a variable layer resolution of 0.1 mm to 0.4 mm.

Along with the launch of its new desktop 3D printer, Shining 3D has also introduced an educational starter package geared towards 3D printing technology. Organized in collaboration with PrintLab International, a global community of 3D printing experts who promote 3D printing in schools, the learning bundle includes Shining 3Ds Einstart-C 3D printer, an EinScan-SE 3D scanner, 3D printing materials, lesson plans, and a curriculum kit.

The educational starter package also comes with access to a number of online courses and a 160-page handbook to help teachers guide their students in learning about 3D printing and scanning technologies.

Shining 3D has been working on the educational kit with PrintLab International since the two joined forces in January 2017. With the 3D printer learning package, they are hoping to make 3D printing more accessible within schools and to promote STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) for children.

3D printing technology can integrate STEAM together in education, empowering teachers and providing the students with hands-on experience in order to strengthen their motivation and creativity, said Shining 3D. The 3D printing educational starter package is available as of today, August 24, 2017.

Shining 3D is offering potential clients free price quotes for its Einstart-C 3D printer and promises an affordable 3D printing solution.

Posted in 3D Printer

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Aug 25, 2017 | By Benedict

Unitika, a Japanese advanced materials company, is developing a thermo-sensitive 3D printing filament. Objects 3D printed with the filament can be deformed by hand, since body temperature causes the polymer to soften.

For most 3D prints, youd be pretty upset if the final object deformed at the touch of your hand. And in some cases, such a reaction would be absolutely disastrous.

But thermo-sensitive filament can also be incredibly useful. Medical device manufacturers like Torc2 are exploring the use of low-temperature filaments for special 3D printed splints, which could be molded by a doctor on a patients body, and a number of other companies are exploring similar technologies.

Enter Unitika, a Japanese materials and chemicals company that is developing an as-yet unnamed thermo-sensitive 3D printing filament that softens with warm temperature such as human body or hot bath water.

While Unitika doesnt mention medical applications for its new material, it does emphasize the versatility of its polymer filament, as well as the fact that makers can apply fine adjustment and precise and delicate finishing by hand after printing.

This is an interesting feature too. While you wouldnt necessarily want to print mechanical parts in a filament like this, the reworkability does open up really cool possibilities for models and artworks. For example, if your printer cant handle super-fine resolutions (or if you just happen to be a master with a chisel), the ability to make small incisions, twists, and markings upon a 3D printed object really changes the way you can approach the whole process.

Process for Unitika's thermo-sensitive 3D printer filament

The news gets better still: Unitika says the shape of the models can be permanently fixed with high temperatures, i.e. with boiling water or an electric oven. This would be tricky for medical applications, of course, but for artworks and sculptures, it really makes the process and the filament a whole lot more appealing. Maybe somebody will even try making mechanical parts with it after all!

Makers might have doubts that a low-temperature would print properly on a standard machine. Wed want to see real evidence too (and we imagine some example prints will be released closer to the filament's launch), but the company claims that the filament feeds smoothly without getting broken or getting soft.

The forthcoming 3D printing material, which Unitika plans to commercialize some time next year at an unspecified price, will be available in 1.75 mm diameter, and should be printed at 190-220C, on a print bed heated no higher than 45C. (Unheated print beds are also fine.)

You can check it out at this year's TCT Show, September 26-28, in Birmingham, UK.

It should be noted that Unitika is not the first company to make a filament that works in this way. Last year, for example, Adam Beane Industries launched its Cx5 sculptable 3D printing filament on Kickstarter. The material is marketed at sculptors because it can be reformed after printing.

Adam Beane Industries' Cx5 sculptable 3D printing filament

These types of filament are undoubtedly interesting, but there are other ways you can make adjustable 3D printed objects too.

Earlier this year, researchers at Saarland University in Germany developed something called Hotflex, a computer-controlled, 3D printable composite structure that allows 3D printed objects to be precisely bent and deformed after printing. The structure contains an inner layer that can be heated by an Arduino, a process that causes the structure to bend in a specified direction.

So forget static 3D printed objects for a while: the days of sculptable, malleable 3D prints are upon us.

Posted in 3D Printing Materials

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Sam Wetherell in Jacobin:

The creative classes both diagnosed the present state of cities and offered recommendations for future action. Along with Jane Jacobs, Richard Florida has served as an inspiration for mayors, developers, and planners who pedestrianized streets, built bike lanes, and courted cultural attractions like art galleries and theaters.

Setting aside the rhetoric of innovation, economic growth, and entrepreneurship, we can locate something ironically Marxist about Floridas ideas: human beings are fundamentally creative, which is the source of economic value, and people become alienated when they cannot control the fruits of their creativity.

But Floridas writing narrows human potential. His theory of art and creativity only acknowledges its contribution to economic growth. The insistence on tolerances benefits has a similarly utilitarian purpose: we should celebrate diverse communities not for their own sake but because they spur innovation.

After fifteen years of development plans tailored to the creative classes, Florida surveys an urban landscape in ruins. The story of London is the story of Austin, the Bay Area, Chicago, New York, Toronto, and Sydney. When the rich, the young, and the (mostly) white rediscovered the city, they created rampant property speculation, soaring home prices, and mass displacement. The creative class were just the rich all along, or at least the college-educated children of the rich.

More here.
Most of the jokes are shockingly awful, though now and then one lands, thanks to the talents of Bates and others. But often, when the audience guffaws, you are not sure why. They roar when Jenny (Elizabeth Ho), another budtender, talks to her mom on the phone in Chinese. I'm pretty sure the audience doesnt know Chinese, but they laughed anyhow. Its potentially funny that Jennys lying to her demanding family about where she works, but her character doesnt really work.

It wouldnt be a Chuck Lorre show if there werent lots of dumb jokes about sex. Theres a gag about her half-Jewish, half-black sons privates, and other penis gags aplenty. The characters tend to declaim instead of relate to each other; perhaps relationships will deepen a bit as the show goes on. The characters are more like ideas for characters and lazy caricatures, and the knowing pot humor is not as clever as that on, say, Comedy Central's Broad City.

Recreational is now legal in California, Travis notes in one scene. The gold rush is on, and someday somebody is going to be the Walmart of cannabis. Why not us?

Because Walmart is evil, Ruth snaps.

You shop there, Travis replies.

There is zero dramatic momentum. The shows style is drifty, and the sitcom banter is frequently interrupted by faux commercials that are generally funnier and better directed than the main show. One advertises a Strain o the Day called Rutherford B. Haze, which will begin your Reconstruction. Lorre and Javerbaum have earned and deserved 24 Emmy nominations (with eight wins). If they want another for this show, they had better start reconstructing it to live up to Kathy Bates talent.

Tim Appelo is AARP's TV For Grownups editor. Follow him on Twitter: @timappelo
Book looks into 52 cases unsolved murders with ties to South Dakota

Christine Wevik started researching cold cases in South Dakota thinking there were about 30. She found 155.
Clients Benefits from Board Certified Specialties as a Specialist in Marital & Family Law

There are many emotions associated with family law issues. Anger, frustration, disappointment, and depression can easily cloud the issues that a person needs to deal with carefully and logically. Too often, they rely on the services of a lawyer who does not understand the nuances of the specific case. An attorney who does not understand the priorities of the individuals involved is not likely to get the best outcome for their clients.

Cindy Sackrin is an experienced Hollywood, Florida lawyer with the expertise to see every case for what it really is. She is a board certified specialist in marital and family law who also served as an attorney for Legal Aid and has served as a Guardian Ad Litem representing childrens best interest. She is very familiar with the complexities that can come with divorce and other issues related to families.

The entire legal team at Cindy Sackrin Law Offices has handled child support and paternity issues involving professional athletes, in addition to domestic violence cases. They know the importance of listening to what the client has to say and gaining an understanding of what the client wants to achieve. Then, they are prepared to develop a strategy that will help the client reach their goals.

Child support, custody, and visitation are some of the most contested issues related to divorce. Sometimes a spouse will contest the courts decision on these matters many years after the decision has been made. When changes in income or the childs needs occur, the need for more or less money may need to be revisited. When it does, each spouse will need a Hollywood, Florida lawyer who understands the clients rights and their obligation of proof.

In some cases, issues can be worked out more peaceably through the process of mediation. Due to a backup in the dockets in Florida family law courts, couples are required to go through mediation before trial. Cindy Sackrin has spent more than the last 30 years focusing on getting a resolution before trial. She represents clients in divorce mediation to help them reach a more amicable resolution that is faster and more affordable than going through a traditional divorce trial.

Anyone in the Hollywood, Florida region with any type of family law issues should contact the Cindy Sackrin Law Offices for a free, limited initial consultation today.

About Cindy D. Sackrin

Cindy D. Sackrin is a family law specialist with more than 32 years of experience. She offers clients in Hallandale Beach, Florida and the surrounding areas with the skills needed to resolve their legal issues. Cindy Sackrin has extensive training and personal knowledge that gives her the expertise to handle a wide range of divorce and family law issues. She is also a Board Certified Marital and Family Law Specialist, giving her the focus she needs to handle even the most challenging and complex legal matters based in family law.

Media Contact

Company Name: The Law Offices of Cindy D. Sackrin

Contact Person: Cindy D. Sackrin

Email: cindy.dsackrin@yahoo.com

Phone: 954-455-0800

Address:2100 E Hallandale Beach Blvd #200

City: Hallandale Beach

State: FL 33009

Country: United States

Website: https://www.cindydsackrinlaw.com
United Kingdom  25th August, 2017  Sean-Jordan Baruch of Baruch Hair Transplant Centre Limited is pleased to announce his nomination as one of the finalists for the best hair transplant clinic in 2017 English Aesthetics and beauty awards. The Awards presented by the English Aesthetics and beauty organization is aimed at recognising and celebrating the best in the aesthetics and beauty industry. It focuses on high-quality aesthetics and beauty services providers and professionals in the United Kingdom.

The hair on human body doesnt only have a medical effect of controlling the body temperature, it also has a way of adding to the human beauty. One of the biggest issues people faced when trying to understand hair loss and its remedy is the endless list of myths, peculiar ideas and strange cures that bounce around the internet. Research has shown over time that the best remedy for hair loss is hair transplant. Sean-Jordan Baruch has the ideology of seeking new ways to serve people and to make a positive impact on their lives and therefore has worked extensively to become one of the best hair transplant practitioners in Leeds and Manchester in the UK.

Sean-Jordan Baruch is a well-known specialist in the field of hair loss and hair transplant and has worked alongside some of the worlds most experienced hair transplant and hair restoration specialist. He is the managing director of Yorkshire Hair Replacement Clinic, based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK. The purpose of Yorkshire Hair Replacement Clinic is to provide high-quality treatments and services to women, men, and children who are suffering from hair loss, with a particular focus on low-level laser therapy. He also founded Baruch Hair Transplant Centre Limited which holds the trademark for the Pay as You Grow payment plan for clients with financial concerns.

Strong passion, dedication, integrity and a strong reputation for ethical clinics across Europe has been the key factors that propelled Sean-Jordan Baruch and make him one of the finalists for the awards. Sean-Jordan Baruch said It is a great honour to be nominated for this award. It really shows that my dedication to my job and passion to achieve greatness in my line of duty hasnt gone unnoticed.

For more information about Sean-Jordan Baruch and his hair transplant techniques, visit http://www.yorkshirehairreplacementclinic.co.uk/

Contact Information:

Spokesperson: Sean-Jordan Baruch

Company: Yorkshire Hair Replacement Clinic, Leeds, UK.

Baruch Hair Transplant Centre Limited. UK.

Website: http://www.yorkshirehairreplacementclinic.co.uk/

Media Contact

Company Name: Baruch Hair Transplant Centre

Contact Person: Sean-Jordan Baruch

Email: fue@mail.com

Phone: 01132 553014

City: Leeds

State: West Yorkshire

Country: United Kingdom

Website: www.yorkshirehairreplacementclinic.co.uk
SA pursues jobs and investment from education ties with Cambodia

Saturday, 26 August 2017



A new Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP) and University of Adelaide joint Policy Research Centre, unveiled by Minister for Investment and Trade Martin Hamilton-Smith today, is set to strengthen academic collaboration between South Australia and Cambodia.



The Minister will officially launch the centre in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh today, reinforcing the strategic partnership between the two education institutions, originally established in 2015.



Research collaboration between the RUPP and the University of Adelaide will be primarily across key growth sectors including health, education, business development, entrepreneurship, agriculture, and food. The centre will also play an important role in developing the relationship between students and academic staff across the regions, by facilitating joint grant applications, supervision of PhD students, seminars, conferences, and lectures.



Academic collaboration between the RUPP and the University of Adelaide was first established in 2015 through a Memorandum of Understanding between the two universities. In 2016, the Policy Research Centre was set up at the RUPP to drive economic and social policies in Cambodia and Australia, and was officially recognised by the Government of Cambodia this year. The launch is part of the State Governments business mission program in South-East Asia.



"I would like to congratulate both the University of Adelaide and the Royal University of Phnom Penh on the work they have done to develop this Policy Research Centre," says Minister Hamilton-Smith.



"The centre will strengthen the education ties we have already established with Cambodia, through research collaboration that will benefit both regions and create opportunities across key growth sectors."



Associate Professor Shandre Thangavelu, Director South-East Asia for the Institute for International Trade, University of Adelaide, says:



"Collaboration between the University of Adelaide and the Royal University of Phnom Penh will create new avenues of research in trade and investment, and will directly influence government policy and business practice in South Australia and Cambodia.



"Already we can see opportunities for South Australian business to participate in the tourism sector in Cambodia, to be part of the development of the agriculture sector, to supply services such as logistics and other business services, to provide tertiary and technical education, and to export into the wine market. The University can support these efforts through recruiting more students from Cambodia into its international cohort and by working with business on building networks there, including with alumni and the research and policy communities.



"Working with our partners, we can also lead research on the economy of Cambodia, on its policy development that affects international business, and on its role in ASEAN integration."

Contact Details

Media Release
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug. 24, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Tahoe Resources Inc. (TSX: THO, NYSE: TAHO) ("Tahoe" or the "Company") today reported that it has learned through unconfirmed sources that the Guatemalan Constitutional Court issued a decision upholding the lower court's preliminary decision to provisionally suspend the mining license of Tahoe's Guatemalan subsidiary, Minera San Rafael ("MSR"). This decision responds to an appeal filed by Minera San Rafael in an action brought by the anti-mining organization, CALAS, against Guatemala's Ministry of Energy and Mines ("MEM") in May. CALAS alleged that MEM violated the Xinca Indigenous people's right to consultation in advance of granting the Escobal mining license to MSR. The Constitutional Court decision upholds the lower court's preliminary decision to temporarily suspend the license to operate the Escobal mine until the definitive constitutional claim is heard on the merits, which hearing is scheduled for August 28th. The Court is expected to issue a ruling within the next several months following the August 28th hearing. The Company understands that MEM complied with ILO Convention 169 before it issued the Escobal license.

Top government officials have expressed dismay at the significant economic, human and environmental impacts resulting from the decision to suspend the Escobal license. The leading private sector industrial chamber has taken independent legal action to challenge the suspension that has damaged many thousands of workers and their families.

The municipal road to the Escobal mine continues to be blocked by protestors. The Company continues to work diligently with the government, community leaders and others to resolve the situation peacefully and expeditiously, however, the road blockage shows no signs of immediate resolution.

As a result of the suspended operations at Escobal, the Company will continue to reevaluate its previous multi-year guidance. The financial impacts to the Company are currently under review to assess effects of the suspended operations to longer term capital and exploration programs. Until operations are resumed, the Company will not be able to access the full capacity of the revolving credit facility entered on July 18, 2017, and may continue to be subject to events of default.

The Company's balance sheet remains strong, with a quarter-end cash balance of over $190 million, and the Company continues to look forward to pursuing its growth goals in the gold businesses once operations recommence.

About Tahoe Resources Inc.

Tahoe's strategy is to responsibly operate mines to world standards and to develop high quality precious metals assets in the Americas. Tahoe is a member of the S&P/TSX Composite and TSX Global Mining indices and the Russell 3000 on the NYSE. The Company is listed on the TSX as THO and on the NYSE as TAHO.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, Section 21E of the United States Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, or in releases made by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, all as may be amended from time to time, and "forward-looking information" under the provisions of applicable Canadian securities legislation, concerning the business, operations and financial performance and condition of the Company. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the decision of the Constitutional Court which has the effect of continuing the suspension of the Company's mining license in respect of the Escobal mine, the time for appeals to be heard and decided and the likelihood of the provisional decision of the Supreme Court of Guatemala being reconsidered and reversed by the Supreme Court of Guatemala or overturned by the Constitutional Court in Guatemala; the timing and likelihood of the road blockage being peacefully cleared and resolved; the future price of silver, gold, lead and zinc; the timing and amount of estimated future production, costs of production, capital expenditures, free cash flow, currency exchange rate fluctuations; requirements for additional capital; government regulation of mining operations; environmental risks; unanticipated reclamation expenses; timing and possible outcome of pending litigation, title disputes or claims; and limitations on insurance coverage. Generally, these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" , "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" , "believes", or variations or comparable language of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "should", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved" or the negative connotation thereof.

Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of factors and assumptions that, if untrue, could cause the actual results, performances or achievements of the Company to be materially different from future results, performances or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. Such statements and information are based on numerous assumptions regarding present and future business strategies and the environment in which Tahoe will operate in the future, including the price of silver, gold, lead and zinc, anticipated costs and ability to achieve goals. In respect of the forward-looking statements concerning a decision from the Supreme Court of Guatemala on the definitive claim, the factors to be considered by the Supreme Court in the definitive decision and by the Constitutional Court on appeal, the timing and the likelihood of success that the definitive decision will be issued, the timing and likelihood of the road blockage being peacefully cleared and resolved, the potential impacts of the court decision and road blockage, and the time and expense of the decision, challenges to such decision and efforts to peacefully clear and resolve the road blockage, on the Company's operations, financial condition and liquidity, Tahoe has provided them in reliance on certain assumptions that they believe are reasonable at this time. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list is not exhaustive. Tahoe's actual results, programs and financial position could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of numerous factors, risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's control. These include, but are not necessarily limited to workings of the Guatemalan legal system, social unrest and political or economic instability in Guatemala and the Company's ability to efficiently resume operations once the suspension of the mining license is lifted and roadblock is cleared, and relationships with our partners, including employees, vendors and community populations.

Certain important factors that could cause actual results, performances or achievements to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include, among others, silver, gold, lead and zinc price volatility, discrepancies between actual and estimated production, mineral reserves and mineral resources and metallurgical recoveries, mining operational and development risks, litigation risks, regulatory restrictions (including environmental regulatory restrictions and liability), changes in national and local government legislation, taxation, controls or regulations and/or change in the administration of laws, policies and practices, expropriation or nationalization of property and political or economic developments in Guatemala, Peru, and Canada, and other jurisdictions in which the Company does or may carry on business in the future, delays, suspension and technical challenges associated with capital projects, higher prices for fuel, steel, power, labor and other consumables, currency fluctuations, the speculative nature of gold exploration, the global economic climate, dilution, share price volatility, competition, loss of key employees, additional funding requirements and defective title to mineral claims or property. Although Tahoe believes its expectations are based upon reasonable assumptions and has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended.

Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks, uncertainties and other factors include but are not limited to; the fluctuation of the price of silver and gold; opposition to development and mining operations by one or more groups of indigenous people; actions that impede or prevent the operations of the Company's mines; the inability to develop and operate the Company's mines; social unrest and political or economic instability and uncertainties in the jurisdictions in which the Company operates; the timing and ability to maintain and, where necessary, obtain necessary permits and licenses; changes in national and local government legislation, taxation and controls or regulations; environmental and other governmental regulation compliance; the uncertainty in the estimation of mineral resources and mineral reserves; fluctuations in currency exchange rates; infrastructure risks, including access to roads, water and power; and the timing and possible outcome of pending or threatened litigation and the risk of unexpected litigation.

For a more detailed discussion of these and other risks relevant to the Company, see the Company's Management's Discussion and Analysis for the second quarter of 2017 filed on SEDAR and with the SEC on August 8, 2017 and our other public filings available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com, on EDGAR at www.sec.gov or on the Company's website at www.tahoeresources.com.

Although Tahoe has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and, accordingly, are subject to change after such date. Except as otherwise indicated by Tahoe, these statements do not reflect the potential impact of any non-recurring or other special items or of any disposition, monetization, merger, acquisition, other business combination or other transaction that may be announced or that may occur after the date hereof. Forward-looking statements are provided for the purpose of providing information about management's current expectations and plans and allowing investors and others to get a better understanding of Tahoe's operating environment. Tahoe does not intend or undertake to publicly update any forward-looking statements that are included in this document, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

For further information, please contact:

Tahoe Resources Inc.

investors@tahoeresources.com

Tel: 775-448-5800

View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/guatemalan-court-provisionally-suspends-escobal-license--hearing-on-the-merits-of-the-case-set-for-august-28th-300509562.html

SOURCE Tahoe Resources Inc.
Chilean police officers patrol on bicycles donated by China in Santiago, capital of Chile on Aug 8, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

SANTIAGO - Chile aims to attract Chinese investment in its capital Santiago's public transit network, local media said on Thursday.

Chilean Transport Minister Paola Tapia is set to travel to China for "the Week of Chile in China," an investment promotion tour in China's several cities starting later this month, according to the daily La Tercera.

Tapia will travel to Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Wuhan, Honk Kong and Chengdu, to meet with manufacturers of electric buses, such as BYD, Yutong and Yinlong.

In Beijing, Tapia will also meet with her Chinese counterpart Li Xiaopeng to discuss mass transit.

As part of a push to transition from fossil-fuel powered buses to electric vehicles, six new public transit suppliers in Santiago will be required by law to include at least 15 electric buses in their fleets by October 2018.

Chinese-made electric buses have already been unveiled in Santiago, and at least three units are to begin circulating soon as a pilot program gets underway.

"We are going to review in the field how the electric buses operate ... and the infrastructure related to their service," said Tapia.

BYD's representative in Chile, Tamara Berrios, said "Santiago has a mature transit system, with a technologically advanced level of emissions and regulations that are suitable for making the leap towards a superior technology."
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August 25, 2017

CAIRO  With the objective of advancing his country's interests in the African continent, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi paid visits to Tanzania, Rwanda, Chad and Gabon on Aug. 14-17. The agenda included issues related to Egyptian national security, most prominently the Nile water dossier, and the military and technical support in countering terrorism in West Africa.

Sisi's visits carried messages from the Egyptian political administration, most notably among them that Egypt intends to provide Chad and Gabon with immeasurable military and security support, in terms of capacity building and export of military equipment. This is in addition to Egypts desire to address the water issue indirectly by prompting the upstream countries to resort to other energy sources, such as wind energy and solar energy, instead of the Nile waters to generate electricity. The president also expressed the Egyptian desire that the Nile waters be used without causing harm to Egyptian interests, stressing that in the eyes of Egypt, the Nile water issue is a matter of life or death that requires the dispute to be resolved.

Although legal differences over the Nile water management were not resolved during the Nile Basin Heads of State Summit held June 22 in Uganda, Egypt is carrying on with a policy of rapprochement and creation of mutual interests to bring African countries, especially the Nile basin countries, on its side.

An official at the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who is informed about the African dossier and accompanied Sisi on his African tour, told Al-Monitor, Our plan centers on intensive political, diplomatic and technical efforts to revitalize strategic focal areas in East and West Africa, without relying on mediators who have strong ties with the continents countries, such as the Gulf countries.

In regard to the reason why Sisi included Tanzania and Rwanda in his tour, the official, who declined to be named, said, We are well-aware of how dangerous it is to rely on a single country as mediator in the Nile water issue. Uganda tried to bring views closer between Egypt and the rest of the upstream countries. But nothing has been achieved yet. Based on that, direct bilateral contacts with the Nile Basin countries were necessary  not only to make the Egyptian views clear but also to create direct interests that would reduce tension and fear and highlight Egypt's keenness to achieve development and assist the Nile Basin countries away from any monopoly over the Nile waters.

The official added, There is reassessment of the Egyptian political, security and strategic perception in dealing with the African region. The yearslong social and political negligence has severely harmed Egyptian interests.

Prior to Sisis visit to Chad, the Egyptian Ministry of Defense signed a joint military and security cooperation protocol with Chad on Aug. 2. Also, the Arab Organization for Industrialization expanded the export of military equipment to a number of African countries. This highlights direct cooperation between African countries to promote military capabilities.

The official said, The rising terrorism expansion in West Africa and deteriorating situation in Libya were behind the shift in the way Egypt deals with African countries at the security level, changing the strategy of distancing itself from areas of conflict and of refraining from taking sides.

Sisis trip was widely welcomed by a number of observers in Egypt who considered it to be a step toward restoring strong Egyptian-African ties, after they were neglected for years under the rule of former President Hosni Mubarak. This was following the attempted assassination of Mubarak in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in June 1995, which resulted in Egypt refraining from taking part in African summits at the presidential level.

Ayman Abdel Wahab, a researcher at the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, told Al-Monitor, The extensive effort toward Africa would promote Egypt's position in the political, trade and military balance of power in Africa, and in facing the risks to Egyptian interests in terms of the Nile waters  in light of the upstream countries aspirations for development and exploitation of the Nile waters.

Abdel Wahab believes that the political administrations focus on interests in the restoration of ties with the African countries is necessary to overcome the old sensitivities and accusations that Egypt wants to monopolize the Nile waters. Besides, deterrence is no longer fruitful with the political administration in African countries.

He said, Cairos focus on promoting ties with Tanzania and Rwanda  following their harsh stances against Egypt during the Nile Basin negotiations  is designed to break the Ethiopian control over the upstream countries positions regarding Egyptian interests. However, he added, While it is too early for the balance of interests to be shifted, Cairo does not have enough time to lessen the anticipated harm to its water security, particularly since Ethiopia is nearing the completion of the Renaissance Dam.

In contrast, during Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn's visit to Sudan Aug. 17, the bilateral talks focused on the Nile waters and the Renaissance Dam. This Sudanese-Ethiopian rapprochement started to annoy Egypt, particularly since Sudan is backing up the Ethiopian stance after it was once a strategic ally of Egypt in the Nile waters dossier.

Hani Raslan, an expert on African affairs, told Al-Monitor, Egypt now needs to try to break the Ethiopian alliance with the Southern Nile Basin countries against the majority  in addition to [breaking] the mobilization against Egypt, which was promoted by the Ethiopian claims on Egypts absolute sovereignty over the Nile waters. The Egyptian quest for a rapprochement does not need to necessarily result in an alliance with the Nile Basin countries. Yet at least to do without enemies.

The Egyptian political administration has no option other than to work in the long run to maintain its direct interests in the region and secure its basic Nile water resources in particular. This dossier is one of utmost complexity, as the upstream countries insist on exploiting the resources, based on the principle of fair and equitable use of the Nile waters.
August 24, 2017

The Iraqi Shiite political scene is witnessing remarkable developments ahead of the parliamentary elections scheduled for 2018. With a mix of internal and regional political coalitions, the National Iraqi Alliance will not remain as it was in the 2010 and 2014 elections.

Ammar al-Hakim, leader of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq party and head of the National Iraqi Alliance, withdrew from the council and established a new party in July called the National Wisdom Movement.

Also, Muqtada al-Sadr, leader of the Sadrist movement, visited Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates at a time when conflict is intensifying in the region, with Saudi Arabia and the UAE on one side, and Iran and its allies in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Bahrain and Yemen on the other.

These two events are seen by some as an attempt to form an Iraqi Shiite movement that is independent from Iran and open to Sunni Arabs in Iraq as well as its Arab and Gulf neighbors.

In announcing he was establishing the National Wisdom Movement, Hakim said it will work hand in hand with Iraqis to ensure democratic elections that include all of Iraqs spectra, away from sectarian and national polarization, and embark on a new political horizon, because Iraq should be at peace with itself.

Hakim wants to distinguish his new party from the other Shiite parties, including the Islamic Supreme Council, which he had presided over since the death of his father, Abdul Aziz, in 2009.

Iraq 2017 is very different from Iraq 2003," when Saddam Hussein's regime was toppled, Hakim said. "We believe that an understanding must be reached between the effective and influential brotherly and friendly countries over the great issues of the nation, and Iraq will play a pivotal role among all brothers in the region to reach understandings that could serve the interest of the countries in the region, develop their people and stop the negative international interventions and the state of polarization that is draining everyone.

In an Aug. 20 meeting with the US special envoy to the anti-Islamic State (IS) coalition, Brett McGurk, Hakim said his new political entity will work to get rid of sectarian and nationalist polarization, open up to the Sunnis in Iraq in particular, reach an understanding with neighboring countries and disassociate Iraq from the conflict in the region.

In support of Hakim's new direction, McGurk told him that the United States continues to encourage countries in the region to open up to Iraq.

The head of the Iraqi Center for Political Thought, Ihsan al-Shammari, told Al-Monitor there have been major differences between Hakim and other leaders in the Islamic Supreme Council who think of themselves as older and more experienced, with a longer record of struggle.

Shammari said the most prominent differences emerged after council leaders accused Hakim of making decisions without consulting the leadership.

A source close to the Hakim family told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity that Hakim had suggested to council leadership that some young members should be introduced into the leadership, but veteran leaders rejected the idea. Other leaders also objected when Hakim assigned young people to some positions and institutions in the council. According to the source, the leaders thought Hakim was appointing people close to him with the aim of taking over the councils institutions.

The same source said Hakim believes that the National Wisdom Movement provides an opportunity to get rid of the burden of the Islamic Supreme Council, which no longer serves as a political and intellectual framework. The council was established as an umbrella for the Islamic parties opposed to Hussein's regime between 1982 and 2003, and it became independent after most parties withdrew from it.

A source close to council leadership told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity that the council's senior leaders, which include Humam Hamoudi, Baqir al-Zubeidi, Sadr al-Din al-Qabbanji and Jalal al-Din al-Saghir, find themselves more politically influential and prominent than Hakim and have a stronger relationship with Iran than Hakim, who is trying to be a mediator between the Sadrist political movement and the Popular Mobilization Units [PMU], which are closer to Tehran.

That source added that Hakim is trying to establish a relationship with the Arab environment, all the while maintaining his relationship with Tehran, so he resorted to forming this movement in the hope of introducing new, young faces to get closer to Iraqs Sunnis, an approach already adopted by Sadr at the expense of his relationship with Tehran.

Zubeidi pointed out that the Iranian leadership doesn't approve of Hakims withdrawal from the council. He said Hakim sent a letter to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei about his resignation, and Khamenei replied, Your withdrawal from the council serves no interest and is a wrong step.

Despite the strong and historical relationship between the Hakim family and Iran, Hakim has been characterized by a relatively independent policy, which was reflected in his support for Ayad Allawi as prime minister and his opposition to Nouri al-Maliki's nomination for a second term after the 2010 elections, contrary to Iran's desire.

However, Hakim maintains good relations with Arab and Gulf states and will not take any step that could strongly upset Iran and its allies in Iraq.

The new developments in the Hakim political movement indicate he might forge an alliance with Sadr and Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi in the upcoming elections against an alliance between Maliki (now vice president) and the other Shiite parties close to Iran. Hakim, Sadr and Abadi all reject Maliki's desire to return to power as prime minister, and all three seek a national discourse based on citizenship and pluralism. They all want to attract Sunnis and civil movements, to disassociate from Iran and its "axis of resistance" policy, and to defer to Iraq's Ayatollah Ali Sistani, as opposed to the pro-Iran parties, which defer to Iran's Khamenei.
August 25, 2017

SAGRA (WESTERN ANBAR), Iraq  Former teachers, policemen, tradesmen and others from tribal areas still under Islamic State (IS) control are receiving training close to the front line in Iraq's westernmost region.

They will be essential to the fight against IS in this area and are providing critical intelligence on the areas to be retaken, noted Col. Ali Fendi, the commander of the Iraqi army's 1st brigade, 7th division, who has been in charge of this front since January.

The forces are currently conducting lightning ops close to nearby IS-held cities "to see what their reactions are and to draw fighters out of their hiding places" before pulling back, said the head of one of the local forces, Col. Moussa Hamad al-Karbouly. Afterward, "international coalition airstrikes hit and gradually eliminate ever more fighters.  IS is on the defensive and is getting ever weaker."

On Aug. 21, jets dropped thousands of leaflets on the western Anbar towns of al-Qaim, Ana and Rawa, which are still under IS control. The leaflets reportedly give information on Iraqi forces' latest gains and call on IS to surrender.

A vast desert stretches in all directions around the base, which is the closest in western Anbar to IS positions.

The temperature was over 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) during Al-Monitor's visit in early August. When a soldier on lookout duty handed his binoculars to this reporter on the roof of a building, reached by an unsteady ladder, all that was visible was a slightly undulating sandy expanse, jagged in spots.

In the operations command below, the walls are crowded with photos of central government authorities and officers deployed on this front. Fendi said Al-Monitor was the first international media outlet to have visited the area around Sagra and Zawiya since they were retaken by government forces in January 2017.

He added that, although IS was mostly on the defensive, attacks continued. About a month prior, several explosive-laden vehicles had attempted to reach their base from the nearest village entirely controlled by IS  about 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) away, the Iraqi colonel said  through a dusty expanse marked by many wadis (valleys and ravines that are dry except in the rainy season) serving as ideal hiding places.

"Seven suicide vehicles started coming toward the base at 6:30 a.m. and were only spotted 3 kilometers [2 miles] away due to a dust storm. We called in airstrikes and killed over 35 IS members," Fendi said. "Some were in the vehicles and some were killed trying to escape."

Though in that incident they had not had advance knowledge of the attack, often the local forces being trained by US, Danish and British forces at the nearby Ain al-Asad base receive advance information from sources inside their hometowns or from sources in contact with people across the border in Syria.

"They send men here from [the Syrian IS-held cities of] Abu Kamal, al-Mayadeen or other places when there is an attack by Iraqi forces," Karbouly said, "and from here to the other side of the border when they need men there."

To the question of whether they were in contact with the Syrian regime or Syrian opposition groups  given their proximity to the border (which IS does not recognize)  Karbouly said that "we do not speak to Jabhat al-Nusra or the regime," but that they do have contact with members in Syrian opposition groups originally from IS-held areas near the border.

"But not in an official manner," he noted. "These are people [and their extended family members] we knew from before."

Karbouly, a former police captain from the Iraqi town of al-Qaim on the Syrian border, is now known as Col. Moussa and is the founder and commander of the group Liwa al-Aaly al-Furat (Upper Euphrates Regiment).

The group works alongside the Iraqi army and the "Gharbiya" forces (literally "Western," in reference to the fact that they are fighting in the westernmost part of the country) from Rawa and Ana, the two largest IS-held towns before reaching al-Qaim border crossing, located just across the border from the Syrian city of Abu Kamal.

Many of the men had no prior military experience but are currently receiving training from the international coalition at the nearby Ain al-Asad base.

Karbouly said that about 250 of Liwa al-Aaly al-Furat's 500 men had been trained by Danish special forces and were taking part in operations alongside the Iraqi army. He noted that his force was unique in that  unlike some of the tribal forces  it was being trained as an assault force and not just one whose main role would be providing security in the towns retaken.

He added that they were being provided "very good equipment and supplies" by US forces and that their latest mission had been two days prior to an interview with Al-Monitor on Aug. 9.

"We went as far as 1.5 kilometers from Ana, at an intersection of the road to the city, to see the reaction of IS forces. They left their homes and caves to fight, and then the air forces struck them," he said. He added that operations like these provided key information about roughly how many fighters were present and what sort of weapons they have.

Several of the men in his forces wear officer uniforms and have been given their ranks as part of their current role, but have not actually attended any sort of military academy.

Karbouly said that his group was an attempt to gather together the various tribes of al-Qaim under one banner, to avoid being simply a "tribal militia."

As a police captain in al-Qaim in the past, he said he had seen many problems between tribes resulting in some joining extremist groups simply to exact revenge on other tribes. He stressed that he hoped this force could help bring the entire community together.

Karbouly also noted that they are part of the Popular Mobilization Units and are receiving salaries from the government, but that many had formerly been schoolteachers and tradesmen.

His deputy, Col. Abdurahman al-Karbouly, is also originally from al-Qaim and fought during the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s. He was later a commander of the Anbar Awakening in Rutba, where he lived for an extended period, but also did not attend a military academy.

Fendi said that "the main role of the Iraqi army is to protect civilians" and that the local forces would be key to doing this in such a sensitive area.
August 24, 2017

CAIRO  In Egypt's deadliest rail accident in years, 42 people were killed and 123 were injured when two trains collided near the Khorshid train station east of Alexandria, according to a statement by the Ministry of Health Aug. 11.

The initial reports suggested that the crash occurred because of a signal fault, causing the train traveling from Cairo to crash into the back of another that stopped suddenly, resulting in several train cars being crushed. However, the Egyptian Railway Authority (ERA) blamed both trains' conductors for the crash.

The authorities started an inquiry into the crash and arrested the conductors of both trains and their assistants for 15 days. The Public Prosecution ordered urine samples for drug testing from the train conductor who crashed into the other one. Public Prosecutor Nabil Sadiq ordered that the black boxes of the trains be recovered and for an investigative committee to look into the accident.

The ministry of transportation announced Aug. 13 the resignation of Maj. Gen. Medhat Shousha as head of the ERA. The post was handed over to Sayed Salem, who used to serve as deputy chairman for the ERA's Safety and Quality Department.

On the same day of the accident, Deputy Minister of Finance Mohamed Meit said in a press statement that the ERA needs massive resources for reform, noting that developing the railways exceeds the state's budget.

Millions of Egyptians use the railway network every year, which is considered the main link between the various parts of the country. The railway is seen as safer and cheaper than other means of transportation in Egypt, especially since car accidents on desert roads and highways occur almost every day.

The creaking passenger train network has been plagued by poor maintenance and neglect for a long time, which has been the main reason for deadly train crashes. In 2012, 52 students were killed and 13 others injured when a train crashed into a school bus in Asyut.

According to official statistics by the ERA and the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics, the years between 2006 and 2016 witnessed 12,236 train accidents.

Many Egyptians who have lost loved ones in train accidents blame the state for failing to deal with the chronic railway problem and lack of maintenance. Suleiman Hassan, who lost several of his cousins in the recent train crash, told Al-Monitor, "The government's negligence is what caused the accident."

"Both my uncles lost their families in the crash. The first lost his wife and three children and the second his two kids," Hassan told Al-Monitor.

Many Egyptians who have lost loved ones in train accidents blame the state for failing to deal with the chronic railway problem and lack of maintenance.

However, Amr Abdel Salam, assistant to the minister of transportation, told Al-Monitor that the government has already launched some plans to start improving railway infrastructure. The development project, scheduled to be implemented between 2017 and 2020, is estimated to cost 45 billion pounds ($2.53 billion).

"The development projects include renewing railways, developing and converting the manual signals into electric ones, procurement of new train cars, spare parts and the development of some stations. Foreign companies will also handle the maintenance and the workshops of the ERA," Abdel Salam said.

Imad Nabil, an expert and consultant on railways in Egypt, told Al-Monitor that the train network has not undergone any radical development operations since the 1980s.

"All the previous attempts to develop the railways were short-term palliatives, without any significant efforts for comprehensive maintenance works. This is due to the poor state management and difficulties in obtain funding. The railway sector is one of the most expensive sectors in the country. It could cost $1 million to develop one single line in the train network, which is a lot for a country plagued with economic crises," Nabil told Al-Monitor.

He added, "Egypt could cooperate with foreign companies from countries such as Germany, France and the US for the development of railways. We need unconventional ideas to stop relying on the state's budget. The government could enter into a development contract with foreign companies, as was the case with the French company that was awarded the subway project in Egypt in the 1980s. With this solution, such companies could operate and benefit from the railways for the duration of the contract, lasting from five to 15 years, and then the government takes over.

"Borrowing is not the best option now for these development projects. The government could make use of the large state-owned areas to establish investment projects or can lease out the train stations. All of these could be a solution instead of raising the price of the train ticket."

In July 2015, the government increased the cost of train tickets by 20 pounds ($1.12) for first class and 10 pounds ($0.56) for second class. Egyptians fear another rise in ticket prices after an increase in petroleum and fuel prices in June.

Ibrahim Mabrouk, a professor of transport engineering at Al-Azhar University in Cairo, seconded Nabil's proposals.

"Egypt's railway network stretches over 9,200 kilometers [5,716 miles]. Why is the ERA not benefiting from these areas to start investment projects, such as malls? The revenue could be used for development and maintenance," Mabrouk told Al-Monitor.

He added that "the railways' system should be automated, with less reliance on the human factor, which could help reduce the frequency of train accidents."

Minister of Transportation Hisham Arafat said in televised statements Aug. 13 that it is of paramount importance to strengthen the role of the private sector to improve the railway network. Arafat said that the state's budget is not enough for completing these projects but the contribution of the private sector does not mean privatizing the state-owned sector.

Mabrouk said, "In Japan, 12 railway stations are run by the private sector. Egypt could do the same to enhance the railway sector and to establish new lines."

Egypt's railways are one of the oldest in the world. The first line was established in 1851, connecting Cairo to Alexandria. British engineer Robert Stephenson oversaw the project back then.

In an attempt to bolster development, the Egyptian government signed a 15-year agreement June 17 with the American giant, General Electric, for $575 million. The deal includes the supply of new car trains and maintenance.

Egyptians hope these measures and deals will reduce the recurring incidents that often leave hundreds of victims every time they occur.
August 24, 2017

TEHRAN, Iran  Iran's Principlists kept themselves at the top of the pyramid of power through former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his circle of associates. Now, however, this same circle is harshly attacking its former allies and even some pillars of the political establishment, so much so that some Principlist factions have asked for probes into some of its actions.

Ahmadinejad is a staple of Iranian politics. Whether in office or sitting at home, he is always hungry for publicity.

The former president was planning to run for a third term in the May 19 elections, but was disqualified by the Guardian Council. Considering that many of his administrations officials were involved in the campaign of conservative cleric Ebrahim Raisi, there was a general sense in Iran that Raisis platform was aligned with Ahmadinejad's. Ahmadinejad released a video message on May 15, just a few days before the elections, officially announcing that he did not support any of the six candidates despite the presence of some of his former aides in a certain candidates campaign.

Hamid Baghaei, Ahmadinejads onetime vice president for executive affairs, and Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, his adviser and closest confidant, have both stayed loyal to the former president. Baghaei, who was also disqualified from running in the May election, wrote Ahmadinejads name on the ballot in front of cameras on election day. Having been arrested in June 2015, Baghaei was once again detained on July 9 this year. On July 16, judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei disclosed some of the charges against him, including embezzlement and collusion over government contracts. Ejei added, The defendant was given 2 million euros at his disposal, which [was allocated for something] else, but there is no record of that money anywhere.

Ahmadinejad was vocal in his criticism of Baghaeis arrest. On the same day as the charges were announced, the former president declared that he holds the judiciary responsible for his former deputys life and well-being. In a statement released three days later, July 19, he claimed that all the charges against Baghaei were baseless and asked that the records for the 2 million euros noted by Ejei be made public. Baghaei was released July 26 on bail, which Ahmadinejads associates claimed had come from public donations.

After his release, Baghaei harshly criticized the judiciary, as others from the Ahmadinejad camp have done previously. On July 30, Mashaei gave a speech in which he also harshly criticized the judiciary and warned that it is playing with fire by criticizing Ahmadinejad and arresting his allies.

Another case concerning the former president and his associates is that of the sudden deposit of 16 billion tomans (about $4.8 million) on Aug. 3, 2013  right before he formally left office  into an account of the University of Iranians, which is owned by Ahmadinejad and Baghaei. The money came from a government account.

Principlist political analyst Naser Imani, commenting on the increasing isolation of Ahmadinejad and his associates and their apparent radicalization, noted in an interview with Iranian reporters, It is not unusual, for signs of irrationality were evident during Ahmadinejads final years in office."

In this vein, political analyst Sadegh Zibakalam told Al-Monitor, It was predictable from the very beginning that this faction will gradually become radicalized. They are hoping to attract a wider range of people, and they believe that they will achieve this goal if they verbally attack different government institutions. This is while the number of Ahmadinejad supporters has, in general, shrunk and his remaining supporters come from the lower classes of society  villages or small cities  and thus do not follow the news closely and do not know what Ahmadinejad is doing.

After Ahmadinejad tried and failed to run for a third term against the public advice of the supreme leader, many thought that his political life had come to an end. However, on Aug. 14, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei reappointed Ahmadinejad for a five-year term on the Expediency Council, which is mainly tasked with mediating disputes between the parliament and the Guardian Council.

While the reappointment has been interpreted in a variety of ways, Principlists for the most part believe that Ahmadinejads presence on the Expediency Council is his last chance to play a role on the Iranian political stage. It should be noted, however, that all the incumbent members of the council were reappointed to new terms by the supreme leader. Zibakalam told Al-Monitor, I doubt there will be a major change, although it is possible that for a short while, there will be less controversies and chaos concerning Ahmadinejad and his associates.

Ahmadinejad has always proven to be a radical. There was a time when this radicalism was welcomed by the Principlists, but there were also times when they expressed disapproval. Whatever his political future holds, he is likely to remain associated with populism and radicalism.
August 24, 2017

A US delegation led by presidential son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner visited Israel and the Palestinian Authority Aug. 23-25. This visit generated fear within the Israeli right-wing camp that President Donald Trump really intends to revive the about-to-die peace process with the Palestinians. But by the time the delegation was heading back to the airport on its way home, it was the peace camps last optimists who felt disappointed. Truth be told, anyone who consulted the report delivered Aug. 22 to members of the United Nations Security Council by Miroslav Jenca, the UN assistant secretary-general for political affairs, should have realized that things would unfold this way. It was clear that Kushner would go to Washington empty-handed.

In his briefing, Jenca pointed to Aug. 3 remarks by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu boasting of his governments singular achievements in advancing settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank. Such actions only fuel perceptions that those working to obstruct the two-state solution are gaining the upper hand, Jenca warned, adding that settlements constitute a violation of international law and an obstacle to peace.

The states response Aug. 22 to a Supreme Court appeal against the so-called Regularization law reflects the true meaning of obstructing the two-state solution. This document is, in essence, an unconditional surrender to the radical right that makes a travesty of the two-state solution. It justifies expropriation of lands designated for the establishment of a Palestinian state for the establishment of Israeli settlements.

The state argues mainly that the recently adopted law allowing Jewish settlers to appropriate private Palestinian lands on which to build their homes constitutes a humane, proportional and reasonable response to the genuine distress of Israeli residents, whereas the current situation relegates thousands of families to a life clouded by uncertainty. An appendix to the states brief notes that at least 3,455 homes and public facilities have been built on private Palestinian land.

The state is being represented in the case by attorney Harel Arnon, because Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit refused to do so citing the laws dubious constitutionality. Arnon argued that significant Israeli construction in the region was carried out without due attention to legal procedures or in the absence of strict adherence to them. But the state does not only admit to contributory negligence in the systematic decadeslong theft of property from thousands of people; the state affirms that this approach is due to the desire by some Israeli governments to anchor the settlements [in the occupied territories] while maneuvering in a complex international arena. To buttress the argument that the land theft was carried out in broad daylight, the state cites the 2005 report by attorney Talia Sasson, at the time a senior state prosecutor, tasked by the government to assess the legality of West Bank outposts.

The report determined that public, state-funded authorities played a central role in establishing illegal outposts, without an official decision by the authorized political echelon. Sasson, currently president of the New Israel Fund, is furious about what she views as the states abuse of the report she compiled. Land theft cannot be deemed legal, she told Al-Monitor. Any person guided by an iota of moral values would refuse to listen to such absurd arguments, she said.

Among those who did, indeed, refuse to listen was Mandelblit, who told Knesset members that the bill contravenes international law as well as Israels constitutional law. He believes most articles of the bill will not withstand the scrutiny of the nations top court, given that there is no precedent for the state expropriating private land from one person in order to hand it over to another.

With the peace process making its final exit, let's go back to the states argument that expropriation of private Palestinian land provides a humane, proportional and reasonable response to the genuine distress of Israeli residents. Let's assume that a measure of mercy is appropriate in these cases of expropriation. Is the distress of a Jewish (settler) family that poached Arab land  albeit with an unofficial nod from the state  greater than that of an Arab refugee family living for the past 70 years in a house abandoned by Jews? That depends. If the resident in question was fortunate to be born Jewish, the government will hire a private lawyer (Arnon) to defend him. On the other hand, if he is an Arab resident of Jerusalems Sheikh Jarrah or Silwan neighborhoods, the humane response offered him under Israels laws, its system of justice and its regime is an eviction notice. Such was the fate of Palestinian families evicted in recent years from predominantly Palestinian neighborhoods of Jerusalem to make way for Jewish settlers.

A similar fate awaits 86-year-old Ayyub Shamasnah and his family, who live in two rooms, partly under the surface of the road, in Sheikh Jarrah. During Israels 1948 War of Independence, the family left behind its village home in what was to become the State of Israel. Authorities in neighboring Jordan provided them with homes left behind by Jews during that same war. In recent years, a nongovernmental organization advancing Jewish settlement in Palestinian areas of Jerusalem bought the crumbling home inhabited for 70 years by the Shamasnah family from its one-time Jewish owner and obtained an eviction order against the family.

Among those who came last week to protest the order and express solidarity with the family was Michael Ben-Yair, who served as attorney general in the Yitzhak Rabin government in the early 1990s. Ben-Yair said he knew for a fact that all the Jews who had lived in that area of East Jerusalem until 1948, including his own family, had been given homes abandoned by their Palestinian owners in Jerusalems western neighborhoods in lieu of the property they were forced to leave behind in what became Jordanian territory. Ben-Yair announced that his family intends to petition for its original property ownership documents and to deed its home over to the Palestinian family living there.

On Aug. 17, a group of Israeli peace activists accompanied the Shamasnah family to a Jerusalem court in a last-minute bid to prevent the eviction. A dozen Western European and UN diplomats, for whom there was no place in the crowded courtroom, waited in the steaming hot corridor outside for two hours; that was their way to express their views about the way Israel treats its Palestinian residents.

Next time they come here, members of the US delegation would be well-advised to find time to meet with those diplomats and to hear from them how they view Israels commitment to a just peace between the two people.
August 25, 2017

The Aug. 24 top-level Palestinian meeting with US President Donald Trumps envoys Jared Kushner and Jason Greenblatt, and deputy national security adviser Dina Powell, ended on a positive note. So positive, in fact, that suddenly the Palestinian threats of recent days to abandon the US diplomatic channel unless progress was achieved dissolved in a sea of smiles.

Al-Monitor has learned that the only reason for this Palestinian optimism, at least for now, was a personal message conveyed by Trump through Kushner to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. According to the message, the president of the United States was committed to making supreme efforts to broker a historic peace between Israelis and Palestinians, and a detailed plan would soon be formulated setting out Trumps vision of peace in the Middle East.

Kushner praised Abbas and told him the president greatly appreciated his efforts to quell domestic Palestinian unrest, as well as his desire to achieve an agreement with Israel knowing he will have to make tough decisions to get there.

The assertive attitude displayed by Trump and his team positively influenced the atmosphere and the mindset in Ramallah. Abbas, who at the start of the week expressed open displeasure with the unresponsive US peacemaking channel, immediately softened his stance.

At an Aug. 20 meeting in his office in the West Bank city of Ramallah with representatives of the left-wing Israeli Meretz Party, Abbas sounded disheartened. He told them he had met with Trump administration officials some 20 times and still did not understand how they were planning to bring about Trumps promised Israeli-Palestinian deal. Al-Monitor reported that at the same meeting, Abbas warned he would give the visiting US envoys a 45-day ultimatum to clarify which way the administration was headed.

According to a senior Palestinian source who spoke with Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, Kushner told participants of Thursdays meeting that the Americans sense Abbas does not trust them and had jumped to the wrong conclusions. The source added that Kushner said the Americans were hard at work on a plan that would constitute a solid basis for Israeli-Palestinian discussions, to avoid a recurrence of past instances when the sides quickly reached a dead end.

There was a feeling that the Americans were offended, the Palestinian source said, and thats why Abbas was quick to explain himself and say that he was willing to reach a peace deal, as Trump calls it  but does not see how this process can be jump-started because [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu keeps coming up with excuses. Abbas once again claimed that Israel continues its accelerated construction in the West Bank settlements and that so far, despite his many requests, he had not heard a single American comment or reprimand of Israel  not from the White House and not from the State Department  expressing concern about the ongoing settlement expansion.

The source noted that it was Greenblatt who said bitingly, half in jest, that at the end of the 22nd meeting with the American envoys  i.e., their next meeting  Abbas would have a lot more answers to the questions that the team had come to work on. The source described a moment of embarrassment at that point, after which Abbas asked for the timetables and goals of the US moves.

The head of the Palestinian General Intelligence Service, Maj. Gen. Majid Faraj, considered a confidant of Abbas in contacts with the Americans, told Al-Monitor that the Palestinians cannot afford to drag their feet, unlike Netanyahu. While Netanyahu keeps putting up obstacles to avoid getting to the negotiating table for fear that his government will collapse, Abbas wants to move forward because he is under growing domestic pressure, Faraj said.

The Palestinians complained that to date, even after numerous meetings with the American envoys, they had not heard a determined and unambiguous stand from the Trump team, and from Trump himself for that matter, stating that the two-state solution would be the basis for any negotiations with the Israelis. At that point, the Palestinians were pleasantly surprised to hear in no uncertain terms that at the next meeting, which would likely be held before the start of the UN General Assembly in mid-September, they would be presented with the presidents vision through a type of road map. According to the source, this was implied and not spelled out.

The Americans presented the message Trump sought to convey and spoke at length about his commitment and desire to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, despite the other burning issues claiming the presidents attention these days, the source said.

Obviously, no one in the room mentioned the chaos at the White House and the internal power struggles being waged there. But the Palestinian team is aware of the limitations under which Trump is operating, and the question that always comes up in its internal deliberations is whether Trump is even able to ignite any sort of diplomatic process when he is unable to restore order within his own home. This is something we still doubt, even after todays meeting, the senior source noted. But the Americans promised that already at the next meeting they will show up with detailed position papers making it clear where we are headed.

We do feel there was progress on one thing, the source said. Today we understood more than ever that President Trump is indeed engaged [in the diplomatic process], he knows what his team is working on and what they are talking about, and he also found time despite the mess he is in to convey messages to Abbas.

Despite the daily storms he is weathering, it appears Trump heard about the Palestinian displeasure with his administrations diplomacy and surprisingly, rather than lashing out at the Palestinians, he decided to try and allay their concerns. Anyone who has experienced Trump's unpredictable reactions cannot but be impressed.
August 25, 2017

Statements by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump's adviser and son-in-law, after their Aug. 24 meeting were generic, devoid of any real content. It was obvious that even they had a hard time faking the energy one would expect were progress made on the diplomatic front.

Less than four months have passed since headlines heralded the ultimate deal that Trump would present to resolve the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. The best way to describe the meeting between Netanyahu and Kushner is anti-climactic.

Even TV news reports, which tend to spend late August longing for important news, could not overcome a complete lack of interest in the meeting. The main news broadcasts on Channel 2 and Channel 10 waited until the second half of their shows before even reporting on the meeting, which followed a report about how Iran is increasing its presence in Syria, a story about crime, a report on the charges filed against the Halamish terrorist and a report on a traffic accident.

The meeting lasted more than three hours, but reports about it were brief. While photos of the two men seem to suggest a lot of affection and warmth, they also looked like mere photo ops.

Netanyahu made a point of having the photo with Kushner and the US delegation  which also included Trump's special emissary to the Middle East, Jason Greenblatt, and Dina Powell, deputy national security adviser  taken in his office, with a map of the Middle East serving as a backdrop. The map dominates the room, making it difficult for visitors to miss. It is intended to ingrain the idea that Israel is a tiny sliver in the vast jungle that is the Middle East.

I'm very pleased to see you again, Jared, Netanyahu told Kushner in his polished English. He went on to say, "We have a lot of things to talk about: how to advance peace, stability and security in our region, prosperity too, and I think that all of them are within our reach. He later added another two generic statements along those same lines. Kushner spoke about how Trump is committed to finding a solution that would bring prosperity and peace to all nations in the region. He flattered Netanyahu by saying, We really appreciate the commitment of the prime minister and his team to engage very thoughtfully and respectfully in the way that the president has asked them to do.

In the same spirit of these lofty-sounding but vacuous pleasantries, Trump himself wrote on his Instagram account, Let's advance peace, prosperity, and security in the area. There is no doubt that our relationship with you [Israel] is stronger than ever! It is also worth noting that Netanyahu's map features prominently in Trump's post as well.

Another indication of the relaxed, not to mention bored, reaction to the US delegation's visit is the lack of interest shown by politicians on the left and the right. Indeed, Meretz Party Chair Zehava Gal-On, who had met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah on Aug. 20, dismissed Netanyahu's attempts to market some kind of diplomatic process or another. Apart from that, however, there were no significant reactions from the political arena.

This time, even the right-wing chorus didn't bother to react to Kushner's visit. That is how harmless and unintimidating they think he is when it comes to the settlements.

In the past, a visit by a presidential delegation to discuss the diplomatic process would have generated considerable buzz, because it portended some content. For instance, Secretary of State John Kerry's trips to the Middle East during President Barack Obama's second term always resulted in political hysteria. Kerry arrived with detailed plans and demands for a freeze on construction in the settlements. In contrast, Kushner came with pretty but empty words, unless there is some sort of historic move unfolding behind the scenes, the chances of which seem slim at best. This time, even the right-wing chorus didn't bother to react to Kushner's visit. That is how harmless and unintimidating they think he is when it comes to the settlements.

Who can now believe that in May, when Trump visited Israel, it looked like something big was about to happen. Plenty of people were deceived by the illusion, including the then-leaders of the Zionist Camp, Isaac Herzog and Tzipi Livni.

Having just returned from a visit to the United States, Herzog had reported to his faction that Trump claimed to have had a successful meeting with Abbas in the White House a month earlier. He is determined to move an active diplomatic process forward in the Middle East and to bring about a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. Herzog came away impressed that a concrete process was coming together.

Livni had several meetings with Greenblatt during the same period, and was even more excited. In an interview with Haaretz, she said, We are facing a huge opportunity. The president is talking about how determined he is to close a deal, or in other words, to bring the conflict to an end. We have a president who thinks big. He deals with the hard-core issues. He doesn't beat around the bush. I certainly think that something dramatic could happen.

Livni spent years overseeing negotiations with the Palestinians on behalf of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and later Netanyahu. She is, therefore, considered credible, adding to the sense that something was happening behind the scenes. As a result, the left pressured Netanyahu to make a move to advance the diplomatic process, while the right warned him to avoid any progress whatsoever in the negotiations. All that political hubbub has since been silenced.

On a practical level, even if Netanyahu had planned to enter into negotiations with the goal of moving forward with a diplomatic agreement, the feasibility of that is practically nonexistent. Since Netanyahu returned to the prime minister's office in 2009, he has had several opportunities to implement the vision of a two-state solution in the spirit of his 2009 Bar Ilan speech. In terms of results, however, Netanyahu has shown no real passion or commitment for achieving this.

Netanyahu is now a prime minister caught up in a tangled web of investigations. As he trudges toward an unknown political future, he is more focused than ever on his own survival and more dependent than ever on the right. It can also be said to his discredit that given his own volatile political circumstances, he should for moral reasons abstain from making any real progress in the negotiations (even though, in his particular case, he is hardly expected of doing such).

That is why the only thing coming out of Kushner's visit is lip service. It is little more than role playing, with everyone acting the part that is most expected of them. That is why the term masquerade seems especially apt.
August 24, 2017

The mid-August visit to Moscow by Gen. Khalifa Hifter of the Libyan National Army (LNA) did not stir a lot of interest. It appeared to be just one among numerous visits by international guests to the Russian capital. Several articles on Russian policy in Libya and even a Kommersant interview with Lev Dengov, head of Russias Contact Group for Intra-Libyan Settlement and a man who seldom talks to journalists, failed to break through the overall monotony and routine. Arguably the most significant event of the visit was that Hifter was met at the airport by Libyas ambassador to Russia. Hifter, based in Tobruk, is vying for control of the country against the Tripoli-based so-called unity government, or Government of National Accord (GNA), which the ambassador represents. The standard diplomatic routine of Hifters visit has clouded the major question about the aim of his visit earlier this month.

The general said he had traveled to Moscow to focus on lifting the UN-backed international arms embargo, to establish ties and to promote military cooperation. This explanation, albeit interesting, does not appear to be plausible. Moscow has already voiced its view on these issues, and repeatedly affirmed its commitment to international obligations, and is therefore unlikely to change its position. Speaking off the record and on the condition of anonymity, some sources close to senior officials in Hifters LNA have said the purpose of the visit was to inform Moscow about matters addressed at the Paris peace talks in July.

Mohamed B. Almontaser, a London-based Libyan political analyst, thinks Hifters visit will undermine the peace process. Hifter feels emboldened by the new wave of high-level contacts with Paris and Moscow, and he will certainly use that to further his sole ambition, Almontaser said, referring to Hifter's desire to become Libya's version of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. His remarks after both meetings seem to indicate his disagreement with and dislike for [Libyan Prime Minister] Fayez al-Sarraj and his categorical refusal to work under a civilian political leadership, Almontaser told Al-Monitor.

Almontasers sympathies lie with the Tripoli government, but still, his reasoning makes sense, as the Moscow trip allows Hifter to score political points back home. Hifter's attempts to strengthen his position by parading Moscow's support  though such backing has not always been apparent  have been central to the military commander's strategy in the international arena.

In turn, Moscow had its own reasons for inviting the strongman for a visit. The Kremlin is looking to pave a way toward building a solid foundation for further interactions with French President Emmanuel Macron's administration. As Moscow sees things, Macrons pro-active stance in the Middle East along with his common sense and clear-headedness, which distinguish him from his predecessor, Francois Hollande, suggest a brighter outlook for future relations.

Meanwhile, the Libyan peace process is apparently deadlocked. If this were not the case, Tripoli and Tobruk would have jointly appealed for lifting the arms embargo. Instead, the parties directly or indirectly accuse each other of torpedoing the peace process.

Hifter told France 24, Sarraj is a good man, but added, He cannot implement what he agreed to. In eastern Libya, which Hifter controls, people often describe Sarraj as a weak politician. They cite his failure to eject the Muslim Brotherhood and al-Qaeda from the areas his government controls.

There is, of course, an opposing view. As Almontaser notes, There are many obstacles to the peace process and even to a dialogue at the moment. The eastern bloc in [the legislature] was and still is strongly opposed to the [Libyan] Political Agreement, the pact signed in 2015 that created the unity government.

Thus, supporters of one party, are in essence criticizing the other's leader as weak and unable to consolidate power. Even Tripolis supporters, however, acknowledge that Libyas western regions still pose a deadly threat to the peace process.

Almontaser said, There are also a number of militias in the west of the country  who are afraid of losing their influence and of becoming targeted by the law for their crimes  who are taking a tough stance against any process or reconciliation that does not include them. As it turns out, far more players would rather see the peace process derailed than move forward.

Another part of this picture that must be considered is the Misrata militias. Despite their absence at the peace talks in Abu Dhabi in May and Paris, the militias remain of crucial significance in the Libyan military and political arenas. Sarrajs proponents have consented to a key role for the militias in any inter-Libyan dialogue, but Hifter does not welcome it.

The militias ties to Moscow are of particular interest, along with the positive assessment Dengov gave them in his Kommersant interview. A lot is riding on how Moscow approaches the militias, according to LNA-allied sources who spoke with Al-Monitor off the record.

An LNA-allied source told Al-Monitor, Iit depends on who makes contact with Misrata from Moscow. If its the Foreign Ministry, it is normal, as [the ministry] usually stands in the middle and opens links with everyone. If its the Defense Ministry, or military agencies, it will be not accepted on LNA's side, and it will cause a huge problem. The Misrata forces have recently paid a visit to Qatar to announce their decision to amass their own army. Moreover, they have refused to make an apology to eastern Libya. This is aggravating the situation on the ground.

Moscow seems cut out for the task of bringing about a rapprochement between Hifter and the Misrata militias. Its diplomatic role in sponsoring an inter-Libyan dialogue could emerge as an indispensable factor for success. Russia could also assist in accomplishing another mission.

Though the scenario seems inconceivable in Libyas current poorly institutionalized and extremely pluralistic political system, Hifter may well be pursuing presidential ambitions, or at least some people from his inner circle think so.

It is questionable whether Tripoli, the Misrata militias and some of the other players would accept him as head of state. It is not just about the blood already shed, but also about anti-Islamism, which has become the ideological cornerstone of Hifters army and scares many (basically moderate) politicians from regions in western Libya.

Meanwhile, the negotiating process could allow the military commander to evolve into a political leader, if hes able to present a more-or-less clear political platform. It could actually provide the basis for a dialogue with other stakeholders.

Considering all this, it appears Moscows support could positively contribute to the Libyan political process.
August 25, 2017

Since Turkey concluded Operation Euphrates Shield  its military campaign against the Islamic State (IS) in northern Syria  Ankara has been building expectations that it will make major military moves in Iraq and Syria. Its hoped-for allies, however, do not seem to share those plans, despite the media's enthusiasm.

Following the unusual visit Aug. 15 of Mohammad Hussein Bagheri, Irans chief of military staff, to Ankara, Turkish media reports included Iran as a participant in Ankara's potential operations against the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which Turkey considers a terrorist group.

Even Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared, Joint operations with Iran against terror organizations is always on the agenda  something Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps quickly denied.

But Turkeys pro-government media did not hesitate to predict trilateral operations among Turkey, Iraq and Iran after Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu visited Baghdad this week. The media even quoted undisclosed Iraqi officials as saying, We are included also.

It is obvious that Turkey has been trying to build some sort of partnership with Iraq and also Syria against the PKK, while hoping to gain the understanding of the United States and Russia. However, a Turkish diplomatic source well informed about the meeting in Baghdad told Al-Monitor there was no discussion of a joint operation.

While many people thought Cavusoglu would have been a frequent visitor to Iraq to deal with an abundance of issues between the two countries, his Aug. 23 visit was his first. He had four key issues on his agenda:

The independence referendum planned for Sept. 25 by Iraqi Kurdistan (Kurdistan Regional Government, or KRG).

Sinjar, where the PKK is striving to organize the Yazidis into a model of democratic autonomy.

The Qandil Mountains, where the PKKs top leadership is based along with many PKK camps.

The Bashiqa military base in Iraq near Mosul. Turkish soldiers initially were deployed to train forces to liberate the region from IS, which has been mostly vanquished in the area.

The source, who did not want to be identified, confirmed that Turkey did voice its objections to the PKK's presence in the Qandil region, which is theoretically under the control of the KRG. There is nothing the Iraqi army can do in that region, which has been out of its control for decades.

Sinjar, on the other hand, is a relatively fresh thorn in Turkey's side. In the Baghdad meeting, Turkey emphasized that intervention is essential before the situation in Sinjar, where PKK-oriented Yazidis have declared democratic autonomy, becomes permanent. Turkish officials said the Iraqi army and Kurdish peshmerga can control the area, but again, there was no proposal for a joint operation.

Baghdads approach to the issue is different. It doesn't share Turkeys sensitivity to Sinjar. Sinjar is legally in the administrative boundaries of Baghdad-controlled Mosul province, but since the 2003 American invasion, it has been under peshmerga control. After 2014, Yazidi defense forces organized by the PKK to combat IS became partners in controlling the area. Despite Turkeys protests, the Baghdad government considered Yazidi defense forces to be identical to the Popular Mobilization Units and is paying their salaries. As such, the Yazidis did not totally sever their links with Baghdad, which sees them as a counterweight to the peshmerga and the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Massoud Barzani. That is why Baghdad can afford to ignore Turkeys warnings of a "second Qandil," or PKK stronghold, emerging at Sinjar.

Turkey, which could not be as influential as it wanted to be in the liberation of Mosul, now links its military presence in Bashiqa to the PKK's presence in Sinjar. In his meetings, Cavusoglu insisted Turkey has no designs against Iraqi territorial integrity and sovereignty, but has to maintain its troops at Bashiqa until the situation at Sinjar changes. He repeated Prime Minister Binali Yildirims remarks from January that the two countries agreed to seek a joint solution to the Bashiqa affair and hoped for concrete steps in the coming days. The Iraqi government, while trying to cope with vital issues, such as the war with IS and the pending Kurdish referendum, wants to avoid any escalation of tensions with Turkey, but keeps reminding Turkey that the Bashiqa issue remains an obstruction to improving relations between the two countries.

Regarding the Kurdish independence referendum, Cavusoglu claimed Turkey has always defended the rights of the Kurds, but he said the referendum could lead to serious problems that will be hard to overcome. Turkish officials are on the record as strongly opposing Kurdish independence. Iraq is said to be less perturbed than Turkey and Iran over the referendum.

Cavusoglu, upon concluding his business in Baghdad, traveled to the KRG capital, Erbil, and met with Barzani.

According to Al-Monitors source, the message Turkey delivered to Barzani was as such: We are not saying that the Kurds are unjustified; there are some justifiable demands. But independence is not the right action. Turkey can help in solving the problems the Kurds have with the Baghdad government. We can influence Baghdad on budget disagreements and other issues.

Despite the referendum, there has been no real action taken toward independence for Kurdistan. Therefore, Ankara prefers to interpret the project as a Barzani tactic to strengthen his hand. In the Aug. 23 meeting with Barzani, Turkey insisted the Kurds cancel the referendum but, as usual, did not announce any measures that could be construed as potential sanctions against the KRG.
August 24, 2017

The Turkish Defense Ministry stated Aug. 22 that seven generals and admirals of the Turkish military have resigned. The ministry said the resignations were personal initiatives that had nothing to do with a recent round of surprising appointments  and in fact had been received before the Aug. 2 appointments were made  but the popular belief is that these were protests of the growing strength of Gen. Hulusi Akar in the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK).

After Turkey's Supreme Military Council met Aug. 2, I noted that the power and influence of Akar, the TSK chief of general staff, had been reinforced and that relations between civilians and the military from now on could better be grasped not from an institutional perspective, but by understanding the personal trust and harmony between Akar and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. From now until Akar retires in August 2019, civilian-military relations in Turkey can henceforth be summarized as Erdogan-Akar relations.

Usually, appointments of generals aren't popular discussion items. But when special forces commander Lt. Gen. Zekai Aksakalli  whose popularity skyrocketed because of his stance against the July 15 failed coup last year  was put into a relatively passive post as commander of the 2nd Army Corps in faraway western Turkey, military appointments became a controversial topic. Just a year ago, Aksakalli had been promoted to lieutenant general, and his star truly shined with his command of Operation Euphrates Shield against the Islamic State in Syria.

The most-asked question of the day was why Aksakalli was placed at such a distance when he is most needed. The most imminent threat from Syria in 2018 that might require Turkeys intervention on the ground is posed by the Kurdish nationalist Democratic Union Party (PYD). If necessary, Turkey will rely on its special forces and battalion-level combat task forces, along with the Free Syrian Army (FSA) units they have been training. In 2014-2015, Aksakalli commanded urban combat operations on the Sur-Nusaybin front and after 2016, he led cross-border operations at al-Bab. He is recognized as the commander who best knows the region and the threats faced.

There are three factors behind Aksakallis new appointment. The first is the tense relations between Akar and Aksakalli. There have been comments that Aksakalli, contrary to what is popularly believed, had not opposed the putschists strongly enough, and his differences of opinion with his superiors while he was commanding Operation Euphrates Shield and his criticism of TSK developments after the coup attempt had become public knowledge. Everyone remembers that in March, Aksakalli  in his deposition about the coup attempt  had said, in what was seen as a dig at Akar: In the TSK, when you hear of a crisis or an emergency situation, the first thing to do is to issue orders confining troops to barracks. If they had applied this basic rule on July 15, the coup attempt would have been unraveled quickly.

Several retired senior officers have said that this comment by Aksakalli that directly criticized Akar, his superior, was the beginning of the end.

Adding to Aksakalli's woes was a damning statement from Lt. Gen. Metin Temel that created doubts about Aksakalli's supposed "robust stance" against the putschists. Temel, who commands the 2nd Army and is known as the strongest combatant against the attempted coup, said Aksakalli had remained passive during the attempt and went to his own headquarters only the next day, at 11 a.m. July 16.

A number of major problems led to Aksakalli's rifts with Temel in the field and with Akar at the national headquarters: the deaths of 72 soldiers at al-Bab, the loss of scores of tanks and armored vehicles there, Aksakalli's ordering special forces to employ armored units  contrary to TSKs combat doctrine  and consequently, the loss of coordination among ground units.

Much has been said about how Aksakalli blocked putschists from capturing the special forces headquarters by ordering noncommissioned officer Omer Halisdemir to shoot Brig. Semih Terzi, who was leading that attack. Nevertheless, civilian authorities were not pleased by Aksakallis absence from his command post that night.

Military sources in Ankara say that the replacing of Aksakalli  who has spent most of his service with special forces and who had been top commander of special forces for the past four years  with Brig. Ahmet Ercan Corbaci, 11 years his junior, reflects the decision of the high command to rejuvenate the special forces.

There are those who believe Aksakalli did himself in by opting to become a media star and refusing to lower his public profile. Retired special forces Col. Coskun Unal, who is now a Turkey analyst for Sidar Global Advisors, said Aksakalli's appointment to such a passive post is a message to other generals that no officer will be allowed to shine as a public figure, no matter what their record may be. Unal says the recent military promotions and appointments basically scrap TSK's traditional service lengths, promotions and assignments. Unal believes such ambiguity will consolidate Akars control of TSK generals, backed by Erdogan's green light.

Unal noted that from now on in the TSK there will be a Gen. Akar factor and said: We are talking of a general who grew up under the influence of Islamic intellectuals; who has been close to religious and conservative political circles since his days as a lieutenant; whose 33-year career included only a very short field experience but long and tiring headquarters postings; who lived through one coup, two allegations of coups and one actual coup attempt; and who now has the full support of the government because of his tough attitude toward the [coup organizers]. He now has the task of cleansing the TSK of hidden extremists before he retires in August 2019.

One question that is not yet answered is how Aksakallis surprising removal from the command of special forces will affect operations in Syria. Unal made a critical point: No doubt the strong ties and harmony Aksakalli and his team had built with the Free Syrian Army will lose momentum. This may also lead to a degrading of FSAs importance for Ankara. We now have to wait and see whether Aksakalli's replacement, Corbaci, will be able to build similarly warm and productive relations with the FSA.

In sum, Aksakallis transfer to a placid post far from the action and invisible to public view and the resignations of the seven generals and admirals have fortified the standing of Akar and his close associate, land forces commander Gen. Yasar Guler. These two generals now command a group of obedient young generals who will carry out orders without questioning. Akars absolute command and control of the TSK will continue until August 2019, always close to Erdogan.

Whether the tremors in the TSK will continue or calm down depends in part on whether Aksakalli decides to retire, as some predict, or stay in the army. Many of his comrades-in-arms are insisting that he should remain in the army, though his further advancement is highly unlikely.
Even the top executives of international chemical products giant BASF sounded impressed Thursday as they announced what their Huntsville plant has accomplished.

"Never-before achieved milestone," said BASF Vice President Joel Johnson.

"Nobody else has this number," Senior Vice President Dirk Demuth said.

The number is 400 million. That's how many catalysts the Huntsville plant has built since it opened in 1974. Those catalysts were the hearts of 400 million catalytic converters installed in cars and trucks since the U.S. government mandated lower exhaust emissions in 1975.

BASF executives, state and local leaders, and U.S. Sen. Luther Strange came to the sprawling plant near the Huntsville International Airport to help the 650 employees celebrate. They also marked the plant's certification by Underwriters Laboratory as a "Virtually Zero Waste Facility."

The leaders also formally opened a new innovation center and a production line to expand production of catalysts for on- and off-road diesel vehicles, including big trucks. The new line adds 10 jobs to the factory.

Demuth said nearly 1 billion cars and 2 billion trucks use catalytic converters worldwide today. The result has been a drop of 1 billion tons of carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide and hydrocarbons in the air since the 1970s, he said. Emissions have been converted to carbon dioxide, nitrogen and water by the converters' chemical reactions.

"It has been a huge impact," Demuth said. "Lead (in gasoline) leads to blood cancer. Blood cancer rates have dropped significantly, there is less acid rain, less smog in cities."

Demuth acknowledged that carbon dioxide is itself a greenhouse gas contributing to global warming.

"Global warming is heavily debated right now," Demuth said. "I personally believe in the facts because science is showing clear trends toward global waming."

But other facts are also inescapable, he said. "If you want mobility, you need energy." Energy created using unleaded fuel and catalytic converters "is by far the smaller negative effect," Demuth said.

"Sustainable mobility," Demuth said. "This is the target. We all want mobility. We all want energy. The cleanest way is photovoltaic, but the energy conversion rates are very low and to get enough energy and storage, we are not there. Batteries are coming, but we're not there yet."

In the meantime, he said, BASF's catalysts aim for as little carbon dioxide emissions as possible. The world's nations also have limits on the maximum CO2 emissions for fleets of vehicles.

Alabama Secretary of Commerce Greg Canfield was at the plant to celebrate its annual economic impact of $45 million a year and state and local taxes of $2 million a year.

"The people of Alabama employed here are given the opportunity to work with a great global company with a great, far-viewing future," Canfield said. "It creates careers and helps individuals progress."
Starting your career over at age 50 isn't easy.

Ask John Bryan of Helena. It's been 20 years since he formed Aligon Pharmaceuticals, the company that makes Skin Repair Lotion. The skin care product is available at pharmacies in 12 states and online.

John Bryan

One day he went from being a pharmaceutical sales rep, to being laid off after downsizing. With a wife and two kids, he needed a new direction.

"But a lot of small things came together," Bryan said. "I always believed if you have a good product and you know your market, you ought to be able to make a living selling that product."

The product is a lotion developed for dry and sensitive skin using Kalaya Oil, a form of Emu Oil imported from Australia. The lotion doesn't clog pores and works with people suffering from eczema or dry skin from diabetes or dialysis. It also works with those undergoing chemotherapy. But the product has been recommended by tattoo artists to speed tattoos healing.

"It melts at skin temperature," Bryan said. "It stays on the skin and continues to moisturize. We occasionally get letters from people who tell us how it's helped them. That gives us a great deal of satisfaction."

While still working as a sales rep, Bryan was taking a class in entrepreneurship at Samford University. One of his assignments involved formulating a business plan for a skin care product. Then suddenly, he needed a job.

Why not form his own company, using the business plan?

"At the time, the biggest thing was just having confidence in yourself," he said. "

To get the product going, Bryan began approaching independent pharmacies, leaving tester bottles where customers picked up their prescriptions. This decision, bypassing the skin care section to sell an over-the-counter medicine at the pharmacy counter, paid dividends. Before long, the product found its way into major pharmacy chains.

"That was our marketing strategy," he said. "If they tried the product at the pharmacy, they would come back and purchase it. People trying the product, recognizing the quality, began to work. And usually, someone at the pharmacy would spend a minute and talk to them about it."

Bryan said another plus for the company was being based in Birmingham, the epicenter of a thriving, growing medical community. Over the last five years, the company has managed to double its business. Even though most of the company's reach is in the east, Aligon also receives orders for Skin Repair Lotion from as far away as California and Utah.

Now 70, Bryan is preparing to turn the company over to his daughter, who currently lives in South Korea. She also owns her own clothing company.
Taiwan officials said a July inspection of beef exporters showed they did not procure beef from Alabama infected with mad cow disease.

According to Focus Taiwan, Taiwan was responding to a South Korean media report that infected beef from Alabama may have already entered the market there.

In July, a U.S. Department of Agriculture lab reported an "atypical" case of bovine spongiform encephalopothy (BSE), commonly known as mad cow disease, in an 11-year old beef cow in Alabama. Officials emphasized at the time that the animal never entered the slaughterhouse and "at no time presented a risk to food supply or to human health."

Officials said the sick animal was discovered during routine surveillance at an Alabama livestock market. The animal died at the market before entering the slaughter channels.

Reports quoted Taiwan FDA section chief Wu Tsung-hsi saying there is no indication that infected beef has been imported into the nation. Taiwan's criteria for beef exporters require extensive tests, which includes an on-site veterinarian at the processing plants and examination of the animals before and after they are slaughtered.

South Korean media on Wednesday reported the concern over imports of infected beef were raised after the South Korean government received a letter from the U.S. embassy in Seoul. The letter reported the death of the Alabama cow on the way to the slaughterhouse.
Thomasville, a small town in Clarke County, is perhaps best known as the place where beloved Alabama author Kathryn Tucker Windham grew up.

Home to about 4,000 souls, Thomasville is located in Clarke County. It was founded in 1887 as a stop along the Mobile & West Alabama Railroad, which stretched from Birmingham to Selma to Mobile. The town was initially called Choctaw but was later named for a railroad magnate and Union general in the Civil War, Samuel Thomas.

Kathryn Tucker Windham

Windham was born in Selma in 1918 but spent her childhood in Thomasville, where her father, James Tucker, was a banker. She broke ground as an early female crime reporter and became a well-known storyteller and author of books on Alabama history, as well as the "13 Ghosts and Jeffrey" series. Click here to read more.

A museum on the campus of Alabama Southern Community College honors Windham, who died in 2011.

Disasters

In the summer of 1889, an epidemic thought to be yellow fever and now referred to as the "Thomasville Fever," struck the town's residents and many moved away. The town was beginning to recover its population when another disaster struck: Fire.

In 1899, 23 downtown buildings were destroyed by fire, leaving only one brick building and an old blacksmith shop, according to RuralSWAlabama.org. The home of the postmaster was the only private residence destroyed.

The fire led town officials to outlaw construction of wood buildings, according to the Encyclopedia of Alabama. "Because most of the businesses destroyed were hastily constructed wooden buildings, the town council passed an ordinance stipulating that only brick buildings could be built downtown."

The town was quickly rebuilt. One of the buildings constructed during the rebuilding phase was Andrew's Hardware, erected in 1902. It later became People's Drug Store, a popular town meeting spot, until it closed in the early 1990s.

Today, the Thomasville Historic District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and includes the rebuilt part of the business district, as well as homes in Queen Anne, Colonial Revival and Craftsman styles. The district is bounded by U.S. Highway 43, West Front Street, Wilson Street and West Third Street.

Beginnings of Miles College

A combination church and school built for black students in Thomasville was one of the schools that later consolidated to form Miles College, now located in Fairfield, Ala.

According to RuralSWAlabama.org, "In 1898, the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, seeking to serve the educational needs of black students opened a school and church in Thomasville, Williams Temple CME Church. Four years later, the CME Church began construction on another facility at Booker City (now called Docena) located near Birmingham. This school was to serve the needs of black students in the north half of Alabama. In 1907, the Thomasville and Booker City schools consolidated into present day Miles College."

Airmount Grave Shelter

One of Alabama's largest and oldest grave shelters, which are structures built over burial sites to protect them from the elements, is located in Thomasville. Click here to read about the state's grave shelters.

The shelter was built in 1853 in Airmount Cemetery by John Hope to cover the graves of his family. It is sometimes known as the Hope family grave shelter. It is made of brick with a vaulted wooden ceiling stamped with the date inside. The Airmount grave shelter is a rare example of a shelter covering six graves, those of Margaret Hope, 1797-1851; Archibald H. Hope, 1823-1850; Jane A. Hope, 1813- 1852; John Allison Hope, 1855-1856; John Hope, 1791-1868; and Sarah Jane Powell Hope, 1829-1885.
As Texas is bracing for Hurricane Harvey, the rest of the Southeast is readying for a different problem: Significantly higher gas prices.

The hurricane has a "high" potential to negatively affect five southern Texas coast old refineries, impacting crude and gasoline inventory levels in the area, according to AAA.

"A hurricane like this typically causes an increase in fuel purchases in the market and a slowdown in retail demand," said Jeanette Casselano, AAA spokesperson. "Spikes in pump prices due to the effects of hurricanes tend to be brief but dramatic."

Higher costs are already being seen in Texas. Gas prices there have jumped 2 cents since Tuesday to $2.15 per gallon. The Southeast could see gas prices rise anywhere from 10 to 30 cents.

Refineries in Corpus Christi - facilities that account for 4.2 percent of total U.S. oil refining capacity - are either closed or expected to shutter in the coming hours. The Houston area - home to 11refineries that represent 14 percent of processing capacity in the U.S. - is expected to see flooding and power outages. The refineries supply gasoline to Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.

Petroleum imports from Mexico could also be impacted as tanker ships may not be able to travel across the Gulf of Mexico.

According to price tracking site GasBuddy.com, the average price of a gallon of unleaded fuel is $2.33, an increase of 2.2 cents from last week and 7.2 cents from last month.

Harvey is predicted to make landfall near Corpus Christi as a category three storm.
Gov. Kay Ivey is running for governor of Alabama.

Ivey filed paperwork with the Secretary of State's Office on Aug. 18 to form a principal campaign committee, the first step towards running for her own term in office. Nim Frazer, owner of manager of Montgomery-based Industrial Partners, is listed as treasurer with committee members Cathy Randall of Tuscsaloosa, Marilyn Tamplin of Ozark and Phil Hardee of Beatrice.

Daniel Sparkman, Ivey's spokesperson, said Ivey "continues to seriously consider her future."

"She is always prepared to be successful and is strongly leaning toward a decision," Sparkman said.

Ivey, 72, became Alabama's second female governor after assuming the post on the resignation of two-term Republican governor Robert Bentley after he pleaded guilty to campaign finance and ethics violations. She served as the state's Lieutenant Governor - the first Republican woman elected to the office - from 2011 to 2017. Prior to serving as Lieutenant Governor, she was Alabama State Treasurer from 2003 to 2011.

Speculation Ivey would run for a complete term in office has been building, though the governor maintained she was focused more on "righting the ship" after years of scandal involving Bentley.

"My job right now is focusing on governing," Ivey told reporters in June. "We have a few more months (before we have to) do anything else about campaigning. I'm trying not to mix the two right now and keep the ship of the state floating steadily."

Also seeking the GOP nomination for governor are Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle, Jefferson County Commissioner David Carrington, evangelist Scott Dawson, Sen. Bill Hightower, Birmingham businessman Josh Jones and former Morgan County Commissioner Stacy Lee George. Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox is running as a Democrat.

Updated Aug. 25 at 3:29 p.m. to include Jefferson County Commissioner David Carrington among GOP candidates.
The U.S. State Department's updated travel warnings have plenty of tourists concerned that popular Mexican vacation spots such as Cancun, Cozumel and Playa del Carmen may not be safe.

Do the new warnings mean you should cancel your travel plans? Not necessarily, state department officials said, though they do advise caution when traveling to Mexico.

"This was a routine update to the previous travel warning issued on Dec. 8, 2016," State Department spokesperson Pooja Jhunjhunwala told Conde Nast Traveler. "The (State Department) continues to warn U.S. citizens about the risk of traveling to parts of Mexico due to criminal organizations active in the country," but "there is no evidence that organized criminal groups have targeted U.S. visitors and residents based on their nationality."

The updated warnings came after an increase in violent crimes such as homicides, kidnappings, carjackings and robberies in several Mexican states, including Quintana Roo, home to Cancun, Cozumel, Playa del Carmen and Riviera Maya.

"Gun battles between rival criminal organizations or with Mexican authorities have taken place on streets and in public places during broad daylight," the State Department said. The department cautioned, however, that "resort areas and tourist destinations in Mexico generally do not see the level of drug-related violence and crime that are reported in the border region or in areas along major trafficking routes."

The department said the Mexican government has deployed federal police and military personnel throughout the country as part of its effort to combat organized gangs. Tourists in the areas are advised to travel during daylights hours and along known routes and to stop at all checkpoints.

Last month, the State Department issued an advisory for visitors to use caution following reports of tainted alcohol at some Mexican resorts.
Two Palestinian architects are working on a project to revive the use of stone as a building material.

Jericho, Occupied West Bank  Stone vaults are taking a new shape in the oasis town of Jericho, where two Palestinian architects are investigating the capacity of stone as a structural material.

Their prototype vault comprises a series of arching pillars made up of 300 interlocking limestone blocks. Covering 60 square metres, the structure aims to create a new mode of urbanism in Palestine, said Elias Anastas, one of the designers.

In Palestine, we have a majority of limestone that is of good mechanical characteristics that we try to integrate in the process of design. All this leads to a change of shapes linked to the use of the material and the inclusion of stone in a contemporary architectural language, his co-designer, Yousef Anastas, told Al Jazeera.

READ MORE: Museum aims to preserve Palestinian history

Born in Bethlehem, the Anastas brothers studied architecture in France, and they are now leading research in stereotomy  the art of cutting and assembling stone for construction purposes  at the French architectural university Ensa Paris Malaquais.

Our research focuses on investigating the capacity of using stone as a structural material. Through the understanding of our historical cities, the research tries to link techniques of construction to urban morphologies  The idea is to suggest new urban morphologies linked to the scientific use of a largely available material in Palestine, Yousef said.

In a land where stone-cutting and building is considered to be part of the local heritage, the introduction of new construction materials such as reinforced concrete and steel has largely taken over in common usage. Nowadays, stone is often used only as cladding on top of built structures.

While stone was used as a structural material in the past, it is now used as cladding material, as a wrapping of buildings covering the concrete skeletons, Elias said, noting that this has negatively affected the urban fabric of Palestinian cities.





The brothers vault design, initiated in January 2016, became a reality the following November as the stones were physically cut. They completed building the prototype in Jericho in February.

The stone blocks  are cut with unique dimensions and angles, Yousef said. Each stone plays the same structural role, as it supports two other stones and is supported by two other stones; thus, the mutually supported structure.

Some local residents said they were unsure of the vaults purpose. Fuad, 13, said it could be a spot to serve coffee and shisha. Another passerby suggested it was meant as a resting place  to give shade.

According to the Anastas brothers, one of the purposes of this and future vaults will be to host selected artists and writers from Palestine and abroad.

So why does stone remain the most striking feature in most buildings across Palestine? It is in part due to a British-Mandate-era building code intended to preserve the distinctive look of Jerusalem  a code that remains in effect today.

The distinctive look is a result of Jerusalem having witnessed many civilisations and building styles.

In her book, Memoirs Engraved in Stone: Palestinian Urban Mansions, Diala Khaswaneh describes the skill of local stone carvers, noting the importance of stone as a structural material throughout various architectural eras in Palestine.

But the skills on how to build with stone are fast disappearing, as modern construction materials prevail. The skill of anchoring a stone building into the landscape is what Elias wants to preserve, with new modern building techniques that can keep the noble material of stone central to the Palestinian landscape.

READ MORE: Stories from Palestine told through dresses

Jericho, famous among Palestinians for its citrus plantations and warm winter weather, is one of the oldest cities in the world with uninterrupted human settlement. Visitors flock to the city in winter, while in summer Jericho reverts to near-isolation.

The abundance of quarries in central Palestine makes stone a more economical building option throughout the region. Studies have found that there are as many as 300 quarries producing some 22 million square metres of stone and marble throughout the occupied West Bank annually. Palestine is the 12th largest exporter of these materials.

And in the coming years, the Anastas brothers plan to build on their vision by constructing 11 more vaults on the same site where their prototype currently stands.
Brand new primary school in Jubbet adh-Dibh was razed just as the new school year was set to begin.

Jubbet adh-Dibh, occupied West Bank  Early in the morning, dozens of students assembled in columns outside the Jubbet adh-Dibh primary school. Encouraged by their teachers, they launched into a rendition of the Palestinian national anthem, Fidai.

It appeared to be a typical Palestinian scene, a morning ritual repeated outside thousands of school buildings across the occupied West Bank before students begin classes.

But when the students of Jubbet adh-Dibh finished singing the anthem, they had no classrooms to go to. There was only a single tent filled with wooden chairs and book-ended by two whiteboards.

The brand new schools six classrooms, built in mid-August to host 80 students, had been dismantled and removed by the Israeli military the night before the first day of the school year. Two days later, all that remained were the concrete bases where the classrooms had stood, along with a row of latrines.

We welcomed the new academic semester with a dismantled school, Ibtissam Shaibat, an Arabic and maths teacher at the Bethlehem directorate of education, told Al Jazeera. On the first day of school, I arrived at around 7:30. It was a horrible feeling when I saw that the school was not here.

Regardless, Shaibat and a handful of teachers from the Bethlehem directorate have been coming to lead classes for the children who show up at the site, until another solution is found. The newly installed tent serves as a makeshift classroom, although due to the lack of space, one class takes place outside, under the blazing sun.

Not all of the students are here today, Shaibat said. The rest have gone to their previous schools to continue their education. Their parents believed that this is not the right environment now to attend school here. Its really hot, so they prefer to deal again with a hard situation of attending a school far away than to stay here without facilities.

The Palestinian village of Jubbet adh-Dibh lies in a dramatic setting beneath Jabal al-Fureidis, a flat-topped mountain five kilometres southeast of Bethlehem, which is home to the Herodium Palace historical site.

Around 160 people live there, and while the village has a kindergarten, the nearest primary schools are located in the surrounding towns and villages, meaning that children have to either walk long distances or take a bus to get to school.

Fadiya al-Wahsh, head of the womens foundation in Jubbet adh-Dibh, decided to enrol her son, Abdelrahman, in the third grade at the new school.

The whole community wanted this school because it was closer to the village, she said. It takes around seven minutes to walk here. To get to the school my son attended last year, he had to take a bus or walk for a kilometre and a half. He has asthma and was complaining that it was too far to travel and that the school was really crowded. It was really bad for his health.

Before this school, a huge number of students crowded into the other schools, Wahsh added. Here, there is much more space for students  10-15 students per class  and this will give them a better opportunity to get an education. In the other school, there are 50 students per class.

The village is located in Area C of the occupied West Bank, an administrative designation dating back to the Oslo Accords, which affords Israeli authorities full civil and security control.

While the Palestinian Authority is responsible for providing education and healthcare services to the Palestinian population in Area C, Israel has retained control over land allocation, planning, construction and infrastructure in this area, which comprises around 60 percent of the occupied West Bank. It is also home to all the Israeli settlements, which are considered illegal under international law.

Local and international rights groups have argued that Israeli military authorities have used their control over land planning in Area C to restrict Palestinian construction and development, by denying applications for building permits while allowing Jewish-only settlements to expand.

According to the Norwegian Refugee Council: Israel denies the majority of planning permit requests in Area C, thereby leaving Palestinians with no option but to reconstruct and develop without permits.

A spokesperson for the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories, an Israeli military unit that implements Israeli government policy throughout Area C, told Al Jazeera that the school in Jubbet adh-Dibh did not have building permits and was consequently dismantled.

The building  was built illegally last weekend, a blunt violation of stop work orders and without the required permits. Therefore the confiscation was carried out in accordance with the Civil Administration authorities, a spokesperson told Al Jazeera in a statement.

The Jubbet adh-Dibh school was the third Palestinian educational facility in the occupied West Bank to be damaged or demolished by Israeli authorities in a two-week period. A kindergarten in Jabal al-Baba was destroyed on August 21, while the solar panels that provided the only power source to a school in Abu Nuwar were confiscated on August 9.

The plan to establish the school in Jubbet adh-Dibh was finalised in the spring, and its construction was financed by some European Union member states. Local EU missions have issued a statement to condemn Israeli authorities.

Every child has the right to safe access to education and States have an obligation to protect, respect and fulfil this right, by ensuring that schools are inviolable safe spaces for children, it read.

In line with its long-standing position on this issue, the EU calls upon the Israeli authorities to halt demolitions and confiscations of Palestinian houses and property in accordance with its obligations as an occupying power under international humanitarian law, and to cease the policy of settlement construction and expansion, of designating land for exclusive Israeli use and of denying Palestinian development.
Inspired by a German town, US organisations are attempting to trick white supremacists into funding their own demise.

Update: On Friday, Patriot Prayer cancelled Saturdays Freedom Rally. The groups leader said it will instead hold a press conference at San Franciscos Alamo Square Park.

More than 2,100 people have adopted a Nazi in the US, raising more than $134,000 to help neo-Nazis and white supremacists fund their own demise.

The campaign, launched by the Jewish Bar Association of San Francisco (JBASF), invites individuals to donate money for every person planning to attend a right-wing rally scheduled for Saturday in the northern California city.





The money will be donated to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), an organisation that monitors hate groups across the country.

The Adopt a Nazi (not really) GoFundMe campaign is one of several alternative methods that organisations are using to counter the narrative of the alt-right, a loosely knit far-right network that includes white supremacists and white nationalists, among other groups.

The events in Charlottesville, Virginia earlier this month, where members of the alt-right, clashed with anti-racist protesters and the announcement of a Freedom Rally by the far-right Patriot Prayer group in San Francisco, prompted JBASF board member Cody Harris to seek a creative way to respond.

READ MORE: Charlottesville  Witnessing the monstrous attack

It was thousands of miles away in Germany that he found his inspiration.

A Nazis against Nazis walkathon in the German town of Wunsiedel in 2014 raised 10 euros for every metre marched by neo-Nazis.

For years, Wunsiedel had become a focal point for neo-Nazis as it was the once burial place of Rudolf Hess, the notorious deputy of Adolf Hitler. Today, it has become an inspiration to cities, like San Francisco and elsewhere, as well as organisations across the US as they seek to counter the alt-right.

Harris tells Al Jazeera that he found the Wunsiedel campaign to be an effective tactic that channels the anguish and the anger  with something productive, creative and helpful.

He adds that it is a nice way to take the perceived energy that these white supremacists feel now and turn it against them and to mobilise and try to combat them.

Saturdays so-called Freedom Rally in San Francisco has stirred both local and national tensions, with politicians at all levels getting involved in the debate.

OPINION: Charlottesville is America everywhere

The National Parks Service only issued a permit for the rally after it said it had guarantees from Joey Gibson, the leader of Patriot Prayer, that weapons and items, like tiki torches, that could be turned into weapons would be banned.

Gibson recently denounced white supremacy, saying in a video that for those of you who believe we are seriously going to throw a white nationalist supremacist rally in San Francisco, its time for logic.

But the groups rallies in the past have attracted white supremacists, neo-Nazis, Ku Klux Klan (KKK) members and others from a number of right-wing organisations, leading many activists, as well as the SPLC to say the group only seeks to provoke chaos and violence.

Gibsons disavowment is completely staged, Lecia Brooks, the SPLCs outreach director, tells Al Jazeera.

We call him a provocateur for a reason, she adds.

He just seems to be organising and hosting a series of rallies around the country in areas that have a strong liberal or progressive community in an attempt to provoke them, provoke chaos and confusion and violence so that the folks on the extreme right  can paint themselves as victims and paint folks on the left, they would say the far-left, as extremists.

Patriot Prayer rallies in both Oregon and Washington have resulted in clashes between white supremacists and anti-racist protesters.

According to local media, the gun-wielding Oath Keepers have said they will be at Saturdays event.

JBASFs Harris says he welcomes Gibsons disavowment of white supremacists and neo-Nazis and invites him to contribute to the campaign, but also adds theres something about what hes doing that is attracting these types of people.

So you dont want white nationalists to show up at your rally, but they keep showing up for your rally, so maybe theres something wrong with your rally.

Changing the rules

The original idea of the Nazi against Nazi campaign in Wunsiedel came to fruition after the town grew tired of an annual neo-Nazi march taking over its streets.

We were thinking about how to change the rules, Fabian Wichmann, one of the organisers, explains.

There are normal reactions from demonstrations  like banning or blocking or being loud  but theyre mainly utilised, Wichmann says, adding that they were searching for a way to make those attending the march look foolish.

Everybody knows what happens and  sometimes [neo-Nazis] play with these reactions and they make these counterprotesters angry  and they use these pictures of angry protesters to say, Okay, we are the quiet guys and the loud ones are the counterprotesters.

Along the route, banners reading, If only the Fuhrer knew! and National and generous, as well as messages of appreciation taunted the more than 200 neo-Nazis marching.

Wichmann says he and other organisers wanted the neo-Nazis to realise that by marching, there would be a direct result against them.

By the end of the march, about $12,000 had been raised for EXIT Deutschland, an organisation Wichmann is a part of that helps individuals who want to leave extreme right-wing groups.

Making a fool out of neo-Nazis

In Knoxville, Tennessee, organisers, too, have taken inspiration from the success of the Wunsiedel walkathon, recently launching a similar campaign to trick neo-Nazis into raising money for a cause that goes against their narrative.

Under the banner HateXChange: Flip hate into involuntary donations, individuals are asked to donate money for every white supremacist, neo-Nazi and far-right group member who shows up to a rally scheduled for Saturday in the southern US city.

We want to make sure that they know what they do will cause involuntary donations, says Achim Schmid (known in the US as TM Garrett), the troll white supremacy campaign organiser and an ambassador of EXIT USA, the US equivalent of EXIT Deutschland.

The rally, organised by Confederate 28, a white supremacist group that affiliates itself with the UK-based skinhead group Blood and Honour, is centred on a statue that honours Confederate soldiers in the city.

What threatens us the most are these white racist nationalists, alt-right, KKK, you name it, that's the threat. It's the white supremacists. by Achim Schmid, EXIT USA

Schmid tells Al Jazeera that he knows all too well how and what neo-Nazis and white supremacists think.

He was once a part of part of the KKK in Germany and was involved in the skinhead music scene.

While he left that life behind in 2002, he says he sees the same qualities he once had in those participating in white supremacist rallies today.

These types of campaigns really make a fool out of those attending the rallies, Schmid says. Theyre embarrassed.

He adds that white supremacists and neo-Nazis are especially angered if they know that so-called formers, like himself, are involved.

It makes them furious.

IN PICTURES: Charlottesville Unite the Right rally turns deadly

Schmid is also launching a social media campaign, raising one dollar for anti-racist organisations for every hate post reported.

The SPLCs Brooks says that such alternative methods are important as they take the attention off alt-right groups.

We dont want to ever just direct all the attention to them because that is what they want, Brooks says. We have to deny them the spectacle that theyre so desperate to have.

Both Schmid and Wichmann say they hope their alternative campaigns, as well as peaceful counterprotests will help counter the narrative of the alt-right.

For Schmid, especially, he says more must be done to stop what he calls the greatest threat to the United States.

Here in the USA, the main threat is not ISIS, Schmid says referring to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

What threatens us the most are these white racist nationalists, alt-right, KKK, you name it, thats the threat. Its the white supremacists.

Follow Laurin-Whitney Gottbrath on Twitter: @elledubg
Raid on farm by Somali and American soldiers in the countrys south leaves 10 dead, including young children.

At least 10 civilians, including three children, have been killed in a joint raid by Somali forces and US troops in the countrys south, local officials said.

The attack, which took place in the early hours of Friday, targeted a farm on the outskirts of the town of Bariire in the southern Lower Shabelle region.

These local farmers were attacked by foreign troops while looking after their crops, regional Deputy Governor Ali Nur Mohamed told reporters in the capital Mogadishu.

The troops could have arrested them because they were unarmed, but instead shot them one by one mercilessly.

Three children, aged eight to 10, and a woman were among the dead, Mohamed said. Their blanket-wrapped bodies were laid out in a grassy courtyard for display.

READ MORE: Suspected al-Shabab attackers behead three in Kenyas Lamu

The Somali army initially said no civilians were killed and all the dead were members of the al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab militia, which is fighting to overthrow the UN-backed government and impose strict Islamic law.

It later issued a second statement saying some civilian casualties had been reported.

The incident is likely to provoke questions in Washington about the growing US footprint in the Horn of Africa nation, which has been torn apart by civil war since 1991.

African Union forces and Somali soldiers recaptured Bariire, located 40km southwest of Mogadishu, from the armed group al-Shabab six days ago.

The involvement of American troops during Fridays attack was confirmed by US Africa Command, which offered no further details.





The Somalia National Army was conducting an operation in the area with US forces in a supporting role, a spokeswoman for US Africa Command told Reuters news agency.

A statement by the US military said it is aware of the civilian casualty allegations and is conducting an assessment into the situation.

Bariire is at the centre of a feud between two powerful and well-armed clans, legislator Dahir Amin Jesow said. He said those killed were farmers who had armed themselves to defend against the rival group.

The two clans who fought misinformed the US forces, said Amin, adding one group may have tipped off security forces that the other side were rebels.

Witness Warsame Wador told Reuters the dead were farmers who had been asleep when the raid began just before sunrise.

It was this morning when white and Somali forces entered the farm. All the 10 people were asleep and I ran for my life, he said. As I ran away, I could see four armoured vehicles parked outside.

Reuters viewed nine bodies at Madina hospital. An injured man later died, medical staff said. The dead children were eight, nine, and 10 years old, said clan elder Abukar Osman Sheikh.

They were sleeping in their farm when US and Somali forces came into their farm and opened fire. Last year, the US killed my people in Galkayo in a deliberate strike. We shall not bury them. We shall no longer tolerate it, he said.

READ MORE: Somalia  US accused of killing 22 troops in air strike

Al-Shabab, which has become the deadliest armed group in Africa, continues to hold vast areas of rural Somalia after being chased out of major cities in recent years by the multinational African Union force and Somali troops.

The group continues to threaten the fragile central government and carry out deadly attacks in neighbouring countries, notably Kenya.

Earlier this year, President Donald Trump approved expanded military operations against al-Shabab, including more aggressive air raids.

The United States and Somalia in recent weeks said attacks have killed al-Shabab leaders responsible for planning and executing deadly attacks in Mogadishu, where high-profile areas such as hotels and military checkpoints are often targeted with deadly bombings.
Trump signs disaster order as storm with winds of up to 215km per hour is feared worst to hit US mainland in 12 years.

A powerful storm has made landfall in Texas as a Category 4 hurricane in what officials have warned could be a major disaster for the US state and surrounding areas.

The eye of Hurricane Harvey hit land between the Port of Aransas and Port OConnor, Texas late on Friday, according to the National Hurricane Center.

It is expected to be the most powerful hurricane to hit the US mainland since 2005.

Prior to the storm making landfall, US President Donald Trump signed a disaster proclamation for Texas, freeing up federal funds for assistance.

Earlier in the day, Texas Governor Greg Abbott had asked Trump to preemptively declare Harvey a major disaster in order to speed federal aid.

We can obviously tell already at this stage this is going to be a very major disaster, Abbot said, as more than 1,000 National Guardsmen were activated.

Were going to be dealing with really record-setting flooding in multiple regions.

Al Jazeeras Allen Schauffler, reporting from Victoria, Texas, said: Some of the smaller communties up the Gulf coast of Texas are now really bearing the brunt of the storm surge and the high winds.

Category 4 winds can top 230km per hour.

Its really an extraordinary and dangerous storm, Schauffler said.

READ MORE: Climate change and the 2017 Atlantic Hurricane season

Motorways leading from coastal areas were jammed as authorities issued urgent warnings to hundreds of thousands of residents to flee. Some motorways were to be turned into one-way roads to speed the exodus from the storm zone.

There were also reports of massive power outages as the storm approached Texas coast.

Harvey, the first major storm of the annual Atlantic hurricane season, was packing maximum sustained winds of 195km per hour.

The storm is expected to dump up to 89cm of rain over a four or five-day period in parts of Texas.

Major test for Trump

Satellite images showed the massive storm system extending hundreds of kilometres into the Gulf of Mexico.

It is forecast to be the most powerful hurricane to hit the mainland since Wilma struck Florida in 2005, and could inflict billions of dollars in damage.

Before Wilma, Hurricane Katrina pummelled New Orleans in the same year, leaving more than 1,800 people dead and becoming a major failure of the presidency of George W Bush.

#Harvey made landfall at 10 PM CDT as a category 4 hurricane near Rockport, Texas, with max winds of 130 mph and min pressure of 938 mb. pic.twitter.com/98y5wpKmBw  National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) August 26, 2017

The arrival of Harvey is likely to be a major test for the Trump, who the White House said would head to the affected region early next week.

Officials said Trump was being briefed regularly on the storm and had spoken to Texas and Louisiana governors.

I encourage everyone in the path of #HurricaneHarvey to heed the advice & orders of their local and state officials, Trump tweeted on Friday.

This storm will likely be very destructive for several days, the White House added in a statement.

Just terrifying

Before the storm hit, the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), prepositioned emergency supplies.

In 2005, Bush faced severe criticism after FEMA appeared unprepared for the devastating damage inflicted by Hurricane Katrina.

Keep on top of hurricane Harvey dont make same mistake President Bush made with Katrina, Republican Senator Chuck Grassley urged the Trump in a tweet.

FEMA chief Brock Long said the most pressing danger was the storm surge, the high tides powered by powerful winds  expected to reach between 1.8 metres and 3.6 metres in some areas  but said many inland counties should prepare for significant flooding.

Climate change could wipe $2.5 trillion off global assets

Al Jazeeras Diane Easterbrook, reporting from Galveston, Texas, said that the storm is turning out to be much worse than anyone had expected.

She added that just a few days ago, it was only a minor tropical depression.

Meteorologist Eric Holthaus told AFP news agency that the prospect of the storm stalling on the coast, lashing it with heavy rain for days, is just terrifying.

This is the sort of storm that meteorologists prepare for and think about for years, he said.

Coastal Texas is a fast-growing area, with some 1.5 million people moving into the area since 1999.

Authorities said the combination of dense growth and perhaps a years worth of rain falling in just days could prove deadly.

Local television footage showed supermarket aisles plucked bare, houses and shops with windows boarded over, and long lines snaking outside gas stations.

Leaving my little house and hoping that Hurricane Harvey doesn't to too much damage to it. #HurricaneHarvey #Harvey pic.twitter.com/fw5Tc3KSwV  manda  (@mybrighteye) August 25, 2017

The Kroger by my parents house in SE Houston.. Praying all our neighbors in the the south!  Updates on #HurricaneHarvey tomorrow on #JoeTV pic.twitter.com/6Ezq5gt91C  Alexandra Lewis (@AlexLewisTV) August 25, 2017

Those who had evacuated said they were just trying to get ahead of the storm.

It has been pretty stressful, Corpus Christi resident Corey Martinez told Reuters news agency at a gas station about 77km north of Houston.

Were just trying to get ahead of the storm. Weve never been through a hurricane before, he said.

David Ramirez, another Corpus Christi resident, left his home early on Friday to wait out the storm in San Antonio, Texas.

With the level of storm surge theyre talking about, there isnt a lot I could do to protect my house, Ramirez said.
At least 14 killed as suspected Saudi-led coalition raids hit Sanaa with rescuers rushing to pull victims from rubble.

At least five children were among 14 people killed in an air raid in a residential neighbourhood of Yemens capital Sanaa, the second day of mass civilian deaths in the war-torn country.

The attack destroyed two buildings on Friday in the southern district of Faj Attan, leaving people buried under debris.

Mohammed Ahmad, who lived in one of the buildings, said he was among residents who had taken nine bodies to a hospital.

We extracted them one by one from under the rubble, he said. Some of them were children from a single family.

READ MORE: Saudi Arabias war in Yemen a strategic failure

When the rocket hit, one of the buildings was immediately destroyed which caused the building next door to collapse too. Some residents got out, but others were trapped.

The death toll was feared to rise further as rescuers pull more victims from the rubble.

There is no military base anywhere near the site of the attack, its a residential area, Hakim Al Masmari, the editor in chief of Yemen post, told Al Jazeera.

The entire country is mourning the deaths. It is unexpected and unbearable when civilians are killed.

Coalition comment

The air raids were believed to be carried out by the Saudi-led coalition. The coalition said in a statement on Friday it was aware of reports of the incident and would review all its operations in that region and at that time.

When the review was complete it would announce the results, it said.

The alliances rules of engagement were based on the regulations of international humanitarian law, the statement said, adding it was committed to protecting civilians.

What happened today in Fag Attan in the capital by the fighter jets against the civilians requires an investigation by the coalition, Yemeni Foreign Minister Abdel-Malek al-Mekhalfi posted on Twitter, in what appeared to be a rare show of discontent at the governments main backer, Saudi Arabia.

READ MORE  Key facts about the war in Yemen

Earlier this week, coalition fighter jets attacked a hotel in Arhab, north of Sanaa, killing at least 41 people.

Liz Throssell, a spokeswoman for the UNs High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), told all parties in the Yemen conflict to ensure full respect for international humanitarian law after the air raids on Friday.

Witnesses said eight members of a single family were killed as a result of the attack by the Saudi-led coalition, including the familys one-year-old baby.

Eight of the victims were members of the same family, including five children between three and 10 years old, said Carlos Morazzani, the deputy head of ICRCs delegation in Yemen, after visiting the site of the attack.

Such loss of civilian life is outrageous and runs counter to the basic tenets of the law of armed conflict.

Speaking in Geneva, Throssell called on authorities to start comprehensive and impartial investigations into Fridays bloodshed.

UN humanitarian chief Stephen OBrien last week described the conflict between the Saudi-backed Yemeni government and the Houthis as a deplorable, avoidable, completely man-made catastrophe in a briefing to the UN Security Council.

The number of air raids per month is now three times higher than last year, and monthly reports of armed clashes are up 50 percent, he said.

The conflict in Yemen has escalated dramatically since March 2015, when Saudi-led forces launched a military operation against rebels.

Since fighting began, more than 10,000 people have been killed, and millions have been driven from their homes.

The country is also facing a health crisis, with close to 2,000 people having died from cholera since April, more than half a million people infected, and another 600,000 expected to contract the infection this year.
Lee Jae-yong sentenced to five years in jail following trial that led to dismissal of former President Park Geun-hye.

A South Korean court has found billionaire Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong guilty of bribery, embezzlement, hiding assets overseas, concealing profit from criminal acts and perjury.

He has been sentenced to five years in prison.

Revelations of Lees attempt to bribe South Koreas president to further his business ambitions fed public anger that led to the removal of Park Geun-hye as South Koreas leader.

The court said Lee, 49, hoped bribes for Park and her close friend Choi Soon-sil would secure government support for a merger of two Samsung units that strengthened Lees control over the conglomerate.

Lee showed no reaction as the verdict was announced.





Al Jazeeras Step Vaessen, reporting from the court in Seoul, called the guilty verdict unprecedented.

It wasnt 12 years, as demanded by the prosecutors because although all charges were proven guilty, the amount of bribery that was paid  according to judges  was not the $38m that the prosecutors had said but less, she said.

Nobody knows exactly how much right now, but it must have been in the millions of dollars.

Vaessen said judges considered important the fact the Lee paid briberies to Choi to get something in reward.

A lawyer for Lee said he would appeal the unacceptable verdict.

We are confident that the ruling will be overturned, Sing Wu-cheoil said.

Under South Korean law, sentences of more than three years cannot be suspended. Lees five-year sentence is one of the longest prison terms given to a South Korean business leader.

Park also has a trial under way, while Choi was sentenced to three years in prison in June.

Apparently Parks trial will continue until October, said Vaessen. With a five-year sentence against Lee, its very much expected that it will be very difficult for her to be acquitted.

READ MORE: The fall of President Park Geun-hye  A day-by-day look

Samsung, South Koreas largest business group, has acknowledged making contributions to two foundations as well as a consulting firm linked to Choi Soon-sil, a close confidante of the embattled South Korean leader who is also facing corruption charges.

At a December parliament hearing, Lee denied that the company paid bribes to pave the way for a merger in 2015.

Samsung made the biggest contributions of $16.8m to Chois foundations.

Samsung is separately accused of funnelling millions of dollars to Choi to bankroll her daughters equestrian training in Germany.

Prosecutors said the donations were made in exchange for government favours, allegations that Lee and Choi had denied.

Other former Samsung executives charged with Lee were also found guilty.

Choi Gee-sung, Lees mentor, and Chang Choong-ki were sentenced to four years in prison. Two other former executives received suspended jail terms.
Government says Rohingya rebels and troops killed as group launches attack day after report warns of further unrest.

At least 77 Rohingya Muslims and 12 members of security forces were reportedly killed in the Rakhine state of Myanmar after a rebel group launched pre-dawn raids on police posts and tried to break into an army base.

The office of Myanmars de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, announced the death toll in a statement on Saturday, claiming the Rohingya killed were fighters.

A statement on Friday said that an estimated 150 fighters staged coordinated attacks at around 1am local time in the northern Maungdaw township.

The clashes came hours after a panel led by former UN chief Kofi Annan urged Myanmar to lift restrictions on movement and citizenship for Rohingya, a persecuted Muslim minority.

The Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) claimed responsibility for the attacks in a Twitter post but did not mention casualty figures or how many fighters were involved.

ARSA, accusing the Myanmar forces of killings and rape, said on Friday it was taking defensive actions in more than 25 different locations.

The township of Rathetaung in northern Rakhine has been under a blockade for more than two weeks which is starving the Rohingya people to death, it said.

As they prepare to do the same in Maungdaw  we had to eventually step up in order to drive the Burmese colonising forces away.

The group warned of more attacks to come.

ARSA was formed by Rohingya living in Saudi Arabia after a bout of serious communal violence in 2012, according to the International Crisis Group.

Suu Kyis office said, extremist Bengali insurgents attacked a police station in Maungdaw region in northern Rakhine state with a handmade bomb explosive and held coordinated attacks on several police posts.

READ MORE: The trouble with Aung San Suu Kyi

Using the term Bengali is a derogatory way to describe the Rohingya Muslims, implying they are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

The fighters had seized weapons from police, Suu Kyis office said.

Al Jazeeras Florence Looi, reporting from Yangon, said the violence would further divide Myanmar.

It is going to affect sentiment on the ground. Already, the Rakhine Buddhists we spoke to dont want to live with the Muslim community. They say the Rohingyas side with terrorists or fighters.

And on the part of the Rohingya villagers, we have received reports of beatings and indiscriminate killings, arbitrary arrests. So all of this makes the two sides more polarised.

Escalating violence

The UN has expressed concern over Fridays violence, urging all parties to refrain from violence, protect civilians and restore order.

The clashes mark an escalation in a conflict simmering in Rakhine since last October when similar events prompted a massive military operation that caused more than 80,000 Rohingya Muslims to flee to Bangladesh.

After a period of easing violence, tensions rose again in recent weeks with the military moving hundreds of troops into remote villages to flush out fighters amid a spate of killings of Buddhists.





The Rohingya Muslims are denied citizenship in Myanmar and are classified as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, despite claiming roots in the region that go back centuries.

There are approximately 1.1 million Rohingya in Myanmar.

The mistreatment of the Rohingya Muslims, often described as the worlds most persecuted minority, has emerged as Myanmars most contentious human rights issue as it makes a transition from decades of military rule.

The UN believes Myanmar security forces may have committed crimes against humanity against the Rohingya Muslims. The military rejects the allegations.

Annans Rakhine commission said Suu Kyis government should respond to the crisis in a calibrated way without excessive force.

It warned of radicalisation on both sides if problems were not addressed quickly, advising Myanmar to address legitimate concerns of the Rohingya.

The commission was formed last year at Suu Kyis request, and her government has previously vowed to abide by its findings.

Journalists and observers are denied access to northern Rakhine, and the government has refused entry to a UN mission seeking to investigate human rights abuses there.
Attackers struck mosque packed with people attending Friday prayers in Afghan capital, killing at least 28 worshippers.

A suicide bombing followed by gunfire as Shia Muslims gathered for Friday prayers at a mosque in Kabul killed at least 28 people, with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group claiming responsibility.

Mohammad Salim Rasouli, the chief of Kabuls hospitals, announced the new death toll on Saturday, as burials began. He said at least 50 people were injured.

Wailing mourners gathered at the mosque on Saturday to lay the bodies of the dead side by side in graves.

We used to attend ceremonies such as Ashura together in this mosque, but today I am burying their bodies here, Hussain Ali, who lost a friend in the attack, told the AFP news agency.

This is not the first time, it keeps happening. The government has failed to provide us security. Even today in this ceremony people are worried lest something will happen, he added.

Four hours of gunfire, explosions

After the blast at the Imam Zaman mosque in Afghan capitals Qala-Najara neighbourhood, gunmen stormed in and began shooting.

Terrified worshippers endured about four harrowing hours of gunfire and explosions during the afternoon before the four attackers were killed.

The cleric who was performing the prayers was among the dead, said Mir Hussain Nasiri, a member of Afghanistans Shia clerical council.

The mosque is large and can accomodate up to 1,000 people.

Policemen made an attempt to enter the mosque but withdrew after one of the attackers set off an explosion, said police official Mohammad Sadiq Muradi.

The attackers are slaughtering people like sheep, but theres no one to go and rescue them, Murtaza, a young boy whose parents were trapped inside, said as the assault unfolded. A lot of people are on the ground, and no one is trying to rescue them.

A sprawling cavernous prayer hall dominates the main floor. The second floor is where the women pray.

Nasiri said when police initially sought to get into the mosque, the attackers blocked the door leading to the second floor, which he said would mean they held the women hostage.

Al Jazeeras Jennifer Glasse, reporting from the scene, quoted eyewitnesses as saying the assailants had run out of ammunition and started stabbing worshippers with knives. Some of the victims included children and women.

It was a busy time, in the middle of Friday prayer as the attack took place, said Glasse.

ISILs affiliate in Afghanistan claimed responsibility. ISIL-linked Aamaq website said on Friday two of its fighters carried out the assault. It did not give further details.

The attack was the latest by ISIL to hit the Afghan capital. Last month it hit the Iraqi embassy in Kabul and afterwards issued a warning to all Shia in Afghanistan, saying its cadres would attack Shia places of worship.

Within days of the embassy attack, ISIL also took responsibility for a suicide assault on a Shia mosque in western Herat province that killed 32 people.
Riyadh usually communicates with Doha on Hajj logistics but no Saudi response means no pilgrimage for Qataris in 2017.

Doha, Qatar  For Muslim pilgrims in Qatar who hoped to perform one of the pillars of Islam, the annual Hajj that began this week is out of reach.

This is because Saudi Arabia  which oversees and manages Islams two holiest sites in Mecca and Medina  has made it impossible for them to go.

Hajj is a pilgrimage to Mecca that Muslims worldwide are expected to make at least once in their lifetime, if they are able to.

The Qatari Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, which regulates and organises the annual Hajj for Qatari citizens and residents, announced it hasnt received responses from its Saudi counterpart on travel logistics or security guarantees.





In June, Saudi Arabia and three other Arab nations barred Qatari nationals from their countries and set up a blockade to prevent goods from entering the Gulf emirate.

The official Qatar News Agency reported on Tuesday that Qatars religious authorities did not find any cooperation or positive response from the Ministry of Hajj, which has led to confusion and suspension of the regulatory process for Qatars pilgrims.

The lack of communication and cooperation from the Saudi side ultimately means there will be no Hajj for Qatars citizens and residents in 2017.

Saad Sultan al-Abdullah, director of international cooperation at Qatars National Human Rights Commission, expressed concern that Muslims were being prevented from performing their religious duty.

There should be no mixing between political disputes and Muslims natural and human right to perform their religious duties, he said. Politics and human rights must be separated.

Abdelmajid Mrari, head of the Middle East and North Africa division at the Brussels-based Alliance for Freedom and Dignity, criticised Saudi authorities for mishandling the situation.

Mecca is not owned by any government. Mecca is for all Muslims, Mrari told Al Jazeera over the phone from France.

The Saudi behaviour is a clear violation of Islamic values and norms, as well as all international human rights agreements and conventions.

READ MORE: Qatar-Gulf crisis  All the latest updates

Like other Muslim countries, Qatar has agreements with Saudi Arabia regarding Hajj that specify the number of pilgrims, travel arrangements, place of residence once in Saudi Arabia, and legal protections.

But since Saudi Arabia  along with Egypt, UAE and Bahrain  severed all ties with Qatar and laid the blockade against it on June 5, Qatari religious authorities have been unable get any answers from the Saudi government in order to organise this years pilgrimage and guarantee the safety of Qatari pilgrims.

Last week, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia ordered his government to send Saudi-owned aeroplanes to bring Qatari pilgrims as his own guests and at his own expense.

Observers and international human rights organisations described that move as a political stunt designed to deflect criticism of Saudi Arabia for its behaviour towards Qatar.

Saudis moves against Doha stand in stark contrast to the Hajj handling with Riyadhs arch nemesis, Iran. While Iran and Saudi Arabia have no diplomatic ties and are engaged regional diplomatic disputes and military entanglements, Saudi Arabia allowed Iran to organise its Hajj campaign.

It even opened Iranian coordination centres to oversee and manage its citizens inside Saudi Arabia.

Follow Ali Younes on Twitter: @ali_reports
US-backed forces capture several neighbourhoods on sixth day of offensive to retake the northern city.

Iraqi forces have broken through ISILs defences inside the northern city of Tal Afar and reached the city centre, a major gain in the battle for the armed groups last urban stronghold.

US-backed forces seized the neighbourhoods of Nida, al-Nasr, Saad, and Taliaa around the Ottoman-era citadel, said a statement from the Iraqi Joint Operations Command on Friday.

Up to 2,000 battle-hardened fighters remain in Tal Afar, according to US and Iraqi military commanders.

A predominantly Turkmen district, Tal Afar was overrun by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, known as ISIS) fighters in 2014. An operation to retake the city began on Sunday.

Al Jazeeras Osama bin Javaid, reporting from Erbil in northern Iraq, said there has been a rapid advancement by the Iraqi forces in the last couple of hours.

ISIL has been putting up stiff resistance, but Iraqi security forces  including the rapid response units, the federal police, and the Iraqi army  have been able to take out these targets not just with the help of the soldiers on the ground but also air strikes and smart artillery that is backing them up by the US-led coalition.

READ MORE: Iraqi forces completely surround ISIL in Tal Afar

Tal Afar is located 70km west of Iraqs second city Mosul and 150km east of the Syrian border.

It lies along the supply route between Syria and the former ISIL-stronghold of Mosul. The district has produced some of the armed groups most senior commanders.





Iraqi military spokesman General Yahya Rasool told AP news agency on Friday after taking control of several neighbourhoods, Iraqi forces are currently on the outskirts of the neighbourhood of al-Qalaa.

Earlier, a top army commander said Iraqi soldiers had captured a prominent shrine revered by Shia Muslims.

In advance of the operation, the Iraqi army had amassed some 400,000 troops and personnel in preparation for retaking Tal Afar.

Big blow

After the fall of Mosul last month, ISILs control in Iraq has weakened with fighters holding small pockets in the north, centre and east of the country.

Al Jazeeras Javaid said reclaiming Tal Afar from ISIL will be a big blow to the armed group because of its strategic location.

Tal Afar is at the crossroads, which is very essential for ISIL fighters to reach parts of Syria that it controls and to try to smuggle things from Turkey, he said.

OPINION: The battle for Mosul is almost over. What next?

On Monday, Lise Grande, the UN humanitarian coordinator for Iraq, said more than 30,000 people had already fled the city and surrounding areas.

The Iraqi army said it believes some 10,000 civilians remain inside, adding it had secured safe corridors for them.

But many are not so sure about their safe passage out.





People do not feel secure because they have to travel between one set of Iraqi forces to the other, said Javaid.

And rather than make their way directly to the north they have to go through the liberated areas of western Mosul where ISIL fighters and their families are being screened.

As in the battle for Mosul, civilians are suffering. Those remaining are threatened with death by ISIL, according to aid organisations and residents who managed to flee.

People are arriving at camps for displaced people with wounds from sniper fire and mine explosions.

The spiritual leader of Iraqs Shia majority called on doctors to help civilians fleeing clashes.

Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani said medical workers should travel to areas around the battle for Tal Afar to help to treat the wounded and treat them as a humanitarian, national and religious duty.

Also on Friday, Iraqi military investigators said they discovered two mass graves near a former ISIL prison outside Mosul that contains the bodies of 500 victims.

The Media Cell Security Investigation team said in a statement one grave near the Badoush Prison contained the bodies of 470 prisoners killed by ISIL. It said a second grave contained 30 victims.

A security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said based on records of prisoners who were at Badoush most are believed to have been Shia Muslims or other minorities.
At least 34 Syrian soldiers and 12 ISIL fighters killed in battle for Maadan town that set army back by 30km.

ISIL fighters have killed at least 34 Syrian government troops and seized their vehicles, pushing back the army advancing on Maadan, one of the last ISIL-held towns in Raqqa province.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the early Friday counterattack by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, known as ISIS) group also left 12 of its fighters dead.

The development set the government back about 30km to the west of Maadan and allowed ISIL to recapture a number of villages in the areas it lost to advancing Syrian soldiers last month.

ISIL media channels posted images of the attacked Syrian army convoy and bodies of more than a dozen soldiers.

READ MORE  The rise and fall of ISIL explained

Maadan lies halfway between Raqqa city and Deir Az Zor city, where government forces control about half the city and a nearby airbase, but both of them are besieged by ISIL.

US-backed Syrian fighters are bearing down on Raqqa city from all sides. Half of the estimated 20,000 people trapped there are children, an official with the UN childrens agency said Friday.

Fran Equiza spoke to The Associated Press in Damascus following a visit to three camps in northern Syria where he met displaced children from Raqqa and Deir Az Zor.

I was completely overwhelmed, he said. There are 10,000 children trapped in Raqqa in extremely dire conditions. No electricity, no water, probably very little food  and the battle almost every day. The level of suffering, losing friends, relatives, family of these children is absolutely staggering.

On Friday, the Russian military, which provides air support to the Syrian army, said it was currently focusing on the governments offensive in Deir Az Zor.

Breaking the blockade of the city will mark the defeat of the most capable part of the IS in Syria, said Sergei Rudskoi of the militarys general staff.

Government gains

Speaking at a news conference in Moscow, he said the two-year Russian campaign has allowed Syrian President Bashar al-Assads forces to quadruple the territory under their control.

The area under Syrian government control has increased from 19,000 to 78,000sq km since Russia launched its air raids in September 2015.

Russian pilots have flown more than 28,000 missions since the campaigns launch, he said.

Also on Friday, ISIL failed to push back against government advances in the central Syrian town of Akerbat.

Syrian troops have encircled ISIL fighters in Akerbat, according to Russian officials.

General Sergei Surovikin, head of Russias military in Syria, said controlling Akerbat would allow the Syrian government to take full control of the oil and gas fields north of Palmyra.
Meetings between Donald Trumps son-in-law and adviser and Palestinian and Israeli leaders met with scepticism.

US presidential adviser and Donald Trumps son-in-law, Jared Kushner, has met Palestinian and Israeli leaders to try to jumpstart moribund peace talks.

Kushner met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday before holding talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Expectations were low as the White House has yet to outline a clear vision for peace.

The Palestinians initially welcomed Trumps election, but they have since grown impatient with what they say is a failure by the US president to present a plan for peace.

Specifically, they are seeking a halt to Israeli settlement construction in the occupied territories, and a US commitment to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state as part of a peace deal with Israel.

READ MORE: Jared Kushner leads US team seeking Middle East peace

If the US team doesnt bring answers to our questions this time, we are going to look into our options because the status quo is not working for our interests, Ahmad Majdalani, an aide to Abbas, said prior to the Palestinian leaders meeting with Kushner.

It was not clear whether Kushner offered any clarity during his three-hour meeting with Abbas.

Nabil Abu Rudeineh, Abbas spokesman, called the meeting positive, without discussing details, and said the Palestinian leader had reiterated his desire for US commitment to a Palestinian state.

We greatly appreciate the efforts of US President Donald Trump who pledged from the beginning that he is going to work for the ultimate deal, Abbas said before the meeting.

We know things are difficult and complicated, but nothing is impossible with good intentions.

Kushner relayed Trumps hope and optimism for a better future for Palestinians and Israelis.

Trump took office with hopes of striking what he calls the ultimate deal between Israelis and Palestinians  a goal that has eluded administrations before his dogged by the same intractable issues. But he has since given few details of this vision for peace, frustrating both sides.

Progress difficult to deliver

Ian Black of the London School of Economics said that until Trump lays out a plan for a two-state solution, any progress in the peace process will be difficult to deliver.

I dont think there is anything in the way of expectation that Jared Kushner is going to be able to deliver on behalf of his difficult father-in-law, Black told Al Jazeera.

President Trump has not even spelled out a commitment to a fundamental principle of a two-state solution to the conflict, and without that, its very hard to see how anybody representing him, no matter how close or how talented is going to make much progress.

OPINION: Why Kushners Middle East visit is set for failure

Kushners connection to Israel, including his familys investments in illegal settlements in occupied territory and personal relationship with the current Israeli prime minister, has also caused some Palestinian leaders to question the ability of the Trump administrations Middle East team to be impartial.

Kushner met Netanyahu in Tel Aviv earlier Thursday before travelling to Ramallah later in the day to meet Abbas.

Before his meeting with Kushner, Netanyahu spoke optimistically of the road ahead.

We have a lot of things to talk about, how to advance peace, stability and security in our region, prosperity too, Netanyahu said, standing alongside Kushner. I think that all of them are within our reach.

READ MORE: US-Israel relations  Is Trump backing down?

A statement from Netanyahus office after the meeting said the talks were substantive but gave no details on progress or further steps.

On the campaign trail, Trump took a staunchly pro-Israel line, energising Netanyahu and hard-liners in his coalition.

He promised to relocate the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem  a move welcomed by Israel and opposed by the Palestinians  and refused to endorse the Palestinian goal of independence.

His platform played down the significance of Israeli settlements, which are illegal under international law, and surrounded himself with a group of advisers with deep ties to the settlement movement, including Kushner and the US ambassador to Israel, David Friedman.

But since taking office, Trump decided not to move the embassy and has urged Israel to restrain settlement construction.

REPORTERS NOTEBOOK: Who speaks for Palestine?

Since the collapse of US-mediated peace talks three years ago, the two sides have grown further apart and have been plagued by repeated rounds of violence, including a war between Israel and Hamas and recurring tensions over the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem.

Thursdays visit is part of a regional tour by Kushner, Trump aide Jason Greenblatt and Deputy National Security Adviser Dina Powell.

They have also held talks with Egyptian, Saudi, Emirati, Qatari and Jordanian officials.
Nearly 30 people killed and scores wounded as supporters of Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh protest guilty verdict for rape.

At least 28 people have been killed in India as violent protests erupted after a court convicted a self-styled godman of raping two female followers.

Fridays verdict angered thousands of Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singhs supporters who said he was innocent.

Singh was found guilty in a case dating back to 2002 at the headquarters of his Dera Sacha Sauda group in the northern town of Sirsa.

Supporters rampaged in response, setting fire to government buildings, attacking railway stations, petrol stations and television vans in towns across the northern states of Punjab and Haryana soon after the verdict was announced, witnesses said.

Hundreds of Indian police and soldiers patrolled Panchkula, the town where the court gave its verdict on Singh, as local officials feared an outbreak of violence.

Police fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse the protesters.

The violence left at least 28 dead, including some with bullet wounds, and more than 250 injured, according to BS Sandhu, a top Haryana police official.

He said more than 1,000 of the gurus supporters had been detained in Panchkula on charges of arson and destruction of public property.

A spokesman for the gurus sect, Dera Sacha Sauda, urged his supporters to remain calm. I just want to request everyone to maintain peace at the moment, said Dilawar Insan. We will explore what legal options are available to us.

Dozens of cars were burning in Panchkula town while a bloodied body lay in the middle of a road.

The [police] have updated us on the law and order situation in Panchkula The situation is still tense, but not out of control, said federal home secretary Rajiv Mehrishi said in New Delhi.

READ MORE: Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh convicted in 2002 rape case

A curfew was imposed in four districts in Punjab that are strongholds of the Dera Sacha Sauda group.

There has been violence in some towns in Punjab, we are taking all measures to maintain peace, said the state chief minister Amarinder Singh.

A defence spokesman said six columns of the Indian army, amounting to about 600 men, had been deployed in Panchkula to help police and paramilitary contain violent mobs.

Security lockdown

The gurus sect claims to have some 50 million followers and campaigns for vegetarianism and against drug addiction. Singh describes his sect as a social welfare and spiritual organisation.

More than 100,000 had gathered near the court premises before the verdict

The 50-year-old leader of the Dera Sacha Sauda group was taken into custody under military escort and will be housed in a jailhouse in the nearby town of Rohtak until his sentencing on Monday.

The court has convicted Ram Rahim Singh of rape charges, Kohal Dev Sharma, a lawyer at the court said. Justice has finally prevailed.

Sharma said the Singh faced a minimum of seven years in prison.

Singh, a burly, bearded man who has scripted and starred in his own films, denied the rape charge. He had called on his followers through a video message to remain peaceful.

We all must respect the law and maintain peace, he said.

When the guru left his ashram in Sirsa early Friday for the hearing, he was accompanied by a 100-vehicle convoy.

Police had erected heavy metal barricades topped with barbed wire along main roads in the town, a quiet residential suburb of Chandigarh, which is the common capital of Haryana and Punjab states.

Officers on horseback monitored crowds near the court. Helicopters whirred overhead.

We are prepared to deal with any situation, but are confident that adequate measures have been put in place, said BS Sandhu, a top Haryana police official, before the verdict was read.

Army soldiers planned to march later Friday through the streets to instill a sense of security, Sandhu said.

Mobile internet services had also been suspended in the states of Haryana and Punjab to stop people from spreading rumours and causing unrest, senior government official Ram Niwas said.

Train services were cancelled through the area, leading to railway delays across north India. Schools and colleges were closed.
Group labelled white supremacists by local leaders plans to hold three-days of demonstrations in the Bay area.

San Francisco braced for a weekend of protests, including a rally by an Oregon-based group that local leaders labelled white supremacist, as the citys mayor urged residents to boycott the event.

The demonstrations planned for Friday, Saturday and Sunday across the Bay Area raised concern among San Francisco police and elected officials two weeks after white supremacists, including neo-Nazis and Ku Klux Klan members, attacked anti-racism protesters in the streets of Charlottesville, Virginia.

A woman was killed at that Unite the Right rally when a man thought to have neo-Nazi sympathies drove his car into a crowd of counter-protesters. Nineteen other people were injured.

The Saturday event is billed as a free speech rally, but critics say the Oregon-based organisers, Patriot Prayer, is a white nationalist group, pointing to plans that may include the far-right Oath Keepers to provide armed security. The group has decried racism and neo-Nazis.

Far-right groups often use the guise of free speech to incite hatred.

Last weekend, 33 people were arrested in Boston as tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets to protest a free speech rally featuring far-right speakers.

Preaching violence and hatred

In San Francisco, city officials including Mayor Ed Lee had lobbied the National Park Service to deny Patriot Prayer a permit to hold a free-speech event at Crissy Field, which is under federal control as part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

When that permit was granted on Wednesday, Lee told residents of San Francisco to essentially boycott the rally.

I ask our public and our residents of the San Francisco Bay Area to honour our request to not dignify people who are coming in here under the guise of patriot and prayer words to really preach violence and hatred, Lee told a press conference.

The mayor urged locals to instead attend city-hosted events on Friday and Saturday that he said would focus on inclusion, compassion and love rather than hate.

US House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, in a written statement, slammed the Patriot Prayer gathering as a dangerous white supremacist rally.

READ MORE: UN issues rare warning over alarming racism in US

Left-wing counter-protesters, meanwhile, were planning a march to Crissy Field, where police were concerned that a confrontation could erupt between the two groups.

Patriot Prayer founder Joey Gibson said in a video message posted on the groups Facebook page that it was absolutely not white supremacist, pointing out that he is a person of colour.

What Im trying to do is bring people together who believe in freedom, who believe in love, believe in peace and believe in free speech, Gibson said.

But the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), an organisation that monitors hate groups, has said Patriot Prayer rallies in the past have been designed to provoke violence and [are] populated with extremists.

Adopt a Nazi

The Jewish Bar Association of San Francisco has launched a campaign titled, Adopt-a-Nazi (not really) to counter the narrative of Saturdays protest.

READ MORE: Adopt a Nazi: How groups are countering neo-Nazis

Individuals are asked to donate money for every person who plans to attend the Patriot Prayer rally in an effort to help white supremacists and neo-Nazis fund their own demise.

So far, the group has raised more than $139,000 for the SPLC.

On Sunday, conservative activists planned a so-called No to Marxism rally in nearby Berkeley, an event that left-wing groups were also expected to protest. However, City of Berkeley officials on Thursday denied that groups request for a rally permit, putting the event in jeopardy.

In April, supporters and opponents of US President Donald Trump clashed in a Berkeley park, resulting in at least 20 arrests as well as bloodied faces and minor injuries.
Central bank data suggests Saudi government may remain under pressure to draw reserves down to cover its budget deficit.

Saudi Arabias foreign reserves resumed falling in July, according to data published by the countrys central bank on Thursday.

The figures suggested that the government may remain under pressure to draw reserves down to cover a budget deficit caused by low oil prices.

Riyadh began liquidating the reserves in late 2014, and they dropped sharply from a record $737bn in August that year.

In June 2017, they rose month-on-month for the first time in over a year, prompting speculation that Riyadh might have cut its deficit enough to no longer need cash from the reserves.

But Thursdays data showed the central banks net foreign assets fell by $6.3bn from June to $487bn in July, their lowest level since early 2011.

READ MORE: The mysterious fall in Saudi foreign reserves

The reserves shrank 12.8 percent from a year earlier.

The fall occurred despite the governments launch of monthly domestic issues of Islamic bonds in July, which raised 17bn riyals.

Officials have not commented in detail on the reasons for the drop in reserves, though some have suggested it is due to private sector activity, not government spending.

Some analysts have speculated the fall is due to spending on Saudi Arabias military intervention in Yemen. But this is unlikely.

In June, an international banker in touch with Saudi authorities said much of the decline in foreign assets appeared due to the transfer of money to state funds investing abroad  particularly the main sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF).

Riyadh has said it wants to cover the deficit through debt sales as much as possible rather than by running down the reserves.

Riyadh sold foreign securities in July to raise money, the data showed.

The central banks holdings of foreign securities shrank by $4.3bn from June to $333bn, while deposits with banks abroad edged up by almost $1bn to $95bn.

Thursdays central bank data also pointed to a weak Saudi economy.

Outstanding bank loans to the private sector shrank from a year earlier for the fifth straight month in July; they fell 1.3 percent, after a 1.4 percent drop in June.
Assailants filmed themselves shoving black victim into a wooden coffin and closing the top as he begged for his life.

A South African judge on Friday found two white farmers guilty of attempted murder after they filmed themselves forcing a black man into a coffin and threatening to burn him alive.

For attempted murder of Mr [Victor] Mlotshwa, I hereby find you both guilty, Judge Segopotje Mphahlele told the accused before supporters of the victim burst out in celebratory songs in the courtroom.

Willem Oosthuizen and Theo Martins Jackson, both wearing jackets and ties, were also found guilty of kidnapping, intimidation, and assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm.

Al Jazeeras Haru Mutasa, reporting from Middelburg outside the court, said the judge decided to release the two from detention until the sentencing day on September 23.

She also said that the victim told Al Jazeera outside the court that he felt vindicated.

He says the ruling sends a message that if you are racist, the courts will deal with you, she said. He is very happy with the outcome.

Only to scare

Oosthuizen and Jackson pleaded not guilty over the incident which occurred last year in the eastern province of Mpumalanga, saying they only intended to scare Mlotshwa after he allegedly stole copper cables from their farm.

Two clips of footage taken on their mobile phones showed the assailants shoving Mlotshwa down into the wooden coffin and pressing the lid closed with their boots as he begged for his life.

Video shows Mlotshwa cowering and moaning in the coffin, and a man is heard threatening to pour in gasoline. Another threat is made to put a snake inside.

READ MORE: South Africa: Whites stuff black man into a coffin

Activists from rival political parties, including the ruling African National Congress and the main opposition Democratic Alliance, rallied outside the court and attended each day of the trial.

When the first phone footage emerged several months ago, it triggered national outrage and led to the arrest of the two men.

Please dont kill me, Mlotshwa begged the men while in the coffin, the footage shown.

Why shouldnt we, when you are killing our farm? one replied.

Mlotshwa was in court to hear the verdicts against the two men, who had alleged he had threatened to kill their families and burn farm crops before being forced into the coffin.

Mlotshwa said he was walking to the town of Middelburg to buy provisions for his mother and had decided to use a short cut when the two men spotted him.

The two mens families told local media they were shocked over the verdicts.

South Africa is beset by deep-rooted racial inequality 23 years after the end of white-minority apartheid rule, and cases of racism have erupted regularly on social media in recent years.








Attackers also kidnapped eight people and burned down more than 30 homes, according to Cameroonian officials.

Suspected Boko Haram fighters killed at least 11 people and abducted eight others in an overnight raid on a village in northern Cameroon near the Nigerian border, officials said on Friday.

The attackers burned down more than 30 houses in Gakara village, just outside the town of Kolofata, which has been a frequent target of suicide bombings by the group.

An army colonel put the death toll at 11, while a district official said 15 people had been killed.

The attack happened around midnight. The Boko Haram assailants arrived. They set 32 houses on fire  killed, pillaged, and traumatised the population, said the district official, who asked not to be named because he was not authorised to speak to the media.

Many people fled the village for a camp near Kolofata that houses thousands displaced by Boko Haram violence, he said.

The mayor of Kolofata confirmed an attack had taken place but said he did not know the death toll.

WATCH  Behind the Rise of Boko Haram

Boko Haram attacks have killed more than 20,000 people and displaced 2.7 million during the groups eight-year fight to carve out an Islamic caliphate in the Lake Chad region.

On Thursday, five people were killed in an ambush by Boko Haram in Nigerias Borno state, according to AFP news agency.

A convoy of trucks under military and militia escort came under fire from the group at Meleri village in Konduga district.

Last week three female suicide bombers blew themselves up at the entrance to a camp for displaced people in nearby Nigerias Mandarari village, killing 28 people and wounding 82.

Boko Haram also stages attacks in Niger and Chad.
Sources say Yingluck Shinawatra, overthrown in a 2014 coup, may have fled the country before a key court ruling.

The search was on for Thailands former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra on Saturday after she failed to appear for a court verdict in a criminal case that could send her to prison for 10 years.

Yinglucks whereabouts were not immediately known and her absence drove speculation she fled the country.

An official of Yinglucks Pheu Thai party, who is close to the Shinawatra family, told The Associated Press she was no longer in Thailand. The official gave no other details and declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the subject.

Yingluck, 50, who became Thailands first female prime minister when her party swept elections in 2011, is accused of negligence in overseeing a money-losing rice subsidy programme. She pleaded innocent and decried the charges as politically motivated.





A verdict had been expected on Friday as thousands of Yingluck supporters gathered outside the court and thousands of police stood guard. But she never appeared and a judge read out a statement saying her lawyers had informed the court she could not attend because of an earache.

The judge said the court did not believe the excuse, however, because no official medical verification was provided. He said a warrant would be issued for her arrest and announced the trial would be postponed until September 27.

Norrawit Larlaeng, Yinglucks lawyer, said he had no details on her whereabouts. I was told this morning that she was ill, that she had vertigo, that she felt dizzy, so I requested the postponement  Thats all I have to say.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, the military chief who engineered the 2014 overthrow of Yinglucks government, said the military government was looking for her.

If shes not guilty, she should stay and fight the case, Prayuth said. If shes not here, what does that tell you? Will she still say that she didnt get justice?

Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan said security officials monitoring Yingluck had not seen her leave her Bangkok home in the last two days.

The trial is the latest chapter in a decade-long struggle by the nations elite minority to crush the powerful political machine founded by Yinglucks brother, Thaksin Shinawatra, who was toppled in a 2006 coup. Thaksin has lived in Dubai since fleeing a corruption conviction.

READ MORE: Arrest threat as Yingluck Shinawatra misses verdict

Prawit Pongkunnut, a 55-year-old rice farmer from the northeastern city of Nakhon Ratchasima, said he came to the court with 10 other farmers to show solidarity with Yingluck.

Were here to give her moral support because she truly cared and helped us out, Prawit said.

Yinglucks former commerce minister was jailed in a related case for 42 years on Friday.

She has definitely left Thailand, one source, who is also a member of her Puea Thai party, told Reuters news agency. The sources did not say where she had gone.

Cambodian immigration police said she had not entered their country.

If Yingluck has fled it would disappoint her supporters and make her opponents feel vindicated, said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, director of the Institute of Security and International Studies at Chulalongkorn University.

It does not help with Thailands division and polarisation, he said.
Supreme Court says it does not believe Yingluck is sick and fears she is a flight risk.

Yingluck Shinawatra, Thailands ex-prime minister, has missed a verdict in a negligence trial that could have seen her jailed, prompting the Supreme Court to say it will issue an arrest warrant fearing she is a flight risk, according to the lead judge in the case.

Her lawyer said she is sick and asked to delay the ruling  the court does not believe she is sick,  Judge Cheep Chulamon told the court on Friday.

He said the court would seek permission for an arrest warrant for the former prime minister, adding that verdict has been rescheduled to September 27.

Yingluck, who had pleaded not guilty in a case focused on a rice subsidy scheme for farmers, had told the court she could not attend because she was suffering from an ear problem.

We dont think the defendant is ill, a statement from the Supreme Court judge said. We think that the defendant is hiding or has fled.

READ MORE  Thailand: Deep divisions remain since 2014 military coup

A spokesman for Yingluck, who was overthrown by a military coup in 2014, declined to comment.

The head of Thailands immigration police chief, Nanthathorn Prousoontorn, said he believed Yingluck remained in the country.

Up until this point we have no information showing that Yingluck has exited via any of Thailands border checkpoints, he told Reuters news agency.

I believe she is still in Thailand. If she is found she will be arrested, he said.

Yingluck is facing a possible 10-year prison term on charges of negligence linked to an ill-fated rice subsidy programme that cost the state billions of dollars. If convicted, she has the right to appeal.

The case is the latest chapter in a decade-long struggle by the nations elite minority to crush the powerful political machine founded by Yinglucks brother, Thaksin Shinawatra, who was toppled in another coup in 2006.

Thaksins removal triggered years of upheaval and division that has pitted a poor, rural majority in the north that supports the Shinawatras against royalists, the military and their urban backers.

The rice subsidies, promised to farmers during the 2011 election, helped Yinglucks party sweep the vote. Critics say they were effectively a means of vote buying, while Yingluck supporters welcomed them and argued that the case against her is politically motivated.

READ MORE: How life has changed in Thailand since 2014 military coup

The long-awaited verdict could inflame tension in the Southeast Asian country and have far-reaching implications in the politically divided kingdom.

Al Jazeeras Scott Heidler, reporting from Bangkok, said hundreds of Yinglucks supporters gathered outside the Bangkok Supreme Court to await the verdict but were not allowed in the vicinity.

Only media, police and court officials were allowed in this area, normally in the previous court hearings, it was packed with supporters, but this time her supporters are about 200 meters away, he said.

They believe that she is still here and has not fled the country.

Some of those gathered held roses while others wore white gloves with the word love on them.

Supporters of the Shinawatras accuse the ruling generals of political persecution.

The military government has acknowledged it wants to maintain permanent influence over future elected governments, partly through a new constitution that took effect earlier this year.
Defendants and rights lawyer say Tabliq head Sheikh Kamoga and others were wrongly charged in purely political ruling.

A Ugandan court sentenced a Muslim group leader and three associates to life in prison on terrorism charges, a judgment denounced by some as the latest in a series of anti-Muslim rulings.

Sheikh Mohammad Yunus Kamoga, who heads the Tabliq group, and 13 others were arrested and charged with terrorism and the murder of other Islamic group leaders.

In a High Court session on Tuesday, Kamoga and three Tabliq members were sentenced to life, while two others were given 30 years each.

But a day earlier, six of them were convicted on terrorism charges, but all were cleared of murder. The court had acquitted the group of murder because prosecutors failed to place any of them at the scenes of crime.

I find the decision very unusual because the main case was about the murders and the terrorism was arising from the murders, so if they were not guilty of the murders then they should be not guilty of the terrorism, said human rights lawyer Ladislaus Rwakafuzi.

This weeks conviction is the latest in a series of cases where Muslims have been blamed for the murders of officials and Islamic scholars.

The cases include the murders of nine Muslim scholars since 2012; of Joan Kagezi, a prosecutor working on the 2010 Kampala bombings case, in March 2015; of an army officer in November 2016 who had defected from a Ugandan-led rebel group in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo; and of a prominent policeman in March.

In each case, the victims were shot dead by motorbike-riding assassins, and in each case, Muslim suspects were rounded up.

Evidence for Muslim involvement in the high-profile killings was flimsy at best, Rwakafuzi said.

The Muslims are being profiled  We have very poor, underfunded investigation mechanisms. Its an easy way out to show to the public that youre doing something about these killings.

Muslims were being targeted, he said, because it is easier to believe thanks to widespread fears of Islamic terrorism, in Uganda and elsewhere.

Terror threats in leaflets

In a three-and-a-half-hour judgement over Kamoga and his associates, Justice Muhanguzi said that while the men were not proven to have killed anyone, they had used threatening leaflets and loudspeakers to intimidate rivals.

Those threats amounted to terrorism against the entire community, he ruled.

Death threats were delivered by word of mouth, and on loudspeakers, hence it was indiscriminate, Muhanguzi said.

READ MORE: Grim torture images ignite anger against Ugandan police

Defence lawyer Fred Muwema thought he had an explanation for what he saw as the judgements inconsistencies.

I do not have direct evidence  but there is always political pressure and interference in a country like this, he said. I think the state was interested in the Tabliq community.

A spokesman for Tabliq, Siraje Nsambu, said the charges were trumped up. He denounced the ruling against them as purely political.

Officials deny bias

About 13 percent of Ugandas 35 million population is Muslim.

Uganda has been tough on suspected fighters since deadly suicide bombings in 2010 carried out by the al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab rebel group in their first attack outside of Somalia. At least 74 people died in those attacks.

Solomon Muyita, the spokesman for Ugandas judiciary, said if lawyers had evidence that judges were politically influenced, they should bring it to court.

Government spokesman Ofwono Opondo dismissed allegations that Muslims were unfairly targeted.

Uganda has a very long standing record of having no political, religious or racial persecution, he said.

There is no reason whatsoever why the government of Uganda should target those Muslim cliques.
Impact will not be the only political party with senator candidates running for Student Government this Fall.

A group of students who are unsatisfied with the way the Student Body is being represented came together to create a new political party called, Inspire, said Ben Lima, the partys president.

Inspire was founded on three pillars  accountability, which means holding student leaders to the highest possible standards; transparency, which means telling students what their fees are being spent on clearly and how officials are working on their behalf; and inclusivity, which involves ensuring input from all students is taken into consideration, Lima said.

Lima, a UF political science sophomore, said no specific occurrence prompted the creation of Inspire. Instead, it was born out of what students were feeling.

It was formed organically from a general sense among students that we should rekindle Student Government democracy, the 19-year-old said.

Inspire plans to go on a listening tour in the future, Lima said, to meet with students around campus to hear their demands.

Lima said the partys leadership is a diverse coalition, including members from the former Access Party and the current Impact Party.

Impact was reregistered Thursday and Benjamin Auyang is its new president, said Impact Majority Party Leader Dakota Stanford (Impact, District C-04).

Auyang denied to comment until campaign season begins at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday to avoid seeming as if he or his party is campaigning early.

Lima said Inspire will focus on advancing their values, instead of fighting against Impact.

Its not about running against anyone, he said. Its about running for what we believe in.

@taveljimena

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jtavel@alligator.org
Three days after attending the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, Geoffrey Grooms was fired.

His former employer, Luckys Market in Gainesville, called him and asked if he was at the white nationalist gathering in Virginia on Aug. 12 and said they couldnt handle the negative press of having him around, Grooms said.

The conversation lasted five minutes, abruptly ending the Gainesville residents two-and-a-half-year run at the store.

It had nothing to do with my work ethic, Grooms, 23, said. Id done good work with them.

After the rally in Charlottesville erupted in violence, Luckys received about 200 phone calls from residents who saw Grooms image at the event, which had been shared through social media, said Grooms, who identifies as a member of the alt-right movement and a civil rights activist for white people.

They called to threaten the store because of his affiliations, he said.

Luckys announced Grooms dismissal via Facebook on Aug. 15, citing its belief in equality, inclusion, and love.

We learned today that one of our Gainesville Team Members participated in the rally in Charlottesville, VA, the Facebook post read. As of today, that Team Member no longer works here.

Luckys has since declined requests for comment.

Noel Opava said she thinks the store took things too far, too fast.

Opava, a UF psychology senior, said the store should have sat Grooms down and voiced their concerns with him before taking action, rather than letting him go on the spot.

The 20-year-old worries that Luckys firing him like they did could set a bad precedent going forward and result in other institutions firing individuals just for having conflicting political views.

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I dont agree at all with what happened in Charlottesville, but I think its a slippery slope to fire people for their beliefs, Opava said.

When Gainesville native and resident Robert Waelder first saw Luckys post, only one word came to mind: relief.

It was pretty much just elation that someone was willing to take a stand on the issue, especially an employer here in Gainesville, Waelder, 31, said.

Waelder, a local DJ, said he wasnt surprised to learn that an alt-right supporter lives and works in Gainesville. He reposted Luckys announcement on his personal Facebook page.

Ive seen these kinds of people around in Ocala and in Gainesville before, he said. I thought if I posted it, people involved in that movement might get scared and think, Maybe I shouldnt spout Nazi propaganda.

Having German ancestry and a grandfather who was an officer during World War II, Waelder said he doesnt take alt right views lightly. He said hes seeing history repeat itself.

Im not just going to stand by and let fascists make a comeback little by little, he said.

***

When Grooms set foot in Charlottesville at about 10:30 a.m. on Aug. 12, after a nearly 740-mile drive, the last thing he said he expected was violence. He thought it would be fun experience.

I have friends in the movement from across the country I never get to see, Grooms said. I was really excited to just see all the speakers.

Grooms and his brothers encountered anti-fascist protesters on their way to the rally site at Emancipation Park in Charlottesville, Grooms said.

Thats when he said it all went wrong.

By 11:30 a.m., protesters were tossing homemade remedies, including gas and urine-filled balloons at Grooms and his comrades, while they forced their way through to get to the park, he said.

It turned out to be a s--- show, he said.

Gainesville resident James OBrien, 44, was also at the Charlottesville rally and was arrested by Virginia State Police on a charge of carrying a concealed handgun. According to Alligator archives, OBrien appears to have a blog Bacon Books and Bullets, which recently featured a post about killing Leftists.

An Ohio man connected to white supremacists drove a car through a crowd of protesters, killing one woman and injuring 19 other people, according to The New York Times.

***

Now, in the aftermath of Charlottesville, Grooms life has been much more than just losing a job. He fears for his safety.

In the past week hes avoided going out in public. He said hes received about 20 threats online, and hes taken down all of his social media accounts.

I dont think Ill be able to find another job in this town, Grooms said. I may have to move or do something.

Gainesville Mayor Lauren Poe said he doesnt tolerate threats within his community but believes the positions of the Alt-right and white nationalists at the Charlottesville rally were not of free speech, but of hate and have no place in Gainesville.

When people publicly advocate a position of violence and harm toward others, they have to understand that there will be consequences, Poe said.

Despite the setback and feelings of isolation within his community, Grooms said hes even more determined to fight for his beliefs.

You can take my job away from me and send me threats, Grooms said. Im just going to come back and fight even harder.

Geoffrey Grooms, 23.
A new Asian bakery, Sweet Buns Bakery, will open next to Yummy House on Tuesday to give the crowds what they want: pineapple buns.

The bakery will open next to its parent business, Yummy House, located at 3102 SW 34th St., and offers a variety of Asian pastries, including crepe cakes, egg tarts and 120 types of buns, which are mildly sweet, fluffy breads, said John Zhao, the general manager. The bakerys hours will be from 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily, beginning Tuesday for its three-day-long soft opening. Zhao said he expects to have a grand opening sometime next weekend.

During the soft opening, customers can expect specials like buy 10 buns, get one free, Zhao said. The buns will range in price from $2 to $4.50, and the cakes will be more expensive, about $3.50. All of the pastries will be baked fresh daily, including pineapple buns, Zhaos personal favorite.

I love buns, he said. I eat all kinds of buns.

Alexi Towner, a UF linguistics senior, said she cant wait for the new bakery to open so she can get her quick fix of pineapple buns, which are also her favorite menu items.

As far as I know, we dont really have something like this (in Gainesville), the 21-year-old said.

Zhao said people have been craving this kind of food for a while in Florida, and hes looking forward to filling that gap. The company also plans on opening a second Sweet Buns Bakery in Tampa within the next three to four months.

In Florida, we need a good Asian bakery, we need it, he said. I feel like this is the right place.

@jessica_giles_

jgiles@alligator.org

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On Monday, President Donald Trump spoke in front of hundreds of U.S. servicemen and women in Virginia to update the country on the state of the Afghanistan War, as well as flesh out his administrations strategy for the future. Throughout his campaign, Trump proclaimed that he would swiftly bring the war to an end and bring home the thousands of soldiers currently stationed in the war-torn country. However, several months into his tumultuous presidency, Trumps stance has pivoted. In his speech, the president laid out a new strategy that will result in more troops and resources being used in the war.

Trump critics will look at the shift in military plans as they do with every move he makes  with intense criticism and hypocrisy. Maybe Trumps statements during the campaign were a little shortsighted and pathologically heavy, but a change in plans is not a sign of weakness. Instead, I believe it to be a new sign of maturity of the president.

A continual criticism of Trump that has been present since the infantile stages of his presidential campaign, is his massive ego. It is undeniable that Trump is one of the most confident men in the public eye. The gigantic and bold letters of T-R-U-M-P placed on the outside of his most lavish properties do not suggest any semblance of timidity or reservation.

The concerns about Trumps ego continued into the early stages of his presidency as he was selecting his cabinet members. In May, after the U.S. withdrew from the Paris climate accord, Slate Magazine published an article titled Trumps Climate Decision is a Reminder That He Doesnt Heed Expertise.

Leaving the Paris climate accord might be looked upon as a mistake, and I certainly hope that Trump will always listen to expert advice, but policy aside I believe that Trumps speech Monday was a very good sign. It revealed that Trump is capable of moving past his rhetorical campaign plans and being receptive to the advice of those more experienced and knowledgeable, in this case the military generals in command. He showed he can scrap ideas he had previously proclaimed if said ideas were ill-informed or not the optimal course of action for the country.

Whether you are president of the U.S. or a third-grader on a playground, it takes a certain level of maturity to back off of a previously held stance in favor of a superior one provided by someone else. The action itself shows the acknowledgment that your own idea was inferior and that you are capable of setting your own ego aside for the greater good.

In a few days, nobody will be talking about Trumps speech. Why? Because serious, presidential business is being conducted, and frankly, it probably doesnt bring up ratings. It involves Trump simply doing his job, and doing it well, if you ask me. It seems that all of the energy, attention, and focus of the media and much of the public is being directed in the wrong places  at things that do not relate directly to his performance as president, but instead to him as a person.

Every media outlet will appear to have some sort of political leaning, since they are run by humans, not robots, but it is starting to seem that once reputable news organizations are covering news more akin to TMZ than to actual, meaningful news.

I am all for criticizing Trump when he is wrong, but I also believe in commending him when he is right. Its a shame that when Trump does his job well, as with his speech this week, the majority of media coverage remains focused on the negative. In a world of fake news, it takes a considerable amount of effort to find objective reporting, and it is a shame that more time is spent discussing tweets than actual speeches.

Andrew Hall is a UF management senior. His column appears on Fridays.

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President Donald Trumps address Monday evening was alarming and infuriating to many Americans for a number of reasons. Somewhere in between the incoherent babbling and deplorable attempts at defending himself and his actions, the president announced that not only does he plan on keeping troops in Afghanistan, but he wants to send more.

Trumps stance on the war in Afghanistan can be described as shaky, at best. His opinions have wavered several times throughout his civilian life, his campaign and his presidency. This notorious inconsistency is something citizens have been touching on for months with grave concern. While we agree his lack of focus is a big issue, there is something more troubling we noticed after Trumps speech.

Traditionally, most voters will vote for a candidate who they align with politically. With Trump supporters, weve noticed this isnt really the case. They voted for the person and all the fanfare that accompanied him  not for his beliefs or for his plans for the country. No matter how many times this man changes his stance on an important issue or makes a marginalized group feel uneasy about living in their own country, people still love him.

Despite originally bashing former President Barack Obama for sending troops to Afghanistan and calling Americas presence there a waste of money, he decided to strengthen our forces in the Middle Eastern country. During his campaign, his supporters seemed to agree with this stance. Oddly enough, they also seem to agree with his new stance announced Monday.

Likewise, Trump skeptics had a similar reaction. Even if they had been in favor of increasing troops in Afghanistan, they remained firm on their hatred for Trump. They found other reasons to criticize him after his speech and neglected to mention the fact that he may have done something they actually wanted.

It would appear Americans have made their decision. They love Trump, or they hate Trump. No amount of policy change or reconsideration on his part can change that. The lack of flexibility from the public is the bigger issue Americans need to be focusing on right now.

That being said, we arent the biggest fans of Trump. However, we can recognize when he is leaning in the right direction, and we arent ashamed to say it. You can dislike a person and a majority of their stances but still be pleased with a few of their choices.

To this same effect, you can like a person and be displeased with their choices and actions. Although Trump has done nearly nothing in office that he promised Americans during his campaign, his supporters remain ardent and loyal and his adversaries are more fired up than ever.

One thing Trump said in his speech that really resonated with us was that he didnt want soldiers to return home from Afghanistan to a country at war with itself.

Right now, America is a divided nation. We have Trump lovers and Trump haters, and it has led to an unstable and unsafe environment to live in. We believe Americans need to start listening more to what is being said rather than who is saying it. Until we are able to break away from our unwavering opinions, America remains divided, and problems remain unsolved.

Please, dear reader, open your mind to a more unified America.

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English News BRICS expected to be new platform for South-South cooperation

Alwihda Info | Par peoplesdaily - 25 Aout 2017



The BRICS cooperation mechanism is the best way for developing countries to collectively contribute to world economic governance, and as a major component of multilateral cooperation. It has significantly gained a voice for emerging markets and developing countries in global governance, breaking the monopoly of the developed countries.

By Enrique Dussel A decade has passed since Foreign Ministers from China, Russia, India and Brazil held their first meeting during the UN General Assembly in September 2006. The event is of symbolic significance for the BRICS cooperation mechanism.



The whole world expects further cooperation among BRICS members. Developing countries, including Mexico in particular, have hailed the China-proposed modality known as BRICS plus, in hopes that it could turn into a new platform for South-South cooperation.



BRICS members such as Brazil and Russia have recently encountered economic and social challenges, given sluggish global economic growth and other difficulties. But China stood out with a satisfactory growth.



Under Chinas guidance, the BRICS mechanism has already set an example for South-South cooperation.



Economic, social and cultural differences among developing countries pose as a major challenge to South-South cooperation, leading to a diversity of development paths.



BRICS cooperation, 10 years after its establishment, has presented a satisfactory report card. The economic aggregate of BRICS countries now accounts for 23% of the worlds total, up from 12% ten years ago. They also contribute 50% to world economic growth.



As leaders of developing nations, BRICS members enjoy huge development potentials. Faced with the rising tide of isolationism and protectionism in the developed world, BRICS countries shoulder greater responsibilities.



Against such a backdrop, it is more urgent and important to find a way of injecting new impetus to world economic growth, how to make sustainable and long-term plans, how to reinforce international cooperation and how to further promote economic globalization.



Under China guidance, BRICS cooperation has expanded to multiple sectors, including economy, trade, finance, energy, health care, technology, culture, agriculture and education. The Belt and Road initiative put forward by China has taken hold.



Financial institutions such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and New Development Bank have all driven regional and international economic cooperation.



Chinas proposals have been widely recognized and accepted at a number of major international conferences, including the G20 summits, APEC Economic Leaders Meetings, Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation and BRICS Leaders Informal Meetings. Chinas plans have become global solutions.



China has not only shown willingness to share its advanced technologies and experiences with other countries, but has also made detailed plans on its short, medium and long-term agenda. It suggests Chinas influence and leadership in global governance.



The BRICS cooperation mechanism is the best way for developing countries to collectively contribute to world economic governance, and as a major component of multilateral cooperation. It has significantly gained a voice for emerging markets and developing countries in global governance, breaking the monopoly of the developed countries.



Chinas BRICS plus strategy provides an alternative to expanding and deepening cooperation among developing countries, which most developing countries are anticipating, including Mexico.



Its remarkable economic performance has heightened the worlds expectations on its leadership role as well. I expect fruitful results from the upcoming BRICS Summit in Xiamen. I also hope BRICS countries could enhance cooperation on poverty relief, connectivity and global economic stability.



(The author is the director of Institute for China-Mexico Studies under National Autonomous University of Mexico and the director of the Academic Network for Latin America and the Caribbean on China.)



(Source: Peoples Daily)



Dans la meme rubrique : < > China accelerates green, low-carbon development World-class astronomical obervation base takes shape in Qinghai province China, Germany should keep to overall direction of bilateral ties from strategic height: Xi Pour toute information, contactez-nous au : +(235) 99267667 ; 62883277 ; 66267667 (Bureau N'Djamena)
UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi expressed shock and outrage after unknown attackers fired shots at a UNHCR vehicle in Timbuktu, Mali on Tuesday  injuring two staff members. The vehicle came under fire despite being clearly identified with the UN Refugee Agencys logo. Both of the injured are currently receiving medical care. I []http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Appa-sourceTheAfric...
In his televised address on the future of American operations in Afghanistan, President Donald Trump took a sharp turn from his predecessors.

I share [the American people's] frustration over a foreign policy that has spent too much time, energy, money, and most importantly lives, trying to rebuild countries in our own image, instead of pursuing our security interests above all other considerations.

Ultimately, it is up to the people of Afghanistan to take ownership of their future, to govern their society, and to achieve an everlasting peace. We are a partner and a friend, but we will not dictate to the Afghan people how to live, or how to govern their own complex society. We are not nation-building again. We are killing terrorists.

We will no longer use American military might to construct democracies in faraway lands, or try to rebuild other countries in our own image. Those days are now over. Instead, we will work with allies and partners to protect our shared interests. We are not asking others to change their way of life, but to pursue common goals that allow our children to live better and safer lives. This principled realism will guide our decisions moving forward

Think "Egypt" in place of "Afghanistan" in each phrase and then ask how the administration decided to cut nearly cut nearly $100 million dollars in U.S. military and economic aid to Egypt and withhold another $200 million in military financing over human rights concerns and a change in law governing civic organizations and NGOs.

Is Egypt a paragon of the American definition of human rights? No. Is Egypt an American-style democracy? No. Is Egypt a bulwark against both ISIS and Iranian-supported radicalism in the Middle East? Yes, it is. Is Egypt's President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi "protect(ing) our shared interests" and "pursu(ing) common goals" with the United States? Damned right he is.

Egypt and Israel have partnered to control the tidal wave of Iranian-sponsored and ISIS-related people and weapons moving across Sinai and Egypt and into Libya, Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco. (Note that all of these are less than stable and lie just south of NATO.) Egypt sells natural gas to Jordan, which is facing its own security threats. Egypt moved with Saudi Arabia to highlight the problem Qatar's support for Iran, as well as the Muslim Brotherhood and Sunni jihadist groups, has caused in the region -- and for Egypt itself. And, most recently, Egypt -- with the concurrence of Russia -- has begun diplomacy in areas of Syria to shore up local ceasefires and, by the way and by design, to discomfit Iran.

Nothing should suit the United States more than to find Egypt working to ensure that Iran does not have a permanent hold on Syria.

While Russia is seeking an exit from Syria that preserves its naval and air bases in the country, Iran's long-term objective in Syria is to be there. And in Lebanon. And in Iraq. The three countries constitute an overland avenue for Iran to the Mediterranean Sea and a lid over American allies Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Israel. Then consider Iranian expansion in the areas south, east, and west of those countries -- in the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea with a base in Yemen -- potentially able to close the Bab el Mandeb Straits, cutting off Israel and Jordan's only outlet to the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean. Egypt, on the northwest side of the Red Sea, can also be stymied by Iranian aggression there, particularly since Sudan and Eritrea, south of Egypt, are corrupt, unstable, and susceptible to smuggling.

It isn't so much a Shiite Crescent as a Shiite encirclement of American allies.

And why? The Islamic Republic declared war on the West when it came to power in 1979 and it remains at war with us today. There are no Iranian "moderates" in power in the government or the military. In the same way President Trump rightly sees Afghanistan as the locus of organizations, weapons, and funding that threaten Western interests from a Sunni orientation, Iran is the same from the Shiite orientation -- only more so. Iran has money unimagined by ISIS and al Qaeda (thank you, President Obama). Iran has weapons capability, including missiles and always the potential for nuclear weapons. Iran the assets of a state and ties to North Korea. Iran is building missile factories in Syria and has already spread a hundred thousand or more rockets and missiles across southern Lebanon through its mercenary army, Hizballah.

The American review on Afghanistan was a necessary and welcome exercise, but if Washington believes it can address problems serially -- leaving the Iran problem until the ISIS problem has been "solved" in Afghanistan, Syria, and Iraq -- it is mistaken. They are corresponding and overlapping issues. Allowing Iran to "win" in Syria because it means ISIS "loses" contains the seeds of a bigger war with a state-based enemy that seeks the destruction of the West no less than ISIS does.

Egypt's President al-Sisi is willing to do what President Trump is willing to do - put its military where its strategic interests are. For this, Egypt should be welcomed as an ally and an asset in the defense of the West.
George Orwells dictum, "Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past," is often quoted, and for good reason. But it is usually quoted out of context. The passage begins:

"And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed -- if all records told the same tale -- then the lie passed into history and became truth. "

Then comes the aphorism, and Orwell continues:

"And yet the past, though of its nature alterable, never had been altered. Whatever was true now was true from everlasting to everlasting. All that was needed was an unending series of victories over your own memory."

"Reality control" they called it; in Newspeak, doublethink." Taken in its entirety, Orwells 1984, published in 1949, presciently described the scenario we now see unfolding in the Democratic Party, the party of the American Left. They intend to erase their own racist past by removing statues and maligning anyone, especially President Trump, who voices an objection. As Dennis Prager has often asserted, "Truth is not a leftist value." It most certainly is not a value of the mainstream media, print or electronic. Our media are part and parcel of the leftist apparatus that seeks to control how our history is remembered. They mean to rewrite it, start to finish, and impose their revisionist version on the rest of us.

"Doublethink" in Orwell's novel meant "to...be conscious of complete truthfulness while telling carefully-constructed lies...to repudiate morality while laying claim to it...." Does this not describe perfectly the left today? The media spend their days "rectifying" the news. They write and print and speak to mislead. Since they could not factually rectify the outcome of the 2016 election, they have spent every waking moment since constructing lies to delegitimize it; with falsehoods of collusion with Russia, and implications that racism, white supremacism, Nazis, and the KKK somehow denied them their rightful destiny They know none of those imputations are true, but their goal is make the public believe they are factual.

For the eight years Obama was President, the MSM never reported the vast numbers of people who were forced, enticed and even recruited to dependence on Food Stamps (an additional 10.7 million souls), or the catastrophic, unimaginable sum of 10 trillion dollars, by which he increased the national debt (he doubled it, adding more than all previous presidents combined), or the true facts of Obamacare, driving up costs, and wrecking the finances of what was the best system of medical care in the world). In Orwell's book, Winston Smith works in the Records Department at the Ministry of Truth which is, of course, exactly the opposite. His job is to "correct" any words issued by Big Brother or the Party that were in error; those errors disappear forever.

The American public is fed fake news day in and day out by every mainstream outlets: NYT, WaPo, LAT, CBS, ABC, NBC, MSNBC, CNN and even Fox News at certain times of the day. They think they are convincing people the lies they tell are the truth -- but they are not. Of course, millions of Americans are already believers, those seduced by the indoctrination that is de rigueur at nearly all institutions of public and private education. Millions more are not. Millions of others know a bit about real American history, its founding, and the Constitution, and they actually do want their country back from the leftist tyrants in the media and Congress. That is why Trump won. The fact that those congressional leaders are part of the Uniparty is no longer in doubt. McConnell, Ryan, and their adherents are betrayers of the people who put them in Congress.

The media, academia, the DC Establishment, (the Democrats and Republicans in Congress who are united against Trump), Facebook, and Google constitute the embodiment of Orwell's Thought Police. Trump fights back, calls them out for what they are. That is exactly what he did in Phoenix. His supporters loved it, and the media punditry's heads exploded; they made utter fools of themselves. They think that they matter, that people care what they think. They are confident that their over-the-top, hyperbolic accusations hold water. They ridicule Trump and his supporters all day long every day. They do not realize that they are objects of ridicule.

It is the Democratic Party that has the most vicious history of racism and intolerance of any surviving political party in todays world that once held power. South Africas National Party, for instance, had the good grace to disband in post-Apartheid politics. The statues they now want to disappear, those of Confederate soldiers, were all Democrats.

Statue of Robert E. Lee in Charlottesville, now shrouded

It was Democrats that opposed desegregation and Civil Rights laws. Nancy Pelosi's father dedicated a statue of Robert E, Lee, and now, suddenly, she wants all Confederates removed from the Capitol after she has walked by them for thirty years? This is the crass hypocrisy that characterizes the no longer liberal but so, so leftist Democrats. Orwell wrote a book of fiction. He was a proponent of the utopian ideal of democratic socialism, but an opponent of totalitarianism. Socialism has failed everywhere it has been tried. Totalitarianism reigns still in too many parts of the world. Our leftists are moving our Republic closer and closer to that end. They cannot be allowed to succeed.
The latest evidence of Hillary Clintons total detachment from reality is found in the excerpt from the audio version of her book What Happened in which she complains of candidate Donald Trump invading her space in the second presidential debate. Not since Captain Queeg in The Caine Mutiny have we seen such paranoia and one sincerely hopes she finds her missing strawberries. Maybe the Russians ate them. As NBC News reported:

In the first excerpts from Hillary Clinton's highly anticipated upcoming memoir, the former Democratic presidential candidate said her "skin crawled" during a debate with Donald Trump. In audio clips of Clinton reading from the book, "What Happened," which were first obtained by MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on Wednesday, Clinton recounted her thoughts as she toyed with the idea of telling her Republican rival to "back up, you creep" as he stood behind her during the second presidential debate. "My skin crawled," Clinton said. "It was one of those moments where you wish you could hit pause and ask everyone watching 'well, what would you do?'" Just two days prior, Clinton said, "the world heard [Trump] brag about groping women." Clinton said during the debate she decided against telling Trump, "back up, you creep, get away from me," and in order to keep her composure, she gripped the microphone "extra hard."

Her grasp on the truth is less firm. Consider this comes from the serial liar who dodged sniper fire in Bosnia, was named for Sir Edmund Hillary, the man who climbed Mt. Everest years after she was born, and who claimed the Benghazi terrorist attack was caused by a video.

If you actually watch replays of that debate you see no such intimidation and the only time candidate Trump was standing behind Hillary was when she crossed to his side of the stage to make a point, ending up in front of Trump who was standing by and walking around his podium.

Hillary apparently found nothing creepy about disgraced Congressman Anthony Weiner, husband of aide and confidante Huma Abedin, texting pictures of himself to young women when he wasnt looking at classified emails from Hillary that Huma forwarded to Weiners laptop. Anthony Weiner is a pretty big creep in most peoples book but perhaps the biggest creep is her own husband. Weiners creepiness is close, but no cigar.

The fact is that Hillary Clinton rose to political prominence, captured the 2016 Democratic nomination for president, and got to be on that debate stage with Donald Trump only because she looked the other way when Bill wandered off and rode his stained coattails to the halls of power.

Hillarys remarks allude to the kerfuffle over the Access Hollywood tape where Trump is heard engaging in locker room talk about groping women. That her husband Bill actually did grope women, and possibly worse is a memory she must have lost when she fell and hit her head before her Benghazi testimony.

Intimidate women? Bill Clinton used his offices of governor and president as a power tool to obtain women. At least the Secret Service, as far as we know, never actually delivered them, unlike Arkansas state troopers reportedly did. Now that is creepy, almost as creepy as the fact Hillary wanted to sit in the same chair in the same Oval Office where Monica Lewinsky serviced her husband.

Hillary was the enabler of a philandering husband. She stood by her man so she could ride his coattails to political prominence. She is women, hear her ignore her husbands real war on woman.

Some have even suggested that when a righteously indignant President Clinton wagged his finger and said he did not have sexual relations with that woman, he added Ms. Lewinsky as an afterthought, just so listeners would know exactly who that woman was. The irony here is that Hillary Clinton first gained national prominence, as columnist Debra J. Saunders writes at SFGATE doing just that:

When Hillary Clinton first became a national figure in 1992, it was on 60 Minutes. CBS correspondent Steve Kroft was asking the Clintons about Gennifer Flowers claim that the Bubba and she had an affair. Bill denied the allegation. Hillary Clinton said, Im not sitting here, some little woman standing by my man like Tammy Wynette. Actually, thats exactly what she was doing. On 60 Minutes, Bill Clinton denied having an affair with Flowers. Well, if you listen carefully, you notice that he denied a 12-year affair with Flowers. Kroft asked: Would he categorically deny the affair? Ever the parser, Clinton answered, Ive said that before. In 1998, under oath during a deposition for the Paula Jones lawsuit, Clinton testified he had sex with Flowers in 1977. Once. Just like he didnt inhale. For every bad choice Bill Clinton made, he tried to evade any consequences, not by owning up, but lying. It is unthinkable to expect the former president to regulate himself. Hillary Clinton was his ever-ready enabler. Later, during the Monica Lewinsky scandal, the first lady famously blamed a vast right-wing conspiracy.

Gennifer Flowers, Monica Lewinsky, Paula Jones, Kathleen Willey as well as, some would suggest, a cast of thousands, have been groped, fondled, and used as sexual objects by one William Jefferson Clinton. If in Hillarys view, Donald Trumps sexism is a campaign issue, then surely the wandering eye, hand and schlong of her husband while she averted her eyes to gain power is also an issue.

And then theres Juanita Broaddrick, who has accused President Clinton of rape. Juanita Broaddricks story is a credible one, and one of the many bimbo eruptions that Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton handled during her husband Bills presidential campaign As Linda Tripp, confidante of former Clinton intern Monica Lewinsky, told the Daily Mail of how Hillary both enabled and covered up Bills many dalliances:

Tripp said: 'His political success was largely dependent upon Hillary. He owed her a great deal. As is widely acknowledged, Hillary took care of all the 'bimbo eruptions' of which there were thousands in order to present to the world an electable candidate. 'In this endeavor she was ruthless. She destroyed women so that their stories never saw the light of day.'

Juanita Broaddricks story was one that saw the light of day when in January 1999, a month after Bill Clintons impeachment in the House, she agreed to be interviewed by NBCs Lisa Myers. As Breitbart reports of the interview:

Her account begins in 1978, when then-Juanita Hickey was a 35-year-old Clinton campaign worker, and Attorney General Bill Clinton, who was running for governor of Arkansas, visited a nursing home where she worked as a nurse. According to the transcript of an NBC Dateline report on Broaddrick, during that campaign stop, Clinton reportedly invited her to visit his campaign headquarters in Little Rock. Broaddrick, who was planning to go to Little Rock the following week for a seminar, called Clintons headquarters when she arrived and said she was surprised to be greeted on the phone by a staff member who seemed to be expecting her call. The aide directed her to telephone Clinton at his apartment. I did call and ask him if he was gonna be at the headquarters that day and he said no he didnt plan to be there, Broaddrick said. He says, Clinton said, Why dont I just meet you for coffee in the Camelot coffee shop?'

Broaddrick said the seminar was being held at the Camelot Hotel in Little Rock.

Clinton, however, reportedly called back later and asked if they could meet in her hotel room because there were reporters in the coffee shop.

Clinton arrived at her room and after some small talk, Broaddrick, not having yet any reason to distrust the man she supported for governor, the top law enforcement officer in her state, said he forced himself on her in a particularly brutal way.

At a Trump press conference in 2016, Broaddrick, tired of being accused of being part of a vast right wing conspiracy, and afraid that her attacker would once again occupy the White House with the woman who orchestrated the attacks on Bill Clintons bimbo eruptions, repeated her accusation:

Actions speak louder than words, Broaddrick said. Mr. Trump may have said some bad words but Bill Clinton raped me and Hillary Clinton threatened me. I dont think theres any comparison.

Broaddrick, who has said Hillary threatened her, appeared with fellow Clinton sexual assault victims Paula Jones and Kathleen Willey appeared in an interview at presidential suite of the historic Watergate and related the tale of Bills assaults and their fear of Hillarys retaliation:

In an exclusive video interview at the presidential suite of the historic Watergate Hotel, the victims of Bill Clintons alleged sexual assault -- Juanita Broaddrick, Kathleen Willey, and Paula Jones -- got together for the first time in person to express their personal fear of Hillary Clinton and to warn voters that Clinton does not stand for womens issues. The three women, who say their lives were forever changed by their experiences with the Clintons, used words like terrified and frightened to describe their feelings about the prospects of a Hillary Clinton presidency We were not willing participants, Broaddrick said. These were crimes. In a separate interview, Broaddrick shared her own story of brutal sexual assault which she says Bill Clinton perpetrated against her. Willey called out NBC News Andrea Mitchell and CNNs Jake Tapper by name, challenging them: These are not infidelities. A rape is not an infidelity. These are crimes. Any other people would be in jail This is no longer about infidelities, indiscretions, girlfriends, sex, interns -- none of those. This is about a serial rapist, a predator, and his wife who has enabled his behavior all of these years. Later in this interview, Jones, Willey, and Broaddrick expressed fear at how a potential President Hillary Clinton would use the power of her office. It terrifies me and it should terrify all women, Jones stated about Hillarys presidential ambitions. It should terrify all men and women, Willey added. She will annihilate any enemy. All of her enemies. Anybody who has spoken against her. Across the board for I dont know how many years. She will get rid of them. No woman who advocates for women attacks the victims of sexual assault be it by her husband or anybody else, said Willey. The women argued that the term enabler best describes Hillary Clintons role in her husbands alleged sexual crimes. There is not a better word for any of this, stated Broaddrick. Especially when she threatened me personally. Willey added, She is complicit in everything that he has done. She had helped him do it, asserted Jones. She has turned a blind eye for decades against what he has done stated Broaddrick. And she has been the main one to help cover this up. And go after us.

If Hillary Clinton is worried about someone breathing down her neck, perhaps it should be a Trump Department of Justice that has reopened the investigation into her multiples felonies regarding mishandling classified emails and deleting emails that were under subpoena, to name a few.

Hillary Clinton has met a few creeps in her life, but President Trump is not one of them.

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.
The inquisitors on Twitter never seem to run out of targets for their rage. Even Torquemada wasn't as zealous as the bullies who patrol the internet looking for transgressions against political correctness or, failing to find any, create controversy out of whole cloth.

Case in point: An innocent photo of a young, cute white child wearing a T-shirt sold by the American Civil Liberties Union. The controversy that ensued over this photo would be unbelievable  except it has become standard operating procedure for the Guardians of Goodness on the internet.

Fox News:

Earlier this week, the Twitter account for the American Civil Liberties Union posted an innocuous picture of a toddler wearing a tyke-sized ACLU T-shirt with the words "Free Speech" on the front. The little one was holding a stuffed animal in one hand and a mini American flag in the other. The tweet that accompanied the photo said "This is the future that ACLU members want." Within moments, the tweet was descended upon from the corners of the outrage twitter-sphere because that's what social media is now. The great social injustice committed here by the ACLU? The child in the picture was white and therefore declared as racist and propping up white supremacists. Senior Guardian columnist Steven Thrasher posted a humorous gif of Blackish star Anthony Anderson crying while others took it a bit more seriously. But other than a handful of verified twitter users, there wasn't really a catch-fire moment. It wasn't picked up by media outlets or journalists on Twitter. There was a minor firestorm over a picture that attracted scant attention but in the end that didn't matter. Within the hour, however, the ACLU posted a weird retraction of the image, stating "When your Twitter followers keep you in check and remind you that white supremacy is everywhere," along with a Kermit the Frog gif. The issue here shouldn't necessarily be that the ACLU apologized for a picture they posted of a child wearing their own "Free Speech" merchandise and calling it white supremacy. It should be how quickly they were willing to placate a mob without any real influence. Other than a couple people with verified twitter accounts, this really wasn't an issue. But of course now it is. When viewed through a larger lens, it's a troubling pattern in the wake of the Charlottesville protests, where the ACLU has found itself walking a delicate line of speaking out for the rights of speech (everyone's speech, yes, including idiot Nazi role players) while not being accused of being white supremacists themselves and/or finding themselves on the receiving end of a trademarked bottle of Antifa-brand urine bomb.

The ACLU, rightly, did not take the controversy seriously. But what is truly frightening about this incident is that the inquisitors have no conception of what the First Amendment means and why the ACLU defends the free speech rights of everyone from Nazis to black power groups [but not Christian bakers! DJB].

The attack on the First Amendment by radical left activists is unprecedented. A large, loud, and influential (at least, within the Democratic Party) group of mostly younger people is claiming that the First Amendment must be amended to ban "hate speech" and hate groups from being able to express themselves.

If they are successful, the First Amendment will become meaningless. The only speech allowed will be "approved" speech. The danger is that the next Democratic president could name a sufficient number of Supreme Court justices who would agree with that idea and kill the First Amendment forever.

This is not a secret to conservatives, who already feel the pressure from these radical activists who are shutting down free speech on campus and are looking to go beyond that to influence local governments to ban ordinary conservative and Republican groups from speaking out.

"White supremacy" is the new communism. What the paranoid commie-hunters in the 1950s did for America, the radical leftists are looking to repeat. But unlike Republicans in the '50s and '60s who fought to marginalize the Birchers and others involved in the Red Scare, Democrats are mainstreaming the radicals, who are gradually gaining power within the party.

They are playing with forces they do not understand, or they don't care where those forces are taking the party and America.
Baltimore's state attorney and the city's police commissioner told the Baltimore Sun that the change in police tactics following the riots that broke out after the death of Freddie Gray in 2015 has led to a skyrocketing murder rate.

Daily Caller:

Baltimore is currently struggling with one of its highest murder counts in years, something that could have been influenced by a change in policing tactics, State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby and Police Commissioner Kevin Davis implicitly acknowledged in an exclusive interview with the Baltimore Sun Wednesday.

Years ago, the city had tamped down on the violence and brought the homicides down to less than 200 in a year by using "heavy handed police tactics" that are now frowned upon, the two noted in the interview.

"There was a price to paythat manifested itself in April and May of 2015," Davis said, alluding to the Baltimore riots over Freddie Gray. "I think the long view is that doing it the right way is doing it the hard way, and I think most Baltimoreans realize that the way forward is not always going to be easy."

The Baltimore Police Department came under scrutiny and heavy criticism after Freddie Gray died in police custody in 2015. A Department of Justice investigation into the police department found that the officers routinely performed unconstitutional stops, arrests, used excessive force and attributed the problems to "systemic deficiencies" in the department's training, policies and supervision.

Baltimore is currently on track to reach 300 homicides for the year. The city's mayor, Catherine Pugh, released a crime plan earlier this month that uses a more holistic approach to fighting the violence. Pugh's plan includes making Baltimore Community College free for high school students, hiring more officers, improving the training of police officers and helping rehabilitate drug addicts.
Half a century ago in China, gangs of violent youths called Red Guards, intent on enforcing the radical vision of Mao Tse-tung, destroyed statues, libraries, and other artifacts of the world's oldest and richest culture in an effort at utopian revolutionary transformation. The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution intended to erase the past and take a billion people into a classless paradise.

Today, violent gangs of American leftists delude themselves into thinking they will trigger a violent revolution that they will win, and ape the goal of destroying a past that is a reminder of an order they wish to eradicate. The toppling of a Confederate statue by a communist mob in Durham, N.C. shows definite signs of Red Guard envy, as pathetic losers imagine themselves as heirs to fearsome radicals.

The Red Guards were called into action by Mao Tse-tung himself, in an effort to outflank his more practical opponents and impose radical change through physical force. With that kind of backing, they achieved a level of power and cruelty that Antifa, Black Bloc, and Black Lives Matter can't even dream of. I studied the Cultural Revolution as a graduate student at Harvard starting in 1969. I will never forget interviewing, years later, a distinguished Chinese professor who had been dragged from his university into the street, paraded about in a dunce cap as he was beaten with sticks, imprisoned, and sent out to a commune to do manual labor of the most disgusting kind. His crime was that he had received his Ph.D. at Indiana University. He bore obvious scars of the ordeal on his body, in his gait, and in his demeanor.

Because they were so powerful, the Red Guards were able to damage China and help cause the famines that claimed tens of millions of lives there. They set back higher education by a generation. And the reaction to the mess they created helped lead China toward market reforms and the opening to the United States under Deng Xiao-ping and President Nixon.

Multiculturalism, aka the demeaning and destruction of the culture that created capitalism, has replaced Mao's Little Red Book as the theoretical basis of the new guards of the blue persuasion. Blue Guard statue-topplers are in their own minds the vanguard of the Great Identitarian Cultural Revolution. Of course, it is a masturbatory fantasy, one doomed to produce a reaction as counterproductive for their goals as Deng's freeing of parts of the Chinese economy to entrepreneurial enterprise was to the Red Guards.

They are doomed to swifter failure than the Red Guards, but that doesn't mean they won't create a mess.
The FBI has arrested a Chinese national who authorities say supplied a hacking code that penetrated the Office of Personnel Management, exposing the personal information of millions of U.S. citizens.

Yu Pingan, 36, was arrested Monday at Los Angeles International Airport. Authorities also say he supplied the same code that hacked at least four U.S. corporations.

Fox News:

FBI Special Agent Adam James said in an affidavit filed with a court that the FBI is after a group of hackers who compromised companies' computer networks with "an uncommon malicious software tool known as 'Sakula,'" and other hacking tools, the Wall Street Journal reported. Seized communications revealed that Yu had provided the software to others and was aware that the malware would be used breach data, James said. According to Adam Meyers, vice president of cybersecurity company CrowdStrike Inc., the Sakula software has been often used against "a number of high-profile targets." "Over the 2012 to 2015 timeframe, we saw lots of significant breaches involving Sakula," Meyers told the Wall Street Journal. The arrest of Yu is one of the first cases brought against a Chinese national based on the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act following a 2015 agreement between President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping to stop theft of industrial trade secrets, the New York Times reported. The federal complaint, according to the Times, claims that the suspect has been using the malicious software since 2012 and the FBI agents suggest Yu is among a small circle of Chinese hackers using the code. The data breach, which started in 2014 and was discovered in 2015, let hackers steal personal information of government employees, including addresses, health and financial histories, and fingerprints, the Times reported. The federal criminal complaint, however, does not accuse Yu of personally being responsible for the hacking of the Office of Personnel Management  only the malware he was providing. Michael Berg, Yu's court-appointed attorney, claimed the detained man is not affiliated with the Chinese government and is merely a teacher. "He says he has no involvement in this whatsoever," the attorney said, according to Reuters, adding that he came to the U.S. for a conference.

It is significant that authorities have not been able to connect Yu to the infamous Chinese army cyber-warfare bureau, PLA 61398, that some cyber-security experts believed was responsible for the OPM hack. But it's not likely that the Chinese government would leave a bread crumb trail that could easily be followed back to it.

We've seen similar deception efforts from Russian hackers, some of whom are almost certainly tied in some way to the Russian government but are able to hide their tracks to prevent U.S. authorities from making a connection.

The government has yet to come completely clean about that 2015 OPM hack. We know the approximate number of records that were exposed and how the hackers were able to penetrate a federal contractor's computers to gain access. But who got those records and what might have been done with them is a mystery.
The nature of Facebook's political power is on display in Germany, where the company has started deleting thousands of Facebook accounts in advance of elections there, lest they be used to spread "disinformation." Chris Tomlinson reports in Breitbart:

Social media giant Facebook has deleted thousands of German accounts ahead of the German national election next month, in a major crack down on facilitators of "fake news". Around ten thousand "fake accounts" were taken down by the company who claimed to have done so in order to protect users from "disinformation" ahead of next month's national election. The mass-banning of accounts is the latest crackdown by the company on what they deem to be the spread of "fake news", Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports.

This tweet exposes the doubly disturbing nature of the move:

Germany Threatens to Sue Facebook Because They Aren't Deleting Posts the Government Dislikes Fast Enough https://t.co/Hsv1XZIClY pic.twitter.com/ekU53unmyn  Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) December 17, 2016

While it is already alarming enough that one media company is the source of a substantial share of the news consumption of any nation, it is even more disturbing when the company links with a regime to do its bidding in suppressing information the regime disfavors.

And when that nation is Germany, which taught the world lessons about the dangers of a regime in control of its media, it is downright alarming.

Needless to say, the move to censor viewpoints no doubt is being done in the name of tolerance and diversity. Just as Orwell predicted.
The story of U.S. diplomats injured in Cuba gets weirder every day. According to what we hear, it was an apparent attack with a sonic weapon that targeted their homes.

We just saw this update from CBS and the nature of the injuries:

According to medical records reviewed exclusively by CBS News, a U.S. doctor who evaluated American and Canadian diplomats working in Havana diagnosed them with conditions as serious as mild traumatic brain injury, and with likely damage to the central nervous system. The diplomats complained about symptoms ranging from hearing loss and nausea to headaches and balance disorders after the State Department said "incidents" began affecting them beginning in late 2016. A source familiar with these incidents says officials are investigating whether the diplomats were targets of a type of sonic attack directed at their homes, which were provided by the Cuban government. The source says reports of more attacks affecting U.S. embassy workers on the island continue. The doctor, one of several who reviewed their cases, included a warning in the medical records about the health risks of future exposures. The diplomats underwent comprehensive audiological evaluations and a battery of other tests.

So what happened? How did this happen?

We don't know for sure, but I have a couple of theories.

First, the attack may have come from another country in Cuba, such as Russia or North Korea. After all, the Castro regime and the family in North Korea have been buddies for a long time. I would not put it beyond the North Koreans to do something like this.

Second, the Cuban government may be sending President Trump a message, although I am not sure that attacking U.S. diplomats was smart on their part. I would not be surprised to see the Trump administration use this incident to stop or delay contacts with the island.

We will wait for more details. However, this is not the U.S.-Cuba relationship President Obama started at the end of 2014.

Something's gone wrong since President Obama and Dictator Raul did the wave in Havana in 2016.

P.S. You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.
The Awful Truth is catching up with the Fake News media, as the fantasy they obsessively peddled to delegitimize President Trump is blowing up in their faces, and they suddenly change the topic to their inevitable fallback issue: racism. They gamble that hysteria over the imminent threat of something very, very bad because of white racists will distract everyone.

It doesn't take Sherlock Holmes to notice the dog that isn't barking when that dog had been barking all night, every night, for months on end.

And now the alleged puppet is signaling some hardball against the alleged puppetmaster.

As a friend emailed, this latest development "cinches it for me: proof that Trump is in Putin's pocket." Jennifer Lifhits writes in the Weekly Standard:

Mattis: Trump Administration Considering Lethal Defensive Aid for Ukraine The Trump administration is considering sending lethal defensive aid to Ukraine, defense secretary Jim Mattis said during a visit there Thursday. "On the defensive lethal weapons, we are actively reviewing it," Mattis said at a press conference with Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko. "I will go back now having seen the current situation and be able to inform the secretary of State and the president in very specific terms what I recommend for the direction ahead." Mattis also noted that the administration recently approved an additional $175 million worth of equipment to the country. For months, the administration has been weighing providing Ukraine with lethal defensive weapons in its years-long fight against Russian-backed separatists in the east. President Barack Obama signed off on non-lethal aid and training but hesitated to send defensive weapons to Kyiv, in part out of concerns that doing so would provoke Moscow and ramp up the conflict.

There is no memory hole big enough to swallow months and months of hysteria  and a special counsel, no less.

The Russia! meme may be gone from the MSM, but it will never be forgotten.
In her declining years, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Malaprop) is turning into an embarrassment for the Democratic Party, an institution formerly believed to be incapable of shame. Best of all for Republicans: They can't get rid of her.

A lifetime of power and privilege that began as the daughter of the mayor of Baltimore has accustomed Pelosi to stringing together political slogans, platitudes, and catchphrases as a substitute for political thought. Her forte has always been fundraising and the use of those funds to build a personal web of influence among fellow Democrats, all whom are accustomed to seeking money more than wisdom in their interactions with her. Seldom is she ever corrected by her own side, and the mockery of her opponents matters not a whit.

As a result, the minority leader of the U.S. House of Representatives sallies forth on a regular basis and utters idiotic dicta, with no meaningful feedback loop to self-correct her verbal output. She actually thinks she is making sense.

...especially when speaking to local media from the San Francisco Bay Area, where absurdities uttered by a politician are a requirement for political victory.

Patterico via Popehat spotted this gem that slipped out when Pelosi spoke to Pam Moore, of local all-news station KRON-TV in San Francisco, about her desire to deny a permit to the Patriot Prayer group's free speech rally on Saturday in the Presidio of San Francisco. The embedded video takes less than 20 seconds:

INTERVIEWER: How could the Park Service justify denying that organization their free speech rights? PELOSI: Because the Constitution does not say that a person can shout, yell wolf in a crowded theater. If you are endangering people, then you dont have a constitutional right to do that.

"Crying wolf," of course indicates raising alarm about something that is not a threat at all  perhaps like a group led by a nonwhite man who denounces racism and featuring mostly nonwhite speakers, for the purpose of affirming the importance of free speech. There is a lot of "crying wolf" going on in San Francisco, on the part of Peloisi and her allies in the San Francisco political machine that has given us Pelosi and Senators Dianne Feinstein, Barbara Boxer, and Kamala Harris.

Pelosi continues to be able to raise so much money that the Democrats will have a hard time getting rid of her, even though she stands as a continuing reminder to the nation of two of the fundamental flaws in the Democratic Party. The first is the vacuity of the Democrats' political thinking and its reliance on meaningless platitudes, so interchangeable that their leaders sometimes insert the wrong one. But they're all the same, anyway.

The second is that Pelosi is an apt symbol of the corrupt bargain that party has made with the digital and financial oligarchs to buy the support of a vast dependent class and seize the reins of political power in the name of compassion, or something, as the plutocrats get richer and the middle class declines. Her husband (who "prefers a low profile") has managed to build a vast fortune while she wielded political power, including a trophy property multimillion-dollar estate in the Napa Valley.
What do the following ten chemical elements have in common?

Yttrium

Ytterbium

Terbium

Erbium

Gadolinium

Thulium

Scandium

Holmium

Dysprosium

Lutetium

The answer is that the all the ten elements were isolated from a single mineral ore extracted from a modest mine in the small village of Ytterby on the Swedish island of Resaro. All of these elements are rare earth elements, which means that they are very difficult to separate. It took many chemists and scientists decades of research to discover them all. At least four of these elements Yttrium (Y), Erbium (Er), Terbium (Tb), and Ytterbium (Yb)are named after the village.

The mine in Ytterby when it was still functioning, circa 1910. Photo credit: Tekniska museet/Flickr

Ytterbys scientific history began in 1787, when an army lieutenant and part-time chemist Carl Axel Arrhenius discovered a strange, unusually heavy black ore in an old quarry near the Swedish village of Ytterby. Arrhenius named the new ore Ytterbite, and sent samples of it to various chemists for analysis in the hope that it would yield the newly discovered element tungsten.

Johan Gadolin, a Finnish chemist at the University of Abo, identified the first rare earth element in Arrhenius' sample in 1789. It was named Yttrium (Y). Over the next hundred years, nine more elements fell out of this ore.

In 1843 Carl Gustav Mosander discovered that Ytterbite was actually a mixture of three metal oxides. From these, two new elements were extractedTerbium (Tb) and Erbium (Er) both named after the village of Ytterby where they were found. A fourth metal oxide was discovered in 1878 by Jean Charles Galissard de Marignac, from which element Ytterbium (Yb) was separated. As refining techniques improved, more new elements were discovered in these four oxides, taking the total number of elements isolated from this one single ore to ten.

One of these elements, Gadolinium (Gd), was named after Johan Gadolin. The ore itself was renamed from Ytterbite to Gadolinite in Gadolins honor.

The mine, which was originally a feldspar mine, shut down a long ago, and is now covered with trees and weeds. There is a small plaque on a rock near the mine commemorating the discoveries made here. Some of the local streets in the village are also named after elements discovered here.

The periodic table of elements with the location of the ten elements highlighted.

Yttrium (Y), the first rare earth element discovered by Johan Gadolin, has important application in LEDs and phosphors, particularly the red phosphors in television set cathode ray tube displays. Yttrium is also used in the production of electrodes, electrolytes, electronic filters, lasers, superconductors, and various medical applications.

Terbium (Tb) is used in semi-conductors to manufacture solid-state devices, but most of the worlds supply of this element goes into the production of green phosphors thats used in TV screens. Terbium is also used in fluorescent lamps, and in actuators in naval sonar systems and in sensors.

Erbium (Er) is used in many optical applications such as in the manufacture of lasers and optical amplifiers. Erbium lasers have low penetration allowing them to be used in dermatology and dentistry, where only the skin or surface of a tooth needs to be treated.

Ytterbium (Yb) is mainly used as a dopant of stainless steel or active laser media, but its most interesting use is in atomic clocks. Ytterbium clocks are accurate to within less than two parts in 1 quintillion, or 2 followed by eighteen zeros. These clocks are more accurate than caesium atomic clock currently used to define the second.

Memorial plaque of the ASM International at Ytterby mine. Photo credit: Uwezi/Wikimedia

Roads named after elements discovered in Ytterbys mine. Photo credit: Uwezi/Wikimedia

Sources: MrReid.org / University of Melbourne / Wikipedia
Don't Abandon Assyrians in the Nineveh Plains: Iraqi PM

Assyrians of Alqosh protest removal of town mayor -- August 19, 2017. The Assyrian towns of Alqosh and Tel Keppe located in the Nineveh Plains have been targeted by Masoud Barzani's Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) by consecutively replacing their democratically elected mayors with KDP's own surrogates. This is in effort to force the Nineveh Plains to be incorporated within the Kurdistan region's borders despite Alqosh and Tel Keppe being part of Nineveh province, and, therefore, under the administration of the federal government of Iraq. The series of mayoral changes has sparked several protests by the locals of Alqosh who reject KDP's oppressive tactics. Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi must answer the call for help from the citizens of the Nineveh Plains and reassure that the federal government will look after them as Iraqi citizens and not leave them prey to the KDP's expansionism. Barzani and the KDP took advantage of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) capitulation in northern Iraq against the terror group, Daesh in 2014. Instead of providing support, the KDP allowed ISF to retreat from their posts only to take over and expand Peshmerga's presence in areas the KDP considers "disputed territories". As a result, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has expanded its territory by over 40% by taking advantage of the federal government being in disarray. Not providing support to the ISF in order to land-grab has left citizens in the disputed areas to suffer and die under Daesh brutality. So much could have been avoided had there been support for one another. The need to settle KRG encroachment in disputed areas is the fact this has been going on for too long. Disputed areas are generally home to many of Iraq's minorities and these minorities have borne the brunt of neglect from both the federal government and the KRG with regards to services since the fall of the Ba'athist regime in 2003. The security tension between ISF and Peshmerga has left many minorities like Assyrians and Yezidis vulnerable to genocide when Daesh invaded their towns. Now that the war is almost over in Iraq, minorities returning home are finding themselves back in the middle of neglect and tension between the KRG and the federal government of Iraq. Prime Minister Abadi can no longer leave these citizens under Peshmerga control while Barzani gets away with not providing services because they are not under KRG jurisdiction. The occupation of disputed territories by the KRG is also stripping Iraq's minorities of their identities. The very same injustice Iraq's Kurds claim of past Iraqi regimes is now being implemented by Barzani against Assyrians and Yezidis. While the KRG portray themselves as the protectors of minorities with the security reassured by Peshmerga, they undermine the democratic process in Iraq with Barzani's authoritarianism. Iraq's minorities should not have to choose security over their democratic rights and identities, these are basic rights that should be provided for by the federal government of Iraq. Iraq's minorities deserve the reassurance of security provided by the federal government with mayors elected by locals that have a healthy and responsive relationship with Baghdad. Barzani can erect portraits of himself and raise flags of Kurdistan in disputed areas like the Nineveh Plains but Iraq and the international community must not allow an illegal force spread undemocratic rule further past the Kurdistan region's borders. Prime Minister Abadi may struggle to have the political power to challenge Barzani over disputed areas but history will judge him and the rest of the political elite in Baghdad over the treatment of Iraq's minorities. Assyrians, Yezidis and other minorities have already suffered enough and Baghdad cannot afford to witness their extinction in Iraq like the native Jewish community before them. As Iraqi Ambassador in Washington, Dr. Fareed Yasseen recently stated, "Iraq is not Iraq without its minorities". Prime Minister Abadi, the Iraqi Parliament and the rest of Iraqi leadership must live up to their responsibility and respond to the people of Alqosh who have come out en masse for a third time now with a large wave of Iraqi flags demanding Alqosh remains an Iraqi town. If Iraqi leadership and locals in disputed areas claim this is Iraq and they are indeed Iraqi, there should be no excuses to not resolve this issue. If nothing is done and Barzani gets away with his authoritarian policies, it would be a green light for Barzani to continue carving up his future state out of the flesh of Iraqi-Assyrians. This would be a shame to Abadi's government as it would be remembered as the one who lost this fundamental component of Iraq: Assyrians. Iraqi forces gave countless lives for the unity of Iraq and many lost their lives so church bells would ring again, we cannot let their sacrifice go to waste.
Hani Khalaf: Hyde Park killer and the problem with immigrants

In todays Daily Express, its another game of join the dots, of which there are just two. Page 5 tells readers of an illegal immigrant called Hani Khalaf. Hes been handed a 26-year prison sentence for murdering Jairo Medina, beating the man to death in Londons Hyde Park.

Khalaf, an Egyptian national, arrived in the UK in the back of lorry back in 2014, posing as a Syrian asylum seeker.

Judge Wendy Joseph QC tells the court:

It is clear that Hani Khalaf, having absconded, came to the attention of authorities on at least six occasions. On each, he was re-bailed because they could not make arrangements for securing his deportation in a reasonable amount of time.

The news is part of a page given over to immigration stories.

The phone poll on the same page asks: Is Britain still letting in too many migrants?

The story of how Hani Khalaf was free to murder is troubling. Why was a man in the country illegally not dealt with by the authorities? Joseph makes the valid point that Khalaf had no way of lawfully maintaining himself. How can man in the country illegally keep the rules?

So much for the Express. But how do the other paper report on the story?

The Daily Telegraph leads with the killers legal status:

Illegal immigrant murdered man in Hyde Park after Home Office repeatedly failed to deport him

It tells readers that the victim, a carer by profession, was born in Colombia. He was a Colombian national. The Express omits that fact. The Express also doesnt say that Mr Medina, a migrant, has, according to his sister, won an award in 2015 for his service to care in London.

The paper adds:

The day before he [Khalaf] met Mr Medina, he was arrested for shoplifting in Regent Street and gave police the false name he had previously given to immigration officials. He appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court and was bailed hours before the killing.

On August 11, Khalaf met Mr Medina in Hyde Park, where the victim had gone hoping to have sex with a younger man, the court heard.

Khalaf murdered and robbed Mr Medina. The judge ruled that it was a murder for gain.

Over in the London Evening Standard, the killers status is is once more the leading fact:

Illegal immigrant jailed for beating carer Jairo Medina to death in Londons Hyde Park

It was only good police work that saw Khalaf arrested:

Khalaf was arrested on August 16 for fare evasion and told police he was Hanni Hassan and later gave the name Khalaf, prosecutor Oliver Glasgow QC said. Then on August 18, he was arrested again for shoplifting and taken to Charing Cross police station, where an eagle-eyed police officer recognised him from CCTV as the suspect seen with Mr Medina on the night of his death.

The BBC delivers the headline:

Illegal immigrant jailed for Hyde Park murder

And in the Guardian? Well, this is the headline:

Its story begins:

A homeless man has been jailed for at least 26 years for murdering a kind and peace-loving carer

To the Guardian, it is not Khalafs illegality that matters most. Homeless man jailed for Hyde Park murder, says the headline. Its report carries not a single mention of the words migrant, illegal immigrant or immigrant.

The Express and Guardian both massage the facts to fit an agenda. Neither is helpful.

Anorak

Posted: 25th, August 2017 | In: Broadsheets, News, Tabloids Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
(ANSA) - Rome, August 25 - Some 40 old, ill or very young Eritrean and Ethiopian refugees and asylum seekers are to return to a building near Rome's Termini Station where they were evicted with hundreds of others Saturday, Rome city council said Friday. They will be housed in six rooms there for six months after a deal between the council and the company that owns the building, SEA, sources said. Anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S) bigwig Luigi Di Maio, the deputy Lower House Speaker, denied claims M5S Rome Mayor Virginia Raggi was neglecting the issue, saying "Virginia is working for the good of Romans".

The Rome council security pointman, Marco Cardilli, said it had been informed of Saturday's eviction "just one day before, on Friday". Meanwhile the leftist pro-squatter Movement for the Struggle for Housing said it would stage a "major" march against evictions in Rome Saturday.

Interior Minister Marco Minniti will not approve any other evictions of squatters in Rome after the controversial eviction of the Eritrean and Ethiopian refugees, the chair of the Senate human rights committee, Luigi Manconi, said Friday.

Manconi and Minniti are members of the ruling centre-left Democratic Party (PD).

Clashes in Rome Thursday in which a dozen evicted Eritrean refugees were slightly hurt by police could have been avoided, Italian police chief Franco Gabrielli told the Italian press Friday.

In an interview with La Repubblica daily, Gabrielli defended the controversial police operation but said that an officer caught in a Facebook video saying "break their arms if they throw things" would be punished.

A police union said the controversy over the "mistaken" phrase risks being blown out of proportion.

Police union official Enzo Marco Letizia said the phrase was pronounced in the heat of the moment, far from the refugees, and had "no consequences" for them.

In his La Repubblica interview, Gabrielli said it was not the police's fault that the estimated 400 mainly Eritrean and Ethiopian refugees and asylum seekers had been forced to live in "inhuman conditions", squatting in the empty building next to Rome's Piazza Indipendenza square.

He denied accusations that excessive force was used to clear the square of immigrants who had mostly been removed from the building last Saturday and were camping out there.

According to the Italian media, the immigrants had refused alternative accommodation outside Rome and demanded to be allowed to stay together.

Police used water cannon and truncheons to disperse them after coming under fire with gas tanks thrown from the building in Via Curtatone, bottles and rocks.

Gabriele said the violence could have been avoided if Rome's city administration, under Raggi, had stuck to a road map agreed by the police with former city commissioner Francesco Paolo Tronca two years ago.

"We established a road map with Tronca, but where have the funds gone?", Gabrielli told La Repubblica.

Former Rome urban planning councillor Paolo Berdini told Sky Friday that "we had reached an agreement to put a roof over everyone...we had found 150 million euros" for new homes, but Raggi allegedly blocked the project saying the M5S was against building projects.

"In the meantime they've approved Roma's new stadium," he said.

Berdini resigned several months ago because of disagreements with Raggi.

Centre-right politicians defended the police from criticism they had been heavy-handed while centre-left ones criticised Raggi for alleged inaction and also Interior Minister Minniti for allegedly moving to a harder-line stance on migrants.

Police said the immigrants had been "infiltrated" by leftist-anarchist squattters in the Movement for the Struggle for Housing, who allegedly encouraged them to turn down the offers of alternative housing outside the Italian capital.

Some of the refugees slept in the Rome streets Thursday night while others found shelter at the Baobab migrant centre near Tiburtina rail station. Others slept in the station.

"We wandered all night in various city streets, it was terrible" said Eritrean refugee Lidia.

"With me and my husband there's also our eight-year-old son and I'm pregnant. And tonight's going to be the same thing. The alternative they offered us would have meant splitting up".

NGOs denounced the lack of a response from the city's institutions and authorities.

Luca Blasi, a worker with the humanitarian organisation Intersos, said that after the migrants were dispersed from Piazza Indipendenza, about 60 of the them sought shelter at the Baobab Experience in the Tiburtina neighbourhood, while others continued sleeping on the street. Blasi spoke at a press conference with migrants and representatives from organisations the day after the clashes. "At the moment there's been no response on the part of the institutions," he said.

For the vast majority of the migrants - nearly all of whom are documented refugees from Ethiopia with their papers in order - Blasi said, "Rome is staying quiet".

Other organisations, including UNHCR, Save the Children, and UNICEF have also spoken out, with UNICEF citing "terrified children".

Amnesty International Italy spokesman Riccardo Noury said the clashes were "very serious" both for the number of people involved as well as what he said was excessive use of force.

"This city's authorities must absolutely put a serious reception plan in place," he said.

He said the Italian government "gives protection with one hand and takes away rights with the other".

"No one likes squatting, but the right to a home is part of reception, otherwise one becomes invisible," he said.

During the press conference, migrants told stories of what happened during the clearing of the square. "I asked a police officer if I could look for my identification documents, but he told me we had to leave, that we're mice," said a woman. "You can't compare human beings to animals. They should be ashamed," she said. Another woman said she has been a legal refugee in Italy for 10 years. "We'd been sleeping in the square with our children for five days, they beat us in front of our children, and I'm pregnant," she said, showing bruises on her arm. "Where is the freedom? Where are we to sleep with our children? There's no respect," she said. Other migrants appealed to the Vatican for support. "We call on the pope," they said. "Francis is the whole world's pope, but we haven't had any signs from the Vatican so far. We're asking him to help us".


Gang rape on Moroccan bus leads to shock but little protest Only 200 at sit-in, women's situation still very difficult

(by Olga Piscitelli) (ANSAmed) - RABAT, AUGUST 24 - Video footage taken on a cellphone of five teenagers raping a mentally challenged young woman on a bus in Morocco has shaken the country but few took part in a recent protests connected with it.



The incident occurred in Casablanca about three months ago but the video was posted online on social media only recently, possibly as an attempt by the gang to show off.



The bus did not stop and was heading towards one of the poorest outlying neighborhoods of the city, investigations found, where both the perpetrators and the victim live. It is not clear whether there were other passengers onboard who did not intervene the entire time of the video. Police have arrested six teenagers: the five filmed raping her and one who was telling them what to do. Though it was easy to find the rapists, it was much more difficult to find the victim. No one reported the incident to the police in these three months and the victim has ''not lodged a complaint yet'', nor has there been any complaint from the bus driver, a police statement confirmed. The shame of the incident in such cases often leads to the girl and/or her family trying to ''bury'' it, and the ''hshuma'' ('shame' in the local Arabic dialect) of the fact that the video has been posted online and that everyone knows about it makes it worse. Moroccan civil society was angered online but showed more caution when protesting: a August 23 demonstration in Casablanca drew only about 200 participants. A group of women who have long been fighting for equal rights held placards and yelled out slogans like 'Stop the Violence', 'Silence Often Hides Violence' and 'Instead of Stopping Our Daughters From Going Out, Teach Your Sons Respect'. The Moroccan (female) family affairs, solidarity and social development minister told journalists 48 hours afterwards that she was on holiday and unavailable but left a message on her Facebook timeline. A group of young feminists have created a 'Wall of Shame': a billboard with the online comments of people who supported the gang. (ANSAmed).




OTRANTO (LECCE) - The Journalists of the Mediterranean Prize, the top honour given at the eponymous annual festival, will be awarded this year to Floriana Bulfon and Cristina Mastrandrea of Italian weekly news magazine L'Espresso, for their reporting on underage unaccompanied migrant victims of pedophilia and exploitation near Rome's main Termini train station. The prize, for their story "We Young Men of the Zoo of Rome" (Noi Ragazzi Dello Zoo di Roma), will be given at the conclusion of the 2017 edition of the five-day festival, taking place in Otranto from September 5-9.

A total of twelve journalists are being honoured for their work at this year's festival.

The "Caravella" prizes will be awarded to Shelly Kittleson (freelance journalist, war correspondent and ANSA collaborator); Francesco Confuorti (editor of Sussidiario.net) and Sergio Luciano (Panorama).

Awards in the "International Terrorism" category will be presented to Sara Lucaroni (L'Espresso) for her "Kidnapped by ISIS", while in the "Protection of Minors" category, the prize will be given to Giuliana De Vivo (Pagina 99) for her story 'Vivian's Rat'.

In the "Territorial Marketing" section the winner is Michaela Namuth (Taz) with "Open Puglia".

The Jury Prize will go to Paolo Fantauzzi (L'Espresso) for his "The New Jihadists".

The Senate Speaker's Bronze Medal will be awarded to Davide Lerner (L'Espresso) for his "We Mothers of Terrorists", while the Lower House Speaker's Bronze Medal will be given to Vincenzo Chimarulo (ANSA) for his "I Saw Friends Die".

The City of Otranto Prize will be awarded to Milena Fumarola (La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno) for her "The Country Where One Goes On Vacation".

The awards ceremony will take place on September 9 at 20:00 in Largo Porta Alfonsina.

"The festival is an absolutely prestigious event for the region of Puglia, for the ample of participation of journalists, who feature in tens of public debates; for the great opportunity of visibility for a region known as a hospitable place; as well as for a place that safeguards a wealth of cultural heritage and natural beauty," a festival statement said.
(ANSAmed) - TUNIS - A three-day conference with debates in Tunis on September 22-24 will seek to inform the public on the situation in southern Mediterranean countries heavily affected by migration.



Tunisia, Libya, Algeria, Morocco and Egypt will all be discussed, as countries of departure, transit and destination.



The legal position of migrants of refugees in these countries will also be discussed and stock will be taken of the agreements signed with some of them, to assess the consequences as well as share experiences and opinions. The conference, entitled 'Migratory Movements Around the Mediterranean, Reality and Challenges', is being held by Alarmphone Tunis in collaboration with the Rosa Luxembourg Foundation at Hotel Africa.



Watch The Med's Alarmphone was set up in October 2014 by a network of activists and civil society representatives in Europe and North Africa. The project has created a hotline for refugees experiencing difficulties in the Mediterranean Sea. Alarmphone is led by volunteers, most of whom have been active for many years on the EU's external borders in networks such as Welcome to Europe, Afrique Europe Interact, Borderline Europe, Noborder Morocco and Watch The Med.



The activists live in Tunis, Palermo, Melilla, Tangiers, Cadiz, Mareseille, Strasbourg, London, Vienna, Bern, Berlin and many other cities.



Local groups research groups and campaigns from the regions above take part and some members crossed the sea as migrants themselves in the past. (ANSAmed).






Drinking the wines of Paolo Bea tilts a lot of things that I learned about wines from my wine classes. To get to know their natural wines, you will just have to leave your bag of knowledge and thoughts outside the door and close it behind you. The best thing to do is enter with a fresh mind, to easily perceive the diverse philosophy of wine making of Paolo Bea and his sons, Giampiero and Giuseppe. Their wines are considered among the best with innumerable commendations, especially internationally where they export 80% of their production to some countries in Asia, North & South America and Europe while the remaining 20% remains in Italy. So when I went there myself for a visit, I was prepared to enter the curious world of Paolo Bea Winery. To get to know their natural wines, you will just have to leave your bag of knowledge and thoughts outside the door and close it behind you. The best thing to do is enter with a fresh mind, to easily perceive the diverse philosophy of wine making of Paolo Bea and his sons, Giampiero and Giuseppe.to some countries in Asia, North & South America and Europe while the remaining 20% remains in Italy. So when I went there myself for a visit, I was prepared to enter the curious world of Paolo Bea Winery.

The Bea family has been farming their land in Montefalco from the 16th century where they had been raising farm animals and cultivating grapes, olives and other crops. Up to this day, they still cultivate crops for their daily needs in their 15-hectare land. Eleven hectares are allotted to the vineyards and the rest to olives, grains, fruits and vegetables with an elevation of 100 meters to 450 meters above sea level.



Being in Umbria, their most cultivated grape variety in the vineyards is the Sagrantino followed by the Sangiovese and Montepulciano. The other varieties they have are white which are Trebbiano Spoletino, Chardonnay, Grechetto, Malvasia, Chardonnay, Sauvignon and Garganega . In spite of the long history in agriculture in the family, Paolo Bea only started turning towards wine production in 1980. His two sons, Giuseppe and Giampiero help him in the daily activities of the winery . Giuseppe handles the agricultural aspect of the vineyards while Giampiero takes care of the administrative side as well as the production of the wines. Being an architect by profession, he also built the winery himself using natural materials of stone and wood.





Paolo Bea and his sons have a straightforward commitment to nature. Their method of cultivation and wine making flows naturally according to what nature provides them, not the other way around. They aim to assist nature in creating their wines instead of dominating it to maneuver the taste according to how they want them to be. They continue to work in balancing natural methodology with modern technology. Their method of cultivation and wine making flows naturally according to what nature provides them, not the other way around.They continue to work in balancing natural methodology with modern technology. They don't utilize chemicals in the vineyards and artificial stabilizing techniques in the winery.

Giampiero explained that when he built the winery, he had the four beneficial environmental elements in mind in playing the main roles in carving the result of their wines. Water, wind, heat and light are extremely welcome in the whole structure. All the rooms are not temperature-controlled. At the vinification room where the stainless steel tanks are, he uses a lot of windows and underground ventilated tubes to let the wind go in. Whereas the subterranean ageing room with the large Slavonian oak casks or botti has partially open cold stone walls with running groundwater that provides the humidity in addition to the underground ventilated tubes for circulation of cold air.





Paolo Bea has a production of nine natural unfiltered wines, five of which I was able to try at the wine tasting that Giampiero conducted. Natural wines are hard to comprehend at times because they are usually beyond the scope of the conventional wines that we are familiar with but when they are done well, they can be the most intriguing wines that we can ever have. , five of which I was able to try at the wine tasting that Giampiero conducted.but when they are done well, they can be the most intriguing wines that we can ever have.





The Arboreus Umbria Bianco is made from Trebbiano Spoletino grapes that come from vines as old as 140 years old that are trellised on elm and maple trees. It's a vine training system that can trace back its history from the Etruscans. Trebbiano Spoletino is a native of Umbria, has been almost lost in cultivation but was revived again by some Umbrian wine makers like Paolo Bea. The 2009 vintage had 23 days of skin contact and 97 days on the lees so the color came out a beautiful topaz - dark gold with flavors of ripe yellow fruits, spices and a touch of honey.









The Pipparello Montefalco Rosso DOC Riserva is a blend of 60% Sangiovese, 15% Sagrantino and 25% Montepulciano from Pipparello vineyard with an elevation of 400 meters above sea level. The fermentation and maceration with the skin was 35 days, racked after 122 days, primary maturation in stainless steel tanks for 11 months, aged in large Slavonian oak casks or botti for 32 months then finally, a year of bottle-ageing without filtration. It's a very absorbing wine that has a rich garnet color with complexities to the nose, ethereal nuances and ripe red fruits. It has a long minerality and freshness.









The Rosso de Veo Umbria Rosso IGT is made with 65% Sagrantino grapes from the younger vines of the estate which are under 15 years old, 25% Sangiovese and 10% Montepulciano. These vines are from the vineyards in Pagliaro, San Valentino and Cerrete with an elevation of 400 to 450 meters above sea level. Maceration with the skin and seeds for 31 days, maturation in stainless steel tanks for 11 months and ageing for 32 months in large Slavonian oak casks or botti, another year in the bottle without filtration before being released. This is a full-bodied dry red wine with a rich garnet color. Aromas of dark fruits with balsamic notes and spices. The robust flavors of cooked dark fruits, sweet spices, excellent acidity and subdued tannins.









The Pagliaro Montefalco Sagrantino DOCG is made with 100% hand-picked Sagrantino grapes from the Pagliaro vineyard located at about 400 meters above sea level. This Sagrantino went through a maceration with the skin and seeds for 33 days, maturation in stainless steel tanks for 11 months, another 32 months in large Slavonian oak casks or botti and finally, 9 months of bottle-ageing without filtration before its release. Considered the star wine (and also my favorite) by a lot of Paolo Bea wine enthusiasts, its rich garnet red color and warmth yields to intriguing olfactory-taste complexities with hints of dark berries, sweet spices and licorice. Sagrantino is known for its high tannic level but this one has a pleasant moderation in tannins. Excellence is written all over it!





The Montefalco Sagrantino Passito DOCG 2009 is noted as meravigliosa delizia (wonderful delight) on the label itself. The hand-picked Sagrantino grapes then left to dry naturally on large open wooden drawers in the drying room for four and a half months, then fermented for 25 days with the skin. After its racking, the wine remained on the lees for 2 years. The result is an excellent sweet wine with intense fruity aromas of mature persimmon, blackberries and dried figs.









Localita Cerrete, 8

06036 Montefalco (PG) Italy

Tel: +39 (0)742378128

Email: info@paolobea.com





Open daily from 09:00 to 12:30 and 14:00 to 18:00 except Sundays

For visits and tastings, contact the winery first.








Clark Terry and Bob Brookmeyer co-led one of the great small bands of the last half of the twentieth century. In the group Terry (1920-2015) concentrated on the flugelhorn, which he playedas he did the trumpetwith fluency, feeling, technique and humor that make him to this day a model and inspiration for brass players. Brookmeyer (1929-2011) had equal eminence as a valve trombonist, beginning as he rose to prominence in the early 1950s with Woody Herman, Stan Getz, Gerry Mulligan and Jimmy Giuffre, among others.

In a departure from its standard practice, in the 1960s the British Broadcasting Corporation flew Terry and Brookmeyer from New York to London for an appearance on the popular BBC program Jazz 625, hosted by Humphey Lyttleton. The rhythm section of eminent British jazzmen was Laurie Holloway, piano; Rick Laird, bass; and Allan Ganley, drums.

As for departures, lets depart from the standard Rifftides practice of presenting relatively short video clips. Well go long. Here is a half-hour segment of Terry and Brookmeyer.

We hope that launches you into the weekend in a pleasant frame of mind.
Malaysia continues to be an attractive FDI destination in South East Asia, offering foreign investors a skilled workforce at competitive rates. However, in the regional context, as Chet Scheltema, Regional Director of Dezan Shira & Associates, notes, historic sensitivity to abusive labor practices, and in some cases combined with the influence of litigious jurisprudence, has led to an environment where foreign investors are advised to tread cautiously and lay a solid foundation for human resources management, lest they run afoul of local labor laws or trigger costly labor disputes. One pillar of this firm foundation is typically a well-crafted employment contract.

As such, Malaysia as well as some of its fellow members within ASEAN, including Indonesia and Vietnam, distinguish themselves by mandating a formal, written labor contract signed by the parties. When drafted with a strong understanding of Malaysias regulatory landscape and labor laws, these formal contracts can serve as an opportunity for foreign investors to establish a firm foundation for human resources management in the country.

Written contract

Any employment in Malaysia which lasts more than one month must be formalized through a written contract.

The contract should specify the key terms of the employment relationship, including location of work, scope of work, wage rates, wage period, holidays, benefits, and matters relevant to preserving health and safety.

In Malaysia, the Employment Act, 1955 governs labor contracts. Employers must keep all labor contracts for a period of six years after they expire.

The Employment Act stipulates that a contract cannot restrict the rights of employees to participate or join trade unions.

Employment term

Labor contracts in Malaysia can be either for a fixed-term or an indefinite period. However, if an employees fixed-term contract is renewed multiple times, the Malaysian courts may consider the said employee as a permanent employee in cases of dismissal.

The Employment Act does not stipulate a maximum probation period. However, probation periods generally last up to three months. Additionally, employers have the right to prolong probation periods if a new employee has yet to meet their work standards.

Labor contracts should explicitly state the length of an employees probation period, the employers expected standards of work, and subsequent recourses if those standards are not met by the employee.

Special Provisions: retirement, non-compete clauses, confidentiality

In Malaysia, the minimum retirement age for employees is 60  though a labor contract may stipulate an earlier retiring age. In fact, retirement ages must be included in labor contracts so as to avoid paying severance pay to elderly employees.

In Malaysia, non-compete clauses are difficult to enforce. However, labor contracts in Malaysia can and should prohibit former employees from sharing confidential information they gained during employment as well as from interfering with their past employers business.

For instance, while an employer will struggle to enforce a general non-compete contract clause with an ex-employee, they can legally take action if a former employee is poaching clients or colleagues.

Terminating an employment contract

Employers and employees alike have the right to terminate a contract. If the labor contract does not specify a mandatory notification period, than either party must provide an interval of notice corresponding with their level of service with the company.

Employees with less than two years of service must provide or receive four weeks of notice.

Employees with two to five years of service must provide or receive six weeks of notice.

Employees with over five years of service must provide or receive eight weeks of notice.

If an employer terminates an employees contract without providing the necessary notice, the employer must then pay the employee the equivalent wages they would have received if given notice.

An employer may terminate an employee without proper notification in the case of misconduct  though the employer must conduct due inquiry into any alleged case of misconduct. The Employment Act does not comprehensively define what misconduct can and cannot entail. As such, labor contracts should be very clear about what kinds of actions may constitute misconduct as well as the repercussions.

Severance

Employees completing under two years of employment are entitled to 10 days wage for every completed year of service. Employees completing two to five years employment are entitled to 15 days wage for every completed year of service. Employees completing five or more years employment are entitled to 20 days wages for every completed year of service.

Severance pay is not applicable for employees dismissed for misconduct, who retire, or who voluntarily terminate the contract.

Dispute resolution

Labor disputes can be resolved through private arbitration or else through Malaysias Industrial Court, depending on the preference of both parties as well as the severity of the dispute. The Industrial Court is a statutory tribunal established specifically to hear disputes between employers and employees or else between employers and trade unions.

Personal income tax and social security

Malaysia utilizes multiple tax brackets based on an employees salary and tax-status.

Generally, employees who work in Malaysia for 182 days or more in a year are considered tax-residents. Non-tax residents are taxed at a flat rate of 28 percent.

Both employers and employees must contribute to an employees social insurance through Malaysias Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and the Social Security Organization (SOCSO) which cover retirement, disability, survivors benefits, and medical payment. Domestic workers, foreign workers, self-employed, and the spouses of the self-employed are exempt from contributing from both the EPF and the SOCSO.

Conclusion

Preparing and signing clear and comprehensive labor contracts will foster a healthy  and inevitably more productive  work environment. Instead of viewing this task as a bureaucratic chore imposed by Malaysian law, foreign investors should recognize it as an opportunity to establish a firm foundation for human resources management in Malaysia. Besides, as Scheltema notes, when handled deliberately with guidance from experienced counsel, labor contracts should be regarded as the first step in establishing robust human resources for a company by cultivating stability in the workforce and limiting disputes and disruption.
Nilekani stressed on the immediate goals of finding a CEO for the IT giant and coming up with a long-term governance structure.

Nandan Nilekani has been appointed as the Chairman of Infosys. Photo: PTI

Mumbai: After Nandan Nilekanis return to Infosys in his second innings amid alleged acrimony between board members and founders, Infosys said the board had no intentions of causing anguish to Narayana Murthy.

Addressing the second con-call of the day, Nilekani, the non-executive chairman, who assumed office on Thursday, said on behalf of the board, that it was very unfortunate that various differences of opinion have arisen between Mr. Murthy and the Board in the recent past.

The founder and former CEO of the technology giant said "My goal is to bring consensus and take this company forward. He said it is his duty to bring consensus and take Infosys forward.

Nilekani further said that he will look into the Panaya investigation and will then decide on "appropriate course of action" along with the board. He also said that he will get full briefings of investigations done previously at the company.

These statements assume significance in the light of the feud between the board and the founders as questions regarding the Panaya deal, Sikkas salary hike and the Rs 23 crore severance package given to a departing chief financial officer.

Nilekani returned to Infosys after Vishal Sikka resigned last Friday citing constant malicious attacks by founder Narayana Murthy. The high-level corporate drama further aggravated when the company board blamed Murthy for his relentless assaults against Sikka.

Meanwhile, founders, ex-Infosycians rallied for Nilekanis return to steer Infosys out of this tumultuous situation.

Nilekani stressed on the immediate goals of finding a CEO for the IT giant and coming up with a long-term governance structure.

The Infosys Board also approved the appointment of the executive recruitment firm Egon Zehnder to work with its Nominations and Remunerations Committee to find the right candidate to be the next CEO and MD.

Nilekani also said that there is no fixed time for which he is back on the board.
News comes in just a week after Sikka quit Infosys and blamed Murthy for his resignation on August 18.

Mumbai: A week after Vishal Sikka left Infosys as MD & CEO over tussle with founders, a report on Friday claimed he is all set to join computer software and chip maker Hewlett Packard. "Sikka is most likely to join the $50-billion Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) IT company as chief technology officer (CTO)," a report in The Times of India said.

Interestingly, days before Sikka stepped down, Infosys co-founder N R Narayana Murthy had said Sikka was not fit for a CEO's role he was rather good for a chief technology officer's job at Infosys. Sikka had based his office as Infosys top boss in Palo Alto in California's Silicon Valley. The American multinational Heweltt Packard Enterprise is also headquartered in PA.

Meg Whitman is the present chairman of the computer software maker Hewlett Packard Enterprise. Whitman had unsuccessfully contested in the California gubernatorial race in 2010 on a Republican party ticket.

Sikka setting up his office in Silicon Valley was also seen as a bone of contention between founders and the board during the months long exchange of words. For Sikka, moving to HP will not be a big problem as he is already based there. Last year, the then chief technology officer Martin Fink left the company, since then the place has not been filled.

Before joining Infosys in August 2014, Sikka was working with Germany's SAP, an enterprise software company. Sikka holds a doctorate in artificial intelligence from Stanford, a qualification that makes him a top contender for the CTO's job.
Former MD and CEO was on Thursday named as non-executive chairman to steer Infosys out of mess.

Nandan Nilekani has assumed a new role at Infosys to steer the company away from troubled waters. (Photo: File)

Mumbai: A day after he was named as non-executive chairman and non-executive director of Infosys, former MD and CEO Nandan Nilekani has said he admires co-founder Narayana Murthy very much.

"I am an admirer of N R Narayana Murthy, will ensure Infosys, Murthy and other founders have a healthy relationship," Nilekani said on Friday while assuming the new role at the troubled company. Founded in 1981, Infosys is now estimated to be a Rs 64,000 crore or $10 billion worth information technology behemoth.

Nilekani adds his job at Infosys as non-executive chairman will be of oversight, corporate governance and functioning. He added right now it was too premature for him to comment on Infosys' strategy, guidance and earnings. However, he said he was committed to highest standards of corporate governance, which was questioned by Murthy and other co-founders when Sikka was CEO.

About his take on present board structure and whether he plans a rejig of the board of directors, Nilekani said he will take stock of current board composition and do it in a time-bound manner. "Suitable structure needed six months from now. There will be a systematic search for new members," he said.

Nilekani categorically denied there will be any looking back on share buyback scheme. "There will be no change in the capital allocation policy and share buyback of the company," he added.

Nilekani did not elaborate as to what strategy he will deploy in taking the embattled $10-billion IT behemoth out of the mess which was a result of months long tussle between founders and the Infosys board.

"Will unveil more strategy details in October, want to bring complete stability and have no discordant voices at Infosys," news agency PTI quoted him as saying. On risk of class action lawsuits, he says legal teams will look into those, there will be things of that nature, our focus is on business.
After its world premiere at TIFF, the documentary will release on the streaming platform on September 22.

Lady Gaga's 'The Cure' had released earlier this year. (Photo: AFP)

Los Angeles: Pop star Lady Gaga's new documentary will release on Netflix on September 22.

'Gaga: Five Foot Two' will make its world premiere at TIFF, which runs from September 7-17.

Gaga will also perform at the festival, reported CBS News.

The film, directed by Chris Moukarbel, centres on the recording of Gaga's most recent album 'Joanne', released in 2016, and the build-up to her half-time performance at the Super Bowl back in February.

"I'm known for being larger than life, but really I am just #GagaFiveFootTwo," she tweeted, following it with two teaser clips from the film.

I'm known for being larger than life, but really I'm just... #GagaFiveFootTwo  xoxo, Gaga (@ladygaga) August 24, 2017

One features her performing at the Super Bowl, and the other is a snippet of a tearful interview with a confidante named Brandon.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi also expressed grave concern over violence in Panchkula, other parts and.

President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday condemned violence and damage to public property by followers of the Dera Sacha Sauda and asked all people to maintain peace. (Photo: PTI/File)

New Delhi: President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday condemned violence and damage to public property by followers of the Dera Sacha Sauda and asked all people to maintain peace.

Widespread violence broke out in several parts of Haryana, Punjab as well as the national capital after a special CBI court convicted Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim of rape.

"Violence and damage to public property after court verdict is highly condemnable; appeal to all citizens to maintain peace," the president said in a tweet.

Violence and damage to public property after court verdict is highly condemnable; appeal to all citizens to maintain peace #PresidentKovind  President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) August 25, 2017

Prime Narendra condemned the Panchkula protests and urged everyone to maintaoin peace.

The instances of violence today are deeply distressing. I strongly condemn the violence & urge everyone to maintain peace.  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 25, 2017

The law & order situation is being closely monitored. I reviewed the situation with the NSA & Home Secretary.  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 25, 2017

PM also tweeted that the officials have been urged to work round the clock to restore normalcy and provide all possible assistance that is required.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi expressed grave concern over violence in Panchkula, other parts and appealed for peace.

Rahul Gandhi condemned "lawlessness" in Haryana saying that brutality has no place in society.

Violence & brutality have no place in our society. Condemn the rampage and lawlessness in Haryana & appeal to restore peace and tranquility  Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) August 25, 2017

Thousands of followers of the Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda went on a rampage, setting fire to vehicles, buildings and railway stations soon after the court in Panchkula

delivered its verdict in the 2002 rape case.

At least 28 people were killed and 250 injured in the widespread violence, arson and police firing.
The High Court has also asked the Manohar Lal Khattar-government to use force if need arises.

Indian Border Security Force personnel are briefed by their officers near an Indian court in Panchkula. (Photo: AP)

Haryana: As tension prevails in Punjab and Haryana ahead of the verdict in a rape case against self-styled godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh on Friday, the High Court has directed the Haryana officers to use force or weapon as per the need.

The High Court has also asked the Manohar Lal Khattar-government to use force if need arises.

Use force if needed and file FIR against leaders if they make provocative statements, the Punjab and Haryana High Court told the Haryana government led by Khattar.

Internet services have been suspended for 48 hours and Section 144 has been imposed in various places in Haryana in the light of the verdict.

A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court at Panchkula is scheduled to pronounce its verdict against Dera Sacha Sauda chief Singh at 2:30 pm in a case of sexual exploitation of two of his women followers. The CBI had registered the case in 2002.

Read: 2002 rape case verdict: Dera chief Ram Rahim Singh leaves for Panchkula court

Thousands of 'premis', what Dera followers are popularly known, have descended in Panchkula, which has virtually turned into a fortress. Prohibitory orders have already been clamped in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh.

Heavy security has been deployed, not just in Panchkula, but across the two states in fear of violence if the verdict is against the Dera head.
Senior advocate Indira Jaising said the right to eat food of one's choice is now protected under privacy.

The apex court made the observation while hearing a batch of appeals filed against the Bombay High Court's May 6, 2016, verdict, decriminalising the possession of beef in case of animals being slaughtered outside the state. (Photo: PTI/Representational)

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday said its verdict declaring right to privacy a fundamental right would have "some bearing" in matters related to the possession of beef in Maharashtra.

The apex court made the observation while hearing a batch of appeals filed against the Bombay High Court's May 6, 2016, verdict, decriminalising the possession of beef in case of animals being slaughtered outside the state.

A bench comprising Justices AK Sikri and Ashok Bhushan was informed by an advocate that Thursday's judgement from a nine-judge Constitution bench, declaring right to privacy a fundamental right, was important for adjudication of the appeal.

"Yes, that judgement will have some bearing in these matters," the bench said.

The Supreme Court had on Thursday said "nobody would like to be told what to eat or how to dress" while ruling that these activities come under the realm of the right to privacy.

Senior advocate Indira Jaising, appearing for some of the petitioners, referred to the privacy judgement and said the right to eat food of one's choice is now protected under privacy.

She also told the bench that Maharashtra government's appeal challenging the high court verdict was already pending before another bench of the apex court.

The bench, after hearing the submissions, posted the matter after two weeks.

The Maharashtra government had on August 10 moved the apex court challenging the high court's verdict striking down sections 5(d) and 9(b) of the Maharashtra Animals Preservation (Amendment) Act, 1995, which criminalised and imposed punishment on persons found in possession of beef of animals, slaughtered in or outside the state, on the ground that it infringed upon a person's "right to privacy".

The court had issued notice on the appeal and tagged the matter along with several pending pleas related to the issue.

The high court had termed "unconstitutional" the provisions which held that mere possession of beef was a crime, saying only "conscious possession" of the meat of animals slaughtered in the state would be an offence.

The plea assailed the judgement, saying the restriction imposed by the 1995 Act on possession of flesh of cow, bull or bullock could not be interpreted and concluded to be an infringement of "right to privacy".

The state government had said the high court "while coming to the finding that right to privacy forms part of the fundamental right to personal liberty guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution, ought to have appreciated that right to privacy was not yet designated as a fundamental right".

The plea had said that according to the verdict, obligation upon the state to prove "conscious possession" of beef would "constitute an unsurmountable circumstance readily available to the wrongdoer to escape sentence".

In its judgement, the high court had upheld the ban on slaughter of bulls and bullocks imposed by the Maharashtra government, but decriminalised possession of beef in case the animals were being slaughtered outside the state.

The judgement had come on a batch of petitions filed in the high court challenging the constitutional validity of the Act and, in particular, the possession and consumption of beef of animals slaughtered outside Maharashtra.
Centre claimed that the collection of information for the Aadhaar card was in no way infringing the right to privacy.

If the court holds that the restrictions on privacy which Aadhaar imposes are unreasonable, the Aadhaar Act will be struck down as unconstitutional.

New Delhi: A three-judge Supreme Court bench will take a call on the validity of the Aadhaar law, that makes it mandatory for all citizens to share their biometric data, iris scan and other personal information to obtain an Aadhaar card.

With the nine-judge bench upholding the right to privacy as a fundamental right, the three judges will test the validity of this law on the touchstone of this fundamental right and adjudicate whether sharing of information was a reasonable restriction or it violated the fundamental right to privacy. If the court holds that the restrictions on privacy which Aadhaar imposes are unreasonable, the Aadhaar Act will be struck down as unconstitutional.

Petitioners Justice K.S. Puttasamy and others had argued that the data that was being collected for issuance of the Aadhaar card violated citizens fundamental right to privacy as personal data was not protected, and was vulnerable to exposure and misuse. They also questioned the policy of the government insisting on the Aadhaar card to avail various social security benefits, and also for bank loans, opening of bank accounts, scholarships, wages and filing of income-tax returns.

On the other hand, the Centre claimed that the collection of information for the Aadhaar card was in no way infringing the right to privacy. It was argued that around 100 crore people had already been issued Aadhaar cards and by this method lakhs of fake ration card holders had been eliminated and over `15,000 crores saved in this process. The real person to whom services are provided was identified and if someone wants to use the Aadhaar card voluntarily to avail greater benefits even at the cost of waiving his right to privacy, it should be allowed.

The court held that the range and quantity of personal information maintained by the State about citizens was enormous, including a lot of personal information in cyberspace, which must have constitutional protection.

The court said: A careful and sensitive balance between individual interests and legitimate concerns of the State must be maintained. The legitimate aims of the State include protecting national security, preventing and investigating crime, encouraging innovation and spread of knowledge, and preventing the dissipation of social welfare benefits. These are matters of policy to be considered by the Union government while designing a carefully structured regime for the protection of the data. Since the Union government has informed the court it has constituted a committee chaired by Justice B.N. Srikrishna, a former judge of this court, for that purpose, the matter shall be dealt with appropriately by the Union government having due regard to what has been set out in this judgment.
31 dead so far, curfew relaxed, officials say situation is under control.

Supporters of the Dera Sacha Sauda vandalised vehicles in Panchkula. Police used water cannon in an attempt to disperse the crowd. More than 15,000 paramilitary troops and police officers, some on horseback, were deployed in the town of Panchkula. (Photo: AP)

Panchkula: At least 31 people were killed and 250 injured after violence erupted in Panchkula, following the conviction in a rape case of Dera Sach SAuda chief and self-styled godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.

The situation is still tense but under control, the Union Home Ministiry said on Saturday.

The violent protests come in the wake of Ram Rahim Singh's conviction, prompting police to fire tear gas shells at Dera protesters. Police also resorted to lathicharge and fired live bullets in the air to disperse the violent crowds.

Following the violence in Haryana and Punjab, Section 144 CrPC was imposed in 11 districts of Delhi, including New Delhi. The Delhi Police requested people to cooperate. The prohibitory orders will remain in force till September 8.

Punjab government has asked the Centre for more security forces in view of the widespread violence at different places.

Six columns of Army were deployed in Panchkula following the protests.

Section 144 has been imposed in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar, Baghpat, Shamli, Noida and Ghaziabad in view of the violent protests in Punjab and Haryana.

The injured have been shifted to various hospitals. A camera person was also injured during violent protests in Sirsa. Three media vans were set alight by protesters in Panchkula.

Haryana's ADGP (Law & Order) Muhammad Akil said that at least 1000 Dera Sacha Sauda followers have been detained.

Curfew has been clamped in Panchkula as Dera followers go on rampage after the conviction.

Curfew has also been imposed in Punjab's Muktsar, Bathinda, Mansa.

Read: Dera chief Ram Rahim convicted of rape; quantum of sentence on Aug 28

Dera supporters set power sub-station office on fire in Sriganganagar, Rajasthan. A vehicle at sub-station premises was also torched.

(Photo: ANI/Twitter)

Malout and Balluanna railway stations and a petrol pump were set on fire by protesters in Punjab and similar incidents were also reported in Bathinda post the verdict.

Two buses were set ablaze on Mandoli flyover in Delhi's Nand Nagri.

Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal has directed police commissioner to take effective measures to ensure protection of life and property.

Alert has been sounded at Delhi Metro stations, Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) DG O P Singh said, adding that vigil has been intensified at stations along Uttar Pradesh, Haryana borders.

According to Northern Railway Spokesperson, Neeraj Sharma, two empty rakes of Rewa Express at Anand Vihar Terminal railway station were set on fire.

Police said a bus was torched in northeast Delhi's Loni Chowk, allegedly by Dera Sacha Sauda supporters.

Security at Delhi BJP headquarters has been beefed up post violence at various places after Ram Rahim Singh's conviction.

Punjab and Haryana High Court has said that that the properties of Ram Rahim Singh should be attached to pay for the losses due to violence.

The court also maintained that security by paramilitary forces should be provided to senior government officials in Panchkula.

President Ram Nath Kovind condemned the protests and appealed to the citizens to maintain peace.

Violence and damage to public property after court verdict is highly condemnable; appeal to all citizens to maintain peace #PresidentKovind  President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) August 25, 2017

Additional Chief Secretary to Haryana government, Ram Niwas said the government will compensate for the losses of media personnel and the properties of others.

He said protesters have been identified.

"We have video footage and strict action will be taken against them. Most of the protesters have been ousted from the city," Niwas further added.

Ram Niwas also appealed Dera supporters to stay calm and deter the protesters.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh has appealed to everyone particularly the supporters of Dera Sacha Sauda to maintain peace.

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal has urged people to maintain peace after violence in Haryana, Punjab following conviction of Gurmeet Ram Rahim.

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has appealed to the people of Punjab to maintain peace and harmony in the state.

"Won't allow anyone to disturb peace and tranquility," Singh was quoted as saying by ANI.

"Action will be taken against those taking law in their hands, appeal everyone to remain cautious," Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar said.

"No one is above law. Appeal people to not believe in rumours and steer clear of people with criminal intentions," Khattar added.

"Just briefed Rajnath Singh ji about situation in Punjab; keeping a close watch. Would not allow anyone to disturb peace in Punjab," Chief Minister tweeted.

Briefed @rajnathsingh ji. Situation is being monitoring extensively, strict action will be taken against those who try to disrupt peace.  Manohar Lal (@mlkhattar) August 25, 2017

Security alert has been sounded on Delhi borders.

"Alert sounded in adjoining districts to ensure no spillover of trouble in UP through strict check on borders," Anand Kumar, ADG Law and Order said.

"Administrative machinery has been geared up in Western Uttar Pradesh," Kumar added.

Dera Sacha Sauda Chief Ram Rahim Singh was flown out of Panchkula after the verdict and has been lodged in a make-shift jail at police training centre in Rohtak.

"Gurmeet Ram Rahim has been put in (special jail at) PTC Sunaria," Rohtak Deputy Commissioner Atul Kumar told PTI.
The accused barged into the victim's house when her mother was away and sexually assaulted her.

A case was registered against the accused on Tuesday on a complaint filed by the girl's mother. (Photo: File/Representational)

New Delhi: A 12-year-old girl was allegedly raped by a property dealer in northwest Delhi's Swaroop Nagar, police said on Thursday.

A case was registered on Tuesday on a complaint filed by the girl's mother. The accused was yet to be arrested.

The girl, a Class VI student, was allegedly sexually assaulted two weeks ago by the man, who works as a property dealer in the area.

He barged into her house while her mother was away and sexually assaulted her. He threatened her with dire consequences if she revealed it to anyone, the police said.

It was after two weeks that the girl mustered the courage to inform her mother about it, they added.
The body of Sashwat Pandey, a resident of Allahabad, was found lying in the retiring room of doctors at the hospital.

New Delhi: A 26-year-old radiology intern was found dead on Friday with his throat slit at the St Stephen's hospital in Tis Hazari in New Delhi, with the police suspecting he might have been killed by a colleague.

The body of Sashwat Pandey, a resident of Allahabad, was found lying Friday morning in the retiring room of doctors adjacent to the duty room at the hospital, they said.

"His throat was found slit with a surgical blade. As per the preliminary investigation, the suspect appears to be a fellow doctor and an acquaintance of the deceased," a senior police official said.

Forensic officials and the crime team are currently investigating, he said.
The passports of the two brothers showed they had visited India several times in the past few years.

Hyderabad: Police on Thursday arrested two brothers from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for buying a woman from Hyderabad for slavery.

The brothers  Salim Obaid Saeed Shamlan Alzaabi, 52, and his brother, Obaid Sayeed Shamlan Alazaabi, 48  came to the city early this month from Dubai.

The police invoked various sections of the Indian Penal Code: Section 370 pertaining to buying or disposing of any person as a slave, which attracts a punishment of seven years imprisonment; Section 493 - Cohabitation caused by a man deceitfully inducing a belief of lawful marriage and to cohabit or have sexual intercourse with her, for which the punishment is 10 years imprisonment; Section 420 - Cheating and dishonestly receiving property; Section 109 - Punishment of abetment if the act abetted is committed in consequence and where no express provision is made for its punishment, and Section 511 - Punishment for attempting to commit offences punishable with imprisonment

Deputy commissioner of police, Shamshabad, P. V. Padmaja, said that Salim Obaid came to the city on August 10 and was helped by a broker, Mohammed Shafi, to select a 30-year-old woman from Mailardevpally for the marriage. The nikaah was solemnised by Qazi Mohammed Habeeb Ali of Pahadishareef on August 17.

Salim Obaid paid Rs 70,000 to the broker who in turn paid Rs 40,000 to the family of the woman. They made the parents of the victim believe that their daughter will lead a happy life. They did not disclose to the victim their ill-intentions of sexually exploiting her before divorcing her, said the DCP. The signatures of the woman and her parents were obtained on a bond paper and they were told that the documents had been sent to Mumbai to obtain a marriage certificate from the UAE embassy.

Inspector P. Jagadee-shwar of the Mailar-devpally police said that the two Dubai nationals had been charged under Section 420 for (cheating).

The passports of the two brothers showed they had visited India several times in the past few years. "We are probing why they had come to India previously. Several photographs of women and girls were found in the mobile phone of the broker," Ms Padmaja said. The police also arrested Qazi Habeeb and the broker, Shafi.
Idols will be installed at nearly 7,610 Ganeshotsav Mandals (pandals) in the city and in 1.25 lakh households on Saturday.

Mumbai: The Mumbai Police are on an alert and are maintaining a strict vigil in view of the 12-day Ganesh festival beginning on Saturday.

Besides notching up security to prevent any untoward incident during the boisterous festival, marked by devotion as well as enthusiasm, the police have undertaken various measures to ensure that the festival passes off peacefully, an official said today.

Idols will be installed at nearly 7,610 Ganeshotsav Mandals (pandals) in the city and in 1.25 lakh households on Saturday, said DCP Rashmi Karandikar, the spokesperson of the Mumbai Police.

Without mentioning any specific threat perception and nature of Intelligence inputs during the festival, Karandikar only said that police are on alert.

"We are putting nakabandis and are conducting combing operations. We are checking hotels and lodges in the jurisdiction of every police station," she said.

On the preparation for maintaining law and order during the festival, the officer said policemen in plainclothes will be deployed in crowd to protect women and children.

"We have activated Anti Terror Cells and Bomb Disposal and Detection Squads (BDDS), dog squads etc. The Riot Control Police and the State Reserve Police Force will also be deployed in the city to avoid any untoward incident," the DCP said.

She said though the government has installed 5,000 CCTVs across the city, the police have asked Ganesh mandals to put up CCTVs to cover the areas surrounding their respective pandals.

Karandikar said that leaves of all police personnel will be cancelled on the last day of the festival, which ends on September 5.

She said the police will keep a hawk eye on crowd through drones during immersion processions.

"Idols will be immersed at 119 places in the city. A total of 3,500 traffic police personnel and 500 traffic wardens will regulate traffic of the city," the officer said.

Karandikar said the police have decided to close 53 roads in the city to regulate traffic. "Around 54 roads will be one-way while parking at 99 places will be restricted during the festival," she said.

Speaking on the permission to use loudspeakers, the officer said the police will follow the orders of the Bombay High Court and state Home department.
Dr. Mudang competed with 46 others, from across the country and overseas at the recently Mrs. India World 2017 contest in Chennai.

A doctor by profession, Mudang's journey in the showbiz world began in 1997, when she participated in the Miss Subansiri beauty contest (Photo: Facebook)

Arunachal Pradesh: Dr. Duyu Meena Mudang of Arunachal Pradesh, who recently brought home the prestigious Mrs. India World 2017 title, is all set to represent India at the coveted Mrs. Planet pageant.

The pageant is scheduled to be held in October 2017 in Bulgaria.

Hailing from Reru, one of the cluster villages of Apatani Plateau, Dr. Mudang competed with 46 others, from across the country and overseas at the recently Mrs. India World 2017 contest in Chennai.

Recalling the journey Mudang, a mother of three, said, "Beauty pageant has made me realise my self-worth. My personal growth, I have seen in this pageant only. Because before entering this pageant, I never used to have the confidence. My confidence level was so low that I was not able to tell my name when teacher asked me my name in the class. It helped me in my personal growth irrespective of I win or not."

A doctor by profession, Mudang's journey in the showbiz world began in 1997, when she participated in the Miss Subansiri beauty contest, hoping to win the cash award of rupees 14,000 to pay her brother's admission fee.

There has been no turning back for her ever since then and she has only gone on to win more prestigious titles such as Mrs. Arunachal 2010, second runners-up in Mrs. India North East-2017 along with Mrs. India Remarkable-2017 before winning the latest Mrs. India World 2017 title.

Trained in taekwondo, Dr. Mudang is one of the founding members of an NGO Smile. She has been actively engaged in social welfare activities and reaching out to the people, especially from the rural areas, for social welfare.

"For me, beauty defines with your personality, character, and morality and look as a whole. Because I know, I have my eyes and nose perfect though I am not so beautiful like others. And this beauty pageant made a person to realize what they are and it helps you to become a better person today than yesterday," Dr. Mudang said.
Bloombergs report maintains that HTC is planning to sell off its VIVE business along with the handset division.

In what comes as a surprising claim, Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer HTC is planning to sell off it VIVE VR business. The company is also planning to sell off its handset business as well, according to a report from Bloomberg.

HTC is currently consulting with advisers over bringing in a strategic investment by selling it VIVE VR unit. The report also states that insiders have hinted at HTC even considering to sell its handset business to Google, which isnt confirmed for now.

While both companies involved havent commented on anything, it is evident that HTC is not in a shape that it had been a few years ago. The smartphone market is dominated by Apple and Samsung currently, in which HTC is confined to a smaller player. In the VR market, their VIVE headset is doing well, giving tough competition to Facebooks Oculus and Samsungs GearVR.

Bloomberg states that HTCs VR headset was increasing market share slowly, with 1,90,000 units selling in the first quarter. Selling this business could reap loads of capital for the ailing company. The handset division has been trying to pull itself back to the glory it once enjoyed, especially after becoming the sole manufacturer of the Google Pixel. Their latest U11 (review) flagship has turned the company towards the right direction.

There is no confirmation yet on this front. Stay tuned to Deccan Chronicle for information.

(source)
Gunshots could be heard and witnesses reported seeing worshippers smash windows to escape the building.

Security forces inspect at the site of a suicide attack in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Photo: AP)

Kabul: Twenty people were killed in an hours-long suicide bomb and gun attack on a Shiite mosque in the Afghan capital of Kabul on Friday, an official said.

"We have ten civilians martyred and over 50 wounded. One police and one special forces member were also killed," Najib Danish, deputy interior ministry spokesman, told AFP, adding that the attack was over.

Gunshots could be heard and witnesses reported seeing worshippers smash windows to escape the building.

More than 10 ambulances were at the scene and dozens of security forces have surrounded the mosque, in a residential area in the city's north.

Kabul police spokesman Abdul Basir Mujahid said a suicide bomber "detonated himself inside the mosque", adding that there were casualties but could not confirm numbers.

An interior ministry spokesman told media that at least two police officers had been killed. A health ministry official confirmed at least two people had died and 11 were wounded, without specifying if they were civilians.

People gathered outside the mosque, believed to have been crowded with Friday worshippers, were trying to call women and children trapped inside but their mobile phones were not responding, an AFP reporter at the scene said.

"Our relatives have been stranded inside the mosque... We believe they have been held hostage by the gunmen. We are very concerned about their safety and may God help us and rescue our loved ones," one said.

Tempers were beginning to fray as onlookers called for the forces to storm the building.

The assault underscores spiralling insecurity in Afghanistan as a resurgent Taliban steps up offensives across the country, while the Sunni Islamic State group, known for carrying out sectarian attacks, expands its Afghan footprint.

It comes just days after US President Donald Trump pledged American troops would stay in Afghanistan indefinitely.

Najib Danish, a deputy spokesman for the interior ministry, told TOLOnews that initial information suggested a suicide bomber detonated himself and two or three other militants had entered the mosque and were exchanging fire with police.

"Two Afghan police forces were martyred and two others were wounded and have been taken to hospital. All the four police officers were responsible for the security of the site," Danish wrote on Facebook.

"The bombers are running short of bullet rounds and they are using knives to stab worshippers," an eyewitness told an AFP reporter.

Witnesses said the attackers were also armed with rocket propelled grenade launchers.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but Shiites, a minority of around three million in overwhelmingly Sunni Afghanistan, have regularly been targeted by IS jihadists over the past year. They accuse police and troops of failing to protect them.

IS has claimed responsibility for a series of attacks killing dozens of Shiites in Kabul over the past year, including twin explosions in July 2016 that ripped through crowds of Shiite Hazaras, killing at least 85 people and wounding more than 400.

Earlier this month 33 worshippers were killed and 66 wounded in a suicide attack claimed by the Islamic State Group on a Shiite mosque in the western Afghan city of Herat.
The US recognises that Pakistan has legitimate security interest in the future of Afghanistan and that what happens in Afghan impacts Pak.

US President Trump while unveiling new Afghan strategy, also left the door open to an eventual political deal with the Taliban.

Washington: Indias economic activities in Afghanistan pose "no direct threat" to Pakistan, a senior US official has said, asserting that Islamabad needs to change some of its "unhelpful behaviour" by cooperating with America to achieve the counter-terrorism goals in the region.

US President Donald Trump has sought an enhanced role for India in bringing peace in Afghanistan as he ruled out a hasty withdrawal of troops while announcing his Afghanistan and South Asia policy on Monday.

Trump had said that a critical part of his South Asia policy was to further develop Americas strategic partnership with India. He also sternly warned Pakistan for providing safe havens to terrorists.

"While we welcome Indias role in Afghanistan, it has a lot of goodwill, they are doing developmental projects. They have given USD 3 billion in aid and US appreciates that and wants that to continue. But again we do not see that a direct threat to Pakistan," the White House official said on condition of anonymity.

"I am not going to discuss the steps and measures that the US is considering pursuing with Pakistan," a White House official said when asked about the critical statements coming from Pakistan after Trumps South Asia strategy announcement.

"There is some frustration in Pakistan. We just want to emphasise that Pakistan really has the choice here. It can choose to cooperate with the US and change some of the unhelpful behaviours. That is very much in its interest. The US is not taking a tougher approach just to make Pakistani lives more difficult," the official said yesterday.

The approach is aimed at bringing peace and stability to Afghanistan which will benefit Pakistan as well, he said.

"We do have areas where we cooperate that will continue. We are going to demand more action against terror groups," he said, adding that he will not discuss the actual tool that the Trump administration plans to deploy for Pakistan to change its "unhelpful behaviour".

While Pakistan is an important partner and a priority for the region, "it also must take decisive action against terrorist groups" that are a threat to US interests.

"As the president said, Pakistan has much to gain by partnering with the US, but has much to lose if it fails to take actions against terrorist groups. We recognise that we have many common interests with Pakistan and common enemies.

"We also recognise the sacrifices that Pakistan has made. However, no partnership will be able to survive until terrorists were directly targeting US service members. It is time for Pakistan to demonstrate that it is willing to assist the US in its counter terrorism goals in the region," he said.

The US recognises that Pakistan has legitimate security interest in the future of Afghanistan and that what happens in Afghanistan impacts Pakistan, he said.

India is a valuable and influential partner and that the interest with India goes beyond South Asia, he said.

India is making important contribution to the development of Afghanistan as well as helping to build democratic institutions, the official said, adding that the US "looks forward to continuing and expanding that involvement".

"When we talk about India continuing its economic assistance in Afghanistan, we are by no means discounting Pakistans interest in the region and do not think Pakistan should worry about Indias economic involvement in Afghanistan. Acknowledging Indias role in Afghanistan is not going to impact our ability to work with Pakistan.
by Shafique Khokhar

The prisoner died from "the negligence and insensitivity" of the police and Lahores Central Jail. He had been arrested for allegedly taking part in the lynching of two suspected terrorists. He could have saved his life by reneging his faith but he chose not to deny Christianity.

Lahore (AsiaNews)  Poor sanitary conditions of the jail and the negligence of the prison administration are the factors that led to the death on 13 August in Lahores Central Jail of Indrias Masih (also known as Ghulam), a 38-year-old Christian, this according to the National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP).

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Catholic advocacy group notes that Mr Masih was left to die because he was a Christian. For this reason, NCJP leaders want the case to be treated as homicide.

Although from a medical point of view, Masih died from gastrointestinal tuberculosis, the Pakistani Church has other ideas. His death was the result of negligence on the part of prison authorities, inhuman conditions, and the consumption of unclean water and food.

Masih had been held since 2015 on charges of lynching two alleged terrorists after the Taliban attacked two churches in Youhanabad (Lahore) in March of the same year, which resulted in the deaths of 19 people and the wounding of another 70.

He was among 42 Christian prisoners whom Prosecutor Syed Anees Shah had tried to bribe by offering to release them on condition of reneging Christ. Masih could have saved his life, but instead he decided to bear witness to his faith unto death.

Masih had three children and was the youngest of six siblings. Prior to his arrest, he supported the whole family. In fact, to give his children hope in a better future, he had moved from Bahawalpur to Lahore five years ago to earn just 7,000 rupees a month (US$ 65).

According to his family, he had always enjoyed excellent health before his arrest and had never shown any sign of illness.

It was upsetting that a falsely accused young man died due to negligence and poor medical facilities provided by the jail authorities, said Cecil Shane Chaudhry, NCJP executive director. Belonging to the minority community further increases their miseries and the attitude towards such persons is even more biased and discriminatory.

The court should show mercy to these poor people, said Fr Emmanuel Yousaf Mani, NCJP national director. Theyve been suffering in jail for a very long time. Many of the accused are having a hard time holding onto their marriage while their children eagerly wait for their fathers return.

At the last hearing, on 2 June, Fr Many said, he pointed out Masih's already poor health, but the court did not consider it necessary to place him in a proper hospital. In view of this, he urges the "government and the judiciary to take a strong action against the prison authorities for ill treatment and inhuman behaviour towards the prisoners."

For his part, NCJP president and Bishop of Faisalabad Mgr Joseph Arshad is praying "for the soul of the deceased. May Almighty God give the family the hope and strength to endure this terrible loss. "

Police are often inconsiderate towards the sick and needy, the prelate noted, whereas all human beings are equal and thus deserve to be treated equally and with human dignity.

The statement ends with specific demands on the government and the judiciary:

prison authorities should be held accountable for the substandard conditions, lack of medical facilities and insensitivity towards prisoners in jail which cost a young man his life;

courts should take into account current medical and hygiene conditions provided in prisons and impose exemplary justice on perpetrators;

owing to the conditions in which the accused are currently held, courts should grant bail on compassionate grounds so that precious lives may be saved from such negligence and bias;

courts should ensure speedy justice for the victims arrested as a result of Youhanabad lynching incident;

Indrias Masih's death was the result of negligence on the part of police and prison authorities; therefore, his family (wife and children) must be receive due compensation.

(Kamran Chaudhry contributed to this article)
The report by the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State chaired by Kofi Annan calls for social progress, citizenship rights, security and closure of refugee camps. Human rights groups welcome it. Aung San Suu Kyi pledged to respect its results. For General Min Aung Hlaing, commander-in-chief of the Myanmar Armed Forces, certain points in the report need to be re-examined, and changes must be made to factual errors and biased attitudes.

Yangon (AsiaNews/Agencies)  A year after the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State was set up to investigate violence and discrimination against the Rohingya Muslim minority, chairman Kofi Annan presented its final report yesterday.

Human rights groups have welcomed the document, whilst Myanmars military have criticised its findings.

In a statement issued today after meeting this morning with Kofi Annan, General Min Aung Hlaing, commander-in-chief of the Myanmar Armed Forces, said the report contains some flaws and shortcomings.

Located in western Myanmar, Rakhine is one of the countrys poorest states. For several years, it has been seething with sectarianism.

Myanmar, a Buddhist majority nation, has faced growing international criticism for its treatment of the Rohingya, which it deems illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

After reading the report, General Hlaing said that it should be amended and made flawless, suggesting that certain points be examined and modified to eliminate factual errors and unfair attitudes.

Last year, Myanmars State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi appointed former UN Secretary general Kofi Annan to chair the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State to examine the divisions that have torn the state apart and find a solution to them. Talks were held over the past 12 months in Rakhine, Yangon, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Geneva.

In its report, the Commission advises the Government of Myanmar to achieve social progress by encouraging investment and providing basic services in Rakhine. Its key points include rectifying the Rohingya's citizenship, issuing national registration cards, reducing tensions, and engaging in reconciliation through dialogue between communities.

The report also mentions the need for border security, bilateral cooperation with Bangladesh, and greater anti-drug activities.

Another point stressed is the call for the closure of refugee camps, which have hosted about 120,000 people in extreme discomfort since the outbreak of violence in 2012.

Human rights groups have welcomed the report as a milestone for Rohingya claims, which Aung San Suu Kyi's government has previously promised to respect.

Myanmar had initially opposed the work of any UN commission of inquiry, an institution profoundly disliked by the Burmese. To get it accepted, Ms Aung San had said that she placed her trust in Kofi Annan, strongly rejecting allegations of "ethnic cleansing" made in other international reports.

After it was established, the Commissions task became increasingly urgent after Myanmars military launched a bloody repression in northern Rakhine in the wake of deadly attacks on some police stations by a Rohingya militant group in October.

Since then, more than 87,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh, reporting murders, mass rapes, and burnt villages.

Experts say the results of the Annan Commission will put pressure on Aung San Suu Kyis government. At the same time, the state counsellor faces a strong opposition from Buddhist nationalists, who are demanding the expulsion of the Rohingya.

Ms Aung San also exerts very little power over the armed forces, Myanmars most influential institution.
The former premier was accused in 2015 by the military junta over a subsidy plan for rice producers. The Supreme Court postponed the sentencing of the criminal proceedings against her to September 27. If found guilty, the former premier could be sentenced to up to 10 years in jail and banned from politics. Nobody knows where the woman is. The authorities fear the reactions of her supporters.

Bangkok (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Former Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra did not appear in court for the verdict of the trial that saw her indicted for "negligence" in a controversial rice yield scheme. Her lawyers says she was absent on grounds of poor health.

The Supreme Court issued a custodial sentence for the woman and postponed the sentence of the criminal proceedings against her to 27 September.

Yingluck denied any involvement in the plot that cost Thailand billions of dollars. If found guilty, the former premier could be sentenced to up to 10 years in jail and banned politically.

Today, Yingluck's lawyer asked the referral of the sentence, stating to the Court that the woman was suffering from dizziness and severe headaches and was unable to attend the hearing. Prosecutors opposed the request.

The head of the immigration police believes Yingluck is still in Thailand, while Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan has spoken of the possibility that the former prime minister has fled the country. Norrawit Larlaeng, the woman's lawyer, says she does not know where her client is.

In the days before the hearing, the fate of the nations first woman presidnet generated great debate and anxiety. The military junta tried to prevent or discourage Yingluck's supporters from going to the Supreme Court in Bangkok for fear of their violent reaction if the former prime minister were convicted and imprisoned.

Yingluck, who became prime minister in 2011, was charged in 2015 by the military junta and impeached. The plan, part of the Yingluck electoral campaign, was launched shortly after her rise to power. It aimed to strengthen farmers' incomes and alleviate rural poverty, and provided for the government to pay almost twice the market value of their crops to farmers. According to the accusers, the program was aimed at buying votes.

However, the project struck Thailand's rice exports hard, with a loss of at least $ 8 billion and huge rice stocks that the government could not sell. Although popular with rural constituents, opponents believed the plan was too expensive and open to corruption.

During her trial, Yingluck claimed she was not responsible for the day-to-day management of the scheme. She reiterated that she was a victim of political persecution. Yingluck's brother, controversial former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, lives in exile after having fled the country in 2008 to evade a two-year prison sentence for corruption.
by Sumon Corraya

About eight million people have had to leave their homes in 32 districts. All South Asia has been affected by flooding. In Dinajpur, the Catholic charity has been providing two meals a day for 204 families. Tomorrow, it will provide aid to 1,550 families in Rajshahi. Bishop Gervas Rozario brings comfort to the victims.

Dhaka (AsiaNews)  Lashed by heavy rains, thousands of people have been displaced in Bangladesh with at least 120 people killed in the resulting flooding.

According to official figures, about eight million people have had to leave their homes in 32 districts (out of 64) seeking shelter in displaced people camps. Given the magnitude of the problem, government agencies have been unable to help everyone.

In light of this, Bangladesh Caritas went into action and in a short period of time has been able to hand out aid to almost 4,000 people in the diocese of Dinajpur.

Tomorrow aid will go out to displaced persons in the diocese of Rajshahi. The latter were visited by the local bishop, Mgr Gervas Rozario, who brought comfort to those who lost everything (pictured).

Denis Baskey, Caritas regional director in Rajshahi, told AsiaNews that "Starting tomorrow we will distribute aid to 1,550 families. They will get rice and cooking oil."

The recent surge in heavy rains that have battered South Asian nations have flooded roads and caused rivers to overflow. Through its regional offices in the countrys eight dioceses, Caritas Bangladesh went immediately to work to bring relief.

"Food, tents and washing are the priority needs at this moment, said Pintu William Gomes, a senior official with Caritas Disaster Management. Some had food for one time, but now they are completely dependent on external food support. An army team is working to provide food support, but reaching remote areas is difficult."

All parishes have made appeals to their congregations on behalf of flood victims, asking for donations of clothes and money.

Fr Kamal Corraya, pastor in the Tejgaon Parish, one of the largest in Bangladesh, did as well. "I asked parishioners to give what they could to the flood victims, he said. I wrote a letter to all Catholic organisations, and the feedback was positive. We managed to collect thousands of clothes and more than 500,000 Taka (US$ 6,200). People are still donating."

One of the donors is Subash Gomes, from Tejgaon Parish. "I gave money because I could not sleep seeing the hardships of our flood-affected brothers and sisters."

Dinajpur Caritas offices are providing two meals a day to 204 displaced families (3,927 people) living in tents, Pintu William Gomes noted.

Caritas Bangladesh is also planning further action in coordination with Caritas Internationalis.
by Mathias Hariyadi

A dispute between Indonesia and US giant FMCG ends. Under new legislation, at least 51 per cent mining companies in Indonesia must be in Indonesian hands. FMCG had threated to end operations with job losses. Now it can operate its Papua mine until 2041, and build a new smelter.

Jakarta (AsiaNews)  US mining giant Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold (FMCG) agreed to sell 51 per cent of its stake in Gasberg copper mine in Indonesias Papua province, said Ignasius Jonan, Indonesian Minister for Energy and Mineral Resources, in an announcement he made on Tuesday.

This closes a dispute with the US multinational, which mines for copper, gold and silver in Indonesia.

Under Indonesias new mining legislation, at least 51 per cent of mining operations in the country must be Indonesian-owned.

The deal with the government allows FMCG to extract precious metals in the Papua mine until 2041 and build a smelter.

The Indonesian government accepted FMCGs demands that were left "pending during the negotiations over ownership. However, Minister Jonan said that the details of the agreement will be defined later.

In turn, this will not jeopardise what has been achieved so far, including the tax arrangements between the company and Indonesias Finance Ministry.

Indonesian authorities and FMCG had been engaged for months in tough negotiations. FMCG had threatened to stop operations with major job losses.
The study published by Science Advance Magazine. The most endangered area is that of the Indo river plain. For the World Health Organization, the maximum level allowed to avoid health damage is 10 micrograms per liter; For the Government of Islamabad, 50 micrograms per liter. In contaminated areas, concentration exceeds the limits of government.

Islamabad (AsiaNews / Agencies) - At least 60 million people in Pakistan, nearly one in three people, are likely to have serious health consequences due to arsenic poisoning. This is the alarm launched by Science Advances experts, among the world's top scientific journals. A group of scholars analyzed 1,200 samples of water collected throughout the country and found that the most contaminated areas are those along the banks of the Indus River, which flows from north to south, and its tributaries. The levels of poison contained in the aquifers would be "alarming" and much higher than the maximum amount set by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The study was published last August 23rd. Arsenic is a semi-metallic element, very common in nature, which filters into the aquifers through rocks and sediments. The WHO estimates that at least 150 million people around the world are exposed to contamination. Taking the toxic substance for long periods of time can cause chronic disorders such as skin diseases, lung and bladder tumors, and vascular complications.

For this reason, the WHO has set the maximum concentration in water to 10 micrograms per liter (g / L) to prevent human health damage. However, the Islamabad government has long ruled that 50 g / L is an "acceptable" limit.

The study, however, indicates that in Pakistan the concentration would far exceed safety levels and in some areas it would reach 972 g / L. Joel Podgorski, research author and member of the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, says the study "is the first truly complete work on this issue in Pakistan". According to the researchers, the main cause of arsenic is due to the young age of sediments. If an aquifer was originated at the end of the last ice age, about 10,000 years ago, "it is more likely to present high levels of poison than an older and deeper one, where most of the chemical elements are now dissolved" .

To aggravate the situation, however, they add, is the "irrigation system of cultivated fields. The study found a strong correlation between high levels of soil acidity and arsenic concentration. " Podgorski notes that "in the Indus valley there is a massive irrigation system, due to the dry and arid climate. This means that if you flood the surface abundantly, it is more likely that the poisonous substances will be filtered out into the aquifers. "

The high spread is due to the lack of controls by the authorities, which manage the water distribution network. In the absence of access to clean alternative water resources, most people drink and use polluted domestic water supplies. While aiming to fill a jug at a fountain in Islamabad, Ali Hasan, he says, "It would be the government's task to provide clean water, instead we have to waste time looking for clean sources of drinking water."
Colombo (AsiaNews) - Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Maithripala Sirisena fired Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, his governments justice minister. On several occasions, he had dared to publicly criticize the multimillion dollar agreement with which last month Sri Lanka handed over to China most of the port of Hambantota in the south of the island. The port will become a key juncture of the "One belt, One Road" project, the network of ports, highways and railways across South and Central Asia that will allow Chinese goods to reach the heart of Europe.

Gayantha Karunathillaka, spokesman for the Colombo government, has motivated Rajapakshe's dismissal as the result of a betrayal of the party. "He violated the collective responsibility of the cabinet, speaking openly against the agreement," he said. Indeed, the Justice Minister has repeatedly condemned the sale of the area to Chinese-owned China Merchants Port Holdings (CMPort), which will hold 70% of Hambantota International Port Group's capital, which will handle the port and terminal. According to Rajapakshe, the $ 1.1 billion agreement was a transparent "sale" to the best bidder.

The politician is not the only one who has opposed the commercial project. Before him, the population led protests and demonstrations for several months against Beijing's megaproject. The inhabitants fear they will be evicted from their lands to transform it into a Chinese colony. In fact, the agreements stipulate that the port area will be in Chinese concession for 99 years and CMPort itself said the Sri Lankan government has assured that it will not start any project within 100 kilometers of Hambantota for the next 15 years so as not to enter into direct competition with the port.
The United Nations humanitarian task force reports the jihadist stronghold in Syria is the "worst place on Earth". Activists talk about "deadly labyrinth" in which civilians are trapped. The call for the creation of humanitarian corridors and safe areas that favor the escape of the population.

Damascus (AsiaNews) - The UN has launched an appeal to the US-led international coalition, engaged in raids against Islamic State (IS, former Isis) targets in Raqqa, the "Caliphate" stronghold in Syria, to halt attacks to allow civilians to flee. There are at least 20,000 people  according to the UN - trapped in precarious health and safety conditions that must be able to leave the war zone without fear of US bombings that have already caused dozens of civilian casualties.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (FDS), the Arab-Kurdish alliance backed by US air raids, have already regained 60% of the territory previously in the hands of jihadist militias. Nevertheless, there are still five quarters in the hands of Isis; Inside there are tens of thousands of people who would like to attempt a desperate escape.

Jan Egeland, head of UN's humanitarian task force, is pointing to Jihadist militias who "do everything to use [civilians] as human shields." He is appealing to the international community, to work to help clear the areas under siege. For the UN expert, the so-called ISIS capital is "the worst place on earth" and many who can escape "risk [being killed] in air raids."

In a detailed report released yesterday, Amnesty International speaks of a "deadly labyrinth" in which the inhabitants of Raqqa are trapped. Civilians are being attacked on all sides, while the toll of the casualties caused by US air raids and the Arab-Kurdish coalition is steadily rising. "As the final battle in the city center approaches - says an activist - things are going to get worse." This is why it is increasingly urgent to "safeguard" the lives of those who are not directly involved in the fighting and "facilitate" the creation of corridors for a "safe passage" in a context of war and violence.

Some diplomats at the UN have called for temporary ceasefire.

Local anonymous sources in Raqqa, speak of at least a hundred civilians killed in the last 48 hours due to US air raids. Since August 14, around 170 civilians have been killed. In response, US military leaders say they take all "necessary" precautions to ward off new casualties among the population.

In addition to air raids, those still living in the Syrian capital of the "Caliphate" have to face the threat of artillery launches, missiles and rockets affecting areas with high population density. And the fate of those living in the "informal" refugee camps surrounding the city on the southern periphery of the city is no better, because they are also attacked.

Activists and human rights groups appeal to stop the use of explosive weapons in areas where civilians are concentrated. At the same time, they want the creation of an independent and impartial inquiry commission to investigate the many victims of the conflict.
The Saudis want to overtake Russia in crude oil sales to China. Plan dates back to 2011, but was stopped by the Chinese government. Meanwhile, the use of electric cars in China is growing.

Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies)  Saudi Arabian Oil Co., known as Saudi Aramco, is reportedly engaged in talks with the China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) over a deal that did not go through six years ago to build a refinery in Chinas Yunnan province.

The plan had already been in the works in 2011, but failed because the Chinese government blocked all new refineries. Now Saudi Arabia is back knocking on Chinas door.

According to Caixin, a business publication, the revived proposal is part of Riyadhs seduction campaign to gain access to Chinas market.

China is in fact Saudi Arabias third largest customer, but the People's Republic now buys more oil from Russia. In 2016, China bought 51 million tonnes of Saudi crude oil against 52.5 million from Russia.

One of the high points in Riyadhs seduction campaign came last March, when King Salman travelled to Beijing where he signed 14 deals worth US$ 65 billion.

One of them is a huge refinery and chemical complex in north-eastern China, in Panjin (Liaoning), which at full capacity will be able to refine 15 million tonnes of oil and produce 1 million tonnes of ethylene each year.

China is one of the worlds largest crude oil importers (about 375 million tonnes in 2016), but its energy market is changing.

According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, by 2029, car buyers in nearly every major economy will find that electric vehicles cost less than those powered by an internal combustion engine. By 2040, one of every two newly purchased vehicles will be electric.

In the first half of 2017, electric vehicle sales surged almost 63 per cent in China, as the government has created incentives for both manufacturers and buyers.
People sure love Italian food. The two toughest restaurants to get into this summer were both Italian.

One was a modest, 75 seater including al fresco dining with views of Ventnor Avenue; the other a mammoth, multi-million-dollar, 300-plus-seater by an Iron Chef inside a casino.

And while the buzz of the summer certainly goes to Michael Symons Angeline at Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa as the hottest new restaurant of the summer, runner-up  in Atlantic County, at least  goes to Tutto Fresco Italian Grill in Ventnor, which couldnt accommodate us for more than a month.

The wait was worth it.

If the name Tutto Fresco sounds familiar, it should. Co-owner Carmine Lamarras father Franco owned a Tutto Fresco location in Ventnor from 1998 to 2003 where Sage currently resides, along with another in Northfield for a few years.

And if youre a traveler to Port St. Lucie, Carmines brother Pasquale owns a 350-seat Tutto Fresco there.

My family has been in the restaurant business since we moved here in 1977, says Carmine, who grew up with his parents and two brothers in Margate and actually operated Portobello in the same exact location the new Tutto Fresco is. The kitchen and cooking were always a big thing for us. We were always in competition at home and in the restaurants. I always worked in the restaurants; they are part of me.

After owning and operating five restaurants in Florida for seven years, Carmine Lamarra came home to the Jersey Shore where he managed three restaurants for LDV Hospitality at the former Revel and also was a manager at Vic & Anthonys in Golden Nugget.
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A list of proscribed ailments, including having a scar or a fungal infection was released by the FARS news agency. Any teacher who has an epidermal disorder or with dark and white spots or a burn, bow legged will not be allowed in class.

The Iranian government has banned all ugly teachers from attending class or go near the institutions. The government has posed the threat of sacking all ugly teachers in the country.People have been demanding the government to outline the ugliness as described by the Education ministry. Students in the country have been complaining of lack of interactive teaching as the ugly teachers make teaching very boring.Anyone who is cross-eyed has ugly facial moles or skin conditions such as acne or eczema face redundancy.Women who have facial hair will also be sacked, along with teachers with fewer than 20 teeth or those suffering a fungal infection.Women are allowed to teach in Iran although they must wear a scarf covering their hair.Art teachers will be sacked if they report they are colour blind and infertile female teachers will also be banned from the classroom.All teachers must be parents at least with one or two children.The ban will start at the beginning of September this year, According to the English calendar. The government wanted to have a good system of teaching which will be favourable to the students in the class.
Every year after school starts, the crackdown begins.

On the west coast of Lake Okeechobee, an annual biology lesson is in full swing.

Folks gather in Gatoramas pole barn for what co-owner Allen Register has cupped in his hands.

"Here comes baby, said one grandfather as he reached down and placed an egg in his granddaughter's hands.

"He's coming out already, said 14-year-old Alex from Sarasota, with enthusiasm.

For the past decade, Alex and her family have made the trek to Gatorama this time of year for one thing: the Hatching Festival.

"It's kind of a tradition for us, because we come as a family, said Alexs mom, Holly.

In the weeks leading up to Labor Day, folks can put a real alligator egg in their hand and watch as new life emerges.

"To hatch the alligators and bring them into the world is a really fun experience, Alex said.

Now attending her 10th Hatching Festival, Alex helped her 4-year-old sister Chelsea with the finer points of cracking the egg.

"You have to pick at the egg a little bit. And then you have to push it, like I did mine, she explained.

The Hatching Festival at Gatorama puts something uniquely Florida in the palm of your hands, with no danger of getting hurt.

"It feels amazing really. It feels like I am giving birth to my child! Alex said of the event.

This year, folks like Alex will hatch more than 3,000 eggs at Gatorama.

"Most of the eggs we have here at Gatorama came from the Public Waters Egg Collection program. That's a program the state offers to a limited number of farmers, explained Allen Register.

Allen and his wife, Patty, have raised alligators along U.S. 27 in Glades County for more than 30 years. Inside the incubator room that warms the eggs, Allen selects what babies are prime for hatching.

For those who are reluctant, Holly says dont be  these gators have no teeth.

"They really do make sure everybody is safe and here to have a good time, Holly said.

"He doesn't have any teeth inside, but he does have one little grain of sand right there. And that's how he broke out of the egg, Patty Register shared with Alex and Chelsea.

After some quality time with your baby, it's time to part ways.

"Say Goodbye! We're going to take them into the incubator, Patty said while collecting the baby gators.

Know Before You Go:

In 20-17, Gatorama will need help birthing more than 3,000 baby alligators. Reservations are not required, but a smart idea. Sign up here. You'll find Gatorama right on U.S. 27, about an hour south of Sebring.

Tankful on Television:

Catch Florida travel stories like the one above on TV four days a week across Central Florida. The award-winning Florida on a Tankful with Scott Fais airs on News 13 Thursday through Sunday. See new segments in the Tampa Bay area as well on Bay News 9. Stories air beginning at 6 a.m. on both channels as a Spectrum exclusive.



Scott Fais on Twitter:

For behind the scenes photos, production notes from the field and Florida travel tips, follow Scott on Twitter at: @ScottFaisTV
Bill Nye the Science Guy has filed a lawsuit against the Walt Disney Company in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

Bill Nye files lawsuit against Disney

Claims company owes him millions for 'Science Guy'

Nye says he suffered $9 million in damages



ABC, Buena Vista Television, Touchstone Television Productions and other Disney subsidiaries are included in the suit.

In the lawsuit filed this week, Nye accuses Disney of fraud and breach of contract, claiming they short-changed him out of millions.

The lawsuit says Nye and his partners are entitled to half his namesake show's net profits under an agreement with Buena Vista Television.

In the complaint, Nye says the companies have been misclassifying revenues and expenses, violating the deal.

Nye said a 2008 accounting error prompted his suspicion. The lawsuit says Buena Vista Television sent Nye a letter saying he had to repay a large portion of his Science Guy earnings. Nye also claims that Buena Vista stopped paying him royalties on the show in 2008.

Nye said he tried to get an explanation from the company, but when that failed, he hired an external auditor. Nye said after years of delays, Disney failed to provide all documents requested by auditors.

The defendants failed to engage in the process in good faith, the lawsuit says.

In the complaint, Nye says documents he was given show royalties went unreported.

Nye claims he suffered $9 million in damages, while the defendants withheld ill-gotten profits of more than $28 million.

Bill Nye the Science Guy originally aired from 1993-1998 and won multiple broadcasting awards. Nye was featured, along with Ellen DeGeneres, in Ellens Energy Adventure attraction at Epcot, which closed permanently Aug. 13.
A veteran, full of history and amazing stories, had a love of flight before he was even a teen. Now, at 99-years-old, he's taking to the skies once again.

Ed Carine, 99, a veteran and former flight instructor, to fly in a Stearman biplane

Carine had a love of flying before he was a teen

Carine joined Army Air Corps to get into flight training, but was colorblind

Carine eventually got pilot's license after Army

Ed Carine will be going up with Flying Adventure in a Stearman biplane from the 1940s. The plane has an open cockpit, and Ed said he is hoping to do at least light aerobatics--all to experience "that old feeling" of freedom once again.

To this day, Ed remembers the very first time he ever flew in a plane. It was 87 years ago.

"I was 12-years-old, and my father and I were looking into the open cockpit and my father said to me in a very low, low voice, 'Jump in before your mother says no,'" Carine recalled.

Ed said from that moment, he knew his goal in life was to be a pilot. Ed joined the Army Air Corps in hopes of going into flight training, but Army officials told him he was colorblind, so it wasn't an option--but that didn't stop Ed. He did the next best thing and eventually ended up in Illinois assigned to a link trainer course--the very first flight simulator.

"At one point when we were rushing to help the British as much as we could, I was teaching classes of 400 at a time," Carine said.

Even though Ed enjoyed teaching, it just didn't give him that feeling of freedom that flying did, and after his career in the military, Ed used the GI bill to get his pilot's license. However, is first flight didn't exactly go as planned.

"I got to sightseeing and I'm looking around and then I'm looking around and I'm lost, which way is the damn airport?" he said.

Ed eventually found the airport, and has since spent countless hours in the air, experiencing that indescribable taste of freedom.

"It's a freedom feeling. You know you're used to bonds of earth, you're free," Carine explained.

Flying Adventure is also taking up a gentleman who was pilot during the Korean War, and who is also in his 90s.
Former President Barack Obama endorsed St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman for re-election on Friday.

As mayor of St. Petersburg, Rick Kriseman has taken on big challenges to move St. Pete forward, said former President Obama. From raising the minimum wage and fighting for equality, to bold leadership on climate change, Rick was a great ally on the priorities of my administration. I strongly endorse Rick Kriseman as the only choice for continued progress for St. Petersburg.

As a state representative, Rick Kriseman was one of the first elected officials in Florida to endorse then Senator Obama for president in 2007.

Kriseman worked with the Obama administration to launch the My Brother's Keeper initiative in St. Pete, along with supporting Obamacare enrollment efforts.

I am incredibly honored to have the support of President Barack Obama as we continue our work of moving St. Pete forward said Mayor Kriseman. President Obama's leadership had a positive impact on our city. His historic election inspired us. His governance helped us to rebound from a great recession, made healthcare more available and affordable, and expanded opportunity and equality for countless Americans. From ending veteran homelessness to combating climate change, it has been my privilege to champion his priorities and apply them at the local level.

Kriseman is only the second mayor to receive an endorsement from the former president during this election cycle.

With just days left before the primary election, the candidates in the crowded field for mayor are scrambling for as many votes as they can get.



Some of Kriseman's opponents in the race, like candidate Jesse Nevel, took aim at the move, claiming it's an attempt to influence more black voters to support the incumbent mayor.

"This (endorsement) is a last minute act of desperation from Kriseman's campaign," Nevel said in a statement.

Voters in St. Petersburg will head to the polls Tuesday, Aug. 29, to vote for mayor as well as District 6, which represents downtown St. Pete, Old Southeast and part of Old Northeast.
The Houston-area is experiencing heavy flood incidents and high water has taken a toll on some car owners who were left with no a choice but to pass through flooded areas. Some cars simply have low body frames, making them susceptible to damage from extreme water levels.

If your car gets caught in floodwaters, here are some tips from State Farm Insurance:
At least three more major charities have canceled events at President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach amid his controversial remarks regarding the violence that erupted at a Charlottesville, Va. protest. Trump said at a press conference that "both sides" were to blame at the rally.

The American Cancer Society announced in a statement Thursday that it would no longer hold its upcoming fundraising gala in Trump's gilded ballroom. In a statement, the ACA said, in part:

"When we chose to hold our 2018 event and related dinner at Mar-a-Lago, we selected the venue based on a variety of factors, including costs and venue requirements. Our values and commitment to diversity are critical as we work to address the impact of cancer in every community. It has become increasingly clear that the challenge to those values is outweighing other business considerations."

The ACA has not yet chosen a new venue: "With our volunteer leaders, we are exploring other opportunities and potential venues. The generous support of community volunteers and donors are critical to our life-saving mission. Only by coming together will we solve our society's most difficult challenges, including reducing the pain and suffering from cancer."

The Cleveland Clinic, a prominent academic medical center based in Ohio, has also announced that it would no longer have its upcoming fundraiser at the resort but did not elaborate on the decision. However, it was still scheduled to host attendees at Mar-a-Lago as recently as last week, according to the Post.

Later on the same day, a spokesperson for the American Friends of Magen David Adom, an organization that works to raise funds for an ambulance service in Israel, said their annual gala would not be held at Mar-a-Lago this year. The association has held its fundraising formals there since 2012.

TRUMP IN TEXAS: Trump to headline Dallas GOP fundraiser

The palatial waterfront property, which Trump has referred to as the "winter White House," has been receiving cancellations for upcoming 2017 and 2018 events since earlier this year.

The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute told the Palm Beach Daily News that it would move its fundraiser to The Breakers, another waterfront resort in Palm Beach, Fla. Members of the organization and its hosting committee claim the decision was not politically motivated.

"There are a lot of reasons to pick a venue: it's convenient, it feels relevant, there are high-net-worth individuals or potential donors are associated with that particular venue, it accommodates the number of guests that you are going to host, it's beautiful," Greg Propper, co-president of social impact agency Propper Daley, told Town & Country magazine, adding that "the venue should do no harm."

UNHEALTHY CODES: Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago kitchen had more than a dozen health code violations

The Palm Beach Daily News also reports that MorseLife moved its event, scheduled for Dec. 8, to The Breakers. The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is also moving its Jan. 27, 2018 to The Breakers. Miami-based Bascom Palmer Eye Institute will move one of its events to that same resort, and another to Club Colette, a private Palm Springs supper club.
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10 p.m.

The National Hurricane Center says the eye of the Category 4 hurricane made landfall about 10 p.m. Friday about 30 mph east-northeast of Corpus Christi between Port Aransas and Port O'Connor, bringing with it 130 mph sustained winds and flooding rains.

The storm quickly grew Thursday from a tropical depression into a Category 1 hurricane, and then developed into a Category 2 storm early Friday. By Friday afternoon, it had become a Category 3 storm before strengthening to a Category 4. Harvey is the first Category 4 hurricane to hit the Texas coast since Hurricane Carla in 1961.

--The Associated Press

8:45 p.m.

Hurricane Harvey made official landfall near the city of Rockport about 8:30 p.m. as a Category 4 storm, according to a tweet from the National Weather Service in Birmingham, Ala.

The last update from the NWS says the storm reached a category 4 level with sustained winds of at least 130 mph. People near the eye of the storm were told to brace themselves as if a tornado were approaching.

Winds in a Category 4 storm can reach speeds of up to 156 mph that can damage roofs and exterior walls of framed homes, destroy mobile homes and uproot large trees.

6 p.m.

The National Weather Service is predicting "catastrophic" flooding along the Texas Gulf Coast due to heavy rainfall and storm surge as Hurricane Harvey, now a Category 4 storm, draws closer.

The latest update from the NWS says the storm reached a category 4 level with winds of 130 mph. People near the eye of the storm were told to brace as if a tornado were approaching.

Data from the Air Force Hurricane Hunters indicate winds of 125 miles per hour with higher gusts and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration aircraft captured the storm moving northwest around 10 miles per hour, though its speed is expected to decrease.

The National Weather Service announced Friday afternoon the "dangerous eyewall" of the hurricane, with gusts as high as 155 mph, would approach the coast at the following times: Port Aransas, 6 p.m.; Aransas pass and Rockport, 7 p.m.; Bayside, 8 p.m.

2:10 p.m.

Hurricane Harvey strengthened into a Category 3 Friday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.



The storm become a major hurricane as it slowly moved toward the Texas Coast. According to the National Weather Service, the Houston region could begin seeing the worst of the storm starting tonight.



The storm system has prompted officials to issue voluntary and mandatory evacuations of some coastal areas, school districts to postpone a return to classes and local governments to brace for life-threatening floods that could last through Monday.

The outer bands of the storm began pounding the coast late Friday morning and caused flooding in Galveston shortly after.

12:30 p.m

The City of Port Arthur is out of sandbags. Officials on the Bolivar Peninsula are still rounding up people who want to leave. Those folks will be bused to LaMarque.

11 a.m.

The National Weather Service expects Harvey to be a Category 3 or Category 4 hurricane when it makes landfall Saturday morning on the central Texas Coast. It will weaken to a tropical storm Sunday, the NWS said, and move up the cost slowly. "It is too early to know for sure if it will move offshore or stay inland as it moves up the Texas coast next week," the latest update said.

Southeast Texas should expect 10-20 inches of rain; major flooding is expected from Pine Island Bayou near Sour Lake.

Storm surge in Southeast Texas is predicted to be 1-3 feet above ground level.

7 a.m.

Hurricane Harvey intensified into a Category 2 hurricane overnight Thursday as it moved toward the Texas Coast, prompting officials to issue voluntary and mandatory evacuations of some coastal areas, area school districts to postpone a return to classes and local governments to brace for severe, life-threatening flooding.

On Friday morning, Galveston County Judge Mark Henry extended voluntary evacuations to include all unincorporated low-lying areas in Galveston County. This includes the communities of San Leon, Bacliff, Freddiesville, Old Bayou Vista and Highland Bayou.

Bolivar Peninsula also remains under a voluntary evacuation.

Forecasters said they expect Harvey to make landfall on the middle Texas coast, between Corpus Christi and Matagorda, on Friday night, and then stall along the coast through the weekend.

The hurricane was moving northwest around 10 mph, with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph, according to the National Weather Service. Harvey is expected to approach the middle Texas coast and make landfall Friday night or early Saturday.

The hurricane is supposed to stall near or just inland of the middle Texas coast through the weekend. According to the weather service, the coast is likely to begin experiencing tropical-storm-force winds by 2 p.m. Friday.

Harvey is expected to make landfall as a Category 3 hurricane, with winds upwards of 110 mph.

High rainfall that could produce widespread flooding are the main threats for southeast Texas. Tropical storm and occasional hurricane force wind gusts will occur along the Texas coast as early as Friday afternoon and continue throughout next week Tuesday.

The wind-field of the hurricane has expanded, so a higher storm surge is projected for the upper Texas coastline. Coastal flooding is also predicted to be an issue over the weekend and possibly into next week because of strong onshore winds that will keep water piled up along the coastline.

Life-threatening storm surge inundation of 6 to 12 feet about ground level from South Padre to Sargent, 5 to 8 feet from Sargent to Jamaica Beach and 2 to 4 feet from Jamaica Beach to High Island and around Galveston Bay is expected.

The storm caught the region by surprised after it regained its strength during the week. Harvey started out as a tropical storm but weakened into a tropical wave after it moved across Mexico.

The disorganized storm regained its strength and intensified, threatening the Texas coast.

Now, forecasters from the National Weather Service are predicting rain accumulations of 15 to 25 inches and isolated maximum amounts of 35 inches over the middle and upper Texas coast through next Wednesday.

During the same time period Harvey is expected to produce rain total of 7 to 15 inches in far south Texas and the Texas Hill Country eastward though central and southwest Louisiana, with totals up to 7 inches.

Forecasters say Harvey will be the first hurricane to strike Texas since Ike in 2008, and the first major hurricane  with wind speeds of more than 110 mph  since Rita in 2005.

According to the weather service, Category 3 through 5 hurricanes are considered major.

Swells generated by Harvey were expected to create "life-threatening surf and rip current conditions" along the coast from northeast Mexico to Louisiana, forecasters warned.

The warnings have led to oil and gas companies reducing production and the number of personnel they have working along the coast and prompted local airports to issue travel advisories through Sunday.

Residents of Calhoun and parts of Matagorda counties were ordered to evacuate their homes as Harvey neared. The threat prompted the city of Galveston to issue a voluntary evacuation call for the West End Island, and for Galveston County to extend the same to Bolivar Peninsula.

Reporters Ryan Maye Handy, Dug Begley, Cindy George, St. John Barned-Smith, Shelby Webb, Emily Foxhall, Todd Ackerman, Rebecca Elliott, Brooke A. Lewis and Andrea Rumbaugh contributed to this report.
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Port Arthur ISD's board of trustees will decide next month whether to change the names of two elementary schools honoring Confederate leaders after hearing from community members Thursday night.

Superintendent Mark Porterie said it's time for the board to make "a definite yea or nay decision" on whether to change the names of Dick Dowling and Robert E. Lee elementary schools, saying this "has been a conversation for a while."

A public hearing on the names is scheduled for Sept. 28. Turnout and opinions at

that hearing will determine whether the board proceeds with accepting nominations for new names, or if they school names will remain the same, board president Donald Frank said.

"There is conversation in the community," Porterie said at Thursday's board meeting. "I must add that I think this has evolved from what's happening in our United States of America, some things that we're seeing and some things that we're feeling. A lot of this is coming from emotion."

He said he doesn't believe the names impact students as much as adults, and said most of the elementary students attending Lee and Dowling don't know who their schools' namesakes are.

The schools are two of at least 20 in Texas named for Confederate leaders, according to the Texas Tribune. Both have predominantly African-American and Hispanic student populations, according to state data.

Residents have debated the names on social media since the meeting agenda was released on Monday. Like in Beaumont, where City Council members are considering changes to a Confederate monument, defenders of the name have said removing them is disregarding American history, while opponents have said they glorify people who fought to preserve slavery.

"We're going to let the public decide," said Vice President Debra Ambroise, who declined to share her opinion on the names until after the hearing.

"I've already heard a lot" from constituents on the issue, trustee Robert Reid said. "I do ask that those in the community respect an overriding feeling about this particular issue and listen with both ears," he said.

If the board decides to proceed with renaming the schools, they'll accept nominations after the hearing. Petitions will not be considered, according to board policy, which also dictates that nominations should "normally" be reviewed "for approximately three months." The name changes will need to be on two consecutive agendas before a vote is taken.

Teneshia Jones, whose daughter attends Staff Sgt. Lucien Adams Elementary, said changing the names would be positive, and said minority parents shouldn't have to send children to schools named for Confederate leaders.

If the names are changed, people will likely still refer to them as Lee and Dowling Elementary Schools, Port Arthur resident Brian Lee said, pointing to the memory of Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Stephen F. Austin High Schools after their consolidation into Memorial High School in 2002 as an example.

LTeitz@BeaumontEnterprise.comTwitter.com/LizTeitz
Health Data Management reports approximately 34 states have laws that support telehealth reimbursement.

Here's what you should know:

1. Oklahoma and Texas were two states that most recently signed bills into law.

2. American Telemedicine Association's Chief Policy Officer Gary Capistrant said to HDM that despite more states supporting reimbursement, there are still difficulties concerning reimbursement laws; specifically, the varying nature of the laws on a state-by-state basis.

3. The federal government has "lagged behind" on reducing barriers to telemedicine adaptation, Mr. Capistrant said.

4. Mr. Capistrant believes states could continue to encourage adaptation by changing existing policies. He believes licensing as it is currently is  done by a state-by-state basis  should be simplified.
In 1999, Barry Tanner teamed up with Karen Sablyak to draft a business plan for Physicians Endoscopy, an ASC management company. In his current role as CEO, Mr. Tanner is charged with overseeing the Physicians Endocsopy's partnership development activities and strategic direction.

Mr. Tanner co-founded Navix Radiology Systems, a physician practice management company. During his time with the company, he was the CFO and COO.
Joel Diamond, MD, and Assaf Halevy launched 2bPrecise in mid-2015 to connect physicians with precision medicine insights at the point of care.

The 2bPrecise platform brings actionable genomic data into clinical workflows to inform physicians' diagnosis and treatment decisions. The precision medicine startup counts healthcare organizations like Kingsport, Tenn.-based Holston Medical Group and the National Institutes of Health among its clients.

"2bPrecise is focused on creating an intelligent bridge: The last mile of precision medicine," says Mr. Halevy, who now serves as CEO of the company. "By bringing labs and other genetic data into [the] EHR workflow  and providing context  we give physicians the tools to interact with the information in a simple, yet meaningful, way."

Becker's Hospital Review caught up with Mr. Halevy to discuss how healthcare startups like 2bPrecise address the technological challenges physicians commonly face.

Editor's note: Responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Questions: What prompted you to found 2bPrecise?

Assaf Halevy: Dr. Diamond and I have always been passionate about keeping people healthy. Over the years, we've invested a lot of time and effort into introducing care coordination and collaboration solutions, creating semantic interoperability and data harmonization. Now, 2bPrecise is focusing on a new frontier. The power of genomics and precision medicine is huge, and its potential is finally close to realization. We are harnessing the power of precision medicine and making it actionable and clinically relevant at the point of care and for research. We are realizing our vision for contributing to the next generation of healthcare.

Q: What challenges has 2bPrecise faced since its launch?

AH: For physicians today, there is a real downside to all of the new technology at their fingertips. The more software solutions and information they have access to, the less time they have to practically take care of patients. Additionally, while many doctors have practiced personalized medicine for years, the genomics and precision medicine space  and its potential  are still very new. This is an emerging market of early adopters, innovators and inconsistent maturity levels. We are constantly working with our customers to jointly innovate and problem-solve.

Q: What advice do you have for companies working with genomics and precision medicine?

AH: Be creative and invest time and effort into turning complexity into simplicity.

If you do not invest in this way  if you do not learn about the complexity of clinical and genomic information, its multiple inconsistent nomenclatures and knowledge representation; if you do not appreciate and focus on how a clinical team really operates in different clinical settings  you will meet your users like a deer in headlights.

I see many companies with great solutions coming out of a vacuum lab just to find that clinicians will never agree to swim in another ocean of data.

Q: What are some of your goals for 2bPrecise in the next year?

AH: We want to ensure our customers are satisfied. We see our customers as partners, and we are committed to their success. We listen to them, learn from them and respond to them as quickly as possible. We want them to trust us fully and understand the strategic value of working with us. This year, we are looking to increase our customer base and market signature.
Indianapolis-based Indiana University Health is demanding Delaware County pay for $1.8 million worth of care provided to a former jail inmate at Ball Memorial Hospital in Muncie, Ind., according to The Star Press.

IU Health made the demand for payment in a letter sent to Delaware County Sheriff Ray Dudley. Mr. Dudley told The Star Press the county is not obligated to pay the medical bill because the inmate, Richard Ballard Howell III, was released from custody on the second day of his six-month stay at Ball Memorial Hospital.

Mr. Howell was booked into the Delaware County Jail July 28, 2016. He was transported to Ball Memorial Hospital July 30 after complaining of shortness of breath and was later diagnosed with septic shock. A judge ordered Mr. Howell released from custody Aug. 1, 2016.

"Mr. Howell was clearly under lawful detention at the time he was transported from Delaware County jail to IU Health Ball Memorial on July 30, 2016," states the demand letter. "His release does not alleviate Delaware County from financial responsibility."

Mr. Dudley intends to dispute the allegations in IU Health's demand letter.

"The hospital doesn't have the right to say we have to provide medical care after an inmate has been released," Mr. Dudley told The Star Press.

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Two former Amazon leaders, who have since transitioned to roles in the healthcare sector, believe the company has real potential to disrupt the healthcare industry, reports CNBC.

Curtis Kopf served as a director at Amazon in the early 2000s, digitizing every book in print, which he now views as a precursor to Kindle.

"At this point, I don't think there's anything they would be afraid to do," Mr. Kopf, now a senior vice president at Mountlake Terrace, Wash.-based health insurer Premera Blue Cross, told CNBC. Amazon recently tapped one of his former Premera colleagues, Mark Lyons, to build an internal pharmacy benefits manager for its employees.

Another former Amazon director, Aaron Martin, who helped launch the company's self-publishing business and was a leader Kindle, said he believes the healthcare sector is too big of an industry for Amazon to ignore.

"At Amazon, we learned to pick our battles and didn't look at anything that was less than $500 million," Mr. Martin, senior vice president of strategy and innovation of Renton, Wash.-based Providence Health and Services, told CNBC. "Meanwhile, healthcare is a fifth of the economy."

Mr. Martin thinks the e-commerce giant could exploit its logistics, machine learning and voice recognition expertise to build new technology platforms, although he thinks entrepreneurs will customize them for the healthcare sector.

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House democrat proposes bill to restore ONC funding

How 18 industries rank on cybersecurity

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Brian Jacobs, MD, chief medical information officer and CIO at Washington, D.C.-based Children's National Health System, wasn't always an IT strategist. In fact, he began his career in pediatric clinical care.

"I was working in the intensive care unit with a lot of sick kids and a lot of devices  ventilators and dialysis machines and heart monitors and bypass machines and so forth. It's a place where there is a lot of data and a lot of potential for errors and harm. Some of the sickest kids in the region end up in that unit," Dr. Jacobs says. That experience, he added, provided him with valuable insights into the technological needs of both clinicians and patients.

Reminiscing on those early stages of his career  around the late 1990s  Dr. Jacobs explained that ICU nurses and clinicians would chart data manually by scribbling numbers with pencil in tiny cells on four-page, front-and-back flow sheets. That health data would then be added up by hand  with significant error rates.

"I think we calculated once a 57 percent error rate," he says. "[So,] I started to say, 'Hey guys, you really need to invest in computers and EHRs.' I talked enough about it that they said, 'Fine, do it; you go ahead and do that'."

This is where Dr. Jacob's career as an IT strategist began.

Dr. Jacobs became the first CMIO of Children's National, a position he has held since 2006. He is also the medical center's CIO and vice president, as well as the executive director of the Center for Pediatric Informatics and an attending physician in the pediatric critical care department.

Before joining Children's National, Dr. Jacobs served as the director of technology and patient safety at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, where he managed the go-live of its EHR and was the principal author on a project awarded the HIMSS Nicholas E. Davies Organizational Award in 2003 by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society.

Dr. Jacobs recently spoke with Becker's Hospital Review about the hospital's unique EHR partnership, the importance of health IT in a hospital's strategic plan and his biggest concern for the healthcare industry.

Note: Responses have been lightly edited for clarity and length.

Question: What is Children's National's relationship like with its EHR vendor, North Kansas City, Mo.-based Cerner?

Dr. Brian Jacobs: In 2013, we started something rather unique with Cerner  a true partnership, in the form of an institute  called the Bear Institute, based off our logo here at Children's. The partnership focuses on two [components:] operational excellence and innovation. We do a lot of development and innovation in the pediatric health IT space, and we've got an operational team that manages all the nuts and bolts of the organization  from the data center to storage and telecommunications wiring, critical informatics and biomedical engineering.

Q: What has been your biggest challenge as a CIO?



BJ: Clinician engagement and culture change is probably the most challenging. The technology is generally very sound, but being able to transform clinicians, who are very good at what they do, but who work in a paper-based environment, to using electronic tools in a different way and in a different style, with integrated decision support that is more holistic about the way we deliver care, has certainly been a challenge. But our clinicians can be very technology hungry. We give them something, and they adopt it. They're always looking for the next challenge or the next technological solution to what they do.

Q: What advice would you give to other hospital CIOs?

BJ: The most important thing is that the CIO is intimately involved in strategic discussions within the organization. Health IT requires engagement and communication; it needs to be part of the strategic part of the organization. IT really needs to not be an afterthought, but part of the strategy and part of the planning process for every major initiative in an organization.

Q: Which IT trends are you most excited about?

BJ: For us, it's harvesting the power and the energy in all of the data we have now, which will allow us to do very high-level big data analytics, both characterizing our opportunities now and predicting where we are going. Then, it's being able to use that information to help drive important initiatives in the organization, whether that is care delivery, quality, safety, research or education.

Q: What is your number one concern in the industry?

BJ: [Cybersecurity] is always top of mind here. That problem is becoming very challenging. There are a lot of organizational vulnerabilities that can really disrupt your business continuity and potentially cause you to have a significant downtime or financial loss. We are continuing to invest an ever-increasing amount in security and IT security. Certainly, as the CIO, that is one of the things that keep me up at night.

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Here are 15 recent news updates on health IT companies.

Allscripts and Elligo Health Research joined forces Aug. 17 to help physicians connect their patients with clinical trials.

Basel, Switzerland-based pharmaceutical company Novartis and Seattle-based research nonprofit Sage Bionetworks initiated a study on multiple sclerosis using the Apple ResearchKit software framework Aug. 21.

CliniComp, a San Diego-based EHR provider, filed a lawsuit Aug. 18 against the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs over the department's decision to tap Cerner for its systemwide EHR in a no-bid contract in June.

Deloitte ranked the top consulting firm provider organizations say they turn to for health IT guidance, according to a KLAS Research report.

Fruit Street, a New York City-based digital health company, is the first organization to obtain pending recognition status for group telehealth classes under the CDC's National Diabetes Prevention Program.

IBM and JDRF, a New York City-based organization that funds Type 1 diabetes research, will apply machine learning algorithms to investigate existing Type 1 diabetes research datasets.

A team of researchers from across the U.S. will crowdsource computing power using IBM's World Community Grid to conduct a large-scale study on the human microbiome.

Illumina, a San Diego-based genome sequencing provider, signed a long-term lease for a 316,000-square-foot complex less than one mile from its headquarters.

The CommonWell Health Alliance added Imprivata, a health IT security company, as a general member Aug. 17.

Livongo, a Mountain View, Calif.-based digital health company focused on chronic conditions, named former 23andMe President Andy Page its president and CFO Aug. 21.

MAP Health Management  a provider of telehealth and patient engagement solutions for patients with chronic behavioral health disorders  will integrate Wolters Kluwer Health's Health Language platform to improve its data exchange practices.

Philips issued a notification disclosing security vulnerabilities in its Philips DoseWise Portal application Aug. 17.

SnapMD, a Glendale, Calif.-based telehealth technology provider, transitioned its SnapMD Virtual Care Management platform to Azure, Microsoft's cloud computing service, Aug. 15.

David Schloss joined Teladoc as its first-ever chief human resources officer Aug. 21.

Tyto Care, a telehealth company, joined forces with iQor, a global managed services provider, Aug. 23.
St. Louis-based SSM Health appointed Ben Layman president of St. Mary's Hospital-Janesville (Wis.), effective Sept. 18.

Here are five takeaways:

1. Mr. Layman comes to SSM Health from Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Spectrum Health, where he served as COO for an acute care hospital and attached rehabilitation unit.

2. Previously, he was system director of advanced business development at Spectrum Health.

3. He is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives and Medical Group Management Association.

4. He earned his MBA degree at Sonoma State University in Rohnert Park, Calif.

5. Mr. Layman succeeds Kerry Swanson, who left to serve as regional president of hospital operations for SSM Health in Southern Illinois.
Banning, Calif.-based San Gorgonio Memorial Hospital CEO Mark Turner is resigning, effective Sept. 15, according to a Record Gazette report.

Hospital officials said Mr. Turner made the decision to step down months ago, and it was "completely voluntary," according to the report. Mr. Turner has served at the helm of the hospital since 2009, prior to which he worked at Nashville, Tenn.-based Brim Healthcare.

During his tenure, the hospital saw strong growth and opened a new building that included an intensive care unit and emergency department.

Recently, the hospital has been engaged in a quickly souring relationship with Highland, Calif.-based Beaver Medical Group. The hospital contracts with the group's physicians. A previous Record Gazette article reported 80 Beaver Medical physicians called for a "change of leadership" at the hospital. The physicians allege hospital administration has been "aggressive" towards them and patient care was less than satisfactory.

"There has been a lot of distraction in recent months, which has taken away from the wonderful work each member of our team performs every day to deliver high-quality care for the residents of our community," Mr. Turner said in a statement, according to the report. "We tried to cut through that, yet it has persisted. I believe the most impactful step I can take to help our beloved institution turn the page is to step back, and allow the hospital to start fresh with new leadership."
In the time of activist investors, unlikely M&A pairings, business changes driven by digital transformation and more, it's no surprise when high-performing leaders take a step back to gain clarity and reassess their own strategic goals.

To brush up on how bright business minds think about strategy today, Scott Becker, partner with McGuireWoods and publisher of Becker's Healthcare, hosted a Q&A webinar with four leaders to gather their thoughts on which companies are executing strategies well and what they've found most effective in their respective lines of work when it comes to executing business plans.



Below are six points from their discussion, edited lightly for length and clarity. The webinar in full is accessible here.



Featured panelists

- Chris Bishop, CEO, Regent Surgical Health

- Geoffrey Cockrell, Partner, McGuireWoods

- Barry Tanner, CEO, Physicians Endoscopy

- Amber McGraw Walsh, Partner, McGuireWoods

- Moderated by: Scott Becker, Partner, McGuireWoods



1. Don't underestimate the power of clarity when it comes to business strategy. When asked to name a business strategy that's easy to follow, Mr. Tanner pointed to Amazon. The Seattle-based company evolved from an online purveyor of books to one of the most successful companies in the history of the stock market. In July, Amazon's stock market value surpassed $500 billion. Investors who purchased $1,000 in Amazon stock in July 2002 would have more than $83,000 (in 2002 dollars) today.



Amazon may not seem like a simple company on paper. Consider how many verticals it plays in; how CEO Jeff Bezos has diversified his investments and entrepreneurial pursuits; and how difficult the company is to categorize. Yet Mr. Tanner attributes Amazon's success to a rather straightforward goal and strategic clarity.



"Look at what [CEO Jeff] Bezos has been able to achieve by really focusing his entire strategy on, I think, becoming the most efficient and broadest distribution and warehousing company in the entire world," said Mr. Tanner. "For years and years, I watched ... him plow money back into focusing on strategy and sort of not even worrying or seemingly caring about the bottom line, but staying focused on, 'How do I build this huge distribution network?' That kind of a strategy  it's simple, focused, easy to understand. I think that's part of why it's achieved unbelievable success."



Ms. Walsh summed up a simple rule for leaders when it comes to strategic clarity: "If it's not clear to the whole team, then it is a murky strategy," she said. "We have to have the same vision and it has to be clearly communicated."



2. Allocate resources and position people with an eye toward strategic priorities. Once a start-up airline servicing only Dallas, Houston and San Antonio, Southwest now serves 101 U.S. cities and eight countries and has defied the trajectory of every other major airline in several ways. First of all, Southwest is the only major airline that has not filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. For 44 straight years, the airline has recorded positive net income.



Mr. Bishop attributed the company's success to its efficiency, while Ms. Walsh pointed to its distinct company culture as a driver of its popularity.



"They are the no-frill airline," said Mr. Bishop. "Their goal is to very efficiently and with a smile deliver their customers from point A to point B, which is essentially what you pay for  quality service and on-time arrivals. Just as a surgery center thinks of efficiency as turnaround time, Southwest has really embodied the efficiency concept  let's keep it simple, let's keep it on time and let's keep [delivering] high-quality service to the customer."



As an example of the efficiency Mr. Bishop mentioned, Southwest is the only major airline that primarily flies passengers on one basic type of plane. Of its roughly 700 planes, the majority are two different varieties of Boeing 737s  the 737-700 and the 737-800. Using a standard plane model results in big savings in pilot training and maintenance.



Ms. Walsh said Southwest not only has an attractive strategy, but the company owns it. The airline is known for its snappy, colorful and lighthearted messaging, and Founder Herb Kelleher was known for encouraging employees to show their personalities.



"It is unabashed. They came out of the gate, so to speak, and when they came on the national scene everyone knew what they were trying to be," said Ms. Walsh. "They were immediately differentiating themselves. They were not just attempting to differentiate themselves, but they were doing it well and owning it in a way that is very tongue-in-cheek compared to the rest of the industry. The fact that two of the three of us choose Southwest because their strategy is so clear and also has been so effective  we know how they've performed vis-a-vis their competitors."



3. Relevance is the ultimate competitive edge. In an increasingly digitized and consolidated world, reputation and recognition is of equal value to businesses as traditional market share. As a result, many leaders are focusing their energy on becoming the best performer in niche areas to remain top of mind with their audience.



"We are clearly not big enough to say we're dominant in any one particular geography," said Mr. Tanner, "but what we're trying to focus on strategically to achieve that vision is to become the absolute best at all of the things important to the success of the gastroenterologist. We can deliver the day-to-day success and do it very efficiently, such as billing, collections, scheduling, payer contracting, human resources and IT. We've tried to focus on  How do we become the best within all of those functional areas so we can achieve that vision of being the go-to company? When people think, 'As a gastroenterologist, who can help us?', we want them to think Physicians Endoscopy first."



4. The caliber of a leadership team matters just as much, if not more, than the firm's dominance. For many businesses, market or niche dominance is a luxury. These companies are not the No. 1 or No. 2 players in their market or sector. When this is the case, the men and women who hold leadership positions in these companies are held under a granular lens with greater scrutiny of their character, judgment and abilities compared to other leaders.



"More often I see investors principally concerned about the quality of the management people," said Mr. Cockrell. "They can live without market dominance and a niche, but they cannot live without high-caliber people."



5. Abandoning a strategy is not a sign of weakness. Just because a business abandons a strategy does not mean it abandons its vision or mission  the company may just need to take a different route to get there. The need to end a pursuit may be clear, but determining how or when to do so can prove difficult. One of the most daunting parts of deciding whether to abandon a strategy is determining how to measure effectiveness of the strategy in question. Ms. Walsh said measuring strategic effectiveness in the legal world may take more time than in other industries, where leaders must assess effectiveness faster. "Abandonment is absolutely critical, it just may not be one-size-fits-all for all different companies in all industries," she said.



6. Do not obsess over crafting the perfect strategy. "Even in this quickly changing world of different converging forces and changes, in healthcare and outside of healthcare, many of you have focused less on the perfect strategy and more on picking a clear strategy, executing that strategy and staying with it very clearly until it bears fruit," said Mr. Becker. He pointed out that the panelists repeatedly mentioned "tweaks" they made to their strategies  not overhauls or redesigns  as they remained attuned to the business environment.



It's healthy to take strategy with a grain of salt. There is no such thing as the perfect strategy  a concept the highest performing leaders and executives know well. What's more, they understand that strategy is merely a theory unless the entire company understands and executes it. Therefore, the bulk of time should be spent on the latter parts of the equation.
Salina (Kan.) Regional Health Center and Geary Community Hospital in Junction City, Kan., entered into a period of due diligence Aug. 24 to form a strategic alliance.

Salina Regional officials said the due diligence process to determine the viability of a potential partnership will last approximately four to six months.

"The goal of this agreement is to explore improved patient care in the region and the potential of better coordination of services between our two hospitals. It also helps both organizations to determine the possibilities of long-term strategic partnerships to meet the needs and challenges of modern healthcare," said Micheal Terry, CEO of Salina Regional.

The financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
A former patient sued Geneva, Ill.-based Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital claiming she suffered post-traumatic stress disorder after an inmate being treated at the hospital stole a correctional officer's gun and held two nurses hostage in May, according to the Daily Herald.

Victoria Weiland filed the lawsuit in federal court earlier this week. She is also suing Kane County, Ill., Kane County correctional officer Shawn Loomis and Apex3 Security, which provides security at Delnor Hospital, the report states.

According to the lawsuit, Ms. Weiland claimed she was a patient on the third floor of the hospital May 13 when Tywon Salters, reportedly overpowered Mr. Loomis, took his weapon and held two nurses hostage, the report states.

Ms. Weiland allegedly heard screams from people she believed to be nurses, but was not provided any information about the incident at the time. When she dialed 911, Ms. Weiland claimed she was told to stay inside her room and remained there for more than one hour, the lawsuit states.

After Mr. Salters was fatally shot by SWAT officers, Ms. Weiland alleged the hospital provided her with false information regarding the nurses' injuries, according to the lawsuit.

Ms. Weiland claimed the incident has left her with post-traumatic stress disorder and she "has since been afraid to return to any medical facility for tests and treatment of medical conditions unrelated to the situation," the report states.

The lawsuit does not provide information on Ms. Weiland's age, her length of stay or her reason for being at the hospital, according to the report. She is seeking unspecified damages from the incident.

Spokespeople for the Kane County sheriff's office and Delnor Hospital told the Daily Herald neither institution comments on pending litigation. Ms. Weiland's attorney did not immediately return the Daily Herald's request for comment.

Several nurses also filed a lawsuit in June against Kane County, Mr. Loomis and Apex3 Security alleging all three entities were at fault in the standoff.

To read more about Ms. Weiland's allegations, click here.
Chief nursing executives and CNOs play a crucial role in a hospital or health systems' success. Many top nursing executives oversee large teams of nurses to ensure quality of care and patient experience.

Here are 60 CNOs to know. Please contact Laura Dyrda at ldyrda@beckershealthcare.com with any questions, comments or recommended additions to this list.

Mary Jo Andre, MSN. Senior Vice President and CNO of Texas Children's Hospital (Houston). Ms. Andre became the CNO of Texas Children's Hospital in 2015. She joined the hospital as a staff nurse and held several leadership positions, including senior vice president over quality and safety, before being promoted to CNO. Ms. Andre led the hospital's efforts to improve its quality program, which yielded better patient safety and engagement.

Sheila Antrum, RN. CNO of UC San Francisco Medical Center. UCSF Medical Center named Ms. Antrum CNO in 2007. She oversees the department of nursing administration and is responsible for nursing practices provided throughout all UCSF facilities. Ms. Antrum joined UCSF Medical Center in 1986 as a clinical nurse in the coronary care unit and worked her way through administrative roles before her promotion to CNO.

Todd Bailey, RN, BSN. Associate CNO of UT Southwestern Medical Center University Hospitals (Dallas). Mr. Bailey became associate CNO of University Hospitals after spending time as the director of heart and vascular services at the hospital. He also has experience as director of cardiovascular services at HCA Medical City Dallas.

Deborah J. Baker, DNP. Senior Vice President for Nursing of Johns Hopkins Health System (Baltimore). Dr. Baker is senior vice president for nursing at Johns Hopkins Health System and vice president of nursing and patient care services at Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins Hospital. She is responsible for partnering with the health system's CNOs to ensure services integration and alignment with the health system's strategic goals and objectives. She is accountable for the system's clinical practice environment. Previously, Ms. Baker was director of nursing for surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital's Wilmer Ophthalmology and Comprehensive Acute Care Rehabilitation Unit.

Dawn Beljin, RN. CNO of Dallas Medical Center. Ms. Beljin began her career at Parma (Ohio) Community General Hospital as an RN in the ICU and worked her way up to become the COO of Southlake, Texas-based Forest Park Medical Center before joining Dallas Medical Center as CNO. She helped Forest Park Medical Center earn an HCAHPS performance rating in the top 1 percentile in the nation. Ms. Beljin is also a Six Sigma Green Belt.

Kathy Black, MSN, RN. CNO of Orlando Health Dr. P. Phillips Hospital. Ms. Black joined Orlando Health Dr. P. Phillips Hospital in 2012 as CNO, overseeing nursing services at the hospital. She previously co-chaired the Orlando Health nursing bioethics conference and led the Orlando Health Bioethics Committee in 2011. Ms. Black serves on the Advisory Council for the Orlando-based University of Central Florida College of Nursing.

Linda Burnes Bolton, DrPH, RN. Vice President of Nursing and CNO of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (Los Angeles). In addition to her roles as vice president of nursing and CNO of Cedars-Sinai, Dr. Burnes Bolton is director of nursing research and co-investigator of the regional Collaborative Alliance for Nursing Outcomes research team. She is a past president of the American Academy of Nursing and National Black Nurses Association. She is a trustee at Case Western Reserve University and board member of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Dr. Burnes Bolton previously served as chair of the National Advisory Committee of Transforming Care at the Bedside and Veteran Affairs Commission on Nursing.

Judy Boerger, MSN, RN. Chief Nursing Executive of Parkview Health System (Fort Wayne, Ind.). Ms. Boerger joined Parkview Health System in 2007 as senior vice president and CNO and led the initiative for all seven Parkview hospitals to receive Magnet designation. She is responsible for the health system's nursing staff and represents them at the executive council level. Ms. Boerger has previous experience leading inpatient, outpatient and home health areas and is a Wharton School of Business Nursing Fellow.

Theresa Brodrick, PhD, RN. Vice President of Clinical Integration and Regional Chief Nursing Executive for Kaiser (Oakland, Calif.). Dr. Brodrick leads the nursing practice of Kaiser's North California region as vice president of clinical integration and regional CNO. She is responsible for advancing patient care services and clinical technology innovation across the continuum of care. Dr. Brodrick has previous experience as executive vice president and CNO for Greensboro, N.C.-based Cone Health, vice president of patient services at Virtua Voorhees (N.J.) Hospital and CNO of Philadelphia-based Temple University Hospital.

Linda Carroll, RN-BC, MSN. Vice President of Patient Care Services and CNO of Saint Peter's University Healthcare System (New Brunswick, N.J.). Ms. Carroll joined Saint Peter's in 1984 and has held a variety of leadership positions. In her current role as vice president of patient care services and CNO, Ms. Carroll is responsible for overseeing nursing division operations, pharmacy, social services and the pediatric emergency departments.

Donna Casey, DNP, MA, RN, NE-C, FABC. Vice President of Patient Care Services at Christiana Care Health System (Newark, Del.). Ms. Casey became vice president of patient care services, cardiovascular and critical care in June 2014. She was promoted from her role as director of nursing for cardiovascular and critical care. She has previous experience as co-chair of Christiana's ethics committee and is a graduate of the Advisory Board Executive Fellowship Program. Ms. Casey is the chair of the American Nurses Association Ethics and Human Rights Advisory Board and was named the Top Executive Nurse Leader for the State of Delaware in 2014 by the Delaware Nurses Association and Delaware Organization of Nurse Leaders.

Ann Cella, RN. Senior Vice President of Patient Care Services and CNO of St. Francis Hospital (Roslyn, N.Y.). Ms. Cella joined St. Francis Hospital in 1979 and became the senior vice president of patient care services and CNO in 1999. In 2015, Long Island Business News named Ms. Cella among Long Island's Top 50 Most Influential Women.

Joan Clark, DNP, RN. Senior Vice President and Chief Nurse Executive of Texas Health Resources (Arlington, Texas). Dr. Clark joined Texas Health Resources in 2008 after serving as senior vice president of nursing and patient services at Washington, D.C.-based Washington Hospital Center. She also has experience in chief nursing positions at Baptist Hospital of Miami and Floyd Medical Center in Rome, Ga. As the senior vice president and chief nurse executive of Texas Health Resources, Dr. Clark is responsible for overseeing the practice of nursing as well as the standardization and alignment of nursing care through evidence-based clinical and managerial standards of practice.

Angela R. Coladonato, DNP, RN. CNO at Chester (Pa.) County Hospital. Dr. Coladonato oversees nursing care at Chester County Hospital. She is responsible for developing programs and systems for nursing staff and she implemented a shared governance program with councils to empower nurses to take responsibility for their practice while minimizing bureaucratic obstacles. In 2017, Dr. Coladonato received the College of Nursing Medallion from Villanova University.

Susan L. Comp, BSN, RN, CNOR. Senior Vice President and CNO of PinnacleHealth System. Ms. Comp is responsible for PinnacleHealth System's nursing practice at the bedside and surgical services as senior vice president and CNO. She is charged with systemwide standardization of practice, research and education, and focuses on patient-centered care. Ms. Comp is also the senior leader for the growth and new technology for surgical services, transplant services and the general surgery service line. Since being named senior vice president and CNO of PinnacleHealth System in May 2014, Ms. Comp led the installation of the Epic platform in nursing and surgical services as well as Magnet designation and re-designation for system hospitals.

Betty Craig, DNP, CRNP. Chief Nurse Executive and Vice President of Temple University Hospital (Philadelphia). Dr. Craig joined Temple University Hospital in 2011 as vice president and chief nurse executive after serving as vice president of patient care services at Wynnewood, Pa.-based Lankenau Medical Center. The 722-bedTemple University Hospital is the chief clinical training site for Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University and includes a Level 1 Trauma Center.

Katie Dill, BSN, RN. Regional CNO, Outreach of Kalispell (Mont.) Regional Healthcare. Ms. Dill provides nursing leadership to support four critical access hospitals within a 200 mile radius of Kalispell Regional Healthcare as CNO. She previously spent 27 years at Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente, serving as a member of the Northern California Regional Care Experience Team which coordinated the strategic direction and oversight for patient care experience activities at three large medical centers.

Cole Edmonson, DNP, RN. CNO of Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital (Dallas). Dr. Edmonson has spent his 20-plus year career as a nurse, nurse supervisor, manager and director before becoming CNO of Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital. In 2012, he was named a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Executive Nurse Fellow and is co-leader of the Texas Team, a state action coalition for the future of nursing.

Trish Feilmeier. CNO of Piedmont Medical Center (Rock Hill, S.C.). Ms. Feilmeier joined Piedmont Medical Center in 2016 after serving as CNO of Atlanta Medical Center's two hospital campuses. She also has experience as CNO of Dodge City, Kan.-based Western Plains Medical Complex and served in leadership roles at El Paso, Texas-based Sierra Medical Center.

Susan Ferguson. Vice President and CNO of Baptist Memorial Health Care (Memphis, Tenn.). Ms. Ferguson became the vice president and CNO of Baptist Medical Center in 2015 after spending several months as interim vice president and CNO. She has previous experience as the health system's nursing director for clinical value analysis, specialty care and patient safety. She also has experience as the Baptist Memorial Hospital-Collierville (Tenn.) CNO and director of oncology services.

Roxanne Fernandes, RN. CNO of Children's Minnesota (Minneapolis). Ms. Fernandes joined Children's Minnesota as CNO in May 2011, and is responsible for building a unified nursing management team. She provides strategic and operational leadership to the hospital and advocates for nursing practice and patient experience. Ms. Fernandes is responsible for annual operating expenses exceeding $500 million for 2,700 full-time employees and recently championed the hospital's Magnet application process.

Eileen Ferrell, MS, BSN, RN. Senior Vice President and CNO of Medstar Georgetown University Hospital (Washington, D.C.). As senior vice president and CNO of MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, Ms. Ferrell provides strategic direction and leadership for clinical nursing, respiratory therapy and advocacy and pastoral care. She works closely with the senior nurse leadership team to advance organizational goals and ensure operations run smoothly. Under her leadership, the hospital earned Magnet designation three times.

Kate FitzPatrick, DNP, RN. CNO of University of Vermont Medical Center (Burlington). In July 2015, Ms. FitzPatrick became CNO of the University of Vermont Medical Center after a six-month national search. Ms. FitzPatrick previously served as the clinical director for neurosciences and women's health and neonatal nursing divisions at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. She is a past president of the Society of Trauma Nurses.

Wendy Foad, MS, RN. Interim CNO and Vice President of Patient Care Services at Stanford (Calif.) Health Care. Ms. Foad is responsible for nursing care across Stanford Health Care as interim vice president for patient care services and CNO. She previously spent 14 years at Stanford and led the planning and opening of Stanford's first offsite location for clinical care. She spent six years as the associate CNO and led the nursing department through Magnet recertification.

Maggie Fowler, BSN, RN. Senior Vice President and CNO for SSM Health (St. Louis). Ms. Fowler is the system vice president and CNO for SSM Health, representing nursing and patient perspectives across the health system. She establishes strategic priorities for systemwide nursing and oversees more than 10,000 RNs. Ms. Fowler established the health system's CNO Council to coordinate nursing initiatives and activities and established the systemwide nursing vision.

Nancy Gaden, DNP, RN. Senior Vice President and CNO of Boston Medical Center. Dr. Gaden joined Boston Medical Center in 2014 after serving as system vice president of patient care services and CNO of Medford, Mass.-based Hallmark Health System. She oversaw Hallmark's patient care services as well as Magnet designation efforts. Dr. Gaden also held leadership roles at Brighton, Mass.-based Caritas St. Elizabeth's Medical Center and South Weymouth, Mass.-based South Shore Hospital.

Tracy Gosselin, PhD, RN. CNO of Duke University Hospital (Durham, N.C.). Dr. Gosselin became CNO and patient care services officer of Duke University Hospital in 2016 after spending 23 years working as a nurse with oncology patients. She previously served as assistant vice president and associate CNO for Duke Cancer Institute and CNO for Duke Hospital's ambulatory services. Dr. Gosselin originally joined Duke as a staff nurse in 1993 in the inpatient oncology unit.

Susan Grant, DNP, RN. Executive Vice President and CNO of Beaumont Health (Royal Oak, Mich.). Dr. Grant joined Beaumont in 2015 to oversee the nursing practice for 10,000 nurses across the health system. She has previous experience as chief nurse executive and chief patient services officer at Emory Healthcare in Atlanta, where she led Emory University Hospital through its first Magnet designation. She also led the team responsible for managing admissions and communications related to the first two patients treated for the Ebola virus in the U.S.

Christie Gray, MS, CNS, RN. Vice President of Operations and CNO of Premier Health-Good Samaritan Hospital (Dayton, Ohio). Ms. Gray became vice president of operations and CNO of Premier Health-Good Samaritan Hospital in March 2016. She previously served as director of nursing at Good Samaritan and director of professional development and outcomes management at Middletown, Ohio-based Atrium Medical Center.

Elizabeth Ann Hale, RN. Chief of Clinical Services at Lowell (Mass.) Community Health Center. Ms. Hale is the chief of clinical services at Lowell Community Health Center, a hospital that provides access to care for patients regardless of their ability to pay. She previously spent time as CNO of Lawrence (Mass.) General Hospital.

K. Kelly Hancock, DNP, RN. Executive Chief Nursing Officer of Cleveland Clinic Health System and CNO of Cleveland Clinic. Dr. Hancock leads Cleveland Clinic's nearly 22,000 nursing team members that comprise the Stanley Shalom Zielony Institute for Nursing Excellence as executive chief nursing officer of Cleveland Clinic Health System and CNO of Cleveland Clinic main campus. She previously led Cleveland Clinic's nursing practice in the Heart and Vascular Institute and received the 2011 Circle of Excellence Award from the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses.

Ellen Hansen, RN, BSN, MS COO & CNO of Baylor Scott & White McLane Children's Medical Center and Clinics (Temple, Texas). Ms. Hansen has spent more than three decades caring for sick children. She provides leadership for nursing and clinical disciplines at McLane Children's Medical Center and regional pediatric clinics as COO & CNO. Before joining Baylor Scott and White, Ms. Hansen spent 22 years at Children's Hospital of Atlanta, leading the neonatal intensive care unit, pediatric intensive care unit, emergency department, and clinical informatics and 4 years at Phoenix Childrens, leading medical surgical services and Dialysis clinic .

Kim Henrichsen, RN, MSN. Vice President of Clinical Operations and CNO of Intermountain Healthcare (Salt Lake City, Utah). Ms. Henrichsen served as CNO of Intermountain's facilities in the Salt Lake area before being promoted to vice president of clinical operations and CNO of the health system. She has additional experience as CNO and operations officer for Intermountain's Southwest Region and director of cardiovascular surgery services at St. George, Utah-based Dixie Regional Medical Center. In her current role, she sets strategy for bedside care and clinical and professional services across the health system.

Susan Hernandez, MBA, BSN, RN. Chief Nursing Executive of UT Southwestern University Hospitals (Dallas). Ms. Hernandez was promoted from CNO to chief nursing executive at UT Southwestern University Hospitals in December 2015. She spent 20 years in nursing and leadership positions at Nashville, Tenn.-based Vanderbilt University Medical Center before joining UT Southwestern in 2014. Ms. Hernandez played a pivotal role in Vanderbilt's examination of nurse work-life balance and wellness initiatives.

Beth Houlahan, DNP, RN. Senior Vice President and Chief Nursing Executive of University of Wisconsin Health (Madison, Wis.). Dr. Houlahan became CNE of UW Health in June 2011. She is responsible for creating high quality, reliable systems of care, the nursing practice and ancillary services in the seven-hospital system. Prior to her term at UW Health, Dr. Houlahan was CNO of Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based Mercy Medical Center. She is a Wharton Nurse Executive Fellow and certified in nursing executive practice.

JoAnn Ioannou, DNP, MBA, RN. Senior Vice President  Patient Care Services and CNO of Greater Baltimore Medical Center. Dr. Ioannou served as director of neurosciences and psychiatry nursing at Baltimore-based The Johns Hopkins Hospital before joining Greater Baltimore Medical Center as senior vice president of patient care services and CNO. She has previous experience as a nurse manager and assistant director of medical nursing at Johns Hopkins. In her current role, she supports the nursing staff and aims to elevate the nursing practice.

Barbara Jacobs, RN. CNO of Anne Arundel Medical Center (Annapolis, Md.). Ms. Jacobs joined Anne Arundel Medical Center in 2015 as CNO after serving as CNO at Bethesda, Md.-based Johns Hopkins Suburban Hospital. She also has leadership experience at Washington, D.C.-based George Washington University Hospital as a charge nurse, nurse supervisor and CNO. In her current role, Ms. Jacobs works with nurse leaders, physicians and multidisciplinary team members to execute nursing initiatives and ensure patient satisfaction.

Michelle Janney, PhD, RN. Chief Nurse Executive for IU Health (Indianapolis). Dr. Janney sets the strategic vision for nursing and patient care across IU Health's 17 hospitals. She also defines and implements statewide policies and standards for quality and consistency of care. Ms. Janney is the former president of the American Organization of Nurse Executives and served as the chief nurse executive at Chicago-based Northwestern Memorial Hospital before joining IU Health in 2015.

Lisa Johnson, MSN, RN. CNO of BayCare Health System (Clearwater, Fla.). BayCare Health System named Lisa Johnson CNO in July 2016. She spent 28 years at BayCare before her promotion, serving in various nurse leadership roles including vice president of patient services at Clearwater, Fla.-based Morton Plant Mease. She led efforts to implement electronic patient monitoring systems with remote computer monitoring technology for critical care patients and an electronic nurse leader rounding system.

Pamela Johnson, MS, RN. CNO of Mayo Clinic (Rochester, Minn.). Ms. Johnson is the CNO of Mayo Clinic and chair of the nursing department, responsible for the health system's 13,000 nurses. She has expertise in several areas, including system integration and the role of nursing professionals in healthcare redesign for patients and consumers.

Anna Kiger, DNP, MSN, RN. CNO of Sutter Health (Sacramento, Calif.). Ms. Kiger joined Sutter Health as CNO in December 2015. She is responsible for ensuring nurses as well as the professional and technical staff members across the health system provide quality care. Ms. Kiger served as CNO and vice president of patient care services at Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare before joining Sutter Health.

Tammy King, MSN, RN. CNO of Shepherd Center (Atlanta). Before being promoted to CNO in 2008, Ms. King served as Shepherd Center's program director of the Marcus Community Bridge Program, Shepherd Care case management and clinical staff coordinator. She originally joined Shepherd Center in 1975 as a patient care technician and became a member of the senior management team in 2006. In 2017, Ms. King received the Atlanta Journal Constitution's Executive Nursing Leadership Excellence Award.

Mary Beth Kingston, RN. Executive Vice President and CNO of Aurora Health (Milwaukee). Ms. Kingston is responsible for clinical education, dialysis service, knowledge-based nursing and interpreter services as CNO of Aurora Health. She also oversees nurse leadership, professional nursing practice and research with the health system. She joined Aurora Health in 2012 after serving as vice president and chief nursing executive at Philadelphia-based Einstein Healthcare Network.

Linda Knodel, MSN. Chief Nursing Executive and Senior Vice President of National Patient Care Services of Kaiser Permanente (Oakland, Calif.). Ms. Knodel became chief nursing executive and senior vice president of national patient care services at Kaiser Permanente in June 2017. She leads Kaiser Permanente's 54,000 nurses across eight states. Ms. Knodel is the past president of the American Organization of Nurse Executives and received the 2016 American College of Healthcare Executives Gold Medal Award in the healthcare delivery organization category.

Susan Knoepffler, RN. Vice President and CNO of Northwell Health Huntington (N.Y.) Hospital. Northwell Health Huntington Hospital named Ms. Knoepffler vice president and CNO in 2011. She is responsible for strategic planning, resource management, operational performance, standards compliance and human resources development, among other responsibilities. She oversees the hospital's Magnet initiative as well as 900-plus full-time employees. Before joining Huntington Hospital, she was senior administrative director of patient care services at New Hyde Park, N.Y.-based Long Island Jewish Medical Center.

Jamie Koch, BSN. CNO of Thayer County Health Services (Hebron, Neb.). Ms. Koch became CNO of Thayer County Health Services in 2015. In this role she oversees the hospital's nursing department and patient care services, focused on patient safety, experience and standards of care. She began her career at Thayer County Health Services in 2007 and left for a brief time before returning in 2013.

Verette LaGassa, RN. CNO of Baylor Medical Center Uptown (Dallas). Ms. LaGassa spent time as the chief clinical officer and CNO of Regency Hospital before joining Baylor Medical Center Uptown, where she currently serves as CNO. The hospital is a joint venture between Baylor Scott & White Hospital, United Surgical Partners International and local physicians. The 63,000-square-foot hospital includes six operating suites and 24 beds.

Cynthia Latney, PhD, MSN, RN. Senior Vice President, Chief Transformation Officer and Chief Nurse Executive of Centura Health (Centennial, Colo.). Dr. Latney joined Centura Health in July 2017 as senior vice president and chief transformation officer, as well as chief nursing executive for the nursing clinical practice, care delivery and strategic planning. Dr. Latney is also the convener for nursing leadership to create a culture supporting transformation and value. She previously served as CNO of Penrose-St. Francis Health Services in Colorado Springs, Colo., and vice president and CNO of South State Operating Group.

Dana Levy, MSN, RN. CNO of University of Maryland Charles Regional Medical Center (La Plata, Md.). Ms. Levy promotes quality care and an evidence-based medicine approach to care as CNO of the University of Maryland Charles Regional Medical Center. Under her leadership, the program earned Joint Commission's Top Performer on Key Quality Metrics designation. She has spent more than 15 years in nurse leadership roles and is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives.

Holly Lorenz, MSN, RN. Chief Nurse Executive at UPMC (Pittsburgh). Ms. Lorenz establishes and leads the strategic vision for UPMC's nearly 15,000 nurses. She oversees the nursing practice for more than 30 academic, community, specialty and international hospitals as well as 600 outpatient sites, rehabilitation and long-term care facilities. Ms. Lorenz is President of the Pennsylvania Organization of Nurse Executives, and active on the Advisory Boards of Duquesne University School of Nursing, Robert Morris College School of Nursing, and Capella University.

David Marshall, DNP, JD, MSN, RN. Vice President and Chief Nursing and Patient Care Services Officer for the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. Dr. Marshall joined the University of Texas Medical Branch in 1983 as a staff nurse and received several promotions until he became CNO in 2001. He serves on the board of directors for the American Organization of Nurse Executives and is a past chair of the Galveston County Branch of the Greater Houston Area Chapter of the American Red Cross.

Cathy McLaughlin, MSN, RN. CNO of Medical City Arlington (Texas). Medical City Arlington named Ms. McLaughlin CNO in January 2017. She spent 19 years with Nashville, Tenn-based HCA Healthcare with leadership positions at Medical City Plano and Medical City Dallas before joining Medical City Arlington. She has a background in developing specialized programs and services and improving employee engagement and patient experience.

Patti Ludwig-Beymer, PhD, RN. Vice President and CNO of Edward Hospital and Health Services (Naperville, Ill.). Dr. Ludwig-Beymer is the vice president and CNO of Edward Hospital and Health Services. In 2013, she received the Greater Chicago Nurse.com Nursing Excellence Award in the Advancing and Leading the Profession category. She is the author of several publications on transcultural concepts in nursing care and has expertise in healthcare workforce diversity and creating a culturally competent organization.

Janice McKinley. Senior Vice President of Quality, Safety and Nursing Operations and CNO of Covenant Health (Knoxville, Tenn.). As senior vice president of quality, safety and nursing operations and CNO of the 10-hospital Covenant Health, Ms. McKinley is responsible for systemwide patient experience, nurse residency and nursing leadership development. She began her nursing career at Fort Sanders Sevier Medical Center  now Sevierville, Tenn.-based LeConte Medical Center  and received several promotions, including vice president of cardiac and specialty services at two Covenant Health Hospitals and vice president and CNO at Knoxville, Tenn.-based Parkwest Medical Center. She is a past president and board member of the Tennessee Organization of Nurse Executives and serves on the board of visitors for the UT College of Nursing and Tennessee Wesleyan University.

Kim Mendez, EdD, RN. System Chief Nursing Executive of NYC Health+Hospitals (New York City). In addition to her role as system chief nursing executive at NYC Health+Hospitals, Ms. Mendez has served as an adjunct assistant professor of nursing education at Techers College of Columbia University in New York City. She has a special interest in healthcare administration and published several articles on improving patient outcomes and promoting organizational change.

Elizabeth Menschner, RN, MSN. Associate CNO at Temple University Health System (Philadelphia). Ms. Menschner is associate CNO at Temple University Health System and chair of the Pennsylvania Organization of Nurse Leaders' program and education committee. She has previous experience in leadership roles at Elkton, Md.-based Union Hospital of Cecil County and Philadelphia-based Albert Einstein Medical Center.

Sharon H. Pappas, PhD, RN. Chief Nursing Executive of Emory Healthcare (Atlanta). Dr. Pappas joined Emory in 2016 as chief nursing executive. She previously served as Denver-based Centura Health's chief nursing executive and CNO of Denver-based Porter Adventist Hospital. Dr. Pappas served in several leadership roles at Centura beginning in 1991 and also has experience at Medical Center of Central Georgia in Macon.

Debi Pasley. Senior Vice President and CNO of Christus Health (Irving, Texas). Ms. Pasley became senior vice president and CNO of Christus Health in February 2017 after serving as interim CNO for seven months. She leads nursing activities systemwide for more than 60 hospitals and long-term care facilities as well as 175 clinics and outpatient centers. She is also responsible for nurse engagement, retention and improving the patient experience. Ms. Pasley has previous experience as CNO of Oklahoma City-based Oklahoma University Medicine.

Karla Ramberger, DNP, RN. Chief Nursing Executive of Methodist Health System (Dallas). Dr. Ramberger became CNO of Methodist Dallas Medical Center in November 2011 and was then promoted to chief nursing executive of Methodist Health System. She has previous experience as director of the emergency department at Mansfield, Texas-based Methodist Mansfield Medical Center, which achieved Cycle III Chest Pain Center designation from American College of Cardiology Accreditation Services during her tenure.

Laura Reed, RN, DNP. Chief Nursing Executive of Fairview Health Services (Minneapolis). Dr. Reed became chief nursing executive at Fairview Health Services in 2017. She most recently served as COO and chief nurse executive for Appleton, Wis.-based ThedaCare; before that, she was a nurse leader at the Minneapolis-based University of Minnesota Health. She has experience as a front-line nurse as well as in advancing nurse management.

Cheryl Reinking, RN. CNO of El Camino Hospital (Mountain View, Calif.). Ms. Reinking has spent the past 25 years in nursing leadership positions, leading up to her current role as CNO of El Camino Hospital. She oversees the nursing and ancillary services at the hospital as well as the laboratory, pharmacy and respiratory therapy across two campuses. As the lead nurse, Ms. Reinking regularly interacts with the board of directors and has led hospitalwide initiatives, including the implementation of the Nurses Improving Care for Healthsystem Elders program. She is a member of the El Camino Hospital Community Benefit Advisory Board and Integrated Nurse Leadership Program Board.

Kenneth Rempher, PhD, RN. Chief Nurse Executive of Cone Health (Greensboro, N.C.). Dr. Rempher became executive vice president and chief nurse executive at Cone Health in August 2016. He previously served as CNO of University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and University of Iowa Health Care in Iowa City, where he led efforts to reduce nursing vacancies, promote nurse retention and earn Magnet designation. At Cone Health, he is responsible for nursing practice standards and continually improving patient safety and quality of care.

Angelique L. Richard, PhD, RN. Vice President of Clinical Nursing and CNO of Rush University Medical Center (Chicago). Dr. Richard is the associate dean for clinical practice at Rush's college of nursing in addition to her roles as vice president of clinical nursing and CNO. Prior to joining Rush in October 2016, Dr. Richard served as chief nurse executive and vice president of clinical operations for Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. She has a special interest in leading patient care delivery and ensuring staff accountability.

Robert Rose, RN. CNO and Senior Vice President of Patient Care Services of Christus Trinity Mother Frances Health System (Tyler, Texas). Mr. Rose is the co-leader for the East Texas Region of the Texas Team Advancing Health through Nursing as well as CNO and senior vice president of patient care services at Christus Trinity Mother Frances Health System. He is a past board member of Connecticut-ONE and a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives.

Patricia Ruiz, RN. CNO of NYC Health+Hospitals/Coney Island Hospital (Brooklyn, N.Y.). Ms. Ruiz has held nursing, healthcare operations, ambulatory care and informatics leadership positions at Coney Island Hospital. She is a board-certified nurse executive from the American Nurses Association and a Six Sigma Black Belt. Before joining Coney Island Hospital, Ms. Ruiz was deputy associate executive director of nursing at New York City-based Bellevue Hospital Center.

Lynn Singleton, MSN, RN. CNO of Trident Medical Center (North Charleston, S.C.). Trident Medical Center named Lynn Singleton CNO in November 2016. She began her career as a nurse at Trident Medical Center before leaving to become CNO of Summerville (S.C.) Medical Center. She then returned to Trident, a 313-bed hospital, where she leads a team of 600 nurses.

Maureen E. Sintich, DNP, RN. Senior Vice President and CNO of Hackensack Meridian Health (Edison, N.J.). Dr. Sintich joined Hackensack Meridian Health in 2014 after serving as vice president of operations and CNO of Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Wake Forest Baptist Health System. She also has previous experience as executive director of the Tulane Xavier National Women's Center at New Orleans-based Tulane University Medical Center. In her current role, she facilitates the adoption of best practices for bundles of care to reduce hospital-acquired infections.

Lauraine Spano-Szekely, DNP, BSN, RN. Senior Vice President of Care Services and CNO of Northern Westchester Hospital (Mount Kisco, N.Y.). Dr. Spano-Szekely joined Northern Westchester Hospital as senior vice president of patient care services and CNO in 1999. She is responsible for the hospital's quality of nursing care and delivery, and under her leadership the hospital received Magnet and Planetree designations. Dr. Spano-Szekely has previous experience as assistant vice president of nursing responsible for central nursing operations, nursing budgets, surgical services and critical care.

Cindy Standlee, MSN, RN. CNO of Estes Park (Colo.) Medical Center. Ms. Standlee became CNO of Estes Park Medical Center in 2015 after serving as the cardiovascular service line director at The Medical Center of Aurora. Her previous experience includes time as the interim nursing director for women and children's services and interim CNO at Wichita, Kan.-based Via Christi Health.

Cyndi Stroburg. CNO of TriStar Centennial Medical Center (Nashville, Tenn.). Ms. Stroburg became CNO of TriStar Centennial Medical Center in 2014 after spending time as CNO of Smyrna-based TriStar StoneCrest Medical Center. While at TriStar StoneCrest, Ms. Stroburg developed and implemented patient satisfaction and outcomes improvement programs.

Maureen Swick, RN, MSN, PhD. Senior Vice President and CNO of the American Hospital Association (Chicago). Ms. Swick is the CEO of the American Organization of Nurse Executives and senior vice president and CNO of the American Hospital Association. AONE is a 9,700-member organization where Ms. Swick oversees workforce, quality and safety initiatives as well as future care delivery models. She has more than 30 years of experience in healthcare and spent six years as the senior vice president and chief nurse executive for Falls Church, Va.-based Inova.

Carolyn Swinton. System CNO of Palmetto Health (Columbus, S.C.). Ms. Swinton has more than 19 years of nursing management under her belt and currently serves as CNO of Palmetto Health. She has previous experience as vice president and CNO of Palmetto Health Richland. Ms. Swinton is a member of the American Organization of Nurse Executives and American College of Healthcare Executives.

Agnes Therady, RN, MSN. CNO of Cook County Health and Hospitals System (Chicago). Ms. Therady has been system CNO of Cook County Health and Hospital System since 2013. She is responsible for 2,300 full-time employees and establishes systemwide nursing organizational plans. She also develops and directs clinical nursing practices as well as standards of care to support the system's strategic initiatives. Ms. Therady redesigned a hospital-based nursing staff model to save around $3 million in annual salaries and organized a structured training and development program for correctional health nurses.

Nicole Thorell RN, CNE, MSN. Clinical Nurse Manager of Lexington (Neb.) Regional Health Center. Ms. Thorell became clinical nurse manager at Lexington Regional Health System after spending time as an RN at Lincoln, Neb.-based Bryan Health. The health center includes outpatient surgery, private labor and delivery rooms and urgent care clinics.

Coreen Vlodarchyk. Vice President of Patient Care Services and Chief Nurse Executive of Barnes-Jewish Hospital (St. Louis). Ms. Vlodarchyk became vice president of patient care services in October 2003 and later also became chief nurse executive. She previously served as vice president for patient care services at the 465-bed Harper University Hospital. She has experience teaching as an adjunct professor at Wayne State University in Detroit.

Barbara Wadsworth. Senior Vice President of Patient Services and CNO of Main Line Health (Newtown Square, Pa.). Ms. Wadsworth spent more than 30 years in executive nursing positions before joining Main Line Health as senior vice president of patient services and CNO. She is responsible for 3,000 nurses across the health system and oversees major performance initiatives. Ms. Wadsworth is also president of the Nightingale Awards of Pennsylvania and past president of the Pennsylvania Organization of Nurse Leaders. She served on the American Heart Association's Go Red for Women board in 2014 and on the executive leadership team in 2015.

Marsha White, MSN, RN. Chief Nursing Executive of Christus St. Patrick (Lake Charles, La.). Ms. White became the chief nursing executive of Christus St. Patrick in 2015. She previously served as CNO of Pascagoula, Fla.-based Singing River Hospital and Panama City, Fla.-based Bay Medical Center Sacred Heart Hospital. At Christus St. Patrick, Ms. White is responsible for setting the quality care direction and serves on the hospital's senior leadership team.

Marjorie S. Wiggins, DNP, RN. Senior Vice President of Patient Services and CNO of Maine Medical Center (Portland) and Chief Nursing Executive of MaineHealth (Portland). Dr. Wiggins led Maine Medical Center's evidence-based Partnership Care Delivery Model as senior vice president of nursing and CNO. She also serves as MaineHealth's chief nursing executive and on several American Association of Colleges of Nursing committees. She is a member of the American Organization of Nurse Executives and Organization of Maine Nurse Executives.

Ann M. Williamson, PhD, RN, NEA-BC. Chief Clinical and Nursing Officer of Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates). Dr. Williamson joined Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi in 2014 and helped lead the growth in clinical and nursing staff from 50 individuals to more than 1,800. She previously served as the associate vice president for nursing at Iowa City-based University of Iowa Health Care and CNO of University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics for six years.

Heidi Wolf, MSNA, RN. CNO of St. Joseph Medical Center (Houston). Franklin, Tenn.-based Iasis Healthcare named Ms. Wolf CNO of St. Joseph Medical Center in June 2017. She previously served as CNO of a rural hospital in Texas and joined Iasis in 2006, serving in a series of nurse leadership roles including CNO of Port Arthur-based The Medical Center of Southeast Texas before her most recent promotion. Ms. Wolf is also president of the District 12 Texas Nurses Association.
A patient was found dead in a stairwell Wednesday night at a Veterans Affairs hospital in Oklahoma City, Okla., reports Oklahoma News 4.

Stacy Rine, public affairs officer for the Oklahoma City VA Health Care System, confirmed the death Thursday.

"At this time, no foul play is suspected and VA leadership is reviewing the case in detail," Ms. Rine said in a statement to Oklahoma News 4.

The hospital is working with local authorities, the Office of Inspector General, VA police and the medical examiner to investigate the death.

"Upon completion of the investigation, a report from the medical examiner will be released and appropriate actions taken," Ms. Rine said in the statement.

The deceased patient's identity has not been released.

Editor's note: Becker's Hospital Review has reached out to Oklahoma City VA Health Care System for comment and will update the article as more information becomes available.

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The Ohio Mayor's Alliance  a bipartisan coalition of 25 mayors from the state's largest municipalities  on Monday sent a letter to Republican Gov. John Kasich, urging him to take additional steps to fight the state's opioid epidemic, according to cleveland.com.

While the mayors commend the governor for his previous efforts to address the crisis in the letter, they describe the current situation as a "mass causality event" and call for further actions from the state executive branch to curb Ohio's rising rates of opioid-related deaths.

In the letter, the coalition describes a framework of actions the governor could take to bolster the statewide response to the crisis. The actions include creating a mechanism to allow cross-county resource sharing amid shortages of materials like clean needles and the opioid-overdose antidote naloxone; assessing Medicaid policies related to detox and treatment of drug overdose; and activating the state's emergency operations center to improve data collection and information sharing through different levels of government. The emergency operations center was activated in 2009 during the H1N1 influenza outbreak.

"We are losing an average of 11 Ohioans a day to the opioid epidemic," wrote the mayors, according to cleveland.com. "Last year, the overdose death rate increased from the previous year by 36 percent, and all signs suggest that 2017 could be even worse. We are witnessing an unfolding catastrophe, unparalleled in our state's recent history, and more needs to be done by all of us to confront this deadly epidemic."

More articles on opioids:

Anthem achieves goal to curb opioid prescriptions by 30%

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Study: Prescription opioid use persists among Medicaid patients after overdose
Boston-based Harvard Health Publications teamed up with Outcome Health, a Chicago-based health IT company that aims to provide physicians and patients with actionable healthcare insights, to improve patient engagement.

Harvard Health Publications, a division of Boston-based Harvard Medical School, draws on the experiences of more than 11,000 faculty clinicians to create health engagement materials targeted toward patients and caregivers.

Under the collaboration, Harvard Health Publications will provide advisory support and faculty review for Outcome Health's waiting and exam room services. The organizations plan to co-develop patient content such as illustrations and videos.

"We are excited about this relationship with Outcome Health, which aligns directly with HHP's mission of improving the health of the nation," said Gregory Curfman, MD, editor-in-chief of Harvard Health Publications. "We will now be able to create a greater positive impact by sharing Harvard Medical School's faculty expertise with a broader audience through an engaging and informative experience at the time it matters most: the moments of care."

Harvard Health Publications and Outcome Health also plan to conduct focus groups on patient attitudes and experiences related to clinical trials by the end of 2017.
Corpus Christi, Texas-based Driscoll Children's Hospital is evacuating all 10 babies in its neonatal intensive care unit Thursday night as Hurricane Harvey advances toward the coast, according to CBS DFW.

Babies from Driscoll Children's Hospital will be transported via airplane to the NICU at Cook Children's Hospital in Fort Worth, Texas. The babies are expected to arrive in Fort Worth at 6 a.m.

Hurricane Harvey is forecasted to hit the Texas coast late Friday or early Saturday with winds gusting upwards of 111 mph. Corpus Christi Mayor Joe McComb has issued a voluntary evacuation order, according to CNN.
The following payers made headlines this week, beginning with the most recent.

1. BCBS of Oklahoma's contract with Sequoyah Memorial Hospital expires

The contract between Tulsa-based Blue Cross Blue Shield of Oklahoma and Sallisaw, Okla.-based Sequoya Memorial Hospital expired Aug. 1.

2. NY insurer sues feds over $38.7M in risk corridors payments

HealthNow New York, a Buffalo-based insurer and umbrella company of BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York in Buffalo, sued the federal government claiming it is owed more than $38.7 million under the ACA's risk corridors program.

3. BCBS of North Carolina to drop grandfathered health plans; 50k affected

Durham-based Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina will discontinue its grandfathered health plans Jan. 1.

4. Anthem expands discretionary ED coverage policy to Indiana

Indianapolis-based Anthem will stop covering emergency department visits it deems unnecessary for Indiana policyholders, extending the discretionary policy recently enacted in Georgia and Missouri.

5. 'Project X': Boston's $16M effort to attract Aetna

Before Hartford, Conn.-based Aetna decided to move its headquarters to New York City, the payer mulled incentives offered by one other city  Boston.

6. How Anthem's exit in 16 of 19 pricing regions will affect California's individual ACA market

Indianapolis-based Anthem plans to withdraw 16 of 19 pricing regions of California's ACA exchange, leaving about 60,000 Covered California customers with one insurer choice for 2018.

7. Innovation Health CEO Dave Notari steps down: 5 notes

Innovation Health CEO Dave Notari is leaving the role "to pursue other opportunities," effective immediately. Aetna and Falls Church, Va.-based Inova Health jointly own Innovation Health.

8. Mission Health calls BCBS' removal of providers from online directory 'overt and senseless action'

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina in Durham removed Asheville, N.C.-based Mission Health System providers from its online directory ahead of a looming Oct. 5 contract deadline.
State health officials cited Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey (Pa.) Medical Center for failing to immediately report a patient safety incident involving an infant with a fractured arm, according to a Lancaster Online report published Friday.

The news follows reports earlier this week of the state citing Hershey Medical Center for multiple infractions linked to the death of a six-year-old patient. The newest incident occurred April 16, just days after Pennsylvania Department of Health investigators visited the facility to investigate the patient death.

Here are four things to know.

1. The incident involved an infant with a fractured arm. After discovering the injury, the infant's family requested that a nurse they described as being "rough with patients" not care for the child anymore.

2. While the hospital is required to immediately report such an incident to the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority, it did not file a report until April 28, according to Lancaster Online.

3. After the second incident, the hospital was cited for delaying to report a case of potential child abuse to authorities. In response, the hospital outlined a plan of correction, which included requiring all neonatal intensive care unit workers to complete an educational course within 30 days. The hospital also issued a safety alert stressing the importance of timely patient safety event reporting.

4. Hershey Medical Center provided Becker's with a statetment regarding the second incident.

"This was not a case of abuse," said the hospital. "At the time of the citation from DOH, our clinical care and leadership teams were in the midst of an internal review of the case, a review that determined that the injury was not caused by staff nor was it a case of abuse, but likely an accidental injury caused by routine handling of a delicate infant."

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McDonald's Corp. will reduce the use of human antibiotics in its global chicken supply starting in 2018, according to Reuters.

The restaurant chain will require chicken meat suppliers to phase out the use of all antibiotics the World Health Organization designates as critically important to human medicine.

McDonald's implemented this policy in the U.S. a year ago. As of January 2018, the policy will also apply to McDonald's chickens in Brazil, Canada, Japan, South Korea and Europe. The company plans enact the policy Australia and Russia by 2019, with all other markets complying by 2027.

McDonald's is also developing antibiotic stewardship plans for other meats, dairy cows and laying hens, according to a policy statement cited by Reuters.

Scientists believe regular use of antibiotics in farm animals contributes to the growing prevalence of antibiotic-resistant superbug infections, which kill at least 23,000 Americans each year, according to the report.

More articles on infection control and clinical quality:

A. baumannii, P. aeruginosa cause 80% of CR infections in the US

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Upper Peninsula Health System-Marquette nurses on Thursday sent a report highlighting patient safety issues to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

The report includes more than 200 forms, which document numerous instances of unsafe patient care, including 111 reports of IVs running dry or medications being administered late.

The nurses, who have been in a contract dispute with the hospital since April, are asking for officials to investigate the patient safety concerns.

UP Health System-Marquette said delivery of safe, high quality care is the health system's top priority, according to a statement cited by TV6- Fox UP. The health system also said the forms the nurses submitted to state health officials were part of an initiative to expand nurse feedback.

"We take all concerns regarding patient safety very seriously, and we have worked to ensure that our staff have many ways to share ideas, voice concerns and ask questions," UP Health System-Marquette said in the statement. "These forms were intended to serve as a constructive tool to generate conversation and collaboration, and we are disappointed that the union has opted to leverage them in this way while we are negotiating a new contract that better meets the needs of our staff, our community and our hospital."

To view the full report submitted by the nurses, click here.

Editor's note: Becker's Hospital Review has reached out to UP Health System-Marquette for comment and will update as more information becomes available.



More articles on infection control and clinical quality:

A. baumannii, P. aeruginosa cause 80% of CR infections in the US

Hershey Medical Center cited for infractions linked to death of 6-year-old patient

CDC: 60% of teens received HPV vaccine in 2016
Former Schering-Plough CEO Fred Hassan told CNBC that the "worst solution" to high drug prices is political interference.

Despite talk about targeting drug prices through political policies, the Trump administration has yet to craft an intervention  Mr. Hassan prefers it this way.

"The worst solution to all this is to let politicians and bureaucrats get involved with pricing because they really don't know the subject very well and it is a very complex subject," Mr. Hassan told CNBC.

Mr. Hassan, currently the managing director of a U.S. private equity firm, argues instead that self-management and self-discipline by the pharmaceutical industry are the solutions to reign in the skyrocketing drug costs.

In particular, he argues that the best way to bring prices down is to introduce new drugs into the market to increase competition.

Currently approximately a third of medications do not have a generic and "problems occur where a drug stays exclusive for too long," Mr. Hassan told CNBC.

Mr. Hassan also cited examples of solid leadership skills and self-management by executives to halt increasing drug prices. He applauded Allergan CEO Brent Saunders' decision to establish a social contract with patients, which is a promise to ensure innovation, access and responsible pricing ideals.
Airline Jet2 is creating 50 jobs in Belfast as it begins rolling out new routes from Northern Ireland. The airline is adding a total of 1,700 posts, from pilots to cabin crew, across the UK.

Around 50 of those jobs will be based at Belfast International Airport.

Earlier this year boss Steven Heapy confirmed it was adding eight routes to Belfast International, including six which are new to Northern Ireland.

The airline will now fly to Antalya in Turkey; Costa De Almeria in Spain; Crete; Madeira; Malta, Naples, Paphos and Rhodes.

Jet2 already operates a number of flights to Spain, the Canaries and eastern Europe from Belfast.

The company is hosting a recruitment day at the Maldron Hotel at Belfast International Airport on September 19.

Its largest summer programme includes almost 200,000 seats to 23 destinations from the airport.

"We are delighted to be creating so many opportunities to join our award-winning team at Belfast International Airport," Mr Heapy said.

"If you care passionately about looking after customers, we would love to see you at one of our upcoming roadshows and we look forward to welcoming you on board."

Graham Keddie, managing director at the airport, said: "Belfast International Airport warmly welcomes this expansion by Jet2. We're enjoying growth on all fronts and this news of 50 new jobs shows what can be achieved when airlines increase the number of routes they operate and passenger numbers grow.

"Jet2 has clearly seen the potential there is in the Northern Ireland market and is responding positively and with confidence."

The roadshow has been designed to support the recruitment of both "pilot and cabin crew positions", the company said.

Earlier this year Jet2 said that the loss of the open skies agreement following Brexit would have a "terrible" impact on the airline industry.

Speaking about concerns over what will happen if the open skies agreement, which allows carriers to fly anywhere within the EU, is scrapped after Brexit, Mr Heapy said: "There are a lot of concerns around Brexit. There's freedom of movement, of capital, of labour and open skies."
A Northern Ireland linen brand has produced a new range of soft furnishings for a major global online retailer. Earthed, which is produced by William Clark in Upperlands, Co Londonderry will sell the new scatter cushions on Houzz.

The brand already supplies products to Burberry and tailors on Savile Row.

Duncan Neil, creative director at Earthed said: "We wanted to grow and diversify our offering by creating an accessible range of scatter cushions using our unique, high-quality linens.

"We believe that Houzz is the ideal platform for us to host our first soft furnishings range," he added.
Country-pop duo The Shires have cancelled their performances at the Harvest Music Festival this weekend.

The pair were scheduled to perform at Westport House, Co Mayo this Saturday and Enniskillen Airport on Sunday as part of the two day event.

A spokesperson for the music festival said Ben Earle and Crissie Rhodes were deeply sorry for not being able to fulfil their commitment.

A statement said: "It is with great regret we have to announce that due to illness The Shires are unable to play the shows this weekend at Harvest Festival.

"The band are so disappointed as they were looking forward to seeing all their fans in Westport and Enniskillen and performing at such a great event with so many of their UK, Irish and US musician friends."

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The 2017 Harvest Country Music Festival will feature over 40 music acts, including headliners Miranda Lambert and Nathan Carter.

American star Charley Pride will also be making a special appearance.

As well as artists from USA and the UK, the festival will feature homegrown talent including Cliona Hagan, Pete Kennedy, Hurricane Highway, Ward Thomas and Jake Carter.
Its an unusual programme for tonights BBC Invitation Concert. Estonian musician Olari Elts is the conductor for the evening and this Baltic States connection would explain why Estonian composer Eduard Tubins Concerto for Double Bass, written in 1948, has been chosen for Latvian-born soloist Gunars Upatnieks as the central work in the concert.

Before that, the Ulster Orchestra will be performing Mahlers Totenfeier, which translates as Funeral Rites and neatly matching that piece in the second half will be the tone poem Death and Transfiguration by Richard Strauss. As usual, these BBC invitation concerts are free admission but one normally books well in advance to ensure attendance.

However, it happens that some people do not take up their tickets so it is always worthwhile turning up early at the Ulster Hall for possible empty seats.

Rathcol
Top achiever Sarah Hand with mum Maria and Dog Kenny who got 10 A* grades as Pupils at Victoria College in Belfast

Four-fifths of students who sat GCSE exams in Northern Ireland this year got a pass grade, it emerged yesterday. Following another year of improving results, more pupils than ever before were awarded the top A* grade, rising by 0.7 percentage points to 10%.

The percentage achieving the pass rate standard - A*-C grades - also increased slightly by 0.4% to 79.5%.

The average pass rate across the UK was 66.3%, although this year was the first year of a new numerical grading system. It is being used by English examining boards in three subjects, which makes comparisons less simple than in previous years.

In Northern Ireland, girls widened the performance gap over boys, with 83.5% of all female entries gaining a grade C or above (up 0.6 percentage points on last year), but male entries achieving the same grades improved to 75.4% this year (up 0.1 percentage points on 2016).

A small number of students (around 3%) in Northern Ireland received results in numerical format this year, with 9 being the highest mark and 1 the lowest. The new scale applies to English literature and maths qualifications offered by a number of English exam boards.

Some of the top achievers in Northern Ireland yesterday included Aoife O'Boyle, from St Dominic's in Belfast, who received 11 A*s and an A, Royal Belfast Academical Institution pupil Nkosinathi Khumalo, who got 10 A*s and an A, and Sarah Hand, from Victoria College in south Belfast, who received 10 A*s.

Nkosinathi (16) told the Belfast Telegraph that yesterday morning had brought relief after a nervous wait during the summer for his grades. He plans to go on to study A-Levels in physics, further maths, chemistry and computers and then go on to university to study computer science.

Sarah (16) said her long-term ambition is to be a reconstructive plastic surgeon and she plans to study maths and the three sciences at A-level, before going on to study medicine. She said she had had a dream about getting top results. "So it is literally a dream come true," she said.

There is currently no Education Minister, so a civil servant at the Department of Education congratulated students here.

"Performance of local students in school examinations - A-levels, GCSEs, and their equivalents - is a tribute to the efforts of students, teachers, parents and carers," they said.

"Whilst the focus at this time is on results, it is also important to remember that education is about so much more than exams. The calibre of our young people, their personal qualities and attributes, are not to be summed up just by their exam results."

Former Education Minister Peter Weir described the GCSE results as offering a "firm educational base for the future", but noted there was room for improvement.

"Sections of our society which suffer from underachievement need to be continued to be addressed, but these results show that what must happen is targeted interventions rather than wrecking the system," he said.

"It is also important that Northern Ireland students will continue to have choice in their GCSE subjects and exam boards, and that we have retained both choice and comparability with students across the water, ensuring that local pupils are not disadvantaged."

Northern Ireland's exams body, CCEA, will not be switching to the numerical 9-1 grading which is being introduced by English exam bodies. In 2019, new CCEA letter grading will be introduced, with the Grade A* aligned to the Grade 9. In addition, a Grade C* will be introduced and aligned with the Grade 5.

The average pass rate of students who sat GCSE exams across the UK
Charles Haughey wanted the bodies of the three IRA members flown straight to Belfast

Former Irish taoiseach Charles Haughey did not want the bodies of three IRA members shot dead by the SAS in Gibraltar to be taken home through the Republic of Ireland, archived British papers disclosed.

An elite team opened fire in March 1988 because they believed the republicans were about to detonate a remote-controlled bomb in the tiny British territory in the Mediterranean.

The Irish leader urged that the RAF fly their remains straight to Belfast rather than allowing their families to bring them through Dublin, which would have been a propaganda coup for Sinn Fein.

His secret intervention was disclosed in Northern Ireland Office (NIO) documents newly-released by the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI).

An official wrote: "Haughey this afternoon implored us personally through the ambassador in Dublin to ensure that the bodies of the three IRA terrorists shot in Gibraltar were kept out of the Republic at all costs.

"He made clear that he would not admit to this request in public."

An inquest found the British commandos acted within the law when they shot dead the unarmed republicans, who were hailed as martyrs by IRA supporters.

Daniel McCann, 30, Sean Savage, 24, and Mairead Farrell, 31, were gunned down as they walked towards the Spanish border.

Critics of former prime minister Margaret Thatcher's government claimed it was part of unofficial shoot-to-kill policy pursued against the IRA by crack troops.

Mr Haughey was once charged but acquitted of conspiracy to import arms for the IRA at the start of the Northern Ireland conflict in 1970.

The NIO file, released as part of the disclosure of 1991 papers, said the charismatic leader's idea following the Gibraltar killings was that the RAF would fly the bodies direct to Belfast, rather than via a charter flight to Dublin organised by the dead men's families.

A civil servant claimed: "This proposal is clearly designed to solve a problem confronting Mr Haughey.

"It has however the attraction for us that it could short-circuit the current plans of the terrorists' relatives, to whom the bodies have been released today."

It said the families wished to take the remains to Dublin to secure maximum political advantage for Sinn Fein.

"There is also no guarantee that the families can be squared in the way Mr Haughey apparently envisages, in which case we would be left in the most invidious position of appearing to countenance a dubious bargain with Sinn Fein."

The official said one of the sticking points with the families was the use of Aldergrove airport in Co Antrim, which was regarded as unionist territory.

Another civil servant said it was "inconceivable" to use the RAF to fly the bodies home.

"The problem of how to manage any problems in the Republic must be for Mr Haughey himself, after all he has done a good deal to create them."

At the trio's funerals in Belfast's Milltown cemetery, loyalist gunman Michael Stone opened fire and threw grenades at mourners, killing three and wounding 50.

Three days later, two British soldiers were seized by a mob while driving through republican west Belfast during the funerals of those killed at Milltown.

They were dragged from their car and murdered - the disturbing scenes recorded on television.
A Ballymena man who boasted in a text message "I am the only one that can get the big loads in" was jailed Friday for the role he played in a drugs operation.

A Ballymena man who boasted in a text message "I am the only one that can get the big loads in" was jailed on Friday for the role he played in a drugs operation.

Handing Ian William Greer a five-year sentence, Judge Geoffrey Miller QC said that while he accepted Greer was not the primary organiser, he was nonetheless an "important link in the chain", and the jail term was "both called for and justified."

Belfast Crown Court heard that while the amount of cannabis involved in the operation will never be known, the quantity could have amounted to over 125kg.

Greer - who following his arrest made the case he was acting under duress - was informed he will serve half his sentence in prison, with the remaining two and a half years spent on licence.

Prior to sentence being passed, Judge Miller was told by a Crown prosecutor that the 31-year old, from Queen Street, was arrested last March after police attended a courier company in Newtownabbey in relation to a suspicious pallet sent from Spain.

On March 2, 2016 officers identified the pallet, which was due to be delivered to an address in Randalstown, and when the packaging was opened, it contained a chest freezer. Within the freezer were 45 vacuum-sealed packages containing herbal cannabis.

The following day officers attended the business unit in Randalstown. Officers noticed a van parked at the side of the premises, and when they spoke to Greer, who was behind the wheel, they smelled cannabis.

The business premises was searched and a number of items - including cardboard boxes, packaging tape and invoices relating to a previous delivery - were seized. Also recovered were pallets and an empty box from a freezer unit similar to that used to store the cannabis uncovered the day before.

Telling the court "the lock up was clearly being used to break down the larger consignments for onward distribution", the Crown barrister said Greer was linked to the operation by fingerprint and other evidence, including rental agreements for the premises in question.

A police investigation revealed that other pallets were sent from the same source in Spain to "various bogus company addresses" in Co Antrim, and that the same modus operandi was used.

When Greer's mobile phone was seized and examined, officers found a text by Greer stating he had to lie low for a while but "had to get back into it coz it wasnt the same without me, they needed me .... I am the only one that can get the big loads in."

This text, the prosecutor said, displayed an "intimate connection with the drugs trade."

When Greer was arrested, he initially denied any knowledge of or involvement in the consignment of cannabis. He then said he had been forced to hand over his van, and later accepted he had collected a consignment under the orders of an organised gang. He also claimed he was acting under duress.

Greer subsequently admitted four drugs offences including being concerned in the supply of Class B drugs, and possessing cannabis.

Concluding the Crown case, the prosecutor said: "This was clearly a substantial drugs operation and the accused played a significant role in facilitating the safe receipt and onward distribution of the drugs in Northern Ireland.

Defence counsel Charles MacCreanor QC said that while his client accepted he played a part, his involved was limited and he was acting under duress.

Revealing Greer was a man with a low IQ and a moderate learning disability, Mr MacCreanor said his client's drug use and ensuing debts have resulted in his home being attacked.

The barrister also said "more sinister forces" were involved in the operation, that Greer had no influence over the people above him in the chain, and that he was in a position were he "could not step away."

As he sentenced Greer, Judge Miller said anyone involved in the drugs trade should expect to go to prison.
Police and ATO at the scene of a security alert after a suspected pipe bomb is discovered in the Little George's Street area of Belfast on August 25th 2017 (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph)

Police and ATO at the scene of a security alert after a suspected pipe bomb is discovered in the Little George's Street area of Belfast on August 25th 2017 (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph)

Police and ATO at the scene of a security alert after a suspected pipe bomb is discovered in the Little George's Street area of Belfast on August 25th 2017 (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph)

Police and Army at the scene of a security alert after a suspected pipe bomb is discovered in the Little George's Street area of Belfast on August 25th 2017 (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph)

Police and Army at the scene of a security alert after a suspected pipe bomb is discovered in the Little George's Street area of Belfast on August 25th 2017 (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph)

The security alert in north Belfast has ended.

Little George's Street was closed and residents forced from their home on Friday afternoon.

The Army carried out an investigation on the object thought to be a pipe bomb.

Police would only say an object was taken away for forensic examination.
PolIticians have embarked on a new blame game as 10m-a-month spending cuts threaten to engulf the health service.

The growing crisis could be averted if the talks to restore Stormont - due to resume in the next few weeks - achieve a deal.

The DUP last night blamed Sinn Fein for the 70m in cutbacks.

Former health minister Edwin Poots said: "This is the result of not having Stormont in place which is because Sinn Fein is putting other issues above the problems of the health service."

But former Sinn Fein education minister John O'Dowd hit back: "Regardless of whether there is an Executive or not there are still going to be huge pressures on our health services because the Tory government has been cutting public expenditure.

"We should not lead the public to believe the return of an Executive will bring a utopia."

Another former Sinn Fein minister, Caral Ni Chuilin, also pointed the finger of blame at the DUP.

"These cuts are not the result of the crisis at Stormont - they are the result of austerity policies conceived and implemented by a Tory cabinet in London. So it's not weasel words from James Brokenshire we need, it's our money back," she said.

"Of course a sustainable and properly resourced local Executive would help mitigate against the worst impact of austerity, but the DUP continue to block its restoration through their insistence on discrimination against many sections of our society."

Mr Poots, however, countered: "The DUP is willing to be around the Executive table tomorrow, taking much-needed decisions and trying a chart a way through the challenges.

"Sinn Fein failed to bring forward a budget before they collapsed the Executive, and desperately needed health reforms have been stymied over the last year."

He also added there were "only limited areas" in which cash savings can be found in-year and the DUP would want to ensure patients "particularly our most vulnerable" are protected.

SDLP leader Colum Eastwood accused the two big Executive parties of "ducking and diving their responsibilities".

"But let's be clear, health is a devolved matter and if those who have already abdicated responsibility to take on the British Government in Westminster, really want to fight against austerity, they cannot abdicate responsibility here too," he said.

Ulster Unionist health spokesperson Roy Beggs said: "Sinn Fein representatives had the audacity to speak out against the cuts, obviously overlooking the fact that Michelle O'Neill abandoned her responsibilities when she walked away from being health minister earlier this year.

"We should have a health minister and Executive in place leading the transformation needed to improve healthcare."

Alliance MLA Kellie Armstrong said: "The immediate challenge is to address this current funding crisis, followed by reforms to avoid this in the future. It is beyond obvious the parties need to restore functioning devolution."

Green Party leader Steven Agnew added: "The people on waiting lists and in need of medical support and assistance deserve more from their elected representatives."
A prison officer is believed to have been the target of a suspect device discovered in the driveway of a house in Co Down last night.

Families were evacuated from their homes in Carson's Dale, Ballygowan, at around 8pm as police and bomb disposal specialists investigated the object.

A report suggested the device had been left under a car parked in the driveway.

It's believed the prison officer found the device.

The suspect device was taken away for forensic examination and the alert has now ended.

It's believed around a dozen homes were evacuated during the alert.

It was expected that the families would be out of their homes all night as police conducted a security sweep of the area.

Strangford DUP MP Jim Shannon hit out at those who left the device in the quiet residential cul-de-sac.

"We'd all hoped that we'd got beyond the stage of looking under your car every day, but that's clearly not the case," he said. "There are still evil people out there intent on destroying lives, intent on dragging us back to the past, to the bad old days.

"This is a salient reminder of just how far we have come in Northern Ireland - and how far we still have to go."

The MP called on neighbours to look out for each other.

He also urged anyone with information or who saw anything unusual to contact the police.

Local DUP councillor Trevor Cummings added: "This is very unsettling.

"It harks back to the past."

Two prison officers have been murdered by dissident republicans in recent years. In March last year 52-year-old Adrian Ismay died from a heart attack after a bomb exploded under his vehicle.

The so-called New IRA claimed responsibility for the attack.

Mr Ismay suffered serious leg injuries when the booby-trap device exploded under the van he was driving in east Belfast.

He had been recovering from his injuries, but died after being returned to hospital just 11 days later.

In 2012 Maghaberry Prison warder David Black was shot dead on the M1 motorway while driving to work.
Whilst one of the riders sustained minor injuries, the other biker's injuries were so serious that he had to be airlifted from the scene and taken to hospital in a helicopter.

A Carnlough man whose car collided with a motorcyclist on the Antrim Coast Road which resulted in the biker losing a leg was banned from driving for 18 months on Friday.

Brian Kelly, from Atlantic Avenue, was also handed a nine-month prison sentence, which was suspended for two years, after he admitted a charge of causing grievous bodily injury to the motorcyclist by dangerous driving.

Antrim Crown Court, sitting in Belfast, heard that after overtaking a vehicle "where he should not have done so", Kelly (52) collided with two motorcyclists travelling in the opposite direction.

Whilst one of the riders sustained minor injuries, the other biker's injuries were so serious that he had to be airlifted from the scene and taken to hospital in a helicopter.

He sustained what Judge Gordon Kerr QC described as "catastrophic injuries" which included a fractured pelvis and the amputation of his right leg below the knee.

The collision occurred on the Antrim Coast Road on the outskirts of Carnlough on March 21, 2015.

Judge Kerr said the motorcyclist's driving on the day in question was "entirely blameless" and said the collision occurred as Kelly overtook another vehicle.

The Judge said that as a result of the collision the injured rider - who was 30 at the time - has been deprived of the life he had before the incident.

This, Judge Kerr said, included the impact it has had on his family life, his career and his social life.

Saying these aspects had been "torn down", Judge Kerr said his quality of life had been restricted, and that he continues to receive medical treatment.

Prior to sentence being passed, the court heard that the injured motorcyclist believed Kelly had displayed little or no remorse for his actions.

However, this suggestion was rejected by Kelly's barrister Neil Connor QC, who said that his client has "shown a great deal of insight, remorse, sorrow and regret for what happened."

Mr Connor said that following the collision, it would have been "inappropriate" for Kelly to contact the motorcyclist, adding that the remorse Kelly has expressed for causing the injuries was genuine.

The barrister also revealed that as Kelly has a daughter with serious medical issues, he has helped raised thousands of pounds for relevant local charities, and was an active member of Carnlough Community Association.

Judge Kerr said Kelly's plea indicated he accepted his driving was dangerous, and fell below the standard expected of a competent driver, adding he overtook "where he should not have done."

The Judge also said that whilst aggravating issues such as speeding were not an issue, Kelly had a "momentary failure of judgement."

Sparing Kelly jail, Judge Kerr said he was taking into account the 24-hour care that Kelly's daughter requires.
The widow and daughter of two Belfast brothers believed to have been shot and injured by an undercover Army unit have issued civil proceedings against the Ministry of Defence and the PSNI Chief Constable.

The claims relate to a shooting incident in Ballymurphy on April 15, 1972 when members of the Military Reaction Force (MRF) allegedly shot and injured John and Gerry Conway, who were on their way to work at their fruit stall in the early hours.

The shadowy unit, which is thought to have comprised 40 men, is said to have been given licence to operate a shoot-to-kill policy and ignore the Yellow Card rules, which spelt out the circumstances under which soldiers were permitted to open fire.

The activities of the MRF are the subject of scrutiny by the High Court in Northern Ireland in two pending cases.

A Panorama programme broadcast in 2013 identified at least eight shooting incidents attributed to the MRF, according to witnesses.

The number of shootings, including fatalities attributable to the unit, remains unknown.

In June the Conway brothers' solicitor Patricia Coyle uncovered a critical contemporaneous report compiled by the Association for Legal Justice (ALJ) in May 1972.

The report was found in the ALJ deposit of original papers in the Cardinal O Fiaich Library in Armagh.

It was written by Fr Brian Brady and includes several witness statements taken in April 1972.

It said: "An unfortunate development in the recent weeks in the troubled situation in Belfast has been the shooting of innocent civilians by gunmen running around in cars.

"It has been assumed that these assassination squads belong to the subversive organisations.

"In the light of this case, one can no longer make this assumption.

"Denials of complicity in shootings by security forces are now worthless.

"Unfortunately, most of those who have been gunned down were not as lucky as the Conway brothers, who had many witnesses to what really happened and who was actually involved.

"The net result of all of this is that the role and activities of the security forces, in and out of uniform, is becoming more and more unacceptable."

Ms Coyle said: "The full extent of the activities of the Military Reaction Force in Northern Ireland in the early 1970s remains unknown. The unit's responsibility for shootings and fatalities has not yet been ascertained.

"What is clear, however, is that they were operating outside the rule of law with impunity.

"In issuing proceedings our clients seek to obtain full discovery of all relevant documents and information from the MoD and PSNI regarding the activities of the MRF and the unjustified shooting of their husband and father."

The MoD and PSNI said it would be "inappropriate" to comment on legal proceedings.
In the end, Sean O'Callaghan's death was not the one that every IRA informer fears. The masked assassin bursting through the door in the dark of night to blast him to eternity.

Instead, O'Callaghan's passing almost defied his political opponents. He drowned swimming in the sunshine in the Caribbean.

Growing up in Co Kerry surrounded by the sea, he was a strong swimmer. Friends suspect he suffered a heart attack in the pool in Jamaica where he was visiting his daughter.

She saw him before she headed to work in the morning and he had spoken to his son on the telephone and emailed his friend, the writer Ruth Dudley Edwards, just before he died.

In death O'Callagan is as controversial a figure as he was in life. Those who loved him speak of a fearless man challenging everything he had once believed.

He didn't shirk from speaking the truth although that brought him up against powerful paramilitary opponents. To republicans, both dissident and mainstream, he was a treacherous, deceitful figure who became a pawn of the Establishment for no other reason but self-gain.

He spent the last two decades of his life in London, constantly looking over his shoulder in case old friends would take their revenge. He refused offers from the security services of a new identity, stubbornly insisting that he would always be Sean O'Callaghan.

"He decided he would take his chances," said Dudley Edwards.

"He wasn't going to take a new name and be relocated to somewhere in the north of England to work as a shelf-stacker. He lived in London as himself but he always moved around. He had no fixed address or credit card. He left no trail.

"He received warnings from the police that he was under threat. After a certain period, he likely ceased to be a target for the Provos but the dissidents wouldn't have hesitated to kill him."

In an interview with this newspaper two years ago O'Callaghan spoke of the threat he lived under. "I'm sure the Provos and dissident republicans would shoot me in an instant if they got the chance, so I keep looking in front of me as well as behind me," he said. "That's just how it is. It's part of the furniture. But I try and not make much of it and just get on with things."

The Omagh bomb families were among those victims of republican violence that O'Callaghan helped. Michael Gallagher, whose son Aiden was killed in the blast, said he was stunned to learn yesterday that the informer was just 63 years old.

"He looked a lot older than his years. He'd obviously had a hard life," Gallagher noted.

The informer had battled depression and alcoholism but he "kicked the drink" four years ago, a friend said, and was a member of Alcoholics Anonymous.

Dudley Edwards stressed that O'Callaghan was not a lonely, isolated figure in London.

"He had a large number of friends here who loved him because of his courage, personality and integrity," she said.

"He was a very vibrant person. He had that rare combination of moral and physical courage. He faced down an ideology that had encouraged him to kill. He had read material which challenged what he believed and he acted upon that and faced up to the brutality of what he had done. He came to see the IRA as a vicious, sectarian organisation. He spent the rest of his life trying to atone for past actions."

But for former IRA prisoner and writer Anthony McIntyre, this narrative does not ring true. "I view Sean O'Callaghan as a calculating, self-serving and manipulative man," he said.

"I don't buy the line that he had some sort of 'Road to Damascus' conversion and was turned because of the horrors of the past. Most people work for the security services for money or to save their own skin.

"There have been cases of people becoming religious and confessing to police. They own up to what they did themselves. They don't embark on a life as a double agent."

Sean O'Callaghan was born into a deeply republican family in Tralee, Co Kerry, in 1954. His paternal grandfather had taken the Anti-Treaty side in the Irish Civil War and his father had been interned in the Curragh for IRA activity by the government during the Second World War.

O'Callaghan became involved with the IRA when he was just 15. Friends said he had watched on TV as "Catholics were burned out of their homes in the North and the Rev Ian Paisley went on his sectarian trail".

As a teenager, O'Callaghan was staunchly left-wing. He stopped going to Mass and became an atheist and Marxist. His hero was 1916 leader James Connolly. Soon after joining the IRA he was arrested by the Garda after accidentally detonating a bomb that damaged local homes.He received a short jail sentence. He remained in the IRA and crossed the border, operating in Co Tyrone. He was involved in various operations there including a mortar attack on the Army base in Clogher in 1974 in which UDR Greenfinch Eva Martin was killed.

In the same year he was involved in the murder of Catholic Special Branch officer Peter Flanagan, whom he shot dead in a pub in Omagh. Friends say O'Callaghan ended his involvement with the IRA around 1976 when he moved to London.

He married a Scottish woman of Protestant unionist descent. They had a son but the marriage broke up. He has a daughter from another relationship. O'Callaghan ran a mobile cleaning business but said he could not settle.

"In truth there seemed to be no escaping from Ireland. At the strangest of times I would find myself reliving the events of my years in the IRA. As the years went on, I came to believe that the Provisional IRA was the greatest enemy of democracy and decency in Ireland," he later wrote.

In 1979 he agreed to work as an agent in the IRA for the Irish Government and return to Tralee. In his memoirs he wrote: "I had been brought up to believe that you had to take responsibility for your own actions. If you did something wrong then you made amends."

He claims he thwarted numerous IRA armed robberies and that he successfully sabotaged efforts of local republicans to stage fasts in support of the 1981 H-Block hunger strike.

He rose through the ranks of the Provisionals becoming a member of its Southern Command and rubbing shoulders with Army Council members.

In 1984 his information led to the Garda intercepting a US arms shipment in a fishing trawler, the Valhalla.

O'Callaghan also claimed to have prevented an attempt to kill Prince Charles and Princess Diana at a charity pop concert in London in 1984.

The IRA's murder of informer John Corcoran in Co Cork in 1985 is one that haunted him. He said he became disillusioned with the Garda for not protecting Corcoran.

Republicans claim that O'Callaghan was himself the murderer.

"He confessed his involvement to journalists," said McIntyre. "Then he denied he did it. I believe he used Corcoran as a scapegoat in order to protect himself and ward off suspicions that he was the informer."

In 1988 O'Callaghan walked into a Kent police station and confessed to the murders of Eva Martin and Peter Flanagan. He was jailed for life, but was freed under royal prerogative in 1996.

Three years later he published his autobiography, The Informer: The True Life Story Of One Man's War on Terrorism. At that time - before we had ever heard of Freddie Scappaticci - he was the most senior known British spy to have emerged from republican ranks.

He became a regular media commentator on the IRA. He acted as an unofficial adviser to the then Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble.

He later worked with young gang members in London.

O'Callaghan wrote regularly for the British Press and gave evidence against IRA chief of staff Thomas 'Slab' Murphy in his libel case against The Sunday Times.

More recently, he featured in the media as a fierce critic of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and shadow Chancellor John McDonnell.

Two years ago he wrote a book about his former hero - James Connolly: My Search For The Man, The Myth And His Legacy.

O'Callaghan told this newspaper of the effect the 1916 leader had on him as a teenager: "Connolly certainly fascinated me. He fired my imagination. He was one of the few leaders from 1916 who was modern, international and relevant. He was a bridge for a lot of people to a new way of thinking in Ireland away from all the heavy stuff," he said.

But the adult O'Callaghan became disillusioned with his icon.

"No one was ever good enough, dedicated enough or pure enough for him. I could find nothing to suggest that Connolly ever enjoyed himself.

"He was not a nice character. He thought that compromise was the pits," the informer said.

O'Callaghan's journey from socialist republican to ally of unionists and British Conservatives was momentous.

His motivation for doing so still fiercely divides his friends and foes.
The PSNI has been denied permission to appeal a High Court order for disclosure of files held on a loyalist informer at the centre of alleged state collusion with paramilitary killers.

A judge refused leave to seek to overturn his autumn deadline for police to produce all relevant documents in two major legal actions.

But lawyers representing the Chief Constable may still make a direct petition to the Court of Appeal to hear their grounds of challenge.

The development came in claims brought by John Flynn, a north Belfast man who survived two UVF attempts on his life, and Michael Monaghan, the son-in-law of murder victim Sean McParland.

Mr McParland, 55, was shot by a loyalist gang while babysitting Mr Monaghan's four children at Skegoneill Avenue in Belfast in February 1994.

Both Mr Flynn and Mr Monaghan are suing the PSNI for alleged negligence and misfeasance in public office over the suspected involvement of an agent in the terrorist attacks.

Last month a judge warned he will strike out the police defence to the claims - the first of their kind - unless there is full disclosure by October 1.

An initial legal attempt to appeal his order was rejected earlier this week.

Following that outcome solicitor Claire McKeegan of KRW Law, who acts for both plaintiffs, claimed there is a strategy to "subvert" the proceedings.

She said: "Our view is that this appeal is entirely without merit and its sole purpose is to delay truth and justice to our clients.

"In refusing to allow the PSNI leave, the court have yet again endorsed our stance."

Both actions centre on alleged police collusion with a loyalist agent suspected of up to 15 murders.

Mr Flynn, 57, is suing over murder bids allegedly carried out by an agent who operated in the city's Mount Vernon area.

In 1992 a gunman tried to shoot him after he was lured to Whiteabbey Hospital on the outskirts of the city.

Five years later a second attempt was made to kill him in a failed car bomb attack.

In 2014 the PSNI admitted his misfeasance claim and accepted he should be paid damages.

But the force emphatically denies negligence or having ever employed the covert human intelligence source - identified only in the case as 'Informant 1'.

The agent is suspected of being linked to 10-15 murders, punishment shootings, serious beatings, conspiracy to murder, robbery, hijackings and drug dealing.

Mr Flynn's action was triggered by the findings of Police Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan that some Special Branch officers colluded with loyalist killers.

Her Operation Ballast report, issued back in 2007, centred on the activities of a UVF gang allegedly led by Mount Vernon man Mark Haddock.

As part of the lawsuit Mr Flynn's lawyers are continuing to seek access to PSNI documents.

They argued the police admission of partial liability was a tactical move to avoid handing over all files on the informant and cover over the full extent of alleged collusion.

An affidavit filed by Mr Flynn claimed police either failed to arrest the agent for the murders and other crimes or else conducted "sham" interviews, despite knowing he was a leading UVF figure.

Misleading records were deliberately compiled, while other documents and forensic exhibits were either destroyed or lost, he alleged.

Mr Flynn also claimed: "I believe that the police knew I was at risk from Informant 1 and were quite content to let me be murdered by him and his associates."

Last year a High Court judge ordered the handover of 13 categories of police documents.

Counsel for the Chief Constable sought more time to provide discovery, stressing that the material being sought covers a period of more than a decade.

It was claimed that it could take years to identify all the files, with 1,500 documents said to relate to Informant 1.

A Public Interest Immunity (PII) process alone would cost in excess of 300,000, according to a Superintendent asked to assess the scale.

But despite accepting the complexity of the discovery process, Mr Justice Stephens held that resource implications would not be of the extent suggested.

Extending time for full compliance until the autumn, the judge stressed no further period would be permitted.
The British considered using explosives to hamper the activities of paramilitaries near the border

British officials feared closing Irish border roads using explosives during the Troubles would distress and harm local residents, newly-disclosed records showed.

They were prepared to compensate those whose homes were damage from blasts intended to reassert control and hamper the movement of paramilitaries in staunchly republican areas between Northern Ireland and the Republic.

The intervention was seen by unionists as a symbol of firm and vigorous action to uphold the law by the security forces after local people reopened closed routes against the state's wishes, official British documents written in 1989 showed.

One Northern Ireland Office (NIO) civil servant wrote: "It may well be...that the use of explosives will cause real harm and distress to the locals.

"It is equally arguable that so far from causing distress etc, the Protestant population in South Fermanagh, for instance, will be reassured by the use of explosives."

The discussion came after border community associations, in which Sinn Fein members participated, were responsible for reopening many roads.

The original NIO suggestion to have those whose properties were damaged sue the associations because of their illegal activities instead of the government was unlikely to be upheld by a court and could rebound politically, officials calculated.

One wrote: "If my front window in Co Monaghan was blown in by the actions of the British Army, I would be off to my TD quicker than you could say Anglo Irish Agreement i f I were told that I had to sue Martin McGuinness before I could get my hands on the moolah.

"All our experiences of house searches etc suggest that the best way of minimising conflict with the local population is for the man with the chequebook to turn up as rapidly as possible.

"Also, to be frank, even if my solicitor told me I did have a case against Mr McGuinness, I might think twice before suing him.

"I am told he has devoted and persuasive friends."

The future of the frontier is part of Brexit negotiations.

But the compensation culture was well ingrained in 1989 and a real factor when considering whether property would be damaged by explosions, files released by the Public Record Office Northern Ireland (PRONI) showed.

One civil servant wrote: "Claiming compensation is an art form on both sides of the border and more explosions are planned."
One man arrested in connection with violent loyalist paramilitary activity has been released by police.

A second man remains in police custody.

The two were arrested on Friday morning, in connection to a number of terrorism offences.

On the arrests Detective Inspector Michael Winters said: Detectives from the Criminal Investigation Branch arrested a 21-year-old man in the city in relation to a number of terrorism offences, including a shooting incident at a house in the Bond Street area on the evening of December 20, 2016.

"A second man, aged 44, was arrested in Belfast on suspicion of a number of other terrorism offences."

Both men were taken to Musgrave Serious Crime Suite for questioning.

On Friday evening police released the 44-year-old man unconditionally.
A cyber security expert in Northern Ireland has warned that Universal Credit claimants will be "fresh meat to hackers" when the first phase of the new benefits arrangement rolls out next month

A cyber security expert in Northern Ireland has warned that Universal Credit claimants will be "fresh meat to hackers" when the first phase of the new benefits arrangement rolls out next month.

Universal Credit will replace six common benefits and will be introduced on a phased basis over the course of a year from next month.

Claimants, regardless of age, will be required to use email and are encouraged to set up a Facebook account to attract employers.

In areas where broadband is poor they will have to attend communal 'digital zones' or fill in their personal welfare details on public library computers, in a move one Northern Ireland cyber expert said was extremely concerning.

Robert O'Brien, CEO of Londonderry-based global security software firm MetaCompliance, said that hackers will take advantage of the lack of online skills of some claimants.

"When the Inland Revenue digital system came online at the beginning, at certain times it became overwhelmed by the demands placed on it," he said. "Universal Credit will be the same. The day that everyone gets their benefits or has to claim there will just be a tidal wave of people trying to get online.

"If at the same time as a huge demand is placed on the service hackers were to perpetrate a 'denial of service' attack, and burden it further maliciously, then you could see that system becoming hugely painful.

"While that is an apocalyptic scenario, the reality is that 90% of computer scams start with an email. Now you have a section of the population using email to communicate with a Government body, some of whom would not be familiar with it.

"The system is going to be tortured by hackers using these emails as a way to get into their homes and start communicating with them.

"They are going to be like fresh meat for the hackers. These hacks are coming form very poor countries. Thirty pounds here and there, and taking it off thousands of people, that's what they are after."

The Department for Communities said support will be offered to claimants who cannot independently make or maintain a claim online, which will include telephone and face-to-face support where required. "Claimants will be required to have an email address to enable them to make and maintain their claim online," a spokesman said.

"Support will be available in the local office to help set up an email address if required.

"Claimants are encouraged to use social media to seek work and to help prepare for work, but access to specific social media accounts is not mandatory."

The spokesman said 35 offices will have a digital zone with PCs which claimants can use to access their online account.

Staff will be available to provide help and support and claimants could avail of free Wi-Fi to use their own devices in the front offices and services within Libraries NI.
Snow and ice could cause problems

The road has been closed.

Follow the latest updates from our travel feed below

The Dobbin Road in Armagh has been reopend folowing an earlier crash.

Diversions are in place and traffic is being diverted onto the Vicarage Road, delays are expected.

Our live updates from across Northern Ireland are compiled by @TrafficwatchNI, @BBCNITravel and @PSNITraffic.
Graduates from Northern Ireland's Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) are more likely to find work than their peers that studied in England, Scotland or Wales, new figures have shown.

Graduates from Northern Ireland's higher education institutes are more likely to be employed after leaving university than their peers that studied in England, Scotland or Wales, new figures have shown.

New statistics released by the Department of the Economy for the year 2015/16 show that within six months of graduation 78.8% of leavers were in some sort of employment, with this including part-time work and individuals both working and studying.

This compared to 73.9% for graduates from English institutions, 73.3% from Scottish institutions, and 72.4% from Welsh institutions.

Employment rates for graduates varied widely depending on subject, with medicine, dentistry, and education producing the highest rates of employment, and the mathematical sciences and physical sciences producing the lowest.

Out of the students from Northern Ireland who graduated in the 2015/16 cycle from an institution in Great Britain, just one-third of the number employed returned to work in Northern Ireland.

A total of 16,450 students from across the province were enrolled in universities in England, Scotland and Wales for the year in question.

The figures also showed a gender pay gap for new graduates.

Around six months after leaving male graduates reported an average salary of 22,425, while their female counterparts reported earnings of 20,955.
Graffiti was daubed on the wall of the Islamic Centre in Newtownards

A pig's head was dumped outside an Islamic centre in Newtownards and buildings were daubed with anti-Muslim graffiti yesterday in an incident being treated as a race hate crime.

The attacks happened at the Islamic centre in Greenwell Street in the Co Down town.

Muslims are forbidden to eat pork for religious reasons.

PSNI spokeswoman Chief Inspector Hazel Reid said: "At approximately 11.15pm last night it was reported to police that a pig's head had been placed on the doorstep and graffiti painted on a wall of a building.

"Shortly after 1am, it was reported that graffiti had also been painted on the wall of a building in the Castle Street area.

"Both these incidents are being treated as hate crimes.

"A police investigation is under way and we would appeal to anyone with information about either incident to contact police in Newtownards on 101."

It's understood that the anti-Muslim graffiti has now been painted over.

Strangford MP Jim Shannon slammed the attack.

Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph, he said: "I'm disgusted. This is a despicable crime.

"Our Muslim neighbours make a valuable contribution to the Newtownards community. They are people we all know, good people whose families and businesses have been in the town over the past 40 years. It's hard to understand the mind of people who would commit such a hate crime."

Mr Shannon - who supported the Muslim community's planning application to create the Islamic centre - added: "The criminals who did this are not representative of the people of Newtownards."

Amnesty International last night condemned the incident. Spokesman Patrick Corrigan said: "Our solidarity goes to the local Muslim community, who were the targets of this vile attack.

"In recent years this Islamic centre has been targeted by far Right activists.

"The same group held an anti-Muslim protest outside Belfast City Hall as recently as this month, supported by a local councillor.

"When politicians fuel this racist thinking, we should not be surprised when some people feel they can act on their prejudices.

"Amnesty calls on Northern Ireland's political representatives to do all in their power to stand against hate and to ensure all minority communities feel welcome and able to live free from fear."

Newtownards DUP councillor Stephen McIlveen said last night that the Muslim community in the town had been shocked by the incident.

He had visited the Islamic centre and spoken to his Muslim constituents there.

"It's a disgrace that this has happened," he said.

"I want to offer all the support and help I can to our Muslim neighbours.

"While there is shock and surprise at this incident, people are heartened by the amount of support they have received from the local community.

"Anyone who saw anything, or has any information about the incident, should contact the police immediately.

"This kind of behaviour has to be stamped out."
Union officials pledged to fight for the health service as they railed against proposed cuts at a heated meeting in Londonderry.

Donal O'Cofaigh, chair of Unite, quoted Welsh politician Nye Bevan's words that "the NHS will last as long as there's folk with faith left to fight for it".

He then pledged: "We will fight for our NHS."

Closing an old people's home in Londonderry is among the proposals put forward by the Western Trust, who have to make savings of 12.5m.

The Trust's board held a public meeting yesterday at their headquarters in Altnagelvin Hospital to outline proposals for saving money and explain the impact it may have on services provided.

These include cuts in the cost of locum doctors with a cap of the rates paid to them, reductions in agency staff costs and a reduction of 40 elective inpatient beds across Altnagelvin and South West Hospitals.

Proposals were also on the table for a temporary reduction of domiciliary care and nursing home packages, a remodel of neonatal service provision at South West Hospital and constraints on goods and services budgets.

One of the most controversial proposals was to merge two elderly residential homes at Rectory Field and William Street, closing one site and moving residents to the other.

Another proposal is to reduce elective surgery, which the Trust admitted would increase waiting list times.

Around 60 members of the public, as well as several political and union representatives, were in attendance at yesterday's meeting.

To several calls from the audience of "reject the cuts" and "just say no", Niall Birthistle, acting chair of the Western Trust, told those gathered that the Trust was under "severe financial pressure" and that the board had an obligation to move ahead with a plan of how savings could be made.

During what was at times a heated meeting many members of the public voiced their disgust and several elected representatives spoke.

Former People Before Profit MLA Eamonn McCann said that "we should fight for every penny" and that "we should consider the option of mass civil disobedience".

Fellow PBP representative Shaun Harkin said that if we needed more money, "just ask Theresa May to shake the magic money tree".

Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph after the meeting, Western Trust Chief Executive, Dr Anne Kilgallen, said that it has been a "very difficult process to arrive at the proposals" put forward and that she felt people "spoke from the heart" at the public meeting.

"We have had limited options," she said. "The safety of the patients and clients under our care is our utmost priority and we have borne this in mind in developing our proposals.

"The Trust sought to protect emergency and unscheduled care, red flag, cancer patients, looked-after children, frail people and people with a disability."

She stressed that the savings plan was a public consultation, that no decision has been made and that it was by no means a "done deal".

She said there was no jobs threat to Trust employees and that patient care and safety was a top priority.
The PSNI said that it was treating the incident at the Orange Hall as a sectarian hate crime and appealed for information

Sinn Fein and the SDLP have strongly condemned the latest vandalism attack on an Orange hall.

Buildings belonging to the loyal institution are still being targeted at the rate of around one every month.

The latest in south Belfast was the ninth so far this year.

Sectarian graffiti was daubed on the exterior wall and shutters of the hall in Carryduff.

Vandals daubed 'IRA' and the anti-monarchist 'FTQ' slogan on the outside of the Mealough Road building.

Members of the lodge discovered the damage when they turned up for their monthly meeting on Wednesday night.

Sinn Fein said it had no doubt the attack was aimed at damaging community relationships.

The party's Ryan Carlin said: "I condemn this act of vandalism on Carryduff Orange Hall which was clearly designed to damage relationships in the local community.

"Those responsible represent nobody and have nothing positive to offer.

"I would appeal to anyone with information about those responsible for this act of vandalism to report it to the PSNI."

And SDLP councillor Brian Hanvey said: "It is a pointless and senseless attack which serves absolutely no purpose in today's society.

"The hall was probably targeted, unfortunately, because it is in a rural area and it would therefore be an easy target. But of course that doesn't excuse any attack like this. I would hope this will have little or no effect."

An Orange Order spokesman said: "Orange halls are an easy target for such sinister activity and we would urge those moronic individuals responsible for such hate crime to desist."

The PSNI said that it was treating the incident as a sectarian hate crime and appealed for information.
Sinn Fein's John O'Dowd has warned that a restored Stormont Executive would not bring about a "utopian society".

The Upper Bann MLA was quizzed on the BBC Nolan Show about the absence of an Executive following the announcement that 70m in savings have to be made over the next seven months by Northern Ireland's health trusts.

Mr O'Dowd said that his party had been trying since January to form a power-sharing arrangement with the DUP, and outstanding issues included equal marriage rights for same-sex couples and protections for the Irish language.

Sinn Fein has previously stated that it is willing to form an Executive if conditions are met around an Irish language act, rights to marriage equality, and legacy issues related to the Troubes.

Asked about the responsibility of his party for the cuts to the health service, Mr O'Dowd said: "Youve based your question on the premise that if the Executive is up and running again we would be living in a utopian society. And I think that is a very, very dangerous place to go. For commentators, for political parties, for journalists.

"Because if we raise the expectations of citizens to such a height, if we do get the Executive back up and going again and we cant deliver - and we wont be able to deliver a utopian society from the other side of the Executive.

"For a variety of reasons, including [that] the Executive is still under-funded."

During the interview Mr O'Dowd also took aim at Secretary of State for Northern Ireland James Brokenshire, saying that he "needs to understand, and he hasnt understood yet, that he is partly responsible for the collapse of the Executive. And his government is partly responsible."

Mr O'Dowd added that his party did not accept that the cuts announced on Thursday were necessary, and that they would be examined "thoroughly" by his party.

Talks to restore the Stormont Executive have been expected to restart in the coming weeks. Speaking ahead of a meeting with Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney on Tuesday, James Brokenshire refused to name an exact date for when this would be.
No man's land: The old Dundalk Road outside Newry. The hut on the left marks the border between north and south

Closing border roads using explosives during the Troubles would distress and harm local residents, officials feared.

There were more than 200 roads cross the border. Many were destroyed for security reasons by the Army and police in the 1970s and 1980s in an attempt to thwart paramilitaries who used them as crossing points.

However, the destruction of the routes raised many complaints from people on both sides of the frontier.

The UK Government was forced to pay out hundreds of thousands of pounds in compensation to Irish citizens whose property had been damaged by the blasts.

A previously confidential memo written by an NIO official said that resuming the use of explosives was likely to result in more claims.

"The previous use of explosives led to a large number of claims and, in 1983, HMG paid the Irish Government IR600,000 in settlement of claims that had been processed through the Irish courts," the memo said.

"My assumption therefore is that, as we agreed to pay up in the past - although HMG did not accept formal liability - we would have to do so now.

"Certainly that would be the Irish Government's expectation, and I see no way of doing otherwise.

"ACC Border is anxious to press ahead with the reclosure of BCP (border crossing point) 98 as soon as possible, and I am reluctant to delay that operation while we sort out the detail of compensation arrangements.

"At this point, therefore, my aim is to do no more than to secure the Minister's agreement in principle that HMG should underwrite the relevant costs in some form or other.

"We have already begun to turn our minds to how the compensation arrangements should work, assuming that the Minister agrees that HMG should pay.

"We are not starting from cold. As you may recall, SIL (Security and International Division London) gave thought to the handling of future claims back in 1984.

"I have not so far forgotten my SIL training as to forget that, even if we cross their palms with punts, the Irish may still be unhappy in principle.

"But I do not believe, if the money is right, the political arguments should be decisive.

"In any case argument on security grounds seems overwhelming: not only in terms of controlling the border, but also in terms of not obstructing the security forces when they are seeking to protect their own personnel."

The RUC also proposed using explosives at BCP 106, 107A, 176 and 229.

The NIO raised concerns that from the 1970s locals had taken to filling in craters with material to repair the damage to get the road back in action.

"As I recall from the 1970s groups of locals were fully capable of filling in craters with hardcore and surface material to repair the damage in operations quite like the present stunts staged by 'community associations'," the memo read.

"Are we to envisage an escalation of the struggle between security forces and these groups, rather than its termination?"
The Europa Hotel almost closed at the height of the Troubles due to repeated attacks by terrorists.

A previously secret file held by the former Ministry of Finance reveals the hotel was plunged into dire financial straits due to the ongoing damage.

But a letter contained in a file titled 'Compensation For Hotels Arising From Loss Of Trade Due To Civil Unrest' reveals the Government was reluctant to provide financial assistance.

The letter sent to RL Workman at HM Treasury in London, dated September 1974, indicates helping the Europa could set a costly precedent.

"We have been under pressure from Commerce for nearly 18 months to provide some assistance for Belfast's Europa Hotel.

"This hotel has been attacked 25 times by terrorists, and has lost an estimated 225,000 (after interest and before tax) in the year to 30 September 1974.

"The losses for the three previous years were 157,000 (1972/3), 105,000 (1971/2) and 166,000 in 1970/1 the year it opened".

The Europa was then owned by the Grand Metropolitan Group and was noted as "the best city centre hotel in Belfast", and the base for many members of the media covering the Troubles.

"Until this year our view had been that Grand Metropolitan was big enough and profitable enough to carry its Belfast losses, and that it would be unwise to create a precedent for compensating one or two hotels in an industry where many small businesses had suffered losses without compensation", the letter said.

But it noted with so many attacks the Europa was at risk of going under which would be a "unique propaganda victory for the terrorists".

While it was agreed to help the Europa, another hotel was allowed to go under.

The Russell Court Hotel was opened in August 1972 on the Lisburn Road but was severely damaged by a car bomb about a month later and was closed until May 1973 when business recommenced on a limited basis.

A letter from a Department of Commerce official to a Department of Finance official, dated November 18, 1974, said because the financial state of the Russell Court was so much worse than that of the Europa, the decision was taken not to help it.

"The Minister expressed sympathy but explained that there could be no question at this present time of assistance on the scale which would be needed to resolve the problem," it read.
One alleged incident involved a shooting in Bonds Street last December

Two men have been arrested in connection with violent loyalist paramilitary activity in Londonderry, the PSNI has said.

A 21-year-old man was detained in the city by detectives from the Criminal Investigation Branch in connection to a number of terrorism offences, including a shooting incident at a house in the Bonds Street area on the evening of December 20 2016.

The male occupant escaped injury when shots were fired through the window.

A 44-year-old man was arrested in Belfast on suspicion of a number of other terrorism offences.

Both men have been taken to Musgrave Serious Crime Suite for questioning.

The 44-year-old man was later released without charge.
Anger boiled over at a meeting of the Belfast Trust where a draft savings plan aimed at pulling back more than 26 million was outlined.

Unison regional secretary Patricia McKeown launched a verbal broadside at trust members, imploring them not to vote for sending their proposals forward to public consultation.

"I am calling on non-executive directors in particular not to give approval to these proposals," she urged.

"Send them back to the Department of Health, and if that gets you nowhere go to the Secretary of State.

"Make it clear that the health care of people in Northern Ireland should not be a matter of political leverage.

"The trust board has to send the message back to the Department of Health that you have a duty of care to the public and legal obligations, and you cannot make these proposals work."

The trust's proposals for finding the 26.3m it needs to save include cuts to admin and management costs, minimising spending on "general discretionary" items such as hospitality and advertising, and the planned transfer of its PFI car parking scheme to the trust.

Referring to the proposed six-week period of public consultation on the cuts, Ms McKeown called it a "creature of the Department of Health" and accused the Belfast Trust of being in breach of its own equality scheme.

"You also have legal obligations under human rights legislation," she added. "Can you explain how you are going to do that if you deny older people care packages. You already have 400 people waiting for them and you plan to increase the number waiting over the next five months.

"Belfast Trust is being asked to make proposals that will affect people's health. Your senior team has already said that you are putting people's lives at risk."

West Belfast MP Paul Maskey queried why the draft document was released almost simultaneously with the start of yesterday's meeting. He said it gave little time for it to be examined.

"In future this shouldn't be allowed to happen," he said.

"You also said that the plan was put together in a small number of weeks. Did you speak to the medical profession? Did you speak to the trade unions?

"I don't think it is acceptable and I also think a six-week period of consultation is unacceptable."

Kevin McAdam, regional secretary of the Unite union, said he believed the proposals were "not just an attack on the elderly, but on the NHS as it approaches its 70th birthday".

"This document says it is a savings plan but it really means cuts," he added.

"They are using the excuse that there is no local minister in place.

"Boards can implement 70m in cuts but they can't implement a miserly one per cent pay rise for health service staff that has been overdue since April.

"You are saying that these cuts will be temporary. What do you mean by the term temporary?

"The accident and emergency department at Belfast City Hospital shut six years ago. That was a temporary measure. So, I am worried that these measures will become permanent too." South Belfast SDLP MLA Claire Hanna said questions had to be asked about how the overall monetary situation with the health service "got to this stage".

"There is no way that these proposals are strategically viable without causing risk," she argued.

"They are penny wise and pound foolish and will have long-term effects on people."

Afterwards, Ulster Unionist MLA Roy Beggs said the proposals were based on what would save the most amount of money in the quickest time, rather than what was best for patients.

"That is no way to run the NHS," he said.

"The vision of Transforming Your Care appears to be dead. Patients need help. They are losing faith that they'll never see the additional money promised by the DUP and Sinn Fein.

"Never before has our health service faced such as crisis, and yet right now in the absence of a minister it is totally leaderless."

What is being cut... and where? The trusts proposals at a glance

NORTHERN TRUST: 13m

Temporary proposals include:

Reduce expenditure on high-cost medical locum and agency nursing staff

Close two wards in Whiteabbey Hospital and day ward

Close beds in Antrim Area Hospital and Causeway Hospital

Reduce non-urgent elective day surgery

Reduce number of community-based rehabilitation beds

Northern Trust chief executive Tony Stevens said: We are part of a system that is under significant financial pressure but the HSC system is working collaboratively to find solutions.

We will prioritise services to protect the sickest and most vulnerable.

SOUTHERN TRUST: 6.4m

Proposals include:

Savings from natural turnover rates for staff leaving and joining the Trust

Efficiencies on non-direct patient/client care goods and services areas of expenditure

Efficiencies from bulk buying of water filters

Planned service developments are now unlikely to be implemented before April 2018

Interim chief executive Francis Rice said: We must keep within the funding allocated to the Southern Trust, so our savings plan proposals must show how we will do that.

Our savings will be targeted to ensure there is a limited impact on direct patient care, and to protect our core services.

BELFAST TRUST: 26.3m

Proposals include:

Reduction in admin and management costs

Minimising spend ongeneral discretionary expenditure such as hospitality, advertising, courses and conferences

Planned transfer of its PFI car parking scheme to the Trust

Review and reprioritisation of its planned backlog programme

A spokesman said: The Trust has responded to this difficult task by firstly identifying actions that, if taken, would impact on how the Trust works but have no or low impact on front line services.

SOUTH EASTERN TRUST: 10.85m

Proposals include:

A 1m reduction in locum doctor spend across the Trust

Temporarily reduce locum costs

1.05m reduction in agency staff with the aim of reducing agency costs by 25%

Replacing a range of agency and locum staff or overtime with in-house staff

Savings in administrative and management areas

A spokesman said: It is important to remember that no decisions have yet been made. These proposals are temporary, and aimed to achieve savings in-year.

WESTERN TRUST: 12.5m

Proposals include:

Reduce the usage of a range of external service providers and consumables, and put in place a range of controls on limiting expenditure

Further constraint on pay budgets, including vacancy control across a range of support services and on call

Accelerate projects which will deliver increased efficiency and reduced costs

Increase the hourly rate for paid car parking at the three hospital sites within a new tiered charging scheme and revisit revenue schemes to secure savings where possible.

A spokesman for the trust said: The Trust has responded to this difficult task by aiming to identify actions, that if taken, would impact on how the Trust works but have no or low impact on front line services.
People affected by the Grenfell Tower fire are receiving help thanks to fundraising (Rick Findler/PA)

Around 42% of the money raised to help those affected by the Grenfell Tower fire has now been handed out, the Charity Commission said.

A total of 7.8 million of the 18.8 million donated in the wake of the tragedy was said to have been distributed 10 weeks on, including 2 million in the last week.

Campaigners previously expressed frustration at the length of time it had taken for money to reach those bereaved or displaced by the deadly inferno.

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The charity regulator, which has been assisting the process, said that 56% of the cash raised (10.6 million) was now in the hands of organisations charged with passing it to those affected.

Donated money has been divided up into several forms by charities, including sums specifically for the bereaved or those treated in hospital and a separate fresh start grant of 10,000 for all displaced families.

Fresh start grants have been paid out to the tune of 1.4 million so far, the commission said.

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Fundraising drives by the Red Cross and the Kensington and Chelsea Foundation made 5.6 million and 5.75 million respectively. The Red Cross was said to have raised less money than it first reported, an error on which the Charity Commission said it was seeking clarification.

The Evening Standards dispossessed fund, meanwhile, raised 6.2 million.

The three campaigns gave more than 4.8 million to the London Emergencies Trust to distribute on the ground. From this, bereaved families are to receive 20,000, followed by another 20,000 at a later date.

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Those who were treated in hospital for a week or more are being given 10,000, and 3,500 will be handed to those who were in hospital for six hours or more.

So far 1.9 million of these payments have been made, the Charity Commission said.

A British Red Cross spokeswoman said: The total for the British Red Cross London Fire Relief Fund is reported as less this week due to a previous admin error. This has now been rectified.

We apologise for any confusion caused. We can reassure people that this weeks figures are accurate.
Vilson Meshi died as he slept in his car (Essex Police/PA)

Two teenagers who killed a superhero daddy by throwing a lit flare into his car as he slept inside it have been jailed, as the family of one defendant hurled abuse at the sentencing judge.

Father-of-three Vilson Meshi was asleep in the back of his Audi outside his former partners house, where he was to visit two of his children the next morning.

The 31-year-old car wash boss died of inhaling fire fumes on February 27 2016.

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Keani Hobbs, 18, and a 16-year-old boy who cannot be named for legal reasons, were both found guilty of manslaughter and theft of marine distress flares from a docked boat at an earlier trial, and were sentenced at Chelmsford Crown Court on Friday.

Judge Patricia Lynch said the teenagers actions had been for fun, and she jailed Hobbs for nine years and the younger co-defendant for six years.

As the 16-year-olds lesser sentence was read out, there was a shout of f****** soft spot corrupt bitch as far as Im concerned and disgusting from the family of Hobbs, who were sitting in the public gallery, directed at the judge. Some people then stormed out of the public gallery.

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Mr Meshi, who rented a flat in Glossop, Derbyshire, had parked his car in Basildon, Essex, where he had arranged to visit his children the next day, when the flare was thrown into his vehicle.

Judge Lynch said the defendants were both equally culpable in this case.

She said the 16-year-old took Hobbs to the car knowing what was going to be done, and that Hobbss part was igniting the flare and throwing it into the car.

Neither of you realised the man was going to die, but you must have realised it would have caused harm, she said. Your actions were reckless, they were stupid and they were dangerous.

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She continued: The whole reckless enterprise was on the basis that it would be fun to throw a lighted flare into a vehicle where a man was asleep in the back.

Mr Meshis former partner, Michelle Mehtab, said in a victim personal statement that he was a doting father and regularly travelled to see their two children.

Nothing or no-one can replace their superhero daddy in their eyes, she said.

Mr Meshis parents, Islam and Drita Meshi, said their son was cruelly, unnecessarily and mindlessly killed. In a statement read outside court by family liaison officer Steve Judd, Mr Meshis parents said whilst nothing will bring Vilson back, we feel justice has been done.

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Hobbs, who wore a parka jacket with a large fluffy hood, sobbed as she was led to the cells and shouted I love you to family in the public gallery. Hobbs, of Stagden Cross, Pitsea, Essex, was jailed for nine years for manslaughter and 12 months concurrently for theft.

The 16-year-old, of Camberwell, London, was jailed for six years for manslaughter, with 12 months to run concurrently for theft.

Charlie Sherrard, mitigating for the 16-year-old, said the youth could not read or write properly, and had been brought up in an environment where it was deemed acceptable to go round thieving.

Tony Badenoch, mitigating for Hobbs, said she had no previous convictions.
Yingluck Shinawatra said she was too ill to attend court

Thai authorities are searching for former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra after she failed to appear for a verdict in a criminal case that could send her to prison for 10 years.

Yingluck's whereabouts were not immediately known and her absence fuelled speculation that she might have left the country.

An official of Yingluck's Pheu Thai party, who is close to the Shinawatra family, said she had left Thailand.

Yingluck, who became Thailand's first female PM when her party swept elections in 2011, is accused of negligence in overseeing a money-losing rice subsidy programme. She pleaded innocent and said the charges were politically motivated.

A verdict had been expected on Friday, as thousands of Yingluck supporters gathered outside the court and thousands of police stood guard, but Yingluck never appeared and a judge read out a statement saying her lawyers had informed the court she could not attend because of earache.

The judge said the court did not believe the excuse because no official medical verification was provided. He said a warrant would be issued for her arrest, and announced the hearing would be postponed until September 27.

Prime minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, the military chief who engineered the 2014 overthrow of Yingluck's government, said he did not know where she was, but the government was "looking for her".

"If she's not guilty she should stay and fight the case," he said. "If she's not here, what does that tell you? Will she still say that she didn't get justice?"

Defence minister Prawit Wongsuwan said security forces had not allowed Yingluck to leave and were checking possible routes she might have used. He said security officials had not seen her leave her Bangkok home in the last two days.

The trial is the latest chapter in a decade-long struggle by the nation's elite minority to crush the powerful political machine founded by Yingluck's brother, Thaksin Shinawatra, who was toppled in a 2006 coup.

Thaksin, who has lived in Dubai since fleeing a corruption conviction he says was politically motivated, has avoided commenting on his sister's case.

He is a highly polarising figure in Thailand, and his overthrow triggered years of upheaval and division that has pitted a poor, rural majority in the north that supports the Shinawatras against royalists, the military and their urban backers.

When Yingluck's government proposed an amnesty in 2013 that could have absolved her brother and allowed him to return without being arrested, street protests erupted that eventually led to her government's demise in the 2014 coup.

The junta that seized control of Thailand has since suppressed dissent and banned political gatherings of more than five people. The long-awaited decision on Yingluck's fate has rekindled tensions in the divided nation, but the military remains firmly in charge.

Fearing potential unrest, authorities tried to deter people from turning out on Friday by threatening legal action against anyone planning to help transport Yingluck supporters.

She posted a message on her Facebook page urging followers to stay away, saying she worried about their safety.

Thousands of people turned up outside the Bangkok courthouse anyway, along with thousands of police who erected barricades around the court.

AP
US Army Colonel Ryan Dillon said Islamic State forces are "completely surrounded" in Tal Afar (AP)

Iraqi forces have advanced into the centre of the Islamic State-held town of Tal Afar, military chiefs said.

Brigadier General Yahya Rasool said troops took control of several neighbourhoods on Friday as they advanced towards the centre of town and are at the outskirts of the neighbourhood of al-Qalaa.

Brigadier General Haider Fadhil of Iraq's special forces, said the US-led coalition provided air cover while Iraqi troops pushed into the town's centre. Clashes are continuing with IS militants, he added.

Tal Afar is about 90 miles from Syria's border and is among the last IS-held towns in Iraq.

On Thursday, US Army Colonel Ryan Dillon, the spokesman for the coalition in Iraq, said the militants were "completely surrounded" in Tal Afar and were "being killed".
Police officials and a soldier looking at a man on the pavement in the city centre of Brussels after man alleged to have attacked soldiers with a knife and was shot. / AFP PHOTO / Belga / STR / Belgium OUTSTR/AFP/Getty Images

Belgian soldiers shot dead a man in the centre of Brussels after he attacked troops with a knife, police said.

"A man armed with a knife attacked a group of soldiers. The soldiers fired at him and neutralised the individual," said Belgian Federal Police spokesman Jonathan Pfunde.

Esther Natus, a spokeswoman for the federal prosecutor's office, confirmed "the suspect is dead".

She said one soldier was "slightly injured".

Belgium's anti-terror crisis centre said in a tweet that the "situation is under control".

Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel also tweeted: "All our support is with our soldiers. Our security services remain on alert. We are following the situation closely."

Associated Press television images from central Brussels showed police had sealed off a main street not far from the Belgian capital's main Grand Place tourist attraction.

Belgium has been on high alert since suicide bombers killed 32 people in attacks on March 22, 2016 on the Brussels main airport and subway system.
Somalis observe the bodies after they were taken to and displayed in the capital Mogadishu (AP)

Ten civilians including three children have been killed in a raid by US-backed Somali forces on a farm in southern Somalia, a deputy governor said, as officials displayed victims' bloodied bodies in the capital.

The raid came as the US military steps up efforts against the Somalia-based extremist group al-Shabab.

Somalia's information ministry said eight al-Shabab fighters were killed in the operation and that no civilians were harmed.

But Ali Nur Mohamed, deputy governor of Lower Shabelle region, told reporters in Mogadishu t he farmers were killed "one by one" after soldiers stormed the farm in Barire village.

Three children aged eight to 10 and a woman were among the dead, he said, calling the attack a "real genocide".

Their blanket-wrapped bodies were laid out in a grassy courtyard for display.

"These local farmers were attacked by foreign troops while looking after their crops," the deputy governor told reporters. "The troops could have arrested them because they were unarmed but instead shot them one by one mercilessly."

Al-Shabab, which has become the deadliest Islamic extremist group in Africa, holds vast areas of rural Somalia after being chased out of major cities in recent years by a multinational African Union force and Somali troops.

The group continues to threaten the fragile central government and carry out deadly attacks in neighbouring countries, notably Kenya.

Earlier this year, US President Donald Trump approved expanded military operations against al-Shabab, including more aggressive air strikes and considering parts of southern Somalia areas of active hostilities.

The US and Somalia in recent weeks said strikes have killed al-Shabab leaders responsible for planning and executing deadly attacks in Mogadishu, where high-profile areas such as hotels and military checkpoints are often targeted with deadly bombings.

AP
Tony Abbott has reportedly confessed to being too drunk to vote, in a TV interview to be shown on September 5

Australia's prime minister has confirmed one of Canberra's worst-kept political secrets: h is predecessor and party rival Tony Abbott was once too drunk to vote in parliament.

Malcolm Turnbull told Melbourne Radio 3AW on Friday that he was opposition leader in 2009 when Mr Abbott was incapable of voting against government legislation to massively increase economic stimulus spending.

Mr Abbott replaced Mr Turnbull as leader of the conservative Liberal Party late in 2009 and became prime minister before Mr Turnbull ousted him in a party ballot in 2015.

Mr Turnbull told the truth over the episode after reports that Mr Abbott has finally confessed to being too drunk to vote in a television interview being shown on September 5.

AP

"I was disappointed, but you've got to move on with these things," Mr Turnbull told Melbourne Radio 3AW of Mr Abbott's inebriation.

"I can't remember anyone else missing a vote because they were too drunk to get into the chamber."

Mr Abbott said he had gone to sleep on his office sofa after drinking wine with two party colleagues.

"The impact was rather greater than it should have been," the Herald Sun newspaper quoted him as saying.

"I lay down, and the next thing knew it was morning."

Mr Turnbull said party whips could not wake Mr Abbott.

"There was nothing we could do," he said.

"The whips tried to rouse him to get him down into the chamber to vote but they were unable to move him."

Mr Turnbull said the need for MPs to attend every vote was now even greater, since the ruling coalition has a single-seat majority in the House of Representatives, where parties need a majority to govern.

Mr Abbott previously said he had missed the vote because he was tired after days of working as a volunteer firefighter, and dismissed a journalist's question of whether he had been drunk as "impertinent".

He remains a government MP and retains strong support from his party's hard-right faction.

He has become a vocal critic of the Turnbull administration's policy direction, as the government lags behind the centre-left opposition Labor Party in successive opinion polls.

Both are now on opposite sides of Australia's gay marriage debate. Mr Abbott is campaigning against same-sex marriage before a national postal survey on the subject next month, while Mr Turnbull supports marriage equality.

AP
Two white South Africans accused of forcing a black man into a coffin and threatening to set him on fire have been convicted of attempted murder, kidnapping and other charges.

A judge delivered the verdict in Middelburg, Mpumalanga province, in a case that prompted national outrage and debate over the legacy of white minority rule, which ended in 1994.

A video showing the racially charged incident circulated on social media last year, leading to the arrest of farmers Willem Oosthuizen and Theo Jackson.

It shows a man cowering and moaning in a coffin as part of the lid is pushed over his head and upper body.

A man is heard threatening to pour in petrol, and another threat is made to put a snake in the coffin.
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. (Psalm 19:1)

Witnessing a total eclipse of the sun is a once in a lifetime experience, but once youve observed it, youll hope to make it happen again, so well worth the effort it is. We traveled to Rexburg, Idaho where we enjoyed 2 minutes and 16 seconds of pure day-dark wonder!

Not being terribly intentional people when it comes to vacations, it just so happened that we had inadvertently blocked off the week of the eclipse for our vacation, and it further just so happened that we had planned to go to a friends lodge in Big Sky, Montana, and it still further just so happened to be situated a mere two-hour drive from where the total eclipse could be viewed.

Our only regret was that we hadnt studied up on the eclipse, other than to listen to a podcast about it on our drive, during which I fell soundly asleep. As I listened to a small portion, Hugh Ross discussed the phenomenon, and I was struck with how much I wished we could view the eclipse with an astrophysicist like himself.

God gives us the desires of our hearts.

As we wandered into the town of Rexburg, we looked for a spot to view the eclipse that wasnt too congested. We parked the car and wandered into a drive-in movie theater where we were immediately greeted by another visitor, an astrophysicist, nonetheless, with three telescopes and two binoculars ready to go; he was more than willing to share them with us, and he walked and talked us through the whole amazing experience from beginning to end. We had our wish  an astrophysicist, Professor Woolley by name, and his lovely wife Linda.

He pointed out many things we otherwise would have missed. For example, as the sun became more and more eclipsed, our shadows sharpened, like they were perfectly cut out of big pieces of black paper.

He showed us the prominences of the sun dance around the periphery, each of which is larger than the planet we are standing on.

What a glorious moment when we could take off our protective glasses and feast our eyes on the full phenomenon. It was as dark as night for over two minutes. We saw Venus and stars shining down on us.

One of the most amazing observations was that even when much or almost all of the sun was eclipsed by our moon  before and after the total eclipse  the light was still so bright around us. I find that encouraging: No matter how much darkness threatens to snuff out the light in our lives, the light still shines brighter, refusing to be extinguished!

Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth. (Psalm 57:5)

Father,

We give You thanks and praise for the wonder of Your creation and that You have given it to us to enjoy and tend. May we hold it dear and love it well.

Amen

Photo credit: kubotake via Foter.com / CC BY
An advisory commission on western Myanmars Rakhine state led by former United Nations chief Kofi Annan on Thursday called for reviews of the countrys Citizenship Law and an end to restrictions on its Rohingya Muslim minority to prevent further violence in the region.

The Advisory Commission on Rakhine State final report recommendations focus on the countrys citizenship verification process, rights and equality before the law, freedom of movement, and the situation of those confined to internally displaced persons (IDP) camps.

The nine-member commission, appointed by State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi in August 2016, also recommended the government take steps to end enforced segregation of ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims, allow unfettered humanitarian access in Rakhine and address the statelessness of the Rohingya.

[T]he commission has chosen to squarely face these sensitive issues because we believe that if they are left to fester, the future of Rakhine State  and indeed Myanmar as a whole  will be irretrievably jeopardized, Annan said at a press conference Thursday in Yangon.

This is a critical step for Rakhines and Muslims alike, he said, according to BenarNews sister entity Radio Free Asia. Only in this way can they break out of the hostility that leads to the violence and despair that has blighted their lives for so long.

The report also addressed socioeconomic development in the impoverished state, the rule of law, humanitarian aid, bilateral relations with neighboring Bangladesh, drug trafficking, and cooperation between local communities, Rakhine state and the central government.

The commission proposed a ministerial-level appointment to coordinate policy on Rakhine state and ensure the implementation of its recommendations. It based its findings and recommendations on more than 150 consultations and meetings with Rakhine communities, political and religious leaders, civil society organizations, central government ministers, Rakhine state officials and nongovernmental organizations.

We will give the report our full consideration with a view to carrying out the recommendations to the fullest extent, and within the shortest timeframe possible, in line with the situation on the ground, Aung San Suu Kyis office said in a statement in response to the report.

We hope to set out a full roadmap for implementation in the coming weeks.

The statement also said that the government will set up a new ministerial-led committee as an intermediate step.

Durable solutions

While the commission proposed ways to solve tensions between Muslims and ethnic Rakhine Buddhists in its final report as well as its interim report in March, it did not evaluate possible human rights violations against the Rohingya, especially during a four-month crackdown following deadly attacks on local border guard stations in October 2016.

Some Rohingya accused security personnel of indiscriminate killing, torture, rape, and arson, though the Myanmar government has denied most of the allegations and has prevented a U.N. commission from entering the country to investigate reports of atrocities.

The Annan commission did touch on the lack of accountability for violations during the crackdown and said an independent and impartial investigation is necessary.

At the press conference on Thursday, Annan said the October 2016 attacks reinforced our determination to find durable solutions to the instability and insecurity that continue to blight the prospects of the Rakhine state.

Tensions remain high, and the status quo cannot continue, he said. Violence will not bring lasting solutions to the acute problems that afflict Rakhine state.

Before the press conference in Yangon, Annan presented the commissions final report to Aung San Suu Kyi and Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, commander-in-chief of Myanmars armed forces.

The commission also presented the report to members of the Central Committee for the Implementation of Peace, Stability and Development in Rakhine state and met with Rakhine members of Myanmars parliament.

Annan delivered the report to President Htin Kyaw on Wednesday.

International rights groups praised the commissions recommendations and called on the Myanmar government to swiftly adopt them, especially those pertaining to addressing discrimination against the Rohingya.

The 1.1 million Rohingya who live in Rakhine are denied Myanmar citizenship though many have lived in the nation for generations. They do not have access to health care or jobs and face restrictions on freedom of movement, marriage, and childbirth.

About 120,000 Rohingya live in nearly 40 IDP camps where they were confined following deadly communal violence between Muslims and Buddhists in 2012.

People in Rakhine state, in particular the Muslim Rohingya minority, have suffered a horrific catalogue of rights abuses for decades, said James Gomez, director of Southeast Asia and the Pacific at London-based Amnesty International.

This comprehensive report released by the commission today clearly outlines many of the steps Myanmars authorities must take to end discrimination and segregation in the region, he said in a statement.

Gomez urged the government to swiftly move to implement the reports recommendations for improving the human rights situation and ending discrimination by removing restrictions on the Rohingyas movement, allowing full access in Rakhine state for humanitarian workers and media, and changing the countrys discriminatory" citizenship laws.

Without concrete action by the authorities to address long-standing grievances and redress decades of violations, people in the region will continue to be trapped in a cycle of deprivation and abuse, he said.

East Asia-based Fortify Rights also called for an end to restrictions on the movement of the Rohingya per the reports recommendations.

Restrictions on freedom of movement are not only unlawful, theyre also bad for the economy and create deadly security risks, said Matthew Smith, the groups chief executive officer. These apartheid-like restrictions erode security for communities and heighten the risk of mass killings. Its a tinderbox.

Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director of New York-based Human Rights Watch, called on Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmars de facto leader, to hit back at ethnic Rakhine extremists who perpetuate racial and religious discrimination. He also called for the 1982 Citizenship Law preventing Rohingya from becoming Myanmar citizens to be amended.

The commission has done Myanmar an important service by setting out the case for the urgency of that reform, and in reality, that commitment is probably the only thing that will convince Rohingya to fully participate in the long-stalled nationality verification process, he said.

Security motion defeated

Also on Thursday, lawmakers in Myanmars lower house of parliament rejected a motion to enact additional security measures in Rakhine state.

Khin Saw Wai, an Arakan National Party lawmaker, submitted the proposal on Wednesday, arguing that crime in northern Rakhine state has threatened stability, the rule of law and public safety.

Those who supported the measure, including some military parliamentarians, held that an antiterrorist law should be enacted to combat violence and attacks by Muslim terrorists because the problems are damaging the states sovereignty.

Because the Rakhine issue is a matter for the state and the Myanmar people, all MPs [members of parliament] attitudes and actions must be the same, said Lt. Col. Zaw Tun Oo, a military lawmaker.

Several disappearances, murders, attacks on security forces and periodic killings by troops have occurred in northern Rakhines Maungdaw, Buthidaung, and Rathedaung townships since the end of the crackdown in February.

Earlier this month, the Myanmar government dispatched an army battalion to provide security for ethnic Rakhine people following a spate of deadly attacks blamed on Muslim terrorists.
Fires burn in the aftermath of deadly attacks on police outposts in the northern part of western Myanmars Rakhine state, Aug. 25, 2017.

At least 71 people, including 12 Myanmar government troops, were killed when militants claiming to fight for the political rights of the oppressed Rohingya Muslims staged attacks on more than two dozen border posts in northern Rakhine State, triggering a new wave of refugees to Bangladesh, officials said Friday.

It was the deadliest single-day toll since fighting between the rebel group Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) and security forces erupted last October, killing nine policemen and setting off a counter-insurgency campaign by the authorities.

Among the dead were one security staffer, 10 policemen, a deputy township officer and 59 militants, according to a statement issued by the office of Myanmar's de-facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Eleven people were injured in the attacks, three of them seriously, and one terrorist was arrested, it said. The statement did not mention how many militants were involved in the attack.

On its Facebook page, Aung San Suu Kyi's office said the deadly attacks were intended to coincide with Thursday's release of a report by the Rakhine Advisory Commission led by former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, which recommended that the government act quickly to improve economic development and social justice in Rakhine state to end the violence between ethnic Buddhists and the Mulsim Rohingyas.

"The military and police personnel are fighting back against extremist Bengali terrorists," military chief Min Aung Hlaing said on Facebook, using a term used by the government to describe the stateless Rohingyas, because it maintains they are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

It is clear that todays attacks are a calculated attempt to undermine the efforts of those seeking to build peace and harmony in Rakhine state, Aung San Suu Kyi said. We must not allow our work to be derailed by the violent actions of extremists.

ARSA took responsibility for the attacks on 30 border posts, saying they were launched in defense of Rohingya communities that had been allegedly brutalized by government forces.

"Burma has been ramping up military in Arakan state since last few weeks in order to derail the 'Kofi Annan Commission Report and Recommendations' by triggering an unrest in the state," ARSA said on its Twitter page. "Therefore, we have tried our best to avoid any potential conflict meanwhile."

It accused the military and security forces deployed in two areas of molesting Rohingya women while carrying out raids, killings and lootings in many Rohingya villages across the townships.

ARSA chief Ata Ullah said in a 19-minute video uploaded to YouTube earlier this month that the group's "primary objective" is to "liberate our people from dehumanized oppression perpetrated by all successive Burmese regimes.

The violence and security crackdown has prompted a new exodus of Rohingya refugees to neighboring Bangladesh, where more than 75,000 Rohingya from northern Rakhine fled during a military crackdown following last Octobers attacks.

"The new influx of Rohingya people will generate more problems. We request the Myanmar authority to be cautious in handling the issue. They should solve the problem politically, not militarily," Iqbal Sobhan Choudhury, information adviser to the prime minister, told BenarNews in Dhaka.

"Already Bangladesh is bearing the brunt of their conflict. Now Rohingyas will try to enter into Bangladesh. Those who are already staying in Bangladesh are causing big socio-economic problem."

More than 80,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh since last October's clashes, the Associated Press said, quoting a U.N. report.

Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Mohamndd Shahidul Haq told BenarNews on Friday that the government has issued a note of protest to Myanmar, citing that it is not possible to allow new Rohingyas anymore, though the country has allowed thousands of Rohingyas for humanitarian reasons for decades.

We dont think we will allow anymore new Rohingya now, he said. It cant happen again and again. We have issued a strong note of protest to Myanmar.

Sariful Islam Jomaddar, deputy commander (Teknaf 2) Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), said a wave of Rohingya arrivals early Friday led to the detention of 146 people who tried to cross the border from different points of Naf River.

"And later on, we have sent them back with some humanitarian aid," he said.

More than 1,000 Rohingya women, along with children and cattle, had gathered near the land border between Myanmar and Bangladesh since early Friday, Agence France-Presse news service reported, quoting a border guard commander.

Mohammad Jubair, a Rohingya man, who entered into Bangladesh on Friday morning with 25 others, told BenarNews that they fled after coming under attack. He said he waited for more than three hours floating on the river.

"Suddenly since Thursday, military and Rakhine people started attacking on Rohingyas again. They are burning houses, he said. But Rohingyas did not fight back. I dont know who carried out the attack on them [the military].

BenarNews sources in Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh said ARSA militants had been crossing into Bangladesh.

There are more than 150 members of Myanmars separatist Rohingya groups in Ukhiya-Teknaf areas, who go back and forth across the borders, said a high-ranking source at a refugee camp who requested anonymity.

More than one million Rohingya Muslims live in northwestern Rakhine, where they are despised by the Buddhist majority, according to U.N. officials. Human rights activists said the Rohingya  who have been dubbed as the most oppressed people in the world"  are denied citizenship, freedom of movement and access to basic services and healthcare.

Asked about presence of ARSA in Bangladesh, Iqbal Sobhan said, Anybody can make irresponsible claim. But that is not true."

"Our Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has announced zero tolerance to militancy or insurgency, he said. Our government does not allow any insurgence group to use our land against the neighboring county like India and Myanmar. But if they have any authentic information about insurgent group, they can inform our security agency.

Jesmin Papri and Pulack Ghatack in Dhaka and Abdur Rahman in Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh contributed to this report.
The Philippines identified nearly three dozen suspect cases of humans infected with the H5N6 bird flu virus, but initial test results indicated they were free from the disease, according to health officials.

So far, the flu outbreak has forced the government to order the slaughter of about 500,000 poultry in the northern provinces of Pampanga and Nueva Ecija.

Since the Department of Agricultures declaration of the bird flu outbreaks in early August, the (health department) was able to identify 34 suspect cases, Health Secretary Paulyn Jean Rosell-Ubial said in a statement. They were promptly placed in isolation as part of precautionary measures to avert any possible human-to-human transmission of infection.

The unidentified patients were given antiviral drugs as a precaution and as of Thursday, all tested negative for influenza.

Rosell-Ubial said the H5N6 strain was reported in 2014. The Philippine patients were involved in poultry slaughter operations, adding the flu strain has low human-to-human transmission rates.

The more well-known and dangerous to humans strain has been identified as H1N1. That strain was last detected here in 2005, Rosell-Ubial said.

On standby

The health department said it was placed epidemiologists on a 24-hour standby and appointed two regional hospitals to handle suspect cases and collect specimens for laboratory testing.

We at the (health department) are doing everything to effectively respond to this infection, Rosell-Ubial said. With our partners, we are actively disseminating public health advisories on the prevention of the transmission of bird flu virus to the human population.

Anti-viral medicines and protective equipment were prepared for the possibility of quickly responding to the bird flu threat, she said.

The state-run Research Institute for Tropical Medicine has been placed on heightened alert status with trained medical and para-medical teams who are ready to attend to bird flu cases quickly.

As a precautionary measure for those who had direct contact with infected poultry and had developed any flu symptoms, we urge you and the public to report to the Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Units, of the health department, Rosell-Ubial said.

Officials announced the outbreak of the bird flu on Aug. 11 and isolated poultry farms in the north, ordering the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of birds.

The virus was detected in the Philippines in May, but farm owners initially tried to keep the outbreak a secret from animal quarantine officials, according to the government. By July, the disease had spread to at least six farms and infected tens of thousands of birds.
Government troops flushed out militants allied with the Islamic State (IS) from a strategic mosque in the southern Philippine city of Marawi, the military said Friday.

Despite those efforts, troops did not locate dozens of hostages held by the gunmen who had retreated from the Marawi City Grand Mosque as the military closed in on Thursday.

The rebel commanders, led by the Islamic States acknowledged leader in the Philippines and Abu Sayyaf commander Isnilon Hapilon, are believed somewhere inside Marawi, a Muslim city in the mostly Catholic nation.

Marawi is virtually abandoned and in ruin since militants engaged in clashes with troops and more than 200,000 civilian residents fled with many scattered across several evacuation camps or staying with relatives in nearby areas.

Hapilon is said to be aided by members of the local Maute group as well as foreign militants from the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

Since Hapilon and his men sacked the city and engaged troops in some of the fiercest combat the country has seen in years, a total of 596 rebel fighters and 129 soldiers have been killed along with 45 civilians, according to the militarys updated figures Friday.

Latest intelligence information states the enemy force has fallen to about 40 fighters from more than 600 when hostilities broke out on May 23, according to the military.

There are still less than 400 buildings and structures that we need to clear. They might be hiding in one of these buildings, Capt. Jo-ann Petinglay told BenarNews. The retaking of the grand mosque is very significant because we did it without the use of our air assets.

In addition to the mosque, Petinglay said government forces regained control of a nearby police station. The military cleared 38 other buildings on Tuesday and Wednesday, but until all the buildings are fully retaken and cleared, the government cannot claim it has taken control of the city.

Duterte: Offensive will continue

President Rodrigo Duterte, who earlier admitted to underestimating the rebel force, made a surprise trip to Marawi on Thursday to boost troop morale.

While he said he was not blaming the Marawi residents for the allowing outside forces including IS to influence local fighters, Duterte said they allowed the rebellion to ripen here.

So they were building tunnels, they were stocking firearms and there was this recruitment, Duterte said.

I am not ready to talk peace at this time because I have lost many soldiers and policemen, he said. We have to end it the way it should be and we will not stop until the last terrorist is neutralized. That is the ultimate objective.

Earlier, Duterte sought help from the United States and Australia to quell the rebellion and accepted offers from neighbors Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore to freeze the cross-border flow of militants. He placed the entire southern region under martial law, empowering the military in the region.

Even as troops continue to battle the Marawi militants, they have faced off against Abu Sayyaf militants on two fronts  on the islands of Basilan and Jolo to the west. Since the start of the month, the military has been helping a former separatist rebel group that signed a peace pact with Manila against a small group of fighters that have pledged IS alliance. Nearly 40 people have so far died in that battle front.

Where are the hostages?

In Manila, armed forces spokesman Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla said the main battle area in Marawi has been reduced to half a square kilometer grid as troops were continuing to slowly advance.

He said efforts to regain control of the grand mosque began almost a month ago, but were hampered by concerns the battles could destroy the site and inflame local sensibilities.

So having it under the hands of government provides us the impetus to symbolically say that we have retaken the center of the town, he said.

On Thursday, the military carried out a surgical operation that took out installations around the mosque before a strong push was carried out.

And in our entry to the grand mosque, there was resistance offered by the enemy who were holding the area, while the main forces of the enemy was retreating, he told reporters. We incurred three wounded in the process.

Right now, were still clearing the facility of unexploded ordnance and IEDs (improvised explosive devices) that we found to be in abundance in the building itself, he said.

Felipe Villamor in Manila contributed to this report.
A supporter of former Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra holds her portrait outside a courthouse in Bangkok, Aug. 25, 2017.

Updated at 12:58 p.m. ET on 2017-08-25

Former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra fled Thailand through Cambodia, a source said Friday after she failed to appear in court to hear a verdict in a rice-subsidy scheme that could have sent her to prison for 10 years.

The Supreme Court rescheduled the verdict for Sept. 27 and issued a warrant for Yinglucks arrest as a top government minister said officials may have helped her leave the country.

A source close to an aide of Yingluck told BenarNews that she had traveled through Trat province, about 320 km (200 miles) south of Bangkok, before crossing into Cambodia to board a plane that took her to another country a few days ago.

Her aide assisted and they went to Cambodia and assisted her flying from there, said the source who asked not to be identified and declined to name her final destination.

CNN, quoting a highly-placed source in Yinglucks Pheu Thai party, said she left Thailand on Wednesday and is now safe and sound in Dubai, one of the cities where her brother lives.

Former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has been living in exile for years after a military coup removed him from office in 2006.

Gen. Prawit Wongsuwan, deputy prime minister, told reporters he could not rule out that she fled the country.

It is not clear, but she was a former premiere, officials may have helped her out, he told reporters in Bangkok.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha, a former army general who toppled Yinglucks administration in May 2014, said he had ordered security agencies to track her down.

Asked if Yinglucks vanishing act would weaken the movement supporting the Shinawatras, he replied: I dont know. People are all Thais. Preference is idiosyncratic, but anyone stirring up (trouble) will face justice.

This morning I felt glad that Yingluck was a brave woman to face the verdict, but I later heard she had ear fluid problem, he told journalists after reports surfaced that she ducked her court hearing. I can only order security agencies to find out if she was really sick or where she is.

Yinglucks lawyer told the court that she had Meniere's, which causes vertigo and ringing in the ears, and could not appear for the verdict.

I received her last contact at 8 a.m. that she had Meniere's disease. I dont know where she is, lawyer Norawit Lalaeng said.

The court does not believe the defendant was sick enough to not be able to appear. Based on her behavior, it is believed the defendant intended to escape, therefore an arrest warrant is issued, Chief Judge Cheep Chulamon said during the hearing.

Before the court issued the arrest warrant, it ordered two of Yinglucks former commerce ministers to serve prison terms for their roles in the rice scheme. Boonsong Teriyapirom and Poom Saraphol were sentenced to 42 and 36 years in prison, respectively, for falsifying deals with China in 2013.

Yingluck has not been charged with corruption, but a conviction for negligence in the bungled scheme carries up to 10 years in prison and a life ban from politics.

About half an hour before the courts hearing started, a heavily tinted van previously used by Yingluck inched through thousands of supporters before turning away at the courts entrance.

I dont believe that Yingluck fled because she was guilty. She helped people, she did not kill people, supporter Sombat Tubpom, 66, told BenarNews.

Supporters display their love gesture to former Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, in Bangkok, Aug. 25, 2017. [Pimuk Rakkanam/Benar News]

Troubled rice-pledging scheme

Yingluck, 50, made history in 2011 when she became the nations first female leader on a wave of popular support. The criminal charges stemmed from her administrations scheme to buy entire rice crops at prices well above the market rate.

In a bid to influence the world rice market, she encouraged rice farmers to store their crops in government silos and gave advance payments of 15,000 baht (U.S. $450) per ton. At the time, rice sold for 9,000 baht ($270) per ton.

The program, riddled with graft, failed as the global rice market tanked. Officials appraised the loss at 178 billion baht ($5.3 billion), from 2012 to 2014, when the government was left with warehouses full of overpriced crop that eventually rotted in silos.

Yinglucks popularity grew among the nations 23 million farmers, a group representing more than half of the nations voting population. But worldwide prices never reached the advance price.

In May 2014, Yinglucks term as prime minister abruptly ended when the constitutional court forced her to step down after finding her guilty of abusing power. During the same month, members of the Royal Thai Armed Forces launched a coup detat, the 12th since the end of absolute monarchy in 1932.

In September 2016, the Comptroller General ordered Yingluck to repay 35.7 billion baht ($1 billion) from a civil case related to the rice scheme. Last month, authorities froze 12 of her bank accounts.

Yingluck, whose net worth is about U.S. $17 million (565 million baht), said the case against her is politically motivated. In court earlier this month, she proclaimed her innocence and begged the judges to not let politics or Thailands junta sway their ruling.

I did not do anything wrong, Yingluck told the court. As an upcountry woman who saw farmers  the backbone of the nation  living in horrible conditions, I tried to help them out.

Political observers said Yinglucks self-exile with brother Thaksin would not lead to the demise of the Shinawatra political dynasty.

If Yingluck really escaped, the government has lifted off political pressure, but the pro-Shinawatra Red Shirt movement still has potential successors, retired Lt. Gen. Nanthadej Meksawat told BenarNews.

This updated version includes a CNN report that she is now in Dubai.
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Starting your day with a cup of mushroom coffee can give a much-needed twist to your daily regimen. Many speak of its benefits, and some even prefer it to regular coffee. But given its unique
NEW YORK, US - McDonalds says it will start globally rolling back use of antibiotics in its chicken products from 2018 as part of efforts to curb microbial resistance to drugs and the rise of superbugs.

The decision follows a similar move undertaken in the US market in 2016. It applies to drugs that are also used in human medicine, called Highest Priority Critically Important Antimicrobials (HPCIA) by the World Health Organization (WHO).

"Starting in 2018, we will begin implementing a new broiler chicken antibiotics policy in markets around the world," the company said in a statement issued Wednesday.

By 2018, HPCIAs will be eliminated in broiler chicken for the Brazil, Canada, Japan, South Korea, the US, and Europe. An exception will be made for the antibiotic colistin for Europe only.

The policy will be extended for Australia and Russia by the end of 2019, when the colistin exception for Europe will be made phased out. It will be fully implemented globally by January 2027, although the firm said: "Our goal is to have this policy implemented before this date."

Scientists have for decades argued there is a link between antibiotic use in animals and the dwindling effectiveness of these drugs in human medicine.

Industrial-scale poultry farmers often use antibiotics not to treat outbreaks of disease in their flocks but to prevent it from occurring. Some also use the drugs to help birds gain weight more quickly. Certain antibiotics destroy bacteria in the gut, which means that the chicken can convert feed to muscle faster.

Among humans, causes of resistance include the overprescription of antibiotics and patients failing to take the correct dosage, which allows a residual population of germs to survive and rebound.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), at least two million people in the US become infected with bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics every year, leading to 23,000 deaths. According to some estimates, drug-resistant bacteria may within decades be causing more deaths than cancer.

The US Consumers Union, a non-profit advocacy group, hailed the decision. "The widespread use of antibiotics on livestock that aren't sick is contributing to a global public health crisis with potentially dire consequences," said Jean Halloran, director of the organization's food policy initiatives.

She added: "We commend McDonald's for setting these goals and urge all fast food chains to use their market clout to protect public health before it's too late."

The WHO's list of HCIAs falls into five categories: quinolones; third-generation cephalosporins; macrolides and ketolides; glycopeptides; and polymyxins. These drugs are notably frontline medications in the fight against salmonella, enterobacter and E. coli infections.

Source: AFP
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is urging companies in the agro-processing sector to apply for financial support to participate in the Gulfood Exhibition, taking place in Dubai in February 2018.

Image credit: PotatoPro via Twitter

Qualifying South African companies will be assisted through the DTIs Export Marketing and Investment Assistance (EMIA) scheme, with the aim of increasing exports of South African products to the Middle East region and beyond. The objective of the scheme is to develop export markets for South African products and services and to recruit new foreign direct investment into the country.

Gulfood 2018 will display a full range of food and beverage products from around the world. The annual exhibition, one of the worlds largest annual food and beverage fairs in the region, brings together exporters, importers, distributors, retailers, wholesalers, food producers and restaurateurs from more than a hundred countries. Almost 100,000 visitors attend the show annually.

According to the deputy minister of Trade and Industry, Bulelani Magwanishe, participating in the fair will afford South African companies an opportunity to highlight their products and services in order to gain access to the multi-billion-rand Middle East food and beverage market.

Last year the DTI supported 35 companies in their participation in the exhibition. The companies generated export sales valued at more than R220 million. More information can be found here.
MTN's "Nightshift" commercial picked up both Gold and Silver Loeries at this year's awards. The Gold was for "best use of licensed music". Adam Howard was tasked with re-recording The Commodore's "Nightshift" for the commercial, which has been viewed more than 3.7 million times on YouTube.

Director Teboho Mahlatsi of Bomb Commercials and Marais Janse van Rensburg from agency Metropolitan Republic worked closely with us to recapture the essence of the original recording, but to also give it a slight twist and contemporise the music, says Adam. The song, an 80s classic, is a heartfelt favourite of many South Africans. We cast Timothy Moloi to recapture the distinctive vocal stylings of Walter Orange, proving once again that he is one of South Africas most versatile vocalists.

The Gold and Silver Loeries add to an impressive tally of awards for Howard Audio this year, including a Silver One Show award in New York for a BMW radio campaign, two D&AD pencils and a Gold Cannes Lion for a Cadbury online campaign.

View the commercial below.




NEW YORK, US - Agriculture has contributed nearly as much to climate change as deforestation by intensifying global warming, according to US research that has quantified the amount of carbon taken from the soil by farming. Some 133 billion tonnes of carbon have been removed from the top two metres of the earth's soil over the last two centuries by agriculture at a rate that is increasing, said the study in PNAS, a journal published by the National Academy of Sciences.

Global warming is largely due to the accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere from such activities as burning fossil fuels and cutting down trees that otherwise would absorb greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide.

But this research showed the significance of agriculture as a contributing factor as well, said Jonathan Sanderman, a soil scientist at the Woods Hole Research Center in Falmouth, Massachusetts and one of the authors of the research.

Agriculture helps deplete carbon accumulation in the ground

While soil absorbs carbon in organic matter from plants and trees as they decompose, agriculture has helped deplete that carbon accumulation in the ground, he said.

Widespread harvesting removes carbon from the soil as do tilling methods that can accelerate erosion and decomposition.

"It's alarming how much carbon has been lost from the soil," he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. "Small changes to the amount of carbon in the soil can have really big consequences for how much carbon is accumulating in the atmosphere."

Sanderman said the research marked the first time the amount of carbon pulled out of the soil has been spatially quantified. The 133 billion tonnes of carbon lost from soil compares to about 140 billion tonnes lost due to deforestation, he said, mostly since the mid-1800s and the Industrial Revolution.

The potential of soil to mitigate global warming

But the findings show potential for the earth's soil to mitigate global warming by absorbing more carbon through such practices as better land stewardship, more extensive ground cover to minimise erosion, better diversity of crop rotation and no-till farming, he said.

The world's nations agreed in Paris in 2015 to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases generated by burning fossil fuels that are blamed by scientists for warming the planet.

President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the landmark Paris accord in May, saying it would undermine the US economy and weaken national sovereignty. Supporters of the accord, including some leading US business figures, said Trump's move was a blow to international efforts to tackle global warming that would isolate the United States.

Thomson Reuters Foundation

Reporting by Ellen Wulfhorst, editing by Belinda Goldsmith
Former FirstRand CEO Sizwe Nxasana has issued a warning on SA's basic education: "Disrupt or be disrupted."

Coding and robotics must become part of the basic education curriculum if SA wanted to contribute to the fourth industrial revolution, said Nxasana, who is chairman of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme.

Lack of infrastructure and expensive data remained barriers, he said at the two-day Singularity University SA summit in Johannesburg hosted with Standard Bank, global partner Deloitte and strategic partners MTN and SAP.

"We need to think about how we train people to acquire skills and become active in the fourth industrial revolution."

Education was hampered by a lack of universal access to the internet, Nxasana said.

The government has initiated a second inquiry into cellphone data costs after a campaign drew attention to the manner in which consumers are charged.

Valter Ado, chief digital and innovation officer at Deloitte Africa, agreed with Nxasana.

"If we get our kids to start understanding embracing this [coding and programming], they will ... pick it up," Ado said.

The basics of work in the future were going to be about data and the ability to develop smart algorithms, which children in some private schools were already learning to do.

Internet access in schools had been universally achieved in the majority of European and other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries, a report by the Partnership on Measuring ICT for Development and the International Telecommunication Union showed.

Connectivity remained an issue in most developing countries and was still below 10% in countries from all developing regions including Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia and Africa, it said.

Nicholas Haan, director of global grand challenges and team project leader at Singularity University, also said price and connectivity continued to be limiting factors in providing access to connectivity. The democratisation of technology meant that anyone, anywhere could gain access and anyone could be an innovator.

However, unless Africa dealt with corruption "it would always swim upstream" with development and exponential technology, he said.

SA's relative rule of law, financial capital, education institutions and a vibrant banking sector incentivised investment into technology, Haan said.

Intellectual property regulation was a hindrance and government policy could at times deter entrepreneurial development that would potentially benefit education and health.

"The answer lies in open source. Elon Musk opensourced Tesla and allowed entrepreneurs to access his information to replicate that product," he said.
Despite having access to 60% of the world's uncultivated arable land and 70% of Africa's workforce made up of farmers, the continent still imports much of its food. CNN Marketplace Africa correspondent Eleni Giokos and anchor Zain Asher explores the future of farming and sustainability in Africa on this week's CNN Marketplace Africa.

Image Supplied

Training the next generation of farmers

Giokos heads to Delmas, South Africa, to learn more about the Buhle Farmers Academy, a new facility which aims to tackle this problem and train the next generation of farmers.

Nyiko Maluleke, chief operating officer of Buhle, explains why the training the academy provides is essential for progress in Africa: We need to ensure that generations to come understand that its not just about doing whats good now, its about doing things that will be good in the future.

Maluleke describes the academys ambitions: The commercial farming sector is growing, and needs to grow Many African people who were in agriculture, and were farming for many years, werent focusing on profitable farming. They were just producing for themselves to eat. But we want to bridge the gap that exists between small-scale farmers and commercial farmers.

Khalid Bomba, chief executive officer of the Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Agency, explains why farming needs to be marketed as an enticing career choice if academies like Buhle are going to be successful. He tells the programme: What were trying to do in terms of the next generation is explain to them that the agricultural industry is not the farming of their fathers and grandfathers where you were using a hoe and sickle. Farming, in many countries, is a business. It is a viable, profitable business and there are new technologies that they could be using.

Impact that access to new technologies will have on the future of farming

Giokos also meets Jason Brantley, managing director of John Deere Sub-Saharan Africa, to discover why the manufacturer is funding the Buhle Farmers Academy. Brantley explains that it is important that not only are individuals receiving training but that they have access to machinery which will work efficiently in their environment.

He tells the programme that John Deere is giving people robust solutions to help them improve yields, reduce input costs and improve the resilience of their farming system. Buhle Academy student Tumelo Nchiyane agrees with the impact new technologies will have on the future of farming: Having access to technology makes it so much easier for you to ensure production goes on.

Image Supplied

Investing in the future of sustainable farming in Africa

In the Facetime segment of the programme, Zain Asher meets Krysta Harden, vice president of public policy and chief sustainability officer of DuPont, to further explore the future of sustainable farming in Africa.

DuPont has established many projects across the continent which work to help farmers succeed in the industry. Harden explains: Weve been on the continent for about 30 years, a long-term investment, and were here to stay. Were there to work with African farmers to talk about productivity, yield, and the solutions that they need to deal with pests, diseases and a changing climate.

Harden tells the programme about a recent project: One thing I am most excited about is a new innovation centre that opened in South Africa, where were doing field research. Its a R100m project investment and its just one of the lasting investments were making in South Africa to deal with the problems farmers are having there.

DuPont is investing so much because, ultimately, they want more business. Harden explains: Were investing because we want customers. We want customers on the continent and we want successful farmers. We want them to be profitable and productive.

CNN Marketplace Africa airs Friday, 25 August at 1715 SAT on CNN International

The programme also airs at the following times:

Saturday, 26 August at 1715 SAT

Sunday, 27 August at 0200 SAT and 0815 SAT

Monday, 28 August at 0300 SAT and 1845 SAT
Property pioneers have already taken the first steps in shaping Africa's urban landscapes, constructing landmark malls, hotels and office blocks that could be called iconic. This is just the start. Modern, fully functioning cities require a well-oiled system of residential, commercial and industrial development and civil infrastructure, with the real estate skills and services to match.

Selwyn Blieden is head: Africa coverage, commercial property finance, Barclays Africa Group.

The question is: Who will design, build, manage, maintain - and of course fund - the many different commercial developments that Africas cities demand?

The short answer is that a local property ecosystem must emerge to take over from where the big-ticket, mostly foreign, private equity-funded pioneers have left off.

Without an effective, self-sustaining ecosystem, comprising all the key components of a workable property market, the continents urban centres could suffer the effects of what is known as urbanisation without growth, or poor country urbanisation.

That means more urban sprawl with little or no economic growth potential and worsening shortages of urban housing, commercial space and inadequate civil infrastructure.

On the other hand, a well-functioning property ecosystem could enable the kind of orderly, planned and constructive growth that Africas property markets need. Such an ecosystem would also give funders the comfort that property investments made today will still be standing in 20 years time and that their loans will indeed be repaid.

African funding for African property transactions

When it comes to financing, it seems likely that property markets across Africa will rely increasingly on African sources of funding. One need only look at property transaction trends on the continent to see that foreign funding is in short supply and unevenly spread.

Research commissioned by Barclays Africa Commercial Property Finance shows that between 2003 and 2016, only two of the top 10 African cities that received significant inflows of foreign real estate investment were in sub-Saharan Africa. They were Lagos in Nigeria and Johannesburg in South Africa. The other eight were all in North Africa.

The continent has a number of African-based funders with the resources to provide financing to property market players. Their ability to do so, however will depend on how smoothly and efficiently the African property ecosystem develops.

Critical components of an ecosystem

Essentially, a property ecosystem should have all the components needed for a well-functioning, nuanced property market that caters for property developments of all sizes and in all market segments. It would encompass planners, regulators, developers, owners and service providers, from architects and engineers through to contractors, construction businesses, environmental impact assessors, leasing agencies and facilities managers. All of them would operate within clear parameters and abide by well-enforced rules and regulations. Funders would observe this and invest accordingly.

At this point, however, there are numerous gaps that need to be addressed before this ecosystem can get off the ground in earnest.

Attributes of well-run ecosystems

One of the hallmarks of well-run property ecosystems is that there are significant players, owners and developers with formal corporate governance structures in place. Another characteristic would be the existence of well-understood contracting mechanisms between sector stakeholders such as lessors, lessees, owners and contractors. However, in certain jurisdictions, family-owned businesses with less established governance structures dominate.

In addition, our research indicates that inappropriate urban planning regulations and inadequate urban service provision deter foreign real estate investment attraction and economic growth within some jurisdictions in Africa.

A common but serious drawback in many sub-Saharan African countries is the lack of reliable data for risk assessment. It is extremely difficult for funders to control their risk without access to good data on demographics and pricing trends, among others. There is definitely a gap in the market for property indices in Africa.

Another concern for funders is the underdevelopment of the regulatory environment in some jurisdictions, hampering efficient planning, approvals and transfers.

Time for focused conversations

These components will take time to put in place, but the sooner we start having focused conversations about them, the sooner a much-needed property ecosystem will take shape and the sooner our property markets will grow - and grow sustainably.

The signs are encouraging: Barclays Africa research shows that property finance in our target jurisdictions grew by an estimated 13% between 2013 and 2015, which is significantly faster than normal GDP growth. Granted, property markets in Africa are highly diverse, with some growing above 20% and others at zero. Theres no doubt that Africas nuanced property markets face challenges, but there are opportunities as well.
According to Samsonite Europe President, Arne Borrey on a recent trip to South Africa, the world is in a state of perpetual motion and luggage is getting smarter, stronger and lighter. With Samsonite's legacy of trendsetting travel solutions, investment and development have yielded products that are strong and light, and that's what consumers want says Borrey. Brand loyalty is an import but what's also crucial is how well brands fulfill the needs of consumers."

Tom O'Flaherty, Arne Borrey, Gert Weyers, Rob Kunze

Taking Samsonites revolutionary Curv material, which is exclusive to the brand, as an example, this next generation composite made from highly drawn polypropylene rather than the conventional polypropylene unites the functional versatility of thermoplastics and the impact-resistant performance of a fibre-reinforced composite. Five times stronger than conventional materials, it delivers a suitcase that is light and durable, has high impact resistance even at low temperature and is less sensitive to scratches and damage.

Unpacking what the consumer wants

We have invented this new market segment of pressure formed woven polypropylene that sells well in South Africa. If you a long haul traveller, you want to be really sure about the protection of your goods, he said.

Borrey said that the starting point for Samsonites innovation team was unpacking exactly what consumers wanted.

You have to understand trends and stay ahead of them  and then you also need to drive the trends. For starters, we need to know how fast a consumer will replace his or her suitcase. Millions of our suitcases were sold during the nineties. Because they are strong and well made, people could still travel with them. The big question is, do they want to? Technology and fashion have evolved and they want different shapes and forms now, he explained.

A growing stream of innovation in the luggage space

Weight matters

Innovations that could soon come to market include built in scales that will tell the traveller how much a suitcase weighs or a capacity meter that would indicate whether a half, a third or all of the volume has been utilised.

Solving the perennial bugbear of lost suitcases

Telemetry tags will help solve the perennial bugbear of lost suitcases. According to Borrey, in 2015, 23.1 million pieces of baggage were mishandled (either temporarily or permanently lost) worldwide.

Earlier this year, Samsonite announced that it was working closely with Vodafone to develop an innovative luggage tracking solution called Track&Go. The technology partners are currently trialling a new longer battery life, wider range technology called Narrowband-IoT (NB-IoT) that can be easily and privately tracked by its owner. This Track&Go solution is based on two principles - proximity alerts and geolocation. A traveller instantly receives a smartphone notification when a bag moves out of range. This is ideal for cruise, bus or train passengers wishing to leave their suitcases in a compartment. If a bag is lost, a traveller will be able to see its current location so that it can be traced.

TUMI, acquired by Samsonite in August 2016, will take this into the air travel arena. Borrey said that he is currently travelling with a Tumi luggage locator that will launch later this year. This informs the passenger whether a suitcase has been loaded onto a plane. When the plane takes off, the acceleration turns the device off. On landing, the deceleration reactivates the device.

You have to give your suitcase a name online. It then sends you a message to say that it has arrived at the destination, he said.

Not enough power is a problem

He added that there was growing stream of innovation in the luggage space - including power assisted wheels similar to those used on bicycles.

If you look at the business traveller, one of the worst things that can happen is to not have enough power for your tools. Suitcases and laptop bags could have built in solar panels or power packs so that you can charge your phone or your laptop. We are looking at how you could put solar panels or power banks inside business bags without making them too expensive and too heavy.

Business bags for business women

When it comes to aesthetics, Borrey said Samsonite was going all out to solve the ultimate business traveller challenge  creating a business bag for the growing number of female executives that are travelling between boardrooms. Even today, we still sell mostly male oriented business bags. Many women put their computers in their handbags. That makes them awfully heavy and they're not made for that, he noted.

Personalisation

Another important new trend is the personalisation of luggage. TUMI shops worldwide  including the one in Johannesburg  allow customers to put their initials or symbols on their luggage and bags. They choose the font and the colour and it is done in store as an incentive to purchase.

Borrey said the jury was still out on what innovations consumers would find most useful. But one things for sure  all new innovations will be sensitive to safety and security and comply with all airline regulations. He said that Samsonite worked closely with bodies such as IATA to ensure the best possible solutions.
The City of Cape Town's Integrated Public Transport Network (IPTN) Business Plan which proposes significant involvement of the minibus-taxi industry in future MyCiTi service rollouts, has been adopted by the city's council. The IPTN Business Plan outlines how the city can transform Cape Town's public transport system while ensuring the long-term financial and fiscal sustainability of operations.

Henry Trotter via Wikimedia Commons

"As is the case with other metros in South Africa, Cape Town has limited resources to meet a growing demand in service delivery needs. The roll-out of Phase 1 of the MyCiTi service and the extension of the service to Mitchells Plain and Khayelitsha through the N2 Express service have played a key-role in providing communities from remote areas with access to safe, affordable and decent public transport. We are committed to gradually extending the MyCiTi footprint and have prioritised the rollout of five new MyCiTi corridor routes within the next 15 to 20 years," said the citys Mayoral Committee Member for Transport and Urban Development, Councillor Brett Herron.

"The IPTN Business Plan provides the long-term strategic business model and assesses the conditions under which the City can achieve these goals while ensuring fiscal and financial sustainability. Thus, through careful planning, adapting to a changing environment, pragmatism and innovation, we can extend the MyCiTi footprint while ensuring sufficient revenue to cover the ongoing operating and maintenance costs.

"The business rationale stems from the lessons that we have learned from the implementation of Phase 1 of the MyCiTi service. It takes into account the current economic climate and how we can take advantage of new emerging technologies to make public transport in Cape Town more efficient. We intend to do this by reducing costs and congestion, increasing the shift from private to public transport to support operators, and by improving the convenience and safety of public transport," said Herron.

Minibus-taxi pivotal in establishing fully integrated public transport system

Apart from passenger rail, the MyCiTi service, and a contracted quality bus service, the business plan identifies the minibus-taxi industry as pivotal in establishing a fully integrated public transport system in Cape Town.

In fact, we foresee that by formalising and modernising the minibus-taxi industry, the operators will become our partners in transforming the method and ease of commuting in Cape Town. As such, the IPTN Business Plan states that minibus-taxis will provide on-demand services in future MyCiTi service rollouts and transport commuters to stations and stops from where commuters can transfer to a MyCiTi trunk route which operates on dedicated right-of-way red roads," said Herron.

Thus, the infrastructure and MyCiTi system will be designed to facilitate transfers between minibus-taxis and MyCiTi services.

"The reason for this major shift is that we have learned that removing minibus-taxis along routes where the MyCiTi service is operating, such as in Phase 1, is financially unsustainable in the long-term." This is partly due to Cape Towns spatial form which is characterised by low densities and urban sprawl, and the expected decline in grants from the National Government given the low-growth economic outlook.

"It also makes sense to rather use minibus-taxis to provide feeder services as they are more flexible and can easily adapt to changes in commuter demand. The objective of what we call the hybrid-model is to use the strengths of the minibus-taxi industry to deliver an improved MyCiTi service and at a cost that is affordable to the city and commuters," said Herron.

New generation services to revolutionise public transport

Importantly, the IPTN Business Plan takes into account the impact of emerging new generation services which are revolutionising public transport across the world.

Mobile phones offer a new way of matching the supply of public transport to commuter demand. It is also convenient for commuters to use their mobile phones to see what service is offered in real time and how to plan their journeys. Mobile phones can be used as a payment mechanism and can be used to rate a service. Once all public transport vehicles are tracked in real time in a single system, mobile device applications can be developed to enable a user to see a route, mode and price options in real time, including details of transfers between modes and total trip time options. It also allows users to track, in real time, the vehicle they need to catch so that they can get to the required station or stop in time.

"We have, therefore, included in the IPTN Business Plan the cost of operating mobile phone applications which can link passengers with service providers, inform passengers of transfer options to BRT or rail services, and facilitate transfers to the MyCiTi and rail services.

"Going forward, the city will also investigate how innovative information technologies can assist us in creating a convenient, secure, and cost-effective fare system that facilitates integration across all of the modes, including parts of the minibus-taxi industry. In this sense, it is not far-fetched to imagine that Capetonians could be using their mobile phones to pay for a ride on the MyCiTi service, Metrorail, a minibus-taxi or other bus services in future," said Councillor Herron.

Modernising taxi operations

Importantly, minibus-taxi operators can benefit greatly from emerging new generation services. Innovative information technologies such as e-hailing and mobile applications will enable minibus-taxis to provide demand-responsive services.

"The new generation services provide the minibus-taxi industry with a great opportunity to expand their businesses, while also reducing their operating costs. For example, by modernising operations, the industry can take advantage of e-hailing technologies to link them with passengers. Currently, taxis wait for passengers at ranks, or stop when seeing passengers hailing services on the side of the road  this limits drivers to fixed routes and timetables. Thus, the mobile phone offers a new and easy way of expressing demand remotely to which the minibus-taxi driver can respond, making the service more convenient for passengers as well," said Herron.

Through e-hailing, minibus-taxi operators will benefit from lower costs, less congestion, and increased passenger numbers. Commuters will also benefit as it will make it a lot easier to catch a minibus-taxi. Matching supply and demand brings huge cost savings for operators as it reduces travelling distances and links them to a broader pool of commuters. It will also increase passenger demand over time: the more convenient, easy and affordable the system, the more commuters will opt for public transport as opposed to private vehicles.

Achieving one integrated public transport network possible

The IPTN Business Plan outlines the citys intention to develop a new generation of public transport services by capitalising on emerging e-hailing and other technologies over time. This way the city can improve the integration between all scheduled public transport services such as the MyCiTi service, rail, other quality bus services, and minibus-taxis, and create demand-responsive services.

"We will also encourage the minibus-taxi industry to form transport operating companies to achieve economies of scale, operational efficiencies, and to possibly provide contracted services to the city. Those operators who will be directly affected and replaced by the proposed MyCiTi trunk routes will be encouraged to form operating companies that will operate the scheduled MyCiTi services along these routes  similar to the formation of the vehicle operating companies who are currently providing the services for Phase 1," said Herron.

The city will support technology development to offer a wide range of support services to help with transforming and modernising the industry, including business support and training and skills development for the adoption of new technologies.

"It is possible to achieve our goal of one integrated public transport network if we plan ahead and apply sound business principles. We can revolutionise transport in Cape Town by taking advantage of new information technologies which will drive down the costs as it will help us to be more efficient in how we operate public transport services," said Herron.

Transform Cape Towns spatial reality and building inclusive communities

"I am also excited about the possibilities that the new technologies offer our partners in the minibus-taxi industry. The hybrid approach we will follow with the rollout of Phase 2A of the MyCiTi service and the technology-enabled operational and business models will enable operators to better serve commuters and to expand their share of the public transport market.

"This industry has been thriving for decades because of its entrepreneurial spirit and ability to adapt to change. We are committed to working with the minibus-taxi industry to find solutions that will enable operators to make use of the technological advances as soon as possible," said Herron.

The IPTN Business Plan is aligned with and builds on the Citys strategy to use public transport to achieve a more compact and sustainable city.

"During the past two years, we have put in place the policies needed to pursue and implement transit-oriented development (TOD) along all public transport corridors. The citys Organisational Development and Transformation Plan also underpins TOD as the new order of business which must assist us to transform Cape Towns spatial reality and build inclusive communities," said Herron.

Pursuing TOD is pivotal in bringing down the cost of public transport for commuters, operators, and the city. "TOD is of utmost importance as demand for public transport is affected by how land is used. Going forward, we will pursue changes in land use and higher densities in support of the transport system. The right development must happen in the right places with a mix of land uses and densification to stimulate economic activity along the transport corridors. In so doing, we will begin to ensure that our MyCiTi buses have passengers in both directions, not only towards the CBD in the morning peak or coming from the CBD in the afternoon peak, but in both directions  irrespective of the peak-hour period, and with passengers getting on and off along the way as new mixed-developments create new job opportunities along the transport corridors, concludes Herron.
A new campaign from FCB Cape Town for the Amarula Trust aims to decrease demand for elephant ivory through education.

Called, Dont Let Them Disappear, the campaign aims to spread the message that every ivory product bought and sold on the black market means another elephant lost to poaching.

The campaign is led by a powerful online film, and clearly demonstrates that ordinary, well-meaning people unwittingly perpetuate the killing  every 15 minutes  of another African elephant for its ivory.

The film tells the story of a tracker as he follows the trail of poached ivory from a dead bull elephant, across the plains of Africa, the shipyards of Nairobi, the backstreets of Hong Kong and all the way to an upmarket apartment in New York City.

It finally climaxes to one provocative message: Ivory poaching stops with you.

According to FCB Cape Town, Mike Barnwell, the plight of African elephants has always been an integral part of the Amarula story. After all, the marula fruit used to create it only grows in one place on earth  the untamed African plains, side-by-side with majestic herds of these gentle giants, he said.

Since 2002, Amarula has been supporting elephant conservation through a variety of initiatives, including the Amarula Elephant Project, under the direction of Professor Rob Slotow of the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

Most recently, it partnered with Wildlife Direct. Firstly, on the Name Them Save Them project, which brought attention to this cause by asking the public to name the last 400,000 African elephants.

Theyve just collaborated again on #DontLetThemDisappear. This campaign highlights that the senseless killing of African elephants is fueled by the illegal ivory trade, a trade that would cease to exist if ordinary people would halt their purchases.
Team South Africa defended their title of international amateur 4x4 precision driving champions, driving away with Gold and the R60,000 cash prize, in the Spirit of Amarok Trophy, which took place in the Kalahari Desert on 13-19 August 2017.

The South African duo of Juan Grant and Marius Henn came out tops as the overall winning team against stiff competition from 20 other teams from Australia, Botswana, Germany, Namibia, Russia, South Africa and the United Kingdom. Grant and Henn walked away with the coveted Wolf Trophy (Amarok's namesake is the giant wolf in Inuit mythology). They also each received R30,000 in cash and, of course, the title of world's top amateur 4x4 precision driving team, tested by none other than rally legend Sarel van der Merwe himself.

The competition saw each country being represented by three teams who showcased their off-road driving skills in the unrelenting dunes and pans of the Kalahari Desert, referred to by one of the international competitors as "orange ice".

The participants contested several speed and technical challenges in extreme off-road conditions over four days in 132kW manual 4MOTION Amaroks.

"The Spirit of Amarok Trophy demonstrates Amarok's impressive off-road capabilities and provides contestants with an opportunity to test their off-road driving skills as well as an opportunity to experience off-road driving at its toughest," said Jaco Steenekamp, General Manager for Sales and Marketing at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles.

At the end of the four-day competition, Team South Africa amassed a total of 7212 points to take the gold medal, followed by Team Namibia claiming silver with 6246 points. Team Russia took the bronze medal with 4797 points, sneaking onto the podium with 360 points ahead of Team Australia.

In the individual competition, Alwyn and Melanie Jordaan from Namibia scored 2503 points, coming in second behind the Grant and Henn pair with their 2652 points. South African duo of Joggie and Albert Otto rounded off the top three individual team positions with a total of 2355 points.

This year, awards to the total of over R200,000, were handed out to the top team per country, top three countries, most spirited team and the top three driver/navigator teams overall.
Proposed amendments to the Companies Act of 2008 are aimed at aligning problem areas and enhancing interpretation of its provisions, while instilling corporate accountability, transparency and reducing regulatory burden.

MacDonald Netshitenzhe, acting deputy director general for consumer and corporate regulations, Department of Trade and Industry

The Act encourages economic stability through good governance that will enhance investor confidence and international and domestic competitiveness in the South African economy, MacDonald Netshitenzhe, acting deputy director general for consumer and corporate regulations at the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), said.

The provisions of the Act and its regulations have been benchmarked with other jurisdictions and found to be the best in the world.

Three issues

Amongst others, the highlight is on three issues, namely business rescue, social and ethics committees and the role of the Companies Tribunal. The DTI commissioned research on various cases of business rescue, which revealed that if business rescue ends in liquidation, it does not necessarily mean the rescue was a failure, said Netshitenzhe.

He added that when measuring the success of business rescue, numbers of companies that emerged from business rescue as compared to those that have been liquidated must not be a barometer.

Furthermore, Netshitenzhe stressed that the establishment of social and ethics committees in companies was important not only to protect the communities and the environment where companies operate, but for the protection of shareholders interests. Companies can now be held liable for not adhering to legislative standards.

He pointed out the importance of raising awareness of the role of the Companies Tribunal, as it is still appropriate and can be the best dispute resolution mechanism if utilised effectively, by means of mediation, conciliation or arbitration. The processes are easy and cost effective and quicker than going through the normal courts.

We are going to Cabinet for broader consultations. Stakeholders and role players should be ready to engage during the public consultations to ensure policy objectives become a success. It is important for the DTI to engage, so as to understand the sections that are posing a challenge to practitioners as well as the economy at large.
Suhana Gordhan does a lot in a day, from putting up with mansplaining to switching focus from her day job as creative director at FCB to meeting her responsibilities as Loeries chair. She lets us in on how Open Chair is set to inspire a new era in this industry, and what life was like for her over Loeries weekend 2017.

Loeries Creative Week Durban was a busy one for all who attended, with current chair aunty Suhana Gordhan in the thick of things. She was a judge on the print and outdoor panel, MC at the DStv Seminar of Creativity and made herself available for numerous media interviews. She explains: This meant always having my wits about me, a good lipstick on hand, enough stamina, plenty of coffee, and also a sense of gratitude for all this industry has afforded me, and the chance to give back, that the Loeries has created.

All images: FCB graduates Papi Raborife and NJ Minyuku followed Gordhan around during Loeries 2017 weekend to document the event. All images: FCB graduates Papi Raborife and NJ Minyuku followed Gordhan around during Loeries 2017 weekend to document the event. All images: FCB graduates Papi Raborife and NJ Minyuku followed Gordhan around during Loeries 2017 weekend to document the event.

While such a jam-packed schedule made it hard for her to pick just one favourite moment this time around, what she loves about the Loeries is that its a bit of mayhem and magic. Its the one time in the year that the entire industry converges in one place and its always a good time to catch up with old friends.

Gordhan always enjoys the DStv Seminar, as it offers nuggets of insight and information to take back with you. Another highlight is being able to hand out Gold and Grand Prix statues, as: its so awesome to see the excitement on peoples faces as they walk up on stage. And lastly, she lists the opportunity to address the Loeries audience on Saturday night  its a privilege and an honour and one shes come to enjoy, despite the bag of nerves she carries in the lead-up to that moment.

All images: FCB graduates Papi Raborife and NJ Minyuku followed Gordhan around during Loeries 2017 weekend to document the event. click to enlarge All images: FCB graduates Papi Raborife and NJ Minyuku followed Gordhan around during Loeries 2017 weekend to document the event. click to enlarge

Here, Gordhan lets us in on how the Open Chair initiative ties in with the rest of that Loeries mayhem and magic, as well as the constant challenge of juggling her Loeries duties with her day-to-day responsibilities at FCB and in other realms of life

The launch of Open Chair is a huge part of the Loeries success this year. Share some feedback on how the event was received and whether there are plans to hold similar events countrywide. The launch of Open Chair is a huge part of the Loeries success this year. Share some feedback on how the event was received and whether there are plans to hold similar events countrywide.

Open Chair has been a dream and mission realised. It really is a baby that is going to grow into something that this industry can truly benefit from. Im so grateful to Simone Bosman and Jenny Glover  my fellow Loeries Committee members  who shared this vision and made Open Chair a reality. It was beautifully received and we have learned so much just from our very first event. The plan is to allow Open Chair to grow and to host many more of these events and in other cities, too. With the right sponsorship, we can really achieve this. The whole point of Open Chair is to create access and an illuminated space for young women to engage and have face time with senior leadership and so, Open Chair needs to reach as many young women as possible.

The idea of a whole "village of advertising aunties" mentoring the next generation is definitely appealing. What other steps need to be taken for this to become a reality, and when do you predict well finally get there? The idea of a whole "village of advertising aunties" mentoring the next generation is definitely appealing. What other steps need to be taken for this to become a reality, and when do you predict well finally get there?

Were hoping that Open Chair inspires a new era in this industry  one in which more and more leaders make space and time for the younger generation  our future leaders. And while Open Chair was launched by women for women, the plan is to include men in our journey. This cannot be a story achieved by women alone. Men have to be part of the plan to grow young female talent. A lot of us have had mentorship from good men in advertising and we need the conversation to include these men, who not only see the need to cast a light on the path of young women, but have the desire to do so.

We need a crisp consciousness to be applied to daily life in the industry, where more women are deliberately invited to the table, have the space to be heard and are given the right tools to grow and strive for leadership roles. Well know when were there when we look around the boardroom table and see more women, and when we see more titles like ECD, MD and CEO after womens names.
The fifth anniversary of the Marikana mine massacre on 16 August 2017 serves as a stark reminder that mining is a very dangerous industry to oppose.

A recent report issued by Global Witness states that at least 200 people were killed in 24 countries last year in retaliation for standing up to environmentally destructive industrial projects. Thats up from 185 murders in 16 countries in 2015.1 This amounts to four reported murders every week. Mining is the most dangerous industry to oppose with at least 33 of these murders linked to the mining sector.2

Women in the firing line

Women are increasingly in the firing line. Lebogang Ngobeni, from the Fuleni Reserve in Kwazulu-Natal, recently received death threats warning that she will be killed for appealing a proposed bridge and road development that will open the area to mining. Other Fuleni activists whose lives have been threatened include Phila Ndimande and Billy Mqondo for leading opposition against a proposed open cast coal mine on the boundary of the Hluhluwe iMfolozi Park, a sanctuary with the worlds highest concentration of threatened Southern White Rhino. Phila, Billy and Lebo live with the awareness that their lives hang in the balance, knowing how dangerous it is to stand up for environmental justice, and for human rights.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency defines environmental justice as: the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income, with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.3

Threats, intimidation and death

In South Africa, defenders of environmental justice and social and political change are threatened, ridiculed, marginalised and punished. There have been many situations in the struggle against coal mining and other intrusive development in rural areas that have resulted in threats, intimidation and death. Peoples houses and cars are burnt. Many have been murdered and the perpetrators get away unapprehended and unpunished.

Nonhle Mbuthuma, spokesperson for the Amadiba Crisis Committee (ACC), has spent more than ten years defending her communitys land rights on the Pondoland Wild Coast against an international mining company. ACC are also fighting our government and Sanral who want to build a national highway over their land that will facilitate titanium mining of the protected Xolobeni dunes. Nonhle's life is constantly at risk as she is on the same hit list that fellow murdered activist Bazooka Sikhosiphi Rhadebe was on. Bazooka was murdered on 22 March 2016, the day after Human Rights day.

Fighting for the right to a healthy environment

Kirsten Youens, attorney specialising in environmental law and environmental justice

As activists for social and environmental justice, we defend human and environmental rights, fighting for the right to a healthy environment, to clean water, to land and the right to life. As a result, we often clash with political and business interests, with corporations that take over land and natural resources for their own gain. The mining laws of our country make it particularly easy for them to do so. In acting against these powerful forces, we are often subject to the growing list of corporations or governmental departments that marginalise defenders, branding their actions anti-development. Many defenders face years of death threats, criminalisation, intimidation and harassment, but receive little or no protection from authorities.4

Our government, from local to national level, often turns a blind eye to intimidation and lack of compliance with the law. This is particularly noticeable in KZN where the land falls under the control of the Ingonyama Trust Board (ITB).4 Government structures show reluctance to interfere in areas where the ITB, the traditional councils and the Indunas have control. What they are effectively doing, as is the case in many other countries of the world, is permitting a level of impunity that allows the vast majority of perpetrators to walk free... Incredibly, it is the activists themselves who are painted as criminals, facing trumped-up criminal charges and aggressive civil cases brought by governments and companies seeking to silence them.5

SLAPP

There are many ways to silence people and an intimidation tactic that is increasing in frequency and often used by corporations or developers against individuals or organisations that oppose their actions is to institute strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPP). These lawsuits are a strategic move brought solely to censor, intimidate, and silence opposition. The typical goals of a SLAPP are for the defendant to succumb to intimidation, fear, high legal costs or simple exhaustion and ultimately abandon the cause for which they are fighting.

Such lawsuits have been made illegal in many jurisdictions on the grounds that they impede freedom of speech. Unfortunately, such suits are not yet illegal in South Africa. SLAPPs take various forms, but the most common is a civil suit for defamation. Recently, two attorneys from the Centre for Environmental Rights in Cape Town, were served with defamation suits for comments they made about the environmental harm caused in the Western Cape by Tormin mine, owned by ASX-listed Australian company Mineral Resources Commodities Ltd (MRC). This is the same company wanting to mine the Xolobeni dunes on the Wild Coast.

Environmental defenders and environmental justice activists in South Africa make up a dedicated, committed and extremely brave group that is growing. Nonhles bravery is renowned: ...when they kill me they must kill me alone, not my family. And while we are not easily intimidated, whatever intimidation does come our way only makes us more committed to our cause.

Sources:

1 Defenders of the Earth: Global killings of land and environmental defenders. Published in the Global Witness, 13 July 2017. https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/environmental-activists/defenders-earth/

2 Mongabay Series: Endangered Environmentalists; by Mike Gaworecki, published 13 July 2017. https://news.mongabay.com/2017/07/2016-was-even-deadlier-for-environmental-and-indigenous-activists-than-2015/

3 Environmental justice. EPA. https://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice

4 The Ingonyama Trust is a corporate body established in law established in 1994 by the KwaZulu Ingonyama Trust Act, 1994 to hold the land in title for the benefit, material welfare and social well-being of the members of the tribes and communities living on the land. His Majesty, King Goodwill Zwelithini, is the sole Trustee of the land.

5 Defenders of the Earth: Global killings of land and environmental defenders. Published in the Global Witness, 13 July 2017. https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/environmental-activists/defenders-earth/
Until recently, public transportation in Cairo, Freetown, Lagos, Nairobi and many other African cities was chaotic and accident prone. The mostly unreliable local taxicabs did not alleviate the situation. But Uber's entry into the continent could be changing the narrative.

 miro kovacevicvia 123RF

Uber, the global ride-sharing company that relies on smartphone technology for dispatch and fee payment, has become the most recognised alternative to traditional taxicabs. Many prefer Uber, launched in the US in 2009, because of its fair prices, quality standards and convenience. The concept has spread globally.

By last June, Uber was operating in 15 major African cities, with some 60,000 drivers in Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda.

Ubers ambition is to dominate the transportation sector in Africa, but it faces stiff competition from local companies. Unintentionally, Uber triggered the spread of mobile and mapping technology for collecting geospatial data from a mobile vehicle. And the result is that Africas local tech companies are creating their own apps that provide different types of services to aid transportation.

And with Africas growing technical knowhow, local tech companies are producing products and services tailored to suit customers in different countries or even different cities, giving themselves an edge over foreign services.

Localising technology

For example, the Kenya-based Little Cab, an app-based ride-sharing service launched in 2016 by the mobile phone operator Safaricom, operates just like Uber, except that it accepts the local cashless mobile payment system, MPesa, unlike Uber. Uber, however, pays no parking or other city charges, hence charges less.

Still, 94% of Kenyans prefer MPesa to other forms of payments. According to Safaricoms 2016 annual report, Little Cab has been able to slow Ubers attempt at grabbing a huge chunk of the market.

In South Africa, the locally based Africa Ride, which offers a variety of payment options including weekly and monthly payment plans and accepts payment via mobile wallet apps, is gaining popularity with the citizens. The company operates in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Rustenburgthree of South Africas largest citiesand allows individuals, corporations, non-governmental organizations and government departments to set up their own accounts.

It is Ubers unique model, transportation married with technology, that has sparked imagination and inspired innovative initiatives in Africa.

Uber, however, appears determined to beat back local competition, and is partnering with indigenous companies to broaden its appeal. In Nigeria, Uber has teamed up with the payment platform Paga, allowing users to pay for services through its mobile money app. Paga also facilitates payments via local debit cards and cash for its 6.4 million users. Partnering with Paga enables more Nigerians to access the Uber platform, many of whom are not yet comfortable using their debit or credit cards, said Ebi Atawodi, general manager of Uber Nigeria.

Healthy competition

In total, Africa hosts nearly 60 ride-sharing services across 21 countries. Some services have tried to adapt to local socioeconomic realities, though they have not always succeeded. For example, the Nairobi-based Bodapp, launched in 2016, shut down its (boda bodas) motorcycle taxi and cab service after only two months. The company said it decided to concentrate on its core logistics business at a time when competition in the cab sector was growing.

Still, in the face of competition, many African transportation companies have begun offering various forms of incentives to drivers and passengers in a bid to stay afloat. Reacting to complaints of short changing by Uber drivers in South Africa, Africa Ride announced its more than 500 drivers would be given a larger stake in the business.

Our drivers own the business with us. We have put all the drivers in a trust and the trust owns a certain percentage of the business, Africa Ride founder Thabo Mashale told Disrupt Africa, an outlet for tech start-up news.

In 2017, South Africa-based startup, WhereIsMyTransport, launched its Transport for Cape Town app, which provides information for those planning journeys, including timetables, traffic incidents and places of interest. The scheme is expected to expand to six other South African cities during 2017: Bloemfontein, East London, Durban, Ekurhuleni, Johannesburg and Tshwane.

Mapping out cities

In a related development, the Digital Matatus Project, an initiative of the US-based development design firm, Groupshot, and researchers at Columbia University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), together with their local partner, University of Nairobi, successfully assembled a database of various routes for the thousands of minibuses (matatus) in Nairobi, using smartphones and GPS units.

The compilation was released in 2014 as an intricate map, which has been adopted by local app builders and mobile developers. Participating ride-sharing platforms allow patrons to access the Digital Matatus map via text message. The project has been praised for helping to improve Nairobis public transportation system, which runs without established schedules or strict routes.

Although the concept of ride-sharing is not entirely new to Africa as it has been present in the form of traditional modes of transportation such as minibuses, bush taxis and shared cars, it is Ubers unique model, transportation married with technology, that has sparked imagination and inspired innovative initiatives in Africa.

Challenges

Traditional taxi drivers are not happy about the tech-assisted ride-sharing movement, as they fear losing their jobs or incomes. Uber is destroying taxi work in Nigeria because they charge cheaper fares, Tony Oyesoya, a taxi driver in Lagos, Nigeria, told Africa Renewal in an interview.

Oyesoya said while Uber may charge less, the company often hikes its fares as soon as there is traffic congestion. He added that taxi unions in Lagos are thinking of taking up the issue with government.

Like their counterparts in Nigeria, South African drivers are unhappy with what they see as Ubers anti-competitive behaviour. In March, taxi drivers in South Africa mounted a protest against the company by blocking airport roads, while Uber drivers in Kenya have been attacked and their cars set on fire. The South Africa Meter Taxi Association responded earlier this year by developing its own app, Yookoo Ride, designed to connect passengers to metered taxi drivers.

Many African governments seem to have been surprised by this development in the transportation sector and are rushing to put regulatory policies in place. Last year, Ghana became the first country in Africa to have a Standard of Understanding (SOU), signed between its Ministry of Transport and Uber. The SOU provides holistic guidelines for taxi operations, and encourages the use of technology but regulates it for riders, drivers and companies.

Despite such efforts to regulate growth in the transportation sector, innovative approaches will increase, industry experts predict, especially with the potential increase in smartphone penetration in Africa.

While Uber may be leading the charge in Africa, indigenous tech-based transportation companies with better understanding of local socioeconomic situations could still hold on to their niche in the highly competitive transportation sector.

Source: Africa Renewal.
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1. The Office of the State Counsellor expresses its sincere appreciation to Dr. Kofi Annan and the members of the Advisory Commission for their continued efforts to find constructive ways forward for Rakhine State.

2. As the Commission recognizes, the situation in Rakhine State is deeply complex and there are no quick fix solutions. The challenges have only been compounded by chronic underdevelopment  Rakhine is one of Myanmars poorest states. Sadly, we have also seen a resurgence of violence in recent weeks and there have been very troubling signs of external interference aimed at aggravating an already difficult situation.

3. In this context, recommendations for meaningful and long-term solutions are very welcome. We will give the report our full consideration with a view to carrying out the recommendations to the fullest extent, and within the shortest timeframe possible, in line with the situation on the ground. We hope to set out a full roadmap for implementation in the coming weeks.

4. As an immediate step, a new Ministerial-led committee responsible for the implementation of the Commissions recommendations will be established. This will comprise representatives from across government and will be responsible for overseeing delivery and reporting regularly on its progress.

5. The new Committee will be assisted by an Advisory Board on Rakhine. The Board will include regional and international experts, as well as Myanmar nationals. It will provide an external perspective and advice to support the Committee in its work.

6. Details of both bodies are currently being finalised and will be released shortly.

7. This government is serious in its efforts to find a way forward for Rakhine. We have made rule of law and development in Rakhine State a priority since taking office.

8. While there is much still to do, progress has been made and a number of recommendations made in the Commissions August interim report have already been implemented.

(a)

Healthcare access has been improved through new mobile clinics. We have upgraded schools and vocational and technical training programmes have begun.

(b)

Hundreds of new jobs and opportunities have been created for local people through public-private partnerships and we are also assessing the viability of a new Special Economic Zone that would bring new jobs and businesses to the region.

(c)

In terms of new infrastructure, electrification has been expanded and new roads and bridges built, including a new highway connecting remote areas previously only accessible by boat.

(d)

We are working to promote religious harmony and communal relations by engaging interfaith groups. We plan to introduce a new curriculum in schools with a focus on moral, civic and peace education.

(e)

We have developed a strategy and timeline to move forward the National Verification Process, as well as a strategy to close IDP camps in Rakhine State. Three IDP camps have been closed, and new houses are being built near the IDP camps.

(f)

In cooperation with the EU and UN bodies, we are providing training and capacity building for police and security forces in the areas of human rights, child protection and gender-based violence.

9. As we seek a path forward for all the people of Rakhine, we must accept that there are difficulties that cannot be resolved overnight. We are working to change mind-sets and to build trust between all communities so that tolerance, respect, and eventually peace, may take hold. Now more than ever, it is important to focus on resolving, and not inflaming the issues in Rakhine.
The national commission, led by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, launched its final report and recommendations on August 24 after a year-long review process. The parliamentary mandated commission was tasked with finding the root-causes of the states conflicts, and identifying approaches that could resolve the instability and insecurity plaguing the state.

The commission pressed the government to take urgent and sustained action, including improving the low socio-economic development in Rakhine State, resolving citizenship status and accelerating the national verification process and ensuring the freedom of movement for all people.

The commission urges [the government] to accelerate the citizenship verification process under the 1982 Citizenship Law. The government needs to have a clear strategy and timeline for this process and they should communicate through a broad outreach campaign. The government should immediately ensure that those who are verified as citizens enjoy all benefits, rights and freedoms associated with citizenship, Mr Annan said at press conference on August 24.

The advisory commission urged the government to set-up an independent authority able to swiftly address any complaints relating to the citizenship verification process. The commission also said the government should clarify the rights of those whose citizenship application is not accepted.

The Commission also notes the need to revisit the law itself and calls on the government to set in motion a process to review the law, in order to bring it in line with international standards, the report said.

We are well aware that our recommendations on citizenship and freedom of movement tough on profound concerns of the Rakhine population. Nevertheless, the commission has chosen to squarely face these sensitive issues because we believe that if they are let to fester, the future of Rakhine State  and indeed Myanmar as a whole  will be irretrievably jeopardized, said Mr Annan.

However, already objections have been raised.

Daw Khin Saw Wai, a Pyithu Hluttaw MP from Rakhines Rathedaung township constituency, said there is no way an amendment of the 1982 Citizenship Law will be accepted.

We must object to [the] recommendation to amend this law. We cant amend it. If we amend it, all the Bengalis in the Rakhine State will become citizens. As a party [representative], a member of parliament, and a [Rakhine] woman, I object to this. An attempt to effectively implement this will be met with confrontation from us, she said.

Regarding socio-economic reforms, the advisory commission highlighted the need to boost livelihood opportunities and invest heavily in infrastructure including roads, waterways, jetties, electricity, drinking water and internet provision to improve the outlook for all residents in the countrys poorest state.

The wide-ranging recommendations also touched upon the need to improve inter-communal relations, media freedom, healthcare access, security issues, the bilateral relationship with Bangladesh, cultural opportunities in listing Mrauk-U as a heritage site and closing internally displaced persons camps.

Mr Annan emphasized at the press conference that implementing the recommendations is up to the government, and that as an advisory body, the commission does not have an enforcement mechanism.

A statement from the Stat Counsellors Office released on August 25, pledged to carry out the recommendations to the fullest extent, and within the shortest timeframe possible, in line with the situation on the ground, with a full roadmap for implementation expected to be released in the coming weeks.
Four wholesalers- Metro Sefalana Cash and Carry Limited, Trans Africa (Pty) Ltd, Trident Holdings (Pty) Ltd and Trade World (Pty) Ltd - have been summoned to appear before the Competition Authority for possible resale price maintenance with their banner group members.

Competition Authority Director of Legal and Enforcement, Duncan Morotsi said these wholesalers have contravened Section 26 (1) of the Competition Act which states that an enterprise shall not enter into a vertical agreement with another business enterprise to the extent that the agreement involves resale price maintenance.

The Competition Authority conducted a Competitive Analysis of the Retail and Wholesale Sector Study in 2013 and concluded that there was anti-competitive conduct between these four wholesalers and their banner group members in contravention of section 26 (1) of the Act by entering into vertical agreements through resale price maintenance in the fast moving consumer goods market with their banner group members.





The Authority in its investigation found that the wholesalers all issued their banner group members with pamphlets but did not make it clear that the prices were not binding on them and there was no reflection that the prices indicated on the pamphlets were just recommended prices. The banner group members were therefore selling the goods at the prices indicated on the pamphlets, said Morotsi.

The Authority states that in terms of the law, a minimum resale price may be set provided it is made clear that the price is not binding on the seller and the product has the recommended price stated on it or the words recommended price reflected next to the price.

Appearing before the Competition Commission on Tuesday, Trident Holding Representative, Jane Cross requested to be given 30 days to work on the problem and reach an amicable solution with the Competition Authority.

We have been engaging with the Competition Authority so we thought there was no need for us to appear before the Commission since we have been in an engagement with The Authority. So in this case we request to be given time to work on our issue and reach an amicable solution with the Competition Authority, she said.

All the respondents have requested to be given a 30 day period to work on their problems and reach an amicable settlement with the Competition Authority.

Competition Commission Chairman, Onkemetse Tshosa agreed with the Competition Authority to give them 30 days to work on their cases on the condition that they will reach a settlement with the Authority against the contravention.

Sefalana, Trans Africa and Trident Holdings have been given 30 days while Trade World was left pending as its representative Isaac Seloko, was not recognised as a lawyer because he referred himself as both the lawyer and consultant in the case.

Through its applications before the Commission, the Authority is seeking an order declaring that the Wholesalers have contravened section 26 (1) of the Act, an order declaring each Wholesaler liable for payment of an administrative penalty equal to 10 percent of annual turnover in terms of section 43 (4) of the Act and an order for the Wholesalers to cease and desist from engaging in prohibited practices in contravention of the Act.

Sefalana Group

Sefalana has 18 supermarkets under the retail name Shoppers, 25 Cash and Carry outlets trading under the name Sefalana Cash and Carry, three Hyper Stores located in Gaborone, Francistown and Mahalapye trading as Sefalana Hyper Store and a cigarette distribution outlet trading as Capital Tobacco. The group has more than 400 banner group members.

According to Competition Authority analysis, the group entered into vertical agreements through resale price maintenance in the fast moving consumer goods market with their banner group members being Super Deal and Super 7.

Trident Holdings contravened through Big 11, Trans Africa with 3 Square while Trade World contravened Sec 26 (1) of the Competition Act through Trade Deal.
African Cyber Security - an Information and Technology company - will host the 3rd Annual Cyber Crime Conference in Gaborone October 18th to discuss the increasing threat of cyber crime across the globe.

The event will be held under the theme: Prepare, Prevent, Prosecute. African Cyber Security digital marketer, Louisa Irojiogu, said in a statement that poor cyber security is increasingly impacting on all levels of society, nationally, locally and everyone is at risk of the threat.

With a few strokes of a keyboard, nation states, terrorist groups, stateless organisations and rogue individuals can launch a cyber attack from anywhere, at any time, disrupting and damaging our democracy and way of life, reads part of the statement.





Irojiogu said the conferences mission is to establish a multi-stakeholder consortium that brings together industry, government and academic nterests in an effort to improve the state of cyber security on both a domestic and international level.

She stated that attending delegates from the public and private sectors will bring together thought leaders from industry, government and academia.

Our audience is designed to reflect the growing challenge that cyber security poses by no longer being contained within the realm of IT. Chief executives, technology leaders, public policy makers, attorneys, the judiciary, forward thinking business owners, and end users will join us at the conference this year, she said.

Irojiogu said they have secured some of the worlds leading speakers in the field of cyber crime, cyber risk and cyber security.

The speakers include Bill Wright, Director of Government Affairs and Senior Policy Council - Symantec who will be speaking on threat overview and Dr Christiaan Roos, an industry leading specialist in the field of IT auditing and cyber risk.

Another speaker, Dr James Grant, will share on how inadequate laws present challenges for successful prosecution. Also coming is Laurie Pieters-James, a forensic criminologist, to share on various issues that include internal threat.

A cyber crime expert from the FBI will address the Investigation of Cyber Crime from an international Perspective.
Six auditing firms in Botswana had their licences withdrawn in the past 18 months for professional misconduct, Botswana Guardian has learnt.

The Botswana Accountancy Oversight Authority (BAOA) chief executive officer (CEO), Duncan Majinda said they revoked practising certificates of six companies five of which were guilty of professional misconduct and providing substandard work.

We have withdrawn six practising certificates from six auditing companies in Botswana for the past 18 months and thats how harsh we are. We do not want games when it comes to protecting public interest, said Majinda at last weeks Botswana Pension Society Trustee seminar.





He said the decision was taken in a bid to protect the image of the accounting profession. If you are an accountant and you perform below standard and we discover that during our financial statement monitoring review we are empowered to fine you P20 000 on the spot before I even go to your supervisor or your chief executive or board because we want the public to have confidence in the accounting profession, said Majinda, whose organisation is an independent oversight body of the accounting and auditing profession in the country.

Majinda said they want to ensure that the professional standards are adhered to and the set statutes abided by. Auditors should be the people that we should rely on but if they behave unethically or commit what is called professional misconduct, we will withdraw their practising certificates, he said.

BAOA was established through the Financial Reporting Act, 2010 with the principal objective of providing oversight to accounting and auditing services and to promote Standard, Quality and Credibility of providing financial and non-financial information by entities, including Public Interest Entities (PIEs).

One of the delegates at the seminar however complained that the industry is over regulated. He said there were too many regulators in the industry doing the same thing. However Majinda defended their stance saying there is need to regulate and protect public interest and ensure that PIEs comply with international financial reporting standards.

The former Botswana Institute of Chartered Accountants chief executive officer added that regulation is critical, adding that there are many incidences of corporate failure that happened in the United States where people lost millions of dollars after a trustee company collapsed.

He said the collapse of those companies was due to inadequate oversight over accountants and auditors hence the need to thoroughly monitor auditing companies.
Commercial banks are as fit as a fiddle, this is the message that Bank of Botswana top bankers sent out to inquisitive journalists this week after reports surfaced that the sector might be headed for another liquidity crisis.

Last month, Econsults quarterly research bulletin suggested that the banks are once again struggling to generate loanable funds. At a Press briefing this Tuesday, Director of Research and Financial Stability, Dr Tshokologo Kganetsano said there is no need to panic as the sector is still strong.

The sector, which is half the size of the economy, nearly collapsed on its knees two years ago, after it emerged that banks ability to lend fresh loans were limited on the backdrop of a liquidity squeeze, forcing the central bank to inject more funds to keep the industry afloat.





Banks are not broke. They are still able to lend, he said, adding that even if deposits for banks fall, some of the banks have issued bonds whose proceeds they are using to prop-up their lending capacity.

In their report, Econsult which is directed by former Deputy Governor, Dr Keith Jefferies, pointed out that banks are on shaky grounds. Worryingly, there are increasing signs of stress in the banking system, on a number of fronts.

First, banking liquidity has been falling steadily for some time, but the decline has been particularly sharp since the beginning of 2017. Excess liquidity fell to 2.6 percent of banking assets in April, the lowest since the liquidity crisis of late 2014, said the report.

Kganetsano made it clear that if indeed the banking sector was in a liquidity crisis, the central bank would have relaxed further the Primary Reserve Requirement (PRR) to unlock further cash into the sector.

In 2015, BoB under Linah Mohohlo was forced to avoid embarrassing liquidity squeeze by cutting the banks PRR by half to release P2, 3 billion to bail out the sector which is controlled by British and South African banks.

Some of the local banks have their funds deployed with their parent banks, which can be readily used if the local banks are unable to generate loanable funds.

At the same Press briefing that was meant to announce the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) bank rate decision, the central bank was forced to move away from tradition and had Kganetsano present on the liquidity levels in the sector.

He stated that as of June 2017, the highest liquidity level at one of the banks stood at P2 billion whilst the lowest was P23 million. For a small bank, P23 million is a huge amount, he stressed.

Some of the smaller banks in Botswana include State Bank of India, Capital Bank and Bank of Baroda. Larger banks include Barclays Bank Botswana, First National Bank Botswana, Standard Chartered Botswana and Stanbic Bank Botswana, one of which could have had P2 billion as free cash in the above period (June 2017).

Meanwhile, Governor Moses Pelaelo explained that, as far as they are concerned no customer has been turned away by any bank citing lack of funds to lend them. In fact, the central bank has been using various instruments to mop up excess liquidity which shows that banks are still sound and safe.

We dont have any liquidity crisis, Kganetsano stressed. Nonetheless, central bank made it clear that liquidity is not the same as in the past when diamonds sales were up and government spending was also on the rise. Remember, liquidity changes every time, he added.

In the same statement that announced that lending rate has been maintained at 5, 5 percent for the fourth time this year, the central bank added that, the potential for banks to expand credit provision continues to be supported by a stable financial system and sufficient liquidity in the banking system.

Pelaelo, who read the MPC decision this week, said the level of BoBCs and balances held by banks abroad in part represent excess liquidity which is available for lending. According to the central bank, annual increase to commercial bank credit leapfrogged by 4, 1 percent in June 2017, compared to 7 and 5 percent the year before.

Lending to private businesses expanded by 9, 5 percent up from 7, 5 percent the previous corresponding period. Household credit grew by 5 percent as compared to 12 percent in June 2016.
The US has slapped sweeping financial sanctions on Venezuela, barring banks from any new financial deals with the government or state-run oil giant PDVSA.

The sanctions President Donald Trump signed by executive order are bound to dramatically escalate tensions between Venezuela and the Washington and exacerbate the country's economic crisis.

The White House said the measures "are carefully calibrated to deny the Maduro dictatorship a critical source of financing to maintain its illegitimate rule, protect the United States financial system from complicity in Venezuela's corruption and in the impoverishment of the Venezuelan people, and allow for humanitarian assistance".

The new actions prohibit dealings in new debt and equity issued by the government of Venezuela and its state oil company.

It also prohibits dealings in certain existing bonds owned by the Venezuelan public sector, as well as dividend payments to the government of Venezuela.

The sanctions stop short of cutting off US imports of Venezuelan oil that are crucial to Venezuela's economy and US oil refiners.

US vice president Mike Pence had signalled the upcoming move earlier, tweeting that the US "will not stand by as Venezuela crumbles".

"The birthright of the Venezuelan people has always been and will always be libertad," he wrote, using the Spanish word for freedom.

Last month the Trump administration promised to take strong economic actions if President Nicolas Maduro's increasingly authoritarian government went ahead with plans to create a constitutional assembly comprised of government loyalists.

Since the assembly has been seated, the 545 delegates have voted by acclamation to oust the nation's outspoken chief prosecutor, take power from the opposition-controlled congress and create a "truth commission" that many fear will be used to target opponents.

Several prominent opposition mayors have been removed or ordered arrested by the pro-government supreme court.

The new economic sanctions are likely to worsen a crisis that has already seen the oil-dependent economy shrink by around 35% since 2014 - more than the US economy did during the Great Depression.

Mr Maduro, who is among 30 seniors officials already barred from the US, seemed almost resigned to sanctions.

He warned this week that the Trump administration was readying a "commercial, oil and financial blockade" in the mould of the one that punished Cuba for decades. He said it would be meant to pave the way for a US military intervention.

"The economic measures the US government is preparing will worsen Venezuela's economic situation," he told foreign journalists on Tuesday, vowing to protect the population from the worst effects of any sanctions.

During a Latin America tour this month, Mr Pence downplayed Mr Trump's recent talk of a "military option" for Venezuela while repeatedly raising the spectre of sanctions.

He did so again on Wednesday in a meeting in Miami with several leading opposition exiles.

David Smilde, a Tulane University sociologist who has spent decades researching Venezuela, said blanket sanctions that immediately cut off the government's cash flow and hurt the population are likely to strengthen Mr Maduro in the short term.

"It will bolster his discourse that Venezuela is the target of an economic war," said Mr Smilde.

But with Venezuela's streets calmer than they have been for months, and the opposition still reeling from its failure to prevent the constitutional assembly from going forward, action from an increasingly concerned international community represents the best chance of reining in Mr Maduro, he added.

The president is already struggling to combat widespread shortages and triple-digit inflation as oil production - the economy's lifeblood - has tumbled to its lowest level in more than two decades.

Any economic sanctions, however mild, increase the risk Venezuela will default on its ballooning debt.

- PA
Eoghan McDermott has revealed he will be giving his spare room out to a student who is struggling to find accommodation in Dublin.

The gesture comes as part of Peita Houses and Live Lifes new campaign, the Sound Effect.
If youve been living under a rock for the last month you may not have heard of Mick Konstantin.

The Kildare native who hit the big time with his song about Conor McGregor.
Update 8.18pm:The Taoiseach says it's extraordinary that nobody was killed or injured in the Donegal floods.

Leo Varadkar has been visiting areas worst affected by Tuesday nights wild weather.

The cost of the clean-up operation won't be known until the full extent of the destruction has been assessed.

Up to 500 homes have been damaged in the northwest this week.

On his visits to the flood-hit areas, the Taoiseach said, "I think you have to see it to understand the scale of damage that's been done.

"What really occurs to me is that it's just extraordinary that nobody was killed or seriously injured and I think we are blessed that nobody was injured or killed."

Update 5pm: The Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has flown into flood-hit areas of Donegal by Army helicopter.

Arriving in Inishowen Mr Varadkar witnessed first-hand the devastation caused by the storm.

He met with a number of people whose homes were severely damaged in the floods and those involved in the major clean-up operation.

An inter-departmental meeting on the floods in Donegal took place today in the Custom House. Statement is at https://t.co/pW5ZG6mc5a pic.twitter.com/gJIznateeV  Department of Housing, Local Government & Heritage (@DeptHousingIRL) August 25, 2017

It is estimated that as many as 500 homes could have been affected by the severe flooding in Donegal alone.

Several roads and bridges are still badly damaged after collapsing in the storm.

Soldiers were deployed to the county on Friday to assist Donegal County Council with the clean-up in the badly hit areas of Inishowen and Burnfoot.

Minister of State with Responsibility for Flood Relief Kevin Moran described the area as a "disaster zone".

Following an inter-departmental meeting to co-ordinate a response to this week's events, Mr Moran pleaded with insurance companies not to blacklist areas devastated by flooding.

He added that it was too early to put a cost on the clean-up operation.

Michael D'Arcy TD, Minister of State for Financial Services, said that every possible assistance will be provided to those affected.

Many parts of the North West suffered severe flood damage in Tuesday night's freak rainfall.

Officials from the Departments of Transport, Social Protection and Environment as well as the Office of Public Works (OPW) met on Friday to discuss the best way to support Donegal County Council.

An emergency humanitarian support scheme is to be put in place for small businesses, community, voluntary and sporting organisations to deal with the effects of the flooding.

The scheme will be administered by the Red Cross with funding provided by central Government.

Financial support under the Department of Employment and Social Protection's Humanitarian Assistance Scheme is available for things such as clothing and food for households directly impacted.

People in need of assistance are being advised to visit the local Intreo Centre where the Department's Community Welfare Service Teams are waiting to assist them.

Those unable to travel to the offices can contact Buncrana Intreo office on (074) 9364600 or Ballybofey Intreo on (074) 9130490.

Update: 11.52am Residents in Donegal affected by flooding are being reassured that Red Cross funding grants will be made available to them.

Hundreds of houses have been damaged in devastating flooding in the northwest.

Following an inter-departmental meeting, Donegal County Council has been told that whatever funding is required will be provided by the government.

As some residents are provided with emergency funds following Tuesdays storm, the damage across the north west is laid bare pic.twitter.com/0yr30imzTG  RTE News (@rtenews) August 24, 2017

Minister with responsibility for flooding Kevin Boxer Moran is pleading with insurance companies to continue to provide cover for those affected;

"One man I was speaking to from Donegal last night rang his insurance company and they told him 'sorry you are so close to the river you are now not insured,'" he said.

"That is another issue that is cropping up and people are paying their insurance, the insurance company needs to be clear in their understanding, they're sending out documentation pages long and people don't read everything that is in the small print.

"We need to start working with the insurance coming and I ask and plead with insurance companies not to black list people."

Flood victim Bernie Kearney, described her frightening ordeal at her home in Urris in County Donegal during when her house was washed away.

"The house was coming after me, I tried to ring people but I couldn't get through to anyone," she said.

"I couldn't see anything, the lights had gone out everything was blacked out."

Two status yellow weather warnings are in place for much of the country today.

Met Eireann has forecast further heavy showers and long spells of rain today.

Meteorologist Matthew Martinhas said some parts of the country will experience poor weather throughout the afternoon.

"We have a yellow warning in place today until this evening with further heavy showers expected to affect Donegal, Sligo, Roscommon, Leitrim and Cavan," he said.

"Some of these will be heavier and more persistent across the border.

"The good news is that these showers will clear away this evening and the weekend looks to be largely dry with just a few showers."

National response to northwest flooding to be discussed https://t.co/BEN1HrbTyZ pic.twitter.com/G9wgtbcXue  RTE News (@rtenews) August 25, 2017

Earlier: The Army has been called in to assist with the major clean up operation in Donegal.

Members of the Defence Force will arrive in Inishowen at 9 o'clock this morning

Around 250 houses were damaged, while up to 6 bridges and a number of roads were washed away following heavy rainfall on Tuesday night while more rain is forecast for today.

Minister for Defence Paul Kehoe is visiting the county today he has said the defence forces will work alongside Donegal County Council.

Sinkhole at Quigleys Point in Northern Donegal.

"Thirty members of the Irish Defence forces will be deployed today to help with the clean up," he said.

"They will be assisted by Donegal County Council and they will work under the coordination of the Council on what needs and what is required in the area."

Meanwhile, the Taoiseaqch Leo Varadkar has said he is shocked at the extensive damage caused by wild weather in Donegal.

In a video message, he sympathised with those affected and told locals in Donegal of the help available to them.

Hundreds of people whose lives have been decimated by extensive flooding across Co Donegal have been told that "money won't be an obstacle."

Ministers Shane Ross, Kevin Boxer Moran and Joe McHugh all visited families whose lives have been turned upside-down by the freak weather episode.

An emergency meeting of Inishowen Municipal Authority was held yesterday in a bid to tackle the ongoing crisis and to form a plan to help families.

Donegal County Council staff told councillors as well as Ministers Joe McHugh and Boxer Moran that the local authority would not be found wanting when it came to helping families get back on their feet.

The councils Director of Services for Roads and Transportation, John McLaughlin, said Money wont be an obstacle here. We will do our best. We will not hold back. We have a responsibility to this area.

The meeting was told that a total of 17 families have been left homeless by the flooding which rocked the peninsula but especially Carndonagh, Burnfoot, Muff, Buncrana, Cockhill, Clonmany and Quigleys Point.

Aideen Doherty, the area manager for Housing and Corporate Services, confirmed the list of homeless families.

A total of 17 families have presented as homeless to the Council and we are continuing to work with them. We have offered B&B services, but most are staying with close family and friends. We are in constant dialogue with these people.

Our initial responders ensured that families were brought to safety and we had staff on the ground from around 6.30 in the evening.

No cost has yet been put on the overall damage caused to infrastructure and buildings following Tuesday nights devastation.

Humanitarian Assistance Scheme activated for people affected by Donegal floods https://t.co/r4FwnnkfyL pic.twitter.com/SBj2XQLYAE  RTE News (@rtenews) August 24, 2017

A spokesman for Donegal County Council said The Council are continuing to assess the extent of the damage to the Inishowen area and figures regarding the cost of the destruction are not available at this time.

However, many fear a repeat of Tuesday nights flash flooding could strike again soon.

Met Eireann have issued a status yellow rainfall warning for Donegal as heavy rain is expected to strike the county again.

This story first appeared in the Irish Examiner.
There are calls for tourists to be managed properly in Dublin.

Independent Cllr Mannix Flynn has said it is high time the city council takes control over the capital's 'choc-a-bloc' streets.
The operator of a care home ordered to shut down by inspectors has vowed to keep its doors open.

Runwood Homes, which owns the Ashbrooke home in Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh, said it would pursue "all legal remedies" to keep it running.

Northern Ireland's health watchdog, the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA), ordered the home's closure last week citing serious concerns over the risk to life, health and well-being of residents. It was the first time the RQIA has taken such immediate action to shut a facility in the region.

As it stands, new accommodation will have to be found for its 40 residents, 39 of whom are NHS clients of the Western Health and Social Care Trust.

It is understood some may have to be relocated as far away as Londonderry.

Gavin O'Hare-Connolly, group operations director for Runwood Homes, claimed the residents' families wanted the home kept opened.

"In a meeting at the home last night, families said they fully supported our decision to work with the Western Trust and RQIA to retain a residential facility at Ashbrooke," he said.

"They asked me to underline that despite recent issues, they are satisfied with the care their loved ones have received and the dedication of our staff.

"We are humbled by their support and our aim now is to continue providing the very best care we can on that site.

"On behalf of the company, I wish to express once again our sincere apologies to the residents, their families and the staff for the management failures that resulted in the RQIA's action against Ashbrooke Care Home.

"As the newly appointed group operations director, my priority in the last week was to bring in our national health and safety team to conduct a complete review of all our facilities in Northern Ireland. We did so in conjunction with the RQIA, which has given all of them a clean bill of health.

"My focus now is to respond positively to requests from our Enniskillen families to continue caring for elderly residents in their own community.

"This is a duty and responsibility we take very seriously and we will explore every avenue to try and make that happen."

AP
A major crisis in the Leader programme is looming according to Fianna Fail.

The party's rural affairs spokesperson is warning too much red tape is crippling the programme.

Eamon O'Cuiv has said only 100,000 of an available 200,000,000 has been spent, three years into the current scheme.

He is urging the government to be more proactive in rolling out these projects to protect and develop rural communities.

"The whole programme has become hugely bureaucratic, there is something like 18 steps now to approve a project and this means it's much slower than what it was in the past to approve projects under the Leader programme," he said.
Gardai in Ballymun have issued an appeal for information on the two cars used by the gunmen who shot dead an innocent mother-of-six and a young locksmith there last week.

Antoinette Corbally was shot on Wednesday, August 16,several times at the front of her home on Balbutcher Drive as the intended target, her convicted gunman brother Derek Devoy, fled the scene.

The second victim was Clinton Shannon, a locksmith from Swords, Dublin, who was hit by a number of bullets as he sat in a car on the street outside the property.

Detective Superintendent Colm Fox, Senior Investigating Officer, today thanked the Ballymun community for their help in the investigation.

He said: "We have had an excellent response to our last appeal for information which is greatly assisting the investigation. I am endeavouring to establish the prior whereabouts of two vehicles used in the commission of the murders of Antoinette Corbally and Clinton Shannon at Balbutcher Drive on the 16th of August."

He said the first of the cars is a silver Opel Zafira with a registration number - 08 LS 3101.

Before to the murders, Gardai say the car was parked beside a building site at the junction of Balbutcher Lane and Balbutcher Drive in Ballymun for at least an hour.

Det. Supt Fox said: "From this vantage point the occupants had a clear view of the location where the murders took place.

"When the intended target of the gunmen drove into Balbutcher Drive, the Opel Zafira car lefts its vantage point and followed the intended target to the location of the murders.

"The intended target escaped injury, however two innocent persons were murdered and two others were injured."

Gardai are asking if anyone notice this car parked at this junction beside the building site on the day of the murder or on any other day.

Det. Supt Fox continued: "The occupants abandoned the Opel car and fled the scene on foot through bollards at the end of Balbutcher Drive onto Crannoge Terrace.

"A black golf registration number 06-LH-3466 was waiting for them here and drove them away.

"It travelled across Ballymun in the direction of Ikea, on through the Northwood business, retail and housing development and on into Santry Close where it was set on fire."

He said the cars were bought in the weeks leading up to the murders.

He said: "I am asking members of the public to contact us if indeed they did see these cars parked up anywhere or even similar type cars.

"Parking spaces in apartment complexes, housing estates, and other parking areas are at a premium. Was your parking spot or a neighbours blocked by either of these cars or similar cars or indeed any car for any length of time?

"Any information you may have, no matter how insignificant it might seem to be to you, could be very important to the investigation"

Gardai said anyone information can contact them at:

Ballymun Garda Station 01-6664400

Garda Confidential line 1800666111

e-Mail: Ballymun_Incident_Room@garda.ie

Any Garda Station.
Survivors of Magdalene laundries, and their relatives, have relived the horrors of rape, abuse and lost lives as they renewed calls for a memorial and full redress.

A rally was held off Sean McDermott Street in Dublin, the site of the last Catholic workhouse to be shut, a fortnight after a damning United Nations report criticising the Government for failing to live up to commitments to the women.

It is four years since former taoiseach Enda Kenny apologised to those incarcerated in the laundries and their families.

Angela Downey, who was born in Castlepollard Mother and Baby Home after her mother Mary had been raped and was sent to a laundry, called for the name of every woman who toiled in the institutions to be immortalised in stone.

Pressing her hand against the crumbling back wall of the workhouse run by the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity, she said: "My mother spent 15 years in the laundries.

Angela Downey.

"The children weren't recognised at all. We weren't entitled to anything.

"They should do something for us now. They should recognise the mothers and the children."

The survivors are also seeking a special day of commemoration be set aside to remember all those affected by the laundries.

Despite Dr Martin McAleese reporting in 2013 on the State's role in Magdalene Laundries, the UN said the Government ignored its call to investigate allegations of ill treatment against the tens of thousands of women in the Catholic workhouses, or to prosecute perpetrators of abuse and ensure that victims are compensated.

It noted that 25.5m has been paid to 677 women who spent time in the laundries.

But the UN said the Government should ensure that any woman who was put in a Magdalene workhouse has the right to sue, even if they have been granted redress.

Mary Merritt was raped by a priest after fleeing from the Highpark reformatory and laundry in Drumcondra, Dublin in 1955 and seeking food and refuge in the Archbishop's Palace.

Mary Merritt, 86, with her "saviour" and husband of 52 years William outside the Sean McDermott Street Magdalene Laundry in Dublin today.

"How we survived I do not know. I'm 86 now," she said.

"I'm still fighting and I will keep fighting them. I will represent the women as long as there is breath in my body."

Mrs Merritt fled to Bayswater in London in 1964 and has been married to William, a former Royal Marine, for 52 years.

The daughter she gave birth to in Navan Road Mother and Baby Home is "happy and married" in Dublin.

Mrs Merritt has given her account to the UN.

Her life in Catholic-run institutions in Ireland began when she was two and she was put into an industrial school in Clifden, Co Galway.

She was moved to Ballinasloe and confrontation with nuns resulted in her hitting a sister in the face with a hockey stick before she was sent to Dublin.

"It was diabolical. I was 17. My name was Attracta. We got little or no food," she said.

"We were praying all the time. We never knew when it was our birthdays.

"If you did anything wrong you were put down in the hole."

Several dozen people, including survivors, their relatives and campaigners, attended the rally organised by Dublin Honours Magdalenes and supported by Justice for Magdalenes and the National Women's Council of Ireland.

Spokeswoman Ashley Perry said: "We demand the state gives redress in full."

Ms Perry called for women to be consulted on a memorial. "The women are getting older. They need to see justice in their lifetime," she said.
British officials feared closing Irish border roads using explosives during the Troubles would distress and harm local residents, newly-disclosed records showed.

They were prepared to compensate those whose homes were damage from blasts intended to reassert control and hamper the movement of paramilitaries in staunchly republican areas between Northern Ireland and the Republic.

The intervention was seen by unionists as a symbol of firm and vigorous action to uphold the law by the security forces after local people reopened closed routes against the state's wishes, official British documents written in 1989 showed.

One Northern Ireland Office (NIO) civil servant wrote: "It may well be...that the use of explosives will cause real harm and distress to the locals.

"It is equally arguable that so far from causing distress etc, the Protestant population in South Fermanagh, for instance, will be reassured by the use of explosives."

The discussion came after border community associations, in which Sinn Fein members participated, were responsible for reopening many roads.

The original NIO suggestion to have those whose properties were damaged sue the associations because of their illegal activities instead of the government was unlikely to be upheld by a court and could rebound politically, officials calculated.

One wrote: "If my front window in Co Monaghan was blown in by the actions of the British Army, I would be off to my TD quicker than you could say Anglo Irish Agreement if I were told that I had to sue Martin McGuinness before I could get my hands on the moolah.

"All our experiences of house searches etc suggest that the best way of minimising conflict with the local population is for the man with the chequebook to turn up as rapidly as possible.

"Also, to be frank, even if my solicitor told me I did have a case against Mr McGuinness, I might think twice before suing him.

"I am told he has devoted and persuasive friends."

The future of the frontier is part of Brexit negotiations.

But the compensation culture was well ingrained in 1989 and a real factor when considering whether property would be damaged by explosions, files released by the Public Record Office Northern Ireland (PRONI) showed.

One civil servant wrote: "Claiming compensation is an art form on both sides of the border and more explosions are planned."

AP
Today may be known worldwide as the day Taylor Swift returned but to most of us on these shores its the day Picture This released their self titled debut album.

Yes, thats right - our favourite Kildare duo managed to sell out a gig in Dublins 3Arena in three minutes, with an extra date due to demand, without an album released.
A 13-year-old has been found guilty of raping a 12-year-old boy as he made his way to school.

The teenager, who cannot be named because of his age, snatched the boy as he walked through Roe Green Park in Kingsbury, Brent, north-west London on the morning of May 16.

He kicked and stamped on his victim who was raped and forced to perform sex acts in a 30-minute ordeal, Willesden Youth Court was told.

When the victim was released just after 9.30am, the boy ran to school where teachers called 999.

The 13-year-old was himself an hour late for school, telling his teachers that he had been in the park with some friends and "didn't know where the time had gone".

He was arrested when police matched CCTV footage of him arriving at school to the description given by the victim.

Prosecutor Charles Royale said: "A DNA match was taken from the underwear he was wearing that matched both him and the victim. The Crown say that it's a compelling case with evidence so that you can be sure of his guilt."

The victim also picked his attacker out of an identity parade.

The 13-year-old denied the attack but refused to answer questions in his police interview and refused to give evidence at trial.

He also asked that none of his family members be present in court and was instead supported only by a social worker and an intermediary to help him with any legal language he didn't understand.

Today, District Judge Mark Jabbitt found the boy guilty of one count of rape of a child under 13, one count of inciting a child under 13 in to sexual activity and one count of kidnap.

The court heard that the victim was slight for his age, and Judge Jabbitt said that the defendant may have deliberately targeted him because of his size.

Adjourning sentence until October 2, Judge Jabbitt said: "I think this defendant is unable to admit to himself or his family that he committed this violent sexual attack but the evidence that he did so is overwhelming.

"I'm satisfied he knew the victim was under 13, and I'm satisfied he singled him out precisely because he was so small and vulnerable."

He ordered that a pre-sentence report be prepared while the boy's defence barrister, Susan Wright, asked that a psychiatric report also be prepared.

The boy was remanded in custody ahead of sentencing.
A man has been arrested outside Buckingham Palace on suspicion of grievous bodily harm and assault after two officers were injured, Scotland Yard said.

Scotland Yard said the officers suffered minor injuries in the course of arresting the man tonight.
A man has been shot by soldiers in the centre of Brussels, after he attacked them with a knife.

The man is alive - but is said to be in a critical condition.
Ten civilians including three children have been killed in a raid by US-backed Somali forces on a farm in southern Somalia, a deputy governor said, as officials displayed victims' bloodied bodies in the capital.

The raid came as the US military steps up efforts against the Somalia-based extremist group al-Shabab.

Somalia's information ministry said eight al-Shabab fighters were killed in the operation and that no civilians were harmed.

But Ali Nur Mohamed, deputy governor of Lower Shabelle region, told reporters in Mogadishu the farmers were killed "one by one" after soldiers stormed the farm in Barire village.

Three children aged eight to 10 and a woman were among the dead, he said, calling the attack a "real genocide".

Their blanket-wrapped bodies were laid out in a grassy courtyard for display.

"These local farmers were attacked by foreign troops while looking after their crops," the deputy governor told reporters. "The troops could have arrested them because they were unarmed but instead shot them one by one mercilessly."

Al-Shabab, which has become the deadliest Islamic extremist group in Africa, holds vast areas of rural Somalia after being chased out of major cities in recent years by a multinational African Union force and Somali troops.

The group continues to threaten the fragile central government and carry out deadly attacks in neighbouring countries, notably Kenya.

Earlier this year, US President Donald Trump approved expanded military operations against al-Shabab, including more aggressive air strikes and considering parts of southern Somalia areas of active hostilities.

The US and Somalia in recent weeks said strikes have killed al-Shabab leaders responsible for planning and executing deadly attacks in Mogadishu, where high-profile areas such as hotels and military checkpoints are often targeted with deadly bombings.

AP
Mobs have rampaged across an Indian town, leaving 12 people dead and buildings in flames, after a court declared a quasi-religious sect leader guilty of raping two of his followers, according to officials.

Security forces used water cannons in an attempt to disperse the crowd as more than 15,000 paramilitary troops and police officers were deployed in the town of Panchkula, near Chandigarh.

The violence has left at least 12 dead and more than 100 injured, according to VK Bansal, chief medical officer at the state-run Panchkula Civil Hospital.

Mobs set fire to government buildings and attacked police and TV journalists, smashing the windscreens of media vans and breaking broadcast equipment.

The special court had announced a guilty verdict after hearing closing arguments in the 15-year-old case against the guru, who calls himself Saint Dr Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Ji Insaan.

File photo of Indian spiritual guru, who calls himself Saint Dr Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Ji Insan.

Ram Rahim Singh - who had denied raping the two women at his ashram in 2002 - was taken into custody and is to be held in a jail in the nearby town of Rohtak in Haryana state until his sentencing hearing on Monday, prosecutors said.

Panchkula administrators had feared that a guilty verdict would trigger violence among the tens of thousands of followers who had camped overnight awaiting the verdict.

Violence also broke out in several places across the neighbouring states of Haryana and Punjab, police said. Railway stations in the towns of Malout and Balluana were ablaze, and two coaches of an empty train parked in New Delhi's Anand Vihar station were also set on fire.

Angry mobs attacked police in the town of Sirsa, where the guru's ashram is located, according to local police.

The guru's Dera Sacha Sauda sect claims to have 50 million followers and campaigns for vegetarianism and against drug addiction. It has also taken up social causes such as organising the weddings of poor couples.

Such sects have huge followings in India, and it is not unusual for leaders to have small, heavily armed private militias protecting them.

When the guru left his ashram in Sirsa for the hearing, he was accompanied by a 100-vehicle convoy.

Police had erected heavy metal barricades topped with barbed wire along main roads in Panchkula, a quiet residential suburb of Chandigarh, which is the common capital of Haryana and Punjab states.

Soldiers plan to march through the streets later to project a sense of security, officials said.

Authorities ordered internet and mobile phone services shut down across Haryana and Punjab as a security precaution.

Train services were cancelled through the area, leading to delays across northern India, and schools and colleges were closed.

The case was tried in a special court run by India's top agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation.

Such cases have prompted public violence in the past.

Clashes in 2007 between Dera Sacha Sauda followers and members of the Sikh faith left at least three people dead in northern India.

In 2014, six people were killed when followers of another religious leader, guru Rampal, fought pitched battles with police who were attempting to arrest him for contempt of court after he repeatedly failed to appear in court in connection with a murder trial.

In a televised appeal on Thursday, Ram Rahim Singh had asked his supporters not to resort to violence, but some said they would not tolerate a verdict that went against their leader.

AP
A Volkswagen engineer who had a key role in the diesel emissions scandal has been sentenced to more than three years in prison and a 200,000 dollar (155,000) fine, a steeper punishment than prosecutors had requested.

Robert Liang, 63, knew the German car maker was cheating and worked to cover it up, US District Court Judge Sean Cox said during the sentencing hearing in Detroit. The judge imposed a 40-month prison sentence.

"The conspiracy perpetrated a massive and stunning fraud on the American consumer that attacked and destroyed the very foundation of our economic system," Judge Cox said.

Liang, who faces deportation to Germany on his release from prison, declined to speak on his own behalf on Friday. Prosecutors had requested a 36-month prison term and a 20,000 dollar (15,500) fine.

Prosecutors said Liang was aware that VW used software to cheat US emission rules on nearly 600,000 diesel vehicles. His lawyer said he is not "greedy or immoral" but followed orders to keep his job and support his family.

"What occurred here was wrong," Daniel Nixon said. "But he wasn't the mastermind. He was not motivated by greed."

Liang pleaded guilty last year to one count of conspiracy to defraud the government and agreed to co-operate with investigators. He had asked the judge to consider a sentence of probation and 1,500 hours of community service.

He is one of two VW employees to plead guilty, although others charged in the case are in Germany and out of reach.

Volkswagen and US environmental regulators announced agreement last month on a plan for the firm to fix most of the diesel cars involved in the emissions cheating scandal.

Volkswagen has admitted the cars were sold with illegal software programmed to turn on emissions controls during government lab tests and turn them off while on the road.

Investigators found that the cars emitted more than 40 times the legal limit of nitrogen oxide, which can cause respiratory problems.

The company got away with the scheme for seven years until independent researchers reported it to government regulators.

AP
The key to Qantas being able to better its 2017's "second-highest ever' result this year is in some respects out of its hands.

This statement will probably see its chief executive, Alan Joyce, roll his eyes with frustration - given he has just finished what is probably Australia's largest ever corporate overhaul to transform the airline from a loss-making and deeply troubled business to one that is now booming by most financial measures.

But the vast majority of that hard work is now done. Over three years the company has eviscerated its cost base, improved service, resurrected the balance sheet - just as a start.

Qantas has taken plenty of risks, in particular with establishing Jetstar in Asia. And it's about to take another - but back to that later.
Eighteen months into the dispute, both parties settled. Willow Lodge agreed to wipe the exit fees of six of the 14 residents. Two others had their exit fees reduced to a flat fee of 4 per cent of the park home sale price, and the rest settled with a cap of 12 per cent on the exit fee over 10 years. Some of the residents received a payment of $3000 for stress and inconvenience and Willow Lodge agreed to pay CALC's costs. Fast forward to today and CALC is still in dispute over the legal costs to be awarded. Palm Lake chief executive Manuel Lang, who oversees Willow Lodge, said CALC had requested $329,000 in legal fees, which it sent to Blackstone Legal Costings for a review of the costs. He said he received a costing estimate earlier this week, which was below CALC's estimate.

Some were suffering declining health, including two of the 14 residents battling cancer, one suffering a heart attack, one suffering uncontrollable seizures and one admitted to hospital 8-10 times to treat a vascular condition. It means the dispute over legal costs is ongoing. The takeout of the Willow Lodge dispute as the state ministers meet on August 31 with the federal minister for consumer affairs, are the issues of exit fees, legal costs and the time  and stress  involved when residents challenge an operator. In the case of Willow Lodge, if the legal action hadn't settled but proceeded to a four-week trial, the costs could have blown out to well over $500,000, which is unaffordable for most people, certainly the residents at Willow Lodge. Lang says the problem arose when exit fees were first rolled out.

He admits it wasn't handled well. "Willow Lodge was a legacy issue, which we have fixed," he said. But the point is it took years to get a resolution and if CALC hadn't taken on the case, it would never have seen the light of day. "An elderly consumer could not have litigated this claim without legal representation," CALC said in a submission to parliament. It is why an ombudsman is required. The other issue that the Willow Lodge case raises is the thorny issue of exit fees; the main profit generator of retirement housing operators.

They vary contract to contract, village to village and are entirely unregulated. In the same village one resident can be on a contract that has a maximum exit fee of 20 per cent, while another resident might have a contract that has an exit fee of 40 per cent. They need to be regulated to stop the "financial sinkhole" that has been used to describe the sector. Willow Lodge and the ongoing battle for legal costs, is a timely reminder of a federal parliamentary inquiry in 2007 that recommended the ACCC investigate whether exit fees should be banned. It recommended the appointment of an ombudsman and said if state legislation wasn't working, consideration should be given to putting it under federal corporations law. CALC's Brody recently said retirement living contracts are some of the worst contracts he had seen across many different industries. In the case of one of the biggest operators, Aveo, which has more than 140 different contracts across its retirement village portfolio, the exit fees charged on its latest contract, the Aveo Way, cap out at 35 per cent after three years, while its Freedom Aged Care contract includes a 40 per cent exit fee after two years.

For a person that pays $600,000 for a one-bedroom unit in Sandringham it means they will have to pay $240,000 if they have to leave in two years. Retirement villages are a massive scandal. The ACCC is investigating Aveo over some of the "more serious matters being raised", including whether the contracts are unfair and unconscionable. It prompted ACCC chairman Rod Sims to recently say there needed to be a wider regulatory review of the sector. The states have primary responsibility for regulating this sector, which is why the relevant state ministers will get together with the federal minister on August 31 to discuss some of the issues raised in the joint Fairfax Media investigation. That investigation laid bare massive flaws and gaps in the law, which needs to be addressed. It is why a national inquiry needs to be conducted, to ensure the problems aren't papered over inconsistently by different states.
The world's richest man, Bill Gates, and fellow billionaire Richard Branson have joined other business giants investing in a nascent technology to make meat from self-producing animal cells.

The Silicon Valley start-up they back hopes to tap rising consumer demand for protein that's less reliant on feed, land and water.

Richard Branson, who has said he avoids beef because of the damage livestock does to the Amazonian rain forests, reckons one day all meat will "either be clean or plant-based".

Memphis Meats produces beef, chicken and duck directly from animal cells in the lab, without raising and slaughtering livestock or poultry. The company has just raised $US17 million ($21.5 million) from investors including Gates, Branson and Cargill, one of the world's largest agricultural companies, according to a statement this week on the San Francisco-based start-up's website.

"I'm thrilled to have invested in Memphis Meats," Virgin Group boss Branson said in an email in response to questions from Bloomberg News.
Athina Mavromataki is on the commuting juggle with a bag of breakfast in her left hand and carrying her phone in the other.

Over both shoulders sits a backpack, an item that has become an increasing part of the professional workplace uniform thanks to hot-desking and our ever-present smartphones.

Athina Mavromataki likes to use a backpack so she can have her hands free. Credit:Justin McManus

"The convenience of being hands free is the main reason I wear it. I used to carry a shoulder bag [but] it was just annoying, always seemed to get in the way. And I couldn't put as much stuff in it," librarian Mavromataki tells Fairfax Media in Melbourne CBD's Degraves Street on her way to work.

Bag makers have certainly seen a change.
Trade (apprenticeship) v non-trade (traineeship) commencements 1995-2016 Credit:NCVER This is clear from a report published this week by the highly regarded higher education expert Professor Peter Noonan, and Sarah Pilcher, of the Mitchell Institute at Victoria University. Let me ask: What do you understand the word "apprenticeship" to mean? Do you take it to mean the system that's existed for decades where young people work in trades such as carpentry, plumbing, electrical, commercial cooking and hairdressing, and undertake about four years of training before becoming qualified tradespeople? But how did they think they could get away with such deceit? It sounds like it's straight out of TV show Utopia. Now try this: Have you heard of the "traineeships" that the Hawke government invented in 1985 to reduce youth unemployment by providing job and training opportunities for young people in service sector occupations not covered by traditional apprenticeships?

They typically last for only a year or less, and are common in retail and hospitality, admin, childcare and aged care. Non-trade commencements - existing and not-existing workers Credit:NCVER Get this: when all those people I quoted spoke of the "apprenticeship system", what they were actually referring to was those short-term traineeships. Gillard crackdown There's been a huge fall in the number of traineeships since 2012, because the Gillard government decided to crack down on massive rorting by employers and training providers of changes in the traineeship system made by the Howard government.

There has been a modest fall in the number of traditional apprenticeships since 2012, but this is despite the absence of any change in the full funding of traditional apprenticeships. No one would understand the distinction between apprenticeships and traineeships better that Shorten, the minister responsible, the employer groups and the ACTU. None of them would fail to realise that the public worries a lot more about trade apprenticeships than about short-term service sector traineeships. So when they chose to depict a crackdown on employer rorting of traineeships as a crisis in the apprenticeship system, they knew full well they were misleading us. Bureaucratic obfuscation

But how did they think they could get away with such deceit? That no Peter Noonan would blow the whistle on them? Here's the bit you'll have trouble believing. It sounds like it's straight out of Utopia. They thought they'd get away with it because, some years ago, some genius in the federal government decided to add the traineeship figures to the apprenticeship figures and call them all apprenticeships. You know, add oranges to apples and call them all apples. Good one. So far has that bureaucratic obfuscation gone, that actual figures for apprenticeships and traineeships have disappeared.

You can, however, divide the so-called apprenticeships between trade apprenticeships (the real ones) and non-trade "apprenticeships" (actually traineeships). Existing-worker traineeships The number of traineeships has long been a lot greater than the number of apprenticeships, which tend to vary with the strength of the economy. Even so, commencements have increased in some categories: carpenters, plumbers and electricians. But the number of traineeship commencements ballooned after 1998, when the Howard government took a scheme aimed at encouraging employers to hire more young people, and made subsidies available for training of existing employees, of any age. The report says registered training organisations, apprenticeship centres and brokers "aggressively marketed" these existing-worker traineeships.

"A business model emerged whereby employers would share the incentives with registered training organisations, who then delivered training, too often of questionable duration and quality," the report finds. Employer subsidies By 2012, the peak year before the Gillard government's restrictions took effect, 44 per cent of all traineeship commencements were for existing workers. About 18 per cent of all "trainees" were aged 45 or older. The Howard government also decided in 1998 to make employer incentives available for part-time traineeships and apprenticeships. "This decision . . . also created a market in Commonwealth employer subsidies, through which firms could shift their part-time and casual youth workforces (including full-time school and university students) into part-time traineeships," the report says.
The Chief of the Defence Force Mark Binskin has sent a strong signal that Australia is pulling its weight in the global fight against Islamist terrorism as Washington hunts for more international military help in Afghanistan.

Air Chief Marshal Binskin told Fairfax Media the troop increase Australia had already announced earlier this year was "entirely consistent with President Trump's call for the international community to deploy more troops to Afghanistan".

Defence Minister Marise Payne and Chief of the Defence Force Air Chief Marshall Mark Binskin earlier this year. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

His remarks came as Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull warned on Friday that the southern Philippines city of Marawi risks becoming the "Raqqa of south-east Asia" - referring to the Islamic State's de facto capital in Syria.

Air Chief Marshal Binskin said Australia did not consider Afghanistan in isolation from other terrorism hotspots where its force are committed, such as Iraq, Syria and the Philippines.
As Louise Linton, the wife of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin discovered this week when her vulgar Insta-bragging of her designer labels worn on government business was scathingly called into question, the "optics", as they're called in the political game, can rather quickly turn sour.

He does at least confirm one thing most women know to be true: looking "natural" and "effortless" (and I suppose handsome in a non-threatening way?) takes quite a bit of effort.

It's a princely sum, one must wonder, considering the make-up worn by the French leader isn't even anything fun (contouring perhaps, or an elaborate smokey eye) but instead intended to make him look natural and presumably like he's not wearing any make-up at all.

French President Emmanuel Macron has raised eyebrows  and stoked the ire of the internet  with the revelation that his personal make-up bill for his first three months in office has totalled nearly $39,000.

According to the President's office, the cost escalated due to a "matter of urgency" (major breakout?) that required his make-up artist, a woman by the name of Natacha M., to bill the executive branch one time for 10,000 and then send in another bill for 16,000 since Macron's inauguration. According to Slate his office has since responded, saying that the contractor "called in a contractor as a matter of urgency", which was exxier than usual, and that his make-up budget will be "significantly reduced" in the future.

Pundits were not pleased with Macron's bill. For one thing, the man is already quite handsome and thus one imagines in less in need of such stringent primping. Not to be unkind, but it is perhaps worth mentioning the equally astronomical hairdressing bill of the less conventionally handsome former French president Francois Hollande, which the London Telegraph reports totalled the $160,000. A decision that sparked cries of "shampoo socialism" against the man who promised to be a more normal president compared with his "extravagant" predecessor, Nicolas Sarkozy.

So there's that. And also the perhaps discomforting thought that men can be vain too and just like women, have their looks pull their credibility into question (who'd have thought it could happen to men as well, huh? Ask Hillary Clinton (and her scrunchie) what she thinks about that!.

But also, it's a bit, well Marie Antoinette-ish, is it not?

Consider some of the reactions on social media accusing the centrist former investment banker President of neo-liberalism.
The judicial retirement age would be lifted in NSW from 72 to 75 and pension rules tightened under a plan to keep legal talent on the bench and deliver budget savings to reinvest in the justice system.

NSW Bar Association president Arthur Moses, SC, has written to the Berejiklian government and the Labor opposition urging them to amend existing laws to raise the retirement age.

NSW Bar Association president Arthur Moses, SC, said the reasons to lift the judicial retirement age were compelling.

The association is also pushing for a related, and likely more controversial, change that would lift the age at which judges qualify for a generous pension after at least 10 years' service from 60 to 65.

Mr Moses said there were "compelling reasons" to lift the judicial retirement age to 75, including stemming the loss of experienced judges "who would otherwise have had the capacity to continue to make significant contributions to the development of the law".
Five months after the Lismore CBD was devastated by flood one in every six businesses or shops remains closed.

Anger is mounting in the northern NSW city with scores of businesses preparing to take class action against authorities for mishandling the flood. Local volunteers have quit the State Emergency Service in disgust after continuing to be verbally attacked for following orders and forcing shopkeepers to evacuate.

Jeweller Jackie Ribbons lost everything when water inundated her shop in Lismore CBD. Credit:Janie Barrett

The State Emergency Service ordered the Lismore CBD to be evacuated 12 hours before a levee wall was overtopped early on March 31 preventing the removal of stock and equipment.

Beth Trevan, a local business woman and co-author of the Lismore Citizens' Review into the disaster, said she had watched every flood since 1940 and the CBD had never been so badly damaged.
The remains of the third and final United States marine, who was killed when a military aircraft crashed off the central Queensland coast, have been recovered.

The tilt-rotor MV-22 Osprey with 26 people on board, plunged into the sea at Shoalwater Bay, near Rockhampton, during a scheduled military exercise on August 5.

Three US marines were killed when an MV-22 Osprey crashed off the coast of Queensland earlier this month (file picture). Credit:US Army

Three marines, Captain Benjamin Cross, Corporal Nathaniel Ordway and Lance Corporal Ruben Velasco, were killed in the crash.

Australia's HMAS Melville located the wreckage two days later and a Royal Australian Navy dive clearance team worked with US forces to finalise recovery plans.
Labor is opposing the governments full 10-year tax cut for businesses with turnover of more than $2 million, which Mr Shorten describes as a "$65 billion tax giveaway".

Bill Shorten said while Labor backed the tax cut for businesses with turnover below $2 million, the tax cut for bigger businesses was misdirected. Credit:AAP

"The best contribution I can make for small business is to enable small business to pursue their own opportunities. We do it by a mindset of co-operation," Mr Shorten told the Vodafone National Small Business Summit on Friday.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten says Labor will co-operate with small businesses but will still push ahead with its plan to limit the company tax cut and tax trusts at a flat rate of 30 per cent .

"When you have gross national debt rocketing past a trillion dollars taking $65 billion out of the Australian budget without replacement revenue or an offset cut to expenditure is reckless," he said.

"If you take $65 billion out of the national budget over the next 10 years and you don't replace that money with new revenue or the equivalent amount of budget cuts. What it means is that not only will we have less to do more with but we will also have to service the increased national debt."

Mr Shorten said while Labor backed the tax cut for businesses with turnover of under $2 million, the tax cut for bigger businesses was misdirected, with $7 billion of the $65 billion reduction set to go to the big four banks.

"When we talk about this being a reduction, the big banks do not need a corporate tax reduction," he said.

"Another big chunk of the corporate tax reduction which the government is pushing through will go to multinationals headquartered overseas. Up to 60 cents in every dollar of the reduction will go overseas.
Solicitor Ron Tait (right) was a long-time friend and associate of Francine McNiff. His son Brett (left), also a solicitor, was mentored by Francine. Credit:Eddie Jim And on Monday, Monash University Vice Chancellor Professor Margaret Gardner will announce that Ms McNiff bequeathed her remaining estate of $3.8 million to her alma mater, Monash University. It is Monash's biggest bequest from an alumnus. Of that, $2 million will establish a Francine McNiff Chair in Criminal Jurisprudence. The unit in Melbourne's south-eastern suburbs where millionaire barrister Francine McNiff lived before her 2015 death. Credit:Eddie Jim And $1.8 million will support two PhD students from disadvantaged backgrounds annually to study criminology.

Ron Tait, a friend of Ms McNiff from her time studying law at Monash from 1966, says she stood out for her intellect, her red hair, her vivacity and as one of the few female students. Francine McNiff, pictured in The Age in 1983, after becoming the first woman appointed to a judicial post in Victoria. Credit:Fairfax Photographic After finishing her degree in 1971, she lectured at Monash for 10 years, earning a Master of Laws in 1978. In 1983, age 35, she became the first Victorian woman appointed to a judicial post when made a children's court stipendiary magistrate. She became a criminal barrister in 1987, specialising in sex crime cases.

For seven years, from 2002, she mentored Ron Tait's solicitor son Brett, who was Ms McNiff's associate in many court cases. Brett remembers her talking strategy at cafes during lunch breaks as she chain smoked menthol cigarettes and sipped black tea with lemon. "She would never eat lunch during a trial," he says. Ms McNiff was also a "technophobe" who preferred to use a typewriter and a fax machine. "She wouldn't have a mobile phone so her clerk got her a pager. She would handwrite on stuff you sent her, and send it back," he says, although she wanted a computer towards the end.

Ron says she was respected by all her clients, even underworld figures. He remembers talking to her outside the County Court in William Street one morning in 2004 when notorious criminal Andrew 'Benji' Veniamin approached her. "Veniamin said: 'Hi, Miss NcNiff, how are you?'" Ron says. "To which she replied: 'Fine, Benji, how are you?'" Hours later, Veniamin was shot dead in self defence by gangland identity Mick Gatto.

About six months ago, a woman whom Ms McNiff had successfully defended in the early 1990s on a murder charge (she was acquitted) asked Ron how Ms McNiff was. When told she had passed away, the woman burst into tears, Ron says. Brett Tait says Ms McNiff could, at first, come across as a cold person. "But once you got to know her she was a very warm person. Just extremely private," Brett says. "She didn't socialise. She had a very small group of very close people around her who would do anything for her. "I count myself as one of them."

Ron believes her Monash days in the 1960s were happy ones. The university comprised a much smaller number of buildings surrounded by paddocks, and the law faculty was a close-knit community at a time of anti-Vietnam war protests, when students would hang out at the "Nott" pub and the uni's sole "caf". When he acted as a solicitor in court Ron says "Francine was my criminal barrister of choice, because she was so good. Because her knowledge of the law, of the rules of evidence and whatnot, was spot on." A desperate judge once had his associate discreetly ask her to help write his "charge" to the jury  the speech summing up the evidence  towards the end of a sex crime trial that she was not involved in. She declined. Ron says the bequest to Monash made him smile, given Ms McNiff's terse death notice and no-frills send-off  six people watched her coffin being lowered at Brighton Cemetery. "These scholarship students, their lives will be changed forever because of what she's done," he says.
It took Uniting Church Reverend Ric Holland only about two minutes to place a rainbow-coloured marriage equality sign out the front of St Michael's Church in Melbourne's CBD.

By the time he had finished, a crowd of more than a dozen people had gathered at the gates of the Collins Street church.

Standing in the middle of the crowd was a young gay man who asked the reverend: "So, do you reckon you could marry me?"

"I couldn't help myself, I told him 'Of course, it would mean a tremendous amount to me to marry you'," Reverend Holland said.
Yangon: Muslim militants in Myanmar staged a coordinated attack on 30 police posts and an army base in Rakhine state on Friday, and at least 59 of the insurgents and 12 members of the security forces were killed, the army and government said.

The fighting marked a major escalation in a simmering conflict in the north-western state since last October, when similar attacks prompted a big military sweep beset by allegations of serious human rights abuses.

Former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan: "No cause can justify such senseless killing." Credit:AP

The Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), a group previously known as Harakah al-Yaqin, which instigated the October attacks, claimed responsibility for the early morning offensive, and warned of more.

The treatment of approximately 1.1 million Muslim Rohingya has emerged as majority Buddhist Myanmar's most contentious human rights issue as it makes a transition from decades of harsh military rule.
The local community board, Community Board 11, which Collier chairs, had been going back and forth with the city's Department of Parks and Recreation about the wording of historical markers that would be affixed to the Sims monument to provide historical context. In June 2016, she and the community board found the words they had been searching for.

On Fifth Avenue and East 103rd Street, across from the New York Academy of Medicine, is an imposing monument to Dr J. Marion Sims, whose fame as the father of modern gynaecology came at the expense of enslaved black women on whom he operated without anaesthesia or informed consent.

The scenes of statues of Confederate generals being toppled from their perches or surrounded by torch-wielding white supremacists shouting racist and anti-Semitic slogans reminded Diane Collier of another monument that has troubled residents in East Harlem.

The statue of Dr J. Marion Sims, considered the father of modern gynaecology, in East Harlem. Credit:New York Times

This was not a new sentiment, but one the Parks Department officials had resisted, telling critics it would not remove art because of objections to its content. But as Collier watched recent news reports from the South, she was struck by the comments of mayor Steve Benjamin of Columbia, South Carolina, who told MSNBC that the most offensive statue on the statehouse grounds was not of a Confederate soldier, but of Sims, who was a native of the state.

"I was like, OK, of all the statues he started with that one," Collier said. "Obviously they find it offensive, and they have been dealing with a lot of Confederate issues."

New York is now dealing with its own Confederate issues, after mayor Bill de Blasio announced a 90-day review of what he called any "symbols of hate on city property". The busts of two Southern generals will be removed from the Hall of Fame for Great Americans on the campus of Bronx Community College, and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo called for the re-naming of two streets that bear the names of Confederate generals at Fort Hamilton, an Army base in Brooklyn.

Melissa Mark-Viverito, the City Council speaker, welcomed the mayor's move and sent him a letter urging him to specifically include the statue of Sims in the review. "This is an incredible moment that has opened up," she said. "It has got to go. When the panel does its analysis, I think they will come to the same conclusion."
Bangkok: Former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra is believed to have fled Thailand ahead of a verdict at her negligence trial where she faced up to 10 years jail, prompting ridicule from the junta that overthrew her.

"I thought she was brave enough to show up," Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, the army general who led a coup in 2014, told reporters.

Former Thai prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra waves to supporters as she arrives at the Supreme Court for her final statements on August 1. Credit:AP

Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan said it was likely Ms Yingluck had already left the country.

The government ordered authorities to investigate whether Ms Yingluck had passed through either legal or illegal border posts.
A veteran Volkswagen engineer was sentenced to 40 months in prison for his role in helping the German carmaker cheat US emissions tests, the first person prosecuted in one of the biggest scandals in the automotive industry's history.

James Liang, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy last year, got less than the statutory maximum time in prison recommended because he cooperated with the investigation into the automaker, and prosecutors called his "insider's perspective" key to understanding how VW deceived regulators and consumers for years.

Jailed: Volkswagen engineer James Robert Liang. Credit:Virginia Lozano

Liang was involved in a scheme to "falsely and fraudulently'' deceive regulators and consumers, US District Judge Sean Cox said at a hearing in Detroit on Friday.

"This is a serious crime and involved a massive fraud upon the American consumer,'' Cox said. Liang, with a large home in Southern California, a swimming pool and a $250,000 yearly income, "didn't want to walk away from this lifestyle, which would have been the right thing to do.''
State Senator Steve Santarsiero (D-10) presented a check to Yardley Borough Police Chief Joseph Kelly for $68,600 for the purchase of a new police vehicle and motorcycle during a visit to the station. Our police put themselves on the line every day to keep our community safe, said Sen. Santarsiero. Dating back to when I was a Lower Makefield Township Supervisor more than...
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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
Switch to almost any channel and an average Joe will be telling you how to search for and book hotels online. With a peculiar voice and demeanour that is reminiscent of the telemarketing channels, the brand ambassador of trivago, a hotels aggregator, goes into every tiny detail of how to log into the website, search and book hotels. While the explainer video may have been meant for the new adopters of technology, it has become fodder for memes and jokes for the internet-savvy millennials.
is e-auctioning 41 apartments in Mumbai in the first phase of its property sale and 12 in others cities in the second phase. The properties to be sold in the second tranche include 35 residential flats and land banks.
Indian mining giant Adani Group's $16.5 billion controversy-hit coal mine project in Australia cleared two more legal hurdles on Friday with a Brisbane court dismissing appeals filed by environmentalists and a traditional landowner against the venture.

A full bench of the Federal Court in Brisbane dismissed challenges from Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) and native title objections from a central Queensland man named Adrian Burragubba.

The Court dismissed an appeal by ACF against an earlier federal court ruling that upheld the Federal Environment Minister granting an approval under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Act and Burragubba's appeal for a judicial review of Native Title Tribunal's decision to allow the mine to proceed.

Adani, in a statement, said that today's court rulings have reinforced its legal right to develop its Carmichael thermal coal resource.

"The decisions today are the second and third judicial decisions this week dismissing claims brought by a combination of the dissenting minority of the Wangan and Jagalingou (W&J) People and activist groups," the company said.

"These appeals simply tried to delay a project that will create 10,000 direct and indirect jobs," Adani Australia CEO and Head of Country Jeyakumar Janakaraj said.

The project will also inject 22 billion dollars in royalties and charges into the state coffers to be reinvested back into the broader community, Janakraj said.

Burragubba was also involved in an action dismissed earlier this week by the Queensland Court of Appeal relating to the granting of a mining lease covering the Carmichael resource.

"Burragubba suggests he is acting on behalf of the W&J community, but the W &J people voted by 294-1 to support an Indigenous Land Use Agreement with Adani," the company said.

The Federal Court today ruled it was "not possible to draw robust conclusions" about the extent to which coal from Carmichael would increase global temperatures, according to media reports.

"It is therefore difficult to identify a relationship between (Carmichael) and any impacts on relevant matters of national environmental significance which may occur as the result of any increase in global temperature," the court said.

In a span of 10 minutes, the court also dismissed Burragubba's claim that Adani acted in a way "analogous to fraud" in order for the mine to be approved.

"The expression, 'conduct analogous to fraud', has no precise meaning," the court ruled and added "(Burragubba) seems to assume that Adani should necessarily have abandoned the (environmental impact statement) in face of...Criticisms."



In response, senior spokesperson for W&J Traditional Owners Council Burragubba, said, "We have fought and will continue to fight for our right to say no to the destruction of our country through mining and to have our rights properly recognised and respected by the state government."



ACF spokesman Paul Sinclair was quoted by ABC as saying that they would continue their fight to stop the mine.
Former Infosys executive B G Srinivas, interim Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer U B Pravin Rao, Deputy Chief Operating Officer Ravi Kumar S, and head of BFSI (banking, financial services and insurance), health care and life sciences Mohit Joshi could be candidates for Infosys CEO, said people familiar with the development.

Srinivas, who was in the reckoning for the top job before Vishal Sikka took over as the first non-founder chief executive of Infosys, is group managing director at PCCW Group, the holding company of Hong Kong Telecom. He left Infosys in 2014 as president, global markets.

Nandan Nilekani, Infosys co-founder who returned to the company as chairman, said the board could look at internal and external candidates and Infosys alumni for the next CEO.

Infosys has appointed executive recruitment firm Egon Zehnder to work with the nominations and remunerations committee to identify the right candidate.

Analysts said the Indian information technology services major would have to wait to attract external candidates until it had a strong board and there was clarity on the founders feud with the board.

Nilekani, who joined the as the non-executive and non-independent chairman of the board, claimed he had been consensually invited by the founders and investors. This arguably gives the company a good start for the CEO search.

A person familiar with the developments added Anand Swaminathan, senior vice-president and head, high-tech, Infosys, could be elevated to a role similar to that of Ravi Kumar S or Mohit Joshi.

Nilekani said bringing stability and looking for a CEO were his two key priorities. We are confident that we will have a large pool of internal and external candidates. In the last few hours I have received many mails and we are looking for the right candidate, Nilekani said.

With Infosys experiment with an external CEO mired by cultural differences, two former Infosys executives said reaching out to alumni could be a better option at this juncture.
In one of the biggest real estate deals in the country, the board of directors of leading developer DLF has approved a 33.34 per cent stake sale in its rental arm  DLF Cyber City Developers (DCCDL)  for Rs 8,900 crore to an affiliate of Singapores GIC. The deal pegs the value of DCCDL at Rs 35,617 crore, the company declared in a BSE filing late on Friday evening.
Nandan Nilekani, the new non-executive chairman of Infosys, has set his sights on creating a long-term governance structure in the company while focusing on short-term measures such as hiring a chief executive officer (CEO) and building a business strategy for growth in a challenging environment.
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David Richter, global head of business and corporate development at cab aggregator major Uber, looks like a man on a mission. One of the 14 people in charge of the company ever since chief executive Travis Kalanick stepped down, Richter is trying to change the culture at the firm. In an interview, he tells Karan Choudhury how bringing in more women employees would change things. Edited excerpts:

What sort of policy changes do you hope for?

I think the initiative for the commercial versus private car distinction is the key; we have already seen some traction. The more that becomes uniform, the better for driver partners, riders and Indian cities in general.

In terms of leadership, what has changed in the company?

In terms of leadership change, we are committed to a cultural change and that has already started. But it is a process, so as much as I and others believe it to be the case, saying it is one thing, but walking the talk and continuing to do so is crucial. The new CEO (chief executive officer), she or he would be the force that would continue to do the cultural change.

So who is heading Uber in the interim period?

Right now we have a 14-member Executive Leadership Team (ELT) and the company continues to do well in this transition period. The latest stats are compelling. According to Q2 results, we saw roughly $8.7 billion for the quarter, up 17 per cent compared to Q1's $7.5 billion, and 102 per cent year-on-year. We have a fair amount of cash in the bank, around $6 billion

.

How far has the search for the new CEO gone? Are there any murmurs of bringing Kalanick back?

We will not rush the bringing of the new CEO because things are continuing to go quite well for Uber. We are committed to the cultural change, which is also a necessity, but we will bring the right CEO at the right time. We are committed to bringing a new CEO.

I admire what we achieved under past leadership and we would not be here in many ways without that. But we are looking forward to bringing in a CEO who would take this to the next level.

Are you recruiting more women now?

We have a concerted effort to do so. That was true in the past but more so now; I certainly believe it as well as the fellow members of the ELT have it as a core principle. We are working on it, are cognisant about it and are working on it proactively. We are putting in more women at key positions to change the narrative. Of the 14 members of the ELT, five are women; it will take time but we are investing in that, as long as we keep up the right perspective that it is a continuous reinforcement of good behaviour and the non-tolerance of the bad behaviour, things would change. We are committed to make that change a reality.

What exactly do you mean by cultural changes in the company?

At a very basic level, there has to be greater respect for an individual, including our employees, fellow colleagues, drivers and riders. In the past, there might have been insufficient attention paid to that; now there is a conscious effort to do more. In the beginning, conscious effort needs to be made and then comes coercive action and then it becomes part of culture and finally it happens at a subconscious level.

There are reports that SoftBank Group might invest in Uber. Are the talks happening?

I cannot comment on perhaps ongoing corporate developments or even confirm or deny if they exist at this time.

So what changes would you attribute to ELT?

I will give you a tactical as well as strategic answer. Tactically, things such as having greater ratio of human resources professionals within the company provides a greater basis for training of young as well as senior managers. At a strategic level, it is a culture of respect for our colleagues, drivers and riders. Such a core cultural value was perhaps earlier taken for granted.
The Street has taken the appointment of Nandan Nilekani as Infosys new non-executive chairman positively. Talk of Nilekani re-joining Infosys was doing the rounds and reflected on the stock, which closed 2 per cent higher at Rs 912.50 on Friday on the BSE.
Former Infosys chief executive officer (CEO) on Friday refuted reports that he was headed to Hewlett Packard as the chief technology officer (CTO).

He had informed about it while speaking to news channel CNBC-TV18.

"It's not true...I used to be an intern at HP. Someone is keenly trying to put me in a box. The story isn't true," he said.

Sikka said it was "day 1" for him and he was keen on spending more time with his family.

On the other hand, a day after Nandan Nilekani returned to Infosys as chairman, on Friday also said he had offered to leave with immediate effect as he saw no reason to continue in the company.

Sikka's resignation as CEO last week escalated the tensions between the founders and the management of India's second largest software company. He was then named Vice-Chairman.

On Thursday, Chairman R Seshasayee quit from his post along with two other directors and Sikka, who also tendered his resignation from the board.

"With Nandan coming in, it wasn't right for me to hang on and I offered to leave immediately," Sikka told news channel CNBC-TV18.

He added that strategic direction for the company is straightforward and there will be no abrupt change, given that interim CEO U B Pravin Rao has been an active part of the execution strategy.

Sikka, however, dodged questions on whether he would be speaking to co-founder N R Narayana Murthy, who led a vocal campaign against alleged corporate governance lapses at the firm.

He clarified that he had not made any specific remarks against Murthy and that his comments referred to the "noises" that were causing "severe distractions".

"Whoever was spreading these, I have no idea and interest in finding out who was behind them," he added.
Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani, who returned as the company's non-executive chairman on Thursday, claimed he was a consensus builder who would engage with all stakeholders -- that is evident in the unanimous support he has received from the Infosys board, its founders, including N R Narayana Murthy, global and domestic investors, and employees.
Thirty people were killed and scores injured in large-scale violence by sect supporters as mobs went on a rampage here in Haryana after a CBI special court convicted self-styled godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.

The deaths took place in firing by security forces on the enraged Dera followers. The dead were all Dera followers, police officials said.Army has been called out in Sirsa to control sect followers. Ram Rahim was airlifted to Rohtak jail.Prime Minister Narendra Modi tonight strongly condemned the "deeply distressing" violence that swept Haryana and some other states after conviction of the self-styled godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.Thousands of followers of Ram Rahim, who is the head of Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda, went on the rampage, setting fire to vehicles, buildings and railway stations soon after a special CBI court convicted him in a 2002 rape case.

Police and hospital sources said that over 250 people were injured, some of them still battling for life. Several of the injured were referred to hospitals in Chandigarh.

Haryana Director General of Police B S Sandhu said on Friday evening that "Panchkula is 100 per cent safe".

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, whose government failed to prevent the mass violence, later urged people to "maintain peace and harmony not allow themselves to be misled by rumours".

"Some anti-social elements got mixed up with the followers of after the verdict by the CBI court (and) resorted to violence and disrupted peace," said Khattar, without condemning the violence indulged in by the Dera followers in Panchkula.

"Strict action is being taken against these persons. No one is above the law and strict action will be taken against anyone who tries to take the law into his hands," he added.

Haryana DGP B S Sandhu, who visited the civil hospital at Sector 6 here, said that over a thousand Dera followers have been taken into custody."Dera followers have been flushed out of Panchkula while over a thousand have been taken into preventive custody," Sandhu said, adding the situation here is under control.A stream of ambulances brought in injured people soaked in blood to the civil hospital here and at PGIMER hospital.Police fired in the air, lobbed tear gas and let loose water cannons on the protesters who included a large number of women.Curfew was also clamped in Panchkula.Curfew is also in place in Sirsa while Kaithal town was also brought under curfew this evening.At least 32 incidents of violence and arson were reported from Malwa region of Punjab, police said.

However, no casualty was reported. Vehicles burn in violence following Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahims conviction in Panchkula (Photo: PTI) Curfew was clamped in Mansa, Bathinda, Ferozepur, Patiala, Sangrur and Barnala and Faridkot, the areas considered as stronghold of the Dera followers. But the curfew had little effect on the protesters, who also set fire to Malout and Balluanna railway stations in Punjab, according to the Northern Railways. Many motorcycles, cars and buildings, including an Income Tax building in Mansa in Punjab, were also set on fire. Arsonists attempted to set fire to Dagru railway station which falls between Moga and Ferozepur, police said. However, a Sewa Kendra was set on fire near Faridkot. Six columns of Army, comprising a total of 500 to 600 soldiers were deployed in Panchkula. At least three OB vans of private television channels were damaged here. Two vans were overturned by a mob. The India Today Group's TV channel showed pictures of its correspondent and cameraman being attacked while they were travelling in a van in Sirsa, the Dera's headquarters. The camera captured images of the windshield and windows being struck by men with sticks. The glass shattered and one of the occupants of the van was heard moaning. The video then showed his bloodied face. The police fired in the air and lobbed tear gas shells on sections of the crowds, many of them camping since last night on the streets of Panchkula. CBI judge Jagdeep Singh, while holding the Dera chief guilty of raping a female follower more than 15 years ago, said the quantum of sentence would be pronounced on August 28. The punishment can be a jail term of not less than seven years but may even extend to life imprisonment.
Freedom of sexual orientation, right to eat what one wants to, right to medically terminate a pregnancy, freedom to criticise the government and right to control dissemination of personal information in the physical and virtual world, are some of the issues that could be affected in later judgments after the Supreme Court ruled the is a fundamental right under the Indian Constitution in a historic verdict on August 24, 2017This is apart from its impact on Aadhaar, the governments 12-digit biometric identification programme.

The is protected as an intrinsic part of the right to life and personal liberty under Article 21 and as a part of the freedoms guaranteed by Part III of the Constitution, wrote Chief Justice India J S Khehar along with Justices R K Agrawal, D Y Chandrachud and S Abdul Nazeer.
Dera Sacha Sauda Chief was on Friday convicted by a CBI court in a 14-year-old rape case. The Dera chief was found guilty of raping two women followers, the court said. The quantum of punishment will be announced on August 28.
Outgoing Chief Justice of India J S Khehar on Friday hoped that his dream of "paperless courts" soon becomes a reality and hailed the support of the bar in his endeavour to digitise the justice delivery system.

Justice Khehar, who was speaking at his farewell function organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), said that he served the country "in the manner of discharging a debt" and also expressed gratitude towards his family, colleagues and the motherland.

"I would like to thank my country and motherland for giving me the opportunity to serve it. I served my country in the manner of discharging a debt. I feel that it is difficult to discharge a debt to your country just like you cannot discharge the debt of your parents," Justice Khehar said.

Veteran lawyer and Attorney General K K Venugopal was effusive in his praise for the CJI and credited him for taking the pioneering step of working during summer vacation to render justice to Muslim women by deciding pleas on triple talaq which could have remained undecided for years.

An emotional CJI, during his speech, appreciated the support of the SCBA in his endeavour to achieve the goal of "paperless courts".

"I must place my appreciation for the tremendous work the SCBA has done during last eight months. We have not always been in agreement but they have worked hardest and pushed themselves farthest to get what they could get.

"When we ventured to introduce paperless court system, they supported me solid and did not allow anyone to feel that the matter was not going right. I hope paperless courts will not be a dream and will be a reality in the near future," Justice Khehar said.

Justice Dipak Misra, who will succeed Justice Khehar as the 45th CJI, was all praise for the outgoing judge and called him a democratic person with a good heart and a great mind.

"Justice J S Khehar is a man with [a] democratic attitude. He has a good heart, a creation of a good mind which is capable of transmitting good thought and energy. He is affectionately energetic and has the ability to energise others because of his contagious vibrance," Justice Misra said.

Venugopal, who as the government's top law officer opposed the pleas in support of Right to Privacy, however, praised Thursday's unanimous verdict of the nine-judge bench headed by Justice Khehar.

"We have a landmark verdict in triple talaq case which otherwise would have taken years and years to be brought up for hearing. It is one of the major judgements delivered by the Supreme Court, perhaps welcomed by practically the entire population of this country where equality has been brought about to the women in this country belonging to a particular country," Venugopal said.

"We have now an extraordinary judgement which has propelled the Right to Privacy to be a major fundamental right which has been welcomed by every single person in this country and that I think is one of the greatest thing done by the Supreme Court of India," he said.

Deprecating recent practices of throwing muck at judges by some bar members, the Attorney General said such people are trying to dismantle the foundation of the justice delivery system.

"So far as [the] judiciary is concerned, they do not possess their freedom of speech in the same manner as we possess. They have to remain silent. The result of that is they have to speak through their judgements. But they cannot respond to whatever is being said about them. Be it good or bad. The result is that the members of Bar can throw bricks at the judges but they can't throw anything back at the lawyers," the AG said.

He said that lawyers cannot use "intemperate language" and throw stones at judges.

"I find it very very reprehensive because what you are doing is you are bringing down the confidence of the litigant public and the general public at justice delivery system," he said.
China on Thursday accused India of contradicting its words with actions after New Delhi decided to build a road around 20 km near Pangong Lake in Ladakh along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), and warned that such a development would only worsen the on-going two-month-long stand-off in Doklam.

"It seems according to the reports the Indian side is slapping its own face. The Indian side is closely following China's road-building recently but India's actions themselves have proven that the Indian side says something and does another. Its words are in complete contradiction to its deeds in terms of border issues," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told Chinese media on Thursday.

Stating that India's move was not "conducive" to peace in the region, Hua said the western sector of the boundary, where India plans to build a road, is not delimited".

Indian Home Ministry has approved the building of a road from Marsimik La to Hot Spring in Ladakh near Pangong Lake along the LAC - the site of a recent scuffle between Indian and Chinese troops.

On the Doklam standoff, Hua Chunying reiterated "the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of all the trespassing personnel and equipment serves as the prerequisite and basis for the settlement of this incident."

"The two sides have agreed to uphold border areas' peace and tranquility before disputes are settled. The current road construction by the Indian side is not conducive to peace and stability in that area," Hua said.

Hua also said the project "will not help with settlement of the current situation". The India-China stand-off at Doklam, near the Sikkim-Tibet-Bhutan tri-junction began when China started constructing a road in the area. India objected to the road construction after the Chinese troops ignored Bhutanese protests, triggering the faceoff from June 16.

(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.)
In an important move towards reforming departmental justice across the board, but especially for the military, the Supreme Court issued the central government a showcause notice on Friday, asking why its recently promulgated rules for the (AFT) should not be struck down.
Chandigarh and its nearby Panchkula town had turned into fortresses with curfew-like restrictions in place as tens of thousands of followers of sect chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh gathered ahead of a crucial court verdict in a rape case against him.

Singing in praise of their spiritual leader, his followers in Panchkula, who are still arriving in droves, said they were here just to seek blessings from the "messenger of God".

The verdict will be pronounced on Friday by the special CBI in Panchkula which has asked the self-styled godman, whose sect is headquartered at Sirsa in Haryana, to remain present at the time of the judgment.

The Dera chief appealed to his followers to maintain peace and said he would appear before the court on Friday.

"I have always respected the law. Despite pain in my back, I will obey the law and must visit the court," Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh tweeted.

He urged his followers to maintain peace. "I believe in God. All should maintain peace."

Thousands of security personnel, comprising paramilitary forces, have been deployed to prevent the "premis" or sect followers from arriving in Panchkula.

The sect chief has lakhs of followers in Punjab, Haryana and other states. He 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, 260 km from Chandigarh.

Braving rains in the evening, devotee Bhag Singh, who has come from Moga town in Punjab along with over 100 followers, said: "We are here just to seek his blessings. For us he's god."

"Since he is coming here, we have decided to reach Panchkula ahead of his arrival," an elated Singh, who is a farmer, told IANS.

Like him, nearly two lakh sect followers have descended on Panchkula and nearby places from mostly across Punjab and Haryana.

They are spending their nights in the open. However, a few managed to take shelter in government buildings, while most spent the night on roads and parks.

Most of his followers, who also ran community kitchens, spent their time singing religious songs in praise of Gurmeet Ram Rahim.

"We have nothing to do with the court case and we do not know anything about it. We only know our father is coming here on Friday," devotee Ashok Kumar, who has come from Panipat in Haryana, said.

Despite the government stopping the plying of buses towards Chandigarh and Panchkula beyond Ambala, 45 km from here, the flow of 'premis' continued.

A sea of devotees en route to Panchkula was seen travelling on foot beyond Ambala.

"Since our 'guru-ji' is coming, we have decided to reach Panchkula to get his blessings. So we have decided to reach the venue on foot," said Bhag Singh, who is from Hisar in Haryana.

Bhag Singh and his family were carrying eatables for the community kitchen.

His wife Nirmal Kaur said the "guru ji" is like their father.

"The government is just trying to frame him in a false case. We know he will be acquitted by the court," she added.

As a precautionary measure, the Haryana government has imposed prohibitory orders across the state and shut all schools and colleges in Panchkula and Sirsa districts till August 25.

Sacha Sauda sect followers have a high concentration in Sangrur, Barnala, Mansa, Bathinda, Fazilka, Faridkot and Ferozepore districts of Punjab. Most of these districts are close to Sirsa in Haryana.

Authorities imposed curfew-like restrictions in Chandigarh and Panchkula and shut mobile internet services in Haryana, Punjab and Chandigarh for three days from Thursday.

Fearing violence by the huge mass of Dera supporters gathered at Sirsa and in Panchkula where the court is based, officials announced several other restrictive steps.

Plying of buses to Chandigarh and Panchkula would be suspended till Friday. Likewise, the Railways cancelled 22 trains bound for Haryana. A Northern Railway spokesman said six trains going to Haryana were cancelled on Thursday.

More than 15,000 paramilitary personnel have been deployed in Punjab and Haryana, a senior official told IANS.

In a bid to discourage more people from reaching Panchkula, Haryana Roadways stopped plying buses for two days bound for Chandigarh and Panchkula.

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar told all ministers and legislators to be in their constituencies till Friday.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court asked the Centre to provide additional forces ahead of the judgment.

Apprehending violence in case the court's judgment went against the sect chief on Friday, a Division Bench of acting Chief Justice Surinder Singh Saron and Justice Avneesh Jhingan said they "did not want a situation similar to the Jat reservation stir".
At least 28 people died and over 250 got injured in widespread rioting after enraged followers of self-styled godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh went on a rampage to protest his rape conviction on Friday.

Enraged by the rape conviction of self-styled godman Gurmit Ram Rahim Singh today, thousands of his followers went on the rampage, hurling stones and vandalising media vehicles.

Six army columns have been deployed in Panchkula. Police say bus torched in northeast Delhi's Loni Chowk, allegedly by supporters. Also, a train has been set afire at Anand Vihar Railway Station in Delhi where two empty bogeys were torched. Army has been called out in Sirsa to control .

Police fired in the air and also lobbed tear gas and let loose water cannons on the protesters to quell the violence, which appeared to be spreading in Haryana, Punjab and even Rajasthan.

A reporter of CNN News 18 TV said a steady stream of ambulances was bringing scores of injured people to the hospital, soaked in blood. He described the scene as "chaos." It was not clear if the injuries were due to police action or violence by Dera followers.

"The flow of injured is not stopping," said the reporter in his dispatch, which also showed pictures of vehicles burning, and at least one person lying motionless by the roadside. The report said the man was dead.

Immediately after a court here convicted the chief, many of his followers, including a large number of women, broke police barricades and security cordons.

At least three OB vans of private television channels were damaged. Two vans were overturned by a mob.

The India Today Group's TV channel showed pictures of its correspondent and cameraman being attacked while they were travelling in a van in Sirsa, the Dera's headquarters. The camera captured images of the windshield and windows being struck by men with sticks.

The glass shattered and one of the occupants of the van was heard moaning. The video then showed his bloodied face.

The police fired in the air and lobbed tear gas shells on sections of the crowds, many of them camping since last night on the streets of Panchkula.

The police also used water cannons and batons on the protesters to bring the situation under control.

CBI judge Jagdeep Singh, while holding the 50-year-old Dera chief guilty of rape, said the quantum of sentence would be pronounced on August 28, CBI counsel HPS Verma told reporters outside the court.

The punishment can be a jail term of not less than seven years but may even extend to life imprisonment.

Army personnel and central paramilitary forces took positions around the CBI court complex in Panchkula, as the area close to the complex was sealed.
LONDON: The number of skilled work visa applications from Indian nationals to live and work in the UK has dropped by four per cent this year, Home Office said today, amid the government's tightening of the visa regime.
The Supreme Court on Thursday (August 24) ruled that all Indians enjoy a fundamental right to privacy, a right that is protected under Article 21 of the constitution.
The latest phrase that policy watchers are now often encountering in post-Cabinet press releases is alternative mechanism. Such a framework has been used to oversee mergers of state-owned banks, planned privatisation in state-owned companies, minority stake sales, and the Centres new exchange traded fund.
consumption pattern in the country is set to shift to emerging sectors like construction, transportation and packaging in the future. Currently, the electrical segment boasts of the highest share in usage, accounting for around 37 per cent of the overall consumption of the metal. This is in contrast to the world average that stands at 14 per cent for the electrical sector. Transportation and construction lead with a share of 26 per cent each in global consumption.

Producers of the metal opine that higher compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) in sectors such as transportation, construction and packaging will drive aluminium consumption further.

The government's thrust on indigenous manufacturing through its flagship 'Make in India', Smart City initiatives, along with the transition to newly rolled out goods and services tax (GST) are expected to boost aluminium consumption in the years ahead. However, there would be several caveats, said the aluminium makers while adding that threat of cheaper imports from China, besides the raw material crunch hampering the domestic market were among the major impediments facing the sector.



T K Chand, chairman, National Aluminium Company (Nalco) and president, Aluminium Association of India (AAI) said: "The aluminium sector will shine in the coming days with aluminium prices crossing $2,000 per tonne but the sector is likely to face shortage in input raw material, and prices are likely to remain high. Cost push factor on account of raw materials, coupled with market sentiment on production cut in China are likely to hold the price line."

The Smart City project is likely to accelerate development in power infrastructure, building & construction and consumer durables segments. This, in turn, would lead to an increase in aluminium consumption.

GST roll-out is expected to work for the benefit of the aluminium industry, especially the organised producers. A large part of the aluminium industry falls under the unorganised sector. These include some of the scrap based secondaries and the highly fragmented extrusion segment. The GST regime is expected to bring most of such players in the organised segment, thereby, creating a level-playing field for those who were otherwise left beyond the ambit of the organised sector.

According to a source associated with the Hindalco Industries, consumption pattern will change and grow in packaging, construction and transportation sectors.

Consumption of aluminium has been growing since the past eight decades. However, growth has been primarily in the commodity grade or the conventional usage segment and not in the value added segment.

According to a report by CARE Ratings, consumption of aluminium in the country is growing at a CAGR of 3 per cent from 2012-13 onwards. Surplus stock is exported mainly to South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Italy, Turkey, USA, Taiwan, Spain, Japan, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Singapore, Brazil and Netherlands. CARE Ratings expects consumption of aluminium to grow at a CAGR of 3.5 per cent during the next 2-3 years.
The (CCI) has expanded leniency norms for individuals, making them eligible for waivers or lower penalties.



The CCI has amended rules for leniency for this purpose. Prior to this, only companies were eligible to apply for leniency. Competition lawyers said the CCI was trying to strengthen leniency provisions to bust more cartels in the country.



Section 46 of the CCI Act has a provision called a leniency programme. This allows the waiving of or imposing of lower penalty on parties to a cartel that inform about it.



From the inception of the CCI over 100 leniency applications have been filed, but the commission has used this provision sparingly. The CCI uses a great deal of discretion in considering evidence provided to it under the leniency provisions, an expert said.



According to the leniency programme, the first applicant to inform the CCI receives an up to 100 per cent waiver on penalty. The second and third informants receive up to 50 per cent and 30 per cent off, respectively. The CCI has the final word, the clause requiring the informant to cooperate with it. Without this, one does not qualify for immunity.



For the first time, the CCI had used this provision for its inquiry, on the basis of information from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) regarding alleged cartelisation with respect to tenders floated by the railways and BEML for supply of brushless DC fans and other electrical items. In this case, the CCI had granted a reduction of penalty to an enterprise based on the latters application under Section 46.



The regulator reduced 75 per cent of the penalty to the first informant. In another recent case, the CCI granted a waiver of penalty of almost Rs 1,200 crore to Coal India. The initial fine was Rs 1,773 crore and it was brought down to Rs 591 crore. A similar provision was introduced in the US in 1993, followed by the EU. Japan and India followed their footsteps.



The leniency programme aims to encourage natural revelation, taking advantage of the inherent weaknesses of their structure and members. Among other benefits, this section could help lead to mutual suspicion among a cartels members, a possible deterrent to anti-competitive activity.
The director general of foreign trade (DGFT) on Friday notified the withdrawal of the zero-duty import facility for gold, silver, and their coins and articles.
Supreme Court has ruled the is a fundamental right protected by the Indian Constitution, in a potential setback to the governments push to mandate Aadhaar for everything from the filing of tax returns to operating bank accounts. Now, with the battle lost, will the government uphold the verdict with all sincerity or will it find loopholes to get its way? The writers share their views on what comes after the apex court's judgment.



Privacy has been upheld as a Fundamental Right. This is a victory we must celebrate. However, the judgment has also left open several questions that are yet to be answered. If privacy is a Fundamental Right, what does it mean for the LGBT community? What does it mean for the beef ban? Will it affect the Right to Information Act? Will the government still allow its citizens to question how their elected representatives are utilising public money for development? What will its effect be on Goods and Services Tax (GST)? What will be the fate of Aadhaar? Will people in rural India still need to provide an Aadhaar to receive their entitlements? What will happen to the biometric data of billions of Indians that has already been captured and linked to telecom, banking, and other services? Will the government have to seek permission from its citizens before using their personal data for any purpose? These and so many more questions are waiting to be answered even as we hail our today.

Disclaimer: Views expressed are personal. They do not reflect the view/s of Business Standard.
Supreme Court has recognised privacy as a basic fundamental right but it did not hold that the is absolute. This writer decodes the judgment and its implications.



The Supreme Court on Thursday held "privacy with its attendant values assures dignity to the individual and it is only when life can be enjoyed with dignity can liberty be of true substance."

Disclaimer: Views expressed are personal. They do not reflect the view/s of Business Standard.
As the US governments clampdown on temporary work visas used by information technology professionals continues to make news, the number of Indians quietly taking advantage of a little-known visa programme to become US citizens has skyrocketed.
There is a need to adopt a rights- based privacy framework in household finance rather than the widely prevalent consent-based approach, a Reserve Bank panel has said.

"(We) suggest adoption of a rights-based privacy framework in contrast with the more common consent-based privacy framework," the report of the Household Finance Committee of the central bank said.

The panel was set up following discussions in a sub- committee of Financial Stability and Development Council on April 26 last year. The RBI published the report hours after the Supreme Court gave its landmark judgement affirming privacy as a fundamental right on Thursday.

"We note that technological advances like machine learning and big data have changed the ways in which we process data and as a result, have made consent a less-than- effective tool to protect personal privacy," the report said.

Therefore, it is imperative to deploy an alternative system to protect data privacy, it said, adding the law should create a class of technically skilled intermediaries authorised to review algorithms that process personal data to evaluate whether the data is being processed in a privacy- neutral manner.

"The new privacy framework should contemplate the creation of a Data Commissioner who shall be responsible for redress of grievances as well as for establishment of standards of accountability and transparency," it said.

"Our current belief is that rather than consent, a robust privacy framework in the modern world may call for a rights-based approach," it said.

"Data controllers (financial firms) will also be responsible for ensuring accountability, transparency, non- discrimination and data security while processing data," the panel recommended, adding they will be held accountable for any breach.

Noting that "all financial technology solutions require the use of households' personal information, a form of wealth in itself", the committee said it is "worried" the country lacks a formal legal framework for data protection.

"There is no formal privacy statute and the closest thing to a formal privacy law is in the rules enacted under Section 43A of the IT Act of 2000 that spell out, in general terms, privacy obligations that apply to anyone who collects and processes sensitive personal data," the report said.

"Continued lack of clear privacy regulations presents an ever-increasing risk to personal privacy," it said.

In most countries, privacy and data protection regulations restrict the extent to which data are available for both transactional and research purposes, it noted.

The committee was headed by Tarun Ramadorai, a professor in financial economics at Imperial College London, and had representatives from all financial regulators. Most of its recommendations are not mandatory and open for public comments at present.

The panel was also of the view that there should be a mandatory catastrophe insurance with automatically triggered pay-out in zones with high natural disasters like floods and earthquakes risks, Ramadorai said, adding that this was the only mandatory suggestion made by the panel.

"The panel suggested a set of standardised norms across regulators for financial advice, supported with a fiduciary standard for financial advisers," Ramadorai told PTI over phone from London.

The panel also proposed simple home insurance policy covering structure and contents at a low premium.
Across America, bronze rebels are falling. Confederate monuments have come down in New Orleans, Louisiana, Baltimore, Maryland, Durham, North Carolina, Austin, Texas and even Hollywood, California. And over the coming weeks, this list will almost certainly grow.
Bhd Chief Executive Tony Fernandes said on Thursday that the Malaysia-based carrier's expected sale of its leasing unit to a South Korean group was "imminent," with no roadblocks to the transaction.

AirAsia, the largest low-cost carrier in Asia, is also considering the purchase of Bombardier Inc's 110- to 130-seat narrow-body C Series jets, Fernandes told reporters following a news conference at Montreal-headquartered training specialist CAE Inc .

Asked whether AirAsia's reported talks to sell the unit have hit any obstacles, Fernandes said there were no "roadblocks" and added "it is imminent." He did not specify whether an announcement would be made when the carrier reports quarterly earnings next week.

Privately-owned KOTAM, or Korea Transportation Asset Management, is said to be negotiating the final terms to acquire AirAsia's fully-owned unit, Asia Aviation Capital. Reuters first reported on the deal in March.

KOTAM is part of Kukje Maritime Investment Corp, known as KMarin, which was founded in 2005.

Fernandes was in Montreal to announce the sale of the budget carrier's 50-percent share of the Asian Aviation Centre of Excellence to CAE, the world's largest commercial aviation training company.

Under the deal, CAE will remain Group's training partner until 2036.

After flying on the CSeries on Thursday, Fernandes said he was "very impressed with the aircraft," which he said would be considered for regional markets in Asia.

In June, he said the carrier's core strategy lies in connecting Asia's secondary and tertiary cities, with a particular focus on China and India.

"It's early days," he said of the talks with Bombardier. "We've started the romance so let's see where it takes us."

Montreal-headquartered Bombardier is coming under pressure to announce new orders for the fuel-efficient CSeries jets, after failing to secure any substantial orders in more than a year.

(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.)
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia is now facing the possibility of a class action lawsuit over allegations it failed to adequately disclose to that it may have breached Australian anti-money laundering rules, as far back as 2015.
White nationalists and neo-Nazis are having their moment. Former Ku Klux Klan Imperial Wizard David Duke is back, yet again, in the media spotlight, while newer figures such as white supremacist Richard Spencer and Christopher Cantwell are broadcasting their views via social media feeds and niche internet channels.

Many Americans are wondering if this resurgent movement should be ignored, feared or fought. What, exactly, is the best antidote for neo-Nazism?
Women are now well established as the wielders of power in . Daenerys Targaryen is finally conquering Westeros with her dragons, Cersei opposes her as the Lannister queen in her own right and Sansa  in the absence of her half-brother, the warrior Jon Snow  commands the North. It should be a triumph for feminism  but all of them, good or bad, strike hollow figures. They rarely raise their voices, get upset, swear or cry. They speak in a low, monotone register and their body language is constrained.
Police officers in Charleston, US state of South Carolina, responded to an "active shooter situation," authorities said on Thursday.

"A shooting was reported just after noon in downtown Charleston near a row of restaurants and shops popular with tourists," Xinhua quoted Charleston Police Department spokesman Charles Francis as saying.

The spokesman did not mention whether there were injuries or provide the description of a potential suspect.

Local reports said the police department sent SWAT teams and a bomb disposal unit to the area. Police are asking people to stay inside and those outside to avoid the area.

(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 South Korean court will rule on Friday on corruption charges against Jay Y. Lee, the billionaire head of Samsung Group, after a six-month trial in a nationwide bribery scandal that triggered the dismissal from office of the country's president.

Lee, the 49-year-old heir to one of the world's biggest corporate empires, has been held since February on charges that he bribed then president Park Geun-hye to help secure control of a conglomerate that owns Samsung Electronics, the world's leading smartphone and chip maker, and has interests ranging from drugs and home appliances to insurance and hotels.

Prosecutors have demanded a 12-year jail sentence for Lee, who also faces charges of embezzlement and perjury - potentially the longest prison term given to a South Korean business leader.

The third-generation de facto head of the powerful Samsung Group, Lee has effectively directed operations since his father, Lee Kun-hee, was incapacitated by a 2014 heart attack.

Some investors worry that a conviction and long jail term could leave a leadership vacuum, with no one to take the big decisions at Samsung, which has over five dozen affiliate and assets of 363.2 trillion won ($322.13 billion). Its listed make up around 30 percent of the market value of South Korea's KOSPI stock index.

Whatever Friday's verdict, lawyers expect an appeal which could go all the way to the Supreme Court, with a final ruling probably next year.

Prosecutors have said Samsung's contributions to two funds backed by Park aimed to secure government support for a merger of two of its affiliates to tighten Lee's grip on the conglomerate. Lee has denied wrongdoing, and his lawyers say the 2015 merger was done for business merits.

"Too big to jail"

Samsung, founded in 1938 by Lee's grandfather, is a household name in South Korea and a symbol of the country's dramatic rise from poverty following the 1950-53 Korean War.

But over the years, it has also come to epitomize the cosy ties between politicians and powerful family-controlled business groups - or chaebols - which have been implicated in a series of corruption scandals.

South Koreans, who once applauded the chaebols for catapulting the country into a global economic power, now criticize them for holding back the economy and squeezing smaller businesses.

Investors say shares in chaebol firms trade at lower prices than they would otherwise because of their opaque corporate governance - the so-called 'Korea Discount'.

"Chaebol leaders used to get the same sentencing every time, there was even a saying called the '3-5 law' - three years sentencing, five years probation," said Park Sangin, professor of economics at Seoul National University. "If Lee receives a heavy sentence, it can be seen as the shattering of the 'too-big-to-jail' trend of the past."

Lee's father was convicted of tax evasion in 2009, and had a 3-year sentence suspended, with judges citing his "contribution to the country's economic development" and his "patriotism through business enterprise from job creation." He was pardoned four months after the final ruling.

South Korea's new president, Moon Jae-in, who replaced the disgraced Park after a May 9 election, has pledged to rein in the chaebols, empower minority shareholders and end the practice of pardoning corporate tycoons convicted of white-collar crime.

Lee's trial has gripped the nation, and Friday's closed courtroom verdict will be witnessed mainly by lawyers and Samsung officials. Around 30 members of the public will attend, having won seats through a lottery.

The ruling is expected to affect the verdict in Park's own corruption trial, expected later this year, as prosecutors argued the two took part in the same act of bribery.

Prosecutors have also indicted top Samsung executives over the bribery scandal, including Choi Gee-sung, who headed the corporate strategy office, dubbed the 'control tower'. It has since been disbanded, and Choi has resigned.

Experts were divided on how Friday's ruling might go, with some lawyers expecting Lee to be found innocent on the major charges, saying much of the evidence at trial appeared circumstantial.
in the first act of civil disobedience by undocumented youth under the Trump administration on July 26 in Texas. After protesters sat in the street outside the state capitol building in Austin, blocking traffic, 15 undocumented young people and their allies were arrested. They were eventually released.

Young immigrants from across the US participated

These protests were sparked by increased immigration enforcement against the undocumented population since the election of Donald Trump, including his pledge to end a temporary form of relief from deportation that has been available to many undocumented youth since 2012.
Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal has insisted that spinning tracks alone won't guarantee his team's success against Australia in the upcoming two-Test series.

"It is not that we will win just by making spin tracks," Tamim told reporters in Dhaka.

"Even if there is support for the spinners in the wicket, still our spinners will have to bowl really well.

Bangladesh defeated England on a spin-friendly pitch in their last home Test in October and a similar tactic could be adopted when it takes on Australia in the first Test at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium from Sunday.

Tamim, who is also the Test vice-captain, had made a key contribution in his side's 108-run victory against England when he scored a crucial hundred in the first innings.

"Our batsmen also have to bat well as well as our pacers, who need to bowl well on these surfaces. If you want to see success then all these things have to work together," said the left-handed opening batsman who has been singled out by the Australians as the main threat.

Australia have not won a series in the subcontinent since 2011 and were clean-swept in two of the three Test series' since then. In the last series against India, the Steve Smith-led side had to face a 2-1 defeat in the four-Test series.

Bangladesh have not played a single Test match against Australia since Ricky Ponting's side toured the country in 2006, six years after they were granted Test status.

Bangladesh, who had a notorious run of 71 defeats in 72 internationals from 1999 to 2004, have transformed into a team capable of surprising many and causing upsets.

In the last one year, the Asian minnows have reached the Champions Trophy semi-finals, cemented their ODI ranking of seventh, and defeated England at home in a Test and Sri Lanka away, where their 1-1 series draw bodes ill for Australia, who lost 0-3 in Sri Lanka in 2016.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Anti-Terrorism Court in Rawalpindi has questioned the 'sudden disappearance' of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leaders including Rehman Malik and Babar Awan from Liaquat Bagh in connection with the Benazir Bhutto assassination case.

During a hearing, ATC Judge Asghar Ali Khan asked Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Special Prosecutor Khawaja Imtiaz why Malik, Awan and others, who were sitting in Bhutto's backup vehicle, rushed to Zardari House before her vehicle had left the venue, the Dawn reported.

The Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC), hearing the Benazir Bhutto murder case, has decided to conduct daily proceedings in order to complete investigation of the matter at the earliest.

The prosecutor also disclosed to the ATC judge that of the dozen passengers from Bhutto's ill-fated vehicle and the backup car, only two had testified before the court under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) that Malik, Awan, Farhatullah Babar and retired Lt Gen Tauqeer Zia were also in the backup vehicle.

He told the court that the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) that conducted an investigation under the PPP regime did not list the passengers of the backup vehicle.

Benazir Bhutto was assassinated after a campaign rally in Rawalpindi on December 27, 2007.The assassination came just weeks before general elections in February 2013, marking the first time that a civilian government completed a full-term in office and handed over power to another.

According to the testimonies of several prosecution witnesses, including senior police officers, the backup vehicle, a bulletproof Mercedes was included in the slain PPP leader's convoy for emergencies.

He said that since the backup vehicle had already left the venue before Bhutto was assassinated, in their initial statements before the investigation team, the passengers of the backup vehicle had stated that they did not know anything about the incident since they were not present at the scene at the time.

When the judge questioned why the backup vehicle left the venue in such haste, the prosecutor said that they were supposed to make arrangements for Bhutto at Zardari House in Islamabad, ahead of her arrival.

"[The passengers of the backup car] said they had rushed to Zardari House to open it for Benazir; was not any staff or servant available in Zardari House to perform such a job?" the judge asked. However, the prosecutor could not respond to this question.

The prosecutor also read out the statement of US lobbyist Mark Siegel, which linked retired Gen Pervez Musharraf to the assassination of the PPP leader. Siegel had testified before the ATC that General Musharraf did not want Bhutto in Pakistan before the 2008 general elections, and had threatened her with dire consequences.

To another query regarding the number of people sitting in the vehicle designated for Bhutto, the prosecutor listed then-senior superintendent of police (SSP) retired Maj Imtiaz Hussain, Naheed Khan and Safdar Abbasi, Makhdoom Amin Fahim, as well as Khalid Shehenshah, Razzaq Mirani, and the driver Javed Rehman.

Of these, the prosecution listed only Maj Hussain and the driver as witnesses.

The prosecutor said the then-SSP was the security officer assigned to Bhutto. According to his testimony, the then-Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) director general Lt Gen Nadeem Taj and Maj Gen Ehsan met Bhutto the night before her assassination and tried to persuade her not to address the Liaquat Bagh rally due to an imminent threat to her life.

In 2010, a UN report said Bhutto's death could have been prevented and accused Musharraf's government of failing to give adequate protection to the former premier.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday said that the violence erupting after Gurmeet Ram Rahim was held guilty in a rape case should not be linked with the saffron party and urged to not politicise the issue.

"When the court will announce the judgment then only anything would be commented upon. These religious leaders are looked upon by everyone and linking it to the BJP is not right. These saints do not support any particular political party, they are with everyone. This issue should not be politicised," BJP secretary Rahul Sinha told ANI.

Another senior BJP leader Anil Jain appealed the media to portray the news in a way that it does not further evoke the public.

"This violent situation is unfortunate. The law is there to look into the matter. I request everyone to maintain peace and harmony in this scenario," he added.

Meanwhile, the Communist Party of India (CPI) today said that the BJP-led Haryana Government is in particular responsible for the attacks on media personnel, adding they should have anticipated such a huge gathering.

"I disapprove and strongly deplore the violence that has broken out in many parts of Haryana, Punjab and Chandigarh. This violence should be controlled. I question the role of the BJP-led State Government of Haryana as they should have anticipated such a huge gathering," CPI leader D. Raja told ANI.

Moreover, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah today asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to sack Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar for negligence of his duty in stopping the violence in parts of Haryana post the conviction of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in connection with a rape case.

Omar took to Twitter and said, "PM Modi should sack his Haryana CM for gross dereliction of duty. The CM had more than enough time to prepare for this eventuality".

Following are the updates related to the case:

- State government will compensate for the losses of Media personnel and the properties of others: Ram Niwas, Additional Chief Secy to Haryana Government

- 1000 Dera Sacha Sauda followers have been detained, says Haryana's ADGP (Law & Order) Muhammad Akil

- Death toll in violent protests in Panchkula climbs to 17 and 200 injured

- Punjab and Haryana High Court says properties of Ram Rahim Singh should be attached to pay for the losses due to violence.

- Security at Delhi BJP headquarters increased post violence at various places

- Security in and around Civil Hospital in Sector 6 Panchkula also increased; Death toll reaches 12,100 injured in violent protests

- Violence reported in Delhi, two buses set ablaze on Mandoli flyover in Delhi's Nand Nagri.

- Death toll in Panchkula violence rises to 12, says CMO civil hospital.

- Bus set ablaze near Babu Jagjivan Ram Memorial Hospital in Delhi

- Two empty rakes of Rewa Express at Anand Vihar Terminal railway station set on fire: Northern Railway Spox Neeraj Sharma

- Police say bus torched in northeast Delhi's Loni Chowk

- Security tightened at railway stations in Delhi

- Army columns moved into Haryana's Sirsa district for quick reaction, as violent protests continue post rape conviction of Dera Chief Ram Rahim Singh

- The duty doctor at the Civil Hospital in Panchkula said at least five people were killed and 50 injured, including journalists and police.

- Six Army columns deployed in Panchkula post conviction of Dera Chief Ram Rahim Singh Ram Rahim Verdict

- Central Industrial Security Force personnel deployed within one km radius of Rohtak's Sunariya Jail Haryana

- Curfew imposed in Punjab's Muktsar, Bathinda, Mansa

- RamRahimVerdict: Administrative machinery geared up in Western Uttar Pradesh- Anand Kumar, ADG Law and Order

- Five people dead in Panchkula violence, says duty doctor at civil hospital.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
As many as 20 people were killed and 35 others were wounded when one suicide bomber blew himself up outside Imam Zaman Mosque in Qala-e-Najarha area in Afghanistan capital of Kabul 's PD11 on Friday afternoon.

A blast was followed by gunfire as worshippers gathered for Friday prayers at the mosque in Qala-Najara. After the suicide blast, gunmen attacked the mosque in Qala-e-Najarha area in Kabul's PD11 on Friday afternoon, the Ministry of Interior confirmed.

"One suicide bomber blew himself up outside Imam Zaman Mosque in PD11, confirmed Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish.

"The attack was carried out by three or four men and one of them blew himself up outside the mosque," Tolo News quoted Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish as saying.

He said at least 12 people were killed and 38 others were wounded in the attack.

However, the Ministry of Public Health said that more than 20 people were killed and over 35 others were wounded in the mosque attack.

Many explosions were later heard from the area during the clearance operation by the Crisis Response Unit of the Afghan National Police, Tolo News reported.

Ismail Kawoosi, spokesman for Ministry of Public Health, said the number of casualties from the attack may increase.

A fierce gun-battle between security forces and attackers lasted for five hours and the area has been cordoned off by the police.

President Ashraf Ghani, in a statement, condemned the attack and called it a crime against the people of Afghanistan.

The president called on Afghan religious scholars to raise their voice against such violent acts - carried by terrorists, the Presidential Palace said in a statement.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The hostage situation in Charleston has come to an end post the armed 'disgruntled employee' was shot and critically wounded by the police.

According to the Independent, "Police officers engaged for hours in a tense standoff with the still-unidentified shooter, who holed up with multiple hostages inside a downtown Charleston restaurant."

The gunman was transported to a local hospital in critical condition

Hostages were rescued safely and have been freed. One person has died.

The hostage-taker was a dishwasher, said the reports.

Earlier, The Charleston police confirmed that a "disgruntled employee" was holding hostages after shooting at one person at Virginia's On King restaurant in downtown Charleston, South Carolina.

The shooting was reported on King Street, a popular tourist area on Thursday afternoon (Local time).

City's mayor Tecklenburg has denied terming it an act of terrorism.

"This is not an act of terrorism. This is not a hate crime. It is a disgruntled employee," Tecklenburg said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has announced a compensation of Rs. 25 lakh for the next of kin of sub-inspector Jai Prakash Singh, who was killed in the encounter with a dacoit gang in Chitrakoot.

A fierce encounter broke out between the police and a gang led by dacoit Babli Kol in the Chitrakoot district of Uttar Pradesh early on Thursday morning.

Two more officers were injured, while the police have managed to nab three people from the gang.

A company of 39th battalion of Prad Armed Constabulary (PAC) had left for Chitrakoot from Lucknow to reinforce operations. The combing operation was, however, slowed down by the rain.

Meanwhile, the Special Task Force ( STF) was on high alert.

The battalion was deployed previously in an operation against the same dacoit menace in Chitrakoot.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Delhi Police on Friday confirmed the arrest of three persons who were attempting to set fire to a bus following the conviction of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in connection with a rape case.

Delhi Police PRO Madhur Verma told ANI, "In Khyala, we have arrested two men. They tried to set a DTC bus on fire, but managed to burn only some seats. In Badarpur, some miscreants had barely set a seat on fire when local police prevented further arson."

Verma described the arrested as local miscreants trying to create mischief in the city. He said Delhi Police is on alert and the situation is under control as of now.

"In view of these incidents happening in Haryana, Delhi Police is on alert. Few incidents have happened but they have been brought under control. Additional force has been deployed, the security is beefed up. There were incidents of violence in Badarpur, Jahangirpuri, Mandoli but all are under control now. District senior officers are patrolling in the area along with district reserves," he said.

Following are the updates related to the case:

- Officials say 28 dead, 250 injured in Panchkula violence.

- I have alerted all officers posted at Delhi Metro stations: DG CISF OP Singh

- Rajasthan: Dera Sacha Sauda supporters set power sub-station office on fire in Sriganganagar, vehicle at sub-station premises also torched State government will compensate for the losses of Media personnel and the properties of others: Ram Niwas, Addl. Chief Secy to Haryana Government.

- 1000 Dera Sacha Sauda followers have been detained, says Haryana's ADGP (Law & Order) Muhammad Akil

- Death toll in violent protests in Panchkula climbs to 17 and 200 injured

- Punjab and Haryana High Court says properties of Ram Rahim Singh should be attached to pay for the losses due to violence.

- Security at Delhi BJP headquaters increased post violence at various places

- Security in and around Civil Hospital in Sector 6 Panchkula also increased; Death toll reaches 12,100 injured in violent protests

- Violence reported in Delhi, two buses set ablaze on Mandoli flyover in Delhi's Nand Nagri.

- Death toll in Panchkula violence rises to 12, says CMO civil hospital.

- Bus set ablaze near Babu Jagjivan Ram Memorial Hospital in Delhi

- Two empty rakes of Rewa Express at Anand Vihar Terminal railway station set on fire: Northern Railway Spox Neeraj Sharma

- Police say bus torched in northeast Delhi's Loni Chowk

- Security tightened at railway stations in Delhi

- Army columns moved in Haryana's Sirsa for quick reaction, as violent protests continue post rape conviction of Dera Chief Ram Rahim Singh

- The duty doctor at the Civil Hospital in Panchkula said at least five people were killed and 50 injured, including journalists and police.

- 6 Army columns deployed in Panchkula post conviction of Dera Chief Ram Rahim Singh Ram Rahim Verdict

- Central Industrial Security Force personnel deployed within one km radius of Rohtak's Sunariya Jail Haryana

- Curfew imposed in Punjab's Muktsar, Bathinda, Mansa

- Administrative machinery geared up in Western Uttar Pradesh- Anand Kumar, ADG Law and Order

- Five people dead in Panchkula violence, says duty doctor at civil hospital.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Following the agitation that began in the wake of Special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court's verdict against Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a 15-year-old's rape case, Dera Sacha Sauda was penalised by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Friday.

The court said that the senior government officials in Panchkula should be given security by the paramilitary forces and added that the properties of the organization should be attached to pay for the losses caused due to violence.

Gurmeet Ram Rahim, on Friday, was held guilty by the Special CBI Court of Panchkula. The quantum of sentence will, however, be announced on August 28.

Popularly known as Baba Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, he has a following of more than 60 million of his faithfuls, especially the Dalit Sikhs, according to the website of his organisation Dera Sacha Sauda. His followers reacted violently on hearing the verdict.

Following are the updates related to the case:

- Three miscreants have been arrested in Delhi, patrolling is being done in different areas by the Delhi Police, reported Madhur Verma, Delhi Police PRO

- 1000 Dera Sacha Sauda have been detained, says Haryana's ADGP (Law & Order) Muhammad Akil

- Death toll in violent protests in Panchkula climbs to 17 and 200 injured

- Punjab and Haryana High Court says properties of Ram Rahim Singh should be attached to pay for the losses due to violence.

- Security at Delhi BJP headquaters increased post violence at various places

- Security in and around Civil Hospital in Sector 6 Panchkula also increased; Death toll reaches 12,100 injured in violent protests

- Violence reported in Delhi, two buses set ablaze on Mandoli flyover in Delhi's Nand Nagri.

- Death toll in Panchkula violence rises to 12, says CMO civil hospital.

- Bus set ablaze near Babu Jagjivan Ram Memorial Hospital in Delhi

- Two empty rakes of Rewa Express at Anand Vihar Terminal railway station set on fire: Northern Railway Spox Neeraj Sharma

- Police say bus torched in northeast Delhi's Loni Chowk

- Security tightened at railway stations in Delhi

- Army columns moved into Haryana's Sirsa district for quick reaction, as violent protests continue post rape conviction of Dera Chief Ram Rahim Singh

- The duty doctor at the Civil Hospital in Panchkula said at least five people were killed and 50 injured, including journalists and police.

- 6 Army columns deployed in Panchkula post conviction of Dera Chief Ram Rahim Singh Ram Rahim Verdict

- Central Industrial Security Force personnel deployed within one km radius of Rohtak's Sunariya Jail Haryana

- Curfew imposed in Punjab's Muktsar, Bathinda, Mansa

- RamRahimVerdict: Administrative machinery geared up in Western Uttar Pradesh- Anand Kumar, ADG Law and Order

- Five people dead in Panchkula violence, says duty doctor at civil hospital. Delhi Police have been patrolling in different areas of the city, and three miscreants have been arrested so far.

Ahead of the verdict, High Court had said that it doesn't want a situation like that of the Jat agitation to take place again in Haryana and had, hence, asked the Centre to deploy additional forces, and take strong steps.

Around 53 companies of the paramilitary forces and 50,000 personnel of the Haryana Police had also been deployed. In addition, the Army was also alerted.

The administration was asked to take a stringent action if anyone tries to break the law.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court had also pulled up the Haryana Government over the security arrangements provided in the state.

The Chief Minister had also ordered the withdrawal of 1000 police personnel from VVIP security for deployment on field duty to strengthen the security blanket in the state

The Central Government had, on its part, assured that a necessary action would be taken to curb any agitation.

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah on Friday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to sack Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar for negligence of his duty in stopping the violence.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Dr. Gaurav Nigam, a well-known educationist, paediatrician and Director of Intelligentsia, play school of Modern International School announces the launch of initiative 'Rendezvous', to train children in learning to talk about their own emotions.

The launch took place inside the campus of Intelligentsia- the play school of Modern International School, Dwarka. Dedicated to encourage independent thinking, the newly created area of Rendezvous is very colorful and is made out of only natural resources.

More importantly this has been created inside 'Intelligentsia' campus, the one of its kind research oriented and conceptual play school in Delhi/NCR.

While children are taught basic literacy skills at play schools, they are usually not taught how to identify and express their feelings and emotions. This young generation probably wouldn't know how to describe their inner feelings, and they would eventually feel more frustrated by keeping things inside them.

The initiative of Dr. Gaurav Nigam aims at providing superlative learning experience for children to make them identify emotional expressions and understand the use of emotional words to express their feeling through words. At Intelligentsia, it will create a conducive and safe learning environment for children using best research based learning material and methodologies.

The unique platform will allow genius young minds to put their feelings or emotions into words in order to become more emotionally competent and articulate. It is an art to make children more emotionally intelligent individuals that motivates them to learn better while building positive, strong relationships with teachers, parents and friends.

Dr. Gaurav Nigam, Director of Intelligentsia, play school of Modern International School says, "At Intelligentsia, we strive to promote excellence and innovation in education while leveraging best practices, tools and techniques to make the process of learning fun and effective for both students and teachers. Our new initiative, 'Rendezvous' is all set to help children learn dedicatedly to talk about their feelings and express their emotions in healthy ways. It's not just a colourful part of play school; it's a place that nurtures the growth, learning and development of children to make their dreams turn into reality.

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Egypt will be re-opening border with Gaza for two days on the occasion of Eid-al-Adha.

Egyptian authorities on Sunday will reopen the Rafah border crossing with the blockaded Gaza Strip for two days on Aug. 27-28 in both directions to allow those stranded and humanitarian cases to cross, reported Anadolu

The terminal will open for the Eid al-Adha holiday, one of the two most significant celebrations in the Islamic calendar.

Israel has blockaded the Gaza Strip by air, land and sea since 2007. It has seven border crossings linking it to the outside .

Six of these are controlled by Israel, while the seventh -- the Rafah crossing -- is controlled by Egypt, which has kept it tightly sealed for the most part since the ouster of President Mohamed Morsi, Egypt's first democratically elected leader, in a 2013 military coup.

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Hurricane Harvey has growth in strength to a Category II storm with "life-threatening" rain and gusty winds over Texas. Forecasters said Harvey is on track to become a Category 3 hurricane, bringing "life-threatening" amounts of rain and wind speeds of at least 111 miles per hour before it makes a landfall at Corpus Christi late Friday or early Saturday.

In Corpus Christi, Mayor Joe McComb has issued a voluntary evacuation order, Walmart shelves were being cleared quickly. The city administration cancelled Friday's dockets in the city court,CNN reported.

Hurricane Harvey was "dangerously approaching the Texas Coast" and expected to bring as much as 35 inches of rain and storm-surge flooding that could reach a depth of six to twelve feet along the coast, the National Hurricane Center said.

Conditions are "expected to deteriorate through the day," the center said. "Preparations along the middle Texas coast should be rushed to completion this morning.

While some coastal residents made their way out of the path of a hurricane and provided self-serve sandbags to residents who decided to stay to brace for a potentially life-threatening storm.Three Galveston-based cruise ships in the Gulf of Mexico diverted to safer water.

Hurricane-force winds are a concern as the storm builds strength in the Gulf of Mexico, and a potential deluge and subsequent flooding may be a big danger as well, according to meteorologists.

Hurricane Harvey is the first major hurricane to hit Texas in nearly nine years, labeled by forecasters as a "life-threatening storm," could bring up to three feet of rain, 125 mph winds and 12-foot storm surges.

Isolated tornadoes are possible on Friday across portions of the middle and upper Texas coast, the service said.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has requested the activation of 700 National Guard members.Harvey is likely to bring multiple hazards, including heavy rainfall, storm surge and possible hurricane conditions to portions of the Texas coast beginning Friday," the National Weather Service said.

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The fifth round of Foreign and Security Policy Consultations between India and the European Union were held in New Delhi on Friday.

The Indian side was led by Ruchi Ghanashyam, Secretary , while the E.U. side was led by Jean-Christophe Belliard, Deputy Secretary-General for Political Affairs, European External Action Service.

The two sides reviewed the entire gamut of India-EU Strategic Partnership and discussed ways to further deepen cooperation in political, economic and security areas.

Strongly condemning the recent terror attacks in Barcelona, India and the EU called for enhancing cooperation to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.

They also discussed cyber security and maritime threats. The two sides exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual interest and reiterated their respective commitments to promoting and protecting a rules-based international order.

The two sides reviewed economic cooperation calling for greater investment and trade flows between India and the EU. The EU is one of India's largest trading partners with bilateral trade in goods standing at USD 85 billion in 2016. The EU is also the largest destination for Indian exports and a key source of investment and cutting edge technologies. India received around USD 80 billion FDI flows from Europe during 2000-16 constituting approximately 25 percent of the total FDI inflows into the country during the period.

Secretary [West] welcomed the establishment of European Investment Bank in India, stating that its investment especially in urban mobility and renewable energy projects would support India-EU collaboration in the Smart City sector. She appreciated the ongoing participation of European Union and EU companies in Make In India, Digital India, Start-up India, Swachh Bharat and Namami Gange programmes and called for their deeper engagement in these flagship development priorities. The European side highlighted the ongoing work in India-EU water partnership.

Noting that over 50,000 Indian students were presently studying in various Universities in Europe, DSG Belliard expressed the EU's desire to make its scholarship programmes such as ERAMUS even more popular in the country. The talks also focussed on deepening collaborations in research and technology partnership.

Both sides concurred that the International Solar Alliance presented new opportunities to further strengthen India-EU clean energy and climate partnership. The EU expressed its desire to support initiatives of ISA including through the European Investment Bank. They also expressed their interest to leverage the ISA platform in collaboration with India for developing renewable energy capacities in solar rich countries.

The comprehensive discussions, held in a cordial atmosphere, underscored the strong foundations of the India-EU Strategic Partnership. The bilateral engagement today laid the grounds for the forthcoming India-EU Summit to be held in India later in the year.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The 10-day long Ganesh Chaturthi festival began across the country on Friday with traditional fervour and gaiety.

Ganesh Chaturthi or the Ganpati festival is celebrated to mark the birth anniversary of Lord Ganesha, the son of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati.

The houses and places of worship wore a festive look with people offering prayers to the Ganesh idols, adorned with flowers.

Hundreds of people have been thronging the temples, decorated with flowers and colourful lights, to pray to the elephant-headed Hindu god.

Beautiful and decorated idols of Lord Ganesha have been installed in pandals across the city where devotees are seen offering prayers.

In Coimbatore's Puliakulam Vinayagar Temple, Asia's second largest Ganesha idol weighing 190 tonnesn was unveiled today.

Asia's second largest Ganesha idol at 19 feet and weighing 190 tonnes unveiled at Coimbatore's Puliakulam Vinayagar Temple #GaneshChaturthipic.twitter.com/WGcxwSuTt5  ANI (@ANI) August 25, 2017

In Hyderabad, to promote an eco-friendly festival, over a lakh of clay Ganesh idols were made by Hyderabadi deity makers.

Some also made Ganesha idols inspired by the film Baahubali.

In Nagpur, devotees were seen offering prayers at Tekdi Ganesh temple on the occasion.

Maharashtra: Devotees offer prayers at Nagpur's Tekdi Ganesh temple on #GaneshChaturthipic.twitter.com/nJhqj2AJme  ANI (@ANI) August 25, 2017

Meanwhile, President Ram Nath Kovind, Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have greeted the people on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi.

In his message, the President said, "Heartiest greetings and good wishes to my fellow citizens on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi."

Heartiest greetings and good wishes to my fellow citizens on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi #PresidentKovind  President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) August 25, 2017
Foreign secretary S Jaishankar has announced that Brigunj's advanced Integrated Check Post between India and Nepal will be operationalised by December 2017 to facilitate trade.

Briefing the media about the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba, the Foreign Secretary said, "Brigunj Integrated Check Posts will be operationalise this year and Nepal and India have agreed to speed up work on the other two planned Integrated Check Posts (ICPs) at Bhairahawa and Nepalgunj which provide various facilities including immigration, customs check, quarantine, freight forwarding, information and communication technology management, financial institutions and others for the convenience of traders."

"The most important project is the Petroleum pipeline project from Motihari in Bihar to supply fuel to neighbour Nepal through the planned pipeline up to Amlekganj in Nepal," Jaishankar added.

In August 2015, the Indian and Nepalese governments signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for a product pipeline, and subsequently IOC and Nepal Oil Corporation entered into a MoU for laying down of the pipeline by the Indian company.

Jaishankar said that Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba briefed Prime Minister Modi about the recent developments of his country and Modi congratulated his counterpart for successful conduct of two phases of local level elections.

He further revealed, "Both the leaders discussed issues broadly from the earthquake reconstruction issue, and the development of the democratic institutions in Nepal that are indispensable for peace, development and prosperity."

"Prime Minister Modi also appreciated the efforts being made by the government of Nepal to take all sections on board in the Constitution implementation process and establishment as a federal democratic Republic," the Foreign Secretary added.

The Foreign Secretary said that both the leaders recognised that being the open border both India and Nepal had to take extra care to ensure this border isn't misused.

He said that India and Nepal today inked eight pacts, including on cooperation in countering drug trafficking. The pacts were signed after comprehensive talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba on strategic bilateral and regional issues.

India has been building the ICPs at all the four places on both sides of the border, and they are expected to facilitate trade as a result of integrated services.

The two leaders also jointly inaugurated the Kataiya-Kusaha and Raxaul-Parwanipur cross border power transmission lines.

Deuba said Nepal would "never allow any anti-India activities from its soil."

Had a positive meeting reviewing the gamut of our partnership," Prime Minister Modi said at a joint press event with Deuba and assured him of India's commitment towards overall growth and development of the Himalayan nation.

Jaishankar said, "The Terai road project has made progress as India has now awarded 12 contracts for nine roads covering roughly 240km and New Delhi hopes that Nepal side will work to remove the other impediments for the successful implementation of the project."

India and Nepal on Thursday inked eight pacts, including on cooperation in countering drug trafficking.

The pacts were signed after comprehensive talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba on strategic bilateral and regional issues.

"Had a positive meeting reviewing the gamut of our partnership," Modi said at a joint press event with Deuba and assured him of India's commitment towards overall growth and development of the Himalayan nation.

Deuba said Nepal would "never allow any anti-India activities from its soil".

The two leaders also jointly inaugurated the Kataiya-Kusaha and Raxaul-Parwanipur cross border power transmission lines.

Modi identified defence and security as an important aspect of bilateral ties.

The following MoUs were signed between India and Nepal:

1. MoU for Utilisation of India's Housing Grant Component to support reconstruction of 50,000 houses

2. MoU on implementation of reconstruction package in the education sector in Nepal

3. MoU on implementation of reconstruction package in the Cultural Heritage sector in Nepal

4. MoU on implementation of reconstruction package in the Health sector in Nepal

5. MoU on agreement on cooperation in the field of standardisation and conformity assessment

6. MoU for implementation arrangement on cost sharing, schedules and safeguard issues for construction of Mechi Bridge

7. MoU on Drug demand reduction and prevention of illicit trafficking in Narcotic drugs, Psychotropic substances and precursor chemical and related matters

8. MoU between the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nepal.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
United States President Donald Trump's adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner has met with Israeli and Palestinian leaders to broker peace in the region.

Kushner, accompanied by a high-level American delegation, met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv and later headed to Ramallah to meet Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas.

According to CNN, Kushner reiterated Trump's commitment to finding a lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which Trump has referred to as "the ultimate deal."

Citing Trump's 'Ultimate Deal', Israeli PM Netanyahu assured that such a deal is "within our reach," and promised to work with the Trump administration "to advance peace, stability and security in our region."

PA President Abbas at the beginning of the meeting said, "We highly appreciate President Trump's efforts to strike a historical peace deal, a statement he repeated more than one time during our meetings in Washington, Riyadh and Bethlehem," reported local media.

This is Kushner's third official visit to the region.

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Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar on Friday appealed to everyone not to politicize matter revolving around Lieutenant Colonel Shrikant Prasad Purohit's bail and said he was not given adequate protection by the Army.

Talking to ANI, Parrikar said, "This is not a matter of politics, I am not pointing finger at anyone. I believe that Lieutenant Colonel Purohit was not given the adequate protection by Army at that time," he told ANI.

2008 Malegaon Blast case accused Lt. Colonel Purohit was released from the Taloja Jail in Navi Mumbai on August 23 after the Supreme Court granted him bail in the case, on the condition that he won't leave the country without the permission of the court.

After Purohit was granted bail, Congress accused Modi government of 'protecting all RSS-connected accused'.

Lt. Colonel Purohit, who was in prison for the past nine years, moved the top court after the Bombay High Court rejected his bail plea earlier this year.

He was granted bail with few conditions -- he won't leave the country without prior permission from the court and that his passport must be deposited to the court.

Purohit was also directed to appear in the court as and when he will be directed. In addition to it, he must make himself available for any investigation by the Investigation Agency (NIA).

Meanwhile, senior lawyer, Harish Salve, appearing for Lieutenant Colonel Purohit told the media that they "relied on the new chargesheet by the NIA and it contradicted what was said in their earlier chargesheets."

A bench of justices, R.K. Agrawal and A.M. Sapre, passed the order on the plea.

Earlier on August 17, the apex court reserved its order on the bail plea of Lieutenant Colonel Purohit.

Salve told the court that Purohit did not want to be discharged from the case at present, but for the interest of justice, wanted an interim bail.

He added that Lieutenant Colonel Purohit was allegedly caught in the political crossfire and was falsely implicated in the case.

A former military intelligence officer, Lieutenant Colonel Purohit, is one of the accused in the 2008 Malegaon blasts, along with Sadhvi Pragya and others.

The 2008 Malegaon serial blasts claimed four lives and left nearly 79 injured.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A person was killed on Thursday evening after a car hit his bike in Delhi's Paharganj area.

The deceased identified as Pankaj was going to Mandi House area at around 5.30 p.m. when the car hit his bike.

Pankaj was rushed to the hospital where he was declared brought dead by the doctors.

A case has been registered in this regard and two persons, who were allegedly in an inebriated state, were also arrested.

Amit, Pankaj's brother in law, however, alleged that earlier the police were trying to hush up the matter.

Talking to ANI, Amit said, "Accident happened when the Honda City car hit the bike. One person saw the accused and handed them over to the police. Initially police did not take any action. After we went to the police station then FIR was registered. The accused were being treated well at the police station and were drunk."

The relative also alleged that they were not provided with the copy of medical report, which they forcefully got later.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The man who attacked soldiers with a machete died in a hospital.

The 30-year-old man of Somalian heritage was shifted to hospital in critical condition after he was wounded by gun shots.

Federal prosecutor's office confirmed that the suspect has been killed.

"Soldiers retaliated after the man attacked them with a weapon which some eyewitnesses have purported was a machete," news portal Metro reported earlier.

The suspect reportedly shouted "Allahu Akbar" before the attack.

The attack took place on Boulevard Emile Jacqmain in the centre of Brussels.

Two soldiers suffered minor injuries in the attack- one in the face, the other in the hand.

Soldiers retaliated after the man attacked them.

However, the authorities said that the 30-year-old man was not known for any terrorist activities.

Authorities are treating this as an isolated incident and have not changed Belgium's terror threat level, which is currently at level three, the reports said.

Images showed paramedics at the scene, accompanied by a heavy police presence.

Police have sealed off the scene of the incident.

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Star striker Lionel Messi has been advised by agent Mino Raiola to leave Barcelona and prove his greatness.

Messi has agreed a new deal with Barcelona but that contract remains unsigned amid uncertainty over his future at Camp Nou.

"A player like Messi must try another experience with a different club and prove how great he is," goal.com quoted Raiola as saying.

Raiola does not represent the Argentine but his list includes Paul Pogba, Romelu Lukaku, Marco Verratti, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

"Barcelona must be reinvented again," he added.

The Argentine will be out of contract in 2018, however, a new deal is all but finalised after months of negotiations between the player, his father Jorge and the club.

The fresh agreement will take the five-time Ballon d'Or winner until 2021 with the option of one further season.

The 30-year-old, who made his debut for Barca in 2004, won 30 trophies during his time at the Catalan club, scoring more than 500 goals. This new contract could see him retire at Camp Nou.

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The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday registered a case against health minister Satyendra Jain, wife Poonam Jain and four other associates, in connection with money laundering case.

According to the police reports, the CBI has started its search in the official residence of the minister, companies of the shell company, residence of the associates.

Earlier, the CBI had registered a preliminary inquiry against Satyendra Jain in April to inquire into allegations of money laundering against him.

It is alleged that Jain was involved in money laundering to the tune of Rs. 4.63 crore while being a public servant during 2015-16.

The case against Jain was referred to the CBI by Income Tax Department against the new Benami Transactions Prohibitions Act.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah on Friday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to sack Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar for negligence of his duty in stopping the violence in parts of Haryana post the conviction of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in connection with a rape case.

Omar took to Twitter and said, "PM Modi should sack his Haryana CM for gross dereliction of duty. The CM had more than enough time to prepare for this eventuality".

Soon after that, Omar tweeted again questioning the response of the security forces in Haryana stating that "Chilli bombs? Pepper grenades? Pellet guns? Do the forces keep those only for protesting Kashmiris?"

Following are the updates related to the case:

- State government will compensate for the losses of Media personnel and the properties of others: Ram Niwas, Additional Chief Secy to Haryana Government

- 1000 Dera Sacha Sauda followers have been detained, says Haryana's ADGP (Law & Order) Muhammad Akil

- Death toll in violent protests in Panchkula climbs to 17 and 200 injured

- Punjab and Haryana High Court says properties of Ram Rahim Singh should be attached to pay for the losses due to violence.

- Security at Delhi BJP headquarters increased post violence at various places

- Security in and around Civil Hospital in Sector 6 Panchkula also increased; Death toll reaches 12,100 injured in violent protests

- Violence reported in Delhi, two buses set ablaze on Mandoli flyover in Delhi's Nand Nagri.

- Death toll in Panchkula violence rises to 12, says CMO civil hospital.

- Bus set ablaze near Babu Jagjivan Ram Memorial Hospital in Delhi

- Two empty rakes of Rewa Express at Anand Vihar Terminal railway station set on fire: Northern Railway Spox Neeraj Sharma

- Police say bus torched in northeast Delhi's Loni Chowk

- Security tightened at railway stations in Delhi

- Army columns moved into Haryana's Sirsa district for quick reaction, as violent protests continue post rape conviction of Dera Chief Ram Rahim Singh

- The duty doctor at the Civil Hospital in Panchkula said at least five people were killed and 50 injured, including journalists and police.

- Six Army columns deployed in Panchkula post conviction of Dera Chief Ram Rahim Singh Ram Rahim Verdict

- Central Industrial Security Force personnel deployed within one km radius of Rohtak's Sunariya Jail Haryana

- Curfew imposed in Punjab's Muktsar, Bathinda, Mansa

- RamRahimVerdict: Administrative machinery geared up in Western Uttar Pradesh- Anand Kumar, ADG Law and Order

- Five people dead in Panchkula violence, says duty doctor at civil hospital.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
This year marks three noteworthy anniversaries for the James Bond franchise

In each of these films, James Bond can be seen wearing his official military uniform.

Inspired by Bond's rank and regalia, OMEGA has created the "Commander's Watch".

In design, OMEGA's "Commander's Watch" salutes the ensign colours of the British Royal Navy. Touches of white, blue and red are found throughout the watch, creating a suave and stately look.

The 41 mm stainless steel case features a blue ceramic bezel with a Liquidmetal diving scale and red rubber covering the first 15 minutes. The dial is polished white ceramic and includes 12 blue indexes, the word "Seamaster" written in red and blue skeleton hands.

Unique features include the 007 gun logo counterweight on the central seconds hand and the number seven in the date window which is colored red, while all other numbers are blue.

The NATO bracelet is blue, red and grey and follows a five stripe pattern with a polished buckle. On the wave-edged case-back, the "three stripes" of the Commander's naval insignia are featured on the rotor, along with a 007 "bullet" design.

The stainless steel model is limited to just 7,007 pieces and is driven by the OMEGA Calibre 2507. It comes with a three year warranty and is presented in a special box that has been inspired by a military medal case. The box also contains a stainless steel bracelet, a changing tool and a "naval pin" that mirrors the design of the NATO strap.

Additionally, the "Commander's Watch" also comes in an 18K yellow gold model, limited to just seven pieces.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Chief Justice of India (CJI) J. S Khehar, who will demit his office on 27th August, Sunday, today in his farewell speech, remembered his parents, teachers and seniors in judiciary.

"When I drew my first salary as a high court judge, my father's pension was higher," Khehar recalled nostalgically. Khehar credited his late father for his success as he taught him "perseverance and resolve."

He also praised his mother for being an "embodiment of sacrifice", and praised his wife and children.

Khehar completed his education in Kenya, where he was born and thanked his motherland for the education he received there.

He concluded his speech by thanking the judges, both senior and junior to him, for guiding him.

Having taken the office on 4th January this year, Khehar had a short but eventful term as Supreme Court's Chief Justice.

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Haryana's Director General of Police (DGP) B S Sandhu on late Friday night said that that 550 people have been rounded up and some arms and ammunition have been recovered due to the violence in Panchkula in the wake of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh being convicted in a rape case.

Speaking at press conference here, Sandhu said, "Curfew, which was clamped in Panchkula in the evening, has been lifted but certain restrictions are still in place. Three rifles, three pistols along with live cartridges and narcotics have been recovered and 65 dera vehicles have been impounded".

Confirming about the deaths in the state, Sandhu said 28 people died in the violence in Panchkula, six of them due to bullet injuries.

"60 policemen, including two SSPs, were also injured in the violence. While, 28 people died in the violence in Panchkula, six of them due to bullet injuries. Panchkula was now peaceful and all Dera supporters have been moved out even as some restrictions were still in place. Flag marches will be carried out in Panchkula by security forces," DGP said.

The DGP said that except for Sirsa, situation in rest of Haryana is under control.

"The Dera chief was airlifted to Rohtak, where he has been lodged in the district jail in Sunaria, nearly 10 km on the outskirts the town. The decision to airlift him was taken as part of strategy as Dera followers could have created problem for the security personnel had he been taken by road. We used tear gas, lathi-charge, pellet bullets and fired on them (protesters) where arson was reported. As a strategy, we didn't take Ram Rahim Singh to Ambala but Rohtak's Sunaria jail where he is present right now. It would have been very difficult to take him to Ambala jail as Dera followers were there on the way," he added.

Panchkula is completely peaceful at the moment, flag marches conducted.

Following are other updates related to the case:

- Curfew has been imposed in Sangrur, security stepped up after violent protests by Dera followers in Punjab.

- Section 144 imposed in Uttarakhand's Nainital

- Baghpat District Magistrate directs all schools in the region to remain closed today in Uttar Pradesh

- Delhi Transport Corporation has suspended bus services to NCR due to incidents of arson.

- Panchkula is completely peaceful at the moment, flag marches conducted: DGP Haryana, BS Sandhu

- Dera Sacha Sauda followers tried creating mischief, case has been registered. We have CCTV footage, probe underway: Madhur Verma, Delhi Police

- Haryana Government had made complete arrangements; the mob was really huge: Manohar Lal Khattar, Haryana CM

- Urged officials to work round the clock to restore normalcy and provide all possible assistance that is required, tweets PM

- PM Modi assures help to restore normalcy in violence-hit areas.

- Taking preventive measures, Chandigarh Police detains 81 people; confirms Chandigarh DGP Tejinder Singh Luthra

- Six private commandos of Ram Rahim Singh arrested by Chandigarh Police, weapons and petrol cans seized from them.

- Instances of violence are deeply distressing. Strongly condemn violence urge everyone to maintain peace, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted.

- 29 people have lost their lives, and 200 are injured. Directed doctors for best possible treatment: Haryana CM ML Khattar

- Curfew has been imposed in Patiala.

- Passengers have been stranded at Bathinda railway station due to curfew imposed in Punjab.

- Heavy security in place; Rapid Action force also deployed in Bathinda.

- Curfew has been imposed in Punjab's Sangrur and Moga districts.

- High level meeting is called at Home Minister Rajnath Singh's residence today. Home Secy and others senior officials will also be present.

- Almost 250 trains cancelled. All trains going towards Rohtak cancelled for tomorrow: Neeraj Sharma, CPRO, Northern Railway

- Section 144 imposed in Noida and Ghaziabad

- Dera supporters set power sub-station office on fire in Sriganganagar, vehicle at sub-station premises also torched in Rajasthan.

- Officials say 28 dead, 250 injured in Panchkula violence.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Ahead of the Special Court's judgement in a 15-year-old sexual exploitation case against Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim, the state police on Friday carried out Flag March in Sirsa.

Earlier today, the Punjab and Haryana High Court asked the Haryana Government to use force if needed, and file a First Information Report (FIR) against the leaders as well, if they make provocative statements.

Amid the increasing agitation propelled by Dera followers, Section 144 has been imposed in Chandigarh and as many as 74 trains have been cancelled for today in view of law and order situation in Haryana.

Also, the impact of the security arrangements has started showing in the adjoining areas of Rajasthan as the internet services have been suspended for 48 hours and Section 144 has been imposed in Sri Ganganagar.

An Army helicopter has also been deployed to conduct a security surveillance over Panchkula, where the hearing is to take place.

The possibility of an outbreak of violence in Haryana has also affected the cost of air travel. Reportedly, the fare from Delhi to Chandigarh has risen up to as much as Rs. 11,000.

Earlier on Thursday, Home Minister Rajnath Singh spoke to Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and assured him of adequate forces for security.

The Dera Sacha Sauda chief released a video message asking his supporters, camping in Panchkula, to go back home. He also asked his supporters to respect the law and maintain peace.

"I appeal to everyone to maintain peace. I had earlier also asked the Dera followers, who have gone to Panchkula, to return to their home. I will go to court. We all should respect law and maintain peace," he said in the video message.

He also posted a written appeal on social media platforms- Facebook and Twitter.

Around 53 companies of the paramilitary forces and 50,000 personnel of the Haryana Police have also been deployed. In addition, the Army has been alerted too.

The administration is also asked to take a stringent action if anyone tries to break the law.

The Dera Sacha Sauda chief, Gurmeet Ram Rahim, is accused with rape charges of a female devotee in 1999.

On August 17, the special CBI court of Panchkula concluded hearing in the case, but reserved pronouncing the verdict for August 25.

The CBI had taken over the investigation in 2002 and the hearing had been going on since 2007.

For the August 17 hearing, Singh was recused from appearing in person at Panchkula by the court. The Dera chief had cited medical reasons for not attending court in person.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Janata Dal (United) (JD(U)) veteran Sharad Yadav on Friday condemned the violence that is taking place after Gurmeet Ram Rahim was held guilty and charged with the offence of rape, and said, when politics and religion are mingled together then similar situation takes place.

"The condition at present in Iraq, Syria, Libya, Afghanistan and Pakistan can be compared with the ongoing Ram Rahim violence in the nation. Rahim is going to do the same in India through his followers. If you mingle politics and religion together then this will happen. Moreover, politicians are dependent on him for their vote bank," Yadav told ANI.

He further said that there is still blind faith in India and the government is doing nothing to curb it.

"With violence around these states, how can the State Government control it? These political parties are themselves involved in it for collecting votes. People and police should not be blamed for such upheaval rather the politics behind it is to be blamed," he asserted.

Earlier in the day, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to sack Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar for negligence of his duty in stopping the violence in parts of Haryana post the conviction of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in connection with a rape case.

Omar took to Twitter and said, "PM Modi should sack his Haryana CM for gross dereliction of duty. The CM had more than enough time to prepare for this eventuality".

Following are the updates related to the case:

- 1000 Dera Sacha Sauda followers have been detained, says Haryana's ADGP (Law & Order) Muhammad Akil

- Death toll in violent protests in Panchkula climbs to 17 and 200 injured

- Punjab and Haryana High Court says properties of Ram Rahim Singh should be attached to pay for the losses due to violence.

- Security at Delhi BJP headquaters increased post violence at various places

- Security in and around Civil Hospital in Sector 6 Panchkula also increased; Death toll reaches 12,100 injured in violent protests

- Violence reported in Delhi, two buses set ablaze on Mandoli flyover in Delhi's Nand Nagri.

- Death toll in Panchkula violence rises to 12, says CMO civil hospital.

- Bus set ablaze near Babu Jagjivan Ram Memorial Hospital in Delhi

- Two empty rakes of Rewa Express at Anand Vihar Terminal railway station set on fire: Northern Railway Spox Neeraj Sharma

- Police say bus torched in northeast Delhi's Loni Chowk

- Security tightened at railway stations in Delhi

- Army columns moved into Haryana's Sirsa district for quick reaction, as violent protests continue post rape conviction of Dera Chief Ram Rahim Singh

- The duty doctor at the Civil Hospital in Panchkula said at least five people were killed and 50 injured, including journalists and police.

- 6 Army columns deployed in Panchkula post conviction of Dera Chief Ram Rahim Singh Ram Rahim Verdict

- Central Industrial Security Force personnel deployed within one km radius of Rohtak's Sunariya Jail Haryana

- Curfew imposed in Punjab's Muktsar, Bathinda, Mansa

- RamRahimVerdict: Administrative machinery geared up in Western Uttar Pradesh- Anand Kumar, ADG Law and Order

- Five people dead in Panchkula violence, says duty doctor at civil hospital.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The disappearance of Sindhi human rights activist Punhal Sario has created outcry in Pakistan's Sindh province.

The 58-year-old head of the Voice for Missing Persons of Sindh, Punhal Sario recently marched from the Pakistani cities of Hyderabad to Karachi to demand the return of fellow activists who had gone "missing".

The activist was allegedly abducted from Hyderabad on August 3.

The police is denying to register a missing complaint, but Punhal's daughter and other human rights activists are running a campaign for his safe return.

Marvi Sario, daughter of Punhal Sario, said at a press conference, "I am not aware about those who have abducted my father but I am aware that the government and its secret agencies have the responsibility to protect its citizen. The police has not even registered an FIR about the disappearance of my father".

These recent alleged rights violations come just weeks after a review of Pakistan by the United Nations Human Rights Committee, which recommended that Pakistan end the practice of enforced disappearances and secret detentions.

People who are disappeared are held without legal protection, making them much more vulnerable to torture and other abuses.

The non-governmental Human Rights Commission of Pakistan reported that 728 people forcibly disappeared in Pakistan in 2016 alone.

Zulfiqar Halepoto, a Pakistani human rights activist said, "We are making an appeal that enforced disappearances should be stopped. Their concerns should be presented before the judiciary. If they are engaged in any unlawful activities, their family members should be informed. We are making a humanitarian appeal that Punjal Sario and others who have been disappeared from Balochistan, Sindh and other provinces of Pakistan should be freed".

According to Sindh Human Rights Defenders, a group that actively campaigns for human rights, around 160 people, including political and nationalist workers, students, rights activists and common citizens are missing in Sindh.

Some of these disappearances, an overwhelming majority of which is believed to be enforced ones, are up to nine years old.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Ahead of the judgement of a special court in a sexual exploitation case against Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim, as many as 74 trains have been cancelled for today in view of law and order situation in Haryana.

This takes the total number of cancelled trains to 201, including 92

Mail/Express and 109

Passenger trains.

However, mobile internet services will remain active in Gurugram and Faridabad.

The possibility of an outbreak of violence in Haryana has also affected the cost of air travel. Reportedly, the fare from Delhi to Chandigarh has risen up to as much as Rs. 11,000.

Meanwhile, Ram Rahim has asked his supporters, who have been camping in Panchkula, to return to their homes and maintain peace.

The Dera Sacha Sauda chief released a video message asking his supporters, camping in Panchkula, to go back home. He also asked his supporters to respect the law and maintain peace.

"I appeal to everyone to maintain peace. I had earlier also asked the Dera followers, who have gone to Panchkula, to return to their home. I will go to court. We all should respect law and maintain peace," he said in the video message.

The video message came ahead of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court's verdict in the 15-year-old rape case against the Dera Sacha Sauda chief.

Earlier on Thursday Home Minister Rajnath Singh spoke to Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and assured him of adequate forces for security.

Around 53 companies of the paramilitary forces and 50,000 personnel of the Haryana Police have also been deployed. In addition, the Army has also been alerted.

The administration is also asked to take a stringent action if anyone tries to break the law.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A high-level meeting has been called at Home Minister Rajnath Singh's residence on Saturday, in the wake of the verdict against chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in an alleged rape charge

Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi and other senior officials will also be present there.

Meanwhile, President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday condemned the violence and damage to public property after the court verdict against chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh on an alleged rape charge, appealing to all citizens to maintain peace.

President Kovind took to Twitter and wrote, "Violence and damage to public property after court verdict is highly condemnable; appeal to all citizens to maintain peace."

Following are the updates related to the case:

- The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said that the violence erupting after the court should not be linked with the saffron party.

- Congress President Sonia Gandhi has expressed grave concern and shock at the unabated violence in Panchkula and other parts of Haryana. She has appealed to everyone to maintain peace and harmony.

- The Communist Party of India (CPI) said that the BJP-led Haryana Government is in particular responsible for the attacks on media personnel, adding they should have anticipated such a huge gathering.

- Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should sack his Haryana CM for gross dereliction of duty.

- The Delhi Commissioner of Police apprised that adequate police arrangements in place and Law and Order situation under control.

- 28 dead, at least 250 injured in violent protests in Panchkula.

- 1000 followers have been detained, says Haryana's ADGP (Law & Order) Muhammad Akil

- 250 trains cancelled.

- Punjab and Haryana High Court says properties of Ram Rahim Singh should be attached to pay for the losses due to violence.

- Security at Delhi BJP headquaters increased post violence at various places

- Security in and around Civil Hospital in Sector 6 Panchkula also increased; Death toll reaches 12,100 injured in violent protests

- Violence reported in Delhi, two buses set ablaze on Mandoli flyover in Delhi's Nand Nagri.

- Death toll in Panchkula violence rises to 12, says CMO civil hospital.

- Bus set ablaze near Babu Jagjivan Ram Memorial Hospital in Delhi

- Two empty rakes of Rewa Express at Anand Vihar Terminal railway station set on fire: Northern Railway Spox Neeraj Sharma

- Police say bus torched in northeast Delhi's Loni Chowk

- Security tightened at railway stations in Delhi

- Army columns moved into Haryana's Sirsa district for quick reaction, as violent protests continue post rape conviction of Dera Chief Ram Rahim Singh

- The duty doctor at the Civil Hospital in Panchkula said at least five people were killed and 50 injured, including journalists and police.

- 6 Army columns deployed in Panchkula post conviction of Dera Chief Ram Rahim Singh Ram Rahim Verdict

- Central Industrial Security Force personnel deployed within one km radius of Rohtak's Sunariya Jail Haryana

- Curfew imposed in Punjab's Muktsar, Bathinda, Mansa

- Section 144 has been imposed in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad, Noida Shamli, Muzaffarnagar, Baghpat in view of violent protests in Punjab and Haryana

- RamRahimVerdict: Administrative machinery geared up in Western Uttar Pradesh- Anand Kumar, ADG Law and Order

- Five people dead in Panchkula violence, says duty doctor at civil hospital.
The Dera Sacha Sauda chief, Gurmeet Ram Rahim, who was charged with the offence of rape of a female devotee in 1999, was on Friday held guilty by the Special CBI Court of Panchkula.

The quantum of sentence will, however, be announced on August 28.

The decision came as soon as the Special CBI Court began the hearing on the case on Friday.

The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the Border Security Force (BSF) and the state police were present inside the premises of the court, when Justice Jagdeep Singh read out the verdict.

The case was registered by the CBI in 2002 against the self-styled godman after allegations of sexual exploitation of two women followers through anonymous letters.

On August 17, the Special CBI court concluded hearing in the case, but reserved pronouncing the verdict for today. For the hearing, Singh was recused from appearing in person at Panchkula by the court. The Dera chief had cited medical reasons for not attending court in person.

Meanwhile, ahead of today's judgement by the court, thousands of the Dera chief's followers had taken to the streets in a bid to demand to justice for their guru.

Earlier today, the state police carried out Flag March in Sirsa, even as the Punjab and Haryana High Court asked the Haryana Government to use force if needed, and file a First Information Report (FIR) against the leaders as well, if they make provocative statements.

Amid the increasing agitation propelled by Dera followers, Section 144 has been imposed in Chandigarh and as many as 74 trains have been cancelled for today in view of law and order situation in Haryana.

This took the total number of cancelled trains to 201, including 92 Mail/Express and 109 Passenger trains.

However, mobile internet services remained active in Gurugram and Faridabad.

Also, the impact of the security arrangements has started showing in the adjoining areas of Rajasthan as the internet services have been suspended for 48 hours and Section 144 has been imposed in Sri Ganganagar.

The possibility of an outbreak of violence in Haryana also affected the cost of air travel. Reportedly, the fare from Delhi to Chandigarh has risen up to as much as Rs. 11,000.

In addition to it, the security had been tightened in Sirsa district as Dera followers gathered on Court Road.

Yesterday, Ram Rahim asked his supporters, who had been camping in Panchkula, to return to their homes and maintain peace.

The Dera Sacha Sauda chief released a video message asking his supporters, camping in Panchkula, to go back home. He also asked his supporters to respect the law and maintain peace.

"I appeal to everyone to maintain peace. I had earlier also asked the Dera followers, who have gone to Panchkula, to return to their home. I will go to court. We all should respect law and maintain peace," he said in the video message.

Earlier on Thursday, Home Minister Rajnath Singh had spoken to Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and assured him of adequate forces for security.

Around 53 companies of the paramilitary forces and 50,000 personnel of the Haryana Police had also been deployed. In addition, the Army was also alerted.

The administration was asked to take a stringent action if anyone tries to break the law.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court had also pulled up the Haryana Government over the security arrangements provided in the state.

The High Court said that it doesn't want a situation like that of the Jat agitation to take place again in Haryana and has, hence, asked the Centre to deploy additional forces, and take strong steps.

The court also said that it would direct the Army if the needful isn't done.

The Central Government had, on its part, assured that a necessary action would be taken to curb any agitation.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court also said that it had been keeping a watch over the recent happenings in the states and reporting to the Information and Broadcast Ministry, and that all the necessary steps would be taken to restrict any agitation.

In addition to this, Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) had suspended 150 bus routes to the neighbouring states from today midnight till tomorrow.

According to a statement by Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh's office, a complete ban has been issued on carrying of firearms until the situation normalises.

The Chief Minister had also ordered the withdrawal of 1000 police personnel from VVIP security for deployment on field duty to strengthen the security blanket in the state, said an official spokesperson.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Dera Sacha Sauda spokesperson Dr. Dilawar Insa on Friday expressed anguish after the special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court Dera Sacha Sauda (DSS) held chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh guilty of rape charges and said that they would appeal to the court against the unjust.

While appealing the people to keep silent, the Dera Sacha Sauda spokesperson said, "We will appeal to the CBI court against the injustice. Dera Sacha chief has been serving for the betterment of people."

"The history has been repeated where great saints have been convicted for doing something correct," he added.

Earlier Janata Dal (United) veteran Sharad Yadav condemned the violence that is taking place after the DSS chief was held guilty and charged with the offence of rape, and said that when politics and religion are mingled together then similar situation takes place.

"The condition at present in Iraq, Syria, Libya, Afghanistan and Pakistan can be compared with the ongoing Ram Rahim violence in the nation. Rahim is going to do the same in India through his followers. If you mingle politics and religion together then this will happen. Moreover, politicians are dependent on him for their vote bank," Yadav told ANI.

He further said that there is still blind faith in India and the government is doing nothing to curb it.

"With violence around these states, how can the State Government control it? These political parties are themselves involved in it for collecting votes. People and police should not be blamed for such upheaval rather the politics behind it is to be blamed," he asserted.

Meanwhile, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah on Friday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to sack Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar for negligence of his duty in stopping the violence in parts of Haryana post the conviction of Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in connection with a rape case.

Following are the updates related to the case:

- 1000 Dera Sacha Sauda have been detained, says Haryana's ADGP (Law & Order) Muhammad Akil

- Death toll in violent protests in Panchkula climbs to 17 and 200 injured

- Punjab and Haryana High Court says properties of Ram Rahim Singh should be attached to pay for the losses due to violence.

- Security at Delhi BJP headquaters increased post violence at various places

- Security in and around Civil Hospital in Sector 6 Panchkula also increased; Death toll reaches 12,100 injured in violent protests

- Violence reported in Delhi, two buses set ablaze on Mandoli flyover in Delhi's Nand Nagri.

- Death toll in Panchkula violence rises to 12, says CMO civil hospital.

- Bus set ablaze near Babu Jagjivan Ram Memorial Hospital in Delhi

- Two empty rakes of Rewa Express at Anand Vihar Terminal railway station set on fire: Northern Railway Spox Neeraj Sharma

- Police say bus torched in northeast Delhi's Loni Chowk

- Security tightened at railway stations in Delhi

- Army columns moved into Haryana's Sirsa district for quick reaction, as violent protests continue post rape conviction of Dera Chief Ram Rahim Singh

- The duty doctor at the Civil Hospital in Panchkula said at least five people were killed and 50 injured, including journalists and police.

- 6 Army columns deployed in Panchkula post conviction of Dera Chief Ram Rahim Singh Ram Rahim Verdict

- Central Industrial Security Force personnel deployed within one km radius of Rohtak's Sunariya Jail Haryana

- Curfew imposed in Punjab's Muktsar, Bathinda, Mansa

- RamRahimVerdict: Administrative machinery geared up in Western Uttar Pradesh- Anand Kumar, ADG Law and Order

- Five people dead in Panchkula violence, says duty doctor at civil hospital.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Friday said that the culprits involved in the ongoing violence in the Gurmeet Ram Rahim case will be immediately arrested and added that the State Government will compensate for all the damages that have occurred.

"The government properties, vehicles and OB vans are damaged. The people behind all these activities have been identified and will be punished. People who were involved in firing shots have also been caught. The government will compensate to all the damages," Khattar told ANI.

He added that the Haryana Government was well prepared but the mob was large, therefore major damages have taken place.

"In the areas where the situation can go wrong, deployment of paramilitary and Armies have also been done," he asserted.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has assured that the law and order situation is being closely monitored and that all possible assistance will be provided that is required to restore normalcy in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh.

The Prime Minister took to Twitter and wrote, "Urged officials to work round the clock to restore normalcy and provide all possible assistance that is required."

Condemning the instances of violence in Punjab, Prime Minister Modi has appealed everyone to maintain silence.

Ram Rahim, was held guilty and charged with the offence of rape by a Special CBI Court of Panchkula.

Following are the updates related to the case:

- President Ram Nath Kovind tweeted, "Violence and damage to public property after court verdict is highly condemnable; appeal to all citizens to maintain peace."

- The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said that the violence erupting after the court should not be linked with the saffron party.

- Congress President Sonia Gandhi has expressed grave concern and shock at the unabated violence in Panchkula and other parts of Haryana. She has appealed to everyone to maintain peace and harmony.

- Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi tweeted, "Violence and brutality have no place in our society. Condemn rampage & lawlessness in Haryana,appeal to restore peace and tranquility."

- The Communist Party of India (CPI) said that the BJP-led Haryana Government is in particular responsible for the attacks on media personnel, adding they should have anticipated such a huge gathering.

- Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should sack his Haryana CM for gross dereliction of duty.

- The Delhi Commissioner of Police informed that adequate police arrangements in place and Law and Order situation under control.

- 29 dead, at least 250 injured in violent protests in Panchkula.

- The Delhi Police said Section 144 Cr PC imposed in 11 districts of Delhi including New Delhi.

- Curfew imposed in Sangrur and Moga areas of Punjab

- Ghaziabad District Magistrate directs all schools in the region to remain closed tomorrow.

- 1000 Dera Sacha Sauda followers have been detained, says Haryana's ADGP (Law & Order) Muhammad Akil

- All trains going to Rohtak cancelled for tomorrow, says Neeraj Sharma , CPRO, Northern Railways.

- 250 trains cancelled.

- Punjab and Haryana High Court says properties of Ram Rahim Singh should be attached to pay for the losses due to violence.

- Security at Delhi BJP headquaters increased post violence at various places

- Security in and around Civil Hospital in Sector 6 Panchkula also increased; Death toll reaches 12,100 injured in violent protests

- Violence reported in Delhi, two buses set ablaze on Mandoli flyover in Delhi's Nand Nagri.

- Death toll in Panchkula violence rises to 12, says CMO civil hospital.

- Bus set ablaze near Babu Jagjivan Ram Memorial Hospital in Delhi

- Two empty rakes of Rewa Express at Anand Vihar Terminal railway station set on fire: Northern Railway Spox Neeraj Sharma

- Police say bus torched in northeast Delhi's Loni Chowk

- Security tightened at railway stations in Delhi

- Army columns moved into Haryana's Sirsa district for quick reaction, as violent protests continue post rape conviction of Dera Chief Ram Rahim Singh

- The duty doctor at the Civil Hospital in Panchkula said at least five people were killed and 50 injured, including journalists and police.

- 6 Army columns deployed in Panchkula post conviction of Dera Chief Ram Rahim Singh Ram Rahim Verdict

- Central Industrial Security Force personnel deployed within one km radius of Rohtak's Sunariya Jail Haryana

- Curfew imposed in Punjab's Muktsar, Bathinda, Mansa

- Section 144 has been imposed in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad, Noida Shamli, Muzaffarnagar, Baghpat in view of violent protests in Punjab and Haryana

- RamRahimVerdict: Administrative machinery geared up in Western Uttar Pradesh- Anand Kumar, ADG Law and Order

- Five people dead in Panchkula violence, says duty doctor at civil hospital.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday has condemned the violence and damage to public property after the court verdict against Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh on an alleged rape charge, appealing to all citizens to maintain peace.

President Kovind took to Twitter and wrote, "Violence and damage to public property after court verdict is highly condemnable; appeal to all citizens to maintain peace."

Following are the updates related to the case:

- Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said that the violence erupting after the court should not be linked with the saffron party.

- Congress President Sonia Gandhi has expressed grave concern and shock at the unabated violence in Panchkula and other parts of Haryana. She has appealed to everyone to maintain peace and harmony.

- Communist Party of India (CPIsaid that the BJP-led Haryana Government is in particular responsible for the attacks on media personnel, adding they should have anticipated such a huge gathering.

- Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should sack his Haryana CM for gross dereliction of duty.

- The Delhi Commissioner of Police apprised that adequate police arrangements in place and Law and Order situation under control.

- 28 dead, at least 250 injured in violent protests in Panchkula.

- 1000 Dera Sacha Sauda followers have been detained, says Haryana's ADGP (Law & Order) Muhammad Akil

- All trains going to Rohtak cancelled for tomorrow, says Neeraj Sharma , CPRO, Northern Railways.

- 250 trains cancelled.

- Punjab and Haryana High Court says properties of Ram Rahim Singh should be attached to pay for the losses due to violence.

- Security at Delhi BJP headquaters increased post violence at various places

- Security in and around Civil Hospital in Sector 6 Panchkula also increased; Death toll reaches 12,100 injured in violent protests

- Violence reported in Delhi, two buses set ablaze on Mandoli flyover in Delhi's Nand Nagri.

- Death toll in Panchkula violence rises to 12, says CMO civil hospital.

- Bus set ablaze near Babu Jagjivan Ram Memorial Hospital in Delhi

- Two empty rakes of Rewa Express at Anand Vihar Terminal railway station set on fire: Northern Railway Spox Neeraj Sharma

- Police say bus torched in northeast Delhi's Loni Chowk

- Security tightened at railway stations in Delhi

- Army columns moved into Haryana's Sirsa district for quick reaction, as violent protests continue post rape conviction of Dera Chief Ram Rahim Singh

- The duty doctor at the Civil Hospital in Panchkula said at least five people were killed and 50 injured, including journalists and police.

- 6 Army columns deployed in Panchkula post conviction of Dera Chief Ram Rahim Singh Ram Rahim Verdict

- Central Industrial Security Force personnel deployed within one km radius of Rohtak's Sunariya Jail Haryana

- Curfew imposed in Punjab's Muktsar, Bathinda, Mansa

- Section 144 has been imposed in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad, Noida Shamli, Muzaffarnagar, Baghpat in view of violent protests in Punjab and Haryana

- RamRahimVerdict: Administrative machinery geared up in Western Uttar Pradesh- Anand Kumar, ADG Law and Order

- Five people dead in Panchkula violence, says duty doctor at civil hospital.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Haryana Police on Friday said that the situation in Panchkula district is under control following the ruckus that took place after the conviction of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh by a Special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Court of Panchkula.

The Deputy General of Police (DGP), BS Sandhu, while addressing the media said, "The situation in Panchkula district is under control. The Haryana Police has been successful to control the crowd after the court verdict was announced."

He further said that the police had used gun fires and lathi-charged to control the mass that started protesting the court's verdict due to which at least 28 persons lost their lives and more than 200 people were injured.

"It was really difficult for us to take the DSS chief to the Panchkula jail from the CBI court as the protesters started blocking the way for our passage. However, the Haryana Police could manage the crowd," DGP Sandhu told media.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday assured that the law and order situation is being closely monitored and that all possible assistance will be provided that is required to restore normalcy in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh.

Ram Rahim, was held guilty and charged with the offence of rape by a Special CBI Court of Panchkula.

Following are the updates related to the case:

- President Ram Nath Kovind tweeted, "Violence and damage to public property after court verdict is highly condemnable; appeal to all citizens to maintain peace."

- The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said that the violence erupting after the court should not be linked with the saffron party.

- Congress President Sonia Gandhi has expressed grave concern and shock at the unabated violence in Panchkula and other parts of Haryana. She has appealed to everyone to maintain peace and harmony.

- Congress Vice- President Rahul Gandhi tweeted, "Violence and brutality have no place in our society. Condemn rampage & lawlessness in Haryana,appeal to restore peace and tranquility."

- The Communist Party of India (CPI) said that the BJP-led Haryana Government is in particular responsible for the attacks on media personnel, adding they should have anticipated such a huge gathering.

- Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should sack his Haryana CM for gross dereliction of duty.

- The Delhi Commissioner of Police informed that adequate police arrangements in place and Law and Order situation under control.

- 29 dead, at least 250 injured in violent protests in Panchkula.

- The Delhi Police said Section 144 Cr PC imposed in 11 districts of Delhi including New Delhi.

- Curfew imposed in Sangrur and Moga areas of Punjab

- Ghaziabad District Magistrate directs all schools in the region to remain closed tomorrow.

- 1000 Dera Sacha Sauda followers have been detained, says Haryana's ADGP (Law & Order) Muhammad Akil

- All trains going to Rohtak cancelled for tomorrow, says Neeraj Sharma , CPRO, Northern Railways.

- 250 trains cancelled.

- Punjab and Haryana High Court says properties of Ram Rahim Singh should be attached to pay for the losses due to violence.

- Security at Delhi BJP headquaters increased post violence at various places

- Security in and around Civil Hospital in Sector 6 Panchkula also increased; Death toll reaches 12,100 injured in violent protests

- Violence reported in Delhi, two buses set ablaze on Mandoli flyover in Delhi's Nand Nagri.

- Death toll in Panchkula violence rises to 12, says CMO civil hospital.

- Bus set ablaze near Babu Jagjivan Ram Memorial Hospital in Delhi

- Two empty rakes of Rewa Express at Anand Vihar Terminal railway station set on fire: Northern Railway Spox Neeraj Sharma

- Police say bus torched in northeast Delhi's Loni Chowk

- Security tightened at railway stations in Delhi

- Army columns moved into Haryana's Sirsa district for quick reaction, as violent protests continue post rape conviction of Dera Chief Ram Rahim Singh

- The duty doctor at the Civil Hospital in Panchkula said at least five people were killed and 50 injured, including journalists and police.

- 6 Army columns deployed in Panchkula post conviction of Dera Chief Ram Rahim Singh Ram Rahim Verdict

- Central Industrial Security Force personnel deployed within one km radius of Rohtak's Sunariya Jail Haryana

- Curfew imposed in Punjab's Muktsar, Bathinda, Mansa

- Section 144 has been imposed in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad, Noida Shamli, Muzaffarnagar, Baghpat in view of violent protests in Punjab and Haryana

- RamRahimVerdict: Administrative machinery geared up in Western Uttar Pradesh- Anand Kumar, ADG Law and Order

- Five people dead in Panchkula violence, says duty doctor at civil hospital.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Uttar Pradesh Additional Director General (ADG) of Law and Order Anand Kumar on Friday said that the status in Western Uttar Pradesh is under control after a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court convicted Dera Sacha Sauda (DSS) chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh for his alleged involvement in a 2002 rape case.

He further said that Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) has been imposed in several districts.

"Status of the Western Uttar Pradesh is in control and Section 144 has been imposed in some districts and if there is anything else then the District Magistrate and Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) will impose this Section in other areas," Kumar told ANI.

He added that there was an incident of fire in a vehicle on the Delhi Border in Ghaziabad, where three to four youths set bus seats on fire.

"Else other places are under control and for the 72 hours the Uttar Pradesh Police will be on high alert," Kumar asserted.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today assured that the law and order situation is being closely monitored and that all possible assistance will be provided that is required to restore normalcy in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh.

The Prime Minister took to Twitter and wrote, "Urged officials to work round the clock to restore normalcy and provide all possible assistance that is required."

Following are the updates related to the case:

- Delhi Transport Corporation has suspended bus services to NCR due to incidents of arson.

- Panchkula is completely peaceful at the moment, flag marches conducted: DGP Haryana, BS Sandhu

- Dera Sacha Sauda followers tried creating mischief, case has been registered. We have CCTV footage, probe underway: Madhur Verma, Delhi Police

- Haryana Government had made complete arrangements; the mob was really huge: Manohar Lal Khattar, Haryana CM

- Urged officials to work round the clock to restore normalcy and provide all possible assistance that is required, tweets PM

- Taking preventive measures, Chandigarh Police detains 81 people confirms Chandigarh DGP Tejinder Singh Luthra

- Six private commandos of Ram Rahim Singh arrested by Chandigarh Police, weapons and petrol cans seized from them.

- Instances of violence today are deeply distressing.Strongly condemn violence&urge everyone to maintain peace, tweets PM Modi.

- 29 people have lost their lives, and 200 are injured. Directed doctors for best possible treatment: Haryana CM ML Khattar

- Curfew has been imposed in Patiala.

- Passengers have been stranded at Bathinda railway station due to curfew imposed in Punjab.

- Heavy security in place; Rapid Action force also deployed in Bathinda.

- Curfew has been imposed in Punjab's Sangrur and Moga districts.

- High level meeting called at Home Minister's residence tomorrow. Home Secy and others senior officials will also be present.

- Almost 250 trains cancelled. All trains going towards Rohtak cancelled for tomorrow: Neeraj Sharma, CPRO, Northern Railway

- Section 144 imposed in Noida and Ghaziabad

- Dera supporters set power sub-station office on fire in Sriganganagar, vehicle at sub-station premises also torched in Rajisthan.

- Officials say 28 dead, 250 injured in Panchkula violence.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh left Kyrgyzstan on Friday after attending the ninth meeting of the heads of governments of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).

The two-day meeting of heads of Governments of SCO Member States ended today and focused on prevention and elimination of emergency situations.

In the meeting, Singh focused on the importance of an interconnected world and how risk-reduction is not a local activity anymore, as actions in one part of the world may affect the other parts.

He also said that between 1996 and 2015, the SCO countries lost 300,000 lives to natural disasters and the economic losses from disasters are extremely high.

"Nearly 40 percent of the humanity lives in our countries. We represent some of the fastest growing economies. If we are able to prevent and reduce the impact of disasters and emergencies, it will have huge global benefits as well," he said.

He also suggested that a meeting of technical experts can be organized to make exchange of knowledge and experiences on earthquake-resistant building construction, model building codes and standard processes for ensuring compliance, easier.

"We can work on regional cooperation for making our infrastructure disaster-resilient. Over the coming decades, investment in infrastructure in the SCO countries will be the driver of sustainable development," Singh said.

"We need cooperation in the area of early warning systems for extreme weather events. A technical meeting of representatives of our meteorological services will be a very beneficial first step to foster collaboration in this area," he said.

The minister offered to host a meeting of the meteorological services of SCO countries in early 2019, adding that India also offers to host a joint exercise on 'urban earthquake search and rescue' in the same year.

Rajnath Singh led the Indian delegation which includes senior officers from Home and External Affairs Ministries and Disaster Management Authority.

India got the full membership of SCO this year and Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended SCO's annual Summit meeting held in Astana, Kazakhstan in June this year.

The participation of India as SCO Member will open additional opportunities for giving new impetus to the development of international cooperation in the field of protecting the population and territories from emergency situations within the framework of the SCO.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Sakshi Maharaj has come out in favour of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, who was convicted by a special CBI court in Panchkula in a 15-year old rape case, saying that he is being harassed because he is a "simple man."

Speaking to the reporters here, Maharaj said "Crores of people are supporting Ram Rahim, and only one person is complaining against him. Is one person right or are crores of people right? There is so much of ruckus over it, law and order has been disturbed, people are dying... Shouldn't this be a consideration?"

Further, condemning the legal system, Maharaj said that the court will have to bear the blame for it.

"The legal system has failed to see the point he was making. The court will have to bear the blame for it, not the goons who unleash it. Can the Supreme Court or High Court call the Shahi Imam (head) of Jama Masjid in this manner? He is also wanted in many cases... Is he their relative?," he said.

Following are the updates related to the case:

- Delhi Transport Corporation has suspended bus services to NCR due to incidents of arson.

- Panchkula is completely peaceful at the moment, flag marches conducted: DGP Haryana, BS Sandhu

- Dera Sacha Sauda followers tried creating mischief, case has been registered. We have CCTV footage, probe underway: Madhur Verma, Delhi Police

- Haryana Government had made complete arrangements; the mob was really huge: Manohar Lal Khattar, Haryana CM

- Urged officials to work round the clock to restore normalcy and provide all possible assistance that is required, tweets PM

- Taking preventive measures, Chandigarh Police detains 81 people confirms Chandigarh DGP Tejinder Singh Luthra.

- Six private commandos of Ram Rahim Singh arrested by Chandigarh Police, weapons and petrol cans seized from them.

- Instances of violence today are deeply distressing. Strongly condemn violence urge everyone to maintain peace, tweets PM Modi.

- 29 people have lost their lives, and 200 are injured. Directed doctors for best possible treatment: Haryana CM ML Khattar

- Curfew has been imposed in Patiala.

- Passengers have been stranded at Bathinda railway station due to curfew imposed in Punjab.

- Heavy security in place; Rapid Action force also deployed in Bathinda.

- Curfew has been imposed in Punjab's Sangrur and Moga districts.

- High level meeting called at Home Minister's residence tomorrow. Home Secy and others senior officials will also be present.

- Almost 250 trains cancelled. All trains going towards Rohtak cancelled for tomorrow: Neeraj Sharma, CPRO, Northern Railway.

- Section 144 imposed in Noida and Ghaziabad

- Dera supporters set power sub-station office on fire in Sriganganagar, vehicle at sub-station premises also torched in Rajisthan.

- Officials say 28 dead, 250 injured in Panchkula violence.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A court has sentenced Lee Jae-yong, the acting chairman of the Samsung company, to five years in prison after finding him guilty of offering bribes and other crimes.

Jae-yong, who is considered to be one of the richest men in South Korea and heir to the Samsung empire, had been accused of making "large donations" to foundations run by a close friend and confidante, the South Korean president, Park Geun-hye, in return for political favours.

The court said Lee had provided bribes anticipating support from Park, who was still president at the time, The Guardian quoted South Korea's Yonhap news agency.

Lee, the successor of South Korea's richest family and its biggest company, had been accused of offering $38m (30m) in bribes to four entities controlled by Choi, to whom Park often turned for advice and allegedly gave access to government documents even though she did not have security clearance.

Lee's lawyers are expected to appeal soon, where the decision is likely to be taken by the country's Supreme Court, possibly next year.

Lee Jae-yong was spared the 12-year term demanded by prosecutors, where his sentence is said to be the longest given to any South Korean chaebol leader.

The chaebol includes a shipbuilding division, construction company, pharmaceuticals and advertising arms. Other chaebols include LG, Lotte and Hyundai.

Jae-yong became the Samsung president in 2009, while in 2013 he was made the vice-chairman of Samsung Electronics, which makes smartphones, televisions, cameras and hard drives.

But since Lee's father Lee Kun-hee suffered a heart attack in 2014, he has been considered to run the Samsung empire.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Responding to the United States President Donald Trump's remarks on Islamabad while rolling out the new policy for Afghanistan, Pakistan's civil and military leadership on Thursday said scapegoating them will not help stabilise the war-ravaged country.

In a clear ultimatum to Islamabad, Trump said Pakistan had to change its "double game" policy or face the consequences.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson then explained that Washington may revoke Pakistan's major non-NATO ally status as well as possibly cutting military aid and other assistance, if it continues to provide shelter to the Afghan Taliban and Haqqani network.

Pakistan said claims of billions of dollars in aid to Islamabad by the U.S. were misleading as they were actually partial reimbursements for part of the cost of ground facilities and use of air corridors by the Washington for its operations in Afghanistan, rather than financial aid or assistance.

The statement came after a meeting of Pakistan's National Security Committee, presided over by Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and attended by the ministers of foreign affairs, interior, and finance, the three services chiefs, and the head of Inter Services Intelligence (ISI).

Earlier, speaking from the Fort Myer military base in Arlington, Va., Trump had said that Pakistani people have suffered from terror, but at same time, it has been safe haven for terrorists too."

The U.S. President singled out Pakistan for supporting what he called "agents of chaos".

He added, "We have been paying Pakistan billions of dollars and the same time they are housing the very terrorists that we are fighting. No partnership can survive if a country is harbouring militants and terrorist to target U.S. service members and officials. It is time for Pakistan to demonstrate its commitment to civilization and peace.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The head of Sierra Leone's disaster response of the Office of National Security, Ishmael Tarawalie, has confirmed that at least 500 people have lost their lives from the devastating mudslides in Sierra Leone.

In addition, the number of people officially reported missing in Sierra Leone, following last week's mudslide and floods in Freetown, has jumped from 600 to at least 810, Anadolu News reported.

Office of National Security has revealed that out of the 493 bodies recovered since the August 14 mudslide, 157 were children's. The figures also showed that out of 5,905 people affected by the mudslides, 2,607 are children.

"We are grateful to the countries around the including our neighbours for providing cash support, food, and medicine to help in the response. In 45 days time, 52 houses will also be provided for some affected people whilst more support is being coordinated," Tarawalie told the country's national broadcaster SLBC.

Israel was the first country to extend assistance to disaster-hit Sierra Leone by delivering food aid for 10,000 meals.

Following which, Nigeria provided $1 million as well as medical and relief items. Other countries such as Ghana, Togo, Guinea, Senegal, Liberia, Morocco and Ivory Coast have also donated money, food and various items of relief.

The Commonwealth and the African Union also offered condolences to the people of Sierra Leone and promised to support the country.

The Red Cross said torrential rains caused mudslides and transformed city streets into fast-moving rivers of muddy water, washing away everything in their path.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Recently, there were reports that Matt Reeves' directorial 'The Batman' won't be a part of DC Extended Universe.

But now the director has quashed all such reports and has addressed the increasingly loud discussion over whether or not his upcoming Batman movie will be part of the larger DC Extended Universe.

In a series of tweets, the 51-year-old director has confirmed that his movie will be a part of the DC Extended Universe of 'Justice League' and 'Wonder Woman'.

He further stated, "In my comments from a while back about not being part of the DCEU, I was talking about The Batman being a story specifically about Batman. Not about the others in the Universe. That it wouldn't be filled with cameos servicing other stories, that it would be a BATMAN story."

Whether or not Reeves' 'The Batman' would be part of the same universe as 'Justice League' became the subject of online discussion this week when a July interview the director gave re-emerged in the wake of the news that Warner Bros was developing a label for DC properties to be adapted into movies outside the shared universe of earlier features, beginning with a Joker movie from 'The Hangover's Todd Phillips.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, in the July interview, the 'War for the Planet of the Apes' helmer also spoke about pitching the movie to Warner Bros.

He shared, "What they said was, 'Look, it's a standalone, it's not part of the extended universe.'"

The solo Batman movie has long been a surprisingly touchy subject. Rumours have swirled that Batman star Ben Affleck was looking to exit the DCEU, though the actor brushed off the reports onstage at Comic-Con during the studio's showing.

Batman's next big-screen appearance is in November's 'Justice League,' with Affleck under the cowl.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A triple talaq petitioner, Ishrat Jahan has been facing social boycott in Kolkata following the Supreme Court struck down the Islamic practice of divorce, citing it 'unconstitutional'.

On August 22, the apex court struck down triple talaq and declared the Islamic practice unconstitutional. In a 3-2 majority verdict, the top court struck down the age-old practice under which a Muslim man could divorce his wife by uttering the word "talaq" thrice.

Talking to ANI, Ishrat Jahan said, "I fought against the triple talaq because of which society is abusing me. I am being labelled wrong for fighting for my right. The fight is becoming difficult day by day but still I will fight."

Jahan's lawyer, Nazia Elahi Khan said that ever since the apex court pronounced the judgment, the females in the society have started boycotting them and called them wives of Hindu.

"When this historical judgment came on August 22, we were happy but from the very next day the females here started boycotting us and also threatened us. I want to say that the judgment is for the instant triple talaq and not triple talaq. We are against instant triple talaq, we also have faith in Islam," she said.

Khan said that they have sent a letter to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee apprising her of the same. She further said they would seek apex court's intervention if Banerjee does not reply.

"Defamatory and bad words are being used against us. We are being called as wives of the Hindus. I respect the law and order that does not mean that I will be treated like this," she added.
Sri Lanka captain Upul Tharanga has been suspended from the next two ODIs of the ongoing five-match series against India after his side were found guilty of a serious over-rate offence during their nerve-wracking three-wicket defeat in the second match in Pallekele on Thursday.

Andy Pycroft of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees imposed the suspension after the Sri Lanka side was ruled to be three overs short of its target when time allowances were taken into consideration.

In accordance with Article 2.5.2 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to serious over-rate offences, players were fined 10 per cent of their match fees for the first two overs and 20 per cent of their match fees for the third over their side failed to bowl in the allotted time, with the captain also receiving two suspension points.

As two suspension points equate to a ban from one Test or two ODIs or two T20Is, whatever comes first for the player, Tharanga has been suspended from his side's upcoming matches against India in Pallekele and Colombo on August 27 and August 31respectively, while each of his players have received a fine of 40 per cent.

Tharanga pleaded guilty to the offence and accepted the proposed sanction, so there was no need for a formal hearing.

Tharanga was also suspended for two matches in the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 due to a serious over-rate offence. Therefore, if Sri Lanka commits another serious over-rate breach in an ODI from now until June 3, 2018 with Tharanga as captain, it will be a third serious over rate offence by Tharanga and he will receive a sanction of a minimum of eight suspension points.

The charge was laid by on-field umpires Ranmore Marti.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The woman activist on Fridayheld the Haryana Government responsible for the violence and chaos in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarah after the court verdict against Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh on an alleged rape charge.

Speaking to ANI here, woman activist Subhashini Ali said, "The Haryana Government is responsible for everything. The Police did nothing in this regard at that time. Now today innocents are suffering and facing many problems."

Ali alleged that the Haryana Government had soft corner for Ram Rahim because he helped them during elections.

"The lady who filed complaint against him is very brave. I appealed that guilty should be punished," he added.

Another woman activist Shamina Shafiq hailed the court's verdict against Ram Rahim stating that the judgement restored our faith in the judiciary.

"Though it took a long time but still justice has been done. I appreciate judiciary that they did not succumb to pressure. The court's verdict restores the faith in the judiciary," Shafiq added.

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah on Friday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to sack Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar for negligence of his duty in stopping the violence in parts of Haryana post the conviction of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in connection with a rape case.

Omar took to Twitter and said, "PM Modi should sack his Haryana CM for gross dereliction of duty. The CM had more than enough time to prepare for this eventuality".

Soon after that, Omar tweeted again questioning the response of the security forces in Haryana stating that "Chilli bombs? Pepper grenades? Pellet guns? Do the forces keep those only for protesting Kashmiris?"

Following are the updates related to the case:

- 1000 Dera Sacha Sauda followers have been detained, says Haryana's ADGP (Law & Order) Muhammad Akil

- Death toll in violent protests in Panchkula climbs to 17 and 200 injured

- Punjab and Haryana High Court says properties of Ram Rahim Singh should be attached to pay for the losses due to violence.

- Security at Delhi BJP headquaters increased post violence at various places

- Security in and around Civil Hospital in Sector 6 Panchkula also increased; Death toll reaches 12,100 injured in violent protests

- Violence reported in Delhi, two buses set ablaze on Mandoli flyover in Delhi's Nand Nagri.

- Death toll in Panchkula violence rises to 12, says CMO civil hospital.

- Bus set ablaze near Babu Jagjivan Ram Memorial Hospital in Delhi

- Two empty rakes of Rewa Express at Anand Vihar Terminal railway station set on fire: Northern Railway Spox Neeraj Sharma

- Police say bus torched in northeast Delhi's Loni Chowk

- Security tightened at railway stations in Delhi

- Army columns moved into Haryana's Sirsa district for quick reaction, as violent protests continue post rape conviction of Dera Chief Ram Rahim Singh

- The duty doctor at the Civil Hospital in Panchkula said at least five people were killed and 50 injured, including journalists and police.

- 6 Army columns deployed in Panchkula post conviction of Dera Chief Ram Rahim Singh Ram Rahim Verdict

- Central Industrial Security Force personnel deployed within one km radius of Rohtak's Sunariya Jail Haryana

- Curfew imposed in Punjab's Muktsar, Bathinda, Mansa

- Section 144 has been imposed in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad, Noida Shamli, Muzaffarnagar, Baghpat in view of violent protests in Punjab and Haryana

- RamRahimVerdict: Administrative machinery geared up in Western Uttar Pradesh- Anand Kumar, ADG Law and Order

- Five people dead in Panchkula violence, says duty doctor at civil hospital.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
US Marine Corps divers have recovered the body of a second sailor who went missing with eight others after an American destroyer collided with an oil tanker near Singapore, officials said on Friday.

The body was found late Thursday inside the flooded destroyer USS John S. McCain, which is anchored at Singapore's Changi Naval Base, according to a statement released by the US 7th Fleet, Efe news reports.

The body, identified as that of Dustin Louis Doyon, 26, was found hours after divers recovered the corpse inside the destroyer, which was identified as that of the 22-year-old Kenneth Aaron Smith.

Another eight sailors are still missing following the accident which occurred on Monday in the Singapore Strait.

US and Singapore authorities on Thursday suspended the maritime search-and-rescue operation, which had included ships, helicopters and maritime patrol aircraft from Malaysia, Indonesia and Australia.

The collision between the US destroyer and the ALNIC MC, the oil tanker weighing more than 30,000 tonnes and sailing under the Liberian flag, on Monday also left five US sailors injured.

The accident did not cause any spill although the tanker was carrying about 12,000 tonnes of fuel from Taiwan to Singapore.

--IANS

ksk/mr

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A CBI team on Friday raided Delhi Home Minister Satyendar Jain's residence in connection with a money laundering case but his AAP rejected the charges and called the move an effort to "frame" him.

An official of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said the raid was conducted at four different places and the agency had also registered a case in the matter of disproportionate assets.

"Four places in Delhi including the official residence of the Minister, one of the places of his shell company and two of the places of his associates, were raided today (Friday). The CBI on Thursday has also registered an FIR of having disproportionate asset against Jain," the official told IANS.

The CBI has also claimed to have recovered some certain incriminating documents during searches.

Jain -- who holds several important portfolios including Health and PWD -- also confirmed the development, tweeting: "CBI reached my home for search."

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) denied all the charges against its leader and accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of misusing the CBI.

"Jain is facing the charges of money laundering which is completely false. The BJP at Centre is misusing the CBI and the Income Tax department and is trying to frame Jain," AAP said in a statement.

The agency registered a case under charges of Prevention of Corruption Act and abetment charge under Indian Penal Code against Jain, his wife and four of his associates.

"It has been alleged that Jain while functioning as a public servant has amassed assets disproportionate to his known sources of income to the extent of Rs 1.62 crore during December 14, 2015 to May 31, 2017," the CBI official said, adding Jain's wife and associates have allegedly abetted the commission of said offence.

The CBI in April this year had registered a preliminary inquiry against Jain and others in an alleged money laundering case to the tune of Rs 4.63 crore in 2015-16 and found during its inquiry that Jain and his associates were involved in money laundering through shell companies.

This apart, before becoming public servant, Jain was allegedly involved in laundering of Rs 11.78 crore during 2010-2012 through the shell companies based in Delhi, the CBI official said.

"It was also alleged that Jain had control over these shell companies either in the form of being one of the directors and by holding 1/3rd shares of these firms in his name or in the names of his family members and others. Although, he had resigned from the directorship of three companies in 2013 before contesting election, however, his investments in these companies were allegedly continued.

"It was further alleged that the said companies did not have any business and were shell companies and were utilized for parking money in the form of investments in equity shares in connivance with Kolkata based shell companies," the CBI official said.

The CBI had also questioned Jain earlier in June in the money laundering case.

The inquiry against the Minister was registered on the basis of several evidences collected against him by the CBI, saying he was involved in money laundering despite being a public servant.

He is accused of being involved in the crime through Kolkata-based companies Prayas Info Pvt Ltd, Akichand Developers and Mangalyatan Project Pvt Ltd -- a charge denied by Jain.

--IANS

rak/vd

(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.)
After US President Donald Trump announced that Apple CEO Tim Cook has promised to build three new manufacturing plants in the country, the Cupertino-based tech giant has announced plans to build a $1.3 billion data centre in Waukee, Iowa.

"Our new data centre in Iowa will help serve millions of people across North America who use Siri, iMessage, Apple Music and other Apple services, all powered by renewable energy," said Tim Cook, Apple's CEO, in a statement late Thursday.

"Apple is responsible for 2 million jobs in all 50 states and we're proud the investment will add to the more than 10,000 jobs we already support across Iowa, providing even more economic opportunity for the community."

The investment to build the 400,000 sq.ft facility will create over 550 construction and operations jobs in the Des Moines area.

The company is contributing up to $100 million to a newly created Public Improvement Fund dedicated to community development and infrastructure around Waukee.

Construction on the data centre is expected to start early next year and Apple plans to bring it online in 2020.

Last year, Apple spent over $50 billion with more than 9,000 US suppliers and manufacturers.

Since the launch of the App Store in 2008, US developers have earned over $16 billion in its sales worldwide.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal in July, Trump said he had a phone conversation with Cook.

"He's promised me three big plants -- big, big, big," Trump said, referring to Cook.

"I said you know, Tim, unless you start building your plants in this country, I won't consider my administration an economic success. He called me, and he said they are going forward," Trump was quoted as saying.

The President has reiterated several times that he would bring jobs back to the US.

--IANS

na/ksk

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The central government on Friday took stock of the law and order situation in Punjab and Haryana ahead of a verdict against Dera Sacha Sauda sect chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a rape case.

"The Home Ministry has taken stock of the situation in Haryana and Punjab and the security measures being taken by both the states to handle any untoward situation once the verdict is announced," an official said.

The Home Ministry official said over 200 companies of paramilitary forces were deployed in Haryana and Punjab.

Besides, the ministry had kept over 50 paramilitary companies ready in emergency.

The Dera chief is to appear in a CBI court in Panchkula near Chandigarh in the case pertaining to the alleged rape and sexual exploitation of a former female disciple.

Despite charges of murder, conspiracy and rape that he faces, the Dera chief enjoys Z-category security provided by Haryana Police and moves around in a fleet of bullet-proof luxury sport utility vehicles.

--IANS

rak/ksk/mr

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The railways on Friday cancelled over 200 Haryana-bound trains as security concerns mounted ahead of CBI court's verdict in a case involving Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh with lakhs of his supporters gathering in Panchkula town.

A Northern Railway official told IANS: "At least 201 trains heading to Haryana on Friday have been cancelled in view of the law and order situation in the state." These included 92 express and 109 passenger trains.

Some of the cancelled trains were Jaipur-Chandigarh Intercity Express, Barmer-Kalka Express, Barmer Haridwar Link Express, Firozpur-Chandigarh Express, Kalka Himalyan Queen.

Tension mounted in Haryana and neighbouring Punjab ahead of the CBI court's verdict in the rape case against the Dera chief.

A large garrison of Army, paramilitary and state police personnel was put on high alert to tackle any situation arising after the court's verdict.

(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.)
Police and paramilitary forces have been deployed in outer Delhi on Friday ahead of a verdict against Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a rape case, police said.

A Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court will deliver its verdict in Haryana's Panchkula.

In outer Delhi, which borders Haryana, around 14 police picketing posts have been set up and a company of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) has been also deployed, a senior police officer told IANS.

Each post will have four police officers to provide round-the-clock security cover and the ITBP company is around 80-member strong.

"We're taking extra care in Peeragarhi, Kanjhawala, Mundka border and Baba Haridas Nagar police station limits which are closer to the border," the officer added.

Deputy Commissioner of Police and Delhi Police spokesperson Madhur Verma told IANS that there was no extra security in the city apart from outer Delhi.

"Till now there is no impact of the verdict in the city," he added.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Friday said that Dera Sacha Sauda sect properties could be attached "if it is found that sect followers were responsible" for the large-scale violence unleashed in both states after a court held the Dera chief guilty of rape.

The court also sought a list of properties and assets the sect owns.

The High Court bench of Justices S.S. Saron, Surya Kant and Avneesh Jhingan, in its resumed hearing, said that "whosoever has been instigating and inciting the crowd that has gathered to commit these acts of arson and violence, they would be sternly dealt with".

"The damages that are caused to the public and private properties shall be recovered from them," said the judges.

"Dera Sacha Sauda shall submit a list of its assets and properties, which can be attached in case it is found that they and their followers are responsible for the acts."

Issuing a stern warning to the Dera and its followers, the judges asked Haryana Advocate General B.R. Mahajan to tell its civil administration to "assess the damage and bring the statement before us".

The court also directed the central government to provide additional forces to Punjab.

The court's observation came after Punjab's counsel informed the court that the situation was tense in the state after the verdict holding Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh guilty of rape and sexual exploitation.

It also sought details from the Panchkula administration regarding the damages to public and private property in the violence.

At least 30 people have died in the violence unleashed by Dera Sacha Sauda followers.

Tens of thousands of followers of the Dera chief went on a rampage, burning vehicles and buildings and attacking media persons, after a special CBI court here pronounced the verdict in the 2002 case.

Earlier in the day, a bench of judges also categorically told the Haryana government that politicians, including ministers, should not be allowed to visit Panchkula, where the CBI court is located.

"If the politicians interfere, they needed to be booked," said the judges.

Apprehending violence after the verdict, the High Court had also directed the police to videograph any cases of arson, and arrest those responsible for that.

"Suicide is not without instigation, and instigation itself is an offence," the bench had said, adding they did not want to see police men being beaten up.

On Thursday, the court had asked the Centre to provide additional forces ahead of the judgment.

A Division Bench of acting Chief Justice Surinder Singh Saron and Justice Avneesh Jhingan had said they "did not want a situation similar to the Jat reservation stir".

--IANS

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Following violence in many parts of Haryana and Punjab by Dera Sacha Sauda sect members, police has been put on high alert in the districts of western Uttar Pradesh, officials said on Friday evening. Prohibitory orders under Section 144 have also been clamped as a precautionary measure in Baghpat, Muzaffarnagar, Ghaziabad and Noida, adjoining Delhi.

Principal Secretary (Home) Arvind Kumar told IANS that vigil has been stepped up on the borders and police has been asked to identify possible rioters who might try to sneak into UP and foment trouble.

Officials have also been asked to remain in touch with the management of Dera Sacha Sauda Ashram in Baghpat, he said.

"Local authorities have been assured that there would be no violence on their part," the top ranking Home Department official added.

Ghaziabad District Magistrate Ministhy S. Nair, while proclaiming the enforcement of preventive measures in the district, said initially the prohibitory measures would be in place for two weeks and the situation would be reviewed later.

Prohibitory orders have also been enforced in Gautam Budh Nagar district comprising Noida and Greater Noida.

Noida District Magistrate B.N. Singh said Section 144 was already in place and in view of the developments in the adjoining state, it has been extended.

Security has been beefed up in all western UP districts and a state of high alert has been declared specially in Baghpat where the sect has an ashram in Barnava. Magistrates and extra police force have been deployed on the border of Haryana.

Thousands of Dera followers have already left for Sirsa and Panchkula earlier in the day.

Vehicles are being checked on the border and a Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) and Circle Officer (CO) have been posted on the Niwada check post. District authorities said they are being extra vigilant and all measures were in place to ensure that violence does not spill into the UP side.

Ambulances and fire tenders have also been put on alert so that in case of any emergency they could come in handy, an official said.

--IANS

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Rajya Sabha member from West Bengal Derek OBrien (Trinamool Congress), also known as one of the countrys most famous quiz masters, is set to list the lessons he has learnt as an MP in his new book, "Inside Parliament", which will release in November.

Published by HarperCollins India, the book includes some of O'Brien's best political essays covering subjects ranging from federalism, the Constitution, the note ban and the beef ban to the much-debated GST bill, social media and education.

"We are all familiar with Derek O'Brien asking questions. He is one the most articulate, outspoken members of the Opposition. The book is essential reading for anyone interested in understanding today's India and those who care about its future," publisher Diya Kar Hazra said in a statement.

HarperCollins India has also acquired the publishing rights for two more of O'Brien's soft-skills books -- "Success Is a Four-Letter Word" and "The Success Checklist".

"The government is trying to write a false narrative around a ten-letter word: corruption. We, the Opposition, are trying to set the narrative right with another ten-letter word: competence. As I begin my second term in the Rajya Sabha, I am happy to be publishing with HarperCollins India," the statement quoted O'Brien as saying.

--IANS

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Bhutan is one of the youngest democracies of the world and among those rare countries whose ruling monarchs believed in the "government of the people, for the people and by the people". But even before the monarchs, there came a Buddhist lama from Tibet and unified the country, thus paving the way to what it is today. His contribution was so significant that even five decades after his death, his passing away was kept a secret.

The Queen Mother, Ashi Dorji Wangmo Wangchuck, took the visitors to the Mountain Echoes Literary Festival on a nostalgic ride down memory lane during the opening session here as she vividly recalled the thriving legacy of Zhabdrung Rinpoche, the founder of the Bhutanese state.

She was in conversation with Khenpo Sonam Bumdhen, a lecturer at the Institute of Science and Mind, in the jam-packed auditorium of Royal University of Bhutan.

"I am going to talk about Zhabdrung Rinpoche. He is the most revered person in the history of our nation, who founded and unified our country. Everything that we are today, everything that we have today is because of him," Wangchuck said.

Without much glorification and tribute, the Queen Mother set the records straight by explaining his contribution to the Bhutanese state and first began by informing the diverse gathering from many parts of the world that Zhabdrung, the first name of Bhutan's founder, literally translates into somebody at whose feet people submit. "And I submit to his feet every day of my life," she maintained.

It emerged during the discussion that Zhabdrung's arrival in Bhutan during the second decade of the 17th century was very timely.

"Like Buddha came to India at a time when there was great disparity and a genuine need for somebody like him to change the lives of people, Zhabdrung too arrived in Bhutan when there was a lot of turmoil and political disorder. It was very urgent for Zhabdrung to come to Bhutan because people were in pain, suffering and disorder," Bumdhen elaborated.

According to most historical records, Zhabdrung arrived in Bhutan in 1617 along with 30 monks and soon gained control over the entire Himalayan kingdom. He is largely credited with unifying the people of Bhutan with a sense of cultural identity, which according to him, was very different from that of Tibet.

He consolidated control over western Bhutan subduing rivals belonging to the Lhapa, a branch of the Drikung Kagyu sect which had built some of the original dzongs in Bhutan, including the Punakha dzong, in 1637-38. The Drukpa Kagyu, the Lhapa Kagyu and the Nenyingpa had all controlled parts of western Bhutan since the 12th century.

Later he conquered and unified all of Bhutan. He founded the Cheri Monastery and lived there for many years. In 1629, he built the Semtokha dzong at the entrance to Thimphu valley. From this dzong he could exert control over traffic between the powerful Paro valley to the west and the Trongsa valley to the east. This emerged as his capital city and this was from where he ruled the entire kingdom.

His greatest contribution, the Queen Mother said, was the introduction of the dual system of government, or the union of the temporal and the spiritual. Under this system, the rulers were to pay equal attention to both public governance as well as spiritual matters.

"He sent this decree to all the districts and monasteries to declare himself as the Supreme Commander of Bhutanese people. Everybody fell in line because they knew that he was a person of great wisdom and that he would unify all of Bhutan into one cultural identity, which was not even thought of earlier," Bumdhen added.

Rinpoche passed away in 1651, and power effectively passed to the penlops (local governors).

"His death was kept a secret for more than five decades to consolidate the new state and because his spiritual legacy had to be continued. The monks ruled while pretending to follow his orders," the Queen Mother contended.

(Saket Suman is attending the Mountain Echoes Literary Festival at the invitation of the organisers. He can be contacted at saket.s@ians.in)

--IANS

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A doctor working with the city's St. Stephen's Hospital was stabbed to death and his throat slit by a former colleague within the hospital premises in north Delhi over personal animosity, police said on Friday.

Police said the accused, identified as Suyesh Gupta, went missing after killing his friend, deceased Sashwat Pandey, 26, in the Radiology Department of the hospital. A manhunt is on to nab the killer doctor.

The incident came to light when the body of Pandey, 26, hailing from Allahabad, was found lying in a pool of blood by senior doctors and police late on Thursday night in the X-ray Department of the hospital.

"With the help of biometric record, we discovered that around 1.00 a.m Gupta had entered Pandey's room in the Radiology Department. When a staff-member went to take signature of Pandey at the department, he found the door was locked from outside. He got suspicious as the door is never locked from outside during duty hours," Deputy Commissioner of Police Jatin Narwal said.

"The hospital administration informed police and they jointly broke open the door. The body of Pandey was found inside the department with surgical blade injuries on his chest, face and neck," Narwal said.

"Gupta and Pandey were friends and worked in the same department in the hospital, but Gupta was later sacked by the management over some irregularities four months ago. Gupta stays with his mother in Sabzi Mandi area. His car with its seat with blood stains was recovered from Anand Vihar area," the officer added.

"They later turned foes owing to some personal issue, following which Gupta killed Pandey. The exact reason for killing Pandey can be ascertained only after his arrest," he said.

Pandey did his MBBS from Manipal University in Karnataka and took admission in 2015 at the St. Stephen's Hospital's college. Gupta is a native of Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh.

--IANS

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Unlike the technical snags faced by traders earlier, the first return filing under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) was progressing smoothly on Friday, the last day to file form GSTR-3B, tax accountants said.

August 25 is the last date for filing GSTR-3B form, which is a summary return of details of outward supplies, inward supplies, credit and payment of GST, for the month of July.

"Today, GSTR-3B filing is a smooth ride. The portal is working without technical snags. In a few cases, taxpayers have already uploaded their details and have informed that it is much faster," chartered accountant Jigar Doshi, Partner, SKP Business Consulting, told IANS.

The government earlier had announced a five-day extension for filing GST returns till August 25, after the GST return filing portal had stopped functioning and traders across the country could not file returns due to a technical snag.

"The GST site is responsive and we hope it remains so during uploading of invoice level GSTR-1 filings. We hope to have similar snag-free experience in GSTR-1 filings," Atul Bohra, Chief Financial Officer, Kolte Patil Developers, said.

Apart from GSTR 3B, three forms -- GSTR 1, GSTR 2 and GSTR 3 -- need to be filed by businesses. For the month of July, the three forms will have to be filed between September 1 and 5, September 6 and 10 and September 11 and 15, respectively.

Form GSTR 1 would reflect sales of a business, GSTR 2 would reflect purchases and GSTR 3 is a combination of sales and purchases.

For the month of August, the three forms will have to be filed between September 16-20, September 21-25 and September 26-30, respectively.

Pune-based chartered accountant Pritam Mahure, however, said that in a few cases, the GST payment was not appearing.

"Today is the last day for filing GSTR-3B and the site is working. However, in a few cases due to non-appearing of GST payment, taxpayers are unable to file returns. We hope the government quickly addresses these challenges by discussing with banks," he said.

For those who want to avail transitional input tax credit, the deadline for filing GSTR-3B is August 28. The summary return for the month of August is to be filed by September 20.

--IANS

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At least 12 fuel stations near the Haryana border in Delhi were shut down on Friday night as a preemptive measure following violence in the neighbouring state, a Delhi Petrol Pump Association official said.

Association spokesman Nishit Goel told IANS that the fuel stations have been closed till further orders.

The closure came as violence erupted in Haryana following Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh's conviction in a rape case.

At least 30 people have been killed in Haryana as security forces fired at rampaging mobs in the state's Panchkula.

--IANS

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German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere defended a controversial surveillance pilot project on Thursday which uses new facial recognition technology.

Speaking on the ARD Morgenmagazin tv-show, de Maiziere insisted that the technology could be used to enhance Germany's security if it proved successful during an ongoing six-month test at the Suedkreuz Berlin railway station.

According to Xinhua news agency, he also visited the Suedkreuz railway station later on the same day, saying that it remained to be clarified under what legal framework the technology could be used.

De Maiziere was responding to calls for an immediate halt to the pilot project following claims that federal police had misled 300 people who volunteered to participate in the scheme.

"The transponders which subjects carried with them for additional identification collect much more data than previously revealed by the federal police," data protection organisation Digitalcourage was quoted as saying.

German Federal Privacy Commissioner Andrea Vosshoff voiced similar concerns in the Berliner Zeitung on Thursday, saying that participants had not been adequately informed.

She demanded that federal police reapply for approval for the pilot project before continuing with tests.

--IANS

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A hostage situation at a restaurant in Charleston, US state of South Carolina, has ended after police shot and injured a gunman, the city's mayor said on Thursday.

Mayor John Tecklenburg said the restaurant employee shot by the gunman earlier has died, Xinhua news agency reported.

Interim Charleston Police Chief Jerome Taylor said all the hostages were rescued safely but did not specify the number of the hostages.

The assailant was shot by police and taken to a local hospital in critical condition.

Earlier, the man, believed to "a disgruntled employee" reportedly shot one person and held several other hostages in the restaurant in downtown Charleston.

The shooting is not an act of terrorism or racism, Tecklenburg told a press conference.

"It's a disgruntled employee who has come on the scene of his employment," he said.

The shooting was reported just after noon in downtown Charleston near a row of restaurants and shops popular with tourists, according to Charleston Police spokesman Charles Francis.

Local reports said the police department sent SWAT teams and a bomb disposal unit to the area. Police asked people to stay inside and those outside to avoid the area.

--IANS

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India and Nepal on Thursday agreed to enhance connectivity between the two countries for economic growth as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepal counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba held delegation-level talks here.

"The two Prime Ministers shared the view that enhanced connectivity between India and Nepal will increase people-to-people contacts as well as promote economic growth," a joint statement issued after the discussions said, adding that both leaders reviewed the progress made in the implementation of bilateral connectivity projects.

According to the statement, both sides recognised the need for early completion of two ongoing cross-border rail-link projects - Jayanagar-Bijalpura-Bardibas and Jogbani-Biratnagar - and noted they will be completed by 2018.

It said that both leaders underlined the importance of rail links in connectivity as these links could usher in growth and development by way of enhanced trade and tourism links.

Both leaders also agreed on early completion of the field location survey of the remaining three cross-border rail links: New Jalpaiguri-Kakarbhitta, Nautanwa-Bhairahawa, and Nepalgunj Road-Nepalgunj.

The two leaders also welcomed the award of work of integrated check post at Biratnagar and directed their officials to operationalise it by December 2017, while seeking early approval of "Detailed Engineering Designs of ICPs at Bhairahawa and Nepalgunj".

Modi and Deuba also expressed satisfaction on the award of contract for 12 packages under nine roads, totalling about 240 km, under the Terai roads project.

"The Nepali side assured to resolve expeditiously all encumbrances relating to land acquisition, forest clearances and removal of utility services for early completion of the project," the statement said.

"The two Prime Ministers noted with satisfaction the progress in the construction of dharamshala at the Pashupatinath temple complex. They expressed hope that the work on the dharamshala and Nepal-Bharat Maitri Polytechnic at Hetauda would be expedited."

According to the statement, Deuba said that the Nepal government considered the Motihari-Amlekhgunj petroleum pipeline project a priority project and both leaders welcomed the finalisation of detailed engineering route survey and engineering design reports and asked officials to "expeditiously remove all bottlenecks, including right of way, land acquisition, environmental and regulatory clearances, so that the construction work could begin at the earliest".

Both Modi and Deuba also welcomed the decision to set up a joint working group on cooperation in oil and gas sectors, which would consider measures such as construction of an LPG pipeline from Motihari to Amlekhgunj, construction of a natural gas pipeline from Gorakhpur to Sunwal, and assistance of Indian Oil for preparing a detailed project report for extension of petroleum products pipeline from Amlekhgunj to Chitwan in Nepal.

--IANS

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Iraqi security forces battling Islamic State (IS) terrorists on Thursday extended their grip in the city of Tal Afar as they seized four neighbourhoods from the group, the Iraqi military said.

The army's 9th Armored Division and the paramilitary Hashd Shaabi units freed al-Nour al-Thani neighbourhood in eastern the city after heavy clashes with IS terrorists and initiated a new progress at the edge of the adjacent al-Uroubah neighbourhood, Xinhua quoted Lt Gen Abdul-Amir Yarallah from the Joint Operations Command (JOC) as saying.

The Iraqi soldiers, backed by armoured vehicles broke into the eastern neighbourhood of al-Jazira and recaptured part of it, along with seizing al-Saray police station and the civil defence building, Yarallah said.

In western Tal Afar, the federal police and the Hashd Shaabi units freed al-Wahda and raised the Iraqi flags over some of its buildings after they defeated terrorists group and started a new push on the edge of the adjacent al-Rabie neighborhood, Yarallah added.

The commandos of the Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) initiated a new push at the edge of the adjacent al-Nidaa neighborhood, Yarallah noted.

--IANS

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Japan on Friday approved the freezing of assets of additional foreign firms, due to their links with North Korea, which includes adopting new unilateral sanctions.

The sanctions affect four Chinese and two Namibian companies, as well as one Chinese and one North Korean national, adding to the measures announced by Japan in July, a government spokesperson told Efe news.

Tokyo's decision involves freezing the assets of those believed to be collaborating with the North Korean regime in exporting coal and sending labour abroad, and is meant to curb capital inflows into the rogue nation, in response to its military program escalation.

As a punishment to those associated with the Pyongyang regime's weapons programs or raw materials trade, Tokyo already included five companies and nine individuals from China on the list in late July.

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said during a press conference on Friday here, that Japan believes it is extremely important to pressure North Korea, along with the United States and South Korea.

Tokyo's decision to expand its list comes after Washington announced on Tuesday the freezing of assets and banning financial transactions with more than fifteen Chinese and Russian entities and individuals for their association with North Korea.

Beijing has opposed the imposition of unilateral sanctions by any country outside the framework of the UN.

The UN Security Council approved new sanctions against North Korea earlier this month, imposed for the rogue state's two intercontinental missile tests in July, which could reduce Pyongyang's annual export revenue by $1 billion.

--IANS

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Asif Kapadia and James Gay-Rees, the Oscar-winning makers of "Amy", will be making a new three-part documentary series about the 1993 murder of 18-year-old black student Stephen Lawrence by a group of white teenage boys.

James Rogan is directing the BBC One series about one of Britain's most famous murder cases. The commission was announced on Thursday by Charlotte Moore, director of BBC Content, at the Edinburgh International Television Festival, reports variety.com.

"The Stephen Lawrence Story" (working title) will be produced by On the Corner Films. Gay-Rees and Kapadia serve as executive producers, with Victoria Musguin-Rowe as series producer.

The series will examine the racially motivated murder of 18-year-old Lawrence in April 1993, the killing's aftermath, investigation and ramifications.

Lawrence's mother Doreen said the documentary would mark an end to the journey she and her family have been on since the murder.

She said it would be "the definitive narrative of the events of the past quarter of a century - a full, frank and comprehensive drawing-together of the story that has shaped the lives of both my family and myself since that fateful April night".

Gay-Rees and Kapadia won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature with their 2015 Amy Winehouse project "Amy".

--IANS

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Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday expressed his concern to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the instances of violence across north India in the wake of Dera Sacha Sauda chiefs conviction.

Describing the situation as "worrying", Vijayan advised Modi to ensure that the law took its own course in the case.

"It is worrying that widespread instances of violence, rioting and arson are being reported in several north Indian states following the verdict convicting Gurmeet Ram Rahim by a CBI special court in Panchkula," Vijayan said in a letter to the Prime Minister.

"I have personally been receiving calls from Malayalis from the affected areas, who are in fear for their life and property. May I request you to take immediate and necessary action to ensure that the life and property of all our citizens are protected without fail," he said in the letter.

He said that strict action against those behind "these unprecedented acts of violence" should be ensured.

Vijayan said that "measures that evoke confidence in our public that our Constitution will be upheld and that the law will be allowed to take its due course will undoubtedly be much appreciated".

At least 30 people were killed and hundreds injured as security forces fired at rampaging mobs in Panchkula in Haryana after a CBI court held Gurmeet Ram Rahim guilty of rape and sexual exploitation.

The Dera supporters set hundreds of vehicles on fire and also attacked the media persons reporting from the ground.

Curfew has been imposed in a number of towns in 10 Punjab districts and in three Haryana towns, including Panchkula and Sirsa, following the violence. Also, prohibitory orders were issued by police in Delhi-NCR.

--IANS

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Kerala is all set to celebrate Onam on September 4 as people on Friday observed Atham Day that signals the arrival of the harvest festival.

Atham is celebrated 10 days before Thiru Onam -- the most important festival in Kerala.

Traditionally, celebrations of Onam begin on the Atham Day and take place near here at Tripunithura. The event is called Tripunithura Atha chamayem.

More than 60 tableaus were on display and 1,000 artists took part in the event inaugurated by State Tourism and Devasom Minister Kadakampally Surendran.

Onam falls in "Chingam", the first month according to the Malayalam Calendar.

It is believed the state had its golden period during the reign of King Mahabali and his annual visits to his subjects began the Onam celebrations.

Popular Malayalam and Tamil actor Raveendran is a popular figure on the Atham Day as his house is located where the festivities take place.

"It has now become a practise for me that irrespective of where I am, on this day, I come here to basically re-live. It's a fabulous experience," said Raveendran.

--IANS

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President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday condemned the violence that erupted in Haryana, Punjab and Delhi after Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim was convicted in a rape case, and appealed for peace.

"Violence and damage to public property after court verdict is highly condemnable; appeal to all citizens to maintain peace," the President tweeted.

His remarks came after 30 people were killed in violence in Haryana after a CBI court in Panchkula convicted Baba Ram Rahim in a rape case.

Private and government property was vandalised in Haryana, Punjab and Delhi by Dera supporters.

--IANS

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Parliament of Kyrgyzstan on Friday approved Sapar Isakov for the post of the Central Asian country's new Prime Minister.

The coalition majority of the parliament earlier on the day nominated Isakov for the post of Prime Minister, Xinhua reported.

At an extraordinary meeting of the parliament, 97 deputies voted yes, with five saying no. Totally, there are 120 deputies in the parliament. Also, the deputies approved the program, structure and composition of the new government introduced by Isakov.

Isakov's nomination came after Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev signed Tuesday a decree, accepting Prime Minister Sooronbay Jeenbekov's resignation, as the latter was ready to run for the presidential election in October.

Jeenbekov has officially registered himself to the Central Election Commission (CEC) as a presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan (SDPK) in the elections scheduled for October 15.

According to law, after registration as a presidential candidate, the prime minister must either resign or temporarily resign before the end of elections.

The president then instructed the parliament to hold an extraordinary session on Friday to form a new cabinet.

As the candidate for prime minister, Isakov on Friday presented his program and a new composition of the government to the deputies of the majority coalition, which consists of three parties: the SDPK, Bir Bol, and Kyrgyzstan.

Isakov, 40, has been working as chief of the President's Office of Kyrgyzstan since March this year. Before that, he was a chief of the foreign policy department of the President's Office.

--IANS

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FC Barcelona and Argentina forward Lionel Messi is expecting his third child.

Just over a month since the marrying Antonella Roccuzzo, the pair are set to have another baby, according to reports in Argentine newspaper Ole.

Messi and Roccuzzo are already parents of one-year-old Mateo and four-year-old Thiago.

Messi, a five-time Ballon d'Or winner, married his childhood sweetheart at the end of June this year in a lavish Argentinian ceremony, which more than 250 family members and friends attended.

--IANS

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Wade through a searing memoir and a chilling indictment of the Indian prison system; get an insight look into what motivates exceptional companies and how they are a cut above the rest; read a mystery story that revolves around diamonds worth millions; and flick through a book full of stories from Chennai.

IANS bookshelf has varied fare to offer to its readers for this weekend.

1. Book: Comeuppance: My Experiences in an Indian Prison; Author: James Tooley; Publisher: Speaking Tiger; Pages: 256; Price: Rs 299

In March 2014, James Tooley, a champion of low-cost private schools across South Asia and Africa, was enjoying a break in Hyderabad, where he reunited with his girlfriend Sara and niece Alissa. One evening he was visited by a friendly Deputy Superintendent of CID, who was concerned about alleged irregularities in the funding of his NGO, the Educare Trust. Tooley clarified that he had already given a statement to the CID and shut the NGO down years ago. However, not to be brushed off, the Deputy Superintendent returned to his hotel later that night -- this time with a posse of subordinates to arrest him without a warrant.

Conditions in the prison were dire, and the jailers typically cruel and violent, but the other prisoners were extraordinarily kind. Appallingly, many had been inside for years, never charged with anything, often victims of police corruption and too poor to go to court.

In this disturbing yet gripping book, Tooley recounts his time in prison and his Kafkaesque struggle against Indian bureaucracy. Even after securing bail, he was subjected to humiliating interrogations, threats from armed goons and demoralising visits to the court.

A searing memoir and a chilling indictment of the Indian prison system, the police, and the judiciary which allows them discretion to act with impunity, "Comeuppance: My Experiences in an Indian Prison" is a timely reminder about the terrifying reality of 21st century India.

2. Book: Win Win Corporations; Author: Shashank Shah; Publisher: Penguin; Pages: 438; Price: Rs 599

Why did Ratan Tata decide to pay for all the victims of 26/11 whether injured in the Taj or anywhere else? Why did HDFC's Aditya Puri insist that employees leave for home by 5.30 p.m.? How did HUL develop a cheaper, better product to beat its competitor, Nirma? What do Taj Hotels, HDFC, HUL, L&T and BPCL have in common? They are the win-win corporations. Based on over a decade of research, Shashank Shah takes a look at these truly outstanding Indian companies and how they do business.

Each of these companies has exceptional practices when it comes to stakeholder management. Whether the stakeholder is an employee, customer, investor, vendor or even society at large, these companies reveal how looking at everyone else's interests doesn't really mean compromising your own. Often, the two complement each other and that is what makes a win-win solution for everyone. The book provides an inside look at what motivates exceptional companies and how they are a cut above the rest. Full of fascinating anecdotes, leadership philosophy and background stories of the organisations, "Win-Win Corporations" is an inspiring read about what makes companies great.

3. Book: Diamonds Are For All; Author: Surender Mohan Pathak; Publisher: Harper Black; Pages: 400; Price: Rs 299

Taxi driver Jeet Singh is cruising for fare when a man being tailed by a bunch of goons blocks his way. Entrusting him with a briefcase full of secret, classified government documents to be delivered in lieu of a huge sum to a girl in Jogeshwari, he jumps off the moving taxi.

His body is found by the railway track in a Mumbai suburb the next morning, while Jeet Singh finds he has nobody to give the briefcase to: The girl died mysteriously the previous night. He opens the briefcase, and a free-for-all for diamonds worth millions is set into motion.

4. Book: Madras on my Mind; Authors: Chitra Viraraghavan and Krishna Shastri; Publisher: Harper Collins; Pages: 207; Price: Rs 350

Once upon a time by the sea, there was a story and another and another and some wandered into these pages to make up a city.

So meet, among others, a travel guide who falls for a French tourist, a rice merchant with Kollywood dreams, a god whose editor proves elusive, a portly musical lawyer caught in a noir plot, and a man in search of family in the Great Madras Flood.

Find yourself, among other places, in Town, at that gastronomic oxymoron, the Udipi cafe, in Velachery, looking for pot or maybe for love, on Kaanum Pongal day all across Madras, even in a fast car on East Coast Road, fleeing the city till it lures you back with its lovely lies.

It's all here: The salt in the breeze, the eternal summer, the swing of the sea.

It's Madras on your mind.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Pakistan on Thursday strongly rejected US President Donald Trump's accusation that Pakistan has been undermining the US's so-called 'war against terror' despite receiving billions of dollars in aid.

A high-level meeting of military and political leaders under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi was held on Thursday to come up with a response to Trump's stance on Afghanistan and South Asia, in which he had singled out Pakistan for its alleged involvement in terrorism.

"We have been paying Pakistan billions and billions of dollars at the same time they are housing the very terrorists that we are fighting," Trump had said in his speech on Monday night.

According to Pakistani daily The Dawn, Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal, Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif, Chairman Joint Chief of Staff Committee Zubair Hayat, Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Air Chief Marshal Sohail Aman, and Naval Chief Admiral Muhammad Zakaullah attended the four-hour long meeting.

The conclusions of the meeting were later shared in Senate by Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif.

"The committee observed that Pakistan had to manage the blow-back of a protracted conflict in Afghanistan that resulted in a deluge of refugees, flow of drugs and arms and, recently, terrorist safe havens in eastern Afghanistan," the foreign minister said, a statement said.

"The committee observed that these safe-havens harbour anti-Pakistan terrorist groups that continue to operate and launch attacks inside Pakistan," the statement added.

"The fact remains that the complex issues and internal dynamics inside Afghanistan pose a grave challenge not only to Pakistan but to the broader region and the international community," the statement said, adding, "Pakistan has consistently supported all international efforts for a stable and peaceful Afghanistan.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
CHINA: "The giant has awakened! Let the world tremble!"

ALSO CHINA: "We banned your tweet because it may cause our civilisation to collapse."

I totally don't get that country. Their messages are too mixed.

Mind you, the whole world is baffling these days. One of the defining questions of the modern era seems to be: What Is Your Position On Cow Poop?

Two news items that arrived in this columnist's inbox on the same morning highlighted the two main options.

An angry farmer used a farm machine to spray "a wave of manure" all over a law enforcement officer's vehicle, said a news item from Vermont in the United States. There was widespread disgust at the act, commentators said.

Covering your house with cow dung has huge benefits and will even make it proof against radioactive beams, a high court judge declared, according to news items from Rajasthan in India. Judge Mahesh Chand Sharma sang the praises of cow poop earlier this summer.

Clearly that US farmer should move to Asia and bring his dung-spraying machine.

What other news items highlight East-West differences?

A colleague pointed out that the US TV reality series "I Married A Stranger" is now playing on screens in Asia. "But marrying a stranger is normal in much of South Asia," she said. To have the same shock effect, she suggested starting a reality TV series called "I Married Someone I Knew".

Reader Amitava Bose noted that the US beauty contestant who said "marriage is between a man and a woman" was considered by Westerners to have said something utterly outrageous, while people from the East were left scratching their heads.

"In the West, failure to be politically correct is a far worse crime than murder," said Bose.

I was sceptical of this, but he pointed out that the Western media is beside itself with hysteria at President Donald Trump, who says politically incorrect things but has not murdered anyone. The exact same media worships the ground walked on by former President Barack Obama, who was politically correct but committed extra-judicial murder (he got his men to sneak into Pakistan and execute Osama Bin Laden and four others, including a woman).

Good point. Bose said that if I was ever arrested for assassinating someone in a Western country (unlikely), my best defence would be to say something like: "I supported transgender rights before it was cool."

This columnist, who has roughly equal numbers of friends who are Eastern and Westernised, liberal and conservative, tends to avoid these controversial issues.

But I was delighted to hear about a case in Mumbai that should keep all sides happy. A woman named Aarav Appukuttan felt her personality was male. A man named Sukanyeah Krishna felt his personality was female.

They went independently to a clinic for gender re-assignment -- but met and fell in love, the media reported.

Now the man-turned-woman plans to marry the woman-turned-man.

Their case stomps violently on tradition, so liberals will cheer loudly, but will ultimately end up with a male marrying a female, so conservatives can also cheer loudly.

Everybody's happy, just like the bride, in her macho suit, and the groom, in his pretty dress.

(Nury Vittachi is an Asia-based frequent traveller. Send ideas and comments via his Facebook page)

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Even as the aftermath of the violence that broke out following a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, continues to grip the US, media reports have alleged that Russian Twitter bots are now engaged in sowing discord.

Russian bots have taken to Twitter to promote and share extremist right-wing tweets and disinformation, Slate online magazine reported on Thursday.

Citing findings from the Alliance for Securing Democracy, a project of the German Marshall Fund that tracks efforts to undermine democratic governments, Slate reported that Russian accounts were busy at work in the days after Charlottesville.

"PhoenixRally," "Antifa," and "MAGA" were among the most common hashtags used by these accounts this week.

One of the central themes shared by the Russian-linked accounts after Charlottesville was an accusation that the left-leaning philanthropist George Soros had supported the counter-protesters.

"The same Russian social media machine that blanketed Twitter with pro-Trump posts during the 2016 presidential election were reportedly at work after Charlottesville too," the report said.

Dozens of people marched through the University of Virginia on August 11, carrying torches and chanting "Jews will not replace us" and "White lives matter".

They were protesting a Charlottesville City Council plan to remove a Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee statue from a nearby park.

But violence gripped the event after the rally's supporters were confronted by anti-racism groups.

A 32-year-old woman, Heather Heyer, from Charlottesville was killed and nearly a score injured when a car, allegedly driven by a white supremacist, hit a crowd of counter-protesters.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Friday expressed concern and shock over the violence in Haryana and appealed to maintain peace and harmony.

Gandhi spoke to Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and asked the governments of Haryana and Chandigarh to ensure safety and security of all citizens.

In a statement, Gandhi expressed "grave concern and shock at the unabated violence in Panchkula and other parts of Haryana resulting in the death of over two dozen persons including children, widespread destruction of public property and senseless attack on the media".

The violence in Panchkula erupted after a CBI special court on Friday held controversial Dera Sacha Sauda sect chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh guilty of raping and sexually exploiting two female disciples.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Supreme Court of Thailand on Friday issued an arrest warrant against former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra after she failed to appear for a verdict in her trial over a rice subsidy scheme.

As thousands of supporters gathered near the court in Laksi district, the judges rejected her explanation she had Meniere's disease and was suffering from vertigo, after her lawyer failed to present a medical certificate, reports The Bangkok Post.

The court also ordered the seizure of her 30 million baht ($900,360) bail bond.

On Thursday, Yingluck told her supporters via Facebook to stay at home on Friday and not go to the court.

Reports said she was last seen in Bangkok on Wednesday.

The Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions was set to announce its ruling on Yingluck, who faces trial for dereliction of duty in failing to halt her government's loss-ridden,corruption-plagued rice-pledging scheme, despite being warned repeatedly to do so.

The scheme, introduced in 2011, pledged to pay farmers well above the market rate for their crop, and ended up costing the country billions.

Yingluck said the rice subsidy scheme was "beneficial for the farmers and the country" and that claims it lost money were wrong and motivated by political bias against her.

The offence carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail and/or a fine of 200,000 baht ($6,000).

The court has scheduled the hearing for September 27

Police estimated about 3,000 of the former leader's supporters showed up near the Supreme Court on Friday morning.

When she was inaugurated in 2011, Yingluck became Thailand's first female Prime Minister and its youngest in over 60 years.

The sister of exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Yingluck was ousted by a coup in 2014 and was later impeached by Thailand's military-appointed National Legislative Assembly.

The ruling barred her from political office for five years.

--IANS

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(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Film: "The Dark Tower"; Director: Nikolaj Arcel; Cast: Idris Elba, Matthew McConaughey, Tom Taylor; Rating: **

With an unprecedented avalanche of releases this week, it takes Herculean willpower and positivism to release something as banal as this Stephen King adaptation which is not so bad. Just so pointless that you wonder why its makers spent 10 years planning and plotting this pastiche of gothic horror and futuristic thrills assembled with all the loving care of a little girl doing up her doll's house long after the dolls have lost their limbs.

There is a level of amateurishness about the presentation, admittedly sublimated by the presence of extremely magnetic actor Idris Elba.

Have you seen Elba at work? I suggest you do so right away. This is an extraordinary actor who brings a sense of unfulfilled longing to all his characters. "The Dark Tower" scarcely does justice to Elba's dark and passionate presence. He plays a gunslinger who must save the world from an evil destroyer played by Mathew McConaughey who's known to be quite a chameleon in all his roles.

Here, Mathew McConaughey seems to have walked into a part earmarked for Christopher Walken. The air of casual evil sits uneasily on him. He is wicked, but not intimidating. He kills people with the flick of finger. But he can't stop Elba who, we are told, is immune to Mathew McConaughey's evil designs.

Their confrontation sequences are borderline risible.

Maybe Idris Elba and Mathew McConaughey should have swapped roles. Better still they should have looked for a better project to vent their brilliance. It really doesn't matter. Neither is the main focus of the plot. The key to the film's failed fecundity is in the hands of a young boy Jake played with flaky feeling by Tom Taylor who gets these perpetual nightmares about a ruined tower inhabited by characters who can remove the skin off their faces like Michael Jackson.

You can peel away the film's superficial terror excursion and still not reach the core, because there is none.

In all fairness,there are passages in the plot that do hold our attention. These feature Elba with his child co-star. They make an interesting pair. In a part of the film, Elba behaves like Crocodile Dundee in New York.

My favourite moment is when two exacerbated girls make a pass at Elba on a bus and he snubs them.

Wish he had shown the same strength of will and said no to doing this project.

"The Dark Tower" has some furiously staged fights filled with fire and fright. But it's too much of a mix and match affair with horror elements trying to blend into a pavement-store version of Harry Potter. Not quite the gripping entertainer the makers must have envisaged.

But then this is all about letting the imagination fly high. Right?

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The US is keen to develop close ties with Egypt and overcome any obstacles in the way of cooperation, President Donald Trump has told Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi over phone.

"President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi received a phone call tonight (Thursday) from US President Donald Trump who affirmed the strength of the friendship between Egypt and the US and expressed his keenness on continuing to develop the relationship and overcome any obstacles that might affect it," Xinhua news agency cited a statement as saying.

Sisi highlighted "the importance of continuing coordination and consultation between both countries over issues of common concern".

The conversation came within days of the US saying it would withhold some financial aid to Egypt.

Washington on Tuesday decided to cut or delay nearly $300 million in aid to Egypt on concern about human rights record.

Egypt receives $1.5 billion in military and economic aid annually which was linked to Egypt's 1979 peace treaty with Israel.

An Egyptian Foreign Ministry statement on Wednesday said: "Cairo regretted over the US decision." It called the decision a "misjudgement of the nature of the strategic relations that have bound the two countries for decades".

The move "reflects a lack of careful understanding of the importance of supporting the stability and success of Egypt, as well as the size and nature of the security and economic challenges faced by the Egyptian people", the ministry said.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Dalit literature is on an upswing with several new authors highlighting the plight of Dalits in India and pointing out solutions to the many grave problems they face -- but the genre, by and large, is still thirsting for readers.

There are not many publishing houses that focus specifically on Dalit writing, but a quick look at their recent offerings -- fiction as well as non-fiction -- suggest Dalit writers, particularly young authors, are increasingly focusing on the steps needed to bring about change.

"Instead of just writing about the socio-economic conditions or the situation of the marginalised class, the new writers are concentrating on how to improve their status and penning solutions instead of stating the problems," S.S. Bauddh of Samyak Prakashan told IANS.

Samyak Prakashan, located in Madipur in West Delhi, is one of the few publishing houses solely dedicated to Dalit writing. As is Gautam Prakashan, run by S.S. Gautam, who noted that even authors from poor financial backgrounds are now taking an interest in writing.

"Earlier, Dalit writers would be people who were ex-servicemen, people who had managed to come out of poverty, get an education and secure a government job. They had the opportunity to write books, below-poverty-line people had no opportunity. But now, things are changing," Gautam elaborated while sharing his analysis of the ongoing trends in Dalit literature.

According to Ashok Das, Editor, Dalit Dastak magazine, recent incidents like the death of Rohit Vemula and JNU student Muthukrishanan Jeevanantham have provoked many youngsters to take to writing.

"There is a lot of anger among the youth. They are not ready to be oppressed, rather are becoming vocal about the discrimination they face, be it in educational institutes or at work places. Young people are taking up the pen to ventilate their angst," said Das, who stepped into publishing books two years back.

Publishers say that a majority of Dalit writing comprises non-fiction and there is little scope for writers to foray into the world of fiction.

"Dalit autobiographies are quite popular, because they reflect fact and not fiction. It is a grim reality that is difficult for us to ignore and subsequently that is reflected in our writing," Gautam maintained.

The history of Dalit literature can be traced back to the 1850s when it gained prominence through the works of Savitribai Phule -- wife of Dalit thinker and social reformer Jyotirao Phule -- a feminist considered to be the first to pen works on the plight of the marginalised class.

"However, it is Ambedkar who is considered to have brought a revolution in Dalit writing. He is the pioneer of Dalit literature whose book 'Annihilation of Caste' is an inspiration for the marginalised class," Bauddh noted.

Despite the rise in number of writers and interest in writing about Dalits in India, the genre is still struggling to expand its horizons. The publishers said that around 150 books are brought out every year, including those written in regional languages. Why then is the popularity of these books still very limited?

"Firstly because of a lack of readership. Only those (upper class) who have curiosity about our issues show interest in reading our literature. These comprise people who are into either academics or doing some research work," Das pointed out .

The publishers also blamed the government for restricting the access of the books to public libraries and maintained it has amounted to imposing an "undeclared ban" on Dalit books.

"A reason why people are not even aware of Dalit literature is because its reach has been limited. Public libraries run by the government don't take our books. So how will the readers know about them?," Bauddh asked.

The publishers also added that there is little recognition of their efforts by the government and reiterated that the number of Dalit writers who have been given Sahitya Akademi or Jnanpith awards is still very low.

They also maintained that they have forayed into publishing to bring about positive change and not to make a profit.

"We are not businessmen, we are revolutionaries. We didn't step into publishing with the aim of making profits but to ventilate our struggle and the discrimination we faced. It is more a battle of ideologies," Bauddh contended.

The publishers said finance still remains a big challenge for them. Bauddh and Gautam, both former government employees, left their jobs to turn into full-time publishers.

However, they added that they would continue to publish and highlight the plight of Dalits in India even at the cost of continued losses.

"I had invested all my savings, provident fund amount, to start the publishing house. There is no profit in our work," Gautam noted.

"We will continue to publish; financial losses cannot diminish our purpose," Das said.

(Somrita Ghosh can be contacted at somrita.g@ians.in)

--IANS

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Tierney Darden, partially paralysed after a bus shelter of the Chicago O'Hare International Airport collapsed on her two years ago, was awarded $148 million by a Cook County jury on Wednesday.

Darden was a 24-year-old dance student with a bright future two years ago before she was seriously injured by the collapsed shelter during a storm on August 2, 2015, Xinhua news agency reported.

She took the City of Chicago to court and was awarded thus sum in a verdict after a 7-day trial.

"I have finally been given hope," Darden was quoted as saying.

The verdict is reportedly the largest against the city in a personal injury case, which her lawyer Patrick Salvi described as "farely reasonable," given the fact that her spinal cord was severed, she was left paralysed from the waist down with constant pain.

Investigators later found that the shelter collapsed because of missing bolts and corroded parts, and her lawyers accused the City of Chicago of poor maintenance.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Pictures sometimes speak louder than words. I thought of this while watching the video of a young woman I met the other day at Plan India Impact Awards in the Delhis India Habitat Centre. In those rarified environs, 19-year-old Shalini Chauhans description of her campaign against and child marriage in her village was impressive. But when I watched the video, which placed her firmly in her own milieu  a backward, patriarchal village in Ambedkar Nagar, Uttar Pradesh  the true import of her work had me gobsmacked.
In the latest judgment, in a 3-2 majority win, the triple talaq, or of the various forms of talaq, the one considered improper even in Islam, has been struck down by the highest court in India. Also interesting is the fact that there were five judges on the Bench for this hearing, one representing each religion, and of the five, two disagreed with the proposal that law could interfere in religious prescriptions in India. Further intriguing is that the two on this Bench who have historically tended to be enemies, agree. They stood together in believing the law may not interfere in religious edict, inasmuch as marriage falls under personal law.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president and Union Minister Smriti Irani took oath as Rajya Sabha MPs, in Delhi, on Friday.

Chairman, M. Venkaiah Naidu, administered the oath of secrecy to both the BJP leaders.

This is Amit Shah's debut in the Parliament and was elected to the Upper House from Gujarat earlier this month.

Shah has been a five-term MLA in the Gujarat Assembly.

Congress leader Ahmed Patel also won in the Gujarat elections, even though few legislators deserted the party days before the election and cross-voting.

The BJP lacks majority in the House and it is being said that Shah's entry into the Rajya Sabha would give a boost to the party.

(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.)
At least 30 people were killed and 250 injured today in widespread violence, arson and police firing in Haryana triggered by the rape conviction of self-styled godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.

While 28 people were killed in Panchkula, the epicentre of the violence, two died in Sirsa, doctors said. Sirsa is the headquarters of Dera Sacha Sauda of which Ram Rahim, 50, is its chief.

Thousands of followers of Ram Rahim went on the rampage, setting fire to vehicles, buildings and railway stations soon after a special CBI court convicted him in a 2002 rape case.

Police responded by opening fire.

The unrest which began in Panchkula where the verdict was handed down, spread to other parts of Haryana and Punjab and even New Delhi where a bus and train were set on fire.

The identity of the dead or whether all of them were Dera supporters was not known immediately.

"Seventeen people are dead and at least 200 are injured," said Vivek Bhadu, Chief Medical Officer at the civil hospital in Panchkula.

While five were brought dead, 12 others succumbed to injuries at the civil hospital, Bhadu said, adding that most of the deaths were due to bullet injuries.

Nearly 50 persons were referred to PGIMER hospital at Chandigarh while 33 others were rushed to Government Medical College and Hospital(GMCH), also at Chandigarh.

"Seven have died in PGIMER," Manju Wadwalkar, the spokesperson of Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research(PGIMER) told PTI.

The details of how many were brought dead or died at PGI were not immediately available.

Dr Ravi Gupta, head of the GMCH at Sector 32, said 33 persons were brought to the hospital from Panchkula.

"While we could not resuscitate one person, another died during surgery and two others were brought dead," Gupta told PTI.

According to Sirsa District Civil Surgeon, 2 Dera followers had died in the violence.

Haryana DGP B S Sandhu, who visited the civil hospital at Sector 6 here, said that over a thousand Dera followers have been taken into custody.

"Dera followers have been flushed out of Panchkula while over a thousand have been taken into preventive custody," Sandhu said, adding the situation here is under control.

A stream of ambulances brought in injured people soaked in blood to the civil hospital here and at PGIMER hospital.

Police fired in the air, lobbed tear gas and let loose water cannons on the protesters who included a large number of women.

Curfew was also clamped in Panchkula.

Curfew was also imposed in place in Sirsa while Kaithal town was also brought under curfew this evening.

At least 32 incidents of violence and arson were reported from Malwa region of Punjab, police said. However, no casualty was reported.

Curfew was clamped in Mansa, Bathinda, Ferozepur, Patiala, Sangrur and Barnala and Faridkot, the areas considered as stronghold of the Dera followers.

But the curfew had little effect on the protesters, who also set fire to Malout and Balluanna railway stations in Punjab, according to the Northern Railways. Many motorcycles, cars and buildings, including an Income Tax building in Mansa in Punjab, were also set on fire.

Arsonists attempted to set fire to Dagru railway station which falls between Moga and Ferozepur, police said.

However, a Sewa Kendra was set on fire near Faridkot.

Six columns of Army, comprising a total of 500 to 600 soldiers were deployed in Panchkula.

At least three OB vans of private television channels were damaged here. Two vans were overturned by a mob.

The India Today Group's TV channel showed pictures of its correspondent and cameraman being attacked while they were travelling in a van in Sirsa, the Dera's headquarters. The camera captured images of the windshield and windows being struck by men with sticks.

The glass shattered and one of the occupants of the van was heard moaning. The video then showed his bloodied face.

The police fired in the air and lobbed tear gas shells on sections of the crowds, many of them camping since last night on the streets of Panchkula.

CBI judge Jagdeep Singh, while holding the Dera chief guilty of raping a female follower more than 15 years ago, said the quantum of sentence would be pronounced on August 28.

The punishment can be a jail term of not less than seven years but may even extend to life imprisonment.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
At least 32 people were killed, including 11 Myanmar security forces, as alleged Rohingya militants attacked remote border posts in Rakhine State, the army's commander in chief said today.

"One soldier and 10 police sacrificed their lives for the country," Commander in Chief Min Aung Hlaing said in a Facebook statement, adding 21 militants died in the fighting which is ongoing.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Five RJD legislators were evicted from Bihar legislative council for unruly behaviour during protests over the multi-crore Srijan scam which rocked both houses of the state legislature again today.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who was present in the legislative council when RJD members indulged in unruly behaviour, lambasted the opposition for "sullying the reputation of the legislative house".

Legislative council Deputy Chairperson Harun Rashid who ordered the house marshals to evict RJD MLCs Subodh Kumar, Ranvijay Singh, Kamre Alam, Radhacharan Seth and Dilip Rai referred the matter to the disciplinary committee for further action against them.

When the legislative council resumed sitting after recess, the RJD MLCs carrying posters and banners trooped into the Well of the House and started raising anti-government slogans. As the MLCs refused to listen to the Chair, house marshals were instructed to evict them.

The chief minister and Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi were present in the House at the time.

JD(U) MLC Neeraj Kumar demanded action against the RJD members and demanded that the case be hand over to the conduct committee. He was supported by CPI member Kedar Pandey, BJP's Awdesh Kumar Singh and Rajnish Kumar.

Rashid then ordered the issue of the RJD MLCs to be handed over to the disciplinary committee.

"The disciplinary committee will look into the matter and if a case is made out against the erring members, action would be taken," he later told reporters.

The disciplinary committee is headed by JD(U) MLC P K Shahi who was also a former advocate general of Bihar.

Lambasting the RJD for disrupting the proceedings of the House for the last four days, Kumar said, "If you (the RJD) want to raise an issue do it in accordance with rules and the government will be ready to reply to it."



"By coming to the House with banners and posters, these members are sullying its reputation," he said.

He also attacked the opposition which was trying to corner the JD(U)-BJP government over the Srijan scam.

"Which scam are they talking about? As soon as I came to know about it on August 8, I mentioned this in my speech on Earth day on August 9 and a probe began immediately into Bhagalpur NGO scam case," he said.

Government funds to the tune of Rs 950 crore were allegedly diverted illegally to the account of Srijan NGO in Bhagalpur in the scam.

The matter came to light after a government cheque bounced. The district magistrate then inquired about it and intimated the headquarters in Patna.

In an apparent dig at RJD chief Lalu Prasad and his partymen who were demanding a CBI probe into the scam under supervision of the Supreme Court, the chief minister said, "If you do not have faith in the CBI, go to court and say this."



Referring to members speaking about documents related to the scam coming up in 2003, 2008 and 2013, he said, "Hand over all these documents to the CBI which will help them in the probe."



The issue was raised in the Assembly too where the opposition RJD, the Congress and the CPI-ML pressed for the resignations of Kumar and Modi and the ruling JD(U)-BJP claimed that the NGO started during the Rabri Devi regime.

The members of the opposition RJD, the Congress and the CPI-ML then staged a walkout from the Assembly.

Speaker Vijay Kumar Chaudhary had to adjourn the Assembly twice in the first session due to the din created over the issue.

Showing documents, Modi, who was present in the assembly during the first session, alleged that the NGO was allowed office space in a government building at Bhagalpur in 2000 when Rabri Devi was the chief minister.

"Srijan was given 24 decimel space in Trysam building on a 30-year lease by the order of the then district magistrate of Bhagalpur in 2003 and a lease deed was signed to this effect on February 25, 2004. The lease was later extended for 50 years in the same year," he alleged quoting documents.

Modi also showed another document from 2000 and alleged that the then Bhagalpur district magistrate allowed the opening of an account by Srijan with a cooperative bank and permitted it to keep government money in its accounts down to the block level.

"The RJD government led by Rabri Devi was in power in the state between 2000 and 2004 when these favours were given to Srijan," the deputy chief minister alleged even as his party (BJP) MLAs shouted 'Chor machaye shor' at the RJD.

He urged the speaker to expunge "unparliamentary" words used by the opposition against him and the chief minister from the House proceedings to which speaker said it has already been ordered.

Leader of the Opposition Tejaswi Yadav compared Srijan scam with Madhya Pradesh's Vyapam scam where a number of people connected with it had died mysteriously.

He alleged that an accused in the Srijan NGO scam was killed "on behalf of the state government".

Later, speaking to reporters, Modi alleged that Rajni Priya, an alleged key players of the scam who was absconding with her husband, was the daughter of a Congress leader from Jharkhand and the niece of a former Union minister.

Asked about his accountability as he had served as the MP of Bhagalpur from 2000 to 2004 and was the deputy chief minister and finance minister during the previous NDA rule, Modi said, "Nobody had complained or informed me of the irregularities in the NGO."



The five-day Monsoon Session of the Assembly was later adjourned sine die by the speaker.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
At least six militants were killed and four others injured today in an army raid in Egypt's restive North Sinai province.

The army had also destroyed explosives seized from the militants, army spokesman Tamer el-Refae said in a statement.

Twelve hideouts, 13 motorcycles and seven vehicles on the border strip of North Sinai were also destroyed, the Sarajevo said.

North Sinai has witnessed many terrorists attacks since the January 2011 revolution that toppled the ex-president Hosni Mubarak.

The attacks, mainly targeting police and military, increased after the ouster of Islamist ex-president Mohamed Morsi in 2013 by military following massive protests against his rule.

Hundreds of police and army personnel were killed since then.

The military has launched security campaigns in the North Sinai area, in which some terrorists are based.

The security forces have arrested suspects and demolished houses that belong to terrorists, including those facilitating tunnels leading to the Gaza Strip.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In the run up to Delhi University students polls, All India Students Association (AISA) today demanded that Delhi Police provide protection to its cadres in all the varsity colleges from RSS-affiliated students body ABVP.

The left-affiliated students organisation put forth its demand citing various reports that its cadres were allegedly attacked and terrorised by ABVP members.

"The past year witnessed a sharp rise in instances of violence on students and professors by the ABVP. Seminars have been disrupted and offices vandalised in the name of nationalism or religion," AISA President Kawalpreet Kaur said at a press conference.

As polls have been notified, serious threat to well being of students and the democratic culture looms large. "We demand protection to all our cadres in DU colleges," she added.

The AISA along with DU professors, who took part in the conference, also criticised the Delhi University and the police, alleging that the ABVP was enjoying impunity despite its members "intimidating" a large section of students.

"ABVP, despite being just a students body, is controlling institutions like police and the varsity. Scores of complaints and FIRs have been filed against ABVP members, but the perpetrators still continue to roam freely," AISA National President Sucheta De alleged.

They also demanded that the police and the DU take action against every ABVP member identified in FIRs filed in violence cases and maintain peace on campus.

The AISA said it has submitted documents and photographs to officials in the police and the DU to back their claim.

A professor from SRCC alleged that freedom to talk and debate was a thing of the past as the ABVP was trying to gag everyone who wants to question.

"If such an environment continues, it is bad forthe education system and the entire country," he said.

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Accused of heresy by Islamist extremists and targeted by the authorities, members of Algeria's tiny Ahmadi community say they have been forced to go underground to worship.

Abderahmane, a 42-year-old trader from Kabylie in northern Algeria, joined the reformist Islamic movement after years as an ultra-conservative Salafist.

People he once called friends reported him to the local imam, who publicly denounced him as an unbeliever.

The imam went on to urge worshippers not to let their children play with Ahmadi children.

"My sister's engagement was cancelled because her fiance was told I was an unbeliever," Abderahmane said, still wearing a well-trimmed beard, a long cotton shirt, and three-quarter- length trousers - the garb of his former life as a Salafist.

Founded in late 19th-century India, the Ahmadiyya movement follows the teachings of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, an Indian Muslim they believe to be the long-awaited Islamic messiah.

It is anathema to traditional Islamic thinking, and Ahmadis living in many Muslim-majority countries have faced persecution and physical violence.

While Ahmadis consider themselves to be Muslims, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation - of which Algeria is a member - declared in 1973 that the movement was not linked to the Muslim faith.

Nonetheless, the faith's strong missionary drive has gained it an estimated 10 million members in 190 countries around the world.

The movement didn't begin spreading in Algeria until 2007, when an Ahmadi satellite television channel reached the north African country.

After that, they worshipped freely, if discreetly, for a decade. Few in Algeria had even heard of Ahmadism until last year, when the government crackdown began.

Ahmadi leader Mohamed Fali, a 44-year-old shopkeeper, was arrested in June 2016 along with his deputy, shortly after applying to register a charity. Police searched their homes and confiscated their passports.

Since then, Fadi says 286 out of Algeria's roughly two thousand Ahmadis have been arrested. All but three have been handed jail terms, ranging from a three-month suspended sentence to four years. The other three received fines.

Most were convicted of breaking right to assembly laws - but their lawyers say they have been persecuted simply for their faith.

Islam is the state religion in Algeria, where Sunni Muslims make up the majority.

Freedom of religion is guaranteed by law, but preachers and places of worship must be licensed by the government. The Ahmadis have never applied for such a status, believing they would face certain rejection.

In July, Algeria's Religious Affairs Minister Mohamed Aissa told journalists the Ahmadis were involved in a plot by Israel - where the community are allowed to worship openly, with a big mosque in the city of Haifa and a television channel - to destabilise the country.

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BJP national president Amit Shah will visit the city in early September to oversee progress in the expansion of the party's base in West Bengal.

Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh said that Shah would be in the city for three days from September 10 to September 12. His programmes would be all Kolkata-specific.

Ghosh said, "Shah will meet party workers, leaders and intellectuals. He will take note of our progress in strengthening our organisation in the state and will conduct internal meetings."



According to state BJP sources, a detailed report of the party's rise in vote share in the just-ended civic polls in seven municipalities will be placed during the meeting.

Shah had last visited Bengal in April, this year.

Ghosh criticised the state government for failure to tackle floods in Bengal and accused Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of trying to divert attention from her failure to tackle it.

"The entire north Bengal is suffering due to floods and the ministers are busy clicking photographs. The state government is trying to divert attention from its failure," he said.

Ghosh said that the West Bengal government's decision of not allowing immersion of Durga idols on the day of Muharram on October 1 constituted an attempt to divert attention from its failure in tackling floods.

"There is still a month left for Durga Puja. What prompted the state government to make such an announcement in such a hurry? The real reason is to divert attention from its failure to tackle floods," he said.

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The Army was called out and curfew was imposed in 10 districts of Punjab's Malwa region, home to a large number of Dera Sacha Sauda followers, as violence spread to the state following the conviction of the sect chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a rape case today.

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, who was personally monitoring the situation, appealed to the people to remain calm and not to take the law in their hands.

The chief minister spoke to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Defence Minister Arun Jaitley to apprise them of the situation.

He also spoke to Congress president Sonia Gandhi on the situation in Punjab and informed her of the steps taken by his government to maintain peace in the state.

Police have launched a major crackdown and arrested some supporters of the Dera Sacha Sauda, including a member of its state-level committee, an official spokesperson said.

The chief minister said the decision to call out the Army was taken to prevent any loss of life or damage to public/ private property in the 10 districts -- Sangrur, Barnala, SAS Nagar (Mohali), Bathinda, Mansa, Ferozepur, Fazilka, Faridkot, Sri Muktsar Sahib and Moga.

"The Army was staging flag-march in the curfew-bound areas of Punjab to restore the confidence of the people," he said.

Police patrolling has been intensified across the state, especially on highways and major roads. Eleven senior police officers have been deputed to supervise various security measures over the next 24 hours, especially during the night, the official spokesperson said.

Two railway stations -- Malout and Balluanna -- in Punjab were torched by the angry Dera followers. Besides, about 40 incidents of vandalism and arson were reported from across the state.

There were 28 incidents of arson, besides damage to state/central government offices/properties in seven districts of the Malwa region, the spokesperson said.

The Punjab government has arranged for more than 200 buses to escort the Dera supporters out of Panchkula in a regulated manner to ensure peaceful transition through Punjab on way back to Sirsa, the headquarters of Dera Sacha Sauda.

The chief minister expressed shock that "the situation was allowed to escalate by the Haryana government".

"The trouble could have been averted had the Dera supporters been stopped from aggregating in one place," he said, adding that the Haryana government should have stopped trains and buses from reaching Panchkula, just as Punjab had done.

"Preventive and precautionary measures should have been taken in time," he said, adding that it was the responsibility of any state government to maintain law and order.

The Punjab government spokesperson said the state government was in control of the situation in the state.

The chief minister said the Dera supporters were allegedly resorting to violence while on their way back to their homes from Panchkula, where a CBI court convicted the self-styled godman.

He expressed hope that the situation would be controlled by tomorrow morning.

In his appeal broadcast through television and on social media, the chief minister exhorted the people of Punjab not to get provoked by rumours and to respect and accept the court orders.

He assured the people that a tight blanket of paramilitary and police forces was in place across the state to ensure their safety and security.

The Chief Minister, who went around the vulnerable areas of the state near Panchkula earlier in the day, ahead of the court verdict, said his government would not allow anyone to destroy the peace and harmony of Punjab at any cost.

"We will not let the atmosphere of the state be vitiated at any cost," he warned, adding that besides 85 companies of CRPF and BSF deployed on the ground, the Army was in full readiness to deal with any untoward incident. The security forces were fully prepared to tackle any eventuality, he added.

At least 30 people were killed and 250 injured in widespread violence, arson and police firing in Haryana triggered by the conviction.

While 28 people were killed in Panchkula, the epicentre of the violence, two died in Sirsa.

CBI judge Jagdeep Singh, while holding the Dera chief guilty of raping two female followers more than 15 years ago, said the quantum of sentence would be pronounced on August 28.

The punishment can be a jail term of not less than seven years but may even extend to life imprisonment.

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The Army today paid compensation of Rs 5.25 lakh to a porter, who was injured in a landmine blast along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district.

"Army authorities paid compensation in respect of porter Imran Razak Khan of village Sandhote in Mendhar border tehsil of the district for a sum of Rs 5,25,907 today," a defence spokesman said.

Khan had sustained mine blast injury to his right leg while carrying out bonafide military duty on May 21, 2007, and was entitled compensation under the workmanship compensation, the spokesman said.

Head of the compensation cell, Ishaar Ahmed, on the behalf of the Army, handed over the cheque to him in the presence of the Army and civil representatives.

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Militants stormed a packed Shiite mosque in the Afghan capital during Friday prayers, in an attack that lasted for hours and ended with at least 20 worshippers killed and another 50 seriously wounded, many of them children, an official said.

Two of the assailants blew themselves up and another two were shot to death by Afghan security forces, according to police official Mohammed Sadique Muradi.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack, the latest to target Afghanistan's minority Shiites.

The Taliban condemned the violence, with a spokesman for the militants, Zabihullah Mujahid, telling The Associated Press in a telephone interview that the group had nothing to do with it.

President Ashraf Ghani condemned the violence and said the militants were turning to attacking places of worship because they were losing on the battlefield. He urged Islamic clerics everywhere to condemn the bloodshed.

The death toll of 20 was expected to rise because many of the victims were seriously wounded, said Mohammad Salim Rasouli, chief of Kabul's hospitals.

Terrified worshippers endured about four harrowing hours of gunfire and explosions during the afternoon before the four attackers were killed.

The Islamic State said in a statement on the website of its Aamaq agency that it had deployed two attackers to the mosque. There was no immediate explanation for the contradictory number of attackers.

Security forces had surrounded the mosque in the northern Kabul neighbourhood but did not initially enter to prevent further casualties to the many worshippers inside, police official Mohammed Jamil said.

Later, as police tried to advance, one of the attackers set off an explosion that forced them to withdraw, Muradi said.

The cleric who was performing the prayers was among the dead, said Mir Hussain Nasiri, a member of Afghanistan's Shiite clerical council. The gunmen had taken over both the cavernous prayer hall for the men and the separate, second- floor prayer area for the women, he said.

The mosque could accommodate up to 1,000 people, Nasir added.

When police initially tried to get inside, they discovered the militants had blocked the door leading to the second floor, turning the women upstairs into hostages, Nasir said.

"I was trying to escape over the wall when I saw my daughter, who was wounded, also trying to climb the wall," one man who gave his name only as Bismillah told the AP.

"There was another girl who was shot in the head. I saw the body myself," he said. "Finally I managed to escape with my daughter and a police escorted us to safety from the back of the mosque."



Last month, the Sunni-dominated Islamic State group attacked the Iraqi Embassy in Kabul and then warned Shiites in Afghanistan that their mosques would be targeted. Sunni extremists consider Shiites to be heretics.

Within days of that, IS also took responsibility for a suicide attack on a Shiite mosque in western Herat province that left 32 people dead.

In southern Kandahar province Friday, Afghan security forces repulsed a Taliban attack on an outpost overnight, according to provincial police chief's spokesman, Zia Durrani.

Four members of the security forces died in the exchange and another seven were wounded, he said.

Durrani said the Taliban sustained heavy casualties. There was no immediate comment from the militants.

Elsewhere, provincial deputy police chief Nisar Ahmad Abdul Rahimzai said Afghan security forces recaptured a district in eastern Paktia province from the insurgents.

The summer fighting season in Afghanistan has seen relentless Taliban attacks as the insurgents battle to expand their footprint.

Yesterday, Gen John Nicholson, the top US general in Afghanistan, and Hugo Llorens, the US Embassy's special charg d'affaires, told reporters in Kabul that the new US strategy was a promise to Afghans that together they would defeat terrorism and prevent terrorist groups from establishing safe havens.

Nicholson vowed to defeat both the Islamic State group affiliate and the remnants of al-Qaida, and he had the following message to the Taliban: "Stop fighting against your countrymen.

Stop killing innocent civilians. Stop bringing hardship and misery to the Afghan people. Lay down your arms and join Afghan society. Help build a better future for this country and your own children."



President Donald Trump had announced the new plans for Afghanistan on Monday. While he did not give specifics, senior US officials have said that he might send up to 3,900 more troops, with some deployments beginning almost immediately.

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Australia today issued a safety advisory for its citizens travelling to India asking them to exercise a high degree of caution following widespread violence after the conviction of self-styled godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a rape case.

Thousands of followers of Ram Rahim, who is the head of Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda, went on the rampage today, setting fire to vehicles, buildings and railway stations soon after a special CBI court convicted him in a 2002 rape case.

The advisory issued by Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) warned the India-bound travelers to avoid large gatherings and follow the advice of local authorities.

"Local transport has been significantly disrupted with a number of roads closed and rail services cancelled," the advisory said.

"On 25 August 2017, incidents of violence were reported in parts of the states of Haryana (particularly in Sirsa and Panchkula), and Punjab, and the Union Territory of Chandigarh, following the conviction of the leader of the Dera Sancha Sauda spiritual organisation, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh," it said.

"High alerts and a ban on unauthorised gatherings are in place in these areas until 30 August 2017. Avoid large gatherings as they could become violent. Mobile internet services in Chandigarh have been suspended. Monitor the media for developments that may affect your safety and security", it added.

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The US is aware of India's position that talks and terrorism cannot go together and has asked Pakistan to crackdown on terror groups like the LeT and the JeM that are responsible for attacks inside India, a senior White House official has said.

The top official also encouraged the two South Asian neighbours to engage in talks to reduce tensions.

"The US is very aware of India's position (that talks and terror cannot go together) and we have called on Pakistan to crackdown on organisations like Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e -Mohammed (JeM) and others," the official said, on condition of anonymity.

"We have called Pakistan to take actions against people involved in the Mumbai attack, the Pathankot attack and other attacks. So, US is very clear about its position," the senior administration official told reporters during a conference call.

The official made the remarks while responding to a question on India's stand that talks and terror cannot go together in the context of the Trump administration's South Asia policy that seeks a direct dialogue between India and Pakistan to reduce tensions.

Pakistan needs to crackdown on terror groups, the official said.

The official also referred to the India-US joint statement issued after the White House meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump on June 26, which made it clear that these issues are important to the US.

"And we are working with India to improve its counter terrorism. I think there is a lot of understanding between US and India on this issue," the official said in response to a question.

Earlier this month, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had told Parliament that the Indian government had laid the "roadmap" envisioning peace and normalcy with Pakistan even before it took over.

"But it can't be one-sided...Terror and talks cannot go together. The day they stop promoting terror, we will start the talks," she had said.

The State Department on Wednesday had also asked the two countries to engage in talks.

"I think one of the things that we would do is ask or encourage India and Pakistan to sit down together and engage in direct dialogue that is aimed at reducing tensions between both of those countries," State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert had told reporters.
From schools to shampoos and hair-oil to hospitals, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, the flamboyant self-styled guru convicted of rape by a court on Friday, runs an empire that would be the envy of any business tycoon.

His Dera Sacha Sauda, a quasi-religious cult with hundreds of thousands of followers, offers a wide variety of products and educational and health services, its website states.

Often called the guru of bling  a reference to his fondness for colourful robes and glares that glitter  the Dera chief who studied up to the 10th standard runs 11 schools and two colleges, including a management institute, it says.

Sacha Sauda  described as the place of real truth  also has factories for confectionery products in its sprawling headquarters on the outskirts of Sirsa City in Haryana, Sirsa residents said.

According to the wesbite, the Dera sells hundreds of products, from grocery items and clothes to batteries, mostly under the brand name MSG.

MSG is a possible allusion to his 2014 debut film "Messenger of God" or MSG, which he co-produced, directed and acted in.

Cinema is another of his passions. He has directed and appeared as the hero in four films so far. A fifth is slated to be released this year. The Dera claims the films all crossed the Rs 100-crore mark.

Food items such as biscuits, toffees and confectioneries are produced by the Dera itself, while most products are manufactured by other groups under the brand name MSG.

The Dera also sells cosmetics products  including 9-9 hair-oil and 7-7 shampoo  online.

Last year, the MSG All Trading International, a Dera Sacha Sauda firm, introduced 151 products including food items, the site says.

The Dera website also states that it runs three hospitals  an ayurvedic centre, a naturopathy institute and a multi- speciality hospital  in Sirsa.

The educational institutes are in Haryana, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, it adds.

"Though nominal amounts are charged for the services in hospitals and schools, this is mostly charitable work," a Dera supporter said.

The Dera's followers  known as Premis  are believed to be the main consumers of its products.

While his products have a ready market, his institutes and hospitals draw others into his fold, a Sirsa resident claims.

The guru was convicted earlier today in a 2002 rape case by a CBI court in Panchkula. The conviction triggered widespread violence as his followers went on a rampage.

At least 30 people were killed and 250 injured in the violence, arson and police firing.
Bollywood stars such as Farhan Akhtar, Anupam Kher and Raveena Tandon, among others have praised the court's judgement against Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.

CBI judge Jagdeep Singh held the 50-year-old self-styled godman, guilty of rape in a case that was registered on the basis of an anonymous written complaint in 2002 that he had sexually exploited two female followers.

Violence broke out in Punjab and Haryana post the verdict, which claimed 28 lives and left 250 injured.

"To all those on the rampage and all those allowing it to continue, please try and imagine what the victims must feel seeing the violence in support of their rapist...

"I assume that you, his followers, were taught the meaning and value of compassion... Please end the violence. Please allow the police to do their job. Please allow the law of the land to take its course," Farhan posted.

Kher tweeted, "Violence is what #GurmeetRamRahimSingh seems to have taught his followers. This is nonsense and government needs to use full force to stop it now."



Raveena wrote, "The way the followers are reacting, rioting, itself proves what the cult was all about... Saddened to see such shameful goons on the loose."



Filmmaker Hansal Mehta said, "Thanks to our judiciary democracy lives on. #Pride."



Stand-up comedian-actor Vir Das posted, "I hope he stays in jail long enough to see every one of his nutjob followers lose enthusiasm, go back to life, and forget about him.

"The nation has to address the fact that we are addicted to blind servitude and worship. Gurus, politicians, will always use it against us."



Music composer Salim Merchant tweeted, "I'm sure the 'Guru' taught the importance of peace in this world. Reports from Punjab and Haryana are devastating. #RamRahimVerdict"



Anubhav Sinha said he was surprised by the violence against the "arrest of a convicted rapist".

"Hundreds of thousands of us so violently protest against the arrest of a convicted rapist. Is this who we are?" he wrote.

Actor Amyra Dastur tweeted, "A big win for the people, especially the daughters of India #RamRahimVerdict.

"But can't believe the poor measures that have been taken to prevent such a horrific mob outburst from happening!"



VJ-actor Rannvijay Singha, who hails from Punjab, said, "Punjab and Haryana High Court orders attachment of entire property of #DeraSachaSauda to compensate for the damage. But what about the lives lost?"



Actor Bhumi Pednekar tweeted, "I hope my friends and family are all safe in Chandigarh. It's a very sad state of affairs. Be safe.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Centre tonight asked the Haryana government to provide adequate security to the CBI special court judge who convicted Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a rape case, officials said.

The home ministry told the Haryana government that Judge Jagdeep Singh should be provided highest level of security in view of the threat perception after he delivered the verdict against the Dera head, an official said.

The home ministry will analyse intelligence inputs before deciding whether the Judge's security needs to be handled by a central force, such as the CRPF or CISF, the official said.

Widespread violence in Haryana and a few neighbouring states following the conviction of the Dera chief left nealry 30 dead and scores injured.

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The Congress today appointed four working presidents in poll-bound Gujarat, even as PCC chief Bharatsinh Solanki was made chairman of the new Pradesh Election Committee.

The Assembly elections are due later this year in the state where the Congress has been out of power for over two decades.

"Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi has approved the proposal to appoint Tushar Chaudhary, Paresh Dhanani, Kuwarji Bavaliya and Karsan Das Soneri as working presidents in the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee with immediate effect," AICC general secretary Janardan Dwivedi said in a statement.

Solanki will head the 12-member election committee which has as its members senior leaders such as Mohansinh Rathwa, Shaktisinh Gohil, Naresh Raval besides former PCC chiefs Arjun Modhwadia and Siddharth Patel.

Seven AICC office bearers, including Sonia Gandhi's political secretary Ahmed Patel, Rajya Sabha member Madhusudan Mistry, Irshad Baig Mirza, Paresh Dhanani, Deepak Babaria, Prabhaben Taviad and Khurshid Ahmed Sayied, have also been made its ex-officio members.

Four members of the frontal organisations have been made ex-officio members of the Pradesh Election Committee, besides seven other special invitees.

The please-all appointments have been made while seeking to strike a right balance of caste and region to take on the BJP in poll-bound Gujarat.

The appointments came a day after the BJP named its top leader and Finance Minister Arun Jaitly as the incharge for elections in Gujarat and four Union ministers--Narendra Singh Tomar, Nirmala Sitharaman, Jitendra Singh and P P Choudhary-- as co-incharges.

State party spokesperson Manish Doshi said among the four new working presidents, one is from Patel community, one is an OBC, one is a tribal and one is a Dalit.

"The working presidents will assist Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee president Bharatsinh Solanki to take on the BJP in the upcoming state elections," Doshi said.

While Dhanani, who represents Amreli in state Assembly, is a Patel leader, Chaudhary, a former Union minister represents a tribal community. Bavaliya, an MP, hails from an OBC (Other Backward Classes) community while Soneri, a two- time former MLA, is a Dalit.

Dhanani and Bavaliya belong to Saurashtra, Chaudhary to South Gujarat and Soneri North Gujarat. The current state unit Congress chief Solanki is from Central Gujarat district of Anand.

The contest is considered as a prestige battle for the ruling party in the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Congress had yesterday declared the names of leaders who would head different committees of elections.

Notably, Union minister Arun Jaitley was yesterday appointed the BJP's election in-charge for the high-stakes state Assembly polls.

In a battle of political oneupmanship ahead of polls, the BJP has been trying to solder its strained relations with Patels or Patidars, a numerically strong bloc considered loyal to the saffron party. The community has been fighting for reservation under OBC quota in the government jobs and education.

In a move viewed as an outreach to smaller castes under the OBC umbrella, the Centre recently announced a commission for sub-categorisation of other backward classes for an "equitable distribution" of reservation benefits and also raised the income ceiling for "creamy layer" from the current Rs 6 lakh per annum to Rs 8 lakh.

Elections are likely to be held in Gujarat in November/ December as the term of the present Legislative Assembly ends in January next year.

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A high alert has been sounded and prohibitory orders clamped in Ghaziabad and Noida in wake of the widespread violence in Haryana triggered by the conviction of self-styled godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a rape case today.

"Orders have also been issued to keep all schools and colleges in the district closed tomorrow in view of the violence," said Ghaziabad District Magistrate Ministhy S.

The police said they were keeping tab on the situation in Ghaziabad and the supporters of Dera Sacha Sauda were being kept under surveillance.

"Thousands of followers of Baba Ram Rahim live in a camp in Nang Gram and Karhera. We are patrolling both the areas to make sure no untoward incident takes place," said Ghaziabad SSP, HN Singh.

Singh said the police had found a burnt out bus in Loni, but couldn't ascertain whether it was in any way connected to the violence in Panchkula.

High alert was also sounded in Noida where the prohibitory orders, under section 144 of the CrPC, were already in place, since July 27, in view of a series of festivals.

"The district administration is ready to deal with any situation. We have identified all the places of the district that border either Uttar Pradesh or Haryana. All the roads connecting Noida with these two states are being watched closely," Noida District Magistrate, BN Singh said.

Section 144 prohibits assembly of five or more people from assembling in one place.

A special CBI court in Panchkula convicted the chief of Dera Sacha Sauda in a 2002 rape case, triggering widespread violence and arson by his supporters in Punjab and Haryana.

At least 30 people were killed and more than 250 injured in the violence that left a trail of destruction and vandalism.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has called a security review meeting tomorrow in the wake of widespread violence in Haryana triggered by the conviction of self-styled godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a rape case.

At least 30 people were killed and 250 injured today in widespread violence, arson and police firing at Panchkula and nearby areas after the verdict.

Top home ministry officials, chiefs of paramilitary forces and intelligence agencies will attend the meeting to take stock of the situation in north India, an official said.

Singh has already spoken to chief ministers of Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, and assured them central assistance to deal with any situation.

The central government has already dispatched around 20,000 paramilitary personnel to Haryana, Punjab and Chandigarh to assist the local administration in maintaining law and order.

Thousands of followers of Ram Rahim went on the rampage, setting fire to vehicles, buildings and railway stations soon after a special CBI court convicted him in a 2002 rape case.

The unrest which began in Panchkula where the verdict was handed down, spread to other parts of Haryana and Punjab and even New Delhi where a bus and train were set on fire.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Union minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore today described as "highly reprehensible" the violence in Haryana and Punjab following the conviction of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a rape case.

"Mob attacking people, property and media personnel is highly reprehensible. #Panchkula (sic)," Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rathore said in a tweet.

A special CBI court in Panchkula (Haryana) today convicted flamboyant self-styled godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a 2002 rape case, triggering widespread violence and arson by his supporters in Punjab and Haryana.

Atleast 28 people were killed and 250 injured in the violence in Panchkula that left a trail of destruction and vandalism.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba today faced criticism from political parties in the country for assuring India about Constitution amendment to address the issues of Madhesis.

Deuba, who is currently on a state visit to India, during a joint press conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed confidence that a Constitution "encompassing" the views of the people from all sections and ethnicities would be a reality.

Talking to reporters at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) before heading to Thailand for a medical check- up, main opposition leader and CPN-UML chairman K P Oli criticised him for raising the issue in a foreign country.

"PM Deuba raised the issue of Constitution's acceptability out of context from the foreign land, which is highly objectionable," Oli said.

"This has put at stake our national pride and sovereignty," the former prime minister said.

"Deuba has taken the oath of office and secrecy while assuming the post of Prime Minister under the same Constitution and he was elected the Prime Minister under the same Constitution, how can he speak against the Constitution in the foreign country," Oli questioned.

He said Deuba had no right to raise the issue that was decided by the Nepalese Parliament.

"This is an objectionable matter. It is exclusively our concern what kind of constitution we adopt. Deuba is surrendering to India to prolong his tenure in the coalition government," main opposition CPN-UML Vice chairman Bhim Rawal told reporters while reacting to Deuba's remarks.

Ruling Nepali Congress Lawmaker Dhan Raj Gurung also said that Deuba's remarks about Constitution amendment were unnecessary as it was very much an internal issue of Nepal.

"It was unnecessary to speak about the Constitution amendment issue as this is not a matter of bilateral affairs that needed to be agreed with the neighbouring countries," he said.

Nepal's parliament on Monday failed to endorse the much- awaited Constitution amendment bill after it failed to muster the required two-thirds majority.

Madhesis, mostly of Indian-origin, launched a prolonged agitation between September 2015 and February last year against the implementation of the new Constitution which they felt marginalised the Terai community.

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Nepalese Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba today expressed appreciation for T-Hub, a startup incubator launched by the Telangana government, and evinced interest in setting up such centre in his country.

Deuba visited T-Hub here and interacted with the Telangana government officials.

During his visit, the prime minister said a team of Nepalese officials and business leaders will soon meet the state government officials to prepare a roadmap for a T-Hub- like project in the Himalayan nation, said Telangana Principal Secretary for IT and Industries Jayesh Ranjan.

"He (Deuba) was very much impressed with the concept of T-Hub. He said his officials and delegation members will soon get in touch with us to work out a possible tie-up for replicating T-Hub concept in Nepal," Ranjan told PTI.

T-Hub, a state government initiative for startups, acts as a platform for entrepreneurs, mentors, investors and academia to interact and collaborate. Housed in 70,000 sq ft 'Catalyst' building, the facility provides co-working spaces for startups and acts as a support system that connects organisations and stakeholders.

Deuba, who is on a five-day tour to India, also visited the Infosys campus in the city.

Deputy Chief Minister Mahmood Ali said Deuba will be leaving for Tirupati tomorrow.

"He visited Infosys (campus). He was impressed with the IT growth in Hyderabad. He also visited T-Hub. He was curious about the Nizam's dynasty and its rule.

"I explained him about the Nizam's legacy. I also explained him about the measures the Telangana government is taking for IT development," Ali said.

Earlier in the day, Deuba and his wife arrived here from New Delhi. They were received at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport by Deputy Chief Minister Ali.

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The government has approved nine FDI proposals, including that of Amazon Retail India, envisaging foreign investments of about Rs 5,000 crore.

According to the DIPP's (Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion) Foreign Investment Facilitation Portal, four foreign direct investment proposals, including BCP Advisors and Aveo Real Estate Holdings, have been rejected.

Amazon Retail has proposed investments of Rs 3,500 crore for setting up subsidiary company in India with 100 per cent FDI to engage in the business of retail trading of food products manufactured and/or produced in India.

Similarly, Supermarket Grocery also proposes initial investment of Rs 105 crore in food retail business. Subsequently, it proposes to raise the FDI to Rs 800-1,000 crore in the next 18 months.

Blueair India got approval to invest Rs 100 crore over five years in single brand retail trading along with its existing activity of cash & carry wholesale trading of air purifiers.

Urban Ladder Home Decor Solution envisages investment of USD 15 million (about Rs 97.5 crore) in single brand retail sector.

As many as 10 FDI applications have been either rejected or closed or withdrawn.

Earlier this month, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had informed Parliament that 99 foreign direct investment proposals were pending in various ministries and departments.

FDI into the country grew 9 per cent to USD 43.47 billion in 2016-17.

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Subscribers of retirement fund body EPFO heading for foreign postings can now apply online for certificate of coverage (CoC) to avoid deductions for social security cover abroad.

The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has done away with the manual application for the CoC by its subscribers who have been posted abroad by their employers, a senior EPFO official said.

The online facility for applying for CoC was started earlier this month as part of the government's Digital India initiative, the official said.

The CoC is required for all those employees going abroad for assignments or posting done by their employers.

It helps EPFO subscribers to avoid deductions from their pay on account of mandatory social cover provided to workers under the legal framework of the country where they are posted.

The EPFO had issued 20,022 CoCs to its subscribers during 2016-17.

At present, India has social security agreement with 18 countries -- Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Luxembourg, France, South Korea, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Austria, Finland, Japan, Canada, Australia, Norway, Singapore and Hungary.

The social security agreement provides for detachment, totalisation and portability. Under the detachment clause, the employees of one country deputed by their employers to other country for short-term assignments are exempted from social security contributions up to a period of 60 months.

The international workers of these countries posted in India are not required to make mandatory contribution towards social security schemes run by the EPFO in India.

Employees from these countries need to produce the CoC stating that they are covered under such social schemes in their country and get exemption from contribution to EPFO schemes.

Similar privilege is enjoyed by Indian employees posted in these 18 countries with whom it has signed social security agreements.

However, there are a large number of countries with whom India has not inked any social security agreements. Therefore, workers from these countries are required to subscribe to EPFO schemes and sometime they make such mandatory contributions in their country as well.

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Union minister Nitin Gadkari today said Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was doing a good job in the state, while he was also capable of doing equally well if shifted to the Centre.

He said this in reply to a question from a reporter on whether Fadnavis' elevation to the Union cabinet was under consideration.

The Union minister of road transport and highways and shipping was speaking to reporters at his residence here.

"I think the chief minister has done a good job in Maharashtra. And (he) also has the capability to do a good job at the Centre. But at the moment, considering the greater problems and challenges in Maharashtra, his leadership is needed in the state.

"However, there will be deliberations over it. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will take an appropriate decision," he said.

While there was speculation in a section of the media about Fadnavis' possible move to Delhi, the chief minister, speaking at a state BJP executive meeting last week, had ruled it out.

"There is no such possibility as of now," he had said.

Asked whether he would take charge of the railway ministry (with Suresh Prabhu indicating that he had offered to quit after two derailments in Uttar Pradesh in lass than four days), Gadkari said he returned from the US only yesterday and heard about the speculation from mediapersons.

"Allocation of departments will be decided by the prime minister. I am satisfied with my current responsibilities," he added.

Asked if the government was planning to bring the railways and civil aviation under the transport ministry, Gadkari said in the US, aviation, railways and waterways were under a single infrastructure department, while in some other countries, these departments were separate.

"It is the prime minister's prerogative to decide on this," he added.

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The family of the Democratic Republic of Congo's late independence hero, Patrice Lumumba, said their Kinshasa home was burgled by soldiers and his daughter Juliana attacked and injured.

"Five soldiers managed to get through the barrier" at the Lumumba family residence at 1:00 am (2300 GMT Thursday), said Francois Lumumba, eldest son of the first Congolese prime minister.

During the robbery Juliana, his younger sister, tried to resist the intruders and was "hit on the head and sides with a rifle butt," he said in a statement, adding that the attackers fled with "personal effects and a sum of money."



Robberies and kidnappings have become increasingly common in DR Congo in the upmarket Kinshasa district of Gombe, which houses business headquarters and foreign embassies.

Patrice Lumumba was the first lawfully elected premier of the Congo who is viewed as a hero across Africa for his role in the continent's struggle for independence from Belgium.

He was deposed in a coup barely 12 weeks after his June 1960 election, and subsequently arrested and executed by firing squad in a murky Cold War era episode said to have involved the CIA.

DR Congo is now suffering a new political crisis, after current President Joseph Kabila refused to quit office in line with the constitution at the end of his second elected five- year term, which expired last December.

Last month the country's electoral commission said it would not be possible to organise elections this year in the vast and troubled country.

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Hopes of finding eight people missing after a massive landslide in the Swiss Alps alive are fading, police said today, as a fresh barrage of sludge forced more evacuations.

Just as some residents on Friday afternoon were gingerly returning to their homes in Bondo, a village near the Italian border hit by a giant landslide on Wednesday, a new river of mud flooded down the mountainside.

"The people who had returned to their homes were temporarily evacuated," regional Graubunden police said in a statement.

Around 100 people were evacuated from Bondo and two Alpine cabins Wednesday amid fears of fresh landslides, and police only gave the green light around midday Friday for some to return home.

An AFP photographer who had been shooting images of the devastation wreaked by the initial landslide said he "suddenly saw a cloud of smoke rise from the mountain."



"Minutes later I saw a river of mud descend on the village," he said, adding that houses that previously had a thick layer of mud around their foundation were now all but engulfed by the grey mass.

The addition sludge will likely complicate further the massive search and rescue mission underway for eight hikers, from Germany, Austria and Switzerland, who have been missing since Wednesday's landslide.

Police said they had set off in separate groups in the Val Bondasca region where the landslide occurred, apparently ignoring signs recently posted in the village warning of the danger of falling rocks in the area.

Some 120 emergency workers equipped with infrared cameras and mobile phone detectors, helicopters and rescue dogs have been scouring a five-square-kilometre (1.9-square-mile) area.

Police and residents stressed mobile phone coverage in the area was spotty, voicing hope it could explain why those still missing had not been in touch.

But authorities acknowledged that the likelihood of a happy ending was dwindling fast.

"The chances of survival are not high," local police spokesman Roman Ruegg told reporters Friday.

Swiss President Doris Leuthard, who examined the site from the air today, said the probability that the hikers were dead "is increasing by the hour," Blick reported.

Dramatic footage from Wednesday showed an entire mountainside disintegrating, unleashing an unstoppable mass of thick mud and sludge that tore up trees and demolished at least one building in its path.

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At least 89 people including a dozen security forces were killed as Rohingya militants besieged border posts in northern Rakhine State, Myanmar's authorities said today, triggering a fresh exodus of refugees towards Bangladesh.

The state is bisected by religious hatred focused on the stateless Rohingya Muslim minority, who are reviled and perceived as illegal immigrants in Buddhist-majority Myanmar.

The office of de-facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi said 12 security officials had been killed alongside 77 militants -- the highest declared single day toll since fighting broke out last year.

Friday's fighting exploded around Rathedaung township which has seen a heavy build-up of Myanmar troops in recent weeks, with reports filtering out of killings by shadowy groups, army-blockaded villages and abuses.

Some 20 police posts came under attack in the early hours of Friday by an estimated 150 insurgents, some carrying guns and using homemade explosives, Myanmar's military said.

"The military and police members are fighting back together against extremist Bengali terrorists," Commander-in- Chief Min Aung Hlaing said in a statement on Facebook, using the state's description for Rohingya militants.

One resident in Maungdaw, the main town in northern Rakhine, said gunfire could be heard throughout the night.

"We are still hearing gunshots now, we dare not to go out from our house," the resident said by phone, asking not to be named.

Footage obtained by AFP showed smoke rising from Zedipyin village in Rathedaung township where fighting was ongoing Friday.

Despite years of persecution, the Rohingya largely eschewed violence.

But a previously unknown militant group emerged as a force last October under the banner of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), which claims to be leading an insurgency based in the remote May Yu mountain range bordering Bangladesh.

A Twitter account (@ARSA_Official) which purports to represent the group confirmed its fighters were engaging Myanmar's military in the area and accused the soldiers of carrying out atrocities in recent weeks.

Myanmar says the group is headed by Rohingya jihadists who were trained abroad but it is unclear how large the network is.

Suu Kyi's office posted pictures of weapons that had been taken from militants, mainly home-made bombs and rudimentary knives and clubs.

Friday's violence pushed new waves of Rohingya to flee towards Bangladesh.

But border guards there said they would not be allowed to cross.

"More than a thousand of Rohingya women along with children and cattle have gathered near the land border between Myanmar and Bangladesh since this morning," Manjurul Hasan Khan, commander of Ukhiya town's border guards, told AFP.

The flare-up came just hours after former UN chief Kofi Annan released a milestone report detailing conditions inside Rakhine and offering ways to heal the festering sectarian tensions there.

Commissioned by Myanmar's own government, it urged the scrapping of restrictions of movement and citizenship imposed on the roughly one million-strong Rohingya community in Rakhine.

In a statement Annan said he was "gravely concerned" by the latest outbreak of fighting.

"The alleged scale and gravity of these attacks mark a worrying escalation of violence," he said.

The UN's top official in Myanmar, Renata Lok-Dessallien, called on all sides to "refrain from violence, protect civilians (and) restore law and order".

The wedge of Rakhine closest to Bangladesh has been in lockdown since October 2016.

Deadly attacks by the militants on border police sparked a military response that left scores dead and forced some 87,000 people to flee to Bangladesh.

The UN believes the military crackdown may have amounted to ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya.

But the army and Aung San Suu Kyi's civilian government vehemently deny allegations of widespread abuses, including rapes and murders.

They have so far refused to grant visas to UN investigators tasked with probing the allegations.

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No genetically modified (GM) crop should be introduced in India unless the biosafety and socio- economic desirability is evaluated in a "transparent" process and an accountability regime is put in place, a parliamentary panel has said.

The committee has also recommended that the environment ministry should examine the impact of GM crops on environment thoroughly, in consultation with all stakeholders so that the nation is very clear about all its probable effects before taking a call on the matter.

The remarks come after India's GM crop regulator Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) recently recommended the commercial use of genetically modified mustard in a submission to the environment ministry.

The department-related parliamentary standing committee on science and technology and environment and forest made its recommendations in its 301st report on 'GM crop and its impact on environment'.

It said GM mustard being a herbicide-tolerant GM organism (GMO), there is clear evidence on the adverse impacts of such GMOs elsewhere in the world.

"The committee strongly believes that unless the biosafety and socio-economic desirability, taking into consideration long run effects, is evaluated by a participatory, independent and transparent process and a retrieval and accountability regime is put in place, no GM crop should be introduced in the country," it said.

The report of the committee, chaired by Congress leader Renuka Chowdhury was presented to the Rajya Sabha chairman.

The committee noted that the GEAC has given its approval for commercialisation of GM mustard "inspite of the fact that the matter is pending for decision in the Supreme Court".

"In the case of GM mustard, from what one can gather from different quarters, there are serious unanswered questions.

"The committee has also come to know that many state governments in the country are opposed to its entry even in the form of field trials, leave alone commercial cultivation," it said.

"The committee recommends that the environment ministry should examine the impact of GM crops on environment thoroughly, in consultation with the concerned government agencies, experts, environmentalists, civil society, and other stakeholders so that the nation is very clear about all its probable impacts before taking a call in the matter," it said.

The Centre for Genetic Manipulation of Crop Plants (CGMCP), Delhi University, had submitted an application to the GEAC for the environmental release of GM mustard (Brassica juncea) hybrid DMH-11 and the use of parental events (varuna bn 3.6 and EH2 mod bs 2.99) for the development of a new generation of hybrids.

The environment ministry had received over 700 comments from various stakeholders, including farmers and researchers, on the Assessment of Food and Environmental Safety (AFES) report on GM Mustard, which it had earlier posted on the ministry website.

The application was submitted in 2015 after which several rounds of meeting were held by the GEAC. The sub-committee also convened meetings with experts.

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The Gorkhaland Movement Coordination Committee, which is spearheading the statehood agitation in the Darjeeling hills, will request the GJM to take a call on the indefinite strike which entered its 72nd day today.

The decision to write to the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) to request for taking a call on the issue was taken at a meeting of the GMCC at Kalimpong today.

The GMCC was divided on attending the August 29 talks convened by the state government in response to the GNLF's letter requesting for a dialogue to restore normalcy in hills as it was yet to receive a formal invite.

"Today two things were discussed. One that we will write to the GJM leadership requesting them to take a call on the strike. The GJM will have to take a call as they had called the indefinite shutdown," a senior GMCC member said.

"Secondly we are waiting for an official invite from the state government to join the talks. We will again meet on August 27 to announce our decision," he said.

The GMCC comprises members of all hill parties, including the GJM and the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF), and is headed by the GJM.

The GJM yesterday wrote a letter to the West Bengal government expressing its willingness to attend the August 29 talks to resolve the Darjeeling stalemate, abandoning its earlier stand.

A low-intensity blast rocked Teesta Bazar area in Darjeeling early today, four days before the hill parties are to meet in Kolkata for finding a solution to the impasse.

The police said that no one was killed or wounded in the blast which took place close to the Teesta bridge but some shops were damaged.

Today's blast is the third such incident since the indefinite shutdown began to press for a separate Gorkhaland state.

According to police sources, a pro-Gorkhaland activist was arrested in the hills for his alleged involvement in violence and arson that took place in the hills in June.

The Darjeeling district administration has, meanwhile, extended the ban on Internet for 10 more days. The ban was imposed on June 18.

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New energies and additional resources have been devoted in the past three years for ensuring that India's immediate neighbours are also beneficiaries of its growth story, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar today said.

The senior MEA official was addressing a gathering here at the 'Consultation on Asia-Africa Growth Corridor: The Way Forward' hosted by city-based think-tank RIS (Research and Information System for Developing Countries).

"Growth and connectivity are today very central to India's foreign policy thinking. The approach of 'sabka saath, sabka vikas' (collective action, inclusive growth) is as much a belief in international relations as it is in the domestic development.

"It is already being reflected vigorously in our 'Neighbourhood First' policy. In the last three years, new energies and additional resources have been devoted to ensuring that our immediate neighbours are also beneficiaries of our growth story. That must have been evident yesterday in the outcomes of the visit of the Nepal Prime Minister," he said.

Across South Asia, one can see today transformational initiatives in energy, road and rail connectivity and infrastructure building, Jaishankar said.

"As they are realised, their contribution to the emergence of a larger regional cooperative architecture would be increasingly appreciated. Significantly, we are today working closely with a number of other international players whose approach is similar in this regard," he added.

The Asia-Africa Growth Corridor (AAGC) is an economic cooperation agreement between the governments of India and Japan.

The AAGC Vision Document was released during the annual meeting of African Development Bank held in May 2017 at Ahmedabad. The action plan envisaged in the Vision Document is likely to assume significance in view of the forthcoming visit of Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to India in September 2017, the RIS said.

The Vision Document of the AAGC envisages it as "people- centric sustainable growth strategy, details of which would be evolved through a process of detailed consultations across Asia and Africa, engaging various stakeholders," Jaishankar said.

"As we set about fashioning the AAGC, it is only natural that it would reflect how we each look at the world. Today, there is much common ground among the nations of the region and it is that shared perspective that brings us together in this joint endeavour.

"We would naturally like the initiative to be based on universally recognised international norms, good governance, rule of law, openness, transparency and equality. There must be a strong sense of local ownership that can only happen with consultative project designing, transfer of technology and encouragement of skills" he said.

No less important is ensuring of financial responsibility, so that there is no encouragement of unsustainable debts. "Our activities must fully conform to balanced ecological and environmental protection and preservation standards. And, I am compelled to add, respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity," he added.

Given these broad principles, it is a matter of satisfaction that the four components of the AAGC are -- development and cooperation projects; quality infrastructure and institutional connectivity; capacity and skill enhancement; and people-to-people partnerships, he said.

India's own approach to development cooperation and international partnerships have these elements at their heart, Jaishankar said.

"India's activities in the maritime space to its south have complemented those on the land. An integrated approach towards the Indian Ocean has allowed us to think in a more interconnected manner with East Africa as much as with the Pacific islands," Jaishankar said.

The senior MEA official also said that India's approach has been to not only "teach people to fish but even encourage them to identify the fish in question".

"To make this succeed, we must think bigger than what we can do for each other. We must actually be there for each other, whether it is natural disasters, man-made ones or medical emergencies. That has been India's recent record in Yemen and Nepal, in Sri Lanka and Seychelles," he added.

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If followers of Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh are found involved in causing loss to public and private properties, the damages will be recovered from Dera Sacha Sauda, the Punjab and Haryana High Court ruled today while noting that the situation had "worsened".

The full bench of the court, which will hear the matter again tomorrow, asked the dera to submit the list of assets and properties which can be attached "in case it is found that they and their followers are reponsible for damaging properties."



The bench comprising Acting Chief Justice SS Saron, justices Surya Kant and Avneesh Jhingan took a serious view of the situation that has emerged.

"Whosoever has been instigating and inciting the crowd that has gathered to commit the acts of arson and violence they would be sternly dealt with," it said.

"The damages that are caused to public and private properties shall be recovered from them," the bench observed.

It said it has been reported by some of members of the Bar that they have been informed that police have been running from places where incidents of violence had occurred.

The police ran away on the arrival of paramilitary forces, the bench said it was informed.

"Police officials, if any, who are responsible for this should be taken to task," the court ordered while hearing a PIL.

It directed Advocate General of Haryana Baldev Raj Mahajan to verify this position and submit a report in this regard and in case anybody had run away the name of that officer or official shall be submitted in the court.

It also directed Haryana AG and his Punjab couterpart Atul Nanda to obtain the status report regarding law and order situation from each district and submit it before the court tomorrow.

The bench directed the governments of Punjab, Haryana and UT Chandigarh to ensure that peace and law and order are maintained at all costs.

"There shall be no lapse on the part of police officials in performing their duties. Any officers found wanting in performing their duties would be sternly dealt," it ordered.

Earlier, ahead of the Panchkula special CBI court's verdict in the rape case against Ram Rahim, the court had ordered that security forces should not hesitate from using "mighty force" to maintain law and order in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh.

"Security forces should not shy from using weapons. No mischief monger has the right to disrupt peace, police force must be communicated," said the full bench.

Speaking for the bench, justice Kant made it clear, "we do not want police to be beaten up by them (dera followers) as has been observed in the past in other cases."



At the same time, the court ordered if any politician, minister or social organization indulges in provocative statements, the concerned authorities should immediately register FIR against them and criminal action must be started.

Justice Saron observed that given the circumstances, there could be attempts of self-immolation and such acts cannot be done without any instigation.

Hence the court made it clear, "Instigation is an offence and we would warn each and everyone that if anyone would indulge in such activities, there would be serious consequences."



Additional Solicitor General of India Satya Pal Jain informed the court that 40 more para-military companies have been provided to Haryana by withdrawing some of the companies from Jammu and Kashmir and Gujarat.

Advocate General of Haryana then said out of these, 35 companies have reached Haryana.

Appearing for the Chandigarh administration, senior standing counsel RS Rai apprised the court that all 38 entry and exit points of Chandigarh have been sanitized.

The court also told the police that videography should be made at all points and in case of any untoward incident, video recordings should be placed before the court.

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India and the European Union (EU) today called for enhanced cooperation to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations as they condemned the recent terror attacks in Barcelona.

During the fifth round of foreign and security policy consultations here, the two sides reviewed the entire gamut of the bilateral strategic ties and discussed ways to further deepen cooperation in economic and security areas, ahead of the annual summit to be held in India later in the year, an external affairs ministry release said.

They also discussed cyber security and maritime threats and exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual interest. India and the EU reiterated their respective commitments to promoting and protecting a rules-based international order, the ministry said.

While the Indian side was led by Secretary (West) in the MEA, Ruchi Ghanashyam, the EU side was headed by Jean- Christophe Belliard, Deputy Secretary-General for Political Affairs, European External Action Service.

"The comprehensive discussions, held in a cordial atmosphere, underscored the strong foundations of the India-EU Strategic Partnership. The bilateral engagement today laid the grounds for the forthcoming India-EU Summit to be held in India later in the year," the ministry added.

The two sides reviewed economic cooperation calling for greater investment and trade flows between India and the EU, which is one of India's largest trading partners with bilateral trade in goods standing at USD 85 billion in 2016.

The EU is also the largest destination for Indian exports and a key source of investment and cutting edge technologies, the ministry said, adding India received around USD 80 billion FDI flows from Europe during 2000-16 constituting approximately 25 per cent of the total FDI inflows into the country during the period.

Secretary (West) welcomed the establishment of European Investment Bank in India, stating that its investment especially in urban mobility and renewable energy projects would support India-EU collaboration in the Smart City sector.

India also appreciated the ongoing participation of European Union and EU companies in Make In India, Digital India, Start-up India, Swachh Bharat and Namami Gange programmes and called for their deeper engagement in these flagship development priorities.

The European side highlighted the ongoing work in India- EU water partnership.

Noting that over 50,000 Indian students were presently studying in various Universities in Europe, DSG Belliard expressed the EU's desire to make its scholarship programmes such as ERAMUS even more popular in the country, it said.

The talks also focused on deepening collaborations in research and technology partnership.

Both sides concurred that the International Solar Alliance presented new opportunities to further strengthen India-EU clean energy and climate partnership.

The EU expressed its desire to support initiatives of ISA including through the European Investment Bank, the MEA release said.

They also expressed their interest to leverage the ISA platform in collaboration with India for developing renewable energy capacities in solar rich countries.

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At least 34 Syrian soldiers and allied fighters have been killed in an Islamic State counterattack in the east of Raqa province, rolling back regime gains, a monitor said on Friday.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor, said the jihadist group had recaptured large swathes of territory from government forces in the fighting yesterday.

Syria's army is seeking to advance through Raqa province to reach neighbouring Deir Ezzor, where jihadists have besieged government forces and civilians in the provincial capital since 2015.

Earlier this month, government troops and allied fighters arrived at the outskirts of Madan, the last IS-held town in the eastern Raqa province countryside before Deir Ezzor.

But on Thursday's counterattack, IS "made major progress and... Expanded the area under its control along the southern bank of the Euphrates," the Observatory said.

"IS has managed to push regime forces back 30 kilometres from the western outskirts of Madan," Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said.

The Syria army operation in the area, backed by air support from ally Russia, is separate from the battle for provincial capital Raqa city.

The effort to oust IS from the city, once the jihadist group's Syrian stronghold, is being led by the Syrian Democratic Forces, a US-backed alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters.

The SDF has captured just under 60 percent of Raqa city since it entered in June after months of fighting to encircle it.

More than 330,000 people have been killed in Syria since the conflict began in March 2011 with anti-government protests.
At least 34 Syrian soldiers and allied fighters have been killed in an Islamic State counterattack in the east of Raqa province, rolling back regime gains there, a monitor said today.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor, said the jihadist group had recaptured large swathes of territory from government forces in the fighting yesterday.

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Patty Jenkins has dismissed James Cameron's criticism of "Wonder Woman" as a "step backwards", saying there is "no right and wrong kind of powerful woman".

Cameron had said the Gal Gadot-starrer blockbuster celebrated an "objectified icon".

Jenkins, in her reply, said, "James Cameron's inability to understand what Wonder Woman is, or stands for, to women all over the world is unsurprising as, though he is a great filmmaker, he is not a woman."



In an interview to the British newspaper the Guardian, Cameron, best known for big budget dramas such as "Titanic", "Avatar" and "The Terminator", said, "All of the self- congratulatory back-patting Hollywood's been doing over 'Wonder Woman' has been so misguided.

"She's an objectified icon, and it's just male Hollywood doing the same old thing! I'm not saying I didn't like the movie but, to me, it's a step backwards."



Citing the example of Sarah Connor from his film "The Terminator", Cameron said the part was not a beauty icon but earned the respect of the audience through "pure grit".

Jenkins, however, said while strong women are great and Cameron praised her film 'Monster' and its portrayal of a "strong yet damaged woman", it would be limiting to see them in only one light.

"But if women have to always be hard, tough and troubled to be strong, and we are not free to be multidimensional or celebrate an icon of women everywhere because she is attractive and loving, then we haven't come very far, have we?



"I believe women can and should be everything just like male lead characters should be. There is no right and wrong kind of powerful woman. And the massive female audience who made the film a hit it is, can surely choose and judge their own icons of progress," Jenkins said.

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Director Alankrita Shrivastava's film "Lipstick Under My Burkha" is set to release in the US on September 15.

The film, starring Konkona SenSharma, Ratna Pathak Shah, Aahana Kumra and Plabita Borthakur, explores women's sexuality.

Konkona took to Twitter to share the news, writing, "So pleased that 'Lipstick...' will release in the US!! Please watch."



The film had won several prizes, including the Spirit of Asia Award at the Tokyo International Film Festival, the Oxfam Award for the best film on gender equality at the Mumbai Film Festival.

Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) had earlier refused certification to the film, saying that it was "lady oriented" and had "sexual scenes, abusive words".

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Thirteen cartons of India Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) were seized after a raid at a godown of Bihar Beverage Coporation here and two officials arrested in this connection, police said today.

At the instruction of Gaya District Magistrate Kumar Ravi and Senior Superintendent of Police Garima Mallik, police conducted raid at the corporation godown and recovered 13 cartons of IMFL last night, Deputy Superintendent of Police Alok Kumar Singh said.

The Beverage Corporation's Gaya division manager Rajendra Gupta and an Inspector of Excise department Ashok Kumar were arrested in this connection, the DSP said.

The two officials were arrested under the new Excise Act in action in Bihar since April last year, the DSP said.

In course of raid at the residence of the Beverage Corporation's division manager Rs 11.9 lakh were seized, Singh said.

The DSP said that it came to light that the two officials were promoting illegal trade of liquor in and around Gaya town after total probibition in the state.

The Beverage Corporation used to regulate sale of liquor in Bihar earlier, but after clamping of liquor ban it has stopped this function.

When reporters sought the leader of opposition Tejaswi Yadav's reaction over recovery of liquor bottles from government godown, he told them to ask the chief minister about this.

"Go and ask this to chief minister who is making tall claims about liquor law," Tejaswi Yadav told reporters outside state Legislative Assembly.

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Minister of state for external affairs M J Akbar visited Ghana and Equatorial Guinea from August 14-18 during which ways to deepen bilateral cooperation with the two African countries were discussed extensively.

During his stay in Ghana, Akbar held talks with Minister for Foreign Affairs Shirley Botchway on the entire spectrum of bilateral relationship, the external affairs ministry said today.

Akbar also called on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo- Addo.

"The Minister of State reiterated to President Akufo- Addo the standing invitation to visit India and urged Ghana to join the International Solar Alliance (ISA) as a founding member," said the ministry in a statement.

Akbar paid a visit to Equatorial Guinea on August 18 during which he called on the country's President Obiang



The MEA said that Obiang expressed his keen desire to intensify relations and expand cooperation with India.

"The President welcomed Indian partnership across all sectors and underlined the importance of South-South cooperation," it said.

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The Maharashtra police have been put on alert with followers of self-styled godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh going on the rampage in Haryana after his conviction in a rape case today.

There has been no untoward incident in Maharashtra, but police are taking precautions as Dera Sacha Sauda, the organisation headed by Singh, has a presence in some areas of the state.

"An alert has been issued to district police headquarters and police commissioner offices," Satish Mathur, Director General of Police, Maharashtra, told PTI.

A branch of Dera Sacha Sauda is located at Kalote Rayati in Khalapur tehsil of neighbouring Raigad district.

"Police force is on alert to maintain law and order in the state," said Bipin Bihari, Additional Director General of Police.

Police have already stepped up the security in view of Ganesh festival, he said.

In 2008, tension prevailed in suburban Mulund in Mumbai when some members of Sikh community protested against Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh during his visit to a mall.

His bodyguards were accused of opening fire and killing one person during the melee, but were subsequently acquitted in the case.

The incident had triggered protests against the godman in Punjab and Haryana.

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The Maldives' last remaining opposition leader in the country was handed a prison sentence today as President Abdulla Yameen stepped up a crackdown on political dissent in South Asia's troubled tropical paradise.

Qasim Ibrahim, who heads the Jumhooree Party (JP) and lost his bid for president in 2013, was accused of leading a failed bid in March to impeach Speaker Abdulla Maseeh, a close ally of Yameen.

He was convicted today of bribing lawmakers to impeach the speaker and given 38 months in jail. The guilty verdict also disqualifies Ibrahim, 65, from holding a seat in parliament.

The JP is one of four parties in the archipelago's opposition coalition that wants to defeat Yameen at elections next year and sees the impeachment of the speaker as a first step to taking control of parliament to ensure free and fair polls.

The coalition, led by former president Mohamed Nasheed who also heads the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party from London where he lives in exile, condemned the court decision today.

"The sentencing of MP Qasim Ibrahim once again confirms the lack of transparency and independence of Maldives' judiciary, and the breakdown of the entire criminal justice system," it said in a statement.

"Like all other leaders of the opposition now sentenced to jail, the JP leader has been punished for challenging President Yameen's tyranny."



Ibrahim had collapsed in court yesterday during hearings and was rushed to hospital, where he is under treatment for a heart condition.

Official sources said the authorities have granted him permission to go abroad for urgent treatment. It was not immediately clear when he would travel.

The verdict came a day after chaotic scenes at the national parliament where lawmakers flung eggs at each other while troops in plain clothing provided a ring of protection for the speaker inside the parliament chamber.

Since coming to power, President Yameen has led a crackdown on political dissent in the Indian Ocean nation of 340,000, raising fears over the country's stability and denting its image as an upmarket honeymoon destination.

Former leader Nasheed became the country's first democratically elected president in 2008, but was narrowly defeated by Yameen in a controversial 2013 election run-off.

In 2015, he was sentenced to 13 years in prison on terrorism charges that were widely seen as politically motivated.

He has lived in exile after Maldives authorities gave him leave to travel to London for medical treatment.

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The police has arrested a person on the charge of rape and abduction of a minor girl of Namsai district of Arunachal Pradesh.

The person, stated to be a RSS pracharak, was arrested on Augutst 22, Namsai superintendent of police C K Mein said today.

He was produced in the court on August 23 and was remanded to police custody for five days, he said.

The person was arrested on the basis of an FIR filed by the parents of the victim, a student of Class nine, the police superintendent said.

The victim in her statement claimed that she was raped in his car on August 18 and was called again on August 20 by the accused. She was threatened not to disclose the matter, he said.

The accused has, however, denied the charge, he said.

The following day the parents of the girl began to search for her but could not locate as her phone was switched off.

On August 22 the police in Sadiya police station in Assam took both the accused and the girl in its custody from near the Dhola-Sadiya bridge and handed them over to Namsai police, he said.

A case was registered and investigation is on, Mein added.

Meanwhile, the Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee condemned the incident said that it was an eye opener for the people of the state regarding RSS.

"Rape and kidnapping of a minor girl is undoubtedly a heinous crime. The accused must be subjected to rigorous and exemplary punishment so that such a heinous crime is not repeated," APCC said in a statement today.

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The Broadcast Editors' Association (BEA) and the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) today condemned the attack on media persons allegedly by the followers of self-styled godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh and asked the governments of Haryana and Punjab to ensure safety and freedom of the journalists.

The BEA demands immediate steps for safety and security of media persons as democracy cannot afford to allow anybody to hold the rule of law to ransom, said a statement issued by the association.

"Any such attack is an attempt to prevent media from discharging its legitimate duty of dissemination of information, a duty that is vital to the healthy functioning of a democracy," it added.

The BEA said the governments of Haryana and Punjab should ensure the safety and freedom of media persons to report the incident.

The central government should also step in to ensure free and fair coverage by all media, it said.

The NUJ demanded urgent action to nab the culprits and wanted the Haryana government to ensure that such incidents would not recur.

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Mizoram police seized 965 gm of heroin worth Rupees 34.50 lakh from two places in Mizoram since Thursday, an official statement said today.

Three persons were arrested in this connection and booked under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985.

The seizure was reportedly the largest-ever heroin haul in the state so far.

In the first incident, the police seized 910 gm of heroin at Sesih hamlet in Champhai district bordering Myanmar yesterday.

A Myanmarese national identified as Vanlalliana was arrested, the police said.

He hails from Saeh village in Tiddim district of Myanmar.

The police also seized 55 gm of heroin in Aizawl today and arrested two persons in this connection.

The persons were identified as Guhe Ahamad Laskar (42) and Saidul Islam Laskar (22), both from Cachar district in Assam.

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Eighteen AIADMK MLAs loyal to sidelineddeputy general secretary TTV Dinakaran today vacated the seaside resort, where they were putting up since Tuesday, and checked into a hotel.

The legislators moved out of the resort as it was already booked for the weekend, sources said.

Police were deployed in strength at the hotel near Marapalam in the Mudaliarpet Assembly constituency here.

Earlier in the day, the DMK urged Tamil Nadu Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao to immediately direct Chief Minister K Palaniswami to prove his majority in the Assembly in the wake of revolt by the MLAs, saying any delay could lead to "horse trading".

The Chief Government Whip had yesterday sought the disqualification of the 19 dissident MLAs for alleged anti- party activities.

In a swift response, Speaker P Dhanapal had issued notice to the MLAs, 18 of whom had been staying at the resort since they met Rao on Tuesday and expressed lack of confidence in Palaniswami.

The Speaker had sought their replies within seven days.

The rebels had termed the move to disqualify them as a "planned drama" and said they would legally challenge it.

DMK working president and leader of the opposition in the assembly M K Stalin today dubbed the Palaniswami dispensation a "minority government".

In a statement in Chennai, he also questioned the Speaker's decision to issue notices to the MLAs.

The DMK leader said the Governor should ensure that Palaniswami does not continue in power by "creating a constitutional crisis and misusing anti-defection law".

The Dhinakaran camp MLAs had raised the banner of revolt after the AIADMK factions led by Palaniswami and former chief minister O Panneerselvam merged on August 21.

Of the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly, the AIADMK has 134 MLAs. There is no one representing the RK Nagar constituency in the House.

The DMK has 89 seats, Congress eight and IUML one.

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A senior official of Israel tourism has said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Israel this year has given a boost to its tourism sector with the arrival of Indian tourists to Israel recording a rise of 26 per cent.

"The historic visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to our country has sparked a renewed interest among Indians to visit Israel," Hassan Madah, director-Israel ministry of tourism, India, told PTI.

"In the last seven months, over 34,000 Indians have visited Israel, which is a growth of 36 percent," he said.

PM Modi's visit, Madah said, had sent out a "positive message".

"First of all, it is the awareness that it is good to do business with each other, secondly business travellers influx will automatically grow. Overall the positive atmosphere is helping us (tourism sector) to grow ," Madah said.

He pointed out that direct flights from New Delhi to Israel, will help the tourism sector to grow much faster.

Madah said, talks are on for introducing direct Air India flights connecting New Delhi with Israel.

"If it (direct flight) commences, then the tourist traffic is likely to surge from India and vice-versa," he said.

When asked whether Israel would provide special package or concessions to Indian Jewish community wishing to visit Israel, Madah said, "As regards tourism, the population of the Jewish community in India is very small. Our focus is not the Jewish community."



"In the US, the Jewish community is very big, there our focus is the Jewish community," he said.

"In india, our focus is pilgrimage (tourism), quality tourism, leisure, events, conferences, incentive tourism," Madah said.

Quoting statistics, Madah said, near about 39,529 Indian tourists travelled to Israel in 2015 and the figure went up to 44,672 in 2016.

"Till July 2017, 34,300 Indians have visited Israel. So you can just see the rise," he said.

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NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg today urged the Kremlin to comply with rules on transparency as Russia geared up for huge military exercises along the alliance's eastern flank next month.

Stoltenberg, speaking at a joint press conference in Warsaw with Poland's right-wing Prime Minister Beata Szydlo, urged Moscow to respect international conventions on keeping other countries informed of the manoeuvres.

Zapad 2017 ("West"), has stoked alarm in NATO members Poland and the Baltic states, all former members of the Soviet bloc.

It takes place in Belarus, which border three NATO member states, and comes as a more assertive Russia pushes back against what it sees as the alliance's unjustified expansion into eastern Europe.

"I call on Russia to ensure compliance with its obligations under the OSCE Vienna Document, because predictability, transparency is especially important when we have increased military activity along our borders," said Stoltenberg.

The Vienna Document requires signatory nations to provide advance information of exercises and to allow observer teams to avoid any dangerous misunderstandings.

Stoltenberg was even more outspoken on Thursday in Italy when he said that "the aggressive behaviour of Russia has undermined stability and security in Europe".

Today, he vowed that the alliance would "be watching very closely as this (Zapad) exercise takes place next month" in Belarus, which borders alliance members Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.

Under Vienna Document provisions, manoeuvres involving more than 13,000 troops must be notified in advance and be open to observers.

Belarus has said Zapad 2017 involves 12,700 troops, just under the limit, but Lithuania and other critics claim there could be as many as 100,000.

According to NATO, Belarus has invited military liaison missions to attend a special visitors day on its territory, with two alliance experts due to attend.

Russia's Interfax agency reported this week that the Belarussian defence ministry had invited observers from seven countries: Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Sweden, and Norway.

Russia has dismissed the concerns over the exercises. "I do not see any reason to be afraid," deputy defence minister Alexander Fomin told the Rossiya 24 channel. "Everything, as usual, will be open and friendly."



The Kremlin has also denied any territorial ambitions and argues that it is NATO that is trying to encircle Russia.

Later, Stoltenberg visited a US-led NATO battalion based in the northeastern Polish town of Orzysz.

The German and Lithuanian presidents meanwhile visited a similar NATO base some 250 kilometres away in Rukla, Lithuania.

NATO deployed four multinational units to Poland and the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to reassure its easternmost allies unsettled by Russia's frequent military exercises near the region following its 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.

The Orzysz and Rukla NATO bases are both close to Russia's highly militarised Kaliningrad exclave and the Suwalki Gap, a strategically important land corridor critical to the security of the Baltic states.

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Pop star Lady Gaga's new documentary will release on Netflix on September 22.

"Gaga: Five Foot Two" will make its world premiere at TIFF, which runs from September 7-17.

Gaga will also perform at the festival, reported CBS .

The film, directed by Chris Moukarbel, centres on the recording of Gaga's most recent album "Joanne", released in 2016, and the build-up to her half-time performance at the Super Bowl back in February.

"I'm known for being larger than life, but really I am just #GagaFiveFootTwo," she tweeted, following it with two teaser clips from the film.

One features her performing at the Super Bowl, and the other is a snippet of a tearful interview with a confidante named Brandon.

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Nandan Nilekani, who returned as the Chairman of Infosys after founders staged a dramatic coup, today sought to allay concerns of investors and employees, saying he will focus on finding a CEO, recasting the board and bringing in stability at the troubled technology icon.

Nilekani, 62, one of Infosys' seven founders and also a former CEO, said he wants to put the company on "the right stable path" and "ensure there are no discordant voices in the company and everyone is on the same page".

Nilekani has been called in to steer Infosys after chairman R Seshasayee and three other directors quit, meeting the key demand of founder group led by N R Narayana Murthy.

The founders had clashed with the board -- often publicly -- in recent months over the company's performance, corporate governance and compensation of former CEO Vishal Sikka. Sikka stepped down last Friday, citing slander by promoters.

At that time, the board criticised Murthy, who in the following days moved swiftly to get investors as well as other founders to back him.

"I have come in to focus on the future of the company, I have come in to take the company forward and deal with its challenges," he said in an investor call arranged within hours of his appointment.

"I plan to be here as long as necessary and work as hard as necessary," he said.

Nilekani, who was the CEO for five years until 2007 before becoming co-chairman, said he would engage with all shareholders and customers, and work to resolve differences over corporate governance.

With revenue rising four-fold to USD 2 billion under his watch, Nilekani left Infosys in 2009 to shape the world's biggest biometric ID programme, Aadhaar.

Stating that he has no intention to become CEO of the company, he said the future strategy of Infosys will be aligned with global developments and he sees tremendous opportunity in software data and machine learning.

"I will focus my attention on the future of the business and customer needs, and show demonstrable progress," he added.

Stating that it is too premature for him to comment on Infosys' strategy and earnings, he committed himself to upholding the highest standards of corporate governance at the IT major.

Nilekani promised to offer more details of the strategy in October and is focussed on bringing "complete stability".

About the founders, he said he was an "admirer" of Murthy and "will ensure Infosys, Murthy and other founders have a healthy relationship".

"I will ensure there are no discordant voices in the company and everyone is on the same page," he asserted.

"Many good practices (of corporate governance) including full disclosures and transparency, SEC filings... Were spearheaded by Infosys," he pointed out.

Infosys will be a board-managed company with high standards of corporate governance, he stressed, vowing to restore its former glory.

Nilekani made it clear that as the non-Executive Chairman, his role will be oversight, governance and functioning and to help with the CEO search that will include internal and external candidates as well as Infosys "alumni".

He emphasised that he will stay as long as necessary, but declined to put a timeline to his latest stint. Finding a new CEO soon and reconstituting the board will be parallel activities, Nilekani pointed out.

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Pakistan and Afghanistan need to give a coordinated response to militants to fight terrorism instead of playing the "blame-game" in dealing with the issue, Pakistan army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa has said.

Bajwa asked Afghanistan to play a role in mitigating negativity created by the "hostile forces" between the two countries.

Pakistan is hosting a nine-member delegation of journalistas from Afghanistan.

"Pakistan and Afghanistan were brotherly neighbours and a coordinated response against terrorists was needed instead of blame-game to counter their common enemy," he said.

The Chief of Army Staff General said Pakistan took operations against terrorists of all hue and colour and there are no safe havens inside Pakistan which are being used against Afghanistan.

He said that effective management of common border was a key and Pakistan was taking measures like fencing and establishment of new border forts and posts to check illegal movements.

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Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi today left for the Norwegian capital Oslo, where he will meet political and business leaders, and will skip ally RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav's opposition rally in Patna on Sunday.

"On the invitation of the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will be travelling to Oslo for a few days," he said on Twitter.

"Looking forward to meeting and exchanging ideas with political and business leaders and research institutions."



Gandhi will miss RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav's show of strength in Patna on Sunday, which Congress President Sonia Gandhi is also unlikely to attend.

The Congress will be represented at the event by Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, party sources said.

Lalu's Rashtriya Janata Dal is organising a "BJP Bhagao, Desh Bachao" (Banish BJP, Save country) rally in Patna's Gandhi Maidan on August 27, which is being touted as a major opposition show of unity.

However, the rally is already under a cloud with BSP supremo Mayawati announcing she won't attend the event without any seat-sharing understanding among the opposition parties.

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Actor Ryan Gosling, who is currently gearing up for the release of "Blade Runner 2049", is set to host the 43rd season of "Saturday Night Live".

NBC's sketch comedy show will return for its season premiere on September 30, with musical guest Jay-Z.

The announcement was made on the official Twitter account of "SNL".

Gosling hosted the "SNL" once before in 2015, while Jay-Z has come on the show three times to date.

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Sevennaxals, one of them carrying a reward of Rs one lakh on his head,surrenderedin Chhattisgarh's insurgency-hit Narayanpur district today, the police said.

They cited disappointment with "hollow" Maoist ideology and their "wrong" policies, according to police.

"The cadres turned themselves in before senior police and Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) officials at the district headquarters," Narayanpur Superintendent of Police Santosh Singh told PTI.

They are identified as Manish Salaam (21), Mandar Korram (30), Peelsai Korram (40), Roshan Padihar (41),Anulal Bhandari (37),Sampat (27), and Chunni Lal Bhandari (38).

He said Salaam, an active member of Maoists' Dandakaranya instructor teamand Antagarh LOS (local operation Squad), had been allegedly involved in the two attacks on police party this year in Narayanpur and the neighbouring Kanker district.

Salaam was carrying a reward of Rs one lakh on his head, the officer said, adding that the rest six cadres were lower-rung members of the banned outfit.

In their statement, thesurrenderedcadres said they are quitting because of the "hollow"naxalideology and the wrong policies like "exploitation of innocent villagers".

The SP said the surrendered ultras will be provided facilities as perthe surrenderand rehabilitation policy of the state government.

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Actors Shabana Azmi and Abhay Deol and veteran lyricist Javed Akhtar will be honoured at the Singapore South Asian International film festival.

Deol will be felicitated with the South Asian Icon of the Year award, while Azmi will receive the South Asian Woman of the Year honour.

Akhtar, on the other hand, will be honoured with South Asian Literary award.

The 10-day festival, which begins from September 1, will showcase a total of 35 films from India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh.

"The Bait", a 2016 award-winning Bengali film based on a short story by Narayan Bandyopadhya, and Malayalam crime thriller "Pinneyum" (Once Again, 2016), which is directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan, will be screened during the event.

The 76-year-old filmmaker, who will be in town to talk about his work, is known for revolutionising the Malayalam film industry when his debut film, "Swayamvaram" (1972), screened at international festivals in London, Moscow and Paris.

Twenty-six films will be competing for the best feature film, best documentary film and best short film at the festival.

The films screening in competition include Marathi film "Lathe Joshi" (2016), a story of factory worker who is rendered jobless due to advances in technology, and Sri Lanka's "Withered Leaf" (2016), about a poor village woman's struggles after the sudden death of her husband.

Filmmakers Mostofa Sarwar Farooki from Bangladesh, Siddiq Barmak from Afghanistan, K Rajagopal from Singapore and Prasanna Vithanage from Sri Lanka are the jury members.

"This event will hopefully become a significant cultural gateway in the years to come. Through the powerful medium of cinema, we hope to build closer ties between the global city of Singapore and the developing nations of South Asia," said Abhayanand Singh, festival director and founder of Muvizz.

"There are a lot of films that never reach us in Singapore. This festival will bring these films to Singapore and, at the same time, create a whole environment of creative and cultural exchange," he said.

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Congress President Sonia Gandhi today expressed grave concern over the violence in Panchkula and other parts of Haryana and appealed for peace.

In a statement here, Gandhi said several people including children had died in the violence, and "there was widespread destruction of public property and senseless attacks" on the media.

Gandhi, while appealing to the people to maintain peace, also spoke to Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and asked the government of Haryana and the Chandigarh administration to ensure the safety of all citizens.

At least 28 people were killed and 250 injured in widespread violence, arson and police firing triggered by the rape conviction of self-styled godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.

Thousands of followers of Ram Rahim, who is the head of the Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda, went on the rampage, setting fire to vehicles, buildings and railway stations soon after a special CBI court convicted him in a 2002 rape case.

Police responded by opening fire.

The unrest which began in Panchkula where the verdict was handed down, spread to other parts of Haryana and Punjab and even New Delhi where a bus and train were set on fire.

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A South Korean court sentenced the billionaire chief of Samsung to five years in prison for crimes that helped oust the country's president, a stunning downfall that could freeze up decision making at a global electronics powerhouse long run like a monarchy.

The Seoul Central District Court said today that Lee Jae-yong, 49, was guilty of offering bribes to Park Geun-hye when she was South Korea's president, and to Park's close friend, to get government support for efforts to cement his control over the Samsung empire.

The revelations that led to Lee's arrest in February fed public outrage which contributed to Park's removal.

A panel of three judges also found Lee guilty of embezzling Samsung funds, hiding assets overseas, concealing profit from criminal acts and perjury. Prosecutors had sought a 12-year prison term.

The court said Lee and Samsung executives who advised him caused "a big negative effect" to South Korean society and its economy.

"The essence of the case is unethical collusion between political power and capital," the court said in a statement. It led the public to fundamentally question the public nature of the president's work and to have "mistrust in the morality of the Samsung group," it said.

The families who control South Korea's big conglomerates, known as chaebol, were lionised a generation ago for helping to turn South Korea into a manufacturing powerhouse put public tolerance for double standards that put them above the law has been rapidly diminishing.

Analysts said the verdict will not immediately have an impact on Samsung's business operations, which are overseen by three chief executives. The company has successfully weathered past crises that include two recalls of Galaxy Note 7 smartphones prone to catch fire and Lee's arrest. It is set to report its highest-ever earnings this year.

But long-term business decisions, such as finding future growth areas and identifying companies for acquisitions, may have to be put on hold.

"South Korea's chaebol system is similar to monarchy," said Park Sang-in, a professor at Seoul National University. "In the monarchy system, you need a king."



There is also potential for a destabilising family feud over inheritance when the elder Lee dies.

"Samsung was in the middle of change and that has stopped," said Park Ju-gun, chief executive at CEO Score, a private corporate watchdog. "That is a big risk."



Business lobby groups, while refraining from openly criticising the verdict, expressed concerns that Lee's absence from the helm of Samsung would take a toll on the South Korean economy. Samsung accounts for about one fifth of the nation's exports.

"Samsung Electronics represents South Korea as a global company so we are deeply worried about the fallout from his long absence," said a Korea Employers Federation spokesman. "It will be a disaster not just to an individual company but to the nation's economy."



The verdict, however, could be good for shareholders at South Korean companies who have complained about weak corporate governance that let founding families wield outsized influence and enjoy emperor-like authority even with minority ownership.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in's office, in a rare commentary on a court ruling, welcomed the ruling as a step toward rooting out corruption.

"We hope that it would pave the way to end persistent government-business collusion, which has hampered society from moving forward," its spokesman Yoon Young Chan said.

Lee was accused of offering USD 38 million in bribes to four entities controlled by Choi Soon-sil, a long-time friend of Park, in exchange for government help with a merger that strengthened Lee's control over Samsung after his father suffered a heart attack in 2014.

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Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy today said he intended to bring up how to improve anti- terrorism cooperation in the EU at a summit in Paris next week, after the deadly attacks in Catalonia.

"My intention is to be able to analyse current (anti- terror) cooperation mechanisms in the EU and look at options to strengthen and improve them," he said after a cabinet meeting.

Rajoy is due in Paris on Monday to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni, after twin vehicle attacks in Spain last week left 15 people dead and more than 120 injured.

Interior Minister Juan Ignacio Zoido met with his French counterpart Gerard Collomb on Monday to discuss the matter.

Rajoy said he "asked French President Emmanuel Macron that we broach this issue in the summit that will take place next Monday in Paris."



He recalled that Spain had already participated in various EU initiatives such as the fight against money laundering and financing of terror groups, or arms control measures.

Extremist attacks such as the ones that hit Barcelona and the seaside resort of Cambrils are "a global threat that require a global response," the prime minister said.

"Unfortunately Barcelona was not an exception but yet another element in a long sequence of attacks in various parts of Europe.

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The NDA government and the opposition traded charges over the multi-crore Srijan scam as the issue rocked the Bihar legislature again today with the RJD, Congress and CPI-ML pressing for resignation of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his deputy Sushil Kumar Modi.

The opposition RJD, Congress and CPI-ML members also staged a walkout from the Assembly.

As the Assembly met for the day, RJD leader Abdul Bari Siddiqui drew the attention of Speaker Vijay Kumar Chaudhary to his adjournment notice on the alleged scam and urged him to suspend other businesses to take up the matter.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Shrawan Kumar objected to it and said the House should be run according to rules and the adjournment notice should be taken up only after the question hour.

With the din refusing to die, the Speaker adjourned the house till noon.

After the house reassembled, Siddiqui once again raised the Srijan scam issue.

Irked by remarks of treasury bench members, Siddiqui threatened that no minister would be allowed to speak if they continued to disturb the opposition members.

When the Parliamentary Affairs minister objected to Siddiqui's statement, the RJD MLAs trooped into the Well of the house led by Siddiqui.

Amid the slogan shouting by the opposition, Sushil Modi, who holds the Finance and Commercial Taxes portfolio, introduced a bill on Entry tax.

Later, the RJD, Congress and CPI-ML staged a walkout from the House.

Modi targeted the RJD on the alleged fraudulent transfer of crores of government money to Srijan Mahila Sahyog Samiti at Bhagalpur.

Showing documents, Modi alleged that Srijan NGO was allowed office space at a government building named 'Trysam' at Bhagalpur in 2000 when Rabri Devi was the Chief Minister.

"Srijan was given 24 decibel space in Trysam building on a 30-year lease by the order of the then district magistrate of Bhagalpur in 2003 and a lease deed was signed to this effect on February 25, 2004," he said.

"The lease was later extended for 50 years in the same year," he said quoting documents.

Modi also showed another document of 2000 to claim that the then Bhagalpur district magistrate allowed the opening of bank account of Srijan with the cooperative bank and permitted it to keep government money in its accounts down to the block level.

"The RJD government led by Rabri Devi was in the state in between 2000 and 2004 when these favours were given to Srijan," the Deputy CM said even as his party MLAs shouted 'Chor Machaye Shor' (a thief is raising a hue and cry) against the RJD.

Government funds to the tune of Rs 950 crore were allegedly illegaly diverted to the account of NGO Srijan in Bhagalpur in the scam.

Later, Modi tried to drag the Congress into the controversy. Speaking to reporters, he alleged that one of the alleged key players of the scam Rajni Priya, who is absconding with her husband, is the daughter of a Congress leader from Jharkhand and niece of a former Union minister.

Asked about his accountability as he served as the MP of Bhagalpur from 2000 to 2004 and was the Deputy CM and the finance minister during the previous NDA rule, Modi said, "Nobody had complained or informed me of the irregularities in the NGO."



Modi also urged the Speaker to expunge "unparliamentary" words used by the opposition against him and the chief minister from the House proceedings.

The Speaker said that he has already ordered deletion of those words.

In the state legislative council, RJD's Subodh Kumar raised the Srijan scam issue and amid the din created by RJD and Congress members, the House was adjourned till 2.30 pm.

After the house reassembled in the post-lunch session, the RJD members continued to create a din and Deputy Chairman Harun Rashid ordered the house marshals to evict them from the the House.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Sushil Kumar Modi were present in the Upper House at that time.

Leader of Opposition Tejaswi Yadav and Abdul Bari Siddiqui came down heavily on the Chief Minister and the Deputy Chief Minister on the issue of Srijan scam.

On Sushil Modi questioning his inaction as Finance minister in Grand Alliance government, Siddiqui told reporters outside Assembly, "I am ready to quit my Assembly seat. Let the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister tender their resignation for an impartial probe by CBI under Supreme Court or High Court supervision."



Tejaswi Yadav equated Srijan scam with Vyapam scam of Madhya Pradesh and alleged that the "killing" of an accused in the NGO scam case in Bhagalpur was done "on behalf of the state government".

He was referring to the death of arrested accused Mahesh Mandal who, according to police, died at a hospital in Bihar's Bhagalpur district due to illness.

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A suicide bomb and gun attack claimed by the Islamic State group on a Shiite mosque in Kabul killed 12 people and wounded scores more today, officials said, the latest assault to highlight deteriorating security in Afghanistan.

Gunshots and explosions could be heard during the attack that lasted around four hours and witnesses reported seeing worshippers smash windows to escape.

The mosque, in a residential area in the north of the city, was believed to have been packed with dozens of men, women and children when the assailants struck during Friday prayers.

Heavily-armed security forces surrounded the building and managed to rescue more than 100 worshippers, according to the interior ministry.

It said 10 civilians were killed and more than 40 wounded in the ordeal. Among the security forces, two were killed and seven others wounded.

"The attack is over and the site has been cleaned up by our police," deputy spokesman Najib Danish told AFP, confirming three attackers were killed by security forces.

Kabul police spokesman Abdul Basir Mujahid told AFP a suicide bomber "detonated himself inside the mosque".

People gathered outside had tried to call women and children trapped inside but their mobile phones were not responding, an AFP reporter at the scene said.

"Our relatives have been stranded inside the mosque... We believe they have been held hostage by the gunmen. We are very concerned about their safety and may God help us and rescue our loved ones," one of the onlookers said.

Eyewitnesses described horrific scenes inside the mosque as the attackers ran short of bullets and began "using knives to stab worshippers".

Others said the attackers had been armed with rocket propelled grenade launchers.

The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the deadly assault via its propaganda agency.

"Two 'inghimasi' of the Islamic State carried out an attack on a husseiniya (Shiite place of worship) in the Khair Khana sector of the Afghan city of Kabul," Amaq said, using the terms for suicide bombers who set off explosive vests as a last resort against gunfire.

The assault underscores spiralling insecurity in Afghanistan as a resurgent Taliban steps up offensives across the country, while the Islamic State group, known for carrying out sectarian attacks, expands its Afghan footprint.

It comes just days after US President Donald Trump cleared the way for thousands more American troops to be deployed in the war-torn country.

More than 10 ambulances were at the scene to take the wounded to local hospitals. Some relatives flocked to a nearby private hospital to search for loved ones who had been in the mosque at the time of the attack.

Pools of blood could be seen at the entrance to the medical facility.

Shiites, a minority of around three million in overwhelmingly Sunni Afghanistan, have regularly been targeted by IS jihadists recently. They accuse police and troops of failing to protect them.

IS has claimed responsibility for a series of attacks killing dozens of Shiites in Kabul over the past year, including twin explosions in July 2016 that ripped through crowds of Shiite Hazaras, killing at least 85 people and wounding more than 400.

Earlier this month 33 worshippers were killed and 66 wounded in a suicide attack claimed by IS on a Shiite mosque in the western Afghan city of Herat.

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The Telangana government is going to distribute over one crore sarees to the women from below the poverty line families during the traditional 'Bathukamma' festival next month.

"On the occasion of Bathukamma festival, all the poor women above the age of 18 will get sarees as a gift irrespective of caste, community or religion," Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao said, as per an official release today.

Sarees would be distributed through ration shops to as many as 1,04,57,610 women on September 18, 19 and 20. District Collectors will oversee the distribution program.

"People in Telangana celebrate Bathukamma and Dussera festivals cutting across religious and caste lines. Bathukamma festival is an integral part of the Telangana life and culture. It is a symbol of family relationships," the CM said.

"We have distributed clothes to Muslims on Ramzaan and to Christians on Christmas. But for Bathukamma festival, we have decided to gift sarees to the poor women of all communities...And all castes," he added.

"The plight of workers in the handloom and powerloom sectors is pathetic....Hence we are purchasing these sarees from them, as it would provide employment to these workers. We are speeding up modernisation of powerlooms. We are giving them 50 per cent subsidy on yarn and chemicals," the CM noted.

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President Donald Trump's top economic advisor criticised the White House today for the failure to unequivocally condemn neo-Nazis and white nationalists over deadly violence this month in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Gary Cohn, head of the White House national economic council and one of the most prominent Jewish-Americans in Trump's administration, is one of the most senior officials to weigh in following the uproar over the president's response to the violence.

"This administration can and must do better in consistently and unequivocally condemning these groups and do everything we can to heal the deep divisions that exist in our communities," Cohn told the Financial Times, without specifically naming Trump.

Cohn said he faced "tremendous pressure" to quit the administration after the president appeared to draw a moral equivalency between white nationalist demonstrators and anti- racism counter-protesters.

One woman was killed when a car driven by an avowed white supremacist plowed into a crowd of people after the rally turned violent, and numerous demonstrators were injured during the rallies on August 11 and 12.

Trump failed to single out white supremacists for their role in the bloodshed, saying there was blame "on both sides," and that there were "very fine people" among the white supremacist protesters, who were opposing the removal of a statue honoring Civil War icon Robert E Lee.

Cohn broke with the president by telling the FT that "citizens standing up for equality and freedom can never be equated with white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and the KKK."



Having faced calls to quit, Cohn said he decided he could be more effective by remaining in the administration.

"I have come under enormous pressure both to resign and to remain in my current position," the former banker told the British daily.

"As a patriotic American, I am reluctant to leave my post... Because I feel a duty to fulfill my commitment to work on behalf of the American people," Cohn said.

"As a Jewish American, I will not allow neo-Nazis ranting 'Jews will not replace us' to cause this Jew to leave his job," he added.

Another Jewish-American in the administration, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, also faced calls to quit in the aftermath of Charlottesville, but has refused to do so, and has staunchly defended Trump.

"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 said in written comments last week.

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A transgender Singaporean and her friend have been sentenced to a year in prison in the capital of the United Arab Emirates for dressing in a feminine way, friends and family say.

Abu Dhabi police did not immediately respond to a request for comment today, but the two's arrest and quick sentencing show the danger that the LGBT community can face in the Mideast nation home to the famous nightclub scene of Dubai.

Nur Qistina Fitriah Ibrahim, a transgender woman who has not undergone a sex-change operation, and her friend, freelance fashion photographer Muhammad Fadli Bin Abdul Rahman, were arrested in Abu Dhabi on August 9, friends say.

Police stopped them at Yas Mall as they tried to eat at a food court, said Radha Stirling, CEO of the advocacy group Detained in Dubai.

Fadli at the time of his arrest was wearing a white T- shirt, a bow tie and earrings, his brother Muhammad Saiful Bahri Bin Abdul Rahman said.

"I hope to bring my brother back to Singapore as soon as possible," he said. "My brother is a friendly, selfless and jovial person. It's ridiculous to be jailed for his dressing."



Ibrahim, who is known by the nickname Fifi to friends, is a frequent traveler to Abu Dhabi and hadn't had any trouble in the past, friends said.

The two believed they would sort out the issue and return home quickly, but were sentenced to a year in prison in a court hearing, Stirling said. She alleged the two did not retain lawyers at the advice of the Singapore Embassy in Abu Dhabi.

Chan Zhi Wei, an official at the Singaporean Embassy, called the allegation that consular officials advised against getting a lawyer "incorrect," without elaborating.

"The embassy is currently rendering the necessary consular assistance to the individuals in question and their families are being assisted to seek legal advice," he said.

Abu Dhabi advertises itself as a tourism destination and is home to the long-haul air carrier Etihad Airways. However, the emirate bordering Saudi Arabia is more conservative than Dubai, the UAE's commercial heart.

But even trips to Dubai can pose risks to LGBT travelers and others as laws sometimes contradict social attitudes, Stirling said. A British man in the UAE faced charges of "cross dressing" last year, but Stirling said she helped him leave the country after paying a fine of 5,000 dirhams (USD 1,360).

Meanwhile, alcohol possession for foreigners is technically illegal without a government-issued license obtainable only after gaining their employer's permission, though liquor and beer is widely available in bars and clubs in both cities. Foreigners also have faced charges in the past for having sex outside of marriage.

Such laws are common in other Mideast nations, based in part on Islamic legal codes.

"Alcohol, prostitutes, homosexuality, sex outside marriage and revealing clothing are all ever present, making these practices seem legal or at least, common and acceptable," Stirling said. "In reality, they are serious offenses that can lead to lengthy imprisonment, fines and deportation.

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UN chief Antonio Guterres has informed through a letter to the Security Council of the order given by the International Court of Justice in the case of Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav, who has been sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court.

In a letter dated August 8 to the President of the Security Council, Guterres said he was transmitting copies of the texts of the orders indicating the provisional measures in three cases pending before the ICJ.

One of the orders relates to the Jadhav case while the others are those in cases between Ukraine and Russia and Equatorial Guinea and France.

A diplomatic source told PTI here that the communication from the Secretary-General to the 15-nation Council is "routine information under ICJ Statute" and that the UN chief is required to transmit to the Council all the cases where provisional measures have been taken by the Court and the judgments in those cases.

The source said the Secretary-General has forwarded the copies of the orders in the cases that he receives from the Registrar of the ICJ and in compliance with the ICJ Statute.

Under the ICJ Statute, every year the Security Council needs to be informed what are the cases before the ICJ and the interim judgments entered in those cases.

In its May 18 verdict, the Hague-based International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled "unanimously" that "Pakistan shall take all measures at its disposal to ensure that Jadhav is not executed pending the final decision in these proceedings and shall inform the court of all the measures taken in implementation of the present order".

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Half of the estimated 20,000 people trapped in Syria's northern city of Raqqa are children, an official with the UN children's agency said today, describing the traumatizing experiences of children who recently fled the rule of Islamic State group militants as "absolutely staggering."



Fran Equiza spoke to The Associated Press in Damascus following a visit to three camps in northern Syria where he met displaced children from Raqqa and Deir el-Zour, both held by the IS.

"I was completely overwhelmed," he said. "There are 10,000 children trapped in Raqqa in extremely dire conditions. No electricity, no water, probably very little food ... And the battle almost every day."



Raqqa is the self-proclaimed capital of the so-called Islamic State in Syria. US-backed Syrian fighters are bearing down on the city from all sides and as the fighting intensifies, thousands of civilians are finding it increasingly hard to escape the city, which is facing constant shelling by the US-led coalition and allied Syrian Democratic Forces.

IS militants have placed mines around the city.

"The level of suffering, losing friends, relatives, family of these children is absolutely staggering," he said.

Equiza appealed to all sides to allow for safe passage and respect civilians, "especially the children (who) have no responsibility whatsoever."



He warned that the situation is about to get worse, as more people flee from the IS-held eastern province of Deir el-Zour where the Syrian military and allied militiamen are on the offensive against IS.

"We need support in order to be able to provide these children the rights they are entitled," Equiza said.

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Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath today announced financial assistance of Rs 50 lakh for the family of a police sub-inspector, who was killed in an encounter with dacoits in Chitrakoot district.

"The chief minister has sanctioned Rs 50 lakh financial assistance for the martyr, SI Jai Prakash Singh's family and announced bravery medal for him," an official spokesperson said here.

Adityanath also announced construction of a 'gate' and a rechristening a road in Singh's home district Jaunpur in his name, the official said.

The chief minister has also talked to the aggrieved family and assured them all possible help from the government, the spokesperson added.

Singh was killed in exchange of fire during an encounter with dacoit Babli Kol gang in Manikpur area of Chitrakoot yesterday.

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US defence secretary James Mattis is likely to visit India in the last week of September during which both sides are expected to discuss regional security challenges and ways to further ramp up defence ties.

Issues relating to joint development of weapons system and combating terrorism in the region are likely to figure during the talks.

The US defence secretary is likely to visit India in the latter part of September, official sources said.

In June 2016, the US had designated India as "Major Defence Partner" intending to elevate defence trade and technology sharing with India to a level commensurate with that of its closest allies and partners.

The Indo-US defence and security ties have been on an upswing and both sides are expected to discuss extensively some of the defence procurement deals during the visit of Mattis, the sources said.

The situation in Afghanistan, China's growing assertiveness in the region and challenge of terrorism emanating from Pakistan are some of the other issues which may figure during talks Mattis will have with the defence minister here.

On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump had vowed to boost the US' strategic partnership with India to achieve peace and stability in Afghanistan and called on New Delhi to provide more economic assistance to the war-torn country.

Trump, in his first prime-time televised address to the nation as commander-in-chief, laid out his South Asia policy saying a "critical part" of it was to further develop the US' strategic partnership with India.

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The Trump administration is worried that nuclear weapons and materials in Pakistan could land up in the hands of terror groups and the concerns are aggravated by the development of tactical weapons, a senior US official has said.

The senior Trump administration official said that during a compressive review, one of the major issues that continually came up for discussion and is very important to the US was the nuclear danger in the region.

That is a critical element of the South Asia strategy, the official told reporters during a conference call.

The Trump administration is worried that nuclear weapons and materials in Pakistan might land up in the hands of terrorist groups or individuals, the senior administration official said, on condition of anonymity.

The South Asia strategy announced by US President Donald Trump on Monday notes that the "nuclear weapons or materials could fall" into the wrong hands, the official said.

"It (South Asia policy) also prioritises the escalating tension between India and Pakistan, the two nuclear power countries, and looks for ways to de-escalate the tension between the two to avoid any potential military confrontation among them," the official said.

"We are particularly concerned by the development of tactical nuclear weapons that are designed for use in battlefield. We believe that these systems are more susceptible to terrorist theft and increase the likelihood of nuclear exchange in the region," the Trump administration official said.

The official said it was due to this that the strategy also focuses on confidence building measures between India and Pakistan and encourages them to come to the negotiating table.

The danger of nuclear weapons was also mentioned by Trump in his Afghanistan and South Asia policy speech on Monday.

"For its part, Pakistan often gives safe haven to agents of chaos, violence, and terror. The threat is worse because Pakistan and India are two nuclear-armed states whose tense relations threaten to spiral into conflict. And that could happen," he had said in his first prime time televised address to the nation.

In an article published in 'War on the Rocks', Christopher Clary, who worked on the South Asia policy in the Office of the Secretary of Defence from 2006 to 2009, said Pakistan likely possesses more than 100 nuclear weapons today and might possess fissile material for up to 200 or 300 nuclear weapons.

"The US presence in Afghanistan is primarily about preventing terrorist groups operating there, but there is some reporting that suggests elements of the US government are wary of losing basing in Afghanistan that is useful to monitor Pakistani terrorist groups and Pakistan's nuclear weapons development efforts," Clary said.

Stephen Tankel, an American expert, said the US has two vital security interests in Pakistan -- ensuring militants in the region do not attack the US homeland and keeping militants from getting their hands on nuclear material.

"America also has a critical interest in preventing Indo-Pakistani nuclear escalation and terrorist attacks against US persons and infrastructure in the region," Tankel recently wrote for Center for a New American Security.

"Maintaining a sufficient counter-terrorism presence in Afghanistan has been a cornerstone of the broader US counter- terrorism policy. This, in turn, has required ensuring the Afghan government retains sufficient control over its territory," he said.

Pakistan is developing tactical nuclear-capable 'Nasr' ballistic missiles for battlefield use in order to deter a limited Indian military response to terrorist attacks by Pakistan-supported militants, he wrote.

"The common concern about Pakistani nuclear weapons is that they are vulnerable to internal threats. In reality, these weapons are most likely to fall into terrorists' hands if forward-deployed during a conflict with India," Tankel said.

"Even some Pakistani analysts recognise that it would be difficult for the Pakistan military to ensure the full security of these weapons once they were deployed in the field," he said.

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Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has warned the armed forces in his crisis-hit country against "fissures" in their ranks, ahead of war games seen as a show of strength after US President Donald Trump's threat of military action.

Maduro yesterday launched the warning in a speech to his top military leadership, including General Vladimir Padrino, his defense minister, and General Remigio Ceballos, commander of operational strategy, two days before the drills begin tomorrow.

"We must be clear, especially for the youth in the military, that we must close ranks within the homeland -- that this is no time for any fissures and that those with doubts should leave the armed forces immediately," Maduro said.

"You are with Trump and the imperialists, or you are with the Bolivarian national armed forces and the homeland," he added. "Never before has Venezuela been threatened in such a way."



Maduro has faced months of deadly mass protests by opponents who blame him for an economic crisis and are demanding elections to replace him. His main source of support is the military.

Venezuela's opposition has repeatedly urged the military to abandon Maduro, so far to no avail. He has only faced low- level dissent, such as from the two rebel officers who staged a raid on an army base this month.

Maduro urged the military to "be prepared to fight fiercely... In the face of an eventual" US invasion.

"They treat us as a dictatorship," said the embattled president.

Since Trump's threat, Vice President Mike Pence sought to soften the message, saying during a visit to Latin America that he was sure democracy could be restored in Venezuela through economic and diplomatic pressure.

In another move made with an eye on Washington, Maduro announced he had moved his oil minister Nelson Martinez over to run the state oil giant PDVSA -- and brought the company's boss Eulogio Del Pino over to be his oil minister.

Maduro told the military leaders that in the face of possible future added US sanctions on Venezuela, "I decided to do some re-casting... We have to prepare ourselves."



He pointed out that Del Pino, who has been at the helm of PDVSA since 2014, was the architect of agreements between OPEC and non-OPEC countries to boost flagging crude prices.

As for Martinez, who took over the oil ministry in January, Maduro said he would work to increase Chinese, Russian, Indian and Malaysian investments in PDVSA's various projects.

"We are in a moment of flexibility to face the economic war," said Maduro.

So far, the United States has applied economic sanctions directly targeting Maduro, who says the economic collapse that has dragged his country into crisis is a US-backed conspiracy.

He has accused Washington of preparing fresh economic sanctions and a "naval blockade" to stifle oil exports, which account for nearly all of Venezuela's hard currency reserves.

The fall in world crude prices has left Venezuela -- which has the largest proven oil reserves in the world -- short of dollars for vital imports. The country is suffering from shortages of basic goods and medicines.

Earlier this month, PDVSA reported a sharp 33.5 percent drop in revenues for 2016, as compared with the previous year.

The average price of a barrel of Venezuelan crude declined 21 percent to $35.15 in 2016, down from $44.65 in 2015, it said.

The opposition blames Maduro's economic management for the crisis, and his critics accuse him of clinging to power by hijacking state institutions, such as by installing a new constituent assembly packed with loyalists.

Clashes between anti-government protesters and police this year have left 125 people dead, according to prosecutors.

Also yesterday, Venezuela took two Colombian television networks off the air -- Caracol Television and RCN.

Caracas is angry at Bogota for offering protection to Maduro's onetime attorney general Luisa Ortega, who is now a fierce critic of his government.

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Britain and the EU are very far apart on the main issues just days ahead of crunch Brexit talks, EU officials said today, blaming London's "lack of substance" for holding up progress.

The two sides are due to hold a third round of negotiations next week but the officials were unable to say if they would start on Monday, as widely expected, or Tuesday.

The EU insists there has to be "sufficient progress" in three key areas -- EU citizen rights, Northern Ireland's border and the exit bill -- before considering London's demand for talks on its future trade relationship with the bloc.

"If you look where we are and where we need to be... It is a very big gap. It is unlikely that we will make major steps to close this gap" next week, one of the EU officials told a press briefing.

"It is not the lack of time that is preventing us from advancing, so far it has been the lack of substance," added the official who asked not to be named.

The EU officials stressed repeatedly that the remaining 27 member states had agreed on the sequencing of the talks and despite London pressing to get the future relationship on the table, that was a no-go for the moment.

After the last round in July, EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier warned Britain it had to clarify its position on the initial separation issues if there was to be the "sufficient progress" required to turn to trade in October.

London has published several position papers in the past few weeks but the EU officials appeared not to be overly impressed.

On the future of Northern Ireland and its border with the Republic of Ireland, London suggested technological solutions could avoid it becoming a barrier to both trade and the peace process.

"We see a lot of magical thinking about how an invisible border could work in the future," one of the officials said, urging London to really take on board just how big an impact Brexit will have on Ireland's economy and society.

The official rejected British suggestions that agreeing a trade deal now would help resolve the issue and warned: "We think that the peace process must not become a bargaining chip in these negotiations."



In another position paper, Britain said there might be room for the European Court of Justice to have an indirect influence, apparently softening its position that the EU's top court would have any future say at all.

But again this would not be good enough, the official said.

The rights of more than three million EU citizens in Britain and one million Britons in Europe arose from EU law and therefore come under the remit of the ECJ, they said.

"There is no other possibility," one official said.

As for Britain's divorce settlement -- estimated at up to 100 billion euros in Brussels but much less at 40 billion according to reports in London -- the officials said it was not a numbers game but one of agreeing how to work out the bill.

"We have to have a methodology sufficiently detailed so that commitments made to various beneficiaries of the EU budget will be honoured," one official said.

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Full service carrier Vistara has said it will resume daily flight services from New Delhi to the temple city of Varanasi from October 10.

The Tata SIA-run airline had discontinued services to the city in Uttar Pradesh in March this year due to operational reasons.

"Vistara is delighted to reintroduce daily non-stop flights between New Delhi and Varanasi starting October 10," the airline said in a statement today.

It has also introduced special introductory one-way fare of Rs 1,500 without taxes to attract customers.

The Delhi-based airline at present serves 19 destinations with around 600 weekly flights with a fleet of 15 Airbus 320 family planes.

A joint venture between India's Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines, Vistara plans to launch global operations from mid next year.

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Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa today asserted that the Indian Air Force (IAF) was prepared to tackle all contingencies.

He was replying to a query on the preparedness of the IAF to face any eventuality in the wake of a standoff between the Indian and Chinese troops in the Dokalam sector in Bhutan.

The Air Chief Marshal was in the city to inaugurate the 56th Annual Conference organised by the Indian Institute of Aerospace Medicine.

Dhanoa had, in a media interview in July, said there had been a tremendous jump in the capabilities of the Air Force from the time of the 1999 Kargil war and the ability to operate day and night and in all weather conditions had shown a significant increase in the last 18 years.

He had also said the ability to keep a vigil along the border had increased, as had the IAF's reconnaissance capabilities.

In a message to his men, Dhanoa had said they should be ready to execute operations in a very short time with whatever they had and not with what they were supposed to have.

Earlier, addressing the gathering, Dhanoa said grounding of pilots on medical grounds was a tremendous loss to the IAF and also adversely affected the morale of the individuals concerned.

"Your scientific work may provide hope to the aviators, who have overcome medical ailments, to return to active flying duties," he said.

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The UN has started food distribution to 180,000 people affected by the recent floods and rain-related calamities in Nepal, World Food Programme said today.

At least 150 people were killed mostly in southern Nepal districts due to the flood and landslide following incessant rains.

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said in a statement that, "Within 48 hours after the floods, Nepal Food Security Monitoring System (NEKSAP) supported by World Food Programme (WFP), issued a first assessment of the damage, playing a vital role in determining the extent of food insecurity in flood-affected areas".

"The tragedy has affected 1.7 million people, with nearly 4,61,000 of them displaced from their homes and in desperate need of assistance, WFP Nepal said.

"The distributions are going on as the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology (DHM) warns of more floods in the days ahead. People in impacted areas are currently food insecure, and 300,000 people have very little access to food and are urgently in need of food assistance," WPF statement said.

"Many people whose homes have been washed away were extremely poor already, living in rudimentary shelters and struggling to make ends meet. Families that have lost food stocks have nothing to fall back on," said Pippa Bradford, WFP Representative and Country Director.

"WFP is working around the clock to provide food to the poorest to ensure that they have enough to eat," she said.

According to the Ministry of Home Affairs over 80 per cent of land in the Terai, the southern plains of Nepal has been inundated.

"To prevent malnutrition, WFP, along with the Government of Nepal and its partners, will be providing 200 MT of fortified food to 19,500 pregnant women and nursing mothers and about 27,700 children aged between 6 to 23 months, across 13 flood affected districts of the Terai," the statement said.

Meanwhile, Japan has also provided emergency relief materials worth Nepalese Rs 23.4 million as a support to the victims of the flood and landslides.

Ambassador of Japan to Nepal Masashi Ogawa handed over the relief materials to Home Minister Janardan Sharma at the Tribhuvan International Airport here.

The first shipment of emergency relief supplies include 3,000 blankets, 100 plastic sheets, 2,000 sleeping pads, 100 tents and 10 watertanks.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
At least 12 people including five police officers were killed today in Myanmar's restive Rakhine state as Rohingya militants launched pre-dawn raids on border posts, according to the office of State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi.

It is the worst outbreak of violence for months in the coastal state bisected by religious hatred and follows a milestone report by a commission led by former UN chief Kofi Annan urging immediate action to heal the divide.

More than 20 police posts came under attack by an estimated 150 militants early today, prompting soldiers to fight back, the statement issued by the State Counsellor's office said.

"Currently, five police officers have been killed and... according to initial information, we have seven bodies of the extremist Bengali terrorists," it added, using a government description for the Rohingya militants who emerged as a force last year.

"Many police posts and stations were attacked," it said, in at least one case using homemade mines.

Confirming the unrest, a police officer in Buthidaung town, close to the worst violence, said border guard posts remained surrounded by militants as day broke in a fluid and dangerous flare up of violence.

"The situation is complicated... The military is arriving," the officer told AFP on condition of anonymity, adding some of the attackers were armed with guns.

The northern wedge of Rakhine closest to Bangladesh has been in lockdown since October 2016 deadly attacks by militants on border posts sparked a military response that left scores dead and forced tens of thousands to flee.

The UN believes those security "clearances" may have amounted to ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya, a mainly Muslim minority living in Buddhist Myanmar.

The army and Suu Kyi's civilian government vehemently deny allegations of widespread abuses including rape and murder.

After a period of slackening violence, tensions have boiled over in recent weeks with the military moving hundreds of troops into remote village areas.

Annan was appointed by Suu Kyi to head a year-long commission tasked with healing divisions between the Rohingya and local Buddhists.

His report urged Myanmar to scrap restrictions on movement and citizenship for its roughly million-strong Rohingya minority, the majority of whom are stateless.

Today's "attacks coincidedly came after release of the final report by advisory commission on Rakhine State led by Dr Kofi Annan," Suu Kyi's office said.

Myanmar security forces have conducted sporadic operations to flush out suspected militants throughout this year, often resulting in casualties among Rohingya villagers.

They have spoken of their fear at being trapped between the security forces and the militants, who are accused of conducting a shadowy assassination campaign against perceived collaborators with the state.

It was not immediately clear if today's outbreak of violence was led by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), which claims to lead an insurgency based in the remote May Yu mountain range in northern Rakhine.

Recent tensions have been further tweaked after several Buddhists were found dead, prompting some ethnic Rakhine villagers to flee.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
By Sandrine Bradley, Stephen Jewkes and Dmitry Zhdannikov

LONDON/MILAN (Reuters) - Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo has encountered problems syndicating a loan to Glencore and Qatar's wealth fund to finance their purchase of a stake in the Kremlin-controlled oil major Rosneft because of new U.S. sanctions against Russia.

Four banking sources told that Western banks including from the United States and France have so far put on hold their participation in the syndication of the 5.2 billion euro ($6.13 billion) loan that Intesa provided last year.

Intesa invited about 15 banks to join the loan when it opened the syndication in May. A loan of this size would normally take between four and six weeks to syndicate, though deals involving emerging markets can sometimes take a few weeks longer.

The banking sources said their compliance departments needed to understand the new sanctions.

They also said the syndication was complicated by a political stand-off between Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Banks are taking a more cautious approach to deals involving Qatar as they are wary of damaging their relations with Saudi Arabia and the other three Gulf nations embroiled in the dispute.

"The syndication is stuck because of new U.S. sanctions on Russia. The new sanctions are so wide-reaching that they will surely impact all similar deals involving Russian state firms," said a London-based source with a large Western bank invited by Intesa to participate in the syndication.

Intesa, Italy's largest retail bank, declined to comment. The banking sources did not want themselves or their banks to be named because they were not cleared to speak about the deal and because talks between Intesa and the banks about the syndication are confidential.

Last month, Washington imposed new sanctions on Russia in the strongest action against Moscow since 2014 following Russia's annexation of Crimea and incursion in east Ukraine.

The new round of sanctions was in part a response to conclusions by U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia meddled in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The sanctions dashed hopes of a rapprochement between Moscow and Washington.

The syndication was meant to spread the risk for Intesa which has so far lent all of the money. The loan helped commodities house Glencore and the Qatar Investment Authority buy 19.5 percent in Rosneft to help the Russian government plug budget holes.

The Italian government says the loan is compliant with the new sanctions.

COMPLICATED

Intesa, which ranks as a fairly small investment banking player but has good connections in Russia, invited several French, Dutch and U.S. banks as well as China's Bank of China and ICBC to participate in the deal.

A source said ICBC and Bank of China had indicated they would be willing to participate in the deal, though they are more wary now given the political problems hitting Qatar. An official at ICBC declined to comment and one at BOC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Bankers said the syndication was always expected to be complicated.

Rosneft, its boss Igor Sechin and Russia's top state banks are all subject to sanctions imposed after Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, and some banks had refused to consider the deal on these grounds from the start.

In addition to that, Glencore and QIA never disclosed full details of the deal, prompting the bankers to question whether they could go ahead with the syndication without knowing all beneficiaries of the transaction.

A spike in tensions between Qatar and its Gulf neighbours including Saudi Arabia also happened just as Intesa started syndicating the loan.

"The regional dispute has not helped - it is tough," a London-based loan banker said.

"Political tensions around Qatar slowed the deal somewhat. But a real problem came when the U.S. imposed new sanctions (on Russia) in July," another London-based banking source said.

Back in 2014, U.S. and European sanctions made it impossible for Russian state-owned companies and many private ones to raise new capital but left loopholes for raising money.

"With the new sanctions, I expect a lot of troubles with lending to projects led by Russian state firms... And possibly to many private ones," said one of the banking sources.

($1 = 0.8477 euros)

(Additional reporting by Tessa Walsh and Shu Zhang; Writing by Dmitry Zhdannikov; editing by Anna Willard)

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Inc next month plans to unveil an electric big-rig truck with a working range of 200 to 300 miles, Reuters has learnt, a sign that the electric car maker is targeting regional hauling for its entry into the commercial freight market.

Chief Executive Elon Musk has promised to release a prototype of its Semi truck next month in a bid to expand the company's market beyond luxury cars. The entrepreneur has tantalized the trucking industry with the prospect of a battery-powered heavy-duty vehicle that can compete with conventional diesels, which can travel up to 1,000 miles on a single tank of fuel.

Tesla's electric prototype will be capable of travelling the low end of what transportation veterans consider to be "long-haul" trucking, according to Scott Perry, an executive at Miami-based fleet operator Ryder System Inc . Perry said he met with officials earlier this year to discuss the technology at the automaker's manufacturing facility in Fremont, California.

Perry said Tesla's efforts are centred on an electric big-rig known as a "day cab" with no sleeper berth, capable of travelling about 200 to 300 miles with a typical payload before recharging.

"I'm not going to count them out for having a strategy for longer distances or ranges, but right out of the gate I think that's where they'll start," said Perry, who is the chief technology officer and chief procurement officer for Ryder.

Tesla responded to Reuters questions with an email statement saying, "Tesla's policy is to always decline to comment on speculation, whether true or untrue, as doing so would be silly. Silly!"

Tesla's plan, which could change as the truck is developed, is consistent with what battery researchers say is possible with current technology. Tesla has not said publicly how far its electric truck could travel, what it would cost or how much cargo it could carry. But Musk has acknowledged that Tesla has met privately with potential buyers to discuss their needs.

Reuters reported earlier this month that Tesla is developing self-driving capability for the big rig.

Musk has expressed hopes for large-scale production of the Tesla Semi within a couple of years. That audacious effort could open a potentially lucrative new market for the Palo Alto, California-based automaker.

Or it could prove an expensive distraction. Musk in July warned that the company is bracing for "manufacturing hell" as it accelerates production of its new Model 3 sedan. Tesla aims to produce 5,000 of the cars per week by the end of this year, and 10,000 per week some time next year.

Tesla shares are up about 65 percent this year. But sceptics abound. Some doubt Musk's ability to take Tesla from a niche producer to a large-scale automaker. About 22 percent of shares available for trade have been sold "short" by investors who expect the stock to fall.

Musk, a quirky billionaire whose transportation ambitions include colonizing the planet Mars, has long delighted in defying conventional wisdom. At Tesla's annual meeting in June, he repeated his promise of a battery-powered long-haul big rig.

"A lot of people don't think you can do a heavy-duty, long-range truck that's electric, but we are confident that this can be done," he said.

While the prototype described by Ryder's Perry would fall well short of the capabilities of conventional diesels, Musk may well have found a sweet spot if he can deliver. Roughly 30 percent of U.S. trucking jobs are regional trips of 100 to 200 miles, according to Sandeep Kar, chief strategy officer of Toronto-based Fleet Complete, which tracks and analyses truck movement.

A truck with that range would be able to move freight regionally, such as from ports to nearby cities or from warehouses to retail establishments.

"As long as (Musk) can break 200 miles he can claim his truck is 'long haul' and he will be technically right," Kar said.

Interest in electric trucks is high among transportation firms looking to reduce their emissions and operating costs. Electric motors require less maintenance than internal combustion engines. Juice from the grid is cheaper than diesel.

But current technology doesn't pencil when it comes to powering U.S. trucks across the country. Experts say the batteries required would be so large and heavy there would be little room for cargo.

An average diesel cab costs around $120,000. The cost of the battery alone for a big rig capable of going 200 to 400 miles carrying a typical payload could be more than that, according to battery researchers Shashank Sripad and Venkat Viswanathan of Carnegie Mellon University.

Battery weight and ability would limit a semi to a range of about 300 miles with an average payload, according to a paper recently published by Viswanathan and Sripad. The paper thanked Tesla for "helpful comments and suggestions." Tesla did not endorse the work or comment on the conclusions to Reuters.

A range of 200 to 300 miles would put Tesla at the edge of what the nascent electric truck industry believes is economically feasible, the researchers and industry insiders said.

Transportation stalwarts such as manufacturer Daimler AG and shipping company United Parcel Service Inc , said they are focusing their electric efforts on short-haul trucks. That's because smaller distances and lighter payloads require less battery power, and trucks can recharge at a central hub overnight.

Daimler, the largest truck manufacturer in the world by sales, will begin production this year on an electric delivery truck. The vehicle will have a 100-mile range and be capable of carrying a payload of 9,400 pounds, about 1,000 pounds less than its diesel counterpart, according to Daimler officials.

Daimler has been joined by a handful of startups such as Chanje, a Los Angeles-based manufacturer that has a partnership with Ryder to build 100-mile-range electric trucks for package delivery.

Ryder and its customers believe electric trucks could cost more to buy but may be cheaper to maintain and have more predictable fuel costs. As batteries become cheaper and environmental regulation increases, the case for electric trucks could strengthen.

"This tech is being seen as a major potential differentiator. Everyone wants to understand how real it is," said Perry, the chief technology officer.

(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.)
MUMBAI (Reuters) - Infosys Ltd's new chairman said he would focus on finding a chief executive, reconstituting the board and future strategy, seeking to calm investors rattled by the recent shock exit of the firm's CEO over a prolonged row with the founders.

"I have come in to focus on the future of the company, take the company forward and deal with its challenges," Nandan Nilekani told investors on a call on Friday, adding that he would stay with the IT services company as long as necessary.

Nilekani, one of Infosys' seven founders and also a former CEO, was named chairman late Thursday as part of a board shakeup aimed at putting to bed a months-long bitter dispute between key founder Narayana Murthy and the board over alleged corporate governance lapses.

Vishal Sikka, the first non-founder CEO of Infosys, stepped down last week blaming Murthy for creating an "untenable atmosphere", sparking a sell-off in Infosys shares and wiping billions of dollars off the company's market value.

(Reporting by Sankalp Phartiyal, Promit Mukherjee and Aby Koilparambil in Bengaluru; Editing by Himani Sarkar)

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By Florence Tan and Rania El Gamal

SINGAPORE/DUBAI (Reuters) - Iraq's proposal to change the way it prices crude oil in Asia faces resistance from refiners who fear that longer lead times between pricing and deliveries will expose them to more risk.

Iraq's state oil marketer SOMO surprised traders this week by seeking feedback on plans to switch its Basra crude benchmark in Asia to pricing based off the Dubai Mercantile Exchange from January 2018, dropping quotes based on assessments by oil pricing agency S&P Global Platts.

The move would affect the price of about 2 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil supplies to Asia, mainly shipped to India, China and South Korea.

"The change is significant and will be watched very closely by not only Middle East producers but everyone involved," said Oystein Berentsen, managing director for Strong Petroleum in Singapore.

The new method would price Basra crude using the monthly average of DME Oman futures two months before the oil loads. Other Middle East producers like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iran price their oils based on the loading month.

This means Iraqi crude loading in October would be priced off DME's futures contracts in August. This poses a risk to buyers, who would only be notified by mid-September whether they had successfully bid for a cargo, making it hard for them to hedge against price changes in advance.

"We are not supportive. They need to fix their (supply) programme first, before trying to change the benchmark," said a senior crude buyer at an Asian refinery. He declined to give his name because he is not allowed to talk to media about market specifics.

The different timing on the pricing compared with other producers also makes it difficult to compare values among crude grades, traders said.

Some buyers were concerned that almost 80 percent of the crude used to price DME Oman futures goes to China, reflecting the economics and fundamentals of just one Asian buyer.

"Moving right away to DME Oman is very ambitious. I think it will cause a few hiccups because technically it's going to be very hard," said Adi Imsirovic of Britain's Surrey University Energy Economics Centre.

SOMO has not commented on its motivation for the changes. Switching to DME could extract higher prices for SOMO. Monthly averages for DME Oman held about $3 a barrel above Platts Oman-Dubai assessments between March and July this year.

Some traders support the move. Knowing Iraq's crude prices two months before delivery allows traders holding Basra cargoes without fixed destinations more time to decide where to sell their oil, based on regional price differences.

Whether SOMO will go ahead with the move has yet to be determined as the company is expected to resolve issues raised by customers, a source familiar with Iraq's plan said.

Iraq may change the benchmark but maintain the current pricing period for now, which means the crude would still be priced based on the same month it loads.

SOMO did not respond to a request for comment.

Platts, which dominates the global pricing of physical oil, declined to comment on how it would respond to the potential defection of the second-biggest producer from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

(Reporting by Florence Tan in SINGAPORE and Rania El-Gamal in DUBAI; Additional reporting by Nidhi Verma in NEW DELHI; Editing by Henning Gloystein and Tom Hogue)

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By Aluisio Alves

CAMPOS DO JORDAO, Brazil (Reuters) - Petroleo Brasileiro SA will aim to launch the initial public offering of fuel distribution unit BR Distribuidora SA by early December after having fixed a hefty debt issue that afflicted the subsidiary for years, Chairman Nelson Carvalho said on Friday.

Earlier in the day, the Brazilian oil producer known as Petrobras agreed to inject 6.3 billion reais ($2 billion) into BR Distribuidora. This will in turn transfer part of 10.4 billion reais worth of invoice receipts that a state power utility owes to Petrobras subsidiaries for fuel sales.

He said the capital injection solves the main hurdle to the BR Distribuidora IPO, because the hefty burden of invoice receipts were depressing potential valuations. The board of Petrobras has already selected a roster of banks to meet the IPO deadline, Carvalho said.

The IPO of BR Distribuidora, which controls Brazil's largest network of gas stations, has been stymied time and again since the government first proposed it in 2015. Petrobras revived the plan in June to cut debt and capital spending in low-return activities.

reported earlier this month that Citigroup Inc and seven other banks would underwrite the IPO.

"Works for the IPO are at full steam," Carvalho said on the sidelines of a seminar hosted by B3 Bolsa Balcao Brasil SA.

Regarding the debt that state-controlled power holding company Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras SA now has with Petrobras, Carvalho said the oil producer is considering bundling the debt's receivables into securities that could be sold to investors. He did not elaborate.

Brazilian companies often repackage such type of assets, from property to contract receivables, into notes that are similar to asset-backed securities and are known locally as FIDCs.

Petrobras said that the capital injection remains subject to approval by shareholders and other stakeholders.

Preferred shares of Petrobras rose 0.4 percent to 13.86 reais, paring back their year-to-date decline to 6.8 percent.

(Reporting by Aluisio Alves; Additional reporting by Ana Mano, Luciano Costa and Tatiana Bauzter in Sao Paulo, writing by Guillermo Parra-Bernal; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A day after he was appointed non-executive chairman, former Infosys CEO Nandan Nilekani today addressed company investors and talked at length on various issues Infy was grappling with. From NR Murthy to Panaya deal, Nilekani spoke on several issues that were raised by investors during the call.

When asked whether he would make the Panaya deal internal probe public as suggested by NR Narayana Murthy, Nandan Nilekani said that he would look into the matter. "I am committed to the highest standard of governance," he said.

Nilekani also made it clear that how long he intended to stay, he said: "I have come back with some tasks and as soon as they are achieved, I'll move on." His primary tasks include -apart from upholding corporate governance- finding a suitable CEO and bring back the company on 'super stable high growth path'.



HERE'S WHAT HE SAID DURING HIS FIRST INVESTORS' CALL



11:00 am: Aadhaar addresses all privacy concerns, I'm confident that it will stay: Nandan Nilekani



10:55 am: I have a very open mind, I'll look into Vishal Sikka's initiatives and try to integrate them: Nandan Nilekani on whether Infosys will continue with Sikka's policies



10:50 am: I want to put Infosys on a super-stable high growth path: Nandan Nilekani



10:46 am: I have come not as an CEO but as someone who has support from all stakeholders. My job is to look for a suitable CEO: Nandan Nilekani on his return



No changes in capital allocation policy. No change in share buyback policy: Nandan Nilekani

10:32 am: I need to look into what are the lapses over the next few months. We will bring it to closure to satisfaction of the shareholders: Nandan Nilekani on falling governance



10:28 am: All my life I have been a consensus builder, I'll bring that skill in Infosys: Nandan Nilekani



10:24 am: I'm committed to highest standard of corporate governance: Nandan Nilekani on making Panaya deal report public.



10:18 am: I will be here (at Infosys) as long as I am needed, if I am not needed I will quit: Nandan Nilekani

10:15 am: I am a big beliver in corporate governance: Nandan Nilekani

10:12 am: I greatly value Mr Murthy's contribution in Infosys and I will ensure Murthy has healthy relationship with the company: Nandan Nilekani

10:10 am: Mr Murthy is the father of corporate governance in India: Nandan Nilekani

10:08 am: My job is to oversight the governance issue at Infosys: Nandan Nilekani

10:05 am: I am here to talk about future of the Infosys and how to take the company forward: Nandan Nilekani

Earlier on Thursday, Nandan Nilekani returned to head the company as chairman and R Seshasayee quit the post and co-chair Ravi Venkatesan resigned as vice-chairman. The ouster of Vishal Sikka, who resigned from the CEO's post on Friday, was completed with his resignation from the board yesterday (Thursday).

Venkatesan will however, continue to be an Independent Director on the board while Jeffery S Lehman and John Etchemendy have also quit the Infosys board with immediate effect. UB Pravin Rao, who was appointed as interim CEO after Vishal Sikka's resignation, will continue and the Infosys Board will also continue with its earlier stated plan to identify a permanent CEO and MD.


The tussle between McDonald's and Vikram Bakshi is turning dire day after day. The fast food giant is looking for a new partner to continue business in India. On the other hand, Vikram Bakshi has his heart set on using the McDonald's brand name for restaurants in northern and eastern India which had their contracts revoked over agreement breaches.

Vikram Bakshi has hinted that the outlets may not be closed despite the fallout with McDonald's. "Let's say we run operations after the stipulated period. What can McDonald's do? They cannot use force and strip down the sign boards from the stores. They have to go to court and go through a proper process," he was quoted by The Times of India.

The Illinois-based burger and fries company had terminated franchise agreements for all 169 restaurants in North and Eastern India running under the McDonald's brand earlier this week. The reason McDonald's cited was that Connaught Place Restaurants Limited (CPRL) materially flouted terms of franchise agreement and did nothing to correct them despite providing a chance to do so.

CPRL is the franchise joint venture which used to run the McDonald's chain of restaurant in northern and eastern India. Vikram Bakshi was the managing director of this joint venture before he was ousted in August 2013 on charges of mismanagement and financial misappropriation.

McDonald's has asked all the 169 restaurants to stop using its brand name after September 6. The company is also looking for new partner to help it run operations in north and eastern India.

There has been another development, though. The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has asked both - Mcdonald's and Vikram Bakshi to sort things out among themselves. The Tribunal has given them till August 30 to decide whether they are willing to settle things amicably, or not. McDonald's had moved NCLAT to challenge the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) decision to reinstate the Bakshi.

Scheduling the next hearing on August 30, NCLAT has asked McDonald's to furnish an undertaking that all the 169 restaurants will be allowed to function normally till the course of negotiations. The Tribunal has even asked Bakshi to submit an undertaking declaring that he will not pursue the criminal cases filed against McDonald's executives in India when they approach him for negotiations.

Also watch:




After the special CBI Court on Friday held Baba Ram Rahim Singh Insaan guilty of charges in a 15-year-old rape case, stone pelting and clashes between police and Dera Sacha Sauda supporters were reported in several parts of Punjab and Haryana. The court will pronounce the sentence on August 28.

As Dera Sacha Sauda Chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim's followers run amok in Haryana, Punjab and Delhi, the Punjab and Haryana high court has asked the government to seize entire property of Dera to compensate the damages done by its followers. The High Court has asked a list of its properties from the Dera. It has been reported that 20 Army columns are on its way to lay siege on Ram Rahim's Dera in Sirsa.

The 50-year-old self-styled godman and Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Insaan has been flown to Rohtak jail from the Western Command Headquarters of the Indian Army located in Chandimandir Cantonment area of Panchkula.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is taking stock of the situation. The Army has been called on the streets in Panchkula. The supporters of Dera chief had gathered in large numbers before the verdict.



The Army is holding Flag Marches in Panchkula to bring the situation under control as clashes have been reported in Panchkula. There have been reports of some casualties. Police lobbed tear gas shells, used water canons and batons to bring the situation under control.



CBI judge Jagdeep Singh, while holding the 50-year-old Dera chief guilty of rape, said the quantum of sentence will be pronounced on August 28, CBI counsel HPS Verma told reporters outside the court.

Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was chargesheeted for only in 2007. Ram Rahim began his journey from Sirsa to the CBI court in Panchkula with a convoy of around 182 cars.

To deal with security concerns, Punjab and Haryana have made high security arrangements. 97 paramilitary companies have been deployed acorss the two states. Two army units have been called.

There have been media reports that Ram Rahim's supporters have been stockpiling weapons and petrol bombs. Normal life in many areas in Haryana, Punjab and Chandigarh has come to a halt.



Here are the Live updates:

08:20 pm: According to hospital officials, the current death toll in Panchkula is 29. About 250 people have been injured.



08:01 pm: Railways say that all trains to Rohtak in Haryana have been cancelled.



07:43 pm: Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar has reached Panchkula on orders from Centre.



07:37 pm: Around 1000 people have been taken into police custody in violence-torn Panchkula.



07:35 pm: BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj defends Ram Rahim.



07:19 pm: President Ram Nath Kovind has appealed citizens to maintain peace.

Violence and damage to public property after court verdict is highly condemnable; appeal to all citizens to maintain peace #PresidentKovind - President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) August 25, 2017

07:10 pm: Home Minister Rajnath Singh pulls up Haryana CM, seeks detailed report.

07:05 pm: Section 144, which prohibits assembly of five or more people, has been imposed in Gautam Budh Nagar district, also called NOIDA, in Uttar Pradesh.



06:42 pm: Seize properties of Dera Sacha Sauda to recover losses incurred due to violence, says Punjab and Haryana High Court



06:35 pm: HT reports 17 killed; 40 referred to PGIMER, 100 admitted to Panchkula general hospital.



06:27 pm: 200 injured admitted to Panchkula general hospital, according to senior medical officer Vivek Bhadoo; 57 critically injured referred to other hospitals.



06:25 pm: Death toll in the violence has now risen to 25.



06:07 pm: Two buses set ablaze on Mandoli flyover in Delhi's Nand Nagri.



06:00 pm: Meanwhile, Dera Sacha Sauda has said in a statement that verdict will be appealed.



05:55 pm: Punjab and Haryana High court says Dera will have to pay for damages caused. A DTC bus has also been attacked in Delhi



05:47 pm: Toll rises to 13, according to doctors at the Panchkula general hospital. Most of the deaths are reported to be due to bullet injuries.



05:20 pm: Violence has been reported in Delhi. At least 7 incidents of violence have been reported. Two coaches of the Rewa Express have been set ablaze near Anand Vihar Railway Station.



05:00 pm: There have been reports of women being heckled in some area of Panchkula by Dera supporters. Cars plying on roads are on set on fire.



04:46 pm: Ram Rahim being taken to an undisclosed location. The self-styled godman being flown out of Western Command in Panchkula.



04:42 pm: So far there have been 224 incidents of violence in Haryana. 64 instances of violence have been reported from Punjab.



04:41 pm: The death toll of those killed in clashes with police in Panchkula has now risen to ten.



04:30 pm: Chief Minister of Punjab Captain Amrinder Singh has appealed for calm.



04:22 pm: Ram Rahim may be taken to Rohtak or Gurugram jail via chopper.



04:20 pm: Curfew has been imposed in Bathinda, Mansa and Ferozepur districts of Punjab.

04:15 pm: Ram Rahim taken to Western Command Headquarters of the Indian Army located in Chandimandir Cantonment area of Panchkula.



04:10 pm: India Today TV crew has been attacked in Sirsa. Video journalist injured.



04:04 pm: Curfew imposed in Ferozepur. An attack has been reported on Muktsar railway station.



04:00 pm: 3 Dera supporters dead in Panchkula in clashes with police.



03:55 pm: Delhi, NCR has been put on high alert following the verdict.

03:45 pm: Two police vehicles set on fire in Mansa, Punjab.



03:40 pm: India Today's OB van attacked by angry Dera supporters in Panchkula.

03:30 pm: Clashes break out near Holiday Inn Hotel in Panchkula. OB vans of several media channels including Aaj Tak have been attacked.

03:20 pm: Power cut in a few residential areas in Panchkula as precautionary measure.



03:15: pm: Army had moved Ram Rahim Singh out of court premises. Ram Rahim is currently in police custody.



03:10 pm: Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has called an emergency meeting to tackle the situation.



03:05 pm: Baba Ram Rahim Singh has been taken into preventive custody by the Indian Army. The Army is also conducting Flag Marches in Panchkula and adjoining areas.



03:00 pm: Dera Sacha Sauda chief found guilty of rape charges by CBI court. Sentence to be announced on August 28.



02:29 pm: Hearing begins in Ram Rahim rape case at Panchkula Court.



02:00 pm: Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh arrives in the CBI court complex in Panchkula, enters through the back door.



01:45 pm: According to Indian Railways, over the past five days around 236 trains cancelled causing huge loss to Railways.



01:24 pm: Patiala DC imposes curfew within 1 km radius of Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh's Patiala residence, New Moti Bagh Palace.



01:10 pm: The Punjab and Haryana High Court has said "forces should not hesitate to use weapons, if required," while hearing a PIL on the situation in Panchkula.



01:00 pm: Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh's convoy reaches Chandigarh.



12:53 pm: Baba Ram Rahim Singh leaves Kurukshetra dera after a stopover, moves into another vehicle as part of the security drill.

12:44 pm: Punjab and Haryana high court directs FIR against any politician instigating people as dera chief heads for Panchkula court.



12:35 pm: Punjab and Haryana Hhigh court reprimands Haryana government for laxity in dealing with the situation.

12:32 pm: Helicopters deployed for surveillance. Panchkula administration plan to press drone into service for surveillance before court proceedings start.



12:30 pm: Ram Rahim leaves Kaithal after having breakfast. Likely to stop in Kurukshetra next.



12.25 pm: Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed administration to ensure that situation stays in control and said that government should ensure Ram Rahim appears in court.

11:45 am: The DGP said, 38 additional companies of central forces have arrived in Panchkula while Army columns, which arrived in the town early today, "will conduct flag march in Panchkula along with other security forces".

1126 am: Army personnel have taken position around the CBI court complex in Panchkula, even as area close to the complex had been sealed, DGP said.

11:13 am: In Panchkula, Haryana DGP, B S Sandhu said the Dera chief was on his way to the town under police protection. DGP said the cavalcade's size will be cut along the way. However, he did not specify the number of vehicles in the cavalcade.

11:00 am: Schools, colleges and offices are closed in and Panchkula, bus services have been suspended. Mobile internet and data services have been banned in Haryana, Punjab and Chandigarh for 72 hours.

10:30 am: Ram Rahim enjoys a Z+ security cover provided by the union government. Airport Authority of India has also given Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh the privilege of using reserved lounges at airports in the country.

CASE AGAINST RAM RAHIM SINGH



Back in 2002, a sadhvi from Dera wrote an anonymous letter to then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee saying she was raped by the Baba Gurmeet Ram Rahim. Soon after it got reported, the Punjab and Haryana high court took suo motu cognizance of the letter and directed the Central Bureau of India to register a case against the Dera chief. Sadhi who wrote the letter was not the only victim. There were other female followers who were, Sadhvi wrote in the letter, raped by Gurmeet Ram Rahim. After Sadhvi's revelation, the CBI questioned other sadhvis as well where two of them confirmed the allegations against Ram Rahim. Those two Sadhvis later recorded their statement in the CBI court where they again reiterated the charges. The CBI slapped Section 376 and Section 506 of the Indian Penal Code on Gurmeet Ram Rahim.



MOBILE INTERNET DISCONNECTED

The fear of law and order problem has resulted in authorities in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh to suspend mobile internet services and SMS facility for the next three days. The only mode of communication services will be voice calls in the region. All internet services (2G, 3G, 4G, CDMA and GPRS) have been blocked. This has been done to ensure that mass gatherings which could lead to violence do not take place.

TRANSPORT

Both bus and train services have been majorly affected as the Ram Rahim supporters have tense situation, with a threat of complete breakdown of law and order. After a request from authorities, Indian railways has decided to cancel as many as 29 trains on their way to Punjab and Haryana for the next four days from today onward. Twenty-two of these were trains to Punjab, while seven were trains to Haryana. "We had received a request from the Haryana government to cancel trains in the state in view of apprehensions on the law and order front," a Northern Railway spokesperson said. These 29 trains would have made a combined total of 74 trips over the next four days. The cancelled trains include -- Jaipur-Chandigarh Intercity Express, Barmer-Kalka Express, Barmer Haridwar Link Express, Firozpur-Chandigarh Express, Kalka Himalyan Queen.



Here's a complete list of the cancelled trains

Jaipur- Chandigarh ExpressChandigarh- Jaipur ExpressBarmer-Kalka ExpressKalka-Barmer ExpressBarmer-Haridwar-Barmer ExpressFirozpur- Chandigarh-Firozpur ExpressKalka- Bhiwani/Delhi Sarai Rohilla Himalayen Queen/ Ekta Express ExpressSriganga Nagar-Ambala Intercity ExpressAmbala-Kalka PassengerKalka- Ambala PassengerDelhi-Kalka PassengerKalka- Delhi PassengerAmbala-Amb Andaura DMU PassengerAmbAndaura - Ambala DMU PassengerAmbala-Nangal Dam MEMU PassengerNangal Dam -Ambala MEMU PassengerBhatinda-Ambala PassengerAmbala -Dhuri PassengerDhuri-Bhatinda PassengerAmbala-SrigangaNagar PassengerSrigangaNagar - Ambala PassengerBhatinda-Ambala PassengerAmbala-Patiala-Ambala PassengerAmbala- Bhatinda PassengerTrains going to Jammu, Amritsar, Katra and Udhampur are also affected
The protests in Haryana have spilled into the national capital New Delhi with a train getting torched in Anand Vihar by the supporters of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh. The self-styled godman was found guilty today in a fifteen-year-old rape case against him. Violence erupted in parts of Haryana and Punjab soon after the verdict was announced during the day, with supporters burning vehicles and attacking the police.

The supporters also attacked the media present in Panchkula to cover the court verdict. In fact, India Today camera person was injured after the supporters attacked the car the reporting team was travelling in.

Even as the authorities struggle to take control of the situation in Haryana and Punjab, the protests are now spreading in Delhi. A bus was torched in northeast Delhi's Loni Chowk and train was set ablaze in Anand Vihar. According to TV reports, violence has been reported in seven places in Delhi, including Mangolpuri, Khyala, GTB Nagar Bypass and Anand Vihar.

The situation is particularly tense in Delhi-Haryana border areas such as Anand Vihar, Shahdara, Faridabad, Ghaziabad. The police and security forces in Delhi are on high alert to prevent any instances of violence if Dera supporters take to the streets. Dera Sacha Sauda has a strong following in Haryana and Punjab, but it has a significant presence in Delhi too.

Earlier, authorities suspended mobile internet in Haryana and Punjab.


Almost ten months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the government's decision to scrap Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today issued a completely new currency of Rs 200 denomination, which the country had never seen before. The RBI on Thursday made the announcement about the new Rs 200 note in a notification. The new Rs 200 notes have been issued with the intention to make day to day transactions easier since the lack of an denomination between Rs 500-Rs 2000 notes, and Rs 100-Rs 500 often cause a problem for traders and common men alike. The new Rs 200 notes may not be available at ATMs right away. Just like the new Rs 500 notes which were first only issued at banks, similarly the new Rs 200 notes will first be available at banks. The image released by the RBI of new Rs 200 note is also very different from the one that had leaked on social media a few months ago. The Rs 200 notes is of bright yellow colour, unlike the blue Rs 200 note image that was circulating on social media. The phasing out of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes led to severe cash shortage in the economy. After introduction of new Rs 2000 note by RBI, the need for low value denomination between Rs 100-Rs 500 was being strongly felt.

Will you get Rs 200 notes at ATMs?

Not immediately. The Rs 200 note will be available at select RBI offices and banks. Like we saw in the case of new Rs 500 and Rs 2000 notes, ATMs needs to be recalibrated to handle a different denomination of Rs 200. The ATM providers will also have to check the supply of notes to match it with the capacity of an ATM. Each cassette in an ATM can hold up to 2,500 notes. Therefore, ATMs may take a week's time to dispense Rs 200 notes.

What are special features of Rs 200 notes?

Besides carrying the RBI governer's signature with the promise clause and RBI emblem towards right of Mahatma Gandhi portrait, the Rs 200 note also features a number panel with numerals that grow from small to big on the top left side and bottom right side. The Rs 200 note is secured by a thread with inscriptions Bharat in Devnagiri and RBI with colour shift that changes from green to blue upon tilting. The reverse side the Rs 200 note includes year of printing, motif of Sanchi Stupa and Swatch Bharat logo with a slogan. The Rs 200 note is 66 mm by 146 mm in size.

How will Rs 200 note help?

India has currency denominations of Rs. 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500 and 2,000. The Rs 200 note will fill the missing link in the lower denomination series and considerably ease the day-to-day transactions. After phasing out of Rs 1000 notes and introduction of new 2000 note by the RBI, common people could be often seen complaining of trouble when it comes to payment requiring smaller amount. The new currency of Rs 200 will make transactions smoother. The RBI in statement said, "To achieve the optimal system of currency that would minimise the number of denominations while increasing the probability of proffering exact change, especially at the lower end of denominations, there is a logical need to introduce the missing denomination of Rs 200, which will make the present currency system more efficient. Provision of the new denomination, therefore, would facilitate exchange, particularly for the common man who deals with denominations at the lower end."

What about Rs 1000 notes? When will the government issue it?

Don't be surprised if the RBI announces news Rs 1000 sometime in future. There were many reports right after demonetization that the RBI would issue fresh currency notes in denominations of Rs 1000 with new designs, specifications and enhanced security features, but it is nowhere to be seen after nearly ten months of demonetization. There has been no confirmation or official announcement by RBI or government on this matter so far. The RBI has meanwhile also decided to issue new Rs 50 notes and reportedly stopped printing Rs 2000 notes.
The RBI on Thursday announced that it will launch the new Rs 200 notes on Friday which will make it easier for consumers to carry out transactions as there was a troublesome shortage of smaller denomination currency in the system.

The bright yellow coloured notes will hit the market just on the second day after the announcement by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley that the government has given go-ahead to the RBI to issue the new currency bill. The Reserve Bank of India will issue on August 25, 2017 Rs 200 denomination banknotes in the Mahatma Gandhi (new) Series, bearing signature of Urjit R Patel, Governor, Reserve Bank of India from select RBI offices, and some banks, RBI said in a press release.

As per new policy on theme-based currency notes, this currency notes bears motif of Sanchi Stupa, to depict India's cultural heritage. The base colour of the note is bright yellow, RBI said. Among other prominent features, the banknote will carry portrait of Mahatma Gandhi at the centre and the denominational numeral 200 with rupee symbol in colour changing ink -- green to blue -- on the bottom right on the obverse (front) side of the note, RBI said.

For visually impaired, the front side of the note will have intaglio or raised printing of Mahatma Gandhi portrait, Ashoka Pillar emblem, raised identification mark 'H' with micro-text Rs 200, four angular bleed lines with two circles in between the lines both on the right and left sides. The reverse side of the note will carry a Swachh Bharat logo with slogan and the Sanchi Stupa motif, RBI said. The new note will be in a dimension of 66mmX146mm.

Soon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced demonetisation in November last year, the idea of Rs 200 note was taken up as it became inconvenient for public to handle cash transactions with high value currency note of Rs 2,000.



Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday put all the rumours regarding demonetisation of Rs 2,000 notes to rest, saying that the government is not considering banning Rs 2,000 notes. Jaitley had also said the government has given its go-ahead to the RBI to issue Rs 200 notes.
The Ministry of Environmental Protection has unveiled a plan in which the number of heavily polluted days in China's northeast will be reduced 15% from October to March. Above, Beijing tourists take photos under clear blue skies at Tiananmen Square on Aug. 6. Photo: IC

(Beijing)  Chinas environmental regulator on Thursday announced a new target to reduce the level of hazardous PM2.5 pollution in the countrys north.

The Ministry of Environmental Protection vowed to cut the average concentration of PM2.5  fine particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 microns or below  by more than 15% from October to March.

Meanwhile, the number of heavily polluted days will also be reduced by more than 15% compared to a year earlier, according to a plan published on the ministrys website.

The targeted 28 northern cities include the provincial-level municipalities of Beijing and Tianjin, and 26 cities in Hebei, Shanxi, Shandong and Henan provinces.

The ministry will set up more than 327 monitoring stations in this region by the end of October in a bid to observe pollutant chemicals in the air such as nitrogen dioxide, ozone and PM2.5. The results will be ranked by most polluted and be available to the public.

The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region usually suffers from severe smog during winter in part due to the burning of coal for indoor heat. The new plan requires the 28 cities to reduce coal consumption significantly. All cities in Hebei must cut more than 6 million metric tons (6.6 tons) of coal in 2017. Beijing and Tianjin municipality must each reduce 2.6 million metric tons this year.

Thousands of coal-fired boilers in this region will be weeded out before the heating system starts in November. Beijing has a goal to eliminate 1,500 coal-fired boilers.

As one of the areas worst-hit by smog, Beijing has seen positive reductions in PM2.5 this year. It reported an average PM2.5 concentration of 64 micrograms per cubic meter from January to July, a decline of 34.7% from the same period in 2013, according to the local environment bureau.

But the capital is still under pressure to meet its target to control PM2.5 below 60 micrograms per cubic meters this year. On Monday, the local government imposed tougher restrictions on diesel trucks inside the citys Fifth Ring Road.

On Thursday, the new plan even moved to ban the sale of diesel fuel in Beijing starting in October.

Vehicle emissions have become a bigger cause of air pollution according to a study by the Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences. One-third of the pollutants in Beijings air are contributed by vehicle emissions, as the number of vehicles in the capital has grown to over 5.6 million, the study showed.

Contact reporter Song Shiqing (shiqingsong@caixin.com)
CAMEROUN :: Anglophone crisis and the problem of political dissidence in Cameroon

Character is destiny. Hence, through the vision of its president, the CL2P is probably one of the first independent human right organizations for a new generation of ordinary Cameroonians to sound the alarm and paid the price for identifying the legal despotism of the Biyas regime as a tool of governance. Legal despotism became a powerful to criminalize all forms of activities not approved by the state. The problem with legal despotism is that it puts a bandage on a broken wooden leg, therefore, solving nothing. In the process, absolve the president of the republic and the parliament for their dereliction of duties. The president in his legendary cynical moves can also always blamed his entourage for his abdication of duties.

One more, legal despotism produce nothing but putridity and the slow decomposition of the Biyas regime, which is clearly out of imagination to solve Cameroonian multiple crisis. It is now relies on his ideologue, such as Mathias Owona Nguini, to agitate the specter of normalized and unproductive violence, in practice state-sponsored domestic terrorism, based on divisive and false opposition to sweep ordinary Cameroonians legitimate issues under the carpet as usual. This reliance on violence is a demonstration that the notion of a rational and competent bureaucracy is no longer a democratic model and the necessity of the emergence of a new category of social actors and citizenship in Cameroon

This is where the real problem is how we are negotiating the legacy of 57 years of CNU/CPDM governance. How can we start over?

It is important to note that these processes are predicated on Hannah Arendts notion of natality, the right to have rights and the issue of selfhood in autocratic regimes. This notion of the right to have rights is predicated on the idea that we have inalienable rights just for the fact of being born. Hence, our rights do not come from our parents, in the roman legal canon, Patria Potestas which stipulates that all the males descendants from the fathers line owe their rights from the Pater Familia who has absolute power over the life of his descendants including the legal right to inflict death. Owona Nguini supports this notion of Patria Potestas by publicly making allegiance to the presidential family where he awarded a doctorate honoris causa to the first lady and was rewarded with an academic promotion.

The right to have rights, moreover, also means that our basic rights do not come from the state but from the fact that we are born sovereign. Consequently, there is no such a thing as an unified subject behind the Pater Familia but divisible and shared forms of sovereignty.

Hannah Arendt also believes that there are no rights without creativity and imagination. Consequently, human rights come from the capacity to mobilize creativity and build new symbolic structures to enhance forms of performative reality where a democratic subject is willed into existence. Performative reality, therefore, is a powerful way to and anticipate the thinkable and the unthinkable through the production of new forms of rationality and emotion that plays within the dialectic and feedback loops between reality and aspiration. This anticipation is predicated on the production of rational, investigative discourses over propaganda and superstition and the emergence of a new category of social actors and citizens that the CL2P is working to encourage. The emergence of a rational and de-tribalized citizen willing to take responsibility for his life rather than relying of the mythology of the noble savage like le vieux negre Meka who places his entire life at the mercy of the colonial master proving how much character is destiny. Indeed, if Meka had character, he would have been possible to invent another life for himself but, sadly, Meka is anything other than what he is, an Uncle Tom, a servile neo-colonial subject who continues to lean on a rotten and dying system. People who think that Meka has the character and the skills to transform the system are foolish like Meka himself.

This performative reality is the creation of new spaces for new generations of Africans to have room to experience new things and new emotions.
| BY Ricki Green |

By Alex Wadelton (left), ECD and partner, ZOO Group Melbourne

Last week I was recommended an article on Linkedin for the crowd sourcing creative platform Crowdiate.com. On it, Maltesers had posted a creative brief asking for advertising ideas for video, display or experiential. The top prize was/is USD$3000 with a total pool of $7500.

In this brave new world of user generated content, crowd-sourcing, outsourcing, and ideation in creative sand-pits, it got me thinking deeply at the future of the advertising industry.

My first thought was, Holy crap, we are all in trouble. Surely clients need the expertise of professionals to help guide their brands.

But then I wondered if I was being too precious, and this was in fact a genius way for clients to get heaps of ideas for next to nothing with no risk.

Should I, for one, welcome our new digital overlords?

With this confusion swirling in my head I was moved to write an ad for Crowdiate, based on the inspiration for every single click bait native ad around today- the (in)famous U.S. School of Music print ad from 1926, written by John Caples.

Maybe it will help you decide if brands getting ideas for next to nothing from hundreds of people willing to do it for the fraction of the usual cost is good or bad.
| BY Lynchy |

In the lead-up to the postal ballot on whether Australians are for or against the legalisation of same sex marriage, it might be interesting to discover what the ad industry thinks.
| BY Lynchy |

The Monkeys has finally announced its new Melbourne-based CEO with the appointment of Paul McMillan  snared from the MD role at Clemenger BBDO, Melbourne  as well as the hiring of new head of strategy for Melbourne Michael Derepas, the former planning director of Clemenger BBDO, Melbourne.

The Monkeys has yet to announce who will be the agencys ECD, but CB hears Grant Rutherford (below), current CD of The Monkeys in Sydney, will return to his home town Melbourne to fill that role. Rutherford joined The Monkeys in October 2016.

Involved in some of Australias most effective and creatively awarded campaigns, McMillan (above) joins The Monkeys after leaving his role as managing director at Clemenger BBDO Melbourne where he was responsible for managing a staff of over 350 and a client roster including some of the countrys most respected clients. Making his mark in the industry running the Carlton and United Breweries account, McMillans time at Clemenger BBDO Melbourne has been filled with impressive work and industry accolades, including most recently Cannes Agency of the Year and D&AD Agency of The Year.

Commenting on his appointment with The Monkeys, McMillan says: Joining The Monkeys to head up the Melbourne office is a great opportunity. They have built a world class creative reputation and now in conjunction with Accenture Interactive they can really shape where the industry is going. I am really looking forward to working with the founders and building the latest chapter in Melbourne.

Recognised as the number three Planning Director in the World by the 2017 Big Won Report, Derepas joins The Monkeys as head of strategy with a remit to break new creative ground for the agencys growing list of Melbourne-based clients.

He departs Clemenger BBDO Melbourne, where during his 11-year stint, he helped to reinvigorate and reposition some of Australias best-loved brands, including Mars, Fonterra, Mercedes-Benz, Bonds and TAC. During his tenure, the agency secured much recognition for globally loved campaigns for CUB brands Carlton Draught, Victoria Bitter, Pure Blonde and Corona, and most recently the coveted Yellow and Graphite pencils for Bonds Balls and a Wood pencil for Snickers Hungerithm.

Says Derepas (left): Being part of a team that gets to open a new office for The Monkeys in Melbourne was too good an opportunity to ignore. For a planner the opportunity to combine the creativity of The Monkeys with the tech, digital and data capability of Accenture Interactive is really exciting.

Adds The Monkeys co-founder and group CEO, Mark Green: We are delighted to welcome Paul and Mike to the team. They have worked on some of Australias most famous campaigns across multiple brands and agencies. They will help us build a great business in the Melbourne market as we begin to service new clients such as Holden.
Friday, August 25, 2017 at 6:20PM

Google Home has already been a voice-enabled remote control of sorts for Netflix. Now its adding that support for CBS All Access and CW TV accounts in the US. The CBS All Access support will be particularly useful when the streaming service makes its way here next year. You can start streaming if you have a Chromecast connected to your TV or a Chromecast-enabled TV and, of course, if you have a subscription to the services. You can link this through the Videos and Photos section in the Google Home app. The feature is rolling out so keep an eye out for it.

Source: Engadget
"In the past year and a half, we've had two deaths at our very own prison here in Canberra. Under the territory's watch, two people have died. We've had an escape attempt that was successful and we've had a couple of escapes from the hospital in recent weeks and just yesterday it was reported two young Aboriginal young men were bashed and the department did not notify their family until the next day.
"Many landowners who abut or are in close proximity to the border have assumed an entitlement to rezone for urban purposes to accommodate Canberra's growth. There has not been a clear strategic position in relation to this area ... so landowners have never be given any level of certainty," he said.
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 ...
Silk Way West Airlines, a growing cargo operator based in Azerbaijan, and Alaska Airlines on Thursday signed contracts with Boeing for two freighters apiece  but that is where the similarities ended. Silk Way West said it will take two 777-8s, the largest plane available from Boeing (NYSE: BA) and one so modern it isnt []
The Gracie Claire, a 40-year-old 900 HP push boat, had about 2,300 gallons of diesel on board at the time of its sinking, according to a statement from the U.S. Coast Guard.



U.S.-flagged tug Gracie Claire, a 50-foot long, 21-foot wide vessel, sank at a fuel dock in Tiger Pass, a bay near Venice, La., on Wednesday, according to the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG).

Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector New Orleans said they received a report at 8:05 a.m. Aug. 23 about the vessel, which is owned and operated by Triple S Marine, a Morgan City, La.-based marine transportation service company that specializes in inland towing.

The Gracie Claire, a 40-year-old 900 HP push boat, has a fuel capacity of 8,000 gallons, had about 2,300 gallons of diesel on board during the time of its sinking, according to the Coast Guard.

A sheen of fuel was reported coming from the vessel, the USCGs New Orleans sector reported. About a mile of shoreline was affected by the fuel leak,but environmental emergency response organization ES&H managed to contain the spilled fuel with containment boom and also lined portions of shoreline with sorbent boom, plus deployed two drum skimmers.

The Coast Guard said that it is monitoring the situation and that the cause of the incident is under investigation.
Following a preview earlier this month, Acura has officially unveiled the new TLX-L at the Chengdu Motor Show in China.



Looking virtually identical to the concept, the production model has a familiar front fascia with Jewel Eye LED headlights and chrome trim. Bigger changes occur aft of the A-pillar as the car rides on an extended wheelbase and features longer rear door. Rounding out the exterior highlights are a standard panoramic glass sunroof, a rear spoiler, and a dual exhaust system with chromed tailpipes.

Acura was coy on specifics but confirmed the cars wheelbase now measures 2900mm (114.1 inches) long. The standard TLX has a wheelbase of 2775mm (109.3 inches) so rear seat passenger are treated to an additional 125mm (4.9 inches) of room.

The company didnt have much else to say about the car but we can see it comes nicely equipped with a three-spoke steering wheel, leather upholstery, and metallic trim. Rear seat passengers also have access to an infotainment system which is located in the center armrest.

Car News China reports the TLX-L will be offered with two different engines including a 2.4-liter four-cylinder with 208 PS (153 kW) and a 3.5-liter V6 developing 294 PS (216 kW).

Both models will come equipped with Acuras Precision All-Wheel Steer (PAWS) system which independently adjusts the rear wheel toe angles for improved maneuverability.

Photo Gallery
The Dieselgate scandal continues to cause problems for Audi as investigators have reportedly discovered the automaker could have made thousands of vehicles with the same Vehicle Identification Number (VIN).



According to Handelsblatt, German prosecutors discovered documents which suggested thousands of cars may have been shipped to China, Japan, and South Korea with the same VIN. This would be a serious problem as every vehicle is supposed to have a unique 17-digit number that isnt supposed to be repeated for at least 30 years. As youre probably aware, VIN numbers help owners, insurance companies, and government agencies to track a vehicles history, ownership, and legal status.

Investigators reportedly attained the documents from Audis auditing department where officials were apparently scrutinizing the risk of discovery by assigning a traffic light code, meaning red for urgent, yellow for slow, and green for less urgent.

It remains unclear why the company would have used the same VIN on multiple vehicles but, as Jalopnik speculates, it could potentially have something to do with importation issues such as restrictions or taxes. Thats assuming, of course, the VINs were created intentionally.

For its part, Audi bushed off the issue as a spokesperson stated We are not aware of the fact the VIN numbers have been issued more than once.

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Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is still looking for a dancing partner as The Wall Street Journal is reporting the company has held talks with Volkswagen.



Little is known about the discussions but it appears they revolved around a possible joint venture or the production of a joint vehicle. While nothing is official, it is believed FCA wants to team up with Volkswagen on future versions of the Amarok and Caddy.

If the talks pan out, FCAs version of the Caddy could become an entry-level commercial vehicle to slot beneath the Fiat Doblo-based Ram ProMaster City.

Of course, the more interesting of the two is the Amarok. The model would make an ideal Ram Dakota successor which would compete with models such as the Chevrolet Colorado, GMC Canyon, Nissan Frontier, and Toyota Tacoma. It would also face the upcoming Ford Ranger and the production version of the Hyundai Santa Cruze concept.

Before you get too excited, the report suggests the talks are at an early stage and might not go everywhere. As one source noted, Its still very vague, we have to see if this will be pursued.

If the partnership does move forward, it wouldnt be the first time Chrysler and Volkswagen worked together. Just a few years ago, the company was producing the Volkswagen Routan which was a modestly revised version of the Town & Country minivan.

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After many years of rumors and speculation, Ford is finally bringing back the Bronco.



Discontinued in 1996, after its fifth generation, the SUV will be re-introduced in 2020, sliding into the brands global vehicle portfolio.

However, despite the numerous reports over these past few months, nobody outside the company knows exactly how it will look like, but Kleber Silva believes that his idea would work. And it includes using his Photoshop skills to sketch down the upcoming Bronco in 3- and 5-door versions.

Now, we dont know if these renderings are anywhere close to the real things, but what we can tell you is that the new Ford Bronco should receive solid front and rear axles, according to recent sources, in an attempt to pit it against the Jeep Wrangler, whose replacement is also in development.

Powering it could be the 2.7-liter EcoBoost V6 engine, from the Fustion Sport, churning out 325hp, but since the upcoming SUV will hit the market in a time when most automakers are offering eco-friendly versions of their vehicles, it could also get a hybrid variant.

Well know more about the all-new Ford Bronco once the Michigan-based automaker will start testing prototypes.

PHOTO GALLERY
The new Honda NSX is an instant success in the United Kingdom, and not only, as the automaker has already sold its initial allocation of 100 cars, in the first 12 months.



However, due to the increased demand in the Japanese supercar, Honda has announced a new allocation, of 50 units, which are heading to Europes largest right-hand drive market, where they will be shipped to customers from mid-2018 onwards.

The confirmation of this fresh allocation to arrive in the UK next year will allow the die-hard fans that havent been able to get their hands on the latest NSX to finally get their wish  all they need to do is get in touch with either Crown Honda or Chiswick Honda, said Honda UKs managing director Dave Hodgetts.

Assembled in Marysville, Ohio, by a team of 100 people, the Honda NSX retails from just under 150,000 ($192,078) in the United Kingdom. Its powered by a 3.5-liter V6 engine and three electric motors, which produce a total of 573 horses. Naught to 62mph (100km/h) takes less than 3 seconds, and the supercar can reach speeds of up to 191mph (307km/h).

PHOTO GALLERY
The McLaren 720S may be down on power compared to the P1 hypercar but technology has improved so rapidly since the P1s launch that the 720S is just as quick as its older, hybrid sibling. In fact, it is one of the fastest cars on four wheels at the moment.



To test out the acceleration capabilities of the British firms latest supercar, the DragTimes YouTube channel headed to the drag strip and pitted it against the Lamborghini Aventador SV, a true animal when it comes to straight-line performance.

On paper, the Aventador may seem to have the edge. After all, it has 30 more horsepower and all-wheel drive. However, the McLaren weighs almost 300 kg (661 lbs) less than the Italian stallion, giving the 720S an obvious power-to-weight advantage. It also has a quick-shifting dual-clutch transmission much more advanced than the SVs ISR gearbox.

So, what happens in a straight line? The McLaren wins by quite some margin.

Admittedly, the Aventador driver had a very poor start for the race but if it were to be re-run, we still think the McLaren would walk away victorious.

VIDEO
Just when you thought that there arent any more barn finds around, a unique Ferrari Daytona is found hiding under a shed in Japan after almost 4 decades.



Ferrari made just over 1,200 365 GTB/4 Daytonas between 1969 and 1973, with five lightweight alloy-bodied competition cars. This one right here is the only road-going Daytona with an aluminum body by Scaglietti, a car that was sold new to Luciano Conti, a close friend of Enzo Ferrari.

The build was completed in June 1969, riding on chassis no. 12653 and wearing Scaglietti body no. 32. This Daytona also came fitted with the desirable Plexiglas headlights and power windows, in addition to its bespoke aluminum body.

In 1971, the car was imported to Japan where it exchanged owners three times, the last one being Makoto Takai who stored the car for nearly 4 decades. Very few collectors knew this car existed and many people tried to purchase it without success.

The car underwent a thorough evaluation last June, confirming that this Daytona is a matching numbers, original Scaglietti aluminum-bodied road car, the only one of its kind. The one-off Ferrari will be auctioned in RM Sothebys Ferrari  Leggenda E Passione event on September 9 and is expected to fetch up to $2 million (1.7 million euros).

PHOTO GALLERY
While the Dacia Sandero is being sold on the Old Continent with more focus on pricing than performance, Renault has a hot hatch version of the car available in certain South American markets.



Its called the Sandero RS, and it carries the Diamond badge on the outside, in addition to a bunch of visual updates, and since earlier this summer, its also available in a limited edition: the Racing Spirit.

Now, despite its sumptuous name, the new Renault Sandero RS Racing Spirit wont set any Nurburgring lap records, and it doesnt pose a threat for the modern super hot hatches out there. However, thanks to its old school naturally aspirated 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine, its certainly makes for an interesting addition to the segment.

It feeds 150PS (148hp) to the front axle via a six-speed manual gearbox, and the French automaker claims that the 0 to 100 km/h (62mph) sprint takes 8 seconds, while top speed stands at 202km/h (mph).

And whats the starting price of this Sandero, you may ask? Well, 66,400 Brazilian Real, which equals $21,125. This could land you a new Ford Fiesta ST in the United States, as the subcompact hot hatch can be had from $21,140.

Before deciding on whether or not you like the Renault Sandero RS Racing Spirit, you should take a look at the commercial released by the brands Argentinean arm, which celebrates the cars arrival in that market.

VIDEO
Gas tax cut for 1 more year Ontario - 9:39 am
Photo: RCMP

The extent of the damage caused by a record-breaking year of fires that have scorched more than 10,000 square kilometres of B.C. is still being tallied.

But Chief Roger William of the Xeni Gwet'in First Nation said at least 10 wild horses were killed by a massive blaze in the Cariboo region that has consumed an area more than 2,300 square kilometres in size.

William said the total number of wild horses lost is unknown, but the discovered carcasses have his community worried about loss of other wildlife, particularly moose that they rely on for hunting.

As situation continues to be volatile, a campfire ban remains in effect throughout the Cariboo fire centre, which covers most of central B.C. including Williams Lake and Quesnel, the closest commutes to a 4,600 square kilometre wildfire that is the biggest ever recorded in the province.

The campfire ban is also in effect for most of the southern half of the province.

Skrepnek said although weather conditions have improved, dry conditions across the province are unprecedented, leaving it unclear when the campfire ban can be lifted.

There are scattered showers in the forecast for some fire-affected areas, but Skrepnek said there is still no sign of significant rainfall coming.
Photo: BC Wildfire Service

Calmer weather and continuing progress battling some wildfires in B.C. means more people can return home.

The Cariboo Regional District Emergency Operation Centre said evacuation orders in the Maeford Lake, Tatla Lake and Kleena Kleene areas were downgraded to alerts late Thursday.

Meanwhile, the province said select campsites and trails in the Cariboo fire centre were scheduled to reopen at noon on Friday.

It follows a decision on Wednesday to rescind a sweeping ban on access to Crown land in the region.

"We wanted to get a return to normalcy as soon as it was safe, as soon as it was practical," said Kevin Skrepnek with the wildfire service.

The sites were closed July 13, one week after a lightning storm tore across the central Interior, sparking dozens of separate wildfires that forced 45,000 people from their homes.

The number of evacuation orders has declined over the last two weeks and Emergency Management BC said earlier Thursday about 2,500 people remained out of their homes as 154 fires continued to burn.

Although some backcountry areas will reopen Friday, the ministry said other trails and recreation sites remain closed.
Photo: The Canadian Press

The Ministry of Forests says calmer weather and continuing progress battling British Columbia's many wildfires means hikers and campers can soon return to some parts of the backcountry in the Central Interior.

Recreation Sites and Trails BC says select campsites and trails in the Cariboo fire centre will reopen at noon on Friday.

Read more
Photo: cbc.ca

Putting out fires - Business owners pay the price



After a hectic week of travel in Arizona, I flew back to deploy to Williams Lake with the army.



The B.C. Dragoons are providing manpower to assist with the province's emergency situation. It is a task that soldiers undertake willingly, but there is another relationship that goes unnoticed by many.



At times like this, the army is called on to lend a hand. The complication comes from the fact that the regiment is a component of the army reserves. We train in preparation for opportunities like this or to augment the military on overseas deployments.



Becoming a member of the reserves and the British Columbia Dragoons requires a commitment in time. Typically, Wednesday evenings during the training calendar and one weekend a month.

Summer often involves taskings at various military bases across the country.



It is a very exciting opportunity for those who see themselves being part of a solution in times like this.



The hidden partner, the one that truly deserves recognition, is the employer. After all the military training, a soldier will often be a very valuable member of a businesses team.

When the province declares an emergency and the federal government receives a request for support, the military kicks in to high gear.

That is the point where our soldiers contact their employer and request leave to go and tackle domestic emergencies or overseas deployments.



To a certain extent, it is a little easier for an employer to support the leave if the emergency is local because they are more affected, but, as in this case, if the emergency is further afield, it is a substantial decision.



To lose a valuable team member for several weeks and work around the natural void and challenges that are created, is no easy task for an entrepreneur.



The military does a good job of recognizing those employers. When we deploy to emergencies, we naturally wear a military uniform and receive thanks for the work because we are recognizable.

However, the employers to a certain extent are unrecognized.



If you know of an employer who has granted leave to one or more staff members to support the efforts to tackle our wildfires, make sure you say thank you to them.

Their sacrifice is no less important.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.
Photo: CTV

Two Surrey street racers have had their Mustangs stabled.

RCMP impounded two Mustangs early Thursday after their drivers were racing on King George Boulevard.

The cars were clocked at more than 150 km/h.

Both were towed from the scene. It's not known if any charges have been laid.

 with files from CTV Vancouver
Photo: Contributed

As I get older, I appreciate the importance of a birthday. It is my chance to reflect on the past year, count my many blessings and ponder the year ahead  with cake.

Despite many peoples protestations about getting older, who doesnt love the recognition of our friends and family and a good party in our honour?

When a theatre company makes it to a milestone birthday, it is even more momentous. It is such a difficult, expensive and oftentimes all-consuming entity that it often leaves those who are not overwhelmingly passionate about it behind.

Those who stick with it they know what an accomplishment it is  even just to turn five.

Partying is exactly what New Vintage Theatre Company is doing this Saturday night at The Black Box Theatre.

In our trademark, unique theatre experience style, the company is inviting audiences to an evening adventure of cabaret performances, night market shopping and food and glow dancing in the dark with DJ Joe Otoo  all in celebration of our fifth birthday season.

We have come a long way, baby. Our first performances were in the packed winery tasting room at The Vibrant Vine Winery.

Since then we have performed in venues throughout the valley  Benvoulin Church, The Hub in Vernon, Creekside Theatre, parks, Kelowna Community Theatre, schools and The Mary Irwin and Black Box Theatre to name just a few.

New Vintage has also paid over 150 different artists on 30+ productions. Some of our shows been modest, some grand, but I truly believe each and every play has been created with love, integrity and an earnest desire to create an inspiring experience for our patrons .

Since its inception, New Vintage Theatre has become a member of The Professional Association of Canadian Theatres, a prestigious group, and we now perform to audiences of over 10,000 each season.

We also have a home  The Hot House Theatre, Studio 100 at The Rotary Centre For The Arts.

Artists performing at our Saturday Night Party event are favourite New Vintage Theatre performers from the past and present.

Later in the evening, the lights will go down and black lights will be turned on for glow dancing with Kelowna favourite performer/DJ Joseph Otoo.

This 16+ event is also an important fundraiser for New Vintage Theatres upcoming shows. There will be the opportunity to partake in a Night Market where patrons can try their luck for prizes, shop from Perch Vintage Clothing bus, buy tasty treats from Okapop and mini-donuts and enjoy cold beverages from the noir bar.

Of course, there will also be birthday cake served.

If you would like to get your glow on come out to The Night Party Aug. 26, at The Black Box Theatre.

Doors open at 8:45 p.m., show at 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $25 and available from www.selectyourtickets.com or at the door.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.
Photo: Darren Handschuh Warmer days are on the horizon.

Despite a chilly Friday morning, Okanagan residents need not dig out the jackets just yet.

The mercury hit a low of 6C in the Central Okanagan with the North Okanagan coming in around 8C.

Not a typical Aug. 24, but according to the weather forecast, seasonal highs will be back.

Today will be a mix of sun and clouds with a high or 24C, but on Saturday the sun will return and the mercury will climb to 29C and by Monday it is expected to be in the low 30s.

Lows for the week are anticipated to be around the 15C mark.
Photo: Big White Wednesday's structure fire at Big White's Monashee Inn.

A decision is expected to be made today on the continued closure of Highway 33 due to the Philpott wildfire east of Kelowna.

The closure extends from Big White Road to Gallagher Road.

Up at Big White Resort, vice-president Michael J. Ballingall said the mountain will be open today, and it's "business as usual."

The resort is recovering from a fire of its own this week.

On Wednesday, a fire sparked in the roof of the Monashee Inn, which was undergoing renovations.

The resort remains accessible via Osoyoos and Rock Creek as well as by McCulloch Road.

"People can go around," said Ballingall, "but Highway 33 is certainly the most efficient way up."

DriveBC expects to update the status of the highway later today.

Meanwhile, Ballingall said insurance adjusters are up at the mountain assessing the damage from Wednesday's fire.
UPDATE: 5 p.m.

Conditions have been good today for crews fighting the Philpott Road wildfire.

Structural fire crews continue efforts to protect buildings in Joe Rich, while BC Wildfire crews have been working to get some containment.

There havent been any reports of structural damage at this point, however the fire is still very active, and official damage assessments have not been completed, the Emergency Operations Centre said in a press release Friday afternoon.

The fire is still considered out of control, and the evacuation order for Joe Rich remains in place.

The evacuee reception centre has registered more than 570 people at Willow Park Church between Thursday and Friday. The centre will close tonight at 6 p.m. and open Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Sunday from 12:30 to 5 p.m.

Affected residents are eligible for up to $600 financial assistance per household by registering online with the Red Cross or calling 1-800-863-6582.

Highway 33 remains closed at least until Saturday morning.

Those use the McCulloch Road detour are reminded to keep speeds to 35 km/h as it is not a regularly maintained route.

UPDATE: 2:30 p.m.

Some residents have been allowed brief access to their homes in the evacuated area near Philpott Road with a police escort Friday afternoon.

A 26-kilometre stretch of Highway 33 has been closed from Gallagher Road to Big White since the now 400-hectare wildfire began Thursday afternoon, evacuating 474 homes.

As the fire grew rapidly, the roadblock at Highway 33 and Peregrine Road was filled with evacuated residents desperate to get to their homes and save their animals.

Daniel Benson was allowed into the evacuated area with a police escort to retrieve some items for an evacuated friend who's out of town.

On a Facebook post, several other residents of Philpott Road said police allowed them to retrieve horses, dogs and other animals that are stranded near the blaze.

Those who were escorted to their homes had to wait by the roadblock for some time, before an opportunity arose.

On Facebook, Joe Rich community members are bringing trailers to the roadblock to help their neighbours evacuate their larger animals.

UPDATE: 1:40 p.m.

After "howling" winds sent the Philpott Road wildfire jumping from tree to tree Thursday, the blaze has now calmed to a ground fire.

Kevin Skrepnek, chief fire information officer with the BC Wildfire Service, says while they are making progress on the fire, the steep, heavily-forested terrain is making it difficult to get any containment around the blaze.

"As of this morning, the fire was in and around a Rank 2 fire on a scale of one to six, so mainly a ground fire," Skrepnek said. "Certainly some smoke but not a lot of open flame, but that will evolve as the weather changes throughout the day."

Despite the calmer conditions, Skrepnek says there is "still a lot of work to be done out there."

There are still 1,100 people from 474 homes evacuated from the Joe Rich area due to the fire, and 264 people have registered at the Emergency Support Services reception centre at Willow Park Church in Rutland.

UPDATE: noon

Property owner Jeremy Ford says the Philpott blaze began as a spot fire along Highway 33, across from his house. By the time he called for help, it was already racing through grass and bush into a heavily treed area.

Ford said he ensured his family was safely out and then stayed behind to help others.

"I stayed there until the last minute to help out my neighbours because they have got animals," said Ford, who added he released the animals from a neighbouring barn just as police ordered him to leave.

"So now the animals have got a chance to live and not be cooped up in a pen in the fire. That's all we can do."

The BC Wildfire Service says the fire was probably caused by human activity.

The blaze was one of about 30 sparked over a 24-hour period. Most were linked to lightning that moved through the Interior.

ORIGINAL: 10:30 a.m.

Activity around the wildfire burning in Joe Rich has died down dramatically as conditions calm, and no homes are currently at risk.

Fire information officer Justine Hunse, on the ground in Joe Rich, says cooler temperatures, lighter winds and a rise in the humidity all combined in a decrease in fire activity overnight.

It is a welcome change after heavy winds, gusting at times to about 50 km/h, helped fan the flames Thursday afternoon as the fire quickly grew to 380 hectares in size.

The ominous volcano-like smoke plume has been replaced with a smoky haze.

While there were unconfirmed reports Thursday some structures had been lost, Kelowna Fire Chief Travis Whiting says this is not the case, and no homes are currently in immediate risk.

"We have a number of structural protection units with our sprinkler kits being deployed in the area to add further protection," Whiting said. "Reports from the field are pretty good as far as structural protection right now."

Hunse says the fire will be scanned from the air sometime today to get a better idea of what the fire perimeter looks like.

Ground crews from 19 jurisdictions throughout the Southern Interior have joined in the fire fight.

The BC Wildfire Service has 23 firefighters working on the ground with more on the way. Air support is also en route.

Heavy machinery is on site to help construct guards around the fire.

Tom Wilson at the Central Okanagan Emergency Operations Centre, says all evacuation orders remain in place, as does the closure of Highway 33 from Gallaghers Road to Big White Road.

Both will be reassessed late in the day in consultation with the BC Wildfire Service.
Tensions are high among Vernon's homeless community as they adjust to a new bylaw that states they can only camp in area parks from 9 p.m. to 9 a.m.

That means they must take down and set up their homes every day.

But the loss is more than just a place to rest their head, they have lost a community that looked out for and cared for each other.

Angela, not her real name, lived in Polson Park, but now she is uprooted daily and wanders the town waiting until she can once again set up her modest home.

I lived down there for two months, she said while at the Upper Room Mission Friday. It is very stressful. It separated the group that we had back there. Some of us are very unhappy about that.

We looked after each other, we cared for each other. We had each other's backs. We considered each other a family.

Angela said not only has she lost her home, but also her friends.

It's very upsetting, she said. We didn't have to worry about stuff going missing. We trusted each other.

Angela said she will not be returning to Polson Park, but admits she does not know where she will go.

It would be nice if we could get our group back together, she said, but doubts that will happen.

Angela said she would like to see an area, an empty lot or something, where they could set up some outhouses and garbage stations and let them camp there without disturbance.

Lisa Anderson, co-executive director with the Upper Room Mission, said tensions among the homeless community are running high as people are not sure what they are going to do or where they are going to go.

Anderson said many of those evicted from Polson Park are taking advantage of the services the mission offers.

But it's upsetting. Imagine having to move your house from one area to another, said Anderson. We're just here trying to support everyone.
As'ad's Bio

As'ad AbuKhalil, born March 16, 1960. From Tyre, Lebanon, grew up in Beirut. Received his BA and MA from American University of Beirut in pol sc. Came to US in 1983 and received his PhD in comparative government from Georgetown University. Taught at Tufts University, Georgetown University, George Washington University, Colorado College, and Randolph-Macon Woman's College. Served as a Scholar-in-Residence at Middle East Institute in Washington DC. He served as free-lance Middle East consultant for NBC News and ABC News, an experience that only served to increase his disdain for maintream US media. He is now professor of political science at California State University, Stanislaus. His favorite food is fried eggplants.
Photo: Contributed

An undercover RCMP investigation netted 33 alleged drug dealers in Kelowna.

Kelowna RCMP partnered with undercover police from neighbouring jurisdictions to carry out the operation, targeting the local drug trade.

Posing as potential drug buyers, police made a total of 64 buys from 33 people.

RCMP have since identified 33 suspects, many of whom are considered chronic or prolific offenders, who allegedly sold our undercover police officers illegal drugs, which investigators believe to include heroin, crack cocaine and methamphetamine, said Cpl. Jesse ODonaghey.

Samples of the suspected illicit substances from each of the purchases made have been sent to the lab for proper testing to determine their exact composition.

O'Donaghey said many of those arrested are known to police.
Photo: Contributed

There may be a light at the end of what has been a very long tunnel.

For years, Spallumcheen residents who draw their drinking water from the Hullcar Aquifer have had to deal with high nitrate levels due to farming in the area.

And for years residents have petitioned the Province to find some sort of solution.

Spallumcheen Mayor Janice Brown said after meeting with Assistant Deputy Environment Minister Jennifer McGuire this week that the end may finally be in sight.

It was a good meeting. They are talking to everybody getting their ideas, said Brown. They are on the same page as us. It's about protecting safe drinking water.

Brown said she feels progress is being made  finally.

They get it, it is a priority. By the end of September we will know what they are doing, said Brown f a report that will be presented to Environment Minister George Heyman.

Brown feels the NDP government is more interested in solving the problem than the previous administration that she said held numerous studies, but took no action.

Nobody wanted to bring down the hammer. They had all the reports, but didn't do anything, she said. I never actually spoke to the previous minister of environment. George Heyman said he pretty much guarantees there will be a solution. We can't keep polluting people's drinking water and he agrees. We are really excited. I think we are going to see an end to this.

The key is to stop contaminating the ground with nitrates from cow manure. Brown said there are numerous options available rather than spraying the liquified effluent on the fields which then leaches into the aquifer.

Brown said area farms have voluntarily agreed to stop spreading manure until after the report is released.

Al Price, chairperson of Save the Hullcar Aquifer (SHAT) met with McGruire as well.

There is still a fair amount of misinformation out there that we have to correct, but we felt we were listened to, said Price. Jennifer McGuire was quite open to our concerns. She said George Heyman is determined to protect drinking water. They have to find away to clean it up and in our case that means stop the contamination.

Price said he felt there was a different tone under teh NDP than the previous administration.

Why, in this day and age, do we have to fight so hard with our own government to protect drinking water? Price asked. But that may be changing.
If you have just started your journey in an online casino or are looking for a new site to play,...
Gov. Andrew Cuomo released a proclamation Thursday recognizing Aug. 26 as Women's Equality Day  and he challenged President Donald Trump to do the same.

Aug. 26 marks the adoption of the Constitution's 19th Amendment allowing women to vote. Every president since Richard Nixon has proclaimed the date as Women's Equality Day.

In recent history, presidents have issued the proclamations in the days leading up to Aug. 26. In 2007, President George W. Bush's Women's Equality Day proclamation was issued on Aug. 6  nearly three weeks before the anniversary.

As of Thursday night, Trump hasn't issued a Women's Equality Day proclamation.

Cuomo urged Trump to continue the tradition of proclaiming Aug. 26 as Women's Equality Day  an action "affirming our belief that all men and women are created equal, and that the right to vote is genderless."

"In the name of equality and fairness, today and every day, New York stands shoulder-to-shoulder with women everywhere," Cuomo said. "A woman's place is in the voting booth."

In the absence of a national proclamation, Cuomo designated Aug. 26 as Women's Equality Day in New York. His proclamation acknowledges New York's contributions to the women's rights movement, including the Seneca Falls convention in 1848.

He also recognized the 100th anniversary of women winning the right to vote in New York in 1917. The state launched a commission led by Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul to commemorate the centennial.

Cuomo touted some of his legislative accomplishments, including passage of the women's equality agenda in 2015. One of his signature proposals that became law was a statewide paid family leave program which is set to begin in 2018.

The challenge issued by Cuomo was his latest poke at Trump. Earlier in the day at a ceremony unveiling the new Gov. Mario Cuomo Bridge, Cuomo mentioned Trump's pledge to draft a $1 trillion infrastructure plan  a proposal, Cuomo noted, that "hasn't materialized."

Cuomo has been mentioned as a possible candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020.

Here is Cuomo's full proclamation:

Whereas, New York is a champion of equality and fairness on women's rights through its advancement of initiatives to break down barriers that perpetuate discrimination and inequality based on gender; we are proud to join in the national observance of Women's Equality Day commemorating the 1920 certification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which granted women the right to vote, and which is forever symbolic of the first major achievement by women in their efforts toward full equality; and

Whereas, throughout America's history, New York State has been a leader in civil, human, and social rights; this is well illustrated by the number of suffragists who called New York home and the choice of Seneca Falls for the first Women's Rights Convention held in 1848; this momentous event outlined certain rights that women should be granted, including the right to vote, thereby sparking the nationwide crusade for women's suffrage; and

Whereas, sixty-nine years later and three years before the 19th Amendment was ratified, women in New York won that right on Election Day, November 6, 1917; to commemorate this important heritage, the New York State Women's Suffrage 100th Anniversary Commemoration Commission was established to increase education and awareness through a statewide discussion about the lasting legacy of women's suffrage and how it continues to shape American democracy today; and

Whereas, New York State is a leading voice for women's equality and has raised that voice in action through such significant achievements as passage of the historic "Women's Equality Agenda" in 2015 - eight laws that advance women's equality in New York State by helping to achieve pay equity, strengthen human trafficking laws and protections for domestic violence victims, and ending pregnancy discrimination in all workplaces; other measures further safeguard and promote women's interests and help improve their status in settings where they live and work; and

Whereas, we can take pride in the progress our state and nation have made in reinforcing women's rights over the decades and recognize that we have not yet crossed all thresholds to fulfilling our mission and quest for true equality; today we celebrate the economic, social, and political accomplishments of women, we honor the courageous women who have made extraordinary contributions to their countries and communities, and we pause to remember the struggles waged by generations of women who have led the fight for equality and justice; and

Whereas, New York State always has and will stand up to defend human rights, combat discrimination, and ensure equal treatment for all people through laws and policies which reflect our belief that every individual must be treated fairly and equally in all areas; as we work to further advance equality for women, we join in celebrating this day and reaffirming New York State's progressive values and leadership in achieving full equality for all women;

Now, Therefore, I, Andrew M. Cuomo, Governor of the State of New York, do hereby proclaim August 26, 2017 as Women's Equality Day in the Empire State.
New York State Fair shuttle service which is traditionally operated by Centro will receive help from Albany, Buffalo and Rochester transit authorities.

The Capital District Transportation Authority (Albany), Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority (Buffalo) and Regional Transit Service in Rochester will provide an additional 16 buses for the state fair park-n-ride service, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Friday.

NYS Fair 2017: Guide to Centro shuttle service, departure times and more The New York State Fair was busy Saturday, which is a good reminder that there's a more effe

A new park-n-ride location has been established to reduce congestion. The lot is located at John Glenn Boulevard and Farrell Road and will be open from 8:30 a.m. to midnight for the duration of the fair. Shuttles from the new location will depart every 15 to 20 minutes.

The governor's office said estimates indicate the new park-n-ride location will help move more than 1,000 people an hour.

Parking and transportation issues were raised during last year's record-breaking fair. As the event broke its previous attendance mark, lots filled up and vehicles were backed up on local roads. While the fair made adjustments to parking lots this year, they also reminded fairgoers about the park-n-ride service.

"With 16 additional buses helping to transport more than 1,000 visitors an hour, getting to the fair will be easier than ever while easing traffic on local roads," Cuomo said. "I encourage visitors from near and far to consider using public transportation to get to the Great New York State Fair this year."

There are now 14 park-n-ride locations, seven of which are in Onondaga County. There are three in Cayuga County, including Fingerlakes Mall in Aurelius.

More information about the service can be found at centro.org/service_schedules/ny-state-fair/ny-state-fair-syracuse.
A Cayuga County attorney has had his driver's license suspended after being arraigned on a charge of driving while intoxicated a week after he was arrested.

Samuel Giacona, 59, of 383 Waters Edge, Owasco, pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor DWI Friday in Auburn City Court.

Judge David Foster, of Geneva, was assigned to the case after Auburn City Court Judges Michael McKeon and David Thurston recused themselves earlier this week.

An attorney with Giacona Law P.C. in Auburn, Giacona primarily practices in real estate and family law. He is also employed as a part-time attorney for Cayuga County Social Services.

According to the Auburn Police Department, Giacona was arrested Aug. 18 after officers found the attorney in his idling car on Logan Street. Police Chief Shawn Butler said officers suspected Giacona had been intoxicated, but he refused a chemical breath test.

Giacona was released to a third party and given an appearance ticket for an arraignment Tuesday morning. However, Thurston adjourned that arraignment and recused himself of the case.

The Cayuga County District Attorney's Office argued that Giacona should have been arraigned immediately and had his license revoked because he had refused the chemical test when he was arrested.

"(Giacona) was given an appearance ticket and kept his license all weekend," Assistant District Attorney Diane Adsit said in an email Tuesday. "I don't understand why that happened. ... Giacona is getting something no other similarly situated defendant gets, which is to keep his license when it should be suspended."

Dominic Giacona, a partner at Giacona Law and Samuel's nephew, disagreed with that assessment. He said part of the adjournment was to allow the defendant an opportunity to seek legal representation.

"In my experience I've never seen a defendant accused of a DWI provided an immediate arraignment absent an accident or some sort of personal injury involving alcohol," he said. "This case is no different than any other DWI in the county whereby a defendant is provided an appearance ticket at a later date for the necessary arraignment."

Defense attorney Norman Chirco represented Samuel Giacona at his arraignment Friday. Assistant district attorneys Adsit and Andrew Kelly appeared on behalf of the people.

Meanwhile, Giacona's driver's license was suspended. He was scheduled to return to Auburn City Court Oct. 4.
City

 Robert F. Gesin, 30, 344 Creek Road, Locke, was picked up Aug. 22 on a bench warrant.

 Stephen M. Talbot, 45, 8 Woodruff Place, Auburn, was charged Aug. 21 with third-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle.

 Dale M. Massi, 48, 300 Seymour St., Auburn, was charged Aug. 21 with false personation, third-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle and violation of an interlock device.

 Carl M. Gesin, 41, 344 Locke Road, Auburn, was charged Aug. 22 with petit larceny.

 Lorie A. Wentworth, 28, 288 Genesee St., Auburn, was charged Aug. 23 with two counts of third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance, two counts third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and fourth-degree conspiracy.

 Charlyn K. Laderer, 48, 58 Seymour St., Apt. 01, Auburn, was charged Aug. 23 with three counts of fifth-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance, three counts of fifth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and fifth-degree conspiracy.

 Sheena M. M. Houston, 28, homeless, Auburn, was picked up Aug. 23 on a bench warrant.

 Adam P. Pille, 31, 182 Seymour St., Apt. 2, was charged Aug. 23 with second-degree identity theft.

 Tracy L. Barrett, 37, 465 P.O. Box, Waterloo, was charged Aug. 23 with aggravated driving while intoxicated and driving while intoxicated first offense.

 Reynaldo A. Ratcliffe-Sierra, 21, 65 Franklin St., Auburn, was charged Aug. 24 with third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance, third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and fourth-degree conspiracy.

 Marcus A. Humphrey, 34, 102 Garrow St., Auburn, was charged Aug. 24 with first-degree criminal contempt and fourth-degree criminal mischief.

 Lee A. Padgett, 33, 2 Lawton Ave., Auburn, was charged Aug. 24 with fifth-degree criminal possession of stolen property and second-degree falsifying business records.

 Jalissa M. Whitmore, 27, 144 Van Anden St., Auburn, was charged Aug. 24 with third-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle.

County

 Jeffrey A. Spears, 50, Auburn, was charged Aug. 14 with second-degree unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle.

 Clay D. Murphy, 31, Victory, was charged Aug. 13 with criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation, criminal mischief and second-degree obstructing governmental administration.

 Kenneth J. Kemp, 30, Locke, was charged Aug. 12 with second-degree menacing.

 Beth M. Fiume, 34, Moravia, was charged Aug. 11 with petit larceny.

 Adam T. Ellis, 38, Sterling, was charged Aug. 11 with third-degree menacing.

 Julious M. Anderson, 27, Auburn, was charged Aug. 11 with third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance.

 Annette J. Townsend, 49, Montezuma, was charged Aug. 9 with fourth-degree grand larceny and fourth-degree welfare fraud.

 Derek A. Beckwith, 27, Moravia, was charged Aug. 9 with seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance.

 Landa A. Flanigan, 53, Brutus, was charged Aug. 8 with fifth-degree criminal possession of stolen property and third-degree unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle.

 Alexandria R. Mclaurin, 24, Ledyard, was charged Aug. 7 with fourth-degree criminal mischief.

 Lisa M. Hurley, 37, Springport, was charged Aug. 7 with petit larceny.

 Anthony J. Telego, 32, Springport, was charged Aug. 7 with petit larceny.

 Dale V. Cuddeback, 39, Ledyard, was picked up Aug. 4 on a bench warrant.

 John L. Lunn, 23, Niles, was charged Aug. 3 with first-degree sex abuse.

State

 Gregory L. Dechick, 41, Cato, was charged Aug. 23 with second-degree aggravated harassment.

 Ashton Sheils, 20, Weedsport, was charged Aug. 21 with second-degree menacing, criminal mischief and fourth-degree criminal mischief.

 Cassandra J. Harris, 23, Conquest, was charged Aug. 24 with obstructing governmental administration and resisting arrest.

 Chap P. Clements, 21, Jordan, was charged Aug. 24 with seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and fourth-degree criminal possession of marijuana.

 Joshua J. Herring, 38, Port Byron, was charged Aug. 24 with fifth-degree criminal possession of marijuana.
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Donald Trump has had a lot to say lately. One day he reads a prepared statement about unifying the country, and the next day he's attacking anyone who disagrees with him.



But his actions say so much more than his words ever could.



He ran for office promising a despicable Muslim ban which we are still fighting. He has terrorized immigrant families with a massive increase in deportations -- even DREAMers with legal status have been detained under his watch. He's directed Mike Pence to lead an investigation into "voter fraud," a nonexistent problem, as a guise to disenfranchise who-knows-how-many of us.



Just a few days ago, he threatened to shut down the government unless our tax dollars are spent to build a wall that most Americans don't want, won't make us safer, and is rooted in prejudice. And he all but promised a pardon to the racist former sheriff Joe Arpaio, who was found guilty of violating a court order when he refused to stop racially profiling Latinos.



Donald Trump has not changed in the last couple weeks. This is who he is, who he has always been.



Until we're able to get Donald Trump out of the White House, we need to elect more Democrats at every level of office who can fight back against him -- and we can start doing that in just a few weeks by electing Democratic governors and legislators in Virginia and New Jersey, and winning back a Democratic majority in Washington's state senate.



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Amid historic lows in statewide unemployment figures, Tennessees county unemployment rates for July 2017 decreased in 40 counties, increased in 24, and remained the same in 31, according to data released today by the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development (TDLWD).



Forty of Tennessees 95 counties bettered their unemployment rates, compared to June 2017 and 31 counties saw no movement during the latest survey. Twenty-four counties did experience a small uptick in the non-seasonally adjusted unemployment figures.



Davidson County has the states lowest major metropolitan rate at 3.1 percent, matching the revised rate reported for June 2017. Knox Countys rate for July held steady at 3.7 percent. Hamilton and Shelby counties also remain at the prior months revised rates of 4.1 and 4.8, respectively.



The summer months typically have higher county unemployment rates because they are not adjusted for seasonal workers, said TDLWD Commissioner Burns Phillips. It is a positive sign that nearly three-quarters of the counties across the state saw their unemployment rates decrease or remain the same as they were in June.



Specific county information for the month of May is available online at http://tn.gov/assets/entities/labor/attachments/Labor_Force_Estimates%2C_Jul_17.pdf.



Preliminary unemployment rates have fallen for both Tennessee and the United States. Decreasing by two-tenths of a percentage point, the state rate is 3.4 percent for July. The national rate fell a tenth of a percentage point to 4.3 percent for the month.



The state and national unemployment rates are seasonally adjusted, while the county unemployment rates are not. Seasonal adjustment is a statistical technique that eliminates the influences of weather, holidays, opening and closing of schools, and other recurring seasonal events from economic time series.



The Economic Analysis and Labor Force Estimates are prepared by the Employment Security divisions labor market information specialists. The division reports metrics and contextual information as it relates to employment, income, and population in Tennessee. Labor force topics are narrated in monthly newsletters and additional resources are available on Jobs4TN.gov. The state unemployment release for August 2017 will be published on Thursday, Sept. 14, at 1:30 p.m. CT.
In April this year two volunteers from Flagstaff, Shannon Anderson and Alice Carter, joined a team to deliver shoebox gifts to children in Togo, Africa with Samaritans Purse. The shoebox gifts are a project of Operation Christmas Child. The boxes are filled by volunteers in several countries with hygiene items, school supplies, toys and love. The boxes are delivered year round to 150 countries.
American Airlines' new uniforms have been dogged by complaints they've made flight attendants ill. United is hoping to avoid a similiar situation by working with well-known designers on its new uniforms. (American Airlines / Handout)

United Airlines wants to spruce up its image by outfitting employees in designer-inspired uniforms. But making such a sweeping wardrobe change isn't always a snap.

That's a hard reality United's archrival, American Airlines, knows a lot about. Late last year, American rolled out new uniforms and has been coping with related troubles ever since.

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While typical airline passengers don't spend much time contemplating airline fashions, employee uniforms play an essential role in a company's multimillion-dollar marketing and image-making message.

Determining new uniform designs can take years, and United, or any airline, must invest immense time, money and resources in the process. Foul up and it will mean a significant hit to employee morale and the company bank account.

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That's why United's Thursday announcement about embarking on an across-the-board revamp of 70,000 employee uniforms is serious business.

Having suffered a public relations blow earlier because of its embarrassing passenger-dragging incident involving Dr. David Dao, United looks determined to not let this matter spin out of control.

To hedge against problems, it's aligning itself with some heavy hitters in the fashion world.

The Chicago-based company is partnering with designers and apparel companies Brooks Brothers, Tracy Reese and Carhartt, a Michigan-based outerwear manufacturer. Tumi will be the "official luggage provider for all 24,000 flight attendants," according to United.

Hopping on board are the airline's unions, whose members are going to wear and work in the new duds. United's announcement was rife with bullish comments from representatives of the pilots, flight attendants, machinists and techies.

These folks hailed United's management for soliciting employee feedback from the rank and file. The airline knows keeping them happy is essential to the plan's success.

In an often labor-contentious airline industry, this display of public buy-in is not the usual bill of fare. For United, in particular, it reflects CEO Oscar Munoz's ongoing quest to shore up labor relations at the carrier.

United's new uniforms are expected to debut in 2020.

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A few years ago, American's uniform adventure got underway in much the same way as United's. The airline held talks and open forums and canvassed employees to get input about style and design.

However, something went wrong once those uniforms ended up on many workers' backs. Thousands of American pilots, flight attendants and others complained. Around 3,500 blamed the uniforms for being itchy and uncomfortable and, more disturbing, fostering heavy rashes, hives, breathing disorders and other ailments.

The flight attendants union called for a recall, but the airline refused. Instead, American said employees could wear their old uniforms until it was determined through chemical tests and evaluation if the new uniforms were toxic.

American, the second-largest carrier at O'Hare International Airport, and its uniform supplier mutually parted ways in June. The airline is picking another distributor and planning to supply new uniforms, according to the company.

It remains to be seen if this debacle will have a detrimental impact on American's already-uneven management and labor relations. I doubt it will help.

United is among the last of the large domestic carriers to recently revamp its employee uniforms. Since late last year, Delta and Southwest introduced new clothing for their people.

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A United spokeswoman told the Tribune the airline was "taking our time to do it right."

That makes sense, especially if that time is being spent seeking ways to avoid the employee turbulence that's buffeting American.

roreed@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @reedtribbiz
Two California businesses  one a beloved national brand and the other an upstart in the state's hottest sector  have teamed up for new product releases in two of the North Coast's top industries: beer and cannabis.

Lagunitas Brewing Co. last week released its SuperCritical Ale, a hoppy beer that is brewed with terpenes, aromatic compounds of essential oils that are extracted from some plants, including cannabis and hops. The brew, available only in select California locations for a limited time, contains no THC, the chemical that triggers psychoactive effects.

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Lagunitas, based in Chicago and Petaluma, Calif., received the terpenes from Santa Rosa-based CannaCraft Inc., a cannabis-extract manufacturing facility that has made a name for itself in the newly legalized industry despite being raided by police last year.

In exchange, Lagunitas assisted CannaCraft in developing new vaping products for its AbsoluteXtracts line, which do contain THC. CannaCraft included terpenes that were derived from hops in the new products, with Lagunitas brewers providing guidance on obtaining a beer-like aroma for the high-inducing weed.

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It should be available for sale in about five weeks, said Dennis Hunter, CannaCraft founder.

The collaboration is the latest example of businesses outside the cannabis sector exploring ways to take advantage of interest in marijuana, which becomes legal for recreational use Jan. 1.

According to estimates, California's annual cannabis crop is worth $7 billion, making it the state's most valuable agricultural crop.

A Santa Rosa symposium was held this month to explore opportunities for the wine industry to partner with cannabis producers. There, one brand  Legion of Bloom  introduced a sparkling wine infused with terpenes from a cannabis strain cultivated in the Russian River Valley. That product also did not contain THC.

Breweries and wineries have to walk a fine line, as cannabis is still illegal under federal law. Those businesses do not want to risk losing their federal license by selling marijuana on site or infusing a cannabis extract with THC in their product.

Still, the collaboration is a sign of businesses looking to capitalize on new interest in the cannabis industry, Hunter said: "I think it's going to open the door for partnerships and more business looking to our industry as a legal industry."

Lagunitas may have been a natural partner; it has had a stoner-friendly vibe since its founding in 1993. Its Undercover Investigation Shut-Down Ale commemorates a 2005 St. Patrick's Day raid by state Alcohol Beverage Control agents to arrest employees smoking pot at the Petaluma plant.

Jeremy Marshall, the brewer for Lagunitas, said he valued working with CannaCraft, especially its high-tech labs that conduct the extraction process using pressurized carbon dioxide.

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As beer drinkers want to explore the newest versions of hoppy India Pale Ales, Marshall said terpenes can play a valuable role in creating unique aromas and mouthfeels to a drink.

For SuperCritical, Marshall used terpenes from the Blue Dream and Girl Scout Cookie cannabis strains, which were combined with seven different hop strains. The beer registers 6.6% alcohol by volume, rather low for Lagunitas.

"I think it will be no different than other mainstays in my spice rack I can use," Marshall said of terpenes.

Hunter said terpenes are an emerging cannabis category that is likely to grow in terms of marketplace acceptance. They could work especially well as an aroma and flavor enhancement for food, he said.

"A few years ago ... it was hardly talked about," Hunter said of terpenes. "It's the buzzword everywhere now."

Swindell writes for the Santa Rosa Press Democrat/McClatchy.
The charm and character of the downtown historic business district of Geneva presents a beautiful setting for car enthusiasts to gather and celebrate the Art of the Automobile.

This Sunday, August 27, a collection of over 175 antique, classic and modern automobiles will be displayed by their owners, each wanting to win one of the coveted Best in Class Karl F. Benz trophies.

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The 13th-annual Geneva Concours d'Elegance is an invitation-only showcase of vehicles from around the country, many with renowned provenance. The 100th Birthday of Nash automobiles will be celebrated alongside Woodies of all ages, Indy-style race cars, and Buicks that were designed during the time Walter Marr was Buick's Chief Engineer, including three one-off prototypes.

"Auto mobility and the American dream are tightly woven together and are an important part of our nation's fabric: past, present, and future," said Tom Burgess of Iron Gate Motor Condos, a Geneva Concours sponsor.

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Specialty vehicle insurance provider Hagerty will have young people judging cars as a way to educate and also grow enthusiasm for collector cars. Car clubs from around the Midwest, including Porsche, Ferrari and Corvette, will show unique vehicles in the Car Club Display area located adjacent to the official Concours site.

The family event offers something for everyone and is located on Geneva's Third Street. home to many shops, boutiques and restaurants.

Admission is free.

Consideration of a donation to the Concours benefactor, LivingWell Cancer Resource Center now a part of NorthWestern Medicine, is suggested.

Geneva Concours at a glance:

Sunday, August 27, 2017 10AM to 4PM

Location: Geneva, Illinois, downtown Third Street from State Street to South Street

Travel tip: The Geneva Metra station is a short walk from the show

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For more information see: www.genevaconcours.net
Surveillance caught a man now wanted for questioning by Valparaiso police in connection with the robbery of a cellphone store. (Valparaiso Police Department)

Two men in ski masks entered a Griffith cellphone store in July, pointing a handgun at employees and telling them to "go to the back" and "get on the ground."

"Don't do anything stupid," employees said the men told them. "It's not worth your life."

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The month before, two men with bandanas covering their faces pointed a gun and directed Merrillville cellphone store employees into a bathroom and had one open a safe.

"Don't do anything or this will end badly," one of the men said.

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Police reports detail a series of armed robberies at cellphone stores in Lake and Porter counties over the summer. Valparaiso recently joined the list when an armed man "wearing a gray wig and fake gray facial hair" robbed a T-Mobile store on LaPorte Avenue of phones and cash, police said.

Since mid-June, three robberies have been reported in Chesterton; Griffith and Merrillville each had two, while Munster, Hammond and Crown Point each had one.

An armed robbery at a Verizon Wireless retailer on Ridge Road in Munster resulted in an officer-involved shooting that left a 15-year-old suspect, Kemonte Cobbs, of Gary, dead and federal charges filed against two others.

The FBI and area police departments are working to see if the Munster robbery is connected to others in the area, said Supervisory Special Agent Bob Ramsey. Detectives have worked closely in recent weeks to share information about the robberies, said Merrillville Commander Jeff Rice, and Griffith Commander Keith Martin.

"We're looking into all possibilities," said Sgt. Michael Grennes, of Valparaiso police.

Reports from the robberies show similar details. A robber wearing fake gray facial hair was reported in Griffith, Crown Point and Valparaiso. At some, the robbers wore bandanas while at others they wore ski masks. Witnesses reported seeing a silver or gray vehicle outside of a few of the stores.

In most of the robberies, employees were directed to the back of the store at gunpoint. Some were directed to lay face down on the floor as colleagues were forced to open safes. Robbers bound employees' hands with electrical tape at a Merrillville robbery in June, according to police.

Video footage from surveillance at the stores show the armed robbers getting away with iPhones, Samsung cellphones, headphones, tablets and cash.

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Here are the dates and locations of the robberies:

June 11: Sprint, 300 block of Indian Boundary Road, Chesterton

June 11: The Cellular Connection, 700 block of Plaza Drive, Chesterton

June 11: T-Mobile, 300 block Indian Boundary Road, Chesterton

June 14: Metro PCS, 5600 block Calumet Avenue, Hammond

June 24: Smart Choice Mobile, 100 block Ridge Road, Griffith

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June 26: T-Mobile, 5800 block Broadway, Merrillville

July 6: Verizon Wireless, 400 block W. Lincoln Highway, Merrillville

July 16: Verizon Wireless, 800 block North Superior Drive, Crown Point

July 22: T-Mobile, 100 block W. Ridge Road, Griffith

Aug. 1: The Cellular Connection, 800 block Ridge Road, Munster

Aug. 13: T-Mobile, 2400 block LaPorte Avenue, Valparaiso

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Robbers may choose cellphone stores because they sell expensive products that are easy to carry, Ramsey said.

"There's an illegal market for them," he said.

These types of robberies are "not just in Northwest Indiana," Ramsey said, but are occurring across the state and region.

"It's, I dare say if we dig more, nationwide," he said.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Indiana recently announced that two Illinois men were convicted "for their roles as ringleaders of a group of armed robbers who wreaked havoc across the upper Midwest in the summer and fall of 2015," a release states.

Prosecutors connected the two and a group of men to armed robberies of cellphone retailers in Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Indiana and Kentucky.

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Local police said they continue to investigate the robberies in Northwest Indiana.

"We do have suspects, evidence and leads, so the cases are still actively being investigated by our agency," Martin said.

Police ask people with information about the robberies to contact their local departments. Most recently, Valparaiso asked tips be directed to Detective Brian Thurman at 219-462-2135.

Vondell Henry Jr., left, and Deshalone Damien Davis

Meanwhile, cellphone robbery cases proceed through the court system. Deshalone Damien Davis and Vondell Henry Jr., both 20 and from Gary, were charged in Hammond's federal court from the Munster robbery with Hobbs Act robbery and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, court records show.

The FBI is also pursuing charging a juvenile suspect as an adult with Davis and Henry in federal court, but that could take time to process, Ramsey said.

The Lake County Sheriff's Department continues its separate investigation into the officer-involved shooting after the Munster robbery, Deputy Chief Dan Murchek said. The sheriff's department will forward its findings to the Lake County prosecutor's office.

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The Gary officer involved remains on paid administrative leave, following standard department protocol, Gary Lt. Dawn Westerfield said.

rejacobs@post-trib.com

Twitter @ruthyjacobs
Jon McDaniel is one of two Chicagoans to be honored in the latest issue of Wine Enthusiast magazine. (Jeff Marini)

Two Chicagoans have made the list for Wine Enthusiast's Top 40 Under 40 Tastemakers of 2017: Jon McDaniel, 34, corporate beverage director for the Gage Hospitality Group; and Adam Vavrick, also 34, beer director for The Publican brand.

They join a roster of "trailblazers who are shaping the future of wine, beer, cider and spirits in America," the monthly wine magazine states on its web site.

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Vavrick, who was described by the magazine as "the beer nerd's beer nerd," told the Tribune the honor "felt great" and is "a justification" for what he's been doing with beer. He arrived in Chicago in 2003 and worked at Sam's Wines & Spirits in Highland Park before moving to the Lincoln Park store as beer manager in 2008. He stayed on as beer manager when Binny's Beverage Depot took over Sam's, remaining until 2015 when he moved to Madison, Wis., as director of sales and marketing for Octopi Brewing. Vavrick joined The Publican in April 2016 as beer director for The Publican, Publican Anker, Publican Tavern at O'Hare and Publican Quality Meats.

McDaniel is described as "something of a wine wunderkind" in the magazine. He handles wine for Beacon Tavern, Coda di Volpe, The Dawson, The Gage and Acanto, teaches hospitality classes and has a California wine label, Sebastapol-based Amos Cellars (you can try the wines at The Gage, Acanto and Beacon Tavern).

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On Twitter Thursday, McDaniel tweeted his reaction: "Honored does not even begin to express my thanks to everyone for such an amazing nod as one of Wine Enthusiast's..." He echoed that feeling in a telephone call Friday, noting he was one of three sommeliers included on a diverse list of talented people.

"It's pretty cool and for me, obviously, a personal honor," said McDaniel, adding he was pleased this recognition would get the word out "even more" about the Gage Hospitality Group restaurants.

McDaniel was wine director and manager at Los Olivos Wine Merchant & Cafe, which was made famous in the movie "Sideways." Here in Chicago, he worked as a sommelier at The Purple Pig and was general manager and wine director at the now-closed OON before moving to The Gage as wine director in 2013.

wdaley@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @billdaley






"Man v. Food" host Casey Webb gets ready to take tackle the "Big Timmy Challenge" at Timothy O'Toole's Pub in Streeterville. (Travel Channel)

Casey Webb managed to work up an appetite exploring Chicago last month as he prepared to film "Man v. Food," a Travel Channel series that documents his attempts at eating challenges around the country.

"I was walking off calories before the challenge, after the challenge. Really, the walk along the water was incredible," Webb told the Tribune by phone.

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The Chicago episode of the new season of "Man v. Food" is set to air at 8:30 p.m. Monday. The 10-episode season premiered this month after a five-year hiatus. Webb, a New Jersey native who lives in Brooklyn, took over the role previously held by Adam Richman, who announced his retirement from food challenges in 2012.

During his trip to Chicago, Webb filmed at Pequod's Pizza in Lincoln Park, Silver Palm restaurant in River West and Timothy O'Toole's Pub in Streeterville.

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Timothy O'Toole's is where he took a stab at the "Big Timmy Challenge," which involves eating a burger made with two half-pound patties piled high with various cheeses, bacon, onion straws and other toppings and served with Irish nachos.

"That was a mouthful. That was a Chicago mouthful, for sure," Webb said. "They say everything's bigger in Texas, I think everything's bigger in the Midwest too."

Now that he's got a taste of Chicago, Webb said he's looking forward to returning to the area next month for a wedding.

"I have some advice about where we're going to spend our time outside the wedding, walk along the water, maybe jump on a boat, take a couple of tours, do some restaurant hopping," he said.

RELATED STORIES:

'Man v. Food' filming in Chicago as new season announced

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Interview: Adam Richman's next challenge is staying ahead in TV game







Watch the latest movie trailers.

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 126 Woody introduces the gang to a homemade spork toy with self-esteem issues in "Toy Story 4." Read the review. (Pixar / AP)
Wizard World announced Friday morning that actor David Tennant will no longer make a Chicago appearance due to a family emergency.

"A member of David Tennant's family has been struck with an illness, which has forced cancellation of his plans for this weekend. We're sending all the best to David and his family as they work through this time," Wizard World said in a Twitter post.

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Tennant is known for his roles in "Doctor Who," Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" and recent ABC (Disney XD) reboot "DuckTales." The actor went to social media Friday to share his apologies to fans this weekend saying, "I am absolutely gutted that I'm not gonna be with you this weekend. I am so disappointed, I was so looking forward to coming to Chicago and meeting you lovely people. I'm so so sorry."

Wizard Word will be offering refunds for all VIP gusts (dual and single) along with single and dual/group photo ops and autographs. VIPs will still get their swag bag get into the show this year.

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In addition, Wizard World is giving those who had been given a refund to see Tennant wil be given free weekend admission to Chicago 2018 (August 23-26) as well as any and every 2017 show that they want to attend. For more information, check for email updates this weekend for details and options.

Wizard World is taking place this weekend at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center 5555 North River Road.

ebenmoche@chicagotribune.com

Twitter: @ebenmoche

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Watch the latest movie trailers.

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 122 Sophie Turner as Jean Grey, anger management student, in "Dark Phoenix." The film, the latest in the "X-Men" franchise, costars James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Jessica Chastain. Read the review. (Twentieth Century Fox)
Diana, Princess of Wales, died on Aug. 31, 1997. She was 36 years old. Here are some of the most iconic moments of her 17 years in public life.

Diana may have been the "people's princess," as British Prime Minister Tony Blair called her after her unexpected, tragic 1997 death. But the late princess of Wales could have been dubbed the "photographer's princess" as well, for all the images of Diana captured on film and video before, during, and after her ill-fated marriage to Prince Charles.

It's hard to believe Diana was only in the public eye for 17 years given all the visual and written record of her activities (much of which remains in endless circulation). Such was the attention of the press and paparazzi that stalked her from the London flat at Coleherne Court she shared with three roommates in 1980 to that deadly crash in a Paris road tunnel  with the paparazzi in hot pursuit.

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The world watched, fascinated, as she morphed from "Shy Di," the wide-eyed 19-year-old aristocrat, to suffering royal wife whose fairy-tale wedding in 1981 quickly dissolved into a sham marriage, to the newly divorced "queen of people's hearts" whose knack for the genuine, human touch charmed and inspired millions.

Tina Brown, the journalist and author perhaps best known, still, for editing "Vanity Fair" and "The New Yorker," asked Blair in 2007 about what Diana's life signified.

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"A new way to be royal?" she recalls asking in the foreward to "Remembering Diana: A Life in Photographs" (National Geographic, $30), released earlier this month. "'No,' he replied without hesitation. 'A new way to be British.' "

For Brown, this 20th anniversary of Diana's death "is time to acknowledge what we have learned from an example of a woman of privilege who showed the world the importance of humanity; Diana, Princess of Wales."

Diana died at age 36. Yet her legacy lives on through the deeds of her royal sons, the Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry of Wales, and in photographs and videos that tell both her story and, let's face it, our own.

wdaley@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @billdaley

[ Princess Diana: 15 iconic fashion moments  ]

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David and Constantino Khalaf at their wedding in 2016. Like most newlyweds, the Khalafs began to face challenges soon after they were married. (Constantino Khalaf)

Caught up in the optimism of the wedding day, couples may lose sight of the challenges that await them over a lifetime together. Learning how to navigate these transitions determines whether a marriage thrives or flounders.

From engaged to married

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David and Constantino Khalaf were married last year. The same-sex couple held their ceremony in Cathedral Park in Portland, Ore., where they live. When their pastor pronounced them "kin," Constantino says he was profoundly moved. He says he became aware "for the first time in a very long time what it's like to have kin  someone to whom I belong and who belongs to me. I felt like I was no longer alone."

Like most newlyweds, the Khalafs began to face challenges soon after they were married. They hadn't lived together and had to learn to adjust to their different sleep and wake schedules.

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They also needed to learn how to talk about problems. Before they were married, David would withdraw to process his feelings, but says his commitment to Constantino forced him out of his comfort zone. He says he now resists the urge to withdraw.

"At times I dread these talks," he admits, "but it has been an amazing growth experience." David says Constantino has also made things easier by scheduling a time to talk rather than springing issues on him unannounced.

Dr. Shannon Kolakowski, a clinical psychologist from Bellevue, Wash., says avoiding conflicts is a common problem for newlyweds. But conflict "doesn't mean that something is wrong," she says. On the contrary, it can be an opportunity to grow.

Learning how to resolve disagreements is essential at any stage of marriage. Dr. Lisa Marie Bobby, a couples' counselor in Denver, says "couples can protect their relationships by learning early on to expect transitions and adopt an attitude of compassion, kindness and generosity."

Becoming parents

Those sentiments are echoed by Lynn Sobel of Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., when she talks about how she and her husband, Eric, adjusted to becoming first-time parents four years after they were married, when their daughter Anna was born. The Sobels will celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary this September. Asked what advice she has for new parents, Lynn says, "show your partner kindness and generosity of spirit."

According to research, "about 70 percent of couples experience a significant decline in marital satisfaction with the arrival of baby No. 1," says Dr. William Bumberry, a clinical psychologist from St. Louis. One of the most common problems is how to distribute the workload equitably.

The Sobels say transitioning to parenthood and becoming a family was not particularly difficult because they approached it as a team and managed to share the chores. Describing a typical Saturday morning, Eric says he'd take care of Anna so Lynn could sleep in, then, after Lynn woke up, "I would hand off Anna to her so I could mow the lawn. When I finished that, Lynn would hand the baby back to me so she could take a shower," and so forth. "There was a lot of passing Anna back and forth so we could do all the other things that needed to get done."

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Conflicts inevitably arise, and experts advise scheduling discussions when both spouses are receptive rather than when they're sleep-deprived or distracted by work. Bumberry also encourages couples "to approach rather than flee from negative feelings expressed by your partner, especially when they're about you. When you approach from a position of curiosity/interest, rather than defensiveness, a real connection begins to take root."

Another way new parents can build closeness is by "showing appreciation, letting your partner know you appreciate their help and admire the kind of parent they are," says Kolakowski.

Eliot and Jayne Schreiber were at Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah in spring 2017. We miss our kids constantly, admits Jayne, whose two adult children live in New York City. But because Eliot is her best friend and they share common interests, she says they are very happy. (Eliot Schreiber)

Empty nesting

Jayne and Eliot Schreiber of Chicago have successfully weathered life transitions through 32 years of marriage. They met on Jayne's first day at Northwestern Law School  Eliot's second year  after Jayne's college roommate told Eliot to look out for her friend. "Eliot has been taking care of me ever since!" says Jayne.

In truth, they take care of each other. The love, kindness and concern they have for one another is apparent, and that approach has helped their marriage survive transitions, such as becoming empty nesters.

"We miss our kids constantly," admits Jayne, whose two adult children live in New York City. But because Eliot is her best friend and they share common interests, she says they are very happy.

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Couples who enjoy each other's company find that, even when it is just the two of them, they can grow even closer. "Our priority is to take the free time we have and explore new places together," says Eliot.

Nancy and Dan Fulwiler of Seattle say retirement has been a big change, but they are enjoying it and each other. Both 66, they retired in 2016 and moved from Washington, D.C., to Seattle, where their two adult sons, Robert, second from left, and Michael, right, live. (Dan Fulwiler)

Retirement

The pleasures of retirement can be overshadowed by health issues, financial concerns and disagreements about how to spend free time or where to live. To make a successful transition into retirement, experts say, it helps if a couple has established good communication skills and a partnership earlier in their marriage.

"It's about systematically building a friendship and a connection so that the person sitting across from you at the table or on the other side of the bed is someone you actually feel warmly and positively about," says Bumberry. "If you have that, you can adapt to everything."

Nancy and Dan Fulwiler of Seattle, Wash., say retirement has been a big change, but they are enjoying it and each other. Both 66, they retired in 2016 and moved from Washington, D.C., to Seattle, where Dan grew up and where their two adult sons now live.

Dan says he enjoys his freedom and the way his and Nancy's roles have changed since retirement. Nancy is directly involved with local community organizations, working as both a board member and a volunteer, while Dan plays a supporting role, offering ideas and advice.

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Dan and Nancy Fulwiler of Seattle were married in 1973. The Fulwilers are transitioning into retirement after 44 years of marriage. (Dan Fulwiler)

"Dan is my best friend and greatest adviser," says Nancy. By sharing her experiences and exchanging ideas with him about her community work, she says, "Dan becomes a part of what I'm doing."

"It sounds a bit schmaltzy," says Dan, but the fact that "we have been such close friends since we met, based not just on love but genuine respect for each other's strengths," has made adapting to change easier.

Life transitions call for "new skills, strategies and coping behaviors and involve some degree of awkwardness and apprehension at first," says Bumberry. But, when couples have "the courage to embrace life's changes, they become portals to new horizons."

Claire Altschuler is a freelancer.

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PHOENIX  Supporters of universal vouchers of tax dollars for private and parochial education have opened a second legal front in their bid to keep voters from getting the last word on the issue.

A second lawsuit filed in Maricopa County Superior Court contends there are irregularities with the petitions turned in to refer the question to the 2018 ballot. Attorney Kory Langhofer cites nearly four dozen situations where he said they do not comply with the law.

If a judge agrees, that would leave the referendum drive without sufficient signatures.

Voucher supporters raised some of the same issues with the Secretary of State's Office in a bid to have his office void the petitions. Elections Director Eric Spencer did not agree with their legal arguments, giving the petitions preliminary approval.

But Langhofer pointed out that Arizona law requires that referendum petitions be in strict compliance with all elections laws. And he wants the judge to order Secretary of State Michele Reagan to reject all sheets and signatures in the referendum petition that do not strictly comply with all governing provisions of Arizona law.

The referendum is aimed at undermining a measure approved earlier this year by the Republican-backed legislature and signed by Gov. Doug Ducey to allow more Arizona children to get public dollars for a private education.

The original program approved in 2011 was designed to provide what are formally called Education Scholarship Accounts to students with special needs that could not be met in public schools. But voucher supporters have slowly widened the door to where it now includes foster children, children from reservations and children who attend schools rated D and F.

SB 1431 removes all those restrictions, saying any student could get a voucher.

To get the votes, however, supporters had to agree to a cap of 30,000 vouchers by 2023 out of more than 1.1 million children attending public schools. But that cap can be removed by a future legislature.

On Thursday, Ducey defended the use of tax dollars for private and parochial education even amid complaints Arizona spends less than virtually every other state on its public schools.

I am a supporter of public education, he said. Public education means educating our public.

Nor is he dissuaded by the fact that public funds can go toward providing a religious education.

We're allowing parents access to their tax dollars in the service of their child's education, Ducey said.

Opponents of an expanded voucher program argue that it diverts dollars that would otherwise go to underfunded public schools. But Ducey said vouchers don't by themselves take money from public schools, though if more children use vouchers to go to private schools, state aid to public schools is reduced.

Having lost the legislative battle, foes of expansion are taking advantage of a provision in the Arizona Constitution that gives voters the last word if they are able to gather the signatures equal to 5 percent of the people who voted in the last gubernatorial election. That's 75,321, a figure the Secretary of State's Office said last week a preliminary review shows organizers appear to have.

Langhofer and fellow attorneys hope to chip away at that.

For example, one contention is that signatures do not count unless they have both the signer's street address as well as zip code. There also are claims that people who were paid circulators did not first register with the state as required by law, some names of circulators did not match their signatures and even that the date a notary put on a circulator's affidavit is incorrect.

And the lawsuit says there are situations where signatures are illegible or where the person's printed name, which is also required, looks just like the person's signature.

Spencer already found some of those arguments lacking.

For example, he disputes that Arizona law requires both an address and a zip code. And Spencer said there are people whose signatures just happen to look like their printed names.

But Spencer said some of the arguments made by vouchers supporters about the petitions were beyond the scope of what he could decide.

One appears to be largely a technicality.

Arizona law requires that referendum petitions tell would-be signers not just the bill number of the measure at issue but in which legislative session that bill was approved.

This measure was approved in the First Legislative Session of the 53rd Legislature, with each legislature running two years. But Langhofer pointed out the petitions said the measure was approved at the 53rd session of the Legislature, which legally never existed.

Dawn Penich-Thacker, spokeswoman for the Save Our Schools campaign, said no one was mislead.

What this comes down to is, did Arizona voters know what they were signing? she said. And absolutely, they did.

Langhofer, however, said that under the strict compliance for referenda, things can be disqualified from the ballot even in the absence of confusion. And he said that standard is appropriate.

He said Arizona is not a direct democracy, where voters decide everything, but rather a representative democracy where elected officials are charged with setting policy.

The Arizona Constitution does allow voters to place on hold items approved by elected lawmakers until it can be ratified or rejected at the ballot. But he said that there need to be standards allowing people to delay  and potentially thwart  the will of representatives of the majority.

It makes them do it right, Langhofer said. They don't just get to press a button or yell at their TV and get an issue onto the statewide ballot.

Voucher supporters already have another lawsuit pending, this one filed right after opponents of expansion submitted more than 110,000 signatures. That one raises another series of legal claims about the validity of the petition drive.

And if both of those legal efforts fail, a third lawsuit is possible, this one to strike the names of individual signers if county recorders determine from a random sample that there are at least 75,321 valid signatures on those petitions.
Evanston Township High School has released an updated dress code for the school year that starts Monday, and it explicitly prohibits decisions and language that shame students. In 2014, nearby Haven Middle School banned girls from wearing leggings because they were "distracting" for boys.

Evanston Township High School has released an updated dress code for the school year that starts Monday, and it explicitly prohibits decisions and language that shame students. In 2014, nearby Haven Middle School banned girls from wearing leggings because they were "distracting" for boys.

Welcome to a Tale of Two Dress Codes, a modern tale that unfolds during the Leggings Revolution.

It's nonfiction.

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In South Carolina, high school Principal Heather Taylor is accused of telling high school girls not to wear leggings if they're larger than a size 2.

"I've told you this before, I'm going to tell you this now," Taylor allegedly told students at a dress code assembly this week. "Unless you are a size zero or 2 and you wear something like that, even though you're not fat, you look fat."

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Worst of times.

Someone audio recorded the assembly and shared that bit with a local NBC affiliate. Parents and students are justifiably outraged.

Meanwhile, over in the best of times ...

Evanston Township High School has released an updated dress code for the school year that starts Monday, and it explicitly prohibits decisions and language that shame students.

It begins: "Staff shall enforce the dress code consistently and in a manner that does not reinforce or increase marginalization or oppression of any group based on race, sex, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion, cultural observance, household income or body type/size."

Under the new code, students may wear hats, hoodies, tank tops and spaghetti straps  all items barred under the old dress code.

Students may not wear clothing containing violent language or images, images or language that depict drug or alcohol use, or clothing that includes hate speech, profanity, pornography or hostility toward marginalized groups.

Leggings are fine.

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"Fitted pants, including opaque leggings, yoga pants and skinny jeans" are specifically green-lighted.

"It speaks volumes about how much they respect their students," Evanston community activist Christine Wolf told me. "It really shows a commitment to listening to kids and what they need and being open to as many different voices as possible."

Wolf, mom to an Evanston Township graduate and an incoming freshman, penned an op-ed in 2014 that was critical of nearby Haven Middle School's inconsistent policy on leggings.

Wolf's op-ed quotes a letter from parents of a Haven middle schooler who was told her leggings were distracting the boys.

"This kind of message lands itself squarely on a continuum that blames girls and women for assault by men," the parents wrote. "It also sends the message to boys that their behaviors are excusable, or understandable given what the girls are wearing. And if the sight of a girl's leg is too much for boys at Haven to handle, then your school has a much bigger problem to deal with."

In the new Evanston Township dress code?

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"Students should not be shamed or required to display their bodies in front of others (students, parents or staff) in school," the policy reads. "Shaming includes, but is not limited to  accusing students of 'distracting' other students with their clothing."

For years, the school's students have approached administrators with concerns that students of color get called out for dress code violations more frequently than white students and students whose bodies are more developed are cited for wearing clothing that other students get away with.

"These are 14- to 18-year-old kids," Wolf said. "Their bodies are changing every single day. They're trying to live their lives and get an education."

Students surveyed classmates last year about what they'd like to see in a new dress code, led protests against the old policies and worked closely with administrators, led by Principal Marcus Campbell, to craft a better set-up.

As recent graduate Marjie Erickson wrote on Facebook this week about the new dress code:

"This is a revolutionary act of reclaiming our bodies as ours instead of a 'distraction' or something to be ashamed of. This is our protection against being penalized for someone else's perception of our bodies, and what is appropriate and respectable.  The new dress code is inclusive, progressive, and the standard every school should be held to."

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I couldn't agree more. And I can think of a school in South Carolina that should be the first on board.

hstevens@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @heidistevens13

[ Related: Why Evanston superintendent's post-election morning announcement went viral  ]

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GUILIN, China  After 10 days of crisscrossing southwestern China by high-speed train with two young children in tow, exploring minority villages amid rugged scenery and often sleeping in grimy hotels, it was time for a break.



And what better way to decompress from our fascinating yet grueling family trek through one of China's less touristed regions than with a stay at a familiar Western holiday staple: Club Med.



We booked a four-night stay at the Club Med in Guilin, in the Guangxi region, an area best known for its otherworldly limestone karst outcroppings and a fishing tradition that uses cormorants to snare catches  scenes so famous they're depicted on China's 20-yuan notes.



My wife and I were experienced China travelers but Club Med newbies, and we were curious about how the brand would translate there. The country is a relatively new but expanding market for the company, which was taken over in 2015 by China's Fosun, a conglomerate with big ambitions for the global leisure industry. Club Med has opened three other resorts around China since 2010, in the Yabuli ski resort, Hainan's Sanya and in Beidahu in the northeast. It plans to open a Joyview branded resort in Anji, famed for tea-growing and bamboo, later this year.



For us it was a no-brainer: We knew that as we made our way back home to Hong Kong, we'd appreciate the all-inclusive package and chance to relax after our hectic sightseeing trip.



It turned out to be a good call. The resort, an hour outside of Guilin city, was serene, relaxing and contemplative, a feeling enhanced by the more than 100 contemporary sculptures scattered around the grounds. It turns out a Taiwanese tycoon bought the site and set it up as an open air art museum in 1998 before Club Med moved in.



Some of the collection is housed inside an art gallery that also featured photos of celebrity visitors, including, strangely, Afghanistan's former President Hamid Karzai on a visit in 2014. Behind the gallery, there's a zen lake, where guests could be seen meditating on the sandy shore as its still waters reflected lush foliage, irregular karst peaks fading into the distance and an arched walkway known as a moon bridge.



Besides art, we kept ourselves entertained at the resort's three swimming pools, one with the requisite swim-up bar, or with activities like rock climbing and trapeze for the kids and gym class for the adults. I joined mountain bike excursions that took us off campus as a trip leader led us down a gravel track into the park surrounding the resort, through quiet groves of trees and past grassy fields, with hardly another soul in sight.



On another day, we left the resort's opposite end, passing through the village next door, called Dashandi, or Big Mountain Base. The group stopped to snap photos of a mother duck leading ducklings down a canal. Down the path, we stopped to take in what seemed like a Chinese watercolor brought to life: water buffalo grazed in a field alongside long-legged birds, as the karst peaks loomed in a hazy background.



Almost all the resort's guests were Chinese visitors, apart from a handful of foreigners, mostly European. The company has made some tweaks to please its biggest market, equipping its bar area with mahjong tables and karaoke rooms. The artificial pond was stocked with koi  said to be good for feng shui.



The multinational staff included Mexicans, South Koreans, French and Indonesians, mostly veterans of the brand's other resorts around the world. Evenings featured live shows  a Club Med signature. They started on the early side, before 9 p.m., in line with a Chinese preference for early nights. (At Club Meds elsewhere, shows can start as late as 9:45 p.m.)



One night a circus-themed act put on by some of the staff G.O.'s, or "gracious organizers" in Club Med parlance, performed with the trapeze, rope straps and hula hoops. One performer used his chin to balance bowling pins, a guitar, a wooden bench and even an extension ladder, an act that drew the biggest cheers of the evening.



A Moulin Rouge-style burlesque show on another evening, with show tunes and raunchy costumes, seemed not to appeal much to the Chinese audience, many of whom drifted away after a few songs.



If You Go...



GUILIN: Guilin is located in China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, about 500 kilometers (320 miles) northwest of Hong Kong, or 650 kilometers (400 miles) northeast of Hanoi, Vietnam. Club Med: https://www.clubmed.us/r/Guilin/y



GETTING THERE: Guilin's Liangjiang airport mainly serves domestic Chinese routes, with a handful of flights to other Asian destinations like Hong Kong, Thailand and South Korea. A new network of high-speed trains also connects it to bigger cities like Beijing and Guangzhou, near Hong Kong. http://english.ctrip.com/trains/



Follow Kelvin Chan: www.twitter.com/chanman
Judge Diane Sykes speaks in a discussion during the Federalist Society's National Lawyers Convention in Washington, D.C. on Nov. 19, 2016. (Jose Luis Magana / AP)

A class-action lawsuit claiming that Subway's "footlong" subs weren't really a foot long quickly went viral when it was filed back in 2013.

But the sandwich chain wasn't the real scam artist in the case, Chicago-based federal Judge Diane Sykes says: The lawyers who earned more than half a million dollars in legal fees by filing it were.

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Sykes  said to possibly be President Donald Trump's next U.S. Supreme Court nominee, should he get the chance  wrote in an opinion published Friday that the case was "no better than a racket" because only the lawyers benefit.

And ruling along with fellow 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judges Joel Flaum and Ilana Rovner, Sykes threw out a settlement approved by a lower court under which Subway agreed to pay the plaintiffs' attorneys $525,000.

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Though nine Subway customers who brought the case each got $500 for their trouble, the settlement was "utterly worthless" to the average Subway customer, who benefits in no way from a "hollow" deal, Sykes wrote.

While Subway agreed to take additional measures to try to ensure that most "footlong" subs are, in fact, 12 inches long, "some sandwich rolls will inevitably fall short due to the natural variability in the baking process," she wrote. "Common sense" would have told a customer that, she wrote.

Adding that Subway's so-called sandwich artists allow customers to be "profligate" with their sandwich fillings at no extra charge, she found that "after the settlement, just as before, the rare sandwich that falls short of the full 12 inches will still provide the customer the same amount of food as any other."

Lawyers for the plaintiffs did not return calls seeking comment.

The case blew up in early 2013 after an Australian teen posted a photo of an 11-inch Subway "footlong" sandwich on Facebook. Plaintiffs across the U.S.  including in Chicago  rushed to file suit soon after, claiming they were short-changed an inch.

kjanssen@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @kimjnews
Toxicology results are pending for a 26-year-old man killed in a two-car crash early Wednesday on a state road in Yorkville.

Matthew R. Butler, 26, of Sheridan, died from blunt force trauma due to the collision, said Kendall County Deputy Coroner Katrina Busa. Though a full autopsy was not performed, toxicology samples were taken and sent to a lab, Busa said Friday.

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Butler was driving a 2005 Hyundai Accent eastbound on Route 126, west of Hopkins Road, when the car went partially off the roadway to its right, according to a news release from Illinois State Police.

The car over-corrected to the left and drove across the westbound lane, directly into the path of an oncoming 2014 Chrysler 200, police said.

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The front of the Chrysler, driven by a 25-year-old Plano woman, struck the passenger side of the Hyundai at about 4:34 a.m. Wednesday, police said. The woman and her passenger, a male juvenile, were taken to Rush Copley Medical Center in Aurora for treatment of minor injuries, according to police. Butler was pronounced dead at the scene.

Illinois State Police Master Sgt. Jason Bradley said crash reconstructionists are collecting information including speeds of travel for the vehicles.

It's unknown at this time what caused Butler to drive off the road and over-correct into the Chrysler's path, Bradley said.

Butler's family could not be immediately reached.

hleone@tribpub.com

Twitter @hannahmleone
Police tape sits on a vehicle at the scene of a shooting in Chicago. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)

Updated Aug. 28, 2017 10:30 a.m.  Police say they are investigating the beating death of a man in his 40s on the Northwest Side.

A disturbance brought police to the 5900 block of West Fullerton Avenue about 9 p.m. Thursday in the Belmont Central neighborhood, police said.

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Officers found Joaquin Clara, 51, outside in the back of a residence. "He was severely beaten in the head and body,'' said Officer Michelle Tannehill, a spokeswoman for the Chicago Police Department.

Clara was taken to Community First Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 10:15 p.m., Tannehill said.

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An autopsy Friday determined he died of blunt force injuries to the head, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office. His death was ruled a homicide.

No arrests have been made, said Tannehill.

Area North Detectives are investigating.
Dominique Franklin Sr. speaks about his son Dominique Franklin Jr.'s death after police used a Taser on him. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune) (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)

The Chicago Police Department plans to own as many as 6,900 Tasers by the end of 2017, a ninefold increase from just two years ago and enough to give every officer on patrol an electric shock weapon that can drop a person in an instant.

Saying Tasers were part of his plan to "ensure the safety of every resident," Mayor Rahm Emanuel embraced the devices as an alternative to guns after Laquan McDonald's fatal shooting by an officer sparked widespread outrage in late 2015.

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But a Chicago Tribune examination of thousands of pages of city records and data on about 4,700 Taser uses over the last decade has raised questions about the department's reliance on the weapon.

Among the findings:

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Some officers have used Tasers with unusual regularity. Cops who deployed a Taser did so twice on average, but 16 officers each used a Taser 15 or more times over the last decade.

In a department that has historically disregarded red flags suggesting misconduct or excessive force, some of the heaviest Taser users also racked up complaints and shootings. One officer who used a Taser 18 times also fired his gun at people on five separate occasions, wounding three. He also shot and wounded a dog.

The city's police disciplinary agency fully investigated few Taser uses, leaving the task largely to a Police Department whose reviews of nonlethal force were criticized by the U.S. Department of Justice in January as cursory. A closer look at about 100 Taser incidents by some of the most frequent users found that command officers held that the use of force complied with department policy in every instance.

A Tribune review of city Law Department data as well as court records found that the city has paid or agreed to pay at least $23.1 million in lawsuits involving Taser use since 2005.

At least eight people have died since 2005 after Chicago police used Tasers on them. Drug use or other factors were ruled the cause of death in all but one of those cases, however.

Nearly three-fourths of those targeted with Tasers were black, though African-Americans comprise about one-third of the city's residents. The racial disparity in Taser use mirrors other forms of police contact with citizens, including street stops, and a department spokesman noted that police activity is heavier in violent neighborhoods, some with large African-American populations. The Tribune, however, found that officers have disproportionately used the weapons against black people even in largely white neighborhoods.

Despite those issues, key elements of the department's approach to Tasers have not changed since Emanuel turned to the weapon during the controversy inflamed by video of a white officer shooting McDonald, a black teen, 16 times.

The city's police disciplinary agency will still be responsible for fully investigating only a fraction of Taser uses, meaning that most cases will likely receive little review outside the department.

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In addition, as more officers start carrying the weapons, they will be expected to follow a new policy introduced in May that experts and reform advocates say is too permissive because it does not specifically ban police from shocking people who simply flee and pose no serious threat. Other large police departments' policies explicitly bar the practice.

You restrain him, you cuff him, you read him his rights, you take him to jail. ... It should have been that simple. But someone died.  Dominique Franklin Sr., whose son suffered fatal injuries from a fall after a police officer used a Taser on him

Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson revised the department's Taser rules four months after the Justice Department called the tactic "unconstitutional on its face," but he did not specifically ban it. Reform advocates and a former Justice Department lawyer said the city's failure to explicitly ban the practice shows the need for a federal judge to oversee the Police Department going forward. In contrast, Emanuel has proposed a plan for a monitor to guide reforms without court oversight.

Chicago should ban shocking people who simply flee, said Dominique Franklin Sr., whose 23-year-old son broke free from officers trying to arrest him after he allegedly stole a bottle of vodka from a downtown convenience store in 2014. Dominique Franklin Jr. fell and hit his head on a pole after an officer deployed his Taser. He later died from his injuries.

"You restrain him, you cuff him, you read him his rights, you take him to jail. ... It should have been that simple," Franklin said. "But someone died."

While the department did not specifically prohibit using Tasers on people who flee but don't appear threatening, the new rules expected to take effect this fall call on cops to try to defuse tense situations without force. The rules broadly say that uses of force must be "objectively reasonable, necessary and proportional." The new policies call on officers to consider the "totality of the circumstances," including whether a person is a threat, though the policies acknowledge that "reasonableness is not capable of precise definition."

The department also made some of its Taser rules stricter. The new policies call on officers to generally limit jolts given during an incident to three. Officers also are not to use Tasers on "vulnerable" people  including children, the elderly and pregnant women  unless they are physically attacked.

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Although the department more than tripled its supply of Tasers in the nearly two years since the McDonald video was released, the use of the weapon by officers has risen only slightly, department data show.

Spokesman Frank Giancamilli noted that the department plans to form a unit  staffed entirely by police officers  that will audit all uses of force and report potential policy violations to disciplinary investigators.

Giancamilli said the department is also working on a new tracking system to flag potential problem officers, but he cautioned that a high volume of Taser uses by itself does not necessarily indicate misconduct.

City Hall spokeswoman Julienn Kaviar said the department is on course for "meaningful and sustainable reform," noting plans for every patrol officer to wear a body camera by the end of the year, among other changes.

Steve Tuttle, a spokesman for the Taser's manufacturer, said the company gives guidance on the proper use of the weapon, but each police department is responsible for its own oversight and policies.

Meanwhile, the city's stated purpose for buying more Tasers was to provide an alternative to deadly force. The data available from the city, however, show no clear connection between the number of shootings and Taser uses each year.

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Racial disparity

Patented in 1974, the Taser is named for a weapon in the novel "Tom Swift and His Electric Rifle." Its manufacturer  formerly Taser International, now rebranded as Axon as it markets other products, including body cameras  estimates that about 95 percent of the approximately 18,000 police departments in the United States use the weapon.

Tasers fire sharp probes tethered to wires that deliver an electrical shock that can cause a loss of muscle control.

Chicago armed sergeants with the weapon in 2004 before buying hundreds more in the following years. Taser incidents rose sharply in the years leading up to 2011, when the department topped out at 874 uses, according to a Tribune analysis of city data.

Incidents fell in the following years, bottoming out with fewer than 400 in 2013.

Giancamilli attributed the drop in Taser use beginning in 2011 to the department buying a new model of the weapon and requiring that officers be trained on its use.

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Aldermen called on the city to buy more Tasers in the controversy over the McDonald shooting after learning that police on the scene had no Taser and radioed for one in the minutes before Officer Jason Van Dyke opened fire.

At that time, the department had 745 Tasers, Giancamilli said, but in the nearly two years since the video was released, the supply has jumped to about 2,400. And plans call for thousands more to be bought, he said. Every patrol officer must now get trained to use one, Giancamilli said.

Still, Taser incidents rose only slightly from 424 in 2015 to 459 in 2016.

But that slight bump came despite documented street stops and arrests plummeting in 2016 amid the McDonald scandal and the introduction of a more complex form for street stops.

Over the history of Tasers in Chicago, their use has been marked by the same racial disparity seen in other elements of policing in the city, as cops have inflicted shocks in vast disproportion to African-Americans in poor and violent areas.

Race of people in Taser incidents Nearly three-quarters of people police targeted with Tasers were black. Sept. 2007 through March 2017 Black people in Taser incidents: 4,305 72% All others: 1,673 SOURCE: Tribune analysis of Chicago Police Department data CHICAGO TRIBUNE Race of people Tasered Nearly three-quarters of people Tasered by Chicago police were black. September 2007 through March 2017 Black people Tasered: 4,305 72% SOURCE: Tribune analysis of Chicago Police Department data All others: 1,673 CHICAGO TRIBUNE Race of people Tasered Nearly three-quarters of people Tasered by Chicago police were black. PEOPLE TASERED BY RACE September 2007 through March 2017 Black people Tasered: 4,305 72% All others: 1,673 SOURCE: Tribune analysis of Chicago Police Department data CHICAGO TRIBUNE

About 72 percent of those targeted by police since 2007 were African-American  some 65 percent of them black males. While whites comprise nearly half of Chicago's population, blacks were about nine times more likely to be targeted by police than whites.

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In 2010 alone, police used Tasers on more than 800 African-Americans, in sharp contrast to a total of about 460 whites over the last decade. And the number of non-Hispanic whites shocked could be even lower, since those with Hispanic surnames were sometimes listed as white.

The Taser figures reinforce the Justice Department finding that Chicago police have used force disproportionately against minorities.

The percentage of Taser uses involving blacks, though, matches with past studies of the racial breakdown of other types of police activity. Multiple studies of street stops, for example, have found about three-quarters of people stopped were African-American.

The department prohibits biased policing, Giancamilli said, but he added that districts with more gun violence  often in predominantly African-American neighborhoods  have more concentrated police activity.

But even in majority-white neighborhoods with little violent crime, officers disproportionately shock African-Americans. For example, in the Shakespeare District, which includes parts of the Bucktown, Logan Square and Wicker Park neighborhoods, African-Americans were involved in about 43 percent of the incidents, while 2010 census figures show that blacks made up less than 10 percent of the district's population. Similar disparities can be seen in other neighborhoods with relatively small black populations.

Potential red flags

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A typical officer who used a Taser did so just once or twice in the last decade.

But slightly less than 1 percent of the some 2,000 officers who triggered a Taser used the weapon 15 or more times. Those officers tended to work in neighborhoods plagued by violence.

While experts noted that frequent Taser use does not equal misconduct, they agreed it should lead to scrutiny.

The Tribune's review of department records found that some heavy Taser users also fired their guns multiple times, while others were frequent targets of citizen complaints.

Officer Ronald Baez, who used his Taser 16 times, has been the subject of 83 complaints, more than all but a few dozen officers on the 12,000-strong force, according to a Tribune analysis of police disciplinary data.

His complaint record is so voluminous that the department rejected a Tribune Freedom of Information Act request for select documents from each complaint file, saying the request was "unduly burdensome" and would take in more than 2,000 pages of records.

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In 2000, then-police Superintendent Terry Hillard moved to fire Baez, alleging he and his partner solicited a bribe by offering to free drug suspects in return for handing over guns, according to Chicago Police Board records. A hearing officer, however, found the evidence unconvincing, and the Police Board cleared him, the records show.

Baez could not be reached for comment.

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 5 Dominique Franklin Jr. died in 2014 as a result of falling and hitting his head on a light pole after a Chicago police officer shocked him with a Taser. (Family photo)

For another officer, the Taser was just one form of force he used repeatedly.

Records show that Officer Jason Landrum used his Taser 18 times over about 20 months between 2010 and 2012. In most of the 16 use-of-force reports provided to the Tribune by police, Landrum reported using a Taser on people who fled, flailed, pulled away or threatened him. In one case, he alleged a man tried to hit an officer with a vehicle.

Between May 2009 and March 2014, he also shot and wounded three people, including in an off-duty incident in which he shot a man who was charged with trying to break into his house, records show. He also shot at two others in other incidents but missed, according to records.

In another incident, Landrum shot a pit bull while arresting Jerome Anderson on charges of domestic violence and possessing guns without a license at his home in the South Side's Chatham neighborhood in March 2011.

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Anderson described the then-2-year-old dog, Rocco, as friendly and well-trained and said Landrum ignored his pleas not to shoot the dog. As Landrum fired, the handcuffed Anderson tumbled down the stairs, breaking his leg. The dog survived three bullet wounds and a shattered leg but limps and can't run, said Anderson, who sued in federal court.

Landrum testified in court that the dog charged at him, leading him to think the dog would bite him. He also indicated he had been attacked by dogs as a child and nearly died, leaving him somewhat afraid of them. But he said that had nothing to do with shooting Rocco.

Anderson ultimately won $320,000 in the lawsuit, and the city was ordered to pay an additional $175,000 in legal fees for Anderson's lawyer.

Meanwhile, prosecutors dropped the domestic violence charge against Anderson, and a judge acquitted him of the gun charge.

Landrum "shouldn't be in the position that he's in," Anderson said. "He's too aggressive."

In June 2009, Landrum's then-girlfriend called 911 and alleged that he had hit her in the ear and face and threw soda on her, according to police reports and a 911 call transcript.

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No criminal charges were filed, according to a search of court records, and both the woman and Landrum declined to comment.

Few complete investigations

Even as Tasers became an everyday tool, complete investigations into their use by the city's police watchdog were exceedingly rare.

The ordinance that created the Independent Police Review Authority in 2007 charged it with reviewing all Taser uses, but agency officials have acknowledged that they fully investigate few of the several hundred incidents each year because they don't have enough investigators. In recent years, IPRA has logged Taser incidents and done limited investigations that included reviewing departmental paperwork, but the agency fully investigated only in cases involving complaints or special circumstances.

Taser incidents by district The police districts with the most Taser incidents from September 2007 through March 2017 are on the South and West sides. TOTAL TASER INCIDENTS Less than 99 100 to 199 200 to 299 300 to 399 More than 400 Highest, Harrison District: 609 SOURCE: Tribune analysis of Chicago Police Department data NOTE: Certain district boundaries changed in 2012 because three districts were closed. CHICAGO TRIBUNE Taser incidents by district The police districts with the most Taser incidents from September 2007 through March 2017 are on the South and West sides. TOTAL TASER INCIDENTS Less than 99 100 to 199 200 to 299 300 to 399 More than 400 Highest, Harrison District: 609 SOURCE: Tribune analysis of Chicago Police Department data NOTE: Certain district boundaries changed in 2012 because three districts were closed. CHICAGO TRIBUNE TOTAL TASER INCIDENTS Less than 99 100 to 199 200 to 299 Taser incidents by district 300 to 399 More than 400 The police districts with the most Taser incidents from September 2007 through March 2017 are on the South and West sides. Highest, Harrison District: 609 NOTE: Certain district boundaries changed in 2012 because three districts were closed. SOURCE: Tribune analysis of Chicago Police Department data CHICAGO TRIBUNE

Of nearly 2,000 cases that IPRA documented specifically as Taser discharges between 2012 and 2015, only about 20 received a full investigation, according to a Tribune analysis of IPRA data. Of those cases, just one intentional Taser discharge led to minor discipline for an officer who failed to submit a use-of-force report, according to the data.

Some cases involving Tasers likely were left out of the Tribune analysis because of IPRA's questionable record-keeping, however.

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In its January report, the Justice Department criticized the Emanuel administration for failing to ensure that Taser uses were fully investigated.

Emanuel has vowed to improve officer oversight by replacing IPRA with a Civilian Office of Police Accountability expected to open in September with more funding and staff.

Still, the ordinance creating the civilian office actually gives it less official responsibility than IPRA for monitoring Tasers, mandating an investigation only in cases of death or serious injury, the filing of a complaint or if agency leaders decide to examine a case.

IPRA and COPA spokeswoman Mia Sissac said the agency would investigate Taser uses as outlined in the ordinance, but she declined to answer more detailed questions about the new agency's approach to the weapons.

The bulk of monitoring will continue to fall to the Police Department, whose command officers have consistently signed off on reports of Taser uses.

A review of about 100 use-of-force reports from Taser incidents, largely involving five of the heaviest users over the last decade, found that command staff ruled the force justified without exception.

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That finding reinforces the Justice Department's conclusion that supervisory review of force has largely been superficial.

"It's hard to overstate the impact that that has on the culture and the officers, when you know that you can use force and literally never be questioned," said Christy Lopez, a former Justice Department lawyer who helped lead the investigation into Chicago police. "It really sends a message that you can do whatever you want, and that's a bad culture to be setting up."

Giancamilli said that the department's new force review unit will examine uses of force and can refer them to COPA for investigation.

Human, financial costs

In Chicago, at least eight people have died since 2005 after an officer used a Taser on them, according to a review of court and city records and Cook County medical examiner's rulings.

The Cook County medical examiner's office noted the Taser use in all eight cases. All but one, though, cited other causes for the deaths, such as drugs or health problems. In the one case in which pathologists ruled a Taser shock directly caused a man's death, the weapon's manufacturer disputed the finding and won dismissal of a Cook County lawsuit filed by his family against the company.

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Studies on the safety of Tasers have reached differing conclusions, but advocates point to research, including a 2011 Justice Department review, that found the weapons reduce injuries to officers and arrestees.

Taser advocates say the weapon can defuse heated encounters before they result in deadly force, but shootings and shocks in Chicago have fluctuated independently year by year, making it difficult to say whether one affected the other.

When Taser use was at its peak in 2011, police shot or shot at people 119 times, the second highest total between 2008 and 2016, according to city records. After that, both shootings and Taser use dropped drastically. Shootings have continued to decline as Taser use has ticked up slightly since 2013, though the data available do not establish a clear, sustained connection between the two.

Noting that both shootings and Taser uses have dropped, Giancamilli said those trends are in line with the department's goal of defusing confrontations without force when possible.

The city has also paid a steep financial cost for Taser uses.

In response to a FOIA request, the city's Law Department identified more than 100 lawsuits involving Tasers filed since 2005. In those cases, the city has paid or agreed to pay at least $23.1 million in settlements, verdicts, judgments and attorney fees, city and court records show.

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Numerous such lawsuits remain pending, including one filed by Jeremiah Luckett against Officer Michael Wagner, who has used the weapon on 15 people since he joined the department in November 2012, records show.

Jeremiah Luckett, 25, talks about being shocked with a Taser by a Chicago police officer in 2015. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune) (Zbigniew Bzdak/Chicago Tribune)

In March 2015, Luckett, then 23, was charged with aggravated battery of an officer after Wagner said he tried to head-butt him and kicked him during an arrest outside Luckett's home.

Wagner could not be reached for comment. Luckett, who had no criminal record in Cook County before his run-in with Wagner, told the Tribune he was complying when Wagner shocked him, leaving him shaking and furious. He thought the officer acted with needless aggression.

Wagner "had no chill at all," Luckett said.

Last year, a jury acquitted Luckett of the charges.

The death of Dominique Franklin Jr. shows how dangerous Tasers can be to those who flee police on foot.

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Police officers "have to exercise some judgment," said Franklin's father, Dominique Sr. "You're the one in this whole scenario that's supposed to be the trained professional."

Officer Juan Yanez shocked Franklin as he fled after police responded to complaints he had stolen from a store in the Old Town Triangle neighborhood one night in May 2014, records show. While on the ground, Franklin reached toward his waistband, suggesting to Yanez he might have a weapon, the officer told investigators. Then, as police tried to handcuff him, he broke free and ran again, the officer said.

Reports show that Yanez triggered his Taser again, and Franklin fell head-first into a light pole, knocking him unconscious.

The officers could not say for certain if Franklin actually received a shock before he fell, but the medical examiner's files noted the Taser use and a sergeant told disciplinary investigators he saw the prongs attached to his clothes.

Franklin had a bottle of vodka in his waistband and was indicted on a theft charge that was upgraded to a felony because of a prior theft conviction, police reports and court records show.

Police reports and court records show that Franklin had a criminal record including a robbery conviction, and a warrant had been issued for his arrest on an alleged parole violation months before the encounter.

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Four hours after the incident, Deputy Chief Carlos Velez ruled the Taser use justified as Franklin was treated at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

Franklin died two weeks later of head trauma.

Yanez, a 19-year veteran, has used a Taser on only one other person, records show. IPRA has yet to rule on whether he did anything wrong in Franklin's case.

Neither Yanez nor Velez, who has retired, could be reached for comment.

City lawyers have agreed to settle the lawsuit filed by the elder Franklin, but the settlement figure has not been disclosed.

Shocking those who run

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In May, the department rolled out new use-of-force rules that continue to allow officers to shock people defined as "active resisters." This category includes people who flail their arms or simply run.

Many experts and police officials oppose shocking people who flee after minor or nonviolent crimes. After a federal investigation into the New Orleans Police Department similar to the one undertaken in Chicago, that city instituted a policy that says merely running away does not justify a Taser use. New Orleans bans cops from shocking people unless they pose an immediate threat, cannot otherwise be subdued and are unsafe to approach.

While Chicago's force policies broadly hold that force must be reasonable, necessary and proportional, the Taser policy gives cops no specific guidance on shocking people who flee.

Lopez, the former Justice Department lawyer, said Chicago's failure to explicitly ban shocking fleeing people who pose no threat shows why Emanuel should sign on to a consent decree that would call for a federal judge to oversee reforms in the Police Department. Emanuel supported that approach in January but backed off months later after the Trump administration came into office and expressed opposition to consent decrees. Emanuel now says he can bring meaningful reform to the department with a monitor but not the oversight of a judge.

"It's actually a really good example of why a consent decree is necessary, because it just shows that they're not going to do anything they don't have to do, even if it is relatively uncontroversial and the benefits of doing that thing are clear," Lopez said.

The elder Franklin's voice quavered with anger as he discussed his son's death and the city's policy on shocking fleeing people.

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Emanuel and the police unions don't want change, he said.

"There's a reason why it wasn't changed," he said. "That's how black children are dealt with."

The original version of this story incorrectly stated how long it has been since an officer fatally shot Laquan McDonald. That shooting occurred nearly three years ago. The police department has more than tripled its supply of Tasers in the two years since the video of the McDonald shooting was released.

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Two men were wounded about five blocks apart Friday morning in the Gresham neighborhood on the South Side, Chicago police said.

The first attack happened about 8 a.m. in the 8000 block of South Loomis Boulevard. A 21-year-old man was walking when a vehicle pulled up and someone shot him in the wrist, police said. No description of the vehicle was given.

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The man went to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was listed in good condition.

About five blocks north, a 24-year-old man was shot in the leg about 8:30 a.m. in the 7500 block of South Loomis. He was taken to St. Bernard Hospital, where he was listed in good condition, police said. Police said the man was shot by someone in a gray sedan.

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No one was in custody, and police were investigating.
Jennifer Del Prete, 46, describes spending nearly a decade in prison after she was found guilty of first-degree murder in the 2003 death of 14-month-old Isabella Zielinski. Her conviction was overturned in August 2016. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune) (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)

Nearly a year after a judge overturned the murder conviction of a former suburban day care worker accused of killing a newborn in her care, the woman is suing investigators for allegedly withholding evidence and fabricating scientific findings, according to court documents.

Jennifer Del Prete, 46, spent nearly a decade in prison after she was found guilty of first-degree murder in the 2003 death of 14-month-old Isabella Zielinski. Authorities accused Del Prete of shaking the 4-month-old at the day care where Del Prete served as a caretaker. The baby died about 10 months later.

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During her trial, a state medical expert testified that Isabella's injuries could have been inflicted only on the day she became unresponsive, ignoring evidence that the baby had suffered an unexplained brain injury days earlier.

A Freedom of Information request filed by journalism students at Northwestern University's Medill Justice Project uncovered a memo written by the lead Romeoville detective who worried that the pathologist who conducted the autopsy did not agree with the shaken baby syndrome theory.

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The new evidence led a judge to release her in 2014 while her case was reviewed, and her conviction was overturned in August 2016 in the appellate court. A judged ordered a new trial. The Will County state's attorney's office is appealing the ruling.

On Thursday, Del Prete filed a lawsuit against the officers from Romeoville and Plainfield and the state witness who she claims fabricated scientific findings to convict her. She alleges the withheld memo and the disregard of other medical witnesses who disagreed with the shaken baby theory constituted a violation of due process and resulted in malicious prosecution.

At a news conference Thursday, an emotional Del Prete recalled that when Isabella fell unconscious in her care, it brought on the "worst nightmare that I could ever imagine." She called 911 and performed CPR before the before the child was rushed to the hospital.

"I remember calling my father telling him what happened. I was crying. I said, 'It was someone I cared for, I loved, who I kissed and hugged.' My dad said, don't worry hon, you did everything you could. You'll probably get an award for saving her life. That did not happen that day or any day after that."

Del Prete was charged with a felony assault, which was later amended to murder when the baby died months later.

Del Prete recounted how her conviction in the child's death caused her to miss out on the lives of her own children, who were 7 and 15 at the time. She got choked up at times as she lamented not being there for high school graduations, driver licenses and other life events while she remained in prison.

"I chose to be in protective custody for a year  because it was so scary for me there. I was labeled a baby killer," she said holding their hands at the news conference. "I don't know if anything can make up for what I went through, but I never stopped fighting to make my way back to my kids and my family."

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Del Prete's case is one in a series of legal battles over often difficult-to-solve deaths involving head injuries in infants, but it's something her attorney Jon Loevy said he hopes can improve through advancements in science.

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"There were doctors who testified in earlier decades that they believed if there was swelling on the brain, there was no other explanation because a 31/2-month-old baby couldn't explain it," Loevy said. "But science has since caught up and now there are a lot of explanations."

Prosecutors and law enforcement have continued to defend the case against Del Prete. Charles Pelkie, spokesman for Will County state's attorney's office, said prosecutors are appealing the judge's decision to vacate her conviction.

"In our office every case is based on the evidence and in this case we feel that we have enough compelling evidence to move forward," Pelkie said.

Romeoville Village Manager Steve Gulden released a statement, saying the village "is confident that its officers acted lawfully and appropriately and that they will be exonerated in the litigation."

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Twitter @_tonybriscoe
The National Teachers Academy, on Cermak Road in Chicago, is set to become a high school. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)

Chicago Public Schools on Friday formally announced its intent to convert a high-performing elementary school that serves a largely low-income and African-American population into a high school for the booming South Loop area.

The school district's plans to transform the National Teachers Academy into a neighborhood boundary high school  and consolidate elementary grades at the nearby South Loop Elementary  have sparked intense debates between residents who have demanded a new open-enrollment high school and NTA supporters who worry the district's move favors the area's middle-class residents at the expense of a successful school.

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CPS has instead framed its plan as an effort to build diverse school communities, especially in a growing area of downtown's southern edge. Opponents of the district's plans said they will dig in for a monthslong battle ahead of an expected Chicago Board of Education vote to approve the transition.

"They pretend like they're listening, and then they go ahead and announce what they want to do anyway," said Elisabeth Greer, chair of NTA's local school council, of the district. "But the reality is we're a long way away from kicking kids out of NTA. We're obviously going to continue to fight.

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"This doesn't change our mobilization. We're not giving up. We're not going away quietly."

Janice Jackson, the district's chief education officer, said CPS would soon move to appoint a steering committee comprised of representatives from both school communities to hash out ongoing concerns over the controversial decision.

"We know we want to get this right," Jackson told the Tribune on Friday. "And if we don't bring people to the table, the likelihood of getting it right diminishes."

CPS also pointed to statements of support from aldermen whose wards are likely to be affected by the change to the city's school ecosystem. That list of City Council supporters includes Ald. Pat Dowell, 3rd, whose ward is at the center of what's become a debate over politics as much as education policy.

"There are parents on both sides of the equation, those that are in support of the plan and those that are opposed," Dowell said Friday. "I'm delighted CPS is committing to a world-class transition plan as we move forward. I think it's necessary to make sure all students affected by this benefit."

In June, CPS formally unveiled a proposal to spend as much as $10 million to transform the NTA campus into a neighborhood high school with capacity for about 1,000 students.

By July, CPS tweaked the proposal to allow NTA students who will be in second grade or beyond this fall to complete their elementary education at the school, which would begin phasing in high school grades in fall 2019.

Younger students will be sent to the South Loop Elementary campus in fall 2019. That facility is receiving a new, multimillion-dollar campus to alleviate what the district describes as overcrowding.

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South Loop Elementary's attendance boundary will move several blocks south toward Cermak Road to include much of the territory now claimed by the NTA campus.

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Still to be determined are the exact attendance boundaries for the new high school and how the campus will be renovated to accommodate an older student body.

"Years ago, when South Loop Elementary School was built, boundaries were drawn that excluded and separated low-income black children from their peers," Jackson and CPS CEO Forrest Claypool wrote in letters to the community. "This was wrong then, and it is wrong now, and this recommendation will right a historical wrong."

"We did not make this decision lightly, and we believe this is in the best interest of the entire community. We also believe it was important to make a decision so that we could move forward together."

The district said it would continue to hold community meetings "to address outstanding questions" on the proposal. One major concern, Greer said, involves how the transformed NTA campus would hold both elementary and high school students.

"That's a bad idea, and there's nobody who thinks it's a good idea to have children and teenagers in the same building," she said. "It's a logistical disaster."

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Londale Madison, 33, will be sentenced in November for attempted murder, aggravated criminal sexual assault, home invasion and armed robbery. (St. Joseph County, Ind., Sheriff's Department)

An Indiana man who pleaded guilty to attacking a Willowbrook woman in her home will be sentenced in November and could face a 100-year prison term.

The Nov. 9 sentencing hearing for Londale Madison, 33, of South Bend, Ind., was set during a Thursday hearing in DuPage County court before Judge George Bakalis, who will decide Madison's prison term.

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Madison pleaded guilty in June to attempted murder, home invasion, aggravated criminal sexual assault and armed robbery. But the plea was made without an agreement with prosecutors on a sentence.

He has been held in the county jail since his arrest, which came several days after the August 2015 attack.

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Authorities say Madison approached a woman, then 26, on the afternoon of Aug. 29, 2015, as she was in the driveway of the home where she lived with her parents.

After the woman had rebuffed Madison's requests for money and to use the phone, he reportedly forced his way inside her home, authorities say.

He stabbed and sexually assaulted the woman, who was able to escape when Madison left her unattended for a few moments. He fled, but several days later the car he was seen driving was towed from a location in Brookfield. The car helped lead investigators to Madison, who was arrested in South Bend.

Madison, who faces a minimum prison term of 28 years, was on probation for burglary at the time of his arrest and had previously served a prison term for battery. He also faces an outstanding charge of child molestation in Indiana, according to court records.

His victim in Willowbrook filed a lawsuit last week against the manufacturer of the door lock on the Willowbrook home, alleging that the device failed because it was defective and made of substandard materials. The suit also named the home improvement store chain that sold it, and Madison, as defendants.

Clifford Ward is a freelance reporter.






Canada is facing an "unprecedented" number of asylum seekers, who have crossed the border from the United States, officials said.

"We've never seen those numbers," said Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) spokesman Claude Castonguay. "Even though our officers are patrolling 24 hours a day all year long, we've never seen such numbers coming in."

RCMP intercepted almost 7,000 asylums seekers in the last six weeks in Quebec.

Officials stressed that the influx can be handled and at no time has the security of the country been compromised.

But they cautioned that while Canada remains an open, welcoming country, crossing into it is not "a ticket for permanent residence."

"Coming to Canada, asking for asylum in Canada is not a guarantee for permanent residence in Canada," said Louis Dumas, spokesman for the immigration ministry in a Thursday press conference.

About 80 to 85% of the asylum seekers are of Haitian descent, according to RCMP.

The number of people intercepted in Quebec has soared in recent months from 781 in June and 2,996 in July to 3,800 as of August 15, according to RCMP.

Dispelling misleading information

Officials also tried to clear up misinformation spreading through social media and WhatsApp that claimed Canada is inviting people to claim asylum, reported CNN's partner CBC.

"It is not a message from the government of Canada," Dumas said. "Strict processes are in place for all people claiming asylum, regardless of how they enter into Canada."

He said 50% of Haitians who requested asylum in 2016 had their claims rejected.

Quebec's premier Philippe Couillard had posted on his Facebook last week that it was a "very delicate situation."

"It is unfortunate that these very vulnerable people were convinced that admission as a refugee in Canada and here in Quebec would be simple, even automatic. That's not the case at all. There is no guarantee that asylum applications will be accepted, given the strict rules that govern them."

Why Haitians are leaving the US

Many Haitians have headed to Canada over concerns that they'll lose their temporary protected status or TPS, in the US.

Shortly after the devastating 2010 earthquake in Haiti, the Obama administration granted Haitian immigrants -- who had already been living in the US -- with temporary protected status.

The program allowed them to work and shielded them from deportation. It also provided them temporary refuge considering that Haiti had suffered one of the deadliest earthquakes in history, and the country was seen as too unstable for people to return.

The program had since been repeatedly renewed. But earlier this year, Department of Homeland Security officials said conditions in Haiti were improving since the earthquake -- and that the program could be terminated next year.

DHS officials urged Haitian recipients to prepare for the program's potential expiration in January 2018.

This has sent a wave of Haitians across the northern border. Many of them have expressed concerns they'll be deported if they stay in the US.

But Canada ended its version of a program that was similar to the TPS for Haitians last year, the CBC reported. This means Haitians without status can be deported from Canada.

Many asylum seekers have headed for Quebec where Montreal has a large Haitian community.

Amid the influx, asylum seekers are being sheltered at Olympic Stadium, where Montreal had hosted the summer games in 1976.

Taking their chances

Experts have cautioned that it's not so easy to meet government requirements under Canadian asylum laws. They have said the fear of deportation from the United States isn't enough to make an asylum case in Canada. The process of making a case through the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada can take months and end in rejection.

But hundreds of people are taking their chances.

In the border town of Champlain, New York, taxis arrive continuously as asylum seekers haul their belongings and help their children cross into Canada.

Just footsteps away, the Canadian Border Services Agency have sent up tents where officers process the new arrivals, reported CNN affiliate WPTZ. The number of people arriving has created a bottleneck at the border with more than 1,000 people waiting to be processed, according to the RCMP.

As of July, Canada processed 21,695 refugee claimants, according to government figures. It's already 90% of the total number that officials registered last year.

CNN's Julian Cummings and Jethro Mullen contributed to this report.
Some Streeterville residents have raised concerns that the electronic sirens on department vehicles, including ambulances, have become an unbearable nuisance in the neighborhood. (Antonio Perez and Alyssa Pointer / Chicago Tribune) (Antonio Perez And Alyssa Pointer / Chicago Tribune)

Some Streeterville residents, along with elected leaders, say they think the number of ambulances traveling through the downtown neighborhood is rising, as is the siren volume  and they want the Fire Department to do something about it.

"There are some evenings where, and I'm not exaggerating, an ambulance can come by every six minutes," resident Vicki Loevy said at a Thursday night community meeting about emergency sirens in the neighborhood.

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"The volume that's amplified from the street can be excruciatingly painful and literally I wear around my apartment construction earphones that they use for jackhammers. It's ridiculous," Loevy, 61, said during the meeting at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, which drew about 75 people including residents, Chicago Fire Department officials as well as state Rep. Christian Mitchell and Ald. Brian Hopkins, 2nd.

The two-hour community meeting was hosted by the Streeterville Organization of Active Residents, a community group that has worked for five years to reduce noise it says is disrupting the peace of the lakefront community.

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Downtown residents acknowledge that the wail of sirens isn't new  especially in Streeterville, which is home not only to Northwestern Memorial Hospital but also Lurie Children's Hospital. It's likely the children's hospital, which opened five years ago, increased the number of ambulances in the neighborhood, residents and officials say.

One Fire Department official told the audience that the department's ambulance sirens aren't louder than they used to be and meet federal regulation. Still, the department is sensitive to concerns and has made at least 11 "common-sense" policy changes citywide over the years, such as reducing the frequency of activating sirens, aiming the sirens toward traffic in front of the emergency vehicle and lowering the sirens from the roofs to the vehicle grilles, Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford told the audience.

But Hopkins, the alderman, thinks Chicago's sirens are among the loudest in the country.

"We're even louder than New York City," Hopkins said before the meeting, adding: "And the question you have to ask is why is that necessary? What do you get from a louder siren?"

At least one resident voiced that concern during the meeting, but Langford told the group that Fire Department emergency vehicle sirens are at the same volume as those in New York City's Fire Department.

Siren volumes on fire department ambulances and emergency vehicles are locked by the manufacturer  meaning that drivers can only turn them on and off  and meet federal regulations, Langford said. Lowering the volume, as some requested, is not a legal option, he told the group.

"We cannot modify that siren," said Langford, adding that he has researched the topic for several years. "If we modify that siren, we are open to liability. Now we're in violation of state law and federal law."

At 120 decibels, the sirens are just below the 123-decibel limit set by federal regulation, he said. The sirens are at levels that get the attention of motorists, along with pedestrians on their phones or listening to music, Langford added.

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The average citizen can handle short doses of a 120-decibel siren passing them, but prolonged exposure to it can lead to hearing loss, Dr. Dennis Moore, an assistant professor with Loyola Medicine's otolaryngology department, told the Tribune on Friday.

"In general having that noise, I don't think it's going to have that much effect on our hearing, but the noise is going to be a stressor," said Moore, whose department specializes in treating disorders and diseases of the ear, nose and throat. "I'm not qualified to say whether that's going to lead to anxiety or (secondary health problems). But as far as a fire engine going by, or a really explosive noise like that is definitely much more of a concern as far as hearing loss."

Moore did offer some advice to people on the street. "Typically it's probably prudent if people are out and about if there's sirens going by, I would literally stop what I'm doing and put my hands over my ears," he said. "It's like if something is too bright, you put sunglasses on. I always tell people we have eyelids, but we don't have ear lids. They can't close themselves up."

Hopkins, a 20-year Streeterville resident, said before the meeting that the sirens affect his home life too. "I have a 2-year-old baby who can't take a nap because of the sirens," he said.

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"Downtown residents are the most noise-tolerant residents that you will ever find anywhere." he said. So "when they say it's too loud, you can take it to the bank  it's too damn loud," Hopkins added.

Streeterville is a special challenge, Langford said during the meeting, because of the high density of people living, visiting and shopping in an area that's home to two busy hospitals. While fire officials can make changes to lessen the impact on passers-by and pedestrians, they have less control over sounds that invade the area buildings, he said.

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And his view of downtown differs from the alderman: "Downtown is not a neighborhood. It's active 24 hours a day, downtown Chicago doesn't sleep at night," he said.

Some relief from the sirens could come next year when the University of Chicago Medicine's trauma center opens on the South Side, diverting some of the patients who would go to Northwestern, according to Langford and Assistant Deputy Fire Commissioner Richard Edgeworth.

Mitchell said he hopes to propose legislation during the January session in Springfield that would curb siren volume and motorcycle noise. He and several others also suggested that private ambulance companies be brought in on the discussions.

wlee@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @MidNoirCowboy
Federal officials hit back this week at Mayor Rahm Emanuel's attempt to block President Donald Trump's Justice Department from withholding grant money from sanctuary cities, saying they want only "modest cooperation" from Chicago and other cities in "the removal of aliens who have committed crimes."

In a federal court filing Thursday, the Justice Department urged a judge to reject Chicago's request to stop new rules for the distribution of Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grants.

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The city filed a suit this month arguing it's unlawful and unconstitutional for Attorney General Jeff Sessions to make the grants contingent on cities sharing information about a person's immigration status with federal officials enforcing deportation laws, providing unlimited police station access to those officials and giving the officials 48 hours' notice of an arrested person's release in cases of potential immigration violations.

And more broadly, the city argued the federal government isn't allowed to impose substantive conditions on cities applying for the Byrne grants.

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With applications for Byrne grants due Sept. 5, the city also asked U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber to prevent Sessions' new rules from taking effect.

Federal lawyers countered that imposing the new regulations is well within their powers. In their motion, they said Chicago's position would "allow the city, not the department, to determine the conditions associated with a federal grant that Congress has authorized the department to award."

And the filing says federal law lets the Department of Justice put conditions on the Byrne grant money. The city, it says, "ignores the close relationship between the federally-imposed conditions and federal law enforcement prerogatives."

And the motion says there's no need for an injunction to stop the requirements from being applied, because the city would have 45 days after being awarded a Byrne grant for next year to decide whether it wanted to accept the standards in order to get the money.

Mayoral spokeswoman Shannon Breymaier on Friday called on the Trump administration to stop defending the new rules.

"The Trump administration should immediately drop these new conditions on the Byrne grants, rather than try to salvage its ill-conceived and unlawful attempt to force cities to choose between critical funding for our community policing efforts and our values as a welcoming city," Breymaier said in an email.

The Byrne grant accounts for just a tiny part of this year's city budget, the $3.2 million slated to be used to purchase new police squad cars and new crime-fighting technology. But for Emanuel, the fight over the funding also gives him an opportunity to raise his profile in the ranks of big-city mayors who have opposed Trump's immigration policies. In a city like Chicago, which is heavily Democratic and has a large immigrant population, such stands can have long-term political benefits.

jebyrne@chicagotribune.com

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CIA Director Mike Pompeo testifies before the Senate Intelligence Committee in May. The former Kansas congressman has played down Russia's interference in the 2016 election and demonstrated a willingness to engage in political skirmishes for President Donald Trump. (Jahi Chikwendiu / The Washington Post)

WASHINGTON  As CIA director, Mike Pompeo has taken a special interest in an agency unit that is closely tied to the investigation into possible collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign, requiring the Counterintelligence Mission Center to report directly to him.

Officials at the center have, in turn, kept a watchful eye on Pompeo, who has repeatedly played down Russia's interference in the 2016 election and demonstrated a willingness to engage in political skirmishes for President Donald Trump.

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Current and former officials said that the arrangement has been a source of apprehension among the CIA's upper ranks and that they could not recall a time in the agency's history when a director faced a comparable conflict.

"Pompeo is in a delicate situation unlike any other director has faced, certainly in my memory," said Rolf Mowatt-Larssen, a CIA official for 23 years who served in Russia and held high-level positions at headquarters, "because of his duty to protect and provide the truth to an independent investigation while maintaining his role with the president."

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The Russia issue has complicated Pompeo's effort to manage a badly strained relationship between the agency and a president who has disparaged its work and compared U.S. intelligence officials to Nazis. Amid that tension, Pompeo's interactions with the counterintelligence center have come under particular scrutiny.

The unit helped trigger the investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia by serving as a conduit to the FBI last year for information the CIA developed on contacts between Russian individuals and Trump campaign associates, officials said.

The center works more closely with the FBI than almost any other CIA department does, officials said, and continues to pursue leads on Moscow's election interference operation that could factor in the probe led by special counsel Robert Mueller III, a former FBI director.

Pompeo has not impeded that work, officials said. But several officials said there is concern about what he might do if the CIA uncovered new information potentially damaging to Trump and Pompeo were forced to choose between protecting the agency or the president.

"People have to watch him," said a U.S. official who, like others, requested anonymity to speak frankly. "It's almost as if he can't resist the impulse to be political."

A second former CIA official cited a "real concern for interference and politicization," saying that the worry among some at the agency is "that if you were passing on something too dicey [to Pompeo] he would go to the White House with it."

Pompeo has attributed his direct supervision of the counterintelligence center to a desire to place a greater emphasis on preventing leaks and protecting classified secrets - core missions of the center that are also top priorities for Trump.

Having the center report to him was designed "to send a signal to the workforce that this was important and we weren't going to tolerate misbehavior," he said at a security conference in Aspen, Colorado, last month.

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CIA spokesman Ryan Trapani described the suggestion that Pompeo might abuse his position as "ridiculous."

Executive-order guidelines prohibit the CIA from passing information to the White House "for the purpose of affecting the political process in the United States," Trapani said. "The FBI and special counsel's office are leading the law enforcement investigation into this matter - not CIA. CIA is providing relevant information in support of that investigation, and neither the director nor CIA will interfere with it."

Pompeo, 53, arrived as director at the CIA just days after Trump delivered a self-aggrandizing post-inaugural speech at agency headquarters. Appearing before a wall of carved granite stars that commemorate CIA officers killed in the line of duty, Trump used the occasion to browbeat the media and make false claims about the size of his inauguration crowds.

Pompeo has worked to overcome that inauspicious start, winning over many in the CIA workforce with his vocal support for aggressive intelligence gathering, his command of complex global issues and his influence at the White House. Pompeo spends several hours there almost every day, according to officials who said he has developed a strong rapport with the president.

But Pompeo is also known for berating subordinates, aggressively challenging agency analysts and displaying the fierce partisanship that became his signature while serving as a GOP member of Congress.

When asked about Russian election interference, Pompeo often becomes testy and recites talking points that seem designed to appease a president who rejects the allegations as "fake news" conjured by Democrats to delegitimize his election win.

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"It is true" that Russia interfered in the 2016 election, Pompeo said at Aspen, "and the one before that, and the one before that . . . "

The phrasing, which Pompeo has repeated in other settings, casts last year's events as an unremarkable continuation of a long-standing pattern, rather than the unprecedented Kremlin operation described in a consensus report that the CIA and other agencies released in January.

Russia's intervention in 2016 represented "a significant escalation in directness, level of activity, and scope of effort," the report concluded. Its goal went beyond seeking to discredit U.S. democratic processes, the report said, and in the end was aimed at trying "to help President-elect Trump's election chances."

Pompeo has taken more hawkish positions on other areas of tension with Russia, saying that Moscow intervened in Syria, for example, in part because "they love to stick it to America."

Almost all CIA directors have had to find ways to manage a supposedly apolitical spy agency while meeting the demands of a president. But Trump, who has fired his FBI chief and lashed out at his attorney general over the Russia probe, appears to expect a particularly personal brand of loyalty.

"It is always a balancing act between a director's access to the president and the need to protect CIA's sensitive equities," said John Sipher, a former senior CIA official who also served in Russia. "Pompeo clearly has a more difficult challenge in maintaining that balance than his predecessors given the obvious concerns with this president's unique personality, obsession with charges against him, lack of knowledge and tendency to take impulsive action."

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Pompeo has shown a willingness to handle political assignments for the White House. Earlier this year, he and other officials were enlisted to make calls to news organizations - speaking on the condition of anonymity - to dispute a New York Times article about contacts between Russians and individuals tied to the Trump campaign. Pompeo has never publicly acknowledged his involvement in that effort.

He has also declined to address whether he was approached by Trump earlier this year - as other top intelligence officials were - to publicly deny the existence of any evidence of collusion with Russia or to intervene with then-FBI Director James Comey to urge the FBI to back off its investigation of former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

Pompeo has, by all accounts, a closer relationship with Trump than others who did field such requests, including Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats and National Security Agency Director Mike Rogers.

Pompeo was exposed to Trump's wrath over the Russia investigation on at least one occasion, officials said. He was among those present for a meeting at the White House earlier this year when Trump began complaining about the probe and, in front of Pompeo and others, asked what could be done about it.

Trapani, the CIA spokesman, declined to address the matter or say whether Pompeo has been questioned about it by Mueller. Pompeo's conversations with Trump "are entitled to confidentiality," Trapani said, adding that "the director has never been asked by the president to do anything inappropriate."

Pompeo spends more time at the White House than his recent CIA predecessors and is seen as more willing to engage in policy battles. In interviews and public appearances, Pompeo has advocated ousting the totalitarian regime in North Korea, accused the Obama administration of "inviting" Russia into Syria and criticized the nuclear accord with Iran.

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Pompeo has also come under scrutiny on social issues. As part of an effort to expand chaplain services to CIA employees - which Trapani said was in response to requests from the agency workforce - Pompeo has consulted with Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, an organization that the Southern Poverty Law Center has labeled an anti-gay hate group. Perkins has described that characterization as "reckless."

When Trump came under criticism for failing to specifically condemn Nazi sympathizers taking part in protests in Charlottesville - instead lamenting violence by "many sides" - Pompeo defended the president in a CBS interview, saying that Trump's condemnation of bigotry was "frankly pretty unambiguous."

Pompeo inherited an agency that had undergone a major reorganization under his predecessor, combing analysts and operators in a constellation of "centers" responsible for geographic regions, as well as transnational issues such as terrorism.

Pompeo's alterations have been minimal. He added two centers - one devoted to North Korea and the other to Iran. All but the counterintelligence unit fall under Pompeo's deputy on the CIA organizational chart.

Pompeo, who met with Russian intelligence officials in Moscow in May, would have been entitled to full briefings from the counterintelligence center even without making that bureaucratic tweak. But asserting more control of the unit responsible for preventing leaks probably pleased Trump, who has accused U.S. spy agencies of engaging in a smear campaign to undermine his presidency.

U.S. intelligence officials have disputed that spy agencies are behind such leaks but acknowledge broader concerns about security issues, pointing to episodes including the CIA's loss of a vast portion of its hacking arsenal, which was obtained this year by the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks.

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A descendant of the unit led by legendary CIA mole-hunter James Jesus Angleton, the counterintelligence center is run by a veteran female CIA officer who has served extensively overseas in Europe, East Asia and Russia. She was also one of the main authors of the CIA's internal review of a deadly suicide bombing that killed seven agency employees in Khost, Afghanistan, in 2009.

"I think she's wary about the administration," said a former colleague who also described her as "someone who would not fall in line" if she suspected interference in the center's role. Preventing the center from sharing information with the bureau would be difficult - an FBI official serves as head of the center's counterespionage unit.

Last year, the center played an important part in detecting Russian efforts to cultivate associates of the Trump campaign. Former CIA director John Brennan testified in May that he became "worried by a number of the contacts that the Russians had with U.S. persons" and alerted the FBI.

The center has since been enlisted to help answer questions about key moments in the timeline of Trump-Russia contacts, officials said, possibly including the meeting that Donald Trump Jr. held in June with a Russian lawyer.

"Who sent her on the mission - was it Russian intelligence or on her own initiative?" a former official said, referring to the lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya. "Mueller can't do anything on that without the agency."

The Washington Post's Julie Tate, Adam Entous and Carol D. Leonnig contributed to this report.
PARIS  Emmanuel Macron has long been described as a fresh face in French politics. As it turns out, the appellation may be literal as well.

The French magazine Le Point revealed Thursday that France's 39-year-old new president has spent 26,000 euros ($30,000) on makeup services in his first three months in office - that's $10,000 a month, or about $330 a day. All at taxpayers' expense.

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In the rest of the French press, the revelations only added to a growing sentiment that Macron - who currently enjoys an approval rating of just 36 percent - has gone too far in cultivating what some see as a kinglike persona.

According to Le Point, the Elysee Palace paid a makeup artist, identified only as Natacha M., on two occasions: once for 10,000 euros, and then again for 16,000 euros. The fees were apparently for doing up the president in advance of news conferences, public appearances and various travels. A spokesman for the Elysee, which faced sharp and swift criticism, announced on French television shortly after the news broke that the budget "will be reduced significantly."

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This latest makeup scandal was quickly compared to the revelations from last year that the administration of former French president Francois Hollande, a Socialist, paid about $11,000 a month on the president's haircuts. By comparison, Macron actually spends more or less the same on makeup than his last two predecessors, according to Le Point: Hollande spent slightly more per quarter, while Nicolas Sarkozy spent slightly less.

But for a new president floundering in the polls, the optics are less than ideal. In France, the average disposable annual income per capita is roughly 25,000 euros ($29,700), according to the OCED. That is slightly less than Macron's makeup expenditure.

The news ultimately came in the same week that Macron's Elysee was forced to back down officially from an informal earlier proposal that Macron's wife, Brigitte Macron, be given an official title with her own independent budget beyond the funds already allotted for her staff. More than 300,000 citizens signed a petition against the proposal, and the Elysee confirmed in a Monday statement that "the spouse of the head of state will not benefit from any remuneration for her role."

But most of all, the makeup news comes at the end of the August recess, right before the French parliament convenes to discuss one of the most controversial issues here: labor reform - and, in particular, the potential cuts in government spending that labor reform would mean.

Macron, a self-styled political centrist, ran on promises to reform France's famously rigid labor market to stimulate growth. He has repeatedly made clear his view that slashing public spending is an absolute necessity to achieve that goal, which has lost him a considerable amount of support in the eyes of the public. In July, for instance, Macron insisted that military spending would have to temporarily decrease by approximately $1 billion. Pierre de Villiers, France's top general, resigned in protest.

Somewhat predictably, Macron's opponents have wasted no time in piling on the criticism.

As the staunchly right-wing Francois Asselineau, a former presidential contender who advocated of "Frexit," wrote on Twitter: "The image of France once again humiliated. With his 26k (euro) of makeup per quarter, #Macron becomes the laughingstock of the entire planet."
The remains were discovered this week by a hiker who was searching for artifacts from decades-old crashes of two Air India flights, one in 1966 that killed more than 100 people and another in 1950 with nearly 50 fatalities, Alpine rescue commander Delfino Viglione said Friday.

"We have many missing people in that area," Viglione said, including another 20 or so hikers who have disappeared over the decades. "We often have discoveries. We don't go in search of them but they are pointed out to us by hikers and climbers."

Viglione said a wallet belonging to a German man who went missing while supposedly on a trip to another part of Italy in the 1990s was found in a backpack near the remains. A coroner was testing the remains to see if they are a match. There was no immediate indication of who the other remains may belong to.

Glacier melting during this unusually hot summer in Europe helped reveal the remains, which were torn asunder over the years by natural glacier movements.

"The glacier continues to expel the bodies," he said. "In general, the remains are transported toward the valley. But if the glacier is melting, it increases the possibility of finding them."

The discovery of more bodies on Mont Blanc  the highest mountain in the Alps, rising 4,810 meters (15,781 feet) above sea level  was just the latest of long-missing remains found this summer.

In August, police in southwestern Switzerland found the remains of a German hiker who went missing three decades ago in the Hohlaub glacier. In July, police recovered the bodies of a local couple who left to feed their animals in 1942 but never returned in the nearby Tsanfleuron glacier.
Caroline Boyle, who was convicted of fraud in Colorado, worked for the U.S. Postal Service since 1991, and was planning to use sick leave until her retirement in April 2018, which she planned to celebrate with a Hawaiian cruise, according to officials and court filings. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)

The tale that Caroline Boyle started spinning in 2015 was grim. She told colleagues that cancer attacked her white blood cells and ravaged her immune system, leaving Doyle too weak to come into work at the U.S. Postal Service office in Aurora, Colo.

Boyle needed to rest and work from home, according to notes scribbled by her doctor.

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But there was one problem that later confirmed Boyle, 60, had constructed an elaborate ruse. The doctor's name was misspelled in a note presumably detailing Boyle's non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and the signature was botched.

Boyle was convicted of fraud Tuesday, brought down by USPS investigators. A district judge handed down a sentence of five years of probation that includes six months of home confinement with an electronic monitor, along with a $10,000 fine and restitution of exactly $20,798.38, acting U.S. Attorney for Colorado Bob Troyer said in a statement.

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That restitution figure represents "some or most" of the amount Boyle claimed for administrative sick leave she was wrongly paid, Jeff Dorschner, spokesman for the Colorado attorney general's office, told The Washington Post.

A Justice Department official familiar with the case said one aspect of Boyle's sentencing from U.S. District Judge Raymond Moore was unique. Moore ordered her to serve 652 hours of community service at a cancer treatment center, cancer research center or hospice  which is precisely how many hours of falsified sick leave she took.

Moore is fond of meting out symbolic and poetic justice, the official said, adding that Boyle confessed to USPS investigators after confronted with proof, including the forged doctor's notes, and an executed search warrant that yielded no proof she had cancer.

Boyle has worked for USPS since 1991, according to court filings. Her plan was to continue defrauding the government with sick leave until her retirement in April, which she planned to celebrate with a Hawaiian cruise, Dorschner said.

Boyle's exhausted sick leave and other issues drew suspicion, and inquiries were launched in February. She pleaded guilty to charges on April 28.

The wrongdoing goes even deeper, Dorschner said.

A subordinate whom Boyle falsely accused of faking cancer testified against her, he said, adding that the employee really did have cancer. Boyle denied her the same kind of accommodations, like working from home and extended sick leave, that Boyle herself fraudulently used. That incident took place before Boyle began her scheme.

Her lawyer could not be immediately reached for comment. In a statement, USPS officials described Boyle's scheme as a rare affront to the honesty of the majority of USPS employees.

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"The American public trusts that U.S. Postal Service employees will obey the law. This type of behavior within the Postal Service is not tolerated and the overwhelming majority of Postal Service employees, which serve the public, are honest, hardworking, and trustworthy individuals who would never consider engaging in any type of criminal behavior," Executive Special Agent in Charge Scott Pierce said in a statement.

The Justice official familiar with the case offered tongue-in-cheek advice.

"If you're going to defraud the government with a doctor's note, make sure to spell the name right," the official said.
Donald Trump has served one-seventh of his constitutionally allotted term of office, and given his talent for self-destruction, there is no guarantee he will get to serve the remaining six-sevenths. But whether he does or not, one thing is a safe bet: When he leaves the White House, there will not be a wall running the length of our southern border.

This may come as a shock to his more devoted followers. They cheered madly, and still cheer madly, at his promises to build a wall that Mexico will pay for. "Believe me, one way or the other, we're going to get that wall," he told a rally in Phoenix on Tuesday  even "if we have to close down our government."

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Between now and the end of September, Congress needs to pass legislation to raise the federal debt ceiling and extend funding to keep the government operating. Trump's threat is to veto any such bill unless it features money for the wall.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, however, said, "There is zero chance, no chance, we won't raise the debt ceiling." House Speaker Paul Ryan scoffs at the idea of a government shutdown.

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To get a bill with wall funds through the Senate would require 60 votes. Every Republican and eight Democrats would have to agree, and that is not going to happen. Both Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi have invited Trump to take a long walk off a short pier. They say they won't support the barrier under any circumstances.

This response no doubt makes many Republicans secretly grateful, because they regard the proposal as what the late Democratic Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan referred to as "boob bait for Bubba"  a tough-sounding but dumb idea useful for appealing to a certain segment of the electorate that is not well-informed or discerning on matters of policy.

Plenty of GOP members would rather put Barack Obama on Mount Rushmore than underwrite this addled project. The Department of Homeland Security says it would cost $22 billion  and a study by the Democratic staff of the Senate homeland security committee priced it at nearly $70 billion.

In April, The Wall Street Journal reported, "Not a single member of Congress who represents the territory on the southwest border said they support President Donald Trump's request for $1.4 billion to begin construction of his promised wall." That's one reason he's angry with Arizona's two Republican senators.

Doubt has seeped out of Trump's Cabinet room. As secretary of homeland security, before becoming White House chief of staff, John Kelly admitted, "It's unlikely that we will build a wall or physical barrier from sea to shining sea." Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has also been equivocal.

Trump faces some daunting obstacles in trying to get his way. One is that the wall is not very popular. A poll by Rasmussen Reports found that only 37 percent of likely voters support the idea. Another is that Trump is not very popular, with an approval rating matching that of the wall. Those numbers won't intimidate many members of Congress.

Shutting down the government would be bad for GOP lawmakers, who recall the negative fallout when they did it in 2013. But it would be worse for Trump. If the president threatens a closure and it happens, he will be slathered in blame from head to toe.

Let's not forget the comical absurdity at the center of this dispute: Voters were assured by Trump that the cost of his barricade would fall exclusively on our southern neighbor. But Mexico has declined the opportunity.

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In a Jan. 27 phone conversation with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, Trump pleaded: "I have to have Mexico pay for the wall. I have to. I have been talking about it for a two-year period." It didn't work. Pena Nieto said bluntly, "My position has been and will continue to be very firm, saying that Mexico cannot pay for the wall."

The impasse led to an unintended exercise in hilarity by White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Thursday. When a reporter noted that Trump no longer says Mexico is going to bear the cost, she replied, "He hasn't said they're not, either."

Mexico isn't going to pay for the wall, and the U.S. Congress isn't going to pay for the wall. One of these days, Trump and his followers will have to face the truth: It was a 2,000-mile fraud.

Steve Chapman, a member of the Tribune Editorial Board, blogs at www.chicagotribune.com/chapman.

Download "Recalculating: Steve Chapman on a New Century" in the free Printers Row app at www.printersrowapp.com.

schapman@chicagotribune.com

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From Congress to newsrooms to social media, a type of impeachment fever has taken hold. Various proposals have been put forward for removing President Donald Trump from office, with reasons ranging from alleged "collusion" with Russians to his response to Charlottesville, Va. One poll shows support for impeachment at as much as 40 percent. Newsweek ran a headline proclaiming, "Trump Is Just Six Senate Votes Away From Impeachment," and Slate has a running feature called "Today's Impeach-O-Meter."

While such talk may be therapeutic for those still suffering post-election stress disorder, it is a dangerous course that could fundamentally alter our constitutional and political systems. Even if one were to agree with the litany of complaints against Trump, the only thing worse than Trump continuing in office would be his removal from it.

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There is a mechanism under which a head of government can be removed midterm. Parliamentary systems, like Great Britain's, allow for "no confidence" motions to remove prime ministers. Parliament can pass a resolution stating that "this House has no confidence in Her Majesty's Government." But that's not our system. And it's doubtful members of Congress calling for Trump's impeachment would relish a parliamentary approach: When such a vote succeeds, the prime minister isn't necessarily the only politician to go. If the existing members of parliament can't form a new government in 14 days, the entire legislative body is dissolved pending a general election. And that's leaving aside the fact that Trump is still more popular than Congress as a whole: In the Real Clear Politics polling average, his job approval rating is under 40 percent while Congress' wallows at around 15 percent.

The Constitution's framers were certainly familiar with votes of no confidence, but despite their general aim to limit the authority of the presidency, they opted for a different course. They saw a danger in presidents being impeached due to shifts in political support and insulated presidents from removal by limiting the basis for impeachment and demanding a high vote threshold for removal. There would be no impulse-buy removals under the Constitution. Instead, the House of Representatives would have to impeach and the Senate convict (by two-thirds vote) based on "treason, bribery, or other high crimes or misdemeanors."

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The framers were wise in this regard. Consider Rep. Steve Cohen's, D-Tenn., statement, in the wake of Charlottesville, explaining why he supports impeachment: "If the president can't recognize the difference between these domestic terrorists and the people who oppose their anti-American attitudes, then he cannot defend us." Cohen doesn't articulate a high crime or misdemeanor, let alone prove one. He appears willing to impeach Trump because the president is viewed as insufficiently opposed to far-right or racist groups. If that were the standard, any member of an opposition party could cite unacceptable views as the basis for removal from office. Cohen's reasoning is no better than that of former congressman Kerry Bentivolio, R-Mich., who was quoted in 2013 telling a constituent that if he "could write a bill" to impeach then-President Barack Obama, "it would be a dream come true."

Though clearly farcical, the suggestion by USA Today's Jill Lawrence that "Trump is doing an excellent impression of a president who desperately wishes to be impeached"  that his comportment in office is some sort of thinly veiled cry for help  obscures the gravity of what's at stake with impeachment. Lowering the standard would fundamentally alter the presidency, potentially setting up future presidents to face impeachment inquiries or even removal whenever the political winds shifted against them.

Especially alarming is the argument that, "Yes, Trump could be impeached for pro-Nazi talk." This week, the Daily Beast's Michael Tomasky evaluated the impeachment of Andrew Johnson, Abraham Lincoln's vice president who became president after Lincoln's assassination, to demonstrate why some experts believe presidents can be impeached over purely "political disagreements"  more or less reducing impeachment to the equivalent of being voted off the island on an episode of "Survivor: Beltway." Johnson was a thoroughly obnoxious president. He was opposed by the Radical Republicans in Congress who sought to extend voting rights to freed slaves and limit the political power of former Confederates. Johnson was impeached by the House, but was spared conviction (by one vote) in the Senate, which recognized, properly, that however valid opposition to the president was, in the end it amounted to a political disagreement. Had he been removed from office, it would have been an abuse of Congress' power; and while abuses can happen, they remain abuse.

As the last lead counsel in an impeachment case  I defended U.S. District Judge Thomas Porteous in 2010  even the theoretical revival of Johnson's impeachment is chilling: There is no clear way to defend against having insufficient values. Tomasky quotes constitutional lawyer Bruce Fein, who floats the possibility that a president might be impeached for views demonstrated to be "sabotaging, not defending the Constitution  including its separation of powers, due process, and equal protection  by applauding the ideas or actions of tyrants from his bully pulpit."

Imagine what could happen if that were true. Any presidential remark deemed objectionable could be characterized as "sabotaging" constitutional values. Rather than requiring unconstitutional acts, we would impeach for unconstitutional thoughts, even though our Constitution's standard certainly isn't high thought crimes and misdemeanors.

This can seem weirdly incongruous, given the other presidential impeachment in our history: Bill Clinton was impeached for lying under oath about something relatively trivial; many view Trump as opposing fundamental American values. But Clinton deserved impeachment because he lied under oath. I was one of the experts who testified before Congress during Clinton's impeachment hearings and, despite voting for Clinton, I maintained that perjury clearly fell within the standard regardless of the subject. Presidents don't get to lie under oath any more than Congress gets to choose impeachment standards depending on the president. While this may be frustrating and inconvenient, there is no proof Trump has committed any crime or otherwise impeachable offense.

Impeaching a president on the grounds of high contempt or misbehaviors would leave the presidency weakened. Trump won't be our last president and we shouldn't count on making the presidency great again if we add a "no confidence" option to impeachment.

Washington Post

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Jonathan Turley is a professor at George Washington University Law School.
Elinor Otto, the last of the original "Rosie the Riveters," jokes with retired Air Force Lt. Col. Richard E. Cole, the last surviving Doolittle Raider, during pictures with 60 other World War II veterans at the World War II 75th Anniversary Remembrance Banquet held at the Emerald Coast Convention Center in Fort Walton Beach Fla., Friday, April 7, 2017. (Michael Snyder / AP)

Returning to Chicago recently, I entered Los Angeles International Airport to an announcement that a celebrity was about to land. Prepared for an actor from some superhero franchise, I was surprised to see a real-life superhero: Elinor Otto, one of the original Rosie the Riveters, who was returning home after receiving an award from the U.S. Air Force.

Airport employees were waving copies of the iconic poster, designed in 1942 by J. Howard Miller. Some wore bandannas like the woman in the poster. Red, white and blue garlands graced the gate. And when Elinor deplaned, dozens of people stepped up to meet her. Women and young girls took selfies with her and thanked her for breaking down barriers for women in the workplace. But men, too, wanted in on taking photos with Elinor. "Thank you for your service to the country," I overheard many admirers tell her. Ground crew members waited excitedly to take her out on the tarmac to visit the planes. In her 50 years working in airplane factories, she'd worked on every single Boeing C 17 that had been manufactured, before retiring at the age of 95.

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During World War II, Elinor entered the workplace at the Rohr Aircraft Corp., in Chula Vista, Calif., south of San Diego, after the men who previously held the factory jobs were drafted. When the war ended, she was unceremoniously fired. She drifted through jobs in offices, fast-food joints (she quit when they wanted her to wear roller skates as a carhop), but her love was aircraft. In 1952, she was able to secure another factory job with a series of companies that ultimately landed her at Boeing.

Photo of Elinor Otto in her 20s. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Now, at 97 years old, she's lived to see Congress this year declare March 21 as "National Rosie the Riveter Day." She's helped plant a rosebush of a specially bred Rosie the Riveter rose.

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The scene at the airport moved me  and gave me hope. More people were drawn to Elinor than were drawn to the celebrities I'd seen at various places in California, including Arnold Schwarzenegger, Kim Kardashian and Mel Gibson. Elinor showed that policies can change for the better, that perseverance matters.

Those of us passing through the airport that day were energized by the living embodiment of the Rosie poster slogan, "We can do it!"

Lori Andrews is a law professor at Chicago-Kent College of Law, Illinois Institute of Technology.
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A politician smiling for the cameras at a groundbreaking ceremony always makes for a silly image. But when Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb showed up in Gary recently wearing a hard hat and holding a shovel, he was doing two important things: welcoming a trucking company from south suburban Chicago Ridge, and taking a dig at Illinois.

"We are thrilled to welcome HMD Trucking to Indiana, home to balanced budgets, a AAA credit rating and a low cost of doing business," Holcomb said. "It is clear why HMD Trucking decided to move from Illinois to Indiana. We have become the best state in the Midwest to start, get and grow jobs."

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Ouch, Gov. Holcomb, the truth hurts. Almost like getting smacked with a shovel.

Alas, it's no longer surprising when an Illinois company leaves for Indiana. HMD is building a $6 million headquarters and depot in Gary, with plans to create 500 jobs by 2021. Alliance Steel of Bedford Park wants to build a $35 million plant in Gary. Hoist Liftruck and T&B Tube have jumped the state line. More will follow, taking jobs and investment with them. Why? Because Indiana is one of the best states in the nation for doing business, and Illinois is one of the worst.

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Illinois lost one big competition this summer when Foxconn chose southeast Wisconsin, just across the border, for the site of a proposed $10 billion LCD panel factory. Eyes now turn to Toyota and Mazda, which are scouting the Midwest and South together for a location to build a $1.6 billion assembly plant that could employ 4,000 workers. Illinois and Indiana reportedly are on their list, and no wonder: two centrally located manufacturing states with efficient rail and highway systems and deep auto industry roots. Lots of cornfields in both states, too: the perfect setting to break ground on a big factory.

Despite the similarities, the two states have very different economic prospects. Indiana is in fine fettle, while Illinois is a basket case, with more than a $130 billion in unfunded pension liabilities, an unbalanced budget and $15 billion in overdue bills. Illinois has higher taxes, too, which would need to be raised even higher to right the ship. We have no idea what that would cost taxpayers, given that the Democrat-controlled General Assembly, ruled by House Speaker Mike Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton, has resisted Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner on his turnaround plan. This constitutes a major roadblock to future job growth and prosperity.

Employers don't want to pay for someone else's dysfunction. They want to grow in a healthy, stable environment. They want trustworthy government, simplified regulations and the lowest costs possible. So things keep looking worse in Illinois, and better in Indiana. Chief Executive magazine ranks Indiana No. 5 in the country for business, with Illinois at No. 48. US News & World Report has Indiana as the No. 1 "best state for government," while Illinois is No. 47. The major credit rating agencies all give Indiana a top score and put Illinois at the bottom.

As for the proposed Toyota/Mazda plant, we're rooting for Illinois, of course. But the precariousness of this state is a big red flag. The only negative comment we've seen about Indiana is that its 3.1 percent unemployment rate could be too low. "The job market is so strong that automakers might have a hard time finding enough employees," USA Today reported. Illinois' jobless rate is 4.8 percent, higher than the 4.3 percent national rate.

So, what's so great about the Hoosier state?

"We don't spend money we don't have," Victor Smith, Indiana's former secretary of commerce, told us. "We provide a predictable environment for business. Those are two huge things that are very difficult to do from a discipline standpoint." He's right. Indiana runs a budget surplus, has nearly $1.8 billion in a rainy day fund and keeps taxes low. Oh, if you're wondering about Illinois' rainy day fund, there isn't one.

In general, Indiana has a pro-business reputation. Unlike Illinois, it's a right-to-work state. Another Indiana selling point: The cost of workers' compensation insurance there is about half what it is in Illinois. Over time that could save a business millions of dollars.

Rauner recognizes Illinois isn't competitive. He wants to reform workers' comp and make other changes to attract business investment, but lawmakers in Springfield have done little to make that happen. This is the state that took two years to get a budget passed.

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Steve Corda, HMD Trucking's controller, told us the company had many reasons to expand in Gary, including the availability of land, but also on the list is Indiana's AAA credit rating. "The economy is more stable," he said. "They don't have to go out and tax the businesses and tax the consumers (more) in order to run the government."

Illinois is in deep trouble. Jobs and prosperity are at stake. Our message to Gov. Rauner, Speaker Madigan and President Cullerton: Grab your shovels. Dig us out.

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Let's all pretend that the school funding deal announced Thursday becomes a bill that becomes a law. Until we see a signing ceremony and make sure all the ink isn't invisible, we'll hold our applause for what Democrats and Republicans call an agreement "in principle" and "in concept," pending a review Sunday of the finished legislation.

Gov. Bruce Rauner issued a statement suggesting that he's on board. We don't know whether he was influential in the bargaining.

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What we do know is that Rauner needed a good break, and with Thursday's muted jubilation, he either created or caught one.

Illinois lawmakers have dragged students, their families and educators through a miserable summer of doubt  would Springfield supply enough money to keep public schools open for this academic year? It's been a sorry performance, highlighted by Senate President John Cullerton's two-month stall in sending to the governor a bill legislators had approved May 31. The governor's veto, the Senate's override but the House's apparent inability to do the same, the scramble for an agreement  you've read and re-read that saga.

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Late Thursday, word of a deal. But for a good chunk of the day, Rauner was dealing with the latest boulder in his rocky summer: the second exodus of key staff members in less than two months. Rauner had fired his top aides in July after lawmakers, including 15 Republicans, overrode him on an income tax hike. Pundits ridiculed him for an Aug. 11 interview with Fox News host Bret Baier during which Rauner dodged questions. And on Wednesday, a day after newly hired members of his communications staff released a controversial statement on a cartoon, four of them resigned or were pushed out.

Without focusing on the details of the Illinois Policy Institute cartoon for the moment, let's establish that its intent was not off the mark. The cartoon's message, reinforced for years by the Chicago Teachers Union, depicted abuses of tax increment financing districts in Chicago. The proliferation of TIFs has allowed the city to stockpile property tax money, much of which the CTU believes should be flowing to Chicago Public Schools. That's what the cartoon tried to show with a black CPS child appearing to be begging for money from a wealthy white TIF developer.

(Scott Stantis)

But sometimes good intentions get garbled in the delivery. Democrats and Republicans decried the cartoon as insensitive and racist. Even Rauner said he understood how the cartoon could be interpreted that way. In the end, he retracted a statement his own press office had sent out, evidently without his approval, saying that he " as a white male  does not have anything more to add to the discussion." By Wednesday night, the aides who had distributed that statement were gone.

In most other circumstances, Rauner would not have been harangued about a cartoon that was distributed by an outside group. But because he aligned himself with the policy institute, hiring several institute staffers into top posts in his administration after the July purge, he connected those dots.

He shouldn't have to answer for the policy institute on every statement, position or cartoon it releases going forward. We're dubious when advocates for a cause demand that a politician join them in praise or denunciation. But so soon after the hiring spree, Rauner did need to respond earlier to the cartoon.

And the cartoon episode threatens to linger. Some legislators deeply dislike the policy institute, which is passionate about fiscally conservative proposals to fix this heavily indebted state's government and revive its private sector. The institute goes after lawmakers who don't follow its prescriptions. The cartoon gives some legislators their own chance to play hardball.

So where does all of this leave Gov. Rauner and candidate-for-re-election Rauner?

Nearly a dozen Democrats say they're running against him in the 2018 gubernatorial election. They can start collecting signatures to get on the ballot in less than two weeks. Yes, campaign season began early in Illinois. But it's about to intensify.

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Can a schools deal, if it's good for Illinois and if it holds, salvage the governor's rough summer?

All of us are about to find out.

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If the stars align over the Illinois Capitol, lawmakers during the next few days will approve a sweeping education funding bill that's at least a decade in the making.

The proposal would fund schools for the current fiscal year. It would pump additional money to schools through a new mathematical formula. It would create a program for low- and middle-income families to access privately-raised donations for tuition scholarships. Those key components present a trifecta of opportunity for the state's 2 million public school children. In other words, 2 million reasons for lawmakers to vote "yes."

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Voting against the proposal would be a vote for the status quo: No additional money for schools. No relaxation of reliance on property taxes. No escape route for kids trapped in poorly-performing schools.

Some lawmakers, many of whom send their own kids to private schools, would rather trap the states poorest and least-advantaged kids in schools that chronically underperform.

We've been here before. In 2010, House lawmakers killed a bill that would have established a pilot program to help 20,000 Chicago Public Schools students in chronically underperforming schools attend private schools. Sponsored by then-Sen. James Meeks, a Chicago Democrat and pastor who is now State Board of Education chairman, the legislation would have created a voucher program. Parents could access public tax dollars to spend on tuition at private schools. But 44 Democrats and 22 Republicans voted it down. Some of those lawmakers are still serving in Springfield.

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Let's be clear: The scholarship program being proposed now is not a voucher program. It does not take public tax money and give it to families for private school. Rather, it's an incentive program that would raise up to $100 million annually from citizens and companies toward state-approved nonprofit scholarship organizations, which would divide up the donations into scholarships for qualifying families. In exchange, the donors would receive income tax credits. The latest version of the legislation would give them a 75-cent tax break for every $1 donated. Seventeen other states, including Indiana, offer similar programs.

Opposition to the school funding package is building from predictable quarters. Many Republicans don't like money and resources in the legislation for Chicago Public Schools. Many Democrats don't want public school kids being tempted to transfer to private schools. (The legislation also would allow scholarship families to switch from one public school to another public school).

Think about that. Some lawmakers, many of whom send their own kids to private schools, would rather trap the state's poorest and least-advantaged kids in schools that chronically underperform. Schools that have failed to educate and graduate students for generations. Schools where lawmakers wouldn't send their own children.

This proposal offers the chance to change that.

It also provides money for every school district to operate for the current fiscal year, which began July 1. Because there has not been agreement between the legislature and Gov. Bruce Rauner, all public schools are waiting for checks from this deadbeat state.

And the bill would revise a funding formula that for two decades has grown more ineffective. Illinois has some public schools that can afford to spend only $7,500 per child and other schools that spend $23,500 per child. This bill would start making a shift toward the middle. Wealthy districts will always be able to spend more. But low-income districts can try to catch up.

House lawmakers are scheduled to be in Springfield Monday to consider the proposal. If the House passes it, the Senate would take it up next.

Expect opposing lawmakers to offer all kinds of excuses about what they don't like in the proposal. Several already have, including Rep. Will Guzzardi, D-Chicago. How many struggling families in his Logan Square community would leap at the chance to switch schools? Probably many.

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If the stars align, lawmakers will be focused on all the reasons to vote "yes." There are, remember, 2 million of them.

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We at Presence Health, one of the largest health systems in Illinois, believe the Aug. 11 article "On the front line of hospital violence, nurses" brings important attention to a very serious developing national trend.

While the hospital mentioned in the article, Presence St. Joseph Medical Center in Joliet, was recently rated one of the "Best Hospitals in Illinois" by U.S. News and World Report, unexpected incidents of violence can happen at almost any hospital emergency center.

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Recognizing the increase in violence in hospitals, in 2016 Presence Health engaged a consulting firm that conducted a system-wide assessment related to violence in the workplace. The findings are being used to develop training for our hospital teams to effectively deal with potential violence. Other safety and security protocol enhancements have been introduced to our teams as well.

We also recognize the need to support our community and government partners in strengthening the social safety net. Both local budget cuts and the two-year impasse in Springfield have reduced the number of community care access points for those who could potentially pose a threat to themselves and others. As the largest provider of behavioral health services in the state, Presence Health is able to offer innovative solutions that will help to keep the communities we serve safe from violence, but we can't do it alone.

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We're doing everything we can to eliminate violence from our hospitals, ensuring the safety of our patients and associates. In addition to our improving security protocols and training for our associates, it will take appropriate funding for mental health services and community care access points. This will require a collaborative effort, as Presence Health is only one part of the solution. It is our hope others in the community and government will join us in creating safe hospital environments and neighborhoods.

 Ann Errichetti, M.D., Chief Operations Officer, Presence Health
As our nation grapples with discerning fact from fiction, and understanding bias and bigotry, I'm reminded of my 10th grade history teacher who 35 years ago pushed us to think critically and respectfully. That teacher definitely had his own political views. He was a libertarian who bemoaned the abandonment of the gold standard. He liked Ronald Reagan.

Yet, this teacher frowned upon us for simply agreeing with him. "If you do," he would say, "then when you go to college, you'll just parrot your next instructor's ideas." He challenged us to reach our own conclusions, to find reliable sources and do research using newspapers and journals to support our own ideas.

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He pushed us to recognize that stories on one paper's front page would often get smaller mention in another or be described in an entirely different light. He pushed us to look for biases and distinguish these from evidence-based facts. He taught that winners write the history books so we needed to look deeper on our own to find the truth.

As my teacher understood well, to prevent hate, we need to learn actively, critically and collaboratively. We need to discuss and debate history and current events, not erase them. The statues that don't belong in our parks do belong in our classroom discourse.

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In Chicago's public schools today, our children learn about historical events, but they also read and discuss the perspectives of the lives these events impacted. They learn about slavery, the Trail of Tears, Japanese internment, Jim Crow, the Holocaust and their lessons are connected to their own experiences now. It's our best protection against hate.

 Alana G. Baum, Chicago
Chicago's public school student population is 46.5 percent Hispanic, 37.7 percent African-American, 9.9 percent white and 5.9 percent "other," according to the most recent data posted to the Chicago Public Schools website.

So it was a provocative, risky choice for conservative cartoonist Eric Allie to use a drawing of an identifiably black child to represent CPS students in a recent online cartoon for the Illinois Policy Institute.

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That cartoon, which the IPI has since taken down, shows a dark-skinned child with prominent lips, wearing a Cubs cap and sitting on a sidewalk begging with a sign reading, "Need money 4 school."

"Sorry, kid, I'm broke," says a portly, gray-haired white man standing above him, showing one empty pocket. His other pocket, however, is bulging with cash labeled "TIF $."

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Was the drawing racist? That debate has eaten up a surprising amount of bandwidth in the last week and a half, in large part because Gov. Bruce Rauner's slow and squirrelly response to the bipartisan eruption of umbrage kept it alive.

Rauner isn't bound to referee every public controversy. But in this instance, his ties to the Illinois Policy Institute  he was once a major donor and last month he hired several top IPI staffers for plum jobs in his administration  forced the issue.

First Rauner's staff said he hadn't seen the cartoon. Then, Tuesday , nearly a week after the story broke, his press office issued a mealy-mouthed statement expressing respect for all views on the cartoon and concluding "the governor  as a white male  does not have anything more to add to the discussion."

Rauner's abdication and the stated reason for it drew unfavorable attention to the governor in the national as well as local press and resulted in the summary removal of four members of his communications team  two of them new hires from the IPI  as we all imagined "Yakety Sax," the theme song from "Benny Hill," playing crazily in the background.

Rauner later disavowed the "white male" statement but continued to decline to pass judgment on the cartoon.

As another white male, allow me: The cartoonist erred in drawing an African-American child to represent a student population that's more than 62 percent non-black, and he erred in giving that child exaggeratedly large lips, even though exaggeration of physical attributes is quite common in cartooning.

This made the cartoon racially inflammatory, even if, as I'll assume, there was no racist intent behind it. How inflammatory? I can't say. Rauner's now former spokespeople had a point that white males are ill-situated to gauge the degree of hurt or to critique the reactions of those for whom racial slights are more than just theoretical.

Bottom line, the cartoonist's choices were regrettable. They hurt people's feelings and distracted from the point he was trying to make, that tax increment financing "districts rob Illinois children  including children of color  of the funds necessary for their education," as Illinois Policy Institute CEO John Tillman put it in a statement.

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But about that point 

It's wrong.

It misrepresents how property taxes are levied and how schools are financed  both rather convoluted subjects that are easily demagogued.

The annual tax revenue allotted to CPS is capped by the law that limits increases in property taxes, and is already at the legal maximum. If anything, said Laurence Msall, head of the non-partisan Civic Federation, a budget watchdog group, "TIFs have definitely been a positive benefit for Chicago Public Schools."

Msall, speaking on WTTW-Ch. 11's "Chicago Tonight" program Tuesday , said TIFs help "not only through the growing of the economic base and property value, but, routinely, the city declares a surplus and gives the schools half of all that revenue."

TIFs have their flaws, no question. But to portray them as pocket-bulging slush funds that local fat cats could easily tap to pay for the day-to-day operation of schools if only they cared about minority children is false.

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Portly rich Caucasians should be offended as well.

The column item about the police-union blog and the Anthony Porter/Alstory Simon case is here.

Re: Tweets

The winner of this week's reader poll at Change of Subject online to pick the funniest recent tweet was @nycjayjay for the timely suggestion, "We should erect Obama statues in every small rural southern town. You know, to celebrate our shared history."

ericzorn@gmail.com

Twitter @EricZorn
The Aurora City Council has approved hiring a private law firm to prosecute drunken driving cases in the city.

Aldermen voted unanimously, as part of the consent agenda, to hire the Law Offices of Kimberly DiGiovanni, LTD to handle basic drunken driving cases in the city limits.

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The firm would handle any cases unless there are aggravating factors, such as multiple drunken driving convictions or accidents. Those would still be handled by the Kane County State's Attorney's Office.

The Law Offices of Kimberly M. DiGiovanni has ties to Mayor Richard Irvin in that it donated a total of $1,250 in three different donations to Irvin's campaign. Two of the donations came in 2016, and a third one came this year.

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A statement from the city of Aurora said DiGiovanni has similar contracts to the one approved in Aurora with other cities in the area, such as Elgin and St. Charles.

"She has proven results and is well-respected through the region," the statement said. "Her work speaks for itself. Aurora, like other municipalities, will benefit from her expertise."

The contract was recommended by city staff, and by the City Council Finance Committee, before getting full council approval.

According to the proposed contract, which would run through 2020, the city would pay DiGiovanni $4,750 a month for 2017  but for only one month because the company would give the city three free months upon approval of the contract.

In 2018, the payment would increase to $5,200 a month, and in 2019 to $5,500 a month, according to the contract.

City officials said the contract would save money because officers will not run up as much overtime waiting for cases in court. Also, they will get training from DiGiovanni on how to better write reports and handle drunken driving arrests.

Police Chief Kristen Ziman has said the move would save more than $100,000 in overtime costs a year.

Alex Alexandrou, the city's chief management officer, told aldermen that the move ties in with the city's budget process, which is underway for 2018. He said it will put more officers in the street and cut down on costs.

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DiGiovanni has said she has been doing these prosecutions since 2012 in other cities, and it has cut overtime and made the process more efficient.

She said Elgin drunken driving arrests increased by 38 percent the first year she worked with the city.

Aurora would get a cut of the fines for a drunken driving case. Last year, Aurora had 234 drunken driving arrests.

Ziman added that in Elgin, with the time savings, the department started a drunken driving prevention program, which she intends to do in Aurora.

slord@tribpub.com
Whatsupic





Ephraim Mirvis is an Orthodox rabbi who serves as the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth. He served as the Chief Rabbi of Ireland between 1985 and 1992.

In the audio, Ephraim Mirvis is heard telling a group of young men: One of the interpretations as to what this means is that towards the end of time there will be many wars like what we are seeing today, and because of these wars women will be taken as captives, as slaves, yeah, women will be taken as slaves.

As Chief Rabbi of Ireland and before the opening of an Israeli Embassy in Ireland, he represented Israels interests at government level and in the media. In 1999, he led a group of British rabbis on a solidarity trip to Israel. Since 1997, he has hosted the annual Bnei Akiva Yom Haatzmaut service at Finchley synagogue.

Regarding the 2014 IsraelGaza conflict, while deploring the loss of life in Gaza, Mirvis defended Israels right to protect itself from Hamas rocket attacks, adding that the conflict was used as a cover to voice anti-Semitic sentiment.
The former International Harvester building at 251 S. River St. in downtown Aurora will soon become a banquet hall run by Moveable Feast in Geneva. (Steve Lord/The Beacon-News )

Although there is no specific date yet, the opening of the new banquet hall being run by Moveable Feast in Aurora's downtown fringe is getting closer.

The company came before the City Council's Government Operations Committee recently to gain approval for its Class O liquor license for a banquet facility.

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Construction continues at the building at 251 S. River St. at the corner of River and Gale Street, in a four-block area known as the Belle-Gale Historic District.

"It's a really exciting project," City Clerk Wendy McCambridge told aldermen on the Government Operations Committee.

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The committee voted 3-0 to recommend the liquor license.

Moveable Feast is a caterer with a deli-style lunch restaurant at 321 Franklin St., Geneva. Matt Marquez, owner, said his company was catering so many weddings, "the next step was to have our own place."

They bought the building at 251 S. River St. that once housed International Harvester's Aurora location. Because the building is in a small historic district recently approved by the state, it is eligible for historic area tax credits.

It also is eligible for tax credits because it is in the city's River Edge Redevelopment Zone, a program the state recently reauthorized for another five years. Gov. Bruce Rauner came to Aurora to sign the bill.

The Belle-Gale Historic District is bounded by River, Lake, Gale and Cross streets.

Marquez told aldermen the facility will do "primarily weddings," but it would be "open to anything" that needs a banquet hall and catering.

Ald. Rick Mervine, 8th Ward, a Government Operations member, said he was a little concerned there would not be enough parking for the facility there. Marquez said the property will have 70 parking spaces, but also can use the public city lot next to the Aurora Public Library a block away.

The facility is approved by the Fire Department for as many as 491 people, but Marquez said they would keep it to a maximum of 350 to 400 people.

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"Since our business is primary weddings, we will have a lot of people who get shuttled from local hotels too," he said.

The Government Operations Committee also recommended liquor licenses for two new restaurants either opened or opening soon.

One is Big Sea Sushi & Noodles, 2009 W. Galena Blvd., an outbuilding of the West Plaza Shopping Center. The company applied for a Class F license to serve beer and wine.

The other restaurant, which is planning an Oct. 9 opening, is Miller's Ale House on Route 59 in Aurora. The facility will be the 87th store in the chain that is primary in Florida and the south.

It would be the fifth Miller's Ale House in the Chicago area. The company applied for a Class E full liquor bar license for a restaurant.

All three liquor licenses will be up for approval by the full City Council at its next full meeting Sept. 12.

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slord@tribpub.com
The Aurora mayor's office is looking for students to sit on the newly approved Aurora Youth Council.

Aldermen recently approved the council unanimously. Mayor Richard Irvin has said the council would get teenagers more involved in the city, engage youth in the community more and possible help graduation rates.

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The Youth Council would serve Aurora youths ages 14 to 18 and would consist of 17 members chosen from the city's public and private high schools.

According to a memo from Adrienne Holloway, chief of innovation in the mayor's office, there has been so much interest in participation in the Youth Council that an application process will be in place.

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And membership would be based on a "ratio system" based on students in the school district involved.

The representation on the board will be: two members each from East Aurora, West Aurora, Metea Valley and Waubonsie Valley high schools; one member each from Oswego East, Batavia and Kaneland high schools, as well as the Illinois Math and Science Academy; four seats designated for the Aurora area private high schools of Marmion, Aurora Christian, Aurora Central and Rosary; and one at large seat open to any student.

Hollway has said the idea for the Youth Council came from a component of Mayor Richard Irvin's "vision for the city" to increase civic engagement among residents, particularly young residents. He came up with the council idea after meeting with members of several Aurora youth groups, she said.

The main jobs of the Aurora Youth Council would be to deliver research presentations to the mayor and City Council on subjects decided on by the youths; to organize and execute council events; and to attend community events as representatives of the council.

The city would budget $1,500 for the council, but mostly it would be supported by fundraising events it would sponsor, Holloway said.

slord@tribpub.com
Specialist Dylan Ingersoll, of Batavia, smiles while his longtime girlfriend, Megan Cooper, of Geneva, succumbs to tears as family and loved ones gather with members of Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 238th Aviation Regiment after a deployment ceremony at the guard's aviation facility in Peoria. The unit will fly out for training on the way to deployment in support of Operation Freedom's Sentinel. (Fred Zwicky/AP )

Family and friends filled a hangar at the Illinois Army National Guard's Peoria aviation facility to send off 40 soldiers, including Specialist Dylan Ingersoll of Batavia, who are slated to spend the next several months in Afghanistan.

Most of the soldiers with Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 238th Aviation Regiment, had gone to war before with nearly a quarter having experienced three or four deployments.

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The ceremony featured the customary reading of the unit's orders and speeches from high-ranking officials. But family and friends also got a chance to get inside and hands-on with the Chinook. The workhorse helicopter is a staple in Afghanistan, where the rugged terrain makes ferrying troops and supplies on the ground tedious and dangerous.

It's also well-suited for the altitude, said the 238th's commander, Capt. A.J. Hager, himself a veteran of the unit's deployment in 2013 to the region.

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"Without the Chinook, the war in Afghanistan simply doesn't happen," said the Hanna City man, referring to the ability of the tandem rotor aircraft to adapt to the thinner air at attitude

The guard members will leave soon for Fort Hood, Texas, where they will undergo about a month of "validation," Army jargon for a process of evaluating troops' preparedness and skills to verify they are qualified to perform duties. Once they are deemed ready, they will ship out. The unit will be mobilized for about one year.

The deployment is in support of Operation Freedom's Sentinel. When the United States withdrew most of its combat troops under President Barack Obama, the moniker of the operation changed from Enduring Freedom to Freedom's Sentinel. The underlying mission is to train and advise the Afghan forces as well as to conduct and support counter-terrorism operations. Guard officials on Thursday stressed that the 238th's deployment had been planned for months and wasn't part of a recent announcement by the White House to send more troops to Afghanistan.

The unit's former commander, Lt. Col. Clarence Pulcher, now the state's aviation officer, attended Thursday's ceremony.

"These are some of the best troops anywhere," he said. "I would put them up against any other Chinook unit in the nation. I am full of pride."
Juel Ulven, director and founder of the Fox Valley Folk Music and Storytelling Festival, placed signs in Island Park in Geneva about the cancellation of the fest due to flood damage at the park. (Linda Girardi / The Beacon-News )

The ripples are still being felt of the flooding that happened along the Fox River this summer.

One place where the impact still lingers is Geneva. The 41st annual Fox Valley Folk Music and Storytelling Festival on Island Park in Geneva, planned for Labor Day weekend, had to be canceled this year due to flood damage at the park.

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The island's recovery has been progressing slowly after being four feet underwater at one point. Problems have been particularly troublesome on the south end of the 13-acre park where the main stage is located.

On Wednesday, Juel Ulven, director and founder of the festival, pulled out the same signs from 10 years ago when the island flooded to notify passersby that this year's festival has been called-off due to flood damage.

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Ulven said he walked the island a few times with Geneva Park District staff to assess the damage when the park reopened to the public in early August.

"It initially looked as though there would be enough surviving grass that we might be able to downsize the festival but each time we came out we would see more damage," Ulven said.

The event for decades has attracted performers from throughout the country representing a spectrum of "roots music" including bluegrass, Cajun and Delta blues to perform. The crowds have been anywhere from 6,000 to 10,000 people over the two days, officials said.

Ulven said it's only the second time the Fox Valley Folklore Society has had to cancel the event.

"We knew it was a good decision. We have run the festival long enough to have an understanding of what is involved in putting it together," he said. "I schedule the artists and know what stages we need to give people the exposure and stage time."

Island Park in Geneva was closed for three-and-a-half weeks due to Fox River flood damage as a result of heavy rains in July. (Linda Girardi / The Beacon-News )

Ulven said the Park District's staff determined about two-thirds of Island Park would have had to be reseeded prior to the festival and that would have forced them to downsize from eight stages to three or four stages clustered at the far north end of the island.

"The downsizing would have changed the dynamic of the festival," Ulven said.

Ulven said even though the Park District was willing to support a downsized festival, the Fox Valley Folklore Society decided there was not a viable way to host the festival and provide an experience the fest has become known for.

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"We typically have 25 to 30 featured artists accustomed to main stage exposure and two or three workshop stages. ... We would not have been able to do that," he said.

He said the logistics for power and staging would have made it difficult to temporarily relocate the festival.

"Over the years we have talked whenever there were threats of flooding but we have always decided that we cannot move. The park is too beautiful and the amenities are here," he said.

Ulven said Geneva's Island Park has been home for the Fox Valley Folk Music and Storytelling Festival since 1979. He said the group understands that what happened at Island Park has happened at sites all along the river.

"We are in the reality of what's been happening along the entire Fox River corridor," he said. "In 2007, there wasn't any record of the island ever being that far under water and since then there have been four occurrences of flooding. We don't know if it is due to weather patterns associated with global warming or a combination of development. During heavy rains, the runoff seems to go down into the river."

Despite this year's setback, Ulven said the group still loves the Island Park setting for the festival.

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"We are planning to be back in 2018," he said.

Newly planted grass seed is just beginning to sprout in areas damaged by Fox River flood waters from July rains at Island Park in Geneva. (Linda Girardi / The Beacon-News )

Linda Girardi is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
Kane County sheriff's Lt. Pat Gengler leaves after a news conference to discuss the conclusion of a hostage situation at Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital in Geneva on May 13, 2017. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)

A woman who says she was a patient at Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital when a Kane County inmate admitted there for medical treatment took two nurses hostage is suing the hospital, local law enforcement and a private security company.

The second lawsuit filed in federal court in connection with the May 13 hostage scenario states that Victoria Weiland was a patient in a third-floor room down the hall from where inmate Tywon Salters had been staying. Filed Tuesday, Weiland's complaint seeks compensatory and punitive damages, court costs, attorney fees and other relief.

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The experience has caused Weiland to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, but has also made her afraid to return to any medical facility for unrelated medical treatment, the lawsuit states.

Lisa Taylor, an attorney for Weiland with the firm Henderson Parks, said they're not asking for a specific amount yet because Weiland is still receiving care as a result of the incident. Taylor declined to answer further questions about the complaint, referencing its sensitive nature.

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An earlier lawsuit on behalf of four Delnor nurses through a different law firm does not name the hospital as a defendant, but seeks action against the other three parties named in the new lawsuit and contains substantially similar claims about what transpired during the hourslong ordeal.

Among its many allegations, Weiland's complaint states the actions of Kane County correctional officer Shawn Loomis put the patient in danger and deprived her of due process rights; Kane County may be liable as Loomis' employer; and Apex3 and Delnor violated their duties by failing to ensure proper procedures were followed and a security plan was in place for Salters, and by not properly warning patients Salters had escaped and was armed, the lawsuit states.

Attorneys had not yet been entered Thursday afternoon for any defendants.

Kane County Sheriff spokesman Lt. Patrick Gengler said Thursday that even if he'd seen a copy of the complaint, the sheriff's office wouldn't be in a position to comment. The office of the Kane County state's attorney, which has the responsibility of representing the county and its employees in civil lawsuits, stated it doesn't comment on pending litigation.

Northwestern Medicine spokesman Christopher King declined to address the complaint, similarly saying they don't comment on pending litigation. Apex3, along with attorneys representing the security company and Loomis in the nurses' lawsuit, could not be reached.

Salters, a 21-year-old from Chicago charged with stealing a car, was a gang member with a lengthy, violent juvenile and adult record, according to the lawsuit.

Correctional officers knew he needed medication for mental conditions and that he was combative with hospital staff during a May 7 visit after he drank hydrogen peroxide, yet failed to adequately supervise him, according to the lawsuit.

Salters returned to Delnor the next day after eating a piece of his plastic jail sandal and swallowing liquid cleaner, and was later transferred to a room near Weiland's, the lawsuit states.

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On May 13, Loomis allegedly unshackled Salters so he could use the bathroom, then failed to place him back in restraints. After the inmate got the officer's 9mm handgun, Loomis ran to a room down the hall, violating his employer's policy by making no effort to notify or protect others inside the hospital, the lawsuit states.

According to the nurses' lawsuit, Salters initially took one nurse hostage in a nearby office, eventually heading downstairs with a second nurse, whom he raped.

From her room, Weiland could clearly hear screams from people she believes were the nurses taken hostage, her complaint states. Weiland was told nothing about what was happening and when she called 911, was told to stay in her room, which did not have an outside window, according to the lawsuit. She remained there for more than an hour "with no information regarding her safety," according to the lawsuit.

A regional SWAT team officer shot and killed Salters to end the incident.

Gengler said Loomis is still on paid administrative leave from the county.

hleone@tribpub.com

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Twitter @hannahmleone
West Aurora's elementary school enrollment is down, and officials say that new federal rules concerning refugees may be part of the reason.

Ryan Abrahamson, West Aurora School District finance director, recently presented an overview of a $147.6 million tentative budget for 2017-18 for the district. As part of his presentation, he referenced staffing at the elementary grades.

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"We are assuming a drop of four full-time equivalent teachers at the elementary levels. We are seeing that enrollments are down," Abrahamson said.

West Aurora School District Finance Director Ryan Abrahamson (West Aurora School District)

Abrahamson said there may be a few variables contributing to the decline in elementary enrollments.

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For one, the district has registered fewer students through World Relief, which assists in the placement of refugees. He said new federal restrictions may have something to do with that.

He said the district is seeing low birth rates as well.

"We are seeing birth rates that quite frankly are not what they used to be," he said.

West Aurora School District Assistant Superintendent of Operations Angie Smith. (West Aurora School District)

Assistant Superintendent of Operations Angie Smith said enrollments have been noticeably lower. She said the addition of busing in East Aurora School District 131 may be a factor.

"There may be some families who have chosen to go back to the East Side. It's interesting because their busing doesn't really impact elementary grades," she said.

The busing routes impact primarily the middle and high school grade levels there, she said.

"Most kids are still walking to their elementary schools," she said.

Smith said it's difficult to pinpoint any one cause for the drop in elementary enrollments.

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"We kind of have the perfect storm," Smith said. "There's the busing, a drop in the World Relief population and a drop in birth rates all hitting at the same time. We are seeing lower elementary enrollments (than) we have seen the last couple of years. Central Registration will tell you it is quieter than they normally are."

Smith said no teachers have been eliminated in the district due to the declining enrollment.

"We have teachers who retire and move away so we didn't have to cut anyone's job. Through attrition, we were able to eliminate some of those positions. If enrollment goes up, then we will have to go in the other direction. Right now, we are in a little bit of a decline," she said.

Linda Girardi is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News
Despite having strong family support, Tyler Hummel of Batavia - shown in the photo at right on the wall of his parents house - is serving his third stint in prison and is concerned that he will go right back to using once he's released in December because he's not been eligible for drug treatment while behind bars. (Denise Crosby / The Beacon-News )

Pat Hummel has serious qualms about the day her son Tyler is released from prison. Understandable when you hear the reason why.

He's a drug addict. Has been since he was in junior high. And despite her and husband Dave's best efforts  including tough love and tens of thousands of dollars spent on counseling, lawyers and medical help  their son has not been able to break free from the demon that snared him even before his birth.

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Tyler Hummel came in to this world 24 years ago suffering from fetal alcohol syndrome and crack in his system, according to family members. The Batavia couple began fostering him the day he left the hospital and adopted him soon after, well aware even back then of how a tiny brain can be permanently altered by a mother's substance abuse.

Hummel, a nurse practitioner in neonatal care, says she and Dave, a former Chrysler engineer who recently retired as a teacher at Will County Technical High School, went into this with their eyes wide open. Despite their son's drug history that they knew made him susceptible to addiction, they hoped by providing the child with a stable loving home they could beat back the demon.

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Unfortunately, children born addicted often suffer brain damage and cognitive impairments which, among other things, leave them vulnerable to the suggestions of others with an inability to distinguish right from wrong or understand consequences.

By age 13 Tyler was already abusing marijuana and alcohol, Hummel says. By age 18, diagnosed with ADHD and oppositional defiant disorder, he was into cocaine and heroin. In and out of trouble with the law, he ended up attending a couple of alternative schools, which Hummel said, despite his above average IQ, did little to give him a proper education.

"We were disappointed but not shocked," she said of their struggles with their son.

Pat Hummel of Batavia, who helps take care of her daughter's baby when she's not working as a nurse practitioner in neonatal care, is concerned about her son, Tyler, when he is paroled from prison because he's not had the benefit of drug treatment while incarcerated. (Denise Crosby / The Beacon-News )

Incarcerated repeatedly, in Kane County and with the Illinois Department of Corrections, for drug possession or stealing, Tyler is now serving his third prison stint. The problem is, his mother said, because he's not eligible for any drug treatment program she's afraid Tyler will begin using again upon his release.

After being incarcerated first at Shawnee Correctional Center, then at Moline, last summer he went back into prison  this time at Lawrence Correctional Center  after walking out of a department store with a bunch of random items, including sewing supplies.

"It's like he wanted to get caught," his mother said, relieved that Tyler at least would not be able to do drugs while behind bars.

In a recent phone interview from Lawrence prison, Tyler Hummel described himself as "depressed, suicidal" when he stole yet again.

"I did not care anymore," he said, adding that he's been incarcerated so much since age 18 that "I actually thrive on the structure" inside a prison. "And when I don't have structure, I feel vulnerable."

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Hummel says the family was hoping against hope this last time that he'd be assigned to Sheridan Correctional Center, which is one of only a handful of Illinois prisons that offer addiction help to inmates.

Hummel says she was told her son was on a waiting list. But it's unlikely he'll be transferred to a prison with a rehab program as he was also charged in 2015 with having sex in the backseat of a car with a person who Tyler and his family say was his girlfriend and underage at the time. Even though the charges were reduced to aggravated battery in a public place, according to an IDOC spokesperson, those who've even been charged with a sex crime are not eligible for drug rehab.

Lea Minalga, founder of Hearts of Hope, a local support group for heroin users, says Tyler is just one victim of a broken system that, until it begins treating addiction like any other disease, will only make this pandemic worse.

We would not put someone with cancer in prison and refuse to treat them, she said.

"We throw these addicts whose brains have been dramatically altered by drugs into a system that is flawed, at best," she said. "And it is just not working."

Stacy Munroe, regional vice president of WestCare, which operates the largest drug treatment programs in Illinois for those incarcerated, says the numbers speak for themselves. According to a Sheridan recidivism study done in 2009, inmates released from the prison had a 20 percent lower likelihood of returning when offered drug treatment. And those that completed the aftercare had a 52 percent lower likelihood of returning to prison.

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All you have to do is look to Cook County Jail to see how dire the problem is, noted Munroe. Despite overwhelming evidence that drug treatment in prison reduces recidivism and is far more cost effective, budget restraints have forced the number of treatment beds to drop from 618 to 145, with treatment lengths cut from 120 to 90 days.

Other prisons with treatment programs under WestCare include Logan Correctional Center, with 130 beds for women, and another 26 recently picked up for those suffering from addiction and mental illness; Lincoln Correctional Center, with 50 beds; two boot camps  Dixon Springs and Duquoin  with approximately 120 beds currently filled; and another 50 at Cross Roads Adult Transition Center, an adult work release program.

Munroe said heroin and opioids account for 31 percent of misuse by prisoners in WestCare programs, with alcohol coming in second at 27 percent, marijuana at 26 percent and cocaine/crack at 10 percent with other drugs at 6 percent.

"There are so many families affected by it," she said. "We see it every day."

WestCare, in conjunction with the Illinois Department of Corrections, is piloting a program at Sheridan where heroin users, before their release, receive a monthly shot of Vivitrol, a non-narcotic drug that dramatically diminishes the cravings for heroin for 30 days. At $1,200 a shot, the cost is astronomical for those who don't have insurance, but it's been proven so far "to be a great tool," noted Munroe. "We've had really good outcomes so far."

Currently there are 1,864 drug treatment beds at Sheridan but the Illinois Department of Corrections is looking for ways to get that number up as the opiate epidemic continues to sweep through our communities.

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"I'm afraid if he gets out and begins using again," said Hummel of her son, "this time he will just kill himself."

Tyler insists he doesn't start using again because he wants to but because he becomes bored and lonely.

"You think you can handle it. And you call someone, an old user," he said.

He now realizes one of the most important things he can do is "get rid of those old phone numbers" and replace them with "people who will support you."

But that, too, creates a challenge. Tyler says he's gone to several inmate-run AA meetings but found them frustrating with no counselor to "keep things on track." He's been writing letters to those on the outside in AA, hoping to build a support network once he is released.

Tyler admits that because he's gone through some rough emotional patches during this latest stint in prison, he's thought plenty about going back to using once he gets out.

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"Right now I feel great. I feel there is a chance to be sober," he said. "But I'm doing it alone and it's a little overwhelming."

His goals, he said, are to work toward expunging his record so he won't have felonies following him around, finding employment and one day going back to school to get a degree in psychology. And above all else, he added, finding a support program to help him "beat back the demons" that took hold so early in his life.

"I feel I've let them down," he said of his mom, who he calls once a week, and his dad, who he describes as "a quiet guy."

"I have guilt about everything but I am going to try not to let it rule my life."

His mother insists she will continue to offer support and hold out hope, no matter what it takes.

"If he was a violent person, I would have washed my hands of him," Hummel said. "But he is smart, he has a good heart. He just wants to get better."

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Twitter @dencrosby
Buffalo Grove recently increased the minimum age to buy and sell tobacco products and e-cigarettes in town from 18 to 21. (Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press)

Buffalo Grove recently joined the push in Lake County to increase the minimum age from 18 to 21 to buy and sell tobacco products and e-cigarettes.

The local ordinance makes the village the fifth municipality in Lake County to take on the initiative, said Village President Beverly Sussman.

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Lake County public health officials have been asking numerous communities to take up the cause, dubbed "Tobacco 21," and push back the minimum purchasing age of tobacco-related products within their own borders, even though it remains legal in Illinois for 18 year olds to smoke and possess tobacco.

"Any measure we can take to try to stop (teen tobacco use) is worthwhile," Sussman said. "This includes e-cigarettes because they're worse than tobacco. E-cigarettes contain so many chemicals that are not healthy."

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Lincolnshire, Highland Park, Deerfield and Vernon Hills also have passed Tobacco 21 measures, she said.

But Buffalo Grove trustees were divided 3-2 on the initial Tobacco 21 vote during a meeting Aug. 21, with trustees Jeffrey Berman and Joanne Johnson voting "no."

But the board later voted unanimously to approve an amended version of the ordinance that delays the effective date of the increase in the minimum purchasing age by 120 days.

After the meeting, Berman and Johnson both interpreted the second vote differently than Sussman.

Berman and Johnson both said the second vote effectively means they voted for raising the minimum purchasing age, as long as it does not go into effect for 120 days.

"I don't want to get too technical, and there was some confusion, but I understood the amended motion was to approve the ordinance with the delayed effective date," Berman said.

Sussman disagreed, saying the two members didn't necessarily vote for the Tobacco 21 initiative.

"They just voted to agree to 120 days," she said. "I understand where there's confusion. That part may have to be rewritten, which is very possible. As long as the original vote stands, I don't have a problem with having to rewrite that second part."

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Despite the confusion over the vote, both Berman and Johnson said they were concerned that the ordinance could create a patchwork of laws regulating tobacco products in the village, potentially putting Buffalo Grove-based businesses at a competitive disadvantage.

Johnson said the move to curb smoking among teens is a "positive endeavor," but added the new local ordinance creates "picket-fence enforcement" if neighboring communities decide not to enact the same change.

"Simply put, a 19 year old who wants tobacco could simply go to the Walgreens in Wheeling, instead of the one on Dundee Road and get the tobacco," she said.

Berman said that at age 12, he lost his mother to cancer related to smoking, so he understands the harm cigarettes can cause.

But the local ordinance does not ban smoking or possessing cigarettes and other tobacco products, which state law allows anyone over 18 to do, he said.

"That includes persons aged 18 to 20 in the village of Buffalo Grove," Berman said. "All this ordinance would do is preclude our local businesses from selling otherwise lawful products to persons who lawfully can possess and consume them, placing those businesses at a competitive disadvantage and potentially driving away other forms of commerce from our local businesses, as well."

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Sussman said the ordinance actually may not hurt local business' bottom line, citing a Lake County study that, she said, shows how 18 year olds typically don't buy many other items when they purchase cigarettes.

"The (Lake County) Health Department figured out how much is lost, and it's not much because we're talking about a pack of cigarettes  not grocery shopping," Sussman said. "I do think it will help (reduce smoking). We have to give it a chance. No one knows for sure. There is the possibility it would help, and I want to go by that."

Before the vote Aug. 21, Buffalo Grove trustees also were urged by members of The Catalyst Club, a student-led drug prevention group at Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, to approve the Tobacco 21 initiative.

Jamie Epstein, a club sponsor and executive director of the Stand Strong Coalition, said she believes the ordinance will help reduce younger kids' use of tobacco products by limiting access.

"It is much easier for a younger student to find an 18 year old to purchase the (products) for them than it is to find a 21 year old," Epstein said.

Phil Rockrohr is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Burr Ridge and Willowbrook property owners near Route 83 and Bluff Road hope to stop the construction of an asphalt plant south of their homes.

Lorig Construction Co. is requesting a conditional use permit to build an asphalt batching plant on about 21 acres at 9900 S. Route 83 in unincorporated DuPage County.

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Laurie Chang lives in the Falling Water subdivision in Burr Ridge about a mile from the location. She fears chemicals used at the plant could seep into the ground and the nearby Des Plaines River and harm the environment and the wildlife in the nearby forest preserves.

Chang also is concerned about increased traffic from the truckloads of asphalt that would be leaving the property and the delivery of materials to make the asphalt.

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"It also affects the value of our homes," said Chang, who has attended meetings the DuPage Zoning Board of Appeals has held on the proposal this summer. The next meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Sept. 28 in the DuPage County Administration Building, at 421 N. County Farm Road, Wheaton.

The proposed site is within about 2,000 feet of Burr Ridge village borders, Burr Ridge officials said.

The Burr Ridge Village Board has asked the county's Zoning Board to deny the request until Lorig officials prove the plant's operation would comply with the village's performance standards for noise, vibration and air pollution.

The DuPage County Forest Preserve District owns the property west of the proposed site, Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve.

In its nearly 2,500 acres of open space, more than 300 species of mammals, fish, amphibians and reptiles live year round or during their migration, the forest preserve district reports. More than 740 native plant species can be found there.

"We determined that the proposed use of the property will have a detrimental impact to the natural resources in Waterfall Glen," Jack Elsner, attorney for the forest preserve district, told the Zoning Board June 29.

Residents of the Emerald Ridge town house subdivision near the southwest corner of Bluff Road and Route 83 also are concerned about the noise, traffic and emissions it might generate, along with the impact it would have on their property values, said Phil Luetkehans, an attorney representing about 70 area property owners.

Depending on where the plant would be built on Lorig's property, it would be about 600 feet from the nearest town house in Emerald Ridge and 400 from the property line, Luetkehans said.

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David Lorig, the owner of Lorig Construction, said the plant would operate five or six days a week from April through November. Three to five silos would be built for short-term shortage of hot asphalt.

The property is zoned as a general industrial district. It's currently used as a storage yard for construction vehicles and equipment, with between zero and 40 trucks arriving and leaving each day, Lorig said.

The plant he proposes would produce an average of 800 tons of asphalt a day and easily could double the number of trucks that go in and out of the site, Lorig said.

Crystal Lake officials report no complaints or issues involving the asphalt plant Lorig owns in Crystal Lake.

"It's not surrounded by any residences," said Eric Helm, the town's deputy city manager. "It's sort of isolated."

Shanker Pillai of the Chinmaya Mission, the shrine of which is about a quarter-mile from where an asphalt plant has been proposed, said, "We are concerned about pollution and health hazards." (Kimberly Fornek / Pioneer Press )

Diana Paluch, spokeswoman for Lorig, said the firm is slightly surprised by the opposition because an asphalt plant owned by another company operated for more than 30 years in Lemont, about 1.25 miles from the proposed site.

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Asphalt plants also are being operated in Naperville and Elmhurst.

A residential development built up around the K-Five Elmhurst plant on Route 83, where the commercial traffic is heavier than at the proposed site, Paluch said.

Luetkehans, however, said he knows of no asphalt plant in DuPage County that has been built as close to existing homes.

Lorig favors a plant in DuPage County to more conveniently supply asphalt to the construction projects in the county, such as the work being done on the tollway.

"That will certainly generate a need for more product and figured into (Lorig's) decision to build a plant in DuPage," Paluch said. The plant could generate sales tax for DuPage County, Paluch said.

The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and the Kane DuPage Soil & Water Conservation District would have to approve the new asphalt plant, too.

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Knowing that the plant's operations would have to meet EPA standards does not satisfy Shanker Pillai, president of the Chinmaya Mission Chicago, located on 8 acres about a quarter-mile north of the proposed site.

Once the plant is operating, Pillai doubts it would be monitored.

"We are concerned about pollution and health hazards," Pillai said. "This whole area is very scenic and natural."

Five hundred children and 300 adults are involved in various mission activities, such as religious education, lectures, performances and worship services, Pillai said.

The mission is planning an expansion project. The Swami's home and other buildings on the property will be torn down to make room for a two-story, 40,000-square-foot addition that will include 26 new classrooms.

The mission also plans to build senior housing on property it owns to the south and closer to the Lorig site.

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In addition to the Sept. 28 meeting, the DuPage County ZBA will review the asphalt proposal at its Oct. 19 and Nov. 9 meetings.

kfornek@pioneerlocal.com

Twitter @kfDoings
Sean B. Woulfe faces 16 counts of reckless homicide in the crash that killed Lindsey Schmidt and her three young sons. (Will County Sheriff)

A Beecher man charged in a fatal crash that killed a pregnant mother and her three young sons last month had his $1 million bail reduced by three-quarters on Friday.

After hearing arguments from both the defense and the prosecution, Will County Judge Carla Alessio Policandriotes set Sean B. Woulfe's bail at $250,000 with a 10 percent option, meaning he'll need to put up $25,000 to be released from jail while awaiting trial.

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As a condition of his release, Woulfe must surrender his passport and cannot operate a motor vehicle, the judge ordered.

It wasn't immediately clear whether Woulfe, who sat in a wheelchair with his head down throughout the hearing, would be released Friday.

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Both his lawyer George Lenard and four family members who sat together in court on Friday declined comment.

Woulfe, 25, is charged with 16 counts of reckless homicide in the July 24 collision in rural Beecher that killed 29-year-old Lindsey Schmidt and her three sons, ages 6, 4 and 19 months.

Prosecutors allege that Woulfe was driving east in a 2002 Chevrolet S10 pickup truck at a speed more than 20 mph over the speed limit when he ran a stop sign at Corning Road and Yates Avenue in Beecher and struck a 2014 Subaru Outback carrying a family on its way to a nearby Bible camp.

Schmidt, of Beecher and the driver of the Subaru, and her youngest son were pronounced dead at the scene. The two other boys died later that week at Comer Children's Hospital in Chicago.

Sean B. Woulfe faces 16 counts of reckless homicide in the crash that killed Lindsey Schmidt and her three young sons, Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow and Sheriff Mike Kelley announced at a joint news conference Aug. 22, 2017. (Zak Koeske / Chicago Tribune) (Zak Koeske / Chicago Tribune)

Prosecutors have said Woulfe was not driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, but would not comment on whether he was texting or speaking on his phone at the time of the crash.

He was released from the hospital six days after the crash on July 30, and arrested at his home on Tuesday, following a nearly monthlong investigation.

If convicted, Woulfe could "realistically" face a maximum of 10 years in prison, state's attorney James Glasgow said.

The Class 3 felonies he faces are, however, probationable offenses, Lenard stressed in court Friday while making the case to reduce bail for his client.

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He called the initial $1 million bail "excessive" and "oppressive" given the circumstances, and stressed that Woulfe had no prior criminal record, was not a danger to others and was not a flight risk.

"Just because the unfortunate accident occurred it doesn't mean Mr. Woulfe is going to be a danger to another person or to the community," Lenard said. "This is an individual that shows a lot of remorse and I think the court can take that into consideration."

Lenard said Woulfe, who has a longtime girlfriend but no children, would live with his mother and grandmother if released from custody.

He had taken a job with AT&T shortly before the crash, and was on his way to work when the fatal collision occurred, Lenard said. Woulfe, who attended college but did not graduate, had previously worked for River Valley Metro, a transit agency that operates buses in Kankakee County, and done construction work for an Alsip-based contractor, his lawyer said.

Lenard argued that Woulfe's bail should be reduced because he had not been accused of a violent or intentional act, but rather of speeding and disobeying a traffic control device  something, he said, that many people have done.

Lenard equated the mental anguish he said Woulfe had experienced as a result of the crash to already "living a life of incarceration."

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"It affects him, it bothers him, it's something he's always going to have to live with," said Lenard, noting that Woulfe had scheduled an appointment with a psychologist to talk about the crash and the toll it's taken on him.

Assistant state's attorney Jim Long, who sought to maintain Woulfe's bail at $1 million, rebutted Lenard's remarks.

He acknowledged that Woulfe did not likely pose a flight risk, but argued that he was in fact a danger to the community due to his repeated reckless driving behavior, which he called "very wanton."

Long cited six previous traffic citations or warnings that Woulfe had received since 2008 for various infractions, including a citation for driving 91 mph in a 55 mph zone in Manteno on May 5, 2012, for which he received court supervision.

He said Woulfe's history of speeding was an indication that he had not learned his lesson and was thus not remorseful, as Lenard had argued.

The fatal crash may not be "a crime of violence," Long said, but it was "a violent crime. It had violent results."

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Long said data obtained from the vehicle's black box showed that Woulfe was traveling 83 mph in the moments up to and through impact with Schmidt's vehicle, 28 mph above the posted 55-mph speed limit.

Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday >

"This is not an accident," he said. "This is a wreck."

Lenard responded by acknowledging that his client, who sat silently beside him during the hearing with his left arm bandaged and his left foot booted, had committed traffic infractions in past.

"We understand that he doesn't have a squeaky clean record," Lenard said, adding that was the reason he sought $250,000 bail and not even lower.

After confirming that Woulfe was licensed and insured at the time of the crash and had no prior criminal history, she sided with Lenard and set bond at $250,000 with a 10 percent option.

Woulfe is due back in court for a preliminary hearing on Sept. 14.

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zkoeske@tribpub.com

Twitter @ZakKoeske
Nicholas Demonte, left, and Carl Krentkowski, right, are charged in connection with the shooting death of 14-year-old Alex Saldana. (Posen Police Department)

Two Dixmoor men have been arrested and charged in connection with the Aug. 4 shooting death of a 14-year-old Posen boy, according to Posen police and the FBI.

Carl Krentkowski, 24, was charged with first-degree murder and Nicholas Demonte, 18, is charged with felony aggravated fleeing and eluding and felony concealing or aiding a fugitive, according to Posen police.

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Shortly after the shooting of Alex Saldana, another man, Miguel A. Flores, 21, of Midlothian, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, according to police.

Posen police had responded to a report of shots fired around 11:13 p.m. Aug. 4 in the 14600 block of Division Avenue and found Saldana on the ground with a gunshot wound to his abdomen, according to police. He was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn where he was pronounced dead a short time later, and the Cook County medical examiner's office ruled his death a homicide.

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A warrant had been issued for Krentkowski's arrest, and the South Suburban Major Crimes Task Force contacted the FBI Violent Crimes Task Force for assistance in locating and arresting him, according to the FBI. The FBI unit is comprised of FBI agents, Chicago Police officers and Cook County Sheriff's Police.

According to the FBI, on Aug. 9 members of the FBI task force and the South Suburban Major Crimes Task Force saw Krentkowski in the 15000 block of Honore Avenue in Harvey and saw him and Demonte get into a brown Ford Mustang with Demonte at the wheel.

After a pursuit by law enforcement, Krentkowski and Demonte were taken into custody in Gary, Ind., the FBI said. Demonte is being held at Cook County Jail while Krentkowski is being held at Stateville Correctional Center, according to police and prison records.

Miguel A. Flores.

Demonte is being held on $150,000 bail and has a court date of Aug. 31 at the Markham courthouse. Flores is being held on $1 million bail and is due at the Markham courthouse Aug. 28, according to jail records.

mnolan@tribpub.com

Twitter @mnolan_J
Warning: Video contains graphic language. A lawsuit was filed against Lansing Officer William Mason after this video shows him threatening to kill 15-year-old Jordan Brunson. (Facebook) (Facebook/Chicago Tribune)

The Cook County sheriff's office will take another look into the incident involving an off-duty white Lansing police officer captured on video pinning a black teen on the ground, officials said Thursday.

Cara Smith, the chief policy officer for Sheriff Tom Dart, said sheriff's investigators are coordinating with the alleged victim's attorney, Andrew Stroth, who agreed to make the teen available for an interview with them.

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"The interview is an important part of our process," Smith said.

On Wednesday, Smith said examination of the incident had come to a halt because of investigators' inability to interview Jordan Brunson, 15.

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Stroth confirmed Thursday that he spoke with sheriff's officials about coordinating an interview with Brunson about the June 24 incident involving officer William Mason.

"We welcome the opportunity to talk to the Cook County sheriff's office," Stroth said.

Prior to Thursday's agreement, Smith said sheriff's officials made "repeated attempts" to secure an interview between Brunson and sheriff's investigators, but Brunson could not be reached.

Stroth, however, said he was never in contact with sheriff's officers regarding an interview with Brunson before Thursday.

Sheriff's officials initially reviewed police reports, conducted witness interviews, and watched the video of the incident, but were unable to go any further without the interview, Smith said.

The sheriff's department began reviewing the incident after Lansing Mayor Patricia Eidam asked for an investigation.

On Aug. 3, a civil rights lawsuit was filed in federal court against Mason, on behalf of Brunson and his family.

The suit, which also names Lansing, claims Mason's actions were without "lawful justification" and that Brunson never posed a threat.

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Matthew Welch, a lawyer for Lansing, said then he had no comment.

Mason could not be reached for comment.

Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday >

The suit also claims Brunson "suffered and continues to suffer, among other things, bodily injury, pain, suffering, severe mental and emotional distress, fear, anguish, humiliation ..."

Brunson said in an interview that the officer pinned him to the ground after he attempted to leave Mason's front lawn with a friend who was injured in an altercation that day.

He has acknowledged that Mason told them to halt until officers arrived but they continued to leave the property.

But in a police report, Mason said after he told the boys again to stay, Brunson "started to come at me, in an aggressive manner, like he was going to strike me and came very close to me.

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"Fearing (Brunson) would attack me and I was unsure if he had any weapons, I grabbed him in the middle of his sweatshirt and pulled him on the ground," Mason recalled in the report.

Mason said he continued to detain the teen until officers arrived.

According to Lansing police, Mason's contact with Brunson started after a caller told a police dispatcher at about 3:45 p.m. June 24 that about 30 juveniles were fighting near the officer's home. Brunson was near the incident, but was not part of it, Stroth said.
The intersection of Cottage Grove Avenue and 166th Street in South Holland is the location of the only traffic roundabout in the south suburbs, although Orland Park will start work next spring on one in that village. (Mike Nolan / Daily Southtown )

While traffic roundabouts are becoming fairly commonplace in other parts of the country, they're a scarcity in the south and southwest suburbs despite being touted as a quicker, safer way to move traffic through intersections.

They replace stop signs and stop lights at four-way intersections, and have been lauded as a way to dramatically reduce crashes, particularly those involving injuries.

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A rare such roundabout is in South Holland at the intersection of Cottage Grove Avenue and 166th Street, although Orland Park expects to start construction on one next spring and plans a second roundabout.

By their design, roundabouts are intended to reduce or eliminate head-on and T-bone crashes, with all traffic going around the circle in the same direction. Cars approaching yield to traffic already in the roundabout.

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The roundabout at the intersection of Ravinia Avenue and 147th Street, directly east of village hall, is expected to cost $2.4 million, with 70 percent of the funding coming from federal sources and Orland Park responsible for the remaining 30 percent of the total cost for the work, according to Joe La Margo, Orland Park's interim village manager.

The village has acquired the needed land for the intersection work, and "we are ready to go," he said Thursday.

"The benefits are it improves traffic flow, so you have an increase in traffic capacity," La Margo said of the roundabout. "You have less idling of cars (at a stop) so there is savings as far as gas and you see reduced emissions."

He said it is a natural extension of the village's "Smart Living" sustainability efforts.

"We try and be as green as we can and we look at different ways to create traffic-calming situations and roundabouts are one of those ways," La Margo said.

The work will involve a reconfiguration of the village hall parking areas and improvements to Ravinia and 147th as they approach the roundabout, he said.

A second roundabout is planned in the village at the intersection of 151st Street and West Avenue, but the timetable for when work might begin is up in the air and could be dependent on next year's village budget for capital improvements, La Margo said. It would also be coordinated with the planned widening of 151st, he said.

Eighty percent of the funding for the 151st/West Avenue roundabout would come from federal transportation sources, with the village picking up the remaining 20 percent of the total cost, he said. That roundabout is estimated to cost $1.5 million, La Margo said.

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Apart from when capital funds would be earmarked to fund the roundabout, he said, village officials realize residents are going through "construction fatigue," with the major rebuilding and widening of LaGrange Road just having wrapped up and the project to widen 159th Street continuing through next year.

Officials a number of years ago gave the green light for the 147th/Ravinia roundabout, but held off starting construction because they knew Ravinia would see heavier traffic as drivers used it as an alternative to LaGrange while construction was taking place.

Initial engineering work on that roundabout has been done, and the village plans to spend about $100,000 for additional engineering work in advance of a detailed design for the project.

The first and only south suburban roundabout was dedicated in South Holland in June 2008 as "Freedom Circle" to honor public safety personnel, military personnel and military veterans.

Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday >

Tinley Park officials in October 2015 voted to not go ahead with plans for a roundabout at the intersection of 183rd Street and Oak Park Avenue. Officials had also considered additional roundabouts along 175th Street at the intersections of Ridgeland, 84th and 94th avenues.

Accurate figures on how many roundabouts there are in the U.S. is sketchy, but public records and news reports put the number at around 5,000. Just a handful are in the Chicago metro area, and there are some in the Champaign-Urbana metro area.

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According to the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, one roundabout is under construction in the metro area and 10, including the two planned in Orland Park, are in some phase of engineering.

Indiana, through the end of 2016, had 256 roundabouts and a dozen more were in the planning stages, according to the state's transportation department. Public records show Wisconsin having more than 130 of them. According to the Federal Highway Administration, approximately 150 to 250 roundabouts are built each year in the U.S.

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, roundabouts reduce accidents at intersections by 40 percent, cut injuries resulting from accidents by 80 percent, and fatalities from accidents by 90 percent.

mnolan@tribpub.com

Twitter @mnolan_J
In response to William from Oak Lawn: his comment was about the sun not going dark during former President Barack Obama's administration. I guess the sun revolves only around Democratic presidents.

"Compromise" sees to be a dirty word as far as the school funding bill and the Cook County Democrats are concerned. Normally, without knowing all the details, I'd agree that Cook County should get the largest portion because it has the largest amount of students; schools etc. However, the governor, common sense and the decades of past misuse by the "Chicago Machine" should warn us otherwise. I feel sure the governor would agree if not for that fact. Let's face it, whatever the outcome, we, the taxpayers are going to foot the bill in addition to our "highest-in-the-nation" taxes. Gov. Bruce Rauner's right. Put the money where it'll benefit most and not wasted to misuse by "Madigan's Mafia."

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Bob, Oak Forest

If the Democratic Party is the party of the working man. Why is the working man asked to foot the bill on this soda tax?

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Speak Out allows readers to comment on the issues of the day. Email Speak Out at speakout@southtownstar.com or call 312-222-2427. Please limit comments to 30 seconds or about 120 words and give your first name and your hometown.
Caryn Fliegler (far left) of Northbrook tells U.S.Rep. Brad Schneider (far right) about efforts to prevent reciprocity of concealed carry permits between states while other members of the group listen. (Steve Sadin / Pioneer Press)

U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Deerfield) and the advocacy group Mom's Demand Action organized a demonstration Thursday to voice their concerns about proposed federal concealed carry legislation and to tout a proposed gun safety bill.

The 11 activists from around the 10th Congressional District handed Schneider more than 200 postcards at his Lincolnshire office asking him to oppose pending legislation that would grant reciprocity to concealed carry license holders from one state to another.

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Caryn Fliegler, a Northbrook resident and the spokesperson for the group, said Illinois has strict standards a person must meet before obtaining a license to carry a firearm. Fliegler said neighboring states like Indiana and Missouri have less stringent standards.

"This will gut our state gun law," Fliegler said. "All states will sink to the lowest standard in the nation. We don't want to lower the standards in our state."

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Illinois screens applicants for a conceal carry license and requires hours of training on a range, according to Fliegler. Convicted felons or people who show violent tendencies cannot obtain a permit. Jodi Levine of Deerfield, another member of the group, said other states have less stringent requirements.

Schneider said he opposed the bill and will work with his colleagues in the House of Representatives to defeat it. He stressed the need to keep guns out of the hands of people with a propensity to misuse them.

"We want our children to grow up in a safe community," Schneider said. "It forces states to accept the concealed carry permitting standards of every other state, even if another state has no standards at all," he added referring to the effect of the legislation.

Levine said she worries about the violence in Illinois and things her children experience because of it.

"My children go to schools with active shooter lockdown drills and bullet-proof glass," Levine said. "We need to move toward a safer community."

After expressing his opposition to the reciprocity bill, Schneider talked about the Secure Firearm Storage Act he introduced July 25. The proposed legislation requires federally licensed gun dealers, manufacturers and importers to lock all firearms under their control in a safe place during non-business hours.

"Last year 18,000 firearms were lost or stolen from federally licensed dealers, manufacturers or importers," Schneider said referring to statistics from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. "This will require them to store the guns in a secure place so someone can't do a smash and grab."

Opposition to the reciprocity bill and support for the Secure Firearm Storage Act are not universal.

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Richard Pearson, the executive director of the Illinois State Rifle Association, does not believe the reciprocity provisions between states will reduce safety.

"We have more restrictions than anyone else," Pearson said of Illinois gun laws. "Our people are pretty well versed when they go to another state. There is no real problem with reciprocity anyway."

Pearson said the Secure Firearm Storage Act is an undue burden on the gun industry, particularly manufacturers. He said the cost of requiring secure storage in a locked factory is an undue cost. He said he worries it is the start of eventually banning guns altogether.

Schneider pledged to the group he will work with members of both parties to build support for the Secure Firearm Storage Act. He already has 20 co-sponsors. He hopes to find Republicans who will sign on as well.

Stolen firearms represent a growing course of guns used in crimes, according to Schneider.

Steve Sadin is a freelancer.
Jeff Turner greets and thanks volunteers at the 2016 community Thanksgiving dinner in Elgin. Turner is coordinating a free barbecue dinner being held Saturday in downtown Elgin in Carleton Rogers Park. (Jeff Turner)

A free community barbecue will be among the family-oriented events happening in Elgin this weekend.

Saturday downtown at Carleton Rogers Park, 55 N. Spring St., in the Neighborhood Deli owner-operator Jeff Turner will be hosting his first community-wide summer barbecue and his 19th overall community-wide dinner.

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Turner, with the help of many volunteers and food and cash donations, has put on nine community Thanksgiving dinners, eight "Have a Heart" pasta dinners around Valentine's Day and one Christmas season dinner.

"We had been talking about having something in summer, as all the dinners so far had been in fall and winter," Turner said.

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Willie Cortes of Delicia Tropical Cafe will be roasting a full pig in the park, with the meat to be used for street tacos, Turner said. Chef Ryan Waesche of Tableside Catering, who oversees meals for the homeless offered at Elgin's Vineyard Church, will be assisting as pulled chicken and pulled pork will be served. Turner also credited Eric Rubin for being the "thinker" behind the project, fundraising and helping get the word out.

"Everything before has been American or Italian cuisine, so we reached out to the Hispanic community this time," Turner said.

Turner said that Cortes will be at the park at 5 a.m. to have the pig ready by 1 p.m.. Other food will be available by 11 a.m., Turner said.

Turner said he is preparing for up to 1,000 people, but expects the number to be closer to 500. Extra food will go home with volunteers and also is given to local nonprofits such as PADS and the Community Crisis Center. While good weather has been forecast, if that changes, the event will be moved into the basement of the First United Methodist Church, not far from the park.

Turner said the Saturday barbecue will need about 30 volunteers. The Thanksgiving dinners held in the basement at First United Methodist are the biggest of the dinners and have drawn as many as 1,400 diners and 180 volunteers. Much of the food is donated, including desserts and turkey, with the turkeys prepared at the Grand Victoria Casino.

Still, Turner said it takes about $3,500 to $4,000 to cover costs for Thanksgiving and any leftover money is rolled over to use for the next dinner. The Elgin Community Network oversees the account for the community dinners, Turner said.

For information, call 847-888-9486 or email ItnDeli@gmail.com.

At the Wednesday City Council meeting, Mayor Dave Kaptain presented Turner with a proclamation honoring Turner for holding the community dinners. Sixth District Congressman Peter Roskam (R) also presented a similar proclamation he had entered into the Congressional record.

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Turner said he knew in advance about the Mayor's proclamation but had no idea Roskam would be there, too.

Of the message he hopes people remember from his short speech Wednesday night, Turner said, "The dinners are for bringing people from all walks of life together. That's what they are about."

That sense of gathering is what Turner said drives him to continue to do the dinners, particularly in these tumultuous times  so much so that a goal is to eventually host as many as six community dinners in Elgin every year, Turner said.

While Turner and his crew offer barbecue, Saturday the city follows through on a pledge to offer more events on its far west side by hosting its first Elgin Hay Day from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m at Settler's Park, 3046 Sutton St in the Providence subdivision.

Elgin Hay Day will feature hayrides by Kenyon Brothers Farm of South Elgin, a petting zoo, pony rides, potato sack races and a hay maze. Local food vendors are set to include Cook's Ice Cream, K's Vending, and Ruthella's New Orleans Cuisine.

At the meeting, Council member Rose Martinez reminded people on Sunday from starting at 3 p.m.. Ballet Folclorico Guadalajara and Mariachi Juvenil Colotlan will be performing a free concert at the Wing Park Band Shell. Elgin is just one stop on a nationwide tour that celebrates the music and culture of the Mexican state of Jalisco, Martinez said.

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mdanahey@tribpub.com
Music director Andrew Grams conducts the Elgin Symphony Orchestra. The Elgin City Council has moved along a plan that would forgive most of a loan the symphony has with the city. (Elgin Symphony Orchestra)

The City Council Wednesday night unanimously agreed to move along a plan that will forgive more than $161,000 on a loan the Elgin Symphony Orchestra has been paying to Elgin, in order to give the ESO a more favorable balance sheet when competing for grant money.

"This will give us the ability to help ourselves," Elgin Symphony Orchestra CEO Dave Bearden said Thursday.

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The ESO has been making monthly payments of about $1,600 since November 2013, and the current loan balance is more than $183,00. Of that balance, about $21,400 constitutes direct labor costs incurred by the city. Under the proposed renegotiated terms of the loan, the ESO would pay to the city the balance of the direct labor costs to satisfy the loan agreement.

Bearden stressed that the symphony felt it important that it pay for what's been agreed to on out-of-pocket expenses, such as labor.

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Bearden said that the debt to the city is the largest item on the ESO's balance sheet and balance sheet strength is something corporate donors and foundations notice when the symphony and other organizations seek funding. Bearden said the ESO's goal is to have a third of its income from earnings such as tickets, a third from individual donations and a third from corporations and foundations, particularly since state and federal grant sources are drying up.

Bearden spoke to the Council Wednesday night and said that tickets sales account for nearly 35 percent of the ESO's income. The symphony has about 400 donors who contribute $50 to $50,000 each, and the average donation is $750, Bearden said.

The new agreement is set for final approval at the Sept. 13 City Council meeting. Council member Terry Gavin said that the circumstances leading to the loan four years ago were contentious. The ESO though has obvious benefit for Elgin and is an amenity, similar to the Grand Victoria Casino but on a smaller scale, Gavin said.

Bearden stepped up and righted the ship, Gavin said, and he brought financial stability to the organization. The symphony is a Phoenix rising from the ashes after having the rug pulled out from underneath it, Gavin said, as Elgin at one time was granting the ESO $200,000 or so each year from Elgin's share of casino taxes.

"This agreement is a no-brainer to me," Council member Corey Dixon said. "It will be helping you become more self-sufficient."

Council member Toby Shaw said the symphony is another amenity for the city, along with other attractions such as the city's parks, that add value to Elgin. He cautioned, though, of the tough road that nonprofits, particularly symphonies are facing in attracting donors.

In September 2013, the Elgin Symphony Orchestra agreed to pay back the city, with interest and over the course of 15 years, almost $234,0000 for rent owed on using the Hemmens Cultural Center. The agreement came after more than a year of talks between the city and symphony leaders regarding back rent due.

According to terms of that deal, if either the loan or ongoing rent payments were not made within 30 days of the first-of-the-month, the city could lock the ESO out of the Hemmens. If the ESO were to default on the terms for the funds owed to the city for Hemmens rent from May 2011 through November 2012, the city would get the symphony's name, trademark, logos, copyrights, "goodwill, and books and records relating to or used in connection with the operation of the Elgin Symphony Orchestra," according to the resolution.

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The symphony agreed to play at least 75 percent of its performances at the Hemmens and continue to use the city-owned facility through the 15-year agreement. The symphony and all Hemmens renters that use the facility more than 50 times each year see discounts  50 percent off the base rent, 50 percent off labor rates, and 50 percent off equipment rental.

What led to the ESO needing the loan was a change in city policy combined with management and financial issues at the symphony.

According to information provided by the city, prior to the ESO's 2012-13 season, the symphony had been receiving a 35 percent discount to rent the Hemmens building, which excluded labor and equipment rental costs.

Beginning with the 2012-13 season, the thirty-five percent not-for-profit and twenty-five percent Elgin resident discounts were eliminated. But the city changed its fee structure in advance of that season, and the symphony failed to plan for the cost increases and had not paid on some rentals and fees owe from the 2011-12 season.

"The ESO's then chief executive officer simply failed to authorize payment on the Hemmens past due invoices for those two seasons," a memo for Wednesday's City Council meeting states.

After the 2012-13 season, the city reverted to granting 35 percent and 25 percent discounts for nonprofit organizations and Elgin resident rentals at Hemmens, respectively  and came up with the deep discount program for groups that use the hall 50 or more times a year and the loan for the ESO. Currently, Children's Theatre of Elgin is the only other group besides the symphony that is renting Hemmens more than 50 dates per year.

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The symphony's financial morass and other matters led to a reorganization for the symphony, with its CEO resigning in 2012 and its veteran music director, three board members and some big donors quitting.

Retired Panasonic executive David Bearden took the helm in 2012, laid off employees, reduced the number of performances and renegotiated labor contracts with the musicians' union to cut expenses by about $600,000 over two years.

The symphony hired Andrew Grams as its music director in 2013 and has seen attendance grow. Bearden said the 2016-17 season saw ESO classical music performances at Hemmens draw an average of 960 patrons per concert.

The symphony conducts community outreach efforts, including musicians playing for patients at Advocate Sherman Hospital and hosting free-to-attend sessions at the Gail Borden Public Library. The ESO also opens its Thursday night rehearsals to the public for free.

Wednesday night, Mayor Dave Kaptain mentioned the latter as one of the things the symphony does for the city and its residents that should be stressed under the new deal.

mdanahey@tribpub.com
Dr. Paul Goren, superintendent of Evanston/Skokie School District 65, pictured in this 2015 file photo, has said that schools will start on time for the 2017-2018 school year despite the ongoing public school funding issues out of Springfield. (Karie Angell Luc / Chicago Tribune )

The superintendents for both Evanston public school districts said classes will start on schedule Monday , and contingency plans are in place should state funds be delayed after Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner on July 31 issued an amendatory veto of a public school funding bill.

"We recognize the volatility of the state can have a big impact," said Paul Goren, superintendent for Evanston/Skokie School Dist. 65, which includes at total of 17 elementary and middle schools.

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Still, "Dist. 65 will open as scheduled," Goren said.

At Evanston Township High School District 202, which is made up of Evanston Township High School, Superintendent Eric Witherspoon said ETHS will also start the school year on time.

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However, if Illinois funding does not come through from Springfield, Dist. 202 may face cuts later this school year.

"If the aid is delayed, the district has adequate reserves to cover immediate need," Witherspoon said in an email.

The latest uncertainty arose after Rauner vetoed a new education funding formula that, under the latest state budget, must be approved before dollars can be distributed to schools.

The state Senate voted Aug. 13 to override the governor's veto, while the House has yet to vote on the issue.

ETHS School Dist. 202 officials budgeted about $3.5 million in state funding, a 25 percent drop from last year because "it is expected that the state will not catch up on all of the categorical payments that are behind" after more than two years without a budget, Witherspoon said.

The single-school district serves over 3,300 students.

"We do not expect that the funding will disappear altogether but if it does, the district would try to save in non-instructional areas by implementing mid-year budget cuts in supplies and professional services," he added.

Illinois funds make up about 4.6 percent of the district's overall budget, Witherspoon explained.

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Goren, on the other hand, said School Dist. 65 plans to save money from new property tax revenue following the recently passed referendum. Any money that state legislators do not deliver will come from that reserve, he said.

The superintendent said School Dist. 65 typically receives about $11 million annually from the state.

If state funding falters, however, amenities that would have been paid for using funds generated through approving the referendum originally could receive a second look, the superintendent said.

The state usually sends twice-monthly payments to public school districts, but without a funding formula in place that money is not being disbursed. Two payments have already been missed, which some education officials statewide have said could lead to program cuts, being forced to borrow money or closing school doors.

Evanston school districts have indicated they can maintain in the short term, but school officials will sooner than later be looking for payments from Springfield.

"There will be significant consequences" without that happening, Goren said.

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gbookwalter@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @GenevieveBook
Seven Astounding Sights Along N. Oregon Coast's Tillamook County; Video

Published 08/23/2017 at 4:53 AM PDT - Updated 08/23/2017 at 2:23 PM PDT

By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff





(Oceanside, Oregon)  There are of course dozens if not hundreds of stunning spots along the part of the north Oregon coast known as Tillamook County. If you were going to pick seven outstanding sights, however, it might go something like the video featured here.

Pacific City's Haystack Rock. That much-loved iconic and ancient sentinel of the north Oregon coast has two distinctive facts that will surprise.

One: it is literally a kind of sentinel, in geologic terms. Its sturdier, basalt makeup is one of the reasons that Cape Kiwanda is still around. Haystack keeps the battering, eroding power of the tides at bay to some degree, and the soft sandstone of famed Kiwanda would likely be a lot smaller now if not for the offshore rock.

Two: yes, there is another Haystack Rock on the north Oregon coast at Cannon Beach. There are actually three by this name in Oregon: the third is down on the southern coast. More....

Secret Canyon at Cape Kiwanda. Head to the very northwestern edge of the cape and you'll see this wild and weird sight. For a long time you were able to walk up to this section where the jumbled mass of soaring rock structures sit in front of the the windswept icon. It may not always be possible these days and you may be forced to look at it from a distance.

In order to find this you have to walk the entire width of the dune to the other side or trudge almost a mile from the McPhillips Beach entrance, which is a mile north of Pacific City. More....

Oceanside. So much is going on in this tiny town you literally cannot visit all of it in a day. From the tunnel, the trippy Star Trek Beach on the other side, the tiny, winding streets that meander to the top to all that Cape Meares and Short Beach promise  it's a tangled mess of massive fun. More....

Rockaway Beach, Northern End. At the Nedonna Beach and Manhattan Beach sections of northern Rockaway Beach, these are not exactly hidden spots but they're out of the way enough that it feels like it. Plus, you more often than not encounter few others. This section is the first Rockaway Beach scene in the video, with the massive driftwood construct and Twin Rocks in the distance. More....

Rockaway Beach's Southern End. The closest you can get to Twin Rocks is at Minnehaha Street, seen in the video with a vibrant glow amid moody clouds. There's a good seven miles of straight, soft sands here, punctuated by a handful of creeks. More....

Manzanita. About eight miles up the road from Rockaway Beach, Manzanita is one of the Oregon coast's most awesome secrets that's hiding in plain sight. At once sleepy yet buzzing with creative energy, the highlight here is the simple and direct beach. More....

Neahkahnie Overlooks. One of the most photogenic spots along the entire Oregon coast, here you're about 400 feet in the air looking down on Manzanita and a vast expanse of ocean. On a clear day, you can see some 40 miles to the south to Oceanside, which almost brings this Tillamook County journey full circle. Oregon Coast Lodgings for this - Where to eat - Maps and Virtual Tours

















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Lancaster County Treasurer Andy Stebbing has been charged with five felonies relating to title violations, being an unlicensed dealer and filing fraudulent state income taxes, according to court documents.

Stebbing, 53, was cited for the offenses, fingerprinted and released Thursday afternoon at Nebraska State Patrol headquarters, according to the Nebraska Attorney General's Office.

Stebbing faces two counts of falsifying a bill of sale, two counts of filing false Nebraska income tax returns and one count of acting as an unlicensed dealer, according to the complaint.

On Friday, Lancaster County Board Chairman and fellow Republican Todd Wiltgen contacted Stebbing to ask him to resign.

"I just spoke with Andy and told him that I don't know how he can continue to serve as treasurer with these charges having been filed," said Wiltgen, who said he wasn't speaking on the County Board's behalf.

"It's the right thing to do for the sake of the county, the treasurer's office and the taxpayers and residents of the county for him to resign."

Democratic State Chair Jane Kleeb also called on Stebbing to resign immediately.

"Gov. Ricketts should be publicly calling for this move as well," she said Friday. "Democrats are increasingly concerned a one-party rule of our state leads to corruption. We are confident Lancaster County can find a replacement so the work of the people can move forward."

The charges are the result of an investigation by the State Patrol and Department of Revenue into private motor vehicle sales conducted by Stebbing and the income generated from those sales.

Chief Deputy Attorney General David Bydalek alleges in the complaint that Stebbing acted as an unlicensed dealer between November 2015 and July 2016.

Bydalek alleges the title violations occurred in January and May of 2016 and that Stebbing filed the false returns in 2016 and 2017.

Each felony is punishable by up to two years in prison and a $10,000 fine. If found guilty of filing a false income tax return, Stebbing also may be forced to repay any unpaid taxes, plus interest and penalties.

Neither Stebbing nor his attorney returned a call for comment Friday.

He is scheduled to make his first court appearance on the charges in Lancaster County Court on Sept. 15. Lancaster County Court judges recused themselves from hearing Stebbings case, according to court records. Seward County Judge C. Jo Petersen will hear it.

News of an investigation broke in April, with officials saying only that the inquiry was focused on Stebbing "in a personal capacity" and not his role as an elected official or the county department he leads.

Stebbing's office was searched by Nebraska State Patrol investigators April 21.

The Journal Star has previously reported that authorities sought documents from the Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles related to the investigation.

In June, patrol investigators confirmed they had completed their investigation and the Nebraska Attorney General's office was reviewing the case.

Stebbing, a retired Lancaster County deputy sheriff, has been Lancaster County Treasurer since 2011 and won re-election in 2014. The Republican lost to Chris Beutler in the 2015 Lincoln mayoral race.

The county treasurer is responsible for collecting property taxes to be distributed to schools, fire districts, cities, villages and other political subdivisions. Stebbing's office also manages more than 300,000 motor vehicle registrations and titles.

Stebbing's department works out of offices at three locations  the County-City Building, North 46th Street and West O Street.
A contingent of 45 Lincoln firefighters left for Texas early Friday to assist in emergency efforts as Hurricane Harvey makes landfall.

The 80-member Urban Search and Rescue Nebraska Task Force 1 -- made up primarily of firefighters from Lincoln, Omaha and Papillion -- was activated Thursday to respond to the San Antonio area by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The task force and its equipment embarked for College Station, Texas, where they will wait until receiving rescue assignments, said Lincoln Fire and Rescue Chief Micheal Despain.

Forecasters expect the hurricane to make landfall along the central Texas coast, northeast of Corpus Christi, late Friday or early Saturday.

Task force members are trained in swift-water rescues and able to free people trapped inside their homes or stranded on rooftops, among other operations, Despain said.

There is no timeline for the team's return to Lincoln, but in similar task force deployments, members begin coming home after seven to 10 days, the chief said.

In addition to firefighters, there are also civilian team members who are doctors, structural engineers and heavy rigging specialists. The team also includes five canine search specialists with five dogs.

Last summer, the task force went to South Carolina and Georgia to support rescue efforts in areas flooded by Hurricane Matthew.

Lincoln Fire and Rescue will use overtime to cover the shifts of firefighters on the task force.

The task force's deployment is paid for by FEMA funds, Despain said.

Nebraska Task Force 1 is one of 28 such specialized response teams around the country.

Teams from California, Colorado, Indiana, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee, and Utah also have been deployed in advance of Hurricane Harvey.
Adam Frisch keeps calm waiting for all ballots to be counted in CD-3
WASHINGTON  President Donald Trump lashed out Thursday at Republican leaders in Congress, suggesting efforts to increase the country's borrowing limit to avoid an economic-rattling default on the nation's debt are "a mess!"

On Twitter, Trump said he had asked Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan to attach legislation to increase the country's borrowing limit to a bill he recently signed related to veterans. Trump said they didn't do it and "now we have a big deal with Dems holding them up."

Raising the federal borrowing limit is a must-do item for Congress when they return to Washington from summer break. Congress faces an October deadline to increase the government's borrowing authority and avoid defaulting on U.S. obligations.

Adding to the complexity, Congress needs to pass stopgap legislation to avert a government shutdown when the budget year ends Sept. 30.

Speaking at an event with Boeing employees in suburban Seattle Thursday, Ryan insisted Congress would "pass legislation to make sure that we pay our debts." He added, "I'm not worried that's not going to get done because it's going to get done."

Ryan also said he and Trump are in "constant contact" to work on a policy agenda, adding "for me it's really important the president succeeds, because if he succeeds then the country succeeds."

Later, in an interview with CNBC, Ryan said he didn't view Trump's tweets as "going after me." He also said the idea of tying debt ceiling legislation to the veterans bill had been considered, but that they still have more options.

McConnell, at an event in Louisville, Kentucky on Thursday, did not respond to questions about Trump's comments. During an appearance earlier this week with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, McConnell said "there is zero chance, no chance, we won't raise the debt ceiling."

The federal government has never before defaulted on debt payments. Financial experts have warned that default on U.S. bond payments could roil financial markets.

Trump's long-promised wall along the U.S.-Mexican border could complicate efforts to keep government running. Trump threatened Tuesday to force a federal shutdown unless Congress provides funds for the project.

White House counselor Kellyanne Conway stressed on Thursday the president was serious about moving forward with the wall.

Speaking on "Fox and Friends," Conway says Trump is "going to stick to building that wall and he wants the money to pay for it." She adds: "anybody who is surprised by that has not been paying attention for two years."

Trump again attacked McConnell on Twitter later Thursday morning over failed efforts to advance health care legislation. Said Trump: "The only problem I have with Mitch McConnell is that, after hearing Repeal & Replace for 7 years, he failed! That should NEVER have happened!"

The latest tweets from the president came a day after Trump and McConnell pledged to work together, amid reports of tension.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement Wednesday that the two "remain united on many shared priorities," and they and other top officials will hold "previously scheduled meetings" after Congress returns from its August recess.

McConnell said in his statement that they have "a lot of work ahead of us, and we are committed to advancing our shared agenda together, and anyone who suggests otherwise is clearly not part of the conversation."
The New Zealand Book Council Te Kaunihera Pukapuka o Aotearoa offers heartfelt congratulations to our board member Dr Selina Tusitala Marsh on her appointment as New Zealand Poet Laureate.Selina will be an outstanding New Zealand Poet Laureate and raise the national consciousness to the importance of loving books and reading, said Book Council Chair Peter Biggs, CNZM.An accomplished writer, teacher and scholar on the national and international stage, Selina Tusitala Marsh is also a passionate and energetic reading advocate and ambassador. She inspires a love of reading and writing in our nations young people, and works closely on the Book Councils annual Writers in Communities project in South Auckland low decile schools.Getting reading on the national agenda is a crucial step in breaking the poverty cycle in New Zealand. OECD research shows that reading for pleasure is the single most important indicator of a childs future success. Its even a more powerful factor in life achievement than socio-economic background, Peter Biggs said.Selinas latest poetry collection Tightrope launches today on National Poetry Day. Built around the abyss, the tightrope, and the trick that we all have to perform to walk across it, she brings to life her ongoing dialogue with memory, life and death to find out whether stories really can cure the incurable.It starts with the story, said Peter Biggs. Reading has the power to change lives and transform communities. Were on a mission to grow a nation of readers. This will lead to a better country  socially, culturally and economically  and Selinas new position of New Zealand Poet Laureate will be instrumental in this mission, he said.
China initiates a three-month campaign to combat pyramid schemes

The government launched a three-month campaign against pyramid selling after the death of a Chinese university graduate in Tianjin caused by involvement in a pyramid scheme.

Chinas State Administration of Industry and Commerce (SAIC), along with the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Education will work together to investigate recruitment methods multi-level marketing firms use to target graduates and new job seekers. Violating networks and entities engaged in such activities will be disbanded and charged.

Pyramid selling schemes have increased over the last few years mainly through social networks, with over 20,000 cases investigated by the Chinese police over the 10 year period from 2005 to 2015. The authorities seized RMB 990 million (US$148 million) over the course of the inquiry. In 2016, 2,826 cases were investigated, an increase of 19.1 percent from the previous year.

China bans unusual and long company names

The SAIC has released guidelines outlining restrictions for company names. The rules aim to reign in names of a discriminatory nature, those that exceed specified lengths, or those that are deemed too bizarre. Additionally, the guidelines prohibit copies and names too similar to those of competitors.

Discriminatory language referring to gender, race, religion, or language associated with politically sensitive topics such as national law, terrorism, the Peoples Liberation Army, cults, as well as superfluous terms such as the best, number one, or national are now strictly prohibited from registration. The regulation also gives the government powers to fix inappropriate company names.

The rules came in response to discovery of company names that were composed of complete sentences or narratives, with some reaching lengths of almost 40 individual characters.

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Registration and banking service for Hong Kong companies investing in Guangdong

The Guangdong Province Administration for Industry and Commerce, the Bank of China (Hong Kong), and the Guangdong Branch of the Bank of China, have launched a new Commercial Registration Bank-Government Express Service (CRBGES), a one-stop business registration and banking service aimed at Hong Kong investors looking to establish businesses in Guangdong.

Intending to simplify business establishment procedures around the Pearl River Delta area, the Bank of China will handle corporate establishment registration and opening of bank accounts for Hong Kong investors. Hong Kong investors will also be able to obtain an electronic business license with financial functions free of charge.

The service will be first piloted in the cities of Dongguan, Foshan, Huizhou, Jiangmen, Shantou, and Zhongshan.



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Apple Inc., the technology company with iPhone smartphone as its flagship product, announced Thursday its plan to build a new data center in Waukee, Iowa, a midwestern U.S. state.

Headquartered in Cupertino, California, the company said the data center will be 400,000 square feet, or more than 37,160 square meters.

The Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) said Apple plans to purchase 2,000 acres, or 8.09 square km, of land in Waukee, a city with a population of nearly 14,000.

Short of providing details, the IEDA said its board had approved tax incentives for Apple.

At a ceremony in Des Moines, the state capital of Iowa, Governor Kim Reynolds and Waukee Mayor Bill Peard joined Tim Cook, Apple's chief executive officer (CEO), Thursday afternoon to announce the project, which is expected to cost more than 1.3 billion U.S. dollars.

"Our new data center in Iowa will help serve millions of people across North America who use Siri, iMessage, Apple Music and other Apple services," said Cook, who also committed his company to contributing up to 100 million dollars to a Public Improvement Fund dedicated to community development and infrastructure around Waukee.

To be established and managed by the City of Waukee, the fund is expected to support projects like parks, libraries and recreational spaces.

Like all Apple data centers, said Cook, the new facility will run entirely on renewable energy from day one. Apple claimed to have reached the goal of operations with 100 percent renewable energy in the United States and 23 other countries.

Apple's data center project in Waukee, some 20 miles, or 32 km, west of Des Moines, is the result of 20 months of negotiations with state, regional and local officials. The IEDA boasts that Iowa is well-positioned to attract data center investments because of its geographic location, which is safe from hurricanes, earthquakes and rolling blackouts, coupled with affordable electric rates and high percentage of electricity generated by wind.

The IEDA, which reportedly would provide nearly 20 million dollars of tax credit in addition to more than 188 million dollars of property tax abatement from the city of Waukee over the next 20 years, said the project will create at least 50 jobs at a qualifying wage of at least 29.12 dollars per hour.

However, other than saying it will create over 550 construction and operations jobs in the Des Moines area, Apple did not specify how many of the job positions will be long-term ones.
Government authorities in the Liangshan Yi autonomous prefecture in Sichuan province are bringing 19 children back to their home counties from a fight club in Chengdu.

Youngsters practice mixed martial arts at the Enbo MMA Club in June in Chengdu, Sichuan province.[Fred Dufour/For China Daily]

The children, who are either orphans or "left-behind" children whose parents work outside their home villages, will attend primary and high schools in their home counties of Butuo and Yuexi when the new school term starts in September.

"Local governments in both counties will ensure that schools will admit them," said Song Ming, an information officer for the prefecture.

The move to bring the children back to Liangshan originated with an online video of two 14-year-old boys from Butuo in a mixed martial arts ring at the Enbo MMA Club in Chengdu in July, he said. The video was widely shared online.

The boys said in the video that they had been "adopted" by the club's owner and occasionally performed in commercial events.

Although the training was hard, they did not have to worry about food, clothes or shelter at the club, where they were given beef and eggs. In their home village, they could eat only potatoes, they said.

Some viewers thought the club could teach the children skills to support themselves in the future, while others accused the club of exploitation and depriving them of access to an education.

Liangshan officials launched an investigation, and child-welfare and education officials from the prefecture were sent to the club, whose owners claimed to have adopted and trained about 400 children since 2001.

The investigation found that the club had no teaching certification and had not signed any agreement with a civil affairs bureau to adopt the children.

Netizens expressed their concern for the future of the children. Qumu Ermu, an official with the Yuexi county government, said the 17 children who were sent back from the club to their home county of Yuexi will attend school in September.

Each orphan in the county receives a monthly subsidy of 748 yuan ($112) from the government. In addition to a subsistence allowance, a child from an extremely poor family is entitled to an additional monthly subsidy of 200 yuan, he said

Liangshan, the largest enclave of ethnic Yi people in China, is one of the least-developed areas in Sichuan. Some media reports have associated it with poverty, drugs and AIDS.

As governments at different levels put poverty alleviation high on their work agenda, the living standards and education in the prefecture have greatly improved. But it is a shame that some media reports still distort the image of the prefecture, Song said.
China launched nearly 8,000 water clean-up projects in the first half of 2017 with projected total investment of 667.4 billion yuan ($100 billion), the environment ministry said on Thursday.

The projects were devised as part of a 2015 action plan to treat and prevent water pollution, and cover 325 contaminated surface water sites across the country, the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) said in a notice.

A total of 343 contaminated sites had been identified, meaning that 95 percent had drawn up plans to bring water quality up to required standards, it said.

However, it noted that some regions were still behind schedule when it came to meeting their 2017 water pollution goals.

Across the country, 1,762 companies have taken clean production methods to prevent water pollution, accounting for 84.6 percent of companies needing to make the transformation.

China has also changed 75,000 underground oil tanks to two-layer tanks or added seepage prevention measures.

With China desperate to increase supplies to guarantee future food and energy security, it promised in 2015 to make significant improvements in its major waterways and curb untreated wastewater from highly polluting sectors like mining, steelmaking, textiles, printing and oil refining.

The MEP said this month that overall water quality had improved in the first half of 2017, although some regions registered an increase in substandard samples over the period.

China grades its water in six bands, with the lowest "below grade 5" considered unusable even for industrial or irrigation purposes and described as "black and stinky" water.

Of 2,100 "black and stinky" sites identified, 44.1 percent had completed treatment projects in the first half of the year, the ministry said, noting that the provinces of Hebei, Shanxi, Liaoning and Anhui had fallen behind.

In a bid to protect rural water supplies, China also identified 636,000 square kilometers of land that would be made off limits to animal husbandry, and it shut 213,000 livestock and poultry farms in the first six months.

The ministry also said 809 new household sewage treatment facilities were built in the first half, but the regions of Tianjin, Jiangxi, Inner Mongolia, Guangxi, Xinjiang, Hubei and Guangdong were behind schedule, it said.

China said on Wednesday that it has already appointed 200,000 "river chiefs" throughout the country as part of a new system aimed at making local officials more accountable when it comes to improving water quality and curbing pollution.
Slavery was the greatest crime against humanity, and racism remains its most damning legacy. The growing outrage across America against the resurgence of racist ebullience in states built on the blood and sweat of slaves must therefore be applauded.

However, this does raise the question as to how far tearing down statues of pro-slavery villains presented as saints really goes in changing the living effects of their racist legacy?

The removal across America of statues honoring men like confederate General Robert F. Lee is akin to a similar action against statues of Cecil Rhodes, the original architect of apartheid laws in South Africa and creator of the old racist Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe).

Following student protests, a Rhodes statue was pulled down at South Africas University of Cape Town (UCT) in April 2015; and Rhodes University in Grahamstown was forced to consider a renaming exercise.

However, at Britains Oxford University students who voted for a similar removal were overruled in January 2016 by the university's administration after the Rhodes estate threatened to withdraw annual support worth over 300 million.

The role of slavery in the history of major American universities has been unfolding lately. Having been found guilty by the jury of public opinion of being on the wrong side of history, the related institutions are now hurrying to establish political correctness.

However, this raises a question of how best can the increasing numbers of U.S. universities mired in slavery best repair that sordid history today? By merely giving token scholarships to selected descendants of African American or Caribbean slaves in affected communities, states or nations, for instance?

And what of todays Rhodes scholars around the world? Should each be ashamed for their academic achievements being financed by funds from a noted racist?

Extremists of various persuasions take pride in displaying destruction of everything from giant religious statues to UNESCO-recognized World Heritage Sites, to museum collections of objects thousands of years old. Should the world ever even begin to consider accepting that such precious historical works of art can be destroyed based on rival religious or cultural grounds?

Monuments to racism and apartheid are coming down quickly today in the U.S. and such calls are also growing in popularity elsewhere

Its yet to be seen how destruction or removal of statues will contribute to equal access for black students to attend mainly white Ivy League universities funded by or named after those historical architects of racism, whether in the U.S. or Southern Africa.

How far and fast nations or advocates go about correcting historical wrongs or rewriting fake history depends on several factors. Some critics see destruction of statues as editing history, others as mere symbolism that does not actually change reality. Fact is, though, not everything considered bad must be destroyed and/or consigned to the scrapheap of history.

Slavery was the worst crime against humanity, but it cannot be simply wished or washed away because it was so atrocious.

American supporters of racism and defenders of slavery idolize confederate leaders statues because they believe in what they represented. They, too, will fight on, to not only preserve those statues in areas where they are still protected by law, but also to replace them when historical timing next permits.

Some critics suggest that instead of destroying works of art for political reasons, they can be relocated to a place where the age-old lies associated with them can be exposed with facts. Indeed, instances abound where symbols of a sordid past have been preserved and maintained to show and teach lessons from the experiences they represent.

For example, the Smithsonian Institute in Washington recently unveiled the Museum of African American History, where all Americans can see and learn some aspects of slavery in the U.S. Pieces of art destroyed in China during the Cultural Revolution are being painstakingly restored.

Dungeons on African coasts where captured men, women and children were held for shipping into slavery remain open today as popular tourism exhibits.

Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned and South African freedom fighters were tortured, was not shut down after the end of Apartheid as a disgraceful location of national shame, but is instead today a popular tourist attraction.

Americans can best decide how to demonstrate their contempt for and rejection of racisms living legacy and what to do about monuments dedicated to defenders of slavery.

I didn't enjoy watching Saddam Hussein's statue being pulled down in Baghdad by invading American troops, Muammar Gadaffis busts being destroyed across Libya after his fall, Lenins monuments being torn down in the Ukraine, or of Cubas Jose Martis bust being vandalized in Venezuela recently.

Each (destroyed statue) represents a permanent figure in the history of each country  and tearing down or defacing it, cannot erase that history.

I will not go to war with anyone who feels an unfair weight of history has been lifted off their backs by the destruction of offensive statues. However, I would risk a battle trying to find out to what extent that psychological weight-loss becomes a qualitative, real-life game-changer today.

Earl Bousquet is a contributor to china.org.cn, editor-at-large of The Diplomatic Courier and author of an online regional newspaper column entitled Chronicles of a Chronic Caribbean Chronicler.

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.
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A map of the planned Shanghai-Chengdu high-speed railway line. (Photo/WeChat account of Chengdu Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone)

Authorities have started researching feasible plans on building a high-speed railway line from Shanghai to Chengdu in Sichuan province along the Yangtze River, one of the country's eight important east-to-west high-speed railway tracks.

China Railways Corp, the country's rail operator, and Anhui provincial government are likely to submit a plan to the central government on constructing the Hefei-Nanjing section of the line by the end of August.

The two have agreed to jointly build the section during the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020), the official WeChat account of Chengdu Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone reported on Wednesday.

Hubei provincial government has also drawn up plans on building the sections in the Central China's province of the east-to-west line to link cities to the coastal area.

Hubei plans to build a high-speed railway to link Macheng and Enshi as part of the Shanghai-Chengdu line. The Jingmen-Yichang section will be the same line linking Xiangyang, Jingmen and Yichang, which will start construction next year.

According to a medium- and long-term plan to expand railway network approved by the State Council, China's Cabinet, last year, China will build eight rail lines north to south, and eight lines east to west.

The high-speed railway line along the Yangtze River will connect 22 cities from Shanghai to Chengdu. The train will have a maximum speed of 350 kilometers per hour.

"The line starting from Shanghai, en route Nanjing, Hefei, Wuhan, Chongqing to Chengdu, will be built with the standard of 350 km/h, paralleling a passenger-dedicated line from Shanghai to Chengdu," a railway official said.

At the end of 2013, China completed a passenger-dedicated railway line from Shanghai to Chengdu, which takes 14 hours to complete the journey.

The high-speed railway will shorten the time from Chengdu to Wuhan to about three hours and from Chengdu to Shanghai to about seven hours.
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Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying [Photo/fmprc.gov.cn]

India's road building near an undemarcated boundary reveals a contradiction between what India says and what it does, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Thursday.

Spokesperson Hua Chunying made the remarks when asked to comment on India's plan to build a military road near the western section of the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

According to the Hindustan Times, days after Indian and Chinese troops engaged in stone-pelting at Ladakh's Pangong Lake, the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) approved the construction of a standalone road project from Marsimik La to Hot Spring. Marsimik La in Ladakh is about 20 km from the northwest tip of Pangong Lake.

The Indian Express reported that the MHA had asked the Border Roads Organization to construct the road to ensure access to vantage points for security forces.

Hua said the reports sounded like a slap in face to India, and once again proved that India had been inconsistent and self-contradictory in resolving the Sino-Indian border issue.

She said that India used the excuse of security concerns to obstruct China building roads on its own territory, but India's road building plan proved that it was saying one thing while doing another.

Hua said the western part of China-India border had not been delimited,and the two countries had agreed to maintain peace in border areas before the issue was finally resolved.

She said that India's construction of military infrastructure near the western section of the LAC did not help to maintain peace and stability in the western part of the border, nor did it help to ease the current tension between the two sides.
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Gilbert F. Houngbo, president of the United Nations' International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) [File Photo/China.org.cn]

Gilbert F. Houngbo, president of the United Nations' International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), will visit China August 26-30 to meet with Chinese officials and discuss rural development projects in China, South-South cooperation, and a renewed partnership to alleviate rural poverty in developing countries.

Ahead of his trip, he said: "With its successful experience in rural development and poverty alleviation, China has a lot to share with other developing countries."

"IFAD's experience shows the most effective way to reduce poverty and increase food security is to enable smallholder farmers and other poor rural people to develop their skills, knowledge and confidence they need to overcome poverty themselves," he added.

In Beijing, Houngbo will meet with high-level government officials from Ministers of Finance and Agriculture of China, the State Council and the Leading Group Office on Poverty Alleviation and Development.

He will also deliver a keynote address on August 29 at the opening ceremony for the ninth IFAD-China joint South-South Cooperation seminar. The theme for this year's event is "Promoting International Cooperation in Agriculture and Poverty Reduction under the Belt and Road Initiative."

While in the country, Houngbo will also visit the IFAD-supported Qinghai Liupanshan Mountain Area Poverty Reduction Project. With co-financing from China, the project works to increase the income of poor and vulnerable rural households and to better link farmers to markets.

The project currently reaches around 128,000 rural households in seven counties in the Liupanshan mountain area, situated in the eastern part of Qinghai Province which has the highest incidence of poverty.

IFAD was one of the first international financial institutions to invest in the development of rural China. Since 1981, it has extended loans for 29 rural development programs and projects amounting to more than US$2 billion through co-financing (US$862.4 million was provided as loans and grants from IFAD directly), benefitting more than 4.3 million rural households.

Most of these programs are located in mountainous and remote regions of western China that have large concentrations of poor people, as well as being home to many ethnic minorities.
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China opposes any unilateral sanctions imposed by any country outside the framework of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Friday.

Spokesperson Hua Chunying said at a daily news briefing that China especially opposes sanctions against Chinese entities and people.

Japan's Cabinet on Friday approved the imposition of new unilateral sanctions on a number of companies and individuals from China, Namibia and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) in a bid to further pressure Pyongyang over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

China is comprehensively implementing DPRK-related resolutions of the Security Council, Hua said.

"We oppose unilateral sanctions imposed by any country outside the framework of the Security Council, and in this case we oppose sanctioning Chinese entities and individuals," Hua said.

China is dissatisfied with and strongly opposes Japan's moves, Hua said, urging Japan not to follow in the footsteps of some countries.

What the Japanese side has done has seriously harmed China's interests and brought tremendous political obstacles to China-Japan relations, the spokesperson said.

"If Japan continues to act arbitrarily, it should pay the consequences," Hua said.
China's current debt has not surged to an outlandish level, but the country should press ahead with reforms as the economy retains its strong growth momentum, a senior representative with the International Monetary Fund said on Thursday.

"China's current public debt level, by our definition, which is a broad definition, is still moderate in an international context," said Alfred Schipke, the IMF's senior resident representative for China.

Alfred Schipke, IMF's senior resident representative for China. [Photo provided to China Daily]

The rapid rise in debt, rather than overall debt, has caused concerns, he said.

He said the key to ensuring more sustainable growth is to implement reforms and prevent debt from continuing to grow at the rapid pace it did in recent years.

Reform efforts include closing loss-making factories, as they may pose risks to the nation's banking system, according to Raphael Lam, the IMF's deputy resident representative for China.

Schipke said for the IMF the key is to implement reforms. In the short term this might have an adverse impact on growth. But China has some fiscal space to smooth the impact during the transition. This fiscal support should, for example, be aimed at strengthening the social safety net such as resettlement funds that might be needed in order to relocate laid-off workers from factories in the overcapacity sectors.

The remarks came after the IMF warned China over its swollen debt level in its annual review of China's economy released earlier this month.

The IMF raised its forecast for China's average annual economic growth for 2018-20 to 6.4 percent from 6 percent, but warned of piling up risks that may affect sustainable growth.

James Daniel, the IMF's mission chief for China, said during a teleconference earlier this month that efforts to implement reforms need to accelerate, and now, while growth is strong, is the time to do so.

China's GDP expanded at 6.9 percent in the first half of this year, beating market expectations.

Zhao Qingming, chief economist at the research institute of the China Financial Futures Exchange, said a higher debt level is expected in the future because the economy needs to be fueled to see continued growth.

"The key is to solve the structural challenges and tackle risky issues," he said.

The government has put solving debt issues high on its agenda and has implemented measures to resolve these.

China will strengthen efforts to reduce corporate leverage, especially at State-owned enterprises, a State Council executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang decided on Wednesday.

SOEs will face strict controls in investments from their main business portfolios and in programs that could increase their debt ratios, the meeting said.

Debt-for-equity swaps will be pushed forward based upon market principles and China will explore more ways to implement swap programs, the meeting decided.
Workers walk along a Europe-bound freight train on Aug 24 in Yiwu, East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo/China Daily by Zhu Xingxin]

Shakeup at CRC's non-transport businesses due by first quarter of next year

China Railway Corp, the country's railway operator, aims to complete corporate system reform of its non-transportation businesses in the first quarter of 2018, said a source at one of these subsidiaries on Thursday.

This will be a part of CRC's reform to restore its earning ability by further optimizing its resources and reducing the number of unprofitable businesses.

The reform of CRC, one of the world's largest companies by both assets and employee numbers, will take place in three stages, starting at its non-transportation businesses, then at its 18 regional railway bureaus, and finally at its headquarters, according to the source.

A total of 17 subsidiaries, including China Railway Investment Corp, China Academy of Railway Sciences and People's Railway Daily that do not directly run transportation-related businesses will be reformed first, Caixin magazine reported.

What comes next will be the introduction of the corporate operational mode at its 18 railway bureaus across the country, as well as its three specialized transportation operators, China Railway Container Transport Co Ltd, China Railway Special Cargo Services Co Ltd and China Railway Express Co Ltd, the report said.

CRC is currently drafting detailed plans and plans to start the reform at its other subsidiaries before 2018, the report said. The aim is to achieve the absolute separation of government functions from companies, and such a proposal is awaiting approval from the State Council and the Ministry of Finance, according to the report.

Lu Dongfu, general manager of CRC, said last month that 2017 is the beginning of corporate system reform in the railway sector, and the following year it will focus on deepening the reform.

CRC was the main part of the now defunct Ministry of Railways. It now manages China's 124,000-kilometer-long railway system including more than 20,000 km of track for the high-speed railway network.

The group has reportedly started talks with major companies from the private sector including Alibaba Group Holding, Tencent Holdings Ltd and SF Express Co to further diversify its business categories and deepen mixed-ownership reform.

"The result of the first two steps will be seen clearly early next year," said Li Jin, chief researcher at the China Enterprise Research Institute in Beijing. "The most straightforward action is that the railway bureaus may have to remove the word 'bureau' from their name and replace it with a corporate name."

Zhao Jian, a professor of railway management at Beijing Jiaotong University, said the biggest hurdle facing CRC's reform would be to separate the country's railway network.

"China's 18 railway bureaus could be consolidated into three railway corporations in the northern, central and southern regions," said Zhao. "The three corporations could be in charge of their own region and could have independence in asset management. They must compete with each other to stimulate new growth points."

CRC saw its total debt swell to 4.72 trillion yuan ($708.5 billion) in the first quarter in 2017, up 14 percent year-on-year.

It generated 224.5 billion yuan in revenue between January and March, up 11.16 percent year-on-year. Of this, freight transport generated 77.4 billion yuan in operating revenue, up 19.41 percent year-on-year, the first uptick since 2013, while passenger transport services made 76 billion yuan in revenue, up 11.37 percent.
Food giant COFCO Group's online food products retailer COFCO Womai seeks to raise funds from an initial public offering at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the company said in a listing application Monday.

Womai, backed by COFCO and Baidu, could raise $500 million to $600 million, said a report by Global Capital, which cited a banker with close knowledge of the trade.

The sponsors of the company are China Merchants Securities and Credit Suisse. The time of listing is not decided yet, according to the company's prospectus for investors.

Womai, started in 2009, has been loss-making for three consecutive years from 2014 to 2016, with annual loss of 631 million yuan ($95 million), 978 million yuan and 887 million yuan, respectively. The company said it forecasts it will continue to post losses for the foreseeable future.

The loss for the company in the first half of this year was 839 million yuan, about 47 percent year-on-year rise.

Analysts said that as investors are more tolerant to loss-making companies, more such companies are likely to be listed, but profitability and business models are key to share price performance in the long run.

Womai said in a filing that the company could not guarantee that it will achieve net profit positive cash flow. The company will invest intensively on delivery infrastructure and technology platform, which will support the company's efforts to offer a wider range of products.

Companies to be listed at Hong Kong bourse need to pass one of several testseither profitability, capitalization/revenue, or capitalization/cashflow.

Analysts said that as Womai is not profitable yet, it may choose to take a test other than that of profitability and could pass the hearing without many difficulties, but profitability remains a key for share price performance in the future.

Zhang Liang, an investment analyst with Shanghai Ruifeng Investment Advising, said Womai has an advantage in terms of the supply chain, considering COFCO's rich vein of suppliers and the fact that an online retailer platform ensures the company has a self-owned distribution channel.

"The business model of Womai is clear, and institutional investors with long-term strategy could be patient enough to wait for the day of profitability to come," he said.
Students take summer classes at a tutoring school in Bengbu, East China's Anhui province, on July 21, 2014. [Photo/China Daily by Li Bin]

China's after-school tutoring market is expected to double its current revenues within five years, an industry report shows.

According to a new report on China's education sector by UBS Securities, China's kindergarten to grade 12 after-school tutoring market has been booming and will rise from revenues of 497 billion yuan ($75 billion) in 2016 to 1,082 billion yuan in 2021.

"The K-12 after-school tutoring sector will become one of few sectors with potential to double its size in five years and likely above market expectations," said Edwin Chen, executive director and co-head of Asia Small/Mid Caps Research of UBS Securities Co Ltd.

There were 182 million K-12 students in 2016, and the government expects that there will be 191 million by 2020. The country also expects to raise the urbanization rate, from 56 percent in 2015 to 60 percent by 2020, according to the report.

Penetration of K-12 after-school tutoring was only 37 percent in 2014 in China, but may have reached 70 percent in tier-1 cities, according to the Chinese Society of Education. Chen said the national average tutoring rate will grow to 50 percent in five years and the top tier cities penetration will rise to 80-90 percent in the period.

The subjects of tutoring will also be diversified and widened to expand the market scale, said the analyst.

There are three key drivers for the sector's growth.

First, there is an increasing number of students concentrated in bigger cities, which was boosted by growing urbanization and a rising birth rate, as well as sufficient public school resources in bigger cities.

Second, parents have high expectations for their children's education, with fierce competition to gain admission into top universities.

Third, rising disposable incomes and the perceived importance of a good education means parents are willing to pay high fees.

According to the iResearch survey, teaching quality and outcomes, tutors' educational qualifications and institutions' brands are the top three factors when middle-income parents choose after-school tutoring.

The UBS report expects the current fragmented after-school tutoring market to consolidate, resulting in mergers of big national companies. Top tutoring companies, leveraging their visible and consistent tutoring qualities, appeal to quality tutors and brand recognition, and are better positioned to gain market share.
Yanxuan, an e-commerce site under Chinese internet company NetEase Inc, has set up its first flagship hotel, with which it hopes to woo the country's growing population of middle-class millennials by providing an immersive experience.

It's the first hotel in China with a philosophy of "what you use is what you can buy," said Janet Chan, general manager of marketing for Yanxuan. Rather than providing a luxurious experience, the hotel will focus on "offering an aesthetic sense of simplicity".

Foreign lifestyle retailers such as Japan's Muji and Sweden's Ikea have similar plans to venture into hospitality.

The Yanxuan hotel features a simplistic northern European style and is equipped with the brand's own products, from ultra-minimalist furniture to accessories ranging from cherry-flavored soap, towels and aroma diffusers.

Simple designs from Muji and northern European brands such as COS in fashion and Bang & Olufsen in electronics have become increasingly popular in China, especially among the country's growing middle class. And Yanxuan is not missing out on the trend.

"The future consumer will prefer logo-less products because they value user experience over other things," Chan said. "With China's middle class growing in size, consumers are looking for quality, experience and a more personal touch."

According to a recent report on China's premier e-commerce by Analysys, a Beijing-based internet consultancy, those born in the 1980s and 1990s will place a high value on personal touch and experience, and on goods that speak for their unique identity.

Domestic and international retailers seem to agree that combining offline and online business by providing immersive shopping experience is an important strategy to attract those demographics.

For example, Muji is set to open its first minimalist luxury hotels in Shenzhen and Tokyo by the end of 2017, while French skincare brand L'occitane has already opened a cafe in Nanjing, Jiangsu province.

"We decided to go offline and get close to the consumers and bring the essence of Yanxuan through a (physical) medium," Chan said.

In the future, Chan said, Yanxuan will probably try more offline business modes, such as bookstores and other brick-and-mortar retail outlets.

Wang Gao, a professor of marketing, said the key for brick-and-mortar stores in an online age is to "provide additional value to customers apart from the goods itself. What companies need to do is to integrate ... goods and service into an immersive shopping experience."

Fang Wei, CFO of GOME Retail Holdings Ltd, also recognized the importance of providing real-life experience last month when the group decided to upgrade its retail strategy.

"We need to let customers have a full experience in our goods," he said. "Our long-term goal is to provide boundaryless immersive experience in our merchandise."
BEIJING - Chinese Premier Li Keqiang ordered reforms to streamline the approval procedures on the market access for industrial products to support the development of new technology.

The government should focus on improving regulation after market entry and create a fair and just market environment, according to written instructions from the premier given at a recent meeting in Suqian, East China's Jiangsu province.

Despite consumption upgrades and a rising number of new industrial products, domestic manufacturers are still plagued by high institutional transaction costs resulting from rigid market entry control.

"Manufacturing is the significant foundation of the real economy," Li said, pointing out that an easier market access for industrial products should be a crucial part in government work to cut red tape and improve services.

China will continue to deepen the supply-side structural reform and transform government functions, Li said.

Meanwhile, regulators should strengthen supervision of products with high safety risks and ensure market order, Li said. "There should be nowhere to hide for counterfeit and shoddy products."

Li said a level playing field will help the upgrades of the country's manufacturing sector.

Echoing Li's remarks, State Councilor Wang Yong asked governments at all levels to step up simplifying administrative approval and improve supervision during the meeting.
A container ship docks at the Port of Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province.[Photo/Xinhua]



BEIJING - China's anti-dumping probes against US products were legal procedures, a spokesperson with the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said Thursday.

In response to a question whether China's probes were counter-measures to a US investigation into China's intellectual property practices, MOC spokesperson Gao Feng told a press briefing that both probes were legal.

The anti-dumping probe into optical fiber preform products imported from Japan and the United States, starting from Aug 18 this year, was in response to legitimate review applications filed by domestic industry representatives, Gao said.

China launched anti-dumping measures to optical fiber preform imports from Japan and the United States from Aug 19, 2015, with an implementation period of two years.

As for the anti-dumping probe into dispersion unshifted single-mode optical fiber products imported from the United States and the European Union, which began from Aug 22 this year, all procedures are according to law, Gao said.

Gao reiterated that China would take all appropriate measures to defend its legal interests in response to the US trade investigation as it damaged the international trade system and cast a shadow over China-US economic and trade ties.

US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer last week formally initiated an investigation into China's intellectual property practices under a rarely used trade law, despite worries about potential harm to China-US trade ties.

Section 301, which was heavily used in the 1980s and early 1990s, allows the United States to unilaterally impose tariffs or other trade restrictions on foreign countries. But the country has rarely used the outdated trade tool since the World Trade Organization was established in 1995.
An image of a promotional video of China's green manufacturing development at the inauguration ceremony of the Green Manufacturing Association of China in Beijing, July 22, 2017. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

BEIJING - China is aiming high in pursuing green development and boosting its energy-saving and environmental protection industries, with green financing one of the key areas to be tapped.

The country is expecting output of its environmental protection equipment manufacturing industry to reach 1 trillion yuan ($150 billion) by 2020.

The goal is set in the guidelines on the development of environmental protection equipment manufacturing industry released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology to solicit public opinions on Wednesday.

Describing the industry as an important technical foundation for environmental protection, the guidelines highlighted fiscal and financial support for the sector, including tax breaks as well as providing other financing instruments like green bonds and green credit.

The Chinese government has been pushing for the development of green finance in order to seek sustainable growth and honor its commitments on addressing climate change, and the market is still waiting to be explored.

There has been consensus ranging from the top decision-making level to related government departments to support the country's green financing and investment, Ma Jun, chief economist with the central bank's research bureau, said last year.

Detailed plans are being rolled out at local level after the central government set up pilot zones in June to explore replicable ways to boost green financing.

In Guian New District, Guizhou province, one of the country's five pilot zones, a brokerage firm for green securities, where companies will need to pass environmental inspections before they get listed or re-financing, is now in the planning.

Moutai Group, a renowned Chinese liquor maker in Guizhou, was one of the major players behind its establishment, according to the plan.

In Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, local authorities are discussing a system to provide green financial products such as insurance for wind or solar power generation indexes and special credit for green mines.

Despite fast progress, Ji Xiaonan, former chairperson of the Board of Supervisors for Key Large-Sized State-Owned Enterprises, said there is still a huge funding gap in China's environmental sector.

He estimated that investment demand in China's green industries totals at least 2 trillion yuan annually, but only 15 percent of that is fulfilled by government finance and the rest of it needs to be covered by other funding sources.

According to credit rating agency Moody's, green bond issues worldwide hit a record high of $93.4 billion in 2016, rising 120 percent from a year earlier, bolstered by China-based issuers.

China accounted for nearly 40 percent of new green bonds last year, followed by the United States, France and Germany, said Moody's.

Ji said there should be more green insurance products, as industries related to noise, light and nuclear pollution have yet to be covered.

Meanwhile, as investment returns from green projects are usually slower to come than from other projects, the government needs to work on how to encourage private investment into the green financial sector, he said.

Experts have also warned of possible risks from the fast development of green finance, and said that a risk prevention mechanism must be established to ensure its healthy development.

A system should be set up to check the details of green projects from project registration to how the funds are spent, according to An Guojun, an associate researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Professional third-party agencies should step in and play a role to ensure that green funding goes to green projects, she said.
ULAN BATOR - The export of mineral resources is a significant source of export revenues for Mongolia, with copper concentrate, coal, iron ore, gold and oil having a lion's share.

Since 2017, the demand for Mongolian coal has increased dramatically. China is the largest consumer of coal in the world and Mongolia's close neighbor. In the first six months of 2017, Mongolia managed to sell China a record amount of coal.

According to economists, Mongolia exported approximately 25 million tons of "black gold" to China each month.

According to the authorities of Gants mod border checkpoint, in the first six months of this year, Mongolia exported 10.09 million tons of coal to China through the Gashuunsukhait-Gants mod border checkpoints. This result exceeds the volume of coal exports for the same period of last year by 14 percent.

The transportation of coal through the Gants mod border checkpoint for the first six months of last year was more than 10 million tons, while this level was reached in the first 4 months of this year.



"This was facilitated by the increase in supply, related to the increase in demand for coal in China. On the other hand, the technical modernization of the border checkpoint played a role in reducing delays for a technical reason," said the representatives of the Gants mod border checkpoint.

In the future, coal exporters expect that the supply of coal will be stable. As for the main exporter of Mongolia, Tavan Tolgoi plans to increase the volume of its transportation to 11.5 million tons of coal this year.
Captain America let the Hulk hold his shield while Wonder Woman took a selfie with Spider-Man.

It wasnt your usual crowd at the Yellowstone Art Museum on Thursday night for the opening of My Hero! The exhibit, which is up through Jan. 2, 2018, includes 130 pieces depicting superheroes. It was curated by the Bedford Gallery in Walnut Creek, California.

These are superheroes like youve never seen them. Imagine the Hulk as a fat green cat in a piece titled "Cat-vengers" or Batmans sidekick Robin in a police mug shot with his crime listed as aiding and abetting.

Dressed as Wonder Woman, YAM assistant curator Amanda Daniel strolled through the upstairs gallery marveling at the turnout of more than 200 people, including several youngsters under age 12.

When you do something like this and it ends up being this big, you feel like Wonder Woman, Daniel said.

A small crowd gathered around the Terra Cotta Batman, a takeoff of Chinas iconic Terra Cotta Warriors.

Its so imposing, Daniel said. I like that parts of the show harken back to history and then you have the silly stuff too.

One piece by Alessandro Rabatti of Florence, Italy, turned Abraham Lincoln, Queen Elizabeth and Mao Tse-Tung into superheroes. The images were taken from bank notes from the U.S., England and China.

Curator Bob Durden said the works are fun to look at, but they also pose serious questions about gender roles and aging.

What happens to these superheroes as they age? Durden said. Its comic, but it forces us to think about how our identity changes as we age.

A group of Rocky Mountain College students came to the opening as part of marketing class. Student Jen Valentine said it was a nice surprise to see such a contemporary exhibit.

When you walk into a museum, you dont think of anything modern, Valentine said. The superheroes have been modernized. Its a nice change of pace.

Nicolas Cordero, a senior at Rocky and a native of Ecuador, said he outgrew superheroes a while back, but noted that everybody needs a hero to look up to.

Heroes come with fairness, and the hero brings peace. Thats something we need right now, Cordero said.

Several family-friendly activities will take place in conjunction with the exhibit. Sept. 9 is Superhero Saturday, co-hosted by the Billings Public Library and the YAM. There is free admission at the YAM that day if you mention that it is Superhero Saturday.

On Sept. 28, RMC philosophy professor Aaron Rosen will discuss the other side of heroism in contemporary comics in a 6:30 p.m. lecture titled The Anti-Hero in Contemporary Comics. Billings illustrator Jason Jam will conduct a childrens workshop, Comics for Kids, on Nov. 25.

For more information about these events, go to artmuseum.org.
JEDDAH - China and Saudi Arabia agreed on Thursday to set up a package of bilateral energy cooperation mechanisms.

The agreement was reached when Chinese Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the Saudi Red Sea resort of Jeddah during Zhang's visit to the Gulf Arab country.

Also during the talks, the two compared notes and reached broad consensus on bilateral cooperation in the fields of energy, finance and industrial capacity, among others.

They vowed to push forward a sea water desalination project using high temperature gas-cooled reactors, as well as a Chinese industry park in Saudi Arabia's southern border region of Jizan, and support the construction of a power plant in the western Saudi coastal town of Rabigh.

The two sides also agreed to promote cooperation over petrochemical projects and security matters, and enhance international coordination so as to further boost their bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership.

Also on Thursday, Zhang and Mohammed co-chaired the second meeting of a high-level steering committee, a regular meeting mechanism set up during Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to the Gulf Arab country last year.

The two co-hosted the first meeting of the committee in Beijing last August.

At the second meeting, the two sides agreed that the two countries have maintained close high-level exchanges, noting that Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud visited China while a number of Chinese leaders have visited Saudi Arabia.

They also agreed that the two countries have made smooth progress in key projects, and signed 30 major projects over industrial capacity and investment cooperation.

Two-way trade has developed soundly with Saudi Arabia being China's largest trading partner in the region of West Asia and North Africa over the past 15 years.

Both sides pledged to strengthen coordination and communication on such multilateral platforms as the UN and the Group of 20 gatherings on major issues that concern the world system and order as well as the rights and interests of developing countries in a bid to cement strategic trust.

Beijing and Riyadh also vowed to further synergize their development strategies, and promote practical cooperation and cultural and people-to-people exchanges for shared benefits and win-win results.

They were also committed to stronger cooperation and exchanges in the fields of culture, education, health, technology, tourism and journalism.

After the meeting, the two sides signed the minutes of the meeting, and the two leaders witnessed the signing of a host of cooperation agreements involving investment, trade, energy, postal service, communications and media.

Earlier in the day, the Chinese vice-premier met with King Salman.

Saudi Arabia is the second leg of Zhang's four-nation tour which has already taken him to Kuwait. He will also travel to Sudan and Namibia.
Cyrus Daruwala, managing director of financial insight department at IDC Asia Pacific, delivers a speech in Beijing on Aug 25, 2017. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Technology should do more to help banks transform themselves to halt the trend of being increasingly "invisible" in an average person's life, according to participants at a forum on finance sector's transformation and innovation held by research company IDC China in Beijing on Friday.

"Where is the bank?" asked Cyrus Daruwala, managing director of financial insight department at IDC Asia Pacific, when addressing the audience, pointing out that for him, shared economy, e-commerce and social media are necessities in his life.

He said as the Chinese consume the largest amount of video content, video has become the most important channel but no bank has a video-on-demand service for their clients.

Sun Zhongdong, vice-president of Shanghai Hua Rui Bank, said banks are not where they are needed and their apps are only in their clients' smartphones, isolated from other apps.

He said there are 17 million apps in China, which indicates there are 17 million companies behind these apps, many of which are small firms, and 17 million consumption scenarios related to them.

Hua Rui Bank launched an "app plus SDK" product in April to help banks "enter" these apps to better serve companies which operate these apps.

Zhang Jingbing, IDC's chief robotics researcher, speaks on automation in Beijing on Aug 25, 2017. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Zhang Jingbing, IDC's chief robotics researcher, said that in addition to "hard" robots which can be seen and touched, "soft" robots, or software which works like employees, can also be used by banks to carry out some functions such as granting loans, credit cards and maintaining client information.

Ruan Yahua, vice-president of Pactera, which provides digital solutions to banks to lower costs and boost efficiency, said that banks are still not smart enough to be more friendly to their clients although most banks have bought lots of smart devices or smart services.

For an individual who needs to go to a bank branch, there are still tons of problems such as long lines, hard-to-fill forms, hard-to-understand instructions, lots of leg work and difficulties to know one's own credit or to get a loan, said Ruan.

He added that technology can also play a key role in improving banks' capabilities in identification, cognition, prediction and serving.

Kitty Fok, president of IDC China, said the research company will do more in finance sector to help its clients catch up with technological changes.
Donna Imperato, CEO of Cohn & Wolfe Group. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Cohn & Wolfe is evolving towards the future of integrated communication, covering advertising, public relations, and digital interactions, while seeking local technology expertise to drive the ideas and leverage its global knowledge.

The New York-headquartered company has spotted a burgeoning need for creative integrated marketing and communications in China, which continues to be Cohn & Wolfe's fastest growing market.

"Our China operation is projected to see 27.3 percent revenue growth year-on-year this year," Donna Imperato, CEO of Cohn & Wolfe Group, told chinadaily.com.cn, but did not provide any data on revenue. "I'm still very confident of China's outlook," she added.

She saw a growing need for creative integrated marketing and communications, which is what Cohn & Wolfe provide for many multinationals operating in China. The country is becoming one of the largest and major markets to sell products for many companies.

As a global firm, its international network empowers Cohn & Wolfe to connect businesses around the world. As part of this, it not only gives hands to multinationals in the Chinese market, but also helps local companies going global.

More Chinese enterprises, especially those in key industries, are following the government's Belt and Road Initiative, and establishing and developing their business overseas. While the leading Chinese companies are enlarging their presence globally, Cohn & Wolfe captures the spending of the clients from advertising, creative and digital campaigns.

Imperato said, "Our China-going-global offering has really caught on here, and we are now being inundated with requests from Chinese brands for support in their communications efforts.

"We are helping ZTE, Tencent and Midea position their brands as truly global companies while also being local and relevant in all of the countries they serve."

ZTE Corp, one of the local telecom leaders, was attracted by the power of the Cohn & Wolfe's integrated communications offering, since Cohn & Wolfe is no longer a traditional public relations agency, said the company's annual report.

It said Cohn & Wolfe, fueled by the vision to own the future of communications has evolved into an idea-driven, integrated communications agency that is channel-neutral and media agnostic.

The company is poised to build an industry-leading creative technology capability by combining creative excellence with foresight about consumer demand for fully immersive brand experiences.

Imperato said they have been conducting mobile campaign in the Chinese market to promote the clients through the mobile devices, in the popular gathering places. For example, when a smartphone user in a bar searches on the phone, he or she may receive a location based promotion or discount information.

"Our business is transferring into technology-based integrated marketing communications, because the technology-based communication is getting more popular," Imperato said.

"Technology drives the best ideaso we create the technology then the idea."

She said the technologies, including augment reality and virtual reality, will drive the business growth in China, so her plan for the Chinese market is to invest more in the country, and acquire more talents to help the clients better and consolidate the agency's leading position.

Imperato said, "We are applying more local technologies in China. We will add more experts, technology people in China, and bring in more content people."

"We are also able to explore more new clients who value communications. Our global experts travel around the world to support and secure the same quality of the work all over the world," she added.
Software Alliance will work with stakeholders on privacy, security

China is shaping up to be a world leader in the data policy area, which is expected to help the country boost its IT industry and compete globally, said the top executive of BSA-The Software Alliance, the world's leading software industry trade group.

Victoria Espinel, president and CEO of the Software Alliance, said as there is no international consensus on the issue of data distribution, it would be beneficial for the industry if China takes on a leadership role.

Victoria Espinel, president and CEO of BSA-The Software Alliance. [Photo provided to China Daily]

"Big data technologies, cloud computing, artificial intelligence  none of these things are possible unless data can move 'round in the world,' she said. "China's IT industry has experienced impressive growth in recent years. And I think this is the moment for China to be a leader in this area."

Operating in more than 60 countries globally, the US-headquartered alliance pioneered compliance programs to promote legal software use and foster public polices for technology innovation. Working with governments and public stakeholders globally, its policy team supports companies dealing with digital issues, including data privacy, data security and intellectual property.

Having operated in China for 20 years, the alliance said it would work with the nation in digital trade, security policy and intellectual property issues, aiming to create an environment in which all companies can compete equally.

According to Espinel, there is a need for deeper big data cooperation globally, as it will help set up a system to collectively benefit from the data economy and prevent cybercrime and protect privacy, as well.

"My suggestion for China is to try to be as global as possible. It would be really helpful that China can bring in as much expertise from other parts of the world to get a global perspective in data research and application."

Big data technology is playing an increasingly significant role in boosting global economic growth. It is expected that big data technology will boost global GDP by more than 2 percent year-on-year through 2020, Bai Chunli, president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said during the China International Big Data Industry Expo in Guiyang, Guizhou province, earlier this year.

"Big data technologies will involve various disciplines and industries. We should establish an international big data innovation organization, working together on setting regulations, research and development and the application of the new technologies," Bai said.

In 2016, China's core industry in the big-data sector attained a market value of 16.8 billion yuan ($2.5 billion), a 45 percent increase from 2015, according to a recent survey by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology. And the country is expected to grow big data industry sales to 1 trillion yuan by 2020.

The rapidly growing sector also means new challenges for the protection of confidential data and privacy.

Espinel said Chinese companies not only need appropriate regulations and policies to enable a better privacy environment, but also need to strengthen their awareness of cybersecurity.

She cited a study conducted by the association did previously, which said 57 percent of surveyed chief information officers admitted that they did not do audits of company networks and have no idea of what is on the networks.
Amazon.com Inc has vowed to make full use of its global resources to boost innovation in the Chinese market, continuously launching products and services to meet Chinese consumer demand.

"Innovation is in the DNA of Amazon," Amazon China President Elaine Chang said. "In the past 20 years, we have stuck to the concept of 'customer first' and pushed forward innovations that change people's lives, as well as led the industry to develop and innovate."

She said Amazon was confident about the prospects of the Chinese market.

The US-based tech behemoth has a presence in cross-border e-commerce, books, e-books, e-book readers such as Kindle devices, logistics and web services.

Recently, Amazon and Beijing Palace Museum Culture Communication signed an agreement to jointly develop IP products that combine advanced digital reading devices with Chinese traditional culture.

China has become the largest market in the world for Kindle reading devices. In June, Amazon announced a strategic partnership with Migu Culture and Technology, a subsidiary of China Mobile Communications, and launched a feature-rich Kindle created exclusively for Chinese readers.

Amazon has also stepped up efforts in the intelligent logistics sector. In December, it successfully trialed its Prime Air drone delivery service in the United Kingdom. It's designed to safely deliver packages to customers in 30 minutes or less.

Amazon's fulfillment centers are already partially automated, with a growing number of centers using Kiva robots to carry shelves of products to human workers, who then pick the items to be shipped.
A visitor tastes fresh vegetable salad offered by an exhibitor at the 16th China Changchun International Agriculture and Food Fair, which closed on Sunday in Changchun, Jilin province. [Photo/Xinhua]

Cameras on farms allow customers to monitor crops on cellphones and computers

In spring, Li Mingtong, a university student in Changchun, Jilin province paid 500 yuan ($75) to have a pomegranate tree organically cultivated.

In the fall, she received boxes of fruit from her tree, located thousands of kilometers away in Yunnan province.

"Though the pomegranates were very expensive, they were safe and tasted good," she said.

Li arranged the service through an online shop. She now plans to buy customized vegetables grown in the suburbs of Changchun.

As Chinese pay more attention to food safety, customized farm produce, grown without using pesticides or fertilizers, is attracting interest from well-off urban consumers, especially the younger generation.

The internet is assisting supply-side reform in agriculture. Customers can rent a piece of land online and choose which varieties of vegetables they want to have grown there. Many farms have cameras so that customers can monitor the growth of their produce on their mobile phones or computers.

"Our fruits and vegetables are all organic. We adopted a membership model for the sale and delivery of produce to our clients," Chen Zhao, general manager of Chunjiangyan farm in Nongan county, Changchun, said at the 16th China Changchun International Agriculture and Food Fair, which closed on Sunday.

The farm has 47 vegetable and fruit greenhouses, and 1,000 members. Each day, more than 100 residents receive vegetables delivered from the farm, according to Chen.

"Our capacity is insufficient. For example, when our cantaloupes were ready for sale, we could only meet half the demand from our customers," he said.

The government has required deepening of supplyside reform in agriculture, improvement of the sector's structure, promotion of green production and innovation, and extension of the industrial and value chain.

According to a report released last year by Ali Research Institute, which is affiliated to e-commerce giant Alibaba, China had 65 million "online green consumers" in 2015, 15 times as many as in 2011.

Green products include organic and additive-free food and environmentally friendly household commodities such as furniture and clothes. Green consumption has spread most rapidly among people aged 23 to 28, according to the research.

"Our pigs have serial numbers. We have cameras in their pens so that our customers can check their condition at any time on their mobile phones," Pei Feng, from an agricultural cooperative in Siping, said at the Changchun agriculture fair.

The pigs are fed corn and bean pulp. The cooperative does not use any antibiotics or hormones, according to Pei, who added their services are expanding.

The green model for customized agriproducts has been piloted in many other places, such as Beijing and the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

China has more than 10,000 accredited green food companies producing more than 26,000 types of products, according to statistics from the China Green Food Development Center, which oversees the country's organic food standards.

Despite the huge potential for customized produce, there are some concerns about whether the products are organic.

Technology such as cameras can record the cultivation methods to some extent, but the certification of organic products requires a large investment, said a farmworker in Jilin.

Some green farm produce does not have organic certification.

"Consumers pay high prices for customized produce to ensure safety. But the industry is still in the early stages. There are both good and bad producers," said Zhao Yumin, secretary-general of Jilin Specialty Products Processing Association.

It is difficult for consumers to confirm if their products are organic or not, therefore certification by professional agencies is necessary to boost reliability, Zhao said.

Liu Yuansheng, of Jilin University of Finance and Economics, said the key to selling customized agriproducts lucratively lies in the application of a trackable system, which is currently a weak link.
A process launched in March by the All China Lawyers Association has helped dozens of lawyers safeguard their rights.

The association and its local branches have received 224 complaints in which lawyers claim their rights were infringed upon since March. Jiang Min, vice-president of the association, said on Thursday that 60 have been solved, with lawyers' rights being protected. The remaining cases are still in the pipeline, he said at a news conference on Thursday in Beijing.

Most complaints are about lawyers' human rights and defense rights being harmed; lawyers being kept from clients or from reviewing case files; or lawyers being stopped from collecting evidence, Jiang said.

Some lawyers claimed that they had been interrupted while making defense statements in court, or being forced from courtrooms altogether, he said.

The Ministry of Justice said that in recent years, a growing number of violations has occurred nationwide, attracting attention from the public and media.

That's why the lawyers group at the national and local levels established two centers in Marchone for the protection of lawyers' rights and the other to handle complaints and reports against lawyers.

"If we find cases involving the lawyers' legal rights being seriously harmed, we'll immediately set up a joint investigation team to conduct further investigation and coordinate relevant departments to timely look at the case and give feedback about the processing result," Liu Shoumin, another vice-president of the association, said on Thursday.

One typical case occurred on July 11, when Wang Yantao, a lawyer from Hebei Shili Law Firm, waited in line at the gate of a district court in Handan, Hebei province, and quarreled with the bailiffs.

Wang said three bailiffs pulled him into the security room and six bailiffs assaulted him and locked him up until the court's vice-president arrived at the scene and had him freed.

Wang lodged a complaint to the Handan City Lawyers Association, and eventually reached the national association, which reported the case to the Ministry of Justice.

Xiong Xuanguo, vice-minister of justice, told the association to report the case to the Supreme People's Court (China's top court) and required the Hebei provincial department of justice to investigate. The top court notified the Hebei provincial high court, which ordered the local court in Handan to investigate.

On Aug 9, the district court made a public apology to Wang and compensated him. The team leader of the bailiffs was punished and the six bailiffs were fired, the court said.

Jiang from the association said its leaders will encourage local branches to share with each other successful experiences and common problems.
Robots will play an important role in supporting astronauts living on Mars and exploring the red planet, a senior space scientist said.

Ouyang Ziyuan, a senior adviser to China's lunar program and its former chief scientist, told Xinhua News Agency in an article published on Thursday that robots will be essential in supporting human activity.

"The environment on the Martian surface has low atmospheric pressure and low temperatures, so astronauts will have problems if they have no robotic assistance," Ouyang said. "Robots can help astronauts produce and transport construction materials, build facilities and operate bases."

Ouyang Ziyuan, senior adviser to China's lunar program.

He said that in the long term human explorers can figure out ways to increase greenhouse gases in the Martian atmosphere to warm up the planet and to melt ice on the surface. Then they can farm and mine from permanent bases.

China plans to send a robotic probe to Mars around 2020. It will take nearly seven months to reach the red planet and land. It will conduct scientific research on the soil and atmosphere and search for signs of water, according to the China National Space Administration.

The probe will consist of three partsan orbiter, lander and rover. The rover will have six wheels and four solar panels, and will carry 13 scientific instruments, weighing about 200 kilograms. It will work 92 days on the planet, according to Sun Zezhou, the probe's chief designer.

In addition, a larger probe will set off for Mars around 2030 to take samples and return to Earth, the administration said.

In another development, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a major player in the country's space programs, will build the nation's first Mars simulation base in Northwest China's Qinghai province.

The base will be in the red cliff region of Da Qaidam (also known as Dachaidan) district in the Mongolian-Tibetan autonomous prefecture of Haixi, the academy said.

Situated in the Qaidam basin in western Qinghai, Haixi was chosen for its Mars-like landforms and climate, said Wang Jingzhai, the prefecture's deputy Party chief.

The government of Haixi and the Chinese Academy of Sciences signed an agreement in November to build the base. They have begun discussing its exact location.
A man rolls down his car window to feed a black bear in the Badaling Wildlife Park in Beijing on Aug 18, ignoring rules and warnings from staff members. He was bitten by the bear.[Photo provided to China Daily]

Wildlife parks should have roads that allow visitors to drive their own vehicles and avoid contact with wild animals, according to a series of draft guidelines to protect tourists in Beijing's wildlife parks.

"The roads should be built with nets or glass walls to ensure that tourists' vehicles avoid contact with wild animals," said the draft guidelines, which were released by the Beijing municipal Administration of Quality and Technology Supervision for public comment.

The guidelines also stipulate that tourists should not get out of their vehicles, and they should leave sightseeing areas before the time required by the parks.

"Animals should be divided into different areas, with fences, electrified nets or solid walls erected to separate tourists from animals," the guidelines said. "Parks must fully inform tourists of the possible dangers and safety measures by setting up billboards or warning signs."

Before the draft guidelines were released, a number of incidents of tourists being injured or killed by animals in wildlife parks made the headlines, triggering discussions on how to raise awareness of safety and find better ways to protect tourists.

In July last year, two female tourists left their car in Beijing's Badaling Wildlife Park. One was killed by a Siberian tiger and the other was seriously injured.

On Aug 18, a male tourist in the park was bitten on the arm by a black bear after he ignored warnings from staff members and rolled down his car window to feed the animals.

Xie Yan, a researcher at the Institute of Zoology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said most wildlife parks in China do not represent a purely wild state, and the frequent reports of incidents arise from tourists' behavior.

"The act of feeding animals definitely adds to the possibility of tourists being attacked," she said, adding that one of the best ways to reduce such incidents is to eliminate contact between animals and tourists.

The draft guidelines were seen as an effort in that direction. They also said animals in parks should be graded on the basis of their ferocity and that some should be kept in cages.

In areas where ferocious animals are kept, there should be staff members on duty 24 hours a day, with patrols every two hours, to find and report dangerous situations, the guidelines said.
Elsie Seetoo at her retirement community in Bowie, Maryland, on July 12. Dong Leshuo/China Daily

Next month, Elsie Seetoo, one of the estimated 20,000 Chinese-Americans who served in the US Army during World War II, will turn 99. And despite her age, some events from more than 70 years ago remain fresh in her memory.

"I was just finishing my final exams at the time when Pearl Harbor and Hong Kong were attacked on the morning of Dec 7, 1941 (Dec 8 in Hong Kong)," said Seetoo, speaking from a retirement home in Bowie, Maryland, where she has lived since the late 1990s.

The exams were part of her training as a nurse at a British hospital in Hong Kong.

Seetoo was born in Stockton, California, on Sept 14, 1918. However, her family's business was hit by the Great Depression, so her father moved the family to Guangdong province when Seetoo was age 12.

While in Hong Kong, she cared for US journalist Agnes Smedley, who told her about the Chinese Red Cross Medical Relief Corps.

After Hong Kong fell to the Japanese in 1941, Seetoo returned to China and joined the Chinese Red Cross, despite her mother's initial objections.

The then-23-year-old and some friends walked about 1,100 kilometers to Guiyang, capital of Guizhou province, where she met Robert Lim, the director of the Red Cross, who offered her a position.

Lim, a Chinese doctor, had helped to organize the Chinese Red Cross during World War I. He became a lieutenant general in the US Army, and was later surgeon general of the Republic of China.

After serving in the Chinese Red Cross for several months, Seeto joined a medical service training unit in India. She and her colleagues left for India on Christmas Day, 1942.

Elsie Seetoo in military uniform in 1943.

When she returned to China, she met Ernest King, a Chinese-American medical officer, who encouraged her to join the US Army Nurse Corps.

Her first application was rejected: "Because of my Chinese name, they told me I should join the Chinese army."

Angered by the rejection, a friend wrote a letter to argue Seetoo's case, and the commission was approved. Seetoo was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the US Army Nurse Corps on June 17, 1944.

Later, she was assigned to Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province, where she was the only Chinese-American nurse.

She returned to the US in 1946 and used the opportunities afford by the GI Bill, which provided a range of benefits for returning World War II veterans, to attend the Woman's College of the University of North Carolina.

At college, she received a bachelor's degree in nursing, and also met her future husband, Joseph Yuen.

They raised four children in Washington. Seetoo retired in the mid-1980s after a career as a translator, medical writer and editor.

Looking back over her long life, Seetoo said, "I'm fortunate that I have met many nice people who have been so helpful to me."
The nonprofit support group PLUK, which helps parents of children with special needs across Montana, is up and running and ready to help as students start the school year.

PLUK, which stands for Parents, Lets Unite for Kids, announced in July that the combined loss of a two federal grants led to a 50 percent reduction in its funding this year. That forced the organization to cut staff.

PLUK provides information, guidance and advocacy for families challenged with keeping their students engaged in a regular school environment and activities.

Services are available across Montana via phone, teleconference or webcasting. Staff members are located in Billings, Great Falls, Helena and Kalispell. Anyone needing services may call the main office at 406-255-0540.
SHANGHAI - China launched nearly 8,000 water clean-up projects in the first half of 2017 with projected total investment of 667.4 billion yuan ($100 billion), the environment ministry said on Thursday.

The projects were devised as part of a 2015 action plan to treat and prevent water pollution, and cover 325 contaminated surface water sites across the country, the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) said in a notice.

A total of 343 contaminated sites had been identified, meaning that 95 percent had drawn up plans to bring water quality up to required standards, it said.

However, it noted that some regions were still behind schedule when it came to meeting their 2017 water pollution goals.

Across the country, 1,762 companies have taken clean production methods to prevent water pollution, accounting for 84.6 percent of companies needing to make the transformation.

China has also changed 75,000 underground oil tanks to two-layer tanks or added seepage prevention measures.

With China desperate to increase supplies to guarantee future food and energy security, it promised in 2015 to make significant improvements in its major waterways and curb untreated wastewater from highly polluting sectors like mining, steelmaking, textiles, printing and oil refining.

The MEP said this month that overall water quality had improved in the first half of 2017, although some regions registered an increase in substandard samples over the period.

China grades its water in six bands, with the lowest "below grade 5" considered unusable even for industrial or irrigation purposes and described as "black and stinky" water.

Of 2,100 "black and stinky" sites identified, 44.1 percent had completed treatment projects in the first half of the year, the ministry said, noting that the provinces of Hebei, Shanxi, Liaoning and Anhui had fallen behind.

In a bid to protect rural water supplies, China also identified 636,000 square kilometers of land that would be made off limits to animal husbandry, and it shut 213,000 livestock and poultry farms in the first six months.

The ministry also said 809 new household sewage treatment facilities were built in the first half, but the regions of Tianjin, Jiangxi, Inner Mongolia, Guangxi, Xinjiang, Hubei and Guangdong were behind schedule, it said.

China said on Wednesday that it has already appointed 200,000 "river chiefs" throughout the country as part of a new system aimed at making local officials more accountable when it comes to improving water quality and curbing pollution.
Feng Yuzhen, acting mayor of Hohhot, delivers a speech at the 17th Forum on Internet Media of China held in Inner Mongolia autonomous region on Aug 25, 2017 . [Photo by Yuan Hui/China Daily]

In recent weeks, Chinese news agencies have struggled to gain more interest from netizens online, brainstorming new concepts and technologies of delivering the news.

On Aug 25, the 17th Forum on Internet Media of China was convened in Hohhot, capital of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, focusing on the future development of online media in the digital era.

Sub-forums centered on media innovation using artificial intelligence (AI), the increase of Chinas international influence and marketing through information technologies.

Hohhot is a hub for finance, culture and science in northern China. In recent days, the city has pioneered a demonstration base for e-commerce, wideband construction, the dairy industry, big data, and afforestation, according to acting mayor Feng Yuzhen.

Over the past decade, Hohhot has functioned as a transfer station for commercial trade along the Grassland Silk Road, and has sought opportunities to flourish through the China-Russia-Mongolia Corridor, added Feng.

Feng pointed out that to meet the digital revolution, Hohhot has utilized its local natural resources and talent to boost big data-related industries. The city has brought in several Chinese giants, such as Alibaba, Baidu and Tencent, to construct cloud computing bases with the ambition of creating Chinas largest information processing center.

Depend upon the data bank, Hohhot has confidence in accelerating its internet application in agriculture, manufacturing, commerce, and public communications.

The internet has dramatically shifted peoples lives and way of thinking over the past few years, pushing forward new media to keep pace with innovative technologies, said Ren Xianliang, deputy director of State Internet Information Office.

Ren outline three principles for the progression of the digital media revolution. First, uphold news content and quality as essential to drive a mass readership. Second, utilize emerging technologies to update news delivery methods. Third, media should serve people, focusing on social issues and opinions, to function as a communication medium between the government and the public.

Led by the State Internet Information Office, the forum was co-hosted by China Economic Net, the Internet Information Office of Inner Mongolia, the Hohhot Municipal Party Committee and the Peoples Government.

Hundreds of officials, professionals and journalists took part in discussions on internet media development, including the State Press and Publication Administration, the All-China Journalists Association, the CPC Publicity Department, Economic Daily, Peoples Daily Online, Xinhua Net, the Communication University of China, and Tsinghua University.
Wang Huanyun, 56, a doctor in charge of basic medical care in a village for 30 years in Hubei province has won the Bethune Award, reported a local newspaper on Aug 24.

Bethune Award is the highest nationwide administrative reward in healthcare issued by Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and National Health and Family Planning Commission.

Wang has won the award for discovering a group of villagers with HIV/AIDS virus, for treating them for over 16 years and clearing misconceptions about HIV/AIDS in the village.

It all began in 2001. A villager came to Wang complaining about exhaustion and continuous low fever. When Wang connected the dots with other deaths for unspecified reasons in the village, he felt unsettled.

He soon conducted a research among the villagers and noticed that most of the patients had sold blood when they worked in Henan in 1990s. He made a bold assumption that the deaths might be related to AIDS.

He reported the issue to the superior. An investigation team went in the village. In over 20 days, Wang and the team interviewed more than a 1,000 people and took over 300 blood samples.

A month later, about 30 people were found infected with HIV/AIDS virus.

What's worse, the panic and misunderstanding among the villagers spread fast.

Wang applied for training to learn more about AIDS prevention and control to better help the villagers. To allay the fears of the villagers, Wang decided to live with one of the patients who lived alone.

He was devoted to help the sick. He explained about AIDS to all the villagers to help them overcome their fear, made sure that the patients took medicines regularly and conducted health check on them each week.

When Wang treated patients, he didn't wear gloves and masks.

But Wang has his own explanation about this. "The patients feel humiliation, avoid meeting people and are sensitive. They can't take discrimination and alienation and they need more understanding. To be with them works more than treatment. "

"I can't wear mask and other things as that would send a wrong signal to them. As a doctor, I know how AIDS spreads and I know how to prevent it. I'm careful."

Thanks to Wang's care and devotion, none of over 30 villagers with HIV/AIDS he's taken care of has given up out of despair. Due to Wang's care, many patients are living 10 years more than the average lifespan of an AIDS patient.



No new HIV/AIDS case has occurred in Wang's village. His efforts have been praised by the city and won many awards nationwide.

As he grows old, Wang feels he can't do enough for his job. He has persuaded his son who graduated from medical college to join him to do the job of AIDS prevention and control.

Wang Jinzhong, Wang's son, arrives at the healthcare office in the village at 7:50 am every day. "I'll keep walking on my father's footsteps to help the villagers have better medical service and keep fighting AIDS," said his son.
China has cooperated with South Korea and Japan to tackle air pollution and prevent sand storms, the environment minister said in a trilateral meeting on Friday.

Environment ministers from China, South Korea, and Japan met in Suwon, on the outskirts of Seoul of South Korea, and issued a joint statement on Friday promising to step up efforts to tackle air pollution, climate change and biodiversity loss.

Minister for China's environmental protection Li Ganjie said the three countries exchanged experiences in tackling air pollution and preventing sand storms.

They pledged to conduct more joint research into fine particulate matter pollution controls - one of the priorities fields among the three.

Li also discussed China's efforts to restrict imports of solid garbage to protect the environment and public health.

He added that China will issue more policies to cut down the imports gradually and improve laws designed to prevent smuggling.

China would also work with other countries to promote the sustainable global development, he said after the two day meeting.

The three environment ministers used the session to outline their key policies and discuss pending issues including particle matters, carbon emissions and harmful chemicals.
One of China's most wanted economic fugitives has been captured and returned to China after spending 20 years on the run, according to China's top discipline watchdog.

The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said on Friday that Han Lu, the male fugitive was found in Africa and retuned to China on Thursday night to face trial.

Han is suspected of embezzling 300 million yuan in public funds while serving as a senior manager at a provincial management company in Changsha, capital in Hunan province between 1996 and 1997.

Since late 2012, China has conducted a sweeping mission to fight corruption.

In 2014, Interpol issued red notices to hunt down 100 major alleged Chinese corrupt fugitives.

To date, more than 40 allegedly corrupt fugitives have been brought back from 17 countries and regions, including the United States, Canada and Australia to face trial.

"There is no 'safe heaven' in the world and no matter where the suspects have fled to, we will try every effort to bring them to justice," according to a CCDI statement.
File photo shows China's bullet train. [Photo/IC]

Passengers will be able to leave Kunming in the morning and arrive at Bangkok at night when a new railway is complete in three years according to media reports.

The train journey between the Chinese and Thai cities is estimated to cost up to two thirds less than the cost of plane ticket.

It would bring more economic cooperation opportunities and tourism between China and Thailand.

Construction will start by the end of October, with the railway, passing through Laos on its way to Bangkok, to be finished in three years. A round-trip cost from Kunming to Bangkok will be about 700 yuan. In the future, the railway could be extended to Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.
The launch ceremony of the CCTV program National Treasure. [Photo/chinadaily.com.cn]

A large-scale cultural exploration program National Treasure was recently launched by China's Central Television (CCTV) in Beijing, with curators from nine museums nationwide featured in the launch ceremony.

The TV program, through two years' preparation, will exhibit 27 of the most precious treasures from the nine museums  the Palace Museum, Shanghai Museum, Nanjing Museum, Hunan Provincial Museum, Henan Museum, Shaanxi History Museum, Hubei Provincial Museum, Zhejiang Provincial Museum and Liaoning Provincial Museum  across 27 episodes.

Yu Lei, chief director of the TV program, said the program aimed to make national treasures come "alive".

"It will present the treasures through different artistic methods, and fully interpret the stories and history behind each piece of cultural relic, so that audiences can not only understand how to appreciate the beauty of cultural relic, but also know the civilization it carries and the spiritual core of the Chinese culture sustained over the years," Yu said.

Regarding the selection criteria of the treasures in the program, Shan Jixiang, curator of the Palace Museum said it was difficult to choose as there "should be combinations of historical, artistic, scientific and ornamental values."

Shan added the popularity of the documentary, Masters in Forbidden City, attracted 15,000 college students applying for work at the Palace Museum this year, and he believed the National Treasure would also touch millions of audiences' hearts.

The program will also invite influential public figures as "national treasure guardians" to narrate stories of cultural relics in the episode.

CCTV cultural programs, such as Chinese Poetry Competition and The Reader, have already won much acclaim from audiences and the year 2017 is gradually regarded as a starting year of cultural programs. Back to tradition and the spirit of craftsman have become hot topics in modern society.
[Photo by Jiang Dong/China Daily]

An ongoing exhibition at Beijing's Prince Gong's Mansion celebrates the age-old art of carving on fruit pits, which has evolved into different styles in northern and southern China.

It now shows through Sept 18 some 72 works created by artisans in Suzhou, Jiangsu province on olive stones. The earliest pieces date to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

From Sept 23 to Oct 23, they will be replaced by dozens of works showing the techniques of artisans from Weifang, Shandong province, who're sculpting mainly on peach pits and sometimes on apricot pits.

Shown objects feature popular themes including figures, animals of Chinese zodiacs, flowers and landscapes.
Fujian's efforts towards culture debuts Malaysia ( chinadaily.com ) Updated: 2017-08-25

Fujian province unveiled its first overseas cultural promotional station in Malacca, Malaysia to promote its culture on Aug 23. [Photo/fjsen.com]

Fujian province unveiled its first overseas cultural space in Malacca, Malaysia on Aug 23, a project partnered with local property developer Hatten Group aiming at promoting its culture to the Southeast Asian country.

The cultural space will serve as a hub for displaying some of the finest cultural legacies of Fujian province to meet the cultural demands of overseas Chinese as well as deepen the cultural opening-up of the province.

Lin Shouqin, deputy director of Fujian Cultural Bureau, said at the opening ceremony that the innovative cultural project, first of its kind, marks another plateau for China and Malaysia in the promotion of the Belt and Road Initiative.

"The launching of the Overseas Promotional Station for Cultures of Fujian in Malaysia has significant meaning in improving the mutual culture communication. Malaysia is one of the key sites along the ancient Silk Road and shares similar culture and customs with China. This station provides a platform to promote cultural and economic cooperation between the two countries, develop a cultural industry and expose Chinese traditional culture to the world." said Lin, in the opening ceremony.
Youyu: from barren county to green oasis ( chinadaily.com.cn ) Updated: 2017-08-25

For the past 60 years, the local government and residents have witnessed Youyu county in Shanxi province be transformed from a barren land into a green oasis.

Youyu county borders Inner Mongolia autonomous region, and is next to Maowusu desert. Forest coverage was less than 0.3 percent when the People's Republic of China was founded in 1949.

Foreign experts who visited Youyu county at the time stated that the area was not suitable for human habitation, and suggested local residents emigrate.

Zhang Ronghuai, secretary of the county Party committee, called on local people to plant more trees to improve the area's environment.

Ever since then, 20 secretaries of the county Party committee have encouraged the planting of trees.

Years of dedication by local officials and residents have improved the forest coverage ratio to 54 percent, converting nearly 2,000 square kilometers of barren land into green forest.
LIBBY  Law enforcement officials say an Idaho couple has been arrested in connection to a suspicious death in extreme northwestern Montana.

Lincoln County Sheriff's office announced Friday that 28-year-old Ezra Skinner and 27-year-old Sarah Carpenter Skinner are being held without bail and are facing homicide charges.

According to authorities, 31-year-old Travis Gillett was shot and killed sometime in mid-January. Gillett  a former resident of Libby and Troy  was reported missing after leaving Sandpoint, Idaho with another person in a dark blue or green pickup to make a delivery somewhere in the Yaak Valley.

The caller reported that Gillett said he would be back soon, but had not returned.
A container ship docks at the Port of Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo/Xinhua]

The United States launched a Section 301 investigation into China's technology transfer and intellectual property policies and practices last week, raising more concerns about the trade policy of the Donald Trump administration, which is increasingly unilateral, protectionist and rules-breaking.

While the action may reflect the views of some trade hawks in the Trump administration, many US economists have opposed reviving the outdated Section 301 of the US Trade Act of 1974.

The reason is clear. With its Section 301 investigation the US is trying to be a player and the referee at the same time. The dispute settlement mechanism of the World Trade Organization, set up in 1995, is the right place to address such issues.

The US is violating its WTO commitment with its Section 301 investigation. The implication of this is serious. If the US takes the lead in breaking WTO rules, it would set a bad precedent for others to follow suit.

Although the investigation, which might take a year, does not equate to a declaration of a trade war, it is moving in that direction. A trade war between the world's two largest economies, or just tit-for-tat retaliation between them, would be calamitous to not only themselves, but also the global economy, especially those in the Asia-Pacific supply chains.

And the unilateral action, whatever its purpose, is a setback to the progress made between China and the US over the past seven months.

During the presidential race, Trump threatened to impose tariffs of up to 45 percent on imports from China and label China a currency manipulator. Those threats faded away after he became president, and he and President Xi Jinping had a successful face-to-face meeting in Florida in early April. During the meeting the two leaders agreed on a 100-Day Action Plan for economic cooperation that, having proved fruitful, has now been transformed into a one-year action plan. And a week after the summit, the US Treasury Department determined that China was not manipulating its currency.

The Section 301 investigation has again cast a shadow over the bilateral economic relationship, especially over those industries that will be at the forefront of any retaliation should the worst-case scenario of tit-for-tat actions materialize.

The move is one of the many actions by the Trump administration challenging the US' global and multilateral commitments, which Trump hailed as a good thing in a speech in Phoenix, Arizona, on Tuesday.

In the speech, Trump praised himself for withdrawing the US from the "disastrous Trans-Pacific Partnership" and "job-killing Paris Climate Accord". And he said if the US cannot make a deal, it will probably terminate the North American Free Trade Agreement.

People such as IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde have repeatedly voiced concern over the surging protectionism in the US. It was the US that refused to renew a longstanding pledge to free trade and rejection of protectionism in the G20 finance ministers' meeting in Germany in March.

When taking protectionist moves, the US likes to blame its economic woes on other nations, painting itself as a victim. However, a recent report by Gary Hufbauer and Lucy Lu of the Peterson Institute for International Economics showed that the payoff to the US from trade expansion is and will be significant, while the 156,250 manufacturing sector jobs lost annually over the past 13 years represents less than 1 percent of the number of people involuntarily separated from their jobs each year.

The 21st century is totally different from Cold War days of 1974 when Section 301 was enacted. The Trump administration should heed the warning of many economists and drop the Section 301 action.

The author is deputy editor of China Daily USA. chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com
Protesters hold a rally against the deployment of the US missile defense system in Seoul on Saturday.Yao Qilin / Xinhua

The annual joint military exercises between the United States and the Republic of Korea have always been seen with suspicion and criticized by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The 10-day Ulchi Freedom Guardian drills, which ROK President Moon Jae-in described as "defensive in nature", have been dismissed by Pyongyang as a "reckless" rehearsal for invasion amid rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

In a Sunday editorial, the DPRK's Rodong Sinmun newspaper said the US-ROK exercise will "add fuel to the fire" and drive the situation into "the uncontrollable phase of a nuclear war". The drills, largely computer-simulated and participated by about 17,500 US troopsa cutback of 7,500 from last yearcame a week after the DPRK announced a plan to fire four missiles toward the US territory of Guam.

The reduction in the number of US troops taking part in the drill is hardly a sign of relief for the DPRK, which still sees the annual exercises as a grave affront. But the rest of the world may heave a sigh of relief if nothing disastrous happens during the US-ROK drill.

The DPRK and the ROK are technically still at war as the Korean War (1950-53) ended with the signing of an armistice agreement, not a peace treaty. For the DPRK, therefore, any military drill at its doorstep could be a prelude to an attack on the country. The two major annual US-ROK drills, one held in the spring and the other in the autumn, are symptomatic of a spiral of insecurity in which the DPRK keeps pursuing advanced nuclear capability, unconvinced as it is about the "defensive nature" of those drills.

That spiral risked going out of hand in April, when the DPRK was preparing to celebrate the 105th birth anniversary of its founder Kim Il-sung. Fears over Pyongyang test-firing intercontinental missiles or even conducting a sixth nuclear test were high, either of which could have led to devastating consequences. Ostensibly, under US military pressure, the DPRK instead put on a massive display of its military personnel and arsenal.

Three months later came another turning point on the Korean Peninsula, as the DPRK successfully test-fired two intercontinental ballistic missiles, inviting fresh UN sanctions and belligerent threats from US President Donald Trump. The sudden escalation in the Washington-Pyongyang exchange of threats has pushed the peninsula closest to the brink of a nuclear war since the DPRK nuclear crisis emerged in 1994.

To many, the simmering tensions between the US and the DPRK are reminiscent of the 1962 Cuban missile crisis. The successful test-firings of intercontinental ballistic missiles means the DPRK's nuclear deterrents, in theory, could affect the US. Such unprecedented provocations also suggest Pyongyang's brinkmanship has tilted toward nuclear development rather than diplomatic breakthroughs.

A nuclear war between two nuclear powers has never happened, and it is not an option for either the US or the DPRK. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff described the idea of waging a war on the Korean Peninsula as "horrific", while Pyongyang too has softened its tone on firing missiles on Guam. The ongoing US-ROK drill may offer an opportunity to both sides to return to "normal" if further provocations are not made in the coming week. But the crisis will linger on without effective initiatives such as China's "dual suspension" proposal, under which the US and the ROK halt their large military drills, and the DPRK halts its missile and nuclear tests, which Washington has repeatedly ignored.

The author is vice dean of the School of International and Public Affairs, Jilin University.
A new intercity train CRH6F leaves Ningbo for Yuyao in East China's Zhejiang province on June 14, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

One after another, Southeast Asian countries are joining hands with China to build high-speed railways. The latest such project is a 688-kilometer high-speed railway along the eastern coast of Malaysia, for which the groundbreaking ceremony was held on Aug 10. Last week, media reports said China and Thailand will sign a contract on a railway project linking Kunming, capital of Southwestern China's Yunnan province, and Bangkok during Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha's official visit to China next month. And work on the project is expected to start in October.

Apart from the above-mentioned projects, Chinese companies are already building the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway in Indonesia and the one linking China and Laos. And both Malaysia and Singapore have welcomed Chinese companies to bid for a high-speed railway linking the two countries.

These projects are like silk threads connecting China and Southeast Asian countries and the best testimony to the progress the Belt and Road Initiative has made in Southeast Asia.

A key part of the Belt and Road Initiative is interconnectivity of roads, and building or improving existing cross-border transportation networks is a prerequisite for closer regional cooperation and people-to-people exchanges.

Unfortunately, many Southeast Asian countries still lag behind in terms of modern transportation infrastructure, which has hindered their economic development. Take Thailand for example. The country with a population of less than 70 million received about 40 million tourists last year, of which one-fourth were from China. Yet only one train plies between Bangkok and Pattaya, two of Thailand's most popular cities, from Monday to Friday. Moreover, the trains often take three to four hours to cover a distance that can be negotiated in an hour by a high-speed train. This lack of modern traffic infrastructure is preventing Thailand from fulfilling its development potential.

In comparison, China has been continuously developing its transportation infrastructure for decades. By last year, China had high-speed trains running across 22,000 km, accounting for more than 65 percent of world total. High-speed trains have not only made traveling more convenient and comfortable for passengers, but also earned global praisethat's why high-speed railway is considered one of the "four new great inventions" of China.

Southeast Asian countries, like China, have huge populations that need to frequently travel from one place to another, yet they have comparatively small budgets for transportation infrastructure, which would be more suited to building high-speed railways.

And because of its mature high-speed train technology and rich experience, China could help Southeast Asian countries in this regarda move that will be beneficial to the local people. More importantly, the cooperation between China and those countries in infrastructure building will be mutually beneficial.

After 20 years of developing the sector, China today holds the intellectual property rights for its high-speed railway, and has established technological standards that would suit other developing countries equally well.

By 2030, China expects to build eight longitudinal and eight parallel high-speed train lines to have in place a comprehensive high-speed railway network. At that time, Chinese companies will have more time, energy and resources at their disposal to help China's Southeast Asian neighbors build their own high-speed railway networks.

For Southeast Asian countries, an efficient high-speed railway will not only improve their transportation infrastructure, but also help cultivate more engineering talents and thus boost their economies. And after Southeast Asian countries are connected with one another through high-speed railways, the region's economic integration will intensify.

The Belt and Road Initiative has created new opportunities for China and Southeast Asian countries to work together, for instance, through high-speed railway construction.

The author is an associate professor at School of International Relations, Nanjing University.
South Korean President Moon Jae-In speaks during a press conference marking his first 100 days in office at the presidential house in Seoul on August 17, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]

"If winter comes, can spring be far behind?"

For two centuries, that famous line by the English poet Percy Bysshe Shelley has offered numerous people in despair the hope that the dark hours will pass.

It may also have been on the mind of Republic of Korea President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday, when he urged his country's Ministry of Unification to prepare for a thaw in relations with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Like the freezing chill of winter never halts the footsteps of spring, the more difficult the situation gets, the harder the ROK should try to ease tensions with the DPRK, Moon said. Placing the tense standoff on the Korean Peninsula in the dead of winter, Moon reiterated his belief that a thaw will eventually come.

Great statesmanship no doubt requires some clinging to idealismthe capability to retain and kindle the small flame of hope and to envisage a brighter prospect that lies beyond sight.

The ROK president obviously still has some, considering his undampened enthusiasm for engaging Pyongyang, and his conviction there will be a peaceful conclusion to the DPRK crisis.

Yet unlike the natural inevitability of the cycle of seasons, there is no certainty that bad will turn to good in real-world situations. Depending on the concerned parties' actions or inactions, the current stalemate could go either way.

Despite all the high-decibel threats of mutual destruction and actual saber-rattling, both sides have been careful not to shut the door to dialogue. Both keep signaling willingness to talk, although setting preconditions they know are unlikely to be met.

Perhaps President Moon has been reviewing the past to justify his hopes in a coming spring.

Following a DPRK missile test and suspected nuclear activities in 1998, US special envoy William Perry led a comprehensive process of regional consultation and coordination that once brought Pyongyang to the negotiating table. And the joint statement made on 19 September 2005 following the second phase of the Six-Party Talks that year established a basic framework for denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula.

But if those remarkable headways did not suffice to make a lasting difference, President Moon's good wishes hardly will. Moon's adherence to engagement is to be admired. But it will prove meaningless without the support of corresponding moves that truly de-escalate tensions.

While its joint military drills with the US continue irking Pyongyang, the ROK's deployment of the United States' Terminal High Altitude Area Defense anti-missile system is alienating other members of the international community trying to denuclearize the peninsula.

Should this pattern persist, the winter President Moon foretells ending may instead prove a long one.


ZHAO MINGYI, the drummer in the rock 'n' roll band Black Panther, was photographed drinking tea, and many marveled that "our rock star since childhood is entering his middle age". The WeChat media World Insight comments:

Snapped drinking tea, Zhao was identified as middle-aged and he received more than 1,700 comments on his micro blog, most of which expressed sympathy for him getting old.

Afterward a post was widely spread on social media linking different age groups with a typical drink, such as fizzy drinks for children, beer for young people and hot tea for the middle-aged and the elderly.

It implied that young people can afford to live unhealthy lifestyles by consuming alcohol and staying up late at night, while those in their middle age must take more care of their health. That logic is rather absurd because everyone has the right to care about their health, whatever their age. Being young is no reason to ignore one's health.

The incident also reveals the wide and still growing generation gaps in Chinese society. The young tend to depict the middle-aged as conservative, while the middle-aged tend to think of the young as irresponsible. Such stereotyped images are formed by a lack of mutual understanding and it is time for different age groups to interact with each other to break them.
A firefly sparkles in the night. [Photo/CFP]

A LOCAL ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION GROUP has called on people to boycott a firefly theme park in Beijing's Fangshan district, as it says most of the supposedly "free-range" fireflies in the park were caught in the wild. Beijing News commented on Thursday:

Although staff members of the Fangshan park responded by saying that the fireflies on display were bred in the wild by firefly farmers, their claim is questionable. China's urbanization has led to the near-extinction of wild fireflies in big cities because the insects are extremely picky about where they live. Only a few dozen wild fireflies have been found on the outskirts of Beijing in recent decades.

The fireflies swarming inside the park in Fangshan are therefore likely not locally bred, since farming them is an equally unlikely option. The cost of farming fireflies can reach 20 yuan ($3) per firefly while one caught in the wild is only 4 yuan. It is an open secret that people are hired to catch wild fireflies in large numbers and sell them to commercial enterprises like the one running the firefly theme park in Fangshan.

It is estimated that last year over 6 million fireflies were displayed at some 121 such theme parks across the country. A lot more must have been caught and sold since many no doubt died during transportation. The extinction of firefly species will only be a matter of time if such insatiable hunting continues.

The prevailing nostalgia for childhood days when fireflies still inhabited cities, should not put wild fireflies in harm's way. Since these insects are no longer able to survive urban life, they are better left in the countryside.

Exploiting them for profit, which has become common since 2015, could deal a heavy blow to the already shrinking firefly population. Dismantling the underground chain of firefly hunting and exhibiting is a step that has to be made to save wild fireflies.
A poster for TOEFL test is displayed at the China Education Expo in Beijing in October, 2014. Provided to China Daily

In a recent chat with some high school students, who were studying at a private school to prepare for taking either the TOEFL or the IELTS tests, I was shocked to discover how stressed they really were, over the possibility of failing or receiving low scores.

I attempted to calm them and ease their anxiety by stating any test would be easy to pass if it is handled systematically. Furthermore, I mentioned the fact all of the TOEFL, IELTS, SAT and ACT tests focus on testing the capabilities of their takers in using critical thinking and intelligence to complete them successfully.

After seeing the blank look on their faces, I realized the students had no idea about what I was talking about. Hence, I came to the conclusion I needed to guide them slowly in order for the students to comprehend the significance of my recommendation for handling their future exams systematically.

I began to emphasize the fact examiners were well-aware English was not their native language. Therefore, they would then be willing to tolerate their insignificant imperfections in expressing their views. Consequently, they should not panic if they commit a few errors.

Observing their interest, I continued to stress the importance of being concise, coherent and comprehensible in forming sentences. Students need to build simple sentences in their minds before expanding them by adding adjective, proverbs, idioms and other elements of the English language.

They were confused about the term "being coherent" which then prompted me to explain is they were coherent, they would be easy to follow by being logical in stating their views.

I advised them to variate their vocabulary and expressions in handling various components of their exams by using vivid and imaginative arguments to validate their points of view. For certain, being animated would captivate the interest of their examiners especially in the speaking component of the IELTS exam.

I wished to extend our discussion further but, unfortunately, they had classes to attend. The students expressed their gratitude for my help before they left me to wonder about the predicament of the Chinese students who are subjected to go through the stressful experience of handling international admission tests.

It is clear with the rise of the standards of living Chinese, more families opt to send their kids abroad to complete or advance their studies. Of course, they believe getting a degree from an overseas renowned university would grant their children an opportunity to land prestigious positions in their fields of choice in China, and who can blame them?

The problem is the fact there is a shortage of qualified teachers who possess the capacity to facilitate the process of guiding their students through the procedure of preparing for handling such exams.

Currently, teachers in schools who offer those courses force the students to refer to memorization in order to pass their desired tests with reasonably high scores.

Most teachers at those schools focus on the task of preparing their students to pass their desired tests, ignoring the crucial fact students must survive inside and outside the academic circle. The tests prepare them for handling the challenge of progressing in their studies. However, teachers ignore the fact they need to survive in the outside environment also.

The fundamental question should focus on the means by which we can improve the methodology of teaching international admission English courses especially TOEFL, IELTS and SAT among others.

Those schools should invite experts in the methodology of teaching those courses to hold workshops for their teachers. Certainly, the owners might argue that it is costly to do. However, they can increase their fees. For certain, most parents would not mind if it would be a benefit, and certainly it will.

The government should also regulate the process of granting permissions to schools that wish to offer those courses. As for families, please take your time to be selective in choosing the appropriate school for your child. His or her future might depend upon it.

Finally, students ought to be more courageous when requesting extra efforts from teachers to familiarize them with the elements of the language which are needed to survive both inside and outside the academic circle in their prospective English countries of their choice.

Sava Hassan is a Canadian Egyptian educator.
The 25th anniversary of China-ROK diplomatic relations forum is held at the China World Hotel in Beijing on Aug 24th. [Photo/Arianna James]

Seoul's ties with Beijing have been undoubtedly frustrated the past year over the deployment of the US Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense antimissile system in the Republic of China (ROK). Despite the concerns surrounding the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the ever-controversial THAAD program, experts and ambassadors from both China and the ROK celebrated the 25th anniversary of China-ROK diplomatic relations.

On August 24th, at a panel and discussion at the China World Hotel in Beijing, experts on China-ROK relations shared their hopes and worries for the future of these two countries.

In a speech to commemorate the occasion, the chairman of Pangoal Institution, Yi Peng, said, "I think today is an extremely special dayon every diplomatic aspect, I do believe that we have achieved a wealth of success. Trade between China and the ROK is close to $300 billion, which is an indisputable success. The number of people traveling to and from China and South Korea surpassed 10 million in 2014, a truly staggering number. The partnership between China and the ROK has become the most successful model of win-win cooperation between two countries".

Outside of the many improvements and strides that have already been made, relations between China and the ROK still hold room for improvement.

Former ROK's ambassador to China and dean of the Future Research Institute, Shin Jung-seung commented on the long road ahead that still remains for both China and the ROK.

He said, "China and the ROK both recognize the need for us to maintain communication and cooperation between our countries. Through indispensable communication and cooperation, progress will be achieved. However, I do believe that should both countries strive to further develop a healthy and stable relationship, and to abide by the basic principles of relations agreed upon, we need to reach a consensus on the following two aspects".

Shin Jung-seung discussed the importance of communication between the two countries, and the need for the cultivation of trust. He also said there was the absolute need for understanding between China and the ROK, not only between the governments but also the people.

What then can the people of China and the ROK do to help?

ROK's ambassador for public diplomacy, Enna Park, answered this nigh impossible question asked by China Daily Website with a laugh. "Do you have any good ideas?" she teased back, before diving into the importance of education and information.

Park discussed the acute need for accurate representation, factual information, and education for Chinese and the ROK's students and citizens.

The history between these two countries is long but there needs to be non-biased lessons of history. Overly fervent patriotism and nationalism detracts from the Northeast Asian identity. China, Japan, and the ROK need to come together to foster a collective identity and unity.

While relations between China and the ROK have undoubtedly taken large strides, the path forward continues.
Hoh Xil's recent listing as a UNESCO World Heritage Site bodes well for the source of the Yangtze, Yellow and Lancang rivers, which was established as China's first national park to pilot environmental-protection reform. Liu Xiangrui reports in Hoh Xil, Qinghai.

The inclusion of Hoh Xil, which is on the world's largest and highest plateau, as a UNESCO World Heritage Site marks a new beginning for the area's conservation, says Buzhou, director of the Hoh Xil National Nature Reserve administration.

"We must improve our ideas and methods to meet the higher standards set by the World Heritage Convention," Buzhou says.

Hoh Xil, which is located on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in the northwestern part of Qinghai province, is famous for its natural beauty and biodiversity.
Black phosphorus in its crystal form. [Photo/China Daily]

Scientists from UK and Chinese universities have developed a new ink that could improve the performance of devices in the cutting-edge field of printed electronics.

Researchers from the Hybrid Nanomaterials Engineering Group at Cambridge University's Graphene Center successfully incorporated black phosphorus, a two-dimensional material similar to graphene, into ink that is compatible with conventional inkjet printers.

The team collaborated with scientists at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Beihang and Zhejiang universities.

Graphene and black phosphorus are part of a growing family of revolutionary two-dimensional materials that are subject to intense scientific research due to their special properties.

Black phosphorus is not as conductive as graphene, though it is sensitive to a greater region of the electromagnetic spectrum including infrared, making it ideal for the development of optoelectronic devices.

Such devices that detect, source or control light include solar cells, light emitters, optical fibers, and sensors. The material may also have applications in technologies such as flexible, wearable electronics.

Hu Guohua, a PhD student at Cambridge University and lead author on the studywhich has been published in the science journal Naturesaid the team printed the new ink onto a range of materials.

"Printing on silicon means it can be used to make transistors or photodetectors," he told China Daily. "If we print on plastic, it can be used to make flexible devices and on glass for transparent devices."

The Chinese's interest in British research into the commercial application of two dimensional materials was highlighted by President Xi Jinping's visit to the National Graphene Institute in Manchester during his 2015 State visit to the UK.

The beneficial properties of black phosphorus have been known for some time, but until now there was no reliable way to convert the bulk crystals into a stable and printable ink.

"We think we can integrate printed black phosphorus onto existing silicon-based technologies like circuits, sensors, and interactive devices like wearable electronics," Hu said.

The team at Cambridge used a solution processing technique in order to break the bulk crystals into ultrathin nanomaterials, only a few atomic layers across.

In 2015, the same researchers developed a high-speed method for printed electronics using graphene, which was also led by Hu.
A man accused of robbing Western Security Bank in downtown Billings admitted federal charges this week.

Appearing in U.S. District Court on Thursday, Randy Ray Starnes, 60, pleaded guilty to bank robbery. There was no plea agreement.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Godfrey said in court records that Starnes entered the bank, at 2812 First Ave. N., on April 7 and went to the kiosk desk in front of the tellers counter. He paused for several minutes and appeared to be writing something.

He then approached a teller, gave her a note that said he had a gun and demanded cash. I mean it, Starnes told the teller, Godfrey said.

The teller gave Starnes about $500 cash and he left the bank on foot.

The teller showed the note to another teller, who activated an alarm.

Billings Police officers reviewed surveillance video, which showed Starnes' actions, and then showed still photographs from the video to people in the area.

Later in the day, police got a tip from a bar and casino employee who had been shown the security photographs. The employee told officers she had seen the suspect in the photographs playing slot machines at the casino, the prosecutor said.

Officers found the suspect at the slot machines and identified him as Starnes, who was wearing clothing that matched the robbers. Police arrested Starnes.

The teller also identified Starnes as the robber from a photo lineup.

Starnes faces a maximum 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy Cavan said he will recommend Starnes plea be accepted by U.S. District Judge Susan Watters, who will sentence him. Starnes remains in custody.
French President Emmanuel Macron gestures while answering a question from the media during a joint news conference with his Romanian counterpart, on the French president's three-day tour of central and eastern Europe, in Bucharest, Romania August 24, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]

BUCHAREST - French President Emmanuel Macron got lukewarm support from Romania on Thursday for his push to tighten EU rules over the employment abroad of workersfrom low-pay countries, but enough for him to express confidence of a deal by year-end.

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said the concerns of countries in the east needed addressing, as well as those of the west, but gave no details on what he would deem acceptable after meeting Macron.

Macron wants to overhaul a system which allows "posted" workers to work in other European Union countries on contracts that need only guarantee the host country's minimum wage, and allow taxes and social charges to be paid in the home nation.

He says the system creates unfair competition in wealthier nations like France and Germany.

"I'm convinced we can reach an agreement before the end of the year," Macron told a joint news conference.

Although "posted" workers make up only 1 percent of the EU workforce, the politically sensitive issue, which in recentyears has deepened the divide between the rich west and pooreast, is a first step in the French leader's drive to re-shape Europe.

"It is very important to avoid useless simplification,"Iohannis said. "On the one hand, there is discontent in Franceover undeclared workers, on the other hand there are many people in Eastern Europe, in Romania, who want to work in France, Germany, Spain.

"It is clear the directive needs to be improved."

On Wednesday, Macron won the backing of Slovakia and the Czech Republic, scoring a symbolic victory over the eurosceptic governments of Poland and Hungary which have led efforts in the region to block reform of the labor directive.

Macron told Iohannis he was open to Romania joining Europe's open-borders Schengen group and said it was in the eastern European country's interest to be a part of a more deeply integrated Europe.

Failure to reform the EU would threaten the bloc's future.

"Part of Britain's Brexit vote was down to the poor functioning of the single market on posted worker rules, and the rules we have on social rights," Macron said.
Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg, (L) and Interim Police Chief Jerome Taylor brief news reporters regarding a restaurant shooting in which police shot and wounded a disgruntled former employee during a hostage taking incident in Charleston, South Carolina, US, August 24, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]

CHARLESTON, S.C.  A fired dishwasher shot and killed a chef and held a person hostage for about three hours before he was shot by police at a crowded restaurant in a tourist-heavy area of downtown Charleston on Thursday, authorities and one of the restaurant's owners said.

The hostage was freed with no injuries, Mayor John Tecklenburg said. The shooting took place at Virginia's restaurant on the usually crowded King Street, a line of shops and nice dining that caters to both tourists and residents in South Carolina's largest and most historic city.

Tecklenburg quickly said the shooting was "the act of a disgruntled employee" and not a terrorist attack or a hate crime in a city where nine black church members were killed by a white man two years ago.

"This was a tragic case of a disturbed individual, I think, with a history of some mental health challenges," Tecklenburg said at a news conference.

Authorities did not release the names of the gunman or the employee he killed. They initially said they believed there were "a couple" or a "small number" of hostages.

The shooting was reported shortly after noon Thursday.

Peter Siegert, 73, and his son Peter Siegert IV, 45, were quoted by The Post and Courier of Charleston as saying that just after several waitresses and kitchen workers walked out the door without saying a word, a man in an apron with a gun came out of the kitchen and locked the front door.

"'I am the new king of Charleston,'" the Siegerts quoted the man as saying.

The man told diners to get on the floor and move to the back of the restaurant. The Siegerts said they escaped out a back door and didn't know how many people were left behind.

One of the restaurant's owners, John Aquino, told WCSC-TV that a dishwasher who had been fired came back to the restaurant and shot a chef to get revenge.

The restaurant was packed with a lunchtime crowd and the first officers to arrive were able to get the man who was shot and a number of diners out safely, interim Charleston Police Chief Jerome Taylor said.

The site is a few blocks away from Emanuel AME church, where nine black members of a church were killed by a white man during a June 2015 Bible study. Dylann Roof was sentenced to death in the case.

It is also just several blocks from where more than 100 cruise ships dock in Charleston each year.

Associated Press writers Seanna Adcox, Jeffrey Collins and Meg Kinnard in Columbia contributed to this report.

AP
Ousted former Thai prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra greets supporters as she leaves the Supreme Court in Bangkok, Thailand, August 1, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]

BANGKOK/KHON KAEN - Hundreds of supporters of ousted former Thai prime minister Yingluck began to gather outside Bangkok's Supreme Court early on Friday hours before the court was due to rule on a negligence case against her in which she faces up to 10 years in prison.

The long-awaited verdict could inflame tension in the Southeast Asian country and have far-reaching implications in the politically divided kingdom.

Bangkok's metropolitan police said around 4,000 police were deployed at the court and checkpoints had been set up.

A rice subsidy programme - a flagship policy of Yingluck's administration - saw her government buy farmers' crops at prices up to 50 percent higher than market prices. The policy was popular with farmers but left Thailand with huge rice stockpiles and caused $8 billion in losses.

Yingluck, who has pleaded not guilty to the negligence charges against her, has said she was only in charge of coming up with the policy but not the day-to-day management of the scheme. Her administration was removed in a 2014 military coup.

In the northeastern province Khon Kaen, a Shinawatra stronghold, a leader of the red shirt political movement that supports Yingluck said her supporters felt frustrated.

"Some people may want to demonstrate publicly to show their unhappiness about how Yingluck is being treated," he said.

Shinawatra's Puea Thai Party has said it does not support acts of violence and urged supporters to gather peacefully.
A poster details information about missing Chinese student Feng Ruyi in Japan.

Chinese student Feng Ruyi has been missing in Japan for past 11 days.

The 22-year-old man was last seen when he had online chat with his mother on Aug 10. Relatives and friends of Feng have not heard from him since then. His parent flew to Japan on Aug 18 in an attempt to find more information.

Japanese police are now investigating the incident, according to the Chinese embassy in Tokyo.
Performers participate in the parade at the Notting Hill Carnival in London, Britain August 29, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]

LONDON - The biggest ever trial in Britain of facial recognition technology is to take place this weekend at London's Notting Hill Carnival, said London police Thursday.

The two-day event draws about a million people, making it one of the world's biggest street festivals.

The official Biometrics Commissioner Paul Wiles said Thursday he aims to monitor and evaluate the way London's Metropolitan Police use the biometric technology at the event."This kind of biometric technology has the potential to be a really useful crime fighting tool but we are not there yet. It needs to be properly tested and evaluated if it is going to be effective and it will need to be handled carefully by the police and the government if it is going to be trusted by the public," he said.

The commissioner said police in Britain already hold over 20 million facial images but there is as yet no single, shared policing system for storing and searching police held images, nor an evaluation of its accuracy and usefulness.

In a statement, the Met said the technology involves the use of overt cameras which scan the faces of those passing by and flag up potential matches against a database of custody images. The database will be populated with images of individuals who are forbidden from attending carnival, as well as individuals on the police wanted-list.

Wiles added: "There is a public benefit in the use of such technology if it can be shown to help prevent the problems that there have been at previous carnivals by assisting the police to catch offenders or prevent crime."

He said tests of facial matching for spotting individuals in large crowds have so far had very poor success.

Police forces need to work together, he added, to agree on a single facial recognition system that has been proved to work in the field and government needs to create a legislative framework for its use. There should also be an independent oversight to provide public assurance, as it has done for DNA and fingerprints, he said.

Wiles said current police interest in facial matching has moved on from custody images to whether it can be used to identify individual offenders in public places.

"Facial matching systems have improved significantly recently and the use being explored by the Metropolitan Police may, at some point, reach acceptable quality for operational use but presently that remains to be demonstrated," the commissioner said.

He concluded: "The use of facial images, especially in public places, is very intrusive of individual freedom, especially because images can be captured without the subject being aware. The public benefit of the use of such an intrusive technology must outweigh the interference in individual privacy. Such a difficult balance between public benefit and individual privacy should not be decided by the police but is best decided by Parliament through informed debate and legislation."

Earlier this week the Met said it had arrested almost 300 people ahead of the carnival, a pan-London response to violence and knife crime. The operation led to 190 knives and 18 firearms being recovered.

Civil rights campaigners have been critical of the plan, with Martha Spurrier, director of national campaign group Liberty saying in the Guardian newspaper:"This intrusive biometric surveillance has no place at the Notting Hill carnival. There is no basis in law for facial recognition, no transparency around its use and we've had no public or parliamentary debate about whether this technology could ever be lawful in a democracy."
Liu Xianfa, Chinese ambassador in Kenya, urged Kenyan students to learn the Chinese culture and heritage. [Photo by Lucie Morangi/chinadaily.com.cn]

A total of 140 Kenyan students received Chinese government scholarships in 2017. The program, which includes tuition, boarding, upkeep and return air-tickets, will enable the students to undertake studies in undergraduate, master's and doctorate degrees across different Chinese universities on various fields relevant to the economic needs of the east African country.

During a pre-departure event hosted by the Chinese embassy in Kenya on Thursday, Chinese ambassador Liu Xianfa advised students to learn and return back to the country to participate in development.

"The opportunities are the same as what were accorded to Chinese students more than two decades ago when they were sent to study in western countries," he said.

"The students came back and are now behind the economic success we are witnessing now."

Moreover, the Asian giant has experienced a rapid economic growth in the last three decades. With an average annual growth rate of about 10 percent, it is the second largest economy, the largest trading nation in goods and largest holder of foreign exchange reserves in the world.

"Chinese President Xi Jinping once said, 'when the youth rises, the country rises; when the youth is strong, then the country is also strong'," Liu said.

"Young people are the future of a country, and also the future of our friendship."
BUDAPEST - Budapest has recalled its ambassador in the Hague for consultations, and the diplomatic ties of ambassador level will be suspended between the two countries for an undetermined period, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto said on Friday.

"This is one of the most radical measures in diplomacy," Szijjarto told reporters.

Budapest has recalled its ambassador in the Hague after the outgoing Dutch Ambassador to Hungary Gajus Scheltema harshly criticized the government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban in the political opposition weekly 168 ora (168 hours) issued on Thursday.

Gajus Scheltema said in an interview for 168 ora that extremist Islamists "created enemies along the same lines as the Hungarian government."

Szijjarto said that he instructed the temporary Charge d'affaires to firmly reject the reproaches and unfounded allegations made against Hungary as soon as Monday, in the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"The Charge d'affaires shall also seek an explanation as to the backgrounds of the critics, did the ambassador act on its own, or has he been mandated by his superiors?"

"We are not satisfied with an explanation behind closed doors," he added.

On Thursday, Szijjarto stressed that he strongly rejected the ambassador's aim at putting an equation mark between terrorists and the Hungarian government regarding motivation or method.

He also indicated that Gajus Scheltema was no longer welcomed in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. "We are delighted to see him go, the sooner the better," Szijjarto said.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying [Photo/fmprc.gov.cn]

BEIJING - China opposes any unilateral sanctions imposed by any country outside the framework of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Friday.

Spokesperson Hua Chunying said at a daily news briefing that China especially opposes sanctions against Chinese entities and people.

Japan's Cabinet on Friday approved the imposition of new unilateral sanctions on a number of companies and individuals from China, Namibia and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) in a bid to further pressure Pyongyang over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

China is comprehensively implementing DPRK-related resolutions of the Security Council, Hua said.

"We oppose unilateral sanctions imposed by any country outside the framework of the Security Council, and in this case we oppose sanctioning Chinese entities and individuals," Hua said.

China is dissatisfied with and strongly opposes Japan's moves, Hua said, urging Japan not to follow in the footsteps of some countries.

What the Japanese side has done has seriously harmed China's interests and brought tremendous political obstacles to China-Japan relations, the spokesperson said.

"If Japan continues to act arbitrarily, it should pay the consequences," Hua said.
A police officer stands at a cordon after police arrested a man carrying a knife outside Buckingham Palace in London, Britain, August 25, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]

LONDON - A man with a knife who assaulted two police officers outside Buckingham Palace on Friday night has been arrested, British police said.

The officers suffered minor injuries and did not need to be treated at hospital. The man was arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm and assault on police near to Queen Elizabeth's London residence.

Britain has been hit this year by four militant attacks in which 36 people were killed, and the country's threat level is at severe, meaning an attack is highly likely.

Footage on Sky News showed emergency vehicles lining the street outside the palace. A Metropolitan Police spokeswoman said she was unable to comment at this stage on the motivation for the incident.

A Reuters witness near the scene said police had cordoned off a wide area around the palace for security.

"The man was stopped this evening, Friday 25 August at approximately 20:35 hours (1935 GMT) by officers at the Mall outside Buckingham Palace in possession of knife," the police said in a statement.

"During the course of detaining him, two male police officers suffered minor injuries to their arm."

REUTERS
A police officer stands at a cordon after London police arrested a man carrying a knife outside Buckingham Palace in London on Friday. Hannah McKay / Reuters

Two police officers were injured when detaining a man carrying a knife outside Buckingham Palace in London late on Friday night.

The Metropolitan Police reported that the officers received minor injuries and were treated by ambulance services on the scene. They were not transported to hospital, and no other injuries have been reported.

The suspect has been detained on suspicion of assault on a police officer and intent to commit grievous bodily harm.

The attack occurred on The Mall, a thoroughfare that passes by the palace, and images seen on social media show a heavy police presence and a cordon blocking off the area in front of the London landmark.

Officers remain on the scene and investigation is ongoing.

The attack comes hours after a man was shot after attacking two soldiers with a knife in Brussels, Belgium. The suspect was injured in the street but later died in hospital, according to Belgiums federal prosecutor, while one soldier was lightly injured. The Guardian reported Belgian authorities were treating the attack as a terrorist act.

angus@mail.chinadailyuk.com
Montana U.S. Rep. Greg Gianforte was photographed and fingerprinted Friday, days after a judge ordered him to be booked after pleading guilty to assaulting a reporter on the eve of the special election that put him in office.

Gallatin County Attorney Marty Lambert declined Friday to release the mug shot that Democrats would likely use against him during the 2018 election cycle. Lambert's practice is not to release mug shots without a judge's order. The Bozeman Daily Chronicle reports it filed an application in District Court Friday asking a judge to release it.

Gianforte, 56, pleaded guilty in June to assaulting Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs on May 24. Jacobs said Gianforte "body slammed" him and broke his glasses when he asked a question about a bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act that had passed the U.S. House. Audio taken by Jacobs recorded the sounds of a scuffle followed by Gianforte yelling, "Get the hell out of here!"

The former software executive was ordered to pay a $385 fine, complete 40 hours of community service and 20 hours of anger management counseling. Part of his settlement with Jacobs included a $50,000 donation to the Committee to Protect Journalists. He was given a 180-day suspended sentence, but was ordered to report to jail to be booked.

Gianforte's attorneys argued against him having to be booked because he was not formally arrested in the case.

Justice of the Peace Rick West last week ordered the Bozeman Republican to be booked by Sept. 15 or be held in contempt of court.

"Greg has fulfilled the terms. The matter is resolved," Travis Hall, Gianforte's communications director, said Friday. "He remains 100 percent focused on serving the people of Montana."

Jail records indicate Gianforte's booking process took 23 minutes, beginning at 6:37 a.m. A jail spokeswoman confirmed he was booked and released.

Lee Hanson with ROC Wheels confirmed that Gianforte had completed his 40 hours of community service with the program that builds custom wheelchairs for children.

Courtney Radsch, the advocacy director for the Committee to Protect Journalists, said the $50,000 donation was made soon after Gianforte was sentenced.

He also paid $4,600 for Jacobs' medical bills and travel costs to attend the June hearing. Gianforte also apologized to Jacobs in court, adding: "And if and when you're ready, I look forward to sitting down with you in D.C."

A spokeswoman for the Guardian says they're still working on that.

"Ben Jacobs first reached out to Congressman Gianforte for an on-the-record interview on June 22 and has been in ongoing communication with his office since then. So far, the Congressman has yet to commit to this interview," a spokeswoman said. "However, in light of his promise to sit down for an interview with Ben in the courtroom before being sentenced on June 12, we fully expect the Congressman to be a man of his word."
Derek Lam, a Christian studying theology at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, says he will probably not be allowed to fulfill his dream of being a pastor.

In a column for The New York Times, Lam says his democratic activism in Hong Kong could possibly lead to his imprisonment next month. Lam is a member of the democratic political party Demosisto.

Two of his friends were recently put in prison for peaceful protests the group organized in 2014, and more and more the government, under the leadership of General Secretary of the Community Party of China Xi Jinping, is taking control over Christian events.

During the last evening of one of this summers camps, the leaders of the camp told the campers that God would make China prosperous and that Xi Jinpings pet infrastructure project known as One Belt, One Road was the path that God had prepared, Lam said. The organizers of the camp then had the audacity to claim that One Belt, One Road would help spread the gospel.

People in Hong Kong are being pushed to the side with the countrys communist views, Lam said.

Beijing is encroaching not only on Hong Kongs political freedoms but also on the most personal ones, such as religious beliefs, as part of a larger strategy to shut down any kind of organizing outside of the (Communist) party, he said.

Thats led to the removal of crucifixes from churches and even razing some churches. Then last year, a pastor and wife were buried alive for trying to stop the destruction of their church.

Hong Kongs bishop, Michael Yeung Ming-cheung said the churches were demolished because of structural safety concerns.

Lam, however, says the bishop is looking to Xi Jinping and not God for spiritual guidance.

Although there is nothing I would love more than to become a pastor and preach the gospel in Hong Kong, I will never do so if it means making Jesus subservient to Xi Jinping. Instead, I will continue to fight for religious freedom in Hong Kong, even if I have to do it from behind bars, he said.

Photo courtesy: Thinkstockphotos.com

Publication date: August 25, 2017
The former Hindu monarchy of Nepal boasts one of the fastest growing Christian populations. Hindu critics claim money and greed are driving the growth, but Christians say the countrys caste system makes Christs message of equality especially appealing.



Hindu shaman Purna Bahadur Praja told The Guardian that people in the Chepang region turned to Christianity for assistance after the 2015 earthquake that killed nearly 9,000 people and left thousands of others homeless.



[A]fter the earthquake, they got Bibles, rice, clothes, blankets, money to build churches. Pastors were getting motorbikes.  They spend the whole time emailing foreigners to ask for money, Praja said.



Another Hindu priest told The Guardian that well-funded foreign organizations are using money to promote Christianity, helping sick church members and only providing post-earthquake aid to Christians.



While the disaster certainly created a need for humanitarian assistance, it also increased opportunities to share the gospel. Christian groups say many conversions were sincere and most ministries helped everyone, regardless of their faith.



Christians did some of the church reconstruction after the earthquake but they have done more for the general public, [from] emergency relief to reconstruction, said pastor Tanka Subedi, co-chairman of the Nepal Christian Society and the leader of Nepals Religious Liberty Forum.



The end of Nepals monarchy in 2008 and the establishment of a secular government allowed more freedom of religion in the country, although freedom is not absolute. By 2015, Christians numbered more than 1 million, about 3.8 percent of Nepals 28.5 million people, according to the World Christian Database.



Conversions of low-caste Hindus, known as Dalits, are driving the growth, according to The Guardian. Dalits suffer discrimination, deprivation, and abuse in Hindu culture due to their lowly status.



Its not surprising that Dalits are converting en masse, or that Christian groups would be doing work within this community, said International Christian Concerns William Stark, noting the Dalits are the most marginalized, least educated, and neediest people in the country.



The common false narrative of inducement or exchange for conversion to other religions pervades Southeast Asia, not just Nepal, Stark said, and Hindu nationalists often promote the idea. While he acknowledged instances of such behavior arent impossible, he insisted they are rare, noting that Dalits are drawn to Christianity because it validates their human worth.



The message of the gospelthat everyone is equal, everyone is loved by God, and Gods sacrifice was for everyoneis attractive especially to people of a Dalit background, Stark said.

Photo courtesy: WORLD News Service

Photo courtesy: Thinkstock/BookyBuggy

Publication date: August 25, 2017
International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that on Sunday, August 20, police in Ezbat Al-Forn, located in Egypt's Minya governorate, prevented local Christians from accessing a building they were using to hold Sunday worship. Father Botros Azeez, the priest who travels to Ezbat Al-Forn on a weekly basis to officiate Sunday worship, was also kept off the church premises by security forces who cordoned off the area.

"On Sunday morning, at 6:00 a.m., we were surprised when we found that security forces were cordoning the area and surrounding our church and prevented us from entering it," Karam Fawzy, a Christian resident of Ezbat Al-Forn, told ICC. "When we stood in the street chanting, 'Kyrie Eleison' (Lord have mercy), the police dispersed us by force and arrested some of us. They also prevented Father Botros Azeez, our church's priest, from entering the village."

The building, used as a de facto church, is a small house owned by the Bishopric of Minya. It is located within a Christian-majority neighborhood in Ezbat Al-Forn, where approximately 400 Coptic families reside, and has been used for worship for more than four years.

The security officials claimed that the Christians were refused access to the church because they had no permit to practice religious rites in the house. Police officials, represented by Brigadier General Mohamed Salah, filed a report to that effect, citing complaints reported against the Christians by local Muslims in Ezbat Al-Forn.

The Abu Qurqas Diocese, the diocese in charge of the Ezbat Al-Forn area, issued a statement saying that the house in question was in fact a church that had been used for worship for years under the watch of local police who never reported it as a violation of the law. The statement went on to say that Ezbat Al-Forn's Muslim community had also never objected to the operation of the church because of its location among Coptic homes. The statement concluded by claiming that Egyptian law includes no stipulation that leading worship requires any permit.

Last week, Bishop Anba Macarius, Bishop-General of Minya and Abu-Qurqas, issued a statement in which he protested against local security authorities who refuse to reopen churches that have been closed for years 'due to security concerns.' In his statement, he pointed out that the Minya parish alone includes 15 such churches and 70 other villages where there are no churches at all.

William Stark, ICC's Regional Manager, said, "The forced closure of the church in Ezbat Al-Forn is another example of how authorities use Egypt's church building laws and regulations to persecute the country's Christian community. The fact that Christians were prevented from using a building they had openly used for worship for years only a week after church leadership complained about the closure of churches clearly shows the arbitrary and punitive way in which authorities apply the church building laws and regulations. Clear reforms must be made to Egypt's church building laws and regulations if Christians are to truly be able to exercise their religious freedom rights. Until then, local authorities will continue to use these vague laws and regulations to close churches and prevent worship whenever and wherever they please."

Courtesy: International Christian Concern. To read more Christian persecution news, visit www.persecution.org

Photo courtesy: Thinkstockphotos.com

Publication date: August 23, 2017
If current projections hold true, Hurricane Harvey will be the strongest hurricane to strike the United States since Katrina, Rita, and Wilma hit in 2005.

A decade ago, maybe your church volunteered, planned a short-term mission trip, gave money, or helped rebuild Gulf Coast communities beaten down by one of Americas most deadly and destructive disaster seasons.

Harvey, which hit the Texas coast as a Category 4 hurricane, offers Christians a chance to be even more helpfulto show Gods grace and mercy to a disaster-filled world. But it means we have to be willing to learn from experiences like Katrina.

Ive learned a lot myself, both personally and professionally. Katrina walloped my community six days after I moved to South Mississippi. Within weeks, I was on the ground researching how faith helps peoples resilience and how the church can best respond. Today, I run the Humanitarian Disaster Institute at Wheaton College, the nations first social science research center devoted to the study of faith and disasters.

For churches in the path of Hurricane Harvey, there are still some just-in-time preparedness strategies you can implement before the storm makes landfall. For Christians far away, theres a lot more you can do than wait and watch Twitter like its an unfolding disaster movie.

Below are some of the most important research-based ways your church can prepare and care, as well as spiritual survival tips for locals and responders alike.

What Churches in Harveys Crosshairs Should Do Right Now

You may have never thought about your churchs role in preparing for a disaster in your own community. Even if you have, you still may not know how to prepare as you watch this unexpected hurricane rapidly approaching. Taking these small actions now can go a long way toward preventing harm and saving lives. Following these tips will better position your congregation to be able to help each other and others in your community after the storm passes.

1) Utilize Crisis Communication Strategies

Disasters often disrupt the ways we communicate. Power goes out and cell phone towers go down, making most modern forms of staying in touch with one another difficult. Thus, communicating during a disaster can be tough.

First things first: If you have time, grab the most up-to-date congregation contact list you have. If you dont have a contact list, you might send an invitation to your fellow church members to share via a Google Docs survey (or another service your congregation already uses) where they can fill in this information. If you go this route, you can also ask them if they plan to evacuate, where theyre going, and for alternative contact information.

If you have time prior to the disaster, reach out to your congregation using your normal and most common means of communication to let them know how they might be able to stay in touch with the church, leadership, and each other.

Common crisis communication strategies include: using a call-down procedure (e.g., activate prayer chain), text messaging, text broadcasting, social media notifications, alternate call-in number (e.g., instruct members to call in to a sister church in another region who is willing to take messages), to name a few.

Dont just let your congregation know how youll be communicating, but also let them know how to use the ways youll be communicating.

2) Echo Evacuation Messaging

Encourage your congregation and community to follow evacuation notifications being issues by the authorities. Several states have already begun evacuation messaging. Though many people are heeding these notifications, not all are.

Are there members of your congregation who may not be reachable by local officials, or who may be hesitant to follow the direction of local officials? If your church is located in a community where a sense of mistrust of governmental officials or authorities exists, you sharing the same evacuation message can make a big difference. Research has shown that vulnerable communities, like minority ones, may be less likely to heed official warnings.

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Sometimes who conveys the message is just as important as the message itself. Hearing the evacuation message from you as a church leader can make a big difference in calling people to action. Remember a trusted message comes from a trusted messenger.

As best as you can, try to facilitate transportation to those that need it. For example, maybe you can help connect those who need assistance with relatives or people in your congregation that might offer transportation. Or maybe you have a church bus that could transport people with limited mobility. If you are aware of local, state, or federal resources for evacuation transportation you can communicate these resources too.

3) Minimize Risk

Some disasters are so big that the following steps may be futile. However, if your church building largely survives the winds headed your way, these steps can help reduce some forms of property damage.

If you have time to take action to protect your church property, heres a few tips: board up windows, reinforce doors, secure heavy electronics (e.g., televisions and computers), anchor bookshelves and large cabinets, strap water heaters to walls, secure or remove items that could become projectiles in high winds, and consider raising water heaters and other appliances to avoid flood damage.

You may also think about retrieving important documents or possessions. Similarly, identify resources that may be helpful to retrieve so that you are more likely to have them available to facilitate worship or other key ministerial activities or rites once the disaster passes.

The window of time is closing in to be able to implement these just-in-time preparedness tips for a lot of communities, and has already passed for others. To be clear, dont attempt these preparedness steps if they go against the evacuation notices your community may have received or put you or others at risk. Still, its my hope that these strategies may yet be helpful for those who have a window of opportunity.

How Churches Far from Harveys Path Can Immediately Help

The Bible beckons us to use our time, talents, and treasure to help those in need (Acts 10:4), and where there is a disaster, there is need. Scripture is rich with examples, such as Nehemiah, of how God has brought about hope, redemption, and recovery through the people of God in times of disaster. Your church might feel compelled to help, yet may not know where to begin. Here are some specific ways your church can get ready to serve when the time comes.

1) Prepare to Mobilize Volunteers

Across almost every disaster I have responded to, I have heard church leaders say something like this: The biggest blessing since the disaster has been the volunteers. And the biggest challenge since the disaster has been the volunteers.

Volunteers can be a wonderful resource in the recovery process if local leaders are prepared to manage them, and far from helpful if they are not.

Start by surveying or asking congregation members about their willingness to volunteer in response to Hurricane Harvey. Look for congregation members who are motivated to demonstrate Gods love and not motivated by self-serving reasons (e.g., to be in on the action); are prepared to be flexible, adapt, and improvise to do the best with what is available; are humbly willing to listen and learn from survivors; and are capable of working as part of a team.

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I also urge you not to self-deploy. Spontaneous unaffiliated volunteers can bring chaos to a disaster recovery site, and even hinder those authorized to offer special aid. I relate to wanting to pick up and parachute into a location where a disaster has occurred. As a result of studying numerous disasters, however, I have found that doing so frequently causes a great deal of stress to those in need of help. Rather than hopping in the car and driving off to where disaster has struck, restrain yourself until volunteer opportunities have been clearly identified.

Then, if you do go, prepare to be self-sufficient. Communities in the midst of recovery need to concentrate resources on survivors, not on meeting your needs. Give your volunteers detailed instructions about what to bring and what to expect before deploying. The most common needs of volunteers typically fall into the categories of housing, food, and transportation. You are likely to divert resources away from survivors and those who need aid the most if you arent able arrange or care for your own needs.

Keep in mind that everyone in your church can play a role in helping, even if they lack disaster experience, resources, or ability to deploy.

Case in point: After Hurricane Katrina, there was a group of elderly women who belonged to a church sewing circle that I learned about. At first they felt discouraged, like they werent able to help as much as others. But then they had the idea to have survivors send them belongings and materials that survived the storm. They then sewed these items into what came to be known as Katrina Quilts. I know survivors, still to this day, who consider their quilts as a daily reminder of Gods goodness in their lives.

2) Coordinate Responses

I have found that disaster response efforts are more likely to succeed if churches come together with one another and with other organizations. The needs left behind after a disaster (e.g., rebuilding, mental health, spiritual struggles) can be overwhelming, and in most cases are larger than any one church can handle.

Churches need to respond together as the fully body of Christ.

Start by looking for existing efforts already underway. Check out congregations and faith-based and community organizations already doing good work in communities, like an active ministerial association that might be helping to take the lead in preparing for Hurricane Harvey.

You might also consider joining a state chapter of the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD). This consists of major disaster relief organizations, including many Christian organizations. It is a formal network that works closely with FEMA in times of major disasters, and helps activate and mobilize local efforts through VOAD state chapters. Getting connected to a local VOAD chapter is great way to join a communitys response to disastrous events.

In the event of a major disaster, it is common for Christian disaster relief organizations (e.g., Send Relief, Convoy of Hope, Samaritans Purse, Mennonite Disaster Service) to deploy to communities significantly affected to provide aid and organizational support. Many of these service groups have identified community needs and have built the expertise to provide solutions. Thus, you might also consider working with or through one of these groups. The take-home message here is to help through the organized response already underway.

3) Provide for Survivors Holistic Needs

Your church should strive to provide care to the whole person, including physical, emotional, social, and spiritual needs, which are all interconnected. This means whenever you address any one of these groups of needs, you are actually attending to all four simultaneously.

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Keep your assistance simple, direct, and practical.

Throughout the scriptures, we see numerous examples of times when Christ and his disciples attended to spiritual and practical needs, such as offering hope and food in tandem. Remember the miracle of the loaves and fishes?

Focus on the tangible and immediate to get through the crisis, like fostering safety, comfort, and belonging. This may mean helping survivors find a place to stay or getting something to eat when they are hungry. It may even mean offering a seemingly small gesture like offering something to drink. Though it may not feel as though you are doing much, experienced Christian disaster volunteers and professionals know this sort of water bottle ministry is integral.

Its okay to directly ask how you can help. Empower survivors to voice their needs and collaborate to prioritize which needs to focus on first. If survivors arent sure how you can help, you might try approaches that were useful for them before Hurricane Harvey. As much as possible, try and connect survivors to sustainable and vetted resources. Lastly, consider giving financially to a reputable Christian relief organization that is providing aid.

Spiritual Truths to Keep in Mind

Disasters like this can be a great test of personal faith, pushing survivors beyond our usual limits. Here are some spiritual truths that are important to dealing with and recovering from disasters like this one.

1) Dont Try to Do This Alone

We all need community, and God gave us the gift of his church for a reason. In fact, the science bears this out: In a study I conducted with colleagues after the 2015 South Carolina floods, we found that people who had positive spiritual support were more likely to demonstrate disaster resilience. When we try to do it all on our own, and give the impression that everything is fine, we are closing ourselves off to the gifts God wants to give us through others. When we seek spiritual community, we can experience Gods presence, provision, and love in tangible ways. We can choose to allow pain to isolate from others, or to bring us together.

2) Accept What You Have Control Over, and What You Dont

In another study I led after Hurricane Katrina, we found that people who demonstrated high levels of spiritual surrender tended to recover better. This didnt make sense to me at the timethe idea of surrender seemed too passive to be an effective response. But now my own experiences of disaster have showed me just how powerful this idea is. When we truly understand and accept what we have control over and what we dont, we are demonstrating willful obedience to God.

3) Seek Positive Meaning in Your Loss

Disasters like this one lead us to ask the hard questions, like why bad things happen. In interviews with disaster survivors, my colleagues and I have found that two people going through the same type of loss can interpret their experiences very differently. One may believe that God is punishing them, while the other believes God saved them. Our research found that the person who attributes negative meaning is likely to struggle more than the person who attributes positive meaning to their loss. Finding meaning in our loss allows us to move forward.

4) Trust That God Can Redeem Your Pain

When youre in the midst of something hard, it can feel like nothing good could ever possibly come out of the pain youre experiencing. But the foundation of our faith is Gods promise to ultimately redeem all things, and he often offers us glimpses of that here on earth. When I was helping gender-based violence survivors in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, I learned of a group of people whose homes had been destroyed by a volcano. They returned to the area and built new homes out of the ash and lava rock left behind. This was a poignant picture of how God can even use our brokenness to help us put the pieces of our lives back together again.

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For those staring down Hurricane Harvey, know that the rest of us are praying for you now. And if the storm makes landfall, we will be with you through the disaster recovery process too.

Dr. Jamie D. Aten is founder and executive director of the Humanitarian Disaster Institute at Wheaton College, Illinois, and author of the Disaster Ministry Handbook. In 2016, he received the FEMA Community Preparedness Champion award at the White House. Follow him on Twitter @drjamieaten and jamieaten.com.
The Marchant dynasty: Four generations in Chinese art

Richard Marchant reflects on his familys extraordinary 92-year affinity with Asian porcelain and jade, illustrated with lots from our upcoming auction Chinese Export Art Featuring 100 lots from Marchant, est 1925

Its quite remarkable that weve been going for four generations, observes Richard Marchant, sitting in the office of the gallery opened by his father in the early 1950s. Samuel Sydney Marchant opened his first antiques shop on Cursitor Street, near Chancery Lane in London, in 1925, with a mission to trade in only the finest and rarest objects with impeccable provenance. In 1952 the shop moved to new premises on Kensington Church Street and, with Richard joining the business a year later, the firm began to specialise in Ming and Qing dynasty works of art, particularly porcelain and jade. I was 17, Richard Marchant recalls. My father took me into the business with him, and after one year he said, You can go out buying. You have to remember that at that time, antiques were everywhere. My father would send me to auctions at Christies, and it meant that I had to touch, and feel, every lot in the sale. It was a fantastic time to learn.

In 1985 Richards own son, Stuart, joined the family business, and in 2011 and 2015 Stuarts two children, Natalie and Samuel, also came on board, establishing an art-dealing dynasty that spans almost a century. In September last year, collectors in New York were offered the opportunity to be a part of the remarkable Marchant family story with the sale of just over 50 bronzes, jades and ceramics in the sale Marchant: Nine Decades in Chinese Art. Now, as part of Americana Week at Christies in New York, 100 further pieces from Marchant will be offered in the Chinese Export Art auction.



Across the decades, Marchant has observed radical changes in the nature of collecting Asian works. Where once clients were mostly European and American private collectors, today a large proportion of the business comes from the Far East, with clients keen to acquire works of art from their own heritage. At the moment the main collectors, theres no question, are from China, the dealer says, before offering advice to those setting out on their collecting journey. Young collectors have to concentrate in a specific area. And there are areas that can be neglected by the market. Weve seen this over the years  pieces that werent very popular, all of a sudden, become popular.
As the area braces for Hurricane Harvey, the National Weather Service has issued a tornado warning for Fort Bend and surrounding counties until 2 a.m. Saturday.

The warning is issued when conditions are favorable for the development of tornadoes, according to the NWS.
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Businesses spent Thursday preparing for Hurricane Harvey as the storm strengthened and the weather forecast became increasingly gloomy.

Grocers struggled to keep store shelves stocked as customers snapped up water, emergency supplies and nonperishable food items. Hospitals discharged some patients early, and airlines waived fees for travelers wanting to change their flights.

Meanwhile, some industries were already looking ahead to the storm's aftermath, readying crews to respond to power outages and staging insurance adjusters in the Austin and Dallas areas to come in afterward and assess the damage.

"We're preparing for the worst and hoping for the best," said Elizabeth Rosenbaum, assistant director of the Sugar Land Regional Airport, where workers filled fuel tanks and tied down construction equipment.

At Kroger, shipments of water were constantly coming in.

"Literally some stores have gone through three truckloads in the last 24 hours," spokeswoman Joy Partain said Thursday.

Shipments of bread were also important, said Scott McClelland, president of H-E-B Food and Drug. It doesn't weigh a lot, and trucks under certain weights can become vulnerable to high winds and must get off the roads.

Less appealing was frozen foods.

"No one's buying frozen food today at all," McClelland said. "We've basically canceled our frozen food delivery."

Home Depot focused on stores in the "potential strike zone" to bulk up the supply of essential items, such as plywood, flashlights, ice chests, bottled water and battery-powered radios.

The home-improvement chain is also bringing in additional supplies for once the storm passes: tarps, roofing materials, cleaning supplies, generators, chain saws and more water. Home Depot has a specialized stocking distribution center in Baytown that carries supplies specifically for events like storms and hurricanes.

Kroger trucks filled with baby wipes, candles, sodas, bread and nonperishable snacks made their way to stores across the area. The chain's gasoline stations were receiving ample supplies as Kroger prepurchased "significant amounts of gas for the storm season."

The local medical community, caught by surprise and devastated 16 years ago by Tropical Storm Allison, was taking no chances as Harvey churned closer to the Texas coast.

Three UT Physicians walk-in clinics - UT Physicians Bayshore Family Practice, UT Physicians Bellaire and UT Physicians Cinco Ranch - will be closed Saturday morning as a precaution "for the safety of patients and the staff," said Andrew Casas, chief operating officer for the network of clinics. Other locations are expected to be open, he said.

At Memorial Hermann Health System, patients stable enough for early discharge were being released Thursday to keep the number of patients down in advance of the storm, said Tom Flanagan, vice president of trauma and disaster preparedness for the hospital network.

Texas Children's Hospital was also assessing patient conditions for possible early discharge.

Flanagan said every location is being stocked with enough food, water, medical supplies and linens for 96 hours in case roads become impassable.

There were no plans as of Thursday to cancel elective surgeries or other procedures scheduled for early next week, the region's hospital officials said. But that could change quickly.

Preparations at the Houston Airport System, which operates Bush Intercontinental and Hobby airports, included checking drain systems to make sure they're clear of debris, spokesman Bill Begley said. There were no immediate plans to shut down the airports.

The Airport System is also storing equipment and anything that could be affected by weather. Information about flooding along roads leading to airports will be available on fly2houston.com and social media.

United Airlines had a travel waiver in place for its hub at Bush Intercontinental as well as airports in Austin, Brownsville, College Station, Corpus Christi, Harlingen, McAllen and San Antonio. Travelers flying Friday through Sunday can change their travel plans at no additional cost.

Southwest Airlines likewise issued a travel advisory for Thursday through Monday at Hobby and airports in Austin, Corpus Christi, Harlingen and San Antonio.

Other organizations focused on the storm's aftermath.

State Farm said it is bringing hundreds of insurance adjusters from around the country to Irving and Austin. They'll head to the coast after the storm.

"We'll be just a few hours away once it's safe to enter the area," spokesman Chris Pilcic said.

The company also is staging semi-trailers with air conditioning and office space in Irving and Austin. These are used to help customers with claims and provide a working area for insurance adjusters.

Allstate and Farmers Insurance also said they were bringing additional claims resources to Texas.

Houston-area electric utility companies were bracing for potential power outages. CenterPoint Energy, which serves Houston, and Entergy, which serves areas north and west of Houston, have crews ready to respond to power outages in the area.

The local office of commercial real estate firm JLL manages about 20 office and industrial buildings in the Houston area, including two in the Texas Medical Center considered "mission critical." That means in the event the buildings lose power, they will have priority in receiving fuel to power their generators.

"We sign contracts that puts us first in line for any diesel we need to back up the generators," said Peyton Collins, managing director of property management.

Collins stressed the importance of communicating with tenants if and when buildings must be shut down.

Jacques Legrand, JLL's senior chief engineer based in New Orleans, experienced Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and was responsible for bringing buildings back online after the storm.

"You're not much worried about the actual event but that you have the ability to recover from that event," Legrand said.

That includes the need to have electricians, roofers and other building maintenance vendors at the ready for when the hurricane has passed.
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H-E-B is working to keep up with demand as customers stock up on water, storm supplies and gasoline ahead of Hurricane Harvey.

Regional spokeswoman Cyndy GarzaRoberts said the company is continuing to deliver key items to stores in need. She said the company has no intention of ceasing deliveries, provided the trucks can make it safely to stores.
Harvey roared into Texas overnight north of Corpus Christi as the most powerful hurricane to strike Texas in 56 years, flooding low-lying coastal areas, leaving tens of thousands without power and promising that stragglers who didn't evacuate would wake up to disaster on Saturday.

The Category 4 storm made landfall around 10 p.m., with 130-mph winds that damaged several buildings, including Rockport High School and the local police department, according to preliminary reports. People were thought to be trapped inside multiple facilities, according to the Jackson County Sheriff's Department.

Houston, by contrast, initially saw mild rain, and leaders here, worried about "storm fatigue," had a clear message: Hunker down, and don't underestimate the potential for life-threatening floods in the days ahead as the storm stalls.

As local rains intensified Saturday morning, the National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning for parts of the region, including Harris and parts of Fort Bend, Galveston, Waller and Brazoria counties, until 8:45 a.m.

A possible tornado caused damage to homes and left trees down inside the Sienna Plantation neighborhood overnight, Fort Bend County sheriff's Maj. Chad Norvell said. The roof of one home was torn off and others appeared to be damaged. Downed poles and power lines were also reported in Rosenberg by the police department.



There was reported tornado in Missouri City around 12:50 a.m. and a deputy was apparently blown off the road, according to reports from the National Weather Service.

As of 5 a.m., Hurricane Harvey has been downgraded to Category 1 status as it continued moving slowly inland.

Catastrophic flooding is expected over the next few days due to the heavy rainfall, the National Hurricane Center said.

Harvey's winds have decreased to 85 mph and the hurricane will continue to weaken and is likely to become a tropical storm later Saturday.

It was located about 25 miles southwest of Victoria and moving northwest at 6 mph.

The hurricane is expected to move slowly over southeast Texas for the next couple of days. Forecasters predict more than 40 inches of isolated rainfall in parts of the middle and upper Texas coast through Wednesday.

Hurricane guide: Follow all the latest reports here

Harvey's rapid intensification made it the strongest hurricane to land in Texas since Carla in 1961 brought 175 mph winds and killed 34 people. Corpus Christi  the seat of Nueces County with a population of more than 360,000 people  had not seen a devastating hurricane since Celia in 1970, which came ashore as a Category 3, killed 15 people in South Texas, and destroyed nearly 9,000 homes.

The county was not under a mandatory evacuation order, but tens of thousands had already fled by Friday after officials strongly urged people to leave.

Aransas County officials said Friday night they were stuck in their building and couldn't ascertain damages. "It's over 100 miles an hour outside, I think, and raining like crazy, and there's no way to tell," Emergency Management Chief Deputy John Gutierrez told the Corpus Christi Caller-Times.

People who remained in Corpus Christi were huddled in dark homes with the wind howling, and they were on their own. By 5 p.m., city police took shelter and stopped responding to emergency calls, the Caller-Times reported.

President Donald Trump signed a disaster declaration for the state of Texas shortly before the storm made landfall.

Trump tweets to Texans: 'Good luck!'

While Houston isn't in the path of hurricane-force winds, Mayor Sylvester Turner warned that the worst could come Sunday. He urged residents not to venture out.

"People are going to have to be very, very patient," he said.

Gov. Greg Abbott, who visited a hurricane shelter in San Antonio, sowed a moment of confusion in an off-the-cuff remark, saying that if he were living in Houston, he'd head north. Local officials immediately scrambled to negate his advice.

"The safest thing is to stay where you are and ride out the storm," Harris County Judge Ed Emmett said.

The area will likely miss the dangerous winds and storm surge typical of hurricanes while seeing extreme rains and flooding. But those generally are life-threatening only if residents venture outside into high water, Emmett said.

As the first bands of rain swept across Houston, businesses shut down and workers rushed home early, warned by officials to prepare to stay put for up to a few days. More than 20 Houston-area school districts canceled classes Friday, Monday or both days.

Police Chief Art Acevedo and Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said their officers are working 12-hour shifts until further notice.

Fire Chief Samuel Pena said firefighters were working in 24-hour shifts, with more than 1,000 personnel on duty each day. Ambulance crews are especially well-staffed, he added.

Pena said firefighters set up boats and high-water vehicles at strategic points across the city, along with city dump trucks based at fire stations.

Likely to flood: Here are areas you may want to watch out for

Transit agencies placed barricades at underpasses where drivers have drowned in high water in recent floods, Emmett said.

A Metro official said buses were running normally as of 5 p.m. Friday but would be suspended or stopped if needed.

Harris County officials said the area could see tropical storm-force winds of up to 48 mph.

In a worst case, Emmett said, Harvey could move slowly across Houston, back to the Gulf of Mexico, and then return.

"I don't even want to talk about that scenario," he said.

Sandra Ortiz, the spokeswoman for the county flood control district, warned that the double-dip scenario could result in a "devastation" for coastal cities that hasn't been seen in decades.

City officials and the American Red Cross identified potential emergency shelters for flooding victims, including dozens of churches that volunteered to open their doors, Turner said. He asked residents to check on neighbors as stormwaters rise.

When it's raining and flooding, Turner said drivers should stay off the roads whenever possible.

As of Friday night, he said, "People just need to be calm ... and not panic."

Road safety: Know the rules

Galveston saw some flash flooding Friday at key intersections, even as some islanders strolled about snapping photos of roiling surf. About 20,000 cruise passengers destined for Galveston were stuck at sea, with some ships diverting to New Orleans until the threat passes.

Galveston County Judge Mark Henry recommended voluntary evacuations to include all unincorporated low-lying areas in the county, including San Leon, Bacliff, Freddiesville, Old Bayou Vista and Highland Bayou. Bolivar Peninsula, Kemah and Shoreacres are also under a voluntary evacuation.

In Shoreacres, a bayfront town of about 1,600 in southeastern Harris County, Nancy Schnell, who had to rebuild her house after it was flooded with nearly 5 feet of water from Hurricane Ike's storm surge in 2008, said she was staying put.

"We left last time, and I'm glad we did," Schnell said. "But this time, a lot of people are just doing the wait-and-see thing."

About 60 percent of the homes in Shoreacres were flooded during Ike.

In Seabrook, John Huynh wasn't in a hurry or worried. His little fish market on Todville Road near the Clear Lake Channel was thriving Friday afternoon.

"It's good business today," Huynh said during a break at L&A Seafood.

In Kemah on Friday afternoon, traffic was minimal, area restaurants were full, most businesses remained open, and a few residents were expectant but not overly concerned about Harvey.

League City resident D.J. Green was 10 years old during Hurricane Alicia, and as a coastal native, the potential for tumultuous weather is just part of the landscape.

"You prepare, you go through it and there are terrible things that can happen, but that's life," he said.

Kirk Tindall, a Kemah resident since 1975, was staying even as winds began battering his pier.

Tindall wanted to leave, but his wife, Crystal, was intent on staying.

Ike gutted their home, but Crystal Tindall was soured by the Hurricane Rita experience in 2005, when the family spent 18 hours trapped in traffic before ending up in Mississippi.

Still, they'll be keeping an eye on Harvey as it meanders inland and then likely dawdles up the Texas coast, bringing a threat of tornadoes and rain accumulations of 10 to more than 30 inches in some places.

"Given Harvey's slow motion, we're going to have elevated storm surge level possibly for days," said Michael Brennan, a senior specialist for the National Hurricane Center.

More resources: Stay up-to-date on forecasts, transportation, satellite images, water levels and more

Life-threatening storm surges of 6 to 12 feet above ground level from South Padre to Sargent, 5 to 8 feet from Sargent to Jamaica Beach and 2 to 4 feet from Jamaica Beach to High Island and around Galveston Bay were expected.

Tornado watches were issued in Harris, Brazoria, Fort Bend, Galveston, Chambers and nine other counties to the south and east of Houston, in effect at least until 2 a.m. Saturday.

Flash flood watches covered the following counties: Harris, Fort Bend, Brazoria, Galveston, Montgomery, Waller, Liberty, Grimes, Chambers, Brazos, Colorado, Austin, Washington, Jackson, Burleson and Wharton.

Much of the coastline from Port Aransas to Port O'Connor was under mandatory orders to evacuate.

In Brazoria County, the storm surge was expected to be 5 to 8 feet, prompting evacuation orders Friday afternoon to about 3,000 to 4,000 residents living along the Gulf near Surfside Beach. An emergency shelter opened in Angleton, about 20 miles inland from Surfside Beach.

In Freeport, home to about 12,000 residents on the mainland side of the Intracoastal Waterway, city officials issued a mandatory evacuation for low-lying areas and urged all residents to leave the city.

County Judge Matt Sebesta told all residents to remain vigilant.

"Every storm is different," he said. "Be ready."

The flood threat was enough to chase off Marlena Ruelas, 22, who planned to join her husband at her in-laws' home in Clute, a few miles north of Freeport.

"It's pretty clear people are getting out of town," Ruelas said. "I'm not nervous about it. I don't think it will be a big deal. But we're going to go up there, just to make sure we're safe."

Luis Segoria, 68, planned to ride out the rain as long as he could from his home in Freeport. Standing under a metal carport, knocking back beers with three neighbors, Segoria said he's ready to bail as soon as necessary, but will take his chances for now.

"We've prepared already. We've all of our stuff in the car  blankets, water, food  just in case," Segoria said. "But right now, we don't have anywhere we need to go."

The southern part of Matagorda County was under a voluntary evacuation, and farther south, mandatory orders were issued for Aransas, Refugio, San Patricio, Victoria, Calhoun and Kleberg counties.

Even 175 miles northeast of Harvey, its power was evident. High water already had obstructed roads in Galveston by 3:45 p.m. Friday along 61st Street at Interstate 45; Harborside Drive at Second Street; and Harborside at Interstate 45, according to Houston TranStar.

The Galveston Ferry ceased operations at 6 p.m.

But fears were measured, said Galveston Island Convention & Visitors Bureau Director Meg Winchester.

"We're looking forward to a wonderful Labor Day weekend," she said.

Reporters Mike Snyder, Margaret Kadifa, Ryan Maye Handy, Jacob Carpenter, Keri Blakinger, Brooke Lewis, Dug Begley, Cindy George, St. John Barned-Smith, Shelby Webb, Emily Foxhall, Todd Ackerman, Rebecca Elliott and Andrea Rumbaugh contributed to this report.
Hurricane Harvey has forced the U.S. Coast Guard to close multiple ports along the Texas Gulf Coast, including those at Houston, Galveston, Texas City, Freeport and Corpus Christi.

It also is prohibiting ships from entering or leaving. Companies are not allowed to unload cargo from ships. The only movements allowed are those pertaining to storm preparation, such as placing storm barriers.
The U.S. rig count fell by six this week as oil and gas companies slowed operations alongside stagnating oil prices.

Houston oilfield services company Baker Hughes reported Friday that oil rigs dropped four to 759, gas two to 180. The total has slipped to 940, 18 off its recent peak of 958, at the end of July.
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Medical cannabis companies and investors are calling on Gov. Greg Abbott's office and the Department of Public Safety to approve more dispensary licenses beyond the three given provisional approval in May.

In a pair of letters this week, the coalition argues that having just three dispensaries, two in Austin and one in Schulenburg, cannot ensure that patients with intractable epilepsy have easy access to the low THC-chemical strain of the cannabis plant.

The Texas Cannabis Industry Association requested in its letter that a second round of applications be taken for the 40 companies that initially applied for but failed to obtain provisional licenses. The group specifically asks for at least nine additional licenses.

The requested number stems from a recommendation made by DPS' chief financial officer, who noted in September 2015 that at least 12 dispensaries would need to be licensed to meet the needs of some 150,000 patients with intractable epilepsy in the state.

When Abbott signed the Compassionate Use Act in September 2015, he was surrounded by epilepsy patients who suffer seizures.

"A law that will help these children is now in effect," he said at the time.

The Chronicle reported the same day that Abbott had affirmed Texas would not legalize marijuana for further medical or recreational use.

In October 2016, DPS officials reduced their recommended number of dispensaries to three.

A DPS memo sent to at least one cannabis company last November stated that the governor's office had requested the reduction, along with other regulatory changes to the state's fledgling medical-cannabis program.

The companies and investors who signed the Texas Cannabis Industry letter note that both DPS and the governor's office "failed to provide a reasoned justification for this arbitrary choice limiting the number of licensees."

A DPS spokesman said in an email that the information in the November memo was dated. He referred to the agency's website on the medical-cannabis program, which states that three licenses were deemed sufficient based on an analysis of other states' programs, the number of patients in Texas with intractable epilepsy, and statutory requirements.

Chad Sykes, chief of cultivation for San Antonio-based Alamo CBD, said in a statement that the question remains over how three dispensaries will be able to mail out medicine to patients across Texas. He also noted lingering doubts over how the initial licensing applications were handled.

"The technology and sciences required for the advancement of this medication were apparently not considered during the decision-making process when the state arbitrarily decided to issue only three permits," Sykes said.

The 2015 law gives DPS until Sept. 1 to formally license dispensaries.

"The patients and their willing physicians have been documented by the many advocacy groups," the letter from the cannabis industry association reads. "The only thing lacking to ease these families' suffering is the state government living up to its responsibility."
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Yes, we all know Taylor Swift has dropped new music. But several more of pop music's biggest and most creative women have tunes to soundtrack your (very wet in Houston) weekend.

Along with Swift, this week brings fresh sounds from Fifth Harmony, Demi Lovato and Mariah Carey. Here's a look at what will be occupying time on every pop lover's playlist.

ALL THE FEELS: This Ed Sheeran fan couldn't stop crying into her Snapchat in Houston

It's the perfect collection to help, um, weather the weekend.

Taylor Swift

After a mysterious social media blackout, Swift returns with "Look What You Made Me Do," a darkly personal song that seems to take aim at Kanye West, among others. (Story continues below ...)

"I don't like your little games/Don't like your tilted stage/The role you made me play," she sings in a creepily effective voice. That's likely a reference to West's elaborate stage setup during his Saint Pablo Tour.

This is the first single from Swift's "Reputation" album, due Nov. 10 in five versions. It's yet another creative departure that lifts its melody from, of all songs, Right Said Fred's "I'm Too Sexy."

And it includes a warning that seems to promise much more venom.

"I'm sorry the old Taylor can't come to the phone right now/Why?/'Cause she's dead."

SHAKE HER LOVE: Debbie Gibson's 'Out of the Blue' album turns 30 years old





Fifth Harmony

The girl group's first album as a quartet again plays on the balance of raunch and silk that's marked their biggest hits. The lineup includes Pearland's Normani Kordei and San Antonio's Ally Brooke Hernandez.

At its best, it draws from TLC, Destiny's Child and Rihanna. Among the strongest tunes: emotive midtempo "Don't Say You Love Me;" the shades-of-Bey "Angel;" and the sassy, self-assured "He Like That."

Demi Lovato

Dallas-raised Lovato drops the title track from her upcoming sixth album, due Sept. 29. It incorporates gospel flourishes, rock elements and horns. It's all held together by the big, blustery vocal delivery that's become her signature. It plays to the skies, like an arena anthem.

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Mariah Carey

Carey hops on two new versions of French Montana's "Unforgettable," currently a top-five Billboard hit. She takes the first verse but otherwise doesn't do much to shake up the song. It sounds like a hit because it is. But there's nothing truly signature Carey about it.

Selena Gomez

Gomez, who was born in Dallas, mixes up current single "Fetish" featuring Gucci Mane with a makeover by Swedish DJ and production duo Galantis. They smartly replace the song's poppier elements with sinewy EDM grooves that serve the lyrics well.

POP DUO: Carly Rae Jepsen to open Katy Perry's Houston show

Carly Rae Jepsen

Pop's secret queen released "Cut to the Feeling" earlier this year, an outtake from her terrific "Emotion" album. This Kid Froopy Remix slows things down and gives it a some trop-pop polish. The original song is featured in the animated film "Leap!"
As Hurricane Harvey churns its way to the Texas Gulf Coast, officials at the Katy Independent School District said they don't expect the storm to cause any immediate disruptions to classes.

On Thursday, Katy ISD said they are continuing to operate on a "normal school schedule" and don't anticipate cancelling classes on Friday.
A group of men relaxed Friday around a wrought iron patio table beneath Highway 59 as it flies over Almeda in the Third Ward.

Austin Lee Stevens, a lifelong Houstonian, has seen his share of floods. He doesn't deem Hurricane Harvey  now a Category 4 storm expected to make landfall early Saturday -- worth fretting over.

"We plan to stay here," Stevens said. "We're going to smoke weed and play dominoes."

Stevens and the other 40 or so people who stay in tents under the overpass plan to ride out other biggest storm to hit Texas in a decade uncovered and exposed to the winds and 15 to 25 inches of rain expected to drench the middle and upper Texas coast.

"My mom always said not to worry about what you can't control," Stevens said. "I'm leaving it up to God. So why should I be worrying?"

Harvey's here: The hurricane hits Texas, brings rain

Though social services are available, there are a number of homeless who refuse to take shelter from the storm.

"It's an all-hands-on-deck situation," said Special Assistant to the Mayor for Homeless Initiatives Marc Eichenbaum. "Homeless outreach teams have been out for days informing our unsheltered homeless individuals about the weather and offering them immediate placements in shelters."

The population: Homelessness down slightly in Houston area since 2016

Fortunately, Eichenbaum said, there has been a 70 percent drop in the numbers of unsheltered homeless since the city's homeless initiative began in 2011.

"Even though there are less individuals on the street, it's still a big challenge," Eichenbaum said. "These are the times we're thankful that the unsheltered homeless population has been reduced."

In addition to the Houston Police Department's and Harris County Sheriff's Office teams, regular first responders have been venturing out since Harvey's destructive potential was discovered, Eichenbaum said.

Public encampments: Court temporarily blocks Houston from enforcing ban on homeless camps

The Coalition for the Homeless  which is working with the city on coordinating the preparation of sheltered for homeless individuals  released a list of shelters Friday that were immediately available for those without cover.

"Our women and family shelters are at capacity," said Star of Hope's Scott Arthur. "The men's shelters have a little bit of room and we're referring any other inquiries to our community partners."

A 40-year-old man who gave his name as Bill Gates said some police officers came to inform them that shelters were available. SOme of the women went to the shelters, he said.

Gates was born and raised in the Fourth Ward  only a mile or so from the intersection of Almeda and Cleburne.

"I've been here a long time," Gates said. "I've seen every storm and I'm still here. I know we're going to make it through this one too."
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Harris County officials are batting down false information making the rounds from a Sugar Land lawyer, warning people not to fall for online hysteria.

The false information, in an email from the address of lawyer Ross Bale, indicated officials believed the approaching Hurricane Harvey could be far more devastating than first estimated.

LATEST: Hurricane Harvey intensifies, zeroes in on Texas Coast

Within minutes of the rumor gaining traction, Harris County Judge Ed Emmett had batted it down and spoken to the emails author, telling him to leave the emergency warnings to Emmett and other officials.

Now Playing: Hurricane Harvey has gas prices rising. Elizabeth Keatinge (@elizkeatinge) has more. Video: JW Player

A representative from the law firm told Chron.com that the email was inaccurate. Asked if the entire email was fabricated, the representative declined to comment.

County officials said they are making all the reasonable precautions as the storm advances. Those preparations are not based on forecasts of 15-to-20 inches of rain or even double that amount, Emmett spokesman Joe Stinebaker said.

CLOSURES: Houston ISD, local universities cancel Monday classes

Theres no number, he said. All you can do is be prepared for unheard of amounts of rain.

Mayor Sylvester Turner also encouraged residents to follow mainstream news organizations, the National Weather Service and the Office of Emergency Management for updates on the storm.

"False forecasts and irresponsible rumors on social media are interfering with efforts by the city of Houston, and its government and news media partners, to provide accurate information to the public about the expected effects of Tropical Storm/Hurricane Harvey," Turner said in a statement.

"Rumors are nothing new, but the widespread use of social media has needlessly frightened many people today."
The U.S. Navy on Thursday released names of one sailor who died and nine others who were missing, including one from Cleveland, after the USS John McCain collided with an oil tanker near Singapore.

Divers recovered the remains of Electronics Technician 3rd Class Kenneth Aaron Smith, 22, whom the Navy listed as being from New Jersey. His mother said Smith grew up in Novi, Mich., and moved to Norfolk, Va., as a teenager with his father.

The military says five other sailors were injured and 10 were missing following Monday's collision. The Navy says missing soldiers were from Missouri, Texas, Maryland, Ohio, New York, Connecticut and Illinois.

The collision tore a hole in the ship's left rear hull and flooded adjacent compartments, including crew berths and machinery and communication rooms. The U.S. Navy said it has suspended search and rescue efforts, though divers continue search and recovery efforts inside flooded compartments of the ship.

John Henry Hoagland III, 20, the missing sailor from Cleveland, knew as a 5-year-old that military service was for him, according to his mother, Cynthia Kimball. A recruiter steered him toward the Navy.

When looking out from the deck of the USS John McCain, Hoagland, who worked as a electronics technician, often was struck by the immensity of the Pacific Ocean and the sparkling clarity of the stars above.

"He wouldn't have wanted to be in any other branch," Kimball said Wednesday. "He sends me pictures of just water."

Hoagland spent his early years in Cleveland, northeast of Houston, and later lived in the Central Texas city of Killeen, where he graduated from high school. He had long expressed an interest in stepping out of Texas and traveling the world, she said.

He enlisted in 2015 and has served aboard the McCain since last October as an electronic technician.

"He's very proud of what he does," says Kimball, who lives with her husband at Fort Benning in Georgia.

On Monday, his stepmother, Stephanie Hoagland, expressed agony on social media over waiting to find out about the missing sailor.

"Today has truly been one of the longest days, filled with so many emotions," Stephanie wrote on Facebook. "Waiting and wondering, not knowing, praying and watching loved ones try to remain strong has been so hard."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A rapidly strengthening Hurricane Harvey confounded forecasters and frayed nerves among flood-weary Houston residents Thursday, as it neared the Texas coast with winds expected to approach 130 mph and the potential for 30 inches of rain in some areas.

No hurricane has struck Texas since Ike in 2008. Fresher still are memories of the Memorial Day and Tax Day floods of the last two years in Houston.

"Oh my God, I totally moved into the wrong apartment," said Latrice Richardson, who moved to Greenspoint from Memphis into one of the apartment complexes that took on water in April 2016.

The storm is expected to lumber ashore overnight Friday between Matagorda Bay and Port O'Connor southwest of Houston, flanked by dueling high pressure systems that could force it to hover and drench everything in its path.

By late Thursday, Harvey was still intensifying with sustained winds of 85 mph, located 275 miles southeast of Corpus Christi and moving northwest at 10 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center. Nearly all of the Texas coast remained under a hurricane or tropical storm warning or watch.

The increasing threat on Thursday triggered mandatory evacuations from Port Aransas to Palacios, a span of about 80 miles. Parts of Galveston County were under voluntary evacuation orders. And Houston shuttered classes Monday on what would have been the first day of school.

Houston and the Galveston area could face rains from the initial brunt of the storm, but what happens after that could be worse.

The forecast models diverge. Harvey might head inland or - in a worst case for Houston - move offshore.

There, it could draw more strength before tracking slowly along the coast toward Louisiana.

In any of the models, the storm is slow-moving and could dump isolated amounts of up to 30 inches of rain, with life-threatening floods occurring anywhere from Corpus Christi to southwestern Louisiana into next week, forecasters said.

Even if the storm were to move inland and peter out, the outer rain bands would still reach the upper coast, said Dan Reilly, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

"So Houston proper, could they miss out on extreme rains? They could, but even with that weakening scenario, the rain is still very significant," Reilly said.

Evacuations begin

Harvey ballooned from a disorganized cluster of storms into a Category 1 hurricane in a day, and officials said it could be nearing Category 4 strength, with winds close to 130 mph, before making landfall.

It will be the first "major" hurricane to hit Texas since 2005, when Rita came ashore as a Category 3 storm with winds above 120 mph. But Galvestonians and residents of Bolivar Peninsula - who watched about 19 feet of water cover parts of the island and float entire houses into the Gulf of Mexico in 2008 - remember the devastation wrought by Hurricane Ike, which was a Category 2 by the time it came ashore.

Harvey's increasing threat of destructive winds and storm surge - wind-whipped waves combining with tides to sweep water onshore - forced a mandatory evacuation Thursday of Calhoun County, which includes Port Lavaca, Port O'Connor and Seadrift.

People south of FM 521 and in Palacios were to leave by 8 a.m. Friday, said Doug Matthes, emergency management coordinator for Matagorda County.

Parts of that county were also under mandatory evacuation orders.

Farther south, Port Aransas, Aransas Pass and San Patricio County ordered mandatory evacuations. Corpus Christi and Nueces County issued voluntary evacuations. Officials in San Antonio were preparing to shelter people fleeing the storm.

Galveston issued a voluntary evacuation for residents with medical needs in the West End, which is not protected by the island's seawall, and for Bolivar Peninsula.

Beginning Friday, coastal flooding of 6 to 12 feet above ground level is expected from South Padre Island to Sargent; 5 to 8 feet from Sargent to Jamaica Beach; and 2 to 4 feet from Jamaica beach to High Island and around Galveston Bay, according to the weather service.

Tone of urgency

At the Galveston Yacht Basin, harbor master Lance Parks was prepping the marina, but didn't expect much more than rain and high tides, cautioning against media hype.

"This isn't Hurricane Ike," he said.

But public safety officials struck a tone of urgency.

"We're looking at a huge swath of territory on the southeast coasts that are getting a large amount of rain," said Francisco Sanchez, spokesman for the Harris County Office of Emergency Management. "If you have flooded in the past, you know to be watchful. If you are in an area that's gotten lucky over the past two years, please don't rely on that luck anymore."

Once the hurricane nears the coast, Sanchez said, the county will have a better understanding of just how bad flooding may be and whether more evacuations are in order.

Houston public schools planned to send employees home early Friday, canceling weekend activities and the first day of classes on Monday. Some other districts followed suit or planned to watch and wait before making a call.

Meteorologist Eric Berger, who runs the Space City Weather blog, predicted tropical-storm-force winds are possible Friday night and Saturday morning for Houston, with rainfall the primary threat and roads becoming impassable Saturday afternoon through Tuesday.

Isolated tornadoes may form within Harvey's outer rain bands through Saturday afternoon, said Jeff Lindner, a meteorologist with the Harris County Flood Control District.

Stocking up

People from South Texas to Louisiana flocked to stores, wiping out stocks of bottled water and batteries as officials advised people across the coast to prepare to get stuck in their homes, possibly without power, for several days.

In Meyerland, where homes along Brays Bayou flooded in 2016 and 2017, Harriet Babichick, 76, stocked up on water and canned tuna, even though her home hasn't flooded in 46 years.

"I'm really panicky about it," she said.

A nearby hardware store sold 50 generators in more than a day, where it usually sells just two.

"Water is gone. Sand is gone. Generators are gone," said Larry Gardner, a human resources manager at Lowe's.

Industrial activity along the Gulf Coast slowed as energy companies evacuated oil platforms and ships left ports from Corpus Christi to Galveston. Several ports halted inbound traffic, and almost 10 percent of offshore oil production was temporarily cut off, the equivalent of 167,000 barrels a day, according to the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement.

Some industries were already looking ahead to the aftermath, readying utility crews to respond to power outages and staging insurance adjusters in Austin and Dallas.

At the Texas Medical Center, hospitals advised employees to bring sleep gear for weekend shifts and enacted its flood mitigation plan, coordinating the efforts of all institutions in the complex and thousands of staff.

Tropical Storm Allison, which stalled over Houston in 2001, killed 22 people and inflicted $2 billion in damages to the Texas Medical Center alone.

Water entered underground parking garages and tunnels, flooding hospital infrastructure, records and generators and forcing thousands of patients to evacuate. The medical center, which lies in a 100-year flood plain, has since installed flood gates and elevated its most critical equipment.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency moved 21 trailers of supplies from a government warehouse in Fort Worth to Randolph Air Force Base northeast of San Antonio, FEMA spokeswoman Vanessa Winans said.

"They are basically staged there, if needed," Winans said.

They contain meals for 250,000 people, 77,000 liters of water and 4,000 tarps.

The Red Cross put out a call for volunteers for warehousing, shelter management, supply distribution and administrative support.

"We want to be sure we have enough people to help us help others," said David Brady, a Gulf Coast regional official for the Red Cross.

Gov. Greg Abbott, who on Wednesday pre-emptively declared a state of disaster for 30 counties on or near the coast, activated about 700 members of the Texas Army and Air National Guards and Texas State Guard, with more on standby to provide emergency rescues, evacuations and shelter.

Resigned to fate

Back in Greenspoint, south of Bush Intercontinental Airport, apartment owner Steve Moore said he expects to do a better job protecting people than during the Tax Day flood, which caught everyone a bit off guard. He's still repairing some of his 14 complexes.

Crews at his Biscayne at Cityview apartments attached wood panels to the bottom of the wrought iron fence surrounding the complex, aiming to fortify against flooding.

Cleo Joseph was resigned to whatever fate Harvey had in store.

"It don't bother me," said the 64-year-old, who lives on the first floor and has endured several floods in her decades living at Arbor Court.

Joseph's daughter was planning to pick her up Friday to ride out the storm in Channelview, but Joseph would stay if it were up to her.

"I don't want to go. This is my house," she said. "I know I can't swim, so if I gotta go like that, I'm fine."

Reporters Todd Ackerman, Dug Begley, Emily Foxhall, Cindy George, Ryan Maye Handy, John D. Harden, Margaret Kadifa, Andrea Rumbaugh and Shelby Webb contributed to this report.
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With Hurricane Harvey barreling toward Houston, employees across the city are facing the decision of whether it's worth it to risk the commute to work this weekend.

Many employers, such as 8th Wonder Brewery, are taking a wait-and-see approach as to whether they'll even be open for business.

"We're not requiring any employees to come in this weekend," 8th Wonder co-founder Aaron Corsi said. "It's likely that we will be closed but we're planning to make that call tomorrow. We don't want employees and guests to be stranded here."

MORE HARVEY COVERAGE: Take action tonight to protect your whole neighborhood from Harvey

8th Wonder has been planning and preparing this week to shut down their brewery for the weekend to keep the storm from impeding production

"The production team gets a few days off," Corsi said.

With Houstonians scrambling to stock up on last-minute supplies, H-E-B locations plan to remain open throughout the weekend, barring events such as an electrical outage.

Brenda Lynch, the store manager at the Buffalo Speedway H-E-B, said there hasn't been an official statement from corporate to close locations for the weekend however her store has had safety meetings about hurricanes and flooding to prepare for Harvey.

"We never want anyone to come to work to be unsafe but everyone that can be here will be so that we will be open" Lynch said.

MORE HARVEY COVERAGE: Houston ISD, local universities cancel Monday classes as Hurricane Harvey approaches

While many businesses and institutions across Houston are deciding whether or not to remain open this weekend, the Houston Airport System aims to be fully staffed and is preparing to be operational during the storm

"While the airport is open our employees at all tier levels are expected to come, though, if conditions change and they can't safely get here those decisions will be made at that time," Houston Airport System Public Information Officer Bill Begley said.

According to Begley, employees and contractors at multiple airports across Houston are preparing for Hurricane Harvey, storing equipment and coordinating on how they can clear potential debris during the storm.

During the 2016 Tax Day Floods the issue of drivers getting trapped in floodwater while attempting to get to work was brought up by Fox 26 weatherman Mike Iscovitz when he urged viewers who had been fired for missing work during the flooding to contact the station.

"We are going to kick somebody's behind if they fire you because you didn't head out on a deadly flooded street," said Iscovitz on Fox 26 the morning after the flooding, "I know a lot of people have that fear but would you rather risk getting fired or drowning?"
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At this point we are still a day or so away from what could be a major flooding event in the Houston area but already doctors and nurses at local emergency rooms are bracing for injuries related to whatever Hurricane Harvey could bring.

Dr. Omar Metwalli has been the assistant medical director of Memorial Hermann Hospital Southwest for a little more than a year.

RELATED: Area doctors and hospitals taking early storm precautions

He and his colleagues are currently getting prepared for what could be a hectic next week of work in the emergency room.

Metwalli said Friday that its the population of people with specialized medical conditions and regimens that need to be proactive during times like this so they don't need to go to the emergency room.

"Diabetics and those on dialysis, for instance, should have a secondary plan for treatment. Medications like insulin need to be preserved," Metwalli said. "Those that are on dialysis should plan ahead for a location that will be open in the event of a power outage."

Metwalli's team is waiting for the cadre of injured who will likely find themselves victims of post-flooding housework gone wrong.

"We get a lot of ladder falls, things like that," he said. "It's just best to let the house repairs wait until after the water has subsided."

BE CAREFUL: CenterPoint Energy releases a Harvey checklist for Houston-area residents

Residents monkeying with dangerous power tools or doing amateur electrical work kept emergency rooms busy in the wake of Hurricane Ike. Chainsaws and novices don't mix.

"It's already hard to get to the ER in flooding situations so we would hope people use their best judgement," Metwalli said.

First-responders will already have their hands full with any manner and number of injuries.

He has one other key piece of advice for those of us who might venture out into flood waters the next few days.

"Please avoid skin contact with standing water," he said. "It can have chemicals and other contaminants in it that can cause irritation. You simply don't know what you are walking through."
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Hurricane Harvey brought record rainfall to Houston and flash floods all over East Texas.

Since landfall, rainfall amounts have totaled between 15 and 40 inches around the city, according to the National Weather Service.

Here were the region's rainfall totals, as of 4 p.m. Tuesday:

HOUSTON

-- Friday: 0.39 in.

-- Saturday: 8.37 in.

-- Sunday: 16.7 in.

-- Monday: 5.80 in.

-- Total: 31.26 in.

*Wettest second day and third day in recorded history

HOUSTON HOBBY

-- Friday: 1.41 in.

-- Saturday: 12.07 in.

-- Sunday: 10.99 in.

-- Monday: 7.69 in.

-- Total: 32.16 in.

*Wettest 2 day and 3 day total in recorded history

GALVESTON

-- Friday: 2.8 in.

-- Saturday: 4.12 in.

-- Sunday: 3.49 in.

-- Monday: 11.88 in.

-- Total: 22.29 in.

COLLEGE STATION

-- Friday: 0.12 in.

-- Saturday: 4.86 in.

-- Sunday: 7.45 in.

-- Monday: 4.18 in.

-- Total: 16.07 in.

ANGLETON

-- Friday: 7.1 in.

-- Saturday: 2.12 in.

-- Sunday: 3.05 in.

-- Monday: 3.71 in.

-- Total: 15.98 in.

FREEPORT

-- Friday: 1.97 in.

-- Saturday: 4.85 in.

-- Sunday: Missing data

-- Monday: 2.63 in.

-- Total (excluding Sunday): 9.45 in.

RICHMOND

-- Friday: 6.68 in.

-- Saturday: 11:03 in.

-- Sunday: Missing data

-- Monday: 4.06

-- Total (excluding Sunday): 21.77 in.

LIBERTY

-- Friday: 11.2 in.

-- Saturday: 17.9 in.

-- Sunday: Missing data

-- Monday: 8.04 in.

-- Total (excluding Sunday): 48.02 in.

Chron.com has reported that many school districts have closed and some coastal areas like Calhoun and Matagorda counties have been ordered to evacuate.

The severe weather has the possibility of lasting through early to mid next week now that Harvey is expected to head back into the Gulf of Mexico, restrengthen and return inland.

Take a look at the map below or through the gallery above to see which areas have received the most rainfall.

See how much rain Hurricane Harvey brought to Houston National Weather Service data as of 8 a.m. shows precipitation over the past 12 hours. Some areas of Houston received nearly a foot of rain overnight. Use the menu to toggle different layers. Source: National Weather Service | Created by data journalist Rachael Gleason

***

Rachael Gleason contributed to this report.
Most people are used to seeing weather forecasters getting blown around by storms to catch the eye of viewers.

But this morning on MSNBC, U.S. Rep. Blake Farenthold, R-Corpus Christi, showed a member of Congress can take a good soaking during a live shot too. While MSNBC anchors asked him questions from a dry studio in New York, Farenthold stood outside by a seawall in Corpus Christi answering questions.
AUSTIN -- Sandra Bland wasn't mentioned by name.

But it was clear that her highly publicized death, which helped galvanize the Black Lives Matter movement, was a key part of a hearing Thursday aimed at stopping police from locking up Texans over minor traffic offenses.

More than two years after the 28-year-old Prairie View A&M graduate died after being pulled over for a traffic violation that led to her arrest, criminal justice reform advocates showed up in force at the Department of Public Safety's headquarters in Austin.

After failing to make much progress with the Texas Legislature on the topic earlier this year, those groups think they have found a seldom-used bureaucratic procedure to force DPS to consider changing its rules for officers to assure they are not locking up people too quickly for minor traffic offenses.

"We believe there is a need to clarify the point at which an officer can move to arrest a person at a traffic stop," Kathy Mitchell of the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition told the 5-member Public Safety Commission which oversees the DPS.

Mitchell acknowledged that constitutionally officers have discretion to arrest a person for a traffic violation in Texas. But that doesn't make it good policy, she said. And she said her group's research shows it happening far more often than it should in places like Houston.

To clamp down on the practice, Just Liberty, another criminal justice reform advocacy group that spoke at the hearing, has taken the rare step of trying to petition the Public Safety Commission to change rules for traffic stops that turn into arrests. Among those to sign that petition is Geneva Reed-Veal, the mother of Sandra Bland who has become a national advocate against alleged police brutality.

Typically DPS sets its own policies to guide officers. But there is a provision in Texas law that allows the commission to consider a petition from the public that sets rules when it is "necessary for carrying out the department's work."

But Texas Highway Patrol Chief Lt. Col. Ron Joy told the Houston Chronicle after Mitchell's comments were made at the meeting that DPS already has clear rules that limit instances in which a person can be arrested for a traffic stop.

He said it is not common and not in his agency's interest to tie up troopers for hours making arrests on minor traffic violations. He said what happened in Bland's case was "misconduct" by a trooper who did not follow current guidelines. That trooper Brian Encinia was later fired by DPS after he was indicted on perjury charges.

Whether the petition presented Thursday moves forward beyond the initial stages is still a big question. The Public Safety Commission took no official action on the request after listening to testimony. DPS officials say they will respond to the request in writing within 60 days, but did not tip their hand as to whether they will adopt the rule change or rejected it outright.

Bland was pulled over for failing to changing lanes without signalling in July 2015. After Bland refused to put out a cigarette and get out of her car, she was arrested after a struggle with Encinia and booked into the Waller County jail. Days later she was found dead in her cell. The death was ruled a suicide and it was later revealed that Bland had a history of mental health issues and may have suffered from depression.

Mitchell said she trusts the highway patrol doesn't want to arrest people for minor offenses, but said the current DPS rules are not clear enough to prevent what happened to Bland. And it happens more frequently than that. She said her group looked at two months of bookings into the Harris County jail in 2016 and found that 11 percent were people arrested on a charge related to a traffic violation.

A spokesman for the Harris County Sheriff's Office could not speak to the validity of Mitchell's numbers, but stressed that the jail population has been in decline since Sheriff Ed Gonzalez was elected in 2016. The jail population has dropped from 9,000 to about 8,300 as the sheriff has stressed reforms to keep people from being locked up for minor offenses.

Though the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition didn't identify the arresting agency in those bookings in Harris County, Mitchell said the data shows that law enforcement needs refined rules. By changing the rules at DPS, she said it could set a standard for other local law enforcement to follow to assure people are not losing their freedom over not using a turn signal or speeding.

The Texas Young Republican Federation is among the groups pushing for the same reforms and have signed onto the Just Liberty petition. Jason Vaughn of the Texas Young Republicans and a Round Rock resident, said at the Thursday hearing that groups like his believe government should always be careful before taking someone's liberty away -- even if for a brief time.

PSC commission chairman Steven Mach, of Houston, made clear in questioning Mitchell that there are two sides to why traffic issues turn into something more and stressed the role of people pulled over potentially escalating the situation.

"We've made great strides in terms of having the public be informed about the importance of cooperation and courtesy for police who are just trying to do their job," Mach said after listening to Mitchell and six others who testified for the rule change.

Mach also questioned why the groups are not pushing the Legislature to make the change instead of pushing a rule change that would just affect DPS. Advocates have tried to pass changes to state law, but have so far failed.

Originally the ideas were part of a bill named after Bland, but those provisions were stripped out of the legislation before the Sandra Bland Act was passed and signed into law. That legislation now focuses on requiring jail staff to immediately determine if an inmate suffers from mental illness and divert that person to a mental health facility.
AUSTIN -- As Hurricane Harvey bears down on the Central Texas coast, people in the path of the storm are streaming north towards San Antonio and Austin.

Five Red cross shelters have opened in Bexar, Comal and Travis counties to accommodate the thousands of evacuees, according to the Red Cross Website.

The two Red Cross shelters in Travis County opened this morning, and both are expected to quickly fill with Harvey evacuees, said Bristel Minsker, communications director for the American Red Cross Central and South Texas Region.

"Safe shelter is the biggest priority right now," Minsker said. "When we've got an act of Mother Nature this big, we've got to make sure as many people as possible are safe. We're focusing on that and focusing on making sure we can get Red Cross volunteers trained to work in these shelters."

Around 30 people have checked in to the shelters at Lyndon B. Johnson High School and the Wilhelmina Delco Center in Travis.

Greg Roberson, a teacher at West Columbia High School in Bay City, said he and his wife, Lisa Roberson, had stayed at Red Cross shelters for previous hurricanes, but were surprised by how quickly Harvey developed from a tropical storm to a major hurricane.

"Hotels are hard to find," Roberson said. "Last time we stayed in a shelter like this we had more warning so we our air bags and sleeping stuff, but this time we forgot that stuff because we were in such a hurry to get out this morning."

Roberson said gulf coast residents shouldn't use the speed of Harvey's development as an excuse to not evacuate.

"Just use common sense," Roberson said. "Get prepared, get ready and get out just in case it does get bad. You've got to have that security and safety no matter what, and that's why we came here to Red Cross."

Remy Lee Sr. said he evacuated to the Travis Red Cross shelters with seven of his family members from Aransas Pass, a coastal area directly in the path of Hurricane Harvey.

"I don't live but four blocks from the harbor," Lee said. "The main thing is just trying to find somewhere safe for my family. We were waiting for a long time to see if they were going to open up shelters, but we can't just leave without anywhere to go. Luckily, they got these opened up for us."

Lee grew teared up when talking about how much the shelter Red Cross was providing his family meant to him.

"It means a lot," Lee said. "There are a lot of people in harm's way because this all happened so quick. Leave, run. You don't want your family in the way of this. The scary part is that you just don't know if you're going to have a home when you go back."
AUSTIN -- A three-judge federal court panel in San Antonio on Thursday struck down portions of the state's redistricting plan for state House districts and ordered state lawmakers to redraw nine legislative districts due to "intentional discrimination" by race.

The unanimous decision marked the third setback for state officials in two weeks in voting-rights cases, after a Thursday decision tossed out a new law softening Texas' strict voter-identification requirements and another last week invalidating several congressional district boundaries.

In an 83-page decision for the judges' panel, U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez gave Attorney General Ken Paxton three days to advise advise him whether the Legislature will address the corrections and, if not, he set a Sept. 6 hearing to consider remedies for the violations.

The court panel found "intentional discrimination" in the way the Legislature drew boundary lines in two House districts (HD 54 and 55) in Bell County, in Central Texas; three districts in Dallas (HD 103, 104 and 105); two districts in Nueces County (HD 32 and 34), and two in Tarrant County (HD 90 and 93).

The judges' panel ruled that contested House district boundaries in Harris County, Fort Bend County and Bexar County "require no further changes." It also left intact other House district boundaries across Texas.

The decision also said that no changes are required in Midland and Ector counties because the Mexican American Legislative Council, one of the plaintiffs in the case, "lacks standing to pursue its claims" in those counties.

The decision said some of boundaries adopted in 2013 intentionally overemphasized race and that others diluted Latino voting strength.

"The Legislature in 2013 purposefully maintained the intentional discrimination" in its redistricting plan, the ruling states. "Thus, violations found by this Court . . . now require a remedy, including specifically in Bell County, Dallas County, Nueces County, and Tarrant County."

In a statement, Paxton said he was disappointed by the decision and vowed to appeal.

He said the state's House map was adopted by the court in 2012 "and has been in effect for the last three election cycles. A three-judge panel of the U.S. District Court in San Antonio invalidated a portion of the map drawn for the Texas House of Representatives."

"The judges held that maps they themselves adopted violate the law," Paxton said.

Thursday's decision, if it becomes the subject of lengthy appeals, could complicate upcoming campaigns. Filing by candidates for House seats opens Nov. 11.

The prolonged legal battle over the redistricting maps has cost Texas taxpayers upwards of $3.9 million, a sum that doesn't include any costs incurred since mid-2014, when the total was tallied.

Gov. Greg Abbott, who last week had expressed irritation over the previous court decision against the state in another voting-rights case, has no immediate comment on Thursday's order. He had defended the 2011 maps in court when he was attorney general.

Gary Bledsoe, president of the Texas NAACP, a plaintiff in the case, said he was glad the court acted "so timely" because the order opens the possibility for for new House districts to be in place by the time candidate filing periods end in December.

"That means there would be a more diverse Texas Legislature, and I think that's a great thing," said Bledsoe.

He said he was disappointed, however, that the court turned down changes in Ford Bend and Harris Counties, where he said minorities are underrepresented.

Rep. Rafael Anchia, a Dallas Democrat whose district was one of the first identified by the court as racially imbalanced, said voters should be outraged that the state continues to defend its map in court. Anchia is chairman of the Mexican American Legislative Caucus that is a plaintiff in the long-running case.

"It should really bother you that the state is intentionally acting to deny your voting rights," he said. "Every Texan should be upset."

State Rep. Helen Giddings, a Dallas Democrat who chairs the Texas Black Legislative Caucus that has opposed the redistricting maps, said the decision affirms that they are discriminatory and must be redrawn.

"Once again, the State of Texas has been handed a much needed wakeup call from the federal courts." she said. "We cannot continue to discriminate against minority communities and expect the courts not intervene . . . The voter influence of people of color and the effects of their vote should not be diminished."

Thomas A. Saenz, president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, another plaintiff in the case, applauded the decision.

"With this final of several rulings on liability in Texas state redistricting in 2011 and 2013, the case now moves to remedy; this is a most welcome development," he said.

"The state of Texas needs to move on with fixing permanently the rights violations in which it has regularly  as confirmed by this court's recent rulings  and continually engaged. The people of Texas need to have confidence that the electoral system in which more and more will participate is untainted by intentional discrimination or discriminatory effects."

Nina Perales, vice president of litigation for MALDEF and lead counsel for the Texas Latino Redistricting Task Force in the case, said the ruling affirms that Texas "racially gerrymandered its voting districts and used Latino voters as pawns in doing so.

"With the 2018 election cycle fast approaching, it's time for Texas to stop discriminating against Latino voters and agree to a remedy that will provide equal opportunity to all," she said.

Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa called the ruling "an historic victory for the sacred voting rights of all Texans" and urged state officials to quickly remedy the issues.

"Once again, Texas Republicans didn't just cheat to win a silly game, they used Jim Crow-era tactics to rig our election system," Hinojosa said. "Make no mistake, Republicans have stolen the voice of Texans at the ballot box for years.

Republican Party of Texas Chairman James Dickey diagreed.

"We oppose any identification of citizens by race, origin, or creed and oppose use of any such identification for purposes of creating voting districts," he said. "If lawmakers are forced to redraw these House districts, we ask that they be drawn accordingly."

House districts affected by Thursday's decision

HD54: Scott Cosper, R-Killeen

HB55: Hugh Shine, R-Temple

HD103: Rafael Anchia, D-Dallas

HD104: Roberto R. Alonzo, D-Dallas

HD105: Rodney Anderson, R-Grand Prairie

HD32: Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi

HD34: Abel Herrero, D-Robstown

HD90: Ramon Romero Jr., D-Fort Worth

HD93: Matt Krause, R-Fort Worth

Austin Bureau Jeremy Wallace contributed to this story
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AUSTIN -- With two federal courts again blasting Texas for "intentional discrimination" against blacks and Hispanics in drawing political boundaries, concern is mounting that voter-rights litigation could upend the state's 2018 elections calendar.

State officials insisted Friday they expect to stop the court challenges on appeal, and reverse Texas' losing streak on the voting-rights lawsuits, legal experts predicted Texas could end up back under federal supervisions of its elections rules if the appeals fail.

In short, the court fight is shaping up as a political game of chicken, with significant consequences no matter how it turns out.

"In both of the cases where there are new decisions, the courts have ruled that Texas has purposefully maintained 'intentional discrimination' in the way it drew its maps," said Michael Li, an expert on Texas redistricting who is senior counsel with the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University.

"That's an important finding that could result in Texas being placed back under pre-clearance coverage. Based on that, there may be a good chance that could happen."

While other legal experts and political scientists agree, Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton both insist that the state will win the cases on appeal -- so Texas' voting can proceed uninterrupted through the March primaries.

"These issues (in the congressional redistricting case) have been ruled on previously, and we won at the Supreme Court," explained Abbott, who litigated the case for the state when he was attorney general. "We anticipate winning on appeal."

Thursday's decision by a three-judge panel in San Antonio that nine House districts in Dallas, Nueces, Bell and Tarrant counties were drawn intentionally to dilute the strength of black and Hispanic voters marked the state's fourth court loss on voting rights in nine days.

The San Antonio decision also said that, in some cases, the Legislature also went so far as "to ensure Anglo control" of some legislative districts -- a legal misstep that would violate federal law.

Earlier rulings questioned the legality of two districts on Texas' congressional map, of a voting law restricting language interpretation access at polls and a Wednesday decision by a Corpus Christ federal judge invalidated the state's new voter ID law as discriminatory.

In that decision, U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos invalidated the voter ID but went farther, implying that renewed federal supervision of Texas voting laws may be necessary, the process called pre-clearance that Texas has not been under since 2013.

If Texas comes back under federal supervision, it would be the first state to be brought back under federal say-so since a federal court removed the restrictions in an Alabama case.

The prolonged legal battle over the redistricting maps has cost Texas taxpayers upward of $3.9 million, a sum that doesn't include any costs incurred since mid-2014, when the sum was tallied.

"There have been so many rulings of intentional discrimination by Texas Republicans that counting them is trivializing them," said Matt Angle, a veteran Democratic Party political strategist in Texas.

"Rulings by federal courts that Texas Republican leaders have adopted and defended intentionally discriminatory and redistricting laws has become horribly commonplace ... It is a fact established over and over again by federal judges appointed from both parties."

While the Republican leadership has repeatedly denied those accusations, insisting that the state's new voter ID and redistricting maps pass federal muster, they remain hopeful the prolonged litigation that has gone on for six years will not continue until the next redistricting process starts in 2021.

On Friday, Paxton asked the Supreme Court to overturn the lower-court decision on Texas' congressional maps. "We are confident that the Supreme Court will allow Texas to continue to use the maps used in the last three election cycles," he said.

Even so, until that appeal is decided, "we don't expect or anticipate any delay in the Texas election schedule," said Marc Rylander, Paxton's communications director.

Li and other legal experts are not so sure.

First, an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Thursday's ruling by the three-judge panel will almost certainly not be decided until after the filing period in November and December for House seats is over.

And if appellate court rulings in other cases go against the state, the schedule could be upended by court orders to redraw political boundaries for candidates running in those elections. And any boundary changes to benefit blacks and Hispanics could mean gains for Democrats, who those groups traditionally vote for.

"There's a good chance that, given the way these cases stand with the courts, that the primary election schedule could be affected," Li said.

"If the district maps have to be redrawn, that will have a cascade effect, especially with the state House maps where changing the lines may affect surrounding districts. It's like shifting around in a conference room with too many people ... You may have to put some in another room," he said.

On Friday, lawmakers in the House -- as well as political consultants whose candidates are running in the nine contested districts -- were huddling to determine worst-case scenarios if the map lines have to be redrawn. They also wondered how new lines, and perhaps new members, might affect the seemingly assured reelection of House Speaker Joe Straus.

Jerry Polinard, a political scientist at the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley who has studied Texas redistricting for decades, said that since state officials have turned back suggestions to hold a special legislative session to resolve the map issues, revised maps will have to be drawn if the state's appeal fails.

"This is just the gift that keeps on giving, because there are the potential of major consequences on down the road depending on how the courts rule on these pending issues," he said. "Texas has had more voter-rights litigation than other states ... and these cases will be watched closely because among the issues is partisan gerrymandering that's being raised in Republican-controlled states."

At the same time partisanship is targeted in the court challenges, Republicans and Democrats are paying more attention to local non-partisan elections for school boards and municipal offices, which they see as training grounds for future state leaders. Both parties have plans to endorse and support candidates for the first time.

Amid the continuing political squabbles over voting rights and redistricting, Democrats blame the GOP leadership with using redistricting and the new voter ID law to continue "state-sponsored voter suppression" and a return to election discrimination of the 1950s, labels that Republicans reject as inaccurate invective.

"We hope the primaries next spring are not delayed, but already the sign-ups for precinct chairmen are being delayed and the counties need the district maps by October," said Manny Garcia, deputy executive director of the Texas Democratic Party.

"The state's legal strategy for these discriminatory redistricting and voter ID laws has failed so far in the courts, and we believe it will fail again."

Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa called the ruling "an historic victory for the sacred voting rights of all Texans" and urged state officials to quickly remedy the issues.

"Once again, Texas Republicans didn't just cheat to win a silly game, they used Jim Crow-era tactics to rig our election system," Hinojosa said. "Make no mistake, Republicans have stolen the voice of Texans at the ballot box for years."

Like the state's top GOP leaders, Republican Party of Texas Chairman James Dickey disagrees.

"We oppose any identification of citizens by race, origin, or creed and oppose use of any such identification for purposes of creating voting districts," he said. "If lawmakers are forced to redraw these House districts, we ask that they be drawn accordingly."
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A tweet by Neil deGrasse Tyson is stirring up the internet.

The astrophysicist and star of "Cosmos" recently wondered out loud why climate change skeptics aren't skeptical of Hurricane Harvey.

"Don't see much denial of @NOAA climate scientists who have predicted Hurricane Harvey's devastating path into Texas," wrote Tyson.

NOAA, or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, is a U.S. federal agency in charge of a wide-range of scientific tasks, including monitoring the weather and studying climate change.

UPDATE: Harvey grows into Category 3 hurricane

Tyson's tweet was posted several hours before Harvey is expected to make landfall and quickly went viral  but not without some criticism.

Harvey is expected to make landfall in the Lone Star State by 1 a.m. Saturday. The Category 3 hurricane is the first storm of that magnitude to hit Texas in more than a decade.

Residents of Harris County should expect widespread flooding, rainfall through the weekend and numerous road closures.

SURFS UP: Galveston surfer takes advantage of Hurricane Harvey's big waves

Visit Chron.com's weather page to stay updated on the most recent alerts and advisories.

See how Galveston is preparing for Hurricane Harvey above.
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.
All-Conference WEC teams The All-Conference teams for the War Eagle Conference have been announced with multiple MMCRU and South OBrien volleyball players making...

Crane signs off, for now I miss my ol' buddy, sportscaster Keith Crane on the sidelines. I miss his friendly smile, his dedication to his...
Copiii cu nevoi speciale din Stefan Voda au conditii de reabilitare mai bune, datorita UE si Fundatiei Soros Moldova
Ward, Tennyson Tapped to Manage Navigators Seattle Branch U.S. Marine Segment

Senior Marine Underwriters Rebecca Ward and Kristine Tennyson were recently promoted to manage the Seattle branch of Navigators U.S. Marine segment.

Ward and Tennyson, who each have more than 20 years of experience, will be responsible for leading the Seattle branch U.S. Marine segment, developing new broker relationships and continuing the strong broker relationships for which Navigators is known.

They succeed Greg Olson, who built the companys presence on the west coast as the Seattle offices first employee. He recently retired from the company after 30 years with Navigators.

CSAA Insurance Group Appoints DeLaCruz as Culture and Inclusion Executive

CSAA Insurance Group, a AAA Insurer, recently announced the appointment of Karina DeLaCruz as the companys new culture and inclusion executive.

In this newly created function, DeLaCruz will lead company culture initiatives, diversity and inclusion strategies, employee communications and change management at CSAA Insurance Group. DeLaCruz joined the company in 2003 and has worked in various human resources consulting and management roles. Most recently, she served as the companys human resources consulting and diversity executive, where she played an instrumental role in creating an award-winning supplier diversity program, establishing new employee resource groups, increasing membership within the companys diversity and inclusion teams by more than 50 percent, and delivering best-in-class diversity and inclusion index scores. She also led the execution, change management and communication efforts for numerous company mergers, acquisitions and startup operations.

DeLaCruz has more than a decade of experience in human resources and previously held leadership positions at MCI Communications, Dwight Halverson Insurance and Outsourcing Solutions Inc. She is also a member of CSAA Insurance Groups Womens Professional Network and Regional Diversity Council at the companys headquarters in Walnut Creek.

Monahan Joins AXIS Re as Senior Vice President, U.S. Professional Liability

AXIS Re, a business segment of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited, appointed Neil Monahan senior vice president, Professional Liability. He will be responsible for leading AXIS Res Professional Liability reinsurance underwriting business in the U.S. and will report to Jon Colello, president and chief underwriting officer, U.S., AXIS Re. He will be based out of AXIS New York office.

Monahan joins AXIS with more than 30 years of (re)insurance industry experience. Prior to AXIS, he was head of Broker Relations, Professional Liability Lines, at Swiss Re. He began his (re)insurance career at Cigna Special Risk Facilities and later held senior underwriting roles at Reliance National and PMA Re.

Monahan is a Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter and is a member of the Professional Liability Underwriting Society.
The Reflections treatment center looked like just the place for Michelle Holleys youngest daughter to kick heroin. Instead, as with dozens of other Florida substance abuse treatment facilities, the owner was more interested in defrauding insurance companies by keeping addicts hooked, her family says.

It looked fine. They were saying all the right things to me. I could not help my child so I trusted them to help my child, Holley said.

Instead, the center refused to give 19-year-old Jaime Holley her prescription medicine when she left, forcing her to use illegal drugs to avoid acute withdrawal symptoms, her mother said. She died of a heroin overdose last November. Right to my face they lied to me, and I believed them.

Rather than working to get people well, a growing number of unscrupulous industry players are focusing on getting addicts to relapse so that insurance dollars keep rolling in, according to law enforcement officials, treatment experts and addicts in recovery.

Its terrible right now. I dont know of any business that wants to kill its customers, but this one does, said Timothy Schnellenberger, who has worked for years in running addiction recovery centers in Florida. It really breaks my heart. Kids are dying left and right.

Reflections and Journey  both centers owned by Kenneth Chatman  are shuttered now, and Chatman is serving a 27-year federal prison sentence after pleading guilty to healthcare fraud and money laundering, but thats little comfort to Holley, who described her daughters ordeal in an interview.

I couldnt fix it. And as a parent, I wanted to fix it, she said, trying to contain her tears as she looked through her daughters pictures and Mothers Day cards.

As drug addiction destroys families across America, theres a need for a positive, vibrant recovery network to help people get off of opioids, said State Attorney Dave Aronberg, chief prosecutor in Palm Beach County. You cant just arrest your way out of this problem.

But lately, sunny South Florida has become the focal point of rampant insurance fraud that relies on a lethal cycle of intentional failure, authorities say.

The incentive is to keep them in this relapse system, this gravy train that doesnt end until the person leaves in a body bag or an ambulance, said Aronberg, whose opioid task force has made more than 30 fraud arrests. Theres no money in sobriety.

Overcoming substance abuse generally involves a treatment center, where urine tests are done, prescriptions dispensed and recovery group meetings held, and a sober home, where recovering addicts live together to get group support.

Its a $1 billion business in Palm Beach County alone, federal officials say.

Florida has the most sober homes per capita of any state, said David Sheridan, President of the National Alliance for Recovery Residences. Opioid treatment fraud has surfaced in California and Arizona, but Florida stands out, in part because so many people come for treatment.

Two people overdose on opioids every day in Palm Beach County, mainly from heroin laced with the synthetic drug fentanyl, investigators say. Statewide, deaths from this combination rose 75 percent in 2015 as more than 2,500 people died in Florida from opioid-related overdoses, according to the state medical examiner.

One operation alone  the Real Life Recovery Delray treatment center and the Halfway There Florida home  collected almost $19 million by fraudulently billing insurance companies for $58 million over four years, according to the FBI. That case has not yet gone to trial.

The FBI affidavit said the fraud included unnecessary or faked urinalysis samples, double-billing, and paying kickbacks to patients in the form of gift cards, trips to casinos and strip clubs, and free airline tickets. Other tactics included paying patient brokers to illegally direct addicts to particular facilities.

Chatmans patients were given drugs to trigger a positive drug test so they could be considered in relapse when their insurance coverage was about to expire. Court documents say he induced some female patients into prostitution for free rent at his sober home, and confiscated car keys, cellphones and prescription medications.

They dont care if you die. They just want to keep swiping that insurance card so they can keep getting money out of you, said Blake Oppenheimer of Louisville, Kentucky, who was ordered into treatment, and landed in a center that was shut down for fraud. I felt like I was something in a store that was just trying to be sold over and over again.

Fraudulent operators are exploiting a web of state and federal laws that make oversight difficult. Addicts are protected by the Americans With Disabilities Act and health privacy laws. With children up to age 26 now covered under their parents insurance, theres more money to be made.

The Florida Legislature has imposed tougher penalties for patient brokering and new limits on deceptive marketing techniques. Delray Beach and Boynton Beach approved new rules for group homes, requiring them to be accredited by a regulatory organization such as the Florida Association of Recovery Residences.

Oppenheimer, 23, is now at Schnellenbergers Recovery Boot Camp, and hopes someday to return to college to study neuroscience.

This is like the last house on the block for me, he said. This is my last opportunity, and Ive got to use it.

(Associated Press reporter Joshua Replogle contributed to this report.)

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
The security robot stopped in front of its boss, who had blocked its path in the parking garage of the swanky River Oaks District in Houston, Texas.

The Houston Chronicle reports the egg-shaped patroller spun slowly on its wheels, scanning for a way to skirt its human counterpart without barging past. The boss matched its movements. A deep voice emerged from within its polished white shell.

Excuse me, it said.

It then scooted away, whistling a tune.

Its pretty patient, said Matt Hare, an account manager for Allied Universal, the company that monitors the high-end shopping center on Westheimer.

The robot, named ROD2, recently became the latest addition to a patrol team eager to experiment with fast-evolving technology that has captured the attention of robotics developers. Its eyelike cameras continuously compile information on its surroundings and monitor for unusual activity, providing extra surveillance in an area where expensive cars and high-end stores might tempt thieves.

The robot, designed by Silicon Valley-based Knightscope, is one of nearly 40 patrolling shopping centers, parking lots and business properties across the country. The company expects that number to reach 100 by years end.

Were seeing the potential for robotics to become an enabling technology for every industry, said Andra Keay, managing director of the nonprofit group Silicon Valley Robotics. That means moving into business, into retail, into a whole range of other areas.

The 5-foot-tall autonomous robot resembles an armless R2D2, more friendly than calculating. Surprised shoppers stop it on the sidewalk for selfies and Snapchat posts, diverting it from its usual activity.

It does draw a lot of attention, Hare said.

Left alone, the robot roves a designated area with a complex set of sensors that enable it to detect obstacles, stay on track and monitor its energy levels. It works around the clock, stopping to charge every couple of hours.

Its equipped to read license plates, recognize familiar faces and detect what could be suspicious behavior. It can also sense extreme heat, something it has done often since starting work under the oppressive Houston sun.

It hasnt yet recorded any trouble at the River Oaks District, save for the time when a car bumped it while backing out. Humans buffed out the scuff.

In other venues, though, Knightscope robots have recorded information that helped law enforcement officials issue an arrest warrant for a sexual predator, apprehend a thief and track down a vandal.

Other companies, including Cobalt Robotics, have also rolled out security robots, a growing area of interest in the startup world. But Knightscope is one of the best-known players in the field, Keay said.

Theyre certainly leading in the way, she said.

Knightscope robots face a distinct challenge: They generally operate outdoors in somewhat unpredictable environments, challenging their developers to account for a range of potential scenarios. One of its robots made headlines in July when it apparently tripped into a fountain outside an office in Washington, D.C.

At the River Oaks District, the robot is confined to part of the parking garage and areas between Cartier and the iPic theater. The rest of the security team pays special attention when it takes a route that requires crossing the street.

Its just inherently more difficult than an interior environment, Keay said.

On the sidewalks, the River Oaks District robot greets shoppers with Good morning, or Good afternoon. It engages with a few other phrases, but those who linger too long snapping photos occasionally prompt its blue lights to turn red in frustration.

Its very polite, Hare said. But we see it get mad all the time on camera.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
The Honolulu City Council has postponed action on a bill to require the installation of sprinkler systems in older high-rise buildings about a month after a blaze killed three residents of a 36-story structure that did not have the safety feature.

Council members on Tuesday decided to wait for more information from the Honolulu Fire Department, including what caused the deadly July fire at the Marco Polo apartment building and how many of the citys apartment complexes have similar characteristics and risk level.

They heard from apartment owners on fixed incomes who said they cant afford to pay for sprinkler installation and they would rather live with the risks than retrofit their apartments or move to a more costly location.

Councilwoman Kymberly Marcos Pine said some homeowners have been defending their buildings, saying they have had fires in their buildings but concrete walls kept the flames from spreading.

My concern is we have some of the highest homeless population per capita, and its never a good thing if we have a government mandate on people that would cause the homeless problem to increase, Pine said. So how can we solve this problem that we all agree needs to be solved without hurting people?

Like many cities, Honolulu requires sprinkler systems in new high rise buildings. But residential structures built before 1975 are not required to have them.

Across the United States, city laws vary on whether older high-rise apartment buildings must install fire sprinklers that werent required when the towers were first built.

Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell introduced the bill and hopes the council will take it up again later, said his spokesman Jesse Broder Van Dyke. Caldwell wants to work with the council to find ways to make the work affordable for low-income homeowners.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
AKRON, Ohio -- Art x Love will host a kickoff event for @PLAY, a Knight grant-winning project, on Saturday, Sept. 2.

@PLAY is an 18-month initiative to produce custom-designed art projects for each of Akron's 24 neighborhoods. Mac Love, an Akron resident and Art x Love's chief catalyst, won the Knight Cities Challenge grant for @PLAY to produce interactive art challenges around Akron.

"Each challenge is a creative collaborative project designed to elevate community identity and bring diverse people together to create deeper community connections," Love said in a news release.

The public is invited to collaborate on a mural from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. at AMPLIFY Akron. Art x Love will provide free brunch and all painting materials at the event, at 910 E. Market St. in Akron's Middlebury neighborhood.

Middlebury was selected as the first stop for the AMPLIFY Akron event because of its historic standing as the city's first settlement.

Art x Love will build a temporary street art district of five to 10 freestanding mural walls at the neighborhood's central intersection of East Market Street, East Exchange Street and South Arlington Road.

"Our goal is to collaborate with residents to create murals that reflect the local history, passions and interests that inspire the neighborhood," Love said in a news release.

AMPLIFY Akron will feature coloring-book style murals that have been approved for display at strategic locations, including local playgrounds, parks, under highway underpasses and on certain buildings.

"We asked Middlebury residents what they want to see in their environment," Love said in a news release. "They asked for messages of hope, unity, strong black leaders, colorful flowers, local heroes, fresh imagery or patterns and dogs. Lots of dogs."

@PLAY completed research for its second neighborhood project in Goodyear Heights, which will feature creative restoration and enhancements to Reservoir Park. The event will coincide with the opening of the neighborhood's free public pool in June 2018.

Art x Love is a creative agency that designs interactive art that changes the way people think, feel and operate in select environments. Visit artxlove.com to learn more.

Want more Akron news? Sign up for cleveland.com's Rubber City Daily, an email newsletter delivered at 5:30 a.m. Monday through Friday.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Three Cleveland women have filed an FCC complaint against AT&T, saying the telecommunications company is denying poor, black neighborhoods in Cleveland the same high-speed internet services that it provides to more well-off portions of the city and surrounding suburbs.

The complaint, filed this week with the Federal Communications Commission, says the slow internet speeds that AT&T provides in those areas either hinder or outright prevent residents from performing tasks that many take for granted, such as watching videos or downloading documents.

AT&T provides other portions of Cleveland and the rest of Cuyahoga County with higher internet speeds, the complaint says.

Daryl Parks, a Tallahassee, Florida attorney who filed the complaint, likened access to high-speed broadband capabilities to providing electricity. It should be available to all citizens, even if some residents have trouble paying their monthly electric bills, he said.

The complaint was filed by Cleveland residents Joanne Elkins, Hattie Lanfair and Rachelle Lee. It accuses AT&T of "digital redlining," or discriminating against low-income residents by not offering the same service options as people who live in neighborhoods with less poverty.

It lists Hough, Glenville, Central, Fairfax, South Collinwood, St. Clair-Superior, Detroit-Shoreway and the Stockyards as being affected, along with others.

"I think that it's clear to me that they are discriminating against communities of color, redlining against those people in those communities, and it's wrong," Parks said in an interview Friday.

AT&T's refusal to provide high-speed internet access in these neighborhoods are discriminatory, especially since the company says it intends to serve all Cleveland residents, the complaint states. The complaint asks the FCC to bar the company from engaging in discriminatory practices and to hold a hearing on damages.

The complaint is largely based on a report released in March by the National Digital Inclusion Alliance and Connect Your Community. The report said there is evidence that AT&T purposefully did not do work to enhance broadband speed in Cleveland neighborhoods with higher poverty rates.

The internet speeds in the affected neighborhoods leave those residents "with severely limited and uneven Internet access," the complaint says.

For example, Elkins bought $1,500 worth of security equipment for her house but the security system was "rendered useless" because of the slow internet speeds she received, according to the complaint.

Lanfair's daughter is a teacher and cannot work at her mother's house because the speeds prevent her from downloading her students' homework assignments, the complaint says. Lanfair has inquired about upgrading her internet service but AT&T representatives told her no upgrade was available.

Finally, Lee complained that her grandchildren cannot stream videos or play online games because of the slow speeds, the complaint states.

The complaint says the women and AT&T tried to settle the dispute but that talks fell apart.

Joan Marsh, AT&T's executive vice president for regulatory and state external affairs, said in a statement Friday that "We do not redline."

"Our commitment to diversity and inclusion is unparalleled," the statement says. "Our investment decisions are based on the cost of deployment and demand for our services and are of course fully compliant with the requirements of the Communications Act. We will vigorously defend the complaint filed today."

Parks, who briefly represented the family of Tamir Rice, said he did not research whether other high-speed broadband options were available for the women who filed the FCC complaint.

A search on the website of Spectrum, another broadband company, says it can provide high-speed internet to the addresses where all three women live.

Still, Parks said AT&T has made statements saying that everybody should have equal access to high-speed internet. He also said there is evidence that AT&T undertook discriminatory actions Toledo, Dayton and Detroit.

"When you look at the maps and you clearly see people who are not being included ... as a society, that's when we have to make a different kind of decision," Parks said.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- "I'm sorry, the old Taylor can't come to the phone right now."

"Why?"

"Oh 'cause she's dead!"

So sings Taylor Swift at the end of "Look What You Made Me Do," the first single off her upcoming album "Reputation" and her first new solo song in three years.

The lyric encapsulates everything that precedes it with deft and precision. The old Taylor, the sweet, make-nice Taylor, for all intents and purposes, is indeed dead in "Look."

The song showcases a defiant Swift, hell bent on flipping the narrative and reclaiming the snake persona her haters made her out to be.

Haters like Kanye West, who Swift seemingly calls out right off the top when she sings, "I don't like your little games / Don't like your tilted stage."

West performed on a tilted stage on his tour last year.

Kim Kardashian West (see: phone line, above) and Katy Perry also incur Swift's wrath, though in more subtle, but not any less scathing ways.

When Swift sings, "You ask me for a place to sleep / Locked me out and threw a feast (what?)," she appears to be referencing her friend turned enemy in Perry with the word "feast" possibly an allusion to Perry's song, "Bon Appetit."

She seems to be taking a dig at Perry's diss track "Swish Swish" in the next line, singing, "The world moves on, another day, another drama, drama / But not for me, not for me, all I think about is karma."

(On "Swish Swish," Perry sings: " You're 'bout as cute as an old coupon expired / And karma's not a liar.")

So, yes, this is an angrier, sexier Swift we're used to hearing, "Bad Blood" notwithstanding. Musically, the song sheds the '80s pop vibe of "1989" and completely obliterates her country roots. "Look What You Made Me Do" sounds sort of like a Britney or Kesha club track -- in a good way -- with a hook eerily similar to Right Said Fred's "I'm Too Sexy." In fact, the group has a writing credit on the song.

Welcome to the new, edgier, grittier, darker Taylor. Haters, welcome to your tape.

As for the rest of the album, we'll just have to wait until "Reputation" drops on November 10.

The "Look What You Made Me Do" music video premieres Sunday during the MTV Music Video Awards.
MAYFIELD HEIGHTS, Ohio

Felonious assault, Marsol Road:

A Cleveland man, 31, was shot in his left inner thigh while outside the Drake apartments Aug. 13. Officers subsequently arrested a Cleveland man, 32, for felonious assault. He is the current boyfriend of the victim's child's mother. His brother, a 25-year-old Cleveland Heights man, has also been issued a warrant for felonious assault, tampering with evidence, discharge of a firearm and possession of criminal tools. The gun used in the incident was found hidden underneath a sewer grate near Parker and Ridgeview roads.

Theft from building, Mayfield Road:

A woman said Aug. 9 she believed she left her cell phone on a conveyor belt while checking out at Giant Eagle. She returned for it but could not locate it. The incident is under investigation.

Assist other agency, SOM Center Road:

A 16-year-old resident, along with her foster mother, reported Aug. 12 she had been sexually molested several times over the past 3-4 years by her natural father. She said she had video proof the South Euclid man, 36, committing an undesirable activity. The incidents were said to have occurred in Willoughby Hills, Eastlake, South Euclid and Euclid. Police in those cities were contacted and advised.

Overdose, Jackie Lane:

Just after midnight Aug. 10, a resident reported her son may have overdosed on an unknown drug. The man, 23, was revived and taken to the hospital. There was suspected heroin found near him and his mother said he has a history of heroin abuse.

General assistance, Temple Avenue:

A woman said Aug. 14 she believed someone stole several pieces of jewelry from her garage sale the previous day. She believed it was a scam the woman was running. There was nothing further reported.

Disturbance, Mayfield Road:

A woman reported at 2:32 a.m. Aug. 13 her boyfriend was trying to kick her out of their apartment. She said he had been drinking and he claimed to have a machine gun, cannon and nuclear weapon. Officers located the man, 49, in a stairwell and spoke to him and the woman. They both agreed to stay in separate rooms for the night. There was no indication the man had any weapons.

General assistance, Summit Drive:

A man said Aug. 13 he bought Bruno Mars concert tickets on Craigslist for $300 but had not received them. He said the person he purchased them from claimed he never received the money. The man asked that the incident be logged and said he would dispute the charge with his bank.

Unauthorized use of motor vehicle, Mayfield Road:

A Nick Mayer Ford employee reported Aug. 14 a Chardon man, 44, failed to return a vehicle after his loan was rejected by the bank. Officers tried unsuccessfully to contact the man. The incident is under investigation.

Theft, Mayfield Road:

A man reported Aug. 14 his bicycle and its lock had been stolen from outside Villa Serena apartments. He estimated its value at $400. Officers are checking to see if there was surveillance video of the theft.

Theft, Sunset Road:

A man reported a firearm, valued at $250, missing from his home Aug. 12. He said he had unloaded it and placed it on a shelf in his home two months earlier when he agreed to watch a woman's children for the night. He said he had not handled it since that time. He said only the two boys and a friend have been in the home since that time. An investigation is pending.

See more Mayfield Heights news at Cleveland.com/hillcrest.

If you would like to discuss the police blotter, please visit our crime and courts comments page.
Billings is at a crossroads. For decades we have enjoyed the status as the largest, most prosperous city in Montana. However, this status is in jeopardy. Other cities in the region are investing in their infrastructure and amenities, each attracting interest from new businesses and importantly the next generation of Montanans. We need to decide in Billings what type of city we want for our children.
What has been accomplished in Afghanistan other than enriching the already flourishing military industrial complex? We have spent over $1 trillion. Hundreds of thousands of Afghanis, most of them civilians, have been killed. Thousands of coalition forces most of them ours, have been killed. Now President Trump is calling for more forces to be deployed in Afghanistan until we "finish the job."



There is no question who benefits from this never ending war. It's no coincidence that five of the top ten wealthiest counties in the U.S. surround D.C. Many are the thousands of folks who live and work in the D.C. area, that have so far, done a fantastic job convincing both parties in Congress to continue to fund the war. The congressional budget for the defense department is over $700 billion. That does not include anything for the VA or Homeland Security. Much of that $700 billion goes directly to corporations such as Raytheon and Lockheed Martin. They then fund the private think tanks such as the Heritage Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute that provide Congress with their primary source of data regarding Afghanistan. It's a vicious circle that appears to have no end.

David J. Steiger,

Cleveland
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- It's happened again -- Cleveland was ranked at the top of a list of cities with bedbug infestations, and now everyone in Northeast Ohio feels itchy.

The annual list by pest control company Terminix ranks Cleveland above Cincinnati and Detroit, which rank second and third. Cleveland was third in the rankings last year.

Orkin, another major pest control company, also releases an annual list. Cleveland ranked 13 this year and 12 the year before, with other cities like Columbus and Cincinnati ranking higher.

So why does it seem like Ohio has so many bedbugs?

The fact is that bedbugs are making a resurgence in Ohio, as they are the rest of the country. Bedbugs were practically nonexistent until the late 1990s.

David Shetlar, a professor of entomology at Ohio State University, said in the '50s and '60s students would have to study similar species because bedbugs were so hard to find.

In 2008 the Cuyahoga County Board of Health got 18 complaints about bedbugs. In 2014, they received 146 complaints.

The problems started in Cincinnati years prior, moved up to Columbus and then eventually hit Cleveland, said Tom Barsa, a sanitarian with the board.

Bedbug policy also falls under "home rule" in Ohio, meaning that each municipality decides how they want to deal with them, Jones said.

Why are the bugs back?

There's not a consensus on this. Increased travel might be partially to blame.

"Bedbugs were never gone throughout the entire world," Barsa said. "(In Ohio) you've got a state that's very populated and you've got several very large cities."

I-71, a major highway that connects Cleveland, Cincinnati and Columbus makes travel for humans and bedbugs easy between the three major cities, he added.

Bed bugs are often found in hotel rooms, and can be carried to new places on pieces of clothing or on luggage.

What about pesticides?

The Environmental Protection Agency banned DDT in the 1970s, which some people used as an indoor treatment for bedbugs. It was banned for its potential harmful effects to humans, livestock and the environment.

Another pesticide, propoxur, was banned from home use in the 1990s. Propoxur can cause nausea and vomiting if swallowed.

Ohio, in the midst of a bedbug outbreak in 2009, asked for a lift on the ban, according to the New York Times. The request was refused by the EPA.

Susan Jones, an Ohio State University professor of entomology who was involved in the request, said the EPA placed restrictions on several classes of pesticides in the 1990s that were used to fight bedbugs.

She added one of the remaining classes -- pyrethroids -- worked the same way as DDT and the bugs became resistant.

Barsa said there's been a move from general pesticides to species-specific pesticides for safety reasons, which makes it harder for homeowners to choose the right treatment.

Jones said there are very few effective pesticides for bedbugs that can be sold over the counter. Many foggers -- commercial aerosol pesticides -- sold over the counter can't even penetrate bedsheets.

Many of these pesticides can cause bedbugs to scatter instead of killing them, leading to the problem getting worse, she added. "It's not getting better."

So how should I read these lists?

The top 10 cities on the Teminix 2017 list are:

Cleveland, Ohio Cincinnati, Ohio Detroit, Michigan Las Vegas, Nevada Houston, Texas Phoenix, Arizona Indianapolis, Indiana Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The list is based on services by Terminix for the first half of 2017, from January to June 30. The definition of infestation applied here is a situation where bed bugs were encountered and services were rendered by a Terminix professional.

The entomological definition of infestation is when a species is breeding, or both nymphs and adults are found, said Shetlar.

Terminix has more than 300 branches across the country. These might not be evenly distributed, Jones said; one state could have more branches of a company than another or the company might be more prominent in a certain area.

Barsa said number of calls to private exterminators could also show that people are identifying bedbugs and taking the steps to get rid of them.

So how do you get rid of bedbugs?

There have been strides made in pesticide research, Shetlar said. Over the past decade, more pesticides have become available, but they're mainly available to professional exterminators.

Barsa said the Board of Health errs on the side of having a professional deal with the bedbug situation.

The number of complaints given to the Board of Health has slowly decreased from 2014. In 2015, the number of complaint calls was 144. There were 90 in 2016 and 34 so far in 2017.

These complaints are normally landlord-tenant issues with improper treatment of bedbugs, Barsa said.

People in poverty live with a greater chance of bedbugs, but it's because of the inability to afford expensive bedbug treatment, Jones said. Often apartments are connected through building systems, which means an easier chance for the bedbugs to spread.

"Bedbugs don't care how rich you are, how poor you are, as long as you're a human being you're a food source for them," Jones said. "(Treatment) takes time and it takes money, so if you don't have time and you don't have money, the bedbugs stay."

It's not an issue of whether or not a place is clean, Shetlar said. Bedbug issues are also present at upscale hotels because of business travelers.

So how do I know if I have bedbugs, and what should I do?

Bedbugs are active at night, and feed on blood. They are often hard to find as they hide in box springs, mattresses and cracks and crevices of furniture. Along with with bites, finding feces or eggshells can indicate a bedbug infestation.

Click here for more information from Ohio State University and here for information from the Cuyahoga County Board of Health.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A 24-year-old man is charged in connection with an unprovoked hate-crime attack that left a Westlake man unconscious with a broken jaw in the East Bank of the Flats, according to court records.

Gregory Brzoza is charged with felonious assault. He is not in police custody and a warrant was issued Thursday for his arrest.

The incident happened about 2:30 a.m. Sunday at a food truck parked near Coastal Taco Bar and Chill on Old River Road on the East Bank of the Flats, according to police.

The 22-year-old Westlake man was standing in line with friend to order food when Brzoza, who is white, yelled at him several times saying: "you don't belong, go back to your own country," according to police.

Brzoza also yelled anti-gay slurs at the man, according to court records.

The police report does not list the 22-year-old man's ethnicity. Brzoza, however, kept referring to the 22-year-old man as an "Indian," according to police.

Brzoza punched the man at least twice in the face, according to police. The man hit his head on the concrete and was knocked unconscious.

He suffered a broken jaw and had one tooth knocked out and several others that were loose, according to police reports.

Brzoza ran off and the 22-year-old man was taken to MetroHealth, where he was treated and released.
CLEVELAND, Ohio - A suspected gang member is accused of punching a 51-year-old woman in the face in what police called a hate crime.

Jermaine Hines Jr., 24, of Cleveland, is charged with ethnic intimidation. He is not in police custody and a warrant was issued Thursday for his arrest.

A Cleveland police detective in court filings wrote that Hines attacked the woman "simply because she was white." The woman does not know Hines, who the detective said is affiliated with an unnamed street gang.

The woman "is in constant fear because (Hines) has been seen walking around her neighborhood, and she fears he will attack her or some other person simply because of the color of their skin," court records say.

The attack happened about 5:45 p.m. Sunday in the 2900 block of Archwood Avenue in the city's Brooklyn Centre neighborhood.

Hines walked up to the woman without saying anything and punched her, knocking her to the ground, police said. The attacked was entirely unprovoked, court records say.

Hines then yelled at the woman and accused her of being in the Ku Klux Klan. He also said she was a "white supremacist," according to police. The woman told police she had no affiliation to the KKK or any white supremacist group, according to police reports.

The woman walked to her home, called police and told her 21-year-old son what happened, police said. The two then walked back, found Hines and took a cellphone photo of him.

Hines saw the 21-year-old man take the photo, knocked the phone from his hand and cracked the screen, police reports say.

Hines then accused the woman's son of being involved in the KKK. The 21-year-old also told police he had no affiliation with the hate group.

Several other people who stood nearby heard the man's accusations and threatened the mother and son, according to police reports.

The duo ran off and called police again.

Hines has several prior convictions for possessing drugs, receiving stolen property and drug dealing.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Ohio Lottery officials filed a complaint with state investigators after learning three employees might be stealing supplies from a lottery warehouse just outside of downtown Cleveland.

The three men have not been charged with any crimes, but the Ohio Lottery Commission's legal counsel filed a formal complaint with the Ohio Inspector General's office on July 20.

The warehouse, located on Perkins Avenue near East 40th Street and Chester Avenue, houses lottery equipment, lottery records, and some Cash Explosion game operations, the complaint says.

Officials believe the thefts happened at that location for at least a year, the complaint says.

Three employees -- described as a warehouse supervisor and two delivery workers -- are believed to have loaded pallets and old scrap wire into their personal vehicles and lottery vehicles on several occasions, the complaint says.

The men were seen leaving the facility with these materials. When they returned, two employees saw them split up money between them, the complaint says.

A part-time warehouse employee reported these incidents to management on June 5. He said one of the delivery drivers told him that he and the supervisor sell the materials and keep the profits, the complaint says.

Lottery officials interviewed workers and reviewed surveillance video before filing their complaint with the Ohio Inspector General's office.

As with all complaints filed with their office, a spokesman for the inspector general declined to say whether the agency is actively investigating the reported thefts.

The same complaint was also filed with the governor's office and the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

A highway patrol spokesman did not immediately confirm whether the patrol has an open case against the workers.

All three men are now on paid administrative leave from their jobs, according to lottery spokeswoman Danielle Frizzi-Babb. She said the commission does not comment on pending investigations.

To comment on this story, please visit Friday's crime and courts comments page.
STARKE, Florida -- Mark Asay was put to death Thursday evening for two murders in 1987, the first time in the state's history a white man was executed for killing a black man.

The execution was Florida's first in more than 18 months and was done with a three-drug cocktail that included an anesthetic, etomidate, never used before in a U.S. lethal injection, the Associated Press reports.

According to CNN, the execution of Asay, 53, was carried out at 6:22 p.m. without incident, prison officials said. The U.S. Supreme Court denied a stay of execution Thursday afternoon.

He made no final statement before his execution, reports say.

Asay fatally shot Robert Lee Booker, 34, a black man, after making multiple racist comments, prosecutors said. Asay's second victim was Robert McDowell, 26, who was mixed race, white and Hispanic.

Prosecutors say Asay had hired McDowell, who was dressed as a woman, for sex and shot him six times after discovering his gender.

The AP reports that records show at least 20 black men have been executed for killing white victims since the state reinstated the death penalty in 1976.

"It does make the case even stronger that there's this disparity gap that exists between black and white -- who gets the death penalty and who gets exonerated," Adora Obi Nweze, president of the Florida State Conference NAACP and an opponent of capital punishment, tells the Miami Herald.

The Herald reports Asay was the 24th inmate executed during the tenure of Gov. Rick Scott, the most under any governor in Florida history.

If you'd like to comment on this story, visit Thursday's crime and courts comments section.
CLEVELAND -- John Adams saw this coming. He understood better than most democracy's fragility.

"Remember, democracy never lasts long," the former president wrote to a friend in 1814, as noted by David Remnick in an April New Yorker column. "It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy that did not commit suicide."

If Adams was right, and if suicide is the instrument of choice, then we're in the process of writing the note.

A hostile and vanishing middle class; robots wreaking havoc with wages and the workforce; and an autocratic president who outwardly embraces violence, hatred and anti-Semitism: This is exactly how democracy takes its own life.

Edward Luce is an Oxford-educated, Washington-based columnist for the Financial Times.

In his terrific and widely praised new book, "The Retreat of Western Liberalism," Luce convincingly makes the case deep thinkers on the right and left have been promulgating for months:

"If the next few years resemble the last, it is questionable whether Western democracy can take the strain .... As winter follows autumn, it is not Trump we fear most - though he is scary enough. It is whoever might follow him."

Indeed, President Donald Trump is not the cause of all this.

The president is merely the symptom of an American divisiveness - a political unrest rooted in the failure of both parties to meaningfully address the nation's vast economic inequities.

Nevertheless, Trump's contempt for American values is almost unimaginable.

It's a contempt that manifests itself in disrespect for the rule of law, lying about election-rigging in an attempt to undermine confidence in the Constitution, openly encouraging violence by his supporters.

But Trump's lack of a moral compass is most evident is in his betrayal of the desperate, angry and often decent people who elected him.

Imagine a president so lacking in character that he explains away an event tarred by violence and murder with a false equivalency breathtaking in its depravity.

Not once, but twice, the president of the United States said both sides were to blame for the deadly violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Aug. 12.

All the Republican spin notwithstanding, the meaning of Trump's words was unmistakable.

They declared without equivocation that the people who gathered in Charlottesville to protest bigotry, hatred and anti-Semitism were not one iota better than the bigots, haters and anti-Semites who drew them there.

With that, Trump forever surrendered any right to be taken seriously as a president. Or a human being.

For the Republicans who run Congress, soon comes the ultimate test of their character, the test that will define their legacies.

Do they stand with this man, whom they can't help but see as unfit for the presidency, or do they summon the character and conscience to rescue their country and party.

The people they represent have already decided.

In an ABC News-Washington Post poll of 1,014 adults taken Aug. 16-20, 56 percent disapproved of Trump's reaction to the Charlottesville violence, while 28 percent approved.

The poll found 83 percent think it's unacceptable for people to hold neo-Nazi views, while 9 percent think it's just fine. Among Republicans, it rises to 13 percent.

Still, millions of voters continue to worship their soulless leader. The vast majority of Republicans in Congress stand by their man. And a frightening number of phony religious leaders still act as if Trump is God's messenger.

The exact solution of how to rescue the country is above my pay grade. But I have a two-year-old grandson capable of understanding it isn't a health care bill that offers massive tax cuts to the rich and strips more than 20 million poor people of their health care.

Time is of the essence. After Trump's latest unhinged performance, at a Hitler-style rally Tuesday night in Arizona, former National Intelligence Director James Clapper questioned his fitness for office and described Trump's access to the country's nuclear arsenal as "pretty damn scary."

It will only get worse. The divisions and despair grow deeper each day.

Luce's book offers a mountain of evidence on the disruptive influence of shrinking wages and disappearing jobs.

In 1950, a worker living in big-city America worked an average of 45 hours a month to pay the rent or mortgage. Today it takes 101 hours. And a third of Americans with a degree in science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) work in jobs that require none of those skills. Of the non-STEM jobs, nearly half are vulnerable to being replaced by robots.

Just as dangerous are the lies promulgated by the right that lazy Americans addicted to government handouts are responsible for the nation's decline.

"Judged by aptitude, almost half those in America's top two-fifths income bracket are there because of the luck of family background," wrote Luce, adding, "A big share of those in the bottom-fifth would be in the top if they had the same life chances....

"By far the biggest determinant is the bed in which you were born. Why wouldn't the losers be angry?"

Many deserve to be.

When Trump fails them, as he surely will, anger will turn to rage, the sense of betrayal only deepen.

Then comes the real trouble.

Brent Larkin was The Plain Dealer's editorial director from 1991 until his retirement in 2009.

To reach Brent Larkin: blarkin@cleveland.com

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A phrase used in the ongoing war of words between the United States and North Korea was the little rhythmic ditty of fire and fury. It threatened in apocalyptic terms the use of atomic weapons, and if anyone was listening, it heightened the expectation of foreboding. I clearly remember the Cuban missile crisis of October 1962 and watching President John F. Kennedy the night he announced on television that a crisis existed. It scared me then as present references do now!

Everyone seemed to carry on with their daily lives, though, and I never heard much comment about fire and fury. Maybe its a generational thing. That crisis in 1962 occurred 55 years ago. If people listening to Kennedy speak were then 18 years old, they would be 73 today. Those younger than that might not have been paying attention, let alone be alive.

An eye-opening exhibit at the Harry S. Truman museum in Independence, Mo., grabbed my attention and has never let go. On display behind thick glass was a scrap of paper on which Truman had scrawled with a pencil this message, Suggestion approved. Release when ready but not sooner than Aug. 2. On the surface that little piece of paper seemed harmless enough, but it was in fact his order for the military to drop the atomic bomb on Japan in World War II.

A concept circulating sometime ago spoke of six degrees of separation, the idea that anyone on the planet can be connected to anyone else in just six steps. Recently I have discovered that in just two degrees I can reach out to touch a survivor of the first of two atomic bomb blasts that obliterated Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945.

My second cousin from California is married to a man of Japanese descent. He, his family and as many as 120,000 others suffered the indignities and hardships of forced relocation from their homes to internment camps during World War II. In my understanding of the six degree concept, I will count her husband as the first degree of separation and place his brother, whom I have not met, in the second degree. His recent interview published in the magazine of the University of California Berkeley alumni association is compelling.

Aug. 6 marked the 72nd anniversary of the dropping of the first atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. For him, its a day remembered well since he was there. He, a fifth-grader, had accompanied his father in 1941 to visit a sick grandfather who lived on the outskirts of Hiroshima. After visiting and seeing improvement in the old mans health, the father and son started making plans to come home to California, but a roadblock now stood in their way. Passenger ships were no longer running to the United States because friendly relations had deteriorated and then were lost after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor.

The boy wasnt permitted to sit around doing nothing so his father enrolled him in school for however long they had to stay. On Aug. 6, 1945, he and his fellow pupils were standing outside for roll call and spotted a flight of three B-29 bombers pass overhead. In his words, he said, Then flash! The bomb exploded. It was ten times brighter than the sun Falling on the ground, he felt himself lifted and then dropped again.

He made his way to a nearby shelter, only to emerge an hour later to see a woman walking toward him with her skin hanging in shreds from her body. Another facet of the story exists when the Red Cross delivered a letter to them from the family informing them about their familys life in camp. What camp? They didnt know anything about the internment camps and his family being forced to live there.

In the context of ending the war President Truman and his advisers contemplated four options: conventional bombing, an invasion, dropping an atomic bomb on an unpopulated area to demonstrate its power, and dropping it on a populated city. They chose the last option because it would make the biggest impression and not endanger the lives of an American invasion force.
CLIFTON PARK, N.Y. >> The owners of La Quinta Inn and Suites officially opened their hotel for business last week adding 102 rooms to the towns expanding hospitality sector.

Though open for business since a January soft opening, hotel owners Tony and Mary Ann Casale and their children gathered with hotel staff and local dignitaries Aug. 17 at the front desk for the formal ribbon cutting.

The hotel at 1749 Route 9 is the first La Quinta in the Northeast to have the Del Sol design.

Its modern, its open and its contemporary, said general manager Peter Smith.

The four floored hotel has free Wi Fi, offers a complimentary breakfast but has no restaurant or bar. It has a seasonal outdoor patio with fire pit, an indoor swimming pool, hot tub, exercise room, and conference room. The staff numbers about 18 full-time employees.

Joining the Casales for the ribbon cutting were Chamber of Southern Saratoga County President and CEO Pete Bardunias, Town Supervisor Philip Barrett, Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce President Todd Shimkus and Assemblywoman Mary Beth Walsh.

I want to congratulate the Casales. This is another great addition to Clifton Park, Barrett said. Hotels have become a big part of our tax base as our economy continues to evolve. Im very pleased to have La Quinta here in Clifton Park and wish you many years of success.

Assemblywoman Walsh, R-Ballston Spa, recalled growing up in Latham and noted all the positive changes that have gone on in the southern Saratoga County area through the years.

Im here to congratulate you and welcome you to the neighborhood, she said. Welcome to the 112 Assembly District. Im glad I represent you. If theres anything I can do just let me know.

Joining in the official presentations was Adam Kramer, Chief of Staff for Sen. Jim Tedisco, R-Glenville, who had another commitment. Kramer, a resident of Clifton Park, presented the Casales with a Senate proclamation and noted that for many years prior to construction of the hotel, the Route 9 site had been one large hill of sand.

Its so wonderful to see all the development here and see this lobby full of guests, he said. We hope you see this amount of business all year long. Welcome to the 49th Senate District. We wish you all the success in the world.

Shimkus, of the Saratoga County Chamber, also welcomed the Casales and their hotel to the area.

We believe ribbon cuttings are a celebration of a dream come true. So congratulations on making this dream of yours come true, he said. Its not only a dream for you though. Its also a dream for the all the employees and the community that gets a benefit from having this business located here.

In brief remarks before cutting the ribbon Tony Casale noted that the family started out in the hardware business which expanded into the rental business. The hotel business, he said, was all new to him and thanked both chamber presidents for their assistance.

Casale said he had a vision of owning the property and because of the familys background in construction he knew the hills could be leveled. After a potential medical office facility build-lease project fell through he happened to read a story about the opening of hotel opening on Plank Road.

We contacted a few hotel people and I guess the demographics are phenomenal for Clifton Park, he said. Now, two years later, were here and opened and doing very well.

Smith, the general manager agreed. He has a long career in the hospitality industry and understands that people are looking beyond price.

Last night was a Wednesday and we had 100 rooms full, he said. This is all about treating people well. Ive told the staff that and I remind them of it all the time. The Casales treat me well, I treat the staff well, and it filters right down. People can feel it and appreciate it.
The half eagle is graded PCGS Proof 65+ Cameo and is one of nine documented survivors from a recorded mintage at the Philadelphia Mint of 62 coins.

The Harry W. Bass Jr. example of Proof 1860 Coronet $5 gold half eagle is one of just six examples known in private hands. Three other examples are permanently impounded in institutional collections.

One of nine documented surviving examples of the Proof 1860 Coronet gold $5 half eagle will return to the auction block after nearly 20 years off the market.

The example that once was part of the famous Harry W. Bass Jr. Collection is graded Proof 65+ Cameo by Professional Coin Grading Service. The coin highlights the Kagins Auctions offerings in a sale to be held Sept. 15 in conjunction with the CoinExpo Santa Clara, Sept. 15 to 17, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in California.

Numismatic experts consider the Proof 1860 half eagle  of which only 62 are reported to have been produced at the Philadelphia Mint  to be the second rarest Proof half eagle struck at that Mint after regular production of gold Proof coins began in 1858.

The auction catalog documents a detailed census of the issues remaining examples, tracing the six coins held by private collectors and the three pieces in institutional collections.

Bass pedigree

The former Bass half eagle was last publicly sold in Auctions by Bowers and Merenas Nov. 1, 2000, sale where the coin, then graded and encapsulated PCGS Proof 65, realized $57,500. Coin Worlds Coin Values currently values the coin at $120,000 in PCGS Proof 65.

Previous to the 2000 sale, the former Bass coin appeared in the May 23 and 24, 1974, sale by Stacks of the collection of Theodore Ullmer, where it was cataloged as Gem Proof.

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The former Bass coin is one of only two examples of the Proof 1860 Coronet half eagle graded by PCGS, the other being a Proof 64 example.

The roster of known examples in private hands includes:

??the Ten Eyck/Clapp/Eliasberg/Trompeter coin, graded Proof 65 Cameo by Numismatic Guaranty Corp.

??the Garrett/Slotkin specimen, graded NGC Proof 64 Ultra Cameo.

??the Farouk/Norweb piece, cataloged as Proof 63 in the Norweb sale Oct. 12 and 13, 1987, by Auctions by Bowers and Merena Inc.

??the Oliver/Lake Highlands coin, graded NGC Proof 64 Ultra Cameo.

??the Amon G. Carter Jr. Family Collection specimen, cataloged as Brilliant Proof, hairlines in the Carter sale conducted Jan. 18 through 21, 1984, by Stacks.

The National Numismatic Collection in the Smithsonian Institutions National Museum of American History holds the U.S. Mint Cabinet example of the piece. It became part of the national collection in the 1920s.

The Josiah K. Lilly example also became part of the National Numismatic Collection in 1968 as part of a multimillion-dollar tax write-off requiring congressional legislation before the Lilly collection of gold coins could be accepted.

The American Numismatic Societys example was a part of the J.P. Morgan Collection, first donated to the American Museum of Natural History, then transferred to the ANS in 1908.

The Sept. 15 auction also features SS Central America gold ingots; a complete variety set of nine Augustus Humbert octagonal $50 gold slugs by Kagin variety as attributed in Private Gold Coins and Patterns of the United States by Donald H. Kagin; hobo nickels; and other U.S. coins and Americana.

For an auction catalog, email info@Kagins.com, or call 888-852-4467.
U.S. Mint Director Mary Brooks is surrounded by 27-pound gold bars inside a vault at the Fort Knox Gold Bullion Depository during a Sept. 23, 1974, inspection.

The 27-pound gold bars in the Fort Knox vaults are stacked tightly together.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, top right, was joined by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, lower right, in an Aug. 21 inspection of the nation's gold reserves housed at the Fort Knox Gold Bullion Depository.

Steven Mnuchins Aug. 21 visit to the gold vaults of the Fort Knox Gold Bullion Depository in Kentucky was the first by a Treasury secretary in 69 years. It had been more than four decades since a senior Treasury Department official inspected the bulk of the nations gold reserves.

U.S. Mint Director Mary Brooks led a contingent of congressional representatives and journalists on Sept. 23, 1974, to take inventory of the nations gold reserves amid concerns some of the gold may be missing.

A subsequent audit accounted for all of the gold, with none recorded missing.

Mnuchin tweeted a message from his Twitter account, Thanks to @usmintstaff for hosting at#FortKnox#USBD. First@USTreasury Secretary to visit since John Snyder in 1948. Glad gold is safe!

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Mnuchin was accompanied on his Aug. 21, 2017, inspection tour of the gold reserves at Fort Knox by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.; U.S. Rep. Brett Guthrie, R-Ky.; and Kentuckys Republican governor, Matt Bevin.

During Mnuchins visit, McConnell is reported to have held up one of the 27-pound gold bars that is among the more than 147 million troy ounces of gold held at Fort Knox.

The bars are made of .900 fine gold, fabricated predominantly from melted U.S. gold coins.

While Mnuchin declared the nations gold reserves at Fort Knox secure, Treasury Department officials gave no indication whether any full-scale audit would be conducted, as was done in 1974 after the visit by Brooks and her contingent.

The Fort Knox Gold Bullion Depositorys security and operation is overseen by the U.S. Mint, a Treasury Department bureau.

The Treasury Departments Bureau of the Fiscal Service, in its most current report, dated June 30, 2017, indicates the deep storage gold at Fort Knox at 147,341,858.382 troy ounces.

The gold is carried on government ledgers at the statutory price of $42.2222 per troy ounce established in 1973, which does not fluctuate. At that price, the governments book value of the gold is $6,221,097,412.98.

The market value of the gold reserves, using the London PM closing spot price on Aug. 21 of $1,292.90, would be $190,498,288,702.

When Brooks and the congressional delegation and journalists toured the Fort Knox vaults in 1974 it was the first time anyone other than authorized personnel was permitted entry.

The bullion depository was created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1936. In 1933, Roosevelts Executive Order 6102 had outlawed the private ownership of gold coins, gold bullion, and gold certificates by American citizens, forcing citizens to sell their gold holdings to the Federal Reserve.

The bullion depository was needed because the nations gold reserves tripled and storage space was insufficient. When FDR inspected the vaults on April 28, 1943, it was the one and only time a gold vault was opened by inspection for anyone other than authorized personnel, Brooks said.

Her 1974 inspection tour was the first time photography was permitted inside the vault area.

According to the Annual report of the Director of the Mint for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1975, there were 147,353,827.327 troy ounces of gold stored in 13 vault compartments at Fort Knox as of June 30, 1974.

Each of the vault compartments was secured with joint seals that, once broken, could not be reused, but had to be replaced.

Documentation was required to detail the reasons for the seals being broken and it was required to be signed by senior officials involved.

A special settlement audit was initiated on Sept. 24, 1974, the day after Brooks visit, with the audit conducted by a team of auditors from the U.S. General Accounting Office and the Department of the Treasury.

A report released Feb. 10, 1975, by the Office of the Comptroller General indicated the total amount of gold documented as being in the Fort Knox vault as of June 30, 1974, was still there.

The audit also included inspection and documentation of gold held at the Philadelphia and Denver Mints, the New York Assay Office and San Francisco Assay Office, now the San Francisco Mint.

One of the recommendations from the 19741975 study was for the director of the Mint to require a cyclical inventory of each depositorys gold holdings as part of each facilitys annual settlement of accounts.

The congressional contingent that inspected the Fort Knox gold inventory on Sept. 23, 1974, was led by U.S. Rep. Philip Crane, R-Ill.

Crane initiated the inspection following a discussion with Treasury Secretary William F. Simon concerning rumors that some or all of the gold reserves at Fort Knox was missing.

Coverage in the Oct. 9, 1974, issue of Coin World, in a report by then Coin World editor Margo Russell  who was present when a vault was opened for inspection  indicated Crane was satisfied the gold was still there even before the public inspection was commenced.

The vault compartment that was opened in 1974 contained 36,236 gold bars weighing 11,837,837.179 troy ounces, according to Russells 1974 Coin World news coverage.

Prior to the 1974 visit, the last shipment of gold out of Fort Knox was in 1971 when $500 million in precious metal was delivered to the New York Assay Office.

That shipment required 33 15-ton trailers to haul the precious cargo.
A circa 1831 or 1832 convict love token, carved in bronze by British deportee to Australia Thomas Brownhill, is offered in Classical Numismatic Groups online and mail bid sale ending Sept. 13.

The colonization of Australia famously received boosts through periodic arrivals of convict transportation ships.

These ships brought thousands of English criminals to Australia (and the USA, it turns out), and rare folk art survives today from this period in the form of convict love tokens.

Convicts frequently carved coins into pieces of remembrance for the family left behind, and one such piece will be offered in Classical Numismatic Groups Sept. 13 internet and mail bid sale.

The circa 1831 to 1832 bronze token measures 35.5 millimeters in diameter and weighs 23.25 grams, smaller than a Morgan dollar, and slightly lighter than an Eisenhower dollar.

The Reverse Proof American Buffalo, a model of marketing: Also in this weeks print issue, we explore a cluster of Lincoln cents found while searching two rolls and ponder their origin.

A man named Thomas Brownhill carved the piece, which depicts on its obverse a man standing, left, on shore, doffing hat, holding irons attached to his legs.

Also appearing on this side is the ship, and the mans name, a reference to his age at the time of his conviction and the plea to FOR GET ME NOT.

The reverse is inscribed WHEN THIS/ YOU SEE REME /MBER ME THO/ BANISHED FROM/ MY COUNT/ RY.

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Brownhill was tried and convicted on March 26, 1831 for housebreaking, and sentenced to desportation. He sailed from Portsmouth on the Isabella on Nov. 27, 1831, bound for Sydney.

The voyage was marked by a mutiny of the ships crew, with 14 being executed upon their arrival in Australia. But the convicts, Brownhill included, remained well-behaved, and are even reported to have helped the captain. Following their arrival in Australia, Brownhill was assigned to one W.T. Morris of Batemans Bay, where he died on Dec. 13, 1840.v The piece was recently discovered in an estate in Great Britain, according to the auction house, which rates the token Good Very Fine.

It has a pre-sale estimate of $2,000.
Light of Christ Catholic Schools, a private Catholic school system in Bismarck, is continuing to see increased enrollment growth, according to enrollment numbers released Thursday.

After years of growth at the elementary level, St. Marys Central High School saw the greatest jump in students, with 332 students this year compared to 315 last year, according to Gerald Vetter, president of Light of Christ Catholic Schools.

This year, sixth-graders moved into St. Mary's Middle School Academy as part of an effort to create more space for pre-K-5 students at Saint Anne, Cathedral and St. Marys elementary schools. There are 273 students at the Middle School Academy.

The new school year marked continued enrollment momentum for Light of Christ Catholic Schools, which has grown 25 percent over the past five years. Last year was the first year the schools added four portable classrooms, and this year they're up to eight total portable classrooms for the system.

Light of Christ Catholic Schools is planning to build a new high school on 48 acres of land north of 57th Avenue and Washington Street. The school is expected to open in 2019. At that time, the old high school building will become home to the Middle School Academy.
The Public Service Commission plans to meet in executive session on Monday to discuss a response from Dakota Access Pipeline related to a settlement offer from state regulators.

Commissioner Julie Fedorchak said attorneys for the PSC heard from Dakota Access late Thursday, the deadline for the company to respond to a settlement offer regarding a dispute over whether the pipeline company broke state law after discovering Native American artifacts during construction last year.

Fedorchak said the company's response is confidential and she couldn't comment on whether Dakota Access has accepted the offer to resolve the dispute by making a $15,000 contribution to the State Historic Preservation Office.

The closed-door meeting is set for 2:30 p.m. Monday.

Earlier this month, the three-member board voted unanimously to extend the settlement offer to the developer of the $3.8 billion pipeline that would dismiss claims against Dakota Access related to failing to notify regulators about the cultural artifacts.

The issues date back to Oct. 17, when Dakota Access discovered four stone cairns and other artifacts in the pipeline route in Morton County. Dakota Access notified the State Historic Preservation Office and rerouted the project to protect the sites.

The company did not notify the Public Service Commission, which learned about the discovery eight days later from a third-party inspector. The permit authorizing construction of Dakota Access requires the company to get clearance from the commission to proceed with a reroute.

If the company does not agree to the settlement, the matter will continue through a formal administrative process.

The settlement has no affect on a separate issue related to whether Dakota Access removed too many trees while constructing the pipeline.
WILLISTON -- A man accused of helping to conceal a July murder told police that he had gone with the accused murderer to the site of the body and been threatened that if he told anyone he would be killed, as well.

Special Agent Charissa Remus with the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation testified Thursday in a preliminary hearing that Ralph Broxson Jr., 26, told law enforcement he was aware of a murder committed by Jonah Hendricks, 21.

Hendricks was found dead from an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound on July 18 when police served a search warrant related to a drive-by shooting they say Hendricks committed earlier that day.

Broxon was arrested in late July and charged with hindering law enforcement, a class C felony, for allegedly helping to dispose of evidence from the case. He had been arrested a few days before on charges stemming from two other, unrelated incidents.

Remus told Northwest District Judge Benjamen Johnson that on July 20, Broxson told police about the killing. He said Hendricks had killed a woman and dumped her body in a rural area on the opposite side of the Missouri River from Williston, Remus testified.

He led police to the site, and they found the body of 28-year-old Lindsay White, she said.

Whites body was located July 20 near the border of McKenzie and Williams counties, according to the McKenzie County Sheriffs Office.

Remus testified that Broxson told police that Hendricks had come to his home on July 17 and the pair had gone to the site of the body, with Broxson driving and Hendricks giving directions. When they arrived, Hendricks showed Broxson Whites body, Remus said.

Mr. Broxson indicated at that point, (Hendricks) pulled out gun, (and) pointed at his head, Remus said. She said Broxson claimed Hendricks told him that if he told anyone about the killing, he would end up in hole next to her.

Broxson said Hendricks then moved the body to another location, where it would be found several days later, and poured chemicals over it to remove evidence, Remus said.

She said Broxson admitted cleaning the car he used to drive Hendricks for several hours to remove evidence. Police also found clothing that belonged to Hendricks and Damian Carrillo, who is also charged with hindering law enforcement, as well as a shoe that belonged to White, Remus said.

Broxson, who represented himself at the preliminary hearing, had no questions for Remus and made no argument to Johnson.

Johnson ruled there was probable cause to bind Broxson over for trial on that charge.

Broxson had two other preliminary hearings Thursday, as well.

In all, he is facing two counts of terrorizing and one count each of felonious restraint, aggravated assault, possession of stolen property, hindering law enforcement and possession of drug paraphernalia.

In the first case, he is accused of threatening two people who were trying to get him to leave a home where he had been staying, as well as having a pipe to smoke meth, according to court records. He also allegedly had two stolen credit cards in his pocket, Williston police Detective Danielle Hendricks testified.

In the preliminary hearing for the other case, Hendricks testified Broxson had assaulted a woman repeatedly, threatened her with knives and would not let her leave the home where they were.

Johnson ruled that there was probable cause to send those cases to trial, as well.

Broxson is being held on $100,000 bond. His trials for all three cases are scheduled for Nov. 27.
Next week's ballot offers some intrigue for North Dakotans  from late congressional entries by independent candidates to term limits and marijuana legalization. Voters will decide whether to endorse changing the state constitution to limit the terms of the governor and state legislators. Another citizen-led initiative also will put the question of marijuana legalization before voters, who rejected the idea four years ago. Ninety-eight of the Legislatures 141 seats are on the ballot. All but one Democrat is up for reelection this year. Contests for secretary of state, attorney general and other state offices Also will appear on the ballot.
The states general fund ended the most recent two-year budget cycle with roughly $66 million more than previously expected, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum said Friday.

The 2015-17 biennium, which concluded June 30, ended with $97.2 million in the general fund, compared with the $30.8 million that was projected when the Legislature adjourned in late April, according to a news release issued Friday afternoon.

The state has seen diminished tax revenues due to reduced oil and farm commodity prices, forcing budget cuts across government. State lawmakers slashed general fund spending by more than 28 percent during this years session.

Despite the good budget news, Burgum warned the state will have very little cushion heading into the budgeting process for the 2019-21 biennium unless tax revenues see a significant rebound.

Its essential we continue to take a conservative approach to spending and staffing and focus on reinventing government to make it more efficient and responsive, the first-term Republican governor said in a statement.

State agencies turned back $97.8 million to the general fund. The Department of Public Instruction experienced lower-than-expected enrollment growth, and the Department of Human Services spent less on Medicaid than projected and saved money by holding open vacant positions, the governors office said.

Of the $97.2 million, state law required $32.2 million be transferred to the Budget Stabilization Fund. That rainy day fund has a balance of only $38.3 million after it was drained to offset revenue shortfalls during the 2015-17 budget cycle, according to the governors office.

While we were fortunate to end the 2015-17 cycle on a positive note, we still must be prepared for another challenging budgeting process for next biennium, Pam Sharp, director of the Office of Management and Budget, said in a statement.
Channel programs News

Infosys Co-Founder Takes Control of Board As Ex-CEO Cuts All Ties With Firm

Michael Novinson

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One of Infosys's founding figures has returned to the board following a public spat between the company's co-founder, board and former CEO over governance issues.

The ascension of Nandan Nilekani to chairman of the board on Thursday prompted the resignations of current board chairman R Seshasayee, beleaguered former CEO Vishal Sikka, and two other board members. The move adhered to the wish of 12 institutional investors owning a 10 percent stake in Infosys, who on Wednesday called for Nilekani's return.

"Given his credentials, we feel, that his joining the board at this stage, will restore confidence of stakeholders in the company and also facilitate resolution of the contentious issues that Infosys is facing presently," the investors wrote in a letter.

[Related: Infosys CEO Pens Shocking Resignation Letter, Blasts 'Continuous Drumbeat Of Distractions' From Company Founder]

Nilekani (pictured) co-founded Infosys alongside Narayana Murthy, served as CEO of the Bengaluru, India-based systems integrator from 2002 to 2007, and owns a 2.3 percent stake in the company. Murthy raised concerns over governance issues at Infosys, and claimed in recent emails that Infosys's independent directors felt that Sikka was more CTO material than CEO material, according to media reports.

Infosys's stock climbed $0.17 (1.15%) to $14.99 in trading Thursday, but is still trading $0.94 (5.9%) lower than it was a week ago prior to Sikka's shocking resignation. Sikka was replaced on an interim basis by Chief Operating Officer Pravin Rao, who will continue in that role until a permanent CEO can be found, which is expected to happen no later than March 2018.

"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 wrote in a letter to Infosys employees, which he shared in a blog on Aug. 17.

A group of Infosys founders led by Murthy wants the eventual removal of all but three directors of the 11-member board, according to a Bloomberg report Thursday. But the moves will take time since members are required to oversee audit and risk committees, among other responsibilities, according to the report.

Bloomberg said it's unclear whether the investor group clamoring for Nilekani's return to the board supports Murthy's broader aims. Infosys, for its part, said all four of the departing board members welcomed Nilekani's appointment.

"Last week, I said that my remaining on the Infosys board was to primarily enable a smooth transition," said Sikka, who had been set to serve as Infosys's executive vice chairman until a permanent CEO took office. "In Nandan, we have found an ideal leader to manage this transition."

Seshasayee has served on Infosys's board since 2011. Prior to that, he spent more than a dozen years as managing director of Indian commercial vehicle manufacturer Ashok Leyland.

"Under Nandan, Infosys will build a cohesive management team that will no doubt take the company to a leadership position in the industry," Seshasayee said in a statement. "I believe these changes will infuse further confidence to the stakeholders in executing the transition plan and in reinforcing the strategy for the future."

During his five years leading Infosys, Nilekani quadrupled Infosys's revenue to $2 billion and led the implementation of India's ambitious biometric identity program. More than one billion Indians are now enrolled in the program architected by Nilekani, according to Infosys.

"I am happy to return to Infosys, now in the role of non-executive chairman, and look forward to working with my colleagues on the Board and in executive management on the business opportunities we see before us and delivering benefits to our clients, shareholders, employees and communities," Nilekani said in a statement.

Infosys under Sikka set a goal of hitting $20 billion in revenue by 2020, but the $10.2 billion solution provider would be hard-pressed to reach that target given that the company provided revenue growth guidance of just 6.1 percent to 8.1 percent for the current fiscal year.

Some of Infosys' recent investments haven't panned out as expected, with the company's retail and consumer products businesses providing just 15 percent of total revenue, despite the acquisition of e-commerce platform Skava two years ago, Boz Hristov, a senior analyst covering professional services for Technology Business Research (TBR), wrote in April.

Historically, Infosys has invested more heavily in startups, but Hristov said those bets have yet to move the needle much. Hristov said that Infosys would need to buy a large consultancy that's really strong in specific verticals or geographies to regain the market position it enjoyed five or ten years ago.
Cloud News

What Happens Next As OpenStack's Hype Bubble Bursts?

Joseph Tsidulko

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OpenStack, the cloud-building technology that won concerted industry backing to challenge proprietary virtualization vendors like VMware, and public cloud operators like AWS, is now fighting for survival in a brutal and rapidly evolving IT market.

Boosters and critics agree that early exuberance around the project has given way to questions of long-term relevance in the face of rapid public cloud maturation.

"As far as the excitement around OpenStack that was present two, three years ago, that's done," Boris Renski, a founder of Mirantis, the largest pure-play OpenStack vendor in the industry, told CRN.

[Related: The Great OpenStack Debate: A Powerful Platform That Will Revolutionize The Data Center? Or A Dud?]

Now that the hype has evaporated, what remains is a highly capable technology looking for a suitable deployment model and market niche, said Renski, a director on the board of the OpenStack Foundation, the organization that guides the project.

A joint effort launched seven years ago by Rackspace Hosting and NASA, OpenStack shot to prominence with the promise of a robust, comprehensive cloud technology supported by a vibrant corporate community building its many interconnected components. But critics say the sprawling nature of the project, and diverse interests of its contributors cooled actual market enthusiasm.

Looking back, many in the OpenStack community peg the six months between the Austin OpenStack Summit of April 2016 and the following conference in Barcelona as the period in which a hype bubble, inflating for years around the open source cloud technology, finally burst.

The Texas-sized enthusiasm that characterized Austin gave way to a subdued affair the following October in Spain, Renski said.

Vendors like Mirantis have since recalibrated their strategies to capitalize on the inherent benefits of OpenStack while mitigating the deficiencies that leveled the adoption curve.

First, they're trying to ease delivery of the notoriously difficult system, recognizing operational challenges sidelined many enterprise OpenStack initiatives and prevented early proof of concepts from converting to production deployments.

Companies including Mirantis, Cisco, Rackspace, and Canonical, as well as a recent crop of startups like Platform9 and ZeroStack, are promoting a new paradigm: call it Managed OpenStack or OpenStack-as-a-Service.

"Interest from enterprise customers has never been higher, but that has been limited by the fact that OpenStack has been really, really hard. And the only way to make it easy is to deliver it as a service," said Sirish Raghuram, CEO and founder of Platform9.

"There are exceptions, but enterprises should not be in the business of trying to run OpenStack. They're just not skilled for that," Raghuram told CRN.

Canonical, a major player in the Linux market with its Ubuntu distribution, for its part is focusing on automating the upgrade process for customers that have become "stuck" in outdated releases they've extensively customized for their own environments, said Mark Baker, product manager for Ubuntu OpenStack.

"We believe that OpenStack can power efficient, scalable private clouds if theyre built and managed well," Baker told CRN.

The channel has seen up close customer hesitance resulting from OpenStack's complexity and the persistent scarcity of skilled IT professionals to operate it, David Linthicum, senior vice president of Cloud Technology Partners, a solution provider based in Boston, told CRN.

Those factors made the open source software too costly to implement for most businesses, he told CRN.

"We're just not seeing it that much anymore," Linthicum said of OpenStack. "May have seen it a couple years ago, got involved with some private implementations. The reality is the customers aren't as interested as they used to be."

Partners noticed when the hype bubble popped, Linthicum said, and have interpreted recent actions by name-brand players, primarily HPE and Cisco Systems, as indicators of weakness in the market.

In 2014, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, at the time the most-prolific contributor to the project, pledged $1 billion in spending over two years on OpenStack products and services. But earlier this year the tech giant sold off its OpenStack assets to German software developer SUSE.

HPE still offers its Helion-branded OpenStack solution through an OEM deal with SUSE, now a 'preferred partner,' and has also invested in Platform9's latest funding round.

SUSE's own research shows the SUSE and HPE Helion install base accounts for more than 22 percent of OpenStack deployments, according to Peter Chadwick, SUSE's director of product management.

Cisco, at the start of this year, shuttered its Intercloud public cloud, which ran on OpenStack. But the networking giant remains committed to OpenStack through its Metacloud brand, a managed on-premises solution, Lew Tucker, Cisco's vice president and CTO for cloud computing, told CRN.

"We see OpenStack continuing to evolve into an open source platform for a multi-cloud world as cloud-native applications and services expand across virtual machines, containers, and bare metal," Tucker, vice chairman of the OpenStack Foundation, said.

To power its UCS line of converged servers, Cisco also offers Red Hat's OpenStack distribution, he added.

Red Hat has mastered jumping into open source projects and imparting its imprimatur for enterprise consumption. The company has bet on OpenStack's future, ascending to become the largest project contributor, as well as a market leader.

But even Red Hat CEO James Whitehurst told CRN the technology had entered the "trough of disillusionment"a stage of Gartner's Hype Cycle describing the adoption of new technologies.

"I think a lot of the really big players, the large OEM types, thought OpenStack is my solution to public cloud," Whitehurst told CRN in March.

"They thought, if I'm going to lose infrastructure to public cloud, this is what I'm going be able to say is an alternative. And OpenStack is not an alternative to the public cloud."

Into The Trough

"When it first came out, a lot of people jumped on that bandwagon," said Kyle Betts, director of cloud integration at Technologent, a solution provider headquartered in Irvine, Calif.

"We thought it would be a great idea, something we want to leverage," Betts said of OpenStack.

As an open source alternative to VMware, one with a pedigree from NASA and serious buy-in from industry giants, OpenStack looked like a unique opportunity for the channel, he said.

Dennis Smith, a cloud analyst at Gartner, told CRN that IT professionals immediately recognized OpenStack was a technology that would require extensive engineering talent to leverage.

"But that meant transferring the capital costs of a VMware license, per se, to the operating expenses of paying engineers to manage the environment," Smith said. Many customers and channel partners were happy to see such a shift.

Mirantis and a host of other pioneering vendors, especially Nebula, a company founded by former NASA CTO Chris Kemp, immediately became industry darlings.

"I mean three years ago, we, Mirantis, would make a press release with the word OpenStack in it," Renski said, and "journalists would be chomping at the bit."

"Now the world has moved on, and it's no longer very interesting." But neither is a new Linux customer or version, Renski added, which doesn't reflect on the value of that technology.

In those hype-filled days when OpenStack was taking off, proof-of-concept clouds abounded across enterprise data centers. Big wins, like PayPal deploying the software, got widespread public attention.

Later it became evident most of the proof of concepts were on small clusters that never materialized into production deployments. Many early OpenStack initiatives lacked business value and substance, Renski said.

When in 2015 Nebula went out of business, while other OpenStack startups got acquired for modest sums, it became clear OpenStack had lost its luster.

"When you're flying high, and everybody is excited and wants you, then in a year-and-a-half you become not a cool thing anymore, it is disappointing. It carries emotional notes and propagates into some of the things that happen in the field," Renski said.

OpenStack's well-known technical challenges did a lot to hinder the transition from hyped darling to viable business solution, said Smith, of Gartner. Smith once tried to stand up several open source clouds on his own. Eucalyptus and CloudStack, two IaaS solutions that once looked like serious rivals to OpenStack, he had up and running over a long weekend. He couldn't do the same with OpenStack, he said.

Those competing solutions were easier to deploy because of their monolithic architecture, Smith said, as opposed to OpenStack's makeup as a series of projects developed by a vast ecosystem. And a shortage of professionals with the unique skills necessary to deploy and manage the unruly cloud operating system became a perennial problem, Smith told CRN.

Ariel Maislos, CEO of Stratoscale, a company that develops rival cloud infrastructure software, said OpenStack simply was not able to deliver on its initial promise.

"It became this bucket of technology and not a coherent product," Maislos told CRN. "It's designed for developers, not designed for IT managers."

That's anathema to the channel, he said, which thrives on repeatable transactions, not custom engagements.

Early implementers did see some consulting revenue. "If you were lucky you were able to extract professional services dollars," Maislos said. "Someone wants to install OpenStack, but they dont have the knowledge, you bring in the cavalry."

But many of those vanguard customers became disillusioned, Maislos said, and either went back to VMware or migrated to public cloud. Despite the exuberance of early adopters, OpenStack never got beyond a core group of users. "The channel is looking for transactions, repeatability. [OpenStack] became this monster that's difficult to deliver and not a scalable strategy," Maislos said.

The rapid maturation of public cloud over that same period further stymied market penetration. OpenStack was promoted as an alternative to Amazon Web Services and other providers, but those adversaries became much more imposing faster than anyone expected, according to Linthicum, of Cloud Technology Partners.

"If we price the two out, we can always find a better deal on public cloud than on private cloud," Linthicum said. Implementing any private infrastructure these days "becomes the path of most resistance." Interest in OpenStack has waned "because AWS, Google, and Microsoft are eating their lunches now," Linthicum said of the three hyper-scale cloud leaders.

Industry giants like Intel, IBM, HPE and Cisco that invested in OpenStack as a vehicle to collectively push back against the hegemony of those public cloud juggernauts, and limit their buying power in the hardware market, eventually recognized the weakness of that strategy, said Red Hat's CEO.

"I think the large hardware vendors who saw a lot of market share shift to Amazon, which was using commodity stuff, saw that as their savior," Whitehurst told CRN. "And it's not. It's not."

Path To Enlightenment

The OpenStack community has learned some hard lessons over the last 18 months. Now, more grounded and focused, OpenStack enthusiasts are trying to progress the technology toward the Slope Of Enlightenment  the next phase of Gartner's Hype Cycle.

"When [technologies] come out of the Trough [of disillusionment], then people are much more open-eyed about them," said Smith, the Gartner analyst. "They view where they can use them."

While OpenStack is "unlikely to become the de facto IaaS private cloud like many people thought four, five years ago," Smith said, it also doesn't look destined for a dead end. Instead, the technology will likely find its footing as a private cloud solution well-suited for certain industries and use cases.

Powering the data centers of telecommunications providers is one niche that's caught traction, Smith added.

Telecoms, often running Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) environments, have found OpenStack to be a solution sophisticated enough to enable modernization of their legacy footprints, Smith told CRN.

Mirantis, in particular, has seen success addressing that market, most notably a large deal with AT&T it began implementing in earnest last year.

OpenStack might also emerge as the preferred environment for hosting on-premises Docker container deployments, an increasingly popular architecture for cloud-native applications, Smith said.

The technological complexities aren't going away anytime soon, Smith said, but there are still compelling motivations for OpenStack adoption, starting with cost.

Organizations looking for "run-of-the-mill IaaS" are likely to find cheaper options, he said. But the price of the actual softwarefreemeans at least a subset of enterprises with advanced cloud needs could pay a lot more to IT staff and solution providers capable of installing and maintaining OpenStack and still see overall savings.

A large OpenStack user recently told Betts, of Technologent, if he quadrupled his current managed services bill, he'd still be paying only a third of the cost of a comparable VMware license.

For telcos and other scaled services providers that rigorously scrutinize hosting costs to remain competitive, OpenStack presents an attractive option, Betts said. Large enterprises, less likely to scrape savings at the expense of incurring operational headaches, "just need enabling technologies."

"My customers who know how to use it still dont want to operate it. They dont want to invest the time or energy. They're literally ready to just consume," Betts told CRN.

"If they can just use it like a platform, its a win-win for all of us. Managed OpenStack. Its the only way I'm seeing people be successful with it right now," he said.

Mirantis has transformed its business around that very same premise, Renski said.

The company will no longer even sell a subscription for patches and new releases alone, having learned the hard way that road too often leads to customer failure.

"The model of selling the pieces has been put to death by the success of public cloud," Renski said.

Mirantis now insists on "taking ownership of the operations piece" with an extended contract for management services. Customers need to focus on the business problem that brought them to OpenStack before worrying about hiring professionals to self-service their infrastructure, Renski said.

While Mirantis has stared down "a large degree of disillusionment and unpleasantness" over the last 18 months, the company's founders believe those tribulations have led them to discover the right business model for the product, Renski said.

"People dont really want to buy software building blocks and stitch together," Renski said. "They'd much rather have somebody else just take care of that for them, in an Amazon data center or their data center, and they just consume it at higher levels of the stack."

It's important for the industry to figure out the best delivery model, he said, because OpenStack, for all the snags encountered of late, as an open cloud standard is still unique in the market, he said.

That realization is fueling a fresh wave of optimism, free of hype.

In May, at the latest OpenStack Summit in Boston, the mood of the community again had shifted.

"Austin was the coolest thing ever, and Barcelona was the dreariest," Renski said. "But Boston, which just happened, was a meaningful uptick in my view."
INKSTER  Red River Valley potato growers generally have avoided drought and deluge this growing season. That bodes well for the soon-to-begin 2017 harvest.

The crop is looking really good in Minnesota, and it looks very good in North Dakota. Were optimistic, said Chuck Gunnerson, president of the Northern Plains Potato Growers Association.

He was among the nearly 200 people who attended the annual Potato Field Day tour on Thursday. The event was sponsored by the East Grand Forks, Minn.,-based Northern Plains Potato Growers Association and included field tours and presentations by area potato experts in Larimore, Inkster and Hoople, N.D. Lunch, research presentations and a tour of irrigated trials were held at the Forest River Colony near Inkster.

The irrigated potato research is conducted on Hutterite-owned land rented by the potato growers association. The Hutterite colony, which has a Fordville, N.D., postal address, has been irrigating since 1973.

North Dakota and Minnesota are among the countrys top potato producers. The Red River Valley of eastern North Dakota and western Minnesota  where most of the two states potato production occurs  is the nations leading producer of red potatoes and the only region that produces in volume for the chip, fresh, seed and process markets.

Prime potato-growing areas in northeast North Dakota were hammered with rain during the 2016 growing season, in some cases twice as much as normal. That created anxiety during the 2016 Potato Field Day tour and ultimately hurt yields in many potato fields.

This year, in contrast, much of northeast North Dakota received less rain than normal, but the shortfall generally wasnt as severe as in drought-stricken parts of North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota. Whats more, good subsoil moisture in northeast North Dakota  a result of the 2016 deluge  has helped to offset below-normal precipitation this growing season in potato fields overall.

There are always pockets that are too dry or two wet. And we have pockets this year that are too dry. But overall, the crop has done well, thanks to both timely rains and plentiful subsoil moisture, said Andrew Robinson, Fargo-based extension potato specialist with both North Dakota State University and the University of Minnesota.

As of Aug. 20, the last day for which statistics from the National Agricultural Statistics Service, an arm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, are available, 60 percent of North Dakotas potato crop was rated good or excellent, with 23 fair and 17 percent poor or very poor. Ninety-four percent of Minnesotas potato crop was rated good or excellent, with 5 percent fair and 1 percent fair. Irrigated potatoes are much more common in Minnesota than North Dakota, so Minnesota spuds should fare better overall in years with less-than-ideal precipitation.

Lonnie Spokely, a Nielsville, Minn., potato grower, said some of his fields havent received as much rain as he wanted, but hes hopeful of good yields.

Potato prices are relatively attractive, at least for the time being, so good yields would make this a successful year financially for growers in general, Gunnerson said.

Potatoes are susceptible to dicamba, an herbicide that has received considerable attention this summer. But Robinson said he isnt aware of significant or widespread dicamba to the regions potato crop this growing season.

Harlene Hatterman-Valenti, an NDSU professor who works with high-value crop production, talked during the tour about her research into the effects of dicamba and glyphosate, another herbicide, on potatoes. The work found, among other things, that weather considerations can affect the level of harm done to potatoes by dicamba.

Late blight, a dangerous crop disease that triggered the Irish potato famines of the 1940s, has been found again this year in both North Dakota and Minnesota potato fields, Robinson said.

Though area growers are familiar with the disease, We need to stay vigilant, he said.

The areas potato harvest is expected to begin about Sept. 10, and favorable weather  especially cool nights and another timely rain  would help potatoes bulk up, Robinson said.

More precipitation also would help make dry fields easier to dig, he said.

Its been a good growing season, but these last few weeks will be so important, he said.
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A popular soft play centre in Sutton is set to move to Coulsdon where it will be bigger and better.

Little Lambs Soft Play and Cafe will be based in Chipstead Valley Road, where Toby Interiors used to be.

Owner Sophie Reynolds has been told planning officers approve of the change of use for the building.

Now members of the public get the chance to have their say on the plan.

But all being well Sophie hopes to open the new venue towards towards the end of September.

Little Lambs has been based in the St Nicholas Centre, in Sutton, since November 2014.

Before then Sophie, 28, used to run sessions three mornings a week in Banstead with soft play toys and a bouncy castle.

But now she wants to expand her business within larger premises and discovered the building in Coulsdon provided the ideal location.

Currently Little Lambs is for children under six with an area for under twos.

But at the new location the facilities can be expanded to suit children up to age eight with a separate area for under twos.

And there will be things to do across two floors.

On the ground floor in Coulsdon, what you currently find in Sutton will be recreated but added to, making it bigger.

There will be a street area with ride-on toys and a cosy corner where children can relax on bean bags with books.

And, of course, there will be a cafe where families can get some lunch  or the grown-ups a cup of tea.

Upstairs, little drama queens and kings can pretend they are performing in a theatre with a stage area being planned complete with wigs, shoes and fancy dress.

Along the corridor will be two rooms full of role play fun, which Sophie believes is important for children's development.

The role play areas will be named after Sophie's children, Isabella, 4, and Charlie, 2.

Young builders can dig and build in Charlie's Construction Site in one room, which will have toy bricks, cement mixers and diggers.

The second room will become the pretend world of Bella's Cafe and Reynolds Savers Supermarket.

The soft play structure on the ground floor will remain as two levels.

Sophie said: "What we have got now is perfect because all our customers can see their children.

"We want it to be that really homely feel where the parents can sit and have a cup of tea and see where their child is."

Sophie, who lives with her children and husband Scott, 33, in Water Mead, Chipstead, decided she wanted to expand her business while caring for son Charlie, who had a condition which required a tracheotomy breathing tube.

Called bilateral vocal chord paralysis, his condition meant both vocal chords were stuck and Charlie would have to take 10 breaths to get the same amount of air as one breath otherwise would.

He was diagnosed at just 10 days old, had the tracheotomy at three weeks old and was at Evelina Children's Hospital, in London, for three months from June to September 2015.

Until March this year Sophie left Little Lambs in the care of her mum, Karen Martyn, and her staff.

But now Charlie no longer needs the tracheotomy to support him and Sophie has been able to return to looking after her business.

Sophie looked around the Sutton area for new premises but nothing suitable came up.

"We wanted to offer something different to just the general soft play," she said.

"We found these premises and we could see such a future there."

The new site even has the potential for an outside terrace in the future which would allow for outdoor play.

Little Lambs is so popular in Sutton that Sophie says she has to turn customers away because there isn't the room during busy winter periods.

It was a long thought-out decision to move away from Sutton.

She said her current customers "are gutted".

Sophie explained: "We didn't want to go as far as we have gone but we had to make the right decision for me with my family."

Sophie will be offering a free session at the new venue to current customers so they can try it out.

"They have supported us so well over the last couple of years," she said.

Already 100 supporting public comments have been made about the proposal.

"That has made me feel more confident about the decision to move so far away," said Sophie.

"It is something new that I have got the time to get my teeth into.

"Charlie has started pre-school and I will be able to put the time in that it needs but also only be down the road from my family."

You can keep up to date with the move at www.facebook.com/LittleLambsSoftplay/ .

You can make a comment on the planning application at http://publicaccess2.croydon.gov.uk/
By nature of the job, security professionals tend to be skeptical and overly suspicious, but the good ones are also good at weighing the evidence before making their decisions. Which is why its so perplexing that rumors about Moscow-based security company Kaspersky Lab being in bed with the Russian government keeps swirling, absent any proof.

Report after report over the past few months show various figures in the U.S. government concerned about ties between Kaspersky Lab executives and the Russian government. The chiefs of five U.S. intelligence agencies (including the National Security Agency [NSA] and Central Intelligence Agency [CIA]) and the acting director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said they dont recommend using Kaspersky Lab software during a Senate intelligence committee meeting in the spring.

This summer, the company was removed from the list of approved vendors for the federal bureaucracy. The Senate is considering banning Kaspersky Lab products from the Pentagon in its draft of the National Defense Authorization Act, and the clause is expected to make it into the final version of the bill. The latest voice to join the chorus: Rob Joyce, the current White House cybersecurity coordinator, who this week said he doesnt use Kaspersky Lab software and that consumers should avoid using the antivirus.

While the barrage of negative headlines is bad news for the company, these reports are even more damaging for enterprises around the world trying to determine whether they should rely on Kaspersky Lab products to protect their systems. Andthis is keyenterprises are being forced to make this decision without any shred evidence indicating why they should be suspicious.

Lets repeat that: the U.S. government has yet to disclose why it is concerned there may be hidden backdoors in Kaspersky Lab products, that Russian intelligence agencies may be able to use Kaspersky Labs antivirus software to collect valuable information on users around the world, or that companys executives may be vulnerable to Russian government influence.

What does the government know, and why isnt it sharing it? It cant be because the government doesnt disclose its cyber discoveries. Just this week, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in conjunction with the FBI, published IP addresses and descriptions of malware used by the cyber actors of the North Korean government to launch distributed denial-of-service attacks around the world. Earlier this year, the DHS released evidence compiled by intelligence agencies pointing to Russian malicious cyberactivity, codenamed Grizzly Steppe. But the governments case against Kaspersky Lab appears to be limited to a persistent and insidious whisper campaign.

Vincent Stewart, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), said during the Senate intelligence committee hearing in the spring the DIA was tracking Kaspersky and their software. At the same hearing, Michael Rogers, director of the NSA said he was "personally involved" in probing Kaspersky Lab's code at his agency. So what did these agencies find? Nothing, as far as we know.

Kaspersky Lab CEO and founder Eugene Kaspersky have repeatedly denied that his company had any inappropriate relationships with the Russian government. [A]s a private company, Kaspersky Lab and I have no ties to any government, and we have never helped, nor will help, any government in the world with their cyber-espionage efforts (cyber-espionage is what were fighting!), Kaspersky wrote on his blog earlier this summer. He has also volunteered to hand over the source code for the U.S. government to audit, but it doesnt appear the U.S. government has taken him up on that offer.

Practical politics, bad infosec

If the government has any evidenceor even compelling reasons for being suspiciousit should be sharing that, because many companies and consumers rely on Kaspersky Lab products. The fact that the government hasnt done so makes it likely this is all just geo politics: Distrust the Russian government, distrust all Russians.

That attitude, that level of distrust, makes for good spies, but terrible security professionals. Buying technologysecurity technology, especially, relies on evaluating the technical merits of the product or service, considering the relevant business requirements, and deploying the technology that addresses those requirements. There is no room for rumors or innuendo, and thats how it should be. The technology is solid, as independent testing laboratories around the world consistently award Kaspersky Lab high scores. Why wouldnt you want the best tech protecting your users?

Evidence doesnt hold up

Despite the fact that these rumors have been around for years, no one has yet to uncover any hint of a smoking gun. Bloomberg Businessweek recently claimed to have leaked emails proving Kaspersky Lab had closer ties to the Russian intelligence agency, FSB, than previously admitted. But all those emails showed was the company had designed a tool for service providers to use fighting distributed denial of service attacks, and that it would assist law enforcement in identifying attackers.

Assuming that is the correct interpretation of the emails, its hard to see the problem. Building anti-DDoS technologies is exactly what good security companies do to protect users. Security companieseven U.S.-based ones-- regularly work with law enforcement to track down cybercriminals. Thats pretty much how law enforcement and security researchers worked together to dismantle some of the worlds largest botnets over the past few years.

Regardless of how the facts are misconstrued to fit in with a hypothetical, false theory, Kaspersky Lab, and its executives, do not have inappropriate ties with any government. The company does regularly work with governments and law enforcement agencies around the world with the sole purpose of fighting cybercrime, Kaspersky (the man) wrote in response to the Bloomberg report.

"I would be very happy to testify in front of the Senate, to participate in the hearings and to answer any questions they would decide to ask me," Kaspersky said in an Ask-Me-Anything on Reddit. "I think that due to political reasons, these gentlemen don't have an option, and are deprived from the opportunity to use the best endpoint security on the market without any real reason or evidence of wrongdoing from our side."

Another proof which keeps coming up is the fact that Eugene Kaspersky was trained by the KGBs signals-intelligence division during the Cold War. As past ties with the government goes, this is weak, since Kaspersky was fulfilling his compulsory military service requirement, something every Russian male of that generation had to do. Israel has mandatory military service, but no one seems to be linking the current crop of Israeli security startups to the Mossad. (Actually, if people are making that accusation, I dont want to know.)

Many Kaspersky Lab employees are former government employees. That doesnt seem like a big deal, since every self-respecting security company in the world, even the ones in the United States, recruit employees with intelligence, law enforcement, and military backgrounds. Kevin Mandia, the CEO at FireEye, was a computer security officer in the U.S. Air Force. Gen. Keith Alexander was the director of the National Security Agency and the commander of the U.S. Cyber Command before retiring and setting up a private consulting firm. Shawn Henry, the president of CrowdStrike Services and CSO, is the former executive assistant director of the FBI.

The U.S. government would be outragedand justifiably soif other countries decided to ban contracts with U.S. firms employing former government officials, especially without any proof of wrongdoing.

What if this was a U.S. company?

"I think they should look at the decisions the government is making, and then make their own decisions," said Joyce, the White Houses cybersecurity coordinator. Except that doesnt make sense because intelligence communities have to consider political implications so their decisions will always be different from what everyone else should do.

There is enough FUD in the market without throwing in politics into decision-making. Organizations should focus on deploying the technology which best addresses their needs. Kaspersky has excellent technology and a top-notch team of security researchers who actively share their discoveries about the latest malware and cyberespionage campaigns, regardless of whether they were conducted by U.S. intelligence agencies or Russian ones. It doesnt help enterprise security one whit to switch to a lesser-rated security product just because it was Made in the U.S.A.

Punishing Kaspersky Lab because of the hostilities between the U.S. and Russian governments is a big mistake as it puts U.S. security companies at risk for similar retaliatory actions by other countries. It was bad enough when the Snowden revelations caused many European companies tounderstandablybe reluctant to use U.S. cloud services. But the U.S. government is potentially setting a bad precedent for other countries to follow if it continues this campaign against Kaspersky Lab.

Now here is a thought: Did any countries ban the use of RSA Security products in their government after a report alleged the company had a secret deal with the NSA to incorporate a weaker, flawed, algorithm into an encryption product? (Its a tangent, but now I am curious.)

Security practitioners and CISOs around the world are wondering why the U.S. governmenthello, NSA, FBI, DoD, U.S. Cyber Command, anyone?dislikes Kaspersky Lab so much. Enterprise security is criticalreverting to schoolyard behavior and gossiping about the kid different from everyone else isnt the way toward making good technology decisions.
GRAND FORKS -- One of the two suspects arrested in connection to the disappearance of a 22-year-old pregnant Fargo woman pleaded guilty to abusing his infant son in Grand Forks in 2011.

William Henry Hoehn, 32, was arrested by Fargo Police Thursday along with 38-year-old Brooke Lynn Crews in the case of Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind, who was last seen Aug. 19 at her apartment in north Fargo.

Hoehn and Crews were arrested after Fargo Police said they found a healthy 2-day-old baby inside the same apartment building where Hoehn, Crews and LaFontaine-Greywind all live.

The suspects are being held in Cass County Jail. Fargo Police say they have recommended charges of conspiracy to commit kidnapping against the pair.

Crews was found inside the apartment with the infant, believed to be LaFontaine-Greywinds, Thursday afternoon, Fargo Police Chief David Todd said Friday morning. Hoehn was arrested during a traffic stop, police said. LaFontaine-Greywind remains missing.

One of the suspects told detectives in an interview he or she had traveled to Grand Forks as part of an alibi, Fargo Police said Friday morning, which led Grand Forks Police to canvass an area in the 1800 block of Second Avenue North on Wednesday.

Hoehn once called Grand Forks home and was arrested in 2011 in a child abuse case. On Jan. 5, 2011, he brought his infant son to the Altru Hospital emergency room with a swollen skull, according to court documents. The baby had multiple skull fractures, doctors said. Authorities and doctors ruled out the possibility those injuries were caused by an accident or medical condition. Hoehn was charged with a Class B felony in the case. He was living in an apartment at 715 N. 42nd St. in Grand Forks at the time.

It appeared the child abuse case would go to trial, but Hoehn eventually pleaded guilty more than a year later on March 27, 2012, court records show. He was sentenced to one year in the Grand Forks County Correctional Center with 235 days suspended and was placed on two years probation. A no contact order between Hoehn and his son was lifted in June 2012.

In May 2016, the conviction was deemed a misdemeanor upon completion of his probation without further violations of criminal law. Later that month, he would be charged with misdemeanor domestic assault in Cass County. He ultimately pleaded guilty to that charge in August 2016, and was ordered to serve 30 days in jail.

Hoehn was also cited for three traffic violations in Grand Forks from 2004 to 2006, according to court records.

In all of Hoehns court cases from Grand Forks, Fargo is listed as his home address.

A background check ran by Forum News Service found Hoehn lived at 2049 30th Ave. S. in Grand Forks from 2004-2007 and at 816 Fourth Ave. N. in 2008. Addresses in Larimore, were also found for Hoehn during that time.

Crews does not have a criminal record in North Dakota. She was convicted of a petty misdemeanor for issuing a bad check in Otter Tail County in Minnesota in 2008, according to online court records.
WEST HAVEN >> The pedestrian struck in Wednesday nights motor vehicle accident has succumbed to her injuries, according to comments on the official West Haven police Facebook site.

The victim is identified as 24-year-old Jordan Garrett of Moosup.
Jamie Gregg recalls being shocked to hear the U.S. Air Force obtained a waiver to buy brass towel racks from an overseas supplier  even though Greggs company, Colonial Bronze, makes the exact same thing at its Torrington factory.

If they Googled brass towel bars, our name would have come right up, said Gregg, whose grandfather and great uncle started the company in 1927 in the Bronx, N.Y., and moved it to Torrington three years later.

The Air Force couldnt have done due diligence.

Colonial Bronze, with 48 employees, does zero business with the Department of Defense, Gregg said.

Had we gotten (the Air Force contract), it would have represented a substantial amount of business, he said.

Gregg learned of the Air Force waiver for construction of a barracks building in Alaska from the office of then Rep. Chris Murphy, now U.S. Sen. Murphy, D-Conn.

His company became a poster child, he said, for the buy-American cause, something Murphy has pushed ever since coming to Capitol Hill in 2007.

Website of suppliers

On Friday, Murphy appeared in Waterbury to pledge introduction of a bill to create BuyAmerican.gov, which would give prospective contractors an easy, one-stop resource to survey government agency purchasing needs before the agencies obtain waivers.

An easily searchable website would let Connecticut manufacturers be sure theyre getting a shot at these contracts, said Murphy, who is on the Senate Appropriations Military Construction Subcommittee.

Especially at DOD, there is a culture of Buy-American noncompliance, he said. Its stunning.

The Department of Defense has spent almost $200 billion on manufactured goods made by foreign companies since 2007  a time in which the U.S. manufacturing sector was in sharp decline. A DOD inspector generals audit last month found the militarys main purchaser, the Defense Logistics Agency, failed to find available suppliers for 19 contracts  valued at $453.2 million  out of 32 contracts reviewed.

Colonial Bronze specializes in brass products, Gregg said. The fact that bronze is in the name is an anomaly dating back to its early years, he explained.

The company is not the only one in Connecticut that has lost out to foreign sources. Ansonia Copper & Brass had to close down in 2013 after the U.S. Navy began relying on foreign suppliers. At its height, it employed 10,000.

There has been lax enforcement

Murphy attributed the militarys infatuation with foreign purchases to the conflicting aims of procuring high-quality precision products at the lowest possible cost.

DOD is being told to produce weapons and equipment at a lower cost, not save U.S. jobs, Murphy said. So there has been lax enforcement.

Gregg said his brass products are on average 10 to 12 percent more expensive than imports from foreign competitors clustered in China and India. But, he insisted, the extra cost is worth it, because his company complies with environmental laws, uses recycled materials and guarantees its products.

Buy America  government preference for U.S. suppliers  has been on the books for decades. The law requires an exhaustive search for U.S. manufacturers and permits waivers only when products are unavailable domestically.

But tracking what contracts are available prior to the issuance of waivers has proven nearly impossible, Murphy said. If a contractor can even find the information, it is usually months after the waivers have been issued.

BuyAmerican.gov would provide the contractor with information before waivers are granted, Murphy said.

Murphy said he has enlisted the support and cooperation of the Trump administration, an odd alliance considering Murphys strident criticism of President Trump.

In April, the White House issued an executive order to beef up enforcement of Buy America regulations Murphy applauded.

This is a narrow but important source of agreement between me and White House, Murphy said. Admittedly, this is a rare case of their rhetoric meeting my legislative agenda.
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BRIDGEPORT  The family of Cadell Dell Moore is mourning the loss of a father, uncle and brother after he was shot dead Thursday while working on his Chevy Trailblazer.

My brother was a great dad  he spent lots of time with his kids, he'd go visit them in school, sit in class with them  help with homework, said sister Paris Moore, 28, in a text conversation Friday.

She last saw him at her home on Tuesday when he came to visit her daughter.

He was excited to become an uncle. He loved my daughter as if she was his own, she said. Dell loved kids.

Moore, 34, also loved cars and dirt bikes, his sister said. She said he studied automotive technology at a local trade school (the school, Porter and Chester Institute did not respond to multiple requests to verify his attendance).

Now the family is planning his funeral. Paris Moore said a candlelight vigil was held at the place where he was killed.

His own children, four boys and one girl aged 2-13, are now in the custody of their mothers, Moore said.

Cadell Moore graduated from Bassick High School in 2000, according to his sister. In 2015, he trained to be a truck driver and completed two courses CDL certification courses, according to officials at the New England Tractor Trailer Training School.

He definitely was getting his life on track and doing things for the better, his sister said. All my brother wanted to do was take care of his family.

She said he had recently been offered a job by a major trucking company.
MILFORD  The citys Hartford delegation, in cooperation with the United Way of Milford and TEAM, Inc. are hosting a city-wide diaper drive to celebrate United Ways 60th Anniversary in Milford.

Diapers are costly and are not covered by Woman, Infants and Children (WIC) and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, supporters of the drive said. According to the National Diaper Bank Network, 1 in 3 American families will struggle to afford diapers. Locally, this problem touches about 16.5 percent of Milford residents.
Saturday, Aug. 19

1:24 p.m., Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind texts her mother, Norberta LaFontaine-Greywind, to say she is going to an upstairs apartment to model a dress.

2:30 p.m., Norberta LaFontaine-Greywind sends her 16-year-old son to the upstairs apartment to get his sister, who was to drive him to work. Her brother knocks on the door, but no one answers. He hears what he thinks is a sewing machine running in the apartment. Savanna's father, Joe Greywind, then knocks on the upstairs apartment door. A woman answers the door and says Savanna will be a bit longer.

2:40 p.m., Norberta LaFontaine-Greywind drives her son to work. She returns to the apartment building about 3:15 p.m. and, assuming her daughter is in her room, does some laundry.

4:30 p.m., Norberta LaFontaine-Greywind knocks on the upstairs apartment door and is told that her daughter has left. Savanna's mother then calls Fargo police to report her daughter missing. Family and friends immediately begin searching for her.

Sunday, Aug. 20

Family members begin making and posting signs asking for the public's help in finding Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind.

Wednesday, Aug. 23

Family and friends hold a prayer event at Sanford Medical Center in downtown Fargo asking for help and calling on Fargo police to request FBI assistance in the search. It is announced that a $7,000 reward is being offered in the case.

Thursday, Aug. 24

10:05 a.m., Fargo police post notice on social media that federal officials are being kept informed of the case and that nearly all of the department's investigative unit is working on various aspects of the case. Police also say there have been multiple searches of the Red River, including one Thursday morning, as well as K-9 trackings and an aerial search. In addition, police say three unsuccessful searches were conducted in the upstairs apartment where LaFontaine-Greywind was last known to be.

2 p.m., Police execute a search warrant at 2825 9th St. N. and enter the apartment of William Hoehn and Brooke Crews. Crews and an infant are in the home at the time. The child, alive and healthy, is immediately taken to a hospital. Police believe this is likely LaFontaine-Greywinds child. Hoehn and Crews are detained and questioned by detectives. The two are later arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit kidnapping, a felony.

Thursday afternoon and evening

The apartment building is evacuated and cordoned off with police tape as forensic investigators scour the area for evidence.

Friday, Aug. 25

11 a.m., Fargo Police Chief David Todd tells reporters at a news conference that police believe they have in custody the people responsible for LaFontaine-Greywind's disappearance. He asks for the publics help in finding her.

2:30 p.m., LaFontaine-Greywind's family searches for her in Trollwood Park to no avail.
MARIE GIFFARD

The Times of IsraelAugust 24, 2017MADRID (AFP)  The jihadist cell behind last weeks twin attacks in Spain was built around a guru and went completely offline to avoid detection by anti-terrorist police, experts said.The group managed to evade authorities so well that even a giant explosion at their bomb factory in Alcanar, where police later uncovered massive quantities of ingredients to build TATP, was not at first linked to the jihadists. Investigators only made the connection after their vehicle rampages in Barcelona and the nearby seaside town of Cambrils.Experts say the key reason was the way the group was formed.The propaganda and recruitment techniques are like those of a cult, said Lurdes Vidal, director of the European Institute of the Mediterranean.The role of the family is emphasized, the group is a closed circuit, and everything is done to stop things from getting out, she said.And at the heart of the group, there is a central person who unites everyone, who provides Salafist answers to youths who may have lost their bearings, said French former intelligence officer Alain Rodier.That key person in this case was the Moroccan imam, Abdelbaki Es Satty, who was killed in the blast accidentally triggered by the jihadists themselves.He may have presented two different faces to people of Ripoll, the small town where he and many of the suspects lived, said Alberto Bueno, a member of the International Observatory of Studies on Terrorism.He shows one face when he preaches at the prayer hall in Ripoll, and the other of radicalization, said Bueno, a researcher at the university of Granada, in Southern Spain.The unity of the group is further compounded by the fact that many of its members are siblings, noted the expert, pointing out that among the dozen suspects are four sets of brothers.Yves Trotignon, a former member of Frances anti-terrorist authorities, noted that the set-up featuring relatives was also seen among the perpetrators of the September 11, 2001, terror attacks in New York or the March 11, 2004, train bombing in Madrid.Rodier, a former officer in French intelligence, said Spanish experts were fully aware that such groups formed around families are particularly tight, because, youre not going to betray your brother.The family connections also ease the process of indoctrination, he said.Reconquering SpainWhile Spains attackers had prepared their assaults for months, it is likely that the process of radicalization began a long time ago, he said.Alberto Bueno noted that the group had eschewed online social networks and stayed off mobile phones, at a time when anti-terrorist police scour the internet for signs of radicalization among users.This classic model, with people who know each other and a guru who accompanies the development of the cell goes back 15 to 20 years earlier, said Alain Rodier.The experts also noted that the youth of many of the suspects  some of them as young as 17  was no accident.This is a period of life that is potentially volatile, Vidal said, noting that religion was used to get to the youths, in order to have a very strong emotional impact in the construction of their identity.These are Muslims, not converts. An imam is necessary, an incubator who comes from among them, and who convinces them that their faith requires them to take action, said Rodier.They may have viewed themselves reconquering Spain as Muslims,  as suggested in the letter found in Alcanar, he added.In the rubble of the Alcanar house, police found a sheet of paper slipped into a green-coloured book. It read: A brief letter from the soldiers of the Islamic State on the territory of Al Andalous to the crusaders, the sinners, the unjust and the corrupters.Al Andalous is the name of the territories in modern Spain that until 1492 were ruled by Muslims.
FARGO  A potentially unthinkable story began to reveal itself Thursday, Aug. 24, when the investigation into the disappearance of a pregnant 22-year-old woman resulted in police finding a healthy infant at a north Fargo apartment building where the woman was last seen.

The discovery of the infant, Fargo police said, was followed by the arrest of Brooke Lynn Crews, 38, and William Henry Hoehn, 32, who both lived in the same apartment building as the missing woman, Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind.

Crews and Hoehn were arrested and charged with felony conspiracy to commit kidnapping, police said in a Facebook post. They were being held at the Cass County Jail.

LaFontaine-Greywind went missing from the apartment building Saturday afternoon. Her whereabouts remained unknown late Thursday, police said.

At least six investigators were seen donning hazmat suits Thursday night outside the apartment building at 2825 9th St. N., where LaFontaine-Greywind lives with her parents in a basement unit. One investigator with a shovel was seen walking to the back of the building.

Police said initial interviews with Crews and Hoehn led to no leads. But developments in the investigation prompted detectives to execute a search warrant at the apartment of Hoehn and Crews at about 2 p.m. Thursday. Crews and the infant were in the apartment at the time, police said.

The infant was immediately taken to Sanford Children's Hospital. The child was in good health and was placed under the protective custody of Cass County Social Services, police said.

Our investigation thus far indicates the probability that this is Savanna Greywinds child, police said on Facebook.

Tarita Silk, LaFontaine-Greywind's aunt, told The Forum police told the family that they found a 2-day-old baby in the building. Silk said when police entered the apartment, a woman was heard screaming.

At one point Thursday afternoon, police allowed family members into the apartment building, and they emerged carrying baby clothes and a photograph.

Silk said relatives and friends of the family planned to search for clues near Buffalo River State Park east of Moorhead based on a tip that LaFontaine-Greywinds phone may have pinged a cellphone tower in that area. Police later told the family they have no such information about her phone.

Not long before 3 p.m., the apartment building was cordoned off with police tape. Detectives were seen going door-to-door in the neighborhood to ask questions.

Critical juncture

Police Chief David Todd asked the public for patience, as this is at a critical juncture of the investigation, and we want to make sure we are as thorough as possible so we can get correct answers to all the questions people have.

Hoehn was recently arrested on a warrant for an unpaid fine sometime after LaFontaine-Greywind was reported missing. He paid an outstanding balance of the fine related to a violation of a no-contact order that did not involve LaFontaine-Greywind, and he was released from the Cass County Jail on Wednesday.

Fargo police said that before discovering the baby in the apartment of Hoehn and Crews on Thursday, investigators conducted three unsuccessful searches of unit.

Relatives said LaFontaine-Greywind left the familys apartment Saturday to help an upstairs neighbor who needed a model while sewing a dress, but she never returned home. Police said the apartment she visited was that of Crews and Hoehn.

Deputy Chief Joe Anderson said authorities were asking residents of a Grand Forks neighborhood this week what they may know about four men who are known in the case. He said police were trying to corroborate the mens statements and alibis to help us narrow our investigation.

Meanwhile, a north Fargo woman went public this week to refute a Facebook post that accused her of luring LaFontaine-Greywind to an upstairs apartment in the missing womans building.

The woman, Dawn Kirby, told The Forum she has a criminal past, but is not a monster. She said shes never met LaFontaine-Greywind.

Kirby is a registered sex offender for having sex with an underage male. She said she voluntarily talked to Fargo police on Wednesday. Police have said they dont believe Kirby is involved.

Getting so close

Lafontaine-Greywinds Twitter profile says her due date is Sept. 20. On Aug. 13, she tagged her boyfriend of six years and soon-to-be father, Ashton Matheny, in a Facebook post that read: A little bit more things & we will almost have everything for our little baby. Getting so close.

Matheny said Thursday that he and Lafontaine-Greywind were expecting a baby girl. They had picked the name Haisley Jo.

He said he has not been able to see the baby that was taken from the building. They said its healthy, but theyre running more tests, he said.

Matheny said Lafontaine-Greywinds parents are staying in a hotel because the apartment building was evacuated. They took her toothbrush for DNA, but they havent taken mine, he said.

Matheny told WDAY-TV this week that he was texting Lafontaine-Greywind on Saturday and last heard from her around 1:30 p.m.

The couple was about to move into an apartment together. All Im thinking about is where shes at. Shes at priority No. 1. Shes always been No. 1, Matheny said Thursday.

Todd said the Police Department has put all of its resources toward solving this case from the beginning, including 35 detectives, four sergeants and two lieutenants. The investigation has included aircraft and watercraft searches, as well as using K-9s. The department has also received help from outside agencies.

As investigators moved in and out of the building Thursday, residents of the building watched from across the street, including members of LaFontaine-Greywinds family.

At times, police escorted family members to a mobile forensic laboratory to update them on what was being learned.

At one point, authorities brought in dogs to search the apartment building, and Silk said afterward they apparently found something, though family members were being told by police not to share what they were told.

A resident of the building, Christipher Miranda, said he heard noises in the bathroom above his apartment Saturday afternoon.

He said he heard banging sounds in the bathtub in the third-floor apartment above him about 1:30 p.m. or 2 p.m. and that the sounds lasted for 15 to 20 minutes. He said he could then hear the shower running.

The Fargo Fire Department spent part of Thursday morning searching a stretch of the Red River from the North Dam near the 12th Avenue North toll bridge to County Road 21 in north Fargo.

At a prayer event held Wednesday at the downtown Sanford Medical Center, Amanda Vivier, spiritual director of the Native American Christian Ministry, called on the public to place pressure on Fargo police to devote more resources to the search.

On Thursday, Vivier stood outside the downtown Fargo police station holding a sign that said the FBI needs to be involved in the search.

She said police had told her the FBI was being kept informed about the case, but as of Thursday morning there was nothing to indicate the FBI had jurisdiction to join the investigation officially.

Anyone with information about LaFontaine-Greywinds whereabouts is asked to call Fargo police at (701) 235-4493 or text a tip to (701) 730-8888 or call the anonymous tip line at (701) 241-5777.
STORY LINK GBP AUD Exchange Rate Today: Where Next for the Pound and the Australian Dollar?

Australian Dollar (AUD) Bolstered by Poor US Dollar Demand

GBP AUD Forecast: Big Data and Brexit

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The Pound to Australian Dollar exchange rate concluded the trading week quoted at 1 = AUS$1.62366.This value was little moved from the week's open at 1.6235.GBP/AUD continued to fluctuate on Friday 25th August as currency markets prepare for the highly anticipated Jackson Hole symposium and next weeks resumed Brexit talks.With the data calendar being somewhat sparse for the UK at present Sterling traders have also turned their attention to political manoeuvrings, particularly with the next round of Brexit negotiations scheduled to start in the coming week.Negotiations have, so far, stalled, as both sides have reached an impasse regarding the schedule by which discussions should take place. London, anxious of the ever looming 2019 Brexit Day deadline, is pressing for trade talks to take place at the same time as the divorce details.Members of the EU Commission, however, are not overly enthused with this idea, insisting that they need to see sufficient progress on topics like the movement rights of EU and UK citizens and the infamous Brexit divorce bill, before continuing.Understandably the result has been stagnation and a loss of demand for the Pound Sterling, with UK businesses (who already express poor confidence when surveyed), becoming increasingly hesitant to invest due to the high levels of uncertainty.Tonight a large number of prominent central bankers, finance ministers, economists and academics will be gathering at Jackson Hole in Wyoming for this years economic symposium, with current Federal Reserve (FED) Chair Janet Yellen amongst them.The Australian Dollar, intimately tied to its cousin, the US Dollar, has found strength in the build-up to this event, as traders are anxious about what exactly Yellen will reveal in her speech and how it will affect the US Dollar.Some prognosticate that Yellen will simply avoid the subject of monetary policy in relation to US Dollar, instead discussing financial stability in less specific terms.Others, however, worry about being caught unawares, anxious that she might express dovish sentiment.In addition, there remains the fact that this could be her last speech as Fed Chair, depending on if she gets reappointed in February. US President Donald Trump has already made public his disdain for her as Chair, and Wall Street is already bracing for the possibility that the next leader could come from within their ranks.Luke Bartholomew, Investment Strategist at Aberdeen Investments stated on the subject:The concern is that a new person would come in and fundamentally shake up the way the Fed does policy In the short term, at least, I think the market would be concerned about what that change would mean.If this does occur, then the GBP AUD exchange rate could come waiver.Whilst the data calendar will continue to remain somewhat sparse for Sterling next week, Australia is due a number of releases, from new home sales to private sector credit and building approvals.This pairing will likely be subject to continued volatility, however, due to the aforementioned resumption of Brexit discussions.If things are seen to be actively progressing then the Pound may find itself bolstered, if, however, the divide only grows between the two parties, then GBP AUD will likely come under pressure.

International Money Transfer? Ask our resident FX expert a money transfer question or try John's new, free, no-obligation personal service! ,where he helps every step of the way, ensuring you get the best exchange rates on your currency requirements.

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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.
The fall of the Berlin Wall remains the greatest symbolic victory of freedom over tyranny in the modern age. Yet the triumph of liberty finds itself threatened by corruption and a propaganda war wrapped up in religious sentiment, according to a prominent Eastern European commentator.

Mihail Neamtu, a public intellectual in Romania, warns that Eastern Europe is in danger of backsliding away from democracy and the free market in a new essay for Religion & Liberty Transatlantic.

Pervasive cronyism is slowly corroding the fragile foundations of Romanian and other post-communist democracies, he writes. This corruption is taking place despite enjoying positive relations with international partners such as the United States or the European Union, and despite the strong natural attraction of the people in these countries to Western  and particularly American  values.

Government intervention in the economy and contracts awarded by the European Union exacerbate the tendency toward corruption residing within everyone made of flesh and blood.

According to Neamtu, Russian propaganda is at the heart of this tug-of-war between capitalism and autarky, between representative government and creeping authoritarianism. Much of this propaganda, he says, comes camouflaged by an element of faith:

Russias favourite modus operandi in trying to influence these ideological wars now being waged across Eastern Europe is to use institutionalised corruption and often subtle propaganda. This propaganda is based, at times, on religious arguments.  [R]eligion is being impressed into the service of propaganda.

Russia is able to portray the West, Neamtu writes, as decaying, declining, and decadent. However, he contends this is neither an accurate portrayal of the United States nor in keeping with the traditional Judeo-Christian values that still animate much of the West. Unfortunately, the U.S. has not only obscured these values  at home, as well as in foreign messaging  but sometimes promoted a radically different cultural and governing philosophy in Eastern Europe. The Obama administration funded certain NGOs, aligned with billionaire George Soros, which encouraged an expansive and activist government.

Neamtu writes that only if the U.S. again promotes traditional Western values can endemic cronyism and Russian propaganda be driven back under a resurgence of democratic capitalism:

The United States could benefit immensely if it reinvigorated Cold War-era programs, such as Radio Free Europe, as part of a more focused and determined effort to communicate the values of Western civilization in this part of the world. This includes promoting life, liberty, private property, the importance of the traditional family (including the joys of having children), and religious freedom. Wars are never won by laying down ones ideological weapons. The peoples in Ukraine and Moldova want not just military protection, but also a glimmer of hope that their lives will prosper, despite the outbreak of high-level corruption, the erosion of democracy, and media propaganda that still poisons the public square.

Neamtu says the East needs the West to stand wholeheartedly behind its own culture and civilization to prevent a future of greater corruption and stagnation.

Promoting Western values need not, should not  indeed, cannot  rely exclusively upon the government. Until such time as the U.S. government fully engages in this war of ideas, Neamtus prophetic warning shows what makes initiatives of private scholars who believe in the compatibility of traditional faith and free markets  such as Religion & Liberty Transatlantic  so vital.

You can read his full essay here.

(Photo credit: CIA. Public domain.)
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For the past four weeks, the Daily Mail's Weekend magazine has published an unmissable series marking the 20th anniversary of Princess Dianas death  from her love-starved childhood and whirlwind courtship with Prince Charles to her bitter rivalry with Camilla and the agonising breakdown of her marriage, weve brought you the untold story of her tragically short life.

In this, the final instalment, Richard Kay and Geoffrey Levy, who have spent months talking to her closest friends, her family and those she confided in, many of whom only now feel able to speak freely for the first time, examine in detail the events of those final fateful hours that propelled her towards that tunnel in Paris and her untimely death.

Mohamed al Fayeds playboy son had swept her off her feet. Just weeks later, however, the princess was bored and ready to break it off, believes one of her close aides. But first, they went to Paris...

Sitting in his conservatory at home in the small coastal town of Lorient in Brittany, western France, Jean Paul opened a hand-written letter addressed to himself and his wife Gisele. To his amazement, it was from Prince William, inviting them to a memorial service in London marking ten years since the death of his mother, Princess Diana.

Diana pictured with Dodi in St Tropez, nine days before the fatal car crash. The final special tribute to Princess Diana can be read in full in the latest Saturday edition of The Daily Mail

Monsieur Paul, a retired council worker, now 85, and Gisele, 87, were touched by the young princes invitation. For it was their piano-playing son, Henri Paul, who was said to have been drinking all day when he drove Diana and Dodi Fayed at speed away from The Ritz in Paris and died when he lost control of the Mercedes and ploughed at 65mph into a concrete pillar in the Pont de lAlma underpass. Dodi died alongside him, Diana a few hours later.

Understandably, they saw the invitation as a gesture of goodwill between the bereaved. William and Harry lost their mother in the crash, but the frail Jean and Gisele Paul lost their son  Henri was 41, just five years older than the princess; in fact, four of their five sons died under the age of 50, the others from a variety of illnesses.

In the end, they didnt join the Queen, Prince Philip, the Prince of Wales and the boys at the service at the Guards Chapel opposite Buckingham Palace because, as he explains now, Im a poor man with a tiny pension.

They simply couldnt afford the cost of travel to London and a hotel. Here, though, was an unexpected gesture of warmth and conciliation in a dark episode in which, two decades later, they are still broken by the conclusion that their son was largely to blame for the death of the princess.

One thing is clear: it was a crash that should never have happened. As Dianas former police bodyguard Ken Wharfe angrily wrote in the Daily Mail last August, had Diana still been in the care of the royal protection squad instead of private bodyguards hired by  and answerable to  the Fayed family, William and Harry would not have lost their mother that night, almost 20 years ago.

Scotland Yard officers would not have allowed Henri Paul, who was the Ritz hotels security chief, not a chauffeur, to have driven the car that fateful evening.

He was instructed to do so as part of a plan to confuse the paparazzi, who were expected to chase after the official car driven by Dodis regular chauffeur Philippe Dourneau, which was empty.

Pictured on CCTV footage, a smiling Diana stands inside a lift at The Ritz at 4.35pm on Saturday 30 August, just after the couple arrived in Paris

Had Wharfe or his team smelled alcohol on Pauls breath, they would not have allowed him to get behind the wheel. Finally, they would have made him slow down as he accelerated away from the paparazzi, who had not been fooled.

On top of which, did they matter that much? As Wharfe was constantly reminding the princess during the nearly seven years he looked after her: The photographers are shooting pictures, maam, not bullets.

What a deadly irony it is that some 16 years earlier, when the winsome childrens nanny Lady Diana Spencer was being courted by Prince Charles and could never leave her flat at Coleherne Court in Chelsea without being pursued by photographers, she took a real delight in taking them on in a car game of chase.

Its awful to say it now but she loved it, recalls her old flatmate Virginia Pitman, now Mrs Clarke, 57, and living near Andover, Hampshire. She thought it was hysterical at that stage, a competition, and when you nipped into a car park or some little garage and you would see them go zipping past, it was like YES! But we were only 19, 20, and it was funny.

It is almost 12.20am the following day. Dodi has an arm around Diana as they speak briefly to driver Henri Paul, before leaving by the rear exit of The Ritz

The mangled wreck of Princess Diana and Dodi's Mercedes S280. The sole survivor of the Paris crash was bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones who spent ten days in a coma

Hindsight can be painful, tragedy irretrievable. This fine August night in Paris as the crumpled wreck of a black 60,000 Mercedes S280 lies, facing the wrong way, in the busy underpass, and traffic is being diverted, the sleeping Father Yves-Marie Clochard-Bossuet is awoken in the early hours by a persistent telephone.

The call is from the Pitie Salpetriere hospital in the 13th arrondissement, where he is the chaplain. Father, its very urgent  can you come quickly please? He asks who it is and is told, It is somebody very important it is Princess Diana. He has been reading about her anti-personnel landmines campaign in the papers, and at first he doesnt believe it. He ends the call, then rings the hospital back to check the call is genuine. Within minutes he is on his way.

I went to the basement, to the operating room, where they were trying to revive her, recalls Father Yves-Marie, now 67. I couldnt go in, but they let me wait in the corridor. About 30 minutes later the surgeon came out and asked if I was the priest. And he said, Its over.

In a room above, the British ambassador, Sir Michael Jay, who was already there, took charge. He asked me to keep a vigil over the body, and I did, says Father Yves-Marie. When I saw her I did not think of her as a princess but as the mother of two children. I spent the day there until Prince Charless arrival. He was very upset.

The world was very upset. Shocked. For once in her life, everything seemed to have been going so well for Diana. Since that summer holiday with the Fayed family almost seven weeks earlier in the South of France, she and Dodi had been virtually inseparable.

The lavish interior of Villa Windsor, the Paris home where the Duke and Duchess of Windsor spent their years of exile. Diana and Dodi visited it in their last hours

Their arrival in Paris had sent the gossip temperature soaring. Two rumours in particular brought the paparazzi out in a fever. One was that an engagement announcement was imminent. Dianas friends insist to this day that it wasnt, though Dodis father, Mohamed al Fayed, the billionaire former owner of Harrods, claimed it was. The other rumour was that she was pregnant. Untrue. Diana was on the pill and doctors who examined her body confirmed that this was nonsense.

On this, their most recent trip together, Diana and Dodi had been cruising for nine days on his fathers 937-ton luxury yacht, the Jonikal, off the coast of France, Monaco and finally Sardinia, where by now, her thoughts were turning to coming home. The boat was off Sardinia on the Friday evening when Diana called Kensington Palace and spoke to her PA Jackie Allen.

Divorcee Jackie, now 53 and a medical secretary living in Shropshire, has never spoken about Dianas call before. She tells us: We talked about what she was going to be doing the following week and her autumn programme. She was travelling to Singapore for an event that was going to be massive and Armani had designed a dress for her.

The flashy diamond and gold ring from the dis-moi oui (tell me yes) range that some say Dodi intended to propose to Diana with

She said how much she was looking forward to getting home, and there was something in the way she said it that gave me the impression she was actually saying, Im bored with this now. Its very much a personal view, but I dont think she would have seen Dodi again once she got back.

So what had attracted Diana to Dodi? Well, says Jackie, I know she liked Mediterranean-type men, plus the fact that he had a yacht, helicopters and that sort of thing. She always referred to Prince Charles jokily as my first husband, which made me laugh.

It was lunchtime on Saturday 30 August when Diana and Dodi left in a Fayed executive jet from Sardinias Olbia airport for the two-hour flight to Le Bourget on the outskirts of Paris, touching down just after 3.20pm.

They were accompanied by bodyguards Trevor Rees-Jones and Kieran Wingfield employed by the Fayeds  if only Diana hadnt dispensed with her police protection officers four years earlier, simply because she wanted more privacy. Rene Delorm, Dodis butler, Myriah Daniels, a holistic healer who always travelled with Dodi, and Debbie Gribble, chief stewardess on the Jonikal, were also with them.

While the others were driven to Dodis apartment on the Rue Arsene Houssaye, close to the Arc de Triomphe, he instructed his regular chauffeur Philippe Dourneau to drive him and Diana to the Villa Windsor, the 14-room, 19th-century villa that was the former home of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. Dodis father had proudly bought and refurbished it some years earlier.

This wasnt an idle visit to the historic house. Taking girls to see where the uncrowned King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson lived in exile was one of Dodis favourite ploys to impress them. Only a few weeks earlier he had been showing it off to Kelly Fisher, the American model girlfriend who claimed they were engaged until Diana came on the scene, and was then dumped.

In fact this was Dianas second visit to the house  he had shown her over it on their first weekend together in Paris. Taking her twice gave rise to instant speculation that he was suggesting to her that they might live there together. In fact Diana hated the place, describing it to a friend as being like a mausoleum.

They didnt stay long, barely half an hour, before driving on to The Ritz hotel, going in by the rear entrance. It was now 4.30 in the afternoon, and Dodi still had some important shopping to take care of. At 5.20pm, as Diana settled down to have her hair done in the gilded luxury of the Imperial Suite, he was being driven the 100 yards just across the Place Vendome to the Repossi jewellers.

It was while Dodi was out that Diana made what were to be her last phone calls. She called medium Rita Rogers at her home in Derbyshire, she called the Daily Mail journalist Richard Kay and she rang Balmoral, where the Royal Family were on holiday, to speak to William and Harry, whom she was longing to see. In television interviews last month the brothers spoke of their enduring regret that the conversations with their mother that day were painfully brief.

In her conversation with Kay, who had become a close friend, Diana despaired at what she claimed was constant criticism of her actions.

She told him that she had decided to quit all her public duties, apart from her landmines campaign, and instead was planning to set up a network of hospices for children. Dodis father was going to financially support it.

With her holiday nearly over on 28 August, Diana breaks off from sunbathing for a phone call

Meanwhile, CCTV footage shows Dodi surrounded by staff as he inspects rings, and then leaving the jewellers with a brochure. Later footage shows Claude Roulet, assistant to the Ritz president Franz Klein, inside the shop and leaving with items in a bag which is taken to the Imperial Suite, and later deposited in the hotel strong room.

Had Dodi bought an engagement ring? If he had, the price is something of a let-down for such a big spender  a receipt for a mere 11,600 was later found, though the ring was in the dis-moi oui (tell me yes) range.

But if a proposal of marriage was on his mind, why didnt he give it to Diana? For it never reached her finger. Or could it be that he was intending to give it to her later?

At 7pm Dodi and the bare-fingered Diana left the Ritz for his apartment two miles away, where the ring would later be found in its box by Dodis butler, Rene Delorm. M. Delorm was later to claim that Dodi had told him to have champagne ready on ice for their return, having shown him the ring.

At 9.30pm they left the apartment intending to have dinner at the Benoit restaurant, but before they got there Dodi changed his mind, presumably because it was too public, and told his chauffeur to drive to the Ritz instead.

It was 9.50pm when they arrived and after looking in at the restaurant, and, it is believed, deciding that there, too, they would be stared at, went up to the first-floor Imperial Suite where they were served dinner in deep-piled privacy.

Missing her boys, Diana couldnt wait to get home. She and Dodi began their last day, 30 August 1997, heading by boat to Olbia airport in Sardinia to fly to Paris

It was 12.20am on Sunday 31 August when the two left the hotel, hoping the ruse of the decoy car would work during the brief car journey back to his flat. It didnt. Pursued by paparazzi on motorcycles, Henri Paul was accelerating towards the Pont de lAlma underpass, and losing control...

The call to the Paris emergency services came at 12.30am. When Xavier Gourmelon, one of its first-responder medics, leapt from his vehicle inside the Alma tunnel he had no idea who was in the crashed car.

He noted that two of the four people in it were apparently dead  they were Henri Paul and Dodi in the passenger seat behind him. But two were still alive. These were bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones in the front passenger seat (who was wearing his seat belt), and Diana who was directly behind him. She had been thrown to the floor of the car and her legs were on the back seat.

Twenty years later, the crash scene is still vividly clear in Gourmelons mind. I could see she was moving and talking, he recalls. She spoke in English and said, Oh my God, whats happened? I could understand that so I tried to calm her a little bit. She was moving her left arm which was free, but her right arm was trapped. I held her hand. I cant remember what I said to calm her down, but it was in French.

THE MUSCLEMAN WHO COULD HOLD THE KEY Of all the conspiracy theories to emerge from the crash, one has persisted down the years  the role of a white Fiat Uno and its driver, former security guard, cab driver and now bodybuilder Le Van Thanh. British investigators believe Dianas speeding Mercedes clipped a Fiat as it entered the Alma underpass in Paris before ploughing into a concrete pillar seconds later. Le Van Thanh has reinvented himself as a bodybuilder 20 years after the tragic car crash. Pictured: With his red Fiat Uno and his dog in 1999 (left) and at a bodybuilding contest (right) According to Thanhs father, the car was resprayed red hours after the accident but his son has always insisted he had nothing to do with the tragedy. Thanh, who was 22 at the time of the crash, is known to have been driving in central Paris on the night in question, the paint on his car matched traces found on the Mercedes and he owned a large dog, similar to the one witnesses saw in the back of the Fiat as it emerged from the underpass. After being questioned by French police he was ruled out of their investigation. But former Scotland Yard chief Lord Stevens, who led a three-year inquiry into Dianas death, appealed to him to come forward and reveal what he knows. His refusal to do so led to wild claims that either the Fiat deliberately collided with the princesss car to cause the crash or that it was used by an assassin to force the Mercedes into the Alma tunnel, where a dazzling flash was set off to blind the driver, Henri Paul, making him lose control of the vehicle. Advertisement

By now a doctor had arrived and said she had to be got out of the vehicle. Says Gourmelon, now 50, We took her out and at first put her on a board and then on an air-bed  often the fear in road accidents is a trauma to the spine, so to stop this we immobilise it.

At that moment the doctor told us her heart had stopped beating, so we started giving her a heart massage, two of us, and her heart started beating again almost immediately. We then put her in an ambulance.

And then the captain of my crew came and asked me if I had recognised her. I hadnt, so I looked back into the ambulance, and then I recognised her face. We would have done the same whoever she was. One thing I do remember: the two passengers in the back had not been wearing seat belts.

This, for Diana, was highly unusual. She generally buckled up securely for every car journey, whether in the front or the back. Why she didnt on this journey, we shall never know. But now she was in the hospital and they were fighting to save her as her heart had stopped again. For hours they worked on her, but it was no use. Diana was dead.

United in grief, Dianas sorrowful sisters Lady Sarah McCorquodale, left, and Lady Jane Fellowes look on in shock and disbelief as the coffin of their beloved Duch leaves the hospital in Paris on its way to the UK

So Father Yves-Marie began to pray silently at her bedside. As the night wore on, government figures began to arrive to pay their respects. They included the French President Jacques Chirac and his wife Bernadette, as well as the countrys Prime Minister Lionel Jospin.

Mme Chirac asked me to pray out loud, says Father Yves-Marie. She is Catholic and she wanted to pray, and she asked me to pray with her. I think I said the Our Father. She told me the right thing to do was for me to wait with the princess until an Anglican priest arrived. She told me she had met the princess at the Elysee Palace and that she liked her.

It was mid-afternoon before an Anglican priest did arrive, Father Martin Draper, Anglican Archdeacon of France. By then, Prince Charles had also arrived together with Dianas two sisters Lady Sarah McCorquodale and Lady Jane Fellowes, whom he had collected en route after flying down from Scotland.

Dianas butler Paul Burrell and chauffeur Colin Tebbutt were there too, having travelled on a commercial flight from London. The prince was very courteous, recalls Father Yves-Marie. The Anglican priest had arrived and the prince came to me and asked me to join them in prayer  the Protestant priest, the prince and the princesss sisters. I remember the prince thanked me because Id been there all day.

Father Yves-Marie also talked with Paul Burrell, who told him he was a Catholic. He struck me as the most authentic person, says Father Yves-Marie. You could feel his grief was real.

In this last picture, Diana peers at pursuing paparazzi while Henri Paul, right, is caught wide-eyed by the flashes and bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones looks anxious
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For the past four weeks, the Daily Mail's Weekend magazine has published an unmissable series marking the 20th anniversary of Princess Dianas death  from her love-starved childhood and whirlwind courtship with Prince Charles to her bitter rivalry with Camilla and the agonising breakdown of her marriage, weve brought you the untold story of her tragically short life.

In this, the final instalment, Richard Kay and Geoffrey Levy, who have spent months talking to her closest friends, her family and those she confided in, many of whom only now feel able to speak freely for the first time, examine in detail the events of those final fateful hours that propelled her towards that tunnel in Paris and her untimely death.

Eight days after Dianas death, Father Yves-Marie Clochard-Bossuet learned that her mother Frances Shand Kydd was a Catholic (she had converted some years earlier) and felt compelled to write to her describing what had happened in the hospital. I gave her all the details I could remember, he tells us.

Two days later I had a reply that was three pages long. It was extremely warm and kind. I think for someone who was a Catholic she took it as a sign of fate that the priest who was with her daughter was Catholic too.

That exchange turned into a friendship that continued until Mrs Shand Kydds death in 2004. She invited the priest to her home in Scotland and after that, whenever she came to Paris she took me to all the best restaurants.

Katie Jones, 11, and her grandmother offer the Queen a bunch of roses  and their sympathy  outside Buckingham Palace on the eve of Princess Diana's funeral

He organised a private Mass for Diana at the hospital, inviting ten of his own friends, all of whom he chose because they had suffered personal tragedy including the loss of a child.

When he collected Frances from the airport, he recalls, I recognised her straight away. She was very tall, she must have been beautiful when she was younger. On subsequent occasions when he offered to collect her in his car on their way out to dinner, he remembers she would say, No, no, no, were going to drink!

He was also invited to spend an afternoon at Althorp, where Dianas brother Charles showed him the museum established in his sisters name. You are the only person who has told me anything about my daughters death, Father Yves-Marie recalls Frances telling him. He says, The officials didnt say anything to her. No one took care of her in the days after the accident. She was marginalised.

As for Henri Paul, he is remembered by his parents not as the driver held responsible for killing Diana but as a gentle, devoted son and a talented pianist. He was even teaching the children of the Ritz president Franz Klein to play.

A qualified pilot, only three days before the crash hed passed his fliers annual medical. All I can say is, we had family parties and enjoyed ourselves as people do, but I never once saw my son drunk, says his father. The Ritz would not allow an alcoholic to work there. But its hardly worth trying to defend his name any more.

Klein gave the grieving parents dinner at the hotel and, says M. Paul, he told us he had never worked alongside such a good colleague. Dianas mother Frances also met them, at one of the court hearings at the Palais de Justice. The Pauls have never forgotten what she said. She told us, Your son is not to blame, says M. Paul.

She did not speak much French, but enough. Blame, it must be said, flew in all directions as Princess Dianas body was flown back to RAF Northolt on Sunday 31 August. Until the funeral six days later she lay in the Chapel Royal at St Jamess Palace, but few would say she lay in peace.

That Sunday morning, when the Queen led the family, including William, 15, and Harry, 12, to a service in Crathie Kirk near Balmoral, there was no mention of Diana. The visiting preacher, the Rev Dr Adrian Varwell, altered not a word of his sermon, which included Billy Connolly jokes. By the time hed finished, the congregation was in a state of high discomfort.

The family emerges from Balmoral Castle to look at the tributes. In the aftermath of the crash 350,000 letters of condolence, flooded in to Kensington Palace

So why did the Rev Varwell, now 70, not change the sermon? The minister of Crathie, the Rev Robert Sloan, explained later that the princesss death wasnt mentioned to protect the boys. Dr Varwell now says, I think the poor woman should be left to rest in peace.

This was the start of an extraordinary week in which the people found their faith in the monarchy shaken as the Queen and other close family members remained cloistered in Balmoral while a swell of mourning built up in London.

It focused on Kensington Palace, where a lake of flowers was growing, and also on Buckingham Palace, where  even though constitutionally correct  there was mounting anger at the refusal to fly a flag at half-mast. You could also sense the exasperation at St Jamess Palace, where the queue to sign books of condolence was eight hours long.

The Union Flag was finally flown at half-mast over Buckingham Palace on the day of the funeral, and the Queens former private secretary Sir William Heseltine offers an intriguing footnote. I have talked with the Queen about the flag decision without asking her if it was a mistake, he says. But I think she would admit today that it was a mistake  Im sure she would.

Charles, Harry, Lady Jane Fellowes and Paul Burrell (at rear) alight from the Royal Train near Althorp, where Diana was buried

Meanwhile, the Queen and Prince Philip finally returned to London on the Friday, the day before Dianas funeral at Westminster Abbey. Theyd stayed in Scotland, it was explained, to shield William and Harry from the impact of the nations grief. The boys returned to London with their father the same day. Pointedly, Charles took William and Harry home to Kensington Palace to look at the flowers.

If there was one moment that wiped away public anger at the royals absence from the capital, it was outside Buckingham Palace, where flowers were piled waist-high. A girl leaned out with her grandmother to offer the Queen a bunch of red roses.

Do you want me to place them for you? the Queen asked 11-year-old Katie Jones, from Brighton. No, Your Majesty, theyre for you, the girl replied. Katie, now 31, and a recruitment consultant, says, She asked me twice if I was sure. I said they were definitely for her and saw her eyes welling up. The Queen was holding them tight as she was driven back into the palace.

The ocean of flowers that grew outside Kensington Palace in the days following Dianas death, stretching as far as the eye could see

A LETTER FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE In the aftermath of the crash 350,000 letters of condolence, principally to William and Harry, flooded in to Kensington Palace as well as St Jamess Palace, where the young princes went to live with their father. It took a team of up to 60 volunteers more than four months to sort them and to send more than 90,000 replies. Three months later a letter from Kensington Palace arrived at the home of diplomat David Slinn, who had been in charge of arrangements when Diana had made her last official overseas visit, to Bosnia as part of her landmines campaign, three weeks before her death. It was from the princess, a typically warm thank you letter, delayed because of the chaos of the Yugoslav civil war. It was chilling to open it and read her words, he says. She thanked me for taking care of the media which, she said, I know from my own experience is not always easy. Its framed on the wall in my study, her legacy as far as Im concerned. Advertisement

Courtiers believe the criticism was unfair. One senior figure says, In any family when you have a sudden death there is a tendency to circle the wagons and seek comfort from each other.

But was the rift between Diana and the royals  largely generated by her Panorama interview two years before  healed in her death? One is entitled to wonder. For some found the Queens poignant address to the nation as a grandmother lacking one element: Diana, said the Queen, was admired, respected and cherished. But what about loved? And we understand that a suggestion emanating from Whitehall for a Princess Diana Day was vetoed by the Queens advisors.

It was certainly love that spilled out as the princess was borne away to be laid at Althorp, 76 miles away, as people tossed flowers onto the hearse along the route. For many, though, the overpowering memory of that day was the searing address by Dianas brother Charles Spencer from the pulpit of the Abbey in which his use of the phrase blood family was seen as a criticism of the way the Royal Family had treated his sister.

That and the creaking of the pallbearer guardsmens leather boots in the silence of the Abbey as they carried in her coffin, followed by the astonishing sound of clapping reverberating beneath its ancient rafters. A cleric who was there recalls that the applause cut through the royals like an icy wind.
A jewel in the BBCs crown, Only Fools And Horses pulled in the highest ratings, so surely it was a programme to be celebrated and feted?

But David Jason  forever Del Boy in the nations hearts  cant hide his bitterness when he relates the story of going for a meeting at the BBC with the shows creator John Sullivan, only to find very little lauding going on.

The corridors of Television Centre were filled with giant photos of the Corporations biggest stars in character, but there was no sign of two brothers from Peckham.

David Jason (pictured left) as Del Boy and Nicholas Lyndhurst (pictured right) as Rodney in a 2014 special. The Story Of Only Fools And Horses starts on Tuesday at 8pm on Gold.

There were photos of all their big successes  Terry And June, Butterflies... I was thinking, Where are the Trotters?, he recalls. Sullivan was particularly peeved and asked the question out loud  only to be told there was a glossy photo on display 

Upstairs, on the sixth floor, next to the toilets!. The somewhat snobbish sentiment was, he says, Who are these terrible people? Do we have to have this show?

He tells the story in a new series about the making of Only Fools And Horses. He and fellow star Nicholas Lyndhurst talk while sitting in a reproduction of the original set from the show  in one corner is the living room of the Trotters flat in Nelson Mandela House, in another the famous Reliant Robin.

Memorabilia from the show still changes hands at astonishing prices. Many of the original pieces have been tracked down for this retrospective so David Jason sits in the exact same chair that Del Boy did. Theres the lion biscuit jar he used to keep his cigars in. Here is his oversized mobile phone. Oh, and anyone fancy some bona fide Peckham Spring water?

BIG SPLASH: Rodney ends up in a pond in a 1985 episode in which he and Del try to catch an exotic butterfly for a big reward. BBC Head of Light Entertainment John Howard Davies picked Nicholas Lyndhurst to play Rodney after seeing him in the role of Fletchers teenage son in Porridge spin-off Going Straight

It didnt occur to us at the time that it could go on like it has, and still be held in such affection, says David. It never entered anyones mind. Did he ever get the message from the BBC that he was highly valued, part of something special? The short answer is no. Now the bosses would all be claiming it was their idea  and if it was a failure, theyd be saying, Of course, I was against it from the start. But then we were very much left to our own devices.

Nor was the money as good as everyone it assumes it must have been, he points out. I always remember talking about Cheapskate Productions, the BBC, because the trouble with comedy is that its the poor relation, yet its their biggest audience nine times out of ten.

The striking thing about David Jason is how his loyalty to his audiences, and particularly to fans of the show that made him a household name, is combined with a healthy scepticism about the TV industry. At one point he accuses executives of treating programmes like commodities.

BEACH BOYS: There was one episode in 1982 I hoped we could film in Spain, John Sullivan once recalled, but when I was told the budget wouldnt run to it I wasnt surprised, and we went to Dorset instead. Nicholas had his 21st birthday there, and I took my wife Sharon and our two kids with me. We all had a wonderful time

From this week he features in two big celebrations, starting with the three-part series David Jason: My Life On Screen, in which he reveals that, remarkably, he never set out to be a comedy actor. I went to join a rep theatre and they said, You wont be a leading man because the leading lady is taller than you, but you could be our comedy man.

When I told my agent I wanted to get some dramatic work he looked at me and said, You make people laugh. People want to employ you because of that quality. Dont try to swim against it. He didnt and that path led to Open All Hours, The Darling Buds of May and, of course, Only Fools. But The Story Of Only Fools And Horses, a six-part extravaganza, charts how the most popular British sitcom of all time nearly came a cropper.

The first two series, after it came on air in 1981, went pretty much unnoticed. Nicholas Lyndhurst describes how he and David were summoned to a meeting at Television Centre fully expecting to be fired  only to discover that at least some people in power at the BBC were very much behind them. We were called into the Controllers office and David and I thought, This is it. Were for the chop. Instead, the then head of comedy told them he was putting his balls on the line and commissioning a third series.

Only Fools famously only became a ratings success by fluke  a strike at the BBC in 1983 led to it being repeated. It attracted an audience and then series three and four took off. The rest, as we know, is history.

SMASHING: Del and Rodney in one of the sitcoms most famous scenes in 1982, where they drop an expensive chandelier. It was based on a true story that John Sullivans father, whod worked on building sites, told him. A manor house was having central heating installed, John recalled, so for safetys sake the owners two expensive chandeliers needed to be removed. While one chap nipped upstairs to undo the bolts underneath the floorboards, the others were holding one of the chandeliers. The trouble was, the man upstairs undid the wrong chandelier and it crashed to the ground

There were 64 episodes of Only Fools filmed between 1981 and 2003, making superstars of its cast. As well as interviews, this series includes behind-the-scenes footage, outtakes, bloopers, rare episodes and specials that havent been seen on British television since they were first aired, including the very first Christmas special. Theres even one lost episode, which has never been seen on TV before: Licensed To Drill, which was filmed in 1984 and made to be shown in schools.

Everyone has a favourite Only Fools And Horses sketch. Perhaps yours is the chandelier one, the most famous glass-shattering scene in TV history? Or the one where Del falls through the bar? Or the one where we first meet baby Damien? Perhaps its the one where the hapless Trotter brothers finally become millionaires after Del Boy auctions an antique watch. That episode, a Christmas special, first aired in 1996 to an audience of 24.3 million and remains the most-watched programme ever shown on British screens.

Get the leading actors from Only Fools talking about their most memorable scene, however, and they dont pick one of the great belly-laugh moments, but perhaps the most poignant sketch in the shows history. Its the one where the Trotters get stuck in the lift in the 1996 Christmas special.

To refresh your memory, Rodney and his wife Cassandra have just suffered a miscarriage. Del feels Rodders needs to talk about his trauma and engineers for the two of them to be trapped in a lift. The funny situation morphs into pure tragedy as a poignant conversation follows, and for Rodney, tears flow.

The normal stuff of comedy? Absolutely not, but according to those who were there, it encapsulated why the show was the success it was. All involved bow down to the bravery of writer John Sullivan. He was Mr Only Fools And Horses, and he did the unthinkable in making an audience watching a sitcom cry. As Nicholas puts it, We did enjoy tricking the audience. OK, youre watching a sitcom, yes you are, but were going to be talking about some heavy stuff.

MASTERPIECE: Craftsmen add the finishing touches to Del and Rodneys mums huge grave for a scene in 1985. Designer Eric Walmsley recalls, Our polystyrene sculptor knocked the grave up just in time for us to erect it in Highgate Cemetery. It looked resplendent with a laurel bush hiding the brace holding it up.

Many of the cast and crew stood, rapt, as it was filmed. Nicholas recalls that he and David rehearsed it only twice, at the behest of the director  unusual since most scenes were rehearsed until they were perfect. Being a very clever director, he realised that the more it was rehearsed, the more of the rawness and emotion would be rehearsed out of it.

The result was an utter weepie  astonishing to find in a so-called comedy sitcom. You could hear a pin drop in the studio. The atmosphere was incredible, recalls Gwyneth Strong, who played Cassandra. Its so exciting when two actors get to change an atmosphere like that.

Sue Holderness, who played Boycies wife Marlene, was also there. It broke the nations hearts, she recalls of the scene. There wasnt a dry eye in the studio that night. It still makes me well up thinking about it.

For Nicholas, it was a career-defining moment. It was John Sullivan at his most brilliant, he recalls. We were a group of OK actors that were made... He struggles to find the words. We were raised by the quality of that script.

In truth, this documentary  billed as the definitive guide to the classic sitcom  is one great love letter to the much-missed John Sullivan, who died in 2011, aged 64. Nicholas admits he couldnt wait to get each script John had written through the post. I was like a child at Christmas.

As the cast gather, the memories soon flood back. There is much laughter as they recall the difficulties in filming their 1996 Batman and Robin scene on British streets, just at pub chucking-out time, and tales of filming in Florida, where some hapless soul had to poke an alligators bottom to get it to charge during a scene.

Fascinating too is the footage of some of the foreign editions of the show. It seems that Slovenia had its own version of Only Fools... called Brother To Brother. The Dutch version, meanwhile, was called Whats It Worth? And the Portuguese one? O Fura-Vidas, which translates as Living Outside The Law. As catchy as the original? Not quite.

Famous fans line up to pay tribute, among them Jonathan Ross (who played himself in one episode), DJ Danny Baker, David Beckham (also a guest in a Sport Relief special) and Bee Gee Barry Gibb. Trivia abounds, such as what was in Del Boys cocktails? And how many of the hilarious scenarios were based on real-life events (answer: most of them, the bar scene and chandelier sketch included).

More touching, somehow, is hearing those involved share some very personal memories  both happy and sad. Nicholas Lyndhurst chuckles as he recalls being threatened with the sack because he laughed so much while filming the chandelier scene.

Rather poignantly, he also talks of what his own Christmas Days felt like, when the nations festive celebrations seemed to revolve around watching him on TV. Literally half the country was going to be watching it. That put pressure on me, he reveals, admitting that when Only Fools aired hed walk around his village, incognito. If someone had a chink in their curtains, I just couldnt resist making sure they were watching. This is a fitting glimpse into a true TV phenomenon.

David Jason: My Life On Screen starts today at 6pm on Gold; The Story Of Only Fools And Horses starts on Tuesday at 8pm on Gold.
For millions of avid TV viewers, Jacques Cousteau was the worlds greatest naturalist  a brilliant, testy explorer who taught us the beauty and fragility of our planet.

At a time when colour television was a novelty, his hit 1960s series, The Undersea World Of Jacques Cousteau, introduced us to the dazzling world beneath the waves, and the man himself captivated audiences with his courage and innovation, as he dove deep with the Aqua-Lung hed invented.

In its day, his research vessel the Calypso was as famous as the Apollo spaceships  John Denver even wrote a song about her in 1975 that hit No 2 in the US charts. As Cousteau liked to say, in his mesmerising French accent, In the deep space of the sea I have found my moon.

Jacques Cousteau's life is the subject of a 20 million movie, The Odyssey. Whats curious is that the film only fleetingly mentions Cousteaus betrayal of his first family

Now his life is the subject of a 20 million movie, The Odyssey. The film is a visual feast, with vivid footage of turquoise waters, and Cousteau, played by Lambert Wilson wearing the explorers trademark red hat, is craggy and charismatic. But just as the sea contains unseen dangers, the story is brimming with controversies.

Cousteau, who sailed with his wife Simone, and sons Jean-Michel and Philippe, led a double life, with a mistress and two other children hidden away. And his irritable nature led to vicious jibes, particularly against his older son Jean-Michel.

Surprisingly, Jean-Michel, 79, seems to have forgiven those eccentricities, including the favouring of his younger brother, Philippe. Cousteau sneered at the idea that Jean-Michel was worthy of succeeding him. It is not because a kid has been born from your sperm that he has the qualities necessary to replace you, he once said publicly.

Jacques and Simone aboard the Calypso in 1959. After she died it emerged that Jacques had been having a 14-year affair

Today, 20 years after Cousteau died aged 87, Jean-Michel denies he was bitter about this. He points out that his brother simply shared a love of aviation with their dad and this was why they were so close. Whatever rivalry there might have been between the boys has been erased by grief, as in 1979, Philippe died in a flying accident aged 38.

Their fathers all-consuming passion for the sea began in childhood. A sickly boy, he was forbidden all strenuous activity by doctors, but swimming was permitted. This was combined with a delight in inventions, which saw him build his first underwater contraption  a marine crane  at 11.

A wilful pupil, Cousteau was expelled from one school but won a place at the national naval academy, the Ecole Navale, in Britanny. As a young sailor, he dreamed of inventing a device that would enable humans to live and breathe like fish, under the water, and in 1943 came up with the Aqua-Lung. He was a hero too, spying for the French Resistance in the war and afterwards helping the navy to clear underwater mines.

Yet some are trying to sink his legacy. Two years ago he was criticised for dynamiting a coral reef for his 1956 film, The Silent World, so he could study the dead fish. And his murky personal life has been picked over too.

After his first wife Simone died it emerged that Jacques had been having a 14-year affair with Francine, a former air stewardess. Now it is her, not Jean-Michel, at the helm of the Cousteau Society. And that rankles. My father made a mistake, says Jean-Michel. He left behind a mess. The most vitriolic wrangles have been about Calypso, which sank in Singapore a year before Cousteau died, and is not yet rebuilt.

What an absolute gem of a storyline for a biopic treatment, then. Whats curious is that the film only fleetingly mentions Cousteaus betrayal of his first family, and airbrushes out his second. But Jean-Michel is pleased it does highlight the contribution made by his mother Simone (played by Audrey Tautou).

A scene from the film showing Jacques with his sons. When Jacques died in 1997 he left his affairs in chaos

Simone was, by her sons account, the driving force behind the Cousteau story. It was she who sold her family jewellery to keep Calypso afloat and she was, says Jean-Michel, mother to the crew. They confided all their problems in her. She was practical too. I remember her cutting everyones hair. The crew loved her. Im sure they loved her more than they loved my dad.

Simone died of cancer in 1990. Within a year, his father married Francine. Their children, Diane (born in 1980) and Pierre-Yves (1982), inherited a love of the ocean, and forged their own careers using the family name.

The tense relationship between Jacques and his eldest son deteriorated yet further. In 1992 Jean-Michel stepped down as executive vice-president of the Cousteau Society, and three years later Jacques took exception when Jean-Michel opened an eco-hotel in Fiji, claiming he had no right to use the family name. It was open warfare.

When Jacques died in 1997 he left his affairs in chaos. As his grandson Philippe Jr  born six months after his father died in the flying accident  puts it, People think we grew up rich, but the only thing he left us was a lawsuit.

The astonishing thing is that Jean-Michel doesnt hate his father. When I ask if he was a good parent, he says, I think he was in many ways. Whatever personal reaction I had  may still have  doesnt matter. There was a mission. So to him, like his father, the sea and its mysterious depths are everything.

As Cousteau himself would say, in that most French of French accents, Man has only to sink beneath the surface and he is free.

The Odyssey is in cinemas now.
So gripping was the first series that Doctor Foster was regarded as the television equivalent of The War Of The Roses and Kramer Vs. Kramer.

Now, its returning  and thanks to this chilling image of its star, Suranne Jones, with a stream of blood trickling down her hand from a deep cut where her characters wedding ring once was, our nerves are already twitching with a sense of foreboding.

The picture gives a taste of whats to come in the highly-anticipated second series of the BBCs infidelity thriller, which became the most talked-about drama of 2015.

More than 10 million viewers squirmed as they watched the finale, when Suranne Joness GP Gemma Foster used extreme cunning to get revenge on her unfaithful husband Simon, played by Bertie Carvel.

The most-talked about drama of 2015, Doctor Foster returns next month on BBC1 staring Suranne Jones (pictured) as the scorned wife out for revenge

But this time around, even though she has a new boyfriend, James (Prasanna Puwanarajah), her desire to punish Simon hasnt been fully satisfied. Were now going to tell the next chapter in Gemmas story, says writer and creator Mike Bartlett. Her life in Parminster may look better on the surface, but as she will discover to her cost, every action has consequences eventually. No one ever comes through hell unscathed.

Suranne agrees. Gemma doesnt behave well. Before she acted through hurt but, now she has channelled her anger, it becomes dark and twisted. She doesnt believe in redemption for Simon  thats the beauty of our story.

Its about what happens to two people who essentially still hate each other as they havent sorted out their issues, yet have a child to look after in the meantime. I think its really brave, different, and it pushes the boundaries of family drama. Its very dark, very uncomfortable, as in, How much do you hate them?

The plot returns to Gemmas life two years after her suspicions were roused when she found a pink lip salve in her husbands trouser pocket and a long blonde hair on his scarf only to discover he had been involved in a heartbreaking two-year affair with 23-year-old Kate, played by Jodie Comer.

The new series charts the events following the nerve-twitching showdown finale which saw the most excruciating dinner party ever. Gemma and Simon were at the dinner table when she slowly revealed, in front of his mistress and her unsuspecting parents, that she knew of their affair and that Kate was pregnant with her husbands baby.

The series ended with Gemma and Simon separated, Simon and Kate moving away and Gemma having won custody of their son Tom, who is now a young teenager. Now we get to look at what actually happens when two divorced people have to deal with each other and parent a child and its messy, explains Suranne, 38.

In last seasons final episode, Gemma unmasked Kate (right) as Simons mistress over dinner  with explosive consequences

Despite its phenomenal success, and the win of a Leading Actress BAFTA for Doctor Foster, Suranne thought hard about returning for series two. It was because my story had finished. But we questioned whether wed ever seen a couple on TV dealing with the aftermath of divorce.

Its that situation when everyone thinks its over and says, Oh, youre divorced, but then when they turn their backs and go on with their own lives, youre left with an awful feeling that you have to have this person in your life because youve got a child. We were talking about the films The War Of The Roses and Kramer Vs. Kramer which have dealt with it but on TV it hadnt been addressed. Its two people at war. And by episode five  oh God, I think it ends in a place where its still uncomfortable. Hopefully the audience will be glad that weve ended it there.

Suranne wasnt initially convinced that the first series would be a hit. I said to my husband, People are going to love it or hate it. Because do you want to sit and watch our relationship fall apart? Do you want to sit and watch infidelity? And I honestly thought it would be very niche.

Why does she think the series was such a huge success? Gemmas in every woman. You may be similar in some way to her or you know someone on your street that is like her. She shops at Reiss, so her life is affordable, attainable yet aspirational  until it all blows up, she says.

Kate, played by Jodie Comer (left) and Simon, Bertie Carvel, (right) are still together in the new series. Despite the doctor now having a new boyfriend her desire to punish Simon remains

Suranne took her own baby on set while filming Doctor Foster. In fact, regaining her pre-pregnancy figure helped distract her during some of the more harrowing scenes

Then there is this edgy vibe. You dont want to watch and you dont want to put Gemma through it. You think, Oh God, what are they going to do? And it has a weird, sexy edge to it. Then, because Gemma and Simon were still having a full sexual relationship in the first series while he was having an affair with the 23-year-old, Gemmas left with unresolved sexual energy.

Suranne drew on the experiences of two friends who had been cheated on to portray some of Gemmas intense emotions. And since then, a lot of people have said, Oh God, Ive been through something similar. There were also comments from people on Instagram saying things like, Youll never know how you helped.

Everybody has had exes. Everyone has been in difficult circumstances, so an audience can watch and know these characters and know the feelings and know how uncomfortable it is. Hopefully men and women will recognise some of themselves in our story.

Fortunately the traumatic scenes have no bearing on Surannes own relationship  she is happily married to magazine editor Laurence Akers and they have become parents to a baby boy between the first and second series, which has given her an even deeper insight into Gemmas psyche.

Ive played mothers in the past without being a mother myself. But I think that being a wife and a mother made me realise the gravitas of that all falling apart. It definitely made me realise what it is to parent a child and be in each others lives when you are damaged and hurt, without damaging and hurting a child.

'This time round Simon has re-armoured himself and is coming with a plan and an agenda' Bertie reveals

Suranne took her own baby on set while filming Doctor Foster. In fact, regaining her pre-pregnancy figure helped distract her during some of the more harrowing scenes. It is exhausting to play that bitterness, she admits.

But there were a really great group of girls and we were doing [yoga] planking for charity at the time. So, every day wed put some music on and then wed practise a five-minute plank. We were like Terminators by the end. And we acted out pop music videos off-set. You know, just stupid things because this series is so much darker than last year.

As for Gemma, we see her still stuck in her old body and style. We gave Gemma a new look for two years later as I was so convinced if those events happened to you, youd move on, youd attempt to be different, she says.

And then we had a screen test and every single one of us said, No. Shes moved on, but actually shes comfortable with her bob hairstyle and her work, as Simon points out. And shes put up her walls. So actually it was the right decision to leave her embalmed, in a way.

Does Suranne believe Gemma is credited with bringing justice to all wronged women who have been called crazy? When people say, Oh, shes mad, I love it. Shes not mad. Her husbands been cheating on her with a young woman and just when she thought she was having a great relationship  on all levels  with him. Of course she had a mental breakdown.

But this time, when shes not having a mental breakdown, she is angry and there is a bitterness to it. She may not always be likeable. Sometimes, you can go too far and lose sight of yourself. So, not that I want any sympathy for Simon, but it might be the case that he does get a bit of sympathy this time.

Bertie, 39, agrees. Certainly series one was all about Gemmas perspective and Simon was desperately trying to spin plates and put the genie back in the bottle. This time round Simon has re-armoured himself and is coming with a plan and an agenda. But he is riddled with regret. Hes trying to rebuild his relationship with his son Tom and thats the spine of the story.

Last series ended with a sense of Simon, a property developer, having got off lightly. So this time will he get his just punishment? Culpability and blame and who wins and who should win, these are all the questions that I think allow us a second series and some of them will be answered, says Bertie. But there is this massive emotional scar from this relationship for all of them.

Bertie is keeping viewers guessing as to whether we will see a more savoury side to Simon in the new series. Pictured: Suranne and Bertie receiving an NTA for Best New Drama in 2016

Is Bertie prepared to become, once again, Britains most hated TV husband? Its really hard to watch an episode like the first of this series and not admit to being the bad guy, he smiles. I dont look like Simon now.

I hope no-one recognises me or that maybe they have a more nuanced understanding of the character. I dont really care what people think of him but Simon cares deeply what people think of him. Hes desperate. His self-esteem is fragile and he needs people to think a lot of him.

But Bertie is keeping viewers guessing as to whether we will see a more savoury side to Simon. I dont know if I want him to be liked. But whats interesting is that while the majority view I hear is, Oh yes, what a b***ard, lots of people come up to me and say, Actually, I found myself kind of liking him. Maybe youre going to love Simon by the end of the series, who knows? he teases.

Doctor Foster will return next month on BBC1.
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Virtual reality is becoming increasingly popular and sophisticated in the modern-day world, providing people with the opportunity to experience new worlds and enter entirely alternate realities.

But there is a darker side to the ever-improving technology - one that has been candidly portrayed in a set of illustrations, which depict a desolate and empty world destroyed by a war between robots and people as a result of humans' obsession with virtual reality.

Set two decades ago, in 1997, the artwork by Swedish author and illustrator Simon Stalenhag charts the travels of a young girl and her robot toy as she journeys across a horrifying wasteland, which is all that remains of the US.

A VERY different 1997 America: Swedish author and artist Simon Stalenhag imagines a post-apocalyptic US in his new book, The Electric State

A country in ruins: The Electric State tells the story of a girl and her robot traveling west across the territory

Thought-provoking: Many of Simon's illustrations show deserted areas that seem to reflect this reality's extreme poverty

Inequality: While many images show poverty, some feature highly technological cities that seem to be thriving

In Stalenhag's reality, there is no Bill Clinton, no OJ Simpson trial, and no Britney Spears to fill up the minds of Americans. Instead, the world looks as if it's about to end, having been crushed to ruins by the excesses of a human race overtaken by consumerism.

In this strange America, the girl and her yellow toy robot cross the ruins of gigantic battle drones that lie all over the countryside along with the discarded trash of a high-tech consumerist society that is now in decline.

As the girl and her robot drive across the country, they see through their window a world that is unraveling and a society that seems ready to finally collapse after a technological meltdown saw a war between battle drones and humans controlled by Virtual Reality.

Simon's incredibly realistic illustrations let the viewer witness what the girl and her robot are seeing: a post-apocalyptic world filled with battle drones that look like children's toys slumped over highways, houses on top of each other in what looks like slums, and humans walking around with their Virtual Reality helmets.

A chilling war: In Simon's version of the US, battle drones are at war against humans controlled by Virtual Reality helmets

Unlikely pair: The illustrations of The Electric State show what the girl and her robot (pictured) see as they cross the country

Sitting ducks: The narrative artbook shows the ruins left behind by a society consumed with technology

Not so far from reality? The Swedish artist's illustrations show humans constantly wearing Virtual Reality helmets

While some of the book's images show super-technological, thriving cities, others feature deserted areas, highlighting the inequalities of this alternative society.

Simon's other works include Tales From The Loop and Things From The Flood, which also explore complex themes such as technology and consumerism.

His latest book is a product of more than 5,000 Kickstarter contributors, who together raised more than $300,000 to see the Swedish artist's concept become a reality.

The Electric State, which will include 120 pages with words by Simon explaining each photo, will be released in December 2017.

Enigma: The images are mostly open to interpretation now, but will be explained in text by Simon when the book is released

New horizon: While Simon's stories usually take place in Scandinavian landscapes, this time he took his imagination to the US

A team effort: More than 5,000 Kickstarter contributed to raise more than $300,000 to see Simon's vision come to fruition
Social media is currently filled with envy-inducing bikini snaps taken in a variety of stunning holiday destinations.

But now, one Instagram star has revealed the truth behind those seemingly perfect pictures - in order to promote body confidence among young women.

Chessie King, 24, from London, has posted a series of side-by-side shots to show how different her body can look in photos, depending on the angle, lighting and posture.

The lifestyle blogger said she decided to share the comparison pictures on her Instagram page as she wanted to be 'honest' with her followers.

She explained how she had edited some of the photographs to slim down her legs, pull in her belly and make her breasts and bottom look larger and contrasted them with the un-edited version.

In other shots, the social media star demonstrates how posture can dramatically change the way her body looks, as well as the type of bikini she wears.

Chessie King, 24, has posted a series of side-by-side shots taken just seconds apart to show the truth behind those seemingly perfect Instagram snaps

Chessie told FEMAIL: 'Every time I do one, I'm showing my "not so perfect bits". I want people to feel like they're not alone.

'Instagram is one of the biggest reasons for everyone wanting to look "perfect" in their bikini, definitely.'

She explained how she has struggled with body confidence in the past, when she would compare herself to other women who had shapes that were 'unrealistic' for her to achieve.

'All I could see on Instagram was just "perfection",' she said. 'It's taken me a long long time to actually wear a bikini without wanting to grab a towel and wrap it round me whenever anyone looked at me.'

In another post, the presenter shared two snaps of herself in a pink bikini - one which she had already shared on her Instagram feed, and one which she had initially deleted

HOW SHE EDITED THE SNAPS Used an editing tool to slim down her legs, pull in her belly and make her breasts and bottom look larger In other shots, the social media star demonstrates how posture can dramatically change the way her body looks, as well as the type of bikini she wears. Advertisement

By sharing the side-by-side comparisons, she hopes that she will help educate other women about their bodies, and help improve their confidence.

In one post - which includes two photographs of herself in the same white bikini - Chessie explained to her followers how she was able to 'change my body in two seconds'.

Captioning the snap 'My "bikini bod"' and 'Also "my "bikini bod"', she urged women to 'embrace' their bellies and 'give it a little jiggle'.

In another post, the presenter shared two snaps of herself in a pink bikini - one which she had already shared on her Instagram feed, and one which she had initially deleted.

Sharing a side-by-snap of herself in a red swimsuit, Chessie showcased just how easy it can be to digitally alter your body. In the right hand picture, she has slimmed down her legs, pulled in her belly, and made her breasts and bottom look larger

In another recent post, Chessie busted the myth around the perfect poolside legs shot - showing how different her legs look depending on how she's posing

Sharing the snap, she explained: 'Left photo: Favourited out of the 8 taken & posted. Right photo: Immediately deleted & forgotten about. Both photos unedited & seconds between them.

'I was going through my recently deleted folder ready to "delete all" but saw the right photo & recovered it. I felt this sense of guilt that I'd deleted it & posted the left one.'

Chessie continued: '[I]t was a huge reminder for me today that Instagram can be such a "perfection trap".

'I'm clearly super happy in the right one after had cracked a hilarious joke, I don't hate it but the lighting isn't "flattering" nor is the way I'm holding my body or the angle of it but it's ME.

'Both of the photos are me. I am proud of how I feel about my body looking at these photos. I feel like I look healthy in both & look after myself but also live without controlling myself like I have done in the past.'

Chessie also shows how her thighs and her rolls are both 'completely normal' in a couple of fun snaps

She demonstrates how different her body can look depending on her posture in this side-by-side shot
Activists and authors Gloria Steinem and Dorothy Pitman Hughes have spent the last five decades campaigning for gender equality - and they are showing no signs of giving up their fight.

The feminist duo has teamed once again to release a limited edition T-shirt featuring an iconic 1971 image of Gloria, 83, and Dorothy, 79, raising their fists in a sign of solidarity and strength against discrimination.

Steinem and Pitman Hughes's show of support for the civil rights of women has become a symbol of the fight for equality since it was taken 46 years ago - and remains to this day an incredibly powerful portrayal of feminism.

46 years later: Activists Gloria Steinem and Dorothy Pitman Hughes have released a limited edition T-shirt with their iconic photograph from 1971 to support the Equal Rights Amendment

Standing strong: The women featured in an original image that was captured nearly five decades ago

A fair cause: All of the profit from 'Gloria and Dorothy's Equal Rights Now Tee' will go to ERA Coalition - a national organization that works to pass and ratify the ERA

So it is only fitting that the picture be used to help continue the battle for gender equality, this time servings as a means of raising support for the ERA Coalition, a national organization that is working to pass the Equal Rights Amendment.

All of the profits from 'Gloria and Dorothy's Equal Rights Now Tee' will go to the national organization, which works both in Congress and through public outreach to pass and ratify the ERA.

The T-shirts, available for a limited time, come in many styles for both men and women, and were released ahead of this year's National Women's Equality Day, which takes place on August 26, and, like the Steinem and Pitman Hughes photo, began in 1971.

Celebrities like Jane Fonda, America Ferrera, Amy Schumer, Robin Wright, and many others, have already joined the duo's effort, taking to social media to post pictures of themselves using the #equalrightsnow hashtag while wearing Gloria and Dorothy's Equal Rights Now Tee and recreating Steinem and Pitman Hughes's pose.

A long fight: The feminist icons have fought for more than 40 years for the passing of the ERA, which would specifically ban the discrimination of girls and women based on their gender

They support the Equal Rights Amendment: Many celebrities like actresses America Ferrera (left) and Robin Wright took to social media to show their support for the cause

If Gloria Steinem and Dorothy Pitman Hughes havent stopped fighting for full constitutional equality for women and girls, neither can we!!, wrote actress America Ferrera.

The fight for the constitutional equality for women and girls is as old as the original photo of the Ms. magazine founders. Although the House of Representatives passed the Amendment in 1972, the Senate did not ratify it and advocates of women's rights have fought for its passing ever since.

But momentum to include gender equality in the Constitution is growing, with Nevada becoming the first state in 40 years to vote to ratify the ERA earlier this year.

Those who support the ERA hope that its passing will alleviate some of the inequality women face because of their gender, such as earning on average 80 cents for every dollar a white man makes, with women of color earning even less, according to the American Association of University Women.

A lasting union: Steinem and Pitman Hughes founded the feminist magazine Ms. in 1972

The original photo, captured by photographer Dan Wynn for Esquire magazine, rests in the National Portrait Gallery the Black Power section of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington D.C.

At the time, Steinem and Pitman Hughes made a splash with their pose, which represented the union between the fights for women and African-American civil rights.

Since it was taken, both Steinem and Pitman Hughes have continued to speak up for the rights of women and girls, founding together the feminism magazine Ms. in 1972, and becoming symbols of the long fight for civil rights.

'Gloria and Dorothy's Equal Rights Now Tee' is for sale now at Represent.com/equalrights.
Winter may almost be at it's end, but those common colds, flus, and coughs are still rearing their ugly head.

But now one Perth mum-of-two is sharing the old family recipes she uses to help keep her children healthy - with ingredients straight out of the pantry.

Carol Heaton, 34, first made one of these natural remedies when she was visiting family in Canada with her eight-month-old son Zavier in April.

Perth mum-of-two Carol Heaton has shared the old family recipes she uses to cure her children's coughs and colds with natural ingredients

Carol first used made one of these remedies when she was visiting family in Canada with her eight-month-old son Zavier in April while he had a bad cold (pictured with his sister Arabelle)

He was sick with an ear infection, was very congested, and constantly coughing. But Carol's options for treatment were limited because of his age.

'As he was only six months old at the time, there wasn't much I was able to give him to alleviate his symptoms,' she told Daily Mail Australia.

She put a baby balm on his chest and used a saline spray on his nose, but nothing was doing the trick.

Then her family insisted she try a natural cough syrup that they had been using for many years, and it only required two ingredients.

To create the Onion Sugar Syrup, Carol cut a peeled brown onion into large slices and simply sprinkled sugar over the slices.

She let the onions sit in small plate or bowl for a few hours, until the juice from the onion started to collect at the bottom.

Carol then fed a spoonful of the juice to Zavier every hour, storing it in the fridge.

Carol gave her son a syrup made from onion and sugar, and his chest immediately started to clear up. The cough was gone three to five days later

Onion Sugar Syrup for Coughs Onion is a natural expectorant that helps thin out mucus, making it easier for children to cough up Ingredients: -One large peeled brown onion -Three heaped tablespoons of white granulated sugar Method: Cut the onion into large slices, sprinkle the sugar over the onions. Let this sit on a small plate or a small bowl for a few hours until you see the juice from the onion start to collect at the bottom of the plate. Give a spoonful to the child every hour, it has a nice sweet taste which babies love. It is best to make this syrup fresh every day and store in the fridge. *Suitable for babies six months and up Source: Walk In Pantry Advertisement

'Honestly it started working very quickly,' she said. 'Within a few hours of taking it he was bringing up the phlegm.'

'The cough started to ease as soon as he started coughing up the phlegm, and then had stopped completely within three to five days.'

Although the combination may sound odd to some, Carol said her son loved the syrup because it tasted sweet.

And the onion, which Carol described as a 'humble ingredient but so powerful', is integral to the recipe.

'It's a natural expectorant so it helps thin out the mucus, making it easier for children to cough it up. And it aids in boosting immunity as well,' she said.

Carol loves using natural remedies and has a slew of family recipes, which her mother once used on her, that she has shared on her site Walk In Pantry.

There is her Haldi Milk recipe, which combines turmeric powder, grated ginger, honey, and a cup of milk, to help soothe sore throats and help cold symptoms.

Carol said she often uses her Cayenne and Raw Honey Elixir to help her and her husband (pictured) when they have a cold

HALDI MILK FOR COMMON COLD Turmeric has strong anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties which helps soothe a sore throat Ingredients   Tsp of Turmeric powder   Tsp of grated ginger  Honey or sugar to sweeten  1 cup of milk (your choice) Method: In a saucepan combine the turmeric, honey or sugar, ginger, and milk. Simmer over a low heat until all ingredients have been combined and the milk has been warmed through. Strain any bits of ginger and drink immediately. Source: Walk In Pantry Advertisement

'I remember drinking the Haldi milk as a child, although I never appreciated its effect back then,' she said.

'I will always be grateful to my mum for giving this to us when we were young. And I plan to continue to use this for my children when they are sick.'

Also included is the Cayenne and Raw Honey Elixir, meant for adults, which combines raw honey, cayenne pepper, garlic and turmeric to help cure coughs.

Carol said she often uses the honey elixir to help her and her husband when they have a cold, but her favourite is easily the onion syrup.

'As a mum you just want your kids to be healthy and happy, and this actually works which is a relief to them and me!' she said. 'And more sleep for us all.'

And Carol loves that she knows exactly what goes into each remedy, and that she can control the ingredients.

Carol hopes to inspire parents to look in their own pantries to find alternatives to over-the-counter medication, but recommends that they consult with their doctor before using any natural remedy on their children.

'Don't be scared to try something new,' she said. 'Do you research, as there are so many easy yet powerful natural remedies you can use for common illnesses.'
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While many fork out thousands for boutique hotels for their vacation, others prefer to take a different route and book their dream holiday house through Airbnb.

And on Friday, Airbnb revealed the 10 most sought-after properties across Australia based on their wish list system - from spectacular hinterland hideaways to stunning mountainside treehouses.

Here, FEMAIL Looks at the top 10 most in-demand properties across the country and what it is that makes them so popular.

'Whats unique about the most sought-after Airbnbs in Australia is the mix and diversity of properties,' Airbnb Australia's Country Manager, Sam McDonagh, said.

'It's evident that travellers have a fascination with Australias great outdoors with hinterland villas and forest treehouses topping the list; however, theyre also wanting to indulge in Australias more urban lifestyle, with luxury New York-styled apartments and rooftop terraces coming out on top too.'

On Friday, Airbnb revealed the 10 most sought-after properties across Australia based on their wish list system (pictured is a luxury villa on the Gold Coast)

1. LUXURY GOLD COAST HINTERLAND VILLA, QUEENSLAND

From just $242 per night, guests can enjoy this stunning villa in Mount Nathan.

The property offers stunning views over the hinterland, sleeps 10 people in a loft style room and spreads over 10 acres.

There is also a hot tub with open fireplace, 25 metre lap pool equipped with a pavillion for 'dive in movies', WiFi and full air conditioning and heating.

Those who stay there are often enjoying weddings, special events or secluded weekends away.

From just $242 per night, guests can enjoy this stunning villa in Mount Nathan

2. FOREST CABIN IN THE BYRON BAY HINTERLAND, NEW SOUTH WALES

For just $149 per night, guests can head to Goonengerry to stay in this quaint Balinese style timber cabin.

The cabin is described as 'a natural hideaway, perfect for couples, or singles, wanting privacy in natural beauty' and features large glass windows looking out over the sub tropical rain forest surroundings.

The cabin has a fully equipped kitchen, a beautiful, unique outside bathroom to bathe and shower under the star and WIFI is available.

All in all, accommodation, which sleeps two, is ideal for nature lovers and those who wish to retreat in nature for a quiet, peaceful getaway.

For just $149 per night, guests can head to Goonengerry to stay in this quaint Balinese style timber cabin

The cabin is described as 'a natural hideaway, perfect for couples, or singles, wanting privacy in natural beauty' and features large glass windows looking out over the sub tropical rain forest surroundings

All in all, accommodation, which sleeps two, is ideal for nature lovers and those who wish to retreat in nature for a quiet, peaceful getaway

3. WATERDRAGON STUDIO APARTMENT, NEW SOUTH WALES

For $185 per night, solo travellers can escape to this stunning self-contained space in Byron Bay just minutes from the beach.

The brand new fully self contained studio encompasses a sleek and modern finish while still retaining a feeling of comfort and homeliness and is described as a 'retreat from the outside world'.

Guests can enjoy Platinum HD Foxtel, a complimentary Tigerlily spa pack, washer/dryer use, a king-size bed, and brand new furniture.

Guests also have their own separate access to the property which has its own private outdoor covered deck area and share a pool, spa and outdoor daybed area with the main house.

For $185 per night, solo travellers can escape to this stunning self-contained space in Byron Bay just minutes from the beach

The brand new fully self contained studio encompasses a sleek and modern finish while still retaining a feeling of comfort and homeliness and is described as a 'retreat from the outside world'

Guests can enjoy Platinum HD Foxtel, a complimentary Tigerlily spa pack, washer/dryer use, a king-size bed, and brand new furniture

4. TREE HOUSE IN THE BLUE MOUNTAINS, NEW SOUTH WALES

For $146 per night, guests can enjoy this self-sufficient Blue Mountains cabin.

With a large deck looking out over the tree-tops, inspiring views, and a cosy loft-style bed this space is described as 'perfect for a writer, birdwatcher, bushwalker, meditator, or a couples getaway'.

It overlooks the Grose Valley and has one double bed, a sofa, a book selection and a modest kitchenette with two hot plates, a toaster, a sink, and a bar fridge.

There is also a stone BBQ about 20 metres from the front door of the house that guests are also welcome to use and firewood is provided.

For $146 per night, guests can enjoy this self-sufficient Blue Mountains cabin

With a large deck looking out over the tree-tops, inspiring views, and a cosy loft-style bed this space is described as 'perfect for a writer, birdwatcher, bushwalker, meditator, or a couples getaway'

5. LUXURY MELBOURNE APARTMENT, VICTORIA

This chic 20th floor CBD studio apartment costs just $70 per night and sleeps two.

While small, the space offers a stunning view of the city and is walking distance to shops, markets, malls, restaurants and cafes.

The brand new air-conditioned apartment features a queen bed and a fully equipped kitchen with kitchenware, a dishwasher, an oven, a refrigerator, a stovetop, a mircowave oven, a toaster, an electric kettle, an iron, ironing facilities and a washing machine with dryer.

It also has a dining area and a lounge with free WiFi and a 42-inch flat-screen LCD TV as well as a bathroom with a shower, free toiletries, and a hair dryer.

This chic 20th floor CBD studio apartment costs just $70 per night and sleeps two

While small, the space offers a stunning view of the city and is walking distance to shops, markets, malls, restaurants and cafes

6. CLASSIC AND CONTEMPORARY APARTMENT, VICTORIA

At $119 per night, this chic, modern apartment is positioned in the prestigious west end of Collins street which is close to sporting and cultural amenities and the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.

The spacious one bedroom apartment offers a comfortable downtown stay and is beautifully decorated to promote calm, peaceful and modern vibes.

The north facing tenth floor residence has timber floorboards, French doors and expansive high ceilings -reminiscent of a New York loft.

Features include a fully equipped kitchen, laundry, bathroom with dryer and towels, and LCD TV and WiFi.

At $119 per night, this chic, modern apartment is positioned in the prestigious west end of Collins street which is close to sporting and cultural amenities and the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre

The spacious one bedroom apartment offers a comfortable downtown stay and is beautifully decorated to promote calm, peaceful and modern vibes

7. CHIC POTTS POINT APARTMENT, NEW SOUTH WALES

From $100 per night, guests can enjoy this Potts Point studio in the heart of Sydney's CBD.

Designed and equipped for Airbnb visitors, the apartment is surrounded by walking streets, cafes and restaurants in an attractive village style area.

There is also a high-quality bed, a Mac computer and proximity to metro buses and trains are only minutes away.

Features include unlimited Internet, a LCD TV, a mobile phone, free local calls, a DVD player and a sofa bed in case you have an extra guest.

There is also a chic fully equipped kitchen, full size bathroom with a hair dryer and towels and access to a laundry.

From $100 per night, guests can enjoy this Potts Point studio in the heart of Sydney's CBD

8. NOOSA TREE TOP ECO RETREAT, QUEENSLAND

This $138-per-night retreat is settled by Sunrise Beach in Queensland.

The private, cosy, fully enclosed Bali style thatch roofed bedroom looks open to the elements but it is in fact fully enclosed with bamboo and glass and protected from all weather.

It overlooks the Australian bush national park, with floor to ceiling views on two sides.

Just down the steps there is a separate indoor/outdoor covered bathroom, (fresh rainwater shower and bath) and a spacious deck to sunbathe and relax in a hammock with a good book.

You can also book in an amazing in-house massage and you also have access to a yoga studio, complete with mats and props.

They also offer romantic packages for those looking for a lovers getaway complete with roses, bubbles and chocolates.

This $138-per-night retreat is settled by Sunrise Beach in Queensland

The private, cosy, fully enclosed Bali style thatch roofed bedroom looks open to the elements but it is in fact fully enclosed with bamboo and glass and protected from all weather

9. ROOFTOP TERRACE IN MELBOURNE, VICTORIA

This large private rooftop terrace in Melbourne costs just $161 per night.

The self contained stylish corner studio apartment has a large outdoor terrace and a stunning view over Melbourne CBD.

It is set on level 19 and includes free WiFi, a kitchen, bedroom, bathroom plus access to a gym, pool and sauna in the building.

This large private rooftop terrace in Melbourne costs just $161 per night

The self contained stylish corner studio apartment has a large outdoor terrace and a stunning view over Melbourne CBD

10. IGLOO BY THE SEA, QUEENSLAND

This adorable, quirky little escape will set you back just $89 per night.

Set beside Trinity Beach, the space is one of five domes containing two one bedroom apartments each.

The properties are set around an octagonal swimming pool steps from the pristine beaches of Trinity Beach and this one contains one bedroom with a queen size bed and a loft over the kitchen with a double bed.

Features include free parking, free WiFi, a swimming pool an on site laundry and a free public BBQ grill on the beach.

This adorable, quirky little escape will set you back just $89 per night
Plastic surgeons have refused to operate on a woman who is determined to totally transform herself into a living sex doll.

Alicia Amira, 27, from Copenhagen, Denmark, originally met with doctors on the E! reality show Botched in order to have her breasts repaired after a poorly-performed implant procedure left her with a hard boob.

But during her consultation, the model began discussing the other cosmetic procedures that she wanted them to perform in order to make her look like a real life 'f*** doll'.

Plans: Alicia Amira, 27, who is from Copenhagen, Denmark, but lives in the US, says she wants more plastic surgery to look like a 'f*** doll' - but surgeons on Botched refused

Painful past: The blonde had a botched breast augmentation that left her with infected boobs, and now has one hard breast

Ambitions: Alicia quit her job as a PR to become a full-time 'living doll' by having plastic surgeries to look like Barbie

After revealing her desire to have her chest repaired - an idea that the surgeons were more than happy to entertain - Alicia moved on to ask for a Brazilian butt lift and rib removal to give her a smaller waist, prompting looks of complete and utter horror from both Dr Terry Dubrow and Dr Paul Nassif.

They were further stunned when has Alicia went on to explain how she has already started the process of 'bimbofication' by having breast implants, Botox and fillers in her cheeks, nose and lips.

Alicia brought her tattooed boyfriend Roblake - who has the words 'made it' inked on his face - along to the consultation with Dr Dubrow and Dr Nassif and he insisted that he thinks her transformation is great.

She said: 'I told him right from the beginning that I was very fascinated with big boobs and long blond hair and everything like that and he was like: "Alright".

Seeking help: Alicia originally visited the Botched doctors to ask them to fix her breasts

Method: Botched doctors Terry Dubrow and Paul Nassif refused to repair her boobs unless she went down to a smaller cup size

Shocked: Dr Dubrow was stunned by Alicia's revelation that she wants to look like a real life 'f*** doll' and couldn't hide his horror

'I was like really, really goth when I met him. I just started one year ago to transform myself. It's called bimbofication. I don't want to be an airhead but basically what it is, is to look like a male fantasy.

'I want to look like a f*** doll but I don't want to be a f*** doll. I know that is very contradictory but I feel like my body is a form of art.'

Last year Alicia enlarged her breasts from 'nothing' to 650CCs but these got infected, which hardened her right breast.

In the consultation room, Dr Dubrow explained she had grade three capsular contraction - something he could only fix if she got smaller implants.

But Alicia refused to go smaller - and then admitted that, despite the problem with her implant, she's not even close to being finished yet as far as cosmetic procedures are concerned.

Flashback: Alicia, pictured as a child, didn't always want to look like a 'bimbo'

Costly: When she was 25, she saved around $4,500 so she could have breast implants to increase her boobs from a D cup to a J cup

Alicia is planning to have a Brazilian butt lift and rib removal to give her a smaller waist next

She said: 'I want a Brazilian butt lift and rib removal as well to [make the waist smaller]. I'd like an internal corset to always make the waistline slim and bigger boobs.

'At one point I even thought about sewing my fingers together because that would create a doll hand.'

The doctors looked horrified and told Alicia those procedures were all 'very dangerous to do' and she could end up putting her life at risk if she went ahead.

Dr Dubrow added: 'You're an intelligent girl, make good intelligent decisions.'

Undeterred, she said she was 'sad' the doctors had refused her requests but said she would get the procedures done elsewhere.

Alicia quit her job in PR to become one of the full-time 'living dolls', a group of plastic surgery addicts who drastically transform their looks so they can look like Barbie and Ken dolls.





Obsessed: The blonde has become totally preoccupied with her looks

Support: Alicia's boyfriend appeared on Botched with her and is happy with her transformation

She previously said: 'I've always been attracted to the extreme and wanted to look like a bimbo.

'Some people think I'm mad but I don't regret having the surgery. In fact I'd like my breasts to be even bigger in future.

'I want to look as plastic as possible and inspire other girls to do the same.'

When she was 25, she saved around $4,500 so she could have breast implants to increase her boobs from a D cup to a J cup - despite being 5ft 6in and a tiny size 8.

She says she doesn't want to go under general anesthetic too many times so is planning to have multiple procedures done at once.
A woman who was set on fire by a jealous ex-wife says her attacker watched and laughed while she was burning alive.

Dana Vulin, 31, from Perth Australia nearly died when Natalie Dimitrovska doused her with methylated spirits and set her on fire during a jealous rage in Ms Vulin's Perth apartment in 2012.

The burns survivor had chatted to Dimitrovska's ex-husband in a casino, but didn't expert her to turn up at her home six weeks later demanding to know where the ex was, before setting her alight.

Dimitrovska, who is serving a 17-year jail sentence, watched and laughed as Dana rolled around in pain, trying to extinguish the flames.

Appearing on ITV's This Morning on Friday, Dana, who was left with third-degree burns on two-third of her body, said it's a 'waste of energy' to hate her attacker.

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Dana Vulin, 31, from Perth Australia nearly died when Natalie Dimitrovska doused her with methylated spirits and set her on fire when she wrongly accused her of having an affair with her ex

Dana appeared on ITV's This Morning on Friday to say she doesn't hate her attacker

She said: 'I was exchanging chips in the casino, I was in the line and spoke to this guy for about 20 minutes. It was a conversation about nothing and I guess that conversation changed my whole life.'

Six weeks later his ex-wife broke into Dana's apartment with a male companion, asking questions about her ex and asking where he was.

Dana said: 'We got into a huge fight. They started smoking drugs in my house, I was like "Get out" and basically we were having a big verbal altercation.

'Before I even knew it was she like "Tell me where he is or I'm gonna set you on fire." Before I could even go to talk I was doused in mentholated spirits and burning alive.'

Her attacker Natalie Dimitrovska doused her with methylated spirits and set her on fire during a jealous rage in Ms Vulin's Perth apartment in 2012

Dana performed the stop, drop and roll maneuver in an attempt to put out the flames.

She said: 'As I was rolling this girl and guy were watching me burning alive and laughed at me and fled through the back.'

A man from the apartment building next door heard Dana screaming and rushed to her aid and told her she needed to get underwater to put the flames out.

Despite the horrific attack, Dana says she doesn't have the energy to hate Dimitrovska, and instead decided to focus all her energy into recovered.

She previously said: 'I learned when I was very young not to hate, and I'm so glad I learned that lesson before my burn because to hate is so toxic on the mind and body and this could have been a whole different journey if I didn't learn that lesson,' she said.

Following the violent assault, she spent two days in a coma. Her life since has been a series of countless medical procedures

'I just focus my energy on being positive and my recovery and helping other people.

'Who's got time to hate? Hating is stupid. Nobody wins.'

She suffered third-degree burns to two thirds of her body and for two and a half years, Ms Vulin had to wear a compression mask on her face - in a bid to help her horrific burns heal.

She spent a year-and-a-half in the hospital and would have the skin on her chest completely replaced three times.

'No one thought it was physically possible [to recover so much],' she said.

She would spend a year-and-a-half in the hospital and would have the skin on her chest completely replaced three times

Previously, Ms Valin has described herself as a 'modern day Frankenstein' and said she is a 'walking advertisment for what modern medicine can do'

She had to wear a compression mask on her face for two-and-a-half years to recover

Ms Vulin has worked 'like a crazy person' to be able to walk again and regain mobility in her arms, which were frozen for years by deep, tight scars.

But her mind has travelled to some dark places along the way and she said if wasn't for the support of her family and burns experts, including former Australian of the Year Professor Fiona Wood, things could have worked out differently.

'All my family was worried about me killing myself and it would have been easier to die, but I decided to live,' she said

The Perth native is calling for Australia to bring in tougher sentencing for violent criminals

One key turning point was when she felt utterly 'broken on the inside' because she couldn't hold her one-year-old nephew when he came to visit her in Royal Perth Hospital.

She decided she would not only survive but thrive, and fight to have groundbreaking treatments available in Australia.

'All my family was worried about me killing myself and it would have been easier to die, but I decided to live,' she said.

She credits her confidence for helping her get through even the darkest of times

All the evidence proved there was no way I was going to make the recovery I was going to make.

'My head agreed with the doctors but my heart wouldn't let me give up hope.'

Ms Vulin now spends much of her time giving motivational speeches and working for charities.

She's also campaigning to have sentences for attackers like Dimitrovska increased to 20-25 years.

'We are seeing this now all over the world. The UK is bringing it in, Ohio is bringing in longer sentences. Why should we be behind?'

Ms Vulin still has many surgeries and treatments ahead of her, but hopes one day she'll become a mum.

'I've learned to love and respect my body,' she says. 'My message is whatever you have, make the best of what you've got.'
Social media has been blamed for the growing trend of office workers using out of office emails to brag about their summer holidays, glamourous lifestyles and even new babies.

Experts claim there is a growing trend for the once sober out of office auto responder to be loaded up with boasts about how much fun the worker is having while they are away from the office.

Brags include details of the person's holidays, their access to glamorous sporting events and landmark life events such as weddings and new babies  some even attached photographs. The people behind the research shared some of the biggest humble brags they'd witnessed on email.

Experts claim there is a growing trend for the once sober out of office auto responder to be loaded up with boasts about people's lives

Many will mask their boasting in self-deprecation  turning it into a 'humble brag', while others prefer to deflect the boastful nature of the content with humour.

But despite the jokes, out of office messages are increasingly being used to communicate to contacts how wonderful the worker's life is  with many sending out thousands of emails including personal details to clients and work associates with whom they have a purely professional relationship.

THE BIGGEST HUMBLE BRAG EMAILS OF THE SUMMER 'Thanks for the email, I've been very lucky and managed to get tickets to Wimbledon so won't be back in the office now until Friday the 7th.' 'I am currently soaking up the sun and eating allllll the feta cheese in Greece.' 'I'm taking a long weekend to reorganise my stamp collection.' 'Last autumn, my wife and I started working on a little project. It got off to an exciting start; then things got a bit bumpy; but we've even managed to deliver on our objective two weeks early. I hope you'll be as pleased with the results as we are (Picture of baby) I'm off for a couple of weeks for a thorough debrief.' 'I've abandoned London, flown across the pond and set up camp in NYC for the summer to work for a cool magazine, drink cocktails and eat bagels.' 'I am away with my family dancing, meditating, eating lovely food and taking part in fun interesting workshops at a festival so won't be picking up any emails.' 'I am away at a festival meditating, walking mindfully, eating lovely vegan food, meeting new and old friends, recharging and enjoying the sunflowers in France.' 'Something old, new, borrowed and blue, My friend's about to say 'I do', So as I walk her down the aisle, I won't check emails for a while.' 'Here's some news: I've bid adieu to this job in order to variously pursue projects of my own and to trek off to Sri Lanka for a volunteering venture.' 'I'm on a trip trying to find Komodo Dragons in Indonesia.' Advertisement

Chris Meredith of LondonOffices.com, who commissioned the survey, believes our addiction to social media has blurred the boundaries of what should and should not be shared for many office workers.

He said: 'We are all used to seeing people share details of how incredible their lives are on social media and many of us feel a need to compete or keep up with others who seem to be leading a more perfect life than we are.

'What we are now seeing is that trend is spilling over into business communications and the out of office auto responder is a great example of that.

'In the early days of email the out of office responder was purely a tool to be used to inform contacts of the dates we would be out of the workplace and when they could expect us back. It might also include the contact details of a colleague who could be contacted while we were away, but nothing more.

'But what we have seen over the last couple of years is an increase in the use of the responder to include private information such as where we are going on our holidays, what we will be doing at these glamorous locations and how much fun we will be having.'
High School Musical fans are proving that they're all still in this together after going into a collective frenzy over the release of a fake trailer for the fourth installment of the movie series that is so realistic, followers are convinced it's the real thing.

A Facebook page entitled High School Musical 4 posted the fake trailer on Tuesday for the sequel, entitled Once A Wildcat.

The teaser was really a compilation of clips from the Disney stars' other film work, stitched together in an incredibly convincing minute-long video that has racked up an impressive 28 million views and 728,000 shares - and of course, stirred a loud call for more.

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All grown up: The internet is going wild for a fake High School Musical 4 trailer that was posted on Facebook earlier this month

Couple Goals: Troy, played by Zac Efron, and Gabriella, played by Vanessa Hudgens, still feel emotion for each other a decade later in the minute-long clip

Throwback Thursday: The video features the original cast such as Lucas Grabeel (left) and Corbin Bleu (right) and shows where the characters stand a decade after high school

Lush ladies: Taylor and Sharpay didn't seem to maintain a friendship in the fake trailer

The trailer is set 10 year after the central characters of the movie graduated from East High in Albuquerque, New Mexico, beginning with Troy Bolton, played by Zac Efron, opening up about missing high school sweetheart Gabriella Montez, played by Vanessa Hudgens.

'I'm scared. I can't stop thinking about what she's doing,' he says in the clip.

Sharpay Evans, played by Ashley Tisdale, then makes an appearance, shaking her head at Troy's heartache, before a phrase fills the screen reading, 'A lot can happen in 10 years.'

Gabriella then takes the screen in a bar scene, during which she is complaining to a girlfriend about her less-than-tied-down lifestyle.

'I mean I don't need to settle, it's not like I'm 30,' she says nervously.

Flashes of the original cast follow, displaying Sharpay in a dance studio, Chad Danforth, played by Corbin Bleu, applauding, and Ryan Evans, acted Lucas Grabeel, by admitting he rushed into family life with a wife and kids.

Taylor McKessie, played by Monique Coleman, then appears asking the ominous phrase: 'Are you going to hold on to this forever?'

The video was originally posted on YouTube a month ago but became viral after being shared on this Facebook page.

Fans are going bonkers for the Disney reboot with trending hashtags such as #HSMReunion and #hsm4.

High school sweethearts: The video, entitled Once A Wildcat and featuring the original cast 10 years after graduation, alluded to rekindling Troy and Gabriella's romance

Jumping for Joy: Fans were leaping with glee in a mad social media spree with the spoof trailer

Twitter is going berserk for the trailer, some outraged that the video is fake and other wishing it a sequel with the original cast was real.

One person's reaction to realizing the video was a spoof was, 'hello darkness, my old friend.'

Another fan admitted they began a pool of tears when they watched the clip.

'I would be lying if I said I wasn't crying right now a river right now #HSMReunion,' she said.

Some fans were simply frozen in shock.

'The fact that this isn't real got me SHOOK,' one candid Twitter user wrote.

Despite the frenzy for the fake trailer, Disney announced last March that a real High School Musical 4 is coming out but is still in the early stages of production. Disney has also released list of the main characters in the sequel which focuses on a new generation of Wildcat students and thus far does not include the old cast.

However, the original film actor Corbin Bleu has made appearances at the 2017 castings for the upcoming film.

The follow-up film is called High School Musical 4: East Meets West and will highlight the school rivalry between East High Wildcats and the West High Knights.
Ivanka Trump proudly showed off her fan mail on social media this week, but if she thought the images would elicit even more praise, she was sorely mistaken.

The 35-year-old First Daughter and White House senior adviser took to Instagram and Twitter on Thursday to share a photos of herself sorting through the letters and drawings she has recently received.

'Overjoyed by these beautiful letters. Reading them is one of the highlights of my week,' she wrote. However, it is probably safe to say she didn't have quite as much fun sorting through the slew of negative comments the images attracted.

Out of touch? Ivanka Trump received plenty of backlash after she took to social media to share a photo of herself sorting through her fan mail

Mystery: A close-up image of the cards, which appear to be written by children, shows that the messages are filled with gratitude, although it is unclear what they are thanking her for

Overjoyed: The 35-year-old said the reading the 'beautiful letters' is one of the 'highlights' of her week

The first photo sees Ivanka sitting large conference table while sorting through the letters while the second picture is a close-up image of the thank you notes.

It's unclear what exactly the expressions of gratitude are for, and critics have had a field day tearing her apart in the comments sections of her posts.

Many people insinuated that the praise had to be coming from her father, President Donald Trump, who was accused of penning the child-like letters himself.

'Wow! How does @realDonaldTrump find the time to write so many letters!?' tweeted Stephen Harper, while Steve Schreiber wrote: 'Wow, your dad's drawings look great.'

Backlash: Many people insinuated that the praise had to be coming from her father, President Donald Trump, who was accused of penning the child-like letters himself

Justin Arnold added: 'Your dad's handwriting has improved greatly!'

Others deduced that the fan mail had to be coming from other Trump staffers, including White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

'Sarah Huckabees part time job is writing cards to Ivanka [sic],' commented one Twitter user known as 'not today'.

Critics of of the Trumps were quick to zoom in on handmade card that featured a face with dollar signs for eyes.

'Whatever staffer made these fake letters to Ivanka Trump, I loved this little touch - was it a commentary on being blinded by greed?' Lennie Briscoe wrote.

Greed: Critics of of the Trumps were quick to zoom in on handmade card that featured a face with dollar signs for eyes

Elliot Waiver also shared that particular image and joked that 'maybe this one is real', while a woman named Jill reference the drawing, as well, noting: 'This kid nailed it'.

And for one Twitter user known as OneEyedDogMama, the card was a sign of the deterioration of American values at the hands of the Trumps.

'Dollar Signs for Eyeballs=The Trumping Down of America,' she wrote. 'First Family used to teach children to value respect & compassion over pure greed.'

There was a similar amount of ire in the comments section of her Instagram post, with one woman writing: 'Coming from a family of compulsive liars, thieves and greedy people who will do anything for fame and money.

Outrage: Many people slammed Ivanka in the comments section, with some accusing staffers of writing the cards and others questioning what what she actually does at the White House

'I'd have a 3rd party verify the legitimacy of those letters,' she added. 'The apple doesn't fall far from its tree #FakeNews #ImpeachTrumpNow.'

'I'm glad you're popular among 6 year olds. You're definitely not popular among women who see through your self glorifying social media posts,' another Instagram user added. 'What exactly have you accomplished since being in the WH?'

Although Ivanka's posts incited plenty of vitriol on social media, there were loyal followers who thought the photo was just adorable.

'I still have some of the letters & cards that my kids made in school... or for Mothers Day, Birthday's <3 #precious #SoSweet #WeLoveYouIvankaTrump' Brenda Orton wrote on Instagram.

Under fire: There was a similar amount of ire in the comments section of Ivanka's Instagram post

'Those letters are from actual fans of hers who respect her and love her something you hating SOABS will never know,' someone else added.

And while it was probably hard to ignore all the backlash, Ivanka did just that.

Trump's eldest daughter returned to Twitter on Friday afternoon to say she is 'praying' for those who are in the path of Hurricane Harvey, which is speeding toward the Texas coast.

'For those in #HurricaneHarvey's path, we are praying for you. Please check out http://hurricanes.gov for preparedness tips. Stay safe!' she tweeted.

Unsurprisingly, that tweet didn't win Ivanka any favor with her critics either.

Fan club: Some loyal fans thought that the photos were 'so sweet' and 'precious'

Take that: Other critics accused Ivanka of ignoring recent tragic events, including the hurricane barreling toward Texas and the race riots in Charlottesville, Virginia

'Prayers? How about appointing someone to be in charge of disaster relief instead?' Bryan Dzyak tweeted.

A spoof Twitter account known as 'President Pence': replied: 'We tried but her wedding planner was otherwise occupied. We're desperately trying to reach her manicurist but they've blocked us.'

The Department of Homeland Security, which is in charge of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the U.S. Coast Guard, still doesn't have a permanent leader following the president's decision to make former Secretary of Homeland Security, General John Kelly, his White House chief of staff.

Like Teflan: Ivanka ignored the criticism and returned to Twitter on Friday to say she is 'praying' for those in the path of Hurricane Harvey

Expected: Unsurprisingly, Ivanka faced backlash for that Twitter post as well

Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Elaine Duke has taken the helm, but she is not the only interim official who is running the federal government's response efforts.

FEMA administrator Brock Long was confirmed in June, but the two deputy directors Trump had nominated for FEMAL have yet to be confirmed to their positions.

Meanwhile, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is still waiting for the president to nominate a leader for the weather monitoring agency.

Ivanka received similar backlash earlier this month when she asked her social media followers to 'pray for Barcelona' after Spain was hit with two terrorist attacks.

Plenty of people accused her for 'hypocrisy' and ignoring 'domestic terrorism' by failing to share similar prayers for Charlottesville riot victim Heather Heyer.
PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- World Marine LLC, a shipyard services company with a presence on the Gulf Coast, announced on Friday that it has completed a transaction divesting its Pascagoula shipyard.

World Marine purchased the assets of Signal International in Dec. 2015, including shipyards in Pascagoula, Miss. and Mobile, AL.

Their Pascagoula shipyard historically focused on offshore rig repair and conversions, according to information released by the company. With the sustained reduction in rig repair work resulting from the downturn in the offshore oil exploration market, World Marine said it made the strategic decision to sell the Pascagoula facility.

This divestiture, according to the company, will allow it to focus exclusively on activities in its Mobile facility.

The divestiture of the Mississippi-based shipyard has been accompanied by a restructuring of World Marine's management.

The corporate offices overseeing the two shipyards have been dissolved, said Robert Beckmann, who is a shipyard management veteran working in the Mobile facility since 1988.

"With the tightened cash flow low oil prices have brought to all businesses supporting the offshore oil industry, it is important for our company to focus on the business at hand, and most importantly, continue to safely complete the on-time and cost-competitive dry-docking and marine repair and fabrication work our facility in Mobile has been successfully accomplishing for decades," Beckmann said.

WMA is a full-service shipyard that boasts a commercially certified Panamax-capacity dry dock, deep water berths for vessels up to 1,000 feet, as well as many other key assets including a full-service machine shop, smaller 4,200-ton dry dock and 100-ton floating crane.

Recently, WMA has completed drydockings, repairs and other services for government and commercial customers, including the United States Coast Guard, NASA and the Army Corps of Engineers, as well as companies such as Dutra, Manson Construction, Signet Maritime, Express Marine, Seabulk Towing and Crimson Shipping.

Most recently, WMA completed an intensive 49-day drydocking project for the seventh special survey of Dutra's Dredge Stuyvesant, including over 60 tons of steel renewals, as well as full work packages for pipe, machinery, tank cleaning and coating crews.

Employment in World Marine's Mobile facility remains unchanged at approximately 150 employees. In Pascagoula, no one is employed by World Marine any longer; a few employees were transferred, while others were picked up by the new owner of the Pascagoula facility. The exact number employed in Pascagoula now is unknown, as employment in that facility is handled by the new owner.
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President Donald Trump happily held hands with his grandchildren before heading to Camp David with his family on Friday as Hurricane Harvey barreled toward Texas.

The president was joined by his wife, first lady Melania, his 11-year-old son, Barron, his eldest daughter, Ivanka, her husband, Jared Kushner, and their three children, Arabella, Joseph and Theodore, ahead of their departure.

As the group made their way across the White House South Lawn to board Marine One on Friday, Trump was photographed holding hands with six-year-old Arabella and three-year-old Joseph, but it was the little girl who managed to get some extra time with the president.

President Trump held hands with his granddaughter Arabella as he and his family prepared to board Marine One for a trip to Camp David

Trump's eldest daughter, Ivanka Trump held her one-year-old son, Theodore, on her hip as she and her husband, Jared Kushner, were photographed walking across the White House's South Lawn to join her father on Friday afternoon

Helping hand: President Trump's youngest child Barron, 11, held onto his nephew Joseph's hand as they made their way onto Marine One to head to Camp David

Trump was holding both Arabella and Joseph's hands as he, Melania, and Barron stepped out of the Oval Office, but he and his granddaughter eventually took off by themselves ahead of the group.

While Trump was with Arabella and waving with his free hand, Barron walked alongside his nephew, who is turning four in October.

Melania looked back to make sure they were okay, but Barron proved to be a doting uncle as he watched little Joseph.

Meanwhile, Ivanka and Jared, both senior advisers to the president, walked behind them with their youngest child, Theodore.

The first daughter donned a pale blue long sleeve top, which she tucked into white and green wide-leg trousers.

Wave! The whole family put on a show of solidarity as they smiled for the cameras

When he first left the Oval Office, Trump was holding hands with both six-year-old Arabella and his three-year-old grandson Joseph while his wife Melania and their 11-year-old son, Barron, walked alongside them

At one point, Melania walked ahead of the group while Barron reached for his nephew's hand

While Trump walked ahead with Arabella, Melania checked on Barron and Joseph, who were straggling behind

Ivanka had her hair pulled up in a messy top knot, and she donned shades while she held little Theodore on hip.

The mother-of-three used her spare hand to lock arms with her husband, who was carrying a computer bag and plenty of files.

Trumps travels came right as Hurricane Harvey strengthened to a Category 3 storm as it neared Texas.

It's Trump's third time visiting the naval support facility that functions as a private retreat for sitting presidents

However, Camp David, the country retreat located near Thurmont, Maryland, is just 45 minutes away from Washington, D.C., and Homeland Security Adviser Tom Bossert told reporters during a televised briefing that 'it's not a trip'.

Trump and Arabella eventually blew past the rest of the group as they made their way to the helicopter

Ivanka was all smiles as she walked with her hand in the crook of her husband's arm

Summer style: Ivanka wore a pair of billowing floral trousers and a pale blue sweater

Jared, 36, held Ivanka's back with one hand as he escorted her to the helicopter headed to Camp David

At one point, Barron and his father could be seen helping Joseph board the helicopter, while Melania waited patiently

Up you go! President Trump put a reassuring hand on his father's back as they all prepared to take off

Bossert insisted that Trump can monitor the storm that will soon bear down on Texas from Camp David just as well as he could from the White House.

Meanwhile, Vice President Mike Pence is staying behind to keep tabs on the situation, tweeting that he was already briefed on the latest hurricane developments by Bossert.

As Trump was leaving, he sent out a tweet urging people in the storm's path to follow instructions.

'I encourage everyone in the path of #HurricaneHarvey to heed the advice & orders of their local and state officials,' he wrote.

The White House sent out a picture of him conferring with Bossert and Chief of Staff John Kelly in the Oval Office around the same time.

A statement that accompanied the picture said Trump 'continues to closely monitor Hurricane Harvey and the preparedness and response efforts of State, local, and Federal officials.'

Arabella looked unimpressed as her grandfather raised his fist to the onlookers watching his departure

Close: Doting Donald made sure to keep a firm hand on his granddaughter at all times

Trump also flashed a thumbs up to the cameras as he led Arabella across the lawn

Wave goodbye! Donald encouraged Ivanka's eldest child to bid farewell to the waiting photographers before boarding the helicopter bound for Camp David

Melania watched as Joseph made his way up the steps of Marine One while her husband gave one last wave

Before leaving the White House, it said, Trump received a briefing from Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Brock Long, Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Elaine Duke, Bossert and Kelly.

He also spoke to Governors Greg Abbott of Texas and John Bel Edwards of Louisiana 'and committed to providing assistance as appropriate.'

'This storm will likely be very destructive for several days. The President encourages people in the path of this dangerous storm to heed the advice and orders of their local and State officials,' the statement said. 'Those who ignore evacuation orders could be putting both themselves and first responders in danger.'

Melania and Ivanka also tweeted message of support for those who in the path of the hurrican, with the first lady writing: 'For those living near the path of #HurricaneHarvey stay safe! Thoughts & prayers of an entire country are with you.'

'For those in #HurricaneHarvey's path, we are praying for you. Please check out http://hurricanes.gov for preparedness tips. Stay safe!' Ivanka added.
An outpost of a major coffee chain in one of the last places most people would expect to buy sushi.

Surprisingly, though, Starbucks is now offering customers the opportunity to buy the Japanese dish with their tall caramel macchiato or venti Americano.

Two stores in Chicago, Illinois have the lunch option available, in addition to new soups, sandwiches, and desserts.

Say what? Starbucks is now testing sushi at two of its locations

New: The Chicken Maki Roll, a 'California chicken burrito with a twist', is made with shredded chicken, vegetables, rice, and seaweed

Starbucks has been making a major push to be more than just a coffee chain, expanding its menus in the US to include more experimental breakfast, lunch, and snack options.

In several locations in Seattle and Chicago, they've begun selling a Mercato lunch menu, which includes things like a Zaatar Chicken & Lemon Tahini Salad, Cauliflower Tabbouleh Salad, Cubano Sandwich, and an Almond Butter, Strawberries & Jam Sandwich.

This month, two Chicago locations  on LaSalle Street and State Street  are offering even more new items, including sushi.

Unexpected: The item is already earning mixed reactions from those who've heard about it

Expanding: It's part of the chain's new Mercato lunch menu

Options: The new menu has several sandwiches and salads

The Chicken Maki Roll, according to the chain's website, is a 'California chicken burrito with a twist'.

It's made with shredded chicken, tomatillo salsa, lime crema, fresh cucumber, pickled cabbage, onions, and avocado, which is rolled in sushi rice and wrapped with nori, or seaweed.

Though the sushi is only available at two Starbucks locations so far, fans of the chain all across the US are reacting  and opinions are mixed.

'Throw the whole concept away,' wrote one non-believer. 'Starbucks and sushi, from the "this is probably not a good idea" files,' wrote another.

On July 31, Starbucks also started offering another unexpected item in Seattle  beef jerky coffee. Unfortunately for dried beef superfans, the Pepper Nitro is only available at one location: the Starbucks Seattle Reserve Roastery.

Roasting two ways: Starbucks is serving the Pepper Nitro with a Jerky Twist at its Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Seattle

There, for a short time, customers can order the Pepper Nitro, a cold drink that starts with Congo coffee cold-brewed and served through a nitro tap. The coffee is infused with 'a sweet and savory' malted fennel black pepper syrup and topped with honey cold foam and cracked pink peppercorn.

Then, for the finishing touch, a piece of natural beef jerky (made with grass-fed beef, naturally), is placed on a bamboo skewer to sit on top of the glass.

'Our inspiration was centered around the characteristics of the Congo coffee. The sweet and herbal spice notes naturally paired well with savory ingredients,' Starbucks' Raegan Powell, who helped create the drink, said in a press release.

'With the first sip, you get a hint of the honey cold foam and the aroma of the pink ground peppercorn. The real surprise is the salty savoriness of the jerky garnish, an exciting complement to the smooth and sweet finish of the nitro cold brew experience.'
Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani will take over immediately as the company's non-executive chairman, the Indian software giant said Thursday, a move to calm investor unrest and steady the share price.

His return comes in the wake of chief executive Vishal Sikka's surprise decision last Friday to quit amid tensions between the company's board and its founders.

The turmoil saw shares plunge as much as 15 percent in the past week.

Nandan Nilekani is one of the company's co-founders, who served as its CEO from 2002-07

Infosys cofounder Nandan Nilekani, seen in 2014, ran the business from 2002 to 2007 and remains highly respected in the technology world

Nilekani, one of the cofounders of the company, ran the business from 2002 to 2007 and remains highly respected in the technology world.

He also led the implementation of a key government programme holding biometric data on over a billion people.

'Nandan is the ideal leader for Infosys at this stage in the company's development. His appointment will allow Infosys to focus on the strategic changes it needs to make,' outgoing chairman R. Seshasayee said in a statement.

Co-chairman Ravi Venkatesan, as well as two board members have resigned as part of the restructuring, the company said.

Former Chief Executive Officer Vishal Sikka of Infosys

Infosys veteran UB Pravin Rao remains interim chief executive.

India became a back office to the world in the early 2000s as companies subcontracted work to firms such as Infosys, taking advantage of the country's skilled English-speaking workforce.

The $150-billion IT sector remains one of the country's flagship industries, but it is facing upheaval in the face of automation and US President Donald Trump's clampdown on visas.
I had the privilege of serving as a member of the Rajya Sabha (2008-14) while Hamid Ansari was the presiding officer. He conducted himself with finesse, tact and grace during his decade-long tenure.

His parting remarks, therefore, came as a shock, if not surprise. In his interview to the Rajya Sabha TV and also while addressing the convocation of the National Law School of India University in Bengaluru, Ansari made two points - that cultural nationalism is an 'illiberal form of nationalism', and fear and unease were growing among 'Dalits, Muslims and Christians' in India

For now one can ignore his remarks about how Dalits and Christians feel. But what Ansari said about Muslims feeling 'insecure' in India is indeed true. Sadly it's not the complete truth but half-truth - more dangerous than a total lie.

Indian Muslims offer Eid al-Fitr prayers

Prime Minister Narendra Modi (left) talks with Vice-President Hamid Ansari (right)

Insecurity

Obviously he cannot be speaking for all the 200 million odd Muslims of the country.

Of course there is a large section of Muslims feels insecure in India. But is there any part of the globe where one or the other section of Muslims does not feel insecure or alienated from the country of their origin or residence?

Do Muslims feel safe in the US or China? In spite of growing bonhomie between socialist China and Islamic Pakistan, Muslims are at war with the state in the Xinjiang province of China.

Why? Muslims have serious problems with all the countries of Europe and they express their resentment through periodic incidents of violence.

Thursday night there was yet another terror strike in the picturesque town of Barcelona in Spain which claimed over a dozen innocent lives and left over a hundred injured.

From 1970 to 2016, in Europe, 5,215 people have died from bombings 2,463 from assassinations, 2,270 from assaults, 957 from hostage situations, 183 from hijacking, and 88 from building attacks.

They were all victims of the 'frustration and anger' of enraged Muslims who suffer from a sense of 'insecurity'.

Well, that is the usual explanation. The situation is worse in our neighbourhood (Pakistan and Afghanistan) where Muslims are over 95 per cent of the total population.

Ansari was a career diplomat before taking up the constitutional position

The minorities (Hindus and Sikhs), living long before the arrival of Islam there, have reduced in numbers.

In both these countries, sections of Muslims continue to feel 'insecure' and resort to violence either against the state or each other. The killers and their victims, both, swear by Islam!

Look at the figures from Iraq. Last year, 16,393 civilians lost their lives and 11,263 have been killed till July end this year (2017). And above all this is the havoc caused by the Islamic State (ISIS).

Why is the community always at war - with itself in an entirely Islamic society, and with the state or non-Muslims where it is in minority?

It's unfortunate, but true that a large section of Muslims have never felt safe in India either.

We all know the story behind the creation of Pakistan. A large section of Muslims did not feel 'secure' living as equals with Hindus. While the communists provided the intellectual framework to support the Muslim League's demand, the departing British happily joined the conspiracy to vivisect India.

Global insecurity? An Afghan woman reads a local newspaper with a photo of Trump on the front page, in Kabul

Critics

A tired and pusillanimous Congress leadership acceded and the evil deed was done.

One needs to rewind to the 1930s and the 1940s, and surprisingly the language Muslim League and Communists used to berate the Congress during those crucial decades preceding Partition is identical to what Modi critics are saying about the present dispensation.

Even a saintly persona like Mahatma Gandhi failed to provide a sense of security to agitating Muslims. Can Modi succeed where Gandhi or rest of the world has failed?

Meanwhile, during the last 70 years an 'insecure' Pakistan (born out of insecurity of Indian Muslims) has continued with an overt and covert war, in the spirit of 'holy jihad', against 'kafir' India.

So 'insecurity' continues to haunt a section of Muslims in India where they are a minority and in Pakistan as well, a declared Islamic state.

The unfortunate lynching of Akhlaq at Dadri in 2015 and recent killing of Junaid in an altercation in an overcrowded train near Delhi may have triggered such an overreaction on Ansari's part.

But he forgot that these hapless men were part of a country (India) which recorded 33,981 murders, 36,735 rapes, 66,042 riots and over one lakh suicides in 2014.

Crimes

Can someone be immune from such crimes on the basis of religion? Does not such an expectation smack of a sense of entitlement? All crimes, irrespective of the religion of the culprit or of the victim, deserve to be put down with a heavy hand.

But should they be politicised and communalised? Recently, Mukesh Pandey, DM of Buxur, committed suicide.

Imagine instead of being a Brahmin, he was a Dalit or a Muslim. The unfortunate incident would have surely been exploited a la Rohith Vemula, to paint Modi and India black.

Vemula was not a Dalit and did not commit suicide because of any persecution at the hands of the authorities. But a false narrative was built and publicised.

The mischief continues, sadly with help from persons of Ansari's stature.

While some Indian Muslims have always felt insecure, there also have been likes of late President APJ Abdul Kalam who felt proud of India's catholic and plural traditions.

Why this difference?

The writer is a political commentator, his views are his own
As the Opposition crumbles with the exit of strong allies such as JD(U) and NCP, the Congress now plans to keep a safe distance from any outward demonstration of unity.

This is set to begin at Lalu Prasad Yadav's 'BJP Bhagao, Desh Bachao' rally in Patna on Sunday.

While a section of the party kept guessing as to why Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi decided not to attend it, senior leaders told Mail Today that it came as an afterthought when other political heavyweights started backing out.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi (right) and party Vice-President Rahul Gandhi after Independence Day celebrations

As BSP supremo Mayawati pulled out of the rally and decided to send a representative instead, senior Congress leaders advised Sonia to rethink plans of sending Rahul for the event.

'Where does the Opposition stand today? If you leave out the Congress, there is hardly any strong player, other than Lalu and Akhilesh, who too are going through a rough patch.

'Mayawati has also distanced herself from this rally. Then why should we have our top two leaders go for it,' a senior party functionary said.

Opposition: RJD Chief Lalu Prasad Yadav

'Senior leader Ghulam Nabi Azad and state in-charge CP Joshi are attending the rally on behalf of the party and that does show our support for Lalu.'

'The issue is not just about Rahul Gandhi attending the rally or not. It has to be seen in terms of equations in the Opposition. The Congress does not want to be on slippery ground, seen in the middle of a fragmented Opposition.

'It does not bode well for either the Opposition or the Congress. Also it was decided that Rahul Gandhi, who is set to be the party's prime ministerial face for 2019, be seen at every next rally or event. It takes away the gravity and impact,' said a senior party leader.

However a section of the party opined that Rahul should play a bigger role now as the Opposition suffers a debilitating blow with the exit of strong players like Nitish Kumar and Sharad Pawar.

Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Rajya Sabha member Mayawati

Former UP Chief Minister and Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav

'We need the other Opposition parties as much to take on the BJP in 2019. Our job is to be the anchor now,' said another party functionary.

As Rahul flew out to Oslo, capital of Norway, on Friday, he tweeted, 'On the invitation of the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will be travelling to Oslo for a few days. Looking forward to meeting and exchanging ideas with political and business leaders and research institutions.'

Senior party leaders maintained that the Gandhi family scion had confirmed his availability to the Norwegian government in advance and could not have cancelled it for the rally.

While deputy CM Sushil Modi appealed to Lalu to postpone the rally in view of the floods in the state, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's tour of the flood-hit areas is set to take the steam off Lalu's show of strength.
Concerns that US giant Amazon will trigger another supermarket price war by slashing prices at its newly acquired Whole Foods dragged shares in British grocers lower today.

Amazon sparked the speculation with an announcement that it will cut prices of organic products such as bananas, mincemeat, salmon, avocados and eggs sold at Whole Foods from Monday - which is when the 10.7billion takeover completes.

Tracking falls in US supermarket stocks, shares in Tesco fell 1.7 per cent, Sainsburys and Marks & Spencer were down almost 1 per cent, while Morrisons share price was down 0.7 per cent in afternoon trading.

Lowering prices: Amazon will slash prices of some Whole Foods products like avocados and mince meat from Monday, which is when the takeover completes.

However, independent retail analyst Nick Bubb said the falls were also connected to profit-taking in the grocery sector, following recent figures showing that all of Britain's big four increased sales in the last three months.

Whole Foods is tiny (and over-priced) in the UK context and the fact is that the Food Retailers were due some profit-taking after a strong run on the back of Tuesday's Kantar figures, Bubb said.

In Britain, Whole Foods has just nine stores, most of them in London and very upmarket with prices to match.

Nevertheless, Amazons entry in the grocery market may destabilise Britains big supermarkets, which are still fragile and just slowly beginning to see sales increase again recently after having lost customers to discounters Lidl and Aldi.

Moreover, a selection of Whole Foods products will be available on AmazonFresh, the firm's online supermarket which delivers to 302 postcodes across London and the South East.

The US online giants takeover of Whole Foods operations in the US and UK was given the backing by the supermarket chains investors earlier this week.

The merger will give Amazon a bricks and mortar presence for the first time, as it looks to extend its domination to food as well as consumer goods and books.

The deal was unveiled in June, sending supermarket shares plummeting. In Britain  where Whole Foods has just nine stores  1.5billion was wiped from the value of Tesco, Sainsburys and Marks & Spencer in a single day.

Jeff Wilke, chief executive of Amazon Worldwide Consumer, said the firm is determined to make healthy and organic food affordable for everyone, and warned this is just the beginning as he pledged to continuously lower prices.

Amazons move into grocery means that the giant can now target its Prime Members with organic products, according to Ray Gaul, vice president at Kantar Retail

Ray Gaul, vice president at Kantar Retail, said Amazons move into grocery means that the giant can now target its Prime Members with organic products.

Now, with Whole Foods organic credentials, they [Amazon] can amplify the organic revolution to the 30% of British consumers who are Prime Members.

He added: The amazing element of this new capability is that shoppers get to choose if they are interested because the three Amazon shopping devices that are most popular with Prime Shoppers  Mobile, Voice (Alexa), and Button/Remote (Dash button, Dash Wands)  allow shoppers to choose what they access rather than forcing lots of promotions/coupons/offers into their already cluttered email inboxes, mail slots, or newspapers.
The mother of Bake Off's new Siberian star has revealed how her daughter's dreams of moving to England came true thanks to a teenage holiday romance.

Stunning Julia Chernogorova, 21, is taking part in the hit show in its first series on Channel 4, having honed her cake-making skills since moving to England.

Today her mother Natalia Averina told MailOnline of the chance encounter that changed her daughter's life when she was just 17.

'Almost since she was born she was saying that England was her dream. She dreamed about living there,' she said.

'And then she met Matt. I didn't even have fears because Matt is very good, an incredible person. She was very lucky indeed to have met him.'

Siberian siren: Stunning Julia Chernogorova, 21, is taking part in the hit show in its first series on Channel4, having crafted her cake-making skills since moving to England

Ice queen: Pictured in her native Siberia, Julia once dreamed of being an actress before she discovered her love of baking

Talented: Glamorous Julia, who is set to star on Bake Off, was a keen actress as she was growing up, her drama teacher has revealed

Love story: The couple met on holiday in Turkey then married three years ago in an emotional ceremony in Britain

Ms Chernogorova is from the mountainous coal mining region of Kemerovo, Siberia, and she came to Britain after meeting her future husband Matt Laughton, 24, on holiday in Turkey in 2013.

The 24-year-old electrical engineer at Gatwick Airport tweeted after the announcement: 'I am SO proud of my amazing wife for getting on The Great British Bake Off 2017, my waistline is going only one way.'

This was echoed by her mother Natalia. Speaking exclusively to Mail Online, she said: 'I'm very proud of my daughter for her achievement [but] I am naturally nervous for her.

'I'm worried for how she will perform and I hope that she will at least make it all the way to final.

'Even if we don't make it to the final, just the fact that she is taking part is a huge step for her. '

Stunning: Julia spent years studying acting as she was growing up and also considered a career as a model

Natural: Julia is from the mountainous coal mining region of Kemerovo, Siberia, and pictures from her open Russian social media account show her in model poses around the town

True love: Julia's teenage holiday romance turned into a dream come true when she married British engineer Matt Laughton

In love: Julia has grown very close to her husband's family in the UK after meeting and falling in love with Matt on holiday as a teenager

Julia had probably never seen the show that will make her a star before she left Russia several years ago, her mother said.

'I had no clue about it and most likely she wasn't watching it,' she told MailOnline.

'Once she got to England she got interested in baking and - for some time - I didn't even know that she applied there.

'But when the information came that she got through, you know, it was unbelievable.

'I think this is the first time in history that a foreigner is taking part, and not just a foreigner, but a Russian.

'It doesn't even matter that she is from Siberia, but just the fact that she is Russian - because the show is so English, and I thought it was only British people who take part in it.'

She stressed: 'I think she is treated fairly just like all other contestants, and there is no prejudice.'

Natalia said she was thrilled when Julia fell in love with a British man at such a young age and married him three years ago.

Julia previously dreamed of being an actress, and spent years studying at a theatre school in her native Kemerovo

When she left four years ago, she wrote to her fellow students: 'Please remain as individual, bright and charismatic as you are. 'Make your dreams come true, be afraid of nothing. You are my third family, I will never forget you.'

Yulia Babina, director of Perekrestok children's theatre in Kemerovo, said: 'Julia graduated from our theatre group in 2013. 'She was always an active and bright girl, a leader in her group, who was ready to be followed by others. 'She studied with us for four years, from 13 to 17.'

'It was of course quite unusual but not to the extent of being a shock, because we were all ready that one day she would eventually meet a person whom she'll love - and he appeared.'

She explained: 'I didn't even have fears because Matt is very good, an incredible person.

'So I was giving her away into a safe pair of hands. I knew that she was secure there with this person.'

'She was very lucky indeed to have met him.'

According to the show, back in Siberia, Julia - who earlier dreamed of a career on the stage - 'taught herself to bake from a young age' and had to 'save up money from her after school job to buy the ingredients'.

Julia's mother Natalia said: 'I didn't even have fears because Matt is very good, an incredible person.'

Despite her young age, Julia's mother said she had no qualms about their marriage, saying: 'I was giving her away into a safe pair of hands. I knew that she was secure there with this person.'

Her cousin, Nikita, told MailOnline: 'Julia was involved in cooking very early. She is the eldest child in the family, so she had to help her mother.'

But her mother revealed that she had only honed her craft once in England: 'She wasn't into baking at home in Kemerovo.

'None of us is as fanatical about baking as Yulia is now,' she said.

'I bake at home, but it's nowhere close to Yulia's passion to it.'

Natalia now lives with Julia's half brother Andrey, 15, and sister Valeria, 12, in Sochi, on the Black Sea, but she said she still manages to see her daughter regularly.

'They come to Russia twice a year. So there are no cultural differences,' she said.

Asked if Russian-speaking Matt liked Siberia, she said: 'He likes everything linked to Julia.'

Julia travels to Russia twice a year to visit her mother and younger brother and sister, and remains in close touch

Mother Natalia said Julia was always good at cooking but honed her baking skills after moving to England several years ago

Julia's mother Natalia said: 'None of us is as fanatical about baking as Yulia is now'

Postings on social media show the romantic couple this summer returned to the same beach resort in Turkey where they first met when Julia was 17.

She posted: 'Exactly 4 years ago, exactly the same place, exactly the same feelings.'

Earlier, in June 2015, they enjoyed a trip to Prague where she posted that it was the first time they had travelled somewhere and gone home together 'without saying painful "goodbyes" to each other at the airport'.

A 24-year-old electrical engineer at Gatwick Airport, Matt Laughton Tweeted after the announcement: 'I am SO proud of my amazing wife for getting on The Great British Bake Off 2017, my waistline is going only one way.'

Julia wrote to her fellow acting students: 'Make your dreams come true, be afraid of nothing. You are my third family, I will never forget you.'

Julia previously dreamed of being an actress, and spent years studying at a theatre school in her native Kemerovo.

When she left four years ago, she wrote to her fellow students: 'Please remain as individual, bright and charismatic as you are.

'Make your dreams come true, be afraid of nothing. You are my third family, I will never forget you.'

Yulia Babina, director of Perekrestok children's theatre in Kemerovo, said: 'Julia graduated from our theatre group in 2013.

'She was always an active and bright girl, a leader in her group, who was ready to be followed by others.

'She studied with us for four years, from 13 to 17.'

Her teacher Lyudmila Lapshina, 65, now retired, said: 'Julia is very self-disciplined, with an exceptional memory, very emotional - sometimes overemotional - with a great feeling of justice.

'She was very angry when she faced negligence or when someone let her down. She just hated it.

'Julia was always a great support for me as a teacher. It was a pleasure working with her. She is very responsive to new ideas, and generated a lot of ideas herself.

'I want to stress that she was a very creative person.'

Julia was described as 'very bright and unusual' - capable of making her audience cry - and could have gone on to a successful acting career had she not moved to England.

The teacher said Julia was 'very bright and unusual' - capable of making her audience cry - and could have gone on to a successful acting career had she not moved to England.

'She was a very good actress for her age,' she said.

'Julia always looked older and we often trusted her with the parts of adult people in our performances - parents or grandparents.

'She had a very special way of presenting adults. Maybe this was because she looked and felt more adult.'

She added: 'One of her best parts in our theatre was when she played a mother in a performance called Anaesthesia, a complicated play about problems of teenagers.

'She did very well. She was an outstanding reader of Shakespeare sonnets, we had a full performance devoted to his literature.

Julia's theatre teacher, Lyudmila Lapshina, said she 'was very talented, both in drama and comedies, she has also got a perfect sense of humour'

'We also had a performance based on Anton Chekhov's short stories, and Julia read several bits from different stories there.

'She had a unique way of acting, a simply unique way of understanding and presenting it, very bright and unusual.

'She created her very special way and it truly touched your soul, it literally made people cry.

'Julia was very talented, both in drama and comedies, she has also got a perfect sense of humour, she had successful humorous parts.

'I persuaded her to go on and have a career in acting, but her life went a different way. I regret it that she did not continue her education in acting, because she had a bright talent.'

Mrs Lapshina said: 'She was very caring, in a grown-up way. Maybe this is why she was always very mature, maybe because of the younger children in her family.'

Anastasia Mir, 20, a friend of Julia's from Siberia, described her as 'very talented and energetic', adding: 'I think she will always achieve what she wants.

'She loves competitions, they are a kind of incentive for her to move on.'
Four members of a New Mexico paramilitary religious sect have been arrested after allegedly attempting to flee the state with two vans full of children.

Amos River, Victoria River, Ruth River and Timothy River were arrested after deputies stopped the two vans leaving the compound, according to the Gallup Independent, which first reported the arrest.

Authorities said on Thursday that they were arrested due to child sexual abuse allegations while trying to leave Albuquerque.

Amos River, Victoria River, Ruth River and Timothy River were arrested after deputies stopped the two vans leaving the compound

Tony Mace, Cibola County Sheriff, confirmed to The Associated Press that the four members of the Aggressive Christianity Missions Training Corps were arrested late Wednesday.

Seven children were found in the vans, along with roughly $1,000 in cash, luggage and road maps.

Mace said: 'Basically, you could tell they were getting ready to bug out and leave the area.'

'I believe that's in an effort to try to conceal the kids from us.'

Mace said the children, believed to be ages four to 17, were turned over to the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department.

Peter Green of the Aggressive Christianity Missions Training Corps was charged with 100 counts of criminal sexual penetration of a child after being accused of raping a girl at least four times a week from the time she was 7, according to court documents

Deputies tried to execute a court order to pick up the children for interviews from the group's isolated compound in western New Mexico.

They were arrested late Wednesday on felony warrants for failure to register the births of their 11 children.

Arrest warrants had been issued for the four taken into custody.

Joshua Green is also part of the religious group based in Cibola County and was arrested over the weekend for what investigators called horrific crimes against children

Authorities raided the group's Fence Lake compound and also arrested sect co-leader Deborah Green (pictured here) and two other group members in connection with a child abuse investigation

The sect leaders had previously told authorities they didn't have transportation to take the children to meet with an FBI forensic interviewer.

Investigators believe the vans may have been headed to a location in Colorado.

The group's attorney, Robert Lohbeck, said the sheriff's claim the group was trying to flee was 'absolutely false' and deputies knew the group was coming to meet with him.

Stacey Miller was another member arrested in connection with a child abuse investigation

'My clients all along have been trying to cooperate,' said Lohbeck, who represents the four adults arrested Wednesday.

'They are not trying to run. They are not trying to hide.'

The arrests come after Peter Green of the Aggressive Christianity Missions Training Corps was charged with 100 counts of criminal sexual penetration of a child after being accused of raping a girl at least four times a week from the time she was 7, according to court documents.

Authorities raided the group's Fence Lake compound and also arrested sect co-leader Deborah Green and two other group members in connection with a child abuse investigation.

Another person was arrested in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico.

James Green is co-leader of the Aggressive Christianity Missions Training Corps

This week, a judge ordered Deborah Green held on a $500,000 secured bond on charges that included failure to report the birth, child abuse and sexual penetration of a minor.

Sect member Peter Green, also known as Mike Brandon, also was being held on a $5 million secured bond.

A former member, Maura Alana Schmierer, said on Monday that she's been trying to draw attention to the New Mexico group for years.

Schmierer added that she had been interviewed by investigators recently about the group.

Four members of a New Mexico paramilitary religious sect have been arrested after allegedly attempting to flee the state with two vans full of children

'I've been trying to expose them for years,' said Schmierer, who left the sect in the late 1980s.

Schmierer sued the sect for mistreatment and forcing her to give up legal custody of three of her children. A judge in 1989 awarded her $1.08 million.

The group fled California and later resurfaced near El Paso, Texas, and then in western New Mexico.

She told KCRA 3 that leaders of the Aggressive Christianity Missions Training Corps were very controlling during her time in the sect.

Tony Mace, Cibola County Sheriff, confirmed to The Associated Press that the four members of the Aggressive Christianity Missions Training Corps were arrested late Wednesday

Amos River, Victoria River, Ruth River and Timothy River were arrested after deputies stopped the two vans leaving the compound, according to the Gallup Independent, which first reported the arrest

'They wanted us to beat the children. They wanted me to whip my young child, who was under 2 years old with a belt because he didnt use the toilet,' she told them.

'They changed my name to Forsaken and they put me out in a shed in the backyard. I was not locked in that shed. I could have left, but I was so brainwashed that I thought that if I left I would go to hell,' she continued.

The Aggressive Christianity Missions Training Corps, founded in Sacramento, California, describes itself as a group that is 'revolutionary for Jesus' and provides a free spiritual 'ammo pack' to anyone who submits a written request.
Son charged: David Cantrell, 42, was jailed on assault and harassment charges after police say he choked and beat up his mother for changing the TV channel

A man who choked his 70-year-old mother until she was unconscious because she changed the TV channel will serve between 11 and 23 months in jail.

David Cantrell, 42, was arrested in January after beating his mother because he was upset about missing 'Cool Runnings', the 1993 film about a Jamaican bobseld team, starring Leon and John Candy.

He was handed a minimum sentence that was four months longer than recommended, because the judge said the offender was not remorseful.

According to the Morning Call, Assistant District Attorney Erika Farkas said: 'The judge was concerned that he wasnt accepting responsibility or wasnt remorseful for what happened.'

The website reports that the judge called the crime 'horrible'.

Judge Emil Giardano said: 'This is horrible. I want you to know that. I'm listening to this and this is horrible.'

Cantrell pleaded guilty and will spend six years on parole after he is released from prison.

He admitted beating her and choking her, telling his mother 'I hope you die' in the 'horrible' attack

He will have to stay in a halfway house, and has been told to have no contact with his mother, and undergo treatment.

Attorneys say Cantrell's mother now lives in a nursing home and suffers from dementia but still wants to have contact with him.

The Moore Township man acknowledges punching his mother in the mouth and body slamming her before choking her on January 22 while telling her, 'I hope you die.'

He was jailed on assault and harassment charges after the argument, which occured on a Sunday night in January at their home in the 2700 block of Jean Drive in Moore Township.

The attack happened in their home, and his mother fled to neighbours when she regained consciousness

At the time, police said Cantrell punched his mother in the mouth, lifted her up and then body-slammed her to the floor.

When the elderly woman regained consciousness, she ran to a neighbor's house for help.

Police responded to the mother and son's residence at 8.30pm after getting a report about a domestic assault.

The victim told an officer she thought her son was going to kill her. The responding cop observed injuries to the woman's neck.
A missing 57-year-old Manhattan talent agent from New Jersey, who hadn't been seen since August 13, has been found dead in the woods, authorities say.

Mark Schlegel went missing earlier in August when he left his home in Oradell without his keys, phone and wallet.

His body was found off Soldier Hill Road in Oradell on Thursday, according to a law enforcement source.

Mark Schlegel went missing August 13 and has now been found dead in the woods, pictured here with his wife Chris Schlegel

A police officer was led to the body by smell, and it appears he had been in the bushes for several days or longer.

There's no obvious evidence of foul play but police are awaiting an autopsy.

The Manhattan-based Cornerstone Agency agent has no history of physical or mental health problems.

'He never said anything like, "Im depressed being home" or "I have to fight the grind again,"' his wife Chris Schlegel told the New York Post last week.

Neighbors told his wife that they last saw him clutching a medium-sized, light-colored gift bag and he was walking 'with a purpose.'

On the day he went missing, the father-of-two went to yoga in the morning, picked up some groceries, brought home coffee for his wife and daughter, Kirsten, and enjoyed a Skype session with his young granddaughter.

Schlegel, a married father of two grown children, went for a walk around 3.30pm on August 13 near Lenox Avenue in Oradell, New Jersey. Pictured here with his daughter

Schlegel and his wife, Chris, had just returned from a trip to Scotland last week

Schlegel, a married father of two grown children, went for a walk around 3.30pm on August 13 near Lenox Avenue in Oradell, New Jersey.

Oradell Police Lt Victor Egg characterized the facts of this missing person case as 'very strange' and 'odd,' reported NJ.com.

Schlegel and his wife, Chris, had just returned from a trip to Scotland last week.

Photos shared on his Facebook page show the couple happily posing at the picturesque Queens View overlooking Loch Tummel.

Schlegel, a graduate of DePauw University with a degree in communications, has worked at Cornerstone Agency since 2002. He and wife Chris have a son and a daughter.
Even if Anthony had a year to analyze and dissect each piece...(he couldn't tell if it would)... stand the harsh light of public exposure.

WUWT insider Willis Eschenbach tells you all you need to know about Anthony Watts and his blog, WattsUpWithThat (WUWT). As part of his scathing commentary , Wondering Willis accuses Anthony Watts of being clueless about the blog articles he posts. To paraphrase: Click here to read more.
A desperate search is underway for a missing 14-year-old girl who hasn't been since Thursday afternoon in Melbourne.

Georgia Watson was last seen at 1:30 near her school in Sunshine West on Glengala Road.

Her family and officers are worried for her safety and say her disappearance is out of character.

A desperate search is underway for missing 14-year-old girl Georgia Watson (pictured) who hasn't been since Thursday afternoon in Melbourne

The school girl is known to spend time in the Melton and Sunshine (pictured) areas

Police have released an image of Georgia and are appealing to the public to help locate her.

Georgia is described as Caucasian, 170cm tall, slim build and light brown hair.

She was wearing a blue Adidas jumper with white hoodie attached, black leggings and black Nike sneakers.

The school girl is known to spend time in the Melton and Sunshine areas.

Anyone who sees Georgia or has information on her whereabouts is urged to contact Sunshine Police Station on (03) 9313 3333.
Taxi laws must be updated to protect passengers after a string of Uber driver attacks, council bosses will say today.

The Uber app allows customers to book a taxi anywhere  meaning councils are powerless to regulate the company.

Currently local taxi businesses are licensed by local authorities but the new technology firm operates across borders. Police figures show sex attack claims involving Uber drivers are up 50 per cent in a year in the capital.

The Local Government Association says an 1847 law on taxi licencing urgently needs updating to allow them to protect passengers from drivers of private hire cars (file)

Between February 2015 and February 2016, there were 32 claims made against the firms drivers in London.

But in the past 12 months to February 2017, that figure shot up to 48 alleged attacks.

The Local Government Association (LGA), the body representing councils in England and Wales, said laws dating back to 1847 needed updating to protect passengers and create a level field.

The LGA has urged the Government to support legislation to modernise the licensing system.

It wants national minimum licensing standards for drivers of taxis and private hire vehicles, a national database of all licensed taxi and private hire vehicles drivers, and cross border hiring.

Councils cannot take enforcement action against the rising numbers of taxi drivers licensed by other authorities operating in their area, the LGA claimed.

It argued while local mini cab companies and black cabs have to adhere to the rules, Uber and other firms from outside licensing areas escape scrutiny despite operating on the same roads.

There are also concerns drivers who have been refused or had a licence revoked by one authority were able to be licensed by another authority.

Earlier this month, the Daily Mail reported that according to police, Uber had not been reporting sex attacks by its drivers.

The firm was accused of putting passenger safety at risk by failing to inform officers of serious crimes in a formal letter from Scotland Yard. The alleged offences included at least six sex attacks and an assault.

Uber has been accused of failing passengers by not reporting sex attacks to the police in a letter from Scotland Yard

In one case, the firm was alerted to a sexual assault on a woman by a driver but took no action after he denied it. The driver was only blocked from working after he committed a more serious attack on a second woman.

During the Rotherham child sex grooming scandal, a common thread emerged that taxi drivers would pick the children up for sex from care homes and schools.

The Mail also revealed earlier this year how David Cameron and George Osborne allegedly told aides to lobby Boris Johnson against curbs on Uber.

When Mr Johnson was mayor of London in September 2015 he threatened to curtail the activities of the smartphone app.

He wanted to force all drivers to pass a written English test  Uber employs a lot of drivers whose first language is not English.

Councillor Clive Woodbridge, from the LGAs Safer and Stronger Communities Board, said: Councils have long argued that there is a need for the existing outdated taxi laws to be updated.

The legislation governing aspects of taxis and private hire vehicles pre-dates the motor car and is simply not fit for purpose in an era when mobile phone technology is significantly changing the way people access private hire vehicles.

In recent years, a number of child sexual exploitation cases have involved taxi and private hire vehicle holders abusing the trust that has been placed in them, so there are strong safeguarding reasons for strengthening current legislation.

Current laws date back to the times of horse-drawn Hackney carriages. A bill working its way through Parliament wants to liberalise the rules so drivers can operate in other council areas.
Hospital staff secretly fed pills to patients by hiding medication in their food, the health watchdog said.

In a separate incident, an inspector even had to save a patient choking on food while staff stood nearby, according to a report released yesterday.

The Care Quality Commission issued a rare warning notice to Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust following inspections of the Queen Alexandra Hospital in February and May this year.

The notice means the hospital must act immediately to improve care.

Inspectors saw staff administering medication by concealing it in ice cream or breakfast. They also found some patients were at risk of malnutrition.

The Care Quality Commission issued a rare warning notice to Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust following inspections of the Queen Alexandra Hospital (pictured)

Professor Ted Baker, the CQC's chief inspector of hospitals, said the quality of care at the Queen Alexandra was 'very poor'.

He warned the CQC would be forced to step in to protect patients if the hospital did not meet a series of conditions, including boosting staffing levels.

He said: 'Such was the level of our concern that we took enforcement action instructing the trust to implement improvements.

'We undertook a follow-up inspection in May to look further into the wider culture, governance and leadership.

'It is a matter of concern that on this return inspection we found the trust had still not effectively got to grips with these issues.

'The trust is required to send us weekly reports, and we have been working closely with NHS Improvement to ensure that the trust gets the support it obviously needs at the highest level.

'If the trust fails to meet these conditions, or if there is a continuing failure to provide services that are of sufficient quality, we will take further enforcement action to protect patients who depend on these services.'

Mark Cubbon, who took over as boss of the NHS trust in July, said improvements had been made over the last six months.

He added: 'We have been working since both inspections and are making sure we are already starting to put in place actions that will improve areas cited in the report.

'I am confident that we can and will do better and the plans we have in place already are starting to show signs of improvement.

'We have been recruiting staff in areas where there are shortages and ensuring teams can work together.

'We have also come up with an improvement plan that will be shared with patients, staff and the public showing what we aim to do.

'It is very clear and easy to understand and, if we are going a little slower than we planned, we will be able to say what the causes are so people can have confidence in us as a trust and a hospital.'
'Morally bankrupt' liar Michael Atkins will not have to give further evidence at the inquest into his young lover Matthew Leveson's death, a coroner ruled on Friday.

The 54-year-old could have led police to Matthew body almost a decade ago but chose to let his boyfriend's family suffer while he hid behind a web of lies.

Atkins did not call an ambulance, attempt CPR or alert police when he found his young lover dead from what he now claims was a drug overdose in their apartment at Cronulla, south of Sydney.

Instead, he bought a mattock and duct tape from a Bunnings store, came home to watch television and planned how best to dispose of his boyfriend's corpse.

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Michael Atkins (left) with his younger lover Matthew Leveson, whose body was found this year

Michael Atkins drew an eerie diagram revealing the exact spot he buried his younger lover's body

A sketch by Michael Atkins of where he found Matthew Leveson's body in their apartment the morning after a night out at Darlinghurst's ARQ nightclub

The 54-year-old (left) was acquitted of murdering his 20-year-old boyfriend Matthew Leveson (right) in 2009

Police with Faye and Mark Leveson (right) near where Matthew Leveson's remains were found

Before Atkins dumped the body of the young man he said was the love of his life in a lonely bush grave, he took time to book two tickets for the next weekend's Sleaze Ball.

Three days after Matthew's death, Atkins drove to Newcastle where he had sex with a man he had met on the internet.

The martial arts expert's latest version of how Matthew died and how he disposed of his body is contained in a statement tendered at a coronial inquest which resumed this week at Glebe.

Atkins, who previously claimed Matthew could have voluntarily disappeared and taken himself off to Thailand, also drew sketches of where he found the young man's body and where he buried him.

The electrician has not been in court this week but the hearings have been held in a court room above the morgue where Matthew's remains are being held.

It took Atkins almost a decade to lead detectives to Matthew's burial site in bushland within the Royal National Park, south of Sydney.

Electrician Michael Atkins is unlikely to face charges over the death of Matthew Leveson

Mark and Faye Leveson, the parents of Matthew Leveson, stand together in bushland in the Royal National Park south of Sydney in May

NSW Police forensics officers sift through dirt after human remains were found in bushland in the Royal National Park south of Sydney in June

In the meantime he continued pursuing younger men for sex romps while Matthew's parents Mark and Faye searched for their son's body.

Police were hours away from calling off their third major search for Matthew's remains when an excavator uncovered bones on May 31 this year.

The lead investigator into Matthew's death, Detective Chief Inspector Gary Jubelin this week described Atkins as 'morally bankrupt'.

Atkins was acquitted of murder and manslaughter by a jury in 2009 and has since been granted a series of immunities from further prosecution.

He left Sydney's inner-city ARQ nightclub with Matthew in the early hours of September 23, 2007. The pair had been taking drugs that night.

It took Atkins almost a decade to lead detectives to Leveson's (pictured) shallow burial site, tucked away in dense bushland in the Royal National Park, south of Sydney

NSW Police continue their search for human remains in bushland in June

Detective Chief Inspector Gary Jubelin has led the investigation into Mathew Leveson's death

Matthew was never seen alive again and Atkins spent the next nine years telling lies.

Now the electrician has given police one last version of what led to Matthew's death and how he buried him in a statement that can never be verified.

Atkins now says he woke on a couch after the pair's night out to find Matthew dead next to the bed in their main bedroom.

'I went into the bedroom and saw that Matt was lying on the ground with his eyes open and he was not breathing and he had a funny colour and he was dead,' Atkins told police.

'I did not know what to do and I just sat there with him. Later when I was lying next to him I told him that I loved him. '

Atkins said he found an empty bottle of the drug GHB, also known as liquid ecstasy, which the couple each occasionally used and sold.

Faye and Mark Leveson outside Glebe Coroner's Court at the inquest into their son's death

Mark and Faye Leveson, (left) the parents of Matthew Leveson (pictured in frame centre) with Detective Chief Inspector Gary Jubelin

Despite being trained in first aid he did not check for vital signs, call an ambulance or perform CPR. Instead, he panicked and thought how to protect himself.

'I was freaking out,' Atkins told police. 'I thought I would get blamed and I thought about the drugs.'

Atkins drove Matthew's blue Corolla to the nearest Bunnings and bought supplies to bury his body.

Having wrapped Matthew in a blanket he watched television and used his computer. Sometime after midnight he put Matthew's body in the boot of his Corolla and drove to the Royal National Park.

Atkins sketched a map of where he buried the body. That diagram, signed by him and dated November 9 last year, eventually led police to Matthew's grave.

Floral tributes near where police found the remains of Matthew Leveson south of Sydney

Faye Leveson reacts as she speaks to the media with her husband Mark after attending the first day of the Coronial Inquest for their son Matthew Leveson at the Coroners Court in Sydney

Police initially could not find the grave. They had Atkins hypnotised and let him drive around the area in Matthew's car in attempts to jog his memory.

On the map he indicated the grave was 15 to 20 metres from where he parked the car after a 3 to 4 kilometre drive from Waterfall train station down a narrow, sealed road.

He dug an 80 centimetre deep hole roughly 2 metres long by 1 metre wide and buried the man he said he loved. Then he started telling lies which he kept telling until November last year.

The gym junkie's latest story cannot be proven, Matthew's inquest heard this week.

Atkins claims he hid the truth out of fear. He has told police his mother did not know he was gay and he felt ashamed and embarrassed he had not looked after his younger boyfriend.

'He was concerned about what people might think,' Detective Chief Inspector Jubelin told the inquest.

Pamela Atkins, mother of Michael Atkins, pictured at her home south of Sydney on Thursday

Electrician and gym junkie Michael Atkins said his mother Pamela did not know he was gay

Michael Atkins's mother Pamela said her family had told her not to talk publicly about her son

At her home on Thursday, Atkins's elderly mother Pamela did not wish to discuss her son's behaviour.

Asked if she was upset by everything that had happened, she said: 'Of course My family said not to say anything.'

She would not say whether she had known her son was gay before Matthew's death.

Atkins gave evidence at Matthew's coronial inquest last year after being guaranteed he could not be prosecuted for offences other than perjury and contempt of court charges if he lied under oath.

When he was caught lying he was given another deal that he would not be prosecuted if he led police to Matthew's remains.

Detective Chief Inspector Jubelin said the decisions to make those deals had not been taken lightly and that his thinking had been that 'the investigation had been taken as far as it could be taken'.

'It had been thoroughly exhausted,' he said.

The inquest continues.
US Army aides assigned to Mike Pence's detail were removed from their positions after they allegedly brought women back to their hotel rooms while in Panama.

Four soldiers were reassigned from the vice president's detail earlier this month after they were reportedly seen on tape bringing women back to their rooms, it was revealed on Thursday.

The senior service members were prepping for Pence's visit to Panama when they broke the rules by bringing unauthorized people into a secure area, officials claim.

They were promptly removed from Pence's communications team detail, brought back to the US and reassigned back to the Army, according to White House sources.

Four Army soldiers were removed from Mike Pence's communications team detail in August for allegedly bringing women back to their hotel rooms in Panama. Pictured: Pence greeting students in Panama on August 17. (There is no suggestion that any of the accused servicemen are pictured in this photo)

Three defense officials revealed the soldiers' removal to NBC News, initially saying the incident occurred in Colombia, before amending the location to Panama.

Pence was reportedly still in the United States at the time of the event and the men were removed before his arrival.

Pence didn't arrive in Panama until August 17.

Defense Department spokesman Lt. Col. Paul Haverstick said on Thursday: 'We are aware of the incident and it is currently under investigation.'

Pence was reportedly still in the United States at the time of the event and the men were removed before his arrival. The servicemen were reassigned back to the Army. (There is no suggestion that any of the accused servicemen are pictured in this photo)

Haverstick continued: 'We can confirm that the individuals in question have been reassigned back to the Army.'

The department said it had no reason to believe the women were prostitutes.

Previously, 11 Secret Service agents were placed on leave after they were accused of paying prostitutes during a trip to Colombia with President Obama in 2012.

Pence was touring Latin America but cut the visit short after the deadly protests in Charlottesville.

Panama was his last stop before the vice president headed back to the United States.
The ABC has published a doctored email and falsely accused Daily Mail Australia of denying the public broadcaster the right of reply in what appears to be a shameless attempt to embarrass a reporter.

ABC News Media Manager Sally Jackson took more than 20 hours to respond to the reporter's request for comment after a Jewish leader claimed an ABC report showed a map which intentionally didn't include Israel.

Jackson, a former journalist at The Australian, published part of an email sent by our reporter, boastfully depicting it as 'an insight into dealing with the Daily Mail.'

In the ABC's version, the email ended abruptly with 'Deadline: 1 hour,' falsely implying Daily Mail Australia was not serious about obtaining a response.

An insight into dealing with the ABC: The public broadcaster published an edited email, omitting a Daily Mail reporter's assurance that 'any responses following my story going live I will include as soon as I receive'. The reporter's email is pictured

In the ABC's version (pictured), the email ended abruptly with 'Deadline: 1 hour,' falsely implying Daily Mail Australia was not serious about receiving a response

Jackson omitted the reporter's assurance that 'any responses following my story going live I will include as soon as I receive,' as well as an expression of gratitude.

Daily Mail Australia waited about an hour for comment before publishing a story on the Israel map controversy, noting a response from the ABC had not been received.

When the broadcaster's belated comment finally arrived exactly 20 hours and 52 minutes after it was sought, our story was updated to include the ABC's denial of the claim three hours later.

The ABC's in-house attack dogs Media Watch then contacted Daily Mail Australia asking why it took '20 hours from receiving the ABC response before the story was updated?'

The ABC's comment was received at 3.29pm on Sunday and the story - including the headline - was fully amended at 6.31pm the same day.

ABC News Media Manager Sally Jackson published a email sent by our reporter, boastfully depicting it as 'an insight into dealing with the Daily Mail'

The ABC's in-house attack dogs at Media Watch contacted Daily Mail Australia falsely accusing us of taking 20 hours to update our story. Pictured is the show's host, Paul Barry

Nice tie! Media Watch's Paul Barry appears to have an unhealthy obsession with Daily Mail Australia

The taxpayer-funded broadcaster deliberately attempted to name and shame our reporter, while falsely accusing our website of dishonest journalism.

Earlier this year, Media Watch quoted social worker Nelly Yoa - one of Daily Mail Australia's lead sources into the movements of the notorious Apex gang.

The segment quoted Mr Yoa as saying: 'There's been bad media reports about the gang and this is what they do, this is how they sell their content.'

But Mr Yoa claimed the quote was entirely false and said he told the television producer he didn't want to comment.

Earlier this year, Media Watch quoted social worker Nelly Yoa - one of Daily Mail Australia's lead sources into the movements of the notorious Apex gang

Mr Yoa (pictured) even claimed he was offered 'legal support' by the taxpayer-funded broadcaster to sue Daily Mail Australia if he considered working with Media Watch

'I never said that, they have made my quote up and I am not happy. I think their story is damaging,' Mr Yoa told Daily Mail Australia at the time.

Mr Yoa even claimed he was offered 'legal support' by the taxpayer-funded broadcaster to sue Daily Mail Australia if he considered working with Media Watch.

'I received a call on Saturday afternoon asking me to go on the program, and if I wanted help suing the paper,' Mr Yoa said.

'But I have no problem about how the Daily Mail or their journalists have reported me or Apex.'
A Nevada elementary school teacher has resigned after being accused of having sexual relations with at least two teenage boys.

Tennille Whitaker, 40, was a fourth-grade teacher at the Wells Elementary School in Elko, NV but school administrators told the Elko Daily Free Press she resigned on August 16.

She was arrested June 5 on charges of engaging in sexual relations with two high school students aged 16 and 18.

Nevada elementary school teacher Tennille Whitaker has resigned after being accused of having sex with at least two teenage boys

The married mother-of-two reportedly had sexual relations while on school grounds, according to The Daily Caller. Pictured here with her husband and two children

The married mother-of-two reportedly had sexual relations while on school grounds, according to The Daily Caller.

The sheriffs department began investigating Whitakers alleged sexual proclivities with the two local teenagers back in October based on a tip from a parent.

The parent had allegedly observed the teacher and a teen alone behind a closed classroom door.

The Elko County school district initiated its own investigation in February.

'Nobody was really willing to testify or give a statement that said "yes, this happened,"' school district superintendent Jeff Zander told the Daily Free Press.

Sheriffs deputies say they placed Whitaker under surveillance and pursued 'some unconventional investigation' to break the case.

Once the deputies arrested Whitaker, school district officials placed her on paid leave.

The sheriffs department began investigating Whitakers alleged sexual proclivities with the two local teenagers back in October based on a tip from a parent. The mother of two pictured here with her husband

Police said they believe there could be more than two victims involved.

'At this point we have two students that have been involved,' Undersheriff Ron Supp of the Elko County Sheriffs Department said.

'But we think there are possibly more. We did a lot of surveillance and some things like that and we were able to gather a lot of information that led us to circle around and we finally got down to the arrest,' Supp continued.

Once the deputies arrested Whitaker, school district officials placed her on paid leave
Being chased out of a hotel by a suspected Mexican drug cartel was not the happy ending a couple celebrating their silver wedding anniversary expected.

New Zealand couple Belinda Gelston and Peter Varcoe celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary in Los Cabos, Mexico.

Ms Gelston told New Zealand Herald the trouble started after she fell ill at the four-side beachside Royal Decameron hotel.

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Belinda Gelston (pictured) ended up in a Mexico hospital after falling ill while on her anniversary with husband Peter Varcoe

Ms Gelston (pictured) claims they were asked to pay almost US$10,000 in medical bills which their insurance company agreed to pay

The couple were meant to be celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary at Royal Decameron Hotel (pictured) in Los Cabos, Mexico

After becoming so sick she was unable to drink water, Ms Gelston was taken to a local medical centre and given IV fluids.

The couple were told the treatment would cost US$5100, which was approved by their insurers, but were later told the bill had been revised to $US9700.

'[The doctor] was really, really worried, I had the start of pneumonia, which as it turns out was the first lie, and he needed to get me urgently in to a medical centre or hospital,' Ms Gelston said.

The couple agreed to pay the money, which Ms Gelston believed was linked to a Mexican drug cartel, and went back to their hotel but discovered their room key wouldn't work.

They were then faced with an 'angry-looking big man' who told them they weren't 'paying [their] bills and [they] need to pay them'.

Ms Gelston claimed the hotel told them to pay the medical centre within the next hour but the concerned couple contacted their insurance company, who told them they weren't safe, arranging for them to leave at 2am.

New Zealand couple Belinda Gelston (left) and Peter Varcoe (right) claim they were chased by Mexican men at their hotel because they didn't pay the medical bills upfront

'When we got down to the lobby there was someone there ... there was three [men] and I don't know why, but I could see that things were not right and we were in danger and I said to Pete, 'run, f***ing run',' she said.

'We were being chased by these three Mexicans.

'You're in fear for your life, it's a place we've never experienced in our lives.'

While they were meant to be celebrating in luxury, the couple said they feared for their lives

The couple ran from their hotel (pictured) to a nearby American hotel to escape what they believed was a Mexican drug cartel which had power over most of the town

Mexican authorities met the couple at the airport before threatening to send them to jail if the payments were not made

The couple ran to a nearby American hotel however more trouble arose at the airport.

Ms Gelston said an American Airlines attendant and armed Mexican police told the couple they 'weren't getting on the flight until we paid [the money] and if we didn't pay it, we would be taken to jail until it was paid'.

After negotiations with their insurance company, the embassy and Mexican authorities, the couple were finally able to leave the country.

It is not suggested that the Royal Decameron hotel is in any way involved in, or connected with, any Mexican drug cartel.
A Muslim Labor senator says Pauline Hanson is a fascist but admits he would discourage his daughters from wearing the burqa.

Sam Dastyari was applauded on Thursday night as he castigated the One Nation leader in the presence of former human rights commissioner Gillian Triggs.

'To start with, Pauline Hanson is a fascist,' he told an audience at the University of Sydney.

'She's not a Nazi but she's a fascist: she has fascist policies, fascist ideas and frankly I don't think she's a good fascist.'

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Labor senator Sam Dastyari shared the stage with former human rights commissioner Gillian Triggs

Sam Dastyari says Pauline Hanson (clashing with him on Q&A in July 2016) is a fascist

The 34-year-old Iranian-born Labor powerbroker, who describes himself as a non-practising Muslim, compared Senator Hanson unfavourably with 20th century Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini.

'I don't think the trains would run on time,' he said.

Senator Dastyari described his political nemesis' burqa-wearing stunt in parliament last week as 'a level of extremism' that angered him.

'I'm angry about it and frustrated about it,' he said.

Sam Dastyari explained why he didn't tell Pauline Hanson he was a 'non-practising Muslim'

Sam Dastyari told Gillian Triggs that Pauline Hanson's burqa stunt offended his principles

'I'm p****d off that it's somehow acceptable for Pauline Hanson to walk into the Australian Senate dressed in a burqa, as some kind of ridiculous stunt, fundamentally offends my idea and my principle of what it means to be Australian.'

The father of two, who moved to Australia when he was four in January 1988, admitted he didn't like the burqa and would discourage his two young daughters from wearing it.

'I don't like the burqa. If one of my daughters was wearing it, I'd have a chat with them but I defend their right and the people's right to be able to dress themselves that way,' he said with this mother Ella in the audience.

Senator Dastyari, a Labor backbencher, said that although he didn't believe in Allah, he considered himself a Muslim for cultural reasons.

Sam Dastyari said Pauline Hanson's burqa stunt was a form of extremism that frustrated him

'The idea of being a non-practising Muslim is, for some reason, is so strange for so many people to comprehend, which for me is bizarre because everyone I know is some form of non-practising Christian to various degrees,' he said.

'I culturally identify with my Muslim heritage.

'Personally, faith's not for me. I don't believe in God. I don't believe in Allah. Because it's so powerfully charged, the words are so charged, so saying you're a non-Muslim is a powerful political statement and I didn't want to give that to Pauline.'

Sam Dastyari and Pauline Hanson clashed on the ABC's Q&A program in July last year when the Labor senator challenged her policy of banning Muslim immigration to Australia.

Following Pauline Hanson's burqa stunt, Sam Dastyari says he doesn't like the burqa

Sam Dastyari discussed his new book with former human rights commissioner Gillian Triggs

The One Nation leader asked him on live television if he was a Muslim, when he explained that being born in the Iran theocracy made him a Muslim by birth.

'I was born in an Islamic nation and by being born,' Senator Dastyari had said.

Senator-elect Hanson replied: 'So you're a Muslim.'

Senator Dastyari was on stage with Professor Triggs, his former law lecturer at the University of Sydney, discussing his new book, One Halal of a Story.

Professor Triggs told the audience last year's exchange on Q&A with Senator Hanson had made her cringe.

'For me, it was extremely embarrassing and awkward to see you in that extraordinary moment with Pauline Hanson on Q&A when she almost made it look as though you admitted that you were a Muslim,' she said.

'I just cringed at the way in which that discussion took place.'
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Organizers of the iconic Burning Man festival have begun setting up shop with massive art installations as they prepare for tens of thousands to descend upon the Nevada desert.

Before hordes flock to the makeshift city from Sunday until September 4, Black Rock Desert has to be transformed into a 'metropolis dedicated to community, art, self-expression and self-reliance'.

Every August the barren landscape shifts to a world of art, and preparation is already underway as photos reveal large structures being constructed.

A towering temple and 'The Man' were seen half completed, as the works are expected to be focal points of this year's festival theme of Radical Ritual.

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Organizers for the iconic Burning Man festival have begun setting up shop with massive art installations as they prepare for tens of thousands of people to descend upon the Nevada desert on Sunday until September 4

Black Rock Desert is transformed to a 'metropolis dedicated to community, art, self-expression and self-reliance' every August for the event. And each year 'The Man' structure changes in design (pictured)

The remote week-long rave in the Nevada desert - often described as 'where Mad Max meets Woodstock' - culminates each year with many of the statement artworks going up in flames, in a symbol of catharsis, reflection and new beginnings

In the past around 70,000 people have descended upon the wild and art-focused event. Last year's festival (pictured) marked the 30th anniversary for Burning Man

According to the event's website, dozens of art installations are expected to be constructed before the end of the weekend, some made from wire, others as patterns on the ground and some as immersive experiences.

The arts festival begins every year in late August and ends the first week of September, luring around 65,000 to 70,000 so-called 'Burners' from around the world to gather in the desert for a week.

Since money is practically outlawed on the site, guests are urged to barter for commodities and in the past fans have taken to social media to swap items such as crystals for festival tickets.

Every year, several 'temples' are built according to a theme and on the last day, they are burned down in a ritualistic ceremony.

The Radical Ritual theme this year is to honor rituals that humankind has made, including the festival.

The event's website says: 'Burning Man is permeated with rituals. These rites speak of soulful need; the desire to belong to a place, to belong to a time, to belong to one another, and to belong to something that is greater than ourselves, even in the midst of impermanence.

'Throughout all ages temples have been built in order to induce these feelings.'

The Radical Ritual theme this year is to honor rituals that humankind has made, including the festival. Pictured: A temple under construction in the Nevada desert

The arts festival begins every year on the last week of August and ends on the first week of September, luring tens of thousands of so-called 'Burners' from around the world to gather in the desert for a week

When complete, The Man structure (pictured) will feature a 360-degree balcony that participants can walk up to and view the makeshift city from. Participants are also encouraged to place offerings at the shrine to honor their time at the festival

During the event many people use bicycles to explore. The festival began in 1986 as a bonfire and has continued ever since

The contraption in this photo will soon be turned into a 'mutant vehicle' and will be motoring around the playa for the week

The festival is erecting a temple commemorating the Golden Spike and participants are invited to visit the shrine and make offerings that embody what Burning Man's culture means to them.

The festival, which began in 1986 as a bonfire, takes place in Nevada's Black Rock Desert.

The remote week-long rave - often described as 'where Mad Max meets Woodstock' - culminates each year with many of the statement artworks going up in flames, in a symbol of catharsis, reflection and new beginnings.

The premise of the Burning Man festival is that almost everything is created entirely by its citizens, who are active participants in the experience.

Thirty years after its first incarnation, the event is populous with tens of thousands of people attending the dried up lake where the event is held which becomes Black Rock City.

This picture shows the 'Temple' being constructed. Each year event participants submit design ideas for the Temple structure and BRC selects the top design to be constructed at the event

Artists who use pyrotechnics in their exhibits have to go through several safety checks before being approved for the event

The festival risked relocation this year due to a pool of standing water, prompting officials in June to warn there was a possibility that the event could be moved from its location two hours north of Reno in Gerlach

The desert basin is transformed into mud every year by the run-off of melting snow, but this past season's high precipitation formed the lake, causing fears that the playa would be muddy and impossible to drive across

It even attracts celebrities and billionaires, including Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg. Stars such as Paris Hilton, Katy Perry, (right) Cara Delevingne, Karlie Kloss, Heidi Klum and Shanina Shaik (left with her fiance DJ Ruckus), were among the dozens of other high-profile names

However, the festival risked relocation this year due to a pool of standing water, prompting officials in June to warn there was a possibility that the event could be moved from its location two hours north of Reno in Gerlach.

The desert basin is transformed into mud every year by the run-off of melting snow, but this past season's high precipitation formed the lake, causing fears that the playa would be muddy and impossible to drive across.

Crowds as large as 70,000 people have descended upon the desert for the festival in previous years.

It even attracts celebrities, including Paris Hilton, Katy Perry, Cara Delevingne, Karlie Kloss, Katy Perry, Shanina Shaik and Heidi Klum, among dozens of other high-profile names.

Ironically for a festival that markets itself as anti-capitalist, Burning Man it is now patronised by some of the worlds wealthiest individuals. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon boss Jeff Bezos and Google mastermind Sergey Brin have all attended the desert shenanigans in the past.

Some, like Zuckerberg, can even retreat to their own companys dedicated camp within the site.

The premise of the Burning Man festival is that almost everything is created entirely by its citizens, who are active participants in the experience. At the end, everything is burned to the ground (pictured)

The Sisya art installation at night during the annual desert festival Burning Man last year. The annual festival attracts 70,000 attendees in one of the most remote and inhospitable deserts in America

Since money is practically outlawed on the site, guests are urged to barter for commodities and many fans in the past have taken to social media offering to swap items such as crystals for festival tickets
Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

I have joined the political arena so that the powerful can no longer beat up on people that cannot defend themselves, said Donald Trump in the acceptance speech at his nominating convention. Nobody knows the system better than me, which is why I alone can fix it. None of those claims have turned out to be true. First, helping the powerful beat up on the defenseless has turned out to be the overriding thematic goal of his agenda. Second (and mitigating the first), everybody knows the system better than Trump  at least everybody in politics. And he has proven so unable to fix it he is already shifting his message toward assigning the blame elsewhere.

Trump is encountering the classic populist dilemma. Populists define political problems as very simple, denying the existence of complex tradeoffs. They envision the political system as pitting a unified people (or, in certain herrenvolk varieties of populism, as a unified racial subset of the people) against a nefarious elite. The dilemma is that the promise of easy solutions can help win an election, but it does not translate into governing. Populists generally either radically depart from their platform, resort to authoritarianism to consolidate their power, or fail. Trump is heading for door no. 3.

The failure to repeal and replace was a party-wide populist dilemma years in the making. Republicans in Congress promised to repeal Obamacare and replace it with something that would give everybody access to coverage, at less cost, while lowering taxes. When Trump promised , Youre going to have such great health care, at a tiny fraction of the cost, and its going to be so easy, he was merely echoing Republican rhetoric. Any Republican president was bound either to pass a plan that deprived millions of Americans of their access to medical care, or else failed to achieve the stated goal of repealing Obamacare.

Trumps distinct contribution to the dilemma is his response to the failure. He could work with Democrats to tweak the law, bringing down premiums, call the tweaks repeal and replace, and reap the credit for improvements in insurance markets. Alternatively, he could stick with his tactic of following the Republican line, which in this case means moving past health care to focus on taxes. Instead, Trump has followed a novel strategy of lashing out at his own legislative partners, repeatedly reopening the wound of the repeal failure.

Trump inexplicably believes he can save his own political standing by detaching himself from the majority party in Congress. One White House adviser tells the Washington Post that, if Republicans lose control of the House, Trump will be able to say, See, I told you these guys wouldnt get anything done. Ive been saying this for months. Theyre not following my agenda.

It might make sense for Trump to chart an independent course if he were forging partnerships with Democrats. But cutting himself off from his party as a blame-shifting exercise is utter political madness. It simply encourages a vicious cycle in which Republicans in Congress have less reason to take unpopular votes on behalf of Trumps agenda, Trump lashes out at them more, and Republican voters act on his dismay by refusing to come out to vote for their congressional races.

To the (very limited) extent Trump had a successful positive message in 2016  and did not merely rely on tarnishing his opponent  he appealed to low-information voters as a deal-making virtuoso. They didnt understand the complexity of passing legislation through a fragmented system with multiple veto points, and believed Trump was some close approximation of the character he played on The Apprentice, who could overpower the mysterious gridlock in Washington. Trump boasted over and over that he was a dealmaker, deals are what he does, and his negotiating prowess would overcome any barrier. He may well have believed this himself.

It was a potent appeal, the first time. Now the illusion has been shattered, and Trump wants to sustain the illusion by changing his pitch. The promise of easy victories and making deals is now a list of excuses for why the members of Congress Trump was supposed to make deals with have all let him down. Every long con artist knows how to handle this problem  how to tell your mark that the land you sold them in Florida failed to appreciate as expected due to some unforeseeable events.

But con artists have a model based on exploiting their customers once. Trump has to run for reelection.
At least 16 Americans diplomats with the US Embassy in Havana suffered symptoms from attacks on their health in Cuba that have still not been explained.

Until now, the US had not disclosed the number of Americans believed to be affected by the attacks, which caused a variety of symptoms including unexplained loss of hearing.

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the 'incidents' 'are no longer occurring.

In fall 2016, the US diplomats reportedly began suffering unexplained losses of hearing. After an investigation, officials concluded that the diplomats had been attacked with an advanced sonic weapon that operated outside the range of audible sound (Pictured, the US Embassy in Havana in December 2015)

The diplomats, based at Havana's US Embassy, began complaining about a series of symptoms ranging from hearing loss and nausea to headaches and balance disorders, in late 2016, according to the State Department.

An investigation concluded an advanced sonic weapon had been operated outside the range of audible sound, either inside or outside officials' residences.

But Nauert said no device has been found so far.

Medical records, seen by CBS News, now reveal the diplomats appeared to have suffered mild traumatic brain injury and even suspected damage to their central nervous systems in the attack. Many of the diplomats cut short their assignments in Cuba because of the attacks.

Cuba has denied any involvement in the attacks, with Nauert noting that Havana is cooperating with the US in the investigation.

Canada has revealed that at least one of its officials in Havana has also been treated for hearing loss.

'The government is actively working  including with US and Cuban authorities  to ascertain the cause,' said a spokesman for Canada's diplomatic service. She added that officials did not believe Canadian tourists had been affected.

The US embassy in Cuba reopened in 2015 as part of President Barack Obama's re-establishment of diplomatic relations. Canada helped broker talks between the countries. Last autumn, several US diplomats began suffering unexplained deafness.

The source says that the diplomats have also been subjected to harassment, had their cars vandalized, been under almost constant surveillance, and even had home break-ins.

The US expelled two Cuban diplomats from Washington in retaliation.

A source told CBS that further attacks on US embassy workers still in Cuba have continued.

An American doctor had visited Havana in spring to assess the diplomats, who underwent a series of tests.

The State Department has not yet identified a definitive source of the attacks, but officially reminded Cuban authorities of their international obligations to protect diplomats.

'We hold the Cuban authorities responsible for finding out who is carrying out these health attacks on not just our diplomats but, as you've seen now, there are other cases with other diplomats involved,' Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told reporters earlier this month.

Officials familiar with the probe said investigators were also looking into the possibilities that the incidents were carried out by a third country such as Russia, possibly operating without the knowledge of Cuba's formal chain of command.

Some of the diplomats' symptoms were so severe that they were forced to cancel their tours early and return to the United States, officials said.

After months of investigation, US officials concluded that the diplomats had been exposed to an advanced device that operated outside the range of audible sound but it was not immediately clear if the device was a weapon used in a deliberate attack, or had some other purpose.

The US officials weren't authorized to discuss the investigation publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert did not say how many US diplomats were affected, saying only that they had 'a variety of physical symptoms'.

The incident is a set back for the recently restored US diplomatic relationship with Cuba.

The US embassy in Cuba reopened in 2015 as part of President Barack Obama's re-establishment of diplomatic relations.

American and Canadian diplomats based in Cuba suffered mild traumatic brain injury and damage to the central nervous system in a suspected sonic weapon attack on their homes (Flags of the United States and Cuba in front of the country's embassy in Washington, DC in July 2015)

The Cuban government said in a lengthy statement that 'Cuba has never permitted, nor will permit, that Cuban territory be used for any action against accredited diplomatic officials or their families, with no exception'.

The statement from the Cuban Foreign Ministry said it had been informed of the incidents on February 17 and had launched an 'exhaustive, high-priority, urgent investigation at the behest of the highest level of the Cuban government'.

It said the decision to expel two Cuban diplomats from the US in retaliation was 'unjustified and baseless'.

The ministry said it had created an expert committee to analyze the incidents and had reinforced security around the US embassy and US diplomatic residences.

'Cuba is universally considered a safe destination for visitors and foreign diplomats, including US citizens,' the statement said.

US officials told The Associated Press that about five diplomats, several with spouses, had been affected and that no children had been involved. The FBI and Diplomatic Security Service are investigating.

Cuba employs a state security apparatus that keeps many people under surveillance and US diplomats are among the most closely monitored people on the island.

Like virtually all foreign diplomats in Cuba, the victims of the incidents lived in housing owned and maintained by the Cuban government.

Nauert said investigators did not yet have a definitive explanation for the incidents but stressed they take them 'very seriously', as shown by the Cuban diplomats' expulsions.

'We requested their departure as a reciprocal measure since some US personnel's assignments in Havana had to be curtailed due to these incidents,' she said. 'Under the Vienna Convention, Cuba has an obligation to take measures to protect diplomats.'

US diplomats in Cuba said they suffered occasional harassment for years after the restoration of limited ties with the communist government in the 1970s, harassment reciprocated by US agents against Cuban diplomats in Washington.

The use of sonic devices to intentionally harm diplomats would be unprecedented.
The man who snatched, tortured and brutally murdered regional Victorian mother-of-two Karen Chetcuti has been jailed for life without parole.

Michael Cardamone, 50, attacked his well-liked neighbour at her rural Whorouly home and held her prisoner for hours before burning her to death in remote bushland in January 2016.

Supreme Court Justice Lex Lasry sentenced Cardamone to serve a life sentence without parole on Friday for what he described as an 'extraordinarily vicious, callous and thoroughly unprovoked' murder.

Michael Cardamone (pictured), 50, has been jailed for life over the 2016 murder of his neighbour

Ms Chetcuti disappeared on January 12, 2016, and her burnt and battered body was discovered five days later.

Police told the court Cardamone had sedated the 49-year-old woman with animal tranquilliser, tied her wrists and ankles with cable ties, duct tape and rope, fractured her skull and ribs, then set her on fire while she was alive.

They also said Cardamone injected Ms Chetcuti with battery acid and drove over her dead body.

Just six months earlier, the man had been released on parole following a conviction for the brutal rape of a 15-year-old girl.

Cardamone (pictured after pleading guilty in June) had only been released from jail on parole just six months prior to the murder, after serving time for the brutal rape of a 15-year-old girl

Cardamone pleaded guilty on June 30 to Ms Chetcuti's murder, after making a last minute plea deal to get his mother freed from jail, The Herald Sun reported.

He had originally pleaded not guilty and was due to face a six-week trial in July.

The man's 79-year-old mother was jailed in May after police intercepted phone calls in which the pair discussed killing a man named Eddie George, who was the star witness for the prosecution.

Cardamone also pleaded guilty to plotting to have Mr George - who had told the court he had been with the 50-year-old when he burnt out the council-worker's car - killed.

Police say Cardamone injected Ms Chetcuti with battery acid and drove over her dead body. Her burnt out car is pictured being examined by forensics

CCTV footage shows Ms Chetcuti before her horrific death

Ms Chetcuti's friends and family were in court at the time to hear the change of plea.

'It's a total relief that this day has come, I never thought he'd plead guilty,' Ms Chetcuti's sister Leny Verbunt said outside court on June 30.

'Mum's 85, and for the children as well, for Karen's children, this is good that we're not having this trial.'

While relieved over the plea, Ms Chetcuti's mother Clary Verbunt said at the time it: 'doesn't bring Karen back'.

'Now he should be locked up for life, if he comes out no woman or child will be safe in this world,' she told reporters.
Police have seized $1.6 million in cash found in two suitcases after officers pulled over a hire car in Perth.

The car was stopped as part of an investigation into alleged meth dealers and the proceeds of crime.

Authorities pulled over the rented car in the Perth CBD around 6:45pm on Tuesday.

Police seized $1.6 million in cash found in two suitcases after officers pulled over a hire car in Perth

A man from Carnegie, 29, and a man from Vermont South, 33, were questioned by police.

They were later charged with unlawful possession of money.

Both men appeared in Perth Magistrates Court on Wednesday and will remain in custody.

They are scheduled to reappear in court on August 30.

The car was stopped as part of an investigation into alleged meth dealers and the proceeds of crime

Serious and Organised Crime Detective Inspector Shaun Miller said police efforts are dedicated to seeking methamphetamine dealers.

'We actively target meth dealers in our community and the profits that they make without concern for the damage they cause, and these efforts resulted in this significant seizure.

'Together we have prevented the diversion of millions of dollars away from the legitimate economy,' Mr Miller said.
The prime minister has taken Tony Abbott to task for passing out drunk in parliament in 2009 and missing critical votes on the Rudd government's global financial crisis spending bills.

Malcolm Turnbull knew Mr Abbott was asleep in his office and unable to be roused after a boozy dinner with colleagues, but there was nothing he could do.

'It's clearly not acceptable or admirable in any way,' he told Neil Mitchell on 3AW radio on Friday.

Tony Abbott (pictured) admitted he 'passed out drunk' and missed a crucial parliamentary vote

Malcolm Turnbull slammed the former prime minister for drinking 'quite a few bottles of wine'

Then-Labor treasurer Wayne Swan also weighed in on Mr Abbott, saying his recklessness knew no bounds.

Mr Abbott has laughed off his night in the members-only dining room in early 2009 when 'quite a few bottles of wine were consumed' between three MPs.

'There was one famous occasion when Peter Costello, Kevin Andrews and I hung out rather a long time here,' he will say in an upcoming episode of the ABC television series The House.

'I think quite a few bottles of wine were consumed by the three of us. Peter was close to leaving at that stage, and I think all of us were in a mellow and reflective mood, so the reflections went on for longer, and later, than they should have.'

Mr Abbott, who was a member of Mr Turnbull's then- shadow ministry, admitted he slept through several divisions.

At the time he had dismissed questions about whether he was drunk as 'impertinent'. 'I lay down, and the next thing I knew it was the morning,' he said.

The Prime Minister (pictured) told Neil Mitchell on 3AW radio Friday morning 'it's clearly not acceptable or admirable in any way'

Malcolm Turnbull knew Mr Abbott (pictured) was asleep in his office and unable to be roused after a boozy dinner with colleagues in 2009, but there was nothing he could do

'The impact was rather greater than it should have been. I think I famously slept through several divisions,' Mr Abbott revealed

The former prime minister confessed he fell asleep after a night of heavy drinking while he should have voted on Kevin Rudd's Global Financial Crisis bailout measures back in 2009.

Mr Abbott shared the story on The House with Annabel Crabb  a series which takes viewers behind the scenes at Parliament House.

The leader of the opposition at the time, Mr Abbott remembered it was the night the then-Rudd government was trying to bring in measures to deal with the GFC.

He said the three men were in a 'mellow and reflective mood' and the drinks lasted longer than they should have.

Mr Abbott shared his story on The House with Annabel Crabb (pictured together)  a series which takes viewers behind the scenes at Parliament House

In the episode due to air on TV on September 5, Ms Crabb (pictured) described Mr Abbott as the only MP who was 'reckless enough to smuggle me in' to the Members Only dining room at Parliament

'The impact was rather greater than it should have been. I think I famously slept through several divisions,' Mr Abbott said.

'It was a late night sitting, against all OH&S rules as you can imagine. I lay down, and the next thing I knew it was morning.'

Mr Turnbull said Mr Abbott missed an important vote and while he was disappointed in his colleague he'd moved on.

'I can't remember anyone else missing a vote because they were too drunk to get into the chamber,' he said on Friday.

'But the fact is Tony has fessed up to it, he knows it was an error or whatever, he's acknowledged it and that's good.'

Mr Swan said Mr Abbott was self-indulgent in sleeping through a vote on policy at a time of economic crisis.

'He slept through some of the most important votes in the Australian Parliament in over 50 or 60 years,' he told reporters in Brisbane.

'When the jobs of Australians were on the line, Tony Abbott didn't care. His recklessness knows no bounds.'

Ms Crabb described Mr Abbott as the only MP who was 'reckless enough to smuggle me in' to the Members Only dining room at Parliament.

The episode is due to air on television on September 5.
Australia's most expensive steak is available in Sydney, it has been revealed.

The mouth-watering wagyu beef will set customers back a whopping $500 per kilogram, or about $100 per cut.

Those who can afford it can find the meat at the up-market Victor Churchill butchery in Woollahra, Sydney.

The mouth-watering wagyu beef will set customers back a whopping $500 per kilogram, or about $100 per cut

Australia's most expensive steak is available in Sydney, it has been revealed

The wagyu steer is bred in Victoria and its parents are rare Japanese stock from the Hyogo Prefecture.

James Packer, Oprah Winfrey and Hugh are among a number of customers who purchase their provisions at Victor Churchill butchery.

Anthony Puharich, co-owner of the butchery, told The Australian the cut was the 'most beautiful piece of meat' he had ever seen.

'You might think paying $500 for a kilogram is ridiculous and a rip-off, but in Japan or Europe that's the normal kind of money you pay for the finest wagyu.'

For the same price as one of the cuts of meat customers could buy about 25 rump steaks from Woolworths or Coles.

Those who can afford it can find the meat at the up-market Victor Churchill butchery in Woollahra, Sydney
President Donald Trump has urged citizens to prepare for Hurricane Harvey and said he is monitoring the storm and ready to provide aid to the region.

Texas is bracing for the powerful Category 3 hurricane to hit its southeast region late on Friday night, complete with winds up to 130mph and 30 inches of rainfall.

Trump encouraged residents in the storm's path to plan ahead and prepare for the natural disaster on Thursday in a video featuring the president meeting with FEMA.

The White House said earlier that day that Trump was monitoring the hurricane and was ready to provide necessary resources to the gulf region.

Trump called Texas Governor Greg Abbott later to personally tell him that he was ready to help respond to the strongest hurricane expected to hit the US in 12 years.

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President Trump urged citizens to prepare for Hurricane Harvey on Thursday and said he is ready to provide aid. The president called Texas Governor Gregg Abbott (right) later that night

Trump encouraged residents in the storm's path to plan ahead and prepare for the natural disaster in a video featuring the president meeting with FEMA. Hurricane Harvey is expected to hit Texas late on Friday night

Abbott tweeted out a photo of himself on the phone with Trump and said: 'Spoke with Pres. Trump & heads of Homeland Security & FEMA. They're helping Texas respond to #HurricaneHarvey.'

Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards also received a call from Trump Thursday night, tweeting: 'Spoke w/ @POTUS @realDonaldTrump this afternoon. He offered his full support to the people of LA as we prepare for #Harvey.'

A statement released by Abbott added: 'President Trump called Governor Abbott to offer federal support for the State of Texas as Hurricane Harvey approaches the Gulf Coast.

'The President pledged all available resources from the federal government to assist in preparation, and rescue and recovery efforts.

'The Governor thanked the President for his pledge of support and assured him that the state is working hand-in-hand with local and federal partners on all issues related to the storm.'

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a press briefing on Thursday that Trump was ready to respond with aid to Texas and surrounding areas affected by the hurricane.

Abbott tweeted out a photo of himself on the phone with Trump and said: 'Spoke with Pres. Trump & heads of Homeland Security & FEMA. They're helping Texas respond to #HurricaneHarvey'

Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards also received a call from Trump later that night

Texas is bracing for the powerful Category 3 hurricane to hit its southeast region late on Friday night. Pictured: The storm is 180 miles southeast of Corpus Christi as of 11pm CDT

Huckabee Sanders said: 'We have acting secretary Elaine Duke who's watching this closely and very involved in the process along with the acting director for FEMA and again, I think that we are in great shape, having General Kelly sitting next to the president throughout this process.

'There's probably no better chief of staff for the president during the hurricane season, and the president has been briefed and will continue to be updated as the storm progresses.

'And certainly it's something he's very aware of and will keep a very watchful eye on. He stands ready to provide resources if needed.'

The president was previously briefed on the government's hurricane preparations from FEMA disaster relief officials earlier this month, reported The Hill.

Trump said at the time: 'FEMA is something I've been very much involved in already. We've already taken care of many of the situations that really needed emergency funds. We do it quickly, we do it effectively, we have an amazing team.'

The hurricane is barreling towards the state with expected flooding, winds of up to 130mph, power outages and up to 30 inches of rain

In preparation for the life-threatening hurricane, Abbott ordered the State Operations Center to elevate its readiness level, making state resources available for possible rescue and recovery actions.

He also activated 700 members of the Texas Army Guard, Texas Air National Guard and the Texas State Guard.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Hurricane Harvey has 'rapidly intensified' and will become a Category 3 hurricane at landfall in Texas late on Friday night. It can be seen intensifying from space.

Officials are concerned over the flash flooding, adding that the storm poses 'a grave risk to the folks in Texas'.

Local mayors have warned residents 'to get out of Dodge' as flooded waters could cause alligators to wash up on people's front door steps.
Customers are fighting over water as grocery stores are rapidly selling out of supplies, increasing the frenzy before Hurricane Harvey slams into Texas.

The powerful storm is expected to hit the gulf region on Friday and officials have asked residents to evacuate as they prepare for chaotic flooding and power outages.

Those who are staying in the path of the hurricane rushed to grocery stores in order to stock up on water, food, gas and other supplies on Thursday night.

However, they arrived to find shops with empty shelves, causing people to fight over the last containers of water as some likened the scenes to Black Friday.

People are panicking as grocery stores are rapidly selling out of supplies in Houston (pictured), increasing the frenzy on Thursday before Hurricane Harvey hit Texas on Friday

Shelves were empty, causing people to fight over the last containers of water as some likened the scene to Black Friday (pictured)

The powerful storm is set to hammer the Texas Gulf Coast with an extremely dangerous combination of 'torrential rainfall, storm-surge flooding and destructive winds' this weekend. Pictured: People stocking up on water in Houston

People have taken to social media to post pictures of the mad dash as they went to get supplies on Thursday night

People have taken to social media to post pictures of the mad dash as they went to get supplies on Thursday night.

Photos show people waiting in long lines to check out with pallets of water bottles in their carts and cars lined up around blocks to get gas.

One user wrote on Twitter: 'People grabbing cases of water like it's a Black Friday sale. Hurricane Harvey is real.'

Another said: 'I had to drive almost 30 minutes to find a store that has water... This Houston hurricane is no joke man.'

A dismayed woman wrote: 'Bread is gone. Gas is gone. Water is gone. If you don't have it already, you need to befriend your neighbors.'

Some had to drive for miles in order to find a store that had water remaining, such as this Twitter user who said she drove for 30 minutes

The powerful Category 3 storm is expected to hit the gulf region on Friday and officials have asked residents to evacuate as they prepare for chaotic flooding and power outages

People are also stocking up on bread. This bakery section of a Walmart store in Houston sits empty as people prepare for the arrival of Hurricane Harvey

Although danger looms over the region, one man joked: 'Topo Chico n La Croix sold out before bottled water at my local Krogers. Bougie hipsters are ready for you, Harvey!'

Texas Governor Greg Abbott preemptively declared a state of disaster for 30 counties on or near the coast to speed deployment of state resources to any areas affected.

He also activated 700 members of the Texas Army Guard, Texas Air National Guard and the Texas State Guard to prepare for the storm with winds up to 130mph and an expected 30 inches of rainfall .

Harvey will be the first hurricane to strike Texas since 2008 after Category 2 Hurricane Ike devastated some parts of the state.

The chips and other bagged foods section of a Walmart store in Houston is almost empty as people prepare for the storm that is expected to have winds up to 130mph

Harvey will be the first hurricane to strike Texas since 2008 after Category 2 Hurricane Ike devastated some parts of the state. The hurricane (pictured) is expected be a life-threatening storm with a large storm surge and extensive flooding expected.

The weather service said in an statement early on Thursday: 'Now is the time to check your emergency plan and take necessary actions to secure your home or business. Deliberate efforts should be underway to protect life and property.'

Emergency officials asked residents along the upper Texas coastline to move or prepare to move inland.

Those in low-lying areas were urged to seek higher ground, and those elsewhere were told to monitor official announcements closely.

The powerful storm is set to hammer the Texas Gulf Coast with an extremely dangerous combination of 'torrential rainfall, storm-surge flooding and destructive winds this weekend,' the Weather Channel reported.

The Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office sent out an alert to residents about potential sightings of alligators due to the storm

At a press conference on Thursday afternoon, Corpus Christi's Mayor Joe McComb told people not to dismiss Harvey and to voluntarily evacuate, saying: 'We encourage the residents in low-lying areas, as they say, to get out of Dodge.'

McComb added: 'Go to a family, friend and get to higher ground.'

The mayor's warning comes on the heels of Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office sending out an alert to residents about potential sightings of alligators due to the storm.

The department tweeted: 'Gators and flooding advice via @txgatorsquad: Expect them to be displaced. Simply looking for higher ground. Leave alone until water recedes.'
The iconic sketch show Saturday Night Live once again brought on legendary actor Alec Baldwin to lampoon the President this week.

Baldwin, whose impression of Donald Trump has scored massive broadcast success, this time was invited to take on Trump's Tuesday campaign rally in Phoenix, Arizona.

After a few cursory quips about this week's solar eclipse and Vice President Mike Pence running for President in 2020, Baldwin's humorous monologue steered straight into Trump's controversial statements on Charlottesville, slamming him for his response to the 'Unite the Right' rally held in Virginia earlier this month.

Legendary actor Alec Baldwin lampoons President Trump following a recent really in Phoenix, Arizona

Baldwin slams the President for his response to the deadly violence at Charlottesville, Virginia earlier this month

'First I want want to talk about Charlottesville. There was a tragic victim that came out of Charlottesville... me,' Baldwin's Trump begins.

'Folks the media has treated me so unfairly by reporting my entire remarks, even the bad ones, so I wanted to set the record straight about exactly what I said and I have the transcript here.'

Reading from a piece of paper in his hand, Baldwin takes a comedic pause and blurts: 'I moved on her like a b**** but I couldn't there... oh no, that's not it.'

The line is in reference to off the cuff salacious remarks Trump made years back that surfaced during the presidential campaign.

Baldwin continues: 'Here we go... We had a group on one side that is very bad, neo-Nazis, and you had a group on the other side - and then I didn't say a single after that, I just stopped.'

Baldwin's Trump also touched on some controversial topics the President mentioned in his speech including former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio

The sketch ends with Baldwin asking Steve Bannon, satirized as the Grim Reper, to join him on stage

In fact, the President said at Trump Tower in Manhattan two days after the violence in Charlottesville that 'you had a group on the other side that was also very violent, and nobody wants to say that, but I'll say it right now,' referring to protesters demonstrating against white supremacists at the rally.

SNL writers were also provided material thanks to a Trump supporter featured prominently at the Phoenix rally holding a sign that read 'Blacks for Trump,' played by Kenan Thompson.

Baldwin then moved onto another controversial topic which Trump touched on at the rally.

'I know you folks are worried about your great Sheriff Joe, who was recently convicted for arresting people and throwing them in jail merely because they looked Latino... How is that a crime.'

Former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio was found guilty of criminal contempt on July 31 following nearly a decade-long case in which the ex-lawman was found to have racially discriminated against Latinos in direct violation of federal law.

The sketch closes out with Baldwin's Trump inviting Steve Bannon, satirized as the Grime Reaper, on stage to stand beside him.

After Baldwin intones, 'Steve, we love you,' the reaper responds with a ominous 'Im going to crush you.'

Bannon, Trump's former chief political strategist, was ousted earlier this month following a tumultuous seven months at the White House.



Tuesday's rally for the Trump faithful was viewed by many as 70 minutes of the President airing a litany of grievances where attacked everything from the mainstream 'fake news' media to the state's two Republican lawmakers.
Matthew Leveson's parents held up pictures of their son's skeleton on Friday and accused his onetime older lover Michael Atkins of killing their boy.

'Aikins said he loved Matt!' one of the pictures of Matthew's remains was captioned. 'You don't do this to someone you love.'

Faye Leveson had earlier stood in Glebe Coroners Court and accused Michael Atkins of possibly smothering, drowning or burying Matthew alive.

'We will always be left worrying, did Matty suffer?' Mrs Leveson said. 'Did he die quickly or was it slow and painful? Was he terrified?'

While she spoke, Matthew's remains were being held in the morgue behind the court.

Matthew Leveson's remains are being held at Glebe morgue, below the Coroner's Court

Mark and Faye Leveson with pictures of their son Matthew's remains at Glebe Coroner's Court

Michael Atkins with his younger lover Matthew Leveson, whose skeleton was found in May

Mrs Leveson said her son would not be wearing his favourite suit when his family could finally give him a funeral. They cannot dress a skeleton, she told the court.

'We had to watch Matty be exhumed from the grave, piece by piece, bit by bit, and then rebuilt and then watched him be packed up into two cardboard boxes and some evidence bags,' she said.

'That's not how a human should end up, nobody should end up like that and we shouldnt have had to see our son in that state.'

Mrs Leveson described the legal machinations that led to Atkins taking police to Matthew's grave in exchange for immunity from prosecution as a 'deal with the devil'.

She waved a photograph of her 20-year-old son and another of his skeleton at Atkins's two lawyers, according to the Daily Telegraph. 'I want you to look,' Mrs Leveson said. 'This is what Atkins did to him.'

Matthew, who was last seen alive leaving Sydney's inner-city ARQ nightclub with Atkins in September 2007, had been sharing an apartment with his older lover at Cronulla.

Mark and Faye Leveson outside Glebe Coroner's Court with a picture of their son Matthew

One picture was captioned: 'Atkins said he loved Matt! You don't do this to someone you love!'

Atkins, now 54, maintained for years he did not know what had happened to Matthew that night and was acquitted by a jury of his murder or manslaughter in 2009.

He gave evidence at a coronial inquest last year on condition he could not be prosecuted for any offence other than perjury or contempt of court.

When confronted with his perjured evidence he did another deal that allowed him to escape prosecution if he led police to Matthew's grave.

After several searches, and using a crude map drawn by Atkins, police found Mathew's remains buried in a shallow gave within the Royal National Park south of Sydney in May this year.

Atkins, who had initially claimed Matthew might be living in Thailand, has since told police his young lover died of an overdose of the drug GHB and he had panicked when he found his body.

Matthew Leveson's skeleton was found in the Royal National Park south of Sydney this year

Police search for Matthew Leveson's remains in the Royal National Park south of Sydney

Mathew's parents Faye and Mark had spent years searching for their son's remains, often visiting the bushland where they believed he was buried.

'How do you put into words how the murder and the subsequent hiding of Matty's body has affected me,' Mrs Leveson asked the court on Friday.

'There have been and are times I don't want to go on any more.

'We will always be left worrying, did Matty suffer? Did he die quickly or was it slow and painful? Was he terrified? Did he fight back?

'Was he smothered with a pillow? Was he held underwater? Did Atkins give Matty the fatal dose or just enough in a drink to render him unconscious and then bury him alive?

Michael Atkins has been told he will not be required to give further evidence at the inquest

The crude map Michael Atkins drew of where he buried his lover Matthew Leveson's body

Mark Leveson carries flowers to the site where police found the remains of his son Matthew

'I will go to my grave not knowing really what happened to Matty.

'I want Atkins to be forced to see Matty in the morgue to see the consequences of his actions.'

Deputy State Coroner Elaine Truscutt ruled on Friday that Atkins would not be giving further evidence at the inquest.

Ms Truscott said the electrician had 'consistently lied' to police for almost a decade. His more recent actions had been entirely self-serving.

'Michael Atkins has no credibility as a witness,' Ms Truscott said.

It was 'more likely than not' Atkins was still not telling the truth but it was not in the interests of justice to have him give further evidence as nothing he said could establish Matthew's cause and manner of death.
Nick Gordon, who was held legally responsible for the death of then-girlfriend Bobbi Kristina Brown in 2015, will not go to court over claims that he beat another of his partners in June.

Laura Leal, 26, accused Gordon, 21, of pinning her to a bed and punching her for hours in a drink-and-drug-fueled rage in Sanford, Florida.

But now DailyMail.com has learned that prosecutors have dropped charges against Gordon - because Leal told the judge directly she wanted the case shut down.

Case dropped: Prosecutors have dropped their assault case against Nick Gordon (right) after allegedly battered ex Laura Leal (left) wrote to the judge asking for clemency for him

Arrested: Gordon (left, in mugshot) was arrested on June 10 for allegedly beating Leal for six hours, leading to bruising (right, on June 12). Leal said at the time she thought she might die

Death: In 2015 Gordon had been found legally responsible for the death of Bobbi Kristina Brown (both seen in 2012), who was found unconscious and on drugs in his bath. She died after lying in a coma for six months

Gordon was arrested after an alleged altercation at their home in Arbor Lakes Apartments on June 10, and police had wanted to charge him with felony false imprisonment.

But prosecutors said the evidence wasn't going to hold up in court, and the charge was downgraded to misdemeanor assault and battery.

According to an official document seen by DailyMail.com, Leal, who in June called Gordon 'psychotic,' had initially been helpful with the police's investigation.

However, it said, 'Leal became unhappy with the criminal justice process' and started harranguing police to get them to drop the case.

She then put down her demands in writing - first in a written statement that she didn't want to continue prosecution, and then by writing directly to the judge in charge of the case.

Unhappy: Leal (pictured) was initially helpful but became 'unhappy with the criminal justice process,' according to a document obtained by DailyMail.com, and began to change her story

According to the document, she also began to make 'statements that indicated further or conflicting accounts of the original incident'.

That, plus the fact that she was the only witness to the alleged incident, led to prosecutors shutting the case down.

However, the document notes that prosecutors 'sought and obtained proof that sanctions requiring Mr Gordon to undergo a four hour Anger Management Course and a four hour Alcohol and Substance Abuse Course had been successfully completed prior to filing the notice of no prosecution.'

Exactly what caused Leal's about-face is unclear, but it may seem surprising, given the strong words she'd previously had for Gordon.

In June, she told DailyMail.com that she thought she could have ended up like Bobbi Kristina, who was in a coma for six months prior to her 2015 death, after being found in Gordon's bathtub with a cocktail of drugs in her system.

Gordon never faced criminal charges, but was found legally responsible for her death in a civil case that demanded he pay her family $36 million in damages.

'I've been reading the reports about Bobbi Kristina and I'm physically shaking,' she told DailyMail.com at the time.

'I read about her being isolated, her family not knowing where she was, the manipulation, the bullying - it's the exact same thing.

'That could have been me. Only the Grace of God saved me.'

Dropped: Leal then began to demand that cops drop the investigation, and wrote a statement saying she didn't want to prosecute before petitioning the presiding judge

Change of heart: Leal had said in June that she didn't want to see Gordon behind bars for years but that he had to be jailed to save other women. Exactly why she changed her mind is unclear

Leal, who is 5'2", said that the 6'1" Gordon had begun slapping or pushing her once a week, leaving her hiding bruises under makeup - and blaming herself.

'I thought he loved me but how can you love someone when you put them through this hell?' she said. 'It's like a double personality in one person. He's psychotic.

'I didn't ever see him take heroin or crack but now I'm wondering if he was doing that behind my back.'

Things escalated on the night of June 9, when they were out drinking. She said he went to his car to collect a phone charger, and returned an hour later different - 'like a switch had been flicked'.

That sparked an argument that became more heated once they got back to Gordon's home, which he shares with his mom, and he began accusing her of sleeping with his friend, she said.

She denied the claims - and then he threw her onto the bed and began beating her, she alleged.

'He literally sat on top of me on the bed punching my head with his big a** body on top of me,' she claimed. 'I was punched so hard that I was seeing colors and a bright flashing light.

'I thought I was going to go blind and wondered whether I was ever going to be able to see again. I thought to myself, am I dying?'

She said the attack went on for six hours, and that she was too scared to bolt for the door because she thought he would catch and overpower her.

At 7am the following morning, she picked up a candlestick in a last-ditch attempt and clubbed him with it, she said.

Court in the act: She said she thought Gordon (seen here in a bail hearing on June 11) may have been on drugs when he hit her. Prosecutors said he finished anger management and drug and drink abuse courses before prosecution was dropped

'I didn't mean to break his nose but it was a survival instinct,' she said. 'He looked at me with such hate that I will never forget it.

'He raised his fist like he was about to knock me out so I opened the door and ran into his mom's room.

'She hopped out of bed, I said ''Michelle I need to get home'' and she said she would take me. She is a great woman. She saved my life. Nick threw my stuff all over the sidewalk but it ended right there.'

Leal said at the time that she did not want to see Gordon in jail, but that she needed to press on with the prosecution to keep other women safe.

'Honestly I do still care about him,' she said. 'This is hell compared to what I wanted us to be. I feel like he's gone through enough. He's in jail now and he doesn't know when he going to get out.

'But I can't let anyone else get hurt. I just pray that he finally gets the help he needs because without professional help he'll never get out of this.'

On June 23, it emerged that another woman had come forward, saying she had photographic evidence of abuse Gordon had inflicted on her.

Whether her contributions to the case are still being considered by police is unknown.
Authorities have identified the chef who was fatally shot at a restaurant in Charleston, South Carolina.

Charleston County deputy coroner Sheila Williams said in an email late Thursday that the slaying victim was 37-year-old Anthony Shane Whiddon, the executive chef at Virginia's restaurant.

Authorities and one of the restaurant's owners said the gunman in the lunchtime slaying Thursday was a dishwasher who had been fired from the restaurant, which is located on a tourist-heavy section of downtown Charleston.

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A disgruntled man with a gun killed former co-worker Anthony Shane Whiddon (pictured) at a popular Charleston restaurant Thursday

The identity of the shooter, who was shot and critically wounded by police, remains unknown

Social media photos appear to show that Whiddon was a father of two.

Police in South Carolina shot the former restaurant worker who they say killed Whiddon and took several people hostage in downtown Charleston this afternoon.

The identity of the shooter remains unknown.

Law enforcement officials announced the situation had been resolved shortly after 3pm, nearly three hours after the first reports about an active shooter at Virginia's On King started coming in.

The mayor of Charleston told reporters the gunman has been shot by police and was taken to a hospital in critical condition.

Interim Charleston Police Chief Jerome Taylor says all the hostages at Virginia's restaurant were rescued safely. He didn't say how many there were.

Active shooter: A former employee at Virginia's On King in Charleston, South Carolina, reportedly opened fire during lunch, fatally shooting a chef

Heavy police presence is seen on King Street, a portion of which has been blocked

This map shows the area in downtown Charleston where the fatal shooting took place

A Charleston police officer blocks access to King Street near the restaurant Virginia's

A family who were having lunch at the Southern food restaurant told the Charleston Post and Courier a middle-aged man emerged from the kitchen brandishing a loaded revolver and announced, 'There's a new boss in town.'

The gunmans sudden appearance sent patrons fleeing for their lives out of the eatery. There were about 30 people having lunch at Virginia's during the incident.

A tourist from Maryland and his son recounted a similar story, saying that a black man in an apron walked through the door holding a small-caliber revolver, locked the door and said, 'I am the new king of Charleston.'

Some described the person in question as a black man in his late 50s. One diner, Patsy Plant, told the paper the armed man looked like a 'grandpa' but had 'a crazy look.'

Virginia's owner, John Aquino, told WCSC-TV he thought the gunman was a dishwasher who was fired and came back to Virginia's to get revenge by shooting a male chef because he was angry at him.

Police vehicles are seen at the scene on King Street in Charleston after the shooting

Bystanders wait at a perimeter set up by local police after reports of a man armed with a handgun was holding hostages at the restaurant

Standoff: Police officers are seen with guns drawn near Virginia's, where a fired staffer is said to be holding hostages

Hostage negotiators, SWAT officers and bomb specialists are at the scene in Charleston

Reports of an active shooter prompted a heavy police presence in the area and caused lockdowns at nearby businesses, which have since been lifted.

Heavily armed SWAT officers and a bomb squad also responded to the scene.

'This was not an act of terrorism,' Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg rushed to reassure the public. 'This was not a hate crime. This was a disgruntled employee.'

The restaurant is located a few blocks away from Emanuel AME church, where nine black members of a church were killed by a white man during a June 2015 Bible study. Dylann Roof was sentenced to death in the case.
A statue honoring Italian explorer Christopher Columbus may soon be removed from Manhattan's Columbus Circle if the city's top elected official has his way.

New York City Mayor Bill Bill de Blasio is reportedly considering the move, according to CBS News, after ordering a review in the wake of the deadly events in Charlotesville, Virginia earlier this month.

The statue, which is over 100 years old, sits atop is a traffic circle in Manhattan, located at the intersection of Eighth Avenue, Broadway, Central Park West and Central Park South.

NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio is weighing decision on whether to remove statue of Italian explorer Christopher Columbus

The review, ordered by de Blasio who is running for re-election as a Democrat this November, is part of an effort to remove 'symbols of hate.'

'We have to look at everything here,' de Blasio said during Democratic a mayor debate held Wednesday evening.

Democratic City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito echoed the mayor's stance, saying the memorial celebrates a disputable historical figure.

'I will wait for the commission, as I said Christopher Columbus is a controversial figure to many of us particularly in the Caribbean and I think that that has to be looked at, when you have to look at history we have to look at it thoroughly and clearly,' CBS reported her as saying Monday.

The statue, which is over 100 years old, is a controversial for some who say the man who is credited with discovering the new world was an active participant in the slave trade

Columbus has been hailed in American-lore as discovering the new world on his expedition in 1492 on behalf on the Spanish empire. But critics note his cruel treatment of the native inhabitants of the Caribbean and South America and his active participation in the slave trade.

The statue was offered as a gift to New York by the city's Italian community in 1892, and groups such as the NYPD Columbia Association, which includes thousands of Italian American police officers, are fighting to keep the statue in place.

The mayor's Republican opponent, Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis, also says the statue should stay put.

'Even Christopher Columbus, the founder of our nation, is under attack,' Malliotakis said Wednesday, later clarifying that she misspoke in calling Columbus the founder of the US.
Kings Cross giant John Ibrahim has been photographed standing on tiptoes next to a young fan who towered over him during celebrations for his 47th birthday.

The nightclub identity was pictured while marking the milestone in Kings Cross with friends including radio host Kyle Sandilands.

Missing were his brothers Fadi and Michael who were arrested earlier this month in Dubai in a huge operation police said smashed an international drug smuggling ring.

Nightclub identity John Ibrahim stands on tiptoes next to a fan in Kings Cross on Friday

Daily Mail Australia found John Ibrahim reading his own book Last King of the Cross on Monday

Kings Cross nightclub baron John Ibrahim sitting front row at Australian Fashion Week

On Friday he seemed relaxed and happy when snapped up on tiptoes in his Converse Chuck Taylor All Stars next to fan and sometime photographer Jayden Seyfarth in a picture that was posted to Instagram.

One user wrote: 'Why is he tiptoeing?' Another responded: 'He's still hot as fk'.

It seems Ibrahim was celebrating his 47th birthday but the man himself wrote in his recent memoirs Last King of the Cross he was unsure when he was born.

'Having read many things about myself over the years, I can say there is a lot of myth and disinformation blended into accounts of my life,' he wrote.

Ibrahim fan and sometime photographer Jayden Seyfarth pictured with pop star Katy Perry

Jayden Seyfarth has had his picture taken with celebrities including pop singer Miley Cyrus

'One is my age. As far as I know, I was born in Tripoli in August 1970. Journalists have claimed my date of birth is August 1968.

'Police also have me down as being born in 1972. It could all be true.

'My [older] brother [Sam] and I have lied about our ages so many times that I can't remember myself. Either way I've been around so long I feel like I'm a thousand years old.'

Daily Mail Australia pictured Ibrahim sunning himself at his Dover Heights home this week while reading his own book.
A former British soldier who spent five months fighting ISIS in Syria has reportedly been charged with terror offences in Turkey.

Joe Robinson, from Accrington, Lancashire, was detained while on holiday in Didim, southwest Turkey, with his girlfriend and her mother last month.

The 24-year-old has now been charged with membership of a terrorist organisation, his solicitor said.

Charged: Joe Robinson, 24, had traveled to the Turkish town of Didim along with his girlfriend Mira Rojkan, left, and was arrested on the beach while on holiday

In 2015, Mr Robinson spent five months fighting alongside the People's Protection Units of Syrian Kurdistan (YPG) against the Islamic State (ISIS).

Turkey has long seen the YPG as an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has fought for Kurdish autonomy in the south of the country.

The Kurdish insurgency, which has been ongoing since 1978, has left tens of thousands dead, and Turkish authorities accuse both the YPG and the PKK of being 'terrorists'.

Solicitor Kaya Sertkaya told the Guardian Mr Robinson was being kept in his cell for 23 hours a day.

His girlfriend Mira Rojkan, who according to her Facebook page is originally from Bulgaria, but is living in Leeds and studying law, has been charged with propaganda for sharing pro-Kurdish material online, the solicitor added.

Robinson had previously fought with YPG Kurdish militia against ISIS in Syria

He said at the time that he was fed up with the lack of action from the West and decide to 'take matters into my own hands'

At the time of their arrest in July, Ms Rojkan told the Guardian: 'It was just awful. they said someone had sent them an email saying we were terrorists about to do something in Turkey. They wouldn't say who it was from.

'It is absolute nonsense. They arrested us on the beach while we were vacationing with my mother.'

Robinson had previously served as a soldier in the British Army, in the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment. He spent time in Afghanistan as well as three months training with Special Forces in Kenya.

In 2015 he traveled to Syria to serve alongside the Kurdish People's Protective Units (YPG) as a medic, during one of the war's bloodiest periods.

He said he was fed up with the lack of action from the West and he, 'decided to take matters into my own hands.'

Robinson had previously served with the Duke of Lancaster's regiment (pictured)

He said: 'I wasn't really thinking of the consequences before I left. I couldn't sit around any more, I had to go.

'We had rocket-propelled grenades, machine guns, we all had Kalashnikov rifles, and a ton of grenades.

'We fired at them [ISIS], we saw them drop, that's all I can tell you. It's a war - you don't hang around to check.'

When Robinson landed back at Manchester airport he was arrested on suspicion of terrorist offenses, but after spending 10 months on police bail before all charges were dropped.

He now works as a security adviser in the Middle East.

A man waves a Kurdistan flag as a Turkish military truck. Turkey has had a log-running insurgency with the Kurds, who want an independent state in the south of the country

Mr Robinson's family has sent a letter to Prime Minister Theresa May appealing for her help.

An online petition calling for his release has gained more than 3,000 signatures since being set up at the end of July.

Following Mr Robinson's arrest, the Kurdistan Solidarity Campaign said: 'Unfortunately, Joe has gone on holiday to Turkey not realising the kind of state it has now become.

'Turkey unfortunately continues to criminalise the Kurdish question and has jailed tens of thousands of Kurdish people, including elected MPs and mayors simply for peacefully campaigning for Kurdish rights.'

A Foreign Office spokesman said: 'We are aware of the detention of a British national in Turkey and have requested consular access. We are providing support to the family and remain in contact with Turkish authorities.'
Murderer Tracie Andrews has got married this afternoon - 21 years after she knifed her first fiance to death, MailOnline can reveal today.

The bride, now 48, stabbed Lee Harvey, 25, more than 40 times in 1996 and hours later blamed a road rage attack by 'a fat man with staring eyes' who never existed.

The murderer, who was later jailed for 14 years and released in 2012, has walked down the aisle with divorcee Phil Goldsworthy, 56, at a hotel in Redruth, Cornwall, today.

Andrews changed her name to Jenna Stephens and dyed her blonde hair black after leaving jail and met her bouncer husband when she started behind the bar in the pub where he worked.

Mr Goldsworth knows all about her past and is 'smitten' with the former hairdresser, who had a history of violence towards her boyfriends before she murdered Mr Harvey in a country lane outside Birmingham in 1996.

Tracie Andrews, 48, has married her new lover Phil Goldsworthy, 52, today (pictured together previously) - 21 years after she knifed her first fiance to death

Battered and bruised: Andrews presented herself as a victim during her tearful press conference in 1996 (left) but was convicted of murder and released from jail in 2012 where she changed her name and hair colour (right)

Vicious attack: Barmaid Tracie Andrews, 46, became one of Britain's most notorious female killers after she stabbed her fiance Lee Harvey, 25, to death on the side of a quiet country road in Alvechurch, Worcestershire, in December 1996. She claimed he was killed by a motorist

The couple chose the four-star Penventon Park Hotel in Redruth, which is described as a Georgian mansion offering 'an unashamedly lavish wedding in sumptuous surrounds'.

For 3,000-plus couples get married can enjoy an sumptuous three course wedding breakfast for up to 250 guests, canapes, Pimms or sparkling wine and the honeymoon suite on the night including breakfast.

Ahead of today's wedding the notorious 'road-rage' killer donned a racy policewoman outfit for her hen do.

She was spotted in June as a policewoman wearing a short skirt, suspenders and a lapel badge reading 'WPC Pleasure'.

Andrews and a friend, also dressed as a policewoman, hoisted up their skirts and stroked each other whenever men wolf-whistled at them, it was reported.

She was also said to have 'jiggled' her breasts and kissed strangers while celebrating with six friends at the Butlin's holiday resort in Minehead, Somerset.

After Saturday's celebration, the convicted killer, who lives under a new identity, stepped out for the second night of the 1980s-themed weekend wearing a daring leather and lace catwoman outfit.

Andrews, who now goes by the name Jenna Stephens, was said to have staggered home in the early hours before nursing a hangover.

A reveller at the Butlin's event said: 'She knows no shame - she thought it was hilarious to dress as a copper.

'She didn't spare a thought for Lee's family. The lads swooning over her would be shocked to learn her true identity.'

Her antics were a bitter blow for Lee Harvey's daughter Danielle, who used to live with Andrews before she murdered her father in a country lane in Alvechurch, Worcestershire, in 1996 after an argument.

Danielle says she can't believe Andrews was celebrating her hen party on Father's Day.

The 25-year-old told MailOnline: 'I saw that she was back in the paper and I'm absolutely disgusted. And that it was published on Father's Day is awful timing.

'It's made me feel sick to my stomach to be honest.'

The newleyweds married at the Penventon Hotel in Redruth, Cornwall, this afternoon

Furious argument: Andrews stabbed bus driver Mr Harvey more than 42 times with a pen knife in 1996

Danielle, a mother-of-five, from Birmingham, has been slowly rebuilding her life since losing her dad 21 years ago.

The family refuses to speak about Andrews as they think she revels in it and don't want to give her wedding to new love, bouncer Phil Goldsworthy, anymore publicity.

Andrews gained notoriety as one of Britain's most infamous female killers after she stabbed bus driver Mr Harvey dozens of times and slashed his throat, leaving him to bleed to death in a country lane.

She then concocted a story that he had been killed by 'a fat man with staring eyes' in a road rage attack.

Andrews even appeared on television clutching the hand of Mr Harvey's mother Maureen as she made an emotional appeal for help to catch the killer.

But she was eventually charged with murder, and her trial was told there was compelling forensic evidence which showed she had killed her fiance with a Swiss Army-type pen knife following an argument.

Neighbours at the couple's home in Alvechurch, Worcestershire, said they frequently heard shouting, and the jury was told Andrews had also violently attacked former boyfriends.

She was jailed for life, with a recommendation that she serve a minimum of 14 years before she would be considered for parole.

Almost two years later she confessed to killing Mr Harvey, but insisted she was acting in self-defence.

After her release from Askham Grange Prison near York, Andrews moved to a southern coastal town - which cannot be named for legal reasons.

Tracie Andrews delivered an 'Oscar-winning performance' in deception at a police press conference just hours after murdering fiance Lee Harvey in a frenzied attack, a new documentary claims.

Andrews, 46, a former part-time model, became one of Britain's most notorious female killers after she stabbed her partner Lee Harvey, 25, 42 times on the side of a road in Alvechurch, Worcestershire, in December 1996.

Just 36 hours after the killing, Andrews, then 27, appeared alongside Mr Harvey's parents - holding his mother's hand - at an emotional press conference and described how she had tried to help her fiance after he had been murdered by a 'large man with staring eyes' after a high-speed car chase on a quiet country road.

Body language expert Cliff Lansley, who used to train staff at the US Department of Homeland Security, reveals on tonight's episode of Investigation Discovery show Faking It: Tears Of A Crime how Andrews gave away six separate signs of deception during the conference as she said the following eight words: 'I just tried to stop the bleeding, really.'

Tracie Andrews, who served 14 years in prison for stabbing lover Lee Harvey 42 times, has been branded 'disgusting' by her victim's daughter Danielle (above) for celebrating her hen do in a policewoman's outfit on Father's Day

Danielle, pictured with her father, used to live with Andrews, before she stabbed him to death in a country lane in Alvechurch, Worcs, in 1996 after an argument

Jailed: Andrews, 46, was later convicted of murder at Birmingham Crown Court in July 1997

Andrews said her fiance had been murdered by a 'large man with staring eyes' after a high-speed car chase on a quiet country road - but it was her

The killer's blood-splattered New Look jumper worn on the night she killed her fiancee
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At least 29 people have been killed and 200 injured in violent protests in northern India after the leader of a religious cult was found guilty of raping two of his followers.

Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, 50, known as 'the guru in bling' due to his flamboyant outfits, has been found guilty of two sexual assaults at the headquarters of his Dera Sacha Sauda group in the northern town of Sirsa.

Police reportedly opened fire and used water cannons in an attempt to disperse the 100,000-strong crowd, as they threw stones, torched vehicles and set fire to government buildings in the town of Panchkula, near Chandigarh.

In 2015, Singh, who has 50million followers, allegedly convinced up to 400 men to cut off their testicles to be closer to God.

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Rapist: Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, 50, known as 'the guru in bling', has been found guilty of raping two female devotees

Conviction: A follower of Singh pleads for his safety after being hit with a stick during clashes between the controversial guru's followers and security forces

Rioting: Supporters of the Dera Sacha Sauda sect surround and attack a journalist, seen in foreground wearing a blue dark t-shirt, in Panchkula, during the violence that followed the 'guru' being found guilty of rape

Destruction: A man lifts a motorbike in an area which has been vandalized by Dera Sacha Sauda sect members

Murky past: Singh has previously been accused of convincing 400 followers to undergo castration at his ashram so they could get closer to 'god' and stood trial for conspiracy over the murder of a journalist in 2002

The Sydney Herald reported the claim after those involved were speaking about what allegedly happened in 2000 for the first time.

The violence on Friday has left at least 29 dead and more than 200 injured, according to VK Bansal, chief medical officer at the state-run Panchkula Civil Hospital.

Mobs of several tens of thousands rampaged in response, setting fire to government buildings, attacking railway stations, petrol stations and television vans in towns across the northern states of Punjab and Haryana, witnesses said.

'We tried to prevent the unrest in every possible way, but the protesters were totally out of control,' Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal told Reuters.

'All the injured are getting the best treatment in government hospitals,' he said.

Dozens of cars were burning in Panchkula town while a bloodied body lay in the middle of a road. About 500 army soldiers were deployed to restore order.

As news of Singh's conviction spread protests also erupted in New Delhi and in the neighbouring state of Rajasthan. Supporters of Singh set fire to some buses and two empty train coaches in the capital.

Nearly 1,000 members of his Sacha Sauda group were detained.

Police deputy superintendent Isham Singh said many areas, including Panchkula city, were now under curfew and the situation under control.

'The situation is tense but under control. The crowds have been dispersed at most places,' he told AFP by phone.

'The crowd outside the court was asked to vacate but they turned violent leading to police action.'

Mob rule: Followers of Singh's Dera Sacha Sauda sect throw stones at security forces during violent clashes with police, which has left 29 people dead and some 200 injured

Horrifying: The dead body of a follower of Indian religious leader Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh lays on the street next to burning vehicles following clashes between his supporters and security forces,

Clashed: Supporters of Singh throw stones at security forces as they are sprayed with a water cannon

Local photographer Sat Singh, based in Panchkula, said: 'The streets are now empty and quiet with the curfew.

'But the situation is going bad to worse. Many people in Sirsa have been injured in police firing. The army has carried out flag march - a kind of martial law.

'People are within their homes but the supporters of convicted Guru piled onto the roads to protest. The tension is still high.'

The special court had announced a guilty verdict after hearing closing arguments in the 15-year-old case against the guru, who calls himself Saint Dr Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Ji Insaan.

Ram Rahim Singh - who had denied raping the two women at his ashram in 2002 - was taken into custody and is to be held in a jail in the nearby town of Rohtak in Haryana state until his sentencing hearing on Monday, prosecutors said.

Taking action: Policemen patrol past a burned out and upturned car vehicle vandalized by Dera Sacha Sauda sect members

Don't hit me: A female sect member appears to be holding up her hands in a peace offering to paramilitary forces

Smoke rising: Burning vehicles have been left behind after mobs ran through these streets in Panchkula

Mobs set fire to government buildings and attacked police and TV journalists, smashing the windscreens of media vans and breaking broadcast equipment.

Smoke billows after supporters of the Dera Sacha Sauda sect set vehicles on fire near in Panchkula, India

Singh has a vast following in the northern state of Haryana, where he runs a religious movement called Dera Sacha Sauda, which claims to have millions of devotees around the world.

Thousands of them had descended on Panchkula by Thursday evening, setting up camp outside the courthouse.

Troops and riot police had been deployed ahead of the verdict, but violence broke out as news of his conviction spread among the gathered devotees.

'The court convicted Baba Ram Rahim Singh on rape charges,' prosecutor Harinder Pal Singh Verma told AFP by telephone after the closed hearing.

The rape case was brought against Singh after an anonymous letter was sent to then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2002 accusing him of repeatedly raping the sender and several other women in the sect.

A judge asked the Central Bureau of Investigations to look into the accusations, but it took years to trace the alleged victims and it was not until 2007 that two women came forward and filed charges.

Calm before the storm: Supporters of the Dera Sacha Sauda sect squat in a public park near an Indian court in Panchkula ahead of the verdict

Lockdown: More than 15,000 paramilitary troops and police officers were deployed in the town of Panchkula

Devoted: Dera Sacha Sauda claims to have millions of followers around the world, but is based in the northern state of Haryana

Protest: Followers of Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh gather on the roadside in Sirsa, where his organization is based, ahead of a court's verdict in a rape case against him

India has been rocked by numerous scandals involving popular ascetics claiming to possess mystical powers, and Singh is no stranger to controversy.

In 2015 he was accused of encouraging 400 followers to undergo castration at his ashram so they could get closer to god.

He also stood trial for conspiracy over the murder of a journalist in 2002.

The man himself describes his following as a social welfare and spiritual organisation, while others refer to it as a religious sect.

Speaking before his conviction, supporters who had gathered in Panchkula credited him with turning their lives around, with some saying his organisation had helped them kick an addiction to alcohol.

'I've been part of the Dera movement for two decades and in that time I have not touched a drop,' said Gajendere Singh, a recovering alcoholic who said he was aged around 60.

'Before joining, people did not pay me much attention. But after, I had a support network.'

All that is gold: The 50-year-old is known for his flamboyant and 'blinged up' costumes

Accusations: The rape allegations first emerged in 2002, but it has taken 15 years for the 'guru' to be convicted of the assaults

Making enemies: Singh's work has angered mainstream religious leaders in India, particularly Sikhs who say he insults and belittles their faith

Singh commands a following that he claims is in the millions, many of them elderly men and women in the countryside, drawn by his social welfare programmes such as medical camps and disaster relief.

Singh's work has angered mainstream religious leaders in India, particularly Sikhs who say he insults and belittles their faith.

There were protests in the Sikh-dominated state of Punjab over Singh's 2015 appearance in a film entitled 'MSG: The Messenger of God', which showed him performing miracles, preaching to thousands and beating up gangsters while singing and dancing.

Singh was driven from his home town to the court in a vast convoy that Indian media said was made up of over 100 vehicles.

Television images showed devotees lining the streets, many of them sobbing uncontrollably.

Roads leading to the court have been barricaded off and three stadiums set aside as makeshift prisons in case of trouble after the verdict.
A Come Dine With Me winner's kitchen business is being investigated by trading standards after receiving more than 300 complaints.

Sadiya Hussein, 37, who won an episode of the Channel 4 show in 2013, left people angered with allegedly shoddy work by her firm in Rochdale, Greater Manchester.

Complaints have allegedly been made by customers across Britain of sub-standard kitchen units arriving, numerous cancellations and not getting some parts at all.

Flashing the cash: Sadiya Hussein, 37, is pictured after winning Come Dine With Me in 2013

Dozens of complaints have been made about her business GD Designs Rochdale Ltd online

Hundreds of complaints made to Rochdale Council about GD Designs Rochdale Ltd have been referred to National Trading Standards which is now investigating.

Among the angry customers is Keith Batcheltor from Birmingham, who told the Daily Mirror he was shocked at his new units which arrived at a cost of 1,383.

He said: 'More than half of what was required was missing and of what was delivered, some was damaged and other parts didn't have the required holes to fit together.'

Mr Batcheltor tried to sue the company last month but failed because it had vanished, according to an investigation by journalist Andrew Penman.

One angry customer said the company was 'absolutely rubbish' with 'false promises every day'

A customer said they were 1,200 out of pocket with an incomplete kitchen eight months later

Ms Hussein. 37, claimed she could not help with the complaints because she had been locked out of her building after failing to pay about 20,000 in business rates

Another customer, Joanne Greenley, of Hull, said that she complained some of her units were missing - before GD Designs allegedly accused her of hiding them.

She told the Mirror: 'I've had a nightmare with this company. After numerous cancellations, I held them in breach of contract.'

Dozens of complaints about the company have also been posted on review websites, with Belal Paktiawal saying on 192.com that he was 'going through hell' with the firm.

Sarah Kitakule added: 'They don't deserve even one star They don't pick up phones, do not respond to email and don't return messages.

This customer said there were 'lots of missing items' and they were left 'feeling helpless'

Another customer has found it impossible to get in touch with the Rochdale-based company

'Difficult to know whether what you paid for is what was delivered from their delivery notes! Don't even be tempted!'

Other angry customers took to Trust Pilot, with Lynda Dickinson saying: 'They didn't deliver my full order, some what did come was damaged, parts missing.

'Doesn't matter how hard you try you won't be able to get in touch with them. I was given four different numbers to no avail.

'If it wasn't for my kitchen fitters having to make sides and backs for the drawers and corner posts, I would have been stuck without a kitchen over Christmas.'

GD Designs Rochdale Ltd was based at Fieldhouse Industrial Estate (pictured) in the town

But Ms Hussein claimed she could not help with the complaints because she had been locked out of her building after failing to pay about 20,000 in business rates.

She told the Mirror: 'I would love to help but I can't get to the papers or stock. I am not out there to rip people off. I have lost everything, I have got to start again.'

Ms Hussein, GD Designs Rochdale Ltd, Rochdale Council and National Trading Standards have all been contacted for comment by MailOnline today.

Come Dine With Me is a popular reality dinner party TV programme that has been on air for 12 years with 30 series comprising of more than 1,350 shows.
Racist: Wendy Baggott (pictured) branded Umair Ghafoor a 'terrorist' in a drunken outburst on a train

A racist carer's job hangs in the balance after she admitted unleashing a torrent of appalling abuse at a Muslim radiography student.

Wendy Baggott branded Umair Ghafoor a 'terrorist' and 'petrol bomber' in a drunken outburst on a train between York and Middlesbrough in July last year.

Witnesses also reported the 44-year-old saying 'them coming over and taking our jobs and benefits' and 'thought they had stopped letting Syrians into the country', a court heard.

Mr Ghafoor, a 22-year-old British Muslim of Pakistani heritage, was left feeling 'empty inside' and even shaved his beard following the attack.

And Mr Ghafoor - who was born and raised on Teesside - revealed his devastation after no-one on the crowded train defended him.

He said: 'The most disappointing point from this whole experience was that not one person helped me.

Devastated: British-born Umair Ghafoor (above) was left distraught when no-one on a packed train defended him against racist Wendy Baggott

'Not one person acknowledged me in my time of need. The train was packed and all those people just sat and watched and did nothing at all.

'Not one person stuck up for me. It was at this moment, I felt the lowest I've ever been.

'To be racially abused for no reason and not one person said a word. Sitting through the abuse alone and having to deal with it by myself was an unforgettable experience.'

Care worker Baggott was part of a gang of intoxicated women who boarded a train at York on July 15 after celebrating a friend's birthday.

Anne Mitchell, prosecuting at Teesside Magistrates' Court, outlined Baggott's catalogue of racial slurs.

When Mr Ghafoor boarded at Northallerton after a tiring shift at the Friarage Hospital, Baggott shouted: 'The guy has got a bomb. I hope the guy hasn't got a bomb.'

As he sat calmly behind the group, Baggott continued her abuse as she slurred: 'Petrol bomber behind us'.

And when Teesside University student Mr Ghafoor, from Linthorpe, near Middlesbrough, got up to finally confront her, Baggott shouted: 'It's all gone black'.

Drunken Wendy Baggott, of Ormesby, near Middlesbrough, racially abused a Muslim student on a packed train

Mr Ghafoor said: 'I was randomly verbally attacked by a woman who shouted disgusting racial comments towards me. The woman began by shouting that I had a bomb and that we should all be afraid.

'I initially ignored the lady as she was drunk and I didn't seem the need to lower myself as I assumed she'd just stop.

'This was the tipping point where I couldn't take any more.'

The 'proud British citizen' who was born and raised on Teesside, considers himself a 'Western' man who follows the latest fashion trends.

But he's now shaved his 'hipster' beard to avoid provoking a repeat attack and even avoids public transport.

He said: 'The reason for me not using the train is solely the result of this incident.

'It's left me questioning my real identity. It's made me feel empty inside.

'You always hear about these racial attacks, but you never actually think it's going to happen to you.'

Paul Crocker, defending, said his client 'completely took leave of her senses' during the outburst.

He said: 'My defendant is a mature lady who otherwise behaves in a proper, sober and responsible manner.

'She doesn't think she's a racist person. She doesn't know why she behaved in this way.

'She doesn't have particularly good recollection of the incident.'

He added: 'It wasn't her intention for the gentleman to be upset. She was so befuddled with alcohol that she wasn't thinking at all.'

Increasing the fine category, Chairman of the Bench Alan Duckling said: 'This sort of abuse is totally unacceptable and will not be tolerated by this court. Being drunk is not an excuse.'

Baggott, of Ryhill Walk, Ormesby, was ordered to pay 500 compensation, a 334 fine, 200 costs and a 33 victim surcharge.
Philippines Public Attorney's Office said it would seek murder charges against three anti-narcotics policemen whose killing of a high school student last week has triggered rare public outrage about the country's crackdown on drugs.

The killing of 17-year-old Kian Delos Santos has sparked nationwide protests which many hope could signal a reassessment of the country's fierce war on drugs that has left almost 8,000 Filipino drugs suspects dead.

Witnesses claim Delos Santos was unarmed and police officers handed him a gun, asked him to fire the weapon and run.

His last words, pleading with officers hours before he was found lying dead on August 16, were, 'Please stop. Please stop. I have a test tomorrow,' according to a witness.

An autopsy report showed he was shot twice in his head and once on the back.

Kian Loyd Delos Santos (pictured) became one of at least 80 people shot dead last week in an escalation of President Rodrigo Duterte's ruthless war on drugs

Persida Acosta, the head of the Public Attorney's Office, said the complaint against the three policemen would be forwarded to the justice department on Friday.

Delos Santos was found dead in an alley with a gun in his left hand.

Police said they killed him in self defence, but his family said he had no weapon, was right-handed and had no involvement in drugs.

Security cameras showed the officers aggressively escorting a man matching his description towards the area where he was killed.

The three policemen admit they were the people shown in the video, but that they were escorting another suspect.

PAO and police pathologists who did separate autopsies told a Senate hearing that Delos Santos was shot from above, from close range.

'It was cold-blooded murder, he was shot while kneeling down,' Acosta told news channel ANC.

'We are here for truth and justice so we have to file this immediately.'

Since Duterte became president last July he has vowed not to stop until the last drug trafficker in the country has been eliminated

The complaint, if accepted, would follow at least two cases filed last year against police over President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs, which has outraged human rights groups and alarmed Western governments.

Most Filipinos however support the campaign, according to opinion polls, and domestic opposition has been muted.

Several police commanders relieved of their duty over the student's killing told a Senate inquiry on Thursday that Delos Santos was not the target of their operation, and his links to drugs were known to them only the day after his death.

Officers said they learned of his suspected links to drugs from another drug suspect, a phone and talk circulating on social media.

Delos Santos was among more than 90 people killed last week in three nights of intensified raids dubbed 'One Time, Big Time', which had Duterte's steadfast support.

The term refers to a coordinated police drive to stamp out crime in a particular district.

Since Duterte became president last July he has vowed not to stop until the last drug trafficker in the country has been eliminated.

He has called on police and even civilians to kill drug users.

Duterte said he would be 'happy to slaughter' three million drug addicts, and likened his campaign to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler's efforts to exterminate Jews in Europe.

He later apologised for his Hitler reference, but said he was 'emphatic' about wanting to kill drug users.

He warned the European Union not to 'f*** with us' after the European parliament passed a resolution expressing 'grave concern over credible reports' that Philippine police were engaged in extrajudicial killings, a claim officers strongly deny.

Despite the criticism, the hardman has remained a popular leader and polls have shown continued domestic support for his war on drugs.

But the death of Santos appears to be a turning point.

Three government bodies, the department of justice, the senate, and the Commission on Human Rights, launched investigations.
Five men have been jailed for life for brutally killing Patrick Slater, who was stabbed through the heart with a screwdriver in a group attack in Perth after Australia Day celebrations last year.

Mr Slater, 26, was assaulted with weapons including a star picket and chunks of concrete near the Esplanade train station in the Perth CBD in the early hours of January 27, 2016.

He died from a stab wound to his chest which pierced his aorta.

Robert Pickett (centre), Dylan Anthony (second from right) and Clinton Mead (far right) have been sentenced for the murder of Patrick Slater

Robert Pickett (left) was alleged to be the leader of the group 'in terms of aggression

Five men dubbed the 'Patrick Slater slayers' - Christopher James Birdsall, Dylan Terrance Wayne Anthony, Clinton Frederick Mead, his brother Stefan Lazba Mead and Robert Christopher James Pickett - were convicted of Mr Slater's murder last month.

The men were found guilty after a six-week trial in Western Australia's Supreme Court.

Two juveniles who cannot be named have also been convicted over Mr Slater's death.

Mr Slater (pictured) died after his aorta was pierced during the brutal attack in Perth's CBD

One who has since turned 18 was found guilty of murder and will spend at least 12 years in jail, while the other boy pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter on the third day of trial and was jailed for four years and six months.

A child who was allegedly part of the group, aged 11 at the time, is being dealt with separately in the Children's Court.

Three children were among those charged over Mr Slater's death, aged 11, 14 and 17 at the time of the alleged murder.

The court heard that Mr Slater's death was the result of a violent night, during which the offenders encountered Mr Slater and his friends three times.

Mr Slater was holding a machete and his friend had a tomahawk, while the offenders armed themselves with rocks, bottles, a star picket, a timber pole and a screwdriver.

Prosecutor Carmel Barbagallo told the court that Robert Pickett, a father-of-one, likely dealt the blow that killed Mr Slater.

The 11-year-old boy (pictured), thought to be the youngest Australian ever charged with murder

Ms Babagallo said Pickett was 'very much' a leader of the group in terms of aggression.

However Justice Peter Martino said he was 'unable to find who it was that fatally stabbed Mr Slater'.

The court heard the eight males had three increasingly violent fights with Mr Slater's group, which included his two sisters, between 2.45am and 3.30am, starting with verbal exchanges between females from both groups.

Much of the fracas was caught on CCTV but the fatal 50-second attack, which happened after Mr Slater was chased upstairs onto the upper concourse of the train station, was not.

Birdsall's defence attorney Henry Sklarz said a 'group mentality prevailed'.

The screwdriver and other weapons were found dumped at the nearby Elizabeth Quay construction site.

Ms Barbagallo said the Slater family was 'broken' by their loss.
As the report notes, recurring conflict in Rakhine State is a major impediment to national peace and reconciliation in Myanmar, as well as a significant obstacle to the development of the State, which is among the poorest in the Union of Myanmar.

The challenges facing communities across the State are dangerous and demand urgent action. This includes - but is not limited to - the unresolved status of the large number of currently stateless Muslims, which exacerbates numerous socio-economic challenges facing the State.

The final report of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State: Towards a Peaceful, Fair and Prosperous Future for the People of Rakhine builds on the Commissions interim report to provide a comprehensive set of recommendations to achieve lasting peace and prosperity in Rakhine.

Below is an outline of some of the reports main points and recommendations.

Socio-Economic Development

The Commission notes that local communities would benefit more from investment in Rakhine and calls for their increased participation in decision-making on issues related to development. Recognising that the question of resource sharing between the Union and State Governments is a consideration in the broader peace process, the Commission nonetheless calls on the Government to ensure that local communities benefit from natural resource extractions in Rakhine State.

It recommends that the government ensure adequate compensation for appropriated land, and to invest heavily in infrastructure including roads, jetties, electricity, drinking water and internet access. The planned airport at Mrauk-U should be constructed.

It also calls for the provision of vocational training which prioritises women and is based on labour-market assessments, and urges the government to reduce red tape to promote business, and to address regulatory issues that currently constrain small businesses, including access to lending and agricultural credit.

In light of the states vulnerability to the effects of climate change, the Commission recommends that the government urgently step-up efforts to strength the capabilities of communities to adopt climate resilient options, and to improve the states irrigation systems.

Citizenship

While Myanmars cultural diversity and pluralism deserve to be celebrated, identity and ethnicity are sensitive issues in Myanmar and have a direct impact on the determination of citizenship. Identity and ethnicity are sensitive issues. Citizenship rights and deficiencies in national legislation remain a broad concern, as does the unresolved status of many Muslims.

In the short-run, the Commission calls for an acceleration of the citizenship verification process in line with the 1982 Citizenship Law. The Government should develop a clear strategy and timeline for the process, communicated through a broad outreach campaign. Those who have already been verified should immediately be allowed to enjoy all benefits, rights and freedoms associated with citizenship.

The Commission recommends that complaints regarding the verification process be addressed swiftly by a government authority independent of the institutions responsible for the process. It also calls for the rights of those whose citizenship application is not accepted to be clarified.

The Commission also notes the need to revisit the law itself and calls on the government to set in motion a process to review the law. Such a review should consider  amongst other issues  aligning the law with international standards, re-examining the current linkage between citizenship and ethnicity, and considering provisions to allow for the possibility of acquiring citizenship by naturalisation, particularly for those who are stateless. The Commission calls for the rights of non-citizens who live in Myanmar to be regulated, and for the clarification of residency rights.

Pending such a review, the Commission calls on the Government to ensure that existing legislation is interpreted and applied in a manner that is non-discriminatory.

Freedom of Movement

Both Rakhines and Muslims face movement restrictions, although Muslims  and in particular IDPs  are particularly affected. In general, the Commission calls on the Government to ensure freedom of movement for all people irrespective of religion, ethnicity, or citizenship status, and to that end reiterates its earlier call for a mapping exercise to identify all existing restrictions on freedom of movement, and calls for the introduction of measures to prohibit informal restrictions including unofficial payments and arbitrary roadblocks.

Communal Participation and Representation

Urgent steps are needed to promote communal representation and participation for underrepresented groups, including ethnic minority groups, stateless and displaced communities. This affects Muslims disproportionally. Women should be included in political decision-making.

Household leaders, Village Administrators and Village Tract Administrators should be directly elected by the residents of each village/village tract. Registration processes for CSOs should be greatly simplified.

Internally displaced people (IDPs)

The Commission commends the government for acting swiftly on the recommendation in the interim report on camp closures, but noted that the outcome of the return/relocation process was mixed. It reiterates the need for a comprehensive strategy towards closing all IDP camps in Rakhine State.

It calls for the government to cooperate with international partners to ensure that return/relocation is carried out in accordance with international standards, is voluntary, safe, and takes place in a dignified manner.

In the interim, and without affecting the closure of IDP camps  the Commission calls on the government to ensure dignified living conditions in camps, including improved shelter, water and sanitation, education, and access to livelihood opportunities.

Cultural Developments

In its final report, the Commission reiterates its recommendation that the Government of Myanmar should declare Mrauk U as a candidate for UNESCO world heritage status, and continue its positive engagement with UNESCO and other international partners to move this process forward.

The Commission also urges the Government of Myanmar to list and protect historic, religious and cultural sites of all communities in Rakhine.

Inter-communal Cohesion

Inter-communal dialogue must be fostered at all levels; township, state and Union. Activities that help to create an environment conducive for dialogue should be initiated by the government, including joint vocational training, infrastructure projects and cultural events, and the establishment of communal youth centres.

Security of all communities

The Commission recognises the threat posed from potential radicalisation, but advises against a purely security response in Rakhine. Commission members have instead called for a calibrated response that combines political, developmental, security and human rights approaches that address the root causes of violence and reduce inter-communal tensions.

To strengthen and professionalise policing in Rakhine, the Commission recommends simplifying the security infrastructure in Rakhine by creating a unified agency for all policing in the state, with a single chain of command reporting directly to the chief of Myanmars Police Force.

This could be done, for instance, by folding the Border Guard Police into thenational police. Improved training  including in human rights, community policing, civilian protection and languages  should be provided to all members of the security forces in order to improve intelligence gathering and relations with local communities. In general, and as recommended in the interim report, the police force should reflect the population in all components, including women and minorities.

Bilateral relations with Bangladesh

Given the importance of strong bilateral cooperation to secure the border and address shared challenges  including drug trafficking  the Commission welcomes steps taken to improve cooperation with Bangladesh over the past year, which are in line with the recommendations of its interim report. The Commission recommends that Myanmar and Bangladesh further strengthen their bilateral cooperation in various areas.

Implementation of the Commissions recommendations

With the submission of its final report, the Advisory Commission on Rakhine has completed its mandate. However the Commission has proposed a mechanism by which the Government can ensure effective implementation of its recommendations.

It calls for a ministerial level appointment to be made with the sole function of coordinating policy on Rakhine State and ensuring the effective implementation of the Rakhine Advisory Commissions recommendations. The appointee should be supported by a permanent and well-staffed secretariat, which will be an integral part of the Central Committee on Implementation of Peace and Development in Rakhine State and support its work.
A British man has died during a hike through a famous canyon near Spains Costa Blanca called Hells Ravine.

The 57-year-old was walking with his daughter when he suffered a suspected heart attack yesterday afternoon.

Firefighters, paramedics and a rescue helicopter were sent to the scene after receiving an emergency call around 1.30pm.

The man collapsed at the famous Hell's Ravine canyon near Spain's Costa Blanca region

He was evacuated to the small town of Orba near the resort of Denia where an air ambulance was waiting to take him to hospital, but died before he could reach a medical centre and was pronounced dead around 3.30pm.

The tragedy occurred at a place known in English as Hells Ravine in an area called Vall de Laguar, a chain of three villages a 50-minute drive inland from the Costa Blanca.

The well-known route, around nine miles long, zig-zags between two mountain ranges and hikers have to negotiate more than 6,000 stone steps to reach the top.

The British man was evacuate to the small town of Orba, but died before he could reach a medical centre

The dead Brit has not been named.

In January a 51-year-old British man died after falling 150ft during a rock climb with a friend as they tried to scale a landmark called Penya Roc a few miles south of Hells Ravine.

He was revived by paramedics at a fire station in Benidorm and stabilised after suffering cardiac arrest, but pronounced dead shortly after arrival at a hospital near the famous resort.

Local reports at the time said his rope broke as he practised trad or traditional climbing, where the first climber or lead places their own protection including bolts for their hands and feet on their way up the rock face and their partner removes the protection while they are seconding the route.
A waitress was stunned to receive a tip of $1,200, on a bill costing the diners just $20.

Brianna Siegel, from New Jersey, said she 'almost collapsed' when she saw the huge tip left by a couple she had been joking with as she served them.

They paid their bill and gave her an envelope, asking her to open it at home.

Brianna Siegel with the envelope she was given after she served a couple at a table in her restaurant in New Jersey

The note read 'God care for you, this is not a coincidence' and was followed by a Bible verse

Inside was a huge extra for the Bar Louie waitress, with a note telling her it was not a coincidence.

The note read: 'Bri, God cares for you. This is not a coincidence whenever it gets hard KNOW God got you.'

It also included the Bible verse, 1 Peter 5:7, which says to cast your cares on God.

The 21-year-old server told NJ.com: 'I nearly fell to the floor. This shows that they're still nice people out in this world.

Ms Siegel said she was in 'shock' and that the check proved that there were still nice people in the world

Ms Siegel works in Bar Louie, above, in New Jersey, and her boss said the tip couldn't have happened to a better person

'I'm still in shock, to be honest. I never thought I would ever get something like that in my lifetime.'

She says she plans to use the money to pay for nursing school and to put toward a new car.

And her boss told News 12 the surprise bonus 'couldn't have happened to a better person'.

Brent Ruhkamp said: 'Shes always willing to come in. Always willing to help out. Shes a great worker for us.'
North Korea has warned the United Kingdom faces a 'miserable end' if it joins the ongoing tensions on the peninsula.

In a stark warning to Britain, Kim Jong-un used his government news agency to tell Theresa May not to follow the aggressive rhetoric of Donald Trump.

The Korean Central News Agency reported: 'We solemnly warn not only the US and the puppet group but also satellites, including the UK and Australia, which are taking advantage of the present war manoeuvres against the North.'

Yesterday, North Korean state media showed Kim Jong-un (pictured) standing next to the diagram of an intercontinental ballistic missile

Wednesday, North Korean state media showed Kim standing next to the diagram of an intercontinental ballistic missile more powerful than any it has previously tested.

The image of the three-stage rocket known as the Hwasong-13 suggested he is fiercely pursuing the creation of a weapon capable of striking anywhere on the US mainland

It also follows a further escalation in the war of words between the country and US President Donald Trump, in which Kim accused America of leading a 'beheading operation' to oust the Korean leader.

North Korea's military said in a statement that it would launch an unspecified 'merciless retaliation and unsparing punishment' on the United States over the Ulchi Freedom Guardian drills that began Monday for an 11-day run.

Despite the threat, an unprompted direct attack is extremely unlikely because the United States vastly outguns Pyongyang, which values the continuation of its dictatorship above all else.

Impoverished North Korea hates the annual drills in part because they force it to respond with expensive military measures of its own.

The North Korean statement accused the United States of deploying unspecified 'lethal' weapons for the drills that it says involve a 'beheading operation' training aimed at removing absolute ruler Kim Jong-un.

With most of the food going to the army, millions of ordinary people are struggling to eat every day. Pictured: : A North Korean long-range rocket is launched

The Ulchi Freedom Guardian drills in South Korea - which themselves are a response to the North's nuclear tests - are largely computer-simulated

The country condemned the military drills the US is conducting with the South and branded Trump 'weird' and 'ego-driven', not long after Trump claimed Kim was starting to 'respect' him.

Kim also threatened to turn the US into 'a heap of ashes' in response to the Ulchi Freedom Guardian drills currently being held in South Korea.

In a special alert last month, the United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organisation the country's 'early-season crop production' was down to a third of the level it was last year.

It added: 'More rains are urgently needed to avoid significant decreases in the main 2017 cereal production season. Should drought conditions persist, the food security situation is likely to further deteriorate.'

Meanwhile sanctions have been imposed on North Korea aimed at slashing its annual export revenue of 2.3billion by a third.

But these penalties are expected to hit ordinary Koreans, from coal mine workers to fishermen.

North Korea (pictured in 2010) is facing its worst famine in decades as Kim Jong-un obsesses over his nuclear program, it has been claimed

Millions of North Koreans are believed to be suffering as a result of international sanctions and the drought currently crippling the country

North Korea is facing its worst famine in decades as Kim Jong-un obsesses over his nuclear program, it has been claimed.

Millions of North Koreans are believed to be suffering as a result of international sanctions and the drought currently crippling the country.

With most of the food going to the army, millions of ordinary people are struggling to eat every day, according to Japanese documentary maker Jiro Ishimaru who has a network of citizen journalists in the country.

'For one thing, there are too many soldiers to feed,' said Ishimaru, adding that the best food would still only be reserved for top officers

Recent images of Kim standing next to diagrams of a rocket follows a further escalation in the war of words between the country and US President Donald Trump. Pictured: North Korean farmers in 2012

North Korea has condemned the military drills (pictured) the US is conducting with the South

The sanctions have been imposed on North Korea aimed at slashing its annual export revenue of 2.3billion by a third. Pictured: A missile is fired during the combined military exercise between the US and South Korea
Labour MP Frank Field today claimed to have received new details about the BHS collapse that will leave Sir Philip Green 'seasick'.

The Birkenhead MP said he now had information about the scandal that was previously held only by regulators.

Earlier this year, yacht-loving billionaire Sir Philip belatedly reached a settlement with the Pensions Regulator to close a huge blackhole in the BHS pension fund.

The 571million gap in the fund emerged when the high street collapsed shortly it was sold by Sir Philip to serial bankrupt Dominic Chappell.

Labour MP Frank Field (left) today claimed to have received new details about the BHS collapse that will leave Sir Philip Green (right) 'seasick'

Mr Field led a pursuit of Sir Philip in Parliament but his Commons inquiry never saw details of the settlement.

Asked if the revelation was 'dynamite', Sir Philip told the Mirror: 'I think so. I think he [Green] might be a little seasick today.'

Sir Philip agreed to pay 363million into the BHS pension fund under pressure from regulators.

But Mr Field has protested the amount is not enough and still believes Sir Philip should lose his knighthood over the scandal.

He revealed his irritation at the deal earlier this week when it was announced Mr Chappell was being prosecuted by regulators in connection with the scandal but that Sir Philip was not.

Mr Field told the paper: 'The public believe there was a cosy stitch-up.'

He added: 'We really needed two things. One was a major leak of papers, which has occurred, and secondly somebody in court who might sing like a canary.'

BHS collapsed last year just 13 months after it was sold by Sir Philip to serial bankrupt Dominic Chappell for 1

Lesley Titcomb, boss of the Pension Regulator, said throughout discussions with Green the aim was 'to achieve the right outcome for members'.

Mr Chappell, a playboy businessman who bought the high street chain from Sir Philip Green for 1, owned BHS at the time of its collapse.

He has been summoned to appear in Brighton Magistrates Court on September 20.

Mr Chappell faces three charges of neglecting or refusing to provide information and documents, without a reasonable excuse, when required to do so under section 72 of the Pensions Act 2004, contrary to section 77(1) of that Act.

The Pensions Regulator demanded the information from Mr Chappell in April 2016, May 2016 and February this year. Conviction can be punished with unlimited fines.

Mr Chappell, a serial bankrupt, bought BHS from Sir Philip in March 2015, through a consortium called Retail Acquisitions.

He promised to inject millions of pounds into the ailing retail giant, which had become one of the most well-known names on the High Street.

Sir Philip sailed away from many of his troubles by touring the Mediterranean on his super yacht Lionheart (pictured) at the height of the scandal

But 13 months later, BHS went into administration  the biggest collapse in the British retail sector since the closure of Woolworths at the height of the financial crisis.

It was later revealed that, far from injecting cash into BHS, Chappell and his firm had extracted 17 million, although it is understood 10 million was later returned.

The millionaire awarded himself 2.6 million, including his 600,000 salary.

The Pensions Regulator today said it is to prosecute former BHS owner Dominic Chappell (file image)

He also gave a loan of 1.5 million to his father Joseph, 78, from BHS funds, which he later defended during an interview on BBC Newsnight.

The Pensions Regulator has pledged to flex its muscles recently, saying in July that it 'will not hesitate' to prosecute companies or individuals if they refuse to hand over information.

After a drawn-out saga that included a parliamentary inquiry and public outcry over both Mr Chappell's and Sir Philip's conduct, the Topshop tycoon agreed to pay 363 million to settle the BHS pension scheme in February.

Under Mr Chappell's tenure as owner of BHS, 8.4 million was taken out of the chain by Retail Acquisitions, with 6 million still owed when it collapsed last year.

Retail Acquisitions was put into liquidation in May although Mr Chappell, a former bankrupt, said at the time he would challenge the court ruling.
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has dismissed calls to change colonial-era monuments and the date of Australia Day as 'Stalinist' exercises in rewriting history.

It comes as debate intensified over the country's treatment of its Aboriginal population.

Moves to remove Confederate statues and other Civil War-era symbols in the United States have renewed focus on the mistreatment of Aboriginal Australians in the colonial era and recognition of their place in the nation's history.

Prominent indigenous commentator Stan Grant this week pointed to the 'damaging myth' inscribed on a Sydney statue of British explorer Captain James Cook that says he 'Discovered this territory 1770'.

Australia's colonial history credits Cook with discovering the country, but Aboriginal people inhabited the land for more than 60,000 years before the first European explorers arrived

Australia's colonial history credits Cook with discovering the country, but Aboriginal people inhabited the land for more than 60,000 years before the first European explorers arrived.

Turnbull, however, said attempts to remove or alter such statues were mistaken.

'Trying to edit our history is wrong,' Turnbull told Melbourne radio station 3AW.

'All of those statues, all of those monuments, are part of our history and we should respect them and preserve them.'

Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull (pictured) said: 'We can't get into this sort of Stalinist exercise of trying to white-out or obliterate or blank-out parts of our history'

It comes as Afua Hirsch, a journalist for Sky News, said it was time to 'look at' Britain's 'landscape' - starting with the statue of the 'white supremacist' Horatio Nelson in Trafalgar Square.

In an article for the Guardian, titled 'Toppling statues? Here's why Nelson's Column should be next', she argued that the 'colonial and pro-slavery titans of British history' should stop being 'memorialised'.

She wrote that Nelson was 'what you would now call, without hesitation, a white supremacist' and that his influence hindered the progress of the slavery abolitionists.

Sydney council this week referred concerns about the Cook statue to an indigenous advisory board.

Next for the chop? In an article for the Guardian, titled 'Toppling statues? Here's why Nelson's Column should be next', Ms Hirsch argued that the 'colonial and pro-slavery titans of British history' should stop being 'memorialised'

The board will also examine memorials to New South Wales' colonial-era governor Lachlan Macquarie, who critics say ordered massacres of indigenous people.

The uproar follows a vote by two local councils in Victoria state to no longer recognise January 26 as Australia Day.

The date commemorates the arrival of the country's first British settlers, but is termed 'Invasion Day' by many indigenous Australians who say it marks the beginning of the decline of Aboriginal culture.

Turnbull said attempts to change the national day and alter monuments were being pushed by 'fringe' leftists.

'I think the vast majority of Australians are as horrified as you and I are at the thought that we're going to go around rewriting history, editing the inscriptions on statues, deleting Australia Day,' he said.

'If you want to write a new chapter to our history, if you want to challenge assumptions in the past, by all means do so.

'But we can't get into this sort of Stalinist exercise of trying to white-out or obliterate or blank-out parts of our history.'

Conservative commentators in Australia have accused critics of bowing to political correctness and stoking racial friction.

Grant, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's indigenous affairs editor, countered by saying that statues need not come down, but a deeper discussion about the country's history was required.

It follows violent protests in the US over a statue of Confederate leader Robert E Lee, which many argued celebrates America's slave-owning past

'There is a history in Australia of not wanting to talk about the darker parts of our shared past,' he wrote this week.

Aboriginals were believed to have numbered around one million at the time of British settlement, but now make up only about three percent of the total national population of 24 million.

They remain the most disadvantaged Australians, with higher rates of poverty, ill-health and imprisonment than any other community in the country.
A young woman wearing thongs and active wear has been winched to safety by a helicopter after a rising tide left her trapped on the rocks at Bondi Beach.

The woman, who was joined by a man, was found trapped at the bottom of a cliff just off the path of the iconic Bondi to Bronte coastal walk in Sydney at 3.15pm on Friday.

A Westpac Rescue helicopter lifted the pair up and flew them to nearby Marks Park in Tamarama, safely dropping them off without any serious injuries.

Scroll down for video

The woman can be seen winched in a rock ledge by a rescue worker at 3.15pm on Friday

A young woman has been winched to safety after being trapped at a cliff in Bondi, Sydney

The dramatic rescue was all thanks to Westpac Life Saver Rescue who sent out a chopper

Westpac Life Saver Rescue chief executive officer Stephen Leahy told Daily Mail Australia the couple became trapped when the tide began to rise.

'A chopper was immediately sent out as soon as the distressed call came in.

'After a short search the helicopter located the two young adults, a young male and one female.

'The woman was winched onto the rock ledge to Marks Park while the man was rescued by life savers on foot,' he said.

He said the couple were rescued within a half and hour from when the call was made.

No ambulance was required as no one was injured.

The Westpac Life Saver helicopter heads off after rescuing the woman at Bondi in Sydney

Meanwhile her male companion (pictured, right) was lead to safety via foot by a lifeguard
Boris Johnson (pictured in Libya yesterday) today condemned Donald Trump's 'totally wrong' response to Charlottesville

Boris Johnson today condemned Donald Trump's 'totally wrong' response to a violent far-right uprising in Charlottesville, Virginia.

The Foreign Secretary went further than Theresa May in his criticism of the US President.

Mr Trump has been criticised around the world for claiming there multiple sides to an incident where a neo-Nazi drove a car at a group of counter protesters, killing one.

Mr Johnson told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme said: 'I thought he got it totally wrong and I thought it was a great shame that he failed to make a clear and fast distinction, which we all are able to make, between fascists and anti-fascists, between Nazis and anti-Nazis.'

The Prime Minister was critical of Mr Trump in the aftermath of the violent incident, insisting there was 'no equivalence' between fascists and their opponents.

Speaking last week she said: 'I think it is important for all those in positions of responsibility to condemn far-right views wherever we hear them.'

Mr Johnson also appeared to confirm Mr Trump's state visit to Britain will now take place next year, despite the invite being extended in January.

The Prime Minister (pictured in Teesside on Wednesday) was critical of Mr Trump in the aftermath of the violent incident, insisting there was 'no equivalence' between fascists and their opponents

Senior government sources revealed a likely delay earlier in the summer.

Mr Johnson said today the high profile trip was 'more likely 2018 than this year'.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has said that a state visit for Mr Trump would not be 'a priority' if Labour was in power, after previously suggesting such a visit should be scrapped until Mr Trump abandoned his ban on nationals from several Muslim countries.

Mr Trump (pictured at the White House on Wednesday) has been criticised around the world for claiming there multiple sides to an incident where a neo-Nazi drove a car at a group of counter protesters, killing one

Lib Dem deputy leader Jo Swinson said: 'It shouldn't have taken this long for the Foreign Secretary to criticise Donald Trump for his abhorrent defence of white supremacists in Charlottesville.

'Boris Johnson has long been an apologist for Trump, as he and other Brexiteers are so desperate for a US trade deal.

'But recent weeks have shown just how risky it would be to abandon our allies in Europe and become dependent on an unstable, obnoxious and narcissistic bully.

'Boris must show once and for all he isn't Trump's poodle and demand the state visit is called off.'
A driver led police on a high speed chase through Arkansas with a casket on top of his car.

Police spotted Kevin Cholousky, 39, parked on the side of a highway in Little Rock with the coffin atop his Hummer.

When they stopped to see if he needed help at around 5.30pm on Wednesday, Cholousky raced off.

A driver led police on a high speed chase through Arkansas with a casket on top of his car

Police spotted Kevin Cholousky, 39, parked on the side of a highway in Little Rock

The stunned officers then began chasing him down, according to Arkansas' Highway and Transportation Department.

Witness Dianna Sutliff Cooper said she was driving down the I-30 when the vehicle raced past yer, with several patrol cars behind it.

She told Fox News: 'I was on my way home from work when this guy came up behind me in a Hummer with blue lights flashing behind him.

'Then I noticed a coffin on top and wondered what was going on.'

Cholousky was eventually caught, arrested and charged with reckless driving, fleeing a vehicle and fictitious tags.

Police still do not know what he was doing with the casket or if anyone was inside it.
The Danish inventor accused of killing a female journalist, whose dismembered remains have been found in the water off Copenhagen, continues to deny all charges.

Peter Madsen, 46, was arrested on August 12 over the disappearance of 30-year-old Swedish journalist Kim Wall, whose naked torso was found on Tuesday.

Miss Wall was last seen alive on Madsen's home-made submarine on August 10, and the Dane is now facing charges of murder and indecent handling of a corpse.

Are you ok ? Peter Madsen, who is now charged over the death of Kim Wall, gives the thumbs up after he is rescued from the submarine where police later found traces of her blood

Today, divers are searching for Miss Wall's remains, as well as the clothes she was wearing when she was seen on Madsen's submarine, in Kge Bay, Copenhagen, where the vessel sank.

Police say Miss Wall's limbs had been 'deliberately cut off' her torso, which had been weighted down with metal to make it sink to the bottom of the sea, police said.

Madsen has admitted that Miss Wall died on his submarine, and says he then 'buried her at sea', before deliberately sinking the vessel he had spent years building.

As he was questioned and told of the upcoming murder charges on Thursday, he continued to deny that he has committed any crime, Danish police say.

Yesterday, footage filmed by Denmark's TV2 as he was fished out of Kge Bay shortly after Miss Wall had died, shows him giving a 'thumbs up', telling journalists he is ok.

Dead: The headless torso found in Copenhagen is that of Kim Wall, 30, (left) who had gone along for a voyage on the submarine of Peter Madsen (right), who has now admitted to 'burying her at sea' after she died on the vessel

Tragedy: Journalist Kim Wall died on the submarine, Madsen has admitted, but he claims it was an accident

'SHE TALKED ABOUT THE MANY STORIES SHE WANTED TO TELL': FRIEND PAYS EMOTIONAL TRIBUTE TO 'INSPIRATIONAL' KIM WALL Malin Franzen, 29, who had known Kim Wall since they were teenagers, posted an emotional tribute on Facebook, honouring her friend. 'Inspirational': Miss Franzen, right, described Miss Wall, left, as an inspiration with a wicked sense of humour who made 'anything seem possible' 'The last 12 days have been a never-ending parade of one unfathomable event after the other. Just three weeks ago, she was at on our sofa and told us about her new house in China where  according to her  cats sometimes fall thought the roof, showed us pictures of Chinese t-shirts with inappropriate English text on, and demonstrated translation apps. 'She talked about her love, of how many stories there are to tell, about the future, about her life. You always listened to her wide-eyed, because how many people do you know who can give you first-hand information about both the Ugandan film industry, the mass graves of Sri Lanka and the Cuban police force? Who had been accepted and graduated from not one, but two, super schools? 'I was looking over her shoulder when she read her acceptance letter for Columbia, and almost fainted when I saw their term fee, but she just said something along the lines of 'oh right, yes, I gotta sort that'. And she did that because what she has achieved, she has achieved on her own merits, nothing has been served up for her. 'Despite this, she never acted superior or was pretentious (but also never falsely humble) and kept the same humour (without competition the most inappropriate I've ever encountered) that she had when we worked as telemarketers in a shabby callcentre. 'It is impossible to describe her. And I doubt anyone could paint a complete picture of her. Losing her is not just the loss of a dear friend, but also of a source of inspiration. 'A couple of times a year, she swooped into the flat, dragging her gigantic suitcase. And when she left again, you were filled with a feeling like anything is possible. It is hard enough to comprehend that her adventure is over, it is flat out impossible to understand that is how it ended. Rest in peace, dear Kim. 'That's just the way it is, things will never be the same.' Published with the permission of Malin Franzen Advertisement

As Madsen is known in Denmark for his ambitious projects, which as well as submarines include building space rockets, the TV2 crew were there to report on his rescue.

Wearing camouflage overalls, Madsen is seen speaking to two policemen about Miss Wall, who by then had been reported missing by her family. They ask: 'Do you have any contact information for her?'

'It's in my phone at the bottom of the ocean,' Madsen replies according to Ekstrabladet.

'So you don't have her name or what?'

'Just that her name is Kim. I don't check the background of a journalist, they call and ask 'can I have an interview'.'

As the camera follows him, Madsen explains in a chillingly casual way that he submarine sank because of an issue with one of the ballast tanks.

Members of The Danish Emergency Management Agency (DEMA) are preparing to assist the police at Kalvebod Faelled in Copenhagen in the search for Miss Wall's remains

While Miss Wall's torso was recovered earlier this week, authorities still look for other remains

Smiling at the camera, he says: ' I was just out for a practice vouyge when there was an issue with a ballast tank - which was not very serious - and when I tried to repair it, it only got worse.

'Nautilus sank in 30 seconds so I did not have time to close any hatches or anything. Which was very good, because otherwise I would be down there,' he adds smiling again.

He smiles again. After this, Madsen can reportedly be heard talking about how they can retrieve the submarine, and how much it's going to cost - not mentioning Miss Wall, but stressing that there is some form of insurance for the vessel.

Police have found traces of Miss Wall's blood inside the submarine, despite having had to retrieve it from the bottom of a Copenhagen bay where it sank on August 11.

Tribute: Around 40 of Miss Wall's classmates from the Graduate School of Journalism in Columbia University gathered at a candle vigil on Wednesday evening

Honour: Salima Koroma, left, and Matthew Claiborne, classmates of Miss Wall, who studied at Columbia University in 2013, mourn at the university campus in New York

In memoriam: Miss Wall hailed from southern Sweden, but had recently been splitting her time between New York and China as she travelled around the world to report stories

Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday morning, Copenhagen police investigator Jens Moeller Jensen said that they had been able to match both the blood and the torso to DNA retrieved from a toothbrush and a hairbrush belonging to Kim Wall.

He added that police had found that the torso had been subjected to some form of force, in order for air to be pushed out of the lungs so it would not float.

Police believe the metal found on the torso had the purpose of ensuring the body sunk and remained on the seabed.

Madsen's lawyer Betina Hald Engmark said on Wednesday that her client stands by his 'explanation that an accident happened'.

The Ekstra Bladet tabloid, quoting unnamed sources, said Madsen has asked to be transferred to solitary confinement, allegedly out of fear of being attacked inside the prison.

The torso was found by a passing cyclist at the water's edge in Kge Bay in Copenhagen, where Madsen had informed police that he had 'buried' Miss Wall's dead body.

Further search: Police and other authorities search a waterway for further remains related to the ongoing Kim Wall investigation at the west coast of Amager, Copenhagen, Denmark

Police search a waterway for remains related to the ongoing Kim Wall investigation at the west coast of Amager close to Copenhagen, Denmark

Last moments: One of the last images taken of Miss Wall shows her on board the sub alongside Madsen on Thursday August 10

On Wednesday, Miss Wall's family has paid tribute to the freelance journalist, who grew up in Sweden but was mainly based in New York and Beijing.

The family says it received the confirmation of her death 'with boundless sadness and dismay.'

'The tragedy has hit not only us and other families, but friends and colleagues all over the world.'

Her parents and brother said Miss Wall, 'found and told stories from different parts of the globe, stories that have to be written,' ranging from the Haitian earthquake to ousted dictator Idi Amin's torture chamber in Uganda and mine fields in Sri Lanka.

They say said he journalist, who wrote for publications including The Guardian and New York Times, gave 'a voice to the weak, the vulnerable and marginalized people,' adding that such a voice had been 'needed for a long time. Now it will not be.

'Hot-tempered': Peter Madsen, pictured with fellow enthusiast Kristian von Bengtson and one of their rocket prototypes in 2010, allegedly has a history of lashing out at journalists

Passionate: Madsen's biographer has revealed that the hobby rocket builder has made enemies of the people he has worked with, and that his temper can flare unexpectedly

Madsen, an amateur enthusiast who had built the UC3 Nautilus himself, has a history of lashing out at journalists who gave his project bad press, his biographer has said.

'He often ends up in conflicts, and has a lot of enemies,' says Thomas Djursing, a journalist who has written a book about Madsen.

'He can throw tools at you. But at the same time, he's not a violent person. I've never been afraid of him,' he told Aftonbladet.

Mr Djursing adds that Madsen would often become angry with journalists who wrote about his ambitious projects in a negative way, and says 'I don't know a journalist who has not been in conflict with him'.

In Mr Djursing's book 'Rocket Madsen', the inventor describes himself as a 'nerd with few friends' who grew up with his elderly father after the parents' separation.

Early on, he joined several rocket and space travel clubs, but his lack of patience and short fuse saw him excluded from the societies in his teens.

'The past few years, he has been driven by a kind of vengeance. To show those he has worked with in the past, but who has since become his adversaries, that he can beat them,' Mr Djursing toldExpressen.

'He is a crazy person,' photographer Bo Tornvig tells the newspaper.

'I mean, making space rockets and sailing around in home-made submarines is not normal behaviour. But I've never seen him lay a hand on anyone. This whole story really stinks. '

The UC3 Nautilus was raised from the bottom of Copenhagen harbour where it had been under 8m (24ft) of water since sinking on Friday morning

The 40-ton, 18-meter long Nautilus, one of three subs built by Madsen, was found by divers under 7m (24ft) of water, though they were unable to enter it safely

Madsen, pictured above in 2008 in front of his submarine, was seen standing the tower of the still-floating submarine moments before it sank, according to a rescuer

Peter Madsen, who built the submarine himself, is under investigation for negligent manslaughter as investigators say there is evidence it was wrecked deliberately

Miss Wall was last seen on board the UC3 Nautilus with amateur builder Madsen on August 10, but until Monday, he insisted he had let her off that evening.

Madsen was picked up by the Danish Navy around 10.45am on August 11, when his submarine sunk in Copenhagen harbour.

It was built like a post-World War II submarine, with a galley, crew bunks, officer's mass, bridge and engine room.

Madsen claims he was the only one on board at the time, and that he dropped Miss Wall off at the mouth of the harbour shortly after 10pm the previous night.

Around the time he claimed to have dropped Miss Wall off, Madsen sent a mysterious text to a friend saying she had left the vessel and cancelling a trip he was supposed to be taking on the submarine the following day, according to local reports.

He did not respond to questions from the friend about why he had dropped Miss Wall off or why the trip was being cancelled.

Madsen was arrested on manslaughter charges the following Saturday before a judge ordered that he be held in custody while investigations are carried out.

He is charged with having killed Miss Wall 'in an unknown way and in an unknown place sometime after 5pm on Thursday.'

Before the first court hearing, which was held in private and attended by his relatives, Madsen smiled, and chatted with both his lawyer and reporters.

If convicted, Madsen faces between five years and life in prison.
Paratrooper William Loney will be given a headstone bearing his name as his identity was revealed 72 years after his death

The name of a previously unknown British soldier killed in the Second World War has finally been uncovered 72 years after his death.

Paratrooper William Loney will be given a headstone bearing his name after dying in the disastrous Battle of Arnhem in the September of 1944 aged just 26.

Mr Loney, from Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, was buried beneath a headstone listing him as 'A Soldier of the 1939-45 War'.

But Mr Loney - also called 'Ginger' - will be given a ceremony at Arnhem (Oosterbeek) War Cemetery on September 13 where Dewsbury genealogist and military researcher Peter Bennett will lay a wreath.

After over 20 years of investigation Mr Bennett, 70, is hoping that relatives of the lance corporal will step forward to join him at the funeral in the Netherlands, where Mr Loney was killed trying to capture bridges over the Rhine.

'Gingers mothers maiden name was Oates, and she had five sisters,' he said. 'There are a lot of Oates in the Dewsbury telephone directory. Maybe someone could be out there.'

A new headstone will be placed at the cemetery for Ginger, who was born in 1918, after the UK's Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre helped British military historians identify him.

This German propaganda photo shows the bodies of Lance Corporal Loney and his comrade slain in the street after parachuting in the same day to secure bridges over the Rhine

Mr Bennett said despite the UK's Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre managing to identify him, no close relatives had been located.

'Loney was buried as an unknown Lance Corporal,' he said. 'There were not many Lance Corporals buried in that way so that allowed them to narrow it down.

'However to date no close family has been found.'

Ginger initially joined the Royal Artillery before volunteering for the Airborne, joining C Company, 2nd Parachute Battalion.

Ginger, left, is listed on two war memorials in his hometown of Dewsbury, which helped historian Peter Bennett identify him and secure a headstone bearing his name

After parachuting into Arnhem on September 17, 1944, he became embroiled in heavy street fighting.

Over the rattle of German machine guns in the street, Dutch locals at 31 Utrechtsestraat heard a loud banging above the basement in which they were sheltering.

It was Ginger and his comrade Norman Shipley as they entered the house through the back door, before exiting onto the street where they were cut down by enemy troops.

William Loney will finally have a grave bearing his name after dying in the Battle of Arnhem

A local boy who saw the aftermath recalled: 'There is hardly a place to hide between the high houses. The British never had a chance.'

The chaos of war meant the bodies lay where they fell for days. When they were hastily buried no record was made of their identities.

Mr Bennett pointed out that Ginger will not be repatriated to Yorkshire.

'Anyone killed in action will be buried in their country of death. That was decided after the First World War. So he will not come back to Dewsbury.

'But he will now have the dignity and recognition of his own headstone. And if he does have family they will be able to visit and see his name.

'I hope it can be established that he has relatives. But if not, I will be there in Holland for the dedication and reception. Its closure, isnt it? Thats the word: closure.'
A statement by the State Counsellors information office said the attacks started at 1am.

They come within hours after former UN secretary general Kofi Annan released his Rakhine Commission findings to the State Counsellor and made it public in a press conference in Yangon on Thursday.

24 police posts in as many villages were encircled and attacked by guerillas and villagers armed with sharp weapons, the statement said.

Five policemen were killed in the attack. Seven attackers were also killed, according to the statement.

However, it was not yet clear whether those attackers were armed guerrillas or villagers or both.

The statement said around 150 attackers also tried to storm an army camp at Khamara (552) at 3am but were beaten back.

This appears to be the biggest and most coordinated Rohingya rebel attack since security forces started special operations in the Mayu mountains of northern Rakhine.

Analysts believe the attacks were perhaps designed to divert the focus of the operations and force security forces into a heavy static deployment that would draw away numbers from offensive operations.

No Rohingya rebel group has so far claimed responsibility for the attacks, but intelligence suspects the involvement of the fledgling Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA).
At least 16 people drowned today after being trapped in a bus which plunged off a pier in southern Russia.

Some 24 have been rescued or swam ashore on the Black Sea, but there were fears that the vehicle was overloaded with oil construction workers and that the toll may rise.

There were unconfirmed claims that between 38 and 60 people were in the bus when it sank at a depth of around 35 ft.

There are fears that the vehicle was overloaded with oil construction workers and that the death toll may rise

Some people managed to escape before the runaway bus went off the edge of the pier, say eyewitnesses

A survivor has claimed that the bus was out of control before plunging into the ocean.

'When we drove down to the pier, something cracked,' he said. 'There was one crack and the bus suddenly accelerated.

'For some reason, it turned towards a pier that was under construction. The driver kept silent. When we were careering along the pier, we began to smash windows and doors to get out.'

Some people managed to escape before the runaway bus went off the edge of the pier, say eyewitnesses.

At least 16 people were killed in today's tragedy, and divers are searching for survivors

An official for Krasnodar region said rescuers were doing 'everything in their power' to save lives

Divers are searching for more survivors in the murky waters following the fatal bus crash

Some accounts say the breaks malfunctioned, and the driver sought and failed to use the gears to halt the bus.

'Sixteen people died, 24 were rescued, eight of them were hospitalised,' said an emergencies' spokesperson.

Official Alexander Cherkasov, from TamanNefteGas, told RBC news agency that he knows people who were on board of the bus that crashed into the Kerch strait.

'A friend of mine was there. He managed to survive, but he is in grave condition now', he said.

It is not known what caused the bus to crash into the Black Sea, with at least 16 people confirmed dead

A desperate rescue operation was launched in a bid to save lives after more than 20 swam ashore

An official for the Krasnodar region said rescuers were doing 'everything in their power' to save lives.

An eyewitness said: 'The bus fell from the end of the pier. It was a big vehicle with dozens inside.

'Some minutes after the fall some people managed to swim out but others probably fainted and could not swim. The divers reacted quickly.'

Divers are searching for others in the murky waters.

One local said: 'About 10 jumped out when it was falling, but others ended in the water.

'The depth of the sea is about 10 meters there.'

The Russian Investigative Committee - seen as an equivalent of the FBI - launched a criminal case into a suspected traffic violation that led to the deadly incident in Volna on the coast of Kerch Strait.

An emergency service source disclosed earlier that the bus was transporting shift workers involved in the construction of a dock for the Tamanneftegas energy company.

Divers are working at the scene of the accident, where the bus plunged four metres before hitting the water, a source told RIA-Novosti news agency, saying it was likely caused by a traffic violation.

The injured were transported by helicopter to local hospitals.
A grandmother-of-six who married a Nigerian man 45 years her junior is being 'scammed' by a man who 'just wants to get into the country', her ex-husband claimed today.

Donald Neate, 71, described his former partner Angela Nwachukwu, 72, as 'gullible' and said she has 'got herself into a problem that she will have to deal with'.

Mrs Nwachukwu, from Weymouth, Dorset, is fighting for a visa for new husband CJ Nwachukwu, 27, who she married three months after he added her on Facebook and struck up a conversation.

Angela Nwachukwu, 72, is fighting for a visa for new husband CJ Nwachukwu, 27, who she married three months after he added her on Facebook and struck up a conversation

They live 4,000 miles away and met face-to-face for the first time on their wedding day, but his application for a visa has been refused.

Retired taxi driver Mrs Nwachukwu has spent 20,000 on him, including lawyers to help with the visas and flights to visit him, but says he had repaid her half.

Mr Neate, a former lorry driver from Bristol, said: 'We separated 18 years ago and haven't had any contact since.

'The first time I knew about it was when I read the papers. She has been scammed by a man who just wants to get into the country.'

Mr Neate remarried twice since his five-year relationship with Mrs Nwachukwu were together for five years.

He added: 'She has done it now and will have to deal with the consequences.'

Mrs Nwachukwu said she couldn't help but fall for her lover from Nigeria, when they started talking, and is devastated that their applications for visas have failed.

She told The Sun she had been left lonely and isolated after the breakdown of her marriage, six months before they met online.

The couple live 4,000 miles away and met face-to-face for the first time on their wedding day, but his application for a visa has been refused

One day she found a message and a friend request from Mr Nwachukwu, and couldn't see the harm in striking up conversation.

She said: 'He was so handsome, with big, brown eyes and a body to match.

'We chatted for hours about our families and hobbies. It was like we'd known each other for years. Before I knew it, we were messaging daily.

'Despite our huge age gap, we got on really well. I couldn't help it and began to develop feelings for him. I tried to stop myself.'

To her surprise, he popped the question on Skype, and she gleefully accepted.

The pair wed in Lagos, Nigeria, and have since seen each other twice, as she has flown there to visit him.

Mr Nwachukwu has even been denied a tourist visa to see his wife, and their applications have been turned down because it's thought they won't have financial backing.

Despite criticisms, Mrs Nwachukwu insists the marriage is not a scam, because she doesn't have any money and was upfront about that at the start.

Mrs Nwachukwu said she has spent 20,000 on lawyers to help bring him over on a visa, and that her husband has always paid her back

She now hopes he will be able to get a student visa for a Masters, to be reunited with her. British citizens can apply for a Family visa to move their partners to the UK.

It's an expensive process - the Home Office charges 1,464 for people applying from outside the UK to joining their partners or spouses, and nearly 1,000 for extensions.

PROVING YOUR INCOME FOR A VISA An application for a partner to join a spouse in the UK must prove they can support themselves. Applicants should prove an annual income of 18,600 between them. Those with children should prove they will earn an extra 3,800 for their first child, and then 2,400 for their second child and any other children. Savings can also prove income, but applicants have to have cash savings of 16,000. Pensions count, as does money earned from renting out a property. Advertisement

Those willing to part with a few hundred pounds more can get the premium extension service.

Spouses applying to move to be with their partners have to prove they can support themselves and their partners, and they have to have been living with them for two years.

Partners will then be given permission to move for around two and a half years and should extend this after that time.

Mr Nwachukwu has to be able to show he can support himself or be supported to be granted a Marriage Visitor visa, by the rules of the Home Office.

Under the visa for visitors, the trip must be no longer than six months, and applicants should prove they will leave at the end.

Two years ago, Julie Dag from Bournemouth told of how she was duped into spending 20,000 after falling for local musician Lamin Sidibeh while on holiday in The Gambia in West Africa in 2007.

Appearing on a Channel 5 documentary, she revealed that she had married him, before spending her honeymoon filling in visa applications. But within three months of returning to England and setting up home, he had left her.
Jeremy Corbyn has slapped down a close ally who re-opened an angry row within Labour over backing for women-only train carriages.

The Labour leader - who hit trouble with his own endorsement of the idea in 2015 - said it was clear segregated trains were a deeply unpopular suggestion and he no longer supported them.

Chris Williamson, the shadow fire minister and a vocal supporter of Mr Corbyn, backed a consultation into women-only carriages this week.

Asked if he would back the policy, Mr Corbyn told the Huffington Post: 'No. It was there [during his leadership campaign] as a discussion item which was taken out of context.

'The response was that people don't want them: end of.'

Jeremy Corbyn (pictured in Glasgow yesterday) has slapped down a close ally who re-opened an angry row within Labour over backing for women-only train carriages.

MPs Stella Creasy (left) and Jess Philips (right) have condemned Labour shadow minister Chris Williamson for suggesting women-only train carriages could be considered

Mr Williamson was shot down by senior female Labour MPs who accused him of taking his feminist cues from Saudi Arabia.

Mr Williamson said the idea 'would be worth consulting' on after statistics revealed a surge in assaults against female passengers.

But the shadow minster was slammed by MPs Stella Creasy and Jess Phillips who warned segregation could make the problem worse.

Figures revealed by the BBC last month showed 1,448 sexual offences on UK trains were reported in 2016-17 - up from 650 in 2012-2013.

Mr Williamson told Politics Home: 'It would be worth consulting about it. It was pooh-poohed (when Jeremy Corbyn suggested it), but these statistics seem to indicate there is some merit in examining that.

Mr Williamson said the idea 'would be worth consulting' on after statistics revealed a surge in assaults against female passengers

'Complemented with having more guards on trains, it would be a way of combating these attacks, which have seen a very worrying increase in the past few years.

'I'm not saying it has to happen, but it may create a safe space. It would be a matter of personal choice whether someone wanted to make use of it.'

After his remarks, Walthamstow MP Ms Creasy tweeted: 'Hi @DerbyChrisW can we make all carriages safe for all passengers rather than restricting where we can go?

'It's not us, it's them honest.'

In a series of Twitter posts, Ms Creasy said the focus should be on making all carriages safe and not telling women where to sit

The two MPs continued to clash over the issue which is a revival of an earlier row on the subject triggered by Jeremy Corbyn

Mr Williamson insisted this was a misrepresentation of his position as the two MPs exchanged tweets.

He said: 'I didn't suggest restrictions Stella merely consulting on offering a choice in view of the statistics showing increased attacks.'

But Ms Creasy told him: 'Why don't we consult on men only carriages and those men who sit elsewhere risk police caution for harassment?

'That would be a choice.'

Birmingham Yardley MP Ms Phillips weighed in to brand the idea 'absolutely terrible' and a surrender to perpetrators

Ms Phillips said the issue was about power and not that individual men were unable to control themselves

Ms Phillips jibed that Mr Williamson was taking 'feminist cues from Saudi Arabia'

Birmingham Yardley MP Ms Phillips offered her own 'hot take' to Mr Williamson.

She said: 'Absolutely terrible idea. It is essentially giving up on trying to prosecute assaults.

'Also men should be incredibly annoyed they can't control themselves.

'Sexual violence isn't about urges it's about power.

'If you take your feminist cues from Saudi Arabia you've gone wrong.'

In 2015, Mr Corbyn triggered a row on the same subject.

He said: 'My intention would be to make public transport safer for everyone from the train platform to the bus stop to the mode of transport itself.

'However, I would consult with women and open it up to hear their views on whether women-only carriages would be welcome - and also if piloting this at times and [on] modes of transport where harassment is reported most frequently would be of interest.'
Eight people - including four children - had to be towed back to shore after their boat's engine failed in thick mud.

Falmouth Coastguard in Cornwall said the boat suffered engine failure just before 1pm on Thursday and became stuck in the mud at Kingsbridge.

Specialist teams from Prawle Point and Teignmouth coastguard in Devon rescued the group in an operation which took about four-and-a-half hours.

Twho men wade out to rescue those on board the stranded boat after they ran aground in Cornwall

Specialist teams from Prawle Point and Teignmouth coastguard in Devon rescued the group in an operation which took about four-and-a-half hours

A spokesman said rescue teams would usually wait for the incoming tide to free the boat, but there were concerns for some of the children on-board.

He said people should check tide times before setting off in boats.

He added: 'Due to the age of the occupants, the weather and the state of the tide the decision was made to task Teignmouth Coastguard Mud Rescue team.

'In this instance, the boat had suffered engine problems and was trying to return to Kingsbridge.

One of the men rescued from the boat has his legs hosed down by a member of the coastguard team

A spokesman said rescue teams would usually wait for the incoming tide to free the boat, but there were concerns for some of the children on-board

'Unfortunately the engine failed before they could make it ashore.

'With no other form of propulsion the tide beat them.

'The two teams worked together to recover all 8 occupants of the boat and fortunately none needed any medical attention.'
Spectacular footage has emerged showing the ancient tradition of fire dancing performed by one of world's only surviving tribes.

In the video, men of the Baining People can be seen expressively dancing in traditional masks as flames roar and sparks fly in the background.

The moment was recorded by filmmaker Richard Sidey on a trip to Papua New Guinea with photographer Roy Mangersnes.

The Baining People among the earliest and original inhabitants of the Gazelle Peninsula of East New Britain, Papua New Guinea

Only men from the tribe Baining People, of Papua New Guinea, are allowed to take part in the fire dance

Mr Mangersnes said: 'Among many great sightings one of the highlights was the incredible Baining Firedance.

'This is an authentic cultural experience from Papua New Guinea that is the most intense experiences I have had in a long time'.

He said: 'In short, the men dance with these elaborate masks in a trance like state, while others are drumming and chanting.

'They swirl around and once in a while run into the fire and kick it.

He added: 'By doing so they can enter the spirit world and bring all the problems of the tribe into the other side for advice.

In a stunning set of images, the men can be seen expressively dancing in traditional masks as flames roar in the background

Spectacular photographs show the ancient tradition of fire dancing performed by one of Papua New Guinea's only surviving tribes

He said: 'The mask represents different animals or parts of animals they have around them, from mosquitoes to flying foxes.

'The massive masks are burnt after the ceremony.'

The Baining People make their elaborate masks from bark cloth, bamboo and leaves. They perform the dance to welcome births, celebrate the start of the harvest, to remember the dead and to initiate young men into adulthood.

Only men take part in the event, women and children don't take part or watch the spectacle.

They are among the earliest and original inhabitants of the Gazelle Peninsula of East New Britain, Papua New Guinea.

They currently live in the mountains after being driven there by a rival tribe in recent decades.

In 2015, a traveller called Carolyn described her trip on her website.

She wrote: 'The dancing process went on all night while men kept the fire blazing brightly and the masked dancers kept kicking the coals.

'Near dawn, they suddenly disappeared into the dark and the masked spirits had been frightened away from the village.

'And Baining women did not go near the site. And the visitors stood and watched in amazement.'
Two of the four surviving suspected members of a 12-member cell that carried out deadly twin attacks in Spain last week were charged on Tuesday with terror offences.

One was released and one faces further investigation.

Here is what we know about the men who are thought to have planned and carried out the vehicle rampages in Barcelona and the seaside resort of Cambrils that left 15 dead and over 100 injured.

None were previously known to police for terror-related acts, though some had been involved in petty crime.

TWO DETAINED

Mohamed Houli Chemlal

A 20-year-old Spaniard born in Melilla, a Spanish territory in northern Morocco.

He was injured in an explosion believed to have been accidentally detonated by the suspects themselves in their makeshift bomb factory in the seaside town of Alcanar.

After a preliminary hearing before the judge, he was remanded in custody and charged with terror related offences.

Driss Oukabir

Moroccan, aged 28. He was arrested Thursday in Ripoll, a town in northern Catalonia, where many of the suspects grew up.

He rented the van that ploughed into crowds in Barcelona, leaving 13 dead in its wake. Initially, he said his ID was stolen.

In court on Tuesday, he told the judge that he rented the van for a move.

He has been remanded in custody and charged with terror related offences.

RELEASED

Mohamed Aalla

Moroccan , 27, also arrested in Ripoll. He told the court that an Audi A3 used in last week's attack in Cambrils was registered under his name for insurance reasons but used by his younger brother Said Aalla.

The judge granted him conditional release, saying evidence against him was weak. He was ordered to report to the authorities weekly and is not allowed to leave Spain.

Salh El Karib

Moroccan, aged 34 according to Spanish media. He was also arrested in Ripoll. A friend of Driss, he manages a store that allows people to make calls abroad. He bought at least two plane tickets for Driss Oukabir with his credit card.

The judge gave himself three more days to decide if he should be remanded or released from custody.

DEAD

Younes Abouyaaqoub

For several days the 22-year-old Moroccan became Spain's most wanted man as the on-the-run driver of the van that ploughed through crowds in Barcelona, killing 13 people.

Police say he then stabbed to death 34-year-old Pau Perez in order to steal his car to make a getaway.

Abouyaaqoub was shot dead by police on Monday after he was sighted in a village not far from Barcelona.

He is blamed for 14 of the 15 deaths in the attacks.

Abdelbaki Es Satty

A 44-year-old imam in Ripoll. He is suspected of having radicalised the young men in the terror cell.

He died in the explosion in Alcanar, police have confirmed.

He was jailed in Spain for drug trafficking from 2010 to 2014, police said.

He also spent time in the Brussels suburb of Machelen between January and March 2016.

Described by those who knew him as a discreet and religious man, he had recently asked for a holiday from the mosque he was preaching in to return to Morocco for personal business.

Moussa Oukabir

Initially thought to be the Barcelona attacker, the 17-year-old Moroccan was killed by police in Cambrils after the car he was in hit pedestrians before the five suspects traveling in the vehicles jumped out and stabbed people, killing a woman.

Mohamed Hichamy

Moroccan, 24, he was also killed in Cambrils.

Omar Hichamy

Moroccan, Mohamed's brother, he was also shot in Cambrils. His age has not been released.

Said Aalla

Moroccan, 18, killed in Cambrils. It would have been his birthday on August 25.

"A friend apparently called him on Thursday at 3:00 pm (13:00 GMT) and he went out for a drive," Yasmila, a neighbour in Ripoll, told AFP. The Barcelona attack took place at 4:50 pm.

Houssein Abouyaaqoub

The younger brother of Younes, the Barcelona attacker.

An adept climber and skier according to pictures on social media published by Spain's La Sexta television, he too was probably radicalised.

He was also killed by police in Cambrils.

Youssef Aalla

He was one of three men at the house in Alcanar when the explosion occurred. He is believed killed in the blast but his remains have yet to be identified by investigators.
The death of a 27-year-old nuclear specialist at Fort Bragg is being investigated.

Specialist Myles A Miller of Marion, Indiana, died at Womack Army Medical Center of unknown causes, according to a statement by the 18th Field Artillery Brigade.

Miller is reported to have joined the army as a chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear specialist in April 2015.

Specialist Myles A Miller of Marion, Indiana, died at Womack Army Medical Center of unknown causes

He was assigned to the 583rd Forward Support Company in the 188th Brigade Support Battalion.

Captain Raul Martinez, the commander of the 583rd, praised his 'positive attitude, strong work ethic and genuine desire to serve'.

He told News Channel 5: 'His potential was unlimited and everyone recognized him as a future leader of soldiers.

'His character and actions left an everlasting impression on everyone he encountered within our organization and he will always be remembered by them.'

Among the awards he received were the Army Achievement Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Army Overseas Service Ribbon and posthumously the Army Commendation Medal.

Fort Bragg, North Carolina, is a military installation of the United States Army and is the largest military installation in the world with more than 50,000 active duty personnel.
Boris Johnson jibed during a visit to Libya that Theresa May was not 'ready' for the polls when she called June's snap election.

The Foreign Secretary used the electoral disaster endured by the Tories as a cautionary tale to Libya's Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj about rushing to the polls.

The joke about Mrs May's fortunes was recorded by the BBC during Mr Johnson's two-day trip to the war torn north African country.

In a radio interview today Mr Johnson urged Libyan politicians to set aside their personal ambitions and wait before calling another election.

Boris Johnson (left) jibed to Libya's PM Fayez al-Sarraj (right) that Theresa May was not 'ready' for the polls when she called June's snap election during a visit to Libya

In a radio interview today Mr Johnson (pictured with foreign minister Mohamed al-Taher Siala) urged Libyan politicians to set aside their personal ambitions and wait before calling another election

Mr Johnson said the 2014 polls - intended to help stabilise the country after the western backed removal of Colonel Gadaffi - had proved a disaster in splintering Libya.

In a meeting with Libya's acting PM, Mr Johnson said: 'We have had an election since I last saw you [in May].

'It went more or less to plan. Well, not entirely to plan.

'It is a bit of a lesson which is that if you are going to have elections, you have got to get ready.'

Mr Johnson told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme he had issued a warning about the hazards of rushed elections.

He said: 'We thought the elections in 2014 would help but actually they made things worse.

Theresa May (pictured in Teesside on Wednesday) famously called June's snap election after an Easter walking holiday in North Wales

'That's the point I have been making over the last couple of days to people in Libya.

'They need to glue back together the two sides of the country, they need to come back together in a political agreement.

'The politicians in Libya need to suppress their own selfish interests, compromise for the good of the country, and get behind the UN plan.'

Mrs May famously called June's snap election after an Easter walking holiday in North Wales.

She shocked everyone in Westminster, including her own party headquarters, with the sudden decision while riding high in the opinion polls.

But a botched manifesto and disastrous election campaign saw Mrs May lose the hard won Tory majority and clinging to power.

Instead of the big victory she expected, Mrs May has been left at the head of a hobbled minority government propped up by the DUP.
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A shocking investigation has revealed 'monster foxes' being bred on fur farms in Finland in deplorable conditions.

Footage from five fur farms across Ostrobothnia in western Finland show foxes with huge pelts and rolls of fat folded over their bodies and almost covering their eyes to increase the amount of fur on their bodies.

The animals can weigh up to five times their normal weight and become so bloated they can barely move in their cages.

Harrowing pictures shows over-sized animals with huge pelts and rolls of fat folded over their bodies

'Monster foxes' are being bred on fur farms in western Finland a shocking investigation has found

The foxes look almost unrecognisable as they were fattened up for the fur trade

Activists from the group Oikeutta elaimille (Animal Justice) said that in wild, female foxes weigh about 3.5 kilograms while a fox they photographed at the farm weighed more than 19 kilograms.

The group's investigation found the devastating results of overbreeding by genetic selection. The foxes are also fed a diet with a very high fat content to grow as big as possible.

Shocking footage showed foxes struggling to move and with thick rolls of fur covering their eyelids, making them virtually unrecognisable as foxes.

Oikeutta elaimille said it is illegal in Finland to breed livestock in a way that causes animals to suffer.

It typically takes around 10 to 20 'normal' foxes to make a fur coat but the animals are also used to make hats, gilets and trims for jacket hoods.

The group's investigation found animals so overweight they struggled to move and with thick rolls of fur covering their eyelids

Foxes are being kept in deplorable conditions in fur farms in Finland it has been revealed

Claire Bass, executive director from leading anti-fur campaigning organisation Humane Society International/UK, condemned the fur industry's genetic selection of suffering:

She said: 'Just when you thought the fur industry couldn't get any more unethical, it hits a shocking new low with foxes bred so large that these poor beautiful creatures can hardly move, or in some cases even see.

'It is proof, if further proof were needed, that the fur industry is about profit and cares nothing for animal welfare. Consumers will be rightly shocked and disturbed by these hideous images, which underline yet again the need to turn our backs on fur for good.'

According to UK trade statistics, over the last five years more than 2.5million of fur articles have been imported into the UK from Finland.

Oikeutta elaimille said the skins of the 'monster foxes' in their investigation are sold under the Saga Furs brand

Activists from the group Oikeutta elaimille said that in wild, female foxes weigh about 3.5 kilograms while a fox they photographed at the farm weighed more than 19 kilograms

Campaigners said the foxes are fattened up as 'bigger skin means more money for the fur farmer'

Despite the UK having banned fur farming in 2000 for being unethical, campaigners said it is still importing huge amounts of fur from other countries.

Kristo Muurimaa from Oikeutta elaimille said: 'The conditions these animals are in is the result of greed for profits. Bigger skin means more money for the fur farmer. The animals pay the price with suffering.'

Oikeutta elaimille said the skins of the 'monster foxes' in their investigation are sold under the Saga Furs brand, and ended up in clothing manufactured by many luxury fashion houses.

On fur auctions, the pelts are divided into size groups. In the June auction at Saga Furs, the biggest size group ('60') sold for an average prize of 86 euros, and size 40 sold for 56 euros.

They are sold in flagship boutiques of companies such as Louise Vuitton, Gucci and Michael Kors.

A spokesman for Respect For Animals told MailOnline: 'The footage graphically shows the callous indifference of the fur trade to the suffering of animals in fur factory farms.

'The obese foxes suffer horribly: obesity in farmed foxes is associated with high levels of bent feet, difficulty in moving and diarrhoea. Animals farmed in this way have bigger pelts. It's that simple. These foxes are essentially wild animals, who crave to roam over a large territory but are instead condemned to a stressful life in a tiny cage before being anally electrocuted.

'Respect for Animals produced a comprehensive report in 2015, which used the best animal welfare science to show that it is impossible for the welfare needs of foxes and mink to be met in fur factory farms.

'Finland is by far the biggest 'producer' of fox fur in Europe and only China farms more foxes globally. Over 1.8 million foxes were killed for their fur in 2014 in Finland.

'The UK banned fur farming in 2000, due to its inherent cruelty, but we still import fur from factory farms like these in Finland on a large scale. Fox fur sold on Britain's high streets and markets this autumn and winter will have come from foxes farmed in similarly cruel conditions. No one with an ounce of compassion can buy real fur with a clear conscience and it's time the UK government did the right thing and ban the sale of real fur.'
Rugby league star Trent Hodkinson has paid a special tribute to the girl he escorted to her school formal before she tragically died from cancer.

The Newcastle Knights halfback dedicated his team's game against the Canberra Raiders on Friday night to the memory of 15-year-old Hannah Rye.

The schoolgirl captured the hearts of the nation after she was escorted to her Kurri Kurri High School dance by Hodkinson in July.

She died last weekend after suffering from Ewing's Sarcoma for two years.

As well as dedicating his performance to her memory, Hodkinson took to the field with 'HANNAH' written prominently on his wrist tape.

NRL star Trent Hodkinson paid tribute to 15-year-old Hannah Rye who died last weekend

The Knights halfback wore wrist tape with her name 'HANNAH' written in bold letters

The pair captured the hearts of the nation when Hodkinson took Hannah Rye to her formal

Hannah Rye (left) died over the weekend after suffering from Ewing's Sarcoma for two years

The pair met at a charity event.

After being partnered to the dance by the NRL star Hannah said it was 'one of the most magical nights I've ever had'.

Her sister, Annaliese, posted a tribute to Hannah on Facebook on Monday night.

'I will hold you in my heart until I can hold you in heaven.'

Hannah (right) was escorted by Newcastle Knights halfback Trent Hodkinson (left) to her Kurri Kurri High School dance in July after meeting at a charity event

Tributes have poured in for Hannah on Facebook from friends and family

Hannah was diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma, a rare form of cancer that caused tumours to grow around her spine, in October, 2015.

She endured rigourous chemotherapy treatments but relapsed in May and was told her condition was terminal, which her mother said was devastating.

A diehard Newcastle Knights fan, one of her final wishes was to attend her school dance with her favourite player, Trent Hodkinson.

The former Knights player met the teenager at Kick for Kids - a program where he would dedicate his conversions to a sick child and write their name on his kicking tee.

When Hodkinson heard Hannah's cancer had returned, he wanted to help out.

'She's so brave. She's such a strong girl, you wouldn't know she was going through this,' he told media.

Her mother Racheal Rye said it was 'like Cinderella and her knight in shining armour' when he picked her daughter Hannah up from their home in the Hunter Valley.

'It was absolutely a magical moment when Trent turned up with a big bunch of flowers at our house. A perfect night,' she told the Daily Telegraph.

'No girl could have asked for a better date. He was a perfect gentleman. He stayed for as long as she needed and helped cut the cake.'

Hannah was the envy of all her classmates when she arrived at the Kurri Kurri High School winter formal on Wednesday night with the halfback on her arm.

Hodkinson also helped cut a two-tiered cake alongside his date at the event that was moved forward because Hannah may not live to the end of the year.

Hannah was diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma, a rare form of cancer that caused tumours to grow around her spine, in October 15, 2015

Hannah's sister Annaliese posted a tribute to Hannah on Facebook on Monday night. 'I will hold you in my heart until I can hold you in heaven.'

Hodkinson, who is an ambassador for Give Me 5 for Kids, which raises funds for children's hospital wards across Australia, shared a selfie taken on the way to the formal on his Instagram story.

Ms Rye said the eight-year NRL veteran, who met Hannah last March, was a 'genuinely gorgeous person' whose actions made a difference.

'Hannah has been incredibly unwell - you wouldn't believe that just a few days ago she couldn't get out of bed. It was a very big deal for her and she's now resting,' she said.

Hodkinson shard a selfie with the teenager, taken on the way to the formal, on his Instagram
According to an UWSA official, the decision to financially recompense the villagers was taken at a meeting last week headed by Pawk Aik Pan, commander of UWSA Brigade 468. It was agreed that all previous owners of land, houses and rice fields that were seized would be compensated.

The UWSA say they will pay 3,500 yuan ($US525) for each mu (Chinese measurement equivalent to 1.647 acres) of confiscated land. They have also offered to set up electricity and water facilities for the affected villagers.

The new town development project in Mong Pawk required the clearance of about 3,000 acres of land, according to Ar Pong, a UWSA battalion commander in Mong Pawk, speaking to Shan Herald last month.

Aik Nub, a UWSA official who attended last weeks meeting, confirmed yesterday to Shan Herald that the compensation had been agreed, but could not say exactly when the payments would be made.

The land and buildings of 32 households in an ethnic Lahu village named Jadawkhar were among those confiscated.

If we sold our land we would get 70,000-100,000 yuan per mu, said Nar Wee, a resident who was forced out. But they will only pay us 3,000-3,500 yuan. Then well have to rebuild our homes by ourselves  but not in the new town. We will have to build near the forest or the mountain which is far from the town.

The new town project was started in July by the UWSA, which is arguably the strongest ethnic armed group in Burma with a troop strength of up to 30,000.

The UWSA has signed bilateral accords with the government; however it declined to sign the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) with President Thein Seins administration in October 2015.

-- By Shan Herald Agency for News (SHAN)
The president pushed the Senate to abandon the filibuster in order to shove through his agenda again on Friday morning in a tweet that took a swipe at the Republican leader of the upper chamber, with whom he's been feuding.

President Donald Trump said the Republican-run Senate should get rid of a motion requiring 60-member consent for debate to proceed.

'If Senate Republicans don't get rid of the Filibuster Rule and go to a 51% majority, few bills will be passed. 8 Dems control the Senate!' he tweeted early this morning.

Within minutes he also claimed, 'Few, if any, Administrations have done more in just 7 months than the Trump A. Bills passed, regulations killed, border, military, ISIS, SC!'

Trump has been battling Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell throughout the August recess over the roadblocks one of the president's top campaign promises - that he would repeal and replace Obamacare - has faced.

The president pushed the Senate to abandon the filibuster in order to shove through his agenda again on Friday morning in a tweet that indirectly took a swipe at the Republican leader of the upper chamber, with whom he's been feuding

President Donald Trump said the Republican-run Senate should get rid of a motion requiring 60-member consent for debate to proceed, saying 'few bills' will pass if they don't

Then he turned around and boasted that few administrations had accomplished as much as his - including the number of bills passed

McConnell said earlier this month that Trump has 'excessive expectations' and that the political novice may not have understood how the legislative branch works.

The Republican president has accused McConnell and Senate Republicans of 'wasting time' with procedural motions he suspects Democrats would throw out if they were in charge again.

Yesterday, Trump said that McConnell 'failed' just hours after the White House tried to paper over the fight between the two men.

'The only problem I have with Mitch McConnell is that, after hearing Repeal & Replace for 7 years, he failed! Trump said. 'That should NEVER have happened!'

The tweet's two exclamation points and use of all caps left little doubt about the president's feelings on the subject. Senate Republicans' inability to move on one of his top campaign and legislative goals is a sore spot the president has brought up repeatedly.

Earlier on Thursday, Trump went after McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan by name, saying they refused his idea of tying unpopular debt ceiling legislation to a Veterans bill  amid a looming deadline for the nation's borrowing limit. 'They didn't do it,' Trump wrote of his idea.

'I requested that Mitch M & Paul R tie the Debt Ceiling legislation into the popular V.A. Bill (which just passed) for easy approval. They... didn't do it so now we have a big deal with Dems holding them up (as usual) on Debt Ceiling approval. Could have been so easy-now a mess!' Trump wrote in two successive tweets.

Congressional leaders frequently use the tactic of attaching must-pass legislation to a popular vehicle, but there has been no indication that the veterans bill is anywhere near strong enough to move Republicans to vote for a debt ceiling increase they despise.

Debt ceiling votes have been anything but easy in recent years. The party out of power frequently forces the majority to provide votes for the unpopular measure. Republicans ran on smaller government and lower spending, making a vote for massive new borrowing authority a difficult political choice.

Trump had taken a shot at the Senate  and by association McConnell  Wednesday morning, after a report that the two men hadn't spoken in weeks, in relation to the filibuster.

'If Republican Senate doesn't get rid of the Filibuster Rule & go to a simple majority, which the Dems would do, they are just wasting time!' Trump tweeted.

McConnell, a creature of the Senate, a body Trump is still trying to grapple with, smacked down the idea when Trump put it out in May.

'That will not happen,' McConnell said. 'There is an overwhelming majority on a bipartisan basis not interested in changing the way the Senate operates on the legislative calendar,' the Kentucky legislator told reporters.

McConnell has also found himself having to side with his fellow senators against Trump, who has turned on any GOP members that he feels have betrayed him

Trump's filibuster tweet on Wednesday came hours after the president floated the idea of shutting down his own government as a way to force construction of a border wall.

'If we have to close down our government, we're building that wall' Trump said  raising the prospect of a messy government shutdown that GOP senators hope to avoid.

McConnell all but confirmed reports of a nasty feud with Trump on Wednesday when he released a statement about their 'regular contact' and 'shared goals.'

The statement, issued by the powerful leader's Senate office, made no effort to deny reports of angry phone calls, profanity  or a claim that he himself privately questioned whether Trump can effectively lead Republicans in 2018.

Instead, it ran through a list of mostly modest legislative goals to keep the government humming  just hours after Trump at a boisterous Phoenix rally threatened to shut down the government if necessary to get funds to construct a wall on the southern border.

'The President and I, and our teams, have been and continue to be in regular contact about our shared goals,' McConnell said in the statement.

The White House issued a separate statement with different priorities  including a border wall, which McConnell didn't mention.

Trump's filibusters come on the heels of his floating a shut down of his own government as a way to force construction of a border wall

'President Donald J. Trump and Senator Mitch McConnell remain united on many shared priorities, including middle class tax relief, strengthening the military, constructing a southern border wall, and other important issues.'

That statement, which referenced 'previously scheduled meetings' between the two men, did not reference the president's continued beef with McConnell over the failure to pass Obamacare repeal.

Trump began to focus his energies Thursday on avoiding a calamitous government shutdown as he huddled with his budget director amid tense relations with Congress.

His comments drew a rebuke Wednesday from Ryan.

'So I dont think anyone is interested in having a shutdown,' Ryan said at a tax forum. 'I dont think its in our interest to do so,' he added.

House Speaker Paul Ryan speaks during his visit to Intel in Hillsboro, Ore., on Wednesday. 'So I dont think anyone is interested in having a shutdown,' Ryan said

Matters are further complicated by Trump's arguments with McConnell.

The White House said Wednesday that pre-scheduled meetings between then would occur, but didn't give a time or date.

The government reaches its statutory debt limit on Sept. 29th, and runs out of money at the end of September.

'We have a lot of work ahead of us, and we are committed to advancing our shared agenda together, and anyone who suggests otherwise is clearly not part of the conversation,' said McConnell in his own statement, which unlike the one from the White House did not mention a border wall as a priority.

Investment firm Goldman Sachs in guidance to investors handicaps the chance of a shutdown at 50-50, Axios reported.

President Donald Trump greets Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., left, as House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wis., right, takes his seat during a meeting with House and Senate Leadership in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, DC on Tuesday, June 06, 2017

A top GOP source put the chances even higher  75 per cent. 'The peculiar part is that almost everyone I talk to on the Hill agrees that it is more likely than not,' the source told the outlet.

Centrist Republicans continue to chafe at the president's tactics. 'Its entirely counterproductive for the president to be picking fights with Republican senators who he will need for important agenda items that they both agree on, Pennsylvania GOP Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.) told the Washington Post.

'Does he think that Democratic senators will be more cooperative than [Sens.]John McCain and Jeff Flake and Susan Collins? It doesnt seem to make any sense,' he said.
A sick serial killer who raped and stabbed his final victim 98 times clapped in court as he was sent to prison for 71 years.

In a vile attack on the families of those Cameron Wilson targeted, on being sentenced, he said loudly, 'At least I'm still alive'.

He was found guilty in a South African court of 13 charges including five murders, one rape and three attempted murder charges.

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Cameron Wilson claps at the Western Cape High Court Judge Chantel Fortuin after she sentenced him to 71 years

Letika Moore, 18, who was the twisted killer's final victim, was stabbed 98 times in a horrific attack

In a vile attack on the families of those Cameron Wilson targeted, on being sentenced, he said loudly, 'At least I'm still alive' after clapping at his sentence

Listening to his fate, the 20-year-old appeared unfazed by the crowded gallery as Western Cape High Court Judge Chantel Fortuin read her ruling.

Wearing a navy Nike tracksuit top, Wilson could be seen smiling, giggling and slouching in the dock.

Among the five people he killed were his final victim Lekita Moore, 18, 16-year-old Stacey Lee Mohale, who was raped, stoned and then set alight.

Wilson received four life terms for the murders of Toyher Stober, Stacey Lee Mohale, Lekita Moore and for the rape of Dawney Davids.

He was handed 15 years for the murder of Alfonso van Rooyen, five years for possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition, 15 years for the murder of Ernest Erasmus, 10 years for attempted murder and conspiracy to commit a crime, six years for assault with intent to commit grievous bodily harm and 10 years for the murder of Roslyn Lakay.

When these two murders were mentioned, he laughed, and rolled his eyes when he heard the life sentences being called out.

Angry members of his victims' shouted, 'You will rot in hell', and 'Murderer', from the public gallery.

Among those watching proceedings was the Letika Moore's father Charles, who told IOL Newspaper: 'I cry every night for my child. She was my everything. He took my source of energy away. She is never coming back to us.

'He must feel the same way we feel. No one should be able to see him, not even his family. He is a serial killer.'

When these two murders were mentioned, he laughed, and rolled his eyes when he heard the life sentences being called out

Her cousin, Jolene Daniels, said Wilson should never be re-introduced to society in light of him being eligible for parole in just 25 years.

State prosecutor Advocate Carine Teunissen, told IOL: 'He was cruel and the crimes he committed were gruesome.

'He disrespected women and enjoyed manipulating them and when they defied him, he lashed at them.'
This is the moment a clumsy thief was caught on camera attempting to steal a charity collection tin - but sent a cash register flying in the process.

Banknotes scattered all over the floor of the Subway store in Birmingham but bizarrely the criminal remained uninterested - making off with the collection pot alone.

The raider - thought to be in his 30s - calmly entered the West Midlands branch at 7.50am and headed straight to the counter where he made a grab for Heart Research UK's donations.

A bungling thief was caught on CCTV snatching a charity collection tin filled with donations - leaving banknotes from a till all over the floor

He walks straight to the counter and suddenly makes a grab for the tin filled with donations destined for Heart Research UK before dashing out of the store

He didn't realise it was attached to the till, causing it to come crashing down onto the floor, sending banknotes flying.

The hapless man - possibly startled by the noise - fled with just the charity tin, missing out on the money left strewn across the floor.

Police are now investigating the heartless theft from the Navigation Street branch, which stands in the shadow of The Mailbox shopping centre in Birmingham.

A member of staff at the sandwich chain said no other customers were in the shop at the time of the theft.

'The man walked in just before 8am - the shop was empty of customers but there were staff behind the counter,' the man said.

'He was very calm and suddenly tried to grab the charity tin from the counter.

Police are now investigating the heartless theft from the Navigation Street branch, which stands in the shadow of The Mailbox shopping centre in Birmingham

Calm: The raider - thought to be aged in his early 30s - calmly walked into a Subway shop in Birmingham, West Midlands, at 7.50am on August 19

He said: 'It's attached to the till and I don't think he realised.

'He pulled and pulled until it came away, but pulled the entire till and monitor down with it.

'Notes fell to the ground but he ran off only with the charity tin.

'It would have been nearly full and the money is donated to Heart Research UK.

'Nothing like this has ever happened before so it's shocked us all.'

A spokeswoman for West Midlands Police said: 'We are appealing for information on the theft from Subway in Navigation Street.

'Anyone with information should contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
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Ten Indonesians were were sentenced to up to 100 lashes of the whip for adultery in Banda Aceh under the brutal Sharia law.

The beatings occurred in Aceh, which is the only province in the country which implements Sharia law in full.

The province began implementing Sharia law after being granted autonomy in 2001  an attempt by the government in Jakarta to quell a long-running separatist insurgency.

An Acehnese man faces whipping punishment in front of the public in Jantho, Aceh Besar Regency, Indonesia, August 25, 2017

A man winces as he faces whipping punishment in front of the public in Jantho, Aceh Besar Regency, Indonesia on Friday

A woman is escorted to the stage by two police officers (left) as she is whipped in front of the public who film her punishment

An Indonesian man winces as he is about to feel the whip come crashing down onto his back in the barbaric punishment

A crowd gathers to watch and film one of the ten Indonesians selected for punishment as part pf the barbaric Sharia law

An Acahnese man in jeans and a long, white shirt is frogmarched to the main stage as he is jeered by locals who turned out to watch

A masked enforcer ceremoniously holds out the wooden whip under the watchful eye of a policeman in Indonesia

Recent barbaric beatings in Banda Aceh In the past year, MailOnline has reported on the troubling rising trend of public lashings carried out in Aceh, Indonesia: March 1, 2016: Woman whipped 50 times for spending time alone with a man at the age of 19. March 24, 2016: Young woman carried from the stage on a stretcher after being lashed for sex outside marriage. August 1, 2016: Another woman is lashed for going on a date in Aceh. August 15, 2016: Elderly man caned for breaking Sharia law. September 11, 2016: Man and a woman lashed for having an affair and among the gathered crowd is the mayor of Banda Aceh. October 17, 2016: Muslim woman screams out in pain on stage after being lashed 23 times for standing too close to her boyfriend. October 31, 2016: A woman, 20, caned in public for getting too close to a man she wasn't married to. November 28, 2016: Man and a woman lashed 100 times each for adultery. February 2, 2017: Enforcer lands 26 beatings across the back of a woman for having sex outside of wedlock. February 10, 2017: Woman collapses in pain on stage as she is being caned. February 27, 2017: Man collapses on stage as he is being whipped for having sex outside of marriage. Advertisement

Islamic laws have been strengthened since Aceh struck a peace deal with Jakarta in 2005.

People are flogged for a range of offences including gambling, drinking alcohol, gay sex or any sexual relationship outside marriage.

More than 90 per cent of the 255million people who live in Indonesia describe themselves as Muslim, but the vast majority practice a moderate form of the faith.

The brutal and public beatings have become more prevalent this year with a number of reported incidents of those being punished collapsing in pain on stage.

Back in September 2014, Aceh approved an anti-homosexuality law that can punish anyone caught having gay sex with 100 lashes.

After a three-decade-old separatist movement, a peace agreement signed in 2005 granted special autonomy to Aceh, at the northern tip of Sumatra, on condition that it remained part of the sprawling archipelago.

As part of that deal, Aceh won the right to be the only Indonesian province to use Islamic sharia law as its legal code.

Anybody caught engaging in consensual gay sex is punished with 100 lashes, 100 months in jail or a fine of 1,000 grams of gold.

The law also set out punishment for sex crimes, unmarried people engaging in displays of affection, people caught found guilty of adultery and underage sex.

Religious police in Aceh have been known to target Muslim women without head scarves or those wearing tight clothes, and people drinking alcohol or gambling.

Over the past decade, the central government has devolved more power to regional authorities to increase autonomy and speed up development.

Engaging in homosexual acts is not a crime under Indonesia's national criminal code but remains taboo in many conservative parts of the country with the world's largest Muslim population.

The trend appeared to be slowing down after a string of worrying incidents at the turn of the new year, but the new pictures reveal the practice still looms large in Indonesia.

Men and women have collapsed in pain due to the severity of their injuries and people can be caned for something as innocent as standing too close to a partner in public or being seen alone with someone they are not married to.

The enforcer wears a distinct uniform to carry out the punishment including a full-body gown with a white strip and eye holes

A man tenses up as he is about to be whipped for adultery. He was one of ten to be punished in the same way in Banda Aceg
This is the heart-warming moment Sumlee the dog is able to walk and play with his fluffy friends again after being shot by a farmer in a Thai village.

It was said that the male puppy was shot in the spine in May and was paralysed from the waist down, according to Mike Dower, 38, who works for an animal charity in Nakhon Nayok, a province about two hours from Bangkok by car.

A bloodied Sumlee was found and saved by Mr Dower, who took it to the Thai capital for treatment and managed to arrange a wheelchair for it.

Sumlee the dog has recovered from the traumatic event and been given a wheelchair to help it walk, thanks to Mike Dower, 38, who works for a Thai animal charity called Bon Jardin

Three months after the horrific event, the former street dog, now eight months old, has largely recovered and is being looked after by Bon Jardin Dog Rescue, which is managed by Mr Dower.

The British expat, who moved to the Thai province from London in February, told MailOnline that Sumlee had been heavily wounded when they found it alone, hungry and unable to move.

Mr Dower said he was informed of the incident by local farmers, who told him a stray dog had been shot by a farmer and needed help. It's claimed that Sumlee was trying to steal chickens when the farmer found out and took actions.

When the local villagers informed Mr Dower of the shooting, he rushed to the scene and brought a heavily wounded Sumlee back to his shelter in a bid to save the stray puppy

The dog, which got injured at five months old, received treatment in Bangkok from a specialist neurosurgeon after Mr Dower took him to the Thai capital from Nakhon Nayok province

The dog was said to have been shot by a farmer in a small village when it was trying to steal chickens. Mr Dower was informed of the incident by local residents and rushed to save it

Mr Dower and his colleagues rushed to the scene and brought Sumlee back to their shelter. The team examined Sumlee's wound and decided to take the puppy to Bangkok for surgery.

After raising nearly 400 needed for the treatment through a fund-raising campaign, Mr Dower took Sumlee to the Kasetsart University Animal Hospital in Bangkok for MRI Scans and a meeting with a specialist neurosurgeon.

Scan results showed that a bullet had lodged in Sumlee's spine. In June, about a month after the shooting, Sumlee underwent surgery to remove the bullet, and began his road to recovery.

Mr Dower said Sumlee had lost control of its bowels because of the injury. As a result, Mr Dower and his team looked after Sumlee in the most careful way. Their daily routine included collecting Sumlee's waste, washing its body and cleaning its living area.

Two month after the surgery, Sumlee is a happy and healthy dog again. Mr Dower said the vet had donated a wheelchair to Sumlee to help it walk.

A medical scan showed that a bullet was lodged in Sumlee's spine after it was shot in May

In June, Sumlee underwent painstaking surgery at the Kasetsart University Animal Hospital in Bangkok to remove the embedded bullet (right), and began its journey of recovery

Mr Dower worked as an IT manager at a London night club before packing it up and relocated to Thailand to work for Bon Jardin Dog Rescue.

The man, who is the Project and Shelter Manager at the charity, said he made the move because he had enjoyed many trips to Thailand as a tourist and considered animal welfare an issue close to heart.

He added that though Sumlee was lucky enough to be saved, there were millions other stray dogs in Thailand.

It's been estimated that there are around 8.5 million homeless canines across the country and more than 68,000 puppies are born every year on the streets.

Many of them are thought to have a home previously, but were abandoned after their owners could no longer afford to keep them.

Mr Dower (far right), who used to be an IT manager at a London nightclub, quit his job and moved to Nakhon Nayok in Thailand to help animals, something the man feels close to heart

PETA, an international animal rights organisation, said they regularly received reports about dogs shot, poisoned, beaten or otherwise intentionally injured or killed on the streets of Thailand.

Commenting on Sumlee's story, Jason Baker, PETA Asia's Vice President, said: 'While we hope the person who shot Sumlee can be found and prosecuted, we also encourage people to adopt animals from the streets and desex the animals that live with you.'

Mr Dower added: 'The street dog problem in Thailand is spiralling out of control and there aren't enough resources to help (with the issue).

'It takes charities like Bon Jardin who are on the ground to make a difference, but we desperately need funding to keep going.'

Mr Dower and his team from Bon Jardin are currently trying to raise 35,000 through crowdfunding on their website, so they could build a new shelter, which is set to accommodate 50 to 60 dogs.
This is the heart-warming moment a Chinese girl bows at a crossing to thank a driver for giving way on a road.

The five-year-old girl rose to stardom after footage of the incident which occurred on August 22, was posted online.

She has since been invited to the city's traffic control department as a guest as a reward for her politeness.

Song Yufei was holding her grandmother's hands when they tried to cross a road in China

Dash camera shows they stepped out to the crossing as the driver was seen giving way

According to Yan Zhao Evening Post, the girl, named Song Yufei, was walking outside with her grandmother in Shijiazhuang, in northern China's Hebei Province.

Song was taught by her grandmother and mother that she should look at the traffic lights and follow the rules when crossing.

Footage shows the driver stopping in front of the crossing and letting the pair cross.

As they walk across the road, the grandmother made a gesture to Song to indicate that she should thank the driver.

The five-year-old did not hesitate and gave a little bow to the driver.

She waved goodbye before continuing to cross the road.

Song's move has touched web users' hearts.

Take a bow: The five-year-old bowed to thank the driver for giving way for them to pass

Song's move has touched web users as soon as the footage went viral on Chinese social media

Zhou Wenhua, deputy director at the Department for Transport in Shijiazhuang, invited Song, her mother and her grandmother to the office for a visit on August 23, stated Yanzhao Evening Post.

Zhou said:'We are trying to enforce traffic etiquette in the city and promote a better and safer way for both drivers and pedestrians.'

Song's behaviour has set a perfect example to the people in Shijiazhuang and we should encourage more!'

Song's grandmother, Guo Fengxia, explained to reporters that she had had a similar experience when her family travelled to Hangzhou.

Guo Fengxia, the grandmother, said Song was taught to learn about traffic etiquette

Song and her grandmother was invited to the department for transport as guest the next day

'In Hangzhou, it's very common that vehicles give way to pedestrians and I was touched seeing this,' said Guo.

She also recalled reading not long ago that an elderly man was spotted taking his hat off to thank a driver.

In May, the department for transport installed 60 security cameras to catch any vehicles violating the rule that ensures drivers give way to pedestrians.
A 20-year-old man has been arrested after being filmed sucker punching a black Trump protester at an America First rally in California.

Richard Losey was filmed attacking Republican activist R.C. Maxwell at the rally in Laguna Beach on Sunday.

Maxwell, an entrepreneur who refers to himself as the black Sean Hannity, was talking to counter protesters when Losey sneaked up behind him and hit him in the head.

Footage of the attack was shared online afterwards and was handed to police. Losey, who identified himself and boasted about the punch on Twitter, was arrested trying to buy a bus ticket to get back to his native Ohio on Tuesday.

He remains in Orange County Jail on a charge of misdemeanor assault with a hate crime enhancement with bond set at $50,000.

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Richard Losey (seen above wearing a baseball hat) was filmed sucker punching black Trump supporter R.C. Maxwell at a protest on Laguna Beach, California, on Sunday

The pair were among 2,500 others who descended on Main Beach for the demonstration on Sunday night.

Maxwell, who is the national coordinator for the Republican PAC American Voice, said he was trying to engage in calm debate with the other side when he was attacked.

'I went over to the left side to see if I could engage them with dialogue and I was instantly encircled by the so called anti fascists,' he told Fox News.

Footage shows him standing in front of the crowd, speaking animatedly, when Losey approached him slowly from behind.

He suddenly raised his hand to strike Maxwell on the head then brought him to the ground as onlookers scuffled and gasped.

Unrepentant, Losey identified himself on Twitter on Tuesday after footage of the incident surfaced online.

Maxwell, who calls himself the black Sean Hannity, said he was attacked because of the color of his skin. Losey, 20, remains in Orange County Jail on a $50,000 bond for assault with a hate crime enhancement

Losey boasted about the attack on Twitter, saying Maxwell 'had it coming' but insisting he was 'not racist'

Losey was arrested on Tuesday in California trying to buy a bus ticket back to his native Ohio. He remains in county jail

In a string of tweets posted hours before he was arrested trying to make his way back to Ohio, he claimed not to belong to any political group and denied being racist, as had been suggested by Republicans, but said Maxwell 'had it coming'.

'I'm the dude who fought him haha [sic] I AM NOT APART IF A GROUP I did what I had to do, we didn't want him there and he didn't leave.

'I did what I had to do. He ran and left us alone when his input wasn't wanted. We all told him to leave and he didn't. He had it coming.

'I did it because he would stop talking about Trump when all of us told him thousands of times we didn't want to hear it. I am NOT racist,' he said.

Maxwell maintains that he is singled out by liberals who are uncomfortable with his position as a black Trump supporter

In one post he taunted: 'Please arrest me lmao'. It is not clear why he had traveled to California.

The California native said it is his goal to educate black voters and persuade them to align with the president

Losey describes himself as a crewman at an Ohio-based granite company on social media.

Maxwell is a keen Trump campaigner whose self-proclaimed mission is to educate black voters and persuade them to align with the president and his agenda.

Among his political views, which he characterizes as politically incorrect, is that removing Confederate statues will be inconsequential to the racial inequality.

He believes he was attacked at the Laguna Beach rally because he is black.

'I'm okay always attacked at these things because liberals hate the rising number of young minority conservatives.

'It really hurts their narrative that Republicans are Nazi's.

'Don't worry the alt left will have to try harder than this to silence me,' he said in a Facebook post after the attack.
AMC's Preacher has highly offended some folks over its 'vile' Jesus sex scene on the night of The Last Supper.

The latest episode of the hit series has caused an uproar, mainly with Christians, who have called the show's writers 'depraved'.

Catholic League president Bill Donohue called the 'Dirty Little Secret' episode 'grotesque'.

'Depicting Jesus in a grotesque sex scene is an assault on the sensibilities of all Christians, as well as people of good will who are not Christians,' he said in a statement.

AMC's Preacher has highly offended some folks over its 'vile' Jesus sex scene on the night of The Last Supper. The latest episode of the hit series has caused an uproar, mainly with Christians, who have called the show's writers 'depraved'. Pictured is Tyson Ritter as Jesus

Catholic League president Bill Donohue called the 'Dirty Little Secret' episode 'grotesque'. In the first five minutes of the show, Jesus (left, played by Tyson Ritter) was having sex with a married woman (right)

'We have been treated to this kind of fare from some pay-per-view channels, but we are not accustomed to AMC getting into the mud,' he added.

He even threatened that if AMC drama doesn't get its act together 'we will rally Christians against it'.

Donohue also linked to a report from conservative news site, NewsBusters, that called the show 'embarrassingly crass'.

The television series, produced by Seth Rogen, is based on a comic book about a modern-day preacher who is losing his faith and encountering many different demonic entities and monsters.

Creators of the show cleverly cast Tyson Ritter, who is the lead vocalist in the All-American Rejects, to play Jesus Christ for the episode, which aired on Monday.

The first five minutes of the episode depicts Jesus and a woman having sex, speaking graphically about various acts and showing the two's various positions in silhouette.

Creators of the show cleverly cast Tyson Ritter (left), who is the lead vocalist in the All-American Rejects, to play Jesus Christ for the episode, which aired on Monday

Preacher stars Dominic Cooper (pictured) as Jesse Custer and Ruth Negga as Tulip O'Hare, as well as Joe Gilgun as Cassidy

Before he leaves, he tells the woman to keep it a secret. It then becomes clear that this is the night that Jesus would be crucified.

Several dissenters took to social media to express their outrage at the episode and AMC.

'The use of dirty little secret in preacher is making me uncomfortable also is tyson literally playing jesus i can't'

Another user wrote: 'I think #Preacher may have lost me, last night. That was taking things a little too far. Felt really uncomfortable watching.'

'AMC's 'Preacher' is 100% false & digusting. It supposedly shows Jesus' life but is so bad I'd feel dirty sharing even a critical link,' one man tweeted.

Several dissenters took to social media to express their outrage at the episode and AMC

In his usual way, Rogen brushed off the criticism with a simple tweet: 'If this isn't a good endorsement of #Preacher, I don't know what is'

And to be fair, Rogen kind of gave a pre-warning ahead of the show's airing on Monday

In his usual way, Rogen brushed off the criticism with a single tweet: 'If this isn't a good endorsement of #Preacher, I don't know what is.'

Rogen had hinted that the show may offend ahead of its airing on Monday.

'Tonight's episode of #Preacher has some stuff I've been excited to bring to life for years and I'm SHOCKED they let us do it. Please watch,' he tweeted before the show.

Preacher stars Dominic Cooper as Jesse Custer and Ruth Negga as Tulip O'Hare, as well as Joe Gilgun as Cassidy.

Fans of the show were really 'happy' the show took the comic-book series to the next level in Monday's episode
Douglas Ross, the MP for Moray, apologised after claiming that cracking down on gypsy travellers would be his top priority were he in No 10.

A Tory MP today apologised after claiming that cracking down on gypsy travellers would be his top priority were he in No 10.

Douglas Ross, the MP for Moray, made the inflammatory claim while answering quickfire interview questions.

But after he was slammed by opposition politicians, Mr Ross took to the airwaves today to issue an apology.

Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland, Mr Ross said he would pick another priority such as tackling global famine or eradicating cancer if asked the question again.

But he insisted the problem of illegal encampments was a real one for his constituents.

He told Good Morning Scotland: 'I do apologise for saying that would be a number one priority as prime minister; that clearly wouldn't be the case for any prime minister.

'If I was given the opportunity to do that quick-fire interview again, I would definitely come up with a different priority.'

He added: 'This is an issue that needs to be addressed and it's unfortunate that we cannot openly discuss it for fear of being called a bigot and a racist.

'If we do that then no-one will ever mention this again and the divisions within these communities will maintain and the settled community will feel their voice does not get raised in this argument and problems with the gypsy travelling community will continue because no-one is willing to debate and discuss this important issue.'

Mr Ross said his top national priority would be another issue but insisted the problem of illegal encampments was a real one for his constituents (file image of a traveller camp in Essex)

In the Meet The MPs interview series with Core Politics, Mr Ross was asked: 'If you were prime minister for the day, without any repercussions, what would you do?'

He said: 'I would like to see tougher enforcement against gypsy travellers', before the video cut to the next question.

SNP MSP Christina McKelvie said: 'The Gypsy traveller community are part of Scotland's rich cultural heritage and it speaks volumes that Douglas Ross should single out this minority group in the way that he has.

'But in some ways it is not remotely surprising, coming from a party which - under Ms Davidson - is showing, with every day that passes, that it openly embraces intolerance and prejudice rather than condemning it.'

The Traveller's Times, which highlights issues in the Gypsy Traveller community, said: 'Blatant displays of anti-Gypsyism by those meant to protect our rights only serves to contribute to the high levels of intolerance and racism directed towards Gypsies and Travellers in society.

'Scottish Travellers now know who not to vote for.'

Amnesty International's Scottish director, Naomi McAuliffe, told BBC Scotland that Mr Ross's remarks were 'divisive and the sort of inflammatory rhetoric that creates barriers rather than offering positive solutions to issues in communities'.
The girlfriend of celebrity bodybuilding champion Rich Piana has paid tribute to him following his death.

Chanel Jansen wrote 'we were supposed to go together' in a message on her Instagram page where she shared a photo of the couple lying on a bed.

It follows as Piana's ex-wife, Sara Piana, confirmed the 46-year-old's death after he was placed into a coma after following a 'medical emergency' at his home.

Chanel Jansen, the girlfriend of celebrity bodybuilding champion Rich Piana, has paid tribute to him following his death on Friday, sharing a photo of them lying in bed with the caption: 'We were supposed to go together' (pictured)

When Piana (left) collapsed on August 10, Jansen (right) phoned 911 and reported that he had suffered a possible overdose, police said

Piana (right) reportedly collapsed while Jansen (left) was cutting his hair at their home more than two weeks ago

In the heartbreaking tribute, Jansen wrote: 'We just finished watching the Notebook yesterday and I said: "That's how it was supposed to be. We were supposed to go together. So when it's my time someday-come find me and take me where we're supposed to go because I don't want to go anywhere without you".'

Piana, who has admitted to using steroids in the past, reportedly collapsed while Jansen was cutting his hair at their home more than two weeks ago and he was placed in a medically-induced coma.

Upon his collapse, Jansen phoned 911 and reported that the he had suffered a possible overdose, law enforcement officers said in a statement.

'When they arrived, Piana was unresponsive and was transported to a nearby hospital where he was placed into a medically induced coma' according to a TMZ report.

Last week, Jansen took to social media to shoot down rumors that Piana had died on August 14.

'PLEASE i'm BEGGING you all to have some respect and realize how EXTREMELY difficult this is for us,' she wrote, adding that she would not be posting further updates 'until further notice'.

Jansen posted this photo with Piana from the hospital last week, where she had dispelled rumors that he had died

'PLEASE i'm BEGGING you all to have some respect and realize how EXTREMELY difficult this is for us,' she wrote, adding that she would not be posting further updates 'until further notice,' Jansen wrote (pictured with Piana)

His ex-wife Sara confirmed his death in a Facebook post on Friday while fellow bodybuilders and fans had spoken of their shock this morning amid previously unconfirmed reports Piana had taken an overdose.

The District Six Medical Examiner in Florida confirmed that Piana passed away early Friday morning at the hospital, TMZ reported.

'You truly touched many people's heart and helped so many!!! It inspired me in many ways to see the huge impact you had on people all over the world,' Sara Piana wrote in a Facebook post announcing the bodybuilder's death.

Australian bodybuilder Calum Von Moger also paid tribute to Rich Piana on Instagram: 'This has been a sad week for the fitness world. Reminds us life is short. Life is precious.'

Piana's estranged wife Sara (pictured together in November 2016) announced his death on Friday morning in a post on Facebook

Piana previously came forward to the public admitting he had been spending thousands of dollars a month on anabolic steroids, which assisted him in enhancing his ardent bodybuilding career and lifestyle.

In a YouTube video he posted last year, Piana said he took steroids on-and-off over the course of 27 years, and advised his followers against the same unhealthy routine, while ultimately backing up his decision.

'If you have the choice to do steroids or stay natural, stay natural. There's no reason to do steroids, you're only hurting your body and hurting yourself,' Piana said.

'But if you want to become a professional bodybuilder, guess what? You're probably going to have to f***ing do them, you're not going to have a choice. That's the boat I was in.'

Piana, the well known body builder and former Mr California, has admitted using steroids in the past,
#HurricaneHarvey could hit landfall late Friday night along the Texas coast as a Category 3 hurricane.

Harvey may become the strongest storm to hit the United States in over a decade.

Writes Harvey Danger at Grist:

Harvey could be the new administration's first natural-disaster test. FEMA, the federal agency responsible for disaster response, is under new leadership, and disaster relief has faced significant cuts under Trump.

In short, we're looking at a region and a president untested by recent hurricanes.

Get a load of the weird tweet Donald Trump sent as our president, with a North Korea style message below.

They even used Copperplate for the crawl font.

The coming storm is affecting fuel prices throughout the country.

U.S. gasoline prices surged to a three-week high on Thursday as Hurricane Harvey moved across the Gulf of Mexico and threatened to strike the heart of the country's oil refining industry when it comes ashore in Texas this weekend.

Recent satellite and radar imagery, and photos from reporters in the area, below.

The new FEMA director, appointed in June, is Brock Long  former director of Alabama emergency management. #Harvey https://t.co/XNU6negHV0 pic.twitter.com/6Zn2apZktm  Philip Klotzbach (@philklotzbach) August 24, 2017

Here are the key messages for intensifying #Hurricane #Harvey for the 4 pm CDT Advisory. https://t.co/tW4KeGdBFb pic.twitter.com/bSm26T4hIK  NHC Atlantic Ops (@NHC_Atlantic) August 24, 2017

The central pressure of #Harvey has fallen 29 mb in last 24 hours  the most rapid 24-hr deepening for Gulf of Mexico TC since Karl (2010) pic.twitter.com/tz6qupt8nj  Philip Klotzbach (@philklotzbach) August 24, 2017



The current MSLP of #Hurricane #Harvey of 979 mb is the lowest for a Gulf of Mexico TC since Isaac (2012). pic.twitter.com/Wil4xxHUnt  Philip Klotzbach (@philklotzbach) August 24, 2017

Kroger in Galveston is stocking the shelves with water as quickly as people are buying it #Harvey pic.twitter.com/mga4ooXZU3  Emily Foxhall (@emfoxhall) August 24, 2017

Up to 35 inches of rain possible over SE #Texas through Wed & could cause life-threatening flash flooding https://t.co/tW4KeGdBFb #Harvey pic.twitter.com/qak9ob9WE6  NHC Atlantic Ops (@NHC_Atlantic) August 24, 2017
A human trafficking gang providing women as sex slaves in Spanish resorts popular with British holidaymakers has been seized by police.

Investigators arrested 25 suspects, including a woman who was said to have been the gang leader, who used refugee boats from Africa to transport the women.

Officials say the gang recruited vulnerable women in Nigeria and intimidated them by claiming to have cast voodoo spells over them.

Spanish media said the gang provided women for the sex trade in Benidorm, Malaga and Valencia.

Police said 16 women being kept by the traffickers had been freed.

Spanish media reports the gang provided women for the sex trade in Benidorm, Malaga and Valencia

The gang used a sophisticated trafficking network to move their victims to Niger and then Libya where they joined the often deadly refugee trail to Italy

Officials say the gang recruited vulnerable women in Nigeria and intimidated them by claiming to have cast voodoo spells over them

Four houses in Spain were raided and searched as well as a property in Helsinki, Finland, where the gang leader apparently lived.

The gang reportedly used a sophisticated trafficking network to move their victims to Niger and then Libya where they joined the refugee trail to Italy.

After leaving refugee camps, the gangs would smuggle them over the border to Spain where they were put to work as prostitutes.

Gang members would take them to the Spanish capital Madrid to make sure they registered as refugees so they could be put to work without police interfering.

The investigation began when two women from Nigeria begged for help from refugee officials in Madrid.

Police say trafficked women were forced to live in apartments controlled by the gang, where they were ordered to have sex for hours every day.

The investigation began when two women from Nigeria begged for help from refugee officials in Madrid
Two South African farmers have been found guilty of attempted murder after they filmed themselves forcing a man into a coffin and threatening to burn him alive.

Supporters of the victim burst out in celebratory songs in the courtroom after judge Segopotje Mphahlele told the accused that 'for attempted murder of Mr Victor Mlotshwa, I hereby find you both guilty.'

Willem Oosthuizen and Theo Martins Jackson, both white, were also found guilty of kidnap, intimidation and assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm.

They had pleaded not guilty over the incident last year in the eastern province of Mpumalanga, saying they only intended to scare Mlotshwa, who is a black man, after he allegedly stole copper cables from their farm.

Willem Oosthuizen and Theo Martins Jackson, both white, were found guilty of kidnap and assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm to Victor Mlotshwa (pictured) in Mpumalanga

The video shows Victor Mlotshwa begging for his life as the two men swear at him and tell him they are going to throw a snake in with him

Two white farmers were found guilty of the attempted murder of Victor Mlotshwa

Theo Jackson and Willem Oosthuizen at Middelburg Magistrates Court

Theo Jackson and Willem Oosthuizen in the Delmas Magistrates Court on July 31, 2017 in Delmas, South Africa

Two clips of footage taken on their mobile phones showed the assailants shoving Mlotshwa down into the wooden coffin and pressing the lid closed with their boots as he begged for his life.

Rival activists from the ruling African National Congress, the main opposition Democratic Alliance and the radical Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) rallied outside court and attended each day of the trial.

When the first phone footage emerged several months ago, it triggered national outrage and led to the arrest of the two men.

'Please don't kill me,' Mlotshwa begged the men while in the coffin, the footage shown.

'Why shouldn't we, when you are killing our farm?' one replied.

Mlotshwa was in court to hear the verdicts against the two men, who had alleged that Mlotshwa had threatened to kill their families and burn farm crops before being forced into the coffin.

Lonea Mlotshwa, mother of victim Victor Mlotshwa, breaks down during the case

Theo Jackson and Willem Oosthuizen during their appearance at the Middelburg Magistrates Court for allegedly assaulting and forcing a farm worker, Victor Mlotshwa into a coffin on November 16, 2016 in Mpumalanga, South Africa

The court case has attracted huge attention in South Africa, where racial inequality persists more than two decades since the end of white minority rule

South Africa is beset by deep-rooted racial inequality 23 years after the end of white-minority apartheid rule, and cases of racism have erupted regularly on social media in recent years.

Outside the court on Friday, protesters carried mock coffins decorated with pictures of the accused and called for them to be found guilty on all charges.

On the phone footage, one of the men said 'Come, come. We want to throw the petrol on'.

They are also threatened to put a snake in the coffin.

Mlotshwa said he was walking to the town of Middelburg to buy provisions for his mother and had decided to use a short cut when the two men spotted him.

Supporters of the South African ruling party African National Congress hold a poster bearing the faces of co-accused Willem Oosthuizen and Theo Martins Jackson outside court today

Willem Oosthuizen (left) and Theo Martins Jackson (right) speak with a member of their legal team at today's hearing

Shenilla Mohamed, Amnesty International South Africa Executive Director, said: 'This hideous case lays bare the discrimination that still runs deep in South African society'

The two men's families told local media they were shocked over the verdicts.

The sentencing date was to be set by the court later Friday.

In response to the guilty verdict in the coffin assault case by the Middleburg High Court earlier today, Shenilla Mohamed, Amnesty International South Africa Executive Director, said: 'This hideous case lays bare the discrimination that still runs deep in South African society.

'The fact that the whole grotesque episode was captured on video and then posted to social media suggests that the perpetrators felt little concern that they would face justice.

'There is no place for racism or discrimination in any society, and this terrible case must spur the government to finalise the Hate Crimes legislation in order to deal decisively with incidents of discrimination.'
U.S. fighter pilots leading the military base in Afghanistan are preparing for more air attacks after President Donald Trump announced plans for a new war strategy last week.

Trump said officials will increase the air campaign against Taliban insurgents, in yet another quest adding to the rise of strikes brought out since the President took office in January.

In Monday's conference, Trump reiterated the U.S. would ultimately 'win' the several year-long war on Taliban, a suggestion fighter pilots complied to but were leery of.

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U.S. Gen. John Nicholson, top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, speaks during a joint press conference in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, Aug. 24, 2017

Nicholson's remarks come after President Trump announced his new strategy for Afghanistan, which involves maintaining a U.S. military presence in the country

The strategy also included a campaign vow to end America's longest war

Afghan Border Police personnel walk through an outpost damaged in an airstrike in the Nad Ali district of Helmand province on June 10, 2017

Following the alert, commander of U.S. troops in Afghanistan, Gen. John Nicholson, said he would amp up security for all troops.

He also commented that it's time the U.S. comes to common grounds with Taliban for the best interest of all parties.

'We are determined to pursue the goal of a political settlement ... As these terrorist groups realize that they cannot win, they will see that their best option is to pursue peace,' Nicholson said in a conference.

'We know the enemy fears air power,' he added, when speaking of the matter to Reuters reporters in Kabul.

White House officials believe reducing territorial gains by the Taliban will be a key goal of the new proposal.

U.S. soldiers walk at the site of a Taliban suicide attack in Kandahar on August 2, 2017

U.S. soldiers keep watch near the wreckage of their vehicle at the site of a Taliban suicide attack in Kandahar on August 2, 2017

Afghan security forces keep watch near the site of U.S. airstrike on a civilian vehicle in Haska Mina district Nangarhar province on August 12, 2017

Former Afghan president Hamid Karzai said Trump's quest is primarily focused on 'killing, killing, killing.'

The U.S. air strikes in Afghanistan drastically increased from 1,074 in January to 2,244 by the end of August.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the group's troops have grown accustomed to response techniques for the air strikes over the past 16 years.

'In 2010, 2011 and 2012 the U.S. air strikes were successful and we lost many Mujahideen,' he told Reuters.

'But now, we have enough experience to avoid casualties during their strikes by hiding in mountain holes and other places.'

When speaking of his Afghanistan policy, Trump included he would 'lift restrictions and expand authorities in the field.'

The President did not release specific information on what the proposal would entail.

U.S. military spokesman in Kabul, Capt. William Salvin, said U.S. forces are still limited to conducting air strikes in circumstances of self-defense, counter-terrorism strikes against specific groups and helping Afghan troops achieve 'strategic effects.'
Christopher Lavery says he was watching a Rambo film when his mate was murdered - found later with a knife in his neck and his body and Jeep torched.

But a Melbourne jury on Friday decided that instead of sitting in a cinema, it was Lavery himself who killed James Russouw and robbed him of cash to help pay off a $19,000 gambling debt.

After deliberating for four days, the jury rejected Lavery's claims he was watching a Rambo film at the time Mr Russouw was killed in 2008.

Mr Russouw, 24, was stabbed to death at East Burwood Reserve, east of Melbourne, in 2008

The pair had a history of selling cannabis up until Mr Russouw was found dead in his burning car at Burwood East Reserve.

During the 31-year-old's four-week trial it was alleged he killed Mr Russouw and robbed him of cash to help pay off a $19,000 gambling debt.

Lavery's cinema alibi was initially substantiated by a mate, witness A, but in March the collaborator said the killer asked to swap clothes and left the movie part-way through, and did not return.

While giving evidence witness A broke down in tears while recounting how Lavery later confessed to the crime.

'After everyone left, Chris pulled me aside, gave me $150 ... and said 'you know what I did, don't you'?' witness A told the court.

'He said 'I set up a deal, sat in the back of the car and slit his throat, and if you ever tell anyone I'll kill you and your family'.'

Mr Russouw (pictured) was found dead with a knife in his neck and his body and Jeep torched

Defence lawyer Scott Johns argued the witness was lying after hearing of a $1 million reward for information leading to a conviction in the murder case.

Other witnesses told the court of Lavery's money troubles, including one man who said he'd witnessed the killer putting a 'ludicrous' amount of money into pokie machines.

The jury returned a not-guilty verdict on a charge of incitement to murder after it was alleged Lavery asked a fellow prisoner about getting a key witness in the case 'knocked'.

Christopher Lavery, 30, (pictured) has been charged with the 2008 murder of James Russouw

A man who can only be identified as witness B told the court during the trial that Lavery had also confessed to the murder to him.

However, Mr Johns said witness B was a 'grifter' with a 'silver tongue' and had fabricated the conversation because he was also after the million-dollar reward.

Lavery will return to the court at a later date for a plea hearing before sentencing.
But the viscount is now back behind bars today after dropping his appeal

He appealed his prison sentence of 12 weeks last month following conviction

Rhodri Colwyn Philipps, 50, was initially jailed for 12 weeks last month after posting racist messages about Gina Miller. He is pictured arriving at court today

A viscount who offered 5,000 for someone to accidentally run over Brexit campaigner Gina Miller is back behind bars today after dropping his appeal.

Rhodri Colwyn Philipps, 50, was initially jailed for 12 weeks last month after posting racist and offensive statements about Ms Miller on Facebook.

The 4th Viscount St Davids declared that immigrants should go back to their stinking jungles and offered 2,000 to carve up an African father-of-eight.

In a Facebook post, four days after Ms Miller won a landmark High Court challenge against the Government over Article 50, he wrote: 5,000 for the first person to "accidentally" run over this bloody troublesome first generation immigrant.

He also described her as a f**king boat jumper and added: If this is what we should expect from immigrants, send them back to their stinking jungles.

Ms Miller, 52, said Philipps posts genuinely scared her and made her feel angry violated and upset that somebody on social media could post racist and personal words about me.

She said she spent 60,000 beefing up security after reading that someone had put out a bounty to run her over.

The aristocrat was granted bail less than a week into his sentence last month after a judge deemed it unfair for the polo-playing peer to serve more than two thirds of it before his appeal is heard.

Philipps, whose preferred title is Lord St Davids, appeared at Southwark Crown Court wearing a dark grey suit, blue shirt and yellow patterned tie to appeal against his sentence.

Judge Deborah Taylor granted him permission to sit in the well of the court next to his defence barrister so he could hear proceedings properly.

But he decided not to go ahead with the appeal after she repeated her warning that he was running a real risk of receiving an even longer stint behind bars.

This is the appeal by Mr Philipps and as he has already been warned and we are going to raise this now, this court has the power to increase sentence as well as to allow an appeal, the judge said.

Ms Miller, 52, said Philipps posts genuinely scared her and made her feel angry violated and upset that somebody on social media could post racist and personal words about me

Having considered what we have so far, this is a moment at which it is necessary to say that our preliminary view is that there is a risk of that being the case.

After a short break to consider his position, Philipps confirmed he no longer wished to pursue the appeal.

Defending, Oliver Blunt, QC, thanked the judge for the time given and said: Putting it shortly, the appeal against sentence is abandoned, thereby alleviating the risk that you have quite rightly and if I may say so, very fairly been kind enough to telegraph to us at a convenient stage of these proceedings.

Philipps was ordered to surrender to the dock and told that the sentence imposed at the lower court would be imposed in full immediately.

During earlier court appearances, he claimed he had been assaulted in jail and suffering post-traumatic stress disorder from an unrelated period of solitary confinement, said his barrister at the last hearing, Sophie OSullivan.

The viscount, who was recently made bankrupt, accepted writing the posts but insisted he is not racist as he has black and Muslim friends.

Mr Blunt confirmed Philipps was of limited means with no expenses hitherto paid by the defendant.

Philipps, whose preferred title is Lord St Davids, appeared at Southwark Crown Court wearing a dark grey suit, blue shirt and yellow patterned tie to appeal against his sentence

Following his trial, Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot told him he was motivated by the hatred of anybody with different views as she handed him a 12-week prison term.

He initially represented himself at Westminster Magistrates Court to explain the posts he wrote about Ms Miller on 7 November last year.

But he got legal aid at the eleventh hour and claimed he was a changed man after his conviction as the judges words hit him like a streak of lightning.

The CPS announced earlier this week that internet trolls will face prosecution for hate-filled online rants in the same way they would if they had abused people in the streets.

Under new legal guidelines hate crimes perpetrated on social media will be taken as seriously as offline offences as part of a clampdown on cyber bullying.

Philipps, of Knightsbridge, London, was found guilty of two counts of malicious communications but cleared of a third similar like charge.

His original 12-week sentence, five-year restraining order, 500 compensation order and 250 costs order also stand.

He must also pay 500 prosecution costs for the crown court proceedings.
Britain's 18th richest man has won a six year battle to build his dream beachside home on the edge of the New Forest.

Chemical tycoon Jim Ratcliffe, 64, who is worth 5.75billion and co-owns Grangemouth oil refinery in Scotland, was heavily criticised over plans to expand his bungalow into a three-bedroom luxury family house.

The billionaire has owned the two-hectare site at Thorns Beach near Beaulieu, Hampshire, since 2005 and has repeatedly failed to get planning approval since 2011.

Mr Ratcliffe has had to gradually reduce its size and height, including scrapping hi-tech jacks that could raise the home in floods, because designs would damage an 'unspoilt piece of the New Forest'.

But planning officers have finally agreed his plans even though the new house would be 30 per cent larger than the current run down two-bedroom bungalow overlooking the beach.

Billionaire Jim Ratcliffe's latest plans for the site include a single-storey home with three bedrooms, a large living space and a summer house, all on the edge of the New Forest have finally been approved

The proposed development would be 30 per cent larger than the current run down two-bedroom bungalow (shown) on the two-hectare site at Thorns Beach near Beaulieu, Hants

Previous plans were dismissed as too large and were said to pose a risk to the ecology and visual amenity of the picturesque location overlooking the Isle of Wight

Previous plans were dismissed as too large and were said to pose a risk to the ecology and visual amenity of the picturesque location.

Chemicals billionaire Jim Ratcliffe has owned the two-hectare site at Thorns Beach near Beaulieu, Hampshire since 2005

Mary Montagu-Scott, daughter of the previous Lord Montagu, was a high-profile objector to Mr Ratcliffe's previous applications to develop the site, but was won over by the new plans.

She previously argued that Thorns Beach is an 'unspoilt piece of the New Forest' and stated that if Mr Ratcliffe wanted a large house 'he should buy a large house'.

However, in a letter to the planning authority, Mrs Montagu-Scott, current High Sheriff of Hampshire, described the new proposal as a 'good looking modern house suitable for the site'.

Mr Ratcliffe amassed his fortune as the founder of INEOS, which is one of the top chemical companies in the world.

The company co-owns Grangemouth Refinery in Scotland with PetroChina, which employs more than 1,300 people.

The businessman was listed in 18th place on this year's Sunday Times Rich List, ahead of the likes of Virgin entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson.

Among the billionaire's vetoed plans was this taller property (artist's impression from 2015), which included hi-tech jacks that could raise the home in case of flooding

Planning officers approved the new plans following consultation with Mr Ratcliffe and there were 10 letters sent in support of the application, compared to just two objections.

Environmental charity Solent Protection Society lodged an objection on the grounds that the summer house and garage were not included when discussing the proposed development's size.

In his letter to the planning authority, chairman Bill Pimlott said the planned development was 'substantially in excess of the present building and therefore exceeds the planning criteria'.

Officers chose to approve the plans, subject to a number of conditions, including protection of visual amenity, mitigation of flood risk and the submission of a landscaping scheme.

The report from senior planning officer Clare Ings said: 'The design of the dwelling, whilst different from the other properties along the Solent shoreline, would respect the landscape and seascape of the surrounding area.

'The design is quite modest, with the ridge being kept low and making use of traditional materials.

'Whilst the overall proposed would result in additional development across the site, this frontage is of sufficient scale for it not to dominate the public views from the sea.

Mr Ratcliffe (pictured right) amassed his fortune as the founder of INEOS, which is one of the top chemical companies in the world, and wants to spend his cash on the dream home on the Solent (left)

Planning documents submitted to the New Forest National Park Authority state that the new development will 'ultimately benefit the site for many years' and officers appear to have finally accepted it

'No adverse impact would result on either trees or ecology in the area.'

Mr Ratcliffe withdrew a first application to develop the site in 2011, and was knocked back by the New Forest National Park Authority in three subsequent cases.

The entrepreneur appealed the authority's decisions on two occasions in 2014 and 2015, but both decisions were upheld by a government-appointed inspector.
A 112-year-old woman who once said the secret behind her astonishingly long life was three Miller High Life beers a day and a shot of whiskey died Thursday morning.

Agnes Fenton, who was New Jersey's oldest resident, celebrated her 112th birthday three weeks ago on August 2.

She was actually born Agnes Jones in Holly Springs, Mississippi, on August 1, 1905. Agnes grew up in Memphis, Tennessee, and moved to Englewood in the 1950s with her second husband Vincent Fenton, who died in 1970.

As a young woman, Agnes became one of the first African-American women to own and operate a business with the opening of The Pals Duck Inn, located in Memphis.

New Jersey's oldest resident, Agnes Fenton (pcitured in 2015), 112, who once said the secret behind her astonishingly long life was three Miller High Life beers and a shot of whiskey, died at her home on Thursday

Her restaurant, located near LeMoyne-Owen College, still exists today.

In 1943, Agnes was given the unusual prescription of alcohol by her doctor in 1943 for a benign tumor.

For the past seven decades, she has credited her health and remarkable longevity to having three beers and a shot of whiskey every day.

And while Agnes, who first revealed her secret to a long life just before her 105th birthday, according to The Record, has remained loyal to her budget-friendly beer of choice, when it comes to the chaser, she prefers to take shots of Johnnie Walker Blue Label, a top shelf liquor that costs more than $150 a bottle.

However, in 2015 Agnes was forced to give up on her time-honored tradition because she began eating very little and her caregivers no longer wanted her drinking alcohol.

At 112 years old Agnes was one of the few supercentenarians in the world, with a current estimate of 300 to 600 of them on the planet.

In a 2015 interview with ABC News, Agnes, who has no children, explained that her only serious health problem was the tumor that developed in her early 30s, and when the doctor discharged her, he told her she 'must drink three Miller High Lifes a day'.

Nurses would stay with her around the clock, while neighbors and and friends often stopped by to check on her. She also received visits from parishioners of St Mark's Methodist Church in Harlem.

Secret to eternal youth: Agnes revealed in 2005 that her secret to a healthy life was three Miller High Lifes (left) and shot of whisky a day. The 112-year-old said in 2015 that she prefers Johnnie Walker Blue Label (right)

Agnes, who still had her hearing and eyesight, up until her last breath, spent her days reading the newspaper, listening to the news on the radio, praying, and, of course, sleeping a lot.

Her physician, Dr Kenneth Wasserman, has been seeing her for nearly 20 years, and he could never wrap his head around her longevity.

'Her health has been phenomenal.  She's completely, thoroughly amazing,' he said in a 2015 interview.

'When I was 100 years old, I went to the mirror to thank God that I was still here. And I thank him every morning,' Agnes said after her 110th birthday.

Over the years, the supercentenarian has received birthday wishes from both former president Barack Obama and Gov Chris Christie.

The city even proclaimed her birthday 'Agnes Fenton Day' 12 years ago.
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In years gone by it was a fearsome prison where hundreds died and inmates were forced to beat each other.

Now the crumbling remnants of the eerie Goli Otok - branded 'Croatia's Alcatraz' - have been revealed in all their horrors.

In the 40 years it was open from 1949, Amnesty International estimates up to 50,000 prisoners were held there, and 600 of them died.

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The eerie images show the current state of the Goli Otok prison, which has been branded the 'Croatian Alcatraz', where prisoners were beaten and tortured

In the 40 years it was open from 1949, Amnesty International estimates up to 50,000 prisoners were held there, and 600 of them died

Among those locked up there were supporters of Russian dictator Joseph Stalin after Yugoslavia had broken away

Among those locked up there were supporters of Russian dictator Joseph Stalin. Prisoner accounts described the place as a 'living hell', recalling how guards forced them to beat and torture one another, in a bid to obliterate any allegiance to Stalinism or one another.

Photographer Bob Thissen, 36, from Heerlen, the Netherlands, believes the haunting history can still be felt while walking around the site even to this day, despite being abandoned for 28 years.

Bob said: 'Prisoners were tortured there, former inmates called it a living hell, even people who were not-guilty were deported to this prison.

'The cells are small, dark and uncomfortable, the conditions were unbearable.

Prisoner accounts described the place as a 'living hell', recalling how guards forced them to beat and torture one another, in a bid to obliterate any allegiance to Stalinism or one another

Bob Thissen, 36, from Heerlen, the Netherlands, believes the haunting history can still be felt while walking around the site even to this day, despite being abandoned for 28 years

'It makes you think how those political prisoners must have felt there.

'It's hard to say how many cells there because some buildings are completely stripped, but I would estimate up to 50,000 prisoners were held in Goli Otok between 1949 and 1989.

'You can only imagine what happened here when it was active. The history makes the atmosphere chilling, when you just visit it without information you're just walking between some ruins.

'Although you are on an island you miss vegetation a bit, 'Goli Otok' means barren island, it's a rough island where there's barely any vegetation.

Photographer Bob Thissen said: 'It would have been cool to have seen it just after closure, it's a mix between a Gulag work camp and a prison'

Supporters of Russian leader Joseph Stalin were among the thousands locked up in the prison, which is close to the Croatian coast

The crumbling remnants of the eerie Goli Otok - branded 'Croatia's Alcatraz' - have been revealed in all their horrors

'It has a unique setting, a prison on an uninhabited island in the Adriatic sea, the prison part was the most interesting part of the island.'

Bob advises people visit the site, which can be reached and explored without breaking the law.

Bob said: 'It was a cool experience to spend the night at an uninhabited island, the isolation prison building was impressive.

'I have been to Alcatraz as well, it's the same idea, a prison on a 'barren island,' which is the translation for Goli Otok.

'The only difference is that Alcatraz is preserved better, I believe a lot of stuff was stolen from the island.

'It would have been cool to have seen it just after closure, it's a mix between a Gulag work camp and a prison.

The inside of the prison may be crumbling, but the photographer who took the images said its history makes the atmosphere chilling
A former pupil of the elite Choate Rosemary Hall boarding school has described the abuse she suffered at the hands of two teachers and how she helped expose it.

Cheyenne Montgomery began attending the Wallingford, Connecticut, school in 1989 as a then-15-year-old on a full scholarship.

Montgomery, sexually abused as a child by a family member, told PEOPLE she jumped on the chance to escape Randolph, Vermont, where she'd grown up in a 'shack house' with a dirt floor and no indoor bathroom.

Cheyenne Montgomery, a former pupil of the elite Choate Rosemary Hall boarding school (pictured, left, in 1990, and right, in 2017), has described the abuse she suffered at the hands of two teachers and how she helped expose it

Montgomery (pictured, left, unknown year) began attending the Wallingford, Connecticut, school in 1989 as a then-15-year-old on a full scholarship

Unable to afford many of the trips and excursions of her wealthier, affluent classmates, Montgomery (pictured, unknown date) stayed behind and buried herself into her books, feeling isolated and insecure

She soon confessed the isolation to her live-in dorm adviser, Angus Mair, then-27 years old and married. Their close bond soon became sexual (Pictured, Choate Rosemary Hall)

The school had educated the likes of John F Kennedy, Ivanka Trump, Michael Douglas, and Glenn Close.

Unable to afford many of the trips and excursions of her wealthier, affluent classmates, Montgomery stayed behind and buried herself into her books, feeling isolated and insecure.

She soon confessed the isolation to her live-in dorm adviser, Angus Mair, then-27 years old and married. Their close bond soon became sexual.

'Kids get crushes on their teachers,' Montgomery, now 43, told PEOPLE. 'It was a horrible thing to do to a young person.'

In her senior year, Montgomery ended the relationship after Mairs moved away. Although, he told her not to tell anyone, she revealed what happened to her then-43-year-old dorm adviser and French teacher Bjorn Runquist, who was also married.

In a similar pattern, he too began sharing secrets with Montgomery and took advantage of her to begin a hidden sexual relationship.

'A month before I graduated,' Montgomery said, she and Runquist 'did have sex in an empty classroom.'

The school educated very affluent students from the likes of John F Kennedy (left), Ivanka Trump (right), Michael Douglas and Glenn Close. This led to feelings of isolation for Montgomery

In her senior year, Montgomery (pictured, left, unknown year) ended the relationship after Mairs moved away. Although, he told her not to tell anyone, she revealed what happened to her 43-year-old dorm adviser and French teacher Bjorn Runquist, who was also married and they began a hidden sexual relationship

The school's headmaster caught wind of the relationship after a teacher spotted the two together after Montgomery graduated.

Runquist admitted to 'an emotional attachment' but not a physical relationship, she said.

'I shaved my head because I didn't want to appear attractive. I became really paranoid I was going to die.'' Montgomery said, who attended Reed College in Portland, Oregon, earning a biology degree.

After The Boston Globe published a series about sexual abuse at prep schools, Montgomery shared her own abuse on Choate alumni group's Facebook page.

'My classmates really rallied,' she said.

In 2016, Montgomery (pictured, right, with wife April) shared her own abuse on Choate's alumni group's Facebook page after The Boston Globe published a series about sexual abuse at prep schools

Montgomery (pictured, right, with wife April) is currently writing a book based on her experiences. 'If we keep secrets, it happens again and again and again,' she said

The school launched an internal investigation in 2016. Released in April 2017, the report described abuse, stalking and, in one instance, a rape - tied to at least 12 named teachers at the school from 1963 to 2010 and involving 24 students

The school launched an internal investigation in 2016. Released in April 2017, the report described abuse, stalking and, in one instance, a rape - tied to at least 12 named teachers at the school from 1963 to 2010 and involving 24 students

Both Mairs and Runquist were cited by investigators as adults who engaged in sexual misconduct. Runquist and Mairs both denied a sexual relationship with Montgomery.

Today, Montgomery is a high school biology teacher in Portland where she lives with wife Amy, 44, and three kids from a previous marriage, son Sayer, 18, and 15-year-old twins Guthrie and Simone. She is currently writing a book based on her experiences.

'If we keep secrets, it happens again and again and again,' she said.

'There's no reason for a teacher to make that mistake. It's predator. Your job is to help them, not to lean on them for emotional support or to make them your friend.'
Alex Jones has been admonished by critics including Chelsea Clinton for claiming in a shocking segment of his InfoWars podcast that there may be 'proof' Michelle Obama is a man.

The 43-year-old alt-right media personality made the controversial claims on Thursday during an 11-minute podcast.

He pointed to an amateur compilation video which is circulating on social media which includes photographs of the former first lady in which her pants, dress or skirt are creased or pleated.

Jones described the video as 'shock new footage' and said the images showed a large 'bulge' in Obama's pants.

He claimed they, along with a 2014 clip of the late comedian Joan Rivers calling the former first lady a 'tranny', proves the outlandish theory that Michelle, 53, was born a man.

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Alt-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones has been slammed for promoting a video which claims Michelle Obama is a man during his InfoWars podcast on Thursday (above)

'Since the early days of the Obama administration, citizens across the board have studied videos and photos of Michelle Obama and said "that is a man".

He even suggested that Rivers, who died seven months later at the age of 81 after complications during surgery, was killed for making the suggestion and shockingly asked whether the Obamas' two daughters were 'a beard'.

His broadcast went viral on social media overnight and caught the attention of former first daughter Chelsea Clinton.

Chelsea, an avid Twitter user, responded to an InfoWars post promoting the video to slam it.

'Michelle Obama is everything this site will never be-honorable, brave, beloved, beautiful. Don't need to watch an awful video to know that,' she said.

She then responded to a follower who questioned why she'd given the website publicity, writing: 'I didn't visit the site or watch the video.

'Think we need to shine a light on the awfulness/expose it - without giving the awfulness clicks.'

Chelsea Clinton slammed the video online, describing it as 'awful' and commending Michelle for being 'brave and beautiful'

Clinton then defended drawing attention to the video, saying it ought to be exposed for its 'awfulness'

Jones harshly said the former first lady (seen above in July) had 'a very, very masculine face' and 'wide shoulders'

Jones, who previously suggested that the Sandy Hook massacre was a hoax and who has cast doubt on 911, has long promoted the theory that Michelle Obama was born a man but said the 'new viral video' proved that he did not invent the theory himself.

Analyzing the photographs, he said harshly: 'Michelle appears to have a very large penis in her pants. Her shoulders are wide, her face is very, very, masculine.

'She looks like a tranny and so you ask yourself, are the children a beard?'

He went on: 'I'm not saying Michelle Obama is a tranny and I don't hate trannies. I'm a libertarian.

'But we have famous photos of her where it appears she has a large bulge in her pants and we have Joan Rivers who was a big fan of gays trannies and everything else, saying hey - we've already got our first gay couple because Michelle is a tranny.

'She died a month or so later in a freak medical mishap.'

Rivers made the comments in January 2014 before officiating a gay wedding after being asked by a reporter if there would ever be a gay president.

Jones said photographs including one taken in 2010 during a visit to a mosque in Jakarta (left) proved Michelle had a 'bulge' in her pants and said a 2014 video of Joan Rivers describing the former first lady as a 'tranny' was also worth consideration

Jones, 43, claimed he himself did not necessarily believe the former first lady is transgender but asked provocatively: 'What do YOU think of this footage?'

'Well we already have one with Obama,' she said, adding: 'You know Michelle is a tranny. A transgender. We all know it, it's OK'.

Rivers died in September that year from complications sustained during a throat operation.

But Jones appeared to suggest her death was linked to her comment about the Obamas.

'Why did Joan Rivers die right after she questioned this and what does this footage mean to you?'

Jones also said two snippets of video taken during Obama's presidency showed him mistakenly referring to his wife as Michael.

One was from a 2011 speech at the Change of Office, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Ceremony in Virginia.

Twitter users were quick to condemn and mock Jones online as his podcast spread

President Obama was addressing Admiral Michael Mullen and his wife Deborah when he said: 'Admiral Mullen, Deborah and Michael, and I also want to also acknowledge your son Jack, whos deployed today.'

In the video, he sounds as though he is saying: 'Michael and I want to also acknowledge your son Jack'.

The second clip is from an appearance on Bear Grylls' show Running Wild in 2015.

Obama, asked if anything scares him, responded: 'When my, my. When Michelle's mad, it worries me.' Theorists say the hesitation proved he was about to say 'Michael' instead of 'my wife'.

Jones was as widely mocked for the podcast as he was criticized. Critics responded to his boasts about the segment with posts including one which read: 'We are still waiting for proof Alex Jones is a man. Where's that video?'
Interviewed by Fox and Friends, Trump surrogate Kellyanne Conway had thoughts on the general response to his rally rage meltdown in Arizona. The media, she says, aren't "afraid enough here."

DOOCY: A couple nights ago on television, he said he wondered whether or not the president was fit to be president, fit to serve. If James Clapper is watching right now, what's your message to him?

CONWAY: It's such an absurd analysis, playing armchair psychiatrist. It's not just him. It's a lot of people on TV. I remember  I'm old enough to remember when news stations reported the news and didn't just have a parade of pundits going out there and opinionating (sic) and rendering their opinions and pontificating and conjecturing. And I think it leads to analysis like this because people end up with very little to say. They are not compelled. They are not forced. Nobody demands that they actually report facts and figures. [] You know, the media and other opinion leaders, they were way too afraid of President Obama and his administration. They're not afraid enough here.
Dwayne Johnson has hailed a ten-year-old Detroit boy as a hero after he recreated one of his scenes to rescue his two-year-old brother from drowning.

Jacob O'Connor, from Roseville, walked into the back yard to find his two-year-old brother Dylan face down in the swimming pool.

He immediately pulled him out and gave him emergency care, having watched Johnson's helicopter pilot character do the same in hit apocalypse flick San Andreas.

Dwayne Johnson has hailed ten-year-old Detroit boy Jacob O'Connor (pictured) as a hero after he recreated one of his scenes to rescue his two-year-old brother from drowning

Jacob pulled him out and gave him emergency care, having watched Johnson's helicopter pilot character do the same in hit apocalypse flick San Andreas

'Amazing boy,' Johnson later tweeted to his 11million followers, adding: 'What a brave (and calm) 10yr old boy in the face of that heightened distress.'

Jacob was sitting on his grandmother Ellen Vial's couch watching TV on July 25 when he realised the back doors were open and his brother nowhere in sight.

Dylan had managed to open the doors, walk outside and fall into the pool, WXYZ Detroit reported.

Vial knew something was horribly wrong when she saw Dylan lying there motionless, saying: I looked in his eyes and his eyes were up in his head and not focused and that's what really scared me.'

She rushed Dylan to the hospital, admitting she was not sure if he was going to recover.

Fortunately he was only in the hospital for a single day before he was returned back to his grandmother's house.

Jacob later explained that he learned the life saving resuscitation technique from Johnson's character in San Andreas

Vial has since installed double locks on her back doors to prevent a repeat incident.

Jacob later explained that he learned the life saving resuscitation technique from Johnson's character in San Andreas.

He said: 'There was an earthquake, then it caused a tsunami and then there was a daughter that was drowning and he had to get her out and he did the same thing.'
A 73-year-old disability pensioner has avoided a jail sentence after he destroyed an ATM, attacking it with a crowbar before setting it on fire.

Ivan Edwards, from the Melbourne suburb of Geelong, apologised for the crime saying it was a 'stupid thing to do'.

Edwards told police he was angry with ANZ bank after he was unable to take out his pension over Easter, according to 9News.

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Pensioner Ivan Edwards (pictured) set an ANZ bank ATM on fire after hitting it with a crowbar

He had just discharged himself from hospital and was suffering delerium on March 28 when he smashed an ANZ cash machine with a crowbar, and then came back with a can of petrol and set it alight.

Edwards told the court he 'broke down completely' and 'lost it', causing nearly $200,000 worth of damage.

He was arrested two days after the attack and pleaded guilty to arson.

County Court judge Frances Hogan said Edwards' existence was 'sad and lonely', and sentenced him to a three-year community order instead of prison.

Edwards' lawyer Michael Brugman said it was a 'very sad case' as Edwards' wife of 26 years had died and he was now 'pretty much on his own with his dog'.

Edwards will be unable to leave Victoria for three years and will have to undergo mental health assessments.

Edwards left the ATM completely ablaze, causing nearly $200,000 worth of damage
A father from Arizona has been fired from his job after making what he called a 'joke' on Facebook about mowing down Trump protesters with his truck.

James Cobo, 34, wrote on his page 'You are all pathetic. Cant wait to drive through. 4x4 with push bumper will be sweet in this crowd. I named my lifted truck 'trumper' before the anticipated protests for the Trump Rally in Phoenix on Tuesday.

The comment was posted just 10 days after protesters were plowed down demonstrating against white supremacists in Charlottesville, NC earlier this month. A speeding car killed 32-year-old demonstrator Heather Heyer.

James Cobo of Arizona lost his job after making threats to run over people protesting a Trump rally

'Can't wait to drive through. 4x4 with push bumper will be sweet in this crowd'

Cobo, who worked for West Valley Tires Point S, was fired from his job and publicly denounced by his former company.

West Valley Tires Point S issued a statement about Cobo:

'West Valley Tires Point S wants to publicly state we do not condone or support violence or prejudice in anyway shape or form.'

'We were recently made aware of an employee that posted outrageous posts and videos that are in no way affiliated with the positive views, values and appreciation we have for people in our community and throughout the world. That person is no longer affiliated with West Valley Tires Point S,' the statement concluded.

Despite losing his job, Cobo backtracked in an interview, claiming his threat was only a joke.

'I'm being made into a horrible person over a joke that was just meant to ruffle some feathers,' Cobo told The Republic on Wednesday.

James Cobo (right) says he was joking when he took to Facebook to post that he would mow down a crowd of protesters in Phoenix, AZ

Police try to disperse crowds of anti-Trump protesters with tear gas following the rally in Phoenix, Arizona

'I admit it was a tasteless joke, but keyword here is it was a joke. If anybody was ever going to go and intentionally hurt people, why would they talk about it on social media publicly before doing it?'

'I never hurt anybody, nor did I have the intent to,' Cobo said. 'I never said I was actually going to hit anybody with a vehicle. They assumed it. Never would have thought it would be a big deal.'

Cobo says he ended up not attending the rally and has received death threats about his post. He had to buy surveillance cameras for his house.

He also took a jab at the family of Heyer.

'If you play in the road, you might get hit by a car. My parents taught me that when I was little,' he said. 'Now, her family has $225,000, because she played in the street, and people feel sorry for her family.'

A GoFundMe page was set up for Heather and raised $225,000, before it was closed according to AZ Central.

'I don't care that I got fired. I already got another job,' he said. 'The only thing that upsets me about this situation is that adults are able to throw a tantrum and raise hell and get what they want by doing so. This is not how America is supposed to work.'
John McEnery is accused of brandishing a black water pistol at staff in a Wetherspoons

A Bafta-nominated Shakespearean actor accused of brandishing a black water pistol at staff in a pub faced court today.

John McEnery - ex-husband of Dynasty star Stephanie Beacham - is charged with possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence following an alleged incident at a Wetherspoons pub in Faversham, Kent.

The 73-year-old was arrested there on August 8 after staff at the Leading Light alerted police.

Appearing at Maidstone Magistrates Court wearing creased blue shorts, sandals and a brown jacket, he was told the allegation was too serious to be heard by magistrates.

The case was committed to Maidstone Crown Court for a plea and trial preparation hearing on September 22.

But Mr McEnery, who played Mercutio in Franco Zeffirellis Romeo and Juliet (1968), told magistrates he couldn't afford to get to court.

'Its difficult to get here from Faversham, especially without any money,' he said. 'I dont have any money.'

The bearded former actor, famed for his 2003 appearance in Girl with a Pearl Earring, appeared in court unrepresented with cuts on his face and legs.

He said he intends to plead not guilty to the charge.

Mr McEnery also appeared in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice at the Globe Theatre in London and denies possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence

Mr McEnery, whose performance as Mercutio earned him a Bafta nomination, spoke in a clear, loud voice as he stood in the dock, adding: 'There was no malicious intent at all.'

He confirmed his personal details and told the court he had no fixed address.

The actor joined the National Theatre in 1966 and has two daughters with British acting star Stephanie Beacham, but the couple split in 1979.

He was released on bail with the condition not to return to the Leading Light pub.

He is also forbidden from contacting prosecution witnesses in the case.
A horse and its owner have been brought back together 20 years after they first met after a chance visit to an animal charity.

Naomi Baskerville, 26, first met Shetland pony 'John Willy Parker' at a local riding school when she was just six-years-old.

Two years later she took him as her own and visited him as often as she could after keeping him in a field by her home in Stafford.

But by 14, she was outgrowing him and schoolwork got in the way of visiting, so she decided to give him to a younger girl who kept him at a nearby riding school.

Naomi Baskerville took in Shetland pony John Willy Parker when she was eight years old (pictured with him as a child, left) but has now been reunited with him (right)

During that time Naomi said she was left heartbroken and regretted giving up John Willy, believing she had made a 'terrible mistake'.

Unbeknown to Naomi the animal had developed health problems and was given to Blue Cross pet charity in 2005.

During a chance visit to the charity over 12 years later she was stunned to see a picture of John Willy on a poster at the centre.

He had been rehomed in Scotland but months later the owners gave him back to the Blue Cross, prompting them to give Naomi a call.

Delighted Naomi said she didn't think twice about taking him back and she has now been reunited with her childhood pet.

She said: 'When it hit me that I would probably never see John Willy again I was devastated.

Naomi took him back along with a companion called Woody (white horse, left) and she can now see the pair from her bedroom window

Delighted Naomi said she didn't think twice about taking him back and she has now been reunited with her childhood pet

'It is the biggest regret of my life.

'I thought I would never get over the loss of my old friend and I was miserable for months'.

Her mother took her along to an open day event at the Blue Cross rehoming centre in Rolleston-on-Dove, Staffordshire.

Naomi added: 'As soon as I saw his picture I just burst out crying.

'Mum persuaded me to chat to the charity's team to see if anyone remembered him but I was worried he may have died since the picture was taken.

'I'm so glad I plucked up the courage to ask, they all knew him and remembered his cheeky character.

'Happily he was alive and well and living with a family in Scotland, they even had pictures of him with his new family.'

Most of the staff at the Blue Cross animal charity instantly remembered John Willy Parker's 'cheeky' character

Naomi Baskerville with her pony when she was a child. Naomi and her pony John Willy Parker at home in Chartley, Staffordshire

Just a few months later Naomi got a call from the centre to say John Willy was back in their care.

Naomi took him back along with a companion called Woody and she can now see the pair from her bedroom window.

Maria Kavanagh, horse welfare co-ordinator at Blue Cross in Rolleston said: 'I remember John Willy very well.

'He was the cheekiest little pony.

'He could be quite aloof with all of us, but when he was with Naomi it was obvious they have a wonderful deep bond.

'We are delighted they have been reunited after all these years.

'Fate has brought them back together.'
A 13-year-old schoolgirl poisoned a classmate with toxic mosquito repellent in a fit of jealousy over her exam marks, police in India have said.

The year eight private school pupil mixed the poison into her rival's water bottle and then watched her drink it, according to local media in Satna, Madhya Pradesh state.

Police say she was angry over being beaten by her victim in a school test.

The victim began vomiting after drinking from the bottle and was rushed to hospital where her condition is said to be stable.

A 13-year-old schoolgirl poisoned a classmate with toxic mosquito repellent in a fit of jealousy over her exam marks (file photo)

The poisoner later tried to commit suicide by the same method when she feared she would be caught and is also being treated in hospital.

Hospital spokesman Dr Sudhir Singh said: 'We are treating her. She is serious but her condition is under control.'

Police investigating the case say the poisoner was caught when police viewed CCTV footage from the classroom's security camera.

Police spokesman Bhupendra Singh explained: 'Both the girls, aged around 13-14, study in the same class.

'After drinking water from her bottle, the victim suspected something unusual and told her friend that the water smelt like mosquito repellent.

'After she began to feel uneasy, the school administration informed her parents, who took her to a hospital.'

The year eight private school pupil mixed the poison into her rival's water bottle and then watched her drink it (file photo of an unrelated mosquito repellent)

He added: 'In the CCTV footage of the classroom, the accused girl was seen pouring the mosquito repellent into her classmate's water bottle and then hiding it inside the bag of another student.'

The victim told police she believes her classmate was jealous of her exam marks.

Police spokesman Singh added: 'The accused girl also consumed the mosquito repellent at her home yesterday and is currently admitted to the district hospital. We are investigating the incident.'
Adam Reyna, 23, is accused of repeatedly assaulting his pregnant girlfriend

A man from Texas who was accused of repeatedly assaulting his pregnant girlfriend has been indicted on charges of domestic violence charge.

Court records show that Adam Reyna, 23, allegedly beat the woman while she was in labor having contractions.

Reyna was being held in custody on Thursday on multiple charges stemming from domestic violence  including a third-degree-felony count of continuous violence against family.

Police believe he attacked his girlfriend on at least two occasions this year but it comes as littler surprise to law enforcement who revealed the Lubbock man has a slew of charges and arrests connected to reports of violence against his family.

His mother told investigators that he struggles with mental disorders and substance abuse.

Reyna has been indicted on a felony domestic violence charge

Court records show Reyna has a history of charges and arrests connected to reports of violence against his family

On one occasion according to Amarillo.com in May, officers responded after receiving reports of a domestic disturbance in which Reyna allegedly 'struck his girlfriend with an open hand to her face, grabbed her by the hair and threw her on the ground causing her pain' after he and his girlfriend began to argue about their finances, according to a police report.

At the time, his girlfriend was seven months pregnant.

A month later, Reyna's mother called the cops after hearing about an incident in which his girlfriend was having painful contractions throughout the night.

At one point, the contractions were so painful she could do nothing but scream out in pain at which point Reyna allegedly punched her in the face until she stopped talking.

Investigators say he attacked his girlfriend on at least two occasions this year

According to an arrest warrant, Reyna's mother told police her son has several mental disorders, takes drunks and drinks frequently. She believes this may have played a significant part in his behavior.

Other arrest reports show Reyna assaulted his father in October 2016.

Reyna's mother stated at the time that her son 'smoked crack cocaine, which always leads him to being "crazy."'

Reyna has been booked into Lubbock County Detention Center on charges of domestic assault and domestic violence against family members, with bail set at more than $45,000.
Police bungles including lost evidence, missing exhibits and interview mistakes let Michael Atkins off the hook in the days after his young lover disappeared, an inquest has heard.

Detectives failed to ask Atkins questions when he 'was on the verge of giving information' about what happened to Matthew Leveson, who was last seen alive leaving a Sydney nightclub in 2007.

When asked what happened to 20-year-old Matthew, Atkins, 55, said 'I want to tell you but I'm scared what will happen to me if I do', according to the Daily Telegraph.

Matthew Leveson's remains are being held at Glebe morgue, below the Coroner's Court

Michael Atkins with his younger lover Matthew Leveson, whose skeleton was found in May

Detective Senior Constable Scott Craddock, the detective in charge of the investigation into Matthew's death, told the inquest 'this clearly demonstrates Atkins was involved in this disappearance and needed to be questioned further'.

'It is my opinion that opportunities were missed during questions to press Atkins on responses he gave.'

In addition to lost evidence and the officers' mistakes, a box of missing exhibits related to the case was found in the ceiling of a former policeman's home.

Atkins was acquitted of killing his lover in 2009.

Matthew's mother Faye said the family had to do a 'deal with the devil' in agreeing for Atkins to get immunity from prosecution, as it was the only way they could find where her son was buried.

Leveson's parents held up pictures of their son's skeleton on Friday and accused his onetime older lover Michael Atkins of killing their boy.

Mark and Faye Leveson with pictures of their son Matthew's remains at Glebe Coroner's Court

'Atkins said he loved Matt!' one of the pictures of Matthew's remains was captioned. 'You don't do this to someone you love.'

Faye Leveson had earlier stood in Glebe Coroner's Court and accused Michael Atkins of possibly smothering, drowning or burying Matthew alive.

'We will always be left worrying, did Matty suffer?' Mrs Leveson said. 'Did he die quickly or was it slow and painful? Was he terrified?'

While she spoke, Matthew's remains were being held in the morgue under the court.

Mrs Leveson said her son would not be wearing his favourite suit when his family could finally give him a funeral. They cannot dress a skeleton, she told the court.

'We had to watch Matty be exhumed from the grave, piece by piece, bit by bit, and then rebuilt and then watched him be packed up into two cardboard boxes and some evidence bags,' she said.

'That's not how a human should end up, nobody should end up like that and we shouldn't have had to see our son in that state.'

Mrs Leveson described the legal machinations that led to Atkins taking police to Matthew's grave in exchange for immunity from prosecution as a 'deal with the devil'.

She waved a photograph of her 20-year-old son and another of his skeleton at Atkins's two lawyers, according to the Daily Telegraph. 'I want you to look,' Mrs Leveson said. 'This is what Atkins did to him.'

Matthew, who was last seen alive leaving Sydney's inner-city ARQ nightclub with Atkins in September 2007, had been sharing an apartment with his older lover at Cronulla.

Mark and Faye Leveson outside Glebe Coroner's Court with a picture of their son Matthew

One picture was captioned: 'Atkins said he loved Matt! You don't do this to someone you love!'

Atkins, now 54, maintained for years he did not know what had happened to Matthew that night and was acquitted by a jury of his murder or manslaughter in 2009.

He gave evidence at a coronial inquest last year on condition he could not be prosecuted for any offence other than perjury or contempt of court.

When confronted with his perjured evidence he did another deal that allowed him to escape prosecution if he led police to Matthew's grave.

After several searches, and using a crude map drawn by Atkins, police found Mathew's remains buried in a shallow gave within the Royal National Park south of Sydney in May this year.

Atkins, who had initially claimed Matthew might be living in Thailand, has since told police his young lover died of an overdose of the drug GHB and he had panicked when he found his body.

Matthew Leveson's skeleton was found in the Royal National Park south of Sydney this year

Police search for Matthew Leveson's remains in the Royal National Park south of Sydney

Mathew's parents Faye and Mark had spent years searching for their son's remains, often visiting the bushland where they believed he was buried.

'How do you put into words how the murder and the subsequent hiding of Matty's body has affected me,' Mrs Leveson asked the court on Friday.

'There have been and are times I don't want to go on any more.

'We will always be left worrying, did Matty suffer? Did he die quickly or was it slow and painful? Was he terrified? Did he fight back?

'Was he smothered with a pillow? Was he held underwater? Did Atkins give Matty the fatal dose or just enough in a drink to render him unconscious and then bury him alive?

Michael Atkins has been told he will not be required to give further evidence at the inquest

The crude map Michael Atkins drew of where he buried his lover Matthew Leveson's body

Mark Leveson carries flowers to the site where police found the remains of his son Matthew

'I will go to my grave not knowing really what happened to Matty.

'I want Atkins to be forced to see Matty in the morgue to see the consequences of his actions.'

Deputy State Coroner Elaine Truscutt ruled on Friday that Atkins would not be giving further evidence at the inquest.

Ms Truscott said the electrician had 'consistently lied' to police for almost a decade. His more recent actions had been entirely self-serving.

'Michael Atkins has no credibility as a witness,' Ms Truscott said.

It was 'more likely than not' Atkins was still not telling the truth but it was not in the interests of justice to have him give further evidence as nothing he said could establish Matthew's cause and manner of death.
A Chinese official claims that muslims living in the northwest region of Xinjiang are the happiest in the world.

Writing in the Xinjiang Daily, the deputy foreign publicity director said that people should not believe the lies spread by extremists and their western supporters.

China has been cracking down on the heavily populated Muslim region with restrictions on people under 18 practicing Islam along with bans on fasting during Ramadan.

Ethnic Uyghurs walk by a closed mosque in Kashgar, far western Xinjiang province

Soldiers of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps attend a pep rally (File photo)

Ailiti Saliyev wrote in Xinjiang Daily that Xinjiang was 'stable, harmonious, prosperous, open and modern.'

He continued: 'Many people say from the bottom of their heart: 'The happiest Muslims in the world live in Xinjiang.'

XINJIANG FIGURES Muslims in China make up 1.8 percent of the country's population.

Xinjiang province is home to 10.37 million Uygurs.

The province has some 24,400 Muslim mosques Source: Statistic Bureau of Xinjiang Advertisement

Xinjiang is home to 10.37 million Uygurs who practice the Muslim faith. It is a four and a half hour flight from Beijing.

Many Muslims in the country say they feel victimised by the government who have tightened control on the region.

Wearing Burqas and having long beards have been banned. While members of the government in Xinjiang were banned from fasting this year.

The government also required all restaurants to remain open throughout the fasting period.

Local Muslims leave a mosque after Friday prayers in Hotan, Xinjiang (File photo)

Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps patrol during a pep rally (File photo)

William Nee, China Researcher at Amnesty International told MailOnline: 'In China there are numerous cases where the government is arresting imams on flimsy charges, sending government cadres to people's homes during Ramadan to ensure they don't pray, banning outward manifestation of Islamic faith - ushc as 'abnormal beards' of wearing veils - and are subjecting many Muslims to arbitrary detenion.'

Speaking in the Xinjiang Daily, Ailiti Saliyev claimed that it was western supporters who were spreading lies about life in the northwestern province.

He added that the problem stems from the 'evil collusion' between extremists' and 'hostile western forces'.

The official lashed out at 'extremists' in the region saying: 'They coordinate with hostile western forces to wantonly spread rumours, misrepresent, vilift and besmirch Xinjiang in the overseas media.'

Locals gather at Id Kad Mosque in Kashgar, China's Xinjiang province (File photo)
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Hurricane Harvey has slammed into the Texas coast as a monstrous Category 4 hurricane on Friday night, pounding the region with winds of 130mph and dumping an expected 40 inches of rain on the region.

The hurricane hit shortly after 10pm local time, as waves washed up on roads, building roofs were sent flying into the air and residents in the storm's path were told to label themselves in case they died.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott warned that Hurricane Harvey would be 'a major disaster' before the storm barreled into the state, with violent winds, massive rainfall, all on top of storm surges up to 13 feet.

Harvey is the strongest storm since the devastating Katrina 12 years ago, triggering 'catastrophic' floods in an area that processes some seven million barrels of oil a day - in what could prove a major new test for President Donald Trump's administration.

The National Weather Service warned that this was the 'start of many difficult days to come'.

As Trump departed the White House for Camp David on Friday afternoon, he responded when asked what message he had for the people of Texas: 'Good luck to everybody. They're gonna be safe. Good luck to everybody. Good luck.'

Governor Abbott minced no words in underscoring the severity of the threat.

'What you don't know and what nobody else knows right now is the magnitude of flooding that will be coming,' Abbott said in a press conference on Friday afternoon, adding that the state 'will be dealing with immense, really record-setting flooding in multiple regions across the state of Texas.'

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Hurricane Harvey is now a Category 4 as the storm barrels towards Texas and is expected to slam into the state's gulf region late on Friday night. Pictured: A power generator container tips in front of a hospital on the Corpus Christi-Shoreline

Although the hurricane has not hit land just yet, traffic lights have already been blown over and hurricane shelters have made their final lock-downs as the storm is just 35 miles from Corpus Christi

The hurricane exceeded forecasts of how strong the storm would be when it slams into Texas, as residents in the storm's path are being told to label themselves in case they die

The storm had sustained winds of 130mph on Friday evening as it approached the Texas coast of Corpus Christi. Pictured: As of 9pm CDT, the hurricane is 30 miles out from hitting the shore

Texas Governor Greg Abbott warned that Hurricane Harvey will be 'a major disaster' as Texans are expecting flooding, power outages, winds up to 130mph and more than 35 inches of rain

Heavy rainfall of as much as 40 inches plus strong storm surges are expected to combine for 'devastating' flooding

An estimated eight million people are under a hurricane warning, with additional millions under a tropical storm warning

Hillary Lebeb walks along the seawall in Galveston, Texas as Hurricane Harvey intensifies in the Gulf of Mexico on Friday

A woman is helped to a bus as she and other are evacuated as the outer bands of Hurricane Harvey begin to make landfall, in Corpus Christi

The USS Lexington, an aircraft carrier turned museum, rests in Corpus Christi Bay as waters begin to turn rough

Harvey has intensified into a powerful category four storm, and outer bands whipped Corpus Christi on Friday

Strong winds batter a house on Padre Island as Hurricane Harvey approaches Corpus Christi on Friday

Harvey (right) is on course to make landfall as the strongest storm since the devastating Katrina 12 years ago (left)

Those who aren't evacuating and are remaining in the storm's path, such as Corpus Christi, are being told to write their names or social security numbers on their arms so that their bodies can be later identified

The powerful storm exceeded forecasts that it would remain a Category 3 hurricane, as the National Weather Service Forecast sent out the amended category around 6pm local time.

Category 4 hurricanes have wind speeds that reach up to 156mph, enough strength to tear off roofs, destroy mobile homes, snap and uproot most large trees and can cause large power outages.

With time running out, tens of thousands of people fled from the path of the increasingly menacing-looking Hurricane Harvey, making their last-minute escapes as rain began pelting the region.

Those who aren't evacuating and are remaining in the storm's path, such as Corpus Christi, are being told to write their names or social security numbers on their arms so that their bodies can be later identified.

Officials said they had no idea how many Corpus Christi residents heeded their urge to voluntary evacuate the city of 325,000 and nearby low-lying areas taking the brunt of the storm.

Nueces County spokesman Tyner Little said traffic inland 'was not hugely heavy as we've seen with other hurricanes.' He said the local sheriff said 90 percent of Port Aransas had left.

Nevertheless, Little said county officials were 'kind of freaked out' because the hurricane was tracking closer to Corpus Christi than officials had expected.

The National Weather Service Forecast told those who remained near the hurricane eye to take cover immediately around 6pm local time, and to brace as if a tornado was approaching, due to winds reaching 145mph.

Federal Emergency Management Agency officials issued an alert on Friday evening saying if a shelter in place order is issued, residents should immediately take action to do so.

Corpus Christi firefighters help Guadalupe Guerra walk to a bus headed for San Antonio at an evacuation center Friday

Matt Looingbill struggles with his umbrella as he tries to walk in the wind and rain on Friday in Corpus Christi

Crews install the final portion of a surge wall on TX-361 leading to the Port Aransas ferry in Aransas Pass on Friday

Crew members use a phone to check the radar while waiting to install the final portion of a surge wall on TX-361

Water from Hurricane Harvey's storm surge crashes through pylons at a fishing pier in Port Isabel, Texas on Friday morning

Luis Perez watches waves crash again a jetty in Galveston, Texas as Hurricane Harvey intensifies in the Gulf of Mexico Friday

Get Out: Officials gave evacuation orders for much of the Texas coast, warning that the window for escape was closing

A NOAA satellite image of Hurricane Harvey at 3.47pm Friday clearly showed the storm's eye as the storm nears landfall

FREE PLACES TO STAY FOR HURRICANE HARVEY EVACUEES Some spots in Texas and Louisiana are offering free or discounted places for Hurricane Harvey evacuees to stay. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott opened Texas state parks to hurricane evacuees to camp for free. Several parks on the coast and in South Texas have been closed for the hurricane, but the Texas Parks and Wildlife department posted a map of available camping sites away from the path of the hurricane to its website . There are 12 campgrounds and RV parks with space for Hurricane Harvey evacuees as well and urged people to check www.texascampgrounds.com and www.texascabinrentals.com. Vacation rental company Airbnb says it has started connecting evacuees and relief workers with short-term lodging with its hosts free of charge as part of its Disaster Response Program through its website. Advertisement

FEMA urged residents to charge cell phones and to download the agency's phone app and follow them on social media.

Six federal Urban Search and Rescue task forces have been staged in San Antonio in preparation. Other support personnel as well as National Flood Insurance program officials have been stationed in other areas of Texas.

At least one researcher predicted heavy damage that would linger for months or longer.

'We know that we've got millions of people who are going to feel the impact of this storm,' said Dennis Feltgen, a spokesman and meteorologist for the National Hurricane Center.

He added: 'We really pray that people are listening to their emergency managers and get out of harm's way.'

Galveston-based storm surge expert Hal Needham said forecasts indicated that it was 'becoming more and more likely that something really bad is going to happen.'

'In terms of economic impact, Harvey will probably be on par with Hurricane Katrina,' said University of Miami senior hurricane researcher Brian McNoldy. 'The Houston area and Corpus Christi are going to be a mess for a long time.

Forecasters labeled Harvey a 'life-threatening storm' that posed a 'grave risk,' saying it could swamp several counties more than 100 miles inland and projecting it will wallop the coast not once but twice in the next week.

Several counties were put under under mandatory evacuation orders, and residents not under orders to leave were urged to move inland.

Texas officials say shelters that are opening statewide won't ask arriving families about their immigration status, with the storm making landfall a week before a new 'sanctuary city' crackdown in Texas takes effect.

'Now is the time to urgently hide from the wind,' the NWS said in a flash bulletin on Friday. 'Failure to adequately shelter may result in serious injury, loss of life, or immense human suffering.'

'All the advice we can give is get out, and get out now,' said Patrick Rios, the mayor of Rockport, Texas where an estimated 60 percent of the town's 9,500 residents had left.

The projected track of the circulation center shows the storm stalling out and heading back to sea before hitting Houston

Winds near the eye of the hurricane have reached a sustained 130mph and are expected to climb before landfall

Storm surges and torrential rain of more than 35 inches are expected to devastate parts of the Texas coast

High winds could create massive storm surges as the hurricane is expected to hover over the coast, prolonging its impact

Power outages could reach all the way to San Antonio, which is more than 130 miles away from Corpus Christi

Republican Congressman Blake Farenthold was drenched with rain in an on-air interview from his home district on Friday

President Trump said he had spoken with the governors of Texas and Louisiana and was prepared to assist the states

Trump tweeted in the afternoon on Friday that he had arrived at Camp David and was continuing to moniter the hurricane

Sharp winds and rain had already begun to batter the coast on Friday, with landfall predicted east of Corpus Christi sometime between 10pm Friday and 2am Saturday.

Eight million Texans are under hurricane warnings, with an additional one million under tropical storm warnings, as landfall quickly approaches for what could be the most powerful hurricane to hit the US in 12 years.

The National Hurricane Center's official five-day forecast Friday has Harvey slamming the central Texas coast, stalling and letting loose with lots of rain.

Then forecasters project the weakened but still tropical storm is likely to go back into the Gulf of Mexico, gain some strength and hit Houston next week, meaning the storm could wallop the Texas coast twice in a row.

US gasoline prices spiked as the storm shut down 22 percent, or 377,000 barrels per day, of Gulf of Mexico oil production and halted 4.4 percent of US refinery output, according to the US government.

Gas stations and grocery stores in the region were packed as residents readied their cars and pantries for any shortages following the storm.

Coldplay, the British rock band, canceled a Friday concert in Houston, telling fans it didn't want to risk anyone's safety.

Forecasters say rip current effects from Hurricane Harvey could be felt at far east as the Alabama coast and the western Florida Panhandle.

Emergency officials work at the State Operations Center in Austin in preparation for Hurricane Harvey on Friday

Hurricane Specialist Robbie Berg monitors the progress of Hurricane Harvey at the National Hurricane Center on Friday

Waves lash the shore in Corpus Christi as winds pick up ahead of Harvey's expected landfall around midnight

Ramon Lopez boards up windows of a business in Galveston, Texas as Hurricane Harvey intensifies on Friday

Residents shutter businesses and evacuate in Corpus Christi on Friday as Harvey begins to lash the area with wind and rain

A truck carrying new utility polls is staged for deployment in preparation of Hurricane Harvey on Friday in Port Isabel, Texas

Final Preparations: People rush to buy plywood Friday at Lowes in Corpus Christi, Texas as Hurricane Harvey approaches

People load plywood at Lowes in Corpus Christ early Friday as officials warned the window for preparations is closing

City workers pull down a canvas covering as the outer bands of Hurricane Harvey move closer to Corpus Christi on Friday

MANDATORY EVACUATIONS Aransas Pass: Mandatory evacuation order issued Brazoria County: Mandatory evacuation order issued for coastal communities along the Gulf side of the Intracoastal Waterway Calhoun County: Mandatory evacuation order issued Freeport: City officials have ordered a mandatory evacuation for all low-lying coastal areas, including Bridge Harbor. All other residents are also encouraged to evacuate. Matagorda County: Everyone south of FM521 is included in the mandatory evacuation order, including the communities of Palacios, Collegeport, Matagorda, Sargent and Wadsworth. Advertisement

The port of Houston, the nation's busiest petrochemical port, closed its terminals at noon, and earlier halted inbound and outbound ship traffic on Friday.

The city of Houston warned residents of flooding from close to 20 inches of rain over several days.

Throughout the Texas coast, millions of people were bracing for a prolonged battering from the hurricane, which could be the fiercest such storm to hit the US in nearly a dozen years.

'We are using terms like 'devastating' and 'catastrophic' in association with this storm,' NWS spokesman Greg Waller told the Star-Telegram. 'You will remember this storm for the rest of your life.'

President Donald Trump faces a major new test as devastation looms, with the federal response to Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans a famous albatross around the neck of his Republican predecessor George W. Bush.

Shortly before the hurricane was expected to hit, Trump pardoned Joe Arpaio, a controversial former sheriff of Maricopa County in Arizona on Friday night.

Arpaio was convicted in July for criminal contempt for disregarding a court order in a racial profiling case.

Trump made the decision while at Camp David although he said he was closely monitoring the hurricane's progression.

Trump said Friday that he was in contact with Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards and monitoring developments in each state, ready to provide necessary resources to the gulf region.

Disaster areas have been declared in both states in anticipation of massive devastation.

Texas Governor Abbott ordered the State Operations Center to elevate its readiness level, making state resources available for possible rescue and recovery actions, in addition to activating 700 members of the Texas Army Guard, Texas Air National Guard and the Texas State Guard.

On Thursday, at least 10 critically ill babies were evacuated by air from Driscoll Children's Hospital in Corpus Christi to Cook Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth.

The Corpus Christi airport shut down late Friday morning for the rest of the day, and runways will likely be closed for the rest of the weekend as conditions warrant.

Looking ahead to next week, the Houston Texans may relocate their home preseason game scheduled for Thursday to the Cowboys stadium in Dallas.

National Weather Service director Louis Uccellini said meteorologists expect the hurricane to bring winds of 130 mph or higher and up to 30 inches of rain, which could lead to major chaos in southeast Texas.

The powerful storm is set to hammer the Texas Gulf Coast with an extremely dangerous combination of 'torrential rainfall, storm-surge flooding and destructive winds this weekend, before taking a strange, meandering path next week', the Weather Channel reported.

The US National Hurricane Center said Harvey has 'rapidly intensified' and experts say weather conditions have created the perfect recipe for the monster hurricane to form and crash into Texas later on Friday.

The national guard has been mobilized amid fears over life-threatening flash flooding, which poses 'a grave risk' to Texans as the hurricane is expected to be the strongest to hit the United States mainland in 12 years since Hurricane Wilma in 2005.

Harvey grew quickly Thursday from a tropical depression into a Category 1 hurricane.

Fueled by warm Gulf of Mexico waters, it was projected to become a major Category 3 hurricane, but grew to a Category 4 on Friday evening.

The last storm stronger to hit the U.S. was Hurricane Wilma as a Category 5 in October 2005 in Florida.

The national guard has been mobilized amid fears over the life-threatening flash flooding, which poses 'a grave risk'

The hurricane is expected to be the strongest to hit the United States mainland in 12 years since Hurricane Wilma in 2005

The Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office sent out an alert to residents about potential sightings of alligators due to the storm

People are panicking as grocery stores are rapidly selling out of water and supplies in Houston (pictured), increasing the frenzy on Thursday night before Hurricane Harvey is expected to hit Texas the following day

The powerful storm is set to hammer the Texas Gulf Coast with an extremely dangerous combination of 'torrential rainfall, storm-surge flooding and destructive winds' this weekend. Pictured: People stocking up on water in Houston

Shelves were empty, causing people to fight over the last containers of water as some likened the scene to Black Friday. People took to social media to post pictures of the mad dash as they went to get supplies on Thursday night in Houston

At a press conference on Thursday afternoon, Corpus Christi's Mayor Joe McComb told people not to dismiss Harvey and to voluntarily evacuate, saying: 'We encourage the residents in low-lying areas, as they say, to get out of Dodge.'

McComb added: 'Go to a family, friend and get to higher ground.'

The mayor's warning comes on the heels of Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office sending out an alert to residents about potential sightings of alligators due to the storm.

The department tweeted: 'Gators and flooding advice via @txgatorsquad: Expect them to be displaced. Simply looking for higher ground. Leave alone until water recedes.'

On Thursday, Trump released a video of him meeting with FEMA officials on Twitter, asking citizens to plan ahead for Hurricane Harvey and provided links to resources.

As the storm loomed, customer fought over water as grocery stores rapidly sold out out of supplies, increasing the frenzy before Hurricane Harvey arrives.

Officials have asked residents to evacuate as they prepare for chaotic flooding and power outages but those who are staying in the path of the hurricane rushed to grocery stores in order to stock up on water, food, gas and other supplies on Thursday night.

However, they arrived to find shops with empty shelves, causing people to fight over the last containers of water as some likened the scenes to Black Friday.

People have taken to social media to post pictures of the mad dash as they went to get supplies on Thursday night.

Photos show people waiting in long lines to check out with pallets of water bottles in their carts and cars lined up around blocks to get gas.

One user wrote on Twitter: 'People grabbing cases of water like it's a Black Friday sale. Hurricane Harvey is real.'

Another said: 'I had to drive almost 30 minutes to find a store that has water... This Houston hurricane is no joke man.'

A dismayed woman wrote: 'Bread is gone. Gas is gone. Water is gone. If you don't have it already, you need to befriend your neighbors.'

Customers enter H-E-B Plus in Corpus Christi, Texas on Thursday to stock up on supplies in advance of Hurricane Harvey

President Trump urged citizens to prepare for Hurricane Harvey on Thursday and said he is ready to provide aid. The president called Texas Governor Gregg Abbott (right) later that night to personally inform him of his planned aid

Both the Texas Governor and Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards received calls from Trump on Thursday night

Governor Abbott preemptively declared a state of disaster for 30 counties on or near the coast to speed deployment of state resources to any areas affected.

Trump called Abbott on Thursday night to personally tell him that he was ready to help respond to the strongest hurricane expected to hit the US in more than a decade.

Abbott tweeted out a photo of himself on the phone with Trump and said: 'Spoke with Pres. Trump & heads of Homeland Security & FEMA. They're helping Texas respond to #HurricaneHarvey.'

Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards also received a call from Trump that night, tweeting: 'Spoke w/ @POTUS @realDonaldTrump this afternoon. He offered his full support to the people of LA as we prepare for #Harvey.'

A statement released by Abbott added: 'President Trump called Governor Abbott to offer federal support for the State of Texas as Hurricane Harvey approaches the Gulf Coast.

'The President pledged all available resources from the federal government to assist in preparation, and rescue and recovery efforts.

'The Governor thanked the President for his pledge of support and assured him that the state is working hand-in-hand with local and federal partners on all issues related to the storm.'

National Weather Service director Uccellini added that the hurricane was 'a very dangerous storm.' He said it's a 'potentially impactful storm' that will last over several days and produce large rains from Texas into Louisiana.

Uccellini said Harvey is a risk to people with extremely heavy rainfall that causes inland flooding lasting through the middle of next week, a large storm surge and high winds. A storm surge is an abnormal rise of water above the normal tide, generated by a storm.

Uccellini also notes that the storm is intensifying as it approaches land.

Harvey will be the first hurricane to strike Texas since 2008 after Category 2 Hurricane Ike devastated some parts of the state.

'Now is the time to check your emergency plan and take necessary actions to secure your home or business. Deliberate efforts should be underway to protect life and property,' the weather service said in an statement early on Thursday.

Emergency officials asked residents along the upper Texas coastline to move or prepare to move inland.

Those in low-lying areas were urged to seek higher ground, and those elsewhere were told to monitor official announcements closely.

The storm is now expected hit the central Texas coast with a combination of winds of 115 miles per hour and heavy rains, said John Tharp, a forecaster with Weather Decision Technologies in Norman, Oklahoma.

'With this system's intensity and slow motion, it is the worst of both worlds,' he said referring to the expected winds and rains. 'There will be major impacts along the coast and inland with periods of prolonged rain.'

Harvey will cause a storm surge that will flood parts of the Texas coast as it makes landfall and linger for days over the state, dumping up to 30 inches of rain on some areas, the NHC said in an advisory on Thursday.

The mayor of Texas coastal city Corpus Christi warned on Wednesday that flooding was his biggest concern.

'I hope people will listen to forecasters when they say 'beware of flash floods,'' Joe McComb said. 'Flash floods can come quickly, and they can be deadly.'

Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi issued a mandatory evacuation to all students who live on campus and canceled events.

Shoppers pass empty shelves along the bottled water isle in a Houston grocery store as Hurricane Harvey intensifies in the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday

Harvey is forecast to be a major hurricane when it makes landfall along the middle Texas coastline on Friday night

Marie Michel loads a filled water bottled into her shopping cart inside the Kroger store in preparation of Hurricane Harvey on Thursday in Houston
Special Counsel Robert Mueller and his team of investigators are looking into whether former Trump cabinet member Mike Flynn may have been part of an effort to get a hold of Hillary Clinton's emails, hacked by Russia.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Republican activist Peter Smith led an effort to connect with the criminals who were in possession of emails from Clinton, Trump's rival in the 2016 presidential elections.

Mueller, who is a former director of the FBI, has been tasked with determining whether the campaign of now-President Donald Trump received illicit hacker help from Moscow.

In February, Flynn resigned after it was revealed he'd talked with Russia's former ambassador to the U.S. about the Magnitsky Act, which imposes U.S. sanctions on Russia, before Trump took office. Flynn is also said to have misled Vice President Mike Pence about those discussions.

[Reuters/WSJ]
An abandoned teenager was forced to give birth to her baby on the side of the road after health centre staff refused to help her.

The 17-year-old girl, from Saraikela-Kharsawan district, in Jharkhand, eastern India, was in a relationship with a man in her village when she fell pregnant.

He left the girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, when she told him she was pregnant, and her family turned their backs on her fearing they would be shamed.

The teenager was forced to give birth in the street after a nearby health centre said they wouldn't treat her because she didn't have a guardian with her

Eventually she was taken in by a nearby hospital and she and her newborn baby girl were checked over and looked after

The young girl was forced to leave home. According to locals, the young girl had been seen living on the streets for over four months.

On Monday, at around 7pm, she started going into labour and approached the local health centre, Chandil Sub Divisional Hospital, for help.

But staff allegedly refused to take responsibility for her as she was not accompanied by a guardian.

At 5am, the following morning, the girl gave birth to a daughter on the side of the road, just 30 metres away from the health centre.

The girl was spotted by a woman who realised the baby's umbilical cord was still attached. The healthy centre eventually sent someone to cut it

A passer-by noticed her clothes soaked in blood and an umbilical cord still attached to a baby, and raised an alarm.

17-year-old girl sitting on a hospital bed after she delivered a baby girl on the road as staff of a community health centre refused to help, in the Saraikela-Kharsawan district of Jharkhand

Om Prakash Sharma, 50, a resident of the area, said: 'The mother and baby were lying on the street in pain. I put roadblocks around them so that they don't get hit by any vehicle.

'A man went to the health centre asking for help but they refused. They said they couldn't admit the girl as she had no guardian to take responsibility for her. We then informed the police.'

Eventually Dr Lakhindra Hansda, a medical officer, at Chandil Sub Divisional Hospital, came out to cut the umbilical cord.

Om Prackash managed to hail an auto rickshaw before a group of ladies were able to finally admit the girl and baby into Chandil Sub Divisional Hospital, where the two were eventually treated.

Dr Lalita Kashyap, a medical officer, at Chandil Sub Divisional Hospital, said: 'Whatever has happened was wrong and unfortunate. There were only two nurses at the health centre, who were busy delivering twin babies when we were informed about the girl.

She was taken to hospital by an auto-rickshaw, with her new baby in her arms. They are now said to be doing well and staying at a shelter

'There was some confusion but we will certainly look into this.'

The girl and baby are now stable and being shifted to a women's shelter Mahila Suraksha Griha, in Jharkhand.

Dr Lakhindra Hansda, added: 'Both mother and baby are now doing fine. We will inform her parents and hopefully she will get the support she needs.'
President Donald Trump finally responded to Sen. Bob Corker's assessment that he's not shown 'the stability nor some of the competence' it takes to lead the country with a warning shot on Twitter this morning that referenced the Republican's upcoming election.

Trump intimated that he'd give Corker the 'Jeff Flake' treatment and endorse one of his Republican challengers if he keeps up the criticism.

The lawmaker chairs the upper chamber's Foreign Relations Committee and is up for reelection next year in Tennessee.

'Strange statement by Bob Corker considering that he is constantly asking me whether or not he should run again in '18. Tennessee not happy!' Trump said in an ominous tweet.

Flake said Wednesday that Trump was 'inviting' a challenger of his own in 2020 with his recent behavior.

President Donald Trump finally responded to Sen. Bob Corker's assessment that he's not shown 'the stability nor some of the competence' it takes to lead the country with a warning shot on Twitter this morning that referenced the Republican's upcoming election

'Strange statement by Bob Corker considering that he is constantly asking me whether or not he should run again in '18. Tennessee not happy!' Trump said in an ominous tweet

The lawmaker chairs the upper chamber's Foreign Relations Committee and is up for reelection next year in Tennessee

Trump traveled to Flake's home state on Tuesday for a rally where he took aim at Arizona's two sitting senators. Both are Republicans.

He's attacked Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell repeatedly, lobbed grenades at House Speaker Paul Ryan and mused that he'd shut down the government if Congress doesn't give him the border wall funding he demanded.

'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,' Corker, who was on Trump's short list for VP, assessed last week.

The president refused to 'mention any names' on Tuesday evening as he went on a rant against Obamacare repeal, which failed by one vote in the Senate, while clearly making reference to Sen. John McCain.

McCain, who was diagnosed in the midst of the healthcare debate with brain cancer, rushed back to Washington to vote on a set of Obamacare repeal measures. He lent his name to a procedural move that allowed voting to begin but tanked the GOP's repeal efforts in the end by withholding his support.

Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Arizona and Susan Collins of Maine crossed party lines with McCain to keep the 'skinny repeal' measure from becoming law.

'One vote. Speak to your senator,' Trump said Tuesday in McCain's home state.

Tearing into Flake, who voted for the bill but has angered Trump on other fronts, the Republican president said Arizona's 'other senator who is weak on borders, weak on crime.'

'So I wont talk about him,' Trump proclaimed. 'Nobody wants me to talk about him. Nobody knows who the hell he is. So now  I havent mentioned any names  so now everybody is happy.'

Trump intimated that he'd give Corker the 'Jeff Flake' treatment and endorse one of his challengers if he keeps up the criticism. Flake (pictured) meanwhile said Trump is inviting a challenger of his own in 2020.

The week before, Trump made a similar attack on Flake and called him a 'nonfactor in the Senate.' In an unusual move for a sitting president, Trump also endorsed one of Flake's primary opponents, Kelli Ward.

Flake hit back at Trump in a New York Times op-ed that rejected the president's move to alter the nation's immigration system into a merit-based approval process.

A member of Senate's so-called Gang of Eight, just like McCain, Flake seeks reforms that would make it easier for easier for unskilled workers who came to America illegally to remain in the country.

'There must always be a place in America for those whose only initial credentials are a strong back and an eagerness to use it,' Flake wrote in the Times.

A day after Trump's Phoenix rally, which drew loud criticism over his demeanor and led former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper to question his 'fitness' for office, Flake mused on a radio show that the president could be primaried in 2020.

'That certainly depends on him,' Flake said. 'I think he could govern in a way that he wouldn't. But, I think that the way that -- the direction he's headed right now, just kinda drilling down on the base rather than trying to expand the base -- I think he's inviting one.'

Several Republicans are rumored to be considering a challenge to Trump, including Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse.

Collins told MSNBC this week that it was 'too difficult to say' whether Trump would be the nominee in 2020.

Asked Thursday about Corker's critique that Trump has not demonstrated the 'stability' it takes to be a successful leader, the president's spokeswoman decried the comment as 'ridiculous and outrageous.'

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the the assault 'doesn't dignify a response from this podium,' batting down the Republican lawmaker's suggestion that Trump is mentally unfit for office.

Democrats have intermittently raised the topic, but Corker is the first Republican leader to call Trump's mental competence into question.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Thursday the the assault on Trump by Corker 'doesn't dignify a response from this podium,' batting down the suggestion that Trump is mentally unfit for office

Democrats have intermittently raised the topic, but Corker, who Trump considered last summer for vice president, was the first high-ranking Republican to call Trump's mental competence into question

His comments were echoed by Clapper, who deliberated after Trump's comments Tuesday night in Arizona whether the president should have unfettered access to the nation's nuclear codes.

He directly mentioned Trump's 'fitness to be in this office' in comments on CNN.

'I also am beginning to wonder about his motivation for it,' Clapper said in an interview with Don Lemon.

Sen. Lindsey Graham meanwhile said that Trump's feuding with Republicans in Congress, at least, is a conscious 'political strategy,' and 'there's nothing crazy about it.'

'He's running against Mitch McConnell and Lindsey Graham and others. The Congress is very unpopular, particularly with the Republican base, so there's nothing unhinged about it,' the Republican senator who's been on the receiving end of Trump's attacks, said on Thursday.

Graham said he does not believe that Trump is playing it smart by attacking Republicans. 'But it's a very thought-out strategy. There's nothing crazy about it,' he said.
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The lives of Irish traveller children have been explored by a photographer in a series of black and white images showing them playing on their sites.

Jamie Johnson has been travelling back and forth from Ireland for four years and, after capturing the Ballinasloe Horse Fair and Festival in October, she returned to the same families this summer to capture the youngsters antics.

Photographs show the youngsters happily playing and working with their horses and caravans, as well as dressing up in suits and eating candyfloss.

Ms Johnson has specialised in children's photography throughout her career and believes that traveller children are discriminated against more than any other culture in the world.

She said: My career as a photographer is always based in children and I travel all around the world photographing children in their different cultures and their different religions and their different lifestyles and I find that no matter where you come from no matter what language you speak or what religion you or how rich or poor you are - a child is a child and they're all perfect.

'I'm shocked and horrified by the incredible racism these particular children face in their life it's hardly fair that they are judged so harshly on their culture.

'I have travelled throughout the world into so many countries like Cuba in India and Nepal and Thailand and Ecuador and I have never in my life seen such horrific blatant racism.'

Two young girls hold up a baby doll they are playing with, while a white pony tied to a caravan watches on in the background. They are among the subjects of Jamie Johnson's latest photography project

A woman eats candyfloss while enjoying herself at a fairground (left) while two younger girls in matching outfits also eat the sugary snack

A boy tries to lead his pony across a field, while a girl in wellies gives the animal a hug

A youngster holds up his pet dog (left) while another boy (right) makes a mess of his mouth while eating an ice cream cone

Another young boy tends to a horse as it grazes in a field. Ms Johnson has been travelling back and forth from Ireland for four years to take photos

Two lads stand in front of a pony that has just been loaded into a horse box (left) while another boy in a peak cap grins in front of a caravan (right)

A toddler looks on excitedly as she sits in her mother's arms. Ms Johnson believes that 'all children are perfect' and that traveller children face discrimination

A young girl dressed in a coat stands at the door of her old style caravan (left), while two young boys pose with a small, black pony (right)

A youngster dressed smartly in a blazer and matching trousers rides his bicycle outside his caravan

Four youngster larking about on a wagon inside their campsite (left), while a girl poses for the camera with an ice cream in one hand and a can of drink in the other (right)

Three children stare excitedly out of the window of their caravan

A young boy in glasses holds up two puppies (left), while a baby is kept in the arms of his father (right) - one of the few adults to feature in the collection

A young boy gives a toothy grin to the camera. after capturing the Ballinasloe Horse Fair and Festival in October, she returned has returned to the same families this summer

A pony runs behind a young boy as he excitedly tows it across their field. A group of men can be seen in the background huddled together

A girl plays with her hair as she stands next to her caravan

This shirted boy stands in front of a black and white spotted horse as it is led away

Two other children pictured on a camp. A freckled boy glares into the photographer's lens, while a pigtailed girl winks (right)

A young family examine a scene that is unfolding inside the camp

A smartly-dressed child with a stick poses for the camera while holding her father's hand (left) and two boys share an embrace (right)

A youngster on crutches poses outside a modern caravan

Two boys wrestling in a field while a horse watches over them (left), while another animal looks into the camera while other youngsters gather behind it (right)

A young boy in a jumper leads an incredibly young pony down a pathway, while others watch on around him
North Korea has increased its efforts to produce parts for a new nuclear reactor, the UN nuclear watchdog warned today.

It is still unclear whether dictator Kim Jong-un has been able to miniaturise the device enough to fit it on top of a missile.

And it is widely believed they cannot yet protect such a warhead from the heat generated when a missile re-enters the earth's atmosphere.

North Korea has conducted two nuclear tests and dozens of missile tests since the beginning of last year, defying world powers and raising fears of a conflict breaking out on the heavily militarised Korean peninsula.

North Korea has increased its efforts to produce parts for a new nuclear reactor, the UN nuclear watchdog warned today

It is still unclear whether dictator Kim Jong-un has been able to miniaturise the device enough to fit it on top of a missile

A missile test last month put the mainland United States in range.

Pyongyang later said it had a plan to fire missiles at the US Pacific territory of Guam, while President Donald Trump said any threats would be met with 'fire and fury'.

Earlier this week, North Korean state media showed Kim standing next to the diagram of an intercontinental ballistic missile more powerful than any it has previously tested.

The image of the three-stage rocket known as the Hwasong-13 suggested he is fiercely pursuing the creation of a weapon capable of striking anywhere on the US mainland

It followed an escalation in the war of words between the country and US President Donald Trump.

North Korea condemned the military drills the US is conducting with the South and branded Trump 'weird' and 'ego-driven', not long after Trump claimed Kim was starting to 'respect' him.

Kim also threatened to turn the US into 'a heap of ashes' in response to the Ulchi Freedom Guardian drills currently being held in South Korea.

It is widely believed North Korea cannot yet protect such a warhead from the heat generated when a missile re-enters the earth's atmosphere

North Korea recently condemned the military drills the US is conducting with the South and branded Trump 'weird' and 'ego-driven'

Meanwhile the North has continued to pursue its effort to produce material for nuclear bombs, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in a report.

The IAEA does not have access to North Korea and monitors its activities mainly by satellite imagery.

'There were indications in the LWR (light-water reactor) construction yard of an increase in activities consistent with the fabrication of certain reactor components,' the IAEA report posted on the General Conference's website said.

'The agency has not observed indications of the delivery or introduction of major reactor components into the reactor containment building,' it said.

The new reactor is expected to be larger than the current experimental one at Yongbyon.

There was no indication in the past year, however, that the Communist state had used the laboratory near its main reactor where it usually produces plutonium from spent fuel rods, the IAEA said.

Kim has threatened to turn the US into 'a heap of ashes' in response to the Ulchi Freedom Guardian drills currently being held in South Korea

That appeared to contradict a recent report by a U.S. think tank that said the lab had operated intermittently.

There were indications the experimental reactor had kept running, the IAEA said. Its previous report said the reactor had been refuelled in 2015 and those fuel rods would probably be removed two years later. Friday's report confirmed that prediction, saying this fuel cycle should last until late 2017.

Even less is known about North Korea's efforts to produce another material that can fuel nuclear weapons - highly enriched uranium - but the report suggested those had continued at Yonbyon.

'There were indications consistent with the use of the reported centrifuge enrichment facility located within the plant. Construction work was undertaken on a building which adjoins the reported centrifuge enrichment facility,' it said.
Public schools in Sydney have recorded a huge rise in the number of Muslim and Hindu students with Christianity on a sharp decline.

A New South Wales Department of Education survey found the number of Muslim and Hindu students were standing at 52,000 and 20,000, respectively.

Last year, enrollment for Muslim students in public schools was at 50,000 while Hindu students were standing at 18,600, the Daily Telegraph reports.

There has been a sharp rise in the number of Muslim students in NSW schools (stock image)

The newspaper reports that more than 230,000 students did not identify themselves with any religion at all.

There was also a sharp decline in the number of Christian students with the number of Anglicans falling from 105,300 students last year to 99,000 this year.

Other forms of Christianity such as Presbyterian, Protestant and Baptist were also on the decline, according to the newspaper.

However, the number of Catholic students were unchanged at 103,000.

Parents and teachers have also called for ethics classes to be more readily available across the state after the data showed 230,000 students identified with 'no religion'.
An eight-year-old boy is being hailed as a hero after saving his toddler brother from choking on a quarter.

Sterling Blake, from Independence Township, New Jersey, was playing with his 22-month-old brother, Grainger, on August 2 when, suddenly, the tot put something in his mouth.

'He probably grabbed the quarter and he ate it, or he tried to, but he choked on it,' Sterling told CBS 2.

'Once he was choking, I didn't think about anything. It was just my reaction.'

Sterling Blake, eight (left), from Independence Township, New Jersey, is being hailed as a hero after saving his 22-month-old brother, Grainger (right), on August 2, from choking on a quarter

Sterling and Grainger (pictured) were playing when Sterling noticed that his younger brother had put something in his mouth and was starting to choke

Just two days earlier, the boys' father, Ben, had taught Sterling (pictured, holding Grainger) how to perform the Heimlich maneuver on a baby. So the eight-year-old whacked his brother on the back to dislodge the quarter

Just two days earlier, the boys' father, Ben, had taught Sterling how to perform the Heimlich maneuver on a baby.

'He told me on babies, hit them on the back,' Sterling said.

'I thought he was choking, so I whacked him on the back. He threw up a quarter. He started crying.'

The Washington Township Police Department decided to honor Sterling's action with a departmental commendation certificate, sharing a photo on Thursday of the 'ceremony' along with the two brothers.

Ben, a member of the police department who served as a Marine in Iraq, said he and his wife taught their son to look out for his brother, how to recognize the signs of choking and what to do in that situation.

'He's very humble about it,' he told Lehigh Valley Live. 'Every time we told somebody, he just shrugs it off like it was nothing.'

The Washington Township Police Department decided to honor Sterling's (second from right) action with a departmental commendation certificate, sharing a photo of the 'ceremony'. The boys' father, Ben (far right), is a member of the department

The boys' parents, Essence and Ben (pictured), say the incident is a lesson in making sure children learn life-saving techniques as early as possible

But the Blakes say the incident is a lesson in making sure children learn life-saving techniques as early as possible.

'It's a huge lesson to parents to tell and teach your children how to do it. Even if you think they're not listening, they are,' the boys' mother, Essence, told CBS 2.

'[Sterling is] eight, he'll be nine on Christmas Eve, and he listened to everything we said and did it the exact way he was supposed to do it.'

Similar stories have appeared of children saving people's lives after learning the Heimlich maneuver.

Last month, 13-year-old Lila Szojka, received a national Girl Scout Award for saving her grandmother's life when she choked at a local Applebee's in Middleburg Heights, Ohio, back in March.
Zimbabwe's first lady, Grace Mugabe, has made her first public appearance since leaving South Africa, where she has been charged with assault.

The 52-year-old wife of Robert Mugabe, 93, a potential successor to the president, was granted diplomatic immunity and left South Africa on Sunday.

She was accused of attacking model Gabriella Engels, 20, who needed 14 stitches and said she feared the dictator's wife was going to kill her.

Grace Mugabe was today pictured visiting stands at the annual Agricultural Show in Harare, Zimbabwe

It came just days after she was granted diplomatic immunity in South Africa over an alleged attack on a 20-year-old model

Engels accused Mrs Mugabe of whipping her with an electric extension cable as she waited with two friends in a luxury hotel suite to meet one of the Mugabes' adult sons.

But South Africa's opposition is challenging the international relations minister's decision to give her immunity - a move that could in theory affect any future plans to travel to the country.

The Mugabes attended a farming fair in Harare, where Mrs Mugabe was seen smiling and talking with exhibitors. She made no public comment.

Model Gabriella Engels alleged that Zimbabwe's first lady assaulted her in an attack which left her so badly injured she needed 14 stitches

South Africa's main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) party has asked the Constitutional Court for permission to argue its case that Grace Mugabe's diplomatic immunity be declared unconstitutional

Harare has made no official comment on the assault case and requests for comment from Zimbabwean government officials have gone unanswered.

South Africa's main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) party has asked the Constitutional Court for permission to argue its case that Grace Mugabe's diplomatic immunity be declared unconstitutional.

Devastated Gabriella, from Johannesburg, last week told MailOnline she was 'furious' at the thought that her attacker might never be held to account

'Grace Mugabe is not a member of the Zimbabwean government and she was in South Africa on personal business,' the party's federal executive chairman, James Selfe, said.

'There is nothing in either South African or international law which renders her deserving of diplomatic immunity.'

Selfe said the party hoped that if the immunity is lifted Mugabe would have to surrender herself to South African state prosecutors or be extradited to face the charges. If not she could be declared persona non grata, prohibited from visiting South Africa.

Advocacy group Afriforum has given legal backing to the alleged victim, Engels, and is working on the case with Gerrie Nel - the prosecutor who secured a murder conviction against Olympic and Paralympic runner Oscar Pistorius.

Devastated Gabriella, from Johannesburg, last week told MailOnline she was 'furious' at the thought that her attacker might never be held to account.

Eyewitnesses in the Zimbabwe capital reported seeing Mrs Mugabe's motorcade speeding from the airport a few hours after she had been due to surrender to police.

'I am scared she will never be held to account for what she did to me,' Gabriella told MailOnline from the home she shares with her mother, Debbie.
A group of top hotels in Mallorca has called in the police to investigate an alleged fraud of nearly 4million for false food poisoning claims.

The company wants an investigation launched against nearly 800 tourists who alleged they were struck down by sickness and diarhoea whilst on holiday in one of their establishments in the popular beach resort of Alcudia.

Spanish newspaper Diario de Mallorca says the group, Triauno S.L., owner of the Mac Alcudia Club, which operates in the hotels Mars, Saturn and Jupiter, is challenging payouts of 3.927 million in the 2016 season.

Triauno S.L., owner of the Mac Alcudia Club, which operates in the hotels Mars, Saturn and Jupiter, is challenging payouts of 3.927 million in the 2016 season

The 273 claims involved 797 people, with many of them belonging to the same family.

The National Police's Economic Crimes Group is investigating the case and is said to have found evidence of crime in these claims, many of them being conducted through specialised consumer law firms in the United Kingdom, according to Diario de Mallorca.

Investigations apparently show that of the 797 claimants against the Alcudia chain, only 32 went to a doctor during their holiday.

The hotel group even called in private detectives to spy on the so-called 'claim farmers' who approached guests at the entrance to their hotels and encouraged them to make false claims.

Diario de Mallorca says the police investigation has already shown there were no problems with the food and the claims were false.

In their complaint, the injured party indicated that the amount of the compensation, 3.927 million, was 700 per cent more than the claims received in previous years.

File image of the beach of Sant Elm in Mallorca. The group says nearly 800 people claimed but only around 30 ever went to the doctor while they were away

The police have sent their report to the investigating magistrates in Palma. It is said to conclude that it is not credible that almost 800 people were intoxicated in three hotels in Alcudia in a season.

Spanish newspapers say if it was true, a mass epidemic would have been declared and the health authorities of the Balearics called in.

The hotels in question regularly passed all safety and health checks with nothing untoward being found. They continue to be as popular as ever, with all the same tour operators continuing to use them.

The tourist food poisoning scam has been hitting Spanish hotels for several years and is costing them millions of pounds in payouts as it has been cheaper and quicker to settle out of court rather than challenge the claims.

But in the last few months, hoteliers have said 'enough is enough' and are taking a more militant stance, with some families already being taken to court for filing false claims.

The British Government has also introduced measures to make it easier for tour operators to challenge food poisoning allegations.
Aldi has defended closing a till to customers wanting to buy alcohol because a staff member had 'concerns' about serving booze.

The discount store's Northampton branch fixed a sign warning customers no alcohol would be served at one of the checkouts.

It said: 'No alcohol is able to be served on this till. Sorry for any inconvenience.'

Instead, customers had to use other tills in the store if they wanted to purchase beer, wine or spirits.

The sign was put on display at Aldi's branch in Northampton (left), where customers who wanted to buy alcohol had to queue up at another till.

Despite a mixed response online, dozens of customers were quick to praise Aldi for its handling of the worker's needs.

One user wrote: 'Well done @Aldi for looking after religious concerns by not compelling a Muslim cashier to serve alcohol as part of his job.'

Another said: 'Well done. Good to see some common sense and respect for employees. Glad I switched to Aldi six years ago.'

Dozens of customers were quick to praise Aldi for its handling of the worker's requirements

Rachel commented: 'I think this is great! Well done Aldi for respecting the different religions we have in the UK.'

A spokesman for the store would not confirm what the worker's concerns were, or whether similar signs would be put in place at other stores.

They told MailOnline: 'If a colleague raises concerns about a job they have been asked to do, our approach is to try and find a solution.

'In this instance, we informed customers via a sign on the tills that our colleague would not be serving alcohol.

'We apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused.'

A spokesman for the store would not confirm what the worker's concerns were, or whether similar signs would be put in place at other stores

The supermarket's response was also supplied to dozens of perplexed customers who queried the sign on social media. Many were unhappy with the store closing the till off to customers looking to buy alcohol

The supermarket's response was also supplied to dozens of perplexed customers who queried the sign on social media.

One user said: '@AldiUK I love Aldi, but is it true you won't serve alcohol at one of your tills in Northampton due to religious sensitivities of staff?'

Another added: 'Wrong decision. Muslim staff at my local Aldi have no problem checking our alcohol or pork products. Everything is sealed after all.'

It comes after father-of-three Lee Saunders hit out at Tesco after a Muslim shop assistant refused to sell him a bottle of wine due to her religious beliefs.

A Tesco spokesperson apologised for the incident and said staff did all they could to resolve the situation.

Mr Saunders was trying to buy the rose wine at a superstore in Feltham, Middlesex, when he was told to go to a different till by the worker.
Horrifying footage shows the moment a woman was jailed for slapping a hospital nurse who was unable to give her father a bed upgrade.

The woman was in the hospital in Jinan, eastern China accompanying her father at the time of the incident.

She became furious when a nurse refused her request for her father to be moved to a private room.

The woman can be seen furiously shouting at the nurse inside the hospital

Horrific: The nurse explained that the bed was reserved for an emergency patient

The woman's father was being treated in the waiting room for an unspecified condition.

As he was being treated, she requested that her father be transferred to a private room nearby, noticing an empty bed.

However the nurse explained that the bed was reserved for an emergency patient and that her father could not be moved at present.

The woman's father was being treated in the waiting room for an unspecified condition

Shocking moment: The woman violently attacks the nurse in pure anger

It was then as shown in the footage that the woman viciously slapped the nurse. She can be seen falling backwards with the sheer force of the slap.

According to reports, the woman was held back by a security guard and later arrested by police officers.

The woman was detained for five days for initiating the fight.

It's thought that the nurse did not suffer any serious injuries.
North Korea has launched what is likely to be multiple short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast into the Sea of Japan, according to South Korea's military.

From Yonhap news:

North Korea launched what seems to be short-range missiles into the East Sea on Saturday morning, according to South Korea's military.

The North fired several "unidentified projectiles" from the vicinity Gitdaeryong in Gangwon Province at around 6:49 a.m., said the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

Those flew more than 250 kilometers in the northeastern direction, it added.

South Korea and U.S. militaries are analyzing additional information.

The North's move was immediately reported to President Moon Jae-in, added the JCS.
A video has been released by the Ukrainian secret service of two North Korean spies being snared in an undercover sting as proof the country is not assisting Kim Jong-un's nuclear missile programme.

An article in the New York Times earlier this month raised concerns Pyongyang was relying on outside help and pointed the finger at the Ukraine.

Kiev strongly denied the allegations, stating it had never supplied defence technology to North Korea, and has now attempted to back it up by releasing the footage.

It shows two men supposedly photographing secret weapon plans in a bunker in the Ukraine before the special services swoop to arrest them.

The footage shows two men supposedly photographing secret weapon plans in a bunker in the Ukraine before the special services swoop to arrest them

The entrapment mission was organised by officials to capture the pair who arrived in the Ukraine via the North Korean embassy in Moscow.

Missile experts in the country were said to have got wind of the two spies and alerted the authorities who planned for months to catch them in the act.

When the covert team gathered enough evidence, they swooped and arrested them in a dusty Ukrainian garage.

They are now locked up in the the city of Zhytomyr and in their trial in 2012, it emerged they had been searching for information on ballistic missiles, missile systems, missile construction, spacecraft engines, solar batteries, fast-emptying fuel tanks, mobile launch containers, powder accumulators and military government standards to take back to North Korea, according to CNN.

An officer at the secret service who was on the case told the site on condition of anonymity it was 'impossible' North Korea had obtained any missile technology.

He said all their espionage attempts had all been intercepted and that no North Koreans were free in the country.

The American news outlet attempted to talk to the two men, but both refused to be interviewed over fears for their families.

Yesterday, North Korean state media showed Kim Jong-un (pictured) standing next to the diagram of an intercontinental ballistic missile

North Korea has also branded Trump 'weird' and 'ego-driven', not long after Trump claimed Kim was starting to 'respect' him

On August 1, the Ukraine denied that it had ever supplied defence technology to North Korea, responding to the article in the New York Times that said North Korea may have purchased rocket engines from Ukrainian factory Yuzhmash.

Concern that North Korea is close to achieving its goal of putting the mainland United States within range of a nuclear weapon has raised global tensions in recent weeks. The United States is a key backer of Ukraine.

The secretary of the Ukrainian Security and Defence Council, Oleksandr Turchynov, said Ukraine 'has never supplied rocket engines or any kind of missile technology to North Korea.'

State-owned Yuzhmash said it had not produced military-grade ballistic missiles since independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

'In the years of independence, Yuzhmash has not produced, and is not producing, missiles and military missile systems,' it said in a statement published on their company's website.

The sanctions have been imposed on North Korea aimed at slashing its annual export revenue of 2.3billion by a third. Pictured: A missile is fired during the combined military exercise between the US and South Korea

With most of the food going to the army, millions of ordinary people are struggling to eat every day. Pictured: : A North Korean long-range rocket is launched

Since then, a bitter war of words has broken out mainly between the US and North Korea.

North Korea has warned the United Kingdom faces a 'miserable end' if it joins the ongoing tensions on the peninsula.

In a stark warning to Britain, Kim Jong-un used his government news agency to tell Theresa May not to follow the aggressive rhetoric of Donald Trump.

The Korean Central News Agency reported: 'We solemnly warn not only the US and the puppet group but also satellites, including the UK and Australia, which are taking advantage of the present war manoeuvres against the North.'

This follows a further escalation in the animosity between the country and US President Donald Trump, in which Kim accused America of leading a 'beheading operation' to oust the Korean leader.

North Korea's military said in a statement that it would launch an unspecified 'merciless retaliation and unsparing punishment' on the United States over the Ulchi Freedom Guardian drills that began Monday for an 11-day run.

Despite the threat, an unprompted direct attack is extremely unlikely because the United States vastly outguns Pyongyang, which values the continuation of its dictatorship above all else.

Impoverished North Korea hates the annual drills in part because they force it to respond with expensive military measures of its own.

The North Korean statement accused the United States of deploying unspecified 'lethal' weapons for the drills that it says involve a 'beheading operation' training aimed at removing absolute ruler Kim Jong-un.
The forensic scientist in charge of testing human remains linked to missing teenager Natalee Holloway also helped identify victims of the 9/11 terror attacks, DailyMail.com can reveal.

Dr Jason Kolowski was part of a first response team at Ground Zero following the twin towers attack in New York, which saw 2,753 killed by hijackers.

He worked for weeks identifying fragments of bone, body parts and tissue from the victims of the attacks.

Now the forensic scientist has focused his expertise on identifying bone fragments found at a site in Aruba where Natalee may have been buried.

Dr Kolowski, 41, runs his own firm, Forensic Insight Consulting, and has analyzed the bone fragments on behalf of the Holloway family and has already made a significant breakthrough.

Missing: Natalee Holloway on Aruba on May 30, 2005 while on a trip with friends to the Carribean getaway destination to celebrate her high school graduation.

Source: An informant called Gabriel (right) mat Dave Holloway (left) after making secret recordings of John Luwdick in which he apparently confessed to helping dispose of Natalee's body. The information led to the trip to Aruba and the discovery of the bone fragments

Reconstruction: The new Oxygen documentary follows Dave Holloway's trip to Aruba, which included a dig at a spot on the island where bone fragments were found. It showed footage reconstructing what vand der Sloot and Ludwick were alleged to have done

He discovered the remains found by private investigator TJ Ward are of a single individual, of European descent - facts revealed exclusively by DailyMail.com.

'They are human, and they are of Caucasian, European descent,' he told Oxygen cable channel, which is running a docuseries on the latest development called 'The Disappearance of Natalee Holloway'.

Natalee, who was declared legally dead in 2012, was also Caucasian and of European descent.

However, Dr Kolowski said confirmation on the sex of the person won't be known until next month.

This is due to the fact that the DNA found on the bone fragments is mitochondrial, which takes longer to test than the more commonly found nuclear DNA.

The breakthrough, made during the preliminary stages of DNA testing, means the Holloway family is one step closer to finding out the agonizing truth behind their daughter's disappearance.

DailyMail.com also exclusively revealed that Natalee's mother Beth Holloway has provided a saliva sample to assist in the testing.

Dr Kolowski is in the process of conducting a mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) test on the remains at his state-of-the-art laboratory.

The mtDNA test traces a person's matrilineal ancestry using the DNA in his or her mitochondria - a structure that sits inside cells of all body parts.

This type of DNA is passed down by the mother unchanged, to all her children, both male and female.

If the mtDNA inside the bone fragments matches that in the saliva provided by Beth Holloway, that will be conclusive evidence that Natalee's remains have been found.

Dr Kolowski is used to working on major criminal cases like this one.

A career forensic scientist, he worked from 1999 to 2012 for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in New York.

The 9/11 atrocity put the lab at the cutting edge of identifying human remains, and it is still working to identify remains recovered from the site of the twin towers.

Father and son: Ludwick alleged that van der Sloot killed Natalee and his father Paulus helped him dispose of the body (Paulus and Joran in December 2007 after the young man was released from custody)

Suspect: Joran van der Sloot is now in prison in Peru for murdering another young woman, but the evidence of informant 'Gabriel' could bring new hope of solving the mystery of Natalee Holloway

Where did she go: The DNA evidence in the Holloway case will be released around the time the finale airs on Oxygen (Aruba with key Holloway points above)

Just two months after 9/11 he also helped in the identification of victims in the devastating American Airlines Flight 587 crash in Queens, New York.

The commercial jet carrying 251 passengers and nine crew members accidentally crashed shortly after take off into the neighborhood of Belle Harbor, killing everyone on board on November 12, 2001. Only a dog was killed on the ground.

Dr Kolowski was also director of Washington D.C.'s forensic science laboratory from 2012 to 2015, when he set up his own consulting company.

The Cornell and CUNY graduate has also written a textbook on forensic science and in New York, helped set up the city's first mitochondrial DNA lab.

Involvement: Dave Holloway and private detective TJ Ward have been to Aruba and are now waiting for the tests on the remains

Natalee's father Dave Holloway turned to him earlier this year after human remains were found by his private investigator following a tip off about a possible burial site for the missing teen.

The 18-year-old, from Mountain Brook, Alabama vanished on Aruba on May 30, 2005 while on a trip to celebrate her high school graduation.

She was last seen by her classmates leaving a nightclub with Joran van der Sloot - a 17-year-old Dutch honors student living on the tropical island. No trace of her body has ever been found.

The new information came from an informant named Gabriel, a former roommate of van der Sloot's best friend John Ludwick.

Van der Sloot - who is currently in prison in Peru serving a 28-year sentence for the 2010 murder of 21-year-old business student Stephany Flores Ramirez - has long been a suspect in Natalee's disappearance.

Gabriel told Dave Holloway that, according to Ludwick, his daughter was buried in a park near her hotel on the island - a sequence of events that marked one of the biggest breaks in the 12-year history of the case.

Ludwick apparently told Gabriel that van der Sloot disposed of Natalee's body with help from his father Paulus, a judge on the island, after the teen choked to death on her own vomit soon after she was given a drink that had been spiked with GHB. Paulus has since died.

Van der Sloot revealed his actions to Ludwick, who then repeated the information to Gabriel while the two were living together in recent years.

Dave announced last week while appearing on Today that he followed up on that tip, and soon after remains were found.

Previous effort: In 2005 Joran van der Sloot was taken in handcuffs to locations near where Natalee Holloway was last known to have been seen, but was not charged due to lack of evidence

'We did an 18-month undercover investigation with an informant who was friends with an individual who had personal knowledge from Joran van der Sloot,' said Dave.

'And had information that took us to a spot where remains were found. And we took those remains and had those remains tested. And they just returned last week they are human remains.'

Dave said he is being careful however to not rush to any conclusions.

Aruba's public prosecutor, Dorean Kardol, has dismissed the findings by claiming that the remains were from animals. It is unclear why his and Dr Kolowski's findings are at odds, and also unknown what, if any, testing Aruban authorities have carried out to reach their conclusion.

He told the Huffington Post that 'no human remains were found' in the area Dave pointed out.

'During an investigation by police in an area indicated by Mr. Holloway, we found remains, but they were found to be from animals,' Kardol said.

Dave has long been a critic of the investigation into the disappearance of his daughter conducted by the Aruban authorities and slammed the prosecutor's comments as 'misleading'.

He maintains that they have the remains and have a report from the lab showing they are human.

A preview of the second episode of 'The Disappearance of Natalee Holloway,' which will air at 7pm on Saturday, reveals that viewers will now see the great lengths Gabriel had to go to in order to get his informant to repeat the story in a room wired with mics so that Natalee's father Dave and private investigator TJ Ward could hear the admission for themselves.
This is the heartwarming moment two rescued lions went crazy when they came face to face with the woman who helped to raise them.

Malkia and Adelle were rejected by their mother when they were cubs and were handed over to a big cat rescue centre in Slovakia.

Their parents had been used in circuses across the Eastern European province.

This is the heartwarming moment two rescued lions went crazy when they came face to face with the woman who helped raise them

Excited: The two cats come bounding towards Michaela at the big cat centre in Slovakia

They grew up with humans as their parents and now an adorable clip shows the pair's reaction when they see Michaela Zimanova, their 'godmother', for the first time in weeks.

Bounding up to her, the duo are overcome with excitement in the YouTube, video which has amassed more than 40,000 views.

Both cats can be seen standing on their hind legs to greet her, as they close in for a hug.

They even wrap their paws around her neck and squeeze her in a gigantic display of affection.

Michaela visits Malkia Park in Slovakia up to three times a month to see them and is one of three people allowed such close contact with the animals.

Big hug! The pair of lions who are three and four were given to the park by a private owner after their parents wouldn't take to looking after them

A spokesman for the park told MailOnline their footage had been taken and it was incorrectly being reported that Michaela had been separated from the lions for seven years.

'That's not the case, Michaela comes to see them sometimes three times a month,' the spokesman explained.

In the video, Michaela can be heard saying: 'Ajoh zlaticka, bambulky' or 'Hello darlings' in Slovak to her favourite cats.

A spokesman said: 'We never play with them as they are dangerous animals, we respect their mood, and only cuddle when they want.

'It always takes only those few minutes what you see on the video, sometimes less.

'Then they continue running and playing together. At the age of four, Malkia is a little bit different, she is more wild, so we need to be more aware.'

The pair of lions who are three and four were given to the park by a private owner after their parents would not take to looking after them.

The Big Cats Rescue Centre in Slovakia looks after abandoned and needy animals.
A picture appearing to show a pig smiling while being rescued from a flooded town in China has become viral.

The image, reportedly taken in Yibin County, Sichuan Province, shows the animal seemingly feeling happy as two people tried to carry it to a safe place.

A heavy storm battered the majority of the province from yesterday, and residents were evacuated after the water levels started to rise.

The picture (above), which appears to show a pig smiling while being dragged in floodwaters during excavation, has become viral on Chinese social media

The picture first appeared yesterday on Weibo, a Chinese social media platform, posted by a user, whose screen name is 'hou sheng'.

In the picture, two men, dressed in green uniforms, each held an ear and a front leg of the pig as they dragged it in floodwaters.

According to various reports from major Chinese media, including Sina.com, Huanqiu.com and Btime.com, the residents were trying to remove goods and livestock from the town of Hengjiang after a heavy storm

After the picture became popular, thousands of people have left comments on Weibo to give their own interpretations of the amusing scene.

Many wondered how the pig could be happy when it might end up being eaten.

Others compared the picture to the news from Britain earlier this week about a litter of piglets saved from a burning barn ending up being made into sausages by their owners as a thank-you to the firemen.

A man sits next to the pigs he rescued from the flood in Tuanshanhu village near Changsha, Hunan, China, on July 2. Many parts of China have been ravaged by floods this summer

People walk through a flooded street as Typhoon Hato hits Dongguan, Guangdong province, China, August 23. The typhoon has left 16 people dead after battering southern China

Commenting on the picture, one user wrote on Weibo: 'It might be smiling on its face, but it's cursing in its heart.'

Another user said: 'The pig thought it was saved, but it wouldn't escape the fate of being killed.'

A third caption read: 'The men weren't saving the pig. They just wanted to eat the pig.'

Some people added funny captions to the picture to explain what the pig might be thinking at the time.

Rescuers evacuate residents with a boat on a flooded street after heavy rainfalls hit Xianning, Hubei province, China, on August 13

One caption said: 'Let me go. Let me go by myself.'

Another caption read: 'I will die sooner or later. It's just a matter of time.'

A third caption stated: 'I could survive the floods, but I couldn't survive you guys.'

The county of Yibin was heavily flooded today after the rainstorm.

A total of 135 households with 281 residents were evacuated from Hengjiang town, reported Sichuan Online.

A video clip was released by Pear Video showing the locals struggling to evacuated their pigs as around six or seven people had to join forces to lift one pig onto a truck.
Ian Stewart, 56, (above) is serving a minimum of 34 years for killing the Electra Brown writer

The killer of children's author Helen Bailey who murdered his fiancee to get his hands on her 4million fortune has been ordered to pay almost 100,000 to cover the cost of his trial.

Ian Stewart, 56, is serving a minimum of 34 years for smothering the Electra Brown writer, his fiancee, and dumping her body in a cesspit below their 1.5million Hertfordshire home last year.

The 51-year-old was slowly drugged by Stewart over the course of several months as part of a plot to inherit her wealth.

Ms Bailey, who met Stewart through a bereavement group after she witnessed her husband, John Sinfield, tragically drown in Barbados in 2011, was discovered in the foul sewage pit below their garage, her dachshund Boris dead at her side, three months after Stewart reported her missing in April last year.

Stewart's wife Diane died suddenly in 2010 after suffering an epileptic fit at their home in Bassingbourn, Cambridgeshire.

During a brief hearing at St Albans Crown Court, Judge Andrew Bright confirmed 5,100 of the murderer's ill-gotten gains previously confiscated will go to Ms Bailey's estate.

Wicked: Helen Bailey (left), 51, was slowly drugged by Stewart (right) over the course of several months as part of a plot to inherit her 4million fortune

Ms Bailey met Stewart through a bereavement group on Facebook after his wife died in 2010

He also agreed to prosecutor Stuart Trimmer's request for costs of 98,455 to be met to cover the expenses incurred by the six-and-a-half week trial.

About 40 witnesses appeared and legal teams were required to travel overseas to facilitate the appearance of some of Ms Bailey's loved ones in court, it was heard.

Stewart did not appear at the hearing due to ill health, prompting the judge to say: 'I had my doubts when I first heard about it but having seen a nurse's letter I have no reason to oppose it.'

He added: 'That figure is a figure that I determined to be a conservative estimate of the total cost of the prosecution.'

Ms Bailey had written about how she and Stewart were supporting each other through the grief of losing their partners

The money will be taken from several bank accounts of Stewart's to which the prosecution will have access, it was heard.

Stewart targeted the vulnerable widow on the internet in 2011, earning his way into her trust and later her 3.3million estate.

He and Helen were engaged and in 2014 she changed her will making Stewart the main beneficiary.

He became the chief heir to her wealth, standing to gain around 1.8million from her investment portfolio, plus the value of their home in Royston, Hertfordshire, and her coastal cottage in Kent.

Stewart had planned the killing 'well in advance' and secretly administered Zopiclone tablets to the author he could smother her when she was too drowsy to fight him off, the murder trial jury heard.

Last month a court heard Stewart gained just a few thousand pounds from the murder. After her disappearance he electronically altered a standing order paid to him by Helen from 600 to 4,000 a month.

He spent 3,154 on renewing Arsenal season tickets, but the rest of the money remained in this account.

Ms Bailey, acclaimed author of the popular Electra Brown series for children, said she was not looking for love when she met Stewart and confessed to feeling guilty

After the killing, Stewart spent months lying to Ms Bailey's loved ones, telling them she had run away without explanation.

Later he claimed she had died during a bungled kidnap plot.

Sentencing him in February, Judge Bright told him: 'I am firmly of the view that you currently pose a real danger to women with whom you form a relationship.'

The minimum sentence of 34 years means the killer will not be able to apply for parole until he is 90.

Stewart will have 14 days to contest today's decision.

Ms Bailey's body was found beneath the garage behind the couple's 1.5million home
A 13-year-old youth has been found guilty of raping a 12-year-old boy as he made his way to school.

He kicked and stamped on his victim who was raped and forced to perform sex acts in a 30-minute ordeal, Willesden Youth Court was told.

The teenager, who cannot be named because of his age, snatched the boy as he walked through Roe Green Park in Kingsbury, Brent, north-west London on the morning of May 16.

When the victim was released just after 9.30am, the boy ran to school where teachers called 999.

The 13-year-old was himself an hour late for school, telling his teachers that he had been in the park with some friends and 'didn't know where the time had gone'.

The teenager snatched the boy as he walked through Roe Green Park in Kingsbury, Brent, north-west London, pictured, on the morning of May 16 (stock photo)

He was arrested when police matched CCTV footage of him arriving at school to the description given by the victim.

Prosecutor Charles Royale said: 'A DNA match was taken from the underwear he was wearing that matched both him and the victim.

'The Crown say that it's a compelling case with evidence so that you can be sure of his guilt.'

The victim also picked his attacker out of an identity parade.

The 13-year-old denied the attack, refusing to answer questions in his police interview or to give evidence at trial.

He also asked that none of his family members be present in court and was instead supported only by a social worker and an intermediary to help him with any legal language he didn't understand.

On Friday District Judge Mark Jabbitt found the boy guilty of one count of rape of a child under 13, one count of inciting a child under 13 in to sexual activity and one count of kidnap.

The teenager was found guilty at Willesden Youth Court, pictured (stock photo)

The court heard that the victim was slight for his age, and Judge Jabbitt said that the defendant may have deliberately targeted him because of his size.

Adjourning sentence until October 2, Judge Jabbitt said: 'I think this defendant is unable to admit to himself or his family that he committed this violent sexual attack but the evidence that he did so is overwhelming.

'I'm satisfied he knew the victim was under 13, and I'm satisfied he singled him out precisely because he was so small and vulnerable.'

He ordered that a pre-sentence report be prepared while the boy's defence barrister, Susan Wright, asked that a psychiatric report also be prepared.

The boy was remanded in custody ahead of sentencing.
Boris Johnson was forced to grin and bear it on his latest foreign trip as a Libyan military band honoured him with the UK's national anthem - which they completely 'butchered'.

The Foreign Secretary arrived in Benghazi as part of a two-day diplomatic mission to encourage Libya's warring rival parties to reach a compromise and unite the nation.

The trip comes almost six years after the country's dictator Colonel Muammar Gaddafi was toppled during the Arab Spring.

The military band attempted to impress Mr Johnson with a rendition of God Save the Queen

In honour of Mr Johnson's arrival a military band attempted to impress with a rendition of 'God Save the Queen' .

But the group may have needed a bit more practice.

Instead of the 250-year-old anthem, Mr Johnson was met with a barrage of buzzing sounds that bounced off each other and failed to carry the tune at all.

Individual players appeared to play various parts of the piece at the same time.

Despite the hilarious rendition, The Tory MP was able to maintain his composure and adopted a serious stance - it is the thought that counts after all.

News website, Middle East Eye, shared the video on its Twitter page, alongside the caption: 'This Libyan military band just butchered the British national anthem.'

Boris Johnson speaks during a press conference as part of his two-day visit to Libya

The Foreign Secretary arrived in Benghazi as part of a two-day diplomatic mission to encourage Libya's warring rival parties to reach a compromise and unite the nation

Mr Johnson became the first Western politician to visit Libyan military commander Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar in his Eastern Libya base in Benghazi.

Johnson said the meeting came in support of efforts to amend a December 2015 UN-backed deal for a unity government in Libya.

'We are reaching out to all sides in Libya in support of the United Nations work to amend the Libyan Political Agreement so that it delivers for all Libyans,' he said in a statement.
Germany has banned a far-left website after police raids on its supporters today turned up knives, batons and catapults.

Interior minister Thomas de Maiziere said linksunten.indymedia.org was used to organise violence at the July 7-8 G20 summit in Hamburg and on other occasions.

The website is accused of referring to police officers as 'pigs' and 'murderers' and even included a manual for how to create a Molotov cocktail.

The interior minister also said it has been used for years to 'express hate against those who think differently as well as representatives of this country'.

Over 200 police officers were injured as protesters burned cars, smashed windows and threw rocks at riot police during the Hamburg riots (pictured)

Interior minister Thomas de Maiziere (pictured) said it was used to 'express hate against those who think differently as well as representatives of this country'

He added: 'They call for attacks against individuals and businesses.

'This is absolutely unacceptable and incompatible with our liberal democratic order.'

The site - said to be the most influential gathering place for 'vicious left-wing extremists' - was off-line in Germany and no longer functional today.

'Operation of the site is, with immediate effect, a crime,' de Maiziere told a news conference after the raids in the southwestern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg.

The website was said to have helped organise violence at the G20 protest in Hamburg last month (pictured)

More than 400 people were arrested during the explosive protests

Police were forced to use water cannon and armoured vans to deal with the violence

But Ulla Jelpke, a member of Die Linke (The Left), said her party considers the ban an 'illegitimate act of censorship' and a 'cut in the freedom of speech and press freedom'.

More than 400 people were arrested during explosive protests in Hamburg last month as far-left extremists marched against capitalism.

The demonstration was named 'Welcome to Hell'.

Over 200 police officers were injured as protesters burned cars, smashed windows and threw rocks at riot police.

Water cannon and armoured vans were deployed to deal with the violence.

The website was created in 2008 and referred to itself as a 'weapon in the social struggle'.

In June, German police raided the homes of 36 people accused of writing hateful words online.

Last year, meanwhile, the right-wing website Altermedia Deutschland was banned.


Two armed bandits stole hundreds of dollars from a Brooklyn laundromat before stealing more than $11,000 in cash and lottery tickets from a book store.

The New York Police Department said on Friday they are looking for the two suspects who were seen carrying handguns on surveillance footage from the Choo Choo laundromat in Canarsie.

Police said the men, who were fully covered with their hoodies tightly pulled over their faces, stole about $500 from the Book Card book store, just 10 blocks from the laundromat.

The New York Police Department said they are looking for two suspects who were seen carrying handguns on surveillance footage (pictured) from the Choo Choo laundromat in Canarsie, Brooklyn. The suspect in blue can be seen carrying a handgun

Less than an hour later, the crooks made their way to the Book Card book store. According to a police statement, a 25-year-old worker was preparing to close the shop around 2.40pm on July 27 when the bandits struck

Authorities said the gunmen forced the laundromat employee into the back office before taking the money from the register and fleeing the scene.

The employee wasn't harmed during the robbery. Less than an hour later, the crooks made their way to the Book Card book store.

According to a police statement, a 25-year-old worker was preparing to close the shop around 2.40pm on July 27 when the bandits struck.

When the individuals pushed their way into the store, they brandished a black firearm and punched the victim in the mouth.

Police said the men took $3,500 in lottery tickets, the victim's wallet and another $8,000 in cash from the register.

The victim sustained a laceration and swelling to the mouth.

Both suspects are believed to be between 20 to 25 years old, about 5-foot-10 and between 170 to 180 pounds.

Police are asking for anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS.

Police said the men took $3,500 in lottery tickets, the victim's wallet and another $8,000.00 in cash from the register. Surveillance footage shows the second suspect walking through the laundromat
In 1976, Harold R McCluskey, then 64, had resumed work as a senior chemical operator for the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington state after a four-month strike shut down the site

On the night of August 30, 1976, Harold R McCluskey was working the graveyard shift at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington state when a chemical explosion blasted him with radioactive material and peppered him with shards of glass.

Incredibly, McCluskey, then 64, survived what's believed to be the largest human dose of radiation ever recorded to become known as the 'Atomic Man'.

Even more remarkable was that he lived another 11 years and died from causes unrelated to the accident with no sign of cancer in his body.

At the time, McCluskey had been working as a senior chemical operator, recovering the plutonium by-product americium, a highly radioactive substance used in smoke detectors and bombs.

The lab had been closed for four months as a result of a strike and McCluskey was wary of resuming this kind of work, remembering earlier warnings about working with the chemical after it had been unattended for some time. But his boss told him to proceed.

So, McCluskey followed orders, and while he was working in the room a chemical reaction caused the glove box to explode. For most of the years between the explosion and the room's demolition in March, the door was welded shut because of radioactive activity.

Dr Bryce Breitenstein captured the stoic McCluskey sitting alone by his bed and smoking a pipe. After the explosion on August 30, 1976, medical staff scrubbed and shaved McCluskey's raw skin every day. In January 1977, he was able to return to his hometown of Prosser, Washington

McCluskey's job was to recover the plutonium by-product americium, a highly radioactive substance, within this airtight steel glove box. He manipulated the controls with thick gloves attached to portals on the outside

The Hanford site, established in 1943 as part of the secret Manhattan Project, would go on to produce most of the countrys plutonium for nuclear weapons for decades

Production at the Hanford site ceased in the late 1980s, with efforts focused on cleaning up the site ever since. Cleanup at 'America's Chernobyl' is expected to take 75 more years

After more than four decades, the spot where McCluskey became the Atomic Man was finally torn down in March, bringing another chapter of Hanford history to an end.

But there are still decades of work ahead to restore the Hanford sites 586-square-miles of land. The site, established in 1943 as part of the secret Manhattan Project, was selected for its remote location and proximity to the Columbia River, which could be used to provide power and cooling, Gerber said.

Hanford would go on to produce most of the countrys plutonium for nuclear weapons for decades, and plutonium produced here fueled the Fat Man bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, in 1945.

The McCluskey Room, about the size of a two-car garage, is the first of four main buildings that make up the Plutonium Finishing Plant complex that will be torn down by September.

This central complex was the site of one of Hanfords most infamous incidents, and after a section of an underground tunnel used to store contaminated radioactive materials collapsed in May, the Atomic Man's legacy still has lessons to teach the public.

Michele Gerber, author of the 1997 book On The Home Front: The Cold War Legacy of the Hanford Site, detailed the events leading up to McCluskeys horrific accident: He saw brown fumes accumulating in the glove box. He realized he shouldnt be there and was just about to turn and run away when the explosion occurred.

McCluskeys protective rubber respirator was ripped from his face. Gasping for air, he inhaled radioactive fumes, coating his lungs in poisonous americium. Pieces of metal and glass embedded into his skin. Acid seared his eyes, temporarily blinding him.

Within minutes, he had absorbed the largest dose of americium ever recorded in a human  500 times the occupational standard, reported Dr Bryce Breitenstein, the Hanford Environmental Health Foundation physician who treated McCluskey.

Covered in blood, McCluskey was taken to the Hanford Emergency Decontamination Facility, a windowless building in Richland, Washington, where he remained for three weeks in near isolation, according to news reports at the time. His wife and two daughters could come within only 30 feet of him for fear of the radiation he still emitted. He eventually moved with his wife and dog to a travel trailer parked outside the facility.

McCluskey was transferred to the Hanford Emergency Decontamination facility, a windowless building in Richland, Washington, where he remained for three weeks in near isolation

McCluskey spent the next five months at the decontamination facility (pictured), where medical staff injected him hundreds of times with shots of the experimental drug to help him excrete the radioactive material

Of nine doctors, four thought I had a 50-50 chance, McCluskey told People magazine in 1984. The rest just shook their heads.

Monitored by medical staff wearing respirators and protective clothing, McCluskey could neither see nor hear the attendants clearly. For five months, his deep Baptist faith sustained him as doctors used tweezers to pick out tiny bits of glass and metal embedded in his skin, according to reports at the time.

The medical staff scrubbed and shaved McCluskey every day. They also injected him with 600 shots of zinc DTPA, an experimental drug that helped him excrete the radioactive material.

The decontamination was extended, extensive, difficult and it was never complete, said Eugene Carbaugh, a health physicist, during a 2015 presentation.

When McCluskey finally returned home in January 1977, he encountered a different kind of pain. In his hometown of Prosser, Washington, he was now known as the Atomic Man.

Although the treatment removed much of the americium from his body, enough remained to set off a radiation detector when he held it near his head. Because of this people thought he was contagious.

McCluskey retired and could be seen for many years wearing a glove on one hand to shield any possible contamination that was still present in his body, reported a 2005 article in a Hanford employee newsletter.

McCluskey was treated as a pariah, with some fearful friends calling and saying, Harold, I like you, but I can never come to your house. He said in 1984 that he rotated barbershops because he didnt want to negatively impact someones business.

Although the five-month treatment removed much of the americium from McCluskey's body, enough remained until the end of his life on August 17, 1987, to set off a radiation detector when he held it near himself (pictured)

After the accident, McCluskey had his share of radiation-related health problems  a kidney infection, four heart attacks and cataract surgery on both eyes. He sued the federal government for damages and, in 1977, he won a $275,000 settlement against the Department of Energy, which operates Hanford.

McCluskey was studied extensively by doctors for the remainder of his life. He died of pre-existing heart disease on August 17, 1987, at the age of 75, and an autopsy found no signs of cancer.

Had McCluskey lived longer, its possible he could have developed cancer, Carbaugh said.

After the accident, McCluskey (above) had his share of radiation-related health problems  a kidney infection, four heart attacks and cataract surgery on both eyes

The Americium Recovery Facility, later dubbed the McCluskey Room by Hanford workers, never operated again because officials feared airborne radiation contamination, Mark Heeter, Department of Energy spokesman, told DailyMail.com.

In 2010, workers, outfitted in radiation suits, began cleaning the McCluskey Room. They removed all of the contaminated equipment from the facility and disposed of it at Hanfords landfill in New Mexico.

Workers then sprayed a substance that helped bond the radioactive material to the surfaces. Only after these precautions were in place could they begin the demolition process nearly six years later.

Production ceased in the late 1980s, with efforts focused on cleaning up the country's most radioactively contaminated site ever since. Cleanup is expected to take 75 more years.

The Americium Recovery Facility, later dubbed the McCluskey Room by Hanford workers, never operated again because officials feared airborne radiation contamination. Pictured are workers, outfitted in radiation suits, removing a glove box from the Hanford site in 2011

In 2010, workers removed all of the contaminated equipment from the Americium Recovery Facility (pictured) and disposed of it at Hanford's landfill in New Mexico

Countless issues continue to plague clean-up efforts at what has been called Americas Chernobyl. Chief among them are the 56million gallons of radioactive waste held in 177 underground storage tanks on the site, according to the Department of Energy.

These corroding tanks have sprung leaks on multiple occasions, contaminating the soil and groundwater in the area. The plan is to create a waste disposal center where liquid radioactive material can be vitrified into a solid and buried in a permanent grave.

Eventually, as more of the land is deemed safe, it will be returned to the state and transformed into a protected area, according to the Department of Energy. In 2015, the site became part of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, and certain parts of it were made available through free guided tours.
Japan is already known for being at the forefront of humanoid robots that take over traditionally human jobs (hotel concierge and elderly companions, for instance). Now they can add robot funeral priests to their list.

Japan's telecommunications company SoftBank just unveiled "Pepper," its robot priest, dressed in Buddhist robes, that can chant Buddhist scriptures, play the drum, and livestream the ceremony for people who can't attend the funeral in person. The demo took place at Japan's "Life Ending Industry Expo" in Tokyo last Wednesday.

According to The Guardian:

The robot was on display on Wednesday at a funeral industry fair, the Life Ending Industry Expo, in Tokyo, shown off by plastic molding maker Nissei Eco. With the average cost of a funeral in Japan reaching in excess of 20,000, according to data from Japan's Consumer Association in 2008, and human priests costing 1,700, Nissei Eco is looking to undercut the market with Pepper available for just 350 per funeral.

Pepper (not a name I'd expect a Buddhist priest to have, but this is a robot we're talking about after all) has not yet been hired for a real funeral.
More digital evidence surfaced showing Treasury Sec. Steve Mnuchin may have flown too close to the sun when he brought wife Louise Linton to Kentucky for a quick luncheon and a view of the solar eclipse at Ft. Knox.

A watchdog group is already demanding the government turn over documents for the trip, after Mnuchin's wife, Scottish actress Louise Linton, went on an online tirade against a reader who slammed her promotion of top designer brands on a photograph she posted.

Now, it has emerged that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky has confirmed that the trip was about more than strictly government business.

McConnell posted on Facebook with a sun-lit image of himself and Mnuchin  with no trace of Linton in the shot  outside the front door of Ft. Knox, which Mnuchin toured during the trip on Monday.

Sharing: Linton, 36, posted a photo of herself getting off a taxpayer-funded plane with her husband Steven Mnuchin, on Instagram on Monday and tagged the designers she wore

'The U.S. Department of the Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and I in front of the main door to the United States Bullion Depository at Fort Knox before we viewed the #solareclipse today,' McConnell wrote, in an image from Fort Knox, Kentucy.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington has issued a freedom of information request seeking documents about use of the government-owned plane emblazoned with 'United States of America' on the side.

A McConnell aide told the Washington Post that he and Mnuchin viewed the eclipse not from the rooftop but from the lawn, without explanation for the inaccurate online post.

According to a Treasury statement: 'The Mint staff had originally suggested that the delegation watch the eclipse from the roof but the Secretary specifically canceled that part of the tour. They watched it briefly from outside before they entered (prior to the actual time of full eclipse).'

In touch? Linton (seen wearing $30,000 of clothing with Mnuchin in Edinburgh at the start of their honeymoon) called the mother-of-three 'out of touch' and boasted about taxes she pays

Treasury said the trip was official government travel. Mnuchin also attended a luncheon with McConnell at a local chamber of commerce. The meal ended right as the solar eclipse began  in a state whose western part got to see totality.

Inside Fort Knox, McConnell got to hold a 27-pound gold bar as part of the first civilian delegation to get to view the gold for 40 years, the AP reported.

Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon has written Treasury seeking a detailed explanation for the purpose of the trip.

Big bucks: Louise Linton's outfit that she showed off on Instagram in a post that prompted a social media firestorm and has been widely bashed as tone-deaf cost close to $15,000

Linton, 36, shared a photo of herself getting off a taxpayer-funded plane with her husband, 54-year-old Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, on Instagram on Monday. She took care to tag the luxury designers she was wearing on the shot, including Tom Fort, Hermes, Valentino and Roland Mouret.

A mother of three from Oregon named Jenni Miller called out Linton in the comments section, telling her the post was 'deplorable' and saying ironically, presumably on behalf of taxpayers: 'Glad we could pay for your little getaway.' She received a long, angry rant from Linton in return, in which the actress accused Miller of being 'adorably out of touch'.

The image was innocuous, but Linton made the questionable decision to segue from the standard cheerful hashtags to a systematic namedrop of all of the brands in her outfit.

Style star: The high-end label lover has always been keen on fashion, and even walked in a 'Dressed to Kilt' charity fashion show in New York City back in 2010

'Great #daytrip to #Kentucky!' she wrote. '#nicest #people #beautiful #countryside #rolandmouret pants #tomford sunnies #hermesscarf #valentinorockstudheels #valentino'.

She concluded with a perfunctory-looking '#usa'.

A screengrab from account posted by a CNN journalist showed a second image of Linton and Mnuchin leaving the plane.

That one had apparently had the fashion hashtags removed - and had the companies she'd name-dropped tagged in the picture itself instead.

That post invoked Miller's ireand things went downhill from there.

'Cute! [kissing face emoji] Aw!!! Did you think this was a personal trip?!' replied Linton, who recently concluded a Europe-trotting honeymoon with Mnuchin.

'Adorable! Do you think the US Govt paid for our honeymoon or personal travel?'

'Lololol. Have you given more to the economy than me and my husband?' continued the minor TV and movie actress whose new, second husband's net worth was estimated by Forbes to be more than $500 million.

'Either as an individual earner in taxes OR in self sacrifice to your country?'
Mo Tanweer, who graduated from Cambridge in 2004, has now left Eton

A deputy head teacher at Eton College has quit after an exam board ruled he had breached security when he shared questions with colleagues before the A-level equivalent tests.

Mo Tanweer, head of Economics and Politics and one of the school's principal examiners, sent exam 'practice questions' to three colleagues as part of a revision programme, and some pupils have received these 'inadvertently' according to a letter sent to the boys.

The Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) board, constituted this a breach of exam security, and had voided the marks for one of the Pre-U papers, sat by candidates hoping to gain a place at top universities, as an equivalent to A levels.

Simon Henderson, the College's Head Master, sent a letter to candidates for the economics exam explaining that practice questions emailed as part of the revision programme were deemed to breach confidentiality, voiding marks.

It is not clear how the pupils became 'inadvertent recipients' of the questions, but Mr Tanweer is the only person implicated.

The boys' overall marks would instead be calculated from the results of the previous two tests on the certificate's syllabus.

Mr Henderson said: 'I am very sorry to be writing with this extremely unwelcome news. Regrettably this decision has had to be taken by the examination board because of the actions of a member of Eton's staff.

The letter sent from Head Master Simon Henderson to boys at Eton College, Windsor

'This is a matter that, as headmaster, I have taken very seriously and Mr Tanweer has now left Eton's employment.'

Mr Henderson added that the school, whose alumni include Princes William, Harry, and 19 of our country's Prime Ministers, will now be in touch with all UK universities that have given pupils firm offers for undergraduate study, to explain that the missed result was through no fault or malpractice of the boys themselves.

An Eton College spokesman told MailOnline: 'Eton College can confirm that following an investigation by the Cambridge International Examinations Board into maladministration, the Board concluded that there had been a breach of exam security by one of Eton's teachers in relation to one of the Pre-U Economics papers.

Mo Tanweer (above) left his job at Eton after an investigation revealed he had emailed three colleagues practice questions which 'breached exam security'

'Eton took this matter extremely seriously and co-operated fully with CIE's investigation throughout. The teacher concerned has left the school.

'Whilst pupils had done nothing wrong, they were inadvertent recipients of confidential information and so the Board awarded them assessed marks for that paper according to its established method.

'Eton College deeply regrets that this incident occurred.'

When asked for further clarification by the MailOnline, Eton declined to offer further comment about why sharing practice questions with staff would become a breach of security.

According to the CIE website, the Principal Examiner 'will usually have written the question paper and mark scheme.

'Their role therefore is to be responsible for coordinating the marking of the assistant examiners and/or team leaders, as well as marking candidates' scripts themselves.'

MailOnline has contacted Mr Tanweer for comment.

Mr Tanweer studied Economics at the University of Cambridge and graduated with a 2:1 in 2004, according to his LinkedIn profile.

He then went on to work in finance for two years as an Investment Banking Analyst for UBS and the Royal Bank of Scotland, before turning his talent to teaching.

Eton (file pic) Headmaster Simon Henderson told students that because of the confidential information that had been passed on to them, through no fault of their own, their marks in the exam would not be accepted by the board for the Cambridge Pre-U qualification

Mr Tanweer taught economics at private schools Merchant Taylors' in Northwood, Hertfordshire, and Oundle in Peterborough before returning to Cambridge as an academic supervisor.

He joined Eton in 2015 and was working as the Head of Economics & Politics, as well as Principal Examiner for Pre-U Economics, before leaving this month.

He is believed to live in Berkshire with his partner Emily and their son, who is three.

Cambridge Pre-U exams are post-16 qualifications where the top grade is said to be harder to achieve than an A* at A Level.

The examination website said the qualification 'prepares learners with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed at university. It promotes independent and self-directed learning in preparation for undergraduate study.'
The head of the Swiss Guard at the Vatican has said it is 'only a matter of time' before Rome is hit by a Barcelona-style terrorist attack.

Security has been stepped up at religious sites throughout Italy, including at the Vatican, since an Islamist murdered 86 people with a lorry in the French city of Nice last year.

Barriers and police and army vehicles have been placed around St. Peter's Basilica to make it harder for a vehicle to gather speed in an attack such as the one last week in Barcelona, when 13 people were murdered.

Despite threats from Islamic State, Rome and other Italian cities have so far been spared the kind of vehicle attacks that have also hit Nice, London and Berlin.

Swiss Guard chief Christoph Graf said his force (pictured in St Peter's Square) is prepared for a terrorist attack

ISIS terrorists have threatened Pope Francis (pictured) in videos

'It could perhaps be just a matter of time before there is such an attack in Rome, but we are prepared,' Christoph Graf, the commandant of the Swiss Guard, was quoted as telling the Swiss Catholic website Cath.ch.

Graf, referring to the attack in Barcelona, spoke on the sidelines of a religious ceremony in the Swiss city of Solothurn earlier this week.

Websites linked to Islamic State militants have made threats against Catholic targets in Rome in recent years.

Just yesterday ISIS released a propaganda video showing its fighters stamping on busts of Jesus, ripping pictures of the Pope in half and promising to come to Rome.

Barcelona: A terrorist murdered 13 people and injured over a hundred by driving a van into people walking on Las Ramblas. The Swiss Guard fear a similar attack in Rome

One of the criminals - named 'Abu Jindal' - looks straight at the camera and says in English: 'Remember this, you kuffar [an extremely offensive term for non-Muslims] - we will be in Rome, we will be in Rome'.

In 2015 in a video showing the beheading of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians in Libya, one of the killers said: 'Safety for you crusaders is something you can only wish for ... We will conquer Rome, by the will of Allah.'

At about the same time a website used by militants ran a photo montage showing the movement's black flag flying from the obelisk at the centre of St Peter's Square.

In an ISIS video, a criminal points his gun at a printed image of Pope Francis during a ransacking of a church

Decorations - including Jesus on the cross - were also dragged down by ISIS fighters before 'kuffar' around the world were insulted in the ISIS video

The Swiss Guard has its origins as a papal protection force in the 16th century and numbers about 110 men, all of Swiss nationality.

It shares responsibility for the protection of the pope and the Vatican with a police force of about the same size.

Italian police are responsible for patrolling the Vatican's external perimeter in Rome.

Both Vatican security forces are trained in anti-terrorism tactics and in the use of modern weapons.
Border Patrol agents in southern Arizona have seized a nearly 100-pound bundle of marijuana after spotting it flying over the border fence.

Surveillance video on Wednesday captured the large package launching through the air over the fence from Mexico to the U.S. Agents on the ground found a large, plastic-wrapped bundle worth about $48,000.

Spokeswoman Stephanie Dixon said drug smugglers are increasingly launching massive bundles of pot over the border fence, posing a danger to nearby residents and businesses because of their weight.

She said she knew of one incident in which a bundle went through the roof of a dog house.

Border Patrol agents in southern Arizona have seized a nearly 100-pound bundle of marijuana after spotting it flying over the border fence

Last month, President Donald Trump said that the danger of large bags of drugs being flung over the southern border and possibly landing on people mandated that a border fence that offers 'transparency' be built.

As horrible as it sounds, when they throw the large sacks of drugs over, and if you have people on the other side of the wall, you dont see them  they hit you on the head with 60 pounds of that stuff? Its over,' Trump said on July 13, according to Wired.

Dixon said she didn't have handy the number of such cases over the last few years.

'Not only is it illegal activity but it's extremely dangerous to the public,' she said.

It's unclear what smugglers used to launch this particular package, but in the past they've used home-made catapults and air cannons.

Last month, President Donald Trump said that the danger of large bags of drugs being flung over the southern border and possibly landing on people mandated that a border fence that offers 'transparency' be built

Sending a bundle that heavy over a fence that stands between 18 and 23 feet high would require a powerful launcher.

Dixon said agents can sometimes hear the packages being launched.

The area where the marijuana landed is near some businesses, but the Border Patrol hasn't reported any damage from Wednesday's incident nor have agents made any arrests.

Dixon said she was unaware of an investigation by Mexican authorities into where the bundle may have come from on the Mexico side.

Last year, Mexican police in Agua Prieta, Mexico, which sits on the border with Douglas, found a stolen van that had been outfitted with a 10-foot air cannon to shoot projectiles into the United States.

Images provided by Mexican authorities showed the black van with hole cut in its roof and a cannon in the back that could fire projectiles.

Authorities also said they found an air compressor apparently used to launch packages.

The Border Patrol has said in the past that the most common form of throwing bundles over the border fence involves softball-sized marijuana packages that sometimes land in residential backyards.

The Border Patrol has said in the past that the most common form of throwing bundles over the border fence involves softball-sized marijuana packages that sometimes land in residential backyards. The Mexico-Arizona border in Sonoyta, Mexico is seen in the above stock image

Smugglers pay people on the U.S. to retrieve the packages, which are then sent around the country.

High-pressure air cannons can launch much heavier packages.

Smugglers have also used trebuchets, a catapult-type launch that can be made out of wood.

Despite smugglers' creative methods to cross drugs into the U.S., marijuana seizures have dropped significantly in the Southwest over the last several years.

Agents seized 2.5 million pounds at the Southwest border in 2011.

By last year, that number had dropped to 1.3 million pounds.

The Tucson Sector, which covers most of Arizona, also saw a steep drop in pot seizures, from 1 million pounds in 2011 to 728,000 pounds last year.
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson set the execution date for convicted killer Jack Greene, just days after the state announced it obtained a new supply of the lethal injection drug midazolam.

Jack Greene, now 62, was convicted in 1992 for the murder of retired minister Sidney Burnett, of Knoxville in Johnson County.

Burnett was bound, gagged, beaten and stabbed twice with his throat slit in the 1991 slaughter  after the victim accused Greene's family of arson.

Greene is the first death row inmate to face the death penalty following the state's four-man execution back in April. His execution has been set for November 9.

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Jack Greene is the first death row inmate to have an execution date set since April after Arkansas obtains new supply of the lethal drug midazolam

Greene was convicted of killing Sidney Jethro Burnett in 1991 after Burnett and his wife accused Greene of arson

The state paid a total of $250 for midazolam, which covers the completion of two executions, according to the Department of Correction records

Greene was not said to be named one of the inmates apart of the group who were granted delayed executions due to court rulings.

Among Greene's three court trials, two were overturned, as prosecutors 'improperly used a separate court case as an aggravating circumstance,' according to the Associated Press.

Attorneys for Greene have tirelessly argued the decision to execute him as an unethical one, stating that their client suffers severe mental illness and delusions.

Attorneys said Greene possesses the notion that prison officials and attorneys are conspiring together to mask injuries he believes corrections officers inflicted upon him.

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson issued the proclamation for Greene Friday

Attorneys for Greene have argued the decision to execute him as unethical, stating that their client suffers severe mental illness

'In the coming weeks, it's imperative that the appropriate decision makers consider whether the state should execute a man in such a feeble mental state,' assistant federal defender Scott Braden said in a statement.

'The U.S. Supreme Court has been clear that the Eighth Amendment prohibits the execution of someone who cannot rationally comprehend his execution,' Braden added.

'Two-and-a-half decades of solitary confinement  piled on top of Mr. Greene's existing mental fragility  call the legality of Mr. Greene's execution into serious doubt.'

The state paid a total of $250 for the new supply of midazolam, which is intended to cover the process of two executions, according to the Department of Correction records.

The new supply will reportedly expire by January 2018.

The commonly-used sedative has been utilized in several lethal injections across the nation since it was released on the market more than 40 years ago.

Chemist and one of the inventors of midazolam, Armin Walser, discussed his disapproval for the sedative's use in an interview with New York Times back in March.

'I didn't make it for the purpose,' Dr. Walser said. 'I am not a friend of the death penalty or execution.'

Inmate Kenneth Williams, who was executed back in April, reportedly staggered and convulsed 20 times from the injection's side effects.
Italian mountain rescue crews have recovered the remains of two - and possibly three - hikers who are thought to have gone missing in the 1980s or 1990s.

The corpses were on a glacier along Mont Blanc's southern face, officials said today.

They were discovered earlier in the week by a hiker searching for artefacts from two Air India plane crashes - one from 1966 in which over 100 people died and another from 1950 in which nearly 50 perished.

'We have many missing people in that area,' Alpine rescue commander Delfino Viglione said, adding that another 20 or so hikers disappeared there over the decades.

Pictured: The area where corpses were spotted on Mont Blanc's Southern face. They were found on Wednesday on the Miage glacier by an alpinist

Alpine rescue chief Delfino Viglione said another 20 hikers went missing along the Miage glacier on the Italian side of Mont Blanc. Pictured: Rescue workers on the site after being alerted to the discovery of the remains

'We often have discoveries. We don't go in search of them but they are pointed out to us by hikers and climbers.'

Viglione said a wallet belonging to a German man who went missing while supposedly on a trip to another part of Italy in the 1990s was found in a backpack near the remains.

Italian Guardia di Finanza and firefighters officers inspect the area where corpses were spotted on Mont Blanc's southern face

A coroner was testing the remains to see if they are a match.

There was no immediate indication of who the other remains may belong to.

Glacier melting during the unusually hot summer in Europe helped reveal the remains, which were torn asunder over the years by natural glacier movements.

'The glacier continues to expel the bodies,' he said.

'In general, the remains are transported toward the valley.

'But if the glacier is melting, it increases the possibility of finding them.'

The discovery of more bodies on Mont Blanc - the highest mountain in the Alps, rising 15,781 feet above sea level - was just the latest of long-missing remains found this summer.

In August, police in southwestern Switzerland found the remains of a German hiker who went missing three decades ago in the Hohlaub glacier.

In July, Swiss police recovered the bodies of a local couple who left to feed their animals in 1942 but never returned.

Marcelin Dumoulin, a 40-year-old shoemaker at the time, and his wife Francine, a schoolteacher aged 37, had left their village of Chandolin to milk their cows in a meadow above Chandolin in the Valais canton on August 15, 1942.

Francine Dumoulin, 37, (left) and her husband Marcelin, 40. The couple went to milk their cows in 1942 but their corpses were only recovered last month

The bodies of a couple that disappeared 75 years ago were found lying in the Diablerets massif in southern Switzerland last month

Their remains were found preserved in a receding glacier, ending decades of uncertainty for their seven children.

The bodies were found lying near each other in the Diablerets massif in southern Switzerland, along with backpacks, a bottle, a book and a watch.

Also last month, body parts that could belong to passengers killed in one of the Air India crashes were found in the French Alps.

Daniel Roche, who has spent years combing the Bossons Glacier on Mont Blanc looking for remains, said he had found a hand and the upper part of a human leg.
Ten newborns in intensive care have been evacuated by plane from the path of Hurricane Harvey as the storm bears down on the Texas coast.

Flight crews worked for 18 hours straight on Thursday and Friday transporting the infants from the NICU at Driscoll Children's Hospital in Corpus Christi to Cook Children's in Fort Worth.

All of the babies were born in the past few weeks and are 'critically ill', officials said.

The evacuation of the medically fragile infants came as Harvey threatened massive storm surges and more than 35 inches of rain that are expected to devastate coastal areas.

Ten critically ill babies were evacuated by air from a hospital in Corpus Christi

The infants were all born in the past few weeks and are 'critically ill', officials said

Corpus Christi was expected to inundated with 'devastating' rain and storm surges

Flight crews worked through the night shuttling the critically ill infants out of harm's way on four different planes.

'Because of the extraordinary nature of the hurricane and the transport teams working together, these babies arrived in a dramatic way to our NICU,' Register Nurse Sheralyn Hartline, director of the NICU at Cook Childrens, said in a statement.

'Our physicians, nurses and everyone who works in the NICU are all prepared and trained for occasions exactly like this one. Every day, they are treating the sickest children with the most difficult and complex diagnoses,' Hartline said.

The National Weather Service on Friday morning urged that preparations for Harvey should be 'rushed to completion' adding that 'conditions are expected to deteriorate throughout the day'.

Crews unload one of the infants after transport from Corpus Christi to Fort Worth

The four planes shuttled back and forth through the night to complete the evacuation

Cook Children's in Fort Worth took over care of the infants from a hospital in the storm track

Eight million Texans are under hurricane warnings, with an additional one million under tropical storm warnings, as landfall quickly approaches for what could be the most powerful hurricane to hit the US in 12 years.

'Now is the time to urgently hide from the wind,' the NWS said in a flash bulletin on Friday. 'Failure to adequately shelter may result in serious injury, loss of life, or immense human suffering.'

Forecasters labeled Harvey a 'life-threatening storm' that posed a 'grave risk,' saying it could swamp several counties more than 100 miles inland and projecting it will wallop the coast not once but twice in the next week.

Sharp winds and rain had already begun to batter the coast Friday morning, with landfall predicted east of Corpus Christi sometime between 10pm Friday and 2am Saturday.

The National Hurricane Center's official five-day forecast Friday has Harvey slamming the central Texas coast, stalling and letting loose with lots of rain.

Then forecasters project the weakened but still tropical storm is likely to go back into the Gulf of Mexico, gain some strength and hit Houston next week, meaning the storm could wallop the Texas coast twice in a row.

Throughout the Texas coast, millions of people were bracing for a prolonged battering from the hurricane, which could be the fiercest such storm to hit the US in nearly a dozen years.
Activists in California plan to greet demonstrators marching as part of an alt-right rally on Saturday with dog poop.

Hundreds of dog owners plan to leave San Francisco's Crissy Field, where right-wing protest group Patriot Prayer will gather, covered in feces.

Tuffy Tuffington, a 45-year-old artist and designer, created a Facebook event page titled 'Leave your dog poop on Crissy Field' and, so far, hundreds have indicated their interest.

Hundreds of dog owners plan to leave Crissy Field (pictured), in San Francisco, California, where right-wing protest group Patriot Prayer will gather, covered in dog poop

Tuffy Tuffington, a 45-year-old artist and designer, created a Facebook event page titled 'Leave your dog poop on Crissy Field' (pictured) and, so far, hundreds have indicated their interest

'I just had this image of alt-right people stomping around in the poop,' Tuffington, who said the idea came to him as he was walking his two Patterdale terriers, Bob and Chuck, told The Guardian.

'It seemed like a little bit of civil disobedience where we didn't have to engage with them face to face.'

The group is also planning to reconvene on Sunday to 'clean up the mess and hug each other', according to Tuffington.

The demonstrations planned for Friday, Saturday and Sunday across the Bay Area raised concern among San Francisco police and elected officials two weeks after right-wing activists, including neo-Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan, fought with anti-racism protesters in the streets of Charlottesville, Virginia.

A woman was killed at that 'Unite the Right' rally when a man thought to have neo-Nazi sympathies drove his car into a crowd of counter-protesters. Nineteen other people were injured.

The Saturday event is billed as a 'free speech' rally, but critics say the Oregon-based organizer, Patriot Prayer, is a white nationalist group, pointing to plans that may include the far-right Oath Keepers to provide armed security. The group has decried racism and neo-Nazis.

Patriot Prayer founder Joey Gibson said in a video message posted on the group's Facebook page that it was 'absolutely not' white supremacist, pointing out that he is a person of color.

'What I'm trying to do is bring people together who believe in freedom, who believe in love, believe in peace and believe in free speech,' he said.

The demonstrations planned for Friday, Saturday and Sunday across the Bay Area raised concern among San Francisco police and elected officials two weeks after right-wing activists, fought with counter-demonstrators in the streets of Charlottesville, Virginia (pictured, Crissy Field)

Other ways demonstrators plan to greet Patriot Prayers include flowers, kayaks, cars, clowns and kids - each using a different tactic to battle what is seen as hate (pictured, dogs at Crissy Field, file image)

Although the presence of Patriot Prayer is bound to cause tension by appearing in notoriously liberal San Francisco, many residents see the event as an opportunity to fight back creatively.

One group created a Facebook event called 'Flowers against Fascism' filled with people who intend to greet the protesters with flowers to wear in their hair.

Also prepared to meet the protesters are kayakers, cars, clowns and kids - each using a different tactic to battle what is seen as hate.

'You have a significant number of people who would like to go and punch Nazis, and then you have people who think they should be entirely ignored,' veteran labor and LGBTQ rights activist Cleve Jones told The Guardian.

'In between you have all sorts of creative and crazy ideas. I kind of like that.'
Two Washington, DC, police officers were caught on video disparaging a crime victim and appearing to be acting inappropriately at a burglary scene.

Clarence Williams, 40, was robbed on August 8 at 2.32pm.

His private surveillance video not only shows a man using a rock to shatter a rear glass door but also shows the officers who came to investigate.

One officer appears to break out into a brief jig twice.

The other officer points to protein powder on the counter and says: 'He is probably gay' followed by laughter.

When asked why the cops would assume he was gay, Williams told DailyMail.com: 'I guess because I am a black male, I have a nice house, I'm single, and all the expensive things that were stolen from my home, I guess I would just have to be gay right?'

Surveillance video at Clarence Williams's house in southeast Washington, DC, shows two police officers laughing at the scene of a robbery on August 8

One of the officers can be heard saying: 'He is probably gay'

The day after Williams found out that his house had been ransacked he watched the surveillance footage and saw the police officers' inappropriate behavior

Officers had responded to Williams's residence for a burglar alarm but were seen on video leaving after only checking the front door.

Williams was out of the country when he received a message from his neighbor saying that the police were in his home with K-9's.

'They made a comment to my neighbor, saying: "Well what do you expect. You live in Southeast",' Williams said. 'As if I am not as important as the people in northwest.

'I pay my taxes just like everyone else. Do I not deserve the same protection? I guess a fourth of the city is not worthy of being protected because robberies and burglaries are a way of life in Southeast.'

It could not be determined if the same officers responded to both calls.

Williams said that he didn't know about the footage of the police officer until the following day because his computer was stolen.

Once he purchased a new computer, he saw the footage. He said that the officers 'were acting as if this was a joke. This is serious. This is my life'.

The surveillance video shows the female officer dancing in the home

The female officer apologized to Williams the day after he saw the video

'After viewing the video I called 911 and requested that an official come out that night,' Williams said. 'A sergeant came to my home and I played the video for her.

'She basically tried to downplay the entire thing by saying she knew the officer, and she meant no harm.

'She also said they see murders, killings shootings, rapes, etc. and that she was just trying to keep a good attitude in a bad situation, but that didn't sit well with me,' he said.

Williams then emailed the council member for his district to report what he had seen in the video.

'Within 15 minutes I had a call from the commander and he asked me to let him try to handle it internally before i went to the media. So that's what I did,' he said.

The next day, the woman featured in the video came by to apologize to Williams.

'I can tell she is truly sorry and just made a mistake. She came on her own volition no one told her to which I thought was admirable,' he said.

Lt. Christopher Thornton told Williams that an internal investigation was underway.

Williams lives in a neighborhood that is known for rampant crime, he said

When the alarms first went off, police knocked on the door. No one answered so they left

Williams decided to go to the press when he saw that the two officers who were supposed to be on desk duty during an investigation were sitting in a cruiser outside of his home

In the following two weeks, Williams noticed an increased police presence in his neighborhood. On August 22 there was a cruiser outside of his house, so Williams went up to thank the officer for being there.

'I go to say thank you to whomever is in the car, and it's the same officers I was told were on desk duty,' Williams said.

'At that point i felt like the police were just lying to keep me quiet, so I decided to go public,' he said.

DailyMail.com reached out to the Seventh District but it declined to comment.

DC police had earlier posted a video of the burglar breaking the door and ransacking the apartment.

The suspect, who wore blue New Balance sneakers, dark colored pants and a blue short-sleeve shirt, stole a computer, clothes and shoes from the home.

He is seen in surveillance footage changing clothes in Williams' house.

The burglar can be seen throwing a rock through the window on Williams's porch

The man changes his shirt and hat in the middle of the robbery but keeps socks on his hands

He allegedly got away with a computer, clothes and shoes from Williams's home

Close-up shots of the footage were posted by the DC police to help identify the burglar

It was the second time someone had robbed Williams' home in less than a month.

On July 17 Williams reported the loss of a 65-inch television, speakers, a Rolex watch, an iPad, and iPod, two MacBook computers, a digital camera, two backpacks, men's cologne, an iPhone 6 and Giorgio Armani sunglasses.

'I guess the guy is watching my home. My neighbor across the street from me has motion sensor cameras. Before the first burglary he sat on her stairs and was just watching things,' Williams said.

'My house was easy pickings. If someone is on the desk you cant really see them from the street.'

Williams says one of his neighbors was robbed by the same man last week. He is still at large.
Footage has emerged of a cobra regurgitating another massive poisonous snake that it had swallowed.

The poorly reptile was spotted by farmer Rashid Khan on his land in Manchar Village, Western India.

He helped it regurgitate the other snake while another person filmed the process.

The distressed cobra was spotted in a field owned by Indian farmer Rashid Khan

Mr Khan held the snake's tail while pushing down on the reptile with a stick to help it regurgitate

Mr Khan said: 'Sometimes the cobra would flare its hood and look straight at us at other times he would roll of the ground. It seemed to be writing in pain.'

The farmer saw from a distance that the cobra could not move and was choking.

He held the cobra's tail and began pressing it with a stick.

After a while, the cobra vomited the entire snake which was as long as the cobra itself.

A huge crowd gathered to watch the spectacle. Soon after, the villagers placed the cobra in a bag and released it into the wild.
This gun seized by armed police after a shooting in Merseyside is 'the most criminally used firearm in Britain'.

Lawyers prosecuting a case at Liverpool Crown Court revealed the weapon had been fired in 19 shootings in the last seven years.

Earlier this year, another court heard the same gun was linked to more firearms incidents than any other known weapon in the UK.

This gun seized by armed police after a shooting in Merseyside is 'the most criminally used firearm in Britain'

The Beretta 9000S self-loading pistol was discovered by police investigating a shooting in Kirkby in which a gunman jumped out of a car and sprayed bullets at another vehicle in a 'targeted attack'.

The following evening officers raided a home in Windfield Close in the town and arrested 24-year-old Adam Bigley. They found the pistol stashed behind a toilet in the bathroom - just like a scene from The Godfather.

Kim Egerton, prosecuting, said a man in the area, who happened to be a firearms instructor, recognised the sound of a gunshot. He said the weapon would have been either a Smith & Wesson or Beretta 9mm Luger, but no bullet casings were retrieved.

Prosecutors said there was no evidence to say the loaded weapon seized from Bigley just 24 hours later was the same gun.

However, the car the men were in was 'extremely similar' to a vehicle in which he had previously been stopped by police.

The following evening officers raided a home in Windfield Close in the town and arrested 24-year-old Adam Bigley (pictured)

When officers raided his parent's home, the gun was found behind the boxed-off pipes.

A magazine was attached - containing four factory-loaded 9mm live rounds - and the serial number had been erased.

The DNA of at least four people, including Bigley, was found on the safety catch of the weapon.

Bigley admitted possession of a prohibited firearm and ammunition without a firearm certificate.

He has seven previous convictions for 15 offences, including racially aggravated public disorder and cannabis possession.

Bigley was locked up for 30 months in 2014 for burglary, aggravated vehicle taking and handling stolen goods.

Police found the pistol stashed behind a toilet (pictured) in the bathroom of the house

The gun stashed behind the toilet was reminiscent of a scene from The Godfather

Andrew Alty, defending, said there was 'some evidence' his client had only agreed to mind the gun the day before.

He said: 'This defendant is being sentenced for his possession of it and not for historical use of it. That is nothing to do with him.

'Both his parents were spoken to, he lives in their house, and both said they suspected he came back with it the day before because he came back with a bag.

'His intention was to hand the weapon back to the person who originally gave it to him. He only had possession of it for one day.'

Bigley clasped his hands in prayer before Judge Norman Wright jailed him for six years and nine months.

He said: 'Gun crime in this city is extremely serious and it is disquieting to know that this particular firearm had been used on 19 previous occasions.

'You, of course, will know that firearms, particularly pistols of this sort, are extremely highly valued in criminal organisations.

Pictured, armed police at the scene of the gun seizure in Windfield Close in Kirkby

'They are not something that is just freely passed around. Being so valuable, only extremely trusted people are asked to mind or hold these sort of weapons.

'The conclusion I draw in this case is you were someone who was highly trusted by the owners or principals users of this firearm, that is why it was given to you.'

Major Crime Detective Inspector Elaine Coulter said after the case: 'Once again working with our communities we have taken a lethal weapon from the streets of Merseyside.

'Those people who are found in possession of firearms are committing an extremely serious offence.

'Whether they intend on using them or not, looking after or storing them makes it easier for other criminals to commit serious crime.

'Bigley is now facing a long time in prison and I hope this sentence makes other people realise that possessing firearms of any type carries huge risks and is simply not worth it.'
A woman from Florida is being labelled a 'hero' online after taking on another white woman who was allegedly being racist in the lobby of a Florida hotel.

Colleen Dagg ended up physically fighting the lady after she apparently made some disparaging comments about Haitians.

A video that was posted to Twitter then showed the woman confronting Dagg who was sitting in a chair in the lobby of a hotel, and who then began hitting her.

Colleen Dagg, seen here on the left, was caught on camera pummeling Summer Cortts, seen in the teal dress, after she made some racist comments in the lobby of a Florida hotel

The video did not capture the racist comments but Cortts was seen getting in Dagg's face

In the days since the fight, Colleen Dagg, pictured, has set up several social media accounts including Twitter and Instagram

Dagg said that before the video recording began, the teal-dressed woman since identified as Summer Cortts, 39, was goading Dagg with racist remarks about a black Haitian security guard.

She was told to shut up.

Dagg then took off her shoes in the building's lobby while Cortts taunted her.

'Why are you taking your shoes off?' the woman asks. 'You gonna hit me with one of your shoes? I'm gonna f***** shoot you in your f****** face.'

A security guard is then heard telling both women to leave.

'I'm taking my shoes off so that if she puts her hands on me, I can defend myself,' Dagg responds.

Cortts then got in Dagg's face and shoved her.

The fight lasted for several minutes before security guards and finally cops intervened

At this point, Dagg lost her temper. 'You put your f****** hands on me?!' she exclaimed, and began pummeling the woman until hotel staff, and eventually cops, intervened.

Colleen Dagg is being hailed a hero for beating up a another woman whom she claimed was racist. The fight was recorded and posted to social media

The person who originally shared the video, Austin, explained: 'Unprovoked violence is bad.

'But provoked violence, especially as a response to racism, seems to be A-OKAY with the internet.'

The woman who was spewing the racist comments, which was not caught on camera, claimed to be the victim in the video after being assaulted by Dagg, despite provoking the fight.

Eventually, a police officer arrives and tells the teal-dressed lady to 'calm down and take a seat' multiple times. The woman denies she hit Dagg first, but Dagg turns to the person filming and confirms that a recording was made.

She exclaimed that she was 'three months pregnant' and is insisted that Dagg be charged and sent to jail.

Dagg has received numerous plaudits online for her actions and for standing up to racism

In the time since the fight occurred, Dagg has responded to her internet adulation by signing up for her own Twitter account where she has defended her decision to retaliate against the woman who was seemingly goading her.

Dagg has already amassed 22,000 followers on her Instagram account which has only been active for one day

'This is a young country, built on racism. Black people have been disenfranchised for over 250 years. The faster white people accept and validate the truth, the closer we'll come to a place of peace and understanding. Fighting racism is dependent upon using my white privilege for the right reasons,' she wrote on Twitter.

'There were 2 examples of white privilege in the video. The woman in the blue dress tried to use her white privilege on me, the fact that I'm white too must have slipped her mind. If you see it, say something. It's really that simple. Disclaimer; some people can't handle the truth. Stay ready,' she continued.

The Coral Springs Police Department says the fight took place on Tuesday at the La Quinta Inn near For Lauderdale.

Officers arrested Cortts, a Boca Raton resident, and charged her with disorderly conduct and inciting an affray because she 'escalated the situation by placing her hands on Colleen Dagg.'
Chloe Ayling has posted her first message to Instagram since her harrowing kidnap ordeal.

The 20-year-old model told police she had been lured to a fake photoshoot in Milan where she was drugged, stripped and handcuffed before being bundled into a suitcase in the boot of a car.

She was held hostage in a remote farmhouse for six days by a gang threatening to auction her for sex online unless her modelling agency paid a 270,000 ransom.

Chloe Ayling has posted her first message to Instagram since her harrowing kidnap ordeal

Italian police are continuing to hold their prime suspect  Polish odd-job man Lukasz Herba, who moved to the UK several years ago.

The model wrote on social media today: 'Thank you to everyone who has supported me throughout, I really appreciate the kind messages .

'Obviously I have left the agency who got me in that situation by sending me to the fake studio, but I have decided to keep on doing what I love and not give up because of some evil people in the world.

'Never take life for granted and be safe - the most terrible thing can happen when you least expect it.'

The 20-year-old model told police she had been lured to a fake photoshoot in Milan where she was drugged, stripped and handcuffed before being bundled into a suitcase in the boot of a car

Miss Ayling earlier told Italian police in her official statement that her kidnapper did not sexually assault her but instead gave her gifts of chocolate and underwear.

The mother-of-one told officers: 'From the second night he took the cuffs from my feet, assuring me that sooner or later I'd be freed so I had no need to escape.

'From that moment I always slept in his room, sharing the bed. To be clear, he didn't molest me sexually or ask for sexual favours.

'He never sexually molested me or asked for sexual favours because Black Death prohibited or severely punished members who touched kidnapped girls.

Miss Ayling told Italian police in her official statement that he did not sexually assault her but instead gave her gifts of chocolate and underwear

'He held me prisoner for entire time of my kidnapping, guarded me, stopped me from going out or escaping, threatening me that 'they' would kill me if I did so. I never went outside because he prohibited it.'

But questions were growing over apparent inconsistencies in the story behind the kidnapping of the British model.

Paolo Storati, deputy prosecutor, described Herba as 'a person affected by mythomania'  an abnormal or pathological tendency to exaggerate or tell lies.

It also emerged the alleged kidnapper tried to sell a story to a tabloid newspaper while holding Miss Ayling captive.

Kidnap plot: Police in Italy say Lukasz Herba , pictured, 'kidnapped and tried to sell a British model on the dark web for 270,000'

Shopping: Ms Ayling's alleged abductor took the mother of one on a trip to buy shoes in Milan, pictured, during her six-day ordeal, prompting Italian press to raise questions

Herba emailed the Daily Mirror two days into the abduction  under the heading 'British model kidnapped by Russian mafia'  offering to sell the story with photos of her.

An Italian police source revealed they were looking into the possibility that Miss Ayling and Herba may have been collaborating, but as of yet they have been unable to prove this theory.

'During the first two days of questioning, neither Miss Ayling or Herba co-operated with the police,' the source said.

'The pair may have been seen together on other occasions. We also cannot find any trace of the agency that allegedly lured her to the country for the photoshoot.'
Shane Schindler, 30, will spend between eight and 30 years in jail

A man has been jailed for eight to 20 years for using a hammer to pummel a mannequin which police had set up to look like a homeless person in a bid to catch a serial killer who was murdering vagrants.

Shane Schindler, 30, was sentenced in Las Vegas on Thursday for attacking the dummy in February this year.

Police set it up in a vacant lot near where two homeless men had been bludgeoned to death in the months beforehand in a bid to catch their killer.

As part of a plea deal with prosecutors, Schindler will not face charges for those killings.

He has never admitted to either of them but confessed after his arrest that he believed the mannequin was a person when he attacked it.

Police believe Schindler was responsible for bludgeoning two sleeping homeless men to death and injuring a third.

However cops admit they have no hard evidence to prove this.

In June, he pleaded guilty to murdering an inanimate object. His lawyer told CBS that he said nothing during his sentencing hearing on Thursday.

It is not clear how or when the exact length of his sentence will be determined.

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Schindler was filmed on February 22 removing his 4-lb ball peen hammer from a plastic bag (left) to strike the mannequin on the head twice (right)

The 30-year-old Michigan native wore a black hoodie and dark trousers to carry out the attack

Schindler was caught by police who were investigating the murders of Daniel Aldape and David Dunn, two homeless men who were beaten to death in January and February.

Another homeless man was assaulted months earlier and survived but did not get a glimpse of his attacker.

Suspecting a serial killer with a specific taste for homeless men, Las Vegas Police detectives laid out the dummy on February 22 and covered the back of its head to make it appear as though it were a real person.

Police swooped on him within seconds of watching the attack on surveillance cameras

They had set up the dummy to look like a sleeping homeless man beneath a blanket

Schindler's four-pound ball peen hammer was confiscated at the scene

Police said it was 'good for the community' that Schindler was off the streets

They watched on surveillance footage as Schindler, a Michigan native, approached it with a plastic bag.

He watched the dummy for several seconds then calmly removed his weapon from the bag and launched at the dummy.

After striking it twice in quick succession, he walked away slowly.

Police swooped on him seconds later and took him in to custody.

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Captain Andrew Walsh spoke of his relief earlier this year that Schindler had taken the plea deal.

'This is good for the community, that he's taking this deal.

'He's off the streets'.
President Donald Trump signed a disaster declaration from the official presidential retreat at Camp David in response to the Category 4 storm Hurricane Harvey.

Trump said in a tweet early this afternoon that he 'just arrived at Camp David, where I am monitoring the path and doings of Hurricane Harvey (as it strengthens to a Class 3). 125 MPH winds!'

Later in the evening, as the hurricane's damage escalated, he tweeted that he had signed a 'Disaster Proclamation'.

'At the request of the Governor of Texas, I have signed the Disaster Proclamation, which unleashes the full force of government help!' the president wrote.

The president and first lady departed this afternoon for the country retreat near Thurmont, Maryland, a location that a White House official stressed is just 45 minutes away from Washington.

'It is just as well-resourced as the White House, so hell have access to anybody, all the communications means that he might need,' Homeland Security Adviser Tom Bossert told reporters during a televised briefing. 'So it's not a trip. I wouldn't characterize it as a trip.'

It's Trump's third time visiting the naval support facility that functions as a private retreat for sitting presidents. He's joined on the weekend excursion by son Barron, daughter Ivanka, son-in-law Jared Kushner and grandchildren Arabella, Theodore and Joseph, as well as the first lady.

Donald Trump will keep an eye on Hurricane Harvey from the official presidential retreat at Camp David

The president and first lady departed for Thurmont, Maryland, a location that a White House official stressed is just 45 minutes away from Washington

US President Donald Trump walks with granddaughter Arabella Rose Kushner (2L), son Barron Trump (3R) grandson Joseph Frederick Kushner (2R) and US first lady Melania Trump to Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House

Arabella Kushner waves to reporters and she walks with her grandfather, President Donald Trump, to Marine One on Friday

Ivanka Trump walks with husband Jared Kushner and son Theodore James Kushner towards the Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House prior to their departure

The White House insisted Friday that the administration is prepared for the storm that is bearing down on Texas and that Trump can monitor it from Camp David just as well as he could from the White House.

'For those of you in America thinking Camp David is far away, its right up the road,' Bossert explained.

Trump's homeland security adviser rejected a comparison of the weather event that will also affect New Orleans to Hurricane Katrina, which became a blight on President George W. Bush's presidency, and declared that 'every disaster is different.'

Bossert also noted that the 2005 storm that hit 12 years ago this week was a 'staggering event that took place in just the perfect condition.'

'What we've done has gotten a lot better as a government,' the White House official who worked at the Federal Emergency Management Agency at the time of Katrina said.

Vice President Mike Pence is staying behind to keep tabs on the situation.

He got a briefing this afternoon, according a tweet sent from his account as Trump was arriving at Camp David.

'Briefed by @TomBossert45 on the latest #HurricaneHarvey developments. @POTUS' top priority is the safety of the public & first responders,' he said alongside a photo of himself and Bossert.

Earlier in the afternoon Pence said that the storm 'continues to strengthen.'

'Our prayers for safety are with those in the path of the storm,' he said.

A NOAA satellite image of Hurricane Harvey at 3.30pm Friday clearly showed the storms eye as the storm nears landfall

Heavy rainfall of as much as 35 inches plus strong storm surges are expected to combine for 'devastating' flooding

First Lady Melania Trump said on her account Friday, 'For those living near the path of #HurricaneHarvey stay safe! Thoughts & prayers of an entire country are with you.'

As Trump was leaving, he sent out a tweet urging people in the storm's path to follow instructions.

'I encourage everyone in the path of #HurricaneHarvey to heed the advice & orders of their local and state officials,' Trump said.

The White House sent out a picture of him conferring with Bossert and Chief of Staff John Kelly in the Oval Office around the same time.

A statement that accompanied the picture said Trump 'continues to closely monitor Hurricane Harvey and the preparedness and response efforts of State, local, and Federal officials.'

Before leaving the White House, it said, Trump received a briefing from Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Brock Long, Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Elaine Duke, Bossert and Kelly.

He also spoke to Governors Greg Abbott of Texas and John Bel Edwards of Louisiana 'and committed to providing assistance as appropriate.'

A traffic sign warns of weather conditions in Corpus Christi on Friday. Harvey is expected to be the strongest hurricane to hit the US since Katrina in 2005

'This storm will likely be very destructive for several days. The President encourages people in the path of this dangerous storm to heed the advice and orders of their local and State officials,' it said. 'Those who ignore evacuation orders could be putting both themselves and first responders in danger.'

Abbott has warned that Hurricane Harvey will be 'a major disaster'.

Texas is bracing for catastrophic flooding, power outages, winds up to 130 mph and 35+ inches of rain on top of storm surges up to 12 feet.

The storm was upgraded to a Category 3 hurricane on Friday afternoon, with winds of 120 mph.

Harvey is on course to make landfall as the strongest storm since the devastating Katrina 12 years ago, triggering 'catastrophic' floods in an area that processes some seven million barrels of oil a day in what could prove a major new test for Trump's administration.

'What you dont know and what nobody else knows right now is the magnitude of flooding that will be coming,' Abbott said in a press conference on Friday afternoon, adding that the state 'will be dealing with immense, really record-setting flooding in multiple regions across the state of Texas.'

Forecasters have labeled Harvey a 'life-threatening storm' that poses a 'grave risk.' It could swamp several counties more than 100 miles inland and wallop the coast not once but twice in the next week.

Several counties were put under under mandatory evacuation orders, and residents not under orders to leave were urged to move away from the ocean.

'Now is not the time to lose faith in your government institutions. Those emergency managers giving you advice and making recommendations for you to evacuate are doing so with your best interest at heart. We encourage you to listen to them,' Bossert said in opening remarks at the White House's news conference on Friday.

Bossert clarified later that he was not referring to residents' faith in the Trump administration when he made that comment.

'Im telling you from my own personal experience that its important in every emergency, and Ive been through a lot of them, to remind people to listen to their state and local officials. Because, inevitably, people dont, and then they end up thinking they wish they had,' he said. 'So you have nothing to lose but your life, and I want you to take it seriously, and I want you to listen to those state and local officials.'

Continuing he said, 'Im not worried about you losing faith in the federal government, Im worried about you losing faith in the state and local government that provides you the best information that they have.

'And so dont worry about parsing whether theyre right or wrong. If theyre asking you to evacuate and telling you to do it now, listen to their advice.'

Bossert said, 'Oftentimes people try to supplant their own judgement for theirs, and what they dont understand is the number of time and man-hours that go into planning those evacuation routes....So have a little faith in the professionalism of your emergency managers, listen to their advice, and youll be better off for it.

'And lastly, Id say if you do, and youre out of harms way, you dont put a responders life in jeopardy later, and you allow us to recover more quickly, which is really the goal,' he said.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders later said that Trump will 'try' to visit Texas 'early next week' to view the damage.

'You'll hear from the President later, I'm sure, if it merits,' Bossert said. 'Lets hope that this event fizzles and that the forecasts are all wrong, but I dont think that is the right thing to hope for right now. We're executing and we're going to do what it takes to save peoples lives and to make their lives easier as they sustain damage.'
Add another Democrat to the long list of 'potential' presidential candidates: Former Saturday Night Live comedian Sen. Al Franken could get talked into running, his political associates say.

Franken, who self-mockingly named his latest book 'Giant of the Senate,' would run if he was persuaded that he is the best member of his party to take on President Donald Trump.

'He's not the type of person to crawl over everyone's dead carcasses to get to the White House, former Minneapolis mayor R.T. Rybak and Democratic National Committee vice chairman told The Hill newspaper.

Sen. Al Franken, who self-mockingly named his latest book 'Giant of the Senate,' would run if he was persuaded that he is the best member of his party to take on President Donald Trump

Although his spokesman said Franken 'is not going to run for president in 2020,' others have posited that a Franken candidacy is no laughing matter.

He has skewered Trump nominees in confirmation hearings, evening getting Attorney Gen. Jeff Sessions to issue a statement on his Russia contacts that later proved false (he had them), and has earned a following for his attacks on his rivals.

The Democratic left is certain to hold major sway in the primary, giving a shot to liberal Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and others  or someone like Franken should heavyweights stay out.

'Democrats should take a close look at the story Sen. Franken is telling about his upbringing, why he is a Democrat, and how he ties those those two together,' Adam Parkhomenko, a die-hard Hillary Clinton fan, told the paper.

BIDEN TIME: Vice President Joe Biden said: 'Do I regret not being president? Yes'

HAVE YOU GOT A WARREN? Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) speaks during the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee hearing in the Capitol building on July 19, 2017 in Washington, D.C.

SEEMS LIKE OLD TIMES: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) could run again. He turns 76 in September

GOPHER IT!: Another Minnesotan, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, also could run

CAN'T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG? Gov. John Kasich (R-OH) participates in a news conference with Gov. John Hickenlooper (D-CO)

THIS COULD GET LOOPY: Gov. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) speaks participate during a news conference with Gov. John Kasich (R-OH)

DON'T CROSS DELANEY: Representative John Delaney, a Democrat from Maryland, has already announced a presidential run

'LET HIM ANSWER THE QUESTION': Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., questions former FBI Director James Comey during the Senate Select Intelligence Committee hearing on "Russian Federation Efforts to Interfere in the 2016 U.S. Elections"

Franken joins a raft of potential candidates who might jump in should the circumstances appear inviting.

Vice President Joe Biden may still have the itch, having told the Washington Post this spring, 'Do I regret not being president? Yes.'

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who weakened Hillary Clinton even though he failed to beat her, could run again. Sanders turns 76 in September.

Even little known candidates are gearing up. Maryland Rep. John Delaney has already announced.

Freshman Sen. Kamala Harris of California got attention during a Russia hearing, and GOP efforts to rein her in only activated party faithful.

Trump capitalized on a crowded field to win the 2016 GOP nomination, as two crowded lanes consisting of conservatives and more moderate alternatives faced off.

Axios reported about plans by Ohio GOP. Gov. John Kasich, the last challenger to drop out against Trump, to continue tours and events with Democratic Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper  raising the prospect of a bipartisan challenge. The report says some Democrats are apoplectic about the idea.
A bus aide was sentenced to 20 months in prison, five years probation and 360 hours of community service for assaulting a 21-year-old autistic man in Boulder, Colorado on Friday.

Monica Burke, 52, who has since been banned from working with at-risk people was working for the St. Vrain Valley School District in Colorado as a bus assistant.

The school district bused him daily to Firefly Autism, a nonprofit school in Denver.

It was during those 50-mile trips that the abuse occurred in August 2016.

The sentencing comes after she pleaded guilty to added counts of second-degree assault against an at-risk person and third-degree assault in July.

Over six days, Shiva Rai was kicked and hit, sprayed in the face with aerosol disinfectant and told he was disgusting by Burke.

Burke was sentenced after District Judge Ingrid Bakke heard emotional statements from Shiva's family, Burke and the video excerpts of a school bus tape.

Monica Burke pictured above was sentenced to 20 months of prison, five years probation, 360 days of community service and banned from working with at-risk people

'You spray something toxic at something you want to kill,' Vhim Rai, Shiva's father told the judge.

'We pray and ask that no other at-risk person has to go through what we went through.'

Shiva's autism is so severe that he doesn't speak and is extremely sensitive to sound.

Prior to Burke' sentencing Shiva's family received a $3.85million settlement from the St. Vrain Valley School District, which Matthew Wiggins, a spokesman for the school district, said would help provide for Shiva's future needs.

The family filed a complaint in February with the U.S. Department of Educations Office for Civil Rights, which accepted the case on the grounds that employees of St. Vrain Valley Schools discriminated against Shiva because of his race, national origin and disability, according to the Denver Post.

Burke reaches out to hug her husband after her sentencing in Boulder, Colorado on Friday

And also because the district failed to respond appropriately to the harassment.

The school district learned of potential abuse in August 2016, when a teacher at the school reported disturbing behavior on the school bus.

However, the school district did not begin investigating the report until two days later, according to the Denver Post.

An alert teacher reported that he thought he saw Burke screaming at Shiva during a bus stop.

And that 'Shiva was raising his hands to protect himself,' according to an arrest affidavit by Longmont police Detective Mark Cooper.

Burke's attorney said that suffered from severe depression and post-traumatic stress disorder for years after she was raped as a teenager

William Hall Jr., the bus driver at the time of the assaults has also been charged with two misdemeanor counts of failure to report abuse and exploitation of an at-risk person.

'The circumstances surrounding Shiva's abuse provide a somber reminder of the capacity of some to commit acts of cruelty against the most innocent and vulnerable members of our community,' Qusair Mohamedbhai, the Rai's family attorney, said.

The case drew the attention of the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights, which reached a compliance agreement with the school district that includes proper hiring and training of staff and ensuring bus camera footage is preserved for at least six months.

Burke's attorney, Tanner Spracklen, said she received little to no training for assisting autistic and other special-needs students and that she suffered from severe depression and post-traumatic stress disorder for years after she was raped as a teenager.

Burke told the judge that she had been suffering 'pent-up rage and unresolved issues in my life, and unfortunately Shiva was the target'.
A terror suspect drove at police outside Buckingham Palace and yelled 'Allahu akbar' while reaching for a 4ft sword before he was arrested by three unarmed officers.

The 26-year-old from Luton was wrestled to the ground and incapacitated with CS gas by the officers, two of which suffered injuries, at about 8.30pm last night.

Metropolitan Police said the suspect had been arrested under the Terrorism Act and was currently in custody in a central London police station.

The force revealed how the man had deliberately driven at a police van parked near the Mall roundabout in front of the palace, before stopping in front of the vehicle.

As three unarmed PCs exited the van and approached the blue Toyota Prius, the suspect reached for a 4ft sword in the footwell.

Following a struggle, the suspect and two officers were taken to hospital to be treated for minor injuries, while the third officer did not require treatment.

Officers remain vigilant outside Buckingham Palace after a terror incident at the landmark last night at about 8.30pm

The 26-year-old from Luton was wrestled to the ground and incapacitated with CS gas by the officers, two of which suffered injuries, at about 8.30pm last night

Metropolitan Police revealed how the man had deliberately driven at a police van parked near the Mall roundabout in front of the palace, before stopping in front of the vehicle

A large police cordon is put up at the far end of The Mall. Pictured in the distant background is Buckingham Palace

Commander Dean Haydon, the head of the Met's Counter Terrorism Command, said: 'I would like to pay tribute to the bravery and professionalism of these officers who quickly brought this incident under control.

'Their vigilance, courage and the swiftness of their response demonstrates how our officers are protecting the public at this time.

'Officers from the Counter Terrorism Command are now investigating and searches are being carried out in the Luton area today.

'We believe the man was acting alone and we are not looking for other suspects at this stage.

'While we cannot speculate on what the man was intending to do - this will be determined during the course of the investigation - it is only right that we investigate this as a terrorist incident at this time.

'I would urge anybody who witnessed the incident or has any information or images that may assist the investigation to contact the confidential hotline on 0800 789 321.'

Commander Haydon added: 'This is a timely reminder that the threat from terrorism in the UK remains severe.

'The police, together with the security services, are doing everything we can to protect the public and we already have an enhanced policing plan over the Bank Holiday weekend to keep the public safe.'

As three unarmed PCs exited the van and approached the blue Toyota Prius, the suspect reached for a 4ft sword in the footwell.

Police rushed to the scene and set up a cordon just yards from Buckingham Palace in London

Police had previously described the weapon as a knife but have now said it is a '4ft sword'.

A taxi driver at the scene said: 'I asked an officer if he got away, and he said that there was only one attacker and two coppers got whacked on their hands.

'This bloke had driven on the wrong side of the road and when police came out to challenge him, and say that he had gone the wrong way, the bloke got out the car.

'He had a big machete. He was waving it at the policemen who managed to get him on the ground.

'Hopefully no-one has been badly hurt, there were so many police cars it was a bit of a hold up.'

One woman said her partner had seen the blade and initially though it was a sword.

Eyewitnesses revealed how the hero officers wrestled the man to the ground and received hand injuries. Both have been discharged from hospital

Officers rushed to Buckingham Palace after a man armed with a knife was arrested on Friday night

The Metropolitan Police confirmed no other people were caught up or injured during the incident

One witness described seeing the man wrestled from a car by police having apparently driven his vehicle towards them.

Social media users suggested the alleged attacker was carrying a sword - while others said he was holding a machete.

Kiana Williamson said: 'We turned up and there was one police van and one car, there was also a civilian's car that had veered towards the police car.

'They were trying to get the man out of the car, shouting, more police were arriving on to the scene and the man was fighting back.

'I saw one injured policeman with an injury to his arm although it didn't look severe. He was being tended to by another officer.

'The man had been restrained and looked almost unconscious by the side of the road.

'I didn't see the car driving but the car had been left at the side of the road and an eye witness had said that he had driven towards the police car.'

The whole encounter lasted around one minute, she added.

The Metropolitan Police confirmed a man was arrested on suspicion of GBH and assault after the incident outside Buckingham Palace

The Metropolitan Police said it was too early to know whether the incident was terror related.

Witness Nicole Kyle was walking home when she saw armed police swoop on the scene and quickly put up a cordon.

The 25-year-old consultant said: 'I was walking toward the Mall and St James's Park when I saw police rush down toward the palace in great numbers.

'As we got further down the Mall we saw armed police outside a police van, at which point we were able to walk closer to the palace still, where we were eventually stopped by a cordon.

'All we were told was that there's been an incident.

'A few minutes later police came by to have us clear the area and move further away from the palace.

'We then saw that police had expanded the cordon. It looks like the cordon is continuing to expand.'

Photographs posted online showed police cars outside the palace and armed officers later set up a cordon.

Photographs posted online showed police cars outside the palace and armed officers later set up a cordon

A police officer stood guard at a cordon after police arrested a man carrying a knife outside the palace

The Metropolitan Police confirmed no other people were caught up or injured during the incident.

One police officer at the scene refused to speculate on whether the weapon was a knife or a sword.

But he told MailOnline that since the London Bridge atrocity earlier this year his colleagues feared being involved in an attack.

He said: 'You never think you're going to be in the day these things happen.'

Almost two hours after the incident, cordons around the palace were still in place with huge yellow barriers closed across roads.

At the Admiralty Arch - which leads to the Mall - a group of heavily armed Diplomatic Protection Group officers were allowed through the cordon.

It is more than half a mile from the Palace itself but police have closed down the road as a precaution following last night's attack.

Bemused tourists were shepherded out of the cordon with dozens stopping to ask officers what had happened at the scene.

A police officer stood at a cordon after police arrested a man carrying a knife outside on the Mall

Cordons around the palace were still in place late on Friday night, with huge yellow barriers closed across roads

Detective Superintendent Guy Collings said: 'A man in his mid-twenties has been arrested by police after they spotted a weapon inside his car.

'The quick and brave actions of both officers meant that the suspect was detained very quickly.

'No members of the public had any interaction with this individual at the scene. He will now be questioned by detectives in police custody.

'It is too early in this investigation to speculate any further.'

A force spokesman added: 'Officers are on scene at the Mall outside Buckingham Palace. A man has been arrested on suspicion of GBH and assault on police.

'During the course of detaining him, two male police officers suffered minor injuries to their arm.

'The London Ambulance Service were called and they were treated at the scene. They have not been taken to hospital.

'No others persons have been reported injured. Officers remain on scene and enquiries are ongoing.'

The Queen is not in the capital and is currently staying at her Scottish residence, Balmoral.
The war on statues continues to expand its scope, and now a New York statue of Peter Stuyvesant is the target of ire, following a call for the removal of a statue of Christopher Columbus.

After Mayor Bill DeBlasio said he would erase all 'symbols of hate' in the city a Jewish activist group is calling for the removal of the Peter Stuyvesant statue in Manhattan and all traces of the Dutch governor and director general of the colony of New Netherland, which would later be named New York by the English.

'Peter Stuyvesant was an extreme racist who targeted Jews and other minorities including Catholics and energetically tried to prohibit them from settling in then New Amsterdam,' said Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, the head of the Shurat HaDin-Israel Law Center told the New York Post.

The Peter Stuyvesant statue has become the newest target in the war on statues as a Jewish group wants to see it removed along with other Stuyvesant references in New York City

Mayor Bill deBlasio's assertion that he would remove all 'symbols of hate' has provoked an avalanche of attacks on historical monuments in New York

'New York, of all American cities, which boasts such important Jewish history and claims such a present day vibrant Jewish community, should take the lead in denouncing Stuyvesant's bigotry.'

As a prominent New York historical figure, removing traces of Stuyvesant could prove a daunting task.

Then there's Stuyvesant High School, the most prestigious of the public schools, which arguably accepts only the brightest students in the city.

If New York stops using Peter Stuyvesant's name, what happens to Bed-Stuy

The premiere public high school in New York City is named after Peter Stuyvesant

Then there is the issue of the entire Brooklyn neighborhood called Bedford-Stuyvesant.

The statue of the man himself sits in Stuyvesant Town, a large cluster of private residential buildings that some would consider a New York neighborhood unto itself.

According to the New York Post, Stuyvesant, who had previously fount to allow the Jewish people who he described as 'deceitful,' 'very repugnant' and 'blasphemous' to settle after orders from the Dutch West India Company.

Darshan-Leitner suggests a name swap, replacing the name of Stuyvesant with that of Asher Levy, one of the first Jewish settlers in New Amsterdam.

NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio is weighing decision on whether to remove statue of Italian explorer Christopher Columbus

A spokesman for the New Netherlands Institute, says the idea is 'ridiculous' and argues the 'treasonous' Confederates being taken down is entirely different.

'This was about customs in the 17th century,' said the spokesman, arguing that Stuyvesant opposed any religion outside of his own church to maintain social cohesion and due to ignorant ideas about disease,' the spokesman told the Post.

'They should talk about the history, but not start removing statues.'

Meanwhile a contentious debate about a very large and very old statue of Itlain explorer Christopher Columbus, could be removed under the Mayor's 'symbols of hate' idea.

Mayor de Blasio is reportedly considering the move, according to CBS News, after ordering a review in the wake of the deadly events in Charlotesville, Virginia earlier this month.

The statue, which is over 100 years old, sits atop is a traffic circle in Manhattan, located at the intersection of Eighth Avenue, Broadway, Central Park West and Central Park South.

The statue, which is over 100 years old, is a controversial for some who say the man who is credited with discovering the new world was an active participant in the slave trade

The review, ordered by de Blasio who is running for re-election as a Democrat this November, is part of an effort to remove 'symbols of hate.'

'We have to look at everything here,' de Blasio said during Democratic a mayor debate held Wednesday evening.

Democratic City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito echoed the mayor's stance, saying the memorial celebrates a disputable historical figure.

'I will wait for the commission, as I said Christopher Columbus is a controversial figure to many of us particularly in the Caribbean and I think that that has to be looked at, when you have to look at history we have to look at it thoroughly and clearly,' CBS reported her as saying Monday.

Columbus has been hailed in American-lore as discovering the new world on his expedition in 1492 on behalf on the Spanish empire. But critics note his cruel treatment of the native inhabitants of the Caribbean and South America and his active participation in the slave trade.

The statue was offered as a gift to New York by the city's Italian community in 1892, and groups such as the NYPD Columbia Association, which includes thousands of Italian American police officers, are fighting to keep the statue in place.

The mayor's Republican opponent, Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis, also says the statue should stay put.

'Even Christopher Columbus, the founder of our nation, is under attack,' Malliotakis said Wednesday, later clarifying that she misspoke in calling Columbus the founder of the US.
Savanna Greywind, 22, was last seen at her apartment Saturday afternoon

Police in Fargo, North Dakota arrested two people in connection with a missing pregnant woman and newborn baby found in an apartment building where the woman was last seen.

Fargo Police Chief David Todd released a statement early Friday saying William Henry Hoehn, 32, and Brooke Lynn Crews, 38, were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit kidnapping of 22-year-old Savanna Greywind, who was last seen at her apartment Saturday afternoon.

Hoehn and Crews were said to be Greywind's neighbors and that she had gone to their apartment to help them with a sewing project before she disappeared.

During a press conference on Friday, Todd said that investigators discovered a newborn baby girl in the apartment with Crews.

It's believed that the baby is Greywind's child, but authorities are waiting for DNA testing confirmation.

At the time of her disappearance, Greywind was said to be eight months pregnant.

The newborn is being taken care of at a medical facility.

Todd said that Hoehn and Crews were interviewed by detectives at the police station on Thursday and that both suspects were initially cooperative, but when asked about what happened to Greywind, they both asked for lawyers and stopped answering questions.

At that point, Todd said, they were arrested and charged with felony conspiracy to commit kidnapping.

Todd said that specialized search teams were dispatched to search the area and that a cadaver dog pointed towards what appeared to be an abandoned vehicle.

A search of the car did not produce anything, however.

Brooke Lynn Crews, 38, was arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit kidnapping in the disappearance of Greywind. Investigators found Crews in her apartment, alongside a newborn baby believed to be Greywind's daughter

William Henry Hoehn, 32, was arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit kidnapping in Greywind's disappearance. He and Crews were taken into custody on Thursday

Police are asking neighborhood residents to come forward if they saw this Jeep, belonging to Crews and Hoehn, on Saturday or Sunday, the day of and following Greywind's disappearance

Authorities are now asking area residents to assist in searching for signs of suspicious activity or evidence in areas that police are not able to search, such as in their garages, sheds, gazebos, dumpsters and vacation properties.

Police are also looking for information from anybody who might have seen a brown 1996 Jeep belonging to Hoehn and Crews on either Saturday or Sunday  the day and day after Greywind's disappearance.

When asked if there are any other suspects in Greywind's disappearance, Todd said, 'No, there are not. I think we have the right people.'

Tarita Silk, a sister-in-law of Greywind's mother, said police informed the family that a 'two-day-old healthy baby girl' was taken from the apartment where Greywind lived with her parents, according to KFGO radio.

Todd said his department is receiving help from outside agencies and that officers have used aircraft, watercraft and police dogs in order to try to find her.

Searches in the Fargo and Grand Forks areas have not been successful thus far.

Tarita Silk, a sister-in-law of Greywind's mother, said police informed the family that a 'two-day-old healthy baby girl' was taken from the apartment where Greywind lived with her parents

Silk said some family members were searching an area in Minnesota 30 miles east of Fargo for Savanna after receiving a tip

The Greywind family is offering a $7,000 reward for information that leads to solving the case and finding Savanna

Silk said some family members were searching an area in Minnesota 30 miles east of Fargo after receiving a tip.

'We just want Savanna to come home. We're prepared for the worst,' Silk said. 'The biggest thing now is for anybody who has any information to come forward.'

The Greywind family is offering a $7,000 reward for information that leads to solving the case.

Fargo police said in a statement released on Facebook Thursday that investigators have spoken to Grewywind's family, boyfriend, neighbors, employer, and 'anyone the family has mentioned as a friend.'

The department said they attempted to ring her cellphone and have conducted two K9 searches, with no luck so far.
Actor Scott Baio was slammed on Facebook by a Sandy Hook victim's sister after he retweeted an outrageous meme on Thursday suggesting that Heather Heyer's death in Charlottesville was a hoax put on by the 'crisis actors used in Newtown'.

Jillian Soto, the sister of slain Sandy Hook teacher Vicki Soto, blasted Baio for his retweet, saying he was 'encouraging hateful behavior'.

Earlier today Scott Baio shared a picture encouraging conspiracy theories having to do with Sandy Hook and Charlottesville and Heather Heyers mother,' Jillian Soto wrote on Facebook.

'We are deeply disappointed that someone who has such a large audience would use that audience to target victims families,' Soto wrote.

Actor Scott Baio (left) was slammed on Facebook by a Sandy Hook victim's sister after he retweeted an outrageous meme on Thursday suggesting that Heather Heyer's (right) death in Charlottesville was a hoax put on by the 'crisis actors used in Newtown'

Jillian Soto (right), the sister of slain Sandy Hook teacher Vicki Soto (left), blasted Baio for his retweet, saying he was 'encouraging hateful behavior'

'We are deeply disappointed that someone who has such a large audience would use that audience to target victims families,' Soto wrote on a Facebook memorial page for her sister

According to Soto when she and family members tried to reach out to Baio about the retweet, 'he blocked us'.

But Baio later said he hadn't blocked anyone in a follow-up tweet.

'He is saying that he was just asking for thoughts, but what he did was encourage hateful behavior and targeted harassment against our family.

'When will enough be enough? We have been through hell and back dealing with hoaxers. From Megyn Kelly giving Alex Jones airtime to Scott sending out pictures to all his followers.

'We are real people at the other end of these conspiracy theories and it hurts us, deeply,' a heartbroken Soto wrote.

Baio eventually deleted the meme and admitted he was 'wrong' to push it out to his 218,000 followers.

Baio eventually deleted the meme and admitted he was 'wrong' to push it out to his 218,000 followers

He also felt the need to tweet that he hadn't blocked the Soto family on Twitter after they reached out to him to discuss his retweet

Baio then followed up with this tweet in which he says there are political differences but the Soto family's 'pain comes through clearly'

'We are real people at the other end of these conspiracy theories and it hurts us, deeply,' a heartbroken Soto wrote

Jillian told the New York Daily News that she 'can't accept an apology from someone who spews hate'.

'His apology is not real. He personally chose to share this, then he chose to block my family when we tried to defend ourselves. That doesn't feel like a sincere apology.'

In September 2014, conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, who runs the website InfoWars made the conspiracy claim that 'no one died' at Sandy Hook Elementary School and the victims were 'child actors'.

On December 14, 2012, 20-year-old Adam Lanza fatally shot dead 20 children between six and seven years old, as well as six adult staff members at the Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Just two weeks ago, Heyer lost her life while protesting in Charlottesville against white nationalists at their Unite the Right rally.

Just two weeks ago, Heyer lost her life while protesting in Charlottesville against white nationalists at their Unite the Right rally (pictured). Alleged driver, James Alex Fields, 20, slammed his car into anti-fascist protesters and struck Heyer, 32, who died at the scene

Suspected driver, James Alex Fields, Jr, 20, slammed his car into the anti-fascist protesters and struck 32-year-old Heyer, who died at the scene.

Fields has since been charged with second-degree murder in connection with her tragic death.

This isn't the first time Baio has been called out by his hurtful remarks or actions.

Back in April, Baio was forced to apologize for blaming the death of Happy Days co-star Erin Moran on drugs after it emerged she died from cancer.

The actor claimed he was responding to media reports when he suggested the death of the 56-year-old may have been due to substance abuse problems.

Authorities in Indiana said Moran likely died from cancer at her home in New Salisbury.
Police say a car traveling in the wrong lane has plowed into seven people, five of them children, on a street in a residential development in northeastern Pennsylvania.

The crash happened around 1pm Friday in the Mountain Top area near Wilkes-Barre.

Five of the victims were flown to the hospital. Police said the driver of the vehicle is in custody.

The car was going the wrong way on the street when it hit into seven pedestrians

The street was closed off after seven pedestrians were moved down by a wrong way driver Friday in Mountain Top, Pa

They're still determining what led to the crash.

Photos of the scene showed a car with a shattered front windshield on someone's front lawn.

Neighborhood resident Eric Wanchisen tells The Citizens' Voice newspaper that the collision happened in front of the home of an emergency room doctor who treated the victims before help arrived, including a baby who was in a stroller.
Enjoying a meal and a good bottle of wine in a restaurant is one of lifes great pleasures. That is, if you can hear your dinner date over the din.

While restaurants have always been buzzy places  the clatter of forks and spoons, merry chatter and, of course, the sound of wine glasses being chinked in celebration  today dining out is an experience increasingly spoiled by a cacophony of noise.

So much so that when the Mail paid visits to ten popular High Street restaurants armed with a decibel meter  a handheld machine that calculates the level of noise around you by measuring the pressure of sound waves in the air  we discovered theyre actually as loud as a pneumatic drill or a busy nightclub.

Indeed, in Jamies Italian in Brighton, the noise level intermittently reaches heights that experts say could damage your hearing after just 15 minutes of consistent exposure.

So, why on earth are restaurants so ear-splittingly loud?

Today dining out is an experience increasingly spoiled by a cacophony of noise (stock image)

Part of the problem is that background music is often set to migraine-inducing levels. The trend for open kitchens, often situated right in the middle of the dining area, also provides a soundtrack of crashes and bangs.

Meanwhile, tables are either communal or situated close together, so youre likely to have to bellow to have the faintest chance of being heard by your dining companion  which, of course, only adds to the loudness.

Children, too, dine out more often than previous generations. And restaurants are frequently vast and open-plan, meaning sound just reverberates around the room.

Add to this the current vogue for minimalist decor  hard floors and bare tables where once there were curtains, carpets and tablecloths to soak up sound  and you have a recipe for disaster. So prevalent is the problem that its been highlighted in the new Good Food Guide 2018. Restaurants are getting noisier  thats what our readers, this year in unprecedented numbers, are telling us, it says. Noise levels are being raised by music played at Glastonbury force. Anyone whos dined at a popular restaurant recently will agree.

The Good Food Guides editor, Elizabeth Carter  who says shes even had to ask a very well-known chef to turn down the music  believes the problems arise when established restaurateurs copy the style of trendy newcomers.

It was fine if a young chef opened a small place with bare floors and bare tables somewhere edgy, she says. The [restaurants] were small enough to contain the noise.

But then, that look went mainstream and restaurateurs were taking that stripped- back model and opening establishments for 50, 60 or 100 people. The sound just bounces off everything.

No doubt its a style thats also much cheaper for restaurateurs to maintain  no tablecloths to wash or cushioned chairs to reupholster when they become worn.

High noise can even increase profit margins. Some studies indicate that the noisier the restaurant, the less time we spend dawdling in there, meaning were likely to polish off our meals faster. This gives food establishments the high turnover of diners that increases revenues.

Theres certainly no experience of relaxing with a glass of port and gently digesting your meal to be had in modern restaurants.

But not only is such an environment irritating, being exposed to such sound levels can eventually be harmful: experts say anything at or above 85 decibels  the same as a food mixer being used at close range, for example  can impair your hearing over time.

Astonishingly, though, every single restaurant we visited had noise levels which were intermittently louder than 85 decibels.

The way decibels are measured means an increase of 10 decibels actually means the noise has doubled. So while normal conversation between two people is around 60 decibels, 70 decibels is about the same as a classroom full of chatting children and 80 decibels is the equivalent of a vacuum cleaner at close range.

So, which restaurants pose the greatest risk to your eardrums?

We took our decibel meter, available from most High Street electronics stores for around 40, and sat in the most popular part of the dining area during its busiest periods.

What we discovered might make you consider bringing earplugs on your next night out . . .

As loud as a busy nightclub

Jamies Italian, Brighton

Maximum decibels: 103.7  comparable to a nightclub

'The moment you walk into this enormous two-storey restaurant, which seats around 120 people, youre hit with a wall of sound'

We all know Jamie Oliver isnt exactly one of lifes whispering wallflowers, but the levels of noise at his Italian eatery, which serves pasta and pizza dishes, were the worst of all the restaurants we visited.

Indeed, the moment you walk into this enormous two-storey restaurant, which seats around 120 people, youre hit with a wall of sound  first from the speakers, then from the diners and waiting staff who bellow to make themselves heard.

Its nearly full, so were ushered upstairs, where there are fewer people. Its quieter than downstairs. But that soon changes as the evening progresses. More and more diners arrive, and the sound builds up to levels equivalent to the downstairs seating area.

Eventually, we cant even hear the loud music and have to shout and repeat ourselves continually to have anything resembling a conversation. Its certainly not helped by the furnishing all being plastic and wood, which does absolutely nothing to soak up the sound.

I look around the too-closely-packed-in tables and everyone is doing the same thing  leaning in to each other to hear. Its so noisy that when a champagne cork is popped right by us, it doesnt even register on our decibel meter.

We go to a local nightclub, where I turn on the decibel machine. The display reads 104  no noisier than Jamies.

A constant bang, bang, bang

Pizza Express, Greenwich

Maximum decibels: 88.5  comparable to a food blender

'The constant bang, bang, bang of bowls and utensils being slammed down by busy chefs while customers chat all around you soon begins to get on your nerves'

Few High Streets in the UK are without a Pizza Express, and most of their restaurants are like this one: big, open-plan, with wooden floors and Formica-style tables that can only make any noise worse.

But the biggest villain in this establishment  which seats around 80 people  is the kitchen, which is smack bang inside the restaurant.

The constant bang, bang, bang of bowls and utensils being slammed down by busy chefs while customers chat all around you soon begins to get on your nerves.

Thankfully, while my part of the restaurant is quite busy, Im not too near the kitchen. Yet, every time theres a clang, it still makes me and the decibel meter  jump. I pity those sat right next to it.

That said, after the ear-popping experience of Jamies, this isnt too bad. Yes, the tables are too close together for my liking (theres just six inches between me and my neighbours, meaning I can hear a lot of their conversation), but even though its full of families, the children are mostly well-behaved  a rarity in many restaurants.

Like a noisy tube train pulling in

Nandos, Crayford, Kent

Maximum decibels: 92.6  like a station when a Tube train arrives

'Guitar music plays stridently, until even that is drowned out by people raising their voices against the smashes of crockery coming from the kitchen'

It may only be a Wednesday evening, but theres a 20-minute wait for a table in this branch of the popular Portuguese chicken restaurant chain. And for each of those 20 painful minutes, a baby is screaming at the top of its lungs.

When we are finally seated, the rest of the 100-seater restaurant is no quieter because, despite the installation of head-height banquette seating, which should help deaden the sound, this place is plain LOUD.

Guitar music plays stridently, until even that is drowned out by people raising their voices against the smashes of crockery coming from the kitchen, which is, of course, in the restaurant itself.

The quietness of the car park when I leave is a blessed relief.

This puts a building site to shame

McDonalds, Eltham

Maximum decibels: 94.9  comparable to a pneumatic drill

'The moment I see this 50-plus seater McDonalds is packed full of children, I want to run'

The moment I see this 50-plus seater McDonalds is packed full of children, I want to run. They are everywhere, on practically each table, and some older ones are in big groups without adult supervision.

Theres screaming, shouting and running around, particularly from a couple of ten-year-old girls, whose mother tries to shush them. It doesnt work  their behaviour sends the decibel meter soaring to a deafening 94.9.

The kitchen is just behind the tills, and staff shout requests and orders to each other. Tables and chairs are all made of easy-wipe plastic that doesnt absorb sound. Relaxing its not.

But, despite regularly hitting peaks of noise that would put a building site to shame, there are moments of peace, too  when the kids are too busy devouring their Happy Meals to bellow at each other.

I've never seen so many speakers

Eds Easy Diner, Bluewater, Kent

Maximum decibels: 86.6  louder than a bin lorry in operation

'Such is the intensity of the music that, for once, I can hear it above the din'

Sitting in this American-style diner with its Sixties-themed menu in the Bluewater shopping centre, I wonder if the branch is going for the coveted Most Speakers In A Restaurant award. Theyre dotted all over the ceiling like stars.

Such is the intensity of the music that, for once, I can hear it above the din. Rather naff tunes like Monster Mash play on loop. Again, the kitchen is in the restaurant area and there are cheap plastic and wood fixtures. So, despite being only three-quarters full, noise levels are painfully high.

Theres a section of the diner with no wall separating it from the shoppers outside. Big mistake. It makes the experience more cacophonic.

As bad as a smoke alarm going off

Frankie & Bennys, Charlton, London

Maximum decibels: 93.4  comparable to a smoke alarm

'My decibel meter is sent into a frenzy, especially by the crash of glasses being removed from a dishwasher'

Another American-style diner, another cavernous restaurant thats mind-bendingly noisy. Its not even half-full when I visit, yet thanks to the bar and kitchen inside the open-plan venue, its thoroughly unpleasant.

My decibel meter is sent into a frenzy, especially by the crash of glasses being removed from a dishwasher.

And the usual suspects  music including American classics such as Come Fly With Me, plastic seats, bellowing staff  dont help.

Diners have to lean forward to make themselves heard in the booths, which make up the majority of the restaurant.

I soon find myself proving such an environment can be good for the restaurateurs bank balance: I gulp my spaghetti and salad as fast as I can, just to get out of the place. And when Im done in double-quick time, the next poor paying customer will be seated as quickly as possible.

A communal noise fest

Wagamama, Brighton

Maximum decibels: 91.4  like a train going past

In my experience, Asian noodles-and-broth favourite Wagamama is always noisy, but the sheer size of this Brighton branch (I estimate that it can seat 120-plus diners) really ramps things up. Bluesy guitar music plays in the background as I eat.

However, its the chefs clattering about in the open-plan kitchen, with the sound of metal utensils slapping onto metal work surfaces, that sends the decibel-meter soaring to 90 and above.

With its long, communal wooden benches, Wagamama has never been somewhere you go for a relaxing evening, but the design means that everyone has to lean in just to hear what their friends and family are saying.

Thump, thump, thump!

Las Iguanas, Southbank, London

Maximum decibels: 93.5  as loud as a leaf blower

'Walking through the door of this South American-inspired restaurant, I have just one thought: will someone please turn down that dreadful racket?'

Walking through the door of this South American-inspired restaurant, I have just one thought: will someone please turn down that dreadful racket?

Thump, thump, thump  the bass line of the R&B music goes straight through you. Even worse, just behind me is a table of loud, braying City boys.

Its not just me  opposite, a young woman is desperately trying to hear something her father, whos around 60, is saying. I wonder what he must make of it all.

Its huge inside and out  100 in the restaurant and more on the outside terrace  so it would never have been quietly peaceful. But the noise is heightened by a peculiar mosaic floor, which makes scraping chairs sound even louder.

While theres an open bar, thankfully the kitchen seems to be hidden behind closed doors.

Worse than a kid's coft play area

Burger King, Lewisham, London

Maximum decibels: 88.6  like a lawn mower

'There are no peaks and troughs in the noise  its constantly booming, making my headache even worse'

With Burger Kings cheap vinyl flooring and plastic chairs that are regularly scraped across the floor, this 70-plus seater restaurant was perhaps always going to set my teeth on edge.

Only two-thirds of tables are taken, although from the noise youd never believe it.

Kids are screaming, others are being dragged across the floor by irate parents and everyone is shouting just to be heard.

It makes a soft play area on a rainy day look like a spa.

Even the decibel meter doesnt do this place justice. There are no peaks and troughs in the noise  its constantly booming, making my headache even worse.

Endless shouting all around

Giraffe, Southbank, London

Maximum decibels: 90.8  like a truck going past

At first, Giraffe is like a balm for my shattered ears. It starts so well. Serving world food, it plays world music  all African and South American drums and Samba beats  at a level you can hear, but dont feel overwhelmed by.

Yes, its busy, and full of every age group tucking into its tapas, burgers and pides (Turkish breads), but tables are spaced well enough apart. A row of banquette-style seats have high enough backs to stop noise echoing around the large room.

And the kitchen is, unusually, behind closed doors.

Then, a noisy group of twentysomethings takes over the table next to mine. They shout relentlessly at each other, sending the decibel meter sky-high.

Maybe theyre used to eating at Jamies?
A Canadian man has pleaded guilty to offering unlicensed circumcisions out of a cabin in the woods after claiming he had trained in pediatric urology.

Joshua Chubbs, 23, kept his head down as he left a provincial courtroom in Newfoundland and Labrador in Harbor Grace, Canada, on Friday.

Chubbs was accused of offering to perform an unlicensed circumcision on a seven-year-old out of his home in the woods, claiming he had training in pediatric urology.

He pleaded guilty to the charge of advertising the circumcision service but denied he actually followed through with operations, despite claims he had performed 50.

Chubbs was charged in February in regards to advertising circumcision services and also practicing without a medical licence, however the latter charge was dropped.

Joshua Chubbs, 23, pleaded guilty to offering unlicensed circumcisions in Canada on Friday after he was charged in February. He had contacted a woman over Facebook and said he could perform a circumcision on her son, seven

An unnamed woman came forward to CBC News in March with the tale of how Chubbs allegedly approached her over Facebook and offered to circumcise her son.

The woman said she had posted a routine status that mentioned her children, including her seven-year-old son, and later received a message from Chubbs.

He had allegedly asked the woman about her son's genitals, inquiring if he had any infections that might need a procedure such as a circumcision or a frenulectomy.

She said to the news outlet: 'To say the conversation took a strange turn is a bit of an understatement.'

Chubbs allegedly said that he had training in pediatric urology and had 'dealt with lots of boys who have had issues.'

According to messages, Chubbs reportedly wrote: 'I don't want you to think I was a creep, I am trained.

'I did finish my course, got all my papers, it's not illegal, I am trained. I just don't work for the hospital, which is why I don't broadcast, but it's legal.'

Chubbs allegedly asked the woman inappropriate questions about about her son's penis. He claimed he was trained in pediatric urology and performed at least 50 procedures

Chubbs allegedly claimed that he had done more than 50 procedures and referred the woman to a mutual adult friend who had a frenulectomy operation by Chubbs.

The man confirmed the operation was successful and that he had no further complications from the procedure, according to CBC News.

The woman said: 'At this point I had Googled the length of time it takes to become a pediatric urologist, and he hasn't even been out of high school that long.

'It red-flagged a lot of stuff for me, because God forbid there would actually be somebody too embarrassed to take their child to a doctor who would take them to a friend who was clearly not certified to do these things.

She continued: 'I was absolutely horrified. So I knew then that this was something that needed to be brought to a higher power's attention.

'It's a scary thought to think this is going on in a cabin in the woods.'

Chubbs' actions were called 'profoundly dangerous' by the court but officials suggested a $2,500 fine and probation would be a worthy sentence.

Sentencing will take place August 31.
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North Korea has launched three short-range ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan Saturday in a further taunting of US president Donald Trump - but they were all duds.

The US military said that two of the missiles failed in flight and the other blew up 'almost immediately'. They were launched between 6.19am and 6.49am local time in North Korea and landed to the east of North Koreas Kangwon province.

South Korea's Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said it was analysing the missiles.

It said: 'The military is keeping a tight surveillance over the North to cope with further provocations'.

It comes as a US-South Korea joint military exercise is under way and as category 4 Hurricane Harvey moves towards Texas.

North Korean soldiers participating in a target-striking contest of the special operation forces of the Korean People's Army (KPA) to occupy islands at an undisclosed location in North Korea

This image made from video aired by North Korea's KRT on Saturday, showing Kim Jong Un inspecting soldiers during what Korean Central News Agency called a 'target-striking contest'

Pyongyang later said it had a plan to fire missiles at the US territory of Guam, while President Donald Trump said any threats would be met with 'fire and fury'

South Koreans - living under constant threat of attack from their belligerent northern neighbours - had to wake up to the launch at 6.49am local time.

Two of the missiles landed off the east coast of South Korea's Kangwon province after flying 155 miles in a northeasterly direction.

A spokesman for US Pacific Command said none of the missiles, which it said were launched near Kittaeryong, had posed a threat to either North America or the US Pacific territory of Guam.

'The first and third missiles... failed in flight. The second missile launch... appears to have blown up almost immediately,' said the spokesman, Commander Dave Benham, adding that the launches happened over a span of 30 minutes.

The news was immediately reported to President Moon Jae-in.

North Korea has previously conducted dozens of missile test. Pictured: The launch of a surface-to-surface medium long-range ballistic missile Pukguksong-2 at an undisclosed location

Kim Jong Un, second right, speaks with officials during what Korean Central News Agency called a 'target-striking contest' at unknown location in North Korea

North Korean soldiers look at South Korea across the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on August 26

Japan's NHK broadcast said the projectiles did not appear to be objects that could threaten Japan's safety.

Yoshihide Suga, the Japanese government's top spokesman, told reporters in Tokyo Saturday morning: 'We confirmed that no ballistic missiles have fallen onto our country's territory or EEZ (exclusive economic zone).'

'We confirmed there was no direct impact on our country's security. Our prime minister told us to remain on high alert and do our best to respond to any situations in order to protect our people's lives and property.'

The launch is the first by the North since it test-fired a missile on July 28 that could have been designed to reach 6,200 miles, putting parts of the US mainland within reach.

The North tends to test-fire balistic missiles or other projectiles - including those from long-range multiple rocket launchers - in response to US-South Korea joint military exercises.

Pictured: The general area where the surviving missiles are reported to have landed

A man watches a TV screen showing file footage of North Korea's missiles launch at the Seoul Train Station in Seoul

A North Korea Scud-B missile (C) is displayed at the Korea War Memorial Museum on Saturday in South Korea

Tens of thousands of South Korean and US troops are taking part in the 'Ulchi Freedom Guardian' joint military drills, a largely computer-simulated exercise that runs for two weeks in the South.

The Stalinist autocracy of North Korea has conducted two nuclear tests and dozens of missile tests since the beginning of last year, defying world powers and raising fears of a devastating conflict breaking out in East Asia.

On Wednesday, Kim ordered the production of more rocket engines and missile warheads during a visit to a chemical institute of the Academy of Defence Science, an agency that he fostered to develop its ballistic missile programme.

Diagrams and what appeared to be missile parts shown in photographs published in the North's state media suggested Pyongyang was pressing ahead with building a longer-range ballistic missile that could potentially reach any part of the US mainland.

It is also believed to be developing a solid-fuel missile that could be used for submarine launches.

North Korea's state media earlier on Saturday said that leader Kim Jong Un inspected a special forces training session that simulated attacks on South Korean islands along the countries' western sea border in what appeared to be a response to the ongoing US-South Korea war games.

Kim reportedly told his troops that they 'should think of mercilessly wiping out the enemy with arms only and occupying Seoul at one go and the southern half of Korea.'

A North Korea Scud-B missile (C) is displayed at the Korea War Memorial Museum in Seoul, South Korea, after ballistic missiles were launched into the East Sea

North Korean army soldier looks at the South side at the border village of Panmunjom in Paju. Tensions are high after missile tests

The Korean Central News Agency said that the 'target striking contest' involved war planes, multiple-rocket launchers and self-propelled guns that attacked targets meant to represent South Korea's Baengnyeong and Yeonpyeong islands before special operation combatants 'landed by surprise' on rubber boats.

The border islands have occasionally seen military skirmishes between the rivals, including a North Korean artillery barrage on Yeonpyeong in 2010 that left two South Korean marines and two civilians dead.

Pyongyang previously said it had a plan to fire missiles at the US territory of Guam, while President Donald Trump said any threats would be met with 'fire and fury'.

Earlier this week, North Korean state media showed Kim standing next to the diagram of an intercontinental ballistic missile more powerful than any it has previously tested.

The image of the three-stage rocket known as the Hwasong-13 suggested he is fiercely pursuing the creation of a weapon capable of striking anywhere on the US mainland

It followed an escalation in the war of words between the country and US President Donald Trump.

North Korea condemned the military drills the US is conducting with the South and branded Trump 'weird' and 'ego-driven', not long after Trump claimed Kim was starting to 'respect' him.

Kim also threatened to turn the US into 'a heap of ashes' in response to the Ulchi Freedom Guardian drills currently being held in South Korea.

Earlier today, the UN said North Korea had increased its efforts to produce parts for a new nuclear reactor.

Kim Jong-un's Stalinist autocracy has threatened to fire missiles near the US territory of Guam. Above, Kim Jong Un guides a target-striking contest of the special operation forces of the Korean People's Army (KPA) to occupy islands in a picture released on Friday

North Korea has increased its efforts to produce parts for a new nuclear reactor, the UN nuclear watchdog warned yesterday

North Korean state media recently showed Kim Jong-un (pictured) standing next to the diagram of an intercontinental ballistic missile

Trump tweeted about the hurricane on Friday afternoon saying the government was ready to respond

The latest taunts from Kim come while Trump deals with matters closer to home as he prepared for Hurricane Harvey to hit Texas.

Trump departed the White House for Camp David on Friday afternoon, he responded when asked what message he had for the people of Texas: 'Good luck to everybody. They're gonna be safe. Good luck to everybody. Good luck.'

Trump tweeted in the afternoon on Friday that he had arrived at Camp David and was continuing to monitor the hurricane.

Eight million Texans are under hurricane warnings, with an additional one million under tropical storm warnings, as landfall quickly approaches for what could be the most powerful hurricane to hit the US in 12 years.

The National Hurricane Center's official five-day forecast Friday has Harvey slamming the central Texas coast, stalling and letting loose with lots of rain.
The logos of many of the world's biggest brands like Apple, Starbucks and Foot Locker are seen by billions of people around the world every day.

But while you might think you know the details of these logos like the back of your hand, this might not be the case, according to new research.

A new study has revealed that only 16 per cent of people can correctly recall famous logos.

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While you might think you know the details of logos like the back of your hand, this might not be the case, according to new research

KEY FINDINGS The results of the study showed that most people are very good at recalling brand colours, but that shapes and elements in logos are harder to recall. Overall, 16 per cent of people drew near perfect logos, and 37 per cent were good but not perfect. As expected, the more complex the logo, the less likely people were to remember it in full. Men and women performed equally well, regardless of the logo in question, and their level of brand engagement made no difference to their ability to accurately recall the logos. But there was a difference by age, with younger people drawing more accurate logos than older people on average. Advertisement

The study by Signs.com, a design firm based in Salt Lake City, looked at how well people can draw famous logos from memory.

The firm asked 150 people in the US to draw various logos, and analysed the results to see the common mistakes we tend to make.

Some of the most common errors included thinking the Foot Locker referee wears a hat, that the Starbucks mermaid doesn't wear a crown, and that Apple's apple features a stalk.

1) Apple

Six hundred million people around the world own Apple devices, so you would think that recalling the famous logo would be easy.

But the results from the study showed that this wasn't really the case.

Only 20 per cent of participants were able to draw the Apple logo almost perfectly.

Only 20 per cent of participants were able to draw the Apple logo almost perfectly. The most common mistake, made by nearly one in three people, was including a stalk, when in reality there isn't one

The most common mistake, made by nearly one in three people, was including a stalk, when in reality there isn't one.

There is a leaf, and although 15 percent drew it facing the wrong direction, 75 per cent of people remembered to include it in one form or another.

The Apple logo also features a bite, which is the logo's most iconic feature, included so the apple wouldn't be mistaken for a cherry.

The Apple logo also features a bite, which is the logo's most iconic feature, included so the apple wouldn't be mistaken for a cherry

Eighty-four percent of people remembered the bite, but one in five mistakenly drew it on the left side instead of the right.

2) Adidas

Adidas is the second largest sportswear company in the world, and acquired its iconic three-stripe logo in 1952.

Adidas is the second largest sportswear company in the world, and acquired its iconic three-stripe logo in 1952. But despite its ubiquity, only 12 per cent of people created near perfect renditions of the logo from memory

But despite its ubiquity, only 12 per cent of people created near perfect renditions of the logo from memory.

Eleven participants thought the logo featured four stripes, rather than three.

And 21 per cent though that the name had a capital 'A', while in reality, all letters are lowercase.

Eleven participants thought the logo featured four stripes, rather than three. And 21 per cent though that the name had a capital 'A', while in reality, all letters are lowercase

3) Burger King

Burger King's logo is slightly more complex than Apple and Adidas' icons, and so the researchers expected the accuracy of the participants' drawings to drop.

But surprisingly, 18 per cent of people could recall Burger King's logo perfectly.

Burger King's logo is slightly more complex than Apple and Adidas' icons, and so the researchers expected the accuracy of the participants' drawings to drop. But surprisingly, 18 per cent of people could recall Burger King's logo perfectly

One of the most interesting findings was that many people mistakenly remembered elements of the brand's wider advertising as being prat of its logo.

Twenty-one per cent of people included a crown in their drawing, despite Burger King's logo not featuring one since 1969.

The researchers, led by Nelson James, said: 'It seems unlikely that our participants, with an average age of 34, recalled a defunct logo from 48 years ago instead of the current version, which has been around since 1999.

THE PRICIEST LOGOS IN THE WORLD Brand Cost BP 167.5 million ($211 million) Accenture 79.4 million ($100 million) Posten Norge 43.6 million ($55 million) Australia and New Zealand Banking Group 11.9 million ($15 million) BBC 1.43 million ($1.8 million) Pepsi 790,000 ($1 million) London 2012 Olympics 496,000 ($625,000)

'It's more likely that they couldn't fully remember what the logo looks like, so they included a crown in response to the word 'King' in the brand's name, the King character from its ads, and the paper crowns that are given out in restaurants.'

Another surprising result was that one in five people drew Burger King logos almost identical to the version used from 1969 to 1999.

The researchers said: 'Our theory is that some of these participants probably did remember the old logo, while others tried to draw it in its current form but forgot a couple of key features.'

Twenty-one per cent of people included a crown in their drawing, despite Burger King's logo not featuring one since 1969

COMMON MISTAKES - One in three people think Apple's logo includes a stalk - 21% of participants thought adidas' logo had a capital 'A' - 21% though that Burger King's logo featured a crown - 37% added more than three dots to the Domino's logo - 43% forgot to include the referee in Foot Locker's logo - 45% forgot that the Starbucks mermaid wears a crown Advertisement

4) Domino's

The three dots featured on the original Domino's Pizza logo represented the first three stores owned by founders Tom and James Monaghan in the 1960s.

The plan was to add a dot for each additional store that opened, but rapid growth quickly made the idea impractical, so the three dots were left untouched.

In the study, 28 per cent of people recalled that the Domino's logo has three dots and positioned them correctly (two in the bottom square, one in the top).

Thirty-seven per cent included more than three dots, while 14 per cent forgot them altogether.

In the study, 28 per cent of people recalled that the Domino's logo has three dots and positioned them correctly (two in the bottom square, one in the top)

Two-thirds of the participants included the brand name in their drawings, although not always with perfect accuracy - 55 per cent forgot to include the apostrophe, and 11 per cent included an 'e': Dominoe's.

Overall, 16 per cent drew near perfect Domino's logos, and 28 per cent made good attempts.

The three dots featured on the original Domino's Pizza logo represented the first three stores owned by founders Tom and James Monaghan in the 1960s

5) Foot Locker

In the study, Foot Locker and Starbucks were the only logos that feature people, and these were also the least accurately recalled.

In Foot Locker's case, the person featured is a referee with his hands on his hips, facing right, with 'Foot Locker' written in red text underneath.

While 57 per cent of people included the referee in their drawings, only half remembered his hands on his hips, and 60 per cent showed him facing the right way.

Overall, only eight per cent of participants drew perfect Foot Locker logo.

While 57 per cent of people included the referee in their drawings, only half remembered his hands on his hips, and 60 per cent showed him facing the right way

6) Starbucks

Since its formation in 1971, Starbucks has used three logos, each showing a different rendition of a twin-tailed mermaid.

Starbucks' current logo, introduced in 2011, is a streamlined version of the two-tailed siren, which no longer features the 'Starbucks Coffee' text and is pure green, as opposed to green and black.

Despite this simplification, only six per cent of people drew a near perfect Starbucks logo from memory.

Of the 90 per cent who remembered to include the mermaid, 45 per cent forgot that she wears a crown, 16 per cent who drew her crown remembered the star in its centre, and 55 per cent omitted her twin tails

WHAT LOGO COLOUR SAYS ABOUT A BRAND In 2014, researchers from the University of Missouri-Columbia tested which emotions people associated with coloured logos. Some 184 adults were surveyed, using generic logos of different colours for fake companies, created by the researchers. The results showed that blue logos invoked feelings of confidence, success and reliability, while green logos invoked perceptions of environmental friendliness, toughness and masculinity. Purple logos were shown to invoke femininity, glamour and charm, while pink logos gave the perception of youth and fashion. Finally, yellow logos invoked perceptions of fun and modernity, and red logos brought feeling of expertise and self-assurance. Advertisement

Of the 90 per cent who remembered to include the mermaid, 45 per cent forgot that she wears a crown, 16 per cent who drew her crown remembered the star in its centre, and 55 per cent omitted her twin tails.

Thirty-one percent of people remembered the pre-2011 Starbucks logo, which featured the brand name and a black circle.

Key findings

The results of the study showed that most people are very good at recalling brand colours, but that shapes and elements in logos are harder to recall.

Overall, 16 per cent of people drew near perfect logos, and 37 per cent were good but not perfect.

As expected, the more complex the logo, the less likely people were to remember it in full.

Mr James told MailOnline: 'This study provides us with three fascinating implications: First, the simplicity of your logo seems to directly correlate to how well it is remembered.

'Second, making any updates or changes to your logo can cause brand confusion and may significantly impact the ability for logo recall for decades.

'Third, the colours of your logo seem to be recalled with surprising accuracy regardless of logo complexity.'

The researchers also asked the participants questions about themselves, including their age, gender, occupation, and how much they engage with the brands.

They found that men and women performed equally well, regardless of the logo in question, and their level of brand engagement made no difference to their ability to accurately recall the logos.

But there was a difference by age, with younger people drawing more accurate logos than older people on average.
The days of having to carry a phone charger with you could soon be a thing of the past, thanks to a new type of yarn.

Scientists have developed a stretchy yarn called 'twistron' made of carbon nanotubes that can generate its own power.

The yarn could be used in a range of products, including smart clothing, and internet-connected devices.

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Scientists have developed a stretchy yarn made of carbon nanotubes - tiny strands of carbon atoms up to 10,000 times smaller than a hair

HOW DOES IT WORK? The device, which exploits the ability of nanotubes to transfer spring-like motion into electrical energy, has numerous possible applications, according to the paper. In the lab, tests showed that a yarn weighing less than a housefly could light up a small LED light. When sewed into a t-shirt, it could power breathing sensors - like those used to monitor babies - using the stretch caused by the chest expanding at every inhalation. But the twistron's most compelling feature was the ability to operate in sea water and potentially harvest vast amounts of energy from the ocean Advertisement

'The easiest way to think of twistron harvesters is, you have a piece of yarn, you stretch it, and out comes electricity,' said Carter Haines, a lead author of the study published in the journal Science.

The device, which exploits the ability of nanotubes to transfer spring-like motion into electrical energy, has numerous possible applications, according to the paper.

In the lab, tests showed that a yarn weighing less than a housefly could light up a small LED light.

When sewed into a t-shirt, it could power breathing sensors - like those used to monitor babies - using the stretch caused by the chest expanding at every inhalation.

The innovation could be used to power internet-connected devices and smart clothing, said the study's senior author Ray Baughman, a professor at The University of Texas at Dallas.

'Electronic textiles are of major commercial interest, but how are you going to power them,' Dr Baughman said in a statement.

'Harvesting electrical energy from human motion is one strategy for eliminating the need for batteries,' he said.

But the twistron's most compelling feature was the ability to operate in sea water and potentially harvest vast amounts of energy from the ocean, he added.

Harvesting electrical energy from human motion is one strategy for eliminating the need for batteries, researchers said (stock image)

'The grander dream is to make a real difference in the energy economy of nations,' Baughman told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone.

A trial in South Korea showed that a small twistron attached between a buoy and a sinker on the seabed produced electricity every time a passing wave pulled the yarn.

Baughman said that the technique could be scaled up in the future to create sea-power stations that can light entire cities, though harvesters are currently too expansive.

Under the Paris accord reached in 2015, rich and poor countries committed to reducing emissions of greenhouse gases generated by burning fossil fuels that are blamed by scientists for warming the planet.
A Russian tanker has cruised through the northern sea route without an icebreaker escort for the first time.

Experts claim that climate change is to blame as warming temperatures thaw the region's frozen waters.

The 234 million ($300 million) Christophe de Margerie completed the journey from Hammerfest in Norway to Boryeong in South Korea in just 19 days.

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A Russian tanker (pictured) has cruised through the northern sea route without an icebreaker escort for the first time. Experts claim that climate change is to blame as warming temperatures thaw the region's frozen waters

THE CHRISTOPHE DE MARGERIE The 234 million ($300 million) ship completed its journey from Hammerfest in Norway to Boryeong in South Korea in just 19 days. Using just its integral icebreaker, the tanker took just six and a half days to travel the northern sea section of the Russian Arctic, a new record. The 300-metre-long (984 ft) ship, which was specially designed to take advantage of the Arctic's diminishing sea ice, crossed ice fields up to 1.2 metres (3.9 ft) thick. While the rapid crossing time was thanks in part to the tanker's technology, the record journey highlights the effects of climate change on Arctic ice. Advertisement

The ship completed its Arctic journey 30 per cent quicker than it would have along the alternative route, via the Suez canal.

Despite the ship having its own icebreaker, it has previously been impossible to traverse the icy route without a separate icebreaker escort.

But using only its integral icebreaker, the tanker took just six and a half days to travel the northern sea section of the Russian Arctic, a new record.

'It's very quick, particularly as there was no icebreaker escort which previously there had been in journeys,' Bill Spears, spokesman for the shipping company which owns the tanker, Sovcomflot, told the Guardian.

'It's very exciting that a ship can go along this route all year round.'

The 300-metre-long (984 ft) ship, which was specially designed to take advantage of the Arctic's diminishing sea ice, crossed ice fields up to 1.2 metres (3.9 ft) thick.

It was carrying a cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG), which the ship can be powered by alongside conventional fuel to reduce sulphur oxide and nitrous oxide emissions.

'This is a significant factor in a fragile ecosystem,' Mr Spears said.

While the rapid crossing time was thanks in part to the tanker's technology, the record journey highlights the effects of climate change on Arctic ice.

The Christophe de Margerie completed the journey from Hammerfest in Norway to Boryeong in South Korea (red line) in just 19 days. The ship completed its Arctic journey 30 per cent quicker than it would have along the alternative route, via the Suez canal (grey line)

Research published earlier this year suggested that 'polar heatwaves' had shrunk the icecaps down to an all-time low.

A separate study in March saw experts warn that the Arctic's pearly white scenery is turning green, as sea ice continues to melt in the Arctic.

The green tinge is caused by the bloom of microscopic algae as thinning ice allows in more sunlight - the consequences of which are still unknown.

While the rapid crossing time was thanks in part to the tanker's (pictured) technology, the record journey highlights the effects of climate change on Arctic ice

The findings, from Harvard University, showed that micro-algae may now be able to grow under the ice across almost 30 per cent of the Arctic Ocean at the peak of the summer in July.

This up from about five per cent, 30 years ago.

Dr Christopher Horvat, lead author of the study, said at the time: 'Recent climate change may have markedly altered the ecology of the Arctic Ocean.'
He has often appeared despairing about the future of the planet and finished his natural history programmes with urgent messages about the fragility of the environment.

But Sir David Attenborough said yesterday that he feels 'more encouraged' than he has been in a long time about society's concern for, and appreciation of the natural world.

The 91-year-old broadcaster said he has witnessed a 'worldwide shift', and said there are 'signs of hope', particularly in areas such as China and USA.

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Sir David Attenborough said yesterday that he feels 'more encouraged' than he has been in a long time about society's concern for and appreciation of the natural world

REASONS TO BE POSITIVE The 91-year-old broadcaster said he has witnessed a 'worldwide shift', and said there are 'signs of hope', particularly in areas such as China and USA. 'It's almost like the way the knocking over of the Berlin wall was a surprise. I had no idea that build up was approaching and that suddenly it was going to be the end of an era politically', said Sir David Attenborough. He said he wanted people to remember the 'joy and delight, and beauty and pleasure, and excitement about the natural world.' Advertisement

Speaking at the Edinburgh International Television Festival, he said: 'I spend a lot of time wringing my hands and saying how dreadful it is, that this forest has been obliterated and that sea has been polluted and whatever.

'But there are signs of hope. It's almost like the way the knocking over of the Berlin wall was a surprise. I had no idea that build up was approaching and that suddenly it was going to be the end of an era politically.

'I have the sense that worldwide, certainly in Europe, certainly in China which we never thought before was concerned about before, and even perhaps if I may say so there are people in America - pace Mr Trump - who don't accept that human beings can do no wrong. [There are] people who care about the wilderness in the United States.'

Sir David will return for another landmark BBC series later this year, Blue Planet II, and his comments suggest the tone might be more positive.

He added: 'There has been a worldwide shift, I think, amongst people in general about the concern there should be for the natural world.

'I am encouraged more than I have been for some time.'

Indeed, he told the audience: 'We've got to be careful that not every programme we put out is grinding an axe.

Speaking at the Edinburgh International Television Festival, he said: 'There has been a worldwide shift, I think, amongst people in general about the concern there should be for the natural world'

'We've got to also remember that there is joy and delight, and beauty and pleasure, and excitement about the natural world.'

However, whilst the veteran broadcaster was optimistic about the shift in attitudes towards the environment, he said people need to be constantly reminded about the 'damage that is happening'.

He said: 'Natural history programming is marvellous to look at. It's beautiful, it's exciting. But I would go so far as to say it is extremely important that people around the world see what is happening.

SPECIES NAMED AFTER SIR DAVID ATTENBOROUGH Pictured is a male fleshbelly frog called Pristimantis attenboroughi (left) and a rare butterfuly called Euptychia attenboroughi (right) - two of the many species which have been named after Sir David A flightless weevil from Indonesia was given the name Trigonopterus attenboroughi A newly discovered species of fleshbelly frog found in rainforests of central Peru is called Pristimantis attenboroughi A pygmy grasshopper species named Electrotettix attenboroughi preserved in amber in the Dominican Republic A echidna given the name Zaglossus attenboroughi and that was found living in the forested areas of New Guinea A rare butterfly named Euptychia attenboroughi, in honour of his love for butterflies, which live in tropical forests in places like Colombia and Brazil A type of plesiosaur which lived millions of years ago named Dinosaur Attenborosaurus conybeare A newly discovered 430 million-year-old crustacean fossil was named after David Attenborough in March in celebration of his 90th birthday Advertisement

'If the BBC says, and I think quite correctly, that one of its proudest boasts is that its news service puts the truth about the natural world to the nations of the world then I would suggest one of the other things it can do alongside that is to actually keep the natural world in the minds of the population of this country and indeed elsewhere so they know what is happening.

'They should know the damage that is happening.'

The BBC's latest attempt at 'slow TV' will be a natural history programme told through the eyes of three wild animals in real time.

A green turtle, a cheetah and a white tailed sea eagle will give BBC Four viewers a glimpse of their day-to-day lives using wearable technology, as part of a new show aptly titled Slow Natural World.
Elon Musk's Boring Company will build a two-mile-long test tunnel in Los Angeles after the City Council voted four to one in favour of his ambitious plans.

The extension will run 44 feet under public roads around the SpaceX headquarters and is the first time the Boring Company has been allowed to dig outside it's property line.

This dry run will make sure plans actually work - if it doesn't the city can request the tunnel is filled with concrete or soil.

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The extension - which will run 44 feet under public roads around the SpaceX headquarters is the first time the Boring Company has been allowed to dig outside it's property line. Pictured is the first image released of the Boring Company's tunnelling machine

MUSK'S BORING PLAN Elon Musk has outlined how his Boring Company will work, claiming: Tunnelling costs must be reduced by a factor of more than 10 Key to this is smaller tunnels that can be dug more quickly Will work to increase the speed of the Tunnel Boring Machine Envisions a new breed of smaller, more powerful TBMs with triple the power of current machines that can tunnel continuously Advertisement

'They won't even know we're there', Brett Horton, senior director of facilities and construction at SpaceX assured members of the council.

'This is groundbreaking, this is establishing a precedent, and I think we all agree that we want to make sure that this goes off without a hitch,' Hawthorne's Mayor Alex Vargas said, writes the Verge.

The company assured citizens that if the soil moves by as little as half an inch work will stop immediately.

Earlier this month it appeared Musk would build his own hyperloop tunnel system in a bid to speed up adoption of the radical travel technology he invented.

It appears Musk will build the whole system himself, according to reports from a 'person close to Musk'.

Musk also hinted at it, replying to a tweet about the issues facing the various Hyperloop plans by saying 'I guess a proof of concept is needed.'

Many had thought Musk would simply create the tunnels, using his recently revealed Boring Company.

When he first revealed the plan in a white paper developed with his team at SpaceX, in 2012, he said he would let others build the system.

This dry run will make sure plans actually work - if it doesn't the city can request the tunnel is filled with concrete or soil. Pictured is the test tunnel route

'I don't have any plan to execute because I must remain focused on SpaceX and Tesla,' he said in a conference call at the time.

'While we're encouraged that others are making some progress, we would like to accelerate the development of this technology as fast as possible,' Musk's Boring Co., a venture created to build roads that run through underground tunnels, said in a statement.

'We encourage and support all companies that wish to build Hyperloops and we don't intend to stop them from using the Hyperloop name as long as they are truthful.'

Several firms including Hyperloop One (pictured) are already building test tracks using Elon Musk's technology. Now, it appears Musk is set to build one himself

Just days earlier, the company completed the first successful test of the passenger pod for its radical transport system, marking what the firm says is the debut of 'the dawn of a new era of transportation'.

Last month the firm carried out a low speed test of its test tunnel, but earlier in August the company loaded the XP-1 passenger pod for its first high speed test.

The Hyperloop One XP-1, the company's first-generation pod, accelerated for 300 meters and glided above the track using magnetic levitation before braking and coming to a gradual stop.

Last month Musk tweeted he had 'verbal government approval' to build an underground tunnel to transport passengers between New York and Washington DC in just 29 minutes.

Musk tweeted the tunnel will run via Philadelphia and Baltimore, and use his Hyperloop technology.

If completed, it would become the world's longest tunnel.

During phase 2 on July 29th, Hyperloop One achieved record speeds, in a tube depressurized down to the equivalent of air at 200,000 feet above sea level. Pictured, the view from an on board camera during the test

It would be far longer that the current record holder, the Gotthard Base Tunnel, a railway line that runs through the Swiss Alps and opened in 2016, measuring 35.5 miles.

'Just received verbal govt approval for The Boring Company to build an underground NY-Phil-Balt-DC Hyperloop. NY-DC in 29 mins,' he tweeted last month.

'City centre to city centre in each case, with up to a dozen or more entry/exit elevators in each city.'

While Musk hasn't released any additional details on the proposed East Coast transport system just yet, the plan appears to be a combination of his recent LA tunnelling ventures, and Hyperloop technology.

The tweets in July sparked intrigue on social media, with many wondering how concrete the plans are, and what the system will entail.

But Musk has so far remained cryptic.

In July Musk tweeted a tunnel will run via Philadelphia and Baltimore, and use his Hyperloop technology

'Verbal? Not on the dotted line?' BBC reporter Dave Lee tweeted at Musk following the announcement.

'Seems premature to announce  unless you're drumming up support for the project?'

In response, Musk wrote, 'Support would be much appreciated!'

In a vague follow-up tweet hours after the announcement in July, Musk explained that there is 'still a lot of work needed' before he can receive formal approval

Addressing some of the confusion in a vague follow-up tweet hours after the announcement, Musk wrote:

'Still a lot of work needed to receive formal approval, but am optimistic that will occur rapidly.'

A White House spokesman confirmed that the administration has had 'promising conversations to date' with Musk and Boring Company executives.

However, they would only say the administration is 'committed to transformative infrastructure projects, and believe our greatest solutions have often come from the ingenuity and drive of the private sector.'

In its own statement, The Boring Company said feedback on the proposal has been positive and it has 'received verbal support from key government decision-makers for tunneling plans.'

The company said it expects to secure the formal approvals necessary to break ground later this year.

But some cast doubt on his timeline, pointing out that Musk would have to get approval from dozens of players, including federal, state and local officials.

Elon Musk says he has 'verbal government approval' to build an underground tunnel to transport passengers between New York and Washington DC in just 29 minutes

'This is news to City Hall,' tweeted Eric Phillips, a spokesman for New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, in response to Musk's tweets.

Mike Dunn, a spokesman for the city of Philadelphia, said Musk also has not contacted officials there.

'There are numerous hurdles for this unproven hyperloop technology before it can become reality,' Dunn said.

In the thread, he also revealed the project will coincide with the first set of tunnels set to be built in LA.

And other cities, including a 'Texas loop,' could soon follow.

Responding to a user who asked if Texas could get a Hyperloop as well, Musk wrote:

'For sure. First set of tunnels are to alleviate greater LA urban congestion. Will start NY-DC in parallel. Then prob LA-SF and a TX loop.'

Last month Musk announced the Boring Company's Godot machine has begun its digging operation in the car park of the SpaceX building in LA.

The tweets sparked intrigue on social media, with many wondering how concrete the plans are, and what the system will entail. But Musk has so far remained cryptic

He also revealed the project will coincide with the first set of tunnels set to be built in LA. And other cities, including a 'Texas loop,' could soon follow

'Just installed steel skeleton of the car/pod elevator. Should be operating next week', the SpaceX founder tweeted today, with a five second video of the site.

This marks a major step in Musk's plans to build a transport network beneath the city.

At the same time, Hyperloop One, the firm on track to bring the radical transport system to life,revealed it completed its first successful test this spring.

In a test that lasted just 5.3 seconds, the vehicle managed to hit 70 miles per hour using just 100 feet of the motor at the DevLoop test track in Nevada.

WHAT IS HYPERLOOP? Hyperloop is a proposed method of travel that would transport people at roughly 700mph between distant locations. It was unveiled by Elon Musk in 2013, who at the time said it could take passengers the 380 miles (610km) from LA to San Francisco in 30 minutes - half the time it takes a plane. It is essentially a long tube that has had the air removed to create a vacuum. The tube is suspended off the ground to protect against weather and earthquakes. As several firms vie to create the first operational Hyperloop, Elon Musk's vision of a radical transport system that could ferry passengers above land at 760 miles per hour continues to inch closer to reality Advertisement

While it's a far cry from the 760 miles per hour proponents of the Hyperloop boast it will one day achieve, the firm says the test marks an important milestone ahead of the completion of the linear motor, as 'the longer the motor, the faster we can go.'

Along with the announcement of the ground-breaking test, the firm has also revealed a look at the XP-1 vehicle  the pod that will soon be used for full systems tests.

Just weeks earlier, Musk claimed he and the mayor of LA had 'promising talks' about his plans to build an underground transportation network.

As well as the news that it would be operating next week, Musk tweeted another video of the site and commented 'Across the road and below the ground'.

'Just installed steel skeleton of the car/pod elevator. Should be operating next week', the SpaceX founder tweeted, with a five second video of the site

He also revealed the location of the tunnel with a tweet that included a picture of the SpaceX headquarters and the comment 'perspective'.

In a previous tweet, the Tesla founder said his 'Godot' machine had 'begun boring and just completed the first segment of tunnel in LA', while at the same time making bizarre declarations about his love of floors and tunnels.

Musk's mention of 'Godot' appears to reference Samuel Beckett's 1949 play, Waiting for Godot, where two melancholy men old men sit on mounds of Earth waiting for 'Godot' to arrive.

Along with the announcement of the ground-breaking test, the firm has also revealed a look at the XP-1 vehicle  the pod that will soon be used for full systems tests. It has a carbon fiber and aluminium aeroshell with a levitating chassis, for 'suspension, lift, guidance and propulsion'

Seemingly excited by the progress of his plans to dig under the city, the billionaire then went on to post a number of other tweets about his love of floors.

On the subject of floors, Musk posted: 'They will never let you down.

'They are so underappreciated.

'Just try one. It's way better than you think.'

He added: 'I love floors. Not as much as tunnels though.'

In June he revealed the location of the tunnel with a tweet that included a picture of the SpaceX headquarters and the comment 'perspective'

As well as the news that it would be operating next week, Musk tweeted another video (pictured) of the site and commented 'Across the road and below the ground'

His posts come weeks after Musk claimed that he had 'promising conversations' with the Mayor of LA about creating a network of tunnels beneath the city.

The Tesla founder tweeted a video of Eric Garcetti saying that the Boring Company's tunnel could provide a 'quick and direct route from LAX to Union station.'

While this suggests that the Mayor is on board with the tunnelling plans, Musk added that getting permits would be harder than creating the technology itself.

Mr Garcetti spoke about the Boring Company's tunnel during an interview on ABC 7.

The videos of the car park (pictured) come just weeks after Musk claimed he and the mayor of LA had 'promising talks' about his plans to build an underground bus network

Elon Musk has revealed that his controversial Boring Company has started tunnelling underneath LA in June. His reference of 'Godot' alludes to Samuel Beckett's play Waiting for Godot

The Tesla posted a series of cryptic tweets about the benefits of floors. He has previously claimed that an underground network of electric buses will ease congestion in LA

Musk tweeted about his love for tunnels on Thursday. The posts come just weeks after Musk said he and the mayor of LA had 'promising talks' on his plans to tunnel beneath the city

WAITING FOR GODOT 'Waiting for Godot' is a two act play by Samuel Beckett that was published in 1949. It was originally written in French, with the title 'En attendant Godot'. There are two main characters, Vladimir and Estragon, who wait for the arrival of Godot. Both are old men whose lives have taken a turn for the worst  they are both homeless and often suicidal. They sit on mounds of earth near a country road waiting for Godot and talk about a range of topics, from food to memories and their lives. The two men are left waiting. The original French text was composed between 9 October 1948 and 29 January 1949. Advertisement

And Elon Musk tweeted a link to this video, saying: 'Promising conversations with @MayorOfLA regarding tunnel network that would carry cars, bikes and pedestrians. Permits harder than technology.'

This difficulty in gaining permits could explain why discussions with regulators even at this very early stage are so important.

The tweet follows images released in June showing the Boring Company's own underground electric buses that it plans to use in the tunnels.

The vehicles, based on the same 'electric sled' that owners will drive their cars onto, have space for seated and standing passengers.

They are mainly glass - even through they are designed to travel underground.

Musk has come under fire repeatedly from experts claiming the tunnels are impractical and would be impossible to implement.

But in June, the firm published an FAQ on its website outlining how it plans to achieve his vision.

'The key to making this work is increasing tunnelling speed and dropping costs by a factor of 10 or more  this is the goal of the Boring Company,' it says.

Musk tweeted a video of Eric Garcetti saying that the Boring Company's tunnel could provide a 'quick and direct route from LAX to Union station'

'Unlike flying cars, tunnels are weatherproof, out of sight and won't fall on your head,' it explains.

'A large network of road tunnels many levels deep would fix congestion in any city, no matter how large it grew (just keep adding levels).'

It has been just six months since Musk first revealed his radical plan to beat LA's notorious gridlock  and now, the entry hole, staging area, and starting tunnel for the first Boring Machine, 'Godot,' is complete, Musk says.

THE FIRST TUNNEL The tunnels will all be named according to a 'poems & plays' theme, Musk said. Boring Machine 1 has now officially been dubbed Godot. According to Musk, it will run from LAX to Culver City, Santa Monica, Westwood, and Sherman Oaks. Advertisement

Critics have slammed the plan as completely unrealistic as it would require a mass of permits and huge disruption as hundreds of tunnels and access 'lifts' are dug.

It is also unclear if the machine has actually been used to dig anything - with images of an electric 'sled' having been filmed in another nearby tunnel SpaceX has been using to test pods for Musk's Hyperloop.

However, Musk says the area is ripe for innovation.

'Currently, tunnels are really expensive to dig, with some projects costing as much as $1 billion per mile,' the new FAQ says.

'In order to make a tunnel network feasible, tunnelling costs must be reduced by a factor of more than 10.'

The key to this is smaller tunnels that can be dug more quickly, the FAQ says.

'To build a one-lane road tunnel, the tunnel diameter must be approximately 28 feet.

'By placing vehicles on a stabilized electric sled, the diameter can be reduced to less than 14 feet.

Reducing the diameter in half reduces tunnelling costs by 3-4 times.

'Secondly, increase the speed of the Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM).

'TBMs are super slow.

'A snail is effectively 14 times faster than a soft-soil TBM.

'Our goal is to defeat the snail in a race.'

Musk envisions a new breed of smaller, more powerful TBMs with triple the power of current machines that can tunnel continuously.

'In the United States, there is virtually no investment in tunnelling Research and Development (and in many other forms of construction).

'Thus, the construction industry is one of the only sectors in our economy that has not improved its productivity in the last 50 years,' it concludes.

In a series of posts, Musk revealed a glimpse at the processes that are bringing the first tunnel to life, in the first stages of a network that will 'cover all of greater LA.'

Musk also offered a look at a test run of the tunnel's 'electric sleds,' which will ferry cars at 125 miles per hour to bring passengers from Westwood to LAX in just five minutes.

In June Musk revealed the company had begun work on its first tunnel beneath Los Angeles , which will stretch from LAX to Sherman Oaks when complete

Musk solicited help on Twitter to come up with names for his boring machine.

And, after a flurry of suggestions ranging from 'Snoop Dug' to 'Tunnely McTunnelface,' Musk settled on a theme of 'poems & plays.'

Boring Machine 1 has now officially been dubbed 'Godot.'

In several photos and videos shared on social media, Musk revealed that work on Godot is well underway, with the entry hole, staging area, and starting tunnel complete.

Musk posted a picture on Instagram, writing 'Cutterhead in operation at standard industry speed. Planning to jack this up by a factor of ten or more'

'First tunnel for The Boring Company begins,' Musk wrote, alongside a photo of the entryway.

'Full length of first tunnel will run from LAX to Culver City, Santa Monica, Westwood, and Sherman Oaks.

'Future tunnels will cover all of greater LA.'

'NANNIE' THE BORING MACHINE The machine Musk bought is believed to be Nannie, a machine is 26 feet in diameter and about 400 feet long, weighing around 1,200 tons. It was used by Washington's water utility to dig a tunnel to prevent sewage from overflowing into the Anacostia River. The machine is named after Nannie Helen Burroughs, nationally prominent Black educator, Church leader, and suffrage supporter who founded the National Training School for Women and Girls in Washington DC. The 1,248 ton machine created a 23-foot diameter tunnel beginning at RFK Stadium that ends at the Poplar Point Pumping station in Southeast, approximately 100 feet underground. It goes underneath the Anacostia River, CSX railroad tracks, and the Green Line. The entire project - which traverses underground 13 miles from Bloomingdale to DC Water's Blue Plains Wastewater Treatment Plant in Southeast - is designed to supplement the existing sewer system by capturing excess storm water and curb area flooding. After phase one, the Anacostia River Tunnel will serve as a storage tank for water until the storms pass - it can hold more than 38 million gallons of combined sewage, according to DC Water. By the end of phase two, expected to occur in 2022 or 2023, storm water will be piped to Blue Plains for treatment before its release through the Northeast Boundary Tunnel. Advertisement

In the posts, he also gave a look at the boring machine segments being lowered into the starter tunnel.

These are now 'going through final assembly,' according to Musk, and will eventually be 'a few hundred feet long.'

And, Musk shared a video of the rotating cutterhead, which is currently operating at standard industry speed  but, he says the firm is 'planning to jack this up by a factor of ten or more.'
A series of dazzling shots of the Milky Way galaxy have been taken through an aeroplane window mid-flight by a holidaymaker.

The plane's wing acts as a divide in the striking photos between the colourful Milky Way - dotted with bright white stars - and the vibrant lights from a city below.

The remarkable shot has received a lot of attention, but not all of it has been positive, with some claiming the photos are fake and have been photshopped.

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A dazzling shot of the Milky Way galaxy has been taken through an aeroplane window mid-flight by a holidaymaker. The plane's wing acts as a divide in the striking photos between the colourful Milky Way - dotted with bright white stars - and the vibrant lights from a city below

WHY THEY COULD BE FAKE Many online commenters have questioned the authenticity of the pictures, as the Milky Way is notoriously tough to capture. Shots of the Milky Way often require a slower shutter speed than the two seconds exposure time Mr Aust used. Clear snaps of the galaxy often take hours to set up, even on a stationary surface. But Mr Aust, who has been into photography since childhood, said the snaps were actually the result of good equipment, experience and luck. Advertisement

Matt Aust, 32, was returning home from a holiday in Bali with his partner Belinda when he caught the incredible snaps as he jetted from Malaysia to Saudi Arabia.

Many online commenters have questioned the authenticity of the pictures, as the Milky Way is notoriously tough to capture.

But German illustrator Mr Aust, who has a passion for astrophotography, is determined to prove the critics wrong and says he takes their disbelief as a 'weird' form of compliment.

He said: 'I had heard that it was possible to get a photo of the Milky Way from an aeroplane window and I wanted to know if it was true.

'So when we were on the plane and my girlfriend said there were lots of stars I decided to get my camera out of our hand luggage.

'In the photo you can see the centre of the Milky Way which is the most colourful part and I think the lights from the city give make it really different like it was taken in space - I'm really happy with it.

'There are a lot of people who do not want to believe that it's real and still don't believe me after I've explained it to them but I take that as just a weird way of them showing their appreciation.'

Semi-professional photographer Mr Aust took the shots using a Sony A7S camera set to ISO 20.000 with a Tokina Firin 20mm F2 lens and two seconds exposure time.

Despite cruising at 500mph (800kph), Mr Aust's photos capture otherworldly colours and lighting. The Milky Way is a barred spiral galaxy, measuring around 100-light-years across

THE MILKY WAY The Milky Way is a barred spiral galaxy that measures around 100-light-years across and is home to our solar system. Spiral galaxies make up about two thirds of the galaxies in the universe, and from above appear as a central bulge with four large, spiral arms wrapping around it. The spiral arms contain a high amount of dust and gas and curl around the galaxy's centre. New stars are constantly formed within the arms. Advertisement

Critics of the images have deemed them impossible as shots of the Milky Way often require a slower shutter speed and can take hours to set up, even on a stationary surface.

But Mr Aust, who has been into photography since childhood, said the snaps were actually the result of good equipment, experience and luck.

He said: 'I had to press the lens against the window to keep it steady and drape a blanket over the rest of the window to get rid of any reflection.

'The camera I'm using helps a lot as it is a camera specialised for low light photography.'

The Milky Way is a barred spiral galaxy that measures around 100-light-years across and is home to our solar system.

Spiral galaxies like the Milky Way (file photo) make up about two thirds of the galaxies in the universe, and from above appear as a central bulge with four large, spiral arms wrapping around it

Spiral galaxies make up about two thirds of the galaxies in the universe, and from above appear as a central bulge with four large, spiral arms wrapping around it.

The spiral arms contain a high amount of dust and gas and curl around the galaxy's centre.

New stars are constantly formed within the arms.
A native American appears to stare at a smartphone in a mural of colonial America that dates to 1937 sparking theories it could be proof of time travel.

This baffling painting, Mr. Pynchon and the Settling of Springfield, shows a man in the foreground holding 21st century technology - yet it depicts a scene from the 17th century.

The intriguing figure has feathers in his hair and is wearing a white loin clothe - but is holding the mystery object just like modern people hold smartphones.

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This 17th century painting, Mr. Pynchon and the Settling of Springfield, shows a man in the foreground holding what appears to be a smartphone

THE MYSTERY OBJECT This 17th century painting, Mr. Pynchon and the Settling of Springfield, shows a man in the foreground holding what appears to be a smartphone. The painting itself pre-dates the iPhone by nearly seven decades. The artist, Romano, who died in 1982, did not make any specific comments about this intriguing figure. Some experts say it could be an iron blade. Others say the man is holding a religious texts. Historian Daniel Brown believes the mystery object is in fact a mirror - which was used widely after it was introduced in the 17th century. Advertisement

Mr William Pynchon, born in 1590, was a successful fur trader who founded Springfield, Massachusetts.

He is pictured here surrounded by native Americans - in an event that happened nearly 400 years before the advent of smartphones.

The painting itself pre-dates the iPhone by nearly seven decades.

The Italian artist Umberto Romano, who died in 1982, did not make any specific comments about this intriguing figure.

'It does bear a rather uncanny resemblance, both in the way it's being held and the way it focuses his attention, to a smartphone,' Dr Margaret Bruchac from the University of Pennsylvania told Motherboard.

However, Dr Bruchac said it was more likely to be an iron blade, commenting that the painting was of a 'romanticized artistic genre' which made it hard to tell.

It 'says much about modern American fantasies and fictions of colonial White dominance vis-a-vis Indians', she said.

Although some believe this could be a sign that people could travel back in time historian Daniel Brown believes the mystery object is in fact a mirror - which was used widely after it was introduced in the 17th century.

The intriguing figure has feathers in his hair and is wearing a white loin clothe - but is holding the mystery object just like modern people hold smartphones

The man has feathers in his hair and appears to be wearing a white loin clothe - but is holding an object that looks strikingly like a smartphone (stock image)

'To put it in the kindliest possible terms, Romano's so-called 'abstract' aesthetic was willfully ambiguous,' Dr Crown told Motherboard.

At the time, Americans were intrigued by the idea of the noble savage.

'Given the scene's focus on the founding of Springfield, Romano, in reductive fashion, was probably trying to capture the introduction of modernity into a curious but technologically stunted community, which was instantly bewitched by Pynchon's treasure trove of shiny objects', he said.

Another possibility is that the man is holding a religious texts.

Dr Crown believes it could be a one of the gospels.

'These did exist at the time and were roughly the same rectangular shape', he said.
Apple's plans for a self driving car could eventually lead to a ridesharing platform to take on Uber, it has been claimed.

Apple's project, known internally as Project Titan, has hit numerous delays, but is now hiring new experts in software, and according to recent claims, has a clear direction - to take on Uber.

According to Business Insider, Apple is creating its autonomous systems with an eye to the ride-sharing and ride-hailing market.

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Disagreements among Apple's top brass have led to a dramatic scaling back of the firm's plans for a self-driving car, industry insiders have claimed. Apple was rumoured to be working on an ambitious fleet of autonomous vehicles, to be built by the company (concept image)

APPLE'S SELF-DRIVING CARS Apple officially secured a permit to test autonomous vehicles in California on April 14. Rumours began sweeping the web last year that Apple was toying with the idea of developing its own self-driving car. But Apple executives have been coy about their interest in the vehicles. Chief Executive Tim Cook has suggested that Apple wants to move beyond integration of Apple smartphones into vehicle infotainment systems. But the latest news to emerge from the firm suggest it is scaling back it's ambitions. Advertisement

Last year Apple invested $1 billion into Uber's Chinese competitor Didi Chuxing and has a seat on its board, while Lyft recently partnered with Waymo, Google's sister firm.

According to Business Insider, the firm is at the stage where Google's self-driving car project 'was three years ago,' according to a person who has seen Apple's system.

'Apple is just trying to play catch up,' this person told Business Insider.

Disagreements among Apple's top brass and a 'lack of clearly defined vision' have led to a dramatic scaling back of the firm's plans for a self-driving car.

Apple was rumoured to be working on an ambitious fleet of autonomous vehicles, to be built by the company.

That long-term dream, part of project Titan, now appears to have been abandoned in favour of developing technology to allow other vehicles to drive themselves.

In the short term, the firm is working on a self-operating shuttle service to ferry employees from its current campus and newly built headquarters, according to industry insiders.

Creative differences among management are responsible for the change of direction, according to recent reports from New York Times journalist Daisuke Wakabayashi.

Five people familiar with Project Titan spoke anonymously to the New York Times about the debates within the company.

Apple design guru Jony Ive is said to have favoured a fully autonomous vehicle, along the lines of efforts from Google's Waymo and Uber.

Project Titan's original head Steve Zadesky, who worked on the on the iPod and iPhone before leaving the firm in 2016, preferred a semi-autonomous approach similar to Tesla's vehicles.

But plans for building a car from scratch were reportedly shelved by hardware engineering expert Bob Mansfield, who took over the project last year.

Apple will instead focus on the underlying technology behind self-driving vehicles.

This will be used in a project codenamed PAIL, which stands for Palo Alto to Infinite Loop in reference to the company's two main bases of operation.

The shuttle, which has never been reported before, is expected to a commercially built vehicle adapted with Apple's autonomous driving technology.

One of Apple's fleet of self-driving test vehicles was captured emerging from a Silicon Valley research facility back in April.

The kitted-out white Lexus RX450h SUV was snapped by a passerby just two weeks after Apple was granted permission to test its autonomous vehicles in California

Apple joins a growing list of traditional car-makers, technology companies, and small start ups to test drive cars in California.

Apple will instead focus on the underlying technology behind self-driving vehicles. This will be used in a project codenamed PAIL, which stands for Palo Alto to Infinite Loop in reference to the company's two main bases of operation. This image shows the new Cupertino campus

Five people familiar with Project Titan spoke anonymously about the debates within the company's senior staff, including Project Titan's original head Steve Zadesky and design guru Jony Ive. This stock image shows Apple CEO Tim Cook

All are vying to be the first company to bring self-driving cars to the masses.

Companies that have been issued permits also include Alphabet Inc's Google unit, Ford Motor Co, Volkswagen AG, Daimler AG, Tesla Motors Inc and General Motors Co.

Many companies have said the first cars will launch in 2020 but some experts believe it may take much longer due to regulatory challenges.

Apple executives have been coy about their interest in cars.

Chief Executive Tim Cook has suggested that Apple wants to move beyond integration of Apple smartphones into vehicle infotainment systems.

Rumours began sweeping the web last year that Apple was toying with the idea of developing its own self-driving car.

And along with news word of mouth, came radical visual designs.

Apple joins a growing list of traditional car-makers, technology companies, and small start ups to test drive cars in California. This stock image shows one of Apple's self-driving vehicles snapped at the Las Vegas Convention Centre in 2013

A concept released by Luca Wrede showed a build that mirrored the minimalist design common to Apple products.

A wraparound dashboard screen shows speed, traffic predictions, and answers calls.

The vehicle can pull up Apple Maps, Safari, and Siri, which are indicated all on the interactive dashboard.

The concept car can even connect to the Apple Watch.

This video was one of many unravelling rumours surrounding 'Project Titan,' and opened the door for more questions than it answers.

The firm could see offering consumers its own car as a way to push their technology into the driver seat.

However, shortly after, Apple announced it would be shifting its focus to another venture.

The tech giant said it would put more energy into creating the software for an autonomous vehicle, opening the door to the possibility of partnering with other car companies.
When scientists first discovered an unusual purple frog in Indias Western Ghats mountain range back in 2003, the strange-looking creature was said to be unlike any other.

Now, however, researchers conducting field visits in the region have spotted a second, equally-bizarre member of the family.

The new species, dubbed Bhupathys purple frog, has a bulbous body covered in purple skin, blue-ringed eyes, and a pig-like nose  and, perhaps unsurprisingly, the experts say it spends most of its life underground.

The new species, dubbed Bhupathys purple frog, has a bulbous body covered in purple skin, blue-ringed eyes, and a pig-like nose  and, perhaps unsurprisingly, the experts say it spends most of its life underground

THE PURPLE FROG The newly discovered purple frog, named in honor of the late herpetologist Dr. Subramaniam Bhupathy, is now the second known member of the genus Nasikabatrachus. And, according to the researchers, its discovery was an extremely rare feat. Bhupathys purple frog has a bulbous body covered in purple skin, blue-ringed eyes, and a pig-like nose. It spends most of its life underground, emerging to the surface only to mate during the monsoon season. The tadpoles, however, spend months clinging to the cliffs behind waterfalls. Advertisement

According to a new study on the species, the frog is almost entirely subterranean.

It even eats underground, using a long tongue to collect ants and termites, National Geographic reports.

But, they do come to the surface for a chance to mate.

During the monsoon season, the male purple frogs call to females from beneath the sand.

Then, they mate in the streams, and leave behind their fertilized eggs, according to National Geographic.

Its not just the adult frogs that are strange in their appearance, the researchers note.

The tadpoles, they reveal, are quite unusual, too.

Once hatched, the tadpoles use a suckerfish-like mouth to cling to the rocks behind waterfalls, according to National Geographic.

While typical tadpoles develop in puddles and ponds, the purple frog offspring spend several months on the wet cliffs feasting on algae.

When scientists first discovered an unusual purple frog in Indias Western Ghats mountain range back in 2003, the strange-looking creature was said to be unlike any other. Now, however, researchers have spotted a second, equally-bizarre member of the family (pictured)

Its not just the adult frogs that are strange in their appearance, the researchers note. The tadpoles, they reveal, are quite unusual, too, as seen above. Once hatched, the tadpoles use a suckerfish-like mouth to cling to the rocks behind waterfalls

As adults, these frogs are incredibly elusive  but, thanks to their above-ground habits as tadpoles, the researchers were first able to spot the new species.

Then, they further tracked them by their mating calls.

During our recent field visits, we first noted the presence of Nasikabatrachus sp. by sighting its distinctive tadpoles in a stream that flows from the eastern slopes of the Western Ghats, during the northeast monsoon in 2010, the researchers explained in the study, published to the journal Alytes.

We used morphological, molecular, and bioacoustics data to ascertain the species status of this population.

The frogs were discovered in Indias Western Ghats mountains. Scientists noted their 'distinctive' tadpoles in the streams, and later tracked the adults by their mating calls

As a result, we describe a new species of the genus Nasikabatrachusthat occurs on the eastern slopes of the Western Ghats.

The newly discovered purple frog, named in honor of the late herpetologist Dr. Subramaniam Bhupathy, is now the second known member of the genus Nasikabatrachus.

And, according to the researchers, its discovery was an extremely rare feat.

This frog lineage is very ancient, co-author Elizabeth Predini, a herpetologist at the American Museum of Natural History, told National Geographic, and has a very low diversity, so this finding is very special and unusual.
Elon Musk's controversial startup to crate a 'Matrix' interface to plug the human brain directly into a computer has raised over $27m, it has been revealed.

Called Neuralink, SEC filings have revealed the scale of the firm for the first time.

It has raised the $26.96 million of a technically still-open funding round that could grow to $100 million - although Musk took to Twitter to say the firm is no longer raising cash.

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Elon Musk (pictured) said he will invent Matrix-style computers than can be implanted into the brain in just four years

COMPUTER-BRAIN INTERFACE Elon Musk's latest company Neuralink is working to link the human brain with a machine interface by creating micron-sized devices. Neuralink was registered in California as a 'medical research' company last July, and he plans on funding the company mostly by himself. It will work on what Musk calls the 'neural lace' technology, implanting tiny brain electrodes that may one day upload and download thoughts. He said 'neural laces' will help people with severe brain injuries in just four years. And in eight to ten years, the Matrix-style technology will be available to everyone, he added. Advertisement

Neuralink is working to link the human brain with a machine interface by creating micron-sized devices.

He said creating a brain-machine interface will be vital to help humans compete with the 'godlike' robots of the future.

Neuralink was registered in California as a 'medical research' company last July, and he plans on funding the company mostly by himself.

It will work on what Musk calls the 'neural lace' technology, implanting tiny brain electrodes that may one day upload and download thoughts.

'If I were to communicate a concept to you, you would essentially engage in consensual telepathy,' Musk told Wait But Why.

Neuralink is aiming to launch a product that will help people who suffer from serious brain injuries as a result of disorders such as stroke and cancer in just four years, Musk said.

And in eight to ten years, the Matrix-style technology will be available to everyone, he added.

'There are a bunch of concepts in your head that then your brain has to try to compress into this incredibly low data rate called speech or typing,' Musk said.

His latest company Neuralink is working to link the human brain with a machine interface by creating micron-sized devices (stock image)

'If you have two brain interfaces, you could actually do an uncompressed direct conceptual communication with another person.'

He said the time before the devices are released depend on regulatory approval and how well the devices work on people with disabilities.

Artificial intelligence and machine learning will create computers so sophisticated and godlike that humans will need to implant 'neural laces' in their brains to keep up, Musk said in a tech conference last year.

In June, Musk said Neuralink is a priority after much more demanding commitments to his automotive and rocket companies.

'Boring Co. is maybe 2 percent of my time; Neuralink is 3 percent to 5 percent of my time; OpenAI is going to be a couple of percent; and then 90-plus percent is divided between SpaceX and Tesla,' said Musk at the electric-car maker's annual shareholder meeting.

But in a recent interview with Y Combinator, Musk explained that the 'best outcome' between humankind and machines would be a collective lifestyle where 'we are the AI.'

Neuralink will work on what Musk calls the 'neural lace' technology, implanting tiny brain electrodes that may one day alter thoughts. Pictured, Keanu Reeves plugging into 'The Matrix'

Such a scenario would stamp out the possibility of an 'evil dictator AI,' Musk said, allowing anyone who wants to take part to become an 'AI-human symbiote.'

Musk likened the situation to the cooperation of the limbic system and the cortex in the human brain.

In the interview, he explained that these two systems  the primitive brain that controls your instincts, and the 'thinking part,' respectively  work well together, and it would extremely unusual to find someone who wished to get rid of one of them.

Building off of this, he told Y Combinator, 'I think if we can effectively merge with AI, like improving the neural link between the cortex and your digital extension of yourself, which already exists but just has a bandwidth issue, then effectively, you become an AI-human symbiote.'

This would also solve the 'control problem,' he went on to explain, as it could become so widespread that 'anyone who wants it can have it.'

'We don't have to worry about some evil dictator AI,' Musk told Y Combinator, 'because we are the AI collectively.
A male scientist has been vilified after saying he had solved one of the mysteries of evolution  why large numbers of heterosexual women find other women sexually attractive.

Menelaos Apostolou, from the University of Cyprus, says it is because men find it a turn-on to have a partner who is sexually attracted to other women.

Same-sex attraction in straight women has continued because men are happy to have female partners who also fancy the same sex.

Professor Menelaos Apostolou claimed same-sex attraction in straight women has continued because men are happy to have female partners who also fancy the same sex (stock image)

The trait makes them less likely to cheat with other men, Professor Apostolou claimed. But critics poured scorn on the study.

One woman tweeted: Lesbians: Im a woman who loves women. Im attracted to women and only women because women are great. Men: How can I make this about me?

Another wrote: I want to kick that guy in the face.

Professor Apostolou replied: This paper aims predominantly to account for the evolutionary origins of same-sex attraction in heterosexual women, and does not address lesbianism.

About a fifth of women say they experience a degree of same-sex attraction.
A 375-year-old mummified man who had parasitic liver infection was discovered in South Korea in the earlier case of the disease ever found.

Researchers think that the man caught the infection by eating raw shellfish, which was considered a treatment for measles at the time.

The mummified man, named Jing Lee, died in 1642 aged 63, and researchers found a lump on his liver containing parasite eggs.

The mummified man (pictured), named Jing Lee, died in 1642 aged 63, and researchers found a lump on his liver containing parasite eggs

The research on the mummy, published in the Journal of Parasitology, was conducted by researchers based at the Seoul National University College of Medicine.

It involved conducting a CT-scan of the body, which revealed a lump on the liver.

The body was excavated in 2014, in Cheongdo, South Korea, in a 17ht century tomb -- where well preserved clothes were also found.

Radiological image of the Cheongdo mummy. The liver mass (indicated by arrow) could be observed below the right sided diaphragm

The researchers decided to conduct a CT-scan of the mummy, after which they noticed the liver mass just below the right side of the diaphragm.

The researchers then decided to perform an autopsy to get a close look at the mass.

An incision was made in the anterior part of the torso, and the liver was carefully excised.

WHAT IS PARAGONIMIASIS? Paragonimus westermani is a parasitic fluke flatworm that can cause a disease called paragonimiasis. An adult specimen of Paragonimus westermani According to the CDC, the disease tends to infect the lungs of human after eating infected raw or undercooked shellfish. In less frequent but more serious cases, the parasite can travel to the central nervous system. They usually penetrate through the intestines and migrate within the body, most often ending up in the lungs. In 6-10 weeks, the larvae mature into adults which can live in the lungs, causing lung disease. After 2-15 days, the initial signs may be diarrhea and pain in the abdomen. This can be followed several days later by fever, chest pain and fatigue. Symptoms can also include dry cough, which can lead to a cough with blood-tinged sputum. Diagnosis is usually made by finding the parasites eggs in sputum or stools, but one diagnosis is mage it can be cured Advertisement

They then autopsied the mass, and used a microscope to examine it - revealing the eggs of a parasite named Paragonimus westermani.

Paragonimus westermani is a parasitic fluke flatworm that can cause a disease called paragonimiasis.

According to the CDC, the disease tends to infect the lungs of human after eating infected raw or undercooked shellfish.

In less frequent but more serious cases, the parasite can travel to the central nervous system.

In the case of Jing Lee, the parasite had reached his liver and he was suffering from hepatic paragonimiasis.

Researchers believe that Lee may have picked up the parasite by eating raw shellfish, which were eaten by the Joseon culture that he belonged to, and it was also considered an effective treatment for measles at the time.

Dr James Diaz, a researcher at the Louisiana State University Health Science Center in New Orleans and who was not an author of the study, told New Scientist that the disease is still quite common today, mostly in South-East Asia and areas in Central and South America, where people often eat raw or undercooked seafood.

A mummified man, named Jing Lee, died in 1642 aged 63, and researchers found a lump on his liver containing parasite eggs. Pictured is an egg of the Paragonimus westermani parasite

'The parasite will penetrate through the lining of the intestine and then its free to move around the peritoneal cavity,' says Dr Diaz.

According to Dr Diaz, the parasite usually heads for the lungs, although it can go towards the liver, as was the case for Jing Lee, and it then forms a cyst filled with eggs.

Dissection of the mummy. (A) Liver (Lv). (B) Exposed mummified liver seen from below. (C) Mummy liver removed. Arrow shows the portion where liver mass is situated. (D) Bisected liver mass. Outer-capsular (OC) and inner-trabecular (IT) parts could be differentiated

A clear symptom can occur if the cyst in the lungs bursts, and the eggs will enter the airways, manifesting itself as the patient spitting out blood.

According to Dr Karl Reinhard, a researcher at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the study is the latest in a series of investigations showing that parasites were common in ancient Korean mummies - all 18 examined so far have each had at least one parasite.
A 100-acre stretch of land in Waco, Texas has come to be known as somewhat of a mammoth hub.

With the remains of at least 23 of these late-Pleistocene beasts found at the site, Waco holds whats thought to be the only known fossil nursery of a herd of Columbian mammoths in the US.

But, an isotope study on a 67,000-year-old mammoth tooth now suggests the giant mammals may once have grazed in a region near modern-day Austin  over 120 miles away.

With the remains of at least 23 of these late-Pleistocene beasts found at the site, Waco holds whats thought to be the only known fossil nursery of a herd of Columbian mammoths in the US. Remains of a juvenile mammoth at Waco are pictured above

THE COLUMBIAN MAMMOTHS OF WACO The first of the bones were discovered in a ravine in 1978. In the years to follow, researchers unearthed the remains of roughly two dozen Columbian mammoths. At the same site, they also found the bones of several other Ice Age animals, including the remains of a Western camel, dwarf antelope, American alligator, giant tortoise, and the tooth of a juvenile saber-toothed cat. In July 2015, the Waco Mammoth Site became recognized by then-President Barack Obama as a national monument. Waco sits more than 120 miles from the site near Austin, where the researchers now suspect these mammoths grazed. Advertisement

The unexpected find could shed new light on the behaviour of the creatures that once roamed the region, helping scientists to better understand how they lived, and if they truly traveled as a unified herd, according to Live Science.

In new research presented at the 2017 Society of Vertebrate Paleontology meeting, a team led by Don Esker of Baylor University revealed the nutrients in the mammoth tooth indicate it was eating grasses from soil outside of Waco.

Based on the presence of carbon 4, the researchers say the mammoths in Texas primarily ate grasses and sedges, along with other types of vegetation.

But, the strontium isotopes indicate that much of the grass they consumed came from 'granite-derived soil, Esker told Live Science.

This type of soil could be found not in Waco, but in an area just west of Austin.

According to the researcher, the discovery comes as a surprise, considering the concentration of these extinct beasts discovered at the Waco site.

Based on the presence of carbon 4, the researchers say the mammoths in Texas primarily ate grasses and sedges, along with other types of vegetation. But, the strontium isotopes indicate that much of the grass they consumed came from granite-derived soil, Esker told Live Science

The first of the bones were discovered in a ravine in 1978.

In the years to follow, researchers unearthed the remains of roughly two dozen Columbian mammoths.

At the same site, they also found the bones of several other Ice Age animals, including the remains of a Western camel, dwarf antelope, American alligator, giant tortoise, and the tooth of a juvenile saber-toothed cat.

In July 2015, the Waco Mammoth Site became recognized by then-President Barack Obama as a national monument.

Waco sits more than 120 miles from the site near Austin, where the researchers now suspect these mammoths grazed.

This type of soil could be found not in Waco, but in an area just west of Austin. According to the researcher, the discovery comes as a surprise. The purple region in the map above shows the area that matched the strontium in the tooth

With additional studies on teeth from other mammoths, the team hopes to find out more about the herd that once roamed the region.

While its thought that these beasts traveled as a group, this idea has yet to be confirmed.

And, they may not have arrived to Waco as early as researchers previously suspected.

They really werent in the Waco area until right before they died, which is a little unexpected, Esker told Live Science at the conference.

Two hundred kilometers is within the largest distance that weve known Columbian mammoths to travel, but only just.
Even after making Wonder Woman a massive hit earning $800 million worldwide, Gal Gadot still has her naysayers.

The Israeli born actress, 32, responded to body shamers claiming she wasn't curvy enough to play the iconic heroine in the latest Rolling Stone magazine.

'Listen, if you want to be for real, then the Amazons, they had only one boob,' she said, alluding to a theory in Greek mythology. 'So what are you talking about here? Me having small boobs and small ass? That will make all the difference.'

Warrior: Gal Gadot, 32,responded to body shamers claiming she wasn't curvy enough to play the iconic heroine in the latest Rolling Stone magazine

In the magazine, she also joked about the difficulties she faced when filming action scene re-shoots for the superhero movie while pregnant with her second child.

The actress admitted she was initially reluctant to share the news that she was expecting with the cast and crew.

She said: 'I didn't want attention. The default should be that women get the job done, but there's a long way to go and a lot of reprogramming that needs to be done to both genders.

'We cut open the costume and had this green screen on my stomach. It was funny as hell  Wonder Woman with a bump.'

No curves ahead: 'Listen, if you want to be for real, then the Amazons, they had only one boob,' she said, alluding to a theory in Greek mythology. 'So what are you talking about here? Me having small boobs and small ass? That will make all the difference.'

On the run: Gadot has talked plenty about Wonder Woman, which has earned more than $400 million domestically and close to $800 million worldwide

In the new issue of Rolling Stone - for which she wears the superhero's signature wristlets - Gal also revealed she was a tomboy growing up in Israel and often got scraped up as she played hard.

'There was no TV-watching. It was always "Take a ball and go play,"' she began.

'In general, I was a good girl, a good student, a pleaser, and I was a tomboy. Always with wounds and scratches on my knees.'

From a young age the star was taught to be tough. Gal and her younger sister were taught 'to believe that we're capable, to value ourselves' as they grew up in Rosh Ha'ayin, a small city in the center of Israel.

Her start: After serving her two mandatory years in the Israel Defense Forces, she entered the Miss Israel pageant. Seen in 2004

Already on display: Miss Israel Gadot waved to photographers in 2004 in Ecuador

She perfected the pageant wave: Miss Trinidad and Tobago Danielle Jones and Miss Israel

It taught her to not be a shrinking violet. 'People always ask me, "Are you a feminist?" And I find the question surprising, because I think, "Yes, of course. Every woman, every man, everyone should be a feminist. Because whoever is not a feminist is a sexist."'

She is married to real-estate developer Yaron Versano; seen in May

So it's odd that she entered the modeling world.

Gadot said: 'I was like, "Posing for money? Ugh, it's not for me."'

After serving her two mandatory years in the Israel Defense Forces, she entered the Miss Israel pageant.

'I told myself, "I'm just gonna do this. They're gonna fly us to Europe, and I'm gonna get to tell my grandchildren that Grandmom did the Miss Israel thing."

She added: 'Little did I know that I would win.'

Next came the Miss Universe pageant: 'I knew that I did not want to win Miss Universe. It wasn't my thing. For an 18-year-old, it looked like too much responsibility. I lost majorly. I victoriously lost.'

The start: 'Zack [Snyder] called me and was like, "So do you know what you're testing for?" I said, No. He said, "Well, I'm not sure if you have her in Israel, but did you hear about Wonder Woman?"'

Then came love. She married real-estate developer Yaron Versano and they talked their future. She entered law school.

But she was pulled back into show biz when she was asked to audition as a Bond girl.

'I told my agent, "What are you talking about? I'm in school. I'm not an actress. I'm not gonna go." And he was like, "Just show respect and go."'

The audition led to a part in The Fast And The Furious, which led to Wonder Woman.

Update: She now lives in LA with her family and her new movie Justice League will be released on November 17

'Zack [Snyder] called me and was like, "So do you know what you're testing for?" I said, No. He said, "Well, I'm not sure if you have her in Israel, but did you hear about Wonder Woman?"'

She knew who WW was. Lynda Carter had played the superhero with much success in the 1970s TV series.

'I've had my moments where I've felt like men were misbehaving  nothing sexual, but inappropriate in a sexist way. Dismissive. Life wasn't always rosy and peachy for me as a woman in the world,' she said to explain how she could relate to Diana Prince.

Gal now lives in LA with her family (she has two children Maya and Alma) and her new movie Justice League will be released on November 17.
Rating:

The Duke of Wellington looms across a packed hotel lobby to proclaim the secrets behind the success of Victoria, ITV's Sunday night costume drama triumph.

'Beauty,' rumbles the actor Peter Bowles. 'And the historical scope of the series  English, European and world history combined.

'It's all that and some very good acting. Of course there is romance  Victoria had nine children. But really,' he adds, lowering his voice mischievously so the rest of the cast at the screening don't hear him, 'I presume the viewers all switch on for me.'

Victoria and Albert were the Antony and Cleopatra of the 19th century  a ruler and her consort whose love was a rollercoaster of passion and drama  so we can expect a lot of emotional fireworks in the second series, which starts on Sunday

The second series of Victoria, picking up in 1840 after the birth of the Queen's first baby, is the most sumptuous and visually rich show currently on television. Opulence drips from the screen. Pictured: Cast members Tom Hughes and Jenna Coleman at the series' London launch

He's right about the beauty. The second series of Victoria, picking up in 1840 after the birth of the Queen's first baby, is the most sumptuous and visually rich show currently on television.

Opulence drips from the screen. Chandeliers like waterfalls cascade from the palace ceilings. There's so much brocade on the imperial uniforms that, if it could be unravelled, it would probably stretch from London to Harrogate, where the drama is filmed.

Though all the scenes are brief, riffling past so fast they begin to blur  a TV style patented by Downton Abbey with great success  each is composed with infinite care. They are drenched in light and colour.

One particularly striking moment sees Prince Albert (Tom Hughes) fencing with his brother at the edge of a lake, their reflections duelling below them.

Sparks are flying both on and off screen as Jenna Coleman and Tom Hughes (pictured) play Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in the series about 'one of the greatest love stories ever'

Wedding talk: Coleman wore what appeared to be an engagement ring at the launch. Sparks have been flying between Coleman and Hughes both on and off screen

Another stunning shot comes when Albert and his beloved Queen (Jenna Coleman) go riding together for the first time since the birth: she is on a white horse, he on a chestnut stallion, and they look like a picturebook couple from a fairytale.

In fact, as Miss Coleman confessed after the preview at a Soho hotel yesterday, if there's a diva on the set it is her former show pony, Almonzo.

She rides sidesaddle and, when he's feeling flashy, the horse will display his dance steps. All the Queen can do is hang on.

Bowles is right, too, about the historical setting, which this time is in the foreground.

The story opens with British soldiers under attack in Afghanistan, freezing to death and surrounded by marauding tribesmen. Writer Daisy Goodwin says the modern parallels were unavoidable: then as now, conflict in Afghanistan was dominating the headlines, as well as a political crisis over foreign trade that threatened to unseat the Prime Minister.

Series one became a huge hit for ITV in 2016, watched by an average 7.7 million viewers each week. Pictured: Hughes and Coleman together at the series launch at London's Ham Yard Hotel

For the repeal of the Corn Laws in the 1840s, read Brexit in the 21st century.

Of course, not every viewer will tune in to Victoria to discover telling metaphors for today's news.

Some fans at the screening were determined to immerse themselves in the period, all bundled up in crinolines and bonnets.

Others were there to swoon and, when the trailer at the end revealed that Rufus Sewell will return next month as the saturnine heart-throb Lord Melbourne, there were gasps and thuds around the auditorium as female forms tumbled ecstatically to the floor.

Though no one would describe Victoria as a cartload of laughs, it has a streak of humour threaded through the satins and bows.

When we first see her, Victoria  post-pregnancy  is confined to an invalid chair, a cross between a wheelbarrow and a tin bath, being steered through the palace corridors by her footmen.

And during one of her many rows with Albert, she attacks his obsession with Army uniforms, and accuses him and the Cabinet of 'thinking too much about your helmets'. Cue squeals of coarse laughter from the cheaper seats.

The fights are frequent, an element that Miss Coleman insists is true to life. She is an avid reader of Victoria's diaries, which have been transcribed and are available online, and quoted a line about how the couple were forever storming into private rooms and locking the doors against each other.

Victoria is kissed by Leopold, played by Alex Jennings, in the first episode of the second series

Miss Goodwin, who created the show, says she sees Victoria and Albert 'in the realms of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. They love each other but they row all the time, the most incredible rows. This was rocket fuel. Victoria once threw a glass of wine at her husband, in full view of everybody. That's what I try to bring out.' The one thing resolutely not to be brought out is the off-screen relationship between Miss Coleman and Hughes.

Fans and reporters tried doggedly to get them to comment on how their own love affair was reflected onscreen, and their answers were deftly evasive.

Certainly the dewy-eyed embrace of Vicky and her Prince Charming beneath white cotton sheets was convincing. The most dramatic element of this episode was the arrival of the Duchess of Buccleuch, played by Dame Diana Rigg, who performs a curtsy with such swagger, it deserves a brass band fanfare.

Apparently Dame Diana's contract includes a clause guaranteeing that after each day's shooting she is brought a bottle of chilled Prosecco. She pours herself a glass, and shares the rest with the film crew. Now that's regal.
It is a legal saga that has dragged on for years.

But the Kardashian sisters have finally emerged victorious in a fight over the name of their old Khroma Beauty makeup line.

However the only reason they succeeded as they had already settled with the original claimant of the original lawsuit, and this time they were battling with the company's European offshoot.

Putting a gloss on it: Kim Kardashian and her sisters finally had a victory in their long-running Khroma Beauty legal fight

Euro Kroma had been claiming it should be entitled to a share of the cash payout they had made to Kroma Makeup, which had sued the sisters and the manufacturing company behind their line over the alleged theft of its name.

According to TMZ the Pyrrhic victory came after the ruling judge decided the European company did not have standing in the case, and upheld that the original settlement was enough to settle the matter.

This was despite documents showing Kroma's founder Lee Tillett had not shared any of the settlement cash with the company's European arm.

The Kardashian sisters previously reached a settlement in their ongoing lawsuit pertaining to their Khroma line away back in 2014.

Doh: The classy ladies were sued as the name was too similar to established brand Kroma Makeup

You beauty: A judge ruled their previous settlement meant they did not have to give cash to the company's European offshoot

Documents previously revealed that Kim, Kourtney and Khloe, along with Boldface Licensing And Branding, which put out the range of cosmetics, reached an agreement with Lee Tillet, Inc.

According to the documents: 'A settlement has been reached by all the parties as to the entire action. The parties are in the process of drafting settlement documentation.'

It goes on to state that the undisclosed settlement 'provides for certain actions to be taken over a period of time, and, accordingly, the parties request that the entire case be stayed until February 15, 2015, at which time a stipulation for dismissal of the entire action will be filed.'

Stroke of genius: The creative brains behind the brand renamed it Kardashian Beauty

Tillet founded her Florida-based company Kroma Makeup in 2004 and was seeking $10 million in damages for the alleged theft of her brand name.

Boldface swiftly rebranded the girls' line as Kardashian Beauty soon after the lawsuit was filed back in June 2012.

Meanwhile, the stars attempted to distance themselves from the case, asking the judge to dismiss them from the suit as they claimed they were not involved in the running of Boldface.

They also requested that the court documents be sealed to protect their lucrative business dealings.

Here we go again: Kim and Khloe launching the renamed brand back in 2015

Their filing claimed 'documents contain confidential information regarding the licensing practices of the Kardashians and what they consider when licensing their intellectual property.

'Such information is extremely valuable, and could be used by other licensors and competitors of the Kardashians to their advantage. The Kardashians take steps to keep such information confidential.'

The paperwork went on to state that the sisters 'respectfully request the Court seal all unredacted versions of' the contested documents.

The judge agreed to the request and 'ordered that the filing documents are to be filed under seal'.
Chantel Jeffries posed in a skimpy white bikini for an Instagram snap Thursday.

The 23-year-old, who recently revealed she'd undergone breast reduction surgery after having implants, showed off her trimmer bust in the sexy snap.

'8am in Bali,' she captioned the hot pic that she posted to her 2.9 million followers.

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'8am in Bali': Chantel Jeffries, 23, posted this sexy bikini snap to her Instagram on Thursday as she vacations in Indonesia

The white top was gathered in the middle and featured tied straps.

The very tiny bottoms rode up high on her thighs emphasizing her small waist and washboard abs.

Chantel found fame after reportedly briefly dating Justin Bieber in 2014 and has translated it into a modeling and social media career.

Smaller cups: The social media celebrity, who recently revealed she'd had breast reduction surgery after having implants, showed off her trimmer bust in the skimpy white two-piece

Working it: She also sported matching white-framed sunglasses and pouted in a short video she shared via Snapchat

'Snacks!': On Wednesday, the dark-haired beauty had shared this snap of herself feeding a baby elephant during her Bali vacation

A day earlier, she had shared a pic of herself with a baby elephant during her trip to the Indonesian island.

She once again showed off her cleavage in a tight-fitting polka dot mini dress.

Chantel decided to share her traumatic cosmetic surgery journey with her fans via a vlog, speaking candidly about her bad experience.

The brunette shared a lengthy video to her YouTube channel last week detailing her ordeal.

Cosmetic pain: The former Justin Bieber galpal shared her traumatic experience with breast augmentation in a video on her YouTube subsciption channel

She claimed stress made her weight fluctuate and she wanted to make sure her breasts remained the same size despite her yo-yo-ing figure.

At her most, she weighed 130 pounds, she said, while at other times she dropped to 100 pounds. That meant her bra size transitioned between a D cup and a B cup, she explained.

'Thats a pretty big difference,' she said in the video.

Boob focused: Chantel claimed stress made her weight fluctuate and she got implants to maintain a constant breast size

New look: On Monday, she shared this bikini photo after having a breast reduction and lift to correct her previous cosmetic surgery in which she got implants

'When you go from a D to a B and youre losing that volume and weight, it does affect your breasts negatively,' she stated. 'It makes them more deflated-looking, saggy and it can give you stretch marks, so it just was not the best look.'

While she decided to get implants, in retrospect she claims she didn't receive the best advice from the medical experts she sought out.

'Just because theyre doctors, doesnt mean they know everything,' the 23-year-old Instagram celebrity cautioned.

Problematic: Chantel claimed that, having got her breasts enhanced, she gained weight again and ended up with bigger boobs than she had anticipated

Having got her breasts enhanced, she says she gained weight again and ended up with bigger boobs than she had anticipated.

She blamed an added 10 pounds for making look too big and giving her a DD cup size that, she says, she 'never wanted.'

'I felt like they looked fake,' she said. 'I felt like I didnt look like myself. I didnt want that.'

'I didnt want people looking at me and just looking at my boobs  I was never that person,' she claimed in the video.

Famous for a reason: She's seen in April, left, with her surgically enhanced breasts

Last week, she underwent a breast reduction and lift and shared a photo on Instagram showing off her minimized bosom.

'If youre considering breast implants, or taking them out and getting a lift, I hope that this video helps you,' she told her social media followers.

'Getting it done the first time hurts a lot, but the lift doesnt hurt hardly as much,' she said encouragingly.
Nadine Coyle has leapt to her Girls Aloud bandmate's defence after both her CBB housemates and the public seemingly turned against her.

Sarah Harding, 35, has come under scrutiny of late with her fellow contestants criticising her drinking and calling her out on her romance with Chad Johnson while she allegedly has a secret boyfriend on the outside.

But Northern Irish songstress Nadine has taken to Twitter to back her pal up, insisting that if she were in the house, 'No one would DARE utter a bad word about her.'

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Show of support: Nadine Coyle has leapt to her Girls Aloud bandmate Sarah Harding's defence after both her CBB housemates and the public seemingly turned against her

On Thursday, Nadine fired off a string of tweets in support of Sarah, sharing some 'inside info' about her close friend.

She said: '[Sarah] is a very natural being. She swells on her feelings and acts of them. It is what makes her so unique.'

Nadine continued to defend Sarah, adding: 'Those of us who know and love her know that the support from you guys will mean the world to her.'

Controversial: The Girls Aloud star has divided viewers of Celebrity Big Brother with her antics in the house

She concluded: 'If I was there, no one would DARE utter a bad word about her.'

Meanwhile, Girls Aloud star Nicola Roberts seemingly refused to speak out in support Sarah in a chat with The Sun.

When asked about Sarah at an industry event, Nicola replied: 'I don't want to talk about that.'

Gal pals: Northern Irish songstress Nadine has taken to Twitter to back her pal up, insisting that if she were in the house, 'No one would DARE utter a bad word about her'

Her lack of opinion comes after Sarah told her housemates she only spoke to three of her former band mates - Nadine, Cheryl and Kimberley Walsh - and her friend Michelle Vince confirmed to New! magazine it was Nicola who she had lost contact with.

Michelle revealed: 'She didn't mean anything by that, but she wasn't as close to Nicola as she was the other girls. There's been no fall-out.'

Sarah also came under fire from girlband Fifth Harmony, after she criticised their skimpy stage outfits and dance routines, with singer Dinah Jane saying she 'didn't know who she (Sarah) is'.

Adding: 'Those of us who know and love her know that the support from you guys will mean the world to her.'

TOWIE star Frankie Essex also expressed fears for the star, telling The Sun:'That Sarah Harding. I just think 'Are you alright? Is she going to come out? Does she need help?'

While Sarah's ex fling Calum Best called her a 'super fragile' girl but said he believed she would turn public opinion around.

Speaking on Wednesday's episode of CBB, Sarah reminisced about her pop star days.

She said: 'I'm such a fun loving person when I'm on form and with the right people around me but I'm also really sensitive and my confidence was severely knocked over the last five or six years since the band ended.

'Nobody really tells you what to do when you've been up there for a majority of years.

'You've had a lot of crazy life changing scenarios happen during that time and then all of a sudden it's gone.

'I hugely underestimated how big we were because I was in a bubble.

'I do miss them... I do miss them - but we are all grown up now.'

Drifting apart: Sarah told her housemates she only spoke to three of her former band mates and her friend Michelle Vince confirmed to New! magazine it was Nicola who she had lost contact with
She suffered an unfortunate injury while on holiday in Europe last month.

And Lisa Wilkinson has now blasted the doctors in Italy who treated her, saying they 'need training desperately' for putting the wrong cast on her arm.

The 57-year-old spoke with Confidential on Thursday about the 'shocking nerve damage' she suffered, resulting in all tasks taking her 'four times longer' than usual.

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Ouch! Lisa Wilkinson has blasted the doctors in Italy who treated her recent injury, saying they 'need training desperately' for putting the wrong cast on her arm

'I walked into the hospital and it was like walking into a building in Beirut,' the Today show co-host described.

'They need training desperately because they put a cast on that has basically strangled my arm, so most of my issues now are shocking nerve damage,' she added.

The journalist explained how doctors told her it will be another full year before she will be able to get back to doing 'what I could do before the injury'.

'I walked into the hospital and it was like walking into a building in Beirut,' the Today show co-host described

She explained how her husband Peter Fitzsimons has been assisting her with showering daily, 'including taking my bra on and off', and driving her to work at the crack of dawn.

'It took me 11 minutes to get my bra off last night and this morning I got my bra on and it took 15 minutes,' she explained.

The beauty complained about how everything she does now takes 'four times longer', giving her Spanx as an exaggerated example.

'Putting Spanx on takes nine times longer, I have timed it! Have you ever tried to put Spanx on with one thumb? Thats literally what I have to do,' she lamented.

'They need training desperately because they put a cast on that has basically strangled my arm, so most of my issues now are shocking nerve damage,' she said

Change of tune: Her comments come after she initially gushed about her doctors in Italy in a column she penned for Huffington Post last month

After removing her fibreglass cast one week ago, Lisa took off the protective splint on Monday.

She took to Instagram to celebrate her 'small victory' and explained her 'puffy hand' as being 'still a long way from happy'.

'Took my bra on and off by myself and everything!! Small victories, hey?' she added.

Her comments come after she initially gushed about her doctors in Italy in a column she penned for Huffington Post last month.

Lisa wrote that the reception she and her husband received was 'stunning' and she was 'treated with equal speed, warmth and professionalism'.

'I was in the hands of wonderful professionals, an orthopedic specialist whose case was touching, whose humanity shone through, and who - blessedly at last - managed to find a way to ease the pain,' she wrote in the gushing post.

'Ultimately, not the mid-year break I was looking for - snapped in two places - but, still, thank you Italy for your beautiful vistas and great big heart,' she added.
On Thursday, her former nanny won the right to sue her for defamation.

And according to reports, Mel B's court case, scheduled for April 2018, could expose intimate details of her sex life.

The former Spice Girl, 42, is also said to be concerned that their five-year-old daughter Madison is being caught in the middle of the storm, accusing estranged husband Stephen Belafonte of 'enjoying the attention'.

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Concerned: According to reports, Mel B's court case, scheduled for April 2018, could expose intimate details of her sex life

Speaking about her upcoming court case, a source told The Sun: 'It's a nightmare for Mel. Lorraine's lawyers have got total licence to grill her. That's going to include going into the depths of her sex life.

'There's nothing off limits. It could even bring other celebrity names into the mess.'

Meanwhile, TMZ reports that Mel B is accusing her Stephen of putting media exposure ahead of their children's well-being.

The singer has reportedly filed documents asking for her ongoing legal battle with her estranged husband to be sealed from the public in a bid to protect her children.

The website claims that she stated: 'While [Stephen] may enjoy the media attention, the minor child of this marriage did not ask to be placed in the center of this mounting storm.'

Worried: The former Spice Girl, 42, is also said to be concerned that their five-year-old daughter Madison is being caught in the middle of the storm, accusing estranged husband Stephen Belafonte of 'enjoying the attention'

However, Belafonte has reportedly vehemently denied exploiting the case or alerting the media to his visitation schedule.

MailOnline has contacted Mel's representatives for comment.

The star could now face a painful 1.56million ($2million) bill if Lorraine Gilles, 26, wins the lawsuit against her.

The two parties are being urged by judge to settle the case out of court, with Mel B already facing a 195,000 legal bill.

Expensive business: Mel could now face a painful 1.56million ($2million) bill if Lorraine Gilles, 26, wins the lawsuit defamation against her, approved and scheduled for July 2018

After Lorraine Giles won the right to sue Mel B over claims she was a 'home wrecker', Los Angeles judge Dalila Lyons encouraged the duo to settle.

According to The Sun, friends of the America's Got Talent judge are concerned the case, on top of her messy ongoing battle with her husband Stephen Belafonte, could bankrupt the star.

Mel, who is mother to Phoenix, 18, with backing dancer Jimmy Gulzar, Angel, 10, from her relationship with Eddie Murphy, and 5-year-old Madison with Stephen, is embroiled in a bitter war after announcing the end of her 10 year marriage to him earlier this year.

While she accused him of physical and mental abuse, he has denied the claims, and is seeking access rights to Madison and Angel.

Green light: Lorraine, pictured attending court with her husband Michael Bleau in LA on Tuesday, won the right to a jury trial for her defamation case against Mel on Tuesday

On Tuesday, Lorraine won the right to a jury trial in the defamation case against the former Spice Girl - raising the prospect of yet more revelations surrounding her private life being aired in court.

The former nanny is suing Mel after the star claimed she had an affair with her now estranged husband, Stephen Belafonte, also 42, was told by a judge she can make her case at a trial next July.

Mel's legal rep had tried to stop Gille's defamation action at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in Los Angeles on Tuesday, arguing Mel had no choice in naming the former nanny to get a restraining order against Belafonte.

Settle? After Lorraine won the right to sue Mel B over claims she was a 'home wrecker', Los Angeles judge Dalila Lyons encouraged the duo to settle the case out of court

But Judge Dalila Lyons said the case now has to go to civil trial on July 23.

The expected ten-day trial will include details of Mel and Belafonte's sex life including how they enjoyed threesome sex with Gilles.

Judge Lyons also said she 'strongly urged' the warring parties to reach an out-of-court settlement before the trial date.

Battle: Mel has claimed that Lorraine was having an affair with her then husband but Gilles launched the defamation case saying that while she did have sex with Belafonte and had an abortion, her main lover was in fact Mel

Mel has claimed that Lorraine was having an affair with her then husband but Gilles launched the defamation case saying that while she did have sex with Belafonte and had an abortion, her main lover was in fact Mel.

Gilles claims in legal docs that Mel seduced her when she was aged just 18 and they had a seven-year sexual relationship.

Mel has hit back saying Stephen paid the nanny 'in excess' of $300,000 over three years for her work.

Spreading it thin: Pals of the America's Got Talent judge are said to be concerned the case, on top of her messy ongoing battle with her husband Stephen Belafonte, could bankrupt the star

She says Lorraine was made pregnant by Belafonte in 2014 and that he used her money to pay for Gilles to have an abortion.

Lorraine says Mel has made her out to be 'a homewrecker, prostitute, and extortionist.'

In legal documents she said that Mel 'seduced a naive and a curious 18-year-old foreign exchange student  with alcohol, fame, and casual sex.'

She says: 'Belafonte was not present during most of the sexual encounters' and that when she and Belafonte did have sex, it would be filmed by Mel.

Married for 10 years: While Mel accused him of physical and mental abuse, Stephen has denied the claims, and is seeking access rights to Madison and Angel

She added that her 'sexual and employment relationship with Brown continued for approximately seven years.'

She also says she 'personally witnessed both Brown and Belafonte bring different women into their home and engage in group sex on multiple occasions.'

Gilles also says she became pregnant as a result of a one-night stand with another man, not from having sex with Belafonte, and she did have an abortion.

She claims to have confided this with Mel and that Mel helped arrange for her to have the abortion and care for her afterwards.

Mum-of-three: Mel, who is mother to Phoenix, 18, with backing dancer Jimmy Gulzar, Angel, 10, from her relationship with Eddie Murphy, and 5-year-old Madison with Stephen, is embroiled in a bitter war after announcing the end of her 10 year marriage to him this year

Gilles is seeking unspecified damages and is suing for libel, invasion of privacy, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Mel's divorce battle with Belafonte is also ongoing after announcing the end of her ten-year marriage in March.

He denies inflicting years of mental and physical abuse on her during their time together.

The couple and their reps are set to face each other in the coming weeks over access to their daughter, Madison, five.

Eddie Murphy, father of Mel's daughter Angel, ten, could also be drawn into the battle after a judge said that Belafonte could apply to see the little girl who he says regards him as a father figure.

Belafonte is currently allowed to see daughter Madison but only under heavy supervision.

Court hearings have also heard that Mel has wiped out much of her $50million fortune thanks to an extravagant lifestyle.

The full divorce hearing takes place on September 25.
Sean Hayes got cozy on the keys with guest star Harry Connick Jr. while filming episode three on the Universal Studios set of NBC's revived sitcom Will & Grace on Wednesday.

The two-time Emmy-winning duo - both rocking their wedding bands - grinned as they spooned each other on the same bench while playing a few songs on the piano in between takes.

'Are Jack and Leo dating in the new season? Plot twist!' the 49-year-old jazz crooner wrote on Instagram.

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Filming episode three! Sean Hayes (L) got cozy on the keys with guest star Harry Connick Jr. (R) while on the Universal Studios set of NBC's revived sitcom Will & Grace on Wednesday

The 47-year-old actor - who came out in 2010 - will celebrate his third wedding anniversary with his partner of over a decade, Will & Grace composer Scott Icenogle, in November.

Meanwhile, Harry (born Jospeh) has three daughters - Georgia, 21; Sarah, 19; and Charlotte, 15; - with his wife of 23 years, former Victoria's Secret stunner Jill Goodacre.

Connick Jr. previously played Grace Adler's (Debra Messing) Jewish doctor husband Leo Markus - with whom she had daughter Laila - on 23 episodes of the groundbreaking LGBTQ series.

'Time to swooooooonnnnn. Yup! He's backkkkkkkkkkkk!' the flame-haired 49-year-old gushed on Instagram Tuesday.

Snuggles: The Emmy-winning duo - both rocking their wedding bands - grinned as they spooned each other on the bench while playing a few songs on the piano in between takes

The 49-year- old jazz crooner wrote on Instagram: 'Are Jack and Leo dating in the new season? Plot twist!'

Came out in 2010: The 47-year-old actor (R) will celebrate his third wedding anniversary with his partner of over a decade, Will & Grace composer Scott Icenogle, in November

Bronx recreation hall: Harry (born Jospeh) has three daughters - Georgia, 21; Sarah, 19; and Charlotte, 15; - with his wife of 23 years, former Victoria's Secret stunner Jill Goodacre

'That southern gentleman that stole all of our hearts - @harryconnickjr. There will never be another Leo.'

After the Dirty Dancing actress shared two more duets (with Sean and Megan Mullally) on Wednesday, fans might begin mistaking the continuation for a full-blown musical.

And Eric McCormack - who plays gay lawyer Will Truman - shared a rare selfie with Messing on Thursday captioned: 'Another hy-sterical episode last night!'

NBC also dropped a new 30-second promo for the revival on Wednesday, which featured Hayes' flamboyant actor Jack McFarland lamenting the 'skankiness' of gay dating app Grindr.

'Time to swooooooonnnnn!' Connick Jr. previously played Grace Adler's (Debra Messing, L) Jewish doctor husband Leo Markus on 23 episodes of the groundbreaking LGBTQ series

Drama nerds: After the flame-haired 49-year-old shared two more duets (with Sean and Megan Mullally) on Wednesday, fans might begin mistaking the continuation for a full-blown musical

And Eric McCormack - who plays gay lawyer Will Truman - shared a rare selfie with Messing on Thursday captioned: 'Another hy-sterical episode last night!'

'I feel like I could get finger herpes just from scrolling!' the Emoji Movie funnyman joked.

Jack then got an alert about a 'gay guy within 10ft from me' before realizing it was just his attorney pal Will sitting next to him on the couch.

Meanwhile, Debra's character Grace excitedly plays a game of Heads Up! on her iPhone with her GBF, Will.

When the interior designer gave Truman the clue of a 'man who's aged into a lesbian' he enthusiastically answered: 'Newt Gingrich!'

Teaser: NBC also dropped a new promo for the revival on Wednesday, which featured Hayes' flamboyant actor Jack McFarland lamenting the 'skankiness' of gay dating app Grindr

'I could get finger herpes just from scrolling!' Jack then got an alert about a 'gay guy within 10ft from me' before realizing it was just his attorney pal Will sitting next to him on the couch

Guessing game: Meanwhile, Debra's character Grace excitedly plays a game of Heads Up! on her iPhone with her GBF, Will

When the interior designer gave Truman the clue of a 'man who's aged into a lesbian' he enthusiastically answered: 'Newt Gingrich!'

'We all came together and read and it felt like coming home,' the eight-time Golden Globe nominee said during the TCA event on August 3 - according to Variety.

'We laughed so hard. For the last year, it's been a confusing time and I haven't laughed very much, and to come back together and to laugh out loud and to be surprised by one another and to have new stories to tell and to have another opportunity to do it, it's a no-brainer.'

Will & Grace was the first primetime show to star openly gay characters, and it ran for eight seasons - amassing 16 Emmy Awards (including one for each lead).

Fans can catch the Manhattan-set show's 16-episode ninth season beginning September 28 on NBC.

Will & Grace was also prematurely picked up for a 13-episode second season.

The eight-time Golden Globe nominee said during the TCA event on August 3: 'We all came together and read and it felt like coming home. We laughed so hard!'

Pictured in 1998: Will & Grace was the first primetime show to star openly gay characters, and it ran for eight seasons - amassing 16 Emmy Awards (including one for each lead)

'My best #stalkie EVER!' Fans can catch the Manhattan-set show's 16-episode ninth season beginning September 28 on NBC
His long running feud with his famous brother Pete Evans has been bubbling away for years.

But the My Kitchen Rules star has finally made up with his former business partner and older sibling, Dave.

Dave, an acclaimed restaurateur, says the pair are back on speaking terms after Pete walked out on the joint restaurant business venture in 2012, the hugely popular Kings Cross nightspot, Hugo's Lounge.

Patched things up: 'We've kissed and made up. We're all right': Pete Evans ends his long running feud with his brother Dave after walking out on their joint business venture

'Weve kissed and made up. Were all right,' Dave told The Manly Daily.

He went on to say that the result of being in the spotlight had taken a toll on their relationship.

'Its a viscous cycle, a slippery slope. Ive watched too many people, theyve become famous, also not enjoy losing their own privacy. Just running a restaurant is enough,' he said.

'Its a viscous cycle, a slippery slope': Pete's brother Dave claims that fame was impacting their relationship

The iconic venue closed its doors two years ago this month following the devastating impact of the Sydney lockout laws.

The once celebrity hot spot is planning to reopen once again next month, refurbished and lavishly re-branded as the Flamingo Lounge.

But Dave hasn't been staying quiet during all that time.

He currently runs the extremely successful Hugo's at Manly Wharf.

The extravagant North Shore venue has earned worldwide accolades in the past, for its delicious pizzas and stylish cocktail menu.
Nova stars Ryan 'Fitzy' Fitzgerald and Michael 'Wippa' Wipfli are proof that puberty doesn't have a standardised serving size.

Throwback images of the pair, shared to their show's Instagram page on Friday, reveal that Wippa's appearance has changed considerably less than Fitzy's.

The 37-year-old was seen as a toddler, posing for a professional photo shoot and sporting the exact same smile and facial features.

Mirror image! Snaps that have surfaced of a much younger Michael 'Wippa' Wipfli have revealed that his appearance has hardly changed since he was a toddler

One notable change was in the colour of Wippa's locks, with the adorable snap showing that his black hair was once a strawberry blonde.

The style and quantity however, did not look drastically different in the image.

His cheeky, satisfied smile truly sealed the deal, looking the same in recent images, save for a more complete set of pearly whites.

The father-of-two has always been a snazzy dresser, and that was no different back in the day either.

In Friday's throwback, he wore a tight navy sweater over a baby blue turtleneck, looking every bit the worldly, sophisticated gentlemen he grew up to be.

His co-host Fitzy on the other hand looked wildly different, despite the fact his submission was clearly more recent than Wippa's.

In the image, a much-younger Fitzy is seen sporting a mop of messy hair, a striking a toothy grin and several cold sores around his mouth.

Where's Fitzy? Shared alongside his Nova FM co-host Fitzy, the image is proof hat puberty doesn't have a standardised serving size

The split-panel post of the pair was captioned: Fitzy's worried his kids will pick up his cold sores and Wips is worried they'll get his body hair.'

Wippa has two sons, Ted, 2, and Jack, 1, with his wife Lisa

The happy bunch were recently spotted looking adorable in fancy dress at Sydney's City2Surf fun run.
Oscar-winning director James Cameron has called Wonder Woman 'a step backwards' for feminism.

The 63-year-old - who has featured strong female leads in his flicks - criticized the recent summer blockbuster as well as the film industry as a whole in an interview published by The Guardian on Thursday.

He said: 'All of the self-congratulatory back-patting Hollywoods been doing over Wonder Woman has been so misguided. Shes an objectified icon, and its just male Hollywood doing the same old thing!'

Taking a stand: Oscar-winning director James Cameron has called Wonder Woman 'a step backwards' for feminism in an interview with The Guardian published on Thursday

Ouch: The 63-year-old director said: 'All of the self-congratulatory back-patting Hollywoods been doing over Wonder Woman has been so misguided. Shes an objectified icon, and its just male Hollywood doing the same old thing!'

He even contrasted Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman against Linda Hamilton's character Sarah Connor in 1991's Terminator 2: Judgement Day.

Cameron explained: 'Im not saying I didnt like the movie but, to me, its a step backwards. Sarah Connor was not a beauty icon. She was strong, she was troubled, she was a terrible mother, and she earned the respect of the audience through pure grit.

'And to me, [the benefit of characters like Sarah] is so obvious. I mean, half the audience is female!'

Cameron has also had strong female characters including Ripley in the Aliens franchise (Sigourney Weaver) and even Rose in Titanic (Kate Winslet).

Action: He even contrasted Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman against Linda Hamilton's character Sarah Connor in 1991's Terminator 2: Judgement Day

Queen of the world: Cameron has also had strong female characters including Rose in Titanic (Kate Winslet)

Blast from the past: Ripley in the Aliens franchise (Sigourney Weaver) is another iconic character

Oscar-winner Patty Jenkins directed the DC Comics film which had a very successful run in theaters earlier this year.

Despite Wonder Woman being released in June, there is still controversy surrounding it as leading woman Gadot, 32, recently responded to body shamers claiming she wasn't curvy enough to play the iconic heroine in the latest Rolling Stone magazine.

'Listen, if you want to be for real, then the Amazons, they had only one boob,' she said, alluding to a theory in Greek mythology. 'So what are you talking about here? Me having small boobs and small ass? That will make all the difference.'

Gal will reprise her role as Wonder Woman in new movie Justice League which will be released on November 17.
He's the latest celebrity to go up against Fitzy & Wippa's 'Battle Of The Week'.

And Dr. Chris Brown brought out the big guns on Friday, proving a formidable rap opponent and also revealing he has 'swapped saliva' with a Game of Thrones actor.

The 38-year-old explained his romantic trip to the set of the HBO series and then proceeded to rib the show's co-host Ryan 'Fitzy' Fitzgerald about his own dalliance with I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here star Tziporah Malkah.

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TGIF! Dr. Chris Brown (centre) brought out the big guns on Friday, proving a formidable rap opponent for Fitzy & Wippa and also revealing he 'swapped saliva' with a Game of Thrones star

Co-host Michael 'Wippa' Wipfli asked the veterinarian what he was recently filming that required a 'sword to your throat' for his Channel 10 show, The Living Room.

'We visited the set of Game of Thrones, in Northern Ireland. I had to see if I could make it as a Stark and in the end I was obviously useful for the Direwolves,' he said.

'We actually met the real Direwolf from the show, which was pretty crazy. I can't reveal names and I'm not one to name drop, but I make out with one of the stars of Game of Thrones,' he revealed.

'We visited the set of Game of Thrones, in Northern Ireland. I had to see if I could make it as a Stark and in the end I was obviously useful for the Direwolves,' he said

'We met the real Direwolf from the show, which was pretty crazy. I can't reveal names and I'm not one to name drop, but I make out with one of the stars of Game of Thrones,' he revealed

The hosts pleaded with him to reveal which character he was talking about, but the television personality remained tight-lipped.

'I can't say [who it is], but we swapped saliva and it was beautiful. We still keep in touch on Instagram,' he offered.

He then took on the show's weekly rap battle and aimed his lyrical fire at Fitzy's affair with Tziporah, which he admitted to during one of their previous interviews.

Good memory! He then took on the show's weekly rap battle and aimed his lyrical fire at Fitzy's affair with Tziporah, which he admitted to during one of their previous interviews

'Seriously mate, all the girls adore ya, but only one of us actually dated Tziporah!' the I'm A Celebrity co-host rapped, as Fitzy exploded with laughter.

The newly announced co-host of the weekend version of The Project then tied a Game Of Thrones reference into the battle.

'And even though I might be on your home ground, it's time for me to release the Hounds,' he added, as radio staff dramatically walked in the studio with puppy dogs.



'Seriously mate, all the girls adore ya, but only one of us actually dated Tziporah!' the I'm A Celebrity co-host rapped, as Fitzy exploded with laughter
Bindi Irwin has become the latest Australian celebrity to throw her support behind the marriage equality.

The 19-year-old posted to her Instagram on Friday morning, sharing a picture of her and best friend Luke Reavley, initiating strong support for a 'yes' vote on the hotly debated topic.

'I'll see you on the bright side of history, Australia. Remember to Vote YES for marriage equality. Every love is beautiful and equal,' she captioned.

'Every love is beautiful and equal': Bindi Irwin shares touching support for marriage equality on social media alongside best pal Luke Reavley

In the snaps, both wear matching black Wildlife Warrior shirts, with appropriately styled bright coloured rainbow paint on their cheeks.

Meanwhile, the words 'vote' and 'yes' appeared on both of their hands as they held them up in unison.

The daughter of the late Steve Irwin now joins a long list of celebrities to rally support for the postal vote taking place next month, including Magda Szubanski, Beau Ryan, Delta Goodrem, David Campbell and Karl Stefanovic.

'Vote Yes': The two join a long list of celebrities that have thrown their support behind same sex marriage, ahead of the national postal vote next month

More than happy couple: Bindi and her boyfriend Chandler Powell, 20, have been together for three years

Just friends:Meanwhile, Luke was at the centre of ridiculous accusations in July, when it was reported in Woman's Day that he was caught in a 'love triangle' with Bindi and boyfriend Chandler Powell

Meanwhile, Luke was at the centre of ridiculous accusations in July, when it was reported in Woman's Day that he was caught in a 'love triangle' with Bindi and boyfriend Chandler Powell.

The publication suggested that Chandler was concerned about the Australia Zoo employee's relationship with Bindi following a number of posts on her Instagram showing the pair together.

Those claims were quashed when the 27 year old posted to his Instagram on his birthday, pictured in a selfie next to his long time boyfriend Mitch.

Australia Zoo reps angrily condemned the allegations, telling Daily Mail Australia last month that the popular gossip magazine completely fabricated the story.

'If Woman's Day think that makes a triangle, I suggest they go back to school to study their geometry,' a spokesperson said.
They are currently enjoying a girls trip at a upscale Hamilton Island resort.

And Roxy Jacenko, 37, and Francesca Packer, 22, appear to have become closer than ever, posing in identical pyjamas for a cheeky bedtime Instagram snap this week.

Taking to her Sweaty Betty PR Instagram page on Thursday, Roxy shared an image of the pair lying face up-on a couch together while pouting at the camera in their $225 sleepwear sets by designer, Neue Blvd.

Two peas in a pod! Roxy Jacenko, 37, and Francesca Packer, 22, appear to have become closer than ever, having posed in identical pyjamas for a cheeky bedtime Instagram snap this week

'PJ parties at @hamiltonisland in @neueblvd.'

Francesca also posted the photo to her feed, along with a gushing caption about the resort's award-winning chef Guillaume Brahimi.'

'When @guillaumebrahimi cooks such delicious food that the only logical next step is a food coma... #pyjamaparty #twinning,' she wrote.

A very glamorous getaway! The two best friends arrived at Hamilton Island's Qualia Resort on Wednesday after jetting in from Sydney

Pristine: Located on the largest inhabited island in the Whitsunday's, Qualia is known for its luxurious villas, award-winning cuisine and for its close proximity to the world-famous Great Barrier Reef

The two best friends arrived at Hamilton Island's Qualia Resort on Wednesday after jetting in from Sydney.

The idyllic location will also soon serve as a venue for the the 60th birthday celebrations of Nick Curtis, the father of Roxy's husband Oliver.

Located on the largest inhabited island in the Whitsunday's, Qualia is known for its luxurious villas, award-winning cuisine and for its close proximity to the world-famous Great Barrier Reef.

Island party! The idyllic location will also soon serve as a venue for the the 60th birthday celebrations of Nick Curtis, the father of Roxy's husband Oliver

The six-star Hamilton Island getaway is security gated and boasts 60 private pavilions, with prices ranging between $1,800 and $4,000 a night.

Guests attending private functions at Qualia have the option of gathering at the Pebble Beach precinct's 'waters edge' restaurant, the Long Pavilion restaurant, or the more intimate Beach House venue setting.

Nestled in lush woodlands, the resort's private pavilions feature a dining room seating 10 people, a spacious lounge room, a king bedroom, an en-suite bathroom, and a kitchenette.

Lavish: The six-star Hamilton Island getaway is security gated and boasts 60 private pavilions, with prices ranging between $1,800 and $4,000 a night

Rooms are equipped with a fully stocked bar and pantry, as well as a 12 metre infinity swimming pool that boasts panoramic views of the Whitsunday islands.

During their stay, guests can also indulge in additional luxuries - such as a private chauffeur service, electronic buggy rides across the island and access to a gym and spa.

Many Australian and international celebrities have stayed at the lavish getaway, with the likes of Toni Collette, Miranda Kerr, Jessica Hart, Naomi Watts, Chris Hemsworth, Taylor Swift, Leonardo DiCaprio and Cate Blanchett all having graced the property in recent years.
They have enjoyed a 'bromance' for a number of years.

And self-described 'King of the Cross' John Ibrahim celebrated his 47th birthday on Friday with his close friend, KIIS FM shock jock Kyle Sandilands.

The pair appeared in good spirits, despite a number of John's family members and their mutual friends recently being taken into custody in relation to a multi-million dollar international drug smuggling crime syndicate.

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Bromance: Self-described 'King of the Cross' John Ibrahim (left) celebrated his 47th birthday on Friday with his close friend, KIIS FM shock jock Kyle Sandilands (right)

They were seen shaking hands as they departed the Uliveto Cafe in Kings Cross.

Kyle was dressed in his signature ensemble, including a black New York Yankees hat, sweatpants and hoodie, with matching Nike sneakers.

His pal John preferred a more fashion-forward look, wearing double denim along with navy blue Chuck Taylor by Converse shoes.

Upbeat: The pair appeared in good spirits, despite a number of John's family members and their mutual friends recently being taken into custody in relation to a multi-million dollar international drug smuggling crime syndicate.

Birthday lunch: They were seen shaking hands as they departed the Uliveto Cafe in Kings Cross

Earlier this month, 17 people were arrested - including John's two brothers, Michael and Fadi, and his son Daniel Taylor - across three countries as part of Operation Veyda.

Kyle's business partner Ben Scott and his former flatmate Nasser Elkordi also had their houses raided by the Australian Federal Police.

Ben, 38, and Sandilands are investors in the eight-part television series, Meet the Hockers, which premiered in May this year.

Ben, Nasser and John, whose Dover Heights home was also raided, have not been charged over the raids.

Casual style: Kyle was dressed in his signature ensemble, including a black New York Yankees hat, sweatpants and hoodie, with matching Nike sneakers.

Stylish: John preferred a more fashion-forward look, wearing double denim along with navy blue Chuck Taylor by Converse shoes

Controversial: Earlier this month, 17 people were arrested - including John's two brothers, Michael and Fadi, and his son Daniel Taylor - across three countries as part of Operation Veyda

Troubling times: John's brothers Michael and Fadi Ibrahim were arrested in Dubai and his son Daniel Taylor has also been charged

John's brothers Michael and Fadi Ibrahim were arrested in Dubai and his son Daniel Taylor has also been charged.

Kyle recently joked on KIIS FM's The Kyle And Jackie O Show he had 'no friends left' following the police sweep.

He quipped he had been 'ringing around yesterday trying to find a mate', but all of their phones had been disconnected.

'I'm gonna sit (in the cafe) today like a 90-year-old man when all his friends have died,' he said.
She welcomed her first child Anja with partner Jamie Mazur into the world nine years ago.

And doting mother Alessandra Ambrosio celebrated her daughter's birthday with a special lunch at The Ivy in Los Angeles on Thursday.

The Victoria's Secret Angel, 36, was somewhat overshadowed by the giddy youngster, who channeled her mum's model background as she posed excitedly for the camera.

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Special day: Alessandra Ambrosio treated her duaghter Anja to a lunch out at The Ivy in LA on Thursday to celebrate her ninth birthday

Alessandra wore an off-the-shoulder crop top and matching full-length skirt by DHELA for the outing while her mini me wore a pretty silky pink short-sleeved dress.

She gushed about Anjka in a sweet Instagram post, writing: 'Happy birthday to my princess #AnjaLouise #loveofmylife #myangel #bff #mygirl.'

Alessandra wore her brunette long hair loose and sleekly styled for the family lunch date at The Ivy.

Pulling her hair back behind her ears, the supermodel also showed off a pair of large Alexis Bittar hoop earrings.

Seeing double: The mother and daughter co-ordinated their outfits with matching shades of dusky pink

Having a whale of a time! The youngster appeared to be in great spirits on the day

Up, up and away: She beamed as she clutched onto a rainbow-hued unicorn balloon

Ecstatic: Anja stayed close to her loving mother's side during the exciting day out

Anja, meanwhile, wore her long hair in a braid with a pink ribbon on the end.

The little girl also had on a pair of simple leather sandals and held on tight to her famous mom's hand as they left the eatery.

Also on the trip was Anja's younger brother Noah, five.

Turning nine: The Victoria's Secret Angel and her mini me held hands as they left the celebrity hotspot with the little girl smiling happily after her treat

Lunching out: Also on the family outing was Anja's younger brother Noah, five. The pair are the Brazilian beauty's chilren with longtime partner Jamie Mazur

Summery style: Alessandra, 36, ore a pretty off-the-shoulder crop top and matching full-length skirt while Anja was dressed in a pretty silky pink short-sleeved frock

Alessandra's stylish and very summery outfit featured horizontal red and yellow striping on a white background.

The peasant-style top had gathered hems while the skirt featured a contrasting wide waistband and a flounced lower third.

The lingerie and swimsuit model accessorized with silver-framed sunglasses, large hoop earrings and several neck chains.

She wore a statement luxury watch and a couple of gold bracelets on her left wrist.

Blinged: The lingerie and swimsuit model accessorized with silver-framed sunglasses, large hoop earrings and several neck chains

Alessandra's stylish outfit featured horizontal red and yellow striping. The peasant-style top had gathered hems while the skirt featured a wide waistband and a flounced lower third

In charge: Alessandra, who drove the family to the restaurant in a black luxury SUV, wore brown sandals and carried a matching colored shoulder purse

Meanwhile on Instagram, Alessandra shared a montage of photos of her precious girl taken during a tropical vacation.

Anja is seen smiling against lush foliage and exotic beaches in the snaps.

The proud mom clearly dotes on her pretty daughter who clearly has inherited her mom's fabulous looks.

'#myangel': Also Thursday, the model shared a montage of photos of her firstborn with a touching message calling her 'my princess' and using the hashtag '#loveofmylife'

'#mygirl': The proud mom shared snaps of her daughter taken during a tropical getaway

Ahoy: Alessandra is featured in a new campaign for Omega along with Eddie Redmayne

Stunning: She looked gorgeous in the nautical-themed campaign

Adventure awaits: She posed with a pair of binoculars
He is one of the top dramatic actors in the world.

And now Ryan Gosling will get to show a new side to him.

The 36-year-old actor will be hosting the upcoming season 43 premiere of Saturday Night Live it was announced on Thursday.

Dynamic duo: Ryan Gosling and Jay Z are set to be featured on the upcoming season 43 premiere of Saturday Night Live on September 30

The variety program will be bringing out two heavy-hitters as Jay Z will be the musical guest for the episode which will premiere on September 30.

The announcement was made in typical SNL style with a post on their cork board featuring cards with each of the men's names handwritten on them.

It was shared with the caption: 'Season 43 premieres on September 30 with @RyanGosling and JAY-Z! #SNL.'

Announcement: The announcement was made in typical SNL style with a post on their cork board featuring cards with each of the men's names handwritten on them

Gosling has hosted once before as he was the man of the hour-and-a-half on December 5, 2015.

Jay, 47, has quite the storied relationship with the show as he has been the musical guest three previous times in 2000, 2002, and 2017.

He has also made two cameos; once in 2003 and another time in 2013. He has also been previously impersonated by former castmember Jay Pharoah on multiple occasions.

Golden guy: Ryan starred in Oscar-winning flick La La Land earlier this year

No doubt Ryan is slated to host as his next flick Blade Runner 2049 is scheduled for release just weeks later on October 6.

The husband of Beyonce released his latest album 4:44 earlier this summer.

SNL has been experimenting with a few format changes as last season they aired live from coast-to-coast for the first time in it's 40 year history. No word yet if they will be doing the same this season.

They have also been doing Weekend Update: Summer Edition the past few weeks which focuses primarily on news and politics.
Ryan Gosling sweetly took care of his daughter Esmeralda on Thursday, so that his hard-working babymama Eva Mendes could focus on modeling her latest New York & Company campaign.

The 36-year-old Golden Globe winner gave his privileged princess - who turns 3 next month - a piggyback ride through a Los Angeles park while also carrying their breakfast to-go.

Both the 6ft Canadian heartthrob and his little Esme went incognito in their brimmed hats and casual attire.

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Taking turns: Ryan Gosling took care of daughter Esmeralda on Thursday, so that his babymama Eva Mendes could focus on modeling her latest New York & Company campaign

That same day, Saturday Night Live announced that the Nice Guys funnyman would serve hosting duties for the second time when the 43rd season of the NBC sketch show kicks off September 30.

Meanwhile, the 43-year-old designer made her street-set photoshoot a family affair by bringing her beloved 'Mami' Eva Perez Suarez to 'the office.'

Eva was raised in Glendale by her Cuban mother following the Mann's Chinese Theatre employee's divorce from meat distributor, Juan Carlos Mendez.

The Miami-born beauty looked sophisticated in a lavender pleated skirt, beige T-shirt, and cropped white jacket from the clothing label she's fronted since 2013.

Breakfast to-go! The 36-year-old Golden Globe winner gave his privileged princess - who turns 3 next month - a piggyback ride through a Los Angeles park

Daddy-daughter day! Both the 6ft Canadian heartthrob and his little Esme went incognito in their brimmed hats and casual attire, with Ryan wearing a tan Filson jacket and jeans

The 5ft6in pescatarian was likely wearing make-up by CIRCA Beauty, the Walgreens cosmetics brand she's been creative director for since 2015.

It's hard to believe svelte Mendes is mother to two daughters - Esmeralda and 16-month-old Amada - with the former Mouseketeer.

'What people don't know about me is that I love being home,' the brunette beauty told Shape magazine in March.

Plus Jay-Z! That same day, Saturday Night Live announced that the Nice Guys funnyman would serve hosting duties when the 43rd season of the NBC sketch show kicks off September 30

Take your mom to work day: Meanwhile, the 43-year-old designer made her street-set photoshoot a family affair by bringing her beloved 'Mami' Eva Perez Suarez to 'the office'

'I love my Mami!' Eva was raised in Glendale by her Cuban mother following the Mann's Chinese Theatre employee's divorce from meat distributor, Juan Carlos Mendez

'Instead of hitting the red carpet, I'd rather be with our girls.'

Eva put her own acting career on hold after portraying bloody burlesque performer Cat in Ryan's dismally-reviewed directorial debut Lost River in 2014.

The elusive Los Feliz-based couple - who don't employ babysitters or nannies - fell in love on the 2011 set of Derek Cianfrance's crime-drama The Place Beyond the Pines.

Action! The Miami-born beauty looked sophisticated in a lavender pleated skirt, beige T-shirt, and cropped white jacket from the clothing label she's fronted since 2013

Ready for her close-up: The 5ft6in pescatarian was likely wearing make-up by CIRCA Beauty, the Walgreens cosmetics brand she's been creative director for since 2015

'Instead of hitting the red carpet, I'd rather be with our girls': It's hard to believe svelte Mendes is mother to two daughters - Esmeralda and 16-month-old Amada - with the former Mouseketeer

The Tagine restaurateur has made a habit of romancing his leading ladies after relationships with The Notebook's Rachel McAdams and Murder By Numbers' Sandra Bullock.

Gosling will likely move his entire family to Atlanta in November when he shoots Universal Pictures' Neil Armstrong biopic First Man with his La La Land director Damien Chazelle.

The two-time Oscar nominee - who boasts 2.2M followers - tweeted on July 20: 'Incredibly honored to be a part of telling this story.'

'I waited my entire career to be a part of something so magical': Eva put her own acting career on hold after portraying Cat in Ryan's dismally-reviewed directorial debut Lost River in 2014

They don't employ babysitters or nannies: The elusive Los Feliz-based couple fell in love on the 2011 set of Derek Cianfrance's crime- drama The Place Beyond the Pines (pictured in 2013)

Claire Foy, Kyle Chandler, and Corey Stoll will also appear in the 2018 astronaut flick based on James R. Hansen's 2005 biography.

And this week, Forbes ranked the Song to Song actor No. 14 on their list of the world's 20 highest-paid actors of 2017 (with $29M gross).

Fans can next catch Ryan as LAPD Officer 'K' in Denis Villeneuve's sci-fi sequel Blade Runner 2049 - hitting US/UK theaters October 6 - alongside Harrison Ford, Edward James Olmos, and Jared Leto.

Three months away! Gosling will likely move his entire family to Atlanta in November when he shoots Universal Pictures' Neil Armstrong biopic First Man with his La La Land director Damien Chazelle (L)

The two-time Oscar nominee - who boasts 2.2M followers - tweeted on July 20: 'Incredibly honored to be a part of telling this story'

Hitting US/UK theaters October 6! Fans can next catch Ryan as LAPD Officer 'K' in Denis Villeneuve's sci-fi sequel Blade Runner 2049 alongside Harrison Ford (R)

Hunk: Ryan got his own personal poster for the film
She revealed this week that she was bullied in school because she was 'too tall.'

But Natalie Roser was standing proud as she posted a stunning photo posted to her Instagram on Friday.

The breathtaking model, who recently starred in a campaign for Bras N Things, showed off her assets in a photo shoot for Australian clothing company Mink Pink.

'Hey Sailor': Natalie Roser showed off her assets devoid of any embarrassment in a new photo shoot for Australian clothing heavyweight Mink Pink

'Hey, hey, #imonaboat,' she captioned the fun image.

Natalie wore a dark navy swimsuit sporting the words 'Hey Sailor' with an imprinted love heart beside the text.

She added a pair of unbuttoned cut off denim shorts to the ensemble, as well as accessorising with a violet scarf.

The short-shorts, which sat high on the blonde's thighs, made the most of the beauty's incredibly long, lean and tanned pins.

Her slim figure and a hint of her shapely hips were also on display in the high-cut swimwear.

The blonde bombshell looked in her element at sea as she playfully posed on the stylish boat, giving a navy salute.

Lanky or swanky? The 26 year old claimed she was a 'tall, lanky girl at school' and had bad posture in an interview with The Daily Telegraph's Sydney Confidential

The post comes after it was revealed in an interview with The Daily Telegraph's Sydney Confidential that the beauty, who has been modelling since she was only 13 years old, was conscious of her image from an early age.

'I was a tall, lanky girl at school, it was definitely noticeable, and I had bad posture because I didn't want to be as tall as I was, so that was always a body hang-up for me,' she told the publication.

Blonde bombshell: Natalie has been at it since very young, beginning to model when she was only 13 years old

Winning them over: While she claims that her stature was her downfall as a teen, she also says it has won the hearts of many clients

But despite her earlier reservations, the model's stature that has won adoration from her many fashion clients.

'I never saw my height as a positive thing until I started working and I noticed that I was taller than most of the other models and the clients liked that,' she said.

It comes after the girlfriend of Harley Bonner confirmed on Instagram on Monday she was moving to Melbourne to be with the 26 year old Neighbours star.

Natalie recently claimed the pair were 'disgustingly in love'.

'Disgustingly in love': Natalie and her boyfriend, 26 year old Neighbours star Harley Bonner recently began living together in Harley's hometown of Melbourne




He's the in-demand Australian actor whose star continues to rise in Tinseltown.

And Jai Courtney was back on home soil on Friday, filming scenes for a remake of the classic Australian film Storm Boy.

The Suicide Squad star sported a healthy crop of facial hair for his scenes that were shot at Port Noarlunga in Adelaide.

Reboot: Jai Courtney was back on home soil on Friday when he filmed scenes for a remake of the classic Australian film Storm Boy

Hirsute: The Suicide Squad star sported a healthy crop of facial hair for his scenes that were shot at Port Noarlunga in Adelaide

He wore a pair of simple navy blue pants, a collared white shirt and a pair of suspenders.

Despite the beach location, it certainly wasn't summertime with Jai rugging up in a puffy green windcheater between takes.

Jai was joined on set by co-stars Finn Little and Trevor Jamieson, and a trained pelican who dutifully cavorted on the sand as the cameras rolled.

Chilly: Despite the beach location, it certainly wasn't summertime with Jai rugging up in a puffy green windcheater between takes

For the birds: Jai was joined on set by co-stars Finn Little and Trevor Jamieson and a trained pelican who dutifully cavorted on the sand as the cameras rolled

At one point, Jai looked to be deep in conversation with Trevor who appeared to be discussing the upcoming scenes.

Standing with his arms folded, Jai listened intently to Trevor as the pair braved the chilly coastal South Australian winds.

They also found time to give some acting pointers to Finn, with Jai smiling down at the youngster as the trio chatted.

At one point, Jai looked to be deep in conversation with Trevor who appeared to be discussing the upcoming scenes

Listen up: The pair also found time to give some acting pointers to Finn, with Jai smiling down at the youngster as the trio chatted.

Pre-occupied: Finn, however, seemed more interested in the pelican and was seen chasing the seabird along the sand

Finn, however, seemed more interested in the pelican and was seen chasing the seabird along the sand.

The film is a remake of the 1976 Australian classic starring David Gulpilil, about a rambunctious youngster who lives a reclusive live with his father on the Australian coast.

The boy forms a special bond with a pelican he rescued, Mr Percival, and a local Aboriginal man named Fingerbone Bill.

Aside from Jai, Trevor and Finn, the remake, due for release in 2018, will also star Oscar winning actor Geoffrey Rush.

Classic: The film is a remake of the 1976 Australian classic starring David Gulpilil, about a rambunctious youngster who rescues and befriends an injured pelican
Jimmy Kimmel has ended his longtime feud with former late-night rival Jay Leno.

The 49-year-old talk show host in a recent podcast with The Hollywood Reporter said he and Leno, 67, patched things up after his newborn son, Billy, underwent open heart surgery.

'Jay and I have made peace. After my son had his operation, he called me and he was very nice,' Kimmel said.

Feud over: Jimmy Kimmel, shown earlier this month on his late-night talk show, recently revealed in a podcast that his feud with Jay Leno was over

Their feud dates back to the 2010 Tonight Show conflict in which Leno took back his 11:35 p.m. start time for The Jay Leno Show from The Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien.

Kimmel was a special guest on Leno's show in January 2010 and ripped him live for taking back the time slot.

Leno was repeatedly insulted by Kimmel who ended the segment asking Leno to 'leave our shows alone' as he and O'Brien had 'kids' while Leno only had 'cars'.

Their feuding continued over the years with Leno in August 2015 accusing Kimmel of having a 'mean streak' citing his late-show bit where parents pretend to eat their children's Halloween candy.

Peace made: Leno, shown in June in Washington, DC, had been feuding with Kimmel since 2010

'I think he's a talented guy, I think he's funny. But he has a mean streak, and it comes across. He does this thing where he takes Halloween candy from kids and the kids cry. What am I missing here? It is funny I guess, but it's mean-based,' Leno said.

Kimmel in the podcast chose to make amends with Leno.

'You can't argue with [Leno's] success and his longevity. I will say, when I was in high school and college, he was one of my all-time favorite comics,' Kimmel said.

Favored comic: Kimmel, shown in June in Anaheim, California, admitted that Leno was one of his favorite comics in high school and college

Kimmel's wife Molly McNearney gave birth to their son William John 'Billy' Kimmel in April.

Billy underwent open heart surgery at three days old due to a condition that was keeping his lungs from getting enough oxygen.

Kimmel in an emotional monologue in May reveaved that Billy was born with the congenital heart disease.

Doing great: The chat show host took to social media in July to reveal that his baby boy Billy was 'doing great' just three months after open heart surgery

He gave an update last month on social media just three months after Billy underwent surgery.

'Billy is three months old today and doing great. Thanks for all your love & support and please remind your Congresspeople that every kid deserves the care Billy got,' he wrote along with a cute photo of Billy.

Kimmel and his wife also have a three-year-old daughter Jane together and he also has adult children Katherine and Kevin with ex-wife Gina Maddy.
Bill Nye The Science Guy is suing Disney.

TMZ reported Thursday that the popular TV personality is seeking $9 million from the Mouse House.

Nye claims Disney, which marketed and distributed his popular show through its Buena Vista Television subsidiary, shorted him on his part of the proceeds.

Lawsuit: Bill Nye The Science Guy is suing Disney for $9 million for what he claims are proceeds due to him from his popular PBS show distributed through Buena Vista Television

According to TMZ, Nye claims Disney tried to get him to repay the bulk of a $585,000 check the studio paid him in 2008 as his part of back-end profits from his science show.

He then requested an audit of Disney's books which, it's claimed in legal docs filed in LA, showed Disney had shorted him by $9.3 million since he signed a deal with the company in 1993.

Disney is yet to comment publicly on the legal proceedings.

Out of pocket: According to TMZ, an audit of Disney's books requested by Nye revealed the Mouse House has shorted him by $9.3 million since he signed a deal with the company in 1993

Nye's 28-page suit was filed Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court,Deadline.com reported.

The industry website reported that Bill Nye the Science Guy ran on PBS from 1994 to 1999 and also was syndicated to local stations. The show aired for 100 half-hour episodes spanning five seasons and was nominated for 23 Emmy Awards, winning 19.

Nye currently hosts Saving The World for Netflix.
She graced the exclusive Victoria's Secret runway in 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2015.

But it seems as though Australian model Shanina Shaik has been looked over for a second year in a row.

Dealing with the disappointing news, the 26-year-old took to Instagram to reveal she's been getting a little extra support from a furry friend.

Out: She graced the Victoria's Secret runway in 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2015. But it seems as though Australian model Shanina Shaik has been looked over for a second year in a row

Helping hand: Dealing with the disappointing news, the 26-year-old took to Instagram to reveal she's been getting a little extra support from a furry friend

'I can't leave the baby #currentsituation,' she captioned.

Relaxing at home, Shanina appeared to be wrapped up in a knitted blanket while her dog fell asleep on top of her.

Initially breaking her silence earlier in the day, The Mummy actress graciously took to the social media to congratulate her friend and fellow model Nadine Leopold for landing the gig.

A good sport: Taking to Instagram yesterday, Shanina congratulated her friend and fellow model Nadine Leopold for landing the gig

'Proud of you my Angel,' she captioned the image, adding, 'You deserve this! Love ya xx.'

After spending her time in New York for the show castings, yesterday Shanina revealed she wanted to leave.

Wearing a yellow Rebecca Minkoff t-shirt that read 'Malibu', she indicated in her caption that she wanted to go back to LA.

' I want to go to LA,' the brunette beauty captioned the image.

Ready to go home: Wearing a yellow Rebecca Minkoff t-shirt that read 'Malibu', she captioned she wanted to go back to LA

And Shanina wasn't the only Australian to be dumped from this year's catwalk.

Fellow model Bridget Malcolm is also believed to not have landed the role.

Taking to Instagram, the 25-year-old broke her silence with a bathroom selfie also revealing she was heading back to LA after the New York based castings were completed.

'Back to cali for meeeee,' she wrote.
Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins had a firey response for director James Cameron Thursday after the Academy Award winner called the DC Comics blockbuster 'a step backwards' for feminism earlier in the day.

The 46-year-old filmmaker didn't mince words in her reply, where she explained that the Titanic auteur's 'inability to understand what Wonder Woman' was 'unsurprising.'

The AFI alum continued by stressing, 'There is no right and wrong kind of powerful woman,' while challenging Cameron for calling the heroine 'an objectified icon' who was 'just' an example of 'male Hollywood doing the same old thing.'

Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins had a firey response for director James Cameron Thursday after he called her DC blockbuster 'a step backwards' for feminism earlier in the day

Jenkin's posted a strongly worded response on Twitter just several hours after the Avatar director's comments about the state of film feminism.

The Monster filmmaker began saying 'James Camerons inability to understand what Wonder Woman is, or stands for, to women all over the world is unsurprising,' continuing 'though, he is a great filmmaker, he is not a woman.'

The mother-of-one continued, saying 'Strong women are great... But if women have to always be hard, tough and troubled to be strong, and we arent free to be multidimensional.'

Big surprise: The 46-year-old filmmaker didn't mince words in her reply, where she explained that the Titanic auteur's 'inability to understand what Wonder Woman' was 'unsurprising.'

Words for the wise: The mother-of-one's strongly worded tweet continued, saying 'Strong women are great... But if women have to always be hard, tough and troubled to be strong, and we arent free to be multidimensional'

'I believe women can and should be EVERYTHING just like male lead characters should be.

'There is no right and wrong kind of powerful woman. And the massive female audience who made the film a hit it is, can surely choose and judge their own icons of progress.'

Earlier Thursday, Cameron criticized the recent summer blockbuster as well as the film industry as a whole in an interview published by The Guardian.

She's every woman! Jenkins continued to eschew Cameron's criticism, saying 'I believe women can and should be EVERYTHING just like male lead characters should be.' The Monster director is seen working hard with star Gal Gadot on set

Taking a stand: Oscar-winning director James Cameron (above in 2016) called Wonder Woman 'a step backwards' for feminism in an interview with The Guardian published on Thursday

He said: 'All of the self-congratulatory back-patting Hollywoods been doing over Wonder Woman has been so misguided. Shes an objectified icon, and its just male Hollywood doing the same old thing!'

He even contrasted Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman against Linda Hamilton's character Sarah Connor in 1991's Terminator 2: Judgement Day.

Cameron explained: 'Im not saying I didnt like the movie but, to me, its a step backwards. Sarah Connor was not a beauty icon. She was strong, she was troubled, she was a terrible mother, and she earned the respect of the audience through pure grit.

Ouch: The 63-year-old director said: 'All of the self-congratulatory back-patting Hollywoods been doing over Wonder Woman has been so misguided. Shes an objectified icon, and its just male Hollywood doing the same old thing!'

Action: He even contrasted Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman against Linda Hamilton's character Sarah Connor in 1991's Terminator 2: Judgement Day

'And to me, [the benefit of characters like Sarah] is so obvious. I mean, half the audience is female!'

Cameron has also had strong female characters including Ripley in the Aliens franchise (Sigourney Weaver) and even Rose in Titanic (Kate Winslet).

Oscar-winner Patty Jenkins directed the DC Comics film which had a very successful run in theaters earlier this year.

Queen of the world: Cameron has also had strong female characters including Rose in Titanic (Kate Winslet)

Blast from the past: Ripley in the Aliens franchise (Sigourney Weaver) is another iconic character

Despite Wonder Woman being released in June, there is still controversy surrounding it as leading woman Gadot, 32, recently responded to body shamers claiming she wasn't curvy enough to play the iconic heroine in the latest Rolling Stone magazine.

'Listen, if you want to be for real, then the Amazons, they had only one boob,' she said, alluding to a theory in Greek mythology. 'So what are you talking about here? Me having small boobs and small ass? That will make all the difference.'

Gal will reprise her role as Wonder Woman in new movie Justice League which will be released on November 17.
She bravely opened up about growing up with a convict father who was in and out of jail, during a recent Loose Women episode.

And Stormzy's girlfriend Maya Jama celebrated the TV appearance as she hit the tiles on Thursday for Love Island's Kem Cetinay's clothing launch for Boohoo Man.

The presenter, 22, showcased her slim figure in purple co-ords and vibrant yellow heels as she arrived at the party held at London's Opal bar.

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Looking good: Stormzy's girlfriend Maya Jama hit the tiles for Love Island's Kem Cetinay's clothing launch for Boohoo Man on Thursday

The 4Music host gave her ultra-glamorous outfit a casual twist thanks to a black denim jacket that she slung over her shoulders.

Styling her dark hair in simple glossy waves, Maya showcased her striking features with minimal make-up.

She let her statement outfit do all the talking and accessorised simply with a pair of delicate drop earrings.

Turning heads: The 4Music host gave her ultra-glamorous outfit a casual twist thanks to a black denim jacket that she slung over her shoulders

Ready for her close-up: Styling her dark hair in simple glossy waves, Maya showcased her striking features with minimal make-up

Maya's outing comes after she candidly discussed her upbringing with a convict father on ITV's Loose Women.

The presenter revealed on Tuesday that her father had been in jail since she was three - and admitted she stopped talking to him as she was 'fed up' of him doing 'bad things.'

Proving to be a supportive beau, the rapper was quick to praise her bravery - tweeting: 'Maya Jama on Loose Women right now' followed by a crown emoji.

Treat yourself: Maya enjoyed a romantic date night with rapper boyfriend Stormzy on Wednesday

Leggy lady: She laughed and joked with her beau, 24, when they were seen leaving side-by-side

Going strong: The grime artist and Maya have been dating for over a year now - first choosing to keep their relationship private, before going public as an item in 2016

Smitten: The hit-maker also dedicated his song titled Birthday Girl to his love on her 22nd birthday

4Music host Maya appeared on Loose Women to talk about her 5STAR documentary, titled When Dad Kills: Murdered in the Family - which explores how children are affected if they have a parent in jail.

Revealing her own experience, she said: 'My dad has been in jail since I was three and I broke contact when I was 10.'

Maya, who is of Swedish and Somali descent, added that she was lucky because her dad's sisters supported her, as did her step-dad - who her mother married when she was seven.

'My earliest memory is around five when I was visiting him in prison. It was a bit weird, I had a super supportive family around me, I had a stepdad. I never really felt like I was missing out.'

Opening up: The presenter, 23, revealed on the show that her father has been in jail since she was three - and admitted she stopped talking to him as she was 'fed up' of him doing 'bad things'

Looking good: The radio DJ offset her glowing complexion with a slick of red lipstick for the appearance

Maya previously revealed that she felt responsible for her father going to prison, because told police where he was hiding when they came to their house.

'From a young age you blame yourself. The police came and knocked on my door and I told them where my dad was hiding - he was hiding under a bed upstairs or something,' she told The Beat London 103.6FM.

'Then I saw him get arrested and for ages in my child mind I thought it was because of me.'

Journey: Speaking about what she learnt while filming the documentary, Maya admitted: 'I learnt that I'm not as strong as I thought I was. I learned that I have such a little melty heart like "Oh, I just want to love!"

Speaking about what she learnt while filming the documentary, Maya admitted: 'I learnt that I'm not as strong as I thought I was.

'Especially when it came to my dad, I was like "Doesn't matter, my life's great, didn't need him anyway, don't care".

'As it went on, I started feeling overwhelmingly sorry for him. I learned that I have such a little melty heart like "Oh, I just want to love!"
Rykard Jenkins has shockingly accused Kem Cetinay of punching him and leaving him with a bloodied nose at his fashion launch in London on Thursday evening.

Love Island winner Kem had launched his clothing collection with BoohooMAN at Opal Bar in London and had been joined by a slew of stars from the ITV2 dating show, both old and new, at the bash.

However, things appeared to turn sour late into the evening, with Rykard claiming he had been 'assaulted' by Kem, as he shared a photo of his swollen lip and bloodied nose, tweeting alongside it: 'This is @KemCetinay and his boys #safe.'

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Shocking: Rykard Jenkins has claimed he was attacked by Kem Cetinay and the Love Island star's friends on Thursday night in London

Kem, however, has denied he had anything to do with the altercation and hit back: 'Because he got in a fight does not mean it's me do I look like I can throw a punch ffs.'

The reality star shared a slew of crying laughter emojis within his tweet and insisted he wouldn't let the accusations 'ruin' his big night.

Sharing a selfie with his co-star girlfriend Amber Davies while the pair were in bed together, Kem penned: 'I will not let lies ruin the biggest night so far of my career.. ridiculous.. night guys xx.'

As he had arrived at his hotel, following the launch, Kem had tweeted: 'Just got back to hotel with @Amber_Davies7 not a clue whats gone on, but I hope everyone is okay and thanks for supporting x.'

Distressed: Amber Davies appeared to try and hide her face on her exit from her beau Kem's clothing launch with BoohooMAN at Opal Bar in the capital

'Do I look like I can punch?' Kem has denied he had anything to do with the altercation that left Rykard injured and insisted he wouldn't let the reality star's claims 'ruin' his big night

Hitting back: Kem was quick to share his side of the story on Twitter in response to Rykard

'Ridiculous': A defiant Kem shared a selfie with Amber of the pair in bed together, as they chose to shrug off the drama that had played out earlier in the evening

Amber made sure to jump to Kem's defence via her own account on the social media site and tweeted her beau, protesting his innocence. She said: '@KemCetinay don't let anyone ruin your night you haven't done anything wrong! Sleepy time for me and my boy xxx.'

Kem's fellow Love Island stars from the show's third series made sure to rally around him, following his tweets, with his best pal Chris Hughes responding: 'Couldn't be prouder of you tonight. Deserve it all my brother. Keep shining.'

Rykard, meanwhile, explosively claimed that he had been attacked by four males, after he was accused of flirting with Kem's girlfriend Amber.

In a series of tweets, he alleged: 'So @KemCetinay and his boys just attacked me because apparently I was flirting with Amber.

Support: His co-star girlfriend was quick to jump to his defence, with Amber publicly tweeting Kem and insisting 'he hadn't done anything wrong'

'You haven't done anything wrong': Amber made sure to jump to Kem's defence via her own account on the social media site and tweeted her beau, protesting his innocence

'Not a clue what's gone on': Kem, meanwhile, made sure to stress that he hadn't been involved to his followers

'I stood there and took the beatings and went home. But in my eyes they are all p****s.

'One on one let's go boys. It takes more than 4 geezers punching me in the head to knock me out.

'I've delt with worse. When they are ready. Come to my ends and we can settle it. Honestly Kent boy through and through. Going home to the misses lucky she's a nurse.' (sic)

A representative for Rykard Jenkins declined to comment. A representative for Kem Cetinay, meanwhile, told MailOnline: 'A small altercation took place outside Kem's launch party last night. Kem was inside at the time and was not involved.'

Venting: Rykard took to Twitter to share his sensational claims, as he posted a series of tweets detailing how he had been attacked

Drama: Amber was seen making a quick exit from the bash as Rykard took to Twitter and alleged he had been beaten up by four men for 'apparently flirting' with the beauty

Trouble: Amber was seen being consoled by friends before heading home with boyfriend Kem

Unsettled: She appeared to look concerned while chatting with her pals

Rykard's claims came as Amber was spotted leaving her beau's fashion launch and appeared in distress.

The brunette bombshell was pictured being consoled by friends and tried to conceal her face on her exit, by raising her hands to her head. She seemed unsettled as she spoke with her pals.

Cutting a glamorous figure at the event, Amber donned a thigh-skimming lattice mini dress and heels. She left her brunette locks down in a poker straight style and sported a full face of flawless make-up.

She had been joined by a number of her co-stars at the launch, including Gabby Allen, Dom Lever and his girlfriend Jessica Shears, along with newly single Montana Brown.

Rykard, meanwhile, had attended alongside his pal and former co-star Nathan Massey - who is expecting his first child with his ex-girlfriend Cara de la Hoyde.

Nothing to see here: Amber was ushered away by a female companion following the supposed brawl

Glamorous: Amber had put on a leggy display at the event in a thigh-skimming lattice mini dress and heels

Commotion: Amber was seen hidden by a large group following the drama that had ensued

Eventful: Amber made sure to steer clear of the drama as she surrounded herself with friends

Flanked by her pals: Amber was seen without beau Kem as she sat with her friends

Swift exit: Amber was seen linking arms with her friends as she headed to a waiting car

Where's Kem? She appeared to be without her beau as she headed into a taxi

Following his shocking claims on social media, fans were left confused by the events of the evening. While many appeared to show Kem their support and accused Rykard of 'riding on his success', others were left unconvinced and questioned why Rykard would 'lie' about Kem's involvement.

They also questioned claims Rykard had been 'flirting' with Amber, as he is currently in a relationship with his Love Island co-star from series two, Rachel Fenton, who he has been dating now for over a year.

Love Island fans appeared to get into a debate on Twitter, as they penned: '[Rykard] clearly ain't lying we've seen the pic.

'Doesn't mean it was [Kem] that did it?

'I just wanna know what happened.

'I don't understand why @ItsRykard would lie he's one of the most genuine guys ever.. plus he's got Rachel why would he flirt with amber

Long night? Amber was seen downing from a bottle as she left the fashion launch

Drink up: The starlet didn't seem to care who was watching as she took a drink

'Yeah, why would someone who is desperate to be in the public eye off the back of Love Island series 3 success possibly lie about something.

'No way rykard would make this whole thing up.

'A photo means nothing. Anyone can upload anything and write any caption. Kem's 5ft nothing. Look at Rykard ffs.

'Ayyy what on earth has happened in all this drama between Kem and Rykard.

'As if Kem could actually reach up to punch Rykard.

Confused: Fans were quick to question what had really happened between the reality stars at the event, as they failed to see eye-to-eye over Kem and Rykard

'Woahh just seen Rykard's tweets about Kem and if that's true then wtffffff.

'This whole rykard kem situation , everyone saying rykard lying I highly doubt it rykard is nice.'

The events unfolded as Kem marked his first fashion collaboration with online retailer BoohooMAN - despite the star admitting he had never thought about pursuing a career that was style led.

He had told Metro: 'When I left the villa I was never first thinking about signing with fashion  I dont know how to take photos, Im not a model,' before adding that he had always been a fan of the brand and suggested working alongside them came as a 'perfect opportunity'.

Love Island alumni: Gabby Allen (L) had been attendance at the bash, along with Chloe Crowhurst (R)

Orange you glad to see me! Chloe sizzled in a plunging orange bodycon dress

Smitten: Dom Lever and his girlfriend Jessica Shears were spotted hand-in-hand at the event

New hairdo: Jess looked lovely with her new blonde bob - which she confirmed on her Instagram account was a hairpiece

Top of the crops: Jess cut an otherwise demure figure in a floral print crop top, worn knotted at the waist to showcase her tanned stomach

Going strong: While Chris Hughes and Olivia Attwood put on a loved-up display

Cute: They've proved their critics wrong by becoming one of the strongest Love Island couples outside of the villa

Smitten: Chris gave Olivia an affectionate kiss as they idled on the pavement outside Opal Bar

Leggy lady: Olivia's strapless little number served to accentuate her endless legs and statuesque, slender frame

Kem had starred on series three of Love Island, airing earlier this year, and went on to win the series with girlfriend Amber - after viewers became hooked on their on/off romance that played out onscreen.

They had beaten the likes of Chris Hughes and Olivia Attwood to the 50,000 cash prize, along with Gabby and Marcel Somerville and Jamie Jewitt and Camilla Thurlow.

Rykard, meanwhile, had starred on the same show in 2016. He famously walked from the series, after his now girlfriend Rachel was chosen by his fellow islanders to leave the villa. Wanting to pursue their romance, he decided to quit and head home with her, but not before Rachel finding out he had controversially slept with Olivia Buckland behind her back.

The duo, however, managed to move past Rykard's secret bedroom antics with Olivia and have continued their relationship on the outside and are now living together.

Romance: Rykard shot to fame on the second series of Love Island where he struck up a relationship with his co-star girlfriend Rachel Fenton

Happy: The duo have been dating for over a year now and live together

Flying solo: Gabby was withouth boyfriend Marcel Somerville at Kem's launch and sported a plunging peplum top with ripped jeans and towering heels

Legs eleven! Montana sizzled in a thigh skimming black mini dress

Ravishing in red: Tyla Carr also made an appearance in a plunging scarlet gown that skimmed over her tanned and toned physique

Sassy in satin: TOWIE's Chloe Meadows and Courtney Green dazzled in matching satin dresses that showed off their tanned and toned pins

Stepping out: Georgia Harrison made her presence felt at the event in a thigh-skimming blue minidress

Good times: Big Brother stars Jordan Davies and Paul Danan were also in attendance on Thursday night

Incoming: The pair were side by side as they made their way inside the London venue
They were noticeably absent from the line-up for this year's hotly-anticipated Victoria's Secret fashion show.

But Kendall Jenner and Hailey Baldwin seemed unfazed as they turned the streets of Los Angeles into their own personal catwalk while leaving Sofia Richie's birthday bash at Delilah's nightclub on Thursday night.

The Keeping Up With The Kardashians star, 21, flaunted her endless legs in a flirty Nineties-inspired miniskirt, while Hailey, 20, stole the show in an all-pink ensemble.

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Looking good: Kendall Jenner and Hailey Baldwin partied at Sofia Richie's birthday bash at Delilah's nightclub in Los Angeles on Thursday night

Kendall added further height to her statuesque frame with a pair of black barely-there heels and carried a chic mini-tote.

Harking back to the grungy Ninties, the reality star wore her hair in a simple topknot with two strands framing her features, with she offset with a slick of scarlet lipstick.

Kendall will not be walking in the VS show in December, and wasn't pictured at the casting call just days earlier.

Smells like teen spirits! The Keeping Up With The Kardashians star, 21, flaunted her endless legs in a Nineties-inspired black miniskirt

Killer heels: Kendall added further height to her statuesque frame with a pair of black barely-there heels and carried a chic mini-tote

Glam: Harking back to the grungy Ninties, the reality star wore her hair in a simple topknot with two strands framing her features, with she offset with a slick of scarlet lipstick

Her gal pal Hailey was however, seen beaming at the auditions as she arrived in a crop top and skintight jeans.

The model, who last year admitted it was her dream to walk in the show, was snubbed from the line-up for the second time this year.

She previously admitted to the Daily Mail: 'I want to walk in the Victoria's Secret show. It's every girl's dream.'

Got other plans? Kendall will not be walking in the VS show in December, and wasn't pictured at the casting call just days earlier

Come on Barbie, let's go party: Hailey, 20, stole the show in an all-pink ensemble

Sidelined; The model, who last year admitted it was her 'dream' to walk in the Victoria's Secret fashion show, was snubbed from the line-up

Quick getaway! Kendall hid her face as she piled into a car with a female friend after a night of partying

Don't look now: She had been joined by the likes of Kendall Jenner - who arrived looking very casual in a white T-shirt and hiding away from the flashing cameras outside

Good night, Sofia? Richie emerges from her 19th birthday celebations in VERY high spirits... and hangs perilously out of a car window as she is driven off into the LA night

Dare devil: She was seen to be practically leaning totally out of the vehicle, thankfully not obstructing any oncoming traffic

The daughter of Stephen Baldwin seemed determined to cast her woes aside, however, and rocked a showstopping pink minidress teamed with a matching oversized leather jacket on the night out.

Their outing comes as the names of the models who will walk in the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in December - from Angels to returning models to first-timers - were revealed.

They've been compiled by Vogue Australia, but curiously, such names as Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid - who've both walked for the show before - weren't on it, and have not confirmed whether they will be a part of the extravaganza.

Unveiled! The names of the models who'll walk in the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, including returnees (left) Maria Borges, (center) Bruna Lirio and (right) Daniela Braga

Not yet? Such names as Kendall Jenner, left, and Gigi Hadid, right - who've both walked for the show before - weren't on the list

A full 15 of the 35 non-Angel models on the list are newcomers, including Amila Estevao, who gushed on Instagram that she was 'so happy one of my dreams came true.'

Another newcomer, Nadine Leopold, announced the gig on her Instagram page, writing that 'I started from the bottom and had so many ups and downs but now I can say that if you work hard and believe in yourself and stay true to yourself the sky is the limit!'

In her Instagram post trumpeting the gig, newcomer Estelle Chen encouraged her following to 'Work hard for your goals and stay humble,' after thanking a slew of people in her life, including family, friends, 'my agencies and agents' and 'the @victoriassecret team'.

Thrilled! A full 15 of the 35 non-Angel models on the list are newcomers, including Amila Estevao, who gushed on Instagram that she was 'so happy one of my dreams came true'

Fresh faces! Newcomers include Nadine Leopold (left), Estelle Chen (center) and Alexina Graham (right), who are seen her attending castings for the 2017 show

Looking swell! Grace Bol, seen arriving at VS show call backs on Tuesday, is also one of the models who'll walk at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show for the first time this December

New and returning: Frida Aasen (left), who's a newcomer this year, and Herieth Paul (right), who's also walking this year and has before, are pictured at call backs in Tuesday

Samile Bermannelli, Alecia Morais, Vanessa Moody, Daria Khlystun, Mayowa Nicholas, Julia Belyakova, Victoria Lee, Roosmarijn De Kok, Alexina Graham, Frida Aasen, Grace Bol and Aiden Curtiss are the other newcomers.

Models who've walked the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show before and are coming back for more include Hereith Paul, Megan Williams and Bruna Lirio.

Leomie Anderson, Kate Grigorieva, Gizele Oliveira and Daniela Braga are also returning champions in this arena.

Comeback kids: Gizele Oliveira (left) and Blanca Padilla (right) will be returning to the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, and are seen at call backs this year

Hitting the street! Maggie Laine, who's also been cast and will walk once again at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, is pictured at call backs on Tuesday

Strutting! Megan Williams (left), Kate Grigorieva (center) and Georgia Fowler (right), pictured outside casting events for the show this week, are coming back too

Maggie Laine, Alecia Morais, Grace Elizabeth and Zuri Tibby will be back as well, as are Sanne Vloet, Dilone and Leila Nda.

Devon Windsor, Maria Borges, Alanna Arrington, Blanca Padilla, Georgia Fowler and Barbara Fialho are also models who've done the show before and will again this year.

The location of the show hasn't been officially confirmed, but it's possible it will be Shanghai.

Angels in the show will be Lily Aldridge, Alessandra Ambrosio, Taylor Hill, Elsa Hosk, Martha Hunt, Adriana Lima, Stella Maxwell, Behati Prinsloo, Lais Ribeiro, Sara Sampaio, Josephine Skriver, Romee Strijd and Candice Swanepoel,

Ready for the rain! Sanne Vloet is seen walking at the 2016 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in Paris and will be back this year as well
She is believed to have sparked up a romance with 24-year-old boxer Younes Bendjima in October last year, after calling things off with on/off partner and father of her three children, Scott Disick.

And Kourtney Kardashian, 38, dressed to impress as she attended a date night with the Algerian-born model at Poppies in Los Angeles on Friday.

Wearing an extremely plunging black dress, the Keeping Up With The Kardashians star looked incredible as she flaunted her famous figure in the number.

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Plunging: Kourtney Kardashian, 38, dressed to impress as she attended a date night with her toyboy beau Younes Bendjima at Poppies in Los Angeles on Friday

The diminutive star teased a glimpse of her toned stomach with the deep V design of her frock, which finished at her midriff and nipped her in at her tiny waist.

Finishing at her upper thigh, Kourtney gave a saucy flash of her slender, toned pins, and elongated them with a pair of pointed court heels.

She added a stylish touch with a pair of sheer socks layered underneath the heels, and styled her raven tresses poker-straight.

Sizzling: Wearing an extremely plunging black dress, the Keeping Up With The Kardashians star looked incredible as she flaunted her famous figure in the number

Gorgeous: The diminutive star teased a glimpse of her toned stomach with the deep V design of her frock, which finished at her midriff and nipped her in at her tiny waist

Sporting minimal make-up for the outing, Kourtney made the most of her stunning natural beauty.

Kourtney's toyboy beau, who is 14 years her junior, looked cool in an army print jacket, and went for an altogether more casual look in a pair of shiny tracksuit bottoms.

In a contrast to Kourtney's night time glamour, the hunk kept comfortable in a pair of heavy black trainers.

Stylish: Finishing at her upper thigh, Kourtney gave a saucy flash of her slender, toned pins, and elongated them with a pair of pointed court heels

Keeping it casual: Kourtney's toyboy beau, who is 14 years her junior, looked cool in an army print jacket, and went for an altogether more casual look in a pair of shiny tracksuit bottoms

The relationship appears to be more than just a fling, as the pair recently returned from an exotic holiday to Egypt together.

In 2015 Kourtney split from Scott, with whom she has three children: Mason, seven, Penelope, five, and Reign, two, citing his partying as the cause of the break up.

However, Scott and Kourtney have been seen together recently for the sake of their kids.

Going strong: The relationship appears to be more than just a fling, as the pair recently returned from an exotic holiday to Egypt together

Moving on: In 2015 Kourtney split from Scott, with whom she has three children: Mason, seven, Penelope, five, and Reign, two, citing his partying as the cause of the break up

According to Us Weekly, Kourtney and Younes are getting serious and hope to have a solid future together.

The breakdown of Scott and Kourtney's relationship came after he was pictured getting close to stylist Chloe Bartoli in Monaco in the summer of 2015.

Kourtney has since been linked to 23-year-old Canadian crooner Justin Bieber, and more recently, Younnes.

Getting serious: According to Us Weekly, Kourtney and Younes are getting serious and hope to have a solid future together

Difficult: On Wednesday she talked to The Hollywood Reporter about her most difficult episode of KUWTK- when she had to talk about her split from Disick

On Wednesday she talked to The Hollywood Reporter about her most difficult episode of KUWTK - when she had to talk about her split from Disick.

'I had a lot of anxiety about it, and finally said let's just get this over with. I sat down and started crying. You go through something, and then you move past it.

'Then you do your interview, and get all riled up again. And then you see the episode, and start seeing all these comments [on social media].'

New chapter: She is believed to have sparked up a romance with the 24-year-old boxer in October last year

Former flame: Meanwhile, Scott Disick was pictured talking to Kim Kardashian's best friend Jonathan Cheban at a restaurant in Los Angeles on Thursday
She raised eyebrows with her meltdown at Sydney airport on Wednesday.

But after arriving safely in Los Angeles, Kyle Sandilands' girlfriend Imogen Anthony hasn't wasted any time hitting the town.

The 26-year-old and her posse 'randomly' ended up at Sofia Richie's birthday party on Thursday night.

'That's Hollywood for ya!' Kyle Sandilands' girlfriend Imogen Anthony attends Sofia Richie's birthday party ... After THAT airport meltdown

In a photo shared to Instagram, Imogen and her friend Krystal Dawson strike dramatic poses in front of a piano.

Imogen bares her taut stomach with a revealing red top, pairing it with a matching latex skirt.

Wearing her blonde locks in tousled waves over one shoulder, Kyle's girlfriend offers a smoldering stare to the camera.

Did they meet? A photo posted to Sofia's Instagram account confirms the young starlet was out on the town

Stressful flight? Imogen's glamorous night out in Hollywood comes after she appeared to have a meltdown at Sydney airport

'Somehow we randomly ended up in @sofiarichie's party at @1oakla Hollywood for ya,' Imogen captioned the photo to her 134,000 followers.

A photo posted to Sofia's Instagram account confirms the young starlet was out on the town, with her birthday celebrated at celebrity hotspot 1Oak LA.

Imogen's glamorous night out in Hollywood comes after she appeared to have a meltdown at the airport.

Leaving Sydney for Los Angeles on Wednesday, the aspiring fashion designer can be seen yelling at her entourage and gesturing wildly as she checked in for her flight.

Tense: The aspiring fashion designer can be seen yelling at her entourage and gesturing wildly as she checked in for her flight

On Thursday, Kyle leapt to Imogen's defence, denying she chucked a tantrum while checking in.

'There was no meltdown. She was just tired. It was 6am in the morning,' Kyle told his co-host Jackie O as they discussed the incident on the Kyle and Jackie O Show.

However according to sources, Imogen was actually at the airport at 8.10am in the morning when the images were taken.
She's the Scream Queens star and niece of acting legend Julia Roberts, and is noted for her glamorous red carpet appearances.

But Emma Roberts, 26, proved that even A-listers have to carry out the mundane everyday tasks of the masses, as she showed off a un-diva like side to her personality while running errands at a supermarket in Beverly Hills on Thursday.

The American Horror Story actress stocked up on groceries for the weekend.

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Not so glamorous: Emma Roberts, 26, showed off a un-diva like side to her personality while at a supermarket in Beverly Hills on Thursday, stocking up on essential groceries

Wearing an acid wash dress, Emma flaunted her slender pins for her supermarket jaunt, and kept comfortable in a pair of black ankle boots.

She went make-up free for the outing, displaying her enviably smooth complexion, and carried her belongings in a quirky 2D style handbag.

The Scream Queens star styled her poker straight honey blonde tresses into a sleek bob, and smiled as she strolled out of the supermarket.

Leggy lady: Wearing an acid wash dress, Emma flaunted her slender pins for her supermarket jaunt, and kept comfortable in a pair of black ankle boots

Emma, whose FOX show Scream Queens was guillotined this year after two seasons, has helped start Belletrist, an online book club that got its launch this March.

'Everyone always laughs at me because in the summer I have the biggest tote filled with books because I refuse to put books on my iPad,' she's confessed to WWD.

'Its such a treat when I open the mail and have all these books to read. Its been fun to figure out where to put them within the book club,' said the niece of Julia Roberts in the interview.

What a difference!: The American Horror Story actress is usually seen to bring high-fashion creations to the red carpet (Left photo: pictured at the Met Gala 2017)

Emma can next be seen in American Horror Story: Cult. The upcoming season of the FX anthology series will revolve around the 2016 US election and will premiere September 5 with an episode titled Election Night.

The Nancy Drew actress' upcoming projects include the film Billionaire Boys Club, starring Ansel Elgort, Taron Egerton, Suki Waterhouse and Kevin Spacey.

Emma's pal and Scream Queens co-star Billie Lourd is also in the upcoming movie project, as is Cary Elwes, and the film is due for release this year.

Loading up: The star, who will be seen in film Billionaire Boys Club this year, had stocked up for the weekend

She also has a starring role in the big screen drama Who We Are Now scheduled to premiere in September at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Australian actor, writer and director Matthew Newton, 40, wrote and directed Who We Are Now.

The film follows a woman sentenced to 10 years in prison for manslaughter who recruits a young public defence lawyer to help her children.
She almost fell over on the street making her way into the exclusive event.

And Leah Costa's messy display continued as she partied the night away at Maxim's sixth Birthday on Friday.

The university student appeared worse for wear, flashing her knickers to onlookers while studying her smartphone inside the event.

Keeping it brief! Bachelor reject Leah Costa flashes her knickers in a very short dress at Maxim's 6th Birthday

Sitting on a couch inside a bar, located in Sydney's eastern suburbs, Leah showcased her slim legs in a short dress and well-worn nude heels.

The former topless waitress took a break from the event's festivities to type on her phone, appearing unaware she was flashing her underwear.

Leah could be later seen resting her head on fellow Bachelor reject Monica Brown, who was evicted on the first night of the series.

Lost in thought: The former topless waitress took a break from the event's festivities to type on her phone, appearing unaware she was flashing her underwear

Big night: Despite both women sporting glamorous full faces of makeup they appeared worse for wear as the evening wore on

Time for bed girls? Leah could be later seen resting her head on fellow Bachelor reject Monica Brown, who was evicted on the first night of the series

Despite both women sporting glamorous full faces of makeup they appeared worse for wear as the evening wore on, with Monica even closing her eyes for a brief rest.

Later the three reality TV rejects were sitting the dance floor with their fellow Bachelor stars Simone Ormesher and Elora Murger.

Meanwhile fellow Bachelor villain Jennifer Hawke risked a wardrobe malfunction on more than one occasion, with splits in her frock offering a generous glimpse of her upper thighs.

Waiting for a mate? At one point Monica closed her eyes for a brief rest as the festivities raged on around them

Sitting pretty! Leah sat contemplatively with Monica as the party continued into the night

Thigh's the limit! Bachelor reject Jennifer Hawke risks a wardrobe malfunction in a VERY revealing black dress at Maxim's 6th birthday party

Jennifer arrived at the Sydney soiree in very high spirits, accompanied by fellow Bachelor evictees Leah Costa and Monica Brown.

The brunette beauty put on a very daring display as she arrived at the event, wearing a lacy lingerie bodysuit.

The self-described Bachelor villain paired her racy top with a skirt that left little to the imagination thanks to its daring thigh splits.

She's not shy! The brunette beauty put on a very daring display as she arrived at the event, wearing a lacy lingerie bodysuit

High spirits: Walking into the A-list event a jovial Jen appeared to be unconcerned with risking a wardrobe malfunction, laughing animatedly with her friends

Hit the pre drinks girls? Jennifer arrived at the Sydney soiree in very high spirits, accompanied by fellow Bachelor evictees Leah Costa and Monica Brown

Walking into the A-list event a jovial Jen appeared to be unconcerned with risking a wardrobe malfunction, laughing animatedly with her friends.

Leah and Monica were also in equally good spirits, with the trio enjoying cocktails at a nearby bar before going to the event.

At one point Leah appeared to stumble in her high heels, fortunately falling into the arms of her reality TV friends.

Nearly fell: At one point Leah appeared to stumble in her high heels, fortunately falling into the arms of her reality TV friends

Helping hand: After Leah's near-fall Monica gave her a helping arm into the event

On the red carpet, Jennifer attempted to create her very own Marilyn Monroe moment by blowing a kiss to the cameras.

The brunette beauty made a dramatic exit from the mansion on Thursday night's episode after being confronted by the other contestants.

Jennifer left the house sobbing as she accused the others of being 'b*tches' and using 'mean girl' tactics to gang up on her.

Retro: On the red carpet, Jennifer attempted to create her very own Marilyn Monroe moment by blowing a kiss to the cameras
News / Africa

by Staff Reporter

Two white South African farmers Theo Jackson and Willem Oosthuizen, who were accused of forcing Victor Mlotshwa into a coffin, dousing him in petrol and threatening to set him alight, have been found guilty of six of the seven charges.Victor Mlotshwa, 27, was beaten and forced into a coffin by farmers Theo Martins Jackson and Willem Oosthuizen in 2016.The pair have yet to be sentenced. They had denied the charges.The case has caused outrage in South Africa and highlighted racial tensions in the town's farming communities.More to follow...
It's perhaps the ultimate goal to be achieved amongst reality stars.

And former Love Island star Katie Salmon, 21, was joined by her fellow reality cohort, including pregnant Emma-Jane Woodhams, 20, as they attended the Miss Swimsuit UK auditions at Nuvo in Birmingham, England on Thursday.

Wearing a see-through cream ensemble, Katie flashed her toned abs and derriere as she entered the bar for the competition, which aims to find the next swimwear beauty pageant star.

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Racy: Former Love Island star Katie Salmon, 21, attended the Miss Swimsuit UK auditions at Nuvo in Birmingham, England on Thursday in a racy see-through ensemble

Katie's outfit consisted of a tiny cream bandeau top, which accentuated her pert bust, and highlighted her toned midriff.

Her trousers featured a cream lace design, and gave a glimpse of her toned pins while flashing her black underwear through the see-through material.

She worked her raven tresses into loose curls, and sported red lipstick and layers of false eyelashes to open up her eyes.

Cheeky: Wearing a see-through cream ensemble, Katie flashed her toned abs and derriere as she entered the bar for the competition, which aims to find the next swimwear beauty pageant star

She was joined by Emma-Jane, who is five months pregnant with her childhood sweetheart, Jordan, and displayed her neat bump in a bodycon blush dress.

Emma put on a busty display in the dress, which featured a plunging cut out middle to tease at her cleavage.

She elongated her tanned, slim legs with a pair of black court heels, and sported nude lipgloss to highlight her plump pout.

Busty: She was joined by Emma-Jane Woodhams, 20, who is five months pregnant with her childhood sweetheart, Jordan, and displayed her neat bump in a bodycon blush dress

Emma announced she was 'incredibly excited' to be pregnant with her first child at the start of August.

Her pregnancy however came just five months after she announced her split from former flame Terry Walsh, 28 - leaving fans shocked.

The pair fell for each other on ITV2's Love Island last year, but they called it quits in February, with Terry insisting he and Emma had remained 'friends' in the wake of their break up.

Raunchy: Emma put on a busty display in the dress, which featured a plunging cut out middle to tease at her cleavage

Emma then went on to reconcile with her childhood sweetheart Jordan in April, and fell pregnant with his child later that month.

However, she was forced to hit back at 'vile and nasty' trolls last week, who sent her death threats following her pregnancy news.

In a series of Instagram videos, the tearful star explained that online bullies had branded her a 's**t' and claimed she cheated on her boyfriend with Terry - and that the baby was his.

Emma sadly explained she has 'real feelings' and that the comments 'cut her deep' as she defiantly spoke out against the abuse.

Leggy lady: She elongated her tanned, slim legs with a pair of black court heels, and sported nude lipgloss to highlight her plump pout

Strike a pose: Katie's trousers featured a cream lace design, and gave a glimpse of her toned pins while flashing her underwear through the see-through material

All-black everything: The girls were joined by fellow former Love Island star Jessica Hayes, 23, who courted attention in a plunging black catsuit

Three's a crowd! Ex On The Beach star Helen Briggs (L) linked arms with Ashley Cain (M) while Jessica was glued to his other side

The girls were joined by fellow former Love Island star Jessica Hayes, 23, who courted attention in a plunging black catsuit.

She played with her blonde-tipped brunette locks, and accentuated her striking blue eyes with a pair of false eyelashes and smoky eye make-up.

Turning to reveal her pert derriere, the reality star made the most of her best assets as she elongated her legs with a pair of heels.

Ruffled up: Helen wore a pair of black ruffled trousers and red heels

Colour contrast: Helen wore her blue-tinged tresses up in a chignon, and contrasted the hue to her red lipstick
She was dubbed the villain of The Bachelor 2016 and quickly rose to fame on the social scene and her a stint on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here.

But on Friday, Keira Maguire, 30, stepped away from the spotlight and stayed home to do a face treatment despite being expected to attend Maxim magazine's sixth birthday that night.

This unusual move by the socialite comes after this year's Bachelor rejects, including her nemesis Jen Hawke, were spotted having fun at the reality star-studded bash.

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Wheres Keira? on Friday, Keira Maguire, 30, stayed home to do a face treatment despite being expected to attend Maxim magazine's sixth birthday that night

Keira took to Instagram to share clips of herself opening up a face treatment package and toying with a mask and colourful LED lights.

In the clip, the blonde beauty told her fans that the light therapy mask's multicoloured lights are settings designed to treat skin for different concerns.

'It takes a lot for me to get excited but this is literally the best invention,' she told her fans before demonstrating different light settings for treating different skin issues.

The no-show comes after Jen Hawke appeared on The Project discussed her simmering feud with Keira Maguire.

'I mean I'd probably look a little better in the jungle shorts than Keira,' she quipped, referring to outfits worn by Keira on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here.

To drive her point home, Jen threw her hands up in the air.

The brunette also discussed taking over the 'villain role' from Keira on this year's season of The Bachelor.

Out with the Bachie girls: She avoided this year's Bachelor rejects including her nemesis Jen Hawke, who was spotted having fun at the party

Beauty night at home: Keira took to Instagram to share clips of herself opening up the package and toying with the mask and the colourful LED lights

Friday fun day! 'It takes a lot for me to get excited but this is literally the best invention,' she told her fans

'I'm the villain Australia deserves': The no-show comes after Jen Hawke appeared on The Project discussed her simmering feud with Keira

Slammed: 'I mean I'd probably look a little better in the jungle shorts than Keira,' Jen gloated on The Project

'When Matty and I weren't having that spark there was nothing evolving I did let the slow burn linger for a few weeks and it wasn't happening so I was like might as well go for it here and I committed to it (being the villain),' she said.

'I think Australia deserves a good villain... if I do it better than Keira oh well.'

'I'm the villain Australia deserves,' she repeated.

Jen's so-called ascent to the 'villain' throne comes after she enjoyed a messy night out with fellow Bachelor rejects including Leah Costa, and Monica Brown.

Down and ready to party! Jen's so-called ascent to the 'villain' throne comes after she enjoyed a messy night out with fellow Bachelor rejects including Leah Costa, and Monica Brown

Night out on the town: The trio of Bachelor rejects already appeared very festive as they arrived at the trendy Casablanca club in the affluent suburb of Double Bay.

The trio of Bachelor rejects already appeared very festive as they arrived at the trendy Casablanca club in the affluent suburb of Double Bay.

The women had earlier taken to Instagram to post a video from their Airbnb apartment and appeared to be getting the party started ahead of time.

Prior to arriving at the party, gal pals also shared video from the Pelicano bar in Double Bay where they were sharing cocktails.
She's no stranger to having all eyes on her as a star of stage and screen.

But Lea Michele decided to keep a low-profile as she stepped out after a workout in Los Angeles on Thursday.

The Scream Queens star, 30, showed off her slender figure in a pair of skintight black leggings, which she teamed with a simple white T-shirt.

Under the radar: Lea Michele decided to keep a low-profile as she stepped out after a workout in Los Angeles on Thursday

The actress teamed her sporty outfit with an olive green jacket, and sensible black running shoes.

Lea accessorized with sunglasses and a dainty necklace, while wearing her long brunette locks scraped back from her face.

The former Glee star looked fresh-faced look with just a little make-up as she went about her day.

Lea was recently seen holding hands with Zandy Reich, who is the president of clothing brand AYR, according to Page Six.

Workout look: The Scream Queens star, 30, showed off her slender figure in a pair of skintight black leggings, which she teamed with a simple white T-shirt

On the run: The actress teamed her sporty outfit with an olive green jacket, and sensible black running shoes

Although neither of them have confirmed their relationship, Zandy is the first guy Lea has been seen with since her break-up with dancer Matthew Paetz.

Matthew and Lea were together for two years before he called it quits on their romance.

A source told E! News in February: 'She got no reason or explanation for the split. She was also very supportive of him even when her friends were skeptical of him.

'Lea wanted to believe in love and wanted to believe the good in him. He ended up being an opportunist who took advantage and broke up with her in a very heartless way.'

Pretty as a picture: Lea accessorized with sunglasses and a dainty necklace, while wearing her long brunette locks scraped back from her face

The brunette beauty will be getting busier soon as her new pilot, The Mayor, premieres on ABC on October 3.

The new show is about a hip-hop artist who runs for mayor to promote his mix-tape and later ends up winning.

Lea will be playing Valentina Barella, the new mayor's campaign manager.

If the pilot gets picked up, it would the actress's third TV series after Glee and Scream Queens.

New couple alert: Lea was recently seen holding hands in New York City with Zandy Reich, who is the president of clothing brand AYR, according to Page Six
She's an actress, entrepreneur, loving wife, and soon to be a mom to three children.

But pregnant Jessica Alba had her business hat on as she spent a busy Friday morning attending meetings in Los Angeles.

The actress, 36, looked typically stylish for her day of work, covering up her baby bump in a camouflage jacket.

Busy bee: Pregnant Jessica Alba had her business hat on as she spent a busy Friday morning attending meetings in Los Angeles

The Sin City star teamed her military-style jacket with a loose black midi-dress, while ditching her heels in favor of comfortable white pumps.

Jessica carried a black oversized tote bag that looked filled with her daily essentials, along with a black quilted leather handbag.

The mother-of-three kept accessories to a minimum with thick-rimmed glasses, hoop earrings, a necklace, and a couple of rings.

Complementing her chic maternity look, Jessica wore her caramel locks in loose waves and opted for minimal make-up to complete her striking look.

Maternity style: The actress, 36, looked typically stylish for her day of work, covering up her baby bump in a camouflage jacket

The Honest Company founder posted a picture on Friday of a quote reading: 'Being a mom to you is the best adventure.'

She captioned the photo: 'My Honor and Haven -The greatest adventure.'

The doting mother has not revealed the sex of her unborn baby with husband of nine years, producer Cash Warren.

Jessica and Cash announced they were expecting their third child in July by posting a sweet Boomerang video of the actress with her daughters Honor, nine, and Haven, six, holding '1, 2, 3' balloons.

Always stylish: The Sin City star teamed her military-style jacket with a loose black midi-dress, while ditching her heels in favor of comfortable white pumps

Happy news: Jessica announced she was expecting her third child in July by posting a sweet Boomerang video with her daughters Honor, nine, and Haven, six, holding '1, 2, 3' balloons

She captioned the snap: 'Cash Warren and I are officially going to be outnumbered!'

The couple met in 2004 on the set of Fantastic Four, and married four years later in Los Angeles in May 2008.

Jessica told previously People that she is always striving to be a better parent: 'I think maybe being open and curious and trying to better myself.'

'I dont try to pretend like I have all the answers and I certainly dont think Im perfect.

'So when my kids say something, instead of me being so reactive, I think about how I can be better.'
It's not every day a girl can celebrate turning 30.

But it was just a regular day on set for hard-working birthday girl Blake Lively as she shot scenes for her new thriller, A Simple Favor in Toronto, Canada, on Friday.

The actress looked delighted to be toasting the milestone occasion, grinning from ear-to-ear as she strolled around the set of the murder mystery with her co-star Anna Kendrick, 32.

Suits you! It was just a regular day on set for hard-working birthday girl Blake Lively as she shot scenes for her new thriller, A Simple Favor in Toronto, Canada, on Friday

Wearing a navy and white pinstripe three-piece suit, the Gossip Girl star was all smiles as she strutted about.

The mother-of-two's masculine attire was completed with a white collared button-up shirt and a bright yellow pocket square.

Blake sported a navy, wide-brimmed hat with leather features on top of her long flowing golden tresses.

Birthday girl: The actress looked delighted to be toasting her milestone 30th, grinning from ear-to-ear as she strolled around the set of the murder mystery

Hard at work: Blake was joined by her co-star Anna Kendrick, 32, and two young actors

Birthday suit: Wearing a navy and white pinstripe three-piece suit, the Gossip Girl star she strutted about with a large umbrella

A golden pocket watch chain was strung across and attached to the Green Lantern star's long blue vest.

Blake added some feminine flare to her long suit with a pair of blue and white snakeskin pumps.

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants actress also carried an umbrella around the Canadian set.

Blake was no doubt looking forward to celebrating her big day later on with Hollywood actor husband Ryan Reynolds, 40, and the couple's two children, James, two, and Ines, 10 months.

Talented two-some: The mother-of-two's masculine attire was completed with a white collared button-up shirt and a bright yellow pocket square

Mellow yellow! Co-star Anna Kendrick belted a canary yellow peacoat over her short blue denim dress, which featured silver buttons

Rained out! The actress filmed a scene requiring umbrellas to shield themselves from the downpour on set

Co-star Anna Kendrick belted a canary yellow peacoat over her short blue denim dress, which featured silver buttons.

Showing off her lithe legs, Anna wore a pair of green Hunter rain boots and bright aqua socks on her feet.

The Pitch Perfect actress wore her long chestnut brown hair straight and parted down the middle.

Blonde ambition: Blake sported a navy, wide-brimmed hat with leather features on top of her long flowing golden tresses

Blake is set to star as Emily Nelson in the Paul Feig directed film and Anna will portray mommy-blogger Stephanie Ward.

Actor Henry Golding will play Sean Nelson, Emily's husband, in the upcoming film.

The movie is set be released in 2018; the exact release date has not yet been announced.

A Simple Favor is based on the novel with the same name by author Darcey Bell and is described as being a post-modern film noir.
Series 20 of Celebrity Big Brother has seen Marissa Jade, Karthik Nagesan, Trisha Paytas, Jordan Davies, Brandi Glanville, Paul Danan, Sandi Bogle, Helen Lederer Shaun Williamson all evicted from the house during the past three weeks.

And as the live final kicked off on Friday night, remaining housemates Amelia Lily, Chad Johnson, Derek Acorah, Jemma Lucy, Sam Thompson and Sarah Harding battled it out to scoop the CBB crown- along with the winning 50k prize to give to a charity of their choice.

Emma Willis unveiled the grand finale with her usual glamour, taking to the stage in an elegant one-shouldered LBD.

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Finalists: As the live final kicked off on Friday night, remaining housemates Amelia Lily, Chad Johnson, Derek Acorah, Jemma Lucy, Sam Thompson and Sarah Harding battled it out to scoop the CBB crown- along with the winning 50k prize to give to a charity of their choice

The high-low hemline revealed a glimpse of her neon heels, injecting a splash of colour to the figure-hugging ensemble.

Wearing her trademark pixie cut raven hair sleeked back off her face, she opted for dewy skin and accentuated her bright blue eyes with lashings of mascara as she presented this season's final show.

The series has seen its fair share of trials and tribulations, with Trisha walking out of the house, Jemma and Sarah having a number of explosive bust ups, and Sarah starting a very steamy romance with Chad.

Glam: Emma Willis unveiled the grand finale with her usual glamour, taking to the stage in an elegant one-shouldered LBD

Sam and Amelia teased the audience with a painfully drawn-out collection of flirtations, and former housemates Marissa and Jordan took their spat to Twitter upon being evicted.

Back at the live finale, Emma introduced the remaining five contestants to a screaming crowd, revealing that there was currently less than 5% between the winning housemates.

The competitors united in tense silence as they awaited the results of the finale, gathering together on the sofa.

Supportive: And on the outside, the evicted housemates joined the waiting crowds, with boos and cheers greeting the names of the remaining housemates as Emma encouraged viewers to vote

And on the outside, the evicted housemates joined the waiting crowds, with boos and cheers greeting the names of the remaining housemates as Emma encouraged viewers to vote.

While Sam's name garnered cheers, Sarah's was met by an onslaught of boos.

Back in the house the contestants cringed over their final moments, as they sipped on champagne awaiting their fate.

Meanwhile Eastenders' Shawn was given his exit interview, and admitted his surprise at being evicted.

'You have to be in a relationship or be good at aggressive confrontation to do well in the house', he admitted to Emma.

'Everyone was so supportive so I didn't need to be confrontational and I'm not the type to be confrontational. But I would have stood up for myself,' he added to cheers of 'Barry', his Eastenders character, before leaving the stage.

'Get Chad out', the crowd shouted as they booed him and Sarah, giving Jemma a mixed reaction.

Jemma and Chad were first to be evicted, leaving in fifth and sixth place, followed by Derek and Sam, Amelia and with Sarah Harding winning the CBB crown and 50k for charity Haig Housing.
She's the PR maven with a number of high-profile celebrities and clients on her books.

But according to The Sydney Morning Herald's Private Sydney, Roxy Jacenko was more interested to read about her own pursuits on Wednesday.

On board a flight to Hamilton Island with best pal Francesca Packer, the 37-year-old was overhead asking for rival newspaper The Daily Telegraph, to 'read about myself'.

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Claims: Roxy Jacenko, 37, was 'overheard asking for newspaper to read about herself' on board a flight to Hamilton Island on Wednesday, with best pal Francesca Packer Barham

Private Sydney, who were seated down in economy class, were said to have overheard matters of business up in the echelons, where Roxy was seated.

The publication claimed to have overheard the mother-of-two asking for a copy of The Daily Telegraph.

Roxy was said to have requested the paper so she could 'read about myself'.

Getaway: Roxy had been enjoying Hamilton Island Race Week, earlier this week, with pal and heiress Francesca

Lady in black! The mother-of-two stunned in a low-cut top as she stepped out for a fancy dinner with best pal Francesca Packer, at Hamilton Island this week

The blonde beauty had been enjoying a spot of relaxation and indulgence at Hamilton Island Race Week.

An event held at Qualia Resort saw Roxy stunning in a black off-the-shoulder top with a heavy ruffle and matching pair of high-waisted pants from designer Lillian Khallouf.

The author accessorised with a Louis Vuitton clutch and some neck bling from Paspaley Pearls.

Taking to her Instagram story, Roxy shared a photo that saw her posing in a picturesque setting outside the event.

As the sun set over the water, Roxy offered a broad smile as she posed with a hand on her hip.

Famous pals: Roxy was also seen with Sydney chef Guillaume Brahimi and heiress and best pal, Francesca Packer Barham

Elegant: Ever the fan of selfies, Roxy shared another photo, taken in the mirror, to flaunt her elegant outfit

She posted a second photo, this time featuring Sydney-based chef Guillaume Brahimi and heiress Francesca Packer Barham, who wore a playful red frock.

The trio looked happy to be posing in each other's company, with Francesca throwing an arm around the chef's shoulder.

Roxy's flaxen locks hung in loose curls over her left shoulder and she added an extra element of elegance with an array of gold and diamond bracelets on her right wrist.

Ever the fan of selfies, Roxy shared another photo, taken in the mirror, to flaunt her elegant outfit.
She's a model turned businesswoman who has appeared on more than 250 magazine front covers in her time.

And Caprice, 45, reminded people why she's been so successful as she showed off her impeccable physique and put on a very busty display while holidaying in Ibiza on Friday.

The mother-of-two showcased her impossibly toned figure while sunning herself poolside in the stunning Spanish island resort.

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Cast no shadow: Caprice, 45, put on a very busty display while holidaying in Ibiza on Friday. The mother-of-two showcased her impossibly toned figure while sunning herself poolside

Practicing her downward dog while lapping up the sun, Caprice put on an eye catching display in the skimpy one piece.

Showcasing her long, elegant pins, the model wandered around the pool enjoying the remaining summer sun.

Letting her long blonde locks flow elegantly passed her shoulders, the star cut an effortlessly chic figure in black.

Turning around the stunning supermodel turned around to hint at her pert derriere.

Chic: The mother-of-two showcased her impossibly toned figure while sunning herself poolside in the stunning Spanish island resort

Sultry: Letting her long blonde locks flow elegantly passed her shoulders, the star cut an effortlessly chic figure in black

The star deserves to kick back and relax following her traumatic year.

Viewers were rocked after Caprice was forced to quit Channel 4's The Jump earlier this year after show doctors discovered she had a brain tumour.

She later appeared on Loose Women, at the end of April, to open up about the frightening situation, following her required surgery.

Yoga: The star deserves to kick back and relax following her traumatic year

Limber up: Viewers were rocked after Caprice was forced to quit Channel 4's The Jump after show doctors discovered she had a brain tumour

The fashion and TV star broke down in tears as she relived the horror of the discovery - and the subsequent battle to keep things together for the sake of her two young sons.

She said of her op, which took place in March: 'I had a seven-and-a-half hour operation... I thought this was the right thing for my family and I didn't have the support system because I didn't tell anyone...

'I just remember being in my bed and praying to my dad in heaven. I just wanted to wake up and be OK. It was the first time that it really hit me.'

Cart wheel: She later appeared on Loose Women, at the end of April, to open up about the frightening situation, following her required surgery

Jump: The blonde bombshell was forced to come to terms with the news on her own as she was in Austria for the show without her husband Ty Comfort, but admitted she couldn't stop worrying about her three-year-old sons Jax and Jett

The blonde bombshell was forced to come to terms with the news on her own as she was in Austria for the show without her husband Ty Comfort, but admitted she couldn't stop worrying about her three-year-old sons Jax and Jett.

She explained: 'I went to the hospital and the nurse came in and said, "Oh you're fine." And I said, "OK, let's go. We have a live show." And she said. "No, you have to see the neurosurgeon." And I said, "What are you talking about? I need to go."

'Anyway, the nurse came in and she sat down and she said, "Don't be alarmed but you have a brain tumour."

Svelte figure: Caprice wandered along poolside while talking to some pals

Twirl girl: The athletic former model readied herself to do a cartwheel

'Obviously, I started to break down and cry hysterically. I just said, "Am I going to die?" That's the first thing you think about, I'm 45 now but I had waited for the right partner at 39 and I waited for my kids.

'It's terrifying, and I'm relatively healthy and I've never done drugs and I couldn't believe what they were telling me. For me, I just wanted to be strong for my kids because they're so young. They're three. I wanted to be strong for my partner.'

She said: 'Channel 4 were amazing. They said, "Forget about the show, you're going home." So I went home and I told Ty my partner.
She previously said she wouldn't be watching Matty J, 30, find love on The Bachelor.

But on Saturday, Georgia Love revealed although confronting, watching it has made her nostalgic.

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, the 28-year-old said she can relate with how Matty feels.

Ride down memory lane: But on Saturday, Georgia Love revealed although confronting, she's been watching Matty J search for love on The Bachelor

'It is a little but weird because this is the first series I was on and reminds me of where I was at the point, and how far Lee and I have come since then,' she said.

'It's a strange feeling. When I think about the journey that I went on to find love, it's very surreal. I mean last year, I was sitting at an office desk in Tassie.'

Georgia relocated to Melbourne after the show to be with her mum who was suffering from Pancreatic Cancer but has since passed.

Nostalgic: 'It is a little but weird because this is the first series I was on and reminds me of where I was at the point, and how far Lee and I have come since then'

So much has changed: 'It's a strange feeling. When I think about the journey that I went on to find love, it's very surreal'

In a happy co-incidence, her chosen beau Lee Elliott was also from the city which gave her 'a normal dating relationship'.

'We're in the same city, so there's no pressure to rush into moving into together,' she said.

The pair who celebrated their one-year-anniversary in June have been teasing marriage plans for the last few months, with Lee telling NW magazine that he has 'already started saving for the ring'.

Happy: 'We're in the same city, so there's no pressure to rush into moving into together'

Match made in heaven: The pair who celebrated their one-year-anniversary in June have been teasing marriage plans for the last few months, with Lee telling NW magazine that he has 'already started saving for the ring'

Happy in her current relationship, earlier in the week Georgia revealed on Nine's Today Show that the worst pickup line she's ever received was from a male stripper.

'The worst I have had was a guy who, he was a male stripper and he came up to me, and he genuinely thought it would be classy....,' she said to co-presenters Karl Stefanovic and Merrick Watts.

'He said: "I am just really sick of women only wanting me for my body, so I have decided I like you and want to get to know you before I show you my body to win you over''.'
Yemeni Red Crescent workers and civilians stand at the site of an air raid in the Arhab area on the outskirts of Sanaa, on August 23, 2017

More than 30 people, including civilians, were reported killed Wednesday in air raids on the outskirts of Yemen's capital, where a Saudi-led coalition has been bombing Iran-backed Huthi rebels.

The Huthis, who control Sanaa along with forces loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, blamed the pro-government Arab military alliance for the attack on the capital's northern outskirts.

The rebels used their Al-Massira television channel to release a statement blaming the Saudi-led coalition for the raids. A spokesperson for the coalition could not be reached for comment.

Human rights groups have repeatedly criticised the coalition over the civilian death toll from the bombing campaign it launched in support of Yemen's internationally recognised government in March 2015.

Since then, thousands of people have been killed in the conflict, most of them civilians.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have called on the United States, Britain and France to stop their deliveries of bombs and other weapons to Saudi Arabia because of concerns over civilian casualties.

Wednesday's strikes on the Arhab district killed at least 35 people and rescue workers were still pulling bodies from the rubble, said Hussein al-Tawil, head of the Sanaa branch of Yemen's Red Crescent.

An official with an international aid organisation told AFP that at least 30 people had been killed in a series of strikes on the capital.

At least one strike targeted a hotel where workers from a nearby qat farm had been staying, according to witnesses and the hotel manager, Taher al-Ahdal.

Residents said Huthi members had also been staying in the area.

The United Nations' refugee agency, UNHCR, said it was trying to verify details on the raids.

"We are extremely concerned about the civilian deaths reported in the north of Sanaa," spokesperson Shabia Mantoo said.

Yemen

"The conflict in Yemen has been intensified in 2017... it's exacting a brutal toll on civilians."

No one has yet claimed responsibility for the strike, which Tawil said had also wounded at least 13 people, who were taken to hospitals.

- Tensions -

The Huthis seized the capital in September 2014, backed by pro-Saleh forces, and have controlled it ever since.

But the unlikely alliance, forged in defiance of a common enemy, has begun to unravel, threatening to further splinter a country already ravaged by war.

Tension between Saleh and the Huthis has escalated over the past week, with the two sides exchanging accusations of treason.

The Saudi-led military coalition intervened in 2015 to back up Yemen's President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, and it now controls the country's airspace.

The United States also regularly conducts drone strikes on Yemen which Washington says target Al-Qaeda.

Northern and southern Yemen have both come under aerial attack in recent months, and the coalition has come under massive pressure from international organisations including the United Nations for its role in the raids.

The UN has said the Saudi coalition was likely responsible for a July attack on the southwestern Taez province that killed 20 people, including children.

An air raid on a funeral reception in Arhab killed eight women and one child in February, prompting the Saudi-led coalition to announce it was "investigating the reports".

The coalition has not however claimed responsibility for the attack.

In June, 24 civilians were killed when an air strike hit a market in northern Yemen that was a centre for trafficking in qat, a leafy stimulant plant that is widely used in Yemen but banned by neighbouring Saudi Arabia.

Sources including hospital officials blamed the June strike on the Saudi-led Arab coalition, which has also not claimed responsibility for the attack.
News / National

by Stephen Jakes

A political analyst Pedzisai Ruhanya has described the Zimbabwe's opposition parties coalition as fake and its leadership as fake, parochial and childish.This come in the wake of jostling in the opposition parties over the coalition positions."Zimbabwe's opposition; fake coalition, fake leaders, little infantile tribalists, egoists driven by personal, parochial and childish self-centred balderdash whose sum total is TRASH! You fail to coalesce at a historic moment when the regime's key supporters and enforcers openly say 'President Mugabe's mandate to rule has been lost since 2008'," he said."Mugabe's public bureaucracy is fractured and storm his troopers are in disarray with several factions of the once feared war veterans now the occupants of remand prison while the generals are attacked at public rallies; clearly signs of the times. What more do you want you petty, directionless so-called opposition? The INGRIDIENTS for your vibrancy are there but you can't capture the moment."
Muslim pilgrims from around the world circle the Kaaba at the Grand Mosque in the Saudi city of Mecca during last year's hajj pilgrimage on September 14, 2016

More than 1.4 million Muslims have so far arrived in Saudi Arabia for the hajj, authorities said Thursday, with the annual pilgrimage marked by the return of Iranians after Tehran's boycott last year.

More than two million people are expected to participate in this year's hajj, a pillar of Islam that capable Muslims must perform at least once in their lives, which starts next week.

"So far 1,313,946 pilgrims have arrived by air, 79,501 by land, and 12,477 by sea -- an increase of 33 percent compared with the same period last year," the state-run Saudi Press Agency said, citing passport officials.

That includes more than 400 Qatari pilgrims, local media reported, despite an intensifying row between Doha and Riyadh over arrangements for the religious event.

All Qatari pilgrims arrived through the Salwa border crossing with Qatar.

The hajj has been clouded by the worst political crisis in the Gulf in decades, with Saudi Arabia leading a four-state bloc that suspended all ties with Doha on June 5 over accusations the emirate backed Islamist extremists.

Qatar has denied the charge and said this week it was worried pilgrims from the emirate would be treated badly.

But the Saudi media has repeatedly broadcast images showing officials courteously assisting Qatari pilgrims.

The hajj ministry has said the kingdom, home to Islam's holiest sites, welcomes all pilgrims from different nationalities.

The ministry added it was equipped to handle the additional crowds after the completion of expansion works at the Grand Mosque in Mecca, the most revered site in Islam.

More than 1.8 million faithful took part in last year's hajj.

But Iran's 64,000 pilgrims stayed away for the first time in three decades after tensions between Riyadh and Tehran boiled over following a deadly stampede during the 2015 pilgrimage.

An agreement was reached earlier this year to allow Iranians to take part in the hajj.

Iran and Saudi Arabia will soon exchange diplomatic visits, Tehran said this week, in a possible sign of tensions easing after the archrivals cut ties last year.

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Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland returns a shot to Shuai Peng of China during their WTA Connecticut Open quarter-final match, in New Haven, on August 24, 2017

Top seeds Agnieszka Radwanska and Dominika Cibulkova booked their semi-final berths Thursday at the WTA hardcourt tournament in New Haven, the final tuneup for the US Open.

Poland's Radwanska, the defending champion, defeated eighth-seeded Peng Shuai of China 7-5, 6-3 to advance to the final four.

Second-seeded Cibulkova, of Slovakia, beat sixth-seeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia 7-5, 6-4.

Peng and Radwanska had split six prior encounters, with Peng taking their most recent meeting at Indian Wells in March.

But Radwanska, still seeking her first title of the year, emerged with a victory in just under two hours to set up a semi-final meeting with Australian Daria Gavrilova.

Gavrilova defeated Belgian qualifier Kirsten Flipkens 6-2, 6-4.

It was the third meeting of the year between Cibulkova and Pavlyuchenkova, who had split two prior contests in 2017.

Having narrowly won the opening set, Cibulkova powered to a 5-0 lead in the second, then turned back a furious rally from the Russian to win in just over two hours.

"She made it extremely tough for me in the end," Cibulkova said. "I was playing very well in the whole second set, but then she started playing even better.

"I had four match points, and she hit an ace every time so I couldn't do much about it. But I just kept fighting and I said to myself, 'OK, this one's going to be yours.'"

Cibulkova next faces Belgian qualifier Elise Mertens, who reached the semi-finals on a walkover when China's Zhang Shuai withdrew with a right arm injury.
Samsung heir Lee Jae-Yong (C) faces multiple charges including bribery, embezzlement and perjury stemming from the scandal that brought down South Korean president Park Geun-Hye

The heir to the Samsung business empire, including the world's biggest smartphone maker, awaited the verdict Friday in his corruption trial over the scandal that brought down South Korean president Park Geun-Hye.

Prosecutors demanded a 12-year sentence for Lee Jae-Yong, which could leave the giant firm rudderless for years and hamper its ability to make key investment decisions.

Lee faces multiple charges including bribery, embezzlement and perjury stemming from the scandal, centred on payments and promises by Samsung totalling 43.3 billion won (around $40 million) to Park's secret confidante Choi Soon-Sil.

Prosecutors say the money was in return for policy favours including government support for Lee's hereditary succession at the group, after his father was left bedridden by a heart attack in 2014.

The defence says it was pressured by Park to make the donations under duress -- and that Lee was not aware of them and did not approve them. Four other top Samsung executives are also on trial.

Amid mounting social and economic frustrations the demonstrators who mounted giant candlelit protests against Park last year also targeted Lee and other chaebol chiefs, as the family-controlled conglomerates that dominate Asia's fourth-largest economy are known.

Chaebols have long had murky connections with political authorities in South Korea, and past trials of their leaders have often ended with light or suspended sentences, with courts citing their contributions to the economy.

Samsung heir in graft trial

But Samsung has so far made light of Lee's absence -- he was detained in custody in February -- with flagship subsidiary Samsung Electronics, where he is vice-chairman, making record profits on the back of strong demand for its memory chips.

Its shares have soared in recent months, but were down 0.7 percent on Friday morning ahead of the verdict.

Around 800 riot police were deployed around the Seoul Central District Court to prevent possible clashes between rival sets of demonstrators, the Yonhap news agency reported.

The court was deluged with hundreds of applications for the 30 seats in courtroom 417 available to members of the public, which were allocated by lottery.

Park's own trial began in the same courtroom in May, and it also saw Lee's father Lee Kun-Hee convicted of tax and other offences in 2008, receiving a suspended sentence.

The court refused permission for the verdict to be broadcast live, in contrast to the Constitutional Court's ruling on Park's impeachment in March.

But the pro-business JoongAng Ilbo newspaper -- which used to be a part of the Samsung group -- backed the decision, saying it would avoid the decision being affected by "any biases or populism".

"The court should not apply overly lenient standards to chaebol," it said in an editorial. "At the same time, it must not be swayed by unidentified civic groups that pretend to reflect public opinion."
Some observers are concerned that since the Shabaab jihadist suicide bombings in 2010, Muslim suspects have become the scapegoats for a string of violent crimes in Uganda

A Ugandan court this week jailed four members of a Muslim sect for life on terrorism charges, a judgment denounced by some as the latest in a series of anti-Muslim rulings.

On Tuesday Kampala's High Court sentenced Sheikh Yunus Kamoga and three members of his Tabliq sect to life in prison, while two others were given 30 years each.

But a day earlier the same court had acquitted Kamoga and 13 others of the murder and attempted murder of leaders of two rival Muslim factions -- on the same evidence.

The apparently contradictory verdicts have left some observers suspicious.

"I find the decision very unusual because the main case was about the murders and the terrorism was arising from the murders, so if they were not guilty of the murders then they should be not guilty of the terrorism," said human rights lawyer Ladislaus Rwakafuzi.

In his three-and-a-half-hour judgement Justice Muhanguzi said that while the men were not proven to have killed anyone, they had used threatening leaflets and loudhailers to intimidate rivals.

Those threats amounted to terrorism against the entire community, he ruled.

"Court finds that death threats were delivered by word of mouth and on loudspeakers, hence it was indiscriminate," Muhanguzi said.

Defence lawyer Fred Muwema thought he had an explanation for what he saw as the judgement's inconsistencies.

"I do not have direct evidence... but there is always political pressure and interference in a country like this," he said. "I think the state was interested in the Tabliq community.

"Court cannot accept something and deny it at the same time," Muwema continued. "That's a contradiction and a miscarriage of justice."

But Solomon Muyita, the spokesman for Uganda's judiciary, said if lawyers had evidence that judges had been politically influenced they should bring it to court.

- The usual suspects -

Critics say Muslim suspects have been systematically singled out as suspects after a string of high-profile killings, including the assassination of acting assistant director of public prosecution Joan Kagezi in March 2015

Uganda has taken a hardline against suspected Islamists since the deadly suicide bombings in 2010 carried out by the Al-Qaeda-aligned Shabaab militants in their first attack outside of Somalia.

But some say that Muslims are being scapegoated.

They argue that this week's terrorism conviction is just the latest in a series of questionable cases where Muslims have been blamed for the murders of officials and Islamic clerics.

The cases include the murders of nine Muslim clerics since 2012; of Joan Kagezi, a prosecutor working on the 2010 Kampala bombings case, in March 2015; of an army officer in November 2016 who had defected from a Ugandan-led Islamist rebel group in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo; and of a prominent policeman in March.

In each case the victims were shot dead by motorbike-riding assassins, and in each case Muslim suspects were rounded up.

For Rwakafuzi, the evidence for Muslim involvement in the high-profile killings is flimsy at best.

"The Muslims are being profiled," he said.

"We have very poor, underfunded investigation mechanisms. It's an easy way out to show to the public that youre doing something about these killings."

Muslims were being targeted, he said, because "it is easier to believe" thanks to widespread fears of Islamic terrorism, in Uganda and elsewhere.

A spokesman for the Tabliq sect, Siraje Nsambu, said the terrorism and murder charges against Kamoga and the others were trumped up. He denounced the ruling against them as "purely political".

But government spokesman Ofwono Opondo dismissed allegations that Muslims were unfairly targeted.

"Uganda has a very long standing record of having no political, religious or racial persecution," he said.

"There is no reason whatsoever why the government of Ugandan should target those Muslim cliques."

Nonetheless, this week's ruling and its harsh sentences has further embittered a community that already feels marginalised by the government and victimised by authorities.

"The government has clearly shown that it is against Islam and Muslims. We are used as a scapegoat just like the world over," said Nsambu. "As Muslims, we are angry right now."
Japan has tightened the screws on the North Korean regime of Kim Jong-Un by freezing the assests of Chinese and Namibian firms doing business with the nuclear-armed state

Japan said Friday it will impose fresh sanctions on North Korea by freezing the assets of Chinese and Namibian firms doing business with the nuclear-armed state.

The move against a half dozen organisations and a couple of individuals comes days after Washington expanded its own punitive measures against Chinese and Russian firms, as well as people linked to Pyongyang.

The US move drew an angry response from Beijing, North Korea's key ally, while Japanese media said Friday that Namibia has been tightening its links to the North in recent years.

"We will continue to make strong calls (for North Korea) to take actions toward denuclearisation," Yoshihide Suga, the Japanese government's top spokesman, told a regular press briefing.

"Now is the time to apply pressure," he added.

The sanctions are aimed at disrupting the flow of cash funding North Korean weapons programmes, which are in violation of United Nations resolutions.

Japan has previously frozen the assets of entities and individuals involved in natural resources and research work related to Pyongyang's nuclear and missile development programmes.

The US and its allies, particularly Japan and South Korea, have been on high alert in recent months as North Korea carried out successive missile tests.

Tensions have eased since North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un pulled back from a plan to send a salvo of missiles towards the US Pacific territory of Guam.

But Pyongyang Wednesday disclosed significant technological advances and ambitious plans to further improve its missile capabilities.

US President Donald Trump, like his predecessors, has called on China to play more active roles in convincing North Korea to stop threatening its neighbours and the US.

But China has so far been lukewarm on the idea, preferring to address the issue through long-stalled talks.
The guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain sailed into Singapore with a hole on its portside after a collision with a tanker

A spate of deadly collisions involving US Navy warships in Asian waters has provided a propaganda windfall to rivals like China and given already rattled regional allies further reason to fret, analysts say.

Four accidents this year alone, including two fatal ones in two months, resulted in the dismissal this week of the commander of the iconic US Seventh Fleet -- the centrepiece of the American military presence in Asia.

The timing could hardly be worse, with the Japan-based fleet at the heart of ongoing US efforts to project an image of military strength and effectiveness in the face of threats from nuclear-armed North Korea and an increasingly assertive China.

The latest incident left the guided-missile destroyer, USS John McCain limping into port in Singapore on Monday with a gaping gash in its hull following a pre-dawn collision with an oil tanker that left 10 of its crew feared dead.

Admiral Scott Swift, commander of the US Pacific Fleet, briefed the press dockside as divers searched for 10 missing sailors

Just days before, the same ship had taken part in a "freedom of navigation exercise" -- sailing close to a contested island in the South China Sea in a show of strength to challenge Beijing's territorial claims there.

The incident, and a similar collision involving another warship off Japan in June that left seven dead, has been seized on by China as an illustration of US military overreach and incompetence.

"It's a lot of good propaganda for the Chinese," James Char, a regional security specialist at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University, told AFP.

It comes as "China is trying to tell the region, 'you cannot count on the US for your security needs'," he said.

- 'Hazard in Asian waters' -

The Chinese foreign ministry voiced concern that US warships posed a "security threat" to civilian vessels in the South China Sea -- a criticism echoed in the state media.

Warning that the US Navy was "becoming a hazard in Asian waters", a China Daily editorial questioned why such sophisticated warships were unable to avoid other vessels.

And the nationalist Global Times said the collisions reflected how the US Navy's combat readiness and military management levels "have both declined."

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The tabloid claimed there was "applause from Chinese netizens about the latest accident" on the internet, reflecting public anger over American operations in the maritime region.

Beijing claims nearly all of the resource-rich South China Sea, despite partial counter-claims from Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam.

Its claims are backed by a military that Chinese President Xi Jinping has modernised in line with the country's growing economic muscle.

Already boasting the world's largest army, China unveiled its second aircraft carrier this year and it opened its first overseas military base in Djibouti in the Horn of Africa.

"China is trying to increase its status in the region as a security provider" and the US accidents could help push some countries towards "China's embrace," Char said, citing Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's overtures toward Beijing.

- Warning against 'foolhardy' actions -

For key US allies already worried by mixed messages from President Donald Trump's administration regarding military commitment to the region, the troubles afflicting the Seventh Fleet have simply added to their concern.

Hideshi Takesada, a regional security expert and professor at Japan's Takushoku University, said that while the accidents would not have a "critical" operational impact, they had inflicted some "psychological damage".

A member of the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency officer scans the sea as part of the search and rescue effort

Daniel Pinkston, a regional security specialist at Troy University in Seoul, said allies like Japan and South Korea were already nervous about US commitments and resolve.

"The naval accidents... certainly don't help in the current political environment," he said.

A day after the USS John McCain collision, the head of the US Pacific Command, Admiral Harry Harris, warned it would be "foolhardy" for any country to read it as a sign of weakness or vulnerability.

"The US Navy is large, and we have a lot of capacity and we'll bring that capacity forward if we need to," Harris said at a US air base in South Korea.

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The northern wedge of Rakhine closest to Bangladesh has been in lockdown since October 2016 deadly attacks by militants on border posts sparked a military response that left scores dead and forced tens of thousands to flee

At least 12 people including five police officers were killed Friday in Myanmar's restive Rakhine state as Rohingya militants launched pre-dawn raids on border posts, according to the office of State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi.

It is the worst outbreak of violence for months in the coastal state bisected by religious hatred and follows a milestone report by a commission led by former UN chief Kofi Annan urging immediate action to heal the divide.

More than 20 police posts came under attack by an estimated 150 militants in the early hours of Friday, prompting soldiers to fight back, the statement issued by the State Counsellor's office said.

"Currently, five police officers have been killed and... according to initial information, we have seven bodies of the extremist Bengali terrorists," it added, using a government description for the Rohingya militants who emerged as a force last year.

"Many police posts and stations were attacked," it said, in at least one case using homemade mines.

Confirming the unrest, a police officer in Buthidaung town, close to the worst violence, said border guard posts remained surrounded by militants as day broke in a fluid and dangerous flare up of violence.

"The situation is complicated... the military is arriving," the officer told AFP on condition of anonymity, adding some of the attackers were armed with guns.

The northern wedge of Rakhine closest to Bangladesh has been in lockdown since October 2016 deadly attacks by militants on border posts sparked a military response that left scores dead and forced tens of thousands to flee.

The UN believes those security "clearances" may have amounted to ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya, a mainly Muslim minority living in Buddhist Myanmar.

The army and Suu Kyi's civilian government vehemently deny allegations of widespread abuses including rape and murder.

After a period of slackening violence, tensions have boiled over in recent weeks with the military moving hundreds of troops into remote village areas.

Annan was appointed by Suu Kyi to head a year-long commission tasked with healing divisions between the Rohingya and local Buddhists.

His report urged Myanmar to scrap restrictions on movement and citizenship for its roughly million-strong Rohingya minority, the majority of whom are stateless.

Friday's "attacks coincidedly came after release of the final report by advisory commission on Rakhine State led by Dr Kofi Annan," Suu Kyi's office said.

Myanmar security forces have conducted sporadic operations to flush out suspected militants throughout this year, often resulting in casualties among Rohingya villagers.

They have spoken of their fear at being trapped between the security forces and the militants, who are accused of conducting a shadowy assassination campaign against perceived collaborators with the state.

It was not immediately clear if Friday's outbreak of violence was led by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), which claims to lead an insurgency based in the remote May Yu mountain range in northern Rakhine.

Recent tensions have been further tweaked after several Buddhists were found dead, prompting some ethnic Rakhine villagers to flee.
Australian Deputy PM Barnaby Joyce -- who discovered earlier this month that he unwittingly inherited New Zealand citizenship from his Kiwi father, trigerring a constitutional crisis -- was named a frontrunner in the New Zealander of the Year awards

Australia's Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce was named as a frontrunner in the New Zealander of the Year awards Friday, amid a constitutional crisis in Canberra over his unwanted Kiwi citizenship.

Organisers said Joyce received the second-most nominations for the award after a public appeal for candidates.

"It's absolutely for real," awards manager Glyn Taylor told AFP. "Though I'm not sure how serious the nomination was."

The only person who outpolled Joyce was Metiria Turei, a politician who resigned as co-leader of the New Zealand Greens this month after admitting to welfare fraud.

"It's also not unusual for people of the moment to attract significant support during the public nominations period," Taylor added.

The awards were established in 2010 to recognise people who have "contributed to making New Zealand a better place to live".

Past winners include All Blacks legend Richie McCaw and Hollywood director Taika Waititi.

Australian-born Joyce discovered earlier this month that he unwittingly inherited New Zealand citizenship from his Kiwi father, putting him in breach of a constitutional clause banning dual citizens from sitting in parliament.

Joyce has refused to stand down and has taken his case to the High Court, determined to preserve his government's one-seat majority in the lower house.

Six senators, including two from Joyce's National Party, are in the same predicament, and the court will hear their cases in mid-October.

Taylor said the New Zealander of the Year nominees would not be vetted until late September and it was likely Joyce's name would be removed from the list of candidates then.

To win, nominees must either be New Zealand citizens or have lived in the country for five years.

Australia's deputy leader meets neither criteria, as he told parliament on August 15 that he had formally renounced his New Zealand citizenship.
Pro-independence activists Baggio Leung (centre L) and Yau Wai-ching (centre R) speak to reporters outside the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal on August 25, 2017

Two Hong Kong independence activists saw their final bid to appeal the decision that ousted them from parliament thrown out by the city's top court on Friday.

Yau Wai-ching and Baggio Leung had won seats in citywide polls last September, but were ousted from Hong Kong's legislative council for taking improper oaths.

They belong to a new movement calling for a complete split from China for semi-autonomous Hong Kong, as fears about Beijing's tightening grip on the city grow.

At that ceremony, they draped themselves in "Hong Kong is not China" flags and altered the wording of their pledges, including derogatory terms and expletives.

The result comes after four pro-democracy lawmakers were disqualified from the city's legislature in July for changing their oaths of office to reflect their frustrations with Chinese authorities last year.

Hong Kong's High Court in November ruled the oaths of the two pro-independence lawmakers were invalid, in an unprecedented judicial review brought by the city's leader and justice secretary.

That ruling came after Beijing issued a special interpretation of the city's constitution to insist oaths be taken in a "sincere and solemn" manner.

The city's Court of Final Appeal on Friday dismissed the duo's applications to appeal, ending their bid to overturn the ruling that ousted them from the legislature.

Chief Justice Geoffrey Ma said the grounds were not "reasonably argued" and that the full reasons for dismissing the applications would be published later.

During the two-hour hearing, David Pannick, the lawyer representing Leung said that the oath taking should be an internal matter for the city's legislature.

Following the decision, Leung said he and Yau were "extremely disappointed".

"If I had known of the results, I will not have run in this election," Leung told reporters outside the courthouse.

"When a process such as an election which empowers the people can be affected by a government that was not authorised by the people, I don't know why I would run in such an election," he said.
The United Arab Emirates criminalises sodomy, as well as both pre-marital and extra-marital sex. Article 358 of the penal code also criminalises "indecent attire" as an act of public indecency.

The family of a Singaporean man jailed with a transgender friend in the United Arab Emirates for dressing in a "feminine" way called Friday for their release, as activists raced to raise funds for legal fees.

Fashion photographer Muhammad Fadli bin Abdul Rahman and transgender friend Noor Vitriya Kistina Ibrahim were arrested at a shopping mall in Abu Dhabi at the weekend and sentenced to a year in jail, according to relatives.

Fadli's brother Saiful told AFP from Singapore that the pair were detained by the tourism police for "looking feminine".

Advocacy group Detained in Dubai said they were convicted of charges related to "inappropriate behaviour over their clothing". The group confirmed both were sentenced to a year in jail.

Fadli, 26, told his family that he was wearing earrings and a tie at the time of his arrest, Saiful added.

"We want them released and back to Singapore as soon as possible," he said, adding his brother was a "friendly, happy-go-lucky and jovial person."

"We were informed that he was arrested for looking feminine, but looking feminine is very broad. It was emotional, my parents broke down when they heard the news," he added.

Singapore's foreign ministry said officials from the city-state had met with the pair four times since their detention and were providing consular assistance.

However, the ministry also reminded citizens to "respect and abide by the local laws when they travel overseas".

Rights activists in Singapore launched an online crowd-funding campaign to raise Sg$25,000 (US$18,000) for their legal and other fees and reached their target just after midday Friday, according to their Facebook page.

The money has been sent to a law firm in Abu Dhabi, the activists said.

Noor is described by activists as a transgender person who has not yet undergone sex change surgery to become a woman.

Radha Stirling, head of London-based advocacy group Detained in Dubai and managing partner at the Stirling Haigh law firm, said Thursday her organisation will appeal the verdict and request the sentence be reduced to a fine and deportation.

The United Arab Emirates criminalises sodomy, as well as both pre-marital and extra-marital sex.

Article 358 of the penal code also criminalises "indecent attire" as an act of public indecency.
News / National

by Staff Reporter

FOUR illegal diamond panners who trespassed into the protected Chiadzwa diamond fields drowned in a dam on Monday night following a chase by Zimbabwe Consolidate Diamond Company (Pvt) Ltd (ZCDC) security guards.The panners, who took to their heels with the guards in hot pursuit, fell into the dam full of slime. They got trapped and drowned.ZCDC had to call the Police Sub-Aqua Unit to retrieve the bodies on Tuesday morning. They were later taken to Mutare Provincial Hospital for post-mortem.Acting Manicaland police spokesman Sergeant Wiseman Chinyoka confirmed the incident."We heard the report but we have not received detailed information concerning the incident," he said.ZCDC chief executive officer Dr Moris Mpofu said the matter was now in the hands of the police."I was briefed by my security personnel about the incident. I don't have much, but what I can tell you is that the illegal panners trespassed into the fields and they were spotted by our guards who subsequently chased them away. I am told that during the chase four of them fell into the dam and they drowned. You can contact the police to get more details," he said.Dr Mpofu said ZCDC has beefed up security around the mining concessions. He urged locals to stay out."This is an unfortunate incident which could have been avoided had the illegal panners stayed out. It is dangerous for villagers to trespass into a protected area and we urge them to stay out. We have tightened our security because we want to safeguard that national resource and ensure it benefits the country and not individuals," he said.Last month, one illegal panner was killed while three others were seriously injured when security guards fired at more than 200 heavily armed diamond panners who broke into the miner's premises.The panners intended to pounce on the plant's main diamond sorting room.The illegal panners cut the security fence around the Red Zone of Portal A diamond mining area at the plant.They were armed with wrenches and machetes, while singing threatening songs. As the illegal panners marched towards the main sorting room, they were intercepted by security guards manning the area.The security guards ordered them to leavethe mining site, but they resisted and threw stones at them.One of the guards fired three warning shots in the air in a bid to disperse the illegal panners, but they kept on marching towards the sorting room.Upon realising that they were now under fierce attack, the eight security guards started firing towards the advancing illegal panners.Among other security measures, Dr Mpofu said ZCDC had introduced unmanned aerial surveillance equipment such as drones as a way of boosting security at the diamond rich fields. This comes amid concerns of connivance between rogue law enforcement agents manning the diamond fields and illegal panners who occasionally sneak in and mine the diamonds.
Each day, tourists roam among the Cihu Memorial Statues Park's 253 statues, varying from teal, bronze, to copper red

As the United States wrestles with the problem of what to do with monuments to a divisive history, Taiwan has found a solution -- a park dedicated to unwanted statues of a controversial figure from its past.

More than 200 memorials to Chiang Kai-shek, the former nationalist leader of Taiwan revered as a hero by some but despised as a dictator by others, have been quietly removed from schools and government buildings, and brought together in a serene lakeside spot.

Each day, tourists roam among the 253 figures at the Cihu Memorial Statues Park, which come in a variety of colours -- some teal, some bronze and some copper red.

Today the statues of Chiang Kai-shek are less revered monuments, and more popular selfie spots, as tourists pose alongside the hotchpotch of weathered busts and towering sculptures

The largest piece is an imposing figure of a seated Chiang, removed from a government office in the southern city of Kaohsiung in 2007. Close by are two scultures of Chiang's son Chiang Ching-kuo, who along with his father oversaw decades of political purges known as the "White Terror".

Today the statues are less revered monuments and more popular selfie spots, where tourists pose alongside the hotchpotch of weathered busts and towering casts.

"We don't see (these) statues as political totems. We treat them as historical and cultural heritage," said Huang Chao-jin, a Taoyuan official.

Like the pro-slavery Confederate leader Robert Lee, Chiang's role in his country's past continues to polarise its present.

The largest memorial is an imposing statue of a seated Chiang, removed from a government office in the southern city of Kaohsiung in 2007

Both generals fought and lost civil wars; both are symbols of a noble past to their supporters, and of a dark, best-forgotten history to their detractors.

But while lawmakers and activists in Americas South grapple over whether to destroy, cover up or honour memorials to Lee and his fellow generals, Taiwanese authorities say the relocated Chiang statues -- shorn of their original context -- have lost their partisan edge, and have become a popular tourist draw.

Although there is no tally of visitor numbers to the statue park, located a stone's throw from Chiangs mausoleum in northern Taoyuan city, about 2.2 million come to the area.

Among them, citizens of now-democratic Taiwan who have come to pay respects to a man who waged war against communist China. They rub shoulders with visitors from the mainland who remember a leader who fought bravely against the Imperialist Japanese.

Citizens of now-democratic Taiwan who have come to pay respect to a man who waged war against communist China rub shoulders with visitors from the mainland itself, who remember a leader who fought bravely against the Japanese

"Mr Chiang was an extraordinary man. We in China are grateful for what he did in the war against the Japanese," said Dai Yukuan from China's Anhui province, visiting Taiwan for the first time.

"After all, it is all in the past. What we Chinese really want is cross-strait peace."

- 'Deep scar' -

The serene park offers a stark contrast to events in Charlottesville earlier this month, where a violent rally by right-wing groups to protest removal of a statue of Robert Lee descended into chaos.

One woman was killed after a white supremacist allegedly ploughed his car into a group of anti-racism counter-protestors.

White nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the "alt-right" clashed with counter-protesters in Charlottesville earlier this month as a blistering row over historical monuments grips the US

President Donald Trump condemned the "foolish" removal of Confederate statues, saying US culture and history were being "ripped apart."

In Taiwan, the debate over history continues, but is more measured.

In the capital Taipei earlier this year, a memorial hall named after Chiang stopped selling souvenirs depicting the former leader.

The decision was taken on the 70th anniversary of a brutal massacre of protesters by troops from Chiang's Kuomintang (KMT) party, when the now democratic island was still under martial law.

Taiwan's culture minister said at the time that Chiang had left a "deep scar hidden in the hearts of all Taiwanese".

But at the statue park, even as the number of memorials grows each year, their divisive power appears to have drained away.

"It doesn't feel like the statues were moved here willingly to be commemorated," said Taiwanese Lin Hui-chun, 33. "There's more a feeling of abandonment."
The northern wedge of Rakhine closest to Bangladesh has been in lockdown since October 2016 deadly attacks by militants on border posts sparked a military response that left scores dead and forced tens of thousands to flee

At least 89 people including a dozen security forces were killed as Rohingya militants besieged border posts in northern Rakhine State, Myanmar's authorities said Friday, triggering a fresh exodus of refugees towards Bangladesh.

The state is bisected by religious hatred focused on the stateless Rohingya Muslim minority, who are reviled and perceived as illegal immigrants in Buddhist-majority Myanmar.

The office of de-facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi said 12 security officials had been killed alongside 77 militants -- the highest declared single day toll since fighting broke out last year.

Friday's fighting exploded around Rathedaung township which has seen a heavy build-up of Myanmar troops in recent weeks, with reports filtering out of killings by shadowy groups, army-blockaded villages and abuses.

Some 20 police posts came under attack in the early hours of Friday by an estimated 150 insurgents, some carrying guns and using homemade explosives, Myanmar's military said.

"The military and police members are fighting back together against extremist Bengali terrorists," Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing said in a statement on Facebook, using the state's description for Rohingya militants.

One resident in Maungdaw, the main town in northern Rakhine, said gunfire could be heard throughout the night.

"We are still hearing gunshots now, we dare not to go out from our house," the resident said by phone, asking not to be named.

Footage obtained by AFP showed smoke rising from Zedipyin village in Rathedaung township where fighting was ongoing Friday.

- Rohingya militancy -

Despite years of persecution, the Rohingya largely eschewed violence.

But a previously unknown militant group emerged as a force last October under the banner of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), which claims to be leading an insurgency based in the remote May Yu mountain range bordering Bangladesh.

A Twitter account (@ARSA_Official) which purports to represent the group confirmed its fighters were engaging Myanmar's military in the area and accused the soldiers of carrying out atrocities in recent weeks.

Myanmar says the group is headed by Rohingya jihadists who were trained abroad but it is unclear how large the network is.

Suu Kyi's office posted pictures of weapons that had been taken from militants, mainly home-made bombs and rudimentary knives and clubs.

Friday's violence pushed new waves of Rohingya to flee towards Bangladesh.

But border guards there said they would not be allowed to cross.

"More than a thousand of Rohingya women along with children and cattle have gathered near the land border between Myanmar and Bangladesh since this morning," Manjurul Hasan Khan, commander of Ukhiya town's border guards, told AFP.

The flare-up came just hours after former UN chief Kofi Annan released a milestone report detailing conditions inside Rakhine and offering ways to heal the festering sectarian tensions there.

Commissioned by Myanmar's own government, it urged the scrapping of restrictions of movement and citizenship imposed on the roughly one million-strong Rohingya community in Rakhine.

In a statement Annan said he was "gravely concerned" by the latest outbreak of fighting.

"The alleged scale and gravity of these attacks mark a worrying escalation of violence," he said.

- New crackdown fears -

The UN's top official in Myanmar, Renata Lok-Dessallien, called on all sides to "refrain from violence, protect civilians (and) restore law and order".

The wedge of Rakhine closest to Bangladesh has been in lockdown since October 2016.

Deadly attacks by the militants on border police sparked a military response that left scores dead and forced some 87,000 people to flee to Bangladesh.

The UN believes the military crackdown may have amounted to ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya.

But the army and Aung San Suu Kyi's civilian government vehemently deny allegations of widespread abuses, including rapes and murders.

They have so far refused to grant visas to UN investigators tasked with probing the allegations.

Amnesty International said there were now fears over how Myanmar's notoriously abusive security forces might respond.

"This cannot lead to (a) repeat of last year's vicious military reprisals responding to a similar attack, when security forces tortured, killed and raped Rohingya people and burned down whole villages," said Amnesty's regional campaigns director Josef Benedict.

Myanmar security forces have conducted sporadic operations to flush out suspected militants this year, often resulting in casualties among Rohingya villagers.

They have spoken of their fear at being trapped in between security forces and the militants, who are accused of conducting a shadowy assassination campaign against those perceived as collaborators with the state.

Access to the area is severely restricted and verifying information is difficult.

Activists and supporters on both sides of the sectarian divide have a history of posting false images and footage online.
Irish-born Joyce, who is openly gay and a vocal supporter of equal rights, had thrown Qantas' backing behind the "yes" vote and called on other companies to join the Australian carrier

Corporate Australia should speak out in support of same-sex marriage, Qantas chief Alan Joyce said Friday as he pledged to donate a "significant amount" of money to boosting the 'Yes' campaign in an upcoming national vote.

Campaigners against the non-binding postal vote finalised by Canberra this month have become more vociferous, with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull pleading for respectful debate amid homophobic slurs expressed by opponents.

Irish-born Joyce, who is openly gay and a vocal supporter of equal rights, had already thrown Qantas' backing behind the "yes" vote and on Friday called on other companies to join the Australian carrier.

"I think corporate Australia, if it is to fix the reputation that it has out there, needs to be vocal on social issues," Joyce said at a press conference on Qantas' annual profit results in Sydney.

"That's what good businesses do. They are part of society, they help mould societal changes."

He added: "I personally will be donating money to the (yes) campaign, a significant amount, because I am passionate about it."

The Qantas boss in May had a pie smashed into his face by a devout Christian protesting against gay marriage, but said then that he would continue to speak up on marriage equality despite the incident.

Joyce, an Australian citizen, slammed the political inertia.

"I am very proud of this amazing meritocracy -- where else in the world would an openly gay Irishman become the CEO of one of the biggest brands, if not the most iconic brand," he said.

"Unfortunately, I think due to leadership in the past and today, we've fallen behind on progressive issues."

While polls have indicated there is popular support in Australia for marriage equality, the issue has dragged on for more than a decade amid political wrangling.

The prime minister is a supporter of same-sex rights, but heads a conservative coalition that includes opponents of marriage equality and has faced pressure to hold a postal ballot instead of a parliamentary vote.

Turnbull has defended the legitimacy of a voluntary postal vote, which was chosen after his party's 2016 election pledge to hold a compulsory plebiscite was twice rejected by parliament.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics will begin sending out ballots on September 12 and voting will close on November 7, with the result known later that month.
There are no other members of the Shinawatra clan who carry the same star power as Thaksin or Yingluck

On Friday Thailand's ousted prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra failed to show up for the verdict in her trial for criminal negligence, sparking an arrest warrant and feverish speculation as to her whereabouts.

The trial, which could have seen Yingluck jailed for up to ten years and banned for life from politics, is just the latest in a slew of legal and political challenges faced by her family in the last decade.

So who are the Shinawatras and why are they so controversial?

- The Shinawatra backstory -

At the heart of Thailand's current political divide sits one man -- Thaksin Shinawatra, Yingluck's older brother.

Born into a middle class Sino-Thai family in the northern city of Chiang Mai, Thaksin began his career as a police officer before switching to business in the 1980s and making billions as a telecoms tycoon.

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He turned to politics and swept to victory in 2001, dramatically building his own strong political network and riling the conservative establishment.

With his pro-poor policies he won a landslide again in 2005, making him the only Thai prime minister to have seen out a whole term and be re-elected.

But he was booted from power by the military in 2006, sparking instability that Thailand has yet to shake off.

Thaksin, 68, lives overseas to avoid jail for corruption.

- Why are the Shinawatras popular? -

Every Thai general election since 2001 has been won by Shinawatra parties.

Their support remains strong among Thailand's populous but poor rural northern portion and the Bangkok working class.

Economics plays a huge role.

Inequality is rampant in Thailand and the country's poor long felt ignored by Bangkok's dominant elite.

The Shinawatras rolled out policies such as universal healthcare, debt relief, loans for start-up business and big rice subsidies for farmers.

That last policy, the rice scheme, was what ended up putting Yingluck in court.

- So why do many dislike them? -

Thaksin intially won over chunks of the Bangkok business elite.

But he came to be loathed by that same group as well as the military who have hit Shinawatra governments with two coups.

The family were accused of corruption and enriching themselves and their allies while buttressing their vote banks with costly populist policies.

Yingluck's rice scheme, which purchased rice at nearly twice the market rate, was a catalyst for middle-class street protests that presaged the 2014 coup.

Thaksin is also criticised for an authoritarian streak, evidenced by a deadly drug war that saw around 3,000 shot dead.

But his supporters say Bangkok's conservative elite, including forces within the palace, have acted simply to protect their monopoly on power.

- How has their influence been curbed? -

Coups and courts.

The military ousted Thaksin in 2006 and his sister's administration in 2014. In between, two more Shinawatra-allied prime ministers were dismissed by the courts.

Thaksin has had $1.3 billion in assets seized while Yingluck faces a damages claim worth $1 billion.

Their political networks and allies in the police have also been hacked back.

The military say they are simply restoring order after years of protests and deadly political violence.

But suspicion lingers that the country's top generals are firmly in the anti-Shinawatra camp.

Before his 2014 coup, current junta chief Prayut Chan-O-Cha played a key role in quashing pro-Shinawatra "Red Shirt" protests in 2010 that saw more than 90 people gunned down in Bangkok.

- Are they down and out for good? -

The Shinawatras are certainly on the ropes.

Over the last ten years they have been drummed out of office and faced a barrage of legal challenges.

Red Shirt leaders have either been jailed or gone to ground.

Now with Yingluck's disappearance they risk losing the last remaining charismatic figurehead with the family name.

There are no other members of the Shinawatra clan who carry the same star power as Yingluck or her brother.

The family still command a huge and loyal following.

But barring an unexpected amnesty -- or even a royal pardon -- Thaksin is unlikely to set foot on Thai soil again and Yingluck's future is now more uncertain than ever.

"This is the end of the Shinawatra clan because it means they have given up," prominent Thai commentator Atukkit Sawangsuk, who regularly features on the Shinawatra-owned Voice TV, wrote on his Facebook page on Friday.

"Even though (their) party exists and they still have support from the people, the whole clan has to step away and cannot play a leading role."
US President Donald Trump (R) and Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi meet in the Saudi capital Riyadh, in May 2017

US President Donald Trump has told his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi that he wants to strengthen ties with Cairo, Sisi's office said on Friday, days after it emerged Washington had cut some aid to Egypt.

Egypt had protested on Wednesday a US decision to withhold some military and financial aid over human rights concerns.

In a phone call with Sisi, Trump "affirmed the strength of friendship between Egypt and the United States," the presidency said in a statement.

The US president said he was keen to continue "developing relations between the two countries and surpassing any obstacles that might affect them," according to the statement.

Trump's arrival in office in January has seen an improvement in US relations with Egypt, in contrast to his predecessor Barack Obama who took a harder line on human rights issues in the North African country.

Obama temporarily suspended military aid to Egypt after the July 2013 overthrow of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi and the subsequent bloody crackdown on Morsi's supporters.

Sisi in May approved a law which critics say will severely restrict the work of non-governmental organisations.
On Friday ex-premier Yingluck Shinawatra failed to show at a court date that could have seen her jailed. Speculation is rife that she may have fled the country

On Friday ex-premier Yingluck Shinawatra failed to show at a court date that could have seen her jailed.

Speculation is rife that she may have fled the country injecting fresh drama into a recent history littered by coups, long periods of autocracy and brief flowerings of democracy.

Here is a timeline of Thailand's recent political history.

- 2001 -

Telecoms billionaire Thaksin Shinawatra wins elections in a landslide. He rolls out policies that are popular among the rural and urban poor, including universal healthcare, debt relief and farming subsidies.

- 2005 -

Thaksin becomes the first elected Thai prime minister to complete a four-year term. He goes on to win a second landslide.

- 2006 -

Deposed former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra answers was ousted in 2006.

Opposition to Thaksin builds, sparked by accusations of corruption and nepotism within his family as well as his administration's authoritarian streak.

Thaksin calls a snap election which is undermined by a large opposition boycott. The army seizes power while Thaksin is overseas -- their first coup in 15-years.

- 2007 -

Fresh elections are held in December which are promptly won by a coalition of Thaksin allies, infuriating his opponents.

- 2008 -

Thaksin's enemies -- primarily Bangkok's royalist middle classes and their allies among the city's business and military elite -- mobilise with huge and sometimes deadly street protests.

They are dubbed the "Yellow Shirts" and famously go on to occupy Bangkok's main airports in a bid to unseat the government.

Courts kick two Thaksin-allied prime ministers from office and convict Thaksin in absentia of corruption, seizing more than $1 billion in assets.

British-born Abhisit Vejjajiva of the opposition Democrat Party is appointed premier in a parliamentary vote with army backing.

- 2010 -

Thaksin's supporters rally en masse in Bangkok calling for fresh elections, arguing Abhisit's government never won power through the ballot box.

They are mainly made up of rural farmers from the Shinawatras' northern stronghold and Bangkok's working class and are dubbed the "Red Shirts".

Clashes between protesters and troops in April and May leave 90 dead, mostly demonstrators, in the worst civil violence in decades.

- 2011 -

Open elections are once again won by the Shinawatras with Thaksin's youngest sister Yingluck becoming Thailand's first female prime minister.

- 2013 -

Successors of the Yellow Shirts start holding mass protests against Yingluck's government.

Bloody protests ensue, their anger fuelled by her government's generous rice subsidy scheme and an attempt to push through a political amnesty that would allow Thaksin to return.

- 2014 -

Prayut Chan-O-Cha, who repeatedly promised no coup was on the horizon, seized power in 2014.

As protests continue, Yingluck calls snap elections but her opponents block more than 10,000 polling stations. Tension builds. Yingluck and several cabinet ministers are removed from office by the Constitutional court.

Two weeks later army chief Prayut Chan-O-Cha, who repeatedly promised no coup was on the horizon, seizes power. The coup ushers in Thailand's most autocratic government in a generation.

- 2015 -

Yingluck is retroactively impeached by the junta's rubber stamp parliament over her government's rice subsidy, banning her from politics for five years.

- 2016 -

Thailand's junta hold a referendum on a new constitution which they say will reign in corrupt politicians and restore stability.

Critics say the new charter is a throwback to Thailand's autocratic past when democracy was "steered" by powerful unelected bodies and the military.

In October the country's widely revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej dies after seven decades on the throne, plunging Thailand into mourning.

The junta says fresh elections will be held in 2018.

- 2017 -

August 25: Yingluck skips a court date that could see her jailed for a decade over criminal negligence, sparking rumours that she has fled the country like her brother.
The incident occurred ahead of a visit to Latin America by US Vice President Mike Pence

Members of a military detail assigned to US Vice President Mike Pence have been removed from their White House duties following allegations they brought women to their hotel in Latin America, a defense official has said.

The incident occurred in the run-up to Pence's recent tour of Colombia, Argentina, Chile and Panama although it was not clear where it happened.

Speaking to NBC News, US officials said there was no immediate suggestion the women were sex workers.

It is the latest scandal to hit US security officials on assignment in Latin America: in 2015, Drug Enforcement Agency officers were caught attending orgies with prostitutes in Colombia and three years earlier, Secret Service personnel working there were found to have hired sex-workers.

NBC News said Pence's staff became aware of the issue when they saw security footage of the men, all high-ranking members of the forces, bringing the women into the secure area.

The women were not registered when they were brought in but "there is no indication at this point that the women who were brought to the hotel were prostitutes," according to officials cited in the report.

"We are aware of the incident and it is currently under investigation," Marine Corps Major Adrian Rankine-Galloway, a defense department spokesman, told AFP on Thursday.

"We can confirm that the individuals in question have been reassigned back to the army," he added.

NBC said one of the service members was from the air force.

In 2015, the US Justice Department issued a stern warning to its employees saying they should not solicit prostitutes even if deployed in countries or regions where such behavior is legal or tolerated.

Eric Holder, then attorney general, said paying prostitutes "threatens the core mission" of the department because it can lead to extortion and blackmail and can support human trafficking.
Former Taiwan president Ma Ying-jeou (C) has been hit with a string of corruption and other allegations since he stepped down as leader in May last year

A Taiwanese court Friday found former president Ma Ying-jeou not guilty in a political leaks case, his second acquittal in a raft of lawsuits brought against him since he stepped down last year.

Ma was cleared of charges of leaking secrets and instructing a top prosecutor to disclose confidential information about a judicial probe in 2013.

"Defendant Ma Ying-jeou is found not guilty" of violating the communication security and surveillance act as well as the personal information protection act, said Taipei district court judge Tang Yueh.

Ma was not present when the verdict was announced. He had maintained his innocence throughout the trial and accused the prosecution of basing their case on flimsy evidence and speculation.

He expressed gratitude and relief at the verdict, saying that he hoped "future ex-presidents would not have to face all kinds of meaningless hassles", according to a statement issued by his office.

Friday's case was filed by Taipei prosecutors acting on behalf of the government, who charged Ma with leaking secrets to then premier Jiang Yi-huah and an aide about the 2013 judicial probe.

They also accused him of instructing the then prosecutor-general to disclose confidential information to Jiang.

The charges were punishable by a maximum three-year jail term.

Prosecutors said they would decide whether to appeal the ruling or not.

In March, Ma was cleared by the Taipei district court of leaking secrets and defamation in a separate lawsuit filed by a lawmaker also in connection with the 2013 judicial probe.

The probe was looking into whether the parliamentary speaker at the time -- a political rival of Ma -- had improperly influenced a court case against the lawmaker.

While still in office Ma was protected by political immunity.

But since he stepped down as leader in May last year the 67-year-old has been hit with a string of corruption and other allegations.

Ma's Beijing-friendly Kuomintang (KMT) party held power from 2008 to 2016, before it was trounced by Tsai Ing-wen and her Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).

The leaks controversy sparked a political storm in 2013 and saw two top officials resign, while thousands of protesters took to the streets to demand Ma step down.

The DPP, then in opposition, compared the probe to the Watergate scandal in the United States, as information allegedly implicating the parliamentary speaker was obtained by a wiretap on a lawmaker's phone.

Ma was the third ex-president in Taiwan to be indicted on criminal charges.

Ma's predecessor Chen Shui-bian was serving a 20-year sentence for corruption when he was freed on medical parole in 2015.

Lee Teng-hui was charged with embezzling state funds during his 1988-2000 presidency, but was acquitted.
The combination of war, disease and blockades imposed on ports and Yemen's airspace have pushed the country, long the poorest in the Arab world, to the brink of famine

Children were among at least nine people killed in an air strike Friday in a residential neighbourhood of Yemen's capital Sanaa, witnesses and medics said.

The attack destroyed two buildings in the southern district of Faj Attan, leaving people buried under debris, they said.

Medics and a rebel security source confirmed at least nine people had died in the strike.

An AFP photographer on the scene said the two buildings, both three storeys high, were totally destroyed.

Mohammed Ahmad, who lived in one of the buildings, said he was among those who had taken nine bodies to a hospital.

"We extracted them one by one from under the rubble," he said. "Some of them were children from a single family."

"When the rocket hit, one of the buildings was immediately destroyed which caused the building next door to collapse too. Some residents got out, but others were trapped."

Some of them died and others were wounded, he told AFP.

The Al-Massira television channel run by the Huthi rebels who control the capital said the air strike had killed 14 civilians including six children, blaming a Saudi-led coalition for the strike.

The coalition entered Yemen's war in 2015 in support of the government against the Iran-backed rebels, who are in a fragile alliance allied with troops loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.

The World Health Organization estimates nearly 8,400 civilians have been killed and 47,800 wounded since the Saudi-led alliance intervened.

The country also faces a deadly cholera outbreak that has claimed nearly 2,000 lives and affected more than half a million people since late April.

The combination of war, disease and blockades imposed on ports and Yemen's airspace have pushed the country, long the poorest in the Arab world, to the brink of famine.
Yemenis stand in the rubble of a residential building destroyed in an air strike in the southern Faj Attan district of the capital, Sanaa, on August 25, 2017

Children were among at least 14 people killed in an air strike that toppled residential blocks in Yemen's capital Sanaa on Friday, witnesses and medics said.

The attack was the latest in a wave of deadly raids on residential areas of Yemen blamed on a Saudi-led Arab military coalition, drawing strong international condemnation.

The United Nations has accused the Arab coalition of killing 42 civilians in the week to Thursday, including many children.

Amnesty International's Middle East research director, Lynn Maalouf, said the coalition "rained down bombs on civilians while they slept".

She called in a statement for the UN to take action against Saudi Arabia over the list of civilian facilities struck in deadly air raids over the past two years.

"We are calling on the UN to look at the evidence - the schools and hospitals that lie in ruins, the hundreds of young lives lost to reckless air strikes," Maalouf said.

The International Committee of the Red Cross condemned the latest deadly raid as "outrageous".

"Eight of the victims were members of the same family, including five children between three and 10 years old," said the deputy head of the ICRC's delegation in Yemen, Carlos Morazzani, after visiting the site.

"Such loss of civilian life is outrageous and runs counter to the basic tenets of the law of armed conflict," he said. "From what we saw on the ground, there was no apparent military target."

Friday's air raid destroyed two buildings in the southern district of Faj Attan, leaving people buried under debris, said an AFP photographer on the scene.

His images showed severely damaged buildings, piles of smashed concrete blocks and splintered beams of wood.

Medics at the site said at least 14 people including six children and two women had died in the strike at 3:15 am (0015 GMT).

Al-Massira television channel, run by the Shiite Huthi rebels who control the capital, said those killed were all civilians, and blamed the Saudi-led coalition for the strike.

Mohammed Ahmad, who lived in one of the buildings, said he was among those who had taken nine bodies to a hospital.

"We extracted them one by one from under the rubble," he said.

"When the rocket hit, one of the buildings was immediately destroyed which caused the building next door to collapse too. Some residents got out, but others were trapped."

Yemenis search under the rubble of a residential building destroyed in an air strike on Sanaa's Faj Attan district on August 25, 2017

Diggers worked at the site for hours after the raid as medics and residents searched for the missing. Survivors helped move the wounded to ambulances.

A man wearing a bloodied white gown walked among the torn and burnt pieces of clothing and bits of wooden furnishings.

- Series of strikes -

The coalition entered Yemen's war in 2015 in support of the government against the Iran-backed rebels, who seized Sanaa the previous year after forming a fragile alliance with troops loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.

The World Health Organization estimates that nearly 8,400 civilians have been killed and 47,800 wounded since the Saudi-led alliance intervened.

Friday's raid came two days after at least 35 people died in a series of strikes on Sanaa and a nearby hotel that rebels have also blamed on the coalition.

Coalition spokesman Colonel Turki al-Malki told AFP that those killed in Wednesdays air strike were "armed militants", adding that the strike was aimed at "a high-value target".

He said he would "review the information" about Friday's strike.

Human rights groups have repeatedly criticised the coalition, which controls Yemen's airspace, over the civilian death toll from the bombing campaign on northern and southern Yemen.

Yemenis search under the rubble of a house destroyed in an air strike in the residential Faj Attan district of the capital Sanaa that left 14 dead as it destroyed two buildings

The coalition has come under massive pressure from international organisations including the United Nations over the raids.

The UN has said the coalition was probably responsible for a July attack on the southwestern Taez province that killed 20 people, including children.

"In the week from August 17 to August 24, 58 civilians have been killed, including 42 by the Saudi-led coalition," UN human rights office spokeswoman Liz Throssell told reporters in Geneva on Friday.

Yemen also faces a deadly cholera outbreak that has claimed nearly 2,000 lives and affected more than half a million people since late April.

A combination of war, disease and a coalition blockade have pushed Yemen, long the poorest country in the Arab world, to the brink of famine.

The United States also regularly conducts deadly drone strikes on Yemen that Washington says target Al-Qaeda.
The Saudi-led coalition entered Yemen's war in 2015 in support of the government against the Iran-backed rebels, who are in a fragile alliance with troops loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh

Airstrikes by a Saudi-led coalition have killed 42 civilians in Yemen over the past week, with multiple children among the dead, the United Nations human rights office said Friday.

"In the week from August 17 to August 24, 58 civilians have been killed, including 42 by the Saudi-led coalition," spokeswoman Liz Throssell told reporters in Geneva.

The UN toll counted a series of strikes on Wednesday, including an attack on a hotel in Sanaa Governorate that killed 33 people and a separate strike on a house, also in Sanaa, that left six people dead.

On Tuesday, "a woman and two children were killed and two women and two children were injured when an airstrike by the Saudi-led Coalition hit a house in Talan village" in Sanaa Governorate, according to a rights office statement.

"In all these cases, in which civilians were killed and injured, witnesses said that there had been no warnings that an attack was imminent," it added.

The Saudi-led coalition entered Yemen's war in 2015 in support of the government against the Iran-backed rebels, who are in a fragile alliance with troops loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.
A series of attacks have underscored spiralling insecurity in Afghanistan as a resurgent Taliban steps up offensives across the country, while the Sunni Islamic State group, known for carrying out sectarian attacks, expands its Afghan footprint

A suicide bomber blew himself up inside a Shiite mosque in Kabul on Friday in what officials said was an ongoing attack, the latest violence to strike the Afghan capital.

Kabul police spokesman Abdul Basir Mujahid told AFP a suicide bomber "detonated himself inside the mosque", adding that there were casualties but he could not confirm how many.

The interior ministry confirmed a "terrorist attack" had taken place while residents told AFP they could hear gunshots.

The attack occurred at a time when many Muslims would be attending Friday prayers, and raises fears of sectarian violence in the capital.

It also comes days after US President Donald Trump cleared the way for thousands more American troops to be deployed in the war-torn country.

Najib Danish, a deputy spokesman for the interior ministry, told TOLOnews that initial information suggested a suicide bomber detonated himself, while two or three other militants had entered the mosque and were exchanging fire with police.

"The bombers are running short of bullet rounds and they are using knives to stab worshippers," an eyewitness told AFP.

The assault underscores spiralling insecurity in Afghanistan as a resurgent Taliban steps up offensives across the country, while the Sunni Islamic State group, known for carrying out sectarian attacks, expands its Afghan footprint.

Last month dozens of people were killed and scores wounded after a Taliban-claimed car bomb struck a bus carrying government employees through a Shiite neighbourhood in the capital.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility but Shiites, a minority of around three million in overwhelmingly Sunni Afghanistan, have regularly been targeted by IS jihadists recently

A suicide bomb and gun attack claimed by the Islamic State group on a Shiite mosque in Kabul killed 20 people and wounded scores more Friday, officials said, the latest assault to highlight deteriorating security in Afghanistan.

Gunshots and explosions could be heard during the attack that lasted around four hours and witnesses reported seeing worshippers smash windows to escape.

The mosque, in a residential area in the north of the city, was believed to have been packed with dozens of men, women and children when the assailants struck during Friday prayers.

"We have 20 killed and more than 50 wounded," Mohammad Ismail Kawoosi, a health ministry official, told AFP, without specifying how many were civilians.

Heavily armed security forces stormed the building and rescued more than 100 worshippers, according to the interior ministry, which had initially put the death toll at 12, including 10 civilians and two security force personnel.

It had also put the number of wounded at more than 40 civilians and seven security forces.

"The attack is over and the site has been cleaned up by our police," deputy spokesman Najib Danish told AFP, confirming three attackers were killed by security forces.

He told Afghan media that police "blew up a wall behind the building to get in and rescue people".

Kabul police spokesman Abdul Basir Mujahid told AFP a suicide bomber "detonated himself inside the mosque" .

People gathered outside had tried to call women and children trapped inside but their mobile phones were not responding, an AFP reporter at the scene said.

"Our relatives have been stranded inside the mosque... We believe they have been held hostage by the gunmen. We are very concerned about their safety and may God help us and rescue our loved ones," one of the onlookers said.

Eyewitnesses described horrific scenes inside the mosque as the attackers ran short of bullets and began "using knives to stab worshippers".

Others said the attackers had been armed with rocket propelled grenade launchers and had holed themselves up in the women's section of the mosque.

The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the deadly assault via its propaganda agency.

"Two 'inghimasi' of the Islamic State carried out an attack on a husseiniya (Shiite place of worship) in the Khair Khana sector of the Afghan city of Kabul," Amaq said, using the terms for suicide bombers who set off explosive vests as a last resort against gunfire.

- Pools of blood -

A series of attacks have underscored spiralling insecurity in Afghanistan as a resurgent Taliban steps up offensives across the country, while the Sunni Islamic State group, known for carrying out sectarian attacks, expands its Afghan footprint

The presidential palace issued a statement condemning the attack as an act of "cowardice" and vowing to punish the "criminal terrorists".

The assault underscores spiralling insecurity in Afghanistan as a resurgent Taliban steps up offensives across the country, while the Islamic State group, known for carrying out sectarian attacks, expands its Afghan footprint.

It comes just days after US President Donald Trump cleared the way for thousands more American troops to be deployed in the war-torn country.

More than 10 ambulances were at the scene to take the wounded to local hospitals. Some relatives flocked to a nearby private hospital to search for loved ones who had been in the mosque at the time of the attack.

Pools of blood could be seen at the entrance to the medical facility.

Shiites, a minority of around three million in overwhelmingly Sunni Afghanistan, have regularly been targeted by IS jihadists recently. They accuse police and troops of failing to protect them.

IS has claimed responsibility for a series of attacks killing dozens of Shiites in Kabul over the past year, including twin explosions in July 2016 that ripped through crowds of Shiite Hazaras, killing at least 85 people and wounding more than 400.

Earlier this month 33 worshippers were killed and 66 wounded in a suicide attack claimed by IS on a Shiite mosque in the western Afghan city of Herat.
Elian Gonzalez, shown here last year at events marking the death of former revolutionary leader Fidel Castro, hopes to reconcile with his Miami relatives and to visit the US one day. He was at the center of a custody battle that made international headlines

Elian Gonzalez, who was once at the center of an international custody battle between his Cuban father and relatives in Miami, has held out an olive branch to his family living in the United States.

The 23-year-old was just six when the vessel carrying his mother and others capsized off the coast of Florida in November 1999, leaving Elian -- who was able to grab onto a car inner tube -- the sole survivor.

Speaking in an interview with CNN that was broadcast Thursday ahead of a documentary by CNN Films that re-examines his story, he said he'd like to put the bitter past behind him.

"We are separated by laws, by the blockade, by the sea. We do not have to continue separating ourselves as a family," said Gonzalez, who now holds a degree in industrial engineering and is working as a technology specialist.

His father, Juan Miguel, echoed the sentiment and said he hoped the family could overcome its political differences.

"I have the best intentions to forgive them so that it can continue to be a relationship of families, they with their ideals and we with ours."

Following his rescue, Elian's relatives -- and the larger Cuban-American community in Miami -- insisted they would not allow him to return to Cuba, fearing he faced a life of privation and political oppression there.

Eventually, US courts sided with Elian's father and ordered that federal agents seize the boy.

Iconic news photos of the April 2000 raid showing the terrified child being taken at gunpoint were beamed around the world.

Upon his return, he was rarely heard from other than when his image was occasionally beamed on Cuban television as a model member of the communist party's youth wing.

But he told American broadcaster ABC in a 2015 interview that he hoped to someday return to the US to personally thank those who had helped him.

It's a wish that he still holds on to, even though he insists, as a true believer of Fidel Castro's communist revolution, it would only be for a short while.

Had he stayed in Miami, he reflects, "I think I would have become the poster boy for that group of Cubans in Miami that tries to destroy the revolution, that try to make Cuba look bad," he said.

"I would have been used in that way. Maybe I would have become an actor on TV or maybe I would have more money than I have here with more comforts, but I wouldn't have my family. I wouldn't have the tranquility I have in Cuba."

"My two feet, my body, my mind are in Cuba," he said.

"But there are times when I think about the United States. I wouldn't be who I am had I not been in the United States."
Authorities rushed hundreds of troops to the city of Panchkula after followers of guru Ram Rahim Singh torched cars, threw rocks and attacked television vans, breaking their windows and overturning one

At least 32 people were killed Friday when clashes broke out in northern India after a court convicted a controversial religious leader of raping two of his followers, sparking fury among tens of thousands of supporters who had gathered for the verdict.

Authorities rushed hundreds of troops to the city of Panchkula after followers of guru Ram Rahim Singh torched cars went on a rampage throwing rocks and attacking television vans and setting fire to dozens of private vehicles.

More than 100,000 were estimated to have gone to the city in Haryana state, where India's federal investigations agency had set up a special court to rule on the charge that he had raped two female devotees.

Authorities said 32 people had been killed and around 180 injured after rioting broke out in Haryana, where many areas were now under curfew.

"The situation continues to be grim but we are gaining some ground. Hopefully we will mobilise more forces in the night to take control," a senior state official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

He said the large crowd went berserk soon after the verdict was pronounced and attacked police and set vehicles afire before the police took action.

Most of the fatalities were caused by gunshots, the officer said.

Ram Rahim Singh has a vast following in many states of northern India, including in Haryana, where he runs a spiritual movement that claims to have millions of devotees around the world.

A follower of Indian religious leader Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh pleads for her safety during clashes between the controversial guru's followers and security forces in Panchkula

Authorities imposed an indefinite curfew in Panchkula, where mobile internet services had earlier been cut off.

"I don't understand what the government and the police are doing. We have been feeling unsafe since yesterday and all our fears came true today," local resident Sandeep Singh told AFP.

"Why did the police not act swiftly and forcefully against these followers?"

As news of Singh's conviction spread there were reports of violence in several districts of neighbouring Punjab state and on the outskirts of the capital Delhi, which borders Haryana.

Authorities imposed curfew in at least four districts of Punjab to curb spread of violence.

"Two train stations have been burnt in Punjab and two empty (train) coaches have been set on fire in Delhi's Anand Vihar station," said Neeraj Sharma, a spokesman for Indian Railways.

Hundreds of trains passing through Punjab and Haryana have been cancelled, he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned the violence on Twitter, saying "the instances of violence today are deeply distressing".

He said the federal government was monitoring the situation and urged everyone to "maintain peace".

Prosecutor Harinder Pal Singh Verma told AFP the guru was "calm after the verdict was passed" and had been flown by helicopter to another city in Haryana. He will be sentenced on August 28.

- 'Guru in bling' -

Indian security personnel help an injured colleague during clashes between the controversial guru's followers and security forces in Panchkula

The 50-year-old self-styled "godman" is known as the "guru in bling" for his penchant for bejewelled costumes, although the source of his apparently vast wealth is unclear.

The rape case was brought against him after an anonymous letter was sent to then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2002 accusing him of repeatedly raping the sender and several other women in the sect.

A judge asked the Central Bureau of Investigations to look into the accusations, but it took years to trace the alleged victims and it was not until 2007 that two women came forward and filed charges.

India has been rocked by numerous scandals involving popular ascetics claiming to possess mystical powers, and Singh is no stranger to controversy.

The controversial religious leader is no stranger to controversy

In 2015 he was accused of encouraging 400 followers to undergo castration at his ashram so they could get closer to god.

He also stood trial for conspiracy over the murder of a journalist in 2002.

He describes his sect as a social welfare and spiritual organisation.

- Messenger of God -

Speaking before his conviction, supporters who had gathered in Panchkula credited him with turning their lives around, with some saying his organisation had helped them kick an addiction to alcohol.

"I've been part of the Dera movement for two decades and in that time I have not touched a drop," said Gajendere Singh, a recovering alcoholic who said he was aged around 60.

"Before joining, people did not pay me much attention. But after, I had a support network."

Singh's work has angered mainstream religious leaders in India, particularly Sikhs who say he insults and belittles their faith.

There were protests in the Sikh-dominated state of Punjab over Singh's 2015 appearance in a film entitled "MSG: The Messenger of God", which showed him performing miracles, preaching to thousands and beating up gangsters while singing and dancing.
Propelled to power in 2011 by her family's electoral base in the poor north and northeast, Yingluck was pilloried by foes as a political lightweight armed with little more than a winning smile and a hotline to her elder brother Thaksin Shinawatra

Yingluck Shinawatra departed the Thai political scene with a dramatic flourish befitting her roller-coaster six-year journey from political novice to premier -- finally falling victim to the army-backed establishment who loathe her family.

According to a senior source in her Pheu Thai party, the 50-year-old ex-premier fled Thailand a few days before the Supreme Court was set to rule whether she was guilty of criminal negligence over a rice subsidy scheme that lavished cash on the Shinawatras' political base.

Her Houdini act, following a cryptic Facebook post late on Thursday, stunned her supporters and media alike who drew a blank on the whereabouts of Thailand's most recognisable politician.

Propelled to power in July 2011 by her family's electoral base in the poor north and northeast, Yingluck was pilloried by foes as a political lightweight armed with little more than a winning smile and a hotline to her elder brother Thaksin Shinawatra -- who once referred to her as his "clone".

But she stepped out of his shadow, displaying a unexpected resilience as protesters besieged her home and opponents clobbered her with a raft of court cases.

"I think that she learned very fast and adapted herself very well... she is very determined to do her duty," Chaturon Chaisang, a veteran politician and former cabinet minister in her toppled government told AFP earlier this week.

"But she might not have understood what was going to happen to her... that she would become the victim of a political game."

The former businesswoman drew hordes of supporters whenever she toured her electoral heartlands, taking endless selfies and being showered with red roses.

- Tears and smiles -

Her campaigning strategy -- dubbed fighting with smiles -- and her propensity to shed tears in public forged an image far removed from that of the stern junta generals who ousted her from office in a 2014 coup.

In private she wielded authority among her party and entourage, in a country where deference is expected towards wealth and power.

Her weakness was her elder brother Thaksin, whose deep networks hoisted her to power despite his long absence from Thailand.

The billionaire telecoms tycoon has lived in self-imposed exile since 2008 to avoid jail in Thailand for corruption convictions.

He was ousted as prime minister by an army coup in 2006, which opened a seemingly unbridgeable chasm between his supporters and enemies.

Yingluck's premiership was scuttled in 2014 by a court ruling over a technicality.

Weeks later the army shunted aside the rump of her administration.

For her first two years in office, the outlook seemed very different.

The photogenic former businesswoman charmed many of her critics and for a period maintained the peace across Thailand's bitter political divide.

She reached out to the military and worked to appease political opponents within Thailand's Bangkok-based establishment, which loathes Thaksin and wants to curb the Shinawatras' 13-year influence on Thai politics.

But the shaky truce collapsed in November 2013 after a failed bid to pass an amnesty bill which would have enabled Thaksin's return.

The move outraged government opponents who flooded the streets for months-long protests marked by violence that left dozens dead and hundreds wounded.

Yingluck became the focus of caustic -- and often explicitly sexist -- tirades by protest leaders.

But the mother-of-one refused to joust with her detractors and held off on a violent crackdown.

She took a leaf out of Thaksin's playbook, launching lavish welfare schemes aimed at the rural poor, including the rice subsidy programme.

The bungled scheme became a lightning rod for anger among protesters and also saw her fall under the glare of anti-graft officials, who are still mulling whether to convict her for negligence -- a charge which carries up to 10 years in prison and a life ban from politics.

Yingluck, who graduated in political science before earning a master's degree in business administration in the United States, spent much of her career working in her brother's empire.

Rising from trainee status, she eventually became president of the mobile telephone unit of Shin Corp., the telecoms giant founded by Thaksin that was at the centre of a tax scandal in 2006.
Top White House economic advisor Gary Cohn (L) and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin were at President Donald Trump's side when he delivered controversial remarks on the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia

Donald Trump's top economic advisor criticized his failure to unequivocally condemn neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups, breaking ranks with the president and exposing deep unease inside the White House on Friday.

Gary Cohn -- head of the White House national economic council and one of the most prominent Jewish-Americans in Trump's administration -- went public with his displeasure over the president's response to recent deadly violence in Charlottesville, Virginia.

"This administration can and must do better in consistently and unequivocally condemning these groups and do everything we can to heal the deep divisions that exist in our communities," Cohn told the Financial Times, without specifically naming Trump.

Cohn, a former Goldman Sachs executive tipped as a possible future chairman of the Federal Reserve, said he faced "tremendous pressure" to quit after the president appeared to draw moral equivalence between white nationalist demonstrators and anti-racism counter-protesters.

One woman was killed when an avowed white supremacist plowed his car into a crowd of people after the Charlottesville rally turned violent, and numerous demonstrators were injured during the events of August 11 and 12.

Trump drew widespread condemnation when he suggested there was blame "on both sides," and that there were "very fine people" among the white supremacist protesters -- who were opposing the removal of a statue honoring secessionist Civil War general Robert E. Lee.

Cohn told the FT that "citizens standing up for equality and freedom can never be equated with white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and the KKK."

Having faced calls to quit, Cohn said he decided he could be more effective by remaining in the administration and would not be pushed out.

"I have come under enormous pressure both to resign and to remain in my current position," the former banker told the British daily.

"As a patriotic American, I am reluctant to leave my post... because I feel a duty to fulfill my commitment to work on behalf of the American people," Cohn said.

"As a Jewish American, I will not allow neo-Nazis ranting 'Jews will not replace us' to cause this Jew to leave his job," he added.

- Pivotal to tax reform -

Cohn is a crucial link between the White House and Wall Street, which has generally welcomed Trump's presidency.

Trump's ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, has also criticized the president's response saying it "wasn't fine."

But another Jewish-American in the administration, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin -- who also faced calls to quit in the aftermath of Charlottesville -- has staunchly defended Trump.

"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 said in written comments last week.

Cohn's remarks are a rare on-the-record display of unease inside the West Wing and come just as the administration plans to roll out plans for tax reform.

In his comments to the FT, Cohn said Trump would launch a major push to overhaul the tax system with a speech in Missouri next week, with the aim of driving the measures through Congress by the end of the year.

"Starting next week, the president's agenda and calendar is going to revolve around tax reform," he said.

Cohn indicated that the White House has not nailed down a detailed plan, and in particular would not say if the White House would seek a corporate tax rate of 15 per cent -- which Trump had previously insisted on.

Cohn is a pivotal figure in the tax reform effort, which is seen as offering Trump his best chance of reviving a stalled legislative agenda further put in doubt by the president's frequent spats with Republicans.

On Friday the president trained his sights on one-time vice-presidential possible Senator Bob Corker, who questioned the president's fitness for office.

"Strange statement by Bob Corker considering that he is constantly asking me whether or not he should run again in '18. Tennessee not happy!" Trump said.

Failure to pass at least a tax cut -- if not broader tax reform -- would test Trump's relationship with mainstream Republicans and influential donors to breaking point.
Zimbabwe's first lady Grace Mugabe is accused of assaulting a model during a visit to South Africa

Zimbabwe's first lady Grace Mugabe appeared in public for the first time Friday since she returned from South Africa where she was accused of assaulting a model and granted diplomatic immunity.

The wife of President Robert Mugabe allegedly attacked 20-year-old model Gabriella Engels with an electrical extension cord at an upmarket hotel in Johannesburg where the couple's two sons were staying.

Grace Mugabe appeared at the Harare annual agricultural fair, smiling and stopping to chat with exhibitors as she toured stands alongside her husband, an AFP correspondent witnessed.

The first lady, who is seen as possible successor to her 93-year-old husband, was granted diplomatic immunity by South Africa at the weekend and flew out of the country.

Engels suffered cuts to her forehead and the back of her head during the alleged August 13 assault.

She has opened a police case alleging assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm.

Engels' lawyers this week filed a court injunction to try to annul the government decision to grant Grace Mugabe diplomatic immunity.

South African model Gabriella Engels suffered cuts to her head in the alleged assault by Zimbabwe's First Lady Grace Mugabe

South Africa's main opposition, the Democratic Alliance, has also approached the courts asking it to declare the immunity "wholly without legal merit" and "unconstitutional".

The party is arguing that Grace Mugabe is not a member of the Zimbabwean government and was visiting South Africa on personal business.

"There is nothing in either South African or international law which renders her deserving of diplomatic immunity," the DA said in a statement.

In 2009, Grace Mugabe was granted immunity in Hong Kong after repeatedly punching a British photographer for taking pictures of her at a luxury hotel.
Ahmad Abu Khawlah (C), chief of the Deir Ezzor Military Council at a DEMC press conference in the town of Shadadi on August 25, 2017

US-backed Arab and Kurdish fighters said on Friday they would launch an offensive "very soon" to oust the Islamic State group from Syria's oil-rich Deir Ezzor province.

The strategic territory is also seen as a prize by advancing Syrian troops, but an agreement between regime ally Russia and the US-led coalition is expected to keep the rival assaults from clashing.

The Deir Ezzor Military Council (DEMC), a coalition of Arab tribes and fighters that belongs to the broader US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, announced the upcoming offensive on Friday in northeast Syria.

"Our forces are preparing for the great battle of Deir Ezzor and unifying the tribes," said DEMC head Ahmad Abu Khawlah in Shadai, some 60 kilometres (35 miles) south of Hasakeh.

He said at least 1,500 tribal fighters had joined the DEMC.

"There is no specific timeframe for the battle, but it will be very soon," he said.

Members of the Deir Ezzor Military Council listen to their leader Ahmad Abu Khawlah (bottom-C) in Shadadi on August 25, 2017

The SDF is currently waging a ferocious fight for IS's de facto capital in Raqa city, about 75 kilometres (50 miles) west of the administrative border with Deir Ezzor.

SDF fighters have seized some territory in Deir Ezzor province, but Russian-backed Syrian government forces have been making a mad dash towards the provincial capital of the same name.

Regime troops have swept across Syria's desert to break IS's two-year siege on tens of thousands of people trapped in Deir Ezzor city.

The US-led coalition has said that a "de-confliction line" has been set to prevent any "mishaps" between the two advancing forces.

Spokesman Colonel Ryan Dillon told journalists this month that the line "has been coordinated and de-conflicted, and has been placed between the SDF and the regime and the Russians and the US".

Abu Muhammad al-Shayti, who heads the DEMC's Shaytat tribal unit, said on Friday that his fighters "will not target Deir Ezzor city, but the province".

"Our forces are committed to what the coalition sees as fit -- to fight Daesh (IS) only," he said.

IS has lost swathes of territory to US-backed forces in the north and to Russian-backed Syrian troops in the country's centre and east.

Moscow has said the recapture of Deir Ezzor could mark the conclusion of the battle against IS.

And the US-led coalition's deputy head, British Major General Rupert Jones, said on Wednesday the final fight would probably take place in the stretch of border between Syria and Iraq.

"The expectation has always been that that would see Daesh increasingly squeezed into... the middle Euphrates valley, and that is where the military defeat will be completed," Jones said.
An Iraqi tank advances in eastern Tal Afar, the main remaining stronghold in the country of the Islamic State jihadist group

Iraqi forces and pro-government paramilitary units said Friday their sights are on the jihadist-held citadel in the centre of Tal Afar after recapturing several districts from the Islamist State group.

"The Iraqi flag has been hoisted in Al-Nasr district," an eastern neighbourhood of the city, the Joint Operations Centre said in a statement.

"The troops are now at the entrance to the district of the citadel," which dates back to the period of Ottoman rule, the JOC said.

It said Counter-Terrorism Service special forces had also retaken Al-Taliaa district to the south and were tasked with expelling IS from the citadel, the last current target of the CTS in Tal Afar.

On the sixth day of an offensive to recapture the city launched between the CTS, Shiite fighters of the Hashed al-Shaabi and the federal police force, police have seized the Saad district and were moving into Al-Qadissiyah, the JOC said.

After routing the jihadists from Iraq's second city Mosul in July following a gruelling nine-month-long battle, Iraqi forces launched an assault Sunday on Tal Afar, where an estimated 1,000 jihadists are holed up.

The attackers have faced an onslaught of suicide and car bomb assaults.

The International Organization for Migration said "thousands of civilians" had fled Tal Afar since the offensive began.

But around 30,000 civilians are trapped by the fighting, according to the United Nations.
Two white farmers were found guilty of the attempted murder of Victor Mlotshwa after forcing him into a coffin

A South African judge on Friday found two white farmers guilty of attempted murder after they filmed themselves forcing a black man into a coffin and threatening to burn him alive.

Supporters of the victim burst out in celebratory songs in the courtroom after judge Segopotje Mphahlele told the accused that "for attempted murder of Mr (Victor) Mlotshwa, I hereby find you both guilty."

Willem Oosthuizen and Theo Martins Jackson, both wearing jackets and ties, were also found guilty of kidnap, intimidation and assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm.

They had pleaded not guilty over the incident last year in the eastern province of Mpumalanga, saying they only intended to scare Mlotshwa after he allegedly stole copper cables from their farm.

Two clips of footage taken on their mobile phones showed the assailants shoving Mlotshwa down into the wooden coffin and pressing the lid closed with their boots as he begged for his life.

Rival activists from the ruling African National Congress party, the main opposition Democratic Alliance and the radical Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) had rallied outside court and attended each day of the trial.

The Democratic Alliance welcomed the court ruling, saying "Justice prevails. South Africa has no place for racists".

When the first phone footage emerged several months ago, it triggered national outrage and led to the arrest of the two men.

- Racial history -

"Please don't kill me," Mlotshwa begged the men while in the coffin, the footage showed.

"Why shouldn't we, when you are killing our farm?" one farmer replied.

Mlotshwa was in court to hear the verdicts against the two men, who had alleged that he had threatened to kill their families and burn farm crops before being forced into the coffin.

South Africa is beset by deep-rooted racial inequality 23 years after the end of white-minority apartheid rule, and cases of racism have erupted regularly on social media in recent years.

Outside the court on Friday, protesters carried mock coffins decorated with pictures of the accused and called for them to be found guilty on all charges.

On the phone footage, which was shown in court during the trial, one of the men said "Come, come. We want to throw the petrol on".

They are also threatened to put a snake in the coffin.

"This hideous case lays bare the discrimination that still runs deep in South African society," Amnesty said in a statement.

"The fact that the whole grotesque episode was captured on video and then posted to social media suggests that the perpetrators felt little concern that they would face justice."

Mlotshwa said he was walking to the town of Middelburg to buy provisions for his mother and had decided to use a short cut when the two men spotted him.

The court case has attracted huge attention in South Africa, where racial inequality persists more than two decades since the end of white minority rule

The two men's families told local media they were shocked by the verdicts.

"Today we are celebrating the victory of the criminal justice system," said Monica Nyuswa, spokeswoman for the national prosecuting authority.

"There is a lot more to happen on the day of the sentencing," she added.

The two men were granted bail ahead of sentencing set for October 23.
Landslide in DR Congo

As many as 250 people are feared dead after a massive mudslide swept over a fishing village in the Democratic Republic of Congo, as the government came under fire for its slow response.

The search for survivors has been called off after last week's disaster, which devastated Tara, a fishing village on the shores of Lake Albert on the country's northeastern border with Uganda.

Pacifique Keta, deputy head of Ituri province where Tara is located, said the death toll was now between 150 and 250, with many still buried under the rubble of an estimated 48 destroyed homes.

The civic movement Struggle for Change (Lucha) accused the government of failing to act quickly enough after the disaster hit on August 16.

"Some of the people among the disappeared could have been saved if government intervention had been rapid," Lucha said in a statement.

It added that President Joseph Kabila, who only issued a statement of condolence six days after the disaster, should have gone to Tara to console the families of the victims.

Interior Minister Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary only travelled to the province on Thursday on "a mission of humanitarian assistance".

Keta told AFP that the search for bodies was suspended to prevent the spread of disease to other fishing villages on the lake.

Fishing is one of the main occupations in Ituri, which borders Uganda and is almost 2,000 kilometres (1,250 miles) from the capital Kinshasa.

"It is unacceptable that we lost 200 Congolese and no authorities are present on the ground," said Vital Kamerhe, leader of the opposition Union for the Congolese Nation, a day before the interior minister's trip.

Kamerhe said police had prevented him from "going to the scene of the catastrophe to sympathise with the victims".

Government spokesman Lambert Mende on Wednesday acknowledged that the mudslide was "a major catastrophe", but scorned critics of the authorities.

"We live in a country where people want to criticise everything," Mende said.

The mudslide, which followed a similar deadly disaster in Sierra Leone, was the most destructive of its kind in the troubled central African country in recent years.

In May 2010, a wall of mud swept through the eastern village of Kibiriga, killing 19 people and leaving 27 others missing.

In February 2002, about 50 people were found dead after a wave of mud and rocks hit the eastern town of Uvira, submerging about 150 homes.
Maldives President Abdulla Yameen stepped up a crackdown on political dissent in South Asia's troubled tropical paradise

The Maldives' last remaining opposition leader in the country was handed a prison sentence Friday as President Abdulla Yameen stepped up a crackdown on political dissent in South Asia's troubled tropical paradise.

Qasim Ibrahim, who heads the Jumhooree Party (JP) and lost his bid for president in 2013, was accused of leading a failed bid in March to impeach Speaker Abdulla Maseeh, a close ally of Yameen.

He was convicted on Friday of bribing lawmakers to impeach the speaker and given 38 months in jail. The guilty verdict also disqualifies Ibrahim, 65, from holding a seat in parliament.

The JP is one of four parties in the archipelago's opposition coalition that wants to defeat Yameen at elections next year and sees the impeachment of the speaker as a first step to taking control of parliament to ensure free and fair polls.

The coalition, led by former president Mohamed Nasheed who also heads the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party from London where he lives in exile, condemned the court decision on Friday.

"The sentencing of MP Qasim Ibrahim once again confirms the lack of transparency and independence of Maldives' judiciary, and the breakdown of the entire criminal justice system," it said in a statement.

"Like all other leaders of the opposition now sentenced to jail, the JP leader has been punished for challenging President Yameen's tyranny."

Ibrahim had collapsed in court Thursday during hearings and was rushed to hospital, where he is under treatment for a heart condition.

Official sources said the authorities have granted him permission to go abroad for urgent treatment. It was not immediately clear when he would travel.

The verdict came a day after chaotic scenes at the national parliament where lawmakers flung eggs at each other while troops in plain clothing provided a ring of protection for the speaker inside the parliament chamber.

Since coming to power, President Yameen has led a crackdown on political dissent in the Indian Ocean nation of 340,000, raising fears over the country's stability and denting its image as an upmarket honeymoon destination.

Former leader Nasheed became the country's first democratically elected president in 2008, but was narrowly defeated by Yameen in a controversial 2013 election run-off.

In 2015, he was sentenced to 13 years in prison on terrorism charges that were widely seen as politically motivated.

He has lived in exile after Maldives authorities gave him leave to travel to London for medical treatment.
A US court on Friday sentenced a former Volkswagen engineer to nearly three and a half years in prison for his role in the company's emissions cheating scandal

A US court on Friday sentenced a former Volkswagen engineer to nearly three and a half years in prison for his role in the company's emissions cheating scandal.

James Robert Liang was sentenced to 40 months in prison and ordered to pay a $200,000 fine after pleading guilty to charges he conspired to defraud the United States and violate the Clean Air Act, the court announced.

The sentencing comes several weeks after former VW executive Oliver Schmidt pleaded guilty to fraud and conspiracy charges in the "dieselgate" matter, which has brought one of the world's top automakers into disgrace.

Liang was ordered to serve two years of supervised release upon his release from prison, according to a spokesman for the US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

However, US authorities may choose to deport Liang to Germany once he is released, the spokesman said.

The sentence was significantly harsher than what prosecutors had recommended.

In exchange for Liang's cooperation, Justice Department officials had recommended a sentence of only three years and a fine of just $20,000.

A lawyer for Liang had instead asked for a year of probation and home confinement, noting that Liang's cooperation had resulted in criminal charges against three other defendants.

Liang pleaded guilty in September to a role in a nine-year conspiracy to develop devices that hid emissions of harmful nitrogen oxide during pollution tests on Volkswagen's diesel-powered cars.

Prosecutors have reportedly charged as many as eight current and former executives in connection with the emissions scandal, with Liang being among the most junior.

The company has set aside more than $24 billion to cover the fines and compensation in the scandal, in which it admitted in 2015 to equipping about 11 million cars worldwide with so-called defeat devices to mask emissions.

In March, Volkswagen brought an end to Washington's criminal pursuit of the company, agreeing to pay $4.3 billion in civil and criminal fines and plead guilty to charges it likewise had defrauded the United States and violated the Clean Air Act.

The March settlement was in addition to the $17.5 billion that the company agreed to pay to US and Californian authorities and to compensate car owners and dealers, as well as to cover the costs of environmental remediation.

Volkswagen's emissions cheating -- which allowed the company to sell diesel cars without meeting emissions standards that would have hurt performance -- persisted for seven years until it was discovered by independent researchers.
An official with the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics and a soldier collect information from an Ahmadi sect resident during a census in the Chiniot District of Punjab

Pakistan's population has surged by more than half to 207 million, according to provisional results of the country's first census in almost two decades released by the statistics board Friday.

Once confirmed in the final report, Pakistan could be set to overtake Brazil as the world's fifth most populous country, according to statistics on the US Census Bureau website.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi praised the work of census officials and called for "early completion" of the final figures, a statement from his office said. No date has yet been announced for the release.

Abbasi also lauded the victims of several attacks targeting census officials, including a bomb blast in Lahore in April which killed at least seven people.

Pakistan had not held a census for nearly two decades due to years of bickering by politicians concerned it could redraw the political map, raising fears over power bases and federal funding.

The provisional results published by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics showed an average annual growth of 2.4 percent since 1998, when the total population was put at 132.35 million.

The updated figure -- an increase of around 57 percent since 1998 -- is higher than the estimate of 200 million that had been in wide use.

Central Punjab province remained far and away the most populated, home to more than 110 million people or more than half the country -- but it also showed the slowest average annual growth rate, at 2.13 percent.

The areas with the fastest growth rates were restive southern Balochistan province, with a population of more than 12 million and an average growth rate since 1998 of 3.37 percent, and the Islamabad Capital Territory, whose population passed two million with an average growth rate of 4.91 percent.

The results from the count, which began in March, are also set to help give a clearer picture about religious minority numbers in the Muslim-majority country.

The weeks-long process, a challenge in a country known for corruption and dysfunction, deployed a team of more than 300,000 people and involved 55 million forms.

The results will be the basis for revising political boundaries, parliamentary seat allocations and finances ahead of national elections, due to be held by the end of 2018.

Powerful Punjab province, for example, could see its political grip weaken as a result of its population not rising at a similar rate to other provinces.
Political tensions rise in Togo as the government resists pressure to change the constitution to limit the power of President Faure Gnassingbe

Togo's capital was in security lockdown Friday with large numbers of police deployed and many businesses shuttered after opposition parties called for strikes marking the weekend deaths of two anti-government protesters.

The protest, dubbed "Togo Mort" or "Dead Togo" by the opposition coalition, comes against a backdrop of soaring political tensions as the government resists pressure to change the constitution to limit the power of President Faure Gnassingbe.

Two people were killed -- one after suffering a gunshot wound -- at weekend protests against Gnassingbe's rule in Sokode, 300 kilometres (185 miles) north of Lome.

Sixty-six people were arrested following the violence, according to the justice ministry.

Opposition leaders gathered in a church in Lome for a mass in memory of those who died.

"Only a mass mobilisation will enable us to end the regime," Jean-Pierre Fabre, the president of Togo's main opposition National Alliance for Change party, told AFP.

Marketplaces in Lome were officially open, but most traders had stayed away despite a government appeal for people to resist opposition "intimidation" ahead of the strike.

The majority of civil servants appeared to have gone to work and banks remained open.

Togo's opposition parties have called for more protest marches to be held on August 30 and 31 to intensify demands for a raft of pro-democracy constitutional reforms.

The president's Unir party announced on Thursday that it would stage its own counter demonstrations on August 29, 30 and 31.

- 'Keep up the pressure' -

The opposition coalition celebrated the apparent success of its strike action.

Marketplaces in Lome were officially open, but most traders had stayed away despite a government appeal for people to resist opposition "intimidation" ahead of the strike

"We're very pleased because our appeal for a day of contemplation and prayer was largely followed in Lome and in certain other towns across the country," said Eric Dupuy, a spokesman for Cap 2015, a coalition of five opposition parties.

"The Togolese people have had enough and have understood our message."

Gnassingbe, who succeeded his father Gnassingbe Eyadema who ruled Togo with an iron grip for 38 years, was elected with army support in 2005 before being reelected in 2010 and 2015 in fiercely contested polls.

"Traffic flowed freely and there was a slowdown in commercial activity on Friday linked to the campaign of terror, intimidation and threats by the organisers of this 'Dead Togo' day," government minister Gilbert Bawara said in a statement, adding that some traders had stayed away for fear of attack.

There were no disturbances or notable staff absences in the public sector, he added.

"Now is the time for political reform, especially term limits to one day allow someone else to lead the country," said Maurice Ehouili, a motorcycle taxi driver.

"This time we are determined to keep up the pressure on the authorities to make them reform. I'm ready to march every day until we secure reform."

Togo's opposition want the country's constitution, which was changed in 2002, to be updated to reintroduce presidential term limits of a maximum of 10 years.

They also want elections changed so that they feature two rounds of voting instead of just one.
Fifteen people were shot dead in an overnight attack in north Cameroon, blamed on Boko Haram Islamists

Fifteen people were shot dead in an overnight attack in north Cameroon, blamed on Boko Haram Islamists, a security source said Friday.

The attack happened in the town of Gakara close to the Nigerian border, the security source in the region said.

"Boko Haram shot 15 people dead... and kidnapped eight people three of whom were returned on Friday," added the source, who wished to remain anonymous.

A total of 35 houses were torched in the attack which happened around 11:00 pm (2200 GMT) according to a local vigilante group member.

"There were many of them," said the source.

Gakara is just a kilometre (half mile) from the Nigerian border town of Kerawa where the Boko Haram Islamists have long been in control.

The eight-year conflict by the Sunni jihadist group aimed at establishing a hard-line Islamic Caliphate in Nigeria has left at least 20,000 people dead and displaced 2.6 million, creating one of world's major humanitarian catastrophes.

The violence has spilt into neighbouring Niger, Chad and Cameroon.
Sebastien Ajavon, a businessman in Benin known as "the king of chicken," is accused of having used several of his businesses to execute an elaborate tax dodge for three years and now allegedly owes 167 billion CFA francs

A businessman in Benin known as "the king of chicken," who ran favourably in last year's presidential election, has been fined hundreds of millions of dollars for allegedly engaging in a multi-year tax evasion scheme, revenue officials said Friday.

Sebastien Ajavon is accused of having used several of his businesses to execute an elaborate tax dodge for three years and now allegedly owes 167 billion CFA francs ($302 million, 254 million euros).

"He is accused of organising tax evasion through several of his companies in the years 2014, 2015 and 2016," Benin's tax service told AFP.

Ajavon's overall tax bill eclipses Benin's per capita GDP of $2,200 and is more than one percent of the country's overall domestic product, as measured in 2016.

The 52-year-old has so far declined to comment publicly on his massive tax bill, according to local media.

"From May to mid-August 2017, a team of five tax inspectors were embedded in Sebastien Ajavon's companies," a source close to the investigation said.

Ajavon's supporters have accused authorities of persecuting the businessman-turned-politician, saying they "are seeking to put him prison by any means," according to supporter Cyrille Hounsou.

Ralmeg Gandaho, a lawyer, said Ajavon could appeal the charge and choose to sue the government.

Ajavon, who made his fortune in the food industry, received almost a quarter of the vote in the first round of the 2016 presidential election, coming in third.

He then threw his weight behind fellow businessman and eventual winner, Patrice Talon, who has described Ajavon as a "great man" and a "great business operator".

Ajavon defines himself as a "self-made man" and has interests in the transport and media sectors, owning the Sikka TV station and radio Soleil FM.

This is not the first time he has faced legal troubles.

In October 2016, Ajavon was arrested after an 18-kilogramme (40 pounds) shipment of cocaine, with a street value of $16 million, was found in a container destined for one of his businesses.

He was released after eight days in detention but subsequently said he had been the victim of a plot to discredit him. Charges were dropped several months later.
US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley singled out UNIFIL's Irish leader, Major General Michael Beary, in her criticism of the force

The United States blasted the commander of the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon on Friday, accusing him of turning a blind eye to Hezbollah weapons smuggling.

US ambassador Nikki Haley said the 10,500-strong UNIFIL force was "not doing its job effectively" and singled out its Irish leader, Major General Michael Beary.

"What I find totally baffling is the view of the UNIFIL commander General Beary," Haley told reporters, accusing him of ignoring Hezbollah's arms dumps.

"He seems to be the only person in south Lebanon who is blind. That's an embarrassing lack of understanding on what's going on around him," she said.

Asked about Haley's sharp criticism, United Nations spokesman Stephane Dujarric said of Beary "we have full confidence in his work."

Haley was speaking at UN headquarters as member states debate the future of UNIFIL, which is deployed to keep the peace on Lebanon's southern border with Israel.

The existing mandate, last modified in 2006, expires at the end of the month, and the United States would like to see its language toughened.

Major General Michael Beary (C) is the Force Commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which is deployed to keep the peace on Lebanon's southern border with Israel

Washington wants the UN force to take a tougher line on Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed Shiite armed movement that is represented in Lebanon's government.

Israel alleges that Hezbollah is restocking its arms dumps and missile batteries in southern Lebanon, under the eyes of Blue Helmet peacekeepers.

But Russia, which is allied with Iran and thus with Hezbollah in support of regime forces in the conflict in neighboring Syria, wields a UN Security Council veto.

And US allies France and Italy, which have hundreds of soldiers in the UN force that would be in danger if it clashed with the militia, are also concerned.

"Since 2006 there has been a massive flow of illegal weapons to Hezbollah, mostly smuggled in by Iran," Haley alleged.

"They openly threaten Israel. Hezbollah is a terrorist organization that is very destabilizing to the region."

Haley said the mandate obliges UNIFIL to work with the Lebanese Armed Forces to disarm illegal groups and that she would seek to underline this in the renewal.
WASHINGTON (AP) - Phillip and Barbara Butler hadn't given much thought to the man who burned a cross on their front lawn 40 years ago.

Then they heard the startling news Tuesday that the perpetrator had become a priest and was ministering to Catholics not far from their home.

"I didn't know what to say. It was unbelievable," Phillip Butler said Wednesday at a news conference.

Phillip Butler speaks during a news conference at his attorney's office in Washington, Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2017. The Butlers, victims of a cross burning on their property forty years ago, is questioning the sincerity of Catholic Priest William Aitcheson, a Ku Klux Klan "wizard", who has come forward after decades about his past. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

The priest, the Rev. William Aitcheson, went public with his old Klan affiliation Monday, writing a column in the diocesan newspaper.

He said his past was not a secret, but he felt compelled to make it more public after seeing images of violence at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville.

Aitcheson, now 62, described his past actions as despicable: "To anyone who has been subjected to racism or bigotry, I am sorry. I have no excuse, but I hope you will forgive me."

For the Butlers, though, his announcement provided more questions than answers.

The Butlers' lawyer, Ted Williams, called on Aitcheson to publicly identify his Klan associates as well as anyone who helped him with the cross-burning.

The Butlers said the cross was big and heavy, more than six feet (1.8 meters) tall, so he must have had help. Phillip Butler said someone also must have identified their home for Aitcheson to target them.

"What did we do to have them put a cross in our lawn?" he asked. The couple, among the first African-Americans to move into their subdivision, moved on after about eight years.

"It makes you very afraid of what's going on," Butler said.

The Diocese of Arlington initially said that for the good of the parish, Aitcheson is taking a voluntary leave of absence from ministerial duties at St. Leo the Great in Fairfax. Through the diocese, he has declined interview requests.

In response to the Butlers' news conference, the diocese released a statement saying Aitcheson "will fully cooperate with law enforcement in addressing details of this case that were not gathered previously."

Williams said he believes Aitcheson, who became a priest in Nevada before eventually transferring to Virginia, came forward only because he felt he was going to be exposed.

He questioned Aitcheson's statement that the Charlottesville rally prompted his public mea culpa, after so many other racial flash points over the decades.

"The big question is, why is this just coming out now?" he asked.

The diocese, in its statement Wednesday, said a freelance reporter had approached the diocese asking whether Aitcheson had been connected to the cross-burnings, which received press attention at the time.

"Aitcheson was approached about this, he acknowledged his past and saw the opportunity to tell his story in the hopes that others would see the possibility of conversion and repentance," the diocese said.

Aitcheson was convicted and sentenced to 90 days in jail in 1977 after he was charged with burning several crosses, including the one at the Butlers' home in College Park, Maryland, and sending a death threat to Coretta Scott King. Authorities at the time said he was a University of Maryland student doubling as a "wizard" of a 12-member KKK lodge.

Years later, the Butlers won a $23,000 civil judgment against Aitcheson, and received a personal visit from President Ronald Reagan, who with his wife, Nancy, condemned the hate crime.

But Aitcheson never apologized to the Butlers, in writing or in person during their time in court, and they said they never received any of that money.

The diocese said it only learned of his unpaid restitution this week, and committed to ensuring he fulfills his moral and legal obligations.

Williams said he is researching his options in pushing the judgment and calculating possible interest in 35 years of nonpayment.

Barbara Butler said she doubts Aitcheson could say anything she would be interested in hearing in terms of an apology, and expressed skepticism about his change of heart.

"Father forgive them for they know not what they do," she said, quoting Jesus Christ. Then she addressed the priest: "But you did know."

Barbara Butler, accompanied by her husband Phillip, speaks during a news conference at their attorney's office in Washington, Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2017. The Butlers, victims of a cross burning on their property forty years ago, is questioning the sincerity of Catholic Priest William Aitcheson, a Ku Klux Klan "wizard", who has come forward after decades about his past. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Barbara Butler, followed by her husband Phillip Butler, arrive for a news conference at their attorney's office in Washington, Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2017. The Butlers, victims of a cross burning on their property forty years ago, is questioning the sincerity of Catholic Priest William Aitcheson, a Ku Klux Klan "wizard", who has come forward after decades about his past. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

FILE - In this May 3, 1982 file photo, President Ronald Reagan and first lady Nancy Reagan pose with the Butler family on their front porch at their home in College Park, Md. home of the family, which has been victimized by racial harassment. Father William Aitcheson, a Virginia priest is taking a leave of absence after disclosing he once was a member of the Ku Klux Klan. Aitcheson, then-a 22-year-old member of the Ku Klux Klan, was convicted of a criminal misdemeanor in the case and sentenced to 90 days in jail. From left are, grandmother Dorothea Tolson, the president, Mrs. Reagan, Phillip and Barbara Butler with daughter Natasha. (AP Photo/Barry Thumma, File)
MEXICO CITY (AP) - A court in Mexico has re-sentenced convicted drug lord Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo for the 1985 killing of a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent.

Felix Gallardo had been serving a 40-year sentence for the murder of DEA agent Enrique Camarena. But many of those convicted in the killing had filed appeals.

The federal judiciary council said Wednesday that the new sentence is 37 years plus a reparation payment equivalent to about $1.17 million.

FILE - In this April 10, 1989 file photo Mexican drug trafficking Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo looks on in an undisclosed location. A court in Mexico on Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2017, has re-sentenced the convicted drug lord for the 1985 killing of a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent. (AP Photo, file)

Felix Gallardo was considered the godfather of Mexican drug smuggling and a co-founder of the Guadalajara cartel.

Another cartel figure found guilty in Camarena's killing was released from prison in 2013 after an appeals court overturned his conviction on jurisdictional grounds. A warrant was issued for Rafael Caro Quintero to be re-arrested, but he remains at large.
Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about Friday:

1. WHO'S FANNING FLAMES OF GOP DISCORD

Trump accuses Republican congressional leaders of botching efforts to avoid an unprecedented default on the national debt.

FILE - In this July 25, 2017 file photo, White House Senior Adviser and envoy, Jared Kushner, listens at right as President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington. Kushner began a round of talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders as he resumed efforts to restart peace talks. Kushner, who is President Donald Trump's son-in-law, met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Thursday, Aug. 24, 2017, before heading to the West Bank city of Ramallah to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the evening. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)

2. COASTAL TEXAS READIES FOR ROUGH WEATHER

Tropical Storm Harvey intensifies into a hurricane that forecasters say would be the first major hurricane to hit Texas in 12 years.

3. RESCUE EFFORTS HALTED IN SOUTH CHINA SEA

The U.S. Navy calls off the search at sea for sailors missing after a collision east of Singapore between a destroyer and an oil tanker.

4. LOTTERY WINNER WANTS TO 'SIT BACK AND RELAX'

A 53-year-old Massachusetts hospital worker steps forward to claim the biggest undivided lottery jackpot in U.S. history - a $758.7 million Powerball prize.

5. WHY EXECUTION WAS CLOSELY WATCHED

Florida puts a man to death with an anesthetic, etomidate, that has never been used before in a U.S. lethal injection.

6. IN MIDEAST, YET ANOTHER PEACE INITIATIVE

Presidential adviser Jared Kushner meets with Israeli and Palestinian leaders to try to jumpstart moribund peace talks.

7. VENEZUELAN REGIME MOVES TO STIFLE MEDIA

The Colombian TV network Caracol is taken off the air in Venezuela a day after President Maduro delivered a scathing rebuke of Colombian media.

8. HOW AMAZON PLANS TO USE ITS DEEP POCKETS

Firing a salvo in the grocery wars, the company says it will cut prices on bananas, eggs, salmon, beef and more when it completes its $13.7B takeover of Whole Foods.

9. JAY THOMAS DEAD AT 69

The radio talk show host and actor had recurring roles on the sitcoms "Murphy Brown" and "Cheers."

10. PLAY BRAWL!

Detroit's 10-6 win over the New York Yankees includes three bench-clearing altercations and eight ejections.

FILE - In this July 9, 1992 file photo, actor Jay Thomas, who stars in CBS television's "Love and War" poses for a portrait in Los Angeles. A publicist for Thomas says the actor and radio host died. He was 69. (AP Photo/Nick Ut, File)
BANGKOK (AP) - Thailand's Supreme Court said it will issue an arrest warrant for former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra after she failed to show Friday for a contentious trial verdict in which she could face a 10-year prison term for alleged negligence in overseeing a money-losing rice subsidy program.

A judge read out a statement saying that Yingluck's lawyers had informed the court she could not attend because of an earache. But the judge said the court did not believe the excuse because no official medical verification was provided, and the court would issue a warrant for her arrest as a result.

Yingluck's whereabouts were not immediately known, fueling speculation that she might have fled the country. There was no evidence, however, that she had left Thailand.

Supporters of Thailand's former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra dance outside the Supreme Court after Yingluck failed to show up to hear a verdict in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, Aug. 25, 2017. Thailand's Supreme Court said Friday it will issue an arrest warrant for Yingluck after she failed to show up for a contentious trial verdict in which she could face a 10-year prison term for alleged negligence in overseeing a money-losing rice subsidy program. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)

A verdict had been expected to be delivered within hours in the case, which the court postponed until Sept. 27. Yingluck has pleaded innocent, and decries the charges against her as politically motivated. If convicted, she has the right to appeal.

The trial is the latest chapter in a decade-long struggle by the nation's elite minority to crush the powerful political machine founded by Yingluck's brother, Thaksin Shinawatra, who was toppled in a 2006 coup. Thaksin, who has lived in Dubai since fleeing a corruption conviction he says was politically motivated, has studiously avoided commenting on his sister's case, apparently to avoid imperiling it.

Thaksin is a highly polarizing figure here, and his overthrow triggered years of upheaval and division that has pitted a poor, rural majority in the north that supports the Shinawatras against royalists, the military and their urban backers.

When Yingluck's government proposed an amnesty in 2013 that could have absolved her brother and allowed him to return without being arrested, street protests erupted that eventually led to her government's demise in a 2014 military coup.

The junta that seized control of Thailand has clamped down harshly since then, suppressing all dissent and banning political gatherings of more than five people. The long-awaited decision on Yingluck's fate has rekindled tensions in the divided nation, but the military remains firmly in charge.

Fearing potential unrest, authorities tried to deter people from turning out Friday by threatening legal action against anyone planning to help transport Yingluck supporters. Yingluck also posted a message on her Facebook page urging followers to stay away, saying she worried about their safety.

Thousands of people turned up outside the Bangkok court house anyway, though, along with thousands of police who erected barricades around the court.

Prawit Pongkunnut, a 55-year-old rice farmer from the northeastern city of Nakhon Ratchasima, said he came with 10 other farmers to show solidarity with Yingluck.

"We're here to give her moral support because she truly cared and helped us out," Prawit said.

The rice subsidies, promised to farmers during the 2011 election, helped Yingluck's party ascend to power. Critics say they were effectively a means of vote-buying, while Yingluck supporters welcomed them.

The rice subsidy plan Yingluck oversaw paid farmers about 50 percent more that they would have made on the world market. The hope was to drive up prices by stockpiling the grain, but other Asian producers filled the void instead, knocking Thailand from its perch as the world's leading rice exporter.

The current government, which is still trying to sell off the rice stockpiles, says Yingluck's administration lost as much as $17 billion because it couldn't export at a price commensurate with what it had paid farmers.

In a separate administrative ruling that froze her bank accounts, Yingluck was held responsible for about $1 billion of those losses - an astounding personal penalty that prosecutors argued Yingluck deserved because she ignored warnings of corruption but continued the program anyway.

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Associated Press journalists Grant Peck and Kankanit Wiriyasajja contributed to this report.

Supporters of Thailand's former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra display her images outside the Supreme Court after Yingluck failed to show up to hear a verdict in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, Aug. 25, 2017. Thailand's Supreme Court said Friday it will issue an arrest warrant for Yingluck after she failed to show up for a contentious trial verdict in which she could face a 10-year prison term for alleged negligence in overseeing a money-losing rice subsidy program. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)

Supporters of Thailand's former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra mock army officers traveling in a truck outside the Supreme Court after Yingluck failed to show up to hear a verdict in Bangkok Thailand, Friday, Aug. 25, 2017. Thailand's Supreme Court said Friday it will issue an arrest warrant for Yingluck after she failed to show up for a contentious trial verdict in which she could face a 10-year prison term for alleged negligence in overseeing a money-losing rice subsidy program. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)

Supporters of Thailand's former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra mock army officers traveling in a truck outside the Supreme Court after Yingluck failed to show up to hear a verdict in Bangkok Thailand, Friday, Aug. 25, 2017. Thailand's Supreme Court said Friday it will issue an arrest warrant for Yingluck after she failed to show up for a contentious trial verdict in which she could face a 10-year prison term for alleged negligence in overseeing a money-losing rice subsidy program. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)

A supporter of Thailand's former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra displays a placard as others sit outside the Supreme Court after Yingluck failed to show up to hear a verdict in Bangkok Thailand, Friday, Aug. 25, 2017. Thailand's Supreme Court said Friday it will issue an arrest warrant for Yingluck after she failed to show up for a contentious trial verdict in which she could face a 10-year prison term for alleged negligence in overseeing a money-losing rice subsidy program. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)

In this Aug. 1, 2017 file photo, Thailand's former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra arrives at the Supreme Court for to make final statement of the hearing in Bangkok, Thailand. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit, File)

A police officer frisks a supporter of Thailand's former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra outside the Supreme Court ahead the delivery of a verdict on charges accusing Yingluck Shinawatra of negligence in implementing a rice subsidy in Bangkok Thailand, Friday, Aug 25, 2017. Police stood guard Friday morning as Thailand's Supreme Court prepared to rule on whether Yingluck was guilty of criminal negligence for implementing a rice subsidy program that cost the government as much as $17 billion. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)

Police officers deploy to positions outside Supreme Court ahead the delivery of a verdict on charges accusing Thailand's former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra of negligence in implementing a rice subsidy in Bangkok Thailand, Friday, Aug 25, 2017. Police stood guard Friday morning as Thailand's Supreme Court prepared to rule on whether Yingluck was guilty of criminal negligence for implementing a rice subsidy program that cost the government as much as $17 billion. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)

A supporter of Thailand's former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra waves outside the Supreme Court ahead the delivery of a verdict on charges accusing Yingluck of negligence in implementing a rice subsidy in Bangkok Thailand, Friday, Aug 25, 2017. Police stood guard Friday morning as Thailand's Supreme Court prepared to rule on whether Yingluck was guilty of criminal negligence for implementing a rice subsidy program that cost the government as much as $17 billion. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)
BERLIN (AP) - The integration of Germany's more than 4 million Muslims is moving ahead, especially when it comes to employment and language skills, according to a study released Thursday.

The Bertelsmann Foundation said in its Religion Monitor 2017 study that about 60 percent of Muslims who moved to Germany before 2010 now hold a full-time job, while 20 percent work part-time jobs - similar to ethnic Germans. Muslims also had higher employment rates in Germany than in other western European countries, in part driven by Germany's strong economy and big demand for workers.

However, the study said it's still harder for very religious Muslims to find jobs in Germany than in Britain.

FILE - In this Sept. 10, 2010 file photo Muslims pray at a mosque for the Eid al-Fitr holiday, which marks the end of the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan in Duisburg, western Germany. A new study says the integration of Germany's 4.7 million Muslim immigrants is improving especially when it comes to employment and language skills. The Bertelsmann foundation said Thursday, Aug. 24, 2017 about 60 percent of Muslims, who moved to Germany before 2010, now hold a full-time job and 20 percent work part-time jobs _ similar to ethnic Germans. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, file)

The study said 73 percent of children born in Germany to Muslim immigrants now speak German as a first language.

But when it comes to school education, Germany's shortcomings are stark: 36 percent of Muslim youths in Germany leave school without a degree, while it's only 11 percent in neighboring France, according to the report.

When it comes to daily interactions, 93 percent of German-born Muslims say they spend their free time with both Muslims and non-Muslims.

On the downside, 19 percent of non-Muslim Germans questioned for the study said they don't want to have Muslim neighbors.

More than 10,000 Muslims who were born in the country or arrived before 2010 and non-Muslims were questioned for the study in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, France and Britain.
JERUSALEM (AP) - Israel has charged a radical Islamic cleric with "inciting to terror" in a series of speeches he made following a deadly attack on Israeli police at a contested Jerusalem holy site this summer.

Raed Salah, head of the outlawed northern branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel, was arrested earlier this month.

The indictment, issued Thursday, says Salah praised the men who carried out the July attack and exhorted others to follow their example. The attack, carried out by two Arab citizens of Israel, sparked deadly violence between Israeli forces and Palestinians.

Salah has had repeated run-ins with Israeli authorities. He completed a nine-month prison sentence in January for "incitement to violence" and "incitement to racism."

Salah has said the arrest is part of a political witch hunt against him.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Philadelphia is asking for the public's help in deciding the fate of a statue of former mayor and police commissioner Frank Rizzo.

Officials on Thursday announced they're taking suggestions on what to do with the statue after calls to tear it down escalated following a deadly white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Rizzo served as mayor from 1972 to 1980. Critics argue he reigned over a corrupt police department and used his power to alienate minorities. Supporters say he was a devout public servant who spoke his mind.

Shown is a statue of the late Philadelphia Mayor Frank Rizzo outside the Municipal Services Building in Philadelphia, Friday, Aug. 18, 2017. Workers have removed the words "black power" that were spray painted across the statue of the former Philadelphia mayor and police commissioner. Rizzo critics say he reigned over the city when police brutality was the accepted norm and many want the statue removed. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Last week, the statue was egged and a man was arrested for spray-painting "black power" on it.

The statue stands outside the Municipal Services Building.

Mayor Jim Kenney has said it's the "right time" for a conversation about the statue.
GUATEMALA CITY (AP) - Guatemala's Constitutional Court has upheld a lower court's provisional suspension of a mining license for one of the world's largest silver mines.

The court's ruling, shared with the Associated Press Thursday, affirmed the decision of the Supreme Court, which in July called for the suspension of operations at the Escobal mine. The mine is run by Minera San Rafael, the local subsidiary of Vancouver, Canada-based Tahoe Resources.

The Constitutional Court decision said Guatemala's mining ministry had denied the existence of an indigenous group in the area and did not properly consult them about the project.

Rafael Maldonado, a lawyer who sought the suspension, said he was pleased with the ruling.

San Rafael spokesman Andres Davila said they were disappointed but would continue using all legal means available to continue operating.
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) - A student was detained after assaulting his teacher and three of his fellow students with a baseball bat on Friday in a classroom at the Australian National University, police said.

Shortly after 9 a.m., the student stood up from his seat armed with a bat and approached the teacher at the front of the classroom, the Australian Federal Police said. Other students in the class intervened and tried to restrain the attacker, but he assaulted four people, including the teacher. They were hospitalized with serious but non-life threatening injuries, including broken bones.

Police were called to the school and took the assailant into custody, Police Detective Superintendent Ben Cartwright told reporters.

In this image made from video, injured students are attended to at Australian National University in Canberra, Australia, Friday, Aug. 25, 2017. A man was detained by police after assaulting four students on Friday in a university classroom with what one witness described as a bat, university officials and police said. (Australian Broadcasting Corporation via AP)

Cartwright praised the "incredible bravery on behalf of those students to protect the lecturer." During the assault, one student managed to take the bat away from the attacker and run away with it, Cartwright said.

The attacker, an 18-year-old man, had no other weapons on him, Cartwright said. He was not on the radar of police or intelligence agencies, and his motivation is unknown. He has not yet been charged over the attack and police have not released his name.

Max Claessens, an 18-year-old student whose friend was inside the classroom, said his friend told him that the attacker waited until the class had settled in before he suddenly pulled a cricket or baseball bat out of his bag and began hitting people. The attacker had been a student of the statistics class for four weeks, Claessens said.

"One of the students just randomly out of the blue got up with a bat, struck out at two or three students, before apparently going for the teacher," Claessens said. "And obviously people were in a bit of shock so they ran out to get help before the guy - who wasn't coming down and was going a bit crazy, to be honest - was restrained."

The student had not previously drawn anyone's suspicions, Claessens said.

"It was just out of the blue. Nothing seemed strange about him," Claessens said. "I'm a bit surprised, to be honest. I didn't expect something like this to happen. You can't exactly anticipate someone picking up a cricket bat in a statistics class."

Student Jolene Laverty was on her way to a lecture when she saw the assailant being led away by police and several of the injured being treated by paramedics.

"There was a man on a stretcher who was being offered morphine, so obviously in a lot of pain with a lot of blood coming from his head," Laverty said. "And a lot of people in shock as well. A lot of people getting blankets put over them and being looked after by the staff and emergency services."

The attacker was being escorted by two police officers and was talking to them calmly, she said.

The university's Deputy Vice Chancelor, Marni Hughes-Warrington, said she was moved by the courage shown by the students who tried to stop the attack.

"I'm delighted and unsurprised to see such acts of bravery - we know one another, we really care for one another," she told reporters. "This is an isolated and random incident that's happened in a very caring community. This is a very unusual thing."

The university, which is located in Australia's capital, Canberra, said counseling services were being provided to anyone affected by the attack. Police said there was no ongoing threat to the public's safety.

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Associated Press writer Kristen Gelineau in Sydney contributed to this report.

In this image made from video, injured students are attended to at Australian National University in Canberra, Australia, Friday, Aug. 25, 2017. A man was detained by police after assaulting four students on Friday in a university classroom with what one witness described as a bat, university officials and police said. (Australian Broadcasting Corporation via AP)

Police tape is strung across the entrance to a classroom at the Australian National University following an attack, Friday, Aug. 25, 2017, in Canberra, Australia. A student was detained by police after assaulting his teacher and three of his fellow students with a baseball bat on Friday in a classroom at the Australian National University, police said. (AP Photo/Rod McGuirk)

Australian National University student Jolene Laverty describes seeing the assailant being led away by police and several of the injured being treated by paramedics at the campus at the Australian National University following an attack, Friday, Aug. 25, 2017, in Canberra, Australia. A student was detained by police after assaulting his teacher and three of his fellow students with a baseball bat on Friday in a classroom at the Australian National University, police said. (AP Photo/Rod McGuirk)

Student Max Claessens talks to reporters at the Australian National University in Canberra, Australia, Friday, Aug. 25, 2017, following an attack in Canberra, Australia. Claessens, an 18-year-old student whose friend was inside the classroom, said his friend told him that the attacker waited until the class had settled in before he suddenly pulled a cricket or baseball bat out of his bag and began hitting people. (AP Photo/Rod McGuirk)

Police tape is strung across the entrance to a classroom at the Australian National University following an attack, Friday, Aug. 25, 2017, in Canberra, Australia. A student was detained by police after assaulting his teacher and three of his fellow students with a baseball bat on Friday in a classroom at the Australian National University, police said. (AP Photo/Rod McGuirk)
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) - New Zealand announced Friday it will increase its tiny military force in Afghanistan from 10 people to 13 following a request from NATO.

The New Zealand troops are assigned to noncombat roles, working as mentors and support personnel at the Afghan National Army Officer Academy in Kabul.

New Zealand has stationed troops in Afghanistan since 2001, mostly in reconstruction roles.

President Donald Trump this week outlined his strategy on Afghanistan, including getting tough on neighboring Pakistan. He alluded to sending more U.S. troops to Afghanistan but didn't say how many.

New Zealand Prime Minister Bill English, asked by reporters if he was worried about following the strategy of an unpopular U.S. president, said his nation was involved in Afghanistan "long before President Trump turned up.

"It's all about New Zealand playing its part in a global effort to smother the sources of terrorism," English said.

New Zealand has committed to keeping a military presence in Afghanistan until at least next June.
United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit. EVERT STEPHEN, Petitioner-Appellant, v. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Respondent-Appellee. No. 16-12952 Decided: August 23, 2017

Before MARCUS, WILLIAM PRYOR and BLACK, Circuit Judges.

Evert Stephen, a federal prisoner serving a 15-year sentence after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm, appeals the denial of his motion to vacate filed pursuant to 28 U.S.C.  2255. Stephen was granted a certificate of appealability on the following issue: Whether the district court erred in assessing Mr. Stephen's constitutional claim that trial counsel was ineffective with regard to filing a notice of appeal based on its finding that counsel had testified at the evidentiary hearing that Stephen had instructed him not to appeal? After review, we affirm the district court.

Stephen asserts his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to adequately consult with him such that he could make an intelligent and knowing decision about whether to appeal. He asserts Roe v. Flores-Ortega, 528 U.S. 470 (2000), does not preclude a defendant who instructed counsel not to file an appeal from arguing that counsel's advice regarding whether to appeal was itself inadequate, causing the defendant to instruct the counsel not to appeal.

To succeed on an ineffective-assistance claim, a defendant must show that (1) his attorney's performance was deficient, and (2) the deficient performance prejudiced his defense. Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 687 (1984). With respect to the first prong of Strickland, an attorney who disregards specific instructions from his client to file a notice of appeal acts in a professionally unreasonable manner. Flores-Ortega, 528 U.S. at 477. At the other end of the spectrum, a defendant who explicitly tells his attorney not to file an appeal plainly cannot later complain that, by following his instructions, his counsel performed deficiently. Id. (emphasis in original).

However, in those cases where the defendant neither instructs counsel to file an appeal nor asks that an appeal not be taken, a court must first inquire into whether counsel consulted with the client regarding the advantages and disadvantages of appealing and made a reasonable effort to determine the client's wishes. Id. at 478. If counsel has not consulted with the defendant, the court must in turn ask a second, and subsidiary, question: whether counsel's failure to consult with the defendant itself constitutes deficient performance. Id. If counsel performed deficiently, the defendant must demonstrate prejudice by showing that there was a reasonable probability that, but for counsel's deficient failure to consult with him about an appeal, he would have timely appealed. Id. at 484.

The district court did not err in assessing Stephen's ineffective-assistance claim based on its factual finding Stephen directed counsel not to appeal. As an initial matter, the court did not clearly err in adopting counsel's version of the events as the more credible one, and we allot substantial deference to the factfinder in reaching credibility determinations with respect to witness testimony. See Devine v. United States, 520 F.3d 1286, 1287 (11th Cir. 2008).

The district court's conclusion that Flores-Ortega did not apply to Stephen's case was not erroneous. First, the court's factual finding that Stephen affirmatively told counsel not to appeal was not clearly erroneous, as counsel's memo to file that was made contemporaneously with Stephen's sentencing, which was part of the testimony at the evidentiary hearing, explicitly noted counsel explained to Stephen that he had a right to appeal, but Stephen told counsel not to. Hence, the court's factual finding was supported by evidence in the record and does not leave this Court with the definite and firm conviction that it is wrong. See Branch v. Sec'y, Fla. Dep't of Corr., 638 F.3d 1353, 1356 (11th Cir. 2011) (A finding is clearly erroneous when we are left with the definite and firm conviction that it is wrong.).

Second, the court did not err by concluding that, because Stephen affirmatively told counsel not to appeal, Flores-Ortega did not provide the relief sought. Flores-Ortega concerned a defendant who had not clearly conveyed his wishes regarding appeal one way or the other. See Flores-Ortega, 528 U.S. at 477. Conversely, in Stephen's case, he clearly conveyed to counsel that he did not wish to pursue an appeal.

Finally, Stephen's argument that the Supreme Court in Flores-Ortega indicated that failing to adequately consult with a defendant about an appeal itself constitutes deficient performance is unavailing. The paragraph to which Stephen cites begins by clarifying that it applies to those cases where the defendant neither instructs counsel to file an appeal nor asks that an appeal not be taken. Flores-Ortega, 528 U.S. at 478. Flores-Ortega stated that, in such cases, the court must inquire into whether counsel consulted with the defendant about an appeal, and, if not, whether failure to do so itself constitutes deficient performance. Id. As discussed above, this inquiry was not required in Stephen's case, as the district court found that he affirmatively instructed counsel not to appeal, and that finding was not clearly erroneous. Accordingly, the district court did not err in assessing Stephen's ineffective-assistance claim based on its non-clearly erroneous finding he told Orenstein not to appeal, and we affirm.

AFFIRMED.

FOOTNOTES

. In a  2255 proceeding, we review a district court's legal conclusions de novo and its factual findings for clear error. Devine v. United States, 520 F.3d 1286, 1287 (11th Cir. 2008). Whether counsel was ineffective is a mixed question of law and fact that we review de novo. Id.

PER CURIAM:
MILAN (AP) - Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has declined to comment on inquiries involving potential deals with other carmakers for strategic assets, in response to a request from Italian market regulator Consob.

Fiat Chrysler shares have been trading higher after Chinese SUV maker Great Wall said it was interested in buying the Jeep Brand. Fiat denied any approach by Great Wall last week, but the Chinese carmaker's interest was enough to fuel additional speculation that the Italian-American carmaker could spin off such brands as Maserati and Alfa Romeo, sending the stock higher.

In a statement Friday, Fiat said that "from time to time, FCA may receive inquiries about potential strategic transactions," but the carmaker said "it does not comment on market rumors, and therefore does not intend to comment further on any inquiries."
WASHINGTON (AP) - Fanning the flames of GOP discord, President Donald Trump is accusing Republican congressional leaders of botching efforts to avoid an unprecedented default on the national debt. "Could have been so easy-now a mess!" Trump tweeted.

The president's sharp words underscored the perilous state of play as Congress heads into the fall without a clear plan to take care of its most important piece of business: If it does not increase the nation's $19.9 trillion borrowing limit, the government could be unable to pay its bills, jarring financial markets and leading to other harsh consequences.

Trump unleashed his latest criticism of the GOP's congressional leadership in a series of morning tweets Thursday that also included a rebuke of Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for his inability to get the Senate to repeal the Obama health care law. The harsh posts were fresh evidence of the president's fraying relations with fellow Republicans just when the White House and Capitol Hill most need to be working in sync.

FILE - In this Aug. 23, 2017 file photo, President Donald Trump walks on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington. The president lashed out at Republican leaders in Congress, suggesting efforts to increase the country's borrowing limit to avoid an economic-rattling default on the nation's debt are "a mess!" (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Critiquing GOP legislative strategy, Trump tweeted that he had asked McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan to attach the legislation increasing the borrowing limit - a toxic vote for many Republicans - to popular military veterans' legislation that he recently signed. The idea was floated in July but never gained steam in Congress.

Trump said that because legislators didn't follow that strategy, "now we have a big deal with Dems holding them up (as usual) on Debt Ceiling approval."

Republicans control both Congress and the White House, placing the burden on them to ensure the government doesn't default. In the past, Democrats largely provided the votes for debt limit increases.

The Treasury Department has said the debt ceiling needs to be raised by Sept. 29 to avoid potential default on government obligations including Social Security and interest payments.

House Speaker Paul Ryan, playing down Trump's notion of a debt limit "mess," said flatly that Congress would "pass legislation to make sure that we pay our debts."

"I'm not worried that's not going to get done because it's going to get done," Ryan said during an appearance in Washington state.

McConnell likewise said earlier in the week that there was "zero chance, no chance, we won't raise the debt ceiling."

The president's latest broadsides against members of his own party came one day after the White House and McConnell issued statements pledging to work together.

After Trump's latest incendiary tweets, both sides tried again Thursday to tamp down talk of escalating tensions

Ryan, speaking to Boeing employees in suburban Seattle, said he and Trump have "different speaking styles" but are in "constant contact" on the policy agenda.

"For me it's really important the president succeeds, because if he succeeds then the country succeeds," Ryan said.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders insisted the president's relationships with GOP leaders "are fine."

For all of that conciliatory talk, the evidence of mounting friction between the president and the Republican Party is growing.

Trump fired back Friday at Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker after the Republican lawmaker questioned the president's "competence" and "stability" last week. Trump tweeted: "Strange statement by Bob Corker considering that he is constantly asking me whether or not he should run again in '18. Tennessee not happy!"

Corker has not yet said whether he'll seek re-election in 2018.

Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake said in an interview with Georgia Public Broadcasting on Wednesday that the president was "inviting" a 2020 presidential primary challenge because he was only cultivating the GOP base of voters. Trump has labeled Flake as "weak" and "toxic" on Twitter.

Maine Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican who has been critical of the president, told MSNBC this week it was "too difficult to say" if Trump would be the party's presidential nominee in 2020.

The growing rift between congressional Republicans and Trump could make it more difficult for the White House to advance its agenda.

The White House and congressional Republicans have yet to engage in serious negotiations to address the debt ceiling or stopgap legislation needed to avert a government shutdown when the fiscal year ends on Sept. 30. Trump is expected to hold meetings with congressional leaders after the Labor Day holiday.

Asked about the debt ceiling, Sanders put the onus on Congress to resolve the matter: "It's our job to inform Congress of the debt ceiling and it's their job to raise it."

She added that the White House was looking for a "clean" debt ceiling bill - without any legislative add-ons. But tea party Republicans and outside conservative groups are demanding spending cuts as the price for increasing the borrowing limit.

Raising the debt ceiling has often confounded Congress. A 2011 standoff between Republicans and the Obama administration over raising borrowing authority led to tighter controls on spending. That standoff was not resolved until the eleventh hour and prompted Standard & Poor's to impose the first-ever downgrade to the country's credit rating.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said raising the debt ceiling and securing the U.S. border was a "good combination" and suggested Republicans force Democrats into difficult votes over the borrowing limit.

"Let's put them in a box when it comes to the debt ceiling. The president is not crazy to attack the Congress. He's not crazy to think of ways to put Democrats in a bad spot regarding the debt ceiling. They do this all the time to us," Graham said in an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt.

Beyond the challenge of the debt limit, the effort to avoid a government shutdown could be complicated by Trump's long-promised plan to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. The president threatened Tuesday to force a federal shutdown unless Congress provides money for the project. Sanders told reporters the administration would "continue to push forward and make sure the wall gets built."

Appearing at a Louisville breakfast event, McConnell tried to brush aside the tensions with Trump, quipping that running the Senate was "a little bit like being the groundskeeper at a cemetery. Everybody's under you, but nobody's listening."

___

Associated Press writer Adam Beam in Louisville, Kentucky, contributed to this report.

House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wis. rubs his head as he takes a question while meeting with Boeing workers, Thursday, Aug. 24, 2017, in Everett, Wash. President Donald Trump lashed out at Republican leaders in Congress, suggesting efforts to increase the country's borrowing limit to avoid an economic-rattling default on the nation's debt are "a mess!" (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

People talk before the start of the meeting of the standing committee on rules at the Republican National Committee summer meeting, Thursday, Aug. 24, 2017, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
ATLANTA (AP) - Cities across the U.S. are trying to encourage the homeless to find beds of their own, not just a cot for the night. In theory, no one should stay in a shelter very long.

Atlanta is putting this idea to a hard, real-world test by closing its last shelter of last resort.

For decades, as many as 1,000 people with nowhere else to turn could come off the street at Peachtree and Pine, no questions asked. But years of litigation wore down the shelter's operators. After epic battles against the city, tuberculosis, bed bugs and other hazards, the Metro Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless settled out of court and sold its enormous industrial building to Central Atlanta Progress, a downtown business group.

In this Aug. 7, 2017 photo, a person walks into the the Peachtree-Pine homeless shelter, in Atlanta. For decades, as many as 1,000 people with nowhere else to turn could come off the street at Peachtree and Pine, no questions asked. (AP Photo/Robert Ray)

Relocating the people inside will be done in a "humane manner," Central Atlanta Progress promised ahead of this month's slow-motion shutdown. Starting Monday, the shelter will turn away newcomers, and current residents will be gradually moved out.

"We'll take it one step at a time," said Jack Hardin, co-chairman of the Regional Commission on the Homeless, which is helping to manage the transition.

But no one can say where those steps will lead.

"It's hard not knowing where we're going to live," said Laura Wheaton, 34, who has been staying at the shelter with her four children for more than a month.

Other Atlanta shelters are so full "that all the rest of the people are going to be left for the streets," she said.

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed announced a $50 million plan to place 500 chronically homeless individuals and 300 homeless families in permanent housing. But the city hasn't acquired this housing yet, nor chosen property owners willing to operate units they develop or renovate, city spokeswoman Jenna Garland said.

Some might be offered one of 75 to 100 beds in a west-side building near the Fulton County Jail, more than an hour's walk away.

"It's a very big facility so we wouldn't be using the whole facility initially," Hardin said. "We would prefer not to open up large shelters."

Nationwide, cities that once herded the homeless into large downtown shelters are trying to quickly move them into long-term housing tailored to their needs. Some advocates say that with enough support, even people with serious mental health problems, addictions, chronic illnesses and a deep distrust of authority can sleep in their own beds.

This model has found success in places such as Houston and the state of Connecticut, said Nan Roman, president of the National Alliance to End Homelessness.

"As soon as we figure out how they get in, we need to figure out how they get out. It has to go together," Roman said. "Otherwise, you get people living in the shelter system. It's like if you had a hotel and no one ever left it, you have to keep building more and more hotels."

Atlanta, however, is closing Peachtree-Pine without having first developed the capacity to replace it, said Anita Beaty, who retired six months ago as executive director of the task force.

"It's a terrible mistake," Beaty said. "The forces in Atlanta who don't want homeless people visible - and certainly not on Peachtree Street - are extremely powerful."

The shelter occupies some the most valuable real estate in the South, a few blocks from the 55-story Bank of America Plaza, the city's tallest skyscraper. Its occupants mingle with business executives and theater patrons on a stretch of Peachtree that includes the iconic Fox Theatre and the Georgian Terrace Hotel, where Clark Gable and other Hollywood stars stayed for the Atlanta premiere of "Gone With The Wind."

"All they want to do is build high-price housing that most people are not going to be able to afford, and that's not just down here - that's everywhere in the country," said Anthony Murphy, 68, who has lived at Peachtree-Pine since 2011.

In 2003, shortly after it was formed, the regional commission released a 119-page "Blueprint to End Homelessness in Atlanta in Ten Years."

The goal now is to make homelessness "rare, brief and non-recurring," Reed's office said.

The latest counts found 3,572 homeless people in Atlanta, including 1,567 in emergency shelters, 1,324 in transitional housing and 681 without any shelter. Ten percent - roughly 350 - are chronically homeless, the mayor's office said.

Hardin said a new team of caseworkers is getting to know the Peachtree-Pine population, "so we can begin to form conclusions about what's the best solution for those people."

Nationally, homelessness declined to about 550,000 people during a nationwide count in 2016, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development said. Atlanta's chronically homeless population declined 61 percent since 2013, the mayor's office said.

"We've done a good job of reducing the total count," Hardin said. "We won't need all the shelter beds that we've had in the past."

Others doubt that.

Having "low-barrier" shelter beds available to people who have been told they can't stay elsewhere is a matter of life and death, said Carl Hartrampf, who has run the task force since Beaty left. "I believe they're going to find out they need more than they think."

In this Aug. 7, 2017 photo, a man sits quietly in a warm room inside the Peachtree-Pine homeless shelter in Atlanta. For decades, as many as 1,000 people with nowhere else to turn could come off the street at Peachtree and Pine, no questions asked. But years of litigation wore down the shelter's operators. After epic battles against the city, tuberculosis, bed bugs and other hazards, the Metro Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless settled out of court and sold its enormous industrial building to Central Atlanta Progress, a downtown business group. (AP Photo/Robert Ray)

This Monday, Aug. 7, 2017 photo shows Laura Wheaton and her four children in the Peachtree-Pine homeless shelter. With the shelter closing at the end of the month, "It's hard not knowing where we're going to live," said Wheaton, 34, who has been staying at the shelter with her children for more than a month. (AP Photo/Robert Ray)

In this Aug. 7, 2017 photo, windows are opened to help dissipate heat inside the Peachtree-Pine shelter, Atlanta's largest overflow sanctuary for the homeless. The shelter occupies some the most valuable real estate in the South, a few blocks from the 55-story Bank of America Plaza, the city's tallest skyscraper. (AP Photo/Robert Ray)

This Aug. 24, 2017 photo shows bunk beds in Atlanta's oldest overflow shelter. For decades, as many as 1,000 people with nowhere else to turn could come off the street at Peachtree and Pine, no questions asked. But years of litigation wore down the shelter's operators. (AP Photo/Robert Ray)

FILE - In this Oct. 2, 2014 file photo, a man sleeps on a bunk bed at the Peachtree-Pine shelter for the Homeless, the city's largest homeless shelter, in Atlanta. After two decades of battling the city, tuberculosis and bed bugs, Atlanta's sanctuary for homeless men with nowhere else to go will soon close its doors after sheltering up to 1,000 people on the coldest nights in winter. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)

In this Aug. 7, 2017 photo, a woman sits in an overflow room inside the Peachtree-Pine homeless shelter. Although it was a hot day, she said she holds on to her winter coat because she worries that when the shelter closes she will need it to stay warm on the streets. (AP Photo/Robert Ray)

In this Friday, Oct. 3, 2014 file photo, people sleep in the Peachtree-Pine Homeless Shelter in Atlanta. After two decades of battling the city, tuberculosis and bed bugs, Atlanta's sanctuary for homeless men with nowhere else to go will soon close its doors after sheltering up to 1,000 men on the coldest nights in winter. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) - Danish authorities on Friday filed another charge against the inventor of a home-made submarine who is suspected in the death of Swedish journalist Kim Wall whose headless torso was found off Copenhagen, police said.

Peter Madsen, already charged with preliminary manslaughter in Wall's death, now faces a charge of indecent handling of a corpse, according to chief investigator Jens Moeller Jensen. Madsen denies wrongdoing, saying she died in an accident aboard the 40-ton, nearly 18 meter-long (60 foot-long) submarine and he buried her at sea.

Wall was last seen alive aboard the submarine Aug. 10 and her naked torso was found Monday. Police say Wall's head, arms and legs had been deliberately cut off. They also say that a piece of metal had been attached to the torso "likely with the purpose to make it sink," and marks on it indicated that someone had tried to press air out of the body so that it wouldn't float.

FILE - This April 30, 2008 file photo, shows a submarine and its owner Peter Madsen. Danish police confirmed Wednesday Aug. 23, 2017, a headless torso found on a beach off Copenhagen has been identified as that of missing Swedish journalist Kim Wall. She is believed to have died on an amateur-built submarine earlier this month. Madsen has been arrested on suspicion of killing her. (Niels Hougaard /Ritzau via AP, File)

Under Denmark's penal code, a manslaughter charge carries a prison sentence of between five years and life, and indecent handling of corpses carries a fine or up to six months in jail.

DNA tests made public Wednesday confirmed that the torso was Wall's and dried blood found inside the submarine, which somehow sank during the trip, also matched her DNA.

Moeller Jensen said they still were looking for other body parts and her clothes, including an orange turtleneck blouse, a black-and-white skirt and white sneakers. Her family says that Wall was doing a story on Madsen.

Moeller Jensen said no search along the coast off Amager island in Copenhagen, where Wall is believed to have died, was planned Friday. He added that divers and members of the Danish Emergency Management Agency were standing by if needed.

Moeller Jensen said divers were searching the harbor of Dragoer, a village on the southern tip of Amager, where Madsen, an aerospace and submarine enthusiast, was detained after being rescued on Aug. 11 from the sinking submarine. Police believe Madsen deliberately scuttled the vessel.

He added that police have received more than 650 tips from the public in recent days.

A prosecutor said Thursday that police likely will upgrade the preliminary charges to include murder when Madsen appears at a court hearing Sept. 5 on whether his pre-trial detention should be extended. In Denmark, preliminary charges are a step short of formal charges.

The case has prompted investigators to reopen unsolved killings in Denmark, including the 1986 find of the dismembered remains of a 22-year-old Japanese tourist whose corpse was found in several plastic bags in Copenhagen harbor. Moeller Jensen stressed that it was standard procedure to look at so-called cold cases and there is no immediate link to Wall's killing.

In this image taken from video on Monday Aug. 21, 2017, shows police forensic investigators as they prepare to move a headless body of a woman that was found near Amager Denmark in the Baltic Sea where a missing Swedish journalist is believed to have died on a privately built submarine earlier this month . The headless torso found on a beach near Amager has been identified as that of missing Swedish journalist Kim Wall, Danish police said Wednesday Aug. 23, 2017. (TV2 via AP)

FILE - This is a Dec. 28, 2015 file handout photo portrait of the Swedish journalist Kim Wall taken in Trelleborg, Sweeden. Danish police said Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2017, that DNA tests from a headless torso found in the Baltic Sea matches with missing Swedish journalist Kim Wall, who is believed to have died on an amateur-built submarine that sank earlier this month. Wall, 30, was last seen alive on Aug. 10 on Danish inventor Peter Madsen's submarine, which sank off Denmark's eastern coast the day after. Madsen, who was arrested on preliminary manslaughter charges, denies having anything to do with Wall's disappearance.(Tom Wall via AP, File)

Salima Koroma, left, and Matthew Claiborne, classmates of Kim Wall at Graduate School of Journalism in Columbia University, mourn during a candle vigil for Wall at the university campus in New York on Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2017. Growing up in southern Sweden, Wall, a journalist who had graduated from the school with a master's degree in journalism in 2013, set out to sea from Copenhagen, Denmark, earlier this month for a story about an eccentric Danish inventor and his home-made submarine. On Wednesday, police confirmed that Wall's headless torso had been found on a beach near the Danish capital. (AP Photo/Go Nakamura)

Around 40 classmates of 2013 at Graduate School of Journalism in Columbia University gathered at a candle vigil for Kim Wall offer candles and flowers at the university campus in New York on Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2017. Growing up in southern Sweden, Wall, a journalist who had graduated from the school with a master's degree in journalism in 2013, set out to sea from Copenhagen, Denmark, earlier this month for a story about an eccentric Danish inventor and his home-made submarine. On Wednesday, police confirmed that Wall's headless torso had been found on a beach near the Danish capital. (AP Photo/Go Nakamura)

Around 40 classmates of 2013 at Graduate School of Journalism in Columbia University gathered at a candle vigil for Kim Wall offer candles and flowers at the university campus in New York on Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2017. Growing up in southern Sweden, Wall, a journalist who had graduated from the school with a master's degree in journalism in 2013, set out to sea from Copenhagen, Denmark, earlier this month for a story about an eccentric Danish inventor and his home-made submarine. On Wednesday, police confirmed that Wall's headless torso had been found on a beach near the Danish capital. (AP Photo/Go Nakamura)
BEIRUT (AP) - Islamic State group militants pushed back government forces advancing on one of the last towns still in IS hands in the province of Raqqa, killing over two dozen soldiers and seizing vehicles, a Syria monitoring group and the extremists said.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the early Friday counterattack by IS short-circuited a government advance on Maadan, which brought them within only a few kilometers (miles) in recent days.

The Russia-backed government forces have been on a multi-pronged offensive, moving toward the IS-held territories in Deir el-Zour province in the east from northern, central and southern Syria.

This undated image posted online on Thursday, Aug 24, 2017, by supporters of the Islamic State militant group on an anonymous photo sharing website, purports to show a gun-mounted vehicle operated by the group firing at Syrian troop in south eastern Raqqa, Syria. A Syria monitoring group says Islamic State militants have successfully pushed back government forces advancing on one of the last towns still in IS hands in the province of Raqqa. The Arabic caption reads: "Parts of the clashes with the Nusayri army (Nusayri is a derogative term for Alawites) in south eastern Raqqa." (militant photo via AP)

On Friday, the Russian military said its air force is now focusing on supporting the Syrian army's offensive in Deir el-Zour. Syrian government forces control around half the city and a nearby air base, both of which are besieged by the IS militants.

Col. Gen. Sergei Rudskoi of the military's General Staff said the Russian two-year campaign backing the Syrian government has allowed President Bashar Assad's forces to quadruple the territory under their control.

At a news conference in Moscow, he said the area under Syrian government control has increased from 19,000 to 78,000 square kilometers (7,335 to 30,115 square miles) since Russia launched its air campaign in September 2015. Russian pilots have flown more than 28,000 missions since the campaign's launch, he said.

Rudskoi said Syrian government troops are advancing from three directions to encircle Deir el-Zour. "Breaking the blockade of the city will mark the defeat of the most capable part of the IS in Syria," he said.

The IS attack Friday set the government back about 30 kilometers (19 miles) to the west of Maadan and allowed the militants to recapture a number of villages in the areas they lost to advancing government troops last month. Maadan lies halfway between Raqqa city and Deir el-Zour city, which is divided between government- and IS-controlled areas.

The Observatory called the IS attack its biggest in southeastern Raqqa. It said at least 34 Syrian soldiers and 12 militants were killed.

IS media channels posted pictures of the attacked Syrian army convoy and bodies of over a dozen soldiers. Maadan lies along the southern banks of the Euphrates River and is 60 kilometers (37 miles) east of the city of Raqqa, where the U.S-backed Syrian opposition forces are separately battling IS.

The militants have unsuccessfully tried to push back against government advances in central Syrian town of Akerbat. Russian officials said Syrian troops have encircled IS militants in the town and Gen. Sergei Surovikin, the head of Russia's military in Syria, said controlling Akerbat would allow the Syrian government to take full control of the oil and gas fields north of Palmyra.

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Associated Press writer Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow contributed to this report.

This undated image posted online on Thursday, Aug 24, 2017, by supporters of the Islamic State militant group on an anonymous photo sharing website, purports to show a convoy of vehicles of IS driving in south eastern Raqqa, Syria. A Syria monitoring group says Islamic State militants have successfully pushed back government forces advancing on one of the last towns still in IS hands in the province of Raqqa. The Arabic caption reads: "Soldiers of the Islamic Caliphate set out to attack locations of the Nusayri army (Nusayri is a derogative term for Alawites) in south eastern Raqqa." (militant photo via AP)
MADRID (AP) - Spain's prime minister on Friday dismissed criticism about the lack of coordination between Spanish national authorities and those in the widely self-governed Catalonia region during the attacks by an Islamic extremist cell that killed 15 people last week.

The probe into the Aug. 17-18 attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils has suggested that the alleged cell leader's ties to other jihadists and his criminal record for drug trafficking may have been missed because Catalan regional police didn't have information that was in the hands of central authorities.

A judge had granted permission for police investigators to tap Abdelbaki Es Satty's mobile phone line in a 2005 investigation into an Al-Qaeda cell in northeastern Spain, newspaper ABC reported Friday, publishing leaked court documents, but the conversations didn't provide enough evidence to indict him.

Muslim worshipers pray for the victims of the Barcelona van attacks at the main mosque in Madrid, Spain, Friday Aug. 25, 2017. The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the attacks on Aug. 17-18 in Barcelona and Cambrils that left 15 dead and more than 120 injured. Eight suspects are dead and four more under investigation, two of them in jail. (AP Photo/Paul White)

Other concerns have been raised by police officers' unions, who have denounced a decision by pro-independence regional politicians to show a "self-sufficient" Catalonia and exclude other experts in the initial stages of the investigation into the attacks.

The Catalan government has denied the accusations.

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said Friday the investigation into the attacks will be coordinated from now on by the Interior Ministry's organized crime and terrorism intelligence center, CITCO, after representatives of intelligence agencies and police forces met Thursday with judicial authorities at the country's National Court, which handles terrorism cases.

"From the initial stages, the coordination has been fluid and constant, both at the political decision level and at the technical level of police responsibilities," Rajoy told reporters.

Spain will also propose new measures to improve European Union coordination in fighting terrorism during a summit in Paris next week with leaders from Germany, Italy and France, Rajoy said. He didn't elaborate.

The Islamic State group has claimed the attacks, Spain's deadliest in more than one decade, which also left over 120 people wounded. Eight suspects are dead - including Es Satty, the imam believed to have recruited the other alleged members of the cell. Four more are under investigation, two of them in jail.

"We have suffered strikes like these in our recent history and some even more terrible," said Rajoy adding that "our democracy has defeated decades of ETA's terrorism and that of jihadists."

ETA is a militant group that sought independence for its Basque homeland through violent strikes that killed 829 people until it declared a permanent cease-fire in 2011.

But in the past decade and a half, Islamic extremism has slowly replaced the Basque insurgency as the focus of law enforcement and intelligence agencies, especially after the 2004 attack by al-Qaida inspired bombers who killed 191 people in coordinated assaults on Madrid's commuter trains.

Since then, the arrest of nearly 800 people for suspected links to extremism in 246 operations against jihadism has prevented new strikes, Rajoy said Friday.

He also stressed that political unity, police coordination and international cooperation are "the most important tools to defeat terrorists." He said his conservative government is ready to change laws "in order to fight the new forms of jihadist terrorism."

Rajoy is joining King Felipe VI and national and regional politicians for a massive rally Saturday evening in Barcelona to reject violence. The march will be led by the taxi drivers, emergency workers and ordinary people who helped victims in the initial moments after the attack.

The rally will follow the "No Tinc Por" slogan, which means "I'm not afraid" in the Catalan language.

Mayor Ada Colau urged citizens to take part until "the streets of Barcelona are overflowing with people."

Also Friday, Catalan lawmakers unanimously condemned the vehicle attacks by holding a minute of silence at the regional parliament. At the main mosque in Madrid, worshippers prayed for the victims of the attacks.

Politicians and officials hold a minute of silence to commemorate the recent attacks that left many killed and wounded at the Parliament of Catalonia in Barcelona, Spain, Friday, Aug. 25, 2017. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Catalonia regional President Carles Puigdemont applauds prior of a minute of silence to commemorate the recent attack sthat left many killed and wounded at the Parliament of Catalonia in Barcelona, Spain, Friday, Aug. 25, 2017. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Muslim worshipers pray for the victims of the Barcelona van attacks at the main mosque in Madrid, Spain, Friday Aug. 25, 2017. A week ago Thursday, a van mowed down people walking on Barcelona's famed Las Ramblas promenade, killing 13 people and injuring more than 100 others. The eventual death toll was 15, including a woman killed in Cambrils and a man carjacked by one of the suspects. (AP Photo/Paul White)

Two boys stand to pray with other Muslim worshipers for the victims of the Barcelona van attacks at the main mosque in Madrid, Spain, Friday Aug. 25, 2017. The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the attacks on Aug. 17-18 in Barcelona and Cambrils that left 15 dead and more than 120 injured. Eight suspects are dead and four more under investigation, two of them in jail. (AP Photo/Paul White)
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) - Taiwan's China-friendly former president, Ma Ying-jeou, has been found not guilty of leaking classified information concerning a senior opposition legislator.

Taipei District Court spokesman Liao Chien-yu said Friday the court found the charges against Ma either lacked evidence or that his actions were legal.

The 67-year-old U.S.-educated legal scholar was credited with improving relations with China, Taiwan's chief political and military rival, during his two terms from 2008 to 2016.

Those relations have suffered a sharp downturn under Ma's successor, Tsai Ing-wen, who has refused to endorse Beijing's view that Taiwan is part of Chinese territory.

Ma issued a statement commenting on the verdict, saying he hoped it would set a precedent allowing presidents to serve their terms without having to worry about suffering "pointless entanglements" after leaving office.
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) - Prosecutors oppose U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez's bid to have the judge in his corruption trial alter the trial schedule so he can be present for important votes in Washington.

The New Jersey Democrat made the request Thursday in a filing that mentions potential votes in September on raising the federal debt limit and approving a spending deal to avoid a government shutdown. Opening statements in his trial are scheduled for Sept. 6.

"As the recent vote on whether to repeal the Affordable Care Act demonstrated, the Senate is divided by razor-thin margins on consequential legislation, making Senator Menendez's absence from any particular vote potentially determinative," his motion stated.

FILE - In this Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017 file photo, Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., speaks during a news conference, in Union Beach, N.J. Menendez has asked the federal judge in his upcoming corruption trial to alter the trial schedule so he can be present for important Senate votes in Washington. The Democrat made the request Thursday, Aug. 24, in a filing that mentions potential votes in September on raising the federal debt limit and approving a spending deal to avoid a government shutdown. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)

In a response filed Friday, the government accused Menendez of using his position to "pick and choose the dates on which his criminal trial will be conducted.

"This case is not about the Affordable Care Act, the debt ceiling, or the balance of power in the Senate," prosecutors wrote. "The political consequences of defendant Menendez's trial or criminal conviction should not be considered in the courtroom. This Court has consistently recognized that defendant Menendez is not entitled to special treatment because of his status. It should maintain that principle here."

U.S. District Judge William Walls is expected to rule in the next few days. Walls already rejected Menendez's request to delay the start of the trial until a Senate recess in October.

In an interview with The Associated Press last week, Menendez said he would seek to balance the demands of attending his trial and tending to his Senate business.

"I want the jury to understand that I fervently believe in my innocence," he said. "If there is a moment where there is a critical vote, I have the constitutional right to go ahead and cast a vote and not be at the trial. I also have a constitutional right to be at the trial. So I will decide which of those constitutional rights I will exercise at any given moment."

The 63-year-old Menendez and Florida eye doctor Salomon Melgen are charged with multiple fraud and bribery counts. Prosecutors say Melgen donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to help Menendez's political campaign and legal defense fund, and paid for expensive trips for the senator in exchange for help with business disputes.

Both men have denied there was any bribery arrangement.

Menendez and Melgen each face three counts of honest services fraud, the most serious charge that carries a maximum 20-year sentence.
MADRID (AP) - The Latest on the investigation into the Spain attacks (all times local):

6:55 p.m.

The imam of Madrid's main mosque has condemned the deadly attacks last week in and near Barcelona. He says that "those who carry out this kind of act represent neither Islam nor Muslims."

Muslim worshipers pray for the victims of the Barcelona van attacks at the main mosque in Madrid, Spain, Friday Aug. 25, 2017. The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the attacks on Aug. 17-18 in Barcelona and Cambrils that left 15 dead and more than 120 injured. Eight suspects are dead and four more under investigation, two of them in jail. (AP Photo/Paul White)

During Friday prayers, Housam Khoja spoke in Arabic and Spanish so that everybody could understand his condemnation. The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the attacks that killed 15 people.

After Friday's ceremony in the Spanish capital, the director of the Islamic Cultural Center, Sami El Mushtawi, insisted that Islam is a peaceful religion and apologized for the acts of a few Muslims. He also pleaded for tolerance, saying that in recent days Muslims have been assaulted in Madrid, Granada and elsewhere.

Spain had almost 2 million Muslim residents at the end of last year, most of them Spaniards.

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2:40 p.m.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy says he will propose new measures to improve the European Union's coordination in fighting terrorism at a meeting next week.

Rajoy will join the leaders of Germany and Italy Monday at a meeting hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris. He gave no details of the proposals he will make.

Rajoy stressed Friday that political unity, police coordination and international cooperation are "the most important tools to defeat terrorists" and said that his government is ready to change laws "in order to fight the new forms of jihadi terrorism."

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the attacks in Spain's northeastern Catalonia region last week that killed 15 people.

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2:25 p.m.

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has dismissed criticism of the coordination between Spanish national authorities and those in the widely self-governed Catalonia region before, during and after the attacks that killed 15 people last week.

The probe into the Aug. 17-18 attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils has suggested that ties of the alleged cell leader to other extremist cells and a criminal record for drug trafficking may have been missed because Catalan regional police didn't have information that was in the hands of central authorities.

Rajoy told reporters Friday that "the coordination has been fluid and constant, both at the political decision level and at the technical level of police responsibilities."

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2:05 p.m.

Barcelona's mayor Ada Colau has urged citizens to join a "massive rally" on Saturday to show their wholehearted rejection of violence.

Following a week dominated by the response to the deadly attacks in and near Barcelona, Colau told reporters she wanted the "streets of Barcelona to be overflown by people."

The march will follow the "No Tinc Por" slogan, which means "I'm not afraid" in the local Catalan language. That message has become a unifying response for locals in the aftermath of the attacks that left 15 dead in Aug. 17-18.

Taxi drivers, emergency workers and ordinary citizens who helped in the early hours will head the march, followed by authorities, Colau said.

King Felipe VI, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and national and regional politicians have announced plans to join the march.

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1:10 p.m.

Catalan lawmakers have unanimously condemned last week's attacks in and around Barcelona, holding a minute of silence at a special meeting of the regional parliament.

Speaker Carme Forcadell on Friday read a declaration signed by all political parties. She said citizens responded to the "brutal attacks" by showing the "maturity to distinguish between the spurious use of religions as a source of violent extremism and the peaceful coexistence among different religious identities."

Regional president Carles Puigdemont, Barcelona mayor Ada Colau and diplomats joined lawmakers in a minute of silence.

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the attacks on Aug. 17-18 in Barcelona and Cambrils that left 15 dead and more than 120 injured. Eight suspects are dead and four more under investigation, two of them in jail.

Muslim worshipers pray for the victims of the Barcelona van attacks at the main mosque in Madrid, Spain, Friday Aug. 25, 2017. A week ago Thursday, a van mowed down people walking on Barcelona's famed Las Ramblas promenade, killing 13 people and injuring more than 100 others. The eventual death toll was 15, including a woman killed in Cambrils and a man carjacked by one of the suspects. (AP Photo/Paul White)

Catalonia regional President Carles Puigdemont applauds prior of a minute of silence to commemorate the recent attack sthat left many killed and wounded at the Parliament of Catalonia in Barcelona, Spain, Friday, Aug. 25, 2017. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on President Donald Trump, Republican Party (all times local):

8:30 a.m.

President Donald Trump is criticizing a Tennessee Republican who questioned his "competence" and "stability."

White House Chief of Staff John Kelly stands in the door of Air Force One and watches President Donald Trump, as he arrives Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2017, in Reno, Nev. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Trump says on Twitter: "Strange statement by Bob Corker considering that he is constantly asking me whether or not he should run again in '18." Trump adds, "Tennessee not happy!"

Corker said last week that Trump hadn't "been able to demonstrate the stability nor some of the competence that he needs to" in dealing with crises like the violent protests in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Corker hasn't said yet whether he'll seek re-election in 2018. He's the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and was once considered to be Trump's secretary of state.

The White House on Thursday called Corker's statement about the president "a ridiculous and outrageous claim."

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6:45 a.m.

President Donald Trump says his new White House chief of staff John Kelly "is doing a fantastic job."

The president paid Kelly the compliment in an early morning tweet Friday.

"General John Kelly is doing a fantastic job as Chief of Staff," Trump said. "There is tremendous spirit and talent in the W.H. Don't believe the Fake News."

Kelly, a retired general, took over for former Republican Party chairman Reince Priebus (ryns PREE'-bus), who was ousted in a shakeup at the Executive Mansion earlier this summer.

Last week, chief strategist Steve Bannon was dismissed, and two others - Press Secretary Sean Spicer and White House communications director Anthony Scaramucc - were ousted earlier.

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3:39 a.m.

Fanning the flames of GOP discord, President Donald Trump is accusing Republican congressional leaders botching efforts to avoid an unprecedented default on the national debt. "Could have been so easy-now a mess!" Trump tweeted.

The president's sharp words underscored the perilous state of play as Congress heads into the fall without a clear plan to take care of its most important piece of business: If it does not increase the nation's $19.9 trillion borrowing limit, the government could be unable to pay its bills, jarring financial markets and leading to other harsh consequences.

Trump unleashed his latest criticism of the GOP's congressional leadership in a series of morning tweets Thursday that also included a rebuke of Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for his inability to get the Senate to repeal the Obama health care law. The harsh posts were fresh evidence of the president's fraying relations with fellow Republicans just when the White House and Capitol Hill most need to be working in sync.

Associated Press writer Adam Beam in Louisville, Kentucky, contributed to this report.
United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit. JUNIOR ALFREDO MEDINA ACOSTA, Petitioner, v. U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL, Respondent. No. 16-16077 Decided: August 23, 2017

Before MARTIN, FAY and ANDERSON, Circuit Judges.

Junior Alfredo Medina Acosta petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) final order affirming the denial by the Immigration Judge (IJ) of his application for asylum, withholding of removal, and Convention Against Torture (CAT) relief. We deny the petition in part and dismiss in part.

I. BACKGROUND

Acosta, a native and citizen of Honduras, entered the United States without inspection in January 2014. Border patrol agents encountered Acosta soon after his entry and he expressed no fear of return. In a later credible-fear interview, however, Acosta informed immigration officials that he feared returning to Honduras due to threats from a man named Jose Antonio Sarmiento, who blamed Acosta's father for the death of his nephew and who had killed Acosta's grandfather, had his cousin killed, and had shot at Acosta. He claimed Sarmiento was connected to a man named Lucio Rivera, who was related to a Honduran legislative representative.

In February 2014, Acosta was issued a Notice to Appear by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), stating he was removable under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA)  212(a)(7)(A)(i)(1), 8 U.S.C.  1182(a)(7)(A)(i)(1), for being an alien who at the time of admission did not possess a valid entry document. Acosta conceded removability as charged. In November 2014, Acosta filed an application for asylum, withholding of removal, and CAT relief, based on membership in a particular social group. He stated he and his family had been targeted by members of the Sarmiento family, because they wanted ownership and control of Acosta's uncle's land. He also submitted evidence regarding multiple attacks on his family members.

At the merits hearing, Acosta testified he came to the United States, because he was afraid of being murdered by Sarmiento. In 2002, Sarmiento began harming his family, because of a dispute over land purchased by Acosta's uncle in 2001. Sarmiento had wanted to purchase the land but Acosta's uncle had purchased it instead. Acosta testified Sarmiento wanted to get even and Sarmiento had tried to kill his uncle but had not succeeded. R. at 151. Sarmiento wanted to kill Acosta and his father due to their familial relationship with his uncle.

Acosta testified that, in 2002, Sarmiento shot at his uncle and aunt. They reported the crime but the police did not arrest Sarmiento. Sarmiento moved to the United Sates; upon his return in 2008, he shot and killed Acosta's grandfather. Acosta's family reported the crime but there was no investigation. Acosta believed Sarmiento was involved with the police, because he had a friend who worked with the police. R. at 157. Later in 2008, Sarmiento shot at Acosta but missed. Afraid of making things worse, Acosta did not report it to the police. He dropped out of school and could not go out, because he was afraid of being killed.

In 2010, Acosta's father was shot at but was not wounded; his father did not see who fired the shot but Acosta testified his father did not have problems with anyone other than Sarmiento. Later that year, Sarmiento and others, dressed as military, shot and wounded Acosta's uncle and cousin. In 2011, Sarmiento hired an assassin to kill a younger male cousin of Acosta. In 2013, Sarmiento was arrested and went to trial for the deaths of Acosta's grandfather and cousin; he was found not guilty.

The IJ asked Acosta about his credible-fear interview, in which Acosta said Sarmiento wanted to harm him because he blamed Acosta's father for killing Sarmiento's nephew. Acosta denied saying this, but he later conceded that he might have said that and admitted his father had been accused in the death of Sarmiento's nephew. Acosta testified he did not mention the land dispute during his credible-fear interview because he was nervous. Acosta also admitted he moved to his aunt's house in the capital for three months and he was not harmed during this time, but Acosta stated it was because he did not leave her house.

The IJ denied Acosta's claims for asylum, withholding of removal, and CAT relief. While the IJ found Acosta was not credible based on the differing reasons he gave for Sarmiento's attacks, the IJ assumed the reason for the attacks was the land dispute, because Acosta had provided corroborating evidence. The IJ found Acosta had shown he was a member of a particular social group defined as male relatives of his family from the root of his grandfather on the paternal side on down. R. at 70. The IJ found, however, that Acosta and his family had been targeted by criminals in pursuit of their criminal activity and this did not suffice to show persecution on account of a protected ground. Acosta's family was involved in an interfamily dispute and private violence of this type had been held not to be on account of a particular social group. Although Acosta had established past harm, he failed to show past persecution, because there was no nexus with a protected ground.

The IJ also determined Acosta failed to meet his burden to show he could not safely relocate within Honduras. Acosta spent three months in the capital without being harmed and Sarmiento had not harmed any members of Acosta's family within the past two years. The IJ did not accept Acosta's contention that his family members were virtually prisoners in their own homes and noted they were farming and raising cattle to some extent. The IJ found Acosta did not establish he could not relocate reasonably within Honduras away from the villages where the harm took place and that he would be harmed if he moved elsewhere. Acosta's claim that Rivera had government connections and would find him if he relocated was speculative and unsubstantiated. The IJ further found, because the police arrested Sarmiento and he stood trial, the government did not turn a blind eye to the harm nor was it unwilling to protect Acosta.

The IJ concluded Acosta failed to show past persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution based on one of the protected grounds and thus did not meet his burden for asylum. Acosta therefore could not meet the higher burden of eligibility for withholding of removal. As to Acosta's CAT claim, the IJ noted Acosta gave no specific testimony as to this claim and found there was no evidence indicating the government of Honduras would either torture Acosta directly or acquiesce to his torture. The IJ therefore concluded Acosta had not met his burden for CAT relief.

Acosta appealed to the BIA and argued the IJ erred in denying his asylum application. Acosta made no argument concerning the denial of his application for CAT protection. The BIA affirmed the IJ's decision. In concluding that Acosta had not established eligibility for asylum, the BIA did not address Acosta's credibility and assumed he was credible. It agreed with the IJ that Acosta did not demonstrate past persecution on account of a protected ground, because he did not show the harm he suffered was on account of his membership in a particular social group. Even though Acosta's proposed social group might qualify as a particular social group under the INA, the BIA agreed the record did not establish the harm Acosta feared was or would be on account of his membership in that group. The harm, which arose from a land dispute and Sarmiento's purported desire to retaliate for the death of a relative, was the result of criminal activity. Although there might be scenarios in which a family owning land could be victims of persecution as a family, in this case, Acosta had not shown Sarmiento had singled out his family or continued to pursue them in order to make an example of them in the town.

Because Acosta did not show past persecution, he had the burden to show he could not reasonably relocate. The BIA agreed with the IJ's conclusion that Acosta failed to meet his burden, because no male family member had been harmed for at least two years and Acosta's speculation that Rivera may have government connections was insufficient to establish the possibility of future harm was country-wide. The BIA also concluded Acosta failed to show the Honduran authorities were unable or unwilling to protect him and his family.

Because Acosta was unable to demonstrate eligibility for asylum, he was precluded from qualifying for withholding of removal, which required a higher burden of proof. The BIA noted Acosta had not meaningfully challenged the IJ's denial of his CAT claim but agreed with the IJ that Acosta had not shown it was more likely than not he would be tortured by or with the acquiescence of the government if returned to Honduras. The BIA dismissed Acosta's appeal.

II. DISCUSSION

A. Claim for Asylum and Withholding of Removal

On petition for review, Acosta argues the IJ and BIA improperly concluded he failed to show his membership in a particular social group was a central reason for past or future persecution. He also argues the IJ and BIA erred in finding he could safely and reasonably relocate within Honduras and in concluding he failed to show the Honduran government was unable or unwilling to protect him.

We review only the decision of the BIA, except to the extent the BIA expressly adopts the IJ's decision. Najjar v. Ashcroft, 257 F.3d 1262, 1284 (11th Cir. 2001). Where the BIA agrees with the IJ's reasoning, we also will review the IJ's decision to that extent. Ayala v. U.S. Att'y Gen., 605 F.3d 941, 948 (11th Cir. 2010). Because the BIA issued its own opinion in this case, we will review the BIA's opinion. Najjar, 257 F.3d at 1284. Further, because the BIA explicitly agreed with several findings of the IJ, we may review the decisions of the both the BIA and the IJ as to those issues. Ayala, 605 F.3d at 948.

We review legal determinations by the BIA de novo. Id. Factual determinations are reviewed under the substantial-evidence test, requiring us to affirm the decision if it is supported by reasonable, substantial, and probative evidence on the record considered as a whole. Id. (quoting Silva v. U.S. Att'y Gen., 448 F.3d 1229, 1236 (11th Cir. 2006)). We view the evidence in the light most favorable to the BIA's decision and draw all reasonable inferences in favor of that decision. Rodriguez v. U.S. Att'y Gen., 735 F.3d 1302, 1308 (11th Cir. 2013). We only will reverse when the record compels it. Id.

The Attorney General or Secretary of DHS has discretion to grant asylum if an alien meets the definition of a refugee in the INA. INA  208(b)(1), 8 U.S.C.  1158(b)(1). A refugee is:

any person who is outside any country of such person's nationality or, in the case of a person having no nationality, is outside any country in which such person last habitually resided, and who is unable or unwilling to return to, and is unable or unwilling to avail himself or herself of the protection of, that country because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.

INA  101(a)(42)(A), 8 U.S.C.  1101(a)(42)(A). The asylum applicant carries the burden of proving statutory refugee status. 8 C.F.R.  208.13(a); Najjar, 257 F.3d at 1284. To establish eligibility, the alien must, with specific and credible evidence, establish (1) past persecution on account of a statutorily listed factor, or (2) a well-founded fear that the statutorily listed factor will cause future persecution. 8 C.F.R.  208.13(b)(1), (2).

To establish asylum based on past persecution, the applicant must prove (1) that [ ]he was persecuted, and (2) that the persecution was on account of a protected ground. De Santamaria v. U.S. Att'y Gen., 525 F.3d 999, 1007 (11th Cir. 2008). If an applicant fails to demonstrate past persecution, he may still establish asylum based on a well-founded fear of future persecution. 8 C.F.R.  208.13(b)(2); De Santamaria, 525 F.3d at 1007. The applicant may prove eligibility by

demonstrating (1) a subjectively genuine and objectively reasonable fear of persecution that is (2) on account of a protected ground. The subjective component is generally satisfied by the applicant's credible testimony that he or she genuinely fears persecution. The objective prong can be fulfilled by establishing that the applicant has a good reason to fear future persecution.

De Santamaria, 525 F.3d at 1007 (citations and internal quotation marks omitted). An applicant does not have a well-founded fear of prosecution if [he] could avoid persecution by relocating to another part of [his] country of nationality  if under all the circumstances it would be reasonable to expect [him] to do so. 8 C.F.R.  208.13(b)(2)(ii). Where an applicant has not established past persecution, he bears the burden of showing it would be unreasonable for him to relocate, unless the persecution is by a government or is government-sponsored. Id.  208.13(b)(3)(i).

To establish persecution on account of a protected ground, an applicant must show race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group was or will be at least one central reason for persecuting the applicant. INA  208(b)(1)(B)(i), 8 U.S.C.  1158(b)(1)(B)(i). [E]vidence that  is consistent with acts of private violence  or that merely shows that a person has been the victim of criminal activity, does not constitute evidence of persecution based on a statutorily protected ground. Rodriguez, 735 F.3d at 1310 (first alteration in original) (quoting Ruiz v. U.S. Att'y Gen., 440 F.3d. 1247, 1258 (11th Cir. 2006)). To be entitled to withholding of removal, an alien must establish that his life or freedom would be threatened on account of his race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group, which means that it is more likely than not he will be persecuted or tortured on account of a protected ground upon being returned to his country. Sanchez Jimenez v. U.S. Att'y Gen., 492 F.3d 1223, 1238 (11th Cir. 2007). Where an applicant fails to meet the burden for asylum, he necessarily cannot meet the more stringent burden for withholding of removal. Amaya-Artunduaga v. U.S. Att'y Gen., 463 F.3d 1247, 1249 n.3 (11th Cir. 2006).

Acosta testified Sarmiento wanted to harm him and members of his family, because his uncle had purchased land Sarmiento wanted and Sarmiento wanted to get even. R. at 149-51. Evidence attached to Acosta's asylum application also described how his uncle and cousin were shot at, because of personal enmity over some lands and a personal feud. R. at 282-85, 312. Acosta also testified his father had been accused in the death of Sarmiento's nephew. Substantial evidence therefore supports the determination that this is a personal feud and Sarmiento's actions constitute acts of private violence and criminal activity. See Rodriguez, 735 F.3d at 1310.

The fact that the targets of this private dispute happen to be members of a family that could qualify as a particular social group does not compel the conclusion that the resulting harm is on account of such membership; nothing in the record shows Sarmiento was motivated by any animus toward the Acosta family independent of his personal feud with them over the land or over his nephew's death. Acosta did not deny that if his uncle sold Sarmiento the land, it might stop Sarmiento from targeting his relatives. Accordingly, the record does not compel the conclusion Acosta's membership in a particular social group was or will be at least one central reason for any past or future persecution. Id. at 1308.

Although Acosta tried to connect Sarmiento to Rivera, who he claimed was related to someone in the Honduran government, Acosta could only speculate as to the connection. Acosta admitted he lived with his aunt in the capital for three months without being harmed and Sarmiento had not harmed a member of Acosta's family in two years. Although Acosta testified his family members in Honduras only survived by staying inside their houses locked up and hired people to work for them, Acosta testified that his father was not wealthy and managed a herd of cattle and thus was able to go about his business. R. at 176-77. Acosta also testified his mentally-ill uncle went outside and had not been harmed by Sarmiento. Substantial evidence therefore supports the BIA's and IJ's determination that Acosta could reasonably and safely relocate within Honduras. See Rodriguez, 735 F.3d at 1308.

Finally, despite Acosta's claim Sarmiento was involved with the police, he conceded Sarmiento was arrested and tried for the murders of his grandfather and cousin. As noted above, Acosta could only speculate Sarmiento was connected to Rivera and there was evidence in the record that Rivera, a drug dealer and criminal, had also been arrested. The record does not compel the conclusion the Honduran government was unable or unwilling to protect Acosta. See id.

B. Claim for CAT Relief

In his petition for review, Acosta also argues he established entitlement to CAT relief, because it is more likely than not that, upon his return to Honduras, he will be tortured with the consent or acquiescence of the government. We lack jurisdiction to consider a claim raised in a petition for review unless the petitioner has exhausted his administrative remedies with respect thereto. Amaya-Artunduaga, 463 F.3d at 1250. Issues not reached by the BIA are not properly before us. Gonzalez v. U.S. Att'y Gen., 820 F.3d 399, 403 (11th Cir. 2016). Even though the BIA addressed Acosta's CAT claim, he failed to raise the issue before the BIA and therefore it is unexhausted. See Amaya-Artunduaga, 463 F.3d at 1250. Neither the notice of appeal to the BIA nor Acosta's brief to the BIA challenges the denial of his CAT claim. The petition for review is therefore dismissed for lack of jurisdiction as to Acosta's claim for CAT relief.

DENIED IN PART; DISMISSED IN PART.

FOOTNOTES

. He also alleged persecution based on political opinion, but that ground is not at issue on appeal.

. Additionally, to the extent Acosta makes arguments about the IJ's credibility finding, whether his past mistreatment rose to the level of persecution, or whether his proposed particular social group actually qualified as one, these issues are not before us, because the BIA did not reach them. Gonzalez, 820 F.3d at 403.

PER CURIAM:
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) - A North Carolina public school system has revised its dress code to prohibit the Confederate flag, Ku Klux Klan symbols and swastikas.

Local news outlets report the Durham Public Schools board voted unanimously Thursday to make the change. The Herald-Sun of Durham reports that board members had expressed support for the change during a work session last week. Durham, home to Duke University, is where protesters toppled a Confederate statue in front of the old county courthouse Aug. 14 following a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, that erupted into deadly violence.

"These things, historically, were meant for hate, or at some point in history, meant hatred," board chairman Mike Lee said.

In addition to the dress code, the board also voted 7-0 to remove the name of Durham industrialist and philanthropist Julian Shakespeare Carr from the middle school building at Durham School of the Arts. The building once housed an all-white high school.

At the 1913 dedication of the Confederate memorial at UNC Chapel Hill, Carr, a Confederate Civil War veteran, spoke about the purity of the Anglo-Saxon race and detailed how he beat an African-American woman because she had insulted a white woman. Protesters gathered at the memorial Tuesday to call on officials to take it down.

Workers began removing some of the plaques bearing Carr's name from the building Friday. Durham Public Schools Superintendent Bert L'Homme said the administration will review the names of all of its schools and school buildings.

Carr supported local black leaders and provided financial support to help launch what's now known as N.C. Central University, a historically black college also located in Durham.

"But for all of his contributions, the values he espoused and the brutal actions he claimed to take in no way reflect the safe and inclusive community that we are building in Durham Public Schools," L'Homme said. "We are under no requirement to continue to name any of our school buildings after white supremacists."

The neighboring Orange County and Chapel Hill-Carrboro school systems have issued similar bans.

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Information from: The Herald-Sun, http://www.herald-sun.com
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) - A Swedish court has placed a Syrian asylum-seeker suspected of committing war crimes in Syria in pre-trial detention.

The court south of Stockholm jailed 33-year-old Mohammad Abdullah for two weeks Friday and said formal charges should be filed before Sept. 7.

The case relates to crimes allegedly committed in January 2014. Prosecutor Henrik Attorp said that Abdullah, as a fighter with Syrian government forces against the Islamic State group, posed in front of dead or wounded combatants knowing that it was intended as propaganda. He said other photos could emerge, including one of a severed head.

Attorp told Swedish radio Friday Abdullah had violated the victims' "personal dignity" under international law. Abdullah said he was ordered to pose.

Abdullah arrived in Sweden 2015 as an asylum-seeker, according to court documents.
MOSCOW (AP) - The chief of the Russian military's branch for protection from chemical weapons says his troops have dismantled two chemical weapons facilities in areas freed from militants in Syria.

Maj. Gen. Igor Kirillov didn't name the locations, saying only that Russia will provide the data to the international chemical weapons watchdog OPCW.

Kirillov said Friday the facilities dismantled this month were the last two of the 27 chemical weapons sites in Syria, according to Russian news wires. The OPCW was monitoring the destruction of Syria's chemical arsenals under a 2013 U.S.-Russia-brokered deal.

In April, the U.S. struck a Syrian base after accusing Bashar Assad's government of killing over 90 people in a chemical attack. Assad has denied involvement, and Russia has claimed the attack was staged by the militants.
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) - Ten civilians, including a child, are dead after a raid by foreign and Somali forces on a farm in southern Somalia, a deputy governor said Friday as officials displayed victims' bloodied bodies in the capital.

The farmers were killed "one by one" after soldiers stormed the farm in Barire village early Friday, the deputy governor of Lower Shabelle region, Ali Nur Mohamed, told reporters in Mogadishu.

A child and a woman are among the dead, the official said, calling the attack a "real genocide."

It was not clear which foreign forces were blamed for the attack. The U.S. military has stepped up efforts this year against the Somalia-based extremist group al-Shabab, often in support of Somali forces.

The U.S. Africa Command did not immediately respond to questions. But in a reply to a comment on Twitter about the raid and "suspected US air strikes," the U.S. Africa Command said "the U.S. has not conducted any strikes in the last 24 hours."

Bodies of civilians, especially those killed in misdirected attacks, often are taken from remote areas of Somalia to Mogadishu to draw media attention.

"These local farmers were attacked by foreign troops while looking after their crops," the deputy governor told reporters. "The troops could have arrested them because they were unarmed but instead shot them one by one mercilessly."

Al-Shabab, which has become the deadliest Islamic extremist group in Africa, continues to hold vast areas of rural Somalia after being chased out of major cities in recent years by a multinational African Union force and Somali forces. The group continues to threaten the fragile central government and carry out deadly attacks in neighboring countries, notably Kenya.

Earlier this year, President Donald Trump approved expanded military operations against al-Shabab, including more aggressive airstrikes and considering parts of southern Somalia areas of active hostilities.

The U.S. and Somalia in recent weeks said strikes have killed al-Shabab leaders responsible for planning and executing deadly attacks in Mogadishu, where high-profile areas such as hotels and military checkpoints are often targeted with deadly bombings.

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Associated Press videographer Mohamed Sheikh Nor in Mogadishu contributed.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - In a story Aug. 25 about a meeting of relief workers and U.S. and foreign military officials, The Associated Press reported erroneously the number of Syrians who have fled their homeland since a Civil War began. The number is 5 million, not five.

A corrected version of the story is below:

UN relief workers, military discuss humanitarian crisis

Relief workers, U.S. and foreign military officials, and field experts are meeting at Brown University to figure out how to work better together as the world faces the largest humanitarian crisis since 1945

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - Relief workers, U.S. and foreign military officials, and field experts are meeting at Brown University to figure out how to work better together as the world faces the largest humanitarian crisis since 1945.

The two-day workshop began Friday, and is drawing representatives from the United Nations, the U.S. Agency for International Development, universities including Harvard and Yale, the International Committee of the Red Cross and other humanitarian organizations.

In March, U.N. humanitarian chief Stephen O'Brien said the world faces the largest humanitarian crisis since the organization's founding, with more than 20 million people in four countries facing starvation and famine.

Only last week, the number of South Sudanese refugees fleeing violence and sheltering in Uganda reached 1 million. Most of the refugees are women and children. In the Middle East, an estimated 400,000 Syrians have been killed in their country's civil war and more than 5 million Syrians have fled their homeland.

Dr. Adam Levine, director of the Humanitarian Innovation Initiative at Brown, said humanitarian organizations and militaries are increasingly finding themselves caught up in the same emergencies. Responding together makes sense in some instances; while in others, it's more about co-existing in the same place while each fulfills a separate mission, he said.

Levine has responded to humanitarian emergencies around the world, including the Ebola epidemic, and the initiative is hosting the meeting.

"Each different humanitarian emergency has its own complexities with regard to civilian-military coordination," he said. "That's why it's so important to bring together leaders from the humanitarian, military and U.N. communities, to develop guidelines for dealing with these very complex situations."

The group will discuss pandemics, how to use military capabilities in a humanitarian response, the challenges in providing relief in large cities, climate change, attacks on aid workers and other topics.

The meeting is meant to build on discussions last year at the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island.
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) - A grand jury has decided against charging a North Texas police officer who fatally shot a man who ran over another police officer during a traffic stop.

The Tarrant County District Attorney's Office issued a statement late Thursday saying jurors voted to take no action against Arlington Police Officer Craig Roper. He fatally shot 23-year-old Tavis Crane in February.

The office released dashcam footage Thursday. Crane is told to exit the car during the traffic stop because there's a warrant for his arrest. He refuses and puts the car in reverse, running over an officer and ramming her car before pulling forward and running over her a second time.

Roper tried to stop the car through a passenger-side door, but police say Crane wouldn't stop and Roper fired his weapon.
MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) - In Vermont's Green Mountains, a beer company said Friday it has reached a resolution with a snowboard company over use of the slogan "Take a Hike."

Long Trail Brewing Co. sued Burton Corporation on Wednesday, claiming Burton is using the beer company's slogan on its apparel.

Long Trail, based in Bridgewater Corners, Vermont, said it has a federal trademark for "Take a Hike" for apparel, beer and a variety of other goods, such as bumper stickers and keychains. It said in the lawsuit that Burton was using the slogan without Long Trail's consent and sought Burton's profits from that apparel or some other amount deemed by the court and damages.

A label with the slogan "Take a Hike" is displayed on the bottom of a six-pack of Long Trail Brewing Co., beer at Elm Street Market, Friday, Aug. 25, 2017, in Montpelier, Vt. The beer company sued Burton Corporation over use of the slogan on the snowboard company's apparel. Long Trail said Friday the two companies had worked out an amicable resolution. (AP Photo/Lisa Rathke)

"The goal of the lawsuit was to kind of get to an amicable resolution," which was reached Friday, said Drew Vetere, Long Trail's communications manager.

The couple who owns Burton Snowboards said they were "disappointed to see another Vermont company take such an aggressive approach" on what they say is a very common phrase.

"Next time, we would appreciate a phone call -Vermonter to Vermonter," said Jake Burton Carpenter and Donna Carpenter. "We're happy to have it resolved and move on."

Vermont's 272-mile hiking trail was the inspiration for the name of the beer company, which has a silhouette of a backpack carrying hiker as a logo and has been using the "Take a Hike" slogan since the early '90s.

"As a result of Long Trail's efforts and the favorable reputation garnered by Long Trail's products, the trademark Take a Hike has attained substantial goodwill in the marketplace and has become a valuable trade symbol of Long Trail itself, as well as its products and services," the company said in its lawsuit.

The two companies started talking on Thursday, and an agreement was reached Friday, Vetere said.

"Burton has agreed to discontinue their use of 'Take a Hike' on its apparel," Long Trail said in statement.

"Both brands share a mutual respect for each other's role in Vermont culture, and are happy to put this business issue behind them," Long Trail said.
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) - The Latest on a deadly military raid in Somalia (all times local):

10:05 p.m.

Somalia's information ministry is now noting "civilian casualties" in a security operation after at first denying allegations that 10 people, including children, were killed.

Somalis observe bodies which were brought to and displayed in the capital Mogadishu, Somalia Friday, Aug. 25, 2017. A number of civilians are dead after a raid by foreign and Somali forces on a farm in Barire village in southern Somalia, according to the deputy governor of Lower Shabelle region. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

A new and corrected statement says "it appears that there were different security operations" in the area. The original statement said eight al-Shabab extremists were killed in the operation early Friday in southern Somalia.

The U.S. military confirms it supported a Somali army operation and says it will look into the allegations of civilian deaths.

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8:25 p.m.

The U.S. military says it will look into claims that several civilians, including children, were killed in a U.S.-backed operation by Somalia's army.

A statement by the U.S. Africa Command says it is aware of the "civilian casualty allegations" and is conducting an assessment into the situation.

The deputy governor of Somalia's Lower Shabelle region says the raid by foreign and Somali forces on a farm killed 10 civilians, including three children. The bodies have been displayed in the capital, Mogadishu.

Somalia's information ministry says eight al-Shabab extremists were killed in the operation and no civilians were harmed.

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7:55 p.m.

The U.S. military confirms it was supporting Somali forces in an operation in an area where a local official says 10 civilians, including three children, were killed.

The U.S. Africa Command gives no further details on Friday's operation. The U.S. this year has stepped up military efforts against the Somalia-based extremist group al-Shabab.

The deputy governor of Somalia's Lower Shabelle region says the joint raid by foreign and Somali forces on a farm killed the civilians. The bodies were displayed in the capital, Mogadishu.

Somalia's information ministry says eight al-Shabab fighters were killed in the operation and that no civilians were harmed.

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5:30 p.m.

A Somalia official says a raid by foreign and Somali forces on a farm has killed 10 civilians, including a child.

Ali Nur Mohamed, the deputy governor of Lower Shabelle region, told reporters in the Somali capital that the farmers were killed "one by one" after soldiers stormed the farm in Barire village on Friday.

He says a child and a woman are among the dead. He calls the attack a "real genocide."

It is not clear which foreign forces are blamed for the attack. The U.S. military has stepped up efforts this year against the Somalia-based extremist group al-Shabab, often in support of Somali forces.

The U.S. Africa Command did not immediately respond to questions.

Somali officials have displayed the victims' bloodied bodies in the capital, Mogadishu.
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) - Two married journalists in Honduras survived an attack by gunmen who they say wanted to kill them, but police on Friday called the incident a robbery attempt.

The couple's car was hit by bullets late Thursday as they left the offices of the online news site El Libertador, said the son of journalist Johnny Lagos, the site's director who survived the attack unharmed. His wife Lurbin Yadira Cerrato suffered light injuries.

The son, also named Johnny Lagos, said the windshield of the vehicle was shot out as the couple threw themselves out of the way of the gunfire.

"The strangers did not want to rob, they tried to kill me," the elder Lagos said.

The couple had left the news site's offices when Lagos said he got out of the car to buy something and one of three attackers intercepted him. At first he tried to simulate a robbery, asking for his wallet and phone, he said. But then the attacker yelled to his accomplices, "It's him, kill him," Lagos said. "And I heard at least five shots."

The national police force said in a statement the attack on the couple "was a robbery." But the press group Committee for Free Expression described it as "a political attack" in which "this government is trying to silence independent journalists once and for all."

The news site has been critical of possible plans by President Juan Hernandez to run for office again, despite a constitutional prohibition on re-election.

About 70 journalists have been killed in Honduras in the last decade.
OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. (AP) - Two swings cost Dustin Johnson the lead. It wasn't long before Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler caught up to him in The Northern Trust, setting up a weekend of star power in the opening FedEx Cup playoff event.

Johnson, finally looking like the No. 1 player who looked unstoppable in the spring, appeared on the verge of building a big lead at Glen Oaks Club until consecutive tee shots wound up on the wrong holes and forced him to scramble just to escape with bogey.

Fowler made up a five-shot deficit in six holes playing alongside Johnson, making a 15-foot birdie on the last hole for a 66 to join Johnson and Jhonattan Vegas (65) atop the leaderboard. And then Spieth put together a stretch Friday afternoon reminiscent of his British Open victory, minus a shot from the driving range, in a 65.

Spieth began the back nine with five straight birdies, matching his longest birdie streak on the PGA Tour. It ended with a bogey on the par-3 15th when his tee shot rolled back into the water, but then he answered with a 40-foot birdie putt up the slope on the 16th.

Even without his best year with his best club, Spieth has won three times and captured the third leg of the Grand Slam. But his putter doesn't leave him for long.

"Putter has been streaky for me this summer, which is better than just kind of not-so-great, which it was before that," he said. "So I've been able to mentally use one or two good putts to make me feel like I'm putting awesome.

"I got on the good side of the streak on the back nine today."

Spieth made pars from the bunkers on the last two holes to join the others at 6-under 134.

He wasn't alone in running off a string of birdies. Matt Kuchar looked as though he might miss the cut until his caddie encourage him to try to get back to even par. Kuchar ran off four straight birdies and kept right on rolling, ending his round of 64 with eight birdies on the last 10 holes.

Kuchar and two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson (68) were one shot out of the lead.

Watson is at No. 113 in the FedEx Cup, and only the top 100 after The Northern Trust advance to the next playoff event at the TPC Boston. Watson says he won't play the rest of the year once he is eliminating. A big finish this week could delay that another month, a nice problem to have.

Jon Rahm, who played with Johnson and Fowler, had a 68 and was two shots behind along with Justin Rose (68) and Russell Henley (72).

Seventy players made the cut at 2 over par. That included Geoff Ogilvy, who went bunker-to-bunker-to-bunker on his final hole and had to make a 4-foot putt for double bogey. If he had missed, then it would have let 11 players back into the tournament. Among those missing the cut were Hideki Matsuyama, the No. 1 seed going into the playoffs, who three-putted the last hole and missed by one.

The cut ended the season of 13 players, a group that included Presidents Cup captain Steve Stricker and former PGA champion Jimmy Walker.

Johnson looked so sharp early on that he didn't have a birdie putt longer than 12 feet over his first six holes, though he converted just two of them. He reached 8 under when he hammered a driver and a fairway metal to the back of the green on the 629-yard third hole, two-putting for birdie.

But his tee shot on No. 4 was inches away from the third fairway, and his next shot struck a tree. He had to get up-and-down from 50 feet right to save bogey. The next tee shot was so far left it was in the rough on the fourth hole. He clipped branches, hit a poor chip and had to two-putt from 80 feet for his bogey.

"But other than that, I felt like it was a really solid day," Johnson said. "I'm really pleased with the way the golf game is right now and I'm looking forward to this weekend."

Fowler, meanwhile stuffed it on No. 4 and rolled in an 8-footer on the par-3 sixth over water, and just like that they were tied.

"Pretty stress-free," Fowler said. "I've been driving it well this week, which is key around here. You don't want to play out of the rough."

Phil Mickelson limited his mistakes and made four birdies in a round of 68, which left him six shots behind but gave him two more rounds at Glen Oaks to post the kind of scores that would make him a viable pick for the Presidents Cup. Rory McIlroy chipped in for birdie on the tough par-3 second and shot 68. He was seven shots behind.

The focus was at the top with so many popular players contending - Spieth, Fowler, Johnson at the top.

"That's what tends to happen in the playoffs," Spieth said. "As less guys make the next tournaments, you start to get players that are playing very well, and to no surprise, those guys are toward the top. ... Should be an exciting weekend."
Sen. Duckworth Blasts Military Trans Ban: 'When I Was Bleeding To Death' It Didn't Matter Who Saved Me

By Stephen Gossett in News on Aug 24, 2017 10:55PM



Getty Images / Photo: Chip Somodevilla

Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) channeled her own harrowing, personal experience on the battlefield in again blasting President Donald Trump's proposed transgender military ban, after reports surfaced that the White House will likely soon formally issue guidance on the president's request.

"When I was bleeding to death in my Black Hawk helicopter after I was shot down, I didnt care if the American troops risking their lives to help save me were gay, straight, transgender, black, white or brown. All that mattered was they didn't leave me behind," Duckworth said in the a statement on Thursday.

She urged the legislature to act in the event that Trump presses forward with his proposed ban. "If you are willing to risk your life for our country and you can do the job, you should be able to serveno matter your gender identity or sexual orientation. Anything else is not just discriminatory, it is disruptive to our military and it is counterproductive to our national security. If the President enacts this ban, which would harm our military readiness, the Democratic and Republican Members of Congress who oppose this discrimination must enact legislation that prevents it from taking effect," Duckworth added.

Duckworth served as a U.S. Army helicopter pilot in the Iraq War. She lost both her legs in 2004 when her Black Hawk helicopter was struck with a rocket-propelled grenade.

The Trump administration plans to deliver a memo to the Pentagon in the near future that would give Defense Secretary James Mattis six months to instate the ban, according to the New York Times.

Trump surprise-announced the ban in July on Twitter. Duckworth criticized the move at the time, also. Earlier this month during an appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers, Duckworth told the host, "We've had tends of thousands of trans servicemen and women who've served honorably, who've bled and died for this country. To turn away people willing to sacrifice for us is foolish at best."
PARIS (AP) - French league leader Paris Saint-Germain beat Saint-Etienne 3-0 for a fourth straight win on Friday, with Edinson Cavani scoring twice and Neymar involved in two goals.

Saint-Etienne came to Paris on the back of three straight wins and as the only team yet to concede a goal. But the defense had not faced Neymar, who cost a record 222 million ($262 million) when he joined from Barcelona.

Although Neymar did not add to his three goals, his free kick led to PSG's second goal, which was scored by midfielder Thiago Motta.

PSG's Edinson Cavani, left, celebrates with teammate Neymar after scoring during the French League One soccer match between Paris Saint Germain and Saint Etienne at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, France, Friday, Aug. 25, 2017. (AP Photo/Kamil Zihnioglu)

Cavani, the top scorer in the league with 35 last season, put PSG ahead in the 20th when he scored from the penalty spot. He earned it himself but appeared to tumble under little or no contact from defender Saidy Janko after latching onto Neymar's pass.

Cavani saved the best for last, showing great dexterity to flick the ball in with his heel from right back Thomas Meunier's pass. He now has five goals, moving him level at the top of the scoring charts with Monaco's Radamel Falcao.

Last weekend, Neymar scored twice and was involved in the other four goals when PSG routed Toulouse 6-2 at home.

On Saturday, Nice is away to Amiens and Lyon travels to Nantes.

Defending champion Monaco, which has won its opening three games on the back of Falcao's goals, is at home to Marseille on Sunday.

PSG's Edinson Cavani, left, reacts with teammate Neymar after a goal was scored, during the French League One soccer match between Paris Saint Germain and Saint Etienne at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, France, Friday, Aug. 25, 2017. (AP Photo/Kamil Zihnioglu)

PSG's Neymar, right, dribbles Saint Etienne's Habib Maiga, left, during the French League One soccer match between Paris Saint Germain and Saint Etienne at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, France, Friday, Aug. 25, 2017. (AP Photo/Kamil Zihnioglu)
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The Latest on conservative free speech rallies in San Francisco and Berkeley (all times local):

6:30 p.m.

San Francisco's mayor says he doesn't trust a right-wing group that says it's canceling a rally in the city on Saturday.

Musician MC Hammer speaks at a rally in San Francisco, Friday, Aug. 25, 2017, ahead of politically conservative rallies scheduled this weekend. Concerned about possible violence, city officials have urged residents to stay away from other gatherings on Saturday and Sunday. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Mayor Ed Lee said Friday night that despite organizers saying it's called off, they have not cancelled the event in writing so the city is proceeding as though it's still happening.

Lee says, "We don't trust this group. I never have from the beginning."

He also urged people not to show up at the news conference the group plans to hold instead of the rally.

Patriot Prayer head Joey Gibson said the rhetoric of Lee and other San Francisco leaders is what prompted the cancellation.

Gibson has said the group disavows racism and hatred.

___

5 p.m.

A second right-wing rally planned for the weekend in the San Francisco Bay Area has been canceled.

Organizer Amber Cummings released a statement Friday afternoon urging people not to come to her "No to Marxism in America" rally in Berkeley on Sunday. She said she is concerned for the safety of the people who might come to the event.

The cancellation comes almost immediately after a similar rally planned for Saturday in San Francisco was called off.

The organizer of that rally, Joey Gibson, said earlier that he and his followers from the group Patriot Prayer would be going to the Berkeley rally instead. He also plans a news conference at a park for Saturday afternoon.

Counter-demonstrations were planned for both of the now-cancelled rallies, and city leaders worried violence would break out.

___

3:45 p.m.

A right-wing group has canceled a "freedom rally" scheduled for Saturday in San Francisco that civic leaders had worried would turn violent.

Patriot Prayer leader Joey Gibson announced Friday that the group would instead hold a news conference at a San Francisco city park Saturday to explain what he called the failure of police and elected officials to keep the group safe.

He said the group would also join an unpermitted anti-Marxist rally across the bay in a Berkeley city park on Sunday that's hosted by a transsexual Trump supporter.

Mayors in both cities say the two groups invite hate.

Gibson said the rhetoric prompted the decision to replace the rally at Crissy Field with the news conference at Alamo Park.

___

2:20 p.m.

A judge in California ordered the jailing of a conservative organizer who was scheduled to speak Saturday at a rally in San Francisco.

An Alameda County judge on Friday set bail for 41-year-old Kyle Chapman at $135,000.

Chapman was also told to stay 300 yards away from Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center Park in Berkeley on Sunday, when a "No to Marxism" rally is scheduled.

Chapman, of Daly City, was arrested and charged with possession of a weapon after authorities said he was seen on video hitting a counter-protester over the head with a billy club during a chaotic March 4 demonstration in the Berkeley park.

Chapman describes himself in social media as a proud American nationalist and ardent Trump supporter.

He said in a Facebook posting on Thursday that he planned to attend both rallies regardless of the outcome of his Friday arraignment.

___

12:40 p.m.

About 200 people are dancing to "Oh, Happy Day" at a demonstration against hate organized by San Francisco city officials ahead of politically conservative rallies set for this weekend.

Some people in the crowd outside City Hall on Friday held red, white and blue signs that read "Unite Against Hate."

Concerned about possible violence, city officials have urged residents to stay away from other gatherings on Saturday and Sunday.

Micki Esken says she is unsure whether to attend Saturday's protest against a "freedom rally" being held at Crissy Field. She says she might go to spread her message of love and hope.

She believes people can't just love their friends and people like them.

___

9:30 a.m.

Dog walkers are planning to protest a politically conservative free-speech rally by leaving pup poop at San Francisco's Crissy Field.

A Facebook page encourages protesters to let their dogs loose Friday and Saturday morning at the park near the Golden Gate Bridge and not pick up after them.

The page assures dog owners that they can come together Sunday to clean up the field of feces and "hug each other."

Portland, Oregon-based Patriot Prayer has a permit to host a 2 p.m. "freedom rally" Saturday at Crissy Field, despite the vociferous objections of San Francisco's Mayor Ed Lee and other Democratic leaders who say the group invites hate.

Patriot Prayer leader Joey Gibson says that his group doesn't harbor racist views and that hate groups are not welcome.

___

8:00 a.m.

A California city has denied a permit for a weekend demonstration organized by a President Donald Trump supporter and billed as a rally against Marxism.

Berkeley Deputy City Manager Jovan Grogan tells organizer Amber Cummings in a letter that her permit application was late and incomplete, doesn't include details on how she will ensure safety, and lacks Cumming's proper identification.

Cummings, who identifies herself as a transgender patriot, planned the event on social media and has worn sunglasses or covered her face with a bandanna when speaking about the event.

The rally was scheduled to be held at Berkeley's Civic Center Park on Sunday afternoon.

Cummings didn't immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

Demonstrators with varying political viewpoints are planning to be in the San Francisco Bay Area for rallies throughout the weekend.

A man holds up a sign at a rally outside of City Hall in San Francisco, Friday, Aug. 25, 2017, ahead of politically conservative rallies scheduled this weekend. Concerned about possible violence, city officials have urged residents to stay away from other gatherings on Saturday and Sunday (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
QUITO, Ecuador (AP) - Ecuador's congress cleared the way Friday for Vice President Jorge Glas to be investigated for allegedly taking bribes from a Brazilian construction giant involved in a sprawling regional graft scandal.

The unanimous vote by the legislature makes Glas the highest-ranking official in Ecuador to be probed for purportedly receiving some of the $33 million that Brazil's Odebrecht has acknowledged paying in exchange for contracts.

Glas has denied any wrongdoing and refused to resign, while accusing President Lenin Moreno of betraying the legacy of former President Rafael Correa. Glas has not been charged with a crime and in fact had asked lawmakers to green-light the investigation so he could clear his name before the courts.

The nation's top prosecutor says there are numerous indications linking Glas to corruption, including a recently surfaced audio recording in which an Odebrecht executive and an Ecuadorean official discuss alleged bribe requests made by the vice president.

Friday's vote authorized prosecutors to investigate and file charges if they find any criminal responsibility.

Glas and Moreno both served as vice president during the 2007-2017 presidency of Correa, but a rift has opened between the former running mates amid the allegations weighing over Glas. Moreno stripped his vice president of all responsibilities earlier this month.

The Odebrecht scandal has already led to the June resignation of Ecuador's comptroller general as well as the arrest of an ex-minister of electricity, Glas' uncle and former executives of state oil company Petroecuador, among others implicated.

Prosecutors are reviewing 30 Odebrecht contracts granted by Ecuador between 1980 and 2015, including ones from Correa's administration worth about $1.6 billion.

There has also been a split between Moreno and Correa, who was ineligible to run for re-election in this year's vote. The two have been engaged in a public spat in recent months, often via sniping on social media.
The Home Office has apologised after around 100 letters were wrongly sent to EU nationals warning them they face detention and removal from the UK.

An urgent investigation has been launched into the error, which emerged after a Finnish academic posted about correspondence she received from the department on social media.

Eva Johanna Holmberg, who is married to a Briton, was told she had a month to leave. She was also warned that she was liable to be detained.

Home Office wants to deport a Finnish academic who is married to a Brit and pays taxes in Britain, i.e. me. https://t.co/4zpS1ENlW9  Dr Eva Johanna Holmberg (@EvaJohannaH) August 23, 2017

Dr Holmberg, a visiting fellow at Queen Mary University of London, tweeted: Home Office wants to deport a Finnish academic who is married to a Brit and pays taxes in Britain, i.e. me.

After her experience came to light, it was revealed that up to 100 similar letters had been sent.

A Home Office spokesman said: A limited number of letters were issued in error and we have been urgently looking into why this happened.

Clarification on letters sent in error to EU citizens in the UK: https://t.co/es47V6V5Sc pic.twitter.com/bK6tMllFDk  Home Office (@ukhomeoffice) August 23, 2017

We are contacting everyone who received this letter to clarify that they can disregard it. We are absolutely clear that the rights of EU nationals living in the UK remain unchanged.

Critics attacked the department over the blunder, warning it would fuel further concern among the 3.2 million EU citizens living in Britain after the Brexit vote sparked uncertainty over their status.

James McGrory, executive director of Open Britain, said: This is shameful stuff from the same department that gave us the disgraceful go home vans a few years ago. Its little wonder that many EU citizens feel worried about their future status in the UK when they hear of people with every right to be here getting letters threatening their deportation.

Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Sir Ed Davey said the letters shame Britain. He added: EU nationals who have made their lives here are already facing huge uncertainty over Brexit. It is appalling that some are now being officially threatened with deportation. This catastrophic error is a sign of the chaos and incompetence at the heart of this Conservative government.

Sir Ed Davey said the letters "shame Britain

Dr Holmberg originally applied for a qualified person certificate to confirm her right to live and work in the UK for peace of mind.

Then last week she received the letter saying a decision had been taken to remove her from the UK.

The historian described her experience as a Kafkaesque nightmare. She told the Evening Standard: How can an EU national be deported from the UK? There is free movement of people. It is just unbelievable. All for a piece of paper I dont even need.
Venezuelas recently ousted chief prosecutor has accused President Nicolas Maduro of participating in acts of corruption, saying she would turn over proof that would help other countries prosecute.

Luisa Ortega Diaz spoke during a meeting of Mercosur trade bloc prosecutors in the capital of Brasilia.

She was removed by a new, pro-government constitutional assembly in early August after breaking with the socialist government.

President Nicolas Maduro has been accused of participating in acts of corruption

Ms Ortega fled abroad with her husband, whose arrest was ordered by the countrys supreme court.

I want to denounce, in front of the world, a grave situation in Venezuela: that of excessive corruption, she said.

Because of that reason, (Maduros administration) is violating the constitution and law to protect itself.

Ms Ortega said she had evidence implicating Maduro and other top officials in corruption involving Brazilian constructor Odebrecht and other companies, which she did not name.

However, she did not publicly give details.

Odebrecht has been at the centre of the massive Car Wash probe in Brazil involving kickbacks for contracts.

Over the past three years, dozens of Brazils top politicians and businessmen have been jailed, including former Odebrecht chief executive Marcelo Odebrecht.

Venezuela's ousted Chief Prosecutor Luisa Ortega Diaz, left, talks with Mercosur trade bloc prosecutors, in Brasilia

The investigation has led to prosecutions in several countries in Latin America where Odebrecht and other Brazilian construction companies operated.

Even if Ms Ortega possesses strong evidence, however, it is not clear whether it could hurt Mr Maduros administration, which is already alienated from many of the regions countries.

While Brazil shares information with other countries related to the Car Wash investigation, authorities say they leave the prosecution of foreign nationals to justice officials in those countries.

Ms Ortegas visit came a day after Mr Maduro claimed that she was working with Washington to damage his administration and said Venezuela would ask for an international arrest warrant for her.

It was not immediately known if that had been requested or if it would even be considered.

The Mercosur trade bloc has suspended Venezuela due to the crisis there.

Before Ms Ortega spoke, Brazil Attorney General Rodrigo Janot described her ouster as an an institutional rape that eroded the independence of Venezuelas justice system.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has claimed the SNP failed to use its powers to mitigate austerity and said his party would tackle third-world levels of poverty in parts of Scotland.

Mr Corbyn said if Labour gained power it would ensure Scotland is funded the way it should be during a visit to Glasgow.

He was joined by Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale as he toured a former school in the citys east end which is being redeveloped as offices and community space.

Jeremy Corbyn and Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale (Jane Barlow/PA)

The visit marked the second day of his campaign tour of Scotland focusing on marginal constituencies in a bid to capitalise on Labours surprise result in Junes snap election when it gained six seats north of the border, having lost 40 two years previously.

He said: Were a strong party, we came very close in a number of seats, we obviously gained some in the elections that have just gone.

I think we are well in sight of getting a lot more Labour MPs elected in Scotland and thats why were active as a party, why were campaigning, but above all listening to people because our policies have to be effective and relevant to their lives.

He added: The SNP government has the powers if it wants to use them to mitigate the effects of austerity, they chose not to.

Jeremy Corbyn

Mr Corbyn said he has been struck by the problems of inequality and social injustice in Glasgow.

He said: This ward where we are standing now has a very low life expectancy, lower in many cities than what we choose to call the third world.

Its not right and we deal with these things with a public commitment to invest in decent housing, opportunities for young people and good-quality jobs.

I want to see a Labour government in Westminster to be able to fund Scotland the way it should be funded and empower housing associations and local authorities to improve their housing stock.

Housing is absolutely crucial to the life chances of people.
Florida has put a man to death with an anaesthetic never used before in a US lethal injection.

Authorities said Mark Asay, 53, the first white man executed in Florida for the killing of a black man, was pronounced dead at 6.22pm local time on Thursday at the state prison in Starke.

Asay received a three-drug injection that began with the anaesthetic etomidate.

Mark Asay

Though approved by the Florida Supreme Court, etomidate has been criticised by some as being unproven in an execution.

It replaced midazolam, which became harder to acquire after many drug companies began refusing to provide it for executions.

Asked whether he wanted to make a final statement before his execution, Asay said: No sir, I do not. Thank you.

Michelle Glady, a spokeswoman for the corrections department, said there was no complication in the procedure and Asay did not speak during it.

Florida Department of Corrections spokeswoman Michelle Glady addresses reporters after the execution

The execution was Floridas first since the US Supreme Court halted the practice in the state after finding its method for sentencing people to death to be unconstitutional.

Earlier that day the court rejected Asays final appeal without comment.

Etomidate, the first of three drugs administered in Floridas new execution mixture, is followed by two others, the last of which stops the heart.

Prison authorities have defended the choice of etomidate, saying it has been reviewed.

Doctors hired by Asays lawyers raised questions about etomidate in court declarations, saying there were cases where it had caused pain, along with involuntary writhing in patients.

But in its opinion allowing the drug to be used, the states high court said earlier this month that four expert witnesses demonstrated that Asay is at small risk of mild to moderate pain.

Prosecutors say Asay made racist comments in the 1987 fatal shooting of a Robert Booker, 34. He was also convicted of the 1987 murder of Robert McDowell, 26, who was mixed race, white and Hispanic.

Asay hired Mr McDowell, who was dressed as a woman, as a prostitute, and killed him after learning his true gender, prosecutors said.

He is the first white man to be executed in Florida for killing a black man.

At least 20 black men have been executed for killing white victims since the state reinstated the death penalty in 1976, according to data from the Death Penalty Information Centre.

A total of 92 Florida inmates had been executed previously in that period.

Cavalry Chapel Prison Ministries Director Norman Smith

Asays spiritual adviser, Norman Smith of Cavalry Chapel in Melbourne, Florida, who spent two hours with him before his execution, said Asay admitted spouting racial epithets before Mr Bookers murder, but said he was drunk and angry, not a racist.

Until I heard that I wouldve never known that this man was tagged as a racist, said Mr Smith, who is black.
Boris Johnson has said Britain will pay not a penny more, not a penny less than it has to after Brexit after previously saying Brussels should go whistle over the so-called divorce bill.

The Foreign Secretary said Britain will meet its legal obligations to the bloc as he faced questions about his earlier stance over a potential financial settlement.

He made the remarks in the Commons in July when grilled by MPs over demands from Brussels that Britain must pay a bill of tens of billions of pounds to cover the cost of Brexit.

Boris Johnson

Asked whether Britain would have to pay, Mr Johnson told BBC Radio 4s Today programme: Of course we will meet our obligations, we are law-abiding, bill-paying people. The UK has contributed hundreds of billions over the years well, we will certainly meet our obligations.

Mr Johnson said he would not haggle over the figure, adding: I can give you an absolute clear, precise answer and that is we should pay not a penny more, not a penny less of what we think our legal obligations amount.

He dodged questions on whether he would support a transition deal, backed by Chancellor Philip Hammond, which would allow for temporary arrangements on trading conditions after Brexit.

The Government has set out our clear principles for how we will resolve disputes after EU exit https://t.co/D9YGCG42op pic.twitter.com/UMhm27e452  Department for Exiting the EU (@DExEUgov) August 23, 2017

Mr Johnson said speed and efficiency were a priority if there was a transition period on membership of the customs union.

Negotiators are gearing up for the third round of formal talks in Brussels next week, following the publication of a number of Government position papers on crucial matters such as trade and the role of the European Court of Justice post-Brexit.
Gunmen have stormed a mosque in the Afghan capital while worshippers were at Friday prayers, setting off an explosion that killed a security guard outside, officials said.

A cleric who was leading the service was also killed, according to reports.

Police were promptly deployed at the site in a northern Kabul neighbourhood and encircled the two-storey building.

Security forces and civilians walk near a Shiite mosque during the ongoing attack

They initially avoided advancing inside to prevent further casualties, a spokesman said. Officers later attempted to enter the mosque but withdrew after one of the attackers set off an explosion, said police official Mohammad Sadiq Muradi.

Mohammad Ismail Kawasi, a spokesman for Afghanistans health ministry, said authorities believe that along with the two dead so far, eight people were wounded.

More explosions and gunfire echoed from the site of the attack, which Mr Jamil said was still under way. The Shiite mosque had been packed with worshippers for Friday prayers, the high point of the Muslim week.

Mir Hussain Nasiri, a member of Afghanistans Shiite clerical council, said the cleric performing the prayers was killed, but did not give his name. He said the gunmen had taken over the portion of the mosque with separate prayer areas for men and women.

(AP Photo/Massoud Hossaini)

He said the mosque could accommodate up to 1,000 people. A large prayer hall dominates the main floor, and the second floor is where the women pray.

Mr Nasiri said when police initially sought to get into the mosque, the attackers blocked the door leading to the second floor, which he said could mean they are holding the women as hostages.

Witnesses in the area said sporadic shooting inside the mosque was continuing.

(AP Photo/Massoud Hossaini)

There have been several attacks against Shiite mosques in Afghanistan in recent weeks. Last month, 32 people were killed when gunmen stormed a Shiite mosque in western Herat province. The Islamic State group claimed that attack and vowed to carry out more attacks against Afghanistans minority Shiites, considered heretics by the Sunni extremists.

Meanwhile, in southern Kandahar province, Afghan security forces repulsed a Taliban attack on an outpost, according to the provincial police chiefs spokesman, Zia Durrani.

Four members of the security forces died in the exchange and another seven were wounded, he said, while the Taliban sustained heavy casualties.

Elsewhere, provincial deputy police chief Nisar Ahmad Abdul Rahimzai said Afghan security forces had recaptured a district in eastern Paktia province from the insurgents.
US President Donald Trump has encouraged the public to prepare for Hurricane Harvey before it makes landfall in Texas.

The president took to Twitter to encourage everyone in the path of #HurricaneHarvey to heed the advice & orders of their local and state officials.

His tweet included a link with more information on the storm.

Harvey was upgraded to a dangerous Category 3 hurricane and is expected to make landfall on Friday night or Saturday morning on the middle Texas coast.

The US National Hurricane Centre said Harvey has maximum wind speeds of 120mph as the powerful storm approaches the Texas coast.

Forecasters are labelling it a life-threatening storm.

The storm quickly grew on Thursday from a tropical depression into a Category 1 hurricane, and then developed into a Category 2 storm early on Friday.

By Friday afternoon, it had become a Category 3 storm.

The last Category 3 storm to hit the US was Hurricane Wilma in October 2005 in Florida.

The slow-moving Harvey is fuelled by warm Gulf of Mexico waters.

Hurricane Harvey's likely path

Texas governor Greg Abbott has warned that Hurricane Harvey is going to be a very major disaster.

Mr Abbott said he had asked Mr Trump for a federal disaster declaration.

Aside from savage winds and storm surges, the system was expected to drop prodigious amounts of rain.

The resulting flooding, one expert said, could be the depths of which weve never seen.

#Harvey is now a category 3 #hurricane with 120-mph winds & a pressure of 943 mb (27.85") See the latest advisory at https://t.co/tW4KeGdBFb pic.twitter.com/s0FrcURAsA  National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) August 25, 2017

The slow-moving hurricane could be the fiercest storm to hit the US in almost a dozen years, with the potential for winds hitting 125mph and storm surges of 12ft.

Were forecasting continuing intensification right up until landfall, NHC spokesman Dennis Feltgen said earlier.

All seven Texas counties on the coast from Corpus Christi to the western end of Galveston Island have ordered mandatory evacuations of tens of thousands of residents from all low-lying areas.

In four of those counties, officials ordered their entire county evacuated and warned those who stayed behind that no-one could be guaranteed rescue.

Motorists pass a warning sign in Corpus Christi, Texas (Eric Gay/AP)

Voluntary evacuations have been urged for Corpus Christi and for the Bolivar Peninsula, a sand spit near Galveston where many homes were washed away by the storm surge of Hurricane Ike in 2008.

Texas officials expressed concern that not as many people are evacuating compared with previous storms.

A lot of people are taking this storm for granted thinking it may not pose much of a danger to them, Mr Abbott earlier told Houston television station KPRC.

Please heed warnings and evacuate as soon as possible.

Crews install the final portion of a surge wall in Aransas Pass, Texas

Mr Abbott has activated about 700 members of the state National Guard ahead of Harvey making landfall.

The NHC said storm surges as much as 3ft could be expected as far north as Morgan City, Louisiana, 400 miles away from the anticipated landfall.

Once it reaches land, the storm is expected to stall, dumping copious amounts of rain for days in areas like flood-prone Houston, the nations fourth most-populous city, and San Antonio.

State transportation officials are considering when to turn all evacuation routes from coastal areas into one-way traffic arteries heading inland.
Robbers Are Snatching Cell Phones Out Of People's Hands On The Near North Side, Police Warn

By Rachel Cromidas in News on Aug 24, 2017 10:10PM



600 block of North Michigan Avenue via Google.

Police are warning Near North Side residents and visitors about a rash of nearly 20 cell phone robberies in the area this month.

In each incident in the 18th police district, which encompasses the Near North Side, including parts of the Magnificent Mile and River North, robbers approached people on the street from behind, grabbed their cell phones, then fled on foot or by bicycle or car. I four of the incidents, the robber fled in a white Cadillac, according to a police alert.

The cell phone thefts took place at the following locations and times around the neighborhood:



0-100 block of East Hubbard St., Sunday, August 6, 2017 in the morning.

300 block of East Illinois St., Sunday, August 6, 2017 in the evening.

300 block of East Illinois St., Sunday, August 6, 2017 in the afternoon.

600 block on North Michigan Ave., Monday, August 7, 2017 in the afternoon.

900 block of North Wells St., Wednesday, August 9, 2017 in the afternoon.

400 block of North Orleans St., Thursday, August 10, 2017 in the morning.

200 block of East Ohio St., Thursday, August 10, 2017 in the afternoon.

100 block of East Grand Ave., Thursday, August 10, 2017 in the afternoon.

200 block of East Delaware Pl., Thursday, August 10, 2017 in the afternoon.

200 block of West Kinzie St., Friday, August 11, 2017 in the afternoon.

200 block of East Delaware Pl., Friday, August 11, 2017 in the afternoon.

600 block of North Lake Shore Dr., Friday, August 11, 2017 in the afternoon.

0-100 block of East Chicago Ave., Saturday, August 12, 2017 in the morning.

500 block of North State St., Monday, August 14, 2017 in the afternoon.

200 block of East Illinois St., Monday, August 14, 2017 in the afternoon.

400 block of North Clark St., Friday, August 18, 2017 in the morning.

0-100 block of West Schiller St., Monday, August 21, 2017 in the morning.

The robbers were described as two young African-American men. One was 15 to 20 years old, 130 to 150 lbs. and just under 6'0" tall, with a dreadlocks hairstyle; the other was 18 to 24 years old.
A senior adviser to Donald Trump has said the administration must do better in condemning hate groups after the violence at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

White House economic adviser Gary Cohn told the Financial Times he is under enormous pressure both to quit and to remain in the White House, adding: As a Jewish American, I will not allow neo-Nazis ranting Jews will not replace us to cause this Jew to leave his job.

Mr Cohn said he feels compelled to voice my distress over the Charlottesville incident, adding: Citizens standing up for equality and freedom can never be equated with white supremacists, neo-Nazis and the KKK.

President Donald Trump in the lobby of Trump Tower with, far left, Gary Cohn (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP)

Mr Trump was criticised after he said both sides were to blame for the violence in Charlottesville.

Mr Trump later blamed the media for the condemnation of his response to the violent protests, saying in Phoenix he had openly called for healing unity and love in the immediate aftermath.

Mr Cohn, director of the National Economic Council, said the Trump administration can and must do better in consistently and unequivocally condemning these groups and do everything we can to heal the deep divisions that exist in our communities.

He outlined the administrations upcoming push to overhaul the nations tax code. He said the bill could be passed in the House and Senate in 2017, pushing back the administrations timetable.

The White House had said previously that it expected final passage in November.

National Economic Director Gary Cohn (Carolyn Kaster/AP)

Mr Cohn said the tax overhaul is the White Houses number one focus right now and the president will be making a major push on it beginning next week.

Mr Trump is expected to rally support for a tax overhaul at an event next Wednesday in Springfield, Missouri.

Administration officials have argued that lowering personal and business tax rates would generate millions of jobs and spur faster economic growth.
Special measures are being taken to protect Notting Hill Carnival from the threat of terrorism and acid attacks, Scotland Yard has said.

Steel barriers and a ban on vehicles during the daytime will be in place over the bank holiday weekend to stop a terror attack.

David Musker, the commander in charge of policing the west London event, said there was no specific counter-terrorism intelligence but security plans had been thoroughly reviewed after the Barcelona attack, in which 15 people died after being hit by a van.

A boarded up pub in Ladbroke Grove ahead of Notting Hill Carnival (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

Officers will be stationed around the perimeter of the carnival zone, carrying out checks for weapons and acid, following a controversial three-week crackdown to reduce criminality at the event.

There will also be a protective ring of officers around Grenfell Tower and the Lancaster West estate to protect the space from carnival-goers and ensure a respectful two days.

A three-week crackdown on crime ahead of the carnival saw 656 people arrested by 7am on Friday, and a large number of knives, guns, weapons and money seized, the Metropolitan Police said.

Prior to #NottingHillCarnival, we're disrupting gang crime, drug supply, knife crime & offences that could impact the safety of the weekend  Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) August 22, 2017

Last year more than 450 people were arrested over the two days of festivities, with around 300 detained in the preceding crackdown.

The force hit back after being widely ridiculed for linking this years operation to the carnival, with Mr Musker saying: I think the public would expect us to do what we can to prevent those injuries to people coming to carnival.

He added that the point had been to get people who would normally come to carnival to cause problems off the street before the event.
A man who murdered his brother by setting fire to him as he slept on New Years Day is to appeal against the length of his sentence.

Blair Logan poured petrol on his younger brother Cameron, 23, and the bed he was sharing with girlfriend Rebecca Williams at their family home in Milngavie, East Dunbartonshire.

Ms Williams was rescued from the fire and treated in hospital, but Cameron died while his parents were treated for smoke inhalation.

Rebecca Williams looks on as her father Phillip reads a statement outside court (Jane Barlow/PA)

Logan, 27, pleaded guilty to charges of murder and attempted murder last month.

He was given a life sentence with a minimum of 20 years at the High Court in Edinburgh in August.

A spokesman for the Judicial Office for Scotland confirmed Logan has lodged a notice of his intention to appeal against the sentence.

The two brothers were said to have had a hostile relationship and Logan told police they had not spoken since the death of their grandmother in 2013.

High Court: Blair Logan sentenced to life imprisonment (punishment part 20 years) for murder of his brother Cameron https://t.co/gab7Nq1Tb8  Judges Scotland (@JudgesScotland) August 11, 2017

The 27-year-old admitted pouring petrol with the intention of maiming or crippling Cameron, but claimed he did not mean to kill him.

The attack was said to be in retaliation for a recent incident at the house when his brother had punched him.

In passing sentence, Judge Lady Scott said Cameron had died a horrible death and that Logan acted with wicked recklessness.

His sentence was reduced from 24 years due to his early guilty plea.

David and Cathy Logan, the parents of the brothers, were in the house at the time (PA)

Logan, who was a Tesco store assistant, admitted killing his brother during a police interview in January.

He told officers: It was not my intent to kill him but I did do it.

When charged with the attempted murder of Ms Williams, he said: I thought she was out of the room. He added: I did not wish to murder my parents.

Lady Scott accepted court reports that Logan has abnormal personality traits and features of autism, but said there was no suggestion Logan had a mental disorder and was fully criminally responsible for his actions.

Logans parents wrote a letter to the court before his sentencing which said they find it extremely difficult to reconcile the Blair they know with the Blair who caused Camerons death.
The UK Government is on a completely illogical path with its welfare policies, Jeremy Corbyn has told his supporters.

The Labour leader attacked plans to close jobcentres and benefits offices as he addressed a rally in Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, in Scotland.

Trade union members are protesting against the shutdown of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) centre in the town, which could see 250 workers moved to Motherwell and Glasgow.

Solidarity to all those suffering from 1% pay cap from @jeremycorbyn and @HughGaffneyMP #BreakThePayCap pic.twitter.com/5Qbe2Tm2Dd  PCS Scotland (@PCS_Scotland) August 25, 2017

The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union has raised concerns about the impact on the local economy. The shutdown is part of a wider plan to close processing sites and jobcentres across the UK.

Addressing crowds of union members and protesters outside a shopping centre, Mr Corbyn called for the closure programme to be halted.

He also criticised UK Government reforms to the benefits system  including the introduction of Universal Credit aimed at streamlining claimants payments  and the use of sanctions.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has his picture taken during a rally at Quadrant shopping centre

There are those that would seek to divide those who work behind the counter or at a call centre in a jobcentre from those on the other side who need that help  The fact that we are all here together today in unity in opposing that closure and opposing those job losses shows the kind of world, the kind of society, that we want to live in.

The Government is on some completely illogical path at the present time. They are bringing in universal credit with all the problems associated with that.

Many people are losing out and getting less benefit as a result. They are imposing a sanctions regime which is often punitive on people going through difficulties.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn criticised Government benefit reforms (Jane Barlow/PA)

He continued: I dont blame those who work in the DWP, I blame those who made the rules and the regulations. Im saying to the government: halt this closure programme, halt the closure of this centre here due to close in September.

He added: Instead, think again. Think again about the role of government in supporting people, think again about the punitive way in which you operate your regimes.

Mr Corbyn, who was joined by local Labour MP Hugh Gaffney for the rally, was mobbed by supporters as he left to visit a steel plant in Cambuslang.

Thank you to everyone who came in support of the staff at Coatbridge today #SaveDWPCoatbridge pic.twitter.com/ej80pk0ycg  Hugh Gaffney (@HughGaffneyCCB) August 25, 2017

A spokesman for the DWP said: The changes we are making to our estate across the country will offer a more efficient service and deliver good value for the taxpayer  saving over 140 million a year for the next 10 years. The way we are making these changes mean we expect less than 1% of DWP staff across the country will be unable to continue with us.

As an example, staff in Coatbridge will be moving to other nearby sites in Motherwell and Glasgow. This will secure jobs and increase capacity in this area. Our site at Coatbridge is unsuitable for our future needs and would require significant investment to become the modern, digital working environment we want for our staff.
Slovenian Matej Mohoric battled his way to a solo victory on stage seven of La Vuelta as Great Britains Chris Froome retained his slender overall lead in the red jersey for Team Sky.

The 22-year-old UAE Team Emirates rider saw off the challenge of a 14-man breakaway heading into the finish at Cuenca to cross 16 seconds ahead of Polands Pawel Poljanski as the Bora-Hansgrohe racer ended runner-up for the second consecutive day.

Spains Jose Joaquin Rojas (Movistar) was beaten on the line in third, with Belgian Thomas De Gendt (Lotto-Soudal) having to settle for fourth.

Chris Froome retained his slender 11-second lead after stage seven of La Vuelta

Clasificacion de la etapa:

1. Matej Mohoric

2. Poljanski a 0:16

3. Jose Joaquin Rojas a 0:16

4. De Gendt a 0:16

5. De Marchi a 0:27 pic.twitter.com/OvNoIFyc2T  La Vuelta (@lavuelta) August 25, 2017

Dutchman Jetse Bol was the biggest mover in the general classification standings, as the Manzana Postobon rider moved up 25 places into seventh as the peloton, which included Froome, finished over eight-and-a-half-minutes off the pace.

The 207-kilometre stage, which started from Lliria, featured a treble of category three climbs, with the breakaway taking shape from around 10kms as the riders battled against crosswinds.

However, it was Mohoric who ultimately lasted the distance for the climb and descent of Alto del Castillo before then pulling clear as he closed in on Cuenca.

Froome, who is aiming to become just the third man to win the Vuelta and Tour de France in the same year, kept his 11-second lead over Orica-Scott rider Estaban Chaves.

Seven stages complete at #LV2017 and @chrisfroome finishes safely to retain the race lead in Spain. More great work today from @TeamSky pic.twitter.com/r8bbVWF4yT  INEOS Grenadiers (@INEOSGrenadiers) August 25, 2017

BMC pair Nicolas Roche and Tejay van Garderen are 13 seconds and 30 seconds adrift respectively. Saturdays eighth stage will run from Hellin to Xorret de Cat, which includes a category one climb towards the finish of the 199.5km route.

It was a relatively in control day for us, so another good day to tick off now and start thinking about tomorrow, Froome said on the Team Sky website.

Tomorrow has a really tough final, there will be ramps of over 18 per cent on the climb before we descend to the finish, its definitely going to be a GC battle.
Brighton have pulled out of the transfer of FC Zurich striker Raphael Dwamena after the player failed a club medical.

The Seagulls had previously agreed terms with both Dwamena and the Swiss club over the potential deal for the 21-year-old, which would have been subject to a work permit.

Dwamena, who was reported to be set to cost around 8million, was ready to join the Premier League club on Monday evening after just seven months at Stadion Letzigrund following his transfer from Red Bull Salzburg in January.

Brighton boss Chris Hughton

#BHAFC have withdrawn from the potential transfer of Raphael Dwamena, after the player failed the club's medical. https://t.co/ZEhXx5Oizw  Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) August 25, 2017

A statement from Brighton at the time said: Brighton & Hove Albion can confirm that the club has reached agreement with FC Zurich for the permanent transfer of Ghanaian international, Raphael Dwamena, subject to work permit and international clearance.

The 21-year-old striker has also agreed personal terms with the club and is now awaiting clearance to travel to the UK for his medical.

However, Chris Hughtons side have decided to pull the plug on the deal, although there has been no explanation for the decision, other than a statement which read: Brighton & Hove Albion have withdrawn from the potential transfer of Raphael Dwamena, after the player failed the clubs medical.

The club would like to wish Raphael the very best for the future, as he returns to FC Zurich.
Soldiers shot dead a man in Brussels after he attacked troops with a knife in a terror attack.

The man twice shouted Allahu akbar, Arabic for God is great, as he ran at the soldiers, said Esther Natus, a spokeswoman for the federal prosecutors office.

We do consider it a terror attack, Ms Natus said.

She declined to identify the man or confirm whether he was known to police, saying only that the suspect is dead and one of the soldiers was slightly wounded.

Police secure a scene in Brussels after a reported attack

Brussels Mayor Philippe Close said three soldiers came under attack and one had been taken to hospital.

Federal Police spokesman Jonathan Pfunde also confirmed some details of the incident and said the attacker had been neutralised.

Belgiums anti-terror crisis centre tweeted that the situation was under control.

All our support is with our soldiers, Prime Minister Charles Michel said via Twitter. Our security services remain on alert. We are following the situation closely.

Tout notre soutien a nos militaires. Nos services de securite restent attentifs. Nous suivons la situation de pres avec @crisiscenterBe  Charles Michel (@CharlesMichel) August 25, 2017

Associated Press television images showed police had sealed off a main street near the Grand Place, a central square that is a popular tourist site.

Thomas da Silva Rosa, a man who lives near where the incident took place on Boulevard Emile Jacquemain, said he saw the attacker lying in the street in the aftermath.

I live right in front of the station. It was already blocked by police at the scene and there was a man lying on the ground. The police said he had been shot by soldiers, said Mr da Silva Rosa, a public affairs consultant.

He was lying on the ground, appeared dead, he told AP.

Belgium has been on high alert since suicide bombers killed 32 people in attacks March 22, 2016, on Brussels main airport and subway system. Soldiers and extra police have been deployed at public buildings and around large gatherings for more than a year.
By Michael Hirtzer

Aug 23 (Reuters) - Argentine biodiesel exports will be priced out of the U.S. market, its leading industry body said, after Washington decided on Tuesday to impose steep duties on imports that it said were unfairly subsidized.

The countervailing duties on soy-based Argentina biodiesel could be as much as 64.17 percent, according to a statement from the U.S. Commerce Department. Duties of up to 68.28 percent will be imposed on palm oil biodiesel imports from Indonesia.

"Any duty of more than 15 percent leaves Argentine biodiesel out of the market," an Argentine biofuels industry source said.

Argentina accounts for two-thirds of U.S. biodiesel imports, which totaled 916 million gallons (3.5 billion liters) in 2016, according to U.S. government data. Total U.S. biodiesel consumption is about 2 billion gallons.

The Commerce Department's decision comes after the U.S. National Biodiesel Board (NBB) asked the government in March to impose duties, claiming the imports were below market value and undercutting U.S. biodiesel producers.

Argentine biodiesel association Carbio, which represents producers including Cargill Inc and Louis Dreyfus Co , denied there were subsidies on the country's biodiesel exports and called the duties protectionist.

"The compensatory duties imposed result in an immediate stoppage of sales to the United States, with a clear detriment to the entire soybean chain in Argentina," Carbio President Luis Zubizarreta said in a statement.

NBB, whose members include Archer Daniels Midland Co , said any supplies lost due to a halt in imports could be made up by increased production in the United States, where total capacity is more than 4 billion gallons.

FUEL PRICE EFFECT

Rival U.S. trade group Advanced Biofuels Association (ABFA) said the duties would raise fuel prices.

The duties could mean U.S. industry would have to replace 250 million gallons of biodiesel for this year and up to 500 million gallons for 2018, Arlan Suderman, chief commodities economist with INTL FCStone, said in a daily note.

"This is expected to be bullish soyoil and canola oil near-term to incentivize processing of soybeans and canola," Suderman said in the note.

The duties need to be upheld by the International Trade Commission, which would lock them in place for five years.

Prices for the biomass-based diesel fuel credits (D4) known as RINs surged to the highest levels of the year in the wake of the decision, climbing to $1.17 each, up from $1.11 earlier on Tuesday, according to two traders. Fears of decreased imports boosted prices for the credits earned by U.S. fuel blenders.

Indonesian Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita said Jakarta is currently studying the U.S. decision and plans to log an objection.

"We have proven that the subsidy element does not exist," Lukita told reporters in Jakarta.

Indonesia exported 420,000 kiloliters of biodiesel to the United States in 2016, according to data from the country's biodiesel producers association, jumped from 270,000 kiloliters a year ago. (Additional reporting by Eric Walsh in Washington, Jarrett Renshaw in New York, Maximiliano Rizzi and Caroline Stauffer in Buenos Aires, Julie Ingwersen in Chicago and Bernadette Christina in Jakarta; Editing by Sandra Maler and Leslie Adler)
By Clyde Russell

LAUNCESTON, Australia, Aug 24 (Reuters) - There is little doubt that Iraq's mooted shift to using Dubai crude futures from long-standing price assessor Platts will shake up the trading of Middle East oil, but is it a once-off shock or the first of the dominoes to fall.

Iraq's state oil marketer SOMO has asked its customers for feedback on a planned move to use Oman futures traded on the Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME) instead of the average of Platts' Oman-Dubai quotes in pricing its main Basra grade.

While this may seem an esoteric issue to those outside the cosy world of physical oil trading, it represents a potential seismic shift in the way that more than 12 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude is bought and sold in the Middle East, which is still the world's major source of exports.

The Platts system has been used for decades by the region's top oil exporters, led by Saudi Arabia, as the method of setting their official selling prices for customers in the biggest consuming region of Asia.

Platts assesses prices based on trades of four regional crude grades in its proprietary Market on Close system.

This system of price discovery, referred to by participants as the "window", is well understood by market players and its efficiency over many years gives it the advantage of incumbency.

However, the system is not without some issues, namely that it is dominated by three major players, the trading arms of the two large state Chinese oil firms, Unipec and Chinaoil, and Royal Dutch Shell.

The vast majority of the trades in the Platts system has one of those three as a counterparty, which raises the risk that a relatively small number of big players can exert strong influence of the direction of prices.

This became an issue in 2015 when trading plays by the Chinese majors saw all the available physical cargoes in the Platts window being snapped up, driving up the price of Middle Eastern crudes relative to other global benchmarks such as Brent.

Platts responded by adding Qatar's Al-Shaheen crude to the three existing grades in the window, but the risk remains that the limited amount of physical crude available can still be traded in such a way as to move prices in the direction desired by one of the major players.

It's also the case that the majority of the crude traded in the Platts window is a grade other than Oman, but it is Oman that the Iraqis are most keen to use as their benchmark for pricing Basra Light.

It seems that part of the motivation of the Iraqis in mulling a switch to the DME is that they feel the price discovery for Oman is superior.

TRANSPARENCY THE KEY

The DME's contract is now 10 years old and has seen increasing volumes and participation in recent years, although it is still a minnow compared to Brent and West Texas Intermediate contracts traded in London and New York.

But the DME contract is well designed and in recent years more of the contracts being traded have been taken to actual physical delivery, rather than just rolled over.

It's also a market where no single player dominates. It's highly unusual to have more than 10 percent of the trades in any given month featuring the same participant.

As it stands, the DME offers a viable Oman futures contract that can be used for physical purchases, for hedging and for investment.

Iraq's SOMO has asked customers for feedback on its potential switch to the DME by the end of August, a relatively short time frame.

It's likely that responses from refiners and traders may be somewhat mixed, with those more focused on compliance risks likely to be attracted to the DME's status as a clearing house, and those more comfortable with the less transparent, more insider-focused Platts system unwilling to change.

It's probably too simplistic to characterise this as a simple old versus new debate, but it is perhaps an effort to break from the traditional way oil has been traded between the Middle East and Asia, a sort of insiders club that resisted scrutiny and participation from outsiders.

If Iraq does go ahead and switch to the DME, no doubt Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait will be watching with interest.

If Iraq can achieve better price outcomes for itself, then others may follow.

(Editing by Richard Pullin)
BEIJING, Aug 25 (Reuters) - The Chinese military needs to be on its guard against corruption rearing its head again, the official People's Liberation Army Day said on Friday, warning the arrow cannot be put back in the quiver in the fight.

China's military, the world's largest and currently undergoing an ambitious modernisation campaign, has been an important focus of President Xi Jinping campaign against deep-seated graft since he took power almost five years ago.

Dozens of officers have been investigated and jailed, including Xu Caihou and Guo Boxiong, both former vice chairmen of the Central Military Commission, which Xi heads.

Guo was jailed for life last year. Xu died of cancer in 2015 before he could face trial.

In a lengthy front page story, the People's Liberation Army Daily said the "illusions of the corrupt elements had been smashed" and that the "evil begotten" by Xu and Guo had been cleared away like smog dispersed by the wind.

However, the corruption fight needed to continue, not stop, with perseverance and tenacity, the paper said.

"Ice that is three feet thick was not formed overnight; melting three feet thick ice will also not happen overnight," it said, using a classical Chinese aphorism about not being able to accomplish a difficult task easily or quickly.

A hard task remains to ensure the armed forces are clean and that the influence of Guo and Xu are fully purged, the paper added.

"It remains a difficult mission to prevent a rebound and a resurgence," it added, saying "the arrow cannot be sheathed once the bow is drawn".

"The zero tolerance attitude will not change."

Serving and retired officers have said graft in the armed forces is so pervasive it could undermine China's ability to wage war.

The anti-graft drive comes as Xi steps up efforts to modernise forces that are projecting power across the disputed waters of the East and South China Seas, though China has not fought a war in decades. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Michael Perry)
Rahm Cheers State's 'Fair' Education Compromise, As Critics Worry About Vouchers

By Stephen Gossett in News on Aug 25, 2017 3:00PM



Demonstrators in front of Chicago Public Schools headquarters on Madison Street during the Chicago Teachers Union "day of action" on April 1, 2016. Photo by Aaron Cynic.

Update:

State Senator and gubernatorial candidate Daniel Biss on Friday also came out swinging against the "private school vouchers."

My statement in response to @GovRauner's inclusion of private school vouchers in the latest school funding proposal: pic.twitter.com/BBFbHNf4jN  Daniel Biss (@danielbiss) August 25, 2017

Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd) similarly let his displeasure known and called for negotiations for a new compromise. He wrote, according to the Sun-Times:



We oppose any effort to create private school vouchers in Illinois. No self-respecting Democrat should accept this brazen Rauner-Trump-DeVos tactic to decimate public schools, rob our childrens classrooms of resources and weaken teachers unions. Democrats in Springfield and Mayor Emanuel must unite to reject this unacceptable proposal, and force the parties to get back to the table to negotiate a new deal. "In the interim, Mayor Emanuel should have already taken stronger action to surplus the TIFs to at least temporarily plug the widening CPS funding gap. To surplus only $20 million in TIF, when as much as $100 million is available, is irresponsible.

Original:

With little time to spare before the start of the school year, lawmakers in Springfield announced on Thursday that an education funding deal had finally been reached. There's no official word on what the compromise entails, but we do know a few reported details: Mayor Rahm Emanuel, for one, seems thrilled that Chicago Public Schools appears to be getting at least the funding that was hoped for. At the same time, some public-education corners delivered responses ranging from apprehension to ire at a reported multimillion dollar tax credit that will pay for private-school scholarships.

Emanuel at a news conference said that the deal will cover the $300 million the district was hoping to get from the state, plus moreat least $7 million more, a source told Politico, though of course everything is still being worked out.

"Our benchmark as a city has been clear from day one: That the state of Illinois has to step up and fairly fund education for all children in the state. Meaning that low income children of Chicago and across Illinois were no longer going to be treated as second class citizens, and that clear benchmark has been met," Emanuel said, according to ABC7.

The deal will also reportedly shift Chicago teachers' pension costs away from the school funding code and into the pension code.

Speaking of local educators, the Chicago Teachers Union came out vociferously against the private-school scholarships tax creditwhich reportedly will number $75 million. CTU said in a statement:



"Senate Bill 1 was designed to fix the inequitable school funding formula for the state of Illinois and remedy the states position as last in the nation for education. This current deal is a naked attempt by billionaire right-wing ideologue Gov. Bruce Rauner to push through a reverse Robin Hood scheme that siphons money from poor school districts and lets the wealthy avoid paying their fair share in taxes. The Chicago Teachers Union, along with a broad-based group of education organizations throughout the state, rejects this latest scheme and calls on legislators to vote this idea down."

The union also accused the mayor of "shameful, tacit support of school vouchers."

Members of the Latino Caucus on Thursday also took the opportunity to push back against a voucher funding apparatus. "Thankfully, Mayor Emanuel has not come out in support of school vouchers," said Ald. Gilbert Villegas (Ward 36) in a statement. At the same time, it is frightening to think that the Mayor did not condemn a voucher program, given Chicago Public Schools financial mess.

The mayor should disavow the idea of a voucher program, which would clearly harm an already deeply underfunded, indebted system, added Ald. George Cardenas (Ward 12).

Lawmakers will gather on Sunday with a House vote slated for Monday.

For more information about the funding compromise, the Sun-Times has a thorough rundown here that is worth your time.
Aug 25 (Reuters) - Here are news stories, press reports and events to watch which may affect Romanian financial markets on Friday.

BUDGET DATA

Romania's finance ministry could release consolidated budget deficit data for July.

FRENCH PRESIDENT

French President Emmanuel Macron got lukewarm support from Romania on Thursday for his push to tighten EU rules over the employment abroad of workers from low-pay countries, but enough for him to express confidence of a deal by year-end.

JUDICIAL PLANS

The European Commission has asked the Romanian government for more detail of a proposed overhaul of the judiciary, expressing concern it may be a step back in the fight against corruption.

DEBT TENDER

Romania sold a planned 500 million lei ($128.70 million) worth of March 2022 treasury bonds on Thursday, with the average accepted yield at 2.65 percent, central bank data showed.

M3 DATA

Romanian M3 money supply grew 10.4 percent on the year to 324.9 billion lei ($83.60 billion) at the end of July and was 1.0 percent higher on the month, central bank data showed on Thursday.

NUCLEARELECTRICA

-- Romanian state nuclear power producer Nuclearelectrica could raise funds from capital markets and lenders for large investment projects including extending its reactors' lifespan, its newly elected chief executive said.

The new executive, Cosmin Ghita, has worked for Chevron in Romania and as energy adviser to Prime Minister Mihai Tudose. In June, he was appointed board chairman for the state uranium company. He was appointed to manage Nuclearelectrica on a four-month term.

Minority shareholder Fondul Proprietatea has opposed the short-term appointment and has also expressed concerns over looser corporate governance rules which it said could enable conflicts of interest.

-- Nuclearelectrica has shut down its Unit 2 reactor on Thursday to fix a glitch, which it estimates will take 72 hours, it said in a statement.

CEE MARKETS

The forint fell 1 percent against the euro from 28-month highs on Thursday after Hungary's central bank (NBH) signalled it stands ready to loosen monetary conditions, bucking a global trend and a recent Czech central bank (CNB) rate hike.

For the long-term Romanian diary, click on

For emerging markets economic events, click on

For an index of all diaries, click on

For other related news, double click on: --------------------------------------------------------------- Romanian equities RO-E E.Europe equities .CEE Romanian money RO-M Romanian debt RO-D Eastern Europe EEU All emerging markets EMRG Hot stocks HOT Stock markets STX Market debt news DBT Forex news FRX For real-time index quotes, double click on: Bucharest BETI Warsaw WIG20 Budapest BUX Prague PX ---------------------------------------------------------------
ISTANBUL, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Turkey dismissed hundreds civil servants and boosted President Tayyip Erdogan's powers over the national intelligence agency MIT in two decrees published on Friday under emergency rule imposed after an attempted coup last year.

Turkey has sacked or suspended more than 150,000 officials in purges since the failed putsch, while sending to jail pending trial some 50,000 people including soldiers, police, civil servants.

Under the latest decrees, published in the Official Gazette, more than 900 civil servants from various ministries, public institutions and the military were dismissed.

According to one of the decrees, the president's permission will be required for the head of the national intelligence agency MIT to be investigated or to act as a witness. The legal changes will also open the way for investigations into lawmakers for alleged crimes committed before or after they are elected. (Reporting by Ceyda Caglayan; Writing by Daren Butler; Editing by Robert Birsel)
BANGKOK, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Thai deputy prime minister Prawit Wongsuwan said on Friday that it was possible ousted prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra has fled the country.

"It is possible that she has fled already," Prawit told reporters as he left a meeting in Bangkok. He had earlier told reporters that he had no confirmation on Yingluck's whereabouts.

Yingluck, 50, whose family has dominated Thai politics for more than 15 years, faces up to 10 years in prison if found guilty in a case centred on the multi-billion dollar losses incurred by a rice subsidy scheme for farmers.

The court set a new date of Sept. 27 for the verdict, and said it would seek an arrest warrant for Yingluck as it did not believe her excuse that she could not attend the court hearing because of an ear problem. (Reporting by Amy Sawitta Lefevre and Panarat Thepgumpanat; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
By Lidia Kelly and Agnieszka Barteczko

WARSAW, Aug 25 (Reuters) - NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Friday the alliance would closely watch Russian military exercises in western Russia and Belarus next month, urging Moscow to be transparent about the drills.

The manoeuvres, the largest in years, with tanks, naval and air units operating in and around the Baltic and North Sea, have raised NATO's concern that the official number of troops participating might be understated.

"We are going to be watching very closely the course of these exercises," Stoltenberg told reporters after meeting Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo on a visit to check on the deployment of the U.S.-led alliance's forces in the country's east.

"All countries have the right to exercises of their armed forces, but the countries should also respect the obligation to be transparent."

Russia has said that 13,000 troops will participate in the Sept. 14-20 drills, which under an international agreement is the limit for not requiring the presence of external observers. Western estimates have put the number of troops involved much higher.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Friday the drills were purely defensive and concerns about troop numbers were "inflated hype of an artificial nature" in Western media.

"We would like to emphasise that it is precisely these actions which lead to increased military tension in Europe," the ministry said in a statement.

Stoltenberg will meet with Polish, Turkish and Romanian foreign ministers later on Friday before visiting NATO troops in Poland's Orzysz, about 57 km (35 miles) south of Russias Baltic Sea enclave of Kaliningrad, where Moscow has stationed nuclear-capable missiles and an S-400 air missile defence system.

"(The NATO deployment) is a clear signal that an attack on one ally is an attack on the whole alliance," Stoltenberg said. "The matter here is to prevent conflicts and not to provoke them." (Additional reporting by Jack Stubbs in Moscow; Writing by Lidia Kelly; Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)
MADRID, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said on Friday he would ask a summit attended by French, Spanish, Italian and German leaders next Monday to discuss how European cooperation on counter-terrorism efforts could be improved.

Fifteen people died last week in twin attacks by Islamist militants in the Spanish region of Catalonia.

Rajoy told a news conference he wanted European Union partners to "analyze the current cooperation mechanisms ... and look at options to boost them and improve them." (Reporting by Angus Berwick; Writing by Sarah White; Editing by Jesus Aguado)
WARSAW, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo on Friday accused French President Emmanuel Macron of lacking political experience and said his earlier comments about Poland's international isolation were "arrogant".

Macron, speaking in a Bulgarian seaside resort during a tour of central Europe, said that Poland was isolating itself in Europe.

"I advise the president that he should be more conciliatory ... Perhaps his arrogant comments are a result of a lack of (political) experience," Szydlo said in a statement emailed to Reuters.

"I advise the president that he should focus on the affairs of his own country, perhaps he may be able to achieve the same economic results and the same level of security for (French) citizens as those guaranteed by Poland," she said.

Szydlo added that Macron, who has accused Poland's right-wing government of spurning EU values, "would not be deciding the future of Europe", but that it would be shaped by all its members. (Reporting by Pawel Sobczak, writing by Justyna Pawlak; Editing by Lidia Kelly)
By Mahmoud Mourad

MECCA, Aug 25 (Reuters) - The imam of Mecca's Grand Mosque denounced those who "cause conflict among Muslims" in his last Friday sermon before the annual haj pilgrimage, as rifts widen among Gulf neighbours and wars rage across the Middle East.

Saudi Arabia, which hosts and supervises the haj, has with other Arab governments imposed sanctions on Qatar and cut all transport links with the country in recent months, accusing it of supporting Iran and backing Islamist terrorism - charges Doha denies.

Relations between Shi'ite Muslim-led Iran and predominately Sunni Saudi Arabia are at their worst in years, with each accusing the other of subverting regional security and supporting opposite sides in conflicts in Syria, Iraq and Yemen.

"Anyone who causes conflict and discord among Muslims ignores the blessing of harmony, imitates those who lived in ignorance (before Islam), harms his people and cheats his nation," Sheikh Saleh Mohammed al-Taleb told the hundreds of thousands of pilgrims who have flocked to Mecca from around the world to perform the haj next week.

Taleb did not directly refer to the political and military divisions in the Arab world that have killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced millions more in recent years.

Nearly 90,000 Iranians are expected to attend, after Tehran boycotted Mecca last year following a crush at the pilgrimage in 2015 in which hundreds of people died, many of them Iranians.

Saudi officials say over 400 Qatari pilgrims have also arrived through the land border in recent days, but Qatar has accused Saudi Arabia of deliberately making it hard for them. Saudi Arabia says Qatar is seeking to politicise the ritual for diplomatic gains.

The dispute has defied mediation attempts by the United States and Kuwait.

Worshippers on Friday filled the mosque's haram sanctuary, the holiest place in Islam, and spilled into nearby streets, malls, hotel lobbies and garages, listening to the sermon through loudspeakers.

An elderly Tunisian pilgrim named Bakari Abdel Jalil attended in a white shirt and cap while other worshippers donned customary white robes. He said he hoped regional tensions would not affect the haj. (Additional reporting by Mohamed El Sherif in Cairo; Writing by Stephen Kalin; Editing by Andrew Roche)
BEIRUT, Aug 25 (Reuters) - U.S.-backed forces in Syria will soon launch an offensive to oust Islamic State militants from Deir al-Zor province, their last major foothold in the country, an SDF official said on Friday.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) could start its assault on Deir al-Zor "within several weeks" in parallel with an ongoing battle for nearby Raqqa city, Ahmed Abu Khawla told Reuters.

The SDF alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias has been fighting IS inside Raqqa since June after a months-long advance on the city, backed by air strikes and special forces from the U.S.-led coalition.

As Islamic State has come under pressure in Raqqa, many of its forces have fallen back on the towns and cities further east along the Euphrates in Deir al-Zor province.

Syrian government forces are fighting their own campaign in a different part of the province, which borders Iraq.

"The operation to liberate Deir al-Zor will begin very, very soon," said Khawla, who heads the Deir al-Zor military council that fights under the SDF banner.

Col. Ryan Dillon, a spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition, said its focus remained on Raqqa.

Khawla said military plans were ready, and that his unit had already "entered Deir al-Zor territory and liberated several towns".

The military council included 4,000 fighters, mostly Arabs and mostly from the province, he said. They had taken part in all the SDF offensives and were now fighting in Raqqa.

Nearly 800 fighters from Deir al-Zor's tribes said on Thursday they had defected from the Syrian Elite Forces, an Arab group fighting alongside the SDF in Raqqa, to join Khawla's council.

The Syrian army is advancing along the south and west bank of the Euphrates towards Deir al-Zor city. The SDF is mostly on the river's north and east bank, where Raqqa lies.

Damascus has shored up its rule over much of the country's populated west with the help of Russian air power and Iran-backed militias.

Now it is marching east towards Deir al-Zor and the vast desert bordering Iraq.

That advance has on occasion brought its forces and allies into conflict with the U.S. military and the groups it backs.

But the rival campaigns have mostly stayed out of each other's way, and the U.S.-led coalition has stressed it is not seeking war with Damascus.

Islamic State controls most of Deir al-Zor province, and has besieged the government-held pocket of the provincial capital city for years.

In addition to the United Nations, the Syrian government and its Russian ally have made aid drops into the encircled zone, where residents lack food and medicine.

U.N. Syria humanitarian adviser Jan Egeland said there was concern for the civilians in the enclave and others in Islamic State territory as military offensives approach Deir al-Zor.

"We're also concerned also for our lifeline to the people inside Deir al-Zor (city), some 90,000 people and they only have our air drops," he said in Geneva on Thursday. (Reporting by Rodi Said and Ellen Francis; Additional reporting by Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva; Editing by Richard Balmforth and John Stonestreet)
By Michael Hirtzer

CHICAGO, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade corn futures fell to contract lows on Friday, pressured by technical selling and abundant global grain supplies ahead of another bumper U.S. harvest, traders and analysts said.

Soybean futures also eased, declining from Thursday's two-week high as investors awaited final data from the annual Farm Journal Midwest Crop Tour that was due after the close of trading.

Farm Journal will forecast U.S. corn and soy production after crop scouts late on Wednesday projected lower corn yield potential in Iowa and higher in Minnesota and a decline in soybean pod counts in each state.

Wheat futures were about flat, holding above life-of-contract lows reached earlier this week.

"Pre-weekend profit-taking is the primary cause of the weakness in today's trade," MaxYield Cooperative analyst Karl Setzer said in a client note.

Some U.S. farmers were delivering corn and soybean supplies remaining from last year to make room in grain bins for the new crop. The increased farmer selling further weighed on corn after prices climbed modestly in the previous session.

CBOT December corn was down 2 cents at $3.54-1/4 per bushel at 12:15 p.m. CDT (1715 GMT), up slightly from the earlier contract low of $3.53-1/2. Corn on a continuous chart fell to the lowest level since January and was heading for its fifth consecutive weekly decline.

"It's the end of the crop year and farmers are cleaning out bins," Advance Trading analyst Brian Basting said.

CBOT November soybeans were down 2-1/4 cents to $9.44-1/4 per bushel. Soybeans still were on pace for a narrow weekly gain, which would be the first in a month.

Traders were waiting to see if the Farm Journal forecast would run counter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's outlook on Aug. 10 for bigger-than-expected corn and soy harvests.

CBOT December wheat was unchanged at $4.34-1/2 per bushel, heading for a weekly decline of about 1.7 percent. (Additional reporting by Colin Packham in Sydney and Sybille de La Hamaide; in Paris; Editing by Paul Simao)
By Jake Spring

BRASILIA, Aug 25 (Reuters) - President Michel Temer defended his opening of a vast Amazon area to mining, responding to criticism from lawmakers, environmental groups and supermodel Gisele Bundchen that it threatened the world's largest rainforest.

Earlier this week, Temer abolished the National Reserve of Copper and Associates (Renca) that had protected roughly 17,800 square miles (46,000 square km), an area larger than Denmark, from mining since 1984.

The reserve in northern Amapa and Para is thought to be rich in copper, gold, iron ore and other minerals. Preserving the rainforest is seen as vital to countering climate change, given the Amazon's role in soaking up carbon emissions, environmentalists say.

If mining is allowed to go forward, it could cause the biggest ever legally sanctioned destruction of the Amazon, Randolfe Rodrigues, a senator from Amapa state, told Reuters.

Temer's office issued a statement late Thursday saying these concerns were overstated and allowing legal mining there would help combat illegal exploration.

"Renca is not a paradise, as some would wrongly like to make it appear," the statement said.

"Today, unfortunately, the territories of the original Renca are subject to the degradation caused by illegal gold miners, which besides plundering national wealth, are destroying nature and polluting waterways with mercury."

Rodrigues, of the opposition Rede party led by former presidential candidate and environment minister Marina Silva, has proposed a measure in the Senate to block the president's decree. He hopes to rally public support for the measure and plans to file public interest lawsuits with federal courts in Amapa and Para states to block the decree from being executed.

Renca was established by decree, making it difficult to argue Temer abolishing the area by decree was unconstitutional, said Izabella Pardinho, an environmental lawyer at Bichara Advogados based in Rio de Janeiro. Other legal grounds could support a case in the public interest, she said.

"Shame! They are auctioning our Amazon! We cannot destroy protected areas for private interests," Bundchen wrote in a tweet.

In June, Temer said in a tweet to Bundchen he would veto a measure to separately reduce protections of a different national forest after she criticized the move. He later supported a compromise to reduce the protected area by a lesser amount than originally proposed.

Temer's office said any mining would need to comply with strict federal licensing requirements that provide environmental protection.

The abolition of Renca does not lift other protections for native vegetation, nature conservation areas and indigenous land in the area.

According to a 2010 government report, 69 percent of the Renca area in Amapa state is subject to other protections.

Merely allowing mining near protected areas could generate conflict and put them under threat, WWF and Greenpeace said in statements.

"The measure will accelerate the arrival of infrastructure and people for mining activities in areas of native forest, reproducing in the region the same lack of governance that permits the advance of deforestation and land grabs (elsewhere) in the Amazon," Greenpeace said.

(Reporting by Jake Spring; Editing by Andrew Hay)
Every time the patrol passes the Sonamdaje monument on Kunlun Mountain, members stop to pay their respects.

Sonamdaje, a former official in northwest China's Qinghai Province, was shot dead by poachers when patrolling the Hoh Xil region in 1994.

With an average altitude of over 4,600 meters, the region is an ideal habitat for endangered Tibetan antelopes and other wildlife such as Tibetan gazelles and wild yaks. It was added to the world heritage list last month.

The area was beset by poachers in the 1980s, who hunted Tibetan antelopes for their hide to be made into expensive shahtoosh shawls. Each shawl, priced up to US$50,000, cost the lives of three to five antelopes.

The antelope population declined sharply from 200,000 to 20,000 due to illegal hunting.

Local people began riding yaks to patrol the mountain in 1992. When the Hoh Xil nature reserve was set up in 1996, a 16-person patrol was set up. Currently, over 70 people are employed to patrol the mountains.

The patrols are dangerous. In addition to steep mountainous roads and inhospitable wetland and marsh, members face the threats of guns and wild animals.

Zhao Xinlu has been patrolling the area for 20 years. He recalls catching an armed gang of poachers. "We were not as well-equipped as they were, and the seized rifles were all loaded," he said.

A dozen years ago, Zhao and his team seized over 500 antelope skins, but the smell of blood soon attracted a pack of wolves.

"They followed us to our vehicles and surrounded us at night," he said. "We fired shots into the air to scare them away."

The antelope population is now back over 60,000.

"Ten years ago, tourists asked me what the antelopes look like. Now they ask whether an antelope is male or female," said Lodro Cering, while feeding a baby antelope with a bottle of milk.

In the protection station where Lodro works, seven baby antelopes are being cared for.

Every June, when it is time for antelopes to give birth and migrate, patrollers save ill or orphaned animals. Since 2001, they have saved over 500.

Besides professional patrollers, thousands of local villagers are employed as part-time rangers to clean up garbage and protect local wildlife.

Herder Dawa, who is paid 1,800 yuan (US$270) a month, said: "Although we were asked to keep less cattle to help the environment on the grassland, our income has increased thanks to the new job. It's great to see the grassland turning cleaner and the wildlife population growing."

However, Hoh Xil is now facing new challenges posed by climate change, said Budro, head of the Hoh Xil nature reserve administrative bureau. "The thawing icebergs have led to overflowing local lakes, forming new lakes totalling about 200 square kilometers," he said.

Inclusion in the world heritage list has raised the standards for Hoh Xil.

Lodro said: "In the future, we will not only patrol mountains, but also work as ecological observers to help heighten local people's environmental awareness."
SANTIAGO, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Chile's Cencosud SA, one of Latin America's largest retailers, plans to sell up to $1 billion in non-strategic assets in the next 12-18 months to cut debt and accelerate growth, the company said on Friday.

The decision comes a day after Cencosud reported a second-quarter net profit that came in below market expectations. The results raised concerns among some analysts about the retailer's debt levels.

Cencosud disclosed its plan to sell some assets in a letter to Chile's regulator.

"The resulting funds from said plan will be used to reduce company debt and accelerate organic growth in the region," the company said in the letter. It did not specify which assets would be sold.

Cencosud, which also has units in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Peru, on Thursday reported that second-quarter net profit fell 73 percent in yearly terms amid regional economic weakness and a high base of comparison.

In a phone call with journalists on Friday, Cencosud's chief financial officer, Rodrigo Larrain, said the group would be more comfortable with a ratio of debt to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of around three, rather than its current level of about four.

Cencosud shares on the Santiago bourse were down 0.62 percent at 3:32 p.m. local time (1832 GMT) after volatile trading. (Reporting by Felipe Iturrieta; Writing by Luc Cohen and Gram Slattery; Editing by Leslie Adler)
Uttar Pradesh, (Daily Mail), 24 August 2017 -

A jilted lover chopped off a 15-year-old schoolgirls hand with a sword at a busy Indian market in broad daylight.



The attack took place at the Lakhimpur Kheri market, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, when the victim was shopping with her younger brother. The girl was immediately rushed to a private hospital where doctors are trying to stitch her dismembered hand back on. 19Vin-year-old Vinod Chaurasia,, is accused of attacking her and is alleged to have been stalking the girl for past few months.



Police claim he followed her to try and convince her to go out with him but when she turned him down, he took out the sword and cut off her hand.



He then repeatedly struck her with the sword but fortunately, the crowd overpowered him and handed him over to the police.CAP: The attack took place at the Lakhimpur Kheri market, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh (DM)
In 2015 the Insurance Association of Sri Lanka (IASL) began a journey to gain national recognition to increase thespread of awareness about the value of Insurance. With the support of the Insurance Board of Sri Lanka (IBSL), the Marketing and Sales Forum ( MSF ) and the IASL sought the Governments approval to declare the 1st of September National Insurance Day.

Over the past two years the IASL has recognized and celebrated the month of September as, Insurance Awareness Month. Activation programs, media promotions, competitions etc. are organized and launched throughout the entire month in order to ensure the spread of Life and General Insurance awareness throughout the island.

However, this year will see the entire industry celebrate a day officially dedicated to Insurance in Sri Lanka. The 1st of September 2017 will see leading members of the Insurance industry gather at the Independence Arcade in Colombo 07 for the official declaration ceremony of Sri Lankas first National Insurance Day. Presiding over the days events as Chief Guest will be the Chairperson of the IBSL, Mrs. Indrani Sugathadasa. Other dignitaries present will include; the Postmaster General, Mr. D.L.P Rohana Abeyratne, the Director General of the IBSL, Mrs. Damayanthi Fernando, the President of the IASL, Mr. Deepthi Lokuarachchi and the CEOs and MDs of Insurance companies in Sri Lanka.

In honor of the occasion a commemorative stamp will be launched on the 1st of September at the ceremony at the Independence Arcade. Prior to the event the stamp will be officially presented to His Excellency President Maithripala Sirisena on the 31st of August.

The IASL and the MSF have organized an extensive and widespread awareness campaign throughout September, includingcompetitions, sales promotions, media campaigns, activations and numerous other programs.

Given the very low level of penetration in Sri Lanka, the achievement of our goal to have the 1st of September declared National Insurance Day, is a tremendous achievement. It is a historic event that will be forever remembered among the Insurance community of Sri Lanka as well as the general public. Thus, serving as a means of increasing the influence of the industry and the spread of Insurance awareness throughout Sri Lanka, stated the Chairman of the MSF, Mr. Hashra Weerawardena.

The primary responsibility of the Insurance advisor is to help people get back on their feet following some form of calamity and loss. However, this task has often proved difficult over the recent years due to the lack of awareness about the value of General and Life Insurance among the public. It is our fervent hope that by naming a day in honor of Insurance and spreading our message of awareness throughout the island, we may see a drastic improvement in the industry, stated Mr. Deepthi Lokuarachchi, the President of the IASL.
The book of joy

Lasting Happiness in a Changing World

His Holiness The Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu with Douglas Abrams

Hutchinson, London, UK. 2016. 599.00 (1,795.00)



As students we were advised to read autobiographies and biographies. Hence my reading of this very valuable book gifted to me by a very good friend recently.

In this book, the author, in the context of a dialogue conducts a discussion on the subjects of joy and peace.

This book has an introduction presented in the context of the Archbishops visit to celebrate the special birthday of Dalai Lama, where a discussion takes place.

The Dalai Lama is a refuge in India in the context of the Sino-Tibetan conflict.

The Archbishop, has a sense of victory and triumph having survived the horrible apartheid in South Africa.

The Dalai Lama says, the ultimate source of happiness is within us. The Archbishop says We grow in kindness when our kindness is tested.

When Nelson Mandela invited the Archbishop to chair the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the Archbishop produced a report in which the theme is No future, no life without Forgiveness.

Thereafter the BBC invited the Archbishop to get involved in the Peace Process in

Northern Ireland.

Several years ago Pope John Paul the 2nd had a Congress of Religions at which the then Dalai Lama was present.

Having read this valuable book, I am of the opinion that all of us interested in Joy and Peace should read this. Happy reading!



Sydney Knight
Funding up to US $ 5bn over next 5 years until 2022

Plans to provide US $ 800mn to US $ 1bn a year with other ADB resources

Aimed at assisting SL to transition into upper middle income status

To team up with key SOEs to improve their management

By Chandeepa Wettasinghe

The Asian Development Bank will be providing up to US$ 5 billion in financing to Sri Lanka through its new Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) over the next five years until 2022, in order to help the country transition into the upper middle income status.



This Country Partnership Strategy covering 2018-2022 was just approved by the board on August 16. The CPS has been developed to support Sri Lankas transition to upper middle income country status, ADB Country Director Sri Widowati said yesterday.



Sri Lankas current gross national income per capita is US$ 3,835, which fell from US$ 3,843 due to the depreciation of the rupee. The threshold for upper middle income status is US$ 3,955 until July 2018, when the World Bank revisits country income level limits.



Widowati said that the CPS will be supporting Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghes vision for Sri Lanka, articulated in his policy speeches in October 2015 and November 2016, as well as in the public investment project for 2017-2020.



In the new CPS we are providing US$ 600-650 million per year which is already secured, but we are planning to provide between US$ 800 million to US$ 1 billion per year in combination with other ADB resources, Widowati added.



She said that Sri Lanka has attracted more ADB funding than it had been allocated in recent years, due to the countrys positive performance.

Over the past several years, ADB had provided Sri Lanka US$ 340-400 million in annual financing, she said.



According to ADB Senior Country Economist Tadateru Hayashi, the new CPS will focus on two pillars of driving growth, and improving the quality of growth.



He said that growth driving pillar will support diversifying production, and improving productivity in the country, by funding projects that will improve human capital development and logistical and infrastructural development.



Under the pillar of improving the quality of growth we will look at strengthening agricultural infrastructure and commercialization, improving public service delivery and expanding access to financing for the small and medium size enterprises. We will also get into the health sector, Hayashi said.



He said that the Colombo-Trincomalee Economic Corridor concept will influence both pillars, and as will projects addressing gender equality and climate change and sustainability, such as renewable energy and desalination plants.



Hayashi said that ADBs own private sector investments will diversify from its current focus in the financial sector, into agribusiness, health and infrastructure sectors.



Further, he added that the ADB will promote private sector development by supporting the improvement of the World Banks Doing Business Indexs three pillars of enforcing contracts, resolving insolvency and getting credit.



The ADB will team up with the five state owned institutions; the Ceylon Electricity Board, the Naitonal Water Supply and Drainage Board, the Road Development Authority, Sri Lanka Railways and Sri Lanka Ports Authority to improve their management. ADB currently has 31 ongoing projects in Sri Lanka, with a commitment of US$ 3.4 billion.
Amana Bank Vice President  Retail Banking and Marketing Siddeeque Akbar (right) handing over the sponsorship cheque to Chairman Sri Lanka Gem and Jewellery Association A.H.M. Imtizam (centre) and Chairman Facets Sri Lanka Mushtaq Jabir (left)

Amana Bank has joined hands with the Sri Lanka Gem and Jewellery Association to be its Official Banking partner for FACETS,Sri Lankas pinnacle International Gem and Jewellery Exhibition. Held for the 27th consecutive year, the 2017edition of FACETSis to take place from 31 August 2017 to 03 September 2017 at the BMICH under the patronage of the President of Sri Lanka His Excellency Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister His Excellency Ranil Wickremasinghe.

This event will showcase a vast variety of gemstones, work of local artisans and special exhibits from gem dealers, exporters, wholesalers, manufacturers and retailers as well internationally renowned jewellers to showcase their exquisite collection of Gems and Jewellery.

Commenting on thissponsorship Amana Bank Chief Executive Officer Mohamed Azmeer said We are honoured and privileged to partner with FACETS Sri Lanka as its Official Banker. Over the years, FACETS Sri Lanka has built a strong reputation in the global stage and brought great value to Sri Lanka. Through this partnership we look forward to support the growth of the Gem and Jewellery industry which plays a pivotal role in the economy of Sri Lanka.

Also sharing his views Chairman of FACETS Sri Lanka Mushtaq Jabir said We are indeed very grateful to Amana Bank and delightful to welcome the bank as an important partner of FACETS and thus, becoming the official banker of FACETS Sri Lanka 2017 International Gem and Jewellery Show.We at the Sri Lanka Gem and Jewellery Association, the main organiser of FACETS Sri Lanka, look forward to a long standing relationship between our two organisations.

Amana Bank is the countrys first Licensed Commercial Bank to operate in complete harmony with the globally growing non-interest based banking model. With the mission of Enabling Growth and Enriching Lives, the Bank reaches out to its customers through a growing network of 28 branches and 3800+ ATM access points and has introduced an array of customer conveniences such as Internet & Mobile Banking, Debit Card with SMS alerts, Saturday Banking, Extended Banking Hours, 24x7 Cash Deposit Machines and Banking Units Exclusively for Ladies.

Fitch Ratings, in October 2016, affirmed the Banks National Long Term Rating of BB(lka) with a Stable Outlook. The Bank was recognized as the Best Up-and-Comer Islamic Bank of the World by Global Finance Magazine at the 18th Annual Worlds Best Banks Award Ceremony held in Washington DC, USA. The Bank was also bestowed the coveted title Islamic Finance Entity of the Year 2016 at the inaugural Islamic Finance Forum of South Asia Awards Ceremony.
Switzerland, (Daily Mail), 24 August 2017 -



Eight people, including German, Austrian and Swiss citizens, are missing following a landslide in southeastern Switzerland on Wednesday, police said Thursday.



The landslide sent mud, rocks and dirt flooding down the Piz Cengalo mountain into the outskirts of the village of Bondo, near the Italian border, cutting off roads and forcing evacuations.



Some 100 people had to leave their homes in the area, and authorities airlifted hikers from nearby huts in the eastern canton of the Grisons.



Police had initially announced that no one was hurt in the landslide, but on Thursday acknowledged that rescue workers were flying over the area in search of mountain climbers and hikers who might have been hit by the slide.



Six of the eight people known to have been in the area and who have not yet been located had been reported missing by their relatives, the police said.
The Pivithuru Hela Urumaya (PHU) today filed a petition against the 20th Amendment to the Constitution in the Supreme Court (SC), thus becoming the first faction to challenge the piece of legislation in the SC.

Party leader and MP Udaya Gammanpila said they requested the SC that the 20A should not only be passed with a two-thirds majority in Parliament but also receive the consent of the public at a referendum.

"The Constitution clearly says a referendum should be held if presidential elections or the general election is being postponed. Though it doesnt mention about the provincial council elections, people practice their franchise through elections. Therefore, the Constitution says any amendment related to people's franchise should receive the consent of the people at a referendum," he told journalists after filing the petition in SC.

He also said the current amendment was impractical. The MP said they were against the amendment based on political and constitutional factors and therefore, requested the SC to order the government to hold a referendum before passing the amendment. (By Lahiru Pothmulla)
President Maithripala Sirisena yesterday said that he did not like the Attorney General's Department being criticized by anyone and those who criticize must leave alone the AGs Department to work in an independent and stress free environment.

I dont see any oversight or mistake in the performance of the AGs Department", President Sirisena stressed.

President Sirisena told the Daily Mirror that there were lapses in filing charges against corrupt politicians and officials of the Mahinda Rajapaksa regime but no one talked about what would have happened if there was no regime change in 2015.

He said Sri Lanka has been offered a grace period of two years from March 2017 by the UNHRC to fulfil the undertakings of the resolution co-sponsored by Sri Lanka in Geneva.

While reiterating that there will be no international judges or lawyers in a domestic inquiry on the alleged violation of the International Humanitarian Law (IHL), President Sirisena said it is premature to talk about a domestic inquiry now.

Commenting on the formation of the UNP  SLFP led Yahapalana Government and criticism on the government now by certain political groups, President Sirisena said, "When the two parties agreed to form a unity government in 2015, all approved it. So, why they criticized it now? What would have been the outcome if both parties did not agree to this?" he asked.

Commenting on the setting up of the National Economic Council (NEC), President Sirisena said it was established after consulting the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, the IMF and top professionals in trade and finance.

On the SAITM issue, President Sirisena said it has been over-politicized and beyond any quick remedy.

A discussion has been called by him among vice chancellors of all universities, deans of all medical faculties, the GMOA and officials of the higher education Ministry today to find a long lasting solution. In late 2014 all political parties affiliated to the UPFA vehemently protested against President Rajapaksa's decision not to go for a Presidential poll two years prematurely. I told him not to do it in writing. But he did not listen and declared an elections. He did that because he could not face the hostile attitude of the global community, the west in particular and the impending economic crisis," President Sirisena stressed.

If there was no regime change in 2015, the global community, the US and EU would have imposed trade embargoes against Sri Lanka and political and military leaders would have taken before International Criminal Court for war crimes. The Yahapalana Government was able to defuse that negative impact on Sri Lanka and no country or international agency now talk about Sri Lankas war crimes and electric chair. The entire international community is friendly and respects Sri Lanka now. As a result of this positive global atmosphere, Sri Lanka has been able to regain GSP+ and remove fish export ban to the EU, President Sirisena stressed.

"Though we have made a steady progress in the international arena, we have failed to put an end to corruption and waste" President Sirisena said. (By Sandun A Jayasekera)
Former Navy Commander Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda has sent a Letter of Demand to Navy Commander Travis Sinniah demanding Rs.500 million over a statement allegedly made to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) by the latter, the Daily Mirror learns.

The Letter of Demand sent by Attorney Wasantha Wijewardane on behalf of Admiral Karannagoda stated that, I am instructed by my client that you have made numerous false and malicious allegations and statements against and/or in relation to my client. My client had also been made aware that you have made a false and malicious statement to the CID on or about mid-July against and/or in relation to my client. The statement specially being: former Navy Commander Wasantha Karannagoda was aware of the existence of a torture chamber/detention centre at the Gunsite at the Trincomalee Navy Base; and those who were detained at Gunsite number 1 and 2 had been murdered and the former Navy Commander and his staff were aware of this.

The Letter of Demand that was sent on August 13, 2017 addressed to the then Rear Admiral Travis Sinniah, also stated that the aforesaid allegations/statements are extremely damaging to my clients reputation and have been calculatedly made to bring disrepute to my client and thereby caused the delictual wrong of action injuriarum (defamation).

Meanwhile, Rear Admiral (Rtd) Udaya Keerthi Bandara also sent a Letter of Demand to Navy Commander Sinniah demanding Rs.500 million over a statement made to the CID over the same allegations.
Next month, Elsie Seetoo, one of the estimated 20,000 Chinese-Americans who served in the US Army during World War II, will turn 99. And despite her age, some events from more than 70 years ago remain fresh in her memory.

Elsie Seetoo at her retirement community in Bowie, Maryland, on July 12.[Photo/China Daily]

"I was just finishing my final exams at the time when Pearl Harbor and Hong Kong were attacked on the morning of Dec 7, 1941 (Dec 8 in Hong Kong)," said Seetoo, speaking from a retirement home in Bowie, Maryland, where she has lived since the late 1990s.

The exams were part of her training as a nurse at a British hospital in Hong Kong.

Seetoo was born in Stockton, California, on Sept 14, 1918. However, her family's business was hit by the Great Depression, so her father moved the family to Guangdong province when Seetoo was age 12.

While in Hong Kong, she cared for US journalist Agnes Smedley, who told her about the Chinese Red Cross Medical Relief Corps.

After Hong Kong fell to the Japanese in 1941, Seetoo returned to China and joined the Chinese Red Cross, despite her mother's initial objections.

The then-23-year-old and some friends walked about 1,100 kilometers to Guiyang, capital of Guizhou province, where she met Robert Lim, the director of the Red Cross, who offered her a position.

Lim, a Chinese doctor, had helped to organize the Chinese Red Cross during World War I. He became a lieutenant general in the US Army, and was later surgeon general of the Republic of China.

After serving in the Chinese Red Cross for several months, Seeto joined a medical service training unit in India. She and her colleagues left for India on Christmas Day, 1942.

When she returned to China, she met Ernest King, a Chinese-American medical officer, who encouraged her to join the US Army Nurse Corps.

Her first application was rejected: "Because of my Chinese name, they told me I should join the Chinese army."

Angered by the rejection, a friend wrote a letter to argue Seetoo's case, and the commission was approved. Seetoo was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the US Army Nurse Corps on June 17, 1944.

Later, she was assigned to Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province, where she was the only Chinese-American nurse.

She returned to the US in 1946 and used the opportunities afford by the GI Bill, which provided a range of benefits for returning World War II veterans, to attend the Woman's College of the University of North Carolina.

At college, she received a bachelor's degree in nursing, and also met her future husband, Joseph Yuen.

They raised four children in Washington. Seetoo retired in the mid-1980s after a career as a translator, medical writer and editor.

Looking back over her long life, Seetoo said, "I'm fortunate that I have met many nice people who have been so helpful to me."
Speaker Molamure Toned-down Governor Thompson

I have yet to learn that the Governor is the representative of the King in Ceylon

--Sir A. Francis Molamure Saga

Eight decades ago in 1932 Sri Lanka had one cause to boast over her mighty neighbour.

Whereas a Viceroy with practically unrestricted powers in exercising political control over a dependent State controlled the affairs of that vast gathering of races and regions in the sub-continent: the Royal representative in little Sri Lanka was only a Governor whose discretionary authority was strictly defined by the Donoughmore Constitution.



The parippu Drop-1987

The colonial Ceylon was in every respectexcept perhaps in the sphere of strategic importanceof lesser importance to the British empire than the great sub-continent of India. The above fact became quite evident by the response at the infamous Air drop of Parippu by Indians 30 years ago. Sri Lanka described Indias action as a naked infringement of Sri Lankas sovereignty and an unwarranted attack on Sri Lankas territory.

Dixit, the Indian HC was directed to inform JRJ that if Sri Lanka reacted, it would mean a full-scale war, a message to Sri Lanka, said Gandhi. Jayewardene, left without options, turned to his Western friends who did not care to intervene.

Margaret Thatcher responded with a short statement, If they have done it, it is wrong though a couple of years earlier Sri Lanka sided UK, while the whole world stood with Argentina over the Falklands issue. America maintained stoic silence while JR, moved to negotiate with India saying, for US and UK, the Indian market is more important. Coming back to our story- In 1932, the first son of the soil to be elected Speaker of the then Ceylons LegislatureThe State Councilwent so far as to remark that he did not consider His Excellency the local representative of His Majesty in England.



Exchange of Notes



This remark caused a sharp exchange of notes between the Speaker, the late Sir Francis Molamure [Then plain A. F. Molamure] and the then Governor, Sir Greame Thomson, in which though the latter had the last word, the former won the day.

It all began when the State Council in 1932 was discussing a motion of the late A. E. Goonesinghe-Colombo Central moved that the conferment of Imperial honours should be abolished. S. W. Dassanayake, in seconding the motion remarked that he understood the motion to mean that all honours conferred by the Governor as the representative of His Majesty, who is the sole fount of honour as the phrase described, should be done away with.

The Speaker: I have yet to learn that the Governor is the representative of the King in Ceylon.

The drama took place in the council on November 23, 1932. Two days later, Speaker received the following communication from His Excellency.

Kings Pavillion, Kandy, 25 Nov 1932.

Sir, I have the honour to refer to you to the following report of a statement made by you which appeared in the newspapersof 24th November1932:-

The Speaker: I have yet to know the Governor is the representative of King of Ceylon. May I inquire whether the report is correct and, if so, will you be good enough to inform me in what sense you meant the statement to be taken.

I have the honour to be, Sir, Your obedient Servant,

Greame Thomson

Governor.

Sir Francis replied:

Sir, I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of Your Excellencys letter

I would take leave to point out that I question the right of the Governor to make this inquiry from the Speaker of the State Council, as I maintain that the Governor has no right to do so.

However as a matter of courtesy to Your Excellency, I would have no hesitation in answering the question put to me. The report appearing in the papers of 24th is correct.



The sense in which I meant my words to be taken is that, in the strict or legal sense of the expressions, the Governor is not the representative of His Majesty the King.

I have the honour to be, Sir, your Excellencys Obedient Servant,

A. F. Molamure,

Speaker.

The Governor was not prepared to leave it at that, he followed up with the following rejoinder.

December 5 1932.

It has never being claimed that the Governor of Ceylon is vested, within the island, with all the powers and privileges with which His Majesty himself is vested within his dominions. In the exercise, however, of those particular powers which are conferred upon the Governor by His Majestys commission, as well as in the spheres in which strictly legal considerations do not arise, the Governor acts as His Majestys representative and has always been recognized as such by His Majesty, as well as by the people of Ceylon.

The ball was in now in Speakers court but the Speaker was not stumped.

The force, with which he returned it to His Excellency, reflected very much to his credit.

I was well aware of the considerations mentioned in your letter, but I would take leave to point out that the statement was made in the course of a debate in the State Council relative to the exercised by His Majesty the King of his powers and prerogatives in the grant of honours and was in no way derogatory to Your Excellency. The expression used by me was both correct and Constitutional and was intended to direct the attention of the State Council to the fact that the status of the Governor was not analogous to that of a Viceroy as the powers of the former were strictly limited to the terms of his Commission and that he did not represent the Sovereign generally.

It was obvious that Speakers logic and fluency were proving too much for His Excellency who virtually surrendered his next and last communication on the subject, which ran as follows:

With reference to your letter, I understand that your statement was made immediately after an observation by a Member of the council referring to honours conferred by the Governor as representative of His Majesty and not to powers and prerogatives exercise by His Majesty himself. With regard to correctness of the implications of your statement..I have nothing to add. - [Source: National Archives]

Big brothers are the ones who are supposed to pull their punches. Little sisters, well, we should be able to hit as hard as we like, shouldnt we?

-Rick Riordan



Sir John Kotelawala at Bandung, 1955

The first AfroAsian Conferencealso known as the Bandung Conference took place from April 18 to 24, 1955 in Indonesia duringSir John Kotelawalas premiership. Twenty-nine countries participated in it with the aim to promote economic and cultural cooperation and to oppose colonialism.

There were States under Communist domination in Central and Eastern Europe. Sir John speaking stated, Are not these colonies as much as any of the colonial territories in Africa or Asia? And if we are united in our opposition to colonialism, should it not be our duty openly to declare our opposition to Soviet colonialism as much as to Western imperialism?

He finished amid silence. Then the silence broke. Chou En-lai got up in obvious agitation and said that, as Sir John had made references to Communist colonialism, he reserved the right to make a statement and that he would do so on the following morning.

The atmosphere was exciting as they marched out of the room. Chou asked our PM why he had said so, and whether it was Sir Johns intention to break up the Conference.

Nehru walked up to him too, and asked him in an angered tone, Why did you do that, Sir John? Why did you not show me your speech before you made it?Sir John rejoined,

Why should I? Nehru, do you show me yours before you make them?

Source: An Asian Prime Ministers Story- 1956



DSS- Unbowed to Western Powers

The Commonwealths economic situation in early 1949, was in dire straits, they attempted to impose authority over Liptons Estate by making a calculated attempt to manipulate our strong Dollar reserves by making us a partner to the Sterling Assets Agreement.

D. S. Senanayake, in this serious issue, lavishly displayed his patriotism. The conflict state of affairs that arose with the colonial establishment in 1949 resulted in an assignment by J. R. Jayewardene, the Finance Minister along with his adviser John Exter, [Later the first Central Bank Governor], attending a Finance Ministers Conference summoned by Britain at their request. DS was very much disturbed over attempts to touch our dollar earnings; he was keen to have it as our own foreign reserves and he advised the team on what they were to do if the colonial government rejected their appeal.

He categorically stated,

We are an independent nation. Our dollar earnings are our own...., if we are not allowed to act independently then obviously we must leave the Sterling Area..., the UK Government cannot oppose this. So, go ahead and tell them you will leave unless you are permitted to keep your countrys earnings  J.R. speeches - [Presid. Archives: File 195-a].



Sirimavos Petroleum Nationalisation

The oil monopoly was mainly held by the West accounting to 85% of Sri Lankas oil requirement. The importation and distribution was handled by two US giants, Caltex and Standard Vacuum, and the third, Shell was a British company.

The prices were subjected to skyrocketing. For saving foreign exchange, the Sirimavo Government nationalised the three companys operations and established the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation in 1961, thereby breaking down the domination of Western oil multinationals giants.

The US threatened us with withdrawal of PL-480 wheat flour aid programme and many other repercussions. Prime Minister, Sirimavo ignored all such bullying and intimidations by the West in going ahead with her decision.

Big brothers are the ones who are supposed to pull their punches. Little sisters, well, we should be able to hit as hard as we like, shouldnt we?



-Rick Riordan
The Local Government (LG) Elections Amendment Bill was passed in Parliament a short while ago with 120 MPs voting for it.

None of the MPs voted against the Bill but 44 MPs abstained from voting.

The leaders of political parties yesterday decided to take up the vote on the Amendment Bill today. The decision was taken after the party leaders met at the parliamentary complex yesterday.
The form, craftsmanship and vibe of Italian luxury furniture are perfectly embodied in a new selection from Natuzzi, just arrived at the iconic brands flagship store in Colombo.



Representing nearly six decades of design mastery and innovation that have made Natuzzi products globally admired, the new arrivals encompass living, dining and bedroom furniture for any living space.



Selected from the extensive Natuzzi Italia collection, these pieces are eye-catching additions to the showrooms existing portfolio of furniture from the Natuzzi Italia and Natuzzi Editions product lines.

Now on display at No: 100, Galle Road, Colombo 4 are a stylish hexagonal glass-topped dining table, minimalist Pi Greco chairs, a bedroom suite comprising of a Vela bed and Munari bedside unit and six couches in Natuzzis Long Beach, Tenore, Ciak, Quodra and Vittoria models.



The arrival of these new products is an exciting event for aficionados of luxury furniture, said Shamal Gamage, Sales Manager Furniture of Softlogic Retail, the authorised franchisee in Sri Lanka for Natuzzi furniture.



As with all Natuzzi products, they are unique in terms of design and represent the ultimate in quality and comfort.



The Natuzzi Italia product line, to which the new arrivals belong, is a strictly made in Italy range that embraces Natuzzis Total Harmony concept. The Natuzzi Italia range has to its credit the worlds first performance recliner Natuzzi Re-vive -- the only armchair in the world that adapts to any seating position, without the need for levers or other mechanisms, fully supporting the body and reacting intuitively to its movements, ensuring unprecedented levels of comfort.



Natuzzi Editions offers a wide range of comfortable leather sofas, enhancing Natuzzis renewed strengths: its huge knowledge of leather and its special planning and manufacturing heritage.



Founded in 1959 by Pasquale Natuzzi, Natuzzi S.p.A. is Italys largest furniture house and the player with the greatest global reach in its sector, with seven manufacturing plants, 12 commercial offices and more than 1,200 points of sale worldwide. Natuzzi is considered the most recognised furniture brand in the world among consumers of luxury goods and exports its innovative products to 123 countries on five continents.



Natuzzis franchisee in Sri Lanka Softlogic Retail is part of Softlogic Holdings PLC -- one of Sri Lankas foremost, dynamic conglomerates, with leading market positions in the countrys growing economic sectors: retail, healthcare, ICT, automobiles, leisure and financial services. Softlogic holds authorized distributorships for key global brands and today, employs over 9,000 people in its offices located in Sri Lanka and Australia.
A no-confidence motion signed by 39 Joint Opposition (JO) MPs against Health Minister and Cabinet Spokesman Rajitha Senaratne was handed over to Speaker a short while ago, MP Udaya Gammanpila said.

The motion which was signed by MPs including JO Leader Dinesh Gunawardane, Vasudeva Nanayakkara and Dullas Alahapperuma charged the minister had failed to fulfil his duties as the Health Minister, had solicited bribes during his tenure as the fisheries minister and influenced and threatened the Judiciary and the Attorney Generals Department.

The joint opposition alleged though a number of bribery complaints had been made against the minister, no action had been taken so far.

This shows opportunities to implement justice had been obstructed. Also, the public opinion is as such that he is guilty for these allegations because he is evading investigations, it said.

It said the minister had created chaos in Sri Lankas medical education by sacrificing it to the business community, by being biased towards the SAITM, misusing public funds to takeover the Neville Fernando Teaching Hospital and voluntarily ignoring to gazette minimum standards of the medical education which were set by the Sri Lanka Medical Council.

The JO said the Minister had failed to adequately respond to the Dengue epidemic and created a financial loss to the state by influencing to purchase a rejected medicinal drug for breast cancer. (By Lahiru Pothmulla)

Video by Isuru
Northern Province Chief Minister C. V. Wigneswaran said yesterday that there was no possibility of them supporting the draft 20th Amendment to the Constitution outright.

The Chief Minister expressed these views at a meeting held at the Provincial Council Complex in Kaithady, Jaffna.

He said that the government was attempting to take over the powers of the Provincial Councils and hand it over to Parliament by the Constitutional Amendments and therefore the people and the legislators of the province should be consulted when drafting the document.

Chairman of the Council C. V. K. Sivagnanam meanwhile said that the Councillors would be summoned on September 4 to make a decision regarding the draft 20th Amendment to the Constitution. (By Romesh Madushanka)
On a day like yesterday (August 25 in 1980), thirty seven years ago, a report was handed over to the Commission to strip former Premier Sirimavo Bandaranaike of her civil rights. It was a dark day for Sri Lanka largely because she was the first woman Prime Minister in the world. She was sworn in as Premier on 21st July 1960.

There were ten charges against Bandaranaike. One of the charges pertained to the 1972 Lands Reform Commission. On 27 February 1980 under section 18 of the Special Presidential Commission, she was issued notice to appear before the Commission. Bandaranaike requested for time to appear before the Commission and this was allowed. The Commission decided to summon her on the 7th May 1980.

Bandaranaike didnt appear alone. She was accompanied by her two daughters, Chandrika, Sunethra and some stalwarts of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party like Attorneys at Law H.L de Silva, E.D Wickramanayake, K.Shammugalingam, D.W. Kularatne and Gomin Dayasri.

Appearing on behalf of the State were Deputy Solicitor General Sunil de Silva, Senior State Counsel C.M.N. Bogollagama and State Counsel R. Perera.

There were ten charges against Bandaranaike. One of the charges pertained to the 1972 Lands Reform Commission

The present Bullet proof cubicle at the Temple of the Tooth in Kandy was built as a result of negotiations between Bandaranaike and a high priest in Japan



Bandaranaike submitted to the Commission seeking permission to make a statement. This was allowed by the Commission. Her statement continued for around 45 minutes. Her first paragraph is reproduced here since it was a long statement.  I am here before this Commission, since I have been issued notice. This statement is to make my position clear. I am making this statement on behalf of the people of the country and not for the members of the Commission nor the Government were how the words in the first paragraph of the statement penned.

From the long statement she made, I quote two more paragraphs. This is because even the foreign media, at that time, hailed her for her courage. In the statement she also said,  With your permission, permit me to say that the constitution of the Commission was to debar me for seven years and strip me of my civil rights so that I would go into oblivion in my Political life. Why is the Government afraid of a normally constituted Court of Law? Sentence me. But, they are finding other Courts to sentence me. Therefore the Government is looking for other legal methods. When the UNP is in power, they find ways and means to do whatever they think. This is political victimisation The other paragraph quoted here, which formed the conclusion of the statements, was worded as follows,  I have placed my facts and therefor I will not appear before the Commission from now. I am pleased that you had the patience to hear me and I respect you for that purpose.

The Commission decided on charges four, six, seven, eight nine and ten using its powers. Thereafter the Commission decided that the former Prime Minister should be stripped of her

civil rights.



There were 25 witnesses listed for the prosecution.

This article hasnt been penned to probe in to the pros and cons of the issue or highlight any other political issue. But its purpose is to highlight the manner in which a straightforward female politician was treated. She was treated in the worst possible manner.

The present Bullet proof cubicle at the inner shrine room of the Temple of the Tooth in Kandy was built as a result of negotiations between Bandaranaike and a high priest in Japan. The cubicle stood in good stead when LTTE rebels triggered a bomb blast at the temple in 1998. The installation came about during the time when Bandaranaike visited the shrine. This was the time when the Diyawadana Nilame was H.B.Udurawana. The Diyawadana Nilame, being a simple man, suggested that it would be good to have Bullet Proof Cubicle. This is possibly because the Diyawadana Nilame had the foresight that the Temple of Tooth might come under a attack in the future. The Premier was noncommittal and left the Maligawa.

Around two months later, when this writer happened to visit the Diyawadana Nilame at his office, he showed a letter he had received from the Prime Ministers office. The letter mentioned that a bulletproof cubicle was to be presented to be installed at the inner shrine room of the Maligawa. That was how Prime Minister Bandaranaike worked in her noncommittal way, but with dedication and purpose.

The first person who came forward when the news about the inquiry conducted by the Commission spread was the Mahanayake of the Asgiri Chapter Ven. Palipanne Chandananda along with artiste Vijaya Kumaratuga. This was the first and the last political discussion held inside the historic Asgiri Poyage. The then President J.R Jayewardene was called upon and requested not to proceed with the findings of the Commission. The former president was told of the repercussions the Government would have to face if they went ahead with their decision. But, that President Jayewardene never heeded the advice of the temple authorities.

The first person who came forward when the news about the inquiry conducted by the Commission spread was the Mahanayake of the Asgiri Chapter Ven. Palipanne Chandananda along with artiste Vijaya Kumaratuga



President Jayewardene gazetted the land given to the Asgiriya Temple which was taken over from the Department of Commerce. The land was used afterwards as a training Center for carpenters.

The Mahanayake Thera toed the line of the UNP and was faithul to both D.S.Senanayake and Dudley Senanayake. But in this instance he said that he stood for what was right and in support of a woman who had done so much for the country.

But Mahanayakes are of a complete different breed. They arent worried about what the people say. They stand for whats right. Sometimes they foresee the future, something which our politicians fail to do. Their role goes beyond being draped in a saffron cloured robe. They have shown dedication in educating the public with their Buddhist philosophies. The piece of land came under the custody of Ven. Chandrananda. Jayawardene had to eat his words. The land now houses the auditorium.

The president didnt realize that the Prince and Princess of Japan, at that time, were going to come to Kandy. It was one of the places the Royal couple would visit during its tour of Sri Lanka. They were also expected to pay homage to the Sacred Tooth Relic. President Jayewardene didnt realize that the Sacred Tooth Relic was placed within the karanduwa (Casket) and that the keys to the casket were kept at the Asgiri Maha Viharaya. The president was in a quandary, having taken over the land offered to the Asgiriya Maha Viharaya.

President Jayewardene didnt realize that the Sacred Tooth Relic was placed within the Casket and that the keys to it were kept at the Asgiri Maha Viharaya.



To find solace, he turned to the Government Agent Damunupola - that affable man who was calm as a cucumber. So an assurance was given to President Jayawardene that the programme would continue and the Asgiriya Mahanayake would be present. It was clear that without the monk there would be no exposition of the Sacred Tooth Relic when the Prince and Princess visited the Maligawa.

The day arrived and everything went the way the President wished. Exiting from the Southern entrance of the Maligawa, the president told the Government Agent, Give back the land. I didnt expect what they have done for me.

But, the report of the Commission was handed over and the great stateswoman Bandaranaike was disenfranchised. That date went down in the annals of Sri Lankas political history as one of its darkest days.

But Mahanayakes are of a complete different breed. They arent worried about what the people say. They stand for whats right. Sometimes they foresee the future



The reentry of Bandaranaike to politics was due to the efforts of Minister T.B.Illangaratne. However, there have been efforts in the past to give this credit to other politicians. Illangaratne threw his weight behind Bandaranaike at all times. She had always given an ear to Illangaratne. There could have been no nationalization programme of two conglomerate companies like Shell and Caltex  without Bandaranaike. Illangaratne had his own way, even in the midst his loosing everything. His children can look back and say, this was

my father.

Bandaranaike was a woman with human qualities. Very few people realized this trait while she was alive. The repercussions of the 1971 insurrection were a good example as to how many youth were saved. This was due to her rehabilitation programme. No doubt there were allegations of the exessive use of Police during her office. But the end result was Bandaranaiake offering a lifeline to the unguided youth.
The 23rd Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Sri Lanka  Korea Business Council (SLKBC) of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce was held recently at Hilton Colombo Residences re-electing Mahen Kariyawasan, Chairman, Andrew the Travel Company (Pvt) Ltd as the President.



The Chief Guest of the event was the Ambassador of Embassy of the Republic of Korea, Won-sam Chang. The guest of honour of the event was Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy, Governor Central Bank of Sri Lanka and addressed the gathering on Current Status of the Economy and Investment Climate of Sri Lanka.



Addressing the members, Mahen Kariyawasan highlighted the councils main objectives as to promote bilateral trade, investment, technical and economic co-operation, tourism and services between Sri Lanka and Korea. He further stressed the need for SLKBC to take leadership in promoting investment and trade initiatives between Sri Lanka and Korea. He went on to state that Sri Lanka, in his view, was yet to exploit its full potential to benefit from the growing economy of Korea.



At the Annual General Meeting, The name of Council (former known as The Sri Lanka  Korea Economic co-operation committee) was changed to Sri Lanka - Korea Business Council.



Priyantha Mendis  Managing Director, Alpha Tours Ltd and John Shiran Dissanayake, Chairman, Transmarine (Pvt) Ltd were re-elected as the Vice Presidents. Prof. Lakshman R.Watawala will serve as the Immediate Past President.



The following companies were elected to serve on the Committee for the Year 2017-2018, Abans PLC, Access International Projects (Pvt) Ltd, Aitken Spence Shipping Ltd, Hayleys Exports PLC, Rannara Engineering (Pvt) Ltd, South Lighting Lanka (Pvt) Ltd, Isuru Engineering (Pte) Ltd, Southern Tea Producers (Pvt) Ltd, Spear International (Pvt) Ltd and Vaughan Chemicals (Pvt) Ltd

The event was graced by, Won-sam Chang Ambassador of Embassy of the Republic of Korea for Sri Lanka who is also the Patron Member of the Sri Lanka  Korea Business Council. In his address, His Excellency stated that the Councils support to us as we pursue our objective of promoting trade investment between our countries is equally important.



Congratulating the newly appointed Committee, the Ambassador appreciated SLKBCs role in hosting and facilitating business delegations and Stated that he looks forward to closer involvement with the Council.
A ministerial delegation led by International Trade State Minister Sujeewa Senasinghe, together with the representatives from the Board of Investment (BOI), Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF) and Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) held meetings related to trade and investment promotions in Turkey recently.



The delegation also attended the 86th Izmir International Fair opening ceremony and seminar programme.



Minister Senasinghe was awarded a ceremonial welcome by the Trade and Customs Minister and Deputy Economy Minister in Turkey.



Minister Senasinghe held very productive meetings with trade chambers in Ankara, Istanbul and Izmir in addition to attending the Izmir International Fair. Investments and Sri Lankas entry into the Turkish Market are stated as at the top of his agenda.



As our bilateral trade grows I invite the prospective Turkish investors to invest in Sri Lanka. We have allocated 20,000 acres for five free trade zones of which the first will be opened at Kalutara District. Also investors could gain immediate access to the South Asias huge market through us, said Minister Senasinghe addressing Ankara Chamber of Industry.



He has proposed to initiate Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) with Turkeys aggressive attempts to strengthen economic relations between the two countries. The two parties took stock of all exports and investment engagements especially in textile, tea and boat building sectors. One of the major highlights of the State Ministers visit was his effort to introduce Sri Lankas new products to the Turkish market.



Turkey is the 16th export destination for Sri Lanka and accounted for 1.5 percent of total exports from Sri Lanka in 2016. Total export value from Sri Lanka to Turkey was US$154 million in 2016 and total imports from Turkey to Sri Lanka for the same period was US$69 million.



Sri Lankas main export products to Turkey in 2016 were tea (value added and bulk), woven fabrics, apparel, pneumatic tyres, activated carbon, coco peat and fiber pith, desiccated coconut, industrial and surgical gloves of rubber and essential oil. The main import products from Turkey were electric machinery, animal fat, leather, processed food, woven fabric, cotton during the same year.



This event was coordinated by Sri Lanka Export Development Board and Sri Lanka Embassy in Turkey.
The US Department of States Export Control and Related Border Security (EXBS) Programme trained 33 Sri Lankan Customs officials in risk management of cargo from August 21 to August 25.

Issuing a statement, the US Embassy said today that the training was conducted in Colombo and coordinated by EXBS.

Participants learned how to identify high-risk shipments and improve cargo targeting capabilities through the use of document analysis. Customs organizations utilize finite resources to screen cargo entering, transiting, and exiting their borders and the workshop provided the participants with concrete ways to assess the potential risk cargo may pose to national security and public safety. They can now better screen shipments by identifying those that require a physical inspection, it said.

It said the EXBS aims to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and the transfer of conventional weapons that threaten regional peace and stability.

The EXBS programme comprises a wide range of nonproliferation strategic trade control assistance programs, from licensing and legal/regulatory technical assistance to provision of equipment and training for seaport, border control and law enforcement officials, the statement said.
Former Foreign Affairs Minister Ravi Karunanayake today said they would defeat the no-confidence motion brought against Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne by the Joint Opposition MPs.

Addressing a news briefing organised by the UNP backbenchers, MP Karunanayake said they would show that they have faith in Minister Senaratne.

Today, the JO is making a joke out of no-faith motions. The latest motion had been signed by 39 thieves and handed over to the Speaker.We vehemently condemn this motion as this is an attempt to obstruct the achievements of the Yahapalanaya, he said.

He said as someone who has experienced no-faith motions, he came forward with other MPs to prevent no-faith motions being brought against others ministers.

He said the government was able to change the habit of legislators looting the public and to take the country forward.

Minister Senaratne committed immensely to bring the government to power. He is someone who speaks courageously. Therefore, a group of opposition MPs who are against these developments had brought a no-faith motion. We completely reject this, he said. (By Lahiru Pothmulla)

Pics by Pradeep Pathirana
Within 48 hours Europe saw three terrorist attacks in three different and geopolitically rival countries.

Mass terror attacks took place in Barcelona with 13 confirmed deaths so far, and over 100 injuries, in the popular tourist destination of Las Ramblas, famous for George Orwells Homage to Catalonia. In a simultaneous foiled attack, five terrorists were shot down by Spanish police after a woman died in a vehicle attack.

There was a mass stabbing in Turku, Finland, where the terrorist specifically attacked European women. Another terror attack happened in Russia. All of them were Islamist terror attacks. None of them had any political reason, or demands. All of them were perpetrated simply to kill and maim.

Spanish police are still haplessly searching for the missing terrorists, as 120 gas canisters were found in further preparation of other attacks. Spanish police were quoted to say that 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 and is suspected to have fled through the open borders to France.

Islamic State claimed responsibility for all the attacks. The Eifel Tower was predictably dark. Lights were turned off. People marched with flowers and candles, and sang Imagine. An entire effete civilization displayed that the ruling elites have forgotten the primary task of how to defend their citizens. As Douglas Murray said, this is a problem imported by Europeans.

In Britain there are 23,000 suspected jihadists, in Belgium 18,884, in France between 1517,000 and Germany around 24,400. Spain also has over a thousand. Thats not just random terrorism. Thats an insurgent army.

At this stage, there are two ways ahead for Europe. The European ruling elite has to go against their liberal instincts and harden up on security and take harsh measures and forget human rights while dealing with the security threats.

And ultra-liberal society is fundamentally incapable of dealing with people who are determined to take advantage of the freedom to corrode it from within. There was a reason why Nazis could use democracy to get the vote and gain power.

Like every other insurgency, it also shares the characteristics of both violent combatants as well as noncombatant frontal organizations and NGOs and apologists. But ultimately, the fundamental point remains, that liberalism cannot be a healthy alternative for traditional people who love their families.

The lack of ideology and alternatives is manifested in people looking to find a purpose in their lives by joining wars and waving flags of faraway entities because showing any such loyalty, whether to your family, tradition or borders, is prohibited by the liberal elites.

The second point remains that no other great power deals with the terrorist threat like Europe does. In a latest path breaking research, which immediately needs to be studied in all the great power capitals across the world, it is proved that human rights, and winning hearts and minds do not work when it comes to Islamic Jihadism.

Nor does good governance work in winning over security threats . The only thing that works to defeat jihadism and Islamist tendencies as well as insurgencies is brute force. The only times insurgencies were defeated in the last twenty years were in Grozny Chechnya and Jaffna Sri Lanka. None of them paid any attention to human rights.

The other option is that Euro elites will continue to fail to provide security. Until they reach a point that the citizens will take up arms themselves, and there will be societal chaos, civil war and complete anarchy. The reason why there is a surge in far right parties across Europe can be attributed primarily to the failure of the Western governments to perform the basic of governmental duties, that is security to citizens.

Until that is solved, Europe will continue to be an example to other powers as to what NOT to do while dealing with security threats, and how once proud civilizations and empires decline to oblivion.

Sumantra Maitra is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit:

http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/SumantraMaitra.htm

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors only, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.
Indian judiciary has once again done its job well. In the high-profile rape trial of Dera Sacha Sauda godman Gurmeet Singh Ram Rahim Insaan, a Chandigarh CBI court has found him guilty and convicted him of rape.

#RamRahimSingh was welcomed as a rockstar however he was accused of rape. The CBI court has found him guilty. https://t.co/iBbskz7kSi  India Today (@IndiaToday) August 25, 2017

This is the glaring irony of a 70-year-old democratic republic. A godman gets a rockstar reception and holds two states to ransom, bring North India to a grinding halt. Section 144 has been imposed on Haryana, and August 24/25 have been declared gazette holidays because the rape trial verdict was due of Gurmeet Singh Ram Rahim Insaan, the government has been caught napping once again.

Cult fear has brought Haryana and Punjab to a standstill for two days.

Exactly as his followers threatened to wipe out India and unleash havoc in case the verdict goes against him, we have ministers appealing for calm, but not asking the followers to leave, or even accuse them of sedition, as has been the case whenever theres been a seminar in JNU or any other university on issues pertaining to the fundamentals of the country.

#DeraDare Gurmeet Ram Rahim supporter's open dare: Will wipe out India if anything happens to Pitajihttps://t.co/AL9avWizIo  India Today (@IndiaToday) August 24, 2017

A convoy of hundreds of cars was allowed to pass in its flashy best, showing off the godman to his devotees many of whom fainted at the mere sight. The militant cult of Dera Sacha Sauda and its close ties with the ruling BJP have ensured that television channels give the godman 24X7 coverage, oscillating between fawning admiration at his ability to command a massive following, to derision at his gaudy fashion quotient.

Political patronage has allowed deras to become a parallel state: how come no one talks of 'appeasing' Baba Ram Rahim? He too is bearded,no?  Rajdeep Sardesai (@sardesairajdeep) August 24, 2017

Rape accused baba's supporters say Bharat ko naqshe se mita denge. BJP, no tanks, videographed national anthem 2 teach ashrams nationalism? https://t.co/8dUcKCDBAf  Kavita Krishnan (@kavita_krishnan) August 25, 2017

Really glad to see Arnab condemning JNU students for saying that they "will wipe out India" if anything happens to Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh  Part-Zoe Part-Zelda (@BucketheadCase) August 25, 2017

Even as liberal sections of the media wondered why the cult could bring half of the country to a grinding halt, there were little impact on the devotees, also known as premis, who vouched for their leaders innocence, and held on to superstition and blind faith of the sect over scientific temper and rationalism. Whod have thought that the fundamental right to privacy was reinstated by the highest court of the country only a day back, as the followers encamped all along the route from Sirsa to Panchkula, where the court verdict was read out a little while back.

Ram Rahim Singh's convoy passes through Haryana's Kurukshetra, on way to Panchkula #RamRahimVerdict (Earlier visuals) pic.twitter.com/hc2QduyS4G  ANI (@ANI) August 25, 2017

Its extremely nauseating how the militant cults are allowed to run amok in this country even as individual rights and freedoms are trampled by an ever more authoritarian state. The DGP of Punjab had issued a warning earlier than the Dera followers were storing petrol diesel, sharp objects and other weapons to wreak havoc on the two states of Punjab and Haryana, in case the verdict goes against the goadman. Now that it has, the fear of violence is looming large on North India. Army and paramilitary deployment is at its maximum.

But we need to reflect why does it always come to this? Why do political parties develop ententes with godmen as a vote-catching exercise even though the leader of the cult might be a rape accused? How can the Prime Minister of India justify the following tweet or his meetings with Gurmeet Ram Rahim, even though the latter had been accused of heinous crimes, including murder for which investigations are ongoing?

Appreciable effort by Baba Ram Rahim ji & his team. Will motivate people across India to join Swachh Bharat Mission! http://t.co/icp4eaLNQg  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 30, 2014

How the Dera  for the first time in history  allowed open political support for a party, the BJP, has been documented in great detail. A meeting on October 7, 2014 between 44 BJP candidates and Ram Rahim at the Sirsa-based Dera took place, and the BJP contingent was led by Kailash Vijayvargiya, then BJPs campaign in-charge for the poll-bound Haryana. In fact, after Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh cast his vote on October 15 in Sirsa, he flaunted his democratic exercise on Twitter. Reports say, six days before the big delegate meeting, the Dear chief had a meeting with BJPs national president, Amit Shah himself.

As reports suggest, the journalist who first broke the story of Dera Sacha Sauda chiefs inglorious past, was shot dead at point blank range in 2002. Another journalist who had done a sting on cult, says that his video report, aired on India TV, has been missing since 2014, after the BJP came to power and the godman was brought into the partys good books.

Its ironical that the guru, in a video appeal, had asked his followers to remain calm last evening, as if the facts of the case and now his conviction, are insignificant little hiccups in his stellar career as a sectarian showman, whose colourful messages of austerity are lapped up by his followers as gospel truth. In fact, the cult following that Dera Sacha Sauda chief has, vouches for the leader having a healing touch, curing medical ailments, having a paramilitia for disaster relief, helping in rehabilitation of women and sex workers, poor and needy. But in return, the bad and blind faith of uncritical repose in the Dera cult are expected in a spiritual and material bargain.

The round-the-clock coverage of the Dera chiefs rape trial, however, says something about India 2017. We are caught between parallel worlds, frankly. On the one hand, technology and superstition go hand in hand to create entities and phenomenon such as Gurmeet Ram Rahim, of course, aided by excellent PR. On the other, relentless and tireless struggle for civil rights, enshrining constitutional values and other indices of progressiveness are worked at, selflessly by many.

Gurmeet Ram Rahim has been convicted of rape, but would that impact his swarm of devotees who have parked themselves in makeshift tents and flocked to get a fleeting glimpse of their now guilty guru? Is the guilt under the eyes of law irrelevant to these bands of men and women held in sway by a bearded godman peddling purity and bad faith?

Do the devotees not see the contradiction between Ram Rahims message of simplicity and his own flashiness, his ostentatious display of ill-gotten wealth? Do the rape charges and now the conviction not bother them? The possible warzone that Haryana and Punjab have now become has been precipitated by incremental allowance given to merchants of madness such as Gurmeet Ram Rahim.
As the much awaited Supreme Court ruling on triple talaq was set to be announced on Tuesday, I was sent to Aligarh Muslim University to speak to young, educated Muslim women about what they felt about the practice. My paternal family hails from Aligarh, and this was to be my third tour to the city, therefore I expected a routine work day.

But even before the verdict came out, I had the toughest time trying to get women to speak on triple talaq. And it wasnt because they didnt want to, it was because the security staff and male students told them not to. And this ordeal went on all day long. Post-verdict, the women I spoke to were excited as instant triple talaq was declared unconstitutional  there was a feeling of finally being unchained. They wanted to speak, but yet again the men came in their way.

The irony seemed lost on everyone: on a day of historic jubilation, a day of quasi freedom for women, the men still wanted control of the narrative. Those women who did agree to speak to us were sent by student leaders; right before I would start my report, they would whisper in the girls' ears and tell them what to say. I saw the drill being repeated many times over. Young girls would volunteer to speak, but a member of the staff or a random stranger would eye them threateningly to force them to stop. The men  even on this historic day  voiced their unneeded, unheralded opinions. They had lost and they knew it, but werent ready to give in just yet.

And at around 3pm, all hell broke loose.

As a young girl was speaking to me on live television about how she was glad that this ridiculous medieval practice where a woman could be divorced because "her roti wasn't round enough" was finally over, one man appeared out of nowhere and tried to have me removed from the spot for asking for a womans opinion. His weapon of choice was a permission letter. Weve all read about various arbitrary barriers of entry women have faced over time but this, in 2017, was new.

The man refused to budge even as I asked him to step aside as other men  suddenly empowered at the sight of a man not letting a woman do her job  joined in. Five. Ten. 15 of them.

I tried to tell them that shooting outside the AMU premises, speaking to women who had volunteered, didnt require any permission, especially from men who werent students or part of the AMU administration. I told them I would call the cops, they told me they didnt care  that there would be dire consequences if I didnt budge. They were standing as the gatekeepers of law laid down by AMU, only they did not really care about it. This wasnt the AMU I had shot in soon after Yogi Adityanath became the chief minister on UP few months ago. They werent hostile then. The only difference now was I wanted to speak solely to the women.

If it was a male reporter in my place asking a man the same questions, the heckling would never have happened.

Those who came to my aid were colleagues who made sure I left at the right time, as the crowd kept getting aggressive. You cant reason with a mob, they said.

As a young woman reporter, I have faced harassment and abuse before. We all face it on a daily basis. Whether it is being groped while covering a protest with massive crowds, or being told that we are sell-outs. Weve had to pack our equipment and run because a crowd turned violent, hell Ive even had a man trying to attack me with a stick. We move past it, try to do our jobs like other professionals, but this took me right back to square one, as an ancillary to the men who do their work and are respected. Because I know, on Tuesday, if it was a male reporter in my place asking men the same questions, the heckling would never have happened.

Its not just women reporters who arent respected, it is women in all fields.

Take, for instance, a student like Gurmehar Kaur, the girl who happened to be peace loving and was trolled and threatened for it. They even posted fake photos of her drinking with men (the horror!) to try and malign her.

Or Varnika Kundu, the DJ from Chandigarh who was questioned as to why she stepped out so late at night rather than question the perpetrators. This a worldwide phenomenon: look at Uber, they fired more than 20 employees after several cases of harassment came to light. Studies suggest Hillary Clinton lost the elections because of sexism too.
 Flash

President Xi Jinping said on Thursday that he is ready to make concerted efforts with President Moon Jae-in of the Republic of Korea to properly address the differences between the two countries.

Xi made the remark as he and Moon exchanged congratulatory messages on the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two nations.

Seoul's ties with Beijing have been frustrated the past year over the deployment of the US Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense antimissile system in the ROK.

The exchange of messages was made "as routine", Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Thursday, adding Seoul should have a look back at the lessons of the past 25 years.

She said it is hoped that Seoul will "face squarely China's major concerns and take constructive actions to properly tackle the relevant sensitive issue".

China's position opposing the deployment of the missile system is "very clear, firm and consistent" and "there is not any change" to it, she said.

According to a release from the ROK Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Moon took note in his message to Xi of the "significant development" in bilateral relations since 1992.

Moon said the development is the result of the governments and peoples of the two countries regarding their efforts to enhance mutual understanding and trust.

Qiu Guohong, Chinese ambassador to the ROK, told a public diplomacy forum this month that the THAAD issue has been the "largest disturbance" facing the two countries since the forge of ties.

Chen Zhu, vice-chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, said at a celebration of the anniversary in Beijing on Wednesday that China is willing to work with the ROK to stay true to their original aspirations, reinforce mutual trust, properly handle disagreements and push the ties back on the track of steady and healthy development.

Ruan Zongze, vice-president of the China Institute of International Studies, warned that Seoul should "have a clear understanding" of the greater damage of ties if it fails to meet Beijing halfway on the THAAD issue.

The bilateral strategic partnership was built on trust with long-term efforts and the partnership is being undermined by Seoul's irresponsible moves on the THAAD issue, Ruan said.

Jiang Yuechun, a researcher on world economy and East Asia affairs at the CIIS, said the THAAD issue has affected the tourism, automobile and cosmetics businesses in the ROK.
China and Norway are reportedly resuming talks on a bilateral free trade deal, according to Norway's Industry Ministry on Thursday, August 24.

It can be recalled that Norway and China stopped discussions when Liu Xiabo received the Nobel Peace Prize. Xiabo was tagged as dissident by Beijing and he was detained for 11 years starting in 2009 for "inciting subversion of state power" after he has extended help in writing petition known as "Charter 08," which calls for a reformation in politics. Liu Xiabo died on July 13 due to liver cancer.

Norway and China just started to resume full diplomatic relations last year and in June, to step up energy cooperation. Few Norwegian companies like Statoil, agreed to signed memoranda of understanding with the Chinese partners.

"It is good that negotiations are resuming," Norways' Trade and Industry Minister Monica Maeland said in a statement.

The statement also added that both parties agreed to meet once again before the year ends to discuss trade of services, investments and goods.

"Initial reports from Norwegian negotiators were "very promising," Maeland said.

According to political analysts, the free trade deal will be beneficial for producers of farmed salmon in Norway. The country is known to be the world's largest producer of salmon and they are known for Marine Harvest, Salmar, Leroey, Norway Royal Salmon and Grieg Seafood companies.
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I first experienced staying at the U.S.-Mexican border in 2011. For a week, I volunteered in Nogales Sonora, Mexico across from Nogales, Arizona. I served meals at the Kino Border Initiatives comedor and provided clothing for deported migrants.

Because the border was being more aggressively defended by the drones and fences of the U.S. border patrol, migrants had been crossing in more hostile terrain. Although facing possible death, they attempted to cross the Sonoran Desert due to desperate conditions back home. So many men, women and children have died in that desert. I left Nogales feeling compassion for the migrants.

This past July I had the opportunity to return to the border. I signed up to be a part of a Maryknoll Mission immersion trip to the border between El Paso, Texas and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. For six days our group of eight from across the U.S. came together to encounter border realities there and experience the human side of immigration.

At Annunciation House

Rubin Garcia is the founding director of Annunciation House, a migrant/refugee homeless shelter in El Paso that provides basic services and accompaniment to the poorest of the poor. ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) releases immigrants to Annunciation House during deportation procedures. Most detention centers are not set up to house families with children while their cases go through the immigration court. There are three family shelters in El Paso that are funded by donations.

People staying at the Annunciation House may have migrated to the U.S. from other countries because they were forced to sell drugs, recruited for sex or controlled by gangs. There is so much violence, poverty, injustice and oppression in these countries. El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala  The Northern Triangle  continue to be considered among the most violent countries in the world.

We toured the Annunciation House which provides basic services, including three meals a day. There is a chapel, where I noticed that due to an overflow of guests, people were sleeping at the foot of the altar.

Broken and desperate

I was grateful that our group was given the chance to prepare and serve a meal to 40 of those guests, all of them very appreciative. We were able to visit with some families, but I struggled understanding without being fluent in Spanish. I can easily identify with the migrants who come to our country who have difficulties learning English.

A member of my mission group told me the story that one Hispanic lady shared: Mariana is from Honduras, age 29. She has four kids; the oldest is 12. In Honduras, gangs control the neighborhoods and people have to pay them for protection. The price the gangs charge increases and if you dont pay, you suffer the consequences. She was married twice and both husbands were killed. Her brother and father were killed as well.

Mariana left with her kids, and they made their way through Mexico to the U.S. border. The trip took about a year. She and her kids sold gum on the streets. Later she was robbed of their money. ICE dropped off Mariana and her kids at Annunciation House. She was broken and totally desperate.

Crossing the border

The border the U.S. shares with Mexico is about 2,000 miles long. A border wall of different types of fence spans about 700 miles and ends on farmland near the bend in the Rio Grande river, the natural border with Mexico. In the El Paso area this year, there have been many deaths resulting from migrants trying to cross the river, unaware of its dangerous undercurrents.

One day we crossed the border into Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. El Paso seemed so prosperous compared to the extreme poverty in Juarez. The majority of jobs there are extremely low-paying. Some work in the foreign-owned factories known as maquiladoras for as little as $10 per day. More than half the people of Juarez live in poverty.

Juarez is also a dangerous place. So far, at least 369 people have been murdered in 2017  an average of two people per day, according to El Diario de Juarez.

Signs of hope

Among the extreme poverty and pain in Juarez, there are glimmers of hope. We visited Biblioteca Infantil, a donation-based after school program created by Cristina Estrada with the help of the Colomban Fathers. It is located in a slum neighborhood called Anapra. Many one-room homes have been put together with wood, pieces of metal and the sometimes with concrete blocks. The streets are almost all dirt.

Cristina manages the library and study center, a safe space for many children to gather after school where they are tutored by high school students. Cristina believes that through education Mexican students can find the American dream right in their own country, so funding for scholarships is so important to her program. She emphasized the importance of keeping families together and that education begins at home. The priority of some parents is to have children work to add to the family income, so Cristina often needs to convince parents about the value of an education.

Another place of hope in the impoverished neighborhood of Anapra is Dr. Sanjuana Mendozas charity health and dental clinic. She believes that health care should be a human right. She sees 20 to 30 people daily along with many cases of domestic violence.

Families torn apart

Back in El Paso, we visited Centro Santa Catalina Womens Cooperative Outlet, a womens cooperative founded by Dominican nuns. Poor women in Juarez have formed a sewing co-op in order to earn money to support their children. Women sew and sell scarves, placemats and other handmade goods.

The last day we crossed into Mesilla Alta, New Mexico. In the sanctuary of Holy Cross Retreat Center we met Jorge, who tearfully told us how his family was targeted by ICE, deporting his wife and oldest son back to Columbia, after 23 years of residence in the U.S. He is a computer technician and a Red Cross volunteer. She is a housekeeper.

The family came to the U.S. legally on visas with their son, escaping the drug wars in Colombia. Unfortunately, they did not qualify for asylum. Their older son graduated from the university, and the younger has lived here all his life. It is disturbing to see so many families that have been torn apart by our immigration system.

I am moved by Pope Francis message that we are one human family and need to take care of each other. When Pope Francis was here, he urged Congress to treat immigrants in a humane and just way.

I continue to hope for humane and comprehensive immigration reform. Because of my interest in social justice, I joined an immigration task force in the Chippewa Valley that is a part of an interfaith group called JONAH, Joining Our Neighbors, Advancing Hope (http://www.jonahjustice.org). The group also works to fight poverty, to protect our environment, and to seek criminal justice reform in Wisconsin.
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.
Nero is not a fan of public spectacles. The 2-year-old German shepherd looked around anxiously at the crowd gathered to meet him Friday.

As the first-ever K9 patrol officer for the Chippewa County Sheriffs Department, Nero made his public debut during an event outside the Sheriffs Department as a light rain fell.

We want to thank everyone involved in supporting this project, Sheriff James Kowalczyk said. And for the recognition of the importance of having a K9 officer to help preserve public safety.

Kowalczyk said in July that the expected cost to attain the K9 would be about $40,000, and a large portion of that goal was made through a $25,000 donation from the Chippewa County Lions Club.

As Lions Clubs International celebrates its 100th anniversary this year, we wanted to make a donation to Chippewa County in the service of safety, said Bill Durch, president of the Lake Wissota Lions Club.

Kowalczyk anticipates the annual cost of maintenance for Nero will be about $10,000, which includes food, veterinary care and training.

Nero and his handler, sheriffs deputy Jason Bloom, will begin a 12-week training session beginning the first week in September and are expected to be in full operation before the end of the year. The two will be trained in tracking, drug detection, apprehension, handler protection and article searches.

Bloom, who said he grew up with dogs as pets and for hunting, was chosen for the position from a pool of candidates for his dedication and professionalism, Kowalczyk said.

The need for a K9 officer is vital in keeping up with the growing drug abuse problem across the county, Kowalczyk said. We have 500-plus drug-related calls each year, along with 100 use-of-force incidents. And having a K9 will greatly help us handle this volume.

The county also showed off its new K9 patrol vehicle, which has been outfitted with a special temperature-controlled compartment for Nero and a remote-control door opener that Bloom can use if hes not near the vehicle.
Charlottesville has hired Tim Heaphy, former U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia, to lead a review of recent events in the city.

Heaphy, a partner with the international law firm of Hunton & Williams LLP, will lead an independent, external review of the city's response to the May 13 torch-light rally at Emancipation Park, the July 8 rally of the Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan at Justice Park and the Aug. 12 Unite the Right rally at Emancipation Park.

"As our city continues to recover from the rallies that brought great hate into our community, we must take time to reflect on our operational response to these tragic events," said City Manager Maurice Jones. "Mr. Heaphy brings the right mix of legal experience and critical eye to conduct an impartial review of what we as a local government working with our state partners did well and where we can improve.

"The recent protests in Charlottesville presented a wide array of challenges to our community. It is crucial that we gather accurate information and attempt to learn from those difficult events," Heaphy said. "Our review will be thorough and objective, and will begin immediately. I look forward to presenting a comprehensive summary of what occurred in and around the protest events, and to formulating practical recommendations for improved future response."

The review will look at the city's preparation for and response to those events and will extend beyond the Charlottesville Police Department, the release from the city said.

There will be ample opportunity for interested persons to provide feedback and information, according to the release. Mr. Heaphy intends to interview agency representatives, law enforcement and government officials, and members of the community who were present for these events.
After two stalled business ventures in a row, some restaurateurs might decide to take up a different career path.

Not Heather Marble, owner and operator of wood-fired pizza joint Blue Marble Pub on 816 High St. in downtown Chippewa Falls.

Marble and her employees cut an inaugural ribbon in a Thursday ceremony at the pub attended by the Chippewa Falls Chamber of Commerce, Mayor Gregory Hoffman and several others. The pub has been open for a month, and Marble said business is steady.

Success is walking from failure to failure and never losing enthusiasm, Marble said, quoting Winston Churchill. Dont give up on your dreams. I just love that.

Marbles journey to 816 High St. and the opening of her first independent business was a long one. In 2015, she was denied a building in Lake Hallie, a former Jehovahs Witness church. She then struck up a business partnership and opened Blue Marble Express in the town of Lafayette in 2016.

Basically, it was just one failure after another, but I kept trying, she said.

Marble exited that partnership and in late July, opened the Prohibition-themed Blue Marble Pub in Chippewa Falls. Her location is just a block away from Leinie Lodge, which she said is the beginning of a strong partnership. Leinies has been great  very supportive. They send people here all the time, she said.

Blue Marble has a unique ambiance: handmade wooden bars, tables and a wood oven, all built by Marble and her family.

Popular menu items are oven-baked toasted subs called grinders, and of course the wood-fired pizza, she said. The pub also serves beer, wine and root beer on tap  along with Leinenkugels.

The decor pays homage to Marbles hometown of Chicago with its Prohibition theme. Servers and cooks wear fedoras, pinstripes and suspenders. Thats what started NASCAR, the womens rights movement ... that era started so many things that are here today. Ive always been really intrigued by it, Marble said.

Blue Marble applied for a Class B liquor license after the closing of the Lodge at 1200 River St. in Chippewa Falls, but the license was awarded to sushi restaurant Sakura. Marble says she has no immediate plans to apply for the same license next year, if another becomes available.
It took two days, but searchers have found the body of a missing 59-year-old woman last seen around noon Monday northeast of Rock Falls.

Around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, the body of Kathleen Kathy Schlosser of rural Durand was located in 20 feet of water in the Chippewa River about a mile downstream from the County Highway H bridge near Caryville.

According to Dunn County Sheriff Dennis Smith, Schlossers family was concerned about Schlossers welfare and called his office late Monday afternoon. Her car was found on 150th Avenue just off Highway 85. A person doing work nearby saw the vehicle with a woman inside.

No one saw Schlosser leave the vehicle and head toward water. The sheriff said there were fresh foot tracks from the car leading to the river, but it was unclear whether Schlosser went into the river.

The body was recovered by two deputies who were in a boat dragging the river. Late Wednesday afternoon, the Dunn County Medical Examiners Office ordered an autopsy. The cause of Schlossers death is under investigation, the sheriff said.

The Dunn County Sheriffs Office reported that deputies worked with at least a dozen different people who brought their boats to assist, along with more than 200 volunteers who came to search land near the river. Food, drinks and many other items were dropped off for those helping, which allowed the search to continue.

There were cars on both sides of the road all the way through Caryville, Smith said.

After the Schlosser family and close friends were notified, they asked the sheriff share their gratitude to all who helped: They are thankful for the closure that locating Kathys body will bring to them and those that knew Kathy, Smith said.

We also want to thank all of the fire departments, EMS agencies, law enforcement agencies, search and rescue groups and community volunteer groups who assisted in this effort.

Among them were the Rock Falls Fire Department, Township Fire Department, Menomonie Fire/Rescue, the Wisconsin DNR, and Blue Hills Mounted Search and Rescue.
The Obama Justice Department dismissed the IRS political targeting scandal as no big deal, and the Trump administration hasn't been any better. At least the judiciary is still trying to hold someone to account for this government abuse.

In a little noticed decision last week, federal Judge Reggie Walton ordered the IRS to answer a series of questions by Oct. 16. Notably, the tax agency must finally explain the specific reasons for the specific delays in approving each of dozens of conservative nonprofit applications  delays that stifled free speech during a midterm and presidential election. Judge Walton is also requiring the IRS to name the specific individuals that it holds responsible for the targeting.

These are basic questions of political accountability, even if the IRS has stonewalled since 2013. President Obama continued to spin that the targeting was the result of some "boneheaded" IRS line officers in Cincinnati who didn't understand tax law. Yet congressional investigations have uncovered clear evidence that the targeting was ordered and directed out of Washington.

Former director of exempt organizations, Lois Lerner, was at the center of that Washington effort, but the IRS allowed her to retire with benefits. She invoked the Fifth Amendment before Congress.

One of her principal deputies, Holly Paz, has submitted to a deposition in separate litigation, but the judge has sealed her testimony after she claimed she faced threats. The acting commissioner of the IRS at the time, Stephen Miller, stepped down in the wake of the scandal.

But as far as anyone outside the IRS knows, no other IRS employee has been held to account. Even if the culprits were "rogue employees," as the IRS claims, the public deserves to know what happened.

Judge Walton's ruling means that "the IRS must finally acknowledge its wrongdoing (and the reasons for it) in the context of a judicial proceeding in which the agency may be held legally accountable for its misconduct," Carly Gammill told Powerlineblog.com. Ms. Gammill is an attorney at the American Center for Law & Justice who represents tea-party groups in the litigation.

The Trump administration also has a duty to provide some answers. The Justice Department and IRS have continued to resist the lawsuits as doggedly as they did in the Obama era. Attorney General Jeff Sessions can change that by ordering government attorneys to quickly and fully comply with Judge Walton's orders.

Seven years is too long to wait for answers over abuses of the government's taxing power.

The Wall Street Journal
Charlottesville, your shocked outrage at the violence that came upon your community tells the world that your residents are people of goodwill and courtesy.

Virginians share your disgust and offer comfort to the grieving families who lost loved ones that day.

There are hidden hands trying to dissolve America. They have been fueling crisis one community at a time, using those who hate our country and want it destroyed as the hands on the cudgel. They want the clamor of angry voices to be so loud that no one can listen to one another anymore. They want to turn the compromises necessary to hold a great, diverse society together into resentments. They want to force the views of hatred and the demands of exclusion onto a unified, diverse nation.

It is time that judges in America choose to disband and outlaw all groups that stand on the mission of belittling others. Our nation should give no stage to them, and their members should not feel at ease shouting or whispering words intended to strip away the dignity of another.

Let them call the refusal to honor these hatemakers unconstitutional or discrimination, and let us not be fooled into excuses of lineage or skin tone, light or dark, but rather make fair and equal the words to replace black and white.

When a family disagrees at the dinner table, it does not throw its meat and tear at each other with forks and knives, or all will walk away hungry.

Charlottesville, lead. Quiet your minds and hearts. Build the resolve to resist mirroring hate with anger. Apply your energies to cooperative endeavors that will inspire your community, strengthen and nourish its future.

Roxanne Fritz, Fairfax County
During President Donald Trumps remarkably equivocal Charlottesville, Va., press conference last week, he raised a question worth consideration:

This week its 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 have to ask yourself, where does it stop?

Its a good question. Trump, of course, is using it disingenuously to support his unseemly non-position on white supremacy, but its instructive to ask ourselves why more Americans are favoring the removal or destruction of statues commemorating the heroes of the Old South but not clamoring to tear down the Washington monument or rename our nations capital.

George Washington did, indeed, own slaves, which makes him, by definition, a white supremacist. And he wasnt a particularly benevolent master. He was reluctant to flog his slaves and break up slave families, but this wasnt a hard-and-fast rule for him, and sometimes he bowed to necessity.

He worked his slaves hard, often from sunup to sundown, six days a week. And despite his reluctance to separate slave families, he did not allow that scruple to interfere with the economic necessities of running a Virginia plantation.

Its tempting to give George and Martha a pass because they were born into a culture that saw the subjugation of blacks as part of the normal order of the universe. In fact, when a trusted slave occasionally tried to escape, they were hurt as much as angered that a black man or woman might want to reject their care and benevolence.

But plenty of other Colonials knew better. Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and many others recognized that slavery is evil. In fact, Washington himself knew it was wrong; he always had long-range plans to emancipate his slaves but never got around to implementing them.

So whats the difference between George Washington and Robert E. Lee? A quick answer might be that Washington was hoping to create and establish our nation and Lee was doing his best to destroy it.

But I think remoteness in time is relevant as well. In some ways, the Colonial world can seem as distant as the days of Arthurian legend, a period of American history steeped in superstition and scientific ignorance, when white males predominated, medicine was primitive, punishments were brutal, Indians were massacred and witch-burning was only a few generations out of date.

The Civil War, on the other hand, is comparatively recent, much more of the modern era. Im not that old  OK, Im 68  but I was in elementary school when Life magazine reported the death of the last Civil War veteran. The Civil War remains present in the minds of many Americans. It has never been entirely resolved, and the iconography of the Confederacy is still immensely powerful.

Its so powerful that it can galvanize the deranged  such as Dylann Roof, the Charleston, S.C., shooter, and James Fields, charged with killing a woman in Charlottesville  to unspeakable acts of violence. And it serves as the culture in which the virus of racial hatred and white supremacy thrives. As long as the heroes of the Confederacy  Lee, Jefferson Davis, Stonewall Jackson  are honored and memorialized in public places, they will serve as rallying points for racial haters.

No one is rallying around George Washington or Thomas Jefferson. They were racists and white supremacists, but no one looks to them to affirm those repugnant values.

In some respects, citizens and organizations that want to preserve the heritage of the Old South have overplayed their hands. Theyve allowed the courage and principles of the heroes of the Confederacy  as misguided as they were  to be hijacked and put into the service of a hateful ideology that has been a part of the fabric of our nation from the beginning.

Heres the distinction that Trump fails to make: For all their faults, Washington and Jefferson helped create the elusive American ideal of equality, justice and tolerance. Lee, Jackson and Davis gave up on it.
CA Judge Refuses to Dismiss 14 Counts Against Sandra Merritt

Contact: Liberty Counsel, 407-875-1776, Media@LC.org; Press Kit

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Aug. 25, 2017 /Christian Newswire/ -- Yesterday Judge Christopher Hite denied Sandra 'Susan' Merritt's request to the San Francisco Superior Court to dismiss the 14 criminal charges which the Attorney General failed to refile within the time prescribed by law.

Judge Hite said that Attorney General Xavier Becerra "intended" to re-file the previously dismissed counts against Merritt and gave him until close of business yesterday to correct what he called a "clerical error." The law clearly states that a dismissed charge must be re-filed within 10 days of the dismissal or be permanently barred. But the court ruled that the 14 counts can be re-filed two months beyond the prescribed time.

The Attorney General claimed that his failure to timely file an Amended Complaint was a mere "clerical error," that should be "corrected" by the Court. If California's top attorney, with the full resources of the state, could not manage to bring his political charges within the required deadline, no court has the power to fix that "error." Dismissal is the only remedy. The law is clear.

Liberty Counsel is defending Merritt and seeks dismissal of the 14 felony charges brought against her for her undercover work in exposing Planned Parenthood's unethical and potentially illegal profiteering from the sale of aborted baby body parts. The Court had previously agreed with Liberty Counsel that the criminal complaint filed by Attorney General Xavier Becerra against Merritt was legally defective and dismissed 14 of the 15 counts. The Court and California law granted the Attorney General 10 days to attempt to correct the defects and re-file the charges, but the Attorney General failed to file any amended complaint in Merritt's case within the required deadline.

"Not only has the Attorney General chosen to bring utterly baseless criminal charges against Sandra Merritt at the behest of his financiers at Planned Parenthood, but he also failed to timely refile the dismissed criminal charges. The law states these charges cannot now be refiled," said Horatio Mihet, Liberty Counsel's Vice President of Legal Affairs and Chief Litigation Counsel.

Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel said, "It is disconcerting when the law says one thing and courts do another. Ten days cannot be stretched to two months. The 14 previously dismissed counts cannot be refiled. This is reversible error," said Staver.

Liberty Counsel is an international nonprofit, litigation, education, and policy organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and the family since 1989, by providing pro bono assistance and representation on these and related topics.


Despite Parents' Objections, Teacher Defends 'Transgender Reveal' to Kindergartners Contact: Greg Burt, California Family Council, 949-244-2080



ROCKLIN, Calif., Aug. 25, 2017 /Christian Newswire/ -- Concerned mothers and fathers flooded a school board meeting Monday in response to a Kindergarten teacher that introduced a student to her class as transgender without notifying parents. Now, another parent at the same school is outraged that her child was sent to the principal's office for "misgendering" a male classmate who now identifies as a girl.



The August 21 meeting was packed with parents struggling to comfort their scared and confused children. The Kindergarten teacher (who was not named) told her students one of their classmates was "a girl trapped in a boy's body." One concerned mother told CBS Sacramento "my daughter came home crying and shaking so afraid she could turn into a boy."



The controversial incident occurred June 7 at Rocklin Academy Gateway, a public charter school near Sacramento. A male kindergartner asked his teacher to read a book titled "I Am Jazz" to the class. Co-written by biologically male teen Jazz Jennings, the book describes how Jazz "transitioned" from a boy to a girl. After the teacher read the book to the class, the male student changed from his "boy clothes" into his "girl clothes." The teacher then instructed students to use the boy's new "girl name."



Later, when one mother asked the school what happened, the teacher told her to "ask your child." Rocklin Academy Superintendent Robin Stout recently told parents details of what transpired in the June 7 class can't be shared with parents "to protect student confidentiality and safety."



Now, the school has reportedly threatened students with a trip to the principal's office if they fail to call the biologically male child by a female pronoun and name.



"This school's troubling response to one child struggling with gender dysphoria has traumatized an entire class of vulnerable five-year-olds," said Jonathan Keller, CEO of California Family Council. "Parents still have a right to be notified before controversial subjects like transgenderism are taught, and mothers and fathers must have the opportunity to opt their children out of these lessons."



California Family Council's CEO Jonathan Keller is available for radio, print, or video interviews on this topic. Please call Greg Burt at 949-244-2080 for scheduling. For further information, please see:



California Family Council Research Article



FOX 40 TV News from Sacramento



CBS 13 TV News from Sacramento



CBN News



The Washington Times

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One of the original streets planned out for the capital, Rhode Island Avenue is now well known as a commuting route, taking drivers from Prince Georges County and US Route 1 into the city. Its also quickly emerging though as something else, thanks to new and proposed development in the area.

Starting in Downtown Washington in the west, the avenue takes drivers past the Cathedral of St. Matthew, the Apostle, intersects roads such as Massachusetts Avenue, and heads into the neighborhood of Logan Circle. It then goes through several mostly residential neighborhoods, like Brentwood and Shaw. Serviced by the Metros red and green lines at different points, Rhode Island Avenue eventually merges with Baltimore Avenue, continuing with US Highway 1.

More than just a popular roadway, Rhode Island Avenue is also already on track to development, thanks to new restaurants and retail. One particular section thats already added in commercial offerings is also in the process of adding dozens of new residential units to the area, which some say could attract even more businesses to the Avenue. Already, a number of new restaurants have opened along Rhode Island Avenue, or just off of the roadway.

This is in addition to a massive mixed-use development planned at the site of the old Brentwood Village shopping center. Its expected to include a town center with shops, retailers and green space, plus eventually upwards of 1,700 new residences. Phase 1 could also bring in affordable housing to seniors.

Thats an important distinction, as some are concerned about issues such as the number of affordable rentals provided by developers with new building projects in the DC area. One proposed redevelopment plan proposed to go in next to the Rhode Island Avenue Metrorail station resulted in a legal battle, causing the developer to downsize its original projections.

As of now, the developer wants to construct upwards of 1,400 housing units plus retail space, including some affordable housing units, with construction beginning along the Avenue as early as next fall.
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The government has approved nine FDI proposals, including that of Amazon Retail India, envisaging foreign investments of about Rs 5,000 crore.

New Delhi: The government has approved nine FDI proposals, including that of Amazon Retail India, envisaging foreign investments of about Rs 5,000 crore.

According to the DIPP's (Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion) Foreign Investment Facilitation Portal, four foreign direct investment proposals, including BCP Advisors and Aveo Real Estate Holdings, have been rejected.

Amazon Retail has proposed investments of Rs 3,500 crore for setting up subsidiary company in India with 100 per cent FDI to engage in the business of retail trading of food products manufactured and/or produced in India.

Similarly, Supermarket Grocery also proposes initial investment of Rs 105 crore in food retail business. Subsequently, it proposes to raise the FDI to Rs 800-1,000 crore in the next 18 months.

Blueair India got approval to invest Rs 100 crore over five years in single brand retail trading along with its existing activity of cash & carry wholesale trading of air purifiers.

Urban Ladder Home Decor Solution envisages investment of USD 15 million (about Rs 97.5 crore) in single brand retail sector. As many as 10 FDI applications have been either rejected or closed or withdrawn.

Earlier this month, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had informed Parliament that 99 foreign direct investment proposals were pending in various ministries and departments.

FDI into the country grew 9 per cent to USD 43.47 billion in 2016-17.
Mumbai: All those who have been hoping to visit the ATM to get their hands on the newly rolled out Rs 200 and Rs 50 notes, might be disappointed.

The central bank on Thursday announced the launch of the Rs 200 notes in a bid to address the missing link between low and high denomination currencies. Provision of the new denomination, therefore, would facilitate exchange, particularly for the common man who deals with denominations at the lower end, the RBI said in a statement.

The RBI had on August 18 announced that it will launch new fluorescent blue Rs 50 banknotes bearing the motif of 'Hampi with Chariot' that depicts India's cultural heritage.

However, the new Rs 200 and Rs 50 notes may only be available at select RBI offices and banks. Moreover, since Friday is a holiday on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi, most banks may remain closed and the Rs 200 notes may have not reached the ATMs.

People queue up to withdraw new notes in the denominations of Rs.50 & Rs.200 from Reserve Bank of India in Delhi. pic.twitter.com/94DqERp2Ry  ANI (@ANI) August 25, 2017

Moreover, since the dimension of the new Rs 200 note - 66 mm  146 mm is different from existing notes, the cassettes at ATMs, that dispense cash, will have to be calibrated to fit the notes.

Here are all the details about the new Rs 200 and Rs 50 notes:
Mumbai: Actor Ileana D'Cruz says it would be wrong on her part to say that she cannot be a "prop" in a movie as she has enjoyed playing a glamorous diva on screen.

Recently, actor Taapsee Pannu had spoken out against the way women were portrayed in films, recalling a shot from her debut Telugu film, in which a coconut was thrown at her navel.

"They threw a coconut at me. I don't know what is so sensuous about a coconut hitting my midriff," Pannu had said at the time.

However, Ileana, who has worked extensively in down South, believes that objectifying women is not an issue of only South Indian films as it happens everywhere.

"I don't want to put a finger and say it only happens in South Indian films, it happens everywhere. There could be films in Bollywood as well, where the women sometimes are just a prop...

"It would be prudish to say 'I don't want to be a prop in a film', because there are certain films I've loved doing as I have looked very glamorous in them. At the end of the day, it's your choice if you want to do it," Ileana tells PTI.

The actor says she had been in such situations when she was shot in a "certain" way, but couldn't object as she was a newcomer in the world of films back then.

"I have been parts of some films in the South where I didn't expect certain shots to be shot in a certain way. I wasn't experienced enough, I was very naive, I didn't have the standing of an actor to say that 'I don't want to do this shot.'

"So it really depends. Some people are okay with it, some are not. At the end of the day, you are doing the film for the audience. May be some sections of people actually like watching this," she adds.

Recalling the experience while shooting her very first film, Ileana, who will next be seen in 'Baadshaho', says, "They threw a fairly big shell on my belly. I didn't understand it. I asked the director, 'Why did you throw a shell on me?' and he was like, 'it looks beautiful'. I said, but it was really heavy.

"There was also a shot with flowers around my waist. I asked why are you taking shot of my waist, he said because it looks beautiful, lovely. It is supposed to be a mark of a woman's beauty, it's the perception there, they believe that the waist line is the most attractive part."

'Baadshaho', also featuring Ajay Devgn, Emraan Hashmi and Esha Gupta, is scheduled to release on September 1.
Director Siddique was appreciated for addressing marital issues in a dignified manner in the Malayalam film Bhaskar The Rascal. Starring Mammootty and Nayanthara, the film hit the screens in 2015 and went on to become a blockbuster. The director is now wielding the megaphone for the Tamil version of Bhaskar The Rascal.

Titled as Bhaskar Oru Rascal in Tamil, the film is on the verge of completion with just a few scenes to be shot. A source in the know reveals, Majority of the talkie portions are almost completed and the entire team is heading to Maldives for a song shoot. After completing it, we would only be left with minor patch work.

The Tamil version of Bhaskar Oru Rascal boasts an ensemble cast including Arvind Swami, Amala Paul, Baby Nainika and Master Raghavan in the lead roles. It has also been speculated that director Siddique might also be working on the Hindi remake as well. The source also adds, He might direct the Hindi version as soon as he finishes Bhaskar Oru Rascal. Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt seems to be the frontrunner for the lead role.
Rating:

Director: Raj & DK

Cast: Sidharth Malhotra, Jacqueline Fernandez, Darshan Kumar and Suniel Shetty

When a film is directed by Raj & DK, expectations are bound to happen. Be it Shor In The City or India's first zombie film Go Goa Gone, their films have never disappointed anyone and A Gentleman is one such film. Flanked by an engaging story, great action and watchable performances, A Gentleman has everything to entertain you for 132 minutes but the only drawback of the film is that they promoted it to be a multiplex film but it is primarily a single screen film instead.

Gaurav (Sidharth Malhotra) is living a simple life and buys a house in Miami. He secretly loves his colleague Kavya (Jacqueline Fernandez). He is an organised and hard working and dreams to marry Kavya and have a family someday but fate has its own game.

Gaurav's lookalike Rishi (Sidharth Malhotra) is on a secret mission with Yakub (Darshan Kumar) in Bangkok, controlled by an undercover colonel (Suniel Shetty). Things turns upside down when police chase Gaurav instead of Rishi. How Gaurav escapes from a crime he hasn't committed is what A Gentleman is all about.

The best part of the film is its screenplay which is twisted and enthralling. However, the trailer of the film made us believe that Gaurav and Rishi are the same person but the film is full of surprises. Raj & DK yet again proved that they are wacky, wicked and a new age director duo. The film is hilarious to the core, despite being filled with serious situations. Even gay humour in the film is enjoyable and relevant, doesn't look cheap at all.

First half is gripping but the second half is slightly lose, which could have been more crisp. Once the mystery unfolds, there is nothing much left to see till the climax.

The highlight of the film is its high octane action on the streets of Bangkok and Miami, which looks real. The car chasing sequences are shot well. Dialogues are quirky and funny.

Sidharth Malhotra has faced a lot of criticism for his stiffness since his debut film. He was even called a bamboo stick in the past but he has come prepared with this film. He looks great, acts well and does action with much ease. He has surely improved a lot as an actor. Jacqueline Fernandez looks glamourous in her role. She is good with her moves especially while doing a pole dance. Seems she has also worked on her Hindi. Darshan Kumar is watchable and Suniel Shetty looks great as a rugged and strict colonel. He has definitely become hotter after growing old.

Chandralekha, Baat Ban Jaye, Disco Disco and Bandook Meri Laila are hummable numbers. After a long dying phase, it is good to see Fox studios putting money in such entertaining films, Jolly LLB 2 being the last one this year.

Overall, A Gentleman is definitely an entertaining film which has its own set of loopholes but they can be easily overlooked. Watch it this weekend for a fun and edgy film.
It can be fatal if the swelling spreads to the abdomen (Photo: YouTube)

People across the world are affected by rare conditions which can leave them with life altering physical defects. But while many can be treated, lack of healthcare and awareness in many parts of the world allow such disorders to make a persons life a daily struggle.

40-year-old Razia Begum from Bangladesh is a mother of two who is mostly confined to her house as a condition has left her with a massive leg weighing 60 kg. She has been battling the disease ever since she got infected after the birth of her daughter 18 years back.

The problem is suspected to be caused by elephantiasis, but nothing can be done without conducting required tests. As of now it isnt clear how Razia has ended up with the 60 kg leg, but she is entirely dependent on her relatives and feels like a burden.

Previous reports from similar cases indicate that roundworms entering the body through mosquitoes may be causing the disease. It may threaten Razias life if the swelling spreads from the legs to the abdomen.

A lot of people suffering from such conditions have been left unable to walk and urinate due to the swelling.
According to doctors, ovarian cysts are fairly common and appear and disappear naturally without any treatment. (Photo: Pixabay)

Xiao Qing, a 26-year-old Chinese woman had not seen her husband for six months. It was natural that they spend some quality time with each other after being reunited.

But the reunion turned sour when she almost died after her ovarian cyst popped during sex with her husband.

She was rushed to hospital after sex, suffering from acute abdominal pain.

The rupture made her lose 40 percent of all her blood.

According to doctors, ovarian cysts are fairly common and appear and disappear naturally without any treatment.

Dr Huang Mei from the Hunan Provincial Peoples Hospital told the the Xiaoxiang Morning Post that while Xiao Qing wasnt pregnant a CT scan found that she had a large quantity of blood and fluid in her abdomen and pelvic area.

The doctor performed a diagnostic laparoscopy which showed them that she had a hemoperitoneum.

Dr Huang said that she had lost 1,500ml of blood and if she was taken in later it would have become life-threatening.

Fortunately Xiao Qing survived.

But doctors discovered that she also had a three centimetre cyst in her right ovary, which they then removed.

According to Dr Huang, there are two ways in which the cyst could have had ruptured.

The first could be down to high blood pressure during part of the menstrual cycle, but the rupture could also have occurred due to passionate sex, where a partner could tear the cyst.
ANANTAPUR: A tea supplier and house keeper from a five star hotel in Andaman turned as top red sanders smuggler owning over Rs 70 crore worth of immovable property, enjoying luxurious life with a flat along with helipad and swimming pool at Chennai. Kadapa police were shocked to find the illicit properties of Chennai-based smuggler A.T. Maideen alias ATM who earned huge properties in span of few years.

Kadapa SP Bapuji said A.T. Maideen was a native of Nagore, Nagapatinam district in Tamil Nadu. He studied up to Class X. Later, he went to Andaman in 1987 and started working as a tea supplier cum house keeper at a five star hotel. During his working at the hotel he became acquainted with a guest coming from Singapore (couple) on business trip. Later with the advice of the Singapore couple in exporting seashells, he also happened to gain experience in exporting materials to foreign countries, the SP said. ATM returned to Chennai in 1990 and started his own export business by opening an agency.

At the beginning he used to export sea food, sea shells and vegetables and earned money. Later, he came in contact with several red sanders smugglers from Chennai city especially Red Hills smugglers who migrated from Myanmar to Chennai. He became a crucial link between the international smugglers from China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Dubai and smugglers from India. As per his confession, he has been into the smuggling activities for the last 20 years. Initially he smuggled sandal wood and other materials to the foreign countries, the Kadapa SP briefed.

Maideen also had links with Kollam Gangi Reddy, Darbar Basha and some others from Kadapa District and Venkat Reddy from Tirupati. Kadapa SP said ATM figures as an accused in 75 cases of Kadapa district and smuggled more than 3,000 tons of red sander logs. The tea vendor who turned smuggler visited more than 11 countries so far. He visited Singapore more than 40 times and Dubai 20 times and it speaks about his lavish life style. Kadapa police seized four high end model cars BMW, Nisan and also a ton red sander logs during raid in Kadapa district. SP said properties were identified at various parts of Chennai and Pondichery worth more than Rs.70 crore. Steps would be taken to attach his properties as per the new Amendment of AP Forest Act 1967.
Sirsa (Haryana): Dera Sacha Sauda spokesperson Dr Dilawar Insan on Friday expressed anguish after the special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court Dera Sacha Sauda (DSS) held chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh guilty of rape charges and said that they would appeal to the court against the unjust.

While appealing the people to keep silent, the Dera Sacha Sauda spokesperson said, "We will appeal to the CBI court against the injustice. Dera Sacha chief has been serving for the betterment of people."

"The history has been repeated where great saints have been convicted for doing something correct," he added.

Earlier Janata Dal (United) veteran Sharad Yadav condemned the violence that is taking place after the DSS chief was held guilty and charged with the offence of rape, and said that when politics and religion are mingled together then similar situation takes place.

"The condition at present in Iraq, Syria, Libya, Afghanistan and Pakistan can be compared with the ongoing Ram Rahim violence in the nation. Rahim is going to do the same in India through his followers. If you mingle politics and religion together then this will happen. Moreover, politicians are dependent on him for their vote bank," Yadav said.

He further said that there is still blind faith in India and the government is doing nothing to curb it.

"With violence around these states, how can the State Government control it? These political parties are themselves involved in it for collecting votes. People and police should not be blamed for such upheaval rather the politics behind it is to be blamed," he asserted.

Meanwhile, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah on Friday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to sack Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar for negligence of his duty in stopping the violence in parts of Haryana post the conviction of Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in connection with a rape case.

Following are the updates related to the case:

- 1000 Dera Sacha Sauda have been detained, says Haryana's ADGP (Law & Order) Muhammad Akil

- Death toll in violent protests in Panchkula climbs to 17 and 200 injured

- Punjab and Haryana High Court says properties of Ram Rahim Singh should be attached to pay for the losses due to violence.

- Security at Delhi BJP headquaters increased post violence at various places

- Security in and around Civil Hospital in Sector 6 Panchkula also increased; Death toll reaches 12,100 injured in violent protests

- Violence reported in Delhi, two buses set ablaze on Mandoli flyover in Delhi's Nand Nagri

- Death toll in Panchkula violence rises to 12, says CMO civil hospital

- Bus set ablaze near Babu Jagjivan Ram Memorial Hospital in Delhi

- Two empty rakes of Rewa Express at Anand Vihar Terminal railway station set on fire: Northern Railway Spox Neeraj Sharma

- Police say bus torched in northeast Delhi's Loni Chowk

- Security tightened at railway stations in Delhi

- Army columns moved into Haryana's Sirsa district for quick reaction, as violent protests continue post rape conviction of Dera Chief Ram Rahim Singh

- The duty doctor at the Civil Hospital in Panchkula said at least five people were killed and 50 injured, including journalists and police

- 6 Army columns deployed in Panchkula post conviction of Dera Chief Ram Rahim Singh Ram Rahim Verdict

- Central Industrial Security Force personnel deployed within one km radius of Rohtak's Sunariya Jail Haryana

- Curfew imposed in Punjab's Muktsar, Bathinda, Mansa

- RamRahimVerdict: Administrative machinery geared up in Western Uttar Pradesh- Anand Kumar, ADG Law and Order

- Five people dead in Panchkula violence, says duty doctor at civil hospital.
Chandigarh unit of CBI launched an investigation against the allegations on the self-styled godman, after a case was registered. (Photo: PTI)

Panchkula: The special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court on Friday convicted Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a rape case. The court will declare the quantum of sentence on Monday.

The Haryana Police has taken Gurmeet to Rohtak's Police Training College in Sunaria.

Violence erupted in Panchkula, Haryana, moments after Gurmeet's conviction, prompting police to fire tear gas shells at Dera protesters. Police also resorted to lathicharge and fired live bullets in the air to disperse the violent crowds.

Malout Railway Station and petrol pump were set on fire by protesters in Punjab. Similar incidents were also reported in Bathinda.

PTI.

Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has appealed to "all Punjabis to maintain peace and harmony in state". "Won't allow anyone to disturb peace and tranquillity, he added.

The rape allegations against Gurmeet date back to 2002, when two of the Dera followers (sadhvis) wrote a letter to the then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, in anonymity, alleging that they were raped by the self-styled godman.

The letter also accused Gurmeet of sexually exploiting several of his female followers inside the Dera campus on the outskirts of Sirsa in Haryana.

The Punjab and Haryana court took cognisance of the sadhvis' letter and instructed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to register a case of sexual exploitation against the Dera chief in 2002.

The Chandigarh unit of the CBI launched an investigation after a case was registered on December 12, 2002, under Section 376 (rape), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 509 (insult to the modesty of woman) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

However, he has been constantly denying the charges, claiming that he is a faithful follower of the law.

In their statements before the court, the two sadhvis alleged that they were raped by the spiritual leader. However, one of them went on to justify the rape saying it would "purify" her.

One of them in her statements said when she entered the Dera chief's chambers, the doors closed automatically while he was watching a pornographic film.

Apart from the 2002 rape allegations, Gurmeet Ram Rahim is also accused of murdering a journalist, Ranjit Singh, in October 2002, who was investigating the charges against him.
Followers of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim gather at a park in Panchkula on Wednesday, ahead of the court judgement in a sexual exploitation case against him. (Photo: PTI)

Sirsa (Haryana): The paramilitary troopers took out flag march in Sirsa on Thursday night ahead of the rape case verdict involving Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.

The district administration said that curfew has been imposed in Sirsa city and three villages, adjoining the Dera Sacha Sauda headquarters from 10 PM on Thursday, till further orders.

Bajekan, Nejiyakhera and Shahpur Begu are the villages where curfew has been imposed.

Deputy Commissioner (DC) Prabhjot Singh said the paramilitary forces and the Haryana police have been vigilant to prevent any untoward incident.

"We did the flag march whole day to maintain peace. The curfew was imposed at night so that no one creates ruckus. The Army has also been called to maintain peace in the villages," Singh said.

As many as 74 trains have been cancelled for Friday in view of law and order situation in Haryana. This takes the total number of cancelled trains to 201, including 92 Mail/Express and 109 Passenger trains.

The possibility of an outbreak of violence in Haryana has also affected the cost of air travel. Reportedly, the fare from Delhi to Chandigarh has risen up to as much as Rs. 11,000.

Earlier on Thursday night, Dera Sacha Sauda chief asked his supporters, who have been camping in Panchkula, to return to their homes and maintain peace.

The Dera Sacha Sauda chief released a video message asking his supporters, camping in Panchkula, to go back home. He also asked his supporters to respect the law and maintain peace.

"I appeal to everyone to maintain peace. I had earlier also asked the Dera followers, who have gone to Panchkula, to return to their home. I will go to court .We all should respect law and maintain peace," he said in the video message.

Thousands of Dera Sacha Sauda followers have been camping in Panchkula ahead of the Friday verdict.

The video message came ahead of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court's verdict in the 15-year-old rape case against the Dera Sacha Sauda chief.

Earlier on Thursday, Home Minister Rajnath Singh spoke to Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and assured him of adequate forces for security.

Meanwhile, the internet and mobile phone services have been suspended for 72 hours in Punjab, Haryana and Union Territory Chandigarh to prevent any untoward incident.

Around 53 companies of paramilitary forces and 50000 personnel of Haryana Police have also been deployed. In addition, army has also been alerted.

The administration has also been asked to take stringent action possible if someone tries to break the law.
Vehicles burn in violence following Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahims conviction in Panchkula on Friday. (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has called a security review meeting on Saturday in the wake of widespread violence in Haryana triggered by the conviction of self-styled godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a rape case.

At least 30 people were killed and 250 injured on Friday in widespread violence, arson and police firing at Panchkula and nearby areas after the verdict.

Top home ministry officials, chiefs of paramilitary forces and intelligence agencies will attend the meeting to take stock of the situation in north India, an official said.

Singh has already spoken to chief ministers of Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, and assured them central assistance to deal with any situation.

The central government has already dispatched around 20,000 paramilitary personnel to Haryana, Punjab and Chandigarh to assist the local administration in maintaining law and order.

Thousands of followers of Ram Rahim went on the rampage, setting fire to vehicles, buildings and railway stations soon after a special CBI court convicted him in a 2002 rape case.

The unrest which began in Panchkula where the verdict was handed down, spread to other parts of Haryana and Punjab and even New Delhi where a bus and train were set on fire.
The girls had failed to get admission in the Mahanand Mission Harijan (MMH) college due to 'high percentage of merit'. (Representational Image)

Ghaziabad: High drama was witnessed at a college in Ghaziabad when three girls climbed atop the building and threatened to commit suicide if they were not granted admission in the college.

The girls had failed to get admission in the Mahanand Mission Harijan (MMH) college due to "high percentage of merit".

Additional district magistrate Preeti Jaiswal reached the college and assured the protesting students that the administration would talk to the college authorities for their admission.

The protest was supported by the district unit of Akhil Bhartiy Vidhyarthi Parishad (ABVP).
A file photograph of a protest soon after the suicide of DYSP M.K. Ganapathi demanding a fair and impartial probe into the incident

Bengaluru: State BJP president B S Yeddyurappa on Thursday demanded Chief Minister Siddaramaiahs resignation for allegedly forcing sleuths of CID to give a clean chit to Bengaluru development minister K.J George in case of suicide of deputy superintendent M K Ganapathi, and demanded a CBI probe to unearth reasons which forced the police officer to end his life last year.

He told the media here the reports submitted by Forensic Science Lab (FSL), tell-tale evidence in the late officers mobile phone and other crucial details were destroyed by sleuths at CID. These officers did not make an honest attempt during their investigation in order to protect Mr George and several other leaders of ruling Congress, he alleged.

He said while the FSL report said the CID probe was not conducted properly, call record details, SMS, emails and other pieces of evidence were missing as were his pen drive. Therefore, officers of CBI would be able to piece together evidence on factors which forced the police officer to commit self harm he said adding that before ending his life, Mr. Ganapathi named Mr. George and two police officers. There are invisible hands behind the mysterious death of Mr. Ganapathy. The state government and police officers are hand in glove in closing the suicide case though the role of home ministers adviser Kempaiah was crucial in the matter, he added.

Mr Yeddyurappa threatened a statewide agitation if the state government failed to hand over the case to CBI and retain Mr George in the cabinet.

Meanwhile, former deputy chief minister R. Ashok said by ordering judicial enquiry, the Chief Minister has obtained the favourable report from the Justice Kempanna commission in Arkavathi redo scam. The BJP has been demanding a CBI probe because it was biggest land related corruption case in the state, involving more than Rs. 900 crores, he alleged.

Quoting media reports about the probe by former high court judge Justice Kempanna into the Arkavathi redo scam, Mr Ashok said that in case the commission had issued a clean chit to Mr Siddaramaiah the state unit of BJP would launch a state wide agitation.
Not only will the selling tender coconut water in various flavours promote a healthy drink, but will also help coconut growers sell their produce directly at the hut without relying on middlemen.

Hassan: If you can have tea of different flavours, why not tender coconut water? Fans of this natural beverage could soon enjoy it in lime, honey and other flavours thanks to the Hassan district administration, which plans to set up a "coconut hut" to sell it to people, who want a change from the fizzy drinks they are accustomed to drinking.

The hut that the Coir Board has been asked to design, will be made entirely from parts of a coconut tree such as its trunk and leaves, and will be established on the border of the Hirisave village on the national highway connecting Bengaluru and Mangaluru via Hassan. It could open about three months prior to the Mahamastakabhisheka of the Bahubali statue in February, 2018 to cash in on the large influx of visitors to Shravanabelagola, a popular Jain pilgrim centre in Hassan. Based on its success, more "huts" could be opened in other parts of the district, reveals Deputy Commissioner, Rohini Sindhuri.

Not only will the selling tender coconut water in various flavours promote a healthy drink, but will also help coconut growers sell their produce directly at the hut without relying on middlemen. The " hut," which could be named Kalpamrutha, will also sell all other coconut related products, according to Ms Sindhuri. The DC, who held meetings with growers, says they seem to like the concept.
The agitating Dera followers on Friday resorted to damaging public and private properties as well as attacking mediapersons. (Photo: AFP)

Panchkula/Delhi: At least 30 people were killed and and 250 were injured on Friday in Panchkula after conviction of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a rape case led to violence across state. The Haryana Police has taken Gurmeet to Rohtak's Police Training College in Sunaria.

In the latest development on Friday evening, Section 144 CrPC has been imposed in 11 districts of Delhi, including New Delhi. Delhi's north and central districts will not be under prohibitory order, police said. The prohibitory orders will remain in force till September 8.

President Ram Nath Kovind has condemned the "violence and damage to public property after court verdict". He has "appealed to all citizens to maintain peace."

Violence and damage to public property after court verdict is highly condemnable; appeal to all citizens to maintain peace #PresidentKovind  President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) August 25, 2017

The agitating Dera followers on Friday resorted to damaging public and private properties as well as attacking mediapersons.

Additional Chief Secretary to Haryana government Ram Niwas said the government will compensate for the losses of media personnel and the properties of others.

The Haryana Police has detained as many as 1000 Dera followers, agitating against the conviction of Gurmeet, in Panchkula. Niwas said protesters have been identified

We have video footage and strict action will be taken against them. Most of the protesters ousted from city, Niwas said, while appealing to Dera supporters to stay calm and deter the protesters.

Meanwhile, security has been tightened across Haryana, Punjab, Delhi, bordering areas of Uttar Pradesh in the wake of the violence in Haryana. Vigil has been intensified at stations along Uttar Pradesh, Haryana borders, CISF DG OP Singh said.

Security at Delhi BJP headquarters has also been tightened in the wake of the violence.

Security tightened at BJP headquarters in Delhi. (Photo: ANI| Twitter)

Northern Railway Spokesperson Neeraj Sharma had earlier said that two empty rakes of Rewa Express at Anand Vihar Terminal railway station were set on fire.

Police had said that alleged Dera supporters torched a bus in northeast Delhi's Loni Chowk.

Two empty rakes of Rewa Express at Anand Vihar Terminal railway station set on fire. (Photo: ANI | Twitter)

A bus was also set ablaze near Babu Jagjivan Ram Memorial Hospital in Delhi.

Bus torched in Delhi in protest. (Photo: ANI | Twitter)

However, Madhur Verma, Delhi Police PRO, said the situation in the capital is under control. Verma added that three miscreants have been arrested and patrolling is underway in different areas. Alert has also been sounded at Delhi Metro stations and.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal have appealed to the public to maintain peace after violence in Haryana and Punjab.

Meanwhile, Section 144 has been imposed in Muzaffarnagar, Shamli and Baghpat in Uttar Pradesh, and also in Noida and Ghaziabad in view of violent protests in Punjab and Haryana.

Punjab government has asked the Centre for more security forces in view of violence at different places. To control the Dera Sacha Sauda followers, Army has been called out in Haryana's Sirsa.

Amid reports of violence, Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi has said that the Haryana DGP told him that the situation is being brought under control gradually.

Vehicles burn during arson following Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahims conviction in Panchkula on Friday. (Photo: PTI)

In Punjab, the agitating Dera supporters set alight an Income Tax office in Mansa. Curfew has been imposed in Punjab's Sangrur, Patiala and Moga districts.

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had earlier appealed to "all Punjabis to maintain peace and harmony in state". "Won't allow anyone to disturb peace and tranquillity, he added.

Punjab Chief Minister said he was keeping a close watch on the situation in the state. He said he has briefed the Union Home Minister about the situation.

Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed that properties of Ram Rahim Singh should be attached to pay for the losses due to violence. The High Court also said the senior government officials in Panchkula should be given security by paramilitary forces.

Meanwhile, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar condemned the violence, saying: People have taken law in their hand by resorting to violence. Action will be taken against those who have violated law".

No one is above law. Appeal people to not believe in rumours and steer clear of people with criminal intentions, Khattar said.

The violence has also spread to Rajasthan, where Dera supporters set power sub-station office and vehicle at sub-station premises on fire in Sriganganagar.

Meanwhile, Railways has cancelled all trains to Rohtak in Haryana.

Dera followers turned violent after a special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court found Singh guilty of raping two of his women followers. As many as 600 Army men were deployed in Panchkula after violence erupted.

Curfew has been imposed in Panchkula and in Muktsar, Bathinda, Mansa in Punjab.

After the special CBI court in Panchkula declared Gurmeet guilty of rape, the Dera followers went on rampage and attacked media vans and set Malout and Balluanna railway stations and a petrol pump on fire.

Dera Sacha Sauda sect members overturn a broadcast van on the streets of Panchkula on Friday. (Photo: AP)
The video message came ahead of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court's verdict in the 15-year-old rape case against the Dera Sacha Sauda chief. (Photo: File)

New Delhi: Ahead of the crucial verdict in the alleged rape case against him, Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh on Thursday night asked his supporters, who have been camping in Panchkula, to return to their homes and maintain peace.

The Dera Sacha Sauda chief released a video message asking his supporters, camping in Panchkula, to go back home. He also asked his supporters to respect the law and maintain peace.

"I appeal to everyone to maintain peace. I had earlier also asked the Dera followers, who have gone to Panchkula, to return to their home. I will go to court .We all should respect law and maintain peace," he said in the video message.

Thousands of Dera Sacha Sauda followers have been camping in Panchkula ahead of the Friday verdict.

The video message came ahead of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court's verdict in the 15-year-old rape case against the Dera Sacha Sauda chief.

Earlier on Thursday Home Minister Rajnath Singh spoke to Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and assured him of adequate forces for security.

Meanwhile, the internet and mobile phone services have been suspended for 72 hours in Punjab, Haryana and Union Territory Chandigarh to prevent any untoward incident.

Around 53 companies of paramilitary forces and 50000 personnel of Haryana Police have also been deployed. In addition, army has also been alerted.

The administration is also asked to take stringent action possible if someone tries to break the law.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday directed Chandigarh's legal service authority to immediately disburse a compensation of Rs one lakh to a 10-year-old rape victim who had recently delivered a child after being denied abortion by the top court.

A bench comprising Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta said the identity of the minor victim as well as her family members should not be revealed and asked the authorities to look after her medical treatment expenses and education.

The court was hearing an application seeking Rs 10 lakh compensation for the victim, whose plea seeking permission to undergo termination of pregnancy was earlier turned down by the apex court following a medical report, under the victims compensation scheme.

The court posted the matter for hearing next week.

The top court was earlier informed by senior advocate Indira Jaising that the authorities in Chandigarh were insisting that the compensation would be granted to the minor only after a chargesheet was filed in the case.

Jaising had argued that law mandated compensation of Rs three lakh in such cases, but the apex court had passed a judgement on August 17 awarding Rs 10 lakh compensation to a rape victim whose plea for abortion was turned down.

The apex court had earlier sought responses from the Centre, Chandigarh administration, member secretary of the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) and District Legal Services Authority of Chandigarh.

Section 3(2)(b) of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act prohibits abortion of a foetus after 20 weeks of pregnancy. The apex court had on July 28 dismissed the plea seeking its nod for terminating the 32-week-old pregnancy of the rape survivor after taking note of a medical report that abortion was neither good for the girl, nor for the foetus.

A PIL was filed after a Chandigarh district court on July 18 had refused to let the girl undergo the abortion.
Chennai: Tamil Nadu Speaker P Dhanapal on Thursday issued notices to 19 All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) MLAs supporting sidelined deputy chief TTV Dhinakaran, seeking a clarification on a plea for their disqualification.

The 19 MLAs, who are currently lodged at a resort at Puducherry, are part of the faction led by the now jailed AIADMK General Secretary VK Sasikala and her nephew Dhinakaran.

The chief whip of the ruling AIADMK urged Speaker Dhanapal to disqualify the 19 MLAs, who have rebelled against Chief Minister K Palanisamy.

Read: Govt whip urges Assembly Speaker to disqualify of 19 Dhinakaran MLAs

The 19 MLAs had submitted a memorandum to state Governor C Vidyasagar Rao for withdrawing their support to the Chief Minister, as they were upset over the coming together of the two major factions of the AIADMK.

AIADMK leader, E Rathinasabapathy said, "Dhinakaran remains our leader, Sasikala is our general secretary. Soon all will be united."

Earlier, Chief Whip S Rajendran said by withdrawing support to the Chief Minister, the dissenting MLAs had attracted the provision of the anti-defection law.

The move comes as the opposition parties have been demanding the Chief Minister to prove his majority in the assembly.
Kurnool: Tempers flared at Nandyal on Thursday, a day after the largely uneventful polling, when YSCR leader Shilpa Chakrapani Reddy, the brother of party candidate Shilpa Mohan Reddy, clashed with TD activist Abhiruchi Madhu. Madhus car was damaged and his private gunman opened five rounds of fire. No casualty was reported. An attempt-to-murder case has been registered against Mr Chakrapani Reddy at the Two Town police station on the complaint of Madhu.

The incident was condemned by Minister Bhuma Akhila Priya who called for peace in the sensitive town. Officer on Special Duty and in-charge, DSP U Ravi Prakash confirmed that a case has been booked against Silpa Chakrapani Reddy. Mr Chakrapani Reddy, along with his followers, had gone to attend the funeral of YSRC activist S. Mohammed Basha. Madhu also turned up there, and a row ensued over parking his car. Workers of both parties quarrelled and stones were pelted at Madhus car. The window pane of the car was damaged. Police said Madhus gunman opened five rounds of fire to the air to drive away the people. Mr Chakrapani Reddy claimed Madhu himself had opened fire. They had obstructed our vehicles. While others tried to restrain Madhu, he did not stop and surged forward to attack me, Mr Chakrapani Reddy said.

YSRC Kurnool district unit president Gowru Venkata Reddy claimed the motive behind the attack on Mr Chakrapani Reddy was to threaten them. He said that Mr Chakrapani Reddy resignation from the Legislative Concil whle defecting to the YSRC had come as a shock to the ruling party. Unable to digest the growing popularity of YSRC president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, the TD had had resorted to rowdy politics, he claimed.
This piece will either be pinned with a see I told you so attitude on social media sites after the next parliamentary polls or allowed to languish in the depths of the cyber world. Over the past five months, after sweeping Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand and foisting itself into power in Manipur and Goa, the BJP has promoted the narrative that electoral invincibility is the new normal for the party. This discourse was precipitated considerably by Omar Abdullahs overreaction: that the Opposition had better stop fancying its chances for 2019 and instead aim for a comeback in 2024.

The other development that intensified the surround sound regarding the BJPs supremacy was Nitish Kumars switchback. He certified that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, about who he once remarked viciously that he (Mr Kumar) would never sacrifice principles at the altar of the ambitions of a man who creates fear in the minds of my countrymen, was the continuing aparajito  or unvanquished  of the moment. Besides the Janata Dal (United) joining the National Democratic Alliance, events in the AIADMK and Gujarat contribute to the sense that parties, big and small, see sense in being on the BJPs side.

Witnessing these developments, I was reminded of the conversation with Mr Modi in the summer of 2012 while researching for his biography. Back then, I broached the question of the BJPs declining number of allies and queried about his strategy to win them back. His reply was characteristic of a cocksure man: We had allies when we won seats. When our winnability went down, allies left us. If it increases, they will come back or new ones will join us. He correctly read the political response of regional outfits. Ram Vilas Paswan, who once virtuously exited the Atal Behari Vajpayee government over the post-Godhra riots, was among the first ones to not just line up but also pay obeisance to the emerging deity of electoral victories. Clearly, Mr Modi can do little wrong and there is nothing that is now rolling in his favour.

Yet, despite consecutive electoral victories and allies, new and old, joining its growing flock, it would be wrong to conclude that 2019 is a settled affair; that the BJPs victory is a foregone conclusion. In politics, no evaluation can be based on certainty of future. Even the most consensual assumptions have gone awry. This is true about India as well as outside. Few foresaw Donald Trumps victory. At home, no pollster or analyst expected the Vajpayee-led NDA to face defeat in 2004. Those arguing that the verdict of the next parliamentary poll is pre-decided base the conclusion on following assumptions: the Opposition is completely rudderless and unlikely to pose a threat because, first, the Congress will not yield its primacy to other parties, and second, Rahul Gandhi will not allow another leader to lead the Opposition pack.

The certainty of the BJPs victory stems from three other factors: the continuing popularity of Mr Modi and the hope he continues to generate among people. Second, although the government is yet to fulfil most promises, by and large no negativity surrounds it and this will neutralise anti-incumbent sentiment. Third, in Amit Shah the BJP has a relentless electoral manager and ace strategist. The BJP is by far the most cohesive political party and backed by the entire Sangh Parivar, with which the party has often had a fractious relationship in the past. In addition, the silent majoritarian thrust of all BJP campaigns on social and political issues, be it on redefining nationalism or victory in the triple talaq issue, may undermine India as a tolerant nation but polarises people in favour of the BJP.

What then are the reasons behind the argument that it is too early to be certain of a BJP victory in the next polls? First, public sentiment is suppressed because Indians are clenched by an ubiquitous machinery that publicises so-called achievements incessantly. Moreover, public discourse is managed with such ferocity that sceptics think twice before articulating disagreement. Additionally, the binary between anti-national and patriot, established by the regime, risks making people seethe internally yet not display dissent for fear of being branded a traitor. The ballot, history shows, in such situations, becomes a weapon of retribution.

In such situations, electoral rejections of regimes, for instance in Bihar or West Bengal  and even in Punjab recently  are so emphatic that no trace remains of the incumbent. The BJP is walking the razors edge by keeping people mortally scared to voice disagreement over the official line. This is a government that survives on perception, and experience shows it takes just a split second for fortunes to reverse in battles of appraisals. Almost two and half years later, no one is certain what led to Arvind Kejriwal handing Mr Modi his worst ever electoral rout. The inherent challenges on which the BJPs fortunes rest is known to the Modi-Shah duo. This explains its two-pronged strategy unveiled in recent weeks: First, claims about its prospects are exaggerated, as evidenced in Mission 350-plus unveiled last week and aimed at demoralising opponents and playing mindgames, Aussie-style, before a Test or ODI series. Second, Mr Modi has again shifted his goalpost. In 2014, the election was fought on the promise of achche din and the next slogan of New India has been unveiled. Both notions are effervescent ideas with more fizz than substance.

Growing farm distress, unemployment, uncertainty among businesses and stagnating growth are pointers that points of unease is being brushed aside. Yet, there is no knowing when the bubble will burst and will trigger unrest. People historically never await a leader but invariably anoint their own. They rarely wait for the Opposition circus to begin. Success or failure of events like Lalu Prasad Yadavs Desh Bachao rally matters little. Everything, save the peoples anger, can be managed. By containing or sanitising avenues of protestations, the presiding duo is hoping to lay out a smooth passage for themselves into the next round.
It is amusing to think the BJP had opposed former Prime Minister V.P. Singhs cynical backward caste politics that led him to implement the Mandal Commission recommendations, which sanctioned 27 per cent reservations in education and government jobs to categories officially listed as Other Backward Castes.

The saffron party unleashed its kamandal politics to counter Mandal. This led to the destruction of the Babri Masjid. But now the BJP is trying to milk both Mandal and kamandal. Before major elections it keeps fluttering the flag of a Ram temple in Ayodhya.

The Union Cabinet has approved the setting up of a commission to examine the viability of distributing the benefits of Mandal reservations across 5,000 or so sub-categories. These benefits have mostly gone to the demographically and economically more dominant among OBCs  the Yadavs and Kurmis in North India. (Mandal politics is mainly a North Indian affair as the middle castes  those falling between the caste Hindus and dalit sections  in the South have been empowered over decades, starting in British India, under the pressure of social and political movements.)

So that the OBC creamy layer  the well-off among them who have benefited the most  may not feel wholly shortchanged, the measures of creamy layer has been changed in Wednesdays decision  from an income of Rs 6 lakh per year to Rs 8 lakh. This is a trick designed to cover all bases. In the UP elections, the BJP had reaped the benefits of winning over non-Yadav OBC sections.
Muslim girls at a market in old Delhi on Tuesday. The Centre is all set to send an advisory to all states asking them to ensure compliance of the Supreme Court order declaring Triple Talaq void, illegal and unconstitutional. (Photo: PTI)

It is indeed surprising that the operative part of the elaborate and complex ruling comprising of three different and diverse judicial opinions captured in 395 pages is just one line: By a majority of 3:2 verdict the practice of talaq-e-biddat  triple talaq is set aside. Justice Kurian Josephs opinion expressed in just 27 pages that clinched the issue.

He concurred with Justices Rohinton Nariman and Uday Lalit that the practice of triple talaq does not form the core of the Sunni Muslim religion and helped it to acquire the status of a majority opinion. He also concurred with Chief Justice J.S. Khehar and Justice Nazeer that the personal laws of minorities are protected by the Constitution as fundamental rights, a clear statement against the enactment of a uniform civil code, contained in Article 44, which is a directive principle of state policy.

It was obvious that arbitrary triple talaq had to go. No one had held it to be a desirable mode of dissolving a Muslim marriage, not even the AIMPLB. What was under contest was the most appropriate manner in which it could be done  through the courts, the legislature or through the Muslim clerics. On this critical issue, the verdict split.

Justice Khehar held that though triple talaq is undesirable, since it is an integral part of the Sunni Hanafi faith  an unbroken tradition followed for 1,400 years  it was not possible for the courts to strike it down.

But using the power under Article 142 of the Constitution, the CJI gave a six-month window for Parliament to declare the law and issued an injunction restraining Muslim husbands from pronouncing triple talaq in the intervening period. A convoluted verdict, which creates more confusion than it solves. The sole Muslim judge on the bench, Justice Nazeer, concurred with this view. But fortunately for us this has become the minority view and no longer applicable.

The three other judges on the bench gave a clear verdict that triple talaq is invalid. But here again opinions differed regarding the grounds on which it was done. The judgment delivered by Justice Rohinton Nariman (for himself and Justice Uday Lalit) held that since the word talaq is mentioned in the Sharia Application Act 1937, it forms part of a statute and becomes law in force.

Hence, it is amenable for being declared as unconstitutional. However, the Sharia Application Act does not mention the word triple talaq or talaq-e-biddat. The views expressed by Islamic legal scholars is that a mere recognition of Muslim personal law by the Sharia Act does not give it a statutory status.

Justice Kurian Joseph, too, differed with this view and held that triple could not be tested against the touchstone of fundamental rights. He preferred to stay within the realm of Islamic law and examined whether instant triple talaq forms an essential and core religious practice. Since Shamim Ara (2002) had already declared instant triple talaq invalid, and had laid down the procedure for pronouncing talaq, he had no hesitation in concluding that triple talaq is not an essential core of Islamic law in India and hence invalid.

This position has been repeatedly advanced by me and hence today I stand vindicated. Since there was no media hype, the kind we have witnessed during the last two years since the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andholan (BMMA) flagged this issue and since the Narendra Modi government at the Centre, and its various chief ministers in states, as well as the ideologues of the RSS had not awakened to the plight of Muslim women as political capital, the historical ruling delivered by Justice Lahoti (who went on to become Chief Justice of India) went unnoticed. So, Muslim women and their supporters ignored it in their pursuit to get a decisive verdict from the Supreme Court.

But beyond the hype, we have not advanced an inch from the earlier position which had held triple talaq invalid. Again, it is Justice Kurians concurrence of CJIs opinion on freedom of religion that renders it a majority opinion today.

According to Prof. Faizan Mustafa, Justice Khehars detailed judgment is a major milestone in the history of freedom of religion in India. For the first time in Indian judicial history, it is declared that personal laws are an integral part of freedom of religion guaranteed under Articles 25 and 26 which the courts are duty-bound to protect.

This hallowed status awarded to the Muslim personal law has warmed the hearts of the All Indian Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB). The mandate of bringing reforms is today squarely in their court. The board had earlier issued an advisory that triple talaq is sinful and had declared the correct procedure for pronouncing talaq.

Upon a directive from the CJI, the office-bearers of AIMPLB had filed an affidavit in court that a provision will be included in the nikahnama (marriage contract) whereby the husband binds himself against pronouncing instant triple talaq.

But they were not willing to walk the last mile and declare it invalid. The need for Muslim husbands to bind themselves against this practice through a model nikahnama continues to be relevant.

Unless the board gives a clear signal that it has accepted the verdict of the Supreme Court regarding triple talaq, there is bound to be confusion within the community. This may provide an opportunity for Muslim-bashing by the Modi government, which has rejoiced over the verdict as though it is an anti-minority one, to usher in legislative reforms, a situation which the board wishes to avoid at all costs.

However, in the absence of a clear stand and prompt action from the board, Muslim womens groups such as the All India Muslim Womens Personal Law Board and BMMA will be well within their rights to lobby with the government to enact a law to bring in clarity within the Muslim personal law. When this happens, the board will find its back pushed against the wall. So now is the time to act.
The last fortnight has seen an extraordinary exchange of rhetoric between North Korea and the United States. In response to UN Security Council resolutions tightening sanctions on North Korea after its two missile tests in July, Kim Jong-un said that he would fire four missiles over Japan into the waters off Guam and destroy the US territory in enveloping fire. President Donald Trump retorted that his forces were locked and loaded and he would launch fire and fury at his enemy.

The North Korean leader then seemed to draw back by postponing the attack near Guam, but said grimly that he could change his mind if the Yankees persist with their extremely dangerous reckless actions. He added the attack would be the most delightful historic moment when he would wring the windpipes of the Yankees and point daggers at their necks.

Soon thereafter, the top US military officer, Gen. Joseph Dunford, promised an iron-clad commitment to defend Japan, saying that an attack on one is an attack on both of us. A worried Xi Jinping, in a telephonic conversation with Mr Trump, called on all parties to exercise restraint.

Behind this verbal sabre-rattling lies a long and convoluted narrative of US-North Korean ties, when the two sides have on occasion taken tentative steps to address their differences, only to fall into a quagmire of mutual mistrust, name-calling and military brinkmanship. The two countries had entered into solid agreements in the 1990s, when North Korea had agreed to freeze its nuclear weapons programme in return for US support for its civilian nuclear programme and massive humanitarian and development assistance, valued at about $750 million between 1995-2000.

However, in 2002, when President George Bush included North Korea in the axis of evil and rescinded the 1994 agreement, the country withdrew from the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT). As US sanctions became more tough, North Korea tested its first nuclear device in 2006, and carried out further tests in 2013 and 2016. It is believed to have fissionable material for about 20 nuclear devices. Separately, North Korea has steadily developed its delivery capabilities, even testing two long-range missiles in July that landed near Japan. There are indications that, by 2019, North Korea could possess ICBMs that will reach continental United States.

This will dramatically shift US priorities from concerns relating to its allies in Northeast Asia to the defence of the homeland. This possible shift has already led Japan to focus on augmenting its own capabilities by significantly increasing its defence expenditure and developing a land-based missile defence system, besides funding enhanced maritime security capabilities in the Eastern Atlantic.

The US and South Korea commenced their joint annual military exercises from August 21. These are invariably viewed as provocative by North Korea; it has described this years exercise as pouring gasoline on fire, while its official mouthpiece warned of an uncontrollable phase of a nuclear war.

Besides Japan and South Korea, the 10-day drill, codenamed Ulchi-Freedom Guardian, will mobilise a total of 80,000 troops from Australia, Canada, Colombia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Denmark and the UK, and will include 17,500 US service personnel.

These exercises are the worlds largest and will simulate computerised command and control action in the event of an attack from North Korea. The latter views them as an aggression, particularly since nuclear-capable aircraft are expected to fly over its territory and decapitation strikes are rehearsed to target the countrys leader and top generals. North Korea has retaliated by announcing that 3.5 million of its citizens have volunteered to join the Peoples Army.

Chinas Global Times in an editorial has criticised the exercises, saying: The drill will definitely provoke Pyongyang more If South Korea really wants no war on the Korean Peninsula, it should try to stop this military exercise.

Three days after the exercises started there has been no vitriolic rhetoric from the North Korean leader, leading Trump to suggest that something positive could still come out of the recent exchanges. But the threat of conflict embracing the US, South Korea and Japan, remains and could include the use of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons. This would have horrendous consequences, inflicting casualties and destruction not seen since World War II.

The rapid development of nuclear weapons and delivery systems by North Korea has fundamentally transformed the regional strategic landscape and has ensured that a military option is not feasible, whatever the US jingoists might say. Defusing the crisis and engaging with North Korea is the only realistic option on the table.

In this regard, the US and its allies would need to note that, whatever Chinas irritations with North Korea and its irascible leader, it will not abandon its ally: China opposes regime change in Pyongyang, since it would not like to see a pro-West administration in that country and, possibly, US troops at its border.

Again, most observers agree that, denuclearisation of North Korea is no longer an option; the most that could be achieved is a nuclear cap-and-freeze arrangement. But this would itself require prolonged and painful negotiations, which would need to overcome the deep mutual distrust and address the core concern of North Korea that relates to the threat it senses from the West to its regime and its sovereign status. Thus, North Korea will insist on cast-iron guarantees relating to its security, including the suspension of the annual military exercises.

Finally, the US would have no option but to deal directly with North Korea, jointly with China. But, for this to happen, the US would need to see China as a genuine partner and coordinate positions with it after long and in-depth discussions, which would involve give-and take on both sides, not just a full endorsement of US positions and interests.

However, it is doubtful that the Trump presidency is ready to replace its characteristic verbosity and brinkmanship with a sophisticated diplomatic effort.
With this latest update, the firm hopes to ensure that those in need have access to timely medical expertise in order to avoid further deterioration.

Clinical depression has taken center stage in the recent past, with an increasing number of people falling prey to it, particularly among the youth.

However, with Google's latest update, users in the United States of America (USA) can clinically validate the same just by the click of a button.

A report published by The Verge revealed that in the coming days, those who search for "depression" on Google, will be given an option to take a screening questionnaire to test whether they're depressed. However, a company spokesperson clarified, this is just for making sure that help reaches on time, and is not meant to sideline medical evaluation.

Users in the US, who search for 'depression,' can avail information regarding the symptoms and remedies on Google's Knowledge Panel. Additionally, users can click on an option termed 'check if you're clinically depressed', following which users are directed to a screening questionnaire called PHQ-9. The evaluations are kept private and candidates can instantly seek help, if required. Using the results of the questionnaire, an individual can have a more detailed conversion with medical experts.

With this latest update, the firm hopes to ensure that those in need have access to timely medical expertise in order to avoid further deterioration. It also hopes that more such cases will be detected, thus helping depression to be less of a taboo.

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If you happen to receive a message from an unknown source and suspect that it could be a phishing attempt, report it as spam, and block the sender if needed.

WhatsApp, the most popular and widely used messaging platform in the world, has a lot on its shoulders with regards to privacy, encryption, features and more. However, the small team that was acquired by Facebook Inc some time ago is still struggling to work at a faster rate to keep up with consumer needs and concerns.

When we met up with WhatsApps Software Engineer Alan Kao in Mumbai, he revealed a lot thats going on back at their developer kitchens. The team of engineers is constantly brewing the popular messaging app platform to ensure that user privacy is most important to them. Hence, with the introduction of AES 256-bit encryption in 2016, WhatsApp promised the users that their messages cannot be snooped by any person on the planet  not a hacker, not the government, not even WhatsApp can read them. Each message that passes through their servers can only be decoded by the sender or the recipient.

How does WhatsApps Encryption work?

To know how WhatsApps end-to-end encryption actually works, take a look at the infographic below.





The encryption works on a very high level and each and every message sent through the app is encrypted with a unique individual key. This key is so long, that it would take around a decade or even more for a super computer to crack the code. And even if the hacker does manage to crack the code, he will still manage to read just one message  thanks to the software design, each message has a unique key code  a 60-digit number combination.

When a user sends a message, he creates his message and the WhatsApp app encrypts it with two sets of keys  a public key and a private key. This message is then sent to the server, which only transmits the message to the recipient. The public key is to define the user and sender profiles, while the private key is for individual messages. When the message reaches the user, it is only his phone and the key sets that can decode the message and display it. The server cannot decode the messages and hence cannot read them too. Storing a huge database of unreadable content makes no sense anyways, and hence the server (WhatsApp) does not store any messages on its storage, and hence all user data is safe and private.

Our two-hour discussion with the WhatsApp team also highlighted a lot more than just encryption. Spokesperson for WhatsApp Carl Woog, along with Kao, gave us a few insiders about what WhatsApp is curious to take on in future, and what they are presently working on.

How do you protect yourself from fraud, fake news and malware?

Kao gave us some insides that the general user should know and implement in their daily lives to keep himself safe from fraudsters. As a basic rule of thumb, one should look out for suspicious messages that comes in through the sender. If your message is from a known person, it depends on the content of the message. If it comes in from an unknown user, and if the content is irrelevant to you, you can immediately report the sender into the spam list. Reporting the sender as a spammer can help WhatsApp take note of the particular number or person, who is continuously spamming for no reason. The number will be analysed if the sender is also being reported by multiple people and then WhatsApp will take action against the sender and warn or probably block the person out from WhatsApp completely. However, it is not yet possible to do so since the work is still in progress, and it takes multiple spam reports to take suitable action in time. Also, it is not possible to know what the person has spammed as WhatsApp cannot read the messages that were sent across by the spammer. The reporting user would have to send a screenshot of the data that was spam, so that WhatsApp can analyse the content and confirm if the user is being spamming others accordingly.





Moving ahead, he also updated on how you should take care of messages that could be fake so that rumours can be curbed. Never forward a message to another person or group, unless you are 100 per cent sure that the message content is authentic. If you are forwarding unverified messages, you could end up into the list of spammers and fake/rumour news spreading people, if the recipient marks you as a spammer.

Kao also stressed on pointers so that users can find out if the message is a fake or a phishing message. Check for the messages grammar and spelling mistakes. Never click on URL links in the message as it could lead you to a malware website. Check for font size and font types that could fox you into clicking on such URLs. If you find the link suspicious, refrain from clicking on it, or even forwarding it to someone who could unknowingly click on it and be harmed. Never fall to messages that ask you to forward it to an X number of people or groups. Never click on messages that ask you to activate a service.

If you happen to receive a message from an unknown source and suspect that it could be a phishing attempt, report it as spam, and block the sender if needed. Delete unknown messages and media content that comes in from unknown sources.

You can report spam, fake news, phishing attempts and even stalkers to WhatsApp. The reporting option is available under WhatsApps settings.

Stay safe!

In the talks with the WhatsApp team, we also tried gaining inside information about the future plans. On asking for if they were in any plans of creating a lighter version for WhatsApp for those with older smartphones, feature phones and slower internet connections, they did not give us a thumbs up. However, they did state that they could look at the possibility and revert back. Lastly, we also asked them about the governments requirements with regards to creating a backdoor so that they can snoop into conversations of suspected people. They stated clearly that they dont have the keys to the encrypted messages themselves and will not be able to help the governments to create the backdoor anyways.

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A month before Apples 10th anniversary event for the iPhone, a report from The New York Times, citing sources, has appeared claiming the premium model will be priced at around $999, almost $350 more than the standard iPhone available today.

Apple is set to announce three new iPhone models  a premium model named iPhone 8 and two upgraded iPhone 7 models  iPhone 7s and iPhone 7s Plus. Among the three, iPhone 8 will reportedly cost around $999 (approximately Rs 64,000), while the price details of the rest are yet not sure.

This isnt the first time when a $1000 price tag has been speculated for the upcoming iPhone. Earlier, JP Morgans Apple Analyst Rod Hall said that the average selling price of iPhone 8 will be increased by $100 (approx. Rs 6,443), costing about $1100 (approx. Rs 70.873). Before that, John Grubber, an Apple blogger, suggested the model would cost $1,200 (approx. Rs 77,332) for the entry-level version.

Also read: What all new will we see in iPhone 8 that no other smartphone yet has

The iPhone 8 is expected to hit stores in October, a month later its official announcement.

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No one can for forget the Note 7 debacle happened last year. A few months later, after it was released to the customers, Samsung recalled millions of Galaxy Note 7 units from all across the world over battery issues.

The incident was speculated to be the end of Galaxy Note series, but knowing about Note stalwarts, Samsung soon revealed its intention of launching a Galaxy Note 7 successor despite the collapse.

I will bring back a better, safer and very innovative Note 8, Samsung Mobile Chief DJ Koh told in an interview with CNET. While investigating the reason behind Note 7 battery problem following customers report, Koh discovered lots and lots of loyal Note customers. Another Samsung official in a statement to Business Korea said, The Galaxy Note 7 was very popular before user reports began circulating about devices that exploded or caught on fire while charging. As the phablet market, which was developed by Samsung Electronics, has been growing, the company will release the Note series this year again.

As the time progressed, Samsung primarily shifted its focus to battery's safety check. The company starts working closely with Underwater Labs for advanced safety checks for the Galaxy Note 8s battery.

We have been closely working with Samsung to make meaningful advancements in the science of smartphone quality and safety evaluation, UL president Sajeev Jesudas told Engadget. As a result, the Note 8 has successfully completed a rigorous series of device and battery safety compatibility test protocols. We look forward to maintaining our strategic relationship with Samsung to help ensure device safety for all consumers.

According to a report by The Investor, the 3,300mAh batteries packed in Note 8 are Samsungs SDI and Japans Murata Manufacturing product. The company ditched batteries from its long-time Chinese partner ATL for its flagship phones following the Galaxy Note 7 debacle, the report reads. Samsung SDI will be responsible for 80 per cent of the Note 8 battery production, while Murata will make the remaining 20 per cent.

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The northern wedge of Rakhine closest to Bangladesh has been in lockdown since October 2016 deadly attacks by militants on border posts sparked a military response that left scores dead and forced tens of thousands to flee (Photo: AFP)

Maungdaw: At least 71 people including 12 security forces were killed as Rohingya militants besieged border posts in northern Rakhine State, Myanmar's authorities said Friday -- the worst violence in months to hit the febrile zone.

The state is bisected by religious hatred focused on the stateless Rohingya Muslim minority, who are reviled by many Buddhists and perceived as illegal immigrants.

Recent weeks have seen tensions surge with near daily killings by shadowy groups operating in remote villages, while Myanmar's army has poured more troops into the area sparking a renewed exodus of refugees.

In the early hours of Friday more than 20 police posts came under attack by an estimated 150 insurgents, some carrying guns and using homemade explosives, Myanmar's military said.

"Fighting is ongoing at police posts in Kyar Gaung Taung and Nat Chaung villages. The military and police members are fighting back together against extremist Bengali terrorists."

"Bengali terrorists" is the state's description of the Rohingya militants.

The office of de-facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi said 12 security officials had been killed alongside 59 militants.

One resident in Maungdaw, the main town in northern Rakhine, said gunfire could be heard throughout the night.

"We are still hearing gunshots now, we dare not to go out from our house," the resident said by phone, asking not to be named.

Despite years of persecution, the Rohingya largely eschewed violence.

But a previously unknown militant group emerged as a force last October under the banner of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), which claims to be leading an insurgency based in the remote May Yu mountain range bordering Bangladesh.

A Twitter account which frequently posts purportedly from the group -- @ARSA_official -- on Friday morning confirmed its fighters were engaging Myanmar's military in Rathedaung township.

It accused the military of carrying out atrocities in that area in recent weeks.

Friday's violence pushed more Rohingya to leave, with two boats containing around 150 women, children and elderly people attempting to cross the Naf river into Bangladesh.

But they were pushed back.

"They were scared. We felt pain to send them back," a Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) officer told AFP.

- Violence after Annan report -

The flare up came just hours after former UN chief Kofi Annan released a milestone report detailing conditions inside Rakhine and offering ways to heal the festering sectarian tensions there.

Commissioned by Myanmar's own government, it urged the scrapping of restrictions of movement and citizenship imposed on the roughly one million-strong Rohingya community in Rakhine.

In a statement Annan said he was "gravely concerned" by the latest outbreak of fighting.

"The alleged scale and gravity of these attacks mark a worrying escalation of violence," he said.

"After years of insecurity and instability, it should be clear that violence is not the solution to the challenges facing Rakhine State," he added.

The wedge of Rakhine closest to Bangladesh has been in lockdown since October 2016.

Deadly attacks by the militants on border police sparked a military response that left scores dead and forced tens of thousands to flee to Bangladesh.

The UN believes those security 'clearances' may have amounted to ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya, a mainly Muslim minority living in Buddhist Myanmar.

The army and Aung San Suu Kyi's civilian government vehemently deny allegations of widespread abuses, including rapes and murders.

They have so far refused to grant visas to UN investigators tasked with probing the allegations.

Myanmar security forces have conducted sporadic operations to flush out suspected militants throughout this year, often resulting in casualties among Rohingya villagers.

They have spoken of their fear at being trapped in between security forces and the militants, who are accused of conducting a shadowy assassination campaign against perceived collaborators with the state.

Access to the area is severely restricted and verifying information is difficult.
Islamabad: Former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharifs children Hassan, Hussain and Maryam Nawaz and his son-in-law Mohammed Safdar Friday filed two separate review petitions against Panamagate verdict in the Supreme Court.

The petitions claimed that Joint Investigation Teams (JIT) probe was incomplete while there was a flaw in courts decision. It also stated that acting judges appointment was contrary to basic rights and that the accountability court cannot work independently now, therefore, the verdict should be annulled.

The petitions further said that the report is not up to the mark to file any reference on it as the court itself became complainant, adding that three judges conducted hearing on the report while five judges were not authorized to announce decision on it.

On August 15, Nawaz Sharif filed three review petitions against the Supreme Courts verdict on Panama leaks case that disqualified him.
Kabul: Twenty people were killed in an hours-long suicide bomb and gun attack on a Shiite mosque in the Afghan capital of Kabul on Friday, an official said.

"We have ten civilians martyred and over 50 wounded. One police and one special forces member were also killed," Najib Danish, deputy interior ministry spokesman, told AFP, adding that the attack was over.

Gunshots could be heard and witnesses reported seeing worshippers smash windows to escape the building.

More than 10 ambulances were at the scene and dozens of security forces have surrounded the mosque, in a residential area in the city's north.

Kabul police spokesman Abdul Basir Mujahid said a suicide bomber "detonated himself inside the mosque", adding that there were casualties but could not confirm numbers.

An interior ministry spokesman told media that at least two police officers had been killed. A health ministry official confirmed at least two people had died and 11 were wounded, without specifying if they were civilians.

People gathered outside the mosque, believed to have been crowded with Friday worshippers, were trying to call women and children trapped inside but their mobile phones were not responding, an AFP reporter at the scene said.

"Our relatives have been stranded inside the mosque... We believe they have been held hostage by the gunmen. We are very concerned about their safety and may God help us and rescue our loved ones," one said.

Tempers were beginning to fray as onlookers called for the forces to storm the building.

The assault underscores spiralling insecurity in Afghanistan as a resurgent Taliban steps up offensives across the country, while the Sunni Islamic State group, known for carrying out sectarian attacks, expands its Afghan footprint.

It comes just days after US President Donald Trump pledged American troops would stay in Afghanistan indefinitely.

Najib Danish, a deputy spokesman for the interior ministry, told TOLOnews that initial information suggested a suicide bomber detonated himself and two or three other militants had entered the mosque and were exchanging fire with police.

"Two Afghan police forces were martyred and two others were wounded and have been taken to hospital. All the four police officers were responsible for the security of the site," Danish wrote on Facebook.

"The bombers are running short of bullet rounds and they are using knives to stab worshippers," an eyewitness told an AFP reporter.

Witnesses said the attackers were also armed with rocket propelled grenade launchers.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but Shiites, a minority of around three million in overwhelmingly Sunni Afghanistan, have regularly been targeted by IS jihadists over the past year. They accuse police and troops of failing to protect them.

IS has claimed responsibility for a series of attacks killing dozens of Shiites in Kabul over the past year, including twin explosions in July 2016 that ripped through crowds of Shiite Hazaras, killing at least 85 people and wounding more than 400.

Earlier this month 33 worshippers were killed and 66 wounded in a suicide attack claimed by the Islamic State Group on a Shiite mosque in the western Afghan city of Herat.
Nandan Nilekani, who returned as the Chairman of Infosys after founders staged a dramatic coup, today sought to allay concerns of investors and employees, saying he will focus on finding a CEO, recasting the board and bringing in stability at the troubled technology icon.



Nilekani, 62, one of Infosys' seven founders and also a former CEO, said he wants to put the company on "the right stable path" and "ensure there are no discordant voices in the company and everyone is on the same page". Nilekani has been called in to steer Infosys after chairman R Seshasayee and three other directors quit, meeting the key demand of founder group led by N R Narayana Murthy.



The founders had clashed with the board -- often publicly -- in recent months over the company's performance, corporate governance and compensation of former CEO Vishal Sikka. Sikka stepped down last Friday, citing slander by promoters.



At that time, the board criticised Murthy, who in the following days moved swiftly to get investors as well as other founders to back him. "I have come in to focus on the future of the company, I have come in to take the company forward and deal with its challenges," he said in an investor call arranged within hours of his appointment.



"I plan to be here as long as necessary and work as hard as necessary," he said. Nilekani, who was the CEO for five years until 2007 before becoming co-chairman, said he would engage with all shareholders and customers, and work to resolve differences over corporate governance.



With revenue rising four-fold to USD 2 billion under his watch, Nilekani left Infosys in 2009 to shape the world's biggest biometric ID programme, Aadhaar.



Stating that he has no intention to become CEO of the company, he said the future strategy of Infosys will be aligned with global developments and he sees tremendous opportunity in software data and machine learning.



"I will focus my attention on the future of the business and customer needs, and show demonstrable progress," he added. Stating that it is too premature for him to comment on Infosys' strategy and earnings, he committed himself to upholding the highest standards of corporate governance at the IT major.



Nilekani promised to offer more details of the strategy in October and is focussed on bringing "complete stability". About the founders, he said he was an "admirer" of Murthy and "will ensure Infosys, Murthy and other founders have a healthy relationship".



"I will ensure there are no discordant voices in the company and everyone is on the same page," he asserted. "Many good practices (of corporate governance) including full disclosures and transparency, SEC filings... were spearheaded by Infosys," he pointed out.



Infosys will be a board-managed company with high standards of corporate governance, he stressed, vowing to restore its former glory. Nilekani made it clear that as the non-Executive Chairman, his role will be oversight, governance and functioning and to help with the CEO search that will include internal and external candidates as well as Infosys "alumni".



He emphasised that he will stay as long as necessary, but declined to put a timeline to his latest stint. Finding a new CEO soon and reconstituting the board will be parallel activities, Nilekani pointed out.


Expressing concern over the posts of judicial and expert members in the National Green Tribunal (NGT) falling vacant shortly, the Delhi High Court today asked the government if it wanted to wind up the environmental protection body.



A bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar raised the question after it was informed that after December, only three judicial and two expert members would remain in the tribunal. "Would you like to wind up the National Green Tribunal?," the bench asked the government, while directing it to file a status report within two weeks.



The matter will now be heard on September 14. The court was hearing a petition filed by lawyer Gaurav Kumar Bansal, seeking filling up of vacancies in the NGT.



Bansal, who was represented by advocate Sumeer Sodhi, said, "Due to the red-tapism involved in bureaucracy, a fine institution like the NGT is heading towards a premature death."



The court was also informed that on account of retirement of most of its members, two zonal benches of the NGT would stop functioning by October.



The petition said currently, there were eight judicial members and six expert members in the NGT and with retirements due, after December 9, the number of expert members would come down to two and after February 13, 2018, only three judicial members would be left in the panel.



"The lackadaisical attitude and apathy of the government in not filling up the vacancies in the posts of judicial and expert members is intriguing and appalling," the petition said.
A video-journalist of a TV channel was injured when his crew was attacked by followers of Dera Sacha Sauda sect chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, moments after a CBI court convicted him in a rape case today.



Vehicles of media organisations were also attacked. The injured video-journalist was being rushed to a hospital.



Security was beefed up with a heavy deployment of police and paramilitary personnel around the Dera Sacha Sauda headquarters here as a special CBI court in Panchkula found the head of the sect guilty in a rape case.



Barricades were put up at a distance of 3 kms from the Dera headquarters and the security personnel were equipped with tear gas shells and water cannons.



The mounted police was also pressed into service. Hundreds of Haryana police and paramilitary personnel, drawn from the CRPF and the BSF, were kept on a maximum alert in anticipation of protests by the Dera chief's followers.



Senior police officials said the security had been tightened further after the verdict and the overall situation was under control.

"We have deployed an adequate number of security personnel to tackle any eventuality. The situation has been under control so far," said A S Dhillon, Inspector General of Police, Hisar range.



The Army was called out in Sirsa today with senior police officials carrying out a flag march outside the sect headquarters. "Two companies of the Army from Hisar district have been called out to maintain law-and-order in Sirsa," a top police officer said.

Scores of jawans, including 15,000 paramilitary personnel, have been deployed in the sensitive areas across Punjab and Haryana.
Priyanka Vadra, the daughter of Congress President Sonia Gandhi, is suffering from dengue and has been admitted to a private hospital here.



Priyanka, the younger sibling of Rahul Gandhi, was admitted to the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital (SRGH) here on Wednesday evening after she complained of high fever.



After conducting diagnostic tests, it was found that the 45-year-old Priyanka wad suffering from dengue.



"She has been diagnosed with dengue fever and is recovering well," D S Rana, Chairman (Board of Management) of SRGH said in a statement here on Friday.
At least 17 persons were killed and over 60 injured after supporters of the Dera Sacha Sauda went berserk this afternoon resorting to large scale violence and arson after the CBI court convicted the sect chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim of rape and other charges.



Chandigarhs satellite township of Panchkula, where the judgement was pronounced, was burning and left at the mercy of goons of the Dera who ran amok. The police and local administration completely failed to secure its citizens and their property. Curfew has been imposed in Panchkula, Sirsa and other areas in Punjab till further orders.



Over two dozen vehicles, including at least three OB vans of the media, were set ablaze by goons who had a free run on city roads. Deccan Herald team too was caught in the melee.



The violence spread to many parts of Haryana and Punjab after which curfew was clamped. At least 6 columns of the Army have been moved in to take stock of the situation.



Even as everyone was sure that Dera supporters will resort to violence in case the verdict goes against Ram Rahim, the government completely failed to prevent the situation. The Dera chief was flown out to Panchkula to Rohtak jail. The quantum of punishment will be pronounced on Monday.



Todays large scale violence exposes the inefficiency, intentional or otherwise, of the Khattar-led BJP government in the state, besides that of the state police. It was an intelligence failure as well. There was complete chaos as goons of the Dera on the move set ablaze any vehicle and property that came their way.



There are reports that the hoodlums entered the residence and resorted to violence. In Punjab, an Income tax office and a power house were burnt. Dera followers resorted to heavy stone pelting on the police and media persons.



There were times when the police ran away from the spot. The deployment of 10 IPS officers by the government to tackle the situation was futile given the state of affairs at the ground level.



The Punjab and Haryana Hugh Court in Chandigarh took stock of the situation and ordered the attachment of properties of the Dera to compensate todays loss and damage. The administration and the police failed on multiple counts which led to this pandemonium today.



Mobile internet and data services in Punjab Haryana and Chandigarh will remain suspended at least till tomorrow. Over 212 trains in the Northern railways have been cancelled. Schools colleges universities markets have been shut.





The situation in violence-hit Panchkula continues to remain tense, although it started to stabilize to some extent as the dust settled. Reports suggest that the death toll has risen to nearly 30 with over 200 injured in few hours of violence.





The police managed to flush out a large number of Dera followers out of the city bounds, something which they needed to have done earlier. Over 1000 have been detained. The government pledges to take action against wrongdoers. But it's now too late.
The Army was called out and curfew was imposed in 10 districts of Punjab's Malwa region, home to a large number of Dera Sacha Sauda followers, as violence spread to the state following the conviction of the sect chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a rape case today.



Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, who was personally monitoring the situation, appealed to the people to remain calm and not to take the law in their hands.



The chief minister spoke to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Defence Minister Arun Jaitley to apprise them of the situation. He also spoke to Congress president Sonia Gandhi on the situation in Punjab and informed her of the steps taken by his government to maintain peace in the state.



Police have launched a major crackdown and arrested some supporters of the Dera Sacha Sauda, including a member of its state-level committee, an official spokesperson said.



The chief minister said the decision to call out the Army was taken to prevent any loss of life or damage to public/ private property in the 10 districts -- Sangrur, Barnala, SAS Nagar (Mohali), Bathinda, Mansa, Ferozepur, Fazilka, Faridkot, Sri Muktsar Sahib and Moga.



"The Army was staging flag-march in the curfew-bound areas of Punjab to restore the confidence of the people," he said.



Police patrolling has been intensified across the state, especially on highways and major roads. Eleven senior police officers have been deputed to supervise various security measures over the next 24 hours, especially during the night, the official spokesperson said.



Two railway stations -- Malout and Balluanna -- in Punjab were torched by the angry Dera followers. Besides, about 40 incidents of vandalism and arson were reported from across the state.



There were 28 incidents of arson, besides damage to state/central government offices/properties in seven districts of the Malwa region, the spokesperson said.



The Punjab government has arranged for more than 200 buses to escort the Dera supporters out of Panchkula in a regulated manner to ensure peaceful transition through Punjab on way back to Sirsa, the headquarters of Dera Sacha Sauda.



The chief minister expressed shock that "the situation was allowed to escalate by the Haryana government". "The trouble could have been averted had the Dera supporters been stopped from aggregating in one place," he said, adding that the Haryana government should have stopped trains and buses from reaching Panchkula, just as Punjab had done.



"Preventive and precautionary measures should have been taken in time," he said, adding that it was the responsibility of any state government to maintain law and order.



The Punjab government spokesperson said the state government was in control of the situation in the state. The chief minister said the Dera supporters were allegedly resorting to violence while on their way back to their homes from Panchkula, where a CBI court convicted the self-styled godman.



He expressed hope that the situation would be controlled by tomorrow morning. In his appeal broadcast through television and on social media, the chief minister exhorted the people of Punjab not to get provoked by rumours and to respect and accept the court orders.



He assured the people that a tight blanket of paramilitary and police forces was in place across the state to ensure their safety and security.



The Chief Minister, who went around the vulnerable areas of the state near Panchkula earlier in the day, ahead of the court verdict, said his government would not allow anyone to destroy the peace and harmony of Punjab at any cost.



"We will not let the atmosphere of the state be vitiated at any cost," he warned, adding that besides 85 companies of CRPF and BSF deployed on the ground, the Army was in full readiness to deal with any untoward incident. The security forces were fully prepared to tackle any eventuality, he added.



At least 30 people were killed and 250 injured in widespread violence, arson and police firing in Haryana triggered by the conviction.



While 28 people were killed in Panchkula, the epicentre of the violence, two died in Sirsa. CBI judge Jagdeep Singh, while holding the Dera chief guilty of raping two female followers more than 15 years ago, said the quantum of sentence would be pronounced on August 28.



The punishment can be a jail term of not less than seven years but may even extend to life imprisonment.
In remarks that are certain to cause huge embarrassment to his party, controversial BJP Lok Sabha member Sakshi Maharaj on Friday defended Dera Sachha Sauda chief Baba Gurmeet Ram Rahim, who was convicted by a CBI court in Panchkula in Haryana in a case of rape.



Sakshi Maharaj, who was known for putting foot in his mouth, termed Ram Rahim a ''noble'' and a ''simple'' person, who commanded influence over millions of people. ''Crores of people consider Ram Rahim as their god while one person has complained of sexual exploitation...the feelings of crores of people should be listened to,'' he said while speaking to reporters at Unnao, his Lok Sabha constituency.



He said that the allegations against the Dera chief could also be ''driven by greed'' and ''prejudice''. ''It is also possible that the allegations against Ram Rahim were actually aimed at showing the Indian culture in a bad light,'' Sakshi Maharaj said.



The BJP MP referred to the cases of Colonel Purohit, who was an accused in the Malegaon blast case and was recently granted bail by the supreme court, and Sadhvi Pragya Thakur, also an accused in the same case, to buttress his contention.



"There seems to be a planned conspiracy to defame the seers and our culture,'' he alleged. He said that the violence in Haryana and Punjab after Ram Rahim's conviction showed the kind of influence he wielded on the people. Earlier also Sakshi Maharaj put his party in a difficult situation by his remarks.
Although the newly appointed chairman of IT major Infosys, companys co-founder Nandan Nilekani, evaded direct questions on making Panaya probe public but assured that he would look into the report personally.



Nilekani, at his first media interaction after he took over as the non-executive chairman, said that he would be looking at the Panaya probe in minutest details and take suitable action on that front.



One of the other co-founders at the company, NR Narayana Murthy, over the course of past one week had made it clear that he will settle for nothing less than the Panaya report being made public. However, on his part, Nilekani, didnt give any assurance on the report being made public.



He also said that along with getting stability and calmness back at the IT doyen, he would also be looking for a suitable candidate leading the company.



He also moved to allay investors and employee concerns, saying he will focus on putting in place a long-term governance structure, bring stability and repair relations with valued iconic founder Murthy.



He also hinted towards looking at the ex-Infoscions as prospective CEO and MD of the company. We are looking at internal candidates, external candidates and what I call as Infosys alumni. They are basically the employees who have worked with us earlier, and then went on to lead various other companies, he said.



In a bid to settle nerves among the stake holders, Nilekani said that he represents 100% shareholders and has the record of doing things in different environments, consensus building. I have had a record of doing things successfully, he said.



Nilekani, who is set to leave for Boston in coming days, jokingly quipped, I am back here because there was no one else.

Nilekani was earlier slated to leave for the US for two months but had postponed the trip due to the prevailing fiasco at the IT major.
Indias second largest IT company has called the recent spat with its co-founder NR Narayana Murthy as unfortunate but has not withdrawn the strongly worded letter against the latter, that it had issued post the resignation of its former CEO and MD NR Narayana Murthy.



The board believes it to be unfortunate that various differences of opinion have arisen between Mr Murthy and the Board in the recent past. The Board wishes to express that it was not its intention to cause Mr Murthy or any other affected person any personal distress or anguish while stating its point of view, the company said, in a complete u-turn from its position last week.



In recent days, there has been considerable discussion of the relationship between the Board of Directors of Infosys and N R Narayana Murthy who established the culture and ethos of Infosys, especially its culture of adhering to high corporate governance standards, the company added.



The company had come out all guns blazing against Murthy last week after Sikka had resigned. It has blamed Murthy for hindering in the performance of the company. Murthys letter contains factual inaccuracies, already-disproved rumours, and statements extracted out of context from his conversations with Board members, the company had said.



However, the company has not withdrawn the statement. When questioned, companys chairman Nandan Nilekani, evaded the question by saying that Murthy has been the visionary icon in corporate governance.
Bihar's flood woes continued with 39 more deaths reported today even as authorities in deluge-ravaged Uttar Pradesh grappled to bring the situation under control.



However, the condition in Assam and West Bengal improved, with water receding from most of the affected areas. The devastating floods that have swept across large swathes of human habitation have claimed 90 lives in West Bengal, 156 in Assam and 72 in Uttar Pradesh so far.



The toll mounted to 418 Bihar. A staggering 1.67 crore people in 19 districts in the state are bearing the brunt of the flooding. However, the flood waters have receded at some places, prompting people to return home. The number of relief camps dropped to 368 from 624.



The situation in Uttar Pradesh remained grim. More than 24 lakhs people in over 3,000 villages are affected in 25 districts. More than 57,000 have taken shelter in relief camps.



Several rivers are flowing at the danger mark in the eastern and Tarai regions. In north Bengal, the situation in the affected districts -- Jalpaiguri, Coochbehar, Alipurduar, Uttar Dinajpur, Dakshin Dinajpur and Malda -- inched closer to normal. "The situation is getting better each day. There has been no major rain," a senior officer of the state disaster management department said.



He, however, said Malda district was finding it hard to get rid of stagnant floodwater. The deluge affected nearly 59 lakh people in the six districts and over six lakh hectares of cropped land was damaged.



The condition in Assam improved considerably with waters of the Brahmaputra river and many of its tributaries flowing below the red mark. However, seven districts in the state are still inundated.



Around 2.67 lakh people in 472 villages of the state are battling the deluge. Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Barpeta, Chirang, Morigaon, Nagaon and Golaghat districts are flood-hit, an Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) report said.



Nearly 36,000 hectares of farmland is under water. Only the Dhansiri river at Numaligarh in Golaghat is flowing above the danger level.



People have started returning home though 25,253 were still putting up in 62 relief camps in Lakhimpur, Morigaon, Chirang and Nagaon districts.



There were reports that roads in Jorhat district, a bridge in Morigaon and a school in Dibrugarh district have been damaged. The third wave of the devastating flood has so far claimed 72 lives in Assam. In total, 156 people have died in this year's flood-related incidents in the state.
A US court on Friday sentenced a former Volkswagen engineer to nearly three and a half years in prison for his role in the company's emissions cheating scandal.



James Robert Liang was sentenced to 40 months in prison and ordered to pay a $200,000 fine after pleading guilty to charges he conspired to defraud the United States and violate the Clean Air Act, the court announced.



The sentencing comes several weeks after former VW executive Oliver Schmidt pleaded guilty to fraud and conspiracy charges in the "dieselgate" matter, which has brought one of the world's to auto makers into disgrace.



Liang was also ordered to serve two years of supervised release upon his release from prison, according to a spokesman for the US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.



However, US authorities may choose to deport Liang to Germany once he is released, the spokesman said.



The sentence was significantly harsher than what prosecutors had recommended.



In exchange for Liang's cooperation, Justice Department officials had recommended a sentence of only three years and a fine of just $20,000.



A lawyer for Liang had instead asked for a year of probation and home confinement, noting that Liang's cooperation had resulted in criminal charges against three other defendants.



Liang pleaded guilty in September to a role in a nine-year conspiracy to develop devices that hid emissions harmful nitrogen oxide during pollution tests on Volkswagen's diesel-power cars.



The company has set aside more than $24 billion to cover the fines and compensation in the scandal, in which it admitted in 2015 to equipping about 11 million cars worldwide with so-called defeat devices to mask emissions.
Under fire over the handling of the situation arising out of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh's conviction, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar today admitted that there were lapses but asserted appropriate action was being taken.



Facing a volley of questions from reporters on the violence that has left at least 30 people dead and scores injured, he said the "lapses have been identified and we are taking appropriate steps".



"This should not have happened," he said.



"Some people have lost lives and vehicles have been set on fire while government property too has been damaged. Some OB vans of the media have also been damaged by the mob," Khattar said.



"All those who have taken law into their hands will be punished. We have identified some culprits including those who fired (from the mob at security forces), some of whom have been nabbed and action will be taken against them," he said.



The government will assess the damage, he added.



Asked how thousands of Dera followers managed to reach Panchkula and was his government prepared for this, Khattar said, "We were prepared to deal with the situation. Since it was a very big mob..."



Khattar ducked a question on how thousands of Dera followers managed to reach Panchkula despite Section 144 being imposed much earlier.



When repeatedly asked how the followers managed to reach in such big numbers and whether it was a failure of his government, he replied, "When such issue comes where you are dealing with followers in such numbers... We tried to stop them..."



Khattar, facing unending questions from the reporters, had to plead with them to at least listen to what he had to say. "I have to answer, listen to me," he said.



When told that the Punjab and Haryana High Court had come down heavily on the state government over the mishandling of the situation in Panchkula, Khattar said, "I have to give answer and I will give... If you do not listen to me..."



To another question, he said the state has rushed paramilitary forces to all those places in addition to Panchkula and Sirsa where it feels the situation can take an ugly turn.



He said the damage caused to some media personnel's equipment during the violence here will be taken care of the government. He also said the state government will provide full compensation within a week to those persons whose property was damaged today.



A website would be created where claimants can enter details regarding their damaged property, including vehicles and OB vans, he said, adding the portal would be launched within a day.



Khattar also urged the people to get their FIRs lodged online on HarSamay portal of Haryana Police. "The amount of compensation will later be recovered from the property of Dera Sacha Sauda," he added.



Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh expressed shock that "the situation in Panchkula was allowed to escalate by the Haryana government".



"The trouble could have been averted had the Dera supporters been stopped from aggregating in one place," Amarinder said, adding that the Haryana government should have stopped trains and buses from reaching Panchkula, just as Punjab had done.



In the morning, Khattar had appealed to the people of the state to maintain peace and harmony not allow themselves to be misled by rumours.



"Some anti-social elements got mixed up with the followers of Dera Sacha Sauda after the delivery of the verdict by the CBI court in the case involving the Dera chief, resorted to violence and disrupted the peace," he had said in a statement.



Haryana's Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Ram Niwas said that the state government has taken a decision to bear the expenses to replace the damaged equipment of those media personnel who found themselves caught up in the violence here.



"Those who indulged in arson have been identified. We have maximum video footage available in this regard and government will take action against them. As far as presence of arsonists is concerned, they have been flushed out from Panchkula, where curfew is imposed," Niwas said.
A recent residential burglary was caught on camera in Carmel Valley as security footage shows thieves entering a home and carrying out the homeowners safe in broad daylight.

It was a pretty brazen break-in, said homeowner Anil Keswani, who was in Chicago visiting his dying father while his home was being burglarized. They were precise in what they did.

The timing couldnt have been worse as one item inside the safe was his grandmothers engagement ring that his father had passed down.

The break-in occurred about 12:45 p.m. Aug. 14 on Greenwillow Lane. A black/Asian male came to the door wearing a dress shirt with blue tie and a blue lanyard, according to a police report. He rang the doorbell and knocked several times before two other suspects went to the backyard to gain entry into the home. The house was ransacked and they carried out a safe.

Going straight for the safe and bypassing other valuable items made Keswani speculate that the crew was scarily professional, as if they had done their homework and it wasnt a snatch and grab job.

Per the surveillance footage, the suspects were driving a 2017 white Honda Accord with blank Honda dealer plates.

Keswani wanted to raise awareness in the community as he is afraid a suspect could enter a home and mistakenly encounter a teenager. In his case, two of his children had just left the home prior to the break-in.

Keswani shared the incident on Nextdoor.com and neighbors said that there were several other homes in the area that had been burglarized recently. One neighbor noted that a car had been spotted casing the block, driving up and down the street at least 20 times. Keswani said on at least a couple of other occasions police have asked for surveillance footage from his security cameras.

Officer Trevor Philips, community relations officer for San Diego Police Departments Northwestern Division, said he could not give any specifics on the case due to the continued investigation.

Earlier in the month, there was another daytime break-in caught on home security cameras in Carmel Valley, this one on Aug. 1 on the 12900 block of Harwick Lane, according to a police report.

At around 1:15 p.m., residents left their home to run errands and at 1:50 p.m. a silver Kia Soul parked in front of the home. A female driver walked up to the front door and knocked for about three minutes before returning to the vehicle. Second and third male suspects then exited the vehicle and entered the house while the driver drove away.

The suspects went through a side gate and broke a bathroom window to enter the home. They ransacked the home for about 30 minutes before tripping an upstairs motion detector and fleeing. The car was waiting for them and they sped away southbound on Ashley Falls Drive.

Both male suspects were wearing hoodies with the hoods pulled over their heads, while the female, who had long, black hair to her waist, was wearing a light-colored blouse, black pants and heels with an oversized purse on her shoulder.

We have security cameras, we have house alarms, we have neighbors and yet, despite all the precautions, we had no luck, Keswani said. We need a really strong Carmel Valley response, to say this is not something you will get away with in our community.

The police are looking for information on both cases. For the Greenwillow case, anyone with information is asked to call Detective Jenna Willkomm at (858) 523-7047. For the Harwick Lane incident, please forward information to Officer L. Cairncross at (858) 523-7041 or lcairncross@pd.sandiego.gov.
The unassuming tents with city logos and Community Choice Aggregation banners have started making their appearance in Solana Beach, bound to become an increasingly familiar fixture at community events as city officials get the word out on their plan to steer the city toward a self-controlled energy future.

Solana Beach took the historic first step three months ago toward Community Choice Aggregation  also called Community Choice Energy  a program in which the city would buy its energy on the open market in the hopes of finding better prices and a higher percentage of renewable energy.

While various jurisdictions in SDG&Es 4,000-square-mile service area have shown interest in Community Choice Energy  and in a few cases have decided to start feasibility studies  no other jurisdiction is nearly as far along as is Solana Beach. If the earliest projections bear out, the citys CCE could be up and running by the end of next year.

But first, the city and its consultants are wading through an exploratory phase that in the next few months will produce a technical analysis, an implementation plan and, in the blue and white tents, put city staff face to face with the residents who will need to stay on board if the CCE is to be viable.

The outreach has put up stakes at the past two Thursday concerts at Fletcher Cove, and did so again on Sunday, Aug. 20 at the Cedros Avenue farmers market. Its biggest audience yet awaits on Saturday at the citys annual beach blanket movie night at Fletcher Cove.

We can use all the help we can get, Assistant City Manager Dan King told the citys Climate Action Commission last week.

Among the eight CCEs already operating in California, the benefits have so far borne out favorably, proving to be economically viable while achieving a higher percentage of renewable energy than the host utility company  a message that CAC member and former city councilman Steve Zahn took to NBC7 on Aug. 20.

This train has left the station, and all of the eight CCAs in the state have been profitable, he said. Theyre producing surpluses, theyre rebating back to the cities.

One variable that has so far resisted experts forecasts is customer participation. Per state law, every energy customer in the city would be automatically enrolled in Solana Beachs CCE but would have the right to drop out at no cost and revert to SDG&E service. A large enough exodus could weaken the CCEs purchasing power and hinder the citys ability to strike its desired balance between lower rates and higher renewable energy.

There is definitely a line beyond which it wouldnt make sense, City Manager Greg Wade said at the tent on Aug. 20. Most CCEs take a hypothetical opt-out scenario of about 20 percent. When we run our numbers, well be looking at conservative estimates and asking that question. We havent gotten to that point yet, but what if 60 percent opted out? What if 50 percent opted out? There is going to be a point at which it wouldnt make sense.

So far the pitch has been a passive one, with city staff fielding questions from the occasional passersby and gauging their priorities  always careful to offer rationale rather than overtly convince.

Were taking a measured approach, Wade said. I wouldnt say so much that were trying to convince people to stay in, were just giving them the information. Obviously the objective is that they wont opt out, but its really their choice to do that.

While most of the conversations on Thursday and Sunday lingered for several attentive minutes, the tents were hardly a hive of activity.

One of the handful who stopped by on Sunday was Sharon Rosen Leib, who has lived in northwest Solana Beach more than 20 years. Her most pressing question: will the CCE be able to match what SDG&E pays her for the surplus energy generated by her homes solar panels?

She was heartened to hear that the citys models suggest the CCE could offer a better rate.

Not that we care that much about the money  it incentivizes people to put in solar, she said.

More importantly, the key to incentivizing enough of Solana Beach to stay in the CCE is to skew toward a high percentage of renewable energy rather than simply aim for the lowest possible rates.

It would be great if they could balance both but I think probably higher renewable would be better if it could be for only a few dollars per month more, she said. I also want it to encourage more solar. A lot of our neighbors have it already and in the new construction in our area, almost everyone is putting on solar.

After Saturdays event at Fletcher Cove, the CCE campaign will host targeted events with businesses and homeowners associations. The city will also at some point host a public workshop.

The city councils next decision point will come toward the end of this year after weighing input from the outreach alongside the implementation plan and the technical analysis. If the council decides to move forward, the next phase will see the city set its electricity rates and identify energy sources. That is expected to take six months to a year.

An update to the city council is tentatively planned for its Sept. 27 meeting.
Del Mar has fired Pat Vergne, the citys longtime chief lifeguard and director of community services, and is moving to fire two of his employees in the Community Services Department after a hotly disputed investigation that uncovered a litany of allegations that include misusing public funds, falsifying payroll records and using a city credit card for personal use, according to a city press release.

The city announced the findings on Wednesday, Aug. 23, bringing to light for the first time a long list of actions over three years that allegedly defrauded the city out of nearly $200,000  primarily for allowing free or discounted use of the Powerhouse Community Center and false overtime claims of a part-time employee.

The four-month investigation sparked a firestorm from Del Mar residents, who blasted city officials and demanded that Vergne, a beloved figure in the community for nearly 40 years, be reinstated.

A pair of complaints by two lifeguards on March 30 and April 2 led to the investigation. The city put Vergne on paid leave on April 5 following attempts to interfere and undermine the Citys ability to undertake a fair and impartial investigation, according to the citys press release, and brought in an outside investigator who interviewed 20 employees and reviewed thousands of pages of records.

The second employee suspended during the investigation, administrative assistant Liza Rogers, will also be fired pending a process through the city employees union, according to the citys press release.

The investigators 1,700-page report allegedly found 95 instances between 2015 and 2017 in which Vergne and Rogers inappropriately gave waivers and discounts for use of the Powerhouse Community Center and other city facilities to friends, personal acquaintances, non-residents and former city employees totaling $151,575, according to the citys press release.

In one instance, Vergne and Rogers allegedly allowed a part-time city employee to be paid simultaneously as an independent contractor to the tune of $23,000 and failed to supervise his use of a city credit card to make a personal purchase of more than $4,500. The part-time employee, who has not been named, is also being terminated, according to the citys press release.

The actions violated several city and state codes, and that evidence has been turned over to the San Diego Sheriffs Department, said Mayor Terry Sinnott.

By waiving and discounting permit fees, these employees essentially gave away City funds to friends, personal acquaintances, and others which were a total violation of the Citys established policies and procedures, Sinnott said in the citys press release. This has been a difficult process because of the outside pressures and media attention generated by some. There was no rush to judgment. The City didnt waver in its mission to conduct a fair, independent and confidential investigation to arrive at the facts, while protecting the rights of the individuals. Based on the findings, we will be putting additional procedures in place within the Community Services Department and look forward to even better results with improved operations and a dedicated adherence to City standards at all levels. Additionally, the Council wants the community to know that we stand behind the findings in the investigation involving the City Manager and have confidence in his ability to review the results of the primary investigation and do what is needed to correct the issues we now know exist.

In closed session on Aug. 22, the city council unanimously supported the way the investigation was carried out. As a result of the investigation, the city will review and overhaul its internal procedures, the press release stated.

As the investigation dragged into July, Vergne filed a counter-complaint against City Manager Scott Huth for harassment and retaliatory behavior. A separate investigation has dismissed those claims as groundless, according to the press release.

Vergne and his attorney met with Huth and City Attorney Leslie Devaney on Wednesday, Aug. 23, where Vergne was fired and the allegations laid out in a letter.

Theyre outrageous, said Dan Crabtree, Vergnes attorney. To be blamed for the things that are in that letter, there basically isnt a shred of truth in it. Its mindboggling when the city has known about all of these transactions for years, it has been done in complete transparency the whole time. Well be taking action accordingly. This is an outrageous situation and the residents of Del Mar are going to be beyond livid.
Bhaskar Oru Rascal Some Scenes To Be Shot In Maldives
3 Data Professional Roles Every Company Wants to Fill

It seems like every business is looking to hire data professionals. Business leaders have realized that simply having a lot of data, or having ready access to it, is not enough. The right people are needed to manage and make sense of all that data.

The needs around data are growing exponentially. According to a recent Experian Data Quality study, 97 percent of organizations use data to power business opportunities. Many tech professionals see increasing demands from the business around data and the need to turn data insights around more quickly. Solid analytics and insights will be needed to keep pace with digital transformation and create additional efficiency.

The good news is that businesses recognize this need and are making investments to solve for these challenges. From our research, we can see that the hiring of data professionals seems to be taking place in business-focused roles and regulation-focused roles, reflecting the tension that often exists at organizations between driving innovation and managing risk. In the next year, we envision companies seeking talent to fill these roles: data analyst, chief data officer, and data protection officer. Heres a quick rundown on each.

Data analyst. On the business side, organizations are hiring data analysts to sit within departments or data teams. In fact, 46 percent of U.S. organizations are planning to hire data analysts in the next year. Their main goal, no matter where in the organization they are placed, is to analyze data in such a way that it can be used for business intelligencei.e., that it is accurate, trusted information. Fifty-seven percent of businesses spend a majority of their time analyzing data, and so this roles importance is hard to overstate.

Chief data officer. A CDO is essential to run any robust data program, which is why we see that 51 percent of C-level executives will be looking to hire for this role in the next 12 months. The CDO is responsible for developing and implementing an information strategy, which includes disciplines like data security, governance, quality, and management. They also oversee a team of data professionals that can bridge the gap between the business side and the IT department. With these roles in particularly high demand, we expect there to be shortages in talent.

Data protection officer. Regulation-focused roles are another area of investment, and data protection officers are on the front line. In preparation for the upcoming European directive known as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), we are seeing an increasing number of organizations planning to hire data protection officers43 percent of C-level executives globally are looking to fill this role. The data protection officer is responsible for educating employees on the GDPRs specific compliance requirements, as well as ensuring that employees receive proper training when handling data. While the jobs mandate is very relevant for GDPR compliance, it can also be applied to many other regulations to reduce a companys risk.

These are just a few of the sought-after roles this year, but there are many others needed to help transform data-driven businesses. The challenge to keep in mind is that there will be shortages of this kind of talent. Not everyone can hire an experienced chief data officer or data protection officer because realistically only several hundred of them exist.

To make sure that these people are successful, it will be important for organizations to define a clear scope for each role. Too often we see companies that struggle with new data professionals because the scope of the role was too broad or the individual did not have a clear mandate. In addition, for the higher-level roles, it is extremely important that the individual can speak the language of data professionals but also be able to clearly communicate to business and C-level executives about data and how it is being used across the enterprise. Those communication skills and an ability to relate to business problems will be essential for the data professionals of tomorrow.

We expect this hiring frenzy to continue for some time. However, the hope is that these data professionals can have a meaningful impact on the business and bring positive organizational change.

As general manager of Experian Data Quality North America, Thomas Schutz serves as the company's top executive for all strategic business decisions in the United States and Canada. Schutz is focused on helping organizations proactively manage the quality of their data through world-class validation, matching, enrichment, and profiling capabilities to better enable intelligent customer interactions and decision making.


On August 24, a historic judgement was passed by the Supreme Court of India, declaring privacy to be a fundamental right. A nine-judge Constitution bench unanimously overturned two earlier rulings, that stated that the right to privacy was not protected by the Constitution.

The new ruling by the SC states, right to privacy is protected as an intrinsic part of the right to life and personal liberty under Article 21 and as a part of the freedoms guaranteed by Part III of the Constitution. This verdict brings right to privacy at par with the right to liberty and will make it harder for anyone, including private corporations or government agencies, to obtain private data from users. This also means that the state will have to present concrete reasons for accessing someones data now.

This is a milestone in a large history across the world on understanding of the right to privacy. The largest democracy in the world has now spoken on the question which we all face because 20th century constitutions, let alone earlier constitutions did not tend to speak of right to privacy and they certainly didnt speak of it in terms which allowed its application to the needs of human beings in the 21st century networked society. Supreme Court of India has taken an enormous step which is going to be looked upon by societies of law around the world with enormous importance, said Mishi Choudhary, President, SFLC.in.

The SCs verdict could have real effects on the governments drive to make Aadhaar mandatory for various schemes, bank accounts etc. In addition, tech companies using your data will also have to take right to privacy into account now. Its worth noting that the Supreme Court did not say that right to privacy is absolute. Instead, the apex court has said that given enough reason, your data can still be accessed.

The Aadhaar issue

While it is all too early to predict repercussions of the SCs verdict, its sure to play a part in ongoing cases around Aadhaar. A number of petitions have been filed against enforcing of Aadhaar as a mandatory requirement for admission to schools, government schemes and more. Even buying a JioPhone today requires an Aadhaar card.

With Aadhaar data leaks surfacing online, the protection of such important data is in question. The petitions claim that enforcing Aadhaar as compulsory is a violation of privacy. The petitioners insist that the Aadhaar scheme was started as a voluntary program, however, the current government seems keen on making biometrics-based Aadhaar mandatory for availing various benefits of various social welfare schemes.

Recently, about 210 websites of the Central and State government were displaying Aadhaar details and personal information of its beneficiaries. Also, a database containing data of millions of Reliance Jio users was leaked online. With Aadhar being linked to bank accounts, PAN and many other essential services, it is of outmost importance that this data is secured and not misused.

The Whatsapp case

Currently, a five-judge constitution panel are deciding on this case, focusing on the change in privacy policy of Whatsapp, enforced in 2016. Whatsapp changed its privacy policy to start sharing user data with Facebook, its parent company. The change in privacy policy affects millions of Indian users as their personal conversations are analysed and ads are targeted on Facebook. The Delhi High Court had directed WhatsApp to stop sharing data with Facebook and delete all user data generated by Indian users before September 25, 2015. However, WhatsApp did not adhere to this ruling.

The IT Act, 2000 provides for data protection but not privacy protection. Companies found guilty of data breach can be fined upto Rs 1 crore, however, there is no compensation for an individuals personal information loss or their personal data being leaked. The current ruling by the top court will likely impact the WhatsApp case, although we cannot yet predict what the verdict will be.

Internet

Major tech companies such as Google, Facebook, Microsoft and many more have access to millions of users data and they make use of this data for their own purposes such as targeted ads, data mining, drawing inferences and more. If it were left at that, there would be no problem at all, however, these companies are also responsible for the security and privacy of the data they possess.

The Supreme Courts hearing may have major impact on the ways major tech companies make use of a users data. Various concerns have already been raised regarding the storage and use of private user data, as many of the leading websites and companies have failed to protect them.

Companies like Facebook, Google and other tech majors use, and more importantly, share user data with their partners. The right to privacy may have an impact on how this process is carried out.

Businesses using data from their customers are tasked with protecting that data any way. With the right to privacy, companies could be disallowed from accessing certain information, and also from sharing it with others.

Welfare schemes

Many citizens have voiced concerns with Aadhaar being made mandatory for availing various government schemes. The SC had, in March 2016, ruled that Aadhaar will not be mandatory for availing welfare schemes. The court also said that the government cannot be stopped from using Aadhaar in other schemes, such as the opening of bank accounts.

It is unclear whether Aadhaar attachment for government schemes will remain mandatory. However, one can be almost sure that the government will have to strengthen data protection behind information saved on the Aadhaar database.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) is currently investigating this privacy breach by Alibaba-owned UC Browser. It has been alleged that the second most used browser in India has been sending user data to Chinese servers

Amidst heightened tensions between India and China, Alibaba-owned UC Browser has come in the firing line of the government for leaking mobile data of Indian users to servers in China. As per senior IT officials, UC Browser might be banned in the country if found guilty.

A government official told PTI, There have been complaints against UC Browser that it sends mobile data of its users in India to server in China. There are complaints that even if an user has uninstalled it or cleaned browsing data, the browser retains control of DNS of users device.

UC Browser is the second largest mobile web browser in India and commands a market share of 48.66 percent as per a Stat-Counter report. The company had also claimed to have 100 million monthly active users in India and Indonesia back in 2016. This is not the first time the browser has been pulled up for privacy and security issues. Back in 2015, a Canadian research group found out that the browser had given third parties access to sensitive users information such as location, search details and even device numbers. At the time, Alibaba spokesman Bob Christie, had claimed that the issue was fixed and users were notified about the update. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd had acquired UCWeb in June 2014.

According to PTI, when contacted, UC Web claimed it had not received any notice of investigation or data leaks from the Indian government. At UC Web, we take security and privacy very seriously and work hard to comply with local regulations of each region we operate in. It is common practice for IT companies to place servers all around the globe to provide better service to its users. We have strong measures in place to encrypt the data while we transmit it, the Chinese company told PTI.

A report by University of Toronto had recently claimed that the UC Browser has several major privacy and security vulnerabilities that would seriously expose users of UC Browser to surveillance and other privacy violations. The government is looking into this report and The Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) based in Hyderabad is performing a technical investigation as well.
The pre-bookings for the JioPhone start from today from 5:30PM on the companys website. Users will be paying Rs 1500 upfront for the phone and the device will come with a rental plan of Rs 153. In this plan one will get free voice calls, 300 SMS free, Jio apps and unlimited data, which is restricted to 500MB of 4G data per day. On top of this, Jio will provide a Rs 24 sachet pack with which one will get unlimited 4G data for two days. Alternately, users can opt for a Rs 56 sachet for unlimited 4G data use with weeks validity.

Going by the companys popularity, it is safe to assume that Reliance Jio will have a hard time coping with demand for the JioPhone. However, if you do get one, you need to know how it compares to other feature phones in the market and some budget smartphones. So, we are pitting the phone against the ultra popular Nokia 3310 feature phone and the affordable Micromax Bharat 2 Android based smartphone.

JioPhone Price: Effectively zero

We should start with the price as the phone essentially costs nothing. The Rs 1500 you pay upfront will be returned to you after three years in full when you return the device. In the meantime you will have to pay Rs 153 per month for the rental plan which comes with the phone. As stated above, the rental plan gives you access to 500MB 4G data per day (after which speeds are throttled), unlimited calls and 300 SMS.

As for the Nokia 3310 and the Micromax Bharat 2, you will pay Rs 3,310 and Rs 3,499 respectively for the handset only. Cost of calls, data and SMS is subject to the service provider and plan you choose.

4G VoLTE support and other connectivity

Jio Phone supports 4G VoLTE and so do most budget Android phones including the Micromaxs Bharat 2. The Nokia 3310 on the other hand does not support 4G or Wi-fi. It supports 2G only.

Moreover, besides the Jio phone, there is only one feature phone from Lava, the Lava Connect M1 4G, which supports 4G VoLTE, but does not support Wi-Fi. However, in a recent interview Spreadtrum India head told us that we will see more 4G feature phone in the market in coming days.

Voice commands

Voice commands are nothing new to the Android ecosystem or smartphones in general, but this is the first time we are seeing this technology on a feature phone. Going by Reliances launch demos, the phone is quite slick in recognising voice and can even type messages if required.

Regional language support

Offering a budget phone in India and not including regional language support these days is not an option. Almost all budget smartphones and feature phones that we have come across come with at least 18 regional language support. Thus, Jio is basically at par with the competition, as far as language support goes.

Apps

One of the main reasons why the world is moving to smartphones is apps and how these apps make our connected life simpler and fun. A feature phone does not have this luxury, and thus the Nokia 3310 only has a few toned down versions of apps such as Facebook and Twitter, but no WhatsApp. The JioPhone faces a similar dilemma and Jio has tried to fill that void with its own home-brewed applications.

You have the standard Jio app suite including JioMusic, JioCinema, JioTV and JioXpressNews. Apart from that you will get a lighter version of Facebook, Youtube, Google Maps, Firefox, Chrome and some more. The thing is, the phone is running on KaiOS, which is a lightweight linux distro to start with. It is optimised to be used on non-touch phones and much like Samsungs Tizen, we may see more apps on the platform in times to come.

As for our third contender, the Micromax Bharat 2, it runs on Android and has the entire Google Play Store at its disposal.

And, you can project content to a TV

One big USP of the JioPhone is the ability to watch content from the phone on your CRT or flat screen TV. You can do this with the JioMediaCable, which is a one time purchase. Using this cable, you can enjoy movies from the JioPhone on your TV.

Compared to this, most feature phones cant even play video properly. While you can connect an Android phone with a TV with the built in cast-in service, the direct cable to the TV is a much simpler, easier and cheaper solution here.

Wait, you can even make payments in the future

Yes, you can make payments via the phone as well. So, there is an NFC chip embedded inside the phone, which is not yet enabled. However, Jio says that the functionality will be made available later this year with a software update. While this is all well and good, what you need to keep in mind is that to make this possible, Jio would have to partner with a currently available tap-and-pay solutions or come up with one of their own. If the company sets up its own payment solution than, it would have to partner with stores and service providers to make this possible. That being said, the consumer will get the easier service at hand.

With all the features at its disposal, the JioPhone is undoubtedly one of the most awaited phones in India. It even transcends the rave and hype of the Nokia 3310, which was a big deal in itself across the globe. The reason for this is obvious - the costing of the device and the features at its disposal. With the JioPhone, Mukesh Ambani is eyeing the biggest untapped mobile customer base comprising of more than 50 crore users. According to Jios own numbers the company has retained more than 100 million (10 crores) subscribers, which are now part of Jios Prime subscriber base paying Rs 309 or higher. The JioPhone is going to add millions more to that subscriber base.

With its 4G feature phone, Reliance wants to capture 99% percent of the Indian population with 4G coverage and the company aims to do that in just 12 months. This is a big task and much easier said than done, but here is where the Jio Phone comes in. It has the specifications to compete with entry level Android phones, supports 4G, has voice command control, regional language support, and Jio services. It can be connected to your TV with an addition accessory.

We do sniff monopolization and cannibalization in the market later down the line and we will talk about it, but that is something which is still a possibility and not a reality, yet.
Images of the upcoming Sony Xperia XZ1 show thick top and bottom bezels and a camera bump. The smartphone is set to launch on August 31, a day ahead of IFA in Berlin.

The Sony Xperia XZ1 has leaked in all its glory in what appear to be press images of the device. The pictures were shared by Roland Quandt of WinFuture on twitter.

Images show the Xperia XZ1 with thick top and bottom bezels. Sony does not seem eager to jump on the bezel-less bandwagon and the design of the upcoming device looks pretty similar to older Xperia smartphones. The smartphone is shown in two colour options, black and pink, in the leaked images. One can also spot a camera bump at the back of the device. There are two speaker grilles at the front of the device, while the power button, volume rocker and a camera button rest on the right side.

The Sony Xperia XZ1 will be unveiled on August 31 at an event in Berlin. The launch comes a day ahead of the official start of IFA. At the event, Sony is likely to showcase the Xperia XZ1, Xperia Xz1 Compact and Xperia X1 smartphones as successors to last years Xperia XZ and Xperia X Compact. The Sony Xperia XZ1 is likely to become the companys second flagship device after Xperia XZ Premium to feature Qualcomms Snapdragon 835 processor. The handset is tipped to sport a 5.2-inch Full HD display, 4GB RAM and 3000mAh battery.

Weeks back, a Chinese website called digi-wo.com, had posted four images of an unknown Sony smartphone. While the images werent very clear, one of the devices was shown bearing the model number G8341, which is tipped to be the model number of the Xperia XZ1. The smartphone was also recently listed on Geekbench confirming the SD 835 chipset and 4GB RAM.
Sony Bravia OLED A1 detailed review

With two of the top three TV makers selling OLED televisions, the technology has officially arrived in India. While the Sony Bravia A1 is still expensive, its considerably cheaper than LGs Signature E series OLED televisions. We are yet to test the 2017 OLED E7 from LG, so we cant proclaim the Sony television as the best just yet, but, the Sony Bravia A1 is certainly the best we have tested so far.





That said, Sonys television is not without its faults, and its high pricing puts it out of reach for most of us. Nevertheless, heres hoping OLED technology makes it to more affordable prices in years to come. The OLED A1 is expensive right now, but its a testament to what televisions should be in the near enough future.

Build and Design

As far as design is concerned, the Bravia A1 has a simplistic facade. But, that probably makes it the most stylish television out there, even more so than Samsungs curved panels. From the front, the A1 is almost literally all screen, and its tilted backwards by about five degrees, to present a canvas like feel. The TV is supported by a kickstand behind it, that is only visible from the sides and the back. If youre buying this TV, dont wall mount it. It looks best on top of a table.

The kickstand also houses all the ports for this television. You will have to remove the net-like cover to get to them first, and theyre all downwards facing, making them tough to reach. The Bravia A1 is designed to have devices attached to it permanently. Theres a single USB port facing outwards on the left of the kickstand. This is the only port thats easy to reach. The kickstand cover is open from the bottom, and it hides wires to some extent. Again, if youre buying this television, showing a mess of wires would truly be blasphemous.

From the front, the Bravia A1 has a thin lining running around it, but its all screen for all intents and purposes. The 65-inch facade looks pretty and immersive. The kickstand rests firmly on desks and theres no wobble in the entire unit. Simply put, the Bravia A1 may be the simplest, but best looking television on the market today, at least in our opinion.

Ports

HDMI: 4

USB: 3

Digital Audio Out: 1

Component: 0

Composite: 1

LAN: 1

While the Bravia A1 has ample ports (at least by industry standards), the only real complaint is how theyre placed. They would have been much simpler to reach had they been on either side of the kickstand. Instead, Sony has made them bottom facing, making things quite difficult and frustrating.

Picture Quality

Sony is sourcing OLED panels from LG for the Bravia A1, although the companys X1 Extreme processor plays an important role in picture processing. This is the same processor Sony used on its flagship television last year, and the Z9D was certainly our favourite then. The A1 supports both HDR and Dolby Vision technologies.

All that comes together for innovative picture quality. I usually start watching HD and FHD content on these televisions, to check the upscaling engine. Sony does that extremely well, although Id warn users against turning on the motion effects on the TV (which are turned on by default). Picture looks unnaturally smooth when this is turned on, although colours, contrast and even brightness are simply spot on. That, despite the fact that the Bravia A1 seems somewhat dimmer (in bright lighting) compared to the QLED Q8C from Samsung, although Sony does promise 1000 nits brightness on this panel. Our contrast ratio tests returned results of over 180,000:1 on 50% brightness, which is over double of the LG OLED E6, which held the best TV title on our lists so far. Of course, high contrast is no surprise coming from an OLED television.

Samsungs QLED technology is aimed at enhancing colour space, but truth be told, Sonys television looks more natural. The OLED A1 presents vibrant, yet natural colours, that are pleasing to the eyes. If you can bring HDR or UHD content, this television will do justice to it. HD content doesnt work overtly well with this TV, but anything above that should do well. The A1 is especially good at denoting closely matched colours, and shadow details are very well presented, even on standard dynamic range.

Watching Game of Thrones in FHD, Daenerys dragons seem much more lethal, real and defined on the OLED A1, than they did on others. Picture is quite sharp, which is often something televisions lack. To get the best picture quality out of this TV, Id suggest dimming the lights in your room. Also, if youre not calibrating the display, the preset cinema mode on the television should suit most users viewing needs.

Audio Quality

Sony is using two comparatively new technologies on this television. OLED is of course the first, while how the TV produces sound is the second. The company has put tiny transducers behind the screen, which vibrate the entire screen to produce audio. Theres also a sub-woofer in the kickstand, that handles low frequencies. Sony calls this Acoustic Surface technology, and it actually works.

Granted that the A1 isnt as loud as some other TVs, including Sonys own X9350D, but it makes up for the same through richer audio output. Explosions will sound more real on this television, dialogue is crisp and it even suits listening to music to some extent. Its loud enough for a medium sized room.

Android

Sony was the first to jump onto the AndroidTV bandwagon, and it has stuck through the evolution of the platform. Today, AndroidTV is much easier to use and faster, but I must still complain that its not fast enough. You have to see the loading circle one too many times, which makes for a somewhat sub-par experience. I would also question Sonys choice of weaving the AndroidTV remote into its own and not providing touchpad-based systems for its flagship TV. Typing is irritating, as is navigating at times. App support is fine, giving you access to essential apps, but not a huge collection to be sure.

Bottomline

Barring some minor flaws, the Sony Bravia OLED A1 is almost certainly the best television in the market today. It combines excellent picture quality with good audio and a premium, sleek and beautiful design. When moneys no bar, this is the television you should buy. Period.
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WASHINGTON, D.C.  The Department of Energy awarded a $1.9 million grant to the Seattle Department of Transportation to accelerate the use of electric vehicles.

This grant will help Eluminocity, an electric vehicle infrastructure company, partner with SDOT to increase the number of fast charging stations throughout the city.





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NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (AP)  State officials have told a western New York public agency that it must cease the type of wastewater discharges that caused a stretch of the Niagara River below Niagara Falls to turn black and smelly.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo says the Department of Environmental Conservation has ordered the Niagara Falls Water Board to cease any discharges from the agency's sediment basin until the state's investigation into the July 29 black water discharge is completed.





. . .
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SEATTLE  Foundation House at Northgate, at https://goo.gl/maps/6jDsqK3QP5A2" target="_blank">11301 Third Ave. N.E., has sold for $24.5 million, according to King County records.

The seller was NHP MS Northgate LLC, which acquired the property in 2007 for $16.5 million.





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BMW has launched its most exclusive limited edition.

The German brand will offer only four examples of the new BMW 7-Series 40 Jahre Edition in Australia.

Limited to just 200 examples worldwide the Bavarian automaker will split local allocation across three model grades with two 740i and one each of the 750i and M760Li variants to be offered.

Prices for the 40 Jahre Editions kick off at $267,500 before on-road costs for the 740i, $336,500 for the 750i and $443,500 for the M760Li, representing a price rise of $39,400, $42,500 and $18,500 respectively over the standard versions.

Extra kit for the limited editions include 20-inch V-spoke light alloy wheels, metallic silver paint, smoke white and black leather upholstery, black interior trim with '7 40 Jahre' logos, smoke white Alcantara headliner and '7 40 Jahre' logo stitched on the headrests.

The 740i and 750i examples get a range of extra gear that is already standard on the M760Li including BMW's M Sport package, rear comfort seats and M Sport brakes, while the 750i also scores a Bowers and Wilkins stereo.

The 740i is powered by a 240kW/450Nm 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine, the 750i gets a 4.4-litre twin-turbocharged V8 petrol unit that produces 330kW and 650Nm, while the M760Li gets a beastly 6.6-litre twin-turbo V12 petrol engine that pumps out 448kW of power and 800Nm of torque.

All models are equipped with an eight-speed automatic transmission that sends power to the rear wheels in the 740i and 750i and to all four wheels in the M760Li.

2017 BMW 7-Series 40 Jahre prices*

740i - $267,500

750i - $336,500

M760Li - $443,500

All prices exclude on-road costs

For all the latest BMW information, visit our showroom.
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Save the date for the official launch of Taylor Wimpey's Kilnwood Vale development

Home-hunters searching for an exceptional new home in a beautiful part of West Sussex are urged to save the date for the official launch of Kilnwood Vale, Taylor Wimpeys exciting new development in Faygate.

On Saturday 2nd September the leading housebuilder will officially open its brand new Sales Information Centre at the development, and anyone hoping to buy at Kilnwood Vale is being encouraged to attend the official launch, which takes place between 10am and 5pm.

Previously, homes at this development have been sold from Cisswood House Hotel in Horsham, but now home-hunters will be able to visit the development as well as view two beautiful new showhomes  the three bedroom Clifton and two bedroom Horsham.

Susan Joseph, Regional Sales and Marketing Director for Taylor Wimpey, says: We are now only a matter of weeks away from officially launching Kilnwood Vale with two fabulous new showhomes and a Sales Information Centre, making it even easier for buyers to find their dream home at this development.

The new homes at Kilnwood Vale are located in a traditional village community and on the edge of the breathtaking High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty  so it comes as no surprise that we have already received an incredible amount of interest.

I would advise anyone hoping to make a move here to make sure they dont miss the official launch event on Saturday 2nd September.

Theres a selection of one and two bedroom apartments and three bedroom houses on sale, with prices starting from 220,000, 285,000 and 385,000 respectively.

Situated on the edge of the beautiful High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the new homes at Taylor Wimpey at Kilnwood Vale enjoy a sought after West Sussex location.

Faygate features a choice of pubs and a farm shop nearby, while just over three miles away the picturesque market town of Horsham offers a wealth of other amenities for day to day living, including supermarkets, high street stores, restaurants, a hospital, and The Capitol Horsham theatre.

The new homes will be conveniently located for families, with schools nearby including Colgate Primary School  which was rated good in its latest Ofsted report  while for sixth form education there is The College of Richard Collyer.

Faygate railway station offers regular direct services to Horsham, as well as convenient travel links to the capital, with services to London Bridge and London Victoria.

The development is close to the M23 for road links to Gatwick Airport and the north, while the nearby A24 provides convenient access south towards the coastal towns of Brighton and Worthing.

Prior to the launch event, prospective purchasers can discover more about the impressive new homes currently available at Kilnwood Vale by visiting the website at taylorwimpey.co.uk/kilnwoodvale.

The Kilnwood Vale launch event will take place at the development between 10am and 5pm on Saturday 2nd September, which is located off the Crawley Road, Faygate, West Sussex, RH12 0AQ.
As the healthcare industry shifts to value-based care models, patient education and communication solutions increasingly have become an investment priority for care providers and payers. Consumers have many means, whether digital or analog, to acquire medical knowledge and personal health information, and they tend to reach out to their doctor when sick, or when they have complex health questions.

Traditionally, doctors do not proactively reach out to their patients  especially when their patients arent sick. This model is changing, however, due to the increasing popularity of value-based care models. The need for hospitals and doctors to reach out to consumers/patients will increase sharply because of the following factors:

Public and private health payers demand that care providers collect customer satisfaction data (e.g., HCAHPS score) after a care episode, including such data as quality-of-care metrics that directly impact how care providers get paid. Hospitals will face revenue shortfall, plus penalties, if a discharged patient is readmitted within 30 days for the same diagnosis. Proactive patient education and communications are critical to a patients recovery and overall health, making solutions a worthwhile investment for hospitals and health systems. Value-based care models have many different schemes. Most require care providers to be responsible not only for patients episodic acute care needs, but also for their ongoing health and wellness maintenance needs, to reduce expensive medical services. This latter requirement usually is tied to a payment incentive (e.g., extra payout or shared savings). Proactive patient education and communications solutions are critical to preventive cares success, thus becoming a pillar component in many value-based care models.

The defining attributes of a winning patient education and communications solution include being proactive, interactive, personalized and outcome-driven. Scoring well on all these attributes is a tall order, as the overall market for patient education and communications solutions is still in the early stages: Care providers are learning what to deploy and how to deploy, whereas solution vendors are striving to understand what features their customers need, and how to prove value and differentiate against one another.

Market Opportunities

The newfound market interest in patient education and communications solutions has attracted bidders from a variety of backgrounds:

EMR and practice management software providers , such as Cerner, Epic, Athenahealth and Practice Fusion, have repositioned their patient portal solutions for this new opportunity by adding educational content and multimodal communication capabilities.

, such as Cerner, Epic, Athenahealth and Practice Fusion, have repositioned their patient portal solutions for this new opportunity by adding educational content and multimodal communication capabilities. Telecommunication equipment and solution vendors , such as Cisco, Vocera, Voalte and Avaya, began their business relationship with hospitals and care provider organizations by providing telecommunications infrastructure and equipment. Now, they are trying to diversify by extending communications capabilities from inside a care facility to between a care facility and the home.

, such as Cisco, Vocera, Voalte and Avaya, began their business relationship with hospitals and care provider organizations by providing telecommunications infrastructure and equipment. Now, they are trying to diversify by extending communications capabilities from inside a care facility to between a care facility and the home. Customer service center operators such as Teleperformance and West assist care provider organizations in answering customer inquiries, and handle outbound communications needs such as patient surveys and billing. These vendors now view their customers patient interaction and communication needs as an upsell opportunity.

such as Teleperformance and West assist care provider organizations in answering customer inquiries, and handle outbound communications needs such as patient surveys and billing. These vendors now view their customers patient interaction and communication needs as an upsell opportunity. Traditional patient educational content aggregators and curators, such as Krames StayWell, Remedy Health Media and PatientPoint, have been digitizing their content distribution capability and branching out into new media platforms and point-of-care locations for the last decade. For instance, in addition to distributing print booklets and leaflets about diseases and preventive measures, they are developing apps and installing digital kiosks and TV screens inside physician office waiting rooms. They are also interested in forging deeper partnerships with patient communications solution providers to jointly target new growth opportunities in this market.

As these solution providers emerge, care organizations also are remapping their patient communications strategies, and rethinking how they manage patient experiences in and out of clinical settings. Many care organizations recognize that a holistic approach is better and more effective than todays siloed approach, which is centered on patient diagnosis and point-of-care settings.

This recognition gives rise to what Parks Associates views as a second major trend: Care organizations will invest heavily in integrated patient engagement solutions that break the care setting silos, go beyond current state or diagnosis, or both.

Solutions that break care setting silos: Care organizations want to deliver a consumer-centric patient experience no matter where these consumers are  in the hospital, at a doctors office, in a pharmacy, or at their own home. This premise-agnostic approach requires coordinated engagement efforts and efficient information exchanges to deliver context-rich experiences to consumers, regardless of where they are located.

Care organizations want to deliver a consumer-centric patient experience no matter where these consumers are  in the hospital, at a doctors office, in a pharmacy, or at their own home. This premise-agnostic approach requires coordinated engagement efforts and efficient information exchanges to deliver context-rich experiences to consumers, regardless of where they are located. Solutions that go beyond current state or diagnosis: Care organizations recognize that patient education and communication should address both immediate care needs and latent needs arising from other health-risk factors. For instance, when a patient suffers an acute condition like a heart attack, a care organization needs to pass on treatment and recovery information and clinical support requirements to the patient and his family. However, it also would benefit from preparing a series of longer-term clinical and self-care support resources based on the patients unique health profile and post-treatment living environment. The goal is to provide contextually relevant information and support along this patients care continuum to optimize the care outcome.

Emerging Leaders

Parks Associates has identified 24 breakout players in four major categories in the patient education and communications solution market. Some are startups with innovative solutions, whereas others are existing players with the potential to lead this market.

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Join Parks Associates at the 4th annual Connected Health Summit: Engaging Consumers, Aug. 29-31 in San Diego, to learn more about the growing connected health markets.
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UK meat producers forge export deals with China, Philippines

The UK has clinched new pork and beef export deals with China and the Philippines, two of Asia's largest meat consumers.

China has given the go-signal to seven new businesses in England and Northern Ireland to export pork. These included three producers who, in a first for the UK, will export pig trotters, according to the UK Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra).

Already, nine producers export to China and generated 43 million (US$55.03 million) last year, as demand for UK pork has doubled in terms of value over the last three years. China is predicted to remain the world's largest net importer of meat.

"This is very welcome news for the Northern Ireland pig sector and for our wider agri-food industry and I look forward to the commencement of exports to China. The deal represents a major boost worth in excess of 10 million for the local pork industry", said Northern Ireland's chief veterinary officer, Robert Huey, who thanked Defra for securing access.

Meanwhile, UK Food Minister George Eustice has announced a new export deal for British beef with the Philippines, worth an estimated 34 million ($43.52 million), the Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI) reported.

UK beef will now join poultry, lamb, pork and dairy on the list of British food already being shipped to the Philippines.

"Securing market access for our world-class beef to the Philippines is a huge vote of confidence for a sector that already exports more than 350 million ($448 million) around the world, including Hong Kong and Canada", Eustice said.

Daniel Pruce, British Ambassador-designate to the Philippines, for his part, said, "I am delighted to see that British beef is coming back to the Philippines and look forward to serving this fantastic British product at the Residence and at other British Embassy events."

Chief Executive Alan Clarke of Quality Meat Scotland, one of the British levy bodies, said the Philippines was a priority market, which is Southeast Asia's largest food and drink market and whose national meat consumption is predicted to increase by 10% within the next five years.
Alzheimer's group meeting

COLUMBUS -- The Columbus Alzheimer's/Dementia Support Group will meet 1:30 p.m. Monday at the Columbus Community Center, 3111 19th St.

Occupational therapist Julie Bennett will share tips for caregivers.

For more information, call Adam Lassen at 402-564-5729 or Martha Davidson at 402-564-1980.

CCH hosting health fair

COLUMBUS -- The 14th annual Tune-Up for Life Community Health Fair will be held 7-11 a.m. Sept. 9 at the Columbus Wellness Center.

This event is open to the public and offers a number of free and discounted health screenings and services. Free screenings include blood pressure, body composition, bone density, colorectal cancer, flexibility, hearing, vision and strength. There will also be several free classes and admittance to the YMCA. Bryan Health will offer mobile screening services for a minimal fee for atrial fibrillation, arterial disease, abdominal aortic ultrasound and carotid artery ultrasound.

These require an appointment by calling 402-562-1533. Seasonal flu shots and pneumonia vaccines will also be available.

Senior center holding fundraiser

SCHUYLER -- The Colfax County Senior Center, 12th and A streets in Schuyler, will be open 9 a.m.-4 p.m. on Labor Day, Sept. 4.

The center will be serving sloppy Joes and roast beef sandwiches along with a variety of rolls, bars and pies. All proceeds will be used to defray the cost of the new heating and air conditioning system at the center.

Blind group holding meeting

COLUMBUS -- The next meeting for the National Federation of the Blind Columbus Chapter will be 10 a.m. Sept. 2 at the Eagles Club.

This meeting is for those who are losing their vision or struggling with vision loss.

For more information, visit nfb.ne.org or call Linda Mentink at 402-563-8138.

Gallery exhibit features Albracht

COLUMBUS -- The Columbus Art Gallery will feature work by artist Carolyn Albracht in her exhibit Contemplation through Sept. 1.

An artists reception will be held 5-7 p.m. Thursday in the art gallery, located on the lower level of Columbus Public Library, 2504 14th St. The reception is free and open to the public.

Blood drive in Schuyler

SCHUYLER -- An American Red Cross blood drive, sponsored by the Schuyler Knights of Columbus, will be held 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sept. 5 at St. Augustine Parish Hall, 604 Chicago St.

Bring donor card or photo ID, and eat and drink plenty of water prior to donating.

To schedule an appointment, call Paul Doerneman at 402-352-3092 or visit redcrossblood.org and enter sponsor code SchuylerNebraska.
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RICHLAND  The St. Marys Cemetery board is offering a $3,000 reward for information leading to a conviction in a recent vandalism case.

A portion of the metal archway that serves as an entrance to the rural Colfax County cemetery was removed last weekend. St. Mary's Cemetery is located in Wilson Township northeast of Richland.

Information about the vandalism can be reported to Nebraska Crime Stoppers at www.nebraskacrimestoppers.com or 800-422-1494.

The Colfax County Sheriffs Office is investigating the incident.

The cemetery board is also accepting donations for the reward fund.

Donations can be sent to: David Jedlicka, Wilson Cemetery Board, 578 Rd M, Schuyler, NE 68661. Checks should be made out to St. Mary's Cemetery of Wilson.
COLUMBUS  It took about 12 hours for the Platte County Sheriffs Office to pinpoint the location of a piece of heavy equipment that was stolen early Thursday morning from a construction site northeast of Columbus.

Shane Pritchett, 40, of Columbus, was arrested for the theft of a John Deere skid loader from the site where a large hog confinement building is being erected at 37698 145th Ave. between Columbus and Creston.

The skid loader, owned by Alewelt Concrete Inc. of Alden, Iowa, was equipped with GPS that pinged at 1:27 a.m. Thursday when it was stolen from the site and pinged next at 1:38 p.m. when it was located in the area of Road 9 between J and K roads in Colfax County.

Sheriffs Investigator Dane Jensen reported the loader is valued at $55,000.

Pritchett, who was arrested for unlawful taking, is scheduled for a Sept. 20 felony first appearance hearing. Judge Frank Skorupa set a $25,000 personal recognizance bond for the city man during a Friday hearing.

The suspect has not been formally charged by the county attorneys office.

The theft charge is a Class IIA felony, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

When authorities learned the location of the stolen equipment and matched it with identification numbers, they went to speak with the owner of the Colfax County property.

The owner of the farm identified the equipment to have been brought to his property by his son-in-law, Shane Pritchett, and that Shane stores property at his farm on a regular basis, Jensen wrote in his arrest statement.

The property owner reported having no other knowledge of the equipment Pritchett stored at his farm.

The property owner identified Pritchetts employer in Columbus, where the suspect was arrested Thursday afternoon.
Big bridge grant for Austin Free Access Austin Borough has qualified for a state grant to cover construction of a new bridge near the towns northern gateway. A $518,400 allotment from the Multimodal Transportation Fund will allow...

Deeds filed in Cameron County Free Access Following are real estate transactions filed with the Cameron County Recorder of Deeds: Blair A. Lundberg to Alcohol & Drug Abuse Services, Emporium, $185,000; David Jeffrey Smith to Elk Mountain...

These are the best of times for deer hunters Free Access There has rarely been a better time to be a deer hunter in Pennsylvanias northcentral region. Not only has the whitetail population been steadily rebounding, but the deer are healthier...

DuBois family leaves millions for volunteer orgs Free Access Christmas came early to seven community organizations whose work was important to the late multimillionaire Arthur F. DuBois (shown in the inset) of Coudersport. Some $3.1 million in proceeds from...
Police issue WiFi safety advice

The Island's police are warning the Manx public of the potential risks of using WiFi networks.

The Isle of Man Constabulary have been highlighting ways to use the internet safely this week, including advice for using social media and online banking.

Officers warn anyone can set up a wireless hotspot, and urges those using an unfamiliar network to ensure they read the terms and conditions in order to know exactly what they're agreeing to.

Police advise those using WiFi to be aware of what data they have and how to protect it.
COLUMBUS  Columbus High was one of 14 schools across the state to be awarded a $50,000 reVISION Grant from the Nebraska Department of Education.

The grants fund programs that teach students the industrial and technical skills needed in today's workforce.

CHS STEM career coordinator Heidi Elliott said the money will go toward purchasing three industrial certification kits from Snap-On for mechanical and electrical torque, precision measurement instruments and SOLUS Edge scanners.

Elliott said Snap-On certifications are recognized by local employers, as well as nationally.

Every single one of these certifications that students add to their resume is valuable when theyre going out into the workforce because it tells them they know this piece, this equipment, said Elliott. It tells them theyre already educated and capable with that equipment.

The certifications will be available through the high schools automotive technology program and provide key skills for the industry. The districts grant application said the SOLUS Edge scanner certification will enable communication with significantly more vehicle computer systems.

The other certifications have broad applications.

Elliott said precision management can be used in almost any industry.

The grant application said the mechanical and electrical torque certification will provide students with working knowledge of torque theory and application," which is a fundamental requirement of any engineering, maintenance service or repair position.

The grant also paid for auto technology instructor Ron Haefner to receive training so hell be able to oversee the certifications.

Columbus High did not receive a grant from its initial application for the 2016-17 school year, but the action plan included in the application provided a road map for the districts STEM programs. That included partnering with Central Community College to offer dual-credit for college-level auto technology courses and offering a Snap-On certification in multimeter certification.

The district is still waiting for the funds to be released before purchasing the kits, but Elliott said the certifications will be offered this fall.
In an echo of last months NotPetya ransomware attack, researchers at Ukraines ISSP Labs [PDF] recently found that a server belonging to the software developer Crystal Finance Millennium had been compromised and used to distribute malware, including ransomware.

This could be an indicator of  massive cyber attack preparation before the National Holidays in Ukraine, the researchers warned. Ukraines Independence Day is celebrated on August 24 and 25.

According to security researcher Bart Blaze, the malware present on the site included the downloader Smoke Loader, the Chthonic banking Trojan, and PSCrypt ransomware.

Because the first payment to the PSCrypt campaigns Bitcoin address was made on August 15, Blaze notes that its reasonable to assume Crystal Finance Millenniums website was compromised on or before that date, possibly on the 14th.

Ransomware Tactics

According to Blaze, PSCrypt demands approximately 115 Euros to regain access to encrypted files, and provides a detailed message explaining how to send bitcoins to the attackers.

It also lists a fake address in the U.S. for a nonexistent company called Unlock files LLC.

A recent SentinelOne analysis of ransomware attacks found that 51 percent of splash screens include some form of customer service, such as a FAQ or instructions on how to buy bitcoins. Three quarters of ransomware splash screens demand payment in bitcoins, with an average demand of 0.47 BTC (currently almost $2,000).

Over 50 percent percent of ransomware splash screens use a ticking clock device to give a sense of urgency, with deadlines ranging from 10 hours to over 96 hours.

We know that psychology plays a significant part in cybercrime  whats been most interesting from this study is uncovering the various ways that key social engineering techniques are used to intimidate or influence victims, report authors Dr. Lee Hadlington said in a statement.

With ransomware on the rise, its important that we improve our understanding of this aspect of the attack and how language, imagery and other aspects of the initial ransom demand are used to coerce victims, Hadlington added.

Leveraging Unprotected Sites

SiteLock president Neill Feather told eSecurity Planet by email that unprotected websites are an ideal tool for hackers to distribute malware. Gaining access to a sites Web server allows attackers to host malware to all visitors of the site rather than one victim at a time to maximize the scope of the attack and potential impact, he said.

With this in mind, it is imperative that organizations place an emphasis on website security and replace their reactive response plans with proactive measures, implementing comprehensive security tools to protect users and mitigate risk, Feather added.

Recent SiteLock research [PDF] found that the average website experiences 22 cyber attacks per day, or more than 8,000 attacks per year.

Fully 73 percent of hacked websites are infected with backdoors, 39 percent are infected by shell programs, 21 percent are infected with spam content, 21 percent have traffic stolen, and 6 percent have resources stolen.

Chris Olson, CEO of The Media Trust, said by email that organizations almost always underestimate the complexity of securing a website. Typically, businesses only monitor their own code, yet most consumer-facing sites adopt plug-ins and other third party content services  video or image hosting, social widgets, analytics, data management platforms, payment processing, etc.  whose code execution is not readily visible to IT and, therefore, outside of their control, he said.
GENOA  More often than not, volunteers give their time and services to an organization without expecting formal recognition in return.

Their dedication is a way to improve the community.

That's why Eugene Cromwell got involved with restoring the Genoa U.S. Indian School Museum two decades ago.

It all started with the windows.

I replaced each window one pane at a time, Cromwell said. I took the whole window out and reglazed it, then put a new pane in. I didnt repaint anything, someone else did that.

As a lifelong farmer and cattle producer, Cromwell could only fix the windows during certain times of the year.

When it was time to bring in the harvest, I had to stop working here, Cromwell said. But I was back once everything was settled on the farm.

Once the windows were complete, he was eager to continue his work.

I told them I could help with anything, Cromwell said. I wanted to help the museum as much as I could. Ive lived in Genoa all my life and was here when they started the museum.

Cromwell also donated a few pieces to the collection, including postcards featuring the Indian School when it was built in the late 1870s and other early times and other photographs of local interest.

Many of his weekends through the years were spent as a tour guide at the museum for visitors wanting to learn more about the former school and community.

I didnt know very much about the Indians, Cromwell said. But others who volunteered with me were knowledgeable enough to answer peoples questions.

Cromwell was recently recognized for his contributions with the Addison E. Sheldon Memorial Award from the Nebraska State Historical Society.

He humbly accepts the honor.

Im a very simple man, Cromwell said. I got the letter in the mail from the historical society saying Id won an award. I dont understand how just volunteering can warrant such a thing.

The Addison E. Sheldon Memorial Award, created in 1973, is given to individuals who exhibit outstanding contributions to the preservation and interpretation of Nebraska history. It includes a plaque and one-year membership to the Nebraska State Historical Society.

The award will be presented Oct. 12 during the Nebraska State Historical Society's annual banquet in Lincoln.
Libyan Prime Minister Faiez Serraj, head of the UN-backed unity government in Tripoli, has urged European countries to provide help in stemming the flow of migrants on the grounds that some of the illegal migrants might pose a security threat when they arrive in Europe. He said that the scores of migrants that have reached his country include also would-be terrorists. When migrants reach Europe, they will move freely. If, God forbid, there are terrorist elements among the migrants, a result of any incident will affect all of the EU, he said.

By using migration to ask for Brussels help, Serraj was resorting to the same strategy as the toppled Muammar Gaddafi who warned that the EU would be flooded by migrants as a result of the outbreak of the Arab Spring if he were ousted out of power. Almost 98,000 migrants have reached Europe from Libya since January, which is, however, still far less than last years record of 170,000 arriving on the Italian shores. Yet, this summer, more than 4,000 migrants have reached Italy from Libya, which is about a fifth of the number during each of the equivalent periods since 2014.

In the meantime, migration issues rule the Italian domestic policy with Rome getting unsettled by the lack of tangible help from other member states. Italys Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano said that his country has been abandoned by the EU over the refugee crisis, stressing that Italy cannot cope with the burden alone. EU Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos urged EU member states to help Italy after Rome had threatened to bar rescue boats from its ports. In response, EU interior ministers have agreed to develop a code of conduct for rescue ships.
The French and Austrian leaders have called for a radical reform of Europe during their meeting in Vienna. French President Emmanuel Macron and Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern also used this occasion to talk about the situation of EU workers from low-pay countries and their impact on competition and social regulations.

Mr. Kern added that their number in Austria has gone up to 166,000 in 2016  a 25% rise since 2015  and it is likely to still grow further in 2017. We are afraid of social dumping that would undermine the regulations of our country, he stressed and added that the level of salaries is often insufficient, but sanctions cant be applied because of a lack of cooperation from the workers home countries. Mr. Macron added that Europes single market and free movement of people are not intended to favor countries that tend to lower social standards.

Mr. Macron in turn outlined his vision for the radical reform, saying that he was confident that he would start working on a new proposal to reform the EU by the end of this year. His Austrian counterpart added that it was essential that Europe would proceed in unity and declared that he no longer wanted to hear the tagline: old vs. new Europe. Austrias presidency of the EU will begin in the second half of 2018. Both leaders also said that the vision for a brand new EU would involve a very, very strict budget. Europe is in need of radical reform. I was struck by our alignment on topics like the European budget, the European parliament, and the democratic debate, Emmanuel Macron said.
Poland is going to boost its defense budget by 46.6 billion over the next 15 years in response to the growing aggression from Russia. The money will be used to revamp its armed forces. The government has approved a legislative amendment  which gives us nearly 200 billion zlotys over the next 15 years, Deputy Defense Minister Tomasz Szatkowski said, adding that this initiative was in line with plans to raise defense spending to reach 2.5% of the countrys gross domestic product. Warsaw agreed before the summer to raise defense spending gradually from 2% to 2.5% of GDP by 2032.

Tomasz Szatkowski is the main strategist behind Polands new concept of defense, which presupposes an increase in the size of the army almost twofold and a modernization of its equipment. Almost two thirds of the equipment dates back from the Soviet times but despite the increase in spending, hard choices will have to be made, Mr. Szatkowski said. For example, the country will no longer be able to afford a transport fleet and more money on artillery, while engineering or assault helicopters will come at the cost of boosting the airborne forces.

Meanwhile, Moscow is going to launch its largest military exercises in years next month in Belarus and western Russia, which has raised concerns for the Kremlins lack of transparency. NATO worries that the number of troops that Russia has provided might be understated. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg is currently visiting Poland (24-25 August) to supervise the deployment of US troops in the east of the country. Warsaw has lobbied for the stationing of NATO troops on its territory with great intensity since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.
Written by ACM



*Strasbourg/Angelo Marcopolo/- While in Europe BioEthical Controversies on "Same Sex Marriage" practically wait the Results of the forthcoming German Election and a Judgement by the Constitutional Court at nearby Karlsruhe, in the US, with an Exceptionaly Important Vote, Intensively covered by Mainstream Medias, American People launched a Strong, Landmark Symbol, of Topical World-wide Significance, (given on-going Developments at Nearby Geneva's UN bodies, as well as in various European Countries, even in other Continents, including Africa, etc) :



In relation to such Topical and Crucial BioEthical Issues, they Voted, (with a Bigger Lead than expected), for a pro-Natural Family Senator, strongly Opposed to controversial and unpopular "Same Sex Marriage", including Submission of Children to the Power of Homosexual Strangers under "Adoption" Pretext, and inevitably Pushing towards the Atrocity of "Surrogate Mothers" InHuman Exploitation, added to Artificial Procreation of Human Beings, open to Manipulation by some Technocratic Lobbies, Dangerous for all Humankind :



- The former Chief Justice Roy Moore, at North America's "Heartlands" of Alabama State, Famous for having Twice Dared Sacrifice even his Top Job (where he had been Twice Elected by a Majority of People, but Dismissed by a bunch of Bureaucrats for Disobeying) for the Sake of Moral Socio-Cultural Values : I.e. mainly by Resisting and Refusing to Submit to controversial Former US President Barack Hussein Obama's notorious attempts to Impose (Not Only Inside the U.S., but even accross Europe, Africa and Worldwide !) his very Rich Sponsors' Controversial, UnPopular and Dangerous (Comp. Supra) pro-"Same Sex Marriage" Agenda, including even Childrens' submission to Homosexuals and/or Artificial Births, up to 2015-2016.



Spectacularly, Today's much Stronger Popular Support to Frontrunner Judge Moore was miracularly achieved Despite several Millions $ spend by Establishment's Lobbies in pre-Electoral Propaganda etc. against him (i.e. about ... X 16 Times More Money than he used !), and Washington DC "Elites"' Loud Backing of his main Competitor, L.Strange, including the Out-going USA Senate Majority Chief, the controversial McConnell, recently Criticized by most Trump's supporters and other Conservatives for allegedly Dragging his feet, Delaying or Watering Down, and even Failing to endorse many among the New US President's main Decisions, of key Importance to the Political Agenda for which he was directly Elected by the People US-Wide since November 2016, (See more Infra).



Competitor L. Stranger had reportedly spend as much as ... 84 % of the Money used by All 9 Candidates in Today's Vote, as Experienced, Election-Specialized "BallotPedia" NGO attested, and 16 Times More than Moore, but this wasn't enough to curb the latter's stronger Popularity...



- "This race isnt going to be decided by Washington Lobbyists cutting Big Checks. It's going to be decided by the Retired Veteran sending in $50 from his Social Security check. By the single Mom who wants ...(for) her children a better life and goes online ...NOT the Swamp dwellers of Washington" DC, Moore reportedly stressed. Because Judge Moore isnt Washingtons Wandidate, he is the Peoples candidate. He will ... represent the People of this State, Not special Interest groups or be beholden to any Power Brokers", added Moore's Campaign Manager, former GOP's Chairman in Alabama, Bill Armistead : - Thus, He "Answers to God and the People ... No one else.





Indeed, Moore (a Deeply Religious Man, notorious also for having kept Moyse's "Decalog" inside his former Court Office, until he was Dismissed for that !), Succeeded, Today, an UnExpectedly Strong Democratic Victory, (by a Symbolic Coincidence, on the Same Day traditionally Dedicated to the 1st Letter of Saint Paul to Corinthus' People, speaking of "God who gives us the Victory", and to Bible's ancient Psalm No 117, which points at "Victory, in the Homes of the Just", as well as for Christ's Mother, Holy Mary's Assumption to Heaven) :



=> He came very Clearly First among Many GOP's Candidates, with About 41 % of the Popular Vote, against Only 31% to his main Competitor, Luther Strange, followed by almost 20% also to anOther Anti-Establishment Candidate, Mo Brooks, and by another Christian Candidate, Trip Pittman, who got about 6%, (etc).

(Alabama Election, as seen by pro-Trump -Right Side Broadcasting Network: RSBN)

----------------

+ Moreover, Roy Moore proved to have a Wide-spread Influence, by being Voted at the 1st place accross 60 out of the 67 Counties of Alabama State, while Stranger did so only in 5 Counties, and Brook in 2.



Both Brooks and Pittman, as convinced Anti-Establishment Politicians, are, normaly, expected to Join and support Moore at a Final Vote against Stranger alone, Later on September, due to declare the Official GOP's Candidate in a December 2017 Election of Alabama's New Senator. (A pure Formality, since, Democrats/Socialists, traditionaly haveN't any chance in Alabama, an Historically Conservative state). Some Polls have already started to foresee a Clear Majority for Moore, with an even Bigger Difference vis a vis Strange, in the forthcoming Final Vote of September 2017, reaching about 51% against 32% (UPDATED).



A fortiori, when L.Strange has been repeatedly Criticized for having been earlier Appointed (and Not Elected) as Senator (in replacement of J. Session's Nomination as USA's Attorney General), by former Alabama Governor Bentley, nowadays Disgraced, that he had the Duty to Check for various Corruption charges, so that many Suspect an UnEthical Deal... On the Contrary, Chief Justice Moore has notoriously Sacrificed Twice his Career for the Sake of certain Moral and Social Values, (Comp. Supra).



+ "The Civil Rights Issue of our Time" is "Religious Freedom", stressed afterwards Roy Moore, who was Voted 1st by the People of Alabama State, by a Timely Coincidence, shortly after New US President Don Trump has just chosen the Governor of Kansas, former Long-Time Congressman and Senator, Sam Brownback, to become USA's new Ambassador at large for Religious Freedom throughout the World. Brownback, who previously served also as Chairman of Senate's Foreign Affairs Committee, during Conservative former US President GWBush's 2nd Mandate (from 2005), was well known also for his stance on BioEthical Issues, including Refusal of Genetic Manipulation on Human Embryos, etc.



- Trump, despite having been, Earlier, Pushed by Establishment's Out-going Senate GOP Chief McConnell (Comp. Supra), to initially endorse L.Stranger, nevertheless, Immediately after Judge Moore's Victory, he Warmly "Congratulated" the FrontRunner, in a written comment on this "Exciting" Vote, as he observed.

Meanwhle, Roy Moore was Endorsed by Famous Actor Chuck Norris, and Popular Conservative Politician Sarah Palin, former Governor of Alaska and GOP nominee for US vice-President, an Ally of Trump, as well as by a former Alabama Governor. : - "The Judge has Proven he's Not Afraid of a Fight for what is Right, and he's ready to take on DC's Swamp Monsters", wrote Palin.





+ Both Anti-Establishment Candidates Moore and Brook want to Change a controversial Practice in USA's Senate which Hinders even an Absolute Majority of more than 51% to adopt New Laws, unless a Trans-Parties Qualified Super-Majority of at least 60% Agrees to do so, practicaly Obliging the Right to make Concessions to the Left, that Trump has repeatedly Denounced, Criticizing such Non-Constitutional practices to be Against Democracy and Choices Freely Voted by the People. On the Contrary, L. Strange has signed an Opposite Call to Keep that Controversial Brake even longer.



-------------------------------------------

+ GENEVA (UN) QUESTIONS :



------------------------------------------------





>>> The World-wide, Symbolic but Timely, Political Interest in Alabama's stronger than expected Electoral Victory of Judge Moore, stems also from the Fact that, a few Days Earlier, one of the most Important Global NGO's supporting Natural Families (IOF, Headquartered at Illinois), had just Criticized an Ambiguous Wording by an USA Representative, speaking Recently at UNO's European Headquarters, at nearby Geneva, which appeared as if he had, indirectly but surely, endorsed the Controversial and UnPopular "Same Sex Marriage" (Comp. Supra), even After the January 21, 2017, start of New US President Don Trump's official mandate. That official had reportedly called for "International Recognition of <<Diversity of Family Types>>", and Claimed that UNO Member Countries "must consider All Types of Loving Families that exist Today", (etc).



It isn't yet clear if that controversial representative might, eventually, be one among those Many Diplomats, Experts, Bureaucrats, etc., previously Appointed by Barack Hussein Obama, and remaining still UnChanged, Neither Replaced by a New one, chosen by the New US President Don Trump's Administation, (Such qui-pro-quo have already been Denounced several times, recently, f.ex. with another Obama's era US Ambassador in Romania, who had also attempted to Exert Pressure against a Draft Law supported by the Absolute Majority of MPs inside Bucarest's Parliament, claiming of an Obama's written Instruction to undermine Natural Family, and push for SSM, "Adoption" of Children by Homosexuals, etc)



But, at any case, as things stand, such an Incident risked to give the Impression that Trump's New US Administration might, eventually, Continue Barack Hussein Obama's Controversial Attempts to Impose by Forceps, Worldwide, his Rich Sponsors' Agenda for "Same Sex Marriages", "Adoption" of Children by Homosexual couples, etc., which would also Intensify the Pressure for the Horrible "Surrogate Mothers'" Exploitation, added to Artificial Procreation of Human Beings controlled by Technocrats, (Given Homo's Incapacity for Natural Births), with obvious Dangers for Humankind.



It seems plausible that, apparently, Trump's Administration wouldn't have, a priori, an obvious and crystal-clear Position on the "Same Sex Marriage" Controversy, which has Shaken the USA (as well as France, and other European Countries, but also Africa, etc) during Obama's former Administration.

Some Claim that Trump, who had said, during the 2016 Electoral Campaign, that he was Willing to "Consider" to push Constitutional Amendments able to overturn a Controversial and UnPopular USA Supreme Court's ruling which Imposed "SSM" for the 1st Time in History, (adopted with Only 1 Vote of Pseudo-"Majority", almost at the Same Period that a BioEthically strong and Experienced supreme Judge suddenly Died, under Unclear and still Debated Circumstances).

However, shortly after his November 2016 Electoral Win, he would have expressed the view (in Statements to a Liberal/Socialist Media of the Establishment) that, even against his preferences (and Despite Most Other GOP Candidates' declared wish to Restore the Natural Family definition as between a Man and a Woman, as it Always was before), nevertheless, that UnPopular Decision, taken during Obama's era, might have become Permanent.

Therefore, at any case, Today, Judge Roy Moore's Stronger than Expected Victory in this, Exceptionaly Important, Primary Vote for a New Senator from Alabama, given his Strong Opposition to the Controversial "Same Sex Marriage" policies of Obama, (to the point that he even Sacrificed his own Job, in order Not to be Obliged to Execute something so Radically Against his Religious, Social and Ethical Beliefs and Values : Comp. Supra), comes Timely in order to Incite Don Trump to Hold Firm in his Original Intention (shared also by Most other GOP Candidates to the 2016 US Presidential Election) to consider practical ways to Overturn Obama's policies in this Crucial BioEthical Issue, as well as in various others.



---------------------

+ GERMAN ELECTIONS :

----------------------------------------------

+ Meanwhile, the Symbolic American People's Vote for a Firm Supporter of Natural Family comes at a very Timely moment for Europe, where the recent BioEthical Controversy over "Same Sex Marriage" practicaly awaits the Results of the forthcoming German Election of September 2017 and a ruling by the Constitutional Court at nearby Karlsruhe, if the scheduled Entry into Force of a suprisingly Hasty, Last-Minute adopted Bill at a Divided Bundestag, will go on, or Not, from October (i.e. After the Election) :



German Chancelor Angie Merkel was, in fact, Pressured, earlier on June, by Socialist Party's Top Candidate, Martin Schulz's (a former EU Parliament's President until 2016) attempt to broker a Deal not only with the "Left" and the "Greens", (usual Allies of the Socialists, in the Past), but also with the "Liberals", (a usual Ally of Merkel's ChristianDemocrats until now), with the Only Exception of the Rightist "Alternative", on the Basis, inter alia, also of the Imposal of the "Same Sex Marriage", (including Controversial and UnPopular Submission of Children to the Power of Homosexual Strangers, under Pretext of "Adoption", obviously Dagerous even for Humankind, because of the Risk for any Technocratic Lobby to Exploit Homosexuals' Inability to give Natural Births, and thus Pushing for Horrible practices of "Surrogate Mothers" and/or Artificial Techniques for Procreation of Human beings.



That Sudden move by the "Socialists"' move might have been provoked by their Fear for the New Rightist Party "Alternative" to very probably succeed, for the 1st Time in History, to Enter inside the German Parliament after the September 2017 Elections, with a Political Agenda Similar to that of the Large Majority of ChristianDemocrat/EPP MPs and Voters on certain Key points, (despite disagreements in other), including, particularly, Support to Natural Family.



Merkel rapidly reacted to Schultz's move by unexpectedly declaring, in a much publicized Press Interview, that she might have been convinced, (particularly by a Couple of Lesbians to whom some Local/Regional Authorities in a Province had curiously allowed to serve as a kind of "Foster Family" for more than 10 Children born by various Other People), to eventualy Consider a possible Decision on that matter, sooner of later.

Immediately after that, the Bundestag's Committee for Legal affairs, made a Sudden "U-Turn", Abandoning its Long-Standing Refusal to allow such a Controversial Decision, and pushed to Put that matter, for the 1st Time, in a Hastily drafted Agenda of the Plenary for Vote ...at the very Last Day (sic !) of this Out-Going Parliament, just Before the Recess for the forthcoming Elections, at the End of June, a Friday, 30 June 2017...



But, while several Establishment's Media had Claimed (Based only on a Few, Isolated Polls, among the Rare made on such a Controversial Issue during the Last 10 Years) that a Wide Landslide of pro-"Same Sex Marriage" adepts would have Conquered the Bundestag, on the Contrary, Facts proved that the out-going German Parliament was, in fact, sharply and profoundly Divided on that matter : In particular, the Governing ChristianDemocrat/EPP Party of CDU/CSU (whose attitude was closely Watched by many Political Observers) Voted "NO", i.e. Against "Same Sex Marriage", at a Very Large super-Majority of about 4/5 : = 75 % of its MPs, (Merkel included herself) !



In Addition, 3% of the Governing Party's MPs had Abstained or Deserted the Out-going Bundestag on its Last Day. So that it's Only a Tiny Minority of Less than about 24% of CDU/CSU MPs who Accepted that Controversial, Last-Minute Move from the Left Side of the German Parliament, made by the "Socialist", Leftist and "Green" MPs, who Voted for Controversial "Same Sex Marriage", (among whom were, However, also some Abstentions/Absents).



This Less than 24% Minority of Dissident CDU/CSU MP was Nothing New, since it was mainly led by Ursula Von der Leyen, currently Minister of Defense, who had Also led, in the Past, a Failed Attempt to Impose Massive Pre-Natal Genetic "Tests" on Pregnant Women and Human Embryos, that Many considered both a Useless Waste and/or a Dangerous "Slipery Slope" step towards a Risk of "Selection", racist "Eugenism" and/or Genetic Manipulations on Births of Human Beings ; I.e. a BioEthical Controversy obviously Close to that of Today's "Same Sex Marriage" Controversy (Comp. Supra), which explains why that Earlier Attempt had been finaly Rejected by a very Strong Majority of ChristianDemocrat Representatives at the German Governing Party's Annual Congress of 2010, at nearby Karlsruhe, (See "Eurofora"s NewsReports from that CDU "Partei Tag", on the spot, f.ex. at : ...).



Von Leyen has been cited by some, during several years, as an eventual "Successor" to Merkel, but, more recently, it's also the CDU's vice-President and Head of the Party in nearby Rhineland-Palatinate Federated State (Lander), former long-time MP Julia Clockner, who was cited for that same hypothesis, in the Future, who, on the Contrary, is known to be Against Genetic Manipulations of Human Embryos, "SSM", etc., because of her stance in Favor of BioEthical Values. At least in Theory, Clockner could have even become President of Rhineland-Palatinate's Federated State, if she had accepted a Local Coalition of ChristianDemocrats not only with the Liberals, but also with the Alternative Party of the Rightists, who seem, However, still Excluded from any Foreseable Political Deal with any among Establishment's Parties until now.



Among that Tiny Minority of CDU/CSU MPs who Betrayed their Party's and its Voters' Long-Standing Positions and Values who always supported the Natural Family, composed by a Man and a Woman, as well as Natural Births, was also an Atypical, ... Turkish-origin and even Muslim MP, Miss Cemile (ou Tzemil) Gioussouf (or Yioussouf/Yusuf).



Miss Gioussouf (or Yioussouf/Yusuf), of Turkish cultural origin, and a Muslim organized in Trans-National Islamic Networks, was chosen Back on 2013 to become the 1st ever ..."Christian"Democrat MP, after having, reportedly "Studied" ..."Islamic science" (sic !) in the NRW Region of Germany, (there where more than 1.000 Poor Young German Girls were Brutally Assaulted and some Raped by Gangs of Muslim Mass Asylum Seekers/irregular Migrants who Tresspassed in Europe through Turkey on 2015-2016, provoking a Scandal for the Passivity or alleged Complicity of the Regional Police Chiefs, mainly "Socialists", who blatantly Failed to Protect the Victims, See CoE's Debate in Strasbourg at : ...). She was always Hired in Jobs paid by Public (State) Funds, in Government-controlled Administrations, even during the Latest, big Economic Crisis, which left Many European People Jobless or in Poverty, reportedly in order to Deal Only with other Turkish or assimilated origin Foreign Migrants : A comfortable Carriere Pathway, already used in the Past, also by Other Turkish-origin Migrants, in order to immediately Find a quite well-paid and safe Job in the Public (State) sector, with obvious potential for Clientelism, shortly Afterwards Exploited in a Local and later Germany-wide Political Career, as f.ex. Mr Ozdemir of the "Greens", and now Miss Youssouf (or Gioussouf)



--------------------------------



>>> At any case, that Controversial Draft Law, has Not yet Entered into Force : It is expected to do so Only After the forthcoming Elections of September 2017, at the Beginning of October.



Moreover, it's almost Certain that it will be Attacked for being Contrary to the Constitution, (which evokes Marriage as a union between a Man and a Woman), at the Federal Constitutional Court in nearby Karlsruhe, (as not only Opposition Party "AfD" has already anounced that it intends to do, but even the Governing CDU/CSU Party's Vice-President of the Parliament, Johannes Singhammer (CSU), recently Warned, in an extensive interview published on July 2017).



Therefore, at least for the Time being, there is also a Legal UnCertainty about that controversial Legislative Bill's Future.



-----------------



=> In this Context, it's obvious that a Strong, even Symbolic, Political Message by the USA of New President Don Trump, in favour of Natural Family values, as, f.ex., also that Exceptionaly Important Alabama Senator Election, (which has already Attracted the Interest of Big Mainstream Medias, includig even "New York Times", "Washington Post", "Fox News", but also "Breitbart", etc), might Help Chancellor Angie Merkel to, eventualy, Strengthen her Personal stance, Together with that a Wide Majority of MPs in her CDU/CSU Party (+ 75 % : Comp. Facts cited Supra), Against any Pressure from the Establishment.



Merkel had, apparently, already faced such Heavy Pressure against what seemed to be her dearest Personal Agenda and Preferences : F.ex. just after the Previous Elections of September 2013, that she had Brillantly Won with a landmark 40% of the Votes, lacking Only 4 MPs for an Absolute Majority, and therefore Obliged to Seek a Compromise for a Coalition in Goverment, that she had been, then, Hindered to find with her usual "Liberal" Party Allies, since the FDP had, Exceptionaly, Failed to get Enough Votes (more than the 5% Threshhold) in order to be represented at the Parliament :

Therefore, she was Pushed, then, to enter in Long and Hard Negotiations with the "Socialists" and even the "Greens", resulting in Concessions to the First, which Altered her Socio-Political Agenda widely Voted by German People (and probably led also, Later on 2015, to a Notorious Misunderstanding vis a vis the Majority of German People on the Controversial issue of 1,5 Million Mass Asylum Seekers/Irregular Migrants suddenly thrown into the EU through Turkey by Smugglers). Closely Followed even by a Strange and UnPrecedented Brutal Fall which wounded her Leg at an International Ski ressort in the Swiss Alps, to the point that the Chancellor had even been Hindered to Walk unless with 2 Crutches. Shortly Afterwards, she saw her earlier announced Wish to Help for an EU - Russia Deal on Ukraine's Economic relations, (including the eventual creation of a possible PanEuropean Trade Area), be Blocked by Deadly "Snipers", curiously Killing Both Protesters and Policemen at Maidan Square, Provoking a Violent Clash which Nullified a Peaceful Agreement signed by former Ukranian President Yanukovich and all Opposition Leaders then, including Amnesty, a National Unity Government, and Elections before the end of the Year, leading to a Bloodbath and a never-ending Division of that Strategic European Country, since the Beginning of 2014.



=> Tomorrow, (on August 16), Angie Merkel is due to Speak at Nearby Heilbronn, in Baden-Wurtemberg's Lander, Neighbouring Strasbourg, in the framework of her Campaign for the forthcoming, September 2017 Election.



Mass Migration and Economic issues (etc) are expected to fill most of her remarks, while, however, Topical BioEthical Issues, including that of the Latest Move on Controversial "Same Sex Marriage" (etc), are still Pending for Final Results (Comp. Supra).



But Heilbronn is also known for an Historic Masterpiece Artwork by Playwriter Von Kleist, picturing mainly an Honest Woman thrown by a Ruthless Competitor into a Fire for a Crucial "Test", from which the Heroin is Saved with the Help of an Angel, according to a legend : - "Katie of Helbronn, or the Trial by Fire"...



Abgie Merkel, who generaly Loves Artistic/Historic Symbols with a Topical Political Significance, (as "Eurofora" has personaly witnessed already as early as since 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017, etc., in Berlin and elsewhere, throughout Germany), might, indeed, Find a Timely and strong Symbolic Help,



if Today's exceptionaly Important abd widely attended, strong Popular Vote on Judge Moore for New Senator of Alabama, Marks an U-Turn in American Politics about the Controversial "Same Sex Marriage", particularly concerning Children's fate, Natural Births, etc, which Hide, in fact, Big Stakes for Humankind, (Comp. Supra), possibly influencing even the forthcoming, Crucial 2018 Mid-Term Elections for US Congress and Senate, after Many Years of Controversial and UnPopular Barack Hussein Obama's notorious attempts to Impose "Same Sex Marriage" and even Childrens' "Adoption" by Homosexual Strangers, not only inside but Also Outside of the USA, (that almost All GOP's Presidential Candidates had Strongly Denounced on 2016).



+ This is Added to the Fact that her own, Governing Party, of ChristianDemocrats/EPP, strongly Rejected "SSM" etc. even at the Latest, June 30, 2017, Parliament's Vote in Berlin, with a very Strong Majority of 4/5 : = 75% of its MPs (Comp. Supra).



++ As well as to a Recent Growth of the Rightist "Alternative" Party, apparently becoming Nowadays the 3rd Biggest Party in Germany according to Polls, (which has, meanwhile, Announced its intention to Lodge a Complaint at nearby Karlsruhe's Federal Constitutional Court against that Hasty and Controversial Law adopted at the Last Minute before the forthcoming, crucial German Elections of Setember 2017, as well as several Mainstream CDU/CSU MPs, etc. : Comp. Supra), to the point that, taken Together, ChristianDemocrat and Alternative Right, have Currently Reached, according to the Latest Polls, a Potential of almost an Absolute Majority of Future MPs in the New Parliament, (Even withOut counting their usual "Liberal" Allies)...



So that Alabama's exceptionaly Interesting, Popular Vote for USA's Senate really comes Timely, both for North America (given the crucial 2018 Mid-Term Elections for US Congress/Senate), and Europe, (given, among others, also the important forthcoming German Election of September 2017, as well as Central-Eastern Europe's Countries notorious efforts to give a Constitutional Guarantee for Natural Family), but also Elsewhere in the World. (F.ex. even accross African Countries, many Representatives of whom had Earlier Strongly Reacted Against some Excessive "LBGT" Agendas and particularly Barack Hussein Obama -pushed Attempts to Impose Controversial and UnPopular "Same Sex Marriage", etc, as an Interesting EU - ACP Conference in EU Parliament in Strasbourg has characteristicaly Revealed, through exceptionaly "Hot" and Critical Debates)...

(../..)



__________________________________________







(Partly UPDATED)



***



("DraftNews", as already send, Earlier, to "Eurofora" Subscribers/Donors. A more accurate, full Final Version, might be Published asap).



***






During this year's Congress, Philips will also host a daily series of short presentations on solutions and technologies enabling personalized heart care, taking place in the Forum section of the booth. Philips will also host a Satellite Symposium on Ultrasound featuring leading worldwide experts who will share insights on how developments in live three-dimensional echo impact patient care and management. Two panel discussions will focus on diagnostic and peri-interventional imaging, as well as illustrating case studies. For the full calendar of Forum sessions, symposiums and hands-on tutorials, as well as general information about Philips' presence at the show, visit http://www.philips.com/esc.

Visit Philips' booth (H800) to experience the innovative solutions and services that provide physicians and hospitals the opportunity to deliver advanced cardiovascular care to patients worldwide. Follow the #ESCcongress conversation on @PhilipsLiveFrom [http://www.twitter.com/philipslivefrom ] and @PhilipsHealth [http://www.twitter.com/philipshealth ] throughout the event.

[1] iFR Roadmap is not a standalone technology. It can only be purchased as part of the Dynamic Coronary Roadmap package.

[2] iFR Roadmap is 510k pending and not yet available in the USA.

About Royal Philips

Royal Philips is a leading health technology company focused on improving people's health and enabling better outcomes across the health continuum from healthy living and prevention, to diagnosis, treatment and home care. Philips leverages advanced technology and deep clinical and consumer insights to deliver integrated solutions. Headquartered in the Netherlands, the company is a leader in diagnostic imaging, image-guided therapy, patient monitoring and health informatics, as well as in consumer health and home care. Philips' health technology portfolio generated 2016 sales of EUR 17.4 billion and employs approximately 71,000 employees with sales and services in more than 100 countries. News about Philips can be found at http://www.philips.com/newscenter.

For further information, please contact: Alicia Cafardi Philips Group Press Office Tel: +1-412-523-9616 E-mail: Alicia.Cafardi@philips.com Fabienne van der Feer Philips Image Guided Therapy Tel: +31-6-22698001 E-mail: fabienne.van.der.feer@philips.com

Photo: enlace
AMSTERDAM and BARCELONA, Spain, August 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

- Spotlights patient-centric cardiovascular solutions for diagnosis, image-guided therapy and connected care through patient monitoring - Demonstrates Philips' commitment to delivering seamless care

Royal Philips [http://www.philips.com/digitalpathology ] , a global leader in health technology, today announced its presence at the ESC Congress 2017 in Barcelona, Spain from August 26 - 30, spotlighting the latest integrated solutions that connect people, data and technology to enable enhanced patient care and improve the quality of life for those with cardiovascular diseases. At this year's congress, Philips will highlight its next generation cardiology portfolio, including IntelliSpace Cardiovascular multi-modality image and information management, the Philips Azurion image-guided therapy platform, as well as the X8-2t transducer for transesophageal echocardiograpy (TEE) and Lumify ultrasound solution.

(Photo: enlace )

According to the World Health Organization, cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death globally, with more than 11 million new cases in Europe every year, accounting for 45 percent of all deaths in Europe. To address the growing burden of cardiology care and transform the patient experience, Philips is focused on solutions to help manage health, not just illness. Connected to support a continuous workflow, Philips technologies help to enhance the clinicians' ability to reach a timely confident diagnosis, deliver more personalized treatments, and identify patient pathways that are faster and more effective.

"In our 2017 Future Health Index survey, cardiologists expressed that they are more likely than those in other clinical areas to think integration of health systems would make healthcare less expensive for patients," said Bert van Meurs, Image Guided Therapy Business Leader for Philips. "As such, we at Philips believe we can make life better for patients with cardiovascular disease by offering clinicians solutions comprising our next generation image-guided therapy platform, advanced catheters, clinical informatics and services to provide value-based patient care through a personalized, high quality and integrated approach."

Philips brings three decades of experience in ultrasound leadership to create the future of cardiac ultrasound care. With its global R&D programs and the recent acquisition of TOMTEC [enlace ] , a leading provider of intelligent image analysis software, Philips demonstrates its commitment to furthering automation and quantification for cardiac ultrasound.

"The ESC Congress 2017 marks a significant opportunity to engage directly with the cardiology community on the steps that we have taken in cardiac ultrasound to transform cardiac care," said Vitor Rocha, Ultrasound Business Leader for Philips. "We look forward to demonstrating how TOMTEC's technology complements our solutions to expand cardiac ultrasound capabilities with advanced automation."

On--site at this year's ESC Congress 2017, Philips will showcase the following ultrasound innovations:

- EPIQ with HeartModel that features the X8-2t Live 3D transesophageal transducer, the next level of cardiac imaging for fast, easy, and accurate transesophageal echocardiography, enabling clinicians to diagnose surgical pathology in real time. - Affiniti, which now supports X7-2t Live 3D TEE, to deliver greater confidence and expand access to 3D transesophageal imaging to a wider range of patients. - Lumify [https://www.lumify.philips.com/web ], now with the addition of the S4-1 phased-array transducer [enlace ] and cardiac exam preset, to deliver exceptional cardiac imaging and triage on a compatible Android device.

Philips has a leadership position in image-guided therapy with a unique portfolio of interventional imaging systems and devices, planning and navigation software, and services, supported by a global network of leading clinical partners. Philips' connected image-guided therapy solutions enable clinicians to decide, guide, treat and confirm the appropriate cardiac and peripheral vascular treatment. With the recent acquisition of Spectranetics [enlace ] ' highly competitive product range of therapeutic devices in cardiovascular interventions, Philips is advancing its solutions to deliver enhanced care for patients.

At this year's congress, Philips will showcase its wide portfolio of integrated solutions for the interventional cardiovascular community, including:

- Azurion [enlace ], the next generation image-guided therapy platform, which enables clinicians to easily and confidently perform a range of routine and complex procedures, helping them to optimize interventional lab performance and provide superior care. - New instant wave-Free Ratio (iFR) technology, iFR Roadmap [enlace ] [1] [2], exclusive to Philips' interventional labs, which enables physicians to navigate coronary arteries and corresponding iFR data in real time. - Philips' SyncVision [enlace ] iFR co-registration solution couples iFR physiology measurement pull-back results to the coronary angio, which can be utilized in the stenting process when lesions are more complex.

On August 26, 2017, as part of the ESC Congress 2017 Late Breaking Clinical Trials [enlace ] program, professor Javier Escaned of Hospital Clinico San Carlos in Madrid, Spain will present data from the SYNTAX II trial. The trial, which included 454 patients from 22 centers across the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Spain and Poland, addressed the unique advantages of the state-of-the-art percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) procedure that incorporates physiology, intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) imaging, synergy drug-alluding stents and contemporary optimal medical therapy. The physiology and IVUS imaging components are exclusively Philips technologies. The findings from the SYNTAX II trial may show that angiography alone is not enough for determining a treatment pathway for complex coronary procedures. In addition, the state-of-the-art PCI technique may also simplify procedures, and contribute to improved patient outcomes.

(CONTINUA)
By every metric, Iran is meeting its commitments under the multilateral nuclear deal Tehran reached with the EU3+3 (China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States) in July 2015.

Yet discourse in Washington surrounding the nuclear agreement known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) does not reflect its successes in blocking Irans pathways to nuclear weapons. Rather, there is a growing condemnation of the JCPOA because it has failed to accomplish goals it was never intended to address  namely reigning in Irans regional activities  that risks the future of the deal.

This standard for judging the JCPOA outside of its parameters is leading the Trump administration to escalate pressure on Iran through additional sanctions and harsh rhetoric, without regard for the sustainability of the deal. Indeed, recent statements and actions from the Trump administration now point toward scuttling the JCPOA as an intended consequence of Washingtons approach toward Iran.

This is a shift from the initial strategy, namely that the Trump administration would meet U.S. obligations, but refuse to hold additional pressure on Iran hostage to the JCPOA until the Iran policy review was completed. For the first six months, the administration largely followed this course of taking actions required to maintain the deal paired with additional pressure.

The U.S. Congress gave its tacit support for this approach as well, passing additional sanctions on Iran in July that U.S. President Trump signed into law Aug. 2. While these measures, which targeted areas like support for terrorism and ballistic missile activities, did not violate the deal, the legislation was passed devoid of any statement reiterating support for the JCPOA. This contrasts sharply with the Obama administration, which used sanctions authorities to designate Iranian entities while simultaneously distinguishing the measures as separate from the JCPOA and reiterating support for the deal.

Despite not having announced the results of the policy review, Trump seems to have shifted toward a more hardline approach toward Iran, irrespective of the consequences to the JCPOA. At the G20 in early July, Trump urged states not to do business with Iran because of its support for terrorism, a move that may have violated the U.S. commitment in the JCPOA not to take steps to prevent the normalization of trade with Iran. Trump also questioned Irans compliance with the JCPOA without evidence and labeled actions outside the scope of the deal such as ballistic missile activities, as violations of the spirit of the accord. These are indications that Trump no longer feels obliged to meet U.S. commitments or to pressure Iran only outside the corners of the deal.

The looming question, however, is how far Trump will take the so-called spirit violations or if his administration will manufacture a compliance concern that places the blame on Iran. Trumps own comment in a July 25 Wall Street Journal interview that he would be surprised if Iran is found compliant at the next deadline in October points to this scenario as a real concern. Under the 2015 Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act, the president must certify to Congress every 90 days that Iran is meeting the terms of the JCPOA. The certification also requires Trump to determine if the JCPOA is still in U.S. national security interest and Irans sanctions relief is proportional to the limits it undertook in the JCPOA.

Essentially, the Trump administration could withhold the certification of Irans compliance, despite Iran meeting all of its commitments under the deal, and pave the way for Congress to reimpose nuclear sanctions on an expedited basis. Reimposing sanctions, particularly secondary sanctions, would risk slowing business with Iran, give fodder to hardliners in that country, and seriously threaten the success of the deal. The text of the agreement itself says that Iran would view any reimposition of sanctions as a reason to stop performing its own commitments.

It is difficult to determine if Trump will follow through on his threats to withhold certification. Cabinet members such as Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster, reportedly support maintaining the deal and believed Iran was compliant at the last certification deadline in July. Trump, however, has demonstrated a willingness to act against the advice of his cabinet and a willingness to pull out of international deals that enjoy wide-spread support, such as the Paris climate accord.

That does not mean, however, that the JCPOA is doomed. In the short term, it will be crucial for Congress to hear assessments from other EU3+3 members on Irans implementation of its nuclear commitments and the security benefits of the JCPOA. European voices are particularly resonant, given the close ties between the United States and Europe. In particular, in the event of an accusation of noncompliance by Trump, assessments from outside the United States will provide a critical counterpoint as Congress considers whether to reimpose sanctions. It is also important to emphasize the JCPOA has a built-in dispute resolution mechanism, the Joint Commission, which has demonstrated its utility and functionality. Before Congress takes any action to reintroduce nuclear sanctions, the Joint Commission should be given the opportunity to address and resolve any alleged noncompliance.

Additionally, some members of Congress, while opposing the deal, acknowledge that the United States cannot be the architect of the JCPOAs demise. European governments should play to that recognition and emphasize publicly and privately that they will be unwilling to cooperate with nuclear sanctions that are reimposed prematurely and without cause. That could include an EU regulation prohibiting European companies from complying with U.S. extraterritorial sanctions, for which there is precedent. That would neutralize the effect of U.S. measures and protect business ties with Iran.

Another critical part of the message is that the EU and its members will not support renegotiation of the JCPOA if unilateral U.S. actions cause the deals demise. Washington cannot be allowed to think that a better deal is possible if enough pressure is applied. This will also demonstrate to Iran that there is a benefit for continuing to comply with the JCPOA, even if the United States is not.

Beyond pushing back against the possibility of cherry-picked intelligence pointing to an allegation of Iranian noncompliance, members of the EU3+3 must continue to demonstrate that the continued implementation of the deal benefits international security. Given that Trump can withhold certification on national security grounds, Washington must be reminded that the deal blocks Irans pathways to nuclear weapons and its collapse would be destabilizing to the region.

Additionally, highlighting the nuclear safety work that the EU and other European countries are undertaking under the recommendations in the JCPOA also demonstrates another critical benefit  namely that Irans civil nuclear activities are safe and protected against from sabotage. Any nuclear incident, accidental or intentional, would have regional consequences, but the critical work being done under the auspices of the JCPOA on nuclear safety and security gets scant recognition in Washington.

Without question, the JCPOA resolved the longstanding nuclear crisis with Iran. Its continued success, however, is not guaranteed. The Trump administration cannot be allowed to sabotage the agreement for political reasons unrelated to Irans performance. Fending off this outcome will require international support, particularly from Europe.

The opinions articulated above represent the views of the author(s), and do not necessarily reflect the position of the European Leadership Network or any of its members. The ELNs aim is to encourage debates that will help develop Europes capacity to address the pressing foreign, defence, and security challenges of our time.
At the risk of stating the obvious - the French property market is very different from that in the UK.



I agree with the post above that agency photos are really terrible sometimes.



We sold last year, it took a long time and we had to lower the price considerably from the agent's initial guidance.



All I can say is look at some of the "how to sell your house" type sites on the internet (both French and UK). They give good advice about photos, key selling points and how to show people around. There do seem to cultural differences between the UK and FRance for selling. Several times the agent started the viewing process by showing the prospective clients the coat cupboard in the hall! I would have thought the kitchen or living room would be the first stop?



Have you tried advertising in the UK??...with Brexit it might be more difficult, but we still get Brits on this forum asking about their first purchase in France. The Sunday Times used to be good a few years ago, but I've lost touch now.



You can also look at the ads for similar properties in your area - not easy to compare, but perhaps you are over pricing your property. Try google "acheter maison X" where X is your town or departement.



The last thing to say is that....deep breath....if it's not selling then the price is too high. I know only too well the difficulties in accepting this deep down. Basic economic theory, I'm afraid.



DejW
LINCOLN  Lincoln City Councilwoman Jane Raybould emerged Thursday as the leading Democratic challenger to Republican Sen. Deb Fischer in 2018 with a pledge to be "an independent voice" in Washington determined to seek bipartisan solutions to the nation's challenges.

"People are sick and tired of all the divisive partisan battles" in Washington that leave huge issues such as health care and retirement security unresolved, Raybould said in announcing that she has decided to enter next year's Senate race.

Raybould said she would fight for Nebraska's interests, with a strong recognition of how vital trade is for the state's economy, including Nebraska's stressed agricultural sector.

"I want to be on the Senate Agriculture Committee," she said, positioned to help protect and advance the interests of what she described as "the economic engine of our state."

Neither Fischer nor Sen. Ben Sasse serves on the Agriculture Committee, Raybould noted.

As Congress begins to pivot toward tax reform, Raybould said, it will be important to make sure that "those who are the wealthiest pay their fair share (and) that we never ever move the tax burden onto the backs of low-income Americans."

Raybould is vice president and director of buildings and equipment at B&R Stores, which owns Russ's Market and Super Saver grocery stores.

A former Lancaster County commissioner, she was elected to a four-year term on the city council in 2015. Raybould was Democratic gubernatorial nominee Chuck Hassebrook's running mate for lieutenant governor in 2014.

Fischer, who will be seeking her second term next year, was elected in 2012, defeating Democratic nominee Bob Kerrey, Nebraska's former governor and former two-term U.S. senator.

"As a business owner, job creator, public servant, wife and mom with two great kids, I truly believe America only succeeds when all of us succeed," Raybould said.

Recognizing her path will be uphill in a state that has not elected a Democrat to the Senate since Sen. Ben Nelson was re-elected in 2006, Raybould said: "I love a challenge. I love a good fight; I am a fighter."

An avid cyclist, Raybould said she hopes to do some campaigning on her bicycle.

Nebraskans need assurance that Social Security and Medicare are going to be protected along with access to affordable health care, she said.

The Affordable Care Act should be repaired, not repealed, she said.

"Senator Fischer voted strictly along party lines on that issue regardless of how many Nebraskans would be impacted," Raybould said.

"Millions of Americans would lose their health care," she said. "That does not represent Nebraska. We need collective, bipartisan solutions to do some fixes and stabilize the insurance market."

While expressing concern about President Donald Trump's position on trade  the president this week said he "probably" will withdraw the United States from the North American Free Trade Agreement  Raybould praised Republican Gov. Pete Ricketts for traveling to Canada to reinforce his commitment to NAFTA.

"I would like to see the governor travel down to Mexico next and make the same assurances," she said.

Touching on immigration issues, Raybould expressed support for continued protections for the so-called DACA youths who were brought to the United States as babies or young children when their parents or other adults entered the country illegally.

Those young people have been accorded legal presence to remain in the United States by former President Barack Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals executive action. So far, Trump has resisted calls to rescind DACA.

"These children have grown up in our state," Raybould said.

"We have made a tremendous investment in them. We want them here.

"They are Nebraskans and they are an educated and valuable part of our future."


The British Home Secretary has ordered a detailed study on the social and economic impact of international students, which will influence policy on immigration after Brexit.Universities have reported a fall in the number of students from European Union countries applying to study in the UK and there is also a division over whether or not their numbers should be included in official immigration data collecting.Now Amber Rudd has asked the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to complete a detailed study of impact of international students and deliver its findings by September 2018. This suggests that students from the EU and other nations worldwide are unlikely to get answers on what their official residence position is until that date.The Government has been clear that it is committed to keeping the doors open to genuine students, while at the same time taking action to crack down on immigration abuse from poor quality institutions that were damaging the UKs reputation as a provider of world leading education, said Rudd.Since 2010, this has included taking away the ability of more than 900, often bogus or low quality colleges to bring in international students, she added.The MAC is being asked to examine the impact both EU and non-EU students have on the labour market and economy whilst in the UK. This will include the impact of tuition fees and other spending by international students on the national, regional, and local economies and on the education sector.It will also look at the role students play in contributing to local economic growth and the impact their recruitment has on the provision and quality of education provided to domestic students.We understand how important students from around the world are to our higher education sector, which is a key export for our country, and thats why we want to have a robust and independent evidence base of their value and the impact they have, Rudd added.The UK is the second most popular destination for international students with four British universities in the worlds top 10, some 16 in the top 100 and international student satisfaction in the UK at 91% for undergraduates.Last year the UK saw an increase of 6% in visa applications for Russell Group universities while visa applications sponsored by universities are 17% higher than they were in 2010.Students have generally found the via system to be effective and user friendly with 99% of entry clearance applications decided within the target of 15 days and the grant rate for Tier 4 general visa entry clearance applications having increased every year since 2010, with 96% of applications granted in 2016.We have always been clear that our commitment to reducing net migration to sustainable levels does not detract from our determination to attract international students from around the world. Since 2010 we have clamped down on abuse, while increasing the number of genuine students that come to the UK from around the world, said Immigration Minister Brandon Lewis.Alistair Jarvis, chief executive of Universities UK, said the research was an opportunity to build on the considerable evidence that shows that international students have a positive impact on the UK economy and local communities.International students also enrich our campuses and the experience of UK students, culturally as well as economically. Many return home having built strong professional and personal links that provide long term soft power benefits to the UK, he added.
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The flagship hospital of the Air Force has been cleared out.

Wilford Hall Medical Center, a 60-year defining presence on the West Side skyline, is empty and its nine-story atrium now has the feel of a giant chamber in Carlsbad Caverns.

Doctors, nurses, technicians and patients affectionately called it Big Willie. But the tests, examinations, X-rays and cafeteria meals are over  a final surgery was performed last week  and a ceremony this morning at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland will start a new era.

Hospital operations have moved across the street to the Wilford Hall Ambulatory Surgical Center, a futuristic $420 million glass-and-steel structure thats roughly half the size of the vacated hospitals 1.2 million square feet.

All that remains at the old Wilford Hall are the ghosts.

One of them lurked in the mind of Maj. Gen. Bart Iddins as he walked along its now shadowy sixth floor. He stepped into a room where his first patient, who was fighting pancreatic cancer, died in 1991 after a sudden hemorrhage.

Now Playing: History of Wilford Hall Video: JW Player

That was my first rotation as an intern out of medical school, said Iddins, commander of Wilford Halls 59th Medical Wing. I was on my oncology surgery service and she was really my first patient to be directly responsible for, and I associated it with this floor.

More Information How "Big Willie" changed the world Wilford Hall Medical Center and its 59th Medical Wing have helped transform the way troops and civilians receive care on the battlefield and at home. Here's a look at three major innovations. Critical Care Air Transport Team CCATT, as they're called, are essentially flying critical care specialists. Comprised of a critical care physician, nurse and respiratory therapist, they've been around since 1997 and fly to far-flung parts of the globe, caring for up to three severely injured patients, acting as a mobile ICU. Col. Mark Ervin, a physician who has flown 25 CCAT missions to places like Bosnia, Kosovo and Africa, calls them a "classic example" of how the wing has made innovations in health care. Four CCATT units are always on call, and can be ordered into action as Hurricane Harvey closes on the Texas coast. The Austere Surgical Team This team, created in the mid-1990s at Wilford Hall, isn't known to everyone, but a variation of the unit called the Tactical Critical Care Evacuation Team-Enhanced - TCCET-E - quietly shadowed President Barack Obama when he traveled to Kenya, Ethiopia and Cuba. Unlike the Austere Surgical Team, TCCET-E specialists do two weeks of extra training to be qualified to perform surgery aboard a plane. Five specialists serve in either team, one of them either a general or trauma surgeon. They take everything needed in an OR - all of it packed in five large rolling suitcases. The Air Force has trained 11 Austere Surgical Teams, which can do surgeries in a shelter of opportunity - even a one-car garage of a hotel lobby. The Air Force will 60 of these teams on duty in two years. 59th Medical Wing Acute Lung Rescue Team Wilford Hall developed the Acute Lung Rescue Team in 2012, borrowing from a concept initially tried at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany. The team uses ECMO - an extracorporeal membrane oxygenator, a type of portable heart-lung bypass machine that was developed at Wilford Hall decades ago for newborns. Now it's also used to help adult patients with severe pulmonary or cardiac illness. The idea is to bypass the heart or lungs, buying time for the body to heal itself. The Acute Lung Rescue Team flies all over the world but also helps civilians living within a 185-mile radius of San Antonio and out of state. The team so far has cared for 41 people, one from Afghanistan, Honduras, Colombia and Japan, with the rest from the United States. Six or seven in every 10 patients cared for by the ALRT have survived. Fewer than 15 to 25 percent would have otherwise lived. See More Collapse

My wife received chemotherapy for breast cancer in this room, he added, in a different hallway on the same floor. People who have had a long association with Wilford Hall, every single person can tell you a story about this place.

Twenty years later, Iddins wife, Sarah, is a cancer survivor. His civilian director of staff, Candido Ramirez, an Air Force enlistee who became an officer, had a son born in Wilford Hall, one of 103,482 babies delivered there.

The hospital off U.S. 90 was dedicated on Nov. 16, 1957, as the Air Force rapidly built a massive Cold War infrastructure in the wake of the Korean War.

Generations of troops, retirees and civilians were treated there. It held as many as 1,000 beds, scores of offices and examination rooms along 12 miles of hallways.

Famous people came through  NASAs Mercury astronauts, American POWs after their return from Vietnam, the freshly exiled Shah of Iran.

Presidents Jimmy Carter and George H.W Bush dropped in. Carter met with patients to show his support for Air Force medical services, and Bush and his wife, Barbara, talked with troops wounded in the 1989 Panama invasion.

Like Brooke Army Medical Center across town, Wilford Hall treated the wounded from wars that now include Iraq and Afghanistan. Its Level 1 trauma center treated civilian accident and crime victims, too.

And it was a birthplace for innovations that transformed health care in and out of the military.

One of them was a device called ECMO  extracorporeal membrane oxygenator, a type of portable heart-lung bypass machine for newborns that Wilford Hall pioneered in 1972, saving a baby dying of respiratory failure. ECMO now is used for adults as well.

This place was wall-to-wall people, Robert Weston, a 30-year veteran of the old hospital whos chief of operations and maintenance, said while standing in its subbasement, now home to idled stainless steel carts.

Getting people into the new surgical center, which performs outpatient procedures, was something of a squeeze and not everybody fit.

It has a vastly different look. At three stories, its waiting rooms face a glass wall and open-air atrium that allows sunlight to pour in. Staff, patients and visitors can sit in a long, open commons area, for lunch and conversation, the smell of hot food wafting through the air.

Upstairs, on the second floor, in a room called the Gateway Innovation Center, hospital workers sat in overstuffed chairs for a nine-day class to introduce them to a new way of caring for their patients.

The concept is modeled after ideas used by Intermountain Healthcare, a Utah-based medical network, and the Toyota Production System, which Iddins credits with saving an estimated $25.4 million for the wing and improving care.

If smaller, the center is different and perhaps better. The cost per patient visit has fallen from $339 to $275 over the past three years, said Ramirez, the centers director of staff.

The center was born in the nations 2005 base-closure round, which created the San Antonio Military Health System run by the Air Force and Army, with Iddins as the current commander. The new outpatient facility has fewer missions than Wilford Hall, while Brooke Army dramatically expanded at a total cost of $777.5 million.

BAMC was to be known as San Antonio Military Medical Center-North while Wilford Hall would be called San Antonio Military Medical Center-South, but the idea didnt survive first contact with Lt. Gen. Eric Schoomaker, the Armys surgeon general at the time who had served in various Army Medical Command roles on Fort Sam in the mid-1990s.

The changes did not create a unified command or single chain of command for Army and Air Force medicine, as in the national capital region, he recalled, so the Pentagon decided to retain the historical names and separations of the two institutions brought together by Congress under the SAMMC medical consortium.

Most of the transfer of offices, staffs and equipment to the surgical center have been going on over the summer. Some of the old hospitals best known services ended long ago. The last of the babies born at Wilford Hall was delivered Aug. 28, 2011. The emergency room, which shuttered in 2010, will be revived  perhaps this year  but it will not handle the most complex medical cases, as BAMCs does.

The surgical center is in line with an ongoing nationwide trend toward more day-side procedures with stays of only hours.

If you increase quality, you can make the system more efficient because you are making fewer mistakes, said Iddins, who noted that Pentagon health care costs top $50 billion a year, a figure he called unsustainable. We are also becoming more efficient by teaching people how to solve their problems, how to improve their processes in a methodical, organized way.

And by understanding where all of our costs are, we can decrease the amount were having to spend.

On a recent day, retired Army National Guard field artillery officer Jim Cunningham was at the center to be treated for precancerous cells on his face, a byproduct of spending years in the field with no skin protection. At 69, he spent the morning doing a blue-light special in the centers dermatology department, his face cleaned with acetone followed by a cream that looked like suntan lotion.

A technician then trained an ultraviolet light on Cunninghams face to remove the precancerous cells.

Right now my face is red and a little bit painful, but its all for the good, he said.

The new center is OK, Cunningham said, but hes still trying to find his way around.

In time, after the old hospital is imploded or demolished next year, the land it sits on will become a park designed to help patients relax. The ghosts of Wilford Hall will fade, replaced by a new way of practicing medicine.

Iddins, a dermatologist who sees patients every week in addition to his wing commander duties, said hes emphasizing a culture that should be more enabling than coercive, one that gives the lowest-ranking enlistee a chance to suggest changes.

A Toyota plant worker, he said, can stop the assembly line if theres a problem.

We must have airmen who have enough confidence in their chain of command that the most junior person in the organization can raise their hand and say, There is a problem with this. We must stop, Iddins said. That is how we avoid making medical mistakes, is having every single member of that team fully empowered to point out a mistake ideally before that mistake is made.

sigc@express-news.net
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CORPUS CHRISTI  Coastal Bend residents were jolted into action Thursday by an angry swirl that strengthened into a life-threatening hurricane with the potential for 12-foot storm surges, 30 inches of rain and winds of up to 125 mph.

Hurricane Harvey could intensify to a Category 3 or 4 storm, with wind gusts up to 155 mph, as it makes landfall late today between Corpus Christi and Point Comfort.

Torrential rains and wind will pound much of the coast and spread across South Texas, including San Antonio, where preparations were underway to house evacuees and deal with flooding that will last into next week.

People in low-lying communities, including Port Aransas, Aransas Pass and Ingleside, were ordered to leave Thursday.

Whats worse, Harvey was expected to just kind of stall and meander, National Weather Service forecaster Douglas Vogelsang said.

While it does that, its just going to keep dropping rain and rain and more rain, Vogelsang said. Its going to be pretty messy.

Corpus Christi Mayor Joe McComb held back on calling a mandatory evacuation of the city of approximately 325,000, but urged those in places vulnerable to high winds and flash flooding to pack up and go.

We are going to in the strongest possible terms encourage residents to, as they say, Get out of Dodge, McComb said at an early afternoon news conference.

He noted that getting a handle on fast-building Harvey was like trying to catch a greased pig.

Even with 10-feet storm surges, outlying areas likely would be cut off from the mainland by flooded roads and bridges, he said, and likely left without electricity and water.

We are up to and almost at the threshold of mandatory evacuations, he said of Corpus Christi. We are not going to cross that line right now.  Ill be very honest with you. We could mandate, but we want people to make their decision on their own. The fire and police, their fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, uncles  theyve got relatives, theyve got families, we dont want to put them in harms way because someone decided to stay.

The last storm to hit Corpus Christi so directly was Hurricane Celia, which killed 15 people and caused $500 million in damage in 1970.

On the mainland, city residents loaded up on batteries, food and other supplies. Many spent six or more hours on a slow-moving line to bag sand at a city service center near downtown.

It caught everybody by surprise. Nobody knew how big it was, said Tino Rodriguez, his truck still about 40 minutes down the long line of cars from the small hill of city-provided sand. Its been already eight or 10 years since the city had any of these even minimal precautions. I guess were going to learn now for the next time.

Jason Lopez, loading up sand with his two young sons, said he was fearful because they live in a colonia, one of the states unincorporated areas that are especially prone to flooding.

Thelma Lopez, another resident getting sand, said she doesnt have flood insurance.

Ive got windstorm, every other kind of insurance, but Im not covered for the water, she said.

Nueces County Judge Samuel Neal said he spent Thursday morning on the phone with all the local mayors and was assured that everyone was on the same sheet of music.

Though officials didnt call for a more widespread evacuation  avoiding the trauma of forcing businesses, hospitals and nursing homes to shutter  Neal said that doesnt mean residents should think they will be safe.

At some point in the storm, let me reiterate, there will come a time when rescue operations will cease and everyone has to go in and protect their own lives, he said. So please dont put the service people in that kind of jeopardy. Find a friend or relative somewhere. This is serious business.

Corpus Christi Police Chief Mike Markle said shelters had not yet been set up because the whole area was at risk. He said buses would begin leaving for San Antonio later in the afternoon.

Don Rainey of Blanco was one of few seen boarding up his new vacation home on Padre Island.

Were heading north, he said, securing the last boards over his windows and preparing to pull out his fishing boat. It was about 2:30 p.m., and hed been at it since daybreak.

Were not going to chance it, not going to ride it out, not having any hurricane parties. Plus, my wife called me this morning to tell me to Get out! (Harvey) just grew overnight, he said.

Most on the city of Port Aransas, a sleepy surfing spot when Celia hit, heeded the directions to evacuate that boomed out of official cars.

By nightfall, they were warned, the power would be shut off.

Taylor Porter of San Antonio said shed not heard of Port Aransas ever ordering people to leave.

I guess Im going to take their word on it, she said, filling her and her boyfriends Honda with whatever valuables would fit while leaving room for their skittish cat and friendly dog, Domino.

Matt Hyder drove down from Austin to help his sister, local artist Nancy Hyder, load up years of artwork, including a menagerie of carved ducks, rabbits, seahorses and other treasured pieces into a minivan for transport to safety farther north.

The last thing we had here was Celia, but it was before I lived here, she said. Ive heard about how it tore up the town. Theyre comparing this to Celia. I had no intention of leaving, but it just changed that fast. Everybody says thats how Celia was.

But Erick Shamp, a neighbor next door hammering pieces of old ping pong tables and whatever other boards he could find over a friends mothers windows, said he was pretty sure hed stay.

In 30 years here, Ive seen a lot of storms, surfed a lot of storms, he said, unfazed by the threat of high water or living without electricity in South Texas sweltering late summer heat. I know how to make a fire, cook eggs over it. Im resilient.

lbrezosky@express-news.net
BOERNE  District Attorney Nicole Bishops push to enact a no refusal policy in Kendall County for DWI defendants is facing resistance among local judges.

This may be something that we just have to work on and try again next year, said Bishop, who had hoped to secure a state grant to help underwrite a countywide initiative in 2018 aimed at keeping intoxicated drivers off the roads.

Under no refusal, an officer gets a warrant to force a DWI suspect to have his or her blood drawn to determine alcohol level if the suspect refuses to take a breathalyzer test.

A trial run of the program over Fathers Day weekend netted five DWI suspects, she said, but a similar exercise Independence Day weekend was scrapped after no judge agreed to be on call to consider search warrant applications for blood samples.

Bishop hopes County Judge Darrel Lux will be on duty over Labor Day weekend, but Lux has reservations, noting he primarily functions as the countys administrator.

I dont think Im the solution, he said this week. If it comes down to it and Im the only possibility, Im going to get guidance from our civil attorney and general counsel on which direction I proceed.

Due to his legal training and experience, District Judge Bill Palmer is Bishops preferred choice for police to approach about signing blood warrants rather than Lux, the four local justices of the peace and the two municipal court judges who also can do it.

However, Palmer operates under a long-standing policy that directs law enforcement officers not to seek warrants for blood draws from first-time DWI suspects unless the defendant refuses field sobriety testing, injured or killed someone, was in an accident or had a child passenger when stopped.

The Police Department and DPS agree to it. The sheriffs department agreed to it until recently, said Palmer, noting he has refused to consider four after-hour warrant requests since mid-July from deputies seeking them in violation of his policy.

He said his policy aims to ensure officers have proper training and experience in administering field sobriety tests and dont become too reliant on blood evidence to make cases.

Without blood evidence, Bishop counters, she cant conclusively tell if a suspected drunken driver is under the legal limit and therefore should be spared prosecution, or if the persons intoxication level is 0.15 or higher over the limit, which makes a DWI defendant eligible for a more severe charge.

The idea is just to make Kendall County roads safe, she said, noting Bexar County has a no-refusal policy. It is a deterrent on people drinking and driving.

Sheriff Al Auxier and Boerne Police Chief James Kohler are participating in the no-refusal program, but both expressed concern about becoming enmeshed in a politically charged dispute.

Were not against becoming a no-refusal county, but I think it takes more than one judge to get this accomplished, Kohler said Wednesday.

Auxier spelled out his policy on seeking blood warrants for DWI suspects who refuse a breathalyzer in a March 23 email to city and county officials.

All officers are to use their discretion in determining whether or not to obtain additional evidence in the form of a blood search warrant that may assist in the prosecution of the case, he wrote.

The warrant dispute, which also attracted the attention of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, has exposed friction between Palmer and Bishop on other issues related to operating the 451st judicial district, which came into existence in January.

Jason Derscheid, executive director of MADDs affiliate in San Antonio, said, Any judge, by refusing to issue warrants late at night, sends a message to drunk drivers that their best option is to refuse to cooperate with law enforcement.  MADD calls on all judges to expedite the warrant process to hold impaired drivers accountable and keep Texas roads safe.

Palmer sees the rejected warrant calls by deputies and the scrutiny of his policy as efforts by political foes to spur negative publicity about him in advance of the November 2018 general election in which both his and Bishops posts will be on the ballot.

Its all politics, he said.

Denying political motives, Bishop criticized Palmers policy, saying, Its not the judges job to determine when law enforcement asks for a warrant. Its the judges job to sign the warrant when presented if it is supported by probable cause.

Palmer says he has discretion to refuse warrant requests.

Before becoming district judge, Palmer had presided since 2001 in the Kendall County Court-at-Law. That court was eliminated along with the county attorneys post under the same legislation that created the district court and office of criminal district attorney.

The absence of a local county court-at-law made other members of the local judiciary eligible to sign warrants in criminal cases, officials say, a task formerly done by the county court-at-law judge and the judge in the 216th judicial district, to which Kendall County previously belonged.

Getting Boerne Municipal Court Judge Ed Phillips or Fair Oaks Ranch Municipal Court Judge Dana Jacobson to issue DWI warrants countywide would require an interlocal agreement between the county and their respective cities.

Phillips and Jacobson said theyd need more details before deciding whether to participate.

Justice of the Peace Larry James said he doesnt want to take on the additional duties of signing warrants.

Justice of the Peace Leon Brimhall said he declined Bishops request for personal reasons, noting, I think a person has a right to refuse to provide incriminating evidence.

Justice of the Peace Frieda Pressler said shed not been contacted about the issue.

Justice of the Peace Debby Hudson is undecided about volunteering again after signing only one blood warrant while on call over Fathers Day weekend.

Were already on call quite a bit as it is, and this would be additional duties to help the DA make a case, Hudson said. If the officer is a good officer, he can work up a good case for the DAs office without a blood draw.

zeke@express-news.net
If you're looking for an example of how Texas progressives have been energized by (and against) Donald Trumps ascent to the presidency, you might want to drop in on an Annies List training session.

The Austin-based organization trains, endorses and helps to fund progressive women running for office in this state. Over the past 14 years, it has donated $4.5 million to selected candidates and pitched in on more than 100 successful campaigns.

Last year, Annies List had 275 women show up for its candidate training workshops around the state. Less than eight months into this year, more than 600 women have turned up.

I think its people whove never thought about it seriously before, said Patsy Woods Martin, the executive director for Annies List.

Earlier this week, I spoke with Woods Martin and three San Antonio Democrats who made it to the Texas House in the past two years with help from Annies List: Ina Minjarez, Barbara Gervin-Hawkins and Diana Arevalo.

None of these three state reps had run for office before joining forces with Annies List, and all of them say they questioned whether they were cut out for the Lege.

Gervin-Hawkins, the founder of the George Gervin Academy, said she never wanted to be a politician.

I wanted to be the politicianss friend, she said.

But when health issues forced legendary East Side Rep. Ruth Jones McClendon to give up her seat, Gervin-Hawkins attended a seven-hour Annies List training session and came away persuaded.

What Annies List provided for me was direction and guidance: that mentorship, network and sisterhood that really brought the perspective to where it needs to be, Gervin-Hawkins said. It answered the questions: How do you run a race? What are the expectations? How do you select staff?

Once Gervin-Hawkins entered the fray, Annies List offered tactical advice that wouldnt have been obvious to a novice.

We were talking about getting billboards, with as much visibility as possible, Gervin-Hawkins said. Annies List said, Forget billboards. So they were able to put me on track because they have historical research and data to show what worked.

Minjarez, an accomplished attorney whose dream had been to serve on the county court bench, had to make a quick decision about running for the House in 2015.

The District 124 seat then held by Jose Menendez opened up when Menendez pulled off a special-election upset victory in a Senate race against Trey Martinez Fischer.

I had reached out to some people I respect in the community, one of them being Pat Jasso, whos on the Annies List board, Minjarez said. I also got Patsys phone number and talked to Annies List about my desire to run.

It was a big decision to make in a short time. They really provided me with the support and the advice and the confidence to go ahead and do it.

For Arevalo, the Candidate 101 training and subsequent campaign resources were important but secondary to what she calls the networking impact after she got elected. Getting to the House at the beginning of this year, she said she instantly felt like she was part of a club of lawmakers who shared an Annies List connection.

Having that network of support, knowing you could reach out to Rep. Donna Howard, (D-Austin), for example, was really important, Arevalo said.

Earlier this year, the Annies List board adopted a new policy to increase the organizations involvement in local races. Annies List made 16 endorsements in city council and school-board elections this year, including two for San Antonio council candidates: District 5 incumbent Shirley Gonzales (she won) and District 6 hopeful Melissa Cabello Havrda (she lost).

Nonetheless, Annies Lists greatest impact continues to be on the state Legislature, particularly the House. The organization reserves its endorsements for winnable districts, declining to spend its resources on races that are perceived as out of reach.

There are amazing women across the state who are running for office in districts that could never be won by a progressive, Woods Martin said. And one of the hardest things that we have to do is say to them, Im sorry, we cant endorse you. Its horrible, actually.

Its too early to guess what next years voter turnout numbers will look like, but the turnout for Annies List training workshops suggests that there wont be a lack of progressive women on Texas ballots.

ggarcia@express-news.net

Twitter: @gilgamesh470
Its been an inside joke at Carousels USA, a metalworking shop in a scrappy industrial zone on the near East Side. One day a new order would come in and the next day the boss would ask foreman Lee Cervantes if hed had his dream.

The one where kids scramble on board to pick their brightly painted part of the menagerie, where floor boards gleam after so much sanding and polishing, where whimpering babies cling to their mothers in fear of the whole spectacle, only to cry in protest when their first ride on a merry-go-round comes to an end. Where hed figured out how the small crew would fulfill their customers wants, down to every bolt and nail. Each dream was a little different, just as each carousel was a little different.

The punch line came when the boss told him that was exactly what he was thinking of too.

Yeah, right, Cervantes said with a chuckle, proud that after his first decades of drawing up plans and absorbing the physics  a carousel is really like a big umbrella, he said  he literally could design the next one in his sleep. With that done, the welding, the measuring, the piecing together of motor and pole and giant circular base and the crafting or procuring of ponies and zebras, chariots and motorcycles, mermaids and sea dragons could begin.

Theres a great chill that comes inside of me, its like whoosh!, Cervantes said of his ah-ha moments, looking through a pile of photographs of rides that by now have spent decades with small parks, zoos, theme restaurants and traveling carnivals. I dont need no jigs or nothing, its just memorized.

Now 78, he felt the blow more than anyone when he heard it was the end of an era for one of the few amusement ride manufacturers in the United States.

When he started at what was then the San Antonio Roller Works Co., he was 19. As though he knew hed found his home, he inked his start on a beam overlooking one of the mammoth lathes used to shape the spinning components. Lee Cervantes, 1959. Cowboy. Hed taken welding at Fox Tech High School and was ready to earn his first official paycheck. He wasnt a cowboy, he just liked to wear western clothes.

He didnt get rich working at the shop, but he can claim some credit for childhood memories being made at carnivals and small theme parks across the United States. And in the day, his own kids got to test the rides.

The story of one of only a handful of amusement ride manufacturing companies in the Unites States started in the 1940s. Inventor-entrepreneur Tom Riordan used the shop to keep the giant print rollers used by the San Antonio Light and San Antonio Express-News humming along. But as printing technology evolved, that business slowed.

One day a man came by, took in the scale of the machinery, and asked Riordan if he thought his crew could build a small Ferris wheel.

Riordan said he thought they could figure it out. They did.

I spent three months welding baskets, Cervantes remembered.

By the end of the day, his eyes would burn so much that he uses slices of cucumber to sooth them. But more orders came in, and it turned out to be the start of a long and storied gig. There were plenty of late nights and early mornings. The name was changed to Carousels USA in the early 1990s.

It becomes part of you, he said.

Carousels USA rides have been fixtures at the old Playland Park and HemisFair 68. Theyre still running at Kiddie Park on Broadway. The shop made some of the first barges to carry tourists down the San Antonio River. Cervantes and other staffers often took to the road, helping set up the rides in places such as California, South Carolina, and Monterrey, Mexico.

Umbrella rides, car rides, boat rides, Ferris wheels, now-owner Brian Loranger said. Anything you see that a kid would ride on, odds are some of them were made here. Weve made them for about every carnival in the United States.

He found that even with amusement rides, things could get political. There was a bit of controversy about the skin tone of the mermaid on a custom carousel for the city of Detroit. The board of a small zoo nixed a monkey, saying the animal rights people would find it improper to have him dressed with blue jeans and a tie, human style.

Loranger bought Carousels USA in 1996. He had already started and sold two businesses  a hot sauce company and produce company  and was looking for his next venture. He saw an ad in the newspaper, and met with Tom Junior Riordan, whose father had by then passed away. He bought the business and set to work expanding it.

Loranger found that there werent many who could out-compete them in the amusement ride niche. There were beautiful rides still being crafted over in Europe, but they werent holding up 30, 40 and 50 years like theirs did. The risks of overseas mass production werent going to translate well to rides meant to carry small children up and down and around and around. Plus, each venue wanted something a little different, something that went with their theme. And the senior Riordan had developed an erector set-type system in which sections fit together interchangeably, allowing carnival workers to assemble and disassemble the rides with ease.

One of Cervantes favorite accomplishments is a carousel built in the mid 1990s for a park in South Carolina. It was so large it had to be assembled in a nearby parking lot.

But in recent years, the orders have come fewer and farther between. What once kept as many as 18 employees busy now employs one other than Loranger. Cervantes is officially retired, but still shows up.

I really believe its kind of a dying industry, Loranger said with a shrug. A lot of the teenagers think, Why do we need to ride a carousel or ride a roller coaster when I can use my phone and my goggles? Were still selling stuff, but were not selling as much as we were five or six years ago.

The nuns from the Sisters of the Holy Spirit and Mary Immaculate across the street wanted to expand their campus and had been pressing him to sell his land. He finally complied, selling the property in April 2016 with an allowance for time for him to clear out.

About 90 percent of the inventory sold within the first five or six weeks, when Loranger arranged an assortment of painted horses, zebras, chariots, and kid-sized cars where they could be viewed from the street.

Hes since been selling off inventory  shapers and drill presses, signs and light strips, fences, tables and rugs. Hes gotten offers for the bases of giant lathes made at the turn of the 20th century by distant foundries. With the downtown renaissance turning old factories, breweries and whatnot into destination eateries, theres demand for historic pieces to build bars and tables on. Down to the big smoker used for staff cookouts, if it doesnt have a pricetag, hes taking offers.

People are buying into some sort of history. They can have a carousel figure and then the shop tools and anything or everything in the metal shop, he said.

Hes holding off on selling two of his favorites, confident some aficionado will give him the right price.

One is Wilfred the Fierce, a large green sea horse dragon that he thinks originated, circa 1907, at a park in Massachusetts. The other is a smaller zebra, carved around 1905 by the famed Herschel-Spellman. Its nicked in places and has a foot that had to be repaired thanks to the wear and tear of generations of children climbing on and off.

While its grown over the years, the shop itself hasnt changed much from the late 1940s.

The faded pedestal water fountain still works, as does the old red Philco refrigerator used to store sack lunches and sodas.

Many San Antonians passed the shop on their way to and from work, not knowing what went on there, until the final steps of production, when passersby could see a curious assembly through the security gate.

And then the scenery and the horses were all painted so theyd be getting wrapped up for shipment. And then some people could see it from the road and theyd stop by, he said. Other than that, its kind of just what you see. Just a dirty little shop. Dirty and greasy and oily and junk all over the floor.
LINCOLN  Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson said Thursday his office doesn't have the legal authority to appoint a special assistant attorney general to investigate the State Patrol, as 17 state senators requested.

In a letter to Omaha Sen. Burke Harr, Peterson said his office "should not proceed" as the senators' letter demanded. A lack of action would neither hinder nor prevent a thorough investigation or proper prosecution of any offense by former State Patrol Superintendent Brad Rice or others in the state law enforcement organization, he said.

An investigation initiated by Gov. Pete Ricketts found Rice interfered with internal affairs investigations and violated the agency's workplace harassment and equal opportunity policy. Ricketts said the findings were turned over to federal law enforcement.

Harr's letter was signed by 16 other senators. The letter told Peterson that failure to request an appointment carries an appearance of impropriety and raises ethical issues.

Peterson disagreed, saying neither Nebraska case law nor state statutes enable him to request that any court appoint a special assistant attorney general. In fact, he said, state law expressly limits the power of the office in the matter, saying any attorneys in the office or appointed by the office shall defend all civil and criminal charges against the State Patrol superintendent or others in the agency.

"I simply cannot use my office to initiate a process that has no sound legal basis, particularly when the process you suggest is unnecessary," Peterson wrote in the letter.

Harr said he thinks it is necessary that Peterson act, as the head of the Department of Justice in the state, in a case that could involve the head of the state's law enforcement agency operating what appears to be an orchestrated malfeasance.

Any investigation of wrongdoing by the superintendent or others in the office has been turned over to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, but could also be handled by a county attorney, Peterson said.

"Nothing prevents the appropriate county attorney from carrying forward, as usual, with their 'affirmative duty' by reviewing any investigative record referred to the county attorney" or initiated by a law enforcement agency for potential violations of state law, he said.

But county attorneys are limited to what occurs in their counties, Harr said. It would be more judicious and tax efficient to have one entity conducting the investigation, as opposed to multiple counties.

If he were attorney general, Harr said, he would do everything in his power to make sure that those who appear to have violated the law, based on state Chief Human Resources Officer Jason Jackson's review, are held accountable.

"And so, I would petition the court. And the worst thing the court says is, 'We don't have the authority to do this,'" Harr said.

Harr said he'll continue to work with Peterson's office to find a way forward. It's important that there is an investigation, he said.

"This is too important to get bogged down in politics," he said. "If he doesn't think he has a way to cure it, we'll keep working together to find a way so we can cure it."
While the ACV was the focal point for Case IH at AgQuip, the brand is also celebrating its 175th anniversary and anniversaries of some of its flagship machines, including the Patriot sprayer (25 years), the Steiger Quadtrac (20 years) and the Axial-Flow combine (40 years).
Elizabeth Olsen volunteers at a rape support centre.

Elizabeth Olsen

The 'Wind River' actress began visiting a facility while researching her role in new drama 'Wind River' and was so touched by their work, she undertook a training course to help run the playroom and now goes back every Tuesday to help out.

She said in an interview with ES magazine: "I ended up visiting the rape treatment centre in Santa Monica. It's an amazing facility, for adults and minors. I was like, 'What could I actually do?'

"Going and playing cards with a bunch of really sweet people and just making them feel like a kid when they're going through a traumatic experience -- that to me is something I can walk away and be happy with... You make connections. If you go at the same time every week you see the same people.

"I see the same people every week when I'm in town. It's a beautiful community... It's really an incredible, supportive place. I love being a part of it."

The 28-year-old actress is upset at the state of her home country, the USA, but is pleased that so many people have come together to protest and take action against controversial president Donald Trump.

She said: It's horrible to think how the rest of the world is viewing the United States right now. You don't really know how to fix it as an individual because you can't.

"What is cool about what's happening right now, however, is that while people have always talked about causes that they are interested in, now they are actually actively a part of them."

Elizabeth is currently on the lookout for the right endorsement deal that would boost her profile and help the independent films she loves working on attract financial backing, but something that also "gives back" to a cause.

She said: "People want to be a part of something that's giving back to something else.

"I would like to be a part of that because it's something that I would be proud of.

"But it's also something that would help me as an actor trying to get films made."
Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio quote 'Titanic' lines to each other.

Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio

The pair played doomed lovers Rose Dewitt Bukater and Jack Dawson in James Cameron's 1997 movie and Kate admitted when they meet up, they often find themselves reciting the script.

Speaking to Britain's Glamour magazine, Kate explained: "You don't even want to know the last conversation we had, because it was so funny and made me laugh so much.

"We found ourselves saying to each other, 'Can you imagine if the world really knew the stupid things we say?'

"I'm not going to tell you what we actually talk about, but yeah, we're very, very close and sometimes we do quote the odd 'Titanic' line back and forth to each other, because only we can, and we find it really funny."

Kate, 41, also revealed that she once considered becoming a hairdresser if acting didn't work out but she cut off a friend's earlobe when she attempted to give him a haircut.

She said: "I should have had a back-up career, because if it had all gone t**s up, I would have been stuck. I had a fleeting idea about becoming a hairdresser, but I cut off a friend's earlobe trying to cut their hair. I saw him again not too long ago and I was like, 'I'm so sorry for your earlobe.' He said, 'Yeah, you can still see the marks, but I'm proud of that now, Kate!'"

Kate recently worked on 'The Mountain Between Us' with Idris Elba and admitted her biggest problem on the gruelling shoot was trying to stop Idris from accidentally standing on her hair.

She explained: "The most difficult part was being dragged soaking wet through the cold snow, but my biggest fear was not actually getting pneumonia, it was Idris treading on my hair. I didn't want to ruin a take by going, 'ARGH, he's stepping on my hair!' And however hard it looks for me, it was harder for Idris to anchor his feet on the ice; it was freezing cold, he was also soaking wet, and I weigh a ton because all those clothes I'm wearing are soaked through."
Sofia Richie has paid tribute to herself on 19th birthday.

Sofia Richie

The blonde-haired beauty - who is on the daughter of music legend Lionel Richie - marked her milestone on Thursday (24.08.17) with a set post, which saw her reflect on her year of being 18 and "finding herself."

And the model has admitted the next 12 months will see her learn to love herself.

Alongside a picture of herself, which was posted on her Instagram account, she said: "18 was all about finding myself and 19 is all about loving myself. Thankful every morning I wake up and get to spend time with the people I love. Today's a good day #bday (sic)."

The star has continued to share images of her, including one of the catwalk icon sporting a glitzy ensemble as she leans out of a car window.

Sofia has continued to post a number of messages on her Twitter account in the run up to her birthday, which saw her admit to her almost 32,000 Twitter followers that she "loves" her life and is feeling "good" about her birthday.

She tweeted: "I love my life. Feeling good about this birthday. Thankful for every day

"Born day

"Life begins at the end of your comfort zone (sic)."

by Charlotte Hough for www.femalefirst.co.uk


Jeremy Scott has hailed Tom Ford as his "big brother".

Jeremy Scott

The 42-year-old fashion designer has revealed he shares a close bond with the fellow creative mastermind, and has likened the 55-year-old as his sibling because he has always been on hand to give him advice.

Speaking to ES magazine about the mogul-come-film director, he said: "He's always been like a big brother to me."

And Jeremy has revealed the words of wisdom he has received from the 'Nocturnal Animals' creator was to "never" use his own money.

Jeremy said: "Tom Ford told me: never use your own money, use other people's."

And the star - who is the creative director of the fashion house Moschino, and runs his own eponymous label - has revealed he "loves" to collect "junk", and last year he was obsessed with collating "all kinds of metal elements".

He explained: "I love junk. I have a whimsical personality and sense of taste, so I love going to flea markets. Last season I was collecting all kinds of metal elements for a beret collaboration with English icon Judy Blame for the Moschino show."

And the style guru has revealed when he was younger he was constantly told he was made to live in London because of his eccentric fashion sense.

The Missouri-born star, who studied at the Pratt Institute in New York, said: "I was 21, and I'd always been told I look like a London kid - think punkish kilts. Even my teachers at college in the US were like, 'You should be going to [Central] Saint Martins, what are you doing here?' So I got off the plane in London and was looking around for 'my people' and tourists kept coming up and asking me for a picture."
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) country office for Thailand, Cambodia and Lao People's Democratic Republic has urged Cambodia to re-examine certain issues in the amendments put forward by the countrys ministry of labour and vocational training regarding the law on minimum wage and has called for a tripartite dialogue on the related legislation.Observing that the draft law on minimum wage, presently under discussion, reflects many improvements and has raised the minimum wage in the garments and textile sector, the Bangkok-based ILO country office said in a recent statement that the coordination of the draft law with the relevant provisions of the Labour Code (1997) remain unclear.

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) country office for Thailand, Cambodia and Lao People's Democratic Republic has urged Cambodia to re-examine certain issues in the amendments put forward by the country's ministry of labour and vocational training regarding the law on minimum wage and has called for a tripartite dialogue on the related legislation.#

Some other provisions would restrict the freedom of expression and debate on minimum wage issues, both outside and inside the National Minimum Wage Council, which risks undermining an effective and transparent consultative process and may differ from the standards on freedom of association, the ILO noted.The ILO has supported this legislative initiative by providing economic and legal advice and is ready continue its advisory services, it said.Meanwhile, labour minister Ith Sam Heng has said that the universal minimum wage law will be passed this year to prevent a repeat of the 2013 mass protests over garment sector wages.Independent unions and labour organisations have called for revisions in the draft law, saying none of the changes suggested by them in December 2016 have been incorporated. (DS)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
Three industrial parks built by China in Ethiopias Hawassa, Mekelle and Kombolcha have started drawing foreign export firms to the east African nations textile and apparel sector. The country plans to generate one-fourth of $400-million foreign exchange earnings target for the current fiscal from its flagship industrial park in Hawassa alone.The parks are part of Ethiopias efforts to become Africas manufacturing powerhouse. The country plans to raise its current $150 million revenue from textile and apparel exports to more than $1 billion, according to a Chinese news agency report.The Hawassa park has started bringing in revenues and Hong Kong-based TAL Apparel is among the foreign companies that have started production in its premises. About $1.5 million is being earned every month at the Hawassa park, according to a recent report by the Ethiopian Textile Industry Development Institute.Seven foreign companies, including some from Bangladesh, have secured space to commence operations at the Mekelle industrial park.

US textile and apparel firm Trybus has signed an agreement with the Ethiopian Investment Commission to start a factory inside the Kombolcha Industrial Park built by the China Civil Engineering Corporation.



Ethiopia, with nearly 175 textile units, aims to generate $30 billion in foreign exchange earnings from the textiles and clothing sector by 2030 and has allotted more than $1 billion for the construction of industrial parks in the second five-year growth and transformation plan (GTP-II) period, effective from 2015 to 2020. It plans to have 150 companies in the sector by 2020. (DS)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  China
IKEA, the worlds largest home furnishings retailer, has made a strategic decision to establish a Regional Distribution and Supply Chain Centre for ASEAN in Malaysia. The centre, to adopt the structure and technology of IKEAs biggest Regional Distribution Centre in Germany, will be among the 10 largest Regional Distribution Centres of IKEA Group globally.The home furnishings retailer headquartered in the Netherlands will invest RM908 million for the new centre that will manage an inventory of 9,500 stock keeping units (SKUs) worth RM6.6 billion annually. IKEAs new 100,000 square metre specialised warehouse will utilise its integrated ICT systems and automation to reduce the dependency on labour and significantly increase the efficiency and accuracy of its inventory management processes.

IKEA, the world's largest home furnishings retailer, has made a strategic decision to establish a Regional Distribution and Supply Chain Centre for ASEAN in Malaysia. The centre, to adopt the structure and technology of IKEA's biggest Regional Distribution Centre in Germany, will be among the 10 largest Regional Distribution Centres of IKEA Group globally. #

Malaysia has always been a significant market for IKEA. IKEAs retail stores in Malaysia are among IKEAs most visited stores globally. With the establishment of the Regional Distribution and Supply Chain Centre, Malaysia will strengthen its role in supporting IKEAs growth in the ASEAN region. The Centre will serve 12 retail stores in ASEAN, which will increase to 20 stores by 2026.YB Dato Sri Mustapa Mohamed, minister of international trade and industry (MITI) said, The project, which resulted from continuous engagements and facilitation by the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), represents a significant milestone for both IKEA and Malaysia. IKEAs decision of selecting our country as a base to support retailers in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines and India underscores the strategic fit of this country in supporting IKEAs overall growth strategy in the ASEAN region.The establishment also adds momentum towards making Malaysia a regional distribution hub and preferred logistics gateway to Asia as outlined in the National Logistics and Trade Facilitation Masterplan and National E-Commerce Strategic Roadmap (NESR). Deployment of technology in the logistics chain has been identified as the key factor in strengthening the capabilities of logistics service providers towards enhancing trade facilitation mechanisms. Thus, IKEAs high-flow and automated warehouse is certainly well-aligned to this agenda, added YB Dato Sri Mustapa.The Malaysian government has also been actively encouraging large local conglomerates and MNCs to set up their regional establishment in Malaysia through various business models including the Principal Hub (PH) scheme that allows companies to centralise their global activities such as procurement and distribution. Such establishments bring along many multiplier effects to the country, ranging from creating high value jobs, incurring high business spending, intensifying usage of local ancillary services, increasing the flow of foreign exchange as well as strengthening the value chain in targeted industries.As to date, MIDA has approved a total of 26 PH projects since its introduction in May 2015. Over the next 10 years, these projects are poised to contribute RM16.8 billion in business spending, utilise local ancillary services worth RM2.2 billion and generate more than 1,800 high value jobs for Malaysians. Among renowned companies that have been accorded with the PH scheme include Honeywell, Super Group, Avago Technologies, Lotte Chemical Titan, Daikin and Sharp. (SV)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
Over 4,500 exhibitors from nearly 30 countries will gather under one roof at Octobers Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics, the Chinas international trade fair for apparel fabrics and accessories, during October 11-13, 2017. The industrys leading trade fair for the autumn/winter season will offer something for everyones unique fashion tastes.Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics  Autumn Edition 2017 is co-organised by Messe Frankfurt (HK); the Sub-Council of Textile Industry, CCPIT; and the China Textile Information Centre.

Over 4,500 exhibitors from nearly 30 countries will gather under one roof at October's Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics, the China's international trade fair for apparel fabrics and accessories, during October 11-13, 2017. The industry's leading trade fair for the autumn/winter season will offer something for everyone's unique fashion tastes.#

SalonEurope, Intertextiles premium zone for mid and high-end European fabrics and accessories suppliers, will target Asian buyers who are looking to meet the strong consumer demand in the region for European fashion. Some of the brands participating in SalonEurope this edition include Albini, Alumo, American & Efird (Guetermann), E Thomas, Freudenberg, Kufner, Marzotto Group, Miroglio, Loro Piana, Woolmark and Zegna.Within SalonEurope buyers can also find the Milano Unica, the Premium Wool Zone and the Verve for Design areas, each reflecting fashion and style in their own unique ways. The Japan Pavilion is another fashion hub at the fair that is immensely popular each edition with Chinese buyers while the domestic exhibitor halls will reflect how Chinese designers are emerging onto the fashion scene.For those on the lookout for what fashions and styles will be gracing the catwalks and sidewalks in autumn and winter 2018, then the eight trend forums found throughout the halls, including an international forum, four Chinese forums, an accessories forum, the Japan Pavilion forum and the Korea Pavilion forum, will provide a snapshot of this.Japan Pavilion brings the countrys unique style and production techniques to the fair.If previous editions are anything to go by, the Japan Pavilion will once again be bursting at the seams with buyers looking for the latest Japanese styles and fashions. Delicate, lightweight fabrics are a particular specialty of Japanese suppliers, with Saiei Orimono being one such exhibitor at Intertextile. They claim their Fairy Feather yarn-dyed silk fabric, which took them four years to develop, is the worlds thinnest. It is made from 8-denier silk thread derived from silkworms that emit the thinnest fibres in the world, which, at 1.6 deniers, are about half as thin as regular fibres.Knitted fabric producers can also be found in the pavilion, including A-Girl's. They supply lightweight fabrics made from their self-developed fine-count yarns which are used by global luxury brands. Lace can also be sourced in the pavilion, with Sun Fashion exhibiting its Leavers Lace one of the highlights. Moving away from delicate fabrics, Daiichi Orimono are specialists in super-high-density woven fabrics. While the quality of these fabrics makes them suitable for outdoor wear amongst others, the company places great emphasis on ensuring the beauty of the fabrics as well.Apart from the Japan Pavilion, other Asian pavilions at the fair include Hong Kong, India, Korea, Taiwan, Pakistan and Thailand.Heritage brands and stylish high-end wool products await buyers in the Premium Wool Zone, as a number of new suppliers join returning favourites this edition. Amongst the new participants are Dugdale Bros from the UK, and Italian brands Ferla, Piacenza and Stylbiella. Dugdale Bros are cloth merchants based in the very centre of Yorkshire's worsted industry, and supply fine cloth to supreme tailors, designers, couturiers and retailers throughout the world. Ferla offers production rich in fashion content that is reserved for the most prestigious Made-in-Italy trademarks and the most demanding international customers. Piacenza, in business for nearly three centuries, uses wools from Australia, cashmere from Mongolia and vicuna and alpaca fibres from Peru. And Stylbiella produces superfine wool fabrics for some of the worlds leading tailors.Joining them are other key exhibitors from the UK such as Abraham Moon & Sons, Bower Roebuck, Holland & Sherry, Huddersfield Fine Worsteds, Kenneth Mackenzie and Scabal, as well as Aris Industrial from Peru, Dino Filarte from Italy, Dormeuil from France, and Hayazen Textile and Toyama from Japan amongst others.As the Chinese market has matured in its appreciation for original fabric designs, this increased demand has led to a diverse range of design studios taking part in Intertextiles Verve for Design, which can also be found in SalonEurope. This edition sees exhibitors from Australia, France, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Korea, Switzerland and the UK amongst those taking part. (SV)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / August 24, 2017 / Lundin Law PC, a shareholder rights firm, announces a class action lawsuit against Tahoe Resources Inc. ('Tahoe' or the 'Company') (NYSE: TAHO) for possible violations of federal securities laws from March 12, 2015 through July 5, 2017, inclusive (the 'Class Period'). Investors who purchased or otherwise acquired Tahoe shares during the Class Period should contact the firm in advance of the September 5, 2017 lead plaintiff motion deadline.

To participate in this class action lawsuit, click here.

You can also call Brian Lundin, Esq., of Lundin Law PC, at 888-713-1033, or e-mail him at brian@lundinlawpc.com.

No class has been certified in the above action yet. Until a class is certified, you are not considered to be represented by an attorney. You may also choose to do nothing and be an absent class member.

According to the Complaint, during the Class Period, Tahoe made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose: that consultation obligations relating to the permitting of the Escobal mining license were not met; that the Escobal mining license is subject to suspension; and that as a result, the Company's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times. On July 5, 2017, Tahoe revealed that the Supreme Court of Guatemala issued a provisional decision suspending the Escobal mining license of its subsidiary Minera San Rafael, in connection with an action brought by CALAS against Guatemala's Ministry of Energy and Mines ('MEM'). CALAS alleged that MEM violated the Xinca Indigenous people's right of consultation before granting the Escobal mining license. Following this news, Tahoe's share price dropped significantly, which caused investors harm according to the lawsuit.

Lundin Law PC was established by Brian Lundin, Esq., a securities litigator based in Los Angeles dedicated to upholding the rights of shareholders.

This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in certain jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethics rules.

Contact:

Lundin Law PC

Brian Lundin, Esq.

Telephone: 888-713-1033

Facsimile: 888-713-1125

brian@lundinlawpc.com

http://lundinlawpc.com/

SOURCE: Lundin Law PC
The Board of Viking Malt has selected Kasper Madsen (born 1961) as a new CEO Managing Director of the Viking Malt Group. He will start in Viking Malt 1.9.2017.

This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170825005019/en/

The Board of Viking Malt has selected Kasper Madsen (born 1961) as a new CEO Managing Director of the Viking Malt Group. He will start in Viking Malt 1.9.2017. Viking malt is the leading supplier of malt to breweries in Northern Europe and one of the global market leaders in supplying special malts to breweries and distilleries. (Photo: Business Wire)

He is educated Master Brewer, Chemical Engineer and Bachelor in Economics. Before joining Viking Malt Kasper Madsen has worked in Hilding Anders, Orkla, Boston Consulting Group and 25 years in Carlsberg.

Current Managing Director of Viking Malt Group Antti Orkola will continue as a senior advisor for Viking Malt Group until his retirement 1.2.2018.

Viking Malt as a company

Viking malt is the leading supplier of malt to breweries in Northern Europe and one of the global market leaders in supplying special malts to breweries and distilleries.

Viking Malt is a Finnish private company, owned by Polttimo Oy (62,5%) and Lantmannen ek for (37,5 %), with headquarters in Lahti and operations in Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Poland and Lithuania. The Viking Malt Group turnover is around 220 MEUR.

Viking Malt home market is the Baltic Sea area, and having a strong foothold in the export market outside Europe, such as Asia, Latin America and Africa.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170825005019/en/

Contacts:

Polttimo Oy

Par-Gustaf Relander

Chair and CEO

+358 50 552 3955

par-gustaf.relander@polttimo.com

or

Anne Sointu

CFO

+358 40 760 0017

anne.sointu@vikingmalt.com
AMSTERDAM and BARCELONA, Spain, August 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Spotlights patient-centric cardiovascular solutions for diagnosis, image-guided therapy and connected care through patient monitoring

Demonstrates Philips' commitment to delivering seamless care

Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA), a global leader in health technology, today announced its presence at the ESC Congress 2017 in Barcelona, Spain from August 26 - 30, spotlighting the latest integrated solutions that connect people, data and technology to enable enhanced patient care and improve the quality of life for those with cardiovascular diseases. At this year's congress, Philips will highlight its next generation cardiology portfolio, including IntelliSpace Cardiovascular multi-modality image and information management, the Philips Azurion image-guided therapy platform, as well as the X8-2t transducer for transesophageal echocardiograpy (TEE) and Lumify ultrasound solution.

(Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/548795/Azurion_Therapy_Platform.jpg )



According to the World Health Organization, cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death globally, with more than 11 million new cases in Europe every year, accounting for 45 percent of all deaths in Europe. To address the growing burden of cardiology care and transform the patient experience, Philips is focused on solutions to help manage health, not just illness. Connected to support a continuous workflow, Philips technologies help to enhance the clinicians' ability to reach a timely confident diagnosis, deliver more personalized treatments, and identify patient pathways that are faster and more effective.

"In our 2017 Future Health Index survey, cardiologists expressed that they are more likely than those in other clinical areas to think integration of health systems would make healthcare less expensive for patients," said Bert van Meurs, Image Guided Therapy Business Leader for Philips. "As such, we at Philips believe we can make life better for patients with cardiovascular disease by offering clinicians solutions comprising our next generation image-guided therapy platform, advanced catheters, clinical informatics and services to provide value-based patient care through a personalized, high quality and integrated approach."

Philips brings three decades of experience in ultrasound leadership to create the future of cardiac ultrasound care. With its global R&D programs and the recent acquisition of TOMTEC, a leading provider of intelligent image analysis software, Philips demonstrates its commitment to furthering automation and quantification for cardiac ultrasound.



"The ESC Congress 2017 marks a significant opportunity to engage directly with the cardiology community on the steps that we have taken in cardiac ultrasound to transform cardiac care," said Vitor Rocha, Ultrasound Business Leader for Philips. "We look forward to demonstrating how TOMTEC's technology complements our solutions to expand cardiac ultrasound capabilities with advanced automation."



On-site at this year's ESC Congress 2017, Philips will showcase the following ultrasound innovations:

EPIQ with HeartModel that features the X8-2t Live 3D transesophageal transducer, the next level of cardiac imaging for fast, easy, and accurate transesophageal echocardiography, enabling clinicians to diagnose surgical pathology in real time.

Affiniti, which now supports X7-2t Live 3D TEE, to deliver greater confidence and expand access to 3D transesophageal imaging to a wider range of patients.

Lumify, now with the addition of the S4-1 phased-arraytransducer and cardiac exam preset, to deliver exceptional cardiac imaging and triage on a compatible Android device.

Philips has a leadership position in image-guided therapy with a unique portfolio of interventional imaging systems and devices, planning and navigation software, and services, supported by a global network of leading clinical partners. Philips' connected image-guided therapy solutions enable clinicians to decide, guide, treat and confirm the appropriate cardiac and peripheral vascular treatment. With the recent acquisition of Spectranetics' highly competitive product range of therapeutic devices in cardiovascular interventions, Philips is advancing its solutions to deliver enhanced care for patients.

At this year's congress, Philips will showcase its wide portfolio of integrated solutions for the interventional cardiovascular community, including:

Azurion, the next generation image-guided therapy platform, which enables clinicians to easily and confidently perform a range of routine and complex procedures, helping them to optimize interventional lab performance and provide superior care.

New instant wave-Free Ratio (iFR) technology, iFR Roadmap [1] [2], exclusive to Philips' interventional labs, which enables physicians to navigate coronary arteries and corresponding iFR data in real time.

Philips' SyncVision iFR co-registration solution couples iFR physiology measurement pull-back results to the coronary angio, which can be utilized in the stenting process when lesions are more complex.

On August 26, 2017, as part of the ESC Congress 2017 Late Breaking Clinical Trials program, professor Javier Escaned of Hospital Clinico San Carlos in Madrid, Spain will present data from the SYNTAX II trial. The trial, which included 454 patients from 22 centers across the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Spain and Poland, addressed the unique advantages of the state-of-the-art percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) procedure that incorporates physiology, intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) imaging, synergy drug-alluding stents and contemporary optimal medical therapy. The physiology and IVUS imaging components are exclusively Philips technologies. The findings from the SYNTAX II trial may show that angiography alone is not enough for determining a treatment pathway for complex coronary procedures. In addition, the state-of-the-art PCI technique may also simplify procedures, and contribute to improved patient outcomes.

During this year's Congress, Philips will also host a daily series of short presentations on solutions and technologies enabling personalized heart care, taking place in the Forum section of the booth. Philips will also host a Satellite Symposium on Ultrasound featuring leading worldwide experts who will share insights on how developments in live three-dimensional echo impact patient care and management. Two panel discussions will focus on diagnostic and peri-interventional imaging, as well as illustrating case studies. For the full calendar of Forum sessions, symposiums and hands-on tutorials, as well as general information about Philips' presence at the show, visit http://www.philips.com/esc.

Visit Philips' booth (H800) to experience the innovative solutions and services that provide physicians and hospitals the opportunity to deliver advanced cardiovascular care to patients worldwide. Follow the ESCcongress conversation on @PhilipsLiveFrom and @PhilipsHealth throughout the event.

[1] iFR Roadmap is not a standalone technology. It can only be purchased as part of the Dynamic Coronary Roadmap package.

[2] iFR Roadmap is 510k pending and not yet available in the USA.

About Royal Philips

Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) is a leading health technology company focused on improving people's health and enabling better outcomes across the health continuum from healthy living and prevention, to diagnosis, treatment and home care. Philips leverages advanced technology and deep clinical and consumer insights to deliver integrated solutions. Headquartered in the Netherlands, the company is a leader in diagnostic imaging, image-guided therapy, patient monitoring and health informatics, as well as in consumer health and home care. Philips' health technology portfolio generated 2016 sales of EUR 17.4 billion and employs approximately 71,000 employees with sales and services in more than 100 countries. News about Philips can be found at http://www.philips.com/newscenter.

For further information, please contact:



Alicia Cafardi

Philips Group Press Office

Tel: +1-412-523-9616

E-mail: Alicia.Cafardi@philips.com



Fabienne van der Feer

Philips Image Guided Therapy

Tel: +31-6-22698001

E-mail: fabienne.van.der.feer@philips.com
Pan African Resources PLC

("Pan African Resources" or "the Company" or "the Group")

(Incorporated and registered in England and Wales under Companies Act 1985 with registered number 3937466 on 25 February 2000)

Share code on AIM: PAF

Share code on JSE: PAN

ISIN: GB0004300496

UPDATE ON ENVIRONMENTAL PERMITTING FOR THE ELIKHULU TAILINGS RETREATMENT PROJECT ("ELIKHULU")

Pan African Resources is pleased to advise that the Integrated Water Use Licence for Elikhulu has been granted by the Department of Water and Sanitation, for a period of 20 years. Furthermore, the Integrated Environmental Authorisation has also been issued in terms of the National Environmental Management Act 107 of 1998. All environmental regulatory permits are therefore in place to commence construction of Elikhulu.

Cobus Loots, Chief executive officer commented, "The granting of the environmental permitting for Elikhulu is the final regulatory approval required for the construction of Elikhulu. Elikhulu is scheduled to produce first gold in the final quarter of the 2018 calendar year and expected to produce approximately 50,000 ounces per annum for the next 13 years, at an all-in sustaining cost of less than US$550/oz.



Elikhulu's capital expenditure of approximately R1.7 billion (approximately US$130 million) is a substantial investment in the South African mining industry and is expected to contribute materially to economic development and employment in the Mpumalanga province."

For further information on Pan African Resources, please visit the Company's website at www.panafricanresources.com

25 August 2017

Corporate Office

The Firs Office Building

1st Floor, Office 101

Cnr. Cradock and Biermann Avenues

Rosebank, Johannesburg

South Africa

Office: + 27 (0) 11 243 2900

Facsimile: + 27 (0) 11 880 1240

Registered Office

Suite 31

Second Floor

107 Cheapside

London

EC2V 6DN

United Kingdom

Office: + 44 (0) 20 7796 8644

Facsimile: + 44 (0) 20 7796 8645



Cobus Loots Deon Louw Pan African Resources PLC Pan African Resources PLC Chief Executive Officer Financial Director Office: + 27 (0) 11 243 2900 Office: + 27 (0) 11 243 2900 Phil Dexter John Prior / Paul Gillam St James's Corporate Services Limited Numis Securities Limited Company Secretary Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker Office: + 44 (0) 20 7796 8644 Office: +44 (0) 20 7260 1000 Sholto Simpson Matthew Armitt / Ross Allister One Capital Peel Hunt LLP JSE Sponsor Joint Broker Office: + 27 (0) 11 550 5009 Office: +44 (0) 20 7418 8900 Julian Gwillim Jeffrey Couch/Neil Haycock/Thomas Rider Aprio Strategic Communications BMO Capital Markets Limited Public & Investor Relations SA Joint Broker Office: +27 (0)11880 0037 Office: +44 (0) 20 7236 1010 Bobby Morse/Chris Judd Buchanan Communications Public & Investor Relations UK Office: +44 (0) 207 466 5000

www.panafricanresources.com
IRW-PRESS: Friday Night Inc.: Friday Night Inc. unterzeichnet Grundstuckskaufvertrag

Friday Night Inc. unterzeichnet Grundstuckskaufvertrag

VANCOUVER, B.C., KANADA (25. AUGUST 2017) - Friday Night Inc. (Friday Night) (CSE: TGIF) (FWB: 1QF) (OTC: VPGDF) freut sich, bekannt zu geben, dass das Unternehmen einen Kaufvertrag fur ein Grundstuck in Nevada unterzeichnet hat Friday Night Inc. hat einen Kaufvertrag fur ein 1,39 Acres groes Grundstuck im gemeindefreien Clark County fur 432.000 USD unterzeichnet. Das Grundstuck ist als M-1 ausgewiesen und umfasst mehrere Grundstuckseinrichtungen, wie etwa eine 33.000 Quadratfu groe Standflache fur ein Gebaude mit bereits betoniertem Fundament, vollstandige Sicherheitsumzaunung, ein Wasseranschluss fur die flachendeckende Sprinkleranlage im zukunftigen Lagergebaude und ein Stromanschluss mit 2.000 Ampere Stromstarke. Daruber hinaus hat das Unternehmen nun einen Kostenvoranschlag von NV Energy fur die Stromversorgung mit weiteren 4.000 Ampere eingeholt. Damit konnte eine zweistockige Aufzuchtanlage mit bis zu 66.000 Quadratfu Grundflache versorgt werden. Alle Unterlagen wurden unterzeichnet und eine Anzahlung von 25.000 USD wurde hinterlegt. Die Bedingungen sehen einen Abschluss innerhalb von 85 Tagen vor. Die Plane werden gepruft und fur eine aktuelle Kostenschatzung geandert, die innerhalb von zwei Wochen fertiggestellt werden soll. John Goss, President von FN Management Services, einer hundertprozentigen Tochtergesellschaft von Friday Night Inc., sagte dazu: Dieses Grundstuck eignet sich perfekt fur eine oder mehrere der Aufzuchtlizenzen von Alternative Medicine Association und wurde die Betriebsaufnahme in kurzester Zeit ermoglichen. Die meisten Nebeneinrichtungen liegen bereits vor und die Bauplane wurden bereits eingereicht, werden nun aber an unsere Spezifikationen angepasst. Wir freuen uns ungemein, unsere Aufzucht- und Produktionskapazitaten auszubauen, um der wachsenden Nachfrage nach unseren Marken und den Marken unserer strategischen Partner nachzukommen. Diese finden in diesem Cannabismarkt (fur den Freizeitkonsum und medizinische Zwecke) guten Anklang. Uber Friday Night Inc. Friday Night Inc. ist ein borsennotiertes kanadisches Unternehmen, das cannabis- und hanfbasierte Aktiva in Las Vegas (Nevada) besitzt und kontrolliert. Das Unternehmen besitzt 91 Prozent von Alternative Medicine Association LC (AMA), einer lizenzierten Anbau- und Produktionseinrichtung fur Cannabis zu medizinischen Zwecken und zur Anwendung durch Erwachsene, in der eine eigene Reihe von einzigartigen Produkten auf Basis von Cannabis sowie Marken Dritter hergestellt werden. Infused MFG, ebenfalls eine Tochtergesellschaft, die sich zu 91 Prozent im Besitz des Unternehmens befindet, produziert CBD-Produkte auf Hanfbasis, die mit qualitativ hochwertigen Biozutaten sorgfaltig hergestellt werden. Das Hauptaugenmerk von Friday Night Inc. ist auf die Starkung und Erweiterung dieser Betriebe innerhalb und auerhalb des Bundesstaates gerichtet. Nahere Informationen erhalten Sie uber: Joe Bleackley, Corporate Communications 604-674-4756 Joe@FridayNightInc.com Hinweis in Bezug auf zukunftsgerichtete Aussagen: Diese Pressemitteilung enthalt zukunftsgerichtete Aussagen. Mit der Verwendung von Ausdrucken wie prognostizieren, fortsetzen, schatzen, erwarten, konnen, werden, planen, sollten, glauben und ahnlichen Ausdrucken soll auf zukunftsgerichtete Aussagen hingewiesen werden. Obwohl das Unternehmen der Ansicht ist, dass die Erwartungen und Annahmen, auf denen solche zukunftsgerichteten Aussagen beruhen, angemessen sind, sollten solche zukunftsgerichteten Aussagen nicht uberbewertet werden, da das Unternehmen nicht garantieren kann, dass sich diese als richtig erweisen werden. Diese Pressemeldung enthalt zukunftsgerichtete Aussagen in Bezug auf den Abschluss einer definitiven Vereinbarung, die zukunftige Ausubung der Option in Zusammenhang mit der Vape Lounge und das regulatorische Umfeld in Kanada. Da sich zukunftsgerichtete Aussagen auf zukunftige Ereignisse und Umstande beziehen, sind sie typischerweise Risiken und Unsicherheiten unterworfen. Diese Aussagen wurden unter Bezugnahme auf den Zeitpunkt der Erstellung dieser Pressemeldung getatigt. Friday Night ist nicht verpflichtet, zukunftsgerichtete Informationen offiziell zu aktualisieren, weder aufgrund neuer Informationen bzw. zukunftiger Ereignisse noch aus sonstigen Grunden, es sei denn, dies wird per Gesetz oder von der Canadian Securities Exchange gefordert.

Die Ausgangssprache (in der Regel Englisch), in der der Originaltext veroffentlicht wird, ist die offizielle, autorisierte und rechtsgultige Version. Diese Ubersetzung wird zur besseren Verstandigung mitgeliefert. Die deutschsprachige Fassung kann gekurzt oder zusammengefasst sein. Es wird keine Verantwortung oder Haftung: fur den Inhalt, fur die Richtigkeit, der Angemessenheit oder der Genauigkeit dieser Ubersetzung ubernommen. Aus Sicht des Ubersetzers stellt die Meldung keine Kauf- oder Verkaufsempfehlung dar! Bitte beachten Sie die englische Originalmeldung auf www.sedar.com , www.sec.gov , www.asx.com.au/ oder auf der Firmenwebsite!

Die englische Originalmeldung finden Sie unter folgendem Link: http://www.irw-press.at/press_html.aspx?messageID=40712 Die ubersetzte Meldung finden Sie unter folgendem Link: http://www.irw-press.at/press_html.aspx?messageID=40712&tr=1

NEWSLETTER REGISTRIERUNG:

Aktuelle Pressemeldungen dieses Unternehmens direkt in Ihr Postfach: http://www.irw-press.com/alert_subscription.php?lang=de&isin=CA35836 71001

Mitteilung ubermittelt durch IRW-Press.com. Fur den Inhalt ist der Aussender verantwortlich.

Kostenloser Abdruck mit Quellenangabe erlaubt.

ISIN CA3583671001

AXC0036 2017-08-28/07:59
MEXICO CITY, August 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Kaitlyn Stewart has been crowned the world's best bartender at the climax of the global cocktail competition WORLD CLASS Bartender of the Year 2017 in Mexico City.

(Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/548887/WORLD_CLASS_Kaitlyn_Stewart.jpg )

(Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/548888/WORLD_CLASS_Hall_of_Fame.jpg )

Over the past week, Kaitlyn has seen off challenges which tested every single skill that makes a bartender truly great. She battled it out in the Lucha Libre ring, going head-to-head with her opponents to create her best classic cocktail. She survived the fire of the Heat of the Moment challenge as she showed how to break boundaries in cocktail making by incorporating the best of culinary techniques. And as global environmental awareness rises, she took on the Mex ECO challenge to show how bartenders can look for new ways to create the ultimate green cocktail.

Guests at the WORLD CLASS competition witnessed the pinnacle of bartending creations, the setting of new trends, and the parameters of cocktail making pushed further than ever before. Whilst all the WORLD CLASS Finalists were outstanding, Kaitlyn truly stood out as the best of the best, able to master the Diageo Reserve luxury portfolio to create ground-breaking results.

The WORLD CLASS Bartender of the Year competition is the biggest in the world with over 10,000 bartenders from 57 countries having entered it. After winning their regional competitions, 55 gathered together in Mexico City on Sunday 20th August to compete. On Wednesday evening, after going to head-to-head with their competitors in the Lucha Libre ring, an elite four made it through to the final round, designed to test them on their knowledge, creativity and mastery of the classics and signature serves.

Kaitlyn is set for a year of adventure - she will have the chance to travel the world as a Diageo Reserve Brand Ambassador, making bespoke drinks in far-flung locations and judging competitions. She will also join a roll call of the industry's finest, becoming the ninth member of the WORLD CLASS Hall of Fame.

Kaitlyn Stewart, the 2017 WORLD CLASS Bartender of the Year, said: "I'm so incredibly amazed and shocked to have been named the world's best bartender. It's been a grueling week, taking on the toughest challenges against some of most skilled bartenders I've ever met. Participating in the Finals was amazing enough but to finish the week as winner... I'm so delighted! Cocktails are on the up now more than ever and to be at the forefront of that, pushing forward the idea of using better ingredients and better recipes to create even better cocktails is something I'm really passionate about and I've loved every moment of this experience."

Johanna Dalley, Global WORLD CLASS Director, said: "This is a special week in the bartender calendar and it didn't disappoint - we have truly been blown away. Cocktail culture is booming and these WORLD CLASS Finalists are the people who are leading the way, helping the industry grow from strength to strength. At WORLD CLASS we are on a mission to inspire people to drink better and shape the future of drinking, whether at home or in the bar. The WORLD CLASS Finals are an incredible way of bringing us one step closer to that and we couldn't do it without the incredible bartending talent that we've seen on display this week who continually inspire and entertain."

Diageo Reserve's Global Cocktalian and WORLD CLASS Judge, Lauren Mote, also had the following to say: "Wow. Wow. Wow. What an incredible week! As judges we've seen everything, from six foot high flames to ingredients brought together in ways I've never seen before."

Speaking about the competition winner, Lauren said: "Every finalist was incredible but for me Kaitlyn really stood out. Her Lucha Libre performance was exceptional, the way she handled the Heat of the Moment round blew me away. And by the time it came to the final challenge, we wanted to find someone bursting with skill, knowledge and charisma, with unbelievable creativity and an incredible mastery of the classic and signature serves. Kaitlyn well and truly delivered. It was a phenomenal thing to witness and be a part of."

Earlier in the competition, WORLD CLASS revealed four trends expected to change cocktail culture in the next year. Speaking about the trends, Lauren said: "The aim of WORLD CLASS is not just to find the best bartenders in the world. We also want to inspire cocktail fans around the world to drink better - we want more 'armchair mixologists' to have the courage to explore what's possible and create their own signature serves in the kitchen. Next year we expect just that - more people experimenting with cocktails at home. We also expect sustainability to become a driving force behind cocktail creation, be that in the ingredients used or the methods applied. Signature Serves will feature more and more as bar strive to create unique drinks experiences for cocktail tourists. And lastly, we think enlightened mixologists will adopt ingredients and cutting edge techniques from a transformed gastronomy culture, pushing the parameters of cocktail making as we know it. It's going to be an exciting year!"

World Class will celebrate its 10thanniversary in Berlin, one of the world's most dynamic cultural hotspots. "Berlin is famous for its diverse nightlife and vibrant bar culture - a perfect place to host our 2018 World Class finals. The streets are lined with a cutting-edge bars, all pushing the boundaries of cocktail culture and helping people get more from their drinks. Not just that, the style of the city and its creative and diverse cultural make-up, means that it will be a spectacular experience for everyone," commented Johanna Dalley, World Class Director.

WORLD CLASS is on a mission to inspire people to drink better and shape the future of drinking, whether at home or in the bar. If you have been inspired to drink better, visit http://www.theworldclassclub.com or the WORLD CLASS Facebook community, where you can find delicious new recipes from our finalists, how-to videos and et the low-down on the latest trends.

Winner's Biography: Kaitlyn Stewart (Place of work: Royal Dinette)

Kaitlyn has grown up in the hospitality industry, with both of her parents having careers that gave her exposure and ignited a passion for it from a young age. She knows that dedication and hard work can lead to great things. Kaitlyn is inspired by the music she listens to, the food she enjoys and also the customers she interacts with at her bar. Her dream is to continue learning her craft, explore more of the world and eventually open up her own spot!
MoneyTV with Donald Baillargeon television program, Copyright MMXVII, all rights reserved. MoneyTV does not provide an analysis of companies' financial positions and is not soliciting to purchase or sell securities of the companies, nor are we offering a recommendation of featured companies or their stocks. Information discussed herein has been provided by the companies and should be verified independently with the companies and a securities analyst. MoneyTV provides companies a 3 to 4 month corporate profile with multiple appearances for a cash fee of $11,995.00 to $17,250.00, does not accept company stock as payment for services, does not hold any positions, options or warrants in featured companies. The information herein is not an endorsement by Donald Baillargeon, the producer, publisher or parent company of MoneyTV.

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
25 August 2017

PowerShares Global Funds Ireland plc (the "Company")

Update to the Prospectus of the Company

Dear Shareholder,

We wish to advise you about some updates to the Prospectus of PowerShares Global Funds Ireland plc (further referred to as "the Company").

All changes will be effective as of 12 September 2017 for all Funds, except for item D which will be effective from 5September 2017 and only for certain Funds (the "Effective Date").

A. Change of disclosures and format in relation to the share classes available for each Fund

In an effort to provide Shareholders with better access to share class features, the Company may launch additional share classes. Moreover, the Company will adopt a more streamlined approach to informing Shareholders of the share classes available.

It is believed that this approach will provide a more efficient way of managing the range of share classes available and result in an improved time to market for new launches.

This approach will consist of

removing the current individual listing of share classes from Schedule IV to the Prospectus

and replacing that listing with a general table containing the potential combination of share class types available (i.e. the type of share classes that may be available in the future) and the relevant fees. As a result, from the Effective Date, the Manager may decide to create different share classes within each fund without updating the Prospectus accordingly. The different share classes will have specific features, such as:

a different currency

and/or a dividend policy (annual distribution, monthly distribution, accumulation, etc). The share classes may also be hedged or unhedged.

Section 5.1.2. (Share Classes) of the Prospectus will demonstrate the possible combination of share class features (i.e. the type of share classes) that may be available in the future, as follows:

Dividend Policy Distribution Frequency Available

currencies Hedging Policy Accumulation N/A EUR

USD

GBP

CHF Unhedged Distribution Annually

Semi-Annually

Quarterly

Monthly Hedged

The list of launched share classes in each of the Funds will instead be made available on the website of the Manager http://invescomanagementcompanyireland.invesco.com.

B. Change of definition of Dealing Day

In order to streamline the operations of the Funds, it is proposed to align the definition of Dealing Day to the opening of the markets in which the Funds invest.

The definition of Dealing Day will be updated to the following:

"a day on which any stock exchange on which a Fund is traded or listed is open for business or any day on which any of the markets on which more than 75% of a Fund's Investments are listed or traded are open for business; unless otherwise determined by the Directors and notified in advance to Shareholders provided always that there shall be at least one Dealing Day per fortnight. A list of Dealing Days for each Fund will be available from the Manager."

C. Clarification on the payment of redemption proceeds

Further to the implementation of the new share class disclosures and the flexibility to launch share classes in different currencies as highlighted under item 1 above, it is proposed to clarify in Section 8 of the Prospectus that in-kind and cash redemption will be settled in the base currency of the relevant Share Class.

D. Change of the settlement date

The Directors intend, with effect from 5 September 2017, to change the settlement date for in-kind subscriptions and in-kind redemptions for the Funds:
Loss of faith in President Trump could have severe impact on cloud computing revenues in the US

The following is a statement from Artmotion Ltd.

The US cloud computing industry stands to lose more than $10 billion by 2020 as a result of President Trump's increasingly shaky reputation on data privacy, according to the latest research from secure data centre experts Artmotion.

Growth for US cloud computing providers is already thought to be slowing. Although IDC's latest Worldwide Public Cloud Services Spending Guide suggests that the US will generate more than 60% of total worldwide cloud revenues to 2020, the country is expected to experience the slowest growth rate of the eight regions in the analysis.

However, this forecast slowdown does not factor in the effect that President Trump's controversial record on data privacy has had on business confidence in the US as a data hosting location. This coincides with a rapid increase in people expressing unfavourable opinions about the US more generally. In fact, the latest study from the Pew Research Center highlights that just 22% of people have confidence in President Trump to do the right thing when it comes to international affairs.

As a result of this growing uncertainty, Artmotion's new analysis suggests that US cloud providers will experience further slowing of growth in the next three years creating estimated losses of $10.1 billion for the industry between 2017-2020.

Mateo Meier, CEO of Artmotion, commented: "In a market that is still expected to grow significantly in the next few years, it is vital that US service providers continue to attract new customers in order to retain market share. Despite the US's current dominance of the global cloud computing market, there is no certainty that the status quo will be maintained. Perhaps the key reason for US cloud providers to be fearful is that this isn't the first time we've been here.

"Edward Snowden's revelations about PRISM and the NSA's mass surveillance techniques were hugely damaging to US cloud companies. It also encouraged many businesses to completely rethink their data strategies, rather than continuing to trust that US cloud providers would guarantee the levels of data security and privacy they need. The impact that President Trump could have needs to be understood in that context."

Artmotion's full analysis is available as a free download here.

ENDS

About Artmotion

Artmotion Ltd is a privately held data hosting provider in Switzerland, offering state of the art, highly secure server solutions for businesses of all sizes.

The company provides services such as secure, high performance dedicated servers, neutral clouds to safeguard data and private Swiss mail. The data centers offer ultimate privacy, latest technology and highly efficient infrastructure.

Artmotion is serving businesses in 30 countries, with customer base mostly of medium to large international clients, including Fortune 500 companies.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170825005225/en/

Contacts:

Media contact

Ben Smith

Wildfire

artmotion@wildfirepr.com

+44 208 408 8000
TEL AVIV, ISRAEL -- (Marketwired) -- 08/25/17 -- InspireMD, Inc. (NYSE American: NSPR) (NYSE American: NSPR.WS) (NYSE MKT: NSPR) (NYSE MKT: NSPR.WS) ("InspireMD" or the "Company"), a leader in embolic prevention systems (EPS) / thrombus management technologies and neurovascular devices, today announced it has signed an agreement with 1a medical ag, a leading medical distributor in Switzerland, to distribute CGuard EPS (Embolic Prevention System).

Agustin Gago, EVP and Chief Commercial Officer of InspireMD, commented, "We are delighted to partner with 1a medical ag, which brings long standing relationships with the top key opinion leaders and physicians across all relevant clinical specialties in Switzerland. The agreement contains guaranteed minimum sales, further illustrating their confidence in CGuard EPS."

Mr. Albert Kaiser, CEO of 1a medical ag, noted, "We look forward to launching CGuard in Switzerland, which is in line with our mission to bring best-in-class technologies to medical practices across Switzerland. Based on the strong supporting clinical data, we believe CGuard EPS has the potential to rapidly become standard of care in Switzerland due to its distinct safety advantages."

About InspireMD, Inc.

InspireMD seeks to utilize its proprietary MicroNet technology to make its products the industry standard for embolic protection and to provide a superior solution to the key clinical issues of current stenting in patients with a high risk of distal embolization, no reflow and major adverse cardiac events.

InspireMD intends to pursue applications of this MicroNet technology in coronary, carotid (CGuard), neurovascular, and peripheral artery procedures. InspireMD's common stock is quoted on the NYSE American under the ticker symbol NSPR and certain warrants are quoted on the NYSE American under the ticker symbol NSPR.WS.

Forward-looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements." Such statements may be preceded by the words "intends," "may," "will," "plans," "expects," "anticipates," "projects," "predicts," "estimates," "aims," "believes," "hopes," "potential" or similar words. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, are based on certain assumptions and are subject to various known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's control, and cannot be predicted or quantified and consequently, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, risks and uncertainties associated with (i) market acceptance of our existing and new products, (ii) negative clinical trial results or lengthy product delays in key markets, (iii) an inability to secure regulatory approvals for the sale of our products, (iv) intense competition in the medical device industry from much larger, multinational companies, (v) product liability claims, (vi) product malfunctions, (vii) our limited manufacturing capabilities and reliance on subcontractors for assistance, (viii) insufficient or inadequate reimbursement by governmental and other third party payers for our products, (ix) our efforts to successfully obtain and maintain intellectual property protection covering our products, which may not be successful, (x) legislative or regulatory reform of the healthcare system in both the U.S. and foreign jurisdictions, (xi) our reliance on single suppliers for certain product components, (xii) the fact that we will need to raise additional capital to meet our business requirements in the future and that such capital raising may be costly, dilutive or difficult to obtain and (xiii) the fact that we conduct business in multiple foreign jurisdictions, exposing us to foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations, logistical and communications challenges, burdens and costs of compliance with foreign laws and political and economic instability in each jurisdiction. More detailed information about the Company and the risk factors that may affect the realization of forward looking statements is set forth in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K and its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Investors and security holders are urged to read these documents free of charge on the SEC's web site at http://www.sec.gov. The Company assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise its forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Investor Contacts:

InspireMD, Inc.

Craig Shore

Chief Financial Officer

Phone: 1-888-776-6804 FREE

Email: craigs@inspiremd.com



Crescendo Communications, LLC

David Waldman

Phone: (212) 671-1021

Email: NSPR@crescendo-ir.com




Up to 300 patients in England will test novel insulin pen accessory called InsulCheck Connect to help diabetes management

DUBLIN, Aug. 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --Innovation Zed (www.innovationzed.com), an Irish medtech company, today announced that it has commenced working with the NHS in South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw, England.

The collaboration sees the company's novel insulin pen accessory used with diabetes patients as part of a national NHS Test Bed programme exploring new models of care.

InsulCheck Connect, a snap-on accessory for disposable insulin pen users, automatically collects and records pen usage and behaviour data 'on the go'.

The South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw Perfect Patient Pathway Test Bed is one of 7 national Test Bed programmes in England, funded by NHS England to look at new ways of delivering care for patients by working withtechnology partners.

The InsulCheck Connect device is being offered to diabetic patients at the Northern General Hospital, Sheffield as part of a programme designed to better support them to manage their condition. It is hoped the programme will involve up to 300 diabetes patients in total.

The expectation is that the data collected by InsulCheck Connect, when merged with other data such as sugar level readings, and as part of a new package of support for diabetic patients, will enable them and their medical professionals to improve the management of the condition and generate better health outcomes.

Once the new care models that are being looked at through the Test Bed programme are evaluated, any models and technology that are seen as successfully supporting patients to improve their care could be made available for other parts of the UK to adopt and adapt to the particular needs of their local populations.

Innovation Zed, headquartered at NovaUCD, the Centre for New Ventures and Entrepreneurs at University CollegeDublin (UCD),was co-founded in 2009 byJohn HughesandWilliam Cirillo.

John Hughes, CEO, Innovation Zed, himself an insulin user, said, "I am delighted to have InsulCheck Connect incorporated in the Perfect Patient Pathway Test Bed programme in South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw."

He added, "Our research with insulin pen users highlights that, as with other conditions, injection compliance is significantly below what is prescribed. We firmly believe that this work will demonstrate that our insulin pen accessory can greatly improve injection compliance and generate better health outcomes for people with diabetes."

Liz Howarth, South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw Perfect Patient Pathway Test Bed Programme Director said, "The Test Bed programme is in place to see whether NHS patients can benefit from using new ways of delivering care, combined with new technologies. It's very early days but we are looking forward to working with our partners, patients and the evaluation team to assess the impact of this particular project."

Innovation Zed has been dedicated to proactively championing the cause of insulin pen users through academic research, scientific studies, clinical trials and developing innovative products.

InsulCheck Connect is the second in a family of connected products from Innovation Zed. It builds on the company's popular InsulCheck Classic accessory and is the direct result of an intensive four-year research and development project in University College Dublin, Sweden and Taiwan.

John Hughes concluded, "We have already had significant interest in this family of low-cost, insulin pen add-on from private and national health insurance organisations globally as they seek to improve patient outcomes."

For further informationcontact Miceal Whelan, Communications Manager (Innovation), University College Dublin, e:miceal.whelan@ucd.ie, t: + 353 1 716 3712 orJohn Hughes, CEO, Innovation Zed, e: info@insulcheck.com.

Editor's Notes

Innovation Zeddesigns connectedhealth solutions that support Drug Adherence and Condition Management. As technologies continue to evolve, it opens new and exciting possibilities for connected healthcare to deliver increased freedom and control to patients.That's why Innovation Zed is actively developing and researching new ways to improve drug adherence and enable more personalised condition management.www.innovationzed.com

ThePerfect Patient Pathway Test Bedwill enable health and social care organisations across the South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw region to share data and plan, in partnership and with patients, the best way to deliver care to people with long-term conditions based on their needs and wants and using the latest technology to support this. The Test Bed will initially focus on people with three or more long-term conditions across the Region.www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/innovation/test-beds/peppa

AtNovaUCD, the hub for new ventures and entrepreneurs at University College Dublin, we nurture and support new high-tech and knowledge-intensive companies as part of UCD's mission. At NovaUCD we provide purpose-built, state-of-the-art incubation facilities alongside a comprehensive business support programme for client companies such as Innovation Zed. NovaUCD has been funded through a unique public-private partnership that includes AIB Bank, Arthur Cox, Deloitte, Enterprise Ireland, Ericsson, Goodbody Stockbrokers, UCD and Xilinx. www.ucd.ie/novaucd

Related Images

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Related Links

InsulCheck Website
MEMPHIS, TN -- (Marketwired) -- 08/25/17 -- Diversified Trust, an independent comprehensive wealth management firm, recently welcomed Trey Tally, JD, CTFA, as a Senior Vice President at the company's Memphis office where he is part of the firm's wealth management team, supporting clients with trust, estate, tax and business planning.

"We are excited to welcome Trey to our firm," said Samuel N. Graham, president and chief executive officer of Diversified Trust. "He is a valuable addition to our firm, and his experience at other respected financial institutions and expertise in estate counseling and wealth management will enhance our capabilities to serve our clients."

Tally joins Diversified Trust after serving as a senior vice president at Pinnacle Financial Partners in Nashville, where he managed fiduciary assets held in trusts, IRAs, investment management accounts, escrow agreements and estates. He also worked with clients and their counsel to develop estate plans, gifting plans, executive compensation plans, business succession plans and other tax planning needs. Previously, he was a vice president and trust advisor at Regions Bank, where he oversaw trust accounts and developed wealth management plans that focused on executive compensation, special needs trust planning, business transitions and retirement income projections. At both financial institutions, he sat on the discretionary distribution committees to review trust requests.

"We are confident our clients will benefit from Trey's addition to our wealth management team," said Brook Lester, principal and chief wealth strategist at Diversified Trust. "His expertise in developing and implementing customized plans to help individuals and families achieve their objectives will be a great asset, and his experience in trust management, business succession planning, investment management, and estate planning will bolster our firm's expertise."

Prior to moving to Memphis, he served on the Estate Planning Council of Middle TN, the Nashville Bar Association and Leadership Health Care, and was a member of the finance committee for Nashville's Christ Church Cathedral. A member of the American Bankers Association, Tally is a certified trust and financial advisor. He is a graduate of the National Trust School (2011), and an honors graduate of Graduate Trust Schools I and II (2012-2013).

Tally received his undergraduate degree in philosophy from Tulane University and his Juris Doctor (JD) from the University of Tennessee College of Law.

Diversified Trust, established in 1994, provides clients with comprehensive wealth management solutions, including investment management, trusts and estates, family office and institutional advisory services via a comprehensive approach.

About Diversified Trust

Diversified Trust is located at 6075 Poplar Avenue Suite 900, Memphis, Tennessee, 38119. Diversified Trust is employee-owned with more than $5 billion of client assets under management. Its clients include individuals, multi-generational families, family offices, foundations, endowments and retirement plans. In addition to Memphis, the Southeast-based company has offices in Greensboro, North Carolina; Atlanta, Georgia; and Nashville, Tennessee. For more information on Diversified Trust, please visit diversifiedtrust.com.

Media contact:

Sarah Brawner

DVL Seigenthaler

Sarah.brawner@dvlseigenthaler.com

615-610-0323




KARACHI, Pakistan, August 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

We are pleased to announce that Puma Energy has entered into an agreement with the Chishti Group to acquire 51% interest in Admore Gas Pvt. Ltd (Admore).

(Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/548915/Puma_Energy_Chishti_Group.jpg )



Admore is one of the leading independent Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) in Pakistan with a significant retail network of over 470 sites nationwide. Puma Energy is one of the world's largest independent midstream and downstream oil companies.The acquisition forms part of Puma Energy's global strategy of disciplined investing in fast-growing markets with a high demand for oil products, offering the opportunity to improve local infrastructure, provide supply security and world-class retail propositions to local consumers.

The joint venture will bring Puma Energy branded retail sites, convenience stores and quality product range to the Pakistan market, and undertake a significant investment programme to develop best-in-class supply chain infrastructure in-country to ensure the future needs of our retail business partners and public customers can be met.

Puma Energy's CEO Pierre Eladari said "Puma Energy continues to expand into new markets where its proven business model can deliver value to our customers and shareholders alike. Pakistan is on a firm growth trajectory; growth which will place increasing demands on the downstream oil sector. We, together with our new partner, intend to play an important role in the future development of the industry, working with our new stakeholders in government, business and the public to improve the reliability, standards, service and product offering currently available."

David Holden, the General Manager of the joint venture, said "We have been greatly impressed by Admore's business, its strategic asset base, its customer portfolio and the excellence of its management and employees. We believe we can bring further benefits with our expertise in retail, logistics and our ability to ensure reliable and secure supply of high quality fuels to our customers."

Chishti Group Chairman, Amir Waliuddin Chishti commented: "We believe partnering with Puma Energy will benefit our Admore network, connecting Pakistan to the global market and ensuring security of supply for Pakistan's future growth. We see many opportunities for continued investment in infrastructure and supply to our portfolio of customers."

About Puma Energy

Puma Energy is a global integrated midstream and downstream oil company active in close to 47 countries. Formed in 1997 in Central America, Puma Energy has since expanded its activities worldwide, achieving rapid growth, diversification and product line development. The company directly manages over 8,000 employees. Headquartered in Singapore, it has regional hubs in Johannesburg (South Africa), San Juan (Puerto Rico), Brisbane (Australia) and Tallinn (Estonia).

Puma Energy's core activities in the midstream sector include the supply, storage and transportation of petroleum products. Puma Energy's activities are underpinned by investment in infrastructure which optimises supply chain systems, capturing value as both asset owner and marketer of product. Puma Energy's downstream activities include the distribution, retail sales and wholesale of a wide range of refined products, with additional product offerings in the lubricants, bitumen, LPG and marine bunkering sectors. Puma Energy currently has a global network of over 2,500 retail service stations. Puma Energy also provides a robust platform for independent entrepreneurs to develop their businesses, by providing a viable alternative to traditional market supply sources.

For further information visit: http://www.pumaenergy.com

About Chishti Group

Chishti Group is a renowned Pakistani conglomerate with a diversified business presence across several industry sectors including Healthcare, Education, Financial Services and Oil marketing. The current annual revenue of the Group is above USD 150mn with an employee base of 3,000. In the healthcare and education sectors, the group is successfully running (i) a 300-bed tertiary care hospital providing healthcare facilities, and (ii) the accredited educational institution which is awarding degree programs in MBBS, BDS, Post Graduate and Nursing care. Its full service brokerage business is a leading player in the Equity, Fixed income and Money Market business and is ranked among the top ten in the country. Having transformed and turned around three loss making businesses (due to its strong commitment with the country, excellent human capital and unmatched business execution capability), the group acquired Admore in 2014. Since then, with over 470 retail outlets, Admore has witnessed a significant improvement in terms of supply, storage and corporate governance in a very short period of time.
NEW YORK, Aug. 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --For eons, The Black Sea Region of Turkey has been a geo-ecological zone of deep blue waters and green fertile lands and is now the inspiration for the vibrant Spring/Summer 2018 collection created by John Paul Ataker. The designer will debut this season's looks at Skylight Clarkson Square on Monday September 11th, 2017 as part of IMG's New York Fashion Week in anticipation of the ready-to-wear brand's first U.S. flagship store opening in October 2017 on upper Madison Avenue.

The collection carries the cultural gusto and stamina of the wicker quilt art of fishermen, fishing and sailing ropes, and authentic wrung bracelets of the silversmiths of Trebizond, the vernacular knitting and weaving artizanship and ethnic Kazaz silver knot art. The region is known for its beautiful seacoasts, mountainous terrain and picturesque valleys of thick green foliage. It boasts high, fresh aired rich plateaus and is home to an industrious and innovative people who live by a rewarding but stubborn, oftentimes skittish and rough sea, with fruitful orchards and groves. Hardworking, plain living farmers toil hard but live healthy and long lives in the bosom of Mother Nature.

The Black Sea has become a bearer of what designer Numan Ataker has termed "slow fashion." He is calling on other parts of the world to opt for slow fashion because "it is about being purposeful and realizing that fewer is better and healthier both for humankind and our planet." Ataker cautiously warns that the world is at the helm of an unreasonable and fatal grip of what is becoming a faster and faster consuming vicious cycle.

"The world's economy is in a difficult situation due to fast and cheap consumption. I have always been on the side of slow fashion. It stands for choosing what is best for both nature and human health," says the designer.

This season's collection is based on the rich cultural heritage and folklore of The Black Sea zone of Turkey. Authentic and vernacular assets of the region are incorporated into Ataker's signature gowns, dresses and separates designed for daily and formal wear. Inspired by native and traditional garments of the people, "cepken" (bolero jackets), shalwar (baggy pants), peshtemal (loincloth), and waistcoats have been modified for the collection in a range of fabrics spanning from cotton to linen, organza to jacquard and viscose finalized by hand sewn needlework. The color palate this season has a large emphasis on unbleached fabrics and is predominantly white, ivory and black.

In line with "slow fashion" principles, all of the materials and dyes have been chosen to be as environmentally and ecologically friendly as possible with a focus on human health and wellness not only with the end products and wearer in mind, but throughout the production process as well.

The designer continues to embrace structural elements and creates all of his collections from the fabric up, with the premier focus on textile creation that remains exclusive to his brand. Ataker's signature shapes and tailored silhouettes are constructed to enhance the female form while the core attributes of deliberate detailing and sculptural aspects allows the John Paul Ataker woman to feel her most feminine and empowered self.

The designer's passion lies in the merging together of different quality of materials, and techniques to reach the desired effect for the pattern he seeks; a creative process he takes pride in achieving through much time, patience and years of expertise learned from growing up as a textile designer and learning the craft hands-on.

The runway will also present a line of exclusiveshoesdesignedby John Paul Atakeras contemporary interpretations of traditional fishermen's boots and farmers' footwear embellished with metallic fishermencords.

The models on the runway will purposefully convey Ataker's message that is "natural is beautiful" and will be wearing almost no makeup. The fishermen's ropes used in the collection will also be tied into the hair styles this season.

The John Paul Ataker SS18 collection carries a grave warning banner with it: the runway show has been choreographed honoring the victims of the Chernobyl nuclear environmental disaster. The show will close with a song by Kazim Koyuncu, a favorite musician from The Black Sea Region, who was a victim of the fatal nuclear fallout of Chernobyl meltdown in 1986; and whose consequences loom as a spectre over the fates of the region's peoples.

For more information, images and interview requests, please contact:

k.ataker@JohnPaulAtaker.com

If you wish to join us for John Paul Ataker Spring/Summer 2018 - New York Fashion Week Runway Show kindly RSVP at SS2018@JohnPaulAtaker.com

Monday September 11th at 12:00PM

Address: Skylight Clarkson Square Galery 1 - 550 Washington Street New York, NY 10011

About John Paul Ataker

International designer John Paul Ataker's sophisticated style and high-quality tailoring rapidly catapulted the company to an industry-leading position after its 1977 founding in Istanbul. Now headquartered in New York, the design house maintains its commitment to ensuring every woman who wears the brand feels both the elegance of the design and the soft caress of its luxurious fabrics. John Paul Ataker has been featured in numerous fashion and lifestyle publications including Vogue, W, InStyle, Yahoo! Style, People Magazine and more and worn by celebrities including Gwen Stefani, Chrissy Teigen, Olivia Culpo, Carrie Underwood, Taraji P. Henson, Maria Menouonos, Regina King, Heather Morris, Evan Rachel Wood, Molly Bernard and others. For more information, please visit johnpaulataker.com. To stay connected with John Paul Ataker, follow the brand on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest at @JohnPaulAtaker.

For more information, please contact:

Kerime Ataker

k.ataker@JohnPaulAtaker.com

917-794-9300

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/548970/John_Paul_Ataker_Logo.jpg
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - August 25, 2017) - East Asia Minerals Corporation (TSXV: EAS) ("East Asia Minerals", "East Asia, or the "Company") is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Juangga Mangasi Mangunsong as Indonesian Country Manager, as of August 1, 2017, to manage the Indonesian operations and develop the mining assets of both the Sangihe and Miwah properties in Indonesia.

Juangga obtained his mining engineering degree from the Institute of Technology of Bandung, Indonesia. He brings to the Company more than 20 years of extensive experience in the mining industry in Indonesia including several high profile roles acting as Director, Commissioner, Advisory Board Member, Business Analyst, and Mining Engineer for various large mining companies.

Juangga was the President Director of PT Peleburan Tembaga Semare a Copper Smelter company, and is the owner and Commissioner of PT Media Bakti Tambang (Majalah Tambang), a highly regarded Indonesian national magazine.

Juangga is also a member of the Working Group on Energy and Mineral Resources in the National Committee For Economy and Industry for the Republic of Indonesia, which has the charter to update the country's mining regulations. This committee reports directly to the President of Indonesia.

Terry Filbert, CEO of East Asia Minerals, stated, "As East Asia Minerals gets back to full operations, we have been able to attract talented and experienced mining professionals. Mr. Mangasi provides the Company with a strategic advantage of local expertise and valuable relationships with many of the senior government officials we that we need approvals from which will help keep the projects on schedule and on target."

The Company is also pleased to announce the return of Mr. Mike Hawkins, the former CEO of East Asia Minerals Corporation (2006-2011). Mike has been appointed as the Company's Executive Consultant. As the former CEO responsible for identifying and acquiring both Miwah and Sangihe mining projects, which the Company is currently developing he has been appointed to provide guidance and consulting on the asset development of Miwah and Sangihe as well as assisting on identifying and acquiring new mining opportunities for the Company. "During Mike's tenure, in 2010, the Company reached the historically highest market valuation of $600 million and acquired several gold and uranium properties," said Mr. Filbert.

Mr. Filbert further commented that, "Mike was responsible for the acquisition and then sale of a uranium mine asset to Areva NC for $83 million and a dividend of $70 million to East Asia shareholders. We are fortunate to have his guidance and access to his 30 plus years of experience as an exploration geologist and executive for major mining companies throughout the Pacific, Asia and South America.

"Mike has gladly accepted the appointment to return and see through those projects he started before he had to leave due to health reasons. Mike's rejoining our team should give our shareholders confidence that East Asia Minerals is building a strong qualified team that will lead to new opportunities for success based on the historic value of the Company."

East Asia Minerals Corporation has launched a new updated website to provide the updated information on the company's current developments and news.

The company is inviting investors to explore its new website. The new website has been designed to provide the ultimate user-friendly experience with improved navigation and functionality throughout, allowing investors to access up to date detailed information on our projects and the company. The site includes extensive project information to help investors understand our two projects in Indonesia.

For further information about East Asia Minerals Corporation, please visit www.EastAsiaMinerals.com or visit the Company's filings at www.sedar.com.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Terry Filbert"

Terry Filbert CEO and Director

For further information, please contact:

Ward Kondas

778-918-8384

wkondas@gmail.com

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Certain statements in this News Release, which are not historical in nature, constitute "forward looking statements" within the meaning of that phrase under applicable Canadian securities law. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements or information concerning future work programs, results and timing of any work programs, the Company's performance or events as of the date hereof. These statements reflect management's current assumptions and expectations and by their nature are subject to certain underlying assumptions, known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results, performance or events to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward looking statements. Those risks include the interpretation of drill results; the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits; the possibility that future exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with our expectations; commodity and currency price fluctuation; failure to obtain adequate financing; regulatory, recovery rates, refinery costs, and other relevant conversion factors, permitting and licensing risks; general market and mining exploration risks and production and economic risks related to design and engineering, manufacturing, technological processes and test procedures and the risk that the project's output will not be salable at a price that will cover the project's operating and maintenance costs. Forward-looking statements should not be construed as investment advice. Readers should perform a detailed, independent investigation and analysis of the Company and are encouraged to seek independent professional advice before making any investment decision. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statement. Except as required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward looking statements to reflect events or changes in circumstances that occur after the date hereof.
BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The Swiss stock market fluctuated between small gains and losses throughout Friday's session, but ultimately finished with a loss. Trading activity was choppy as investors maintained an attitude of caution due to the annual meeting of central bankers. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen refrained from discussing monetary policy in her prepared remarks at the Fed's economic policy symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Yellen focused on the topic of financial stability a decade after the onset of the financial crisis. European Central Bank President Mario Draghi is due to speak later today. The Swiss Market Index decreased 0.41 percent Friday and finished at 8,906.18. The SMI ended the trading week with an overall increase of 0.4 percent. The Swiss Leader Index dropped 0.28 percent Friday and the Swiss Performance Index lost 0.36 percent. Adecco weakened by 1.4 percent and Aryzta surrendered 1.2 percent. Index heavyweight Nestle dropped 1.0 percent, which weighed on the overall market. Roche slid 0.2 percent and Novartis fell 0.3 percent. Sika, Dufry, LafargeHolcim and Swiss Re all decreased by 0.7 percent each. Swiss Re was under pressure due to Hurricane Harvey, which will soon hit Texas. Clariant climbed 0.9 percent and Lonza gained 0.6 percent. Credit Suisse rose 0.5 percent, while UBS lost 0.2 percent. Richemont increased 0.3 percent. The stock has been steadily increasing since the start of the trading week, having received a boost from the latest Swiss watch export data. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
VALCOURT, QUEBEC -- (Marketwired) -- 08/25/17 -- Editors Note: There is a photo associated with this press release.

BRP (TSX: DOO) appointed Tracy Crocker to the position of senior vice-president and general manager, Evinrude following the retirement of his predecessor last month.

"Tracy brings over 30 years of experience, 20 in senior executive roles, in several global companies, most recently in the powersports industry," said Jose Boisjoli, president and CEO. "An accomplished strategist and team leader with a solid track record, he has helped organizations connect strategy to action plans and action plans to people."

Based in Sturtevant, Wisconsin, Crocker also becomes a member of BRP's Management Committee, reporting to Boisjoli.

About BRP

BRP (TSX: DOO) is a global leader in the design, development, manufacturing, distribution and marketing of powersports vehicles and propulsion systems. Its portfolio includes Ski-Doo and Lynx snowmobiles, Sea-Doo watercraft, Can-Am off-road and Spyder vehicles, Evinrude and Rotax marine propulsion systems as well as Rotax engines for karts, motorcycles and recreational aircraft. BRP supports its line of products with a dedicated parts, accessories and clothing business. With annual sales of CA$4.2 billion from over 100 countries, the Company employs approximately 8,700 people worldwide.

www.brp.com

@BRPNews

Ski-Doo, Lynx, Sea-Doo, Evinrude, Rotax, Can-Am, Spyder and the BRP logo are trademarks of Bombardier Recreational Products Inc. or its affiliates. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

To view the photo associated with this press release, please visit the following link: http://www.marketwire.com/library/20170825-TracyCrocker_600.jpg

Contacts:

For media enquiries:

Valerie Bridger

Senior Advisor, Corporate Communications

450.532.5107

valerie.bridger@brp.com



For investor relations:

Philippe Deschenes

Financial Analyst

450.532.6462

philippe.deschenes@brp.com

www.brp.com




MONTREAL, QUEBEC -- (Marketwired) -- 08/25/17 -- MOBI724 Global Solutions Inc. ("MOBI724" or the "Company") (CSE: MOS)(CSE: MOS.CN)(CNSX: MOS)(OTCQB: MOBIF), a FinTech leader offering integrated EMV payment, Card-Linked Offers and Digital Marketing, hereby invites its current shareholders as well as the public to assist a webinar presided by Marcel Vienneau, CEO of MOBI724 to provide a management update and to answer questions further to the filings of the Q2 financial statements ending June 30, 2017 and the management discussions and analysis.

Interested parties may log in at the following web address:

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4774133748814657794

Please register for Management update on August 29, 2017 4:15 PM EST

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Brought to you by GoToWebinar Webinars Made Easy

About MOBI724 Global Solutions

MOBI724, a leader in the fintech industry based in Montreal (Canada), offers a unique and fully integrated suite of payment & digital marketing solutions with a combined EMV Payment, Card Linked Offers, and Digital Marketing platform that works on any card and any Mobile device. MOBI724's solutions add value to all types of transactions benefiting banks, retailers and cardholders by leveraging available user and purchasing data to increase transaction volumes and spend. MOBI724 provides a turnkey solution to its clients to capture card transactions on any Mobile device, at any point of sale or from any payment card. MOBI724 provides its customers with full and comprehensive traceability and enriched consumer data through its offering. Its solutions enables card associations, retailers, manufacturers, offer providers, Mobile operators and card issuers to create, manage, deliver and "track and measure" incentive campaigns worldwide to any Mobile device and allow its redemption at any point of sales.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this document, including those which express management's expectations or estimations with regard to the Company's future performance, constitute "forward-looking statements" as understood by applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements are, of necessity, based on a certain number of estimates and hypotheses; while management considers these to be accurate at the time they are expressed, they are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and risks on the commercial, economic and competitive levels. We advise readers that these forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other known and unknown factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied in these forward-looking statements. Investors are advised to not rely unduly on the forward-looking statements. This advisory applies to all forward-looking statements, whether expressed orally or in writing, attributed to the Company or to any individual expressing them in the name of the Company. Unless required by law, the Company is under no obligation to publicly update these forward-looking statements, whether to reflect new information, future events, or other circumstances.

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available.

The Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) has not reviewed this news release and does not accept responsibility for its adequacy or accuracy.

Contacts:

MOBI724 Global Solutions Inc.

Marcel Vienneau

1-514-394-5200 x 413

www.MOBI724.com




WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - President Donald Trump continued his assault on members of his own party in a post on Twitter on Friday, with Republican Senator Bob Corker, R-Tenn., serving as his latest target. Trump's attack on Corker comes after the Tennessee senator recently suggested the president has not demonstrated the stability or competence needed to be successful. 'Strange statement by Bob Corker considering that he is constantly asking me whether or not he should run again in '18. Tennessee not happy!' Trump tweeted. The tweet from Trump comes after Corker offered pointed criticism of the president in remarks to reporters after speaking to Chattanooga's Rotary Club last Thursday. '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,' Corker said. 'And we need for him to be successful. Our nation needs for him to be successful. It doesn't matter if you're a Republican or Democrat,' he added. 'The world needs our president to be successful.' Corker argued that Trump needs to demonstrate the characteristics of a president who understands what has made America great and what it is today. The comments from Corker came in reaction to Trump's response to the violent events in Charlottesville, Virginia, earlier this month. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was asked about Corker's remarks during a press briefing on Thursday. 'I think that's a ridiculous and outrageous claim and doesn't dignify a response from this podium,' Sanders said. Trump's tweet against Corker comes on the heels of attacks on other Republicans lawmakers, including Senate Majority Mitch McConnell, R-Ken., House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and Senator Jeff Flake, R-Ariz. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 08/25/17 -- Effective immediately the shares of AAN Ventures Inc. will be reinstated for trading.

The Company has rectified the default situation that gave rise to the suspension.

AAN Ventures Inc. previously announced a name change to Parana Copper Corporation and a share consolidation of its issued and outstanding common shares on a one (1) post consolidation share for each one point five (1.5) pre-consolidation common shares. No fractional shares will be issued. All fractional shares will be rounded to the nearest whole number.

As a result, the outstanding shares of the company will be reduced to approximately 37,835,387.

The shares will begin trading under the new name and symbol on August 28, 2017.

Please note that all open orders will be cancelled at the end of business on August 25, 2017. Dealers are reminded to re-enter their orders taking into account the share consolidation.

Trading on a Consolidated Basis: August 28, 2017

Record Date: June 7, 2017

NEW SYMBOL: COPR

NEW CUSIP: 699355103

NEW ISIN: CA 6993551036

Contacts:

Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE)

Listings

(416) 367-7340

Listings@thecse.com

www.thecse.com




DUBLIN, August 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

The "Diesel Exhaust Fluid Market by Component, OHV Market by Application, Aftermarket by Vehicle Type, Supply Mode, & by Region - Forecast to 2022" report has been added to Research and Markets' offering.

The diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) aftermarket is projected to grow at a CAGR of 13.06% during the forecast period and is projected to reach USD 21.50 Billion by 2022

The key factors driving the diesel exhaust fluid aftermarket are increasingly stringent emission standards, which are leading to the adoption of selective catalytic reduction (SCR) in vehicles. Other factors include the increasing vehicle parc and average miles driven owing to the improving infrastructure and concerns of timely servicing and maintenance of vehicles.

The LCV segment is estimated to be the largest segment, by volume as well as value, of the diesel exhaust fluid OE market. According analysis, the number of LCVs equipped with SCR increased from 2.97 million units in 2015 to 3.08 million units in 2016. Other factors influencing the growth of the OE market are the higher tank capacity of LCVs as compared to passenger cars. Furthermore, the penetration of diesel engines and SCR systems is higher in LCVs as the amount of NOx emitted from LCV engines is more than that emitted from passenger car engines.



Asia-Oceania is estimated to be the largest diesel exhaust fluid OE market due to the increasing vehicle production in countries such as China and India. The vehicle production in China and India is expected to increase from 27.5 million units and 4.7 million units in 2016 to 39.4 million units and 6.8 million units in 2022, respectively. The implementation of stringent emission regulations such as BS 4 and China 5 in India and China is expected to result in the increased penetration of SCR in vehicles. This is consequently expected to fuel the growth of the diesel exhaust fuel market in the region. Alternatively, North America is estimated to lead the DEF aftermarket segment as the region has high penetration of vehicle parc equipped with SCR as compared with other regions.



Key Topics Covered:



1 Introduction



2 Research Methodology



3 Executive Summary



4 Premium Insights



5 Market Overview



6 Diesel Exhaust Fluid Aftermarket, By Supply Mode & Region



7 Diesel Exhaust Fluid Market for OE, By Vehicle Type & Region



8 Diesel Exhaust Fluid Market for OE, By Component & Region



9 Off-Highway Diesel Exhaust Fluid Market for OE, By Region, Application & Power Output



10 Diesel Exhaust Fluid Aftermarket, By Vehicle Type & Region

11 Competitive Landscape



12 Company Profiles



Agrium Inc.

Air Liquide (Airgas)

BASF SE

CF International Holdings, Inc.

China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec)

Cummins Inc.

Graco Inc.

Nissan Chemical Industries, Ltd.

Potashcorp

Royal Dutch Shell PLC

Total S.A.

Yara International

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/pnd6wv/diesel_exhaust

About Research and Markets

Research and Markets is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

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WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - A U.S. judge on Thursday dismissed lawsuits that accused food manufacturers and retailers cheating consumers over a '100% grated Parmesan cheese' labels although the products included non-cheese ingredients. In 2016, Wal-Mart, Kraft Heinz Co, Target, Supervalu and other cheese makers were slapped with several lawsuits that claimed they were deceiving consumers. The lawsuits were consolidated into a single case in a multidistrict litigation in federal court in Chicago. The judge came to a conclusion that the retailers and cheese makers were not deceiving customers, and there 'labeling and marketing' should be viewed as a whole. He noted that full ingredients are listed on the products and make clear that cellulose, a filler made from wood pulp, is mixed into the Parmesan. U.S. District Judge Gary Feinerman said the plaintiffs' claims were not substantial as 'the readily accessible ingredient panels on the products' revealed the presence of non-cheese ingredients. The judge also said reasonable consumers should understand that the grated cheese must contain some additives, as it does not require refrigeration before the container is opened. 'Cheese is a dairy product, after all,' Feinerman said, 'and reasonable consumers are well aware that pure dairy products spoil, grow blue, green, or black fuzz, or otherwise become inedible if left unrefrigerated for an extended period of time.' Judge also said that there are multiple ways to interpret the '100%' as the label could have meant that the cheese is 100 percent grated or that 100 percent of the cheese in the product is Parmesan as opposed to cheddar. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Private equity and venture capital investments into companies in the Central and Eastern Europe region reached a total of 1.6 billion in 2016, the highest amount since 2009, new data from Invest Europe reveals.

According to the industry associations new Central and Eastern Europe Private Equity Statistics 2016 report, last year, investment capital was most focused on Poland, followed by the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Romania and Hungary respectively,

Consumer goods and services was the most targeted sector, attracting 23% of the investment value, while information and communication technology (ICT) was a close second with 22%.

The CEE regions total private equity fundraising amount rose 62% year-on-year to 621m in 2016, as larger fund managers returned to the market, and in line with a Europe-wide increase in fundraising for the asset class.

European investors from outside the CEE region provided 58% of the total capital raised, while funding from investors outside of Europe grew nearly nine-fold, notably from the US.

Long-term private investors contributed 43% of the overall fundraising amount, with funds-of-funds the largest source of capital, accounting for 27%, followed by pension funds with 16%.

The total number of companies divested in CEE increased to a record high of 112 in 2016, mainly driven by exits of venture-backed companies. Sale to another private equity house  the secondary market  took over as 2016s most utilized exit route in terms of amount, accounting for 476m of value at historical investment cost and 46% of the regions total divestment value.

Trade sale remained the most common route in terms of the number of companies divested at 37. Poland was the largest market in the region for exits, at 35% of divested amount at cost, followed by the Czech Republic, while ICT was the regions most important sector for divestments, including two out of the four largest exits last year.
16:53 (ist)

Alumni Ashok Vemuri, BG Srinivas, Mohandas Pai can be potential CEO candidates



Former Infoscions may well have a shot at clinching the top job as Infosys CEO, with the company looking at "alumni" along with internal and external candidates in its global search for the lead role.



Nilekani earlier in the day told investors that Infosys was going to "cast a very wide net" globally to get the best talent onboard.



"We are looking at internal candidates, external candidates and Infosys alumni," he said. Nilekani added there are Infoscions, who have left the company and have "charted their own success stories".



"We have an open mind. It will be a global search... The goal is to find somebody who has the expertise in managing a global corporation, who can accelerate the execution of our strategy and has strong appreciation of the cultural transformation that is required," he said.



With Infosys now looking at alumni as well, the contenders could include names like V Balakrishnan (ex-CFO), Mohandas Pai (former CFO and HR Head), Ashok Vemuri (former Americas Head and Board member) and B G Srinivas (former President).



However, Balakrsihnan told CNBC-TV18 today that he is not looking to return to Infosys.

With inputs from PTI
With Mubarakan, A Gentleman, Mersal and Judwaa 2 all exploring the concept of identical-looking people (whether its twins or doppelgangers), the popularity of films with the double-role trope has suddenly surged.

In A Gentleman, Sidharth Malhotra plays two roles: Gaurav, who is safe, and Rishi, who is risky. Kavya (Jacqueline Fernandez) is on the receiving end of the confusion between the two identical looking characters.

If you've seen the trailer of A Gentleman, both Sidharth Malhotra and Jacqueline Fernandez have performed in a manner we've never seen before. This only proves good direction can make a world of a difference. Sidharth is able to balance between the two characters Rishi and Gaurav with ease in the trailer, and Jacqueline seems to be the catalyst around which all the events happen. Raj and DK have an impressive filmography: Shor In the city and Go Goa Gone are two of my favourite films. Will A Gentleman prove to be the acting break both Jacqueline and Sidharth need?

Gaurav is a matrimonial ad waiting to be written. His hair is patted down with all the world's hair gel and he's the quintessential good-looking good boy. We're introduced to his character in the first few minutes of the film and the first word that comes to mind is paavam (a Tamil word that roughly translates as 'awww poor thing').

The film is set in Miami and therefore, Jacqueline's Kavya has a legit reason to have an accent. Kavya pushes him to be more youthful, cooler. However here's the catch: While the whole world thinks Gaurav is a 'gentleman', Kavya thinks he's too safe. It's why they are just friends, even though Gaurav is clearly crushing on her.

Enter Rishi. He's everything Gaurav is not. Risky, sauve, dangerous and mysterious. The most effective way to distinguish between Gaurav and Rishi (beyond setting and clothes), is Sidharth Malhotra's expressions. He's able to change his whole demeanour and body language based on who he's playing.

Rishi's introduction happens in Bangkok, while he's executing a heist under the order of 'Colonel' (Suniel Shetty), who plays the head of Rishi's con clan. Watching him on screen after so long is exciting, as he's not lost his screen presence (and actually has gained newfound sexiness, what with the beard)

The events of the film kept shifting between Miami, Bangkok and Mumbai, as we see Gaurav dealing with the pitfalls of being nice guy, while Rishi deals with the morality of being a contract thief/killer.

A lot of screen time is spent showing us how Gaurav wants what Rishi has: which is the edge, the mystery and several dimensions to his character. Meanwhile, Rishi, who is sick of living an immoral life, wants to settle down and find love. While the irony is evident it didn't add much to the narrative well into the first half. Everything seems misplaced. Forty minutes into the film and we're still establishing characters, which is leading to much confusion.

However, Raj and DK's treatment of this narrative is funny, and some scenes are genuinely hilarious, buying into the confusion they have built for themselves.

Coming back to the plot, Rishi decides he's had enough of being a conman, so he confronts Colonel and quits his job. He then lands up in Goa and sparks off a chain of events. Colonel asks him to help out with one last final project in Mumbai. And at the same time, Gaurav's boss sends him from Miami to Mumbai for work.

Finally the narrative picks up, and we know to expect impending confusion, and humour, owing to their identical looks.

Another hilarious scene that deserves mention is one involving Rishi pretending to be gay to stall someone important, who his gang is trying to use for their last heist. It's impressive to see that this scene is treated with sensitivity and not sensationalism.

The final nail in this misplaced yet interesting narrative is when we find out Rishi's last heist involves Gaurav and his trip to Mumbai.

Cue confusion. Finally, A Gentleman has my full attention.

No matter where the film is based/keeps switching to, Raj and DK really know how to celebrate Mumbai in their depiction, especially with the visuals. They had done so in Shor in the City and you can see the same vision in A Gentleman. The best action scenes are reserved for the claustrophobic bylines of Mumbai's suburbs.

The mid-point break really seals all the misplaced-ness from the ongoing narrative. It makes up for all the confusion, and without giving much away, suffice it to say that by the interval, the story starts to make sense. The double role confusion is given a massive yet impressive twist and I'm totally sinking into it.

All I'll say is the confusion revolves around identity, and it's this identity crisis that creates several plot points in the film. Whether it's about Gaurav and his project in Mumbai, or Rishi and his last heist in Mumbai, everything gets jumbled and mashed into one story.

If the first half was all over the place, the second half picks up steam, and resembles a cohesive story. Raj and DK have thrashed out how to include implausible tropes like the double role, and also having songs in the film. Not only are the songs foot-tapping, they don't hamper the story.

Save from tying up a few lose ends, the second half is dedicated largely to Kavya and Gaurav. Her parents come to Miami and want to set them up together, but she's not interested in marriage yet. However, whatever happened in Mumbai isn't leaving them. Not only is the underworld of Miami now involved, Gaurav and Kavya are the targets. Meanwhile, those two are still discovering each other.

Finally  a Bollywood film that doesn't force its two leads to fall in love just because they're good looking!

Special mention to Hussain Dalal, who plays Gaurav's friend Dixit, and Amit Mistry who plays a Gujarati don in Miami. Both bring in regular doses of humour.

The last film that had the balance between commercial tropes and an innovative narrative was Dishoom  incidentally starring Sidharth's Student Of The Year co-star Varun Dhawan. The film didn't take audience sensibilities for granted, and neither does A Gentleman. This is how we should do commercial films: good-looking lead pair, great songs (even if somewhat generic) and a story that pulls you in.

While watching the film, I noticed the audiences laughing, discussing possibilities and coming to conclusions. These are the kind of films we deserve. Even though A Gentleman takes time get into the groove of its own narrative and confusion, it makes up for it with a cracker of a second half. Sidharth as Gaurav/Rishi, Jacqueline as Kavya, and all the other supporting actors play their part well in unraveling the story for us.

The action isn't larger than life, and even comical at times, engaging even the most anti-action person (like me). The tone of the film keeps shifting between funny, serious, confusion and finally, almost like a Guy Ritchie film, ties up in the last few moments, with aplomb.

A Gentleman is impressive: well done, Raj-DK, Sidharth and Jacqueline.
Gaurav is house proud. The quintessential metrosexual who can cook and keeps a clean house with a neatly manicured lawn, he drives a mini van and has a steady job in a software company in Miami. Hes putting together a dream life which is now just awaiting the addition of a wife and children. Gaurav has identified the mother of his future children, but his colleague and friend Kavya (Jacqueline Fernandez) doesnt see the dependable, safe and staid Gaurav as the man of her dreams.

Sidharth Malhotra is a very tidy and well groomed Gaurav. Hes also the intense, no-nonsense Rishi who is highly skilled in combat and weapons. Rishi works for a man referred to as Colonel (Suniel Shetty) who runs a covert cell called Unit X which is engaged in all manner of clandestine missions. Rishi is tiring of the grind and wants to retire from a life of guns and goons. But the colonel and his loyal subject Yakoub (Darshan Kumar) have other plans for Rishi.

Like the Bond and Bourne films, directors Krishna D.K. and Raj Nidimoru (Raj and DK) open their film in Mumbai, zip to Miami, Bangkok, Goa, back to Mumbai and return to Miami. Raj and DK meticulously tick off all the tropes of an action comedy, hitting their stride only by mid-point and serving up their brand of irreverent comedy blended with action in the second half.

This includes an unabashed objectification of the fit Malhotra/ Rishi who seems equally happy to show off his abs and pecs and a delightful scene with Kavyas parents checking out Gauravs credentials.

Comic interludes are provided by Gauravs best friend named Dikshit (Hussain Dalal)  the name itself being an obvious set up for associated gags and the Miami-based Gujarati operative, Jignesh (Amit Mistry) who activates the desi store mafia group on Whatsapp to track down missing persons.

Sachin-Jigars music works well with the narrative style and Fernandez is impressive with her pole dancing during Chandralekha. I wished only that a longer rendition of earworm Bandook meri laila had been worked in somehow.

Malhotra is handed two characters but he is neither fully the charismatic, enigmatic Rishi who can rock on a spray-on vest or understatedness enough as boy-next-door Gaurav. Fernandez, typecast as the darling office colleague who speaks with wide-eyed wonder, but she manages to make Kavya endearing.

Just when you think you have the connections between the doppelgangers figured out, the screenplay slickly teases you to think again. The twists are worked in well, but much of it is squandered by sluggish action scenes (like a bike chase through Bangkok which feels like a PG version of a computer game). Besides being obviously derivative, the action scenes could have been more imaginatively executed and the excitement achievement with more energetic editing.

Whether on motorbikes, crashing into and running out of glass-facade high rises or engaging in a Guy Ritchie style shootout, the action scenes are neither breathless nor awe-inspiring. Like the leading man who is abseiling, punching, shooting and being chased, they too are serviceable at best.

The comic parts of A Gentleman score over the action and as an action-comedy is falls short of taking any real risks.
Milan Luthria's period heist drama Baadshaho has become the first major film to be cleared by the new Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), under the chairmanship of lyricist and ad filmmaker Prasoon Joshi.

DNA reports that the film has been cleared with a U/A certificate and no cuts, either audio or visual. The same report states that the Board has also lauded the lead star of the film, Ajay Devgn, for consistently starring in films suitable for family consumption.

India.com reports that there were rumours that Baadshaho might come under the CBFC scanner for its elaborate action sequences and a long intimate scene filmed on Devgn and Ileana D'Cruz, a glimpse of which was shown in the closing moments of the song 'Mere Rashke Kamar'. However, the same report states that the Board found all those action and intimate scenes in the spirit of "great fun" and therefore, did not object to them.

Baadshaho also stars Emraan Hashmi, Vidyut Jammwal, Esha Gupta and Sanjay Mishra, along with Sunny Leone in a special appearance. It is co-produced by Bhushan Kumar's T-Series Films and Luthria's Vertex Motion Pictures. It is slated to release on 1 September, along with RS Prasanna's romantic comedy Shubh Mangal Saavdhan.
Mumbai: Bollywood stars such as Farhan Akhtar, Anupam Kher and Raveena Tandon, among others have praised the court's judgement against Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.

CBI judge Jagdeep Singh held the 50-year-old self-styled godman, guilty of rape in a case that was registered on the basis of an anonymous written complaint in 2002 that he had sexually exploited two female followers.

Violence broke out in Punjab and Haryana post the verdict, which claimed 28 lives and left 250 injured.

"To all those on the rampage and all those allowing it to continue, please try and imagine what the victims must feel seeing the violence in support of their rapist... "I assume that you, his followers, were taught the meaning and value of compassion... Please end the violence. Please allow the police to do their job. Please allow the law of the land to take its course," Farhan posted.

Kher tweeted, "Violence is what #GurmeetRamRahimSingh seems to have taught his followers. This is nonsense and government needs to use full force to stop it now."

Violence is what #GurmeetRamRahimSingh seems to have taught his followers. This is nonsense & Govt. needs to use full force to STOP it NOW.  Anupam Kher (@AnupamPkher) August 25, 2017

Raveena wrote, "The way the followers are reacting, rioting, itself proves what the cult was all about... Saddened to see such shameful goons on the loose."

The way the followers are reacting,rioting,itself proves what the cult was all about...saddened to see such shameful goons on the loose . https://t.co/HndVy2CjXB  Raveena Tandon (@TandonRaveena) August 25, 2017

Filmmaker Hansal Mehta said, "Thanks to our judiciary democracy lives on. #Pride."

Thanks to our judiciary democracy lives on. #Pride.  Hansal Mehta (@mehtahansal) August 25, 2017

Stand-up comedian-actor Vir Das posted, "I hope he stays in jail long enough to see every one of his nutjob followers lose enthusiasm, go back to life, and forget about him. "The nation has to address the fact that we are addicted to blind servitude and worship. Gurus, politicians, will always use it against us."

I hope he stays in jail long enough to see every one of his Nutjob followers lose enthusiasm, go back to life, and forget about him.  Vir Das (@thevirdas) August 25, 2017

The nation has to address the fact that we are addicted to blind servitude and worship. Gurus, politicians, will always use it against us.  Vir Das (@thevirdas) August 25, 2017

Music composer Salim Merchant tweeted, "I'm sure the 'Guru' taught the importance of peace in this world. Reports from Punjab and Haryana are devastating. #RamRahimVerdict"

I'm sure the 'Guru' taught the importance of Peace in this world. Reports of Punjab & Haryana are devastating. #RamRahimVerdict  salim merchant (@salim_merchant) August 25, 2017

Anubhav Sinha said he was surprised by the violence against the "arrest of a convicted rapist". "Hundreds of thousands of us so violently protest against the arrest of a convicted rapist. Is this who we are?" he wrote.

Hundreds of Thousands of us so violently protest against the arrest of a convicted rapist. Is this who we are?  Anubhav Sinha (@anubhavsinha) August 25, 2017

Actor Amyra Dastur tweeted, "A big win for the people, especially the daughters of India #RamRahimVerdict. "But can't believe the poor measures that have been taken to prevent such a horrific mob outburst from happening!"

A big win for the people, especially the daughters of India  #RamRahimVerdic

But can't believe the poor measures that have been taken  Amyra Dastur (@AmyraDastur93) August 25, 2017

VJ-actor Rannvijay Singha, who hails from Punjab, said, "Punjab and Haryana High Court orders attachment of entire property of #DeraSachaSauda to compensate for the damage. But what about the lives lost?"

Punjab&Haryana High Court orders attachment of entire property of #DeraSachaSauda to compensate for the damage.But Wat about the lives lost?  Rannvijay singha (@RannvijaySingha) August 25, 2017

Actor Bhumi Pednekar tweeted, "I hope my friends and family are all safe in Chandigarh. It's a very sad state of affairs. Be safe."
In a middle of the blockbuster movie season, a generic action movie sticks out like sore thumb. But well regarded source material being turned into a generic action movie  that really hurts. This is unfortunately the predicament of The Dark Tower  a sour and disappointing action fantasy that simply fails to entertain.

The film is based on Stephen Kings famous book series of the same name, and although I had never read the source material there has been a large enough fan following to ignore the significance of the series. Over the years many ardent fans of the books had called the story un-filmable; the film languished in development hell for many years, passing many directors hands, and ultimately landed with the Danish filmmaker Nikolaj Arcel who earlier made The Royal Affair. To anyone who has not read the books, The Dark Tower comes across as an unfocussed, incoherent mess with little to appreciate in the action of VFX department  and its hard to imagine that anyone who adores the books will find this a worthwhile adaptation.

The story is told through the point of view of a kid named Jake (Tom Taylor) who experiences visions of a dark tower and a man in black clothes (Matthew McConaughey) who seems intent to destroy the world. After being chased by doctors who may actually be monsters, Jake escapes to a post apocalyptic world and meets with the Gunslinger (Idris Elba) who had also appeared in his visions. The Man in Black hot on their trail, with the singular intention to kill them both, Jake and the Gunslinger must do everything they can to save themselves and the world.

While that may seem like a roller coaster adventure, the execution leaves a lot to be desired. The problem is the narrative is haphazard, never really settling down to tell a coherent story. It seems like the writers (four of them) lifted plot elements from different books in the series and inelegantly strung them together. The result is a series of beats that resemble every action fantasy movie ever made  something that should not be the case considering Stephen Kings name is attached to the source.

The lore that unfolds in the story is a predictable save the world cop out  and despite the seemingly giant worldwide threat the stakes seem to be really low. This feeling is amplified more so because you already know this is the first movie in a franchise, and there is no way the kid or the Gunslinger would not save the world. Knowing that the protagonists would outlive the villain takes any all semblance of danger or thrill from the film, making this more of a unsurprising slog instead of an exciting movie. Curiously this seems to be the case with many blockbusters lately  a downside forcibly carried by films that are only made to create franchises of multiple films instead of one interesting story.

The frustrating aspect of the film is how it has made Idris Elba and McConaughey look uninteresting. The former especially seems to have really back luck with his movie choices seeing as everything he appears in seems promising but turns into a dull and forgettable event. Perhaps its just time for the folks behind the James Bond franchise to grow a pair and give the talented and sophisticated Elba what he truly deserves  the title role.
New Delhi: Describing their bilateral ties as "deep, comprehensive and multi-faceted", India and Nepal on Thursday decided to expedite various joint infrastructure projects such as laying of rail links and building of roads.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held comprehensive talks with his Nepalese counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba and later in a joint statement the two leaders expressed satisfaction over the excellent state of India-Nepal relations.

Modi appreciated the efforts being made by the government of Nepal to take all sections of the society on board in the constitution implementation process and in establishing Nepal as a federal, democratic republic, the statement said.

"Both sides recognised the need for early completion of two ongoing cross-border rail-link projects: (a) Jayanagar- Bijalpur-Bardibas and (b) Jogbani-Biratnagar rail-links.

"The two prime ministers noted with satisfaction that the railway line from Jayanagar to Janakpur and from Jogbani to Biratnagar Custom Yard will be completed by 2018. The Nepali side committed to resolve all issues for expeditious completion of both the projects," it said.

As per the bus services, it was agreed that the Joint Working Group on Cross-Border Transport Facilitation will meet early to address operational issues for existing and additional routes.

"The two prime ministers noted with satisfaction the utilisation of the two Lines of Credit of $100 million and $250 million for development of roads and power infrastructure in Nepal," it added.

They welcomed the allocation of $200 million for irrigation projects, and $330 million for development of roads from Lines of Credit of $550 million.

The two leaders pledged to pursue new opportunities to further deepen bilateral relations for the benefit of the peoples of both countries, while committing to further reinvigorate the existing mechanisms.

"The two prime ministers welcomed the visits of members of Legislature-Parliament of Nepal to India and expressed hope to see increased frequency of such engagements between the two parliaments," the statement said.

They also expressed satisfaction at the excellent cooperation on security-related matters.

It was also agreed to identify at the earliest projects under the $750 million Line of Credit for post-earthquake reconstruction.

Both prime ministers directed their respective officials to finalise the MoU between the Pashupati Area Development Trust and the Archaeological Survey of India for reconstruction and renovation work.

Deuba "expressed concern" over Nepal's growing trade deficit with India. Noting the current level of bilateral trade, the two prime ministers underscored that there is a considerable potential to enhance the bilateral trade, which could be harnessed by addressing infrastructural deficiencies and trade restricting measures, it said.

The two prime ministers urged a constructive pursuit of a forward-looking development agenda wherein each country could learn from and contribute to the social and economic initiatives of a transformative nature.

"Towards this objective, it was agreed to initiate an annual policy dialogue between the NITI Aayog of India and the National Planning Commission of Nepal," it added.

The prime minister of Nepal extended an invitation to the Prime Minister of India to pay a visit to Nepal. Modi accepted the invitation and it was agreed that the visit would take place at mutually convenient dates.
Anita Gurumurthy and Nandini Chami

The nine-judge bench of the Supreme Court has just ruled that privacy is intrinsic to freedom of life and personal liberty guaranteed in Article 21 of the Constitution of India and qualifies as a primal natural right. The Court has underscored that its task was to impart constitutional meaning to individual liberty in an interconnected world. The judgment seeks to elaborate an idea of privacy with special attention to technological progress that has rendered our lives open to electronic scrutiny.

The lengthy text engages with the moral and legal question of privacy. But law in digital times must also grapple with the material aspects of privacy, and the social and economic consequences of specific technological architectures and how they materialise/violate/respect privacy. Privacy or its lack thereof is built in into the design of techno artifacts and becomes implicated in particular ways with particular configurations of digital paraphernalia.

The honorable Court has acknowledged that electronic tracks contain powerful means of information and hence privacy concerns are a serious issue in the age of information. However, the judgment is only a beginning. The de facto manifestations of the right to privacy in the digital age will depend very much on norms development by the government, and rulings of the courts, in respect of the concrete design of the digital. As we herald the historic judgment, we need to remind ourselves that the real task lies ahead.

Privacy and the materiality of technology design

Particular design features of a technology open up particular normative and ethical issues and challenges pertaining to privacy.

The ad-based model of the Internet is based on an exploitative, access-for-data order at the base of the global surveillance regime. It enables free-of-cost access to online information and communication services for users, while at the same time devouring incessantly every bit of their personal information. Platforms and their terms of service regulate the degrees of privacy, invariably claiming access to user data by default. In a research study of 26 safety apps for women, it was found that almost all of them, ironically, lack policies for privacy or terms of use, thus entailing a high risk of possible data and identity theft and egregious surveillance of users.

Every development in digital technology that becomes part of our social fabric forces us to confront a new question about the material design of privacy. The partnership between Googles Deep Mind and National Health Service UK reveals that centralised information systems become vulnerable to breaches, despite data protection law and use limitation rules. The advent of personal digital assistants has ushered in back-door pathways through which recorded conversations are beamed back to hardware manufacturers. Drones for home deliveries are scanning customers residences to map new retail opportunities, and thanks to smart data and IoT developments, devices talk to each other, without human mediation. In the information age reality, policies or laws with respect to privacy, such as the notice and collection principle, are thus rendered obsolete.

The hard code of digital technologies also seems to take the debate on the very idea of privacy to new thresholds. Advancements in Big Data analysis enabled by cognitive computing enhance the risk of social profiling and discrimination for members of marginalised communities. As some scholars put it, the sheer number and richness of databases and the increasing sophistication of algorithms heightens not just individual vulnerability to state and corporate surveillance, but also jeopardises the informational security of entire social groups. But we are far from laws to govern algorithms or Artificial Intelligence.

Privacy must be reimagined also as a collective right (PDF), and not just an individual one. In the specific choices of techno-design made to release rations for the poor through biometric verification, the current Aadhaar-based system takes away control that an individual has over their own biometric data. Instead, it exposes them to the risk of identity theft, borne out by many anecdotes from different parts of the country. As has been pointed out, it was quite possible to opt for a design that was more decentralised through smart cards (PDF), with all the personal data held by individual beneficiaries themselves. But the debate is often presented as fait accompli  to be poor, it would seem, is to forgo the right to privacy.

Ensuring privacy by techno-design

Clearly, a generalised right to privacy is not enough, unless it is encoded in guidelines for techno-design. In the examples shared above, databases do not need to be centralised and personal data assistants or apps can well be designed to uphold privacy-by-default.

A privacy law for the age of information requires that we build the public norms to get to this frontier. Efforts along these directions should account for the fact that the right to privacy should be available not only against state overreach, but equally against corporate surveillance, something that the judgment also acknowledges.

The future of our constitutional right to privacy in digital times depends upon a two-pronged approach.

Attention to class of technologies

Privacy and data protection guidelines framed by the executive cannot be undifferentiated; they have to respond to the specific concerns emanating from material design aspects pertaining to specific classes of technologies. For example, messaging apps must be bound by guidelines that mandate end-to-end encryption (like what is guaranteed by Telegram). Similarly, IoT based technologies will need a new set of design guidelines, as will personal data storage systems, and so on and so forth. One area in which the Government of India is making progress in this direction is cloud computing, as evidenced by TRAIs latest consultation paper on this issue.

Interpreting the proportionality of interference principle

The Supreme Courts judgment alludes many times to protection from arbitrary interference, citing Article 17 of the ICCPR. So, what then may be construed as necessary and proportionate interference? With respect to electronic data flows, in the Sabu Mathew case, the Court ruling drew a distinction between ads for sex determination and general content available online, highlighting that preemptive blocking was to be carried out only for the former type of content. The ruling reflects due cognizance by the court of the proportionality principle, addressing the intent of the law through governance of the techno-design. The rationale for exempting general content was that preemptive blocking as a technological instrument would be too blunt, and would result in over-censorship and unnecessary restrictions on freedom of information.

At the same time, with respect to data retention, the judicial response has been less evolved. Consider the petition challenging WhatsApp's decision to share all its subscriber data with Facebook, that the Supreme Court is currently hearing. The petitioners argument is that WhatsApps decision to share subscriber data that it retains violates the privacy of its 160 million Indian users. Initially, the Court nearly declined to take up the case, and the Bench expressed the view that a right to privacy argument may not be applicable to users of a free service who consent to part with their personal data. Fortunately, the Court appears to have revised its stance in subsequent hearings and admitted the quasi-public character of WhatsApp as a communication service that must be subject to user data protection principles.

The Supreme Courts ruling, no doubt, is a significant milestone in norms-making for digitally mediated life. But the law can be adequate to its purpose only if we acknowledge that our lives are made and remade in the encounters with the digital. Managing this complexity is to understand not just the pervasiveness of electronic scrutiny. It is about knowing the devil in the detail. The material design of the digital must be governed for a concrete and inalienable right to privacy.

The authors are with IT for Change, an NGO working on technology and social change.
China on Thursday said India has "slapped its own face" by deciding to build a road near Pangong Lake in Ladakh and it would only worsen the Doka La dispute. Beijing said the western sector of the boundary where India plans to build a road is not "delimited". It warned that the move was not "conducive" to peace in the region.

This criticism comes days before the BRICS summit which will be held in China in September. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be travelling to China for the summit. Observers have said that China's aggressive stance could be a strategy to make Modi's visit to China politically untenable, The Times of India reported.

India's home ministry has reportedly approved the building of a road from Marsimik La to Hot Spring in Ladakh. Marsimik La is about 20 km from Pangong Lake, where Indian and Chinese troops scuffled last week.

According to Hindustan Times, the home ministry on Tuesday had cleared the road-building project and the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) had taken over the project. The BRO has started "mobilisation" for the project which is part of the proposed India-China Border Road-I.

MHA officials have said that this road was initially initially proposed by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police, which guards the India-China border, reported The Indian Express.

This mobilisation followed the defence ministry decision on Monday to delegate more administrative and financial powers to the BRO for the speedy completion of the projects. This was done to prevent delays in the construction of strategic roads.

India and China have a dispute over the Line of Actual Control in the western sector of Ladakh.

"It seems that the Indian side is slapping its own face," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said reacting to the development. "The Indian side is closely following China's road building, but India's action itself has proven that the Indian side says something and does another," she added.

"Its words are complete contradictions to its deeds on the border issues," she said. "Now, the current road construction in that area by the Indian side is not conducive to peace and stability in that area. It will not help with settlement of the current situation," Hua said referring to the Doka La crisis.

"I should stress that the western section of the China-India boundary has not been delimited and the two sides have agreed to uphold peace and tranquillity before the disputes are settled," Hua said.

China on Thursday issued a safety advisory to its citizens living in India. This is the second such notice amid the border row dispute between the two countries. The advisory has asked them to be alert and its validity is till 31 December. The last one-month advisory was issued on 8 July.

Indian and Chinese troops have been engaged in a standoff at Doka Lain the Sikkim section for the past three months, which has led to escalation in bilateral tensions.

The dispute began when India stalled the construction of a Chinese road in Doka La, which lies in the tri-junction of India, China and Bhutan. Bhutan has also protested China's road building activity in its territory. New Delhi perceives the Chinese road in Doka La a threat as the region is very close to its Siliguri corridor which connects India's northeast with rest of the country.

The 3,488 km de facto India-China border is divided into three sectors: west, middle and east.

With inputs from IANS
Shalesh Singh, a merchant navy officer who was stranded on a vessel without food, water and salary for nine months on a ship in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) waters, sees the Indian governments move to include sailors recruitment in eMigrate as a positive one.

"It was a hell like situation for us. We all onboard were struggling even for drinking water. It is unbelievable to realise how we survived for the nine months," Shalesh told Firstpost over the phone from Uttar Pradesh.

Shalesh and his cadets were stranded as his vessel owners couldnt find a good business. "Many a time, we were not getting bunkers in Sharjah Port to anchor too as the owners failed to raise money to pay rent," Shalesh said.

After several cases of Indian sailors employed on foreign ships getting stranded, the Indian government has brought sailor recruitment on foreign ships under eMigrate system.

According to the new move, from 1 September this year, foreign ships who want to employ Indians will have to apply through eMigrate, which will ensure minimum wages and other rights protection.

India launched eMigrate, an online registration system for foreign employers who want to recruit Indian workers, in 2015.

The eMigrate portal www.emigrate.gov.in is an online recruitment system initially established for blue-collar workers and housemaids seeking employment in 18 countries where they require emigration clearance from the office of the Protector of Emigrants.

Now according to sources, new software for immigration of Indian seafarers has been developed for the eMigrate system. The approved recruiters have to upload the employment data of sailors on the eMigrate system.

This data will be transmitted online by the eMigrate system to the Bureau of Immigration (BOL).

When a seafarer, whose data is entered into the system, reports at the immigration checkpoint and swipes his passport, then his data flashes on the immigration desk and he may be allowed to pass through.

Recently, cases of 100 Indian sailors aboard 22 ships being stranded in the UAE waters for several months without salary, food and medicine popped up.

The Indian government and Indian mission in UAE had to step in to rescue the stranded the sailors.

In some stranded cases, the Indian mission had to provide food, water, fuel and even recharge of their mobile phones. Shalesh was one among the sailors who were stranded without food, water and salary.

"Including the sailors recruitment in eMigrate system will ensure the protection of their rights. When we approached the Indian authorities to be rescued, they were clueless about our details. They were in a perplexing situation on how to help us," Shalesh said. "They were unaware about us being employed in a foreign land. If eMigrate system was present when we were recruited, then we would not have landed deep neck trouble we were," Shalesh said.

Girish Pant, a UAE-based Indian social worker to support the stranded sailors, welcoming the Indian governments move said the coordinated efforts of the whole team for the betterment of stranded sailors in the UAE waters would now benefit Indian sailors working across the globe.

"I would say this is the fruit of UAE teamwork. The Indian embassy was proactive in these issues. I am very happy that the issues we took up from the UAE received such huge support from the Indian government and this revolutionary step has been taken to stop the exploitation of Indian sailors working everywhere," Girish said.

Additionally, the Indian government also has warned Indian fishermen not take up fishing jobs from Saudi and neighbouring Gulf countries in Iran waters. Currently, nine Indian sailors are stranded on an Iranian island without much support for the last few weeks after being caught for reportedly straying into Iranian waters.

The missions in Gulf countries also have been told to advise the Indian fishermen to take up work in fishing vessels from these countries to be extra cautious while venturing into waters near Iran.

According to the Indian governments 29 May notice, taking up jobs in these trawlers could lead to "possible detention, arrest or even endanger their lives". Officials said the decision was taken after many instances of Indian fishermen working in the foreign vessels being detained by the Iranian authorities surfaced.

If these fishermen are seen as trespassers, they will face legal actions, including fines, jail term or both. Though there are no exact data of Indian fishermen who are employed in vessels in these countries which would possibly head towards Iran, a few thousand Indian fishermen work in the Gulf countries.

According to Arul Antony, a migrants rights activist at National Domestic Workers Movement (NDWM) in Chennai, the nine stranded Indian fishermen are in a bad shape. "The fishermen were working under a Saudi sponsor. A group of four fishermen was arrested in the first week of July and another group of five fishermen were arrested during the last week of the same month. They are currently imprisoned in Bandar Bushehr, Iran, Arul said.

"The fishermen over the phone have informed the Indian Embassy in Iran about their situation. The fishermen alleged that they are not getting enough food and they were beaten up by Iranian officials," he said. The NDWM has filed a grievance on behalf the fishermen with the Indian government officially. "Hope the fishermen are rescued without much delay," Arul said.
Sirsa: A video-journalist of a TV channel was injured when his crew was attacked by followers of Dera Sacha Sauda sect chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, moments after a CBI court convicted him in a rape case on Friday.

Vehicles of media organisations were also attacked. The injured video-journalist was being rushed to a hospital.

Security was beefed up with a heavy deployment of police and paramilitary personnel around the Dera Sacha Sauda headquarters here as a special CBI court in Panchkula found the head of the sect guilty in a rape case.

Barricades were put up at a distance of 3 kilometers from the Dera headquarters and the security personnel was equipped with tear gas shells and water cannons.

The mounted police were also pressed into service.

Hundreds of Haryana police and paramilitary personnel, drawn from the CRPF and the BSF, were kept on a maximum alert in anticipation of protests by the Dera chief's followers.

Senior police officials said the security had been tightened further after the verdict and the overall situation was under control.

"We have deployed an adequate number of security personnel to tackle any eventuality. The situation has been under control so far," said AS Dhillon, Inspector General of Police, Hisar range.

The Army was called out in Sirsa on Friday with senior police officials carrying out a flag march outside the sect headquarters.

"Two companies of the army from Hisar district have been called out to maintain law-and-order in Sirsa," a top police officer said.

Scores of jawans, including 15,000 paramilitary personnel, have been deployed in the sensitive areas of Punjab and Haryana.

Click here for LIVE updates
Panchkula: Enraged by the rape conviction of self-styled godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh on Friday, his followers went on the rampage, hurling stones and vandalising media vehicles.

Immediately after a court in Panchkula convicted the Dera Sacha Sauda chief, many of his followers, including a large number of women, broke police barricades and security cordons.

At least three OB vans of private television channels were damaged. One van was overturned by a mob.

The India Today Group's TV channel showed pictures of its correspondent and cameraman being attacked while they were travelling in a van in Sirsa, the Dera's headquarters. The camera captured images of the windshield and windows being struck by men with sticks.

The glass shattered and one of the occupants of the van was heard moaning.

Pictures later showed his bloodied face.

#RamRahimVerdict: A camera person injured during violent protests in Sirsa, Haryana. pic.twitter.com/9qQjKnHBt9  ANI (@ANI) August 25, 2017

The police fired in the air and lobbed tear gas shells on sections of the crowds, many of them camping since last night on the streets of Panchkula.

The police also used water cannons and batons on the protesters to bring the situation under control.

CBI judge Jagdeep Singh, while holding the 50-year-old Dera chief guilty of rape, said the quantum of sentence would be pronounced on 28 August, CBI counsel HPS Verma told reporters outside the court.

The punishment can be a jail term of not less than seven years but may even extend to life imprisonment.

Army personnel and central paramilitary forces took positions around the CBI court complex in Panchkula, as the area close to the complex was sealed.

Follow LIVE updates here
Panchkula: Enraged by the rape conviction of self-styled godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh on Friday, thousands of his followers went on the rampage, hurling stones and vandalising media vehicles. At least five people were killed and scores injured.

Police fired in the air and also lobbed tear gas and let loose water cannons on the protesters to quell the violence, which appeared to be spreading in Haryana, Punjab and even Rajasthan.

The duty doctor at the Civil Hospital in Panchkula said at least five people were killed.

A reporter of CNN News 18 TV channel said a steady stream of ambulances was bringing scores of injured people to the hospital, soaked in blood. He described the scene as "chaos." It was not clear if the injuries were due to police action or violence by Dera followers.

"The flow of injured is not stopping," said the reporter in his dispatch, which also showed pictures of vehicles burning, and at least one person lying motionless by the roadside. The report said the man was dead.

It said at least 100 people were injured and eight people may have died, but this could not be immediately confirmed.

Immediately after a court in Panchkula convicted the Dera Sacha Sauda chief, many of his followers, including a large number of women, broke police barricades and security cordons.

At least three OB vans of private television channels were damaged. Two vans were overturned by a mob.

The police fired in the air and lobbed tear gas shells on sections of the crowds, many of them camping since Thursday night on the streets of Panchkula.

The police also used water cannons and batons on the protesters to bring the situation under control.

CBI judge Jagdeep Singh, while holding the 50-year-old Dera chief guilty of rape, said the quantum of sentence would be pronounced on 28 August, CBI counsel HPS Verma told reporters outside the court.

The punishment can be a jail term of not less than seven years but may even extend to life imprisonment.

Army personnel and central paramilitary forces took positions around the CBI court complex in Panchkula, as the area close to the complex was sealed.

Follow LIVE updates here
Chandigarh: Under fire over the handling of the situation arising out of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh's conviction, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Friday admitted that there were lapses but asserted appropriate action was being taken.

Facing a volley of questions from reporters on the violence that has left at least 30 people dead and scores injured, he said the "lapses have been identified and we are taking appropriate steps".

"This should not have happened," he said.

"Some people have lost lives and vehicles have been set on fire while government property too has been damaged. Some OB vans of the media have also been damaged by the mob," Khattar said.

"All those who have taken law into their hands will be punished. We have identified some culprits including those who fired (from the mob at security forces), some of whom have been nabbed and action will be taken against them," he said.

The government will assess the damage, he added.

Asked how thousands of Dera followers managed to reach Panchkula and was his government prepared for this, Khattar said, "We were prepared to deal with the situation. Since it was a very big mob..."

Khattar ducked a question on how thousands of Dera followers managed to reach Panchkula despite Section 144 being imposed much earlier.

When repeatedly asked how the followers managed to reach in such big numbers and whether it was a failure of his government, he replied, "When such issue comes where you are dealing with followers in such numbers... We tried to stop them..."

Khattar, facing unending questions from the reporters, had to plead with them to at least listen to what he had to say.

"I have to answer, listen to me," he said.

When told that the Punjab and Haryana High Court had come down heavily on the state government over the mishandling of the situation in Panchkula, Khattar said, "I have to give an answer and I will give... If you do not listen to me..."

To another question, he said the state has rushed paramilitary forces to all those places in addition to Panchkula and Sirsa where it feels the situation can take an ugly turn.

He said the damage caused to some media personnel's equipment during the violence will be taken care of the government.

He also said the state government will provide full compensation within a week to those persons whose property was damaged on Friday.

A website would be created where claimants can enter details regarding their damaged property, including vehicles and OB vans, he said, adding the portal would be launched within a day.

Khattar also urged the people to get their FIRs lodged online on HarSamay portal of Haryana Police.

"The amount of compensation will later be recovered from the property of Dera Sacha Sauda," he added.

Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh expressed shock that "the situation in Panchkula was allowed to escalate by the Haryana government".

"The trouble could have been averted had the Dera supporters been stopped from aggregating in one place," Amarinder said, adding that the Haryana government should have stopped trains and buses from reaching Panchkula, just as Punjab had done.

In the morning, Khattar had appealed to the people of the state to maintain peace and harmony not allow themselves to be misled by rumours.

"Some anti-social elements got mixed up with the followers of Dera Sacha Sauda after the delivery of the verdict by the CBI court in the case involving the Dera chief, resorted to violence and disrupted the peace," he had said in a statement.

Haryana's Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Ram Niwas said that the state government has taken a decision to bear the expenses to replace the damaged equipment of those media personnel who found themselves caught up in the violence in Chandigarh.

"Those who indulged in arson have been identified. We have maximum video footage available in this regard and government will take action against them. As far as presence of arsonists is concerned, they have been flushed out from Panchkula, where curfew is imposed," Niwas said.

Click here to follow LIVE updates
New Delhi: Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Friday expressed grave concern over the violence in Panchkula and other parts of Haryana and appealed for peace.

In a statement in New Delhi, Gandhi said several people including children had died in the violence, and "there was widespread destruction of public property and senseless attacks" on the media.

Gandhi, while appealing to the people to maintain peace, also spoke to Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and asked the government of Haryana and the Chandigarh administration to ensure the safety of all citizens.

At least 28 people were killed and 250 injured in widespread violence, arson and police firing triggered by the rape conviction of self-styled godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.

Thousands of followers of Ram Rahim, who is the head of the Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda, went on the rampage, setting fire to vehicles, buildings and railway stations soon after a special CBI court convicted him in a 2002 rape case.

Police responded by opening fire.

The unrest which began in Panchkula where the verdict was handed down, spread to other parts of Haryana and Punjab and even New Delhi where a bus and train were set on fire.
New Delhi: Condemning the violence by Dera Sacha Sauda followers, JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav Friday said such incidents are bound to happen when politicians take help from religious leaders and mix religion with politics.

In criticism apparently aimed at the BJP, which had actively courted Dera head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, Yadav said when Union ministers and other influential politicians visit him, people close to him are unlikely to fear police.

"When religion and politics are mixed, and politicians take assistance of religion in politics, then such incidents are bound to happen today or tomorrow. We still have time to learn that politicians should not take advantage and assistance in the name of religion and faith," he said in a statement.

Self-styled godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was Friday convicted of rape, sparking violence from thousands of his followers in parts of Haryana, Punjab and Delhi.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi was briefed on Friday about the situation in Haryana and Punjab as violence erupted in both states after a court in Panchkula convicted Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a rape case.

Union home secretary Rajiv Mehrishi and Intelligence Bureau chief Rajiv Jain met the prime minister and briefed them about the prevailing situation in both states, an official told IANS.

Before the prime minister was briefed, Union home minister Rajnath Singh held meetings with top officials, including Mehrishi and Jain, to review the situation.

At least 12 people were killed in firing by security forces as enraged supporters of Dera Sacha Sauda chief went on a rampage after the verdict.

To see live updates on this story, click here.
Its an oft-cited fact that Cumberland Countys largest employer is the federal government, and its fastest-growing employer is the distribution sector.

But for roughly 500 county residents, their employer is both. One of the largest and most sophisticated distribution systems in the world is headquartered just south of the county line, and its run by the U.S. military.

I think a lot of people still think of this as the old army depot, said Brig. Gen. John Laskodi, commander of Defense Logistics Agency Distribution near New Cumberland. I also try to not use the word depot as much because it denotes a static facility, which we are not.

DLA Distribution is the supply system for the entire U.S. Department of Defense, providing distribution for all operations at home and abroad. The Midstate base  technically in York County, but with a New Cumberland postal address  serves as both the headquarters office for all 34 DLA sites worldwide, as well as the central warehouse for the eastern seaboard.

Somewhat tucked away behind the Capital City Airport, DLA Susquehanna  as the DoD calls it  is not necessarily obvious to most people traveling down Old York Road. But once inside, the place is cavernous  the base itself is 848 acres, with 10.1 million square feet of covered storage space, according to a DoD fact sheet.

While the DLA headquarters and other regional military offices employ several hundred soldiers, the distribution operation itself consists of only 17 active duty military personnel, but with 1,625 civilian workers.

A good portion of those civilian employees are former military, or are currently in the reserves or National Guard, said Col. Brad Eungard, commander of DLA Susquehanna. I would say we lose and replace about 10-12 people per month, so its not a huge churn. People tend to come on and stay a long time.

Inventory

DLA Susquehanna handles a lot of material. Roughly a quarter of the DLAs entire inventory  2.4 million different items, valued at over $105 billion  goes through the site. But more challenging than the volume is the variety. DLA Distribution has 243,000 distinct customers worldwide.

That customer booking could be a student at University of Michigan who needs three ROTC shirts in Ann Arbor. It could also be a mechanic who needs tank parts sent to Kabul, said Scott Rosbaugh, DLA Distributions head of strategic planning.

The workload at Susquehanna varies along with the militarys overall workload. At the peak of the Iraq war in 2007, the military was drawing down on its stock of materials, approximately 20,000 standard truckloads of equipment came in that year, and 40,000 went out. In 2015, that number had evened out to roughly 15,000 in and 15,000 out, according to statistics from Eungards office.

But while the troop surge in the Middle East may be over, the DLAs work is still dictated by the U.S. militarys sprawling anti-terror operations.

Soldiers in the field are typically reliant on supply chains set up by their respective service branches, at least at first. But when operations are expected to last a while, the DLA may be ordered to create more permanent arrangements, opening new sites.

The most recent, Laskodi said, is a new distribution center in Djibouti, a small nation in the Horn of Africa that sits adjacent to Ethiopia and Somalia.

Were going to be on the African continent as long as counter-terror operations are ongoing, Laskodi said. Is it a money maker from an operational efficiency standpoint? No. Is it something thats needed to support our warfighters? Yes.

The DLA also maintains expeditionary elements  distribution systems that can be deployed anywhere in the world. These include three mobile medical centers, each contained in 200 trucks, all of which are supplied with medical equipment through Susquehanna, which has a separate cold-storage and packing facility for vaccines, Eungard noted.

We put a lot of work into the question how do I make a depot-in-a-can and be able to put that anywhere in the world? Rosbaugh said.

Distribution center

But the backbone of the DLA is the Susquehanna distribution center, which is an aging facility, Eungard noted, but one that is still a marvel of efficiency, even compared to current commercial warehouses.

Movement of shipments through the warehouse is entirely done by carts which run automatically on tracks  more than 10 miles of it throughout the main building. Storage locations are served by lifts that also run on a built-in system of rails, serving rows of narrow aisles that tower several stories high. One room alone has 330,000 separate bin locations for small items; the next has 70,000 pallet locations for large pieces.

Much of floor space is also taken up by sorting. High-demand items are immediately broken down from their manufacturer packaging and put into containers for shipment to individual sites.

Many of these, Eungard noted, are not defense-specific items. Rows upon rows of crates destined for defense offices around the world contained pens, toilet paper, printer cartridges, and other relatively common items.

But on the other hand, the DLA must also figure out how to supply extremely bulky items to specific locations. Containers heading out from Susquehanna to the DLAs Anniston, Alabama warehouse contain mostly parts for tanks, given that the Armys armored vehicle shop is located in Anniston.

Susquehanna also serves as a kitting site, where components sourced from various manufacturers are assembled as they are needed by units in the field. This would include assembly of various types of first-aid kits, as well as rucksack and ammunition pouch sets.

Vietnam taught us that people want things the way they use them in the field, Rosbaugh said. The Army doesnt want us to deliver a dozen types of bandages and have the soldiers sort them into first aid kits.

Every aspect of the DLA, including and particularly the Susquehanna site, has to be scalable in the extreme. The agency has to assume that the US could become embroiled in much larger conflicts at any time.

The strategic environment continues to be difficult, Laskodi said, noting that the US military could quickly trip into a larger conflict with North Korea, Russia, China, or other foreign powers with relatively little warning.

We provide materials in peacetime, but we have to be able to surge in wartime, Laskodi said.
New Delhi: Nepal on Thursday assured New Delhi it would not allow any activity against India, as the two sides signed eight pacts, including on cooperation in countering drug trafficking and post-earthquake reconstruction in the Himalayan nation

After comprehensive talks with his Nepalese counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid emphasis on closer cooperation between the two countries' security and defence forces to prevent any misuse of their open border

"Defence ties and assistance in security are an important aspect of our partnership. Our defence interests are also dependent on and connected to each other," Modi said at a joint press briefing after the talks.

On his part, Deuba gave an assurance of "every support, every help and cooperation"

"As you (Modi) mentioned that Nepal has an open border.. I would like to assure you that Nepal will never allow any activity against friendly neighbour India and there will be every support, every help and cooperation from our side," Deuba said.

Later, briefing reporters on the meeting between the two prime ministers, foreign secretary S Jaishankar said India conveyed to Nepal that the country should forge the "broadest possible consensus" and take every section of the people along in implementing its new Constitution.

Asked if the issue of the Dokalam standoff between Chinese and Indian troops figured during the meetings Modi and Deuba had on Wednesday and today, Jaishankar replied in the negative

Acknowledging there were "issues" in the implementation of the Constitution, Deuba expressed confidence that a Constitution "encompassing" the views of the people from all sections and ethnicities would be a reality

Modi, too, exuded confidence that Nepal would take into consideration aspirations of all its citizens during the implementation of the Constitution

On 21 August, the Nepalese parliament failed to endorse the much-awaited Constitution amendment bill to address the issues of the Madhesi people as the ruling coalition could not garner the two-thirds majority required for its passage

Deuba said both sides also exchanged views on regional and sub-regional cooperation using BIMSTEC (The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) and BBIN (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal Initiative) and create a "win-win" situation in various areas

The Nepalese prime minister said regular engagements at the highest political level would greatly contribute to sustaining and cementing trust between the two countries and his current visit was an effort towards it

The two leaders jointly inaugurated the Kataiya-Kusaha and Raxaul-Parwanipur cross border power transmission lines

Modi said this would give an additional 100 MW of power to Nepal, apart from the existing 350 MW

The two sides, he added, had also agreed on development of the Ramayana and Buddhist tourism circuits through better connectivity

Flood management and irrigation projects were a point of focus in the talks between the two countries

Modi stressed on greater coordination and consultation between the agencies of India and Nepal on flood management and said the two sides must work towards a long term solution, taking into consideration each others interests

While he expressed the hope that the Detailed Project Report for the Pancheshwar project on the Uttarakhand border would be finalised soon, Deuba stressed it would help in flood control and crop irrigation

Modi said Deuba had informed him that land acquisition issues for the Arun III irrigation project had been addressed and the Nepalese prime minister had invited him for the groundbreaking ceremony

Holding that Nepal was "not only a neighbour, but also a good friend of India", Deuba said its relation with India stood on a solid foundation

He further stated he appreciated Prime Minister Modi's 'Neighbourhood First Policy' and the approach of Sabka Saath and Sabka Vikas

"We are eager to see that this policy is translated into concrete and development activities," he said.
New Delhi: The Congress Friday called for the resignation of Haryana chief minister ML Khattar, with party president Sonia Gandhi expressing grave concern over the violence in the state.

The Congress president appealed for peace, while vice-president Rahul Gandhi stressed that violence and brutality had no place in society. "@PMOIndia must put the interest and safety of Indians before his party's interests. @mlkhattar must resign," the party said on Twitter.

At least 30 people were killed and 250 injured Friday in widespread violence, arson and police firing in Haryana triggered by the rape conviction of self-styled godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, the head of Dera Sacha Sauda.

In a statement here, the Congress president said several people including children had died in the violence, and "there was widespread destruction of public property and senseless attacks" on the media.

She appealed to the people to maintain peace. She also spoke with Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh and asked the government of Haryana and the Chandigarh administration to ensure the safety of all citizens.

Rahul Gandhi, who left for Norway earlier Friday, condemned the "rampage and lawlessness" in Haryana and appealed for the restoration of peace. "Violence and brutality have no place in our society. Condemn the rampage and lawlessness in Haryana and appeal to restore peace and tranquillity," he said on Twitter.

His tweet came a few hours after he left for Oslo, where he is expected to meet and interact with political and business leaders.

Former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda also appealed for peace but said the government should have been prepared. "The priority now is to restore law and order, peace and harmony. I appeal to the people of Haryana to maintain calm and ensure there is no loss of life or damage to property," he told reporters after violence broke out in Panchkula and other parts of the state in the wake of the conviction in the 2002 rape case.

Hooda said it was not the time for a blame-game but said the government should have been prepared and steps taken in advance to ensure law and order. He said Haryana had already suffered because of the "laxity" and "weakness" of the government during earlier agitations.
Government officials, both bureaucratic and elected, are increasingly making their ideological bankruptcy apparent through a series of policy moves and statements that condone the wholesale erosion of public welfare as enshrined in the Constitution of India  advocating the withdrawal of the State from key functions. It's an indication that India's policymakers, with BJP and its technocrats at the helm, do not have a solution to the country's poverty and welfare crises.

The focus in this essay will be policy, not scams; the critique is not simply ideological. The enrichment of private corporations through disinvestment, subsidising private corporations in profit-making ventures, and economic planning to serve private interests are the hallmark of this government's policy.

Let's start with infrastructure. NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant recently announced at a summit organised by FICCI that government entities should "exit from the operation and maintenance of infrastructure projects". Kant was also in favour of disinvesting Air India and a Rs 35,000 crore debt write-off, instead of arguing for recovery of bad public sector debt from tycoons such as Vijay Mallya as a more appropriate means.

Nitin Gadkari, roadways and transport minister, said the reason projects are delayed is not ministers but "the system and the bureaucracy".

But both refuse to take into account the fact that public-conducted infrastructure projects tend to complete on time as compared to public private partnership (PPP) or any other form of private contracting. A classic example is the fact that segments of the Delhi Metro which were entirely public built and supervised were finished ahead of time, while the PPP-based segments were delayed. State highways in places like Uttar Pradesh are a classic case of PPPs gone wrong, of course only till elections near. The government as a client is often the worst recipient of customer service from contractors. Furthermore, by giving up on operations and maintenance, the government gives up a crucial source of revenue (tolls), while providing windfall deals to building and toll contractors.

Kant also stated, "There is no need for jails, schools, and colleges to be run in the government sector... At least, experience of many countries like Canada and Australia shows that the private sector is capable of doing very good work in creation of quality infrastructure over a long period of time in social sector."

But this discourse ignores some key matters. Prison-industrial complexes are on the rise in countries such as the US and Australia, where state and federal jails are run by private corporations and security agencies, where prisoners are used as unpaid and underpaid labour onsite for various profit-making ventures (which nearly always draw excess profits due to various forms of subsidisation, namely the underpaid labour and state funds for upkeep per prisoner).

Further, security/prison firms in these countries have become notorious for corrupt judges, police and politicians, to enable harsher arbitrary sentencing across the board for all crimes of accused, suspects and convicts, as well as the trigger-happy tendencies of maximum sentencing and premature establishment of guilt, all in order to provide cheap manpower for the prison sweatshops  with data revealing huge discrimination against weaker sections of society, such as the poor, persons of colour and religious minorities.

In India, a similar move would likely amount to disproportionate sentencing by the judiciary, discriminatory profiling, as well as rigged investigations by the police against religious minorities, backward communities and poorer segments of society.

Regarding higher education (colleges and universities), what is conveniently left out is the fact that the most prestigious higher education institutes are in the public sector, or in some major way, government-aided: The IITs, IIMs, IIMC, NID, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi University, Jadavpur University, the National Law Universities, etc. Private higher education in India is hardly capable of providing top-quality education at par with any of these institutes listed, anytime soon, at a cost affordable to most aspirants  which is why seats in private institutes go vacant despite there being a larger and larger chunk of Class XII students who pass out of school annually. In the higher education sector, expansion of affordable, State-subsidised and supervised education is the only way to make up the shortfall  rather than a monopoly of for-profit educational enterprises.

Private schooling tends to thrive in urban and suburban areas, and in those rural areas where government schooling was once successful. One is far less likely to run into a private school in a basti in the rural interior (especially those without electricity, piped water, gas connections and shops) than a dilapidated one run by the government or an NGO. In short, private schools would not venture in an area that does not already have a high demand or a government school with high enrollment to outcompete. When it comes to urban and suburban areas, barring the Kendriya Vidyalayas, private education from excellent to shoddy is predominant, both in terms of success and quantity, with an emphasis on English medium (especially in North India). However, most private schools are only marginally better than the average government school, with the latter being the sole option for the extremely poor and nobody's first option.

Further, no amount of demand can lead to enough good private schools in cities like Delhi which can fit the children of Delhi's elite, forget the middle-class. The problem here is not lack of investment alone  one finds branches of well-known schools imparting not-so-good education compared to the main branches  but lack of well-trained teachers, and poor pay scales. Either way, disinvestment does not solve the country's education crisis.

A parallel proposal by the government aims at "location-specific mergers of nearly 260,000 small government schools". As reported in LiveMint, the government is looking at "location-specific mergers of 260,000 schools to utilise resources".

"In draft guidelines now available for public comments on the Union human resource development ministrys website, the government says it is time for a 're-look at the expansion of schooling facilities made in previous years and call for a nationwide consolidation of schools'. The move, the ministry believes, will reallocate staff and other resources from schools where they are in excess to the schools where they are needed. It will consolidate the resources in the best interest of the child and minimize under-utilization and wastage. States are now increasingly realizing that surplus schools, in excess of neighbourhood requirement, have somehow been established which are adversely affecting the provisioning of resources, teaching learning process, monitoring and supervision, say the draft guidelines," the report said.

A country like India does not have impeccable literacy, or school-passing or graduation credentials to justify putting a brake on expansion and focusing on what is touted as a "collective effort undertaken to promote access to schools, to expedite the resourcing of schools, to improve the quality of education, and to ensure the retention of children in schools".

Say there are four understaffed schools in four villages with five teachers each, which are then clubbed into one school with 20 teachers. It would limit access to schools for some villages, and would also potentially increase the distance a student has to travel to reach his/her school, in some cases by several kilometres, in the absence of school buses. And most of all, the plan does not take into account caste factors, for designated villages are in fact clusters of caste-based bastis in rural areas. Mergers of schools into one located in a single basti where social pressure backed with threats would either deny access to lower caste students if located in an upper caste basti, or lead to boycott of school by upper caste students if in a lower caste basti.

For instance, in Rajasthan, where tensions and disputes frequently flare up between Meos, Rajputs, Ahirs, Gujjars, Meenas and Jats, if the plan were implemented, would be a classic example of good intentions gone wrong. The ideal must be accessible to everybody.

The same report states that:

As per the draft guidelines, as of 2015-16, at least 187,006 primary schools (Class I-V) and 62,988 upper primary (Class VI-VIII) schools were running with fewer than 30 students. Besides, 7,166 schools had zero enrolment. It says some 87,000 schools have a single teacher.

If we link this with what Amitabh Kant said about disinvesting schools and colleges, one can easily see that the purpose of these "mergers" is not efficiency or quality, but to consolidate government assets that could viably be handed over to the private sector in a form most profitable to the latter  basically rearranging dishes on a silver platter. Assets which yield low potential profits or are in areas with low operative demand are seen as not profitable enough ventures to be of use to the future owners  the private sector.

Another potential beneficiary could be Vidya Bharti, the RSS-run, single largest chain of schools in the country  with each buyer receiving pre-packaged ready-to-operate schools with resources higher than when under government ownership.

Another report states:

The Centre told the Rajya Sabha... that over 37 percent of schools did not have electricity connections till March 2017. While only 62.81 percent schools in the country have electricity connections, Jharkhand is at the bottom of the list with just 19 percent. Delhi, along with Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Lakshadweep and Puducherry top the list with 100 percent of their schools having access to electricity. Some of the states with poor access to electricity are Assam (25 percent) and Meghalaya (28.54 percent). Others in the list include Bihar (37.78 percent), Madhya Pradesh (28.80 percent), Manipur (39.27 percent), Odisha (33.03 percent) and Tripura (29.77 percent).

In short, these are schools the private sector would not be interested in acquiring. After all, for the private sector, education is a business, not a charity. The case is no better in BJP-ruled states. The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh favoured huge slashes in the education budget, as reported by PTI:

In the 2016-17 budget presented by the erstwhile Akhilesh Yadav government, a provision of Rs 9,990 crore was made for secondary education, which has come down to only Rs 576 crore in the Yogi Adityanath government, a reduction of Rs 9,414 crore. The higher education sector also saw a significant cut. Last year's budget had a provision of Rs 2,742 crore, while this year it was Rs 272.77 crore, marking a shortfall of Rs Rs 2,469.73 crore. Basic education, however, saw a rise in fund allocation of Rs 5,867 crore from last year's Rs 15,632 crore to Rs 21,499 crore now.

The thinly garbed "libertarian" lobby, with a discourse that says the government has "no business running infrastructure projects, jails, schools and colleges", ends up perpetuating and propagating crony capitalism rather than free market. And there are many backers. A report in The Indian Express quotes economist and member of NITI Aayog Bibek Debroy as asserting that:

In ancient times, the king had only limited responsibility of defence, internal security and ensuring the rule of the law, while everything else was done by the community. Unfortunately, because of the British legacy and what happened after 1947 as a citizen, we have become pampered and continuously look towards the government to do this and that. The government and the different levels of the government cannot solve the problem of India. The country's problems can be solved by its community.

The important question here is, what community? Would it mean a set of profit-making private sector conglomerates, or does it imply that NGOs shoulder all the burden? Ladies and gentlemen, we are back to supply-side, profit-driven, trickle-down economics where community means the anarchy of the free market  and where access to key sectors like healthcare, education, electricity and water is a privilege, not a right.

Ultimately, it appears the NITI Aayog exists simply to plan how to hand over key public assets (including those pertaining to welfare) on a silver platter to the private sector, and to plan how to subsidise private investment  all in the interests of not the country or the citizenry, but of the private sector.

That the BJP has no other economic priorities comes out from the fact that an Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) report that states 99 percent of campaign donations with undisclosed PAN details and addresses to political parties, went to the BJP, and that Rs 705.81 crore of a total Rs 956.77 crore of donations to major political parties by corporations went to the BJP between 2012-2013 and 2015-16. The major donor to every party was not a corporation per se, but the Satya Electoral Trust, which in turn also funnels corporate donations to parties  and is a little-investigated entity, despite being the biggest proto-lobbyist in the country. These electoral trusts (others include General Electoral Trust, Triumph Electoral Trust, Samaj Electoral Trust, Janpragati Electoral Trust and Progressive Electoral Trust) are the Indian equivalent of the SuperPACs (Super Political Action Committees) which can funnel unlimited contributions beyond the legal limit of individual donors. It would be difficult to imagine mammoth donors here not having a subsequent say in policymaking  or as one would say, a "return on their investment".

Further, it was the BJP itself, which through the Finance Bill, gave full power to the Income Tax department to persecute, trespass and seize properties and assets of ordinary citizens indefinitely without accountability  a very Emergency-like move, only economic  while giving full privacy to billionaire mega-donors and corporations to donate unlimited money into politics.

A Lokniti CSDS survey reported in LiveMint, shows that BJP supporters are about as liberal or conservative as the average Indian youth on issues such as perceiving an increase in intolerance, on Muslims being falsely implicated in cases, on the death penalty and on maintaining partriarchy. It shows that India's youth is more liberal on many issues than it was a decade ago, such as reservation, inter-religious marriage, alcohol and pre-marital dating, and that employment, healthcare and general economic anxiety were the foremost issues that worry the youth.

This tells us that a huge factor in the overwhelming support PM Narendra Modi and the BJP saw in the 2014 elections was the promise of a higher standard of living as presented by the 'Achhe Din' slogan. The fact that the goods promised are nowhere in sight even after three years shows the hollowness of glitzy "development" agendas sold during elections without details.

Perhaps what is most shocking about these revelations is that there is nearly no public outcry  not from citizens' groups, not from the media, nor from opposition parties, not from the Left (who keep forgetting that economy is a crucial tenet of Marxism), nor from young JNU media warriors (who were busy complaining about the informal proposal to install a tank on campus). Most importantly, when did economic issues stop being central to any political party's discourse? The welfarism in our Constitution and the "Socialism" in our Constitution's Preamble are being eroded with not even token dissent.

The divergence between PR rhetoric and actual economic policy has reached a breaking point  the government must either move a constitutional amendment to be able to honestly enact what it seeks to enact, or the finance and HRD ministers and related economic policymakers and propagandists must resign along with the dissolution of the NITI Aayog for the morally fraudulent purpose it serves.

If the government "has no business running schools, colleges and jails" today, it may tomorrow claim it has no business ensuring cheap hospitalisation, gas, water and electricity for the people. It may even conceivably claim it has no business maintaining law and order, or cheap food prices, or doing anything in the interests of the people whatsoever.

What "nation" will the BJP have left to pretend to be patriotic towards, if it sells it all out? India is meant to be a country of, for and by the people, not one of, for a by corporate cronyism.

The author is a PhD Scholar in Modern and Contemporary History at the Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University.
Sirsa: The Army was called to rein in the rampaging Dera Sacha Sauda followers, who gathered at the sect's headquarters, following its chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh's conviction in a rape case on Friday.

The police and administrative officials confirmed that the Army was summoned to control the large number of angry Dera followers at the sect's headquarters.

"We have called the Army to control the Dera followers, so that there is no loss of life or property. We are trying to maintain the law-and-order situation in the area," Ashwin Shenvi, Superintendent of Police (SP), Sirsa, told PTI.

A top police officer said two companies of Army personnel were summoned from Hisar district to maintain law-and-order in Sirsa.

Scores of jawans, including 15,000 paramilitary personnel, have been deployed in the sensitive areas across Punjab and Haryana to deal with any eventuality in the aftermath of a CBI court verdict against the Dera chief.

A curfew has been imposed in the city with the police making frequent announcements, urging the residents to stay indoors and also to warn the Dera followers against taking law into their own hands.

Enraged by the conviction of the self-styled godman, thousands of his followers went on a rampage, setting vehicles, buildings and railways stations ablaze in parts of Haryana and Punjab.

At least 17 people were killed and more than 150 injured in the violence that left a trail of destruction and vandalism, a Haryana government official said.

A special CBI court at Panchkula, Haryana on Friday found Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh guilty in a rape case. The quantum of punishment will be announced on Monday.

Click here for live updates.
The Supreme Court has said that the Right to Privacy judgment will have "some bearing" in matters related to possession of beef in Maharashtra.

The apex court made the observation while hearing a batch of appeals filed against the Bombay High Court's 6 May, 2016 verdict decriminalising the possession of beef in case of animals slaughtered outside the state.

A bench comprising Justices AK Sikri and Ashok Bhushan was informed by an advocate that Thursday's judgement from a nine-judge Constitution bench, declaring right to privacy a fundamental right, was important for adjudication of the appeal.

"Yes, that judgement will have some bearing in these matters," the bench said.

On Thursday, the Supreme Court declared the Right To Privacy as a Fundamental Right under the Constitution. A nine-judge constitutional bench headed by Chief Justice JS Khehar ruled that right to privacy is protected intrinsically as part of rights guaranteed under Article 21 and Part III of the Constitution.

In the judgment, Justice Chelameswar had written, "I do not think that anybody would like to be told by the State as to what they should eat or how they should dress or whom they should be associated with either in their personal, social or political life."

Senior advocate Indira Jaising, appearing for some of the petitioners, referred to the privacy judgement and said the right to eat food of one's choice is now protected under privacy. She also told the bench that Maharashtra government's appeal challenging the high court verdict was already pending before another bench of the apex court.

The bench, after hearing the submissions, posted the matter after two weeks.

The Maharashtra government had on 10 August moved the apex court challenging the high court's verdict striking down sections 5(d) and 9(b) of the Maharashtra Animals Preservation (Amendment) Act, 1995, which criminalised and imposed punishment on persons found in possession of beef of animals, slaughtered in or outside the state, on the ground that it infringed upon a person's "right to privacy".

The court had issued notice on the appeal and tagged the matter along with several pending pleas related to the issue. The high court had termed "unconstitutional" the provisions which held that mere possession of beef was a crime, saying only "conscious possession" of the meat of animals slaughtered in the state would be an offence.

The plea assailed the judgement, saying the restriction imposed by the 1995 Act on possession of flesh of cow, bull or bullock could not be interpreted and concluded to be an infringement of "right to privacy". The state government had said the high court "while coming to the finding that right to privacy forms part of the fundamental right to personal liberty guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution, ought to have appreciated that right to privacy was not yet designated as a fundamental right".

The plea had said that according to the verdict, obligation upon the state to prove "conscious possession" of beef would "constitute an insurmountable circumstance readily available to the wrongdoer to escape sentence".

In its judgement, the high court had upheld the ban on slaughter of bulls and bullocks imposed by the Maharashtra government, but decriminalised possession of beef in case the animals were slaughtered outside the state. The judgement had come on a batch of petitions filed in the high court challenging the constitutional validity of the Act and, in particular, the possession and consumption of beef of animals slaughtered outside Maharashtra.

With inputs from PTI
In the last three days, the Supreme Court has delivered two landmark judgments which will have long-term ramifications on the people and establish the majesty of the judiciary. The judgments also reflect a changing view of the apex court on what Fundamental Rights are.

In Thursday's ruling, a nine-judge Supreme Court bench ruled that privacy is a Fundamental Right, thus dwarfing the attempts of the Union government to undermine it. The verdict will prevent or at least force the NDA government at the Centre to reassess their Aadhaar scheme.

The Supreme Court verdict has thus upheld the supremacy of not just the Judiciary but also the Constitution.

The judgment, as noted advocate Indira Jaising writes, puts the brakes on any majoritarian government from throwing numbers in support of an argument. This judgment throws back at governments the Constitution, she wrote.

Privacy is now protected under the Right to Life and Personal Liberty guaranteed in Article 21 of the Constitution after the Thursday ruling. It is bound to have a bearing on 24 other cases challenging the validity of the Aadhaar scheme on the grounds of it violating the Right to Privacy.

It has also forced the Narendra Modi government to acknowledge, though unwillingly, that privacy is not just a common-law right but a Fundamental Right of the citizens. Any common man will now be able to demand protection for his personal data, including his biometrics.

The judgment was limited to the issue of Right to Privacy and the question whether Aadhaar violates Right to Privacy will be dealt with later.

The court has also made it clear that it is the government's duty to protect this right just like other Fundamental Rights.

While the verdict has been hailed by all Opposition parties, including Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, the only response from the government came from Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and Arun Jaitley hours after the judgment was announced.

Jaitley said that the government's stand has been clear on the issue from the start. He said that it is a positive development and there will always be efforts to strengthen the Fundamental Rights. He attacked the UPA government for bringing Aadhaar without any legal framework. Similarly, Prasad also attacked the Congress for accusing the government of curbing individual rights and said the Opposition party had not enacted any legislation regarding getting information under the Aadhaar framework.

While this particular verdict might be considered a 'setback' for the government which has failed to procure much positive reaction from the cabinet ministers, the ruling in the triple talaq case on Tuesday was hailed as 'historic' by many.

A five-judge bench of the Supreme Court on Tuesday struck down the practice of talaq-e-biddat or instant triple talaq by declaring it unconstitutional and 'manifestly arbitary'. Womens movement across the country lauded the ruling and hailed it as a positive step for the rights of women.

The apex court stated that under the practice of triple talaq, women are subjected to divorce in one go without any legal intervention.

Modi, BJP chief Amit Shah, Jaitley and Prasad hailed the verdict and said that it would grant equality to Muslim women.

Jaitley called the judgment as "progressive" and said efforts should be made to rectify "aberrations" in personal laws that infringe on constitutional guarantees. Prasad said the decision was an indication of an emerging new India. Shah hailed the ruling as "historic" and said it was a victory for Muslim women and their right to live with dignity.

However, despite the ubiquitous euphoria, the verdict has failed to alter gender dynamics.

This is because talaq-e-sunnat still exists, and therefore, Muslim men still hold the right to pronounce divorce against their wives without resorting to legal action.

Nevertheless, government, women rights activists and political parties lauded the apex court for the historic judgment in the triple talaq case. The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) said the courts order underlined that a communitys personal laws cannot be interfered with. A religious organisation representing Muslim clerics said the verdict was against Sharia.

The last three days have been particularly important for the rights of the common people. While Tuesday began with an acknowledgement of the rights of Muslim women, the Supreme Court on Thursday granted privacy to the citizens and deemed it a Fundamental Right protected by the Constitution. Both these verdicts have been hailed as a win for the common man, thus, reaffirming the stature of the judiciary.
New Delhi: Former attorney general Mukul Rohatgi on Thursday said a court has no power to engraft more fundamental rights in the Constitution as the right to make a law or amend it belongs to the Parliament.

Reacting to the Supreme Court verdict declaring right to privacy a fundamental right, the senior advocate said "there is much a do about nothing" as the government had already agreed with the stand taken by the petitioners and the court.

"The fundamental rights are engrafted in the Constitution so they have to be physically put in a book called the Constitution.

"The right belongs to the Parliament, to make the law, amend the law, repeal the law. The court has no power to engraft more fundamental rights in the Constitution," Rohatgi, who had argued in the matter as the then attorney general, said.

"I still maintain there is much ado about nothing for the simple reason that I do hear that government has stated that they agree that privacy is a fundamental right," he said.

Rohatgi, while speaking to a TV channel, also said there are two spheres - judiciary and Parliament -- and both cannot overlap each other.

"There is no amendment in the Constitution by a court as you have two different spheres. The sphere of the judiciary and the sphere of the Parliament. Both the spheres cannot overlap," he said.
Supreme Court's decision to hold Right to Privacy as a Fundamental Right under Chapter Three of the Indian Constitution and as an integral part of Right to Life and Personal Liberty guaranteed under Article 21 is a landmark judgment that has far-reaching implications for the future of India as a liberal democracy. It is also expected to mould the evolution of laws and rights around privacy in ways that we are currently in no position to foresee.

That said, it is premature and unwise to write the obituary of government schemes like Aadhaar that are based on biometric identity data. Premature, because the legality or validity of the Aadhaar Act wasn't even an issue of adjudication before the nine-judge Constitutional Bench. The judges were considering the expansive question of whether privacy is indeed a Fundamental Right.

This was important because the Centre had cited as precedents previous Supreme Court judgments  MP Sharma vs Satish Chandra in 1954 and Kharak Singh vs State of Uttar Pradesh in 1962  to argue that Right To Privacy can't be held as a Fundamental Right because it is not inviolable and too amorphous.

Arguing before the apex court, attorney general KK Venugopal had said: "Privacy is not a single, homogenous right but rather a bunch of rights spread over the Constitution. The right to privacy is a sub-species of the fundamental right to personal liberty and consists of diverse aspects An elite few cannot claim that their bodily integrity would be violated by a scheme which serves to bring home basic human rights and social justice to millions of poor households across the country."

It was argued that Chapter Three of the Indian Constitution that lists the provisions of Fundamental Rights has no mention of Right to Privacy. In light of these previous judgments and also the fact that these were arrived at by smaller benches, it became necessary for a larger Constitutional bench to decide once and for all whether privacy can be deemed as intrinsic to Right to Life, and hence a Fundamental Right.

Now that privacy has been interpreted as a core provision of Article 21, the fate of Aadhaar will be decided when another five-judge Constitutional bench meets to deliberate on the Act. This is why obituaries on Aadhaar at this stage are also unwise because whether or not the scheme emerges unscathed will depend on its provisions passing the test of constitutionality in light of Thursday's judgement.

There is a hasty temptation on part of some commentators and analysts to read the verdict as an endorsement of 'absolute privacy'. This is an erroneous reading. Bear in mind that in delivering the unanimous judgment, the nine-judge Bench led by Chief Justice of India JS Khehar along with Justices RF Nariman, D Y Chandrachud, J Chelameswar, AM Sapre, RK Agrawal, SK Kaul, S Abdul Nazeer and SA Bobde placed privacy within the ambit of Chapter Three which lends Constitutional protection to privacy as a Fundamental Right in line with Right to Equality, Right to Freedom of Religion, Right to Freedom of Speech and Expression etc., and hence all forms of "reasonable restrictions" that these rights are subjected to will also be applicable to Right To Privacy.

The question, therefore, whether Aadhaar will be struck down as unconstitutional cannot be answered right now. It shall be decided on a case-to-case basis by defining Right to Privacy under "reasonable restrictions".

A part of Thursday's judgement under the title "Restrictions", reads: "The right to privacy as already observed is not absolute. The right to privacy as falling in part III of the Constitution may, depending on its variable facts, vest in one part or the other, and would thus be subject to the restrictions of exercise of that particular fundamental right. National security would thus be an obvious restriction, so would the provisos to different fundamental rights, dependent on where the right to privacy would arise. The Public interest element would be another aspect."

As we can see, it is impossible to argue that the government will be unsuccessful in showcasing Aadhaar as a 'public interest element' and fail to validate the scheme under "reasonable restrictions". It is also important not to conflate the mandatory nature of Aadhaar, or the Centre's move to seed other privacy data with the signature biometric ID, with poor or non-existent data protection laws.

The government is well within its rights to collect data, and Thursday's landmark verdict in no way restricts the State from doing so. What it essentially does is that it provides ordinary citizens with Constitutional protection for her/his data and makes it mandatory for government and/or private agencies in possession of the data not to misuse, or be careless with it. This is being touted as a landmark judgment precisely because it forces the state to be accountable to the individual while handling sensitive data, failing which the government could be dragged to the court. Obviously, these provisions also apply to private agencies who deal with big data.

This is being touted as a landmark judgment precisely because it forces the state to be accountable to the individual while handling sensitive data, failing which the government could be dragged to the court. Obviously, these provisions also apply to private agencies who deal with big data.

Thursday's judgment in no way favours the state's position that citizens have no right over their privacy but it also does not endorse the view of privacy evangelists that the state has no business in collecting data.

The citizens are duty-bound to provide the government with the data that is necessary to root out corruption and ensure that entitlements and benefits under welfare schemes reach the intended recipients. The government may also seed various data (linking of PAN) with Aadhaar to ensure that laws are not misused to evade taxes.

But equally, Thursday's verdict makes it clear that it is imperative on the state (or private agencies) to make the data secure and not use it for surveillance or commercial gains. As MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar, who is a petitioner in the privacy case, told Bloombergquint.com, "The judgment effectively creates for the first time, obligations and responsibilities, for all those companies or government organisations that deal with Indian citizens and their information. They have responsibilities to do this in a manner that is responsible and does not infringe on the privacy of the citizens."

It is naive and misleading to interpret the verdict as a defeat for "fascist forces" or a "blow to Modi" as the Congress has tried to do.

SC decision marks a major blow to fascist forces.A sound rejection of the BJP's ideology of suppression through surveillance#RightToPrivacy  Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) August 24, 2017

The implications of the judgment go far beyond petty politicking. For instance, it will have a huge bearing on Section 377 because parts of the verdict clearly hold sexual preference as a matter of preference that has no concomitance with the majority opinion. A part of the judgment reads:

"That 'a minuscule fraction of the countrys population constitutes lesbians, gays, bisexuals or transgenders' (as observed in the judgment of this Court) is not a sustainable basis to deny the Right to Privacy. The purpose of elevating certain rights to the stature of guaranteed fundamental rights is to insulate their exercise from the disdain of majorities, whether legislative or popular."

This is a landmark judgment in more ways than one and in decades to come may shape legislation on a plethora of issues related to civil liberty and individual rights. It will also change the nature of the contract a state has with its citizens. But equally, as a polity protective of our Right to Privacy, we must be careful that the baby is not thrown out with the bathwater.
One of the notions that the Supreme Court's nine judge bench decision in Justice KS Puttaswamy (Retd) versus Union of India attempts to dispel is that privacy is a 'recent phenomenon'. In the six opinions delivered, Justice Nariman points to the 17th century judgment of the King's Bench in England in Semayne's case, which contains this immortal line: "The house of every one is to him as his castle and fortress, as well for his defence against injury and violence as for his repose."

Justice AS Bobde cites this case and goes back even further, to Kautilya's Arthashastra, to the book of Thessalonians in the Bible and the Quran to find religious and other injunctions against the unbidden entry into another's home. Semayne's case is all the more significant because this right is claimed not just against another person but against the ruler himself (James I of England) and his agents. As far as the law is concerned, therefore, there is enough to suggest that privacy is not a modern creation.

That said, the modern world has created much space for us to exercise our Right to Privacy. It goes without saying that personal autonomy and the freedom to make choices are much greater in a society, where family and community have less hold on the individual. On the other hand, the growth of technology has meant that the government now enters our homes in a metaphorical sense as well. A point illustrated by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul when he refers to technology allowing persons to enter one's house "without knocking the door".

Access to one's home computer or laptop is enough to find out what is going on inside the four walls of one's home. Then how do we make sense of the Right to Privacy?

What the court has done, and done well, is to identify the essential core of the Right to Privacy and not make it dependent on the medium or on technology. Bodily autonomy, informational control and the freedom to make choices are concepts which have been distilled over the years by courts and scholars alike to be the essential core of any notion of privacy. None of these become obsolete simply because new technology has come into existence that poses a threat to these or makes the infringement easier.

This argument, that technology has rendered privacy obsolete or less important, has been expressly rejected by the judges in their opinions. Kaul notes the importance of "big data" in the modern economy, especially in the business models of the likes of Facebook, Uber and others.

He speaks of companies which have data about an individual  which while perhaps useful in some ways  and enjoy disproportionately greater bargaining power over such individual. If this were to become the manner in which the government exercises power over an individual, he concludes that no democracy can survive for long as one.

In defending privacy even in times when it is so easy to infringe, the court is defending the very basis of our constitutional government. Privacy, as a legal and constitutional right, is not lost by how many times it is infringed or if it becomes very easy to infringe. As long as humans assert their right to choose and do as they please, the Right to Privacy will be relevant and necessary in any society. What remains, therefore, is trying to understand how to restrain technology from eroding our right to choose and do as we please.

One option is to just recognise the right and allow individuals to access existing legal institutions to enforce it. If your data has been leaked on the internet, you should be able to sue the company which caused the leak for damages. If your intimate images are being shared without your consent, you should be able to get an injunction preventing such circulation and publication. This is necessarily a reactive process, one where legal costs are expensive, or such institutions non-functional, may not be easily accessible.

The other option is to put in place a regulatory mechanism which requires companies using a given technology to follow certain norms and standards.

Such regulations would lay down the norms, prescribe penalties and create enforcement mechanisms for any potential breaches of privacy. This could range from an all-encompassing privacy code applicable to all private entities to specific rules covering telecom operators, ISPs, et al. This is perhaps the preferable route and could minimise the potential for damage to the Right to Privacy.

The imperative for such laws is also found in this judgment as well. Part III of the Constitution of India is not just a set of "negative rights" for the government to adhere to while law making. It also includes positive obligations on the government to make such rights meaningful. To give one instance, the Supreme Court held that the Right to Freedom of Speech included the right to know the asset details and criminal records of candidates for an election.

The guarantee of equality under Article 14 has long been held to include both a guarantee against discrimination and a requirement of positive measures to ensure equal protection under the law. If the Right to Privacy is written across the breadth of Fundamental Rights guaranteed under Part III of the Constitution, (as all the judges have unanimously held) it follows therefore that there are certain positive obligations on the government to protect such Right to Privacy.

What these exact obligations are will become clear going ahead. By no means is this judgment the last word on all matters relating to privacy and many nuances of the scope of the Right to Privacy and how it may be restricted will be worked out in subsequent judgments as the various judges have themselves pointed out in their concurring opinions.

However, what cannot be denied is that a law which fails to protect privacy adequately, which provides no remedy for a breach, which allows the interference of one's choices will also be unconstitutional and struck down by the courts.

The author is a Senior Resident Fellow at the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy. He writes on matters relating to judicial reforms, constitutional law and public law. He tweets @alokpi
In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously held that the Right to Privacy is a Fundamental Right. The right is protected by life and personal liberty under Article 21 and by the freedoms guaranteed under Part III of the Constitution.

The judgment has sparked discussions on the effect of a Right to Privacy, with buzz being generated about the significance of this judgment for women's rights and its relevance to the upcoming judgment on marital rape. The judgment also takes a remarkably progressive stand on LGBT rights, by critiquing the Supreme Court's decision in Suresh Kumar Koushal versus NAZ Foundation, which has led to revisiting the larger debate on the validity of Section 377.

Why privacy matters to women and sexual minorities

Privacy is believed to be central to several women's rights issues. Women and sexual minorities have had to insidiously suffer the harms of surveillance and the lack of privacy for decades. In the 1960s-70s, the American Senate held multiple hearings on the secretive forms of data collection employed by credit rating agencies. Investigators would reportedly keep track of unusual personal factors like living out of wedlock, leading 'immoral lives' and in one instance, the fact that a consumer 'used his hands and talked in an effeminate manner'. Made-up attributes were also routine.

In India, women have had to face the horrors of more obvious forms of surveillance and a general disregard for privacy. The state of Tamil Nadu recently attempted to mandate 'pregnancy registration', to ensure health and safety of the child. Registration was also a prerequisite to the issuance of birth certificates. Such a 'fetus registration' program was also attempted to be mandated by a Union Minister, apparently to fight sex-selective abortion.

These intrusive practices, carried out for the 'greater good', are unfortunately not new. In a similar vein, forced sterilisation was used as a popular form of population control in the 1970's. It continues to be barbarically enforced to prevent cervical cancer in certain states. Unsurprisingly, it doesn't end there.

Seemingly informal data collection procedures have also been used to humiliate or sexually harass women. Recently, a medical college in Patna made news for circulating a form that asked applicants if they were 'bachelors/widowers/virgins(sic)'. When asked to clarify, the authorities said the question was innocent, as 'virgin' only meant 'unmarried girl'.

Earlier in the year, mobile numbers of women, categorised on their level of 'attractiveness', were sold off by recharge outlets. In the aftermath of which, several women alleged that they were being stalked or harassed.

Sexual assault, bodily integrity and privacy

On the upside, newer forms of sexual harassment are being statutorily recognised, and a few of them happen to be intrinsically connected to privacy. For instance, Section 354C of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, introduced by the Criminal Law Amendment of 2013 instituted voyeurism as an offence. This provision could also encompass the dissemination of non-consensual pornography or revenge porn.

In addition to statutory protection, the Supreme Court has recognised an intrusion into the Right to Privacy in cases of sexual assault in judgments of the post  in the Kharak Singh era. One such judgment is the State of Karnataka versus Krishnappa, in which the Supreme Court held that "sexual violence apart from being a dehumanising act is an unlawful intrusion of the Right to Privacy and sanctity of a female". In the State of Maharashtra versus Madhukar Narayan Mardikar, the court also held that "even women of easy virtue are entitled to privacy and no one can invade their privacy (sic)".

What about the validity of marital rape?

Regardless of the vast jurisprudence protecting womens rights, a few battles are left to be fought. The Supreme Court is set to pass a judgment on the recognition of marital rape as a criminal offence on Monday. During the course of the hearing, it has been argued that married women over the age of 15, who have been subject to intrusive sexual intercourse by their husbands, cannot be held to be sexually assaulted or raped. This is the standard under Section 375 of the IPC. However, this is a confusing correlation, as women aged 15-18 are otherwise not capable of consenting to sexual intercourse, but somehow, the institution of marriage confers absolute consent.

With a fundamental Right to Privacy now in place, there is a possibility of making broader arguments against sexual assault. Breaking women into fragments on the basis of their marital status seems careless, since a right to bodily integrity and to not be sexually assaulted should apply broadly. By this standard, the protection of marital rape under the IPC should stand overruled by virtue of this fundamental right. Autonomy, dignity and bodily integrity should take precedence over a broken reading of the institution of marriage.

The judiciary will hopefully take note of the jurisprudence on bodily integrity and its close connection to the Right to Privacy.

What effect can Right to Privacy have?

The fundamental Right to Privacy will provide a ready remedy against the state. This could be valuable for arguments against marital rape or other intrusive practices. As opposed to a statutory right, or a common law right, having a fundamental right in place would ensure that privacy cannot be taken away easily.

Of course, there are restrictions to the right too. In the judgment, Justice Sapre held that reasonable restrictions can be in the form of social, moral and compelling public interest in accordance with the law. Justice Chelameshwar also held that in instances where strictest scrutiny is required, there can be a compelling state interest to infringe on the Right to Privacy.

The practical application of these restrictions is unclear and time alone will tell how judiciously they will be used. A Right to Privacy should work towards protecting the rights of all vulnerable communities, and hopefully, the restrictions will not be used to further dilute rights.

The author is a Programme Officer at the Centre for Communication Governance. CCG is a research centre at the National Law University, Delhi.
Initial bail decisions in Pennsylvania are usually made by magisterial district judges, who are given wide discretion in determining the type and amount of bail, as well as setting conditions of release.

For defendants, this means whether they go home or sit behind bars can be a matter of where they're arrested and which judge is setting bail.

In 2016, the average defendant in Cumberland County with monetary bail imposed was expected to pay $10,000 to remain out of jail, according to an analysis of court records conducted by The Sentinel.

However, the average defendant in neighboring Franklin County last year was expected to pay three times that, according to court records.

For defendants charged with possession with intent to deliver controlled substances, the difference between the two counties was even greater.

Median bail for defendants charged with selling drugs in Franklin County was $100,000 last year, compared to only $25,000 in Cumberland County.

The variations dont stop at the county level.

In Cumberland County in 2016, median bail amounts for magisterial district judges ranged from $7,500 for Magisterial District Judge Anthony Adams, whose district includes the Shippensburg area, to more than $40,000 for Carlisle Magisterial District Judge Jonathan Birbeck, according The Sentinels analysis.

Birbeck, however, did not take office until after the middle of last year.

The analysis reviewed all of the roughly 5,000 criminal cases filed in the county last year and counted cases where the defendant was brought in front of a magisterial district judge for a preliminary arraignment.

These proceedings typically occur around the time of arrest and involve the defendant being informed of the charges, provided with information about obtaining a public defender and having a bail determination made.

Most preliminary arraignments are conducted without a defense attorney present, according Magisterial District Judge Charles Clement.

Cases in which the defendant was issued a summons, usually for lower level offenses, were not included in the analysis.

Both Magisterial District Judges Paul Fegley and Vivian Cohick, who served the full year in office in 2016, had median bail amounts of $25,000.

Do I feel confident in the bail that I set? Yes, I do, Cohick said. I dont feel that Im excessive with my bail, because that would be wrong on my part.

Cohicks office is in Penn Township and her district includes Newville and several surrounding townships.

My first thought process is I did not bring you here, she said about dealing with the consequences of bail. There has been a charge against you for a violation of the law. This is not just saying you climbed up on the stool and I didnt want you to climb up on the stool, so Im going to paddle your butt.'

A person is being charged with a violation of the law, she said. That takes away some of the your free to walk around and do what you want to do.

Magisterial District Judge Mark Martin, whose district includes the Mechanicsburg area, had a median bail of $8,000 and imposed monetary bail on roughly 76 percent of defendants who came before him for an arraignment.

I would have thought mine would be higher, he said.

The Sentinel found no significant difference in the types of charges dealt with at arraignment that could explain the variation in bail amounts.

For example, Adams dealt with the highest concentration of assaults and drug charges at arraignment, but had the lowest median bail. Magisterial District Judge Kathryn Silcox had the lowest concentration of assaults and drug charges brought in for arraignment and a median bail double Adamss, according to the analysis.

Every case has to stand on its own merit, Cohick said. You can have two identical, but two polar opposite defendants, that have alleged to have done those same violations.

Martin said the majority of arraignments he handles occur while he is serving as the on-call judge.

For one week every 10 weeks magisterial district judges in Cumberland County act as the on-call judge and handle all criminal cases that arise outside of normal business hours on top of their normal duties.

I dont think (the types of cases arraigned) are going to change significantly from one judge to another because we all have the same chance and probability of getting the same types of cases, Martin said.

So, what factors do judges take into consideration when making a bail decision?

Theres all kinds of factors that you consider, Clement said. Are they rooted in the community? How long have they lived here? Whats the seriousness of the crime? Whats the likeliness theyll appear?

At the time of arraignment, only a small amount of information is available.

This is includes a criminal complaint filed by law enforcement, criminal history and a bail recommendation made by law enforcement.

Judges also have an opportunity to speak with the defendant to try to find out more relevant factors.

I like to know if they are employed, Clement said. I look to see if theyre employed. If not, how long have they been unemployed?

Clement said he also tries to ascertain other information like if the defendant is from Pennsylvania or from out-of-state, if they have children and if they are married.

Are there people in that household who are relying on that person to go to work and help with the household, he said.

Clement, Martin, Cohick and Magisterial District Judge Richard Dougherty all said they take into account many of the same factors, but Dougherty said he places less weight on whether the defendant is a local resident when making a decision.

All four, however, said they do not have a set criterion for how they decide on bail, noting that each case is decided on its own merits.

All those factors, you then have to balance and come up with something that isnt punitive, but more guarantees his appearance while protecting himself and others in the community, said Dougherty, whose office is in East Pennsboro Township. Its a fine balance there.

Doughertys median was $10,000, the same as the county median, and he imposed monetary bail in roughly 82 percent of preliminary arraignments last year, according to court records.

While judges are not bound by it, all four judges said they give extra attention to the bail recommendation from law enforcement, most saying the police have likely had more interaction with the defendant and that safety of the victim is of paramount importance.

In Pennsylvania, charges can be sought by law enforcement without the district attorneys approval and the prosecutors office is generally not involved in the preliminary arraignment.

Cumberland County has a local rule that requires approval from the district attorneys office for all criminal charges.

A preliminary hearing to determine if there is enough evidence for the case to move forward is held within 14 days of the preliminary arraignment if the defendant is held in custody.

Bail can be modified at this hearing, which Cohick said mitigates some of the possible harmful impacts of a defendant being held for an inability to pay bail.

How long are they going to sit in jail? That would be one of the things that might pop in my head, she said. But generally not so much, because Im scheduling (a preliminary hearing) within three to 10 days.  That would bring them to their preliminary hearing quickly, so if they may not have bail, they may not have to sit long.
By Sharanya Gopinathan

The Supreme Court and I have a love-hate relationship. Actually, I'm not sure what the Supreme Court thinks of me, but I certainly have a tumultuous, draining and constantly fluctuating opinion of it. This last one month has alone been so trying for our relationship; we dealt with the watering down of the dowry act and the continued legality of marital rape of children, and the court's alarmingly patriarchal process in the ongoing Hadiya case. But then, as if to end the fortnight on a high note and keep things spicy, the court came up with the triple talaq judgment, and then topped it up with Thursday morning's guarantee that the Right to Privacy is a fundamental one.

Thursday's judgment left everyone feeling pretty euphoric even before the full details and implications came out. That's because the fight for privacy has been a long one, spanning about 63 years, and a look back shows you just how closely women and the right to privacy have interacted over the years.

Looking back at this point also shows you just what a boon the Right to Privacy has been to women, and how close we came to losing something so useful. For the most part, the notion of individual privacy has been used by the courts to protect women from a number of different horrors, some so specific that they're hard to imagine.

Like in 2009, when in the Suchita Srivastava & Anr versus Chandigarh Administration, the court ruled that a rape victim who suffered from mental illness had her right to privacy violated when the high court ordered the medical termination of her pregnancy despite her stated wishes to carry the baby to term, and that the right to privacy gives women the right to choose whether they want to procreate.

Or in 2007, in the case of Anuj Garg and Ors versus Hotel Association of India, where the court ruled that a section of the Punjab Excise Act that disallowed women from working in establishments that serve liquor was constitutionally invalid, as a person's right to privacy includes his/her right to choose a profession.

The Supreme Court also found, in a 2013 case called Lillu @ Rajesh & Anr versus State Of Haryana, that the harrowing two finger test, where doctors insert two fingers into the vagina of a rape victim to ascertain whether she has been raped, violated a rape survivor's right to privacy, and their physical and mental integrity and dignity.

Various high courts have, in different cases over the years, also ruled that "sexual violence is an unlawful intrusion of the right to privacy and sanctity of a woman", meaning that one of the reasons why sexual violence is understood to be an awful crime is that it violates a woman's privacy.

All of these cases show you how closely women and privacy have interacted in the courts over the years. Being able to see just how useful this right has been to women makes one doubly angry at the current government for even trying to argue before the Supreme Court that it's not a constitutional right, all in order to implement universal Aadhaar which asks for your retina scans and fingerprints.

As lawyer Usha Ramanathan, who has been tracking Aadhaar since 2009, points out, Thursday's judgment hardly creates a new right; all the judges have pointed out is that the Right to Privacy is both fundamental and inalienable, meaning we always had this right by virtue of being born humans, and nobody can take this away from us. "It's not that the court has created this right; it has only told the government that it was wrong to ever argue that we don't have it," she said.

By explicitly stating that we do have a fundamental Right to Privacy, the court has also made it clear that it is actually the government's duty to protect this right the way it must protect other fundamental rights.

Honestly, it's an exciting judgment on several fronts. Because, for the first time in Indian jurisprudence, the court has spelled out that we have a fundamental Right to Privacy, and has also outlined what that looks like.

The judgement allows for three categories of privacy: Spatial, or the privacy accorded to private spaces like the home or bedroom; informational, or the privacy accorded to mental and physical information and data; and decisional, or the privacy accorded to making certain intimate decisions, like sex and sexual orientation.

Now, the concept of privacy accorded to a certain space, like the home or the bedroom, has been one that has troubled women in the past, because it allows the State to ignore the very real violence that women face within domestic spaces, say by imagining that a husband beating his wife is a "private family matter". But the court has now gone out of its way to acknowledge this feminist concern, and in one paragraph in J Chandrachud's judgment, even explicitly mentions that privacy shouldn't be used as a "cover to conceal and assert patriarchal mindsets". The same paragraph also says the challenge is enabling the State to take violence against women in the domestic sphere seriously, while still protecting the privacy rights of women.

This excellent acknowledgement of feminist concerns can be extrapolated in really useful ways. Most immediately, by saying that a woman's right to bodily autonomy and decisional privacy cannot be cancelled out by the right to spatial privacy of the home  the Supreme Court has taken away one of the strongest arguments for keeping marital rape legal. The defenders of marital rape can no longer say that the State shouldn't interfere in a relationship, as the government did in 2016, because the court has explicitly laid out that the concept of spatial privacy shouldn't stop the State from taking violence against women seriously.

The Delhi High Court will be hearing another petition on marital rape on Monday. Karuna Nundy, a senior advocate working on that case, sounds almost amused when she tells us, "Let's see what happens now."

Interestingly, this judgment also goes out of its way to diss the Supreme Court's own ruling in Suresh Kumar Koushal & Anr versus Naz Foundation & Ors (2013), the case dealing with the criminalisation of certain sexual acts under Section 377. In Thursday's judgment, five judges have critiqued the Supreme Court's ruling in Koushal versus Naz Foundation, pointing out that privacy isn't something that's conditional to the number of people who seek it (the judges in the Koushal judgment held that since the LGBT community makes up only a minuscule percentage of the population, their protections and rights were basically not worth upholding). And that it isn't fair to call them "so-called rights", as the bench did in the Koushal judgment. The explicit critique of the judgment fills most people with hope, because it's unlikely that after all this, the curative petition in this case will uphold the legality of Section 377.

All in all, we're living in exciting times. As my colleague said, all they have to do is give a proper judgment in the Hadiya case, and we're set to throw a party. With a Supreme Court-shaped cake.

The Ladies Finger (TLF) is a leading online womens magazine delivering fresh and witty perspectives on politics, culture, health, sex, work and everything in between.
24 August, 2017 will be counted as another important day in the history of our 70-year-old democracy  the day when privacy was firmly established as a Fundamental Right of every citizen under Article 21 and Part III of our Constitution. It has been a good week for our Constitution and the Supreme Court with superb judgments on both triple talaq and Right to Privacy.

There are several implications of this judgment but mark my words, the full impact of this will be seen and felt over the coming years as the relation between citizens and the state, citizens and big corporates gets redefined and recalibrated to realise the vision of being not just the world's largest democracy but also the most advanced democracy. However in a nutshell, it sweeps aside the embarrassing ADM Jabalpur judgment by the Supreme Court during the Congress-led Emergency period, which held that that rights guaranteed under Article 21 were alienable and could be suspended during Emergency.

Many Supreme Court decisions in the last four decades have held that privacy is a fundamental right. However, given that the judgments were pronounced by benches which had lesser than eight or six judges (like in the case of MP Sharma and Kharak Singh), the controversy over whether privacy is a fundamental right or not remained unresolved.

However, coming back to governance, it is only in recent years that we have seen a determined effort at improving it by changing our direction and transforming ourselves to conform to a vision of a 'New India'  an India where citizens are empowered and connected. New India will be growing economically and be assertive about its national interest. A strong, educated, empowered and responsible citizen is at the core of that vision.

Central to implementing this vision is the idea of a digital India. In an interconnected world where technology governs virtually all aspects of our lives, Thursday's judgment embeds consumer rights within the Constitution. This verdict effectively creates for the first time, obligations and responsibilities for all entities, government or private, that deal with the information of Indian citizens. The apex court by recognising the power of technology to transform India and the lives of Indians has also recognised the need to create protective rights.

As a technologist and a member of Parliament, I have always recognised the importance for citizen rights. Back in 2010, I introduced The Right to Privacy Bill in the Parliament but the then UPA government brushed it aside, busy as they were in pushing the draconian Section 66A against the digital freedom of speech, pushing Aadhaar without any legislation or debate and also the 2G scams.

It was a time when I received very little support within Parliament or from media. Therefore, in 2013, I moved the Supreme Court with a PIL for both Aadhaar and Section 66A separately. Section 66A was struck down in 2015 by the Supreme Court and the Aadhaar case partially ended in front of the nine-judge bench that ruled on Thursday.

After my privacy bill failed to get any traction in Parliament and outside, I repeatedly tried to get a debate on Aadhaar in Parliament. After the Parliamentary standing committee of finance, of which I was a member, criticised the design of Aadhaar in 2010, the UPA govt went silent and went into almost a covert mode.

Despite the finance committee's opposition, thousands of crores of public money was spent by the UPA government in implementing the world's largest biometric ID project without any prior scrutiny, debate or legislative sanction.

I then approached the Supreme Court in early 2014 on the Aadhaar's flawed design, weak verification procedures and misuse of them, compromise in security of sensitive information of crores of citizens by UIDAI and other private entities (banks, telecommunication companies, e-commerce companies). Therefore in a way, if we have privacy as a Fundamental Right today, we must thank the UPA govt and Aadhaar for forcing the petitioners to go to the Supreme Court.

The case began evolving, a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court was constituted for hearing the petition challenging the constitutional validity of Aadhaar. The case was then referred to a nine-judge bench for the final verdict  it was a necessary move, which resulted in this landmark judgment.

For long I have maintained in the Parliament and outside that privacy is a fundamental right but with reasonable restrictions similar to other fundamental rights recognised by our Constitution. Therefore, it is not an absolute right and in case of threats to national security, for example, I have stated that Right to Privacy can be infringed upon by security agencies.

This verdict has put to rest the issue of privacy being a fundamental right and it goes way beyond Aadhaar. The main issue was the seven-decade-old culture in our bureaucracy where citizens had no protective rights against the State. The case of Aadhaar just serves as one of the examples of the archaic and redundant mindset. There are several other issues, including the obligations of private corporates, that are impacted by citizens' or consumers' Right to Privacy. The validity of every statute will now be required to be tested on the touchstone of privacy as a Fundamental Right. Fundamental Rights thus, cannot be eroded by the State or corporates.

Verdict's impact on businesses and individual-state relationship

The verdict will have far-reaching implications on the way data is collected, managed and used by government or private entities. It will be their responsibility to use the data provided by individuals in a manner which is responsible and does not infringe upon the privacy of citizens.

This ruling will deter unethical practices by corporates such as stealing biometric details from Aadhaar card to illegally procure multiple SIM cards, or sharing of information without any authorisation. With the intrusion of technology, the telecom companies, e-commerce companies and other private service providers are duty bound to safeguard the data of citizens or face legal action by the empowered consumers.

Similarly, for making Aadhaar mandatory for targeting beneficiaries, the UIDAI will have to make necessary legal modifications so that it does not violate the privacy of citizens. We already know that Aadhaar of the NDA govt shares very little with the Aadhaar of the UPA. The NDA Aadhaar has legislative backing, its verification process is far stricter and numerous fake accounts enrolled during the UPA regime are being removed.

I don't share the view that making Aadhaar mandatory for subsidies and other benefits is a bad thing. I don't agree that making Aadhaar mandatory for identification for subsidies is bad. I think it's good and important to ensure that benefits reach the right people and not the corrupt ones. I am sure Aadhaar will see more improvements and protections after Thursday's decision but its core function of identifying subsidy beneficiaries will continue.

This will redefine the state-individual relationship. Development of a culture, where accountability and responsibility of the State, will be given prime importance.

Paving the way for Digital India and New India

The Supreme Court has recognised that technology will play a huge role in transforming India and the lives of Indians in the vision consistent with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's idea of a New India. Further, Modi's vision is also about empowered citizens, collectively creating an assertive and energised New India.

Thursday's decision of establishing privacy as a fundamental right is consistent with visions of a New India, Transforming India, Digital India and a nation of empowered citizens.

Thursday's judgment is only the first step towards the process of evolving a new legal eco-system. Even in the non-digital world, the impact of this judgment will be far reaching. The rights of an individual over his/her body and to take decisions without fear of being observed or scrutinised are also now protected. This will be increasingly asserted by citizens. One obvious area is the contentious aspect of Section 377 and sexual preferences of citizens. I have no doubt that in this area too, we will see progress.

Governments or corporate can now seek information, data or access to citizens with sound legal backing of law or courts. Legislations of its powers will have to be more careful and thought through as the Supreme Court has laid down two new thresholds for challenging legislative power i.e. of manifest arbitrariness and Constitutional vagueness. It is expected that as citizens become more aware of this right, there will be many tests to privacy that will end up in courts and laws will have to settle.

As India leaps to meet its goal of not just being the world's largest democracy but also the most evolved and advanced democracy, this judgment will give a boost to Modi's vision of digitising and transforming India into a nation where economic empowerment, political empowerment and human dignity all go hand in hand. It has been a good week for India and all Indians.
Editor's note: It's ironic that 70 years after India became an Independent country and a democracy, the invocation of aazadi evokes bitter conflicts. Whether it is on university campuses or in the midst of the conflict in the Kashmir Valley  both calling for aazadi and challenging that call as anti-national arouses mighty passions. By comparison, swaraj is hardly ever invoked in the public discourse. It almost seems like a historical artefact, a fragment of fading memories of the Freedom Struggle. This is the tenth part of a series titled Swaraj at 70 that seeks to take a closer look at this dichotomy.

After living in India for 38 years, Belgian-born economist Jean Dreze identifies more with the name 'Jaan Daraz', which is how he is known to people in hundreds of villages and towns across the country. Unlike most economists, Dreze's knowledge of the Indian ground realities is based on countless days spent living among the people, whom policy makers and marketing experts perceive as the 'bottom of the pyramid'. In the late 1980s, Dreze often travelled across rural India in a manner akin to sadhus  moving on foot and depending on the hospitality of people for food and shelter.

After graduating from the University of Essex, Dreze did a PhD at the Indian Statistical Institute, New Delhi. Dreze has taught at the London School of Economics, Delhi School of Economics and has been a visiting professor at the GB Pant Social Science Institute, Allahabad. In the academic world, Dreze is known for the various books he has co-authored with Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen.

But Dreze's place in history has been secured by his seminal contributions to the campaign which led to the right to food being enshrined as a Fundamental Right in the Indian Constitution. For the millions who still live on the edge of poverty or below, Dreze is a familiar face because he personally engages in extensive data collection exercises to monitor the implementation of both the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) and the Right to Food.

Firstpost spoke to Dreze, who also served briefly on the National Advisory Council in both terms of the UPA government.

Edited excerpts follow:

What feelings does Swaraj evoke for you today?

Oddly, it evokes a vague feeling of indifference. I say oddly because some interpretations of the term do appeal to me. For instance, I am attracted to ideas of self-management, self-determination and self-governance. The term Swaraj, however, also has other connotations that I find much less appealing, such as nationalism and self-sufficiency, so it sounds a little murky. I prefer to think in terms of freedom.

To what extent do you view Swaraj as an inward journey of greater command over the self, and to what extent is it an outward journey of individuals and collectives seeking a greater sense of agency in society and markets?

Both interpretations are valid, but as I said, I don't tend to think in terms of Swaraj. Command over the self sounds like a useful ability and if you wish to call it Swaraj, I have no objection. The same applies to agency.

In this context, what are the areas of satisfaction and disappointment in your work on the right to food?

Keeping the focus on Swaraj-related issues, I think that some progress has been made towards better provisions for social security including food security. Swaraj, however you think of it, is impossible when people live in constant fear of hunger. Twenty years ago, there was a shocking absence of any kind of social support in rural areas, especially in the poorest districts. Even today, many people live in a situation of extreme insecurity and helplessness, but they can at least claim some basic entitlements from the state.

Turning to the main disappointment, it is in our own movements that I feel Swaraj is still deeply lacking. As I understand it, Swaraj in social movements would mean that we have been able to develop a culture of cooperation based on equality and freedom. In reality, social movements often reproduce the inequalities and hierarchies of the society at large. This problem, of course, is understandable, but I think that there is a need for better awareness of it and stronger commitment to strive for Swaraj in that sense.

Is freedom from reliance on free or subsidised food a desirable goal?

I think that in some contexts, it is a valid goal, but only one among others, including some that may be more important, such as food security and good nutrition. If subsidised food enhances good nutrition, there may be a strong case for it, even if it creates some dependence on the state.

In some situations, reliance on free or subsidised food does not seem to me to be an issue at all. For instance, school meals involve the distribution of free food, but it is a very positive activity from many points of view. It contributes to better nutrition, higher school attendance, and social equality, among other important goals.

How do you visualise the future of food sovereignty? How would the structure have to change so that virtually all have adequate nutrition and livelihood?

I think of food sovereignty as popular control over the food system, as opposed to corporate control in particular. Commercial interests are constantly invading and distorting the food system, whether it is by promoting branded products in school meals, or mistreating animals in industrial farms, or sponsoring unsustainable food production methods, or enticing us to eat junk food.

In contrast, food sovereignty would mean democratic control over what we eat and how it is produced or distributed. That's a long haul, but we can at least hope to move in that direction in various ways, for instance by resisting the influence of corporate interests on food policy or fostering environment-friendly technologies.

Swaraj at 70: The concept of aazadi is no longer enough

Part 1: Past 25 years are a matter of pride, but there's a long way to go, says Baijayant 'Jay' Panda

Part 2: Not being able to disagree without causing upheaval is dangerous, says Sushobha Barve

Part 3: Alternative brand of politics has disappeared from India, says Piyush Mishra

Part 4: Youth can play a significant role in solving farm crisis, says Kavitha Kuruganti

Part 5: For true freedom, we need to end oppression of handouts and subsidies, says Arun Maira

Part 6: People's aspirations are no longer limited by age and class, says Ashni Biyani

Part 7: India needs a more inclusive model of development, says Vijay Mahajan

Part 8: Politicising of human rights issues has pushed liberal discourse into corner, says Kalyani Menon-Sen

Part 9: Technology has the potential to redefine social fabric of India, says Siddharth Sthalekar


Hyderabad: A group of students from the University of Hyderabad (UoH) on Thursday burnt copies of a probe panel's report which had said that the varsity's action was not responsible for Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula's suicide.

Vemula's death last year had touched off massive protests.

Report of the one-man judicial commission under former Allahabad high court judge Justice AK Roopanwal, set up by the human resource development ministry, had said, "Vemula was a troubled individual and was unhappy for several reasons." It also said that Vemula was not a Dalit.

A group of students on Thursday evening held a protest in Hyderabad and accused the Commission of having submitted an "illegal, mischievous and politically motivated report".

The Commission went beyond its terms of reference by investigating Vemula's caste, the protesters said.

Dontha Prashanth of Ambedkar Students' Association said, "The report has suited the purpose of ABVP and BJP, going against the evidence available before the commission."

Professor K Laxminarayana, who also addressed the protesters, said the Commission was primarily set up to investigate the circumstances that led to Vemula's death, but it didn't carry out this task.

Vemula hanged himself in his hostel room on 17 January, 2016. Before that, the varsity had taken disciplinary action against him.
Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday claimed senior Gorkha Janamukti Morcha leader Binay Tamang would attend the 29 August all-party meeting convened by the state government on the Darjeeling issue. However, he rebutted the chief minister, saying no such decision has been taken by the party.

Talking to media persons at the state secretariat Nabanna, Banerjee said Tamang would represent the GJM at the meeting, called to address the issues in northern West Bengal hills.

But contacted by IANS, Tamang said his party was yet to receive the official letter from the state government about the meeting.

"We have not taken any decision as no state government letter regarding the all party meet has reached us yet. We heard that the letter has come to the District Magistrate's office in Darjeeling. So we have not taken any decision that I'll be attending the meeting," GJM Joint Secretary Tamang told IANS over phone.

"We will conduct a meeting in the next two days after we receive the letter and take a decision on whether the party would attend the meeting called by the Bengal government," he said.

Earlier in the day, GJM chief Bimal Gurung wrote to Banerjee requesting her to "initiate a political dialogue" to resolve the crisis in Darjeeling.

He also appealed to the state government to "take appropriate measures" to restore normalcy in the region, which has been on the boil for over two months over the demand for a separate Gorkhaland state.

But Banerjee denied receiving any such letter from Gurung.

In the letter, a copy of which is with IANS, Gurung reminded her that the GTA (Gorkhaland Territorial Administration) was meant only to be an interim arrangement as per the tripartite MoU and the party has not dropped its demand for Gorkhaland.

"...We request your honour to initiate political dialogue on the long pending demand of the Gorkhas, which is Gorkhaland, to help resolve the present crisis of Darjeeling," he said.

He also demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation or judicial inquiry into deaths caused due to police action, withdrawal of all the cases against agitators and that those detained during the agitation be released.

He also demanded compensation for the kin of those who have been "killed in police firing" and the injured.

Gurung said the creation of autonomous bodies in Darjeeling, first as the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council in 1988 and then as the GTA in 2011, has "failed miserably".

"The two failed councils in the Darjeeling hills today should pave way for us to learn from our previous mistakes that experimental models to temporarily curb people's aspiration for separation from West Bengal has not worked in the past, nor the present," he said.

Normal life has been paralysed in the hills covering large areas in Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts with an indefinite shutdown called by the GJM continuing since June 12 on the statehood demand.

Banerjee on Tuesday announced that the state government would hold talks with "all major political parties" on 29 August.
The violence, arson and rioting that led to the killing of over 30 people  believed to be Dera Sacha Sauda Chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh's supporters  and injuries to over 200, are indicative of the deep malaise that afflicts our body politic. The toxic nexus between rich and influential religious gurus who nurture their own private militias and politicians who become subservient to a ready vote bank has ultimately led us to a crossroads where any thuggish leader who commands a sizeable crowd can order his goons to bring the entire machinery of a state (or three) down to its heel.

What is most tragic about Friday's string of incidents that left parts of Haryana resemble a war zone is that it was preventable. Had chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar acted with alacrity and used the resources at his command, so many people wouldn't have lost their lives, so many wouldn't have been injured and such widespread destruction of public property and media assets could have been avoided. Even as an inept administration abdicated its responsibilities, a rampant mob went on a spree of destruction to show how easy it is to overrule the state.

Like the proverbial Nero, Khattar kept himself locked up in his residence as Haryana burnt all around him in a four-hour stretch of utter madness. The violence was not sudden by any stretch of imagination. For three consecutive days, the media had been reporting how lakhs of Dera chief's followers were congregating in Panchkula. Reports emerged how the police were careless in implementing crowd control methods and perhaps goaded by the administration, had rendered themselves totally vulnerable to the volatile mob.

The administration should have known that if the Baba is convicted for his crime, things could go out of hand. Yet, for three days it allowed the situation to build up to a point of no return. In the end, all it needed for that powder keg to go up in flames was a trigger, which was provided by Ram Rahim Singh's conviction.

While Khattar presented a picture of incompetence, Sakshi Maharaj, one of the BJP's infamous motor mouths, was busy defending a convicted rapist. The BJP MP called Ram Rahim Singh a 'noble soul' and blamed the judiciary for finding him guilty. It added to the surreal chain of events and raised some searching questions about the way BJP looks at power.

Not for the first time have we seen such perversion of public discourse. It is the inevitable consequence of vote bank politics. It is quite clear that Khattar allowed the guru to gather his goons and turned a blind eye to his tactics of intimidation because he found it politically unsuitable to censure a powerful chieftain. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has tweeted that he was "deeply distressed" by what happened in Haryana. A close eye shall be kept on the measures he takes.
New Delhi: Hitting out at the BJP for the widespread violence in Haryana over the conviction of Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a rape case, the CPM on Friday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar to abide by their "rajdharma" in containing the violence.

Taking to Twitter, CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury alleged that the cult headed by the self-styled godman could hold the state to ransom solely because the BJP-led government in Haryana was "in cahoots" with it.

How is the state government expected to handle the situation "fairly" when Khattar had "photos clicked" with Dera Sacha Sauda chief, and all the BJP assembly candidates visited the godman and the government "donated" Rs 50 lakh to him, he questioned.

A so-called religious cult is holding the state of Haryana at ransom, solely because the BJP govt in the state is in cahoots with it.  Sitaram Yechury (@SitaramYechury) August 25, 2017

"We appeal to everyone in Haryana to maintain peace and amity. We appeal to the CM of Haryana and the PM to abide by their 'Rajdharma'. "A so-called religious cult is holding the state of Haryana at ransom, solely because the BJP govt in the state is in cahoots with it," the Left leader said in a series of tweets. "All BJP assembly candidates visited the cult leader, BJP govt gave this cult Rs 50 lakh, CM had photos clicked. And we expect fair handling?" he said.

A so-called religious cult is holding the state of Haryana at ransom, solely because the BJP govt in the state is in cahoots with it.  Sitaram Yechury (@SitaramYechury) August 25, 2017

Maverick self-styled godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was today convicted of rape by a court in Punchkula, triggering widespread violence and arson in Haryana where 30 people were killed and over 250 injured.

Arson by the frenzied followers of the head of Dera Sacha Sauda was also witnessed in Delhi, Punjab and Rajasthan within a few hours of the pronouncement of the judgement by the CBI court in the 2002 case.
Srinagar: Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah has questioned the response of the security forces in combating spiralling violence in parts of Haryana following the conviction of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh by a special CBI court in a rape case on Friday.

"Chilli bombs? Pepper grenades? Pellet guns? Do the forces keep those only for protesting Kashmiris?" Omar wrote on twitter soon after Dera supporters resorted to violence in the wake of the court verdict.

Chilli bombs? Pepper grenades? Pellet guns? Do the forces keep those only for protesting Kashmiris? https://t.co/pToTv37eOG  Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) August 25, 2017

PM Modi should sack his Haryana CM for gross dereliction of duty. The CM had more than enough time to prepare for this eventuality.  Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) August 25, 2017

At least five people died and scores others were injured after Dera followers went on a rampage in Haryana.

Omar also expressed surprise over the statement made by a senior security force official about the situation in the affected areas.

"Seems all the visuals of violence are just fake news. These guys have everything under control. OB vans are self-inflicting damage!" the National Conference working president said.

Click here for live updates on the story.
IANS

Qualcomm President Derek Aberle, who was closely fighting a legal battle with Apple, has quit after a successful 17-year career.

According to a Qualcomm statement late on Thursday, Aberle has decided to quit after he helped drive the company's overall global strategy and vision as a member of the company's Executive Committee.

Aberle will stay till December 31 for a smooth transition. "On behalf of the Executive Team, I want to thank Derek for the vision, creativity, dedication, and judgment he brought to the company and wish him all the best in the future," said Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf.

Over the past 30 years, Qualcomm has invented the core technologies that have enabled the mobile revolution and made all modern smartphones possible. "I am very proud to have been a part of that tradition of innovation, and of all that we've been able to accomplish during my tenure," added Aberle.

Executive Vice President Alex Rogers would now report directly to Qualcomm CEO Mollenkopf.

To find a solution to the protracted legal battle between Apple and Qualcomm, the US International Trade Commission (ITC) was set to start a probe into the chip-maker's claims that Apple violated its patents in devices like the iPhone 7.

Qualcomm has asked the ITC to stop further sales of iPhones equipped with cellular baseband modem processors made by rival chip-producer Intel. The mobile-phone chip-maker claimed that Apple violated potentially six of its patents in how it uses the Intel modems.

Apple began using Intel cellular modems for some versions of the iPhone 7 launched last year, with the remaining supplied by Qualcomm.

Apple continues to reassert claims it made in its lawsuit against Qualcomm, saying "the chipmaker supplies Apple with a single connectivity component, but for years has been demanding a percentage of the total cost of our products, effectively taxing Apple's innovation".
Clocks stopped. Windows rattled. Residents feared the worst.

Two families rushed out of their homes in alarm while others, stirred by the rude awakening, thought burglars had broken in.

The time was about 9:50 p.m. The date: Tuesday, Aug. 31, 1886.

Mount Holly Springs had just experienced the shock of an earthquake centered 600 miles away in what was left of Charleston, SC.

A second tremor rolled through Holly about 15 minutes later causing The Daily Sentinel on Sept. 2 to speculate on the reason why the borough was so vulnerable.

One of the facts in the occurrence is that those who lived closest to the mountain felt it the severest, the newspaper reported. Eyewitness accounts from Mt. Alto supported the conclusion that earthquake effects followed the mountain range, to some extent.

A wire service story on the disaster reported how people in Mt. Alto, Waynesboro and Fayetteville saw beds shaking, chairs rocking and a general moving of portable articles. Doors were opened and trees were stripped of their fruit in some places.

The American Volunteer, a Carlisle newspaper, reported how the tremor was quite perceptible in Shippensburg and accompanied by a rumbling sound. But further down the [Cumberland] valley it was still more apparent.

Like The Sentinel, The Volunteer saw a tie-in with local topography. It will be noticed in this locality the places affected are those lying near the South Mountain. However, this is coming dangerously near, and it is not at all pleasant to be convinced that this beautiful valley is not free from earthquakes.

Slightly visited by shock

Cross-town rival The Carlisle Herald reported how the shock of the Charleston quake was felt across much of the U.S. from the Great Lakes south to the Gulf of Mexico and east of the Mississippi River.

There are some people who say the effects of the earthquake were felt in Carlisle, The Herald reported. But there are very few who noticed anything unusual.

Those who did only attributed it to the earthquake after news of the disaster filtered out. The Herald said only about a dozen or so Carlisle area residents felt a vibration or a jarring sensation.

On the whole we may say that Carlisle was only slightly, if at all; visited by the shock, The Herald story reads. Part-news part-commentary the words painted a bleak picture of the dread felt by survivors in Charleston:

Reports from that place indicate a fearful state of affairsIt is bad enough to have one shock of an earthquake that drives people into the streets but to have a series of them, adding to the terror and consternation during the entire night, is something awful to contemplateThe number of those who were killed outright can be ascertained, but who can tell how many unfortunate creatures will die from fright and exposure.

No other calamity can equal an earthquake, The Herald added. It gives no notice. There is no means of providing against it. No place to flee from it and no time to do even if there was. It is one of the most appalling catastrophes known to mankind.

Need for Foundation

For one Carlisle family, the disaster hit close to home in a manner of speaking. Navy Commander B.P. Lamberton was visiting his mother on Pomfret Street at the time of the tremor.

Lamberton was in charge of all the lighthouses of a Navy district extending from Cape Fear, NC to the southern coast of Florida with its headquarters in Charleston. While he escaped the earthquake by being on the rocky foundation of Carlisle, The Herald reported. His house in Charleston was wrecked.

A Sentinel commentator saw the disaster as a wake-up call to Americans on the need for solid architecture:

Our Atlantic seaboard enjoys no immunity from the destructive convulsions of the earths crust. A due recognition of the dangerwe [have] in common with all the dwellers of the earths surfaceshould lead to the enforcement of precautions recommended by experience in the location and construction of buildings. It is but too obvious that had Charleston contained many tenement houses of the flimsy character familiar to New York the loss of life would have been frightful.

A wire service story from Sept. 1 described Charleston as wrecked with streets choked with piles of fallen bricks and tangled telegraph and telephone wires. Over 60 people were killed or wounded mostly black and there were fires reported all over the city. The business district was destroyed and hundreds of city-dwellers were homeless.

Answering the Call

As with any disaster of far-reaching effect, calls went out to help the victims. The Sentinel reported on Sept. 2 how the Western Union Telegraph company promised to forward, at no cost, any donations sent as earthquake relief. The newspaper urged the public to support this initiative:

Steps should be taken by every hamlet, town and city to at once render adequate reliefThey should receive from the whole people not only expressions of sympathy, but substantial assistance.

Local support extended beyond wiring donations. For days on end, local newspapers publicized a benefit concert that was held at The Sentinel building which housed an opera house. That building was located behind the Old Courthouse on the Square.

The participants will include some of the best musical talent the town affords, one story reads. The committee on sale of tickets has met with great success, and it looks as though a large audience and a full purse would be the result.

We have wealth and plenty, while others are suffering, another story reads. It is but right to give to those who have lost their all and who are needy. There are pressing needs among the poor people of Charleston and the cry of distress should not go unheeded.
Reuters

When Alexander Vinnik was arrested on money-laundering charges at a Greek hotel in late July, the status of his Jabber secure online messaging account was set to away.

He often takes some time to reply, so at first I didnt think anything of it, said one person who knew the Russian as an administrator of a digital currency exchange which U.S. prosecutors say was used to launder criminal funds.

Then when I saw his picture on the news, I knew he would be away for a long time, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The U.S. Justice Department says Vinnik facilitated crimes including computer hacking, fraud and drug trafficking by laundering at least $4 billion through BTC-e, an exchange used to trade bitcoin and other digital currencies, since 2011.

The 37-year-old faces up to 55 years in prison if extradited to the United States. He denies the allegations against him, according to Greek media reports, and BTC-e has said he never worked for the exchange. Reuters was unable to reach BTC-e or a lawyer representing Vinnik for comment.

Vinnik is now one of seven Russians arrested or indicted on U.S. cyber crime charges this year. On average, just two Russian cyber criminals were extradited to the United States each year between 2010 and the start of this year, according to a Reuters review of U.S. Justice Department filings, Russian government statements and sources briefed on the matter.

The increase to a record level shows that although President Donald Trump is trying to improve relations with Moscow, the United States has not shied away from pursuing Russians suspected of cyber crime.The prosecutions coincide with intensified scrutiny of Russian hackers since U.S. intelligence officials determined that Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election using cyber warfare methods to help Trump.

The Kremlin has denied accusations it interfered in elections in the United States or elsewhere.

But U.S. opposition lawmakers have questioned whether Trump is willing to respond forcefully to Moscow over its actions in cyberspace, and the White House has avoided publicly accusing Russia over recent politically-motivated hacking attacks..

Alarmed by Trumps proposal to create a joint U.S.-Russia cyber security unit, U.S. lawmakers have also drawn up a draft bill that would require him to notify lawmakers before he does so.

Four U.S. federal law enforcement officials, who discussed the recent arrests with Reuters on condition of anonymity, said there had been no centralised effort to step up action against Russian cyber criminals under Trump.

The increase in the number of arrests stemmed from breakthroughs made in investigations before last years election, two of them said.

The FBI referred all questions to the U.S. Justice Department. The Justice Department said it did not track arrests or indictments by nationality and declined further comment.

Russian hackers rattled

Some U.S. officials, however, acknowledged that individual agents may now be more motivated to move against Russian cybercriminals following the election hacking scandal.

Russian hackers are active at all levels of cyber crime, from small-time thefts of online banking details, to taking down the computer networks of multi-national companies and government departments.

John Carlin, who until last October ran the national security division of the U.S. Justice Department as assistant attorney general, said resources had already been moving towards pursuing Russian nationals before the 2016 election.

But he added: Their outrageous activity to undermine the integrity of our election, like they did in western Europe before and have done since, can only have added fuel to the fire.

According to interviews with five people who knew the men arrested this year, all of whom declined to be named for fear of prosecution, the arrests have shaken the Russian cyber crime community.

Now they are arresting even those who had a super indirect, not even direct connection to what they call influencing their election, said one who knew Vinnik by his online moniker WME.

Used to operating across borders with relative impunity, Russian cyber criminals are now worried the prosecutions will lead to further arrests or harm their operations. They are cutting back on trips abroad that were once seen as a calculated risk because of the risk of arrest and extradition, but are now viewed as increasingly foolhardy.

We have monitored criminals discussing the aftermath (of the arrests) ... and it is clear they are concerned about two things, said Ilya Sachkov, head of cyber security firm Group-IB, whose Threat Intelligence unit specialises in monitoring and tracking the Russian-speaking cyber crime community. "First, what the arrested members potentially know about them, but second and more importantly, a disruption in their ability to make money."

One of those arrested this year was Peter Levashov, charged by U.S. prosecutors with operating one of the world's largest botnets, or networks, of infected computers used by cyber criminals. He denies the charges.

Levashov allegedly used the botnet to pump out spam emails for a multitude of criminal schemes, such as stock fraud, online credential phishing attempts and the distribution of malware, including ransomware. A person who knew Levashov by his online identity Severa said his arrest in particular had rattled underground cyber criminal circles because he was so well known.

"People read the news of course and see guys they know getting busted," the person said. "Once is bad, this many times is scary."
Reuters

US action against suspected Russian cyber criminals has surged to a record high this year despite efforts by President Donald Trump to improve ties with Moscow.

The United States has arrested or indicted seven Russians on US cyber crime charges in 2017. On average, just two Russian cyber criminals were extradited to the United States each year between 2010 and the start of this year.

Below is a breakdown of the arrests and indictments so far this year:

Stanislav Lisov

Arrested in Spain on Jan. 13, aged 32.

Lisov, also known by hacker names Black and Blackf, according to court documents, is accused of creating the NeverQuest banking trojan which targeted customers of financial institutions around the world and caused millions of dollars of damage.

A Spanish court agreed to extradite Lisov to the United States in early August, where he faces up to 35 years in prison. Lisovs lawyer opposed the extradition, arguing that the allegations and evidence against him were too vague, that the United States did not have jurisdiction over any of the alleged crimes.

Igor Sushchin

Indicted on March 15, aged 43.

One of two officers from Russias Federal Security Service (FSB) charged by the United States in March with masterminding the 2014 theft of up to 500 million Yahoo accounts, the first time the US government criminally charged Russian spies for cyber offenses. Reuters was unable to reach Sushchin for comment.

Dmitry Dokuchayev

Indicted on March 15, aged 33.

The second FSB officer indicted in the Yahoo hack and Sushchins subordinate. Allegedly a former hacker who stole and sold credit card details under the online alias Forb, Dokuchayev was one of four men detained on mysterious treason charges by Russian authorities in late 2016. He is currently being held in Moscow. Reuters was unable to reach Dokuchayev for comment.

Alexei Belan

Indicted on March 15, aged 29.

One of two hackers accused of working with Sushchin and Dokuchayev to break into Yahoo email servers and steal data from up to 500 million user accounts. Belan has spent years on the FBIs most-wanted list for crimes. He was arrested in Europe in June 2013 but escaped to Russia before he could be extradited to the United States. Reuters was unable to reach Belan for comment.

Peter Levashov

Arrested in Spain on April 7, aged 36.

A spammer accused by US prosecutors of operating a botnet, or network, of tens of thousands of infected computers used by cyber criminals to pump out spam emails. Levashov has been accused of using the botnet for a multitude of criminal schemes, such as stock fraud, online credential phishing attempts and the distribution of malware, including ransomware. He is being held in Spain awaiting extradition to the United States, where he faces up to 52 years in jail. He denies the charges against him.

Yury Martyshev

Arrested in Latvia on April 26, aged 35

Accused of helping run a service that let cyber criminals test-drive malware before attacking victims. His extradition to the United States was denounced by the Russian government as another case of kidnapping of a Russian citizen by the US authorities. Martyshev denies the charges against him, according to Russian media reports.

Alexander Vinnik

Arrested in Greece on July 25, aged 37

Vinnik is accused of laundering at least $4 billion in criminal funds through the BTC-e crypto-currency exchange since 2011. This is alleged to be part of a scheme to facilitate crimes including computer hacking, fraud and drug trafficking.

US authorities also linked him to the failure of Mt. Gox, a Japan-based bitcoin exchange that collapsed in 2014 after being hacked.

He is being held in Greece awaiting extradition to the United States, where he faces up to 55 years in jail. He denies the charges against him, according to Greek media reports.
Reuters

US authorities on Thursday accused a Chinese national visiting the United States of providing malware that has been linked to the theft of security clearance records of millions of American government employees.

Yu Pingan of Shanghai was arrested on Monday at Los Angeles airport after a federal criminal complaint accused him of conspiring with others wielding malicious software known as Sakula, a Justice Department spokesman said on Thursday.

The complaint said the group attacked a series of unnamed US companies using Sakula, the same rare program involved in US Office of Personnel Management (OPM) hacks detected in 2014 and 2015. The filing did not mention the OPM hacks.

The arrest could provide information on the OPM hacks which US officials have blamed on the Chinese government.

In an FBI affidavit linked to the complaint, an FBI agent said he believed Yu provided versions of Sakula to two unnamed men that he knew would be used to carry out attacks on the firms.

Yus court-appointed attorney, Michael Berg, said Yu was a teacher with no affiliation with Chinas government.

He says he has no involvement in this whatsoever, Berg said, adding that Yu came to Los Angeles for a conference.

The Justice Department and San Diego FBI declined to comment further.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a regular press briefing on Friday that she was not aware of the situation, but that China actively seeks to guarantee overseas Chinese individuals legal rights. China opposes of all forms criminal internet activity, she added.

The court filings said Sakula had rarely been seen before the attacks on the US companies and Yu knew the software he was providing would be used in the hacks carried out between 2010 and 2015.

Though the victims are not named, some companies appeared to be in the aerospace and energy industries.

Adam Meyers, vice president at US security firm CrowdStrike, said software flaws and one of the internet protocol addresses cited in the complaint matched up with attacks on the US turbine manufacturer, Capstone Turbine, and a French aircraft supplier.

Meyers said Sakula could be used by multiple groups, but that all of the known targets would be of interest to the Chinese government.

The OPM breach was a subject of US-China talks, and the Chinese government previously told American diplomats it had arrested some criminals in the case.

Yu remains in jail pending a court hearing on his detention next week.
tech2 News Staff

The Indian Commerce Ministry has formed a task force to explore the possibilities of putting artificial intelligence (AI) to use in hastening domestic economic transformation, an official said on Friday.

"Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who has constituted a task force on artificial intelligence (AI) for India's economic transformation, said that with rapid development in the fields of information technology and hardware, the world is about to witness a fourth industrial revolution," a Commerce Ministry statement said here.

"Driven by the power of big data, high computing capacity, artificial intelligence and analytics, Industry 4.0 aims to digitize the manufacturing sector," the statement quoted her as saying.

The 18-member task force will comprise of experts, academics, researchers and industry leaders and will explore possibilities to leverage AI for development across various fields, it added.

The panel will submit its recommendations to the government, industry and research institutions.

V. Kamakoti from IIT Madras will be the chairman of the task force, whose members include Anuj Kapuria from High Tech RoboticSystemz Ltd, Anurag Agarwal from CSIR, G.H. Rao from HCL Technologies and Aloke Mukherjee from DRDO.

While the task force foresees possibilities in economic transformation, the announcement also comes a day after the US Navys smart, Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) was successfully test fired from a B-1B Lancer.

With inputs from IANS
tech2 News Staff

A group of Egyptian students have built a machine they say can produce fuel from worn-out vehicle tyres, after big rises in energy prices as part of recent economic reforms.

The device heats the tyres until they reach evaporation point. The vapour then enters a condenser.

The product is very similar in properties to pure diesel and the carbon or black coal is just left inside the container, said Mohamed Saeed Ali, one of 12 students who worked on the machine as a graduation project.

The students are currently searching for investors for their project.

Instead of polluting the environment, we recycle them (the tyres) properly in an eco-friendly manner, Saeed said.

Egypt raised fuel prices by up to 50 percent in June as a condition of a $12 billion International Monetary Fund programme the country signed last year.

This report comes weeks after a Kenyan company decided to go to unusual lengths by using human faeces to manufacture briquettes for use for use in cooking and heating.

The fuel is made by workers from the Nakuru Water and Sanitation Services Company, who dry it, treat it in a kiln and carbonize it with sawdust at 300 degrees Celsius (572 degrees Fahrenheit), and eventually press it into balls that are then sold by the kilo.

The production process also removes harmful pathogens and, of course, the unpleasant smell.

With inputs from Reuters
tech2 News Staff

Back in December 2016 when Elon Musk tweeted that he was fed up of LA traffic and planned to "build a tunnel boring machine and just start digging", a lot of people didn't take him seriously. However, within no time we heard the announcement of 'The Boring Company' founded by Elon Musk himself. His objective was to build a large network of narrow tunnels many levels deep. He plans to place electric skates in these tunnels, which will transport vehicles from one place to another at speeds of 125 mph (around 200 kph) and reduce traffic on the surface of big, metropolitan cities.

However, the ride wasn't as smooth as expected and so far, Musk has managed to dig only in private property at SpaceX's HQ in Hawthorne, California. But now the City Council of Hawthorne has granted Musk the permission to dig a two-mile underground tunnel, according to The Daily Breeze, which will extend beyond the SpaceX property. The council voted on this decision with four in favour for the tunnel and one against.

The extended tunnel will be running between 22 to 44 feet below the surface of the ground and have an external diameter of 13.5 feet and interior diameter of 12 feet. The tunnel will be started under the SpaceX compound's parking lot and extend to the Hawthorne Boulevard, according to LA Curbed. According to The Verge, the planned route steers clear of any residential or commercial property that is not already owned by SpaceX. Musk later plans to extend this tunnel all the way to Los Angeles International Airport as well.

The Boring Company plans on monitoring the progress of the tunneling very closely and will stop the drilling if the surface caves in by even half an inch above the tunnel, according to The Daily Breeze. You dont see it, dont hear it, and certainly dont feel it. Everything happens underground. We wont have construction crews walking down the street. We wont have excavators said Brett Horton, SpaceXs senior director of facilities and construction to Daily Breeze.

Although Musk's idea is not impossible, the biggest obstacle for him is the drilling cost of tunnels. A single-lane conventional tunnel is about 28-feet wide and he estimates the cost for building it to be around one billion for a single mile. However, Musk plans on making his tunnel's diameter nearly half that of a conventional single lane tunnel. This might reduce the cost of the tunnel by three to four times, according to his estimate. All the information comes from the official site for The Boring Company. In any event, there will be many such hurdles to cross before Musk can provide a functioning prototype with his Boring project which will have real world applications.
IANS

Even as the aftermath of the violence that broke out following a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, continues to grip the US, media reports have alleged that Russian Twitter bots are now engaged in sowing discord.

Russian bots have taken to Twitter to promote and share extremist right-wing tweets and disinformation, Slate online magazine reported on 24 August.

Citing findings from the Alliance for Securing Democracy, a project of the German Marshall Fund that tracks efforts to undermine democratic governments, Slate reported that Russian accounts were busy at work in the days after Charlottesville.

"PhoenixRally," "Antifa," and "MAGA" were among the most common hashtags used by these accounts this week.

One of the central themes shared by the Russian-linked accounts after Charlottesville was an accusation that the left-leaning philanthropist George Soros had supported the counter-protesters.

"The same Russian social media machine that blanketed Twitter with pro-Trump posts during the 2016 presidential election were reportedly at work after Charlottesville too," the report said.

Dozens of people marched through the University of Virginia on August 11, carrying torches and chanting "Jews will not replace us" and "White lives matter".

They were protesting a Charlottesville City Council plan to remove a Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee statue from a nearby park.

But violence gripped the event after the rally's supporters were confronted by anti-racism groups. A 32-year-old woman, Heather Heyer, from Charlottesville was killed and nearly a score injured when a car, allegedly driven by a white supremacist, hit a crowd of counter-protesters.
AP

Drones soon will be used in Tanzania to deliver medicines to health facilities across the East African country, continuing a trend of African governments embracing drone networks to deliver critical services.

Tanzania's government is working with US logistics company Zipline to launch what they call the world's largest drone delivery service for emergency medical supplies.

In the first quarter of 2018, Tanzania's government will begin using drones to make up to 2,000 deliveries per day to more than 1,000 health facilities, Zipline said in a statement Thursday.

The service will be crucial in times of unexpected demand or bad weather and for small but critical orders, said Laurean Bwanakunu, director-general of Tanzania's national medical stores.

Since October 2016, Zipline has been operating a similar drone delivery service in Rwanda for emergency blood deliveries to transfusion clinics.

With its harsh landscapes of desert and rain forest and extremes of rainy seasons and drought, Africa is burdened with what the World Bank has called "the worst infrastructure endowment of any developing region today."

Rural highways, often unpaved, disintegrate, and in many countries access to electricity has actually declined.

The speed and limited space of drones have focused aid groups and businesses on how to deliver small, sensitive and potentially life-saving cargo on a continent facing some of the world's most severe humanitarian crises.

In Madagascar another US company, Vayu, has completed drone flights to deliver blood and stool samples from rural villages with support from the US Agency for International Development.
tech2 News Staff

The larger version the Samsung Galaxy S8+ was announced at an event on 23 August. The phone, the long-awaited Galaxy Note 8 was launched at a price of around $930 in the US. Ignoring boutique phones, this makes the Note 8 one of the most expensive phones in the market today.

Dont fret, however, as the launch of the new phone means that Samsung has dropped the prices of the older models. As Android Central notes, the price of the 6 GB RAM variant of the Galaxy S8+ in India has fallen from Rs 70,900 to Rs 65,900.

Of course, the price of the Galaxy S8 units are still very high in India and even after the discount, theyre priced higher than the new Galaxy Note 8. Strangely enough, Samsung hasnt cut the price of the 4 GB variant of the S8+, making it quite a bad deal right now. Hopefully, this oversight will be corrected soon.

The Samsung Galaxy S8+ features a 6.2-inch Super AMOLED screen, weighs 173 g, is powered by an Exynos 8895 octa-core processor with a Mail-G71 MP20 GPU and offers 128 GB of internal storage with 6 GB of RAM. The cheaper variant offers 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage. The internal storage in both models can be expanded by up to 256 GB via a microSD card.

In the camera department, you get a 12 MP f/1.7 rear camera and an 8 MP f/1.7 front camera. The battery is a 3,500 mAh unit.

The Note 8 offers a fractionally larger, 6.3-inch HDR10-compliant display, up to 256 GB of internal storage, a dual 12 MP f/1.7 and f/2.4 rear camera setup on the rear and a smaller 3,300 mAh battery. Of course, the Note 8 also offers the S-Pen and the accompanying software.
Salvador (Brazil): Two Brazilian ferry wrecks in as many days left at least 39 people dead, authorities have said, as rescuers searched for several more who were still missing.

"We deeply regret the loss of tens of lives in the boat accidents in Para and Bahia," two states in the north of the country, President Michel Temer said on Twitter.

Regional authorities in north-central Para state said 21 people were confirmed dead so far after a boat sank on the Xingu river late on Tuesday. That vessel, named Capitan Ribeiro, had 49 people on board, 23 of whom were rescued.

Emergency teams were still searching for five more, the department said in a statement.

Separately, the navy said 18 people died when a ferry sank early Thursday off the northeastern state of Bahia.

Naval commander Flavio Almeida lowered the death toll in that accident from an earlier count of 22. That boat reportedly had at least 120 people on board.

Almeida told AFP at least 21 of them had been rescued by official means, but he added that many more were believed to have been picked up by civilian vessels.

The boat was running the short route from the island of Itaparica across the bay to the city of Salvador, capital of Bahia state, when it went down in a storm. "It was raining ... a wave came and the boat turned over. There were a lot of people" on board, one survivor, Edvaldo Santos de Almeida, told top news website G1.

The naval commander said scores of military personnel were working on rescue efforts at the site. The state government declared three days of mourning. "I have been personally following this difficult operation from an early stage and all measures have been taken immediately," said Bahia governor Rui Costa.

In the incident in Para, in a northern Amazon region, survivors told local media that the boat got caught in a rainstorm. The vessel had left the port of Santarem bound for Vitoria de Xingu. The regional public safety department said 21 people were confirmed to have died in that sinking, including two children.

Rescuers were searching for others missing in the Xingu river. "It's a hard-to-access area," Colonel Augusto Lima, from the Para firefighters' service, was quoted as saying on Wednesday by the newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo.

The victims who were rescued got out by swimming, Globo news reported, saying the boat went down about 500 meters (1,640 feet) from the riverbank. Ferries, fishing vessels and big commercial ships ply the Amazon waterways as one of the main forms of transport in a region with relatively few roads.

Some 1,160 people have been killed in accidents on rivers in the Amazon since 1981, according to the newspaper.
HARRISBURG  Pennsylvania will be handling those who are convicted of their first driving under the influence offense differently.

On Friday, the states new ignition interlock law went into effect.

The law says that first-time DUI offenders with a blood-alcohol content of 0.10 or higher will have an ignition interlock system installed in their vehicle.

Act 33 is smart on crime and is a life-saving measure, said Sen. John Rafferty, R-Montgomery County.

Previously, DUI laws in Pennsylvania called for a one-year license suspension for a first-time DUI offender with a BAC over 0.10.

Rafferty, who introduced the legislation, said that did little to stop offenders from driving.

On Thursday, some people who lost loved ones because of a DUI crash stood with Rafferty as he talked about the legislation. Chris Demkos daughter, Meredith, was killed when she was 18 years old.

She was driving home from the YMCA at about 2 in the afternoon when an individual who was drunk, high on heroin, a repeat DUI offender, and driving on a suspended license, crashed into her and killed her, Demko said.

Demko, who is from Lancaster County, has been pushing for tougher DUI laws since the death of his daughter.

Anytime someone is prevented via the interlock from driving while drunk, another potential death or injury is prevented, Demko said.

Those who have to use the interlock system can expect to pay about $1,000.

Lancaster County District Attorney Craig Stedman said other states that have used similar systems have seen a decrease in DUIs by about 40 percent.

Last year there was an average of almost 10 lockouts for every ignition interlock installed in Pennsylvania, he said. That is crazy. Its offensive, but it works and this will work.
Charleston: A fired dishwasher shot and killed a chef and held a person hostage for about three hours before he was shot by police at a crowded restaurant in a tourist-heavy area of downtown Charleston on Thursday, authorities and one of the restaurant's owners said.

The hostage was freed with no injuries, Mayor John Tecklenburg said. The shooting took place at Virginia's restaurant on the usually crowded King Street, a line of shops and nice dining that caters to both tourists and residents in South Carolina's largest and most historic city.

Tecklenburg quickly said the shooting was "the act of a disgruntled employee" and not a terrorist attack or a hate crime in a city where nine black church members were killed by a white man two years ago.

"This was a tragic case of a disturbed individual, I think, with a history of some mental health challenges," Tecklenburg said at a news conference.

Authorities did not release the names of the gunman or the employee he killed. They initially said they believed there were "a couple" or a "small number" of hostages. The shooting was reported shortly after noon Thursday.

Peter Siegert, 73, and his son Peter Siegert IV, 45, were quoted by The Post and Courier of Charleston as saying that just after several waitresses and kitchen workers walked out the door without saying a word, a man in an apron with a gun came out of the kitchen and locked the front door. "'I am the new king of Charleston,'" the Siegerts quoted the man as saying.

The man told diners to get on the floor and move to the back of the restaurant. The Siegerts said they escaped out a back door and didn't know how many people were left behind.

One of the restaurant's owners, John Aquino, told WCSC-TV that a dishwasher who had been fired came back to the restaurant and shot a chef to get revenge.

The restaurant was packed with a lunchtime crowd and the first officers to arrive were able to get the man who was shot and a number of diners out safely, interim Charleston Police Chief Jerome Taylor said.

The site is a few blocks away from Emanuel AME church, where nine black members of a church were killed by a white man during a June 2015 Bible study. Dylann Roof was sentenced to death in the case.

It is also just several blocks from where more than 100 cruise ships dock in Charleston each year.
Myanmar: At least 71 people including 12 security forces were killed as Rohingya militants besieged border posts in northern Rakhine state, Myanmar's authorities said on Friday  the highest declared toll in a single day since fighting broke out last year.

The western state is bisected by religious hatred focused on the stateless Rohingya Muslim minority, who are reviled by many Buddhists and perceived as illegal immigrants.

Friday's fighting exploded around Rathedaung township, where there has been a heavy build up of Myanmar troops in recent weeks, with reports filtering out of killings by shadowy groups, army-blockaded villages and a renewed exodus of refugees heading towards neighbouring Bangladesh.

Some 20 police posts came under attack in the early hours of Friday by an estimated 150 insurgents, some carrying guns and using homemade explosives, Myanmar's military said.

"The military and police members are fighting back together against extremist Bengali terrorists," Commander-in-Chief minister Aung Hlaing said in a statement on Facebook, using the state's description for Rohingya militants.

The office of de-facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi said 12 security officials had been killed alongside 59 militants.

One resident in Maungdaw, the main town in northern Rakhine, said gunfire could be heard throughout the night.

"We are still hearing gunshots now, we dare not to go out from our house," a resident said by phone, asking not to be named.

Despite years of persecution, the Rohingya largely eschewed violence.

But a previously unknown militant group emerged as a force in October 2016 under the banner of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), which claims to be leading an insurgency based in the remote May Yu mountain range bordering Bangladesh.

A Twitter account (@ARSA_Official) which frequently posts purportedly from the group confirmed its fighters were engaging Myanmar's military in the area and accused the soldiers of carrying out atrocities in recent weeks.

Myanmar says the group is headed by Rohingya jihadists who were trained abroad but it is unclear how large the network is.

Suu Kyi's office posted pictures of weapons that had been taken from militants, mainly home-made bombs and rudimentary knives and clubs.

Friday's violence pushed more Rohingya to leave, with two boats containing around 150 women, children and elderly people attempting to cross the Naf river into Bangladesh.

But they were pushed back.

"They were scared. We felt pain to send them back," a Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) officer told AFP.

Violence after Annan report

The flare up came just hours after former UN chief Kofi Annan released a milestone report detailing conditions inside Rakhine and offering ways to heal the festering sectarian tensions there.

Commissioned by Myanmar's own government, it urged the scrapping of restrictions of movement and citizenship imposed on the roughly one million-strong Rohingya community in Rakhine.

In a statement Annan said he was "gravely concerned" by the latest outbreak of fighting.

"The alleged scale and gravity of these attacks mark a worrying escalation of violence," he said.

The UN's top official in Myanmar, Renata Lok-Dessallien, called on all sides to "refrain from violence, protect civilians (and) restore law and order".

The wedge of Rakhine closest to Bangladesh has been in lockdown since October 2016.

Deadly attacks by the militants on border police sparked a military response that left scores dead and forced some 87,000 people to flee to Bangladesh.

The UN believes those security 'clearances' may have amounted to ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya, a mainly Muslim minority living in Buddhist Myanmar.

The army and Aung San Suu Kyi's civilian government vehemently deny allegations of widespread abuses, including rapes and murders.

They have so far refused to grant visas to UN investigators tasked with probing the allegations.

Myanmar security forces have conducted sporadic operations to flush out suspected militants throughout 2017, often resulting in casualties among Rohingya villagers.

They have spoken of their fear at being trapped in between security forces and the militants, who are accused of conducting a shadowy assassination campaign against perceived collaborators with the state.

Access to the area is severely restricted and verifying information is difficult.

Activists and supporters on both sides of the sectarian divide have a history of posting false images and footage online.
Washington: The Trump administration is worried that nuclear weapons and materials in Pakistan could land up in the hands of terror groups and the concerns are aggravated by the development of tactical weapons, a senior US official has said.

The senior Trump administration official said that during a compressive review, one of the major issues that continually came up for discussion and is very important to the US was the nuclear danger in the region.

That is a critical element of the South Asia strategy, the official told reporters during a conference call.

The Trump administration is worried that nuclear weapons and materials in Pakistan might land up in the hands of terrorist groups or individuals, the senior administration official said, on condition of anonymity.

The South Asia strategy announced by US president Donald Trump on Monday notes that the "nuclear weapons or materials could fall" into the wrong hands, the official said.

"It (South Asia policy) also prioritises the escalating tension between India and Pakistan, the two nuclear power countries, and looks for ways to de-escalate the tension between the two to avoid any potential military confrontation among them," the official said.

"We are particularly concerned by the development of tactical nuclear weapons that are designed for use in battlefield. We believe that these systems are more susceptible to terrorist theft and increase the likelihood of nuclear exchange in the region," the Trump administration official said.

The official said it was due to this that the strategy also focuses on confidence building measures between India and Pakistan and encourages them to come to the negotiating table.

The danger of nuclear weapons was also mentioned by Trump in his Afghanistan and South Asia policy speech on Monday.

"For its part, Pakistan often gives safe haven to agents of chaos, violence, and terror. The threat is worse because Pakistan and India are two nuclear-armed states whose tense relations threaten to spiral into conflict. And that could happen," he had said in his first prime time televised address to the nation.

In an article published in 'War on the Rocks', Christopher Clary, who worked on the South Asia policy in the Office of the Secretary of Defence from 2006 to 2009, said Pakistan likely possesses more than 100 nuclear weapons today and might possess fissile material for up to 200 or 300 nuclear weapons.

"The US presence in Afghanistan is primarily about preventing terrorist groups operating there, but there is some reporting that suggests elements of the US government are wary of losing basing in Afghanistan that is useful to monitor Pakistani terrorist groups and Pakistan's nuclear weapons development efforts," Clary said.

Stephen Tankel, an American expert, said the US has two vital security interests in Pakistan  ensuring militants in the region do not attack the US homeland and keeping militants from getting their hands on nuclear material.

"America also has a critical interest in preventing Indo-Pakistani nuclear escalation and terrorist attacks against US persons and infrastructure in the region," Tankel recently wrote for Center for a New American Security.

"Maintaining a sufficient counter-terrorism presence in Afghanistan has been a cornerstone of the broader US counter-terrorism policy. This, in turn, has required ensuring the Afghan government retains sufficient control over its territory," he said.

Pakistan is developing tactical nuclear-capable 'Nasr' ballistic missiles for battlefield use in order to deter a limited Indian military response to terrorist attacks by Pakistan-supported militants, he wrote.

"The common concern about Pakistani nuclear weapons is that they are vulnerable to internal threats. In reality, these weapons are most likely to fall into terrorists' hands if forward deployed during a conflict with India," Tankel said.

"Even some Pakistani analysts recognise that it would be difficult for the Pakistan military to ensure the full security of these weapons once they were deployed in the field," he said.
At least 30 people have been killed and over 250 injured in violence that erupted soon after self styled godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim was convicted of rape by a CBI court in Panchkula in Haryana. The Dera chief is now locked up in a special jail in Rohtak.

As the fires ebbed and night fell on the spiral of violence, police took over from the Army in Panchkula and the focus now shifts to the Dera campus in Sirsa. This short video clip below was shot by security personnel and handed over to our reporters in Panchkula. The reactions have come thick and fast. "Why this kind of VIP treatment for this man, is he on vacation?" ask Atul Tiwari and Dhirendra Yadav on our Facebook page.

Khattar must quit for the shameful violence, after all, he is in charge of the state police, writes Sanjay Singh.

"Dera supporters are ready to come out of the campus in Sirsa but not doing so because they fear action by their management" our reporter network is saying from location.

Curfew has been clamped down in various parts of Haryana and Punjab. It has also been extended to Delhi, Noida and Ghaziabad.

Dera Sacha Sauda followers have poured into Haryana over several days carrying firearms and petrol. Despite intelligence inputs from Punjab police, Haryana police allowed mobs to assemble in and around Panchkula in huge numbers.

Why was the build up allowed? Why did it have to be the Punjab and Haryana High Court telling the state government to rein in the mobs? By then it was too late, anyway.

There could be a larger political game here, say those watching who's been meeting whom across party lines in the state last few weeks.

For a more simplistic answer look no further than what's been happening in full public view. "The Dera chief supported the BJP during the 2014 Assembly election and Haryana Chief Minister M.L. Khattars association with the self-appointed cult leader is an open secret", reports The Hindu.

The allegations against the Dera chief surfaced in 2002 via anonymous letters reporting the rape of two sadhvis. A CBI probe was ordered in 2003 by the Punjab and Haryana Court.

Panchkulas civil hospital, PGIMER Hospital in Chandigarh, and Chandigarhs Government Medical College were scenes of beaten and bruised people killed and injured by the wrath of crazed followers.

Ram Rahim has been convicted under Sections 376 and 506 of the IPC, could serve a minimum of seven years in jail.

Embedded at the end of this story are images from a deadly Friday in the Haryana-Punjab belt.

The violence began within minutes of Ram Rahim, 50, being convicted of raping two women followers more than 15 years ago.

Despite a full weeks time to get security in place, thousands of supporters streamed in for a darshan of their chief.

Haryana witnessed similar scenes of mob violence during the Jat agitation that unfolded in February last year. Even in that situation, intelligence inputs warning the state about mob violence came in two weeks in advance. The government ignored the intel warnings, the state burned and 30 people died.
Kabul: A suicide bomb and gun attack claimed by the Islamic State group on a Shiite mosque in Kabul killed 12 people and wounded scores more Friday, officials said, the latest assault to highlight deteriorating security in Afghanistan.

Gunshots and explosions could be heard during the attack that lasted around four hours and witnesses reported seeing worshippers smash windows to escape.

The mosque, in a residential area in the north of the city, was believed to have been packed with dozens of men, women, and children when the assailants struck during Friday prayers.

Heavily-armed security forces surrounded the building and managed to rescue more than 100 worshippers, according to the interior ministry.

It said 10 civilians were killed and more than 40 wounded in the ordeal. Among the security forces, two were killed and seven others wounded.

"The attack is over and the site has been cleaned up by our police," deputy spokesman Najib Danish told AFP, confirming three attackers were killed by security forces.

Kabul police spokesman Abdul Basir Mujahid told AFP a suicide bomber "detonated himself inside the mosque".

People gathered outside had tried to call women and children trapped inside but their mobile phones were not responding, an AFP reporter at the scene said.

"Our relatives have been stranded inside the mosque...We believe they have been held hostage by the gunmen. We are very concerned about their safety and may God help us and rescue our loved ones," one of the onlookers said.

Eyewitnesses described horrific scenes inside the mosque as the attackers ran short of bullets and began "using knives to stab worshippers".

Others said the attackers had been armed with rocket propelled grenade launchers.

The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the deadly assault via its propaganda agency.

"Two 'inghimasi' of the Islamic State carried out an attack on a husseiniya (Shiite place of worship) in the Khair Khana sector of the Afghan city of Kabul," Amaq said, using the terms for suicide bombers who set off explosive vests as a last resort against gunfire.

Pools of blood

The assault underscores spiraling insecurity in Afghanistan as a resurgent Taliban steps up offensives across the country, while the Islamic State group, known for carrying out sectarian attacks, expands its Afghan footprint.

It comes just days after US President Donald Trump cleared the way for thousands of more American troops to be deployed in the war-torn country.

More than 10 ambulances were at the scene to take the wounded to local hospitals. Some relatives flocked to a nearby private hospital to search for loved ones who had been in the mosque at the time of the attack.

Pools of blood could be seen at the entrance to the medical facility.

Shiites, a minority of around three million in overwhelmingly Sunni Afghanistan, have regularly been targeted by IS jihadists recently. They accuse police and troops of failing to protect them.

IS has claimed responsibility for a series of attacks killing dozens of Shiites in Kabul over the past year, including twin explosions in July 2016 that ripped through crowds of Shiite Hazaras, killing at least 85 people and wounding more than 400.

Earlier this month 33 worshippers were killed and 66 wounded in a suicide attack claimed by IS on a Shiite mosque in the western Afghan city of Herat.
Washington: India's economic activities in Afghanistan pose "no direct threat" to Pakistan, a senior US official has said, asserting that Islamabad needs to change some of its "unhelpful behaviour" by cooperating with America to achieve the counter-terrorism goals in the region.

US president Donald Trump has sought an enhanced role for India in bringing peace in Afghanistan as he ruled out a hasty withdrawal of troops while announcing his Afghanistan and South Asia policy on Monday.

Trump had said that a critical part of his South Asia policy was to further develop America's strategic partnership with India. He also sternly warned Pakistan for providing safe havens to terrorists.

"While we welcome India's role in Afghanistan, it has a lot of goodwill, they are doing developmental projects. They have given USD 3 billion in aid and US appreciates that and wants that to continue. But again we do not see that a direct threat to Pakistan," the White House official said on condition of anonymity.

"I am not going to discuss the steps and measures that the US is considering pursuing with Pakistan," a White House official said when asked about the critical statements coming from Pakistan after Trump's South Asia strategy announcement.

"There is some frustration in Pakistan. We just want to emphasise that Pakistan really has the choice here. It can choose to cooperate with the US and change some of the unhelpful behaviours. That is very much in its interest. The US is not taking a tougher approach just to make Pakistani lives more difficult," the official said on Friday.

The approach is aimed at bringing peace and stability to Afghanistan which will benefit Pakistan as well, he said.

"We do have areas where we cooperate that will continue. We are going to demand more action against terror groups," he said, adding that he will not discuss the actual tool that the Trump administration plans to deploy for Pakistan to change its "unhelpful behaviour".

While Pakistan is an important partner and a priority for the region, "it also must take decisive action against terrorist groups" that are a threat to US interests.

"As the president said, Pakistan has much to gain by partnering with the US, but has much to lose if it fails to take actions against terrorist groups. We recognise that we have many common interests with Pakistan and common enemies.

"We also recognise the sacrifices that Pakistan has made. However, no partnership will be able to survive until terrorists were directly targeting US service members. It is time for Pakistan to demonstrate that it is willing to assist the US in its counter terrorism goals in the region," he said.

The US recognises that Pakistan has legitimate security interest in the future of Afghanistan and that what happens in Afghanistan impacts Pakistan, he said.

India is a valuable and influential partner and that the interest with India goes beyond South Asia, he said.

India is making important contribution to the development of Afghanistan as well as helping to build democratic institutions, the official said, adding that the US "looks forward to continuing and expanding that involvement".

"When we talk about India continuing its economic assistance in Afghanistan, we are by no means discounting Pakistan's interest in the region and do not think Pakistan should worry about India's economic involvement in Afghanistan. Acknowledging India's role in Afghanistan is not going to impact our ability to work with Pakistan.

"We recognise Pakistan's legitimate interest in Afghanistan. We would be working with them and at the same time make it clear that support to terrorist groups is not the best way to serve their interests in the region," he said.

The senior official said that while developing the strategy, the US did consider the threat posed to ground lines of communication to Afghanistan that runs through Pakistan if India got more involved in Afghanistan. The ground line of communication in Pakistan is very important to the US.

"So, we do count on those line of communications in Pakistan," the official added.
PHILADELPHIA  Philadelphia is asking for the publics help in deciding the fate of a statue of former mayor and police commissioner Frank Rizzo.

Officials on Thursday announced theyre taking suggestions on what to do with the statue after calls to tear it down escalated following a deadly white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Rizzo served as mayor from 1972 to 1980. Critics argue he reigned over a corrupt police department and used his power to alienate minorities. Supporters say he was a devoted public servant who spoke his mind.

Last week, the statue was egged and a man was arrested for spray-painting black power on it.

The statue stands outside the Municipal Services Building.

Mayor Jim Kenney has said its the right time for a conversation about the statue.
President Trump is not the first U.S. leader to pivot when it comes to foreign policy. His speech Monday night before American military personnel at Fort Myer in Arlington, Virginia, was in stark contrast to his campaign pledge to put America first and his promise to avoid foreign entanglements, as George Washington put it in his Farewell Address.

The president admitted that reality caught up with him after his inauguration and that America must ensure that al-Qaida does not again gain a foothold in the country from which it could plot another massive terror attack on the U.S.

A Trump administration official said the Pentagon will send an estimated 4,000 additional American forces to Afghanistan, a plan reminiscent of the Iraq surge ordered by President George W. Bush and successfully led by Gen. David Petraeus. What is different about this latest tactic is the threat of financial consequences if Pakistan doesnt stop harboring terrorists and do more to help win the war.

The question remains: What does winning look like? President Trump promised not to engage in nation building, but what is its alternative? After 16 years in Afghanistan, the cost of war has risen to an estimated $700 billion. More than 2,000 American lives have been lost and thousands more wounded. We have hardly established a foundation for a stable nation, much less built anything on it.

Departing from President Obamas announcements of timetables for withdrawal, Trump said Conditions on the ground  not arbitrary timetables  will guide our strategy from now on, adding, Another fundamental pillar of our new strategy is the integration of all instruments of American power  diplomatic, economic, and military  toward a successful outcome.

Im all for successful outcomes, but what does he have in mind? How will success be determined? How does one stabilize an unstable country mired down by rival tribes and religious conflict?

In his speech there was an implied threat to India if that country doesnt help with the war effort: India makes billions of dollars in trade with the United States, and we want them to help us more with Afghanistan, especially in the area of economic assistance and development. We are committed to pursuing our shared objectives for peace and security in South Asia and the broader Indo-Pacific region.

The president noted he has already lifted restrictions the previous administration placed on our war fighters that prevented the secretary of defense and our commanders in the field from fully and swiftly waging battle against the enemy. Micromanagement from Washington, D.C., does not win battles. They are won in the field drawing upon the judgment and expertise of wartime commanders and frontline soldiers acting in real time, with real authority, and with a clear mission to defeat the enemy.

The rules of engagement have contributed to American casualty figures. The enemy plays by no rules. Will the lifting of U.S. rules kill more of the enemy, or kill more civilians behind whom enemy forces often hide?

The president also issued a warning to the Afghan government: America will work with the Afghan government as long as we see determination and progress. However, our commitment is not unlimited, and our support is not a blank check. The government of Afghanistan must carry their share of the military, political, and economic burden. The American people expect to see real reforms, real progress, and real results. Our patience is not unlimited. We will keep our eyes wide open.

If they dont comply, will we pull out anyway? Thats what al-Qaida is banking on.

There is much that is right about the presidents announced new strategy and objectives, but the question remains: Can this war be won and the country stabilized, or will Afghanistan always be a bottomless pit?

It shouldnt be long before we have an answer.
Dear Editor:

I read in The Sentinel that the Budweiser Clydesdales will be coming to Shippensburg. What many people do not know is that Budweiser mutilates their horses so they look a certain way. This kind of mutilation is called "tail docking." The average adult horse has 18 vertebra in their tails ... docking cuts off 15 of those, leaving the animal with just a tiny, useless stub. Some of these horses are forced to live with chronic or phantom pain throughout their life.

Imagine you are covered with mosquitoes or wasps, but cannot move your arms to brush them off. That is what these horses have to deal with. Their tail is gone so they are not able to even brush away flies. Some argue that this MUST be done so the horse does not tangle its tail in the harness. That does not explain why just the Clydes, Percherons and Shires are to be mutilated, but not these horses, also used in harness: Friesian, Gypsy Vanner, Fjord, American Shetland, Standardbreds (the most active in harnessnope, not docked!), Missouri Fox Trotting Horse, Canadian Pacer, Trotters, Finn, Cleveland Bay, Gelderland, Holstein, American Saddlebred, Nonius, Orlov Trotter, Fell, Hafflinger and Highland.

There are others, however these horses can be easily researched so you can see they have their full, beautiful tails. Docking of horses tails was originally performed 100 years ago for safety reasons when horses were harnessed for activities such as hauling, logging or pulling carriages (Tozzini, 2003).

The Animal Welfare Council of Belgium conducted a review and concluded that tail docking was not necessary for draft horses; consequently it supported a national ban. Fourteen U.S. States, eight Canadian provinces and 11 countries have banned it on grounds that it is cruelty. The Humane Society and AAEP also oppose docking.

Thank you.

Briar Mitchell

Wimauma, Fla.
Hurricane Harvey is gaining strength as it heads for Texas, where it is expected to make landfall late Friday or early Saturday as a Category 3 storm, with winds of at least 111 mph.

Harvey will be the first in nearly a decade to hit the state and the worst since Hurricane Rita struck the region in September 2005, and may become the first major hurricane landfall, rated Category 3 or higher, to strike U.S. soil in 12 years. Wilma was the last in October 2005the storm caused $29.3 billion in damage.

The National Hurricane Center predicts surges of 6- to-10-feet of water, possibly higher if the storm continues to strengthen. Rainfall forecasts are predicting 25 inches or more depending on how long Harvey stalls. Due to the serious dangers associated with the storm, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) encourages residents of areas that could be impacted to heed warnings and prepare for prolonged disruptions to normal services.

FEMA stands ready to support state, local and tribal officials as they prepare for Hurricane Harvey, said Administrator Brock Long. I encourage residents who will be affected to follow directions from their local officials.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts the 2017 hurricane season will be extremely active compared to previous years. The 2016 Atlantic hurricane season caused more than 700 deaths and more than $16 billion in damage.

FOX Business takes a look at the human and economic impact of these deadly storms.

Hurricane Harvey: The Latest

The storm is currently centered more than 300 miles southeast of Corpus Christi and 325,000 people in the region are under hurricane watch. Another 12 million people are under a tropical storm warning, including the cities of San Antonio and Houston, according to Fox News.

U.S. Refineries, Oil Production at Risk:

The Gulf Region accounts for roughly 17% of total U.S. crude oil production. Valero (NYSE:VLO) is among the refineries monitoring the storm. As FOX Business reports, there are 30 or so refiners in the area. Oil production in the Gulf is shutting down, too. Royal Dutch Shell (RDSA), Exxon Mobil (XOM) and Anadarko Petroleum (APC) are evacuating workers from its offshore platforms.

Texas Hurricane History:

The last five hurricanes to hit Texas caused on average, $5.6 billion in damage. The last hurricane to make landfall in the state was Hurricane Ike in September 2008. The storm hit near Galveston as a Category 2 hurricane, causing 20 deaths and about $15 billion in damage. Hurricane Rita in 2005, was the last Category 3 storm to hit the state, resulting in seven deaths and an estimated $12 billion in damage. Fifteen hurricanes have made landfall in Texas since 1950.

Gov. Abbott Readies Rescue/Recovery Money:

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has ordered the State Operations Center to elevate its readiness level, making state resources available for possible rescue and recovery actions. Texas has also preemptively declared a state of disaster for 30 counties on or near the coast to speed deployment of state resources to any areas affected.

Hurricane Season:

The five most intense U.S. hurricanes have all made landfall in a 17-day period between Aug. 17 and Sept. 2. Mid-August through mid-October is considered peak hurricane season, accounting for 78% of days when storms occur. Nearly all major hurricanes (96%)categories 3, 4 and 5have occurred between this period.
With back-to-school shopping season in full swing at major retailers like Amazon, Walmart and Target, the hottest products on the market include a solid mix of classroom staples, high-tech gadgets and fun accessories.

Families are now in a state of mind where they feel a lot more confident about the economy, NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said in a statement. With stronger employment levels and a continued increase in wages, consumers are spending more and we are optimistic that they will continue to do so throughout the rest of the year. As students head back to the classroom, retailers are prepared to meet their needs whether its for pencils and paper, shirts and pants or laptops and tablets.

Back-to-school season sales are expected to reach $83.6 billion this year, up more than 10% from last years total of $75.8 billion, according to the National Retail Federation. Families of children attending elementary through high school are projected to spend about $687.72 per child. Items like clothing, consumer electronics and school supplies drive the majority of spending.

While classroom supplies drive the bulk of Walmarts back-to-school business, the retailer said it is highlighting tech gadgets like HPs Silver Iridium laptop ($559), Samsungs Chromebook 3 ($169), and a 32-inch Roku TV ($148) during this years promotion. Licensed items featuring superheroes like Batman, Wonder Woman and the Power Rangers are also heavily featured, Walmart said.

Our top-selling items remain consistent year-over-year and include classroom essentials like glue sticks, crayons, notebooks, backpacks and apparel. For the most part, these remain the classroom staples and we predict we'll see similar results this year, a Walmart spokesperson told FOX Business.

Targets top-selling back-to-school items include Elmers glue products, wide and college-ruled notebooks, index cards and various Crayola items. A company spokesperson said popular product trends include food-inspired supplies, such as Yoobis ice cream cone pens ($1.99), as well as products with superhero and 90s throwback themes and iridescent prints.

Targets back-to-school assortment includes a wide variety of parent-approved and kid-loved national and exclusive brands, from Crayola and Mead to exclusives like Cat & Jack and Yoobi, the company said.

Amazon representatives declined to provide details on their back-to-school promotions, but a quick check of the companys website shows that Crayola art products like colored pencils, watercolor paints, crayons, markers and construction paper are dominating the bestseller list.

Laurie Schacht, CEO of the Toy Insider, highlighted several licensed products among her recommendations for hottest back-to-school items of 2017. Her top picks include Power Rangers backpacks at Target ($15.99), Shopkins-themed Skechers sneakers (available at all three retailers) and Nalgenes Lunch Box Buddy ($24.99).

Kids love new gear, whether its the shoes on their feet, the new jacket, or the cool backpack. Nostalgic products will always tug the heartstrings on mom and dad, especially when they realize Power Rangers is celebrating its 25th Anniversary, Schacht told FOX Business.
We've had almost a decade of record-low interest rates. But, finally, income investors can look toward things as simple as money market accounts for decent -- and safe -- returns.

That being said, there are still high-yield stocks worth buying. Below, three of our Motley Fool contributors tell you why shares of Enviva Partners (NYSE: EVA), Verizon (NYSE: VZ), and Texas Instruments (NASDAQ: TXN) are worth considering.

Wood pellets to keep your nest egg warm in the winter

Brian Stoffel (Enviva): For the longest time, wood pellets were the primary feed for northeastern U.S. homes outside of major cities -- and that was it. But the times have changed, and with greenhouse gas restrictions taking place in Europe and Asia, power companies are looking for greener alternatives while they work on bringing solar, wind, and water to scale.

Enter wood pellets, which have the density to power these plants, and less emissions to help the utilities meet their goals. Enviva, with operations in the American Southeast, has created the infrastructure to meet these needs. That includes processing centers close to rail lines, deep-water ports for transport around the world, and long-term contracts with major power companies.

Right now the company is in a bit of a pinch: A fire at one of its ports has caused a slowdown, which puts a vise on distributable cash flow (DCF) for a dividend. That said, management still expects to pay out $2.53 per share this year -- which is good for an 8.2% yield at today's prices.

Most important for investors to watch will be the company's coverage ratio, which measures how much of the dividend is covered by DCF. For the nine months ended Sept. 30, it is at 0.73, which means that only 73% of the payout came from DCF. That's a result of the fire, and it's not sustainable. For the quarter, however, it stood at 1.14, meaning there was DCF left over after paying the dividend in the most recent quarter. That's a great sign for long-term investors.

Texas Instruments' sell-off is an opportunity

Jamal Carnette, CFA (Texas Instruments): It's been a rough few months for semiconductor companies, including Texas Instruments. Shares of the analog chipmaker are now 10% lower year to date. High-yield investors may want to take advantage of the recent sell-off.

Texas Instruments' 3.3% yield may not initially seem impressive -- although it's noticeably higher than the S&P 500's 1.9% yield -- but the company's total cash return is very much so. Over the last four quarters management has repurchased approximately $3.8 billion in shares, equal to 4.2% of its current market capitalization.

This 7% cash return is no fluke. Texas Instruments has one of the most shareholder-friendly management teams and is committed to returning all free cash flow to shareholders in the form of dividends and/or stock buybacks.

On its investor relations website, Texas Instruments notes it has lowered its outstanding shares by 44%, increased dividends for 15 straight years, and has grown free cash flow 8% every year since 2004. Look for Texas Instruments to continue to return cash to investors at a furious pace for years to come.

Ignore the advance, buy for the yield

Nicholas Rossolillo (Verizon): Shares of America's biggest mobile provider have finally gained some traction in 2018 after years of underperforming the stock market. Verizon stock is up 14% year to date as of this writing, driven by its continued strength in adding new subscribers and corporate tax reform passed at the end of 2017 that has boosted profits in a big way.

After spending a few years acquiring high-profile media assets AOL and Yahoo! for billions of dollars, Verizon has finally decided to get back to what it does best: mobile networking. The result? Verizon was the first to market with a next-generation 5G network product, an ultrafast and low-latency (the time it takes for data to travel between two points) broadband internet service for home use.

Verizon's 5G Home is available in only four markets so far, and mobile networks for phones won't start launching until 2019. The company is getting aggressive with its deployment plans, though. Most recently on that front, Verizon announced it was purchasing software assets from a company called Vidder to boost its cybersecurity protection capabilities. That's further proof that Verizon isn't just a phone company anymore -- 5G and all the supporting technology is about hooking everything up to the mobile internet.

That could help put Verizon at the forefront of the next wave of innovation -- networks that support things like virtual reality, self-driving cars, smart cities, and connected industrial equipment. Plus, even after the stock's run-up this year, it's still priced attractively with a 12-month forward price-to-earnings ratio of 12.8 and a 4.1% dividend yield. Not too shabby for a potential future leader in the tech industry.

10 stocks we like better than Verizon CommunicationsWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has quadrupled the market.*

David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy right now... and Verizon Communications wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.

Click here to learn about these picks!

*Stock Advisor returns as of November 14, 2018

Brian Stoffel owns shares of Enviva Partners. Jamal Carnette, CFA owns shares of Texas Instruments. Nicholas Rossolillo owns shares of Verizon Communications. The Motley Fool owns shares of Texas Instruments. The Motley Fool recommends Verizon Communications. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
It's challenging to find stocks on sale in today's market. Most of the stocks selling at a discount are deeply flawed companies that are cheap for a reason. The few worth considering, though, are likely facing some short-term headwinds that Wall Street can't seem to look past. For investors with a longer investment time frame, though, stocks selling for a discount due to near-term issues could be great investments several years from now.

Here's why the short-term issues at industrial and frack sand supplier U.S. Silica Holdings (NYSE: SLCA), iron ore producer Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE: CLF), and rail car manufacturer The Greenbrier Companies (NYSE: GBX) could be an opportunity for long-term profits.

A lot of pessimism for an improving outlook

If you look at U.S. Silica's most recent earnings results and the trends in the oil patch over the past year or so, you'll find a company that is hitting its stride. Sales volumes are up considerably, the average realized price per ton is increasing as spare production capacity gets eaten up, and margins are expanding thanks to its investments in last-mile logistics. This has boosted U.S. Silica's most recent quarterly earnings back to pre-oil-price-crash levels, yet the stock price has curiously been on the decline this year.

Wall Street's fear seems to be that the market for sand is about to cool down just at a point when U.S. Silica and the other three large sand suppliers plan to bring new mines online in the next six to nine months. That could lower prices and put pressure on margins again.

That is certainly a distinct possibility, but U.S. Silica is better suited to handle a weaker market today, and shale drilling is much more resilient in places like the Permian Basin, where U.S. Silica and others are adding capacity. As it stands, the company has more cash on hand than total debt outstanding, which will make dedicating cash to its new sand mine much more palatable.

Perhaps the market for sand will start to flatten out, but it is flattening out at a time when business is good and will likely stay that way for a while. With U.S. Silica's stock trading at such depressed prices, now is a good time to take a look.

This turnaround's just about complete

When Cleveland-Cliffs -- formerly Cliffs Natural Resources -- CEO Lourenco Goncalves took the helm back in 2014, Cliffs was in a bad place. It was riddled with unprofitable assets and an enormous debt load. Over the past three years, though, management has divested itself of those poorly performing business segments to focus on its core U.S. iron ore operations and its mine in Australia.

So far, the plan has worked. Even though iron ore prices remain weak, the company has returned to profitability and reduced its net debt by 57%. Now that management has trimmed down its asset portfolio, it's focused on expanding again by building a new facility to supply reduced iron, the product that America's modern electric arc furnaces need to manufacture steel.

Despite the changes that Cleveland-Cliffs has made to its business over the past several years, it seems that the market has yet to catch on to these developments. The company's stock trades at a reasonable enterprise-value-to-EBITDA ratio of 8, and that is while EBITDA levels remain low because of weak commodity prices.

There was a time when Cliffs looked to be on the brink of insolvency, but management has trimmed the company down to fighting weight and is now in a better position to handle the challenges of today's iron ore and steel markets in North America.

A temporary swoon with brighter times ahead

There were a lot of mixed messages in Greenbrier's most recent earnings report. Sales and rail car deliveries were down significantly compared to this time last year, but those declines didn't seem that bad, as the company's new orders picked up and it now has a backlog of orders totaling $3.1 billion.

Management makes no secret that this year and possibly calendar year 2018 will be challenging as the North American market goes through fits and starts. However, there are reasons to think that this stock -- which trades at a very cheap enterprise-value-to-EBITDA ratio of 4 -- has better times ahead of it.

Manufacturing rail cars is an inherently cyclical business, but Greenbrier is looking to offset the cyclical nature of the business by moving into more replacement parts and expanding internationally. This past quarter, management signed several joint venture deals and a new supply contract that will add it its order backlog outside North America.

Combined, these moves should give Greenbrier plenty of growth levers to pull over the next couple of years. With the company's balance sheet looking significantly better than it did a few years ago -- it has almost as much cash on hand as total debt outstanding -- the company should be poised to generate better returns down the road. Considering Greenbrier's stock price, this seems like a low-risk investment with a good chance at making investors quite a bit of money.

10 stocks we like better than The Greenbrier CompaniesWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*

David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy right now... and The Greenbrier Companies wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.

Click here to learn about these picks!

*Stock Advisor returns as of August 1, 2017

Tyler Crowe owns shares of Cleveland-Cliffs. The Motley Fool recommends The Greenbrier Companies. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
A judge has dismissed lawsuits that allege labels touting "100 percent grated Parmesan" are deceptive because the products include non-cheese ingredients.

Judge Gary Feinerman on Thursday tossed five lawsuits against major producers and retailers that were consolidated into a single case in Chicago federal court.

His 25-page written ruling concludes that the companies' "labeling and marketing, when viewed as a whole ... are not deceptive."

He noted that full ingredients are listed on the products and make clear that cellulose, a filler made from wood pulp, is mixed into the Parmesan. Feinerman cites one Kraft Heinz Parmesan product that lists "cellulose powder" as an ingredient meant "to prevent caking."

Messages left after working hours seeking comment from the plaintiffs' lead attorney and from Kraft Heinz weren't returned.
A U.S. senator on Friday questioned the Federal Trade Commission's quick approval of Amazon.com Inc's purchase of Whole Foods Market Inc this week, less than three months after the $13.7 billion deal was announced.

The FTC on Wednesday said it ended its antitrust investigation without seeking a second request for additional information on the deal that has sent shock waves through the grocery industry.

Senator Amy Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat, said in a statement on Friday that she is concerned about the FTC's decision to "not fully review" the deal, which was announced on June 16.

"Amazon's increased access to data on consumers and their behavior, and its dominance in internet retail sales, raises questions about whether this merger harms consumers and suppresses competition," she said.

Watch the latest video at video.foxbusiness.com

Klobuchar said she would ask the FTC to explain why it made such a quick decision.

Amazon declined comment on Klobuchar's statement. The FTC did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

After getting the approval of the FTC and Whole Foods shareholders this week, the Seattle-based company said on Thursday it planned to complete the acquisition on Monday and simultaneously introduce lower prices on some grocery staples.

The world's biggest online retailer also said it plans to start selling some Whole Foods-branded products on its website and will offer incentives to its Prime members at Whole Foods stores.

Shares in major grocery stores fell sharply on Thursday over fears that Amazon's move would spark a new round of price wars in the industry, but recovered some of those losses on Friday.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Bill Rigby)
American Airlines workers held another protest against job outsourcing Thursday, this time in Miami.

About 400 demonstrators picketed outside Americans Terminal D at Miami International Airport.

The Transport Workers Union organized the protest as the latest attempt to settle a new contract between American and its aircraft maintenance and ground support workers, the Miami Herald reported.

The union told the paper that American is outsourcing 40 percent of its maintenance jobs to China, Mexico, the Caribbean and South America, where labor costs are lower than in the U.S.

Negotiations with American have been going on for about 18 months, according to Gary Peterson, president of TWU Local 591, which represents mainly American Airlines maintenance workers around the nation.

On July 26, three TWU locals demonstrated at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport to press the airline to keep jobs from being moved overseas and to start contract bargaining in good faith for the unionized employees.

President Trump campaigned on the theme of America first and has claimed victory in convincing U.S. corporations to keep jobs in the country and bring others back from overseas.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) removed several Iranian apps from its app store this week in order to comply with U.S. sanctions against the country, in a move that drew criticism from Irans telecommunications minister, the New York Times reported.

The tech giant removed ride-sharing app Snapp, as well as apps related to online shopping and food delivery, according to the report. Apple previously warned Iranian developers last February to remove payment options from its apps given the U.S. economic sanctions.

Under the U.S. sanctions regulations, the App Store cannot host, distribute or do business with apps or developers connected to certain U.S. embargoed countries, Apple said in a statement to Iranian developers.

While Apple has no official presence in Iran, the New York Times notes that Iranians have acquired millions of iPhones through third parties. An estimated 48 million smartphones have been sold in Iran, according to TechRasa, an Iranian technology website.

The U.S. has levied a host of sanctions against Iran due to its nuclear weapons program. President Trump added additional sanctions last July, though its unclear if Apples decision to remove the apps is related to that development.

Iranian telecommunications minister Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi criticized the decision on Twitter, stating that Apple owns 11% of the cellphone market in Iran.

Respecting customer rights is a principle today that Apple hasnt abided by, Jahromi said. We will legally pursue the omission of apps.

Iran blocks several major social media sites, including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
Microsoft launches Project Brainwave for real-time Artificial Intelligence

Published: August 25, 2017

Software giant Microsoft has launched Project Brainwave, a deep learning acceleration platform for real-time artificial intelligence (AI).

Its launch is important as the real-time AI has increasingly became important as cloud infrastructures process live data streams, whether they be videos, sensor streams, search queries or interactions with users.

Key facts

The Project Brainwave uses the massive field-programmable gate array (FPGA) infrastructure which has been deployed by Microsoft over the past few years. It can processes requests as fast as it receives them with the help of ultra-low latency.

The Project Brainwave system architecture reduces latency, since its Central Processing Unit (CPU) does not need to process incoming requests. It als allows very high throughput, with the FPGA processing requests as fast as the network can stream them.

The system has been architected to yield high actual performance across a wide range of complex models, with batch-free execution. It can handle complex, memory-intensive models such as Long Short Term Memories (LSTM), without using batching to juice throughput.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Artificial intelligence is branch of computer science concerned with making computers behave like humans. In contrast to normal hardware and software, AI enables a machine to perceive and respond to its changing environment.

Month: Current Affairs - August, 2017

Topics: Artificial intelligence  Microsoft  Project Brainwave  Science and Technology

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What happened

Shares of precious metals miner Tahoe Resources (NYSE: TAHO) dropped over 22% today after the company provided an update about its Escobal mine in Guatemala. As of 2:27 p.m. EDT, the stock was down 17.7%.

So what

To recap, in May a non-governmental organization (NGO) asserted that Guatemala's Ministry of Energy and Mines unlawfully awarded an operating license for the mine to the company's subsidiary in the country. The challenge worked its way up the court system until the Supreme Court of Guatemala agreed with the NGO and suspended the license until the situation was resolved in court.

Today's drop is in response to the newest twist. The company alerted shareholders that its latest appeal to the court -- that would have allowed operations at Escobal to continue until the situation was resolved in court -- is expected to be denied, although the information is from unconfirmed sources. An official hearing is scheduled for Aug. 28, which is when the news will conceivably be confirmed.

However, the Constitutional Court will issue an ultimate decision within the next several months, which means Tahoe Resources and its shareholders will remain in limbo for the foreseeable future.

Now what

The Escobal mine accounted for 99% of the company's total silver production and about 2% of total gold production in the first half of 2017. In other words, it's a significant component of the overall business of Tahoe Resources, especially when diversifying revenue streams away from gold production.

That explains the market's strong negative reaction to the news in the last several months. It also explains why management suspended its full-year 2017 guidance -- a move announced during the second-quarter 2017 conference call weeks ago.

That said, there may be some good news for investors. The most recent press release stated that the Constitutional Court will make a decision in the next few months, which hints at a much shorter period of time to resolve the issue than the 12 months to 18 months originally provided in early July.

Additionally, Tahoe Resources said that top officials in the Guatemalan government are dismayed by the recent developments and are even working to get the suspension reversed. That makes sense: Thousands of workers are out of work, which means they aren't getting paid, which puts a lot of families at risk, which puts pressure on the government to get to the bottom of things as soon as possible.

I figured most of the bad news from the Escobal fiasco was priced in when Tahoe Resources provided its last update in early July, so today's additional drop is a little surprising. Then again, volatility is what happens to stocks that get sucked into the vortex of uncertainty. If the company's version of events is true, then this issue may be resolved sooner than originally expected. However, there's no way for investors to know what the various branches of the Guatemalan government will do. This remains a risky stock.

10 stocks we like better than Tahoe ResourcesWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*

David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy right now... and Tahoe Resources wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.

Click here to learn about these picks!

*Stock Advisor returns as of August 1, 2017

Maxx Chatsko has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
According to Kinder Morgan (NYSE: KMI) investor presentations, demand for natural gas in the US expected to rise by 32% over the next nine years. Most of those gains will come from the US becoming a net exporter of natural gas in 2017, with exports predicted to keep increasing. Since Kinder Morgan operates one of the largest networks of natural gas pipelines in the US, moving about 40% of gas consumed in the US, it's in a good position to capture much of this business.

The plan in the pipeline

We can glimpse into Kinder Morgan's future by looking at their current capital projects. Kinder Morgan's largest capital project on the go is the expansion of their LNG plant on Elba Island, in Georgia, to include liquefaction and export capacity. This $1.9 billion project is supported by 20-year contract with Royal Dutch Shell and due to come on line next year. Additionally, there is about $2 billion worth of various expansion or upgrade projects underway along its gas network also subscribed under long-term contracts, some of which related to pipelines connecting to Mexico. The Mier-Monterrey pipeline is one example.

The hopeful result of its natural gas infrastructure build-out, combined with a few other major projects in other non-gas segments, is that Kinder Morgan expects to increase annual EBITDA by $1.5 billion for 2020 and beyond.

What's everyone else doing?

Kinder Morgan is not alone in seeing natural gas as a major growth opportunity. Many gas infrastructure companies are investing heavily. There has been a boom in construction of liquefaction and export terminals along the Gulf Coast. There are six new LNG export terminals currently under construction, including Kinder Morgan's Elba Island, and four more approved. On top of that, there are 10 pending applications and four in pre-filing status with the Federal Regulatory Energy Commission. A good majority of these LNG terminals are located on the Gulf Coast where Kinder Morgan has a significant network of pipelines and storage facilities. The U.S. may not be on the list of the world's largest liquefied natural gas exporters, but it will be soon if all of these projects get the green light.

Terminals aren't the only thing being built. The pipeline expansion to Mexico has been expanding significantly; there are four new natural gas export pipelines completing construction in 2017 and two more being added in 2018. Export capacity to Mexico is expected to double with the addition of these pipelines.

A closer look at demand from Mexico

Kinder Morgan is well positioned to take advantage of increased exports to Mexico. It captured 76% of gas exports to Mexico last year, which means it's pipeline infrastructure is currently a dominant player along the border.

Demand in the Mexican market is expected to grow because Mexico's own domestic natural gas supplies are falling at the same time that it needs more. In 2016 Mexico imported about 5% of daily US gas production.

The U.S. Energy Administration states that "with a near doubling of U.S. export pipeline capacity to Mexico by 2019, [it] expects U.S. natural gas exports to increase, though they should remain well below the available pipeline capacity. Mexico's national energy ministry (SENER) expects to increase its natural gas use for electric power generation by almost 50% between 2016 and 2020. Mexico's domestic natural gas pipeline network is undergoing a major expansion, primarily to accommodate new natural gas pipeline imports from the United States."

Mexico is resisting this trend a little bit, and has just recently opened up the northeastern part of Mexico, part of the Burgos Basin region, to private exploration firms, to offset dependence on imports.

Nevertheless, from the U.S. perspective, exports to Mexico eclipse exports to other countries. In 2016 the U.S exported 2.148 billion cubic feet of gas via pipeline and only 186.8 million cubic feet via LNG vessel. The bulk of the pipeline exports (62%) were to Mexico which indicates the significance of the Mexican market to the U.S.

Having a large developing export market just across the border is a boon to U.S. gas companies. While the new Mier-Monterrey pipeline to Mexico is the only export pipeline directly owned by Kinder Morgan, it is expanding many of the feeder pipelines which will supply U.S. gas to Mexico.

A rosy outlook

In total Kinder Morgan owns 70,000 of natural gas pipelines in the U.S. It is well positioned to feed both the large number of LNG export terminals being built on the Gulf Coast and the extensive pipeline build-out for the Mexican market.

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Nancy Wilson owns shares of Kinder Morgan. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Kinder Morgan. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The Latest on French President Emmanuel Macron's visit to central and eastern Europe (all times local):

8:15 p.m.

Poland's deputy foreign minister has summoned a French diplomat and expressed "indignation" over French President Emmanuel Macron's criticism of Poland's government.

During a visit to Bulgaria on Friday, Macron sharply criticized Warsaw over its opposition to hosting migrants and to his plans to reform EU rules under which companies can temporarily post employees in wealthier EU member states at cheaper wages. Macron said Poland was isolating itself from Europe and from its values of democracy and freedom.

The Foreign Ministry said the French charge d'affaires was summoned by Deputy Minister Marek Magierowski who expressed the government's "indignation following the arrogant words" by Macron.

Magierowski stressed that, just like France, Poland is a full EU member and will protect its interests and citizens.

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7:40 p.m.

A senior official in the French president's office is stressing that Emmanuel Macron was criticizing the Polish government and not targeting the country's people as he assailed Warsaw's failure to comply with major European principles.

The official, who was not allowed to speak publicly on the issue, noted that Macron said Friday he will continue to work with all EU member states, including Poland, and said the president had been answering a specific question about previous remarks by Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo on the issue of "posted workers"  cheap labor from eastern countries posted temporarily to more prosperous European nations.

Szydlo said on Thursday that her government would defend "Poland's interests and Poland's workers." She and other Polish officials responded sharply to Macron's comments in Bulgaria Friday.

 By Sylvie Corbet

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5:40 p.m.

Poland's prime minister is dismissing as arrogant French President Emmanuel Macron's criticism of her government over its position on the reform of European Union labor rules, and accusing France of trying to "take apart one of the pillars of the EU."

During a visit to Bulgaria Friday, Macron sharply criticized Warsaw over its opposition to his plans to reform rules under which companies can temporarily post employees in wealthier EU member states at cheaper wages. Prime Minister Beata Szydlo told the wPolitice website Friday that Macron's words were "arrogant," advising him to be "more restrained" and "mind the business of his own country."

She said that "the future of Europe will not be decided by the president of France, or by any other individual leader but jointly, by all the member states."

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4:20 p.m.

Poland's foreign minister has rejected criticism of the country by French President Emmanuel Macron, who said that "Poland has decided to isolate itself from Europe."

Witold Waszczykowski pointed to the current visit to Poland by NATO's secretary-general and Romanian and Turkish top diplomats as proof that the country wasn't cut off.

Macron sharply criticized Poland's government on Friday over its opposition to his plans to reform the rules for posting workers in the European Union, when companies temporarily post employees in wealthier EU member states at cheaper wages.

He said described it as an "illustration of the mistakes made by" Poland's government.

Waszczykowski responded by saying the ongoing visits by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and by Romanian and Turkish foreign ministers was proof that "Poland is not isolated."

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4 p.m.

Bulgaria's prime minister says he regrets divisions that have emerged in the European Union over "posted workers," when companies temporarily post employees in wealthier EU member states at cheaper wages.

Poland and Hungary are reluctant to reform current EU labor rules while French President Emanuel Macron is pressing for change, as they are perceived as pricing out local workers in Western Europe, putting downward pressure on wages and exacerbating inequalities in wealth.

Prime Minister Boyko Borisov said after talks with Macron that "Poland and Hungary are our friends and it is fatal that there is such confrontation in the European Union."

Borisov said officials would discuss the issue with Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo when she visits in September. He said Bulgaria wanted a solution before it takes over the rotating presidency of the EU on Jan. 1, 2018.

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2:35 p.m.

Bulgaria's president says it's important not to violate the European Union's basic principle of free movement as the bloc considers changing rules on "posted workers," when companies temporarily post employees in wealthier EU member states at cheaper wages.

President Rumen Radev said after discussing the issue with French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on Friday that new rules should seek a balance between older and newer EU members. Bulgaria, which joined the 28-nation bloc in 2007, is one of the newest members.

However, Radev said he shared Macron's "anguish about social dumping." He added that "Bulgaria is against all social security fraud."

There are estimated to be a few thousand Bulgarian workers seconded to other member states working in construction, trucking and shipbuilding.

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1:55 p.m.

French President Emmanuel Macron has sharply criticized Poland's government over its opposition to his plans to change European Union rules on posted "workers," when companies temporarily post employees in wealthier EU member states at cheaper wages.

Macron said during a visit to Bulgaria on Friday that the Polish reluctance to reform the labor rules is "an illustration of the mistakes made by this government."

Macron said that "Poland has decided to isolate itself from Europe and its refusal to revise this directive doesn't give change my confidence in (getting) a positive outcome." He said that Poles "deserved better"

Poland's Premier Beata Szydlo said Thursday her government would defend "Poland's interests and Poland's workers, but added that "all member states are putting their heads together" over the issue.

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10:55 a.m.

French President Emmanuel Macron arrived at a French-style palace on the Black Sea coast for talks with Bulgarian leaders on the final leg of his three-day tour to central and eastern Europe.

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev greeted Macron and his wife Brigitte for Friday's opening ceremony.

The setting for the discussions, which will focus on business, investment and Europe's passport-free Schengen zone that Bulgaria wants to join, is a 19th-century former summer royal palace north of Varna. The communist elite used to use the palace which is now host to high-level government meetings.

Bulgaria also wants to join the Paris-based Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, an international body of nations that seeks to promote policies to economic growth and social well-being.
The Latest on a beer company's trademark lawsuit against a snowboard company over use of the phrase "Take a Hike" (all times local):

4:45 p.m.

The couple who own a snowboard company sued by a beer company over use of the phrase "Take a Hike" say they're disappointed to see another Vermont company take such "an aggressive approach" on what they say is a very common phrase.

Jake Burton Carpenter and Donna Carpenter say they would have appreciated a phone call rather than being sued. They say they're happy the dispute is resolved.

Long Trail Brewing Co. sued Burton on Wednesday, claiming Burton is using the beer company's "Take a Hike" slogan on its apparel.

Bridgewater Corners, Vermont-based Long Trail said Friday that the two companies have reached an amicable resolution and that Burton has agreed to discontinue its use of "Take a Hike" on its apparel.

____

11:50 a.m.

A beer company in Vermont's Green Mountains says it has reached a resolution with a snowboard company over use of the slogan "Take a Hike."

Long Trail Brewing Co. sued Burton Snowboards on Wednesday, claiming Burton is using the beer company's slogan on its apparel.

Bridgewater Corners-based Long Trail says it has a federal trademark for "Take a Hike!" for apparel, beer and a variety of other goods like bumper stickers and keychains. It said in the lawsuit that Burton is using the slogan without Long Trail's consent.

Long Trail's communications manager said Friday that the two companies have reached an amicable resolution. He says Burton has agreed to discontinue its use of "Take a Hike" on its apparel.

Burlington-based Burton did not immediately return an email seeking comment.
The Latest on Venezuela's political and economic crisis (all times local):

8:30 p.m.

A new "truth commission" created by Venezuela's all-powerful constitutional assembly has initiated an investigation to determine who is responsible for encouraging U.S. economic sanctions.

Constitutional assembly president Delcy Rodriguez said on Twitter that the "unpatriotic right" has pushed for U.S. military intervention and economic sanctions and "will respond before the people."

The remarks come after President Nicolas Maduro vowed to prosecute for treason opponents he believes are behind the sanctions. He singled out the president of Venezuela's opposition-controlled congress.

The constitutional assembly passed a decree installing the "truth commission" shortly after taking office in early August.

The commission wields unusual authority to subpoena and prosecute anyone officials suspect of wrongdoing.

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6:30 p.m.

President Nicolas Maduro wants his opponents investigated for treason for allegedly plotting with the Trump administration to sanction Venezuela.

Maduro singled out for criticism congress President Julio Borges, calling him the "mastermind" of the sanctions that would cause "great damage" to the Venezuelan economy.

"You've got to be a big traitor to your country to ask for sanctions against Venezuela," Maduro said in a televised appearance.

As Maduro has gone down an increasingly authoritarian path, the opposition led by Borges has stepped up its international campaign to isolate Maduro. In recent months he and other leaders have made frequent trips to Washington and regional capitals to push for more international pressure on Maduro as well as sent letters to several Wall Street banks warning them of the financial and reputational risk of lending money to the socialist government.

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5:10 p.m.

President Nicolas Maduro is promising to respond with "strength and dignity" to financial sanctions announced by the Trump administration that he said are bound to inflict hardships on the already-struggling economy.

Maduro in a short video shot from a meeting with top aides at the presidential palace said he would announce measures to combat the "blockade" in a televised appearance later Friday.

But he warned that "sacrifices" will be required to free Venezuela from the "blackmail" of the dollar and American financial system that he said are out of step with the U.S.' diminishing role in the world economy.

"We'll have to endure sacrifices but we must safeguard the country and sovereign motherland in order to break the blockade," he said.

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3:00 p.m.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says sweeping new sanctions against Venezuela are aimed at turning up the heat on embattled President Nicolas Maduro while sparing the Venezuelan people from further harm.

Mnuchin said Friday that President Trump's executive order barring U.S. banks from providing new money to the Venezuelan government or state oil company will ensure Maduro can no longer utilize the U.S. financial system to "facilitate the wholesale looting of the Venezuelan economy."

He said the sanctions were crafted to strike a balance between targeted efforts aimed at cutting Maduro's ability to raise new money while also allowing some exceptions to ensure ordinary Venezuelans are not afflicted.

The sanctions are nonetheless another blow to Venezuela's economy. Venezuelans are struggling with triple-digit inflation, food and medical shortages.

___

2:15 p.m.

Venezuela's foreign minister is calling new U.S. financial sanctions "the worst aggressions to Venezuela in the last 200 years, maybe."

Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza spoke at the United Nations Friday, hours after the Trump administration announced the new measures.

Arreaza asks whether Americans "want to starve the Venezuelan people." He says his government won't let the U.S. "create a humanitarian crisis."

Venezuela has already been wracked by widespread shortages and triple-digit inflation as its oil-dependent economy has faltered.

The White House said in a statement that the sanctions allow for humanitarian assistance.

The White House says Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is leading a dictatorship. Arreaza says it's a democracy that has been misportrayed by Washington and the media.

He says Maduro plans to send Trump a letter in response.

___

11:45 a.m.

The Trump administration has slapped sweeping financial sanctions on Venezuela, barring banks from any new financial deals with the government or state-run oil giant PDVSA.

The sanctions Trump signed by executive order Friday are bound to dramatically escalate tensions between Venezuela and the U.S. and exacerbate the country's economic crisis.

The White House says in a statement that the measures "are carefully calibrated to deny the Maduro dictatorship a critical source of financing to maintain its illegitimate rule, protect the United States financial system from complicity in Venezuela's corruption and in the impoverishment of the Venezuelan people, and allow for humanitarian assistance."

The new actions prohibit dealings in new debt and equity issued by the government of Venezuela and its state oil company. It also prohibits dealings in certain existing bonds owned by the Venezuelan public sector, as well as dividend payments to the government of Venezuela.
The billionaire head of South Korea's Samsung Group, Jay Y. Lee, was jailed for five years for bribery on Friday after a six-month trial over a scandal that brought down the president.

Lee had paid bribes in anticipation of favors from then president Park Geun-hye, according to a landmark ruling by a Seoul court, which also found him guilty of hiding assets abroad, embezzlement and perjury.

Lee, the 49-year-old heir to one of the world's biggest corporate empires, has been held since February on charges that he bribed Park to help secure control of a conglomerate that owns Samsung Electronics, the world's leading smartphone and chip maker, and has interests ranging from drugs and home appliances to insurance and hotels.

Lee denied wrongdoing.

One of his lawyers, Song Wu-cheol, said Lee would appeal the lower court ruling.

"The entire verdict is unacceptable," Song said, adding that he was confident his client's innocence would be affirmed by a higher court.

Under South Korean law, sentences of more than three years can not be suspended. The five year-sentence is one of the longest prison terms given to a South Korean business leader.

The Seoul Central District Court said Samsung's financial support of entities backed by Park's close friend, Choi Soon-sil, constituted bribery, including 7.2 billion won ($6.4 million) in sponsoring the equestrian career of Choi's daughter.

In return for the contributions, prosecutors say, Samsung sought government support for a controversial 2015 merger of two of its affiliates, which helped Lee tighten his control of the conglomerate.

His lawyers had argued that the merger was done on business merits but the court did not accept that.

'VIOLATION OF RIGHTS'

Park, who was forced from office in disgrace, is facing her own corruption trial, with a ruling expected later this year.

Prosecutors have argued that Park and Lee two took part in the same act of bribery so Lee's conviction would appear ominous for Park.

Hundreds of rowdy, diehard Park supporters rallied outside the court earlier in the day to demand Lee's acquittal.

"The trials of former President Park Geun-hye and Samsung Jay Y. Lee go hand in hand," said Son Tong-sok, 63, who heads a conservative group, holding a Korean flag.

Son said prosecutors had built their cases on circumstantial evidence and unsubstantiated claims reported in the media.

"Arresting these two innocent people are violations of human rights," he said.

Samsung, founded in 1938 by Lee's grandfather, is a household name in South Korea and a symbol of the country's dramatic rise from poverty following the 1950-53 Korean War.

But over the years, it has also come to epitomize the cosy ties between politicians and powerful family-controlled business groups - or chaebols - which have been implicated in a series of corruption scandals.

South Koreans, who once applauded the chaebols for catapulting the country into a global economic power, now criticize them for holding back the economy and squeezing smaller businesses.

South Korea's new president, Moon Jae-in, who replaced the Park after a May 9 election, has pledged to rein in the chaebols, empower minority shareholders and end the practice of pardoning corporate tycoons convicted of white-collar crime.

($1 = 1,127.5300 won)

(Additional reporting by Jack Kim, Writing by Soyoung Kim; Editing by Ian Geoghegan, Robert Birsel)
A court ruling on Friday has cleared a path for Uber and Lyft drivers to unionize in Seattle.

For the second time this month, a federal judge has rejected a challenge to Seattle's first-in-the-nation law allowing drivers of ride-hailing companies, such as Uber and Lyft, to unionize over pay and working conditions.

U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik late Thursday rejected a challenge brought by 11 drivers. He earlier rejected a challenge brought by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The organization is appealing that decision. The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, which represents the drivers, said Friday that it would appeal too.

But the judge declined to keep Seattle's law on hold pending the appeals, clearing the way for the drivers to unionize unless the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals says otherwise.

The 2015 law requires companies that hire or contract with drivers of taxis, for-hire transportation companies and app-based services to bargain with them if a majority show they want to be represented.

Uber, which has been entangled in controversy this year, recently introduced a new feature in its mobile app that allows customers to tip their drivers.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton explained Thursday his decision to appeal a federal courts ruling on a new voter identification bill.

Our argument is simple, that this is a legitimate act of legislature. This is not discriminatory, Paxton told Connell McShane on Making Money regarding the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision to throw out Senate Bill 5 (SB 5). 

Texas passed a strict voter identification law in 2011Senate Bill 14 (SB 14)requiring people to show a photo ID in order to have their vote count. The state began enforcing the measure in 2013, but in July 2016 the court ruled the law was discriminatory.

The new bill was created following the courts decision last year, and was signed by the states Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in June. The bill was a softer version of SB 14, in that it allowed voters to cast their vote if they signed an affidavit and presented an alternate form of ID, such as a certified birth certificate or bank statement.

Even if such a turning back of the clock were possible, the provisions of SB 5 fall far short of mitigating the discriminatory provisions of SB 14, Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos said in her ruling Wednesday.

Paxton, who said the ruling was outrageous, described the objective of SB 5 as a way to eliminate voter fraud.

In all types of situations and transactions, photo ID is the way to prevent fraud, he said. We do it in financial transactions, we do it when youre trying to go to the airport, we do it all over the country. No one is surprised that voter ID is required anywhere else, but in one of the most precious things that we have  which is the right to vote  suddenly thats a problem. It never made sense to me and I dont really think thats accurate.
National Economic Director Gary Cohn had drafted a resignation letter and met with President Donald Trump last week, a source with knowledge of the situation told Fox News Friday, as the presidents top economic advisor says he felt pressure to quit following Trumps controversial reaction to the white nationalist protests in Charlottesville, Virginia.

It is unclear whether Cohns resignation letter was ever submitted.

However, Cohn said during an interview with The Financial Times that despite feeling pressure to leave his White House post, "As a Jewish American, I will not allow neo-Nazis ranting 'Jews will not replace us' to cause this Jew to leave his job."

Cohn said he was reluctant to leave because he feels a duty to his job. But, he said, he felt "compelled to voice my distress" over the Charlottesville incident, adding "citizens standing up for equality and freedom can never be equated with white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and the KKK."

Trump initially said "both sides" were to blame for the violence in Charlottesville. He later blamed the media for the condemnation of his response to the violent protests, saying in Phoenix he'd "openly called for healing unity and love" in the immediate aftermath.

Cohn told the newspaper that the Trump administration "can and must do better in consistently and unequivocally condemning these groups and do everything we can to heal the deep divisions that exist in our communities."

Cohn outlined the administration's upcoming push to overhaul the nation's tax code in the interview. He said the bill could be passed in the House and Senate in 2017, pushing back the administration's timetable for a bill to reach the president's desk. The White House had said previously that it expected final passage in November.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen didnt comment on her future Friday as Fed head or monetary policy for that matter, instead she used her Jackson Hole Wyoming speech to credit regulation for making the U.S. financial system safer. This as President Donald Trump moves to slash some of those very same regulations.

Reforms have boosted the resilience of the financial system. Banks are safer, she said in a portion of her prepared testimony. The scope and complexity of financial regulatory reforms demand that policymakers and researchers remain alert to both areas for improvement and unexpected side effects, she noted.

VIDEO: Central Banker Trio Janet Yellen attends Jackson Hole Economic Symposium

The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, Jackson Hole, Wyoming symposium has long been used as an event by central bankers to make significant policy statements.

For Fed watchers, her comments combined with the venue, signal her term is winding down.

The President wants to de-emphasize regulation as one of his priorities and that is not consistent with a second Yellen term, said Mark Hamrick, senior economic analyst at Bankrate, during an interview with FOX Business. Hamrick also notes that because Yellen sees regulation as successful, and credits it for helping the U.S. recover from the financial crisis, it is a good way for her to go out he offered.

Dodd-Frank is among the regulations President Trump has blamed for strangling the economy and in April he made no bones about its future.

The regulators are running the banks, so we are going to do a very major haircut on Dodd-Frank he said during a town hall monitored by FOX Business.

Along with conflicting views about the right measure of regulation, there is ongoing speculation that Trumps top economic guru, Gary Cohn, Director of the National Economic Council, is gunning for Yellens job. Last month Trump clarified that he is considering Cohn for the post in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. Ive known Gary for a long time, but Ive gained great respect for Gary working with him, so Gary certainly would be in the mix, Trump said while also noting that Yellen was doing a solid job.

As for Yellen, in June, she reiterated her commitment as Fed Chair. So what Ive said about my own situation is that I fully intend to serve out my term as Chair, which ends in early February. I have not had conversations with the President about future plans, she said in response to a question following the FOMCs June meeting in which policymakers raised the key benchmark lending rate by a quarter percentage point to 1 to 1.25%.

Yellen began her Fed Chair term in February of 2014, moving up from Vice Chair, on the appointment of President Obama. And Yellen, like Cohn, served on the National Economic Council of Economic Advisors from 1997-1999.

Suzanne OHalloran is Managing Editor of FOXBusiness.com and a graduate of Boston College. Follow her on @suzohalloran
    :             ,     
The former White House chief of staff for Bill Clinton accused Washington and President Donald Trump of failing to govern.

Thats the real challenge here, Mack McLarty said to FOX Business Networks Maria Bartiromo on Mornings with Maria. Washington is not governing, and thats the challenge we face in this country. Its not just hurting our country, but the people of our country.

After the August recess ends, Congress has less than a month to raise the debt ceiling, avoid a federal government shutdown and move forward with the budget, which is also the groundwork for tax reform. And, McLarty said, it remains to be seen whether the Trump administration will pass true tax reform or just tax cuts.

It can get done, McLarty said. The debt ceiling is critically important for our countrys credibility and for our financial market.

A sticking point for Congress could be the U.S.-Mexico border wall, he said.

During a rally in Phoenix, Arizona on Tuesday, President Trump threatened to shut down the government unless Congress funded the construction of a border wall.

I think people around the country are disappointed about the Congress not being able to act, McLarty said. I mean what this really boils down to is weve got to govern. Thats the real challenge here.
President Trump stirred the NAFTA pot yet again earlier this week during his rally in Phoenix, Arizona. We'll end up probably terminating NAFTA at some point, he said to supporters and a throng of protestors.

However, south of the border, Mexicos business community is taking Trumps latest threats in stride. "Congress won't let him, said Mauricio Villarreal, a financial analyst who works in private equity.

In fact, Villarreal, who works from his modern, mirrored office towers that surround the Angel of Independence monument on Reforma Avenue in the center of Mexico City, is banking on the countrys future. "I'm optimistic. The 'Trump effect' is dissipating," he explains adding that he and other business people have some concerns about Mexico's overall economic health but are still confident about Mexico's prospects in coming decades. "I see that for people here, its business as usual," he said.

Supporting Villarreals views, the money trail. "Even in the face of Trumps explicit threats to NAFTA in his Phoenix speech, the peso barely moved, Shannon O'Neil, a Mexico expert from the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, told FOX Business. She also notes that the currency has recovered since the start of the year. All signs [show] that the initial panic of Trump's election, and the potential end of NAFTA has passed. Most expect that NAFTA's renegotiation will largely follow along the lines of the issues already negotiated within Trans-Pacific Partnership," a trade-deal that Trump scrapped at the start of his term.

With the peso holding its own, foreign money is flowing into the country. Mexico received $15.6 billion in Foreign Direct investment between January and June of 2017. This marks an 8.8% increase over the amount recorded in the first half of 2016. To boot, Mexico companies in the U.S. accounted for over half the foreign direct investment Mexico received, according to figures from the Ministry of Economy.

Still, Trump's chief negotiator, United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, parroted the same views as his boss as talks began. We cannot ignore the huge trade deficits, the lost manufacturing jobs, the businesses that have closed or moved because of incentives -- intended or not -- in the current agreement, he said.

The U.S. does currently have a $74 billion annual trade deficit with Mexico in the area of cars and car parts, but there is little consensus that tweaks to NAFTA are the best solution for addressing this imbalance. The American Automotive Policy Council, a trade group that represents auto-makers such as Ford (NYSE:F), General Motors (NYSE:GM), and Fiat Chrysler (NYSE:FACU) has already publicly warned the Trump administration against rule changes that could disrupt the complicated cross-border supply chain networks that connect the three NAFTA partners. Mexican officials have repeatedly reminded the Trump administration that 40% of the goods Mexico currently exports to the U.S. are originally produced in the U.S.

Andrew Selee, the author of an upcoming book on Mexico-US relations, told FOX Business, "I think President Trump has gradually realized that his options for what he can actually do are much more constrained. Change is gradual in policy."

So a gradual change is what the Trump team may end up settling for in a new NAFTA.

"Even if the agreement stays 95% the same, he will claim victory. If he is able to walk away with an agreement thats been tinkered with and claim victory that will enable him to save face and claim he has won and cut a good deal for American workers," Tony Payan, a Political Science professor and expert on U.S.-Mexico relations from the Baker Center for Public Policy at Rice University, told FOX Business.

As negotiations continue, officials from Mexico and Canada have argued that the best way to ameliorate the U.S. trade deficit is to expand exports rather than diminishing existing commercial ties.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
South Carolina's governor has ordered a ban on all state funding for abortion providers in a move Planned Parenthood on Friday called "political" and an attack on patients' access to healthcare.

Republican Governor Henry McMaster's executive order bars state agencies from providing funds to any doctor or medical practice affiliated with an abortion clinic and operating with a clinic in the same site, his office said in a statement.

McMaster said there were a variety of taxpayer-funded medical agencies that provided women's health and family planning services without performing abortions.

"Taxpayer dollars must not directly or indirectly subsidize abortion providers like Planned Parenthood," he said in the statement. Planned Parenthood has long been a target of those opposed to its abortion services.

In his order signed on Thursday, McMaster also directed the state agency for Medicaid, the federal health insurance program for the poor and disabled, to seek permission from the federal government to bar abortion clinics from the state's Medicaid provider network.

Under McMaster's order, abortion providers are excluded from state family planning funds. Indiana and Arizona tried to enact similar restrictions but they were overturned in court, said Elizabeth Nash, an analyst with the Guttmacher Institute, which tracks abortion policy.

Thirteen states have some restrictions on how family planning funds are used, Nash said.

"South Carolina is among a handful of states that is trying something this broad," she said in an interview.

In a statement, Planned Parenthood called the order from McMaster, who is seeking re-election next year, "politically motivated." Planned Parenthood provides healthcare services to almost 4,000 people a year in South Carolina, it said.

"We will not stop fighting to protect our patients access to health care, Jenny Black, president and chief executive of Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, said in the statement.

There were seven facilities in South Carolina providing abortions in 2014, according to the most recent available figures on the Guttmacher Institute's website. They include one clinic operated by Planned Parenthood in Columbia. (Reporting by Ian Simpson in Washington; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Tom Brown)
President Donald Trump signed a new executive order on Friday, imposing new financial sanctions on President Nicolas Maduros government in Venezuela.

We will not stand by as Venezuela crumbles, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement Friday. The Presidents new action prohibits dealings in new debt and equity issued by the government of Venezuela and its state oil company. It also prohibits dealings in certain existing bonds owned by the Venezuelan public sector, as well as dividend payments to the government of Venezuela.

The new sanctions prohibit banks from fostering new deals, including those involving debt and equity, with the government and the countrys state-run oil company, PDVSA.

Under the order, the Treasury Department intends to cut off financing to the illegitimate Maduro government. However, it will issue licenses allowing for a 30-day wind down period, financing for most commercial trade  including petroleum transactions involving Citgo  dealings in select existing Venezuelan debts and funding for humanitarian efforts. The purpose of these general licenses is to limit harm passed on to the Venezuelan and American people, the White House said.

The sanctions have been issued in response to Maduros decision to create a National Constituent Assembly with powers to rewrite the countrys constitution. Earlier this month, that body declared its powers superior to all other branches of government.

The regimes decision to create an illegitimate Constituent Assemblyand most recently to have that body usurp the powers of the democratically-elected National Assemblyrepresents a fundamental break in Venezuelas legitimate constitutional order, Sanders said.

The U.S. Treasury Department issued financial sanctions on individuals in the run-up to, and aftermath of, the election of the National Constituent Assembly, including against Maduro himself. President Trump promised swift economic action on behalf of the United States if Maduro followed through with that election, which was viewed by the administration as a blatant suppression of democracy and human rights.
Jimmy Kimmel and Jay Leno have ended their lengthy feud.

The late night host told The Hollywood Reporter that it was the birth of his infant son that broke the silence between the two men.

"Jay and I have made peace. After my son had his operation, he called me and he was very nice."

Kimmel's son, William John, was born with a heart defect that required emergency surgery.

Looking back, Kimmel said the rivalry happened out of his love for David Letterman, who was in direct late night competition with Leno.

"You have to remember how much I love David Letterman. When all that stuff happened, I was just a fan, reading Bill Carter's book [1994's The Late Shift: Letterman, Leno, and the Network Battle for the Night.] and there was a villain and a hero, and Dave was the hero and Jay was the villain. I started off with a negative feeling about it. I sometimes insert myself into situations I have no business inserting myself into."

But Kimmel has softened his stance on Leno since the kind-hearted phone call.

"You can't argue with [Leno's] success and his longevity. I will say, when I was in high school and college, he was one of my all-time favorite comics."
Though Princess Diana is gone, she is far from forgotten -- worldwide tributes are expected later this month for the 20th anniversary of the death of The Peoples Princess.

Diana Frances Spencer was just 36 years old when she died in 1997 at a Paris hospital following a car crash.

The crash took place early on Aug. 31, 1997, in Paris, France, after Diana and her boyfriend, 42-year-old Dodi Fayed, had left the Ritz in the French capital.

There were four people traveling in a Mercedes S280: driver Henri Paul, who was the acting head of security for the Ritz, bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones, the front passenger, and Diana and Fayed in the backseat.

While attempting to elude paparazzi, the Mercedes hit a pillar in the Pont dAlma tunnel. Fayed and Paul both died at the scene. Diana was taken to a hospital, where she died around 4 a.m. Rees-Jones was injured yet survived.

Both French and British authorities determined the crash to be an accident.

The vehicle's driver was in a state of drunkenness and under the influence of medication incompatible with alcohol, a state that prevented him from keeping control of his vehicle when he was driving at high speed, French magistrates wrote in a 1999 judicial report.

In the United Kingdom, the Metropolitan Polices Operation Paget, a probe into the incident, began in 2004. The Paget report, which was more than 800 pages long and examined conspiracy claims, was published in December 2006.

Our conclusion is that, on all the evidence available at this time, there was no conspiracy to murder any of the occupants of the car. This was a tragic accident, Lord John Stevens, the former Metropolitan Police commissioner who led the inquiry, wrote in an overview.

An inquest took place in the U.K. from October 2007 until April 2008, when a jury ruled that Diana and Fayed were unlawfully killed through the reckless actions of their driver and paparazzi. The jury added that the fact Diana and Fayed were not wearing seat belts was a contributing factor to their deaths.

PRINCESS DIANA HAD 'A LONELY MISERABLE LIFE INSIDE THE PALACE,' BIOGRAPHER CLAIMS

Despite the official rulings, conspiracy theories surrounding Dianas death have persisted for years. Here are some of the popular ones.

Prince Philip allegations

Dodi Fayeds father, Mohamed Al-Fayed, has claimed that Diana and Dodi were killed in a plot that was arranged for or carried out by security services on behalf of Prince Philip, the husband of Queen Elizabeth II, the Paget report said.

The motive, according to the report, would have been Diana being pregnant with Dodi Fayeds child and that their engagement would soon be announced.

No proof of a connection between Prince Philip and the Secret Intelligence Service -- also known as MI6 -- was found in the Stevens inquiry, according to the BBC. Diana also wasnt found to have been engaged or pregnant.

While leading the inquest, coroner Lord Justice Scott Baker rejected the conspiracy theory, and instructed the jury there was no evidence to support Al-Fayeds claims the couple were victims of a murder plot directed by Prince Philip and carried out by British secret agents. The jury was not at liberty to disagree.

Former MI6 officer's claims

Former MI6 agent Richard Tomlinson told a newspaper following the car crash that Dianas crash was similar to a supposed assassination plot against Serbian politician Slobodan Milosevic which involved a flashing light and a tunnel, the Guardian reported.

Stevens wrote in his Paget overview that we are confident that any theories concerning flashing lights inside the Alma underpass can be discounted as the cause of this crash.

The Stevens-led inquiry also found the former spys allegation that a flash blinded Dianas driver Henri Paul to have been incorrect, according to the BBC.

Tomlinson later gave testimony during the inquest, and reportedly acknowledged he may have gotten details of the supposed plan incorrect.

Former MI6 head Sir Richard Dearlove also testified during the inquest, denying that MI6 killed Diana. Dearlove said there hadnt been a plot to kill Milosevic, saying that there had been one against another Balkan leader, and that the plan was killed stone dead, according to the BBC.

PRINCESS DIANA'S SHOCKING RECORDINGS DEFENDED BY UK BROADCASTER

The Fiat Uno

We believe there was a glancing contact between the Mercedes, driven by Henri Paul, and a white Fiat Uno just before the Alma underpass, Stevens wrote in his overview. The Fiat Uno, however, has never been recovered.

Stevens dismissed claims that a French photojournalist named James Andanson had been driving the vehicle and was a security services agent.

Andanson owned a white Fiat Uno, but had been with his wife at home the night of Aug. 30, 1997, and there wasnt evidence that hed been with the security services, Stevens wrote.

Andanson was later found in a burned-out vehicle in France in 2000, according to the Independent. French authorities determined it was a suicide, which Stevens said British authorities agreed with.

Two inquest witnesses would identify the white Fiat Uno driver as Vietnamese-born French citizen Le Van Thanh, according to the Telegraph.

Thanh sprayed his car red hours after the incident, his father Francois alleged to the Daily Mail in 2006.

Thanh didnt attend the inquest, but has denied that he was the Fiat Uno driver, the newspaper reported. Stevens tried twice this year to contact Thanh, but Thanh has reportedly refused to speak with him.

Stevens told the Daily Mail, What we have said to Mr. Thanh is, We believe you were the driver of the Fiat. Talk us through what happened. We dont blame him for the accident. My Paget report said that a Fiat Uno was involved but was not the cause of the crash. We are still trying to interview him.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
It was the wedding that captivated the world.

Lady Diana Spencer said "I will" to Britain's Prince Charles, becoming Princess of Wales and bringing fresh youth and glamour to Britain's royal family.

Now, 36 years later, The Associated Press has restored original footage from the July 29, 1981, wedding and is releasing it in 4K resolution on YouTube.

The 25 minutes of footage comes from the archive of British Movietone, which AP acquired in 2016. British Movietone was the only company to film the wedding on high-quality 35 mm film, making it possible to restore it to a higher quality.

"The restored 4K film is simply stunning and a world away from the 1980s videotape versions that we're familiar with," said Alwyn Lindsey, AP's vice president of sales for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

The public had huge affection for Diana, whose marriage to Charles later dissolved. Her sons, Princes William and Harry, have carried on her legacy by promoting frank discussions of mental health issues, among other causes.

Charles and Diana separated in 1992 and divorced in 1996.

A year later, she and companion Dodi Fayed died in a high-speed car crash in Paris. The 20th anniversary of the crash is Thursday.
R. Marcos Taylor, who was charged with assault earlier this month after a restaurant brawl at a New Jersey restaurant, was also reportedly arrested a day earlier after making terroristic threats at a local bank.

BUSTED! HOLLYWOOD'S MOST MEMORABLE MUGSHOTS

TMZ reported Thursday the Straight Outta Compton actor reportedly lashed out at TD Bank on Aug. 8 after trying to fix a problem with a bank card.

A witness told the celebrity gossip site Taylor threatened an employee and allegedly said, I will f--king kill you.

Police were called to handle the enraged actor, but when they arrived, he squared off in a fighting stance. He was then subdued with pepper spray and arrested. TMZ added he was charged with terroristic threats, obstruction of justice and disorderly conduct.

Taylor was arrested again the following day and was charged with multiple accounts of assault for punching two people at an Italian restaurant after an argument with the manager.

His lawyers told TMZ he didnt punch or kick anyone, and only tossed an employee out of self-dense.

Back in May, the New York Daily News reported Taylor was arrested for an alleged assault involving a security guard at a Miami hotel.
This server's sunny disposition earned her something to smile about.

A MCDONALD'S KIOSK SOLD THIS PERSON AN EMPTY BAG

Brianna Siegel served a couple on Tuesday evening when they came to where she was waitressing at Bar Louie in Woodbridge. After the meal was over, the two paid their $20 bill and handed Siegel an envelope with instructions to not open it until she got home.

Siegel, who has been a waitress for a long time, told News 12 New Jersey, that its not always easy waiting tables, but she's happy to do it.

Ive been in the food industry all my lifeits my favorite thing to do, she said.

Well, her favorite thing to do is giving back to her in a major way when she saw what the couple had left her.

Upon opening the envelope, Siegel nearly fell on her knees she told the new outlet. Inside was a check made out to her for $1,200. The couple also included a note citing bible verses that ended with a sweet sentiment: "Whenever it gets hard, know God got you."

Brent Ruhkamp, the restaurants general manager, is happy it was upbeat Siegel who received the amazingly generous gift.

Shes always willing to come in, he told News 12. Always willing to help out. Shes a great worker for us.

FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS

Siegel says she deposited the check and plans to use the money toward nursing school and a new car.
While every choice comes with a consequence, the future could get a whole lot more peachy for oenophiliacs everywhere. Vino startup PureWine claims their latest purifying gadget will make it easier than ever to strip wine of headache-inducing compounds before it ever hits your lips.

We basically are a Brita filter for wine, company CEO David Meadows told The Dallas Morning News. Meadows, who received a PhD in chemical engineering from the University of Michigan, founded PureWine three years ago with his son Derek in hopes of discovering a way to consume wine without fear of a hangover.

CALIFORNIA'S LAGUNITAS BREWERY CREATES CANNABIS-INFUSED IPA

According to the company website, after much experimentation, the father-son duo discovered an effective way to removing sulfites and histamines from vino, and The Wand was born. In September, a one-bottle-use spout that fits wine bottles like a cork and filters vino as its poured is set to hit shelves, according to Meadows.

10 CRAFT BEERS YOU NEED TO SIP BEFORE SUMMER ENDS

Unpleasant reactions induced by wine drinking may be more common than you realize. According to the companys research, up to 75 percent of adult consumers experience headaches, flushed skin or nasal congestion after downing a glass or two.

"I was able to drink two glasses of red wine and not develop a headache, which I hadnt been able to do in a long time, if ever," gushed product tester Jeryn Laengrich, thankful that the PureWine gadget was able to eliminate her hangover. However, experts are skeptical that the gadget is totally effective.

FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS

Moving forward, more scientific research is needed to confirm the effectiveness of the product, said Matthew Feldman, a private-practice allergist at the Dallas Allergy and Asthma Center.

"What they're claiming is that some of the side effects and intolerances to wine may be improved by removing histamines and sulfites, but that's technically not an allergy," he said.
The National Park Service's "America the Beautiful" National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Senior Pass will be facing its first price increase in 23 years on Monday and it's going to be a doozy.

The Senior Pass, which serves as a lifetime entrance pass to United States national parks for those who are 62 years of age and older, will be increasing from $10 to $80 beginning Monday. As one might imagine, with so dramatic of a price jump, the parks service has been seeing a surge in demand that has left it struggling to keep up with requests for the Senior Pass before the increase.

The price increase is the result of legislation passed by the U.S. Congress on Dec. 16, 2016, which states that the cost of the lifetime senior pass must be equal to the cost of the annual America the Beautiful Lands Pass, which is currently $80.

According to the parks service, more than 250,000 online and mail-in applications have been submitted this year compared to previous ones. To address the backlog, it is printing and distributing hundreds of thousands of passes to sites that sell them. They have also increased staff at the online processing center.

For those who have bought a pass online, but haven't received their printed version yet, the order confirmation along with a photo ID can be used to enter a national park. Also, those who purchased passes at a local location that is out of printed passes will be issued a rain check that can be used to enter national parks. Note that the parks service is advising anyone buying a pass at a physical location to contact the agency to make sure that it is not out of rain checks.

For those senior adults who might find the lifetime passes' new $80 fee prohibitive on a limited income, the legislation also established a $20 annual Senior Pass that is valid for one year from the date of issuance. Additionally, the parks services says that four annual Senior Passes purchased in prior years can be traded for a lifetime pass.

Those who already have a Senior Pass are assured that it will remain valid for their lifetime. If the pass is lost or stolen, application must be made for a new one.

A local senior adult who made use of her brand new Senior Pass is Joan Arning, 73, of Farmington. Last month she took part in a church mission trip that included several other seniors, all of whom used their passes to gain entry for the entire group, that was made up of people of all ages, into Glacier National Park in Montana, and Mount Rushmore and Badlands National Park, both located in South Dakota.

"There were three of us on the trip that were old enough to get it," Arning said. "We went over to Potosi to the U.S Forestry Department [10019 W. State Highway 8] office to get ours. It allowed our entire group to get in  one pass per vehicle. They waved the vans on through and so it saved us a lot of money."

Of the three parks where she used her pass on the mission trip, Arning's favorite stop was in the Badlands of South Dakota.

"I think maybe because I was surprised at how spectacular they were," she said. "I wasn't expecting them to be much. I found them amazing  I thought they were beautiful."

As far as future trips to national parks, Arning admits she already has one in mind.

She said, "I still have Yellowstone National Park on my bucket list of places to go, so I plan to use it at least one more time  hopefully more!"

To obtain the pass a senior citizen, a person need only go to any National Park Service facility, including recreation sites and national parks, that charges an entrance fee with proof of age. A complete list of sites where the pass is available can be accessed here: https://store.usgs.gov/sites/default/files/PassIssuanceList.pdf.

Passes can also be purchased online or through the mail from USGS, but note that it will cost an additional $10 processing fee.
For one reason or another, the time may come to seek a new job. It may be due to normal life transitions such as graduating from college, obtaining an advanced degree, the relocation of a spouse or a company goes out of business. Sometimes, it may be that the job itself is not a good fit or the organization did not turn out to be the kind of employer you expected. Most of the time, people leave a job because of an opportunity for advancement.

How we leave a job is as important as how we start one. At some point in the future, you are likely to need a reference from the current employer. Sometimes, if you work in the same industry, you may end up working with some of the same people or they might even be your client one day. Whatever the case, you want to leave a very positive impression. The following tips are the ones I have given my own children when the time has come to leave a job.

1. Resign in person. This may seem obvious, but in this digital world, people sometimes feel it acceptable to email, text or phone in a resignation. If you want to remain well thought of, and you do, then schedule a time to talk to your boss to resign face-to-face.

2. Submit a written letter of resignation following the face-to-face meeting. Even if you and your boss have a great relationship, it is beneficial to you to have a written record that you chose to leave on your own accord.

3. Provide ample notice, which is customarily a minimum of two weeks. Your boss may choose to go ahead and send you on your way, but the respectful action is to give notice. If the boss wants you to work out your notice, give 100 percent until your exit is complete.

4. Don't burn any bridges. This old cliche' is a good one to remember. Even if asked during an exit interview, don't bash the company or any of its employees. Offer positive statements about the better parts of your experience and constructive feedback on what might have made it better. Do so while maintaining the highest level of professionalism.

5. Offer to train your successor. If the company hires someone to replace you before you leave, offer to help train the new employee. Again, the boss might decline the offer, but you will be more highly thought of by offering to help the organization continue to be successful.

6. Ask your employer for a letter of recommendation or permission to list as a reference in the future.

7. Thank your boss and your organization for the opportunity for their company. Even if you had a poor experience, you obtained experience on which to build for the future. Be grateful and gracious.

8. Return all company property promptly. It hurts your reputation for the company to have to hunt you down to retrieve a security badge, parking pass, key or other company-issued equipment. Protect your own integrity by voluntarily providing as you leave. Only leave with personal items that are rightfully yours.

Leaving well, without baggage, sets you up for success in the next opportunity. You can start your new job ready to go and ready to grow in the next chapter of your career.
The Treasury Department sanctioned 10 firms and six individuals this week for facilitating North Koreas proliferation activities, illicit financial transactions, and sanctions evasion. The list included five Chinese firms and one Chinese individual as well as a Russian firm and four Russian nationals. These new sanctions send a strong message to Beijing and Moscow that there will be consequences for their failure to enforce the sanctions they claim to support.

The new U.S. designations complement the UN sanctions adopted two weeks ago with support from China and Russia. In the past, Beijing and Moscow have supported UN actions in order to deter unilateral sanctions by the U.S., only to undercut UN measures as soon as American pressure diminished. The tactic apparently failed this time. Instead, Washington should complement robust U.S. sanctions with a diplomatic effort to build a coalition of likeminded countries (including South Korea, Japan, Australia, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany) to squeeze North Koreas revenue.

A crucial element of the Trump administrations peaceful pressure strategy is the shift from hoping for Beijings cooperation to sanctioning Chinese companies, individuals, and banks that facilitate North Koreas sanctions evasion. In June, the Treasury Department identified Bank of Dandong as a conduit for illicit transactions with North Korea and a primary money laundering concernthe first time the U.S. charged a mainland Chinese bank with laundering funds for Pyongyang. On the same day, Treasury sanctioned two Chinese individuals and a Chinese company for establishing front companies, conducting financial transactions, and shipping illicit luxury goods.

This newest round of sanctions will not have a meaningful impact unless the White House presses forward, sidelining those who perennially counsel that Beijing and Moscow respond best to carrots not sticks. Ten years of experiences shows that just isnt true.

On Tuesday, the Treasury Department sanctioned Dandong Zhicheng Metallic Materials, which the innovative data-mining organization C4ADS first identified as the top Chinese importer from North Korea since 2014. C4ADS noted that Zhicheng accounted for 9.19 percent of North Korean exports to China in 2016.

Zhicheng imported more than $234 million worth of North Korean coal in 2016, according to a review of Chinese customs records. The Treasury Department confirmed that Zhicheng used proceeds from these sales to purchase other goods on behalf of North Korea, mirroring the approach used by another sanctioned Chinese company, Dandong Hongxiang Industrial Development. Earlier this month, the UN Security Council finally imposed a complete ban on the export of coal from North Korea.

A recently unsealed late May order from the District Court for the District of Columbia granted the Justice Departments request for damming seizure warrants that enabled the confiscation of funds destined for eight U.S. banks from accounts controlled by Zhichengs owner, Chi Yupeng, who was designated along with his firm. The Justice Department said the Chi Yupeng network processed $700 million through the U.S. financial system from 2009 to May 2017. The Justice Department filed a complaint on August 21 requesting the forfeiture of over $4 million that a Zhicheng front company processed through the U.S. financial system on June 21.

Another one of Tuesdays designations entails the explosive charge that a Chinese national has been operating a North Korean bank on Chinese soil. In that regard, the Treasury Department announced sanctions on Mingzheng International Trading Limited, describing it as a front for Pyongyangs primary foreign exchange provider, the UN- and U.S.-sanctioned Foreign Trade Bank (FTB). Treasury previously sanctioned Mingzhengs owner, Sun Wei, on June 29. Earlier that month, the Justice Department filed an asset forfeiture complaint requesting over $1.9 million in proceeds processed through the U.S. financial system on behalf of Mingzheng from October to November 2015. A confidential source told Justice that Mingzheng made illicit financial transactions on behalf of the North Korean government between January 2012 and January 2015. A second confidential source revealed that Mingzheng acts as a front company for a covert branch of FTB operated by a Chinese national.

Another Chinese company, Dandong Rich Earth Trading Co. Ltd., was sanctioned Tuesday for supporting North Korean entities tied to Pyongyangs nuclear program. According to Treasury, the company purchased vanadium ore from Korea Kumsan Trading Corporation. The UN restricted North Korean exports of vanadium ore in March 2016, so this designation highlights Beijings lax enforcement of UN sanctions, while indicating the U.S. will no longer turn a blind eye.

While China is Kim Jong Uns main patron and facilitator, no effective sanctions regime can ignore the role of Russian actors, which were targeted for the second time since June. Russias Gefest-M LLC and its director were designated Tuesday for procuring metals for Korea Tangun Trading Corporations Moscow office; Tangun was designated by the U.S. in 2009 for its involvement in North Koreas WMD and missile programs. In early June, Treasury designated another Russian company and individual for providing supplies to Tangun and noted the individual is a frequent business partner of Tangun officials in Moscow. Russia should shut down the Tangun office in Moscow immediately.

Three Russian individuals and their two Singapore-based companies were also sanctioned Tuesday for providing oil to North Korea. In early June, Treasury sanctioned a Russian company, Independent Petroleum Company (IPC), and its subsidiary for signing a contract to provide oil to North Korea and shipping over $1 million in petroleum products to North Korea. The Justice Department, in an August 21 complaint, alleged that North Korean banks used one of the Singapore-based companies, Transatlantic Partners Pte. Ltd., to make U.S. dollar payments to the other Singapore-based company, Velmur, to pay Russias IPC. Justice asked a federal judge to authorize the forfeiture of almost $7 million wired to Velmur in May 2017.

These actions against Singapore-based front companies are a reminder that the U.S. also notices when its allies fail to do their part. Singapore in particular has been host to sanctions evaders, yet partners in Western Europe and the Persian Gulf are also responsible for some glaring oversights.

The one element missing from Tuesdays action is the designation of Chinese banks that facilitate North Koreas illicit financial transactions. Chinese banks are integral to the operation of these illicit networks and the Trump administration will need to target them to move its pressure campaign to the next level. The Treasury Department has the power to issue significant fines against Chinese banks that are not doing enough to stop illicit North Korean financial transactions. While Justices requests to seize illicit funds are important, it is more effective to target the source.

A robust sanctions campaign against Pyongyang will require many more designations to chip away at North Koreas nuclear weapons and missile programs. This newest round of sanctions will not have a meaningful impact unless the White House presses forward, sidelining those who perennially counsel that Beijing and Moscow respond best to carrots not sticks. Ten years of experiences shows that just isnt true. China and Russia must stop North Koreas sanctions evasion or face severe consequences.
Ten states may soon sue President Trump -- for treating illegal immigrants too leniently.

Texas attorney general Ken Paxton and nine other state attorneys general plan to file suit against the Trump administration unless it ends the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program by September 5.

DACA, a program established under President Obama, grants work permits and an official reprieve from deportation to over 750,000 illegal immigrants who came to the United States as minors.

President Trump lambasted DACA as unconstitutional on the campaign trail. He vowed to end it on Day One of his administration. But thus far, he has kept the program in place -- even though federal courts have found DACA to be an illegal overreach of executive authority, and the Trump Administration already ended a companion program that granted reprieves and work permits to parents of DACA recipients.

The Constitution gives Congress -- not the president -- the authority to determine who may legally enter and reside in the United States.

It's time for President Trump to fulfill his vow. DACA is flagrantly unconstitutional. And it hurts vulnerable American workers.

The Constitution gives Congress -- not the president -- the authority to determine who may legally enter and reside in the United States. One year before enacting DACA, President Obama himself explained "With respect to the notion that I can just suspend deportations through executive order, that's just not the case, because there are laws on the books that Congress has passed."

But President Obama and his lawyers found what they thought was a clever way around this constitutional barrier. DACA, they said, doesn't give permanent legal residency to illegal aliens. It merely makes them a very, very low priority for deportation. Such a low priority, in fact, that all 750,000 illegal aliens who signed up for the program would receive an official card instructing Immigration and Customs Enforcement not to deport them unless they committed multiple criminal offenses.

It's highly questionable whether the executive branch has this much leeway to selectively enforce Congress' immigration laws. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Andrew Hanen, who issued an injunction freezing an expansion of the DACA program in 2015, explained that, "DHS cannot reasonably claim that, under a general delegation to establish enforcement policies, it can establish a blanket policy of non-enforcement that also awards legal presence and benefits to otherwise removable aliens."

Even supporters of amnesty for illegal aliens agree DACA is unconstitutional. In December, Senator Lindsay Graham tweeted, "In my view, the DACA Executive Order issued by President Obama was unconstitutional and President-elect Trump would be right to repeal it." For reference, Sen. Graham has sponsored the DREAM Act, a bill that would give U.S. citizenship to illegal aliens who came here as children.

Even if the executive branch did have authority to exempt an entire class of people from deportation, DACA would still be unconstitutional. That's because the president doesn't have the authority to hand out work permits to illegal aliens. As Judge Hanen noted, "Exercising prosecutorial discretion...does not also entail bestowing benefits."

Legal arguments aside, the DACA program hurts American workers.

An alarming number of American workers without college degrees are struggling to find work. In the first quarter of 2017, nearly four in ten native-born 18 to 29-year olds without college degrees were either unemployed or not in the labor force.

Illegal immigration exacerbates these young Americans' struggles by increasing the number of people competing for a limited supply of lower-skilled and entry-level jobs. Over the past 20 years, illegal aliens without high school degrees have inflated the low-skill U.S. workforce by approximately 22 percent.

The excess of low-skilled workers means companies don't need to raise wages to fill positions. Native-born workers without a high school degree would earn nearly $800 more annually if there were no illegal immigration.

The burdens of illegal immigration disproportionately fall on American minorities. Harvard Kennedy School economics professor George Borjas' explains that "Because a disproportionate percentage of immigrants have few skills, it is low-skilled American workers, including many blacks and Hispanics, who have suffered most from this wage dip."

Put simply, our most economically vulnerable citizens have the most to lose if President Trump preserves the DACA program.

President Trump repeatedly vowed to end DACA to protect American workers and the rule of law. It's time for him to follow through on this promise.
Everyone knows you cant run for governor of Ohio and head up an agency of the United States government at the same time. Then why is Richard Cordray, the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), doing just that?

It was recently reported that a state judge in Ohio by the name of Bill ONeill was asked by a friend of Cordrays if he would stay out of the race for governor if Cordray became an official candidate. This is a campaign maneuver thats regularly employed in order to mitigate headaches in an upcoming race. In this case, Cordray is trying to limit the number of primary challengers he would face in the upcoming Democrat primary election next spring.

This is an outrage and another example of a liberal elitist who thinks the law doesnt apply to him. Engaging in this type of political activity is a clear violation of the Hatch Act and the allegations should be investigated by the U.S. Office of Special Counsel without delay.

The CFPB was created because of the disastrous Dodd-Frank law and specializes in job-killing regulations. Congress should place it on the ash heap of history or drastically reform it so that the agency can be forever defunded.

According to the Special Counsels Guide to the Hatch Act for Federal Employees, a covered employee: May not be a candidate for nomination or election to public office in a partisan election and may not use his or her official authority or influence to interfere with or affect the result of an election.

Im glad to see that the Republican Governors Association has filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for relevant documents. RGA should be prepared to file a FOIA lawsuit if the CFPB doesnt comply in a timely manner.

Hardworking American taxpayers -- including the millions of Ohioans who fall into this category -- should demand that Cordray come clean and resign or state publicly that he wont be a candidate.

President Trump could also fire him if he believes that Cordray is playing politics on taxpayer time.

Its not surprising that Cordray thinks hes above the law since the agency he leads was set up in exactly that fashion.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is not subject to traditional congressional oversight and is currently being threatened with contempt of Congress for not fully complying with committee subpoenas.

It was a Nancy Pelosi-led Congress that structured CFPBs budget so its not subject to the congressional appropriations process.

The CFPB was created because of the disastrous Dodd-Frank law and specializes in job-killing regulations. Congress should place it on the ash heap of history or drastically reform it so that the agency can be forever defunded.

Regardless of his campaign timetable, Cordrays five-year term ends in July 2018 and he ought to be remembered as the first and last director of this agency that exists to stifle American economic growth.

At the end of the day, Dodd-Frank and the CFPB were Obama-era mistakes and along with ObamaCare, big reasons why Republicans won control of Congress after the 2010 midterm elections.

Cordray is likely delaying his resignation so that he can continue to draw his nice taxpayer-funded salary as long as possible, since he would become an unemployed full-time candidate once he comes out of the shadows and starts running officially.

The Democratic candidates already running for the Ohio governors mansion should turn up the heat on Cordray and tell him that he cant have it both ways.

When Richard Cordray does finally return to Ohio, he might be surprised by what he finds.

President Donald Trump carried the Buckeye State by a whopping eight points running against the anemic Obama economy that Cordray himself helped create.

Make no mistake about it -- the Ohio voters who helped propel Donald Trump to the presidency fully understand this fact.
The former British spy who put together an unverified dossier of explosive allegations about President Trump during last years campaign has been ordered to give a deposition in a multi-million-dollar libel case brought against a media outlet that published the document.

Former MI-6 British Intelligence Officer Christopher Steele is fighting the decision by U.S. District Court Judge Ursula Ungaro, of the Southern District of Florida that he must answer questions in the suit against BuzzFeed. A lawyer directly involved in the case said the issue will likely be argued before the British courts where a similar libel case is being heard.

Steele's London-based company, Orbis Business Intelligence, authored the 35-page dossier while working for American-based Fusion GPS and its founder Glenn Simpson. The document, which was crafted as opposition research for unknown political rivals of Trump, contained salacious charges involving Trump and Russian prostitutes, but none of the claims have been corroborated and most media outlets steered clear of the dossier.

In January, BuzzFeed set off an international firestorm when it chose to publish the entire dossier, which also included seamy allegations involving Russian technology guru Aleksej Gubarev and his companies, XBT Holdings and Webzilla.

The dossier claimed XBT and Webzilla used "botnets and porn traffic to transmit viruses, plant bugs, steal data and conduct 'altering operations' against the Democtratic Party leadership."

That dispute will move to London, where we expect Mr. Steele will continue to try to avoid being deposed."  Evan Fray-Witzer, attorney for Russian tech tycoon

Gubarev's Boston-based attorney, Evan Fray-Witzer, told Fox News he asked the Florida judge to help ensure Steele answer questions.

"We asked the Court in Florida to issue a Request for International Judicial Assistance, Fray-Witzer said. The request would have the Florida court ask its British counterpart compel Steele submit to a sworn deposition that would be taken in London and videotaped to be played to the jury at trial.

Steele's lawyers unsuccessfully asked Ungaro to reject the request.

That dispute will move to London, where we expect Mr. Steele will continue to try to avoid being deposed," Fray-Witzer said.

While the libel suit does not directly involve Trump, a jury trial could prove explosive as the dossier and Buzzfeeds vetting process would undergo a thorough examination

"We are absolutely looking forward to a jury trial, Fray-Witzer said. Buzzfeed published the dossier - and the comments about our clients - without having made any effort whatsoever to determine if the things said about our clients were true. They don't even claim otherwise."

The dossier was repeatedly shopped around on both sides of the Atlantic and to various media outlets during the heated 2016 U.S. presidential campaign. The charges it contained were damning to Trump both personally and in terms of purporting to show how Russia sought to help him with hacking, leaks and fake news stories.

"We know from what Steele has said in the British lawsuit that - at Fusion's instruction - he briefed reporters at The New York Times, the Washington Post, Yahoo News, the New Yorker, CNN and Mother Jones about the dossier, Fray-Witzer said. To their credit, not a one of them actually published the dossier. Only BuzzFeed did that and we think that says something about where BuzzFeed's priorities were. This was about "clicks," not about responsible reporting."

Nicola Cain, one of Steeles British attorneys, declined comment, stating that she has "no instructions to speak about their client to the press."

Steele reportedly met with the FBI on Aug. 22. The dossier was part of the evidence the FBI used to obtain a FISA warrant to monitor communications of Carter Page, a peripheral adviser in the Trump campaign. Former FBI Director James Comey considered the dossier so important that he insisted it be included in January's final Intelligence Community Report on Russian meddling in the election and reportedly offered Steele $50,000 to corroborate the dossier---something the bureau denies paying.

Meanwhile, Simpson, a former Wall Street Journal reporter who, as founder of Fusion, hired Steele to create the dossier, was behind closed doors in Washington, D.C. On Wednesday, he spent 10 hours with Congressional investigators assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee chaired by Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, who has been perturbed with the level of cooperation his Senate Judiciary Committee has received from Simpson and his attorney.

"Fusion's initial production of documents consisted of solely of headlines from publicly available news reports and more than 7,500 pages of blank paper, Grassley spokesman Taylor Foy said. Fusion eventually provided a copy of the same unverified dossier that's been publicly available since January, and a privilege log that raises more questions than it answers."

Fox reported this week that Fusion GPS gave the committee 40,000 documents.

The records were finally provided by Simpson and his legal team after Grassley sent several letters raising questions about the dossier, moved a Judiciary Committee hearing to accommodate Simpson's schedule, and withdrew a subpoena in return for a pledge of cooperation.

"I'd note that only after the subpoena did Simpson indicated any willingness to cooperate voluntarily, yet the documents produced by his legal team have not been responsive to the committee's questions," Foy said.

Simpson's attorney, Joshua Levy, did not respond to Fox's emails asking how 7,500 blank pages complied with the senate committee's request, and why he apparently told Politico, when the senate committee issued a subpoena July 21, his client was unavailable and travelling overseas when Fox News found Simpson at an Aspen security conference.

Fray-Witzer was surprised at these tactics.

"I honestly can't imagine why Fusion GPS would think that stonewalling the Senate Judiciary Committee was a good idea, Fray-Witzer said. The only thing that would be a worse idea would be if they tried something similar in the BuzzFeed lawsuit. We have an incredibly smart judge who doesn't suffer fools gladly. I don't think Fusion would enjoy trying to explain that kind of a response to Judge Ungaro."

According to court filings, BuzzFeeds legal team expects responses by Aug. 25 to "subpoenas served for depositions and production of documents from several third party witnesses, including several government agencies and their former officials. These include the FBI, Department of Justice, Office of the Director of National Intelligence and CIA, as well as Comey, and Obama intelligence bosses James Clapper and John Brennan. Each federal agency declined to comment on the case, citing "ongoing litigation."

Fox News' Catherine Herridge contributed to this report
Iowa Democrats apparently ran out of gas between Caucus Day and Election Day in 2016, but nine months later, thats changed.

The party is hoping it can parlay soured support of President Trump into the capture of Republican Huse seats.

Weve had more enthusiasm since the election results than we had prior to Nov. 8, Linn County Democratic Party Chairman Bret Nilles told Fox News.

Weve had more enthusiasm since the election results than we had prior to Nov. 8."  Linn County Democratic Party Chairman Bret Nilles

Linn County sits in Iowas 1st Congressional District, which delivered double-digit wins for Obama twice, before breaking for Trump by three over Clinton.

That makes this a swing district, and a top target for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in its effort to flip the House of Representatives in 2018.

Rep. Rod Blum, R-Iowa, represents the 1st right now, and isnt letting the Democratic machine present a distraction.

Im not afraid of losing elections, Im not even thinking about the next election, Blum told Fox News.

Earlier this year, Blum hosted town hall meetings that were disrupted by demonstrators, who he believes were organized by leftist groups.

Blum also casts doubt on the impact of Trump's flagging approval ratings on this race, saying he thinks the president still appeals to his blue-collar constituents in a Reagan-like way.

Still, Democrats will try to flip the seat by tying Blum to Trump.

Congressman Blum showed tremendous support for Donald Trump, I think thats going to be in our favor, Nilles said.

One of the locals trying to get on the ballot as a Democrat just hopes her party doesnt repeat the last cycles mistakes.

I think that the Democratic party did a very poor job of presenting that they cared about the problems in this district, said Courtney Rowe, an engineer from Cedar Rapids.

Rowe, a supporter of single-payer health care, says a chord struck by both Obama and Trump in this state should be sought out.

In 2012, they felt that Obama that was giving them hope and letting them know he cared about the issues in their life, Rowe said. In 2016, they felt that was Trump.
Several high-profile moderate Republicans have begun publicly speculating about the possibility that President Trump could face a primary challenger when he seeks re-election in 2020.

The latest Republican to do so is U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona. Trump and Flake have recently exchanged words, with the president saying he is not a fan of Flake.

During an interview Wednesday on Georgia Public Broadcasting, Flake said Trump seems to be inviting a primary challenge.

"I think he could govern in a way that he wouldn't, Flake said. But, I think that the way that -- the direction he's headed right now, just kind of drilling down on the base rather than trying to expand the base -- I think he's inviting [a challenge]."

"(T)he direction he's headed right now, just kind of drilling down on the base rather than trying to expand the base -- I think he's inviting [a challenge]."  U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., referring to President Trump

Flake, who has been promoting a book thats critical of the president, knows something about getting primaried: Trump has expressed support for Kelli Ward, a former Arizona GOP state lawmaker who is challenging Flake in next years U.S. Senate race.

But Flake isnt the only Republican talking about a competitive Republican primary in 2020.

Earlier this week, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, who irked the president by not voting for ObamaCare repeal legislation, criticized Trumps response to the white supremacists involved in the violence in Charlottesville, Va.

Appearing on MSNBC, Collins was asked if she believes Trump will be the Republican nominee in 2020.

Its too difficult to say, Collins said.

NBCs Willie Geist reported last week that sources close to Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for president in 2016, say there is an growing sense of moral imperative to primary the president in the wake of the Charlottesville violence.

Asked about the report during an appearance on CNN on Sunday, Kasich denied planning a campaign against Trump at this point.

I dont have any plans to do anything like that, Kasich said. Im rooting for him to get it together. We all are. Were like seven months into this presidency.

Im rooting for him to get it together. We all are. Were like seven months into this presidency.  Ohio Gov. John Kasich, referring to President Trump

Even with the next presidential election more than three years away, the president has ramped up political activity in recent months, including holding several campaign-style rallies and a fundraiser in June at his Washington hotel.

"Of course he's running for re-election," White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said at the time of the fundraiser.


The average transgender soldier will spend 238 days recovering from sex change surgeries and unavailable to deploy, according to an Obama administration study.

The Trump administration's transgender ban places deployability as a determining factor into whether to admit transgender individuals into the military. The White House outlined guidelines to implement the ban within six months in a memo to Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.

The ability to be deployed to war zones or bases around the world is an issue for transgender soldiers who undergo taxpayer-funded sex change operations, according to a study by the RAND Corporation.

The 2016 study was commissioned by the Obama administration, which favored opening the ranks to transgender individuals, and funded by the office of former secretary of defense Ash Carter.

The study found that, on average, transgender troops seeking basic sex-change operations would be nondeployable for 238 days, or 34 weeks out of a year. The figure amounts to 65 percent of one year.

Click for more from The Washington Free Beacon.
The upcoming bribery trial for New Jersey Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez could have damaging consequences for his party whether or not he's convicted, by sidelining him from Congress just as Democrats gear up to fight the Trump agenda.

The senator is now pleading with a federal judge to alter the trial schedule on certain days so he can return to Washington to vote.

So far, however, the court has rejected these requests, which the Trump Justice Department has decried as a bid for "special treatment."

The timing of the trial, set to begin Sept. 6, is critical. It would fall as Congress returns from the August recess and Republicans prepare to vote on President Trumps legislative agenda -- potentially covering everything from tax reform to health care to the budget and debt ceiling.

Neither party can afford to lose a single member from the Senate floor. Republicans hold a slim 52-48 majority, and its possible the absence of a single reliable Democratic vote could tip the balance on key votes this fall, including possibly another attempt at repealing President Obamas health care law.

Mindful of this, Menendez earlier this week asked for a trial delay, along with other possible alternative concessions, only to be denied by U.S. District Judge William Walls. While Menendez would be free to skip his trial to attend Senate session, doing so could hurt his standing at the trial -- a scenario he's trying to avoid.

As jury selection began this week in New Jersey, the senator's lawyers came back with a more refined request, asking the judge to alter the trial schedule on select days so he can be present for key Senate votes.

As the recent vote on whether to repeal the Affordable Care Act demonstrated, the Senate is divided by razor-thin margins on consequential legislation, making Senator Menendezs absence from any particular vote potentially determinative, his motion stated.

MENENDEZ TRIAL OUTCOME COULD SHIFT BALANCE OF POWER IN SENATE

The Justice Department fired back in its own brief, saying:

"A bedrock principle of our criminal justice system is that the law does not recognize wealth or title. Many defendants try to evade their criminal trialsbut only a United States Senator can try to hide behind the very office he corrupted to avoid accountability to the public for his actions. Every defendant should be treated equally, and no defendant should receive special treatment based on power or privilege. This Court should reject defendant Menendezs effort to let politics in Washington dictate the trial schedule in Newark."

Congress is poised to hold a number of important votes, including on the federal debt limit, a spending deal to avoid a government shutdown and on a Republican tax reform plan.

But there's more at stake in the Menendez case than this fall's votes. Republicans are salivating over the prospect of a more lasting political consequence should Menendez be convicted and should he leave Congress in the next few months: New Jersey Republican Gov. Chris Christie would name his replacement, meaning the GOP could pick up another vote in the Senate.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders, asked about the legislative ramifications of the Menendez trial, said Thursday that the president will continue to push Congress to repeal Obamas health care law.

Im not sure about the specifics of that case. I know theres still ongoing judicial process taking place, so Im not going to get into that, Sanders said. But I can tell you that the president continues to be committed to repealing and replacing ObamaCare and making sure that America has good health care and the health care that they deserve."

Menendez is accused of using his Senate seat to help the business interests of Florida eye doctor Salomon Melgen in return for campaign donations and expensive trips. In April, Melgen was convicted in federal court on Medicare fraud charges.

Menendez, who along with Meglen has denied the accusations, has argued its important the jury see him in attendance during the trial.

I want the jury to understand that I fervently believe in my innocence, Menendez told the Associated Press last week. If there is a moment where there is a critical vote, I have the constitutional right to go ahead and cast a vote and not be at the trial. I also have a constitutional right to be at the trial. So I will decide which of those constitutional rights I will exercise at any given moment.

Fox News' Bill Mears and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Special counsel Robert Mueller is investigating whether former national security adviser Mike Flynn played a role during the presidential campaign in trying to obtain Hillary Clintons emails, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The newspaper reported Friday that Mueller, who has been tapped to investigate any coordination between President Trumps campaign and Russia during the election, was involved in a private effort to get the Democratic nominees emails from Russian hackers.

The president has repeatedly denied that he or his campaign colluded with Russia during the election.

Flynn, a retired Army lieutenant general, served as a Trump surrogate during the campaign and briefly served as national security adviser before being fired over his conversations with Sergey Kislyak, who was Russia's ambassador to the United States.

The Wall Street Journal previously reported that a Republican activist named Peter Smith, who recently committed suicide, had attempted to seek out Russian hackers believed to have Clintons emails.

The outlet reported that Smith had portrayed Mr. Flynn as an ally in those efforts and implied that other senior Trump campaign officials were coordinating with him, which they have denied. The report said Flynns son was also named in correspondence and conversations.

Flynns son, Michael Flynn Jr., on Friday dismissed the story on Twitter.

BIG nothingburger folks....more #fakenews as usual, he tweeted.

He added, Not even remotely worried about this. HRC lost on her own because she was a terrible candidate. Bernie supporters should STILL b pissed.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Smith believed 33,000 of Clintons deleted emails had been obtained by hackers.

According to authorities, the 81-year-old Smith died May 14 after asphyxiating himself in a Minnesota hotel room. He left a note saying no foul play whatsoever had occurred.


A Cadet man was injured in a crash on Benham Street in Bonne Terre Thursday afternoon.

According to the Bonne Terre Police Department, a 39-year-old man was airlifted to Mercy-Creve Couer after his motorcycle collided with a passenger car at Dale Street. His injuries were believed to be moderate and not life-threatening.

Police say witnesses gave conflicting statements of what caused the crash. The other driver, of Bonne Terre, was not injured. Both vehicles were towed from the scene.
Washingtons decision earlier this week to sanction more than a dozen firms and individuals for facilitating North Koreas illicit nuclear program ruffled more than a few feathers in Russia and China. But, warns one expert, theres a much bigger problem lurking.

Anthony Ruggiero, a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies with nearly two decades of government experience, said, "The one element missing from Tuesdays action is the designation of Chinese banks that facilitate North Koreas illicit financial transactions."

Ruggiero noted in his new opinion piece for FoxNews.com that the sanctions are "finally getting serious... [and] send a strong message to Beijing and Moscow." But, he argued, the U.S. needs to be doing even more.

"Chinese banks are integral to the operation of these illicit networks and the Trump administration will need to target them to move its pressure campaign to the next level," Ruggiero wrote. "This newest round of sanctions will not have a meaningful impact unless the White House presses forward, sidelining those who perennially counsel that Beijing and Moscow respond best to carrots not sticks."

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov reportedly suggested that the U.S. had again stepped on the same rake, and was further damaging its relationship with Moscow. China also expressed its displeasure over the decision, with foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying telling reporters earlier this week that Beijing opposes "the long-arm jurisdiction taken" by the U.S. Both countries had supported the new round of sanctions imposed on North Korea earlier this month, and their support was seen as a major victory for the White House.

North Korea claims pressure from its opponents only fuels the desire to continue its provocative quest for proliferation. According to the Associated Press, the Hermit Kingdom's envoy to U.N. disarmament talks suggested earlier this week that "military threats and pressure" from the United States only drive his country to further develop a nuclear deterrence.

The new foreign minister of Japan reportedly said this week that he supports the Trump administration's approach, and believes that continued pressure is the only way to get Pyongyang to drop its pursuit of nuclear weapons.

While targeting Chinese financial institutions is seen as the key by some, others warn of a slippery slope that could come back to hurt the U.S. almost as much as those on the receiving end of the sanctions.

"Once we go down the road of hitting a Chinese bank that is deeply connected to the U.S. financial system, things will begin to move very fast and be quite unpredictable," said Joseph DeThomas, a former State Department official who worked on Iran and North Korea sanctions, in an interview with The New York Times.

The economies of China and the United States are the world's largest, and they are intricately linked by both trade and financial relationships.

This summer, the privately owned Bank of Dandong became the first mainland Chinese financial institution to be accused by the U.S. of laundering funds for Pyongyang. The U.S. Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) announced a finding that Bank of Dandong, a Chinese bank that acts as a conduit for illicit North Korean financial activity... also facilitates financial activity for North Korean entities designated by the United States and listed by the United Nations for proliferation of WMDs, as well as for front companies acting on their behalf."

With the announcement of its findings, FinCEN also submitted a proposal laying out how to potentially deal with the Bank of Dandong situation. Congress is expected to address the issue when lawmakers return from summer recess.
The Russian attorney who met with Donald Trump Jr. in a highly scrutinized meeting last summer sought to distance herself Friday from the infamous anti-Trump dossier, following testimony from a Senate witness that she worked with the firm behind that document on a separate project.

Natalia Veselnitskaya slammed the dossier as "cheap gossip," in an email sent in Russian to Fox News. Her translator sent an English version of the original message, which was reviewed and verified by Fox News.

When I read some parts of this dossier in the media I laughed, Veselnitskaya said. What kind of idiots does one have to take Americans for to think that they can believe that stupid and incompetent [and] absurd [dossier]?

The same email, in a confusing passage, also seemed to both defend and question the co-founder of the firm behind the document.

Last month, CEO of Hermitage Capital Bill Browder testified before a Senate committee that Veselnitskaya orchestrated a "smear campaign" against him as part of an effort to fight anti-Russia sanctions, working with the firm Fusion GPS and co-founder Glenn Simpson.

Fusion was the same company behind the anti-Trump dossier.

This detail was swiftly picked up by President Trump and his allies, who pointed to the alleged Fusion-Russia connection as proof Moscow was actually working against him in 2016 despite "collusion" claims.

Simpson had employed former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele in the project, which was crafted as opposition research in requests by unknown political rivals of Trump. The dossier was first made public when BuzzFeed published contents in January. Steele since has been ordered to give a deposition in the multi-million dollar libel case brought against the media outlet.

Simpson and Fusion have refused to say who they were working for on the dossier case, claiming they must keep clients' identities confidential. Simpson met with Senate Judiciary Committee staff for hours on Tuesday behind closed doors as part of their investigation.

Fusion GPS told Fox News the firm is cooperating and turned over more than 40,000 documents to the staff for their review.

However, the committee said the firm only turned over public headlines and thousands of blank pages.

Fusions initial production of documents consisted solely of headlines from publicly available news reports and more than 7,500 pages of blank paper, committee spokesman Taylor Foy said after Simpsons interview. Fusion eventually provided a copy of the same unverified dossier thats been publicly available since January, and a privilege log that raises more questions than it answers.

Simpson's attorney did not respond to a previous Fox News inquiry on how the blank pages complied with the committee's request.

In her email to Fox News, Veselnitskaya said she was almost in shock when she learned Simpson was behind the compiling of the dossier.

The only thing I can say is that what I read on BuzzFeedthat is not something of Glenns level, its not his modus operandi, its not his work, Veselnitskaya told Fox News. Cheap gossip and tall talesthat is diminishing for an investigator like Mr. Simpson.

Simpsons attorney, Josh Levy, told Fox News in a statement this week that the firm is proud of the work it has conducted" and stands by it.

Browder, a champion of the Magnitsky Acta law passed in 2012 in the wake of Russian whistleblower Sergei Magnitskys death to impose sanctions on Russian oligarchs suspected of money launderinghas continued to publicly link Russia to Fusion GPS.

In a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, Browder also said the dossier was undertaken at the same time the firm was working on the smear campaign against him.

Veselnitskaya acknowledged the two projects coincided, while suggesting she only learned about the dossier later.

TRUMP DOSSIER FIGURE QUESTIONED BEHIND CLOSED DOORS ON CAPITOL HILL

Veselnitskaya's name burst into the headlines after it was revealed she had a June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower with Trump Jr., Jared Kushner, and then-campaign chairman Paul Manafort. The meeting, first reported in June of this year, fueled the investigation into Russian meddling and potential collusion with the Trump campaign during the 2016 presidential election which the Trump team denies.

In her email, Veselnitskaya acknowledged that Simpson's firm was hired by "our lawyers" from law firm Baker Hostetler, and looked into Browder's background in connection with his allegations against a client in a Magnitsky-related case. Veselnitskaya had worked on a U.S.-based case for a Cyprus-based real estate holdings company called Prevezon, which was caught up in a Justice Department money laundering case.

The email renewed numerous allegations against Browder, questioning his motives.

Fusion GPS told Fox News Wednesday that they did work on the Prevezon case, but stressed that the Trump dossier was a separate project.
In a break from President Trump, former Alaska governor and 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin has endorsed Roy Moore in Alabamas U.S. Senate race.

The president has endorsed Moores opponent, incumbent Luther Strange.

Breitbart News broke the news of the Palin endorsement of Moore on Thursday.

Moore and Strange will face off Sept. 26 in a runoff after they finished first and second in the Republican primary earlier this month. The winner will face Democratic nominee Doug Jones, a former U.S. attorney, in the Dec. 12 general election.

Moore is leading most polls in Alabama, AL.com reported.

Perhaps taking a jab at the president, Palin invoked his make America great again slogan in her endorsement statement about Moore:

Glad hes running and am honored to endorse Judge Roy Moore for the US Senate. Judge Moore has shown he has what it takes to stand up to the out-of-touch political establishment. The Judge has proven hes not afraid of a fight for what is right, and hes ready to take on DCs swamp monsters and help make America great again. We need more bold leaders like Judge Moore who will fight for all of us in the US Senate.

Strange was appointed to the Senate after former Sen. Jeff Sessions was named U.S. attorney general.

Moore was Alabama's chief justice but was removed from office for defying a federal order related to same-sex marriage.

In a statement, Moore thanked Palin for her support.

"Governor Palin has a strong record of speaking out for conservative causes and standing up to the Washington establishment. Having her support shows how conservatives across the country are uniting behind our campaign to send a message to Mitch McConnell and the Washington elites who are trying to buy this election," he said.
Gary Cohn, the top White House economic adviser who says he's faced pressure to leave the administration, went so far as to draft a resignation letter and met with President Trump last Friday, a source with knowledge of the situation told Fox News.

It's unclear whether that letter was formally submitted -- but Cohn has since made clear he's staying with the administration.

He also is now speaking out about his concerns with the administration's response to the Charlottesville, Va., violence, in an interview with The Financial Times which apparently was approved in advance.

In that interview, Cohn sought to clear the air, while seeming to put some distance between him and others in the administration with regard to the Charlottesville response.

As a Jewish American, I will not allow neo-Nazis ranting Jews will not replace us to cause this Jew to leave his job, Cohn said to The Financial Times.

Trump came under fire for saying both sides were to blame for the violence in Charlottesville earlier this month. At his campaign-style rally in Phoenix, Ariz., this week, the president slammed the medias take on his initial condemnation of the violence when he said he openly called for healing unity and love.

Cohn said he felt compelled to voice my distress over Charlottesville, and said citizens standing up for equality and freedom can never be equated with white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and the KKK.

Cohn told The Financial Times that the Trump administration can and must do better in consistently and unequivocally condemning these groups and do everything we can to heal the deep divisions that exist in our communities.

Cohn has often been cast in the media as a top adversary to Trump deputies like chief strategist Steve Bannon, who left the administration last week.

Fox News' John Roberts and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
President Trump has ordered the military to stop admitting transgender individuals into the military, sending guidance to the Pentagon on Friday that the White House wants implemented by March of 2018, Fox News has learned.

The president signed and transmitted his directive to the Department of Defense, which includes the Army, Navy and Air Force, as well as the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the Coast Guard.

It directs the secretary of defense and secretary of homeland security to make changes by March 23.

In President Trump's judgment, the previous administration failed to identify a sufficient basis to conclude that terminating long-standing policy and practice would not hinder military effectiveness, disrupt unit cohesion, tax military resources."  Senior administration official

The directive reinstates the ban on military service for transgender individuals. It also halts military expenses on sexual reassignment surgery, except for those who have already begun medical procedures, and implements criteria for whether transgender individuals already in the military should be allowed to continue to serve.

Transgender service members have been able to serve openly in the military since last year when then-Secretary of Defense Ash Carter, during the Obama administration, lifted the prior ban.

In President Trump's judgment, the previous administration failed to identify a sufficient basis to conclude that terminating long-standing policy and practice would not hinder military effectiveness, disrupt unit cohesion, tax military resources, a senior administration official said Friday.

Trump first announced the transgender policy on Twitter on July 26, posting a series of tweets reinstating a ban on transgender individuals in the military that was lifted by then-President Barack Obama at the end of his second term.

The president praised the armed forces in his weekly presidential address, released Friday.

Every person who puts on the uniform makes our nation proud, Trump said. They all come from across our land. They represent every race, ethnicity, and creed. But they all pledge the same oath, fight for the same cause, and operate as one team  with one shared sense of purpose.

Fox News John Roberts and Kristin Brown contributed to this report.




President Trump upped the pressure again on Senate Republicans to change the chamber's rules to help his agenda, suggesting Friday that GOP lawmakers are letting a handful of Democrats "control the Senate."

If Senate Republicans dont get rid of the Filibuster Rule and go to a 51% majority, few bills will be passed. 8 Dems control the Senate! Trump tweeted.

The president repeatedly has pressed Senate GOP leaders to change the rules so controversial legislation can pass with a simple majority, as opposed to 60 votes.

The presidents tweet comes amid a feud with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. The tension began when McConnell criticized the president for having excessive expectations about the legislative process, after Congress failed to deliver the votes on a plan to repeal and replace ObamaCare ahead of their August recess. Trump said he was very disappointed in Mitch, and reportedly had a profane shouting match over the phone on August 9.

Both the White House and McConnell have publicly attempted to ease the tensions to portray unity between the GOP leader and the president.

TRUMP SLAMS MCCONNELL, RYAN, CLAPPER, THE 'FAKE NEWS' IN SERIES OF TWEETS

McConnell is likely reluctant to pursue a change in the filibuster rules for legislation, mindful that the move could hurt his own party whenever Democrats are in control. Further, it's unclear whether the rule change would help Trump pass health care legislation, as the last bill to fail was not subject to the 60-vote standard.

Minutes after his first tweet of the day, the president also went on to praise his new chief of staff, former Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly, who took his post in the White House last month amid a White House staff shake-up. Trump slammed the Fake News for not portraying the spirit in the White House accurately.

General John Kelly is doing a fantastic job as Chief of Staff. There is tremendous spirit and talent in the W.H. Dont believe the Fake News, Trump tweeted.

The president tweeted again, moments later, touting his administrations accomplishments in its first seven months in office.

Few, if any, Administrations have done more in just 7 months than the Trump A. Bills passed, regulations killed, border, military, ISIS, SC!, Trump said.

The president's tweet comes days after he unveiled his administration's new Afghanistan strategy. The White House will also send guidelines to the Pentagon regarding the president's policy to reinstate the ban on transgenders in the military, directing Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis to enact the ban within six months.

In terms of regulations, according to an analysis by American Action Forum reviewing the president's first six months in office, a total of 27 regulations have been withdrawn so far this year, which is slightly lower than the 41 rules that were approved.

LESS IS MORE? TRUMP SLOWS FEDERAL REGS TO A CRAWL IN FIRST SIX MONTHS

The president also met with Border Patrol officials in Arizona this week and has warned Congress that he could let the federal government shut down if they do not approve funding for one of his key campaign promises -- the border wall.

Nevertheless, the administration has yet to see a major legislative win.
President Trump says hes willing to shut down the government if thats what it takes to get the money to build his border wall.

Im not going to spend a whole lot of ink on the possibility of a shutdown because, well, its not happening. Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan have made clear that they will not allow it. Trump is using the specter of a shutdown as leverage, but GOP leaders remember how they got blamed for the 2013 shutdown under Barack Obama, and that was with a Democrat in the White House.

The more fascinating development is this rift between Trump and McConnell, as well as other Republican senators, and whether that will undermine his effort to pass his agenda.

The president is back on the Twitter, saying this about the Senate majority leader: The only problem I have with Mitch McConnell is that, after hearing Repeal & Replace for 7 years, he failed! That should NEVER have happened!

Its interesting that he frames this as McConnells failure. While the Kentucky senator bears plenty of responsibility, with only a two-vote margin in the chamber, he just couldnt muster a majority for any of the versions backed by the White House.

Trump also tweeted: I requested that Mitch M & Paul R tie the Debt Ceiling legislation into the popular V.A. Bill (which just passed) for easy approval. They didn't do it so now we have a big deal with Dems holding them up (as usual) on Debt Ceiling approval. Could have been so easy-now a mess!

Well, it wouldnt have been that easy. The argument over raising the debt ceiling is always whether it will be a clean bill. In Democratic administrations, many Republicans have demanded spending cuts as the price of avoiding a government default. Democrats were unlikely to roll over just because it was attached to a VA bill.

The bad blood between Trump and McConnell spilled into public view in a New York Times story saying the majority leader has privately expressed uncertainty that Mr. Trump will be able to salvage his administration after a series of summer crises. The piece said Trump berated him in a phone call that quickly devolved into a profane shouting match, blamed McConnell for not protecting him from the Russia investigations, and that they hadnt spoken for weeks.

Neither side commented, which means there was no attempt to tamp down the story.

Since then, the two leaders are trying to paper things over in public. A McConnell statement: The president and I, and our teams, have been and continue to be in regular contact about our shared goals.

A White House statement: President Donald J. Trump and Senator Mitch McConnell remain united on many shared priorities, including middle class tax relief, strengthening the military, constructing a southern border wall, and other important issues.

During this same period, Trump ramped up his feud with Arizonas Republican senators, taking veiled shots at Jeff Flake and John McCain during his Phoenix rally, and later tweeting: Not a fan of Jeff Flake, weak on crime & border!

These people dont have to like each other to do business. Thats the nature of politics. And presidents sometimes have to strong-arm their own party.

But if Trump is going to get a tax cut and an infrastructure bill, hes going to need every Republican vote he can get. In the end, you can only pass bills on the floor, not on Twitter.
A strange dead star may be a remnant of what was essentially a miniature supernova, a new study finds.

The properties of this bizarre star may help shed light on how the unusual supernova that created it formed, the study's researchers said.

The scientists investigated white dwarfs, which are superdense, Earth-size cores of dead stars that are left behind after stars have exhausted their fuel and shed their outer layers. [How to Tell Star Types Apart (Infographic)]

"These objects are very faint  much fainter than ordinary stars  but they are numerous in our own corner of the Milky Way," said study lead author Stephane Vennes, an astrophysicist at the Astronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Ondrejov, Czech Republic.

Most sunlike stars will become white dwarfs one day. Indeed, "our own sun will finish its own life as an unremarkable white dwarf," Vennes told Space.com.

Vennes and his colleagues focused on an unusual white dwarf named LP 40-365, which is located about 1,000 light-years from Earth. This object's mass is about 14 percent of the sun's mass, and its diameter is about 8 percent of the sun's. Unusually, it was zipping through space at about 1.23 million mph (1.98 million km/h).

"It was immediately clear that this was no ordinary star," Vennes said. "Its velocity is so high that it is on its way to leave permanently the Milky Way."

To learn more about the white dwarf, the researchers examined it over the course of two years using the Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona, the William Herschel Telescope in Spain's Canary Islands, the Hiltner Telescope in Arizona and the Gemini North Telescope in Hawaii.

Vennes' group discovered that not only the speed, but also the composition, of this white dwarf was strange. Unlike many white dwarfs, LP 40-365's atmosphere lacks any trace of hydrogen and helium, the two most common elements in the universe. Instead, its visible atmosphere is composed almost exclusively of oxygen and neon gas, sprinkled with traces of sodium and magnesium.

"The unusual white dwarf LP 40-365 is unlike any other white dwarf," Vennes said.

Now, Vennes and his colleagues suggest that the origin of this bizarre white dwarf might lie in what is essentially a miniature version of a supernova.

Supernovas are the most powerful stellar explosions known to scientists; they're visible all the way to the edge of the universe. The first of the two main flavors, Type Ia supernovas, occur after a white dwarf is completely destroyed after siphoning too much fuel from a companion star. In contrast, Type II supernovas happen after the core of a star about 10 to 100 times as massive as the sun runs out of fuel and collapses into an extraordinarily dense lump in a fraction of a second, blasting luminous radiation outward.

About 15 years ago, scientists began noticing that a few supernovas appeared to be similar to regular Type Ia supernovas, but were distinctly fainter. Some of these so-called Type Iax supernovas glowed with only 1 percent of the peak luminosity of Type Ia supernovas.

Previous research suggested that Type Iax outbursts might happen when a white dwarf accumulates fuel from a donor star but the core of the white dwarf fails to completely burn during the supernova. As a result, a giant piece of shrapnel gets kicked into space  "a hypervelocity star," Vennes said.

The researchers said LP 40-365 was exactly what one might expect as the leftovers from a Type Iax supernova. Based on the white dwarf's size and current temperature, they estimated that the explosion happened between 5 million and 50 million years ago. Based on its speed and trajectory, it likely made its closest approach to the sun about 500,000 years ago, coming within about 300 light-years from Earth, the researchers said.

The new findings may shed light on why a Type Iax supernova occurs, according to Vennes. The atmospheric composition of LP 40-365 favors a model where the white dwarf behind such an explosion has a mantle layer rich in oxygen and neon that influences the way the dead star burned, resulting in a delayed detonation that "leaves a minute amount of core material unburnt," Vennes said.

The scientists expect that more high-speed remnants of Type Iax supernovas will be found in the future. "We believe this object is only the first among many that remain to be discovered," Vennes said. "The European Space Agency mission Gaia should deliver a large number of such candidates."

The scientists detailed their findings in the Aug. 18 issue of the journal Science.

Follow Charles Q. Choi on Twitter @cqchoi . Follow us @Spacedotcom , Facebook and Google+ . Original article on Space.com .
Scientists have revealed the secrets of a mysterious 3,700-year-old Babylonian clay tablet found by the archaeologist who inspired the fictional Indiana Jones.

Experts at the University of New South Wales Sydney in Australia have uncovered the purpose of the famous tablet, which they describe as the worlds oldest and most accurate trigonometric table. The artifact, they say, may have been used to by ancient scribes to help in the construction of palaces, temples and canals.

The tablet, known as Plimpton 322, was discovered in the early 1900s in what is now Southern Iraq by archaeologist, academic, diplomat and antiquities dealer Edgar Banks, who provided the inspiration for the fictional character Indiana Jones.

EXPERTS UNCOVER EVIDENCE OF ANCIENT JERUSALEM'S DESTRUCTION BY THE BABYLONIANS

Plimpton 322 has puzzled mathematicians for more than 70 years, since it was realised it contains a special pattern of numbers called Pythagorean triples, says Dr. Daniel Mansfield of the School of Mathematics and Statistics in the UNSW Faculty of Science, in a statement.

The tablets purpose has long baffled experts. It was not clear why the scribes had performed the complex task of generating and sorting the numbers on the tablet, according to Mansfield.

Our research reveals that Plimpton 322 describes the shapes of right-angle triangles using a novel kind of trigonometry based on ratios, not angles and circles. It is a fascinating mathematical work that demonstrates undoubted genius, he said. The tablet not only contains the worlds oldest trigonometric table; it is also the only completely accurate trigonometric table, because of the very different Babylonian approach to arithmetic and geometry."

ANCIENT INSCRIPTION UNEARTHED IN JERUSALEM, THRILLING ARCHAEOLOGISTS

The tablet, which is thought to have come from the ancient Sumerian city of Larsa sometime between 1822 and 1762 B.C., is now in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Columbia University in New York.

A useful mathematical tool before the advent of calculators, trigonometric tables let you use one known ratio of the sides of a right-angle triangle to determine the other two unknown ratios.

The 15 rows on the tablet describe a sequence of 15 right-angle triangles, which are steadily decreasing in inclination, according to the UNSW. The left-hand edge of the tablet, however, is broken, although scientists built on previous research to present new mathematical evidence that there were originally six columns and the tablet was meant to be completed with 38 rows.

RARE 2,000-YEAR-OLD STONE WORKSHOP AND QUARRY DISCOVERED IN ISRAELS GALILEE

Researchers also demonstrated how ancient scribes, who used a base 60 numerical arithmetic similar to our time clock, rather than the modern base 10 number system, could have generated the numbers on the tablet.

The research provides an alternative theory to the widely-held view that the Plimpton 322 was a teachers aid for checking students solutions of quadratic problems. Plimpton 322 was a powerful tool that could have been used for surveying fields or making architectural calculations to build palaces, temples or step pyramids, said Mansfield, who first read about the tablet when preparing material for first-year math students.

UNSW scientists note that Plimpton 322 predates Greek astronomer Hipparchus, regarded as the father of trigonometry, by more than 1,000 years.

LOST ROMAN CITY THAT WAS HOME TO JESUS' APOSTLES FOUND, SAY ARCHAEOLOGISTS

It is wonderful that Mr. Mansfield's work with Norman Wildberger is bringing more attention to this treasure of Columbia, explained Jennifer Lee, a curator at Columbia Universitys Rare Book and Manuscript Library, in a statement emailed to Fox News.

Plimpton 322 is one of 629 tablets written in ancient cuneiform script held by the Library. The tablet was bequeathed to Columbia by publisher George Arthur Plimpton, who had purchased the artifact from Edgar Banks.

ARCHAEOLOGISTS DISCOVER TOMBS FROM ANCIENT 'GREAT CEMETERY' IN EGYPT'S NILE VALLEY

Lee said that the idea of Plimpton 322 as a teaching tool is particularly apt, noting that Plimpton was a textbook publisher and he collected widely on the history of education.

Follow James Rogers on Twitter @jamesjrogers
There could be some promising relief for those residents living in the southwestern United States after a new report declared there will be no water shortage at Nevada's Lake Mead in 2018.



A new study by the Bureau of Reclamation found that water flows slightly improved compared with recent years. A good winter and early spring on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains provided an adequate snow pack, which will eliminate the prospects for a water shortfall for next year.

August is the month when the bureau safely makes it prediction for water levels for the coming year.

It is a relief, because weve been so close to this 1,075 level, over the last four years thereve been several conservation agreements between different parties and has actually added 12 feet to Lake Mead and kept that water level up, said Rose Davis, spokesperson for Reclamations for the lower Colorado region.

BOARD CITED FOR ANOTHER SEWAGE DISCHARGE AT NIAGARA FALLS

In its latest projection, the bureau said the lake level in January will be 8 feet above the point that would trigger a drought shortage declaration which would affect residents in both Nevada and Arizona.

The official trigger level is 1,075 feet and if the lake falls below that, water officials become concerned. In the last three years it has fallen below this level a couple of times according to Davis. This usually happens in the summertime when theres a big draw for water for businesses, especially farmers.

There has never been a declared shortage by the Bureau in Lake Mead where water allocation had to be cut. This comes even amid levels in the lake that are at its lowest since the reservoir was first dug in the 1930s and also as a 16-year-long drought since 2000 has scorched the region.

We continue to live on the edge because the drought is far from over. One wet year does not undo several years of drought," said Davis.

LOSS OF SEA ICE LEADS WALRUSES TO EARLY APPEARANCE IN ALASKA

According to an April 2017 report by American Rivers, a conservation group, the Lower Colorado River provides drinking water for one in ten Americans, including residents of Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Phoenix. This region grows approximately 90 percent of the nations winter vegetables.

Even though with this good news, Davis cautioned consumers to keep conserving water.

Conservation is hugely importantwhat it really signals is that with no shortage everyone is going to get their water deliveries that theyre entitled to by contract," Davis said.
A Mineral Point man is being charged for three burglaries that took place between July 29 and Aug. 21, according to a statement from Washington County Sheriff Zach Jacobsen and probable cause statements obtained from the Washington County Prosecuting Attorneys office.

Joshua T. Williams, 35, of Mineral Point, faces three counts of second-degree burglary, two counts of first-degree property damage, one count of misdemeanor property damage in the second degree, along with three counts of misdemeanor stealing.

According to official reports, the first burglary occurred on July 29 at P&L Grocery Store on Highway 8 outside of Potosi. Deputies were dispatched to the business just before 11 p.m. to investigate an alarm.

The deputies were told by the owner that the building had been burglarized. Upon further investigation it was apparent that someone had forced their way into the building.

The deputies obtained surveillance camera footage which provided evidence of the crime and an image of the suspect.

According to the probable cause statement, the perpetrator had used a claw hammer to break the front glass of a quarter machine. About $200 in quarters were taken from the machine.

Then on Aug. 17 a deputy was conducting a building check at Washington County Head Start in Mineral Point just before 4 a.m. when the officer saw evidence of a door being forced open.

A search of the building revealed the suspect had already left the scene.

Surveillance footage offered additional evidence and an image of the suspect, which matched that obtained from the July 29 burglary.

According to a probable cause statement, the video evidence showed the suspect in the buildings kitchen area loading food items into a blue wheeled cooler.

Deputies were told by Head Start staff that the cooler would have writing on top, labeling it as "summer food."

Then on Aug. 21 at about 2 a.m. deputies were dispatched to Roys Convenience Store on Old Highway 8 East. Once again investigating officers found forced entry and damage to property. Surveillance footage once again showed the suspect.

According to a probable cause statement, the video showed the man breaking the glass on a quarter machine in the store, taking an unknown amount of quarters and a $50 bill. Deputies were told the $50 was rolled up and bound with tape.

Deputies canvassed the area and discovered that the suspect had gone to the nearby B&M Quick Stop and purchased a 2-liter bottle of Dr. Pepper and a half gallon of chocolate milk using a $50 bill. Surveillance footage of that transaction showed the same person as the video from Roys Convenience Store. The $50 bill that was used to purchase the items had tape on it, as had the bill from the vandalized quarter machine.

After the suspect in the videos was identified as Williams, officers found him at his home and received verbal consent to search the property for stolen items. A blue cooler containing hamburger patties and cheese was found in the home, with the words EMAA and summer food written on top.

Clothing matching that seen in video surveillance were also found, in addition to tools matching those used in the crimes.

During an interview regarding the Aug. 21 burglary, Williams stated he had been home all night with his girlfriend. The girlfriend, however, separately stated that Williams had left the home and returned sometime in the early morning with a 2-liter bottle of Dr. Pepper.

According to a statement, the Washington County Sheriffs Office is still seeking other individuals involved in the crimes. They request anyone with information contact the sheriffs office at 573-438-5478, or Washington County Central Dispatch at 573-438-1079.
Plastic from urine? That's the plan because nothing is wasted in space.

Mars astronauts who need to make a tool on the spot may be able to tap their own urine, according to Dr. Mark A. Blenner, a professor at Clemson University.

Imagine you're on your way to Mars, and you lose a crucial tool during a spacewalkyou'll simply re-enter your spacecraft and use some microorganisms to convert your urine and exhaled carbon dioxide (CO2) into chemicals to make a new one, according to a statement from the American Chemical Society and Professor Blenner.

NASA SHOWS OFF BATMOBILE-LIKE MARS ROVER PROTOTYPE

When astronauts in the future make epic journeys to Mars, it will be essential to find a way to reuse and recycle everything they bring with them. With this in mind, Blenner and his team are studying how to repurpose molecules to convert them into things like polyesters and nutrients.

The journey to Mars is estimated to take between six and eight months.

NASAs goal is to send a manned mission to Mars in the 2030s.

The system that Blenner developed uses a variety of strains of the yeast Yarrowia lipolytica, which require both nitrogen and carbon to grow. Blenner's team at Clemson discovered that the yeast can get their nitrogen from urea in untreated urine.

How practical?

[It] is very early stage, Blenner told Fox News in an email. In particular the plastics production needs to be improved, he said.

NASA TEST FIRES ROCKET ENGINE FOR FUTURE MARS MISSION

One yeast strain has been engineered to churn out monomers and link them to make polyester polymers. Those polymers could then be used in a 3-D printer to generate new plastic parts. Blenner's team is continuing to engineer this yeast strain.

Another of the yeast strains produces omega-3 fatty acids since it will also be necessary to create essential nutrients on a long journey to Mars. Omega-3 fatty acids contribute to heart, eye and brain health.

ARE MARS' TROJAN ASTEROIDS PIECES OF THE RED PLANET?

The omega-3 production from non-waste substrates has already been commercialized by Dupont. We have achieved moderately good yields of omega-3 using waste substrates (cyanobacteria biomass and urine), Blenner said in the email.

[But] its not clear how microorganisms will respond to being in the space environment, nor is it clear how genetically engineered microbes will respond, he added.
The pilot of a Newark-bound United flight delivered a chilling warning that kicked up a storm among his terrified passengers, according to a report.

He announced that the flight  which had already been delayed in Chicago two hours on Tuesday  would encounter terrible storms, including twisters, passengers told NJ.com.

He seemed angry, said Pamela Kent, a Princeton resident who was traveling with her daughter Jessica. He said, Were going to be flying through horrific storms, including tornadoes.

Adding to the apocalyptic atmosphere, the pilot also instructed passengers on the overbooked flight to get to know your neighbors, Kent said.

The pilot then returned to the cockpit and closed the door, she added.

The passengers were so terrified that a flight attendant made an announcement to try to allay fears blowing through the cabin  saying the pilot didnt mean it would be unsafe to fly.

There were tornado warnings across Warren County in New Jersey and in parts of Pennsylvania late Tuesday as heavy rain pummeled the mid-Atlantic region.

When the plane finally prepared to taxi, the pilot got back on the intercom to notify the passengers that the plane had to return to the gate because of a maintenance issue, Kent said.

That was the last straw for about 50 passengers, including Kent, who demanded to be let off to seek alternate ways to reach Newark.

It was a general feeling of being rattled, she said. You want a pilot to have confidence. There was not that feeling.

By then, the crew also had timed out of their shift and had to be replaced, NJ.comreported.

The 5:54 p.m. flight finally took off at 1:14 a.m. Wednesday and landed in Newark at 3:58 a.m.

United Airlines said it was looking into the incident.

We would never put our crew or our passengers in a situation where it was unsafe to fly, airline spokeswoman Natalie Noonan said. The safety of the passengers and the crew is always our No. 1 priority.

This article originally appeared in the New York Post.
Fair or not, airplanes have a reputation for germs. And separate from the cleanliness of the cabin, transportation networks have been tied to the spread of infectious diseases.

But there are ways to minimize the risks, and a new study by researchers at Arizona State University suggests that how airlines board passengers could make a big impact.

Generally, airlines' boarding processes boil down to having passengers board in three sections: the front, the middle, and the back of the plane. This can lead to crowding in the aisles and more close contact between passengers, which can spread disease, according to the study.

RELATED: WHY YOU SHOULD THINK TWICE BEFORE USING A HOTEL HAIR DRYER

The researchers suggest the best way to board is by splitting the plane into two sections and randomly boarding passengers in these groups.

To test this, the study evaluates a hypothetical case of a passenger with Ebola and to see how close contact with the disease might change and spread based on boarding strategy.

We consider the situation with one infected individual with Ebola traveling on a commercial airplane, the researchers wrote. The infective passenger onboard is not identifiable; therefore, we varied the seating position of the infected individual through all the seats.

With the suggested boarding process, the estimated risk of exposure to illness dropped from 67 percent to 40 percent.

RELATED: EVERY AIRLINE HAS A DIFFERENT BOARDING PROCESS  HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

The data also found that smaller planes are much less likely to spread infection, since fewer people means fewer chances of an outbreak.

Using smaller airplanes during an outbreak, instead of completely banning flights to a specific destination, can drastically reduce the probability of introduction of infection, said Anuj Mubayi, one of the authors of the study.

This article originally appeared on Travel and Leisure
The search for two escaped inmates considered armed and dangerous moved to northeast Oklahoma on Thursday after they were spotted at a convenience store in the Tulsa suburb of Sapulpa, according to the deputy sheriff leading the investigation.

Andrew Foy, 32, and Darren Walp, 37, overpowered prison transport officers in northwest Oklahoma and stole the transport company's van Tuesday morning. The van was later found, with an empty gun holster belonging to one of the guards inside.

"We believe they could be heading east to Pennsylvania or Delaware," where both have ties, according to Major County Deputy Gary Swymeler, or they could still be in Oklahoma.

"Walp has contacts all over Oklahoma, particularly in Lawton and Walters," both in the state's southwestern corner.

Swymeler said the two were seen on surveillance video at a Quik Trip store in Sapulpa, where they left the trailer of the semitrailer that was stolen in the Oklahoma City suburb of El Reno.

"He (Walp) told the clerk he was having issues and would have to leave the trailer, but would be back," to get it, Swymeler said, but the clerk recognized him and called police immediately after the pair left.

Authorities say the two escaped by overpowering the guards and stealing the transport van near Fairview, a small town about 80 miles (129 kilometers) northwest of Oklahoma City.

Four other inmates who were in the van stayed behind with the two guards, Swymeler said.

The van was found about 13 miles (21 kilometers) from where it was stolen, with the guard's belt that included the empty gun holster. Sheriff Steve Randolph has said the guard, whose name has not been released, claimed he didn't have a gun, but "we're not sure he was telling the truth."

Officials with West Memphis, Arkansas-based Inmate Services Corporation, which was transporting the inmates, have not returned phone messages from The Associated Press seeking comment.

"The guard is not licensed ... in any state" to carry a weapon, and could face charges if he did so, Swymeler said.

The inmates are suspected of abandoning the transport van in Major County and stealing a pickup truck from a nearby oilfield, then traveling to Lawton, where another truck was stolen, then to El Reno where the semi was stolen and the truck stolen in Lawton was found nearby.

Foy, from Cheyenne, Wyoming, was wanted on a felony failure to appear in court warrant on charges that include burglary, theft and fraud. He was being extradited from Doylestown, Pennsylvania, where he was arrested on the Wyoming charge, according to Capt. Michael Sorenson of the Laramie County, Wyoming, sheriff's office.

Walp, whose address is listed as McLeansboro, Illinois, was wanted for failure to appear in court on an auto theft charge in Liberal, Kansas, when he was arrested in Tennessee, according to Gene Ward, undersheriff in Kansas' Seward County.
It's an all-out Scout war.

The president of the Girl Scouts of the USA is accusing the Boy Scouts of seeking to covertly recruit girls into their programs while disparaging the Girl Scouts' operations -- "surreptitiously testing the appeal of a girls' offering to millennial parents."

"I formally request that your organization stay focused on serving the 90 percent of American boys not currently participating in Boy Scouts ... and not consider expanding to recruit girls," GSUSA President Kathy Hopinkah Hannan wrote in a letter sent this week to the president of the Boy Scouts of America, Randall Stephenson, according to The Associated Press.

Top leaders of the two youth organizations, both struggling to stem membership declines, met this month about possibilities for coordination, the AP reported. But Hopinkah Hannan, in her letter, said she came away from that discussion feeling the Boy Scouts had already committed to an expansion of coed programs that would damage the Girl Scouts.

The tough tone of her letter dismayed Boy Scout leaders, said BSA spokeswoman Effie Delimarkos.

"We are disheartened to see the Girl Scouts pull away from the possibility of cooperation to help address the needs of today's busy families," she told the AP Wednesday.

The Boy Scouts have some coed programs dating back nearly 50 years, but this year there has been extensive discussion within the BSA community about expanding opportunities for girls beyond existing coed programs, such as Venturing and Sea Scouts.

No final decisions have been made, Delimarkos said, stressing that boys-only programs would remain at the core of the organization.

However, she said, the BSA -- in response to requests from families -- "has been exploring the benefits of bringing Scouting to every member of the family -- boys and girls."

To the Girl Scouts, such exploration amounts to a show of disrespect.

"Despite offering to engage in a constructive, collaborative sharing process, we were disappointed in the lack of transparency as we learned that you are surreptitiously testing the appeal of a girls' offering to millennial parents," Hopinkah Hannan said.

She also expressed concern about "aggressive posturing by Boy Scout leaders towards Girl Scout leaders" at recent meetings outlining the proposed girls program to interested families.

"This includes everything from disparaging and untrue remarks about Girl Scout programming, to subtle implications about the weakness of Girl Scouts' long term market strength," her letter said. "I implore you to condemn this behavior within your organization and to create consequences for these actions."

The letter was first reported by BuzzFeed News.

Delimarkos, in response, said the BSA, as an organization, has never disparaged the Girl Scouts and deeply respects its programs.

"Considering how many young girls and boys are not currently served by either of our programs, we believe we owe it to families to explore how we may be able to structure program offerings that fit into their busy lives to deliver character development and values-based leadership training," Delimarkos added.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A group called the Sons of Confederate Veterans has filed a lawsuit against the University of Texas and its president over the recent removal of statues honoring three Confederate leaders and a former governor of Texas.

The groups Texas chapter argues that UT President Greg Fenves ordered the four statues removed Sunday night in violation of the groups rights, the Dallas Morning News reported.

The removal of the statues from the schools Austin campus came one week after the deadly violence in Charlottesville, Va., where plans were made to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.

The Texas chapter of SCV previously sued the university in 2015 over the removal of a statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, the Morning News reported.

This time, however, the group is receiving help from a descendant of George Littlefield, a former UT regent and Confederate veteran whom the group claims paid for the four statues before he died in 1920.

The group argues that the statues were worth about $250,000 combined when Littlefield commissioned them, and could be worth a combined $3 million today.

The statues were part of a bequest Maj. Littlefield made to the university that included funds for the promotion of American history from the Southern perspective, the lawsuit states.

"The statues were part of a bequest Maj. Littlefield made to the university that included funds for the promotion of American history from the Southern perspective.  Lawsuit filed by Sons of Confederate Veterans, Texas chapter

The suit also alleges that Fenves ordered the statues removed without first seeking public input.

But Patti Ohlendorf, UTs chief lawyer, told the Austin American-Statesman that Fenves spoke with several people before ordering the statues removed. His decision was legally sound, she said.

The statues that Fenves ordered removed were of Confederate Gens. Robert E. Lee and Albert Sidney Johnston, Confederate Postmaster John H. Reagan, and James Stephen Hogg, the first native-born governor of Texas.
People filled sandbags and loaded them into cars and vans Thursday on South Padre Island, Texas. They planned to take the sandbags to their homes and businesses, to protect them from Hurricane Harvey.

Others in the forecast path of the storm -- the first major hurricane to hit Texas in 12 years -- sought out generators, plywood and other goods from hardware stores.

Meanwhile, rice farmers in coastal Matagorda County moved quickly to harvest their crops.

The master bedroom floods every time the rain gets very strong. I think our home is below sea level."  Dave Evans, South Padre Island resident

Harvey was a tropical storm but intensified Thursday into a hurricane  with the potential for up to 3 feet of rain, 125 mph winds and 12-foot storm surges.

Forecasters said Harvey was gathering strength faster than previously predicted and labeled it a life-threatening storm that posed a grave risk.

As of midday Thursday, Harvey was about 340 miles southeast of Corpus Christi, moving to the north-northwest at about 10 mph.

Nearly all of the states 367-mile coast was under a hurricane or tropical storm warning or watch as of Thursday.

The storm  predicted to bring prolonged heavy rains, flooding and storm surge along the Gulf Coast  is predicted to make landfall very late Friday to early Saturday morning, National Hurricane Center (NHC) spokesman Dennis Feltgen told Fox News, adding that theres no way to determine the exact time.

Officials both nationally and locally were working together to keep residents safe.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement that President Donald Trump called him to pledge all available federal resources to assist in preparation, as well as rescue and recovery efforts. Abbott said he assured Trump that Texas was working hand-in-hand with local and federal partners.

FEMA stands ready to support state, local and tribal officials as they prepare for Hurricane Harvey, Administrator Brock Long of the Federal Emergency Management Agency said in a statement. I encourage residents who will be affected to follow directions from their local officials. Know your threats, heed the warnings, and if youre in the path of the storm, ensure your family is prepared for possible prolonged disruptions to normal services.

FEMA established an Incident Support Base at Randolph Auxiliary Airfield near Seguin, Texas, filled with supplies such as water, meals, blankets and other resources to be available to potentially affected residents.

Evacuations in Texas along the coast were being prepared, Fox 29 San Antonio reported.

In Houston, the line at a Shell gas station snaked around the street as people waited  some with gas cans of their own  to stock up ahead of Harvey.

At the nearby Grand Lux Cafe, several patrons told Fox News that calls for concern were overblown.

Houston floods every other week, Surita Dawkins said.

Its different this time, her 12-year-old son Wallace said.

Ill believe it when I see it, Dawkins responded with a laugh.

Texas officials expressed concern that not as many people were evacuating compared with previous storms.

A lot of people are taking this storm for granted thinking it may not pose much of a danger to them, Abbott told Houston's KPRC-TV. Please heed warnings and evacuate as soon as possible.

Down the coast in South Padre Island, Dave Evans took advantage of the free sandbags, noting he and his fiancee live in an older house prone to flooding.

The master bedroom floods every time the rain gets very strong. I think our home is below sea level, Evans said.

Alex Garcia, of Corpus Christi, was buying bottled water, bread and other basics in Sugar Land, a Houston suburb, after dropping his daughter off at college in Houston.

He said grocery items likely were more available in Houston than back home, where Garcia, a beer salesman, said stores were crazy.

Well be selling lots of beer, he laughed.

Garcias house is about 3 miles from the bay. While a seawall offers some protection, It floods in Corpus all the time, he said.

Harveys effect would be broad. The hurricane center said storm surges as much as 3 feet could be expected as far north as Morgan City, La., some 400 miles away from the anticipated landfall.

Louisiana is preparing for Harvey after the hurricane hits Texas, Fox 8 reported.

In a statement, FEMA said disaster teams were in place at Emergency Operations Centers in Austin, Texas, and Baton Rouge, La., to support any requests for federal assistance.

Fox News Barnini Chakraborty and the Associated Press contributed to this story.
Hurricane Harvey was upgraded to a Category 4 on Friday and is headed toward Texas.

With a storm of that potential magnitude expected, its important to know Hurricane Harveys path.

Where is Hurricane Harvey today?

Harvey was approximately 115 miles southeast of Corpus Christi forecasters said Friday morning. NHC spokesman Dennis Feltgen said that the storm is headed toward the middle Texas coastline at about 10 mph.

The storms maximum sustained winds were 110 mph Friday morning, according to the advisory.

When will the hurricane make landfall?

The storm is predicted to make landfall very late Friday to early Saturday morning, Feltgen said, adding that theres no way to determine the exact time.

The NHC said Thursday that the storm will make landfall on the Texas coast.

Harvey will be hanging inland over Texas on Sunday and Monday, Feltgen said, with rains and blustering winds continuing.

What else should I know about the storm?

Speaking Thursday, Fox News' Senior Meteorologist Janice Dean said, We havent had a major hurricane (cat 3 or higher) hit the U.S. since Wilma in 2005. Texas hasnt had a hurricane make landfall since 2008, and the fact that this storm is expected to slow down and potentially bring epic floods to the coast from Louisiana to Texas is just dire.

Harvey is expected to produce total rain accumulations of 12 to 20 inches and isolated maximum amounts of 30 inches over the middle and upper Texas coast through next Wednesday, the NHC advisory warned.

Feltgen also said that the storm isnt a dot on the map, and theres a lot of impact over a large area.

He gave an example that someone seeing a skinny black line showing the hurricanes path over Corpus Christi, but who doesnt live immediately in the city and thinks the storm wouldnt affect them, would be wrong.

Fox News' Travis Fedschun and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A counter-protester who allegedly sucker-punched a supporter of President Donald Trump at an anti-immigration rally last weekend in California was reportedly arrested after attempting to leave town.

Richard Losey, a 20-year-old from Lancaster, Ohio, attended a rally Sunday in Laguna Beach, south of Los Angeles, that was organized by the group America First. He allegedly sucker-punched R.C. Maxwell, a black Trump supporter, Fox 11 Los Angeles reported.

"If the optics were completely different and I was a Black Lives Matter supporter, and I was attacked on the Trump side of a protest, I would be in the spotlight on CNN right now," Maxwell told Fox 11. "I went over to the left side to see if I could engage them with dialogue and I was instantly encircled by the so called anti-fascists."

Losey reportedly identified himself on Twitter days after he allegedly assaulted Maxwell. Fox 11 reported he admitted to punching someone at the rally because the person wouldnt stop talking about Trump.

4 ARRESTED IN CONNECTION WITH TRUMP RALLY

"I think the fact that I'm a black conservative causes a lot of problems for the left side because there's no way they can really resolve that according to their narrative of what they think Trump supporters are, so I think that was a bit triggering to the other side," Maxwell said. "I was getting lots of specific comments like, 'You're a sellout, you're an Uncle Tom.'"

Losey quickly fled the rally, but the incident was caught on video and published online. Maxwell reported the assault to authorities, a Laguna Beach Police Department news release said.

WARNING: VIDEO CONTAINS GRAPHIC LANGUAGE

The police said Losey was arrested Tuesday in Laguna Beach after trying to buy a bus ticket back to Ohio. Investigators said they believe he was trying to avoid criminal prosecution, the release said.

Losey was booked into Orange County Jail on $50,000 bail on suspicion of misdemeanor battery with a hate crime enhancement.
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A California Catholic school is facing a backlash from parents after officials took down some religious statues -- including one of Mary and baby Jesus -- over concerns that they were alienating prospective students.

The head of the San Domenico School in San Anselmo said parents of some prospective students who visited the campus  which was founded in 1850 and serves 671 students grades K-12 -- expressed concern about the religious figures, according to the Marin Independent Journal.

If you walk on the campus and the first thing you confront is three or four statues of St. Dominic or St. Francis, it could be alienating for that other religion, and we didnt want to further that feeling, Amy Skewes-Cox, who chairs the school's board of trustees.

Cecily Stock, who is head of the school, said most students are not Catholic.

Over the last few years weve had fewer Catholic students as part of the community and a larger number of students of various faith traditions," Stock said. "Right now about 80 percent of our families do not identify as Catholic.

An official, who described the institution as Californias oldest independent school and first Catholic school, told Fox News a large number of religious statues were recently relocated to other parts of the school's campus and some were donated to appreciative recipients."

CALIFORNIA CATHOLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS MUST RETAKE AP EXAMS AFTER SCHOOL PRESIDENT TWEET

Our goal in this shift was in alignment with our strategic plan that was approved by our Board of Trustees and Dominican Sisters of San Rafael in June of 2016 and reflects our commitment to continuing a 167-year tradition of inclusive education, Kimberly Pinkson, director of marketing and communications, told Fox News.

But for some parents, such as Shannon Fitzpatrick, who has an 8-year-old son enrolled at the school, the movement of the statues represents what she believes is a steady erosion of the San Domenicos Catholic image.

Articulating an inclusive foundation appears to mean letting go of San Domenicos 167-year tradition as a Dominican Catholic school and being both afraid and ashamed to celebrate ones heritage and beliefs, Fitzpatrick wrote in a letter to school officials, according to the Marin Independent Journal.

In our time here, the word Catholic has been removed from the mission statement, sacraments were removed from the curriculum, the lower school curriculum was changed to world religions, the logo and colors were changed to be less Catholic, and the uniform was changed to be less Catholic, she added.

Kim Pipki, whose daughter left the school two years ago, told the newspaper that at the center of the uproar is a statue of Mary and baby Jesus that was featured in a ceremony where children would place a crown on her head.

TODD STARNES: CATHOLIC SCHOOL HIT FOR CANCELING LGBT PLAY FOR 5-YEAR-OLDS.

People were shocked that the statues were pitched in the basement, she said.

But Pinkson told Fox News the statues were temporarily stored in the downstairs of our library."

Amy Skewes-Cox, who leads the schools board of trustees, said at least 18 of the school's 180 religious icons remain on the schools grounds. Pinkson said one of them -- St. Dominic, the Schools patron saint  was moved to the center of the schools campus.

Skewes-Cox said the removal of the statues occurred around the time of the violence in Charlottesville but had no connection to that incident, the Marin Independent Journal reported.
DEAR DOCTOR: My family tries to limit dairy products; it just doesn't make sense to me that, marketing aside, humans should need milk from another species. But now I read that non-cow milk may be linked to shorter kids. Why would that be?

DEAR READER: Your question is a logical one. The milk from breastfeeding is necessary for infant growth across all mammalian species, and humans are the only species of mammal that not only raises their young using the milk of another animal, but also consumes this milk in later life. So while it doesn't make biological sense to drink cow milk, eat cheese, or have creams and yogurt well beyond the time of breastfeeding, does it have a positive or negative effect on our bodies? And, if cow milk has an effect, what are the effects of cow milk substitutes like soy milk, almond milk and goat milk?

A 2017 article in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, which received widespread news coverage, attempted to answer these questions. The authors asked 5,034 Canadian parents of children ages 2 to 6 about their children's daily consumption of cow milk and non-cow milk products. Based on the parents' answers, 4,632 children were identified as cow milk drinkers, and 643 were identified as non-cow milk drinkers. (Note that some non-cow milk drinkers also drank cow milk.) There were no appreciable differences between the two groups of children, except for height.

Each daily cup of non-cow milk was linked to a height difference of 0.4 centimeter. That is, children who drank three cups of non-cow milk a day were 1.2 centimeters (approximately 1/2 inch) shorter than children who drank no non-cow milk. Similarly, children who drank three cups of cow milk a day were 1.5 centimeters taller than those who drank 3 cups of non-cow milk.

Here's a possible explanation: The cow milk proteins, casein and whey, have been linked to an increase in size. Also, cow milk contains insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), which leads to the formation of more bone and cartilage and thus greater height. IGF-1 is also found in goat milk. Note that this study lumped goat milk with soy, almond and other non-mammalian milk, so goat milk may not actually have the height correlation seen with these non-animal milks.

Another possible explanation is that plant-based milks do not contain as much protein and fat as mammalian milk. Thus, children who drink these types of milks don't get the calories or protein needed for greater growth.

Lastly, children who have food allergies are less likely to drink cow milk. Because food allergies have been associated with decreased height and weight, the allergies themselves may be a factor.

In summary, there could be myriad reasons why children who drink cow milk are taller than those who drink plant-based milks, but the fact remains that this seems to be the case. If you're worried that avoiding dairy products will interfere with your child's height, but you're opposed to dairy products for personal or health reasons, I'd recommend you ensure that your child consumes plenty of protein in other ways -- and that your pediatrician keeps a close eye on your child's development.

Robert Ashley, M.D., is an internist and assistant professor of medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Send your questions to askthedoctors@mednet.ucla.edu, or write: Ask the Doctors, c/o Media Relations, UCLA Health, 924 Westwood Blvd., Suite 350, Los Angeles, CA, 90095. Owing to the volume of mail, personal replies cannot be provided.
Californias state Supreme Court on Thursday upheld Proposition 66. The voter initiative is intended to speed up the states death penalty cases, which sometimes take more than 20 years to be resolved.

But the court also eased the strict deadlines called for in the proposal, the Sacramento Bee reported.

The plan called for death penalty cases to be completed within five years, but the five justices who formed the majority opinion said such a time schedule could not be guaranteed.

The justices noted that placing death penalty cases on a faster schedule would likely result in higher court-related costs for the state.

The initiative was supported by 51 percent of voters in November, the Bee reported.

Despite the death penalty being legal in California, the state has not carried out an execution in more than a decade, with multiple appeals being among the contributing factors.

Meanwhile, another key obstacle remained before executions can resume in the state: Getting approval for a new lethal injection method.

The next step in that process was expected Friday, when state corrections officials say they will seek regulatory approval for a revised drug protocol to execute inmates.

The new regulations would allow California's death row inmates to be executed using one of two different drugs or choose the gas chamber.

In California, condemned inmates are more likely to die of old age than be executed. The state has nearly 750 inmates on death row, and only 13 have been executed since 1978 -- the most recent in 2006.

Nearly 400 death penalty appeals are pending.

The Associated Press contributed reporting to this story.
Hands where I can see them -- meow!

A California teenager said he was arrested Wednesday after he attempted to smuggle a tiger cub he bought for $300 in Tijuana into the United States.

Luis Eudoro Valencia, 18, of Perris, Calif., was charged with smuggling a male Bengal tiger into the U.S. after Customs and Border Protection officials found the furry cub lying on the floor of his 2017 Chevy Camaro during an inspection early Wednesday at the Otay Mesa border crossing.

"CBP officers are often faced with unusual situations," said Pete Flores, director of field operations for CBP in San Diego.

CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT BACKS PLAN TO SPEED DEATH PENALTY CASES

Valencia said he purchased the felonious feline from someone who was walking a full-sized tiger on a leash in Tijuana, according to court documents. Several Bengal tigers, which are native to South Asia, have been seized this year by Mexican authorities in Tijuana.

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service officials took custody of the cub and handed the male cat over to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park to care of it.

Mexican circuses have been trying to get rid of exotic animals after a law went into effect in 2015 prohibiting such acts. Drug lords in Mexico have also been known to keep big cats as pets. Infamous drug lord El Chapo reportedly had tigers as pets, according to The Sun.

All species of tigers are protected under the Endangered Species Act. Importing an endangered species into the United States requires a permit from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and a declaration filed with the agency.

Prosecutors said Valencia lacked the permit and declaration.

The tiger purchaser was released on a $10,000 bond and ordered to appear for a preliminary hearing on Sept. 5 in federal court in San Diego.

If convicted, Valencia could face up to 20 years in prison.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The partially decomposed body of a first-year student enrolled in a University of Southern California master's program was discovered in a campus dorm room Wednesday and authorities say the body could have been there for a week.

KTLA reported that the body of Jacob Kelley, 24, was discovered by a maintenance worker at the school who detected a strong smell inside Seaver Residence Hall. The report said the student was identified by the dean in a letter to students.

A detective from the Los Angeles Police Department said it was not clear how the student died. An official from USCs Department of Public Safety said the death did not appear to be suspicious.

"It's scary. I thought they had roommates that would find stuff like that, so, it's scary that they don't check up on the students, I guess," Laila Fard, a student at the school, told ABC 7.

The medical school at USC has been in the news in recent weeks. Former dean Carmen Puliafito was allegedly a drug abuser who described himself as a god to medical students. Puliafito lived a secret life of drinking, drug use and partying with addicts and prostitutes  sometimes even after-hours on the schools campus -- according to an investigative report by the Los Angeles Times.
U.S. authorities have arrested a Chinese national, saying he provided a hacking tool that was used to breach major corporations and was linked to a 2015 data hack of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

That hack involved the theft of security clearance records of millions of American government employees.

Yu Pingan, 36, was arrested Monday at Los Angeles International Airport on a federal criminal complaint saying he was providing a malicious code linked to cyber-attacks against U.S. government data in 2015, Reuters reported.

The suspect  whom authorities said used the pseudonym GoldSun -- was also accused of conspiring with two other Chinese individuals to hack four unnamed U.S. companies using a rare software called Sakula  the same program used in U.S. government hacks.

FBI Special Agent Adam James said in an affidavit filed with a court that the FBI is after a group of hackers who compromised companies computer networks with an uncommon malicious software tool known as Sakula, and other hacking tools, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Seized communications revealed that Yu had provided the software to others and was aware that the malware would be used breach data, James said.

According to Adam Meyers, vice president of cybersecurity company CrowdStrike Inc., the Sakula software has been often used against a number of high-profile targets.

Over the 2012 to 2015 timeframe, we saw lots of significant breaches involving Sakula, Meyers told the Wall Street Journal.

The arrest of Yu is one of the first cases brought against a Chinese national based on the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act following a 2015 agreement between President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping to stop theft of industrial trade secrets, the New York Times reported.

The federal complaint, according to the Times, claims that the suspect has been using the malicious software since 2012 and the FBI agents suggest Yu is among a small circle of Chinese hackers using the code.

The data breach, which started in 2014 and was discovered in 2015, let hackers steal personal information of government employees, including addresses, health and financial histories, and fingerprints, the Times reported.

The federal criminal complaint, however, does not accuse Yu of personally being responsible for the hacking of the Office of Personnel Management  only the malware he was providing.

Michael Berg, Yus court-appointed attorney, claimed the detained man is not affiliated with the Chinese government and is merely a teacher.

"He says he has no involvement in this whatsoever," the attorney said, according to Reuters, adding that he came to the U.S. for a conference.
Hurricane Harvey could bring more than torrential rain, 125 mph winds and 12-foot storm surges -- alligators could trek to unusual spots too, officials warn.

As waters rise and weather conditions become more dangerous, alligators will seek shelter on higher ground, including in residential areas, experts said. Photos from Texas alligator rescue group Gator Squad show gators in driveways, on front steps and under cars.

As Texans brace for Harvey, the Fort Bend County Sheriffs office shared a post from Gator Squad.

As we learned last year, [alligators] certainly move around when it floods, the post read. Expect them to be displaced.

HURRICANE HARVEY LIKELY TO BE 'CATATROPHIC,' LIFE-THREATENING, FORECASTERS WARN

In a statement to Fox News, Christy Kroboth from Gator Squad advised residents to stay at least 30 feet away from a displaced gator and not to approach or attempt to feed it.

Alligators are not out looking to cause you any problems, Kroboth said. They are simply just trying to deal with the weather like the rest of us. Leave them alone and they will do the same for you.

Gators could remain displaced in the days and weeks following a major storm, even after the water has receded. Experts say this is likely because the gator lost its home in the storm. The best course of action is to contact the Parks and Wildlife department or animal control organizations like Gator Squad, experts said.
Hurricane Harvey was downgraded to a tropical storm after thrashing southern Texas, bringing heavy rain and widespread devastation in its wake.

The National Hurricane Center said on Twitter on Saturday afternoon that extremely serious flooding was possible throughout the state.

High howling winds, downed power lines and intense flooding hit the Lone Star State in one of the strongest storms to slam into Texas in a decade.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said upwards of 20 inches of rain had hit the Corpus Christi area, which was in the path of the storm, and an additional 20 to 30 inches were expected elsewhere. He said 13,000 military members were activated.

Abbott told reporters that there are concerns over fatalities, however he could not comment or confirm reports until more information was available.

A disaster declaration was issued for 50 counties.

In Rockport, a small community on the coast, the storm brought in torrential rain and stinging win. While emergency crews were out early assessing the damage, Rockports mayor told the Weather Channel that his community was hit right on the nose and left widespread devastation.

The citys fire chief, Steve Sims, told Fox News described Harvey as almost deafening as it approached. It was unbelievable, he said of the damage Harvey caused.

By midday Saturday, some 338,000 customers along the Texas coast were without power, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas reported. In Houston, more than 21,000 people were without power.

Francisco Sanchez, a spokesman for Homeland Security & Emergency Management, warned that while Harvey was no longer a hurricane, Texas was not out of the woods yet.

Harvey hit Texas as a Category 4 storm late Friday night packing 130 mph winds. It made a second landfall about three hours later before it was downgraded to a Category 1 hurricane. After the winds dropped under 73 mph, it was downgraded to a tropical storm.

A massive fire destroyed at least three homes on Bolivar Peninsula late Friday night, according to 12 News Now.

At least 15,000 people aboard three Carnival Cruise Line ships scheduled to return to Galveston this weekend were delayed or detoured due to the hurricane. The Port of Galveston was closed on Friday.

A statement from the Miami-based Carnival Cruise Line said the Carnival Freedom and Carnival Valor were at sea and would remain a safe distance from the hurricane. Petroleum companies evacuated personnel from 86 Gulf of Mexico platforms, according to the Oil & Gas Journal.

A tornado touched down in the Katy, Texas, area, just west of Houston, uprooting trees and tearing apart the Trailer World dealership.

Its shocking, BJ, who manages the business, said to Fox News. The office is gone. The front gates are gone. Thank God nobody was here.

Debris was strewn across many roadways in the area, with some roadways under 16 inches to 30 inches of water.

The insured property losses from Hurricane Harvey were estimated to cost between $1 billion and $2 billion from wind and storm damage, according to CoreLogic.

Hospitals as far as Austin, Texas, had evacuated patients ahead of Harvey, FOX7 Austin reported. The city also canceled two big concerts  Coldplay and Mary J. Blige, as well as the first day of school on Monday.

McKeon said the hospital had emergency plans in place and had been working with the city on communications and worst-case scenario preps. Some hospitals on the coast, meanwhile, have been evacuating patients, FOX7 Austin reported.

Early Saturday morning, President Donald Trump praised the response of emergency personnel.

Closely monitoring #HurricaneHarvey from Camp David. We are leaving nothing to chance. City, State and Federal Govs. working great together! he tweeted.

HURRICANE HARVEY: BEWARE OF ALLIGATORS

Olga Mendez, who remembers riding out storms as a young girl, waited to board a bus with her husband and their young daughter.

"My mom never leaves," Mendez told the paper. "We would just hide in the closet or the tub. But we know it's important to get out now."

When Tropical Storm Allison hit Houston in 2001, it was the most expensive storm in the states history. Floodwaters destroyed research projects and the Texas Medical Center, the largest medical complex in the world, lost about $2 billion in damage.

Harvey has been fueled by warm Gulf of Mexico waters.

To put the hurricanes strength in perspective, superstorm Sandy, which wasnt formally called a major hurricane and still devastated New York and New Jersey in 2012, didnt have the high winds like Hurricane Harvey and lost tropical status by the time it hit land.

THE WEEK IN PICTURES

FEMA stands ready to support state, local and tribal officials as they prepare for Hurricane Harvey, Brock Long of the Federal Emergency Management Agency said in a statement. I encourage residents who will be affected to follow directions from their local officials. Know your threats, heed the warnings, and if youre in the path of the storm, ensure your family is prepared for possible prolonged disruptions to normal services.

Fox News' Barnini Chakraborty and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A Mexican citizen was convicted Tuesday of selling meth and cocaine from a food truck in Colorado.

Jorge Loya-Ramirez, 49, was convicted of multiple drug charges in federal court including conspiracy to distribute cocaine and methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute cocaine and use of a telephone during the commission of a drug offense, the Denver Post reported.

According to court documents, Loya-Ramirez was the head of a large, illegal drug operation that imported and distributed more than 200 pounds of meth in the Denver area, Fort Morgan, Greeley and southwest Kansas. He hid the illegal drug trade under the guise of selling tacos.

Loya-Ramirez was among 27 people indicted on federal drug charges in June 2015 as part of a wide investigation called Operation Black Rhino.

The Denver Post reported that the jury deliberated for three hours before convicting Loya-Ramirez on nine drug counts.

Loya-Ramirez faces a minimum 10-year prison sentence with a possible life sentence. His immigration status in the United States is unclear.
Multiple people are dead in an apparent double-murder suicide in a small, upscale community in Westchester County, officials said Friday.

Cops responded to a home in Pound Ridge, NY at 11:10 a.m., according to a police statement.

A mother, father and 18-year-old child were reportedly killed, authorities told ABC7. Police said they are witholding victims' names until other family members have been notified.

BABY, PARENTS IDENTIFIED IN LAS VEGAS MURDER SUICIDE

New York State Police said the investigation is ongoing in Pound Ridge, a town 50 miles north of New York City.
A disgruntled former restaurant employee who fatally shot a chef and held one person hostage Thursday in Charleston, S.C., told his victims theres a new boss in town as he began his murderous outburst.

The gunman, a former dishwasher at the Virginia's On King restaurant, was in critical condition in a hospital, where he was brought after being shot by police, authorities said. He was not immediately identified.

One witness, Peter Siegert IV, who was with his family in the packed restaurant, described seeing waitresses and kitchen staff quickly fleeing through the front door.

Then another person, who turned out to be the gunman, came into the dining room and announced that he was the new boss in town, Siegert said.

"I don't think anybody realized he had a gun until after he locked the door," the witness said.

Siegert said the gunman did not point the weapon at any patrons, but told everyone to get on the floor. He then told people to get out, Siegert said.

Authorities confirmed that the fired dishwasher killed the restaurants executive chef, 37-year-old Anthony Shane Whiddon.

The chef had been cooking for more than 17 years and was hired as Virginias top chef a year ago, according to an August 2016 news release promoting Whiddon and his new menu that highlights 100 percent scratch-made ingredients."

The gunman then took one person hostage for roughly three hours  before police shot the suspect and critically wounded him.

Charleston Mayor John Tacklenberg said the shooting was the act of a disgruntled employee and the incident was not being treated as a hate crime or a terrorist attack in the same town where nine black church members were murdered by a white supremacist two years ago.

This was a tragic case of a disturbed individual, I think, with a history of some mental health challenges, the mayor added, noting that the hostage was freed without any injuries.

John Aquino, one of the restaurants owners, told WCSC-TV that the fired dishwasher came back to the restaurant to shoot the chef as an act of revenge.

Steven Knotts, who tends bar at another restaurant owned by the same company, said he devoted Thursday to spending time with other service industry workers and shared their grief and solidarty.

"It doesn't make me scared," he said about the shooting. "That could happen anywhere, anytime. You want to be more careful. But what are you going to do?"

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A poker-playing priest sought divine payback, downloading a cache of child porn to spite God after the clergyman lost big at a card game.



Fr. Kevin Gugliotta, 55, was sentenced on Thursday to between 11 and 23-and-a-half months in prison after pleading guilty in March to having child porn on his personal computer. The Roman Catholic priest, who kept the porn at his vacation home in Gouldsboro, N.J., claimed he downloaded the illicit material to take vengeance on God, whom he blamed for lost poker tournaments, WNEP reported.

"That was his reason, defense attorney James Swetz said. He's not happy that that's how he felt and as the judge indicated, look, there are other ways to handle issues and handle anger.

MICHIGAN PRIEST ACQUITTED OF SEXUALLY ASSAULTING PRIEST

Gugliotta, a former priest who worked at Holy Spirit Roman Catholic Church, was dismissed from the Union, N.J., parish according to the Archdiocese of Newark.

While hed prefer this didnt happen, hes used this nine, ten months almost as a retreat, said Fr. Gabriel Costa of the Archdiocese of Newark. Hes prayed a lot.

Apologizing in court for his crimes, Gugliotta said he has also fasted to repent for the crimes.

Wayne County District Attorney Janine Edwards said it doesnt matter what reasoning Gugliotta gave for his crimes -- whats important is that he admitted he did it and is sorry.

However, we cant reach out to these victims, Edwards said. There are children out there who have been harmed greatly by the fact he sat and downloaded and watched on multiple occasions.

Some of Gugliottas colleagues who came to support him during the sentencing were caught off-guard by the revenge defense.

"That was a surprising thing in the court, sure, when I heard that, but people do things under stress that they normally wouldn't do," Fr. Costa said.

Gugliotta has already served 10 months of his prison sentence and could be released in about a month. He will now have to register as a sex offender for 25 years, serve a five-year probation following his release and is no longer allowed to gamble.
DEAR ABBY: I am the mother of two teenaged girls (13 and 15) and have been debating whether to tell them a secret about my past. When I was in high school, I made some poor decisions. I went to a party with people I viewed as friends, had too much to drink and the evening ended with my being raped by someone I thought I knew.

I reported it to my parents and the police, but because I couldn't remember big parts of the evening, I wasn't considered credible and no one believed me -- not even my parents. My grades dropped, my weight plummeted and the entire school knew and believed his side of the story.

I internalized everything and became a shell of who I was before the incident. It was years before I forgave myself for making a horrible mistake. Ultimately, I moved in with my grandmother several states away to finish high school, far away from my parents and the pain.

Would it be appropriate to share this story (or a redacted version) with my daughters to help them understand the risks of teenage drinking? They are at the age when they are surrounded by temptation and curiosity, and their father and I can't shield them from everything. Would I be doing them a disservice by not telling them? -- UNDECIDED IN NEVADA

DEAR UNDECIDED: You would be doing your daughters a favor if, along with warning them about underage drinking, you shared your story with them. If you do, it will help them understand that drinking can have unintended, sometimes lifelong consequences. Forewarned is forearmed.

DEAR ABBY: Is it possible to have a relationship with a man 20 years younger? I rented my spare room to him, and over the past month, we have spent a lot of time together and grown very close.

He has made it clear that he's attracted to me, and I'm attracted to him as well. I am afraid of what people may think and say, and I worry about the long term. What are your thoughts? -- RELATIONSHIP ISSUE

DEAR ISSUE: I gather from your letter that you are 40-plus years old. If you are still worried about what people may think, refrain from doing what you're considering, because people do tend to talk. Since no one can predict how long the "long term" might be, my advice is to guard your heart. Because there are no guarantees in life, proceed with caution.

DEAR ABBY: When you are on the phone with someone and the call is dropped, who is supposed to call who back? I spent five minutes trying to call my mom back while she was trying to call me. It was very frustrating; both of us kept getting voicemail.

Mom says the person who received the call should be the person who calls back. I say the person who MADE the call should be the person who calls back. -- UNSURE IN SAN DIEGO

DEAR UNSURE: While I agree with you, no rule of etiquette dictates who should call the other person back in the event of a dropped call. Long waits also happen when a caller doesn't realize the call has dropped and continues talking. Frankly, it has been my experience that the callback is usually made by the person who can get through first. And the first sentence uttered is usually, "So, where were we?"

DEAR ABBY: I have been in two relationships. The first was with a girl a couple of years older than I am. We were together for several years before she cheated on me and dumped me. I was crushed. The next girl was a few years younger. She did the same thing after we were together a year.

What am I doing wrong? Fidelity is important to me, and they both knew it from the start. How can I avoid this in the future?

I have never been a controlling person. I was always fine with my girlfriends going out with their friends without me if I couldn't go for some reason. (That's how they ended up meeting the other guys.)

The people in lasting relationships I've seen watch each other like hawks, and never allow their significant other to be in the company of the opposite sex without them. Is this normal? Should I be like them? That seems controlling, but clearly, my "no boundaries" relationship style has backfired on me. -- CHEATED ON IN NEW YORK CITY

DEAR CHEATED ON: Few things can ruin a relationship or a marriage like obsessive jealousy can. Watching one's partner "like a hawk" is stifling. It will eventually drive the person away, as you will see as you continue to observe the couples you have mentioned. Please don't try to change the person you are because YOU are just fine.

I believe that in relationships there has to be a certain amount of responsibility. If someone is mature enough to be involved romantically, that person should be willing to admit if things aren't working out. Being cheated on is painful, and being dumped is equally so. Not every relationship leads to marriage, but rather than sneak around to avoid a frank conversation, it's better to practice the Golden Rule.

DEAR ABBY: I am in a predicament. My therapist is great, but sometimes I think she shares too much. Last time I went, she was running late. When I finally got into her office, she told me the previous patient was nonverbal and had painted her nails during the session. Later in the session, she confided that years ago she had been date raped.

Abby, I am in counseling because my father raped me when I was 15 (I am now 24). Her sharing has me worried because I don't want her telling others what I say or do during counseling. Further, her story of the date rape scared me. She described a situation that is not uncommon for me to be in, and it caused something almost like a flashback in me. I think what she did was insensitive, to say the least.

I have nobody else to ask, so what should I do? I'm getting counseling for free now due to my income, and it took months to get set up with a counselor. Should I report her or accept that this was a mistake and say nothing? If I need to report her, how would I go about doing that? -- CONFLICTED ABOUT IT

DEAR CONFLICTED: You should change therapists because it appears this one has more problems than you do. As to what agency you should report her breach of professional ethics to, contact the state organization that has licensed her to practice.

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069
Social media users were outraged after an Oregon sheriff ordered a law enforcement memorial flag to be removed from a courthouses breakroom on Tuesday.

The flag, known as the Thin Blue Line Flag, was removed by Sheriff Michael Reese of the Multnomah County Sheriffs Office, according to KGW.com. Reese said he removed the flag from the Multnomah County Courthouses breakroom because it was considered offensive.

CALIFORNIA CATHOLIC SCHOOL UNDER FIRE FOR REMOVING AND RELOCATING ALIENATING RELIGIOUS STATUES

The Oregon Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7 posted a picture of the flag on Facebook and a status that said: Multnomah County Sheriff Mike Reese recently ordered that this Law Enforcement Memorial Flag be taken down from an employee breakroom because it was offensive. The Sheriffs actions have since sparked outrage, with many finding his conduct offensive.

The Multnomah County Sheriffs Office responded to the post with an explanation about why the flag was taken down.

The US National Flag Code guides our display, and forbids alteration, of our Flag. While we always honor our fallen law enforcement officers, its important that we do so in County facilities in a manner that doesnt violate any established protocols. Sheriff Mike Reese strongly supports our law enforcement officers and has spoken publicly of their courage, integrity, and commitment to service, the post said.

Some social media users posted pictures of cops wearing pins with the flag.

JIM BROWN CRITICIZES KAEPERNICK-STYLE PROTESTS: I DONT DESECRATE MY FLAG

Oregon Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7 responded back: Breaking News: Not all Sheriffs agree with the opinion of the Multnomah County Sheriff. The post included a picture of Sheriff David Clarke of Milwaukee County wearing a pin of the flag.

Reese took to Facebook on Wednesday and explained his decision.

For some (the flag) is a symbol honoring fallen law enforcement officers. For others, the flag is seen as a sign of disrespect toward communities of color, Reese said.

As public safety officers, we have a tremendous responsibility to the communities we serve and to each other. I support honoring our fallen officers in a way that respects the sacrifice they made and the communities they served, Reese continued.

Reese said the issue of the flag was brought up to him by members of the community who raised concerns that prompted him to ask for it to be taken down.

Reese said he had a meeting with staff on Wednesday, asking them to work with me to resolve these issues by determining how and where to display the flag in a manner that will honor fallen law enforcement officers and also meet the expectations of our community.
Parents at an Alabama high school have reportedly started an online petition asking for the removal of an LGBT Pride rainbow flag that is displayed outside a teachers classroom.

The argument is that the flag at Auburn High School creates a hostile and provocative learning environment for students not comfortable to openly supporting LGBTQ+ community in a public school where students come from diverse political and religious backgrounds.

The petition, which has 810 signatures, reportedly reads, Consider the uproar and chaos that would ensue were a teacher to hang for example a Confederate, Christian or Heterosexual Flag in their classroom. The Observer pointed out that it is unclear what Heterosexual flag is referring to.

The teacher that has the flag on display reportedly moderates the EDUCATE club, which focuses on and promotes diversity.

Dr. Karen DeLano, superintendent of the Auburn school system, said in a statement that the matter is being handled internally.

It is my sincere desire to assist our students in learning to address their opinions and their values in a calm and respectful manner, she said, according to the Observer.

A counter petition supports the teachers decision to display the flag. That petition appears to be more popular, and has 6,700 signatures.
The remains of three Marines killed in a plane crash off the east coast of Australia earlier this month have been discovered, the U.S. Marine Corps announced Friday.

The discovery follows a series of incidents that have damaged the reputation of the armed forces, one lawmaker said.

Capt. Benjamin R. Cross, Cpl. Nathaniel F. Ordway and Lance Cpl. Ruben P. Velasco were killed when their MV-22 Osprey, an aircraft that is part helicopter, part plane, crashed into the back of a U.S. Navy warship during a training mission on Aug. 5.

Some 23 other Marines on board were rescued.

It was the second deadly crash of a Marine Corps aircraft since July, when a Marine cargo plane crashed in the Mississippi Delta, killing all 16 on board.

The Marine Corps grounded all of its roughly 850 aircraft earlier this month as a result of the two crashes.

Last week, an Army Black Hawk crashed in waters off Hawaii, killing all five aboard.

A total of 24 service members have been killed in the three non-combat aviation crashes since July.

This comes as the Navy is mourning the loss of 17 sailors following two crashes in the Pacific of guided-missile destroyers. More U.S. service members have been killed in the two collisions at sea then have been killed in Afghanistan this year.

MARINES CORPS ORDERS ALL OF ITS AIRCRAFT GROUNDED FOLLOWING DEADLY CRASHES

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are questioning whether years of budget cuts are taking a toll on the U.S. military, forced to expand their missions due to rising threats around the world, but with fewer ships and aircraft.

In the mid-80s, there were roughly 600 U.S. Navy ships. Today, there are 271, following the loss of USS John S. McCain and USS Fitzgerald. Both Japan-based 7th Fleet destroyers are capable of shooting down North Korean ballistic missiles. The Navy is looking at moving more warships to Japan to make up for the loss.

"It does a damage to our reputation," Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., told Fox News Leland Vittert Friday morning, reacting to the deadly collisions of two anti-ballistic, missile-capable Navy destroyers in the Pacific since June.

The civilian head of the U.S. Air Force says her service also has suffered as a result of budget cuts.

"So some of the missions... we're not as ready," said Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson. "That doesn't mean we won't go, it means fewer will come back. And I think we need to understand that," she told Pentagon reporters Friday.

Last month the Navy grounded all 10 F-18 Hornets from VFA-37 aboard the USS George H.W. Bush for a week during the ISIS fight after two pilots flying older model F-18C Hornets fell ill with decompression sickness -- a long-standing problem with the jets cabin pressure.

The two pilots required treatment in a decompression-chamber-like machine.

The USS George H.W. Bush was the first aircraft carrier to deploy with a chamber aboard after a spike in what the Navy calls "physiological episodes," that many officials blame on flying old planes.

Every deployed aircraft carrier in the U.S. Navy now carries decompression chambers aboard.

And on Friday, the Military Times reported only 28 of the U.S. Navy's T-45 trainer jets in Texas could evacuate from the path of Hurricane Harvey. Seventy-one jets were placed in hangars to avoid the storm's path, but officials are concerned about potential flooding that could damage the jets.

In April, more than 100 U.S. Navy instructor pilots refused to fly the T-45 in protest of what they say is the refusal of top brass to adequately address an urgent problem with training jets oxygen system, multiple instructors told Fox News.

The pilots dont feel safe flying this aircraft, one pilot said at the time.

Fox News' Jennifer Griffin contributed to this report.
Leaders of a paramilitary religious sect rocked by child sexual abuse allegations say they were merely a small, poor group living in a secluded ranching area in New Mexico while constantly being persecuted by people who didn't understand their reading of the Bible.

But authorities say the trustees of the Aggressive Christianity Missions Training Corps own thousands of acres of land and benefited from a wealthy high-ranking member who aided them in avoiding law enforcement agencies by hiding children throughout their vast holdings.

Those holdings and regular deceptions by leaders, authorities said, made it difficult for the small Cibola County Sheriff's Office to investigate allegations of child abuse that former members say went back years.

Speaking before a magistrate judge on Friday, Cibola County Undersheriff Michael Munk gave a glimpse into his department's two-year investigation of a militant sect former members say treated followers like slaves and often physically beat children who had no records of being born. That investigation led to the Sunday raid of the group's Fence Lake compound and the arrest of four members.

And while former members say the group was able to keep abuse quiet by training children not to talk to police, Munk said the sect also evaded law enforcement by moving and operating in seclusion. "They change their names. They change their locations," Munk said.

Cibola County Magistrate Judge Larry Diaz on Friday refused to lower bond for two of the group's two leaders, who face child sexual abuse charges. His decision came after deputies on Wednesday arrested four other sect members who authorities say were trying to flee in two vans full of children and around $1,000 in cash. The four adults were charged with failing to register the births of their 11 children.

The children were taken into custody and are being interviewed by an FBI forensic expert, Munk said.

Diaz said he still believed that co-leader Deborah Green and high-ranking leader Peter Green of the Aggressive Christianity Missions Training were flight risks, and he wasn't comfortable with lowering their bond or changing the conditions of their release.

"The chain of events (is) getting more serious," Diaz said. "Personally, I think it's pretty horrifying."

Both are being held on $500,000 cash surety bond in connection with child sexual abuse charges stemming from the Sunday raid of their secluded compound in western New Mexico.

Court records previously had mistakenly listed that Peter Green was being held on $5 million.

He's also known as Mike Brandon and faces 100 counts of sexual penetration of a child after being accused of raping a girl at least four times a week from the time she was 7, according to court documents. Authorities say it's Peter Green who comes from a wealthy family and helped buy up land where the group hid children when they came under suspicion at times.

Deborah Green, whom some members call "mom" or "general," appeared frail and walked slowly around the courtroom on Friday. A public defense attorney said she was suffering from a number of illnesses, including the effects of malaria. As she tried to speak to members who came to court, sheriff's deputies immediately stopped her.

"She didn't appear to need any assistance when we took her into custody on Sunday," Munk said.

James Green, Deborah's husband and the group's co-leader, has angrily denied his group had been involved in any child sexual abuse and called the charges "all fake."

But during a long interview with KOB-TV in Albuquerque on Thursday, he acknowledged that the Aggressive Christianity Missions Training Corps taught children living at a secluded compound to avoid speaking with law enforcement because members have experienced "tons of persecution" over the years in California, Oregon and New Mexico.

He said "hundreds of kids" had safely passed through the group's compound in New Mexico.

The Aggressive Christianity Missions Training Corps, founded in Sacramento, California, describes itself as a group that is "revolutionary for Jesus" and provides a free spiritual "ammo pack" to anyone who submits a written request. Photos of members show them in military-style clothing and on missions in Africa.

Its website is laced with anti-Semitic language and anti-gay tirades about same-sex marriage.

The Southern Poverty Law Center lists the sect as a hate group.

___

Follow Russell Contreras on Twitter at http://twitter.com/russcontreras
After more than a decade in a private collection in Atlanta, a stolen copy of a letter Christopher Columbus wrote about the New World is headed home to the Vatican.

Upon returning to Europe from his first trip to the Americas, Columbus wrote a letter to his Spanish patrons in 1493 describing what he'd seen. The letter was converted into pamphlets by printers to spread news of Columbus' journey across Europe.

Robert Parsons, an actuary from Atlanta, bought one of those copies from a rare book dealer in New York in 2004 for $875,000, The Wall Street Journal reported . What he didn't realize is that the document had been stolen from the Vatican.

There are about 80 copies of the letter left today, and the one Parsons bought was among the oldest, dating to 1493, investigators said in court documents.

The letter describes lands with "large flowing rivers" and "trees of endless varieties," and of timid natives who "are so unsuspicious and so generous with what they possess, that no one who had not seen it would believe it," the newspaper reports, citing a translation of the letter from the Independence Hall Association, which runs ushistory.org.

The letter was a part of a collection of rare books and manuscripts that belonged to Gian Francesco De Rossi, who lived in Rome in the 19th century. After his death in 1854, De Rossi's wife donated the collection to the Jesuits, according to the Bookman's Journal and Print Collector catalog of 1922. The Jesuits, in turn, gave the collection to Pope Benedict XV in 1921.

Investigators do not know when the letter was stolen from the Vatican Library, the U.S. Department of Justice said in court filings.

Agents traced the letter to Parsons' collection this year. But Parsons, who died in 2014, bought the letter in good faith, not knowing it had been stolen, a federal prosecutor wrote in a court filing.

Richard Lan, who owns Martayan Lan, the rare book dealer from whom Parsons bought the letter, said he wasn't aware of the theft. He declined to comment on how he got it.

"I had no previous knowledge of this," he said in an email to the newspaper.

Investigators contacted Parsons' widow, Mary Parsons, in March, according to court documents, and she agreed to let an expert compare the letter to the copy at the Vatican. The expert found that the copy in the Vatican was fake and that Parson's letter belonged to the Vatican.

Mary Parsons found it difficult to part with "the crown jewel" of her husband's collection and plans to send a personal letter to the pope along with the Columbus letter, her lawyer Mark Marani told the newspaper.

"She knew returning this to the rightful owner is something her late husband would have wanted her to do," Marani said.
Public schools in Durham unveiled a new dress code Thursday, banning apparel featuring the swastika, Confederate flag and KKK symbols, among other offensive or controversial symbols.

The ban in the North Carolina city, voted for unanimously by the Durham County Board of Education, also prohibits items that are reasonably expected to intimidate students based on race, religion, gender, sexual orientation or other affiliations.

Durham Public Schools superintendent Bert L'Homme said the policy is aimed at ensuring students safety, and is designed to push back against racial and religious hatred and oppression.

"I think that this policy is a message to our students and to our community and to our families how important their safety is," LHomme told WTVD. "And not just physical safety but psychological safety and emotional safety."

LHomme said the symbols could disrupt schools, and he expects more protests in or near schools in the wake of a deadly rally in Charlottesville, Va. two weeks ago.

"These things, historically, were meant for hate, or at some point in history, meant hatred," Board Chair Mike Lee said of the symbols.

District spokesperson Chip Sudderth said the district has considered if the new apparel rule will affect students' rights to freedom of speech.

"Principals have authority to keep the school environment safe and inclusive and welcoming" and to deal with student expression that has a reasonable chance of causing disruptions or intimidation in the classroom, Sudderth said. This isn't about regulating speech, it's about keeping our classrooms focused on learning."

Other North Carolina school systems have implemented similar changes to their dress code, including Orange County and Chapel Hill-Carrboro.

'NEW SWASTIKA' T-SHIRTS REMOVED FROM WEBSITE AFTER INTERNET BACKLASH

The Durham board also voted 7-0 to remove Confederate war veteran and outspoken white supremacist Julian Carrs name from the middle school building at Durham School for the Arts. The building once was the home of an all-white high school. Durham, home to Duke University, is where protesters toppled a Confederate statue in front of the old county courthouse Aug. 14. Several of the protesters who toppled the monument were later arrested.

Carr's actions and values "in no way reflect the safe and inclusive community that we are building in Durham Public Schools," L'Homme said. "We are under no requirement to continue to name any of our school buildings after white supremacists."

Workers began removing some of the plaques bearing Carr's name from the building Friday. L'Homme said the administration will review the names of all of its schools and school buildings.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Police on Thursday charged two people with conspiracy to commit kidnapping after discovering a newborn infant in the Fargo apartment building where a missing pregnant woman was last spotted.

Investigators have not immediately determined if the baby is the child of Savanna Greywind, 22, who was last seen at her apartment on Saturday afternoon. Police will reportedly test to see if the baby is the woman's child, according to Valley News Live.

Chief David Todd of Fargos Police Department said William Henry Hoehn, 32, and Brooke Lynn Crews, 38, were both charged with a "class A felony conspiracy to commit kidnapping," according to the departments Facebook page.

GROUPS SUED BY PIPELINE COMPANY DECRY ATTACK ON FREE SPEECH

Todd said the infant was found in an apartment that is in the same building as Greywinds. The missing woman reportedly went to her neighbors apartment to help sew, but it's unclear what happened to her after that. Todd said officers searched that apartment earlier but did not find anything suspicious.

Todd didn't say where the infant was found, only that the child was discovered as officers carried out a search warrant in "the suspects residence." Cass County Court officials said Thursday there were "search warrants in the queue" but nothing had been filed as of the close of court Thursday.

Tarita Silk, a sister-in-law of Greywind's mother, said police informed the family that a "2-day-old healthy baby girl" was taken from the apartment where Greywind lived with her parents, according to KFGO radio.

INVESTIGATORS SEARCH FOR BODIES AT HOME OF SEATTLE BROTHERS CHARGED WITH CHILD PORNOGRAPHY

Todd said his department is receiving help from outside agencies and that officers have used aircraft, watercraft and police dogs to try to find Greywind. Searches in the Fargo and Grand Forks areas have not been successful so far.

"We just want Savanna to come home. We're prepared for the worst," Silk said. "The biggest thing now is for anybody who has any information...to come forward."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
In a story Aug. 25 about a meeting of relief workers and U.S. and foreign military officials, The Associated Press reported erroneously the number of Syrians who have fled their homeland since a Civil War began. The number is 5 million, not five.

A corrected version of the story is below:

UN relief workers, military discuss humanitarian crisis

Relief workers, U.S. and foreign military officials, and field experts are meeting at Brown University to figure out how to work better together as the world faces the largest humanitarian crisis since 1945

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP)  Relief workers, U.S. and foreign military officials, and field experts are meeting at Brown University to figure out how to work better together as the world faces the largest humanitarian crisis since 1945.

The two-day workshop began Friday, and is drawing representatives from the United Nations, the U.S. Agency for International Development, universities including Harvard and Yale, the International Committee of the Red Cross and other humanitarian organizations.

In March, U.N. humanitarian chief Stephen O'Brien said the world faces the largest humanitarian crisis since the organization's founding, with more than 20 million people in four countries facing starvation and famine.

Only last week, the number of South Sudanese refugees fleeing violence and sheltering in Uganda reached 1 million. Most of the refugees are women and children. In the Middle East, an estimated 400,000 Syrians have been killed in their country's civil war and more than 5 million Syrians have fled their homeland.

Dr. Adam Levine, director of the Humanitarian Innovation Initiative at Brown, said humanitarian organizations and militaries are increasingly finding themselves caught up in the same emergencies. Responding together makes sense in some instances; while in others, it's more about co-existing in the same place while each fulfills a separate mission, he said.

Levine has responded to humanitarian emergencies around the world, including the Ebola epidemic, and the initiative is hosting the meeting.

"Each different humanitarian emergency has its own complexities with regard to civilian-military coordination," he said. "That's why it's so important to bring together leaders from the humanitarian, military and U.N. communities, to develop guidelines for dealing with these very complex situations."

The group will discuss pandemics, how to use military capabilities in a humanitarian response, the challenges in providing relief in large cities, climate change, attacks on aid workers and other topics.

The meeting is meant to build on discussions last year at the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island.
A Washington-based watchdog on Wednesday filed a Freedom of Information Act to learn more about Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and his wife's now-famous trip to Kentucky to watch the solar eclipse.

Were not sure about the motive for the trip, but we filed the [Freedom of Information Act request] to get more information about it, Jordan Libowitz, a spokesman for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, told the Washington Post.

In all likelihood the Monday trip would have gone unnoticed. But Mnuchin's wife, Louise Linton, posted a picture of the two deboarding a government plane and started an Instagram firestorm.

She tagged some of the luxury items she was wearing, and that prompted one user to post: Glad we could pay for your little getaway. #deplorable.

Linton, an actress, went on to confront the woman while boasting about their wealth. She later apologized.

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and the group are now looking into purpose of the trip given the timing corresponding with the solar eclipse.

Treasury officials told the paper that the trip was around official government travel, and denied that the visit to Fort Knox visit was just a ploy to view the eclipse.

An unnamed Treasury spokesperson told the paper that Mnuchin "is reimbursing the government for Mrs. Linton's travel, as is long-standing policy regarding civilians on military aircraft." The rate can reportedly go for $10,000 an hour.

Mnuchin appeared with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell at a luncheon with the Louisville Chamber of Commerce, the report said. The two went on to tour the gold bullion depository in Fort Knox, valued at around $180 billion.
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New Zealand announced Friday it will increase its tiny military force in Afghanistan from 10 people to 13 following a request from NATO.

The New Zealand troops are assigned to noncombat roles, working as mentors and support personnel at the Afghan National Army Officer Academy in Kabul.

New Zealand has stationed troops in Afghanistan since 2001, mostly in reconstruction roles.

President Donald Trump this week outlined his strategy on Afghanistan, including getting tough on neighboring Pakistan. He alluded to sending more U.S. troops to Afghanistan but didn't say how many.

New Zealand Prime Minister Bill English, asked by reporters if he was worried about following the strategy of an unpopular U.S. president, said his nation was involved in Afghanistan "long before President Trump turned up.

"It's all about New Zealand playing its part in a global effort to smother the sources of terrorism," English said.

New Zealand has committed to keeping a military presence in Afghanistan until at least next June.
A newly-released State Department report describes a gruesome picture of human rights abuses in North Korea, including citizens being arrested, beaten, tortured or killed because of their religious beliefs.

The report, released last week by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, details the status of religious freedom in nearly 200 countries across the globe, including North Korea. The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor within The State Department compiled the annual dispatch, entitled the International Religious Freedom Report for 2016.

It points out that although the North Korean constitution claims to guarantee citizens freedom of religion, a 2014 UN report concluded there was an almost complete denial by the government of the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion, and, in many instances, violations of human rights committed by the government constituted crimes against humanity.

The latest report says NGOs, defectors and other first-person accounts were compiled to paint a gruesome picture of human rights abuses and religious persecution. The lack of a formal diplomatic relationship between the U.S. and North Korea makes reporting specific acts of violence challenging.

In addition to citing the UNs concerns over arbitrary executions, political prison camps and torture amounting to crimes against humanity, the report refers to the example of Christian pastor Han Choong Yeol. Citing media accounts, the report states that Yeol was allegedly killed in China by North Korean agents after having provided aid to defectors from North Korea.

Religious and human rights groups outside the country provided numerous reports that members of underground churches were arrested, beaten, tortured, or killed because of their religious beliefs, reads one of the most shocking lines of the new report.

The totalitarian state led by Kim Jong Un reportedly allows five state-controlled Christian churches in Pyongyang, but they are understood to be a sham. Most defectors were apparently unaware of the existence of these churches, while foreign visitors who were taken there reported that local Koreans in attendance appear to have been brought in for the occasion, but they seemed to be observers rather than participants.

Additionally, the State Department document says that ownership of Bibles or other religious materials brought in from abroad is reportedly illegal and also punishable by imprisonment and severe punishment, including, in some cases, execution.

American Jeffrey Fowler was detained in North Korea for several months in 2014 for such a crime.

Scott Snyder, senior fellow for Korea studies and director of the program on U.S.-Korea policy at the Council on Foreign Relations, told Fox News, North Korea has one of the most draconian political systems in the world in which perceived political disloyalty to the leader may result in extrajudicial punishments and guilt by association is also applied.

In comparing dictators throughout history, Snyder referred to one of the UN reports frequently cited in last weeks State Department release. The UN 2014 Commission of Inquiry report compared North Korea to Nazi Germany, he said. Stalin is also an apt comparison.

Kim Jong Un believes that he is meant to rule the isolated nation with unquestionable sovereignty, beyond reproach and deserving of complete devotion. The belief also applied to his father, Kim Jong Il, and his grandfather, Kim Il Sung, before him as they reigned supreme over the rogue nation.

North Korea is intolerant toward religious expression because deification of the leader is the only form of worship that is tolerated, Snyder explained. And the concept of God poses a potential loyalty conflict with loyalty to the leader.

The new report makes it clear that refusal on religious or other grounds to accept the leader as the supreme authority was regarded as opposition to the national interest and reportedly resulted in severe punishment.

The entire governing system is based on cult of personality and absolute loyalty to Kim, Snyder added.
Canadian lawyers acting for the widow of an American soldier have filed an application in Alberta seeking enforcement of a U.S. damages award against former Guantanamo Bay detainee Omar Khadr.

The claim calls on the Court of Queen's Bench to recognize the judgment from Utah, and to issue a judgment in the US$132.1 million award made in June 2015. The application essentially duplicates one filed earlier in Ontario.

The Canadian-born Khadr was 15 when he was captured by U.S. troops after a firefight at a suspected al-Qaida compound in Afghanistan that resulted in the death of U.S. Army Sgt. First Class Christopher Speer.

Khadr was paid US$8 million by Canada's government last month under a court ruling that his rights were violated by Canadian officials at Guantanamo.
At least five police officers and seven Rohingya Muslim militants died overnight during a coordinated attack on police stations and an attempt to break into a military base, the government of Myanmar said.

The rebels attacked 24 police posts in Rakhine -- one of the poorest states in Myanmar and heavily populated by Rohingya Muslims  and some 150 Muslim militants tried to break into an army base, Reuters reported.

The initial information is that at least five policemen were killed, two guns have been taken (from the police) and seven dead bodies of extremist Bengali insurgents have been seized, claimed an information committee connected to the office of country leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

The information described the militants as Bengali  reiterating the governments view that Rohingya Muslims are not legal residents of Myanmar but rather illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, Reuters notes.

The Rohingya Muslims are officially treated as Bangladeshi illegal immigrants, as the government ignores their claims that their community has existed in the country for centuries.

The extremist Bengali insurgents attacked a police station in Maungdaw region in northern Rakhine state with a handmade bomb explosive and held coordinated attacks on several police posts at 1 a.m., the statement added.

The committee, according to Reuters, claimed that the security forces were continuing operations against the militants at the time of the release.

The attack perpetrated by Muslims militants in Rakhine signals an increase of confrontation between the insurgents and the government.

Last October, following the murder of nine police officers, the government put the state under military lockdown and launched a counter-terrorism military effort to crush the insurgency, the Guardian reported.

The counter-offensive operation led to the fleeing of around 87,000 Muslims to Bangladesh avoiding the treatment that the United Nations describes as crimes against humanity as it allegedly includes torture and rape, the Independent reported.

Tensions rose further this month after the security forces started a clearance operation in the township of Rathetaung, where Buddhist and Rohingya communities live together, according to Reuters.

The latest attack occurred just a day after a commission led by former United Nations chief Kofi Annan said Myanmar is facing a real risk of radicalization if the government does not respond to the crisis over the Muslim population without excessive force, the BBC reported.

"Unless current challenges are addressed promptly, further radicalization within both communities is a real risk," the commissions report reads.

"What is needed is a calibrated approach -- one that combines political, developmental, security and human rights responses to ensure that violence does not escalate and inter-communal tensions are kept under control."
Belgian soldiers shot and killed a man who attacked them with a knife in the center of Brussels Friday evening in what authorities described as a terror attack.

Esther Natus, a spokeswoman for the federal prosecutor's office, confirmed the assailant twice shouted "Allahu akbar," Arabic for "God is great," as he ran at the soldiers on the Boulevard Emile Jacquin, a major street not far from the Belgian capital's main Grand Place tourist attraction.

"We do consider it a terror attack," said Natus, who declined to identify the man or confirm whether he was known to police.

Brussels Mayor Philippe Close said three soldiers came under attack and one had been hospitalized.

Belgian state broadcaster RTBF described the suspect as a Somali man of around 30 years of age. The report added that the suspect was not previously known to Belgian authorities.

Belgium's anti-terror crisis center said in a tweet late Friday that the "situation is under control."

Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel also tweeted that "all our support is with our soldiers. Our security services remain on alert. We are following the situation closely."

A man who lives near where the incident took place told the Associated Press he saw the attacker lying in the street in the aftermath.

"I live right in front of the station. It was already blocked by police at the scene and there was a man lying on the ground. The police said he had been shot by soldiers," said Thomas da Silva Rosa, a public affairs consultant.

"He was lying on the ground, appeared dead," he told AP.

Belgium has been on high alert since suicide bombers killed 32 people in attacks March 22, 2016, on Brussels' main airport and subway system.

Soldiers and extra police have been deployed at public buildings and around large gatherings for more than a year.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Six-year-old Jamil starts school on September 11. There will be no ISIS fighters in his first grade class in Ulm, Germany, but Jamil, haunted by nightmares, is still fighting the ISIS demons.

The boys ordeal began in northern Iraq on August 3, 2015. Then four-years-old, he was one of many Yazidis captured by ISIS, crammed into a bus, and taken to Mosul, the second largest city in Iraq, then under ISIS control.

The Yazidi people are an ancient, non-Muslim religious community regarded by radical Islamists as infidels worthy of death. Thousands of Yazidis have been murdered, or displaced, by ISIS in a genocidal campaign waged against them since 2014. The women have been taken as sexual slaves.

The United Nations estimates that 10,000 Yazidis have been killed, or kidnapped, by ISIS with a staggering 500,000 displaced.

Jamils mother had disappeared in a rush to escape ISIS, and he was alone on the bus that sweltering day in August. A bearded ISIS fighter stood at the front of the bus, brandishing an automatic gun.

The women were ordered to sit on one side, with the children sitting across from them. The ISIS gunman moved down the aisle asking the women about their marital status, and whether they were mothers.

Sixteen-year-old Siri, sitting on the womens side of the bus, thought she had a better chance of avoiding rape by pretending to be married and a mother. She told the gunman her husband was killed in the war and claimed she was the mother of a crying boy across the aisle.

Is this your little bastard, the gunman had asked.

Jamil, seemingly unaware of the exchange, said nothing. It was the first time Siri and Jamil met.

Soon after Siri and Jamil arrived in Mosul, an ISIS guard threatened to kill Jamil if Siri refused to have sex with him. The guard took Siri next door and raped her, while she shouted in pain and wept uncontrollably. The rapist, called The Tunisian, told Siri her situation would improve if she became a Muslim and married him. She refused. He continued to rape her.

Whenever Siri would return to the room she shared with Jamil, after having been raped, he would invariably run his hands over her face and caress her hair. Jamil didnt know what had been happening to Siri, but he knew she was in distress, and he tried to comfort her.

Despite the trauma of rape, Siri took on the role of mother, and never stopped showing Jamil love. She would sing him to sleep each night with lullabies.

After several months, The Tunisian declared that Siri was no longer attractive and sold her and Jamil to another ISIS member.

Kurdish troops eventually freed them from ISIS, and a year later, Jamils real mother was found. She was very depressed, having searched in vain for her missing husband and other family members.

Dr. Jan Kizilhan, a German doctor of Kurdish background, told the story of Jamil and Siri to Fox News in a telephone interview. Kizilhan provides treatment for many victims of the war in Iraq at a clinic near Stuttgart, Germany. He visits northern Iraq regularly and brings severely traumatized Yazidis back to Germany for treatment.

He has been treating Siri and Jamil for trauma.

The link between Siri and Jamil was more than that of a mother and a boy, said Kizilhan. This was a special bond because when Jamil was in great difficulty, Siri was there for him. He knew he was not alone. She was the key to his survival.

At the same time, Jamil was the key to Siris survival. She told Kizilhan that she considered suicide many times because of the shame of rape in Yazidi culture, but decided against it.

She decided against ending her life, said Kizilhan, Because there would be no one to care for Jamil if she were gone.

When sitting with Siri and his birth mother, Jamil now always sits closer to Siri, observed Kizilhan observed. Their shared trauma binds them together. She has become his second mother.
The Latest on developments in Afghanistan (all times local):

2:30 p.m.

An Afghan official says a Shiite mosque in the capital, Kabul, has come under attack as gunmen stormed the mosque while worshippers were at prayers.

The police are reporting that there are sounds of explosions and gunfire at the scene of the attack on Friday but details are sketchy. There was no immediate information on any casualties.

Police official, Mohammed Jamil, says the gunmen are still inside the mosque, which was crowded with worshippers bowed in Muslim Friday prayers. The mosque is located in a northern neighborhood of Kabul.

Jamil says that Afghan security forces have surrounded the mosque but are not advancing or pushing into it to prevent more casualties.

___

2 p.m.

An Afghan official says the Taliban have attacked a security outpost in southern Kandahar province, the insurgents former heartland, killing 4 troops.

Provincial police chief's spokesman, Zia Durrani, says the security forces repulsed the Taliban attack with the help of air support from the Afghan air force.

Durrani says the Friday morning attack also left seven policemen wounded.

He says the Taliban sustained heavy casualties. There was no immediate comment from the Taliban.

Elsewhere, provincial deputy police chief Nisar Ahmad Abdul Rahimzai says that Afghan security forces recaptured a district in eastern Paktia province from the insurgents.

The summer fighting season in Afghanistan has been brutal so far this year, with relentless Taliban attacks around the country as the insurgents battle to expand their footprint.
The Latest on the rape trial of an Indian sect leader (all times local):

3:30 p.m.

A court in north India has convicted a flamboyant guru of raping two of his followers.

Prosecution lawyer H.P.S. Verma said Friday the guru, who calls himself Saint Dr. Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Ji Insan, has been found guilty in the 15-year-old case.

Tens of thousands of supporters who had been waiting for hours near the court shouted in anger after the ruling was announced in Panchkula town.

More than 15,000 police and paramilitary soldiers were posted in and around the court where the guru appeared before a judge, as Panchkula administrators feared an outbreak of violence.

The court will announce a sentence on Monday.
North Korea fired three short-range missiles on Saturday -- all successful -- despite earlier reports suggesting failure, according to the U.S. military.

Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the projectiles fired from the North's eastern coast flew about 155 miles. It said South Korea and U.S. militaries were analyzing the launch and didn't immediately provide more details.

According to earlier reports, U.S. Pacific Command spokesman and Cmdr. David Benham suggested two North Korean missiles "failed in flight" while the third one had "blown up almost immediately."

The U.S. Pacific Command has since revised its evaluation of the missile launch, now reporting no missile failures -- in line with the South Korean military assessment.

Benham said the missiles did not pose a threat to North America or U.S. military facilities on the U.S. territory of Guam. Earlier this month, North Korea created a tense standoff with the United States by threatening to lob some of its missiles toward Guam.

South Korea's presidential office held a National Security Council meeting to discuss the missiles, which are the first known launches since July, when the North successfully flight tested a pair of intercontinental ballistic missiles that analysts say could reach deep into the U.S. mainland when perfected.

The White House said President Donald Trump -- who has warned he would unleash "fire and fury" if the North continued its threats -- was briefed on the latest North Korean activity and "we are monitoring the situation."

The launch came five days after U.S. and South Korean forces began annual military exercises that the North claims are a rehearsal for war. Tensions on the peninsula generally ratchet up during the late summer maneuvers and a series of larger exercises held each spring.

Before the latest missile launches were confirmed, North Korean state media said that dictator Kim Jong Un inspected a special operation forces training of the country's army that simulated attacks on South Korean islands along the countries' western sea border in what appeared to be in response to the ongoing U.S.-South Korea war games.

Kim reportedly told his troops that they "should think of mercilessly wiping out the enemy with arms only and occupying Seoul at one go and the southern half of Korea."

The Korean Central News Agency said that the "target striking contest" involved war planes, multiple-rocket launchers and self-propelled guns that attacked targets meant to represent South Korea's Baengnyeong and Yeonpyeong islands before special operation combatants "landed by surprise" on rubber boats.

The border islands have occasionally seen military skirmishes between the rivals, including a North Korean artillery barrage on Yeonpyeong in 2010 that left two South Korean marines and two civilians dead.

North Korea had not launched any missiles since the United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution imposing new sanctions against the rogue nation Aug. 5. Earlier this week, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson trumpeted the lack of "missile launches or provocative acts" by the North since the resolution was passed.

"I am pleased to see that the regime in Pyongyang has certainly demonstrated some level of restraint that weve not seen in the past," Tillerson said at the time.

At a campaign-style rally Tuesday in Phoenix, President Trump told the crowd that "I respect the fact that I believe [Kim Jong Un] is starting to respect us. I respect that fact very much."

On Wednesday, North Korean state media released photos appearing to show the designs of one or possibly two new missiles hanging on a wall behind Kim while he visited a plant that makes solid-fuel engines for the country's ballistic-missile program.

In response to North Korea's expanding nuclear weapons program, South Korea has been moving to strengthen its own capabilities, planning talks with the United States on raising the warhead limits on its missiles and taking steps to place additional launchers to a U.S. anti-missile defense system in the country's southeast.

South Korea has also been testing new missiles of its own, including the 497 mile-range Hyunmoo-2. Although the missile has not been operationally deployed yet, it is considered a key component to the so-called "kill chain" pre-emptive strike capability the South is pursuing to cope with the North's growing nuclear and missile threat.

Fox News' Lukas Mikelionis, Lucas Tomlinson and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
North Korea, amid near daily proclamations promising doom and death to America, has approved a travel agency in Russia as a way to coax adventurous travelers into visiting the hermit kingdom.



While the travel agency boasts of North Korea's beaches, mineral water factories and beer festivals, the literature makes no mention of the gulags and work camps dictator Kim Jong Un has thrown thousands of his citizens in to. Nor does the travel company play up the foreigners -- including Americans -- who've been imprisoned and tortured for the most inane of perceived offenses.

NKOREAN.RU was launched in Russia with the approval of North Korea, Reuters reported. The agency is the first in Moscow to offer visits to North Korea for groups of up to 10 people or individuals to show the travelers the multi-faceted life of this most closed of countries, according to Reuters.

NORTH KOREA PLANS KNOCK-OFF OF SPANISH RESORT KNOWN FOR DRINKING BINGES

Before starting the journey, guests will be checked by North Korean officials and be escorted by a tour guide who will monitor the adequate behavior of the tourist and guarantee his safety, according to the agencys website.

The website guaranteed travelers would be safer than an evening walk in London, according to Reuters.

The most expensive tour, which costs about $1,997, offers a traveler 15 days in the country as they experience the full immersion in the culture of North Korea. The tour would include traveling to a Buddhist temple, museums, a mineral water factory and a farm. The less expensive tours offer travelers a day at the beach and a beer festival.

NORTH KOREANS TORTURED AND KILLED OVER RELIGIOUS BELIEFS, NEW STATE DEPARTMENT REPORT SAYS

Last month, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson announced plans to implement a geographical travel restriction for North Korea, which would make the use of a U.S. passport to enter the rogue regime's borders illegal. The announcement followed the detention and death of University of Virginia student Otto Warmbier.

This week, the Trump administration imposed sanctions on 16 mainly Chinese and Russian companies and people for assisting North Koreas nuclear and ballistic missile programs, and helping Pyongyang make money to support those programs. Russia criticized the sanctions and warned the U.S. it would consider retaliation.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Divers have found the remains of all 10 sailors who went missing after the USS John S. McCain, the U.S. Navy guided missile destroyer, collided with an oil tanker near Singapore last week.

Both Navy and Marine Corps divers had been searching flooded compartments of the ship, once it was docked in Singapore. Heavy equipment had to be brought in days after the collision to gain access to damaged, flooded areas of the ship.

The U.S. 7th Fleet identified the 10 missing sailors as:

 Electronics Technician 1st Class Charles Nathan Findley, 31, from Missouri

 Interior Communications Electrician 1st Class Abraham Lopez, 39, from Texas

 Electronics Technician 2nd Class Kevin Sayer Bushell, 26, from Maryland

 Electronics Technician 2nd Class Jacob Daniel Drake, 21, from Ohio

 Information Systems Technician 2nd Class Timothy Thomas Eckels Jr., 23, from Maryland

 Information Systems Technician 2nd Class Corey George Ingram, 28, from New York

 Electronics Technician 3rd Class John Henry Hoagland III, 20, from Texas

 Interior Communications Electrician 3rd Class Logan Stephen Palmer, 23, from Illinois

 Electronics Technician 3rd Class Dustin Louis Doyon, 26, from Connecticut

 Electronics Technician 3rd Class Kenneth Aaron Smith, 22, from New Jersey

The Aug. 21 incident remains under investigation.

The 7th Fleet has been involved in three collisions since January, the last two of which have resulted in the deaths of 17 sailors.

Earlier this week, the Navy dismissed Vice Adm. Joseph Aucoin, commander of the 7th Fleet, citing a loss of confidence in his ability, The Associated Press reported.
A Swedish court has placed a Syrian asylum-seeker suspected of committing war crimes in Syria in pre-trial detention.

The court south of Stockholm jailed 33-year-old Mohammad Abdullah for two weeks Friday and said formal charges should be filed before Sept. 7.

The case relates to crimes allegedly committed in January 2014. Prosecutor Henrik Attorp said that Abdullah, as a fighter with Syrian government forces against the Islamic State group, posed in front of dead or wounded combatants knowing that it was intended as propaganda. He said other photos could emerge, including one of a severed head.

Attorp told Swedish radio Friday Abdullah had violated the victims' "personal dignity" under international law. Abdullah said he was ordered to pose.

Abdullah arrived in Sweden 2015 as an asylum-seeker, according to court documents.
Two British police officers suffered minor injuries while arresting a man with a knife outside Buckingham Palace Friday evening.

In a statement, the Metropolitan Police said the officers stopped the man on the Mall, a major thoroughfare connecting the palace to Trafalgar Square, at 8:35 p.m. local time after they spotted a large knife in his car.

The statement did not specify how the officers were injured, saying only that they were hurt "during the course of detaining" the suspect, who is believed to be in his 20s.

Several witnesses told Sky News they saw a man being "wrestled to the ground" as armed police responded to the scene.

The unidentified man was arrested on suspicion of grievious bodily harm and assault on police. The officers were treated at the scene and no other injuries were reported.

A large number of police vehicles could be seen in the road outside the palace. There was no immediate indication the incident was related to terrorism.

Buckingham Palace is the London residence of Queen Elizabeth II and his her administrative headquarters. However, the queen usually spends August in Scotland at her Balmoral estate with family members.

Police stepped up patrols around major U.K. tourist sites after attacks with vehicles and knives earlier this year on Westminster Bridge, which is near Parliament, and London Bridge.



Buckingham Palace, which is surrounded by tall gates, has seen past security breaches. Last year, a man convicted of murder climbed a wall while the queen was at home, and was detained in the grounds.



In 1982, an intruder managed to sneak into the queen's private chambers while she was in bed. Elizabeth spent 10 minutes chatting with him before calling for help.



A palace spokeswoman said the palace did not comment on security issues.

Click for more from Sky News.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A U.N. panel that blamed recent racist violence in the United States on government failure at the highest political level is itself coming under criticism for hypocrisy and selective moral outrage.

The 18-member U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, responding to a rally in Charlottesville, Va., on Aug. 12 that left at least 19 injured and one counterprotester dead, said Wednesday the U.S. must undertake concrete measures to address the root causes of the proliferation of such racist manifestations.

The panel also took a swipe at U.S. figures who, while criticizing white nationalists and neo-Nazis, defended the American tradition of free speech.

The U.S. must ensure that the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly are not exercised with the aim of destroying or denying the rights and freedoms of others. [The U.S. must] provide the necessary guarantees so that such rights are not misused to promote racist hate speech and racist crimes.

Critics charged that the panel expressed outrage over the U.S. handling of recent incidents but ignored far more chronic and acute violence and abuse around the world.

"The U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination's report that it is alarmed by recent protests in Charlottesville is precisely the reason the U.N. enjoys little support in this country," said Robert C. O'Brien, who served as a U.S. representative to the U.N. General Assembly under President George W. Bush.

The U.N. panel is silent on "Palestinians ramming their cars into Jews in Israel or Islamic extremists doing likewise anywhere in Europe."  Anne Bayefsky

"Instead of focusing on the 200,000 people in concentration camps in North Korea or the genocide of Christians in the Middle East or the recent murders of innocent Europeans by extremists, this U.N. committee wasted its time on 'alerting' the world to a fringe group that was roundly condemned by every politician in the United States from the president on down.

"The fact that this committee includes members from Russia, China, Burkina Faso and Algeria tells Americans just how little heed they should give its 'alerts.'"

Anne Bayefsky, director of the Touro Institute on Human Rights and the Holocaust, and president of Human Rights Voices, also criticized the U.N. panel.

"The 'urgent action' procedure on all forms of racial discrimination, that was invoked by the Committee for the United States, is intended to deal with 'problems requiring immediate attention,'" said Bayefsky, "but it has not been used by the committee for any other nation on earth in 2017 and only applied to five other nations at all in the last decade according to the committee's own website.

"The committee sounded a global alarm for the car-ramming attack in Charlottesville, but never Palestinians ramming their cars into Jews in Israel or Islamic extremists doing likewise anywhere in Europe," Bayefsky added. "The end result is another example of the notorious inequality of U.N.-based equality rights systems."

The Associated Press contributed to this story.
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence is talking tough on Venezuela as expectations mount that the Trump administration will announce new economic sanctions against the nation.

Pence says in a tweet sent Friday that the U.S. "will not stand by as Venezuela crumbles." He says the "birthright" of Venezuelans has been and always will be freedom.

Friday tweet comes after Pence visited Venezuelan exiles in Miami to express solidarity with their effort to protect the country's democracy from President Nicolas Maduro's increasingly authoritarian rule. Last month the Trump administration promised to take strong economic actions if Maduro went ahead with plans to create a constitutional assembly comprised of government loyalists.

Since the assembly has been seated, it has ousted the nation's outspoken chief prosecutor and taken power from the opposition-controlled congress.
T wenty years ago, the typical American public school included classrooms with rows of desks, libraries holding only books and computer rooms housing a huge Macintosh desktop or two without Internet accessno sleek chromebooks, interactive whiteboards or other similar devices.

Although the average classroom today contains an array of technological tools, it typically looks about the same as it did twenty years ago. Most still feature over 20 desks facing the front of a room.

What will education across the nation and here in the Fredericksburg region look like another 20 years from now?

Dr. Scott Baker, superintendent of Spotsylvania County Public Schools, said 20 years is not a significant timeline in the realm of education where the pace of change tends to be slow and steady. That trend will likely continue, but he does see a shift occurring.

Baker said educators are beginning to reassess the traditional educational system of the past several decades. There are already changes taking place that will impact the look of the classroom, the relationship between teacher and student and the role of technology in educational settings.

Changing learning spaces

Several educators in the Fredericksburg area agree that classrooms of the future will become increasingly flexible. Seating arrangements will be mobile and learning spaces will be more open to accommodate the need for movement, according to George Parker, superintendent of Caroline County Public Schools.

There will be changes in terms of how classrooms are structured, Parker said. We are seeing that some research shows that allowing students to have opportunities for movement during instruction increases engagement and retention of information.

In addition, schools in the area already are experimenting with a blended approach to learning where some coursework takes place in the classroom and some online.

Due to the benefits of this model, many teachers also use flipped classrooms. The idea is that the traditional classwork and homework elements of a course are reversed. A student watches a video lecture at home and then comes to class prepared to discuss the topic under the guidance of the teacher.

Parker anticipates that the future will bring less of an emphasis on seat time, and more opportunities for students to work at their own paces. He said he could even see the typical instructional day disappearing, and the completion of courses becoming more in line with the completion of course objectives. As a result, some students could master the high school curriculum in as early as two years.

Learning takes place for different students at different paces, Parker said. Someone could master a course in a few weeks. Another student could take a few months.

Similarly, Bruce Benson, superintendent of Stafford County Public Schools, said everyone comes to school with a different set of experiences and skills. While there are certain skills all students need to masterwhat he refers to as all-century skillsstudents can also benefit from having more choice over what they learn.

One size doesnt fit allone size fits one, Benson said. Once you have mastered material, you should be able to keep going rather than being locked into a certain number of hours in class.

Baker is surprised that many of these changes have not already taken place. Twenty years ago, he would have said that the classrooms of today would be more open and flexible.

He attributes unchanging classroom structures, in part, to the need for seat time to meet state and federal testing requirements. Standardized tests have become an important metric for measuring the quality of schools and ensuring accountability, he explained.

However, he said teachers are increasingly voicing concerns that the pressure for test preparation prevents them from really teaching. They argue that over-testing impedes their ability to engage students and robs them of valuable teaching time.

Parker noted that since the start of the standardized test movement, teachers have complained that they feeling burdened by the weight of preparing students for a one-time assessment.

Understanding the relevancy of information does not get enough attention because of the time crunch required to prepare for tests, Parker said.

Benson thinks the tides may be turning. While there needs to be some means to assess whether students are achieving a level of expertise across content areas, the state is showing more flexibility by beginning to require less Standards of Learning, or SOL, tests and allowing local school divisions to explore alternative assessments.

It is important that our young people can pull together their knowledge and experience across disciplines, Benson said. We need to rethink how we are assessing students in order to accommodate that.

Role of technology

Children in school today are coming of age in a time when technology such as smartphones and Wi-Fi is ubiquitous.

New technology is transforming classroom interaction, the role of the teacher and how students learn. Many schools in the area already have policies in place, such as Bring Your Own Device, to incorporate technology into the learning environment.

Most students and adults utilize phones and technology as a lifeline, he said. It is no longer a choice, and it will continue to be a catalyst for student learning.

Baker said the goal in Spotsylvania schools is not to design learning around technology, but rather to use technology as a tool to reach established learning objectives.

He also foresees schools becoming important places for student and community access to technology, similar to public libraries. In Spotsylvania, many rural areas still experience limited access to high speed internet.

More and more, we are seeing outcries to use school facilities for Internet access, Baker said. It is likely we will continue to be a resource for students and the community.

In Stafford schools, educators follow the philosophy that it doesnt matter what technology is available if students dont know how to appropriately use it, Benson explained. For example, an interactive whiteboard in a classroom does no good if it is not used.

You can bring a new technology to bear, but if you dont use it appropriately, it isnt helpful, Benson said.

Role of the teacher

Despite all of these changes, one constant remainsteachers will continue to play an integral role in the lives of students. In fact, Baker believes the role of the teacher will become even more important.

He explained that the Internet and social media have allowed humans to become more connected than ever before. With the push of a button, anyone can look up an old high school friend, a coworker or family member.

Ironically, people have never felt more disconnected, leading to depression and feelings of isolation, including in children. In this environment, human relationships are critical.

The love for kids is something you cant teach or develop in a college program, but will be needed more than ever in the future, Baker said. That may be the only thing that some students will come to school for.

As online learning opportunities gain traction, Benson said teachers will be faced with the challenge of how to connect with their students in a virtual environment. They will also have to figure out how to ensure students feel connected with one another.

Consequently, teachers will need to develop strategies for building relationships through technology. If executed well, Benson believes an online classroom could thrive as well as a physical one. For example, students who are usually too timid to raise their hand in class may feel more comfortable interacting online.

Having a great teacher makes a difference, Benson said. Human relationships are key. A strong, positive relationship with a teacher is connected with how well students perform in class.

Benson explained that a couple decades ago, if a student wanted to know something about a particular subject, he would need to look it up in a book or seek out a parent or teacher to ask about it. Today, a simple Google search yields a plethora of information.

However, while information has become instantly accessible, the role of the teacher has not been diminished. He said teachers help students to make sense of that vast amount of information available to themthey answer questions of why and how.

Great teachers are facilitators of the learning process, Benson said. Kids have access to a lot of technology that can give them answers to what, where and when. We need to engage them with why and how questionsGoogle is not great with answering why questions.
W illiam Shakespeare wrote that past is prologue, but history-minded folks know that predicting the future is mighty hard.

So when asked to peer forward 20 years, managers of the Fredericksburg regions historic sites and museums speak in broad terms. Every one of them is bullish that historic places, buildings and museums will keep playing a vital role in connecting past, present and future, no matter how technology may reshape how some information is delivered to people and links them with local sites.

Broadly, what National Park Service historian John J. Hennessy said about Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park could apply to any of these institutions. Our hope is that all Americanswhether they come through the parks doors or visit us virtuallysee the relevance of this place to their experience, to their lives, and the evolution of our nation, Hennessy said.

The role of museums as preservers and presenters of our epic stories and knowledge is as vital as ever, said Joanna D. Catron, curator of Gari Melchers Home and Studio, a national historic landmark in Stafford County. Whats changing is the means by which audiences learn through the museum experience.

Naturally, from a curators perspective, I have to assert the superiority of experiencing the real over the virtual. Otherwise, why bother to collect and safeguard objects of significance? Catron added. Technology is incredibly effective, but as it enhances or facilitates engagement and learning, not as an end in itself. Technology can even alienate some audiences, so that it is important to use it in a way that is not distracting to another visitors approach to an object, display or interpretation.

Anne Darron, executive director at Washington Heritage Museums, said people will continue to visit museums, but 20 years from now, museums will likely need to expand their offerings to engage visitors.

With technology, more experiences may be possible, from augmented reality that could show what an entire neighborhood looked like in the past to videos that may take the place of some static exhibits, Darron said. However, people may also want to engage in a more immersive and tactile experience and spend some time eating food prepared from historic recipes, while being able to touch, smell or hear historic stimuli.

One-on-one, in-person contacts and traditional approaches work well, too, she said.

Staff members from Washington Heritage Museumswhich preserves and interprets four historic buildings all related to George Washington and his mother, Marywere well received recently when they took part in the Prince William Forest Park Heritage Festival, the city Farmers Market and Fort A.P. Hills Earth Day celebration. And this spring, costumed wenches from Fredericksburgs Rising Sun Tavern hand-washed laundry with more than 1,700 enthusiastic students, Darron said.

Clearly, effective doesnt have to mean high-tech. Most of the sites have decades of experience in the hospitality and history business.

WHM and its predecessor organization, Preservation Virginia, began welcoming the public to the first site in its collectionthe Mary Washington House, where Mary spent her final years, after moving from her plantation at Ferry Farm in Stafford, across the Rappahannock Riverin 1772.

The James Monroe Museum and Memorial Library is another venerable enterprise. Founded 90 years ago by President Monroes descendants, it has been administered by the University of Mary Washington since 1964.

The museum thus enjoys a long tradition of service, and a base of support and oversight, that should allow it to exist in perpetuity, said Scott Harris, director at James Monroe Museum and Memorial Library:

The only thing I can say with reasonable certainty about the James Monroe Museum 20 years from now is that I expect it will still be operating as a vital part of the Fredericksburg communitys cultural attractions.

Most of the site managers noted how tech and social media have rapidly changed peoples experiences and expectations.

The one drawback is that social media can foster a sense of connectedness without a person actually visiting, or being a member, Darron said. The challenge over the next 20 years will be to find a way to leverage social media to have the community connected, but also visit and support the museums.

Technology has made it easier and and faster for people to do research, she said. Yet the decline in educating students in cursive writing means future historians will find it much harder to understand historic documents that have not already been transcribed, Darron noted.

A decades-long drop in group travel is affecting most of the sites, administrators said. Fewer people take bus tours, and public schools funding for field trips is more limited, or educators cannot afford the time away from the classroom.

All of the professionals, though, said nothing beats the real thing.

At American impressionist Gari Melchers estate, staff members still value most the firsthand experience of viewing the artists original paintings in the preserved setting in which they were created, she said, augmented by conversations between docents and visitors.

Gari Melchers came and went long ago, and yet our visitors can still have a visceral reaction to his paintings and a deep curiosity about his career and personal life at Belmont, she said. When and wherever there is relevance, museums will flourish.

There is no substitute for physically interacting with museums of all types, historic sites and other cultural resources, the Monroe Museums Harris said. Having up-close and personal contact with a work of art, a centuries-old artifact or a hallowed battlefield can offer a personal connection that remote or virtual experiences cannot.

Even as visitors employ newfangled technology, they desire in-person exposure to places, artifacts, exhibits and new knowledge, Harris noted a recent American Alliance of Museums analysis found.

Sara Poore, president and CEO of the Fredericksburg Area Museum, said

Museums are battling to stay relevant in our evolving web-based culture.

With new apps, sites, and platforms developing daily, museum professionals are challenged to break from the traditional form and transform the meaning of the visitor experience,  she said.

Museums must think outside of the box to remain relevant and appeal to all generations and interests, Poore said.

Many speculate that the digital age will render museums irrelevant, she said. However, the FAM believes that objects of the pastwhen connected to people of the past and presented with an engaging approachwill always spark curiosity in future generations.

The George Washington Foundation is giving visitors new experiences to enjoy, with progress underway on the Washington house replica at Ferry Farm in Stafford and the first-floor refurnishing completed at Historic Kenmore in Fredericksburg, foundation President Bill Garner said.

The aim at Ferry Farm, informed by archaeology, is to create a landscape that evokes early Virginia and what life was like for young George Washington, he said.

Because the house is a reconstruction, we look forward to presenting Colonial America in ways not possible for most historic house museums, Garner said. We will light fires in the fireplace, open windows, and invite visitors to sit in the chairs. This unique environment will let guests experience 18th-century life with all their senses.

Facebook, an iPad tour of Ferry Farm thats available on iTunes, and two blogs by archaeologists, curators and educators add online appeal.

At Stratford Hall in the Northern Neck, the web and social media prompt fresh interest in the Lee familys seat and add to visitors experience, President John Bacon said.

Today were all presented with a range of experiences that are labeled reality, he said. Stratford, largely untouched for centuries, enhanced by 21st-century appeals, is original reality. Stratfords history is compelling, complicated and integral to understanding Americas formative first century and events happening currently.

In a society that is increasingly plugged in, the perspective of a place like Stratford becomes even more relevant, Bacon said. It represents an escape, but an escape with purpose, allowing visitors to connect with their past, with their natural world, and with one another, in ways that are difficult to do amidst daily lives and circumstances. Stratford is contemplative, restorative, meaningful and fun, for people of all ages.

Social media are invaluable for reaching people at low cost, especially for smaller museums, compared to other forms of marketing, Harris said.

Digital media are making National Park Service sites more accessible to people who will never have a chance to see them in person, Hennessy said.

The admixture of these landscapes, the minds eye, and the words of those who were here will remain the foundation of any visit, he said. We will surely deliver those words in more and different waysnot just with the human voice, but with doses of technology we can hardly imagine today.

National Park Service interpreters and administrators say theyre in the forever business, given the agencys charge to preserve places for posterity. Managing the parks 7,500-plus acres on four major Civil War battlefields in four localities, and its facilities and public programs, requires steady work over generations.

Of one thing I am certain, Superintendent Kirsten TalkenSpaulding said, as this community continues to develop, the preserved battlefield landscapes within it will become more precious as places of open space, refuge and remembrance.

Spaulding and Hennessy, who is the parks chief of interpretation, said they hope the Park Service and local jurisdictions will continue to work collaboratively to ensure the parks powerful sense of place.

Development must be planned so that what goes on outside the park does not negatively affect the experience of visitors within the park, Spaulding said.

Decades down the road, Hennessy said he hopes that the parks visitors see that understanding the great human experience embodied by its battlefields, and the historic communities the battles touched, is critical to the health of the nationthat these are places of inspiration and cautionary tales wrapped in an enduring legacy of freedom and courage.
onsider health care possibilities 20 years down the road, and you cant help but think about scenes from science fiction movies.

Will some sort of scan run over a broken body, healing wounds and busted bones in an instant? Or will patients of the future be placed in a capsule as a person on the outside pushes a few buttons to determine the ailment, then presses a few more to administer the treatment?

Those applications may be more advanced than what the Fredericksburg region might see in 2037, but theres no doubt that changing technology will influence operating rooms of the future. So will current efforts nationwide to reduce health care costs and local campaigns to bring more facilities to rural areas, including Caroline County and the Northern Neck.

But that probably wont mean there will be a hospital in every county in the next 20 years.

When Stafford Hospital opened in 2009 followed by Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center the next year, they were the first two new hospitals built in Virginia in decadesand it may be even longer before the state sees that kind of hospital growth, said Eric Fletcher, senior vice president for strategy, marketing and business development for Mary Washington Healthcare.

Thats the parent company of Mary Washington Hospital, Stafford Hospital and 28 other health care facilities and wellness services in the region.

The trend in the industry is that more and more things are done outside of hospitals in outpatient settings, and so it would surprise me greatly if there were additional hospitals here in the region, Fletcher said. I think what we will see more of are outpatient locations and hopefully, with more disbursement geographically.

Sean T. Connaughton, CEO of the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association, agreed.

In 20 years, you will see more health care provided through telehealth and other virtual options, more personalized medicine and home health care delivery, greater emphasis on population health and keeping people healthy and out of hospitals, and greater reliance on new and emerging technologies that will monitor and even treat patients wherever they may be, he said.

MORE URGENT CARES

The area already has at least 19 urgent-care centers within a 20-mile drive of Fredericksburg, according to the Urgent Care Locations website. Two-thirds of them are open seven days a week.

Theyre among an estimated 10,000 such clinics in the nation where patients can walk in, without an appointment, and get treatment for everything from strep throat to broken bones, from flesh wounds to the flu. The clinics are one of the fastest growing fields in health care as more patients dont have the patience to wait several days, or weeks, to see their primary-care doctor.

Or, they may not even have one. Fletcher said thats one of the biggest differences between health care of the past and the present, as well as the future. His parents had a relationship with their primary care physician and went to that doctor for everything. But, he said, the next generation is perfectly willing to run into any facility, see whatever provider is available, get a prescription and be on the way.

The Urgent Care Association of America saw that new dynamic and capitalized on it.

Patients are already demanding health care options that are more convenient and available when and where they need it, according to a statement from the group. We see this trend continuing as the marketplace offers more on-demand options.

The association expects at least 90 percent of its urgent-care centers to see continued growth in the years to come.

MORE TECHNOLOGY

Surely, a surgical instrument thats no bigger than a dime and is placed inside the patient through tiny incisions must be a vision from the future, right?

Nope. That kind of technology is already being used at the Spotsylvania hospital through the da Vinci Si Surgical Robot. The hospital performed the first robotic assisted hernia repair surgery with the latest generation of robots in May, followed by the first colorectal surgery in June.

Mary Washington Hospital, which started using the first generation of da Vinci robots 10 years ago, is looking to implement the newest models as well.

The robots not only have tiny instruments that bend and rotate far greater than the human hand, but the process can result in less pain and restrictions for the patient and shorter hospital stays.

The entire procedure is done inside the body as opposed to part of the surgery done outside the body with traditional laparoscopic surgery, said Dr. Bradley Ryan, a general surgeon who performed two robotic procedures at Spotsylvania to remove all or parts of the colon.

At Mary Washington Healthcare, Fletcher sees more innovations in technology, including 3D printers that produce parts of implants or even splints and casts.

That technology is not far away, he said.

MORE PREVENTION

Benjamin Franklins saying that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure may be even more valid in the mid-21st century as when the founding father first said it.

Already, there are mobile health applications on the market that help patients monitor their blood sugar, blood pressure and weight. Because 80 percent of the instances of diabetes, heart disease and strokes can be prevented by better self-care, according to SNAPPii, a website about apps, mobile apps  can be indispensable tools for high-risk patients.

So can the expansion of prevention programs already in place.

Naomie Murdock directs community health and wellness for the Rappahannock Area YMCA, which has a diabetes prevention program that helps adults make lifestyle changes to reduce their chances of developing type 2 diabetes.

Diabetes is among the most far-reaching and fastest growing of chronic diseases. The Centers for Disease Control reported than 4 percent of Americans had diabetes in 1980; current figures are three times that and predicted to raise as Americans tend to weigh more and exercise less.

It is projected that by 2050 as many as one in three adults could have the disease, Murdock said.

Research by the National Institute of Health shows that programs like the YMCAs, which is in 47 states, can reduce the number of new cases by as much as 71 percent in adults over 60. That translates to huge savings, both financially and in personal health. In 2012, the total cost of managing diabetes in the United States was $245 billion.

If we dont work hard on prevention and instill the importance of being proactive versus reactive, health care costs will only continue to rise, Murdock said. Making positive lifestyle changes related to food and physical activity are well worth the investment.
Newcomers face the challenging task of figuring out how to settle in, legally and practically. Weve compiled some basic information to help make the Fredericksburg region home.

ELECTRICITY

Dominion Energy,

Covers most of Fredericksburg and Stafford, King George and Spotsylvania counties. It also serves some customers in Caroline, Culpeper, Louisa, Orange and Westmoreland counties.

Rappahannock Electric Cooperative,

800/552-3904; myrec.coop

Serves Caroline and customers in Spotsylvania, Stafford and Orange counties.

Northern Neck Electric Cooperative,

804/333-3621 or 800/243-2860; nnec.coop

Provides electricity in portions of King George and Stafford counties.

Northern

Virginia

Electric

Cooperative

Serves parts of Stafford.

NATURAL GAS

Columbia Gas, 800/543-8911; columbiagasva.com or, in case of emergency, 800/544-5606

Serves Fredericksburg and parts of Stafford, Spotsylvania and Caroline counties.

TELEPHONE

Verizon

For residential service, call 800/837-4966; verizon.com

For business service, call 800/826-2355.

VOTING

Register to vote at the DMV, or visit your local registrar.

PET LICENSES

Dog licenses and proof of rabies vaccination are required for dogs 4 months and older in Fredericksburg and all counties. State law requires cats 4 months and older to be vaccinated as well, but only some localities require cats to be licensed.

Dog licenses are available from your local treasurer. And if your pet type is normally found only in a zoo, check with your local animal-control office to see if its legal to own.
Its safe to say the Fredericksburg regions population will continue to increase over the next two decades.

But exactly how much the area will grow is up for debate, though at least two projections agree that Stafford County will lead the pack.

The Metropolitan Washington Council for Governments, or COG, recently estimated that Staffords population would swell from 144,361 in 2016 to 251,900 in 2040a 74 percent increase. To put that in perspective, Arlington County had an estimated 230,000 residents in 2016. Meanwhile, the University of Virginias Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service thinks Stafford will have 208,845 residents in 23 years.

Both reports also predicted growth in Spotsylvania County, though COGs estimate was much higher than Weldons. COG estimates Spotsylvanias population will increase from 132,010 in 2016 to 240,600 in 2040, an 82 percent spike. Weldon predicts the county will continue to be the Fredericksburg regions second-largest locality with 181,549 residents in 2040.

But Weldons forecast for Fredericksburgwhich had about 28,300 residents in 2016did exceed COGs. Weldon officials predict 38,790 city residents by 2040, while COG thinks the population will settle at 33,600.

Weldons population forecast takes into account growth rates over the past 15 years, while COGs model draws on various sources such as demographers and local-government planners.

Tim Ware, executive director of the George Washington Regional Commission, said it is doubtful the areas roads will be able to keep up with the demands of an ever-growing population. Theres just not enough money to meet all the needs, not only in our region but across the state, he said. Its almost impossible.

He also said the additional residents will strain schools, emergency services and other infrastructure.

But there is good news.

The Fredericksburg regions higher population will bring more jobs, particularly in Stafford, according to COG.

Stafford is expected to have 91,100 jobs by 2045, a 73 percent increase over 2015. Job totals in Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania are expected to go up 64 percent and 53 percent, respectively, over the same time period.

Ware said he hopes more private-sector jobs come to the Fredericksburg region, where many people commute to positions with the U.S. government or federal contractors. Theres a lot of brainpower in this region that can go beyond the gates of those military installations, he said, referring to Naval Support Facility Dahlgren and Marine Corps Base Quantico. Were a great alternative to Northern Virginia.

Jeannette Chapman, deputy director for George Mason Universitys Stephen S. Fuller Institute, said it would take a major policy intervention to stop the regions population growth, which is unlikely. The Fredericksburg area has plenty of housing options and lots of jobs within commuting distance, she added.

I think it will remain attractive to a lot of different people for a lot of different reasons, Chapman said.
W hether youre a newcomer or native Virginian, a transient or permanent transplant, youll be sure to dazzle your neighbors with these tidbits of information about the state that might rightfully be called the birthplace of a nation.

STATE SONG

Virginia had been without a state song since Carry Me Back to Old Virginny was retired in 1997 for racist lyrics. Now, there are two official state songs: Our Great Virginia and Sweet Virginia Breeze. Our Great Virginia combines the melody of Shenandoah, a ballad from the 1800s, with words by New York lyricist Mike Greenly. Sweet Virginia Breeze is the official popular state song. This is an up-tempo pop tune by Richmond musicians Robbin Thompson and Steve Bassett.

NOT SO NOBLE

Not all of Virginias history is filled with noble distinctions. The first settlers arrived at Jamestown in 1607 and shortly thereafter became the first to utilize slavery to develop their cash croptobacco.

BIRTHPLACE OF A NATION

Four of the first five presidents of the United States were born in Virginia. They are George Washington, often called the father of our country, though he was by all accounts childless. It also includes the third president, Thomas Jefferson, who attended the College of William & Mary and later founded the University of Virginia. And it includes the fourth president, James Madison of Orange County, and the fifth president, James Monroe, who was born in Westmoreland County and practiced law in Fredericksburg. Virginia was also the birthplace of Presidents William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, Zachary Taylor and Woodrow Wilson. But beyond presidents, Virginia also produced significant leaders in the cause of freedom such as George Mason, often called the father of the Bill of Rights.

ON ITS OWN

While its included as one of the nations 50 states, Virginia is actually a commonwealth.

STATE DOG

Or ask them if they know the breed of the state dog. Virginia chose the American foxhoundimported by George Washington for huntingas the state dog in 1966.

STATE INSECT

The state also has an official insect. Fortunately, its not the cockroach or that annoying deer tick. Our official insect is the enchanting tiger swallowtail butterflyknown for its yellow and black tiger-striped wings and dark tail.

STATE BIRD

The state bird is the northern cardinalan avian with bright red plumage and a cheerful chirp. Eighteenth-century England called the cardinal the Virginia nightingale. The northern cardinal is also state bird to six additional U.S. states, including West Virginia and Ohio.

STATE SHELL

Virginias state shell is the oyster, something that used to be sold at every seafood restaurant. But oysters can carry dangerous bacteria, which has led some restaurants to take them off the menu.

STATE BEVERAGE

Virginias legislators like to think of themselves as being a wholesome bunch. In 1982, the General Assembly made milk the state beverage. Milk is the most popular state beverage of choice, with 21 out of 28 states choosing the beverage over other options, including wine, moxie, tomato juice and apple cider. That, however, makes one wonder why Virginia official photos dont include those white mustaches sported in the milk-industry adsor why the state motto isnt Got Milk?

STATE FLOWER

Virginias state flower is a treethe American dogwood. The official name is Cornus floridanot to be confused with Floridas state flower, the orange blossom.

STATE FISH

The state fish is the brook trout, which sometimes feed on their young. Native to northern North America, the brook trout is one of the most popular game fish in Canada. In 2011, state legislators also designated a state saltwater fish, the striped bass.

STATE MOTTO

The state motto is Sic Semper TyrannisLatin for Thus Always to Tyrants. Its emblazoned on the state seal, which depicts the goddess Virtus dressed as an Amazon and armed with a spear and sword. The figure stands over a defeated despot, so beware if the kids start romping through the family room chanting Sic Semper Tyrannis.

STATE DANCE

If those kids are getting rambunctious, why not shift their focus to the state dance? Square dancing was chosen in 1991 as the state folk dance.

STATE BAT

Virginia is also one of three states in the country to have a state bat. While Texas and Oklahoma laud the Mexican free-tailed bat, Virginians celebrate the Virginia big-eared bat (Corynorhinus townsendii virginianus), an endangered species that has a taste for moths.

Lawmakers approved the designation in 2005, and former Gov. Mark Warner offered a bit of poetry along with his signature approving the listing. Heres a snippet:

We have a state dog and a fish

and a bird,

And of the fossil Im sure you have heard.

So why not a bat?

Whats wrong with that?

The state beverage is no more absurd.

SALUTE TO THE FLAG

And finally, for those who enjoy a little memory work, how about learning the salute to Virginias flag?

I salute the flag of Virginia, with reverence and patriotic devotion to the Mother of States and Statesmen, which it representsthe Old Dominion, where liberty and independence were born.
Local government officials across the Fredericksburg area say efforts to grow their inventories of parks and trails are ongoing. All have goals to develop new recreational facilities though their timetables and certainty about such plans vary the farther down the road they look.

Officials agree that parks and recreation must play a key role in their long-range land use planning, not just as a matter of providing adequate green space for residents to enjoy, but also because parks and trails preserve and protect the land resources they use.

One project that could in the future tie three area localities together is the Virginia Central Rail trail, which currently has segments in Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County. It begins downtown, crosses the Blue-Gray Parkway and U.S. 1, and ends near Idlewild subdivision and Interstate 95.

As envisioned well into the future, the VCR would continue through Spotsylvania County and into Orange County. Connecting the Fredericksburg and Spotylvania portions would require crossing I95, a major hurdle.

According to Spotsylvania Planning Director Wanda Parrish, a logical plan would be to include a pedestrian and bicycle lane when the bridge that carries Harrison Road is widened as part of a broader Harrison Road widening project.

The connection could then be made to Spotsylvanias portion of the VCR trail, which begins near the Harrison Road Convenience Center and continues west to Gordon Road.

Parrish acknowledges that finding a path farther west through Spotsylvania toward Orange will be no easy task given the development and private property along the Rappahannock River and State Route 3 corridor.

Spotsylvanias Trailways Master Plan, completed in 2011, is found under Long-Range Planning on the countys planning department web page. Parrish said the county is continually working to implement various aspects of the plan, and encourages developers to include trails in their development plans. That is how, for example, the county hopes to fill the gap between portions of the Spotsylvania Parkway Trail.

The city, meanwhile, also has its Canal Path/Heritage Trail, which is a 5-kilometer loop. Jane Shelhorse, recreation and parks director, said the city is always looking to improve and upgrade its parks while creating a trail network that will keep the community connected.

In Stafford County, completion of the BelmontFerry Farm Trail is scheduled for this fall, with Phase IV running from Pratt Park to State Route 3 at the Chatham Bridge near Ferry Farm, George Washingtons boyhood home. The trail begins in the Falmouth Bottom at Belmont, continues under the U.S. 1 bridge, and winds through Brooks and Pratt parks.

The countys current Comprehensive Plan, adopted in 2016, refers to the $29 million bond referendum approved by voters in November 2009. It stipulates that the money be used for three new parks and three new trails, along with renovations at existing parks and land acquisition for future parks.

We are currently eyeing four undeveloped parks properties that we already own for potential new parks as community needs arise and as funds become available, Shannon Howell, the countys public information officer, said in an email. One of our continuing challenges is finding ways to expand our offerings for our very active seniors.

King George officials have taken a hard look at where they are and where they want to be on parks and recreation amenities in their 2016-17 Parks & Recreation Needs Analysis.

The document points out that while parks facilities are used mostly by young people, its the countys older population that would take advantage of more paved trails, hiking trails, pickleball courts and other low impact activities.

Though there are some short trails within county parks, 69 percent of people surveyed for the analysis cited the need for additional walking and bike trails.

According to the analysis, the county operates no trail networks of any type, and other amenities with major shortfalls are fishing areas, paved paths and picnic sites. For a county sandwiched between the Potomac and Rappahannock, the report says, general public and boat access to the waterways is sorely lacking.

Orange County is directing most of its parks and recreation attention to the State Route 3 corridor in the eastern end of the county where most of its growth will take place. Officials are currently updating the 2015 GermannaWilderness Area Plan, which looks 50 years into the future, to advance the objectives already in it.

Josh Fredericks, the countys planning and zoning director, said the county would love to extend the existing Rapidan River trail in both directions, eventually hooking into the Virginia Central Railway trail.

In the coming decades wed like to extend it down to Fredericksburg, he said, though at this point that may be a pie-in-the-sky outlook. Fredericks noted that Fredericksburg already owns a piece of property along the Rapidan in Orange County, which might be a piece of the puzzle down the road.

There are a number of other trails across the county listed at visitorangecounty.com.

In Caroline County, recreation director Donnell Howard said the county is always looking to upgrade and add amenities to existing parks and facilities, but he laments the lack of trails in the county.

We dont have trails and we need to do better on that, he said. Its on my wish list.

He said the parks and recreation advisory committee is looking at possibilities for what would be a network of trails in the county. He said there is a special emphasis on the Ladysmith area due to the population growth there, with a community center focusing on kids activities a main objective.
Many people say that the most helpful recommendation Ive made to block annoying robocalls is to check out nomorobo.com. The call blocker works on iPhones and VoIP phone lines connected to a cable bundle package.

But the award-winning blocker has weaknesses. The app doesnt stop scam calls to old-style analog landline phones. Its Android version isnt ready either.

How can landline owners and Android phone users get help? Its something they ask all the time.

Many products are on the market. Some landline phones have built-in call blockers that sometimes work. Android users can try dozens of apps in the Google Play store.

But theres a new product recently released by an Allen-based company that claims to do what nomorobo.com cant.

We havent tested the box, but we did test the Android app at the companys office. I await reports from users.

The company, Call Control, headquartered in Allen, Texass Watters Creek development, sells a popular app in Google Play and iPhones App Store that works on all smartphones.

The big news is the companys debut of a landline blocker called Call Control Home. Its pricey, but if youre annoyed by calls on your landline, let me tell you more. Dont hang up yet.

HOW MUCH?

The Call Control Home box, the size of a Whataburger Jr., connects to a landline phone and captures the latest list of bad phone numbers by syncing to a smartphone via Bluetooth.

The debut model costs $130 and includes a one-year subscription to the service and its online community.

The Call Control app for smartphones costs $3 a month (nomorobo.com is $2 for iPhones) or $29 for the yearly subscription.

Interested? Visit CallControl.com for more information.

NEW PRODUCT, AS YET UNTESTED

The company has a good track record. Call Control founder/inventor Ben Sharpe developed the first call blocker for Blackberry phones. His app attracts hundreds of thousands of users, the company says.

The online community at the companys sister website, EveryCaller.com, allows people to post scam numbers and includes a database of all numbers reported. Millions have used the site, the company says.

Company CEO John Adler leads the company in Allen. His interest stemmed from when his 89-year-old father was ripped off by fake Microsoft tech support scammers. His dad lost $300, but the hit to his pride was greater.

This is the World War II generation, he says of his dad, who died in 2014. People call you and say your name? You trust them.

Adler, a former telecom exec who moved to venture capital, was motivated to create a call-blocking tool. Thats when he sought out inventor Sharpe. They teamed up and the Home box is their first big project.

HOW CALL CONTROL HOME WORKS

Nomorobo.com is ingenious in how it uses the simultaneous ring feature to receive bad calls by computer so its users dont get that same call. But if a carrier doesnt offer the simultaneous ring feature, it doesnt work.

Call Control doesnt need that feature, and it works on all phone carriers, including AT&T, Frontier, CenturyLink, Vonage and Time Warner Cable (Spectrum).

If a bad number comes to a phone, the phone flashes but doesnt ring. The setup recognizes a half million blacklisted numberssimilar to nomorobos catalog of bad dudes.

The new box, made in Korea, has a button on top that manually blocks the last incoming call.

Dont believe promises from strangers sent in the mail

The box has had limited public exposure. Adler says he plans to unveil it on the world stage at next years Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

We will not stop every robocall, he says. Well stop most. But were going after the bad boys.

Adler, who is Fairviews mayor pro tem, says the little black box has been tested by family and friends.

How does he know its working?

My house is a lot quieter.
A body discovered in Nokesville, Virginia, is that of a missing Fairfax County 18-year-old who authorities say was probably killed in a gang-related incident, Prince William County police said Thursday.

The body of Miguel Angel Ruiz Carrillo, of the Mount Vernon section of Fairfax County, was found Tuesday near Nokesville Road and Fauquier Drive after a day-long search using dogs, police said. Authorities said information obtained by Fairfax County police during the investigation into Carrillo's disappearance led them to search the area.

Carrillo was last seen on the evening of Aug. 3 and was reported missing by his family the next day. Police said they later uncovered evidence that Carrillo might be endangered and involved in gang activity. They have not provided details on that evidence or said what gang might have been involved in his disappearance.

But Mercedes Carrillo, the victim's mother, said in an interview two weeks ago that friends of her son's said they saw a group attack him at about 6 p.m. on Aug. 3 after he went to a pond near his home where he liked to fish. She said the group took her son into a wooded area, which neighbors said police began searching after he disappeared.

No one has been charged in connection with the killing, but last week Fairfax County police charged three people for gang participation and abduction in connection with Carrillo's disappearance. Jose Vincent-Sosa, 20, and Edwin Dinarte Moreno, 18, both of Alexandria, along with a female juvenile, were arrested, police said.

Mercedes Carrillo said she thought that her son was not involved in a gang. He did have a cellphone, but he had not answered it since he disappeared. His mother said he was in the 10th grade at Bryant Alternative High School in Alexandria.

"He was very quiet," she said.

Mercedes Carrillo said her family is originally from El Salvador and has been in the United States for three years. She has another son.

If the killing is gang-related, it would follow an uptick in violence by the MS-13 street gang in Northern Virginia and across the Washington area that has left dozens of young people dead or behind bars. Earlier this year, police charged 10 people in connection with the MS-13-related killing of 15-year-old Gaithersburg teen Damaris A. Reyes Rivas, whose body was found in the Springfield area in February.

Fairfax County prosecutors said Reyes Rivas was killed in retaliation for the slaying of 21-year-old Christian Sosa Rivas, whose body was found along the Potomac River in the Dumfries area in January. Sosa Rivas, of Fairfax City, was allegedly killed by MS-13 members for passing himself off as a leader of the gang, according to a search warrant filed in Prince William County.

Fairfax County Police Chief Edwin Roessler Jr. said he was troubled by the latest killing. He said Fairfax County police had been working with the FBI and local partners to stamp out MS-13, as well as educate school-age children to keep them from falling prey to gang recruitment.

"My greatest fear is these senseless murders are continuing to happen," Roessler said.
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Caroline County Public Schools has made establishing a stronger relationship with the community a priority in its five-year strategic plan, which was released Aug. 14.

Along with enhancing teaching and learning, promoting health and safety and maximizing organizational effectiveness, the planPathways 2022calls for increasing family and community engagement with the school division, and vice versa.

CCPS Assistant Superintendent Sarah Calveric said teaching/learning and health/safety are often among the top 4 or 5 critical goals of a school system, but the focus on community engagement is a new priority for the division.

We felt that we really wanted to promote the goodness that is occurring in Caroline County, Calveric said. We felt the best way to do that was through grassroots efforts to build relationships and enhance school and community partnerships. Not only to create testimonial-type scenarios in our neighborhoods, but to support college and career readiness through internships and externships, guest speakers, engaging students and relative learning.

To support this goal, CCPS has created a new full-time, 12-month position for a special projects coordinator. This persons job will be to oversee special projects in school division community relationships, Calveric said.

The division is also inviting local businesses to complete a Partnership in Education application on the CCPS website. Businesses can apply to partner with one or many schools on an ongoing basis or for a one-time special event.

Calveric said the strategic planning process began in January and was conducted by a committee of 33 stakeholders, including community members, local businesses, classroom teachers, instructional aides, representatives from higher education, parents and students.

All voices went into the vision, mission and goals, Calveric said. Theres empowerment and accountability when you have all hands on deck.

Calveric said the process began with taking a look at where the school system stands and what barriers to success exist internally and externally. She identified the Virginia Department of Educations ever-evolving assessment system, budgetary constraints, federal mandates and a new administration in the White House as some of the barriers.

VDOE recently released its 2016 SOL reports, which showed that CCPS students proficiency in reading, math and science declined by two to five percentage points from the previous two years. Social studies proficiency increased by one percentage point.

In reports to the Caroline Board of Supervisors during budget negotiations in April, CCPS Superintendent George Parker also pointed to high teacher turnover as a problem for the division.

Calveric said the new strategic plan gives teachers and administrators an opportunity to have a laser-like focus on the four primary goals, which she said will lead to future success.

She said success also depends on financial support from federal and local government. She said CCPS plans to present the Caroline Board of Supervisors with regular updates on the strategic plans progress.

We feel like if we continue to collaborate and communicate and help develop their understanding of our needs that they, in turn, will be able to allocate the funding necessary to achieve the goals, she said.

Of course, there are a number of priorities within the countywere one of many and we understand that, she continued. We will work feverishly with them to make sure our priorities are known.

In fiscal 2016, CCPS received 31.2 percent of its funding from local government.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, public school systems usually receive about 45 percent of their funding from the locality.

Local government provided 37.9 percent of King George Public Schools fiscal 2016 funding. Stafford and Spotsylvania counties provided 42.6 and 42.9 percent of their school systems funding, respectively.

Calveric said that investigating grant opportunities is one of the action steps in the Pathways 2022 plan, but local financial support is crucial.

Truthfully, its the local dollars and federal moneys that we receive through different title sources that really helps support these initiatives, Calveric said.

Theres empowerment and accountability when you have all hands on deck. SARAH CALVERIC
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has awarded the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Engineering $25 million to create the Medicines for All Institute, a program that will seek ways to make life-saving medications less costly and more available worldwide.

The grant  which is the largest the university has ever received from a private entity  was announced Thursday at an event held at the Biotechnology Research Parks Biotech Eight building on North Fifth Street, where the institute has set up a 30,000-square-foot space.

Frank Gupton  chair of the Department of Chemical and Life Science Engineering at the School of Engineering  will lead the institute as it seeks ways to make medications to treat HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and other diseases more accessible by reducing the manufacturing cost.

These are medicines for the most part that are either in the forms of generics or would-be generics, said Barbara D. Boyan, dean of the School of Engineering. The costs of these medicines has not risen to a great extent, but to many people in the world theyre still too expensive and just too difficult to have access to.

Gupton and his team have received several smaller grants from the Gates Foundation over the past three years, using those funds to make manufacturing less costly over an 18-month period for one drug at a time.

We had to prove ourselves, Gupton said. We went through a pretty rigorous proof of concept period for about three years where they gave us one drug after another to work on. If we didnt succeed, that check wouldnt have been written.

Including the most recent grant, VCU has received nearly $40 million from the Gates Foundation.

The $25 million grant will last five years. During the first year the institute will work on one drug, then two in the second year, until they are working on four drugs in parallel by the end of the fourth year.

We have milestones to hit, Gupton said.

Gov. Terry McAuliffe  who was present at Thursdays event  got involved in the process of persuading the Gates Foundation to award the grant to VCU. Gupton said that, in January, McAuliffe met with him and representatives with the foundation.

I will tell you, Ive never seen such salesmanship in my life, Gupton said of McAuliffe.

VCU expects the institute to draw in companies to Richmond as well, and Gupton said that some companies have expressed interest in partnering with the institute already.

Guptons team  which consists of senior scientists as well as graduate students  works by increasing a drugs production yield and decreasing waste.

For one of the drugs for which they received an earlier grant from the Gates Foundation, an HIV drug called nevirapine, researchers increased the yield in the production process from 58 percent to 92 percent.

There are a limited number of HIV drugs out there, so the Gates Foundation recognized that there may be more opportunities if you could get the cost down on the development, Gupton said.

The goal is to streamline the manufacturing process without adding to the cost. Gupton said the simpler the better: Drug companies are unlikely to make the drugs if the process is too costly and complex.

Things cant go on the way they have for the past century, Gupton said. We have to use 21st-century capabilities to make these drugs, and make these drugs affordable to everybody.
Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center has withdrawn its application to build a freestanding emergency department in Stafford County off U.S. 17.

The application for the conditional use permit was retracted Aug. 15, according to county spokeswoman Shannon Howell. That same day, the Board of Supervisors voted to refer to the Planning Commission an amendment to the zoning ordinance regarding freestanding emergency departments.

According to a county staff report, freestanding emergency departments are not listed in the zoning ordinance, so the applicant requested that the facility be considered a medical clinic.

However, staff determined that the facility should be classified as a hospital since it requires a hospital license by the Virginia Department of Health.

The hospital appealed that determination to the Board of Zoning Appeals, but it was denied. According to the report, staff is seeking an amendment to the zoning ordinance that will define as a hospital all medical facilities that are required to be licensed under a hospital license.

Susan Coleman, the hospitals director of marketing and communications, did not respond to requests for comment.
Charlottesville Mayor Mike Signer on Thursday said that he did not have access to security details before the deadly white nationalist rally earlier this month, claiming that his citys police chief at one point told the mayor to stay out of my way.

Though Signer said he had little ability to direct the police response himself, security concerns the Virginia State Police raised before the rally were relayed to Signer in an Aug. 2 phone call from Gov. Terry McAuliffe, according to state officials.

According to Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security Brian J. Moran, McAuliffe took the unusual step of relaying several specific recommendations to Signer, including the possibility of restricting weapons, requiring rally attendees to meet at one location to be bused in for the event, and shortening the duration of the five-hour permit.

Throughout this process there were conversations between Colonel (W. Steven) Flaherty and Charlottesville, Moran said in an interview this week, referring to the state police superintendent. There came a time that the state police had recommendations to us. And they shared them with me and then we shared them with the governor so that he could communicate those recommendations with the mayor of Charlottesville.

In an interview, Signer confirmed that he received advice from the governor, but said he did not receive any written recommendations.

Hes a friend and I know he was trying to help us, Signer said.

The Charlottesville Police Department did not respond to multiple inquiries about how the city responded to the governors suggestions.

Moran said the state mobilized its resources in unprecedented fashion to support the city for the Aug. 12 rally, but as with any other disaster such as a tornado or a hurricane, the locals were in control.

In the aftermath of the violence, many have questioned whether police were instructed to take a less-than-forceful posture at the rally, which swiftly dissolved into running street battles between white nationalist demonstrators and counterprotesters. During a Ku Klux Klan rally in July at a different park a few blocks away, police maintained strict physical separation between a group of about 50 Klansmen and more than 1,000 anti-Klan protesters.

After the July rally, police were criticized for using tear gas to disperse protesters as Klan members left the area, fueling speculation about whether police dialed back their tactics in response. After this months event, both rally organizers and anti-racist protesters accused the police of doing too little.

The vehicular crossing of the citys pedestrian mall where one counterprotester was killed was supposed to be closed on the day of the event. Officials have not explained how several cars  including the one that rammed into a crowd of people, injuring 30 and killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer  were able to drive through the area.

Charlottesville Police Chief Al Thomas, who last year became the first African-American to lead the police department, has defended the law enforcement response. Charlottesville officials have said the KKK cooperated with efforts to coordinate the groups arrival, while the hodgepodge of so-called alt-right groups that attended the August rally arrived at different times and were less willing to provide officials with accurate information about their plans.

Until Thursday, state and local politicians had largely shied away from appearing to criticize the police.

In a lengthy Facebook post published Thursday morning, Signer made the case that his hands were tied by the citys council-manager form of government, in which a city manager oversees daily governmental operations and reports to a council that passes legislation and sets policy.

During a briefing on the Thursday before August 12 with the Police Chief, the Fire Chief, and the City Manager, when I asked the Police Chief what I could do to be helpful during that day as Mayor, he answered, Stay out of my way,  Signer wrote. Despite repeated requests, I was not allowed into the Citys Command Center (run by City staff) and was instead asked to be in the Emergency Operations Center (where fire, rescue, and other stakeholders were monitoring the situation).

Thomas did not respond to a request for comment.

Signer went on to say he had no legal authority to tell police to back off.

I couldnt order a stand down if I wanted to, said Signer, a Democrat who made headlines this year by declaring Charlottesville a capital of resistance to President Donald Trump.

The mayors post preceded a closed-door council meeting Thursday to discuss the events of Aug. 12, which he said raised serious questions about the citys handling of security, communications and governance.

Around midday, the council emerged from the meeting to say Thomas and City Manager Maurice Jones still have their jobs, according to The Daily Progress. The city has said it will seek an independent review of how the rally was handled.

Moran said he didnt believe the state raised any concerns regarding the use of tear gas due to the criticism leveled over the crowd-dispersal methods used in July.

We would have done the same thing on Saturday, Moran said. But they moved them out of the way and we never had to deploy any gas. People dispersed throughout the city.

Citing public safety concerns and the potential for unmanageable crowds, Charlottesville officials tried to move the rally from Emancipation Park, a small downtown park thats home to a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. The Lee statue, which the city intends to remove if not blocked by a pending lawsuit, was the ostensible reason that white nationalist groups from around the country descended on Charlottesville for a white pride display that was called off before its noon start time when officials ordered the crowd to disperse.

The city tried to move the rally to McIntire Park, a bigger, open area away from tightly packed downtown streets, but a federal judge ruled Friday that the city failed to make its case that the permit was changed for neutral public safety reasons rather than disapproval of the white nationalists and their cause.

The first recommendation  restricting firearms and other weapons as a condition of allowing large-scale rallies  is shaping up as a major focus for official reviews of the Charlottesville violence, one that raises tricky constitutional questions about how the Second Amendment coincides with the First Amendment.

No shots were fired during the rally, but both sides made liberal use of clubs, sticks and tear gas.

The question of whether Virginia localities can ban weapons at public demonstrations did not come up in the free-speech litigation over whether the city could move the rally.

The issue of weapons never came up, said Claire Guthrie Gastanaga, executive director of the ACLU of Virginia, which was involved in the lawsuit against the city. The citys only argument was a numbers argument. Too many people were coming downtown.

To begin the process of reviewing the governments handling of events in Charlottesville, McAuliffe signed two executive orders Thursday establishing a task force on civil unrest and a diversity commission that will explore ways to combat intolerance and prevent political violence.

We must engage in a thorough review of the events that took place before, during and after the incident in Charlottesville and identify any existing gaps or issues that need to be addressed, including our permitting process, McAuliffe said in a written statement.

House Republican leaders responded with a statement of their own, saying, Many Virginians are beginning to ask fair questions about how this incident was handled. The response from the office of House Speaker William J. Howell, R-Stafford, asked that the chairs of the legislatures public safety committees be included in the work of the task force and called for all reports and findings to be made public to ensure confidence and determine whether a more independent investigation is necessary.

Moran will chair the task force reviewing the response to what he described as weaponized hate speech.

Theres a lot of takeaways from this and we need to sit down with professionals and learn from it and be ready for the next one, Moran said. Because I dont think were out of the woods.
Catherine Crabill said any "educated person knows that there were as many reasons as men fighting in her War between the states" [Civil War set stage for Deep State, Aug. 19]. While I disagree with Slavery was an issue, but not THE issue, I agree that we should approach this like an educated person.

Its true there were many causes. Including, of all things, the weather in Georgia on secession voting day! But of the many reasons, there was but one major one: slavery.

Why should you believe this? Because that is what they said! The articles of secession from various states make this clear ("Our position is thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery, said Mississippi). Ask Confederate Vice President Alexander Stephens: This, our new government, is the first in the history of the world based upon this, in reference to slavery subjugation.

Want more? A last-minute Southern offer of compromise had one component: slavery, which would be extended to the Pacific. Hardly the abolished on its own in Ms. Crabills construction, and no mention of unconstitutional overreach.

Ms. Crabill is victim to a PR campaign one hundred years ago, starting with D.W. Griffiths Birth of a Nation, then picked up by the United Daughters of the Confederacy, who helped spread the Lost Cause revisionism through monuments and the rather subversive Jefferson Davis Highway campaign.

This culminated with the 1924 Democratic Convention, aka the Klanbake.

That said, bonus points to the writer for tying this to the "Deep State" and the presidents discomfort from the Founders' constrictions on a demagogue chief executive.

So yes: read, listen, think and be educated!

Paul Everitt

Stafford
Story Highlights 14% of Republicans believe news media get the facts straight

62% of Democrats agree

College-educated are most likely to find news media credible

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Just over a third of Americans (37%) in 2017 say news organizations generally get the facts straight, unchanged from the last time Gallup asked this question in 2003. But despite the apparent stability in U.S. adults' perceptions of news media accuracy, major partisan shifts in beliefs on this topic have emerged over the past 14 years. Republicans' trust in the media's accuracy has fallen considerably, while Democrats' opinions on the matter have swung in the opposite direction.

The most recent findings come from two Gallup polls, conducted in March and July of this year and consisting of interviews with 1,810 adult Americans.

When Gallup first asked this question in 1998, over half of both Republicans (52%) and Democrats (53%) believed news organizations generally got the facts straight. Both groups' belief in the accuracy of the media fell in late 2000, likely in response to mistaken election-night projections of the 2000 presidential election, which saw some networks first declare Democrat Al Gore and then Republican George W. Bush the winner, before ending the night with no official winner.

Though the networks later admitted to jumping the gun on the Gore and the Bush projections, Republicans' trust in news organizations fell far more sharply than Democrats'. In December 2000, 23% of Republicans said news organizations generally get the facts straight -- a 29-percentage-point decline -- compared with 40% of Democrats. While Democrats' perceptions did not change much in 2003, Republicans' views improved somewhat.

This year, only 14% of Republicans believe the news media get the facts straight, down 21 points from 2003. This seems at least partly attributable to President Donald Trump's frequent invective toward the media. But last year, before Trump became president, a separate measure showed a general loss of trust in the U.S. news media among Republicans over the previous 15 years, suggesting that Trump may be taking advantage of shifting GOP attitudes at least as much as creating them.

Before last year's election, Democrats' trust in the mass news media, more generally, had declined over the previous 15 years, even though Democratic trust has always exceeded Republican trust. Thus, Democrats' 21-point increase since 2003 in belief in the media's accuracy may be a recent counterreaction to Trump's criticism of mainstream media, reflecting a renewed appreciation for the press. Although Gallup has yet to update Americans' overall trust in mass media since Trump took office, it did find in June that the percentage of Democrats who have "a great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in newspapers nearly doubled from the year before, rising from 28% to 46%.

College-Educated Americans More Likely to See News Media as Accurate

Though political affiliation exerts the greatest influence on a person's beliefs about the accuracy of media, education is also important. College graduates are much more likely than those without a college degree to believe news organizations generally get the facts straight when reporting the news.

In 2017, 49% of college graduates say the news media generally get the facts straight, compared with 36% of Americans who attended college but did not graduate and 28% of those with no more than a high school education. These effects are most pronounced among Democrats but are also apparent among independents.

Nearly three-fourths of Democrats (72%) with a college degree say news organizations are generally accurate, slightly more than the 63% of Democrats who attended but did not graduate college and well above the 48% of Democrats without any college education who say the same.

Independents follow a similar pattern -- those with a college education are more likely than those without a college degree to say news organizations generally get the facts straight.

However, education appears to make little difference in Republicans' beliefs about the credibility of news media. Even among Republicans with at least a college degree, 18% say the media get the facts straight -- only slightly higher than the 12% of Republicans without a college degree who say the same.

Democrats, College-Educated Have Highest Confidence in Newspapers

In June, Gallup asked Americans about their confidence in a variety of institutions, including three news media outlets -- newspapers, TV news and internet news. Democrats and college-educated adults' confidence in the various news media is distinct from other Americans' views in one notable way -- both are significantly more likely than others to have confidence in newspapers than in TV news or internet news.

For example, 46% of Democrats say they have "a great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in newspapers; slightly fewer (38%) have this level of confidence in TV news and only 18% have similar faith in internet news.

By contrast, Republicans are about equally as likely to say they have a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in newspapers, TV news and internet news -- at 13%, 13% and 14%, respectively.

Likewise, college-educated Americans are nearly twice as likely to have confidence in newspapers as they are to have confidence in TV news and nearly three times as likely to have confidence in newspapers as in internet news. Americans with lower levels of education have similar levels of confidence in each of the three news media.

Bottom Line

More than at any time in recent memory, the credibility of the major U.S. news organizations has come under persistent assault, particularly from Trump, who has made such critiques a major part of his tweets and a focus in many of his speeches. This negative positioning of the news media comes at a time when Republicans and Democrats have vastly different perceptions of the media's accuracy -- with Republicans now overwhelmingly seeing the news media as inaccurate and a majority of Democrats believing the opposite.

This partisan gap has not always been evident. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the two partisan groups' views of news media accuracy were much more convergent, although differences did appear after the 2000 election.

More broadly, the finding that a solid majority of the country believes major news organizations routinely produce false information is one with potentially significant consequences. As one example, these views may be related to Americans' diminished trust in most major U.S. institutions and rising cynicism about the U.S. political system and elected officials.

Gallup Analytics

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Story Highlights 29% of Americans have positive views of federal government

Republicans' positive views are up; Democrats' views are down

Republicans and Democrats now have similar views of government

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Americans' views of the federal government have become slightly more positive over the past few years. Despite this improvement, less than a third of U.S. adults currently say they view the federal government in a favorable light. The latest 29% who say they view the government "very" or "somewhat" positively is among the highest ratings recorded since 2009, up from the 17% recorded in 2011 and 23% in 2014.

These current views of the federal government, recorded in an Aug. 2-6 Gallup poll, are tied with where they were in 2009, President Barack Obama's first year in office. Readings from 2009 and 2017 represent the highest positive ratings since 2005, with considerable fluctuation in these attitudes over the years, including low points of 18% and 17% in 2008 and 2011, respectively. Views were most positive in 2003, the first year Gallup asked this question, most likely reflecting a continuation of Americans' post-9/11 "rally" around their government.

Despite the slight rise in positive attitudes seen over the past few years, Americans remain much more likely to have "somewhat" or "very" negative views of the federal government (52% this year), while about one in five are neutral (19%). Negative views of the government have outweighed positive views in all but Gallup's first poll in 2003.

From a comparative perspective, the federal government maintains the lowest positive rating of any of the 25 business or industry sectors tested in the August survey, ranking slightly below the pharmaceutical industry's 33%.

Republicans, Democrats Now Have Similar Views of Government

Throughout the first 14 years that Gallup tracked these general attitudes toward the federal government, Republicans and Democrats held significantly different views, directly related to the party of the president. During the George W. Bush years, Republicans were more positive; during the Obama years, Democrats were more positive. The two groups' positive ratings have differed by at least 11 percentage points in all polls since 2003.

As expected, given the change from a Democratic to a Republican president, Democrats' positive views of the federal government have dropped 17 points from last year's 45%, while Republicans' positive views have increased by 21 points since 2016. These changes are similar to the shifts seen in 2009 when Obama became president, although in the opposite direction.

However, the baselines preceding the changes are different this year. Before 2009, there was an 11-point gap in positive views, but before this year, the gap was a much larger 37 points. Thus, the predictable shift in views of government this year -- as a result of the flip in control of the White House -- has just managed to bring the two groups' views into alignment.

Despite the drop this year, Democrats retain a higher degree of positivity now than they did in Bush's final years. Republicans' positive views of government, on the other hand, have returned to about the same level as in Bush's final two years (although much higher than at any point during the Obama years). Thus, the similarity in views of the government among the two party groups -- rather than Republicans holding a more positive view, as would be predicted given the Republican president -- appears to be more a result of Democrats' views than anything else.

Democrats' more positive view of the government compared with 2008 is certainly not the result of their more favorable opinion of the president. Democrats' job approval ratings for Donald Trump are in the single digits, generally similar to their views of Bush in the last three years of his administration. Additionally, Democrats don't control either house of Congress, eliminating that as a factor in their relatively higher ratings of the government. It is possible that Democrats' views of government at least partially reflect their belief in the importance of government to perform needed functions regardless of who is president, or an enhanced belief that government's checks and balances will function to help control what the Republican president might do.

Bottom Line

Republicans certainly have reason to be more positive and confident in the federal government in 2017, as their party has taken control of the White House, retained control of Congress and secured the confirmation of a Supreme Court justice. And, as would be predicted, their views have improved significantly from last year when Obama was still in the White House.

Democrats have reason to be more negative about the government, given Trump's election and their minority status in Congress. And Democrats' views of government have soured. But the two groups' views were so far apart last year -- tied as the biggest partisan gap since 2003 -- that the shifts have merely brought Democrats' and Republicans' views into parity, rather than put Republicans in a position where they are more positive.

Whatever the pattern of partisan differences in views of the government, one fact remains: The majority of Americans, regardless of party identification, have negative views of their federal government -- attitudes that are reflected in the similarly low percentages who approve of the job the president and Congress are doing at this point in history.

Gallup Analytics

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LOL... you're wrong, better check the traffic laws where you live.

Why are you acting like such a nasty little ****?[/QUOTE



If they cross not at a crossing it is jaywalking, now lets get serious they are not jaywalking or crossing the are impeding my right of way. If they are stupid enough to try and stop a moving vehicle that is that much bigger than them then maybe we will say they are proving Darwin right. They have NO right to impede my progress on the road. Again I have witnessed what they do to the cars that stop, not happening to me. You want to stop feel free.
There currently are 93 Fisher Houses in the United States and in Europe with plans for more.
Terri Schofield said that soaring over the landscape in a hot air balloon makes her feel free.

Its so quiet and serene. You feel like youre in your own little oasis, said the Springfield resident, who has piloted balloons for 26 years.

Shortly after dawn on Thursday, Schofields yellow- and blue-striped balloon Simpatico lifted off the grass at Timber-Linn Memorial Park and floated over Albany, the wind carrying it south past Highway 34.

About 10 balloons took part in the media flight at the 18th annual Northwest Art and Air Festival, reaching heights of more than 2,000 feet. The event officially starts with a balloon launch at 6:45 a.m. Friday.

In total, 34 balloons are scheduled to take part, with pilots from seven states  Oregon, Washington, Idaho, California, Nevada, New Mexico and South Dakota  said Chris Whitfield, the balloonmeister for the event.

The Albany Art and Air Festival is the biggest hot air balloon celebration in Oregon, Whitfield said, and thats in part because of healthy sponsorships and hospitality for pilots.

But theres another reason balloonatics love Albany and have been flying here for more than 30 years.

Albany has one of the best flying areas there is in Oregon, Whitfield said, as grass fields surround the city and neighboring communities. In other regions, acreage might be completely fenced and have livestock, which could make landing and retrieving a balloon tricky.

Especially because the balloons really do travel whichever way the wind blows.

Balloon pilot Dale Justice of Newberg said thats part of what makes flying a balloon so great. Its random. You never know how far youre going or where youre going. I love it, said Justice, as he flew near South Albany High School.

The 75-year-old, who got his pilots license in 2009, activated his burner and set a plume of flame into the interior of the balloon to give the aircraft more lift.

The wind also is layered and can push in different directions depending on elevation, added Justice.

With such unpredictability, balloonists rely on a crew to help them pack up the balloons after landing.

After an hour-long flight, Justices balloon La Jolla, the jewel, bounced to a rather gentle landing in a harvested field southeast of Tangent. His crew arrived moments later with an SUV and trailer, having been tracking him south along roadways and communicating with Justice via radio.

Ballooning isnt a solo sport. You need people, Justice said.

Several Albany residents volunteer as crew members for the Art and Air Festival, but Justice had three friends to help him out.

During the four days of the festival, 170 people are scheduled to get balloon rides.

Justice said he goes to about 10 or so balloon festivals every year, mostly in the Northwest, and he knows participants wherever he travels.

After all, theres only about 3,000 balloons in the entire United States, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

Were a very tight-knit community, Justice said.
Learn the facts

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Welcome to my genealogy blog. Genea-Musings features genealogy research tips and techniques, genealogy news items and commentary, genealogy humor, San Diego genealogy society news, family history research and some family history stories from the keyboard of Randy Seaver (of Chula Vista CA), who thinks that Genealogy Research Is really FUN! Copyright (c) Randall J. Seaver, 2006-2021.
After terrorist attacks in Barcelona : Improving protection of Bonns pedestrian zones

Bonn On Thursday, Bonn city officials met with representatives of other municipalities from Rhine-Sieg district and the police to discuss concepts for more security, especially in the inner city.

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It isnt only the recent terrorist attacks in Spain, claiming the lives of many which has caused citizens in Bonn to ask themselves how safe they are especially in the pedestrian zones of the city center. And city officials have also been faced with this question for some time. On Thursday, authorities from the city and representatives from the municipalities met to discuss what could be done to better protect people in the cities.

The meeting came after the Interior Ministry of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) charged police with reviewing current security measures in light of the terrorist attacks that took place in Barcelona and Cambrils. According to city spokesperson Monika Horig, the discussion was about developing concepts to protect the pedestrian zones in the city, especially during big events. Also included in the planning was what to do in the city centers of smaller towns and communities.

New retractable pollards

Bonns inner city pedestrian zone is one of the largest connected pedestrian areas in Europe. The City of Bonn will now set up a working group to develop a concept for further securing these pedestrian zones, with the main focus being on the city center. Under consideration is the installation of additional retractable pollards at open access points leading to the pedestrian zone, one example being Friedensplatz. The police will be a part of the working group, but local businesses will also play a role. As Horig explained They are directly affected.

As far as large events such as Putzchen's market are concerned, the existing safety concepts would be reviewed and, if necessary, adapted. This also applies to larger events in the other cities and municipalities within the jurisdiction of the Bonn police department.

Lord Mayor Ashok Sridharan said he and police director Helmut Pfau were convinced of the need to develop a mid-term and long-term security plan for the inner city. He also called on citizens to not be deterred from enjoying their normal visits to the city and the various events, even if there is no absolute guarantee of security.
SWEET HOME  There was some trepidation among staff at the Sweet Home Police Department after Chief Jeff Lynn requested an agency review in December 2016, but changes made based on the reviews findings have already paid dividends, Lynn told the City Council on Tuesday.

The on-site review by members of the Oregon Association Chiefs of Police was completed in May.

Not everyone looked forward to this, Lynn said. But I believe we need to embrace it and make improvements. I am pleased with the results.

Lynn has been police chief for four years.

The Sweet Home Police Department is composed of 15 sworn and seven non-sworn staff members. The department has an annual budget of $2.4 million, all of which comes from a local option levy.

A key finding in the review was that Lynn and his two sergeants wear too many hats, but Lynn pointed out the reviewers came from larger police agencies with bigger budgets.

Lynn said that in response to the review, he has changed shift duties for the two sergeants.

We have altered their work schedules to coincide with our heavier call loads, Lynn said. The patrol sergeants now work from 3 p.m. to 3 a.m. and they no longer fill in for officers who call in sick.

The reviewers strongly suggested the addition of a third sergeant.

The review indicated Lynn should give up supervising the school resource officer, community service officer and detective. But Lynn said his patrol sergeants are already extremely busy, so he cannot shift those duties at this time.

Lynn said the department recently shifted fire call dispatch to Linn County, and he is researching the possibility of shifting all dispatch duties to other systems. But if there no significant cost savings, he said he sees no need to do so.

Other review suggestions included:

 Lynn should carve out time to begin long-term strategic planning.

 Lynn should increase communication time with staff, although they pointed out Lynn is well respected by department members.

 The patrol fleet needs upgraded. Lynn said two new vehicles are on their way.

 The fact the police department is funded by a levy causes issues with being able to hire and keep quality long-term staffing, since every four years, the departments funding depends on a positive vote of local residents.

 The department earned praise for being engaged in the community participating or leading Citizens Academies, school career fairs, the annual community car show, Sportsmans Holiday, the Oregon Jamboree, Shop With A cop and more.

 The department has a strong commitment to community policing.

 The department is well equipped, including body cameras for all officers.

I believe we can use this information as a road map to make improvements, Lynn said. This was a very rewarding process and I would like to do it again, but you need thick skin.
De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) has welcomed a new report which shows the number of international students overstaying their visa is far below previous estimates.

The study, from the Office for National Statistics, uses a new analysis of border checks on departing students to find that, of those whose long-term study visa expired in 2016-17, 95 per cent either left the UK or remained legally by gaining a visa extension for further study or work.

The figures suggest only around 4,600 international students stayed longer than their visa permitted, far below original estimates of around 90,000.

The news comes at the same time Home Secretary Amber Rudd announced the first Home Office investigation into the economic impact of international students in the UK.

Professor Dominic Shellard, Vice-Chancellor of DMU, said in response to the news: It's intensely frustrating to learn that the hostile rhetoric over the past few months about international students was based on such a false premise.

I very much hope that policy will swiftly change on the basis of this new, unsurprising data from the Office for National Statistics.

We are proud to welcome international students from over 140 nationalities here at DMU. They make a huge educational and cultural contribution to our student community, our city and our county and help all of our students become more employable.

International students also make a significant financial contribution to our region and, according to a recent UUK study, generate more than 25bn for the UK economy.

At DMU, we are committed to ensuring international students have every opportunity to continue to study here.

The disclosure of this report has made me more determined to redouble our efforts to ensure goals of our #LoveInternational campaign are realised and to broaden, still further, the reach of our outstanding international mobility scheme, #DMUglobal.

In the immediate wake of the decision to leave the EU, DMU launched its #LoveInternational campaign.



The initiative both celebrates and reassures international staff and students living and working at universities across the country, and takes this message out overseas.

The campaign has involved DMU holding a series of events in European capitals, celebrating its EU students and staff, as well as its global outlook. These have taken place in Cyprus, Poland, Lithuania and Berlin.

DMU has also organised two huge student experience trips overseas, taking 1,000 students to New York and another 850 to Berlin to promote international study and participate in academic activities and visits unavailable to tourists.

Alistair Jarvis, chief executive of Universities UK, said in response to the study:

"These two official reports show that there is very high visa compliance by international students. The number of students overstaying their visas is a tiny fraction of previous (incorrect) claims.

"International students make a vital contribution to the UK economy, enrich our campuses and the experience of UK students culturally as well as economically. It is crucial that future student visa policy is developed using robust data.

This should be coupled with a positive international communications campaign led by government to highlight that international students are welcomed and valued visitors to the UK.
felicilin at 25-08-2017 10:12 AM (5 years ago) (f)

Spanish and Finnish police, with the help of European law agencies, have arrested 24 members of a suspected prostitution ring preying on young Nigerian women, Europol said Thursday. Spanish and Finnish police, with the help of European law agencies, have arrested 24 members of a suspected prostitution ring preying on young Nigerian women, Europol said Thursday. Quote

Nigerian Prostitution Ring Is Busted By Spanish And Finnish Police

Once in Spain they were forced into prostitution, mostly in the cities of Benidorm and Malaga, but also Madrid, Barcelona, Soria and Gandia (Valencia), Europol said in a statement.

Spanish police arrested the gang members in several Spanish cities, but its leader was taken into custody in Helsinki, where she was arrested by the police, thanks to effective international cooperation. The victims, mainly vulnerable young Nigerian women, were recruited in Nigeria and trafficked to Spain via Italy, Europes Hague-based policing agency said.Nigerian Prostitution Ring Is Busted By Spanish And Finnish PoliceOnce in Spain they were forced into prostitution, mostly in the cities of Benidorm and Malaga, but also Madrid, Barcelona, Soria and Gandia (Valencia), Europol said in a statement.Spanish police arrested the gang members in several Spanish cities, but its leader was taken into custody in Helsinki, where she was arrested by the police, thanks to effective international cooperation.

The probe was started when authorities were alerted that two Nigerian women who were seeking asylum could be victims of human trafficking, Europol said.

Investigations revealed the existence of an organised crime group operating in Spain that had a big infrastructure in Nigeria, as well as links in Niger, Libya and Italy.

The women were smuggled to Spain where they were told to seek international protection and asylum so that they could work for the criminal organisation without problems in the event of being identified by the police, Europol said.

The group provided the victims with fraudulent documents to request asylum, it added.

Spanish police earlier this month busted another network that was forcing transsegxwals into prostitution, after luring most of them to Spain from Venezuela.



The probe was started when authorities were alerted that two Nigerian women who were seeking asylum could be victims of human trafficking, Europol said.Europol said.The group provided the victims with fraudulent documents to request asylum, it added.Spanish police earlier this month busted another network that was forcing transsegxwals into prostitution, after luring most of them to Spain from Venezuela.

Post Reply Posted: at 25-08-2017 10:12 AM (5 years ago) | Hero
clarajancita at 25-08-2017 01:09 PM (5 years ago) (f)

A Johannesburg, South Africa-based journalist, Aislinn Laing, has joined those making a mockery of Nigeria's President, Muhammadu Buhari and the Presidential spokesmen after they reported that the President's office was ravaged by rats and rodents.

A Johannesburg, South Africa-based journalist, Aislinn Laing, has joined those making a mockery of Nigeria's President, Muhammadu Buhari and the Presidential spokesmen after they reported that the President's office was ravaged by rats and rodents. Laing who is currently the Africa Correspondent for the Times of London, took a swipe at the excuse, saying it is one of the silliest she has ever heard that a Presidential office could be invaded by rodents where the furniture, air conditioners and other items were reportedly damaged.

Laing who had previously covered some of the biggest stories to come from the continent including the Westgate Mall siege in Kenya, the Oscar Pistorius and Shrien Dewani trials, the Ebola crisis, the civil war in Ivory Coast and the death of Nelson Mandela, wrote that such an excuse could only be told by the dumbest of spokesperson and wondered why Nigerians who have some of the most intelligent minds in the world, would allow such people speak for them.

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Laing tore into the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu after he made the statement that the President would have to work from home because rats invaded his office following his absence from the country for 104 days on medical vacation in the United Kingdom.



Opening her salvo, Laing wrote:

Laing who is currently the Africa Correspondent for the Times of London, took a swipe at the excuse, saying it is one of the silliest she has ever heard that a Presidential office could be invaded by rodents where the furniture, air conditioners and other items were reportedly damaged.Laing who had previously covered some of the biggest stories to come from the continent including the Westgate Mall siege in Kenya, the Oscar Pistorius and Shrien Dewani trials, the Ebola crisis, the civil war in Ivory Coast and the death of Nelson Mandela, wrote that such an excuse could only be told by the dumbest of spokesperson and wondered why Nigerians who have some of the most intelligent minds in the world, would allow such people speak for them.playLaing tore into the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu after he made the statement that the President would have to work from home because rats invaded his office following his absence from the country for 104 days on medical vacation in the United Kingdom.Opening her salvo, Laing wrote: Quote "In the annals of excuses, it might rival 'the dog ate my homework' for sheer inventiveness. President Buhari of Nigeria, who has been on sick leave for all but three months of the past year, says he cannot return to work in his office because rats have eaten it.

Garba Shehu, the presidents spokesman, revealed that Mr. Buhari, 74, would be working from home for the next three months because his office at Aso Rock, the presidential complex on the outskirts of the capital, Abuja, had to be renovated.

He claimed that rodents had damaged the furniture and air conditioning units. Rats put the presidents office out of action while he was away."

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Laing's knock of the outrageous excuse given for the President's decision to work from home, has been receiving a wide range of mockery from both local and international media.

The BBC was the first to drop their thoughts on the scandal when it talked about it on their pidgin language service thus:

Laing's knock of the outrageous excuse given for the President's decision to work from home, has been receiving a wide range of mockery from both local and international media.The BBC was the first to drop their thoughts on the scandal when it talked about it on their pidgin language service thus: Quote "Garba Shehu, senior special assistant, SSA on Media mata to President Muhammadu Buhari say rodents don damage di President office and dis na why im dey work from home.

'After im no dey for office for about three months, rodents don cause plenty damage for di furniture and air conditioning units wey dey for im office and dis na why e dey work from home for now,' Shehu tell us

Shehu tell us say dis na one of the reason why dem dey clean and renovate di office now. After over 100 days in London where im dey on medical vacation, President Buhari return to Nigeria on Saturday, August 19.

Im address di nation on Monday morning, come send letter to di National Assembly say im don resume work.

But, on Monday, di President still work from home and people come dey ask wetin cause this one.

Shehu say dem just dey clean di office and dis na why di President dey work from di office wey im get for di residential area of Aso Rock villa, wey bi seat of government for Nigeria."

Presidential spokesman Garba Shehu says rats invaded the President's office (OSVP)



While the Presidency has been trying to justify the renovation, many Nigerians have also condemned the excuse, saying it is not only lame but an insult to the citizens who should deserve better after giving their mandate to President Buhari. Shehu tell usShehu tell us say dis na one of the reason why dem dey clean and renovate di office now. After over 100 days in London where im dey on medical vacation, President Buhari return to Nigeria on Saturday, August 19.Im address di nation on Monday morning, come send letter to di National Assembly say im don resume work.But, on Monday, di President still work from home and people come dey ask wetin cause this one.Shehu say dem just dey clean di office and dis na why di President dey work from di office wey im get for di residential area of Aso Rock villa, wey bi seat of government for Nigeria."Presidential spokesman Garba Shehu says rats invaded the President's office (OSVP)While the Presidency has been trying to justify the renovation, many Nigerians have also condemned the excuse, saying it is not only lame but an insult to the citizens who should deserve better after giving their mandate to President Buhari.

Post Reply I am a metro reporter on Gistmania, I have been publishing news materials for over 5 years Posted: at 25-08-2017 01:09 PM (5 years ago) | Hero
felicilin at 25-08-2017 01:10 PM (5 years ago) (f)

With the signing of a pact by the Federal Government and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) yesterday, the coast is clear for the Federal Government to seize assets of 22 politically exposed persons and businessmen in Dubai.

With the signing of a pact by the Federal Government and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) yesterday, the coast is clear for the Federal Government to seize assets of 22 politically exposed persons and businessmen in Dubai. The funds traced to them, which are believed to have been looted, are to be frozen and repatriated to Nigeria.

With the signing of a pact by the Federal Government and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) yesterday, the coast is clear for the Federal Government to seize assets of 22 politically exposed persons and businessmen in Dubai.

The funds traced to them, which are believed to have been looted, are to be frozen and repatriated to Nigeria. All the 22 former political leaders and businessmen are being investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The ratification of the six agreements between the two countries delayed the seizure of the assets, The Nation learnt yesterday. From the records at the Land Registry in the UAE, most of the properties have been traced for forfeiture with the UAE authorities.

Under investigation are seven former governors, seven ex-ministers, four businessmen, a former chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), a former Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Customs Service, a former presidential assistant indicted in the $2.1billion arms deals and a former First Lady who allegedly used fronts to acquire some choice properties.

Two of the assets have been traced to a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, who was implicated by the United States Department of Justice as a beneficiary of $1.5billion laundered cash.

Assets of some business associates of the ex-minister may also be attached, a source close to the investigation said. Also under searchlight are about five luxury properties allegedly linked with a former official of the defunct Oceanic Bank.

Following a state visit to the UAE by President Muhammadu Buhari on January 19, 2016 , the Federal Government signed six agreements with the Emirates.

Some aspects of the understanding border on Judicial Agreements on Extradition, Transfer of Sentenced Persons, Mutual Legal Assistance on Criminal Matters, and Mutual Legal Assistance on Criminal and Commercial Matters (the recovery and repatriation of stolen wealth).

A source, who pleaded not to be named, said: The funds traced to them, which are believed to have been looted, are to be frozen and repatriated to Nigeria.With the signing of a pact by the Federal Government and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) yesterday, the coast is clear for the Federal Government to seize assets of 22 politically exposed persons and businessmen in Dubai.The funds traced to them, which are believed to have been looted, are to be frozen and repatriated to Nigeria. All the 22 former political leaders and businessmen are being investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).The ratification of the six agreements between the two countries delayed the seizure of the assets, The Nation learnt yesterday. From the records at the Land Registry in the UAE, most of the properties have been traced for forfeiture with the UAE authorities.Under investigation are seven former governors, seven ex-ministers, four businessmen, a former chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), a former Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Customs Service, a former presidential assistant indicted in the $2.1billion arms deals and a former First Lady who allegedly used fronts to acquire some choice properties.Two of the assets have been traced to a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, who was implicated by the United States Department of Justice as a beneficiary of $1.5billion laundered cash.Assets of some business associates of the ex-minister may also be attached, a source close to the investigation said. Also under searchlight are about five luxury properties allegedly linked with a former official of the defunct Oceanic Bank.Following a state visit to the UAE by President Muhammadu Buhari on January 19, 2016 , the Federal Government signed six agreements with the Emirates.Some aspects of the understanding border on Judicial Agreements on Extradition, Transfer of Sentenced Persons, Mutual Legal Assistance on Criminal Matters, and Mutual Legal Assistance on Criminal and Commercial Matters (the recovery and repatriation of stolen wealth).A source, who pleaded not to be named, said: Quote With the signing of the agreements, a major hurdle has been cleared and this will enable us to proceed with the application for the seizure of the assets of more than 22 highly-placed Nigerians who have been under probe for alleged money laundering

Before the pact, the UAE law mandates any foreign anti-graft agency to seek the consent of the owner of any property being verified before you can have access to same. But now, the anti-graft agencies in Nigeria can send a list of suspected assets to the UAE authorities through the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Mutual Legal Assistance will be invoked.

Our task is made easier because the Land Registry System is digitalised in a manner that it will not take five minutes to obtain information on anyone suspected of money laundering.

The onus is on us to present sufficient facts on why some of these assets should be seized. We will show evidence of corrupt practices, the laundering of public funds and the purchase of the suspected assets with looted funds.

Responding to a question, the source added: The EFCC has secured Mareva Injunction to freeze some foreign accounts and seize some assets linked with some of these highly placed Nigerians in some jurisdictions.

Some of the off-shore financial institutions, where accounts are frozen, include BNP Paribas (Switzerland), LGT Bank (Switzerland), Standard Chartered Bank (London),Barclays Bank (London), Standard Energy (Voduz, Switzerland), HSBC (London), Corner Bank (Lugano, Switzerland) and Deutsche Bank (Geneva).

according to the source, with the indictment of a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, by the US Department of Justice and her two alleged business associates, seizing their assets will be easier.

Besides, said the official, the conviction of a former Oceanic Bank official by a court in Nigeria was enough to seize any assets linked to her.

We are set to go with the seizure of eight apartments. But out of the eight identified, two apartments linked with Diezani are marked as J5 Emirates Hills (30million Dirham) and E146 Emirates Hills valued at 44million Dirham, the source said.

The former governors, include one from the Southsouth, two from Northcentral, two from the Northeast, one from the Northwest, and one from the Southwest.

We also have the case of a former-governor who failed in his bid to transfer about $517million loot to Dominican Republic from the UAE. We will want to seize the cash, the official said.

Sections 7 of 28 and 34 of the EFCC (Establishment Act) 2004 and Section 13(1) of the Federal High Court Act, 2004 mandate the agency to seize suspicious assets.

Section 7 says: The commission has power to (a) cause any investigations to be conducted as to whether any person, corporate body or organisation has committed any offence under this Act or other law relating to economic and financial crimes

(b) Cause investigations to be conducted into the properties of any person if it appears to the commission that the persons lifestyle and extent of the properties are not justified by his source of income.

Sections 28 and 34 of the EFCC (Establishment Act) 2004 and Section 13(1) of the Federal High Court Act, 2004 empower the anti-graft agency to invoke Interim Assets Forfeiture Clause.

Section 28 of the EFCC Act reads: Where a person is arrested for an offence under this Act, the Commission shall immediately trace and attach all the assets and properties of the person acquired as a result of such economic or financial crime and shall thereafter cause to be obtained an interim attachment order from the Court.

Section 13 of the Federal High Court Act reads in part: The Court may grant an injunction or appoint a receiver by an interlocutory order in all cases in which it appears to the Court to be just or convenient so to do

(2) Any such order may be made either unconditionally or on such terms and conditions as the Court thinks just.

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign and Domestic Debts, Senator Shehu Sani said over $200 billion had been hidden in UAE.

He said: Over $200 billion is stashed away from Nigeria to Dubai alone. This may be the monies stolen since in the past 20 years. I am not talking about estates and bonds and other securities bought with Nigeria stolen money.

The anti-money laundering policy of UAE Central Bank reads: Any person who commits, or attempts to commit, a Money Laundering offence shall be punished by imprisonment of up to 10 years and or a fine of between AED 100,000 and AED 500,000.

In cases of multiple perpetrators, the Court subject to its discretion, may exempt a perpetrator from the imprisonment penalty if he takes the initiative and reports the crime to the competent authorities prior to the knowledge of such authorities and if his actions lead to the arrest of the other perpetrators or seizure of the laundered money.

Any establishment that commits an offence of money laundering, financing of terrorism or financing of any unlawful organizations, shall be punished by a fine of AED 300,000 and AED 1,000,000.

Failure to report a suspicious transaction shall be punishable by imprisonment and /or a fine of between AED 50,000 and AED 300,000.

Tipping off a person being investigated regarding a suspicious transaction shall be punishable by imprisonment of up to one year and/ or a fine of between AED10,000 and AED 100,000.

Violation of the requirements of Airport Declarations shall be punishable by imprisonment and or a fine.

Post Reply Posted: at 25-08-2017 01:10 PM (5 years ago) | Hero
bayonel3 at 25-08-2017 03:05 PM (5 years ago) (m)

The Federal Government of the Philippines, through its labor department, on Friday, issued an order banning private companies from demanding female employees to wear high-heeled shoes at work. According to a labor group that proposed the new directive, the order makes the Philippines the first country in Asia to ban the mandatory wearing of high heels in the workplace.

The Federal Government of the Philippines, through its labor department, on Friday, issued an order banning private companies from demanding female employees to wear high-heeled shoes at work. According to a labor group that proposed the new directive, the order makes the Philippines the first country in Asia to ban the mandatory wearing of high heels in the workplace. We hope that the regulation will also be copied and applied for the benefit of workers in the entire Asia region, said Alan Tanjusay, a spokesman for the Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP). With this regulation, millions of Filipino (workers)  will now be freed from the bondage of unsafe and dangerous working conditions, he added.

Labour Secretary Silvestre Bello said the guidelines would take effect next month and was based on a study by a task force created following ALU-TUCPs proposal.

We noticed how sales ladies, for example, look very tired after standing all day in heels, he said. You can tell there is a feeling of inconvenience or they are uncomfortable.

Bello said the department has not received any negative feedback about the order during consultations. Under the departments guidelines, companies can no longer require women to wear shoes with heels more than 1 inch in height as part of the dress code at work. he added.Labour Secretary Silvestre Bello said the guidelines would take effect next month and was based on a study by a task force created following ALU-TUCPs proposal.Bello said the department has not received any negative feedback about the order during consultations. Under the departments guidelines, companies can no longer require women to wear shoes with heels more than 1 inch in height as part of the dress code at work.

Post Reply I scour the world wide web to bring you interesting stories from around the globe. [email protected] Posted: at 25-08-2017 03:05 PM (5 years ago) | Hero
clarajancita at 25-08-2017 03:15 PM (5 years ago) (f)

About 38 senior military officers have written a petition against Minister of Defence, Brig-General Mansur Dan Ali (rtd), Chief of Defence Staff, General Abayomi Olonisakin, and the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Yusuf Buratai accusing them of victimization. The Minister of Defence, Brig-General Mansur Dan Ali (rtd), Chief of Defence Staff, General Abayomi Olonisakin, and the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Yusuf Buratai have been accused of victimisation by 38 senior army officers who wrote a petition to President Muhammadu Buhari over what they described as wrongful dismissal from the Nigerian Army.

About 38 senior military officers have written a petition against Minister of Defence, Brig-General Mansur Dan Ali (rtd), Chief of Defence Staff, General Abayomi Olonisakin, and the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Yusuf Buratai accusing them of victimization. The Minister of Defence, Brig-General Mansur Dan Ali (rtd), Chief of Defence Staff, General Abayomi Olonisakin, and the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Yusuf Buratai have been accused of victimisation by 38 senior army officers who wrote a petition to President Muhammadu Buhari over what they described as wrongful dismissal from the Nigerian Army.

The retired officers alleged that Ali, Olonisakin and Bruatai abused their offices with impunity by maliciously punishing innocent officers. In a petition dated August 22, 2017 and addressed to President Buhari by the law firm of Abdul Muhammed LP, the officers recalled that at the beginning of this administration, two panels were instituted to inquire into allegations of electoral malpractices by Nigerian Army personnel and allegations of corruption associated with arms procurement under the office of National Security Adviser (NSA).



The officers also noted that sometime in June 2016, the Nigeria Army under the leadership of the troika of Ali, Olonisakin and Buratai presided over an abrupt sitting of the Army Council that saw to the punishment by compulsory retirement of the 38 senior officers of the Nigerian Army.



The petitioners also told President Buhari that after their unjust retirement, some of the officers wrote letters of redress for the presidents matured consideration of their individual cases, through the Chief of Defence Staff as provided by the Harmonised Terms and Conditions of Service (Officers) 2012 but the military authorities deliberately refused to show proof of transmitting the said letters to the president as required by regulations.



The petitioners argued that even though it was claimed that these officers were retired, they were actually dismissed going by the proper construction of their circumstances.

The retired officers alleged that Ali, Olonisakin and Bruatai abused their offices with impunity by maliciously punishing innocent officers. In a petition dated August 22, 2017 and addressed to President Buhari by the law firm of Abdul Muhammed LP, the officers recalled that at the beginning of this administration, two panels were instituted to inquire into allegations of electoral malpractices by Nigerian Army personnel and allegations of corruption associated with arms procurement under the office of National Security Adviser (NSA).The officers also noted that sometime in June 2016, the Nigeria Army under the leadership of the troika of Ali, Olonisakin and Buratai presided over an abrupt sitting of the Army Council that saw to the punishment by compulsory retirement of the 38 senior officers of the Nigerian Army.The petitioners also told President Buhari that after their unjust retirement, some of the officers wrote letters of redress for the presidents matured consideration of their individual cases, through the Chief of Defence Staff as provided by the Harmonised Terms and Conditions of Service (Officers) 2012 but the military authorities deliberately refused to show proof of transmitting the said letters to the president as required by regulations.The petitioners argued that even though it was claimed that these officers werethey were actually dismissed going by the proper construction of their circumstances. Quote I must point out that the very public nature of the declaration of compulsory retirement of the 38 officers has undermined the individual reputations of these senior army officers and frustrated their respective efforts as securing a livelihood for their families, said Abdul Muhammed, who signed the petition.



The petitioners told President Buhari that 18 of the senior army officers that were dismissed did not at any time appear before any one of the two panels that were set up or any other inquiry or investigation for that matter.



According to the petition, said Abdul Muhammed, who signed the petition.The petitioners told President Buhari that 18 of the senior army officers that were dismissed did not at any time appear before any one of the two panels that were set up or any other inquiry or investigation for that matter.According to the petition, Quote the 18 officers were never investigated for any infraction, they were never indicted, they were never tried and they were never convicted of any disciplinary or criminal breaches whatsoever.

Additionally, many of these officers have no relationship whatsoever with election duties or procurement office as falsely alleged by army leadership. Most importantly, Your Excellency, none of the 38 senior officers that were compulsorily retired was at any time ever charged or tried by a court martial or found guilty of any offence in line with due process of the armed forces extant rules and regulations, before they respectively heard of their retirement in the media. Interestingly, none of these officers has been informed of the particulars of any alleged offence till date, the petitioners explained. the petitioners explained.

Post Reply I am a metro reporter on Gistmania, I have been publishing news materials for over 5 years Posted: at 25-08-2017 03:15 PM (5 years ago) | Hero
clarajancita at 25-08-2017 04:10 PM (5 years ago) (f)

The British Government has awarded 40 Nigerians the prestigious Chevening Scholarship to study a wide range of masters programmes in the United Kingdom between 2017 and 2018.

The British Government has awarded 40 Nigerians the prestigious Chevening Scholarship to study a wide range of masters programmes in the United Kingdom between 2017 and 2018. The recipients were selected from a pool of over 6,000 applications in Nigeria and more than 63,000 applications across the globe. Speaking at a pre-departure reception held in Abuja yesterday, the British High Commissioner, Paul Arkwright, said the applicants who won the scholarships did incredibly well to have been among the less than 1 percent awardees.



While announcing the opening of the 2018/2019 application cycle, Arkwright said the British Government had been consistent in its award of the annual scholarship programme for the past 34 years; adding that the aim of the programme is to help young people of Nigerian origin make the difference that would transform the potentials of the country into economic and political gains for all citizens.



He maintained that as a requirement for selection, all applicants must pledge to return to their countries of origin at the end of their Scholarship programme and make the best use of the training, skills, and education that they pursued in the UK by ploughing that back in whatever you are going to do next in Nigeria for a minimum of two years.

Arkwright, while mentioning a few of the Alumni of the programme who have contributed to the development of Nigeria to include; veteran broadcasters John Momoh and Eugenia Abu; and the current Acting-Secretary to Government of the Federation, Habiba Lawal, said one of the great benefits they all admit to have enjoyed through the programme was the many great friendships and networks form across the globe they developed during their year of study in the UK.

He said: The recipients were selected from a pool of over 6,000 applications in Nigeria and more than 63,000 applications across the globe. Speaking at a pre-departure reception held in Abuja yesterday, the British High Commissioner, Paul Arkwright, said the applicants who won the scholarships did incredibly well to have been among the less than 1 percent awardees.While announcing the opening of the 2018/2019 application cycle, Arkwright said the British Government had been consistent in its award of the annual scholarship programme for the past 34 years; adding that the aim of the programme is to help young people of Nigerian origin make the difference that would transform the potentials of the country into economic and political gains for all citizens.He maintained that as a requirement for selection, all applicants must pledge to return to their countries of origin at the end of their Scholarship programme and make the best use of the training, skills, and education that they pursued in the UK by ploughing that back in whatever you are going to do next in Nigeria for a minimum of two years.Arkwright, while mentioning a few of the Alumni of the programme who have contributed to the development of Nigeria to include; veteran broadcasters John Momoh and Eugenia Abu; and the current Acting-Secretary to Government of the Federation, Habiba Lawal, said one of the great benefits they all admit to have enjoyed through the programme was the many great friendships and networks form across the globe they developed during their year of study in the UK.He said: Quote Just over 6,000 people applied and we are awarding about 40 scholarships. So, you do the maths. Those of you who won the scholarships have done incredibly well.

Some past Chevening scholars that have been speaking with me this evening told me about the benefits they gained through the programme.

Just a few words for those of you who dont know about the Chevening scholarship; its been running since 1983. It is a huge global network of about 48,000 people around the world.

The thing I am most impressed with is that when I talk to Nigerian scholars, they say, the thing I enjoyed most about the programme was the sense of camaraderie with Chevening scholars of other nations. I think that is a really important aspect of the programme.

To learn from others not just to learn from what British education could do for you but to learn from the experiences of others across the world. Thats a wonderful thing.

Nigeria has serious economic and socio-political problems but it is a country with massive potentials. If these potentials will be fully realized, then it is the young people of Nigeria origin who would make that difference

And what we are doing with the Chevening scholarships is to try to make that difference that it is really important that if you go on the Chevening scholarship that you have to come back to your country of origin and give back to your people what you learnt.

So, make the best use of your training, the skill, the education that you will be pursuing in the UK and plough that back in whatever you are going to do next in Nigeria. I think that is incredibly important. So, this is a celebration.



Speaking on behalf of the Alumni of the Chevening Scholarship present at the occasion, the Acting SGF, Habiba Lawal said: Speaking on behalf of the Alumni of the Chevening Scholarship present at the occasion, the Acting SGF, Habiba Lawal said: Quote I congratulate all the awardees here tonight. I was on board 20 years ago. I wish to thank the UK government for this effort and to reiterate the fact that it is very opportunities one could get in life.

For me, I would say it is one of the things that took me from where I was (the University system) to the where I am today as Acting SGF. It has greatly influenced the way I work. It has also improved my competences, my skills, and abilities.

I believe this opportunity for those going on board now is to be utilized and made useful for Nigeria. When you come back and contribute to the work that is been done, that is when Nigeria must have gained and I am sure the purpose for which the scholarship is provided is been achieved.



On his part, one of the awardees, Mohammed Abba-aji, a medical doctor with the Nigerian Air Force, said that the programme would transform his life and empower his capability to affect the society better. On his part, one of the awardees, Mohammed Abba-aji, a medical doctor with the Nigerian Air Force, said that the programme would transform his life and empower his capability to affect the society better.

Post Reply I am a metro reporter on Gistmania, I have been publishing news materials for over 5 years Posted: at 25-08-2017 04:10 PM (5 years ago) | Hero
US Experts: Strike on North Korea Would Not Need Seouls OK

August 25, 2017 Baik Sungwon

South Korea's president says military action against North Koreas nuclear and missile threats cannot be carried out on the Korean peninsula without his governments consent, but former U.S. military commanders and analysts have a different reading of the situation.

For weeks, tit-for-tat threats exchanged by U.S. President Donald Trump and the Kim Jong Un regime have made it appear a direct conflict is possible. Through it all, however, South Korean President Moon Jae-in has said he would stand in the way of another battle on the peninsula, where a state of war has technically remained in effect since the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty.

According to Moon, who has long advocated engagement and outreach to Pyongyang, Military action on the Korean peninsula can only be decided by South Korea, and no one else can decide on a military action without South Korean agreement."

Trump, however, has not ruled out unilateral military action by the United States, if necessary to prevent the Kim regime from using the nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles it claims to have in an attack against the U.S. mainland. North Korea test-launched two ICBMs last month, and recent published reports in the West suggested Pyongyang's engineers successfully fabricated nuclear warheads small and robust enough to be carried as a missile's payload.

US does not doubt Moon's support

"The United States retains the authority, capability and responsibility to defend itself from attack by anyone, including North Korea, retired four-star Army General Burwell Bell told VOA Korean. Bell commanded U.S. forces in Korea from 2006-08.

Because the U.S.-South Korea defense treaty was signed in 1953, when the only direct threat Pyongyang posed was to Seoul, not Washington, Bell said, the current situation - a potential attack by the Kim regime on the U.S. mainland - can only be addressed outside the framework of that 64-year-old agreement.

In accordance with international law, the United States would not need South Korean approval [or] cooperation to strike the North with our own off-shore military assets,the general said. "These assets could be launched from the continental United States, Hawaii, Alaska, Guam and on the high seas near North Korea.

However, Bell added: I dont believe for a second President Moon would consider not supporting the United States.

Retired U.S. Army General James Thurman, who commanded U.S. Forces Korea from 2011 to 2013, pointed out that, despite the agreements between South Korea and the U.S., any nation has an inherent right to protect its sovereign territory. Therefore, he said, the U.S. could take action without consulting South Korea in the event that North Korea fires a missile toward the U.S. territory of Guam, for example.

Advance consultation expected

Kim's regime has explicitly threatened to use its missile firepower against Guam.

We dont need approval of any kind to defend ourselves. If we are engaged, we have an inherent right of self-defense, just like the South Koreans, Thurman said.

David Maxwell is another U.S. military expert who questioned President Moons comment that the U.S. must have his governments approval for military action against Pyongyang.

Maxwell, a retired colonel who commanded Army special forces units, cited Article III of the U.S.-South Korea Mutual Defense Treaty, which states that in case of an armed attack in the Pacific area on either U.S. or South Korean territories, each nation would act to meet the common danger in accordance with its constitutional processes.

Note that U.S. constitutional processes do not include getting approval from an ally to take necessary action to defend the U.S., said Maxwell, now an associate director for Georgetown Universitys Center for Security Studies. If the U.S. believes that North Korea is going to launch an attack on U.S. territory and determines that it is necessary to take action to defend the U.S. and its people, then the U.S. can and will take action, either without consultation or if South Korea disapproved.

'Immediate response' is key

From both practical and moral perspectives, however, Maxwell said Washington would certainly consult in advance with Seoul before acting against Pyongyang, for the sake of combined forces' readiness but also, and more importantly, to prepare for the likely catastrophic consequences of a counterattack by the North.

Bruce Bennett, a defense researcher at the RAND Corporation, said immediate response is one of the basic principles of proactive deterrence in modern warfare.

If North Korea fires a ballistic missile at Guam and hits Guam, it will be essential for the U.S. government to respond in a time-urgent manner to convince the North Koreans not to repeat such an action, and perhaps to take away the North Korean capability to repeat such an action, Bennett said.

Some analysts believe it would be inconceivable for the United States not to win South Korea's consent before striking North Korea, given the strong alliance Washington and Seoul have long maintained.

The United States and South Korea are close allies sworn to uphold each others security, and certainly the U.S. is committed to South Koreas security on the peninsula, said Michael O'Hanlon, director of research and foreign policy program at the Brookings Institution. As such, it makes little sense for America to propose or take independent action against North Korea, given how dramatically such action could implicate and endanger South Korean territory.

Extreme circumstances could perhaps drive the U.S. to take unilateral military action, O'Hanlon said, but he feels that is highly unlikely.

Jenny Lee contributed to this story, first reported by VOA Korean.

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New U.K. Treasury chief Jeremy Hunt has reversed most of an economic package announced by the government just weeks ago, including a planned cut in income taxes. Hunt said Monday he was scrapping almost all the tax cuts announced last month by the Conservative government of Prime Minister Liz Truss, and also signaled that public spending cuts are on the way. It was a bid to soothe turbulent financial markets spooked by fears of excessive government borrowing. The move raises questions about how long the beleaguered prime minister can stay in office, though Truss insisted she has no plans to quit. She vowed to lead the Conservatives into the next general election, but many in the party want her gone.
/NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION OR DISSEMINATION DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES./

VANCOUVER, Aug. 25, 2017 /CNW/ - Hannan Metals Limited ("Hannan" or the "Company") (TSX.V: HAN) (OTCPK: HANNF) announces that further to the Company's news releases of August 2, 2017, August 14, 2017 and August 21, 2017, the Company has closed the second and final tranche (the "Second Tranche") of its non-brokered private placement financing (the "Offering").

Key Points:

Under the Second Tranche, the Company has issued 2,254,000 units at an issue price of C$0.26 per unit for gross proceeds of C$586,040;

The Company announced the closing of the first tranche (the "First Tranche") on August 21, 2017. In the aggregate, the First Tranche and Second Tranche comprise a total of 12,804,713 Units for gross proceeds of $3,329,225.

Under the final Second Tranche, the Company issued 2,254,000 units (the "Units") at an issue price of C$0.26 per Unit for gross proceeds of C$586,040. Each Unit comprises one common share (a "Share") and one-half of one common share purchase warrant (a "Warrant"). Each whole Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one additional Share of the Company at an exercise price of Cdn$0.40 for a period of two years expiring August 24, 2019. The Company paid broker fees of $18,065 cash commission and issued 69,480 broker warrants to arm's length finders. All securities issued under the Second Tranche are subject to a four-month and one day hold period under applicable securities laws in Canada expiring on December 25, 2017.

The Company announced the closing of the First Tranche on August 21, 2017. In the aggregate, the First Tranche and Second Tranche comprised of a total of 12,804,713 Units for gross proceeds of $3,329,225.

Participation by Insiders of the Company in the Offering is considered a "related party transaction" pursuant to Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"). The Company is exempt from the requirements to obtain a formal valuation or minority shareholder approval in connection with the Insiders' participation in the Offering in reliance of sections 5.5(b) and 5.7(a) of MI 61-101. Certain directors and officers of the Company participated in the Offering and purchased and aggregate of 771,000 Units for aggregate gross proceeds of $200,460 under the Second Tranche.

The Company plans to use the net proceeds from the Offering to fund exploration expenditures at the Company's Kilbricken Project in Ireland, as well as for general working capital and corporate purposes.

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of any of the securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or the securities laws of any state of the United States and may not be offered or sold within the United States (as defined in Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act) unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or pursuant to an exemption from such registration requirements.

About Hannan Metals Limited (TSX.V:HAN)

Hannan Metals Ltd. has 100% ownership of the County Clare Zn-Pb-Ag-Cu project in Ireland, which consists of 9 prospecting licences for 32,223 hectares. Zinc remains in tight supply amidst rising demand and stagnant supply. Ireland is a leading global jurisdiction for zinc mining and exploration. In 2015, Ireland was the world's 10th largest zinc producing nation with 230,000 tonnes produced.

This maiden mineral resource for Kilbricken was published in July 2017, and immediately ranks Kilbricken as one of the top ten base metal deposits discovered in Ireland by tonnes and grade. Total indicated mineral resources were calculated as 2.7 million tonnes at 8.8% zinc equivalent ("ZnEq"), including 1.4 million tonnes at 10.8% Zneq and total inferred mineral resources of 1.7 million tonnes at 8.2% ZnEq, including 0.6 million tonnes at 10.4% ZnEq. Importantly, the initial resource is expandable at all scales, from near resource to prospect scale.

Over the last decade, the team behind Hannan has forged a long and successful record discovering mineral projects in Europe. Additionally, the team holds extensive zinc experience, gained from the world's largest integrated zinc producer of the time, PasmInco Ltd.

Mr. Michael Hudson FAusIMM, Hannan's CEO and Chairman, a Qualified Person as defined in National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical disclosure contained in this news release.

On behalf of the Board,

"Michael Hudson"

Michael Hudson, Chairman & CEO

Forward Looking Statements

Certain information set forth in this news release contains "forward-looking statements", and "forward-looking information" under applicable securities laws. Except for statements of historical fact, certain information contained herein constitutes forward-looking statements, which include the Company's expectations regarding future performance based on current results, expected cash costs based on the Company's current internal expectations, estimates, projections, assumptions and beliefs, which may prove to be incorrect. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and undue reliance should not be placed on them. Such forward-looking statements necessarily involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause the Company's actual performance and financial results in future periods to differ materially from any projections of future performance or results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statement. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: the proposed use of the net proceeds from the Offering, liabilities inherent in mine development and production, geological risks, the financial markets generally, and the ability of the Company to raise additional capital to fund future operations. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change except as required by applicable securities laws. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

SOURCE Hannan Metals Ltd.
Vancouver, August 25, 2017 - East Asia Minerals Corporation (TSXV: EAS) ("East Asia Minerals", "East Asia, or the "Company") is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Juangga Mangasi Mangunsong as Indonesian Country Manager, as of August 1, 2017, to manage the Indonesian operations and develop the mining assets of both the Sangihe and Miwah properties in Indonesia.

Juangga obtained his mining engineering degree from the Institute of Technology of Bandung, Indonesia. He brings to the Company more than 20 years of extensive experience in the mining industry in Indonesia including several high profile roles acting as Director, Commissioner, Advisory Board Member, Business Analyst, and Mining Engineer for various large mining companies.

Juangga was the President Director of PT Peleburan Tembaga Semare a Copper Smelter company, and is the owner and Commissioner of PT Media Bakti Tambang (Majalah Tambang), a highly regarded Indonesian national magazine.

Juangga is also a member of the Working Group on Energy and Mineral Resources in the National Committee For Economy and Industry for the Republic of Indonesia, which has the charter to update the country's mining regulations. This committee reports directly to the President of Indonesia.

Terry Filbert, CEO of East Asia Minerals, stated, "As East Asia Minerals gets back to full operations, we have been able to attract talented and experienced mining professionals. Mr. Mangasi provides the Company with a strategic advantage of local expertise and valuable relationships with many of the senior government officials we that we need approvals from which will help keep the projects on schedule and on target."

The Company is also pleased to announce the return of Mr. Mike Hawkins, the former CEO of East Asia Minerals Corp. (2006-2011). Mike has been appointed as the Company's Executive Consultant. As the former CEO responsible for identifying and acquiring both Miwah and Sangihe mining projects, which the Company is currently developing he has been appointed to provide guidance and consulting on the asset development of Miwah and Sangihe as well as assisting on identifying and acquiring new mining opportunities for the Company. "During Mike's tenure, in 2010, the Company reached the historically highest market valuation of $600 million and acquired several gold and uranium properties," said Mr. Filbert.

Mr. Filbert further commented that, "Mike was responsible for the acquisition and then sale of a uranium mine asset to Areva NC for $83 million and a dividend of $70 million to East Asia shareholders. We are fortunate to have his guidance and access to his 30 plus years of experience as an exploration geologist and executive for major mining companies throughout the Pacific, Asia and South America.

"Mike has gladly accepted the appointment to return and see through those projects he started before he had to leave due to health reasons. Mike's rejoining our team should give our shareholders confidence that East Asia Minerals is building a strong qualified team that will lead to new opportunities for success based on the historic value of the Company."

East Asia Minerals Corp. has launched a new updated website to provide the updated information on the company's current developments and news.

The company is inviting investors to explore its new website. The new website has been designed to provide the ultimate user-friendly experience with improved navigation and functionality throughout, allowing investors to access up to date detailed information on our projects and the company. The site includes extensive project information to help investors understand our two projects in Indonesia.

For further information about East Asia Minerals Corporation, please visit www.EastAsiaMinerals.com or visit the Company's filings at www.sedar.com.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Terry Filbert"

Terry Filbert CEO and Director

For further information, please contact:

Ward Kondas

778-918-8384

wkondas@gmail.com

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Certain statements in this News Release, which are not historical in nature, constitute "forward looking statements" within the meaning of that phrase under applicable Canadian securities law. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements or information concerning future work programs, results and timing of any work programs, the Company's performance or events as of the date hereof. These statements reflect management's current assumptions and expectations and by their nature are subject to certain underlying assumptions, known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results, performance or events to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward looking statements. Those risks include the interpretation of drill results; the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits; the possibility that future exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with our expectations; commodity and currency price fluctuation; failure to obtain adequate financing; regulatory, recovery rates, refinery costs, and other relevant conversion factors, permitting and licensing risks; general market and mining exploration risks and production and economic risks related to design and engineering, manufacturing, technological processes and test procedures and the risk that the project's output will not be salable at a price that will cover the project's operating and maintenance costs. Forward-looking statements should not be construed as investment advice. Readers should perform a detailed, independent investigation and analysis of the Company and are encouraged to seek independent professional advice before making any investment decision. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statement. Except as required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward looking statements to reflect events or changes in circumstances that occur after the date hereof.


Do you like warm weather and sunshine? What if someone said you could have it all year long?These are some of the tactics cities in California and Florida use to persuade public employees in the Midwest and elsewhere into working for them instead."They come here in the wintertime, and they try to draw people from our applicant pool," says Brian Mahone, a recruiting supervisor for the Indianapolis Police Department.According to Mahone, it's common for cities with warmer climates to show up at job fairs hundreds, even thousands of miles away.He's already seen two police departments from California and one from Texas this year try to get people to leave the state.Indianapolis, however, is tired of being the victim of poaching and may send their own recruiters to Kentucky."Many cities try to recruit from other cities and the states," says Nelson Lim, executive director of the Fels Institute of Government at the University of Pennsylvania and an expert in human resources.Looking at the state of the public workforce, it's not surprising. There were about 75 million men and women in the baby boom generation, many of whom have retired or are headed for retirement. Their immediate replacement cadre, Gen X, consists of 20 million fewer people. That leaves a lot of openings, says Heidi Voorhees, president of GovHRUSA, an executive recruitment, management consultant and temporary staffing firm for state and local governments.Cities and states could, of course, hire locally for all those openings, so, why then, do countless governments look elsewhere to fill them?According to Lim, it's because "you can get someone who is already trained. That way, you can save training costs." It's debatable, however, whether the cost of training outweighs the cost of traveling for recruitment.Nevertheless, Lim says the bigger the city, the more aggressive they tend to recruit outsiders. The Los Angeles Police Department, for example, has about 20 staff members dedicated to recruiting, "so they have a massive ability to go and attract candidates from elsewhere," says Lim.Typically, their recruiters go to medium-sized cities with relatively large police departments where salaries are lower than the LAPD's.Places that can't lure people to them based solely on their weather usually rely on the promise of higher pay. Poaching is easiest, though, when your targets are people who can make more money without having to move. That's often the case when cities and counties steal employees from the state government.According to Susan Buxton, HR Administrator of the Idaho Division of Human Resources, local governments often have more flexibility in the salaries they can offer and can therefore pay more than the state for the same hard-to-fill jobs."Employees leave states for localities to go for the cash," says Buxton. "Local city and county building departments lure away the building inspectors, plumbing inspectors and electrical building inspectors from the state."Similarly, California's Santa Clara Valley Water District, which has a high cost of living, recruits personnel but keeps its sights set on other cities that aren't too far away and have lower costs of living."We tend to entice employees from smaller water agencies and cities to work with us and have had success in doing so," says Anil Comelo, deputy administrative officer for the Santa Clara Valley Water District. "They end up commuting, but they earn more money without facing a higher cost of living."Though employee poaching is reasonably common in the public sector, it doesn't mean that states, counties and cities that can't pay as much as other places are doomed for unfilled vacancies. Many other factors play a role in where someone chooses a job, including an area's quality of life, the organization's work/life balance and opportunities for advancement."Nashville is fairly competitive in pay with the state of Tennessee," says Rebecca Hunter, commissioner of Tennessee's HR department. "But I can't even recall hearing someone say we lost someone to Metro Nashville. There are more opportunities for development and advancement [in state government] because we're the largest employer in the state."Despite that, Tennessee has had unique poaching problems from within. In the past, it wasnt unusual for state agencies leaders to discover, out of the blue, that one of their employees had been poached by another state agency."You would find out after an offer had already been made that you needed to get ready to lose a key person," says Hunter.This flew in the face of the idea that the state was a single enterprise, not a conglomeration of independent agencies. But when the leadership of the state became aware of this issue, steps were takento alleviate it."Now, we have some unwritten protocols that we all follow," says Hunter. "For instance, if Im interested in an assistant or deputy commissioner in another agency, Im going to pick up the phone and call the cabinet member because thats who the person works for. And Im going to explain my needs. And I dont remember anyone saying no."
Vincent Perez, the county commissioner of El Paso, Texas, which is home to dozens of colonias -- makeshift subdivisions of predominantly poor people that lack basic services like safe drinking water. In the latest state budget, Texas cut funding for an ombudsman program that helped colonia residents figure out what public programs are available to them.
Following a series of political misfires during the past month, Gov. Bruce Rauner on Thursday tried to reset his administration by parting ways with his recently rebuilt press staff after a weeklong flap over a school funding cartoon some lawmakers deemed racist.The first-term governor's difficulty in moving past the cartoon issue is emblematic of what can happen when a chief executive who ran as an outsider is paired with a staff without experience running government.Since making wholesale changes in staff last month, Rauner has had to dismiss a new traveling assistant after it was discovered the "body man" had posted racially insensitive and homophobic statements on Twitter. Then the governor took several days to respond to Lake County flooding. When he did visit the area, he told reporters it was premature to declare a disaster area before doing so hours after his news conference.The governor also struggled to formulate a response to the deadly protests involving white supremacists in Charlottesville, Va., at first saying he could not say whether a woman's death at the hands of a driver who crashed into protesters was "domestic terrorism."Taken together, the challenging summer has made it difficult for Rauner to generate a sense of momentum as he heads into what is expected to be an expensive and grueling re-election bid.More is at issue for Rauner besides the cartoon. His abrupt move to drop his new communications team reflected longer-term high-stakes concerns over his political future.Left without many big first-term accomplishments following a long-running budget stalemate in which Democrats blocked his economic agenda, the Republican governor finds himself once again attempting to readjust politically.Rauner first began the recalibration last month following a stinging and embarrassing defeat when Democrats, joined by some Republicans, enacted a state budget and tax-hike package over his veto -- effectively ending the stalemate that kept Illinois without a full-year spending plan that devastated social services and threatened to sink the state's credit rating to junk status.Gone were longtime staffers who had worked for Rauner from his campaign and joined his administration in top positions. In their place, Rauner brought on several people from the Illinois Policy Institute. Before becoming governor, Rauner donated more than $500,000 to the libertarian-to-conservative think tank, which largely shares his worldview.But the matchup between a governor holding his first elective office and a new staff that previously had worked to criticize government from the outside has had trouble meshing.In the case of his new communications team -- Diana Rickert, Laurel Patrick, Meghan Keenan and Brittany Carl -- Rauner said they did not mesh at all. In a rare conference call to staff Thursday morning, the governor said they were "good people trying to do good work" but ended up not being a "good fit," according to a source who was on the phone call but was not authorized to speak publicly about it.Rickert and Keenan are Policy Institute alumni. Patrick previously had worked for Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.Later in the day, at an event in Naperville, Rauner acknowledged the difficulty of working in government."The work that we do for the people of Illinois is incredibly difficult and very stressful. It's a burnout, high stress, it's hard on people's families," the wealthy former equity investor told reporters.As for what he feels is his repeated difficulty in getting his message out, Rauner called the communications effort "incredibly hard because we have attacks, we have political attacks coming 20 times a day, we have social media attacks coming 100 times a day, we have false rumors planted that have to be dealt with or responded to" in addition to "legitimate questions" from the media."It is really hard, really hard, and we need to do all that while also getting out the message about the positive changes that we are trying to drive and the wonderful work that we're doing on a bipartisan basis, wonderful legislation that we've been able to achieve," he said.But in the earlier conference call to staff, Rauner maintained there was a larger, even more encompassing messaging mission -- the need to counter his "enemies.""The reality is in addition to the enemies on the other side of the aisle (Democrats), we have enemies in the media and enemies who should be on our side, some of them former members of the administration," the source recounted Rauner as saying.During that conference call, Rauner also told his staff to expect but to ignore more "rumors" about departures, including talk that his chief legal counsel, Dennis Murashko, was leaving the administration, the source said. By late afternoon, Rauner released a statement saying Murashko was departing at the end of the month to join the private sector.Since the departure last month of more than 20 governmental and political aides -- some by firing and some who resigned in protest -- and the hiring of new staff members, Rauner often has found himself stepping on his own message. It's a reflection of a lack of preparation and attention to detail and a possible lack of knowledge by his new aides.Nowhere is that better illustrated than in the kerfuffle over the cartoon. The Illinois Policy Institute drawing showed a black child panhandling for money from a suit-wearing white man with a cigar, in a commentary on Chicago's use of tax-increment financing districts and school funding.After lawmakers in both parties called the cartoon racist last week, Rauner declined to take a position, saying he hadn't seen the drawing.Pressed by reporters Tuesday, Rauner's office initially issued a statement in which the governor again did not take a position. A spokeswoman added that as a "white male," Rauner would have no further comment.By Tuesday evening, Rauner disavowed that statement and aides sent a new one, saying that the original did not "accurately" depict how he felt. While the governor said he opposed racism, he again did not take a position on the cartoon.On Thursday, the governor was back out in public, saying at a Naperville pension bill signing that his job "is not to comment on every cartoon, every political statement."By the afternoon, however, Rauner found himself enmeshed in controversy over the drawing once again at a separate event on the West Side.A reporter pressed African-American lawmakers on whether Rauner should speak out more forcefully against the cartoon.Democratic state Rep. LaShawn Ford of Chicago touched the governor's arm as he asked: "Will you apologize to the black people about that cartoon, even though you didn't draw it? Let's make it right today. Can you apologize?"The governor offered his response, raising his voice."I'm not apologizing for anything I had nothing to do with. Let me be crystal clear. And that organization that did that cartoon, they should talk to you about what their views are, and I'm not gonna," Rauner said. "I have fought for racial justice, equality and opportunity my whole life."Ford later returned to the microphone and said the cartoon issue "should be put to rest," agreed with Rauner that he wasn't responsible for drawing it, and said "you don't have to apologize for the art." Ford also asked Rauner to "stand up" against racism together.Rauner complied. "We in Illinois, we in America, we stay united against racism, against prejudice, against bigotry, against hate speech in all its forms and we've got to stand strong together," he said.The controversy overshadowed a bill-signing ceremony for a package of bipartisan changes in the criminal justice system affecting expungement and sealing of criminal records to help ex-offenders' efforts to gain employment.At the same event, Rauner also clouded his administration's response to a bill sought by immigration activists and many in the business community that would prohibit local law enforcement from detaining people for federal authorities based solely on their legal status absent a criminal warrant.One of Rauner's now-departed press staff had said the governor would sign the bill Monday, despite sometimes fierce objections from conservative lawmakers and groups. But on Thursday the governor said, "We will be making an announcement about that bill soon." As for what his administration had previously promised, Rauner said, "I don't know what's all been announced."Rauner's staff shake-up, which included a July 17 announcement of four new members of his communications staff, has been followed by several missteps.Earlier this month, Rauner made a rare national TV appearance in an interview with Fox News host Bret Baier. On questions ranging from immigration reform, the Affordable Care Act, the state's budget impasse and whether he would seek a second term, Rauner referred variously to how things were "broken" at least 10 times in the interview, earning a crude social media rebuke from conservative commentator Ann Coulter.In addition to the initial fumbling on whether the Charlottesville death was "domestic terrorism," Rauner also was unaware of a resolution that had passed the Illinois Senate urging law enforcement officials to recognize white nationalist and neo-Nazi groups as terrorist organizations. Asked about the resolution, Rauner at first assumed it came from the U.S. Senate, and tried to brush it away by saying he was "not so focused on day-to-day in Congress."Another error came after Rauner issued his rewrite of legislation changing how the state distributes tax money to school districts. In calling on lawmakers to support his changes, the governor said it would require only a simple majority to uphold his veto and make sure schools could get their money. Actually, it would have required an extraordinary majority of three-fifths in the House and Senate.Rauner did not directly answer questions from reporters as to whether his staff should have been aware of the higher vote requirement. A Rauner spokeswoman later acknowledged the governor was mistaken.The governor's staff moves Thursday did not affect his new chief of staff, Kristina Rasmussen, and his new deputy chief of staff for policy, Michael Lucci. Both had been top officials at the Policy Institute.Rauner sought to downplay the institute's influence."A very tiny fraction of our administration is from that organization, and ... in no regard does that organization speak for me or my administration, and I do not lean on them for any particular issue or policy," Rauner said.But now Rauner must find a new messaging team -- positions that may be difficult to recruit for, given the turnover."Getting that message out while we've got the noise and the false attacks and the rumors, it's really hard," he said. "And getting people who can do it well and are willing to do it on that scale, it's a challenge."
A three-judge federal court panel in San Antonio on Thursday struck down portions of the state's redistricting plan for state House districts and ordered state lawmakers to redraw nine legislative districts due to "intentional discrimination" by race.The unanimous decision marked the third setback for state officials in two weeks in voting-rights cases, after a Thursday decision tossed out a new law softening Texas' strict voter-identification requirements and another last week invalidating several congressional district boundaries.In an 83-page decision for the judges' panel, U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez gave Attorney General Ken Paxton three days to advise advise him whether the Legislature will address the corrections and, if not, he set a Sept. 6 hearing to consider remedies for the violations.The court panel found "intentional discrimination" in the way the Legislature drew boundary lines in two House districts (HD 54 and 55) in Bell County, in Central Texas; three districts in Dallas (HD 103, 104 and 105); two districts in Nueces County (HD 32 and 34), and two in Tarrant County (HD 90 and 93).The judges' panel ruled that contested House district boundaries in Harris County, Fort Bend County and Bexar County "require no further changes." It also left intact other House district boundaries across Texas.The decision also said that no changes are required in Midland and Ector counties because the Mexican American Legislative Council, one of the plaintiffs in the case, "lacks standing to pursue its claims" in those counties.The decision said some of boundaries adopted in 2013 intentionally overemphasized race and that others diluted Latino voting strength."The Legislature in 2013 purposefully maintained the intentional discrimination" in its redistricting plan, the ruling states. "Thus, violations found by this Court . . . now require a remedy, including specifically in Bell County, Dallas County, Nueces County, and Tarrant County."In a statement, Paxton said he was disappointed by the decision and vowed to appeal.He said the state's House map was adopted by the court in 2012 "and has been in effect for the last three election cycles. A three-judge panel of the U.S. District Court in San Antonio invalidated a portion of the map drawn for the Texas House of Representatives.""The judges held that maps they themselves adopted violate the law," Paxton said.Thursday's decision, if it becomes the subject of lengthy appeals, could complicate upcoming campaigns. Filing by candidates for House seats opens Nov. 11.The prolonged legal battle over the redistricting maps has cost Texas taxpayers upwards of $3.9 million, a sum that doesn't include any costs incurred since mid-2014, when the total was tallied.Gov. Greg Abbott, who last week had expressed irritation over the previous court decision against the state in another voting-rights case, has no immediate comment on Thursday's order. He had defended the 2011 maps in court when he was attorney general.Gary Bledsoe, president of the Texas NAACP, a plaintiff in the case, said he was glad the court acted "so timely" because the order opens the possibility for for new House districts to be in place by the time candidate filing periods end in December."That means there would be a more diverse Texas Legislature, and I think that's a great thing," said Bledsoe.He said he was disappointed, however, that the court turned down changes in Ford Bend and Harris Counties, where he said minorities are underrepresented.Rep. Rafael Anchia, a Dallas Democrat whose district was one of the first identified by the court as racially imbalanced, said voters should be outraged that the state continues to defend its map in court. Anchia is chairman of the Mexican American Legislative Caucus that is a plaintiff in the long-running case."It should really bother you that the state is intentionally acting to deny your voting rights," he said. "Every Texan should be upset."State Rep. Helen Giddings, a Dallas Democrat who chairs the Texas Black Legislative Caucus that has opposed the redistricting maps, said the decision affirms that they are discriminatory and must be redrawn."Once again, the State of Texas has been handed a much needed wakeup call from the federal courts." she said. "We cannot continue to discriminate against minority communities and expect the courts not intervene . . . The voter influence of people of color and the effects of their vote should not be diminished."Thomas A. Saenz, president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, another plaintiff in the case, applauded the decision."With this final of several rulings on liability in Texas state redistricting in 2011 and 2013, the case now moves to remedy; this is a most welcome development," he said."The state of Texas needs to move on with fixing permanently the rights violations in which it has regularly -- as confirmed by this court's recent rulings -- and continually engaged. The people of Texas need to have confidence that the electoral system in which more and more will participate is untainted by intentional discrimination or discriminatory effects."Nina Perales, vice president of litigation for MALDEF and lead counsel for the Texas Latino Redistricting Task Force in the case, said the ruling affirms that Texas "racially gerrymandered its voting districts and used Latino voters as pawns in doing so."With the 2018 election cycle fast approaching, it's time for Texas to stop discriminating against Latino voters and agree to a remedy that will provide equal opportunity to all," she said.Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa called the ruling "an historic victory for the sacred voting rights of all Texans" and urged state officials to quickly remedy the issues."Once again, Texas Republicans didn't just cheat to win a silly game, they used Jim Crow-era tactics to rig our election system," Hinojosa said. "Make no mistake, Republicans have stolen the voice of Texans at the ballot box for years.Republican Party of Texas Chairman James Dickey diagreed."We oppose any identification of citizens by race, origin, or creed and oppose use of any such identification for purposes of creating voting districts," he said. "If lawmakers are forced to redraw these House districts, we ask that they be drawn accordingly."HD54: Scott Cosper, R-KilleenHB55: Hugh Shine, R-TempleHD103: Rafael Anchia, D-DallasHD104: Roberto R. Alonzo, D-DallasHD105: Rodney Anderson, R-Grand PrairieHD32: Todd Hunter, R-Corpus ChristiHD34: Abel Herrero, D-RobstownHD90: Ramon Romero Jr., D-Fort WorthHD93: Matt Krause, R-Fort Worth
In February, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) publicly released video footage of agents knocking at the door of a Los Angeles man wanted for deportation. It was still dark, shortly before dawn, when a man came to the door.Good morning, how are you doing?" the agent greeted him, according to the Los Angeles Times . "Im a police officer. Were doing an investigation."The footage ignited a firestorm in the city over what immigration advocates say is a longstanding practice across the country: When ICE agents interact with undocumented immigrants, they often represent themselves as police officers.We have repeatedly seen ICE go to peoples homes and coerce people to authorize entry under the mistaken belief that [the agents] are police, says Michael Kaufman, a senior staff attorney at the ACLU of Southern California. It undermines public safety in these communities if people feel like they might be getting tricked.Less than six months later, California Gov. Jerry Brown has signed a bill, AB 1440 , thatestablishes a difference between California police officers and federal immigration agents. The bills fact sheet goes further and stresses that these agents are not allowed to refer to themselves as a police officer under California State Law.But legal experts say neither California nor any other state, city or county has the authority to enforce such a law."This bill is not meant to act as a regulation of the federal government," says Kaufman, who supports the legislation. "It's just for the purposes of California law sending a message to the federal government that the state does not agree that this practice is permissible."The limitations of AB 1440 reflect larger challenges for state and local governments trying to resist federal immigration efforts, especially as cities across the country have dealt with their own controversies regarding this ICE practice. In March, city officials in Hartford, Conn., sharply rebuked ICE agents for wearing uniforms that only said 'POLICE' while trying to lure a woman to a public safety building so they could detain her. The Southern Poverty Law Center accused ICE of deceiving Atlanta residents by stating they were police officers searching for a criminal and for sometimes even showing them photos of a random black man they said was their suspect.While it is legal for ICE agents to identify themselves as police, the practice becomes illegal once it leads to an unlawful search of a person's home or car. In Texas, lawyers successfully argued that ICE agents violated a womans constitutional protections when they identified themselves as policeand showed her photos of a stranger to coerce her into letting them into her home.For their part, ICE representatives say it's necessary for the safety of the officers to be able to identify as police."The word 'police is a universally recognized symbol of law enforcement in most cultures, an important distinction given that many of the individuals with whom ICE interacts are not native English speakers," ICE spokeswoman Virginia Kice wrote in an email toGiven the inherently dangerous nature of ICE officers work, their ability to quickly establish their identity as enforcement personnel could potentially mean the difference between life and death."The author of AB 1440, Assemblymember Ash Kalra, was aware that federal immigration agents aren't governed by state law when he introduced the bill. He says the legislation is mainly about communicating to residents that there is a distinction between local police and ICE, as well as communicating Californias stance to federal agents.Its unfortunate, but we as legislators cant keep ICE from lying, Kalra says. If they want to misrepresent themselves, they can do that. But with a bill of this nature, at least we can discourage it and make it clear that [California] does not appreciate it.Kalra and Kaufman both hope the law can mitigate some of the damage they say is being done when ICE agents represent themselves as police officers. Since Donald Trump won the presidential election, police departments across the country have reported a spike in undocumented community members' unwillingness to cooperate with law enforcement -- even as victims of or witnesses to crimes.Federal legislators have also weighed in on the matter. In April, a New York Congressmember introduced a bill that would block ICE from identifying as police officers. But the bill has not gained significant traction and is unlikely to win Republican majorities in both chambers.That's likely to frustrate public officials in Los Angeles, who co-signed a letter to the federal government back in February urging in the strongest possible terms that ICE immediately cease this practice in our city.For forty years, the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles City Attorneys office have worked to gain the trust, respect and cooperation of all our citys residents, wrote Mayor Eric Garcetti, City Attorney Mike Feuer and City Council President Herb Wesson. When ICE agents targeting immigrants identify themselves as police officers, they undermine decades of this work.
Description

GIS  25 August, 2017: A one-day workshop on Inclusive Leadership for senior Public Officers was held yesterday at the Intercontinental Mauritius Resort, Balaclava. The workshop was organised by the Civil Service College, Mauritius in collaboration with the Civil Service College of United Kingdom. The Minister of Civil Service and Administrative Reforms, Mr M.C.E Boissezon, was present.

On this occasion, Minister Boissezon highlighted that the country needs leaders that can tap into the strengths that our demographic diversity offers so as to drive Mauritius towards becoming a high income economy. He added that very often, leaders have made it to the top because they have mastered knowledge in one or many fields. They are the people who can help us achieve this goal by generating ideas, share them and make them available to other stakeholders, he said.

Mr Boissezon underscored that after the one-day workshop, senior managers need to be able to achieve higher levels of staff engagement and performance leading to better outcomes and service provision to the public. It is the responsibility of senior managers to act as catalyst to support and groom our youth, who are the countrys future, so as to get them to participate as actively as possible in their tasks, the Minister underlined.

Furthermore, he added that there is a need to work on innovative ways of enabling our youth to deliver at the best of their abilities and equip them with everything that will make them more creative. This, he said, will in turn have a positive impact on wealth creation.

For his part, the Chairman of the Civil Service College, Mauritius, Mr S. Seebaluck, underlined that the workshop is a continuum in providing public service officers with innovative approaches in leadership. He pointed out that leadership is a subject that has evolved with time and the change in working environment requires new approaches to leadership. He further said that the conceptual framework of Inclusive Leadership works around six characteristics, which are commitment; courage; cognisance of bias; curiosity; cultural intelligence; and collaboration.

The workshop

Some 30 senior public officers participated in the workshop. The major objectives of the programme are to understand how to craft a grand narrative and effectively communicate it to staff; apply mentor leadership in practice; and use leading indicators to assess the level of inclusive leadership in an organisation and help identify methods to improve it. Topics covered during the workshop comprise Inclusive leadership, motivation and delivering results; The Grand Narrative  establishing a sense of Purpose; Mentor Leadership; and Action Planning.

The resource person was Dr Roger Mendonca who is a leader, researcher and trainer. He is currently the Chief Executive at the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership, leading the economic development of the second largest city in the UK. He began delivering training programmes for the Civil Service College in 2013, working in the UK and abroad to assist Governments to improve the quality of leadership within their civil service.
Description

GIS - 25 August 2017 : The first Ambassador of Japan with residence in Mauritius, Mr Yoshiharu Kato, paid a courtesy call on the Prime Minister, Minister of Home Affairs, External Communications and National Development Unit, Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Mr Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, yesterday afternoon at the Treasury Building in Port Louis.

Discussions between the Prime Minister and the Ambassador centred around the strengthening of the good relations between Mauritius and Japan. The need to enhance collaboration in various sectors was also highlighted. Mr Kato recalled that the first Japanese Embassy in Mauritius opened this year, and stated that he was honoured, as the first Resident Ambassador, to have been granted an audience with the Prime Minister.

Earlier, the Ambassador presented his credentials to the President of the Republic of Mauritius, Dr. Ameenah Gurib-Fakim.

The newly appointed Ambassador joined the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1980. He served in various positions including Senior Deputy Director and Senior Regional Coordinator at the Second Southeast Asia Division of the Southeast and Southwest Asian Affairs Department in the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau. Prior to his posting to Mauritius, Mr Kato was Consul-General of Japan in Surabaya in Indonesia.

Japanese  Mauritian Relations

Diplomatic relations between Mauritius and Japan were established in 1969. Through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the Land of the rising sun has been providing technical assistance to Mauritius in several areas, namely disaster risk management, coastal protection and rehabilitation programme, and landslide management.

In July 2017, the State Minister for Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan, Mr. Shinsuke Suematsu, was on official visit to Mauritius, accompanied by a delegation of representatives of 15 Japanese companies. A Memorandum of Cooperation to promote collaboration in the field of public infrastructure, transport and quality infrastructure investment was then signed with the Ministry of Public Infrastructure and Land Transport. Representatives of t he Japanese companies also participated in business meet and networking session organised by the Board of Investment.
(TNS) -- A Coral Gables tech startup launched a service that offered drivers an easy way to get their minor traffic tickets dismissed with less hassle  and no points on their record. Just upload the ticket through its web app, CEO Christopher Riley said, and TIKD would take it from there.But a brick-and-mortar competitor claims that TIKD has run a legal red light. The Florida Bar is in the early stages of a lengthy process that eventually could possibly put the brakes on the app in Florida.The charge: that TIKD is practicing law without a license.TIKD says its not practicing law in disclaimers on its website, but the Florida Bar isnt so sure. It is considering whether to go forward with litigation against the startup.Ted Hollander, an attorney with The Ticket Clinic, filed the initial Florida Bar complaint on the heels of dueling lawsuits between TIKD and the Ticket Clinic that were settled and withdrawn. TIKD had claimed Ticket Clinic was obstructing its business by threatening lawyers; Ticket Clinic, a 30-year-old law firm that specializes in traffic tickets and has offices across the state, said TIKD was violating Florida Bar rules and misleading consumers.The Florida Bar is exploring the matter. First, a standing committee within the Bar needs to approve proceeding with the litigation, a process that could take months, said Jacquelyn Plasner Needelman, counsel for the the Florida Bars Unlicensed Practice of Law Department. If approved, a petition could then be filed in the Florida Supreme Court by the Florida Bar. The case could be resolved or could go to trial; there are a lot of unknowns. This is at the beginning of the process, she said.The process takes time, but I am confident that the Bar will take the necessary steps to end this service. The Bar rules are in place to protect the public and to entrust licensed attorneys with ethical and moral responsibility, Hollander said.In the meantime, for consumers who like the idea of using technology to help rid their life of a traffic ticket, TIKD is open for business as usual, Riley said. TIKD charges the consumer a fee of 15 to 30 percent below the ticket fine and uses a network of independent lawyers to fight the ticket; if the driver loses, TIKD will pay the fines and refund the fees, it says.As for the long term, the jury is still out as the Florida Bar explores the situation. Riley said he has assembled a legal team to fight, if it comes to that. This product helps people and is not a violation, he said.More than 3,000 consumers have used the service since it launched in the Miami area early this year, according to TIKD. Along with markets around Florida, including Orlando and the Tampa Bay area, TIKD recently launched in Atlanta and the Baltimore/Washington metro areas.
(TNS) - Bexar County and San Antonio emergency response teams began preparing Thursday for heavy local flooding and an influx of evacuees fleeing Hurricane Harvey, as the storm churned toward Texas.Harvey is expected to make land fall along the Gulf Coast late today, with the outer edges of the storm hitting the San Antonio area Saturday through Tuesday.Rain predictions remain in flux but forecasters are calling the storm life-threatening. It could bring 20 to 25 inches of rain, accompanied by damaging winds, especially east of Interstate 35 and south of Interstate 10.Mayor Ron Nirenberg urged San Antonio residents to stay home this weekend and avoid driving in the rain. He also suggested downloading the Ready South Texas app to receive weather updates.The Texas Division of Emergency Management said 700 members with the Texas Army National Guard, Texas Air National Guard and Texas State Guard have been activated. Theyll help local and state agencies with water rescues, high water transportation and any other evacuation needs.Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff said the county has 80 pieces of heavy equipment ready to be deployed, along with more than 200 vehicles to deal with severe flooding.Some are likening Harvey to Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans in 2005. That was when San Antonio became a federally and state-designated evacuation center and housed more than 25,000 Katrina evacuees.San Antonio remains a place of refuge for anyone seeking shelter from a natural disaster, said Joe Arrington, public information officer for the Fire Department.There are designated shelter facilities around the city. Those shelters are always ready to go, Arrington said, but the city currently is making preparations for all the necessities, including enough beds for evacuees. Many of the facilities include large warehouses that have been retrofitted as sleeping quarters and meeting areas.At a Thursday news conference, officials said all evacuees should check in at 200 Gembler Road, just northeast of the AT&T Center.Arrington said evacuees with pets can also go to the Gembler check-in point, but pets cant stay in the same facilities as people. All pets, with the exception of service animals, will be kept in separate facilities, Arrington said. However, the city will provide shuttle service so people can visit their animals.The citys Animal Care Services department also is looking for people to foster animals, so they can clear out kennels in preparation for evacuees arriving with their pets.The American Red Cross in San Antonio also is seeking volunteers to help with evacuees. A training session will be held from noon to 1 p.m. Friday at 3642 E. Houston St. Call 800-928-4271 for more information.San Antonio is asking any volunteers wanting to help to call 311.A full list of shelters was not yet available, but Southside Independent School District confirmed that South Side High School is one such designated site if activated by the Red Cross, though the site was not activated as of early Thursday night. The high school last was used as a designated hurricane shelter during Hurricane Katrina.The city activated its Emergency Operations Center on Wednesday night and its Joint Information Center on Thursday, including the Fire and Police departments, the Bexar County Sheriffs Office and multiple other resources, all operating out of the EOC, Arrington said.Nirenberg said he was unsure how many evacuees might come. Buses from San Antonio and elsewhere are ready to transport them. Ambulances and other medical support teams were staging at Freeman Coliseum on Thursday, Arrington said.Teams from the Federal Emergency Management Agency also can stage there until theyre needed at the coast, he said.The Fire Department has firefighters who are members of the states water rescue and urban search and rescue teams on standby, Arrington said.Bexar County Public Works crews have positioned barricades near known low water crossings and other areas prone to flooding, Bexar County spokeswoman Monica Ramos said in a statement. Electronic message boards also are up at these locations, in case of high water.County staffers are also monitoring the regions creeks and making sure area drainage systems and low-water crossings arent clogged with debris, she said.vdavila@express-news.netStaff Writers Alia Malik and Kelsey Bradshaw contributed to this report.2017 the San Antonio Express-NewsVisit the San Antonio Express-News at www.mysanantonio.comDistributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
(TNS) -- CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The U.S. Department of Energy is recommending new federal market policies be created to recognize that old coal and nuclear power plants as well as new gas plants are critical to the stability -- and resiliency -- of the nation's electric grid.The DOE is recommending the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission work with grid managers such PJM Interconnection, which controls the high voltage grid in 13 states including Ohio, create new market policies that give credit to the stability it has determined that old coal and nuclear plants provide for the grid.FERC has already begun such a review and has been deluged with thousands of pages of recommendations from not only the industry but environmental groups as well.Requested by President Donald Trump in April, the study notes that many old coal plants and some nuclear plants have been closing, not only because of the environmental policies of the previous administration but also because existing competitive markets favor the lowest priced power.The DOE's staff, with an assist from scientists and engineers in federal laboratories, took four months to pull together a massive review (187 pages) of the impact of current market policies and new technologies such as wind and solar power have had on the nation's electric grid.The main conclusion, buttressed by a new focus on grid resiliency, or the ability keep operating despite unanticipated catastrophes, is that old "baseload" coal and nuclear power plants are crucial and must be kept operating.That finding is certain to draw the attention of the wind industry, which has previously announced that during the "polar vortex" of January 2014, its wind farms kept operating while many coal, gas and some nuclear plants were forced to shut down.The DOE's conclusion also mirrors the complaints of utilities such as FirstEnergy, heavy with coal and nuclear power plants, which have trouble competing against gas and wind.Finally, the study also pays homage to President Trump's executive order that environmental rules be relaxed in an "all of the above" energy approach to make the nation energy independent, not really an issue in power production. The study does not directly mention "climate change," even as a threat to grid stability.The DOE's conclusions will probably not do much to brighten the immediate outlook of coal mining companies whose businesses have been wrecked by the closing of hundreds of coal plants. Those old plants cannot be restarted.Released late Wednesday night, the study immediately drew praise from industry associations and sparked criticism from environmental groups, which have made strong arguments for renewable technologies, especially as their power prices have fallen."This report is not worth the paper it's printed on," said Kim Smaczniak, an attorney with Earthjustice, a law firm that represents environmental groups across the country."Study after study - including an earlier draft of this very report - has set the record straight: states are forging ahead toward a clean energy future with rapid growth in renewables, and energy that remains reliable and affordable, while generating less pollution," she said in an email."Rather than embrace the progress we've made and move full steam ahead with the transition to clean energy, the Trump Administration is burning tax payer dollars on a report on "baseload" power - an antiquated code word for coal and nuclear - to conjure up false attacks on clean energy."The Nuclear Energy Institute, the chief lobbying organization for the nuclear power industry, found the report just right."The U.S. Department of Energy's electric grid study reaffirms our view that nuclear energy is a key and necessary contributor to a clean, reliable and resilient electric grid, which now is more important than ever,"said Maria Korsnick, president and CEO of NEI."Today electricity markets do not properly credit nuclear energy for the numerous benefits it delivers, forcing plants to close years before the end of their useful lives and compromising grid reliability and resiliency in the process," she added.And the Edison Electric Institute, an association representing investor-owned utilities, "commended" the DOE for its work."While we are still thoroughly reviewing the study, EEI has long advocated that our customers are best served by public policies that promote a balanced and diverse energy mix, which includes both traditional and renewable energy sources, and that also recognize the vital role 24/7 energy sources play in sustaining a secure, reliable, and resilient energy grid, said Tom Kuhn, the institute's president in a statement."Whether to limit impacts from inevitable storms or natural events or to prepare for malicious cyber or physical attacks, supporting a resilient energy grid is an investment in national and economic security," he added.The Natural Resources Defense Council declared the study "schizophrenic.""DOE's grid study reads like a schizophrenic attempt to support outdated, uncompetitive, and highly polluting power plants," said NRDC attorney John Moore in an email. "DOE Secretary Perry appears determined to mold America's transmission grid around support for fossil fuels, but the facts in his own report don't back up that approach."The recommendations ignore renewable energy's contributions to a reliable electricity system."They also include misguided proposals to gut environmental rules for coal and nuclear plants, and to pay fossil resources for reliability services that DOE hasn't demonstrated are necessary. DOE and Secretary Perry should be focusing instead on accelerating the growth of clean energy rather than creating barriers."The Advanced Energy Economy, an association representing advanced, clean and renewable energy, found it significant that the report put blame for the demise of coal and nuclear on gas, rather than wind or solar. But it disagreed with the study that the old coal and nuclear plants are crucial."We are glad to see that DOE recognizes that changes in the grid are primarily the result of low-cost natural gas, not policies supporting renewable energy. But this report seriously overstates the challenges associated with new energy resources. It also implies that certain power plants now losing out in the marketplace make an irreplaceable contribution to reliability and resilience, which is not the case," said Graham Richard, CEO of Advanced Energy Economy, in an emailed statement.
(TNS) -- WEST BAY  If it all goes according to plan, both passengers and their baggage should move through security checkpoints at Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport (ECP) with very little notice of the "robust security protocols," in place, both seen and unseen.On Thursday, officials with the Transportation Security Administration gave a behind-the-scenes look at the people, processes and technology in place to help keep passengers safe and detect potential threats to aircraft. Averaging about 14 flights a day and 22 flights on Saturday during the summer, the airport screens about 1,750 passengers a day during the summer months and will scan over 1.38 million bags in a year, largely through a single TSA checkpoint.That being said, Petar Dimitrov, a TSA officer who has worked at ECP for about eight months, said most people get through the checkpoints in minutes with little to no disruption. Here's what goes on at each stage of security screening and what technology is being used to detect threats.The life of a checked bag at ECP is a pretty good one. After being dropped off at the ticket counter, the bags are taken for a conveyor belt ride, like a lazy river but for luggage, through a series of rooms to be fed through explosive detection machines. Computer algorithms automatically sort the bags to prevent blockages, and if a bag doesn't trigger any alarms, it shouldn't be touched by another person until it's time to be loaded onto the aircraft, according to Sari Koschetz, a TSA spokesperson.If a bag does trip an alarm, it's separated from the herd and taken into another room, where it's run through another machine by a TSA officer. The officer can look at the x-ray image to determine if the alarm was just tripped by a harmless, everyday item, or they can remove the item, examine it and swab both the item and the inside of the bag for explosives residue.If the item is prohibited  say, if someone has fireworks in their luggage (Koshetz says that's a big problem during the Fourth of July)  then the airline is called. The airline then will call the passenger, who can either take the item back to their car if they're local, or abandon it. The airline takes possession of abandoned items, which are regularly picked up by hazmat teams and disposed of.Once the bags make it through the maze of conveyor belts, they're dropped onto a luggage carousel, where they're picked up by airline employees, sorted into carts and brought to their flights.While their bags are moving through their own screening process, passengers begin their TSA experience at the security checkpoint, where they meet Dimitrov or one of his coworkers. At this point, passengers have already had their names checked against no-fly lists and will have their driver's licenses scrutinized before entering the checkpoint. Dimitrov checks the picture on the license against the person standing in front of him, the name on the license against the name on the boarding pass, and uses UV light to check for security features embedded in the license.If their driver's license checks out, passengers move into the Advanced Imagery Technology body scanner. Unlike previous models, the scanners at ECP show TSA workers a generic white outline, with yellow rectangles marking areas that might conceal a threat."There are no privacy violations," Koschetz said.Koschetz also added that the machines are extremely safe, emitting significantly less energy than a cell phone. To demonstrate, she sent officer Tim Justice through the scanner with his badge and cell phone, which were both clearly highlighted with yellow rectangles. The items are then x-rayed and a pat-down conducted. At any point, Koschetz said, a passenger can request a private screening or a consultation with a screening specialist.As the passenger moves through the scanner, their carry-on bags are x-rayed and tested for explosives. As with the checked luggage, if they cause an alarm, agents go through the bag and swab it for explosives. They also can swab passengers' hands or clothing for explosives residue and can test liquids for explosives so they can be brought on the plane, even if they exceed 3.4 ounces.Keeping the security line moving, especially during the peak travel months, is the priority of both ECP and TSA, and Koschetz advised passengers become familiar with what they can and can't bring on the plane before they arrive at the airport to avoid holding up the line. Not to mention some items, like guns or explosives, can carry a hefty fine."You slow down the line for everyone else," Koschetz said. "We do want to keep the process moving."
A pair of agencies in New York City are searching for applicants to fill data-related leadership positions.

Both of these positions involve overseeing a wide range of work conducted by teams of data scientists, with the ultimate goal of creating platforms and other products that face the public. The NYC Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications is looking for a chief analytics officer for the Mayors Office of Data Analytics , while the NYC Department of City Planning is looking for a director of enterprise data management

That first position is the broader of the two, as the Mayors Office of Data Analytics is charged with aggregating, analyzing and conveying data from the many agencies within New York City, as well as from external sources, always with the aim of executing city priorities. The list of what this position does touches nearly every urban issue faced by the countrys largest city, including public safety, infrastructure, social services and quality of life.

The job with the department of city planning, meanwhile, is a bit more focused, working to support that particular agencys technology footprint within all five of New Yorks boroughs, as well as enhance workflow applications and existing databases for better analytics and decision making.

Louisville, Ky., Hosts Its First Internal Hackathon

There are a lot of variations on hackathons, with the baseline being an event that generally lasts several days and brings together coders in one place to collaborate. There is an increasingly diverse pool of ideas on the best ways to conduct hackathons , with some jurisdictions working to evolve the practice

Aiming for a more productive variation of the standard hackathon model, Louisville, Ky., recently hosted one that involved only coders, developers and staffers who already work within city government . The event, which organizers detailed in a Medium post , brought together Louisvilles internal data governance group, as well as employees from across city agencies, including police, parking, air pollution, public works, budget and health.

The event used data from the Waze Connected Citizens program , which Louisville recently became the fifth city in the country to join. This program gives city governments access to data from millions of Waze users, including hourly reports on traffic, road hazards, road conditions and weather.

The internal hackathon saw 45 participants work together to use this data and ultimately pitch 15 projects, which organizers then narrowed to six.

We feel internal hackathons are an effective way to train employees on new tools, get them using new data, create collaboration between departments, and most importantly institutionalize innovation, organizers wrote.

While internal hackathons are not an entirely new concept  theyve been conducted in jurisdictions like Alameda County, Calif.  this marks the first for Louisville, and organizers say they are currently working to create a hackathon kit for future internal use.





Peoria, Ill., Hosts Citys First Hackathon

Continuing the theme of first hackathons, Peoria, Ill., the largest city in that state outside of the greater Chicagoland area, recently hosted its own first hackathon event.

While the younger generation likely wont remember this, the question Will it play in Peoria?  was once a figure of speech used across the country to ask if a concept, product or idea would appeal to mainstream Americans, given that Peoria was viewed as a perfect reflection of average American tastes. It would seem hackathons do, in fact, play in Peoria, with organizers reporting that the citys first was a success.

The event took place Saturday, Aug. 12, and it was coordinated by Peorias innovation team , which is part of a larger program made possible by Bloomberg Philanthropies . It brought together 47 developers for a 10-hour session, which did not yield any final products. I-Team project manager Peter Kobak, however, told a local public radio station that he still considered the event a success.

He went on to say that the hackathon did produce a number of prototypes and concepts that could help the local government get closer to its goal of making the citys public data more open and accessible, in spite of Peorias limited resources. Moving forward, the city may decide to partner with some of the developers from the hackathon to continue working on a project that was started there.

In addition to the hackathon, Peoria is also currently holding an open data challenge related to balancing the city budget





30 Jurisdictions Join Cohort to Bolster Digital Equity for Public Housing Residents

ConnectHome Nation, which has a stated goal to expand its list to 100 communities by 2020, picked a diverse group of public agencies, ranging from Rhode Island Housing to the Housing Authority of San Joaquin, Calif. This cohort is rooted in public-private partnership, and it will give participants access to ConnectHomes resources, which include monthly webinars, mentorships, and a platform that allows for sharing of questions, connections and data.

ConnectHome Nation is one of a growing number of non-profit groups aimed at working within local governments to address the issue of digital equity, which is the idea that all citizens have equal access to things like high-speed Internet and digital literacy. Advocates say this issue stands to become increasingly prevalent, and that governments that do not help ensure digital inclusion run the risks of having whole populations that suffer from less access to employment, health-care and education opportunities.

In fact, 2017 has been a banner year for public-private partnerships in this arena, with another nonprofit group, the Ohio-based National Digital Inclusion Alliance, hosting a slate of activities nationwide as part of its first ever digital inclusion week . What sets ConnectHome Nation apart is that its specific focus is on fostering digital equity among residents of public housing. Some cities, such as Austin, have prioritized collaboration between civic technologists and public housing authorities , saying that digital inclusion is an effective way to help citizens transition from public housing to residences of their own.





Whats New in Civic Dog Tech: Austin Creates Map of Off-Leash Areas in City

Another city government has thrown a bone (sorry) to the growing arena of civic dog tech, which has previously included data maps showing the most common dog names in cities from New York to Anchorage, Alaska. This time, its Austin, Texas, and its new platform is a visualized data map that shows places in the city where dog owners can let their furry friends frolic off-leash
Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg are refusing to make up after their high-profile falling out in Hungary recently.

Haas driver Magnussen entered the August break by telling Hulkenberg to "suck my b*lls", following their on-track battle.

Renault's Hulkenberg started the row by interrupting a live television interview to tell Magnussen he is the "most unsporting driver" in F1.

Asked if they had got together since then to clear the air, German Hulkenberg told Bild newspaper: "No. And we will not. There's nothing to clarify.

"We just don't like each other."

Magnussen, meanwhile, told the Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet: "I watched the incident afterwards and it was hard driving from my side.

"I try my best and, yes, sometimes I squeeze the lemon as tightly as possible and go over the limit.

"But I'm not here to make friends. I'm here to get results," he added.

Asked how his Haas bosses responded to the controversial "suck my b-lls" comment, Magnussen answered: "They just laughed.

"They want me to drive a hard race and that's what they got!"

And when asked if he will get together to clear the air with Hulkenberg, Magnussen said: "We haven't spoken, and we will not."

(GMM)
Because I grew up in south Brooklyn, I've watched with special dismay as the old neighborhoods around here I lived-- hard core, deep Blue neighborhoods-- have continued supporting Trump . Although Brooklyn went for Clinton 595,086 (79.25%) to 133,653 (17.8%), the neighborhoods I grew up in and near where i grew up in-- which are filled with Russian Jewish immigrants now-- went for Trump:

Sickening. And this isn't the only part of the country that made this kind of flip. There are also significant concentrations of relatively recent Russian immigrants in other Democratic areas where there were neighborhoods that bizarrely went for Trump: Bergen County, New Jersey, as well as West Hollwood, Miami, Chicago, Alaska, Dallas, Houston, Philly, Baltimore and the Silicon Valley area. Yesterday, Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Oliver Bilger, on loan from Berlin's Der Tagesspiegel, took a stab at explaining the phenomenon, since it is also uncomfortably noticeable in Northeast Philly, home to a large number of Russian immigrants.

Along Bustleton Avenue, caviar and pelmeni (meat-filled dumplings) are sold in the supermarkets. Signs in Cyrillic letters advertise shoe stores, pharmacies, and hairdressers... Everything will be OK is the common refrain among saleswomen in local stores when asked about Trump. He can change the country for the benefit of the people.





The word Russian for this community is not entirely correct. Many immigrants and their families came from Russia, but even more from Ukraine, or Georgia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Belarus, and other former Soviet republics. Some began arriving in the 1970s, when Moscow lifted the Iron Curtain a little bit and allowed Jews to emigrate. What connects the immigrants from all the former Soviet republics is their common history and language.





Many of them voted for Trump and continue to support him despite his low approval ratings and the turmoil of his first six months in office. As for the allegations of collusion, many Russian Americans dismiss them as part of a conspiracy, disruptive actions by Democrats and the media.













Trump was presumed guilty and now they are trying to find proof, says Diane Glikman, 45, host of a Russian-language program on the internet. She represents a view among many along Bustleton that Trump could succeed politically if only given a chance.





I lived in Moscow for a few years and I also know the views of many immigrants from the former Soviet Union in Germany, my home country. There, conservative views predominate among the immigrants, especially among older citizens. More than a few praise Putin as a strong leader and a counterweight to the West, a person who represents their conservative views.





None of the people I spoke to in Philadelphia praised Putin. Gary Vulakh, 57, who came from Ukraine almost 40 years ago and runs a small jewelry repair shop, calls the Russian leader a terrorist. Others said the ongoing Russia hacking investigation makes Putin seem stronger than he is. He is not so powerful, says Malvina Yakobi, 57, the editorial director of the Russian-English newspaper Philadelphia News. Few believe the Kremlin could meddle in a U.S. election. Could they do anything like that? Vulakh wonders. Everything is done by the Democrats to impeach Trump.





The Russians in Philadelphia may not fully support Trumps friendliness toward Putin, but they still back the U.S. president overall, roughly for four reasons.





First, they wish for good relations between the United States and Russia, which they believe will promote peaceful cohabitation and bring more stability to the world.





Second, many separate Trumps admiration for Putin from his promises on domestic issues. Russian Americans, Yakobi explains, are the biggest American patriots. Having escaped the repressive Soviet Union, U.S. values such as freedom and justice are of the utmost importance. So, naturally, they want their new country to succeed.





Third, they like having a successful businessman in the White House instead of just another politician. They want to see a break from politics as usual and an establishment-- what Yakobi calls the corrupted administration of President Barack Obama-- that they see as ignoring the needs of too many in the country.





Fourth, though many themselves were newcomers to the United States, they like a president who promises to stop uncontrolled and illegal immigration. We waited five or six years to get citizenship, says Glikman. They earned their blue passports by learning the language and working hard, even in jobs that were far below their education level. They believe, as Glikman says, that Trump is not against immigrants when they work hard.





Though the community often leans Republican at election time-- Democrats are seen as too socialist, like the government many Russian Americans fled-- it is not monolithic in its support for the current president. In some cases, a vote for Trump was more a vote against Hillary Clinton. As Yakobi, who came to the United States from Georgia, says, last Novembers election did not leave a great choice. And even though the president may be a role model for achieving the American dream, not all are on board. Even within families, there are very different opinions, Glikman notes. The Russian community is split up  like the rest of the country.
Published in an open-access paper in the journal Fuel , their findings point to a cheaper, more environmentally friendly and renewable catalyst for processing that uses common bacteria and the metal palladium, which can be recovered from waste sources such as discarded electronics, catalytic converters, street sweeper dust and processed sewage.

A team from the Prairie Research Institute at the University of Illinois, with colleagues from the University of Birmingham and Aarhus University, have developed a nanosized bio-Pd/C catalyst for upgrading algal bio-oil.

The bio-oil produced from algae contains nitrogen and oxygen; treating it with palladium as a catalyst during processing helps remove those impurities. For the palladium to do its job, the bio-oil needs to flow past it during processing. Previous studies have shown that allowing the oil flow through porous carbon particles infused with palladium is an effective method, but those carbon particles are not cheap, said Prairie Research Institute researcher B.K. Sharma.

Instead of using commercially produced carbon particles, we can use bacteria cell masses as a sort of biologic scaffolding for the palladium to hold on to. The oil can flow through the palladium-decorated bacteria masses as it does through the carbon particles. B.K. Sharma

The bio-supported nanoparticles of palladium on bacterial biomass were prepared at the University of Birmingham. The produced Pd/biomass was air-dried and ground into powder for use.

To test the effectiveness of the new method, Sharma and his co-authors performed a variety of chemical and physical analyses to compare the performance of the bio-PD/C catalyst with a commercial Pd/C catalyst.

Bio-Pd/C resulted in similar catalytic activities as commercial Pd/C. Both bio-Pd/C and commercial Pd/C were able to decrease the O, N and S content by approx. 72%, 52% and 93% and improved the HHV from 35 MJ/kg to 41 MJ/kg under similar reaction conditions. However, carbon in bio-Pd/C possibly decomposed during the upgrading process, potentially reducing the reusability of the catalyst. However since bio-Pd/C can be biorefined from low-grade waste sources and used in oil upgrading a once through process is acceptable, particularly since the catalyst can be retained for onward commercial reprocessing, effectively realizing a second life per unit of primary resource mined. In addition, since the bacteria to make bio-Pd can be sourced as spent biomass from a previous bioprocess this reduces waste disposal costs while realizing benefit as additional carbon neutral fuel. Kunwar et al.

The work was conducted in collaboration with professors Joe Wood and Lynne Macaskie from the University of Birmingham, funded through the Birmingham-Illinois Partnership for Discovery, Engagement and Education program. The Natural Environment Research Council, UK also supported this research.

Resources
Betty Auld, a volunteer for Wyoming Promise, asks residents walking to Expedition Island to sign a petition to support a U.S. Constitutional Amendment to help limit corporate spending in elections.

A group of residents, tired of corporate money influencing state and national elections, is working to gather signatures for a proposed 28th amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Specifically, the amendment seeks to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Citizens United vs. F.E.C., which ruled political spending is protected speech under the First Amendment and the government cannot keep a group or corporation from spending money in an election. While those groups cannot directly contribute to a campaign, they can utilize other means, such as political action groups and advertisements, t...
ELKO -- Elko native Ashlyn Notestine is the new member services/Visitor Center coordinator for the Elko Area Chamber.

After high school she moved to Boise, Idaho and attended Boise State University for two years. She recently moved back to Elko and said she is looking forward to being part of a small, intimate community again.

As an employee of the Chamber, Notestine said she is excited to be directly involved in community events and networks. With extensive customer service experience she is happy to help with any questions or concerns our members and visitors may have.

When Notestine isnt working, she is spending time with her friends and families or enjoying live music.
Modern culture is rife with bad information -- a.k.a. noise pollution. Ask any of my data-crunching, info-analyzing colleagues at AirPR, and theyll tell you forthrightly that most online content is junk. From lackluster advice for getting rid of belly fat to get-rich-quick schemes claiming you can make a million dollars a year by working only 36 minutes a week, online content is soaked with predatory behavior and capitalist culture, waiting for anyone with a problem to bite.

My belief is that wed all be better off limiting our mainstream media news intake to 30 minutes a week, at most, and our social media feed trolling to less than three minutes a day. But then again, Im a closet curmudgeon who enjoys doing things like having conversations with my real-life friends and curling up with a good, physical book on a rainy afternoon.

Related: Here's How Many Books You Could Read Every Month If You Cut Back Time Spent on Your Smartphone

Before you pass judgment on my anti-millennial-seeming sentiments, I assure you that I fully embrace many of the advantages technology and human evolution have afforded the masses. However, for every choice we make, theres a subsequent trade-off. If we choose to be connected all the time with little space for reflection, we open our pores to a waterfall of unwanted information and somewhat forgo the opportunity to formulate our own opinions and beliefs.

Up for the challenge of becoming a more well-rounded, deeply thoughtful entrepreneur? Start with this list of must-reads, which I promise will allow you to form your own insights about relationships, the realities of our tech-driven culture and the importance of liberal arts in todays digital world. And your bonus? Youll look smarter for having good book recommendations at your next cocktail party, because -- newsflash -- most people dont want to chat about Kimye.

1. The Course of Love by Alain de Botton.

de Botton is a relatively new discovery of mine, and has quickly become not only my professional crush, but also the voice in my head with regard to sound relationship -- or any kind -- of advice. I stumbled upon a lecture he gave called Why You Will Marry The Wrong Person which then led me to his book, The Course Of Love. Do yourself and everyone youve ever known, loved or wanted to love a huge favor, and read this book. Its part novel, part self-help. Regardless of its official categorization, The Course Of Love is a playful, wise and profound meditation on modern relationships.

Also, if you want to understand more about Romantics versus Classics, take a gander at The School of Life, an online portal created by de Botton and his colleagues that is, in the words of my scholastically-inclined father, like drinking wisdom from a fire hose.

2. The Fuzzy and the Techie: Why the Liberal Arts Will Rule the Digital World by Scott Hartley.

As someone who studied philosophy and psychology but has spent the past decade in the tech world, I was excited to read Hartleys new book, The Fuzzy and the Techie. In a STEM-obsessed world where techies and bro-grammers have become the lionized billionaire set, here is a Sand Hill Road venture capitalist and Silicon Valley insider taking the contrarian stance that the liberal arts still matter.

Hartley myth-busts the idea that broad academic passion and technical literacy are mutually exclusive, and he gives strong argument to the notion that our technology requires diversity of thought. Not only are companies like YouTube run by literature and history majors, and companies like Slack and Pinterest founded by philosophers and political scientists, but the heart of our technology requires humanism to bring context to our code, question bias in big data and tame the assumptions baked into those algorithmic processes seeping into our daily lives.

As a fuzzy in a techie world, Hartley showed me that Im not alone, and more of us are needed. The market for hiring philosophers and psychologists isnt closed for business; in fact it may be the skill set of tomorrow. By the way, Anne-Marie Slaughter, mentioned in another one of my book roundups, referenced Hartleys book in her Indiana University commencement address.

Related: Increase Your Business Acumen with These 12 Books

3. Top of Mind: Use Content to Unleash Your Influence and Engage Those Who Matter to You by John Hall.

As Influence & Cos cofounder and CEO, Hall has learned a lot about what makes a content strategy work and what it takes to pierce through the noise. He's worked with brands like AIG, American Airlines, Dell and more.

In this book, Hall explores how brands can leverage the authentic relationship and shares tried-and-true tactics for growing a company by putting people first. Its written in a way thats easy to understand, whether youre a content strategist, marketer or new startup founder wearing a million hats at once.

4. Blockchain for Dummies by Tiana Laurence.

Nothing is more satisfying than dropping knowledge on unsuspecting folks who take pride in their superiority around all things tech-related. The surest way to block and tackle this poor cocktail party etiquette is to start an in-depth conversation about an emerging sector.

Rated a no. 1 new release in Digital Currencies on Amazon, Blockchain For Dummies is an easy read that explores what blockchain is, how it works and what it can do for both consumers and businesses. Author Tiana Laurence is the cofounder and CMO of Factom, a blockchain-as-a-service company. Shes one of the leading voices for this emerging technology.

For business professionals, the book is an ideal starting place for gaining a better understanding of how blockchain can improve the integrity of data, enhance data security and ultimately change the way business is done. For tech trend buffs, Blockchain for Dummies is like a front-row seat to understanding the far-reaching implications of this revolutionary invention.

Bonus: Up for creating a working blockchain-based application? The book walks you through that too. Being a dummy never felt so good, or superior.

Related: 5 Books Every Entrepreneur Should Read

5. The Creative Spark: How Imagination Made Humans Exceptional by Agustin Fuentes.

Think our opposable thumbs or ability to feel compassion make us humans unique? Fuentes, professor of anthropology for University of Notre Dame, National Geographic explorer and author, will have you thinking twice about that. In The Creative Spark: How Imagination Made Humans Exceptional, Fuentes presents a bold new synthesis of paleontology, archaeology, genetics and anthropology that overturns misconceptions about race, war and peace, and human nature itself. He ultimately answers the age-old question, what makes humans so exceptional among all the species on Earth?

Spoiler alert: The short answer is good ol fashioned creativity. From the hunting and gathering practices of yore, to your childs finger painting, a humans ability to imagine and collaborate is what ultimately drives the evolutionary and innovation process.

Fuentes multi-million year perspective will certainly get your wheels turning, and if it has the same effect on you as it had on me, youll close the books back cover with a new sense of unfettered, unrushed, undistracted creativity.

Related:

5 Books That Will Make You Rethink Love, Influence, Creativity and Technology

13 Summer Books the Entrepreneur Staff is Reading This Summer

Billionaire Bill Gates's Summer Reading Picks



Copyright 2017 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved



This article originally appeared on entrepreneur.com


ELKO  A truck crash on U.S. Highway 93 blocked traffic for several hours Thursday afternoon, according to the Nevada Highway Patrol.

A semi tractor-trailer overturned with lots of debris on highway, said a message on the agencys notification system.

The accident happened mid-afternoon about 11 miles north of Wells.

At this time, we do not know how long it will be blocked, said Trooper Jim Stewart of NHP.

Both lanes of traffic were still closed as of 5 p.m.
Could your business recover from an abrupt loss of $256,000? Because thats how much a single cybersecurity hack could cost a small business, according to a recent analysis in Tech Republic.

Were barely halfway through 2017 and already this year has seen a huge spike in major cybersecurity attacks. Ransomware infections attacked the US pharmaceutical company Merck and the Danish shipping company Maersk. There have been viral, state-sponsored ransomware leaks of US spy agencies and a ransomware attack that crippled NHS hospitals and emergency rooms in the UK. Enigma Software, the makers of the SpyHunter anti-malware program, found there were more than 1.5 million infections detected in the first half of 2017, and the number could be even higher in the second half of the year.

Major hacks, ransomware and phishing are all on the rise. Yet many small business owners continue to mistakenly believe their company wont be a target.

As a small business owner myself, Ive fallen into this thinking before, too. Its tempting to think cyber attacks wont happen to your business because your company is too small or inconsequential to matter to attackers. Cyber attackers target the big corporations of the world like Merck and Maersk, not small businesses that employee just a handful of people, right?

Not so fast. Small businesses are just as likely to be the victim of cyber attacks as large corporations -- were just less like to hear about these attacks.

Related: A Genius Former Hacker Explains How to Keep Your Business Safe From Cyber Attacks

Think about it: an attack that cripples the UKs public health system and emergency rooms is international news. An attack on a small business with 50 employees wont make headlines anywhere. We fall victim to our own confirmation bias: if we dont hear about it happening, we assume it isnt. Thats dangerous thinking for a small business. While large corporations can bounce back from cyber attacks, its much more difficult for small businesses to recover. Could your business recover from a breach that costs upwards of $250,000 and potentially devastates client trust should confidential information be leaked?

Dont wait until it's too late to take action. Know the threats and assess your risks.

Malware infections.

Malware infections can come in many forms, including adware, spyware and ransomware, which locks critical files and holds these files hostage until a ransom is paid. Without appropriate restrictions at work, employees may unknowingly download one of these programs, jeopardizing both their own computer and company-wide security.

Mobile devices.

An estimated 4 percent of all mobile devices are already infected with malware, not only impacting the device owner but also employers.

Credential threats.

Hackers can use social media and workplace emails to bypass network defenses and gain access using compromised employee credentials.

Do employees bring their own devices to work?

Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) culture is in full swing, with employees using their own smartphones, tablets and sometimes even their personal computers for company work. While many companies decide the benefits (increased productivity, lower hardware costs) outweigh the risks (hackers and viruses), your business still needs a company-wide policy that regulates what data employees can access and what happens if an employees device is lost, stolen or compromised.

What type of authentication system is used to access cloud-based data? Antiquated systems could leave your company vulnerable to hacks and intrusion.

Are your systems protected?

With large corporations beefing up their enterprise security, hackers are turning to vulnerable small businesses. Hackers can use tools to search for unprotected networks and computers. Once a computer is identified, the hacker will then take over the computer and use it to launch a full attack on the network.

Once you understand the threats and have assessed your vulnerabilities, take these steps to protect yourself.

Educate

Technology threats change quickly and employee training must keep pace. Commit to keeping employees up to date on your companys security policies. Codify these policies and require employee signatures to confirm understanding and enforce compliance.

Protect

At a minimum, all company computers should be protected by a hardware or software firewall, as well as anti-virus and anti-spyware programs. If your company is shifting data storage to the cloud, assess and update existing security protocols. Do you use company Wi-Fi? A virtual private network (VPN) is a more secure option for accessing your companys network.

Bring in the experts.

Most small businesses cant afford to keep a full-time cybersecurity expert on staff. One option is to bring in a specialized contractor on a project basis. Your company can tap into expert talent for more complex cybersecurity threats, like cloud-based security protocols, without paying steep fees for a full-time expert.

Bottom line: 2017 is a critical inflexion point for cybersecurity. Small business owners can no longer assume that they won't be targeted or that installing an anti-virus software program on a desktop computer is sufficient. Taking steps now to identify and shore up vulnerabilities can save your business from a full-on cyber disaster.

Related:

Cybercriminals Are Targeting Small Businesses That Don't Take Cybersecurity Seriously

5 Things to Remember About Network Security

What Businesses Can Do About a Trillion-Dollar Fraud Problem



Copyright 2017 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved



This article originally appeared on entrepreneur.com


In this series, Open Every Door, Entrepreneur staff writer Nina Zipkin shares her conversations with leaders about understanding what you have to offer, navigating the obstacles that will block your path, identifying opportunity and creating it for yourself and for others.

For so many creators, it's not a question of whether they have the talent or the drive. It all comes down to whether the right person at the right time believes in them so they can get their work out to the world.

A recent study from USCs Media, Diversity and Social Change Initiative found that in looking at 900 popular films from 2007 to 2016, out of 1,006 directors, 56 were black or African-American, 30 were Asian or Asian-American and 34 were women. As the study put it, when Hollywood thinks director, they think white male.

That is a vision of the industry that film producer Tilane Jones is working to change for one simple reason: Every story deserves to be told.

Related: You Must Ask Yourself This Question Before You Pitch Your Idea

Jones is the executive director of ARRAY, an organization founded by Oscar-nominated director Ava DuVernay (Selma, 13th, Queen Sugar) that is dedicated to finding distribution for independent films made by women and people of color, especially first-timers.

The organization began in 2010 as AFFRM (The African-American Film Festival Releasing Movement) before relaunching as ARRAY and expanding its focus to bring attention to the work of a wider swath of underrepresented creators in 2016.

As executive director, Joness job is to juggle many moving parts from meeting with filmmakers, reviewing films, booking theaters for screenings and finding like-minded organizations to partner with.

Related: The First African-American Woman to Travel to Space Shares How She Finds Solutions to the World's Biggest Problems

In her first career, Jones worked in real estate. But the financial crisis and real estate crash in 2008 prompted her to rethink what was possible and what goals she had for herself. She says weathering that transition taught her to embrace uncertainty rather than run from it.

You can't always change the world, but you can change yourself -- which is going to change your vision of the world, Jones says. I'm always trying to not be afraid of change and not be afraid of experiencing new things. [Whether an experience is] good or bad, I can always make my world better.

Entrepreneur spoke with Jones for more insights about how to trust yourself when things get tough and why no job is ever too small on the way to understanding what path works for you.

Related: This Entrepreneur Who Sold Her Company for $1 Billion Wants You to Throw Out the Unwritten Rules That Hold You Back

What challenges do these these filmmakers face in getting their work seen and heard?



The challenge is a lot of times just having the film acquired. I think the most important thing is to really focus on the work, [and not] things like awards and accolades. Those kind of things that can't come as part of it. Of course [we] all want those things, but it's [really important] to focus on the work and to tell your story. And once you've done that, I think everything else kind of falls in line. Having companies like ARRAY that want to see this work be shown, I think that's very important. I feel like the studio systems are kind of changing and I hope that with the change comes more acceptance of different types of work by different types of people.

Can you talk about a moment in your career when you had to advocate for yourself? How did you approach it?

When I started working with Ava, I had actually been working in the real estate industry for over 12 years. There was the real estate crash and I found myself having to find another career, find another path. But I never doubted myself. I think that's a big thing as well, just being really confident in your capabilities and knowing that whatever road or path that you may take, whatever challenges you may have, that you know you're able to shift with those challenges.

You know, when I first started working with Ava I had no clue about the film industry. [You have to always] be open to learning, being flexible in your career, taking a different path and not being afraid to really step out and do those things.

Related: After a Decade in Business, This Founder Became CEO. Here is How She Tackles New Challenges With Conviction.

What is your best advice for someone about to make a big career shift like you did from real estate to film?

I think you need to learn everything you can about that new career from the bottom up, from the mailroom to the top executives. Never feel like there's anything that you shouldn't be doing, because it's all a learning experience, it's all teaching you to get to that level where you want to be. And I think I was always open to that. On Ava's first film -- even though I was also associate producer, I was also doing craft service.

I've always tried to keep myself humble and I never felt like there was any job that was too small for me to do. And to do it at the best of my ability. By doing that, I also learned from all these talented people that you see on crews and on sets. That's amazing to me.

My favorite thing is to be on set and see the minds doing all these different tasks that really create this work, create this art. From the sound people to design and wardrobe, hair, makeup. I've literally sat in all those rooms and just listened and watched. Now could I do those things? No. But it's really motivational to see these brilliant people come up with these ideas and really create what you see on screen.

Related: The Success of 'Wonder Woman' Speaks Volumes About Opportunity

Over the course of your career, how have you grown and changed as a leader?

When you start out in a new career, you're not always as confident in your ability. I think that just through the work that I've done and the people that I've worked [with], my confidence level has definitely risen from that. I'm very confident in my vision, I think. But sometimes you don't know. You know, you see a film and you're like, "Will people like it? Will people actually come and see it?" And that's a view from not only a filmmaker, but also a distributor and a marketer. "I like this movie. Are other people really going to like it?" So it kind of takes a while for you to get that confidence and know that, "You know what? If I like it, somebody else is going to like it" -- even if it's just one person.

Related:

How to Bring in Diversity in Your Organisation

5 Tough Steps to Save Your Failing Business

How can HR Professionals be Helpful in Growing Your Company?



Copyright 2017 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved



This article originally appeared on entrepreneur.com


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Introduction

This is it then. The long-awaited Finnish flagship that goes all in against the phones that rule today. The Finnish cameraphone returning to claim the prize that was once its birthright. Everybody bow and make way?

No, it's not how it works. No story begins with a happy ending. Nokia can tell a few about life after death but HMD is not looking at a life of Sundays. The thing with Microsoft wasn't going anywhere but it still counts as a wasted second chance. The third time, failure is not an option. Nokia and HMD seem well aware of that and the Nokia 8 looks like it has adapted to the new reality fast.

The flagship Nokia 8 is well-armed with the top-of-the-line Snapdragon 835, an impressive high-res LCD, premium aluminum unibody and the latest Android OS.

The cameraphone Nokia 8 had no other choice perhaps than have its own take on the dual-camera outfit with two 13MP sensors, an optically-stabilized color one and a monochrome one. Another 13MP unit at the front is more than just a selfie cam - it does split-screen live streaming and has phase-detection autofocus. High-end ZEISS lenses in front of all three sensors mark the return of an iconic partnership.

Nokia's OZO camera division is involved in the 8 too. It co-developed the 360 spatial surround audio recording, which will capture sound with a quality to match the sharpness of the 4K video. Another rare feature, binaural audio, is supposed to offer an even more immersive split-screen viewing experience.

Nokia 8 key features:

Body: 6000-series aluminum, IP54 splash resistance

6000-series aluminum, IP54 splash resistance Display: 5.3" IPS LCD, QHD resolution (554ppi), 700 nits brightness; Gorilla Glass 5; Glance screen

5.3" IPS LCD, QHD resolution (554ppi), 700 nits brightness; Gorilla Glass 5; Glance screen OS: Android 7.1 Nougat (basically stock)

Android 7.1 Nougat (basically stock) Chipset: Snapdragon 835 chipset, 4GB RAM, 64GB of storage, microSD card slot

Snapdragon 835 chipset, 4GB RAM, 64GB of storage, microSD card slot Main camera: two 13MP sensors (color + monochrome), 1.12m pixels, Zeiss lens with f/2.0 aperture; OIS on the color sensor, Laser and phase detection autofocus, dual-LED flash

two 13MP sensors (color + monochrome), 1.12m pixels, Zeiss lens with f/2.0 aperture; OIS on the color sensor, Laser and phase detection autofocus, dual-LED flash Video: 4K video capture, 360 spatial surround sound with 3 microphones; YouTube and Facebook livestreaming (with picture-in-picture)

4K video capture, 360 spatial surround sound with 3 microphones; YouTube and Facebook livestreaming (with picture-in-picture) Selfie camera: 13MP sensor, 1.12m pixels, Zeiss lens with f/2.0 aperture, phase detection autofocus

13MP sensor, 1.12m pixels, Zeiss lens with f/2.0 aperture, phase detection autofocus Connectivity: single and dual SIM versions; Cat. 9 LTE (450/50Mbps), Wi-Fi ac, Bluetooth 5.0, ANT+, USB-C 3.1 (5Gbps)

single and dual SIM versions; Cat. 9 LTE (450/50Mbps), Wi-Fi ac, Bluetooth 5.0, ANT+, USB-C 3.1 (5Gbps) Battery: 3,090mAh, Quick Charge 3.0 (18W)

3,090mAh, Quick Charge 3.0 (18W) Misc: Fingerprint reader, unlimited Google Photos storage

Main shortcomings

Battery capacity seems low

Not fully water-proof

No 1080p@60fps video recording

The Nokia 8 seems so thoughtfully designed and made that we had to go nitpicking to find flaws. Modest battery capacity? We have yet to see the actual battery endurance. Aluminum 6000 instead of 7000? We seriously doubt it that another bendgate could be on the way. Splash-resistant but not water-proof? This could be it but it's still better that than nothing.

Nokia has a legacy to protect and a future to build. Once an industry pillar, the brand has a long way to come back from oblivion. And while the Nokia 3, 5 and 6 surely helped restore some confidence, it's up to the 8 to rekindle the old glory. Or go down trying. Curious to know which way it's heading? So we are - but first things first.
Xiaomi fans in Thailand, rejoice! The Chinese manufacturer announced its official entry in the Asian country through its partner VST ECS. The first two devices that will be officially sold are the flagship Xiaomi Mi 6 and the bestseller Xiaomi Redmi Note 4.

At an event in Bangkok Xiaomi announced that VST ECS sellers will take care of the online and offline distribution along with after-sales service products. Xiaomi will also sell its phones through retailers Lazada and IT City.

The Xiaomi Mi 6 will be offered in Black and the 6GB RAM + 64 GB storage will go for THB13,790 or around $414, with sales starting immediately. The version with 128 GB storage will arrive on September 1 but pricing was unannounced.

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 is the more affordable solution. It will be offered in either Gray or Black for the price of THB6,790 which is around $200. Lazada will have the phone in stock right away, but it will reach IT City shelves on August 28.

Source (in Chinese) | Via




Haiti - NOTICE : ONI warning





The General Directorate of the National Office of Identification (ONI) wishes to warn the population in general against the statements of a group of individuals claiming to be of a union from the institution.



It informs them that most of the members of this group are not employees of the ONI and therefore have no right to speak on behalf of the institution or the people who work there.



The General Directorate also wishes to advise that Jean-Marie Charles no longer works at the Office as Technical Director. He is now responsible for training and therefore has no authority or authority to speak as Technical Director.



The General Directorate wishes to inform that this attitude of Mr. Charles is similar to a usurpation of title and is considered as such by the laws of the Republic which provide for sanctions for such an offense. Especially since the person does not appear at his post for some time.



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - Education : 19 Haitian scholars on the left for Taiwan





Thursday at the Kinam Hotel Pierre Josue Agenor Cadet, Minister of National Education, Stephanie Auguste Minister of Haitians Living Abroad and Ambassador of the Republic of China (Taiwan), Hao Cheng Hu wanted during a ceremony, wish in the presence of relatives of the recipients, good studies to the 19 new Haitian scholars who will leave the country Saturday for Taiwan.



These 19 scholars boys and girls, who were selected on competition, bring to 260 the total number of beneficiaries of a Taiwanese scholarship since the signing of the bilateral agreement signed in 2004 between the two countries.



From this group, 6 students will begin their university studies, 12 will pursue their studies at the master's level (3 years) and 1 will do its doctorate (5 years).



TB/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - Education : School books will not be ready for back to school





Beyond the reassuring demagogic statements of the Minister of Education who had guaranteed Monday "Textbooks subsidized by the Haitian State will be available well before the beginning of the school year" https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-21882-haiti-politics-moise-chairs-a-high-level-meeting-14-days-before-school-begins.html it is quite different on the side of the Maison Henri Deschamps, Haiti's largest printing and publishing house.



For Peter Frisch, CEO of Maison Deschamps, beyond the speeches there is reality. It affirms that the marketing of textbooks subsidized before school is "legally and physically impossible". He recalled that a letter of commitment from the Minister did not bind the State but only the Minister and did not allow for the entry into force of a contract which had not yet passed the steps required by law.



He recalled that the Government had lately launched its subsidy program, that the publishers had not yet received the contracts which was only approved on 18 August by the Ministry of Finance. He explains that these contracts must also be approved by the National Procurement Commission and registered by the Court of Auditors and Administrative Litigation (CSC / CA) before it can enter into force, process still in execution... It is only after this process and the deposit of bonds of the publishers, that the Ministry of Education must issue a notification letter specifying the requirements and reciprocal commitments before the production of the school books can be launched. Noting that once the books have been printed and before they are placed on the market, the Ministry still has to check and record them before issuing a certificate of conformity...



Adding that the Maison Henri Deschamps has always scrupulously respected its contracts, as long as the State for its part respects its calendar.



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-21882-haiti-politics-moise-chairs-a-high-level-meeting-14-days-before-school-begins.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-21867-haiti-education-at-15-days-of-the-new-school-year-the-ministry-does-not-seem-ready.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-21740-haiti-politics-subsidized-textbooks-still-unavailable.html



PI/ HaitiLibre


















Published on 2017/08/24 | Source

Korean movies opening today 2017/08/24 in Korea: "An Affair: My Friend's Mom", "Still and All", "Everything will Disappear... The Secret of The Scarlet Letter", "Bamseom Pirates Seoul Inferno", and "The Table".

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"An Affair: My Friend's Mom" (2017)

Directed by Kwak Yeong-geun

With Kim Ji-yeon-III, Jo Wan-jin, Lisa-I, Kim Seung-goo,...

Synopsis

A young mother takes interest in her friend's son. Her interest in him makes her forget herself and drives her to pursue him.

"Still and All" (2015)

Directed by Kim Young-jo

Synopsis

Still and All is a story about the souls living beneath the Yeongdo Bridge in Busan. Yeongdo and its bridge offer a historical space with lingering traces from the Japanese colonial era to the Korean War. The people under Yeongdo Bridge, reconstructed in 2013 after 47 years, are driven to move when the vicinity around it is designated a Special Tourist Zone. The film superimposes their stories against the spatial history.

Festival

DMZ International Documentary Film Festival

"Everything will Disappear... The Secret of The Scarlet Letter" (2017)

Directed by Kim Mun-ok

With Kim Ji-ni, Lee Seong-hoon, Jeong In-cheol, Choi Mi-gyo, Park Hyo-geun, Park Bo-geun,...

Synopsis

In a three-story villa in Seoul, a widow lives on the first floor, a student who works to feed the dog of a professor at his school who is away on work lives on the second floor and a woman who works at a karaoke bar lives on the third floor.

The woman on the third floor comes home on her bike and takes a shower; this is where the movie begins.

"Bamseom Pirates Seoul Inferno" (2017)

Directed by Jung Yoon-suk-I

Synopsis

The Bamseom Pirates from Korea make music appropriate to our sick society: a hundred songs in ten minutes, that kind of thing. This at times noisy, but also sparkling, activist and often humorous documentary reports on the resistance offered by these punk musicians to hypocritical, conservative money-grabbers and their often violent hold on society.

"Whereas other bands smash up expensive guitars, we use rubbish", says one of the members of controversial duo Bamseom Pirates while picking up an old printer lying amongst the junk in an abandoned university building. They prefer to play here rather than in Seoul's hip concert venues. With heavy irony, they announce their 'relaxing' music: a blast of noise called grindcore. They play bass and drums, but use also anything they can get their hands on to make music. Their angry punk attitude is aimed against the established order in South Korea. Many of their numbers have led to controversy and rows, which they warmly welcome.

In his debut "Non-Fiction Diary", filmmaker Jung Yoon-suk expanded an infamous real-life murder from the 1990s into an analysis of stumbling faith in progress in Korea. His second film starts as a noisy musical portrait, growing into a statement on youthful resistance against the capitalist powers that be.

Festival

IFFR | International Film Festival Rotterdam - Bright Future 2017

"The Table" (2016)

Directed by Kim Jong-kwan

With Jung Yu-mi, Han Ye-ri, Jung Eun-chae, Lim Soo-jung, Jung Joon-won-I, Jeon Sung-woo,...

Synopsis

A couple faces each other across a cafe table talking; he's apparently returned from Europe and she's not happy about him asking her to meet after such a long time. The conversation seems likely to end any second, but suddenly his true feelings touch her momentarily and a brief smile crosses her face. "The Table" follows a conversation between two people in a cafe.

The first episode shows about a conversation between an actress and her ex-boyfriend, the second is the meeting of a man and woman who go traveling together after a one-night stand, and the third episode is the story of a woman who meets the woman who will play her mother at her sham wedding. The final episode focuses on a woman about to marry, suggesting her ex-boyfriend will be seeing her right up to her wedding day. As all four episodes depend on the two characters' lines and facial expressions, audiences must imagine the situations from the clues available. Different charms emanate from the four actresses, Jung Yu-mi, Jung Eun-chae, Han Ye-ri, and Lim Soo-jung.

Festival

Busan International Film Festival - Panorama
UK sales of premium Japanese whisky soar

By Michelle Perrett

The demand for Japanese Whisky has seen a boom in the price of rare whiskies with prices up 65% in 12 months, to 450 a bottle.

According to BI, the fine wine and spirits merchant, UK sales of premium Japanese whisky have soared by 232% since the start of 2017.

The merchants report that Japanese brands such as Yamazaki and Karuizawa have seen their bottle prices rise by as much as 30 times. In fact Yamazaki Sherry Cask 2013 sold for around 100 on release and now trades at over 3,000. The Karuizawa Thousand Arrows Set, a collection of three different whiskies, was recently sold for over 28,000.

However, rare Scottish whisky has continued to grow, with sales of Macallan up 97% and Glenfarclas up 84% in the last 12 months.

It said that the single most expensive individual bottle of whisky sold so far this year was a bottle of Macallan 50 Year Old distilled in 1949, which sold for 32,000, whilst a collection of eight Macallan Fine and Rare bottles from 1937-1991 sold for almost 110,000.

In the first half of the year, BIs sales of rare spirits have risen 79%, making it the fastest growing drinks category. The operators total revenue for the first half of 2017 across wines, champagnes and spirits reached 50M.

The UK has been the global centre of the drinks trade for years, so theres always a desire for buyers and consumers to look for new tastes, creating new fashions and commercial opportunities, said BIs managing director, Gary Boom.

Japanese whisky is certainly the latest discovery for whisky connoisseurs and the growing popularity is leading to increasing prices for the rarest varieties. That said, Scotch is still the king of whiskies when it comes to heritage and prestige, giving it enormous global appeal in markets that seek out the finest in luxury goods.
The week that was

By Jo Gilbert

In case you missed some of the headlines this week on harpers.co.uk, we have put together a review of the top online news, Q&As, and opinion stories.

Top Stories: This weeks stories from the wine and spirits producing world included the new Cote DOr approval in Bourgogne, a terrorist flight through a Spanish vineyard and not one but two disputes with companies clashing heads with industry watchdog, the Portman Group.

Analysis and Insights: Harpers reported from Uzbekistan where we were on the trail of Fair, a young at heart spirits company dedicated to building an ethical and on-trend brand.

We also looked at the how premium brands are using vertical technology to grow their customer-base.

People and Opinion: With a career spanning over 40 years and two continents, May de Lencquesaing certainly earned the IWC Lifetime Achievement Award bestowed upon her early this summer.

Harpers caught up with her to find out whats next for the 90-year-old.

Meanwhile, regular columnist Jerry columnist got down to the business of selling wine.
Totals acquisition of Maersk Oil demonstrates French groups confidence in North Sea

The $7.45 billion deal, announced on August 21, makes Total the second largest operator in the North Sea after Statoil. Total CEO Patrick Pouyanne said last month that he was ready to make acquisitions to grow production, taking advantage of a fall in company valuations, the cost of drilling and other equipment during the three-year industry downturn.

Image: Maersk

The combination of Maersk Oils North Western Europe businesses with our existing portfolio will position Total as the second operator in the North Sea with strong production profiles in UK, Norway and Denmark  Internationally, in the US Gulf of Mexico, Algeria, East Africa, Kazakhstan and Angola there is an excellent fit between Total and Maersk Oils businesses, Pouyanne said.

The acquisition gives Total about 1 billion barrels of oil equivalent of proven and probable reserves, about 80% of which are in the North Sea, according to the group. It will add output of about 160,000 barrels a day of oil equivalent (boepd) to Total next year, rising to 200,000 a day by 2020. The group said it anticipated achieving financial synergies of more than US$400 million per year, with the combination of assets in the North Sea in particular enhancing efficiency.

The deal ranks among the largest that a super-major has concluded since oil prices crashed in 2014. Royal Dutch Shell agreed to buy BG Group Plc for $52 billion in 2015 and has been reaping the benefits since the transaction closed the following year. In January, Exxon Mobil agreed to pay $5.6 billion in shares, plus a series of contingent cash payments totaling as much as $1 billion, for drilling rights in the Permian shale region of Texas.

Energy deals have picked up pace more broadly in recent months as the industry puts the worst of the slump behind it, although major oil companies have tended to be sellers. BP has offloaded assets including a $1.7 billion stake in a Chinese petrochemical venture and Shell exited its Irish venture for $1.2 billion.

Pouyanne said the acquisition would make the group more competitive and was a good fit, having earlier decided against moving into US shale sector because of the high expense of assets there. He said that with Maersks assets, the Total group was well on its way towards its target output of 3 million boepd by 2019. The deal had not changed the groups forecast for capital expenditure of $15 billion to $17 billion next year, he added.

Maersk Oils UK North Sea assets include the US$4 billion Culzean gas field in the UK sector with a forecast peak output of around 60,000-90,000 boepd following its launch in 2019. Maersk also owns a 8.44% stake in the Johan Sverdrup project in the Norwegian sector, which is led by Norway's Statoil and is due to start pumping 440,000 bpd by 2019, with peak output of 660,000 bpd anticipated by 2022.

Subject to approval by the Danish Energy Ministry and competition authorities, the deal is due to be completed in the first quarter of 2018.

The deal boosts the share of eight global oil majors in the North Sea - Statoil, Total, Shell, Exxon Mobil, Conoco, ENI, BP and Chevron - to back above three quarters of total output.

Several oil majors have been actively looking to divest fields in the North Sea - one of the most mature global oil provinces where future developments will be complicated by high decommissioning costs of old infrastructure.

The transaction will see Total take over all of Maersks decommissioning obligations in the North Sea, which are estimated at close to US$3 billion.



Maersk said the sale was an important step in its strategy to create an integrated transport and logistics company, and it would contribute significantly to strengthening the groups capital.



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(Reuters) Commodity oriented hedge fund firm Madava Asset Management has hired industry veteran Nedim Soylemez to trade natural gas, oil and energy, a person familiar with the hire said on Thursday. Soylemez had been a managing director at JPMorgan Chase where he led the banks global natural gas trading business within its global commodities division. His hiring marks a coup of sorts for Madava, which was renamed in February when the original founders split.

To read this article:
(CNBC) Hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman threatened ADP with bad publicity if he were forced into a formal proxy contest for seats on the payroll processing giants board, according to the company. ADP, which has been battling Ackman over his transformation plan to shake up the board and double its share price, detailed its behind-the-scenes negotiations with Ackman in a regulatory filing on Tuesday. Ackman wanted to avoid a proxy contest because it would have forced public disclosure and create the perception that the company and Ackmans Pershing Square Capital Management were at war, the filing said. The activist fund manager has proposed a slate of three director nominees, including himself.

To read this article:
(HedgeCo.Net) The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that a municipal financing authority in Beaumont, California, and its then-executive director have agreed to settle charges that they made false statements about prior compliance with continuing disclosure obligations in five bond offerings.

Also settling charges are the underwriting firm behind those offerings and its co-founder for failing to conduct reasonable due diligence on the continuing disclosure representations.

The SECs Enforcement Division uncovered the violations as part of a review of municipal issuers and underwriters that did not voluntarily self-report under the agencys Municipalities Continuing Disclosure Cooperation (MCDC) Initiative. The Beaumont Financing Authority and the underwriter, OConnor & Company Securities Inc., would have been eligible for more lenient remedies had they self-reported during the MCDC Initiative.

According to the SECs order, the Beaumont Financing Authority had issued approximately $260 million in municipal bonds in 24 separate offerings from 2003 to 2013 for the development of public infrastructure. For each of those offerings, a community facilities district established by Beaumont agreed to provide investors with annual continuing disclosures, including important financial information and operating data. From at least 2004 to April 2013, the district regularly failed to provide investors with the promised information. The Beaumont Financing Authority failed to disclose this poor record of compliance when it conducted the 2012 and 2013 offerings totaling more than $32 million. As a result, the bonds appeared more attractive and investors were misled about the likelihood that the district would comply with its continuing disclosure obligations in the future.

Investors in municipal bonds depend on timely and complete continuing disclosure from municipal issuers, said LeeAnn Ghazil Gaunt, Chief of the SEC Enforcement Divisions Public Finance Abuse Unit. Issuers and underwriters will continue to be held accountable when they fail to provide investors with an accurate picture of past compliance with continuing disclosure obligations.

In a complaint filed in the Eastern Division of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, the SEC charged Beaumonts then-city manager Alan Kapanicas, who also served as the Beaumont Financing Authoritys executive director. According to the complaint, he approved and signed the misleading offering documents. Kapanicas agreed to settle the charges without admitting or denying the allegations, and pay a $37,500 penalty. He also agreed to be barred from participating in any future municipal bond offerings.

In consenting to an SEC order without admitting or denying the findings, the Beaumont Financing Authority agreed to retain an independent consultant to review its policies and procedures. It also is required to establish appropriate and comprehensive policies, procedures, and training for employees as well as designate a compliance officer in order to ensure compliance with continuing disclosure agreements.

OConnor & Company Securities Inc. and its co-founder and former primary investment banker Anthony Wetherbee agreed to settle the charges against them without admitting or denying the SECs findings. OConnor & Company Securities Inc. will pay a $150,000 penalty and retain an independent compliance consultant to review its policies and procedures. Wetherbee will pay a $15,000 penalty and serve a suspension from the securities industry for six months.
The Ministry of the Interiors estimates indicate that at least half of such asylum seekers have left Finland to travel to their country of origin or to other countries in Europe, Risikko stated in an interview on YLE TV1 on Thursday.

Paula Risikko (NCP), the Minister of the Interior, has revealed that roughly 5,300 asylum seekers have disappeared in the middle of their asylum process in Finland since 2015.

Asylum seekers are considered to have disappeared if they leave the reception centre before receiving a decision on their application and if it cannot be ascertained that they have left the country.

Risikko also estimated that establishing immigration removal centres to ensure applicants who have been denied asylum leave the country  a proposal that has gained support in the wake of the recent stabbings in Turku, South-west Finland  would not be a feasible solution to the problem. The residents of such centres, she explained, are not placed under around-the-clock surveillance but are simply required to check in regularly with the staff.

Finland will nevertheless consider all of the options at its disposal, emphasised Risikko. The country has already set up a separate reception centre for, for example, asylum seekers with mental health problems.

Aleksi Teivainen  HT

Photo: Heikki Saukkomaa  Lehtikuva

Source: Uusi Suomi
A Dublin man has been extradited from the UK and charged with the murder of Gareth Hutch, who was shot dead in a suspected gang feud killing last year.

Jonathan Keogh (31) appeared at Dublin District Court yesterday charged with the murder, after he was arrested under warrant in England and extradited to face trial here.

Judge Grainne O'Neill remanded him in custody for the preparation of a book of evidence.

Mr Keogh is the third person to be charged in connection with the death of Mr Hutch, who gardai believe was a victim of the Kinahan/Hutch feud.

The accused's sister, Regina Keogh (39), and co-accused, Thomas Fox (29), have both already been charged and sent for trial to the Special Criminal Court.

Mr Hutch (35), the nephew of gang boss Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch, was gunned down as he was getting into his car outside Avondale House flats, on North Cumberland Street in inner city Dublin, on the morning of May 24, 2016.

A European Arrest Warrant was issued for Mr Keogh late last year.

He was arrested by police in Romford, Essex, on June 11 this year, following a surveillance operation by Britain's National Crime Agency.

Mr Keogh appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court on August 10, and was told he would be extradited to Ireland.

Armed

Two armed gardai stood outside Dublin District Court yesterday afternoon when the accused was brought before Judge O'Neill.

Garda Sergeant Enda O'Sullivan told the judge he arrested the accused on foot of a European Arrest Warrant at Casement Aerodrome, Baldonnel, at 2.21pm yesterday.

Mr Keogh was taken to Clondalkin Garda Station, where he was charged in Sgt O'Sullivan's presence at 3.50pm.

He made no reply to the charge after caution and was handed a copy of the warrant and charge sheet.

No bail application was made on his behalf, as this can only be done in the High Court on a murder charge.

Judge O'Neill asked Mr Keogh's solicitor, Damien Coffey, if there was any other application being made as "obviously, bail doesn't apply".

Mr Coffey asked for Mr Keogh to be remanded in custody for a week.

Judge O'Neill noted that there was a "significant" garda presence in the court for the case and asked if any security concerns could be circumvented by remanding the case to a different court.

"I believe we will have any security that needs to be in place for whatever court sits," said Sgt O'Sullivan.

Judge O'Neill adjourned the case to Cloverhill District Court on August 30.

Mr Coffey said he had no other application to make at this time and asked for permission to speak to the accused in custody when the case concluded.

Murder

Mr Keogh, who was wearing a navy and white tracksuit with white runners, stood with his arms folded during the brief proceedings and consulted his solicitor, but did not address the court.

He has not yet indicated how he intends to plead to the charge.

Jonathan and Regina Keogh's brother Michael was shot dead as he sat in his car in May.
A serial bag snatcher with a previous record of more than 130 convictions has been spared jail for her latest theft.

Kathleen Comerford (65), a grandmother with a criminal career spanning at least three decades, was found guilty of stealing a purse from a woman's handbag as she tried on a pair of shoes in a city centre store.

Judge Katherine Hutton gave her a six-month suspended sentence after finding her guilty of theft. Comerford, of Sean O'Casey Avenue, Summerhill, had denied the charge.

The victim told Dublin District Court she was in Penneys on Mary Street on March 14 and had selected a pair of shoes to buy. She sat down and put her bag, containing her purse, beside her.

Security then made her aware that her purse, which had bank cards and 20 to 30 in cash in it, had been taken from her bag. It was returned to her later.

Detective

A store detective said she was walking through the shop when she noticed the accused "taking an interest in" women's handbags in the shoe department.

Comerford went to the bench where the victim was sitting and put her hand into her bag, taking out the purse.

The court heard Comerford had 132 previous convictions, most of which were for theft. She had a long history of offending going back 30 years, but had no recorded convictions since 2015, said her solicitor Declan Fahy.

She had raised four children, all now adults, and had grandchildren as well.

She had a number of health problems including emphysema. She also had an alcohol addiction and would go binge drinking in recent years.

On the day, she was in the shop and "succumbed to temptation", said Mr Fahy.

Judge Hutton said she would impose a "fairly lengthy" sentence because of the repeat offending, but suspended it for a year.
Self-styled cleaner to the stars Gina Farrell fled her solicitor's office after grabbing the deeds of an apartment she owns and against which an undertaking had been given to pay a 100,000 debt, the High Court has heard.

Mr Justice Donald Binchy was told that Farrell went to Enda P Moran's offices in Celbridge, Co Kildare, on Monday with her husband Michael and an unidentified man on the pretext she needed to check the deeds, and then ran off with them.

A locum solicitor who tried to stop them was "pushed aside".

The court heard that Mr Moran had previously given an undertaking to another practice, to whom Farrell allegedly owed a legal costs debt of 158,471, that a settlement of 100,000 would be paid to it from the sale of her apartment in Celbridge.

The court was told that Brian O'Brien had represented Farrell, trading as Gina Farrell Cleaning Services, in a High Court case in which developer Sean Dunne was awarded 22,500.

The award was made on the basis that Farrell had overcharged him for cleaning services at an apartment complex that his company owned in Foxrock, Co Dublin.

Initially a legal costs and VAT bill of 263,470 was reduced to a balance of 158,471 on payment by Farrell of 105,000.

Later this figure was reduced to 100,000 after settlement talks which, Judge Binchy heard, had not been paid.

The court was told that, while Farrell's apartment, jointly owned with her husband, had gone 'sale agreed' for 208,000 in July, Mr Moran had not heard from anyone about the sale.

Then on Monday the Farrells and the unidentified man visited Mr Moran's office on the pretext they needed to check the deeds on the instructions of Bank of Ireland to see if they could obtain a loan.

When a locum solicitor presented the deeds on her desk, Farrell "grabbed them and proceeded with her husband and the other man to flee from the office", the judge was told.

Pushed

The court heard that the locum had tried to take back the deeds but was "pushed aside".

The locum later rang Mr O'Brien's office to say the 100,000 undertaking had been cancelled.

Judge Binchy was told that Mr O'Brien believed the Farrells were conducting the sale through another solicitor.

The judge granted Mr O'Brien injunctions against the Farrells, of Dangan Park, Kimmage, Dublin 12, restraining them from dealing with their assets. The proceedings were adjourned.
Families and businesses that make a claim to cover the cost of the devastating floods in the north-west face being stuck in areas set to be blacklisted by insurance companies.

Insurers are bracing for millions of euro of claims after thunderstorms and flash floods left a trail of destruction across Donegal and neighbouring counties.

Insurance experts said those making a claim for the damage to their homes, farms and businesses are likely to get a pay-out.

However, insurers will then decline to provide them with flood cover in future.

Damage

The revelation comes as homeowners and businesses are coming to terms with the massive damage inflicted by the flash foods.

People who suffered damage have been advised to employ the services of an insurance assessor to help detail the cost and act on their behalf in negotiating with insurers.

Paul Kavanagh, who heads up one of the largest insurance brokerages in the country, McCarthy Insurance Group, said insurers were blacklisting homeowners and businesses in any town that has experienced flooding.

Brian McNelis, of Brokers Ireland, the newly-merged representative body for brokers, said homeowners should make the case that the heavy floods were a one-in-100-year event.

He said insurers may review at renewal but will increase rates or excesses.

Meanwhile, Social Protection Minister Regina Doherty said her department had activated its humanitarian assistance scheme.

Last night, Minister Joe McHugh announced that a Defence Forces platoon of thirty personnel will arrive in Donegal this morning to help with the clean-up. They will be deployed in Inishowen from 9am.

Earlier, a Donegal farmer told the Herald that the flooding and the damage it has caused was "truly heart-breaking".

Carndonagh local Paddy McLoughlin was called to action as soon as the first emergency calls started to come through.

Working for the council's road department, Mr McLoughlin helped minimise the damage flood waters caused.

However, in doing so he had to leave his own farm unaided.

"I was trying to help other people with immediate flood relief, as the rain was coming down hard," he said.

"It was very frightening and at the same time I knew I had to get back to my farm to save my lambs.

"By the time I did get back the flooding had risen so quickly that I couldn't even get near the ground. It was unbelievable how fast it came up.

Wiped

"I'm 43 and never remember anything like this happening before. Twenty-five years ago, my family spent a considerable amount of money building an embankment on their land, but it was completely wiped away."

As the water began to recede, Mr McLoughlin realised that 20 of his lambs were missing.

"The flood caused a lot of damage. Among the 20 lambs missing included a breeding lamb, which is worth about 700. The rest are worth about 120 each," he said.

"It's not about money though. I was just devastated over the loss of my family farm.

"I call myself more of a hobby farmer. I do it for enjoyment more than anything else. I just love working with animals."
At least 30 lives have been saved from murderous organised crime gangs as a result of new resources available to An Garda Siochana, Assistant Commissioner John O'Driscoll has claimed

Mr O'Driscoll added, however, that there still remains a "significant threat" to life, despite recent successes.

Danger

"We're now more often involved in intervening and preventing the loss of life than investigating the loss of life," he said.

"I previously spoke of in excess of 20 lives saved, and I can safely say today that figure exceeds 30.

"They're not just ordinary run-of-the-mill interventions and the handing of forms to people and giving them notification of the fact that their life is in danger.

"In many of those circumstances we are discovering people who are so ready to implement the actions that they intend, in terms of murdering, that they have weapons in hand and they are dressed for the occasion in balaclavas.

"That has provided us with a significant challenge, and it's down to the dedication and the professionalism of the members concerned that such interventions have been made."

More than 60 firearms have been found and around 2,800 rounds of ammunition have been seized by the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau (DOCB) since it was formed.

This year alone, three assault rifles, two sub-machine guns, six semi-automatic pistols, 10 revolvers and two shotguns have been seized.

More than 100m of controlled substances have also been seized.

"I don't think there has ever been so many incidents where we have actually prevented murder taking place," said Mr O'Driscoll.

"It is undoubtedly causing great frustration to those who are endeavouring to do their business in organised crime.

"Despite the fact that we had a feud, where there was a fear that there would be a much increased number of murders, that hasn't happened."

Reality

DOCB chief Seamus Boland said there needs to be "an acceptance that Irish society is no different to any other society in the western world".

"Unfortunately, organised crime is a reality," he said.

"A lot of the success that we have had is down to the co-operation from the communities and we want to appeal for that support for it to continue."

Mr O'Driscoll also said that the reopening of Kevin Street Garda Station in south inner city Dublin was nearly complete and it should be back in business "very soon".
BRISTOL, Va.  A hiring event to staff a new ALDI grocery store coming to the Twin City will be held in Bristol, Virginia, next week.

Representatives of the grocery store chain are looking to hire store associates and managers with starting salaries ranging from $11.00 to $15.50 an hour.

According to the companys website, the hiring event will be held on Aug. 29 from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Holiday Inn on Linden Drive in Bristol, Virginia.

Construction is continuing on the 20,000-square-foot store, which will be located on a 2 1/2-acre site just off Lee Highway at The Falls retail development near Interstate 81s Exit 5.

An opening date has not been announced, but ALDI anticipates the store will open in late 2017, according to an email statement from Thom Behtz, vice president of ALDIs Jefferson Division.

Prospective employees are required to lift 45 pounds and be able to work in a fast-paced environment. Applicants must also pass a drug test and background check and should have excellent customer service skills, according to the companys website.

ALDI stores  where customers bag their own groceries and rent their own shopping carts  are smaller than most grocery stores and feature exclusive brands at discounted prices.

To ensure shopping carts arent left abandoned in the parking lot, customers are charged a quarter to rent a cart. The quarter is refunded when carts are returned to their corral.

Customers are also asked to take their own shopping bags or purchase reusable ones in the store, in keeping with ALDIs green initiative to reduce the use of paper and plastic, according to company officials.

The new location in Bristol, Virginia, will be the first ALDI store in Southwest Virginia. The company has dozens of stores in both Tennessee and Virginia, with the closest in Kingsport, Tennessee.

ALDI operates more than 1,500 stores in 33 states across the country.
ABINGDON, Va.  Attorneys for the Virginia Judicial Inquiry and Review Commission are seeking to quash a federal subpoena for records in the case of Judge Kurt Pomrenke, claiming those records are confidential and the government is conducting a fishing expedition.

The commission claims its records are confidential and privileged and not subject to disclosure, according to a motion filed in U.S. District Court on Wednesday. On Aug. 14, Magistrate Judge Pamela Meade Sargent issued a subpoena for all records submitted by Pomrenke or his attorney in response to a commission investigation.

The commission recently filed a formal complaint against Pomrenke, a 28th District juvenile and domestic relations court judge serving Bristol, Virginia, and Washington and Smyth counties. The Virginia Supreme Court is expected to hear that complaint later this year. Federal prosecutors claim that Pomrenke violated an order and disclosed the contents of evidence in his wifes criminal trial to the commission. He faces a bench trial next month on a contempt charge.

Pomrenke submitted a written response to the commission March 16, 2016, where he referred to an attached email that was part of the evidence from his wifes trial, according to the commissions motion.

In its motion, an attorney for the commission  writing on behalf of Attorney General Mark Herring  calls the subpoena unreasonable and oppressive because it seeks materials the government already has and items not relevant to the contempt charge and is using the subpoena as a discovery device.

Any documents and records that Judge Pomrenke or his counsel filed with the commission are confidential and privileged under Virginia law and the commission is not permitted to disclose those records, according to the commissions motion.

Further, it states all commission records filed in conjunction with its complaint are now public record and prosecutors appear to have copies.

The motion claims the only potentially relevant materials are materials from Stacey Pomrenkes trial.

Never in its 41-year history has the commission been required to produce its confidential and privileged records in contravention and unambiguous state law protecting them from disclosure, according to the motion. Virginia law provides the broadest protections for information held by the commission in connection with its investigation of complaints of judicial misconduct or disability.

The commission further claims complying with the subpoena would violate Virginia law.

The U.S. seeks to review all items submitted by Judge Pomrenke or his counsel in the hopes that it will find additional evidence to use against him, according to the motion. A search through the records of the commission is nothing more than a fishing expedition to see if more evidence against Judge Pomrenke might exist there.

The subpoena also commands the commissions records custodian to appear and testify at the Sept. 13 hearing, but the motion claims public records require no such authenticity.
BRISTOL, Tenn.  Two elected officials and a Bluff City resident were arraigned in Sullivan County General Sessions Court today on election law violations.

Bluff City Alderman John Harrison, Sullivan County Commissioner Sherry Grubb and Brook Morrell, Grubb's niece, were each served with criminal summonses by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation on Friday.

The three Bluff City residents were charged with misdemeanors, which can involve a $50 fine and a sentence of up to 30 days in jail. Their next hearing will be on Oct. 11.

Harrison was booked into the Sullivan County jail on Friday on charges of domestic assault and domestic vandalism. He was released that night. He will be arraigned on those charges on Sept. 6.

Harrison was also served with three temporary orders of protection today that were filed by family members.

A Bluff City alderman, a Sullivan County commissioner and the commissioners niece were each charged Friday with an election law violation.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation served Bluff City Alderman John R. Harrison, 54; Sullivan County Commissioner Sherry Grubb, 58; and Grubbs niece, Brook A. Morrell, 29, with criminal summonses.

The three Bluff City residents were charged with misdemeanors, which Sullivan County District Attorney General Barry Staubus said can involve a sentence of up to 30 days in jail.

On June 19, Staubus asked the TBI to investigate reports of election law violations during the May 16 municipal election in Bluff City. The case eventually went to the grand jury, but it referred charges to General Sessions Court, Staubus said.

Bluff City Town Hall was a designated polling place, according to criminal affidavits. In compliance with state law and prior to the elections, Sullivan County Administrator of Elections Jason Booher marked the required 100-foot boundary around the Town Hall and instructed that signs be placed at the entry door, prohibiting certain activities from occurring in the area inside the boundary, the affidavit states.

From May 18-July 10, Booher was contacted by telephone and in person by concerned citizens who reported illegal entry into the polling place by people who were prohibited to enter by state law, the affidavit states.

Booher then reported the allegations to Staubus.

TBI agents identified Harrison, Grubb and Morrell as having entered the polling place. All three submitted signed statements admitting they entered during election hours for reasons other than to cast a ballot or lawfully assist another qualified voter in doing so, the affidavit states.

The mission of the Sullivan County Election Commission is to conduct honest, fair and accurate elections, Booher said in a written statement Friday. In doing so, we are dedicated to not only following state and federal law, but doing so in a manner that is transparent and maintains the public trust.

Booher said state law requires his office to report allegations of criminal behavior to the district attorney. He added that allegations of illegal activity regarding actions of people not associated with conducting the election were reported to the office.

There have been no allegations questioning the manner in which the election was conducted or that the certified results of the election were not accurate, Booher said.

Grubb admitted to entering the polling place, but she told the Bristol Herald Courier Friday that she was visiting her sister, who works at the site.

Grubb recalled speaking with the TBI and knew the incident was under investigation, but said Friday she was surprised a charge was filed.

The law is the law, Grubb said. Its in the judges hands.

Grubb said she felt some people in Bluff City were trying to cause trouble.

Morrell had gone to the polling station to take lunch to her mother, Grubbs sister, she said.

The TBI served Harrison while he was already in custody on charges of domestic assault and domestic vandalism. Hes being held at the Sullivan County jail in Blountville, where no bond had been set Friday afternoon.

BLUFF CITY, Tenn.  An investigation by special agents with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has resulted in three Bluff City residents, including a town alderman and a county commissioner, being charged with violating an election law.

On June 19, at the request of 2nd District Attorney General Barry Staubus, TBI special agents began investigating reports of election law violations that occurred during the May 2017 municipal election in Bluff City, according to a news release from the TBI.

During the course of the investigation, agents said they determined that Bluff City Alderman John R. Harrison, Sullivan County Commissioner Sherry Grubb, and Grubb's niece, Brooke Morrell, entered a polling place during voting hours for reasons other than casting a vote or assisting another voter, the release states.

This week, a criminal summons was issued charging Harrison, Grubb, and Morrell with one count of election law violation. On Friday, all three individuals were served on those charges.

Grubb admitted to entering the polling place, but said it was an innocent visit when she went to ask her sister a question. Her sister was working at the polling place, she said.

Jason Booher, Sullivan County's administrator of the elections, issued the following statement:

"The mission of the Sullivan County Election Commission is to conduct honest, fair, and accurate elections. In doing so we are dedicated to not only following state and federal law, but doing so in a manner that is transparent and maintains the public trust. State law requires that we report allegations of criminal behavior to the office of the District Attorney. In adherence to state law, allegations of illegal activity regarding the actions of individuals not associated with conducting the election were reported to the office of the District Attorney following the May 16, 2017 Bluff City Municipal Election. There have been no allegations questioning the manner in which the election was conducted or that the certified results of the election were not accurate. Questions pertaining to the criminal investigation should be referred to the office of the District Attorney."
Im a dinosaur  older than dirt. In China, the elderly are honored and revered for their wisdom and knowledge. In America, youre old and in the way.

But being old in America has one advantage: You can say almost anything and get away with it because people have already decided youre crazy. So listen and Ill tell you whats happening today in our country.

Congress is totally useless and ought to be abolished. Theres better fighting on the wrestling channel.

More and more Americans are killing themselves with a fork.

Scientists are conducting a study to see why peace and love rallies always turn into We Hate Trump rallies.

For those who believe the Russians elected Donald Trump, I have good news. Elvis is alive and living in a trailer park in Idaho.

Studies suggest the roads would be safer if drivers got drunk but left their cell phones at home.

After we destroy all the Confederate monuments, will somebody dig up the soldiers and tell them they died in a war that never happened?

The people who say were stronger through diversity are always the ones leading a violent protest against anyone who disagrees with them.

The New York media say Trump is ruining the country, but nowhere in the Bible does it say TV reporters are smarter than the president.

Probably the biggest problem we have in America involves tomatoes. Thats right! Tomatoes! We eat tomatoes that are picked green, shipped 1,500 miles and gassed to make them turn red. They taste like cardboard, or worse. I believe every American should have access to a good education and ripe, juicy, homegrown tomatoes.
Punch More Nazis. So reads a T-shirt made and proudly worn, as reported in The Washington Post, by an attendee of the recent Netroots Nation conference at which Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., presented her political vision. To some, this seems like a necessary response to the violence emerging from growing white-supremacy movements. Its the wrong answer. We need to restore a comprehensively shared commitment to nonviolence and clearly repudiate political violence of any kind.

The death of Heather Heyer in Charlottesville, tear gas in the streets of Phoenix, armed individuals now a routine presence at political rallies. Do we need any more signs that our country needs de-escalation? Surely not.

Clear-eyed, honest political leaders on the left, whether Democrats, progressives or left-leaning independents, must confront not only the growth of anarchist and anti-fascist groups but also what seems to be a creeping acceptance, within the broad, diverse world of their political allies, of a commitment to low-grade violence as a political tool.

Clear-eyed, honest political leaders on the right, whether sitting politicians, NeverTrumpers or right-leaning independents, must confront not only the growth of white supremacy and its attendant violence but also the growing acceptance within their ranks of a militia-style approach to politics. Guns at rallies and protests convey a threat, despite claims about plans to protect.

Whatever their political orientation, leaders in civil society  whether clergy, or the heads of associations, or heads of schools and colleges  should likewise step up to advocate a recommitment to the principles of nonviolence. This is not a matter of partisan politics but of preserving the basic foundations of a stable, peaceful society.

White supremacy, anti-Semitism and racism are false gods, ideologies to be repudiated. They must be countered and fought. We must separate the violence that flows from those ideologies from the ideas that animate them. Different tools are at hand for fighting each.

We need to counter extremisms violence not with punches but with the tools of law and justice. Where hate crimes and acts of domestic terrorism are perpetrated, our judicial institutions must respond. We as citizens must make sure institutions do their jobs, not plan to take the law into our own hands.

When the legitimacy of legal and judicial institutions has come into question  as has occurred because of police shootings and mass incarceration  we must strenuously advance the project of reforming those institutions to achieve their full legitimacy. But to take the law into ones own hands is only to further undermine legal and judicial institutions. It provides no foundation for reform.

As to extremisms ideologies, these we need to counter with principles of nonviolence and with a vision for a country in which no one feels endangered on account of their social identity. This is a vision, with a set of supporting policies, for a multiethnic democracy where political equality, social equality and economies that empower all have been achieved. You cant fight for such ideas, for a societys very soul, with your fists. We fight for this vision at the ballot box at every level of society  city council, county government, state governments, federal government.

Why nonviolence? Why political process? The purpose of building states, legal systems and democracies is to minimize the use of force for deciding human conflict so that, from conditions of peace, human well-being can emerge.

To choose not to minimize but to increase political violence is to choose to walk away from the only human invention  legitimate, peaceful political process  that has ever held the prospect of bringing safety and happiness for all. To choose political violence is to choose to disassemble the foundation of a just, stable and peaceful society.

Some people think that the ends justify the means, but this is false. To believe this is to put oneself in the position of a dog chasing its tail. You can never get there from here  never reach justice by setting your face toward injustice. Worse still, to accept or to fail to repudiate political violence, supposedly in pursuit of justice, is like trying to climb a mountain by walking steadily downward. Once political violence activates, shutting it off is exceptionally difficult.

Why should anyone believe that people who have been committed to political violence will change their minds and recommit to peaceful forms of litigating conflicts? That kind of distrust erodes the foundations of stable political institutions. The path to justice always lies through justice, including the basic moral idea that immediate self-defense is the only justification for the use of force. We need moral clarity on this point.

To anyone who holds a leadership position: It is time not only to repudiate ideologies of white supremacy but also to step up and make the case for fighting fair within the bounds of political process, leaving guns and fists at home, and forswearing political violence of any kind.
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.
Orphans and vulnerable children in eastern Uganda participate in a health workshop where they are taught how to use soap and get to take some home.

Sydney Kamen has always been concerned with helping others.

In 2004, when genocide was raging in the Darfur region of Sudan, Kamen's mother announced that instead of Hanukkah gifts that year, Kamen and her sister should research and select a charity to support. At Jewish religious school on Sundays, Kamen went on service trips to soup kitchens, and through Georgetown Day School, he spent time at a women's shelter in downtown Washington, D.C.

Her first experience with aid work in a developing country was when she was 15 and fought to participate in a 10-week relief mission to Haiti for dentists and oral surgeons.

She was hardly deterred by the fact that she wasn't a dentist-or a grown-up, for that matter. In Haiti, Kamen traveled around the country in blistering heat helping set up clinics offering oral care. Adults with severe abscesses came, bringing children whose teeth were damaged from eating flour mixed with soil because they could not afford to buy food.

"That kind of exposure was eye opening to me," Kamen recalled.

Nevertheless, Kamen was surprised to learn on a sophomore year service trip to Thailand how something as basic as soap and water is a luxury for many-one they can ill afford to forego.

"Over 1.8 million children die every year from diarrhea, but this is something that can be prevented with hand-washing," Kamen said. "Hand-washing with soap can cut Ebola in half."

Then Kamen had an idea: What if luxury hotels donated their unused soap?

By the time she returned to Thailand and Myanmar the following summer, Kamen had come up with a fully developed idea for a project that would not just deliver soap to those who needed it, but also help local women spread the message about the importance of soap in maintaining health-and pay them in the process.

Kamen spent her time in Asia laying the groundwork. She arranged for the soap's delivery, trained women and girls to recycle and remake the soap, taught them about sanitation and health, and paid them to share their knowledge in their home communities. Armed with soap they could sell, the program also offered an opportunity to earn a living.

Four years on, the project, which Kamen dubbed SOAP-So Others Are Protected-now has 13 hotel suppliers and 14 community partners in countries such as India, Myanmar and Kenya, and has produced and distributed over 50,000 bars of recycled soap. SOAP became its own nonprofit in 2014, when Kamen was a high school junior.

This summer, Kamen was named one of 15 recipients of the Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Awards, a prize from the Helen Diller Family Foundation that awards $36,000 each to up to 15 Jewish teens across the country for their work repairing the world.

Since 2007, the program has awarded more than $3 million to 99 teens whose work spans everything from helping homeless youth to improving the fuel economy of school buses.

Now 20 and a junior at Dartmouth, Kamen speaks with the experience of a seasoned agent of social change.

"We view soap as a cost-effective and urgently needed public health intervention in our partner communities, and not as a novelty for international distribution and consumption," Kamen said. "The biggest thing for me is sustainability and self-empowerment."

Kamen is also a U.S. Army ROTC cadet. Shehas received widespread recognition for her work, including the President's Volunteer Service Award. Kamen said she was thrilled to learn that she'd been recognized by the Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Awards.

Sydney Kamen with a village leader in rural Burma in an unofficial refugee camp that is one of SOAP's partner communities.

"It's a lot to try to juggle running this organization full-time while being in school," she said. "It's very easy to get frustrated and struggle with the balance. I'm still a 20-year-old girl who wants to go for a hike. This kind of validation is encouraging and reminds me what a wonderful thing it is to be recognized and supported."

Ultimately, Kamen said, SOAP offers a straightforward solution to a problem that, though simple, has devastating consequences.

"It's not a special vaccine or surgeons to do cleft palate repairs," she said. "It's something as simple as a small glob of antibacterial glycerin."

(This article was sponsored by and produced in partnership with the Helen Diller Family Foundation, which sponsors the Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Awards, annually awarding $36,000 to Jewish teens demonstrating exceptional leadership in repairing the world. Nominations/applications for 2018 are now open. This article was produced by JTA's native content team.)
White supremacists sparring with counterprotesters as they attempt to guard the entrance to Emancipation Park in Charlottesville, Va., Aug. 12, 2017.

(JTA)-They believe the "white race" is in danger. They believe the United States was built by and for white people and must now embrace fascism. They believe minorities are taking over the country. And they believe an international Jewish conspiracy is behind the threat.

These are the people who were rallying in Charlottesville.

The "Unite the Right" rally Saturday saw hundreds of people on America's racist fringe converge in defense of a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee and brawl with counter protesters. The rally ended after a white supremacist, James Fields, rammed his car into a crowd of counter protesters, killing one woman and injuring at least 19. Two police officers also died when their helicopter crashed while monitoring the rally.

The rally was the largest white supremacist gathering in a decade, according to the Anti-Defamation League, but it wasn't the work of one extremist group or coalition. Spearheaded by a local far-right activist named Jason Kessler, the rally saw several racist, anti-Semitic and fascist groups, new and old, come together.

According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate groups, the rally included "a broad spectrum of far-right extremist groups-from immigration foes to anti-Semitic bigots, neo-Confederates, Proud Boys, Patriot and militia types, outlaw bikers, swastika-wearing neo-Nazis, white nationalists and Ku Klux Klan members."

Many of the attendees, says the ADL's Oren Segal, were young men who became radicalized on the Internet and were not affiliated with any particular group. While some protesters belonged to the "alt-right," a loose movement of racists, anti-Semites and nativists, others were part of older white supremacist groups like the Ku Klux Klan.

At the rally, protesters were seen carrying Nazi and Confederate flags, as well as signs with racist and anti-Semitic slogans. They chanted "Sieg heil," gave Nazi salutes and shouted the N-word at passers-by.

"They really believe they have to save the white race, and to do that, they have to achieve some sort of white ethno-state," Segal said. "They tend to be young, more frenetic in terms of their use of social media, while older more traditional groups like the Klan are in decline. Regardless of differences, it's all the same hate."

Here's a guide to a few of the most prominent hate groups who showed up in Charlottesville.

Vanguard America

James Fields joined this relatively new fascist white supremacist group at the rally. On the homepage of its website, Vanguard America declares that "Our people are subjugated while an endless tide of incompatible foreigners floods this nation."

The group trumpets the concept of "blood and soil," an idea championed by the Nazis claiming that the inherent features of a people are the land it lives on and its "blood," or race. In addition to opposing multiculturalism and feminism, Vanguard America's manifesto calls for a country "free from the influence of international corporations, led by a rootless group of international Jews, which place profit beyond the interests of our people, or any people."

According to the ADL, the group has posted dozens of fliers on campuses in at least 10 states. Its posters bear slogans like "Beware the International Jew" and "Fascism: The next step for America." This year, the group defaced a New Jersey Holocaust memorial with a banner reading "(((Heebs will not divide us)))." Its signs at Saturday's rally bore the fasces, a traditional fascist symbol depicting a bundle of sticks with a protruding axe blade.

Ku Klux Klan

One of the country's oldest and most infamous hate groups, the Klan has primarily targeted black people, along with Jews, Catholics and other minorities. The KKK throughout its history has been responsible for lynchings, bombings, beatings and other racist acts of murder and abuse.

Group members have historically worn white hoods, to hide their identities and to mimic ghosts. Its leaders, including white supremacist activist David Duke, take on bizarre titles such as grand wizard and exalted cyclops.

The KKK was founded by Confederate veterans following the Civil War to harass black people, and at its height in the 1920s it had some 4 million members, according to the SPLC. An ADL report this year said the Klan has shrunk to about 3,000 total members spread across 40 groups in 33 states, mostly in the South and East.

"This represents a turning point for the people of this country. We are determined to take our country back," Duke said in a video at the rally Saturday. "We're going to fulfill the promises of Donald Trump. That's what we believed in. That's why we voted for Donald Trump, because he said he's going to take our country back, and that's what we got to do."

Identity Evropa

A new group that affiliates with the alt-right, Identity Evropa seeks to promote "white American culture," and also has posted fliers on college campuses. The group, which works with white supremacist pseudo-intellectual Richard Spencer, claims there are inherent differences among races and that white people are more intelligent than others. Identity Evropa sees itself as "identitarian," a far-right European ideology seeking to reassert white identity.

The group supports a policy of "remigration" of immigrants out of the United States. Some of its posters bear the slogan "You will not replace us," a chant that Charlottesville protesters paired with "Jews will not replace us." Identity Evropa does not allow Jews as members.

League of the South

If the rally's proximate goal was to preserve the statue of Lee in Charlottesville, the most obvious participants were the League of the South, a neo-Confederate group. The organization supports southern secession from the United States and "believes that Southern culture is distinct from, and in opposition to, the corrupt mainstream American culture."

The group envisions a Christian theocratic government that enforces strict gender norms. It opposes immigration as well as Islam. League of the South defines the "Southern people" as being of "European descent," calls itself "pro-white" and states that it "has neither been the will of God Almighty nor within the power of human legislation to make any two men mechanically equal." Duke gave the keynote address at one of the organization's gatherings this year.

According to the SPLC, the group founded a paramilitary unit in 2014.

National Socialist Movement

This one is pretty self-explanatory: America's version of the Nazi Party. It is a white supremacist organization that would either deport "non-whites," including Jews, or strip them of citizenship and subject them to a discriminatory regime (the group's manifesto proposes both). The group is also anti-feminist and homophobic.

The National Socialist Movement idolizes Adolf Hitler, whom it says "loved and cared deeply for the average person." Until about a decade ago, the group would protest in full Nazi regalia, which it has swapped out for black uniforms. Its crest features a swastika superimposed on an altered version of the Stars and Stripes.
(JTA)Commenting on deadly attacks in Catalonia, the chief rabbi of that region in Spain said his community is doomed, partly because of radical Islam and the alleged reluctance of authorities to confront it.

Rabbi Meir Bar-Hen has been encouraging his congregants to leave Spain, which he called during an interview with JTA a hub of Islamist terror for all of Europe, for years before the attacks Thursday and Friday, he said. At least 13 victims and five suspected terrorists were killed in Barcelona and the resort town of Cambrils, 75 miles south of that city.

To Bar-Hen, whose community on Friday resumed activities that it had suspended briefly following the Barcelona attack, Jews are not here permanently, he said of the city and region. 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.

A white van on Thursday careered into crowds on Las Ramblas, Barcelonas feted thoroughfare, when the street was packed with locals and tourists. Along with the fatalities, more than 100 were injured. The driver of the van fled on foot and was believed to be still at large on Friday. Police shot dead another man at a checkpoint Thursday. The Islamic State terrorist group claimed responsibility for that attack.

Hours later, police killed five men during a raid in Cambrils whom police said were terrorists planning an imminent attack.

Part of the problem exposed by the attacks, Bar-Hen said, is the presence of a large Muslim community with radical fringes. Once these people are living among you, he said of terrorists and their supporters, its very difficult to get rid of them. They only get stronger. He also said this applied to Europe as a whole.

Europe is lost, he said.

Bar-Hen emphasized that he was speaking as a private person and not for all the members of his community.

Displaying a defiant and more confident attitude than Bar-Hen, the Federation of Jewish Communities of Spain issued a statement expressing full confidence in security forces who work daily to prevent fanatics and radical Muslims from inflicting pain and chaos on our cities.

Bar-Hen also charged that authorities and some politicians are reluctant to confront Islamist terrorism. He cited the governments decision in April to allow Leila Khaled, a Palestinian terrorist who was convicted in a plot to hijack an airplane in 1969, to enter the country for a book festival. This showed authorities do not understand the nature of terrorism, if they treat it as an action by the disenfranchised, Bar-Hen said.

Ignoring calls to ban the visit by Khaledbook fair organizers hung posters of Khaled on main streetsBarcelona Mayor Ada Colau Ballano of the far-left Barcelona en Comu party led the passage in April of a City Council resolution condemning Israels violations of international law.

On Friday, Colau Ballano wrote on Facebook: Barcelona is a city of peace. Terror will not make us stop being who we are: a brave city open to the world. She urged readers to show up at a solidarity rally that day.

Angel Mas, founder of the ACOM pro-Israel group, which protested Khaleds visit, said it is pure cynicism by Colau Ballano to claim to oppose terrorism in light of her support for Khaled and other individuals that support terrorist causes, as he phrased it.

Bar-Hen said he may not attend the rally called by Colau Ballano, as security officials instructed him to avoid public areas in the coming days because he is recognizably Jewish.
(JTA)A chuckle tickled my throat as Ruth Thomann, a Swiss hotelier who posted signs urging her Jewish guests to shower before entering the pool, assured me that she has nothing against Jews.

To be clear, I dont find racism particularly amusing, especially not these days.

But there was something comical about how her earnest voiceshe was speaking in broken English with a thick Swiss-German accentcontrasted with the glaringly discriminatory character of the laminated signs that she posted in her Paradise Apartments in Arosa hotel near Zurich last week, which provoked outrage in Israel and beyond.

Besides, in over a decade of reporting about Europe, I have heard more variations of this weak defense than I can rememberincluding by people who immediately contradicted themselves. Last year alone I heard it from the professional anti-Semite Dieudonne Mbala Mbala and from a Belgian cartoonist who proudly accepted an award at Irans Holocaust denial and mockery festival.

The shower signs, which Israels Foreign Ministry escalated into a diplomatic incident with Switzerland, seemed to me an open-and-shut case.

But as I listened earlier this week to Thomanns passionate explanations and apologythe signs should have been addressed to all the guests instead of Jewish ones, she said, near tearsI realized that despite the damning evidence and anger against her, she was probably a tolerant person who, for lack of tact, was being pilloried internationally with devastating consequences for her business.

And so what began as a clear-cut expression of Europes growing anti-Semitism problem turned, in my mind, into a reminder of how important it is precisely during these times to judge people innocent, even of hate crimes, until proven otherwise.

In addition to the sign about the pool, Thomann also posted one instructing our Jewish guests on when they could access a hotel refrigerator. Both signs circulated on social media, where Israeli journalists found them.

You have to understand, she pleaded with me, the sign about the refrigerator goes to Jews because I kindly allowed only the Jews to keep their food in the staffs refrigerator because I know they bring their own food, she said. Her Orthodox Jewish guests needed to store their food there because of kosher issues, she explained.

My God, if I had something against Jews, I wouldnt take them as guests! she said.

Technically, excluding Jews would be illegal in Switzerland. But an anti-Semitic hotelier could get around it, since Orthodox Jewish tourists typically book hotels in the Alpine country through specialized travel agencies. And so in principle, all a Swiss hotel needs to do to lose its Orthodox guests would be to inform their travel agent of some imaginary deal breakersay a nocturnal pulled pork bake-off contest, or zero accommodations for storing kosher food.

So what about the shower signs, I asked.

Well, Thomann paused, searching for words. Im sorry to say but I know the hotel, and the only people who go in without taking a shower are the Jewish guests.

And how exactly does she know that, I inquired, bracing for comments on body odor.

They go in wearing their T-shirts! Thomann said, adding that the behavior drew complaints from other guests, who found it unsanitary.

I have not verified the claim about T-shirts. But in my extensive travels across Europe, and especially to places that receive many Jewish visitors, I have seen culture clashes between secular Europeans and vacationing members of insular haredi communities from Israel and beyond

In Uman, a Ukrainian city where each year 30,000 Jews convene for a pilgrimage, many apartment owners who used to rent rooms to the visitors have stopped because of damages and fires. Last year, the Uman City Plaza hotel also adopted this policy, citing the same reason.

Before filing my story on Thomann apologizing for the signsit was shared nearly 3,000 times on TwitterI said goodbye to the hotelier, adding that I found it regrettable that some of my colleagues didnt bother to get her side of the story before reporting about the signs.

But that was only the beginning of the Swiss hotel saga.

Responding to calls by the Simon Wiesenthal Center, the reservations service Booking.com dropped Thomanns hotela painful financial blow to any business in the industry.

The Wiesenthal Centers intervention is understandable on many levels.

Especially in Europe, signs singling out Jews inevitably evoke memories of the slogans that proliferated across the continent during the Nazi occupation of most of its territory, from the laconically demeaning (No dogs and Jews allowed) to the viciously humorous.

It didnt help that in the same week as the Swiss hotel affair, news emerged that Switzerlands federal parliament was about to vote on a bill that would make it the first country in Europe to ban the import of kosher meat. (Ritual slaughter of cows was outlawed in Switzerland in 1894 in legislation that the local Jewish community to this day views as essentially anti-Semitic.)

Tzipi Hotovely, Israels deputy foreign minister, escalated the matter even further in a move that may be connected to her governments ongoing fight with European countries supportive of the Palestinian cause. (In June, Switzerlands foreign minister, who in the past has refused to disclose funding for anti-Israel groups, reluctantly agreed to an audit following pressure by pro-Israel lawmakers.)

Hotovely demanded the Swiss government publicly condemn Thomanns actions, which she said indicated the prevalence of anti-Semitism throughout Europe, a continent of some 750 million residents.

As is often the case when Jerusalem wades into the complicated debate about anti-Semitism in Europe, I felt that Hotovelys claim was not only overblown and cynical, but also based on ignorance of the facts of the case at hand.

But almost immediately, I had to reconsider that judgment, too.

In the latest twist of a story that began with two laminated A4 sheets of paper, a Swiss lawmaker, the Socialist Roger Deneys, came along and proved Hotovelys point. If anyone should apologize for the Swiss hotel incident, he wrote on Facebook, then it is Israel, for its excessive tolerance of ultra-Orthodox Jews who prevent peace in Palestine.

Following an outcry, Deneys deleted the remark and apologized.

After all, he said, he has nothing against Jews.
Oftentimes the impact of Israel on the Western world is large enough to amaze even those of us who live here and experience the economic miracle every day.

Thats the reaction many of us had this week when the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) released foreign direct investment (FDI) data for 2016. The figures show that Israel is the 13th largest source worldwide for foreign direct investment into the U.S. at $55.4 million, roughly equal to that of Belgium, Australia and Sweden. What is even more impressive is that this is an astonishing 121% increase from 2015 and that Israel is the 8th fastest growing source of FDI for the U.S.

Total foreign direct investment into the U.S. in 2016 was $55 billion, which means that the total foreign direct investment in the U.S. now stands at $3.725 trillion, a 12.8% increase from 2015. This was driven by strong growth in a number of markets, including Canada, Ireland, Switzerland, Singapore, China and Israel.

The top 15 sources of FDI into the U.S. last year by UBO (i.e. Ultimate Beneficial Owner) were:

(In Thousands of U.S. Dollars)

1. United Kingdom $598,319

2. Canada $453,641

3. Japan $424,347

4. Germany $372,778

5. Ireland $279,647

6. France $267,573

7. Switzerland $196,595

8. The Netherlands $191,937

9. Singapore $73,677

10. Spain $67,179

11. China $58,154

12. Belgium $55,940

13. Israel $55,362

14. Australia $54,307

15. Sweden $52,730

To be sure, Israels numbers were helped by Frutaroms purchase of New Jersey-based Grow Co. Inc. for $20 million. Nevertheless, there were plenty of smaller examples such as Omen Die Castings decision to build a 76,000 sqm production facility in southeast Indiana with a $7 million investment creating 100 jobs.

For a country that has been traditionally seen as one where early stage startups are eager to sell out to foreign buyers, the fact that Israel is engaged in foreign direct investment abroad demonstrates its maturity as an economic powerhouse in the region. Note that in the list of the top 15 countries, Israel is the only one located in the Middle East.

While there is no telling whether these statistics suggest a growth trend that can continue, the numbers do attest to the fact that Israel, once again, punches significantly beyond its weight.

Sherwin Pomerantz has lived in Israel for 33 years and is president of Atid EDI Ltd., a Jerusalem-based business development consulting firm and a former national president of the Association of Americans & Canadians in Israel.
What is JSU? The Jewish Student Union is an after-school club that provides any high school student-regardless of Jewish affiliation-a Jewish experience through programs that strengthen their Jewish identity and connection to Israel. Run by the teenagers, a club can be established in a school simply by being requested (JSU does not barge in and establish itself).

Last year, a student at Oviedo High School experienced anti-Semitism at the school. She'd heard about the Jewish Student Union and reached out to the organization, asking what she could do. The result was the establishment of JSU at Oviedo High School through a partnership with JOIN Orlando.

At relatively the same time, Rabbi Gabi Gittleson of JOIN wanted to start JSUs in Central Florida public and private schools and he was looking for a director to run the program. Daniel and Aliza Nabatian of Kendall, Fla., ran JSUs in South Miami Dade County and were looking to relocate to Central Florida.

"It worked out!" said Nabatian, who is now the new director of JSU Orlando.

As the director of JSU Orlando, Nabatian helps coordinate and supply resources for the students and is the liaison to all organizations with whom JSU may want to partner. Each JSU also has a teacher sponsor.

JSU-a program of NCSY, which is an agency of the Orthodox Union, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization-was founded in 2002 in Los Angeles and now has more than 400 clubs on public high school campuses-60 of them in south Florida.

Nabatian explained that JSU, already in south Florida, was approached by The Palm Beach Federation to take over an existing Jewish club that folded. JSU took over the clubs and the Federation even set up special designated funds to pay for the programs.

In Orlando, Rabbi Gittleson had a productive meeting with Orange and Seminole County School Boards and the Federation's Jewish Community Relations Council. All were excited to have JSU in Orlando. Nabatian is working to establish JSU in other local high schools and anticipates seeing progress once school gets underway.

In addition to the regularly scheduled school club meetings, JSU sponsors activities outside of school including retreats, citywide holiday parties, community service projects, Friday night dinners, and other exciting events.

Early in August, JSU held a Leadership Day at Planet Obstacle in Lake Mary to "challenge the minds and bodies" of student leaders. Seven students from Oviedo, Lake Mary and Lyman high schools attended the program. Afterwards, they met to discuss "thinking outside the box."

Through JSU, Nabatian hopes to present different "pictures" of Israel-that the state is more than what is presented in the media.

"And not just Israel," he stated, "but to investigate further about anything you hear or see in the news and not to assume it is all fact."

Nabatian has already scheduled the first community service project: a Challah bake at Kinneret.

"I've had a vision for a while to bring senior citizens together with teenagers to share experiences. But you just can't sit people down together and expect them to start conversation. So, we will have a Challah bake!" he said. "And it's a way to give bread to Kinneret."

The first Challah bake is scheduled for Sept. 10-which, ironically, is Grandparents Day. They will prepare enough Challah to last four Friday Shabbat meals. Then once a month, the teens will go to Kinneret and make enough bread again to last all four Friday Shabbat meals.

A program is also in the works to bring a Holocaust survivor to speak at a meeting at Oviedo High School. The Heritage will have more on that as the plans are finalized.

To learn more about JSU or to request having the club open at your school, visit http://www.jsu.org. You can also contact Daniel Nabatian at dnabatian@joinorlando.org.
WASHINGTON (JTA)-The Palestinian Authority expects the Trump administration to commit to a peace deal endgame before the close of this month and prefers it would be the two-state solution.

"We need them to tell us where the hell they are going," Husam Zomlot, the Palestine Liberation Organization envoy to Washington, said Thursday at a meeting in his office with reporters. "It's about time we hear it."

Zomlot said a high-level U.S. delegation comprising Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law and his top adviser charged with Middle East peace; Jason Greenblatt, Trump's top international negotiator; and Dina Powell, a deputy national security adviser, would meet Aug. 24 in Ramallah with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian negotiating team.

The meeting will come toward the end of a tour in which the U.S. officials also will meet with Israeli and other regional leaders, including from Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

Zomlot said that for the Palestinian Authority, the preferred outcome remained a recommitment to the two-state solution. Trump retreated soon after assuming the presidency in January from a two-state outcome, which has been U.S. policy since 2002. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who had committed to a two-state solution in 2009, also has been silent since then about his commitment. A majority of Netanyahu's Cabinet opposes having two states.

"A two-state solution has international equilibrium, it has regional backing and it has a global consensus," Zomlot said. "We are saying to them, we have a starting point, and letting go of this starting point is the worst thing they can do"

Zomlot said the Palestinian Authority wanted two states based on the 1967 borders, and wanted to hear from the Trump administration how best to deal with factors that would endanger a peaceful outcome, including Jewish settlements, the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip and religious tensions at Jerusalem's Temple Mount, which both Jews and Muslims claim as holy.

"The how is crucial," he said.

He said that in the wake of serious negotiations, "the Palestinian consensus government will be tasked with two things: the ending of the situation in Gaza-the unprecedented situation in Gaza-and as soon as possible the convening of Palestinian national elections."

A major obstruction to advancing peace talks has been the absence of P.A. control in the Gaza Strip, where the Hamas terrorist group is the authority. Abbas and the Palestinian Authority, along with Israel, have been squeezing Gaza by reducing basic supplies to its Hamas rulers, including electricity.

Zomlot would not say what the Palestinian Authority would do if the U.S. delegation did not lay out an endgame, but said uncertainty could lead the P.A. to return to seeking international recognition for statehood-a posture that Israel and the United States adamantly oppose-or to further Palestinian resistance against Israel. He said the resistance would be "peaceful."

Zomlot conveyed an overall positive impression of Trump and his negotiators, saying they had carefully considered Palestinian positions, and that Trump's commitment to an endgame rather than simply perpetuating the process was positive.

"The character of President Trump himself-we believe this is a person who could actually take the leap, who could exert pressure on all sides," he said.

Zomlot and the Palestinian Authority appear to be relying on pressure by Trump as a means of delivering Israel on the two-state solution. Zomlot made clear that he did not believe Netanyahu had the wherewithal to advance to final status negotiations on his own.

"Netanyahu is behaving like a politician, not a statesman," he said of the prime minister's coalition maneuvering, in which he must deal with partners who oppose concessions. "Israel deserves better leadership."

Zomlot expressed anger with Congress and the welter of proposed bills that would cut U.S. assistance to the Palestinian Authority and otherwise penalize it. Chief among the measures is the Taylor Force Act, named for an American stabbed to death in a 2016 terrorist attack, which would link funding to the Palestinian areas to the cessation of P.A. payments to the families of Palestinians killed in or jailed for attacks on Israelis.

He said the Palestinian Authority was ready to "revise and negotiate" its payment system, but would not submit to pressure.

"Don't use financial pressure with us," he said. "It does not work."
(JNS.org)Russian military forces have replaced the Syrian regimes military presence in Daraa and Quneitra in southern Syria, and have built a base in the area, Syrian opposition sources reported this week.

The move indicates that Russia intends to create a more permanent military presence near Israels northern border, and comes after the implementation of a Syrian cease-fire agreement brokered by the U.S. and Russia in July.

The Lebanon-based and Hezbollah-affiliated Al Mayadeen media network corroborated the reports, stating that Russian forces have been deployed in the region and are stationed in military posts shared with Syrian army units.

The Syrian armys 4th division auxiliary force is the only regime unit due for complete withdrawal from southern Syria, while other Syrian military units will remain there, Al Mayadeen reported. Further, the Lebanese media outlet said Russia has built a military base between the city of Damascus and the suburb of Daraa.

Israeli officials remain concerned regarding the presence of the Syrian army as well as Hezbollah and Iranian forces in southern Syria. In July, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the cease-fire brokered by the U.S. and Russia perpetuates the presence of Iranian forces near Israel. America and Russia responded to Netanyahus criticism by saying Israels interests would be taken into account in Syria.
(JTA)I was in Charlottesville on Saturday. I felt called to go because white supremacy is a hateful ideology that has murdered millions throughout history and continues to kill.

I went because my family and ancestors suffered at the hands of anti-Semites throughout history, because I bear their scars on my DNA, because the Jewish day school where I teach received a bomb threat this spring, and I cannot let Nazi flags fly in my state without response.

I needed to go as a rabbi because I am tired of conservative white Christians controlling the narrative of what it means to be religious in this country, and using that narrative to drive out, silence and forcefully assimilate non-Christians and the religious left.

I am proud that I was able to go as part of the group sent by Truah: The Rabbinic Call For Human Rights, and that the clergy-led response against hate can show this country what theology really looks like. I was immediately heartened to see the number of clergy of all denominations in their religious garb. A Muslim women in her headscarf, a handful of rabbis in their tallitot and many, many denomination of Christian clergy in their collars, stoles and robes.

A group of clergy started the morning off at Emancipation Park, where the white nationalists gathered. Volunteers wandered about the First United Methodist Church supplying water and emotional and spiritual support, and a few clergy were stationed at hospitals around the city, prepared for emergency chaplaincy.

I chose to serve in a support role, bringing water and snacks to protesters (a role Congregate Cville, an interfaith group, called care-bears), rather than participating in any of the direct actions, including the very non-confrontational clergy-led response. Im still within a six-month sort of probationary period from a previous political arrest (the result of another Truah action) and was nervous about being involved in any unlawful assembly at this time. I believe this choice also helped keep me safe from violence.

When I got in to Charlottesville, I immediately checked in at the church and gathered the supplies to bring out to people. Together with some other care-bears I know through IfNotNow, I walked the few blocks toward Emancipation Park. The crowd of anti-racist protesters was huge, and the white nationalists were mostly confined within the park. I wasnt able to see much going on inside the park, but I could clearly make out Identity Evropa, Nazi and Confederate flags.

One of my fellow care-bears said she saw a Kekistan flag, a concept Im vaguely familiar with as a racist rallying banner of the alt-right online culture, but not an image I would recognize. Twice while we were milling through the crowd handing out waters, clumps of white nationalists walked up the steps into the park, greeted with much cheering and thumping of flagpoles on the ground from those in the park. They appeared to take a conspicuous route past the counter protesters, to announce that they had arrived.

We had been there about an hour when the police closed Emancipation Park and things got chaotic. My fellow care-bears and I would follow the sounds of shouting or the thump of a police helicopter, or get information from Twitter and texts from friends around the city, to locate counter protesters and provide them with water.

At one point, we came across a large group, containing many of my friends involved with more radical anti-fascist organizations, marching down toward the downtown mall, and we handed out all our supplies to them as they stormed past. We headed back to the church to restock, and had no sooner filled our bags than we heard about the car that had rammed into a crowd of anti-racist activists gathered at the mall. By the time we got there, the ambulances had already arrived.

We handed out more water and snacks to the traumatized folks who had witnessed the terror attack, and when we were out of water, again returned to the church, only to learn that the church had just been put on lock down. A white nationalist with a gun tried to harass and intimidate the sanctuary workers, and were scared off by antifa (anti-fascist activists) who had ringed the parking lot of the church and were regularly running off would-be aggressors. Again, we had narrowly missed a terrifying moment. It seems that happens to me often, and I am so, so grateful for those near-misses.

It could be coincidence but being a spiritual person, I choose to believe it was by the grace of God.

And I thank my God, the bountiful spirit of the universe, who in inscrutable ways has watched over me and granted me abundant kindness by shielding me from great harm.

I cant speak to why this same gracious God did not protect Heather Heyer, who was killed when the car, driven by a 20-year-old white supremacist, mowed through the crowd of demonstrators. She, like so many before her, died standing up against hatred and bigotry. All I can do is repeat the words uttered in the book of Job in the face of unfathomable loss: God gives, and God takes, Blessed is God. That does not mean her death is acceptable. Her life and her fight will not be in vain. Her memory will be for a blessing. We will not forget her and we will keep fighting back against white supremacy.

The Torah portion that Jewish communities around the world will read this week includes the commandment to rejoice at appropriate times. I say that because although now is not that time, that time will come. Now we mourn the loss of life white supremacy has wrought and we pray for the healing of mind, body and spirit of all those harmed by this weekends events and others like them.

But next week we go back to work, and some day, we will win this fight, and we will have reason to rejoice, to celebrate, to feastand we will do it together.

Lizz Goldstein is a rabbi in Northern Virginia and a proud member of Truah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights.
The newly appointed Middle East director at the State Department has a long record of criticizing and pressuring Israel. Isnt anybody at the White House paying attention to whos being hired over at Foggy Bottom?

David Satterfield, who is slated to become assistant secretary of state for Near East affairs next month, played a significant role in U.S. policy and diplomacy concerning Israel and the Palestinians in the late 1990s and early 2000s. A look at some of his comments from that period reveals he repeatedly suggested a moral equivalency between Palestinian terrorism and Israeli counterterrorism.

Consider Satterfields remarks at the Center for Policy Analysis on Palestine (CPAP) Nov. 2, 2001. The date is important. It was the height of the second intifada. There was Palestinian terrorism on a daily basis. In the weeks prior, suicide bombers had struck at the Sbarro Pizzeria in Jerusalem (15 dead, 130 wounded) and the Nahariya train station (three dead, 94 wounded). In the midst of this bloodshed, Satterfield criticized Palestinian terrorismand then proceeded to criticize Israel.

Making the aggressor and the victim appear to be equivalent, Satterfield declared (according to The Associated Press): The intifada, whatever its origin, has become an ongoing process of calculated terror and escalation, reciprocated by actions which all too often by Israel proved inflammatory and provocative. Steps must be taken to bring this to a halt.

And a brief word about Satterfields troubling choice of venue. CPAP is an extreme anti-Israel group that should never be honored with the presence of a U.S. government official. In 2003just to cite a random example to illustrate the centers mindsetthe CPAP winter conference was titled Israels Policy of Apartheid and Ethnic Cleansing. Why would Satterfield choose to keep that kind of company?

There was more moral equivalency from Satterfield the following year, at the Weinberg Founders Conference of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy in October 2002. Satterfield criticized Yasser Arafat, then blasted Israel for encircling Arafats terror headquarters, the Muqata compound in Ramallah. The Israeli action was wholly unhelpful and froze the positive currents of reform and direct pressure placed upon [Arafat] by Palestinian elites, Satterfield declared.

Once again, Satterfield was incapable of criticizing Palestinian terror leaders without simultaneously haranguing Israels self-defense actions.

On March 11, 2004, Satterfield gave the keynote address at the Israel Policy Forums conference in Washington, D.C. Again, note the venue. The Israel Policy Forum was established by the Israeli Labor party. The prime minister of Israel in March 2004 was Ariel Sharon, then leader of the Likud party. Satterfield was choosing to address the American wing of the Israeli opposition. Interesting.

Satterfield once again resorted to moral equivalency. Hope is in very short supply right now, he asserted, evidently referring to the still-raging intifada. Just two weeks earlier, eight Israelis had been massacredand more than 60 wounded, including many schoolchildrenin the Liberty Bell Park bus bombing in downtown Jerusalem.

You would think that would be the cause of hope being in very short supply. But noaccording to Satterfield, there were two reasons that hope was in short supply, not just one. Hope was evaporating in the understandable rage of Israelis suffering through horrible acts of terrorbut hope also is being swallowed up in the deep frustrations, daily humiliations and wounded dignity of Palestinians living under occupation.

Someone who perceives Israels legitimate self-defense actions as inflammatory, provocative and unhelpful, and who thinks that Israel and Palestinian terrorists are equally to blame for the erosion of hope, has a dangerously shallow understanding of Middle East reality. David Satterfields record demonstrates that he does not fully appreciate the difference between Palestinian aggressors and Israeli victims. He does not accept Israels right to take all necessary defensive actions against the stabbers, snipers and suicide bombers who threaten its citizens daily. Satterfields appointment should be rescinded immediately.

Stephen M. Flatow, a vice president of the Religious Zionists of America, is an attorney in New Jersey and the father of Alisa Flatow, who was murdered in an Iranian-sponsored Palestinian terrorist attack in 1995.
Many Americans know that the sickness at the heart of our political culture stems from a spirit of intolerance that has become the keynote of discourse. Liberals blame it on President Donald Trump and his supporters. But few of us seem able to recognize this behavior when it comes from those who share our viewswhich means that if you think Dennis Prager must be boycotted or believe Morton Klein is as much of a threat to American Jewry as Islamist terrorists, then dont blame Trump for how bad things have gotten.

Prager, a Los Angeles-based talk radio host and author, is a surprising candidate for this kind of opprobrium. Though hes a conservative who, to the dismay of some of his admirers, believes Trump must be supported against his critics, Prager is far from the prototype of right-wing incendiary. His approach is generally fair-minded and never lacks intellectual rigor. He has also spent much of his career promoting interfaith dialogue and is as interested in helping his audience focus on personal happiness as he is in politics. In other words, hes the polar opposite of the bomb-throwing populists that many on the left think are threatening democracy.

But that didnt spare Prager from being treated as if he were the head of a hate group when he agreed to help raise money for the Santa Monica Symphony by appearing as a guest conductor at a concert. Prager is a music enthusiast/amateur conductor and has often appeared in a similar capacity with other ensembles. But when some of the musicians heard Prager was the attraction at a high-profile event for their organization, they said they would boycott the concert. A petition started by two UCLA professors who are violinists in the orchestra said the signers would not appear with a right-wing radio host who promotes horribly bigoted positions. To back up that claim, they cherry-picked a few comments Prager has made about Islam and the implications of gay marriage in order to falsely paint him as the moral equivalent of the Ku Klux Klan. One boycotter even said hed play with a North Korean conductor, but not Prager.

Pragers positions can be debated, yet to take them out of context is deeply unfair, especially when you consider it wasnt long ago that both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton shared his stance on gay marriage. But if you are going to anathematize someone like Prager and render him an untouchable even in a non-political context, youre saying anyone who voices an opposing view must not only be shunned, but also be driven from decent society.

The same spirit animated an op-ed in The Forward by Steven Davidson. The piece was a response to commentary from the right about the lefts willingness to excuse hatemongering from Linda Sarsour, a Palestinian-American anti-Israel activist, because of shared antipathy for Trump. According to Davidson, there are 19 people who are more dangerous to the Jews than Sarsour. But while his list included some who do fit that bill, like Louis Farrakhan, David Duke and the heads of Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran, he couldnt resist including mere political opponents along with terrorists.

It was bad enough that he lumped Trump as well as White House aides Steve Bannon and Sebastian Gorka together with Farrakhan and Hezbollah, in an unconvincing effort to label them as anti-Semites. But he also listed Klein, the president of the Zionist Organization of America.

Most liberals dont agree with Klein about the peace process and consider him a strident figure. But he is someone who works hard to build support for the Jewish state, and his views are actually more in tune with mainstream Israeli opinion than those of The Forwards editorial board. Treating him as a threat to the Jews rather than just someone to be opposed is a signal that any deviation from liberal orthodoxy will be punished with isolation and demonization.

In a world in which Google can fire an internal critic in the name of diversity, its hardly surprising to see Jewish liberals playing the same game. But those who refuse to listen to or to associate with political opponents are at the core of our societys current political illness, in which we have been divided into two warring camps that have lost the ability to listen to each other. Thats why if you think theres nothing wrong with the treatment given to Prager and Klein, then dont bother the rest of us with hypocritical complaints about Trump.

Jonathan S. Tobin is opinion editor of JNS.org and a contributing writer for National Review. Follow him on Twitter at: @jonathans_tobin.
Her visit is part of a broader regional visit to Southeast Asia (including Singapore, Thailand and Laos) to enhance military ties and cooperation.

In her courtesy call with Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc in Hanoi on August 24th, Minister Payne reiterated Australias commitment to working with Vietnam and other regional partners to promote regional peace and security. She highlighted Australias commitment to resolving disputes in a peaceful manner, consistent with each countries rights under international law. Minister Payne welcomed Vietnams important role in promoting regional prosperity and security, including its support for annual meetings of the ASEAN Defence Minister Meeting Plus, which includes both Vietnam and Australia as members.

Meeting with PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc at PM Office

Australian Minister for Defence Senator the Hon Marise Payne and Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc in Hanoi on August 24th, 2017

Australian Minister for Defence Senator the Hon Marise Payne and Vietnamese Minister of Defence General Ngo Xuan Lich reviewing the Guards of Honor.





Australian Minister for Defence Senator the Hon Marise Payne is warmly welcomed by Vietnamese Minister of Defence General Ngo Xuan Lich

Earlier, the Australian Minister was received by a guard of honor at the Ministry of National Defence and held a bilateral dialogue with General Ngo Xuan Lich, Minister for National Defence. The two sides discussed opportunities to expand bilateral defence ties. Australia welcomed Vietnams contribution to global security through its preparations to deploy a contingent to a UN peacekeeping mission in early 2018.

The Defence Ministers visit provides an opportunity to strengthen Australias security partnership with Vietnam. Our defence relationship is long-standing and provides practical support for our countries mutually beneficial contribution to regional prosperity and security, said Australian Ambassador to Vietnam, Mr Craig Chittick.

On August 25th, the Minister will visit Unit 871 and meet with Vietnamese Peoples Army students who are studying English language under the Australia - Vietnam Defence Cooperation program and staff members of Vietnam Peacekeeping Center. She will then visit Special Forces Brigade 113 where she will observe a demonstration of their counter-terrorism capabilities.

The Australia-Vietnam Defence cooperation relationship commenced in 1998 and includes bilateral dialogues at strategic levels and practical cooperation activities. The two sides also work together on regional and multilateral architecture including ASEAN, ADMM+, ARF, and EAS.

Practical cooperation between the two nations focuses on a wide range of defence areas including English language training, university and military specialist training, counter-terrorism, aviation safety, maritime security and information analysis. Over the past 19 years, the Australian Defence Force has trained over 2,000 Vietnam Peoples Army officers both in Vietnam and Australia./.
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Hertfordshire's Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) David Lloyd has made a formal bid to bring Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service under his control, despite resistance from Hertfordshire County Council.

In a letter to Home Secretary Amber Rudd, Mr Lloyd set out plans that will see him elevated to an overarching role as Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, with the responsibility of overseeing both services and their respective chief officers.

However, Judi Billing, leader of the North Hertfordshire Labour group and County Councillor for Hitchin North, said that she was "totally opposed" to the move, which she slammed as "yet another vanity project" and a waste of time.

Mr Lloyd argues that the move  made possible by the Government's recent Policing and Crime Act 2017, which introduced a legal requirement for emergency services to find ways of working more closely together  will bring about greater public safety, increased accountability, and improved joint responses to incidents.

He said: "I think that the prospect of driving further collaboration between the emergency services is greatly improved if police and fire share the same governance structure.

"It's about enhancing the way our key services work together, making better use of our shared resources and improving public safety through a more joined-up strategy."

In July, the cross-party Hertfordshire County Council cabinet (HCC)  which has run the Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service (HFRS) since 1948  voted unanimously to oppose Mr Lloyd's plans, proposing instead that the PCC be given a seat on the cabinet, where he would be able to "play a strong role in the governance of the fire service".

Cllr Billing said: "It seems to me so soon after Grenfell Tower a ridiculous risk to be messing about with our fire and rescue services which are generally known to be well-established, experienced and of high quality.

"With all due respect to David Lloyd, the same currently cannot be said of the police service which was found to be in need of considerable improvement when last inspected.

"Why would any right-minded person think it a good idea to take a well-run, efficient service and merge it with one that is clearly struggling?

"The bottom line is that all our services are stretched to breaking point by ridiculous Government cuts, and this proposal will do nothing to help them."

Conservative councillor and deputy cabinet member for community safety at HCC, Colin Woodward, shared similar concerns, stating that he and the cabinet were "disappointed that the PCC has decided to press ahead with this unnecessary and disruptive proposal which puts existing works of one of the UK's most effective and efficient fire and rescue services at risk".

He continued: "Both peer reviews and audits by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) have confirmed the high standards, efficiency and cost effectiveness of the Herts Fire and Rescue Service (HFRS) and how public safety benefits from the support it receives from back office services provided by HCC.

"Public safety was foremost in the minds of the HCC cabinet and the entire cross-party council who unanimously opposed the bid by the PCC to expand his already demanding responsibilities, to remove HFRS from 78 democratically elected councillors, answerable to their local residents, and place it under one person.

"It is our belief that the PCC case has significantly understated the costs, not sufficiently addressed the risks and, without evidence, overstated the benefits of transferring governance."

Mr Lloyd dismissed HCC's objections to the plans, stating in his letter to the Home Secretary that they were "fundamentally wrong" and "ignored Parliament's intention and the imperatives for change set out in the new legislation".

In a statement, he rejected accusations that his plans amounted to a vanity project, adding: "The question for residents in Hertfordshire is do they want their fire service budget siphoned off by the county council in order to prop up its other departments, or would they like it ring-fenced just for the fire service?

"That can only happen if we remove it from county council ownership and have it standing alone with closer links to the other emergency services, rather than sitting alongside waste management.

"The councillors' argument about being more democratically accountable does not stack up.

"I challenge people to find any reference to the fire service in May's council election campaign, or even  bar a fleeting mention  in the county council's plan for this year.

"Their last cabinet meeting spent 90 seconds discussing the future of the service.

"Under my leadership, the fire service would focus on keeping the community safe and I would hold them to account properly so that all the money raised for fire is spent only on fire.

"Cllr Billing, in her determination to keep a grip on the fire service, neglects to mention that the report she refers to was published after Hertfordshire Constabulary  widely regarded as one of the best performing police forces in the country  had made all the required improvements."

Mr Lloyd's formal proposal followed a period of public consultation, which closed on 14 August.

A final decision will now be made by the Home Secretary.
HICKORY  Ingrid Keller believes in being a lifelong learner.

 You just cant go into a job and expect to work there for 40 years and not learn anything new and just do the same thing, Western Piedmont Symphonys Executive Director Keller said. I always stay up to date with the League of American Orchestras through their website, following their different threads that you can post on yourself and get feedback.

This summer, Keller took that approach one step further by attending the leagues 10-day Essentials of Orchestra Management program in Los Angeles.

 I felt like now I was at a point where Ive seen how things work with the Western Piedmont Symphony, but I wanted to see how else things could work in this industry, Keller said.

She was hired just a year ago and has a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications from Elon University, and a Master of Arts degree in Arts Administration and Cultural Policy from the University of London.

The league seminar, held in July, offered participants the opportunity to learn from a faculty of field leaders as they explored the fundamentals of orchestra management as well as the changing nature of orchestras and the new values, roles and practices that are emerging as orchestras evolve, according to a Western Piedmont Symphony press release.

 From its earliest years, the League of American Orchestras, now celebrating its 75th anniversary, has been the fields primary source for leadership development programming, identifying and equipping professionals with leadership potential for the challenges and opportunities ahead, Jesse Rosen, the Leagues president and CEO, said via a release.

A key takeaway of the seminar for Keller was the discussion on diversity.

 Orchestras historically have been a white, male dominated field, all throughout the industry, she said, but the cohort I was with was beautifully colorful, a mix of different religions, ethnicities. It was just really nice because it offered so many different perspectives.

Something else she learned was diversity is a loaded word now.

 Really, the word we should be seeking is inclusion and that really is a better word, Keller said. Were not saying, youre so different so we want you to be part of this. Were saying we want to include everyone.

She said the Western Piedmont Symphony already has started to move in that direction.

Last year, it partnered with the Hickory Soup Kitchen for the Masterworks III concert to allow those in the community who are economically disadvantage to attend a concert.

The symphony also partnered with Safe Harbor Rescue Mission, and they had a group of women experience a concert, many for the first time.

 Its really exciting to think about doing these things, and we really have to make sure were taking these steps or were going to become archaic and were going to become no longer relevant, Keller said.

Something else shes done since the seminar is change the organizational chart for the Western Piedmont Symphony.

 Most organizational charts have a hierarchy look and now a lot of technology companies have more of a web, she said. John (Ross, music director and conductor) and I are not up top, our team is around us, helping to support and make the organization happen.

Along with taking the lessons shes learned from the League of American Orchestras seminar into upcoming seasons, Keller also is looking forward to some special events in what will be Maestro John Gordon Rosss final season. He plans on retiring after 27 years leading the Western Piedmont Symphony.

On Sept. 16, there will be the Legacy Gala: An Immersive Concert Experience at Moretz Mills, where audience members can purchase seats alongside members of the orchestra during the performance.

On Dec. 30, there will A Tribute to John event at the Lake Hickory Country Club, and on March 17, there will be the A FUNdraiser on Market on Main.

The Soup, Salad and Strings series with the Tesla Quartet starts Sept. 22.

The Chamber Classic series starts Sept. 30 and the Masterworks series starts Oct. 7 with Rhapsody in Blue.

For more information about the symphony or tickets, visit wpssymphony.org or call 828-324-8603.
Son Doong cave (Photo: Zing.vn)

According to the site, Quang Binh - the Kingdom of Caves is considered a paradise for exploration and experiences with tourism areas, routes and destinations such as Son Doong, Tu Lan cave system, Dong Hoi, Da Nhay beach, Thien Duong cave, Tien Son cave, Chay river and Dark cave.

In the first months of 2017, Quang Binh gathered human resources to comprehensively carry out promotion activities with abundant and specialized contents for domestic and international markets.

Numerous activities which have resonated for Quang Binh tourism include: Quang Binh in the land of Hanoi, Quang Binh cave festival 2017, the launch of the Dong Hoi - Cat Bi (Hai Phong) air route and Dong Hoi - Chiang Mai (Thailand) international air route.

According to the provincial Department of Tourism, the locality greeted two million tourists in the first seven months of the year, a year-on-year rise of 30%. Of this, foreign tourists reached an estimated 50,000, up 65% over a year earlier. Total tourism turnover was estimated at VND2.1 trillion, up 25%.

Other destinations on the list are Da Nang, Hue, Nha Trang, Ha Long, Da Lat, and Sa Pa./.
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I work like an actor: I remain the same actor, but perform and create situations within a different role, says painter Manu Parekh. This oft referenced statement by Parekh succinctly summarises his approach to life and work.

Parekh has had an interesting life marked with varied contrasting experiences and journeys. Several people, places and genres have inspired and influenced his work. He is not shy about acknowledging these sources of influence. His 60-year-old creative journey bears ample testimony to this fact.

A transition from one approach to another, one language to another, is evident in his large body of work. What only a few know is that Parekh has acted on stage and this experience has influenced the form of his paintings and their underlying shifts. When I paint faces now, I dont paint a face, I paint expressions. But when I paint an expression, Im actually painting a situation, says Parekh in a freewheeling conversation at his residence in south Delhi with this writer. His creative energies have thus been spent in search of a personal language.

Parekh was born in 1939 in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Being brought up in a Gujarati household and community provided a specific cultural setting which he overlaid with other cultural influences through his travels in India and abroad. This resulted in a melting pot of ideas and concepts, visible to us in his works. Traditional and contemporary influences come together as a result of this cross-pollination.

A painting from a new book, Manu Parekh: Sixty Years of Selected Works (Aleph). (Photo courtesy: Aleph Book Company)

After his stint with theatre, Parekh joined the Weavers Service Centre under the guidance of the cultural stalwart Pupul Jayakar. Inducting practising artists in cultural organisations was an experiment adopted by Jayakar and it proved to be extremely fulfilling for both sides. I travelled across Indias villages with her. To know yourself, you have to experience other cultures, says Parekh.

Diverse pulls

Mukund Shroff, his first teacher, was instrumental in initiating Parekh into the field of art. Two other important artists of Ahmedabad -- Rasik Lal Parekh and Kanu Desai -- also influenced his early work. He went to CN College which initiated his academic and Indianised approach to art education. Thereafter, he pursued a diploma course from the Sir JJ School of Art. JM Aiwasi who remained a mentor to many an artist of that period, including SB Palsikar, the dean of JJ School of Art, and the likes of Gaitonde and Raza, provided a new vision and direction to the artistic movement of that time. Palsikar, Parekhs mentor, exposed him to the world of miniature paintings and introduced him to works of artists like Paul Klee which provided a new impetus to the aspiring artist. This prompted Parekh to straddle seemingly opposing and diverse creative approaches and to synthesise them to suit his individual artistic sensibility. Palsikar was a genius teacher. His contribution to this new search for an individual and personal visual language has unfortunately not been given its due, says Parekh.

Painter Manu Parekh is a recipient of the 1982 Lalit Kala Akademi Award. (Saumya Khandelwal/HT PHOTO)

Parekhs contemporaries included noted modernists like Prabhakar Barwe, Laxman Shreshtha, Jatin Das and Mansaram, who were also responsible for the cross-pollination of expressionistic representation and abstraction. The approach adapted by Bauhaus of which Paul Klee was an integral part remained an important influence in the approach to art education of that time.

Parekhs visits to the movie theatre with his father during his childhood are deeply embedded in his memory. The influence of popular culture is quite prominent in his language. Parekh nursed a great interest in theatre and set designing. His tryst with theatre is testimony to the dramatic imagery most vivid in his Banaras series. Vivid colours and prominent lines and his insight into the human soul that is shaped by its interaction with nature, were a result of an ongoing fascination with the city of Banaras.

What Banaras means to Parekh

This city was, for him, an everlasting source of inspiration. Says Parekh: The drama of life, both mundane and sublime, is played out daily on the teeming ghats and the narrow lanes of one of the worlds oldest living cities In its many-layered, thickly textured reality, all contradictions are resolved. The city of light is a vast, crowded landscape where I dont feel small, I become part of the universe; I become vast, yet humble. The days run but I become still.

Akin to a theatre performance, Parekhs works require time and commitment from the viewer before they can start revealing themselves. This unique idiom of visual drama is contained within layers in his works.

Bhaskar Kulkarni, an artist who was truly responsible for bringing Madhubani paintings into prominence, also had a considerable influence on Parekh. Parekh, thereafter, worked on an important project showcasing and popularising Harijan Kalaakar . This exposure made his more sensitive towards this often neglected section of society. The Bhagalpur blindings had a deep impact on Parekh who portrayed this agony in a series of expressionistic paintings that reveal his humanistic approach to life. He intelligently used this agony and pathos transforming it into art.

Vernacular culture and language is evident in many of his works. Even so, one also sees influences of master artists like Pablo Picasso. Parekh observes sexuality and sensuality in organic life and marks the thin lines differentiating them. This is evident in his paintings of flowers.

The experience of viewing Parekhs works is like riding an emotional roller coaster, an experience that is sure to nudge viewers to observe their immediate surroundings more closely. His works successfully shatter the unidimensionality of everyday life and surroundings that we often find ourselves caught up in.

Dr Rajeev Lochan is former director, National Gallery of Modern Art, Delhi

DETAILS

What: Manu Parekh: 60 years of Selected Works

When: August 26-September 24, 10 am-5 pm

Where: NGMA, Jaipur House, India Gate

Nearest metro station: Khan Market
Devotees of Ganesha look forward all year to Ganeshotsav, a 10-day festival during which the idol is brought home or to public pandals and it is followed by festivities. This year, the festival is being held between August 25 and September 5. While it is one of the most important festivals in Maharashtra, there are celebrations held across the country as well as in states like Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

During Ganeshotsav, devotees throng pandals across Mumbai and other cities, and feast on sweets such as modak, which is considered Ganeshas favourite. To mark the end of the festival, the idols are immersed in water (visarjan) to the chants of Ganpati Bappa Moraya, Pudhchya Varshi Lavkar Ya (come back soon next year).

Here are some facts about the festival:

The Mumbaicha Raja Ganpati idol at Ganesh Galli; one of the oldest mandals, they have been around for 90 years. (HT file photo )

Lord Ganeshas significance in Hindu mythology

Ganesh Chaturthi is believed to mark the birth anniversary of the deity and is celebrated on the fourth day (chaturthi) of the Hindu calendar month of Bhadrapada. Ganesha or Ganpati is the younger son of Lord Shiva and Parvati. He is believed to remove obstacles (hence Vighnaharta, one of his 108 names) and is invoked for blessings at the start of any endeavour as the lord of good beginnings.

There are various stories about his birth. One legend narrates that Ganesha was created by goddess Parvati out of dirt and set to guard her privacy while she had her bath. When Ganesha stopped Lord Shiva from entering their abode, he got angry and severed Ganeshas head. Parvati was heart-broken and to appease her, Lord Shiva fixed an elephants head on the child and thus, the elephant-headed Ganesha came into being. Another legend has it that Ganesha was created on request of the demigods to remove the rakshasas (demons) who were hindering them .

The history of the festival

Its origins are related to the freedom movement. Back in 1893, freedom fighter Lokmanya Tilak wanted to bring people together to create a feeling of patriotism. At a time when the British government frowned on Indians gathering together, Tilak urged people to celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi publicly.

Mawa modaks are available in a variety of flavours; modaks are believed to be the elephant-headed Ganeshas favourite sweet. (Shutterstock)

What are the idols made of?

The initial idols were made of mud but over time, Plaster of Paris (POP) became quite common. However, the latter pollutes the rivers and clogs water sources and contains harmful levels of mercury and cadmium. With growing awareness, a lot of people are now opting for eco-friendly idols made of easily dissolvable soil, coconut husk, fish friendly foods, and plant seeds.

Which are the most famous pandals?

Ganeshotsav is celebrated with a great deal of pomp and fervour in Mumbai. The must-visit pandals include Lalbaugcha Raja which is believed to fulfil wishes and attracts millions of visitors; Goud Saraswat Brahmin (GSB) Seva Mandal at Kings Circle, which is considered to be one of the richest mandals and known for their gold idols in the past (this year they wont feature an expensive idol); and the Keshavji Naik Chawl pandal in Girgaum, one of the oldest pandals (125-years-old) and the pandal where none other than Tilak had come as a visitor.

Which are the best places to buy modaks?

If you are looking for Ukadiche Modak or steamed modak made of rice flour and stuffed with coconut, jaggery, and cardamom, head to Modakam near Prabhadevi or Aaswad in Dadar. For mawa modaks, visit Panshikar Sweets in Girgaon and Dadar.

Why dont people look at the moon during Ganesh Chaturthi?

A story goes that the moon once laughed at Lord Ganesha and the deity cursed the moon. Hence, anyone who looks at the deity on Ganesh Chaturthi has to face the brunt of false accusations. According to a legend, Lord Krishna looked at the moon during Ganesh Chaturthi and was cursed leading him to be falsely accused of stealing the precious jewel Syamantaka.

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The majority of Bollywood is happy with adman-lyricist Prasoon Joshi replacing the controversial Pahlaj Nihalani as chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), informally called the Censor Board. But actor Kalki Koechlin believes that its wrong to accuse Nihalani alone for the myopic view of the board, as has been evident over the past few years.

I think its a very negative attitude to put all the blame on him, says Kalki. I think its a combination of people that make up the board, and, if anything, they were equally responsible for whatever happened when [Nihalani] was the chairperson. To hold someone responsible for all that was wrong with the board is a wrong practice in itself, adds the actor, who will soon be seen in the film Jia aur Jia, co-starring Richa Chadha.

Pahlaj Nihalani was the chairperson of the CBFC from January 19, 2015, to August 10, 2017.

Kalki, however, does hope that Prasoon brings about a change in the way the Censor Board functions. Its good that they have chosen someone who is from the film fraternity. I know Prasoon personally. Ive worked with him in Margarita with a Straw (2014), and I know he is a wonderful human being. Its great that somebody like a Prasoon Joshi is the chairperson of the Censor Board, she says. Prasoon was appointed the CBFC chairperson with effect from August 11, 2017.

Like many others among her Bollywood colleagues, Kalki, 33, wants the CBFC to issue a certificate, instead of censoring or banning films. I hope, she says, that people realise that the boards function is not to censor or ask for cuts. Its to issue a certificate on the basis of the content in the film. Its a film certification board, and theyre not supposed to censor any films.

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Actor Neil Nitin Mukesh, who married Rukmini Sahay in February this year, will be flying to London for a five-week-long honeymoon after the first few days of Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations. However, its going to be a working honeymoon for Neil because he will shooting for his film Firrkie, which also stars Jackie Shroff and Kay Kay Menon, among others.

This year, I wont be there for all the 10 days of Ganesh Chaturthi. Im off on a working honeymoon with Rukmini. She enjoys coming to the sets as thats the only way we get to spend time with each other. Ever since I got married, Ive been busy with work. Rukmini deserves my complete attention. So, Ill extend my trip and London also is her favourite holiday destination, says Neil. The actor will shoot for the film for the first three weeks and the rest of the time in London will be spent with his better half. Neils brother, Naman Nitin Mukesh, who is planning to venture into direction soon, might also accompany him on the trip.

No better feeling than to have her by my side. One month flew by. Thank you @dreamscoutured for this beautiful gift .The night suits are just soooo cool !!  A post shared by Neil Nitin Mukesh (@neilnitinmukesh) on Mar 9, 2017 at 10:05am PST

The Reason for me to smile. And His smile is that curved line that puts everything straight for me. I love you the most in this world paa. HAPPY BIRTHDAY. HAVE A SUPER SUPER YEAR . Filled with loads of happiness love and blessings. A post shared by Neil Nitin Mukesh (@neilnitinmukesh) on Jun 26, 2017 at 10:05pm PDT

Meanwhile, the actor and his family are leaving no stone unturned to make their 23rd Ganesh Chaturthi a memorable one. And why not? After all, this is the first Ganesh Chaturthi after Neils marriage. The theme for this years Ganapati puja in his house is on Krishna Rasleela. There will be a bhajan session by his father, Nitin Mukesh, and also a mini Janamashthami celebration given that the family couldnt be together during Janamashatami that was celebrated early this month.

Maa. Wish you a very Happy Mother's Day. The strongest pillar in all our lives, you are the most beautiful human being I know. God bless you with all the happiness always.  A post shared by Neil Nitin Mukesh (@neilnitinmukesh) on May 14, 2017 at 12:05am PDT

Rukmini will wear a lehenga that goes with the theme. The ensemble is being put together by designer Neeta Lulla. It is inspired by Vrindavan. Since this is Neils and Rukmanis first Ganesh Utsav after marriage, the young couple decided to wear colour coordinated clothes , says Neeta.

Also, Rukmini will wear an anklet right after the Ganapati Puja. The piece of jewellery was gifted a few years ago by the familys spiritual guide to Neils mother Nishi Mukesh for her to be daughter-in-law.

My mother always desired of a Radharani theme for Ganapati since she is a devout Krishna follower. Its been exactly one year since I met Rukmini and Bappa truly fulfilled my hearts desire. I clearly remember it was the first day of Ganapati last year when I met Rukmini and the minute she told me her name I was convinced that she was the one for me, says Neil, who will seen in films such as Saaho and Golmaal Again.

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In March this year, Pakistani writer Fatima Bhutto wrote a searing piece in the Guardian on her deep-seated distress after watching Gurinder Chadhas Viceroys House, a film she believed betrayed the inferiority complex that plagues colonised people.

She wrote: If this servile pantomime of partition is the only story that can be told of our past, then it is a sorry testament to how intensely empire continues to run in the minds of some today. The piece was widely shared and discussed, but Chadha was not too troubled.

Filmmaker Gurinder Chadha

In Mumbai for promotions of the Indian version of the film, 1947: Partition, she points out that journalists need to be wary, and not use one article as representative of all criticism. One woman wrote about the film and totally misrepresented it. Shes Pakistani and from an elite family, who never suffered during the Partition by the way. They kept all their money and everything, says Chadha.

Instead, she points to an article by a Brit-Indian Muslim writer that appeared in the Huffington Post a few days later. She wrote about how Bhuttos attack on me was an attack on all British Asians because Id always stood for all of them. Suddenly, we saw a debate opening up between Pakistanis from Pakistan and British Muslims, which was great, she adds.

Chadhas telling of the story, however, upset many more people than Fatima Bhutto. Rani Juni of Sarila, wife of the late Narendra Singh Sarila who had been an aide de camp to Lord Mountbatten, the last viceroy of British India and the man who oversaw the Partition, says the film is peppered with inaccuracies.

In an earlier interview with Hindustan Times Brunch, Juni said: I expected facts, this was fiction!

Real to reel?

Shefali Singh with her husband, Raja Narendra Singh (right) and son Prince Samar Singh of Sarila

Chadha always wanted to make a film about the Partition, because its a significant part of her familys history.

Growing up, I never had my own ancestral home. My grandmother came to live with us in England when I was a girl. She was very traumatised by what she had seen in Rawalpindi. Whenever any villains would come on TV, she would get upset and make us turn it off.

A few years ago, as part of the BBC show Who Do You Think You Are, Chadha visited the town in Pakistan where her grandfather had built a big house. I got a very warm welcome. They threw flower petals at me, gave me a shawl and really changed the way I thought. I met many people who themselves had been refugees, and I wanted to make something about these ordinary people, like my grandmother, uncles and aunts who had suffered, she says.

1947: Partition is centred around the events that transpired in the Viceroys House  where the last Viceroy Mountbatten resided  in Delhi, months before the Partition. Chadha chose the British Upstairs, Downstairs TV series format so she could fuse the stories of the politicians who lived upstairs with the ordinary people, like the cooks, cleaners and translators, who lived downstairs. I wanted to do something big and epic like the David Lean and Merchant Ivory movies, she says.

Juni, however, took great exception to the fact that one of the sub-plots in the film focuses on the love affair between a Muslim maid and a Hindu waiter at the Viceroys House.

It was impossible, says Juni. The rules were very strict, and such a liaison was impossible, no interaction whatsoever was possible. There were no maids in the Viceroys house. There could not be a meeting, let alone a love story.

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The government on Friday restricted imports of gold and silver items from South Korea in a bid to check spurt in inbound shipments of precious metals from that country.

The importers will now have to obtain a license from the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) for importing gold and silver from South Korea.

These restrictions are being imposed against the backdrop of sudden surge in imports of precious metal from South Korea, with which India has a free trade agreement since January 2010.

Gold imports from South Korea has jumped to USD 338.6 million between July 1 and August 3 this year. The import in 2016-17 stood at USD 70.46 million.

Imports from South Korea of articles of jewellery and parts thereof, of precious metal or of metal clad with precious metal...;articles of goldsmiths and silversmiths wares and parts thereof...and coins are restricted, the DGFT said in a notification.

Under the free trade pact between India and South Korea, basic customs duty on gold was eliminated.

Further, the 12.5 per cent countervailing duty on gold imports has been subsumed in the Goods and Services Tax (GST). Accordingly, the imports now attract only 3 per cent integrated GST.

Imports of gold from non-FTA countries, attract 10 per cent customs duty.

India is the worlds second biggest gold consumer after China. The imports mainly take care of demand by the jewellery industry.

The collections from customs duty and IGST from imports post implementation of GST has almost doubled to Rs 30,000 crore in July.

Gold imports contributed significantly to this increased collection.

The revenue collected include those on account of customs duty, Integrated-GST (IGST) from imports, countervailing duty (CVD), special addition duty (SAD) and cess collection on imported items.
Ukraine to lodge lawsuit with WTO against Russia over agricultural products by end of 2017

Ukraine may file a lawsuit to the World Trade Organization against the Russian Federation by the end of 2017 concerning the supply of agricultural products, Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade  Ukraine's Trade Representative Natalia Mykolska has said.

"We are finishing the work on filing a lawsuit to the WTO over agricultural products," Natalia Mykolska told journalists during an economic forum on the support for Ukraine's economic development through cooperation between the government of Ukraine and the Diaspora in Kyiv on Friday.

According to her, the lawsuit may be filed before the end of 2017 and will concern those commodity groups where Ukraine has strong evidence and for those items where Ukrainian producers are ready to provide concrete facts.

The deputy minister noted that this is Ukraine's fourth lawsuit against Russia. "The one concerning the railway equipment is in progress. We are waiting for a decision of the WTO before the end of this year," Mykolska added.
India on Friday termed as factually incorrect a Chinese official media report claiming that it was planning to impose fresh anti-dumping duties this year on 93 products originating in China, saying they were already in force after decisions over a course of five years.

A report in the state-run China Daily on Friday said that India would this month impose anti-dumping duties on 93 products imported from China.

Some recent media reports have mentioned that the Government of India is planning to impose anti-dumping duty on 93 products from China. These reports are factually incorrect, the Indian Embassy in Beijing said in a statement.

The current situation is that anti-dumping duty is already in force on 93 products from China comprising of chemicals and petrochemicals, products of steel and other metals, fibres and yarn, machinery items, rubber or plastic products, electric and electronic items, consumer goods among others, it said.

The decision to impose anti-dumping duties on these 93 products originating in China were taken over a course of previous five years, it said.

Ministry of commerce said on Wednesday that India should refrain from abusing trade remedy measures, which would disrupt economic cooperation and bilateral trade relations.

According to the ministry, India has launched 212 investigations against Chinese products since 1994 and 93 of them are still in progress.

So far this year, 13 investigations have been initiated, the China Daily quoted the ministry as saying.

The report said that India overtook the US in the first half of this year with the most trade remedy investigations against China.

China is paying close attention to trade investigations and hopes India would carry them out in a prudent way based on relevant regulations, commerce ministry spokesman Gao Feng was quoted as saying by the Daily.

China and India are both BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) members with vast cooperation opportunities and should jointly maintain a free and open multilateral trading system, Gao said.

Instead of resorting to trade remedy measures and disrupting trade orders, the two countries can settle trade disputes through consultation and realise a win-win situation through expanded economic and trade cooperation, he said.

Last month minister of state for Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman, who took part in the BRICS commerce ministers meeting in Shanghai, held candid talks with her Chinese counterpart Zhong Shan over the ballooning bilateral trade deficit which had crossed over $ 52 billion.

The two Ministers exchanged views, in a candid manner, on further development of a strong, balanced and sustainable trade and investment partnership between India and China, the Indian Consulate in Shanghai had said in a statement.

Sitharaman, in particular, sought the assistance of Chinese commerce ministry in reducing the trade deficit, facilitating greater market access and for providing a level- playing field for Indian IT, pharmaceuticals and agro products in China, it said.

Indias trade deficit with China in 2015-16 swelled to $ 52.68 billion, which according to Indian officials has become unsustainable.
Former Infoscions may well have a shot at clinching the top job as Infosys CEO, with the company looking at alumni along with internal and external candidates in its global search for the lead role.

Within hours of taking charge as Infosys non-executive chairman, Nandan Nilekani told investors on Friday that Infosys was going to cast a very wide net globally to get the best talent onboard.

We are looking at internal candidates, external candidates and Infosys alumni, he said.

Nilekani added there are Infoscions, who have left the company and have charted their own success stories.

We have an open mind. It will be a global search... The goal is to find somebody who has the expertise in managing a global corporation, who can accelerate the execution of our strategy and has strong appreciation of the cultural transformation that is required, he said.

Nilekani added that the candidate also has to possess strong technology prowess and should have the ability to build and strengthen relationships with all stakeholders.

There have been reports that officials like interim CEO Pravin Rao, CFO Ranganath D Mavinakere, president and deputy COO Ravi Kumar S and BFSI head Mohit Joshi are in fray for the top job.

With Infosys now looking at alumni as well, the contenders could include names like V Balakrishnan (ex-CFO), Mohandas Pai (former CFO and HR Head), Ashok Vemuri (former Americas Head and Board member) and B G Srinivas (former President).

Infosys -- which has been in the midst of a face-off between the founders and management -- would also look at recasting its board in the coming weeks.

Last week, Infosys CEO Vishal Sikka quit, citing slander. On Thursday, board chairman R Seshasayee along with two other members - Jeffrey Lehman and John Etchemendy - also put in their papers. Co-chair Ravi Venkatesan has now moved to the role of an independent director.

We have an excellent nominations committee headed by a very well known and global entrepreneur like Kiran Mazumdar Shaw. Kiran and the nominations committee will drive the CEO selection, he said.

Nilekani added that at the same time, the nomination committee will also come out with a plan on the future board composition and start looking for specific individuals.

Infosys Board currently includes independent directors - Roopa Kudva, Dr Punita Kumar-Sinha, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, DN Prahlad and D Sundaram. Interim CEO and managing director UB Pravin Rao is also a part of the board.

On his own stint, he said: I plan to be here as long as necessary. I will not be here as soon as I am not necessary.
Nandan Nilekani, 62, has returned to the company he co-founded when he was 26.

Thats a full circle for a man considered the last great chief executive officer (CEO) of Infosys Ltd. Friends and colleagues speak of his tremendous strategic and technological vision. If NR Narayana Murthy was all about excellence in execution, Nilekani was about the big picture.

But Nilekanis most significant ability was reinvention.

In 2007, when he had been CEO for barely five yearshis predecessor, Murthy, spent almost 20 years on the joband Infosys looked like it was on track to catch up with Tata Consultancy Services Ltd in terms of revenue, he stepped aside to make way for another co-founder S. (Kris) Gopalakrishnan, at Murthys bidding. Murthy said at the time that Gopalakrishnan was senior to Nilekani, and had graciously agreed to being superseded in 2002 because the company needed someone like Nilekani as CEO then.

By then, Nilekani had already become Thomas Friedmans museit was Nilekanis famous quote the world is flat that sparked Friedmans eponymous bestseller. The book, Nilekani said once, opened doors for him everywhere. CEOs of top US corporations who had been difficult to meet (on sales calls) reached out to him and asked him to talk to their people.

And by then, he had already had his first brush with public policy. He had been part of S.M. Krishnas ill-fated Bangalore Agenda Task Force that, while it did a lot for the city, became a victim of politics. He subsequently became part of a small group of professionals whose ideas and work resulted in what would eventually become the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (now the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation).

So, in 2007, when he became co-chairman of Infosys, he decided to write a book. The result was Imagining India, a book on the countrys possibilities. One of the ideas he discussed in it was a unique ID that could make the delivery of government services more efficient.

In 2009, after the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) returned to power, it tapped Nilekani. Murthy has let it be known that the government tapped him first and he suggested Nilekani, but it was probably Nilekanis old friend Montek Singh Ahluwalia who engineered his entry into the government.

The next phase of Nilekanis life is well-documented: Aadhaar (coincidentally, a Supreme Court ruling on Thursday establishing privacy as a fundamental right is likely to impact the programme); the political battle he had to fight in the UPA to see it through; the decision to enter politics and the loss in the 2014 Lok Sabha election; and the desire to see his idea through that saw him reach out to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and convince him. Since 2014, Nilekani has been working on EkStep, a technology solution to address Indias huge education problem. He has also been involved with IndiaStack, an effort to build software for digital India.

The opposition to Aadhaar has made Nilekani a controversial figure in some circles and he has, in recent years, had to deal with several allegations on how his association with the government enriched Infosys and how some of IndiaStacks members stand to benefit from the seemingly public work it is doing.

When he took over as chair of UIDAI, Nilekani cut off all links with Infosys and in 2013, when Murthy returned to Infosys and reached out to Nilekani asking him to return, he refused.

This time though, he seems to have been swayed by arguments that he should return.

Nilekani has always been close to Murthythe two of them have always had rooms next to each other at Infosyswithout being an acolyte (a person who has known both for decades describes the relationship as complex), and people close to both say he was very upset and angry at the boards letter blaming Murthy for former CEO Vishal Sikkas exit.

It is a different Infosys that awaits Nilekani. Can he help the company reinvent itself for its own second innings?

Read the story here.
The heir to the Samsung business empire, which includes the worlds biggest smartphone maker, was sentenced Friday to five years in prison for bribery and other offences in connection with the scandal that brought down South Korean president Park Geun-Hye.

Lee Jae-Yongs penalty could leave the giant firm rudderless for years and hamper its ability to make key investment decisions.

The vice-chairman of Samsung Electronics, 49, arrived at Seoul Central District Court on a justice ministry bus handcuffed, bound with white rope around his dark jacket, and carrying an envelope of documents.

Lee was found guilty of bribery, embezzlement, perjury and other charges centred on payments and promises by Samsung totalling 43.3 billion won (around $40 million) to Parks secret confidante Choi Soon-Sil.

The court found the money was in return for policy favours including government support for Lees hereditary succession at the group, after his father was left bedridden by a heart attack in 2014.

The defence had denied the charges, saying Samsung was pressured by Park to make the donations under duress -- and that Lee was not aware of them and did not approve them. Four other top Samsung executives were also convicted and received sentences of up to four years.

Lees lawyers said he would appeal.

The demonstrators who mounted giant candlelit protests against Park last year also targeted Lee and other chiefs of the chaebols, as the family-controlled conglomerates that dominate Asias fourth-largest economy are known.

South Koreas GDP is still growing but social and economic frustrations have mounted over the benefits not being equally shared.

Around 800 riot police were deployed around the court to prevent possible clashes between rival sets of demonstrators, Yonhap said.

It was deluged with hundreds of applications for the 30 seats in courtroom 417 available to members of the public, which were allocated by lottery.

Parks own trial began in the same room in May, and it also saw Lees father Lee Kun-Hee convicted of tax and other offences in 2008, receiving a suspended sentence.

Ruling family

The verdict could add impetus to new President Moon Jae-Ins campaign pledges to reform the chaebols.

The firms have long had murky connections with political authorities in South Korea, and past trials of their leaders have often ended with light or suspended sentences, with courts citing their contributions to the economy.

The Lee clan directly owns about five percent of Samsung Electronics shares, but maintains its grip on the wider group through a byzantine web of cross-ownership stakes involving dozens of companies.

The court said Park was aware that Lee wanted state approval for a controversial merger of two Samsung units in 2015, seen as a key step to ensuring his accession.

The deal was opposed by shareholders who said it wilfully undervalued shares of one of the firms. But it eventually went through after the national pension fund -- a major Samsung shareholder -- approved it.

Analysts differ on the potential impact of the verdict and sentence on Samsung.

Lee has been Samsungs de facto leader since his father fell ill, but his lawyers and ex-members of the former elite Future Strategy Office (FSO), which dictated the vast groups overall direction and major business decisions, sought to portray him as naive and inexperienced.

Samsung will not be doomed without Jay Lee, said Geoffrey Cain, the author of a forthcoming book on the group. Its up to the specialists to make their own decisions.

Samsung appears to have been unaffected by Lees absence so far -- he was detained in custody in February -- with flagship subsidiary Samsung Electronics making record profits on the back of strong demand for its memory chips.

But Chung Sun-Sup, the head of corporate analysis firm chaebul.com, said major chaebol decisions on large-scale acquisitions or investments are often endorsed by the patriarch of a ruling family, and with Lee in prison the firm may move more slowly than before.

Its shares have soared in recent months, but were down 1.05 percent on Friday afternoon after the verdict.

The ruling is seen as a strong indicator of the likely outcome in Parks trial, as some of the charges against the ousted head of state her are inextricably linked to the accusations Lee faced.
The CBI contacted as many as 150 women followers of the Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda in a probe extending over five years before finally filing a charge sheet that accused sect head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh of sexual exploitation in 2007.

And yet, only two of them agreed to depose against the dera head in a case that is expected to conclude before a CBI special court in Panchkula on Friday.

A possible reason for this can be found in the 25-page charge sheet filed before the court, where it quotes several sadhvis (female disciples) as saying that they feared speaking out because the dera chief, its management and followers are dangerous people.

Investigations conducted by the CBI discloses that Gurmeet Ram Rahim... raped (sadhvi X) in August 1999 and thereafter in 2000 and (she was told) under threat of dire consequences to her and her brother to refrain from disclosing anything about the incident to anybody. Further, Gurmeet Ram Rahim... also raped (sadhvi Y) on the dera premises in September 1999 and threatened her with dire consequences if she informed anybody. Thus, Ram Rahim committed offences punishable under sections 376 (rape) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code, the CBI document stated.

It had listed 28 prosecution witnesses, including investigating officers and judicial officers, and 14 supporting documents were appended.

The charge sheet stated that though the 130 female disciples contacted at the dera initially declined to open up, a few relented in the days that followed. As many as 24 of the sadhvis who left the dera between 1997 and 2002 were contacted. Of them, we managed to trace 18 and examine them. Three had returned to the dera, and another three could not be traced, the CBI said.

The two former disciples who eventually deposed against the dera head were among the 18 who left.

The CBI cited the lie-detection test reports of three accused  Avtar Singh, Inder Sain and Krishan Lal  as crucial evidence because there were discrepancies in their accounts. The polygraph test of the accused, conducted at the Central Forensic Laboratory in Chandigarh and New Delhi, showed deception in their statements, indicating that the dera chief was sexually exploiting sadhvis... and the complainant was also sexually exploited, the 2007 charge sheet read.

All the three were part of the dera chiefs inner circle.

.

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On August 24, less than two weeks after Independence Day, Indias Supreme Court magnificently articulated what our freedom really enshrines. The verdict by the nine-judge bench upheld the right to privacy as fundamental and intrinsic to life and personal liberty. But its importance is hardly limited to how the sweeping powers of the Aadhaar programme may  or may not be  restrained in the weeks to come. This scholarly order that borrows from history, economics and even contemporary poetry, is a manifesto of hope, a momentous reiteration of democracy, a celebration of the Constitution, a lesson in liberalism, an elegant but firm warning against State overreach, a new framework for equality, a rousing counter to both populism and majoritarianism, an assertion of Indias pluralism and- unusually for India- a profound acknowledgment that the individual- even if she is in a minority of one - has inalienable personal rights.

Privacy recognises the autonomy of the individual and the right of every person to make essential choices which affect the course of life, reads the judgment. At a time when the hectoring of television news and the reductionism of twitter have spawned hashtag herds who dare not disagree with the so-called majority view, this, in the Supreme Court judgment took my breath away: ..The purpose of elevating certain rights to the stature of guaranteed fundamental rights is to insulate their exercise from the disdain of majorities, whether legislative or popular. The guarantee of constitutional rights does not depend upon their exercise being favourably regarded by majoritarian opinion. The test of popular acceptance does not furnish a valid basis to disregard rights which are conferred with the sanctity of constitutional protection.

These 547 pages  both remind us of the country we are meant to be  and how everything about us could now changefor the better. As the erudite Justice Sanjay Kaul points out  thats the whole point. Comparing the constitution to a Tree of Rights, he writes, While the tree appears to be great and magnificent, apparently incapable of further growth, there are always new branches appearing, new leaves and buds growing. These new rights are the rights of future generations that evolve over the passage of time to suit and facilitate the civility of posterity. In other words, the need for the Constitution to be simultaneously eternal and ever-changing is upheld.

How the right to privacy will be applied specifically will obviously be decided on a case by case basis. But by conflating privacy with dignity, diversity, dissent, choice and freedom, the court has widened the issue to a reading of first principles. Its also shown enormous maturity by listing its own errors  what it calls discordant notes to songs of freedom. The criminalisation of homosexuality, for one, is all set to be scrapped. Discrimination against an individual on the basis of sexual orientation is deeply offensive to the dignity and self-worth of the individual, say the judges, shunning a previous verdict. The inspiring intellectual heroism is that of Justice Dhananjay Chandrachud who, writing for four judges, overrules a draconian judgment, delivered in part by his own father former Chief Justice, YV Chandrachud. In 1976, during Indiras Emergency, a 4: 1 ruling, which included Chandrachud Sr., decreed that habeas corpus  or the right to judicial review of a detention  could be suspended without contradicting personal liberty under article 21. Calling this order, seriously flawed Justice DY Chandrachud, strikes it down and also hails then lone dissenting judge HR Khanna for the courage of his convictions. In an environment of entrenched nepotism and dynastic politics, the sheer grace of this moment must be celebrated.

Whats remarkable about this verdict is that it pushes back against every divisive fault-line and stands up firmly against the idea of a nanny State. In words that could have far-reaching implications for beef politics as well as prohibition, Justice Chelameswar writes, I do not think that anybody would like to be told by the State as to what they should eat or how they should dress or whom they should be associated with either in their personal, social or political life. Consider the Maharashtra governments appeal in court for the right of the police to raid and search homes of those suspected of storing beef. Now the right to privacy makes the demand untenable.

Now, one can expect a mountain of petitions challenging laws seen to be in violation of free choice. We owe gratitude to the Supreme Court for drawing a lakshman rekha against invasive State power  and for its promise  that no mob will control our thoughts. This as the Judges write is the essence of India: Democracy accepts differences of perception, acknowledges divergences in ways of life, and respects dissent.

Barkha Dutt is an award-winning journalist and author

The views expressed are personal

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Haldwani: Police have started investigation after local shopkeepers in Uttarakhands Almora said they had been delivered shoes in boxes bearing the Tricolour, allegedly from China.

The boxes have the Tricolour on top and the base carries some letters in Mandarin, police said, triggering speculation among locals that the move was aimed at humiliating Indians amid a tense standoff between the two countries at Doklam.

Almora Senior Superintendent of Police P Renuka Devi said putting the shoes in boxes with the national flag was an insult to the Tricolour and that they were investigating the matter.

Udham Singh Nagar Senior Superintendent of Police Sadanand Date said the police questioned the owner of Tammana Traders in Rudrapur, who said that he bought the shoes from a distributor in Delhi and did not know their place of origin. We would be questioning the dealer in New Delhi to ascertain the origin of these shoes, said the SSP.

But the discovery of the boxes has sent the local population into a tizzy.

The case has been filed by the shopkeepers Bishan Bora against the shoe supplier of Rudrapur. Bora claimed as soon as he opened the consignment he found only seven shoe pair in proper box and rest of the pairs came in the tricolur box.

I received the goods on Thursday and when I opened the bags, I was shocked. I called the police, sensing something wrong, said shopkeeper Bishan Bora, who filed the initial complaint.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) district president of Almora Lalit Latwal asserted the administration swung into action after he intervened. As soon I received information about the consignment I immediately requested the administration to forfeit the boxes and act against those who are involved in insulting Indian flag. It looks like a bigger conspiracy. The party workers will keep an eye on the case until those culprits are not arrested Latwal said.

(with inputs from Anupam Trivedi from Dehradun)
DEHRADUN: Natures cycle of life and season, fund crunch and low wages have come together to halt the forest departments monkey sterilisation programme for curbing simian attacks in Uttarakhand.

From October 2015 onwards when a sterilisation centre came up in Haridwars Chidiyapur area to March this year, veterinarians operated upon only 514 monkeys. Sterilisation is carried out, especially in the non-breeding season, in both male and female.

According to the forest department, there are roughly about 2 lakh monkeys in Uttarakhand. Going by the numbers, the forest department has sterilised only 2.5% of the monkey population in the last two years.

The October-December period is the mating season following which the females give birth between April and June, veterinarians said. In July and August, the females remain in post-partum period when the uterus remains dilated and the blood supply is low due to which sterilisation isnt done.

For five months, its not possible to operate upon female monkeys that are pregnant or in post-natal condition. So, thats why sterilisation process is suspended, veterinarian Dr Amit Dhyani told Hindustan Times.

Monsoon has also put a stop to surgeries as rains make it almost impossible to catch monkeys. Professional monkey catchers are deployed to trap the simians in cages. In most cases, an alpha male monkey gets lured by food kept as bait and ends up trapping its troop inside the cage. Mostly males get caught as, in most cases, there are roughly four females for one male in a troop of monkeys.

Another problem is the low wages given to monkey catchers. Himachal Pradesh pays about Rs 500-800 for sterilisation of each monkey compared to Rs 350-500 in Uttarakhand. As only 50% of the caught monkeys are found fit for sterilisation, the monkey catchers earn a pittance despite their tiring work. The rate is lower than Himachal despite the face that well be able to control the simian population faster if we are sympathetic to monkey catchers, a source in the forest department said.

It has boomeranged on the forest departments efforts to curb the simian population. No monkey catcher turned up when an order was placed for catching monkeys earlier this year. A fresh tender order was given and only one company came forward for the tedious task, the source said.

Paucity of fund has no less contributed to the mess. While the project was allotted Rs 5 crore, officials have received only Rs 2 crore so far. Delay in transfers has also hit the process as officers keep waiting for their new posting. Divisional forest officer, Haridwar, HK Singh denies there is shortage of funds. Its true that we dont carry out sterilisation during the monsoon, but we have funds for the project, Singh said.

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The CBI on Friday conducted searches at the official residence of Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain following the registration of an FIR against him on the charges of money laundering.

The CBI had iniated a probe against Jain in April this year by registering a preliminary inquiry in this regard. Now the inquiry has been converted into a formal FIR.

Besides Jain, the CBI has named his wife Poonam, his alleged associates Ajeet Prasad Jain, Vaibhav Jain, Sunil Kumar Jain and Ankush Jain as accused in the case.

Four companies  Prayas Info Solutions, Akinchan Developers, Managalyatan Projects and Indo Metal Impex Pvt Limited  have also been mentioned as accused in the matter.

The agency has alleged that Jain, while functioning as a public servant, has amassed assets disproportionate to his known sources of income to the extent of Rs 1.62 crore(approx) during the period of February 14, 2015, to May 31, 2017.

His wife and associates have allegedly abetted the commission of said offence, a CBI spokesperson said on Friday.

The CBI alleged that during its initial probe it found that Jain and his associates were involved in money laundering to the tune of Rs 4.63 crore during the year 2015-16, through shell companies based in Delhi.

A CBI statement said before becoming a public servant, Jain was allegedly involved in laundering of Rs 11.78 crore during the years 2010-12.

The agency also alleged that Jain had control over these companies either in the form of being one of the directors of the companies and by holding 33 percent of shares in his name or in the names of his family members or others.

Although, he had resigned from directorship of three companies in 2013 before contesting election, his investments in these companies were allegedly continued, added the statement.

The CBI said the companies did not have any business and were shell companies and they were utilised for parking money in the form of investments in equity shares.

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Nearly three months after an e-rickshaw driver was beaten to death after objecting to public urination, the police are set to file four chargesheets against the four accused students nabbed after the murder. However, five other assailants, including one who allegedly dealt the fatal blows, are on the run.

Ravinder Kumar, 32, was thrashed by about a dozen youths at an e-rickshaw stand outside the GTB Nagar Metro station in north Delhi on the evening of May 27. He died of internal injuries minutes later.

Eyewitnesses had recounted that the attackers were led by two young students, including a minor boy, with whom Kumar had an altercation earlier in the day when he urged them to use the public toilet nearby instead of urinating on the wall.

We have already submitted the police investigation report against the minor boy. We will be filing four chargesheets against the arrested accused by early next week, a senior police officer said.

Those nabbed include Shekhar Kapasia and the juvenile boy  the two youths who had allegedly begun the fight and had later led the killers. The other two arrested men are Mehul and Atul, who had allegedly brought the killers on their car and motorcycle.

The police are calling the murder a conspiracy because of the planning that went into the crime. When stopped from urinating, the two accused youths had tried to attack Ravinder. But when other e-rickshaw drivers prevented the assault, one of the suspects invoked his caste and threatened to teach Ravinder a lesson, said Anil Kumar, SHO (Mukherjee Nagar).

The duo had then decided to get done with their semester exam  their last paper was on May 27  before calling their other friends to accompany them to take revenge. Some of those involved in the attack did not even care to ask why Ravinder was to be assaulted, said the officer.

Among the attackers was Ankit, a young college student who rolled a few stones in a towel and rained blows on Ravinders chest. These blows allegedly killed Ravinder. Ankit and four others are absconding and court proceedings to declare them as proclaimed offenders are in process.

I will rest only when a judge convicts at least three of these attackers: Shekhar who led the attack, Ankit who rained the blows and the third man who held Ravinder from behind while he was being thrashed, Ravinders brother, Rajesh, told Hindustan Times on Thursday.

As Rajesh continues to ride his e-rickshaw, from the very same spot where his brother was killed, he and his friends have ensured there is no more public urination in the area.

We have taken it upon ourselves to ensure Ravinders death does not go in vain. He died while trying to maintain cleanliness around the place we have our meals and operate from. We keep an eye out for anyone urinating here, said Rahul, an e-rickshaw driver.

Meanwhile, after Ravinders murder, his wife Rani decided to remarry and has decided to live with her own parents until she finds someone. The couple had been married for less than a year.

She took the right decision. She should not be made to suffer for the rest of her life because of the acts of some people. When she spoke her mind, we encouraged her to go ahead with her decision, said Ravinders father, Surender.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak said at the talks with his U.S. counterpart James Mattis in Kyiv that he is content with efficiency of drills, which American military is holding in Ukraine.

"Preparations are bringing positive results. Our units' capacities during combat actions have tangibly improved. And we would like to expand the geography of such drills, we are preparing the relevant infrastructure for this," the Ukrainian Defense Ministry press service quoted Poltorak as saying.

The two ministers also discussed the broadening of U.S. material-technical assistance to Ukraine.

It is extremely difficult to pursue reforms while carrying out combat actions, Mattis said. But at the same time, this particular reform can be effective, because all decisions are being checked taking into consideration hostilities, in which the military is involved, he said.
The Delhi Transport Corporation has suspended its inter-state, night and the Delhi-Lahore bus services in wake of the violence after self-styled godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim was convicted in a rape case on Friday even as Delhi Police clamped prohibitory orders.

Bus services to towns in the National Capital Region such as Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon, Faridabad and Bahadurgarh were also suspended after several buses were set on fire in several parts of Delhi.

A DTC official said the services have been suspended also because buses were being targeted in arson and violence in Haryana, Punjab and Delhi.

The Delhi-Lahore bus service has been suspended because it passes through violence-hit Haryana and Punjab, he said.

Around 40 of DTCs night service buses, which run from 9pm onwards have been suspended, said DTC spokesperson Sanjay Saxena.

A decision to resume the services will be taken after normalcy is restored, another DTC official said.

The suspension of night services left several people were left stranded at Anand Vihar Inter-state bus terminus (ISBT) who were headed for neighbouring states.

As a preventive measure, we have enforced Section 144 of the CrPC in Delhi in 11 police districts, said SBK Singh, special commissioner of police (Law and Order, North).

A senior police officer told PTI that the prohibitory orders would be in force till September 8.

The national capital has 13 police districts. North and central districts will not fall under the ambit of the orders, since no incidents were reported from there, the officer said.

Delhi Police Public Relations Officer Madhur Verma said five miscreants were arrested for allegedly attempting to set buses ablaze in Badarpur and Khyala areas.

He said cases have been registered and it is suspected that these people are followers of Dera Sacha Sauda Chief. Police have procured CCTV footages for further probe.

Fire department officials said they received calls about fires from Khyala, Badarpur, Manglapuri, near Babu Jagjivan Ram Hospital, Mandoli, Mehrauli, Samaypur Badli, Anand Vihar Railway Stataion and other parts of the city.

Gurmeet Ram Rahims followers allegedly torched a bus in northeast Delhis Loni Chowk on Friday.

A fire also engulfed two coaches of the Rewa Express stationed at the Anand Vihar Railway Station in east Delhi although it was not immediately clear if it was a case of arson.

A special CBI court in Panchkula in Haryana convicted the 50-year-old godman in the 2002 rape case, triggering widespread violence and arson by his supporters in Punjab and Haryana.

At least 30 people were killed and more than 250 injured in the violence.

(with agency inputs)

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New Delhi The National Students Union of India (NSUI) on Thursday called for a 24-hour grievance cell to address issues during polling and more democracy walls on campus for the contestants to put up their campaign posters.

In a memorandum given to the Chief Election Officer (CEO), the students wing of the Congress also asked him to allow students to cast their ballot by showing fee-slips and any identity proof, in case they do not have the college I-card.

We demand a 24-hour grievance cell where one can complain any time during or in the run-up to the elections. Even last time, when a machine malfunctioned in Kirori Mal College, it took two hours for them to replace it, Akshay Lakra, a spokesperson of the party, told IANS.

The party also asked for extension of voting timings to accommodate students who come from far-flung areas.

The morning shift should be from 8 am to 1 pm and the evening shift should be from 2 pm to 7 pm. This will ensure good voter turnout thus lending greater legitimacy to the winners, the NSUI letter said.

As of now, the scheduled timing for casting ballot is 8.30 am to 12.30 pm for morning college students and 3 pm to 7 pm for evening college students.

It also asked for the presence of candidates during the counting of the votes to ensure that no discrepancy occurs in the results.

Democracy wall is the place notified by the University where the parties are allowed to put up their posters.

Bound by Lyngdoh Committee guidelines, the parties are proscribed from pasting printed posters, use of spray or other paints for canvassing, and defacing university walls and other properties.

The election for DUSU will be held on September 12.
New Delhi Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has reinstated whistleblower former IIT Kharagpur professor Rajeev Kumar, whose penalty of compulsory retirement was quashed by Pranab Mukherjee days before he demitted office as president.

In continuation of... HRD Ministrys letter and Delhi High Courts order, Rajeev Kumar is requested to resume his duties in School of Computer and Systems Sciences immediately, an official order issued by JNU has 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 (JEE) which has since been renamed JEE Advanced.

The institute had 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 institutes decision. He had also appealed to the then president requesting that the order be quashed.

Following the high courts stay order, Kumar on lien for two years joined Jawaharlal Nehru University in 2015. However, he was relieved from JNU in June to allow him to re-join IIT Kharagpur.

The IIT had last week accepted his resignation following communication of the presidential order, and the professor had appealed to the JNU vice chancellor to reinstate him.

Kumar will also be entitled to benefits from the date he was relieved from JNU, the official order said.

Days before he demitted office last month, Mukherjee had ordered setting aside of the penalty imposed on Kumar.
Kolkata British High Commissioner to India Dominic Asquith said on Thursday that the number of Indian students in the UK was picking up after going through a decline in the last few years.

He added that there was no attempt by the UK government to hold back foreign students willing to pursue university education in their country.

There was a decline in the number of Indian students in the UK since the last few years but it has picked back up by 10% in the last year. Ninety per cent of those students are coming to pursue university education in the UK, Asquith said at an interaction with the students of the Heritage Institute here.

If anybody has the perception that there is any intention to keep students away, it is not true. Around 90% of the Indians who apply for higher education in the UK get the visa. It was 83% in 2010 and has been going up since then, he said.

Citing the example of Edinburgh University where 99.7% of the total Indian applicants end up getting through, Asquith said some of the UK-based universities have a remarkable record of Indian students applying and studying there.

He said the drop in the number of Indian students in the UK had not come about because of the change in its student immigration policy but because a number of further education colleges were shut down by the government in 2010 as they were not offering any proper courses.

In 2010 we found out a large number of further education colleges were a hoax. They were not educating anybody. They never had a course. So we closed them as they were not colleges at all, Asquith said.

Back in 2010, there were 19,000 Indian students in the UK of whom 50 % went to further education colleges while the rest went to pursue university education. In todays time 90 % of the students go for university education while 10% go to pursue higher education courses, he added.
Consuming one avocado daily may significantly improve the working memory and problem-solving skills in older adults, according to a study.

In the study, 40 healthy adults aged 50 and over, who ate one fresh avocado a day for six months, experienced a 25% increase in lutein levels in their eyes and improved cognitive function. Lutein is a pigment commonly found in fruits and vegetables that accumulates in the blood, eye and brain and may act as an anti-inflammatory agent and an antioxidant.

Researchers from Tufts University in the US monitored gradual growth in the amount of lutein in the eyes and progressive improvement in cognition skills as measured by tests designed to evaluate memory, processing speed and attention levels.

These findings are based on the consumption of one whole avocado each day (369 microgrammes lutein). (Shutterstock)

In contrast, the control group which did not eat avocados experienced fewer improvements in cognitive health during the study period. The study suggests that the monounsaturated fats, fibre, lutein and other bioactives make avocados particularly effective at enriching neural lutein levels, which may provide benefits for not only eye health, but for brain health, said Elizabeth Johnson, from Tufts University.

The results of this new research reveal that lutein levels in the eye more than doubled in subjects that consumed fresh avocados, compared to a supplement, said Johnson, lead investigator of the study published in the journal Nutrients.

These findings are based on the consumption of one whole avocado each day (369 microgrammes lutein).

Additional research is needed to determine whether the results could be replicated with consumption of the recognised serving size of one-third of an avocado per day, researchers said.

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While all hell broke loose on the streets of Panchkula after Dera Sacha Sauda chief Ram Rahim Singh was convicted in a rape case, Gurgaon remained calm through the day with reports of any untoward incident.

Normal life was slightly affected as there was strong police presence in the city, with multiple barricades set up to check the movement of suspicious persons.

Even as scores of followers massed on the streets of Panchkula, a CBI special court on Friday afternoon held the Dera chief guilty of rape. Minutes after the verdict was out, several incidents of mob violence were reported in Panchkula and other cities of Punjab and Haryana.

Though there was heavy police deployment on the streets of Gurgaon in anticipation of mob violence and rioting, the situation largely remained calm across the city.

Normal life was, however, disturbed, as government buses stayed off the roads and commuters were stranded in many places. Government colleges also remained close, while offices and schools saw thin attendance.

To keep the situation under control and allay the fears of industry owners and corporates, Gurgaon police carried out a flag march, covering CP office, Rajiv Chowk, Subash Chowk and South City 2, which is home to an ashram run by the Dera. They also walked the streets of Old Gurgaon and Sector 51 to ensure order. The police team carried anti-riot equipment and included both men and women personnel. They were given clear instructions that anyone indulging in violence should be dealt with.

Gurgaon police kept a strong vigil at the Dera ashram in Gurgaon. A sizeable contingent from Sector 50 police station and intelligence officials were deployed there. Police officials, however, were relieved as unlike Sirsa and Panchkula, there was no build-up of Dera faithfuls at the Gurgaon ashram.

Gurgaon deputy commissioner Vinay Pratap Singh had directed the police to keep a sharp eye on miscreants and anti-social elements and ensure that no violence happened in the city. The police are on alert across the district and administration officials have been asked to keep a tight vigil, he said.

Read I Gurgaon: Amid fear of unrest over Dera chief Ram Rahims conviction, corporates work from home, parents do not send kids to schools

Around 450 men and women police personnel, in full riot gear, were on duty to prevent any untoward incidents. Large number of police personnel were also posted at barricades and strict checking was carried out throughout the day.

Simardeep Singh, DCP, Gurgaon, who led the flag march, said that situation was under control and there was no untoward incidents across the district. The officials deployed for maintaining law and order were told clearly that no violence should be tolerated.The situation has remained peaceful throughout the day, Singh said.

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The Gurgaon administration has decided to compensate the six children who were electrocuted, one of whom had succumbed to burn injuries earlier, after an electric pole came unhinged in Sector 56.

The administration has sanctioned Rs 25,000 each for the injured children and Rs 1 lakh to the family of the deceased girl.

The compensation was announced after the parents of three boys, who were among the six children electrocuted on August 15 near Kendriya Vihar in Sector 56, alleged that the district administration has done nothing to help them.

The parents claimed that the two boys were discharged from the hospital on Monday even though their condition is such that they are prone to infection. They want boys given care in the hospital itself as the two are not keeping well.

The children were electrocuted after the cables attached to an electricity pole snapped and they came in contact with a live wire while playing near the pole.

One of the children, 13-year-old girl Manjoo, succumbed to burn injuries on August 19 at Safdarjung hospital in Delhi.

A tehsildar came to us on Tuesday and gave us Rs 1,000 for medical aid and food. We are poor people and have not been able to go to work since the day of the accident. Forget the medicines for the children, we can hardly afford to get food for ourselves, said Babli, mother of the victims.

Ajay, 13, was admitted to a private hospital by the district administration as he had suffered 40% burn injuries and was later sent to Safdarjung hospital. He was sent back a day later as his condition was stable.

The hospital discharged my three boys but when we insisted that the condition of my son is not stable and complained to the district administration, the hospital readmitted Ajay. He needs care and attention and should be kept under observation until he is fit, Babli said.

Ajay was also given a discharge on Monday, but the family has requested the hospital administration to extend his stay another day while they make arrangements to take him home.

We brought Ajay home on Tuesday but he complained of severe pain and again we had to get him readmitted on Wednesday. The doctors are trying to get rid of my brother as they know we are not capable of paying the treatment cost, said Arjun Kumar, elder brother of the victims.

Rahul and Luv, both were given a discharge and they were brought back home, but family is now finding it difficult to make both ends meet.

The administration refuted the allegations and said they have taken care of all the medical expenses of the children.

Doctors feel that they (the children) should be discharged from the hospital based on their medical condition, not financial. For after-hospital care, we have provided them temporary accommodation. We have given financial aid to the parents as well, said Vinay Pratap Singh, deputy commissioner, Gurgaon.

According to the police further investigation is being carried out and action will be initiated. We will take appropriate action against the officials responsible for the death of the girl and injury to the boys, said inspector Arvind Kumar, SHO, Sector 56.

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Anxious corporates left offices in Gurgaon in the afternoon due to apprehensions of unrest after Dera Sacha Saud chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was convicted in a rape case.

A large number of employees preferred to work from home and opted not to travel, suspecting unrest. Those who came to work remained anxious and were constantly monitoring the situation.

To be on the safer side, several companies released advisories for their employees to take half-day leave while some asked employees to leave before 4pm. The advisories were mainly meant for employees coming from Delhi or other NCR areas to Gurgaon.

Though no untoward incident was reported till Friday evening, companies did not want to take any chance and let employees leave early.

We released an advisory by noon because of the verdict in the case. Safety of employees is important and we did not want any untoward. We asked them to leave early, by 4pm, though several of them had shifts past 7pm, a spokesperson for Airtel, a telecom company, said.

Precautionary measures have been adopted in the Cyber City. Though everything seems under control, it is good to be cautious and mindful. Travelling back home seemed a bit troublesome and we left early, said Abhinandan Sharma, an IT executive working in CyberHub.

Several IT companies have flexible working conditions and allowed employees to work from home in such circumstances, as the safety of employees is paramount, said an official of National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom).

An advisory was sent to employees who wanted to leave early so that they were not stuck in an unwanted situation. The advisory was for the safety of the employees, Megha Jha, spokesperson Nagarro, a software development and business consulting company, said.

I left my office as soon as the verdict was pronounced. I did not want to get stuck in a riot-like situation. Many of my colleagues also left, said Shashank Gupta, a senior manager with an international bank.

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With the Supreme Court on Thursday declaring the Right to Privacy a fundamental right, retired Karnataka HC judge KS Puttaswamy, the original petitioner in the case, feels vindicated.

Puttaswamy, 91, had in 2012 challenged the decision to make Aadhaar enrolment mandatory for all citizens. Speaking to HT, Puttaswamy called it a landmark judgment. I am completely vindicated by the decision, he said. My contention had always been that Aadhaar enrolment can be made voluntary, in which case I would not have petitioned.

Justice (retired) K S Puttaswamy (HT Photo)

Puttaswamy said it was the nature of information sought to be collected that first made him wary. My contention was the collection of biometric data of all citizens by a private agency, without any suitable legislation to protect this data. At the same time, identity could be availed by illegal immigrants, he said.

Puttaswamy was a judge of Karnataka HC from 1977 to 1988.

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A Border Security Force (BSF) jawan was critically injured in sniper firing by Pakistani Rangers along the international border in Arnia area of RS Pura sector of Jammu district on Friday.

92nd Battalions constable KK Apparao, deployed at Budhwar post, was hit on the head by sniper fire around noon, an intelligence official said.

A BSF officer confirmed the incident and said the jawan was hospitalised in Jammu and is stable.

The BSF did not retaliate. It has been learnt that BSF Jammu frontier IG Ram Awtar and DIG Dharmender Pareekh visited forward areas in Arnia and other sectors on the international border to take stock of the situation.

Minister of state for home affairs, Hansraj Gangaram Ahir had visited Chamliyal border outpost in Ramgarh area of Samba sector on Thursday to take stock of the prevailing security scenario on the border.

On July 17, the BSF and the Pakistan Rangers had held a commandant-level flag meeting in Samba sector along the international border and committed themselves to maintaining peace.

In the flag meeting, the two sides had agreed to re-energise instant communication between field commanders, whenever required, to resolve petty matters, a BSF official had said.

They committed to each other to maintain peace and tranquillity at the international border, the official had added.

Two days back, senior Army commanders of India and Pakistan also held a flag meeting on the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch sector in J&K and agreed to institute mechanisms for durable peace and tranquility on the border.

The year 2017 has seen a sharp increase in ceasefire violations by Pakistan.

Till August 1, there were 285 such violations by the Pakistan Army while in 2016, the number was significantly less at 228 for the entire year, according to the Army figures.

Eleven people, including nine soldiers, were killed and 18 injured in ceasefire violations by Pakistani army in July, the Army data says.

There were 83 ceasefire violations, one BAT (border action team) attack and two infiltration bids from the Pakistani side in June in which 4 people, including three jawans, were killed and 12 injured.

In May, there were 79 ceasefire violations, according to officials.
The United States is interested in the strengthening of Ukraine's defense capability, U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis said.

Mattis said he had come to Kyiv to better learn the situation of the Ukrainian military on the frontline. That will enable him to advocate more actively what the Ukrainian president and defense minister have told him of, Mattis told reporters following negotiations with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Thursday.

Mattis said the U.S. is interested in strengthening cooperation with Ukraine.

Mattis said the U.S. had recently approved supplies of equipment worth $175 million, including special equipment, which will strengthen Ukraine's defense capability.
Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim trended on Twitter for the second straight day, as a high court in Panchkula is slated to announce the verdict in the rape case against the Dera chief.

From outrage at the way his supporters have taken parts of Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh hostage to anger at the government for allowing the situation to reach breaking point, disgruntled commentators took to Twitter to air their views.

On Twitter, people blamed the state governments for appeasing Rahims followers and allowing them to converge on the city. The Haryana governments decision to allow a convoy to pass through the state came under fire too, while senior journalists questioned why Section 144 was not imposed.

Why is @mlkhattar gov going all out to appease rape accused #RamRahim state machinery is prostrate before his followers? Shameful  Swati Chaturvedi (@bainjal) August 25, 2017

Why is convoy of 100+ vehicles of Ram Rahim being allowed to drive through Haryana. Why is Sec 144 not being imposed. Shambolic governance.  Rahul Kanwal (@rahulkanwal) August 25, 2017

Rascal politicians suck up to these rogue Babas. They get the vote and the common man has to endure pain. Democracy or a farce?  SUHEL SETH (@suhelseth) August 25, 2017

Absolutely shameful crowd gathering permitted in Haryana for a rape accused. Why has section 144 not been implemented. #RamRahimVerdict  barkha dutt (@BDUTT) August 25, 2017

People seethed with anger at how easy it was for the followers of the controversial self-styled godman to shut down the city.

Trains, buses cancelled, internet down, cops, CRPF, army on standby. An entire state halted for the rape trial of a Baba. India 2017. Proud.  Aisi Taisi Democracy (@AisiTaisiDemo) August 24, 2017

His supporters, of course, took the opportunity to up the ante in his support, tweeting with the hashtag #WeSupportMSG.

.@Gurmeetramrahim Ji has dedicated his whole life for the betterment of the nation. He is the guiding light for 60million ppl.#WeSupportMSG  IT Wing (@ITwingDSS) August 25, 2017

Of course, some people found a little dark humour in the entire saga, some provided directly by the Dera chiefs followers.

Aur kuch crime naa prove ho toh bhi iss dress ke liye 6 saal ki jail toh banti hai iski. #MSGPoppins pic.twitter.com/ajVyblvaHH  Rofl Gandhi (@RoflGandhi_) August 24, 2017

Baba Messi Rahim Gurmeet Ronaldo Singh Pele Maharaj  pic.twitter.com/759VAa50nD  Rofl Gandhi (@RoflGandhi_) September 19, 2016
Police have started investigation after local shopkeepers in Uttarakhands Almora said they had been delivered shoes in boxes bearing the Tricolour, allegedly from China.

The boxes have the Tricolour on top and the base carries some letters in Mandarin, police said, triggering speculation among locals that the move was aimed at humiliating Indians amid a tense standoff between the two countries at Doklam.

Almora Senior Superintendent of Police P Renuka Devi said putting the shoes in boxes with the national flag was an insult to the Tricolour and that they were investigating the matter.

Udham Singh Nagar Senior Superintendent of Police Sadanand Date said the police questioned the owner of Tammana Traders in Rudrapur, who said that he bought the shoes from a distributor in Delhi and did not know their place of origin. We would be questioning the dealer in New Delhi to ascertain the origin of these shoes, said the SSP.

But the discovery of the boxes has sent the local population into a tizzy.

The case has been filed by the shopkeepers Bishan Bora against the shoe supplier of Rudrapur. Bora claimed as soon as he opened the consignment he found only seven seven shoe pair in proper box and rest of the pairs came in the tricolur box.

I received the goods on Thursday and when I opened the bags, I was shocked. I called the police, sensing something wrong, said shopkeeper Bishan Bora, who filed the initial complaint.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) district president of Almora Lalit Latwal asserted the administration swung into action after he intervened. As soon I received information about the consignment I immediately requested administration to forfeit the boxes and act against those who are involved in insulting Indian flag. It looks like a bigger conspiracy. The party workers will keep an eye on the case until those culprits are not arrested Latwal said.

(with inputs from Anupam Trivedi)
Outgoing Chief Justice of India J S Khehar on Friday hoped that his dream of paperless courts soon becomes a reality and hailed the support of the bar in his endeavour to digitise the justice delivery system.

Justice Khehar, who was speaking at his farewell function organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), said that he served the country in the manner of discharging a debt and also expressed gratitude towards his family, colleagues and the motherland.

I would like to thank my country and motherland for giving me the opportunity to serve it. I served my country in the manner of discharging a debt. I feel that it is difficult to discharge a debt to your country just like you cannot discharge the debt of your parents, Justice Khehar said.

Veteran lawyer and Attorney General K K Venugopal was effusive in his praise for the CJI and credited him for taking the pioneering step of working during summer vacation to render justice to Muslim women by deciding pleas on triple talaq which could have remained undecided for years.

An emotional CJI, during his speech, appreciated the support of the SCBA in his endeavour to achieve the goal of paperless courts.

I must place my appreciation for the tremendous work the SCBA has done during last eight months. We have not always been in agreement but they have worked hardest and pushed themselves farthest to get what they could get.

When we ventured to introduce paperless court system, they supported me solid and did not allow anyone to feel that the matter was not going right. I hope paperless courts will not be a dream and will be a reality in the near future, Justice Khehar said.

Justice Dipak Misra, who will succeed Justice Khehar as the 45th CJI, was all praise for the outgoing judge and called him a democratic person with a good heart and a great mind.

Justice J S Khehar is a man with democratic attitude. He has a good heart, a creation of a good mind which is capable of transmitting good thought and energy.

He is affectionately energetic and has the ability to energise others because of his contagious vibrance, Justice Misra said.

Venugopal, who as the governments top law officer opposed the pleas in support of Right to Privacy, however, praised yesterdays unanimous verdict of the nine-judge bench headed by Justice Khehar.

We have a landmark verdict in triple talaq case which otherwise would have taken years and years to be brought up for hearing. It is one of the major judgements delivered by the Supreme Court, perhaps welcomed by practically the entire population of this country where equality has been brought about to the women in this country belonging to a particular country, Venugopal said.

We have now an extraordinary judgement which has propelled the right to privacy to be a major fundamental right which has been welcomed by every single person in this country and that I think is one of the greatest thing done by the Supreme Court of India, he said.

Deprecating recent practices of throwing muck at judges by some bar members, the Attorney General said such people are trying to dismantle the foundation of the justice delivery system.

So far as judiciary is concerned, they do not possess their freedom of speech in the same manner as we possess. They have to remain silent. The result of that is they have to speak through their judgements.

But they cannot respond to whatever is being said about them. Be it good or bad. The result is that the members of Bar can throw bricks at the judges but they cant throw anything back at the lawyers, the AG said.

He said that lawyers cannot use intemperate language and throw stones at judges.

I find it very very reprehensive because what you are doing is you are bringing down the confidence of the litigant public and the general public at justice delivery system, he said.
Haryana, Punjab and Chandigarh are under tight security as Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh heads for a court in Panchkula town to hear verdict in a rape case..

Almost 200,000 supporters of Dera Sacha Sauda chief gathered at Panchkula in a show of support, effectively bringing Chandigarh and parts of Punjab and Haryana to a halt. Schools, colleges and government offices were shut, public transport was halted and in a rare move, mobile internet services were suspended to stop rumour mongering. The army remained on standby while security forces monitored the city. Curfew has been imposed in Sirsa, where the Deras headquarters are situated

A look at the front pages of Punjabs leading newspapers shows they led with Ram Rahims scheduled court appearance and making Supreme Court declaring privacy as fundamental right their second lead.

Ajit

Punjabi daily Ajits front page gave details of the judgment today, along with a photo of security forces on alert. The page one also mentions that the Dera chief will appear in court today and has a news item on the High Court pulling up the Haryana government for allowing this tense situation to arise.

Punjab Kesari

Punjab Kesaris headline compared the situation to a curfew. The rest of the news items on the front page bear out the curfew comparison - the high court asking the government what it was doing for residents of Panchkula who arent able to step out of their homes; Amarinder Singhs comment that the government can impose curfew anywhere if needed; and news that the Punjab-Haryana border has been sealed.

The Tribune

The Ram Rahim verdict was front page news for all English-language dailies in Punjab as well. The Tribune, one of the oldest papers of Punjab, had a front-page headline saying D-DAY, ARMY CALLED OUT, in all-capital letters, signalling the seriousness of the situation.

The story stretched beyond the half page and included infographics on the possible trial rulings plus an explainer of the rape case.

Hindustan Times

Security lockdown in Punjab and Haryana over the verdict on a rape case against Ram Rahim Singh was the focal point of Hindustan Times Chandigarh edition. The headline read: Lockdown in Punjab, Haryana, army called in, curfew in Sirsa

The other coverage included the spiritual gurus controversies, his political following and his devotees. Sample this headline: Baba Bling thrives on claims and controversies

The Times of India

The Times of Indias Fist Page article stuck to the Punjab and Harya na high courts direction to the state government to improve security ahead of the verdict. Wont allow you to burn Haryana again, says HC -- the headline read.
Fifteen minutes into a press conference on the landmark Supreme Court judgment guaranteeing privacy of individuals, Union law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad held up his Aadhaar card.

It does not contain my fathers name, my educational qualifications, a record of my diseases, my income, my religion, my community or any other thing by which I can be identified, Prasad said. It works on a fine principle of minimum information, maximum use.

Yet, a review of government presentations and tender documents suggests that state governments are already using Aadhaar to build citizen databases that can collate all these data in a matter of minutes.

In its judgment, the nine-member bench observed that the government could mine data to ensure resources reached intended beneficiaries, but called for a data protection regime to protect privacy of the individual as well.

The next round of court arguments, lawyers and privacy advocates say, will reveal where this balance lies.

The judgment is a sign of optimism because Aadhaar hearings will now have a more stringent standard of judicial scrutiny, said Apar Gupta, a lawyer involved in the Aadhaar case. By linking privacy to all fundamental rights, this judgment broadens the scope of all these rights.

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) insists the controversial Aadhaar project does not intrude upon the privacy of 1.1 billion Indians whose biometric and demographic information is stored on its servers.

By design, the technology architecture of UIDAI precludes even the possibility of profiling individuals for tracking their activities, the authority stated in an affidavit to the Supreme Court in July. The authority said that government agencies will never have or will not be able to build a 360-degree view of any of its customers or beneficiaries.

Privacy advocates disagree.

If Aadhaar is seeded into every database, it becomes a bridge across discreet data silos, which allows any one with access to this information to re-construct a profile of my life, said Reetika Khera, associate professor of Economics at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. Creation of such databases has already begun, she added.

For instance, in January last year, the Telangana government floated a tender for an Integrated Information Hub (IIH) for achieving the objective of 360-degree profiling of persons of interest.

The IIH, the detailed project tender states, will use advanced data mining algorithms to analyse a list of attributes including Aadhaar numbers to identity and group the records of a citizen or crime history of a citizen as well as identifying the relationships the person shares with others.

According to reports, the first trials of the IIH have begun for Hyderabad city, while the government is considering a state-wide rollout of the project.

Neighbour Andhra Pradesh has also built an Aadhaar-enabled digital Peoples Hub that uses Aadhaar to integrate information from every government department for getting a 360-degree view of citizens. In a presentation at a national workshop on Direct Benefit Transfers on July 22, the IT advisor of AP, J Satyanarayana, described the hub as a single source of truth on people data.

In September, Satyanarayana was appointed the UIDAI chairman, a position he still holds.

In December last year, a new agency said, Haryana signed a memorandum of understanding with the Andhra Pradesh government to replicate the Peoples Hub, suggesting that such databases are only likely to proliferate.

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Assam has seen several floods over the decades but never so bad as to threaten an iconic British-era derby associated with the tea industry.

This years deluge in two waves has killed almost 150 people and more than 330 wild animals in the Kaziranga National Park. But not included in the official list are more than 50 indigenous short-stature horses  ponies, rather  that have perished in the Jhangimukh area, about 35km east of Jorhat town.

Jorhat, often called Assams tea capital, is 300km east of Guwahati.

There is hardly any research on this indigenous breed of semi-wild horses that the Mishing community own. But they have been part of a 140-year-old tea derby organised by the Jorhat Gymkhana Club, one of the oldest watering holes for tea planters in India.

We lost at least 50 horses in fl- oods this time. There will be a sh- ortage of horses for the races fr- om next year, Horen Tai, a jock- ey from Tinighoria village, said.

Tinighoria is one of several hamlets in the Jhangimukh area located at the confluence of the Jhangi and Brahmaputra rivers. Another river, Mori Jhangi, weaves through these hamlets before joining the Jhangi.

Used to a habitat rich in water bodies, it is unusual for these horses to drown. Besides, the Mishings let them fend for themselves on the chapories (sandbars or river islands) and bring them home a month before the races to train.

Gymkhana records show the races  at least 10 a day for 10 ponies at a time for three days  started on January 16, 1877, when CI Showers was the clubs first honorary secretary. The race month was later changed to February. It became an annual event with thoroughbreds until 1940 when the indigenous breed replaced them. The switchover was because British planters at that time began preferring mechanised transport to pedigree horses.

With the indigenous horses came the native jockeys, who introduced another tradition  bareback racing.

The flow of the flooded rivers was stronger this time, which could be why the horses struggled to stay afloat, Naren Tai, a village elder said.

The Brahmaputra, he added, has changed Jhangimukhs geography over the years. The river was 10km from Tinighoria once but erosion forced the hamlet to relocate thrice.

Unlike in the past, one has to cross river Jhangi by boat to reach Tinighoria today.

We searched the chapories after the water subsided but there are no signs of the horses. They never strayed far during floods earlier, Horen said.

Gymkhana Club member Hardeep Singh said the villagers have informed the club about the loss of the horses. We are organising flood relief for the villagers as well as the horses, he said, adding the club would be providing fodder for the surviving horses since there is unlikely to be any grass left on the chapories after the flood.

There have been demands for research on the indigenous horses, whose population is yet to be estimated. The voices grew stronger after local resident Roopa Barua made an award-winning documentary titled Riders of the Mist in 2015.
At least 30 people were killed on Friday after followers of controversial godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh rampaged across Haryana and Punjab, clashing with police and setting fire to vehicles and railway stations to protest against his conviction in the 2002 rape of two women. (Updates)

Police said most of the deaths occurred in Panchkula, where Singh, the head of the Dera Sacha Sauda sect, was convicted in a highly guarded CBI court earlier in the day. Two deaths were reported from Sirsa, the sects headquarters. At least 200 were injured.

Minutes after the verdict, the flashy gurus hysterical followers, who had gathered in the thousands to protest his innocence, began targeting vehicles and offices with sticks and stones, turning the streets of Panchkula into a virtual war zone. They also set fire to a petrol pump, vandalised a five-star hotel and beat up journalists and damaged their vehicles and equipment. Plumes of smoke from burning vehicles and tear gas shells rose high above the towns tree-lined streets.

Police first used batons and water cannons, and finally fired to disperse the followers of Singh, a burly man with black Santa Claus beard who has scripted and starred in his own films.

Vivek Bhadu, the chief medical officer at the civil hospital in Panchkula, said most of the deaths were from bullet wounds.

Violence was also reported from beyond Haryana. The railway stations in Malout and Balluanna in Punjab were partially burned down, police said. A power station near Mansa, also in Punjab, was attacked and two vehicles were torched there. In Rajasthans Ganganagar, a vehicle was burnt.

Arson was also reported from several places in Delhi, where the assembly of more than four people was prohibited.

As the clashes intensified, the Punjab and Haryana high court said the sect will have to compensate for the losses and sought a list of its properties. More than 1,000 Dera followers were arrested.

The CBI court will announce the quantum of punishment for Singh on August 28. Singh faces up to seven years in jail. He was taken into custody by the Haryana police, and was transferred to a jail in Rohtak in a chopper.

Late evening, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted: The instances of violence today are deeply distressing. I strongly condemn the violence (and) urge everyone to maintain peace.

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi also condemned the rampage and lawlessness in Haryana and called for peace.

Fears of mass unrest over Singhs trial grew earlier this week after some 50,000 of his supporters gathered and stockpiled weapons at the cults headquarters in Sirsa, where he repeatedly raped two women followers 15 years ago.

Singh is the latest among several self-styled godmen accused of rape and other crimes. Another guru with millions of followers, Asaram, and his son are also in jail on rape charges.

Singh is also under investigation over allegations that he convinced 400 male followers to undergo castration so they could get closer to god, a charge he denies.

(With inputs from Tanbir Dhaliwal and Gagandeep Singh)

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The Congress in Gujarat has urged the central leadership to snap all ties with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) after its betrayal in the recent Rajya Sabha elections.

The state unit is upset with the NCP after its two legislators did not vote for senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel despite assurances from party chief Sharad Pawar. Eventually, it was Janata Dal (United) legislator Chhotu Vasavas vote that helped Patel to win his fifth term in the Upper House of Parliament.

The Gujarat Congress has also not invited the NCP for the September 1 rally of like-minded opposition parties at Pardi in Valsad district, calling it a B-team of the BJP. But the state leadership still left the door ajar, requesting the Congress high command to take a final call on the invitation to the NCP.

Pawars party had earlier skipped a meeting of opposition parties called by Congress president Sonia Gandhi in Delhi on August 11 to chalk out the future course of action.

Senior NCP leader Praful Patel had later blamed the Congress for his partys no show at the meeting. Patel insisted that the NCP voted for Patel in the Rajya Sabha polls but the Gujarat Congress leaders were spreading lies that it did not.

Read more: Rahul Gandhi to launch Gujarat campaign on Sept 4 with workers meet

However, Vasava later revealed that Praful Patel had called him up on August 7, a day ahead of the Rajya Sabha elections, and suggested that he vote for the BJP.

Gujarat Congress chief Bharatsinh Solanki took to Twitter, saying there will be no tie-up with the NCP for the upcoming assembly elections, scheduled for November-December this year.

.@INCGujarat won't ally with NCP for Upcoming Gujarat Assembly polls, NCP has been operating like B-Team of BJP in Gujarat.  Bharat Solanki (@BharatSolankee) August 23, 2017

The two parties had fought the 2012 assembly elections in alliance with the NCP winning two seats in the 182-member House.

However, the state NCP leadership had later accused the Congress of violating the coalition dharma by fielding proxy candidates on the seats allocated to Pawars party.

The NCP has now threatened to contest 50 seats in the upcoming polls if there is no alliance with any like-minded party, a move central Congress leaders fear could divide the anti-BJP votes.

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The Supreme Court has asked the lower court in Gujarat to decide within four months the trial in a 2002 Gujarat riots case related to the Naroda Gam incident in which 11 persons were killed.

A bench headed by Chief Justice J S Khehar was informed that the trial was in progress in the matter and defence evidence was being recorded by a special court in the state.

The top court asked the lower court to complete recording of evidence of the remaining defence witnesses in two months.

Under all circumstances, we hope and expect that the trial court shall render its judgment in the instant second matter within four months from today, the bench, also comprising Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, said.

The bench was also informed that two out of the nine cases, which were probed by the SIT, were pending before the lower court.

Eleven persons belonging to the minority community were killed at Naroda Gam in 2002 riots during a bandh called to protest the Godhra train burning incident.

The bench was informed that in one pending case, trial with respect to 60 persons had been concluded, of whom 24 were convicted and 36 acquitted. But the proceedings in connection with four delinquent juveniles in the Gulberg Society case were pending before the juvenile justice board (JJB).

Observing that the matter related to an incident which took place 15 years ago, the court asked the JJB to record evidence on a day-to-day basis if possible and expedite its disposal.

It asked A K Malhotra, member of Special Investigation Team (SIT) which was constituted by the apex court to probe nine major post-Godhra riots cases including the Naroda Gam riots case, to place its order before the concerned trial court as well as the juvenile court.

The court posted the matter after four months.

The apex court also listed for hearing after eight weeks a separate petition seeking compensation to family members of the deceased and other victims and departmental action against the policemen who had allegedly not carried out proper probe in nine cases which were later investigated by the CBI.

The apex court had on April 13 allowed former top cop R K Raghavan, heading the SIT, to be relieved as its chief on health grounds.

It had asked Malhotra to oversee the functioning of the probe team and file quarterly reports before it about the progress made in the pending riots cases.

In June last year, a special court had convicted 24 persons in the Gulberg society riots case in which 68 people, including former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, were killed.

The apex court has been monitoring nine sensitive cases after the National Human Rights Commission and various NGOs termed the investigation into these as shoddy and unreliable.

The cases were about the riots in different parts of Gujarat, including the Gulberg Society, Ode, Sardarpura, Naroda Patya, Machipith, Tarsali, Pandarwada and Raghavapura.

An estimated 2,000 people were killed in post-Godhra riots in 2002.
Students of University of Hyderabad, under the banner of Justice-For-Rohith-Vemula, on Thursday evening burnt the copies of the Justice Roopanwal Commission report which attributed the suicide by research scholar Rohith Vemula on January 17, 2016, to personal reasons and exonerated the University authorities.

Scores of students and teachers of the University, who gathered at the shopping complex where a statue of Vemula was installed, declared that they were rejecting the commissions report, which was submitted to the Union ministry of human resources development (HRD) last October but was officially disclosed only recently.

The one-man commission headed by former Allahabad high court judge Justice Ashok Kumar Roopanwal was constituted to investigate into the sequence of events and circumstances that led Vemulas suicide and fix the responsibility.

Rejecting the report as mischievous, Dontha Prashanth, leader of Ambedkar Students Association said the committees report suited the purpose of ABVP and BJP and had gone against material evidences available before the commission. As Rohith wrote in his last letter, we were desperate to start our lives all the while. Fight for self-respect by Dalits itself was a crime, Prashanth said.

Students of Hyderabad university gather to protest the Roopanwal Commission report on Rohith Vemulas suicide. (HT PHOTO)

The speakers pointed out that the report was politically motivated and was mainly aimed at protecting the accused from being charge-sheeted in the case filed under SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act and Section 306. The accused included Vice Chancellor Podile Appa Rao, Union ministers Bandaru Dattatreya and Smriti Irani, BJP MLC N Ramachandra Rao and ABVP leaders N Sushil Kumar and Krishna Chaitanya.

Read more: Oppn, activists slam probe panel report on Dalit scholar Rohith Vemulas death

The students pointed out that the accused were charged with causing humiliation, harassment, discrimination, insult and injustice to Dalit research scholars and for the institutional murder of Vemula.

Expressing solidarity with the students, university professor K Laxminarayana said the committee had exceeded its brief and probed into the caste of Rohith. As per the terms of references, he has to look into the circumstances that led to the suicide of Rohith Vemula. This was not done. I never imagined a judge can be a liar, he said.

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Relatives of sniper who fought in Donbas injured in explosion in central Kyiv

The wife, mother-in-law and a friend of sniper company commander Capt. Valeriy Chibineyev have been injured in an explosion, which was set off on Hrushevskoho Street in central Kyiv on Ukraine Independence Day, 112. Ukraine television reported.

"We have hospitalized two out of three injured people, that is, a man and a woman," a duty doctor said.

Injured people are in stable condition, according to the TV footage.

A criminal inquiry was launched over the explosion on Hrushevskoho Street in Kyiv on the count of attempted murder committed in a way dangerous for the life of many people, the Kyiv police communications department said.

Law enforcers are working at the blast site, are searching at the crime scene, and are establishing witnesses and eyewitnesses, as well as CCTV cameras, which could record the moment of the blast.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko awarded company commander snipers of the 79th separate Airborne Assault Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Highly Mobile Airborne Troops Capt. Valeriy Chibineyev the honorary title of the Hero of Ukraine at a parade on the occasion of the 25th Ukrainian independence anniversary on Khreschatyk on August 24, 2016.

Capt. Chibineyev has fought near Krasny Lyman, Donetsk region, in 2014. In January 2015, he has participated in the hostilities outside Donetsk Airport.

The captain has identified "12 confirmed targets", according to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
A CBI special court in Panchkula held Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh guilty of raping his female followers. Since Wednesday, parts of Haryana, Punjab and Chandigarh have been under a security lockdown as 200,000 supporters of Ram Rahim massed in Panchkula ahead of the verdict. Mobile internet and data services have been suspended in Haryana, Punjab and Chandigarh for 72 hours.

Dera followers set vehicles on fire in Panchkula sector 4 after the Dera chief verdict at CBI court in Panchkula on Friday, (Ravi Kumar/ HT PHOTO)

In the aftermath of the verdict, atleast 13 people have been reported dead with curfew imposed in Punjab in Ferozepur, Mansa,Bathinda, Patiala and Fazilka as well as Panchkula. After the CBIs court order today, which means Ram Rahim could face up to 7 years in prison, violence broke out as his followers pelted stones and set fire to fire engines and OB vans near the site. The court will announce the quantum of the punishment on Monday.

TV images showed chaotic street scenes from across Panchkula town where hundreds of people clashed with police with sticks and stones. Plumes of smoke from tear gas shells were seen rising above its tree-lined streets.Some places in Delhi, including Anand Vihar have also reported violence.

Dera followers set vehicles on fire in Panchkula sector 4 after the Dera chief verdict at CBI court in Panchkula on Friday. ((Photo by Ravi Kumar /Hindustan Times))

Dera followers attacked media vehicles and journalists in Panchkula. At least 15 incidents of violence were reported within 45 minutes in Punjab and Haryana after the court verdict became known.

Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh said curfew has been imposed in Firozpur, Bhatinda, Mansa and Malout. He said nothing untoward has happened and the step was taken as a matter of precaution. Arson has also reported from many parts Delhi.

Dera followers fire up the media vehicles in panchkula sector 4 after the Dera chief verdict at CBI court in panchkula on Friday. (Photo by Ravi Kumar/HT Photo)

Two bogies of a train standing in a yard of Anand Vihar Railway Station in east Delhi caught fire on Friday, but the blaze was soon brought under control. Deputy Commissioner of Police Parwaiz Ahmed said prima facie it did not appear to be related to the verdict in the case against Ram Rahim.

Two Delhi Transport Corporation buses were set on fire in Rohini area of north Delhi. Fire department officials said they received a call at 4.48 p.m. about the buses being burnt, and the fire has been controlled.

Dera followers Damaged the media vehicles in panchkula sector 4 after the Dera chief verdict at CBI court in panchkula on Friday. (Ravi Kumar/HT PHOTO)

The sect said injustice has been done to Ram Rahim Singh and appealed for calm. The statement came as thousands of sect supporters went on the rampage in Haryana and Punjab.Injustice has been meted out to us. We will appeal against this. Whatever has happened to us is what has happened to gurus in history, a statement from sect spokesman Dilawar Insan said.

Dera followers set vehicles on fire in Panchkula sector 4 after the Dera chief verdict at CBI court in Panchkula on Friday. (Ravi Kumar /Hindustan Times))

A men attempts to control fire in his vehicle in panchkula sector 4 after the Dera chief verdict at CBI court in panchkula on Friday, (Ravi Kumar/HT PHOTO)

Alleged followers of Ram Rahim pelt stones at security personnel in in Sirsa. (PTI)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was briefed on Friday about the violence in Haryana and Punjab. Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi and Intelligence Bureau Chief Rajiv Jain met the Prime Minister and briefed them about the prevailing situation in both states, an official told IANS.

Dera Sacha Sauda sect members overturn an OB van on the streets of Panchkula (AP)

Television channels showed motorcycles, cars and buses in flames as hundreds of police personnel in riot gear watched helplessly. The mob also toppled a TV outdoor broadcasting van, while several news channels said their journalists were targeted.

Dera followers damaged the media vehicles in panchkula sector 4 after the dera chief verdict at CBI court in panchkula on Friday. (Ravi Kumar/HT)
Enraged followers of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh attacked media vehicles and journalists on Friday after CBI special court in Panchkula held the self-styled godman guilty of raping and sexually exploiting two female disciples.

Outdoor broadcasting vans of 3-4 television news channels were attacked by the supporters outside the court complex in Panchkula, adjoining Chandigarh. Some OB vans were set on fire.

A total of 15 incidents of violence were reported within 45 minutes in Punjab and Haryana after the court verdict became known.

A few journalists were injured in the attack, witnesses said. Cameras of photojournalists and TV cameramen were damaged by the sect followers.

Most attacks took place in Sectors 3, 4 and 5, which are all close to the court complex.

Police and paramilitary forces could not react adequately as the mobs indulged in violence. But tear gas shells were fired at one place, leading to stone throwing by Ram Rahim Singhs supporters.

Soldiers deployed in Panchkula moved in quickly and took control of the court complex, where the sect chief was taken into custody by security personnel following his conviction.
An elderly couple was on Friday evicted forcibly from their house in Kochi for failing to repay loan to a cooperative society but were brought back within hours after Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayans intervention.

Condemning the eviction, video footage of which was purportedly telecast by TV channels, Vijayan directed the Ernakulam district collector to initiate steps to ensure their stay in the house at Thrippunithura, an official release said.

The couple, said to be Tuberculosis patients, were admitted to a government hospital after being forcibly evicted from their home, which has been auctioned as part of the loan recovery procedure.

After Vijayans intervention, officials brought them back to their home.

The state human rights commission also intervened in the matter.

According to the neighbours of the couple, they had taken a loan of Rs 1.5 lakh from the cooperative society by pledging their property seven years ago.

They, however, could not repay the loan amount due to their illness following which the firm initiated the recovery proceedings.

The chief minister also directed the district collector to take steps to provide them food.

The person who bought the auctioned house has agreed to let them stay in the house for the next three months, officials said.
Tension erupted in Madhya Pradeshs Narsinghpur district on Thursday after a Pakistani flag was found hoisted atop a Hanuman temple, prompting authorities to prohibit gathering of more than four people in the district headquarters.

A case has been registered against unidentified persons for hurting religious sentiments, police said on Friday.

Police also prohibited sharing of communally sensitive contents on social medial platforms.

Locals saw the flag when they went to the Panchmukhi Hanuman temple on the outskirts of Narsinghpur town, some 190kms from the state capital Bhopal, in the morning.

Members of the temple committee immediately removed the flag that has a white star and crescent on a dark green field, with a vertical white stripe at the hoist.

But unlike on the Pakistans national flag, the crescent on the flag atop the temple was facing downward with a star below it.

The miscreants also allegedly scribbled a message on the temple wall threatening to wipe out a particular community.

Several right-wing Hindu organisations took out protest marches in the town to protest the incident and demanded immediate action against the perpetrators.

Akhilesh Dahiya, Narsinghpur Kotwali police station in-charge told HT over phone that several people were questioned over the incident.

We have questioned scores of people and more are being questioned in this case. As the CCTV of the temple was not functioning, we are now trying to get the footages from the nearby CCTVs to get a cue about the identity of the perpetrators, he said.

Dahiya said section 144 of the CrPC had been imposed in the town restricting gathering of more than four people in a particular place to prevent any further flare up.

The case against the unidentified people has been registered under IPC section 295 A (outraging religious feelings ) and 298 (using words that hurt religious feelings ).

(With inputs from Monica Pandey from Jabalpur)

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Families of the some of the people missing from Kerala, who allegedly joined Islamic State in Afghanistan, said on Friday they are yet to get any confirmation 14 recruits were killed in an attack in the war-torn country.

A section of the media in Kerala reported quoting intelligence sources that 14 of the 21 people were killed in Syrian and US forces attack in Afghanistans Nangarhar province. But these sources did not confirm whether the six people killed in a US drone attack earlier also figured in the latest list.

So far, relatives know only about the death of five people from Kasargode district and another from Kozhikkode.

We read about it in the media only. We have no idea about it. Usually, we alert the media whenever relatives get some information but this time it didnt happen. We are totally in the dark, said BC Rehman, a prominent Muslim League leader from Kasargode, who got messages on Telegram app from the missing people.

Read more: Indian IS recruit dies in Afghanistan, unclear if mother of all bombs killed him

Telegram is an internet-based communication app like WhatsApp and is a preferred mode of communication of the Islamic State. Messages sent on Telegram self-destruct after 24 hours.

The media report also claimed 70-odd Indian women and children were trapped in Syria and Afghanistan. At least three of the missing men took their wives and children when they slipped out of the country.

However, sources with the National Investigation Agency said they have not got any information either about the mass deaths or trapped Indians.

Last year, 21 people from the southern state went missing sending shockwaves across the country. Most of them were well-educated and came from respectable upper-middle class families. Among them two men and three women are converts.

Intelligence agencies later traced them to Nanghar province of Afghanistan, and reports suggested that they must have crossed into the war-torn country through Iran.

Kerala police arrested two men from Mumbai, Arshid Qureshi and Rizwan Khan, who allegedly played a key role in recruiting them to the IS and later dispatching them abroad.

Qureshi, an associate of controversial preacher Zakir Naik, was held in connection with the disappearance of Merin alias Mariyam, a resident of Kochi. Merins brother filed a police complaint saying Qureshi tried to convert him also during a meeting in Mumbai last year.

Most of the relatives of the missing people have disowned them for bringing disrepute to the state and community. Initially, some of them sent messages through Telegram asking them to come back but now say they have lost all hopes for their return.
A prominent businessman of Odisha and his two associates were kidnapped in Giridih district of Jharkhand on Wednesday night.

Dr Manas Ranjan Das, a veterinary doctor at Bhubaneswar in Odisha, was abducted along with his aides when he was on way to his hometown from Hajipur in Bihars Vaishali district, where he ran a poultry feed processing unit.

The incident came to light when Giridih police found an abandoned Mercedes car (bearing registration no OR-09P/9999) on GT Road near Kasturba High School, Dumri. The police recovered a TV set, its remote, two LPG cylinders, a stove and a dish TV equipment from the vehicle.

Investigations revealed that the vehicle was owned by Das. When police contacted Dass wife Dolly Dutta, she said her husband ran a processing unit of poultry feed in Industrial police station area at Hajipur and was returning to Bhubaneswar via Dhanbad and Kolkata.

Dutta and some of her family members later reached Giridih and registered a case of abduction against unknown persons under of Indian Penal Code section 364 (kidnapping or abducting in order to murder) at Dumri police station.

Family members also claimed that the abductors had demanded Rs 5 crore as ransom for the safe release of Das and his aides.

Police, who have scanned the CCTV footage at Bagodar and Barhi toll plaza on GT Road, said Das and his aides were taken to an undisclosed location by khaki-clad men in two SUVs with police written on them.

Hazaribagh deputy inspector general Bhim Sen Tuti said a special task force had been formed to crack the case. The area of investigation had been extended to neighboring Bihar and West Bengal as there was a strong possibility that the victim could have been taken to Bihar, he said.

Giridih superintendent of police (SP) Akhilesh B Veriar said separate police teams had been formed to raid the hideouts of criminals in Bihar and Odisha. Veriar said apart from Bihar, Das also had business interests in Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

Bihar additional director general (headquarters) Sanjiv Kumar Singhal said in Patna that a special task force would assist the Giridih police in the investigation. A phot of Das had sent to all SPs in Bihar, he added.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said he strongly condemns the violence that erupted in Haryana and Punjab after a court convicted self-styled godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh of raping two women.

The instances of violence today are deeply distressing. I strongly condemn the violence & urge everyone to maintain peace, said Modi in a tweet.

Modi said he had reviewed the situation with the National Security Advisor and the Home Secretary after Singhs supporters rampaged in response to the court order and attacked railway stations, petrol stations and television vans in towns across Punjab and Haryana.

He asked officials to work round the clock to restore normalcy and provide all possible assistance that is required.

Modis statement came hours after Singh was convicted and criticism that the BJP government in Haryana had failed to prevent violence.

At 29 people died in Pachkula and Sirsa while scores were injured in clashes between Singhs supporters and police forces.
Congress president Sonia Gandhis daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has been diagnosed with dengue and is being treated at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in New Delhi.

Vadra was admitted to the hospital on August 23 and her treatment is being monitored by chest medicine consultant Dr Arup Basu, who is the Congress presidents family physician.

Priyanka Vadra developed fever and then tested positive for dengue. She was brought to the hospital on the evening of August 23, said Dr DS Rana, chairperson of the hospitals board of management.

She is recovering from the infection, he added.

Dengue is a viral infection spread by the bite of the Aedes Aegypti mosquito. The symptoms appear in five to six days after being bitten by the mosquito and include high fever (less than 103 degrees Fahrenheit), severe headache, pain behind the eyes, joint and muscle pain, nausea and vomiting, rashes, abdominal cramps and in some cases, bleeding from the gums, nose or ears.

Patients are prescribed paracetamol for fever and pain and are asked to drink lots of fluids to prevent dehydration. Most recover in a week to 10 days.

Authorities have confirmed 657 cases of dengue, of which 325 patients are from Delhi and 332 from the neighbouring states who are being treated in the national capital.

Neighbourhoods under the South Delhi Municipal Corporation have reported 64 cases, followed by 42 cases under the New Delhi Municipal Council.
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi will be travelling to Oslo on the invitation of the Norwegian foreign ministry, as a result of which he will not be able to attend the two opposition rallies in Bihar and Gujarat.

While Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad is organising a rally of opposition parties -- BJP Bhagao, Desh Bachao -- at Gandhi Maidan in Patna on August 27, the Congress has planned a similar public meeting at Padri in Valsad district of Gujarat on September 1.

However, Rahul will launch his Gujarat election campaign with a workers meet at Ahmedabad on September 4.

On the invitation of the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will be travelling to Oslo for a few days, the Congress V-P wrote on Twitter. Looking forward to meeting and exchanging ideas with political and business leaders and research institutions, he said in another tweet.

The absence of leaders such as Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Rahul apart from Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati has taken the sting out of the oppositions purported show of strength against the BJP.

However, West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee, former chief ministers of Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand Akhilesh Yadav and Hemant Soren apart from rebel Janata Dal (United) leader Sharad Yadav will share the stage with RJD chief Lalu Prasad. Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad will represent the Congress at the rally.

Read more: Rahul Gandhi, Mayawati to skip RJD rally on August 27

The Bihar Congress was vertically divided on the issue of participation of Sonia and Rahul in Prasads rally.

One section wanted the Gandhis to skip the rally and maintain a healthy distance from the RJD, arguing that the change in Bihar politics has given an opportunity to the Congress to reclaim its lost political space in the state where the grand old party was once a dominant force.

Any move to distance the party away from Lalu will go down well with the upper castes, especially Brahmins, said senior leader Kishore Kumar Jha.

However, another group favoured the participation of the Congress leadership in the rally suggesting that skipping the event would be a setback to Prasads efforts to unite all the opposition parties against the BJP ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

This section had also argued that Prasads secular credentials were impeccable and that he had throughout stood firmly behind Sonia and as such no step should be taken to antagonise him.

In another development, the Gujarat Congress has already decided not to invite the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) for the September 1 rally after its two legislators did not vote for senior leader Ahmed Patel in the August 8 Rajya Sabha elections.

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Hundreds of followers of controversial godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh clashed with police, attacked journalists and were involved in arson on Friday after a CBI court convicted the Dera Sacha Sauda chief of raping two women 15 years ago.

At least 29 people were killed and 250 injured in violence, arson and police firing triggered by Singhs conviction.

Seventeen people are dead and at least 200 are injured, PTI quoted Vivek Bhadu, Chief Medical Officer at the civil hospital in Panchkula, as saying. Another seven deaths were recorded at PGIMER hospital in Chandigarh and four at Government Medical College in Chandigarh, officials said. Bhadu said that most of the deaths were due to bullet injuries.

HT journalists saw hundreds of Singhs supporters marching towards the court in sector 3 of Panchkula town after the verdict was announced in a highly guarded courtroom. (LIVE updates)

Police used batons and lobbed tear gas shell to disperse Singhs followers who had gathered in the town for days to protest his innocence. Some of them were seen streaming into Panchkulas residential colonies.

At least one journalist was injured and a photojournalists camera was damaged in Panchkula. Two TV channels said their outdoor broadcasting vans were damaged.

Violence also appeared to spread beyond Panchkula. A railway station in Maloch in Punjab was burned down, police said.

A power station near Mansa, also in Punjab, was attacked and two vehicles were also torched there.

The court will announce the quantum of punishment for Singh on August 28, a CBI counsel told Hindustan Times.

Singh faces up to seven years in jail. He was taken into custody by the Haryana police, and he is expected to be transferred to jail in Rohtak in a chopper.

The verdict came 15 years after the women, his former followers, accused the self-styled spiritual leader of sexually abusing them repeatedly. The court had more than 200 sittings spread over 10 years and numerous stay orders by higher courts.

Earlier on in the day, thousands of hysterical followers lined up the roads from Sirsa to Panchkula, slowing down his convoy on the way to the court. Many were in tears.

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The Moldovan leadership has proposed that the UN General Assembly discuss the withdrawal of Russia's task force from the Moldovan territory, and the proposal does not apply to peacekeepers, the Moldovan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration said in a statement.

"Moldova's initiative of adding an item of the withdrawal of Russian forces from the Moldovan territory to the agenda of the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly does not relate to Russian servicemen participating in the trilateral peacekeeping force stationed in the security zone of the Transdniestrian region," the ministry said.

Media reports claiming that Chisinau has demanded Russian peacekeepers be withdrawn "distort the essence of the Moldovan initiative and texts of the documents submitted to the UN secretary-general," it said.

The Moldovan parliament adopted a declaration on the withdrawal of Russian forces from the Moldovan territory on July 21, 2017, and demanded that the government and the president promote the adoption of a relevant resolution of the UN General Assembly, which is why the appeal to the UN secretary-general had been made, the ministry said.

"The possible addition of the item proposed by Moldova to the agenda of the 72nd session will make possible a constructive discussion by the UN General Assembly of the unlawful deployment of the Russian task force in the country's territory for the past 25 years in violation of the constitution, the permanent neutrality, sovereignty, and eternal principles of the international law," the ministry said.

The task force established in 1995 comprises two separate motorized infantry battalions and a security and support battalion. The total strength of the task force, including peacekeepers, nears 1,700 men.
The United States embassy and consulates in India issued a safety advisory for its citizens ahead of the judgement of a special court in a rape case against Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim.

Parts of Punjab and Haryana as well as Chandigarh were under a security lockdown on Thursday as 200,000 supporters of the controversial guru massed in Panchkula ahead of the court verdict.

The advisory asked US citizens to avoid large gatherings, follow the advice of the local authorities, monitor local media, and keep in touch with their travel company.

The local road and rail travel may be significantly disrupted during this period, it added.

On August 25, 2017, a verdict is due in the court case of the head of the Dera Sacha Sauda spiritual organisation; high alerts and a ban on unauthorised gatherings are in place in Chandigarh until August 25, and in Panchkula, Fatehabad, Sirsa and Hissar (Haryana) and Zirakpur (Punjab) until August 30, due to the possibility of violence in these areas following the verdict, the advisory said.

Around 53 companies of the paramilitary forces and 50,000 personnel of the Haryana Police have been deployed, with the Army on standby.

The administration is also asked to take a stringent action if anyone tries to break the law.

Section 144 has been imposed across Chandigarh as more than 50,000 of Ram Rahims followers congregated at Naam Charcha Ghar in Panchkula area.

Ahead of the judgement, as many as 74 trains were cancelled for today in view of law and order situation in Haryana.

This took the total number of cancelled trains to 201, including 92 Mail/Express and 109 Passenger trains.

However, mobile internet services remained active in Gurugram and Faridabad.

The possibility of an outbreak of violence in Haryana also affected the cost of air travel. Reportedly, the fare from Delhi to Chandigarh has risen up to as much as Rs. 11,000.
Australia on Friday issued a safety advisory for its citizens travelling to India asking them to exercise a high degree of caution following widespread violence after the conviction of self-styled godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a rape case.

Thousands of followers of Ram Rahim, who is the head of Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda, went on the rampage today, setting fire to vehicles, buildings and railway stations soon after a special CBI court convicted him in a 2002 rape case.

The advisory issued by Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) warned the India-bound travellers to avoid large gatherings and follow the advice of local authorities.

Local transport has been significantly disrupted with a number of roads closed and rail services cancelled, the advisory said.

On 25 August 2017, incidents of violence were reported in parts of the states of Haryana (particularly in Sirsa and Panchkula), and Punjab, and the Union Territory of Chandigarh, following the conviction of the leader of the Dera Sancha Sauda spiritual organisation, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, it said.

High alerts and a ban on unauthorised gatherings are in place in these areas until 30 August 2017. Avoid large gatherings as they could become violent. Mobile internet services in Chandigarh have been suspended. Monitor the media for developments that may affect your safety and security, it added.
President Ram Nath Kovind, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah expressed grave concern on Friday over the violence that erupted in Haryana, Punjab and Delhi after Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was convicted in a rape case.

However, BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj came out in support of Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, and said there was only one person against him while crores supported him.

President Kovind condemned the violence and appealed for peace. Violence and damage to public property after court verdict is highly condemnable; appeal to all citizens to maintain peace, he tweeted.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi expressed grave concern, and said several people including children had died in the violence, and there was widespread destruction of public property and senseless attacks on the media.

She appealed to the people to maintain peace, also spoke to Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh and asked the government of Haryana and the Chandigarh administration to ensure the safety of all citizens.

Sakshi Maharaj, the BJP MP from Uttar Pradeshs Unnao district, there was only one person against Ram Rahim Singh.

Crores of people are supporting Ram Rahim, and only one person is complaining against him. Is one person right or are crores of people right?

There is so much of ruckus over it, law and order has been disturbed, people are dying... Shouldnt this be a consideration, he added.

Can the Supreme Court or High Court call the Shahi Imam (head) of Jama Masjid in this manner? He is also wanted in many cases... Is he their relative? Ram Rahim is a simple man so he is being harassed, Maharaj said.

Omar Abdullah said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should sack Haryana chief minister ML Khattar for gross dereliction of duty in the wake of the mounting death toll due to the violence.

The National Conference working president also questioned the response of the security forces in combating violence unleashed by Dera supporters. He said the law enforcing agencies were not equipped with non-lethal crowd control equipment.

In light of the mounting death toll, I again repeat this tweet about the non-lethal crowd control measures used extensively in Kashmir, he said.

Chilli bombs? Pepper grenades? Pellet guns? Do the forces keep those only for protesting Kashmiris? Omar wrote.
Administrative lapses allowed followers of controversial sect leader Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh to rampage through Panchkula on Friday as Haryanas BJP government misread the build-up before a court convicted the man of rape.

Starting with a trickle since a week ago, about 200,000 supporters of the Dera Sacha Sauda chief swamped Chandigarhs satellite township where the CBI special court is located. They ran amok after the verdict, torching vehicles and damaging property.

Chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar admitted there had been lapses and promised to compensate for the losses.

Haryana government made arrangements, but there was a huge mob ... He (Dera chief) has lakhs of followers in the country and in the state. We tried to stop them, he said.

Also, he didnt entirely blame the Dera people for the situation getting out of hand. Some miscreants entered the crowd, he said.

At least 30 people died in police firing to quell the violence, which spread to parts of northern India, including New Delhi.

The opposition demanded Khattars resignation for the deaths and violence. State Congress chief Ashok Tanwar said government failed miserably in handling the sensitive situation.

The chief minister must resign  The situation went out of hands in Panchkula because of the governments failure. The government should have dissuaded the Dera followers from assembling in such large numbers.

Vehicles set alight by Dera Sacha Sauda sect members in Panchkula on Friday. (AP)

Haryanas leader of the opposition, Abhay Chautala, said Fridays violence exposed the BJP governments ineptness in handling law and order.

The BJP government appears to have learnt no lessons from the 2014 Satlok Ashram violence and the Jat stir for reservation in jobs and education in February 2016.

At least 30 people died in clashes during the Jat stir that rocked Rohtak and parts of Haryana.

In 2014, six people were killed as followers of another popular religious leader, guru Rampal, fought pitched battles with police attempting to arrest him over a murder trial.

Congress leader Kiran Choudhry said the BJP government abdicated its responsibility and left law-abiding citizens at the mercy of miscreants.

It is high time the Khattar government takes charge. It is the third occasion when it has badly let down the people. The way things happened point to total failure of the state government, she said.

According to a retired bureaucrat, who didnt wish to be named, no political party wants to antagonize the flamboyant 50-year-old Dera chief because his large support base.

He claims to command a near-devotional following of 50 million people and is sought out during state and parliamentary elections.

The BJP is said to have benefitted from the Deras generosity in the 2014 general elections. And a top leader of the sect announced at its headquarters in Sirsa before this years assembly polls in Punjab that it would support the BJP-Shiromani Akali Dal alliance.

(With agency inputs)
From schools to shampoos and hair-oil to hospitals, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, the self-styled guru convicted of rape by a court on Friday, runs an empire that would be the envy of any business tycoon.

His Dera Sacha Sauda, a quasi-religious cult with hundreds of thousands of followers, offers a wide variety of products and educational and health services, its website states.

Often called the guru of bling - a reference to his fondness for colourful robes and glares that glitter - the Dera chief who studied up to the 10th standard runs 11 schools and two colleges, including a management institute, it says.

Sacha Sauda - described as the place of real truth - also has factories for confectionery products in its sprawling headquarters on the outskirts of Sirsa City in Haryana, Sirsa residents said.

According to the wesbite, the Dera sells hundreds of products, from grocery items and clothes to batteries, mostly under the brand name MSG.

MSG is a possible allusion to his 2014 debut film Messenger of God or MSG, which he co-produced, directed and acted in.

Cinema is another passion. He has directed and appeared as the hero in four films so far. A fifth is slated to be released this year. The Dera claims the films all crossed the Rs 100-crore mark.

Food items such as biscuits, toffees and confectioneries are produced by the Dera itself, while most products are manufactured by other groups under the brand name MSG.

The Dera also sells cosmetics products - including 9-9 hair-oil and 7-7 shampoo - online.

Last year, the MSG All Trading International Pvt Ltd, a Dera Sacha Sauda firm, introduced 151 products including food items, the site says.

The Dera website also states that it runs three hospitals- an ayurvedic centre, a naturopathy institute and a multi- speciality hospital - in Sirsa.

The educational institutes are in Haryana, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, it adds.

Though nominal amounts are charged for the services in hospitals and schools, this is mostly charitable work, a Dera supporter said.

The Deras followers - known as Premis - are believed to be the main consumers of its products. While his products have a ready market, his institutes and hospitals draw others into his fold, a Sirsa resident claims.

The guru was convicted earlier on Friday in a 2002 rape case by a CBI court in Panchkula. The conviction triggered widespread violence as his followers went on a rampage.

At least 30 people were killed and 250 injured in the violence, arson and police firing.
At least 18 long-distance trains were cancelled from Jammu and Katra on Friday as tensions escalated in Punjab and Haryana in the aftermath of the CBI special court verdict on Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.

On Friday, the CBI special court in Panchkula, Haryana, held the Dera chief guilty in a rape case.

Jammu station manager Ashwani Kumar told Hindustan Times over phone that due to the law and order situation in Haryana and Punjab, Northern Railways decided to cancel 18 long-distance trains from Jammu and Katra.

Twelve trains from Jammu and six trains from Katra were cancelled on Friday, he said.

Passengers stranded at the Jammu railway station after many trains were cancelled on Friday. (HT Photo / Nitin Kanotra)

On an average, around 1,500 to 2,000 passengers travel in a passenger train from these two stations daily.

The station manager said the stranded passengers were being accommodated in waiting halls while some of them have checked into hotels and lodges.

Food has been made available at affordable rates at the Jammu railway station. People can buy food items from the Janata Khana, he said.

The suspended trains will resume only when we get instructions from the higher authorities, Kumar said.

Meanwhile, many passengers were seen stranded at the Jammu railway station.

We had come to pay obeisance at the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine and were about to return to Lucknow. However, the trains were cancelled due to the court verdict on the Dera chief. We have to spend another day in Jammu and hope that trains resume on Saturday, said Shailendra Tiwari.

Meanwhile, Kathua deputy commissioner Ramesh Kumar and senior superintendent of police Suleman Choudhary said the administration was keeping an eye on Lakhanpur, the gateway to Jammu and Kashmir.
The Supreme Court on Friday said its verdict declaring right to privacy a fundamental right would have some bearing in matters related to the possession of beef in Maharashtra.

The apex court made the observation while hearing a batch of appeals filed against the Bombay high courts May 6, 2016, verdict decriminalising the possession of beef in case of animals slaughtered outside the state.

A bench comprising justices AK Sikri and Ashok Bhushan was informed by an advocate that Thursdays judgment from a nine-judge Constitution bench, declaring right to privacy a fundamental right, was important for adjudication of the appeal.

Yes, that judgement will have some bearing in these matters, the bench said.

The Supreme Court on Thursday said nobody would like to be told what to eat or how to dress while ruling that these activities come under the realm of the right to privacy.

Senior advocate Indira Jaising, appearing for some of the petitioners, referred to the privacy judgment and said the right to eat food of ones choice is now protected under privacy.

She also told the bench that Maharashtra governments appeal challenging the high court verdict was already pending before another bench of the apex court.

The bench, after hearing the submissions, posted the matter after two weeks.

The Maharashtra government had on August 10 moved the apex court challenging the high courts verdict striking down sections 5(d) and 9(b) of the Maharashtra Animals Preservation (Amendment) Act, 1995, which criminalised and imposed punishment on persons found in possession of beef of animals, slaughtered in or outside the state, on the ground that it infringed upon a persons right to privacy.

The court had issued notice on the appeal and tagged the matter along with several pending pleas related to the issue.

The high court had termed unconstitutional the provisions which held that mere possession of beef was a crime, saying only conscious possession of the meat of animals slaughtered in the state would be an offence.

The plea assailed the judgement, saying the restriction imposed by the 1995 Act on possession of flesh of cow, bull or bullock could not be interpreted and concluded to be an infringement of right to privacy.

The state government had said the high court while coming to the finding that right to privacy forms part of the fundamental right to personal liberty guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution, ought to have appreciated that right to privacy was not yet designated as a fundamental right.

The plea had said that according to the verdict, obligation upon the state to prove conscious possession of beef would constitute an unsurmountable circumstance readily available to the wrongdoer to escape sentence.

In its judgement, the high court had upheld the ban on slaughter of bulls and bullocks imposed by the Maharashtra government, but decriminalised possession of beef in case the animals were slaughtered outside the state.

The judgement had come on a batch of petitions filed in the high court challenging the constitutional validity of the Act and, in particular, the possession and consumption of beef of animals slaughtered outside Maharashtra.
If the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has its way, the hill state of Uttarakhand may soon get a cow pilgrimage centre.

Top RSS functionaries met chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat on Wednesday and suggested that the village of Katarpur in Haridwar district be developed into a cow pilgrimage site since it was where several Hindus laid down their lives in 1918 to stop the killing of a cow.

Many Hindus of this village were killed by Muslims and the British during a protest against the attempt to kill a cow in 1918. Four Hindus were hanged and 135 others jailed during the protest, Dinesh Semwal, the RSS zonal head, said in a statement after the meeting with the chief minister.

RSS general secretaries Dattatreya Hosabale, Gopal Kishan and the national general secretary of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Ram Lal, were present at the meeting that also had Uttarakhand tourism minister minister Satpal Maharaj in attendance.

Katarpur, 70 km from state capital Dehradun, already has a Gau Rakshak memorial where an annual function is organised to pay tributes to those who laid down their lives to protect the cow. The villagers have also been demanding that those who died be declared freedom fighters.

It is a holy site for us. We have been demanding freedom fighter status for the four martyrs for long, said local villager Rajendra Chauhan.

Uttarakhand is famous for the Char Dham Yatra - the four Hindu pilgrimages to Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri.

Local BJP legislator Swami Yatishwaranand told HT that the state government was keen to implement the RSS suggestion and declare Katarpur a cow pilgrimage site. Rekha Arya, the states minister of state for animal husbandary said the government definitely endorsed the idea of having a pilgrim spot focusing on cows.

Considered holy by Hindus, cows have become an emotive issue in particularly BJP-ruled states of the country with vigilantes targeting those engaged in their trade and slaughter. Several states have also brought in new measures to protect cows, including the introduction of cess to develop cow shelters. However, reports of the bovines dying of hunger in cow shelters continue to pour in amid the frenzy.

(With inputs from Anupam Trivedi in Dehradun)

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The views of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) have no bearing on the Narendra Modi governments policy on reservation for the backward castes and classes, Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan said on Thursday.

Despite all the rumours and talk about the RSS, it is unthinkable for the government to move away from reservationthe government is not budging, the food minister and chief of the Lok Janshakti Party told HT in an interview, a day after the union cabinet decided on setting up a commission for sub-categorisation of other backward classes for what it called a more equitable distribution of quota benefits. It also raised the income ceiling from Rs 6 lakh per annum to Rs 8 lakh for the creamy layer to avail reservation benefits.

The RSS is the ideological parent of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and has repeatedly called for ending reservation. In September 2015, a month before the Bihar assembly elections and at a time the Patidars in Gujarat were agitating for reservation, Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat had stirred a controversy by calling for a review of the governments reservation policy.

Asked about the Sanghs influence and Bhagwants views on reservation, Paswan said, The government is not concerned with who says what outside. There will be no rethink. The Prime Minister has repeatedly said that he is committed to continuing reservation, Paswan said.

Read more: Creamy layer income bar for OBCs raised, new panel for sub-categories

If we would have implemented this policy as envisaged by the Constitution makers instead of doing politics over it, then present situation would not have arrived. Since inception it has been politicised, Bhagwat had said in an interview to the RSS mouthpiece Organiser in September 2015.

In January, the RSSs chief spokesperson Manmohan Vaidya quoted BR Ambedkar to underline the need for ending reservation. Dr Ambedkar has said, in any nation, its not good to have reservation forever. The need for it should be done away with as soon as possible and instead a time should come to provide everyone with equal opportunity thats the service of reservation, Vaidya said at a literature festival, as he stirred another controversy.

Paswan said the decisions on Wednesday reaffirmed the governments commitment. The commission will be set up within days from now. It will decide the mechanism, criteria, norms and parameters for creating sub-categories within the OBCs within 12 weeks, the minister said.

The government wants to ensure that the dominant groups within the OBCs do not corner reservation benefits. There are 5000 castes under the OBC umbrella. Not all get benefits, he said.

The now-scrapped national commission for backward classes in 2015 had recommended three categories for OBCs -- extremely backward classes, more backward classes, and backward classes.

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Sexual orientation is an essential attribute of privacy. Discrimination against an individual on the basis of sexual orientation is deeply offensive to the dignity and self-worth of the individual.

These lines from a watershed Supreme Court judgment guaranteeing the right to privacy as a fundamental right on Thursday has buoyed Indias Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community (LGBT), who are criminalised under a colonial-era law and battle everyday violence and bias.

I am over the moon, said Anjali Gopalan, founder of Naz Foundation that petitioned the HC in 2001 against section 377.

Members of the community across cities hailed the verdict and said it would boost their fight against a 2013 top court judgment  popularly known as the Suresh Koushal verdict  that left it to Parliament to scrap section 377 that bans unnatural sex.

I welcome this judgment. It is a relief to hear sexuality spoken of in the language of rights and dignity, said Gautam Bhan, a professor, activist and one of the original petitioners in the petition against section 377.

India is one of a handful of modern democracies that criminalise same-sex relationships and LGBT people often face blackmail, threats and violence as a result. In 2009, the Delhi high court read down section 377 to exclude consenting adults but it was overturned in 2013 by the SC.

Thursdays judgment, however, attacked the reasoning of the 2013 decision, saying the protection of sexual orientation lay athte core of fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution. That a miniscule fraction of the countrys population constitutes lesbians, gays, bisexuals or transgenders (as observed in the judgment of this Court) is not a sustainable basis to deny the right to privacy, the top court observed.

This, lawyers said, would help in the curative petition against the 2013 verdict. The privacy judgment will be very helpful. I dont think Koushal will be able to withstand this challenge in the curative petition, said senior advocate Anand Grover, who is arguing the curative petition that is pending before the top court.

Activists also pointed out that the SC verdict would have a wide-ranging impact protecting the privacy of LGBT individuals. In the case of Dr Siras in Aligarh, media barged into his house and filmed him. This cannot happen now, said Gopalan.

Others pointed out to the governments alleged ineptness at guaranteeing rights to its LGBT citizens and criticised the lack of effort to repeal the colonial law. It is a slap on religious fundamentalists who misinterpret sexuality, said Akkai Padmashali, a petitioner in the 2014 SC verdict that recognized transgender people as a third gender. We hope this makes Parliament open its eyes that you cannot impose majoritarian thinking.

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Over the past day, militants of illegal armed formations shelled the Ukrainian Armed Forces positions 22 times in the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) zone, as a result of which, three Ukrainian servicemen were wounded, the ATO press center headquarters reported.

"Militants did not reduce the number of armed provocations at the end of last day in the ATO area. After 18:00, Russian-occupation groups continued to use weapons, the caliber of which exceeds 100 millimeters and to hold active combat operations near Avdiyivka industrial zone," the press center said in Facebook.

In the Donetsk sector, from evening until midnight militants shelled the Avdiyivka industrial zone from Yasynuvata, Yakovlivka and Spartak from grenade launchers, heavy machine guns and small arms4 Troyitske was shelled from mortars of 82 mm caliber.

In the Luhansk sector, militants fired at the outskirts of Katerynivka from 120 mm mortars, at Novotoshkivske and Novoaleksandrivka using mortars of 82 mm caliber, Stanytsia Luhanska was shelled using large-caliber machine guns.

In the Mariupol sector, around 20.00 the area of Taramchuk was shelled from rocket-propelled grenades launchers and small arms.
Separatist leaders in Kashmir have suspended their five-day protest programme including the August 29 strike call after the Supreme Court accepted Jammu and Kashmir governments plea to defer the hearing of petitions calling for scrapping of Article 35A .

Following a plea by the state government, the Supreme Court will now hear the petitions after Diwali. A three-member bench was earlier scheduled to hear the case on August 29.

Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik, in a joint statement, said they had announced a series of protest programs which will have continued till August 29.

Now, because hearings in the Supreme Court have been postponed, the protest program has been postponed, they said.

Article 35A of the Constitution allows the Jammu and Kashmir legislature to define the list of permanent residents and their special rights and privileges.

Any intended tampering with the state subject law is a ploy to change the demography of Jammu and Kashmir and in this way, it is directly linked to our right of self-determination, the separatists added.

The separatists said if and when need arises, a new protest program will be announced in this regard and nefarious design to change the demography of Jammu Kashmir in the garb of 35 A will be resisted with passion and zeal.
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has told an Agra court that the Taj Mahal-- widely regarded as a masterpiece of Muslim architectureis a tomb and not a temple as claimed by a group of petitioners.

In a written statement filed in the court of civil judge (senior division) on Thursday, the ASI refused to accept the contention that the world heritage site was built on a temple dedicated to Hindu god Shiva.

The court in April 2015 admitted a law suit filed by six lawyers, who had claimed the Taj is a Hindu temple, Tejo Mahalaya and as such followers of the religion should be allowed access inside the premises of the monument to perform darshan and aarti.

They also asked for opening of the locked rooms in the monument.

Currently, only Muslims are allowed to worship at the site, offering Friday prayers at a mosque attached to the monument.

The court has fixed the next hearing on September 11.

The court had earlier issued notices to the central government, Union ministry of culture, home secretary and ASI to file their replies.

The ASI is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of historical monuments in the country.

The counsel for the Union of India and ASI, appearing before the court, stated that the petitioners had no locus standi in the matter and neither did they have the right to worship or perform any religious rituals as the monument is Islamic.

In its reply, the ASI also denied the existence of any temple within the Taj Mahal.

On the basis of available records, the ASI asserted that the is a mausoleum was constructed by seventeenth-century Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in the memory of his queen.

Theories about Taj Mahals supposed Hindu heritage were floated after historian PN Oak in his 1989 book Taj Mahal: The True Story, claimed the monument was built in 1155, decades before the Muslim invasion of India.

He said its name is a corrupt form of the sanskrit term Tejo Mahalay.

The Union culture ministry in November 2015 told Lok Sabha that there was no evidence of any temple at the Taj.
Dont restrict yourself to files but go to the field to understand the true impact of decision making.

This was Prime Minister Narendra Modis advice to a group of senior IAS officers who met him on Thursday, the Prime Ministers Office (PMO) said in a release on Friday.

Modi interacted with over 80 additional secretaries and joint secretaries serving in the government. This was the second of five such interactions.

The prime minister said officers should not look on their work as just a duty, but an opportunity to make a positive transformation for governance in the country, the release said.

Modi urged them to use technology interventions to simplify governance processes.

He asked the officers to focus their attention on 100 most backward districts of India, so that they can be brought up to the national average level on various development parameters the release said.

Responding to observations made by the officers, the prime minister emphasised that officers must not restrict themselves to files, but go to the field, to understand the true impact of decision-making, it said.

In this context, he recalled the experience of officers in the post-earthquake reconstruction in Gujarat in 2001, the release added.

During the interaction, the officers shared their experiences on subjects such as performance based administration, innovation in governance, waste management, river and environment pollution, forestry, sanitation, climate change, value addition in agriculture, education and skill development.
Home minister Rajnath Singh cut short his visit to Kyrgyzstan by three hours to rush back to Delhi to attend to the situation arising out of the conviction of Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singhs conviction on rape

charges.

The home ministers decision to advance his return came after his telephonic conversation with Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh and Haryana chief minister Manoharlal Khattar on Thursday evening.

He spoke to the two CMs again upon his return to New Delhi on Friday. He also spoke to Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje and Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal to take stock of the preparedness by these state governments, given apprehensions that the violence unleashed by Ram Rahims followers could spill over to the neighbouring states.

I spoke to both CMs. They apprised me of the situation. Adequate forces have been deployed and, if needed, more will be sent, Rajnath said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was said to be keeping a close watch on the developing situation.

Rajnath was in the Kyrgyz republic to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation disaster management meet. Upon his return, he held a meeting with home secretary Rajiv Mehrishi and other senior officials to discuss the situation.

Close to 170 companies of paramilitary forces have been deployed across Punjab and Haryana. Officials added that 98 companies were sent to Haryana on Thursday night after apprehensions over violence erupting after the verdict.

There were reports that followers of the sect had accumulated petrol and diesel as well as sharp weapons with an intention to destroy public property in case the verdict went against Ram Rahim. We have been assisting local police in their efforts to maintain peace, but right now the situation is chaotic. We are getting reports of violence across Haryana, said a CRPF official.

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A woman in labour died as she could not be taken to a hospital in absence of a boat in flood-affected north Bihars Muzaffarpur district, 70 kms north of Patna.

Family members said soon after the 30-year-old woman went into labour, they requested government officials to provide a boat to ferry her to the nearest health facility, about 10 km from their home in flooded Madhuban village of Aurai block in the district.

After a long wait, a rickety boat reached the village. Being unsafe to travel in that vessel, we sought a replacement boat, but the pregnant woman died for want of medicare before it could arrive, said family members.

Madhuban village, 39 km north of Muzaffarpur and 109 km north of state capital Patna, has been submerged in floodwaters following breach in the embankment of swollen Bagmati river and boats are the only means of transport to commute from the village.

District magistrate Dharmendra Singh said he was informed about the incident by media persons. I have asked the nodal officer in-charge of flood relief in Aurai block to report within 24 hours under what condition the boat facility was not provided to the pregnant woman. Stern action would be taken against those found guilty, he said.

Civil surgeon Dr Lalita Singh said she had sought information from in-charge of Aurai primary health centre. She said the health department had made every arrangement to help the people in distress.

Meanwhile, as the water was receding at some places in Bihar and many people have returned to their homes, the number of relief camps dropped to 624 in which 1.56 lakh people were staying, a state disaster management department official said.

The toll in Bihar floods, which have affected 1.61 crore people in 19 of the 38 districts of the state, mounted to 379 on Thursday with 12 more deaths.

Araria district accounted for 80 deaths, followed by Sitamarhi (43), West Champaran (36), Katihar (35), Madhubani (25), Kishanganj (24), Darbhanga (22), Madhepura (21), East Champaran and Gopalganj (19 each), Supaul (16), Purnea (9), Khagaria, Saran and Muzaffarpur (7 each), Sheohar and Saharsa (4 each) and Samastipur district (1).

A total of 3.44 lakh people were being served meals in 1,565 community kitchens, which are operational in marooned areas of Bihar, the official said.
Cairn Oil and Gas has removed more than 10 officials for their alleged links with the Barmer crude oil scam.

Investigating agencies  initially the police and then the special operations group (SOG) -- have found involvement of Cairn employees and officials in the oil scam. Police have arrested four company employees who are now in judicial custody.

In July, police unearthed a syndicate smuggling more than 50 million litres of crude oil inside water tankers from Indias largest onshore oilfield in Barmer. The theft at the Cairn India oilfield went undetected for nearly six years until police arrested 31 people for involvement in the smuggling.

Cairn removed Manoj Agarwal as CSR (corporate social responsibility) head at Barmer and suspended Pinaki Dutta as CSR manager. Company officials said others who were suspended included Mandeep Dhahiya (security in-charge), Parag Seth (production in-charge), Lloyed (installation in-charge) and Hemant Sharma (CSR manager).

BJP leaders had alleged involvement of Cairn officials in the scam and demanded action against them. Raising the oil theft in parliament, Barmer MP Col. Sonaram Choudhary had named two company officials -- Manoj Agarwal and Pinaki Dutta  for involvement. Speaker Sumitra Mahajan had stopped Choudhary from naming people in the Lok Sabha.

Cairn had earlier suspended 31 contracts and sub-contracts, leaving hundreds of workers jobless.

According to police, tanker operators were stealing produced crude when it was being transported to the processing terminal through tankers from wells. Two companies -- Narendra Road Lines Ltd (NRL) of Gujarat and local firm Shree Mohangarh Construction Company (SMCC)  were transporting the crude.

Police said 44 tankers were used for crude transportation; 33 tankers -- 11 of NRL and 22 of SMCC  were seized and five kept under vigilance. After the theft was detected, the company removed both the transporters.

More than 75 people, many drivers and contractors working at the oilfield, are still wanted in connection with the theft, police said.
Rajasthan is among the three top states that will get the first Swachh Vidhyalaya Puraskar started by the centre under the Swachh Bharat Mission. Rajasthan stood third, after Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

The Swachh Vidhyalaya Puraskar has been instituted by the Union ministry of human resources development to recognise, inspire and celebrate excellence in sanitation and hygienic practices in schools. The schools are selected for the award on five parameters  drinking water, toilets, handwash station, operation and maintenance and capacity building. On the basis of the parameters, schools were categorises as 90-100% (green), 75-89% (blue) and 51-74% (good).

Commenting over the development, Rajasthan education minister Vasudev Devnani said, We are proud of the achievement and will continue to make efforts. For the award, 643 schools across the country had been nominated, of which 172 were selected. From Rajasthan, 15 schools were selected, which comprised eight elementary and seven secondary schools.

The centre considered 201 schools of Rajasthan under the green and blue categories, which is good, the minister added.

The selected 15 schools will receive Rs 50,000 cash and an appreciation certificate each at a function in Delhi on September 1 next.

Commissioner elementary education Joga Ram said the selected schools stand apart on components related to sanitation of building, campus and personal student hygiene. In addition, the officials took into consideration arrangements such as drinking water, hand wash, functional and clean toilets, general awareness, community participation and other micro indicators.

A senior official of the education department said Rajasthan is the only state in North India where 15 schools have been selected for the award. GoI started the award in 2016, whereas Rajasthan had started such an award in 2015 and awarded 300 schools then, said the official, who did not want to be named. In 2015, Rajasthan had fulfilled the guidelines set by the centre for separate girls and boys toilets at government schools, he added.

He said there are around 67,000 government schools in Rajasthan, of which 97% have drinking water facility; rest 3% have water facility, but there is no permanent source.
Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee is silent on the Supreme Court verdict on triple talaq because she uses Muslims as a vote bank, opposition parties in Bengal have alleged.

On Tuesday, house after the apex court said triple talaq was unconstitutional and not approved by the Quran, Banerjee refused to comment on the verdict that was welcomed virtually by the entire country. I wont say anything, she told reporters at the state secretariat on Tuesday, while the Bengal library services minister Siddiqullah Chowdhury criticised the Supreme Court.

Read: Muslim group says Supreme Court ruling on triple talaq violates Shariah

Even as other ministers in the cabinet maintained a stoic silence, Chowdhury on Wednesday once again described the verdict as unconstitutional.

CPI(M) politburo member and Lok Sabha MP Md Salim alleged Mamata Banerjees silence is proof that she pays only lip service to the development of the community. (HT Photo)

Opposition parties came down heavily on the government. They said Banerjees silence was the perfect example of political opportunism and dichotomy. She was only interested in exploiting the Muslim vote bank rather than ensuring development of the community, they alleged.

CPI(M) politburo member and MP, Mohammad Salim said, Time has come for people to realise that development of Muslims, especially the women, is not the prime agenda of the chief minister and Trinamool Congress, Salim told HT.

I dont want to take names but everyone has seen how she has encouraged religious fanaticism within the Trinamool and how she has patronised fanatics. Now, neither can she oppose the apex court verdict nor welcome it. If she welcomes the verdict she will lose the confidence of the fanatic elements. So, she has gone silent, said Salim.

Read: If triple talaq can be challenged, why cant polygamy?

State Congress president and MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said: People are used to Mamata Banerjees double standards and her silence on this historic verdict is yet another example of the inherent dichotomy in her nature.

BJP state president Dilip Ghosh (left) also termed the silence of the Trinamool Congress chief as unacceptable. (HT Photo)

Every action and statement of the chief minister is defined by low-grade politics. She is unable to come out of her political limitations although the world knows that this verdict will benefit Muslim women across India, Chowdhury said.

Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh said Banerjees silence on an issue like this was unacceptable. Be it the surgical strike on Pakistan or the Supreme Court verdict on triple talaq, whenever India takes a giant step forward Mamata Banerjee keeps mum. The politics she practices does not let her welcome any move or decision that the nation welcomes, Ghosh said.

Speaking to the media at an event organised by Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind in Kolkata on Wednesday, Siddiqullah Chowdhury, who is also the president of the outfit, said, The verdict interfered with the rights Muslims enjoyed in India for 83 years. I admit that this right had often been misused but it does not mean that it can be taken away.

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The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) on Friday failed to decide whether it would attend the all-party meeting convened by chief minister Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata on August 29.

At the end of a crucial meeting held in Darjeeling, GJM leaders heading the two-month-long agitation in support for a separate state appeared confused and divided.

Though Banerjee said on Thursday that GJM national coordinator Benoy Tamang had sent her a letter saying he would attend the meeting, Tamang claimed on Friday he did not write to the chief minister. In the same breath he also claimed that GJM leaders had decided to attend the meeting. Though Tamnag denied it, sources in the party told HT that he had written to the chief minister.

Read: Lets talk only on Gorkhaland: Bimal Gurung; Mamata Banerjee says she didnt get mail

The leadership on Friday also failed to reach a conclusion on the ongoing strike which has crippled life in the Darjeeling hills for more than 70 days. The north Bengal hills are under a record-breaking phase of shutdown that began on June 15 after a police raid on GJM office in Darjeeling. Internet services have been suspended since June 19.

Women have taken part in the ongoing agitation in large numbers, a phenomenon not seen in the 1980s when Gorkha National Liberation Front started the first militant movement in the hills. (HT File Photo)

Incidentally, there have been explosions - mostly caused by improvised devices or IEDs - in Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Sukhiapokhri and Peshak since the intervening midnight of August 18 and 19. The explosion in Kalimpong police station killed a civic police volunteer.

Significantly, the explosions started after hill party leaders met Union home minister Rajnath Singh at his residence in Delhi on August 13. Singh asked the agitators to start a dialogue with the state government. The Centres decision was seen as a betrayal by most of the Gorkha leaders as GJM was an ally of the BJP in two consecutive Lok Sabha elections. It had hoped that the Centre would help Gorkhas realise their dreams of a separate state.

Read:When Indian Idol Prashant Tamang was called a chowkidar & Darjeeling erupted

Though the meeting convened by Mamata Banerjee has been scheduled at 4 pm on August 29, there is utter confusion on which parties from the hills are going to attend.

On Thursday, Communist Party of Revolutionary Marxist held a rally in Darjeeling and said the party would not join the talks to discuss peace and development. The party wants only Gorkhaland.

Read: Mamata toughens stance against Gorkha leaders as strike takes toll on Darjeeling

While GJM president Bimal Gurung has claimed to have written a letter to the chief minister asking that talks on a separate state should begin soon, the chief minister did not admit receiving the letter.

The chief of Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF), the second biggest party in the hills, has written to the chief minister seeking a dialogue, following which the meeting has been scheduled. Significantly, the letter from GNLF did not mention the Gorkhaland issue.

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The tussle between the Mamata Banerjee government and the parties demanding a separate state of Gorkhaland took an interesting turn on August 24 when the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) released a letter its president Bimal Gurung wrote to Banerjee seeking discussion on statehood.

Gurungs letter, sent as an e-mail, was dated August 22, the day Banerjee announced that she would hold a meeting with all hill parties on August 29 in response to an appeal from Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) president Mann Ghising who, she said, wanted restoration of peace.

Read: The GJM leader who took on Mamata Banerjee: Who is Bimal Gurung?

Mann, son of Subash Ghising - the man who started the first and the bloodiest movement in Darjeeling in the 80s - did not mention the statehood issue in his letter.

Banerjee said she did not receive any letter from Gurung and claimed that she received a letter from Binay Tamang, the GJM assistant general secretary which stated that GJM would attend the meeting on August 29. GJM leaders said they did not send any letter saying they would attend the meeting.

Gorkhaland supporters burning mobile phones in protest against suspension of internet services in the Darjeeling hills. (HT File Photo)

Hours after the letters from Gurung and Ghising became public on August 24, it became apparent that GJM, the biggest party in the hills, and GNLF, the second largest party but only a shadow of the force it used to be, were walking different paths.

Narrating the recent history of the hill administration, Gurung wrote in his mail that only Gorkhaland was acceptable to the hill people. Today no other alternative or modified bodies will do justice to our plight and apathy of being lumped with any other arrangement other than creation of a separate state of Gorkhaland. We request your honor to initiate a political dialogue on the long pending demand of the Gorkhas which is Gorkhaland to help resolve the present crisis of Darjeeling, wrote Gurung.

Read: Mamata Banerjee spreading lies on Darjeeling protest: GJM chief Bimal Gurung

He also demanded CBI or judicial inquiry into the deaths caused due to police action and compensation to families of the victims, restoration of supplies of food and essential commodities, withdrawal of all cases filed against agitators and release of those detained during the agitation. Gurung also demanded restoration of internet services, cable TV and local TV channels.

Roshan Giri, GJM general secretary said, The letter was emailed to the chief minister, state chief secretary and home secretary at 7.10 pm on Wednesday, August 23.

Read: Mamata Banerjee threatens GJMs Bimal Gurung with a special audit

I made the mail public. No matter what the state says about Gorkhaland, GJM will hold talks only on Gorkhaland, Giri told HT. He did not say whether his party would attend the meeting called by the chief minister in Kolkata on August 29.

Mahindra Chettri, GNLF general secretary, said, The GNLF is also committed to the cause of Gorkhaland but the languages used in the letters sent by GJM and GNLF could be different. Unlike Gurung, the GNLF president has only requested the chief minster to start dialogues so that normalcy can be restored.

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U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has congratulated Ukraine on behalf of the U.S. government on its Independence and assured of the continuation of the partnership between the two countries.

"On behalf of the Government of the United States of America, best wishes to all Ukrainians on your national day. As I said in Kyiv last month, we deeply value the friendship we have developed over 25 years of diplomatic relations. We commend your persistence in the face of great challenges, including the Russia-led conflict in Donbas and Russia's occupation and attempted annexation of Crime," Tillerson said in his greetings on the Independence Day posted on the website of the U.S. State Department.

He said that despite the hardships, the people of Ukraine have shown a fierce determination to create economic opportunities, fight corruption, and strengthen their democratic institutions.

''The United States is proud to have been a partner in Ukraine's journey and we remain steadfast in our support for your sovereignty, territorial integrity, and democracy. May the coming year bring peace, prosperity, and progress to the people of Ukraine," the U.S. state secretary said.
Ishrat Jahan, Bengals crusader against instant triple talaq, is facing threats from her neighbours in the Pilkhana area of Howrah town ever since the Supreme Court set aside the controversial Islamic practice of instant divorce or, Talaq-e-Biddat, on August 22. Jahan (31) is one of the five women whose petitions were heard by the apex court.

On Friday, she sought security cover from Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee. Incidentally, neither Banerjee nor the ruling Trinamool Congress has so far made any comment on the judgement and opposition parties have reacted strongly to this silence.

Read: Triple talaq verdict: Meet the five women who fought to stop instant divorce

Jahan said her sister-in-law - with whom she lives with her two children - has asked her to leave. A year ago she disconnected the electricity connection to Jahans room. People in the area are planning a social boycott, said Jahan. Though she has been living in the Muslim neighbourhood for years, local people reacted after the media made her famous. Her lawyer Nazia Elahi Khan said she too was being trolled on Facebook since Tuesday.

Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolans co-founder Zakia Soman outside Supreme Court on August 22. (PTI)

With no job and nowhere to go, Jahan wrote a letter to Banerjee seeking security for herself and her children. My daughter and son are scared. They never faced a situation like this. People pass nasty comments and threaten me whenever I step out. I am not asking for financial support. The state government can at least provide us with security, Jahan told HT.

Read: Howrah: SC verdict against triple-talaq gives abandoned wife a reason to cheer

I have talked to my seniors. If the Bengal government doesnt protect Ishrat Jahan we will move the Supreme Court. I never thought this would happen in a state like West Bengal. The other women whose petitions were heard by the Supreme Court are not facing anything of this kind, said Nazia Elahi Khan. I am receiving all kinds of messages on social media. Some people say I work for the RSS. Some say no Muslim man will ever marry me. This is so ridiculous, said the Calcutta high court lawyer.

Read: Five Supreme Court judges who passed the verdict on triple talaq

The judgement, which is being hailed as historic, came two years after Shayara Bano, a Muslim woman from Uttarakhand, approached the apex court after her husband of 15 years sent her a letter with the word talaq written thrice before leaving her. The court later tagged the petitions of four other women, with similar cases, with Banos petition.

One of these four women is Ishrat Jahan. Murtaza, her husband pronounced a telephonic triple-talaq from Dubai in April 2014. I am very happy with the judgment. The apex court has issued the right directive. Now I can hope to get justice in a legal battle I have been fighting for the last two years, Jahan had told HT on August 22. She is fighting for custody of her two daughters who stay with her husband.

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Dreaded dacoit Babuli Kol, who has unleashed a reign of terror in Bundelkhan region, is wanted in 47 cases of loot, murder and kidnapping.

In October last year, the state government announced Rs 5 lakh reward on Kol who was a member of the gang of notorious dacoit Shiv Kumar Patel alias Dadua.

After Dadua was gunned down in July 2007, he joined the gang of Swadesh Patel alias Balkhadia.

A native of Society Kolan village under Markundi police station in Chitrakoot, Kol took the command of the gang after the killing of Balkhadia in police encounter in July 2015.

Within a year, he spread his network in the districts of Bundelkhand covering Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

After the killing of notorious dacoit Lalit Patel and the arrest of Gopa Yadav in July, his influence increased in the area. The members of both the gangs accepted Kols supremacy.

The strength of his gang could be gauged from the fact that police force was mobilised from neighbouring Banda, Mahoba and Hamirpur districts to assist Chitrakoot police in the encounter.

The state police have also sought the assistance of Madhya Pradesh police to nab Kol.

On May 16, he attacked a marriage procession in Manikpur area of Chitrakoot after the villagers refused to pay rangdari (extortion).

On July 30, he kidnapped the son of a Samajwadi Party leader and railway gateman and demanded ransom. He also killed a farmer Ramkaran Yadav in Dodamafi village, 60 km south of district headquarters Karbi, on September 28 last year.

Due to the terror of Kol gang, residents of half a dozen villages near Ranipur wildlife sanctuary migrated to nearby town Manikpur and Karbi.

Dacoits have converted the villages located near the forest area as their safe hideout. They force the villagers to arrange food and shelter for them, a villager Santosh Patel said.

The dacoits often put pressure on villagers to keep a watch on the movement of the police force. They kill the villagers suspected to be police informers or who oppose their activities.

Kol has killed nine people, including five members of the family of former gram pradhan Saroj Srivas. In 2008, he killed Ramkaran Yadav, the elder brother of Ramkaran, who was shot dead in September last year.

Earlier, dacoits from dominant Kurmi community used to head the gang in Bundelkhand but Babuli comes from Kol community. Majority of the members of his gang are from Kurmi or Kol community. The fact that Kol gets support from all the communities has made the task difficult for the police.

A police officer said Kol holds sway over multi-crore tendu leaf trade in Chitrakoot, parts of Banda district and parts of Madhya Pradesh.

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Dr Brijesh Mishra of the plastic surgery department of King Georges Medical University (KGMU) on Thursday conducted an 11-hour long operation on the teenage girl from Lakhimpur Kheri whose hand was chopped off from wrist with a sword by a youth on Wednesday.

We will keep a watch for one week on her hands and only then we can say something on the reunion. For now, we have to wait, said head of the department Prof AK Singh. A micro-vascular surgery is performed to reunite such body parts but the more delay is caused to reach doctor the less are the chances of reunion.

The family is worried for the girl and also about their future. The family is poor and the offenders are threatening the family, alleged Nahid Lari Khan, member Uttar Pradesh State Commission for Child Rights (UPSCPCR), who went to meet the girls family.

Nahid has written to chief minister Yogi Adityanath urging him to provide security and financial assistance to the family of the girl. Nahid said since the girls mother and the sister of the victim were visually challenged, the victim girl used to look after her family.

Read more: Man chops off hand of 15-yr-old with sword in Uttar Pradesh, arrested

The girl was attacked by Rohit, 26, allegedly after a dispute over a missing mobile charger in a crowded market place. Though Rohit (the attacker) is arrested, the family fears that other members of his family may attack them when they go back to Kheri, said Nahid. Later in the night, minister for women and child welfare Rita Bahuguna Joshi also visited the family at the KGMU.
Four-member probe committee led by chief secretary Rajive Kumar has observed that children had died for causes other than lack of oxygen at Gorakhpurs BRD medical college on August 10 and 11.

On the basis of recommendations this committee, an FIR was lodged on Wednesday against six officials of BRD medical college, including ex-principal Rajiv Mishra and Pushpa Sales, the company that stopped supply of oxygen to the medical college for non-payment of dues.

As three teams of doctors had made nearly similar observations about the cause of deaths, the committees findings have not come as a surprise. The chief secretary led committee, comprising secretary medical and health Alok Kumar, secretary finance Mukesh Mittal and medical superintendent Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGI) Dr Hem Chandra, had submitted its report to chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday evening.

According to sources, the committee based its observations on facts available on record and the reports of teams of doctors that visited the BRD medical college. Besides, inquiry committee member Dr Hem Chandra, who had taken two doctors to assist him, a central team of three doctors too visited the BRD medical college made same observations about the cause of death. Another team of doctors had assisted the two ministers Siddharth Nath Singh and Ashutosh Tandon, who too had made similar observations about cause of deaths after visiting the medical college on August 12. Opposition parties had contested the findings of these teams as no autopsy of those who died was conducted.

Sources said the committee has quoted cases of 23 children who died in 24 hours (August 10 to August 11) and said these included 14 new born. It noted the new born could not have suffered from Japanese encephalitis or from Acute Encephalitis Syndrome and had been admitted for other reasons.

The committee took into account observations of doctors that the children admitted much before the incident of oxygen short supply and put on ventilators had survived. It has noted that there were no deaths during the hours of disruption in supply of oxygen and quoted deaths of new born on other days, including death of 15 children on August 14, (where there was no disruption in oxygen supply) to make its point that number of deaths was not high on August 10 and 11.

The committee has suggested short term and long term measures to bring about qualitative improvement in the conditions at the government hospitals. The committee has suggested that three months stock of all the medicines be maintained at all the government medical colleges and hospitals.

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Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Thursday ruled out participation of her party in the BJP Bhagao, Desh Bachao rally organised by Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav in Patna on August 27.

Raising question over the effort of the opposition parties to form a secular alliance to challenge the might of the BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, Mayawati said, Before forging the pre-poll alliance, the opposition parties should finalize the seat sharing formula. The durability of an alliance is dependent on the distribution of seats among alliance partners.

The tussle for seats among alliance partners will send wrong signal among the people and could ultimately benefit the BJP, she said while insisting that the BSP was cautious and would take a decision over sharing dais with another party only after deliberating over the outcome of the alliance.

All the alliance partners should get respectable seats. The BSP will never compromise on it, she said while addressing a press conference at her official residence in Lucknow.

There is a lot of mis-perception over the participation of BSP in the secular parties rally at Patna. The BSP will not share dais with national and regional parties till the formula of seat sharing is finalised, she said.

The BSP is committed to the unity of secular parties and on various occasions we have played pivotal role in the formation of alliance with like-minded political parties, she said while reminding how before 2015 legislative assembly election a few parties did not join the alliance as they were not offered respectable seats.

Within two years the grand alliance government collapsed. There is a need to learn lessons from the past experiences and prepare a solid strategy. We will be able to win the confidence of the common people as well, she said.

Mayawati welcomed the Supreme Court judgment that unanimously held that right to privacy is a fundamental right.

The judgment will go in long way protecting the rights of the people. It is also a warning to the NDA government not to impose rules arbitrarily. I hope the central government will stop following anti-people policies now, she said.

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MCI Guidelines

Obtaining eligibility certificate to pursue primary medical qualification (MBBS or its equivalent) by an Indian citizen/oversees citizen of India is mandatory under Section 13(4B) of the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956.

As per the eligibility criteria laid down in the prevailing MCI regulations, no candidate shall be allowed to be admitted to the MBBS or equivalent medical course unless:

He/she completes 17 years on or before December 31 of the year of admission to such course.

He/she passes the qualifying exam as under:

(a) The higher secondary examination or the Indian School Certificate Examination. Last two years of study comprising physics, chemistry, biology/ biotechnology and mathematics or any other elective subjects with English at a level not less than core course of English as prescribed by the National Council of Educational Research and Training after the introduction of the 10+2+3 years educational structure as recommended by the National Committee on Education.

OR

(b) The intermediate examination in science of an Indian university/board or other recognised examining body with physics, chemistry and biology/bio-technology which shall include a practical test in these subjects and also English as a compulsory subject.
The FIR on the BRD hospital tragedy, lodged by director general, medical education, Dr KK Gupta on Tuesday holds nine persons responsible for the death of over 30 children.

It also blames rampant corruption in the medical college for the tragic incident that took place between August 9 and 11.

The FIR, lodged at Lucknows Hazratganj police station, points out that the hospital administration did not clear pending dues of Rs 63.65 lakh of Pushpa Sales Limited, a Lucknow based company that supplied oxygen to the medical college, despite the fact that it had around Rs 4.5 crore with it.

The FIR also states that in the financial year 2017-18, the hospital administration was not able to spend Rs 2.5 crore and the fund was returned to the state government.

The FIR also points out that a nexus of four doctors in the hospital, including former principal of the medical college Dr Rajeev Mishra, who has been suspended, Dr Kafeel Khan, who was nodal officer of the Encephalitis ward, and two other doctors was active. This group worked in close coordination and had control over everything, including financial matters.

It was this caucus that prevented the payment of pending dues to Pushpa Sales Limited despite the fact that the hospital had enough funds.

Read more| Gorakhpurs BRD medical college: Probe teams findings come as no surprise

This shows deep rooted corruption prevalent in the medical college that led to deaths of children, says the FIR.

The FIR also clearly points out that Pushpa Sales had sent a reminder notice to the hospital administration on August 10 seeking payment of its pending dues. But the notice was ignored. The FIR indicts Dr Kafeel and Dr Satish for this act.

THOSE BOOKED

Former principal Dr Rajeev Mishra, his wife Dr Purnima Shukla, Dr Kafeel Khan, Dr Satish, Manish Bhandari of Pushpa Sales Limited, staff member of the medical college Uday Pratap Sharma, assistant clerk Sanjay Tripathi, junior assistant, accounts department, Sudhir Pandey and chief pharmacist Gajanan Jaiswal

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Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday announced financial assistance of Rs 50 lakh for the family of a police sub-inspector, who was killed in an encounter with dacoits in Chitrakoot district.

The chief minister has sanctioned Rs 50 lakh financial assistance for the martyr, SI Jai Prakash Singhs family and announced bravery medal for him, an official spokesperson said here.

Adityanath also announced construction of a gate and rechristening of a road in Singhs home district Jaunpur in his name, the official said.

The chief minister talked to the victims family and assured them all possible help from the government, the spokesperson added.

Singh was killed in exchange of fire during an encounter with dacoit Babli Kol gang in Manikpur area of Chitrakoot yesterday.
The rapturing of two dams in Gorakhpur unleashed chaos in the region.

On Wednesday around 9 pm, around 10 metre stretch of Malauni dam, which protects Gorakhpur city from Rapti from south direction, caved in near Lahsadi village triggering panic among locals in the 52 villages within its vicinity. These villages got submerged while locals resorted to repair the breach with sacks filled with sand and stones.

However, within 24 hours several metres of Maniram-Kudarhia and Algatpur dams were also got damaged that worsened the scenario. Over 1000 villages were marooned.

So far 18 dams have been damaged since floods hit Gorakhpur earlier this month. Taking note of the situation, senior officials including SP North Ganesh Saha, DM Rajeev Rautela reached the site to oversee rescue operations undertaken jointly by the NDRF and Army jawans.

The operation launched here late Wednesday night continued till Thursday and NDRF teams rescued stranded people including elderly, pregnant woman and children. Those who were stranded either climbed on roof tops or scaled trees to save their lives. The survivors are being giving first aid at army camps while those in serious condition were taken to hospitals.

Vehicle movement, which was halted a week ago on Gorakhpur-Lucknow national highway, resumed on Wednesday. However, Gorakhpur-Sonauli national highway remained closed.

People in the region recalled the districts worst flood situation in 1998 when overflowing rivers damaged 13 dams within 24 hours marooning Gorakhpur. About 125 people lost their lives at the time. The tragedy is one of the worst in Gorakhpurs history.

Like 1998 flood, this year also the water discharge by neighbouring country Nepal has led to alarming increase in rise of water levels of rivers Rapti and Rohini.

Read more: Two more dams damaged in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh CM surveys flood-affected areas

Meanwhile on Wednesday, the water level receded marginally. The level of Rapti was recorded at 77.050 metres (2.070 m above danger mark of 74.980m). Similarly, Rohinis water level was recorded at 83.240m (0.80 m above danger mark of 82.40m).
Uttar Pradeshs deputy chief minister Dr Dinesh Sharma is also the states education minister. Tasked with restoring the credibility of the state board examination by curbing the copying mafia, he spoke to Manish Chandra Pandey about education sector reforms and the first ever online teacher transfer policy, besides answering questions on madarsas, Muslims and coordination issues between the party and the government.

Excerpts:

Q: As the states education minister a lot is expected from you. How do you think you will be able to meet the challenge?

A: As the education minister, I am busy preparing the states education policy. We have come out with a new industrial policy, one that seeks to provide jobs, an all new mining policy and we are working towards checking migration of youth and brain drain.

Q: You spoke of a new industrial policy but Lucknow-based software major TCS, a prominent industry body, is shifting out of the state capital. What is your government doing to check this because its a worrying development?

A: Let me tell you that east UP and Bundelkhand will be our priority for our employment generation tagged industrial development and investment drive. As far as TCS Lucknow centre issue is concerned, it could be due to some internal issue but they too have assured us of increased investment in UP. Samsung has assured major investment and promises are flowing in. Very soon we are going to showcase a mega campaign aimed at generating investment. We will provide infrastructure, security and major facilities to investors. We will check migration from UP to other states. We are moving towards Make in UP.

Q: Modi government is making a major push for skill development. What is Yogi government doing about it?

A: We have asked for skill development courses on six months module to be incorporated at graduation and post-graduation level. We want youths to be armed with some skills even as they study. Thats a major focus area.

Q: Various governments promised check on arbitrary fee structures of private schools. Nothing happened. What are you doing about it?

A: I have held meetings with all stake holders. We are serious about checking fleecing. Also, we want teachers to teach. Over the years, teachers have been pressed into so many things that their teaching suffered. We want to change that. In many cases, teachers were made to work at the houses of officers to get desired transfers. We are changing that.

Q: How?

A: You have to see our new online transfer policy for that. Its a completely transparent transfer policy. We will announce the transfer list in a couple of days and you will see that for the first time, teachers are not required to get endorsements from ministers and officers. At the same time, I am also working towards raising the standard of government colleges. In the past, there were schools with about 30 teachers but just 75 students. Nobody wants to go to villages. This has to change.

Q: But that will require some tough decisions. Isnt it?

A: I know I might come in for a lot of criticism but we are going to act.

Q: Your party and government played a proactive role in raising the issue of triple talaq. Now, after SC order, do you believe the decision would help the BJP edge closer to Muslim women, many of whom have hailed the SC order and your partys stand against the instant divorce practice?

A: We are inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is working for 125 crore Indians. He hasnt said he will work for Hindus alone, not for Muslims. Now, any attempt at instant talaq, talaq, talaq will be met with societys tadak, tadak, tadak (slap).

Q: Yes, but will this help the BJP connect with Muslim women?

A: Its sad that the BJP has been branded communal as part of a deliberate misinformation campaign. We have made it clear that we will work for all, appeasement of none. We salute Abdul Hameed and Abdul Kalam but we will strongly act against those who seek to glorify Afzal Guru, Burhan Wani and the rest.

Q: Fine. But, how do you explain your governments order directing madarsas to videograph the Independence Day event? Are you doubting their patriotism?

A: The government had nothing to do with the order. It was taken by the Madarsa Parishad, a body set up by the previous government. I fail to understand why such brouhahaha over video recording in madarsas? Similar videography was done in Sanskrit schools and RSS-run Saraswati Shishu Mandirs. In any case, if Hindus and Muslims dont celebrate Independence Day, who will? I am proud that various madarsas were decked up on Independence Day.

Q: You have a strong RSS background. Whats the temple plan?

A: Its very clear. We want to evolve a consensus on the issue. We are working towards it. The court too has initiated daily hearing.

Q: You had been Gujarat in charge of the party. What has been the experience like because both PM Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah come from there?

A: You can say I feel I received my training in Gujarat. It was a pleasurable, learning experience. We have adopted so many practices from Gujarat in UP and now, you will be happy to know that even Gujarat is picking up some of the models, like the new industrial policy we have introduced.

Q: You talked of checking migration of youth from state. How?

A: Previously, youth migrated to Gujarat, Maharashtra and other places for better jobs. The poor law and order and lack of infrastructure scared them away. This will change now.

Q: Your governments handling of the Gorakhpur tragedy was criticised.

A: It was a misinformation campaign. CM Yogi ji has cleared the governments stand. An inquiry is underway to fix accountability and our government has taken quick steps to improve the situation there.

Q: There are coordination issues between party and government in UP. Is that the reason why 23 working groups to iron out differences between the party and government have been formed?

A: Its a usual practice in most BJP governments.

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Moldova welcomes the appointment of Viktor Kryzhanovsky as the special representative of Ukraine for Transdniestrian conflict settlement, as well as expects a new round of negotiations on the settlement as soon as possible, Moldovan Deputy Foreign Minister Daniela Morari has said.

"We very much appreciate and count on the support of Ukraine in the "5+2" settlement format and very much welcome the new appointment and are very committed to working with the person appointed," Morari said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine, when asked to comment on Kryzhanovsky's appointment as Ukraine's special envoy for the Transdniestrian settlement.

"He is not a new person, he already worked in this field. We are looking forward to see how we can progress on the settlement. We are looking forward to have new round of negotiations in the format of "5+2" as soon as possible," the deputy minister said.

She also stressed the importance of Ukraine for this process.

"The position of Ukraine, the support of Ukraine, the voice of Ukraine in this format is very important. We have a lot of understanding of Ukraine in this process. It is very important to commit from the highest political level and for the teams to work together on all this," Morari said.

As reported, on August 21, Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko appointed Viktor Kryzhanovsky as Ukraine's special representative for the Transdniestrian settlement.

The "5+2" format of Transdniestrian settlement involves Russia, Ukraine and the OSCE as mediators, as well as the EU and the U.S. as observers.
Death Note

Director - Adam Wingard

Cast - Natt Wolff, Margaret Qualley, Willem Dafoe, Lakeith Stanfield

Rating - 3.5

A Seattle high schooler, Light Turner, still in mourning after his mothers death at the hands of a rich maniac who went scot free, comes across a tatty notebook with the words Death Note scratched onto its moth-eaten cover. When he cracks it open, a spikey demon with glowing eyes appears out of the shadows. The demon, who calls himself Ryuk, looks a ghastly cross between the creatures from M Night Shyamalans The Village and Pennywise the clown.

Ryuk, who seems to be particularly fond of apples (this detail is in no way important to the plot, but oh well), tells Light, in the rusty voice of Willem Dafoe, that the notebook before him has special powers. If the books keeper  there can be just one at a time  writes down a persons name on one of its cracked, yellow pages, picturing that persons face in their mind as they do it, that person would die. If this power becomes too big a burden to handle, the keeper could pass the book onto someone else.

Light, the demon says, is the books new keeper. And to demonstrate its powers, the demon persuades him to write down the school bullys name in it. Light scrawls a name on a page, pictures the face imprinted in his mind from all the beatings, and adds the word decapitation for good measure. Outside, he watches as a chain of events unfurls, and in what appears to be a freak accident, the school bullys head gets knocked clean off his body in the most grisly manner.

Light freaks out, brought to his knees by what he has just seen, the Ryuks cackling growing louder and louder behind him.

Light vows to use his new powers to bring justice to the world. Because based on everything weve seen so far, he is, inherently, a good person. The first name on his list: The rich maniac who killed his mom.

As Light racks up the kills  very soon, with the help of his new girlfriend, 400 criminals are dead  the world starts worshipping this new vigilante.

You must forgive the unusually long plot description, but Im afraid before we discuss the film, you need to be absolutely clear about its set-up, which on paper sounds like something Richard Matheson or Charlie Brooker might cook up on a particularly grim evening. But its more or less the same as that of its source material  the Japanese manga series which spawned several films, anime series, and a bunch of merch. Thats just how the Japanese roll.

The American, Netflix-produced Death Note could be about many things, though. Most obviously, it could be a film about karma, about how every act has consequences, and how, in the wise words of Justin Timberlake, what goes around has the tendency to come around. It could be a Greek tragedy about a boy who defies God  certainly, Light seems to revel in his newfound power  and is struck down for challenging the order of things. It could even be a film about first love, and how you never, ever forget it. Who knows?

Or, it could be the story of how the worlds most successful serial killer was born, and how the strange voices in his head compelled him to commit murder.

It could also be a superhero origin story, in the same way that Chronicle was superhero origin story (it wasnt, it was more like a supervillain origin story). Adam Wingard has certainly borrowed that films breakneck pacing. If anything, it moves too quickly. When it was over, I thought for a moment about everything that had happened, and decided that had it been any other movie, it couldve easily lasted 30 minutes longer. At an hour-and-a-half, Death Note moves with the efficient pace of a kid late for his final exam.

And as with his previous films  most notably Youre Next and The Guest  Wingard once again flaunts his rare gift. Some modern horror directors  like Jaume Collet Serra and Fede Alvarez  have a Hitchcockian command over atmosphere. Some, like Ti West and Adam Green, know how to work with shoestring budgets. Wingard, however, does tone like nobody else. Death Note is part psychological thriller, part horror movie, part police drama, and part dark comedy  and none of it feels out of place.

Like the best J-horror properties  even though this is hardly a J-horror movie anymore  it lucidly lays out the rules of its world, and lets the characters flounder about in it for our enjoyment.

Its propelled by a pulsating electronic score by Atticus and Leopold Ross, and a handful of fine performances  once again, special mention must go out to the immensely talented Lakeith Stanfield, who plays the mysterious, hooded detective tracking down the vigilante.

A chronic side-effect of movies based on existing properties is that they usually alienate those outside its immediate fanbase. Not Death Note. It feels like the first in a series youd want to see.

Watch the Death Note trailer here

Follow @htshowbiz for more

The author tweets @RohanNaahar

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Qaidi Band

Cast: Aadar Jain, Anya Singh

Director: Habib Faisal

Rating: 2/5

The pathetic condition in which prisoners, especially undertrials, live in Indian jails is well known. More than the length of jail term, the inmates fear the gangsters and the terrible behaviour of the jail authority. On top of that, the society is prejudiced towards them, making a return to mainstream an impossible task.

The Indian judiciary system is under heavy pressure to provide justice in millions of pending cases. The undertrials become the prime victims of this delay and they keep serving years in jails without their case even being heard.

Watch: Our Facebook Live discussion on this weeks releases

Sanju (Aadar Jain) and Bindu (Anya Singh) are two such undertrials who keep waiting for another court date in the hope of getting bail.

However, this jail isnt as bad as a real-life jail. After all, its a Yash Raj film, not an Anurag Kashyap or Madhur Bhandarkar one. The jailor Dhulia (Sachin Pilgaonkar), who keeps eating most of the time, is a weird mix of Sholays Asrani and Karmas Dilip Kumar. Sometimes, he looks like an elderly gentleman who could be good at office politics, or a doctor who would write a false prescription just to make some quick bucks.

Dhulia floats the idea of a culture programme by the inmates that catches the attention of a minister. Featuring prisoners of different races and backgrounds, this programme turns out to be a hit and now the minister wants to use this Qaidi Band for his political canvassing.

Meanwhile, we get to hear the genius of music composer Amit Trivedi, who is the real star of this interesting yet ordinary film. His I Am India that the characters keep referring to as jail anthem is one of the finest songs produced this year. But its just the beginning, because youll forget the lousy script and sloppy dialogues for some minutes once another song Hulchul plays. It goes beyond goosebumps and stirs the soul. Kausar Munirs lyrics are icing on the cake with Trivedi stroking your subconscious with his plectrum. Youll float in the halo of Hulchul for quite some time. Maybe I am exaggerating a bit because when youre watching the film in an empty cinema hall, everyone seems like performing especially for you.

But once the song is over, what is left are some really disciplined prisoners attempting a jail break. Lame as a banana pizza, they couldnt even generate enough sympathy for the audience to wait for another song. This gets even worse when the director Habib Faisal decides to go the Rock On 2 way.

Listen to Qaidi Bands jukebox

Just when the film is expected to hit the perfect pitch, bad writing bursts the bubble of an innovative theme. The script looks so average in the climax that you wonder why didnt make a film without any ending! The duration of only 122-minute seems much more than Faisal could handle. This also makes us realise how important Amit Trivedi is for the film whose terrific songs cover at least 30 minutes of the screen time.

Most of the actors look drab except Anya Singh who charms us with her intensity in a couple of songs. Aadar Jains urbane attitude is probably more than what was required for such a role. But the actors cant be squarely blamed for a lousy screenplay that keeps paving way for Habib Faisals not so subtle preaching on unity in diversity. Not stating the obvious could have made the film appear more serious

At best, Qaidi Band brings up a new concept and offers some wonderful songs, but thats about it. It remains an average story told in an average way.

Interact with Rohit Vats at Twitter/@nawabjha

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A total of 16 new cases of H1N1 or swine flu were confirmed in Ghaziabad by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) till Friday evening, bringing the total count of swine flu patients to 117 in the district.

The earlier count of swine flu patients in Ghaziabad was 101 with 80 patients from Ghaziabad and 21 patients from other districts.

As per recent reports, out of these 117 cases, 92 belong to Ghaziabad and 25 belong to patients from other districts. Till now, we have dispatched 150 plus samples to a Delhi laboratory for tests. Even today, six news samples were dispatched, NK Gupta, chief medical officer, Ghaziabad, said.

Swine flu is caused by swine influenza virus that is endemic in pigs. It is a highly contagious disease and can easily spread from a patient through saliva and mucus.

The Ghaziabad health department has also informed the private hospitals to keep swine flu patients in isolation in the wake of increased number of patients.

Since this influenza is highly contagious and can spread to many people just by cough or sneeze, we have once again asked private hospitals to create separate wards for them and make sure they are kept in complete isolation, Gupta said.

However, Ghaziabad has not reported any positive dengue or chikungunya cases till now.

In Gautam Budh Nagar, the count of positive cases of swine flu has remained at 52. District chief medical officer Dr Anurag Bhargav claimed that health officials are screening patients according to directives provided by the state government.

We send the samples to laboratories as soon as we get them. After dispatching the samples, we conduct a screening of the patients in order to find out whether he/she has the symptoms of swine flu. Till now, the count has remained at 52. We sent seven fresh samples for tests today, Dr Anurag Bhargav, chief medical officer, GB Nagar, said.

Read I Swine flu cases rise in Ghaziabad and GB Nagar

Althoygh Gautam Budh Nagar has also not reported any positive case of dengue till now, the health department has dispatched over 100 samples to the Delhi lab for tests.

We have reported 82 positive cases of malaria so far, but these are not seasonal as the count is from the beginning of 2017, Bhargav said.
In an alleged case of norms violation in the restoration of cancelled plots in a housing scheme, the Allahabad high court directed the UP principal secretary to determine the market value of properties and ensure that loss to state government is recovered. The cancelled plots were restored from 2005 to 2007.

The directions came on a petition filed by Ghaziabad resident, who contended that there was a major violation of norms and connivance in the restoration of nearly 139 cancelled plots for Ghaziabad Development Authoritys (GDA) Swarn Jayanti Puram housing scheme.

The petition was filed by Rajendra Tyagi in 2011. In an interim hearing on August 21, the high court had called for the personal appearance of principal secretary (housing) Mukul Singhal and GDAs vice-chairperson Kanchan Verma. According to norms, the restoration of previously cancelled plots was to be charged at 75% of the market value or the rate applicable to the scheme on the date of restoration, whichever is higher.

We had contended that the restoration was not done as per norms and done on previously prevailing rates, raising suspicion that there was connivance of erstwhile GDA officers with private parties. We filed RTIs and got different numbers of lots under the scheme. We had submitted two complaints and the complete set of documents to the state government in 2006 and 2010. After this, an inquiry was conducted by then divisional commissioner. However, there was no clarity and later, we moved the high court, Tyagi said.

In the last hearing, the high court directed, We leave the matter at this stage at the hands of the principal secretary with the hope that he shall determine the market value of the properties in question and shall ensure that the loss caused to the state government is recovered.

The high court took a tough stance in its August 21 order and said that the recovery must be made from the beneficiaries of the illegal restoration order of the development authority and also from the personal assets of the officers who had created the situation.

If it is found that there has been a deliberate act on the part of the officers, whereby public money has been defalcated/lost including the loss of stamp duty then there should not be any hesitation in lodging of the first information report against all responsible (sic), the court said.

Read I CAG team starts auditing Ghaziabad development authority

The state government must ensure action against the officers who deliberately cause loss to the public properties/public money. It is in this background that the Principal Secretary is directed to file an affidavit by August 31 after conducting an inquiry as may be required, the court further said.

GDA vice-chairperson Kanchan Verma declined to comment and said that the matter was subjudice.

We will submit our report in an affidavit to the high court on August 31, said Singhal, who visited Ghaziabad on Friday.

The court directed the principal secretary to file an affidavit by August 31 after conducting an inquiry, as may be required disclosing the action proposed in the matter against the responsible persons.

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Indian philosophy and moral precepts extol treating every human being with dignity and empathy. In reality, we are prone to over-stepping these professed moral boundaries. People in authority enjoying too much reverence and those below struggling to receive simple courtesies cannot be normal ways of a democratic society.

The English use words such as sir and madam fewer times in a year than we do every day. These words originated in a medieval society to establish relationship between master and serfs and have withered away in the West as those relationships no longer exist. But, for us, hierarchy between human beings is an important component of our social imagination.

Under patriarchy, our women are prohibited from taking the name of their husbands and elders. In a caste society, a person from the lower caste is not allowed to address anyone in the higher castes by name. So, our society effortlessly married into sir and madam. Add to them honorifics like saheb and honourable and you get Ram Guhas 50-50 democracy.

Our tradition of respect for elders has transmogrified into excessive reverence for people ahead of us in the authority ladder. Louis Dumont used the term homo hierarchicus to characterise Indias caste-based hierarchical social system. Thousands of years of living in these systems has created a very natural cultural tendency towards arranging people into layers. Even the smallest organisation quickly becomes a hierarchy determining mode of interaction between people in different layers.

Hierarchical power equations are mirrored across societal interactions, economic insecurities limit the capacity of people to stand up to bullying. People less powerful keep groveling, wait in front of offices for hours and try their best to appease the powerful. Our customs, utterances, rituals and what we perceive as the normal need to be deconstructed in the context of the democracy project. If families, societies and interaction between humans cannot be extricated from power equations and hierarchies, organisations will not become truly democratic.

During a visit to the New Scotland Yard, I once asked my hosts how they maintain discipline without the customary salute to seniors. Till almost early 70s the practice of the military salute existed in British police, though was becoming discretionary. The story goes that once a chief constable asked an officer to explain why he decided to salute gesticulating rather than a simple greeting with a good morning and this question rapidly brought down the regime of salute.

In India, the very advocacy of abolishing the military salute will make us uncomfortable and I have never dared do it within the police. We love the salute, argue over it and each day discover new ways of asserting the hierarchy through rituals calling them protocol and courtesies.

Offering a chair is a big deal here. People in authority fix meetings and make you wait without any regret. Be prepared mostly to be humiliated if you cannot avoid interface with the powerful, though once in a while you are surprised when someone is not offensive. We suffer from anxiety attack to discover talent in anyone below as that is a threat to the natural pecking order. When we are polite, we fear not being taken seriously by the less powerful. Bluster and crudity escape as smartness, signs of power. We have a lot of informed people within decision-making structures, except that the discourse is not deliberative and domination free, which is the essence of democratic processes. This is not a system that encourages risk taking and innovation, mantras of success in the modern world.

The institution and its goals become secondary and less important as the focus shifts to reverence for people in authority and making them happy. Truth is not significant and merit is the justification cited only by the losers of power games. Good work is not because of institutional imperative, but because people in authority will appreciate. The time and resources consumed in displaying reverence to the gods in the vicinity tends to be much higher than focus on institutional mandates. This is how we have ended up with weak institutions and towering authority figures.

The need is to find a new normal of basic courtesies, much less reverence, institutional growth, codified processes and, of course, empathy in the treatment of others. Besides, discourtesies are repugnant to rights guaranteed under the constitution. We do no one any favour by being courteous.

(The author is a serving IPS officer, views are personal)
The city of Chandigarh remained peaceful, but it had its tense moments when police arrested six people, who were private security men of Ram Rahim, from the citys border with Panchkula. They tried to enter the city from the Mansa Devi side on a Gypsy. Earlier in the evening, the police also foiled an attempt by around a 100 dera followers to enter the city from the Dolphin Chowk near the IT Park.

Till the filing of this report, the police had detained 83 people and made preventive arrests.

We have arrested six men, part of the private security force of Gurmeet Ram Rahim. They were trying to enter Chandigarh carrying weapons and a can that smelled of kerosene. We have recovered one pistol and 25 live cartridges from them, Tajender Singh Luthra, Director General of Police (DGP), Chandigarh, told media persons at a press conference later in the day. He added, These six people had burn injuries on their hands.

The police suspect these six men of being involved in burning of property in Panchkula.

There was no incident of disruption reported in Chandigarh so far. The situation though tense, is under control in Chandigarh, the DGP added.

He clarified that 10 people were brought to Chandigarh from Panchkula for treatment and were declared brought dead at various hospitals, but no casualty of any city resident was reported.

Anxious moments, but police equal to task

There were some anxious moments when around 100 followers of Dera Sacha Sauda tried to enter the city. Raising slogans, these followers gathered at the Dolphin Chowk near the IT park, but an alert police force prevented them from entering the city or creating any law and order problem.

On Thursday, the Chandigarh Police had clarified that Section 144 of the CrPC (Code of Criminal Procedure) had been implemented in the city and that any gathering of five or more people was prohibited. Carrying of arms was also prohibited and the law would be implemented strictly, the police said. Police had held flag march and also sealed its borders to ensure that no miscreants could enter the city.

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At least 28 people were killed of purported bullet injuries inflicted by security forces here on Friday when clashes broke out in this Haryana town after a court convicted Dera Sacha Sauda sect leader Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh of raping two of his followers 15 years ago, sparking fury among thousands of supporters who had gathered days ahead. There was one death reported from Sirsa, the headquarters town of the sect in Haryana, too.

As news of the conviction spread, there were reports of violence in the neighbouring state of Punjab andalso Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, besides Rajasthan.

The quantum of punishment is to be announced on Monday; meanwhile Ram Rahim was taken to Rohtak in a helicopter where he has been jailed in a resthouse of the Police Training Centre in Sunaria village.

In Panchkula, concurrently, hundreds of police and paramilitary personnel used force after his followers torched cars, threw rocks and attacked television vans, breaking their windows and overturning one, for around three hours after the verdict was announced around 3pm in this satellite town of state capital and UT Chandigarh. Eventually they were pushed out to a neighbouring Punjab town, Zirakpur, from where, not violent but dejected, they took buses back home.

More than 1 lakh were estimated to have gone to the city, where the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court was located. Of the deaths in the Panchkula action, 17 bodies were reported from the local government hospital, and seven and four from two hospitals in Chandigarh by police and medical officers.

Authorities imposed an indefinite curfew in Panchkula, where mobile internet services had earlier been cut off and troops deployed ahead of the verdict.

There was curfew in at least three towns in Punjab, and also in Sirsa. Two train stations have been burnt in Punjab and two empty (train) coaches have been set on fire in Delhis Anand Vihar station, said Neeraj Sharma, a spokesman for Indian Railways.

Hundreds of trains passing through Punjab and Haryana have been cancelled, he said.

Prosecutor Harinder Pal Singh Verma told AFP that Ram Rahim was calm after the verdict was passed.

The 50-year-old self-styled godman is known as the guru in bling for his penchant for bejewelled costumes. The rape case was brought against him after an anonymous letter was sent to then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2002 accusing him of repeatedly raping the sender and several other women in the sect.

A judge asked the CBI to look into the accusations, but it took years to trace the victims and it was not until 2007 that two women came forward and filed charges.

He is also accused in two murder cases, and of encouraging 400 followers to undergo castration at his dera so they could get closer to God.

Speaking before his conviction, supporters who had gathered in Panchkula credited him with turning their lives around, with some saying his organisation had helped them kick an addiction to alcohol.

(With AFP inputs)
Lakhs of Dera Sacha Sauda supporters converged in Panchkula ahead of the verdict in a rape trial against the sects chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh on Friday forcing authorities to lock down parts of Haryana and Punjab.

The self-styled godman was accused of raping two sadhvis, or women followers, in cases that date back to 2002. A special court of CBI is likely to deliver its verdict on Friday.

Singh has appealed his supporters to maintain peace. The 50-year-old burly, bearded man, who has scripted and starred in his own films, commands a near-devotional following.

Here are five things to know about Dera followers:

1) The Dera Sacha Sauda claims to have 50 million followers and runs a spiritual empire. Its not unusual for leaders of such quasi-religious sects to often have armed private militias protecting them.

2) The sects followers call themselves Premis and have a history of fervent devotion.

On Wednesday, Singhs followers used a hashtag to showcase the religious leaders charity work. They also started a hashtag #iSupportMSG to rally support and heap praises on their spiritual guru.

At least three Premis committed suicide in protest through 2011, when the CBI court instructed the Dera Sacha Sauda chief to appear before it every day. In 2007, clashes between Dera followers and members of the Sikh faith left at least three people dead.

3) To organise its followers, the Dera has a 45-member committee for each state and units at the micro level as well. The sects political wing has in the past publicly announced support for parties during elections to allegedly garner votes.

Dera Sacha Sauda followers are gathered in front of Dera Sacha Sauda ashram in Sirsa. (Manoj Dhaka/HT Photo)

4) Gratitude is the primary sentiment that makes the dera chiefs followers defend him tooth and nail. The government should be ashamed of the way it has been harassing our Guruji, who works so hard for us, said a follower Phool Chand.

We were once paupers. But today, we have everything from jobs to money, vehicles, and farmland all because of him, Chand added.

5) Most of the Dera followers are people from lower castes and the lower strata of society. The sect has found a lot of acceptability amongst women and families as it preaches against drugs and alcoholism.

No caste distinctions - it asks followers to use the surname Insan or human in Hindi, subsidised facilities such as food and medicines, and inclusive management are the other reasons why the Dera has a huge following, The Tribune reported.
Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was held guilty by a court on Friday of raping two female disciples.

Police fired teargas to disperse his supporters, some of whom threw stones after the court verdict was announced. Television showed pictures of a media van with a cracked windscreen.

Singh is one of the several self-styled godmen and cult leaders to be embroiled in scandals in recent years:

Rampal

In November 2014, five bodies were discovered by the police after they stormed the ashram of a self-styled godman, Rampal, in Haryanas Hisar. Another of the mans followers died in hospital. The police were seeking Rampals arrest after he refused court orders to appear to answer charges including conspiracy to murder, inciting mobs and contempt of court.

Rampal considers himself an incarnation of the 15th-century poet Kabir.

The ashram was guarded by hundreds of followers for several days. Police fired water canon and lathi-charged the supporters who were armed with stones, petrol bombs among other weapons.

Some followers later came out of the ashram, saying they had been held at the ashram against their will.

Followers said the guru regularly bathed in milk, which was then used to make kheer that they believed could cure illnesses.

Asaram Bapu

Asaram Bapu, who once condemned Valentines Day as encouraging young people to engage in dirty acts, is charged with several offences including rape, trafficking and sexual crimes against minors.

In 2013, police arrested him after a 16-year-old girl accused him of raping her on the pretext of ridding her of evil spirits during a retreat for followers.

Hundreds of the 76-year-olds supporters clashed with television news crews and police after his arrest. Since then at least three key witnesses have been shot dead.

In his preachings, he had urged followers to live a pious life free of sexual desires.

Ashutosh Maharaj

Devotees of Ashutosh Maharaj, who died in January 2014, are preserving his body in a freezer and insist he is in a deep meditative state.

The founder of the multi-million dollar Divya Jyoti Jagriti Sansthan (Divine Light Awakening Mission) sect apparently died of a cardiac arrest.

But his followers say it is a spiritual state called samadhi and have kept his body in a freezer at his heavily guarded 100-acre (40-hectare) ashram in the northern state of Punjab.

One man who claimed to be his former driver has alleged that followers were refusing to release the body because they wanted a share of the gurus assets.

Chandraswami

Controversial godman Chandraswami was said to be a close friend of then Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao and allegedly involved in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

He died recently after suffering a stroke.

In its report on the assassination, the Jain Commission dedicated a volume to his alleged involvement in Rajiv Gandhis assassination.

Allegations of financial irregularities were often levelled at the long haired, white robed self-proclaimed godman. In 1996, he was arrested on charges of defrauding a London-based businessman. He also faced charges for repeatedly violating the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act.

Swami Nithyananda

Swami Nithyananda faces a series of assault and sexual abuse charges, although he has never been convicted.

Five women accused the 40-year-old of abusing them at his Hindu religious retreat in Karnataka. He was held in jail for 53 days in 2010 after a sex video scandal.

When a local television station aired the footage purportedly showing him fondling two women, angry villagers attacked his ashram, where devotees practise yoga and follow spiritual teachings.

Nithyananda, who also operates a meditation centre in Los Angeles, has claimed to possess paranormal powers of levitation.

Violent past of Gurmeet Ram Rahims followers

In May 2007, violence erupted after Gurmeet Ram Rahim allegedly mimicked the 10th Sikh guru, Guru Gobind Singh.

After the case of alleged blasphemy  the court case has been closed after the complaint was withdrawn  Punjab and Haryana had witnessed bloody clashes between the Sikhs who took offence and the deras followers. Three people were killed in Punjab and hundreds were injured during the clashes. More than 50 policemen were injured during the clashes with dera followers in Bathinda.

Some dera followers burnt buses in Bathinda and Mansa and even a broadcast van of a news channel. Residents said an undeclared curfew prevailed in the district for nearly 10 days.

Bloody clashes between police, Mathura cult leaders followers

In April 2014, Ram Vriksha Yadav, a small, greying man in dhoti-and-kurta, took over a park in Mathura with around 500 armed followers for a two-day protest.

But members of the Swadhin Bharat Vidhik Satyagrah  and its armed wing Subhash Sena  never left, occupying the public space to turn it into what appeared to be the headquarters of a self-styled revolutionary group. The local people called them Naxalites.

Little was known about the group until the point the police clashed with thousands of its followers, trying to clear out some 3,000 squatters on court orders. The violence left 24 people dead, including the Mathura superintendent of police.

With Jai Hind, Jai Subhash as the motto, Yadav appears to have forged a militant outfit that sought to indoctrinate and give arms training to local teenagers, seeking to replace the present-day political system with their own vision of a Bose-inspired world.

Piara Singh Bhaniarewala

Another controversial godman is self-proclaimed baba, Piara Singh Bhaniarewala, who heads the Baba Bhaniarewala sect based in Ropar district. He says he has penned his own holy book and his followers have been accused of burning the Guru Granth Sahib.

Agence France-Presse contributors
It was an anonymous letter in 2002, addressed to then prime minister Atal Bihar Vajpayee and host of other top institutions, including the Punjab and Haryana high court, that triggered investigations into the rape charges against Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.

Nearly 15 years on, the verdict in the case against him will be out on Friday, even as the dera chief and his supporters have continued to question the authenticity of the letter all these years.

The three-page letter typed in Hindi, a copy of which is in possession of HT, narrates the ordeal of a dera sadhvi (woman follower) who charged Ram Rahim with sexual exploitation of the sadhvis in the dera. Sources said the investigating authorities once attributed the letter to a former sadhvi in Bathinda but she refuted their claim.

The letter, which was received by the high court by post on May 5, was also addressed to Union home ministry, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) besides media offices seeking intervention into wrongdoings in the dera.

HC SET THE BALL ROLLING

While most of the recipients did not react, the high court took cognisance of the matter and directed the then district and sessions judge in Sirsa, MS Sular, to conduct an inquiry into the matter.

In his report to high court, Sular did not rule out the possibility of such acts in the dera but said nobody there was prepared to speak about the sexual abuse, and there was no way to access the hostel where sadhvis were living, without the permission of Ram Rahim or the dera authorities.

As the judge recommended that the matter be investigated through a central agency, the high court converted the complaint into a criminal petition, and passed an order dated September 24, 2002, directing the CBI to investigate the allegations. That marked the beginning of the formal investigations against the dera chief.

CBI Chandigarh registered a case on December 12, 2002, under Section 376 (rape), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 509 (insult to the modesty of woman) of the Indian Penal Code and began formal investigations.

TWO VICTIMS TRACED

During the course of the investigation, the CBI faced many legal challenges, including stay orders on conducting the probe for one and half years between 2003 and 2004, which was later lifted.

Sources said the CBIs main challenge was to find the sadhvis who had left the dera allegedly due to physical exploitation and convince them to depose against Ram Rahim.

Finally, they managed to trace two victims and file a chargesheet against him in 2007 in the special CBI court, which was then in the Ambala district courts before being shifted to Panchkula.

CONTENT OF THE COMPLAINT

Claiming to be a resident of Punjab, the anonymous sadhvi said she was an arts graduate who had been inspired by her parents to become a sadhvi. She said she along with 40-45 other girls was doing service in the dera for years.

Two years after she had become a sadhvi, Ram Rahim called her into his gufa, his residence inside the dera, where he was watching television with a revolver by his side. She alleged that she was threatened and then raped by him.

The woman alleged she was then repeatedly raped by the dera chief, who told her that no authority could proceed against him. She wrote that she was shattered and later came to know that other women followers were also exploited before and after her.

She also recounted how a girl from Sangrur was threatened after she shared her ordeal in her neighbourhood after leaving the dera.

The woman concluded the letter by seeking intervention of the then prime minister and the courts. She said she could not share her name as it would then invite trouble for her and her family members.

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Militants of illegal armed formations do not observe the so-called 'school truce' which was to start on midnight of Friday, as they twice shelled the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) zone, the ATO headquarters' spokesman, Anatoliy Stelmakh, has said.

"Already from the beginning of this day, we have recorded two shellings of our positions, in particular, near the towns of Talakivka and Zaitseve. Our serviceman has already been killed as a result of the armed confrontation in Talakivka," Stelmakh said on the 112.ua TV Channel.

An agreement was reached on August 23 at a meeting of the Trilateral Contact Group for the settlement the situation in Donbas that a ceasefire will be established in Donetsk and Luhansk regions ahead of the beginning of the academic year starting at midnight of Friday on August 25.
The Chandigarh Press Club condemned the attack on journalists by followers of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh after he was convicted in a rape case in Panchkula on Friday.

Club secretary general Barinder Rawat said, We demand that the Haryana government, which failed to provide adequate security to journalists covering the verdict, to compensate for the losses. And an inquiry should be marked.

The vehicles of many journalists were torched and equipment broken. Many were injured. The OB vans of news channels were toppled and burnt.

Damaged media vehicles in Sector 4 of Panchkula. (Ravi Kumar/HT)

Journalists, including photojournalists, from Hindustan Times, The Times of India, The Tribune, Dainik Bhaskar, Amar Ujala, NDTV, Aaj Tak, Times Now, to name a few, either suffered injuries or their vehicles and equipment were damaged.

The governing council of the club also decided to call an emergency meeting of all journalists at noon on Saturday at the club to decide on future course of action.
Moments after a CBI court convicted Dera Sacha Sauda chief Ram Rahim of rape, the Indian judiciary finds itself the unlikely hero of events of the past week.

In the span of a week, the judiciary has delivered three historic verdicts in three cases that had the nation glued to their television case. On August 22, the Supreme Court struck down instant triple talaq practiced among Muslims. On August 24, the apex court once again emerged as the star, upholding the right to privacy as a fundamental right. To cap off the week, a CBI court in Panchkula convicted Ram Rahim in the rape case, despite the fact that 200,000 of his followers had laid siege to the city.

The judiciarys stellar week wasnt missed by social media, which came out to heap praises on the courts by the dozen.

Three days, three great court verdicts. Looks like Old India is taking over New India! #RamRahimSingh  Nadim Asrar (@_sufiyana_) August 25, 2017

BACK TO BACK SALVOS BY JUDICIARY.



Instant Triple Talaq, Right to Privacy & now conviction of high profile, powerful rapist. #RamRahimSingh  Gaurav Pandhi (@GauravPandhi) August 25, 2017

Triple Talaq abolished. Right to Privacy redefined. #RamRahimSingh convicted. TODAY I feel proud to be an Indian.  Deepak Narang (@deepcheat) August 25, 2017

Finally Rapist #RamRahimSingh is nailed for crime committed 15 yrs ago. 6 crore people stood for him, but glad Judiciary stood with victims!  ?????? (@ggiittiikkaa) August 25, 2017

The judge who delivered the verdict in the Ram Rahim case was also lauded for his bravery in not cowing to the babas show of strength.

The judge who convicted #RamRahimSingh is the bravest man in the country. Give him a medal already.  Bollywood Gandu (@BollywoodGandu) August 25, 2017

This judge who held MSG guilty has been declared the best judge by UNESCO within 2 minutes of judgement. #RamRahimVerdict  Rofl Gandhi (@RoflGandhi_) August 25, 2017
Haryana imposed a curfew ahead of a decision in a rape trial involving Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh on Friday amid hysteria among his supporters and fury of those inconvenienced by street protests and security arrangements.

As the Dera Sacha Sauda chief left the sect headquarters at Sirsa to attend the court hearing in Panchkula, his followers flanking the streets turned hysterical and held up the cavalcade for a few minutes.

Singh commands a following that he says is in the millions. Thousands of his supporters have been protesting in the streets since Thursday.

Among those impacted by the protests on Friday was a Jind resident who said he waited at a bus stand for two hours, but failed to find transport. He said he was visiting the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research in Chandigarh for consultation.

Watch the man capturing the bewilderment of those hit by the protests and describe the hysteria triggered by Singhs trial:

A Jind resident who had come to PGI for his treatment waited for 2 hrs at the bus stand but no bus was available. #derachiefindock @HTPunjab pic.twitter.com/xMDL0Kq9Ug  Ifrah Mufti (@ifrahmufti) August 24, 2017
Thousands of tribals armed with traditional weapons held several senior police and administrative officers hostage at Kanki Siladon, a tribal hamlet in Khunti district, through Thursday night.

The district superintendent of police (SP), deputy superintendent of police (DSP), a couple of executive magistrates and at least 50 armed CRPF jawans were among those detained overnight. The tribals were demanding self-rule, besides a ban on outsiders entering their villages.

The officials were released on Friday morning, after deputy inspector general (South Chhotanagpur) Amol V Homkar and Khunti deputy commissioner Manish Ranjan intervened. They reportedly accorded the agitated tribals a patient hearing before advising them against resorting to vigilantism.

Tribals in the state have been agitating ever since the Raghubar Das government tried to amend the CNT and SPT Acts, two age-old legislations meant to protect their tenancy rights. Fearing that the government would try to take away their land, inhabitants of tribal settlements across Khunti, Gumla and Simdega districts have installed huge stone plaques and signboards that warn outsiders against entering, loitering or trying to settle in their territories.

Tribal leaders also contend that the Constitution guarantees supreme executive and judicial powers to their gram sabhas, thereby making legislations passed by Parliament or state assembly legally untenable.

Though the government withdrew the amendment bills following pressure from tribal groups and opposition parties, tribals refused to withdraw their anti-outsider campaign. Besides putting up the stone plaques, they erected barricades on roads leading to their villages  security features that the government adjudged as illegal.

On Thursday evening, Khunti DSP Ranvir Singh received information that the residents of Kalki Siladon and several neighbouring villages had installed barricades at their entrances. He immediately left for the spot with a small group of armed police personnel, and removed the structures.

The tribals, however, refused to take the administrative action lying down. Within minutes, the team found itself surrounded by hundreds of agitated villagers  some of whom began pushing the policemen around.

A distress call was made to the nearest police station, which immediately deployed a team of CRPF jawans  along with the sub-divisional officer and the circle officer  to the spot. But the crowd had multiplied to thousands by then, and the back-up team was overpowered too. Even superintendent of police Ashwini Kumar, who reached the spot an hour later, was detained.

Around 2 am, DIG Homkar arrived at Khunti with more reinforcements. However, they could not proceed further because the villagers had barricaded the entire route leading up to Kalki Siladon. After a few hours, he finally managed to initiate talks with the agitators.

We managed to get through to their leaders by early Friday morning. The situation is now under control, and the officials held hostage are now returning, Homkar told HT.

The tribals have reportedly put forth a number of demands, which police promised to accept if found legitimate. We will do anything to secure the rights guaranteed to us by the Constitution. We are not afraid of the consequences, a tribal leader said on the condition of anonymity.

Hundreds of unofficial barricades  called pathalgadi in the local dialect  have come up in tribal-dominated districts over the last four months.

Thursday nights incident served as a chilling reminder of the fate that met nine outsiders at the hands of frenzied tribal mobs in adjoining districts of the state earlier this year. The victims, accused of being child abductors, were allegedly spurred on by a tribal group called the Adivasi Mahasabha.

Tribals account for 26% of Jharkhands population.
Looks like all films want to bank on auspicious Ganesh Chaturthi for good tidings.

Just on Thursday evening, the teaser look of Lava Kumar, the second character from Jai Lava Kusa, was released. Now, the first look poster of Kusa, the last of the three characters Jr NTR will play, has been unveiled.

Dressed in a black pullover, hair pulled back, beads on his wrist and a grim look on his face, Kusa looks bit of a rogue. The green glow to the poster gives one the feel that Kusa is sitting in a pub or a nightclub.

While menacing Jai looked decidedly evil (a character who we are shown venerates Raavana), Lava Kumar was the complete contrast -- he looks and behaves like a middle class man with simple aspirations in life.

For the first time in his career, Jr NTR will play three separate characters, and quite obviously he is majorly kicked about the prospect. It has been reported that Hollywood make-up artist Vance Hartwell, popular for his work in films such as The Lord of the Rings trilogy and Shutter Island, will work on one of the looks of Jr NTR from the film.

Now, that we have been introduced to all the three characters and their looks -- Jai, Lava and Kusa -- one is wondering which these has been styled by the Hollywood make-up artist. Or are we to wait and watch? One cant say for certain.

The film, produced by NTRs brother Kalyanram, will see Jr NTR romance two actors, Nivetha Thomas and Raashi Khanna.

Follow @htshowbiz for more

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More than 1.4 million Muslims have so far arrived in Saudi Arabia for the hajj, authorities said Thursday, with the annual pilgrimage marked by the return of Iranians after Tehrans boycott last year.

More than two million people are expected to participate in this years hajj, a pillar of Islam that capable Muslims must perform at least once in their lives, which starts next week.

So far 1,313,946 pilgrims have arrived by air, 79,501 by land, and 12,477 by sea -- an increase of 33 percent compared with the same period last year, the state-run Saudi Press Agency said, citing passport officials.

That includes more than 400 Qatari pilgrims, local media reported, despite an intensifying row between Doha and Riyadh over arrangements for the religious event.

All Qatari pilgrims arrived through the Salwa border crossing with Qatar.

The hajj has been clouded by the worst political crisis in the Gulf in decades, with Saudi Arabia leading a four-state bloc that suspended all ties with Doha on June 5 over accusations the emirate backed Islamist extremists.

Qatar has denied the charge and said this week it was worried pilgrims from the emirate would be treated badly.

But the Saudi media has repeatedly broadcast images showing officials courteously assisting Qatari pilgrims.

The hajj ministry has said the kingdom, home to Islams holiest sites, welcomes all pilgrims from different nationalities.

The ministry added it was equipped to handle the additional crowds after the completion of expansion works at the Grand Mosque in Mecca, the most revered site in Islam.

More than 1.8 million faithful took part in last years hajj.

But Irans 64,000 pilgrims stayed away for the first time in three decades after tensions between Riyadh and Tehran boiled over following a deadly stampede during the 2015 pilgrimage.

An agreement was reached earlier this year to allow Iranians to take part in the hajj.

Iran and Saudi Arabia will soon exchange diplomatic visits, Tehran said this week, in a possible sign of tensions easing after the archrivals cut ties last year.
Moscow

At least 12 people died in southern Russia early today after a bus carrying construction workers veered off a road and plunged into the Black Sea, Russian news agency reported.

The bus was carrying 35 people... 12 of them died. Twenty were rescued. Three people are missing, the search for them is ongoing, TASS news agency said, quoting a representative of the Krasnodar region emergency ministry.

Divers are working at the scene of the accident, where the bus plunged four metres before hitting the water, a source told RIA-Novosti news agency, saying it was likely caused by a traffic violation.

The accident occurred on the Taman peninsula on the Black Sea near the Strait of Kerch that flows between Russia and the Crimean peninsula.
At least 89 people including a dozen security forces were killed as Rohingya militants besieged border posts in northern Rakhine State, Myanmars authorities said Friday, triggering a fresh exodus of refugees towards Bangladesh.

The state is bisected by religious hatred focused on the stateless Rohingya Muslim minority, who are reviled and perceived as illegal immigrants in Buddhist-majority Myanmar.

The office of de-facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi said 12 security officials had been killed alongside 77 militants -- the highest declared single day toll since fighting broke out last year.

Fridays fighting exploded around Rathedaung township which has seen a heavy build-up of Myanmar troops in recent weeks, with reports filtering out of killings by shadowy groups, army-blockaded villages and abuses.

Some 20 police posts came under attack in the early hours of Friday by an estimated 150 insurgents, some carrying guns and using homemade explosives, Myanmars military said.

The military and police members are fighting back together against extremist Bengali terrorists, Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing said in a statement on Facebook, using the states description for Rohingya militants.

One resident in Maungdaw, the main town in northern Rakhine, said gunfire could be heard throughout the night.

We are still hearing gunshots now, we dare not to go out from our house, the resident said by phone, asking not to be named.

Footage obtained by AFP showed smoke rising from Zedipyin village in Rathedaung township where fighting was ongoing Friday.

- Rohingya militancy -

Despite years of persecution, the Rohingya largely eschewed violence.

But a previously unknown militant group emerged as a force last October under the banner of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), which claims to be leading an insurgency based in the remote May Yu mountain range bordering Bangladesh.

A Twitter account (@ARSA_Official) which purports to represent the group confirmed its fighters were engaging Myanmars military in the area and accused the soldiers of carrying out atrocities in recent weeks.

Myanmar says the group is headed by Rohingya jihadists who were trained abroad but it is unclear how large the network is.

Suu Kyis office posted pictures of weapons that had been taken from militants, mainly home-made bombs and rudimentary knives and clubs.

Fridays violence pushed new waves of Rohingya to flee towards Bangladesh.

But border guards there said they would not be allowed to cross.

More than a thousand of Rohingya women along with children and cattle have gathered near the land border between Myanmar and Bangladesh since this morning, Manjurul Hasan Khan, commander of Ukhiya towns border guards, told AFP.

The flare-up came just hours after former UN chief Kofi Annan released a milestone report detailing conditions inside Rakhine and offering ways to heal the festering sectarian tensions there.

Commissioned by Myanmars own government, it urged the scrapping of restrictions of movement and citizenship imposed on the roughly one million-strong Rohingya community in Rakhine.

In a statement Annan said he was gravely concerned by the latest outbreak of fighting.

The alleged scale and gravity of these attacks mark a worrying escalation of violence, he said.

- New crackdown fears -

The UNs top official in Myanmar, Renata Lok-Dessallien, called on all sides to refrain from violence, protect civilians (and) restore law and order.

The wedge of Rakhine closest to Bangladesh has been in lockdown since October 2016.

Deadly attacks by the militants on border police sparked a military response that left scores dead and forced some 87,000 people to flee to Bangladesh.

The UN believes the military crackdown may have amounted to ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya.

But the army and Aung San Suu Kyis civilian government vehemently deny allegations of widespread abuses, including rapes and murders.

They have so far refused to grant visas to UN investigators tasked with probing the allegations.

Amnesty International said there were now fears over how Myanmars notoriously abusive security forces might respond.

This cannot lead to (a) repeat of last years vicious military reprisals responding to a similar attack, when security forces tortured, killed and raped Rohingya people and burned down whole villages, said Amnestys regional campaigns director Josef Benedict.

Myanmar security forces have conducted sporadic operations to flush out suspected militants this year, often resulting in casualties among Rohingya villagers.

They have spoken of their fear at being trapped in between security forces and the militants, who are accused of conducting a shadowy assassination campaign against those perceived as collaborators with the state.

Access to the area is severely restricted and verifying information is difficult.

Activists and supporters on both sides of the sectarian divide have a history of posting false images and footage online.
Archaeologists exploring Perus pre-Colombian past recently unearthed a glimpse of a less prominent chapter in the Andean countrys history - the remains of 16 Chinese labourers from around the turn of the last century.

The bodies, thought to be those of indentured workers brought to Peru to replace slave labour, were found buried at the top of an adobe pyramid first used by the ancient Ichma people, Roxana Gomez, the lead archaeologist of the site, said on Thursday.

Peru was one of the biggest destinations for Chinese labour in Latin America in the 20th century, a market that thrived after slavery was abolished in the country in 1854.

The Chinese found at the Bellavista pyramid in Lima were buried in the late 1800s and early 1900s and had likely picked cotton at a nearby plantation in very difficult conditions, said Gomez.

In a possible sign of how the Chinese gradually emerged from dire poverty in Peru, the first 11 bodies were shrouded in cloth and placed in the ground, while the last five wore blue-green jackets and were buried in wooden coffins, Gomez said.

In one Chinese coffin, an opium pipe and a small ceramic vessel were included in the funerary ensemble, said Gomez.

Archaeologist works at a tomb of one of sixteen Chinese migrants, discovered buried at the turn of the 20th century in the pre-colombian pyramid of Bellavista, according to Ministry of Culture, in Lima, Peru. (Reuters Photo)

Chinese laborers in the 20th century were generally not allowed to be buried at Limas Catholic cemeteries, forcing them to improvise burial sites, according to Perus Culture Ministry.

The remains of Chinese laborers were previously found in Lima at other adobe pyramids known as huacas. Built by the indigenous societies that once ruled much of Perus Pacific coast, huacas were used as administrative and religious centers where members of the elite were often buried with gold objects, ceramics or human sacrifices.

Gomez said the huacas had a sacred association that might have made them attractive places for burial by Chinese labourers.

The Bellavista huaca was occupied by Ichma starting in about 1000 A.D. and was later annexed by the Incan empire until the arrival of Spanish conquerors who deemed huacas blasphemous.

Italian immigrants later kept vineyards at the base of the site, Gomez added.

The best way to understand our history is as a continuum of different cultures, said Gomez.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Moldova for European Integration Daniela Morari has announced the speedy launch of the road traffic across the Bronnytsia- Unguri Bridge on the Ukrainian-Moldovan border, and also stressed the importance of cooperation between the two countries in establishing joint customs and border control.

"We are working together with Ukraine in cooperation with EUBAM on the joint control of the Moldova-Ukraine border. It is very important to continue this cooperation Soon we should launch the joint bridge in Bronnytsia. This will have a direct impact on citizens, for traffic and for trade," Morari said in an exclusive rapid-fire interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

She recalled that in mid-July the Pervomaisc-Kuchurhan joint border crossing point was launched in Odesa region.

The deputy minister said she was satisfied with the level of bilateral border cooperation between the two countries and expressed the hope for enhancing it even more.

"We are looking forward to have the next meeting of the intergovernmental committee for economic cooperation where we will discuss many, many sectoral and economic projects and initiatives of cooperation," Morari said.
Muslims living in Chinas far western region of Xinjiang are the happiest in the world and people should not believe the lies spread by extremists and their Western supporters, a senior official wrote on Friday in an unusually strongly worded piece.

Hundreds of people have been killed in Xinjiang in the past few years in violence between Uighurs, a mostly Muslim people who speak a Turkic language, and ethnic majority Han Chinese, blamed by Beijing on Islamist extremists.

Rights groups and Uighur exiles say the unrest is more a product of Uighur frustration at Chinese controls on their culture and religion. China denies any repression.

Writing in the official Xinjiang Daily, the regions deputy foreign publicity director, Ailiti Saliyev, said Xinjiang was stable, harmonious, prosperous, open and modern.

Visitors see this for themselves when they visit, subverting the impression created in Western media of the opposite, he added.

Many people say from the bottom of their heart: The happiest Muslims in the world live in Xinjiang, he wrote.

The problem stems from the evil collusion between extremists and hostile Western forces, the official added, without offering any names.

They coordinate with hostile Western forces to wantonly spread rumours, misrepresent, vilify and besmirch Xinjiang in the overseas media, he added.

Extremists unfairly accuse the government of trying to annihilate the Uighur language and culture with development projects and promotion of bilingual education and of seeking to ban religion with measures to ensure peoples safety, he said.

They also laud criminal elements as warriors resisting the oppression of the Han Chinese government and the mother of the Uighurs, the official added, a reference to Uighur leader Rebiya Kadeer, once a successful businesswoman who now lives in exile in the United States.

Groups overseas who claim to speak for Uighurs are nothing more than running dogs and pawns of the same hostile Western forces, the official said, adding his mission as a Uighur himself is to tell the real facts about Xinjiang to the world.

Xinjiangs image will brook no distortion, he wrote.

While foreign reporters can easily visit Xinjiang, unlike Tibet which requires special permission, the government keeps a close watch on their movements, making interference-free reporting hard.
Chinas navy has carried out a live fire drill in the Indian Ocean to improve fleet performance, state media reported on Friday, in what is the latest such naval exercise in maritime regions near India this year.

The drill targeted targeted enemy surface ships, the media report added.

The Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) has carried out number of well-publicised drills in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) and close to Sino-India border since the ongoing military standoff between the border troops of the two countries broke out in June at Donglang near the Sikkim boundary.

But the Indian Ocean drill is the first naval drill to be publicised by China in this period and could be interpreted as another strong message to India  aggressive military posturing in a region where the Indian navy is influential.

Two of PLA Navys (PLAN) front-running battle ships, destroyer Changchun and guided-missile frigate Jingzhou took part in the exercise, which lasted for several days.

The exact location and the time of the exercise werent revealed in the brief report on the exercise released by official news agency, Xinhua on Friday evening.

Chinese naval formation consisting of the destroyer Changchun, guided-missile frigate Jingzhou and supply vessel Chaohu conducted a live-fire drill in the waters of the western Indian Ocean, the report said.

The fleet carried out strikes against enemy surface ships and completed transverse replenishment of fuel and drinking water during an exercise that lasted for several days. The drill is aimed at improving the ships performance under real combat circumstances, Chen Denan, chief of staff of the Chinese fleet was quoted as saying by the Xinhua report.

The report added that the fleet is on a half-year friendship visit to Asia, Europe, Africa and Oceania and has conducted joint exercises with foreign navies from 10 countries since it started its voyage on April 23.

Earlier this year, a Chinese naval fleet had conducted a similar live-fire drill in the east Indian Ocean region to test combat capacity.

In that exercise carried out in February, according to state media reports, missile destroyer Haikou had placed floating targets as enemy ships along its way, and attacked the red force, missile destroyer Changsha.

The Chinese exercise follows the recent Malabar Naval exercises held in the Indian Ocean by the navies of India, the US and Japan.

As part of Chinas increasing naval reach, its first homegrown aircraft carrier is very likely to start its first sea trials in autumn, as its manufacturer announced that it will present key achievements as a tribute to the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), state media reported earlier this week.

The new carrier, the first domestically-built one, came after the Liaoning, a refitted former Soviet Union-made carrier that was put into commission in the Navy of the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army in 2012.
Former Nepali Prime Minister and CPN-UML chairman KP Sharma Oli on Friday termed Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deubas activities and the statements during his ongoing India visit as disgraceful.

Talking to journalists at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) in Kathmandu before heading to Thailand for a health check-up, the opposition leader - a strident critic of Premier Deuba - said: Deuba raised the issue of Constitutions acceptability out of context on a foreign land. Who was he trying to please by such remarks?

During a joint press conference on Thursday, Deuba told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that efforts to amend the Constitution were underway.

He is the Prime Minister, he took the oath of office and secrecy from the same Constitution. He was elected the Prime Minister under the same Constitution, he was quoted as saying by the Kathmandu Post.

The Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) Chairman said that Deuba, who is in India on a five-day visit, made a mockery of the decision taken by lawmakers of Nepal regarding the Constitution amendment.

Earlier on Monday, the much-awaited Constitution amendment bill which was brought to address key demands of the agitating Madhes-centric parties failed to muster the required two-thirds majority in the Legislature-Parliament.

Out of 553 lawmakers, 347 lawmakers voted in favour of the bill, 48 short of the two-thirds majority required to pass the bill.

Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda - whose Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) is an ally in the coalition government headed by Deuba - also took exception to the remarks made by the Nepal Premier during his India visit.
Hezbollah has captured much of an Islamic State pocket on Syrias side of the border with Lebanon in a joint offensive with the Syrian army, its leader said on Thursday.

In parallel with the fighting, talks on a truce have begun with Islamic State but a military victory is more likely, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised speech.

Syrian troops and Iran-backed Hezbollah have been fighting to oust Islamic State from Syrias western Qalamoun region.

The attack began last week, coinciding with a Lebanese army offensive against Islamic State on its side of the border in northeast Lebanon.

The zone straddling the border is the last part of the Lebanese-Syrian frontier under militant control.

Both offensives have advanced towards the border from opposite sides. The Lebanese army says it is not coordinating the assault with the Syrian army or Shiite Hezbollah, which Washington classifies as a terrorist group.

Any joint operation between the Lebanese army on one hand and Hezbollah with the Syrian army on the other would be politically sensitive in Lebanon and could jeopardise the sizeable U.S. military aid the country receives.

The frontier battle was nearing a very big victory, Nasrallah said.

So far, more than 270 square km have been fully captured on Syrian land by Hezbollah and the Syrian army, he said. Around 40 square km remain under Daesh control.

Islamic State is on the back foot in Iraq and Syria. It has lost ground in Syria to various separate enemies over the past year and the eastern Deir al-Zor province its last major foothold.

Hezbollah has played a major role in fighting Sunni militants along the border, and has sent thousands of fighters into Syria to support President Bashar al-Assads government against Syrian rebel groups.

Earlier this month, Nusra Front militants left Lebanons border region under an evacuation deal after Hezbollah routed them in their last footholds there. Thousands of refugees also departed with them to rebel territory in Syria.

Northeast Lebanon saw one of the worst spillovers of Syrias war into Lebanon in 2014, when Islamic State and Nusra Front militants briefly overran the border town of Arsal.

The fate of nine Lebanese soldiers that Islamic State took captive then remains unknown.

Islamic State leaders in Syrias western Qalamoun had asked for negotiations, Nasrallah said on Thursday.

The first condition of any deal reached with Daesh will be revealing the fate of the Lebanese soldiers, he added.

If the Lebanese state wanted to negotiate an evacuation deal with Islamic State militants on its own side, Damascus would be ready to cooperate, Nasrallah said.

But the condition is an official Lebanese request, and public coordination, not under the table, he said.

Hezbollah and its allies have been pressing Lebanon to normalise relations with Damascus, challenging the states policy of neutrality towards the conflict next door.

Hezbollahs role in the six-year Syrian conflict has drawn criticism from its Lebanese political opponents, including Sunni leader and Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri.
A fired dishwasher shot and killed a chef and held a small number of people hostage for about three hours before he was shot by police at a crowded restaurant in a tourist-heavy area of downtown Charleston, South Carolina, on Thursday, authorities and one of the restaurants owners said.

The hostages were freed with no injuries, Mayor John Tecklenburg said. The shooting took place at Virginias restaurant on the usually crowded King Street, a line of shops and nice dining that caters to both tourists and residents in South Carolinas largest and most historic city.

Tecklenburg quickly said the shooting was the act of a disgruntled employee and not a terrorist attack or a hate crime in a city where nine black church members were killed by a white man two years ago.

This was a tragic case of a disturbed individual, I think, with a history of some mental health challenges, Tecklenburg said at a news conference.

Authorities did not release the names of the gunman or the employee he killed, and would not specify the number of hostages who had been held.

The shooting was reported shortly after noon Thursday.

Peter Siegert, 73, and his son Peter Siegert IV, 45, were quoted by The Post and Courier of Charleston as saying that just after several waitresses and kitchen workers walked out the door without saying a word, a man in an apron with a gun came out of the kitchen and locked the front door.

I am the new king of Charleston, the Siegerts quoted the man as saying.

The man told diners to get on the floor and move to the back of the restaurant. The Siegerts said they escaped out a back door and didnt know how many people were left behind.

One of the restaurants owners, John Aquino, told WCSC-TV that a dishwasher who had been fired came back to the restaurant and shot a chef to get revenge.

The restaurant was packed with a lunchtime crowd and the first officers to arrive were able to get the man who was shot and a number of diners out safely, interim Charleston Police Chief Jerome Taylor said.

The site is a few blocks away from Emanuel AME church, where nine black members of a church were killed by a white man during a June 2015 Bible study. Dylann Roof was sentenced to death in the case.

It is also just several blocks from where more than 100 cruise ships dock in Charleston each year.
In a rare event, the envoys of India, Pakistan and China presented their credentials simultaneously to South African President Jacob Zuma.

At the event, Indian High Commissioner to South Africa Ruchira Kamboj and her Pakistani counterpart Sohail Khan sat next to each other while Chinese Ambassador Lin Songtian sat opposite them.

There was no hint of the current tensions between India and its two neighbours at the event where President Zuma welcomed the diplomats alongside their counterparts from Israel, Chile, Spain, Uganda and Ghana at the State Guest House in Pretoria.

Ambassador Lior Keinan of Israel, Indias newest partner after a recent visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was seated next to Kamboj.

I am confident that you will contribute towards enhanced mutual beneficial relations between our countries and further strengthen our people to people interaction during your tenure, Zuma told the diplomats.

Your presence here today bears a testimony of growing interconnectedness and mutual friendship of our countries and people.

Zuma called on the ambassadors to join in the fight against global challenges.

Our world is characterised by growing insecurity which is caused by multiple factors such as increased inequality, competition for scarce resources and violent acts of terrorism, among others.

It is a well-known fact that technological advancement has ushered positive changes as well as threats of increasing cybercrime, for instance.

It is therefore our collective responsibility to work towards the realisation of a peaceful and a prosperous world in which humanity can thrive.

Zuma also called for the strengthening of economic relations with the respective countries represented for mutual benefit.
Japan said Friday it will impose fresh sanctions on North Korea by freezing the assets of Chinese and Namibian firms doing business with the nuclear-armed state.

The move against a half dozen organisations and a couple of individuals comes days after Washington expanded its own punitive measures against Chinese and Russian firms, as well as people linked to Pyongyang.

The US move drew an angry response from Beijing, North Koreas key ally, while Japanese media said Friday that Namibia has been tightening its links to the North in recent years.

We will continue to make strong calls (for North Korea) to take actions toward denuclearisation, Yoshihide Suga, the Japanese governments top spokesman, told a regular press briefing.

Now is the time to apply pressure, he added.

The sanctions are aimed at disrupting the flow of cash funding North Korean weapons programmes, which are in violation of United Nations resolutions.

Japan has previously frozen the assets of entities and individuals involved in natural resources and research work related to Pyongyangs nuclear and missile development programmes.

The US and its allies, particularly Japan and South Korea, have been on high alert in recent months as North Korea carried out successive missile tests.

Tensions have eased since North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un pulled back from a plan to send a salvo of missiles towards the US Pacific territory of Guam.

But Pyongyang Wednesday disclosed significant technological advances and ambitious plans to further improve its missile capabilities.

US President Donald Trump, like his predecessors, has called on China to play more active roles in convincing North Korea to stop threatening its neighbours and the US.

But China has so far been lukewarm on the idea, preferring to address the issue through long-stalled talks.
Presidential adviser Jared Kushner met with Israeli and Palestinian leaders on Thursday to try to jumpstart moribund peace talks, but after months without progress the Mideast envoy faces growing scepticism on the Palestinian side.

With no clear vision for peace outlined by the administration and domestic issues distracting President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, expectations for the new peace push are low.

The Palestinians initially welcomed Trumps election, but they have since grown impatient with what they say is a failure by the US president to present a roadmap for peace. Specifically, they are seeking a halt to Israeli settlement construction on occupied lands, and an American commitment to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state as part of a peace deal with Israel.

If the US team doesnt bring answers to our questions this time, we are going to look into our options because the status quo is not working for our interests, said Ahmad Majdalani, an aide to Abbas.

It was not clear whether Kushner offered any clarity during his three-hour meeting with Abbas Nabil Abu Rdeneh, Abbas spokesman, called the meeting positive, without discussing details, and said the Palestinian leader had reiterated his desire for an American commitment to a Palestinian state.

The White House later said both sides agreed the US-talks were the best step forward. The Palestinian Authority and the US delegation had a productive meeting focused on how to begin substantive Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. Both sides agreed to continue with the US-led conversations as the best way to reach a comprehensive peace deal, the statement said.

Abbas said ahead of the meeting the Palestinian side appreciated Trumps efforts. We know things are difficult and complicated, but nothing is impossible with good intentions, he said.

Trump took office with hopes of striking what he calls the ultimate deal between Israelis and Palestinians  a goal that has eluded administrations before his dogged by the same intractable issues. But he has since given few details of his vision for peace, managing to frustrate both sides.

Kushner, Trumps chief Middle East adviser and his son-in-law, met Netanyahu in Tel Aviv earlier Thursday before travelling to Ramallah later in the day to meet with Abbas. Kushner is expected to return to the US on Friday.

Before his meeting with Kushner, Netanyahu spoke optimistically of the road ahead.

We have a lot of things to talk about, how to advance peace, stability and security in our region, prosperity too, Netanyahu said, standing alongside Kushner. I think that all of them are within our reach.

A statement from Netanyahus office after the meeting said the talks were substantive but gave no details on progress or further steps.

On the campaign trail, Trump took a staunchly pro-Israel line, energizing Netanyahu and hard-liners in his coalition. He promised to relocate the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem  a move welcomed by Israel and opposed by the Palestinians  and refused to endorse the Palestinian goal of independence. His platform played down the significance of Israeli settlements and he surrounded himself with advisers with deep ties to the settlement movement, including Kushner and the US ambassador to Israel, David Friedman.

But since taking office, Trump decided not to move the embassy and has urged Israel to restrain settlement construction.

He has not come out in support of the two-state solution, a position backed by most of the international community and also his Republican and Democratic predecessors, indicating vaguely that he supports whichever solution the sides agree to.

Disappointed Palestinian officials privately gripe that Trumps team has begun to support Israeli positions and ignore their concerns.

Further complicating any hope for progress are internal troubles for all three leaders. Trumps administration has become preoccupied with a series of domestic crises, most recently the fallout from the deadly racially charged violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, earlier this month.

Netanyahu, meanwhile, is facing a growing corruption investigation that could soon lead to an indictment against him. These legal troubles, along with Israeli concerns about a possible long-term Iranian presence in neighbouring Syria, make it unlikely that he will agree to any major diplomatic initiative.

After years of on-and-off peace efforts that have yielded no progress, Abbas is deeply unpopular at home. He also is stuck in a bitter rivalry with the Islamic militant group Hamas, which seized the Gaza Strip from his forces a decade ago and is now pursuing a reconciliation deal with Mohammed Dahlan, a former Abbas ally who has turned into his political nemesis.

Since the collapse of US-mediated peace talks three years ago, the sides have grown further apart and have been plagued by repeated rounds of violence, including a war between Israel and Hamas and recurring low-level violence sparked by tensions over a contested Jerusalem site holy to both Jews and Muslims.

Israel, meanwhile, has increasingly shifted its sights toward a regional deal with certain Arab countries, rather than one focusing solely on the Palestinians, an approach Trump has expressed support for.

The time has come for a regional approach, Israeli deputy foreign minister Tzipi Hotovely told Israel Radio. That is the thinking guiding President Trump and the prime minister of Israel, and so our message to the Palestinians is that time is working against them.
A lonely monkey at an Israeli zoo has found a way to soothe her maternal urges: by adopting a chicken.

Niv, an Indonesian black macaque, has spent the past week caressing, cleaning and playing with the bird at the Ramat Gan Safari Park near Tel Aviv.

It seems that Niv, who is four years old and has reached the age of sexual maturity, has difficulty finding a partner, the zoos spokeswoman Mor Porat said.

This probably explains the maternal instinct she expresses to this chicken.

The bird, which doesnt have a name, could easily escape through the bars but chooses to stay near Niv.

These kinds of relationships are rare, Porat told AFP. Sometimes macaques kill and eat chickens that enter their pens or play with them until they die.

The Indonesian black macaque that adopted a young chicken at the Ramat Gan Safari Park near Tel Aviv. (AFP)

To avoid such a tragic end, officials separated Niv and her feathered companion from the other macaques -- apart from her mother, who is often the target of hostilities from other females.

Porat said the chicken seems very happy to have found a surrogate mother. At night they sleep together.

A few months ago, Niv attempted to adopt a previous chicken, but it spurned her advances.

Seemingly unlikely animal friendships are often the result of different species being put together by humans.

A bear, lion and tiger discovered during a drug raid in the United States remained inseparable for life after they were moved to an animal sanctuary.

But Porat said it wasnt clear where the chickens at the zoo had come from.

The black macaque is listed as critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

The domesticated chicken is the most common bird in the world.
The opposition in the Maldives is looking to India to play a role in ending the political crisis created by President Abdulla Yameen and New Delhi has been delivering, former president Mohamed Nasheed said on Friday.

Nasheed, who has lived in self-exile in Britain since last year, is in Delhi to participate in a seminar organised by the Research and Information System for Developing Countries, a think tank under the external affairs ministry.

India is the worlds biggest democracy and it is difficult to see it remaining quiet or idle (about the developments in the Maldives), Nasheed said during an interactive session with the media at Brookings India..

We have high expectations from India, and I believe India will deliver. In fact, it is delivering.

The Maldives has been hit by political unrest since Nasheed, the countrys first democratically elected leader, was ousted in 2012. He was sentenced to 13 years in jail on terrorism charges after a widely denounced trial. Last year, Nasheed was freed and allowed to go for medical treatment to the UK, which granted him political refugee status.

Nasheed accused Yameen of widespread corruption and amassing wealth through illegal means, saying these funds had been used to buy over members of the legislature, judiciary and special operations unit of the police. There was also widespread use of fear and intimidation as a political tool against the opposition, he said.

Asked whether he believed India had responded appropriated to the crisis, Nasheed said New Delhis diplomacy differed from that of Western capital in that it was not rolled out in a high profile manner.

Throughout history, India does not react. It increases things gradually, he said.

Nasheed said the invitation extended to him by an official think tank against the backdrop of fresh turmoil in the Maldives was a reflection of Indias concern about the situation. Im a convict and I was sentenced to 13 years in jail for terrorism. And yet, Ive been invited to India. There is a message here, you have to be blind if you dont see it, he said.

The former president also spoke of his unlikely alliance with former ruler Abdulla Gayoom, the half-brother of Yameen, saying he had not abandoned his principles.

This is an alliance with a clear understanding of what we want, including electionsI will join hands with anyone, Im not a saintGayoom has learnt a lot and he sees the strength of democracy, he said.

We will build whatever bridges are needed, including with people we dont see eye to eye with.

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Four soldiers wounded on Independence Day in Ukraine, one of them died in hospital

Four Ukrainian servicemen were wounded on Thursday, August 24, as a result of shelling by illegal armed formations in eastern Ukraine, one of them died in a hospital in the early hours of Friday, spokesman for the Ukrainian Defense Ministry on ATO issues Oleksandr Motuzianyk said.

"Three soldiers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were wounded last day in the area of the Butovka mine due to enemy shelling," Motuzianyk said at a briefing on Friday.

Another soldier was mortally wounded near the town of Talakivka in Mariupol district and died later in hospital.
A suicide bomb and gun attack claimed by the Islamic State group on a Shia mosque in Kabul killed 20 people and wounded scores more Friday, officials said, the latest assault to highlight deteriorating security in Afghanistan.

Gunshots and explosions could be heard during the attack that lasted around four hours and witnesses reported seeing worshippers smash windows to escape.

The mosque, in a residential area in the north of the city, was believed to have been packed with dozens of men, women and children when the assailants struck during Friday prayers.

We have 20 killed and more than 50 wounded, Mohammad Ismail Kawoosi, a health ministry official, told AFP, without specifying how many were civilians.

Heavily armed security forces stormed the building and rescued more than 100 worshippers, according to the interior ministry, which had initially put the death toll at 12, including 10 civilians and two security force personnel.

It had also put the number of wounded at more than 40 civilians and seven security forces.

The attack is over and the site has been cleaned up by our police, deputy spokesman Najib Danish told AFP, confirming three attackers were killed by security forces.

He told Afghan media that police blew up a wall behind the building to get in and rescue people.

Kabul police spokesman Abdul Basir Mujahid told AFP a suicide bomber detonated himself inside the mosque .

People gathered outside had tried to call women and children trapped inside but their mobile phones were not responding, an AFP reporter at the scene said.

Our relatives have been stranded inside the mosque... We believe they have been held hostage by the gunmen. We are very concerned about their safety and may God help us and rescue our loved ones, one of the onlookers said.

Eyewitnesses described horrific scenes inside the mosque as the attackers ran short of bullets and began using knives to stab worshippers.

Others said the attackers had been armed with rocket propelled grenade launchers and had holed themselves up in the womens section of the mosque.

The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the deadly assault via its propaganda agency.

Two inghimasi of the Islamic State carried out an attack on a husseiniya (Shiite place of worship) in the Khair Khana sector of the Afghan city of Kabul, Amaq said, using the terms for suicide bombers who set off explosive vests as a last resort against gunfire.

- Pools of blood -

The presidential palace issued a statement condemning the attack as an act of cowardice and vowing to punish the criminal terrorists.

The assault underscores spiralling insecurity in Afghanistan as a resurgent Taliban steps up offensives across the country, while the Islamic State group, known for carrying out sectarian attacks, expands its Afghan footprint.

It comes just days after US President Donald Trump cleared the way for thousands more American troops to be deployed in the war-torn country.

More than 10 ambulances were at the scene to take the wounded to local hospitals. Some relatives flocked to a nearby private hospital to search for loved ones who had been in the mosque at the time of the attack.

Pools of blood could be seen at the entrance to the medical facility.

Shiites, a minority of around three million in overwhelmingly Sunni Afghanistan, have regularly been targeted by IS jihadists recently. They accuse police and troops of failing to protect them.

IS has claimed responsibility for a series of attacks killing dozens of Shiites in Kabul over the past year, including twin explosions in July 2016 that ripped through crowds of Shiite Hazaras, killing at least 85 people and wounding more than 400.

Earlier this month 33 worshippers were killed and 66 wounded in a suicide attack claimed by IS on a Shiite mosque in the western Afghan city of Herat.
Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg on Friday urged the Kremlin to comply with rules on transparency as it gears up for huge military exercises along the alliances eastern flank next month.

The drill, named Zapad 2017 (West), has stoked fresh alarm in Nato-members Poland and the Baltic states as a more assertive Russia pushes back against what it sees as the alliances unjustified expansion into eastern Europe.

I call on Russia to ensure compliance with its obligations under the OSCE Vienna Document, because predictability, transparency is especially important when we have increased military activity along our borders, Stoltenberg told reporters in Warsaw at a joint press conference with Polands right-wing Prime Minister Beata Szydlo.

The Vienna Document requires all sides to provide advance information about exercises and allow observer teams so as to avoid any dangerous misunderstandings.

The Nato chief had much stronger words for Moscow on Thursday in Italy when he said that the aggressive behaviour of Russia has undermined stability and security in Europe.

He vowed on Friday that the alliance would be watching very closely as this (Zapad) exercise takes place next month in Belarus, which borders alliance members Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.

Under Vienna Document provisions, manoeuvres involving more than 13,000 troops must be notified in advance and be open to observers.

Belarus has said Zapad 2017 involves 12,700 troops, just under the limit, but Lithuania and other critics claim there could be as many as 100,000.

According to Nato , Belarus has invited military liaison missions to attend a special visitors day on its territory, with two alliance experts due to go along.

Meanwhile, Russias Interfax news agency reported this week that the Belarusian defence ministry had invited observers from seven countries, namely Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Sweden, and Norway ... to this (Zapad 2017) event.

Russia has dismissed concerns over the exercises, with Russian Deputy Defence Minister Alexander Fomin telling the Rossiya 24 news channel that I do not see any reason to be afraid. Everything, as usual, will be open and friendly.

Stoltenberg was due to visit later Friday a US-led Nato battalion based in the northeastern Polish town of Orzysz.

The multinational unit is one of four deployed by Nato this spring to Poland and the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in order to reassure its easternmost allies unsettled by Russias frequent military exercises near the region in the wake of its 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.

General Ben Hodges, commander of US ground forces in Europe, said last week that Poland has become for the United States Army the centre of gravity for everything that were doing in terms of deterrence regarding Russia.

Aside from leading the Nato force in Orzysz, the US Army set up a new European headquarters in Poland in May to command some 6,000 of its troops deployed in Nato and Pentagon operations across the alliances eastern flank since the beginning of the year.
A school in Karachi had to drop plans to feature John Lennons classic song Imagine in a concert by students after two prominent Pakistani right-wing columnists objected to the lyrics, especially its reference to a world without heaven or religion.

The columnists, who frequently espouse right-wing views in their writings and on social media platforms, claimed they had unearthed a secular conspiracy under which students of the elite school were being turned into atheists and made to deny the ideology of Pakistan.

Ansar Abbasi, a leading columnist of the Jang Group, first drew attention to the matter when he tweeted on Thursday about the Karachi Grammar Schools plans to feature Lennons song.

A private school in Karachi is holding a concert on Friday. Students will sing John Lennons lyrics - no heavan (sic), no hell, no religion too, he said in the tweet.

A private school in Karachi is holding a concert on Friday. Students will sing John Lennon's lyrics- no heavan, no hell, no religion too .  Ansar Abbasi (@AnsarAAbbasi) August 23, 2017

This was followed by a TV talk show by Orya Maqbool Jan, another rabidly anti-secular columnist and commentator, who condemned the Karachi Grammar School for imposing the song on its students.

The song questions our belief in God and encourages an atheist mindset, Jan said on the nationally televised programme. He called for the government to take strict action against the school and its management.

Pakistani conservatives so offended by lyrics of John Lennon's Imagine, its only a matter of time before someone gets lynched for singing it pic.twitter.com/R2XksiL4jx  Fahad Desmukh (@desmukh) August 25, 2017

The school is run by an Englishman and that is where the problem lies, he claimed, adding the parents of the students at the school were slaves to Western thought.

While most of the mainstream media kept away from the controversy, the Urdu media took up the issue and discussed an apparent decline in standards in educational institutions and how Western thoughts and ideas had polluted young Pakistani minds.

Lennons 1971 song, his biggest solo hit after leaving The Beatles, which is universally recognised as a rallying cry for world peace. In its first line, he asks listeners to imagine theres no heaven and goes on to sing about a world without countries or religion.

Many liberals took to Twitter to express support for the school and to chide the two columnists for creating a controversy over the song.

Imagine a country where religious bigots are suddenly feeling threatened by a John Lennon song :( https://t.co/j0JgILTDN1 pic.twitter.com/LEZo8paoqb  Shahzeb Jillani (@ShahzebJillani) August 24, 2017

Mustafa Nawaz Khokar, a spokesman for the opposition Pakistan Peoples Party, said on a TV talk show: The song draws a line between extremism and peace. John Lennon hoped for a peaceful world where people didnt fight over heaven or hell just like the Sufis (of the region).
A New Jersey priest said he was trying to get revenge on God for poker losses when he collected computerised child pornography at his weekend home in Pennsylvania, according to his attorney and court records.

The Reverend, Kevin Gugliotta, was sentenced on Thursday to 11 to 23 months in the Wayne County jail, receiving credit for 10 months he has already served. He pleaded guilty in March to a single count of disseminating child pornography after prosecutors dropped dozens of other charges that he possessed and distributed child porn.

Pretrial records show the 55-year-old Gugliotta told probation officers he felt God was attacking him when he lost poker tournaments and games, and got revenge by collecting the porn.

That was his reason, defense attorney James Swetz said. Hes not happy thats how he felt, as the judge indicated. There are other ways to handle issues and handle anger.

Jim Goodness, director of communications for the Archdiocese of Newark, said Gugliotta has been removed from public ministry since church officials learned of the investigation in September.

Additional discipline, including possible removal from the priesthood, is possible now that the process in the courts have been completed, Goodness said. Weve also kept Rome abreast of the situation.

The Monroe County, Pennsylvania district attorneys office last August was investigating child pornography and determined some had been uploaded to a computer at Gugliottas weekend home in Gouldsboro. The tiny Pennsylvania hamlet is about 90 miles west of Holy Spirit Church, where he served as parochial vicar in Union, New Jersey.

Monroe County authorities alerted those in Wayne County, who tried to search the Gouldsboro home in September. But authorities couldnt find Gugliotta at home and couldnt lure him there using a ruse so they could search the computer before he had a chance to destroy the evidence.

Wayne County authorities wound up tracking down the priest at the New Jersey church where they interviewed him and found his laptop computer in the church rectory.

Gugliotta had previously been suspended from ministry in 2003 for allegedly molesting a teenage boy in the 1980s. But because the incident occurred when he was still a layman and before he entered the priesthood, the Archdiocese of Newark ruled he could not be punished and quietly reinstated him in 2004.

He went on to have a long career in the priesthood, including ministering to youth groups.
Indian-origin Amercian citizen, Ravin Gandhi, did not expect the kind of backlash that hit him after he wrote an article last week about his disappointment in President Donald Trump after the Charlottesville clashes, and his resolve to ensure he was a one-term president. The vile ethnic slurs and insults that followed have still not stopped.

The 44-year-old CEO of a Chicago-based company wrote an opinion piece for CNBC last week saying that though flabbergasted by Trumps victory in the 2016 election, he had decided to give the President the benefit of the doubt.

But all that changed after Charlottesville where three people died because of violence related to racial clashes on August 11.

I saw the president of the Unites States cowardly signal tacit support for white supremacists and Nazis.

The backlash was quick, and furious.

A Trump supporter, a woman, left a voice mail for him: Get your f...... garbage and go back to India and sell it over there...Dont tell us about Donald Trump. Dont tell us about this country...Go back to where the pigs live in India, and go clean your own g..... country. Its a filthy mess.

In the first interview to an Indian news media outlet, Gandhi reveals the reasons for going public with his views, the backlash and his reaction to it.

Excerpts:

Did you expect a backlash when you wrote the Oped in CNBC, saying why you were done with President Trump?

I expected some minor backlash, as that comes with the territory with commenting on politics. However, I did not expect the overall frequency or vitriol... They are still coming in.

Have you been at the receiving end of such slurs before? Growing up? At school, college? Or, at work?

Yes, while growing up in America in the 1970s and 80s I did hear such slurs on occasion. Any person of colour in America who says they have not experienced these insults at some point in their life is probably not being truthful.

Did you consider just ignoring them, and moving on? Did you discuss it with family or anyone before going public?

Given that this occurred just after Charlottesville, I knew that I must make this public somehow. My family thought I should keep quiet because of concerns about safety. My basic plan was to only share on my social network, and I expected it would end there with some expressions of outrage from friends, and some gallows humour. The fact that the story was picked up locally, then nationally, and finally internationally, is astonishing to me.

Whats been the reaction at home  the family here in the US and among relatives in India?

When the press starting emailing me, my family pleaded with me to stay silent. I knew that was impossible because since I started the issue by writing my op-ed, I had to lend my voice and stand up for what I believe in. However, at this stage the story has taken on a life of its own, and stories are being written with no involvement of mine...My relatives in India send me links to stories that I am featured in, many of which are not even written in English (so I cannot read them).

Were there any messages of support and commendation as well?

I have received over 5,000 emails/tweets/FB messages of support since Monday, and they are still coming in constantly. 99% of them are positive, from both the US and overseas. Its been amazing, and I am so grateful because these messages make me feel that my story is making some small difference given the racial issues these days. People tell me to keep shining a light on this topic because it resonates with them. The most moving messages are from people in America who have suffered severe discrimination, usually African-American, Jewish, Hispanic, Arabic, and Asian individuals.

Has any of the Indian-descent CEOs -- and there are plenty of them, such as Satya Nadella (of Microsoft), Sundar Pichai (Google), Shanatnu Narayen (Adobe) or Indra Nooyi (Pepsi) reached out to you?

No.

Did your famous last name -- possibly the most recognisable Indian name in the US -- come up, in both the abusive and supportive messages if any?

Having the name Gandhi is a blessing and a curse. When I meet people in America who know Indian history, the name Gandhi is rightfully revered because of his status as a paragon of peace and justice. In those cases, its a blessing. On the other hand, when I meet people who know nothing about India, the name Gandhi usually just means an Indian person and occasionally people are turned off. In those cases, its slightly negative. Overall I love my name, and Mahatma Gandhi is one of my lifelong idols. I have visited the exact spot in Delhi where he was assassinated and it was a very moving experience. I have also read many of the writings of Martin Luther King Jr, who references Gandhi constantly as the inspiration of non-violent resistance.

Any final thoughts?

Even though we are in the midst of a national discussion on race and hatred, I have always believed, and will always believe that America is the greatest country in the history of the world. I have lived the American dream, and I will always do my utmost to help it move forward. I feel 100 percent loyal to America in every way.
Thailands former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra missed a court appearance in a negligence trial on Friday that could have seen her jailed, prompting the Supreme Court to issue an arrest warrant amid snowballing speculation that she has fled the country.

Thousands of supporters  outnumbered by security forces  waited from dawn for a glimpse of Thailands first female prime minister, but she did not show, with a senior party source telling AFP she is likely in Singapore.

If her flight is confirmed, Yingluck will have joined her billionaire brother Thaksin in self-exile  a knock-out blow to the family and their political ambitions.

Thailand is deeply divided between the Shinawatras and their political base, which is mainly drawn from the rural poor; and a royalist army-aligned elite, who loathe the clan and refuse to cede power to democratic governments.

Yinglucks government was removed by a military coup in 2014.

In a day of high drama, Yingluck ducked her court hearing for negligence over a flagship rice subsidy policy, which carried up to 10 years in prison and a life ban from politics.

Her lawyer said she is sick and asked to delay the ruling... the court does not believe she is sick... and has decided to issue an arrest warrant, fearing she may flee the country, lead judge Cheep Chulamon told the court, rescheduling the verdict to September 27.

A minister in her government was jailed hours later for 42 years in a separate trial for corruption linked to the policy.

Thai junta chief Prayut Chan-O-Cha denied knowledge of her whereabouts but ordered border checkpoints to be stepped up, while his number-two Prawit Wongsuwon said it was possible Yingluck had fled through neighbouring Cambodia.

A senior source in the Shinawatras Pheu Thai party told AFP that as of now she is likely in Singapore... its impossible she left without the military greenlight.

Yinglucks brother, Thaksin Shinawatra also a former premier, fled Thailand in 2008 before he was convicted of graft and handed a two year jail term.
At seven years old, Abdul El-Sayed sat in the eye of Hurricane Andrew, the most destructive hurricane in US history until Katrina. Living near Miami, El-Sayed drank juice while swaddled under mattresses between his father and stepmother, who was holding El-Sayeds newborn baby brother just home from the hospital.

The 1992 storm had taken an unexpected turn southward, and the El-Sayeds could not be evacuated. The wind made an awful rattling sound on the screens.

The front door blew in. The wind and the rain whipped into the house, as if the ocean was coming at you.

El-Sayeds father, Muhammad, crawled on his stomach to shut the door, the rain whipping his face, the wind beating his body. The eye of the storm passed directly over them and The National Guard eventually evacuated them.

At the moment, American politics feels a bit like being in the eye a hurricane. Donald Trump has stated Americas nuclear arsenal is  locked and loaded , should North Korea make any false moves and neo-Nazis are openly parading in the streets bearing torches, resulting in a young woman, Heather Heyer , being murdered in Charlottesville, Virginia.

No one man can stop the hurricane. But in Michigan, a grown up El-Sayed is now having a go, trying to keep the storm at bay in a state that is having some of the hardest times in the union. Hes still a year out from the primary, but in his attempt at running for governor of the state, he is trying not just to win, but to change American politics itself.

If El Sayed wins, he will be the first Muslim governor in US history.

When driving from Detroit to Adrian, Michigan, my hometown, you pass by a mosque near Ypsilanti that was burned to the ground in an arson last March. Adrian is 45 minutes from any freeway, the county is rural, and the cornfields rolling. You pass by a number of road signs offering jobs  $28 dollars an hour for skilled work, less for driving a truck.

The city itself, the largest town in the county, holds only about 20,000 people. It is the kind of place with lots and lots of American flags. Its also Trump country, white and Christian, the county voting with the president 57% to Clintons 36%.

El-Sayed was speaking there on a recent Sunday afternoon in a public hall. A young local transgender man introduced El-Sayed to the audience  a brave choice for a region still coming to terms with gay rights, let alone trans rights. Just a few miles away in Jackson, Michigan, the house of two organizers for the towns first ever pride parade was burned in what investigators are calling a possible arson .

El-Sayeds stump speech revolves around fleshing out his personal story. Hes the son of an Egyptian immigrant, who remarried to a now-converted white, rural protestant mother. His uncles learned to prepare venison Halal so his entire family could share in the meals. Throw in an atheist mathematician uncle from the former Soviet Union, and Thanksgiving dinners were interesting to say the least.

At this stage in his speech, El-Sayed usually pivots to speaking about the US constitution and the soaring rhetoric of hope and commonality.

As you can imagine, these people come from fundamentally different walks of life, they have known different realities. But. They see a common future. And thats because its a common future they have built together, he said. I learned about a society that was founded on an ideal that my father invested in back in 1978 when he came here, one that told him, we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all people are created equal.

One of the first questions El-Sayed gets asked that day is about Sharia law, asking about his thoughts on the custom, by a clearly agitated man in a checked button-down shirt.

The rumors surrounding El-Sayeds faith are small but persistent, spread by a handful of far-right websites preying on the uninformed and fearful.

One morning, I asked him about them over breakfast.

Are you the spear-tip of a vast Muslim conspiracy to bring Sharia law to the US?

No, he said.

Are you a front for the Muslim brotherhood to pervert American politics towards terrorism?

No.

Were you handpicked by George Soros to lead a vast liberal takeover of the government?

No. Ive never met George Soros.

Its tempting to make any story about El-Sayed about his faith, and how it is central to how voters perceive him. He answers questions about his faith like all the others about more mundane matters like tax policy or infrastructure development: head on, with razor-sharp intellect and rhetoric.

But to reduce him to his faith would also be a disservice. His story is one of responsibility, courage and hope.

I believe in a separation of church and state, he started, making a note that John F Kennedys Catholicism was also a turning point in American politics.

I can tell you that my ability to practice my faith in person, in my own home, when I choose to, where Im allowed to, because of freedoms in this country have everything to do with that separation of church and state, he said. If I am going to want to be able to put my face on the ground 34 times a day, like I do, because Im Muslim, I want to make sure no one can take that right away from me. And I will not take that right away from anyone else.

He received an enormous round of applause after answering the question  in a nearly completely white and Christian room  and a standing ovation at the end of the event, that went over time by almost an hour.

Afterward, I asked the man who asked the Sharia question if, after hearing El-Sayed speak, he thought he would bring Sharia law to the United States.

No, the man said. I dont.

El-Sayeds resume and progressive bonafide are nearly impeccable. He is a Rhodes Scholar, a doctor, formerly a professor at an Ivy League university (where he wrote the textbook for his class) and is the former director for the health department in Detroit, the youngest in any major city. Hes only 32, and would be the youngest governor since Bill Clinton in 1978. He will also become a father for the first time in less than three months.

He has pledged to take no corporate Pac money and is unabashedly disdainful of big money influencing elections, opening calling corporate campaign contributions bribes. He has pledged universal healthcare to all Michiganders if it fails on the federal level, says he will push to legalise marijuana, raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour and make Michigan a sanctuary state, defying federal immigration law for non-violent undocumented immigrants.

And he has a real chance of winning. A year out of the Democratic primary he has raised $1m, Bernie Sanders style, through individual donations  more than $1,300 last month alone  despite little name recognition or support from the establishment Democratic party in the state. His campaign is lithe and muscular, knocking on tens of thousands of doors already.

Maybe most importantly, El-Sayed has a rhetorical style and charisma that draws easy comparisons to a young Barack Obama, his events often inexplicably packed. At a campaign event in Ann Arbor one woman, Tamanika Terry Seward, said: I think the last time I sat there and gave that kind of smirk is when I first heard Obama in Chicago, when he was running for senator.

Michigan is ready for change. Flints water was just poisoned by the state government in what is likely the largest environmental disaster of the 21st century so far. And according to a study from the Center for Michigan , public trust in state government has never been lower, with staggering numbers like 80% of people mistrusting the government in areas like education.

El-Sayeds personality, policies and campaign apparatus are clearly large enough to overcome Islamophobia in the state  a decade ago, who would have thought the president of the US would have been black and bear the middle name of Hussein, and the mayor of Detroit, the blackest city in the nation, would be white?

The question becomes, can he overcome the cynicism and distain for current politics tearing the US apart?

El-Sayeds campaign staff is young, fun and smart. Political stickers slapped on laptops are ubiquitous, staffers hail from Harvard and other elite institutions, and the campaign on the whole seems incredibly diverse and well run.

After chatting for a few moments with campaign interns, I ran into two of them in the bathroom. One, a Muslim, was washing his feet in the sink before praying. Another, pierced and dyed and queer, washed his hands in the sink directly next.

The campaign, reflected in his staff, is a reflection of a different America to the one hailed by the alt-right  pluralistic and diverse .

El-Sayed himself reflects this, bouncing between subjects in casual conversations in a campaign vehicle en route to speak to voters at polling places for a primary election in Detroit. We talk about the percentage of C-sections and Shakespeare, and he makes uproarious jokes likely never to be seen in public like faux campaign slogans (The Egyptian Prescription).

But El-Sayed can also be deadly serious and ferociously passionate about Americas political reality, speaking with barbs in a way nearly unheard of from the mouths of politicians who hedge and weasel.

Im trying to remind people why the system is built the way it is, and that it has been corrupted by a very small, very powerful, very rich group of people, who have fundamentally bought out our politicians, he said. I dont think our forefathers were imagining huge corporate behemoths that were not aligned to anything but a quarterly bottom line of some amorphous group of stockholders, who would then be ruled as having the rights of people, and then be able to either, up front of behind closed doors, buy out our politicians to create a system of politics that was not beholden to anything but corporate bottom lines.

The turnout in Detroits primary election that day was just over 10%, heavily favouring the incumbent mayoral candidate awash in big money . I asked El-Sayed if he would rather win with corporate money or lose without it. He replied the latter.

Many of his staffers are veterans of the Sanders campaign, and his funding structure is remarkably similar. Hes also running on his conscience, not trying to reverse engineer a candidate with poll testing opinions or policies.

Where Sanders failed, though  he never broke from a laser focus on economics or really addressed inequalities brought by race and gender  El-Sayed embraces those challenges, represents them even.

The electorate [in Michigan] doesnt know what it wants, but it wants something different, his campaign manager, Max Glass, said. I wouldnt have taken this race if I didnt think we could win.

The other, less comfortable, comparison is to Trump. El-Sayed is an outsider candidate who speaks his mind, with no elected political experience aside from his appointment as health director of Detroit. In many ways, hes the other side of the same coin, a populist candidate in a populist time.

A fan of hip-hop, El-Sayed played a song late one night coming home from a campaign event. In vulgar terms, the song, America by Logic , decries racism, anti-immigrant sentiment, police brutality and other modern ills, a sort of 21st century Mississippi Goddamn.

This is the best line in the song, he said turning the music up ever so slightly.

Dont run from Trump, it went. Run against him.

Running against Trump  a President who touted a Muslim travel ban as one of his policies  poses its logistical challenges.

The location of the campaign office is a guarded secret and many staffers have had to speak with their families about potential danger before starting their jobs.

Since April 2013, there have been 370 hate incidents directed at US mosques and Muslim community centers. In 2015 alone, there were 257 anti-Muslim hate crimes in the US, according to the FBI. And in Michigan, the village president of Kalkaska, a small town in the north, has called for the death of Muslims,  all, every last one . He still sits in office.

As much of El-Sayeds public persona and story revolves around his multicultural family, I went to visit some of them including his step-grandparents, whom he lived with during college at the University of Michigan, his parents, and his wife. I asked them if they were worried about the candidates safety.

The newest member of our policy team is Lira - a bone-a-fide Democrat. She helps us out when times get ruff. pic.twitter.com/hWfDebbKC6  Abdul El-Sayed (@AbdulElSayed) August 19, 2017

His father, a high ranking auto engineer who worked on the first automobile optimised using computers, spoke to me in a coffee house in Dearborn, a city often said to be the center of Arab America. An occasional imam, he twisted a straw wrapper in his fingers, nervous and seemed both unused to speaking with the press yet holding a sense of duty to do so.

Are we scared about him? If he goes out and fights injustice, even if he gives his life for that, as long as hes trying to do the right thing and fight injustice and bring justice to somebodys life  were all going to die one day, he said, his voice becoming solemn, almost sad. To die for a cause is better than to die in your bed.

His step-grandparents, who are white, shared the same fears yet the same determination. Their house was decorated with a shower curtain printed with a map of the world and a needlepoint Christian manger scene below large family photographs of women wearing hijab.

His stepmother remarked the family wasnt focusing much on the danger, but rather looking toward the possibility.

He wont do it alone, but he can change politics, his stepmother said. I think hes already doing it. He goes up north and sits down with people that look like his grandpa, and they dont know that. But then they have this conversation, and this is the first Muslim person theyve ever met.

People are seeing someone for the first time, theyre not seeing a cartoon, theyre seeing a real person.

One woman said,after hearing El-Sayed speak at a democratic event in Oakland County,You just won my heart. All you have to do is drive around and talk like you did today, and you will win this state.

At a candidate forum in Flint, Michigan, where the water is still not drinkable according to many residents, El-Sayed seemed to make a big splash. Although some were still concerned about his electability, nearly every single person I spoke with said they would vote for El-Sayed if the primary was held the next day.

Im running for the future of my child, El-Sayed said to me on multiple occasions during the week I spent with him. That proposition is becoming more immediate every day: his wife is six months along.

I think making a bold statement, when a lot of people feel like you should be afraid ... can be inspiring, said his wife Sara. I think its easy and comfortable to sit on the sidelines, to worry or to completely just turn off whats going on in the world. If you can make a difference, I do think its a responsibility.

Its also reflected in the way El-Sayed speaks, rapidly and with confidence, as if hes trying to bowl the listener over with facts and stories and pathos, as if hes trying to get all the information in before some great catastrophic change to our semi-peaceful way of life squashes his opportunity, his childs, and ours.

Hes a man who believes politics can be changed, repaired even. His is a story at least as old as the United States, about a person who believes what we were taught in grade school: that all people are created equal, that change can come, that we can live up to our ideals.

No matter the outcome, said El- Sayed, We will have won if we can change politics.

(Published in arrangement with The Guardian)
Usually the humans are scared of the wild animals. But in the Norwegian far-north, an Arctic tourist guide has been fined 1,300 euros ($1,500) for scaring off a polar bear.

When a group of tourists on a snowmobile expedition in May spotted a bear standing still, 900 metres (2,950 ft) away, their guide decided to approach the predator to take a closer look.

The animal, spotted on the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard, fled the scene.

The regulations say that it is forbidden to approach polar bears in such a way that they are disturbed, regardless of the distance, the Svalbard governors office said in a statement.

Located 1,000 miles (1,600 km) from the North Pole and twice the size of Belgium, Svalbard is, according to 2015 state figures, home to nearly 1,000 polar bears, a protected species since 1973.

Five deadly attacks on people have been recorded in about 40 years.

phy/ik/mt
A gang of thieves smashed their way into the UK branch of an Indian jewellery shop in a meticulously planned and audacious raid and stole 1.8 million pounds worth of gold, diamond and other jewels, police said on Friday.

Scotland Yard on Friday released CCTV footage and images of the raid at Joyalukkas jewellers on Green Street in east London.

Burglars smashed a hole in the wall of the shop and crawled inside to steal Indian-style gold and diamond necklaces, bracelets, pendants and earrings.

This was a meticulously planned and audacious raid on a jewellery shop with 1.8 million pounds of items stolen, said Detective Chief Inspector Andy Pallett from the Met Polices Newham CID (Criminal Investigation Department).

While we think it only took the suspects around 20 minutes to make the hole, it must have been noisy work and we would appeal for anyone who heard or saw anything suspicious to contact us, Pallett said.

Several men were hanging around the area for a number of hours before the raid.

If you have any information no matter how small, please come forward, he said in his appeal relating to the robbery reported to police on July 10.

Joyalukkas, which has its registered office in Kerala, is one of several jewellery shops selling Indian-style gold and diamond jewellery in the Green Street area of east London.

The incident was reported to police after shop staff arrived at work to discover the store in disarray on July 10.

The raid is believed to have taken place in the very early hours of that morning.

Eight suspects are believed to have been involved, with three entering the shop and the rest acting as lookouts.

The three men used a sledgehammer and a crow bar  left at the scene  to create a hole in the rear of the shop which backs onto an alleyway.

Once it was large enough, they crawled inside.

They spent more than three hours inside gathering the jewellery from drawers and counters and stuffing it into rucksacks, the Met Police have concluded.

They then left via the hole and are believed to have climbed a wall into a builders yard behind the shop before making their escape.

The remaining suspects acted as lookouts, three of whom watching the shop from 1700hrs on Sunday, July 9, until the raid was complete.

Footage and images of these men have been released by investigating officers today. One wore a bright pink hooded top, another a black coat and the third a T-shirt and shorts. The other suspects are described as all men with some aged in their mid-30s. The three inside the shop wore gloves and had their faces covered, the Met Police said in its appeal.

The police said they would also like to hear from anyone who might have been offered items of jewellery for sale in the days or weeks following the incident.

There have been no arrests made in relation to the burglary at this stage as the investigation continues.
Armoured vehicles, soldiers marching in elaborate formations, fly past is what you expect from a run of the mill military parade.

But simulated training exercises, explosions, gunbattle scenes and soldiers dangling from choppers is what you get at the Saudi Arabian military parade in Mecca.

The parade of security forces was held in the holy city of Mecca ahead of the Haj pilgrimage on Wednesday. More than two million people are expected to participate in this years Haj, a pilgrimage that all capable Muslims must perform at least once in their lives.

The Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman attended the extravagant event.

There have been safety and security incidents in Haj previously. In 2015, more than 2000 pilgrims were crushed in a deadly stampede in Meccas Mina.

Take a look at the parade:

There are military parades  and then there's Mecca's mega military parade  pic.twitter.com/MeGMw7Vklc  BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) August 24, 2017

A military parade in preparation for the annual Haj pilgrimage in the holy city of Mecca. (Reuters Photo)

The haj to Mecca, the most revered site in Islam, is a pilgrimage that Muslims must perform at least once in their lifetimes if they are able to do so. (AFP Photo)

Saudi armed forces march during a parade in Saudi Arabia's holy city of Mecca. (AFP Photo)

(With agency inputs)
The recent remarks by a top Republican senator questioning the competence of President Donald Trump are outrageous, the White House has said.

I think thats a ridiculous and outrageous claim and doesnt dignify a response from this podium, the White House press secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters at her news conference.

Sanders was responding to a question on recent remarks by Senator Bob Corker in this regard.

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, Corker told reporters in Tenseness on August 18.

The President was on a working vacation then.

This was the first White House press conference after Trump returned from his vacation.

Corker had also said that hes not sure whether the president understands the character of this nation.
Indians have long been at the heart of the sensitive discourse of immigration in Britain  from Enoch Powells infamous rivers of blood speech, to plans to impose visa bonds, to the Go Home vans driven around parts of London.

For most of the time, they have been seen in a negative light.

For the first time, official figures released on Thursday paint a rather different picture of visiting Indians in recent years: the vast majority of them (97%)  including students  return before their visas expire, busting some myths.

The figures not only brought cheer in Indian quarters, but also put Prime Minister Theresa May in the dock, who, as Home secretary since 2010 and now as prime minister, used the overstayers card to make it tough for Indian and other non-EU students to come to Britain, leading to a major drop.

The good news for Indian visitors and students, however, needs to be tempered with the fact that some Indian citizens continue to be caught abusing the visa system, working illegally or entering into sham marriages or indulging in other abuse.

The over 50% drop in Indian student numbers since 2010 is also attributed to the closure of 920 bogus colleges who were earlier admitting large numbers for purposes other than studies, though many genuine students avoiding Britain due to the negative perception abroad may also have contributed to the fall in numbers.

The Indian component in UK immigration also includes many illegal immigrants, who entered over the decades and whose return is at the top of Mays agenda. As she said during her 2016 visit to India, the UK will consider further improvements to our visa offer if at the same time we can step up the speed and volume of returns of Indians with no right to remain in the UK.

The new figures have already enthused sections of the Indian community to demand improvement of the visa offer, but this is unlikely to happen anytime soon. Nor is it likely that the May government brings back the post-study work visa that was popular among Indian students (it was closed in 2012).

Read more: New UK visa figures show most Indians do not overstay

For now, the hope is that the figures will mute some of the negative voices about India and Indians in the discourse of immigration, while the government faces more pressure to stop considering non-EU students as migrants (a view also shared by some of Mays cabinet colleagues).

Mays critics rounded on her after figures from the Office for National Statistics and Home Office showed that 97% of international students return after completing their studies, which amounted to a statistical U-turn when earlier estimates had put overstayers at 100,000 a year.

Vince Cable, who was Mays cabinet colleague in the David Cameron coalition government (2010-2015), called on May to apologise for the crackdown on foreign students: We spent five years trying to persuade the Home Office that the figures they were using as evidence were bogus, but they persisted nonetheless on the basis of these phoney numbers.

The consequences were very serious. I would hope they would not just apologise to the individual students, many of whom have paid large fees and even found themselves deported in some cases, but simply acknowledge that the figures are grossly distorted and wrong.

Home secretary Amber Rudd, who has been following the May doctrine and promised new curbs on non-EU students and professionals in her 2016 Conservative party conference speech, has tasked the Migration Advisory Committee to report on the impact of international students. Its report by September 2018 is expected to present May the fig-leaf to change policy.

The latest figures are based on an advanced system of checks introduced in recent years. But even when earlier estimates of overstayers were based on uncertain data, May used them to target international students in her drive to cut overall immigration: Students, yes; overstayers, no, was her mantra.

Shadow Home secretary Diane Abbott believes that Mays long-running campaign to malign international students is based on fantasy, with no evidence of a major issue with students overstaying.

Some in government appear to be waking up to the idea that overseas students make a valuable contribution to our country and have belatedly asked the Migration Advisory Committee to gather evidence.

UK universities and other stake-holders have lobbied intensely to remove international students from overall migration figures, but May has consistently refused to do so. Some studies estimate that the high fee-paying non-EU students generate more than 25 billion for the British economy every year and support over 200,000 jobs.

James McGrory of the pro-EU group Open Britain said: The Prime Minister has spent years, in Downing Street and in the Home Office, railing against foreign students overstaying their visas, which was used this to justify crackdowns on foreign students, despite their importance to our economy.

But now it emerges that the number of overstayers is just a fraction of the numbers the Government previously thought. They have been using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

As Britain prepares to leave the EU, the new figures provide the May government the opportunity to partly deliver on its claim of forging a more open country after Brexit, if only for Indian and other international students for now.

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In July 1942 German submarines and aircraft sank 23 of 35 Allied cargo ships bound for Murmansk, a success made possible when the British dispersed convoy P.Q.17 out of concern the German High Seas Fleet was about to attackwhich it did not. Adolf Hitler was pleased with this triumph of a threat in being, but he still expected his surface warships to actually do something. On Dec. 30, 1942, a German force set out to engage Murmansk-bound convoy JW.51B.

Commanded by Vice Adm. Oscar Kummetz, Operation Rainbow was to be a two-pronged attack by the heavy cruisers Admiral Hipper and Lutzow, each accompanied by three destroyers. Kummetz, however, had to temper his aggressiveness against a standing order from Hitler, ever since the loss of the battleship Bismarck on May 27, 1941, to avoid unnecessary risks. Even as Kummetz set out, he received an order to use caution even against enemy of equal strength, because it is undesirable for the cruisers to take any great risks.

By 8:30 a.m. the Germans were approaching the convoywhose escort light cruisers Sheffield and Jamaica, under Rear Adm. Robert Burnett, were 30 miles to the north. Hostilities began when the British destroyer Obdurate came under fire from the German destroyers Friedrich Eckholdt, Richard Beitzen and Z-29, soon joined by Hipper. The British escort commander, Captain Robert Sherbrooke, responded with his flagship Onslow and its sister destroyers Orwell and Obedient, and although wounded in the face, he kept Kummetz off-balance with the threat of torpedo attacks. Hipper and Eckholdt sank the minesweeper Bramble and destroyer Achates before another feigned torpedo run by Orwell and Obdurate drove them off. Lutzow reached the convoy, only to turn away in a snow squall.

At that point Burnetts light cruisers arrived and also promptly attacked, damaging Hipper and sinking Eckholdt with all hands. Lutzow found the convoy again at 11:40 a.m. but scored only minor damage before Kummetz signaled a general retirement nine minutes later.

Sherbrooke recovered from his injuries and received the Victoria Cross. Hitler, on learning of Kummetzs failure to destroy JW.51B, ordered the entire High Seas Fleet scrapped, prompting Grand Adm. Erich Raeder to resign. Hitler replaced him with submariner Admiral Karl Donitz, who reserved the battleship Tirpitz and battlecruiser Scharnhorst for active Arctic duty but otherwise placed the Kriegsmarines war effort primarily on the U-boat services shoulders.
Jozef Pisudski saved Poland by handing the Red Army one of its greatest defeats ever.

IN EARLY 1920, IN THE WAKE OF WORLD WAR I, Europe was desolate and bankrupt. President Woodrow Wilsons attempt to insert the United States into international affairs as a leader and defender of democracy had ended in disaster for him and his party. Unable to persuade a Republican-controlled Congress to sign the Versailles peace treaty, he had been felled by a stroke that left him semiparalyzed and bewildered. His country was in much the same condition. Later in the year, American voters would put Republican Warren G. Harding, who had promised a return to normalcy, in the White House.

While humdrum prevailed in America, in Eastern Europe and Russia a drama was unfolding that made leaders on both sides of the recent war increasingly anxious. In 1917, with Tsar Nicholas II overthrown in a revolution, liberals and conservatives had struggled for control of Russia. Out of the chaos came a new movement, Soviet Communism, led by an electrifying visionary, Vladimir Ilich Lenin. Western nations, notably Britain and France, were so terrified that they shipped conservative Russians millions of dollars worth of guns and supplies. A year of savage civil war ensued, with the Communists emerging as the victors.

The experience convinced Lenin and his chief adviser, Leon Trotsky, that Russia would never be safe with such enemies arrayed against it. Their answer: export the revolution, turn Western Europe into Communist states, and make Russias cause a movement that would transform the world. Where better to launch this transformation, Lenin and Trotsky reasoned, than Germany, filled as it was with disillusioned ex-soldiers and unemployed civilians. The sight of a Communist army preaching the rebirth of hope and pride, as they saw it, would galvanize Germansand intimidate the rest of war-weary Western Europe.

ONLY ONE NATION STOOD BETWEEN RUSSIAS BORDERS AND GERMANY: Poland. By most standards, though, this was closer to a joke than a problem. Poland had not even existed as a nation for 123 years. Since 1795 it had been divided among Germany, Austria, and Russia. Subsequent shifts of territory in the 19th century had left Russia in control of most of the land that had been Poland. But instead of forcing the Polish people to submit in humiliation, the dismemberment of their country turned them into passionate patriots. During World War I they had joined the Russian, Austrian, and German armies and had fought as volunteers in the French army.

Lenin and his cronies thought they could persuade the leaderless Poles to become Communistsor kill them if they proved intransigent. But the Poles had a secret weapon: Jozef Pisudski. A burly 51-year-old general, Pisudski had spent most of his life fighting for Polands restoration, sometimes as an urban guerrilla, sometimes as an agitator who published underground newspapers and occasionally robbed banks to keep his cause alive. He became a general during World War I, leading some 20,000 Poles who fought as a separate legion in the Austrian army.

In 1916 the increasingly desperate Germans, confronted by Russias seemingly inexhaustible manpower, persuaded the Austrians to transfer the Polish legion to their army. But Pisudski, who came with them, refused to take the oath of allegiance required of every German soldier. The infuriated Germans threw him into the fortress of Magdeburg and dissolved the legion. All but a handful of the Poles vanished, and Berlins hopes of a Polische Wehrmacht went with them. Two years later, with two million Americans in the war on the Western Front, Germanys dreams of victory collapsed and Kaiser Wilhelm II began contemplating life as an exile in Holland.

Pisudski was freed from the Magdeburg prison and headed for Warsaw. He arrived on November 11, 1918, the day Germany signed an armistice with the Allied powers. As people danced in the streets from Paris to San Francisco, Pisudski proclaimed the rebirth of the Polish Republic and called on his followers in the Polish Legion to join him. They briskly disarmed Warsaws dismayed German garrison and took control of their erstwhile capital city.

But the Polish Legion, numbering barely 20,000 men, was merely a pest in the path of the 200,000-man Army of the West that the Communists were readying to unleash. Trotsky and Lenin had picked their best generalsalmost all of them former tsarist officersfor the new army. Leading them was 27-year-old Mikhail Nikolayevich Tukhachevsky, a handsome aristocrat with little interest in anything but military glory. Command of the Army of the West further fueled his already blazing ambition. Lenin made no attempt to conceal the long-range goal. By attacking Poland we are attacking the Allies, he declared. By destroying the Polish army we are destroying the Versailles peace, upon which rests the whole present system of international relations.

Lenin and Trotsky decided there was no point in wasting time. They ordered Tukhachevsky to invade Poland, even though little more than half his projected army had been assembled. On the vast plains of Eastern Europe, where the ability to move and maneuver was essential in waging war, Tukhachevskys forces collided with an extraordinary number of aggressive, angry Poles. Throughout 1919 Pisudski had worked tirelessly to assemble an army fierce enough to make Polish independence a reality.

The key to defeating the Russian invaders, Pisudski realized, was the Pripet Marshes, a vast wilderness of wetlands along the forested basin of the Pripyat River and its tributaries. The marshesgenerally regarded at the time as impassablesliced the 600-mile-plus zone of battle into two almost separate sectors. One, by far the more dangerous, was the northern corridor, which led directly to Warsaw. But the southern corridor was also important, as it could enable potential Russian-hating allies in Ukraine and Byelorussia to join forces with the Polish army. The Bolsheviks had swarmed into Ukraine in the final months of 1919 and forced a national army led by Symon Petlyura to retreat to Poland.

Pisudski decided that these Ukrainian soldiers and a nine-division Polish army should attack in the south and force two Russian armies into retreat. He struck on April 25, 1920. The Russians, taken by surprise, fell back. They were dismayed to find hundreds of Polish cavalry waiting for them. These horse soldiers would soon make the struggle for Warsaw radically different from the static trench warfare of the Western Front in World War I.

The two Russian armies did not muster more than 20,000 men; they were called armies only for lack of a more accurate term. The distances of the battlefield made it necessary to give them semi-independent status, with a general in command of each force. With Pisudskis men applying pressure from the front, the Polish cavalry in the rear produced near-panic. In two days the Russians were in disorderly retreat, throwing away weapons, packs, supplies. But the Polish cavalry were too few to force many of the Russians to surrender. Most, to Pisudskis chagrin, escaped to fight another day.

Adding to the Russians dismay, the Polish army was backed by armored cars and an air forcebombers that planted high explosives on roads and supply trains. Pisudski had sent emissaries to several Western countries and they had responded with alacrity, appalled by what might happen if the Russians got to Germany. The French also sent a military mission of 300 officers to Warsaw. One of these professional soldiers was Major Charles de Gaulle, whose military and political fame awaited another war.

No one was happier with this victory over the Russians than the Ukrainians in Pisudskis army. They called for an immediate attack on the Ukrainian capital of Kiev. Hoping to create a grateful ally, Pisudski agreed, even though he expected the Russians to fiercely defend the city. As his army crossed the border between the two countries, Pisudski sent a cavalry division racing ahead with orders to gather information on the Kiev garrison. The following day their report produced joy and celebration. The Russians had fled with the disorderly remnants of the two armies that the Poles had already smashed.

In his headquarters confronting the northern corridor, Tukhachevsky seemed unworried by Pisudskis southern victories. The Russian commander remained confident that his troops, which he liked to call a horde, would prevail when they made their move toward Warsaw. But plans for the completion of the horde had to wait. Moscow ordered an immediate attack to take the pressure off the Ukrainian sector.

A WEEK AFTER KIEV HAD FALLEN TO THE POLES, Tukhachevsky followed through on the order from Moscow. His plan was to split the Polish armies in the north, and force two of them into the Pripet Marshes, where they could be destroyed at leisure. The Poles were taken by surprise and fell back at first. But the Russian army proved woefully inept at keeping pressure on them, giving the Poles time to organize a reserve army and counterattack within a week. Suddenly the Russians were retreating in a style that recalled the panic that had wrecked their southern front. Two cavalry regiments surrendered to a single troop of Polish lancers. The Polish generals in immediate command were inclined to keep going all the way to Moscow. But Pisudski ordered them to call a halt and send him reinforcements for the southern front, where suddenly things werent going so well.

Aware that the world was watching, Lenin and Trotsky decided to erase the southern Polish victories. They were encouraged by the trouble Symon Petlyura, the Ukrainian leader, was encountering. While Petlyura was recruiting and training an army, the Russians confronting him had suddenly regained their confidence, thanks to reinforcements pouring in, and were making aggressive moves all along the front.

The transformation within the Russian ranks had everything to do with the arrival of the most fearsome cavalry unit in the war, led by a totally ruthless commander, Semyon Budyonny. The 1st Cavalry Army, or Konarmia (Horse Army), had been created a year earlier, when most of Russias famous horsemen, the Cossacks, had joined the conservatives in the civil war. Budyonny, a tsarist officer with a mustache even more extravagant than Pisudskis, had joined the Bosheviks in 1917, but the Communists had no illusions that he was loyal to them or anyone else. It fell to Josef Stalin, a rising Bolshevik star, to keep Budyonny in line as his political commissar. (All the Russian armies had commissars to make sure they followed the partys orders.)

Stalin was immensely impressed by Budyonny and helped him build the Konarmia into a formidable force, with 4 cavalry divisions, 1 infantry brigade, 5 armored trains, and a squadron of 15 planes. Budyonnys horsemen were not nice people. They killed civilians and prisoners. Budyonny began his attack on Kiev by probing for an opening between the two Polish armies that were defending the city. This was his standard tactic. Once he found an opening, he flung the full weight of his whole division at it and burst into the enemys rear, where his horsemen soon created chaos.

But this time Budyonny was in for a shock. Swiftly filling the gap were horsemen of the 1st Polish Cavalry Division. The Bolsheviks were so busy defending themselves that they were unable to inflict much damage on the Polish rear. Budyonnys situation was not improved when a brigade of Cossacks switched sides, shot their commissars, and began attacking the Russians. Budyonny regrouped and attacked again two days later, on June 1. Once more he got nowhere. Finally, on June 5, the Konarmia burst through and began rampaging in the Polish rear. But the Polish cavalry continued to contest Budyonnys progress and the fighting soon degenerated into small, almost pointless, clashesbrilliant as tactics for a book on cavalry history but accomplishing little. This gave the Poles time to evacuate their garrison from Kiev.

Finally recognizing Budyonnys central role in Russias plan for the southern corridor, Pisudski vowed to destroy him and assembled enough horsemen and infantry to do the job. He struck as the Konarmias leader was relaxing at the Hotel Versailles as his soldiers laid waste the town of Rowne and nearby villages, mercilessly massacring civilians in their usual style. After several days of ferocious fighting, Budyonny decided to retreat from the town. And just in time: An entire Polish infantry division had charged into the battle, with orders to capture or kill Stalins favorite general.

But the infantry division and other Polish troops received abrupt orders to break off the battle and retreat about 60 miles west to a new defense line. Pisudski suddenly needed every man he could find to prevent ultimate disaster. Tukhachevsky, his army revived by massive reinforcements, had begun an assault in the northern corridor so that he would take Warsaw by the middle of August. Along with veteran infantry divisions hardened in the struggle with the conservative Russians, Tukhachevsky had acquired a cavalry corps led by one of the shrewdest, most exotic generals in the war, a Persian-born Armenian named Hayk Bzhishkyan, also known as Gai Dmitrievich Gai. He was much smarter than Budyonny, especially in the art of cooperating with infantry.

The Poles mustered about 80,000 men to confront the Russians. But they had to guard a 370-mile front, while the 120,000 Bolsheviks could choose where to strike with massed strength. Tukhachevskys proclamation on the day of the attack exuded confidence: Soldiers of the Red Army! The time of reckoning has come. In the blood of the defeated Polish army we will drown the criminal government of Pisudski. Turn your eyes to the west. In the west the fate of world revolution is being decided. Forward!

Backing up this rhetoric, the Politburo in Moscow ordered the Russian secret police to escort a group of Polish Communists with orders to take over Branicki Palace in Biaystok, the largest city in northeastern Poland. There they proclaimed themselves the Provisional Polish Revolutionary Committee and began publishing a newspaper that cheered the opening of Tukhachevskys offensive.

Russian artillery opened the battle with a ferocious barrage. One Russian army surged forward at the northern tip of the front, with orders to break through and then swing south, sending Gais men in the lead. But even his ferocity could do no more than dent the Polish line. Nevertheless, the danger of a collapse under pressure from other Russian armies remained real, and Pisudski ordered another retreat. This did nothing for Polish morale. But his men made the trek and dug into new fortifications in German trenches left from the Great War.

Panic grew in Warsaw. Pisudskis critics attacked him, pointing to his lack of formal military education. A new government was patched together. It appealed to Britain and France for help, but they did nothing but propose a truce and peace talks, although some of their politicians and diplomats swarmed into Warsaw, supposedly to give advice. The French military mission included General Maxime Weygand, who during the war had served as chief of staff on the Western Front to Marshal Ferdinand Foch, the Supreme Allied Commander. They tried to win him Pisudskis job, but Pisudski still had enough sway to make the supposed savior an assistant chief of staff.

Meanwhile, with Tukhachevsky using the spacious battlefield to maneuver around their flanks, the Polish armies continued to retreat. Things were not much better in the southern corridor. There, Budyonnys cavalry, having recovered from its earlier setback, was forcing the Poles into constant retreat. Things looked so promising that Lenin wrote to Stalin to ask him if he should consider a revolution in Italy. It would be a sin not to try, Stalin replied.

But Pisudski had other ideas. The only way he could withdraw troops he needed from the north, he decided, was by defeating Budyonny there. The Konarmia was growing weary and disillusioned with the Poles and Poland. Its soldiers had been told they would be greeted as liberators. Instead, the Poles kept shooting back. Poland itself had been sold to them as a land overflowing with bourgeois luxuries. Instead, after so many years of invasions, its towns and cities were mostly wrecks. When the horsemen discovered that the mansions of big landowners in their path were little more than looted shells, they expressed their disappointment by coating walls and floors and stairs with excrement. It became their calling card.

Pisudskis offensive against the arrogant horsemen was a startling success. The Poles, reinforced by two new cavalry divisions, refused to give way. They retreated and then counterattacked from Budyonnys flanks. The vermin are choking us! Budyonny exclaimed.

The Polish cavalry blocked Budyonnys retreat while two other armies challenged his shaken men on their front and flanks. For a day it looked as if the Konarmia would be shattered beyond repair. But the attackers were suddenly stymied by frantic orders from Pisudski in the north. He needed every available man. Tukhachevskys men were about to breach the last line of defense before Warsaw.

In four weeks the Bolsheviks had advanced hundreds of miles without winning a single battle. A new kind of war was emerging as the generals took advantage of the vast distances of the battlefield. Tukhachevsky was in the process of again outflanking the Polish armies along the Vistula, the last natural barrier between him and Warsaw. Shifting the bulk of his forces north, he hoped to force another retreat that would enable the Russians to assault the capital directly. Tukhachevsky confidently predicted that Warsaw would be in his hands by August 14.

PISUDSKI REALIZED THAT HE HAD ONLY ONE HOPE of rescuing Warsaw: He had to take the offensive when and where he was least expected. Somehow, he managed to extract five divisions from the capitals last-ditch defenders and position them to make the most daring move of the battle. Underscoring his awareness of the size of the risk he was taking, Pisudski left Warsaw and took direct command of this unknown army. He even wrote out his resignation as Polands commander in chief, knowing how welcome it would be if he failed.

In Moscow the high command was growing uneasy about Tukhachevskys plans. They tried to persuade him to abandon his latest flanking movement. They urged him to swing south and place himself between the Polish army and Warsaw. But the field commander brushed aside their worries about exposing his southern flank. He curtly informed them that the southern army could and should handle this task.

On the southern front, Stalin turned an equally deaf ear to all orders from Moscow. He had been seized by a dream of conquest in another direction. He thought his armies would soon be in a position to capture Prague, Vienna, and Budapest. He fired off a telegram to Lenin, advising him to keep the politicians noses out of military matters. He threw in a sneer at Tukhachevsky, with his arrogant demands to protect his southern flank. The distances were too great, even for the hard-riding Konarmia.

Tukhachevsky, foolishly, was overconfident. One of his officers found a copy of Pisudskis plan and rushed it to his commander. Tukhachevsky dismissed it as a hoax and let two of his armies begin probing Warsaws defenders, dug in along the Vistula.

As Warsaw trembled at this intimation of doom, Pisudski unleashed his five divisions, which were soon rampaging in the Russian rear, wreaking havoc on their plans and morale. He led the attack with three divisions under his personal command. They mustered 25,000 infantry and 2,500 cavalry, all amply supplied with machine guns and artillery. Each division was told to act independently, and they proceeded to do so with vigor. Even Pisudski was amazed by their progress. He would later say that he found it hard to believe the way his men were advancing across territory they had abandoned in their humiliating retreats only a few weeks ago.

Its soldiers already weary, the Red Army started to disintegrate. The defenders of Warsaw charged across the Vistula and joined Pisudskis men, turning the battle into a rout. On August 18 a staggered Tukhachevsky ordered a retreat. This only encouraged the exultant Poles. By August 25 they had driven back the Red Army 300 miles. The Poles captured 65,000 bewildered Russians, plus hundreds of artillery pieces and machine guns. Thousands of other fleeing Russians crossed the border into East Prussia and were interned. In Biaystok, officials of the Provisional Communist government shut down their newspaper, packed up their personal belongings, and disappeared.

When Pisudski returned to Warsaw, leaving his army with orders to continue their advance, he expected cheers and congratulations. But few people in the capital believed the stories they were hearing from the front. One who had the background to know what had happened was Charles de Gaulle. Our Poles have grown wings, de Gaulle wrote in his diary. The soldiers who were physically and morally exhausted only a week ago are now racing forward in leaps of 40 kilometers a day. Yes, it is Victory! Complete, triumphant Victory!

Sporadic fighting continued. At one point the disbelieving Moscow Politburo, seemingly unaware that their provisional government in Biaystok had vanished, issued a statement urging Poles to lay down their weapons and join the revolution. Tukhachevsky continued to add fresh men to his army, confident he could resume the offensive. But these spates of optimism soon evaporated. Tukhachevsky discovered that whole armies had disappeared from the battlefront. Meanwhile Pisudskis soldiers wheeled and flanked in seemingly unbeatable maneuvers, inducing still more panic in the Russian divisions.

In October, under pressure from France and Britain, both sides agreed to an armistice. On March 18, 1921, they signed a peace treaty establishing an independent Poland. Lenin and Trotsky abandoned their vision of a Communist Europe. Instead, they declared, they would devote themselves to creating communism in one country that would serve as an example to nations everywhere.

Poland remained a vital democracy until 1939, when Russia greedily joined the Germans in invading it and seizing most of the eastern half of the country. This was one of Stalins most egregious mistakes, as he soon realized that Russia was Adolf Hitlers real objective. Tukhachevsky and many of the subordinate generals who had fought in the Battle of Warsaw had been murdered in Stalins paranoid purges of the 1930s. Among Communist leaders, Stalin was the one most disappointed by the failure of the Army of the West.

Jozef Pisudski died in 1935 of natural causes and remains revered in Poland. This year he will be especially commemorated on the 150th anniversary of his birth. The other nations of Eastern Europe might well remember him, too. The 20 years of freedom created by the Battle of Warsaw helped them to survive the dark night of Soviet communism that engulfed them at the close of World War II. The memory played a strong part in the vigor with which they repudiated Lenins evil concoction after it collapsed in Russia in 1989. Once more, Poland played the lead in this drama of unforgotten freedom. Those declarations of independence more than vindicated the several historians who had judged the Battle of Warsaw to be one of the most important military confrontations in the worlds turbulent history. MHQ

THOMAS FLEMING is the author of The Illusion of Victory: America in World War I and The New Dealers War: FDR and the War Within World War II. He has also written many books about the American Revolution.

[hr]

This article appears in the Autumn 2017 issue (Vol. 30, No. 1) of MHQThe Quarterly Journal of Military History with the headline: Miracle on the Vistula

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N ot spending August in Italy? Fear not, you can still enjoy a Negroni mixed and served to perfection, with a few pieces of basic kit and three main ingredients.

Legend has it that the popular cocktail was invented when Count Camillo Negroni marched into the Caffe Casoni bar in Florence in 1919 and asked for a stronger version of his Americano (a mix of Campari, sweet vermouth, and soda).

The Negroni was born: one part gin, one part sweet vermouth, and one part Campari, with an orange peel garnish and served over ice.

Well-known on the London bar scene for his aged Negronis, owner of Termini Centrale Tony Conigliaro has three tips to get the perfect drink every time:

Serve your Negroni straight up. We pre-dilute the Classico Negroni to the perfect sipping strength so there is no need for ice  that way you don't have an over-diluted drink once the ice starts to melt.

We like to focus on the perfect balance of spirits within the Negroni, no garnish, let the botanicals shine through.

It's important to store our Classico Negroni in a very cold fridge, that way it is served at a perfect chilled temperature. If you can chill your glasses, even better.

Vermouth and Campari are set in stone, but you can have fun with the gin. Sipsmith is a great choice for for those who like their spirits distilled locally, while ethical brand FAIR offers an earthy finish.

Ethical FAIR gin offers an earthy finish thanks to the angelica and calamus botanicals

Considered an aperitif, a Negroni is traditionally served in an Old Fashioned glass. This type of tumbler is predominately used for drinks served on the rocks  head to Harrods for glasses with that Mad Men vibe.

Keep your ice cold in this quirky pineapple ice bucket from Oliver Bonas and serve it with these stylish Tom Dixon ice tongs.

Finally, this watercolour wall print is perfect for Negroni addicts who just can't get enough of their favourite cocktail.
R ising house prices and high stamp duty levels have led to the number of planning applications rising by a quarter in the last five years.

The 'don't move, improve' philosophy is growing in popularity across the UK but particularly in London, which has seen the highest rise in in the country  up 60 per cent since 2012.

The number of applications lodged for renovating basements has rocketed by a massive 183 per cent, according to the new research by Halifax Insurance, with more single-storey extensions and loft conversions also in the pipeline (up 49 per cent and 43 per cent respectively).

The idea of renovating and/or extending can seem daunting, but many Londoners have struggled through the planning, pulling down and doing up process to be left with stunning results.

Here are some of the best tips picked up from their experiences:

Go for statement surfaces and lighting

If you want to add lots of character to make a place your own but the layout has already been fixed, stamp your mark on it with statement surfaces and lighting.

Interior designers Kat Turner and Jessica Gibbons from Field Day gave a masterclass in this approach for a City trader's Southwark penthouse, maximising space by using perimeter lighting and industrial-inspired concrete walls with one white porcelain and copper tiled mosaic wall in the living area for impact.

Statement surfaces: bronze and concrete gave an urban finish to this Blackfriars flat / David Butler

Make the most of generous ceilings

Make the most of generous ceiling height by creating a dramatic mezzanine level like former banker Joanne Leigh, who downsized into a one-bedroom Earls Court apartment three years ago.

Erfan Azadi of Notting Hill architecture and design studio Duck & Shed focused on the 12.5ft ceilings to completely overhaul Joanne's property, leaving her with an additional 16sq m thanks to clever space and storage solutions.

There is mirrored storage for her cutlery and glassware at the entrance and a short corridor is mirrored at both ends to lengthen its appearance.

Mirrors for impact: the splashback creates the illusion of being a window into another room in this Earls Court home / Charles Hosea

Dig, extend and convert all at once

Emilie Mauran may not have fallen in love with her Fulham home at first sight (it was dilapidated, to be fair), but she has since more than doubled its size from 130 sq m to 285 sq m by digging a basement level, extending the ground and first floors and converting the loft into two bedrooms and a bathroom.

No excuses for mess! Clever storage is essential for keeping a house in check / HOUZZ/ EMR Design/ David Butler

Do your homework when it comes to listed properties

It is possible to make dramatic changes to listed properties (even in the case of this Grade II* home, restored by architect Shahriar Nasser), but remember that the whole property is listed, not just the facade.

You will need to consult with planners from the off and do your homework on what may be allowed and what definitely will not be.

Expect planners to be more open to changes in already altered or less important parts of the house, such as the basement.

Prioritise: this Kennington terrace was overhauled in two stages, transforming it from a rundown house into the owners' dream home / Simon Maxwell

Prioritise the essentials with a two-phase refurb

Consider a two-phase refurbishment that prioritises the essentials so as not to become overwhelmed when transforming a run-down house into your dream home.

IT specialists Renato Calliso and David Morgan followed this advice for their leaky, damp Kennington terrace, starting with a new slate roof, removing a staircase that went nowhere, replacing all the windows with double glazed timber sashes and decorating the upper floors.

Then came the 11-month basement extension to bring width, space and light.

Bought for 850,000 in 2013, with works costing 250,000, their swish property is now valued at a cool 1.55million.
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Not just a rap group or record label  what is BROCKHAMPTON?

A self-proclaimed American boy band, BROCKHAMPTON is actually most similar to a creative collective or company. The members (which hit double digits), led by their founder Kevin Abstract, dabble in a variety of arts ranging from production to photography to graphic design, although they are most well-known for their rapid ascent as a talented group of hip-hop artists. And even though their music is nowhere near traditional rap or R&B, the genre-mixing collective has commanded the attention of the hip-hop community throughout 2017 due to their explosive, Odd Future-esque style and lyrics that tear apart any pre-conceived notions about masculinity in hip-hop.

In early June the group released their proper debut album Saturation to critical acclaim after numerous viral singles, including the hits HEAT and STAR. At the same time the series American Boyband premiered on Viceland, chronicling Abstracts summer tour with BROCKHAMPTON. In lead-up to todays album release, Saturation II, the group has put out three new singles, GUMMY, SWAMP and JUNKY, continuing to build up an expectation about the quality and quantity of music that a fan might expect from the collective. Theyve given us high expectations, to be clear.

BROCKHAMPTONs birth:

Originally part of the ever-expanding hip-hop group ALIVESINCEFOREVER, Abstract (one of ASFs founders) decided that the group wasnt going in the direction he wanted it to and left the party, offering any ASF members a place in the new collective he called BROCKHAMPTON. The returning members, including Ameer Vann and Dom McLennon, were joined by new recruits lifted from the famous hip-hop forum KanyeToThe, and together they all moved down to San Marcos, Texas to follow their shared pursuits of musical success and creativity.

Their big break was winning the first VFiles Loud contest in 2015, earning them a professionally directed music video for their song Dirt and a distribution deal through Fools Gold Records. In 2016 they released their debut mixtape All-American Trash to generally positive reception. Members of the group continued to come and go, eventually bringing their total to 15 by the time they moved to LA and began working on their breakout project Saturation.

Who are the current members?

On vocal duty youll catch Kevin Abstract, Ameer Vann, Merlyn Wood, Dom McLennon, Matt Champion and JOBA as the usual faces of BROCKHAMPTONs music. Behind the scenes, JOBA (who also does the engineering) is joined by Bearface (hailing from Ireland), Romil Hemnani, and the duo Q3 (Jabari Manwa and Kiko Merely) on production. Then theres the creative crew: HK, Ashlan Grey and Robert Ontenient (who fans will recognize as the recurring character Roberto from their music videos) all assist in the creative direction of the group by bringing each members visions to life. Rounding out the group, youve got 4 Strikes (Chris & Kelly Clancy, Brian Washington) and Jon Nunes, who all run management for the team.

No genre:

If you only listen to the first half of Saturation, then youll probably write BROCKHAMPTON off as another young rap entourage. But once the song TRIP comes on, the group truly begins showing off their versatility. Minimalistic beats, singing, auto-tune crooning, friendly lyrics  its almost the opposite of the albums opener HEAT. They do this again on songs like SWIM and FACE, the latter of which is best described as old school R&B that would fit in on Childish Gambinos Awaken, My Love! And WASTE, the albums final track, isnt even hip-hop at all  its the Irish Bearface singing an alt-rock ballad over a solo electric guitar.

Throwing out masculinity:

Most hip-hop groups nowadays definitely wouldnt pick the term boy band over rap crew. BROCKHAMPTON, conversely, are completely unafraid of just being a collective of friends that bring out the best in each other. They openly address their insecurities, either fixing them while collaborating on a song in the studio, or sometimes throwing them straight on wax. Most notably, youll often hear Abstract addressing his sexuality and how he cant come out to his family, but also spitting playful lines about giving head or the fan favorite lyric from STAR: I dont fuck with no white boys, unless the nigga Shawn Mendes.

Saturation II, other projects and Flog Gnaw:

With Saturation II having just impacted, you can now listen to it here, and at the same time, you can prepare for even more music. The group has already gone ahead and announced Saturation III, and in a move that most major labels would probably not approve of, they even released the single for Saturation III (FOLLOW) mid roll-out for Saturation II.

Be sure to check out some of the members solo efforts: Abstract released his second album American Boyfriend last year (landing him a spot as the opener for pop/alt-rock band The Neighborhood on their tour), and each of the groups vocalists and producers have numerous tracks on their Soundcloud pages. And if you managed to cop tickets to this years Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival, do not miss out on seeing BROCKHAMPTONs music festival debut.
On a day that saw many big names drop new albums, it might be easy for some to overlook Wiki. Yet the Ratking members No Mountains In Manhattan may very well be one of the days strongest releases, featuring sixteen tracks of strong production and excellent lyricism. While Wiki may not have the mainstream shine of say, Lil Uzi Vert, his rugged New York style gives him a unique hip-hop aesthetic unique to the city that never sleeps.

With production from randomblackdude AKA Earl Sweatshirt, Montreals Kaytranada, Wiki himself, & more, No Mountains In Manhattan manages to blend a classic New York sound with a more experimental vibe. If you dont follow, catch the twelvth track Jalo, which finds Wiki unleashing a lyrical barrage over an atmospheric synth, with short boom-bap intermissions. If youre craving some raw raps, tracks like Mayor should scratch that itch, bringing in some soulful vocal samples for good measure.

The fourth track Made For This features none other than Ghostface Killah, and its a match made in heaven. Both rappers excel over this type of beats, and they manage to wax poetic on triumph while retaining their signature slang. Old heads miscellaneous, raps Wiki, muthafuckas aint gon drift, they stay put, they aint gon miss.

While some of the new releases from Lil Uzi Vert, XXXTENTACION, and A$AP Mob may be a little too 2017 for some hip-hop heads, between Wiki and Action Bronsons new projects, theres no excuses for you to sleep on some real lyricists. Expand your horizon and make room for the Ratking veteran, as this might very well be one of the sleeper hits of the year.

There may be no mountains in Manhattan, but Wiki still manages to find a new way to elevate his game to Everest heights. Stream it right here!
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SEATTLE - Attention all shoppers: The era of Whole Paycheck, a widely used nickname for upscale grocer Whole Foods, may be drawing to a close. Amazon takes control of the chain Monday and intends to slash prices the same day.

The significance of the move goes well beyond the price of organic avocados, baby kale and rotisserie chickens, all of which will cost less Monday than Sunday. Rather, it is an outsize way for Jeff Bezos, Amazon's chief executive, to announce his plan to shake up the grocery industry and take on competitors like Walmart and Kroger.

"This is how Amazon operates," said Michelle Grant, head of retailing at Euromonitor, a market research firm. "It's all about speed, speed, speed."

In the past, Bezos has been willing to lose money - and disappoint some shareholders - to gain customers. In 2010, for example, he slashed the price of diapers to compete with Diapers.com, which he eventually bought.

Amazon plans to weave together its online business and physical stores by turning its Prime membership program into a Whole Foods rewards program, providing additional savings to customers. Amazon Prime is a $99-a-year service that gives customers faster free shipping, video streaming and other benefits.

Whole Foods' private-label products will be available through Amazon's online services and Amazon lockers that will be installed in some Whole Foods markets. Customers will also be able to return online orders to Amazon through the lockers.

"We're determined to make healthy and organic food affordable for everyone," Jeff Wilke, the executive who runs Amazon's consumer businesses, said Thursday. "Everybody should be able to eat Whole Foods Market quality."

Price wars

Discounts are not the only reason shoppers use Amazon - selection and convenience are others - but Bezos has never been shy about starting price wars that inflict pain on rivals. In the 1990s, the company tussled with Barnes & Noble to see which could discount books the most. Amazon and Walmart have been in an on-and-off price war in a variety of categories for years.

In its battle with Quidsi, a startup that owned Diapers.com, Amazon put so much pressure on the company that it eventually agreed to be acquired by Amazon rather than by Walmart.

Ever since Amazon made the stunning announcement in June that it was acquiring Whole Foods for more than $13 billion, competitors have expected it to shake things up at the grocer, which has struggled in the face of competition from Costco, Walmart and others that have wooed customers with a growing selection of organic produce and kitchen staples.

Still, the speed with which Amazon completed the acquisition and embarked on a price-cutting campaign is stunning. Amazon finalized the purchase in less than three months - unusual for a multibillion-dollar transaction, with the Federal Trade Commission only approving the deal on Wednesday.

"I absolutely think it's putting the rest of the market on notice," Bob Hetu, an analyst at Gartner, the technology research firm, said of Amazon's announcement on pricing.

Investors drove Kroger shares down more than 8 percent Thursday; shares of Walmart, the nation's biggest grocer, fell about 2 percent. Both companies' shares also fell sharply when the deal was announced in June.

Amazon did not say how much it would cut prices in Whole Foods stores, 460 of which are spread across the United States, Canada and Britain. It promised there would be further cuts in the future. People who have studied Whole Foods' struggles in the marketplace said the reductions would have to be substantial to compete with other stores.

"I believe what we will see is Amazon and Whole Foods becoming aggressive on price," said Brittain Ladd, a strategy consultant who previously worked for Amazon on its grocery business. "I won't be surprised if some prices are lowered 15 percent to as high as 25 percent in some categories."

Wilke of Amazon said in his statement that lowering prices would not compromise the quality of products at Whole Foods, the brand's main selling point. The items the company said it would drop prices on products including bananas, butter, crunchy almond butter, organic large brown eggs, responsibly farmed salmon and tilapia and organic Fuji apples.

Opposite corners

A number of groups, including members of Congress and representatives of organized labor, have raised concerns about how the acquisition may affect competition in the grocery business, but the Federal Trade Commission had no trouble with it.

Antitrust lawyers noted that Amazon and Whole Foods are relatively small players in the grocery business and in different corners of the market - Amazon in online grocery delivery and Whole Foods in physical retailing.

Those arguments will probably not assuage a growing chorus of Amazon critics who believe it is developing too powerful a grip on retail spending, at least on the internet. Yet Amazon's announcement of immediate price reductions on groceries underscores how the company has managed to say on the right side of regulators.

"At the end of the day, the FTC is in the business of watching out for the consumer," said Brendan Witcher, a retail analyst at Forrester Research.

It remains to be seen whether the deal will revive Whole Foods' fortunes or becomes a costly move into an industry that Amazon has failed to master. Amazon has offered its own internet grocery business, AmazonFresh, for a decade, but has had little impact on the habits of consumers, who overwhelmingly prefer buying their groceries in stores.

Amazon is experimenting with automation technologies that could save costs in physical stores by eliminating cashiers, but it has vowed not to use those technologies at Whole Foods to lay off workers. But sharp price cuts on items in stores will put pressure on Amazon to find cost savings elsewhere at Whole Foods, analysts said - for example, by making the logistics network that delivers goods to stores more efficient.

After the companies combine, Amazon's competitors in the grocery business will still be vastly larger. Walmart has more than 4,600 stores and last year started making a multibillion-dollar investment in lowering grocery prices. Walmart has also significantly increased its investment in online shopping through acquisitions to better compete with Amazon on its main turf.

Online presence

And this week, Google announced an agreement with Walmart that would allow people to buy Walmart items through Google Express, an online shopping mall that has sought, without much success, to compete against Amazon.

"We feel great about our position with our network of stores around the country and fast growing e-commerce and online grocery businesses," said Randy Hargrove, a spokesman for Walmart.

Local grocers expressed some trepidation about Amazon's aggressive entry into their business, but said it was part of a long history of upheavals and competition.

Stew Leonard Jr. is chief executive of Stew Leonard's, a chain of six grocery stores in New York and Connecticut that focus on fresh produce. There are several Whole Foods close to his stores, and Leonard said he had been watching the Amazon deal closely.

"I've been in retail since I was a kid, and I'm always nervous," he said. "Costcos were opening, then Walmarts, then Whole Foods. But at the end of the day, you just have to try and get the freshest corn out there on the sidewalk."
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Here's the most important thing to know about robots: Humans make them. And the humans who make the best robots make a lot of money.

We hear a lot about losing jobs to robots, but we've been through technological revolutions before. More than half of Americans worked in agriculture before the Industrial Revolution, while today less than 2 percent produce most of our food. Humans are tool makers, and eliminating manual, rote and thankless tasks is in our genes.

Building machines to simplify oil field tasks is something Dan Allford has been doing since 1980, and he's witnessed how technology has changed the industry. As president of ARC Specialties in northwest Houston, he's also been a force for change by operating the only large robot manufacturing plant in the country.

"Building machines is all I've ever done, and a robot is nothing more than a flexible machine," Allford told me during a visit to one of three Houston production facilities. "This is American manufacturing, designed, built and programmed in America to make other American companies more efficient to keep the work in America."

ARC started out making specially clad valves for oil wells and built machines to automate the manufacturing. That led to designing more machines to perform difficult tasks.

Two weeks ago I wrote about the high demand for workers who know how to set up, program, maintain and troubleshoot robots. ARC Specialties creates machines that create those jobs.

The U.S. is leading the world in buying robots right now, spending $86 billion in 2015, a 30 percent increase over 2011, according to the latest figures collected by Redwood Software and the United Kingdom's Centre for Economics and Business Research, an independent forecasting firm. Higher spending on robots means higher productivity and a faster growing economy.

"There is no doubt about it - robotics is now a significant contributor to economic growth," David Whitaker, the center's managing economist, said. "Robotics' cumulative impact on the overall economy has been much larger compared to the monetary value of robotics today. We expect to see progressively more robotic automation in the years to come, with commensurate benefits to overall economic growth."

Automation does not necessarily eliminate jobs, Whitaker added.

"There is clear evidence that points towards robotic automation in many cases being a complement for human labor, rather than a direct substitute," he concluded. "As more mundane tasks are automated, human effort becomes more valuable as it is focused on higher-level tasks, creativity, know-how and thinking."

That's been Allford's experience at ARC, where he employs 60 highly trained people, ranging from mechanical, electrical, software and welding engineers to skilled machinists, electricians, welders and painters.

"The only way we can compete with low-cost labor is through efficiency. My machines provide a more efficient way to produce products," Allford said. "I believe everybody deserves a job. Everybody deserves a way to make a living. What we're trying to do is help companies do that by creating machines that make goods that are salable overseas."

While Allford must build his own large robots to build things like 80,000-pound blowout preventers for oil wells, he buys smaller robots from foreign suppliers and adapts them for customers with smaller jobs.

The next big trend in automation is the collaborative robot, called a co-bot. Unlike industrial robots that work in cages away from people, these machines work alongside humans to aid in tasks too complex for the machine alone.

"If it hits you, it won't hurt you," Allford said, standing next to a prototype that combines a Danish co-bot with ARC's welding technology. The prototype will be unveiled in November at the FabTech industrial show in Chicago.

Manufacturers shipped 8,950 co-bots in 2016 and that number is expected to reach 434,400 in 2025, according to Loup Ventures, a research firm specializing in automation. Even with robot costs coming down, the co-bot market will be worth $9 billion in 2025, the company said.

While all of ARC's customers in the past were oil and gas companies, Allford is diversifying.

"There are a lot of fascinating problems to be solved here," he said. "What we've found is that the same technologies that work with coatings for the oil field work, also work for nuclear, the military and ground-engaging wear."

That's the kind of entrepreneurial thinking that expands companies and creates job. Allford said he doesn't need government subsidies or trade protection. He welcomes foreign competition and only wants a level playing field.

"We innovate and others duplicate. That's the way of the world," he told me. "Competition improves the breed, and when people imitate, we simply take it to the next level."

There is no stopping the march of the robots, but their advance offers more opportunities than challenges for those who innovate.

Check back next Sunday when I'll write about a visit to one of ARC's Houston clients, Tube Supply, which uses automation to increase productivity, generate more sales and create more jobs.
A contentious utility rate case in El Paso is headed for a settlement, after the city's electric utility and residents have fought over proposed rate increases for customers with rooftop solar power.

Earlier this year, El Paso Electric, an investor-owned utility that services El Paso and areas of New Mexico, announced that it wanted to separate 2,800 customers with rooftop solar into their own rate class. The new rates could raise bills for those customers by as much as 100 percent.
UPDATE: All of Bobby Heugel's bars, including Better Luck Tomorrow have decided to close Friday in anticipation of Hurricane Harvey.

Harvey is big news this week, but not all of it is about dangerous weather.

The Harvey Wallbanger cocktail is enjoying a local revival thanks to Hurricane Harvey barreling into Texas. Houston bartenders will no doubt be breaking out their Galliano, a key ingredient in the Harvey Wallbanger, just in case there are customers who want a cocktail that shares a name with the headline-grabbing hurricane.

At Ouisie's Table in River Oaks (3939 San Felipe), the Harvey Wallbanger will be feature in what promises to be a very wet weekend. On Friday and Saturday the restaurant will serve up a Harvey Wallbanger and plate of fried Gulf oysters for $10. If flooding closes the restaurant, it will offer rain checks for the cocktail/oyster combo.

At The Hay Merchant (1100 Westheimer) the Harvey Wallbanger will be the featured cocktail today, Friday, for $8 from 3 to 11 p.m. (the restaurant is unsure if it will be open Saturday, but if it is, the Wallbanger will be served).

The Harvey connection prompted Houston's craft cocktail guru, bartender Bobby Heugel, to riff on social media about the simple cocktail that was "in every bar's training manual years ago" and that he served to older regulars at one of his first bartending jobs. The Harvey Wallbanger (a simple merger of vodka, orange juice and Galliano) might be decidedly old school, but it can make for a satisfying cocktail if done right, Heugel suggests.

The big mistake is thinking you can make a simple Screwdriver then float some Galliano on top.

No, Heugel said, you have to show a little more finesse.

"The real trick, as with most orange drinks, is to add a touch of lemon. It's brightens the orange juice. And I prefer to shake the vodka, orange juice and lemon together and strain before floating with Galliano on top," Heugel wrote on Facebook and Instagram. "Whatever you do though, don't ever serve this drink with a straw. Those old regulars insisted this of me, and they're right. Here's my preferred HW recipe. It's a tasty, casual, fun drink anybody can make."

If you've never had a Harvey Wallbanger, this Harvey-whipped weekend is the perfect opportunity. One of Heugel's bars  Better Luck Tomorrow, 544 Yale will be serving $6 Wallbangers if the bar is open today and tomorrow, weather permitting.

Harvey Wallbanger

Courtesy Bobby Heugel

1  ounces vodka

1  ounces orange juice

 ounce lemon juice

 ounce simple syrup

Float  ounce Galliano

Shake the vodka, orange juice, lemon, and simple syrup with ice. Pour into a glass and float Galliano on top. Garnish with an orange slice. No straw.
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In a booming economy, developers build thousands of apartments to house young professionals and service workers. Decades pass, the apartments grow shabby, rents drop and families desperate for affordable housing flock to a community that lacks amenities such as parks and grocery stores. The decline of a nearby shopping mall seems to mirror the problems of the broader neighborhood.

The best-known example of this scenario played out in Gulfton, the southwest Houston neighborhood where apartments built for "swinging singles" in the 1970s became homes for low-income families 20 to 30 years later.

Conditions in Gulfton have improved in recent years, partly through the nationally acclaimed work done by Baker-Ripley, the nonprofit formerly known as Neighborhood Centers Inc. And Sharpstown Mall, 2 miles from the heart of Gulfton, has been redeveloped as the Latino-themed PlazAmericas.

A variation on this theme is playing out some 25 miles north of Gulfton, in the area surrounding Greenspoint Mall.

The recent announcement that long-struggling mall was under contract for sale and redevelopment was encouraging to the area's business leaders, who are rebranding the community as the North Houston District. But details of the buyers' plans are uncertain, and so is the effect of the redevelopment on the people who live and work in the surrounding area.

The North Houston District -- a 12-square-mile area bounded roughly by the Hardy Toll Road, Airtex, Veterans Memorial and West Road -- includes about 18,000 apartments in some 70 developments, said Greg Simpson, the district president. While many were built in the 1970s and '80s and marketed to singles or childless couples, the average occupancy now is 3.5 people per unit, Simpson said.

'Disconnected, isolated'

Some of these apartments were inundated by floods in April 2016. A few days later, Susan Rogers, the director of the University of Houston's design resource center, commented on the floods and related neighborhood issues in an essay on the Chronicle's Gray Matters website.

"The mall, office towers, multi-family apartment complexes, and strip retail development are disconnected and isolated from each other both physically and demographically," Rogers wrote. "Fundamentally there are two communities: one community that caters to the area's office workers, and one community for those who call the area home."

The North Houston District is aware of these issues, Simpson told me, and is working to attract amenities such as full-service grocery stores. A Fiesta store on Airline Drive, about three miles from Greenspoint Mall, lies within the district's boundaries, but residents tend to think of that area as a separate neighborhood because Interstate 45 and Beltway 8 divide the district into distinct quadrants.

"The whole district is not a food desert," Simpson said.

The North Houston District has an abundance of assets: a location near Bush Intercontinental Airport and equidistant from downtown and The Woodlands; Pinto Business Park, where Amazon opened an 855,000-square-foot distribution center last year; the North Houston Skate Park, North America's largest; and more.

Crime in the area was dramatically reduced when the district opened a public safety center that put more police officers closer to district residents, said Jack Drake, who led the district for more tha 20 years starting in 1990.

The district also is undertaking housing initiatives, including efforts to "deconcentrate" the apartments by persuading owners to close some sections, Simpson said. But he acknowledged: "That's a tough argument to make."

Resident engagement in the Greenspoint area appears to be low. The area's Super Neighborhood Council is inactive, said Simpson.

Increasing involvement

A dynamic "catalyst organization," often a nonprofit, can be the key to increasing residents' involvement, said Angela Blanchard, the president and CEO of Baker-Ripley.

Perhaps Avenue Community Development Corp., one of Houston's most successful nonprofit housing developers, will fill that role in the North Houston District. Simpson said the district is working with Avenue CDC to develop affordable single-family housing as an alternative for families.

Community development is hard, and the problems in the neighborhoods surrounding the vacant storefronts of Greenspoint Mall are formidable. But most of the essential elements for improvement seem to be in place, if the area's leaders have the skill and patience to apply them.
Immigrant advocates are slamming federal officials for keeping most border checkpoints open despite Hurricane Harvey hurtling towards the south Texas coast.

The hurricane is expected to come ashore near Corpus Christi, which is under a voluntary evacuation. Mandatory evacuations were issued for Aransas, Refugio, San Patricio, Victoria, Calhoun and Kleberg counties. Gov. Greg Abbott has declared a state of emergency in 30 counties in Texas. The hurricane is likely to hit late Friday or early Saturday as a Category 3 or 4.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection operates two major inland checkpoints south of Corpus Christi: The Falfurrias Border Patrol Checkpoint in Brooks County about 80 miles north of the Mexican border on U.S. Highway 281 and the Sarita Border Patrol Checkpoint on U.S. Highway 77 in Kenedy County.

The ACLU said the checkpoints put immigrants here illegally at risk and might dissuade them from evacuating.

The group called on CBP to temporarily halt immigration enforcement at the checkpoints as it said the agency did in 2016 and 2012.

Immigrants who pass through the checkpoints are asked for their documentation and can be quickly deported through an administrative process known as expedited removal if they are found not to be legally present within 100 miles of the border.

"At a time of emergency, CBP must prioritize safety for everyone who lives in Texas. It is unconscionable that the Border Patrol is sending a dangerous, wrong message to our community by refusing to temporarily suspend immigration enforcement during an evacuation," Astrid Dominguez, ACLU of Texas policy strategist, said in a statement. "We call on CBP to put public safety first and ensure that, no matter their status, families who wish to leave the area can do so unimpeded."

Clara Long, senior US researcher at Human Rights Watch, an international nonprofit, said public officials should prioritize the safety of all its residents, regardless of their legal status.

"The primary focus of public officials during a hurricane should be public safety, not forcing Texas residents to choose between possible separation from their families and being caught in what could be a natural disaster," she said in a statement.

Yolanda Choates, a CBP spokeswoman, said in a statement that Texas evacuation routes leading away from the areas most directly impacted by Hurricane Harvey are not affected by checkpoints in the Rio Grande Valley, which she said are well south of the storm and affected areas.

"Those evacuating storm-affected areas will not travel through a U.S. Border Patrol Checkpoint," Choates said. "Travelers leaving the lower Rio Grande Valley to the north- if traveling along (Highway) 77 or U.S. 281- may encounter checkpoints that are operational. At this point, anyone travelling through a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint would be traveling directly into storm-affected and/or evacuated areas."

She said two checkpoints, one along Highway 77 and one along Highway 4, have been temporarily closed because those portions of the highways were closed.

In a separate joint statement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the agency said its priorities are to "promote life-saving and life-sustaining activities, the safe evacuation of people who are leaving the impacted area, the maintenance of public order, the prevention of the loss of property to the extent possible, and the speedy recovery of the region."

It said routine non-criminal immigration enforcement operations will not be conducted at evacuation sites, or assistance centers such as shelters or food banks. Abbott also said Friday that people seeking state storm resources would not be asked for identification.

Immigrants in the Port Isabel Detention Center in south Texas were moved temporarily to other facilities.

Andrea Zelinski in Austin contributed to this report.
KIEV, UKRAINE - Defense Secretary Jim Mattis vowed Thursday to help Ukraine stand up to Russian violations of its sovereignty and signaled that the Trump administration was considering providing defensive weapons to the Ukrainian military.

President Barack Obama had resisted such a step, fearing it would be seen as a provocation by Russia. In the first visit to Ukraine by a U.S. defense secretary in nearly a decade, Mattis seemed to be anticipating that argument.

"Defensive weapons are not provocative unless you are an aggressor, and clearly Ukraine is not an aggressor since it is their territory where the fighting is happening," Mattis said at a joint news conference with Ukraine's president, Petro Poroshenko.

State and Defense department officials have recommended that the United States provide Javelin anti-tank missiles and other defensive weapons to Ukraine to strengthen its forces and raise the potential cost to the Kremlin of a Russian attack.

Mattis declined to disclose what he planned to recommend to Trump. But his comments suggested that he was sympathetic to supplying defensive weapons - long a topic of enormous interest in Ukraine.

"On the defensive lethal weapons, we are actively reviewing it," he said. "I will go back now having seen the current situation and be able to inform the secretary of state and the president in very specific terms what I recommend for the direction ahead."

While the Obama administration had rejected providing the Javelin anti-tank system to Ukraine, the context has shifted in recent years.

The failure of the Minsk peace agreement and Russia's active military posture in the region, have combined to bring the issue to the fore.

Poroshenko sought to buttress Ukraine's case by saying that it had responsibly used the nonlethal systems it had already received from the United States, and asserting that the anti-tank weapon would be used to deter further Russian aggression.

But the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, strongly opposed the provision of such weapons, saying that they would merely inflame the military situation.
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As Hurricane Harvey approached landfall, gale-force political winds continued to howl in Austin as Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick continued criticizing House Speaker Joe Straus over the death of property-tax reform in the special legislative session.

In a series of interviews since the 30-day summer session concluded a week ago, Patrick has labeled Straus "a quitter" for not letting the bill pass the House, even to the point of suggesting Straus should get the boot as speaker.

He continues to call Straus a "big-spending liberal Republican."

For his part, the speaker has been silent, apparently having moved on after some acrimonious exchanges with his rival in recent weeks.

It is rare for a lieutenant governor -- and governor, for that matter -- to be as critical of a speaker as Texas' No. 1 and 2 officials have been of Straus.

Make no mistake: The unpleasantness of the special session is as much about the Republican primary election next March as it was about any legislation that did or did not get passed.

Patrick and Abbott want new leadership in the House. The House seems content with keeping Straus.

The political storm continues not just in Texas, but also in Washington, where, like Austin, Republicans control both the legislative and executive branches of government.

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban offers a new take on the Trump presidency, which he has criticized: It's like political chemotherapy, where a guy who is not a politician if offering America a taste of what it's like to elect a real outsider, not a politician, just as voters wanted.

We've got the lowdown on all the political action under the Pink Dome in this week's Texas Take, where we give the inside scoop on what's really going on in state government -- from the recent federal court decisions on redistricting and voter ID to Abbott's firing of a San Antonio lawmaker who blasted him about ethics.

From Mike Ward, the Houston Chronicle's Austin Bureau chief, and Scott Braddock, editor of the Quorum Report, comes Texas' leading online podcast about Lone Star politics -- now coming to you in collaboration with Texas Public Radio.
A former employee at a Texas County bank was sentenced Friday in federal court for a $151,000 fraud scheme in which he took out loans for himself by stealing the identity information of bank customers.

Keith Ray Smith, 44, of Summersville, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough to two years and one day in federal prison without parole. The court will issue an order for Smith to pay restitution to the bank.

On April 17, Smith pleaded guilty to one count of making false statements on a loan application and one count of aggravated identity theft.

Smith was employed as the bank loan officer and compliance officer at Community Bank (which has since been sold to Security Bank of the Ozarks) in Summersville. Smith admitted that he took out numerous loans in the names of several bank customers without their authorization. Smith submitted loan applications for varying amounts, totaling $81,040, between 2015 and June 2016. Smith admitted that he used the personal identification information of bank customers, including their bank account information and Social Security numbers, to falsely submit the loan applications.

Smith approved the loan applications for funding, then transferred the money to his personal bank account and spent it to either gamble or pay for personal expenses.

In addition, Smith admitted he had used his mothers and brothers personal information to apply for approximately $70,000 in loans without their knowledge or approval in 2010 and 2011. Smith approved the loans and deposited the proceeds from the fake bank loans into his personal bank account to pay for his gambling addiction. Smith agreed to repay all the money owed in 2012, and his mother and brother agreed to resubmit new loan documents that would take the place of the original false loan documents. Smiths mother and brother told agents they allowed the new loan applications to be created because they did not want him to get into trouble.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Carney. It was investigated by the FDIC  Office of Inspector General, the Federal Housing Finance Agency-Office of the Inspector General and the FBI.
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Having been in education for ten years, I've seen some real changes - all as dull as a Brexit talk at a vegan dinner party on a Friday night, one that, as usual, I haven't been directly invited to. (Being a teacher I don't usually get invited, to any sort of party). Education is boring, run by boring people, making boring plans, talking about boring changes, that they are too bored to bother implementing; they're too boring, you see.

I mean the millennial period passed me by; I'm the wrong (or maybe right) side of 30, but if my Google map doesn't open within a second, I'll find the closest stranger and shout at them. I want immediate action and immediate gratification for everything I do, I want answers now, not in five minutes. I want to know why geeks are taking over the world; I want to know why coffee shops are run by people with beards and pattern shirts; I want to know why algebra is even a thing; I want to know why anyone would ever want to be a lawyer; I want to know why every other person is a now a self-proclaimed start-up guru, a despot, a cofounding COO; I want to know why the only beer I can now drink is small batch, organically grown, recycle apple core craft beer. I want answers now, and Google will help me to them find out, with speed, agility and accuracy; the opposite of a classroom, look at how quickly everything is changing, then look at how quickly education isn't. And that is the issue with education; it hasn't changed in a hundred years. Kids are still asked to undertake low grade, low ambiguity subordinate work from the age of four to 18, and we wonder why they are anxious, depressed and constantly worried.

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It's a simple algorithm really:

Constant boring school tests + need for immediate gratification = anxiety, upset and dread.

And yet, the schooling system, which should seek to quell this anxiety, actually contributes to it more. School should act as a rest bite for adolescents, a chance to distance themselves from the ingrained paranoia of an ever-pinging phone, from the shiny likes (or lack thereof) on Instagram, from Whatsapp's blue ticks but no responses and from status updates of faceless friends with information that is wholly vacuous. Schools must seek to engage students differently, not with the instant gratification of the end result (which comes so quickly through social media), but rather through understanding and enjoying the learning process, being inspired by subject matter, and definitely staying far away from boring pupils.

So, who is to blame?

Then we have the issue that it is not the schools fault, it's the Government! Constantly changing things; syllabi, assessing exams, testing, some more bloody testing, school meals, funding, the list goes on... And you wonder why teacher retention rates are 70%. I guess the Government could always "promise" to pay for your tuition fees for university, on the proviso that you go to Glastonbury, but that's another rant.

Yet, we (when I say we, one person, Michael Gove - what is he now Environment something?) pile the stress and anxiety on children during their most formative years, insisting that the end process (their grades) are all that matter. Instead of understanding the art and beauty of Shakespeare, the syllabus is rushed to allow time for students to memorise it line by line so that they can quote the Bard for their exams. Rather than place an emphasis on the bigger picture of history and how it affects our world today, students must memorise exact dates and secondary sources. Rather than learn to paint themselves, they must regurgitate canonical artists from stuffy textbooks; never actually assessing for themselves whether they feel the artist is any good.

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Moreover, the schooling system keeps the archaic and never-changing exam dynamic; memorise, regurgitate, mark. For example, the Cambridge Pre-U, which is the UK-version of the Cambridge International Baccalaureate and is now a substitute for A-Levels in a lot of private schools, is simply a harder version of the latter. While it relies heavily on coursework, the marking system is totally diverged and far more complex than the regular A-Level grade standard that universities have come to know. Despite big posh schools having adopted this benign exam practice for almost nine years, universities still haven't cottoned on to its existence. I have spoken to several universities to discuss our student's prospects with them having done their Pre-Us, which is often met by a vacuous, "Pre-U? Is that an International qualification?"

Ultimately, the change to Pre-Us and the scrapping of AS-Levels are just a mask for a never-changing system. Students will continue to be marked by a 100-year old doctrine that prioritises memory and exam technique over insight and intellect, creativity, spark and individual differences. Yet we continually seek to "change" these systems, while never actually doing so. Instead the constant exam "reform" adds more pressure and anxiety for students that already are under pressure to conform with their peers. That sounds a lot like Brexit.

What the hell is all of it for though? Kids instinctively know that this information doesn't correlate to real life, homework is simply repressing their instincts, they should be climbing trees, not preparing for a 4+ exam. Unless you were at the aforementioned vegan dinner party and had to discuss how successful Louis XIV's foreign policy was in improving France's security in the years 1661 to 1685 (a genuine exam question), then most the information we are urging pupils to recite is ultimately useless. All the while, leaving school with a head full of "knowledge" that one will never use, whilst not knowing how to boil an egg is a poor reflection on the schooling system today.
Imagine buying your dream house in the city. Over time, it transforms from a house to a home, one where you build a lifetime's worth of memories. It's close to the shops, to the subway station, to the community centre, and the neighbours become more like family than friends. But then it gets harder to get around. Going up and down the stairs every day is a challenge. The subway isn't easy to navigate anymore, and the city you've called home for decades is suddenly not as comfortable as it once was.

This is a reality faced by thousands of people in cities every day. Current life expectancy sits at 71.5 years and while it's no secret that we're living longer, we're also seeing shifts in where we're living. The International Organisation for Migration estimates that over three million people move to cities each week. As positive as a longer lifespan might be and as strong as the draw of city life is, problems arise as these two shifts begin to clash. Our ageing generations are feeling less welcome in the very places more of us are living than ever before.

For this very reason, few see the city as a retirement destination, dreaming instead of moving to the coast or countryside. This prejudice against cities is confirmed by statistics, with 52% of participants in an ITV survey ranking London, a leading global metropolis, as a bad place to grow old. When asked to decide which decade was best to spend in London, 40% said 20 - 30. Not one respondent said 70 - 80.

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It's no surprise we feel this way. Problems for the elderly in cities are widespread and heavily impact their quality of life. Simple issues like timings at pedestrian crossings and access to public toilets are matched by the more complex, such as overcrowding on public transport. None of these are difficulties when you're 25 and in fact, the average age of an urban planner is 44, so it's unlikely to be something they frequently consider either. With these things in mind it becomes clear why the elderly are less inclined to remain in cities.

Another challenge is that as our life expectancy rises, so too will our retirement ages. We'll be working longer and cities are likely to be the home to much of that work, so it's not sustainable for them to continue disregarding the older portions of their populations.

However, if you really think about it, in many ways it is almost illogical that people need to move away when they get older. Newly retired people have oodles of free time and cities provide access to cafes, theatres, community centres, and broad swathes of cultural activity. If cities adapted to meet the needs of all inhabitants, including the ageing, many more would stay and continue to enjoy the comforts of their familiar environments.

When viewing both the problems and the potential presented by the relationship between cities and ageing populations, we see that technology and creative solutions will lie at heart of bridging current divides. Out-of-the-box initiatives such as New York University's Home Stay programme match seniors with university students who can live with them; the students get subsidised accommodation in one of the most expensive cities in the world, and the seniors receive an additional source of income as well as help with chores like grocery shopping. Companies like CityMapper are using data to improve the flow of public transport, so we can get to where we need to go faster. An NGO in Berlin is working on an app specifically for older and disabled people which gives users the status on elevators and escalators in public transit areas, enabling quicker barrier-free movement.

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On an individual level, technology is also enabling more independent living. In cities where there is a massive strain on public healthcare, smart home technologies that help to monitor patients from their home and pre-empt health incidents are invaluable. Solutions such as these can often mean the difference between staying in one's own home or having to move to an assisted living facility.
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The Metropolitan Police have seen a dramatic rise in moped-enabled crime in recent years. They are responsible for tens of thousands of phone thefts and in some instances are now progressing to more serious and violent crime. Just last year the scooter gangs committed as many as 50,000 offences and the trend has been spreading to other parts of the country. On Wednesday I joined Operation Venice in the Metropolitan Police - the unit aimed at cracking down on this type of crime.

Here's 10 things I learnt while out on patrol:

1.The suspects are predominantly young men: moped-enabled crime has gone through the roof in the last few years and in North London the criminal profile is mainly young men, aged 16-24 snatching phones.

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2.It's happening all the time: Nearly everyone carries a phone worth hundreds of pounds, so there are literally thousands of walking targets on the streets almost at any given time and the police are receiving reports of around 50 per day in just two London boroughs.

3.They're very good at it: they can zip through London's busiest streets at 80mph and snatch a phone out of someone's hand with incredible precision and if the phone isn't top-of-the-range they'll often just throw it on the ground, which kind of adds insult to injury.

4.It's risky for the police to pursue, but they can: The police can pursue but in the vast majority of cases it's going to be far too risky to do so - risky for other drivers, pedestrians, the police and the offender - and the riders know this. I believe guidance needs clarifying to ensure the police are protected if they've not driven dangerously and something goes wrong.

5.The police do have stingers: The police do have stingers and a range of other devices to catch the criminals outside of simply pursuing them but again, policies are pretty restrictive and need reviewing to respond to this type of crime.

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6.The police need better technology & equipment: Alongside this we need better technology for the police, they're relying on outdated systems, radios with batteries that don't last the full shift and all response vehicles should be fitted with cameras.

7.Intelligence is crucial: I've been really impressed with the intel forces across the country have on offenders of this type; they know their names, addresses and the types of bikes they ride, they monitor them on social media, they know how they connect with other people in the area, the issue is getting them over the threshold to charge them.

8.The public have a big role to play: It's really important the public do take photos when it's safe to do so, phone in intelligence and keep on reporting incidents to the police. All moped-related crimes in the Metropolitan police have a marker, so they're properly recorded as such and feed in to relevant units.

9.We need to see major deterrents: This is an incredibly profitable crime which both offenders and victims think will simply happen with impunity; we need to see some relatively tough sentencing for these crimes, which have made residents fearful to walk down their own streets.

10.Manufacturers and insurers need to step up : the reason this issue has exploded is because bikes are so easy to steal, strip and sell on. We had exactly the same issue 20 or so years ago when cars were just as easy to steal. Many of the bikes involved are not very expensive but until they are harder to steal and insurers are stricter on using proper locks the issue is going to persist.

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It sounds trite but every time I spend time with the police, it always strikes me how dedicated many officers are, even in the current climate faced with so much demand and such limited resources, they remain completely determined and committed to tackling really difficult issues. The last time I went out with South Yorkshire Police an officer had come off his bike the day before and injured himself so badly he was nil-by-mouth waiting for an operation but he still came into work to make sure the team was set up, properly briefed and good to go for that day. So many officers are so passionate about making their communities safer and that doesn't get recognised enough.
Women only carriages - is this what our nation has come to? That we have to segregate people like we are in prison, just to keep to be safe?

The BBC reported that Mr Williamson, MP for Derby North, highlighted figures from the British Transport Police, showing 1,448 sexual offences on trains had been reported in 2016-17, compared with 650 incidents in 2012-13 - it's over double.

Jeremy Corbyn first suggested this policy during his leadership campaign back in 2015, but it was dropped as it didn't have much support. In a poll that was taken, apparently, 1 in 4 Britons said they were in favour of women only carriages.

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Having women only carriages doesn't actually mean segregating every train user like the media might have you believe.

It's not permanently keeping people apart but just to provide one carriage on the train where women can go to feel safe if they want to. It's not really pointing the finger saying all men are evil and need to be away from women but it does make me wonder where the men can go to feel safe, because not all of the offences reported were by women of course and I don't think we'd even better get into the gender discussion here.

I asked a few people how they felt about women only carriages. One thought that it would be great for her daughter who has had experiences where she felt stalked or googled at and unsafe. Another lady said that she did not want to go back to the dark ages and I really agree.

In the 1800's we did have women only compartments in the UK and it actually continued in some parts of London and Essex until 1977! That is a bit shocking!

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We would all like to be able to feel safe while travelling - I personally prefer to get an earlier train or a cab if out late at night. However, segregation doesn't seem to be the answer to me. It seems like if we do this we are accepting that sexual assault or harassment happens and that we can do nothing to stop it, it's like taking a step back for women.

Where does this segregation lead to? Waiting for a train, women only waiting rooms? Harassment at work - women only offices? Women only buses?

Do I sound like I'm talking crazy now, well wait for it...

Maajid Nawaz spoke out about women only carriages on LBC saying "What's next browns-only carriages" following the rise in racially related violence on trains.

He has a point, just ridiculous.

What we need is to make public transport safer for everyone how can we do this - more available CCTV? More guards? More police presence and more of a deterrent with harsher prosecutions. There has to be a better way.

And before all that maybe we need to teach people empathy, love and how to actually respect each other. Is that possible at all?

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Author Michelle Harris runs the Digital and Social Media Management Agency
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In 2008, a Parliamentary Inquiry into Community Cohesion and Migration called upon the Government to be more proactive on integrating immigrants and to better support the communities that accommodate them. Fast forward nine years and today, a similar Inquiry by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Social Integration has powerfully restated some of the same key messages, albeit with much greater urgency. Why? Because over the past decade, the Government has overseen the largest single wave of in-migration that the British Isles have ever experienced but has done little to support either the new arrivals themselves, or the communities which receive them.

Having been an expert adviser to both Inquiries, I believe today's report should be the wake-up call this Government so desperately needs. We can no longer leave our communities (both immigrant and British) unsupported in the face of such rapid social change - social change driven not just by unprecedented levels of migration, but through growing inequalities in our society, deep cuts to public and voluntary services, the changing nature of work and technological advancements. All of these developments have left many communities feeling insecure and increasingly vulnerable about their future - fears which are all too easily displaced onto newcomers and exploited by extremists.

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How might the Government better support these communities? Today's report is full of ideas and recommendations, but two key messages emerge as key.

First, the government must be proactive on integration. The Casey Review was right in saying that, for generations, we have welcomed immigrants to the UK but left them to find their own way in society, while leaving host communities to accommodate them. In other parts of Europe, it is not uncommon for new migrants to participate in state-sponsored support programmes for civic integration, which include language provision; here in the UK integration is largely left to chance.

Today's report argues that a government integration strategy should proactively set a national framework for action that empowers local authorities to tailor their responses to the integration needs of their communities. The challenges in a place like Crewe, for example, will differ substantially from that of somewhere like Lambeth. The report also calls for a statutory duty on local authorities to promote integration in order to prioritise integration as an upfront consideration, and not just an afterthought, in key policy areas, such as housing, education and skills. The Government could provide more substantial support for local integration efforts through an Integration Impact Fund, which would bring our level of financial distribution to areas under pressure from immigration in line with countries like Germany. Finally, this framework for action must address the practical aspects of integration and, most notably, English language provision, which has faced drastic cuts in recent years. No one should be able to live in our country for a considerable length of time without the support to learn or improve their English language skills, and today's report is important in articulating this as a basic right which should be extended to anyone who needs it.

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Second, there is an urgent need to reframe the national debate on immigration so that government policy and rhetoric does not undermine integration efforts. The government's consistent failure to meet its own immigration targets, for example, has only served to undermine public confidence in the government's ability to manage migration effectively and encourage popular resentment against migrants. The same could be said of the way in which issues of counter-terrorism are often conflated with government rhetoric on immigration. As today's report asserts, immigrants should be viewed as Britons-in-waiting rather than 'security risks', 'welfare tourists' or a burden to our public services. This would create a climate in which is it expected that immigrants will fulfil a role as full and active citizens in our society. This is something most immigrants aspire to achieve in any case, so it surely makes sense for us to encourage this rather than make it more difficult to achieve? Instead, we have spent the last 20 years toughening our citizenship system, while competitor economies like Germany have liberalised theirs to facilitate the integration of newcomers and improve their economic competiveness.
Gasoline Smell Brings Williamstown Fire Department to College Dorm

Williamstown Fire Department responds to a gasoline odor complaint from Morgan Hall, left.



Fire Department personnel check out the source of the odor, a hole that is part of a steam tunnel replacement project. WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass.  The Fire Department plans to investigate the construction work that appears to have produced a smell of gasoline in the mechanical room of a Williams College dormitory.

Fire Chief Craig Pedercini said the smell appeared to be related to the use of gasoline by a contractor working on a steam line replacement project on West Lawn, to the west of Morgan Hall, a 100-bed residence hall at the corner of Spring and Main Streets that currently is not occupied.

After evaluating the situation for nearly two hours, Pedercini said there was no fire or health issue, but the Fire Department and college were employing fans to push the odor out of Morgan Hall and prevent it from infiltrating nearby West College, a 45-room Main Street dorm to the west of the steam tunnel replacement work.

The report was called in to the fire station at about 5:55 on Thursday evening.

"The first arriving officers investigated and found they did have an odor of gasoline in the building," Pedercini said.

"What were finding out now is that the contractor was doing some work, and there was a need to use Styrofoam as part of it, and, apparently, a need to remove the Styrofoam. And they used gasoline, it sounds like, to dissolve the Styrofoam away from the pipe. The odor is just lingering in that hole and that steam vault."

Pedercini said he did not believe that it was standard practice to use gasoline that manner.

"No," he said. "I would say no. There will be more looked into that part, but its not kosher to me at all."

All of the gasoline use was outside the building, in the hole dug for the steam tunnel project, Pedercini said.

"You can see where they were using it," he said. "The vapors will hang in that ditch and find a nook or a crack or if theres a pipe running [into the building] and theres a little space round it, the vapors will seep through."

There were a half-dozen people in Morgan Hall when the alarm sounded. The building was cleared by the time firefighters arrived, Pedercini said.

"Its not full of kids yet," he said. "Its kind of nice that if its going to happen, it happen now.

"Its unfortunate, but I think its a poor practice [to use gasoline in that manner]. Ill be investigating it, and Im sure the college will want to know why they were doing it."
For Beijingers in their 30s and 40s, gulping down a cool bottle of bright yellow-colored orange soda or licking a cream-colored ice pop used to be one of the most luxurious moments in the citys hot, sweating summer days, making a sticky walk to a street stall worth it.

(File photo of Artic Ocean orange soda)

Such a sweet childhood memory no longer works with the younger generation, who are heavily dependent on fans or air conditioners in summer.

Now, Alibabas Tmall makes it easier to enjoy a trip down memory lane. The popular food of the past has become the new fashion.

The champion of the Tmall summer shopping spree on June 18 for ice cream was Zhongjie 1946, a traditional ice pop brand popular especially in northeastern China. Within only four minutes, the sales topped 100,000. In just one year after the Chinese brand opened its Tmall store, it has overtaken international big names, including Haagen-Daz, taking up a quarter of the total ice cream sales on Tmall, Beijing Youth Daily reported.

(File photo of Zhongjie 1946 ice cream)

In addition to Zhongjie 1946, more than half of the 2,000 verified time-honored Chinese brands have opened online stores on Tmall, helping once popular regional brands go way beyond their regional realms.

The bright yellow-colored orange soda in Beijing, branded Arctic Ocean, for example, has now entered the Hong Kong market. Through Tmall, it aims to spread to Southeast Asia, Australia, Europe, the U.S., and even the real Arctic Ocean.

Data from Beijings statistic bureau shows that online sales of local time-honored brands reached 320 million yuan in the first half of 2017, up 71.8 percent, a growth rate that is much higher than the average in Beijing.

Retail on Tmall responds quickly to the fast, fashionable lifestyle of Chinese youth. Many time-honored brands have joined the platform to serve more customers, Chen Lin, deputy general manager of Beijing Yiqing Food Group, told Beijing Youth Daily. The company is known for many local brands, including Arctic Ocean.

Specifically, the Arctic Ocean soda and ice pops also joined the one-hour delivery program of Tmall, promising quick delivery within one hour after an order is placed within certain locations in Beijing.

Big data has also helped the old brands adapt. Wu Fang Zhai, a rice food producer founded in 1921, began to serve customized zongzi in May, the rice dumpling eating during the Dragon Boat Festival. On its official Tmall store, customers can choice their own unique fillings, from shrimp to eel and to steak.

(File photo of Wu Fang Zhai zongzi)

Chinas time-honored brands symbolize traditional business and culture. They carry the history, quality, and craftsmanship passed on from centuries ago. It is natural to explore ways to bring out their vitality. E-commerce and digital business has provided an innovative answer, said Ma Qiji, a researcher at the School of New Media under Peking University.
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(file photo)

The total assets of the Chinese government far exceeded the debt level from 2010 to 2015, according to a report released by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences on Aug. 24.

The report states that total assets stayed above 100 trillion yuan ($15 trillion) and total indebtedness increased from 40 trillion to 70 trillion yuan from 2010 to 2015, with social security insurance's funding gap included. In 2015, total assets exceeded 125 trillion yuan, accounting for 180 percent of the year's GDP.

The net assets of the Chinese government, with social security insurance's funding gap included, was between 40 trillion and 50 trillion yuan in the same period, accounting for an average of over 80 percent of GDP, the report said.

Based on a conservative estimate, the report found the debt risks to be generally controllable. It also indicated that total indebtedness was growing fast and warned about accumulated debt risks.
Pentagon chief says U.S. considering delivery of lethal weapons to Ukraine

Visiting U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis said Thursday that the United States is reviewing the possibility of sending lethal weapons to Ukraine.

"We are committed to continue providing you with assistance in your efforts to protect your country, the people of Ukraine," Mattis told reporters after meeting with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.

He said Washington also supports Kiev's efforts aimed at reforming Ukraine's defense and security sector in accordance with international standards.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said earlier in August that deliveries of lethal arms would destabilize the situation in Ukraine, in particular in its southeast.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said that such deliveries would not contribute to the peaceful resolution of the conflict between Kiev and two self-proclaimed republics in the southeast of Ukraine.

Mattis arrived in Kiev earlier in the day for a one-day visit to take part in Ukraine's Independence Day celebrations. He became the first U.S. secretary of defense to visit Ukraine in 10 years.
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This Isnt Our Last Love Letter



Dear Don Don,

Way back in 92



I walked into the room and knew



Never felt this way before



I shook your hand while gazing into your eyes



And the feeling grew



As I took a seat I knew



A love that would have my heart



Forever



I knew



Way back in 92





They say love at first sight doesnt always last or isnt true



We were the exception to that rule



Our love had no where to hide



A spark set fire



As if this is how the universe started





I never doubted our love or what we could do



Together we grew



Forming a bond everlasting



That became our glue



My euphoria was YOU



Im eternally grateful for the love and life we shared



For how fortunate we were :



to have and to hold

through sickness and in health

Til death do us part



Until we are together again



This isnt our last love letter



I love you with all my heart and soul



Yours forever,



Deirdre (Mrs. Hank Snow)





Im fortunate to have fallen in love with, marry and make a life with the sharpest, coolest, funniest, most rare, bad ass, tender loving, loyal man on the planet, my husband Don Imus.









A True American Hero

I dont know why it has been so hard for me to write about my dear friend Don Imus.



I certainly know what he meant to me, my family, my charity, my hospital and the millions of fans that listened and loved him for so many years.



I keep reading all the beautiful condolences that people are writing about how much a part of their lives were effected by listening to him over the years.

But what most people dont talk enough about is what he did for all of us.

In every sense of the word, he was an American Hero. His work with children with so many different illnesses and his dedication to their future was unmatched by anyone I have ever known or heard about.



Besides raising over $100,000,000 for so many causes, he took care of young people for over 20 years in a state where he could not breathe. Along with his incredible wife Deirdre, he created a world where children were not defined by their disease. That was a miracle! He was a miracle.

I will miss him ever day for the rest of my life.

I was blessed to be a part of his and Deirdes life.

No one will ever do what he did.

I love you Don Imus - A TRUE AMERICAN HERO





David Jurist

IMUS IN THE MORNING

FIRST DAY BACK!
Get our free weekly email for all the latest cinematic news from our film critic Clarisse Loughrey Get our The Life Cinematic email for free Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

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A proof that CGI won't ever fully overshadow the innovations of 2D animation.

Loving Vincent marks the world's first fully painted feature film; a biopic of Vincent van Gogh's life crafted out of an incredible 65,000 oil paintings on canvas, equating to around 12 paintings per second, individually produced by a team of 125 painters.

Written and directed by Dorota Kobiela and Hugh Welchman, the film delves into van Gogh's tragic death; on 27 July, 1890, he shot himself in the chest. There were no witnesses as to what happened, but he managed to stumble back into the town of Auvers-sur-Oise, where he was attended to by two doctors. He died 30 hours later of an infection.

The film attempts to illuminate the circumstances of his death, and also the more misunderstood parts of his life, through the stories of those who crossed his path.

Partially funded through a Kickstarter campaign, the film has still managed to amass a stellar cast: Douglas Booth, Jerome Flynn, Saoirse Ronan, Helen McCrory, Chris O'Dowd, John Sessions, Eleanor Tomlinson, and Aidan Turner all star. The film was first shot as a live action film with the actors, before each frame was hand-painted over.

Early Oscars Best Picture Contenders 2018 Show all 15 1 /15 Early Oscars Best Picture Contenders 2018 Early Oscars Best Picture Contenders 2018 Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri Director: Martin McDonagh Martin McDonagh Cast: Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, Caleb Landry Jones Plot: In this darkly comic drama, a mother personally challenges the local authorities to solve her daughter's murder, when they fail to catch the culprit. Twentieth Century Fox Early Oscars Best Picture Contenders 2018 Call Me By Your Name Director: Luca Guadagnino Luca Guadagnino Cast: Timothee Chalamet, Armie Hammer, Michael Stuhlbarg Plot: A young man named Elio, living in Italy during the 1980s, meets Oliver, an academic who has come to stay at his parents' villa, and a passionate relationship develops between them, as they bond over their sexuality, their Jewish heritage, and the landscape. Sony Pictures Classics Early Oscars Best Picture Contenders 2018 Dunkirk Director: Christopher Nolan Christopher Nolan Cast: Harry Styles, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Mark Rylance Plot: In May 1940, Germany advanced into France, trapping Allied troops on the beaches of Dunkirk. Under air and ground cover from British and French forces, troops were slowly and methodically evacuated from the beach using every serviceable naval and civilian vessel that could be found. At the end of this heroic mission, 330,000 French, British, Belgian and Dutch soldiers were safely evacuated. Early Oscars Best Picture Contenders 2018 Get Out Director: Jordan Peele Jordan Peele Cast: Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Bradley Whitford, Catherine Keener Plot: This horror drama follows a young interracial couple who visit the girl's parents only for her boyfriend to uncover a conspiracy whereby young black adults are being captured. Early Oscars Best Picture Contenders 2018 Downsizing Director: Alexander Payne Alexander Payne Cast: Matt Damon, Kristen Wiig, Christopher Waltz, Alec Baldwin Plot: A man and his wife join a community of miniaturized people after undergoing a process to shrink themselves. Early Oscars Best Picture Contenders 2018 The Florida Project Director:Sean Baker Sean Baker Cast:Willem Dafoe, Bria Vinaite, Brooklynn Prince Plot: A precocious 6-year-old and her friends are homeless, living in extended-stay motels, but their summer is still filled with childhood wonder and adventure. Early Oscars Best Picture Contenders 2018 The Post Director: Steven Spielberg Steven Spielberg Cast: Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, Alison Brie, Sarah Paulson Plot: Ben Bradlee and Kay Graham of The Washington Post challenge the federal government for the right to publish classified information in 1971. Twentieth Century Fox Early Oscars Best Picture Contenders 2018 The Shape of Water Director: Guillermo del Toro Guillermo del Toro Cast: Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon, Octavia Spencer, Doug Jones Plot: In the hidden high-security government laboratory where she works, lonely Elisa is trapped in a life of isolation. Elisa's life is changed forever when she and co-worker Zelda discover a secret classified experiment. Early Oscars Best Picture Contenders 2018 Molly's Game Director: Aaron Sorkin Aaron Sorkin Cast: Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba, Kevin Costner Plot: The true story of Molly Bloom, an Olympic-class skier who ran the world's most exclusive high-stakes poker game and became an FBI target. Courtesy of STXfilms Early Oscars Best Picture Contenders 2018 The Big Sick Director: Michael Showalter Michael Showalter Cast: Kumail Najiani, Zoe Kazan, Holly Hunter, Ray Romano Plot: Pakistan-born comedian Kumail Nanjiani and grad student Emily Gardner fall in love but struggle as their cultures clash. When Emily contracts a mysterious illness, Kumail finds himself forced to face her feisty parents, his family's expectations, and his true feelings. Early Oscars Best Picture Contenders 2018 Mudbound Director: Dee Rees Dee Rees Cast: Jason Clarke, Carey Mulligan, Mary J. Blige, Garrett Hedlund Plot: This Netflix film follows two who men return home from World War II to work on a farm in rural Mississippi, where they struggle to deal with racism and adjusting to life after war. Early Oscars Best Picture Contenders 2018 The Disaster Artist Director: James Franco James Franco Cast: James Franco, Dave Franco, Alison Brie, Zac Efron Plot: A big screen re-enactment of the making of Tommy Wiseau's cult film The Room deemed 'the worst movie of all time.' Getty Early Oscars Best Picture Contenders 2018 Phantom Thread Director: Paul Thomas Anderson Paul Thomas Anderson Cast: Daniel Day-Lewis, Lesley Manville, Vicky Krieps Plot: Set in 1950's London, Reynolds Woodcock is a renowned dressmaker whose fastidious life is disrupted by a young, strong-willed woman, Alma, who becomes his muse and lover. Early Oscars Best Picture Contenders 2018 Lady Bird Director: Greta Gerwig Greta Gerwig Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf, Beanie Feldstein, Tracy Letts Plot: Gerwig's deirectorial debut is a coming-of-age story about a high-school senior (Ronan) and her turbulent relationship with her mother (Metcalf). Early Oscars Best Picture Contenders 2018 Darkest Hour Director: Joe Wright Joe Wright Cast: Gary Oldman, Kristin Scott Thomas, Lily James, Ben Mendelsohn Plot: The film follows Winston Churchill's early days as Prime Minister while Hitler closes in on Britain during World War II.



It took over 4 years to first develop the technique, and then over 2 years to create the film itself, with work being completed in studios in the Polish cities of Gdansk and Wroclaw, alongside another in Athens.

Loving Vincent will hit UK cinemas 13 October, with a film premiere plus Q&A with special guests broadcast live from the National Gallery on 9 October. You can find out more info here.
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A Chinese woman almost died after her ovarian cyst popped during sex with her husband.

26-year-old Xiao Qing hadnt seen her husband for six months when they reunited, but she was rushed to hospital after sex, suffering from acute abdominal pain.

She had ruptured an ovarian cyst which then led to her losing 40 per cent of all her blood.

According to the NHS, ovarian cysts (fluid-filled sacs that develop on a womans ovary) are very common and there are usually no symptoms.

They usually appear and disappear naturally without the need for any treatment.

Dr Huang Mei from the Hunan Provincial People's Hospital told the Xiaoxiang Morning Post that Xiao Qing wasnt pregnant, but a CT scan had found that she had a large quantity of blood and fluid in her abdomen and pelvic area.

Dr Huang performed a diagnostic laparoscopy (also known as keyhole surgery) on Xiao Qing, which showed the doctors that she had a hemoperitoneum (the presence of blood in the peritoneal cavity).

There was about 1,500ml of blood loss in her abdomen, which was about 40 per cent of her blood volume, Dr Huang said.

If she was sent in later, there would be life-threatening risks.

Fortunately Xiao Qing survived.

But doctors discovered that she also had a three centimetre cyst in her right ovary, which they then removed.

According to Dr Huang, there were two possible ways in which the ovarian cyst could have ruptured.

The first could be down to high blood pressure during part of the menstrual cycle, but the rupture could also have occurred due to passionate sex, where a partner could tear the cyst.

Xiao Qing is now believed to be recovering from her surgery.
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Pretty much everyone prefers a nonstop flightbusiness people, especially. And they are more likely than most to be in a position to afford the premium.

But right now, all the money in the world wont get you from Sydney to the Big Apple or UK without a pit stop, because commercial planes just dont have that kind of range.

That may soon change. For many years, executives at Australian carrier Qantas Airways have coveted a nonstop offering from Sydney and Melbourne to London.

Now, as technology has matured, Qantas executives finally see the potential to realise that dream.

Two new models planned by Airbus and Boeing, they hope, will be able to make the nonstop trip to London20 hours and 20 minutesfrom Sydney. This new model would also jet across the Pacific Ocean to New York in about 18 hours.

On Friday, Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce issued a public challenge to the companies to extend the range of Boeings new 777X, which is slated for 2020, and the planned Ultra-Long Range version of Airbuss A350, which rolls out next year.

Qantas hopes to take delivery of such a plane and begin its Sydney to London service in 2022, the company said as part of its full-year income results.

Qantas noted that both planes can get close to the requirements needed for London and New York missions. The public prodding is designed to make one or both manufacturers revisit technical schemes to edge out even greater range.

A nonstop flight from Sydney to London would shave almost four hours off current travel times that involve a stopover; for New York, travellers could save nearly three hours. Airbus said it was equal to the challenge.

Well have the A350-900 ULR in service next year for ultra-long range flights of up to 20 hours, the company said. Well look forward to working with Qantas to see how we can meet its requirements for Sydney-London non-stop.

Boeing didnt immediately respond to emails seeking comment.

Long-range flights have become far more common in recent years, as lighter composite aircraft, combined with more durable and fuel-efficient jet turbine technology, have opened a range of new routes with long-haul models from Airbus and Boeing.

Business news: In pictures Show all 13 1 /13 Business news: In pictures Business news: In pictures Flybe collapses Airline Flybe has collapsed. All future flights on the Exeter-based airline have been cancelled  leaving more than 2,300 staff facing an uncertain future, and wrecking the travel plans of hundreds of thousands of passengers. The chief executive, Mark Anderson, said: Europes largest independent regional airline has been unable to overcome significant funding challenges to its business. AFP via Getty Business news: In pictures Future product placement will be 'tailored to individual viewers' Marketing executives say that product placement in films and televison shows on streaming services such as Netflix may be tailored to individuals in future. For instance, if data shows that a viewer is a fan of pepsi, a billboard in the background of a shot would host an advert for pepsi, while for a viewer known to have different tastes it could be for Coca-Cola Paramount Business news: In pictures Corbyn wishes Amazon a happy birthday In a card sent to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on the company's 25th birthday, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn writes: "You owe the British people millions in taxes that pay for the public services that we all rely on. Please pay your fair share" Business news: In pictures No deal, no tariffs The government has announced that it would slash almost all tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Notable exceptions include cars and meat, which will see tariffs in place to protect British farmers Getty Business news: In pictures Fingerprint payment NatWest is trialling a new bank card that will allow people to touch their hand to the card when paying rather than typing in a PIN number. The card will work by recognising the user's fingerprint NatWest/PA Wire Business news: In pictures Mahabis bust High-end slipper retailer Mahabis has gone into administration. 2 Jan 2019 Mahabis Business news: In pictures Costa Cola Coca-Cola has paid 3.9bn for Costa Coffee. A cafe chain is a new venture for the global soft drinks giant PA Business news: In pictures RIP Payday Loans A funeral procession for payday loans was held in London on September 2. The future of pay day lenders is in doubt after Wonga, Britain's biggest, went into administration on August 30 PA Business news: In pictures Musk irks investors and directors Elon Musk has concluded that Tesla will remain public. Investors and company directors were angry at Musk for tweeting unexpectedly that he was considering taking Tesla private and share prices had taken a tumble in the following weeks Getty Business news: In pictures Jaguar warning Iconic British car maker Jaguar Land Rover warned on July 5, 2018 that a "bad" Brexit deal could jeopardise planned investment of more than $100 billion, upping corporate pressure as the government heads into crucial talks AFP/Getty Business news: In pictures Spotif-IPO Spotify traded publically for the first time on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday. However, the company isn't issuing shares, but rather, shares held by Spotify's private investors will be sold AFP/Getty Business news: In pictures French blue passports The deadline to award a contract to make blue British passports after Brexit has been extended by two weeks following a request by bidder De La Rue. The move comes after anger at the announcement British passports would be produced by Franco-Dutch firm Gemalto when De La Rues contract ends in July. The British firm said Gemalto was chosen only because it undercut the competition, but the UK company also admitted that it was not the cheapest choice in the tendering process. Business news: In pictures Beast from the east economic impact The Beast from the East wiped 4m off of Flybes revenues due to flight cancellations, airport closures and delays, according to the budget airlines estimates. Flybe said it cancelled 994 flights in the three months to 31 March, compared to 372 in the same period last year.

You know from what they have done on other aircraft that Sydney-London and Melbourne-London has real possibility, Mr Joyce told the Sydney Morning Herald in April.

Earlier this year, Qantas said it would commence nonstop flights to London from Perth in March 2018, using a Boeing 787-9.

Singapore, for example, plans to use the Airbus next year to restore its nonstop flights to Los Angeles and New York, five years after it quit the flights due to fuel costs. United flies nonstop from San Francisco to Singapore daily, while Qantas flies from Dallas to Sydney nonstop. Both flights can top 16 hours.

Qantas flew its first so-called Kangaroo Route from Sydney to London in December 1947, flying a Lockheed Constellation. The trip took four days. In a few years, the kangaroo-flagged carrier hopes to do it in just over 20 hours.

Bloomberg
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Brexit is set to deliver a much-heralded jobs boom with over 80,000 new roles to be created - in Frankfurt.

A new report released by lobby group Frankfurt Main Finance found that the expected influx of 10,000 financial services staff over the next four years - fuelled by relocation plans and a banking exodus from London - will result in the creation of up to 87,667 new roles throughout the Rhein-Main-Region.

The study measured Brexit's effect on non-financial job growth in the city and the surrounding region across industries as diverse as real estate, auto trade, healthcare and technical services, and the rise in tax receipts for local government.

It predicts an extra 191 million euros (176 million) in local tax revenues for Frankfurt per year, when accounting for the additional income tax, value-added tax and local business tax.

Even based on the report's prudent scenario, the Brexit ripple effect would result in at least 35,913 new jobs outside of financial services, and an additional 136 million euros (125 million) in annual tax revenues for Frankfurt.

The job growth will further advance the economic strength of Frankfurt and the region. A real success story for all parties involved, Hubertus Vath, managing director of Frankfurt Main Finance, said.

Now, it is important to absorb and shape this growth positively. That is a challenge. However, the additional jobs also bring the funds to invest and master the challenge.

The news is another bitter blow to Brexit backers including Boris Johnson, who last year predicted that as many as 300,000 new jobs would be created within the UK if the country voted to leave the EU.

The now-foreign secretary was citing research from the Vote Leave campaign which claimed that the UK had missed out on 284,000 jobs due to the European Union's failure to strike trade agreements with the likes of Japan, India and the US.

Instead, jobs across several sectors have been lost and the country's powerhouse financial services industry has seen a steady stream of bankers shifted from the City into the EU, costing the Treasury millions in lost tax receipts.

Frankfurt is emerging as the main beneficiary of a post-Brexit jobs boom, securing commitments from a number of international banks, including Standard Chartered, since the referendum last year.

Citigroup has also notified its bankers of plans to bolster its Frankfurt office, creating 150 jobs, while the Press Association understands Morgan Stanley is on track to move as many as 200 staff.

Mizuho will join a raft of Japanese banks who have chosen the German financial centre as an EU hub, including Daiwa, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG) and Nomura.

Germany's own Deutsche Bank notified staff in July that it was likely to book the vast majority of its assets out of Frankfurt - where its headquarters are based - after the UK leaves the EU.

That is in addition to JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs, which are set to bolster operations in various EU cities including Frankfurt.

The London exodus is on track to revive the German financial sector, which at the end of 2016 accounted for around 13% of the local Frankfurt labour market compared to 15% in 2008.

Adding 10,000 jobs to the financial industry would mean a substantial shift into this sector, the report by Frankfurt Main Finance explained.
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Businesses say they face unsustainable costs as a result of Government measures introduced to increase pay, fund apprenticeships and ensure workers save adequate funds for their retirement, according to the British Chambers of Commerce.

Four in five firms reported that their costs had increased this year, a survey of 1,400 companies found.

Three quarters reported rising costs from pensions auto-enrolment and half said they had been affected by the rise in the National Living Wage. A fifth of businesses cited the Apprenticeship Levy, and 8 per cent said the Immigration Skills Charge had increased costs.

A quarter of businesses said they would respond to future planned increases to NLW by slowing pay rises and reducing staff benefits.

The BCC said on Wednesday that if the UK is to remain attractive and competitive, action must be taken to prevent further rises to the cost of doing business. It also warned that companies would be forced to replace humans with machines if employment costs increased further.

The concerns raised by the BCC run counter to the assessment of the World Bank which ranks the UK as the seventh easiest country in the world to do business, putting the country above the US, Germany and Japan.

The National Living Wage increased to 7.50 for people over 25 in April this year - below the real living wage calculated by the Living Wage Foundation which is 9.75 on London and 8.45 in the rest of the country.

An Apprenticeship Levy of 0.5 per cent of payroll became payable for employers turning over more than 3m at the beginning of April. The proceeds are to be invested in training and vocational education but some firms see the levy as nothing more than an additional tax on their payroll, according to Suzanne Horne, partner and head of the international employment practice at law firm Paul Hastings.

The levy is part of a Government drive to tackle the UKs skills shortage. A study earlier this year by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development warned in April that the UK was sleep-walking into a low-value, low skills economy thanks to a lack of investment in training as well as poor levels of numeracy and literacy.

Separate research by the Local Government Association estimated that lack of appropriate skills could cost the UK economy 90bn a year in lost productivity by 2024.

Business news: In pictures Show all 13 1 /13 Business news: In pictures Business news: In pictures Flybe collapses Airline Flybe has collapsed. All future flights on the Exeter-based airline have been cancelled  leaving more than 2,300 staff facing an uncertain future, and wrecking the travel plans of hundreds of thousands of passengers. The chief executive, Mark Anderson, said: Europes largest independent regional airline has been unable to overcome significant funding challenges to its business. AFP via Getty Business news: In pictures Future product placement will be 'tailored to individual viewers' Marketing executives say that product placement in films and televison shows on streaming services such as Netflix may be tailored to individuals in future. For instance, if data shows that a viewer is a fan of pepsi, a billboard in the background of a shot would host an advert for pepsi, while for a viewer known to have different tastes it could be for Coca-Cola Paramount Business news: In pictures Corbyn wishes Amazon a happy birthday In a card sent to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on the company's 25th birthday, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn writes: "You owe the British people millions in taxes that pay for the public services that we all rely on. Please pay your fair share" Business news: In pictures No deal, no tariffs The government has announced that it would slash almost all tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Notable exceptions include cars and meat, which will see tariffs in place to protect British farmers Getty Business news: In pictures Fingerprint payment NatWest is trialling a new bank card that will allow people to touch their hand to the card when paying rather than typing in a PIN number. The card will work by recognising the user's fingerprint NatWest/PA Wire Business news: In pictures Mahabis bust High-end slipper retailer Mahabis has gone into administration. 2 Jan 2019 Mahabis Business news: In pictures Costa Cola Coca-Cola has paid 3.9bn for Costa Coffee. A cafe chain is a new venture for the global soft drinks giant PA Business news: In pictures RIP Payday Loans A funeral procession for payday loans was held in London on September 2. The future of pay day lenders is in doubt after Wonga, Britain's biggest, went into administration on August 30 PA Business news: In pictures Musk irks investors and directors Elon Musk has concluded that Tesla will remain public. Investors and company directors were angry at Musk for tweeting unexpectedly that he was considering taking Tesla private and share prices had taken a tumble in the following weeks Getty Business news: In pictures Jaguar warning Iconic British car maker Jaguar Land Rover warned on July 5, 2018 that a "bad" Brexit deal could jeopardise planned investment of more than $100 billion, upping corporate pressure as the government heads into crucial talks AFP/Getty Business news: In pictures Spotif-IPO Spotify traded publically for the first time on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday. However, the company isn't issuing shares, but rather, shares held by Spotify's private investors will be sold AFP/Getty Business news: In pictures French blue passports The deadline to award a contract to make blue British passports after Brexit has been extended by two weeks following a request by bidder De La Rue. The move comes after anger at the announcement British passports would be produced by Franco-Dutch firm Gemalto when De La Rues contract ends in July. The British firm said Gemalto was chosen only because it undercut the competition, but the UK company also admitted that it was not the cheapest choice in the tendering process. Business news: In pictures Beast from the east economic impact The Beast from the East wiped 4m off of Flybes revenues due to flight cancellations, airport closures and delays, according to the budget airlines estimates. Flybe said it cancelled 994 flights in the three months to 31 March, compared to 372 in the same period last year.

Jane Gratton, head of business environment and skills at the BCC, said firms were increasingly looking towards automation because, there comes a point at which rising employment costs can no longer be absorbed through reduced profits.

Kathleen Henehan, a policy analyst at the Resolution Foundation, said the Government should always consider costs facing businesses, but that, the need for urgent policy action to tackle low pay and our historical failure to invest in skills for the next generation is very real.

Thats why government moves to raise the minimum wage and introduce the Apprenticeship Levy are the right thing to do, even if they arent totally risk free.

A government spokesperson said: This government is unequivocally pro-business but we are determined to build an economy that works for all. That includes ensuring everyone is paid a decent wage, has the right to a workplace pension and the opportunity to develop their skills.
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Richard Branson has backed the idea of giving everyone in the world a universal basic income.

The flamboyant Virgin boss has become the latest billionaire to express support for the idea, following Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, Slack chief executive Stewart Butterfield, and Tesla boss Elon Musk, among others.

In the modern world, everybody should have the opportunity to work and to thrive. Most countries can afford to make sure that everybody has their basic needs covered, Mr Branson wrote in a recent blog post. He said that UBI is an idea that should be further explored to make this a reality.

Recommended Finnish citizens given universal basic income report lower stress

A key inspiration behind his view is a trial currently taking place in Finland, which gives 2,000 unemployed people an unconditional monthly sum of 560 (515). The amount is paid even if recipients find work.

Participants have reported lower levels of stress, greater incentive to find work and freedom to pursue entrepreneurial ideas.

Mr Branson said he discussed UBI at a meeting earlier this year in Finland with The Elders, a group of leading global figures including Kofi Annan, Desmond Tutu and Jimmy Carter.

What I took away from the talks was the sense of self-esteem that universal basic income could provide to people. The hope is that policies like these can help people struggling just to survive and allow them to get on their feet, be entrepreneurial and be more creative.

 What is Finland's universal basic income scheme?

The entrepreneur said that small-scale trials such as the one in Finland need to be expanded to prove that the idea can work on a larger scale.

Cities across the Netherlands are launching their first universal basic income trials in October later this year. Other cities in Italy, Canada and Scotland are also at various stages of investigating and launching trials.

Mr Branson said that the advancement of AI and other new technology made the necessity for research into UBI more pressing.
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Tesla next month plans to unveil an electric big-rig truck with a working range of 200 to 300 miles, Reuters has learned, a sign that the electric car maker is targeting regional hauling for its entry into the commercial freight market.

Chief executive Elon Musk has promised to release a prototype of its Tesla Semi truck next month in a bid to expand the companys market beyond luxury cars.

The entrepreneur has tantalised the trucking industry with the prospect of a battery-powered heavy-duty vehicle that can compete with conventional diesels, which can travel up to 1,000 miles on a single tank of fuel.

Teslas electric prototype will be capable of travelling the low end of what transportation veterans consider to be long-haul trucking, according to Scott Perry, an executive at Miami-based fleet operator Ryder System. Perry said he met with Tesla officials earlier this year to discuss the technology at the carmakers manufacturing facility in Fremont, California.

Perry said Teslas efforts are centered on an electric big-rig known as a day cab with no sleeper berth, capable of traveling about 200 to 300 miles with a typical payload before recharging.

Im not going to count them out for having a strategy for longer distances or ranges, but right out of the gate I think thats where theyll start, said Perry, who is the chief technology officer and chief procurement officer for Ryder.

Tesla responded to Reuters questions with an email statement saying,Teslas policy is to always decline to comment on speculation, whether true or untrue, as doing so would be silly. Silly!

Teslas plan, which could change as the truck is developed, is consistent with what battery researchers say is possible with current technology. Tesla has not said publicly how far its electric truck could travel, what it would cost or how much cargo it could carry. But Musk has acknowledged that Tesla has met privately with potential buyers to discuss their needs.

Reuters reported earlier this month that Tesla is developing self-driving capability for the big rig.

Musk has expressed hopes for large-scale production of the Tesla Semi within a couple of years. That audacious effort could open a potentially lucrative new market for the Palo Alto, California-based carmaker.

Or it could prove an expensive distraction. Musk in July warned that the company is bracing for manufacturing hell as it accelerates production of its new Model 3 sedan. Tesla aims to produce 5,000 of the cars per week by the end of this year, and 10,000 per week sometime next year.

Tesla shares are up about 65 per cent this year. But sceptics abound. Some doubt Musks ability to take Tesla from a niche producer to a large-scale carmaker. About 22 per cent of shares available for trade have been sold short by investors who expect the stock to fall.

Musk, a quirky billionaire whose transportation ambitions include colonising the planet Mars, has long delighted in defying conventional wisdom. At Teslas annual meeting in June, he repeated his promise of a battery-powered long-haul big rig.

A lot of people dont think you can do a heavy-duty, long-range truck thats electric, but we are confident that this can be done, he said.

While the prototype described by Ryders Perry would fall well short of the capabilities of conventional diesels, Musk may well have found a sweet spot if he can deliver.

Roughly 30 per cent of US trucking jobs are regional trips of 100 to 200 miles, according to Sandeep Kar, chief strategy officer of Toronto-based Fleet Complete, which tracks and analyses truck movement.

A truck with that range would be able to move freight regionally, such as from ports to nearby cities or from warehouses to retail establishments.

As long as (Musk) can break 200 miles he can claim his truck is long haul and he will be technically right, Kar said.

Interest in electric trucks is high among transportation firms looking to reduce their emissions and operating costs. Electric motors require less maintenance than internal combustion engines. Juice from the grid is cheaper than diesel.

But current technology doesnt pencil when it comes to powering U.S. trucks across the country. Experts say the batteries required would be so large and heavy there would be little room for cargo.

An average diesel cab costs around $120,000 (93,640). The cost of the battery alone for a big rig capable of going 200 to 400 miles carrying a typical payload could be more than that, according to battery researchers Shashank Sripad and Venkat Viswanathan of Carnegie Mellon University.

Battery weight and ability would limit a semi to a range of about 300 miles with an average payload, according to a paper recently published by Viswanathan and Sripad.

The paper thanked Tesla for helpful comments and suggestions. Tesla did not endorse the work or comment on the conclusions to Reuters.

A range of 200 to 300 miles would put Tesla at the edge of what the nascent electric truck industry believes is economically feasible, the researchers and industry insiders said.

Transportation stalwarts such as manufacturer Daimler and shipping company United Parcel Service, said they are focusing their electric efforts on short-haul trucks. Thats because smaller distances and lighter payloads require less battery power, and trucks can recharge at a central hub overnight.

Business news: In pictures Show all 13 1 /13 Business news: In pictures Business news: In pictures Flybe collapses Airline Flybe has collapsed. All future flights on the Exeter-based airline have been cancelled  leaving more than 2,300 staff facing an uncertain future, and wrecking the travel plans of hundreds of thousands of passengers. The chief executive, Mark Anderson, said: Europes largest independent regional airline has been unable to overcome significant funding challenges to its business. AFP via Getty Business news: In pictures Future product placement will be 'tailored to individual viewers' Marketing executives say that product placement in films and televison shows on streaming services such as Netflix may be tailored to individuals in future. For instance, if data shows that a viewer is a fan of pepsi, a billboard in the background of a shot would host an advert for pepsi, while for a viewer known to have different tastes it could be for Coca-Cola Paramount Business news: In pictures Corbyn wishes Amazon a happy birthday In a card sent to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on the company's 25th birthday, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn writes: "You owe the British people millions in taxes that pay for the public services that we all rely on. Please pay your fair share" Business news: In pictures No deal, no tariffs The government has announced that it would slash almost all tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Notable exceptions include cars and meat, which will see tariffs in place to protect British farmers Getty Business news: In pictures Fingerprint payment NatWest is trialling a new bank card that will allow people to touch their hand to the card when paying rather than typing in a PIN number. The card will work by recognising the user's fingerprint NatWest/PA Wire Business news: In pictures Mahabis bust High-end slipper retailer Mahabis has gone into administration. 2 Jan 2019 Mahabis Business news: In pictures Costa Cola Coca-Cola has paid 3.9bn for Costa Coffee. A cafe chain is a new venture for the global soft drinks giant PA Business news: In pictures RIP Payday Loans A funeral procession for payday loans was held in London on September 2. The future of pay day lenders is in doubt after Wonga, Britain's biggest, went into administration on August 30 PA Business news: In pictures Musk irks investors and directors Elon Musk has concluded that Tesla will remain public. Investors and company directors were angry at Musk for tweeting unexpectedly that he was considering taking Tesla private and share prices had taken a tumble in the following weeks Getty Business news: In pictures Jaguar warning Iconic British car maker Jaguar Land Rover warned on July 5, 2018 that a "bad" Brexit deal could jeopardise planned investment of more than $100 billion, upping corporate pressure as the government heads into crucial talks AFP/Getty Business news: In pictures Spotif-IPO Spotify traded publically for the first time on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday. However, the company isn't issuing shares, but rather, shares held by Spotify's private investors will be sold AFP/Getty Business news: In pictures French blue passports The deadline to award a contract to make blue British passports after Brexit has been extended by two weeks following a request by bidder De La Rue. The move comes after anger at the announcement British passports would be produced by Franco-Dutch firm Gemalto when De La Rues contract ends in July. The British firm said Gemalto was chosen only because it undercut the competition, but the UK company also admitted that it was not the cheapest choice in the tendering process. Business news: In pictures Beast from the east economic impact The Beast from the East wiped 4m off of Flybes revenues due to flight cancellations, airport closures and delays, according to the budget airlines estimates. Flybe said it cancelled 994 flights in the three months to 31 March, compared to 372 in the same period last year.

Daimler, the largest truck manufacturer in the world by sales, will begin production this year on an electric delivery truck. The vehicle will have a 100-mile range and be capable of carrying a payload of 9,400 pounds, about 1,000 pounds less than its diesel counterpart, according to Daimler officials.

Daimler has been joined by a handful of startups such as Chanje, a Los Angeles-based manufacturer that has a partnership with Ryder to build 100-mile-range electric trucks for package delivery.

Ryder and its customers believe electric trucks could cost more to buy but may be cheaper to maintain and have more predictable fuel costs. As batteries become cheaper and environmental regulation increases, the case for electric trucks could strengthen.

"This tech is being seen as a major potential differentiator. Everyone wants to understand how real it is," said Perry, the chief technology officer.

Reuters
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As we shift towards a more sustainable lifestyle, our next sources of energy might come from some surprising places

In 2011, Worcester Council found itself at the focus of local ire when it unveiled plans to warm a local swimming pool using excess heat from a crematorium.

Redditch Crematorium can reach temperatures as high as 800C, all of which was being lost to the atmosphere. The council said using some of this heat to keep the water warm at Abbey Leisure Centre would save them 15,000 per year in fuel bills, but a local funeral director branded the plans as eerie and strange.

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A union weighed in, saying the councils proposals were sick and an insult to local residents. But the project went ahead, making Worcester Council the first local authority in the country to use heat from a crematorium as a form of green energy in a scheme that subsequently won a Green Apple award for environmental innovation.

This council isnt the only organisation looking at alternative renewables. In London, there are 500 homes that make use of the heat generated by trains running on the London Underground network.

Stockholms railway station has gone a step further. The stations ventilation system recycles body heat from Stockholms 250,000 daily commuters as well as from its shops and restaurants. While there are other sites that have successfully utilised body heat to warm their own buildings, Stockholms real achievement was in using this energy to power a completely separate building, the 13-storey Kungbrohuset office block, which is 90m down the road.

Far from being a gimmick, the system saves the office block around 20 per cent of its heating costs each year and easily covers the cost of installation and maintenance.

Youve probably heard of biodiesel, but probably not Bio Bean. The latter is a company created by an architecture student, Arthur Kay, to harness the power of coffee waste.

With most coffee shops discarding 10kg of coffee each day, the companys founder Arthur Kay says harnessing the potential energy in coffee makes ecological and commercial sense. Coffee is highly calorific, meaning it burns at a high temperature.

The fumes that coffee grounds give off in the landfill are 28 times more potent than CO2 (Vernon Chan)

Kays firm produces a range of products, including Coffee Logs, described as high-performance, sustainable briquettes that are ideally used as alternative fuels in domestic fireplaces. Theyre now on sale at Whole Foods and Blue Diamond and online at Abel & Cole.

Coffee can also be used to create biodiesel, as can chocolate and the fats that are being dug out of our sewer systems. But while biodiesel still produces CO2, albeit from renewable sources, the production of chocolate also results in a waste substance that can be fed to E.Coli bacteria, which in turn produces hydrogen, a CO2-free source of power.

When coffee waste is allowed to go to landfill it breaks down and releases methane, a gas that has a powerful greenhouse effect 28 times more potent than CO2. In Africa, vast underground deposits of methane created by ongoing volcanic activity is resulting in the phenomenon of exploding lakes. Trapped gas building up beneath these lakes is periodically released into the atmosphere in a sudden event that has historically killed thousands of people.

Today at Lake Kivu, or the killer lake, in Rwanda, some of that gas is being harnessed to power an electricity plant as part of the Kivuwatt Biogas Project. It is hoped that the scheme will be transformative for Rwandas energy market and wider economy.

Trapped gas building up beneath lakes like this one in Rwanda create volcanic activity known as 'exploding lakes' (Adam Jones)

But while none of these technologies is likely to offer a direct alternative to the fossil fuels we use today, there has long been hope that algae could be harvested in sufficient volumes that would allow it to become a major source of renewable energy.

In many ways algae appears to be the ideal fuel of the future. It produces more heat than corn or sugar, the growth of algae effectively recycles the CO2 emitted by burning it, it doesnt compete with high-grade arable land for space and can grow in very poor quality water. This last point opens up the possibility of using certain algaes to treat polluted rivers and lakes.

Chad Wocken, a senior research manager at the Energy & Environmental Research Centre, has also suggested that algae could be vastly more productive than the crops currently used to produce biofuels.

This image shows a tubular glass photobioreactor for the cultivation of microalgae and other photosynthetic organisms.

Unlike traditional oilseed crops, which produce 10 to 100 gallons of oil per acre, algae are mega oil producers capable of producing 1,000 to 5,000 gallons of oil per acre, he explains in Biomass magazine. While the economics of running algae farms are yet to become sustainable, the Algal Biomass Organisation believes oil from algae could reach price parity with fossil-based oils as soon as next year.

Science news in pictures Show all 20 1 /20 Science news in pictures Science news in pictures Pluto has 'beating heart' of frozen nitrogen Pluto has a 'beating heart' of frozen nitrogen that is doing strange things to its surface, Nasa has found. The mysterious core seems to be the cause of features on its surface that have fascinated scientists since they were spotted by Nasa's New Horizons mission. "Before New Horizons, everyone thought Pluto was going to be a netball - completely flat, almost no diversity," said Tanguy Bertrand, an astrophysicist and planetary scientist at NASA's Ames Research Center and the lead author on the new study. "But it's completely different. It has a lot of different landscapes and we are trying to understand what's going on there." Getty Science news in pictures Over 400 species discovered this year by Natural History Museum The ancient invertabrate worm-like species rhenopyrgus viviani (pictured) is one of over 400 species previously unknown to science that were discovered by experts at the Natural History Museum this year PA Science news in pictures Jackdaws can identify 'dangerous' humans Jackdaws can identify dangerous humans from listening to each others warning calls, scientists say. The highly social birds will also remember that person if they come near their nests again, according to researchers from the University of Exeter. In the study, a person unknown to the wild jackdaws approached their nest. At the same time scientists played a recording of a warning call (threatening) or contact calls (non-threatening). The next time jackdaws saw this same person, the birds that had previously heard the warning call were defensive and returned to their nests more than twice as quickly on average. Getty Science news in pictures Turtle embryos influence sex by shaking The sex of the turtle is determined by the temperatures at which they are incubated. Warm temperatures favour females. But by wiggling around the egg, embryos can find the Goldilocks Zone which means they are able to shield themselves against extreme thermal conditions and produce a balanced sex ratio, according to the new study published in Current Biology journal Ye et al/Current Biology Science news in pictures Elephant poaching rates drop in Africa African elephant poaching rates have dropped by 60 per cent in six years, an international study has found. It is thought the decline could be associated with the ivory trade ban introduced in China in 2017. Reuters Science news in pictures Ancient four-legged whale discovered in Peru Scientists have identified a four-legged creature with webbed feet to be an ancestor of the whale. Fossils unearthed in Peru have led scientists to conclude that the enormous creatures that traverse the planets oceans today are descended from small hoofed ancestors that lived in south Asia 50 million years ago A. Gennari Science news in pictures Animal with transient anus discovered A scientist has stumbled upon a creature with a transient anus that appears only when it is needed, before vanishing completely. Dr Sidney Tamm of the Marine Biological Laboratory could not initially find any trace of an anus on the species. However, as the animal gets full, a pore opens up to dispose of waste Steven G Johnson Science news in pictures Giant bee spotted Feared extinct, the Wallace's Giant bee has been spotted for the first time in nearly 40 years. An international team of conservationists spotted the bee, that is four times the size of a typical honeybee, on an expedition to a group of Indonesian Islands Clay Bolt Science news in pictures New mammal species found inside crocodile Fossilised bones digested by crocodiles have revealed the existence of three new mammal species that roamed the Cayman Islands 300 years ago. The bones belonged to two large rodent species and a small shrew-like animal New Mexico Museum of Natural History Science news in pictures Fabric that changes according to temperature created Scientists at the University of Maryland have created a fabric that adapts to heat, expanding to allow more heat to escape the body when warm and compacting to retain more heat when cold Faye Levine, University of Maryland Science news in pictures Baby mice tears could be used in pest control A study from the University of Tokyo has found that the tears of baby mice cause female mice to be less interested in the sexual advances of males Getty Science news in pictures Final warning to limit "climate catastrophe" The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has issued a report which projects the impact of a rise in global temperatures of 1.5 degrees Celsius and warns against a higher increase Getty Science news in pictures Nobel prize for evolution chemists The nobel prize for chemistry has been awarded to three chemists working with evolution. Frances Smith is being awarded the prize for her work on directing the evolution of enzymes, while Gregory Winter and George Smith take the prize for their work on phage display of peptides and antibodies Getty/AFP Science news in pictures Nobel prize for laser physicists The nobel prize for physics has been awarded to three physicists working with lasers. Arthur Ashkin (L) was awarded for his "optical tweezers" which use lasers to grab particles, atoms, viruses and other living cells. Donna Strickland and Gerard Mourou were jointly awarded the prize for developing chirped-pulse amplification of lasers Reuters/AP Science news in pictures Discovery of a new species of dinosaur The Ledumahadi Mafube roamed around 200 million years ago in what is now South Africa. Recently discovered by a team of international scientists, it was the largest land animal of its time, weighing 12 tons and standing at 13 feet. In Sesotho, the South African language of the region in which the dinosaur was discovered, its name means "a giant thunderclap at dawn" Viktor Radermacher / SWNS Science news in pictures Birth of a planet Scientists have witnessed the birth of a planet for the first time ever. This spectacular image from the SPHERE instrument on ESO's Very Large Telescope is the first clear image of a planet caught in the very act of formation around the dwarf star PDS 70. The planet stands clearly out, visible as a bright point to the right of the center of the image, which is blacked out by the coronagraph mask used to block the blinding light of the central star. ESO/A. Muller et al Science news in pictures New human organ discovered that was previously missed by scientists Layers long thought to be dense, connective tissue are actually a series of fluid-filled compartments researchers have termed the interstitium. 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Using sensitive analysis of the chemical composition of sweat, researchers were able to tell the difference between those who had been directly exposed to heroin and cocaine, and those who had encountered it indirectly. Getty Science news in pictures Nasa releases stunning images of Jupiter's great red spot The storm bigger than the Earth, has been swhirling for 350 years. The image's colours have been enhanced after it was sent back to Earth. Pictures by: Tom Momary

According to the US Energy Department, algae could produce 60 times as much fuel per acre as land-based plants and could even be developed next to existing power stations, feeding directly off the CO2 output of the plant.

So why hasnt algae been developed as an energy source?

Many challenges to large-scale algae-derived renewable fuel exist, Chad Wocken writes. [They] span the entire process from algae strain selection, through harvesting, to fuel conversion.

Although great strides have been made, algae production remains a challenge. Algae grow in shallow ponds or bioreactors where they use photosynthesis (sunlight, CO2 and other nutrients) to grow, reproduce and generate oil. Advancements are needed to optimise the supply of light, CO2, and nutrients to the algae.

Reflecting on these setbacks, the then Chair of ExxonMobil and now US Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, suggested last year that it could take another 25 years for algal fuel to be commercially viable, despite Exxon having invested $600m in the technology since 2009.

The algae-powered building in Hamburg was completed with 200 square metres of 'integrated photo-bioreactors' (NordNordWest)

A small glimpse into an algae-powered future emerged in 2013, when a building in Hamburg was completed with 200 square metres of integrated photo-bioreactors forming its outer facade. These glass panels contain micro-algae that produce heat and biomass, which means the entire building is effectively powered by algae.

A water circuit running through the bio-adaptive facade keeps the algae supplied with nutrients. In situ, the algae also provides the building with shade until there is a sufficient algal bloom to be harvested and processed at the propertys on-site biogas plant.

Jan Wurm, a research leader at Arup, the BIQ buildings developer said: As well as generating renewable energy and providing shade to keep the inside of the building cooler on sunny days, it also creates a visually interesting look that architects and building owners will like.

Our more conventional renewables, solar and wind power, have progressed significantly in recent years, with solar rapidly gaining efficiency while becoming cheaper to build and operate.

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But scientists have also raised the prospect of utilising solar wind, the plasma stream emitted by the Sun that causes the Aurora Borealis phenomenon. Solar wind consists of charged electrons and protons that leave the Suns upper atmosphere at around one million miles per hour.

Solar wind has already been used to power satellites and scientists have proposed that it could generate electrical energy for our day-to-day activities on Earth.

One version of the Dyson-Harrop satellite would use a 0.4 inch copper wire, measuring 1km, suspended over a huge 8,400km wide solar sail; the copper would have the effect of creating a magnetic field that captures the charged particles.

The researchers who developed this concept say that such a system would generate 1 billion billion gigawatts, or 100 billion times as much energy as we currently require, but getting that energy back to Earth would be extremely difficult. A smaller satellite, 300m long, would produce enough power for 1,000 homes, according to the researchers.

Back on Earth, EnviroMission has looked into utilising the power of the sun in another way. Rather than converting solar energy directly into electricity, its proposed solar tower would use hot air captured from a desert environment, funnelled into pipes that drive a series of turbines.

Solar updraft towers have been proposed in various forms for more than a century. Their proponents say they have significant advantages over photovoltaic solar panels. The towers have the potential to be almost entirely passive and require minimal maintenance over the long term. As they only require warm air to operate, they can also keep going through the night.

In order to generate 200 megawatts of electricity a year, EnviroMission says its current working model assumes the tower would need to be more than 700m tall. The company says such a tower would be fitted with 32 turbines and could power 100,000 homes.

A much smaller model has been trialled in Spain by Schlaich, Bergermann and Partner. It generated 50 kilowatts of electricity a year and outlasted its planned operational life by six years before it toppled over during a storm. And while 50 kilowatts is a long way off EnviroMissions goal, but the company says it shows proof of concept.

EnviroMission says a full scale version of the tower is likely to cost $700m but, as with any untested technologies, the true cost is hard to determine. Another firm, Hyperion Energy, has put forward its own proposal for a 200-megawatt updraft facility, with a 1,000m tower and a price tag of $1.87bn.

The funding required for the large solar updraft towers underlines the major sticking point for these technologies  the high costs of research and development. They often make risky investments, with returns only likely to be seen far into the future, making them less attractive to private investors.

As was the case for nascent solar and wind power across Europe, funding from governments was essential in the building of the successful solar updraft tower in Spain, but it will take far-sighted policy-making to see significant investment in some of the more unconventional renewables that have begun to emerge in recent years.
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Sir David Attenborough has said he feels optimistic about the future of the environment because of a shift in attitudes towards protecting the natural world.

The 91-year-old veteran broadcaster, whose career has spanned seven decades, said there were signs of hope for planet Earth as more countries were improving conservation efforts.

Speaking at the Edinburgh International Television Festival, Sir David said: I spend a lot of time wringing my hands and saying how dreadful it is that this forest has been obliterated and that sea has been polluted and whatever. But there are signs of hope.

There has been a worldwide shift, I think, among people in general about the concern there should be for the natural world. I am encouraged more than I have been for some time.

The naturalist said he was encouraged by the 2016 Paris climate agreement, which united the worlds nations in tackling climate change.

He said the agreement was a big advance despite President Donald Trump announcing he would withdraw the US from the deal earlier this year.

I would like to think the reason that political figures can adopt that sort of policy, which they know will be at a cost to their national economies, is that they are beginning to realise that people worldwide wish for that to happen because they wish to protect their natural world.

I have the sense that worldwide, certainly in Europe, certainly in China  which we never thought before was concerned  and even perhaps if I may say so there are people in America  pace Mr Trump  who dont accept that human beings can do no wrong.

The broadcaster will return to the BBC for the new documentary series Blue Planet II, a sequel to his phenomenally popular 2001 series.

Natural history programming is marvellous to look at... But I would go so far as to say it is extremely important that people around the world see what is happening, Sir David told the festival.
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A former British soldier who travelled to Syria to fight against Isis faces up to 16 years in prison after being charged with terror offences in Turkey.

Joe Robinson, 24, was arrested on the beach while on holiday with his fiancee and her mother in the coastal resort of Didim last month.

Turkish media reported that security forces had found photos of Mr Robinson on social media showing him wearing military fatigues alongside members of the Kurdish Peoples Protection Units (YPG) in Syria.

Recommended Turkish authorities arrest former British soldier who fought Isis

He told Turkish authorities he had received weapons training but did not take part in clashes during his three months providing medical assistance to the YPG, which Ankara classes as a terrorist group.

Mr Robinsons solicitor, Kaya Sertkaya, said he has now been charged with membership of a terrorist organisation, which carries a maximum term of 16 years imprisonment.

Mr Sertkaya told The Guardian his client was being kept in a high security prison cell for 23 hours a day and having his phone calls monitored by authorities.

His girlfriend, law student Mira Rojkan, has been charged over sharing pro-Kurdish material online showing a separatist flag, Kurdish songs and fighters.

She was released on bail after six days but has been banned from leaving Turkey and is awaiting a court hearing.

 US backed fighters make progress in driving Isis out of Raqqa

Ms Rojkan told The Independent the arrest as awful, adding: They said someone had sent them an email saying we were terrorists about to do something in Turkey.

They wouldnt say who it was from. It is absolute nonsense. They arrested us on the beach while we were vacationing with my mother.

The couple, originally from Leeds, are among several foreign nationals including journalists who have been charged with terror offences over alleged Kurdish links by Turkey.

The YPG is a major part of a coalition being armed and supported by the US-led coalition to drive Isis out of its de-facto capital of Raqqa, but Turkey has designated it a terror organisation because of its separatist ambitions.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent his forces into Syria last year to drive the YPG back from border areas and has publicly attacked fellow Nato and EU nations for supporting what he claims is a terrorist group.

Thousands of people have been arrested in Turkey over alleged connections with the YPG, insurgent Kurdistan Workers Party and factions that have claimed responsibility for recent terror attacks.

The crackdown is running alongside continuing purges on supporters of US-based cleric Fethullah Gulens Hizmet movement, which the Turkish government blames for an attempted coup last year.

Mr Robinson's family has sent a letter to Theresa May appealing for help and an online petition calling for his release has gained almost 3,500 signatures since being set up at the end of July.

In pictures: Isis' weapons factories Show all 11 1 /11 In pictures: Isis' weapons factories In pictures: Isis' weapons factories A mortar round fin manufactured by Isis in Gogjali, Mosul, November 2016 Conflict Armament Research In pictures: Isis' weapons factories Isis rocket components discovered in Gogjali, Mosul, Iraq in November 2016 Conflict Armament Research In pictures: Isis' weapons factories Isis mortars discovered near Karamlais, Iraq, in November 2016 CAR In pictures: Isis' weapons factories An Isis rocket launch frame in Qaraqosh, November 2016 Conflict Armament Research In pictures: Isis' weapons factories A memo from Isis' COSQC on quality control at a manufacturing facility in Gogjali, Mosul, November 2016 Conflict Armament Research In pictures: Isis' weapons factories Electrically-operated initiators manufactured by Isis in forces Gogjali, Mosul, November 2016 Conflict Armament Research In pictures: Isis' weapons factories Isis mortar tubes at a manufacturing facility in Karamlais, November 2016 Conflict Armament Research In pictures: Isis' weapons factories An Isis mortar production facility discovered in Gogjali, Mosul, in November 2016 Conflict Armament Research In pictures: Isis' weapons factories An Isis weapons manufacturing facilities near Mosul in November 2016 Conflict Armament Research In pictures: Isis' weapons factories Stocks of French-manufactured Sorbitol, Latvian potassium nitrate and Lebanese sugar at an Isis weapons factory in Iraq Conflict Armament Research In pictures: Isis' weapons factories A destroyed Isis weapons facility in Qaraqosh, Iraq, November 2016 Conflict Armament Research

His father, Andrew Robinson, told The Telegraph he had received no reply from Downing Street after several weeks.

We cannot let a young man, who did the right thing, go to prison. A man who made a change, who saved lives and defended our country's interests, the letter said.

To do anything other than provide effective and immediate support to a man who is a British citizen, a veteran and a hero, is to show a deep disregard for your veteran forces, and to ally yourselves with an oppressive state.

Mr Robinson, originally from Accrington in Lancashire, served with the Duke of Lancasters Regiment in Afghanistan in 2012 and said he decided to join the fight against Isis after a militant killed 39 British tourists on a Tunisian beach in June 2015.

After returning to the UK in November that year he was arrested on suspicion of terror offences at Manchester Airport but released from bail 10 months later.

Britain does not class the YPG as a terrorist organisation but has investigated anyone found to have joined the group and charged some with terror offences.

Relatives believe British officials have so far been unable to visit Mr Robinson in jail to offer support and check the conditions of his imprisonment.

A spokesperson for the Foreign Office said: We are aware of the detention of a British national in Turkey, and have requested consular access. We are providing support to the family and remain in contact with the Turkish authorities.


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North Korea has threatened the UK with a miserable end if it participates in the joint US-South Korea military exercises currently taking place.

British forces are not currently involved in the Ulchi Freedom Guardian drills, which began on Monday and will continue till the end of the month, but a small number of UK servicemen are expected to be taking part along with representatives from other countries such as Australia.

A statement released by the state-controlled Korean Central News Agency denounced Washington and Seoul as warmongers and said the annual drills were provocative.

It dismissed the claims by South Korea that the drills were purely defensive, saying formations of strategic bombers loaded with nuclear bombs are always ready for sortie.

We solemnly warn not only the US and [the] puppet group but also satellites, including [the] UK and Australia, which are taking advantage of the present war manoeuvres against the North, that they would face a miserable end if they join in, it continued.

It comes amid a war of words between Pyongyang and Donald Trump which has exacerbated the already tense relations between North Korea and the US.

Mr Trump said North Korea would face fire and fury like the world has never seen if it escalates its nuclear threat  after receiving a report which suggested the regime had developed nuclear warheads small enough to fit on an intercontinental ballistic missile.

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

In response, Pyongyang threatened a nuclear strike against Guam  the nearest US-controlled island to the Korean Peninsula.

Theresa May is due to visit Japan next week where she is expected to condemn North Koreas ongoing nuclear weapons programme.
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Donald Trump got it totally wrong in his response to the Charlottesville, Virginia, riots, Boris Johnson has said.

It was a great shame the President was unable to distinguish between neo-Nazis and anti-fascist protesters, the Foreign Secretary said.

Mr Johnson also hinted strongly that Mr Trumps state visit to the UK would take place next year.

Recommended Senator who lost both legs in Iraq war blasts Trump on transgender ban

He told BBC Radio Fours Today programme: I thought he got it totally wrong and I thought it was a great shame that he failed to make a clear and fast distinction, which we all are able to make, between fascists and anti-fascists, between Nazis and anti-Nazis.

The state visit was more likely to happen next year than this, he added.

Mr Trump first blamed many sides for the violence that erupted in Charlottesville two weeks ago, when white supremacists marched on the town to take part in a Unite the Right rally.

In a later statement he singled out the neo-Nazi and other racist elements but, in further, impromptu remarks at Trump Tower, returned to condemning both sides for the fighting.

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

His words drew widespread criticism, including from fellow Republicans.

At a campaign-style rally in Phoenix, Arizona, this week, Mr Trump said his response had been misrepresented by damned dishonest journalists.

He re-read parts of his statements on Charlottesville to prove he had condemned the racism on show, and told supporters: The - and I mean truly dishonest people in the media and the fake media, they make up stories.

They have no sources in many cases. They say a source saysthere is no such thing. But they dont report the facts.

Just like they dont want to report that I spoke out forcefully against hatred, bigotry and violence and strongly condemned the neo-Nazis, the White Supremacists, and the KKK.

I openly called for unity, healing and love, and they know it because they were all there.
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Boris Johnson has mocked Theresa May by telling Libyan politicians her disastrous decision to call an election shows the dangers of going to the polls too early.

The Foreign Secretary made the comments on a trip to Libya earlier this week, as he discussed how to stabilise the country following Western intervention and the fall of Colonel Gaddafi.

Hours after his words were reported, Mr Johnson risked a further row with the Prime Minister when he failed to back her position on student immigration data.

Recommended Boris Johnson risks new row with Theresa May over student immigration

Speaking on his return to Britain, the Foreign Secretary told BBC Radio 4s Today that the Prime Ministers failure to secure a majority in June had highlighted the risk of calling an election too soon, and how it can serve to further undermine stability.

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 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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

The Foreign Secretary was also repeatedly asked in the interview if he agreed with Ms May that the number of overseas students should be counted in net migration data, but failed to back her.

The interview followed the revelation that ministers may have based their policies on data that vastly overestimated the number of foreign students staying in the UK after studies.

Labours shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office Jon Trickett said: The Foreign Secretarys thinly veiled attack on the Prime Minister shows that there are deep divisions at the top of this Tory Government.

Mr Johnson wrote in The Telegraph on Friday that unless Libya can reach a political union it risks becoming the frontline in the UKs fight against terrorism and illegal immigration.

He underlined the countrys difficulties in The Telegraph, writing: In Libya today there are three guns for every human  but there is no single source of law or authority, let alone power.

There are two central banks, two rival parliaments, three prime ministers and up to four governments.
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Boris Johnson has risked a new row with Downing Street over immigration data after refusing to support the Prime Ministers long-standing position on overseas students.

The Foreign Secretary was repeatedly asked in an interview if he agreed with Theresa May that the number of overseas students should be counted in net migration data, but failed to back her.

The interview followed the revelation that ministers may have based their policies on data that vastly overestimated the number of foreign students staying in the UK after studies.

Data analysed by the Home Office and the Office for National Statistics found there was no evidence of a major problem with students overstaying their entitlement to remain in the UK.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4s Today programme, Mr Johnson was asked if he thought student numbers should be counted with net migration data  a position Ms May has strongly supported since her time at the Home Office.

After an initial sidestep, he added: I am content with the success we are having at attracting international students and in ensuring by the way that those international students do not overstay their period here and doing the right thing.

But international students are a great feature of our education economy and we need to welcome them.

Asked again if he thought students should remain in the data, he said: The Prime Minister rightly points out that that is the technical way that they are currently counted.

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Pressed a final time he said only: That is the way that is done. But to get that key point, there is no cap on foreign students coming into this country.

Mr Johnson is joined by other frontbench figures, including his brother the education minister Jo Johnson, Chancellor Philip Hammond and International Trade Secretary Liam Fox in having raised concerns that the drive to force down net migration will inadvertently see students put off from coming to the UK, damaging trade and a lucrative sector of the economy.

Officials under Ms May at the Home Office and then in Downing Street have cracked down on education institutions an overseas learners, claimed to have exploited education visas to gain undue entry to the UK.

But data used to justify the crackdown, suggesting some 100,000 more students a year may have been staying in the UK than leaving, was yesterday shown to be fundamentally unreliable.

New ways of collecting information, including studying exit checks as people leave the country, suggest students who failed to leave within the legitimate time frame allowed by their visa was around 4,600 in 2016/17, casting a different light on the situation.

An article from the ONS on international students said that before exit checks were undertaken, the method for ascertaining student departures had flaws and was not a robust statistic.

 Britain will face 'price' for limiting immigration, warns Angela Merkel

The paper written by Iain Bell, deputy national statistician for the ONS, concluded: There is no evidence of a major issue of non-EU students overstaying their entitlement to stay.

Mr Hammond found himself at odds with the Prime Minister after signalling he favoured a change from her chosen stance last year, weeks later Mr Johnson said he thought students should be removed in an interview.

In March Dr Fox then revealed an on-going argument inside Government over student numbers, and said he thought they brought great benefits to the country.

Under David Camerons administration, Ms May blocked attempts, including by George Osborne, to remove student numbers from net migration data, fearing the public would see it as an attempt to manipulate figures.

Earlier this week, Home Secretary Amber Rudd announced a new commission to explore the economic and social benefits of students to the UK economy, indicating a possible shift in position.
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The European Union has accused Britain of engaging in magical thinking over its approach to Brexit, specifically what should be done with the Northern Ireland after the UK leaves the bloc.

Briefing journalists in Brussels on Friday a senior EU official said the UK must not use the Northern Ireland process as a bargaining chip in Article 50 negotiations, which was set to restart next week.

The Government put out a position paper last Wednesday about how it believes the question of Northern Ireland should be solved once Britain leaves the EU.

Recommended Britain says it should still be able to influence EU laws after Brexit

It suggested there should be no border posts on Northern Irelands border with the Republic of Ireland border, which has almost 300 crossing points, but that a mix of technology and physical checks should ensure big businesses were complying with customs rules.

Labour at the time branded the idea a fantasy frontier and said the proposal lacked practical detail.

Speaking to reporters, the senior EU official also dismissed the idea.

The decision to leave was the UKs decision, not the decision of Ireland and not the decision of the EU and the UK has to take responsibility for that, he said.

 EU set to block UK's temporary customs union plea to stop Brexit border chaos, warns former commissioner

What we see in the UK paper is a lot of magical thinking about how the border could work. The UK paper is very good on aspirations but short on workable solutions.

He also claimed progress in talks, which are now on their third round, had been slow because of a lack of substance from the UK side.

But a UK source described the EUs briefing as puzzling and said the comments indicated that the Commission negotiators did not under the human costs behind the hard-won progress in Northern Ireland.

Ireland is a member of the EU and its customs union, which means it forms a single customs area and common external tariff with the whole European Union.

Brexit secretary David Davis with EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier (Reuters)

Theresa May has signalled that Britain will be leaving the EU customs union when it leaves the EU, which means the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland will be an EU border and customs frontier.

The situation is complicated because a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland is uniformly opposed by almost all politicians and public figures on both sides of it. The current settlement is seen as key to the peace process in the region; Northern Ireland voted to remain in the EU, unlike the rest of the UK.

 Daniel Mulhall: An "extraordinary" number of people have applied for Irish passports post-Brexit

The Government has struggled to articulate a position that prevents a hard border between the two areas with Britain outside the EU customs union, however.

A UK source said: This briefing is puzzling. We have already published a paper on Northern Ireland which sets out our clear position, as well as how we can make swift progress on protecting the Common Travel Area and upholding the Belfast Agreement in all its parts.

Its self-evident that discussions around the future of the Irish border will require a conversation about the future partnership between the UK and EU, and we agree with the Taoiseach when he says this is common sense.

Brexit: the deciders Show all 8 1 /8 Brexit: the deciders Brexit: the deciders European Union's chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier Getty Brexit: the deciders French President Emmanuel Macron Getty Brexit: the deciders German Chancellor Angela Merkel Reuters Brexit: the deciders Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker EPA Brexit: the deciders The European Parliament's chief Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt Getty Brexit: the deciders Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May Getty Images Brexit: the deciders Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond PA Brexit: the deciders After the first and second appointed Brexit secretaries resigned (David Davis and Dominic Raab respectively), Stephen Barclay is currently heading up the position PA

We look forward to reading the Commissions response to our paper, but this type of language suggests they dont properly understand the sensitivities or appreciate the human costs behind the hard-won progress in Northern Ireland.

This is not some sort of game with bargaining chips.

The third round of negotiations begin next week and we enter those discussions ready to make progress.

At the time of the release of the paper, the Prime Minister said: No one voted to end the special ties between the UK and Ireland, or to undermine the unique arrangements between Ireland and Northern Ireland which have underpinned the peace process and have been in place well before our membership of the EU.
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European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker has arranged to meet his good friend Tony Blair in Brussels this week while Brexit negotiations between Britain and the EU take place across the road.

The Commission denied that the timing of the meeting was a calculated snub to Theresa Mays negotiators  despite it taking place at the same time as the third round of Article 50 Brexit talks and while Ms Mays ministers are likely to be in town.

A European Commission spokesperson on Friday afternoon announced that Mr Juncker would be receiving Tony Blair in Brussels on Thursday this week, when David Daviss team will be locking horns with Commission negotiators.

Recommended Britain says it should still be able to influence EU laws after Brexit

The spokesperson confirmed that current issues of current European economics and politics  code for Brexit  were likely to feature in the discussions between the pair, among a wide range of issues.

There have been persistent rumours, repeatedly denied by Mr Blairs office, that the former prime minister has ambitions to return to public life or politics.

A staunch opponent of Brexit, the former PM has previously said he believes Britain could stay in the bloc if EU officials meet us halfway and restrict freedom of movement and immigration.

At the general election he urged voters to direct their vote to whichever candidate in their local consituency would stop Brexit.

Downplaying suggestions that the meeting was a deliberate slight of the UK, he told reporters in Brussels: The president is in constant and regular contact not only with the current leaders, heads of state, heads of government political leaders in Europe, his current peers in the European Council; but of course also with his peers from the previous times.

After all, he was a Prime Minister for 20 years, and Tony Blair is one of his peers, they are good friends, theyve known each other a long time, Tony Blair was here last year, he was here the year before, so this is absolutely nothing extraordinary.

Explaining what the pair would discuss, the spokesperson said: I dont think there is a written agenda; I would expect a broad range of issues that would be raised. I expect it to include issues of global politics, Middle East, Libya, the work of Tony Blairs faith foundation and I would also imagine that current issues of current European economics and politics may feature.

Brexit: the deciders Show all 8 1 /8 Brexit: the deciders Brexit: the deciders European Union's chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier Getty Brexit: the deciders French President Emmanuel Macron Getty Brexit: the deciders German Chancellor Angela Merkel Reuters Brexit: the deciders Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker EPA Brexit: the deciders The European Parliament's chief Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt Getty Brexit: the deciders Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May Getty Images Brexit: the deciders Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond PA Brexit: the deciders After the first and second appointed Brexit secretaries resigned (David Davis and Dominic Raab respectively), Stephen Barclay is currently heading up the position PA

He added that Mr Juncker, a former prime minister of Luxembourg, had extremely fruitful list of relationships with former world leaders from this decades in politics.

Mr Blairs office has not yet responded to request for comment on this story.
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George Osborne has called on Conservatives MPs to defy Theresa May and vote to remove overseas students from the Governments migration targets.

It comes after new official figures revealed that previous data had massively overestimated the number of students who remain in the UK illegally after finishing their courses. The real figure is just 4,600  a fraction of the 100,000 estimate that has been the basis of government policy for years.

In an editorial for the London Evening Standard, which Mr Osborne edits, the former Chancellor claimed Ms May was the only minister in David Camerons Cabinet arguing that students should be included in the figures. Her argument is said to have been based heavily on the 100,000 estimate that has now been discredited.

Recommended May under pressure to drop foreign students from immigration numbers

He wrote: Alone among senior Cabinet ministers at the time, Home Secretary Theresa May insisted that overseas students had to be included in Britains net migration numbers.

"Her reason was simple: around 100,000 of those students, she claimed, remained in the UK illegally once their visas expired. Based on a survey conducted at airports, the figure was always considered highly suspect across Whitehall.

But repeated attempts by the Treasury, Foreign Office and Business department to get the Home Office to investigate the accuracy of the numbers were rebuffed  the then Home Secretary thought it was better to stick with false information than get the real facts, which might force her to change the policy."

In contrast, Mr Osborne said the current Home Secretary, Amber Rudd, is sensible and rational and praised her for commissioning research into the economic benefits that foreign students bring to Britain.

Highlighting both the economic and social benefits of immigration, including creativity and innovation and maintaining a big role in shaping the world we live in, Mr Osborne said more should be done to attract people to study in the UK.

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

He said: Foreign students enhance our economy and bring revenue to our universities, which funds research and allows them to top the international league tables.

Educating foreign students is a key export industry, worth more than 10 billion a year. Those who come to study here retain a connection with our country, and an affection for it that remains for the rest of their lives  and they take our values home with them. That is what soft power is about."

Responding to new figures showing a 27,000 fall in the number of overseas students in the UK, Mr Osborne said: So we have damaged our economy, weakened our universities, reduced our exports and diminished our global impact. Congratulations, Mrs May.

And he called on Conservative MPs and the Cabinet to defy the Prime Minister and table legislation to remove students from migration figures.

He said: Lets hope someone puts down an amendment in Parliament to remove students from migration numbers. With the facts now known, most of the Cabinet privately supporting it, and no government majority, it will surely be carried  and we can have a shot at being global Britain.

Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, had earlier refused to back Ms May on the issue of overseas students.

Asked by the BBC whether students should continue to be included in the figures, he replied: I am content with the success we are having in attracting international students, and also ensuring that those international students do not overstay their period here.
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The number of specialist homes being built for vulnerable people in England has plummeted as a result of Government welfare cuts, new analysis has revealed.

The National Housing Federation, which represents hundreds of housing providers, said the number of specialist supported homes due to be built has fallen from 8,800 to just 1,350 since ministers announced the changes in September 2016  an 85 per cent reduction.

Charities warned that the loss will have a vast and devastating impact on thousands of vulnerable people.

Domestic violence refuges, sheltered accommodation for elderly or disabled people, homelessness shelters, homes for military veterans and properties for young people leaving care are all likely to be affected, leaving residents short of the specialist properties they rely on and costing the taxpayer billions of pounds.

More than 2,185 planned homes in 71 different schemes have already been postponed and a further 803 properties in 19 developments scrapped entirely.

Critics said the loss is a direct consequence of a damaging and short-sighted Government decision to impose a cap on the amount of housing benefit that people living in social homes are entitled to receive.

In 2015, George Osborne, the then-Chancellor, announced that housing benefit paid to social housing tenants would be capped at the same level as people renting privately - in effect cutting benefits for millions of people in social homes.

Because a high proportion of people living in supported accommodation are receiving housing benefit, the change meant many vulnerable people would no longer be able to afford their rent and so the homes they live in would become financially unviable, forcing them to close.

Facing mounting pressure from charities and housing providers, the Government announced last year that supported housing would be exempt from the cap until 2019 but that, from then, housing benefit paid to vulnerable people would be restricted.

At the same time, ministers enforced a 1 per cent cut to all social rents, further depriving supported housing providers of the income they need to keep schemes open.

While a top-up fund will be introduced to help housing associations, many say it is unlikely to come close to covering the loss of income.

The world's least affordable cities for housing Show all 10 1 /10 The world's least affordable cities for housing The world's least affordable cities for housing Hong Kong The world's least affordable cities for housing Sydney The world's least affordable cities for housing Vancouver The world's least affordable cities for housing Auckland The world's least affordable cities for housing Melbourne The world's least affordable cities for housing San Jose The world's least affordable cities for housing San Francisco The world's least affordable cities for housing London The world's least affordable cities for housing San Diego The world's least affordable cities for housing Los Angeles

The on-going uncertainty over funding for supported housing means a number of existing schemes have already shut their doors, in addition to the planned new homes that have been scrapped. Housing providers say they cannot invest in new homes until they are confident they will be funded.

Charities warned of catastrophic consequences for many vulnerable people.

Beatrice Barleon, policy lead for learning disability charity Mencap, said: These figures show the vast and devastating impact the Governments proposed policy is already having on a sector depended on by some of the most vulnerable people in society. As a result, thousands of people with a learning disability face being denied access to safe housing and their right to independence.

"The Government must acknowledge the effect this proposed policy is having on the sector and urgently rethink their plans for supported housing; ensuring that people with a learning disability see their right to independent living upheld and avoid a move back towards more institution type settings from previous decades.

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Katie Ghose, chief executive of Womens Aid, said: The uncertainty around funding for supported housing continues to be a serious concern for the future of refuges, which are a vital lifeline for women and children escaping domestic abuse.

Womens Aid calls for a long-term funding solution so that refuges can continue running their life-saving services. But we also need to tackle the wider housing crisis so that women have a roof over their head once they leave refuge and are empowered to live independently again.

That sentiment was echoed by Charlotte Kneer, a refuge manager at Reigate & Banstead Womens Aid. She said: We are constantly fighting to keep our services available to the women and children who need them most. We simply could not operate under this new model. I would like the government to consider where these women and children will go if there are no refuges. Many will die, and many will be forced to endure abusive relationships that will affect them for the rest of their lives.

Mandy Thomas, a survivor of domestic abuse whose life was saved by a refuge, added: A refuge is a safe haven for survivors on the run from perpetrators. A refuge keeps you alive at the time when it is most dangerous. A refuge saved my life. It saved my childrens lives. We must save refuges, save lives.

Schemes where new homes have been postponed include a development of 50 new properties for homeless veterans in Colchester, Essex, and 101 new sheltered homes for elderly people in Rochdale, Greater Manchester.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures 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 A villager cooks roti bread at the site of the annual Camel Fair in Pushkar, in India's desert state of Rajasthan AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 2 November 2022 A red squirrel gathers nuts in Pitlochry, Scotland Reuters UK news in pictures 1 November 2022 Englands Tara-Jane Stanley scores their sides seventh try against Brazil during the Womens Rugby League World Cup group A match at Headingley Stadium, Leeds PA UK news in pictures 31 October 2022 GBs James Hall competes during the mens parallel bars qualification at the World Gymnastics Championships in Liverpool AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 October 2022 People dressed in Halloween costumes paddle board along the river Avon in Christchurch, Dorset PA UK news in pictures 29 October 2022 Members of the public take pictures as police officers remove activists from a road during a Just Stop Oil protest, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 28 October 2022 A cosplayer attends the MCM Comic Con London 2022 at the ExCel Centre in London Reuters UK news in pictures 27 October 2022 98-year-old D-Day Veteran Bernard Morgan, whose story is among those featured on the giant poppy wall, during the launch of The Royal British Legion 2022 Poppy Appeal, at Hay's Galleria in central London PA UK news in pictures 26 October 2022 A meerkat explores a pumpkin in the enclosure at Wild Place, Bristol, where some of the animals are having pumpkin treats as part of their environmental enrichment PA UK news in pictures 25 October 2022 King Charles III welcomes Rishi Sunak during an audience at Buckingham Palace, where he invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative Party to become Prime Minister and form a new government PA UK news in pictures 24 October 2022 Rishi Sunak celebrates with Tory MPs outside the 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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. 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The majority of the UKs supported housing is sheltered housing for the elderly.

Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, said: "Our ageing population means we need a lot more sheltered housing & other forms of accommodation with support so these figures are hugely worrying.

"Undermining sheltered housing will inevitably worsen the overall crisis in social care because of the preventative role it plays.

"We urgently need a much better choice of good housing options for older people. The Government must urgently rethink its proposals to restrict housing benefit and come up with a formula that saves sheltered housing before it's too late.

People who live in supported homes that are closed would instead fall under the care of the NHS and local authorities, placing an even greater burden on already over-stretched public services. Experts say the police and court system will also face new pressures as services to help homeless people and those struggling with addiction are forced to close.

In June, a study by think-tank Demos found that supported housing for the elderly saves the NHS and social services at least 486m per year, of which 300m comes from reducing the length of time people need to stay in hospital.

It said sheltered housing was a very effective resource to tackle the primary drivers of health and care costs among older people  namely, poorly insulated houses, falls and loneliness.

A 2010 study by Frontier Economics found that supported housing saves the taxpayer as much as 640m a year.

David Orr, chief executive of the National Housing Federation, said: These findings really bring it home: changes to supported housing funding are stopping building for the most vulnerable. Housing associations know first-hand that the proposed funding model will not work  a view backed by a joint select committee  and yet Government has failed to heed warnings.

The proposed changes in funding bear no relation to the real cost of providing this type of housing. It is time Government put supported housing on a secure and sustainable footing.

Labour said the new data highlighted the damaging and short-sighted approach of government ministers.

John Healey, the Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, said: "For almost two years, Labour has warned the Government that its plan for cuts to supported housing are set to have a terrible impact on accommodation for elderly and vulnerable people. These figures prove that this is already happening with thousands of vital new specialist homes on hold or cancelled.

"This is a damaging and short-sighted policy proposal which Ministers have already been forced to delay and then amend under pressure from Labour and housing organisations.

"Supported housing is vital for elderly and vulnerable people across the country. Before the damage gets any worse, Ministers must halt these crude cuts and work with the housing sector to produce a new plan to put supported housing on a sustainable footing."

A Department for Work and Pensions spokesperson said: We fully support and appreciate the valuable role supported accommodation plays in providing care in our local communities. Our new funding model will secure the future of supported accommodation and ensure help goes to those who need it the most.

"We have consulted fully on the new model and have been clear we will set out the next steps soon so that the supported housing sector has the certainty it needs to deliver in the future.
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Government welfare cuts have created a human catastrophe for disabled people in the UK, the chairwoman of an influential United Nations committee has said.

Theresia Degener, who leads the UN's Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), said the UK Government has totally neglected disabled people.

Ministers are also accused of misleading the public about the impact of Government policies by refusing to answer questions and using statistics in an unclear way.

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The criticism came after the CRPD spent two days grilling UK government officials in Geneva.

Ms Degener told them: Evidence before us now and in our inquiry procedure as published in our 2016 report reveals that social cut policies have led to a human catastrophe in your country, totally neglecting the vulnerable situation people with disabilities find themselves in."

The CRPD has previously said the Governments welfare cuts have resulted in grave and systematic violations of the rights of disabled people  a claim opposed by ministers but backed by UK courts.

Judges have ruled that three of the Governments flagship welfare policies are illegal because of the impact they have on disabled people and single parents.

In January 2016, the Court of Appeal declared the so-called bedroom tax unlawful because of its consequences for disabled children, as well as victims of domestic violence.

Sanctions imposed on people who refused to take part in the Department for Work and Pensions back to work schemes were also thrown out by Court of Appeal judges in April 2016.

And in June 2017 the High Court said the Governments benefit cap is unlawful and causes real misery for no good purpose.

The impact of welfare cuts: Britons on the breadline Show all 5 1 /5 The impact of welfare cuts: Britons on the breadline The impact of welfare cuts: Britons on the breadline 406756.bin GETTY IMAGES The impact of welfare cuts: Britons on the breadline 406757.bin GETTY IMAGES The impact of welfare cuts: Britons on the breadline 406758.bin GETTY IMAGES The impact of welfare cuts: Britons on the breadline 406759.bin GETTY IMAGES The impact of welfare cuts: Britons on the breadline 406760.bin John Lawrence

The committee is now conducting a much wider investigation to assess the UK's progress in implementing the UN Convention on the Rights of Disabled People, as part of a periodic review all nations signed up to the convention must go through.

Stig Langvad, the CRPDs rapporteur for the UK, said he was "deeply concerned" about the Government's failure to act on the committees previous report.

I could provide a long list of examples where the state party does not live up to the Convention, he said.

A government spokesperson said: "The UK is a recognised world leader in disability rights and equality, which is why we supported the development of the UN convention.

"Almost 600,000 disabled people have moved into work over the last four years and we spend over 50 billion a year to support disabled people and those with health conditions, more than ever before.

"This first periodic review will help build on our progress to empower disabled people in all aspects of their lives."
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Jeremy Corbyn will join a march against the planned closure of a major government office that would see 250 workers moved to another site.

The Labour leader is backing trade union members who say shutting down the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) centre will have a major impact on the local economy.

He attacked the Government for what he called its counter-productive drive to shut more than 70 processing sites and jobcentres across the country.

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Critics fear the move to rationalise services risks 800 redundancies across the UK and the Governments ability to help people find work in places where there is high poverty.

The closure of the centre in Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire would see workers moved to Motherwell and Glasgow, but the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) warns it will damage local businesses.

Ahead of the march, Mr Corbyn is expected to say: In places where poverty is high and job opportunities low, closing down jobcentres is counterproductive. The Tories are planning to force a million more working people to attend a jobcentre, under its plans for in-work sanctions, while simultaneously closing one in every ten jobcentres across the country.

That is the twisted logic of this Governments chaotic austerity agenda. The closures make it absolutely clear that this Government has no interest in helping people to find decent and secure work.

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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 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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. 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Mr Corbyn is joining local Labour MP Hugh Gaffney at the public rally in Coatbridge town centre before the march, as he continues his tour of Scotland on Friday.

PCS national president Janice Godrich said the fight against office closures is a community fight adding: Were not prepared to stand by and watch it happen.

A spokesperson for the DWP said: The changes we are making to our estate across the country will offer a more efficient service, and deliver good value for the taxpayer  saving over 140 million a year for the next 10 years.

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The way we are making these changes mean we expect less than 1 per cent of DWP staff across the country will be unable to continue with us.

As an example, staff in Coatbridge will be moving to other nearby sites in Motherwell and Glasgow. This will secure jobs and increase capacity in this area.

Our site at Coatbridge is unsuitable for our future needs and would require significant investment to become the modern, digital working environment we want for our staff.
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Stephen Hawking has hit back at Jeremy Hunt, saying there is overwhelming evidence that the NHS is failing and inadequate funding is to blame.

The theoretical physicist was writing in response to an article by the Health Secretary where Mr Hunt defended his changes to the way the NHS is funded and managed.

The row began last week when Professor Hawking claimed the Government had cherry-picked favourable evidence, disregarding proper science and weakening the health service as a whole by slashing funding, demoralising staff with curbs on pay and cutting social care support.

The scientist, who was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in 1962 said he feared the service was moving towards a US-style insurance system.

In a speech to the Royal Society of Medicine he singled out Mr Hunt for criticism by deriding his claim that 11,000 patients a year die at hospitals because of understaffing.

He said four of the eight studies by Mr Hunt to back up this claim were not peer reviewed and he had ignored 13 others which had contradicted it.

When public figures abuse scientific argument, citing some studies but suppressing others, to justify policies that they want to implement for other reasons, it debases scientific culture, he said.

But Mr Hunt hit back in an article in the Sunday Telegraph claiming it was Prof Hawking who was making a series of claims about the NHS without any evidence at all.

Jeremy Hunt has accused Prof Hawking of pernicious falsehood (Getty)

He said that far from privatising the health service the evidence suggests the opposite and that the private sector accounted for only 7.7 per cent of the total NHS spend  up from 0.1 per cent last year.

He also defended himself against claims of cherry-picking by saying: Researchers often disagree so you do have to make a judgement  and I based mine on the Fremantle study of 2015 because it was quite simply the most comprehensive and detailed paper ever done on the topic.

No responsible health secretary could have ignored it, not least one wanting the NHS to be the safest healthcare system in the world.

Unfortunately the cherry-picking on this occasion was done by others not wanting to believe what every doctor in their heart knows to be true: we desperately need to improve the quality of care offered to those admitted at weekends.

Now Prof Hawking has issued a rebuttal, writing in the Guardian that Mr Hunts article admits he based his findings on only one paper  the Fremantle study published in the British Medical Journal in 2015  which he said was disputed.

He pointed out that the author of the study, Professor Nick Fremantle, had himself explicitly warned that to assume these excess deaths are avoidable would be rash and misleading.

Prof Hawking said: As a patient who has spent a lot of time in hospital, I would welcome improved services at the weekend. For this, we need a scientific assessment of the benefits of a seven-day service and of the resources required, not misrepresentation of research.

He claimed that Mr Hunt was used raw figures to disguise the fact that the NHS was facing a humanitarian crisis.

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

Prof Hawking said: Hunts statement that funding and the number of doctors and nurses are at an all-time high is a distraction.

Record funding is not the same thing as adequate funding. There is overwhelming evidence that NHS funding and the numbers of doctors and nurses are inadequate, and it is getting worse.

The NHS had a 2.4bn shortfall in funding in 2015-16, bigger than ever before. NHS spending per person will go down in 2018-19.
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As soon as Theo Wilson started making YouTube videos about culture and race, trolls using racial slurs started flocking to his page.

After engaging in endless sparring matches in the comments section, Wilson began to notice something curious: His trolls seemed to speak a language unto themselves, one replete with the same twisted facts and false history. It was as if they had all passed through some "dimensional doorway," arriving from an alternative universe where history, politics and commonly accepted facts had been turned inside out.

There was the idea that slavery was a form of charity that benefited enslaved Africans; that freed blacks owned more slaves than whites before the Civil War; that people of color make up the majority of those receiving aid from America's safety-net programs; and that investor and philanthropist George Soros is funding protest movements like Black Lives Matter.

Curious about where his trolls were getting their revisionist history lessons, Wilson, 36, - an award-winning poet and actor from Denver - decided to go undercover in their world. In 2015, he started by creating a ghost profile named "Lucious25," a digital white supremacist who appeared to be an indigenous member of the alt-right's online echo chamber, he said.

His avatar was John Carter, the Confederate hero of Edgar Rice Burroughs's science fiction series about death-defying adventures on Mars.

Within a few weeks Wilson's alternate identity was questioning President Barack Obama's birthplace, railing against Black Lives Matter and bemoaning people he called "race-baiters," such as Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. After several months, he was a disaffected fixture on alt-right websites that draw white supremacists -- such as Infowars and American Renaissance -- and in the comments section of racist YouTube videos.

"To be honest, it was kind of exhilarating," Wilson told an audience during a recent TEDx talk about his experience. "I would literally spend days clicking through my new racist profile, goofing off at work in Aryan land."

During his eight months as a racist troll, Wilson never revealed his true identity. When it was all over, Wilson said, he came to appreciate the way in which the far-right media bubble disables its participants -- offering an endless stream of scapegoats for their problems but no credible solutions.

We spoke with the poet about his experience, whether white supremacists are redeemable and why he believes liberals should listen to the far-right. The interview has been edited for length.

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

Q: How did it feel to assume the identity of a person who - if real - would presumably hate you and everything you represent?

A: It was painful at first. I'm still me. This isn't like the blind Dave Chapelle KKK character who didn't know he was black. To get beneath the pain, I had to begin to dissociate from myself as a black person. The pin pricks didn't go away, but it began to feel like a character study. I've acted before, and the muscle I developed learning theater allowed me to do this. Acting teaches you that you can't just act, you have to be, so I would sort of tell myself I was Daniel Day Lewis or Denzel Washington becoming a role.

Q: As you became more familiar with the alt-right online, what shocked you most about their views?

A: That there are still people who think black people are not fully human and that we are lagging in terms of evolution. The comments I'd read about our facial features being monkey-like and dark skin being proof of primitiveness were shocking. The fact is that there are people who believe that the difference between us is the difference between two species, not a race. I was raised with so many examples of black excellence and nothing about inferiority. Meanwhile, the folks on these forums are still discussing phrenology. Who uses phrenology anymore? We mapped the human genome!

Q: After spending time in the white supremacist universe, do you consider all of them "bad people"?

A: It's wise to avoid absolutes. "Bad" generally means "irredeemable" and "disposable." Therefore, if I thought everyone in the alt-right were any of these, the experiment would be useless.

Q: You mention that in their forums they're also seeking "answers" to questions. What are they trying to resolve?

A: In today's America, they're struggling to understand why they'll have less opportunity than their father's generation. They also want answers to basic questions about race in America, such as: What's the point of multiculturalism? Why can only black people say the "N" word? How is racism not over when LeBron James and Oprah have huge bank accounts? How is affirmative action anything other than reverse racism? Why shouldn't I be proud to be white if someone else is proud to be black?

Q: Were you struck by the reality that infiltrating this world would've been nearly impossible for you at almost any other time in American history? You would've been putting your life at risk.

A: This experiment was completely a product of the digital age. Even when the reverse was done in the book "Black Like Me," there's always that chance you could be discovered, but here that's extremely unlikely unless someone is a hacker. The Internet is sort of what a car is to road rage. The glass and steel create this bubble of perceived safety, which amplifies people's rage, but keeps them from having to deal with the consequences of that rage. There is an honesty that is exposed in the process.

Q: You talk about "breaking out of the digital divide." Technology offers us the chance to connect with new people and ideas, but you don't believe it's a reliable tool for combating racism. Why is that?

A: James Baldwin accurately diagnosed the white culture's need for shadow projection onto black bodies as being the roots of racism. A smartphone and an iPad won't address this need. All they do is reinforce our wants and desires, so if these desires are immature, we never grow. Racism is a comfy cage, and technology hasn't provided the key for getting out. We need to have courageous, face-to-face conversations with difficult people outside of the security of our laptops.

Q: You talk about racists with something approaching compassion. Does that suggest you're hopeful about our chances of defeating racism?

A: Just because this experience made me more compassionate doesn't mean I'm more hopeful. My compassion comes from knowing these people are still so vulnerable to social programming. But the social forces that make racism commonplace aren't necessarily going away. Look at what happened in Charlottesville, for example. How did a brand-new generation of white guys get that hateful? They never joined their dad in a lynch mob. They never smelled the burning flesh of a Negro in a town square or lived in Jim Crow America. And yet, they still adopted those hateful attitudes. That doesn't make me hopeful at all.

---
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Florida has executed a 53-year-old man convicted of two 1987 murders, using a lethal injection that included a drug never before used in a US execution.

The execution was carried out at 6.22 pm local time at the Florida State Prison in Bradford County, about 50 miles southwest of Jacksonville, where the two murders took place.

Mark James Asay was the first white man to be put to death in Florida for killing a black man since the state reinstated the death penalty in 1979.

He is also the first person to die by an injection using etomidate  an anaesthetic developed in Belgium in the 1960s.

Asay was sentenced to death in 1988 for the killing of two men in separate incidents on the same day a year earlier.

After using a racial slur during an argument, Asay shot Robert Lee Booker in the stomach. He killed Robert McDowell by shooting him multiple times in the chest.

The US Supreme Court earlier refused to block his execution.

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

Florida, along with other states, has had to find a replacement for drugs that became unavailable when drugmakers stopped distributing them because of their stands against the death penalty.

Marty McClain, Asay's attorney, said on Wednesday that etomidate, which would be part of a three-drug lethal injection protocol, causes pain before it takes hold and could cause involuntary body movements that make it difficult for prison staff "to know when the guy is unconscious."

Florida Governor Rick Scott signed a death warrant for Asay in January 2016. Days later, the US Supreme Court ruled it should be juries, not judges, who decide whether aggravating factors determine if a defendant is eligible for execution.

Florida lawmakers rewrote the state's capital punishment law this year to require that juries be unanimous when recommending the death penalty.
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Hurricane Harvey, the first natural disaster to strike during Donald Trumps presidency, will be handled by two federal agencies with no permanent directors and a host of Obama-era officials.

The hurricane is expected to hit the Texas coast near Galveston and Corpus Christi late on the night of 25 August.

The US government has warned that the flooding and wind speeds are "life-threatening and devastating".

Coastal residents in Texas and Louisiana have been warned to evacuate.

New Orleans was the epicentre of the destructive Hurricane Katrina in 2005, but it also affected parts of the Texas coast.

The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), housed under the Department Of Commerce, and the Department of Homeland Securitys US Coast Guard have not been appointed permanent directors as yet by the Trump administration.

NOAA has 11,000 employees and manages the national weather service as well as monitors all storms.

 Donald Trump 'shows traits of a sociopath' says MSNBC commentator

The countrys most important scientists during such storms is Stephen Volz.

Mr Volz is in an "acting" position since his job has not been filled by the administration. He was appointed in 2014 by the Obama administration.

Even DHS Director Elaine Duke is an "Acting" Director, held over from the Obama administration.

Hurricane Katrina - in pictures Show all 20 1 /20 Hurricane Katrina - in pictures Hurricane Katrina - in pictures Hurricane Katrina A woman is carried out of flood waters after being trapped in her home in Orleans parish during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, in New Orleans, Louisiana, 2005 Hurricane Katrina - in pictures Hurricane Katrina A U.S. Coast Guard rescue boat carries US Army 82nd Airborne Division soldiers as it searches a flooded street in New Orleans, Louisiana, 2005 Hurricane Katrina - in pictures Hurricane Katrina A SUV lies against a house and rubble in Biloxi, Mississippi as Hurricane Katrina hit USA, 2005 Hurricane Katrina - in pictures Hurricane Katrina A plea for help appears on the roof of a home flooded in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, Louisiana, 2005 Hurricane Katrina - in pictures Hurricane Katrina People are taken ashore in a boat after being rescued from their homes in high water in the Ninth Ward after Hurricane Katrina struck in New Orleans, Louisiana, 2005 Hurricane Katrina - in pictures Hurricane Katrina An aerial view of the flooding near downtown New Orleans during the Hurricane Katrina, 2005 Hurricane Katrina - in pictures Hurricane Katrina Houses are seen submerged under water in New Orleans, Louisiana, 2005 Hurricane Katrina - in pictures Hurricane Katrina Canal Street, in New Orleans, during Hurricane Katrina in 2005 Getty Images Hurricane Katrina - in pictures Hurricane Katrina Debris from Hurricane Katrina piles up along a bridge in New Orleans, Louisiana, 2005 Hurricane Katrina - in pictures Hurricane Katrina Firefighters inspect damage left by Hurricane Katrina, in Biloxi, Mississippi, 2005 Hurricane Katrina - in pictures Hurricane Katrina The Kids Quest (C) building sits in the middle of the route 90 next to the Grand Casino (L) 30 August 2005 in Gulfport, Mississippi, both damaged from the high wind and waves Hurricane Katrina, 2005 Hurricane Katrina - in pictures Hurricane Katrina The most costly hurricane in history caused damages of $85bn. The category-3 storm formed over the Bahamas crossed Florida and the Gulf of Mexico before striking New Orleans AP Hurricane Katrina - in pictures Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina evacuees sit on their bed, on the floor of the Astrodome stadium in Houston, Texas, 2005 Hurricane Katrina - in pictures Hurricane Katrina People search for their belongings among debris washed up on the beach in Biloxi, Mississppi, after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, 2005 Hurricane Katrina - in pictures Hurricane Katrina Parishioner Chloe Guice Wise (R) hugs Mark Washburn at the conclusion of services at the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer (shown in background) which was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, in Biloxi, Mississippi, 2005 Hurricane Katrina - in pictures Hurricane Katrina Stranded victims of Hurricane Katrina are taken ashore by Air Force National Guard soldiers in New Orleans, Louisiana, 2005 Hurricane Katrina - in pictures Hurricane Katrina Fishing boats lay in a pile after Hurricane Katrina passed through in Empire, Louisiana, 2005 Hurricane Katrina - in pictures Hurricane Katrina U.S. Navy flight deck personnel take part in an emergency replenishment working party aboard the dock landing ship USS Tortuga (LSD 46), as they load water into an MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopter in support of Hurricane Katrina disaster relief efforts in the Atlantic Ocean Hurricane Katrina - in pictures Hurricane Katrina A patriotic display can be seen in the ruins of a home in Waveland, Mississippi. Scenes like these dot the landscapes where homes once stood. Rescue and clean up efforts continued in the areas affected by Hurricane Katrina three weeks after the deadly storm hit Hurricane Katrina - in pictures Hurricane Katrina A makeshift grave is seen for a woman on a downtown street in New Orleans, Louisiana, 2005

Retired General John Kelly, who was in the top position at DHS was recently made the White House Chief of Staff after the departure of Reince Preibus.

Mr Trump has appointed Wilbur Ross as Commerce Secretary, however.

DHS also oversees the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which also does have a Trump-appointed permanent director - William "Brock" Long.

However, most of the officials in place at the 9,000-employee FEMA are either career civil servants or "Acting" officials from the Obama administration since Mr Trump has left the positions vacant.

"There's certainly someone at the helm," White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said about Ms Duke.

"And again, I think that we are in great shape having General Kelly sitting next to the President throughout this process, and probably no better chief of staff for the president during the hurricane season, she said.

As Quartz reported, "theres no reason to believe an "acting" official would be any less expert at handling a disaster than a permanent one."

But, the issue is what authority they have to make decisions in the Trump administration since their positions are political appointments.

There is also the history of federal response to hurricanes in the region. FEMA was criticised repeatedly for what many felt was an ineffective and delayed handling of Hurricane Katrina under the Bush administration.

Mr Trump, according to a Washington Post count, has currently left 368 of 591 positions vacant that require Senate confirmation.

He tweeted that he had spoken to the governors of Texas and Louisiana and is "here to assist as needed".
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Texas residents fleeing what is predicted to be the worst storm to hit the US in a decade have said they are prepared to "go back and not have anything".

Kirsty Gillentine  a resident of the city of Corpus Christi, where Hurricane Harvey is set to wreck the most havoc  is one of the thousands who have evacuated the area. She has packed up her belongings and taken her boyfriend and two dogs to stay with family in College Station, about 250 miles away.

The house she rents in Corpus Christi, she said, was hit by a milder hurricane in the 1970s. The entire second story was ripped off.

Were mentally preparing for the worst, Ms Gillentine told The Independent. ...Were just trying to prepare ourselves to go back and not have anything.

Hurricane Harvey  which experts are calling a life-threatening storm  is expected to strike Texas eastern coastline on Friday night or early Saturday morning. The National Hurricane Centre predicted heavy rainfall, extreme flooding and hurricane-force wind gusts. Areas of the upper Texas coast, the centre said, may be uninhabitable for weeks or months.

The rest of Ms Gillentines family, however, are hunkering down and staying put in nearby Galveston. She said they evacuated for the last serious storm  Hurricane Rita  and didnt feel like going through the trouble again. Ms Gillentine said shes concerned about their safety.

[Hurricanes are] just a part of life down here, she said. But theyre nothing to underestimate. You have to be prepared. You have to be safe rather than sorry.

Experts said the storm could last for five days in some areas, and send up to three feet of rain. Some forecasters are saying that an area around Houston, further inland, could be hit twice, with the hurricane slamming into the coast and then heading back into the Gulf of Mexico before coming back as another storm.

Harvey's heavy rain could turn many towns into essentially islands and leave them isolated for days, said Melissa Munguia, deputy emergency management coordinator for Nueces County.

An image of Hurricane Harvey over western Gulf of Mexico on 24 August captured by NOAA's GOES-East satellite (NASA/NOAA GOES Project) (Nasa)

Texas Governor Greg Abbott declared a pre-emptive state of disaster on Wednesday for 30 counties, and mobilised 700 members of the National Guard ahead of the storms arrival. On Friday morning, he urged residents still located in the storms path to evacuate immediately.

Mr Abbott also spoke with President Donald Trump, who pledged all available federal resources to assist in preparation, rescue, and recovery efforts. At a White House press conference on Friday, homeland security adviser Tom Bossert said Mr Abbott had requested a federal declaration of emergency, which Mr Trump was considering. He added that the President was receiving frequent briefings from himself and White House Chief of Staff John Kelly.

Were in good hands at the federal level," he said. ...Now is not the time to lose faith in your government institutions.

Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders added that the President was considering visiting Texas early next week.

The storm was expected to send up to 15 inches of rainfall to Houston, and strike Austin  located toward the centre of the state  with heavy winds. Eastern coastline cities like Corpus Christi, Port Mansfield, and Port O'Connor, however, were expected to weather the worst of it.

Corpus Christi Mayor Joe McComb strongly encouraged residents to evacuate before the storm hit.

"If it's 10 feet of water, there's a good chance you will lose electricity," Mr McComb said. "So you'll be on the Island with no [air-conditioning], no water, no electricity. We recommend in the strongest terms that you need to get out now or get to higher ground."

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 National Hurricane Centre predicted roads would be left impassable, and structures would be washed away. But until the storm passed, many officials said, it was just a matter of waiting.

Basically our work for these type of events doesnt start until after the weather has passed, Mark Cross, a spokesman for Texas Department of Transportation, told The Independent. Were basically staging our people just outside the impacted area so that they can move in once the weather has passed, and we can clean up and make sure traffic is not too stalled.

In Harris County, local authorities were preparing for floods by deploying air boats and other rescue equipment. But until the storm hit, Harris County Sheriff's Department senior deputy Thomas Gilliland said, we really dont know whats going to happen yet, so were just in wait mode.

Ms Gillentine said she felt much the same way.

Were actually kind of sitting around now, waiting to see what happens, she said on Friday. That's really all we can do.
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A man accused of murdering his wife on a family cruise because she would not stop laughing at him, faces the death penalty, a court heard.

Kenneth Manzanares had been married to his wife Kristy for than 20 years, when they set sail on a week-long trip around Alaska aboard the Emerald Princess with their three children.

But two days after the ship left port in Seattle, Washington, Ms Manzanares was found dead in her cabin with a severe head wound.

The couple were heard shouting, shortly before her body was discovered.

A family member who stumbled upon the aftermath saw Mr Manzanares beside his wife with blood-stained hands and clothes.

An FBI report said that when he was asked what had happened, Mr Manzanares replied: She would not stop laughing at me.

Mr Manzanares grabbed his wifes body and dragged her toward a balcony in the cabin, the report added. But the family member pulled her back inside.

Witnesses staying in nearby berths earlier reported a commotion coming from the cabin of the couple, who are both from Utah.

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

One told St. George News: All of them said that they were in there just screaming at each other, like it was loud. Lots of people were out on their balconies watching and listening.

FBI Special Agent Michael L. Watson, searched Mr Manzanares for physical evidence linked to the murder of his wife after the ship docked in the Alaskan city of Juneau. Mr Watson said that during the inspection the accused stated: My life is over.

Mr Manzanares, 39, pleaded not guilty in a federal courtroom in Anchorage, Alaska, when charged with first-degree murder over the death of his wife Kristy, 39, on July 25.

Prosecutor Jack Schmidt told the hearing that the maximum penalty for the charge is life in prison or the death penalty.

He asked Judge Deborah Smith for 60 days for the State to decide if it would seek an execution. Ms Smith granted his request.
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A student who wandered alone and naked in the wilderness for almost a month may have gotten lost and disorientated after she had taken methamphetamine, police suspect.

Lisa Theris lost 40 pounds after she hobbled around in circles in dense woods just a mile from the American highway where she was eventually found covered in mud and scratches.

Detectives meanwhile had been questioning Manly Davis, 31, and Randy Oswald, 36, after she went missing in Midland, Alabama - and the pair blamed each other for the 25-year-old's supposed murder.

Ms Theris was with the two men when they allegedly broke into a hunting lodge when she wandered into the woods that day on 19 July.

Mr Davis is said to have explained to the police that she jumped out of their truck as they tried to ram the metal entry gates and fled.

Mr Oswald is reported to have told detectives that Mr Davis had shot the girl in the head and threw her body into a creek.

Speaking after her resuce, Ms Theris said she survived in the woods by eating berries and mushrooms but has not revealed how she got lost.

It has since been revealed that she started taking drugs in the months before her disappearance.

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

We are thinking they were all pretty much on drugs, Bullock County Sheriff Raymond Rodgers told DailyMail.com. Me personally, I think she was on meth, she was hallucinating and she just got lost in the woods.

She was probably so under the influence on drugs that she stripped her clothes off. She was in a strange place, she came to, she didn't know where she was. I don't know how much drugs she took but I believe she was in there the whole time.

Ms Theris told NBC12 that she "just did what I could" to survive.

"I just knew that when I was thirsty, I had to drink, no matter if the water was dirty or what," she said. I had to get as much of it as possible. Sometimes it would make me very sick.

She added: I thank God for the berries. There were always pretty much berries.

Mr Oswald's father George, 56, criticised his son but doubted Ms Theris would have gotten lost in the forest for 25 days.

I'm extremely p***ed with my son, he's embarrassed my name, he's stolen from my good friends and he's got a lot of questions to answer, he said. But if she's a sweet little princess who got lost in the woods for all this time then I'm the f***ing Pope - it's just not possible.

Elizabeth Theris said her sister Lisa was unwell and unable to explain how she wandered around a patch of of forest for nearly a month despite being just a mile from a highway.

Elizabeth said: I haven't pushed her too much on anything. It's upsetting to her that she cant remember what happened.

Sergeant Chad Faulkner, who led the investigation for the Bullock County Sheriff's Office, said he had no evidence to dispute Ms Theris' account of her disappearance.

This is a unique story, we still need some answers but we are not gullible or stupid. We are simply going off all the evidence.

Mr Davis and Mr Oswald are being held in Bullock County Jail on $250,000 (195,000) bond after being charged over the burglary.

However, police have not yet ruled out charges against Ms Theris.
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A teacher on holiday in Mexico died after falling from a balcony because she was laughing so hard, it has been reported.

Sharon Regoli Ciferno, 50, tipped backwards off the edge of a rooftop ledge that was designed to double as a bench, her family said.

Ms Ciferno, of Pennsylvania, was married and leaves behind two teenage children, Fox News reported.

Her brother, David Regoli, said: "She started laughing very hard and when she put her head back she lost her balance and fell back. She suffered multiple injuries to her body and brain."

In a Facebook post, he added: "She died very peacefully with her husband John and her children as well as my parents and me holding her hands and praying over her.

"Now we need prayers of strength to come to grips with our loss.

"Through her generous gift of life, at least five people will have the opportunity to live on with some of her organs."

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

Ms Ciferno was a teacher in Pennsylvania's Burrell School District for more than a quarter of a century.

"She would do anything for anyone," Brian Ferra, head teacher of Huston Middle School, told TribLive. "You're never going to replace her as a person."

Ms Ciferno suffered the fall on 4 August and died in hospital in San Diego on Monday. Alcohol was not involved, her family said.
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Abdul El-Sayed, a 32-year-old Michigan doctor, could be Americas first Muslim governor.

In a crusade that echoes the message and style of Bernie Sanderss presidential campaign, Mr El-Sayed is said to be trying to change US politics through his run for governor of Michigan.

Calling corporate campaign contributions bribes, he has promised to take no corporate Pac money, according to the Guardian.

If he wins the election, Mr El-Sayed has pledged universal healthcare to all Michiganders if it fails on the federal level. He has also said he will push to legalise marijuana, raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour, and make Michigan a sanctuary state.

Mr El-Sayed is unwilling to waste state taxpayer money to enforce federal law that would rob small businesses of hardworking employees and tear apart families, a spokesman told the Guardian.

Max Glass, Mr El-Sayeds campaign manager also told the news outlet, The electorate [in Michigan] doesnt know what it wants, but it wants something different.

I wouldnt have taken this race if I didnt think we could win, he added.

Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Show all 33 1 /33 Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Donald Trump's first 100 days in office were marred by a string of scandals, many of which caught the eye of the Independent's cartoonists Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Trump's first 100 days have seen him aggressively ramp up tensions with his nuclear rivals in North Korea Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Mr Trump has warned of a "major, major conflict" with the pariah nation lead by Kim Jong Un Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Mr Trump dropped the "mother of all bombs" on alleged ISIS-linked militants in Afghanistan, amid an escalation of US military intervention around the globe Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Mr Trump has been accused of falling short of the standards set by his predecessors in the Oval Office, including Franklin D Roosevelt Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons The tycoon's ascension to the White House came at a time when the balance of power is shifting away from Western nations like those in the G7 group Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Western politicians, including the British Conservative party, have been accused of falling in line behind Mr Trump's proposals Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Brexit is seen to have weakened Britain, reducing still further any political will to resist American leadership Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Mr Trump's leadership has been marked by sudden and unexpected shifts in global policy Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Trump's controversial missile strike on Syria, which killed several citizens, was seen by some analysts as an attempt to distract from his policy elsewhere Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons The President has also spent a large majority of his weekends golfing, rather than attending to matters of state Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Though free of gaffes, a visit from Chinese president Xi Jinping spotlighted trade tensions between the two states Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons One major and unexpected setback came when Mr Trump's Healthcare Bill was struck down by members of his own party Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Mr Trump has been a figure of fun in the media, with his approval at record lows Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons A string of revelations about Mr Trump's financial indiscretions did not mar his surge to the White House Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Outgoing President Barack Obama was accused of wiretapping Trump Tower by his successor in America's highest office Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons The alleged involvement of Russian intelligence operatives in securing Mr Trump the presidency prompted harsh criticism Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons The explosive resignation of Security Adviser Michael Flynn, who lied about his links to the Russian ambassador, was just one scandal to hit the President Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Many scandals, such as the accusation Barack Obama was implicated in phone-hacking, first broke on Mr Trump's Twitter feed Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Donald Trump's election provoked mass protests in the UK, with millions signing a petition to ban him from the country Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Donald Trump cited a non-existent terror attack in Sweden during a campaign rally Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Donald Trump stands accused of stoking regional tensions in Eastern Asia Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons North Korea has launched a number of failed nuclear tests since Mr Trump took power Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Theresa May formally rejected the petition calling for Mr Trump to be banned from the UK Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons When Mr Trump's initial so-called Muslim ban was struck down by a federal justice, the President mocked the 69-year-old as a "ridiculous", "so-called judge" Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons A week after his inauguration, Theresa May met with Mr Trump at the White House Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Donald Trump's first days in office were marked by a hasty attempt to follow through on many of his campaign promises, including the so-called Muslim ban Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Donald Trump's decision to ban citizens of many majority-Muslim countries from the US sparked mass protests Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Revelations about Donald Trump's sexual improprieties were not enough to keep him from being elected President Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons British PM Theresa May was criticised by many in the press for cosying up to the new President Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons One of Mr Trump's top aides, Kelly Anne Conway, was mocked for describing mistruths as "alternative facts" Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons British PM Theresa May was quick to demonstrate that her political aims did not hugely differ from Mr Trump's Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Donald Trump's inauguration, on 20 January 2017, sparked protests both at home and abroad

A year out from the Democratic primary, Mr El-Sayed has reportedly raised more than $1m through individual donations  despite having little name recognition or support from the Democratic party in Michigan.

Mr El-Sayed is running for office during a tumultuous time in American politics. Within a week of becoming president, Donald Trump issued an executive order banning visitors from several Muslim-majority countries.

Earlier this month, following a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, Mr Trump suggested that new-Nazis and hate groups were not 100 per cent responsible for the violence that had erupted at the event. Mr Trumps comments were widely condemned by both Republicans and Democrats but were lauded by members of hate groups.

I believe in a separation of church and state, Mr El-Sayed said at an event, the Guardian reported, noting that former President John F Kennedys Catholicism was also a turning point in American politics.

I can tell you that my ability to practice my faith in person, in my own home, when I choose to, where Im allowed to, because of freedoms in this country have everything to do with that separation of church and state, he said. If I am going to want to be able to put my face on the ground 34 times a day, like I do, because Im Muslim, I want to make sure no one can take that right away from me. And I will not take that right away from anyone else.
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Using the term alt-right helps white supremacists to legitimise their hatred, a former former neo-Nazi has warned.

Christian Picciolini, who was recruited by a skinhead group in Chicago when he was just 14, said right-wing groups are seeking mainstream legitimacy by claiming they are defending their cultural identity.

But he warned this was part of 30-year move to obscure their racist beliefs.

The award winning author and film producer said he had joined the Chicago Area Skin Heads in the late 1980s after being recruited by the groups then leader Clark Martell.

The group is seen as one of the first large neo-Nazi groups to operate in America. It later merged with the Hammerskins Nation which civil rights advocacy group, the Southern Poverty Law Center, calls "the best organised, most widely dispersed and most dangerous Skinhead group known."

By 16 he was running the group, after the former leader was imprisoned for beating a female member who was seen with a black man.

But by 22 he had become disenfranchised and was looking for a way out.

He told Voices of America: What I saw during those eight years was what I saw happen in Charlottesville. There were rallies with large numbers of protesters. We need to understand this is something that has been happening for a long time and we've been sweeping it under the rug.

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 43-year-old, who left the group in 1996, said it was not necessarily hatred that draws people into these movements as they are instead looking for an identity, community and a sense of purpose.

He said that groups use similar methods to Isis and criminal gangs who offer comfort to people who are the most marginalised, promise them paradise, and win their hearts and minds once they've delivered a bit of that.

Mr Picciolini said he believes the death of Heather Heyer, who was killed when a car ploughed into protesters demonstrating against a white supremacist march in Charlottesville, Virginia, was a pivotal moment for America.

The suspected driver, James Fields, 20, has been charged with murder.

Mr Picciolini said it made people realise that this is something that is very deeply seated in our fabric and is something that we need to tackle head on.

These groups are careful to project a more reasonable, positive image of their movement and what they believe to the outside world and the media to disguise their true aims, he said.

Recommended We must take this opportunity to remove symbols of white supremacy

The marketing face of this movement has always been such that it's been much more toned down and then, behind closed doors, the mission is the same and that is, essentially, to create a white homeland at the expense of anybody else, he added.

He said they try to spin white supremacy into a movement of love rather than hate and what they'll tell the public and when in front of cameras [is] that they don't hate anybody, that this is something they're just doing because they're protecting something that they love, which is white identity, that there is nothing wrong with being proud of being white, which of course is true.

But behind closed doors is another story, he said.

That pro-white talk turns into anti-everybody else, even so far as talk of eliminating people based on their skin colour or their religion and talk of claiming the United States as a white homeland even through violent means, he added.
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The idea of the supremacy of the pale race is not only an immoral, but also a historically obsolete, proposition in contemporary America. Nostalgia, including its hateful cast, emerges only when the past is just about over. California is already a majority-minority state. By 2044, the entire United States will follow suit. And obviously, the world as a whole has long been there.

The future, in the United States and elsewhere, will more likely resemble what Jose Vasconcelos, the philosopher and former education minister of Mexico, in 1925 called "la raza cosmica." He believed that, one day, the whole world would merge into one mestizo race of hybrid ethnicities.

When the literary journalist Ryszard Kapuscinski visited Los Angeles in 1987, he saw the city, with its diverse population of Mexicans, Koreans, Chinese and others, as a premonition of the future Vasconcelos envisioned.

"Traditional history has been a history of nations," Kapuscinski reflected. "But here, for the first time since the Roman Empire, there is the possibility of creating the history of a civilization. Now is the first chance on a new basis with new technologies to create a civilization of unprecedented openness and pluralism. A civilization of the polycentric mind. A civilization that leaves behind forever the ethnocentric, tribal mentality, the mentality of destruction."

For me, an acute observer of events who reported for decades on the post-colonial revolutions across the Third World, "la raza cosmica" is being born in Los Angeles in the cultural if not anthropological sense. "A vast mosaic of different races, cultures, religions and moral habits are working together toward one common aim [of improving their lives]. From the perspective of a world submerged in religious, ethnic and racial conflict, this harmonious cooperation is something unbelievable. It is truly striking," said Kapuscinski.

In this, he concurred with the great Mexican poet and Nobel laureate Octavio Paz, who called the United States, "the Republic of the Future." In better times, the United States' political leaders have seen this exceptional quality as the country's greatest strength. On the right, former secretary of state Condoleezza Rice has extolled the United States as a place without "a religious or ethnic designation" where what matters is where you are going, not where you came from, as she once told me. That openness, she observes, stands behind the United States' innovative culture.

In a recent conversation with former president Bill Clinton, he put it best. "We know from the human genome that all people are 99.5 percent the same," he pointed out. "Some people seem to spend 99 percent of their time worrying about the .5 percent that is different. That is a big mistake. We should focus on what we have in common. And focus on what is common. We make better decisions in diverse societies than in homogeneous ones. America's great advantage is that we are an idea, not a place. We are not an ethnicity or a uniform culture."

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.

Of the nativist politics that has lately surfaced, Clinton warned that "we are playing Russian roulette with our biggest ticket to the future. Even if you believe we are headed toward the first big change since the industrial revolution with robots and digital technology that will kill more jobs than it creates, we are still going to need diversity. We are going to need creative cooperation. To do that we need some fair back and forth with others not like us. Resentment-based divisive politics is a mistake." He concluded by expressing a faith in the future rooted in the wisdom of experience: "This is just the latest chapter in the oldest drama of human history, us vs. them. But sooner or later we mix and move on."

Kapuscinski shared Clinton's perspective on the future. "The world is growing up," he wrote. "And in the world we have more of everything - more people, more goods, more communications. This growth of everything demands more cultural space and will destroy whatever does not accept this reality. That makes systems that don't accept plurality obsolete." That includes the ugly nativist politics we see around us today. It will surely pass, the last hurrah of bygone times.

Washington Post
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A man chopped off the hand of a teenage girl with a sword in a busy marketplace in what police believe was a dispute over a phone charger.

Rohit Chaurasiya, 30, is accused of violently attacking the girl, severing her right hand from the wrist with the weapon.

The attack, near the city of Lakhimpur in Uttar Pradesh, which borders Nepal, also left the victim with injuries to her head and left hand.

The Hindu reported Mr Chaurasiya was charged with attempted murder, assaulting a woman with intent to outrage her modesty and voluntarily causing grievous bodily harm with a dangerous weapon.

The girl suffered from significant blood loss but after 11-hour surgery her hand was reattached by plastic surgeons at the King George Medical University hospital in Lucknow.

She remains under observation in hospital.

Witnesses and bypassers stopped the attacker from fleeing the scene and handed him to the police, the Hindustan Times reported.

Locals are said to have told police Mr Chaurasiya was the girl's neighbour and that she had borrowed a mobile phone charge belonging to his brother. It is claimed he became enraged when she refused to return it.

Police said the apparent dispute over the phone charger was considered as one possible motive but the exact cause of the attack could not yet be confirmed and that other theories were being investigated.

Family members had complained that the man had also been stalking her, according to some local media reports.

Grandmothers School, India Show all 12 1 /12 Grandmothers School, India Grandmothers School, India People buy vegetables sold on a truck in Fangane village, India Reuters Grandmothers School, India A woman holds a book as she attends a class at Aajibaichi Shaala (Grandmothers' School) in Fangane village, India Reuters Grandmothers School, India Drupada Pandurangkedar, 70, who studies at Aajibaichi Shaala (Grandmothers' School), serves her granddaughter Namita Thackrey lunch inside their house in Fangane village, India Reuters Grandmothers School, India Indu Pawar, 61, who studies at Aajibaichi Shaala (Grandmothers' School), watches television inside her house in Fangane village, India Reuters Grandmothers School, India Uma Sitaramtupange, 65, who studies at Aajibaichi Shaala (Grandmothers' School), holds a baby outside her house in Fangane village, India Reuters Grandmothers School, India Women attend a class at Aajibaichi Shaala (Grandmothers' School) in Fangane village, India Reuters Grandmothers School, India Women leave after attending Aajibaichi Shaala (Grandmothers' School) in Fangane village, India Reuters Grandmothers School, India Kamal Keshavtupange, 60, who studies at Aajibaichi Shaala (Grandmothers' School), lights fire as she cooks food on a stove inside her house in Fangane village, India Reuters Grandmothers School, India Sheetal Prakash More (R), a 30-year-old teacher, helps Janabai Kedar, 74, as she writes on a slate at Aajibaichi Shaala (Grandmothers' School) in Fangane village, India Reuters Grandmothers School, India Vanita Dhau, 65, who studies at Aajibaichi Shaala (Grandmothers' School), stands inside her house in Fangane village, India Reuters Grandmothers School, India Vanita Dhau, 65, who studies at Aajibaichi Shaala (Grandmothers' School), works inside her house in Fangane village, India Reuters Grandmothers School, India Kamal Keshavtupange, 60, who studies at Aajibaichi Shaala (Grandmothers' School), drinks tea inside her house in Fangane village, India Reuters

Neighbours told the Hindustan Times that the young girl was living in very poor conditions in a rented room with her blind mother, ailing father, two elder brothers and a young sister.

The district magistrate said aid and shelter will be provided to the girl's family following the attack.
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Isis has claimed responsibility for an attack on a mosque in Kabul that left at least 30 dead.

The group's propaganda agency, Amaq, released a statement shortly after the attack saying its fighters were behind the killings.

Gunmen stormed the Shia mosque, attacking worshippers gathered for Friday prayers.

Recommended Gunmen and suicide bomber attack major Kabul mosque

A cleric who was leading the service was among those killed, police said.

The Amaq statement referred to an "inghimasi" attack, where assailants use weapons to inflict the maximum number of casualties, only detonating their suicide vests when they have run out of ammunition.

As the attack unfolded, police encircled the mosque but initially avoided advancing inside to prevent further casualties, police official Mohammed Jamil said.

Later, officers attempted to enter the mosque but withdrew after one of the attackers set off an explosion.

By Friday evening police said they had secured the mosque, and all three attackers were dead.

Witnesses said the assailants threw grenades, and police officials said a suicide bomber had detonated himself at the gate, Reuters reported.

A second suicide bomber detonated among a group of women in the mosque, an official said.

Security sources put the overall toll at 30 people killed and "dozens" wounded.

 Kabul suicide bombing kills at least 24 and leaves 40 injured

Mir Hussain Nasiri, a member of Afghanistan's Shia clerical council, said the gunmen had taken over the portion of the mosque with separate prayer areas for men and women.

He said the mosque could accommodate up to 1,000 people. Access to the second floor, where the women pray, was blocked by attackers. He said that meant they gunmen were holding women who were there as hostages.

Police trying to evacuate worshippers from the mosque (Omar Sobhani/Reuters)

Witnesses in the area said sporadic shooting inside the mosque continued throughout the day.

There have been several attacks against Shia Muslim mosques in Afghanistan in recent weeks.

Last month, 32 people were killed when gunmen stormed a mosque in western Herat province.

Isis also claimed responsibility for that attack and vowed to carry out more attacks against Afghanistan's minority Shia, which the Sunni extremists consider to be heretics.

Additional reporting AP
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North Korea has fired several unidentified projectiles into the sea off its east coast, according to the South Korean military.

The South Korean Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said the short range missiles landed to the east of North Koreas Kangwon province in the Sea of Japan.

South Korea and the US are now the process of analysing what the projectiles were, and officials declined to say whether the launch included ballistic missiles.

The military is keeping a tight surveillance over the North to cope with further provocations, South Korean officials said.

South Korea's Yonhap news agency said the launch may have been a ballistic missile, but did not cite a source.

Saturdays launch comes amid escalating tensions between the two countries and as the US and South Korea begin a large scale military exercise that aims to prepare for the consequences of an attack by the North.

The launch is the first by the North since it test-fired an intercontinental missile on July 28 that is thought could have reached parts of the US mainland.

That missile test prompted Donald Trump to say that if North Korea continued to pose a threat to the US, then the country would be met with fire and fury the like of which the world has never seen.

This in turn prompted Pyongyang to warn that it could fire four ballistic missiles at the US island of Guam, surrounding it with a ring of fire. The Pacific island is home to US military bases.

The latest missile launches come days after Mr Trump said he thought North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is beginning to respect us.

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

Maybe, probably not, but maybe, something positive can come about, the US President said.

Additional reporting by Reuters.
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At least 21 insurgents and 11 members of the security forces were killed in Myanmar's Rakhine state on Friday when militants staged a major coordinated attack on 24 police posts and an army base, the military said.

The fighting - still going on in some areas - marked a major escalation in a simmering conflict in the northwestern state since last October, when similar attacks prompted a big military sweep beset by allegations of serious rights abuses.

The Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), a group previously known as Harakah al-Yaqin, or "Faith Movement", which instigated the October attacks, claimed responsibility for the early morning offensive, and warned of more attacks.

The treatment of approximately 1.1 million Muslim Rohingya has emerged as majority Buddhist Myanmar's most contentious human rights issue as it makes a transition from decades of harsh military rule.

It now appears to have spawned a potent insurgency.

The situation in the state deteriorated early this month when security forces began a new "clearance operation" in a remote mountain area.

The army said that one soldier, 10 policemen and 21 insurgents had been killed in the attacks. Two military sources contacted by Reuters said there may be more deaths.

"The extremist Bengali insurgents attacked a police station in Maungdaw region in northern Rakhine state with a handmade bomb explosive and held coordinated attacks on several police posts at 1 a.m.," a news team affiliated with the office of national leader Aung San Suu Kyi said in a statement, using the derogatory term "Bengali" to refer to Rohingya.

The Rohingya are denied citizenship and are seen by many in Myanmar as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, despite claiming roots in the region that go back centuries, with communities marginalized and occasionally subjected to communal violence.

The military counter-offensive in October resulted in some 87,000 Rohingya fleeing to Bangladesh, where they joined many others who have fled from Myanmar over the past two decades or more.

The United Nations said Myanmar's security forces likely committed crimes against humanity in the offensive that began in October.

The government news team listed 24 police posts that had come under attack, adding police and the military were continuing to fight the insurgents.

It said about 150 Rohingya attackers had attempted to break into a military base, prompting the army to fight back.

"They were planning to attack because we have found their camps, the caves and the bombs and masks inside the caves," said Myanmar police headquarters spokesman Colonel Myo Thu Soe, referring to recent discoveries of what the government described as militant training camps.

Military sources in Rakhine State told Reuters they estimated the number of insurgents in the offensive was five-times the October attacks, with about 1,000 fighters likely to have taken part.

The ARSA group was formed by Rohingya living in Saudi Arabia after a bout of serious communal violence in 2012, according to the International Crisis Group.

Its leader, Ata Ullah, has said hundreds of young Rohingya men have joined the group, which claims to be waging a legitimate defence against the army and for human rights.

"We have been taking our defensive actions against the Burmese marauding forces in more than 25 different places across the region. More soon!," the group in a statement posted on a Twitter account believed to be linked to it.

The Friday attack encompassed both Maungdaw and Buthidaung townships in the remote northern part of the state - a much wider area compared with October.

The Myanmar military sources also said that while they were still trying to gather information from some areas, the fighting appeared to have subsided since dawn.

Over the last several months the government has accused the insurgents of instigating a campaign of terror against village chiefs and killing government informers, disrupting government information networks.

"The insurgents were able to organise such a huge attack because they were successful in organising the information blackout," said one of the military sources.

"It's an extremely serious situation which could lead to a major crisis. It's not easy to know what has happened, but it's clearly very worrying," said Yangon-based analyst and former U.N. diplomat inMyanmar Richard Horsey.

The attacks took place hours after a panel led by the former U.N. chief Kofi Annan advised the government on long-term solutions for the violence-riven state.

Annan's team said in a report Myanmar should respond to a crisis over its Muslim Rohingya community in a "calibrated" way without excessive force.

Reuters
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Thailands former prime minister, Yingluck Shinawatra, has fled to Singapore after failing to appear in court to hear the verdict of a trial that could see her jailed for 10 years, her supporters have claimed.

Ms Yingluck, who became Thailand's first female prime minister in 2011, is accused of criminal negligence after overseeing a scheme that subsidised rice farmers, with growers paid twice the market rate for their crop.

It led to huge stockpiles of rice and damaged the countrys rice exports, leading to allegations of corruption and wasted money.

Recommended Former Thai PM Yingluck Shinawatra impeached over rice subsidy scheme

She has pleaded innocent and rejected the charges as politically motivated.

She had been due in court on Friday to hear the verdict but failed to appear, prompting the Supreme Court to issue an arrest warrant.

Judge Cheep Chulamon said he had been informed by Ms Yinglucks lawyer that she was unable to attend becase she was suffering from earache.

The court does not believe she is sick... and has decided to issue an arrest warrant," Mr Chulamon said.

The hearing has been postponed until 27 September.

 Thailand: ex-PM Yingluck Shinawatra to stand trial for negligence

A senior source in Ms Yinglucks Pheu Thai party later told AFP she was now "likely in Singapore.

The unnamed official added that it was impossible she left without the military green light.

Prayut Chan-o-cha, the incumbent Thai Prime Minister and head of the military junta, denied knowing her whereabouts but said it was possible she had already crossed by land into Cambodia. He ordered border checks to be increased.

Recommended Thailand jails man for 35 years for insulting the monarchy on Facebook

Former Thai minister Boonsong Teriyapirom was jailed on Friday in connection with the same rice subsidy scheme.

His unexpectedly harsh 42-year prison sentence was touted as a possible reason for Ms Yinglucks apparent disappearance.

Thousands of Ms Yinglucks supporters, predominantly rural and working class voters, had gathered outside the court, along with hundreds of police.

The trial is the latest chapter in a decade-long struggle by the nation's elite minority to crush the powerful political machine founded by Ms Yingluck's brother, Thaksin Shinawatra, who was toppled in a 2006 coup.

Mr Thaksin has lived in Dubai since fleeing a corruption conviction he says was politically motivated.

Former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra was outed in 2006 after public protests (AFP/Getty Images)

He is a highly polarising figure in Thailand, and his overthrow triggered years of upheaval and division.



The Shinawatras remain popular, especially in their rural heartlands in the north and north-east, but are reviled by much of the Bangkok elite who see them as corrupt.

In 2015, Ms Yingluck was retroactively impeached for her role in the project, receiving a five-year ban from politics.
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A Muslim woman wearing a hijab was beaten by a group of young boys in what police are treating as an Islamophobic attack, one week after terrorists targeted Barcelona and Cambrils killed 15 people and injured more than 100.

The 38-year-old woman suffered injuries after a group of "two or three young men" she did not know attacked her in front of the Usera metro station in the south of the Spanish capital.

Staff members at the metro called emergency services and the victim was taken to hospital with cuts and bruises and anxiety symptoms following the attack, El Pais newspaper reports.

According to reports, police in Madrid are treating the incident as an Islamophobic hate crime.

The victim told authorities she saw little of the faces of the young men who insulted her and started beating her because she was wearing a hijab and looked like a Muslim.

The city's Diversity Management Unit has taken over the investigation and so far there have been no arrests.

El Pais also reports Madrid police were informed of "xenophobic and Islamophobic" banners hung by the neo-Nazi collective Hogar Social from a squatted building they use as headquarters on the other side of the city.

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 banners are said to read "Islam destroys Europe while we open the doors" and "terrorists welcome" in reference to the international campaign "Refugees Welcome".

Authorities in Madrid have called for the removal of the banners to prevent violence which they fear could occur in reaction to the hate messages.

They added this could also constitute a hate crime.

Police reports stressed the "gravity of these actions" at a time when the country is in mourning after a van ploughed into a crowd and killed 13 people in La Ramblas, a main tourist attraction at the heart of Barcelona.
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At least 18 people have been killed in southern Russia after a bus carrying construction workers plunged into the sea.

Eight more people were injured, five seriously, and 16 others were rescued after the coach fell from a pier on Friday morning, said Russia's emergency ministry.

The vehicle had been carrying about 40 workers who were building docks for an oil company on the Black Sea coast close to Crimea.

At least 20 were rescued and divers have been searching the waters underneath the pier for missing men.

The ministry has has not yet established what caused the crash, which happened at about 8am near Volna, a village in the region Krasnodar.

A criminal investigation has been launched, Russian news website Life reported.

"All possible versions of the accident are examined, including those related to a violation by the driver of the traffic rules or a technical failure," said the Russian Investigation Committee.

Rescuers work near a pier after a bus carrying a group of workers plunged into the Black Sea (Reuters) (REUTERS)

The crash may have been caused by a failure in the vehicle's braking system, said Oteko Portservice, the company which runs the shipment facility.

The passengers on the bus were reported to have been working on the construction of tanker docks for Russian energy on company Tamanneftegaz, one of several firms drilling for oil and gas off the Black Sea coast.

The bus has since been lifted from the water by a crane.

Authorities initially said 35 people were on board the vehicle, but later increased the figure.
Zhang Dejiang, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress(NPC), holds talks with Ugandan Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga in Beijing, capital of China, Aug. 24, 2017. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing)

China's top legislator Zhang Dejiang met with Ugandan Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga in Beijing Thursday, agreeing to deepen parliamentary communication and cooperation.

Zhang, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), said China-Uganda relations have scored new achievements in recent years under the leadership of the two countries' presidents.

China is willing to enhance cooperation with Uganda in areas of infrastructure construction, energy and mineral resources development, processing and manufacturing, and agriculture, said Zhang.

As legislative bodies, the NPC and the Uganda parliament should work for a better legal environment for business between the two countries, he said.

China encourages and supports its enterprises to invest in Uganda, and also hopes that Uganda will help Chinese companies to resolve difficulties encountered in cooperation, said Zhang.

He suggested the two sides advance cooperation in tourism, education and culture in a bid to enrich bilateral cooperation.

China is ready to share experience with Uganda in state governance and legislation, especially the legislative experience in boosting the development of small and medium-sized enterprises and attracting foreign investment, he said.

Kadaga said the visit has increased her understanding about China.

The Ugandan parliament attaches great importance to bilateral friendship and is ready to work with the NPC to advance cooperation in agriculture, irrigation, education and environment protection, she said.

Uganda welcomes more investment from China, she added.

Kadaga is visiting China from Aug. 21 to 26.
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Germany has banned a left-wing extremist online platform it said incited and fuelled violence during protests at the G20 summit in Hamburg in July.

The crackdown has made the use of the far-left website linksunten.indymedia, which allegedly played a key role in linking activists, organising and stirring violence in Hamburg, a criminal offence.

Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said the website was being shut down for showing hate and encouraging behaviours which trampled human dignity.

The ban of one of the most influential left-wing extremist platforms to operate in Germany will cover not only the website but also the networks email and social media accounts and its licence to operate as an organisation. The site came offline on Friday morning.

With a month to go before German voters go to the polls to chose their next Chancellor, authorities do not want to see a repeat of the violent protests led by anarchists and far-left activists which erupted in Hamburg as the country was hosting the leaders of the G20.

Peaceful protests on the fringe of the summit descended into violence in the northern port city with police clashing with a hard core of masked protesters hurling bottles and stones, looting shops and setting cars on fire. Police said about 500 officers had been injured in the clashes.

The Die Zeit newspaper reported two of the platforms journalists were denied accreditation to enter the summit.

Angela Merkels government faced the embarrassing prospect of having to lock down Germanys second largest city amid a visit by world leaders including Donald Trump, Emmanuel Macron, and Theresa May, along with the worlds media.

Thomas de Maiziere, a member of Ms Merkels CDU party, said shortly after the protests that the activists involved should be made to wear electronic tags.

Linksunten was founded in 2009 and has been operating as an association rather than a news organisation to get around constitutional protections on freedom of expression.

The extremist platform, which published instructions to make Molotov cocktails, has been described by the German government as the organiser of violent actions against both state infrastructures and private facilities, using fire fights and harming people under the cover of anonymity.

Mr de Maiziere said the website incited violence against police with officers previously being threatened and called pigs and murderers and that letting the site run would legitimise violence.

G20 Protesters take Hamburg Show all 8 1 /8 G20 Protesters take Hamburg G20 Protesters take Hamburg German riot police use water cannons against protesters during the demonstration during the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany REUTERS G20 Protesters take Hamburg German riot police clash with protesters during the demonstrations during the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany REUTERS G20 Protesters take Hamburg Riot police move in through the smoke from a smoke bomb during the "Welcome to Hell" rally against the G20 summit in Hamburg, northern Germany AFP/Getty Images G20 Protesters take Hamburg Riot police use water cannon to put of burning bins as a protester runs off after the "Welcome to Hell" rally against the G20 summit in Hamburg, northern Germany AFP/Getty Images G20 Protesters take Hamburg Protesters throw beer bottles as they shield themselves from water cannon spray during the "Welcome to Hell" rally against the G20 summit in Hamburg, northern Germany AFP/Getty Images G20 Protesters take Hamburg A firefighter works at the scene where a number of cars burnt down during the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany REUTERS G20 Protesters take Hamburg The interior of a burnt down car is seen as firefighters work in the background during the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany REUTERS G20 Protesters take Hamburg German police remove a protestor who is blocking a street at a demonstration during the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany REUTERS

He added the ban would enable the break down the structure of the association, seize its assets and send a clear signal that we are consistently opposed to left-wing extremism on the internet.

This is the expression of a behaviour that tramples human dignity, he said. This is absolutely unacceptable and incompatible with our liberal democratic order.

For radical, violent extremists  whatever their orientation  there is no place in our society, said Mr de Maiziere.

Authorities in the southwest region of Baden-Wuerttemberg searched properties linked to at least three of the site operators, AFP reported.

This is the first ban of a left-wing extremist platform by the German federal government. Linksuntens far-right counterpart Altermedia Deutschland was outlawed in January 2016.

Linksunten operated as a sub-domain of Indymedia, an international network of anti-globalist, anti-capitalist and anti-fascist activists, hackers and journalists, with the aim to create an alternative movement.

Indymedia, which is not subject to the ban, was formed on the fringe of a World Trade Organisation meeting in Seattle in 1999 under the slogan Dont hate the media, become the media.
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Police investigating the death of a Swedish journalist have charged the submarine inventor accused of killing her with abuse of a corpse.

Peter Madsen denied the new charge after it was filed by Danish authorities at a court in Copenhagen, where Kim Wall's headless torso was found in the Baltic Sea this week.

Detectives said her body, which was formally identified on Wednesday, was missing legs and arms and had been weighed down with metal.

Recommended Mother of Swedish journalist Kim Wall pays tribute after remains found

An attempt had been made to remove gas and air from the naked torso to keep it on the seabed, police added.

Mr Madsen, 46, initially claimed to have dropped Ms Wall off alive in the Danish capital following a trip on his homemade submarine on 10 August, but has since told police he dumped her body in the sea after she died in an accident.

On Friday police halted the search for the 30-year-old's remaining body parts in the waters between Denmark and Sweden, although divers were still searching the harbour to which Mr Madsen was brought after being rescued from his sinking submarine.

Officers declined to comment on why the search had been suspended, but said they were ready to resume it when necessary.

Police have received 656 tip-offs in the case and urged the public to keep a look out, especially for the missing limbs and the clothes Ms Wall was wearing - an orange shirt, black and white skirt and white shoes - when the submarine set off.

"We also still want to hear from people who can make us more aware of the people involved and their behaviour," the police statement said.

Ms Wall, who was researching a story on the inventor, went missing after he took her out to sea in his 17-metre (56-foot) UC3 Nautilus, which was the largest privately built submarine in the world when it first launched in 2008.

Police arrested Mr Madsen on suspicion of Ms Wall's murder, which carries a sentence of between five years and life in prison, after he was rescued from his sinking submarine. Detectives believe he deliberately scuttled the vessel.

Mr Madsen denies killing Ms Wall and claims he "buried" her at sea after she died in an accident.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

In its preliminary investigation, the court ordered Mr Madsen be detained until 5 September, pending further inquires, on the lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter.

Police will seek to extend the pre-trial custody when it is reviewed next month, and expect to raise the preliminary charge to murder.

The submarine is one of three constructed by Mr Madsen. It could carry eight people and weighed 40 tonnes when fully equipped.

Police have yet to establish the cause of Ms Wall's death.

Her mother Ingrid Wall this week spoke of her "boundless sadness and shock" and told how her daughter "gave voice to the weak, vulnerable and marginalised" through her journalism.
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A man has been shot dead after reportedly attacking soldiers in Brussels with a machete.

Neither of the two soldiers are believed to have been seriously harmed. Belgian media reports suggest one was injured in the head and the other in the hand.

Images showed paramedics at the scene, accompanied by a heavy police presence. The soldiers were on patrol at the time of the stabbing.

The attack took place in Emile Jacqmain Avenue in the centre of the Belgian capital. Witnesses said the suspect, believed to be a 30-year-old man of Somalian heritage, shouted "Allahu Akbar" before the attack but Belgian prosecutors said he was not known to have links to terrorist groups.

Police have sealed off the scene of the incident.

A Belgian Federal Police spokesperson said: "A man armed with a knife attacked a group of soldiers. The soldiers fired at him and neutralised the individual."

A spokesperson for the federal prosecutor's office confirmed the suspect had been killed.

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

Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel tweeted: "All our support is with our soldiers. Our security services remain on alert. We are following the situation closely.

Brussels has been on high alert since a series of suicide bombings at the city's airport and on its metro system killed 32 people in March 2016.

In 2014 four people were killed when a gunman opened fire at the city's Jewish Museum.
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Terror attacks in Western Europe accounted for less than 1 per cent of all the people killed in global terror incidents in 2016, new figures show.

A new study of data from the Global Terrorism Database project, run by the University of Maryland, found that 238  or 0.7 per cent  of the 34,676 people killed in attacks over the past year died during attacks on Western Europe, including in France, Germany and the UK.

In total, there were 269 attacks  including major incidents in Brussels and Nice  out of a total of 13,488 attacks.

By contrast, 55 per cent  19,121 people  of all global terror victims died in attacks carried out in the Middle East and North Africa.

Iraq alone saw nine of the 11 deadliest attacks in 2016, predominantly targeting the Shia sect, as Isis was forced to retreat from territories it seized in the north of the country in 2014.

One attack, which saw an explosives-laden truck detonated outside a shopping centre in the suburb of Karrada in Baghdad, killed at least 382 people.

The report also found the overall number of terrorist incidents worldwide had declined by 9 per cent, and by 20 per cent in Western Europe, though it was up by 14 per cent in North America as a result of the Pulse nightclub shooting  which was the deadliest single attack on the LGBTQ community in US history.

The research also recorded other less high profile incidents, such as smaller attacks on mosques and synagogues, and was not exclusively focused on Islamist extremism.

The 10 developed countries suffering the most deaths from terrorism Show all 10 1 /10 The 10 developed countries suffering the most deaths from terrorism The 10 developed countries suffering the most deaths from terrorism 10: Greece AP The 10 developed countries suffering the most deaths from terrorism 9: Denmark Shutterstock The 10 developed countries suffering the most deaths from terrorism 8: Austalia Getty Images The 10 developed countries suffering the most deaths from terrorism 7: Sweden Ola Ericson/imagebank.sweden.se The 10 developed countries suffering the most deaths from terrorism 6: Mexico Reuters The 10 developed countries suffering the most deaths from terrorism 5: Germany Anthony Faiola/The Washington Post The 10 developed countries suffering the most deaths from terrorism 4: Israel AP The 10 developed countries suffering the most deaths from terrorism 3: US Getty The 10 developed countries suffering the most deaths from terrorism 2: France Getty The 10 developed countries suffering the most deaths from terrorism 1: Turkey AP

The report also noted a huge spike in the use of vehicles such as vans and lorries as weapons in crowd-ramming attacks, such as the Nice attack on Bastille Day in July 2015 when 84 people were killed, and an attack on a Berlin Christmas market which killed 12.

The figures, for 2016, do not include recent attacks including in London, Manchester and Barcelona.
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I built a tent and stayed in it for three years, while waiting for Gaza to be rebuilt. Were still living in it, father of four Thaer al-Sheesh said.

We are alive now because death hasnt bothered to take us yet. It will be way better for us to die, as we wont face problems anymore.

Its been a hot summer in Gaza this year. As temperatures have soared to 40 degrees celsius, the Strips burgeoning water and electricity crises have taken their toll, and three years on since Hamas last devastating war with Israel, its clear things in the Strip are getting worse, rather than better.

 Gaza marks 10 years of Israeli blockade

When the fighting ended on 26 August 2014  after the deaths of 2,200 Palestinians and 71 Israelis, among them four civilians  Israel vowed to change course on Gaza, ruled by militant Hamas since the organisation took over the area in 2007.

Yet nothing has come of the promises to increase travel permits to let Palestinians out of the open-air prison; fewer people are granted permission to leave the Strip than in 2014, even for medical reasons. The crossing into Egypt also remains closed.

Only a third of the some 11,000 homes destroyed in the 2014 war have been rebuilt, the Norwegian Refugee Council estimated recently. The economic knock-on effects of two wars and ten years of Israeli sea and land blockades have led the Gazan economy to effectively collapse, unemployment is sky-high at 41 per cent, rising to 60 per cent for the young, and the threat of Israel Defence Forces (IDF) air strikes is constant.

For the Strips two million residents, traumatised by violence, grinding poverty  with little sign of respite  is a daily reality.

Gaza blackout Show all 10 1 /10 Gaza blackout Gaza blackout A Palestinian man works at his workshop as he fixes mobile power generators in Gaza City, July 9, 2017. REUTERS Gaza blackout Palestinians pray in a makeshift mosque lit by battery-powered lights during a power cut in Gaza City, July 18, 2017. REUTERS Gaza blackout A Palestinian vendor sells fruits and vegetables during a power cut in a makeshift shop lit by battery-powered light in Beit Lahiya town, in the northern Gaza Strip, July 13, 2017. REUTERS Gaza blackout A Palestinian woman is seen from the window of her kitchen as she uses a candle light to prepare food during a power cut in Beit Lahiya town, in the northern Gaza Strip, July 13, 2017. REUTERS Gaza blackout Buildings are seen at night in Gaza City, July 18, 2017. REUTERS Gaza blackout Buildings are seen at night during a power cut in Gaza City, July 18 REUTERS Gaza blackout A Palestinian woman washes dishes in her kitchen as she uses a candle light during a power cut in Beit Lahiya town, in the northern Gaza Strip, July 13, 2017. REUTERS Gaza blackout Members of a Palestinian family prepare food on a fire on a beach during a power cut in the northern Gaza Strip, July 12, 2017. REUTERS Gaza blackout Palestinians make food during a hot weather on a beach during a power cut in the northern Gaza Strip, July 12, 2017 REUTERS Gaza blackout A Palestinian woman holds her child as she walks out of her house lit by a torch during a power cut in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, July 3, 2017. REUTERS

Thanks to the escalating electricity crisis  the result of hiked fuel delivery charges by the rival Palestinian Authority in the West Bank designed to lessen Hamas grip in Gaza  the power is often only on for three hours a day. Hospitals have warned the blackouts endanger patients lives, and since many households rely on electric pumps for their water, millions have difficulty washing, cooking and doing laundry.

An incredible 96 per cent of Gazas water supply is unsafe to drink, as its only aquifer is contaminated by sewage and the coastal enclaves three desalination plants are in effect offline.

A July report from the UN found that 10 years into the siege, the Gaza Strip is now unlivable, and de-developing quicker than expected.

Time has already run out, said Mohammed Samhouri, the reports author.

That should give all those with high stakes in the future of the embattled Palestinian coastal enclave, including the Palestinians themselves, a moment for a serious and moral pause, he wrote. Unfortunately, we are not there yet.

Hamas is slowly rebranding in an effort to force the PA into reconciliation talks: earlier this year it unveiled an updated charter which accepted the borders of a Palestinian state within the pre-1967 boundaries for the first time.

But the announced changes are unlikely to be enough: Israeli officials have dismissed the perceived softening of Hamass stance.

As its slow war begins to yield the desired effect, there is no reason for the PA to back down, either. Indeed, rumours are swirling in both Gaza and Ramallah that PA President Mahmoud Abbas is considering wresting power away from Hamas by declaring the Strip a rebel district, effectively announcing a state of emergency.

If such a scenario came to pass, its possible that financial institutions would be shut down and international aid organisations such as UNRWA, the UN branch which oversees efforts to aid Palestinians in the region, would be forced to evacuate.

 "I am that girl": Huda Ali Ghalia, who was filmed after family was killed on Gaza beach, graduates

Such a decision would cause even greater hardship for Gazas residents  who may already be at the limits of their endurance. Normally rare protests against Hamas rule have been on the rise.

Some are worried the worsening situation will eventually lead to renewed violence between the Strip and Israel. Some 56 per cent of Israelis polled by an Israeli news channel think that war with Hamas is inevitable before the end of the year.

Of all the issues we deal with  the peace process, Palestinian institution building, the region  [the humanitarian electricity crisis] is the one issue that keeps me up at night, Nickolay Mladenov, the UNs special coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, said recently.

The effects of the crisis are devastating, he added. And all of this, at the end of the day, will come back to Israels doorstep.
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Belgium has demanded the Israeli authorities provide explanations as well as compensation for the demolition of new school facilities for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank which were donated by the EU.

The six newly installed steel terrapin cabins were erected in the village of Jubbet Al Dhib so that local children did not have to walk an hour to get to school.

They were destroyed and equipment such as chairs and tables confiscated by the Israeli authorities on Tuesday - the day before the new school year started - on the grounds that the buildings did not have proper planning permission.

 Soldiers drag 8-year-old from house to house in Hebron for over an hour

The area was sealed off, declared a military zone, and security forces used stun grenades to keep residents away, Israeli human rights group BTselem said in a statement.

Israeli media said that locals had thrown stones at soldiers during the demolition.

The villages 80 children have had to attend classes in cramped tarpaulin tents or under the hot sun on the first day of school instead.

In a statement on Thursday, Belgiums deputy prime minister Didier Reynders and minister of development cooperation Alexander De Croo jointly condemned the demolition of the partly-Belgian funded structures.

These new demolitions and seizures of essential infrastructure are unacceptable: Belgiums projects aim to meet humanitarian needs and are carried out in strict respect of international humanitarian law, they wrote.

Another brick in the wall: Saving schools in the West Bank Show all 2 1 /2 Another brick in the wall: Saving schools in the West Bank Another brick in the wall: Saving schools in the West Bank 8423.bin Another brick in the wall: Saving schools in the West Bank 8424.bin

By undermining such humanitarian projects, Israel contravenes its international obligations as an occupying power.

The Belgian officials noted that the Jubbet Al Dhib demolition comes on top of the destruction of school facilities in three other West Bank villages in the last two weeks, all donated by international bodies and NGOs, and all destroyed on the same planning permission grounds.

Critics of Israeli policy in the occupied West Bank have long pointed out that building permits are nearly impossible for Palestinians to obtain.

The latest spate of school demolitions and confiscations in the West Bank forms part of a wider attack on education in Palestine, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) says; a total of 55 schools are currently threatened with demolition and stop-work orders.

Just when they were due to return to the classroom, Palestinian children are discovering that their schools are being destroyed, said NRCS Palestine direcotr Hanibal Abiy Worku.

What threat do these schools pose to the Israeli authorities? What are they planning to achieve by denying thousands of children their fundamental right to education?

The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, the body which implements Israeli policy in Palestinian areas, did not immediately respond to The Independents request for comment.

Last month, the Netherlands also lodged a complaint with the Israeli government after dozens of Dutch solar panels donated to the same village were confiscated.

More than 300 structures in the occupied West Bank demolished by the Israeli authorities in 2016 were at least in part funded by the EU or international NGOs, an Israeli military official said earlier this year.

Last year also saw the highest number of Israeli demolitions of Palestinian structures since rights groups began record-keeping.

Belgium is not the only international donor affected by this kind of destruction. It will continue to work together with its partners, as in the past, to ask the Israeli authorities to end these demolitions, the Belgian officials said.
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At least 14 people have been killed and injured after gunmen attacked a Shia mosque in the Afghan capital of Kabul on Friday.

A blast was reportedly followed by gunfire as worshippers gathered for Friday prayers at the mosque in Qala-Najara.

The cleric who performed the prayer service has been killed, as well as a security guard outside, according to initial reports.

Mir Hussain Nasiri, a member of Afghanistan's Shiite clerical council, said gunmen have taken over the portion of the mosque with the separate prayer areas for men and women.

Police official Mohammed Jamil told the Associated Press the gunmen are still inside the mosque.

Jamil said Afghan security forces have surrounded the mosque but are not advancing or pushing into it to prevent more casualties.

Islamic State militants have claimed responsibility for the attack.

Last month, Isis claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing and gun attack which targeted the Iraqi embassy in Kabul.
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At least 14 people have been killed by Saudi-led air strikes on the Yemeni capital Sanaa, according to rescuers and witnesses.

Six children were among those who died in the overnight attack on a residential district, rescue workers said.

At least three houses in the Faj Attan area on the outskirts of the city were hit by the strikes, all but reducing them to rubble, witnesses told Reuters news agency.

It came as the UN issued a sharp rebuke towards Saudi Arabia and its allies over the bombing campaign on Yemen, demanding an independent investigation into air strikes on a Sanaa hotel this week that killed dozens of people.

The Saudi-led coalition is waging an air campaign against an Yemen's Shiite Houthi rebels and forces loyal to a former president. The rebels control much of the country's north, including Sanaa.

The coalition is trying to restore the internationally recognised government of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi to power.

The UN has said 58 civilians were killed in Yemen in the week up to Thursday, including 42 by the Saudi-led coalition. The rest of the deaths were blamed on unknown armed men and groups linked to the rebels.

"We remind all parties to the conflict, including the coalition, of their duty to ensure full respect for international humanitarian law," said UN human rights spokeswoman Liz Throssell.

A Yemeni man covered in blood stains reacts as rescuers search for survivors in the debris of buildings inSanaa(AFP/GettyImages) (AFP/Getty Images)

Up to 60 people, including civilians and Houthi rebels, are thought to have keen killed in coalition strikes near Sanaa on Wednesday.

Witnesses said a two-storey hotel in Arhab, 35 kilometres (22 miles) north of the capital, was completely destroyed in the attack, leaving two bodies hanging from the upper floor.

A second strike hit a checkpoint controlled by Houthis a few kilometres away.

Saudi Arabia and its regional partners have used Iran's influence over Yemen's Houthi rebels to justify an extensive bombing campaign since March 2015.

The air strikes, carried out at the request of the exiled internationally recognised Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, have been repeatedly criticised for causing unnecessary loss of civilian life in a country that also faces a catastrophic cholera epidemic.

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

Last week a draft UN report accused the coalition of killing hundreds of children in Yemen.

The report, which has yet to be made public and could still be changed, estimated that 51 per cent of all child deaths and injuries in Yemen last year were the result of the Saudi-led military operation. It said the death toll was unacceptably high.

Western governments, including the US and the UK, have also faced criticism for providing logistical support and political backing to the nine-nation coalition. British companies have continued to sell weapons to Saudi Arabia despite growing concern about civilian casualties.

Saudi Arabia has always insisted that its operations follow international guidelines.
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Though they cannot have foreseen their good fortune when work began at The Whitby, which opened earlier this year, there is currently no hotel bed closer to the citys newest and most popular tourist attraction.

Not so long ago, the view out to the Statue of Liberty from the top of the Empire State Building was the must-have New York holiday snap. Now, at least on the evidence of my visit, its the bird-flipping selfie at Trump Tower. Right on the doorstep of this frankly stunning new offering, Korean tourists jostle with Italians for the best spot from which to laugh, raise their middle finger and vent their highly instagrammable displeasure at the decline of the West.

There is also nowhere quite so stylish. Firmdale Hotels, of which The Whitby is New Yorks second, are all designed to within an inch of their exquisite lives, while maintaining a distinctly British feel. This is courtesy of the groups co-founders Kit and Tim Kemp, who also have a whopping eight premises in London.

The bar and restaurant are the real design masterpiece. A quite extraordinary array of wicker baskets, collected from all over the UK, appear to have been topiarised above the long pewter bar. The lights have been woven in bright fabrics around concealed plastic Coca-Cola bottles, in counterpoint to the fine gilded English bone china.

At breakfast, theres a small buffet to choose from of reassuringly New York-sized pastries, fresh fruit and yoghurt. But the main event is pleasingly a la carte. No Serengeti-like rolling expanse of blue cheese, donuts and serrano ham, no design-on-your own omelette station  just a short(ish) list of first-rate choices, from which I personally recommend the hangar steak with eggs and arugula salad.

The design has a British feel (Firmdale Hotels)

Behind here, theres the drawing room, strictly for the use of guests, with 24-hour butler service and an honesty bar where one writes down what ones consumed, an impressive display of trust given the stoppered bottles of Laurent Perrier Jouet in the ice bucket.

Location

Even without their suddenly enviable spot at the foot of Trump Tower, The Whitbys location is unimprovable. Two blocks from Central Park, two from the heart of Fifth Avenue and the well-known cultural highlights of the Upper East Side. For those visiting New York and still wishing to avail themselves of its best known sites, there is no better place to be.

Comfort

There are a mere 86 rooms, spread across 16 floors  diminutive by New York standards  each to its own specification.

At the foot of my bed there was a vast orange sofa. On a grand mural above my head, an orange horse led an embroidered knight into battle. On the wall, some sort of Andalusian shepherd surveys the green pasture, himself looked over by the watchless gaze of a dressmakers dummy, again in orange. (There is a lot of orange, and this is no accident, the hotel manager explained. This, and blue, are the citys official colours. It was once known as New Amsterdam, after all.) On the expansive bookshelves, design books feature prominently. In the magazine rack, you wont be shocked to find a Monocle design special.

The restaurant offers a pleasing selection of a la carte dishes (Firmdale Hotels)

My own room had a lovely roof terrace, truly a rarity in this or indeed most parts of town, with green patio furniture where meals can be taken, high above 58th Street. The menu is the same as the one offered in the downstairs restaurant, itself a more than worthy addition to New Yorks already overwhelming brunch (and breakfast, and lunch, and dinner, and afternoon tea) culture.

On my visit, it rained almost without stopping, leaving the terrace unused. But there was, naturally, a flat screen TV at the end of the bath, complete with waterproof remote. So if you want to take advantage of the time difference and while away your Saturday morning in the tub watching the Premier League action before re-emerging, prune-like, at noon, well, you can.

The mindbending madness of US politics lends New Yorks newest attraction an almost Castro-esque sense of urgency. Youve got to flip the bird at Donalds tower block, before hes impeached. By that logic, you might only have weeks to make a reservation. But The Whitby is clearly going to be one of the citys finest places at which to spend a few nights for years to come.

Essentials

18 W 56th St, New York, NY 10019

001 212 586 5656; designhotels.com/the-whitby-hotel

Doubles from $555, room only.

Wi-fi: free

Access: all upper floors wheelchair-accessible by lift

Rooms: *****

Service: *****

Value: ****
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A furious row has broken out between British Airways and the Home Office over dreadful immigration queues at airports.

The airline launched a scathing attack on the border control operation, complaining that some passengers are being forced to wait in lines for more than an hour upon arrival at Heathrow, the UKs busiest airport.

There are routinely just a third of the 29 automatic eGates open at Terminal 5 and they shut prematurely at 11pm while customers are still making their way off flights, the carrier claimed.

It added that this is causing massive queues and frustrating delays.

But the Home Office issued a fierce rebuttal, claiming BAs statement significantly misrepresents the experience of the vast majority of passengers arriving at the west London hub.

The Government department insisted that Border Force officers have kept eGates open beyond 11pm often to accommodate passengers arriving on delayed British Airways flights.

When the latest eGates were installed in October 2015, the Home Office claimed they would reduce queues and free up Border Force officers to focus on priority work such as cracking down on smugglers or identifying victims of trafficking.

Adult passengers from the UK or European Economic Area with a chipped passport can pass through the facial recognition terminals when they are in use rather than wait for manual checks.

BAs director of Heathrow, Raghbir S Pattar, called on UK Border Force to operate in the most efficient and flexible way to ensure passengers needs are prioritised.

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state of Rajasthan AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 2 November 2022 A red squirrel gathers nuts in Pitlochry, Scotland Reuters UK news in pictures 1 November 2022 Englands Tara-Jane Stanley scores their sides seventh try against Brazil during the Womens Rugby League World Cup group A match at Headingley Stadium, Leeds PA UK news in pictures 31 October 2022 GBs James Hall competes during the mens parallel bars qualification at the World Gymnastics Championships in Liverpool AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 October 2022 People dressed in Halloween costumes paddle board along the river Avon in Christchurch, Dorset PA UK news in pictures 29 October 2022 Members of the public take pictures as police officers remove activists from a road during a Just Stop Oil protest, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 28 October 2022 A cosplayer attends the MCM Comic Con London 2022 at the ExCel Centre in London Reuters UK news in pictures 27 October 2022 98-year-old D-Day Veteran Bernard 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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. The building was built in 1480 as a residential dwelling but has been a tearoom for over 50 years PA UK news in pictures 28 September 2022 Criminal barristers from the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), demonstrates outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, as part of their ongoing pay row with the Government PA UK news in pictures 27 September 2022 David White, Garter King of Arms, poses with an envelope franked with the new cypher of King Charles III 'CIIIR', after it was printed in the Court Post Office at Buckingham Palace in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 26 September 2022 A gallery staff member poses next to a painting by Lucian Freud - Self-portrait (Fragment), 1956 - on show at a photocall for the Credit Suisse exhibition - Lucian Freud: New Perspectives at the National Gallery in London PA UK news in pictures 25 September 2022 Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer is interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg in Liverpool before the start of the Labour Party annual Conference which he opened with a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II and sang the national anthem PA UK news in pictures 24 September 2022 Handout photo issued by Buckingham Palace of the ledger stone at the King George VI Memorial Chapel, St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle PA UK news in pictures 23 September 2022 A climate change activist protests against UK private jets while lighting his right arm on fire during the Laver Cup tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London EPA UK news in pictures 22 September 2022 Woody Woodmansey, Lee Bennett, Kevin Armstrong, Nick Moran and Clifford Slapper attend the unveiling of a stone for David Bowie on the Music Walk of Fame at Camden, north London PA UK news in pictures 21 September 2022 A flock of birds in the sky as the sun rises over Dungeness in Kent PA UK news in pictures 20 September 2022 Flowers which were laid by members of the public in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II at Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland are collected by the Hillsborough Gardening Team and volunteers to be replanted for those that can be saved or composted PA UK news in pictures 19 September 2022 The ceremonial procession of the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II travels down the long walk as it arrives at Windsor Castle for the committal service at St Georges Chapel AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 18 September 2022 A man stands among campers on The Mall ahead of the Queens funeral Reuters

He said: It is a constant frustration to us and to our customers that after a long flight they have to stand in queues, sometimes for over an hour, just to get back into the country.

And it is a dreadful welcome for visitors to the UK to be faced with a packed immigration hall and the prospect of a frustrating delay to the start of their holiday or business trip.

It adds insult to injury when youre stuck in a queue but can see numerous gates which just arent being used.

The Home Office said more than 99 per cent of British and European passengers arriving at Heathrow are dealt with within 25 minutes, and there has never been a queue of more than an hour measured for European Union arrivals at Terminal 5.

Recommended Southend Airport is offering free flights to delayed passengers

Some 87 per cent of passengers from outside the European Economic Area are processed within 45 minutes.

A Home Office spokesman said: The security of our border is paramount, which is why 100 per cent of scheduled passengers are checked when arriving in the UK.

While every effort is made to keep delays for passengers to a minimum, we make no apology for carrying out this important work.

UK holidaymakers have faced lengthy queues at airports elsewhere in Europe because of tightened border rules.

Aviation minister Lord Callanan said he would urge his counterparts in Portugal, Spain and Italy to do all they can to reduce queues after lobby group Airlines For Europe reported that passengers are being forced to stand in immigration lines for up to four hours.

New European Union rules mean countries must carry out more stringent checks on arriving and departing travellers.

But when Ryanair chief executive Michael OLeary was asked about the situation earlier this month, he replied that it is absolutely a replication of what goes on at border control here in the UK.

He said: Governments are great at passing these regulations and then not putting in place the staffing at airports to actually manage the implementation of those regulations, both here in the UK and in Europe.
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EasyJet is warning Facebook users not to be taken in by a free flights scam that has gone viral on the social media platform.

The scam claims to offer two free tickets to everyone that participates in an online survey, in celebration of the airlines 22nd anniversary.

When users click on the link, they are taken to a malware site that asks for their Facebook details. The scam has rapidly spread as it stipulates that users must share the post in order to claim their free tickets. The post said there were just 332 remaining so hurry up!

An EasyJet spokesperson said: EasyJet is aware of this fake Facebook competition and can confirm this is not a genuine EasyJet ticket giveaway. We posted on our own Facebook page earlier this week to warn customers of this.

Recommended easyJet to release album of engine sounds to help people get to sleep

Genuine competitions of this nature will only be hosted on EasyJets official Facebook page.

There are a number of posts of this nature currently mentioning a number of airlines and we encourage customers to flag these to us so we can work to get them removed.

EasyJet said on its Facebook page: We've been made aware of scam competition on Facebook. Please ignore this, as its not official. Only follow this account for updates, competitions and offers.

The fake post had the EasyJet logo at the top with the word generation above it, and has a survey of three multiple choice questions, starting with, Have you ever travelled with us?

The fake post claimed there were only 332 tickets left (EasyJet/Facebook) (Easyjet/Facebook)

Selina Cooper commented on the official EasyJet post: I didn't look at the questionnaire. I was just so excited that there might be a chance for free flights to Egypt. In the university of life we will always make mistakes.

Facebook user Stuart Taylor, meanwhile, gave some sage advice: Simple rule, if it sounds too good to be true it often is. Very easy to check if these are scams by looking more into the history of the page, for example when it was created, previous posts etc. If its a new profile and one of only a few posts for a globally recognised airline then yes, scam page.

A similar scam did the rounds last week, offering free flights with Ryanair in celebration of the airlines 32nd anniversary  in reality the company is only 23 years old.

Warning, don't be fooled by this scam page, Ryanair posted on its Facebook page. This is not an official Ryanair account or promotion.

Remember, if it doesnt have the blue tick verification, its not the official Ryanair account.
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Imagine living in a city whose unfortunate nickname is The mistake on the lake. That is what the people of Cleveland, Ohio must endure.

Like other Midwest cities, such as Cincinnati, Detroit and St Louis, Cleveland was once a rich, fast-growing manufacturing hub. But the city on the southern shore of Lake Erie has been left behind by the 21st century.

A century ago, Cleveland was the fifth-largest US city, with a population racing towards one milllion; today, with fewer than 400,000 inhabitants, it doesnt even make the top 50. And that heIps to explain why Cleveland has no direct connections with Europe.

For a time Continental Airlines used Cleveland as a hub, and even had a daily link to and from London. But since Continental merged with United, Cleveland has watched other cities taking all the glory.

From May, though, Cleveland is set to get two competing links with the same overseas city.

Paris? Amsterdam? Frankfurt? No: Reykjavik.

Cleveland-Reykjavik makes an instant appearance on the list of weird flights you never thought you would see, alongside Doncaster to Cluj-Napoca in Romania (Wizz Air) and Barcelona to Kaliningrad in Russia (Vueling). But the route also demands an entirely new category: head-to-head airline wars you never thought you would see.

From May 2018, the departure screens at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport will show competing links to Keflavik airport in south-west Iceland: Wow Air taking on the flag carrier, Icelandair.

Now, if you have spent much time in Cleveland, you will understand the appeal of almost anywhere else on the planet. In my experience the closest location that qualifies for a great escape from Cleveland is Cedar Point, 60 miles along the lakeshore. It is the self-styled Roller Coaster Capital of the World, and the arrival next year of a new ride, Steel Vengeance, will add to the appeal. Speed: 74mph; First Drop: 200 feet; Inversions: 4 goes the pre-publicity.

The flight to Iceland will not be so thrilling, but it offers the prospect of amazing volcanic landscapes in a sub-Arctic island, and, later in the year, possible sightings of the Northern Lights.

Even so, the total demand from Ohio citizens desperate to get to Reykjavik (and Icelandic theme-park fans heading in the opposite direction) is unlikely to sustain two competing airlines on a six hours-plus route.

In earlier times, news of two airlines slugging it out on a city pair like that would trigger derision and the prospect of another fares bloodbath. Surely the only winner will be the passengers who take advantage of the plummeting prices before one or possibly both airlines abandons the route?

Doubtless, both Icelandair and Wow Air will offer some aggressively low fares. But it may be that there is room for both carriers. Each will feed an extensive and growing European network, with connections to a range of cities in countries from Russia to Switzerland.

When in Cleveland, head to Cedar Point amusement park (Getty) (Getty Images)

Reykjavik offers a far smoother and more comfortable connection than using one of the US East Coast airports, and flying times are better than backtracking via Chicago or deviating to Atlanta. So it may be that the losers are the network carriers  American, Delta, United  who connect Cleveland via their hubs.

Wow Air and Icelandair are following the same basic strategy: picking unserved or under-served US cities and providing them with dozens of destinations in Europe with one simple connection. They diverge in aircraft used. Icelandair continues with its successful formula of well-maintained fleet of Boeing 757s, which are old and thirsty but paid for. Wow has opted for the Airbus A321, which began life decades ago as a little-noticed stretch of the A320 but has now been recognised as an extremely efficient medium-haul workhorse.

The more the pair of rivals expand in America, the more demand they can stimulate for their European operations. Which is why Wow is offering those three other Midwest cities I mentioned  Detroit, Cincinnati and St Louis  while Icelandair is adding Tampa-St Petersburg on Floridas Gulf Coast. Citizens of St Petersburg, Russia, will soon have a high-speed connection to their citys sunnier namesake.

Aviation history tells us that the network carriers will respond with tempting deals, and that other players  such as Norwegian, and BAs sister airline, Level, may intervene with new non-stop routes between Europe and unserved American cities. But experience also tells us that choice and competition is always good for travellers. Even if Cleveland doesnt feature in your immediate travel plans, the Icelandic disruptors will bring benefits for all transatlantic passengers.
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Donald Trump was persuaded to send more troops to Afghanistan by being shown black and white photographs of women wearing miniskirts in Kabul in the 1970s, so the story goes. Lieutenant General HR McMaster, his National Security Advisor, produced the pictures to illustrate what the country was like before the Taliban imposed their brutal and intolerant rule.

It is unsurprising that Trump, a man of limited general knowledge, knew little of Afghan history. It may be surprising that a misogynist like him would care much about womens rights. It was, however, predictable that the news would lead to some idiotic utterings. Such photos are only shown, according to some, for  right-wing propaganda, racist cultural appropriation and to justify neo-imperialist war.

Those who have been to Afghanistan would know that people there do show similar photographs, often of members of their family, a reminder of a society lost to devastating decades of war.

No one, however, pretends that such a lifestyle was the norm across the country. A friend of mine, a journalist later murdered by the Taliban, had a rather wonderful picture of his mother, who lived in Kabul, sitting next to an aunt, from conservative Uruzgan, both dressed in shades of blue: one wearing jacket and skirt, the other in a burqa.

 Donald Trump's ever-changing views on Afghanistan

It is also the case that women in Afghanistan have been failed by the West.

First when jihadis were used to fight the Russians, ending, in the process, the left-wing reformist government in Kabul, and then the country abandoned to the Taliban and their savage suppression of women in the 1980s. It was repeated when the Taliban regime of Mullah Omar was overthrown by American and British troops in 2001. At the time George W Bush declared that the job was done, the Taliban were finished. Tony Blair promised this time we will not walk away. Laura Bush and Cherie Blair proclaimed that one of the best things to have happened is that Afghan women have been emancipated.

There was a window when real change seemed possible  before troops needed to stabilise Afghanistan were sent off to Iraq by Bush and Blair and the Taliban came back. I interviewed five women at the time who wanted to help rebuild their country. Three years later, three of them were murdered and a fourth had fled and gone into hiding after narrowly escaping with her life in an ambush in which her husband was killed.

One was Malalai Kakar, the most prominent policewoman in Afghanistan who led a unit of 10 policewomen specialising in domestic violence cases in Kandahar, the birthplace of the Taliban.

Commander Kakar was uncompromising with suspected abusers, men who in the past had relied on male police officers to turn a blind eye. "I've been accused of being rough with husbands who beat up their wives" she said. "But I'm angry, we try to apply the law in the right way and the constitution is supposed to protect women's rights, women have been failed for too long in this country.

Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear Show all 16 1 /16 Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2001 Afghans at the Killi Faizo refugee camp desperately reach for bags of rice being handed out to the thousands who escaped the bombardment in southern Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom. (Chaman, Pakistan, December 4, 2001) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2002 Mahbooba stands against a bullet-ridden wall, waiting to be seen at a medical clinic. The seven-year-old girl suffers from leishmaniasis, a parasitical infection. (Kabul, March 1, 2002) All photos Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2003 A mother and her two children look out from their cave dwelling. Many families who, fleeing the Taliban, took refuge inside caves adjacent to Bamiyans destroyed ancient Buddha statues now have nowhere else to live. (Bamiyan, November 19, 2003) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2007 Students recite prayers in a makeshift outdoor classroom in the Wakhan Corridor, a mountainous region in northeastern Afghanistan that extends to China and separates Tajikistan from India and Pakistan. (Northeastern Afghanistan, September 2, 2007) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2007 Bodybuilders in the 55-60 kg category square off during a regional bodybuilding competition. Many Afghan men, like others around the world, feel that a macho image of physical strength is important. (Kabul, August 6, 2007) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2008 A woman in a white burqa enjoys an afternoon with her family feeding the white pigeons at the Blue Mosque. (Mazar-e-Sharif, March 8, 2008) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2009 Addicts inject heroin while trying to keep warm inside the abandoned Russian Cultural Center, which the capital citys addicts use as a common gathering point. Heroin is readily available, costing about one dollar a hit. (Kabul, February 9, 2009) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2009 An elderly man holds his granddaughter in their tent at a refugee camp after they were forced to flee their village, which US and NATO forces had bombed because, they claimed, it was a Taliban hideout. (Surobi, Nangarhar Province, February 7, 2009) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2009 Seven-year-old Attiullah, a patient at Mirwais Hospital, stands alongside an X ray showing the bullet that entered his back, nearly killing him. Attiullah was shot by US forces when he was caught in a crossfire as he was herding sheep. (Kandahar, October 13, 2009). Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2010 US Army Sargeant Jay Kenney (right), with Task Force Destiny, helps wounded Afghan National Army soldiers exit a Blackhawk helicopter after they have been rescued in an air mission. (Kandahar, December 12, 2010) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2010 An Afghan National Army battalion marches back to barracks at the Kabul Military Training Center. (Kabul, October 4, 2010) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2014 Eid Muhammad, seventy, lives in a house with a view overlooking the hills of Kabul. He and millions of other Afghans occupy land and housing without possessing formal deeds to them. (Kabul, November 21, 2014) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2014 Razima holds her two-year-old son, Malik, while waiting for medical attention at the Boost Hospital emergency room. (Lashkar Gah, Helmand Province, June 23, 2014) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2014 Young women cheer as they attend a rally for the Afghan presidential candidate Ashraf Ghani. (Kabul, April 1, 2014) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2014 Burqa-clad women wait to vote after a polling station runs out of ballots. (Kabul, April 5, 2014) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2015 Relatives, friends, and womens rights activists grieve at the home of Farkhunda Malikzada, who was killed by a mob in the center of Kabul. Farkhunda was violently beaten and set on fire after a local cleric accused her of burning a Quran. (Kabul, March 22, 2015) Paula Bronstein

Kakar liked to cook breakfast for her husband and six children before going to work. She would spend a long time saying her farewell because, she said, she could never be sure what would happen. Her 15-year-old son was with her when she was killed. She carried a pistol under the burqa she wore to work, so as not to be recognised, before changing into uniform. But she had no chance to defend herself, or him, in an ambush.

Kakar was a friend of 65-year-old Safia Amajan, who had stayed behind during the darkest days of Taliban rule to teach girls in lessons held in secret. She volunteered to work for the new government after the Taliban fell with great success, opening schools and workshops where a thousand women learned to earn their own livelihood.

Amajan, or "dear aunt" as the girls she taught called her, survived the Taliban by learning the Koran by heart. She refused a marriage arranged by her father and then eventually chose her own husband, an educated man, a colonel in the army who was wholly supportive of her. Safia described the struggle of life for women under the Taliban: "Those of us who are around now are very lucky. There were others, very brave, who also tried to make things better for young girls through education and teaching them skills were caught and they were made to suffered."

Amajan was killed in September 2006. Two young men approached on a motorcycle on her way to work and opened fire with a Kalashnikov. A Taliban commander, Mullah Hayat Khan, announced that she had been "executed" for defying orders not to spread disrespectful thoughts among women.

I met the two killers at Sarposa prison in Kandahar. They were young, dishevelled and craven, repeatedly whingeing that they were in danger from their own side as well as the authorities. They had killed Safia, they said, in return for $5,000 offered by a mullah in Pakistan. The men were caught when the mullah wanted proof that they had carried out their task and they attempted, by night, to dig up the body for a lock of hair.

Amajan and Kakar used to work closely with the 36-year-old woman MP in Kandahar, Zarghuna Kakar (no relation). She fled her home after she and her family were attacked in a market. Her husband, Mohammed Nasir, was shot dead.

Kakar had faced constant threats and repeatedly pleaded for security to be provided. At one point she turned in desperation to Ahmed Wali Karzai, the brother of the then Afghan President, Hamid Karzai, the shogun of Kandahar. "He told me there was nothing he could do," she recalled at her place of hiding in Kabul. "He also said that I should have thought about what may happen before I stood for election. But it was his brother, the Americans and the British who told us that we women should get involved in political life. Of course, now I wish I hadn't. If only I knew what would happen."

Ahmed Wali Karzai was himself to be assassinated a few years later.

Kabul was not that safe either. Shaima Rezaye, a bubbly 24-year-old presenter of a popular music show called Hop on the independent channel Tolo TV who was also running schemes to promote women in the media was being targeted. The station was condemned for allowing her, a female in Western clothes and make-up to talk to men on the programme. Hardline clerics accused Tolo of "broadcasting music, naked dance and foreign films".

The abuse continued. I want to carry on, but I am also very nervous she told me. The police say there is nothing they can do. Shaima was eventually dismissed. Soon afterwards rumours began to appear that she had been killed. Tolo offered to broadcast an interview. "But they wanted to do it on radio, not TV," she laughed. "The religious people might get offended even if they saw me for five minutes to prove I was alive. Shaima was gunned down at her home near Kabul's diplomatic quarters, a stones throw from Western embassy officials who talked of all that has been done for female emancipation.

Despite all its problems Afghanistan now has women in parliament, in official positions in universities. But they face constant pressure from reactionary clerics and politicians. Schools for girls, meanwhile, are shut down in the areas controlled by the insurgents, teachers killed. The US sending 4,000 extra troops will not suddenly bring victory in the conflict overnight, a longer term policy is needed. But failing to confront the vicious Islamist extremists as they spread their reach would mean yet another act of betrayal of Afghanistan's women.
I have previously been critical of the lack of clarity from the UK about their key priorities in the context of Brexit, particularly with regard to the agri-food sector.

The papers published in the last week set out an initial UK negotiating position for the Brexit negotiations, rather than a likely final landing point for agreement.

While many very significant questions remain, if nothing else, these papers are an important first step in assisting the UK in its own reflections on how a relationship between it and the EU might work post Brexit.

From an agri-food perspective, the UK is a critically important trading partner for Irish business; 39pc, or 4.8bn of Irish agri-food exports were exported to the UK in 2016. Exports to third countries have increased significantly in recent years, but the UK remains the biggest single export market for agri-food.

As a result of a referendum of its people, the UK has decided to leave the European Union. We therefore find ourselves in a position not of our choosing, which requires a negotiation to define a new relationship between the EU and the UK. The papers published in the last week provide some clarity on what the UK's 'asks' are in the early stages of that negotiation.

The EU is a critical market

Importantly, it is clear from the papers that the voice of UK industry is beginning to be heard in UK government circles. UK business people recognise that the EU is a critically important market for them and that a liberal trading arrangement is in their best interests.

These papers are both a response to, and a vehicle for further consultation with that critically important constituency. That is to be welcomed.

I hope that key players in the UK agri-food sector, with whom I have had detailed discussions, will take this opportunity to have their voices heard by the UK government.

I and my Department, along with the wider agri-food community, have invested a great deal of time and effort in the last number of months in engagement with UK and NI stakeholders across the agri-food sector to find areas of commonality and shared interest that might be valuable in the context of Brexit negotiations.

While new trade agreements with third countries are an inviting prospect for some in the agri-food sector in the UK, there is also a sense of realism around what the pursuit of such agreements might bring in terms of a potential dilution of standards and the competitive threats involved.

Key Question

There is also the key question for UK policy of how such deals could be reconciled with access to the EU single market.

The recognition by the UK in these papers that there will be a need for an interim or transitional arrangement is also welcome from an Irish perspective. Avoiding a 'cliff edge' scenario is vital, but of course the shape of any such arrangement would have to be considered very carefully.

One of the issues concerning the agri-food sector is the complication of what new arrangements may be put in place for Irish companies using the UK as a landbridge to access the EU market for Irish product.

In this regard, the UK's stated desire to remain part of the Common Transit Convention is to be welcomed, because it may facilitate the continued use of the UK as a land bridge for Irish product accessing the EU market. The UK also needs this facility because it uses the EU as a land bridge to third countries for many of its goods and Northern Ireland similarly exports goods through the Republic.

The indication by the UK that they may seek a system of 'regulatory equivalence' with the EU in the context of sanitary and phytosanitary standards is also welcome. However, these issues are complex and technical and a great deal of detailed discussion is required to progress any potential solutions.

There are significant political and economic issues at play here. The EU has agreed that the parameters of the post-Brexit relationship can only be discussed when sufficient progress has been made on the Article 50 discussions on the UK exit.

These discussions, which relate to the UK financial settlement, the free movement of EU citizens and border issues, are under way.

From an agri-food perspective, it is critically important that discussion on the exit issues moves forward as quickly as possible, so that we can begin the extremely difficult and technical discussions on how a transition period and a post-Brexit relationship might work.

Challenge

I do not underestimate the challenge, but the sooner we can get to that point, the better as food businesses grapple with the challenge of currency fluctuation while negotiations continue to evolve.

Ireland has made its objectives clear from the outset - the retention of a trading relationship as close as possible to the current one. We have also made it clear that the UK exit must not result in the restoration of an economic border on the island of Ireland. The special position of Ireland has been explicitly recognised in the EU negotiating guidelines.

We will be negotiating as part of an EU 27 which provides access to a single market of 450 million people, and free-trade agreements with almost 50 third countries.

We have a long road ahead but my focus is very firmly on working with the Taoiseach, Minister Coveney and other Government colleagues to achieve the best possible outcome for the food industry, from farm to fork.

Michael Creed is the Minister for Agriculture and a Fine Gael TD for Cork North West
The costs of producing dairy products free of all genetically modified-feed are "prohibitive" for the industry, it has been warned.

Conor Mulvihill from the Irish Dairy Industries Association said the current main issues that are dominating discussions continue to be Brexit and the sustainability agenda.

However, he said at European level there are some trends moving towards organic, grassfed and GMO-free.

Mr Mulvihill said they have been holding discussions with bodies across Europe and with Bord Bia and Teagasc in Ireland.

"It is a commercial issue but the costs at present from an Irish perspective don't return it yet," he said, adding it was possible as long as a total Ireland Inc approach was adopted. "The costs are quite prohibitive."

Mr Mulvihill pointed out there were added financial costs involved from the replacement of soya, as well as maize, from South American countries where GM-seed is used. Processes would have to implemented at ports to ensure no cross-contamination, he pointed out.

He said the tolerance levels were low in Ireland and it has to be certified at dairy plant level, while GMO-free milk would have to be processed and collected separately.
A teacher is fighting for his life after both he and his 11-year-old son fell from a teleporter while painting their house.

The 47-year-old man was airlifted to Tallaght hospital after the accident near Shinrone, Co Offaly. He was later transferred to Beaumont hospital where he is in a critical condition.
The stylish G Hotel in Galway continues to trade normally

A battle for the ownership of Galway's famous G Hotel is underway following a bid by Deutsche Bank to appoint receivers to the business.

The arrival of representatives from KPMG to the premises last Friday came just as staff were preparing to cater for a wedding with 163 guests.

The move is understood to have taken the hotel's owner and developer Gerry Barrett by surprise, coming as it did after two years in which he has worked closely with Deutsche Bank.

The bank has been Mr Barrett's main lender since 2015, having acquired his companies' 778m par value loan book from Nama for a sum in the region of 97m.

The G Hotel was one of the most valuable assets in the portfolio - code-named 'Project Maeve'.

Mr Barrett moved immediately to seek the protection of the High Court with an ex-parte (one-side only) application last Saturday morning for the appointment of an interim examiner to seven of his companies.

Mr Justice Charles Meenan granted the application, affording the companies protection from Deutsche Bank and their other creditors for a period of 100 days.

In an affidavit supporting the application, the financial controller of Mr Barrett's companies, Vanessa McTigue, said she had been phoned by management at the G Hotel at 1.50pm last Friday with the news that KPMG's representatives were on the premises.

Upon her arrival, Ms McTigue said she found three meeting rooms occupied by KPMG along with personnel from Choice Hotels, whom they intended to appoint as administrators.

Ms McTigue added: "Strong concerns were expressed across the hotel management team that the receiver wanted to interrupt staff who were looking after a wedding of 163 guests.

"I asked if KPMG would hold off until later in the day when the wedding guests were settled, however this request was not entertained."

She further claimed that KPMG's representatives then sought and obtained a list of creditors from the hotel's accountant, which they used to contact the hotel's creditors to notify them of an appointment of a receiver.

Contacted for comment by the Irish Independent, a spokesman for Gerry Barrett issued a statement, saying: "We can confirm that certain companies in the Barrett Group applied for examinership to the High Court, and as a result, Mr Neil Hughes of Baker Tilly Hughes Blake was appointed as interim examiner.

"The directors believed that this was the prudent course of action to protect the business and our 375 employees at this time.

"The various companies are trading profitably and it will be business as usual during this process.

"The examinership relates to a discrete element of the group (less than 20pc of group companies) but does not include the majority of the group's other business interests which remain unaffected.

"These include, amongst others, Scotch Hall Shopping Centre in Drogheda, Bonham Quay in Galway, Tribeton and G Counter in Galway and Bloomfield House in Dublin.

"The Barrett Group has no further statement to make at this time other than to confirm the fact that examinership protection has been sought for certain companies in the Group."

Both KPMG and Deutsche Bank declined to comment on the matter when contacted by the Irish Independent.
CRH shares soared to a nine-year high, boosting the value of Ireland's biggest company by around 1bn yesterday, as the market lapped up a two-handed M&A announcement.

The building materials giant announced the sale of its US distribution business, Allied Building Products, for $2.63bn (2.2bn) to Beacon Roofing Supply and at the same time said it is buying German lime and aggregates producer Fels for 600m.

The US business is being sold at a multiple of 16 times earnings compared to the seven times earnings, post synergies, that CRH is paying for its German acquisition.

The remaining US cash will go towards a pipeline of further acquisitions targeted mainly at the core developed markets, CEO Albert Manifold said.

CRH could spend a further 2bn to 3bn on acquisitions between now and 2019, he said.

He said the business had no bias in favour of buying in Europe over the US, but was more cautious on investing elsewhere.

"It is highly unlikely we'll do anything brave of heroic in emerging markets anytime soon," Albert Manifold told reporters yesterday.

Currency volatility and the switch off of some infrastructure spending following a presidential election last year have hit CRH's business in the Philippines acquired in 2015.

However, in China, CRH is well positioned to benefit if the country's Belt and Road strategy to boost export infrastructure translates into a ramp up in spending on roads and ports infrastructure, Mr Manifold said.

CRH is selling its Allied Building Products unit in the US to a larger rival 20 years after initially investing in the business having fallen behind in the race to consolidate the sector by bigger spending rivals, including Beacon Roofing Supply, Mr Manifold said.

The German lime business has been on CRH's list of target for two decades and will complement the group's assets in Carlow, the UK and in Poland and makes CRH number two in the European market, he said.

The Fels deal and 600m spent on a number of smaller acquisitions is well up on last year's investment levels, but less than the 8bn CRH laid out on two major deals in the first six months of 2015.

The group reported sales of 13bn in the first half and said it expects earnings growth in the Americas and Europe in the remainder of 2017.

Operating profits increased 10pc to 647m in the six months to June 30, versus the same time last year.

Shares were up 4.7pc at one stage and ended the day up 3.9pc.
Greencore yesterday reassured investors that the integration of US acquisitions was going well and said it was "unaware" of any developments that would change its outlook for the business.

The unusual move was prompted by Greencore's weak share price. The company said it was not aware of any developments since the July 27 release of a third-quarter trading statement that would change the outlook contained in that statement.

On July 27 Greencore shares traded at 232.00 pence in London - by late afternoon yesterday they were changing hands at 197.60 pence each. Despite the attempt to reassure investors, the stock was weaker yesterday.

The group, led by CEO Patrick Coveney, said that the integration of its US business was on track and it continued to be "encouraged by the pipeline of commercial opportunities being explored". Greencore noted there had been "some level of churn" in the legacy retail part of the US business.

Specifically, Greencore has decided to refocus its Jacksonville, Florida site on fresh product offerings and will halt frozen product production there.

Greencore said that this change is "being managed seamlessly with the relevant customers and the Board anticipates that the impact on profitability will be minimal".
The clean-up operation begins after a section of main road in Quigleys Point, Co Donegal, washed away. Photo: Reuters/Clodagh Kilcoyne

Families and firms that make a claim to cover the cost of the devastating floods face the prospect of their area being blacklisted by insurance companies.

Insurers are braced for a fresh tranche of claims worth millions after thunderstorms and flash floods left a trail of destruction across Donegal and neighbouring counties.

Insurance experts said those making a claim to an insurer for the damage to their homes, farms and businesses were likely to get a payout.

However, they face a stark choice as insurers will then decline to provide them with flood cover in the future.

The revelation comes as homeowners and businesses are coming to terms with the massive damage inflicted by the flash foods.

People who suffered damaged have been advised to employ the services of an insurance assessor to help them detail the cost of the damage.

Paul Kavanagh, who heads up one of the largest insurance brokerages in the country, McCarthy Insurance Group, said insurers were blacklisting locations for homeowners and businesses in any town that had previously experienced flooding.

This was even the case where flood relief works have been carried out.

"The insurance companies won't admit it, but when flooding happens you are blacklisted.

"They won't provide you with flood cover."

He said despite more than 100m being spent by the State on flood relief works in Clonmel, in Co Tipperary, and in Mallow and Fermoy, in Cork, insurers were still blacklisting many people in these areas for flood cover.

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Households and businesses can get insurance to cover the cost of rebuilding their homes and to cover the contents, but insurers will put in exclusions meaning that they will not pay out on flood damage, Mr Kavanagh said.

"I live on a hill in Fermoy and if I ever get flooded we will need to build another ark, but I still am blacklisted," he said.

He advised people affected by the floods to employ a loss assessor to act on their behalf when making a claim.

"The loss adjuster operates for the insurance company; it is vital people making a flood claim have an assessor," he said.

Brian McNelis, of Brokers Ireland, the newly merged representative body for brokers, said that homeowners should make the case that the heavy floods were a once in 100 years event.

He said insurers may review at renewal, but will increase rates or excesses.

Jonathan Hehir, of InsureMyHouse.ie, warned that even those who have not suffered storm damage are likely to be refused flood cover in future if they live in hard-hit areas.

"There will be renewal letters arriving in the post saying insurers will no longer offer flood cover."

He said that flooded homeowners may as well claim now as they will be backlisted next year due to their location.

A spokesman for Insurance Ireland, the representative body for the industry, said that insurers stood ready to help their policyholders and would assess any claims received against the cover in place.

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"In terms of future cover, as with all classes of insurance, claims history and other factors are taken into account by insurers when assessing the nature of the risk and the likelihood of a reoccurrence," he said.

At present, flood cover is provided in 98pc of property insurance policies nationally.

Insurers had paid out more than 1.3bn in the past 10 years for similar extreme events, the spokesman added.

"Insurance Ireland is working with the Government to maintain and increase flood cover in defended areas, where flood defences have been installed, and signed a memorandum of understanding with the Office of Public Works in 2014 on this issue," said the spokesman.

This had led to an increase in flood cover in these areas, Insurance Ireland said.
Bank of Ireland has pulled an advertisement in which it highlighted a young woman and her boyfriend who moved back to their parents' houses to save for a mortgage.

The bank came under fire for what was branded "questionable" financial advice.

It had tweeted a picture of the young woman in question along with a description of how she and her partner bought their first property.

"Orla and her boyfriend stopped renting and moved back with their parents to save the deposit for the 1st home," the tweet read.

It linked readers to a blog post on the company's website.

The blog post gave more details about how Orla and her boyfriend had moved back home so they could save up for a deposit.

A note at the bottom of the article confirmed that the couple eventually bought a property and moved into a house in Swords, Co Dublin.

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The post and accompanying tweet were not well received online.

The bank subsequently pulled it.

Bank of Ireland's financial advice comes at a time when rental costs have hit a new high, for the fifth quarter in a row.

The capital has also been in the midst of a housing crisis.

According to a recent report from Daft.ie, rents have risen nationwide by almost 12pc in the year to June 2017, while the supply of accommodation is at an all-time low.

The average monthly rent is now 1,159. This is up to 122 a month since last year.

Furious Twitter users hit out at the bank for trivialising the rent crisis.

"Ludicrous to see banks promoting this as a strategy," RTE's Louise McSharry wrote.

Irish Independent journalist Colette Browne responded: "Tough luck millennials, the only way to get a mortgage with @bankofireland is to move back in with your parents."

Labour spokesperson on housing Jan O'Sullivan said the online mortgage advice for young people reflected the "grim reality" of the housing and rental market.

"Unfortunately the current state of the housing and rental market means that for many young people trying to buy a house, moving back in with their parents is their only option to save for a deposit," she said.

"Just this week, figures from Daft.ie put rents at a record high for the first six months of the year.

"It is simply becoming unaffordable for those that actually manage to secure a property to rent, to pay these extortionate prices while trying to save for a deposit at the same time," she added.
The last shop on Manorhamiltons main street closed its doors last Saturday for the final time in a sign of changed times for the town.

Bredins Newsagents has been owned and ran by the Bredin family for the past 13 years, and a shop has stood on the site on the main street for a number of decades.

Writing on the Leitrim Observer, Arthur Bredin, whos family ran the newsagent, said that shopping trends have changed and that it is impossible to compete with online shopping which is cheaper for people.

In addition Mr Bredin said that social media has almost eliminated the need for people to buy cards and invitations as no-one is sending cards or invitations any more.

Mr Bredin also said that he felt local representatives had little power despite their good intentions,

"Decisions are made about a small town at county and national level with no consideration taken to the people and businesses within those towns and there is zero consultation with the people in those towns," Mr Bredin said.

However speaking to Independent.ie Mr Bredin said that there was no point in pointing the finger fully at the council, there were a lot of mitigating factors and in the end it was "death by a thousand cuts".

Since the shop closed Mr Bredin said that he and his family have been "overwhelmed with messages" from all over the country from people in similar positions.

When asked about the future of small towns he said that he feels small towns like Manorhamilton will become "ghost towns".

Speaking to Independent.ie on the closure of Bredins newsagent, Sinn Fein representative for the area Padraig Fallon said that rural Ireland is in decline,

"There is a lot of talk about how much the economy is growing but we are not seeing this in rural Ireland," Mr Fallon said.

He went on to say that successive governments were at fault for this. "I hope things turns around," he concluded.
We want secure flow of data to be unhindered as we leave EU, said British minister Matt Hancock. Photo: Bloomberg via Getty Images

Britain said yesterday it wanted to co-operate with the European Union over data protection and have its rules accepted by the bloc after it leaves.

Britain said yesterday it wanted to co-operate with the European Union over data protection and have its rules accepted by the bloc after it leaves.

It proposed using an "adequacy" agreement - whereby the European Commission recognizes the levels of protection provided by non-EU countries - to ensure the flow of information vital to businesses and the police was not interrupted.

In the latest in a series of papers outlining its aims in Brexit negotiations, the UK government said Britain had been a major player in setting EU data protection rules, called GDPR, which come into force next year.

"The UK has played an important role in developing the EU's approach to data protection, including by playing a full part in the negotiation of the GDPR," the government said in its paper.

"In light of the UK's unprecedented position, the future deep and special partnership between the UK and the EU could productively build on the existing adequacy model."

The status has been granted to 12 countries, including New Zealand, Switzerland and for certified companies, the United States, but negotiations can be lengthy and the power to revoke any agreement remains with the EU.

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London said that if it cannot agree an adequacy deal, it could fall back on binding corporate rules or standard contractual clauses.

However, it believes that the fact that its data rules will be aligned with the EU gives it a head start.

"We want the secure flow of data to be unhindered in the future as we leave the EU," Minister for Digital Matt Hancock said. "So a strong future data relationship between the UK and EU, based on aligned data protection rules, is in our mutual interest."

He said the goal was to combine strong privacy rules with a relationship that allowed flexibility, to give consumers and businesses certainty in their use of data.

Noting that the digital economy in Britain was worth 118.4bn (128.5bn) in 2015, he said any disruption in the free flow of data could be costly both to Britain and to the remaining members of the bloc.

British politicians last month said the country could be put at a competitive disadvantage and the police could lose access to intelligence if the government failed to retain unhindered flows of data.

Britain has published papers this month to try to nudge negotiations with the EU forward, tackling subjects such as laws, customs and the border between the Republic and the North. (Reuters)
Machinery and vehicles were the EUs most exported products in 2016. Stock photo: Bloomberg

China took the top position for the highest trade values in goods in 2016, with 17pc of the world exports coming from the Asian giant.

However both the European Union and the United States were close behind with 16pc and 14pc of the world exports respectively.

As for global imports, the US, with 18pc of the world's imports had the highest share in 2016.

The EU had 15pc of the world's imports, while China with 12pc of global imports, completed the top three, according to data from Eurostat.

Looking specifically at the EU, machinery and vehicles were the EU's most exported products in 2016, accounting for 744bn or 43pc total exports from the EU.

'Other' manufactured goods accounted for 396bn or 23pc of exports, while chemicals represented 314bn or 18pc of exports from the EU.

Manufactured goods also topped the list of EU imports, representing 69pc of total EU imports in 2016. Machinery and vehicles as well as chemicals accounted for smaller shares than the corresponding export shares, with 32pc and 11pc.

Overall last year the EU had a trade deficit in primary products and a trade surplus in manufactured products.

The deficit in primary products was largely due to the deficit in energy products of -190bn, and to a lesser extent the deficit in raw materials of -54bn.

The EU did however record a small surplus in the food and drink sector. The surplus in manufactured goods came from machinery and vehicles and chemicals.

Looking at Ireland, in 2016 total exports were 117bn, the highest annual total on record, according to initial figures from the Central Statistics Office - a 4pc increase in exported goods over 2015.

Meanwhile Irish imports decreased by 1pc or 507m year-on-year to approximately 70bn.

The preliminary trade surplus for 2016 was 47bn.

Export areas which grew during 2016 include electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances which increased by 150pc to 7.2bn in 2016.

This was followed by exports of organic chemicals which increased by 10pc to 23.6bn. Exports to Britain, the country's main trading partner, decreased by 4pc to 13bn in 2016 compared with 2015.

During 2016 exports to the US increased by 12pc to top 30bn, while Irish exports to EU countries were roughly unchanged at approximately 60bn. Looking at imports into Ireland, the majority of imports came from the EU, followed by the rest of the world.

There was a slight drop in imports from Britain.

So far this year goods exports to Britain have surged 14pc in the first six months of the year suggesting the sector is weathering the Brexit-induced weakness in the pound.

The main increase was in the exports of chemicals and related products, according to the figures from the CSO.

Imports are also on the up, although not quite as strongly.

Imports increased 7pc from Britain in the first six months of 2017.

However with the sterling continuing to fall - just this week it reached its weakest level since 2009 - it remains to be seen if exports to Britain can continue to expand as they become more expensive for British consumers to buy.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie Gregoire-Trudeau are greeted by Canadian Ambassador to Ireland Kevin Vickers at Dublin Airport. Photo: Arthur Carron

The Canadian Ambassador to Ireland believes his official residence in Dublin is being haunted by the ghost of Padraig Pearse.

Kevin Vickers, who made headlines when he rugby tackled a protestor to the ground during a Easter Rising commemoration service, thinks the spirit of the 1916 leader lives on in the elegant setting of Glanmire House.

The ambassador describes hearing unusual bangs, laboured breathing and heavy footsteps in the residence's halls, in a recent social media post.

Ghosts. I never believed in ghosts. Until I arrived here," he said.

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Mr Vickers is not easily spooked. He was hailed as a hero in 2014 when, in his role as Sergeant-at-Arms, he shot dead a gunman who had opened fire in the Canadian parliament building in Ottowa.

When he moved into his Irish home in Ranelagh in 2015 Vickers heard rumours that Pearse had once lived there.

After extensive research he discovered documents signed by Pearse to lease the grounds between 1908 and 1912.

I wonder if it is he who walks the hallways of this residence," Vickers writes.

Some evenings he or she seems agitated. Then days go by and all is quiet," he said.

The evening before writing the post he was watching TV "when all of sudden I heard a heavy chain fall on the floor in the dining room. I immediately went there and there was nothing on the floor".

According to the BBC, Vickers maid Anna is sometimes nervous to go upstairs.

Vickers says that is anyone doubts the validity of this story, you are welcome to come and stay a night or two here."

He has no plans to exorcise Pearses ghost out of respect to the Irish people.

I have joked with the Papal Nuncio that I could get us both kicked out of Ireland if I got him-to perform an exorcism, he said.

Vickers had a 30-year career with the Canadian Mounties and in 2006 was appointed Sergeant-at-Arms in Canada's House of Commons.
The dreaded annual rush for student accommodation has kicked off once again as thousands of first-year college students received their college acceptance letters.

My younger brother (19) recently accepted his chosen course at Maynooth University but soon excitement turned to dread when my family began to look for accommodation.

Commuting to college from Co Donegal was clearly not a realistic option, and soon my brother feared he wouldn't be able to attend his chosen university.

The average rent in Co Kildare now stands at 1,156, up 11.5pc since last year.

As previously revealed by Independent.ie, not one house-share for the average rental price or below appears on any of three property websites for the Maynooth area.

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"Great, super, thanks for the uplifting news article," my dad joked to me after the piece was published. I could sense the panic, fear and hopelessness in my dad's voice.

Our only saving grace was that Maynooth University saved 200 places at their on-campus student accommodation for incoming first years. But thousands of first year students attending Maynooth would be fighting for these rooms.

It was like a scene from Hunger Games in our family yesterday as we waited for the link for the first year student accommodation to go live at midday.

It was first-come, first-served. Survival of the fittest.

We had four family members set up at computers, ready to take on every other desperate family in Ireland trying to secure student accommodation.

We each had all the details we needed and were linked by mobile, Facebook messenger and our work phones.

When the link went live at noon, the Hunger Games of student accommodation kicked off.

I rushed through putting in my brother's CAO number, email address and any other details that were required. It was a matter of who could type the fastest and get through the form as quick as possible.

I was in! There were rooms available! Rejoice!

In a blink of an eye, the web-page quickly began to fill with blue and pink icons showing that the rooms were being booked by male and female students. I saw one room was free and clicked instantly but as I did, someone else did as well and a blue icon flashed before my eyes.

I clicked the next available room, not even sure what type of room it was or what price. All other factors would have to be considered later. It was pick a random room regardless of conditions or get nothing.

I had 15 minutes to enter debit card details or the room was gone.

Frantic lines of communication were going on between my family members as we all scrambled for a room.

"Dad, I have a room, what's your details?" I bellowed over the phone.

My dad was in utter shock that I had a room. He was number 519 in a queue. It was 12:08 and the link had only gone live eight minutes previously.

519 desperate people were already on a waiting list trying to get into the system.

Soon, I had 10 minutes left to secure the room.

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"GIVE ME YOUR CARD DETAILS, THAT'S ALL YOU NEED TO DO," I yelled over the phone as my family members were still in the chaos of trying to find a room.

I forgot I was sitting in the middle of the office, but I was battling the absolute Hunger Games of the rental crisis.

With eight minutes left on my timer, the room was paid for and secured.

My dad looked at his email confirmation in disbelief.

"Are we sure we've got it? Yes we've paid for it, we've got it surely?!"

I rang my younger brother in absolute delight and told him he now had a room for the coming year. What a relief.

"Oh, is the accommodation live today? I'm still in bed," he replied.

Thank God for older sisters, eh?
Self-styled 'cleaner to the stars' Gina Farrell fled her solicitor's office this week after grabbing the deeds of an apartment she owns and against which an undertaking had been given to pay a 100,000 debt, the High Court heard.

Mr Justice Donald Binchy was told yesterday that on Monday last Ms Farrell, with her husband Michael and an unidentified man, went to the offices of her solicitor, Enda P Moran in Celbridge, Co Kildare, on the pretext that she needed to check the deeds - then ran off with them. A locum solicitor who tried to stop them and recover the deeds had been "pushed aside".

The court heard that her solicitor had previously given an undertaking to another firm of solicitors, to whom Ms Farrell allegedly owed a legal costs debt of 158,471, that a settlement figure of 100,000 would be paid to them directly from the sale of her apartment in St Rapheal's Manor, Celbridge.

The judge was told that solicitor Brien O'Brien had represented Ms Farrell, trading as Gina Farrell Cleaning Services, in a High Court case in which the developer Sean Dunne was awarded 22,500 on the basis that Ms Farrell had overcharged him for cleaning at an apartment complex in Foxrock, Co Dublin.

Initially a legal costs and VAT bill of 263,470 was reduced to a balance of 158,471 on payment by Ms Farrell of 105,000. Later, this was reduced to 100,000 but the sum had not been paid. Part of that deal had been that an application for judgment against her for the 158,471 figure would be adjourned.

The court was told that in July Ms Farrell's apartment, which is jointly owned with her husband Michael, had gone "sale agreed" for 208,000, but their solicitor Enda Moran had not heard from anyone with regard to the sale.

Then on August 21 Michael and Gina, with the unidentified man, visited Enda Moran's office on the pretext they needed to check the deeds. When a locum solicitor presented the deeds, Ms Farrell "grabbed them" and the three fled.

The locum solicitor later made a phone call to Brien O'Brian's office stating that the 100,000 undertaking regarding the proceeds of sale had been cancelled. Auctioneers had since confirmed that the Farrells' Celbridge apartment remained "sale agreed".

Judge Binchy was told that Brian O'Brien, practising under the style of O'Brien Redmond Solicitors, believed Ms Farrell and her husband were conducting the sale through another solicitor and intended to dissipate the proceeds.

The judge granted Mr O'Brien injunctions against the Farrells, of Dangan Park, Kimmage, Dublin 12, restraining them from dealing with their assets including the sale of their Celbridge apartment. The proceedings were adjourned.
China repatriates escaped armed robber to the US

Chinese police have repatriated an American fugitive to the United States, Guangdong Provincial Public Security Department announced Friday.

Chinese police handed over escaped robber Ferguson Naquan to U.S. police at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport early Friday morning, the department said in a statement.

Ferguson Naquan was involved in the armed robbery of a jewelry shop in Connecticut in September 2011. He was arrested in June 2013 by the U.S. police and pleaded guilty.

He was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison with nine and half years on probation. He fled bail in October 2014. In May 2015, Interpol issued a red notice for his arrest.

It is believed that Ferguson escaped to Guangzhou in February this year.

U.S. law enforcement agencies made a request to Chinese police to investigate. Chinese police immediately started an investigation and made the arrest, the statement said.

Chinese police have carried out cooperation with police authorities in other countries, the statement said. The U.S. side repatriated two fugitives in June and August to China this year.

China has zero-tolerance for cross-border crime and is ready to carry out international cooperation, it said.
Thousands of personal injury lawsuits against American corporations could end up being filed in Ireland as a consequence of a landmark US Supreme Court decision.

The ruling came in a case involving pharmaceutical giant Bristol-Myers Squibb. It effectively shuts down access to the US courts for compensation claims by people not resident there, unless the harm was caused in the US.

A leading medical malpractice lawyer said the decision could lead to thousands of cases being taken in Ireland instead.

Naas solicitor Liam Moloney, recently elected to the board of governors of the American Association for Justice, the world's largest trial lawyer association, said international claimants would be looking for other forums in which to sue, with Ireland a likely destination.

"All of a sudden all of the multinationals who have registered here could be faced with lawsuits here rather than in the United States," he said.

Mr Moloney said people as far away as Australia and New Zealand who would previously have tried to sue in the US may now choose to bring actions in Ireland.

He said Ireland was considered an attractive forum due to generous compensation awards by European standards and a liberal system on standards of proof.

But he warned a deluge of cases could cause major headaches for the Irish courts due to the lack of a dedicated system for dealing with class actions.

In the Bristol-Myers Squibb case, the US Supreme Court effectively blocked so-called "forum shopping", where alleged victims bring proceedings in a state that they do not live in.

The practice often involved injured parties suing in Florida, California, New York and Illinois, as opposed to other states, as they are regarded as being more generous in compensation rulings.

But the US Supreme Court ruled last month that a court in California had no jurisdiction to deal with claims against Bristol-Myers Squibb brought by non-California residents as part of a class action over the alleged side effects of a heart disease medication. None of the non-resident claimants had bought the drug in California or had taken the drug there.

As a result of the decision, only California residents will be able to move forward with their cases in that state.

The court noted the pharmaceutical company was incorporated in Delaware and headquartered in New York and the non-residents could issue proceedings in either state.

Mr Moloney said claimants would be "perfectly entitled" to sue a US company here if it was registered in Ireland.

However, he warned the courts may have difficulty handling so many cases as there is no system in place to deal with class actions involving hundreds of similar cases.

The High Court has previously struggled with large volumes of claims over hip implants manufactured by medical devices firm DePuy.
A man has been extradited from the UK and charged with the murder of Gareth Hutch, who was shot dead in a suspected crime feud killing last year.

Jonathan Keogh (31) appeared in Dublin District Court charged with the murder. He had been arrested under warrant in England and then extradited here.

Judge Grainne O'Neill remanded him in custody for the preparation of a book of evidence. Mr Keogh is the third person to be charged in connection with the death of Gareth Hutch.

The accused's sister, Regina Keogh (39), and co-accused Thomas Fox (29) have already been charged and sent for trial to the Special Criminal Court.

Mr Hutch (35), the nephew of Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch, was shot as he was getting into his car outside Avondale House flats, on North Cumberland Street in inner-city Dublin, on May 24 last year.

Jonathan Keogh, a brother of murder victim Michael Keogh, left Ireland following Mr Hutch's murder and a European arrest warrant was issued late last year.

He was arrested by police in Romford, Essex, on June 11 last following a surveillance operation by Britain's National Crime Agency.

Mr Keogh appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court on August 10 and was told he would be extradited to Ireland.

Two armed gardai stood outside Dublin District Court yesterday when he was brought before Judge O'Neill.

Garda Sergeant Enda O'Sullivan told the court he arrested the accused at Casement Aerodrome, Baldonnel, at 2.21pm.

Mr Keogh was brought to Clondalkin garda station, where he was charged in Sgt O'Sullivan's presence at 3.50pm. He made no reply to the charge after caution and was handed a copy of the warrant and charge sheet. No bail application was made as this can only be done in the High Court on a murder charge.

The judge asked Mr Keogh's solicitor, Damien Coffey, if any other application was being made as "obviously, bail doesn't apply". Mr Coffey asked for Mr Keogh to be remanded in custody for a week.

Judge O'Neill noted a "significant" garda presence in the court for the case and asked if any security concerns could be circumvented by remanding the case to a different court.

"I believe we will have any security that needs to be in place for whatever court sits," Sgt O'Sullivan said.

Mr Keogh has not yet indicated how he intends to plead.

The case was adjourned to Cloverhill District Court on August 30.
The man jailed for a car crash that killed eight people in Co Donegal almost seven years ago asked the High Court today Friday to direct his release from prison on the grounds he was due one third enhanced remission.

In February this year following reports in the Irish Independent, Herald, Daily Mail, Examiner, Star and Sun of the shock of relatives of the eight victims at Shaun Kelly's temporary release to work on his family's farm, his regime of weekend releases was cancelled.

Micheal P.O'Higgins SC, counsel for Kelly, of Hill Road, Ballymagan, Buncrana, told Ms Justice Mary Faherty that, with a full third remission, Kelly should have been already released in mid-August.

Mr O'Higgins, who appeared with barrister Karl Monahan, said Mr Kelly, now aged 29, had been jailed in December 2014 for four years with two years suspended. This, he said, had been doubled a year later by the Court of Appeal to eight years with four years suspended.

Solicitor Niamh Kelly, of Michael J. Staines and Company, told the court in an affidavit that Mr Kellys release date, based on a remission rate of one-quarter, was due on December 16 next.

Based on a one third enhanced remission he should have been freed last Friday.

Mr O'Higgins said the Minister for Justice had refused to release Mr Kelly from Loughan House Open Centre, Blacklion, Co Cavan. He was now seeking to quash the Minister decision by way of judicial review.

Kelly is also seeking to quash the Ministers order of February last revoking his temporary release following negative media coverage with pictures of him working on the family farm. Kelly also seeks an order directing the re-consideration by the Minister of his application for enhanced remission.

What was described as a Media Book opened to the court outlined headlines in the various newspapers that covered Kelly's temporary release including: Driver in worst car crash ever victim families horrified Daily Mail; Secret Day release for driver who killed eight Herald; Anger as man jailed for killing eight released Examiner.

Mr O'Higgins told the court there was nothing in prison legislation entitling the Minister to refuse temporary release on the basis of newspaper coverage and none of the articles indicated any danger to the safety and protection of Mr Kelly by being granted temporary release.

He said Mr Kelly's mother, Mrs Pauline Kelly, took up her sons case following cancellation of his temporary release and had been told by the Irish Prison Service that his release had led to unprecedented media attention all of which was negative.

Mr O'Higgins said that in order to qualify for enhanced remission Mr Kelly had engaged in authorised structured activity involving computers, woodwork, art, catering, laundry, horticulture and industrial cleaning.

Through his art classes he had designed, made and engraved seven memorial plaques to be placed on the graves of his friends who lost their lives in the accident.

In his application to the Minister for enhanced remission Kelly stated: 'I am truly sorry for my actions and the devastating losses which flowed from them culminating in the on-going grief of the families of my close friends and my own cousin who lost their lives on that fateful night'.

He said he had tried to use his time in prison positively and constructively and he believed he had put himself in a position to successfully reintegrate into society although he would always carry the burden of his actions along with the pain of all concerned.

On 11 July 2010, Kelly was driving a Volkswagen Passat which collided with a car travelling in the opposite direction driven by Hugh Friel, a 66-year-old man on his way home from bingo.

Seven young men who were travelling in the car with Kelly were all killed.

They were: Eamonn McDaid (22) Ballymagan; Mark McLaughlin (21) Ballinahone, Fahan; Paul Doherty (19) Ardagh, Ballyliffin; Ciaran Sweeney (19) Ballyliffin; PJ McLaughlin (21) of Rockstown, Burnfoot; James McEleney (23) Meenaduff, Clonmany and Damien McLaughlin (21) of Umricam, Buncrana.

Judge Faherty granted Mr Kellys legal team, Micheal OHiggins SC; Karl Monahan BL and Niamh Kelly, of Michael J. Staines Solicitors, leave to judicially challenge the Ministers refusal for early enhanced release; leave to quash his decision revoking temporary release, and leave to seek an order directing the Minister to reconsider both matters.
AN accused man in a conspiracy to murder case has been granted free legal aid despite garda claims that he got 46,000 in an insurance settlement over a house burglary.

Detectives maintained Gary Gleeson (33), who is accused of firearms offences and conspiring to kill a man, received the money in July this year.

Objecting to legal aid being granted, gardai previously said he had assets including a 14,000 Audi and a 4,000 Rolex watch.

However, Judge Kathryn Hutton today granted legal aid to Mr Gleeson after hearing he could not fund his own defence and gardai had no further evidence to back up their objections.

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Mr Gleeson, with an address at Muskerry Road in Ballyfermot, and a co-accused Stephen Dunne (38), of Meile an Ri Drive in Lucan are both charged with conspiracy to murder Dublin man Michael Frazer on dates between July 28 and August 7 last.

They are also charged with possession of a 9mm Luger semi-automatic pistol and 10 rounds of 9mm calibre Sellier and Bellot ammunition with intent to endanger life at Naas Road in Crumlin on the same date.

The two men were arrested on August 7 after gardai intercepted a van during an operation targeting organised crime in Dublin.

Both accused were before the court last week, when Mr Dunne was granted free legal aid and had his case adjourned.

However, the court had heard The Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) was conducting background checks on Gary Gleeson's financial situation and his legal aid application was deferred.

When the case came back before Judge Kathryn Hutton at Cloverhill District Court today, Mr Gleeson's barrister Aoife O'Halloran said she was reiterating her application.

She said prosecutors had told her investigations were ongoing, and the court had indicated it would not deny legal aid in the absence of any "definitive proof" in relation to the garda concerns.

Mr Gleeson did not have access to any assets and was not in a position to fund his defence, she said.

Detective Garda Val Russell of the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau said there appeared to be "one omission on the statement of means" in relation to a recent insurance settlement for a substantial amount of money.

He said Mr Gleeson was the injured party in an alleged burglary at an address in Kildare Town on November 11, 2014 and had received a 46,000 settlement in July this year.

"CAB's investigations are ongoing," he said, but added that he had no other evidence to offer the court.

Ms O'Halloran said as the source of the information was not present, the evidence of the settlement was hearsay.

Det Gda Russell said his hands were tied and he was in the court's hands.

Judge Hutton said she was granting the legal aid application as the garda had no documentary evidence.

Lorraine Stephens solicitor was assigned on legal aid. Det Gda Russell said the directions of the DPP were outstanding and there "may be further charges."

Mr Gleeson was remanded in custody, to appear in court again on September 22.
The NIO file said Charles Haugheys idea following the Gibraltar killings was that the RAF would fly the bodies direct to Belfast, rather than via a charter flight to Dublin organised by the dead mens families. Stock picture

Charles Haughey did not want the bodies of three IRA members shot dead by the SAS in Gibraltar to be taken home through Dublin, archived British papers reveal.

The SAS opened fire in March 1988 and claimed afterwards that they believed the republicans were about to detonate a remote-controlled bomb.

The then-Taoiseach wanted the RAF to fly their remains straight to Belfast, rather than allowing their families to bring them through Dublin, for fear that this would turn into a propaganda coup for Sinn Fein.

The secret intervention by Mr Haughey was disclosed in Northern Ireland Office documents newly released by the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland.

An official wrote: "[Mr] Haughey implored us personally through the ambassador in Dublin to ensure that the bodies of the three IRA terrorists shot in Gibraltar were kept out of the Republic at all costs. He made clear that he would not admit to this request in public."

An inquest found by majority verdicts that the SAS had acted within the law when they shot dead the unarmed republicans, who were hailed as martyrs by IRA supporters.

Daniel McCann (30), Sean Savage (24) and Mairead Farrell (31) were gunned down as they walked towards the Spanish border.

Critics of Margaret Thatcher's government claimed that this was part of an unofficial shoot-to-kill policy being pursued against the IRA.

The NIO file said Mr Haughey's idea following the Gibraltar killings was that the RAF would fly the bodies direct to Belfast, rather than via a charter flight to Dublin organised by the dead men's families.

A civil servant wrote: "This proposal is clearly designed to solve a problem confronting Mr Haughey. It has, however, the attraction for us that it could short-circuit the current plans of the terrorists' relatives, to whom the bodies have been released today."

He said the families wished to take the remains to Dublin to secure maximum political advantage for Sinn Fein.

The official said one of the sticking points with the families was the use of Aldergrove airport in Co Antrim, which was regarded as unionist territory.

Another civil servant said it was "inconceivable" to use the RAF to fly the bodies home.

At the trio's funerals in Belfast's Milltown Cemetery, loyalist gunman Michael Stone opened fire and threw grenades at mourners, killing three and wounding 50.

Three days later, two British soldiers were seized by a mob while driving through west Belfast during the funerals of those killed at Milltown.

They were dragged from their car by a mob and murdered, with the disturbing scenes widely broadcast on television.
More than 10,000 children and teenagers who need to see an eye specialist are waiting longer than a year.

New figures reveal they are among 28,273 in the public community health service queue to see an opthalmologist.

The figures were revealed by Kerry Fianna Fail TD John Brassil, who said: "One in three on the list is waiting over a year. It is simply unacceptable that the sight of so many young people should be put at risk with such long waiting times."

The delays come as pupils return to school, many of them with eye problems which need specialist assessment.

He added: "These are just the numbers waiting for a primary care appointment.

"The most recent hospital waiting time figures from the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) show that some 37,402 are waiting for an outpatient appointment with an ophthalmologist, with 11,275 waiting over a year.

"More than 13,000 also need operations and some 3,600 of them are also waiting a year plus.

"A consultant ophthalmic surgeon at the Mater Hospital earlier this year called those NTPF waiting list figures a 'hidden scandal'.

"The fact that there is also another list in primary care, with a further 28,000 on it, compounds that scandal."

Specialists warn it is essential children be seen as soon as possible, not only to treat common conditions such as a 'lazy eye' that could affect their vision, but also for the early detection of rare conditions such as an eye tumour or childhood glaucoma.

Five people of all ages go blind in Ireland every week even though 75pc of all cases of blindness is preventable.

Conditions that can affect a child include blocked tear ducts or paediatric cataracts, which cloud the eye's lens and leave them with blurred vision.

Lazy eye happens when one eye's power diminishes because the eye and brain are not working together properly.

The eye may look normal, but the brain is favouring the 'good' eye. It may be permanent if untreated.
Cases of a serious and aggressive form of skin cancer have reached record levels in Ireland - but patients are benefiting from major advances in treatment of the disease, a leading oncologist revealed last night.

Cork oncologist Dr Derek Power said figures showed that 1,041 people were diagnosed with melanoma in 2014 - the first time the number breached the 1,000 mark.

"Melanoma cases are rising, but thanks to research advances, there are more ways to treat this form of cancer than ever.

"As an oncologist, I've seen first-hand the difference cancer research has made to the lives of my patients," he told a 'Decoding Cancer' public meeting, organised by the Irish Cancer Society.

He said that, prior to 2010, melanoma was the "poor relation" when it came to treatment advances compared with other forms of the disease.

"The treatment available for advanced melanoma was ineffective. Chemotherapy did not work and drugs which stimulated the immune system to fight the disease were very toxic and overall results were poor.

"In a decade where new treatments were becoming available for other cancers and outcomes were improving all the time, melanoma was seen as the poor relation," he told the gathering.

However, in the last decade to 15 years, there have been major improvements in the drug treatment of advanced and localised melanoma.

He said it was now seen as "the poster-child for modern targeted therapy and immunotherapy".

"We now have many treatments in both tablet and injection forms that can prolong life and have tolerable side effects."

There are now well conducted clinical trials which offer many patients treatment options that can "very realistically offer long-term survival."

Dr Power said genetic mutations that drove the disease could be targeted by several tablets. The patient's immune system can be stimulated.

"Many of the new drugs are now showing activity in localised melanoma which is at high risk of returning after surgery.

"It is a very exciting time for a doctor like me who sees many patients with melanoma.

"It is wonderful to see patients benefiting from modern therapies and living good quality life. It is a privilege to be involved in the treatment of melanoma and to have seen the progress that has been made over the last 15 years," he said.

There has been a near trebling of cases of melanoma in the last 20 years. Nine in 10 patients survive for at least five years, although Ireland still has the highest mortality rate for the disease in Europe.
Edel Tahran (bottom left) pictured with her sister Catherine, brother Jonathan and her dad and mam

The heartbroken daughter of a man who died in A&E claims her father had to spend two hours in a waiting room because there were no beds or doctors available.

James 'Jimmy' Power (66) suffered a cardiac arrest in April 2017. His family believe he could have been saved if he'd been provided with a bed and hooked up to the necessary equipment.

He was rushed to University Hospital Waterford in the early hours of the morning as he was suffering from a shortness of breath.

The Kilkenny dad-of-three was a chronic asthmatic and was very unwell in the weeks before his death.

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"He was left in the waiting room with no oxygen, no monitoring, no nothing...and he sat there for two-and-a-half hours on his own. He had no phone or anything," his daughter Edel Tahran told Red Fm's Neil Prendeville Show.

"We met with staff afterwards and they couldn't even look me in the eye when they said they were short-staffed. So many people are coming to us saying daddy could have been saved...but we'll never bring daddy back."

Edel said her father travelled in the ambulance by himself as her mother had to gather all his medication and some clothes. When she arrived at the hospital, they were trying to revive him.

"My mam called the ambulance and they came out. All our lives, daddy would go in the ambulance and mammy would collect all his belongings. He was on 30 tablets a day," she said.

"He got no care and he did not get a fighting chance with his life and somebody has to be held accountable for that. It's not going to bring him back but if this stops the same thing happening to someone else, my dad's death won't be in vain."

Edel said she still sends texts to her dad's phone and all his belongings have been left in place.

"We were all so close as a family...it was all taken away from him, just like that, and every time I go home I see an empty shed and he's not there. His coat is still on the chair."

The family initially spoke to the Irish Sun and have been overwhelmed by the response.

"People have been sending lovely comments and said I've done my dad really proud," Edel told Independent.ie.

"We want something done. I dont exactly know who it is should be held responsible, but Ill go to my grave finding out."

University Hospital Waterford said it does not comment on individual cases.
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A woman whose brother collapsed after being refused from a Dublin hospital said he is "traumatised" by the incident and is still in a lot of pain.

Eileen spoke to RTE Radio 1's Liveline about how her brother Sean had to be given CPR by a passer-by. He was turned away from St. Columcille's Hospital in Loughlinstown, Dublin for not having a letter from his GP.

Hes still in a lot of pain, he was shocked and traumatised by it all, Eileen told Liveline.

Sean had presented himself to the hospital complaining of chest pain and shortness of breath.

After he was turned away, he returned to Bray by bus and ended up collapsing on the main street of the town.

Now Eileen is demanding answers as to why her brother didnt receive treatment.

"I would hate to think someone with severe chest pains would be turned away like that," she said.

"If something had happened to him, we would never have known the full story."

Eileen described what her sister heard while on the phone to the paramedics who were trying to save Seans life.

"They said to her, weve shocked him, theres no response, and my sister said shock him again please, and he came back," Eileen said.

Eileen claims that the hospital has issued an apology and that they have promised to look into what happened.

"We did receive a letter on Friday stating that they were really sorry to us all, and they were going to investigate this and that they would be in contact with Sean," She said.

Eileen also took the time to thank Fiona, a passer-by who saved Seans life by performing CPR.

"Thanks to Fiona so much, she was just so good."
Gardai are investigating an aggravated burglary on the home of well-known children's rights campaigner Christina Noble in which the 72-year-old was threatened at knifepoint.

Speaking to Pat Kenny on Newstalk, Ms Noble said the burglar threatened to kill her.

She had been asleep on her couch when the burglar entered her home.

"There was something tipping my arm and when I turned around he took the knife he had in his hand and put it towards my throat, held it over my throat," Ms Noble said.

"He was screaming 'give me the money, give me the money'.

"'Give me the money, I'm going to kill you, do you understand me, no messing, I'm going to kill you'.

"Twice I told him I have no money.

"I went into a very calm state. I just sat there. I didn't utter a word. I don't know if it was shock or adrenaline.

"He desecrated my home."

Ms Noble managed to activate a panic alarm, which alerted gardai.

The burglar demanded money and car keys and then fled in her car with her wallet.

Ms Noble was uninjured but distraught.

Her car - an Opel Zafira - has not been recovered.

No arrests have been made and gardai in Lucan are appealing for witnesses to contact the station.

Ms Noble founded the Christina Noble Foundation in 1989 to provide health services, and education to vulnerable children and their families.
IRA man turned informer Sean OCallaghan, pictured in 1998. His information prevented Princess Diana being killed in the 1980s. Photo: Getty

Sean O'Callaghan, a senior IRA leader and self-confessed killer, who later successfully helped the security authorities battle against the paramilitaries, has died, aged 63.

Mr O'Callaghan, a member of an old republican family in his native Tralee, Co Kerry, had later gone on to become an adviser to the then British prime minister Tony Blair and Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble.

He was found dead in a swimming pool while on holiday in Jamaica. Friends said he had been visiting his daughter.

Sean O'Callaghan was only 15 when he joined the IRA in Kerry in the late 1960s, incensed by the surge of sectarian violence in the North and the flow of nationalist refugees southwards.

His father and uncle had previously been IRA members who were interned in the 1940s.

But he drifted out of the movement in the mid-1970s, only to return in 1979 as an informer for An Garda Siochana's special branch.

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He headed the IRA in Kerry and later the entire southern command, becoming a member of the ruling IRA's army council.

O'Callaghan was among the most senior IRA informants working with the security forces. He was acknowledged as having helped avert many atrocities which would have involved a serious loss of life - including a planned bomb attack in the 1980s on the Prince of Wales and Princess Diana.

This was publicly acknowledged by a former Taoiseach, Garret FitzGerald.

As an informer, O'Callaghan lived a very tense double life which destroyed family relationships. Eventually in 1988, with his cover close to being blown, he walked into a police station in Tunbridge Wells in Kent and gave himself up.

In 1990, he was sentenced to 539 years for two murders and more than 40 other offences but was released on the so-called 'Queen's prerogative' in 1996.

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After the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, O'Callaghan acted as an adviser to the British government, the Ulster Unionists and even the Orange Order, while also contributing to the British media.

His 1998 book, 'The Informer', was a bestseller. But he freely conceded that he could be murdered by the IRA, who reviled him, at any time. He lived a restless, anonymous private life in England, often moving about.

Journalist Gerard Colleran, who dealt with O'Callaghan while working with 'The Kerryman' newspaper, recalled receiving a two-hour phone call from him just before he gave himself up to British police.

Mr Colleran said O'Callaghan played a key role in helping avert calamity in incidents such as the 1982 Don Tidey kidnapping and several key gun-running expeditions.

"I believe he did the Irish State some considerable service and was pure gold for the gardai. But I have serious reservations about his self-confessed killing of fellow IRA informant John Corcoran, which leaves unanswered questions for the Irish security services," Mr Colleran said.

Among the many ironies of his life was that he was unable to return to Tralee for his father's funeral.

The oration was delivered by Martin Ferris, whom he had helped jail for arms importation aboard the infamous Marita Ann in 1984.
A mother has told how her six-year-old son almost lost his leg when he was injured in a lawnmower accident at their home.

Yvonne Chadwick, from Moneygall Co Offaly told Independent.ie that her son Gavin lost a critical amount of blood but was transported to hospital by the Air Corps in just 16 minutes, when it would have taken almost two hours by ambulance.

They thought he may not walk or run again. Hes made a miraculous recovery, his mother Yvonne Chadwick said.

On the 1st of May this year Gavin had a very nasty accident. Daddy was out cutting the lawns on a ride-on lawnmower and in the blink of an eye he ran out across the lawn to show Daddy his new shorts. Daddy was reversing and Gavins leg got stuck underneath it, Yvonne explained.

Its every parents worst nightmare. Its absolutely horrific. Its traumatic and you couldnt even describe it, she added.

We had to call the emergency services and the ambulance got to our house in ten minutes and stopped the bleeding. He was in shock by that time, we all were.

They decided to ring the air ambulance to bring him to Galway. It was like a blur, Yvonne said.

All the emergency services were amazing. We wouldnt be where we are now if it wasnt for the Air Corps, she said.

Gavin lost a lot of muscle, ligaments and parts of his kneecap in the accident but 16 weeks later Gavin was running around and bouncing on the bouncy castles which were set up for the dozens of children in attendance.

Hes doing really well now, she added.

There is still some scarring and Gavin is in contact with plastic surgeons and physiotherapists.

It is a lifetime disfigurement. But from 16 weeks ago hes made a huge recovery. We thought initially he may lose the leg. Thank god he didnt, Yvonne said.

Yvonne wanted to express her thanks to University Hospital Galway staff and to the crew of Air Corps 112 who rescued Gavin.

Thank you. You were absolutely amazing. Not only did you treat Gavin, you did a fantastic job on him. You calmed us all and were just amazing on the day, Yvonne said.

Yvonne said the day was amazing and helpful to Gavin to meet other people who had been rescued by helicopter.

Hes absolutely loving it, its a great idea, she said.

Captain Sean McCarthy of the Irish Air Corps said the day was an effort to celebrate five years of the Emergency Aeromedical Service.

We have 3,000 missions in those five years and its a way of reconnecting the chain of survival, he said.

Its a way of following up with the people weve helped out in traumatic situations. Not only for them or us inside the helicopter but also the support and administrative staff that dont get to see what they do putting a helicopter on a ramp, Captain McCarthy said.

On average the service goes on three missions every two days, but this can go up to eight missions a day during the summer.

The family day had aircraft on display, barbeques, face painting, weapons display, music and an aircraft museum among other activities.

Weve transported kids as young as 10 days old up to people in their nineties. Weve had the full spectrum of people so we needed to make sure there was something for everyone, he added

Its been brilliant. Theres an instant sort of connection and some funny moments as well. We had a young guy who we transported apologising to a crew member for getting sick in the back of a helicopter, Captain McCarthy said.
An Irishman living in Australia has called for respect on both sides as the country prepares to cast its vote on whether or not to legalise same-sex marriage.

Mark Govern (34) from Tallaght in Dublin previously played a part in Ireland's marriage referendum, particularly with the home to vote campaign which encouraged Irish people to return from abroad to cast their vote back in 2015.

Mr Govern, who is now living in Sydney, has called for respect on both sides of Australias upcoming postal survey which will allow the public to give their opinion on whether Australia should legalise same-sex marriage.

Australians will be asked Should the law be changed to allow same-sex couples to marry?

Do not get nasty, respect the no side, respect their opinion and argue you against it in a respectful way, Mr Govern told independent.ie.

The Irishman said he is expecting this campaign get bitter, especially compared to the Irish referendum. He says he has already seen signs containing derogatory comments directed towards members of the LGTBI community.

Its going to be a nasty campaign, so we have to get behind it and push for a yes vote.

Mr Govern also said that comparing Ireland and Australias campaigns for marriage equality is like comparing apples and oranges".

Australia is a very big country, and its very religious.

Outside of the big cities attitudes can be strange, you can find that the attitude can be anti-anything different, he said.

Mr Govern wanted to remind everyone to keep it respectful and to keep a level head. He also took on two of the main arguments of the no side.

Its a civil marriage were campaigning for, not a religious one.

And gay people already have children all the time, you are just extending the rights of marriage to these families.

The postal survey is different from the Irish referendum in a number of ways. Australia doesnt actually need a referendum to change the law. In 2015 there were calls for to allow MPs a free vote on the issue. The prime minister of the time, Tony Abbot, instead proposed a plebiscite, which is a compulsory national vote.

Soon after this Mr Abbot, who is a campaigner for the No vote, was replaced by Malcolm Turnbull, a supporter of marriage equality.

In August for a compulsory plebiscite was blocked again by a senate, so Mr Turnbull suggested a voluntary postal vote as a second best option. This will allow the Australian government to tell what exactly the public want, but will not actually change anything.

A yes vote could result in a successful law to legalise same-sex marriage, but it will not guarantee it, as it will lead to vote of parliament. A no vote, however, would mean there would be no free parliamentary vote on same-sex marriage.
Scene of the stabbing in Castlecomer and inset Corina Hennessy and brother Jamie

The sister of a man who was left fighting for life after a violent knife attack has called for those responsible to be arrested and charged.

Jamie Hennessy (22) was repeatedly stabbed in the head, neck and body in front of his young girlfriend after a fight broke out at a house in Castlecomer, Co Kilkenny last Saturday evening.

He was rushed to hospital where he was resuscitated twice after his heart stopped beating.

Doctors fought for over 24 hours to stop the bleeding in his neck and Mr Hennessy remains on a ventilator at the Mater Hospital in Dublin.

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His father John travelled to Dublin to sit with his son at around 2pm today but collapsed outside the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

Mr Hennessy's sister Corina said: "My Daddy was outside the ICU to see his son and he collapsed all of a sudden.

"He had to be moved to the A&E. His temperature and his blood pressure is up and they are doing tests to see what has happened.

"It is all stress related, it's all because of what these guys did to Jamie. Daddy has been with Jamie since Saturday. He's not sleeping and he's not eating."

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Three men were arrested in connection with the stabbing on Saturday but all were subsequently released without charge. Earlier this week Independent.ie revealed that one of the men was previously arrested for the cold case murder of Gerry Nolan while a second man was arrested over the fatal stabbing of Kieran Monahan in 2012.

Corina Hennessy said she is struggling to understand why the suspects were freed.

"They were supposed to be his friends," she said. "They turned on him over a 20 mobile phone. All we want is justice done for Jamie. It is not right that they can walk the road and Jamie can't breathe on his own."

She added:

"They shouldn't have been walking the streets in the first place. How many more families and lives are they going ruin before they are locked up?"

Ms Hennessy explained that she and her parents were at a memorial mass for their cousin when they got the call at 8pm on Saturday to say that her younger brother had been stabbed.

"We didn't realise how bad it was," she said. "My dad and my mum went straight to Castlecomer but by the stage they got there he was gone in an ambulance so they followed that straight on to St Luke's Hospital in Kilkenny.

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"His heart stopped twice and they brought him back but it wasn't looking good. We were called in to say our goodbyes, to be honest."

Doctors battled to keep him alive and incredibly Jamie pulled through the first night.

On Sunday afternoon the family were allowed in to see him but what greeted them sent shivers down their spines.

"We thought he was gone," Ms Hennessy said. "We got in to see him ourselves about 12 noon the next day. He looked like he was dead. There was blood everywhere, all his dressings were covered in blood because they couldn't stop the bleeding. He was hooked up to a ventilator. We all broke down, the state they left him in."

The family were told that there was nothing more doctors could do for Jamie at St Luke's Hospital in Kilkenny unless he stabilised.

Ms Hennessy said:

"We were saying our goodbyes because there was nothing they could do for him. To be honest we were making funeral arrangements."

Incredibly his condition improved and on Monday night he was moved to the Mater Hospital in Dublin. He remains there in a critical condition in ICU.

Attempts to take him off the ventilator have failed but the family remain hopeful that he will improve.

"If you keep calling his name his eyes flick open for a few seconds but that is all it is at the moment. The doctors said that he is fighting on.

"We are so impressed with how much of a fighter he is."

The family say they are "worn out" from the tragedy. Jamie's older brother John died in a car crash in 1998 which almost claimed the life of his sister Amanda.

Ms Hennessy said the family is "coming apart" but they are determined to fight on. Her mother Sandra is keeping a bedside vigil and hasn't left Jamie's side since he was first admitted on Sunday.

"We just want to get justice for Jamie."
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar inspects the Glentogher River, which the floods caused to move from the site underneath him to several feet away. Carndonagh, Donegal. Picture: Caroline Quinn

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar flew to Donegal this afternoon to visit the communities devastated by flooding.

Mr Varadkar arrived at Caradonagh via Aer Corps helicopter and visited affected residents and emergency services involved in the large scale clean-up.

Speaking to the media, he said: I wanted to visit here myself to see the scale of the damage and meet some of the residential home owners and business people affected. I think you need to see it to understand the scale of the damage that has been done."

More than 100 people had to be rescued from cars and houses due to sudden flash flooding in Donegal, Tyrone and Derry on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Across Inishowen alone, the scale of the disaster was described as unprecedented and catastrophic, with the Irish Government opening an emergency fund for immediate assistance and clean-up. The damage is expected to run up a repair bill in the multi-millions.

More than 150 households were affected in Donegal. People needing financial help for food and everyday essentials, cleaning, structural work and white goods were urged to apply at welfare offices.

In Derry, more than 200 households reported needing assistance following flooding. Dozens of businesses were also affected, some seeing cars and vehicles swept away.

Speaking today Taoiseach Varadkar said: "What really occurs to me is that no one was killed or seriously injured. I think we were blessed that no one was injured or killed.

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"The key thing now is the clean-up which is well underway. The army have now being posted and are helping out with that. The Department of Social Protection is also providing cash grants for people who need it."

Asked if he can assure people that everything that has to be done will be done, Mr Varadkar responded: "Absolutely, Im satisfied with the response so far, but that needs to be sustained and escalated in the coming days."

He said 50 or 60 people have availed of support from the Department of social protection who provided cash grants to buy essentials. "Then down the line, once houses are habitable again theyll be able to apply for funding for repairs, for car insurance and so on."

There was confusion in Donegal this morning as locals waited for the 35 soldiers sent to help after flash flooding hit on Tuesday night.

Flood-hit communities in the north-west were expecting the platoon to be deployed at 9am to help with the flood relief.

However, some affected housing estates didnt see the army arrive until after 1pm.

Mr Varadkar said: "I cant say exactly why that was, but Im not sure how relevant it is whether the defences forces arrived at 9 or 1. The important thing is that they did arrive and were tasked to be here and they are here. Additional, support will be provided from more army personnel if needed.
Ministers of State Joe McHugh and Kevin Boxer Moran at the emergency meeting to discuss the flooding in Inishowen, Donegal. Photo: Caroline Quinn

The army will be called in today to help with the massive clean-up operation in the wake of the torrential floods in the north-west.

Flood-hit communities in the north-west were bracing themselves after more rain was forecast - Met Eireann predicts 25mm to 40mm could have accumulated in the past 24 hours.

More than 100 people had to be rescued from cars and houses due to sudden flash flooding in Donegal, Tyrone and Derry on Tuesday and Wednesday.

More than 150 households were affected in Donegal and 200 in Derry. On Tuesday night 85 firefighters and nine brigades were working in the Inishowen area.

Floods Minister Kevin 'Boxer' Moran said the situation for people in Donegal was likely "to get worse before it gets better" in the coming days. "I definitely think the local authority are going to need assistance dealing with this. It's worse and worse it's getting," he said.

Mr Moran told the Irish Independent he had observed scenes where the damage posed a real health and safety risk.

He briefed Taoiseach Leo Varadkar on his visit to the area last night and recommended that the army should be on standby in the event Donegal County Council needs physical support. It's understood 30 members of the Defence Forces will travel to the worst hit areas this morning. Further troops could be deployed if required.

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As emergency response teams grapple with establishing the full impact of the storm, it emerged that 17 people have presented themselves as homeless in the past 24 hours.

Donegal County Council is working with the displaced families, but area manager Aideen Doherty said the problems facing them would not be resolved "overnight or in the next few weeks".

"It's going to take some time so we will be figuring out alternative accommodation for them in the interim," she said.

Director of Emergency Services with Donegal County Council Gerry Martin said it is "quiet miraculous" that there were no fatalities.

The Department of Social Protection yesterday activated its Humanitarian Assistance Scheme which will be used to provide emergency income support to families for urgent needs such as food and clothing.

Thereafter families and individuals will be assisted with replacing white goods, basic furniture items and other essential household items.

Employment and Social Protection Minister Regina Doherty said: "I want to reassure those affected by the flooding that my department will do everything we can to relieve the immediate stress you are now under. Our people are there, on the ground and in our offices, ready and willing to offer help."

Fianna Fail has raised concerns that affected businesses are not entitled to similar help. Donegal TD and the party's agriculture spokesman Charlie McConalogue said he was "extremely concerned" that business owners were not included in the Government scheme.

"The past few days have been extremely traumatic and they are anxious to get confirmation that they will get assistance from the Government," he said.
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Given that youre a man who dislikes the spotlight, the public will need some time to get to know you.

Yes, I have worked in the watch industry for over 25 years, but Ive never been in the public eye. I began at Richemont, when it was still called PBM, for Piaget, Baume & Mercier. I was there for five years, then I left to work for Vacheron Constantin, Cartier and Girard-Perregaux. I was global commercial director there, working alongside Gino Macaluso, a colourful character who taught me a great deal.

My most recent experience was in distribution; I was involved in establishing and developing watch brands in Russia and Turkey. That was back in 2009, which was a very difficult period, as you no doubt remember. We were nevertheless able to expand, working with lifestyle brands such as Daniel Wellington and Fossil Group, as well as traditional watchmakers including TAG Heuer and Corum.



How did your relationship with Corum come about?

Very naturally. I had already met Corums investors several times over dinner, in my previous role. Given that I didnt work there, I was able to share with them my very clear and objective vision for Corum. They obviously appreciated that, because as soon as they heard that I was leaving, they made me an offer. They are very straightforward, direct people, with a keen sense of commitment and the importance of keeping your word.



Will this be your first experience with Chinese investors?

I dont think of it in that way. As far as I am concerned, they are simply investors, full stop. They are people I know, who know me, who have shown great foresight, who love the brand, who recognise its potential and who are relying upon what they believe are the best resources to drive its development. And by best resources, what Im mainly referring to is the staff in La Chaux-de-Fonds, whom it is now my pleasure to manage.



Yet, what position are these local teams in, after the Davide Traxlers departure?

They are incredibly close-knit and dynamic. I was impressed by their cohesion, and their many talents. In every division we have teams that are working incredibly hard to develop a brand in which they have an unshakeable faith. We currently have 70 people working in La Chaux-de-Fonds.



Are you going to continue with Davide Traxlers strategy?

In reality, the strategy was put in place by the European Board. The work was well done; Corum has the wind in its sails from a creative point of view, which was something I talked about with the investors, even before there was any talk of my taking over. Its a healthy company, both financially and in terms of corporate spirit. I have rarely seen such commitment to a common project, a commitment so personally upheld by everyone involved.



And is growth within reach?

Lets go for stability first! Once again, the foundations are healthy, and the work done by Davide Traxler was rigorous and effective, which means we should achieve this in the very short term. Growth will follow. For Corum, that will come through our four pillars: Bridge, Admiral, Heritage (Feather, Coin, etc.) and Bubble.

Golden Bridge  Corum





What about Eterna?

With Eterna we are doing the same thing, but more comprehensively. There are many synergies between the teams, which means that Eterna will benefit from Corums expertise. We will begin by focusing on our brand leaders in highly targeted markets  Switzerland, Germany, Austria, France and the United States. In the first instance, we will concentrate on the historic pillars: KonTiki, Royal KonTiki and 1948. For the future, we have some interesting surprises in store, something younger. We will be making the most of Eternas Swiss German identity, but avoiding the cliches of cuckoo clocks, cheese and chocolate. We want to renew the brands identity, refresh it. As a brand, it has great potential. Its easy to forget that, for a time, it was in direct competition with Omega, for example. It has to go back to basics and reposition itself in its original price bracket, around the CHF 700 to 3500 mark.





Are you looking ahead to Baselworld?

For Corum, yes, but even more so for Eterna. We have to manage our budgets in a clear and rational way. There will be lots of great initiatives from Eterna, but they will be targeted and tactical, with young, dynamic brand ambassadors. Eterna, like Corum, has the power to surprise, whether in the arts or in sports. Eterna will be a talent-spotter. Once it is on its way it will have its own CEO.



What will happen to Eternas movement division, EMC?

All in good time. Eternas main growth vector will be the brand itself, not necessarily its industrial capacity to service third parties. In the immediate term, EMCs main client will be Eterna itself. In the short term, neither Corum nor Eterna have the ambition to differentiate themselves with manufacture movements. But, as I said, all in good time.
A traditional auction at Christie's New York last November for the 1969 painting by Francis Bacon, 'Three Studies of Lucien Freud', the Irish artist sold for US$142m, a record for the most expensive artwork ever sold

'When I was living in New York I bought a piece of ceramic sculpture at an online auction," says Seamus Moran, art collector. "It cost me a couple of hundred dollars. I was delighted - until it arrived. Then I discovered that it was only four inches high. I thought it would be 40 inches high! I still feel a bit stupid for paying so much money for such a tiny object."

The first lesson in online bidding is to read the lot descriptions carefully.

A few years ago, online bidding was a novelty. Now it's become the norm. One by one, the larger Irish auction houses have signed up to sites like Invaluable and The Saleroom, which allow bidders to participate in their auctions via the internet.

There are two main types of auction: timed auctions that take place entirely online within a set timeframe; and live auctions conducted in real time in front of an audience. Some bidders will attend the auction in person, some will participate on the phone, and others will place their bids online.

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Whatsapp A traditional auction at Christie's New York last November for the 1969 painting by Francis Bacon, 'Three Studies of Lucien Freud', the Irish artist sold for US$142m, a record for the most expensive artwork ever sold

Moran still bids online, but enjoys the social side of going to auctions. "I find it interesting to watch the people - the territorial dealers who come up from the country in their vans and the crazy little old ladies.

And I like to get to know the people that are interested in the same things that I am. I've made a few friends that way."

One of these is Paul Tuthill, an art dealer who buys at auction for his clients and also sells at the Dublin Flea Market. "Personally I prefer the live auction experience. There's nothing like buzz in the room and you can see who is bidding against you. There's something lost if you're bidding against a computer."

With auction fever, he explains, there's an element of machismo involved. "There's a psychological pressure. People are afraid to back down."

That said, he also describes the experience of a pair of friends he knows of who attended an auction together. They both wanted the same object but neither wanted to bid against the other. So they sat there, looking innocent, while secretly placing their online bids, via the smart phones in their pockets. "Online bidding has completely changed the dynamic of the auction scene," he says. "The regulars are cursing it because it's harder to find a bargain but the advantage is that you don't have to look so hard to find what you want." Once, dealers like Tuthill had to scour regional auctions across the country. Now, they can use a search engine.

Tuthill recommends that you check the delivery arrangements that the auction house has in place before you place your online bid. Some expect you to collect your purchase within a timeframe; others are happy to arrange to transport, but this can be expensive.

Online bidders should also make sure that their internet connection is reliable. "If you're on the Dart and it goes through a tunnel at the wrong moment you could lose your chance!"

"We were the first Irish auction house to introduce online bidding," says Michael Sheppard of Sheppard's. "We started doing it about eight years ago." Their most recent auction took place this June at Coolattin House, Co Wicklow. "We had bidders from 40 countries, including Russia, the Philippines, China, and Egypt - not just the places that you'd expect."

Where people are bidding on objects unseen, decent photographs and accurate descriptions are essential. This has led to better cataloguing in Irish auction houses.

"People can ask for a condition report in advance of the auction and that's a contractual thing," Sheppard explains. "If it's not accurate, the contract is null and void."

In the Coolattin House sale, a pair of Dublin Edwardian period mahogany and hide upholstered wing back armchairs (est. 8,000 to 12,000) sold for 14,000 (pictured below left). The condition report described the chairs as "structurally sound; no apparent repairs or additions. The hide upholstery is in good condition, with minor signs of wear and age."

For the auctioneer, online bidding has some advantages. "There were several moments during the auction when I could just sit back and watch the bidding go from 200 to 2,000 in minutes. The head-to-head was happening on the internet and the audience were just gobsmacked looking at that machine!"

The sleeper in the sale was a seventeenth-century tapestry (est. 6,000 to 9,000), which sold for 26,500. "That went up in rapid spurts," says Sheppard. "There were two internet bidders and a telephone bidder."

In these moments the auctioneer can take a back seat. "It's wonderful," he says. "You can go and have a coffee while the whole thing is going on."

Despite the changes in the way that auctions are conducted, Sheppard reports that what people want has remained the same. "People still want 18-Century items, items with provenance, and Irish items," he says. A pair of 18th-Century bronze cannons (est. 6,000 to 8,000) in the Coolattin House sale ticked all three boxes, selling for 17,000.

"Online bidding is not the definitive way of buying at auction," Sheppard concludes. "A lot of people participate by phone. Twenty years ago we didn't even have that. You had to be in the room."

See sheppards.ie, invaluable.com, and the-saleroom.com. The Dublin Flea Market takes place on the last Sunday of every month. See dublinflea.ie

In the Salerooms

O'REILLY'S

Theres a fine selection of brooches coming up for auction at OReillys Auction Rooms, Francis Street, next Wednesday, August 30, from 10am to 12.30pm. The brooches may come in whimsical forms, but many of them are serious pieces of jewellery incorporating serious rocks.

A modern ruby and diamond brooch in the shape of a flower (est. 4,500 to 6,500), pictured above, is set with pear-shaped untreated Burmese rubies; while an early 20th-Century diamond floral spray bar brooch (est. 3,500 to 4,500) is set with old European brilliant cut diamonds.

Others are set to sell for slightly more affordable prices, including a ruby, sapphire and diamond butterfly brooch (1,400 to 1,500), and an eye-catching ruby and diamond flamingo brooch (1,300 to 1,500), pictured below.

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Flamingos are bang on trend this year and butterflies never really go out of style.

Other, non-figurative, brooches in the sale include a simple and massively wearable diamond bow brooch (1,500 to 2,000). Fore more, see oreillysfineart.com.

IRISH ANTIQUE DEALERS FAIR

If youre interested in the glamorous side of the antiques business, therell be plenty to entertain you at the 52nd Irish Antique Dealers Fair, which runs in the RDS Main Hall from Friday, September 22 to Sunday, September 24.

We will have a mixture of contemporary artists costumes such as the headpiece Beyonce wore in the video for Lemonade, Lady Gagas graffiti corset and signed guitars from some of the music worlds top icons such as Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page, says Laurence Carpenter of Pop Icons, a Dublin-based company that deals mostly in London, New York and Los Angeles.

But dont expect pocket-money prices. Music memorabilia can fetch up to six figures, Carpenter explains.

For Jackie Collins fans, the antique dealer Niall Mullen will bring a bronze sculpture (3,850) by Josef Lorenzl, purchased from the authors estate sale at her home in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles.

The lecture programme will include a talk by the ever-popular Julian Radcliffe of the Art Loss Register who will talk on issues of provenance, value, theft, forgery and fakes.

Admission to the fair is 10. For further details, see iada.ie.

SHEPPARD'S

Theres nothing like a good snoop around somebody elses house, and Lota: The Estate of the Late Patricia Moore promises just that.

Potential highlights include a George III period statuary white marble chimneypiece (est. 8,000 to 12,000) and a Cork Regency period mahogany serving table (5,000 to 7,000), but the sale also has a good number of items with estimates less than 100. Some of these may well go for a song.

Viewing takes place from August 26 to 28 at Lota, Brighton Road, Foxrock, Dublin 18, from 10am to 5pm.

Admission is by catalogue only and costs 10 (admits two adults). The sale itself takes place at Sheppards Auction Rooms, Durrow, Co Laois, on Tuesday, August 29 from 10.30am to 12.30pm (Lots 1-200) and from 2pm to 5.30pm (lots 201-496). For full details, see

sheppards.ie.
Winter is coming. And it's going to be a dark one indoors. We're talking black, navy and deep-purple walls, button-back furniture in leather or velvet, and bright metallic accents in brass or gold. It's a moody, nocturnal look with a fairly strong Gothic influence. Just imagine that you're decorating for a vampire with expensive tastes.

"Dark colours are a very distinct trend coming in for winter," says Helen Coughlan of Meadows & Byrne. "It's giving a kick to the clean Scandi look." The Scandinavian look, which has been around for years, is all about bringing in the light, using natural materials, and keeping it simple.

"It needed to be turned on its heels, to some extent," Coughlan says. In contrast, the new dark decor is sophisticated, decadent, and a little bit neurotic.

One thing's for certain. This is not a look for wimps. "If you're going to go for it, you have to commit and go the full hog," says Coughlan. "People worry about overdoing it. I think that overdone things can be fantastic, but you have to have that innate sense of discipline in your DNA." Unless you're a total design genius, keep the look relatively simple.

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"Too many juxtapositions and everything starts looking argumentative."

In response to the trend, Meadows & Byrne is bringing in a mid-century style sofa in black leather (898) and a button-back chair in midnight blue velvet (198) with a companion pouf (98) along with velvet cushions in deep jewel colours (40).

"The chair is one of the most stunning pieces we've ever had," says Coughlan.

"It's the kind of thing that you'd buy even though you don't need it, just because it's gorgeous." Meadows & Byrne also has a wintery selection of tableware: black woven table mats (4), plates in aubergine (15); and brushed-brass napkin rings (3 each) to be used with moire aubergine napkins (15 for a set).

There's more than a touch of Art Deco creeping into Marks and Spencer's autumn/winter collection. You can see it in the angular patterning on the Webster drinks cabinet (683), the metallic legs of the Ava marble side table (226) and the Hexagonal shelf mirror (170). Overall, it's a very dark ensemble and interesting in that black furniture is photographed against black walls. No half measures here!

"Dark colours are the new neutrals," says Niamh Courtney, colour consultant with MRCB paints.

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"They've been saying that for years but it takes a while for these things to come on board." She agrees that it's not a look that you can do by halves.

"You have to embrace the full room - walls and furniture. People tried using dark colours on feature walls but it creates too much of a contrast. It's not easy to live with." For those wanting to dip a cautious toe into the world of darkness, she suggests trying out the look in a den.

"It's lovely to come into a dark room in the evening," she says. "It never feels cold."

Black, she admits, can be tricky on the wall. "It's oppressive if it's not done right." The key is to invest in good quality paint. "People are always asking me if posh paints are better. They actually are. It's like cooking - the better quality paints have better ingredients. They have more pigments in them." While you might get away with a cheap white paint, a cheap black is definitely a false economy.

"Cheap black paint looks very flat. You don't get that rich experience that makes you want to touch it." If you're going for black, she recommends a colour called Onyx from Benjamin Moore.

"It's the undertones in the paint that create the warmth - it's like an aura - there's definitely a difference." As with clothing, navy is an easier colour to use than black and tends to work better with Irish skin tones. A dark room is no good if it makes the occupants look like the undead. For a slightly softer take on darkness, Courtney recommends a colour called Gentleman's Grey, also from Benjamin Moore.

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"It's a blackened navy with undertones of grey and it's beautiful for furniture." She also likes Benjamin Moore's classic, Hayle Navy. "It's really popular and versatile. It can look preppy, you can use it with red and white for a nautical look, but it also combines with deeper colours."

Benjamin Moore paint is unashamedly expensive. An American gallon (just under four litres) from MRCB Paints will set you back 104. For furniture and smaller projects, a pint of eggshell costs 15. The devil, of course, is in the detail. A room in which the walls and the furniture are dark could be a gloomy place to be. Decadent can be a good look, but you need to stop short of depressing.

Metallic details, preferably gold or brass, are transformative in this regard. The design team at Arthouse, a company that specialises in trend-led interior design products, describes the style as Modern Luxe.

"Modern Luxe is peppered with foil metallics, glistening beaded surfaces and high shine lacquered finishes," writes the Arthouse crew. Wallpaper, which is one of their specialities, is another way of embracing the darkness.

Some of it is fairly extreme. The Glitterati Chevron wallpaper (27 per roll) in black and gold offers up-scaled geometric patterns. The gold is textured glitter; the other two colours are matt. This is what the Arthouse team describes as the gold-to-bold effect. Other wallpapers that use contrasting textures include Palais Black Velvet wallpaper (91 per roll). This is designed by Sophie Conran for Arthouse and shows the resurrection of what is probably the most reviled element of interior design - flock. This, in case you're too young to remember, is furry textured wallpaper created with small particles of fibre and formerly found in dubious hotels. Miraculously, Conran makes it look good by using large damask-style patterns in black against a background of grey.

So flock is back. Where will it all end?

See meadowsandbyrne.com, marksandspencer.ie, mrcb.ie and arthouse.com
Mayo's Ceide Coast, Scattery Island in Co. Clare and Wexford's Norman Way are the three Irish finalists of this year's EDEN Awards.

EDEN (European Destination of Excellence) is an initiative that aims to promote local, sustainable tourism development models across the EU.

Held every two years in 29 member states, the awards choose local winners based on sustainable themes that vary each year.

Previous Irish winners include the Burren Food Trail (Tourism & Local Gastronomy), the Great Western Greenway (Tourism & the Regeneration of Physical Sites), Cavan (accessible tourism) and Loop Head (Aquatic Tourism).

This year's focus is on destinations that use "tangible cultural assets" such as traditional historical or archaeological monuments/sites, museums, theatres, galleries or modern urban districts to grow visitor numbers.

Ireland has long been recognised for the richness of its cultural heritage, which is of critical importance to our attractiveness to visitors," said Paddy Mathews, Failte Irelands Head of Investment & Innovation.

"Communities across Ireland are fiercely proud of their heritage and culture and many have harnessed these assets through tourism to deliver real social and economic benefits for their local areas.

Scattery Island, Co. Clare

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"While it may be a surprise to many, locally we have long since recognized the unique and magical experience of Scattery Island," says Ian Lynch of Scattery Island Heritage and Development Group.

"We have worked hard over the last number of years with our partners in the OPW, Clare County Council and wider community groups to ensure development of the island has taken place in line with best practice given its unique place in our local culture and its unparalleled built heritage spanning 1,400 years."

More: heritageireland.ie (info); scatteryislandtours.com (ferry).

Ceide Coast. Co. Mayo

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The Ceide Coast from Ballina to Belderrig tells a story of 6,000 years of history, tangible throughout our breathtaking landscape," says Anne-Marie Flynn of Mayo North Promotions Office.

"Uncovering North Mayos heritage and bringing it to life forms a strong part of our visitor experience, and we are really excited about sharing our story and showcasing our beautiful area to the judges in early September.

Details: northmayo.ie; ceidefields.com.

The Norman Way, Co. Wexford

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We in Wexford County Council and all associated with the project are absolutely delighted that The Norman Way has been judged to rank amongst the top three entries in this prestigious competition," said Tom Enright, CEO at the council.

"The Norman Way has a wonderful story to tell, is real and authentic and brings renewed life and vitality to so many towns and villages along the route.

Details: thenormanway.com; visitwexford.ie.

The three Irish finalists are now preparing for on-site assessments in early September, during which they will be visited by a panel of expert adjudicators selected by Failte Ireland.

The overall winner will be announced at the end of September, and receive a certificate of achievement as well as marketing assistance in the form of a dedicated photo shoot.

See edenineurope.eu for more details.

Read more:
As we know the Assembly was disestablished in the North by the withdrawal of Sinn Fein. This situation was engineered by the DUP by the refusal of its leader to stand down during the investigation of the cash-for-ash controversy and the unwillingness of the DUP to legislate a very inexpensive Irish language bill, both of which left Sinn Fein no option but to resign to protect its credibility with the electorate.

The reason behind the DUP's action to engineer a situation that would inevitably lead to the collapse of the Assembly were the utterances by Micheal Martin and Leo Varadkar that, as a result of Brexit, the prospect of a united Ireland was brought nearer. This kind of language was normally associated with Sinn Fein but when the leaders, or potential leaders, of the next government commenced singing from the Sinn Fein hymn sheet, the DUP was spooked and the battles of the Home Rule episode in Northern politics were awakened.

The utterances of Randolph Churchill's aggressive and inflammatory language of 1886 when he declared "Ulster will fight and Ulster will be right" was a clear warning. Mr Randolph was a member of the Tory Party which was in opposition to the Liberals, kept in power only by the votes of the Irish Parliamentary Party, and the condition of that support was the passing of a Home Rule Act.

Unfortunately for the DUP, times have changed in the North. It no longer has the arms it imported at that time (1913) from Germany, nor an armed 37,000 militia. The electoral climate has radically changed. So the safest place to be is in the arms of Mrs May, being ruled directly from Westminster with its 11 Unionist MPs always there to support Mrs May in case a few Conservatives stray from the fold.

Hugh Duffy

Cleggan, Co Galway

Shameful treatment of the elderly

The latest proposal from the Government to force elderly people with walking frames who have vacant properties to rent them out should be strongly resisted as it is deplorable and immoral.

It equates to harassment, exploitation and abuse of our elderly population who have provided their own homes, kept them in good repair, worked all their lives, paid their taxes and raised their families in them.

It is utterly scandalous that the Government is expecting elderly people to solve the housing crisis by targeting them in this way.

It was not the elderly who caused the housing crisis.

This, along with a possible levy being placed on vacant properties, ought to be considered as stooping to a new low for our uncaring Government.

It is shameful to think that the Government rolled out the red carpet for foreign vulture funds that hoovered up billions of euro of residential properties at knock-down prices, and have been able to avail of Government loopholes to avoid paying tax on their profits.

Recently it was also proposed that the family home should be subject to a 33pc capital gains tax if sold. It was also suggested recently that a charge should be placed on the free travel pass, which would be another attack on the elderly.

These proposed measures amount to scraping an empty barrel in order to plaster over politicians' past failures and further punish the most vulnerable in society.

If Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy, who is promoting this proposal, is representative of his colleagues in Fine Gael, it shows how callous and thoughtless they all are and makes one wonder what other outrageous ideas they will come up with.

These are more of the austerity measures we were told had ended. It now appears austerity is far from being over, with worse to come.

Christy Kelly

Templeglantine, Co Limerick

Donohoe not on the money

When will the people say 'enough'? Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe speaks to us in a curmudgeonly tone, as if it's our fault that he has only 300m to distribute among the departments.

The Government seems at ease paying out 7bn per year in interest alone, serving 'our' EU banking debt, not incurred by the masses.

So a question, and it's relevant bearing in mind the storm devastation in Donegal: how much is raised in local property tax, and is it another tax thrown into repayments to Europe or a tax to benefit people regarding housing and local infrastructure?

Mr Donohoe, get down from your damn high horse. If Fianna Fail was not guaranteeing your survival, the people would have an opportunity once more to try to effect the results of the last election, an election that rejected Fine Gael austerity.

John Cuffe

Dunboyne, Meath

Speaking up for the truth

Jean-Paul Sartre said "words are loaded pistols". Hillary Clinton didn't say "back up, you creep".

With the 'fake news' world that we are living in, we need people to speak up and speak out.

The power of words has inspired individuals and nations to make the hard choices and head off to their own battles.

If Hillary Clinton had chosen to speak the truth rather than taking the 'nice' path we might have a different US president, and probably a better one.

Speaking the truth takes courage but the results provide the path for many to follow.

Lead on, the brave few.

Dennis Fitzgerald

Victoria, Australia

Canada's abortion horrors

The Taoiseach's recent visit to Canada had the truly extraordinary moment of the Canadian president advising the Taoiseach to see abortion as a fundamental human right.

Canada is practising what it preaches and babies can be aborted up to the full nine months of pregnancy, and an astonishing one-in-five pregnancies are ended by abortion there.

This is what happens when so-called 'choice' is given free reign and responsibility is abandoned.

Unborn babies' lives are ended because of disability, because of how they were conceived or even because they are unborn baby girls.

This is what happens when the unborn are perceived as an 'it' and not a person, simply because they are not wanted.

Canada's record is a warning to the people of this country.

Using human rights language to try to justify the unjustifiable ending of innocent unborn babies' lives is one of the horrors of this century and is one that our descendants will surely look back on and ask: 'Why did no one shout stop?'

Mary Lynch

Newmarket on Fergus, Co Clare

We need to tread carefully

Leo Varadkar wants to double our global footprint while we struggle to cut our carbon footprint.

Is this a step too far?

Dr John Doherty

Gaoth Dobhair, Co Dhun na nGall
A little girl from Ovens has been announced as one of the new faces of Glenisk's organic no added sugar baby yogurts.

Abby Dillon is 17 months old and is the very picture of cuteness.

Down Syndrome Ireland said it is inspiring to see brands like Glenisk recognising the beauty in every child. Down Syndrome Ireland President Mary Doherty said: "It's inspiring to see brands like Glenisk recognising the beauty of every child. It is important to see more brands embracing the inclusion of people with disabilities in their advertising and promotion as it does have the power to change opinions and attitudes. "When we start seeing inclusivity in the media, then it becomes the new norm and this is a positive move for all children and adults with a disability, including Down syndrome."

Down Syndrome Ireland was established in 1971 and it is the voice of people with Down syndrome and their families throughout Ireland. The charity has over 3,500 member families with 26 branches nationwide.

DSI provides a wide range of vital services and supports including parental support, speech and language therapy, health, education, personal development and adult independence that enhance the lives of thousands of children and adults with Down syndrome across the country.
As Leaving Certificate students mull over their CAO offers, they can take heart that the majority of third level students are now highly optimistic about their future job prospects.

A new survey, commissioned by the Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU), has examined the attitudes and concerns of 474 third level students and 539 parents

What the students say:

Some 75% of students expect to find work in Ireland when they finish third level, compared with just 39% in 2011 at the height of the economic recession.

Less than a third of students (30%) expect to have to emigrate to find work, compared with a huge 75% in 2011. 10% of students now say they will actively look for a job overseas - down significantly from 32% six years ago. Over two thirds of students (65%) say they are looking forward to a bright future in Ireland - compared with just 21% in 2011.

Money concerns:

While confidence levels have improved hugely and the outlook in 2017 is largely optimistic, the attitude towards college-related finance and money issues has remained broadly the same.

Students continue to struggle to cope with the pressure of third level costs - with two thirds (66%) saying financial worries are negatively impacting their overall college experience in 2017.

This is almost on a par with 67% at the height of the recession in 2011. Almost six in ten students (59%) say that finance and debt is their biggest concern in 2017, a fall of just 9% on 2011 figures (68%).

Accommodation issues:

Accommodation is a source of major concern for students in 2017 with rental costs the main obstacle in finding somewhere suitable to live.

Four in ten had not yet sourced accommodation at the time of the survey (July 2017). Of these, 68% said they were worried that they may not be able to find accommodation for the coming college year.

Over half of the same group (54%) said it was because accommodation was too expensive, while well over a quarter (29%) said it was because they were unable to find anything suitable

Of all students surveyed, nine in ten view rental costs as being extremely or very high. 58% plan on living at homwe for the approaching college term in 2017, rising to 66% for the 2018 college term.

What the parents say:

The survey found that parents are also more optimistic about the prospects of employment for their children after college.

In 2011, 41% of parents said their child finding a job was this was their biggest worry, this figure has almost halved to 20% in 2017.

Money concerns:

However, on a less positive note, the numbers saying that money issues are their biggest worry has risen considerably.

In 2011, 25% of parents reported this to be their greatest college-related concern, now one third of parents (33%) say it is their biggest worry. It comes in well ahead of worrying about misuse of drugs and alcohol (15%) and their children passing exams (14%).

Previous increases in college registration fees (to a maximum rate of 3,000) could be one of the reasons why money is now the biggest worry for third level parents.

Indeed, when asked about the effect of the increased registration fees, 75% said family budgets had been adversely impacted by this. Almost eight in ten parents surveyed in 2017 (79%) said they will struggle to cover the cost of their child's third level education.

Accommodation issues:

Parents are also finding accommodation a significant worry with 56% saying they are particularly stressed about rental costs. Just 9% believe there is an adequate supply of rental accommodation for students.

Financial support:

The numbers of parents supporting their children with college related costs has increased slightly since 2011 with 92% now saying they financially support their children through third level, up from 90%.

More parents are now in a position to help finance third level costs through their savings and monthly income than in 2011.

The most common method of funding third level is now savings (43%) up from 38% in 2011. 42% of parents are using their monthly income, up from 39% in 2011.
The County Louth man shot dead in Mexico when he stopped to ask for directions was born in Clogherhead, it has been revealed.

Noel Maguire (29) tragically lost his life after he was shot a number of times while defending his girlfriend from two armed men who were trying to carjack the couple.

The pair had stopped at a petrol station in the town of Lazaro Cardenas last Tuesday to ask directions to a nearby beach.

Noel was born in Clogherhead where he lived for a number of years.

His mother, Angela O'Halloran, was from Rathkenny.

However both she and Noel's father are now deceased and the youngster moved to England at the age of four to live with an aunt.

His uncle told LMFM's Michael Reade show on Friday that Noel was a hard worker who had been living in America for a number of years and was looking forward to a 'trip of a lifetime' in Mexico when tragedy struck.

According to witnesses, the couple were approached by the two attackers who demanded they hand over their rented white Ford pick-up. One of the men then tried to grab the woman's handbag at which point Noel stepped in to try and protect her.

It is understood he was shot three times in the chest and dragged to nearby bushes where he was dumped.

The pair then fled the scene leaving Noel's distraught girlfriend at the scene.

State subsecretary for security, Carlos Gomez Arrieta, said they believed they had identified the gang which carried out the attack.

A spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs said they were aware of Mr Maguire's death and are providing consular assistance.
Watches are not rocket science. Or are they? Watches are not rocket...

Perhaps you dont have a PhD. Well, thats a shame, because with some watches, youll need one to understand how to tell the time. Perhaps you dont have a PhD. Well,...
One local man certainly showed the ladies how it's done, when he was awarded the accolade of 'Best Dressed Man' at the RDS Dublin Horse Show.

Brian Kidd (26) from Camolin decided to look his best when attending the Horse Show. Since he had a suit for the wedding of his friends Sarah Whelan and James Cousins, which took place the previous Friday, he gave it a second outing, and decided to enter the Best Dressed Man competition.

He was over the moon to be awarded the Louis Copeland Style with Attitude award, and was presented with his prize by Mr Copeland himself who said he hadn't seen such charisma in a long time.

Brian was presented with a 100 voucher to spend in a Louis Copeland outlet.

Speaking afterwards, Brian said he was delighted and said he planned to get some champagne to celebrate.

The competition was judged by Courtney Smith, fashion editor Bairbre Power and Dundrum Town Centre stylist Lorna Weightman.
If a hard Brexit comes to pass and forces the loss of Britain as a landbridge, Roll-On Roll-Off traffic at Rosslare Europort will be crucial.

Urging the government to step investment in major upgrades to access routes to the port, Deputy James Browne says Brexit, one way or another, will have a significant impact on transport supply chains right across Ireland.

'Rosslare Europort stands to see increased traffic volumes as it will be one of the few available transport options for Ireland to export and import perishable goods to and from the continent. However, access roads into and out of the port are already below standard,' he said.

'Heavy traffic on the roundabouts outside Wexford town is indicative of the county's infrastructural deficit. It's vital that access routes from Dublin and the West are prioritised, and with traffic volumes expected to grow, these upgrades must be undertaken as a matter of urgency.

'Transport Infrastructure Ireland has already highlighted the need for a third lane on the N11/M11 to address the growing congestion problem. It also claimed that any delay in investment would constrain growth and hinder productivity.'

Deputy Browne said that despite this, we haven't seen the Government come forward with any plan to invest in Rosslare Europort to help the facility deal with the fallout from Brexit.

'The government needs to seriously up its game when it comes to investing in transport infrastructure. Failure to do so will only lead to increased hardship for Wexford commuters and will damage the economy in the wider south-east,'he said.

meanwhile, a Tipperary councillor is calling for a joint meeting with councillors from Wexford and New Ross to discuss establishing a new motorway link connecting Limerick to Rosslare Eurport.

Cllr Eddie O'Meara says there should be a renewed push to ensure that the N24 connecting Limerick to Waterford is upgraded to a motorway bypassing Tipperary town.

He said it's just as important to get the route upgraded from Tipperary town to Rosslare, as it is from Limerick to Tipperary town, due to the potential chaos emanating from Brexit.

'If you exit through Dublin port, you'll have to go through the British zone, and back into the Eurozone,' said Cllr O'Meara.

'Whereas if you exit through Rosslare to Le Havre, or Cherbourg, you're still within the Eurozone, so you have no customs. It's vitally important for exports, and common sense would say that's the way to go.'

He said there should be a joint meeting with colleagues in Piltown Municipal District, New Ross, and Wexford, to explore the possibility of a joint delegation to government concerning the route.
Colaiste an Atha Kilmuckridge takes a break from the Leaving Cert next year. 'We introduced transition year last year, and all of the students opted to do it, so we don't have sixth year this year,' explained principal Elizabeth Martin. 'We have a small Leaving Cert Applied class, so we will have LCA exams, but no Leaving Cert.'

The addition of an extra year group will add to the already growing student body. Some 50 students received their results last Wednesday, while 55 students begin first year in September. There were lots of hugs and tears of joy as students and their families gathered on Wednesday to receive their much anticipated results.

Everyone was generally happy with the results. 'The ones who worked hard, got what they deserved,' she said, adding that even if there were fears about if they had enough points, there are always options, including repeating, a post-leaving cert course, or the next round of offers. Some students have already secured accommodation for UCD and Maynooth, while others will go to Waterford of Carlow, or do a PLC in agriculture in Kilmuckridge, or a PLC elsewhere.
Sligo County Council is hoping to provide car parking spaces in an area which has been described as chaotic at times in Rosses Point.

New businesses and shops are thriving across the road from the promenade on the old road through the village but parking has become a big issue with concerns that there may be an accident due to the narrowness of the road and visibility restricted due to double parking in the area.

Local residents have also expressed their annoyance at continued double parking in the area with entrances being blocked on occasions also.

Councillor Tom MacSharry says he has a lot of sympathy for those operating businesses in the area.

"It can certainly be described as chaotic at times. The big fear is that a child could get knocked down. There's a no parking sign erected by the council but it's ignored and drivers are parking on both sides of the road.

"Apart from it making it also awkward for buses to pass, drivers don't have a proper view of the road ahead with vehicles parked on both sides. A child could easily run out and not be seen until the last second.

"Locals are rightly frustrated at the situation. It can be very busy at week-ends in that area and traffic cannot get past at all at times. I have lobbied the County Council on the issue for some time now and the solution would appear to lie in the creation of car parking spaces, upwards on ten, along a portion of green area which will need to be subjected to a compulsory purchase order.

"The council is aware of the problems in the area and staff have already carried out a preliminary assessment with markers put down along a portion of the green area for the proposed spaces.

"In fairness to all councillors in the Sligo Municipal District area, we are all acutely aware of the problem and all councillors have lobbied for urgent parking bays to be put in place.

"The Council engineers have given a commitment that works will be done in early course subject to budget constraints," said Cllr MacSharry who thanked Rosses Point Development Association for their imput.

"The proposed parking spaces has the backing of local residents and the business community and I also believe it will be endorsed by all of the council when the matter comes before them," said Cllr MacSharry. One local business operator said the matter needed to be sorted as soon as possible.
Heritage Week is in full swing since last Saturday and there's still plenty of fun events organised for the rest of the week.

Retrace the steps of a Spanish Captain, explore the biodiversity along the banks of the Garavogue, learn about Collooney's industrial past or watch real bread-making in action at Feed Restaurant in Riverstown - the options are many from the Sligo guide on www.heritageweek.ie.

Other ideas include joining Aideen Ireland of Sligo Field Club for her talk about Co. W.G. Wood-Martin who died 100 years ago or explore the architectural restoration that is on-going at Markee Castle.

Or why not visit the historic graveyard at St. Fechins in Ballisdare?

County Sligo Heritage & Genealogy Society will host a presentation depicting the history of emigration and passenger travel from the port of Sligo from pre-famine times to the early 1900's at Aras Reddan, Temple Street at 2.30-4.30pm today (Tuesday).

Two special events to watch out for is National Wild Child day tomorrow, Wednesday 23rd August when events have been planned to encourage children (and their parents!) to get outdoors and find out more about their local natural environment.

This Sunday 27th August we're being asked to take time to explore your local streams, rivers, lakes and beaches in the first National Water Heritage Day.

Join members of Sligo Tidy Towns for a nature, water and Poetry stroll along the Garavogue River on Sunday (27) from 12-1pm. Michael Bell will talk about how important the river is for wildlife and Community Water Officer Karen Kennedy will chat about reconnecting with nature and our rivers.

Meet at the Doorly Park Arch, Riverside, Sligo at 12 pm and bring your own water poems to share along the walk.

To mark the end of Heritage week in Sligo the Carrowmore Visitor Centre has arranged a session of traditional Irish music by The Piper's Stones 2-4pm this Sunday 27th August.

For the full list of events see heritageweek.ie.
Damage to the main Derry to Moville road in Co Donegal caused by the force of a flooded river overnight, after heavy rain left a trail of destruction. Photo: Brian Hutton/PA

A man looks at a tractor which has fallen into a hole after a road collapsed in Iskaheen. Photo: Niall Carson/PA Wire

There is confusion in Donegal as locals waited for the 30 soldiers who were sent to help after flash flooding hit on Tuesday night.

Flood-hit communities in the north-west were expecting the platoon to arrive at 9am this morning to help with the flood relief.

Just after 2pm today, the army arrived at Burnfoot, Co Donegal.

The Red Cross were also being sent to Donegal to administer a flood relief scheme for small businesses.

More than 100 people had to be rescued from cars and houses due to sudden flash flooding in Donegal, Tyrone and Derry on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Across Inishowen alone, the scale of the disaster was described as unprecedented and catastrophic, with the Irish Government opening an emergency fund for immediate assistance and clean-up. The damage is expected to run up a repair bill in the multi-millions.

Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Devastation in Carndonagh and Inishowen Photo: Jimmy Stafford Devastation in Carndonagh and Inishowen Photo: Jimmy Stafford Devastation in Carndonagh and Inishowen Photo: Jimmy Stafford Damage to the main Derry to Moville road in Co Donegal caused by the force of a flooded river overnight, after heavy rain left a trail of destruction. Photo: Brian Hutton/PA Minister Kevin Boxer Moran inspects a damaged home in Burnfoot. Photo: Caroline Quinn Transport Minister Shane Ross talks to Kathleen Molly in her flood-hit home in Burnfoot. Photo: Caroline Quinn 23 Aug 2017; General view of flood-damaged football pitch at Cockhill Celtic grounds, with treadmill that was carried the length of the pitch from the adjacent Dunree Boxing Club. Buncrana, Co. Donegal. Picture: Caroline Quinn Aine Durkin outside her flood-damaged home in Buncrana, Co. Donegal. Photo: Caroline Quinn 23 Aug 2017; General view of flood-damage boxing club. Dunree Boxing Club, Buncrana, Co. Donegal. Picture: Caroline Quinn Annettes Hair Salon owner Annette Doherty (right) and friend Tina McDaid cleaning up after the floods. Photo: Caroline Quinn General view of flood-damaged boxing club in Buncrana, Co. Donegal. Picture: Caroline Quinn Floods in Carndonagh, Co Donegal. Photo Jimmy Stafford Floods in Carndonagh, Co Donegal. Photo Jimmy Stafford Floods in Carndonagh, Co Donegal. Photo Jimmy Stafford Flooding hit parts of Derry. Flooding hit parts of Derry. Flooding hit parts of Derry. / Facebook

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Minister Kevin 'Boxer' Moran has pledged that the government will provide Donegal County Council with "whatever funding is necessary" to deal with what he called a "disaster zone".

Mr Moran made the promise as he estimated that up to 500 homes may have been impacted by the floods and spoke of damaged infrastructure that will need to be repaired.

The OPW minister - who has responsibility for flood relief - was speaking after a multi-agency emergency meeting in Dublin this morning.

He also pleaded with insurance companies not to blacklist householders whose homes have been hit by the floods.

Mr Moran denied that the government's response has been too little too late and he vowed: "We'll be there with the people and we'll stand by people in relation to this disaster that's taken place up there."

Mr Moran refused to estimated the cost of the damage but said it will be "a lot oh money".

He said the authorities are in the early stages of assessing the costs adding: "It's a disaster zone up there in Donegal."

Speaking to RTE's Morning Ireland, Super Junior Minister Paul Kehoe, who is Minister of State for Defence, said the choice of number was an "operational matter."

"The number of 30 soldiers... well, that was an operational matter between Donegal County Council and the Defence Forces," Minister Kehoe said.

"What I don't want to see is 60-70 people arriving into Donegal and standing around with nothing to do.

"They will be deployed in a proper fashion."

The minister also said the number will be reassessed today and more soldiers can be sent to the area if necessary.

"This morning the Defence Forces will arrive in Donegal to help with the clean-up.

"When the troops arrive, we will decide how best to deploy members and how best for them to assist in the clean-up

"I welcome this. We need to bring life back to normality.

"Minister Joe McHugh briefed me. I assisted by sending 30 members and more will go if necessary, depending on what happens today.

"As you've already seen, over 200 homes have been affected, roads, bridges.... the tourism industry is affected too. It's devastating to see the damage caused. But the army will be here to assist."

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More than 150 households were affected in Donegal. People needing financial help for food and everyday essentials, cleaning, structural work and white goods were urged to apply at welfare offices.

In Derry, more than 200 households reported needing assistance following flooding. Dozens of businesses were also affected, some seeing cars and vehicles swept away.

Minister Joe McHugh has announced that a Defence Forces platoon will arrive in Donegal this morning to help with the clean-up after the flood disaster.

Minister McHugh had been in discussions with Cabinet colleague Paul Kehoe, Minister for Defence, about assistance after the devastation caused by Tuesday nights disaster.

Some 30 Defence Forces personnel will be deployed in Inishowen from 9am today.

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I want to thank my colleague the Minister for Defence Paul Kehoe who has been ready to assist wherever he can, said Minister McHugh.

I also want to thank the Defence Forces who once again remain ready to help citizens when they are in need.

It became increasingly clear on Wednesday that as Donegal County Council tried to estimate the damage done that the picture was getting progressively worse and earlier today  having seen the devastation first hand - I asked for help from the Defence Forces and contacted Minister Kehoe.

Many assessents of damage remain to be done. However it was also clear more help is needed on the ground.

Im conscious that local people in local communities are helping each other and I want to pay tribute to all those involved.

Ive been assured that more Defence Forces personnel will be deployed should they be needed.

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Weather warning

Two status yellow weather warnings were issued for five counties yesterday evening and remains in place until today Friday at 3pm.

Galway, Sligo, Mayo and Leitrim are expected to receive heavy rainfall today.

Donegal was warned to prepare for more rain as another 20 to 30 millimetres was expected to fall on the county last night.

The status yellow rainfall warning was issued at 6pm on Thursday and will remain in place until 6pm today.

Met Eireann forecaster, Liz Walsh, told Independent.ie that there will be heavy rain in some parts of the country.

Today will be mostly cloudy in the northern half of the country, with outbreaks of rain expected in Connacht, Ulster and in north Leinster but drier further south. However the bad weather is set to spread across the country as the day goes on.

The weather should settle on Saturday and it's expected to stay bright and mostly dry, with sunny spells and just a few scattered showers across the north and north eastern parts of the country.

Sunday is set for some bright spells in parts of the east and south, but mostly cloudy, with outbreaks of rain and drizzle across the country.

Temperatures over the weekend will range from 16 degrees to 20 degrees.
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Supporters of former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh mark the 35th anniversary of the founding of the Popular Conference Party in Sanaa (AP)

The rubble of houses destroyed by Saudi-led ai rstrikes in Sanaa (AP)

Saudi-led coalition's fighter jets have rained bombs on the Yemeni capital, levelling houses packed with civilians and killing at least 14 people including eight members of a single family, witnesses said.

The family's year-old baby was among those killed, relatives in Sanaa's southern district of Fag Attan said.

The bombing was the latest in a significant escalation in the coalition's air campaign in Yemen. On Wednesday, at least 41 people died when air strikes hit a small hotel in the town of Arhab, north of Sanaa.

The attack prompted the United Nations to renew calls for an investigation into the atrocities in Yemen's civil war.

Over the past two years, more than 10,000 people have been killed and three million displaced amid the coalition's air campaign against Yemen's Iran-backed Shiite rebels.

The Saudi-led campaign is seeking to restore Yemen's internationally recognised government back to power.

The worst-hit house in Fag Attan was a three-storey building occupied by at least three families. Mohammed al-Rimi and his wife lived on the first floor with their six children. They all died except one child, and a visiting brother-in-law was also killed.

The strikes in and around Sanaa, targeting army compounds and other locations of the rebels known as Houthis, have intensified recently.

Liz Throssell, a spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said the UN has confirmed that 33 of the 41 people killed in Arhab were civilians.

The Saudi-led air strikes have hit schools, hospitals and markets, killing thousands of civilians and prompting rights groups to accuse the coalition of war crimes.

Activists have called on Western countries, including the US and UK, to cease military support for the coalition.

The conflict has triggered a set of humanitarian crises including a cholera epidemic which killed around 2,000 people and infected more than half a million as Yemen's health, water, and sanitation systems were near collapse, while shortages of basic necessities left millions hungry and pushed the impoverished nation to the brink of famine.

The escalation comes amid signs of fracturing between the two main components of the rebel grouping in Sanaa, the Houthis and loyalists of ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh - a stand-off that has triggered fears of street violence.

The rebel group controls much of northern Yemen, including the capital, while the coalition along with the internationally recognised government of Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi controls much of the south.

On Thursday, Mr Saleh drew about 300,000 supporters for a rally in the streets of Sanaa in a public show of support amid the tensions with the Houthis. His supporters said in a statement that the party will evaluate its partnership with the Houthis.

AP
Police in South Australia have charged a man with unlawful possession after a number of weird items were found at his home.

While investigating a series of thefts police searched a property in Renmark, discovering items suspected to have been stolen, including antique clocks and a canoe.

Oh, and hundreds of avocados.

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Avocados, which have been put forward as the symbol of a generation, became somewhat controversial in Australia when columnist Bernard Salt claimed millennials spend too much money on avocado toast rather than saving for a deposit on a home.

Maybe this person was just thinking outside the box.

Expand Close Hundreds of stolen avocados / Facebook

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The bizarre discovery was made on Thursday but, while the owners of the other items have been identified, the owner of the avocados is yet to come forward.

Police are urging anyone with knowledge of the thefts or a few hundred missing avocados to get in touch.
With the Islamic month of Hajj soon to begin, two childrens interpretation of the ritual, involving some of DCs most famous characters, is receiving a lot of attention.

Hajj is the annual pilgrimage to the holiest city in Islam, Mecca, and is one of Islams five pillars. Muslims are required to complete the pilgrimage at least once in their lives if they can physically and financially afford it.

Musa, five, and Maryam, three, were tasked by their parents with recreating the Hajj landscape to learn not only its basic rituals, but also the spirituality behind the entire journey.

My wife made salt dough which my son fashioned in to mountains and pillars. My daughter took elements of her doll house and decorated the remaining parts of the Hajj landscape, Faraz Ali, a medical doctor and film-maker from Wales, said.

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Millions of people across the world complete the Hajj pilgrimage each year, for spiritual rediscovery and forgiveness, Faraz said, usually covered in just two pieces of white unstitched cloth  leaving no distinguishing between rich and poor.

Faraz and his wife Reja, who home-schools the kids and is also a business graduate studying for a bachelors degree in Islamic studies, wanted to show how Hajj is not only a physical endeavour, but a method for deeper reflection through which people develop their characters.

And thats where Batman and the Joker came in.

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Batman, one of the most famous DC Comics superheroes, is right there holding the Jokers hand as they seek repentance together  and people loved that.

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Faraz said: Kids have innocent hearts and its the beauty of this truth that struck my wife and I. My daughter took her Disney princesses and my son took his action figures, Batman and Joker included. He wanted to make a special point that whether youre the most evil of villains, or the most righteous of heroes, its never too late to repent. Gods proverbial arms are always open.

The idea that Gods mercy is greater than His wrath is prevalent in Islamic theology and the innocent interpretation of this was incredibly endearing to watch.

He added: Amalgamating the worlds of fiction and fact made teaching our children so much easier and relatable. They understand now that though world law and order exists, on a spiritual level even Joker can be as good as Batman.

So there you go, maybe Ben Afflecks Batman can be rescued after all.
Kim Jong Un visits the Chemical Material Institute of the Academy of Defence Science in an undated photo released by North Koreas Korean Central News Agency, Image: Reuters

Kim Jong Un reportedly ordered the execution of his uncle and mentor in December 2013 after learning that Jang Song-thaek had proposed to China that it support a coup to replace the North Korean dictator with his half-brother Kim Jong-nam.

Mr Jang met in Beijing with Hu Jintao, the then-Chinese president, in August 2012, according to reports in Japan's 'Nikkei Asian Review'. Mr Jang had cultivated close business and political ties with China and was trusted by Beijing.

Sources told the newspaper that Mr Jang proposed a plot to overthrow Mr Kim, with Beijing's assistance, and to replace him with his oldest half-brother.

Mr Hu was not in a position to give an immediate answer to the suggestion, however, as he was facing an internal crisis of his own. Mr Hu's closest adviser Ling Jihua was facing disgrace after his fast-living son was killed in a speeding Ferrari when it crashed in Beijing.

The alleged plot was discovered by Zhou Yongkang, a former member of China's Politburo Standing Committee and a close aide to another former president Jiang Zemin. As head of the police and Ministry of State Security, Mr Zhou had built up connections with North Korea, including with Mr Kim.

Internal political rivalries convinced Mr Zhou to inform Mr Kim - who had only taken over control of North Korea after the death of his father in December 2011 - of the plan to stage a coup and replace him.

After hearing of the plot, "the North Korean leader flew into a rage" and, in December 2013, ordered the arrest and execution of Mr Jang.

The statement released after Mr Jang's arrest hints at the reasons for his nephew's ruthlessness, describing him as "human scum, who was worse than a dog" and claiming he "perpetrated thrice-cursed acts of treachery in betrayal of such profound trust and warmest paternal love shown by the party and the leader".

It added that he "had desperately worked for years to destabilise and bring down the DPRK and grab the supreme power of the party and state by employing all the most cunning and sinister means and methods".

Meanwhile, Russian nuclear-capable strategic bombers have flown over the Pacific Ocean, the Sea of Japan, the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea, prompting Japan and South Korea to scramble jets to escort them, Russia said yesterday.

Russia's Defence Ministry said in a statement the Tupolev-95MS bombers, code named 'Bears' by Nato, flew over neutral waters and were accompanied by Russian Sukhoi-35S fighter jets and A-50 early warning and control aircraft.

It gave no details about how many aircraft took part in what it called a pre-arranged flight and did not say when or why the mission took place.
A Japanese battle tank taking part in a live-fire exercise at the foot of Mount Fuji, Japan yesterday. The four-day annual drills take place amid rising tensions between North Korea and the United States. Photo: Getty Images

In the midst of the vitriol flying between Washington and Pyongyang, a number of voices have emerged to assure the world that war is indeed unlikely. The leadership of both nations, they explain, has many rational, well-informed actors who recognise the catastrophic consequences of a second Korean War, and hence will avoid crossing any of the critical lines that might take us there.

Theoretically, the voices are correct. Unfortunately, modern history shows that decisions for war are not made in theoretical circumstances, nor rooted in rational calculation. They are made by flawed individuals driven by emotion, miscalculation and misperception, and influenced by others with their own agendas far from the chain of command.

Expand Close Soldiers in an anti-terror drill at the National Assembly in Seoul as part of a South Korea-US joint military exercise. Photo: Getty Images / Facebook

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The great danger of the current crisis is thus not that decision-makers in Washington and Pyongyang will deliberately weigh the costs and benefits of another Korean War and decide it is worth pursuing. It is instead that a sudden and unexpected moment triggers a hasty and emotional decision that leads both sides down a tragic path from which there is no return.

The 1962 Cuban missile crisis demonstrates how easily foreign policy crises can spin out of control. Most Americans celebrate the wisdom demonstrated by president John F Kennedy and premier Nikita Khrushchev, who acted with restraint while working to avoid a devastating clash. Few Americans, however, understand how close to war we actually came despite their efforts, as the actions of less well-known figures and the inevitable chaos of unanticipated circumstances threatened to undermine their best intentions.

On October 27, 1962, Soviet forces shot down an American U-2 over Cuba, killing the pilot, Major Rudolf Anderson. Mr Khrushchev had given specific orders not to fire on American targets unless war had started, but the Soviet commander on the ground, General Stepan Naumovich Grechko, decided to shoot it down on his own authority. American officials had earlier agreed that such an action would probably evoke an American military response against Cuba, but Mr Kennedy wisely chose to delay such a response.

That same day, American ships were harassing a Soviet submarine in the Caribbean. With no contact from Moscow and unsure of the current status of events on land, captain Valentin Grigorievitch Savitsky ordered the launch of a nuclear torpedo. Only the opposition of his second-in-command prevented an act that surely would have sparked massive retaliation.

In the end, the crisis was resolved peacefully. But the fact the world came perilously close to nuclear conflict because of actions taken by individuals outside of the world's capitals and based on erroneous assumptions should be a sobering warning for those who minimise the current dangers.

The path to other recent conflicts also demonstrates the road to war seldom runs through an informed assessment of facts on the ground. In June 1950, North Korean forces swept over the 38th parallel, sparking the Korean War. Soviet premier Joseph Stalin had earlier rejected Kim Il Sung's request to launch an attack against the South.

But he soon changed his mind, in no small part due to a mistaken belief the US would not intervene, and because of Kim's unmerited assurances that massive indigenous backing from the South would ensure a quick victory before president Harry Truman could react.

Likewise, the American role in the Vietnam War exploded after the alleged second Gulf of Tonkin attack on August 4, 1964. This attack never occurred, but American military and political leaders believed it had, and president Lyndon Johnson used it as an excuse to obtain the equivalent of a declaration of war. In neither of these cases was the critical decision for war made as part of a sober and thorough assessment of accurate evidence. Yet, war came nonetheless.

The current stand-off in Korea seems particularly ripe for such an unintended conflict. A long history of rivalry has predisposed each side to read the worst possible motives into the other's actions. Official lines of communication between the two are virtually non-existent. The two leaders are inexperienced and emotional, with a tendency to personalise strategic matters and unleash bellicose rhetoric that just heightens tensions.

North Korean defectors warn of Kim Jong Un's desperate and unyielding commitment to his nuclear programme, which he sees as critical to the preservation of his regime, and of the growing doubts about his government at home. The North has launched a number of limited but deadly military operations against the US and South Korea over the past decades, ranging from the attack on the USS Pueblo in 1968 to the attack on the Cheonan in 2010, but has never faced serious retribution for them, probably encouraging Kim to trust in the safety of a limited strike that could be a critical first step.

Recent history suggests the greatest danger we face is not that Donald Trump and Mr Kim will decide to go to war, but that isolated individuals who most have never heard of, operating within the inevitable chain of mistakes and miscalculations that are the by-product of human weakness and exigent circumstances, will decide for them. This concern seems particularly acute as the US and South Korea hold their annual Ulchi Freedom Guardian drills, which for the first time might include a nuclear war game and which the North has condemned for "adding fuel to the fire".

Policymakers on both sides need to be cognisant at all times of the heightened risks inherent in such situations, act with restraint at even the slightest alleged provocation and impose institutional checks at every level to prevent a small misstep from spiralling out of control.

Mitchell Lerner is associate professor of history and director of the Institute for Korean Studies at the Ohio State University
Danish authorities have filed another charge against the inventor of a home-made submarine suspected in the death of Swedish journalist Kim Wall, whose headless torso was found off Copenhagen.

Peter Madsen, already charged with preliminary manslaughter for Ms Wall's death, now faces a charge of indecent handling of a corpse, according to chief investigator Jens Moeller Jensen.

Madsen denies wrongdoing, saying Ms Wall died in an accident aboard the submarine and he buried her at sea.

She was last seen alive on the submarine on August 10 and her naked torso was found on Monday.

Police said her head, arms and leg had been deliberately cut off. They also said a piece of metal had been attached to the torso "likely with the purpose to make it sink", and marks on it indicated someone had tried to press air out of the body so it would not float.

Under Denmark's penal code, a manslaughter charge carries a prison sentence of between five years and life, and indecent handling of corpses carries a fine or up to six months in jail.

DNA tests made public on Wednesday confirmed the torso was Ms Wall's and dried blood found inside the submarine, which sank during the trip, also matched her DNA.

Mr Moeller Jensen said investigators still were looking for other body parts and her clothes, including an orange turtleneck blouse, a black-and-white skirt and white trainers. Her family said Ms Wall was doing a story on Madsen.

He added that divers were searching the harbour of Dragoer, a village on the southern tip of Amager, where Madsen, an aerospace and submarine enthusiast, was detained after being rescued on August 11 from the sinking submarine.

Police believe he deliberately scuttled the vessel.

The case has prompted investigators to reopen unsolved killings in Denmark, including the 1986 find of the dismembered remains of a 22-year-old Japanese tourist whose corpse was found in several plastic bags in Copenhagen harbour.

Mr Moeller Jensen stressed that it was standard procedure to look at cold cases and there is no immediate link to Ms Wall's killing.

AP
Fashion brands have distanced themselves from the Scottish wife of Donald Trump's millionaire treasury secretary following a bizarre Instagram rant.

Louise Linton was accused of boasting about her wealth on social media following a state-funded trip to Kentucky. She posted a photo of herself emerging from a government plane tagging fashion labels including Valentino, Hermes, Roland Mouret and Tom Ford.

Designers have responded by insisting Mrs Linton, married to former hedge fund manager Steve Mnuchin, received no benefit for mentioning them.

A Valentino spokesperson said the actress, who appeared in 2016 horror film 'Cabin Fever', "did not receive any gifted merchandise, compensation or loans". She also did not receive any free merchandise from Tom Ford and is not affiliated with the brand.

A so-called 'top fashion insider' was quoted by media saying: "Louise won't be invited to Fashion Week or the big galas. And she won't be appearing in 'Vogue', if her wedding pictures [with Trump] hadn't already killed her chances with Anna Wintour." In the now-deleted post, she wrote "Great daytrip to Kentucky! nicest people beautiful countryside roland mouret pants tomford sunnies, hermes scarf valentino rock studheels valentino usa". Her post was widely criticised.

A Treasury Department spokesperson said Mr Mnuchin and Mrs Linton are reimbursing the government for her travel, and she received no compensation from the fashion labels.
Serbia and Macedonia agreed to mend ties on Wednesday, two days after Belgrade pulled its embassy staff out of Skopje to protest "offensive actions" by its southern neighbour.

In a joint statement after a telephone conversation between Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, the two leaders said they had agreed to a dialogue to solve outstanding issues.

"Regardless of political differences over certain important political and regional matters, Serbia and Macedonia will jointly strive not only to preserve, but to improve friendly relations," it said.

On Tuesday, Vucic said Serbia's consular staff would resume work in Macedonia next week and the ambassador would return in September.

Earlier this week, the Serbian embassy staff were withdrawn because of what Vucic called "offensive actions" against Serbia's institutions, something Macedonian authorities denied .

The withdrawal coincided with reports that Skopje was joining diplomatic efforts to secure Kosovo's membership in the U.N. cultural agency UNESCO.

Kosovo, a former Serbian province, became independent in 2008. Nine years before, NATO air strikes had ousted Serb security forces and ended a two-year crackdown on ethnic Albanians.

Kosovo is recognised by 114 countries, including Macedonia and 23 European Union members. But Serbia's allies, Russia and China, are still blocking its full membership of the United Nations and its agencies.

On Monday, the Macedonian government said it would take into account the position of a majority of EU members in the vote over Kosovo's UNESCO membership. Nearly a third of Macedonia's population of 2.1 million is ethnic Albanian.

Maintaining good relations with neighbours is a key requirement for the six Western Balkan states, including Kosovo, Macedonia and Serbia, to make progress towards desired EU membership.

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Danish prosecutors will seek a murder charge against the self-built submarine inventor who was last seen with Swedish journalist Kim Wall before her headless torso was found floating off Denmark.

"At latest on September 5, we will try to hold him in custody on a murder charge ... after her (dismembered) body was found," special prosecutor Jakob Buch-Jepsen told AFP, referring to Peter Madsen.

The 46-year-old inventor has been held in formal custody since August 12 on suspicion of "negligent manslaughter", in a case that has shocked and intrigued people around the world.

Prosecutors have until September 5 to request an extension of his custody.

Mr Madsen, who has denied the allegations against him, has insisted Ms Wall died in an accident on board.

He says that he dumped the body in the water at an undefined location in Koge Bay, south of Copenhagen.

Prosecutors have said that they plan to seek a murder charge after the recovery of 30-year-old Ms Wall's body, which investigators say was "deliberately" mutilated and weighted down with a metal object.

Ms Wall, a freelance journalist who has reported for 'The New York Times' and 'The Guardian', was last seen on board Mr Madsen's submarine earlier this month to interview him for a feature story.

Her boyfriend reported her missing a day later.

The same day, Mr Madsen was rescued from waters between Denmark and Sweden shortly before his submarine sank. Investigators have recovered and searched the sunken submarine, which police believe was intentionally sunk by Mr Madsen.

The cause of death and motive remain unknown. ( Daily Telegraph, London)
Dutch police said yesterday they had arrested another man after cancelling a Rotterdam concert by a US rock band following a tip-off about a possible terror threat.

The man was detained before dawn in the Brabant region, police said in a statement, adding that the driver of a van with Spanish plates carrying gas canisters who was detained late on Wednesday in Rotterdam also remained in custody.

The arrests came after last week's twin vehicle attacks in Spain that killed 15 people, which were claimed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) group.

"A 22-year-old man from Brabant was arrested yesterday morning in the investigation into a terrorist threat Wednesday evening in Rotterdam," police said in a statement.

It was the second arrest after that of the Spanish van driver who was detained only hours after officials cancelled a concert by Los Angeles rock group Allah-Las.

The driver, who was "possibly driving under the influence", was "arrested because of his driving", police said, adding that officers had found a "number of gas canisters" in his van.

The man, whom police said was a mechanic, was interviewed again yesterday.

But Dutch authorities have cautioned there may be no link between the van driver and the tip-off which came from Spanish police.

Spanish and French police launched a Europe-wide manhunt last week for members of a terror cell that carried out the deadly van attack on Barcelona's Las Ramblas last Wednesday.

Spanish police later found bomb-making equipment that included more than 100 tanks of butane gas, nails, and 500 litres of acetone peroxide, which can be used as a crude and unstable homemade explosive.

There were no suggestions on Wednesday night that the apparent foiled terror plot in Rotterdam was linked to the Barcelona cell.

Sources said there was no connection with Barcelona and that the tip-off about the Rotterdam plot was the result of an investigation by the Spanish Civil Guard that had been under way for some time

Ahmed Aboutaleb, the mayor of Rotterdam, warned against "swift conclusions".

"It would be wrong at this moment to pile up these facts and conclude: thus there was a plan to attack with gas bottles, et cetera, because that was the picture last week in Barcelona. I would be careful with that," he said.

In an interview with 'The Guardian' last year, band members said they chose their name because they were seeking a "holy sounding" name and did not realise it might cause offence.
Mark Asay was convicted of two racially-motivated murders (Florida Department of Corrections/AP)

Florida has put a man to death with an anaesthetic never used before in a US lethal injection.

Authorities said Mark Asay, 53, the first white man executed in Florida for the killing of a black man, was pronounced dead at 6.22pm local time on Thursday at the state prison in Starke.

Asay received a three-drug injection that began with the anaesthetic etomidate.

Though approved by the Florida Supreme Court, etomidate has been criticised by some as being unproven in an execution.

It replaced midazolam, which became harder to acquire after many drug companies began refusing to provide it for executions.

Asked whether he wanted to make a final statement before his execution, Asay said: "No sir, I do not. Thank you."

Michelle Glady, a spokeswoman for the corrections department, said there was no complication in the procedure and Asay did not speak during it.

The execution was Florida's first since the US Supreme Court halted the practice in the state after finding its method for sentencing people to death to be unconstitutional.

Earlier that day the court rejected Asay's final appeal without comment.

Etomidate, the first of three drugs administered in Florida's new execution mixture, is followed by two others, the last of which stops the heart.

Prison authorities have defended the choice of etomidate, saying it has been reviewed.

Doctors hired by Asay's lawyers raised questions about etomidate in court declarations, saying there were cases where it had caused pain, along with involuntary writhing in patients.

But in its opinion allowing the drug to be used, the state's high court said earlier this month that four expert witnesses demonstrated that Asay "is at small risk of mild to moderate pain".

Prosecutors say Asay made racist comments in the 1987 fatal shooting of a Robert Booker, 34. He was also convicted of the 1987 murder of Robert McDowell, 26, who was mixed race, white and Hispanic.

Asay hired Mr McDowell, who was dressed as a woman, as a prostitute, and killed him after learning his true gender, prosecutors said.

He is the first white man to be executed in Florida for killing a black man.

At least 20 black men have been executed for killing white victims since the state reinstated the death penalty in 1976, according to data from the Death Penalty Information Centre.

A total of 92 Florida inmates had been executed previously in that period.

Asay's spiritual adviser, Norman Smith of Cavalry Chapel in Melbourne, Florida, who spent two hours with him before his execution, said Asay admitted spouting racial epithets before Mr Booker's murder, but said he was drunk and angry, not a racist.

"Until I heard that I would've never known that this man was tagged as a racist," said Mr Smith, who is black.

Executions in Florida were put on hold for 18 months after the Supreme Court ruled that the old system was unconstitutional because it gave judges, not juries, the power to decide.

Since then, Florida's legislature passed a law requiring a unanimous jury for death penalty recommendations.

In Asay's case, jurors recommended death for both murder counts by a 9-3 vote.

Even though the new law requires unanimity, Florida's high court ruled that the US Supreme Court's ruling did not apply to older cases.

Asay is the 24th inmate executed since governor Rick Scott took office, the most under any governor in Florida history.

AP
Satellite image showing Hurricane Harvey off the Gulf of Mexico (Nasa/AP)

US President Donald Trump is encouraging the public to prepare for Hurricane Harvey before it makes landfall in Texas.

The president took to Twitter to encourage "everyone in the path of #HurricaneHarvey to heed the advice & orders of their local and state officials".

His tweet included a link with more information on the storm.

Harvey was upgraded to a dangerous Category 3 hurricane and is expected to make landfall on Friday night or Saturday morning on the middle Texas coast.

The US National Hurricane Centre said Harvey has maximum wind speeds of 120mph as the powerful storm approaches the Texas coast.

Forecasters are labelling it a "life-threatening storm".

The storm quickly grew on Thursday from a tropical depression into a Category 1 hurricane, and then developed into a Category 2 storm early Friday.

By Friday afternoon, it had become a Category 3 storm.

The last Category 3 storm to hit the US was Hurricane Wilma in October 2005 in Florida.

The slow-moving Harvey is fuelled by warm Gulf of Mexico waters.

Texas governor Greg Abbott has warned that Hurricane Harvey "is going to be a very major disaster".

Mr Abbott said he had asked Mr Trump for a federal disaster declaration.

Aside from savage winds and storm surges, the system was expected to drop prodigious amounts of rain.

The resulting flooding, one expert said, could be "the depths of which we've never seen".

The slow-moving hurricane could be the fiercest storm to hit the US in almost a dozen years, with the potential for winds hitting 125mph and storm surges of 12ft.

"We're forecasting continuing intensification right up until landfall," NHC spokesman Dennis Feltgen said earlier.

All seven Texas counties on the coast from Corpus Christi to the western end of Galveston Island have ordered mandatory evacuations of tens of thousands of residents from all low-lying areas.

In four of those counties, officials ordered their entire county evacuated and warned those who stayed behind that no one could be guaranteed rescue.

Voluntary evacuations have been urged for Corpus Christi and for the Bolivar Peninsula, a sand spit near Galveston where many homes were washed away by the storm surge of Hurricane Ike in 2008.

Texas officials expressed concern that not as many people are evacuating compared with previous storms.

"A lot of people are taking this storm for granted thinking it may not pose much of a danger to them," Mr Abbott earlier told Houston television station KPRC.

"Please heed warnings and evacuate as soon as possible."

Mr Abbott has activated about 700 members of the state National Guard ahead of Harvey making landfall.

The NHC said storm surges as much as 3ft could be expected as far north as Morgan City, Louisiana, 400 miles away from the anticipated landfall.

Once it reaches land, the storm is expected to stall, dumping copious amounts of rain for days in areas like flood-prone Houston, the nation's fourth most-populous city, and San Antonio.

State transportation officials are considering when to turn all evacuation routes from coastal areas into one-way traffic arteries heading inland.

AP
Christopher Cantwell went into hiding fearing for his life. Photo: Reuters

A white supremacist who rose to fame after appearing in a Charlottesville documentary and reprimanding US president Donald Trump for "giving his daughter to a Jew" has handed himself in to police.

Christopher Cantwell (36) was shown in the Vice News documentary calling for an "ethno-state" and saying that the death of Heather Heyer, when a white supremacist drove a car into a crowd of counter-demonstrators, was justified.

"I think that a lot more people are going to die before we're done here," he added.

After 44 million people had watched the documentary, Mr Cantwell went into hiding and said he feared for his life.

He turned himself in to police on Wednesday to face three felony charges in connection with the riots in Virginia.

Mr Cantwell was wanted by University of Virginia police on two counts of the illegal use of tear gas or other gases and one count of malicious bodily injury with a "caustic substance," explosive or fire.

University police issued a brief statement late on Wednesday, saying Mr Cantwell had turned himself in to police in nearby Lynchburg, Virginia and was being held at a regional jail pending transport to Charlottesville.

Contacted by reporters on Tuesday, Mr Cantwell acknowledged that he had pepper-sprayed a counter- demonstrator during an August 11 protest on the campus of the University of Virginia, the day before the Charlottesville rally.

However, he insisted that he was defending himself and said he did it "because my only other option was knocking out his teeth".

Mr Cantwell also said he was looking forward to his day in court.
President Donald Trump has been widely condemned for his response to the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia. Photo: Reuters

Donald Trump must be impeached as soon as possible, a former US labour secretary has urged.

Robert Reich said Mr Trump represents a "clear and present danger to America" and must be removed from office.

His comments followed the former real estate mogul's divisive campaign rally in Arizona that saw him attack the "fake media" and "truly dishonest journalists", who he claims misrepresented his comments on Charlottesville.

Surrounded by his core base, he claimed his response to the Virginia protests was "perfect" in a rambling and wide-ranging speech.

Mr Reich branded Mr Trump a "howling manchild" in the wake of the Charlottesville violence, and said the criticism of the US President's response could help to make him "irrelevant".

"It's unlikely Trump will be impeached or thrown out of office on grounds of mental impairment. At least any time soon," he wrote in an op-ed on his website.

"Yet there's another way Trump can be effectively removed. He can be made irrelevant. It's already starting to happen. The howling manchild who occupies the Oval Office is being cut off and contained."

He said Mr Trump's widely condemned response to the Charlottesville protests - in which he blamed the violence that killed one counter protester on "both sides" - had allowed Republicans to criticise him more openly than before.

"We're not out of danger. Trump will continue to rant and fume. He'll insult. He'll stoke racial tensions. He could still start a nuclear war," he said.

"But, hopefully, he won't be able to exercise much presidential power from here on. He's being ostracised like a obnoxious adolescent who's been grounded. When the media stop reporting his tweets, his isolation and irrelevance will be complete."

Yesterday, Mr Trump's fellow Republicans openly rebuked him after his threat to shut down the US government over funding for a border wall rattled markets and cast a shadow over congressional efforts to raise the country's debt ceiling and pass spending bills.

Shutdown

"I don't think anyone's interested in having a shutdown," the top Republican in Congress, House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan, told reporters.

Mr Ryan said building a wall along the border with Mexico to deter illegal immigration was necessary, but added that the government did not have to choose between border security and shuttering operations.

Mr Trump in a speech threatened a shutdown if Congress does not agree to fund constructing the wall, a signature promise of his presidential campaign, which added a new complication to Republicans' months-long struggle to reach a budget deal.

After Mexico rejected a chief part of Mr Trump's promise - that it would pay for the wall - the president said the United States would fund it initially and be repaid by its southern neighbour. Lawmakers, including many Republicans, have not made that funding a top priority, as some question if a wall is necessary.

Congress will have about 12 working days when it returns on September 5 from its summer break to approve spending measures to keep the government open, while also facing a looming deadline to raise the cap on the amount the government may borrow. Both are must-approve measures.

Mr Ryan suggested Congress would need to approve a short-term extension, or continuing resolution, of current funding levels so that the Senate could have more time to pass a full spending bill. That would push the budget battle to later in the year and could in turn delay attempts at tax reform, another signature Trump campaign issue.

Friction between Republicans and Mr Trump has grown in recent months, with the president publicly castigating some party leaders, notably Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and expressing infuriation that Congress has not passed any significant legislation since his January inauguration.

A White House statement said Trump would hold "previously scheduled meetings" with Mr McConnell once Congress returns to Washington and that the two "remain united on many shared priorities, including middle class tax relief, strengthening the military, constructing a southern border wall, and other important issues".

Representative Tom Cole of Oklahoma, the Republican chairman of a House Appropriations subcommittee, said Mr Trump's threatened move could backfire on the party.

"When you control the presidency, the Senate and the House, you're shutting down the government that you're running. I don't think it's smart politically and I don't think it would succeed practically," he told Reuters in an interview.

The White House stressed on Wednesday that Mr Trump would work with Congress to get funding for the wall.

"The president ran on it, won on it and plans to build it," said White House spokeswoman Natalie Strom.
The US priest claimed he was trying to get revenge on God

A US priest claimed he was trying to get revenge on God for poker losses when he collected child abuse images at his weekend home, according to his lawyer and court records.

Rev Kevin Gugliotta was sentenced to between 11-and-a-half and 23-and-a-half months in jail, receiving credit for 10 months already served.

He pleaded guilty in March to a single count of disseminating child pornography after prosecutors dropped dozens of other charges that he possessed and distributed illegal images.

Pre-trial records show the 55-year-old told probation officers he felt God was attacking him when he lost poker tournaments and games, and got "revenge" by collecting the porn.

"That was his reason," defence lawyer James Swetz said. "He's not happy that's how he felt, as the judge indicated. There are other ways to handle issues and handle anger."

Jim Goodness, director of communications for the Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey, said Gugliotta has been removed from public ministry since church officials learned of the investigation in September.

Additional discipline, including possible removal from the priesthood, is possible "now that the processes in the courts have been completed", Mr Goodness said. "We've also kept Rome abreast of the situation."

The district attorney's office in Monroe County, Pennsylvania, was investigating child abuse images last August and determined some had been uploaded to a computer at Gugliotta's weekend home in Gouldsboro.

The tiny hamlet is about 90 miles west of Holy Spirit Church, where he served as parochial vicar in Union, New Jersey.

Monroe County authorities alerted those in Wayne County, who tried to search the Gouldsboro home in September, but authorities could not find Gugliotta at home and could not lure him there using a ruse so they could search the computer before he had a chance to destroy the evidence.

Wayne County authorities ended up tracking down the priest at the New Jersey church where they interviewed him and found his laptop in the church rectory.

Gugliotta had previously been suspended from ministry in 2003 for allegedly molesting a teenage boy in the 1980s, but because the incident occurred when he was still a layman and before he entered the priesthood, the Archdiocese of Newark ruled he could not be punished and quietly reinstated him in 2004.

He went on to have a long career in the priesthood, including ministering to youth groups.
Luis Perez watches waves crash again a jetty in Galveston, Texas as Hurricane Harvey intensifies in the Gulf of Mexico (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

A power generator tips in in front of Texas' CHRISTUS (Courtney Sacco /Corpus Christi Caller-Times via AP)

Hurricane Harvey has strengthened to a Category 3 and is due to hit the southern US coastline late tonight or in the early hours of Saturday morning.

The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) warned that Harvey was "rapidly intensifying".

Wind speeds of up to 110mph are expected, with experts fearing it could be the worst storm to hit the mainland since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Mandatory evacuations were ordered for several cities on the Texas Gulf Coast.

Expand Close Hillary Lebeb walks along the seawall in Galveston, Texas as Hurricane Harvey intensifies in the Gulf of Mexico Friday, Aug. 25, 2017. Harvey is forecast to be a major hurricane when it makes landfall along the middle Texas coastline. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Hillary Lebeb walks along the seawall in Galveston, Texas as Hurricane Harvey intensifies in the Gulf of Mexico Friday, Aug. 25, 2017. Harvey is forecast to be a major hurricane when it makes landfall along the middle Texas coastline. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

"My urgent message to my fellow Texans is that if you live in a region where evacuation has been ordered, you need to heed that advice and get out of harm's way while you can," Texas Gov Greg Abbott said in a televised address.

He issued disaster declarations in 30 counties, saying the preemptive move would allow the state "to quickly deploy resources for the emergency response effort."

Forecasters also warned of a "life-threatening" storm surge as heavy rain was predicted along with the high winds. There could be as much as 30 inches of rain in some areas.

"With this system's intensity and slow motion, it is the worst of both worlds," John Tharp, a forecaster with Weather Decision Technologies in Norman, Oklahoma, told Reuters.

"There will be major impacts along the coast and inland with periods of prolonged rain."

In Louisiana, New Orleans is bracing itself for heavy flooding.

Expand Close This satellite image provided by NASA on Thursday / Facebook

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Whatsapp This satellite image provided by NASA on Thursday

The storm is expect to hover over the city for many days.

An emergency declaration has been issued for the entire state and hundreds of boats were made available for potential rescues.

Carnival Corp said on Friday that three of its cruise ships are unable to return to the Port of Galveston, Texas, which is closed ahead of Hurricane Harvey.

Two of the ships, the Carnival Freedom and the Carnival Valor, will head for New Orleans where they will pick up fresh supplies. Passengers will have the option of disembarking there, but Carnival advised them to not do so and said the ships will return to Galveston as soon as feasible.

A third ship, the Carnival Breeze, will extend its stay in Cozumel, Mexico, and begin sailing back to Galveston this weekend, the company said.

The next scheduled cruises on all three ships will be shortened and customers will receive refunds, the company said.

"We will continue to remain in close contact with port officials regarding their plans to re-open once the storm has passed," spokeswoman Christine de la Huerta said.

With additional reporting from Reuters
US President Donald Trump called Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi on Thursday and said he was keen to overcome any obstacles in the path of bilateral ties between the two countries, El-Sisis office said, two days after Washington reportedly decided to withhold part of its aid to Egypt.

President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi received a phone call tonight from US President Donald Trump who affirmed the strength of the friendship between Egypt and the United States and expressed his keenness on continuing to develop relations between the two countries and overcome any obstacles that might affect them, El-Sisis office said in a statement late on Thursday.

On Wednesday, Egypt's foreign ministry said the US has decided to reduce part of its economic aid to Cairo and suspend a chunk of its military assistance, but did not specify the amount.

The ministry said it regrets the decision which reflected misjudgement of the strategic relations" and might have negative repercussions on achieving common interests between the two countries.

On Wednesday, El-Sisi and Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry met Trump's senior advisor and son-in-law Jared Kushner in Cairo, but Egyptian statements released following the talks did not mention whether the officials tackled the aid issue.

Trump and El-Sisi have demonstrated a certain rapport in past months, often vowing support and trading praise.

Egypt receives approximately $1.3 billion in US military aid yearly, as well as an annual economic assistance package, amounting to $150 million in 2016.

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The damaged hull of the USS John S McCain after the destroyer collided with an oil tanker (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)

A second victim of the collision between an American warship and an oil tanker near Singapore has been identified by the US Navy.

The 7th Fleet said navy and Marine Corps divers recovered and identified the remains of 26-year-old Electronics Technician 3rd Class Dustin Louis Doyon, from Suffield, Connecticut, on Thursday night.

More divers and equipment arrived overnight to continue the search inside flooded compartments of the USS John S McCain for eight other sailors who are still missing. The navy had called off the search of the sea on Thursday.

Earlier, d ivers recovered the remains of 22-year-old Electronics Technician 3rd Class Kenneth Aaron Smith, from Cherry Hill, New Jersey.

The collision on Monday ripped a gash in the hull of the McCain, flooding crew berths and machinery and communications rooms. The destroyer is now in port in Singapore.

The commander of the 7th Fleet was fired this week after four accidents this year raised questions about its operations. The sacking of Vice Admiral Joseph Aucoin, a three-star admiral, was a rare dismissal of a high-ranking officer for operational reasons.

The navy also ordered an operational pause for its fleets worldwide to make sure all steps are being taken to ensure safe and effective operations.

The Pacific Fleet will also carry out a ship-by-ship review of its vessels, looking at navigation, mechanical systems, bridge resource management and training.

AP
Mathias Steinhuber recalls the traumatic event from the hospital where he is recovering (AP)

A man hiking 9,000 feet up in the Sierra Nevada has told how he was struck by a lightning bolt that blasted away his clothes, burned a hole in one of his shoes and left him with severe burns.

Austrian Mathias Steinhuber, who was hiking the Pacific Crest Trail with his girlfriend and their friend, had an entry wound on his head and an exit wound on his foot after his ordeal, which happened as he was on the peak of the Northern California mountain range, taking a photo.

"It was like in a dream," Mr Steinhuber, 31, said at the University of California, Davis Hospital Burn Centre.

"I woke up. I had blood everywhere, my clothes were ripped apart.

"At some distance I heard my girlfriend scream my name. My first conclusion was that I probably fell down the mountain."

Mr Steinhuber said he did not remember being struck. While he could see a thunderstorm far in the distance, he said there was no rain or lightning nearby.

He was left with burns throughout his body and was struggling to walk when a helicopter crew rescued him from an exposed peak among the rugged mountains near Donner Summit on Tuesday, the California Highway Patrol Valley Air Operations said.

The couple, from Innsbruck, were visiting a friend, Carla Elvidge, in Truckee, California, near Lake Tahoe.

Ms Elvidge said she, Mr Steinhuber and his girlfriend Kathrin Klausner - all hiking enthusiasts - were going from Donner Summit to Squaw Valley.

Mr Steinhuber was ahead of his friends and had reached the top of Tinkers Knob, a bare peak with sweeping views of the surrounding mountains and the forests below.

"He was taking a picture and the next thing I know, I see this white flash, like an explosion," Ms Elvidge said.

Mr Steinhuber was hurled away and his shoes and all his clothes, including his underwear, were ripped from from his body.

The lightning bolt singed his clothes and burned a gaping hole through one of his trainers.

A second lightning bolt struck next to Ms Klausner, who felt the electricity in her body, and the two decided to take shelter and call for help, Ms Elvidge said.

A helicopter landed on Tinker Knob, which is at an elevation of 8,949 feet, and dropped off a paramedic who tended to Mr Steinhuber.

He was taken to Tahoe Forest Hospital in Truckee and then flown to hospital.

Mr Steinhuber had cuts and bruises from his fall and a number of burns he described as mostly superficial.

The hair on one of his arms was singed and he is struggling to hear through his left ear.

Ms Elvidge and Ms Klausner hiked out, uncertain whether Mr Steinhuber would survive or endure debilitating injuries, Ms Klausner said.

Mr Steinhuber and Ms Klausner said they felt extraordinarily lucky that he survived and were grateful for the quick response from rescuers.

"Somebody told me the odds are higher winning the lottery than getting struck by lightning," Mr Steinhuber said.

"I would've rather won the lottery."

AP
A senior adviser to Donald Trump has said the administration "must do better" in condemning hate groups after the violence at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

White House economic adviser Gary Cohn told the Financial Times he is under "enormous pressure" both to quit and to remain in the White House, adding: "As a Jewish American, I will not allow neo-Nazis ranting 'Jews will not replace us' to cause this Jew to leave his job."

Mr Cohn said he feels "compelled to voice my distress" over the Charlottesville incident, adding: "Citizens standing up for equality and freedom can never be equated with white supremacists, neo-Nazis and the KKK."

Mr Trump was criticised after he said "both sides" were to blame for the violence in Charlottesville.

Mr Trump later blamed the media for the condemnation of his response to the violent protests, saying in Phoenix he had "openly called for healing unity and love" in the immediate aftermath.

Mr Cohn, director of the National Economic Council, said the Trump administration "can and must do better in consistently and unequivocally condemning these groups and do everything we can to heal the deep divisions that exist in our communities".

He outlined the administration's upcoming push to overhaul the nation's tax code in the interview. He said the bill could be passed in the House and Senate in 2017, pushing back the administration's timetable for a bill to reach the president's desk.

The White House had said previously that it expected final passage in November.

Mr Cohn said the tax overhaul is the White House's "number one focus right now" and the president will be making a major push for changing the nation's tax system beginning next week.

Mr Trump is expected to rally support for a tax overhaul at an event next Wednesday in Springfield, Missouri.

Administration officials have argued that lowering personal and business tax rates would generate millions of jobs and spur faster economic growth.

AP
Cantwell held without bond in connection with Charlottesville protest

A self-professed white nationalist featured in a widely watched documentary on the demonstrations in Charlottesville, Virginia, is being held without bond after authorities say he turned himself in following allegations that he pepper-sprayed a counterprotester.

The University of Virginia Police Department said Christopher Cantwell, 36, is charged with one count of malicious bodily injury by means of a caustic substance and two felony counts of illegal use of tear gas.

A statement from University of Virginia police said Cantwell had turned himself in late Wednesday to the Lynchburg Police Department.

Cantwell - who was featured in a widely viewed documentary by Vice News - was wanted for an incident during clashes between white nationalists and counterprotesters earlier this month in Charlottesville.

The events brought major political fallout after President Donald Trump blamed "many sides" for violence, which included the death of 32-year-old Heather Heyer when a driver with suspected Nazi sympathies rammed into a crowd of people.

Cantwell was being held without bond at the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail, authorities said.

cantwell

Washington Post News Service (DC)

8/24/2017 6:35:18 PM Central Daylight Time
Libertarians wrestle with the alt-right

Christopher Cantwell, the self-described anti-Semite and alt-right activist who starred in a viral Vice News documentary about the deadly protests in Charlottesville, Virginia, is now facing three charges based on his conduct.

Unlike some of the other marchers, Cantwell was no stranger to confrontations with authority. In New Hampshire, his sudden fame startled libertarians who had known Cantwell as a busy, talkative but increasingly extreme anti-government activist. In 2012, he arrived in the state as a vocal support of Ron Paul's 2012 presidential campaign, and as a critic of the police - a hot issue in Keene, a college town in western New Hampshire with a robust libertarian population. At some point in the Obama years, he had changed.

"Until the last year or two of his life, he'd been a libertarian activist with no known racist streak," wrote Ian Freeman, a radio host and commentator in the "Free Keene" movement, in a post last week. "A couple of years ago, he began down this road to his current skinhead-racist form and once that happened, we had to dump him as a co-host of my radio show, Free Talk Live. As libertarians, we believe in the individual and don't see people as groups based on color, gender, or religion. Chris now only sees the group rather than the individual. He's one of the few people who has turned away from the libertarian message after having embraced it."

But in Cantwell's own words, he had come to racism and anti-Semitism through libertarianism - not by abandoning it. Cantwell's story is one of several that have made libertarians ask fresh questions about the turns that their movement took in the Obama years, as Paul's two Republican bids for president consolidated everyone from anti-government "voluntaryists" to racist conspiracy theorists into one roiling campaign.

"I've been concerned about some libertarians trending alt-right, because these hard alt-right proto-fascists and neo-Nazis have been trolling libertarians for years," said the libertarian writer Jeffrey Tucker, who has written extensively about the racist threat to the movement. "They're doing to libertarianism what they did to Pepe the frog, or Taylor Swift - to co-opt it. They know that no normal American is going to rally around the Nazi flag, so they're taking ours."

But as Cantwell himself pointed out, a debate about racism - and racism's political utility - had been taking place among libertarians for decades. Ron Paul first ran for president in 1988, drawing media attention but bringing his Libertarian Party less than 1 percent of the vote. In the wake of that defeat, the libertarian thinker Murray Rothbard argued that the movement needed to take a page from the campaigns of former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke. Libertarians, stuck in a losing effort to win "yuppies," needed to realize the potency of an appeal to white working-class voters, one that explained how shrinking the state would mean fewer benefits devolved to people not like them.

"The proper strategy of libertarians and paleos is a strategy of 'right-wing populism,' that is: to expose and denounce this unholy alliance, and to call for getting this preppie underclass-liberal media alliance off the backs of the rest of us: the middle and working classes," Rothbard wrote.

In an essay published at his personal website last week, Cantwell cited Rothbard as one of the thinkers who had moved him from generic anti-state activism, toward racism.

"What I realized in the course of my inquiries, is that the people everyone called racists weren't claiming that race was a reliable way of judging individuals. They were only observing demographic trends, and hate was not the focus of their efforts. They were trying to reduce the amount of conflict and violence in their society, and they figured out that discrimination based on ethnic categories was an efficient method of accomplishing this goal.

"That seemed to coincide well with my libertarianism. Libertarians also want to reduce conflict over scarce resources. In libertarian philosophy, nobody ought to be compelled to associate with anyone else. People should be free to exercise complete control over their own person and property. If blacks are committing crimes, or Jews are spreading communism, discriminating against them is the right of any property owner."

Mainstream libertarians were worried about the spread of ideas like that. Paul's campaigns, which some cosmopolitan libertarians viewed skeptically, took their philosophy to new heights of political support. It also, indisputably, won the support of some white supremacists. In 2007, as Paul was rising in polls for what had been a quixotic presidential bid, he appeared as a guest speaker for the Robert Taft Club, led by Richard Spencer - the same Richard Spencer who, after the 2008 election, coined the term "alt-right."

This year, when Spencer was invited to talk to some attendees of the International Students for Liberty conference, Jeffrey Tucker confronted him in an exchange filmed from several angles and shared by alt-right activists who thought that Spencer got the better of it. "I used to read your articles," Spencer said, mockingly, while Tucker accused him of trying to troll the conference.

The confrontation had been a long time coming. In 2014, Tucker had written an essay against what he called "libertarian brutalism," defining it as an anti-liberal tendency that grew out of a perversion of libertarian principles.

"The brutalists are technically correct that liberty also protects the right to be a complete jerk and the right to hate, but such impulses do not flow from the long history of the liberal idea," he wrote. "As regards race and sex, for example, the liberation of women and minority populations from arbitrary rule has been a great achievement of this tradition. To continue to assert the right to turn back the clock in your private and commercial life gives an impression of the ideology that is uprooted from this history, as if these victories for human dignity have nothing whatever to do with the ideological needs of today."

One of Tucker's critics, at the time, was Christopher Cantwell. "What we 'brutalists' are saying is, egalitarianism is not the means or end of libertarianism, and saying otherwise in hopes of attracting Democrats into our ranks is illusory," he wrote. "When you repeat statist race propaganda, do you grow our ranks? No. You simply distract from the point that race is irrelevant."

Three years later, having substantially changed his views on race, Cantwell would turn himself in to police after bragging about his actions at a rally organized by racists.

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One person was killed and 19 were injured amid protests of a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville on Aug. 12. Here's how the city became the scene of violence. (Video: Elyse Samuels, Zoeann Murphy/Photo: Evelyn Hockstein/The Washington Post)

libertarians

Washington Post News Service (DC)

8/24/2017 6:35:21 PM Central Daylight Time
The Haiti Reforestation Partnership took the old adage about teaching a man to fish to heart.

In a decades-long effort to improve the quality of life for the small Caribbean country, Haiti Reforestation Partnership learned early that the best way to turn things around was to let the locals take complete ownership of the reform, to teach them how to breathe life back into their land and let them work the magicand reap the benefits.

Once they started seeing the results of what they can accomplish with just basic agricultural knowledge and skills, they were able to feed their families, preserve their land and then see their land become productive, said Susan Yelton, a member of All Saints Episcopal Church in Concord and longtime participant in Haiti Reforestation Partnership. My first trip was in 99, and the land was just barren. Ive been there seven times, and I can see the difference.

The partnership began in 1990s when Jack Hanna, who had retired and was sailing around the Caribbean, witnessed the crisis in Haiti firsthand.

He stopped in Jamaica, and he heard about Haiti, Emily Badgett, Haiti Reforestation Partnership intern, said. He sailed over to Haiti and saw the need. He was the visionary for the project.

Hanna went back to his home in New Bern, and two churches there worked together to form Haiti Fund Inc. Now, more than 25 years later, the organization has grown to about 60 churches and other community members all across the East Coast. The group has planted 14 million trees in Haiti using its signature CODEP method, covering an area roughly the size of Asheville.

Given the programs success, Badgett said organizers want to expand beyond the 58-square-miles currently covered. The group changed its name to The Haiti Reforestation Partnership and began to think more broadly.

The problem

Haitis forest have succumbed to deforestation going back centuries, back to when France held the country as a colony in the 1800s. Losing lush forests en masse has not only wreaked havoc on wildlife but also contributed to severe erosion.

Without forests, theres no root system to support the soil, Badgett said. So when they have an earthquake or hurricane, soil disappears, and when the soil disappears, their crops and their homes go along with it.

Simply planting trees back isnt as simple as it sounds, either. Haitis mountainous terrain makes reforestation something of a challenge.

The CODEP method

The Comprehensive Development Project, or CODEP, uses a trellis system planted with grasses to first restore and claim the soil enough to support the trees.

You start on a bare hill, Yelton said. We taught them how to kind of terrace it, and they would plant eucalyptus trees. The eucalyptus was good in many ways: A goat wouldnt eat it, and if you cut it down, it grows back really fast, so you dont lose the root structure. So we went in with very basic, start from scratch, teaching them how to compost, how to build a tree nursery, and we started planting trees literally by the millions, hundreds of thousands every year.

Once the eucalyptus trees are in place, they planted fruit trees so farmers would have something to feed their families and sell to make a living.

But the other crucial piece to the CODEP method is it acts as an incentive-based reforestation program.

The biggest problem is they cut [trees] down for coal, Badgett said. So you gain points, and after so many points you can get a house built, an addition to the house. Weve always kept this mentality of a point system in order to help our farmers because its difficult to tell them to plant this but you wont get any immediate benefits. Were teaching them that by keeping it in the ground, you will get benefits in the long term.

But the program wouldnt work unless the Haitians themselves bought in. Yelton said Haiti Reforestation Partnership has been almost as much about education as about planting trees, teaching the locals how to do the work and then just providing the funding and supplies to make it happen. Though she has been down to the watershed where the partnership is working, Yelton said she hasnt done any physical planting in years; that would be taking a job from a Haitian, she said.

It was a very slow start to get the Haitians on board with us because they hadnt seen it; they hadnt seen any results, she said. We started slow. We built core groups. They were led by Haitians, so this was better than someone from the outside coming in and telling them what to do.

Growing out

Badgett said Haiti Reforestation Partnerships CODEP method is the most successful in the country. The Cormier Watershed where they began working in 1990 has grown to encompass six other watersheds, and workers have begun sharing their process with other groups in the hopes to spread its success to other parts of Haiti, as well.

Its very difficult to plant trees, but weve been working there for 26 years, so we have a method thats working and continues to grow, Badgett said. Its made a difference in the six watersheds that we work in, and its slowly making its impact across the country with other small reforestation projects. Theres a lot of nonprofits that are doing amazing work, but it seems like theyre beating around the bush, and I feel like reforestation is one of the most successful and sustainable ways to make an impact in Haiti; when you make an impact, it will last beyond the generations thats doing it. Reforestation is the one thing I think will live past you.

Raising funds

Part of the growth process means finding more money to make it work. Badgett said the group is currently in the process of fundraising to buy two trucks. A dealer in Florida agreed to donate the vehicles.

The idea is that we have one truck, but its not working properly right now, and we really need a truck to get to these locations because its the size of Asheville, so getting there is a little difficult, she said, adding the trucks would help transport people, supplies and seedlings. The other option is for our farmers to walk the distance, more like hike the distance, but we want to be able to get them where they dont have to take more time out of their day because they spend a day of their work week to work with us.

The partnership has already raised more than $15,000 in the Bucks for Trucks campaign, including a $6,500 match.

Yelton, who has participated in the program since All Saints joined in 1999, said the experience has had an impact on her life, as well.

As one person, you cant do a lot to change all the problems of the worlds, she said. But All Saints and many other churches have made a difference, a true difference, in this corner of the world.
Eight Egyptian pilgrims in Saudi Arabia die of natural causes, according to officials

Egypt's health ministry has said that the death toll among Egyptian pilgrims carrying out the hajj in Saudi Arabia this year has reached eight, state-run news agency MENA reported on Friday.

A 65-year-old woman died on Friday of acute circulatory failure while in her hotel room, the head of Egypt's hajj medical commission Ahmed El-Ansary said.



Earlier in the day, another 60-year-old women died of a myocardial infraction as she entered her hotel.

Deaths from heat exhaustion, fatigue and other natural causes are a common occurrence among pilgrims on the hajj in Saudi Arabia.

Last year, 43 Egyptians died from natural causes during the pilgrimage.

Saudi authorities say more than two million Muslims are expected to participate in this year's hajj, which starts next week.

More than 1.4 million Muslims have so far arrived in the kingdom.

Around 80,000 Egyptian pilgrims are expected to perform the hajj this year, Egyptian officials said.

All Muslims who are able are required to complete the pilgrimage at least once in their lifetime.

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CABARRUS COUNTY- Get those school supplies and first day outfits ready because on Monday school will be back in session for almost 40,000 students across Cabarrus County.

With approximately 33,000 students in Cabarrus County Schools and about 5,600 in Kannapolis City Schools, the roads will be filled with buses again as parents of kindergarten students send them off on their educational journey and veterans settle back into the routine.

But the routines for some will be different from last year because both districts have new options for students this year and new schools.

Kannapolis City Schools

Superintendent Dr. Chip Buckwell said one of the most exciting things for Kannapolis City Schools this year is the opening of its three new magnet options.

The A+ Arts program will start at G.W. Carver Elementary, which was previously Kannapolis Intermediate School, and will be the only magnet of its kind in Cabarrus or Rowan counties.

Global Studies and Spanish Language Immersion programs will be offered at Fred L. Wilson Elementary.

Because of the addition of G.W. Carver, the district also had to do some redistricting.

We are looking forward to opening up our three magnets and see how this redistricting is going to pan out with all of the bus schedule changes, Buckwell said. We feel like weve got a handle on it, but you never really know until the first day.

Buckwell said he recently attended open houses at the magnet schools and was pleased with the conversations he heard between parents, students and teachers.

It was absolutely inspiring to hear parents talk to their kids about what they were going to experience, and how it was different from their experience, Buckewell said.

And although it was recently announced that the new Kannapolis Middle School campus wont be ready by Monday, Buckwell said the district is still looking forward to getting those sixth-grade students back with the seventh- and eighth-graders.

All students will start school on time, but the new school isnt expected to be ready until January 2018.

For the first half of the school year, all seventh- and eighth-grade students will be housed in the current Kannapolis Middle School building just as they have been in the past.

Sixth-grade students that live in transportation zones closest to KMSthose in the Shady Brook and Fred L. Wilson transportation zoneswill attend class at the current KMS building. The remaining sixth-graders will be housed at G.W. Carver Elementary for the first half of the school year. When Christmas break ends in January, all KMS students will be back at the Kannapolis Middle School campus.

Because of the middle school changes plus the addition of magnet programs at the elementary level, school start times had to rearrange, as well. Beginning in August, the middle school will start at 7:15 a.m., high school at 8 a.m. and elementary students at 8:45 a.m.

The district is also adding low-cost before-school care to take away parent concerns about changes in start times. Teacher or teachers assistants willing to put in extra hours will watch students, earning either overtime or a supplement.

Buckwell said he cant thank his staff and teachers enough for being on board with the changes.

One of the biggest things is saying thank you to the staff for being so collaborative and cooperative. There are a lot of changes collaborating on Monday, and every staff member has been really, really good, Buckwell said. When you are moving that many people, it can be taxing.

Cabarrus County Schools

The Cabarrus County Schools district also has a huge amount of changes for 2017-18.

First, the new Mount Pleasant Middle School will officially open on Monday, and Superintendent Dr. Chris Lowder said it has been a long time coming. The school was dedicated during a ceremony on Sunday, Aug. 20 and Lowder said the auditorium was packed with people from the community who wanted to celebrate the school.

Anytime we open a new school its very exciting. Its been a long time for them, thats an old building they are moving out of, Lowder said. Its exciting and fun to bring that community a new school.

Then there is phase one of the School Choice Plan that is going into effect, which includes a massive addition to the districts magnet programs.

On the primary level, W.M. Irvin Elementary will have an IB program along with Spanish immersion, and Winecoff Elementary will also offer Spanish Immersion. Lowder said there is already a waiting list for the Spanish magnet at Winecoff.

Trish Cook, principal at Winecoff Elementary, said over the summer her teachers served on district curriculum writing teams, taught and led summer reading camps and attended other professional development sessions to help lead the school and meet the needs of students.

She added that she plans to kick off the school year on Sunday, Aug. 27 through the schools Facebook page. She will read a book to students via Facebook Live.

We are an amazing school family and I cannot wait for the school year to start. The energy and excitement from our staff to build our dream school is inspiring and their dedication and commitment to students is second to none, Cook said. I am so proud to be a part of this school community and we are going to have a fantastic school year.

C.C. Griffin and Northwest Cabarrus middle schools will become neighborhood STEM schools, phasing in sixth-grade this year and becoming a whole school by 2019. Also, J.N. Fries is also becoming a STEM magnet with a neighborhood zone, phasing in beginning with sixth-grade.

The IB program that was at J.N. Fries is moving to Concord Middle School and Harold E. Winkler Middle is also adding an IB magnet.

Michael Williams, principal at Winkler, said since his school serves the western part of the district, students from Harris Road Middle and Northwest Cabarrus have the opportunity to attend if they want to be a part of the IB magnet.

A big change from the previous model is that our school is a whole-school IB where every student has the opportunity to learn in this framework, Williams said. We will continue to teach the North Carolina Standard Course of Study, but all of our classes will have international threads.

As an example, Williams said when a sixth-grade science class students the energy standards, they will also look at global energy production and crisis. And language arts classes will read novels and non-fiction texts that focus on international topics.

Williams also said the school has experienced some significant growth; finishing last year with 890 students and starting this year with 1,030.

We are very excited about our growth and being able to give more students an opportunity to participate in the IB program, he said.

A freshman STEM academy was also added to Northwest Cabarrus High School.

Behind the scenes

While some might think the summer months are all fun and games, a lot of work goes into getting the schools ready to start the year.

Charles Taylor, director of the facilities maintenance department in Cabarrus County Schools, said the district has been aggressively working on maintenance issues this summer, from grounds maintenance to modular repair and installation.

We are working to complete vital preventative maintenance actions to prolong equipment and meet our sustainment goals, Taylor said. They are critical to the day-to-day functioning of our approximately 6 million square feet and 1,800 acres.

Taylors department maintains all of the facilities in Cabarrus County Schools and Kannapolis City Schools with a staff of 75 personnel consisting of managers, technicians and office staff.

Over the summer he said his team completed renovations to Kannapolis Intermediate Schools plumbing infrastructure, completed roof repairs, playground equipment repairs, storm pond maintenance, masonry repairs, furniture repair, HVAC repairs, lighting upgrades, parking lot repairs, fencing repairs, door and window upgrade and repair and a host of other maintenance actions too long to list.

CCS has a dedicated maintenance staff that prides itself on customer support and satisfaction, Taylor said.

He added the department takes great pride in its adopted motto, We will either find a way or make one.

Keeping the roads safe

School starting back also impacts people driving to work. All of the buses will be back on the highway, stopping to pick up students as they go.

Staff with the Concord Police Department Traffic Unit are asking drivers to slow down and respect the reduced speed limits near school zone. The unit said it will be paying attention to drivers who dont obey speed limits.

Drivers should also be reminded that passing a stopped school bus is against the law. Any person who causes the death of a child while passing a stopped school bus may be charged with a felony.

For more safety tips visit ncbussafety.org.
A Boone man was charged Wednesday with sexually exploiting a minor, which police said was the result of an investigation into possession and distribution of child pornography.

Thomas Arthur Rittenhouse, 73, of Bamboo Road in Boone faces six counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor.

Police say Rittenhouse served time for killing a sheriff's deputy in Pottawatomie County, Okla., in 1963. An Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial website says Rittenhouse shot Deputy Odos Neal Smith, who was helping escort Rittenhouse to a county jail.

Rittenhouse was AWOL from an Air Force Base in Kansas, according to Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial Inc.
Winston-Salem police released a picture Thursday of a man they believe robbed the Family Dollar store on Aug. 4 at 4412 Old Rural Hall Road.

Investigators need the public's help in determining the suspect's identity and his whereabouts, police said.

The suspect waited until the cash register was open before pulling a knife on the clerk and stealing an undisclosed amount of money nearly three weeks ago, police said said at the time. No one was injured.

A man approached the store clerk as if he were purchasing items at the store, police said. The man then demanded money and left the business in a dark-colored SUV.

Anyone with information about this robbery can call Winston-Salem police at 336-773-7700, Crime Stoppers at 336-773-2800 or its Spanish line at 336-728-3904.
With the STEM craze gripping Cabarrus County and the nation as a whole, with robotics tournaments and activities trickling down to the younger grades and with an increasing need for qualified engineers, Discovery Place decided to take action.

The museum in uptown Charlotte will launch its Year of the Engineer campaign Saturday, Aug. 26, partnering with 250 local engineers to provide 2,500 STEM-related experiences to more than 250,000 guests throughout the 2017-2018 school year. The facility dedicated the third floor to a makerspace filled with exhibits that encourage creative, inventive and out-of-the-box thinking.

I bet if you were like I was on your way to Discovery Place this morning you encountered something that at some point was an engineering marvel, Catherine Wilson Horne, president and CEO of Discovery Place, said. Maybe it was a traffic light, which today are controlled thanks to computer engineers and other types of electrical engineers. But it could have also been the pod that you put in your coffee maker. Engineers have touched every bit of that, and really they have an impact on our lives.

In a way, they are the intellectual engine of the world and our economy today.

The Year of the Engineer will include a whole host of activities, including hands-on monthly events in the new Thinker Space and Think it Up exhibit on the third floor. Other activities such as the Charlotte Mini Maker Faire and the Charlotte Hackathon will draw in the larger community.

The main goal remains to draw people of all ages, but especially young children, into science rather than pushing them away from it.

Engineering can get stereotyped, Horne said. You know that phrase, Oh, I dont do math or I dont do science. We know firsthand that children opt out of those programs rather than opting in. so the more we can do at the earlier stages to get them in and to keep them in the better off they will be.

Think It Up offers a unique makerspace for children of all ages to come and put their engineering minds to work in a safe environment. Posters on the walls encourage people to take risks and look at failure as just one step on the path to success.

The experience here can be a little risky, Horne said. If you notice the tools on the back walland yes, if youre wondering, we do let children use those tools if they go through training. So theres a social emotional skill that is developed here, as well, and thats resilience and risk taking, and who doesnt want those in future employees?

Fostering that interest in science and math remains more important than ever as the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data says that the field of engineering is expected to grow as much as 10 percent in the next 10 years. At the same time, however, studies show that North Carolina high school graduates arent equipped to meet entry-level job requirements in skilled trade, technology or advanced manufacturing.

Our economy, thanks to many of you, has an increasing demand for those engineers in a way that we in the education sector are struggling to keep up with, Horne said. And more than anything else, we want to build a homegrown talented pipeline for those jobs in engineering and technology in the future.

As one of the nations leading science centers, Discovery Place hopes to take a leading role in creating that pipeline for the region. Horne said the facility has a goal to help bridge the STEM education gap, using the Year of the Engineer to shine a light on the innovation already happening here and encourage local children to become the futures problem solvers.

Discovery Place is committed to STEM education, she said. We ask ourselves the question all the time about how do students find the pathway into engineering because, you know, theres not a K-12 curriculum for engineering. Its sprinkled into math and science, whether it be physics or math as you move from algebra into calculus. But its not real-world, and thats been the success of some of the robotics programs.

Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts said her family has first-hand experience with Discovery Places impact. Both of her children grew up at the museum and followed their passions into computer programming.

I find I lived for the weekends when my kids were young because we spent a lot of time at Discovery Place, and they did the summer camps, she said. Two samples of kids who grew up with Discovery Place and were able to explore the science that they learned to love and explore risk taking and creating, and thats what we really need to do more of in the City of Charlotte. Thanks to all who are partners in this incredible initiative to get more of our young people in STEM careers; absolutely it takes all of us.

Another teenager who grew up in the museum echoed Roberts experience. Alex Haas, a teen apprentice at Discovery Place and the son of two engineers, said he started coming to the Kid Science exhibit when he was 3 years old.

I was able to grow in many ways that most teens dont get to, he said, adding he hopes to pursue some form of engineering through college and beyond. What I do know is the opportunities that came from Discovery Place helped me to discover that. I wouldnt have the same passion for science and engineering that I do today.

And that, Horne said, is the facilitys goalto expose youngsters to the possibilities of STEM and unleash their own potential.

We have to get people into a hands-on environment, she said. Its time for all of us to realize that our community has to recognize that children dont learn careers and dont learn their future passions from 8 to 3 from September through May. It happens outside the classroom, whether its places like this or scout groups or neighborhood centers. Having amazing experiences brings it to live.
The Eurasian Economic Union and India will sign a deal this Saturday, paving the way for negotiations on a future free trade zone agreement, the Chairman of the Eurasian Economic Commissions Board Tigran Sarkisyan has said.

Speaking on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Sarkisyan stated, We announce the start of a negotiation process with an eye on signing a free trade zone pact. Two ministers  the trade ministers of Russia and India  will sign a document on the issue.

Sarkisyan said he met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in St. Petersburg. We discussed trade and economic relations between the Eurasian Economic Union and India. We noted with satisfaction that both sides are interested in signing a treaty of this kind, and the results of a research into the issue demonstrate that it will be a win-win situation for India and the EAEU. We agreed that work should continue to make us prepared for signing this treaty.

The EAEU is a Free Trade Bloc that includes Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Krygyzstan, and Russia. It essentially extends from the borders of China to the borders of the European Union.

Connections between India and Russia are improving, although bilateral trade remains low. However, the International North-South Transportation Corridor connects India to Russia via Iran, which is in the process of concluding its own Free Trade Agreement with the EAEU.

Nevertheless, Russian-Indian bilateral trade is moving upwards. Notably, Indian companies in the jewelry sector have expressed interest in the Eurasian Diamond Exchange, which has just opened in Vladivostok. The KGK Group, Indias largest diamond merchants, are spending US$25 million on establishing a facility there. Further, Indian pharmaceutical companies should note that the EAEU has just regulated its common pharmaceutical market, which could have immense significance for Indian access to the EAEU  should the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) reach a conclusion.

Thus far, numerous countries, including China, have expressed interest in an EAEU FTA, while Vietnam has ratified such a deal. That has been a boom for both sides; Russia has invested some US$10 billion into Vietnamese projects and Russian exports to Vietnam have risen sharply since the FTA came into effect in early 2016.

New Asian trade routes are being established throughout Eurasia, says Chris Devonshire-Ellis of Dezan Shira & Associates and India and Russia are no exception to this. The two countries are old friends and although bilateral trade is relatively low, this also means the growth potential is huge, and it is not a crowded market. Russian entrepreneurs should be looking at India and its huge consumer market and competitive manufacturing environment, while Indias entrepreneurs should be examining Russia, and especially trade, e-commerce, and logistics in using Russia as a stepping stone to the EU and China. There are plenty of opportunities in this newly opening trade corridor.

About Us Dezan Shira & Associates provides foreign businesses with strategic, legal, tax, and operational advisory services to SMEs and MNCs investing throughout India, and has offices in Delhi and Mumbai, as well as St. Petersburg and Moscow. The firm also assists Indian investors in Russia. Please contact our India offices at india@dezshira.com, our Russia Desk at russia@dezshira.com, or visit the practice at www.dezshira.com.

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Dezan Shira & Associates is a pan-Asia, multi-disciplinary professional services firm, providing legal, tax and operational advisory to international corporate investors. Operational throughout China, ASEAN and India, our mission is to guide foreign companies through Asias complex regulatory environment and assist them with all aspects of establishing, maintaining and growing their business operations in the region. This brochure provides an overview of the services and expertise Dezan Shira & Associates can provide.

The third edition of Tax, Accounting and Audit in India is updated for 2017, and provides an overview of the fundamentals of Indias tax, accounting, and audit regime. The guide also includes a detailed introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) that was launched on July 1, 2017, representing the complete transformation of Indias indirect taxation structure.

In this issue of India Briefing Magazine, we discuss payroll processing and reporting in India, and the various regulations and tax norms that impact salary and wage computation. Further, we explain Indias complex social security system and gratuity law, and how it applies to companies. Finally, we describe the importance of IT infrastructure, compliance, and confidentiality when processing payroll in India.
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Egypt's armed forces killed six "extremely dangerous" militants and injured four in a raid in North Sinai on Friday, the army spokesman said.

A statement on the spokesman's Facebook page said the army had also managed to destroy three stores, which contained 350 explosives.

"The armed forces also destroyed 12 hideouts, 13 motorcycles and seven cars on the border strip of North Sinai," he added.

The Egyptian army and police have been battling an entrenched Islamist insurgency for several years in North Sinai.



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In a major boost to individual freedom, the Supreme Court on Thursday declared that right to privacy was a fundamental right and protected as an intrinsic part of life and personal liberty and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution.

From Kamal Haasan to Onir, Dia Mirza to Sridhar Rangayan, many celebrities took to social media to welcome the Supreme Courts judgment declaring the Right to Privacy a fundamental right.

While most of them are happy with the ruling, celebrities now want the court to rethink Section 377, which criminalises gay sex.

Representational Image Only

Here is a round up of celebrities reaction to the ruling-

Shab director Onir, who has always been vocal about sexuality and LGBTQ issues, also asked the apex court to look into Section 377. Landmark judgment by Supreme Court after Triple Talaq Verdict.

BCCL

Right To Privacy -- fundamental right under the Constitution. Lets talk 377, posted Onir, whose film My Brother Nikhil dealt with AIDS and gay-related issues.

Landmark Judgement by #SupremeCourt after #TripleTalaqVerdict . #RightToPrivacy - fundamental right under the Constitution. Lets talk #377  Onir (@IamOnir) August 24, 2017

Kamal said there is nothing vague or amorphous about the judgment. People thank the honourable judges. These are moments that make India, he added.

BCCL

SC upholds the right to privacy Nothing vague or amorphous about it. People thank the Honourable Judges. These are moments that make India.  Kamal Haasan (@ikamalhaasan) August 24, 2017

Producer Shirish Kunder appreciated the move by saying: We live in wonderful times, where we are grateful to just get our fundamental rights back. Right To Privacy.

We live in wonderful times, where we are grateful to just get our fundamental rights back.  #RightToPrivacy  Shirish Kunder (@ShirishKunder) August 24, 2017

Filmmaker and gay rights activist Sridhar Rangayan said it is a big day for the LGBTQ community in India.

I am truly overwhelmed by the Supreme Court verdict on right to privacy, and the parts of the judgment which specifically mention that sexual orientation should be a guaranteed right under the Constitution, said Rangayan, who hosts the Kashish LGBTQ Mumbai Film Festival.

This is a big day for the LGBTQ community in India who have been fighting for their rights for over two decades. This verdict vindicates our appeal for equal rights as citizens of India. I feel truly happy and free, he added.

In 2009, the Delhi High Court had ruled that Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was unconstitutional. But in December 2013, the Supreme Court overturned the verdict.

Actress Dia Mirza got patriotic with her tweet as she said this is one of the many reasons why I love my country! Hail democracy.

Actors Ranvir Shorey and Annup Sonii also welcomed the judgment.

TV personality Raghu Ram, who was last seen on the silver screen in Tees Maar Khan, became a fan of the apex court after the verdict. Im a fan of the Supreme Court all over again! Two landmark judgments in three days! Killing it, Right To Privacy, Triple Talaq.
Non fiction cinema in Bollywood is the coming of age movies all filmmakers are trying their hands on. Dhiraj Kumar, the director who made Roti Kapda Aur Makan is all set to narrate a true incident in his upcoming film.

He will show the story of Uzma Ahmed, an Indian national who was made to marry Pakistani national Tahir Ali at gunpoint in Pakistan. But it was External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj who took the initiative of getting her back in the country.

She fought a legal battle and got the 'Hindustan ki beti' back home within a fortnight. Uzma came back on May 25. The filmmaker wants to show the struggles behind the horrific incident.

Twitter

He has reportedly approached Tabu to play the role of Sushma Swaraj and Parineeti for the role of Uzma.

New movie, new look!  happy to be working with an amazing team!! @artinayar @gohar__shaikh @niharika69 @protyushhh #Golmaal4 A post shared by Parineeti Chopra (@parineetichopra) on Mar 15, 2017 at 6:01am PDT

Speaking to mid.day.com, Kumar said, "Uzma's story broke my heart. I knew I had to meet her. We've had several meetings since. She narrated what she endured, both sexual and physical abuse. My story will focus on her struggle to break free and the government's role."



Kumar is slated to release next year in May and will be shot in parts of Malaysia and India.
A court in Jodhpur, Rajasthan has found self-styled godman Asaram Bapu guilty, for the rape of a 16-year-old girl, bringing a closure to the case which dates back to 2013.

PTI

According to police sources, co-accused Shiva and Shilpi have been convicted and Sharad and Prakash have been acquitted.

The five charges that have been levelled against Asaram Bapu are, raping a minor girl, wrongful confinement, criminal intimidation, criminal conspiracy and sexual harassment

That said, when it comes to courting controversies Asaram Bapu is not alone. Here are few others who thought they were invincible:

1. Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh

Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, head of spiritual sect Dera Sacha Sauda was declared guilty in a rape case by a special CBI court in Panchkula. According to reports, the victim, who is a former follower, accused Ram Rahim Singh of repeatedly raping her inside the Dera campus near Sirsa in Haryana.

Facebook/Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Insan

The head of the Dera Sacha Sauda sect also has two murder charges against him, one for allegedly killing journalist Ram Chander Chatrapati in 2001, and the other for killing sect manager Ranjit Singh in July 2002

The incident took place in 1999. An FIR was registered in 2002, however the Dera chief and the management of the sect have denied the allegations all throughout. Following the verdict, curfews have been imposed in several areas of the city and across the state of Punjab.

2. Swami Premananda

A popular self styled Godman, Swami Premamnanda, escaped the ethnic riots in Sri Lanka in 1983, and many of his followers came to Tamil Nadu, South India and established ashrams in Trichy.

http://sripremananda.org

But the self-styled godman was convictedofr raping 13 girls and was put through two consecutive life sentences.

3. Swami Amrita Chaitanya

Self-styled spiritual teacher Swami Amrita Chaitanya, also known as Santosh Madhavan, was accused in several cheating cases; sentenced to16 years in prison in 2009 for raping two minor girls; and producing pornographic films of underage girls.

nriinternet.

He had also been arrested in March 2008 for conning an NRI woman of Rs 45 lakh.

4. Swami Sadachari

india-forums.com

The 'Godman' who was known to have performed rituals for top dignitaries of the country was eventually caught for running an underground brothel.

5. Sant Rampal

This self-styled godman was nabbed by Haryana police after they found the bodies of five women and an 18-month-old child at his Satlok ashram in Hisar.

PTI

In November 2014, in a standoff, his militia blocked paramilitary forces from entering the Satlok ashram. At least six persons had lost their lives in the stand-off as Rampal eluded the police, while many of his key aides and around 450 supporters were also arrested. Sant Rampal was later arrested and jailed for 22 months.

6. Paramahamsa Nithyananda

Controversial self-styled godman Nithyananda Paramahamsa, disappeared five days after charges of rape and were levelled against him. A leaked video showed him engaging in sexual activities with Tamil actress Ranjitha.

Nithyananda.net

7 . Ichchadhari Sant Swami Bhimanand

PTI

In the guise of leading a spiritual li,fe Ichchadhari Sant Swami was running a flourishing flesh trade racket. Ichchadhari Sant Swami Bhimanand Ji Maharaj Chitrakoot Wale, whose real name is Shiv Murat Dwivedi, was arrested twice for being involved in a large-scale sex racket in Delhi and later in Mumbai.
The government has welcomed the Supreme Court's unanimous decision to declare individual privacy a fundamental right, but said it should be subject to "reasonable restrictions", like every other right guaranteed under the Constitution.

afp/representational image

"We welcome the verdict of the Supreme Court on right to privacy. Privacy should be a fundamental right subject to reasonable restrictions," Union Law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said.

Also Read: How Does Aadhaar Compare With Other ID Systems In The World & How To Secure Its Leaky Database

The law minister highlighted the right to privacy is not an absolute right and that it has limitations, that need to be identified on case-to-case basis.

"Right to privacy... is not an absolute right and is subject to certain reasonable restrictions which the State is entitled to impose on the basis of social, moral and compelling public interest in accordance with law," Prasad said, quoting from the judgment penned by Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre.

afp/representational image

He said that contrary to allegations by the Opposition, the government has always been of view, particularly with regard to Aadhar, that privacy should be an inalienable right of individuals.

"Government has formed a high-powered committee for data protection, which the SC has noted. On behalf of the Centre, the Attorney General also argued that Right to privacy is a part of Fundamental Rights, with reasonable restrictions," Ravi Shankar Prasad added.

"SC clearly acknowledges need for a robust data regime to balance sensitive concerns between individual interest and state interest," he said.

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A nine-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice J S Khehar ruled that the right was "an intrinsic part of the Right to Life and Personal Liberty under Article 21 and the entire Part III of the Constitution". The government had argued that privacy was not a fundamental right protected by the constitution.

The ruling comes against the backdrop of a large multi-party case against the mandatory use of Aadhaar as an infringement of privacy.
With two landmark judgements passed one after the other, faith in the Indian judiciary stands validated, yet again. While most Indians have implicit faith in the Supreme Court, there have been many instances that have shaken this belief.

Many still perceive courts to be a complicated route to attaining justice, giving the outrageous numbers of pending cases courts have to grapple, roughly 2,09,11,662 cases as of 2016.

But, with the historic ruling on instant Triple Talaq as unconstitutional and declaring the Right to Privacy as a fundamental right, Supreme court lives up to its reputation of taking some bold and emphatic decisions.

Here are a few other iconic rulings that restored our faith in the Indian judiciary.

1. Right To Privacy As A Fundamental Right

In a historical judgement today, the Supreme Court of India with a nine-judge constitutional bench, has declared that the Right to Privacy is now a fundamental right and is protected under Article 21 of the Constitution.

PTI

The judgement that will impact the lives of 134 crore Indians and may give a massive jolt to government's Aadhaar push, state reports.

Let's celebrate the one more Independence Day  #RightToPrivacy is a fundamental right..

We are citizens not slaves!  James Wilson (@jamewils) August 24, 2017

A nine-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice J S Khehar ruled that right to privacy is protected intrinsically as part of rights guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.

2. Instant Triple Talaq unconstitutional

In a landmark judgment, the Supreme Court (SC) held Muslim practice of instant Triple Talaq unconstitutional, striking it down by 3:2 majority.

PTI

Shayara Bano, a 35-year-old woman, challenged the practice in 2016, a year after her husband of 15 years divorced her via triple talaq. According to reports, the Supreme Court mentioned that several Islamic countries like Pakistan do not allow triple talaq; judges questioned why it should not be abolished in India.

"Judgment of the Hon'ble SC on Triple Talaq is historic. It grants equality to Muslim women and is a powerful measure for women empowerment," PM Modi tweeted.

3. Supreme Court's Ban on the Lal Batti culture

Lal Batti

Red beacons are synonymous with the Raj mentality and are the antithesis of the concept of a Republic, the Supreme Court decalred in 2013.

The ban, which got effective from May 1 this year, doesnt allow vehicles of the countrys top dignitaries such as the President, Prime Minister and the Chief Justice of India to use the 'coveted' Lal Batti.

Following the ruling which put an end to VIP culture, PM Modi tweeted, "Every Indian is special. Every Indian is a VIP. "

Every Indian is special. Every Indian is a VIP. https://t.co/epXuRdaSmY  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) 19 April 2017

4. Supreme Court Recognised The Third Gender

MSNBC

In a landmark judgment, the Supreme Court in April 2014 recognised transgender persons as a third gender and ordered the government to treat them as minorities. The court also ordered to recognise them as educationally backwards and offer an extension in jobs, education and other amenities.

The apex court also said states and the Centre will devise social welfare schemes for third gender community and run a public awareness campaign to erase social stigma.

5. Coal Scam Ruling

PTI

The 'Coalgate' was a massive political scandal that plagued the UPA government in 2012. The scam came to light after the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) accused the government of India for allocating 194 coal blocks to public and private enterprises for captive use in a fraudulent manner.

In 2014, the Supreme court cancelled 214 of the 218 coal blocks saying, "214 coal block allocations have been cancelled. Four coal blocks remain, two of which belong to Steel Authority of India and the National Thermal Power Corporation," Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi said in the ruling.

6. Scrapped ban on women entering temples

PTI

Indian temples that deny or restrict women's entry undermine the fight for gender equality and have no constitutional right to do so, the Supreme Court said in an emphatic verdict last year.

The Supreme Court comments came days after the Shani Shignapur temple in western Maharashtra state opened its inner sanctum to women following a Mumbai court ruling that it was the fundamental right of women to enter any place of worship that allows men access.

7. Ruling On Section 377

REUTERS

In 2013, the apex court upheld Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which discriminates against a section of individuals on the basis of their sexual orientation.

Section 377 was introduced in 1860, by the British government, after being drafted by Lord Macaulay in 1838. The court placed the onus of repealing it on the Parliament. A writ petition, challenging Section 377 on the ground that it violates the privacy of citizens, is still pending.

But with today's landmark Supreme Court judgment today which declared that privacy is a fundamental right of all Indians, court indicated that right to privacy is valid even in the context of Section 377
A draft national medical devices policy that could bring most medical devices within the ambit of price regulation while also outlining measures to boost local manufacturing of devices has been circulated by the Centre.

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The proposal, which comes soon after a draft national pharma policy, marks continued government activism to reduce costs of medical care and control insurance payouts in view of steep treatment and hospitalisation expenses in the private sector. Currently, only a few critical medical devices are under indirect price control and 80% of all devices are imported products.

This poses a challenge for the government when regulating prices of even select devices like stents or knee implants as it has to base its calculations on landed price of imports.

reuters/representational image

The draft suggests creation of a national medical devices authority to promote local manufacturing as well as a separate pricing policy and a division under the national pharmaceutical pricing authority (NPPA) to regulate the price of such devices. "The government may announce a separate policy enunciating the principles for regulating prices of identified medical devices and implement the same by notifying a separate medical devices prices control order," the draft says.

It suggests amending the Essential Commodities Act and the scope of NPPA's functions and, instead, create a separate body - national medical devices authority - to boost growth of the medical devices sector. The medical devices market in India is estimated at around $7 billion, growing annually at around 15%. The department will also meet industry bodies on Thursday at New Delhi's FICCI to discuss the draft policy.

reuters/representational image

However, industry executives said the department has re-circulated a 2015 draft policy without changes though the industry has submitted its several recommendations.

"We do not understand the purpose of this meeting. For pharmaceuticals, DoP has circulated a fresh draft, whereas in case of medical devices there are no changes in the draft even after two years of deliberations. We have already submitted our recommendations," says Rajiv Nath, forum coordinator for the Association of Indian Medical Device Industry.

reuters/representational image

Civil society representatives say the draft policy does not consider patients' interest. It alleged that DoP has bypassed civil society and public health groups on draft pharma policy and medical devices. "The DoP denied us even an observer status in Thursday's meeting," Malini Aisola of the All India Drug Action Network, a civil society group, said.

The draft policy also suggests DoP bring a detailed proposal for the creation of the new authority in six months. The autonomous body will be under the DoP.
Iran's education department has officially published a list detailing the various skin aberrations and illnesses to prevent 'ugly' teachers from entering the field of teaching.

gettyimages/afp

Now, people who have facial hair, acne, moles, eczema, or are cross-eyed can't enter the classrooms. The list doesn't end here. People suffering from illnesses such as fungal infections, infertility, cancer, bladder stones, or colour blindness will also be prohibited.

The list went viral after news agency, FARS, stated that potential teachers spend more time and money undergoing medical treatments than on their training.

getty images

Citing violation of human rights and discrimination, people have seriously condemned these derogatory rules. They feel that if these rules are implemented in their entirety, then people like Stephen Hawking will never be allowed to teach students in Iran.

A close aide to the Iranian president said that the list would be investigated.
Cairo prosecutors are investigating a police officer and a lower-ranking policeman charged of helping a businessman accused of fraud to escape custody, Al-Arabic Ahram website reported Friday.

Ahmed Abdel-Latif was ordered to be detained for four days at Matariya police station for fraud estimated at EGP 28 million.

The prosecution investigations revealed that during a detention renewal session Abdel-Latif asked the two policemen to take him to the Egyptian General Petroleum Cooperation to finish some papers, where he fled.

In May, a police officer was charged with forging a prison record to cover the escape of another detained businessman, also was accused of fraud.



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When Samsung launched the Galaxy Note 8 this past Wednesday, I was experiencing a pretty wide range of emotions. On the one hand, it looks great and holds promise. On the other hand, its ungodly expensive.

The base version of the device (64GB internal storage) is priced at $930 in the US, or approximately Rs 60,000. Prices are usually higher in India as well because local manufacturing isnt really as far along as it should be. That means we could expect a price tag of between Rs 65,000 to Rs 70,000.

Additionally, it seems the 64GB version will not be available anywhere outside the US. If thats true, were only going to have the 128GB and 256GB versions to choose from. That jacks up the base price even more, possibly even close to Rs 80,000 and over. If you think thats way too expensive for a smartphone, no matter how great it may be, you have a point. However, Samsung doesnt necessarily agree with you.

You cant be serious, right?

Whats important to consider here is why Samsung, a company thats still feeling the after effects of a disastrous Note 7 launch, thinks its okay to slap an uber premium price tag on their phablet.

Firstly, based on hardware alone, theres precedent for a Rs 50,000 price tag. Its not ideal for everyone, but its been done before. However, there's also a certain amount of brand loyalty with regards to Samsung, despite past blunders, not to mention the exclusivity a high price tag brings. To add to that, the smartphone market is changing.

A few years ago, the influx of budget smartphones from Chinese brands toppled the market, creating a new range of upper moderate buyer, the kind that wants the best features possible without breaking the bank. Since then, a clear demarcation has formed for smartphone manufacturers. Mid-range smartphone are no longer good enough. To make a profit, brands have to either cram every feature imaginable into a budget device that can reap rewards with pure sales numbers, or instead turn to the premium buyers, willing to shell out extra dough for luxury devices.

Look at the recent launches weve seen. The 32GB iPhone 7 launched in India at a price of Rs 60,000, going up to about Rs 92,000 for higher models. The Samsung Galaxy S8 also started off at a Rs 58,000 base price, and the comparable HTC U11 also launched at Rs 52,000, one of the lower price tags in this range. All of these flagship prices are significantly higher than, say, the OnePlus 2. Billed the Flagship Killer when it launched in 2015, because of its high-end specifications, it launched in India for a paltry Rs 25,000. And those numbers have gone up ever since. Even the OnePlus 5 from two months ago launched at Rs 33,000, and thats the new affordable range a step above budget 4G devices. Basically, if you want a cheap phone, youre going to have to go last-gen.

Does the Galaxy Note 8 fall into that premium category? Theres no way to know for sure without experiencing the device for a while, especially getting a feel for how its dual cameras perform. If they can equal or best those of at least the likes of Google Pixel 2, iPhone 7 Plus, if not the incoming iPhone 8, it might be a strong contender. But in the meantime, Samsung is aware that its still not regained the trust of buyers who were burned by the disastrous Note 7. Theyre currently offering discounts on the Note 8 for owners of the Note 7 in the US, and its likely those exchange offers will trickle down to India as well. If thats the case, you wont be paying the full market price on the flashy new flagship, so its bound to make it look more attractive.

It gets worse

But however the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 eventually turns out, it's pricing is a good indication that Apple's upcoming iPhone 8 will also be priced over the $1,000 mark, and there's evidence that Apple doesn't drop iPhone prices nearly as steeply as Android OEMs do. And will the next round of Google Pixel 2 and XL smartphones follow suit?

What we're saying is, it's time to tighten your belts and start saving money, as premium flagship phones are only going to cost more in the coming months.
Were excited to announce that indmin.com is now part of fastmarkets.com.

A new look and an improved experience means you can still stay ahead of this fast-moving market with price data, news and market intelligence right here on Fastmarkets.

Discover more than 2000 prices, news and analysis in primary and secondary metals markets. We cover base metals, industrial minerals, ores and alloys, steel, scrap and steel raw materials.

If you already have a Fastmarkets account, youll still have uninterrupted access to your markets by logging in with your current details.
Half of the estimated 20,000 people trapped in Syria's northern city of Raqqa are children, an official with the U.N. children's agency said Friday, describing the traumatizing experiences of children who recently fled the rule of Islamic State group militants as "absolutely staggering."

Fran Equiza spoke to The Associated Press in Damascus following a visit to three camps in northern Syria where he met displaced children from Raqqa and Deir el-Zour, both held by the IS.

"I was completely overwhelmed," he said. "There are 10,000 children trapped in Raqqa in extremely dire conditions. No electricity, no water, probably very little food ... and the battle almost every day."

Raqqa is the self-proclaimed capital of the so-called Islamic State in Syria.



U.S.-backed Syrian fighters are bearing down on the city from all sides and as the fighting intensifies, thousands of civilians are finding it increasingly hard to escape the city, which is facing constant shelling by the U.S.-led coalition and allied Syrian Democratic Forces. IS militants have placed mines around the city.

"The level of suffering, losing friends, relatives, family of these children is absolutely staggering," he said.

Equiza appealed to all sides to allow for safe passage and respect civilians, "especially the children (who) have no responsibility whatsoever."

He warned that the situation is about to get worse, as more people flee from the IS-held eastern province of Deir el-Zour where the Syrian military and allied militiamen are on the offensive against IS.

"We need support in order to be able to provide these children the rights they are entitled," Equiza said.

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A 43 year old man, Ini Udoh, has been arrested by the Ogun state police command for allegedly defiling three girls aged 9-12.

The incident happened at Agboola Close, in the Sango-Ota area of Ogun State.

According to PUNCH, Udoh was alleged to have had carnal knowledge of the girls when his wife and parents of the victims were not at home.

He usually lured the victims into his room under the pretext of sending them on errands.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi, said the suspect was arrested when the mother of one of the girls discovered traces of semen on her pants.

He said,

The mother of one of the girls noticed what looked like sperm in her pants while washing them, which aroused her curiosity. The discovery made her to question the girl.

This was what led to a revelation that the suspect had been defiling her and two others, whenever their parents were not at home.

He said the discovery led the fathers of the three girls to jointly make a report at the Sango-Ota Divisional Police Headquarters.

The Divisional Police Officer, Akinsola Ogunwale, was said to have detailed detectives to arrest the suspect.

Oyeyemi said the three victims had been taken to a general hospital for treatment and tests.
Boko Haram jihadists killed Five people, including four members of a militia force in Nigerias northeast Nigerian Borno state, days after suicide attacks in the area killed 28, local vigilantes told AFP.

A convoy of trucks under military and militia escort came under fire from Boko Haram jihadists at Meleri village in Konduga district which has been repeatedly pounded by Boko Haram attacks.

We lost four of our colleagues and the driver of one of the trucks they were escorting in the ambush, said Ibrahim Liman, leader of a militia force fighting the jihadists.

Two soldiers were also injured in the attack which happened 27 kilometres (16 miles) from the Borno state capital Maiduguri, Liman said.

The trucks were carrying sand to the town of Bama, 30 kilometres away, for ongoing reconstruction works after the area was totally destroyed when Boko Haram invaded it two years ago, said another militia member Musa Ari.

The military and vigilantes in the convoy fought off the Boko Haram attackers but four of our comrades and a driver were killed, Ari said.

Last week three female suicide bombers blew themselves up at the entrance to a camp for displaced people in nearby Mandarari village on Tuesday, killing 28 people and wounding 82.

Konduga district is a known hotbed of Boko Haram activity, despite government and military claims that the jihadists are a spent force, having been forced out of their Sambisa Forest enclave.

In June, eight members of a civilian militia force where killed in an ambush by Boko Haram gunmen hiding in trees outside Kayamla village in the area, while eight loggers were killed and their bodies burnt near the village two months earlier.

The eight-year conflict by the Sunni jihadist group aimed at establishing a hard-line Islamic Caliphate has left at least 20,000 people dead and displaced 2.6 million, creating one of worlds major humanitarian catastrophe.

The violence has spilt into neighbouring Niger, Chad and Cameroon.

Source: ( AFP )
A woman identified as Rezia Begum has leg swollen to enormous proportions in a potentially-deadly condition, the victims right leg weighs around 60kg.

The mother-of-two, from Bangladesh, has suffered with the condition ever since the birth of her second daughter 18 years ago. Although it is unclear how Ms Begums condition affects her, she says she is now dependent on the support of her relatives.

Ms Begum said: I was like any other normal woman but now Im a burden on my poor family. Although she is being cared for at Dhaka Medical College Hospital in Bangladesh, she is yet to begin treatment.

Surgery and additional tests are required before therapy can start. The cause of Ms Begums condition is unclear, however, previous reports of other cases revealed the disorder can be caused by roundworms entering the body via mosquitoes.

If the swelling spreads from the legs to the abdomen, the condition can be fatal. Elephantiasis affects around 120 million people globally. It is characterised by the massive enlargement of an area of the body due to obstruction of the lymphatic system. This results in the accumulation of fluids in the affected part of the body.

Source: ( Instablog9ja )
There is an online debate about the astronomical fees of one of the prominent private universities in Nigeria as the costs of schooling of freshers go public.

Freshers of the 2017/2018 admission session at the Covenant University will be forced to cough out a minimum of N817,000 as school fees amid the distressed local economy in Nigeria.

This further underscores the popular view that the prestigious higher institution is established for the children of the rich and prominent Nigerians. There is a stark difference between the tuition fees of Covenant University and other public institutions in Nigeria.

The irony of the development is that the award of the best university in Nigeria has never gone to a private school. The financial details were provided on the schools website and it has become a hot topic of discussion on a popular Nigerian online forum.

Covenant University (CU) is located in Ota, Ogun State in Nigeria. It is a private Christian university, affiliated with Living Faith Church Worldwide and a member of the Association of Commonwealth Universities, Association of African Universities and National Universities Commission.

In January 2015, it was ranked as the best university in Nigeria according to Webometrics.

Check full details of the bogues tution fees below:
BBA star, Dillish Mathews life changed for the better when she emerged winner of the 2013 edition of the Big Brother Africa competition.

That win made her $300,000 richer and turned her to a celebrity of sorts in her home country. 4 years down the Line the Namibian beauty is celebrating her win and thanking Africa.

She shared the above photos of her victorious day and wrote;
A professor of Islamic Studies, Badmas Lanre Yusuf, has warned Muslims against obtaining loans to buy animals for the Eid-el Kabir festivity.

In a sermon during a congregational prayer at Hilal Crescent Mosque, Ilorin, Kwara State, Professor Yusuf stated that Allah has not imposed on the believers tasks that are beyond their capacities.

He said;

Islam makes things simple for its adherents. There is no condition attached to what we are doing in our religion.

Ileya (Eid festival) is around the corner. It is a common knowledge that Muslims are preparing to buy animals for sacrifice during the festival.

We have been given prescription on how to go about it. Almighty Allah has not conditioned us to sacrifice animals during the festival if we are not capable of doing it.

What matters most is the intention behind whatever we do. There are instances that some people, all in the name of killing animals during the festival, will go as far as obtaining loans through the cooperative or bank. This is not acceptable. We should act within our own confines.

We need to make it clear that Allah does not give us a responsibility or a task that we cannot accomplish.

Therefore, we need to be cognizant of this in whatever we do in life.

On the sacrifice of animals during the festival, some people used to misconstrue the intention as if we are performing ritual like other religions. We dont do that in Islam.

What we are doing is in line with the deed of our spiritual leader, Prophet Ibrahim. We must also make it clear that Almighty Allah has nothing to do with the blood of the animals we sacrifice, the don said.
The leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu might be in serious trouble as the Federal Government has asked a court to revoke his bail.

The Federal Government has finally asked the Federal High Court in Abuja to revoke the bail granted the leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, Mr. Namdi Kanu, Punch has reported.

Kanu is being prosecuted along with others on treasonable felony charges. The request was made on Friday by the prosecution through an application it filed before the court and served to Kanus lawyers.

The Federal Government hinged its fresh motion seeking the revocation of Kanus bail on the grounds that the IPOB leader had flouted the terms and conditions of the bail.

It would be recalled that Justice Binta Nyako had, in her ruling delivered on April 25, granted bail to Kanu, but dismissed the separate bail applications filed by his co-defendants  the National Coordinator of IPOB, Mr. Chidiebere Onwudiwe; an IPOB member, Benjamin Madubugwu, and a former Field Maintenance Engineer seconded to the MTN, David Nwawuisi.

The Federal Governments counter-affidavit filed in support of the motion and deposed to by a litigation clerk in the Office of the Director Public Prosecutions, pieced together Kanus alleged acts of serial violation of the bail conditions imposed by the court.

It maintained that Kanu had flagrantly violated all the bail conditions. It stated that the essence of the bail, which was for Kanu to look after his health, had been defeated.

According to the prosecution, instead of using the opportunity of his bail to attend to his health needs, Kanu went ahead to inaugurate a security outfit known as the Biafra Security Service.

The prosecution said this constituted a threat to national security.

It also cited an instance of how Kanu allegedly incited his followers to disrupt, disallow and boycott elections in south East states, starting with Anambra State governorship election scheduled to hold onvbNovember 18, 2017, if the Federal Government failed to hold a referendum for the realisation of the state of Biafra nation.
The importation and consumption of rice into the country is valued at two million dollars, this was condemned by the Governor of Abia, Dr Okezie Ikepeazu.

Ikepeazu made the condemnation at the Business Hallmark Public Policy Forum on Thursday in Lagos.

He, therefore, canvassed for the consumption of local foods, especially rice and exportation of local goods, and services to guard against further depletion of national reserves.

The theme of the Public Policy Forum is The Made in Nigeria Campaign and National Economic Revival.

He also urged that Nigerians must be determined to work the talk.

The Governor said, Why are Nigerians spending 2 million dollars on imported rice daily when there are varieties of better and nutritious local rice.

What the country needs is the facilitation of home made goods and foods as this could take the economy to next destination.

According to him, over dependence on foreign goods and oil money has denied the country proportionate Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increment.

The GDP of Turkey in 2017 is three times where it was in 1980 and that of China grew 35 times from 341m Liras it was in1980 to 12trn Liras in 2017.

That of South Korean grew by 10 times but unfortunately, the GDP of Nigeria of 180 million people grew from N143 billion to N430 billion, he said

Ikepeazu said the he had developed corrective measures to enable Abia made goods compete with GUCCI products at international markets.

He said the state had was exporting over one million shoes weekly to countries like Cameroon, Ghana, Guinea Bussau, Togo and Mali weekly and earning over N2 billion.

The Minister of Science of Technology, Dr Ogbonaya Onu, said at the occasion that theme of the forum was apt, especially as the country was facing serious economic challenges.

He commended President Muhammadu Buhari for adopting the diversification of economy as a major policy of his administration.

Local goods and services as a matter of urgency must become household names.

President Buhari has directed that 40 per cent of Federal agencies procurement must be locally purchased, he said

According to Onu, the only way to national prosperity is strengthening indigenous production and promoting local consumption of goods and services.

The minister condemned the importation of tooth pick, rice, fish, cassava starch, sugar, processed tomatoes, garments and fabrics into the country.

He said the citizens insatiable appetite for imported products at the detriment of locally produced goods remained devastating economic drain that paved way for the countrys economic recession.

Source: ( PM News )
Luck has ran out on three deadly Boko Haram members after they were ambushed ad killed by members of the Civilian Joint Task Force (JTF) in Gubio town of Borno. The Boko Haram members had terrorized residents of the area before the intervention of security forces.

The security operatives recovered a sub-machine gun and motorcycles.
Some nurses claiming to be members of the Indigenous members of Biafra (IPOB) were spotted administering free medical care to villagers in Abia state.

According to online reports, the nurses disclosed that they were carrying out the act because of the love they have Nnamdi Kanu and for the actualozation of Biafra.

The nurses who were three in number, were seen giving villagers drugs to cure their illness, rub ointment on sprained ankles, applying bandages to open wounds.

The villagers were grateful for the nurses voluntary action and they pledged to support the leader of IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu and the actualization of the Biafran state.

(Gistreel)
Children were among at least 14 people killed in an air strike that toppled residential blocks in Yemen's capital Sanaa on Friday, witnesses and medics said.

The attack was the latest in a wave of deadly raids on residential areas of Yemen blamed on a Saudi-led Arab military coalition, drawing strong international condemnation.

The United Nations has accused the Arab coalition of killing 42 civilians in the week to Thursday, including many children.

Amnesty International's Middle East research director, Lynn Maalouf, said the coalition "rained down bombs on civilians while they slept".

She called in a statement for the UN to take action against Saudi Arabia over the list of civilian facilities struck in deadly air raids over the past two years.

"We are calling on the UN to look at the evidence - the schools and hospitals that lie in ruins, the hundreds of young lives lost to reckless air strikes," Maalouf said.

The International Committee of the Red Cross condemned the latest deadly raid as "outrageous".

"Eight of the victims were members of the same family, including five children between three and 10 years old," said the deputy head of the ICRC's delegation in Yemen, Carlos Morazzani, after visiting the site.

"Such loss of civilian life is outrageous and runs counter to the basic tenets of the law of armed conflict," he said. "From what we saw on the ground, there was no apparent military target."

Friday's air raid destroyed two buildings in the southern district of Faj Attan, leaving people buried under debris, said an AFP photographer on the scene.

His images showed severely damaged buildings, piles of smashed concrete blocks and splintered beams of wood.

Medics at the site said at least 14 people including six children and two women had died in the strike at 3:15 am (0015 GMT).

Al-Massira television channel, run by the Shiite Huthi rebels who control the capital, said those killed were all civilians, and blamed the Saudi-led coalition for the strike.

Mohammed Ahmad, who lived in one of the buildings, said he was among those who had taken nine bodies to a hospital.

"We extracted them one by one from under the rubble," he said.

"When the rocket hit, one of the buildings was immediately destroyed which caused the building next door to collapse too. Some residents got out, but others were trapped."

Diggers worked at the site for hours after the raid as medics and residents searched for the missing. Survivors helped move the wounded to ambulances.

A man wearing a bloodied white gown walked among the torn and burnt pieces of clothing and bits of wooden furnishings.

The coalition entered Yemen's war in 2015 in support of the government against the Iran-backed rebels, who seized Sanaa the previous year after forming a fragile alliance with troops loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.

The World Health Organization estimates that nearly 8,400 civilians have been killed and 47,800 wounded since the Saudi-led alliance intervened.

Friday's raid came two days after at least 35 people died in a series of strikes on Sanaa and a nearby hotel that rebels have also blamed on the coalition.

Coalition spokesman Colonel Turki al-Malki told AFP that those killed in Wednesday's air strike were "armed militants", adding that the strike was aimed at "a high-value target".

He said he would "review the information" about Friday's strike.

Human rights groups have repeatedly criticised the coalition, which controls Yemen's airspace, over the civilian death toll from the bombing campaign on northern and southern Yemen.

The coalition has come under massive pressure from international organisations including the United Nations over the raids.

The UN has said the coalition was probably responsible for a July attack on the southwestern Taez province that killed 20 people, including children.

"In the week from August 17 to August 24, 58 civilians have been killed, including 42 by the Saudi-led coalition," UN human rights office spokeswoman Liz Throssell told reporters in Geneva on Friday.

Yemen also faces a deadly cholera outbreak that has claimed nearly 2,000 lives and affected more than half a million people since late April.

A combination of war, disease and a coalition blockade have pushed Yemen, long the poorest country in the Arab world, to the brink of famine.

The United States also regularly conducts deadly drone strikes on Yemen that Washington says target Al-Qaeda.

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It looks like HKN Gang Boss, Davido is not stopping at baby number two, Hailey, he welcomed with an Atlanta based lady, Amanda this year.

The father of two who took to social media to share photos of Hailey, and further disclosed that shes just his last born for now sha, indirectly telling us that we should expect another baby soon.
Police detectives attached to Special Anti Robbery Squad Anambra State Command have arrested a 26-year-old man who offered his family members for rituals at Ifite, Awka in Anambra State.

The Police in Anambra have arrested a 26-year-old man, Chukwuemeka Okafor, for allegedly attempting to use his father, two siblings and five friends for money ritual, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

The suspect, who hailed from Ifite-Awka in Awka South Local Government Area of Anambra, was arrested following information made available to the police by a vigilant resident of the community.

The Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr. Garba Umar, who briefed newsmen in Amawbia on Thursday on the arrest of the suspect, said the father had innocently provided N100, 000 to his son unknown to him that the son had a devilish intention.

Umar said that the suspect lied to his father about a business which made him raise the money for him believing that it was a genuine venture.

He further said that after collecting the money, the suspect proceeded to the house of a native doctor to prepare a charm that would enable him to eliminate his father, two siblings and five of his friends.

He said that the suspect had confessed to the crime, and was assisting the police with useful information for further investigation.

The commissioner said the suspect would be charged to court after investigation.

He listed the items recovered from the suspect to include; eight photographs of the victims, including three members of the family and pictures of his five face book friends as well as the sum of N100,000.

The suspect told newsmen that he collected the N100, 000 from his father under the pretence that he would use the money to set up a business.

Okafor told reporters that he was roped into the act after he was defrauded of N400,000 by one of his friends who promised to take him to Dubai.

Amidst these frustrations, I sought the assistance of one Zaki who is very influential in the society and he told me that he made his money through money ritual.

He encouraged me to join him in the ritual act after revealing the secret, he said.

Okafor said he was warned not to reveal the secrets of the ritual to anybody otherwise his life would be terminated.

He regretted that he had no intention to join the evil act, but that he was pushed into it by the devil, adding that he got the picture of his friends from their Facebook walls.
A Pilot of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Air Beetle was killed in a crash in Kaduna State while he was on a mission , the statement was released by the director of Public Relations and Information, NAF Headquarters, Air Commodore Olatokunbo Adesanya, disclosed this in a statement in Abuja.

According to Adesanya, the only soul on board the aircraft, one of NAFs experienced instructor pilots, was unfortunately lost during the mishap.

The director said that the cause of the incident had not been ascertained.

Adesanya added that the Chief of Air Staff , (CAS) , Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, has immediately directed the constitution of a board of inquiry to determine the immediate and remote causes of the crash.

The unfortunate incident is a tragic reminder of the hazards associated with the flying profession.

The CAS and the entire NAF family commiserate with the relatives of the late instructor pilot, he said.

Source: ( PM News )
The city of Port Harcourt is still witnessing a brewing war between two popular men of God, Apostle Chinyere Chibuzor of Omega Power Ministries OPM and Senior Pastor David Ibiyeomie founder of Salvation Ministries.

First was the silent move by Pastor David Ibiyeomie in destroying brothels, Night Clubs and joints that house prostitutes and adjoining businesses associated with weird life style.

Apostle Chinyere Chibuzor then took it upon himself to preach to the sex workers, baptize them and even join them in marriage.

Pastor David Ibiyeomie, during a recent program at his church in Port Harcourt, has declared that anyone that is 35 of age and is still unmarried is irresponsible.

According to him, If you are still single at 35, you are an irresponsible person. Adding that it is not the will God.

Well, Apostle Chibuzor chinyere didnt agree with him, hence the shade below.
A Yoruba traditional ruler has said that President Muhammadu Buhari must complete 8 years despite having health challenges.

The Oluwo of Iwo, Adbulrahsheed Akanbi, on Thursday presided over a special prayer session organised for President Muhammadu Buhari by Muslims, Christians and traditionalists at his palace in the town where he said Muhammadu Buhari must complete 8 years as President despite health challenges.

As I have prayed for Buhari today, new life has come for him, he prayed. He must spend eight years in power despite all obstacles from opposition.

He also said he was willing to bear any sickness that is ailing the president, saying that those who love the country must love the leaders as well.

It is painful that those who launched that campaign of Resume or Resign are not patriotic as they claimed.

They politicised the campaign which shouldnt be. Buhari is my son and I wont be happy when people are wishing him dead.

If any civil servant or police officer falls sick, will you advise them to resign? Those who are clamouring for Buharis resignation are not sane.

Nigerians dont love those that love them but they are passionate about those that hate them.

All those who are wishing him dead and those who are clamouring for his resignation shall fall sick.

The president of Christian Association of Nigeria, Iwo, Caleb Ayoola, led the Christian prayer; the Iwo Chief Imam, Abdulfatai Olododo, led the Muslim prayers and Ojetunde Ajibowu, led traditionalists in prayers.

The CAN Chairman, read from 2Chronicles 7:14 noted that God is the utmost healer urging people in positions of authority to always show obedience to Gods directive and pray for peace and harmony in the land. Conducting the traditional prayers, Ojetunde Ajibowu, offered prayers for the president, Governor Rauf Aregbesola and the Oluwo of Iwo.

The wife of the president, Aisha Buhari, who was represented by the Wife of the Secretary to the State Government of Oyo State, Halimot Alli, appreciated the Oluwo and Nigerians for their relentless prayers for her husband.
The national caucuses of the ruling All Progress Congress (APC) and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) his morning paid a joint courtesy call on President Muhammad Buhari at the State House.



The APC chairman, John Oyegun led his partys group while their counterparts from the PDP were led by the party chairman, Ahmed Makarfi.



The two party leaders, on behalf of their delegations, wished Buhari robust health to be able to steer the ship of nation aright.

Buhari thanked the guests for coming to see him, saying it was not a party gathering and showed the improving maturity of party politics in the country.

Democracy needs responsible opposition, he said and asked the delegation to extend his appreciation to their other members who prayed for his recovery from ill-health.
A really scary house which has gotten many neighbours really afraid to even walk past it at night, has gotten many people talking.

In the town of Ratomka, five kilometers from the Belorussian capital of Minsk, there is a house so spooky that some people try to avoid walking past it at all costs, especially at night. With skeletal hands coming out of the stone fence, devils decorating the roof and dozens of black skulls covering a domed structure on the property, the scariest house in Belarus is definitely a sight to behold.

Photos of the spooky house in Ratomka recently went viral in Belarus, with most people praising the owner for the bold artistic design. However, the only reason that the house even became famous in the first place was because people living in its vicinity had been complaining that it is too spooky.

Some of them even filed complaints to the local authorities about it, claiming that the devils and skulls were scaring children and even adults walking by after dark, but they havent done anything about it yet.

I photographed the house with my phone, to show it to colleagues at work, and then I deleted the photos because I didnt want such devils in my phones memory, Ratomka resident Maria Nikolaevna told TUT.by.

From the distance, the house looked pretty, my granddaughter even compared it to a fairytale castle. But when we got closer and saw the hands coming out of the fence, and the devils on the roof, I was shocked. Now I dont walk my granddaughter by that house anymore. At night, its scary even for adults, as the light reflects off those little metal devils and they look even creepier.

One of the next-door neighbors of the house also complained that the view was horrible, with all those devils dotting the roofs, and the spooky black skulls covering the domed roof of a smaller structure resembling a crypt. He even noticed that one of the devil sculptures seems to be aiming a bow directly at his window, which makes him uneasy.

Neighbors say that the owner of the house is actually just an ordinary businessman. He started building the house a decade ago, but then went away for eight years and only cam back 2 years ago and resumed work on it. Now its almost finished, and people are scared he might add even more spooky elements to it before hes done.

Like it or not, you have to agree that the decor may actually prove to be an excellent deterrent against thieves, especially id theyre the superstitious type. I would definitely think twice before going into a place like that at night.
Deadly armed robbers left a woman bewildered yesterday after using new tactics to loot her shop in Delta state.

A Nigerian woman by name Misan has been left shocked after coming to her shop to realize that her shop has been robbed.

The robbers penetrated the shop via a big hole they dug on the ground to enter the shop and steal various items including shirts, shoes and perfumes.

The incident happened in Sapele, Delta state. Misan is now appealing to the authorities to come to her aid and apprehend the perpetrators after sharing the photos on social media.
An unremorseful serial killer who raped and stabbed his final victim 98 times, clapped in court as he was sent to prison for 71 years, as he taunted families of his victims with At least Im still alive remark.

20-year-old Cameron Wilson was found guilty of 13 charges including five murders, one rape and three attempted murder charges in a South African Court as he appeared unfazed by the crowded gallery as Western Cape High Court Judge Chantel Fortuin read her ruling.

Wilson received four life terms for the murders of Toyher Stober, Stacey Lee Mohale, Lekita Moore and for the rape of Dawney Davids.

He was handed 15 years for the murder of Alfonso van Rooyen, five years for possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition, 15 years for the murder of Ernest Erasmus, 10 years for attempted murder and conspiracy to commit a crime, six years for assault with intent to commit grievous bodily harm and 10 years for the murder of Roslyn Lakay.

When these two murders were mentioned, he laughed, and rolled his eyes when he heard the life sentences being called out. Angry members of his victims family shouted, You will rot in hell, and Murderer, from the public gallery.

Her cousin, Jolene Daniels, said Wilson should never be re-introduced to society in light of him being eligible for parole in just 25 years.

Heres the video;
Namibias Dilish Mathews on Friday celebrated the four years anniversary of her Big Brother Africa, The Chase win.

The beautiful lady, who went home with USD 300 000, took to her social media page today to celebrate the anniversary.

she wrote;

Today marks exactly 4 years since I won Big Brother Africa the chase. FOUR years already? Wow happy anniversary to me! Ill never stop celebrating this day. Thank you Africa #BigBrotherWinner #BigBrotherTheChase #25August2013 #4Years .
President Donald Trump picked a new fight on Thursday with his fellow Republicans, saying congressional leaders could have avoided a mess over raising the U.S. debt ceiling if they had taken his advice.

In the latest in a stream of criticisms that could undermine his aims to cut taxes, pass a budget and rebuild infrastructure, Trump sought to blame party leaders if Congress fails to agree to raise the cap on how much the federal government may borrow.

The Treasury Department has said the ceiling must be raised by Sept. 29. If not, the government would be unable to borrow more money or pay its bills, including its debt payments. That could hurt the United States credit rating, cause financial turmoil, harm the U.S. economy and possibly trigger a recession.

Trump said he had advised Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan to link passage of legislation raising the debt ceiling to a bill on veterans affairs that he signed into law on Aug. 12.

They ... didnt do it so now we have a big deal with Dems holding them up (as usual) on Debt Ceiling approval. Could have been so easy-now a mess! Trump said in Twitter posts.

Recent media reports suggest that Trumps relationship with McConnell has deteriorated amid repeated attacks by Trump on the Republican Senate majority leader for, among other things, failing to get a healthcare bill passed.

The New York Times reported on Tuesday that McConnell and Trump were locked in a political cold war, especially after an Aug. 9 phone call that it said devolved into a shouting match. On the 9th and the 10th Trump assailed McConnell via Twitter, angered by a speech in which McConnell said Trump had excessive expectations of Congress.

Trumps salvo ran counter to efforts this week by the White House and McConnells office to play down reports of discord.

Reuters

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The Universal City, Texas, City Council unanimously approved a Future Land Use Plan amendment, several conditional-use permits and a zoning change during its Aug. 15 meeting, allowing Maximum Mini Storage to move forward with development plans on three adjacent parcels. Bob Ross Realty acquired an existing self-storage facility at 115 Villa Drive and plans to expand its footprint onto 1316 and 1320 Pat Booker Road, where a restaurant and parking lot currently stand, according to the source. Zoning on the land was changed from retail to commercial.

The company intends to build a two-story structure next to the existing storage facility, which will feature offices on the ground floor and storage units on the second level, the source reported. We saw an opportunity, when we were acquiring [the storage facility and] looked at the tract where the restaurant was, to put an office there and a point of entry and egress, Marc Ross, president of Bob Ross Realty, told the council.

The restaurant has sold about a dozen times in the last 15 years, Ross said during the meeting. The existing storage facility sold in 2016 when it was called Storage & Moving Logistics. At the time of the sale, it comprised 34,813 rentable square feet in 218 drive-up units and 90 uncovered parking spaces. Built in 1983, it sits on 3.8 acres.

Though no one from the public objected to the development during the meeting, councilmember Bear Goolsby asked if the propertys U-Haul moving trucks would remain parked on the street. He was also concerned about the visibility of tenant vehicles being stored onsite and any plans to remove two large oak trees on the property.

Ross indicated hed like to keep one or two rental trucks visible from the street for advertising purposes but would move most of the trucks behind storage units to keep them out of sight. Weve confirmed that all our customers, especially those storing junky-looking cars, are still paying for their storage, Ross told the council. Our game plan is, over time, to move the cars being stored to buildings designed for housing vehicles, and removing them from everyday sight. And the trees are staying.

Bob Ross Realty has opened two other Maximum Mini Storage facilities in Texas since 2001, according to the source. Both are in San Antonio.
Marcus & Millichap, a commercial property-investment firm serving the self-storage industry, has named Charles Chico LeClaire an executive managing director of investments in the companys Denver office. The title is the highest an investment professional can attain inside the firm, according to Bob Kaplan, vice president and regional manager of the Denver office. LeClaire was promoted from senior managing director of investments.

LeClaire joined Marcus & Millichap as an agent in October 1990. He specializes in self-storage property investments and serves within the firms National Self-Storage Group. He has been named the companys top storage-investment professional several times and ranked among its top-10 agents nationwide in 2004 and 2016. He has been among the top 30 agents companywide six times.

In 2016, LeClaire sold more than $500 million in self-storage facilities in 16 states. Next month, hell become the first real estate broker to be inducted into the national Self Storage Association Hall of Fame, according to a press release.

LeClaire graduated from the University of Wisconsin in Madison with a bachelors degree in business administration.

Founded in 1971, Marcus & Millichap is a commercial property-investment firm with more than 1,700 investment professionals in offices throughout Canada and the United States. The firm closed nearly 9,000 transactions in 2016 with a value of approximately $42.3 billion.
Turkey dismissed hundreds civil servants and boosted President Tayyip Erdogans powers over the MIT national intelligence agency in two decrees published on Friday, the latest under emergency rule imposed after last years attempted coup.

Turkey has sacked or suspended more than 150,000 officials in purges since the failed putsch, while sending to jail pending trial some 50,000 people including soldiers, police, civil servants.

The crackdown has targeted people whom authorities say they suspect of links to the network of Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, blamed by Ankara for the coup.

Under the latest decrees, published in the governments Official Gazette, more than 900 civil servants from ministries, public institutions and the military were dismissed. Those sacked included more than 100 academic personnel.

According to the decrees, the presidents permission will be required for the head of the MIT national intelligence agency to be investigated or to act as a witness. The president will also chair the national intelligence coordination board.

The Ankara chief prosecutors office will have the authority to investigate members of parliament for alleged crimes committed before or after an election, according to one of the measures.

One of the decrees also ordered the closure of the pro-Kurdish news agency Dihaber and two newspapers, all based in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir. Since the coup, some 130 media outlets have been closed and around 150 journalists jailed.

Such measures have alarmed Turkeys Western allies and rights groups, who say Erdogan has used the attempted coup as a pretext to muzzle dissent.

Some 250 people were killed in last year's coup attempt, and the government has said the security measures are necessary because of the gravity of the threats facing Turkey. Gulen has condemned the coup attempt and denied involvement.

Under the decrees, Turkey will also recruit 32,000 staff for the police, along with 4,000 judges and prosecutors.

Reuters

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It is a criminal offence if directors do not apply for their director ID on time
The aviation insurance industry may sound like a specialised field but, thanks to emerging technology, it is becoming increasingly popular in the general business community.Julian Fraser, national manager, aviation, at QBE , said that it has been a very interesting period for the aviation industry and one of rapid change.The rise in popularity of remotely piloted aircraft (RPA), coupled with the introduction of new legislation, has meant brokers in particular have had to be mindful of the implications for businesses to ensure operators are aware of their obligations and the implications should anything go awry, Fraser told Insurance Business. Insurers have had to adapt and ensure we educate our customers and partners on the potential risks, as well as provide products and services that meet their needs and expectations.Fraser noted that for clients looking to aviation policies to cover their activity using RPAs, it is important that they are informed about their risks and liabilities as they dont necessarily understand the intricacies of aviation regulations and their responsibilities. In terms of policy coverage, Fraser said that both RPA and aviation policies provide options to cover material damage for hulls and equipment along with third party liability, while RPA operators also require public liability cover for their business operations.For brokers, Fraser noted that it is vital to ensure clients understand that any RPA usage, including that which does not generate income, is subject to regulation from the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA). Fraser said that RPAs are defined as aircraft, which can impose strict liability risk under the Damage by Aircraft Act.From a regulatory perspective, CASA has strict regulations governing the use of RPAs, so customers need to be acutely aware of these to operate in a way that provides legal liability, Fraser continued. This class of business is very claims active and our data identifies that one in 12 drones will suffer material damage in a year.Fraser noted that the firm has already seen huge growth in drone usage in the real estate and media sectors, with both markets almost at saturation - but other industries can be targeted for cover.Were already seeing uptake among resources, risk management, adjusting, engineering sectors, as well as tertiary institutions and researchers, Fraser continued. We think agriculture and construction infrastructure will be the big movers in the near term.
Its been 10 years since Irish lobby group Alliance for Insurance Reform stopped calling for industry changes after a shake-up that saw the establishment of the Injuries Board. Now a revival is imminent amid rising premiums and rampant fraud.It is time to bring back the Alliance for Insurance Reform, stated Pat McDonagh  who headed the group from 2002  as quoted by the Irish Independent.With the persistent surge in cover costs, another nagging issue being faced by the Irish market is alleged cartel activity. Almost two months ago we told you about motor insurers and brokers being raided by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission and the European Competition Directorate as part of a longstanding probe.McDonagh, founder of food chain Supermacs, asked: Why has it taken the EU authorities to come in and investigate insurance companies and brokers? That raises a very big question.He also cited bogus accident claims as among the reasons for the need to revive the lobby group. Meetings are likely to be set soon, according to the report. Allianz Ireland recently said more than half of the insurance claims it considers suspicious turn out to be fraudulent. It also said an estimated 200 million of insurance claims funds is lost each year in Ireland due to fraud.A new head for the revived Alliance for Insurance Reform will be named in due course.
A man who was among dozens of people injured when a commuter train crashed at a suburban Philadelphia terminal is suing the rail company, claiming the train also blew past a previous station before the accident.

Passenger Darrell Robbson filed a lawsuit against the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority on Wednesday. He says SEPTA displayed carelessness when the train smashed into a parked train at the station, buckling the floors of both cars and injuring more than 30 riders.

Twenty-six-year-old Robbson said in the lawsuit that his head was injured during the Tuesday accident at the 69th Street Terminal in Upper Darby. His lawyers say he was treated at a nearby hospital and released.

The rail company declined comment, citing an ongoing federal investigation.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Lawsuits Pennsylvania
A state senator was named Wednesday by Governor Charlie Baker to the regulatory board that will oversee the cannabis industry in Massachusetts.

Sen. Jennifer Flanagan, of Leominster, is the first appointee to the five-member Cannabis Control Commission. She will serve as an associate commissioner beginning on Sept. 1 after resigning from her Senate seat at the end of the month.

The governor, in a statement, touted Flanagans experience in the Legislature on issues involving substance abuse prevention, treatment and recovery as invaluable to the states goal of effective, responsible and safe implementation of the adult use of marijuana.

Flanagan played a key role in crafting a 2016 state law that offered several new approaches to stemming the deadly opioid addiction crisis. She opposed the marijuana initiative on the November ballot, citing concerns over unknown or unanswered questions about what legalization might mean to Massachusetts.

A bill signed earlier this month that made revisions to the voter-approved law gave Baker, state Treasurer Deb Goldberg and Attorney General Maura Healey each a hand in appointing the Cannabis Control Commission. Goldberg is tasked with naming the person who will chair the panel. The governors appointee was required to have a background in public health, mental health or substance abuse.

The commission will oversee both recreational and medical marijuana. Its charged with screening and licensing applicants for retail pot shops that are expected to begin opening in mid-2018.

I look forward to serving on the commission as Massachusetts moves forward in responsibly regulating this new industry, Flanagan said in a brief statement.

An aide said the senator planned no further comments on Wednesday.

As an associate commissioner, Flanagan is expected to receive an annual salary of about $120,000. She earned $84,233 as a state lawmaker in 2016, according to the states Open Checkbook website.

Flanagan, considered a moderate Democrat, was elected to the state House of Representatives in 2004 and to the Senate four years later.

Massachusetts is one of eight states where voters have legalized adult recreational marijuana use.

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Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Legislation Cannabis Massachusetts
Protecting people rather than property or animals will be the priority under pioneering new German legal guidelines for the operation of driverless cars, the transport ministry said on Wednesday [Aug. 23].

Germany is home to some of the worlds largest car companies, including Volkswagen, Daimler and BMW, all of which are investing heavily in self-driving technology.

German regulators have been working on rules for how such vehicles should be programmed to deal with a dilemma, such as choosing between hitting a cyclist or accelerating beyond legal speeds to avoid an accident.

Under new ethical guidelines  drawn up by a government-appointed committee comprising experts in ethics, law and technology  the software that controls such cars must be programmed to avoid injury or death of people at all cost.

That means that when an accident is unavoidable, the software must choose whichever action will hurt people the least, even if that means destroying property or hitting animals in the road, a transport ministry statement showed.

The software may not decide on its course of action based on the age, sex or physical condition of any people involved.

The interactions of humans and machines is throwing up new ethical questions in the age of digitalisation and self-learning systems, German Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt said in a a statement.

The ministrys ethics commission has pioneered the cause and drawn up the worlds first set of guidelines for automated driving, he added.

Germany earlier this year passed legislation under which a driver must be sitting behind the wheel at all times ready to take back control if prompted to do so by the autonomous vehicle, clearing the way for the development and testing of self-driving cars.

(Reporting by Maria Sheahan; editing by Keith Weir)
Arthur J. Gallagher announced that Kenny Hogg has been appointed regional managing director (RMD) for Scotland and will join the business with effect Aug. 29, 2017.

The current RMD for Scotland, Paul Kerry, will remain with the business in his new role as chairman, Scotland.

Hogg comes to Gallagher from Bluefin where he was most recently managing director, broking, having previously held the position of head of corporate within the Bluefin Group. Prior to that, Hogg was regional managing director for Scotland and Northern Ireland at Towergate and has held senior positions at Standard Life, Zurich and Scottish Widows during his 22 years in the industry.

He was born and lives in Glasgow and has two masters degrees from the Heriot Watt University and studied business economics, specializing in finance, at Paisley University.

The broker said that Hoggs appointment reinforces its strategic commitment to Scotland as the business continues to strengthen its presence and capabilities to cater for and service its portfolio of clients in Scotland.

Source: Arthur J. Gallagher

Topics A.J. Gallagher Human Resources
The Souris River Joint Board has asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency to review the preliminary flood risk map for Minot.

Board members said the failure to consider the operations of Canadian dams in the development of the flood risk map has wrongly placed at least 1,000 structures in the 100-year flood plain.

The preliminary map has about 3,200 properties in the flood plain, compared to the current 80 parcels.

Flood risk maps are created by the state through the State Water Commission. FEMA verifies and decides whether to approve the maps.

FEMA administrator Brock Long told the Minot Daily News the agency is open to reviewing the map but that itll need guarantees on operational policies to be able to consider water held back by the dams as a mitigating factor in flood risk.

It has to be more than an agreement, in my opinion, Long said. There has to be an operational process that we can believe in and understand, and there has to be somebody we can pick up the phone and call.

The operations of the dams follow a plan thats part of an international agreement overseen by a board with both Canadian and U.S. representatives.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Flood
Ironshore Inc. has unveiled a Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) to manage cyber claims across all product lines.

CERT-Ironshore is a dedicated computer response team comprised of cyber claims coordinators representing each specialty lines division. Howard Panensky will serve as director of CERT-Ironshore, reporting to Mike Mitrovic, Ironshore Global Claims officer.

CERT-Ironshore will provide insureds a single point of contact for cyber risk claim coordination and collaboration. CERT-Ironshore coordinators will offer technical advice and support in response to cyber security incidents.

Third-party assistance will be available to all policyholders to manage cyber security risk with selected vendors at pre-negotiated Ironshore rates.

According to Mitrovic, in the event of a cyber-related claim, policyholders will have a coordinated claims strategy by accessing coordinators and resources with cyber claims handling expertise.

Ironshore, a Liberty Mutual Company, provides broker-sourced specialty property and casualty insurance coverages for varying risks located throughout the world. Select specialty coverages are underwritten at Lloyds through Ironshores Pembroke Syndicate 4000.

Topics Cyber Claims
The Waldensian Evangelical Church on Friday became the first Protestant church in Italy to formally offer to "bless" same-sex couples in civil partnerships, a common practice in Protestant churches across Europe.

While same-sex couples in the country are not allowed to legally marry in a church, gay and lesbian couples will now be able to mark and celebrate their civil partnerships in a church service -- or "blessing" ceremony.

At least one partner must be a member of the Waldensian church however.

Gay blessings have been offered by the church since 2010 on a case-by-case basis, but with this position, the synod formally recognised "the plurality of different models of coexistence and family life in society".

The move follows Italy's adoption in October 2016 of civil unions for gays and lesbians, which came despite the Catholic Church's opposition.

With that legislation, Italy became the last country in Western Europe to legally recognise same-sex relationships.

Founded in the 12th century, the Waldensian Church preached the Christian Gospel in the countryside and was persecuted by the Catholic Church.

The world's oldest Protestant community founded some 350 years before Luther's reformation, Waldensians were repressed by the civil and religious authorities until the middle of the 19th century when modern-day Italy came into being.

The community now numbers between 25,000 and 40,000 believers, mostly in the north of Italy.

Gay marriage blessings are common in Protestant churches in the north of Europe, France, Germany, Spain and Switzerland.

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Nestle SAs Poland Spring Water unit has duped American consumers into paying premium prices for ordinary ground water thats pumped from some of Maines most populated areas, rather than from natural springs as the company advertises, according to a lawsuit.

While Poland Springs says its water bottles contain 100 percent natural spring water from a source deep in Maines woods, the complaint filed August 15 in federal court in Connecticut claims that Nestle Waters North America has bottled well water that doesnt meet the U.S. Food and Drug Administrations definition of spring water. The suit, which includes claims for breach of contract and fraud, also seeks unspecified damages for violations of state laws including New Jersey, New York and Massachusetts.

None of Poland Spring Waters eight purported natural spring sites contains a genuine spring under FDA rules, according to the suit. One or more of the companys largest volume groundwater collection sites  which the suit says supplies up to 99 percent of the water in Poland Spring Water products  are near a current or former refuse pit, landfill or petroleum dump site, the plaintiffs say.

Misleading Claims

Even the historic Poland Spring site in western Maine, which displays a stream of mineral water shielded behind glass, is no longer natural but instead generated by a machine that pumps it out of the ground, according to the complaint.

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, according to the proposed class-action suit filed on behalf of consumers whove bought the water. 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.'

While Poland Springs water products arent contaminated because the company disinfects and in some cases purifies the groundwater it collects, the suit maintains the companys claims are misleading because the water comes from wells in low-lying populated areas near potential sources of contamination.

Poland Spring Response

In a statement, Nestle Waters vowed to fight the suit.

The claims made in the lawsuit are without merit and an obvious attempt to manipulate the legal system for personal gain, according to a statement the company issued Saturday. 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. We remain highly confident in our legal position.

According to the website for the town of Poland Spring, a homesteader named Hiram Ricker declared in the mid-1800s that the mineral spring on his familys property cured his dyspepsia, which caused people to flock to the area to take advantage of the springs curative powers.

The 325-page complaint: Mark Patane v. Nestle Waters North America Inc. 17-CV-01381, U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut, is below:

Copyright 2022 Bloomberg.

Topics Lawsuits USA Legislation Claims Maine
Brock Long knew it was just a matter of time.

Weve gone 11 years without a major hurricane land-falling in the U.S.thats a one-in-2,000 chance, said Long, President Donald Trumps administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, in an interview at his office on Monday. Were gonna get hit by a major hurricane. I worry that a lot of people have forgotten what thats like.

The country is about to be reminded. As of Thursday afternoon, Hurricane Harvey was expected to hit the Texas coast as a Category 3 storm, with top wind speeds of 85 miles an hour and flooding as high as seven feet. The storm will be Longs first challenge as FEMA director. He was sworn in just two months ago.

Longs appointment was welcomed by experts on extreme weather, who praised him as neither overtly ideological nor hostile to the mission of the agency he was chosen to lead. Before being appointed to the top job, he was director of Alabamas Emergency Management Agency from 2008 to 2011, as well as a regional hurricane program manager for FEMA.

He is a rare Trump appointee who is a well-known professional in the field in which he was appointed, said Eli Lehrer, president of the R Street Institute, a Washington research group that promotes market-based solutions to climate change. Every part of his reputation suggests hell take a careful, deliberate, technocratic approach to the job.

If Hurricane Harvey is as severe as predicted, the toll will certainly test Long and his agency. It could even pose a political risk to the Trump administration, whose first budget proposal sought to cut FEMAs funding by 11 percent.

President George W. Bushs response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, which killed almost 2,000 people and from which New Orleans is still recovering, pushed his approval ratings to the lowest level in his presidency. Can I quit now? Bushs FEMA director, Michael D. Brown, wrote in an email to his spokeswoman on the morning Katrina struck. Three weeks later, he did.

Legislative Goal

Demonstrating preparedness during Hurricane Harvey isnt Longs only challenge. The storm could also get in the way of his goal of reducing the federal governments financial exposure to extreme weather.

In the interview Monday, Long told Bloomberg News he wants Congress to limit federal flood insurance for homes that flood time and time again. He also expressed support for a proposalfirst devised at the end of President Barack Obamas administrationto push more of the costs of disaster recovery onto state and local governments. That shift could encourage local officials to adopt tougher building codes, restrict construction in vulnerable coastal zones and generally do more to protect residents from natural disasters.

I believe in guarding the taxpayer dollar as much as I can, Long said. I dont think the taxpayer should reward risk going forward.

Longs agenda for FEMA already faced tough odds in Congress. Legislators cut subsidies to the National Flood Insurance Program in 2012, only to retreat in the face of public anger. The program must be reauthorized by the end of next month. If severe and expensive flooding occurs in Texas, it could halt momentum for serious reform.

A major hurricane could also remind the rest of the country why federal disaster policy needs to be changed, so that coastal communities become less vulnerable and less expensive to rebuild over and over again.

There are a handful of properties that create a large portion of that cost, Long said this week. Weve got to start there, and at some point cut that off.

Hurricane Harvey, and Longs response to it, could test whether the country is ready for that conversation.

Copyright 2022 Bloomberg.

Topics Catastrophe Natural Disasters Flood Hurricane
The National Hurricane Center has called off the hurricane watch from Port Mansfield, Texas, south to the mouth of the Rio Grande, but the Hurricane Harvey scenario for Corpus Christi and the surrounding areas on the mid-Texas coast seems to be worsening by the hour.

At 10 a.m. CDT, the NHC said Harvey was packing winds of up to 110 mph and that intensification is possible before it makes landfall late today or early on Saturday.

Reuters reported that Hurricane Harvey is potentially the most powerful hurricane to hit the U.S. mainland in more than a decade, as authorities warned locals to shelter from what could be life-threatening winds and floods.

According to the Insurance Council of Texas, Harvey will be the first hurricane to hit the coast near Corpus Christi for 40 years.

In advance of the storm, businesses, coastal ferries, off shore drilling operations, refineries and even local grocery stores have shut down in the mid-coastal areas, and mandatory evacuation orders have been issued for numerous municipalities and counties along the coast.

Governor Greg Abbott on Tuesday declared 30 Texas counties as disaster areas in advance of Harvey. He has urged residents to heed the warnings of local officials, voluntarily evacuate if advised to and to comply with all mandatory evacuation orders.

My priority, as we prepare for Hurricane Harvey, is the safety of those on and near the Gulf Coast, Abbott in a prepared statement.. That is why I am strongly urging all Texans in Harveys path to heed warnings and evacuation orders from local officials before this storm makes landfall. My office is coordinating local, state and federal resources to prepare for and respond decisively to this storm  Texans must also take action and treat this storm seriously.

Abbott spoke to President Donald Trump on Aug. 24 about the storm. According to the governors office, Trump called Abbott to offer federal support. Trump pledged all available resources from the federal government to assist in preparation, and rescue and recovery efforts.

Corpus Christi is home to a number of large petroleum refineries. The Houston Chronicles Fuel Fix unit reported that refiners Valero Energy and Flint Hills Resources have temporarily shut down gasoline production along Corpus refinery row, while Houston-area refiners are continuing to closely monitor the massive storm.

Facilities along the Gulf Coast refine 50 percent of the nations petroleum supply, with Texas representing 25 percent of the nations capacity for gasoline refining. Bloomberg News reported that the five refineries in the Corpus Christi area can process about 868,000 barrels a day, according to Lipow Oil Associates. Another 11 refineries in Houston, Texas City and Baytown have a capacity of about 2.7 million barrels a day.

According to AIR, although Hurricane Harvey is expected to bring hurricane winds and life threatening storm surge to many regions along the Gulf Coast, the heavy rain  which will be exacerbated if the storm stalls over land  could result in severe and dangerous inland flooding for parts of Texas, southwestern Louisiana, and even northeastern Mexico.

The NHC predicts storm surge of up to 12 feet in the areas closest to where Harvey makes landfall.

Global property information and analytics provider, CoreLogic released data on Aug. 24 showing that 232,721 homes along the Texas coast with a reconstruction cost value (RCV) of approximately $39.6 billion are at potential risk of hurricane-driven storm surge damage from Hurricane Harvey, based on Category 3 predictions.

Corpus Christi has 34,802 homes potentially at risk from Harvey and a reconstruction cost value (RCV) of $6,172,039,671, according to CoreLogic. The combined Houston-The Woodlands-Sugarland areas have 118,138 homes at risk for an RCV of $20,820,079,983, and Beaumont-Port Arthur has 75,567 homes potentially at risk and a RCV of $12,081,775,805.

According to Reuters, the NHC expects Harvey to move slowly and linger over Texas for days. Its latest tracking model shows the storm moving back along the Texas coast early next week after sitting west of Houston, giving the nations fourth most populous city a double dose of rain and wind.

Voluntary evacuation orders have been issued for parts of Galveston County, Harris County and Jackson County. Brazoria, Calhoun, Matagorda and San Patricio Counties are under mandatory evacuation orders.

Topics Catastrophe Texas Hurricane
The Oklahoma Geological Survey has proposed to install more than 70 permanent seismic stations across the state that would allow scientists to better study earthquakes.

The $3.5 million proposal would be placed in a grid pattern and phased in for three years, the Tulsa World reported. The cost to operate the stations for five years would be $400,000.

Finding the smallest (magnitude) earthquakes will help you learn more about the whole systems that are generating these larger events, said Jake Walter, an Oklahoma seismologist. So if we can learn more about it, perhaps we can get to the point where were forecasting them.

Walter said the states earthquake monitoring capabilities shouldve been investigated a decade ago. He said a more robust system will improve scientific knowledge of the states induced seismicity and improve mitigation practices.

Its an opportunity to understand this to a degree thats kind of unprecedented, Walter said. Theres been nothing like the scale of the environmental experiment thats being conducted right now in the state of Oklahoma.

The state currently has approximately 50 seismometers on loan from outside sources. Another 10 from the U.S. Geological Survey are temporarily in place. Other devices in nearby states also help pinpoint Oklahoma earthquakes.

Were already over-extending our borrowing of some of the equipment, Walter said. Theres a real pressing need to invest in this infrastructure for our state.

Walter said he hopes to acquire state and industry investment, which could secure federal dollars toward the plan.

This is a long-term solution for Oklahoma, looking forward and being proactive in monitoring seismicity rather than reactive like it has been, Walter said.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Oklahoma Earthquake
A Georgia truck driver has been sentenced to prison in a 2015 highway collision that killed five people after the trucker fell asleep at the wheel.

A State Court judge in Savannah sentenced 61-year-old David Jerald Gibbons of neighboring Pooler to two years in prison and three years on probation. The Savannah Morning News reports Gibbins was convicted Tuesday of misdemeanor vehicular homicide and other counts.

Prosecutors said Gibbons was driving a tractor trailer on Interstate 16 when he fell asleep and slammed into vehicles stopped in a work zone on May 19, 2015.

The crash killed 72-year-old Glenda Faye Adams and 71-year-old Jerry Wayne Earnest of Cohutta; 16-year-old Brittanie Denise Altman of Claxton; 39-year-old Wendy Melton of Reidsville; and 19-year-old Virgil Stephen Moody of Hagan.

Gibbons suffered minor injuries.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Auto Personal Auto Georgia
Authorities in Florida say an auto theft suspect who wanted to watch the moon blot out the sun instead has a blot on his record.

The Orange County Sheriffs Office said on its Facebook page that Jocsan Rosado was arrested Monday after he parked what deputies say was a stolen car to watch the eclipse.

Deputies say Rosado stole the vehicle, and unbeknownst to him, was being followed by detectives with the auto theft unit.

Deputies say he stopped at a hardware store to purchase a welding mask for watching the eclipse safely.

He was arrested next to the stolen car, wearing the welding mask and looking up at the sky.

There were no online court records for Rosado early Tuesday, and it was unknown if he had an attorney.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Florida Auto Fraud
An insurance agent in Floyd County, Ga., has been arrested on fraud charges related to the misappropriation of insurance premiums, according to the Georgia Department of Insurance.

Marshall Irwin, 56, owner and operator of the Irwin Agency in Rome, Ga., was arrested Aug. 24 and charged with six counts of insurance fraud.

Georgia Department of Insurance Fraud investigators allege that between 2015 and 2017 Irwin accepted approximately $20,000 from his clients to pay premiums for workers compensation insurance, but instead of forwarding the money to the insurance company to place coverage, he allegedly converted it for his personal use.

The actions of Mr. Irwin have put consumers and business at significant financial risk, said Deputy Insurance Commissioner Jay Florence. We will not tolerate any insurance agent stealing from policyholders.

Irwin was taken into custody at his agency located at in Rome, Ga., and booked into the Floyd County Jail. Warrants served to Irwin represents three counts of insurance fraud for the misappropriation of premiums and three counts of insurance fraud for issuing fraudulent certificates of insurance.

Irwin has been a licensed Georgia insurance agent since 1989.

Florence urges anyone who has purchased insurance from Marshall Irwin or the Irwin Agency, to verify their coverage with the insurance company listed on their policy or contact the Georgia Department of Insurance for assistance.

Insurance fraud is a felony with a penalty of two to 10 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $10,000.

Source: Georgia Department of Insurance

Topics Agencies Workers' Compensation Fraud Georgia
The reports author, from the Danish Ministry of Finance, tells ITR - in his personal capacity - that more robust policies are needed to tackle what is a serious global problem.
Reinoud has extensive experience on Dutch corporate income tax, dividend withholding tax, tax treaties as well as EU law aspects of cross-border structuring, transactions, financing and reorganisations. His clients are mainly listed real estate funds, private equity funds, pension funds and multinationals. Reinoud further serves clients in obtaining advance tax rulings and advance transfer pricing agreements, and assists clients in tax audits and negotiations with the Dutch tax authorities.

Bevers is an attorney-at-law admitted to the Dutch Bar. Bevers advises on matters of international taxation, Dutch corporate income tax and Dutch state profit tax. He focuses on the oil and gas industry.

Halprin is an attorney-at-law admitted to the Dutch Bar. Halprin has a special focus on real estate, M&A transactions, tax litigation and dispute resolution, including assistance in tax audits and investigations. His clients include multinationals, banks, real estate funds and investment funds.

Veldhuijzen is a tax adviser who works primarily with Dutch private equity firms, family offices, and privately-owned Dutch companies and their shareholders. Veldhuijzen focuses on Dutch corporate tax law, personal income tax law, and gift and inheritance tax law, with an emphasis on M&A for private equity, management participations and private wealth management.
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He is the first Egyptian artist to be nominated vice-president of the International Organization of Scenographers, Theatre Architects and Technicians (OISTAT)

His picture is never present on theatre billboards like those of stars, but instead appears i small letters in the corner--yet it is always a sign that the show is worth watching, and certainly benefits from great lighting and decor.

The artist in question is stage designer, lighting designer and scenographer Hazem Shebl, who was recently nominated vice-president of the International Organization of Scenographers, Theatre Architects and Technicians (OISTAT).

This nomination comes crowning a fourteen-year-long career, says Shebl with pride. The artist is delighted with this new post and excitedly recounts his professional journey.

This organisation was founded in 1968. Egypt was often represented in its quadrennial conferences and exhibitions, in Prague, by artist and design professor Ramzi Mostafa.

Mostafa, who was in charge of selecting Egyptian artworks, technicians and scenographers, invited me to participate in 2003, with the play titled The Storm. The international conference of scenographers and designers, organised by the international organisation World Stage Design, is held in alternation with this quadrennial. All these organisations help with networking and communication, allowing openness and exchange, explains the designer.

In 2007, Egyptian participation at the quadrennial was very weak. According to Shebl, the situation was going from bad, to worse. The people in charge at the Ministry of Culture paid little attention to this sort of artistic manifestation. No one cared to offer young theatre designers or technicians the chance to broaden their horizons, says Shebl.

The call for applications for the 2011 edition of the quadrennial was held in October 2010. Shebl, who wanted to participate, spoke to the Ministry of Culture, calling for their support to form a delegation representing the country.





The ministry officials turned a blind eye. After the January 2011 revolution, the situation was critical. After raising the question with a friend on Facebook, the head of foreign cultural relations, Hossam Nassar, offered to help us. The minister of culture, Emad Abou Ghazi, also encouraged me to continue preparing the file for Egyptian participation. In June 2011, I gave a speech at the quadrennial, and was received with a thunder of applause. I felt like a resuscitated pharaoh. It was right after the revolution, and everyone looked onto us with admiration. After I presented the projects of my fellow designers, Egypt was admitted as a permanent member of the OISTAT, recalls the artist.

Shebl, along with a group of young scenographers, has since regularly represented Egypt at this prestigious event. A year on, Shebl founded the Egyptian Scenographers & Theatre Technicians Centre, the first of its kind in Egypt.

The artist likes to be described as a designer. No word can describe exactly what I do! he says. Frankly, my job is too complicated.

He is not only in charge of lighting, he also brings together all the other elements. His work as a scenographer thus constitutes an integral part of the staging.

Scenography is the art of organising scenic space. In Egypt, only Walid Aouni can be described as such, because is among the few people who handle of the creative details: decor, lighting, movement, costumes, etc, adds Shebl, who recently decorated the childrens play Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

I go to the theatre to play with the space, he says with a smile.

Despite being 50 years old, Shebl has the soul of a child. When he talks about sober and inert scenic space, his eyes sparkle, reflecting the joy he feels working behind the curtains.

I never wanted to become a star nor a director. I cannot work like them. It is very difficult, he explains. The son of stage and television actor Gamal Shebl, Hazem never wanted to follow in his fathers footsteps.

Growing up, the theatre was always a familiar place. I often accompanied my father. During the intermissions, I would go backstage and greet my fathers friends. In 1978, at the Bairam El-Tounsi theatre in Alexandria, actor Choukoukou was performing in Zoqaq Al-Maddaq. I saw that the same star who made the audience laugh on stage was crying backstage. My father told me that Choukoukou had lost his wife the previous day. It was hard for me, I understood that the constraints of his work were intolerable. Furthermore, I could not take part in such long rehearsals, nor in a show that took place every day. I am not cut out for this type of work, says Shebl, whose work is done once the show premieres.

As a child, Shebl was fascinated by construction games like Meccano and Lego.

In middle school, I was especially interested in spherical geometry. I wanted to pursue my studies at the faculty of engineering, but since I obtained mediocre results in school, I was admitted to the faculty of literature. I felt suffocated and kept asking myself What am I doing here? 

At the time, the Higher Institute of Theatre, at the Academy of Arts, offered preparatory courses for its admissions exam. Encouraged by his fathers friends, Shebl took a design course. I chose design because all of our studies were related to space.

His sketches and creations garnered much attention. As a second-year student, he worked as a designer on the play War and Peace, directed by Al-Sayed Khater. The play, which was presented in Cairo University, addressed the Arab-Israeli conflict.

It was my first professional experience. Among my sketches, I drew a map of the Arab world in the shape of a hexagon, with triangles that opened to form Davids star, the symbol of Zionism, recounts the artist. The idea was simple, original and provocative. Yet Shebl did not know how to bring it to life, and asked his friends for help.

My friends made a list of all the required materials. I spend my time drinking juice while they were at work, bringing my design to life.

Each new play constituted a new challenge for the young student. Upon graduating, Shebl was hired to work as a designer on national television, a great and practical entrance into the field. Yet he always found the theatre more appealing.

Regardless of my age and professional level, I am always eager to learn. I follow every possible workshop to grow and discover new materials. His designs are often unusual and dazzlingly beautiful.

Shebl pursued his studies at the institute while simultaneously working as a designer on a play directed by Hamada Choucha. At the time, the Higher Institute of Theatre nominated some of its young creators to participate in the festival of Avignon.

Our show was selected, but no one on our team spoke French or English. We were set to travel for ten days, and with the help of our Syrian friends, we were able to manage. Back in Egypt, I decided to learn French. This trip constituted a real turning point in my career, because it allowed me to broaden my horizons, without apprehension.

Shebl studied the language at Cairos French Institute, and was able to pass the eighth-level exam. However, the day they announced the results, he did not feel lucky.

I had an interview the next day, to work as technical director at the American University in Cairo. After studying French for two years, I no longer had a word of English in mind, but God saved my life: I was interviewed by a Belgian man who accepted to speak to me in French.



His work at the American university allowed Shebl to closely unravel the secrets hidden behind the curtains, and stage technicalities, as well as learn all the technical terms in English. Furthermore, he dedicated himself to design and decoration, and was often solicited by directors for the originality of his work. I simply wanted to work in design, he says.

Today, he works on numerous National Theatre productions and with student troops, or on plays produced and aired by satellite channels. He also teaches at MSA University and Ain Shams University, teaching his students how to play with space, as he does himself.

Shebl dreams of holding the next edition of the World Stage Design conference in Egypt, in 2021. He has already prepared his candidacy folder and will soon reach out to the necessary organisations. The bets are on.

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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The cave in Matrouh was used by Axis general Erwin Rommel during World War II as a makeshift base

Rommels Cave Museum in Egypt's Matrouh will be re-inaugurated on Friday after being closed for seven years for restoration and development.

Minister of Antiquities Khaled El-Enany and Governor of Matrouh Major General Alaa Abu Zeid will reopen the site, which was used by Axis general Erwin Rommel during World War II as a makeshift base.

The restoration and development of the cave was carried out by the antiquities ministry in collaboration with Matrouh governorate.

I really appreciates the collaboration as the governorate has provided the required budget to restore the museum, as well as offering the ministry a part of Misr Public Library to establish another museum for antiquities that would relate the history of Matrouh through displaying all the artefacts found within its sands, El-Enany told Ahram Online.

He added that the library museum is scheduled to be inaugurated before the end of 2017.

El-Enany pointed out that the opening of Rommels Cave Museum highlights the aim of the ministry to promote tourism to Egypt through opening new attractions as well as increasing archaeological awareness among Egyptians in general.

There are also plans to implement evening opening hours at the site.

Elham Salah, head of the ministrys Museums Department, told Ahram Online that Rommels Cave Museum contains a collection of weapons, shells and military equipment used during World War II, as well as military attire, maps showing battle plans, copies of a newspaper produced by Rommels troops in Africa during the war, and files on German soldiers.

She explains that the museum was closed for restoration and development in 2010, and early this year the ministry resumed restoration work at the cave. The conservation of its artefacts was carried out by a team of skilful restorers led by Sameh El-Masry.

Salah pointed out that the development work included changing the museum displays and installing new lighting and security systems.

Rommels Cave is one of the areasA natural caves in the rocky cliff, which has existed since Roman times, and has an entrance and exit on the Mediterranean, Salah told Ahram Online.

In 1977, she said, the idea of transforming the cave into a museum was launched as a way of paying tribute to Rommels career. However, the plan was not put into effect until 1988, when it was opened to the public in order to display a collection of Rommels personal possessions, many of them donated by his son Manfred, as well as weapons, shells and military equipment used during World War II.

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The Dublin-headquartered group yesterday dovetailed a strong set of interim results with the announcement that it has agreed the $2.6bn sale of its Americas Distribution division subject to regulatory approval.

It has also agreed to acquire German lime and aggregates business Fels, for 600m; a business it has courted for some time and which will fit with the groups European Heavyside division.

We have the balance sheet capacity and fully intend to use it, CRH chief executive Albert Manifold said yesterday, adding that while the deal pipeline is strong the group will remain careful and selective in its choices.

It is most likely to buy further in existing product areas and geographies  namely Europe and the Americas  with Mr Manifold saying CRH is highly unlikely to do anything heroic in emerging markets anytime soon - largely due to challenging conditions in the Philippines.

CRH spent 632m on 13 acquisitions in the first half of the year; the Fels deal now boosting this years spend to over 1.2bn with more likely to come. Analysts suggest the group has headroom for up to 4bn worth of deals, while management is keeping with its 2bn-3bn spend capacity for 2017-2019.

CRH has now completed 1.2bn of acquisitions at an earnings-enhancing multiple. With 4bn financial capacity, CRHs acquisition options are now significantly greater. We expect further bolt-on deals over the coming months, said Darren McKinley at Merrion Private.

The sale of the Americas Distribution business  part of the wider CRH group for the past 20 years  has come about due to the lack of acquisition opportunities impacting on growth.

The division has performed well of late but has, historically, based its growth strategy around acquisitions.

The first six months of this year saw CRH generate total group revenue of just under 13bn, 2% up on the same period last year.

Pre-tax profits were up 27%, on a year-on-year basis, at 517m and operating profit was ahead by 10% at 647m.

Earnings  on an EBITDA basis  grew 5%, year-on-year, to 1.17bn. Basic earnings per share were 29% ahead at 43.5c and a 2% increase in the interim dividend per share  to 19.2c  was awarded.

Net debt was reduced by 700m to 6.4bn and the groups debt is now down to 1.3 times earnings on the back of the latest sale.

The first half saw solid revenue growth across its three Americas divisions (including the distribution arm) and stabilising growth trends in key European markets. Mr Manifold said management expects to see better year-on-year earnings in the second half and another year of progress as a whole.

For the second half of the year, despite currency headwinds and continuing challenging conditions in the Philippines, we expect a continuation of the first half momentum experienced in Europe and EBITDA growth in the Americas, which will result in another year of progress for the group, he said.

Down nearly 8% since the start of the year, CRHs share price was up nearly 4% yesterday.
Ms Mitchell OConnor has caused controversy by saying young teachers should be paid the same as their senior colleagues, despite the continuation of a two-tier system by the Government.

Teachers who started work after 2010 earn 14% less than colleagues, after sweeping cuts following the economic crash.

Ms Mitchell OConnors comments have been seized upon by unions who have demanded that the disparity in pay be ended. However, ministers have reacted angrily to such comments.

Speaking to the Irish Examiner, senior ministers have taken a dim view of the comments, insisting they have angered Finance and Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe.

Comments like that are unhelpful, said one minister. Marys comments are personal. It doesnt help when a junior minister for education makes comments like that. I know Paschal is not happy about it.

There has also been criticism of the trade unions, who have been accused of double-speak and hypocrisy by some ministers.

The unions cant have it every way, one minister said. If they really wanted it sorted, if there was their number one issue they could have had it. There is an element of double speak from the unions coming out.

It is hypocritical of the unions, if you go back a number of years when they decided to protect their own pay and reduce the pay of those coming in. Everybody is not pleased with it now, but no one was willing to take the hit back a few years ago. This was a decision of the membership of the unions back in the day, but now all of a sudden they have a conscience.

Social Protection Minister Regina Doherty said such a move would cost 240m next year, which would eat up nearly all the discretionary spending available for services and tax cuts for 2018.

She said there was already a map there to increase pay for new teachers. There was still a willingness to reinstate pay, she said.

Education Minister Richard Bruton rejected the idea this week, saying it would take a huge chunk of money out of public services.

Two junior ministers have backed calls by Ms Mitchell OConnor for equal pay for teachers, saying the different rates for new entrants should be phased out.

Junior jobs minister Pat Breen told the Irish Examiner he would like to also see lower pay for new teachers removed but the Government needed to be frugal.

Down the road, Id like to see it happen, he said. But you have to cut your cloth. There is a funding issue there. Mary Mitchell OConnor is passionate about education.

Junior local government minister John Paul Phelan had the same view, saying: There are those who started a few months apart and are on different rates. Thats not fair. It should be phased out. Id like to see it done in the next couple of pay deals. It cant be done this year because of the fiscal space. Its the last tight budget, so hopefully they can be looked at next.

Teacher unions have welcomed the highlighting of unequal pay by Ms Mitchell OConnor.

The Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO) said teachers have suffered most because of the 500m saved by taxpayers since pay for new entrants to the public service was cut from 2011. More than 7,000 of of 36,000 INTO members are paid less than longer-serving colleagues at the same stage in their careers.

A spokesman for Mr Donohoe said: The minister awaits the final outcome of the ballot of ICTU members on the Public Service Stability Agreement 2018-2020 nd will make no further comment on the matter at this time.

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Ms Noble, who recently returned from Vietnam because she became ill, said she also became unwell in a supermarket back in Ireland, and was subsequently brought to hospital.

My blood pressure was very, very low and very dangerous and they thought I might have a stroke. Im a tough bird, so I got through it all, she told the Pat Kenny Show on Newstalk.

Ms Noble said that, upon returning to her house, she was sleeping downstairs on the settee to let her cat in and out during the night, when, at around 3.20am, the intruder held a knife to her throat.

I turned around, and he took the knife he had in his hand and he put it towards my throat, she said. He held it over my throat viciously and was screaming.

Ms Noble said it was difficult to recall all the details of the incident, having been awoken by the intruder, but said he had a Dublin accent, demanded money, and threatened to kill her.

I have a thing where I go into a calm state, said Ms Noble. I cant explain it. Twice I told him: I have no money,

He went on and on... I dont know if it was God or what it is, but I just went into a very calm state. I just sat there.

I didnt utter a word. It could have been shock or adrenaline. I dont have a clue what it was.

I had a panic button on the table beside me... I wanted to put out my hand to get the panic button on the table, but I was afraid he would see me and take the panic button.

She waited till the man turned his head, before she set off the panic alarm, and the man left with her phone, keys, and her car.

Im just very angry that he desecrated my home. I just want people to know theres some man going around doing this.

I thought people should know what happened, that it might make them more vigilant for themselves, she said of her decision to go public about her ordeal.

Ms Noble said it is believed the intruder used a screwdriver to get into the house, and that he was in the house for 12 minutes.

It was like 12 hours of hell, she said.

Ms Noble said her home feels soiled and that she considered selling the house.

There are beautiful neighbours around, and the police were fantastic, they were just amazing, she said.

Gardai are investigating.
Ministers say the different rates for new entrants should be phased out. However, senior ministers are playing down an immediate change.

Fianna Fail have also called for clear commitment to be made to end pay inequality for teachers.

The reactions comes after Ms Mitchell OConnor, while saying she wanted equal pay for herself at Cabinet, also said she believed teachers who do the same job should get the same pay.

Teachers who walked into a classroom for the first time after 2010 are on 14% lower pay than colleagues, after sweeping cuts following the crash.

Pat Breen, the junior jobs minister, told the Irish Examiner he would like to also see lower pay for new teachers removed but the Government needed to be frugal.

Down the road, Id like to see it happen. But you have to cut your cloth. There is a funding issue there. Mary Mitchell OConnor is passionate about education. But the Minister For Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe has to be cautious and prudent when it comes to counting the finances.

Junior local government minister John Paul Phelan had the same view: Obviously now there are those who started a few months apart and are on different rates. Thats not fair.

It should be phased out. Id like to see it done in the next couple of pay deals

It cant be done this year because of the fiscal space. Its the last tight budget, so hopefully they can be looked at next.

However, senior ministers are reluctant to endorse Ms Mitchell OConnors thoughts.

Social Protection Minister Regina Doherty said such a move would cost 240m next year, which would eat up nearly all the discretionary spending for services and tax cuts. She said there was already a map to increase pay for new teachers.

Senior Education Minister Richard Bruton has also slapped down the idea this week, saying it would take a huge chunk of money out of public services.

Fianna Fail though wants disagreement at government level sorted out.

TD Thomas Byrne said:

The squabbling that has been on display between Fine Gael ministers as a result of Minister Mary Mitchell OConnors off the cuff remarks yesterday do nothing to clarify how pay equality for new teachers will be achieved in the coming years.
Ioan Florin Rusu was working on the door as a bouncer for a Dublin city centre pub attached to a hotel when berated by the owner of the business.

In evidence before the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC), Mr Rusu said the hotelier told him on June 26 2015: All Romanians are thieves and liars. Romanian policemen are robbing bags and phones in B [the Hotel bar].

The hotelier, referred to as Mr A, then told Mr Rusu to go home.

Mr Rusu was not directly employed by Mr A but worked for private security firm, Senture Security Limited employed by Mr A. When he reported what Mr A said to him to his supervisor, he was told to go home and to contact him the next day.

Prior to the incident, Mr Rusu had been working 45 hours per week with Senture Security. However, when he contacted the company the following day, he was told not to return to work at Mr As business and that he would be sent to other locations.

However, Mr Rusu phoned Senture Security on a number of occasions but he was not given any work.

Mr Rusu received no work from the company for the next month and no pay after the date of the incident.

He eventually requested his P45 from the security firm because he had to find other work.

Mr Rusu was taking a discriminatory dismissal case against Senture Security.

In response, Senture Security told the WRC that it did not deny that Mr Rusu was harassed by Mr A and did not deny the alleged statements made by Mr A to Mr Rusu. The firm said that once notified of the harassment, it took steps immediate to protect Mr Rusu.

Mr Rusu said the incident on June 26, 2015, was not the first time Mr A had been abusive towards security staff and had on another occasion told another security guard to go home and had called him a a donkey.

Mr Rusu said Mr A was often abusive and giving out to people when he was drunk.

Mr Rusu got alternative work with a different security firm but was only earning 200 a week on reduced hours and eventually had to go back to Romania where he now resides as he could not afford to remain here.

He told the hearing that he had travelled back from Romania for the hearing of his case.

Adjudication officer Orla Jones said Mr Rusu presented as a credible witness and gave his evidence in a clear manner.

In her ruling, she said she was satisfied that Mr Rusu was harassed on the grounds of his race and that Senture Security failed to take any action on foot of his complaint of harassment.

Ms Jones said she was satisfied from the totality of the evidence adduced that Senture Security would not have treated an Irish employee in the same way and that its failure to contact Mr Rusu or to provide him with any information in respect of alternative work locations following his complaint of harassment amounted to less favourable treatment on the grounds of race.

She said Mr Rusus constructive dismissal was inextricably linked to his complaint of harassment and to his race. She said that he was racially harassed by the hotelier.
The closure of army barracks along the border, the disbandment of another brigade, and the decline in Defence Forces numbers all militate against proper policing of border crossings.

The Government is examining potential solutions to a number of scenarios which could unfold in the wake of Brexit.

But Dr Tom Clonan, a retired Irish Army captain and a respected security expert, said he is concerned the Government has trimmed the Defence Forces so much that theyll be unable to protect the border. He is particularly concerned about cutbacks, especially with the risk of increasing activity from so-called dissident Republicans.

Only two army barracks are located near the border, at extreme ends  Finner Camp, near Bundoran, Co Donegal, and Aitken Barracks, in Dundalk.

Since 2009, army borders located close to key crossings, such as Letterkenny and Lifford, in Co Donegal, Monaghan Town, and

Castleblayney, along with Cavan Town and Cootehill, have all been closed. A barracks in Longford was also decommissioned.

Significantly, Garda stations have also been closed in a number of border areas.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney earlier this week said diseases and animals dont respect borders. Ironically, he echoed the words of three years ago of retired brigadier general, Ger Aherne, who said the dwindling numbers of Defence Forces personnel, allied to barracks closures, made it unlikely the State could prevent the spread of foot-and-mouth into the Republic, if there was a repeat of an outbreak which first occurred in the North in 2001.

The Irish Examinerhas discovered huge gaps emerging in the Defence Forces, with personnel having to travel on a regular basis from Finner and Aitken camps, as well as Athlone, to conduct security duties at army barracks in Dublin.

It was a scenario forced on the Defence Forces, as a result of a major civil service-driven reorganisation in 2012/2013, which led to the disbandment of the Fourth Western Brigade.

The 4th Cavalry Squadron, based in Longford, was disbanded around the same time and it was said to be the most effective unit to deploy in the event of the return of a hard border.

Cost-cutting, through reducing barracks and reducing the payroll, saw the monies transferred to the modernisation of the Naval Service fleet and the purchasing of badly needed military vehicles for the army. The end result, however, is that in the event of a border that has to be strongly controlled post-Brexit, huge investment will be required, in terms of recruitment, training, and the reopening of some barracks.

Dr Clonan said it was unprecedented and shocking that troops were being deployed such long distances, from Donegal and Louth, for routine duties in Dublin.

Such deployment, in the past, was necessary only to aid gardai in major incidents.

He described the temporary postings as an abuse of troops and a poor use of taxpayers money.

Dr Clonan said: If they are shipping troops to carry out routine duties, then theyve crossed the line already.

This is not sustainable and is also dangerous.

He said if new border controls were put in place on the northern side of the border, in areas such as South Armagh, he said there was a risk of attack by dissident republican groups. On the southern side, he said, with the present condition of the Defence Forces, the security services would not be able to patrol and protect hundreds of miles of meandering border.

We wont be able to monitor all of it and its laughable to think we could secure or surveil it.

Dr Clonan said it was completely reckless of the Government to allow the number of Defence Forces members drop so low. He also believes vital local intelligence has been lost on the ground, since the closure of barracks. Those closures could be overcome, he said, but the sheer lack of numbers in the Defence Forces, and expertise in certain sections of it, was an entirely different matter.

Dr Clonan also noted the Defence Forces were critically short of bomb-disposal experts and engineers  two components which were likely to be in major demand, if a hard border ensued and dissident republicans decided to cause trouble.

Its a perfect storm. The unionists are supporting the British government on Brexit, against the wishes of the majority of the population [in the North] and the EU is likely to play hardball with Britain on the border.

There are a large number of dissidents who pose a serious threat. We could slip back into violence very quickly.
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When President Trump refused to directly and forcefully denounce the white supremacists who marched in Charlottesville (and let's be honest, his denunciations were weak and anemic), progressives around the country went on the rampage, screaming about how he was giving comfort to bigots and shaming Americans with his omissions.

And as they did this, mustering all of the righteous anger of the left, I sat back and smiled. It wasn't because I was particularly amused at their anger. It wasn't because I found pleasure in the horrific events that took the life of three innocent people. It wasn't that at all.

The source of my seemingly sanguine reaction was the unacknowledged hypocrisy of the attacks on those white supremacists, those evil men and women who look upon those who are not white, Christian, and "pure" as "mongrels" who need to be put down. Those vile bigots should have been annihilated with powerful words by our president, just as they have been annihilated by the liberals who are now pointing critical fingers at conservatives.

But here is the hypocritical part: White supremacists have a lot in common with Planned Parenthood, an organization that was founded by a woman who believed strongly in the value of eugenics. Margaret Sanger supported the process by which the poor, immigrant and "feeble-minded" populations were sterilized so they could not reproduce and create a less than perfect society. Her acolytes now argue that she did so because of her interest in raising the standards and conditions for women. But the truth is far more sinister.

In 1927, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a decision written by the great Oliver Wendell Holmes, Buck v. Bell. In it, the court essentially validated the eugenics movement championed by Sanger and her peers, holding that "three generations of imbeciles are enough."

This was in keeping with the Ku Klux Klan's belief that immigrants (who tended to be overwhelmingly Catholic or Jewish), racial minorities and the poor reproduced at a higher rate than the good white Protestant stock that formed the backbone of the country, and therefore needed to be kept in check.

Abortion wasn't even an issue then. The hope was to keep the undesirables from reproducing at the outset.

It is shameful that a Supreme Court decision would legalize this racist policy.

It is shameful that Margaret Sanger, under the guise of improving the lives of women, would strongly advocate for this racist policy.

And it is shameful that progressives, who justifiably rail against the poisonous bigots unleashed in Virginia last week, ignore their own hypocrisy in supporting an organization that is only three degrees of separation from those tiki torch-bearing monsters.

Of course, this is something that the good and moral progressives marching this week would probably reject. This is something that would be called "deflection" by the evolved men and women who are quick to attack the president for his tragic moral tone deafness (they are right to do so) but which is also an example of the hypocrisy borne of tunnel vision.

Progressives have been lecturing me for years about how I abet bigotry in pursuing a conservative agenda. They are uniquely and consistently unable to see their own moral vacuity when they argue for the rights of the dispossessed (immigrants, sexual minorities, racial minorities) but ignore the common trait they carry with white supremacists, the enemy of all those groups: A willingness to play God.

Those youth marching in the streets of Charlottesville with their barren hearts and their ugly mouths believe that some members of society do not belong among us. Those members are to be "eliminated," usually by violence. It is a philosophy that has been given permission to flourish, and I would agree with the liberals on the point that this administration has given unfortunate encouragement to those groups with the president's pale criticism.

But I would also argue that the last administration, and the Democratic administration before it had no problem whatsoever supporting Planned Parenthood which, in its own nihilistic way, places the value of some human lives below that of other, visible lives. In ignoring both the founding principle of this organization and its eugenic roots, it is easy for progressives to turn abortion into a virtue and a moral necessity.

But closer examination shows just how much common ground is shared between people who hate "the lesser beings," and those who simply refuse to give dignity to lives they cannot see. I know that many readers will take umbrage at the comparison, and dismiss these claims as the ravings of a mad bigot.

But the truth is stark and unavoidable, like the evil reflected in the faces that marched through Charlottesville.

Flowers is an attorney and a columnist for the Philadelphia Daily News, and can be reached at cflowers1961@gmail.com.
The executive branch has completed a major reshuffle over the past month. If the White House can match that with a smart policy push, the coalition between the Trump White House and the Capitol Hill GOP, though battered, could come together again quickly out of shared self-interest.

Ive been arguing for months that what we have in Washington is a coalition government between President Trump, his team and his core voters, and congressional Republicans led by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) and House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (Wis.). The bridge between the coalitions halves has often been kept open by the vice president, but the president himself has proven adept at quietly working with coalitions many elements.

As for the reshuffle, the exit of Steve Bannon completes a restructuring of the West Wing that began almost as soon as the president took office and is now apparently complete. Like the physical renovation of the West Wing, it was noisy and not very attractive but necessary. The partnership between the executive- and legislative-branch Republicans simply could not have lasted without changes in the administration.

Six months in, the president has assembled the best national security team of my lifetime, led by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis. While his communications team remains somewhat in flux, interim communications director Hope Hicks has been at the presidents side since the beginning of his campaign and enjoys his confidence. Press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders is growing in confidence and command of the press briefing room. Senior economic adviser Gary Cohn and White House Counsel Don McGahn, along with Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, are firmly in control of the domestic policy process. Committed reformers such as Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt and Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price are in strong and stable positions now as staffing of political appointees accelerates. (I leave out Rex Tillersons State Department, where there remains an extraordinarily high degree of instability.)

On the Hill, the congressional GOP is hungry for more success beyond the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Neil M. Gorsuch. The Veterans Affairs reform bill and 14 Congressional Review Act laws, while enormously significant, were low-profile victories. The filling of dozens of additional federal court vacancies behind Gorsuch is getting organized and moving forward finally, and dozens of confirmations, particularly of the key circuit court openings, and perhaps the end of the anti-constitutional blue slips are crucial wins within reach too. But what is needed above all is either a tax bill or resurrection of a health-care fix. Slashing the corporate tax rate is probably the easiest (and perhaps most economically significant) bit of legislation to accomplish, but so too must arrive the repeal of the Budget Control Act, which has devastated national security via the sequester and hamstrung a key Trump promise  that of a 355-ship Navy. Both the corporate tax cut and repeal of the BCA are worth daring the Democrats to shutter the government over, as voters understand both are crucial to the well being of the country.

A grand bipartisan agreement on infrastructure and immigration is within reach as well. The last ingredient in a successful reset will be the presidents rhetoric. He gave great speeches in Saudi Arabia and Poland on crucial issues of Islamist extremism and the inherent goodness of the West. Now he needs to give some key addresses at home, about American equality and the essential demands of citizenship, including an iron commitment to the rule of law and respect for constitutional norms. He needs scribes who can help the president craft messages not in 140 characters but 40 or so minutes that raise the eyes of Americans to the wins for all Americans on the board and to shared goals of economic and national security for all Americans.

Trumps strategic resolve must be to focus on a legislative agenda that does fit in 140 characters  a cut in the corporate tax rate, repeal of the defense sequester, a bigger Navy, a real border fence, a legal-immigration overhaul and originalist judges  combined with continued, reiterated strategic clarity toward the Islamic State, Iran, North Korea, Russia and China. If he works with his partners in Congress, these are all doable. And the team to help the president do it seems, finally, to be in place.


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[JURIST] A nine-judge panel of the Supreme Court of India [official website] ruled [judgment, PDF] Thursday that privacy is a constitutionally protected value. The ruling could have drastic consequences for the governmentparticularly the countrys biometric identification program, Aadhaar [official website]. The judgment outlined the history of privacy and fundamental rights, not only in India but other countries as well. The court overruled two previous court rulings on privacy and stated that privacy is a constitutional core of human dignity.

Privacy has been a hot topic around the world in recent months. Last month a US federal district judge allowed [JURIST report] President Donald Trumps election commission to move forward by dismissing the need for a prior privacy impact assessment before collecting voter data. In June Japans parliament passed [JURIST report] a controversial anti-conspiracy bill aimed at improving security and combating terrorism that critics claim will violate privacy rights. Also in June the UN Human Rights Committee found [JURIST report] that Ireland infringed a womans right to equality and privacy when it forced her to travel to the UK to receive an abortion when diagnosed with fatal fetal syndrome.
[JURIST] A South Korean court sentenced billionaire head of Samsung [corporate website] Lee Jae-yong [Forbes backgrounder] to five years in jail for bribery on Friday. The Seoul Central District Court [official website, in Korean] found that Lee paid former president Park Geun-hye [BBC profile] in hopes of favors from Park. Lee was also convicted [Yonhap report] for embezzlement, hiding assets overseas, concealment of criminal proceeds, and perjury leading prosecutors to originally ask for a 12-year sentence. There were four other former Samsung executives that were also convicted in connection to this case.

This is the most recent development in a governmental scandal that has grown to involve many top former officials and corporate executives. In May former South Korean president Park Geun-hye denied [JURIST report] all charges as she pleaded not guilty at the beginning of her trial. In February South Koreas special prosecutor indicted [JURIST report] former culture minister Yoon-sun Cho] and former presidential chief of staff Ki-choon Kim on charges of coercion, abuse of power and perjury connected to creation of a blacklist of opposition artists critical to Park. Park was arrested [JURIST report] on charges of bribery, coercion, abuse of power, and leaking government secrets on March 31.
Former Thai prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra [BBC profile] failed to appear in court to hear the verdict in her trial Friday, amid reports that she had fled the country to Dubai [CNN report].

Yingluck was facing corruption charges involving mismanagement of a rice-subsidy program, estimated to have cost the government billions of dollars. She pleaded not guilty to the charges in 2015 and went on trial [JURIST reports] last year.

A warrant was issued for her arrest after she failed to appear in court Friday. She had been barred from leaving the country since 2015 and faced up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

Thailands political system has been unstable since the 2006 military coup [BBC report] by the Royal Thai Army against then-prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra [BBC profile], brother of Yingluck. Yingluck herself was removed from office in May 2014 shortly before the military seized control [JURIST reports] of the government.
What Age Do Kids Get Tried As Adults In Texas?

Dallas, 08/25/2017 /SubmitPressRelease123/

Should a teenager be sentenced to life in prison? Its a question that has resonated throughout the criminal justice system in recent years. In 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that mandatory life sentences without the possibility of parole for juvenile offenders are unconstitutional. In 2016, the Court elaborated on its ruling by holding that its 2012 decision should apply retroactively. This means that any juveniles serving a life sentence without parole will get the chance to be paroled.

However, the Supreme Courts decision also permits states to impose life sentences for juvenile offenders who are irreparably corrupt and permanently incorrigible. As these terms are subject to interpretation, many states continue to deny parole to juvenile offenders who are just 16 and 17 years old.

Texas House Passes Bill to Raise the Age of Criminal Responsibility to 18

Because the Supreme Court leaves the interpretation of irreparably corrupt and permanently incorrigible in the states hands, many states have taken steps to ensure juvenile offenders in their courts are not slapped with a life sentence before they even reach adulthood.

In Texas, for example, state lawmakers in the House passed the Raise the Age bill, which proposes to keep 17-year-olds from being prosecuted in the adult criminal justice system. The bill passed in the House in April 2017. If the state Senate passes the bill, all 17-year-olds would be tried in the juvenile system beginning in 2021.

Proponents of the bill say that keeping these teens in the juvenile system will cause recidivism rates to drop, as well as address the rehabilitation needs of young people caught up in the criminal justice system.

Those in favor of the bill have also shot down claims that removing 17-year-olds from the adult system will raise costs. They point to results in other states, which have not experienced rising costs after changing the rules for juvenile prosecutions.

How Other States Treat Juvenile Offenders

Currently, just six states, including Texas, treat 17-year-olds as adults.

In Florida, which has the highest number of juvenile offenders serving time in adult prisons, juveniles are transferred to the adult system at a rate eight times higher than the next state in line (California). In fact, Florida has more juveniles serving prison sentences in adult prisons than 28 other states combined.

Over the last five years, Florida has tried over 12,000 juveniles as adults. Additionally, prosecutors in Florida have the authority to direct file, which means they can send kids as young as 14 to the adult system without a single hearing and zero burden on the prosecution to prove why prosecuting in the adult system is reasonable or necessary. The state allows direct files automatically for 16 and 17-year-olds.

Contact a Texas Criminal Defense Lawyer About Your Case

If your child has been charged with a crime and is facing prosecution in the adult criminal justice system, speak to an experienced Texas criminal defense lawyer right away.

Sources:

Dallas Criminal Defense Lawyer

http://www.brodenmickelsen.com/

Broden & Mickelsen, LLP

2600 State St Dallas, Texas 75204

Main Phone: (214) 720-9552

source: http://www.brodenmickelsen.com/blog/age-kids-get-tried-adults-texas/

Social Media Tags:Texas criminal defense lawyer, Juvenile Offenders Texas, Juvenile Offenders, Dallas criminal defense lawyer, Age of Criminal Responsibility

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American College of Veterinary Microbiologists selects Michael Dryden for one of its highest honors

Friday, Aug. 25, 2017

MANHATTAN  A Kansas State University professor who is an internationally recognized expert on fleas and ticks has been named the 2017 Microbiologist of the Year by the American College of Veterinary Microbiologists.



Michael Dryden, university distinguished professor of veterinary parasitology in the College of Veterinary Medicine, is being recognized for a distinguished career that has made important contributions to the field of veterinary microbiology in the areas of research, teaching and/or service.



Dryden will be formally recognized with the award at the American College of Veterinary Microbiologists' annual banquet on Dec. 4 in Chicago. He also will give an invited presentation on the theory and application of modern flea control at the annual conference of the Research Workers in Animal Diseases, Dec. 3-5, also in Chicago.



Dryden's research program is involved in two primary areas: the biology and control of fleas and ticks infesting dogs and cats, and the diagnosis and control of gastrointestinal parasites of dogs and cats. While he has published more than 140 manuscripts and 12 book chapters on numerous internal and external parasites, it has been his research with Ctenocephalides felis  the flea that commonly infests dogs and cats  that has become the most widely known.



Known as "Dr. Flea," Dryden and his research team have generated publications and dissertations about fleas and flea control, including flea host association, longevity, egg production, blood consumption, carpet microclimate, on-animal and premises' flea control assessment techniques, flea trapping systems such as the intermittent-light flea trap, insecticide resistance, flea allergy dermatitis, flea gender structure, reproductive break point analysis, residual speed of kill models, in-home field trials and more.



An invited lecturer in 22 countries, Dryden has presented more than 1,000 invited seminars at scientific conferences and at dozens of veterinary continuing education meetings. He also has been recognized with numerous awards and honors for his teaching, research and service to the veterinary profession.



A dedicated educator, Dryden co-taught the Veterinary Parasitology course in the College of Veterinary Medicine from 1990 to 2001 and became course coordinator in 2002. In 2010, he and a colleague developed the Evidenced-based Small Animal Clinical Parasitology Training Course, also known as "Wildcat Parasitology." More than 200 graduate veterinarians from practice, academia and industry in the U.S., Canada, Australia and Europe have attended this intense weeklong course, which provides in-depth instruction into practical small animal veterinary parasitology.



"I was honored and humbled when I learned I had been selected to receive this award," Dryden said. "To be recognized by the American College of Veterinary Microbiologists for my research and educational achievements in veterinary parasitology is truly special."



Colleagues who nominated Dryden for the honor offered praise for his research and teaching.



"Dr. Kevin Kazacos, who has known Dr. Dryden since he began his research with fleas as grad student at Purdue University, said that Dryden's research 'not only revolutionized our entire knowledge on this common urban pest, but laid the groundwork for a wealth of new information on the species, ranging from basic biology to practical aspects of treatment and control,'" said Becky Wilkes, secretary of the American College of Veterinary Microbiologists and an assistant professor in the infectious diseases department at the University of Georgia.



Another colleague, Susan Little, in her nomination letter, said she knew of no other veterinary parasitologist who is more highly esteemed or revered by the larger veterinary profession for his many contributions than Dryden, Wilkes said.



A native Kansan, Dryden was born in Osborne and grew up on a farm northwest of Cawker City. He earned a bachelor's degree in 1982 and a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine in 1984, both at Kansas State University. He spent a couple years in private practice in Beloit and Wichita. Dryden later earned a master's degree in 1988 and a doctorate in 1990, both from Purdue University. It was while he was a graduate student at Purdue that the veterinary students started calling him "Dr. Flea."



Upon completion of the graduate program, Dryden accepted an offer from the College of Veterinary Medicine at Kansas State University as an assistant professor of veterinary parasitology in the diagnostic medicine and pathobiology department. He was promoted to full professor in 1999 and in 2011 he received the designation of university distinguished professor, the university's highest faculty ranking. Dryden also was recognized in 2011 as a charter diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Microbiologists, when the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine-Parasitology specialty was initiated.
KEARNEY  A Pleasanton woman will spend 30 days in jail and four years on probation for having sexual contact with a teen at Kearneys Youth Rehabilitation and Treatment Center.

Samantha Halstead, 29, formerly of Kearney, was sentenced this morning in Buffalo County District Court for second-degree sexual abuse of a protected individual, a felony. Under her probation, she must complete sex offender counseling, cognitive group therapy, and a trauma resolution group.

Halstead must also register with the Nebraska State Patrol as a convicted sex offender.

She faced up to three years in prison.

Judge John Marsh gave Halstead until Sept. 8 to report to the Buffalo County Jail to begin serving her sentence.

"The total disregard of boundaries, I suspect, was a contributing factor to his (the teens) ongoing behavior. Youre the adult," said Marsh, who indicated the relationship had gone on for some time.

Halstead had been a licensed provisional mental health practitioner at YRTC and resigned her position in August 2016 before being arrested by the Nebraska State Patrol. Although court records detailing the incident are sealed, Buffalo County Attorney Shawn Eatherton told the Hub she had sexual contact with the teen in her office at YRTC, which was under video surveillance.

During Fridays hearing, Halsteads public defender, Charles Brewster of Kearney, said his clients case was an odd one.

"She was in a very, very difficult situation and made bad, dumb choices on how to manage things," he said. "Those choices cost her her career."

Brewster asked for probation for Halstead saying she was cooperative with law enforcement, she has her masters degree, is attending school full time trying to rehabilitate herself, is a mother, has a family and is pregnant.

He admitted Halstead had her own mental health issues and has sought help.

"She doesnt need to sit in jail and think about this. Shes been thinking about it every day," Brewster told Marsh.

Eatherton agreed about placing Halstead on probation, saying the incident was sexual contact only, not sexual penetration, and in no way was the incident the teens fault.

"She has some serious issues on boundaries and how relationships are supposed to be," he said. "This is entirely on the defendant."

Halstead didnt speak on her own behalf.

@HubChic
RAGAN  Road work will begin Sept. 5 on Highway 4 west of Ragan and ending east of the state Highway 4/Highway 44 junction, weather permitting.

According to a Nebraska Department of Transportation press release, road work includes subgrade stabilization and asphalt overlay.

Temporary lane restrictions will be maintained with flaggers and a pilot vehicle. There will also be a 12-foot width restriction.

Motorists are asked to drive cautiously through construction zones, to expect reduced speed zones and minimal delays.

The project is anticipated to be completed by the fall.

Vontz Paving Inc. of Hastings has the $3,048,151 contract.
KEARNEY  Mike Eberle of Gothenburg, a contest official with the Kansas City Barbecue Society, recently hit the century mark with barbecue.

Im a contest official and a judge and I just judged my 100th contest in Worland, Wyo., this past weekend, Eberle said in a phone interview while traveling. I still enjoy it. The people dont change but we still have a lot of fun. And thats always a constant.

Fans of barbecue can watch Eberles expertise today and Saturday at the third-annual Kearney BBQ on the Bricks in Downtown Kearney: The Bricks. The gates open at 4:30 p.m. today with public barbecue tasting from 5:30 p.m. until the meat is gone. Admission for the public tasting in $15 per person.

People are always so friendly, Eberle said about the barbecue festivals he has attended. I get to travel around and meet new folks and see folks I might only see once or twice a years on the barbecue circuit.

The Gothenburg resident names three things that cooks can do to improve their barbecue: Practice, practice, practice.

All the cooks are aware of the KCBS standards, so a lot of them will practice in the off season, Eberle said in a previous Hub interview. The festival slows down from November through March so guys will have practice cooks, having friends over to get a feel for what theyre doing.

In the world of cooking meat, Eberle sees a lot of cooks going to drum smokers, a way of preparing meat.

It looks like a 55-gallon drum, he said. That seems to be the current trend. You see a lot more of the teams cooking with the drums. Theyre still using other cookers, also, but the drums really seem to pop up a lot. And people are winning with them.

The competitive side of BBQ on the Bricks starts on Saturday.

Event organizer, Ron Lieske of Kearney, invites the public to watch the cooks from the 35 teams prepare their meat  and beans  for competition.

What I wish people would do on Saturday morning is come to the freewill donation pancake feed at the Eagles Club, he said. Then just walk around and watch the cooks. You dont want to bother them because thats their competition day. To watch how they prep their chicken, its amazing.

Lieske expects teams from Nebraska, Colorado, Missouri, Kansas and New Mexico to compete for the $2,000 grand champion prize.

When it comes down to judging, Eberle knows that one factor will make all the difference  taste.

Taste is very subjective, he said. Your likes are going to be different than my likes. It might not be too much, but everybody is going to have a different palate.

All the fancy cookers, smokers and recipes help, but Eberle also knows that experience behind the grill makes a huge difference.

It still comes down to the cook, he said. You still have to know how to cook your meat.
KEARNEY  Visit a lonely neighbor. Donate new childrens shoes to United Way. Buy a sandwich for a stranger.

For the fifth consecutive year, people are being invited to do random acts of kindness during the annual Walk in the Copes Shoes from Sept. 11-13. The event was launched in 2013 to celebrate the legacy of the late Ron and Carol Cope, who were generous area benefactors.

People can do something nice  anything, really  that continues the Copes legacy of giving, Carolyn Menke, a close friend of the Copes and the events originator, said.

Some of the events will include:

- Community Bloodmobile from noon-6:30 p.m. Sept. 12 at the American Red Cross at 520 W. 48th St.

- Cope Shoes 4 Kids: United Way of the Kearney Area is collecting new shoes and socks to give to underprivileged children.

- The Kearney Area Chamber of Commerce Envoys are collecting denim pieces and clothing for the Buffalo County Historical Society to use in making quilts.

- CopeCakes will be served to 72 student teachers attending a seminar Sept. 8 at the University of Nebraska at Kearney.

- Divas Floral Shop and Boutique will host Petal It Forward. It will place 150 bouquets at various locations, which the public can pick up at no charge and deliver to a deserving person.

- The Sole Sisters will have a public closing ceremony with prayers and songs at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 13 at the Cope gravesite at Kearney Cemetery. It will conclude with the launch of 13 balloons.

More events will be announced closer to Sept. 11.

Menke came up with the idea for the event in 2013 to coincide with the Sept. 13 milestones in Carol Copes life: her birth on Sept. 13, 1909, and her death on Sept. 13, 2012, her 103rd birthday. Ron, a former state senator, died in 1992.

The couple, who owned Claussens Shoe Stores here, gave millions of dollars and hours of personal time to CHI Health Good Samaritan, UNK, the Kearney Family YMCA, the Nebraska Safety Center and dozens of other places.

Along with Menke, nine women who call themselves the Sole Sisters are again planning this years event. They are Kristi Behlmann, Jane Ziebarth-Bovill, Eileen Dakan, Jo Ann Hoffman, Gail Lowenberg, Sherry Morrow, Lisa Reese Parish, Judi Sickler and Cindy Walker.

In 2013, Menke said, We are going to do this as long as we can, hopefully into perpetuity.
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An internet hosting company must turn over records for a website that the government alleges was used to plan violent protests on the day of President Donald Trump's inauguration.

A District of Columbia Superior Court judge ruled Thursday that DreamHost must provide the Justice Department with records for a website called disruptj20.org.


A tag posted off the kennel door for Red, a female Shepard mix, offers some details about her at the Animal Haven animal shelter, Thursday Aug. 24, 2017, in New York. Red is among new arrivals of abandoned dogs flown out of Puerto Rico that is struggling with a pet overpopulation problem, worsen by a financial crisis that has prompted many people to abandon animals. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)
In this Russian Emergency Situations Ministry photo, made available on Friday, Aug. 25, 2017 shows a bus being pulled out of the water at a pier in Volna village, Krasnodar region, Russia . The bus was carrying workers who were building a pier for an oil company on the Black Sea coast not far from Crimea, the Russian Investigative Committee said. (Russian Ministry for Emergency Situations photo via AP)
Supporters of Thailand's former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra display her images outside the Supreme Court after Yingluck failed to show up to hear a verdict in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, Aug. 25, 2017. Thailand's military ruler said authorities are searching for Yingluck Shinawatra, the prime minister whose government he ousted in a coup three years ago, after she failed to appear for a verdict Friday in a criminal case that could send her to prison for 10 years. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)
Rain is blown past palm trees as Hurricane Harvey makes landfall, Friday, Aug. 25, 2017, in Corpus Christi, Texas. Harvey intensified into a hurricane Thursday and steered for the Texas coast with the potential for up to 3 feet of rain, 125 mph winds and 12-foot storm surges in what could be the fiercest hurricane to hit the United States in almost a dozen years. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
The U.S. Navy on Thursday suspended wider search-and-rescue operations for sailors missing after the warship USS John S. McCain collided with a merchant vessel in waters near Singapore and Malaysia earlier this week.

A statement on the U.S. Seventh Fleet's website confirmed the identities of one sailor killed and of nine sailors still missing following the collision.

U.S. Navy and Marine Corps divers will continue search-and-recovery efforts inside flooded sections of the warship, the statement said.

"After more than 80 hours of multinational search efforts, the U.S. Navy suspended search-and-rescue efforts for missing USS John S. McCain sailors in an approximately 2,100-square-mile area east of the Straits of Malacca and Singapore," it said.

An international search-and-rescue operation involving aircraft, divers and vessels from the United States, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Australia had been looking for the missing sailors over an area of about 5,500 square kilometers around the crash site.

The U.S. Navy on Tuesday found remains of missing sailors inside sealed sections of the damaged hull of the John S. McCain, which is moored at Singapore's Changi Naval Base.

Earlier on Thursday, the Navy said a medical examination of human remains found by the Malaysian navy about eight nautical miles northwest of the collision site determined that they were not those of one of its missing sailors.
People inspect houses destroyed by Saudi-led airstrikes in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, Aug. 25, 2017. Airstrikes by a Saudi-led coalition targeted Yemen's capital early on Friday, hitting at least three houses in Sanaa and killing at least 14 civilians, including women and children, residents and eyewitnesses said. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)
Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, the states chamber of commerce and manufacturers association, has created a statewide coalition of 146 business groups, local chambers of commerce, entrepreneurs, employers and workers that support Foxconn Technology Groups multi-billion dollar investment in Wisconsin.

Among the initial members of the coalition are the Kenosha Area Chamber of Commerce and Vonco Products, the Salem-based packaging company.

As part of its initial advocacy efforts, in addition to direct lobbying ahead of pending state Senate action, the coalition addressed lawmakers in a letter from its list of members.

It also launched an interactive website and social media rapid response platform providing Foxconn Facts to lawmakers, the media and the public.

A press release from the new organization, The Wisconn Valley Jobs Coalition, said the effort was undertaken to inform the public and policymakers of the transformational impact Foxconn will have not only on southeastern Wisconsin, but the entire state.

This is an unprecedented investment in Wisconsin, and we hope legislators move quickly to approve the legislation that is a key part of attracting Foxconn to our state, said Kurt R. Bauer, WMC President and CEO. This type of investment will bring both jobs and people to our great state, and there is no reason the legislation should not receive broad bipartisan support.

Wisconsin has unfortunately been the best kept secret in the Midwest, but thanks to Foxconn and Wisconn Valley, that secret is now out, Bauer added.

The Wisconn Valley Jobs Coalition sent a letter to senators urging them to support the Foxconn bill,which has already been approved by the State Assembly.

Foxconn released its own letter thanking that new group for its support.

We value strong partnerships and look forward to joining with these hard-working businesses and entrepreneurs as we lay the groundwork for economic success together, the Foxconn statement read.
Sarah Candee wont be joining any of her friends who are going off to college this fall.

I applied to one school, and it was my dream school, and I got rejected, she said.

But that doesnt mean she wont eventually go to college and earn a degree. The recent Tremper graduate is just taking a different path to get there. And in the meantime, shell be learning a lot in a very different way and a very different place.

Instead of attending a university immediately after high school, Candee is going to spend whats known as a gap year in the West African country of Senegal.

Ill be learning two new languages  French and (the native African language) Wolof  and living with a host family, said Candee, 18. Im going to be immersed into a new culture and Ill be learning more than I can even imagine. Im sure Ill come out of it a completely different person.

Gap popularity grows

The so-called gap year, or sabbatical year has long been a staple and popular trend  some even say a rite of passage  in other countries. The practice involves students taking a year off between high school and college to travel, volunteer, learn a trade, work or take part in other meaningful activities.

The goal is to gain life experiences outside of the classroom and then, with a more mature outlook on the world, the students will be more focused on their studies when they enter college. The trend became more well-known last year when it was announced that President Barack Obamas eldest daughter, Malia, was taking a gap year to be an intern for a movie company in New York.

Gap year programs are offered by a variety of companies and nonprofit organizations. The AmeriCorps City Year program, for example, pays students stipends to teach in poor communities, while other programs like Carpe Diem International Education sends the students abroad and costs about $20,000.

Global Citizen Year

Candee is taking part in the Global Citizen Year program, which sends high school grads to Ecuador, India, Brazil or Senegal. While in their host countries, the students work in education or public health apprenticeships at community organizations and receive leadership training.

Global Citizen Year Vice President David Omenn said there are many benefits to the multi-faceted experience.

Students and families increasingly recognize that education happens beyond the four walls of a classroom, and that experiential, global learning is an essential part of a 21st Century education, he said. Our alumni are more mature and self-directed than other college students and they develop empathy, creativity, and other power skills needed to thrive in college and beyond.

When it began in 2010, the program had six students. This year, it has 140.

Tuition is $32,500 for the program, which runs September through April, but a high majority of their students receive financial assistance. For Candee, that meant a combination of scholarships and other financial aid. It worked out perfectly, she said.

First stop: California

Candee leaves Sunday and will stop in California for training and to meet her fellow students before flying to Senegal in early September.

Naturally, shes feeling a wide range of emotions.

Im not afraid, but Im nervous and excited at the same time, she said. I dont think Ill be homesick but Ill miss certain people and certain times, like I probably wont have a Christmas tree. So, it will be the American traditions that Ill miss. And burgers.

While shell learn a lot, Candee hopes the work shell do in Senegal helps others too.

There are just so many ways that you can contribute to other people in another country while, at the same time, they can contribute to your experiences and understanding, she said. It works from both sides.

In addition to all of the new experiences over the next 10 months, shell be working on her future plans as well.

During my time in Senegal, Im going to apply to a bunch of schools for the following year, she said. College is still on the agenda.
A Thai lawyer has withdrawn a criminal defamation case against a British BBC journalist involving a report on foreigners being defrauded of property, the BBC says.

The case against Jonathan Head, BBC's Southeast Asia correspondent, had begun Wednesday and has been criticized as an example of how Thailand's harsh criminal defamation laws can be used to intimidate journalists.

The BBC said in a statement Wednesday that the plaintiff had withdrawn the case against Head, who said via Twitter Thursday that the charges against his co-defendant were also withdrawn.

"Charges against my co-defendant Ian Rance now also withdrawn," Head said in the post. "Relief for me but Ian's fight 4 justice & restoration of stolen assets goes on."


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A cheap clothing store which has a partnership with Poundland looks set for Dover's St James' retail and leisure development.

Pep & Co Clothing, which offers good value school uniform among other clothing ranges, is planned to open on the ground floor of Poundland.

The majority of the Poundland store will be on the first floor.

The bargain brand will sit among a strip of eight other brands on the St James Street section of the shopping complex.

In all, the 53.25m site will be home to a six-screen Cineworld, a 108-bed Travelodge, and includes two dozen shops and restaurants including an M&S Foodhall, Next, Trespass, Carphone Warehouse, Costa Coffee, Frankie & Benny's and Bella Italia, as well as 445 parking spaces.

Anytime Fitness has also signed a new 15-year lease on a two-storey unit on the corner of Dolphin Passage.

Pep & Co Clothing is not yet available in all Poundland stores with the only other in Kent being in Dartford.

The introduction of the brand in Dover has not been formally announced, but a planning application was lodged this week to Dover District Council for the Poundland signage, which includes the Pep & Co Clothing logo.

It will require permission from the planning department before the signs go up.

Pep & Co brands itself as a shop that "ensures families in every community spend less on their clothing."

A statement on the Poundland website reads: "We offer fresh and exciting fashion ranges for the whole family at amazingly low prices.

"We firmly believe in keeping things simple and fuss-free to keep our costs low  this in turn keeps prices down for our customers, so they really can 'spend a little, get a lot.'"

A Kent Live poll revealed that the majority of people in Dover want a Primark to sign up to the development.

Despite this brand being very different, it has the same mission as Primark, to offer low priced clothing.

A Poundland spokesman said: "We're proud to be part of the community in Dover. While we're not in a position to speculate on how we develop here, be assured we're always looking for new ways to offer customers the amazing value we are famous for."

Other brands included a Zara, River Island and JD Sports.

There are still 10 more units that need to be filled and one is under offer.
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'We have not asked for them to come here' - that's the message from concerned Thanet residents to Britain First ahead of a planned rally in October.

The far-right political activists have announced plans for a demonstration in the town following the conviction of four men who gang raped a teenager.

Britain First and other groups have been actively campaigning around the trial since the men were arrested after the horrific crime which took place above 555 Pizza and Kebab last year.

On a flyer of the Ramsgate event they say they are being "persecuted for exposing the Ramsgate migrant rapists".

'An excuse to cause trouble'

But following the conviction of the men and the news that the takeaway will have its license revoked, those who set up the petition say the rally is an excuse for the "right wing racist group to cause trouble".

Colin Botterman has launched a petition to Thanet District Council titled 'Ban the Britain First march'.

He wrote: "Britain First are proposing to march in Ramsgate October 14 over the issue of the Ramsgate rape case.

"As the case is now over and sentencing will be completed in September there is no need for a march.

'Stay away'

"Also the license for the restaurant has been revoked and will not be reopening. This march is clearly just an excuse for this right wing racist group to cause trouble and we the residents of Thanet have not asked for them to come here.

"In fact we are clearly and loudly saying we do not condone or want such people to upset our way of life here and to stay away."

Religious hatred

Leaders of Britain First Paul Golding and Jayda Fransen were arrested for inciting religious hatred during the 555 pizza trial, and have been bailed until September 20.

During this the pair leafleted and filmed videos outside a number of addresses.

The group themselves have launched a petition demanding the "Home Office stops persecuting Paul Golding and Jayda Fransen."

As well as the petition to Thanet District Council, the Mayor of Ramsgate Trevor Shonk has announced that "Britain First are not welcome here".

To view or sign the petition, click here.
Lee is accused of giving W43.3 billion in bribes to ex-President Park Geun-hye and her confidante Choi Soon-sil (US$1=W1,129). The court will also sentence former Samsung executive Choi Gee-sung, who seems to have been trying to take the fall for his boss, and others.

The Seoul Central District Court will pronounce its verdict on Samsung chief Lee Jae-yong on Friday, 178 days after independent counsel Park Young-soo indicted him for bribery.

The hearing starts at 2:30 p.m. The court had to raffle tickets due to huge crowds who want to hear the verdict. It is expected to take about two hours because the case is complicated and there are five defendants.

Lee denies knowing anything about the bribes, which were paid to a dodgy foundation Choi set up under the Cheong Wa Dae aegis, and to Chois daughter disguised as sponsorship for her equestrian training.

In passing sentence, the court is expected to express a view on whether there was a conspiracy between Park and Choi to fleece conglomerates in return for favors. The two women are on trial in a different courtroom.

Lee is also accused of embezzling the alleged bribes from his publicly traded conglomerate and on the technical charge of hiding assets overseas since Choi's daughter lived in Germany.

Prosecutors have sought 12 years in prison for Lee, and seven to 10 years for Choi Gee-sung and three others.
It was a veiled reference to the deployment of a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense battery from the U.S. in southern Korea and the retaliatory Chinese boycott of Korean goods and services.

Xi said that he considers ties with South Korea very important and that the two sides should "consolidate political trust, and reasonably resolve different opinions."

Relations "have developed into a more mature relationship in various fields through communication, exchange and cooperation," the Foreign Ministry quoted Moon as saying. "The two countries should develop ties further to become strategic partners that contribute to development in Northeast Asia and global peace."

President Moon Jae-in and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping exchanged congratulatory messages Thursday on the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations.

The two countries displayed starkly different attitudes toward the anniversary. The Foreign Ministry put considerable emphasis on the exchange of messages in an early-morning statement.

But China's Foreign Ministry simply mentioned that the two leaders exchanged messages and added, "China's position on opposing the deployment of THAAD is quite clear-cut, firm and consistent and it remains unchanged."

The state-run Global Times and English-language China Daily in editorials advised Seoul not to blame Beijing for the boycott and warned that bilateral relations will not improve until the THAAD controversy has been resolved.

China believes that the THAAD's powerful radar could be used to spy on its military maneuvers.

Experts say Korea and China have entered a new era in relations where the win-win strategy of the last 25 years marked by thriving trade has given way to conflicting interests as the two countries now compete in key industries.

Yun Duk-min at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy said, "When the two countries forged diplomatic ties in 1992, China found itself diplomatically isolated due to the Tiananmen Square incident and needed Korea from a diplomatic standpoint and wanted to learn from its economic model. But as its competitiveness improved, Korea's political importance declined and the two countries are now competing on the economic front."
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In the past few weeks, there has been a question regarding my use of the hashtag #Nof1 along with how I end the majority of my posts and tweets: Health care is delivered at the N of 1.

One person even believed there might be a trademark infringement with the company N-of-1 who provides molecular testing for patients and then delivers evidenced-based medical recommendations for oncology patients. The reality is that, while the company N-of-1 provides services, the topic I speak about is how the evolution of health care is occurring.

This seed was planted in me during my clinical rotations in 19981999 while at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Carbone Comprehensive Cancer Center by the chair of the department, Dr. Minesh Mehta. There was a moment during my training in which our patients were experiencing a long wait time. The department was on edge, and everyone got extra intense when we needed to page Dr. Mehta to come and check on a patient se tup in radiation oncology. I remember Dr. Mehta walking into the room, calm, smiling, and took the time to introduce himself to the patient, their family and to address all of their questions despite others waiting.

When he was done, he stepped out of the room and asked me to follow him. He asked me why everyone seemed to be on edge. I told him the truth. Everyone was worried because patients are waiting, the schedule is behind, and we know you are busy. Dr. Mehta smiled at me, placed his hand on my shoulder, and told me a piece of magic:

No matter what else is going on, the world stops once you enter a room and are face to face with a patient and their family. You can only care for one patient at a time. That patient, in that room, at that moment is the only patient that matters. That is the secret to health care.

It was this message that he shared with me privately in the hallway that has made one of the biggest impacts to my career and journey in health care. From that point on, I made sure that my only focus was the patient in front of me, and that I ignored all other unnecessary interruptions.

A few years after that conversation as I was leading my first oncology program and was responsible for new cancer center development for the health system I was working for, I came across the following New England Journal article entitled: Determining Optimal Therapy  Randomized Trials In Individual Patients. The year was 2002, and the first time I saw the term N of 1 used in clinical research. In the years after that conversation, the 1986 NEJM article, and my own continuing research on the topic, the N of 1 has become a framework for the work I do. Whether it was to provide care models, clinical pathways, patient experience, clinical service lines, cancer centers, hospitals, outpatient imaging, radiology and pathology services, research grants for the National Cancer Institute or development of cancer centers and risk reduction facilities in China, all of my work has been to deliver care to patients at the N of 1.

The reality is that today, whether it is population health 1.0 or the few health systems and insurance companies trying to move into population health 2.0, their focus is still in delivering care at the we level. The we level means that when you go to see a physician today, that the medical care they recommend to you is based on people similar to you. Or the top of the pyramid, care based on research of populations at the 100,000+ level.

However, as technology continues to impact every other aspect of our lives, this method of performing care is going to radically change over the next eight to 10 years. (Many skeptics say longer, but I believe it will happen within eight years.) As we move into topics like genomics, proteomics, functional imaging and immunotherapies we will begin to move into delivering care at a 10,000 population level within the next two years.

As ecosystems continue to be built out and incorporated into seamless sharing of digital footprints, this will only continue to move further down the funnel, to begin delivering care based on people of 1,000. There will finally come a time when health care is not focused on the hospital, health care system or the insurance company and is solely focused on the people in communities and the patients they become over time.

When the food you eat, the air you breathe, the amount of sleep you obtain, where you work, how you commute home, whether you care for a loved one, the choices you make and the context of your life begin to accumulate effortlessly and seamlessly in a digital world, the center of health care will be each person.

Hospitals will only be needed for acute care. Everything else will be distributed across multiple channels that we have not even begun to realize. Move beyond mobile, and consider AR, VR and BR. The reason is that people, and the patients they become, do not care about the hospital they go to, the paint on the walls, or the Press Ganey results. Patients want care delivered specifically to them, for them, in consultation with them, to meet their expectations, and on a personal basis by an entity they trust.

Patients simply want their care delivered at the N of 1.

This future, the one I envision, and the one I have spent my entire career building towards, all stems back to the seed planted by Dr. Minesh Mehta in that hallway in 1998, and the NEJM article I read in 2002. My fundamental belief, and the one I have heard patients all around the world articulate to me, is the one I describe.

The future will be here before we know it. It has already begun. It is only going to accelerate from this point forward. Within the next eight years, health care as we know it will end.

The new health care will begin  health care delivered at the N of 1.

Andy DeLao is a health care marketing executive who blogs at CancerGeek.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com
Any visit by President Moon Jae-in to China this year seems increasingly unlikely amid an ongoing spat over the deployment of a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense battery from the U.S. here.

Since his inauguration in May, Moon has bolstered Korea's ties with the U.S., Japan and Russia, but relations with China remain chilly as the two countries mark 25 years of diplomatic ties.

Moon met with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington in June and visits Russia next month for a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He sat down with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Germany last month.

There he also met Chinese President Xi Jinping, but they were unable to narrow their differences over THAAD and the North Korean nuclear standoff.

A joint statement after the Washington summit criticized China's expansionist policies on the South China Sea, while a joint statement by South Korea, the U.S. and Japan stressed trilateral cooperation in security issues. Both are thorns in China's side.

A key ruling party official said on Thursday, "We must explain to China why we have no choice but to temporarily deploy the THAAD battery in self-defense against the North Korean nuclear threat."

The government apparently plans to propose a joint study to demonstrate that the powerful radar of the THAAD system is not intended to spy on China. It also hopes that China will make overtures after the 19th congress of the Communist Party in early November.


* Premiums higher in Hong Kong, ease in Singapore

* Indian dealers offer discounts of up to $10

* Festive season likely to spur buying in India by next month

By Rajendra Jadhav and Apeksha Nair

MUMBAI/BENGALURU, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Gold demand was sluggish this week in major centres across Asia as prices stayed high, prompting buyers to stay on the sidelines.

Spot gold prices were mostly unchanged around the $1,287 an ounce as of 0840 GMT on Friday, and were on track for a small weekly gain. "Demand has been slower this week across Asia because prices haven't moved much," a Singapore-based dealer said, adding that a drop to the $1,220-$1,250 level could spur buying.

In top consumer China, demand was weak with premiums being offered in a $2-$5 range, compared with the $3-$4 level last week, traders said.

"Over the first half of 2017, people have been gravitating more toward investments such as base metals rather than gold since there hasn't been a drastic movement in gold prices when compared to other investments," a Shanghai-based trader said.

In Hong Kong, however, gold was being sold at a premium of $1-$1.50 to the international benchmark, up from the 30-70 cents range previously.

China's net gold imports via main conduit Hong Kong increased 2.3 percent in July from the previous month. In the second biggest consumer, India, dealers offered discounts of up to $10 an ounce this week, down from the $13 discount last week, which was the highest in 11-months.

"For the last few weeks, demand has been weak. Buyers are not ready to make purchases above 29,000 rupees. They are waiting for a price correction," said Mukesh Kothari, director at bullion dealer RiddiSiddhi Bullions in Mumbai.

This week, local gold prices were trading near their highest in over two months.

"Still, gold has been trading at a discount due to rising supplies from South Korea. It has become difficult for banks and refiners to do business," Kothari said.

Price in India includes a 10 percent import tax, but this does not apply to countries with which it has signed Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), such as South Korea.

Indian traders are likely to import 25 tonnes of gold from South Korea in July and August. "As we move closer to the festive season, discounts will disappear and the market will start trading in premium, possibly from next month," said Jayant Pawania, group executive vice president at Yes Bank .

Meanwhile, premiums in Singapore were lower at 30-60 cents this week, as against the 60-80 cents range last week.

In Japan, gold was being sold between flat and a 25 cent discount.

(Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav in Mumbai, Apeksha Nair and Arpan Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Vyas Mohan)
Aug 25 (Reuters) - Shares in Novae Group rose about 2 percent on Friday after Axis Capital , a Bermuda-based speciality insurer and reinsurer, raised its takeover offer for the Lloyd's of London insurer to about 477.6 million pounds ($611.38 million).

Last month, Novae Group had agreed to be taken over by Axis Capital for 467.6 million pounds in cash, representing a 700 pence per share offer with a hefty premium to the London-based insurer's closing price from a day before the announcement. However, the two companies said in a joint statement that they had agreed on a raised 715 pence per share offer.

"By offering Novae shareholders an improved cash offer, Axis aims to bring certainty to the transaction," Axis Capital said in the statement, which was made after London markets closed on Thursday.

Novae's shareholder Neptune had said in July that the offer undervalued the company, and a fair offer would be at least 5 or 6 percent higher than Axis Capital's initial bid.

Neptune said Axis Capital had bid after a "torrid" nine months for Novae, which has been hurt by lower than expected underwriting contributions and changes to Britain's Ogden rule, a tool for calculating personal injury and accident claims. Novae's board had unanimously recommended the sweetened offer to its shareholders, Axis Capital said on Thursday.

"Although this move is likely to lead to speculation that a counter-bid may be possible, we remain of the view that this is unlikely," Eamonn Flanagan analyst at Shore Capital, said.

The acquisition of Novae, which covers property, casualty, marine, aviation and political risk, would create a roughly $2 billion player in the London speciality market.

Novae's shares have risen 20 percent since Axis Capital's first offer.

Insurers have been preparing for a wave of mergers and acquisitions, as valuations in the Lloyd's insurance market became more attractive to overseas buyers due to a fall in the value of the pound after Britain voted to leave the European Union.

Lloyd's companies such as Hiscox , Lancashire and Beazley have long been seen as acquisition targets, and insurers Amlin, Brit and Catlin have all been snapped up by overseas insurers in recent years.

Novae shares were trading at 710.4 pence at 0720 GMT.

($1 = 0.7812 pounds)

<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Performance of Lloyd's insurers since offer for Novae ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; Editing by Rachel Armstrong)
BEIJING, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Baosteel aims to cut more costs at its Wuhan Iron and Steel arm, acquired as part of a government push to make bloated industries more efficient, after Wuhan posted a 780 million yuan ($117 million) first-half loss, Baosteel officials said on Friday.

China's largest steel listed producer, Baoshan Iron and Steel Co Ltd , known as Baosteel, completed its acquisition of Wuhan Iron and Steel in late February.

Baosteel, which reported a 65 percent surge in first-half net profit on Thursday to 6.2 billion yuan on soaring steel prices , said it was still working to extract synergies from the merger with Wuhan.

"The performance of Wuhan Iron and Steel was affected by the acquisition and it takes time for Wuhan to adapt to the new group," Wu Kunzong, Baosteel's Chief Financial Officer told investors on a web-call.

Baosteel would cut more costs from Wuhan in the second half, by looking at closing some subsidiaries involved in sales and delivery, Baosteel board secretary Wu Yiming said.

The merged Baosteel aims to cut a total 6 billion yuan in costs in 2017.

Baosteel controls more than 60 percent of China's cold rolled automotive sheet market and 80 percent of the grain-oriented electrical steel market, but does not produce rebar, used in construction.

Despite the group's jump in first half profit to a five-year high, growth still lagged some smaller rivals in the sector which doubled or tripled their earnings on a year ago. Wu Yiming pointed to weak prices on Baosteel's flat products as well as rising iron ore and coking coal prices in the first half.

Hot rolled coil prices underperformed in the first half, with flat products rising just 0.5 percent in value, while rebar rose 25.3 percent, boosted by China's crackdown on low-end construction steel production.

"Despite a price rally in steel products, raw materials prices also rose," she said.

Analysts say China's firm consumption is expected to spur further steel prices gains in coming months. ($1 = 6.6645 Chinese yuan renminbi)

(Reporting by Muyu Xu and Beijing Newsroom; Editing by Richard Pullin)
* Warsaw's bluechip stock index highest since May 2015

* Eurocash hit from tax fraud slows Polish stocks rally

* Forint reverses fall after central bank talks it down

By Sandor Peto

BUDAPEST, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Polish stocks hit multi-year highs on Friday even though the rally was slowed by wholesale group Eurocash's announcement it had been hit by tax fraud.

Warsaw is Central Europe's best performing stock exchange this year. Its bluechip index has gained more than 26 percent since 2016.

Polish shares are picking up after underperforming regional peers last year when the policies of the conservative Law and Justice Party (PiS), which took power in late 2015, hit various sectors including banks.

Its policies have become less painful to businesses, even though Polish assets repeatedly came under pressure this year from politics, including tension with Brussels over judiciary reform and a plan to help FX borrowers at the cost of banks.

Central Europe's robust economic performance still buoys its currencies and equities.

Polish consumer confidence hit an all-time high in August according to late Thursday's data.

The healthy outlook has opened the way for more gains on the Polish bourse after the past few weeks' global worries over tension between North Korea and the United States eased, analysts said.

After a rally on Thursday, Warsaw's bluechip index hit its highest level since May 2015 on Friday. The index which also takes dividends into account set a 10-year high.

The .WIG20 stood higher by 0.2 percent at 0912 GMT at 2,461 points, driven off the day's peaks by a retreat of some bank stocks and a 4 percent plunge of Eurocash .

The wholesale group's shares tumbled after it said that it had been cheated in a VAT fraud and might be obliged to refund tax to the state, reducing its profit by 114 million zlotys ($31.57 million). Hungarian stocks were treading water, after Budapest's main equities index hit a record high on Thursday.

The forint was steady at 304.29 against the euro, off Thursday's two-week lows at 304.82, and Hungarian government bond yields rose 1-2 basis points after 10 basis point fall on Thursday.

The forint plunged one percent on Thursday from 28-month highs of 301.72 after the Hungarian central bank flagged further monetary easing on comments to Reuters, which market participants said was verbal intervention to stem the gains of the forint. Dealers said the forint may resume it firming trend.

"Has anything changed fundamentally?," one Budapest-based dealer said.

"With the current domestic macroeconomic and international backdrop, a firming is natural... Possible exotic options barriers near the 300 level also keep people excited."

CEE MARKETS SNAPSH AT 1112 CET

OT

CURRENCIES

Latest Previo Daily Change

us

bid close change in

2017 Czech crown 26.098 26.106 +0.03 3.48%

0 5 % Hungary 304.29 304.42 +0.04 1.49% forint 00 50 % Polish zloty 4.2614 4.2622 +0.02 3.34%

% Romanian leu 4.5890 4.5836 -0.12% -1.18% Croatian 7.3950 7.4135 +0.25 2.16% kuna % Serbian 119.13 119.26 +0.11 3.54% dinar 00 00 % Note: daily calculated previo close 1800 change from us at CET

STOCKS

Latest Previo Daily Change

us

close change in

2017 Prague 1035.3 1034.1 +0.11 +12.3

0 5 % 4% Budapest 37996. 37954. +0.11 +18.7

01 41 % 3% Warsaw 2460.8 2456.2 +0.19 +26.3

4 7 % 3% Bucharest 8373.0 8348.7 +0.29 +18.1

8 6 % 8% Ljubljana 829.14 828.68 +0.06 +15.5

% 5% Zagreb 1902.5 1903.4 -0.05% -4.63%

1 7 Belgrade 722.11 722.78 -0.09% +0.66

% Sofia 717.18 718.44 -0.18% +22.3

0%

BONDS

Yield Yield Spread Daily

(bid) change vs change

Bund in Czech spread Republic 2-year -0.021 0.005 +070b -1bps

ps 5-year 0.087 0.047 +039b +3bps

ps 10-year 0.902 -0.031 +050b -5bps

ps Poland 2-year 1.74 -0.007 +247b -2bps

ps 5-year 2.64 0.013 +294b +0bps

ps 10-year 3.316 0.015 +292b -1bps

ps

FORWARD RATE AGREEMENT

3x6 6x9 9x12 3M

interb

ank Czech Rep <PR 0.6 0.71 0.81 0

IBOR=> Hungary <BU 0.19 0.25 0.31 0.15

BOR=> Poland <WI 1.764 1.79 1.84 1.73

BOR=> Note: FRA are for ask quotes prices ********************************************************* ***** (Additional reporting from Warsaw editorial Editing by Jeremy Gaunt.)
SHANGHAI, Aug 25 (Reuters) - China's securities regulator said that company ownership reform plans must strictly abide by existing regulations, hinting there will be no repeat of the special treatment given to China Unicom in its $11.7 billion restructuring.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) said in a statement on Friday that it would "continue to support mixed-ownership reforms" of state-owned firms. However, it warned major shareholders that "any items related to the capital markets must strictly stick to existing laws, regulations and rules published by the securities regulator".

China Unicom recently unveiled plans to raise 77.9 billion yuan ($11.7 billion) through an ownership reform plan that some observers saw as a model case for revitalising Chinese state firms with private capital.

The deal immediately raised eyebrows among Chinese media and investors, who suspected it may have violated rules on private placements in terms of deal size and pricing mechanism after the CSRC revised its rules in February. The CSRC reiterated on Friday that the deal was being treated as an exceptional case, due to the "major significance" of China Unicom's reforms.

The deal, in which Unicom's Shanghai-listed unit will tap more than a dozen major investors, including Alibaba Group , Tencent Holdings and Baidu , for funds, caused confusion among investors when it was announced this month.

(Reporting by Samuel Shen and John Ruwitch; Editing by Susan Fenton)
Aug 25 (Reuters) - Global trade and cooperation is under threat, a risk to productivity and ultimately growth in advanced economies, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said on Friday.

Speaking at the U.S. Federal Reserve's annual policy conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Draghi added that the current environment of easy monetary policy makes a major relaxation of financial regulation dangerous.

"Given the large collective costs that we have observed, there is never a good time for lax regulation," Draghi said in a speech that did not discuss current monetary policy. "But there are times when it is especially inopportune."

"Specifically, when monetary policy is accommodative, lax regulation runs the risk of stoking financial imbalances," he added.

(Reporting by Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
By Jeremy Gaunt

LONDON, Aug 25 (Reuters) - As Britain's pound declines against the euro, talk has begun to circulate about the potential for parity.

Less noted, however, is the fact that the more the pound weakens and euro strengthens the more the eventual leaving bill Britain will pay the European Union may cost.

The bill in pounds, if it came today, would have risen nearly 17 percent since the vote to leave the EU in June 2016 -- 1.4 percent since mid-August alone.

Britain and the EU return to the negotiating table on Monday with the leaving bill high on the agenda.

A net 60 billion euros ($70.8 billion) has been floated in Brussels. It has been shot down by British officials.

Were it to be correct, however, Britain would now owe around 9.4 billion pounds ($12 billion) more than it would have at the time of the vote.

($1 = 0.7795 pounds) ($1 = 0.8471 euros)

<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Brexit bill ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Reporting by Jeremy Gaunt)
Jingan gets tough on shared bikes

From:Shanghai Daily | 2017-08-24 09:29

Jing'an District government has told ofo and Mobike, two of the citys biggest bike sharing firms, to reveal which of their customers have been illegally parking bikes in the district.



The move is among nine requirements that the authority sent to the two bike sharing companies in a meeting yesterday.

The district has witnessed rampant illegal parking as the bike sharing industry has boomed, officials said.

About 30,000 shared bikes have been dumped at two open spaces on Zhongxing Road this year. The bikes were moved from streets across the district because of illegal parking. Some of them have been abandoned at the sites for so long that they are covered by plants.

More than 90 percent of the bikes were said to belong to Mobike and ofo. Both firms said this week that they will continue to cooperate with the authorities.

"We saw a surge in shared bikes in July," said Zhang Tuo, deputy director with the districts construction and management commission. He added that "19,000 bikes were brought to the construction sites in the first six months, while about 10,000 were collected in July alone."

The authority said the bike companies can get their bikes back by fulfilling their management responsibility.

However, none of the bike companies had met the requirements yet.

On Tuesday, the authority talked to Mobike and ofo and proposed nine requirements, including providing bike delivering information, such as the operation trucks, the operating time and routes, and registering with local subdistrict authorities the numbers of new bikes being delivered or removed every morning.

The companies should also provide information of the "last riders" who parked the bikes illegally so that traffic police can issue penalties to the violators.

According to traffic violations, illegally parked bikes will mean a warning being issued by the police, or a penalty from 20 to 50 yuan (US$3 to US$7.50). Because the offenses are committed by riders rather than the bike sharing firms who own the bikes, police have found it difficult to issue penalties.

Zhang said, however, that the bike sharing companies management on the bikes is largely lagging behind the industrys booming development.

"The bike sharing companies are launching promotions like free rides every day. If they can take the money and put some of it toward better management, the situation might be improved a lot," Zhang said.

Last Friday, the citys transportation commission sent a note to all bike sharing companies in Shanghai to stop launching new bikes in the city until further notice.
ATHENS, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Greece will sell 875 million euros ($1.03 billion) of six-month treasury bills on August 30 to refinance a maturing issue, debt agency PDMA said on Friday.

Athens rolled over six-month T-bills earlier month, with the paper priced to yield 2.50 percent, down 28 basis points from a previous sale in July.

In a rollover, T-bill holders renew their positions instead of getting paid on the maturing paper they hold.

The settlement date of the new T-bills will be September 1. Only primary dealers will be allowed to participate and no commission is to be paid.

Primary dealers can submit non-competitive bids for up to an additional 30 percent of the auctioned amount until August 31, PDMA said. ($1 = 0.8471 euros)

(Reporting by George Georgiopoulos)
By Tiisetso Motsoeneng

JOHANNESBURG, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Naspers chairman on Friday pushed back against investors urging a break up of the South African e-commerce and pay-tv giant, saying the move lacked long-term commercial merit.

Founded in 1915, Naspers has transformed itself from an apartheid-era newspaper publisher into a $100 billion multinational with private equity-style investments in e-commerce platforms such as auction sites, online retail and e-classifieds.

But it owes much of that valuation to its 33 percent Tencent stake, which is worth about $132 billion, or 32 percent more than Naspers itself.

The discount has prompted some investors to urge Naspers leadership team including chairman Koos Bekker to sell the stake in order to close the discount. "We started getting that advice from the day Tencent listed in 2004," Bekker said at the company's shareholder meeting in Cape Town. "Fact is: each time our board evaluated Tencent, we concluded at that moment it's still the best use for our money. And today we see no reason yet to change."

The value of Naspers' stake surged from around $231 million to around $114 billion in 2004 when Tencent floated on the Hong Kong stock exchange.

Tencent is among the firms best placed to benefit from the roll out of faster 4G mobile network in China because it uses its instant messaging platform WeChat - a social media fabric in China - to sell services such as music and video streaming.

Bekker, who made the $33 million bet in 2001 to take a stake in Tencent, also dismissed suggestions that Naspers should split itself up for investors to properly assess and value its pay-TV, a de facto monopoly in Africa believed to be worth around 100 billion rand.

"If one broke up the company, you could instantly get more for the constituents," he said. "But there is strength in being one large group rather than a series of small outfits. This theoretical problem of a so-called discount need not bother the long-term investor."

Naspers has spent some $4 billion since 2012 to drive growth mainly in e-commerce platforms that include mobile classifieds apps Letgo and OLX - the biggest classified sites in India and Brazil - but it has little to show for its investments so far.

It once again rode the breakneck rise of Tencent to lift its annual earnings by more than 40 percent on Friday while the e-commerce unit widened losses to $682 million. (Reporting by Tiisetso Motsoeneng, editing by David Evans)
LIMA, Aug 25 (Reuters) - The government of Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski is proposing a nearly 10 percent increase to spending in its 2018 budget as it tries to revive economic growth that has slowed sharply this year, the finance minister said Friday.

Fernando Zavala added that about half of the proposed hike will pay for rebuilding infrastructure and homes destroyed by severe flooding early this year.

"It shows we want to carry out countercyclical policies," Zavala told a gathering of business leaders.

Kuczynski's government is aiming to post a fiscal deficit equal to 3 percent of gross domestic product this year and 3.5 percent in 2017.

Last year, the government logged a 2.6 percent fiscal deficit, under its 3 percent target as it strove to balance pleasing credit ratings agencies with stimulus spending to bolster domestic demand.

Peru has relatively low public debt, and Zavala said financing for the reconstruction effort is already in place.

Zavala's office is expected to send the proposed 2018 budget to the opposition-controlled Congress next week. The rightwing opposition Popular Force has generally supported the government's economic proposals.

The finance ministry expects a 2.8 percent expansion of gross domestic product this year, down from 3.9 percent in 2016 before a graft scandal and flooding knocked growth prospects.

Next year the economy should grow by 4 percent, according to the ministry.

(Reporting By Mitra Taj; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
WARSAW, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Poland's central budget posted a surplus of 2.4 billion zlotys ($665.21 million) in the first seven months of 2017, its best result in years, the finance ministry said on Friday.

The ministry said in a statement that in the January-July period value added tax (VAT) revenue rose by 24.4 percent year-on-year, helping total tax revenue increase by 16.2 percent.

In the corresponding period of last year the state budget posted a deficit of 14.4 billion zlotys. In 2015, the deficit in the first seven months reached 26.6 billion zlotys.

The budget was supported by an 8.7 billion zlotys payment of the central bank profit into state coffers in June. ($1 = 3.6079 zlotys)

(Reporting by Marcin Goettig)
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.

(Kitco News) - There is no denying gold is viewed as a safe-haven asset; the metal recently rallied on heightened uncertainty in the marketplace.

And, to one executive in the gold space, investors should look to get their hands on physical gold right now.

Physical gold is motivated by people who want long-term protection, long term safety and security. They want to remove counterparty risk, Josh Saul, CEO of London-based gold dealer The Pure Gold Company, said in a CNBC interview Friday.

Its really the uncertainty that drives gold demand [and] its not necessarily things that are going to look good or bad, its about not knowing, unpredictability.

Gold prices have surged recently on growing geopolitical uncertainty. The lack of confidence in the Trump administration alongside tensions between the U.S. and North Korea helped push the metal to multi-month highs this summer. Spot gold last traded up $5.20 at $1,291 an ounce.

Saul said his clients prefer physical gold over electronic gold because they prefer to have a tangible asset that is not subject to risks of cyber-attacks.

The benefits of having physical gold is that you have a physical store of wealth, he said.

Spot gold prices are up about 13% year to date, while Comex gold futures prices are up roughly 12.5% over the same time frame.

But Saul added there is an additional benefit to owning physical gold.

There are also various tax advantages available to people that purchase certain types of physical gold that you wouldnt get if you were purchasing electronic gold, he said.

Capital gains tax on some physical gold coin in the U.K. are not subject to tax. The coins include the U.K. Royal Mints Brittanias and Sovereigns, CNBC reported. However, the same does not apply in the U.S. because gold is subject to a capital gains tax.

Saul argued that investors should also look to own physical gold just like central banks do.

We take our lead from the central banks. Germany already brought back 50k bars from France, he said, referring to the Bundesbank recent repatriation of gold from vaults in the U.S. and France.

I believe there is a reliance on them [Bundesbank] having some sort of a physical, tangible store of wealth rather than relying on paper money that can be manipulated, created and devalued over time, he added.

Earlier in the week, the German central bank announced that it had successfully returned 674 tons of gold from the Federal Reserve in New York and the Banque de France in Paris.
Aug 25 (Reuters) - Here are news stories, press reports and events to watch which may affect Romanian financial markets on Friday.

BUDGET DATA

Romania's finance ministry could release consolidated budget deficit data for July.

FRENCH PRESIDENT

French President Emmanuel Macron got lukewarm support from Romania on Thursday for his push to tighten EU rules over the employment abroad of workers from low-pay countries, but enough for him to express confidence of a deal by year-end. JUDICIAL PLANS

The European Commission has asked the Romanian government for more detail of a proposed overhaul of the judiciary, expressing concern it may be a step back in the fight against corruption. DEBT TENDER

Romania sold a planned 500 million lei ($128.70 million) worth of March 2022 treasury bonds on Thursday, with the average accepted yield at 2.65 percent, central bank data showed. M3 DATA

Romanian M3 money supply grew 10.4 percent on the year to 324.9 billion lei ($83.60 billion) at the end of July and was 1.0 percent higher on the month, central bank data showed on Thursday. NUCLEARELECTRICA

-- Romanian state nuclear power producer Nuclearelectrica could raise funds from capital markets and lenders for large investment projects including extending its reactors' lifespan, its newly elected chief executive said. The new executive, Cosmin Ghita, has worked for Chevron in Romania and as energy adviser to Prime Minister Mihai Tudose. In June, he was appointed board chairman for the state uranium company. He was appointed to manage Nuclearelectrica on a four-month term.

Minority shareholder Fondul Proprietatea has opposed the short-term appointment and has also expressed concerns over looser corporate governance rules which it said could enable conflicts of interest.

-- Nuclearelectrica has shut down its Unit 2 reactor on Thursday to fix a glitch, which it estimates will take 72 hours, it said in a statement. CEE MARKETS

The forint fell 1 percent against the euro from 28-month highs on Thursday after Hungary's central bank (NBH) signalled it stands ready to loosen monetary conditions, bucking a global trend and a recent Czech central bank (CNB) rate hike. For the long-term Romanian diary, click on For emerging markets economic events, click on For an index of all diaries, click on For other related news, double click on: --------------------------------------------------------------- Romanian equities RO-E E.Europe equities .CEE Romanian money RO-M Romanian debt RO-D Eastern Europe EEU All emerging markets EMRG Hot stocks HOT Stock markets STX Market debt news DBT Forex news FRX For real-time index quotes, double click on: Bucharest BETI Warsaw WIG20 Budapest BUX Prague PX ---------------------------------------------------------------
(Adds Draghi comments, updates prices)

* Yellen does not address monetary policy

* Draghi warns against protectionism

* U.S. capital goods orders rose in July

By Karen Brettell

NEW YORK, Aug 25 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury yields fell on Friday after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen did not mention monetary policy in a highly anticipated speech, relieving some investors who thought she might make hawkish comments on the economy.

At the annual meeting of central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Yellen said that reforms put in place after the 2007-2009 financial crisis have strengthened the financial system without impeding economic growth and any future changes should remain modest. "We're seeing a little bit of a relief-that-(Yellen)-wasn't-hawkish rally in Treasuries, but it's minor," said John Briggs, head of strategy for the Americas at NatWest Markets in Stamford, Connecticut.

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said at the conference that significant monetary accommodation is still needed and that he is confident that inflation will continue to improve. He also warned that global trade and cooperation are under threat - a risk to productivity and ultimately growth of advanced economies. U.S. benchmark 10-year Treasury notes gained 5/32 in price to yield 2.178 percent, down from 2.194 percent on Thursday.

The benchmark notes have held in a tight yield range since falling to almost two-month lows last Friday on concerns about political discord in Washington and tensions between the United States and North Korea.

Yields on Treasury bills due in early October remained elevated, but off their highs, on nervousness that lawmakers will delay raising the debt ceiling. The government has warned that it will run out of money if the debt limit is not raised by the end of September.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Friday the nation's debt ceiling will be raised in September and that after talks with congressional leaders from both parties everyone is "on the same page." Data on Friday showed that new orders for key U.S.-made capital goods rose slightly more than expected in July and shipments surged, suggesting an acceleration in business spending early in the third quarter. The next major economic focus will be next Friday's employment report for August.

(Additional reporting by Sam Forgione; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)

Change vs Current

Nyk yield Three-month bills 1.005 (+0.00) 1.022 Six-month bills 1.0925 (-0.01) 1.114 Two-year note 100-02/32 (-01/32) 1.342 Five-year note 100-16/32 (+01/32) 1.767 10-year note 100-21/32 (+05/32) 2.178 30-year bond 99-28/32 (+08/32) 2.757

DOLLAR SWAP SPREADS

LAST Change U.S. 2-year dollar swap spread 22.75 (-1.25) U.S. 3-year dollar swap spread 18.50 (-1.00) U.S. 5-year dollar swap spread 4.75 (-0.25) U.S. 10-year dollar swap spread -6.25 (unch) U.S. 30-year dollar swap spread -35.25 (unch))) Keywords: USA BONDS/
(Adds R2G, Wood & Co comments)

PRAGUE, Aug 25 (Reuters) - The board of Pegas Nonwovens has backed a takeover offer from R2G, the bidder said on Friday, adding it was ready to absorb short-term losses and would limit or halt the dividend.

Investment firm R2G, the second largest shareholder in Pegas with a 10.82 percent stake, said in July its investment vehicle R2G Rohan Czech would bid 1,010 crowns per share, valuing Prague-listed Pegas at 8.9 billion crowns ($403 million).

R2G said on Friday Pegas's board supported the offer price, calling it "fair". The artificial textile maker's shares were down 0.3 percent at 1,016 crowns at 0826 GMT.

"(R2G Rohan Czech) is ready to absorb all short-term and mid-term losses and to limit or halt flow of finances to shareholders in order to ... build a stronger, more competitive and more global firm in the long-term," R2G said.

A representative of Wood & Co, Pegas's largest shareholder with a 28.8 percent stake, abstained in the board vote.

J&T analyst Bohumil Trampota said shareholders were now likely to assume a wait-and-see position.

"It seems R2G and Wood are not acting in concert, there could be a clash between the two now. Some investors might be disappointed there was no premium to existing share price offered," he said.

R2G said there would be no clash.

"Either Wood will take our offer and it will sell to us, or we will be there alongside each other in a longer term. There is no clash," R2G's head of investments Jakub Dyba told Reuters.

Wood & Co said it was glad to see other investors interested in developing Pegas and that it did not plan to sell.

"We welcome stabilisation of shareholders' structure. At its current price, Pegas looks like an attractive investment opportunity to us, therefore we are not considering a sale," Wood & Co partner Jan Sykora told Reuters.

($1 = 22.1110 Czech crowns)

(Reporting by Jan Lopatka and Robert Muller; Editing by Mark Potter)
CARACAS, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA on Thursday said on Friday it was negotiating the continuation of its lease of Curacao's Isla refinery but was open to Chinese partners following a preliminary deal between the island and China's Guangdong Zhenrong Energy to operate the complex.

PDVSA has for decades operated the refinery, which opened in 1918, under a lease agreement.

But the cash-poor company has been reluctant to invest some $1.5 billion that Curacao authorities requested several years back to modernize the 335,000 barrels-per-day facility.

China's Guangdong Zhenrong Energy Co, a commodity trader with strong backing from Beijing, signed a binding framework pact with Curacao's government in November.

If the deal goes ahead, the Chinese firm would replace PDVSA as operator of Isla, tightening its grip on Venezuela's oil industry. PDVSA has said its lease, which expires in 2019, is not up for renegotiation, but on Friday appeared to open the door to partnering with China.

"There is a big business potential for an alliance with Chinese partners or any world-class investor to operate this infrastructure," PDVSA said in the statement, adding it was "advancing" in negotiations to continue its lease on the refinery.

Refinery Vice President Guillermo Blanco was in Curacao meeting with the island's prime minister, Eugene Rhuggenaath, PDVSA said in a statement.

<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ MAP-Curacao oil refinery ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Reporting by Diego Ore and Alexandra Ulmer; Editing by Bill Trott)
The Herald reports:

Former Green Party co-leader Metiria Turei and Australian Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce are frontrunners for the 2018 New Zealand of the Year Awards.

Despite Tureis fall from grace after she publicly admitted she lied to Winz about her living circumstances in the 1990s she has received the most nominations.
BRICS an outstanding force in governance

From:Xinhua | 2017-08-24 09:42

MORE than a decade after its establishment, BRICS, grouping five major developing countries from four continents, is recognized by international experts as an irreplaceable force in global governance.

Thanks to close cooperation and coordination between Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, BRICS has achieved results that not only benefit the five member countries, but also contribute to safeguarding the interests of developing countries as a whole and improving the global governance system, according to experts.

BRICS countries have created a new paradigm for mutual benefit cooperation among emerging and developing economies since the mechanism was established in 2006.

BRICS has been hailed as an accelerator in the transformation of the global economic governance system. The member countries have managed to increase their say in major international financial institutions and have been steadily boosting the reform of those institutions.

One of the major achievements of the BRICS mechanism is that it has helped increase the representation and say of developing countries in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in recent years, experts pointed out.

Evandro Carvalho, director of the Center for Chinese Studies at the Brazilian college Getulio Vargas Foundation, said BRICS countries have become a significant part in making global economic rules.

BRICS countries have demonstrated their vigor and vitality by championing an open and multilateral world order against a growing tide of protectionism from Western countries and the many challenges on the road of global economic recovery, he said.

Meanwhile, BRICS countries have established an all-dimensional cooperative dialogue mechanism covering various fields to coordinate their standings and voices on major global and regional affairs.

BRICS countries are heard speaking one voice on many global occasions. Liu Jieyi, Chinas permanent representative to the United Nations, spoke on behalf of all BRICS countries on April 18 at a high-level political forum on sustainable development, marking the first time the five members spoke one voice on major international affairs at a UN meeting.

It is also worth noticing that the establishment of the BRICS New Development Bank has not only boosted the common development of the five member countries, but has also injected fresh driving force into the mechanisms leading role in South-South Cooperation.

Referring to the establishment of the bank as a significant event in the development of BRICS, Carvalho said the bank has played a role in enlarging the influence of the five-member mechanism.

Experts agree that BRICS countries have been playing an ever bigger and more important role in global governance.

Varaprasad S. Dolla, a professor from Jawaharlal Nehru University of India, pointed out that developing countries, particularly BRICS members, are able to contribute more to global growth.

BRICS has now emerged as a major block. Therefore, it is likely that they will have a lot more than they had before to contribute to economic governance, said Varaprasad.

Over the past decade, BRICS has grown into an engine driving global economic growth, with their contribution to the world economy rising from 12 percent to 23 percent. As of last year, BRICS countries accounted for nearly a quarter of the world economy and contributed more than half of global growth.

These numbers, experts said, testify to an ever enhancing and expanding role of BRICS countries in global governance.

It is widely expected that the upcoming BRICS summit, scheduled for September 3 to 5 in Xiamen, a coastal city in southeast Chinas Fujian Province, will usher in yet another golden decade of development for the mechanism.

According to Carvalho, the Brazilian expert, leaders from BRICS countries will compare notes on measures and plans for further cementing cooperation at the Xiamen summit.

China, currently holding the rotating presidency of BRICS, can play a leading role in deepening the cooperation among BRICS countries, he said.

Meanwhile, experts have been highlighting the modality of BRICS Plus, which is aimed at building wider partnership through dialogue with developing countries and international organizations.

They said BRICS Plus is conducive to building the mechanism into the most influential platform for South-South Cooperation and increasing the representation and influence of the mechanism in an all-round way.

Forging a more extensive partnership between BRICS and other developing countries will make both bilateral and multilateral trade and mutual investment between the countries more effective, experts said.

Varaprasad, for his part, said if BRICS has to become truly representative and inclusive, then initiative like BRICS Plus is imperative. Therefore inviting a number of countries from the south to the BRICS summit in Xiamen is to be welcomed by one and all.

To me, BRICS Plus is a kind of another phase in the evolution of BRICS  from BRIC to BRICS and now BRICS Plus. So it has evolved, becoming more inclusive, becoming more representative, he said. Enditem
"Boisterous Dance" by Byun Shi-ji / Courtesy of Foundation Art Shiji



By Kwon Mee-yoo

The late Jeju artist Byun Shi-ji's paintings gave been returned home from the National Museum of Natural History of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC.

Foundation Art Shiji, operated by the artist's son Joung-hoon, said the two artworks were retrieved as the 10-year contract with the Smithsonian Institution expired.

Often dubbed as "artist of the storm," Byun is known as the painter of Jeju as many of his works featured iconic objects and scenery of Jeju Island such as "haenyeo" (female divers of Jeju), stone houses with thatched roofs, horses and the sea.

"Jeju is a lonely, solitary island of exiles. People try to avoid solitude. I embrace it, internalize it," the artist was quoted saying,

In 2007, two of his works  "Boisterous Dance" and "Going the way as it is"  were exhibited at the Korea Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution on a 10-year loan. He was one of the two living Korean artists to receive the honor. The paintings feature a lone man and a horse, iconic to Jeju Island.

Carole Neves, then-director of policy and analysis at the Smithsonian, discovered Byun during her visit to the southern island and wrote, "I am fortunate to have a few drawings by the greatest living treasure of Korea."

Byun was born in 1926 in Seogwipo on Jeju Island. He moved to Japan at the age of six and studied art at the Osaka Art School, majoring in oil painting. He started his artistic career in Japan and became the youngest person to win the Grand Prize of the Kofukai exhibition.

He returned to Seoul in 1957 and painted actively there, until he returned to his hometown island as a professor of Jeju National University in 1975. Since then, the artist continued his works embracing the nature of Jeju.

Byun passed away in 2013.
By Yi Whan-woo





Moon Jae-in, Shinzo Abe

President Moon Jae-in and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reaffirmed to maintain sanctions and pressure against North Korea while seeking to resolve Pyongyang's nuclear crisis through dialogue during their telephone conversation, Cheong Wa Dae said Friday.

This was the fourth phone call between Moon and Abe since Moon took office in May.

"The two leaders shared their thoughts on the grave security situation on the Korean Peninsula and discussed how they can cope with it," presidential spokesman Park Soo-hyun said.

"They agreed to work closely on cooperation between their countries and also with the trilateral alliance along with the United States to completely scrap North Korea's nuclear program.

"They especially agreed to discuss leading North Korea to the right circumstances to resume dialogue."












Lt. Gen. Lawrence Nicholson, commander of the III Marine Expeditionary Force of the United States, looks across the inter-Korean sea border at the North Korean side, along with Lt. Gen. Jun Jin-goo, commander of South Korea's Marine Corps, during their visit to Maldo, an island near the Northern Limit Line, Friday. Nicholson's units, based in Japan, would be among the first offshore troops to augment the 28,500-strong U.S. Forces Korea in case of an emergency situation here. / Yonhap
By Jung Min-ho

The Korean government has suspended sales and distribution of European pork products here after British media reported thousands of Britons may have caught the hepatitis E virus from pork products from other European countries.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said Thursday it will strengthen its inspections of pork products imported from Europe. Until further notice, sales and distribution of products such as sausages and ham will be suspended.

Symptoms of hepatitis E include fever, reduced appetite, nausea and vomiting, lasting for a few days; some may also experience abdominal pain, skin rash or joint pain. It occasionally develops into an acute, severe liver disease.

According to the World Health Organization, there is no treatment capable of altering the course of acute hepatitis E.

The ministry advised everyone to cook pork products properly before eating. It said they can kill the virus by cooking the food for several minutes at temperatures of 70 degrees Celsius or higher.

The Sunday Times reported earlier that between 150,000 and 200,000 Britons contract the virus each year because of pork products imported mainly from Germany and the Netherlands.
From right, Lee Jae-yong; his father Lee Kun-hee and his grandfather Lee Lee Byung-chul. / Yonhap



By Chyung Eun-ju, Park Si-soo

History repeats itself.

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong's conviction on multiple corruption charges on Friday has brought back memories of the humiliation that has haunted the nation's biggest business empire's owner family for three generations.

The Seoul Central District Court sentenced Lee, 49, to five years in prison on Friday. He was found guilty of bribery, embezzlement, concealment of criminal proceeds, illegal overseas asset transfer and perjury in a massive corruption scandal that led to the ouster of former President Park Geun-hye.

The court said Lee is believed to have been involved in Samsung's provision of 7.2 billion won ($6.38 million) in bribes for the equestrian training of the daughter of Park's longtime friend and confidante Choi Soon-sil.












By Doug Bandow





Nuclear weapons have become the great international equalizer. During the Cold War the U.S. and Soviet Union couldn't afford to risk a conventional war.

Now North Korea is knocking on the nuclear club door.

Pyongyang is a good example of the aphorism that even paranoids have enemies. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea has fallen dramatically behind the South. Add in Seoul's ally, the U.S., and the DPRK has no chance in any conventional conflict.

In recent years Washington ousted the leaders of Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya and dismantled Serbia. President Donald Trump talked about sending an "armada" off of the North's coast and drenching North Korea in "fire and fury."

Acquiring both nukes and ICBMs is a game-changer, but not because Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un plans a surprise attack on America. He is evil, not suicidal. Rather, he wants to deter U.S. military involvement and attack.

Since he's in the U.S. military's gunsights, he needs the ability to strike back. With that, Washington would have to rethink whether it is willing to intervene even in another conventional conflict.

Current attempts to eliminate the North's nuclear program seem doomed to failure. The North has repeatedly said it won't voluntarily yield its nuclear program. When I visited Pyongyang in June, officials blamed Washington's "hostile policy" and promised to match America nuke for nuke.

Ever tighter sanctions would hurt the DPRK, but the regime survived at least a half million starvation deaths in the late 1990s. And without full Chinese support, unlikely so long as Washington simply demands that Beijing hand over its sole East Asian ally, the impact of unilateral penalties will be limited.

Military action would risk triggering the Second Korean War. While the U.S. (and Republic of Korea) forces would prevail in any war, the cost could be horrific, especially to South Koreans, whose land would be the primary battlefield, at least initially.

So Washington needs to take a different direction.

Drop the "Mutual" Defense Treaty and withdraw U.S. forces from South Korea. The alliance is outmoded. The ROK could construct whatever armed forces are necessary to deter the North and defeat it in any war.

The prospect of a war going nuclear raises the question whether the U.S. is really willing to risk a nuclear attack on its homeland to continue protecting a nation able to take over responsibility for its own defense. In a crisis, U.S. officials are more likely to abandon their commitments than bring the war home to America.

Encourage South Korea to replace America's "nuclear umbrella" with its own nuclear deterrent. Nonproliferation is a worthy objective, but in Northeast Asia the policy has acted a bit like domestic gun control: only the bad guys have guns. In this case, the nuclear powers are Russia, China, and North Korea.

Does America forever want to risk Los Angeles and Seattleand maybe Chicago and New York City as wellto protect Seoul, Tokyo, Canberra, and other cities in the region? Would an American president really follow through on the promises of previous leaders and risk mass destruction of the American homeland in defense of another nation, especially one not essential to America's defense?

Propose a neutral reunited Korea in return for greatly increased Chinese pressure on the North. Contrary to the seeming assumption of most U.S. policymakers, Beijing is not irrational in tolerating the DPRK's confrontational behavior.

The People's Republic of China doesn't want a failed state, perhaps enveloped in factional conflict, on its border, with potentially millions of refugees flooding north. Finally, the PRC does not desire a reunited Korea allied with America hosting U.S. troops, strengthening the system of containment being constructed by Washington.

So the Trump administration should sit down with the Chinese leadership and propose and old-fashioned geopolitical deal. Beijing backs up a comprehensive denuclearization program with tough sanctions. American troops come home from a reunified Korea. Washington ends the threat of involvement in a horrid conventional war and even more dangerous risk of nuclear attack.

North Korea has ended the era in which Americans imagined they could engage in immaculate intervention, striking militarily at will and without consequence. And in which U.S. allies could count on Washington's commitment.

Only if the Trump administration rethinks conventional wisdom is there a chance of getting out of the policy cul-de-sac in which America and its allies currently find themselves.





Doug Bandow is a Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute and a former Special Assistant to President Ronald Reagan. He is the author of Tripwire: Korea and U.S. Foreign Policy in a Changed World and co-author of The Korean Conundrum: America's Troubled Relations with North and South Korea.
By Arthur I. Cyr



Symbols of the Confederate States of America have emerged as contemporary political targets, and the word "target" in this case has at least two meanings  a topic of intense debate, and the focus of despicable violence. In Charlottesville Virginia, the local council voted to remove a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee from a public park. Opponents of the decision went to court and secured a six-month delay in the move.



The standoff has made the particular monument a symbol for both supporters and opponents of the political-social activist goal of taking down statues honoring Confederate leaders. As usual, the mass media guarantee national and international attention to what began as a local event, feeding as well as highlighting developments.



On August 12 in Charlottesville, a car drove into a crowd protesting a pro-statue rally that included white nationalists and other fringe groups. The driver killed young civil rights activist Heather Heyer and injured nineteen others, some seriously. Violence has punctuated the ongoing opposing demonstrations in Charlottesville and elsewhere.



This is a controversy rooted in history, though there is precious little calm and serious discussion of the genesis in today's dangerous conflict, or even of the creation of the Confederate statues. In our contemporary environment of nonstop "news" and associated speculative talk, driven relentlessly by profit concerns, serious analysis is more important than ever.



This is particularly the case since the historical issues are profound, including first and foremost the issue of slavery. Distinguished Princeton University historian James McPherson has spent his career studying, researching and insightfully writing about the Civil War. Years ago, he wrote an essay on the causes of the terrible war, the most costly for Americans in our history, which took over 600,000 lives. "Southern Comfort" appeared in "The New York Review of Books" April 12, 2001. The anchor of the essay is a review of three new books on the causes and circumstances that led to the war.



McPherson begins by quoting President Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address in early 1865, which included the statement that slavery "was, somehow, the cause of the war." At this point, the South was clearly losing the war. A Union army under General William Sherman had taken Atlanta, devastated the rich agricultural economy of Georgia, and was heading north through the Carolinas. General Ulysses Grant had Lee's army tied down and slowly bleeding to death in trenches south of Richmond.



When the war began, Confederate President Jefferson Davis, Vice President Alexander Stephens and other secession leaders had publicly declared maintaining slavery was paramount among incentives, but after the war, this changed. The rights and sovereignty of individual states, a main sticking point for the framers of the U.S. Constitution, suddenly became central reasons for trying to leave the Union.



As McPherson describes, mythical alternative history termed "The Lost Cause" took hold in the South and to a degree the North. During this period, statues honoring the Confederacy emerged. The Charlottesville statue of Lee appeared in 1924.



Ironically, Lee strongly opposed such monuments. As Chris Boyette of CNN and others point out, he felt the symbols "keep open the sores of war."



Even more important, Lee was crucial in ending the Civil War. When Federal cavalry trapped his retreating army, there was strong sentiment for disbanding and carrying on a guerrilla war. That would have maintained fighting for many years, conceivably into our own time.



Lee rejected the option as dishonorable.





Arthur I. Cyr is Clausen Distinguished Professor at Carthage College and author of "After the Cold War." Contact acyr@carthage.edu.




Hero of Mollywood's first musical hit 'Thiramala' shares his Hollywood stint, directing Prem Nazir and more
Balancing the needs of the residents who live here and the tourists who come to visit requires political will and leadership. After years of discussions and failed proposals, its time for clarity on an issue central to San Diegos housing and tourism markets  short-term vacation rentals.

Through a March 15, 2017 memo, City Attorney Mara Elliott opined that short-term rentals are illegal under the current City zoning laws. The City is now awaiting regulatory guidance from the City Council before taking any action to enforce the City Attorneys memo. My proposed regulatory framework respects the rights of property owners, upholds current zoning laws and creates a workable compromise.

I will present a draft ordinance for community review at a public Town Hall meeting 6-7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 30, at the La Jolla Community Center.

My proposal protects the rights of homeowners who wish to participate in home sharing by renting out a room in their home to help make ends meet. It further allows property owners to rent out their primary residence for up to 90 days per year if they want to go on vacation or make extra income during events like Comic-Con. As a high-tech entrepreneur, I embrace the sharing economy as an innovative and integral part of our overall economy. I know it is here to stay and that it will continue to grow.

While my plan preserves homeowners ability to rent out a room or even their entire primary residence, it prohibits absentee investors from commercializing single-family homes by turning them into full-time mini-hotels in residential zones. To put it simply, I propose to enforce the current law that prohibits these short-term rentals in residential zones, and I believe that a short-term rental is any time period less than 30 days.

We can uphold the current zoning law, maintain the character of our neighborhoods, consistently collect Transient Occupancy Taxes from both home sharing and legal whole-house rentals, and preserve our precious housing stock for families who live and work in San Diego. Simultaneously, we can offer visitors unique and affordable options for accommodations.

San Diego has a severe housing shortage that makes it difficult for residents to rent, let alone purchase a home. If we want a future for our children and grandchildren here, we need to move quickly to address this issue. Advocates, experts, elected officials and associations all agree that we must increase the housing pipeline. My proposal both protects housing stock and allows residents to supplement their income.

The City Council recently took steps to remedy the housing shortage by passing a package of legislation aimed at creating more units, lowering construction costs and encouraging transit-oriented growth.

That package included eased regulations for building companion units, affectionately known as granny flats. While legislation at the State level went into effect in January to make building companion units easier, the City Councils new policy went even further to streamline regulations. During the Council discussion of this item, an important amendment to limit the rental of these units to no less than 30 days was added.

This 30-day minimum requirement makes it clear that this policy is meant to incentivize the creation of units to make housing more affordable for San Diegans. The policys intention is not to make it easier to build commercial enterprises in our backyards, and the City Council recognized this by passing the companion unit legislation with an 8-1 vote.

The proliferation of mini-hotels in residential communities is an issue Ive been hearing about since I began my campaign for the District 1 Council seat. Understandably, residents are concerned about the character of their neighborhoods and quality of life. When you purchase a home in a residential neighborhood, you are not signing up to live next to a Marriott.

I look forward to working with my colleagues on the City Council to pass fair and sensible short-term rental regulations for the residents and visitors of our beautiful city.

Reach Bry at (619) 236-6611 or barbarabry@sandiego.gov
The Lake Geneva school district is expanding its online options for students in the middle schools and Badger high school.

Introduced in May, the district is offering what it calls Lake Geneva Online Learning Options (LGOLO) as another choice for their students. These courses will supplement, not take over classroom instruction.

This came out of a need to expand course selections, said Russ Tronsen, Badger High School principal. This will be a potential tool for us.

He cited examples of when some students are out on extended medical leave; this will help the student not fall behind. It also benefits students looking for courses not offered in the middle school or high school.

Chiper Tennessen, principal of Star Center Elementary School and the online learning director for this new program, said this falls under their three-to five-year strategic plan that they hope addresses the whole child in education.

According to the Badger 2017-2018 Career Planning and Course Guide, the school already offers close to 300 classes, but the offerings may not be enough for some students. In the foreign languages, for example, Badger offers French and Spanish, but not other languages. Thus, if a student wished to take German, he or she could sign up on the LGOLO. There are more than 70 different courses offered according to the LGOLO online handbook (http://www.lakegenevaschools.com/online).

Right now students may only take one course per semester said both Tronsen and Tennessen. Like the courses offered in a classroom setting, students will have two weeks to decide if the class fits their needs and can drop it if it doesnt. Furthermore, grades will go onto their transcripts. The student will also work with an online teacher as well as with Ben Nugent, their Local Education Guide (LEG).

He oversees the facilitation of the program, Tennessen said. There is accountability, thats why we have the classes here. We also have a tech department, but he will be monitoring students. In addition, their progress will be monitored.

You want to have the monitoring, Tennessen said. It gives you something to celebrate  student progress. When we see students excelling, it needs to be recognized. Were in the business of educating students. We want them to be successful.

Online education is not something new for Badger, said Tronsen. They have offered online classes in their credit recovery classes. According to both Tronsen and Tennessen, enrollment for the online classes has ended for the fall, even though students coming into Badger may still register for courses being offered in the classroom.

Arlene Zilske, a mother of an incoming freshman and an eighth grader, had no idea the Lake Geneva School district was offering these courses, though one of her children took an online course over the summer. She thinks, however, the LGOLO is a great opportunity for students.

Full-time students and the home-educated students within the district are able to participate in this program according to the LGOLO handbook, but open-enrolled students may not enroll.

The program is not for students who wish to goof off. Courses need to be completed within five months, and the handbook states, students should plan to spend five to seven hours per week on each course. The handbook also lists six criteria for a student to determine his or her readiness for the program: Self motivation, independent-learner, computer literate, time management, effective written communication skills and personal commitment.

Students will not have to pay for this program, but they will be responsible for optional materials and technology.

Textbooks and other items will be provided at no cost.

Its not all free, however, especially if the studentsdrops the course after the two-week deadline. The handbook reads, Students who drop after the deadline date, fail to complete, discontinue, or fail virtual school courses will need to reimburse the Lake Geneva School District for expenses incurred for the virtual school course.

Tronsen and Tennessen had no enrollment numbers, but they are optimistic. Tronsen said colleges are already doing this with success.

Time will tell how this evolves and grows, Tennessen said. Im hoping for the best for the kids.
It has been six years now since the March 2011 tsunami inundated a large section of Japan's east coast, killing more than 18,000 people. Richard Lloyd Parry, a British reporter, knew all the facts, saw the devastation, spoke with survivors, and posted his dispatches. But he writes, in his forthcoming book "Ghosts of the Tsunami: Death and Life in Japans Disaster Zone," that he was never doing justice to the actual event.



"In the weeks afterwards, I felt wonder, pity and sadness. But for much of the time I experienced a numb detachment, and the troubling sense of having completely missed the point." Then he found the village of Okawa, and returned again and again. "Iit was there, at the school, that I eventually became able to imagine."

From an excerpt Thursday in the Guardian.

Everyone who experienced the tsunami saw, heard and smelled something subtly different. Much depended upon where you were, and the obstacles that the water had to overcome to reach you. Some described a waterfall, cascading over sea wall and embankment. For others, it was a fast-rising flood between houses, deceptively slight at first, tugging trippingly at the feet and ankles, but quickly sucking and battering at legs and chests and shoulders. In colour, it was described as brown, grey, black, white.

The one thing it did not resemble in the least was a conventional ocean wave, the wave from the famous woodblock print by Hokusai: blue-green and cresting elegantly in tentacles of foam. The tsunami was a thing of a different order: darker, stranger, massively more powerful and violent, without kindness or cruelty, beauty or ugliness, wholly alien. It was the sea coming on to land, the ocean itself picking up its feet and charging at you with a roar in its throat. It stank of brine, mud and seaweed. Most disturbing of all were the sounds it generated as it collided with, and digested, the stuff of the human world: the crunch and squeal of wood and concrete, metal and tile. In places, a mysterious dust billowed above it, like the cloud of pulverised matter that floats above a demolished building. It was as if neighbourhoods, villages, whole towns were being placed inside the jaws of a giant compressor and crushed. From the hillside that overlooked Kamaya, where they had narrowly escaped to safety, Waichi Nagano and his wife, Hideko, could see the whole scene spread out below them, as the water swept in pulsing surges over the embankment and across the village and the fields. It was a huge black mountain of water, which came on all at once and destroyed the houses, he said. It was like a solid thing. And there was this strange sound, difficult to describe. It wasnt like the sound of the sea. It was more like the roaring of the earth, mixed with a kind of crumpling, groaning noise, which was the houses breaking up. There was another fainter noise. It was the voices of children, said Hideko. They were crying out  Help! Help! [skip] Only later would the full scale of the tragedy at Okawa elementary school become clear. The school had 108 children. Of the 78 who were there at the moment of the tsunami, 74 of them, and 10 out of the 11 teachers, had died.



Read the whole thing.
PRESS RELEASE

BRICS under Chinas Chairmanship Has Reached the Second Golden Decade, Says Ryabkov

Aug. 24, 2017 (EIRNS)In an interview with Xinhua on Aug. 22, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said the BRICS mechanism under Chinas chairmanship this year has entered the second golden decade, following a decade of prosperity.

"We do not see a deceleration in BRICS development nor a fading interest of any partner in this format. We note with great satisfaction that BRICS continues to consolidate and be approved in the international arena and it has become an indispensable factor in influencing international affairs,"

he told Xinhua. Ryabkovs remarks pertain to the upcoming summit in Chinas southeastern coastal city of Xiamen on Sept 3-5 where leaders of the five BRICS countriesBrazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africawill meet.

Similar views were expressed by David Thomas, chief executive officer of Think Global, a Sydney-based consultant firm, who spoke exclusively to Xinhua today saying the BRICS nations are "stepping into the vacuum of global leadership" that has been created by the withdrawal of the countries, particularly those in the West, previously associated with worldwide leadership. Another observer, David Gosset, founder of the Europe-China Forum and the New Silk Road Initiative, told Xinhua during an interview that

"within less than a decade, the BRICS Summit has evolved into an impactful forum whose importance is proportionate with the growing economic and political weight of its members."

He noted that the Xiamen Summit

"will send a strong signal to the world of the growing significance of developing countries, and that globalizing forces have shifted from western countries to emerging economies,"

Xinhua reported today.

Meanwhile, reports from New Delhi indicate that a team has been sent to Xiamen to arrange meetingson the sidelines of the BRICS summitfor the Indian premier Narendra Modi with leaders from across South East and Central Asia, Africa, and North America, who will be attending the summit. There had been some uncertainty as to whether or not Modi would participate in the BRICS summit, in light of unresolved tensions with host China, and Modis decision earlier this year to boycott the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing.

China has invited leaders of Thailand, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Egypt, Guinea (African Union chair) and Mexico as part of BRICS outreach. There are reports that leaders of Tajikistan and Philippines could also be part of this outreach exercise, The Economic Times reported.
PRESS RELEASE

Hun Sen Throws National Democratic Institute Out of Cambodia for Organizing Color Revolution

Aug. 24, 2017 (EIRNS)Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen ordered the National Democratic Institute (NDI, whose Chairwoman is Madeline Albright) out of the country on Wednesday, telling the foreign members they had seven days to leave the country. The NDI and its sister organization, International Republican Institute (IRI, chaired by John McCain), are the two wings of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), the core regime-change institution in the United States, funded by the government, which is at the center of every color revolution around the world in tandem with the George Soros funded operations.

The DNI has worked directly with the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), a merger of the Human Rights Party and the Sam Rainsy Party. Rainsy is the French-Cambodian banker who has run operations against Hun Sen for decades, while the Human Rights Party is essentially a creation of the NDI.

According to the Cambodia Daily, a mouthpiece for the opposition,

"Radio Free Asia and Voice of America have also both been accused of not fulfilling tax and registration obligations. The Cambodia Daily, whose publisher is a U.S. citizen, was hit with a $6.3 million unaudited tax bill and threatened with imminent closure if it is not paid by September 4."

The U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh issued a statement denouncing the action and questioning the governments commitment to democracy. Hun Sen responded that Americas version of democracy was "bloody and brutal," and that Cambodia does not need to be instructed in democracy. He reminded the world that the NDI and the U.S. government openly supported the Khmer Rouge for years after Vietnem helped Hun Sen and others crush the genocidal regime and establish a new government. The western press still today refers to Hun Sen as a "former Khmer Rouge officer," leaving out that he was part of the revolt against them when they showed their genocidal intentions, while also leaving out the Wests support for the Khmer Rouge for over a decade against Hun Sens government.

In a Press TV interview today, EIRs Mike Billington reviewed the LaRouche movements leading role in defending the Cambodian government under Hun Sen against the NDI and IRI run subversion efforts over the past several decades, including Gail Billingtons interviews with the Prime Minister for EIR in the 1990s.
PRESS RELEASE

Russia Regrets New U.S. Afghan Strategy; Calls It a Quest for Military Solution

Aug. 24, 2017 (EIRNS)Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said today that Russia regrets that the new U.S. Afghanistan Strategy aims for a military solution and does not reflect the threat the Islamic State terror group poses, TASS reported today.

"We have noticed that the new Afghanistan strategy, announced by U.S. President Donald Trump on August 21, focuses on the search for a military solution to the Afghan issue, particularly through increasing the number of foreign troops,"

she said. "It is regrettable that the strategy does not properly reflect the threat that the Afghan branch of the ISIL terror group poses," Zakharova added, TASS reported.

It should be noted that Secretary Tillerson, in his press conference Tuesday explaining the new policy, explicitly stated that there were no military solution, either for the Taliban or for the Afghan government (with U.S. backing). He said the policy is to bring about a negotiation, and that the U.S. is ready to support negotiations without preconditions.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, TASS reported today, has also expressed his reservations about the U.S. Afghan strategy laid out by President Trump on Aug 22. Lavrov believes that the use of force in settling the Afghan crisis is self-defeating: "The new strategy proclaimed by Washington focuses on the use of power methods," Russias top diplomat noted. "We are confident that this path is futile."

Lavrov also pointed out that Russia hopes it will be possible to clarify Washingtons stance on the possibility of contacts with the Taliban without any preconditions, TASS reported.

"If I got the new U.S. strategy right, they admit contacts with the Taliban without fulfilling any conditions by them. I do not think this is in line with our common interest to abide by the agreed line, which has been endorsed by the UN. I hope, however, that we will be able to clarify this seeming contradiction during contacts with our U.S. counterparts at the expert level,"

he said.
The Great American eclipse of 2017 - Four Personal Experiences

The eclipse, on August 21st, 2017, was an event that was shared by people in the 14 states that were in its path and others who traveled in order to have a total eclipse experience.

In South Carolina with Ben Shapo-

I saw my first total solar eclipse in 1991 when a friend asked me to go to Mexico to see the celestial event. Although I was skeptical, Mexico seemed like a great vacation. Mexico did not disappoint, but the eclipse surpassed all expectations. Since then, I have traveled to two other countries to see eclipses, once to Venezuela in 1998 and once to Hungary in 2000. So a trip from Washington, DC to South Carolina for another eclipse sounded like a piece of cake.

Except for the weather. The National Weather Service, the Weather Channel, Accuweather, Intellicast, and the Weather Underground all had forecasts for South Carolina that differed as violently as the summer storms that sometimes visit the Palmetto State. After scrutinizing all sites, I decided to try my luck at a park along the shores of Lake Murray, just outside of Columbia.

I arrived at 7:45 a.m. to a crystal-clear, blue sky. Things still looked great at 11:00 a.m., but the clouds started forming just after that. By 1:00 pm, as the eclipse was about to start, the sun seemed to be dodging clouds. Then, a large cloud loomed just as totality approached. To the immense relief of the hundreds of people in the park, the cloud just missed the sun as totality started, and they were all treated to the incredible sight. Two minutes later, another cloud covered up the sun.

Who would have guessed that my easiest trip would result in the most nerve-wracking of all my eclipse-viewing experiences ....

In Beatrice, Nebraska with Murray Gorchow and Lois Shulman-

Here is our experience of the total solar eclipse:



My new bride of two weeks, Lois & I, set out on our "honeymoon" trip by car from suburban Detroit MI to Beatrice NE hoping for clear skies in southeastern Nebraska. Although I'm 70 years old, this amateur astronomer had never seen a total solar eclipse before Monday.







The weather and skies that morning did not look good at all so we decided to drive 15 miles further south chasing clearer skies. We were rewarded for our 850 mile adventure on a dirt road between cornfields. We saw the moon totally block the sun as day turned to night. We were treated to the sun's brilliant white corona emanating out into space as well as the beautiful "diamond ring effect" just before and again just after our 2 minutes and 15 seconds of totality. It was an awesome breathtaking experience that brought us both to tears!

In Goreville, Illinois with B

Goreville, Illinois was the best place in the world to view the eclipse according to Brian Fields, the MC who guided visitors through the eclipse event. Fields is a professor of Astronomy and of Physics at the University of Illinois. We had to agree with him. This was the best place to be that day.

The Department of Astronomy at the University of Illinois and the City of Goreville, Illinois cooperated and created an event that was welcoming, fun and educational. In addition, they provided perfect weather with the longest viewing time on earth!

The viewing experience was greatly enhanced by being with others who were also interested in the event, and receiving clear instructions about what to look for and when. Free glasses were available. I liked being told when to put glasses on and when I could remove them. Kudoos to the group that arranged this event! And even more amazing was the knowledge that we were sharing this phenomenon with countless spread across the country.

I loved talking with people from other places  from Madison  a professor of religion with her family ; from Detroit, a retired couple who worked for an oil company, from Chicago  Ed and his brother-in-law from Albany, N.Y. and nephew from Albuqueque, NM. He also brought great equipment for viewing. He made a special piece of equipment for capturing the suns shadow. Visitors came from as far away as Australia, Italy and Costa Rica..

Having the 44 individuals in the astronomy departments from the University of Illinois in Champaign and in Goreville instructing and answering questions was wonderful. I loved being able to chat with this friendly group and getting help with the telescope so I could photograph though the lens. (The telescopes had special filters). There were also activities for children, food that was aavailable, and real toilets.

Clear instructions about what would happen and what to look for were repeated over the loud speaker several times because when things begin to happen, many things happen quickly. The first change we noticed when the eclipse began, was the lengthening of shadows. Soon the wind picked up a little and the air quality changed so that it was harder to breathe. There was an erie quality to the light as we observed the 360 degree sunset.

I was surprised at how long it was light. It really didnt seem dark until the last sliver of the sun was covered. But, then, with glasses off, I looked at the sky an saw what appeared to be a blue circle around the rim of what had been the sun. This was in place for about 2 and a half minutes and then, suddenly, the diamond ring popped out and glasses went on, while the moon continued on its path across the sun. It was stunning.

It was over. We were awed. But it was time to head home. And now our story is less delightful. We found ourselves crawling along highway 57 such that, in 9 hours we had only gone one hundred and fifty miles. There was no highway supervision- no signs for alternate routes, no Police giving directions - very spotty internet service, no live radio announcements, and a road under construction with narrowed and merging lanes. There were no hotel rooms available anywhere along our route, so, eventually after torrential rains began, we, as many others, pulled our car into a lot near a closed restaurant, slept for a few hours. At daybreak the next day, we saw a fast food restaurant open across the street, got coffee, used the facilities and returned to a road that moved.. A woman in the long line at the restaurant wondered how she would convince her boss that the 5-hour trip really took her 15-hours. We wondered how we made it home. Goreville is planning for the next Eclipse in seven years. The experience was so incredible, we were grateful to have gone and might consider returning. Eclipses are addicting.

At the Adler Planetarium (Chicago) with Debra Davy -

On Tuesday, August 21st, the city of Chicago being the closest it has come to a total solar eclipse in 92 years, the Adler Planetarium- Americas first planetarium and dedicated to the study of astronomy and astrophysics- hosted Eclipse Fest. This reviewer arrived at 9am- the museum was to open at 9:30- and there was already a line 1 miles long to get free appropriate viewing glasses; the Adler gave away 250,000 pairs to protect the public prior to the eclipse. The mood was respectful, anticipatory and expectant; everybody I met was thoroughly engaged. The museum provided free general admission to check out exhibits including Chasing Eclipses, their newest enthralling and preparatory experience. There were indoor and outdoor activities and space on the lawns for all to participate.

Before the days events began, I spoke with Annie Vetter, Curator of Experience at the Adler. She worked on Chasing Eclipses, a fascinating display. The goal of the Adlers enormous efforts with regard to the eclipse, she said, is to inspire and encourage, to make people aware, to empower people to see and experience the eclipse for themselves. This is the first time since 1925 a total solar eclipse has come to Chicago. Usually, its difficult to see, for instance, the Milky Way because of light pollution. But with the eclipse we can connect with the sky. The Adler wanted to make this a free event with free glasses, and inside, live feeds of the whole eclipse.

Soon, the planetarium was filled both inside and out. Lying back on the grass outside, moments before it began at 11:54 am, subtle and unusual natural accompanying phenomena will be noted. The air is filled with dragonflies. As a creeping darkness in the right upper quadrant begins, a coolness descends. By 12:15 PM, the sun begins to appear like the Apple logo. Its quiet outside amidst the crowd on the northeast tip of Northerly Island on the shore of Lake Michigan. A penumbra and fingers of light penetrate the outline, even as blackness invades the orb. In Chicago, it reached maximum .89 magnitude at 1:19PM. Despite the overcast day, everybody is thrilled, speaks in hushed tones, and everybody stays for the full show.

The eclipse ended at 2:42 PM when the moon left the suns edge. Exiting the Adler campus at 2PM, walking up Solidarity Drive, packed with spectators, I was hailed by a cabdriver parked behind the shuttles. Ill turn off the meter if I can use your safety sunglasses. I demurred to the offer but handed him my pair. He leaned out the window to take in the sight. Soon we were approached by a policewoman; she asked, Can I see too? This had been an especially shared time in a very special city.

Photos: B.Keer unless otherwise noted.
John Smelcers young adult book Stealing Indians has been withdrawn from contention for the PEN Center USA Literary Award. Smelcers status as one of four finalists in the young adult category, announced Aug. 10, directed renewed attention to his claims to Native American heritage and other questions about the authors work.

For more than 20 years, the Native literary world has wondered about Smelcers bona fides. Numerous controversies have sprouted up around him, including a high-profile dismissal, winning a literary prize that was subsequently rescinded, questions about the authenticity of quotes praising Smelcer from deceased authors and accusations that he misrepresented himself as Alaska Native.

Repeated attempts to reach Smelcer for comment for this story were unsuccessful.

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I first wrote about Smelcers claims to Native heritage in 2016 in an Indian Country Today critique. The Stranger further explored the issue, quoting that piece in a story headlined Meet John Smelcer, Native American Literatures Living Con Job.

Smelcers detailed online biography notes that he is a member of the Ahtna Tribe of Alaska, a voting shareholder in the Ahtna Native Corp. and one-fourth Native blood.

A representative said that Ahtna Inc. is not a tribe, but an Alaska Native Regional Corporation, and such corporations routinely have shareholder-owners who are not enrolled in any tribe. Meanwhile, the shareholder records coordinator for Ahtna Inc., Dorothy Shinn, whose signature appears on a document Smelcer has posted on his website as evidence that his Blood Quantum is 1/4 Alaska Native, tells the Los Angeles Times she never signed it.

Smelcers disputed lineage would not matter if it did not play a major part in his career successes writing fiction and poetry about Native experiences.

In 1994, Smelcers heritage made the local papers when it was learned that the University of Alaska Anchorage, as part of efforts to diversify its faculty, had appointed him to a full-time teaching position. At the time, he was only the second full-time Native faculty member on staff at the university, which had many Native students.

We believed John Smelcer to be an Alaska Native at the time of the hire, a university spokesman told the Anchorage Daily News, which reported that Smelcer was not an Alaska Native and is the adopted son of an Indian.

Smelcer had used careful wording during the hiring process. The question was never put to me, point blank, Are you a full-blood Indian? he told the paper. I was very careful with the dictionary, finding that word affiliated, adding, After all, I was an English major.

Charlie Smelcer, the writers adoptive father, said at the time, Hes a blond, blue-eyed Caucasian, just like anyone else is, disputing his sons claims to a Native upbringing, saying that it had been middle-class  with cars and television and everything else. The elder Smelcer added, If hes used my Native heritage for his personal or professional gain, then thats wrong.

On his website, Smelcer disputes his fathers assertions and accuses his father of trying to publicly destroy his son.

In the summer of 1994, Smelcer resigned from the university post, saying he was leaving for another position.

National book award-winning author Sherman Alexie met Smelcer in the mid-1990s at a number of Native American writer conferences and assumed he might have an Indian grandparent and be trying to connect with his roots. He was socially awkward, meaning he had no ability to talk and laugh and joke using the everyday signs, signals and codes of general Native American culture, Alexie recalled, adding, Not a crime. Over time, Alexie grew concerned about Smelcers boastful portrayals of his heritage.

Following the announcement that he was among the PEN Center USA prize finalists, other literary figures took to social media to disavow Smelcers work. Among the strongest views were those expressed by Man Booker Prize-winning novelist Marlon James, who was a student at the Wilkes University master of fine arts program when Smelcer briefly taught there. This is the man who at our class reading invented a language, claiming that it was an ancient Native American tongue, and he was its last speaker, James posted on Facebook.

When reached by email, Smelcers agent, Johnny Savage, disputed James critique, writing Dr. Smelcer is one of the last of a handful of fluent speakers of Ahtna left on earth. Follow-up emails to Savage went unanswered and his phone number was disconnected. (Savages agency has done no publishing deals since 2000, according to industry watcher Publishers Marketplace. The agencys website, which has since removed its content, featured a stock photo of a woman with a guitar and The Vampire Diaries actor Ian Somerhalder, who is represented by ICM.)

James had encountered Smelcer at Wilkes, a low-residency MFA program in creative writing. In 2004, Smelcer won both the programs James Jones Literary Society First Novel Fellowship and its Milt Kessler Award for poetry. Bonnie Culver, the former director of the Wilkes program, gave Smelcer a two-term tryout to join the small teaching staff. In all ways, he did not fit, she says. He was not asked to return.

Kaylie Jones, who chairs the fellowship named after her father, author of From Here to Eternity, learned that Smelcer was not eligible for the James Jones fellowship, which was rescinded.

Both Jones and Culver were concerned by the connections Smelcer claimed to famous writers. In some cases, The Times was able to confirm them. Stephen King did give him a poem for a journal, Noam Chomsky did write the foreword for an anthology Smelcer edited, and Stephen Pinker allowed him to use a passage from The Language Instinct as an introduction.

However, the Dalai Lamas office confirms that His Holiness did not write an introduction for Smelcer (one attributed to him appears in Smelcers book, Alutiiq Noun Dictionary and Pronunciation Guide.)

And in some cases, authors representatives expressed surprise and concern about blurbs Smelcer attributed to them, including Norman Mailers biographer and the estates of poet Mark Strand and bestselling memoirist Frank McCourt.

Praise from deceased authors is common for Smelcers work. More than 20 well-known writers who had all died three or more years prior to his books publication were cited praising Smelcers works  in blurbs, on his website or as authors of the books forwards.

A blurb might have been a red flag for those reading Smelcers YA novel Stealing Indians,the PEN Center award finalist. A quote from Chinua Achebe hails it as a masterpiece. The book was published in 2016; Achebe died in 2013.

The managing editor of publisher Leapfrog Press, Lisa Graziano, told The Times that Smelcer got the Achebe blurb himself. If an author brings in a manuscript with whole blurbs, he signs a contract that says, these are authentic and truthful, and there it is, Graziano said.

We have other books with famous blurbers, she added. Its not a huge, big deal in general. Maybe the number of them is. This author likes to make efforts to meet and contact and talk to and get blurbs from famous people. Its sort of a hobby of his, Im told.

This author likes to make efforts to meet and contact and talk to and get blurbs from famous people. Its sort of a hobby of his, Im told.  Lisa Graziano of Leapfrog Press, publisher of Stealing Indians by John Smelcer

Poet Joy Harjo confirmed that she did not write the blurb attributed to her that is featured on his website. He has used famous writers names, even some who were gone long before his book publications, she said.

I just want to go on the record, in case I unexpectedly die, that I havent read any book by John Smelcer, Alexie joked.

Native writers have raised concerns about Smelcers successful history of portraying Native narratives to the publishing industry. It raises questions about how palatable that work is to an audience unfamiliar with indigenous cultures.

Because Smelcer is a language speaker, fishes, has lived in his tribal community and writes nature poems and stories where animals unironically talk, Alexie says, he presents as being Indian in a way that non-Natives and Natives agree is the most authentic way of being Indian.

Alaskan poet Joan Naviyuk Kane says, This makes me sad for writers like Cathy Tagnak Rexford, a tremendous Native writer  YA, poet and playwright. She continued, It makes me grateful for Native spaces and communities, like IAIA [Institute for American Indian Arts], where indigenous writers catalyze and create, year after year, no matter what mistakes dominant American culture continues to make.

The Dalai Lamas office confirms that that His Holiness did not write the introduction to Smelcers book Alutiiq Noun Dictionary and Pronunciation Guide.

Commentary

Does the blame for Smelcers continued success lie with editors and publishers who fail to do their due diligence? Is it that Native voices are invisible? Or are voices like Smelcers, that play on tropes of Native people, or discuss our plight in familiar ways, more palatable to publishers and prize juries?

Our communities, our histories, our art have been fractured  to the point where it seems authenticity or belonging is defined by anyone who claims it. If writers and readers, Native or not, could explore narratives beyond the tropes of indigenous life, where authority on writing about us didnt mean selling oneself as a hunter, or language speaker, or trapped in some primordial humanity, it would be harder for people to make dubious claims and write with absolute authority.

Terese Marie Mailhots first book, Heart Berries: A Memoir will be published by Counterpoint in 2018. She is on the creative writing faculty at the Institute of American Indian Arts, a Tecumseh Postdoctoral Fellow at Purdue University and on Twitter @TereseMarieM.

UPDATES:

2:43 p.m. Aug. 29: This article has been updated with the news that John Smelcers Stealing Indians has been removed as a finalist for an award by PEN Center USA.

This article was originally published at 2:10 p.m. Aug. 25.
For the Metropolitan Water District, which serves 19 million residents of Southern California, the wake-up call sounded in December 1999.

Thats when a water main on the outskirts of Irvine suffered a catastrophic blowout, spilling 5 million gallons and shutting off service to some 700,000 residents of south Orange County, some for more than a week. Although the blowout was later ascribed to operator error, it exposed some fundamental weaknesses in the MWD system and prompted the district to undertake a closer inspection.

The district found hundreds of leaks and breaks, which it blamed on premature deterioration in the prestressed concrete cylinder pipeline. That was just the beginning. So-called PCCP throughout the MWD system  at least 100 miles of the 160 miles of pipe made from the material  has been judged suspect and possibly in need of repair or replacement.

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It takes only one bad pipe section to generate a significant pipeline failure.  2012 engineering study delivering the bad news about concrete water mains

The first phase of that program was launched by the MWD board on Aug. 15 with the approval of a nearly $40-million project to install steel pipe to reline 4.5 miles of PCCP under the streets of Long Beach and Lakewood. The work is scheduled to begin in September and take seven months to complete. A second phase of relining on the same trunk line will be presented to the board for approval next summer.

The MWD expects to spend as much as $2.5 billion on the task over the next 20 to 25 years, but that only opens a window on the magnitude of the infrastructure reconstruction facing water systems all over the country. Repairing or replacing PCCP mains nationwide could cost $40 billion, according to a technical assessment produced in 2008 for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the American Water Works Assn. Modernizing the nations aging water infrastructure, including ancient iron pipelines common in downtown parts of older Eastern cities, could cost many billions more.

In California, that task includes building the controversial delta tunnels to convey water from Northern to Southern California. The tunnels and associated works are estimated to cost more than $16 billion, of which the MWD would pay 26%, adding $2 to $3 a month to the average residential water bill. The project is still uncertain, with litigation and doubts from water users and agencies around the state among the obstacles.

Weve written recently about the impact that infrastructure spending could have on water affordability in coming decades. But one often-overlooked aspect of the issue is how decisions taken in the past can reverberate down through the decades.

The problems caused by PCCP are a good example. The pipes, made from steel tubing wrapped in concrete and steel reinforcing wire, often were used for high-capacity, high-pressure water lines. As a result, their failures could be catastrophic and costly. Reports of pipe failures can be sensational, particularly where the resulting flood damage provides spectacular footage for the 10 oclock news, observed the 2008 study.

Experts also noted that even limited deterioration could lead to major trouble. It takes only one bad pipe section to generate a significant pipeline failure, a 2012 engineering study warned. Thats what happened in the 1999 blowout, according to the MWD: Had the line not been already weakened by corrosion, it might have survived the operator error that resulted in the blowout.

PCCP lines have been a cause of increasing nervousness among water system managers since the 1990s. Thats when the consequences of changes in standards for the lines in the 1970s became apparent.

When the MWD started installing PCCP lines in the 1970s, according to Gordon Johnson, the districts chief engineer, they were considered virtually interchangeable with steel pipelines. We bid them against each other, and took the one that was the lowest bid, Johnson told me.

Both were expected to last 70 to 100 years. But while the steel pipelines are still mostly as good as new, Johnson says, PCCP just doesnt have the same life.

The problem appears to be the liberalization of manufacturing standards in the early 1970s, just as the MWD started using the material. Perhaps complacently, engineering organizations promulgated liberalized standards for PCCP, incorporating reinforcing steel wires that were stronger, but also thinner. Those wires turned out to be more vulnerable to corrosion and brittleness than expected.

They thought theyd come up with a new technique that would be cheaper, says Jeffrey Kightlinger, general manager of the MWD. The reality is that the lifespan of PCCP from that era is about half that of steel pipe.

When the standards changed, you came into pipe that was more stressed than before, says Graham E. C. Bell, a coauthor of the 2008 study. The majority of catastrophic PCCP failures have been traced to pipes of the 1972-1978 vintage, when the eased standards were in effect. By the early 1980s, manufacturing standards had been tightened up considerably.

Some engineers say PCCP is still a good pipeline material in many circumstances. Some owners swear by it because it performs very well, says Michael Higgins, an executive at Pure Technologies, which assists utilities in assessing the condition of their mains, and a coauthor of the 2012 paper. The overall failure rate is less than 4%, he says. But PCCP pipes tend to fail suddenly and catastrophically, creating dangerous conditions and outsized disruption.

According to Bells study, overpressure leads to cracks in the concrete coating, which allows water to enter the pipe from the surrounding soil and corrode the reinforcing wires, which break and in turn allow water to corrode other components of the pipe. Steel pipes tend to spring leaks, which can be patched; the failure mode of PCCP is usually sudden, the study said.

The PCCP problem is most acute in the East, in part because the region was served by a now-defunct New Jersey company that allegedly manufactured some of the most troublesome lines. In 1997, Pinellas County, Fla., won a $10-million judgment over a 13-mile PCCP line that was installed in 1978, failed in 1979 and exploded again during a 1980 pressure test and twice more by 1994  all at pressures well below what the line had been built to bear.

The Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C., have been particularly beleaguered by 350 miles of concrete mains prone to exploding without warning, the Washington Post reported in 2013.

The MWD, to be sure, says it already had become wary of concrete pipelines when the Irvine blowout occurred  the district had stopped using the pipe in the mid-1990s, after the first string of failures emerged, including several ruptures in San Diego County mains in the 1980s and 1990s. But the already-installed pipes remain underground, like time bombs.

Keep up to date with Michael Hiltzik. Follow @hiltzikm on Twitter, see his Facebook page, or email michael.hiltzik@latimes.com.

Return to Michael Hiltziks blog.
Actors know how to do drama and this years SAG-AFTRA election did not disappoint.

Following an acrimonious campaign in which rival factions engaged in name calling and social media attacks  with one side even threatening to lodge a federal complaint  SAG-AFTRA members Thursday elected incumbent President Gabrielle Carteris to a new two-year term.

Carteris won comfortably, receiving 14,674 votes, or a little more than 50% of the returned ballots. Esai Morales came in second with 8,145 votes, or 28% of returned ballots.

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The election revived longstanding divisions within the 160,000-member union and served as a referendum on the recently negotiated film and TV contract with the major Hollywood studios.

Carteris had staunchly defended the deal, which was ratified by members in August and included modest pay raises, increases in pension and retirement contributions and bigger residuals for content streamed on Netflix and other platforms.

Morales, however, said the contract fell short. He gained support for his candidacy from some notable actors, including Martin Sheen, Frances Fisher, Alfred Molina, Rosanna Arquette, Matthew Modine and Vincent DOnofrio.

Meanwhile, Carteris garnered backing from A-listers including George Clooney and Bryan Cranston.

Its an incredible experience to be able to serve and work with the members, Carteris said in an interview Friday. Its a role I would not have imagined for myself 20 years ago.

SAG-AFTRA elections tend to bring out candidates who engage in passionate and at times accusatory rhetoric. The factions within the guild have been fighting for years over issues including the 2012 merger between the two performers unions as well as the 2000 commercials strike.

The elections have been very dramatic with mud-slinging and accusations of election fraud, said David Smith, associate professor of economics at Pepperdine Graziadio Business School. Having a campaign platform that is centered on shaking things up can be good, but too much acrimony will only further the divisions within the union.

Carteris said she would continue to work for the good of all members.

In a democracy, we have many different voices and I embrace that diversity, she said.

Carteris starred in the popular 90s TV series Beverly Hills, 90210. She later segued into SAG-AFTRA, where she held various positions before ascending to the presidency in 2016, following the death of actor Ken Howard.

But her re-election campaign involved bitter exchanges between the unions Membership First faction, which backed Morales, and those loyal to Carteris, who heads the more moderate Unite for Strength wing of the guild.

In recent days, the Membership First faction threatened to file an election fraud complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor against Carteris, who was also running for a seat on the local L.A. board. The group said it would file a complaint if Carteris gives away her seat to another member of Unite for Strength, saying that such an act would constitute election fraud. Carteris declined to comment on the allegation.

Carteris supporters have accused Morales of failing to attend numerous meetings in his role as vice president of the unions L.A. chapter.

His foes have also used Facebook and Twitter to denounce the actor for what they consider homophobic language when he included the word nelly in a Facebook post. Morales has denied that he used the term in a derogatory way.

Morales didnt respond to requests for comment.

The actor starred in the 1987 movie La Bamba and the ABC series NYPD Blue. He currently has a supporting role in the new Netflix series Ozark.

In the weeks leading up to the contract vote, Morales urged members to vote against it, saying the contract inadequately addressed a number of issues including travel expenses and residuals.

Carteris said the contract, which followed a strike authorization vote from members, achieved long-term gains, including a more than 300% increase in content streamed on platforms such as Netflix and Amazon.

It was one of the most challenging negotiations weve seen in decades, she said. It was about the evolution of our industry and how its shifting. [It] was so much bigger than getting raises.

The screen actors union said ballots were mailed to about 144,000 eligible voters on July 25; 28,988, or more than 20%, were returned.

Among other candidates for president, Pete Antico received 4,114 votes, Robert B. Martin Jr. 1,207 votes and Marilyn Monrovia 715 votes.

Members of SAG-AFTRA also elected Jane Austin to a two-year term as secretary-treasurer. Austin, who works as a stunt performer, was also re-elected as president of the guilds local L.A. branch. Mike Hodge was re-elected as New York president.

david.ng@latimes.com

@DavidNgLAT

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UPDATES:

4:15 p.m. This article was updated with comments from Carteris and other details.

This article was originally published on August 24 at 7:55 p.m.
Months before Miguel Santana began his new job as the president and chief executive of the Los Angeles County Fair Assn., he asked his four daughters, ages 19 to 29, to visit the fair with him.

They all rejected the offer, saying basically: Been there, done that.

Santana, who until recently was Los Angeles city administrative officer, said he realized that if the fair cant attract teenagers and millennials, it is doomed.

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For that reason, he has made it his goal to inject a hip, cool vibe into the Los Angeles County Fair, which begins Sept. 1, creating the kind of atmosphere that he hopes will draw those key demographic groups to boost attendance and increase revenue.

But Santana, a 48-year-old career bureaucrat who began his new job in January, acknowledges he is not steeped in coolness. That is why he has assembled a team of local music and festival organizers with a track record for tapping into the millennial crowd.

Im the last person to tell you what is cool, Santana quipped.

A lot is at stake in this years fair. It will be the first since Santana replaced former fair administrator James Henwood Jr., who resigned following a Los Angeles Times investigation that found that he and his vice presidents received corporate-size salaries and bonuses even as the association reported years of financial losses.

State and county audits also found that the private nonprofit association owed the county millions in rent on land developed by the association but owned by the county.

Fair officials are meeting regularly with county officials to address the back rent, Santana said, and the compensation package for his vice presidents has been cut, though he declined to disclose specific numbers. Santana is paid about half the more than $1 million a year that Henwood received in total compensation for 2014  a lucrative pay package well above that of other fair executives in the state.

For now, Santana said, he is focusing on overhauling the fair to draw in older teenagers and millennials who represent the largest demographic group in the country. In Southern California, that means targeting young Latinos.

Its not a challenge unique to the Los Angeles County Fair. Operators of fairs throughout the country also are making efforts to attract millennials and teens, said Stephen Chambers, executive director of the Western Fairs Assn., a trade group that represents 150 fairs in the U.S. and Canada.

The keynote speaker for the trade groups convention in January is Rita Murray, a generational expert who will discuss how to reach young fairgoers, Chambers said.

Among other efforts to attract fresh customers, Chambers pointed to the Napa Town & Country Fair in Napa, Calif., where visitors who took a photo with their smartphone and added #NapaFair2017 got the picture posted on a giant screen over the main exhibit hall.

Thats always a challenge, he said, how do we get the next generation involved?

The Petting Zoo at the Los Angeles County Fair in Pomona is a popular attraction that allows people to interact with animals. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

To help meet the challenge in Los Angeles, Santana recruited Lucas Rivera, the former director of Grand Park. Rivera organized festivals and celebrations that drew tens of thousands of people to the 12-acre park in downtown Los Angeles. Rivera is now a senior vice president at the association.

We have a bigger playground to play with, Rivera said of the fairgrounds 543 acres.

Among other efforts, Santana and Rivera are planning to create a venue at the fair where visitors can order locally made food and drinks and listen to live music from Southern California musicians while taking in exhibits of nearby artists. The venue is called Mi Poco LA.

The venue will feature freshly brewed coffee from Mi Cafecito, a tiny Latino-styled coffee shop in downtown Pomona, and food from Dia De Los Puercos, a Mexican eatery in West Covina. During the fair, the art exhibit will display work by Los Angeles-based Chicana artists Patssi Valdez and Judithe Hernandez.

To book the bands at Mi Poco LA, Santana recruited Rene Contreras, the founder of Viva! Pomona, an indy music festival in downtown Pomona.

Contreras, who as a kid visited the Los Angeles County Fair with his parents, said most young people feel that the fair is not cool if their parents like it. His charge, he said, is to inject the venue with an eclectic mix of indie and fusion music that will appeal to young people.

I want to bring that flavor to the fair so that there is a place where music lovers can come and hang out, he said.

The fair this year also will feature an area where local artisans can sell handmade creations such as jewelry, candles and clothing. The fair will add more old-school contests that award blue ribbons to fairgoers for bubble gum blowing, hula hoop swinging and other off-beat skills.

The fair will continue to set aside a large space for full-time vendors who peddle hot tubs, outdoor kitchens, cookware and jet skis.

And, of course, the fairs outrageously decadent food, such as funnel cake and deep-fried hot sauce, will still be on the menu.

Fairgoers listen to a pitch for Lustre Craft cookware in 2015 at the Los Angeles County Fair in Pomona. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

The annual fair is one of 350 events held each year at the Fairplex in Pomona. The Los Angeles County Fair Assn. oversees operation of the entire facility with a budget of more than $74 million.

The television ad to promote this years fair also targets young Southern Californians. It shows four youngsters eating, playing carnival games and dancing to the sounds of Ozomatli, a Los Angeles band that plays upbeat Latin, hip hop and rock music.

Most of the additions made to the fair this year bring a Latino flavor to the event because the target audience is young Latinos.

We are speaking to the population of Los Angeles County, Santana said.

The fair associations tax reports show that the nonprofit has operated in the red since 2010, reporting a $2.1-million deficit for 2015, compared to a $3.4-million deficit in 2014. The financial report filed with the Internal Revenue Service containing 2016 data isnt available yet.

But Santana said he considers the Fairplex profitable because he judges its financial strength by operating earnings before taxes, interest and depreciation. By that standard, the fair generated $6.8 million in 2015, up from $6.5 million the previous year, according to the organizations annual report.

Attendance at the fair was 1.32 million last year, up from 1.28 million in 2015.

Santana said he hopes his changes will boost revenue and attendance but he is most focused on the overall economic impact the Fairplex has on the surrounding region.

The bigger challenge for me and for the community, he said, is asking ourselves what role does this campus play in strengthening the economy and creating more quality jobs and increasing the tax base at all levels.

hugo.martin@latimes.com

To read more about the travel and tourism industries, follow @hugomartin on Twitter.
Farmers Insurance has asked a court to block a state review of its auto insurance rates dating to 2008, making it the latest case to test the limits of Californias landmark insurance law, Proposition 103.

The Woodland Hills firm, a unit of Swiss multinational Zurich Insurance Group, argued in a lawsuit last week that a plan by the Department of Insurance to review the rates  which are being challenged by a group of consumers in a separate case  is unlawful under applicable law and current facts and should be called off.

The company, in documents filed Aug. 18 in Los Angeles Superior Court, suggested that if the department reviews rates approved nearly a decade ago and seeks to force Farmers to pay fines or refunds, it would be an overly broad interpretation of Proposition 103, which insurers have argued regulates rates only going forward.

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California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones dismissed any notion that his department does not have authority to investigate the 2008 rates.

We will defend against any lawsuit challenging the right of the insurance commissioner to seek information necessary to determine if an insurer has set rates that violate the law, he said in a statement.

Farmers spokesman Luis Sahagun said the company would not comment on pending litigation.

The issue of rate reviews, retroactive rate cuts and refunds came to the fore late last year when Jones ordered State Farm to not only lower rates for homeowners insurance policies going forward, but to lower those rates retroactively to July 2015, requiring the insurer to pay refunds of about $100 million.

It was the first time any insurance commissioner has ordered a retroactive rate cut since Proposition 103 was passed, and State Farm has sought to block the order in court. A lawsuit over the matter is pending in San Diego, where a judge has ordered State Farm to proceed with the ordered rate cuts going forward but put the refunds on hold.

Insurance trade groups, in a brief submitted in that case, called the refund order an unprecedented move that would have huge consequences for the industry and potentially destabilize the states insurance market. But Jones and consumer advocacy groups have stood their ground on the departments right to order rate cuts even retroactively.

Under Proposition 103, approved by voters in 1988, the department must approve auto and property insurance rates, ensuring that they are high enough that insurers will be able to pay claims but not so high that they lead to unreasonable profits. The law also allows consumer advocacy groups to oppose rate increases, call for hearings and inspect insurers books.

The disputes involving State Farm and now Farmers boil down to questions about what happens when insurance rates that have already been approved by the department are later questioned.

The State Farm matter goes back to 2014, when the insurance company asked the department to allow it to raise rates on renters and homeowners insurance rates. Advocacy groups Consumer Watchdog and the California Federation of Consumers moved to block the increase, saying it was unwarranted.

An administrative law judge hearing the case later found that the rate increase should be rejected and that the companys rates were already too high. As the dispute wore on, Jones ordered the rates to be lowered as of July 2015, a move the department has characterized as a way of discouraging the company from dragging its feet in court so it could continue to charge the higher rates until new, future rates were set.

The roots of the Farmers case are quite different, but ultimately involve the issue of whether the commissioner can order a retroactive rate cut or otherwise tinker with already approved rates.

The case started with a 2015 lawsuit brought by Farmers customers who alleged that the company had been illegally charging some customers more than others  a practice known as price optimization or dynamic pricing.

The idea is that if a customer is willing to pay more, they should be charged more, while customers more likely to shop around for the best deal should be charged less. That kind of pricing has been tried in a wide array of industries but its not allowed for California insurers. Rather, insurers can base their rates only on a handful of state-approved factors, such as a drivers safety record.

The plaintiffs in the case, three Santa Barbara County residents, alleged that Farmers had been using the practice for years and had charged illegal rate increases that were not part of the Farmers insurance rates approved by the Department of Insurance.

Superior Court Judge Amy Hogue referred the case, which is seeking class-action status, to the department in 2016. She said the insurance regulator had primary jurisdiction and should review whether Farmers had in fact charged customers outside of the scope of its approved rates.

Thats what Farmers had wanted. But then, in June, the department said it would also review whether Farmers engaged in any illegal conduct in formulating or implementing its 2008 rates.

Farmers objected and, in documents filed last week, said a review of the 2008 rates would not only be beyond the scope of Hogues order but would also be unlawful. It argues, as State Farm has in its case, that once an insurers rate plan is approved by the state, the insurer is required to follow that plan and the departments approval should serve to shield the plan from a later challenge.

The law does not support retroactive regulation, said Rex Frazier, president of the trade group Personal Insurance Federal of California. Hopefully this case is not the beginning of a trend where the state of California orders insurers to conduct business in a specific way and then seeks retroactive liability years later for operating as approved.

Harvey Rosenfield, the author of Proposition 103 and founder of Consumer Watchdog, said Farmers appears to be trying to block any meaningful investigation into whether it has engaged in illegal price optimization.

Farmers is trying to stonewall the elected insurance commissioner to prevent the commissioner from getting to the bottom of what its doing in California, he said.

Michael Levy, deputy general counsel for the Department of Insurance, said the departments approval of rate plans gives insurance companies protection, but that protection only goes so far.

If plans are submitted in a lawful, transparent way, insurers should nave nothing to fear. But if an insurer gets the department to sign off on a plan that includes something illegal, that insurer is not entitled to safe harbor, he said, though he added that theres been no finding that Farmers has done anything wrong.

If there was something hidden, that wasnt brought to the departments attention, you cant expect to be absolved of responsibility for that if you get it through, he said.

james.koren@latimes.com

Follow me: @jrkoren
A Volkswagen engineer who had a key role in the companys diesel emissions scandal has been sentenced to more than three years in prison and fined $200,000  a steeper punishment than prosecutors requested.

James Robert Liang, 63, knew the German automaker was cheating and worked to cover it up, U.S. District Judge Sean Cox said Friday during the sentencing hearing in Detroit. The judge imposed a 40-month prison sentence.

The conspiracy perpetrated a massive and stunning fraud on the American consumer that attacked and destroyed the very foundation of our economic system, Cox said.

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Liang, who faces deportation to Germany after his release from prison, declined to speak on his own behalf Friday.

Prosecutors had requested a 36-month prison term and a $20,000 fine.

Prosecutors said Liang was aware that VW used software to cheat U.S. emission rules on nearly 600,000 diesel vehicles. His lawyer said hes not greedy or immoral but followed orders to keep his job and support his family.

What occurred here was wrong, defense attorney Daniel Nixon said. But he wasnt the mastermind. He was not motivated by greed.

Liang pleaded guilty last year to one count of conspiracy to defraud the government and agreed to cooperate with investigators. He had asked the judge to consider a sentence of probation and 1,500 hours of community service.

He is one of two VW employees to plead guilty. Others charged in the case are in Germany but out of reach.

Volkswagen and U.S. environmental regulators announced agreement last month on a plan for the automaker to fix most of the diesel cars involved in the emissions cheating scandal.

Volkswagen has admitted that the cars were sold with illegal software programmed to turn on emissions controls during government lab tests and turn off those controls when the car is on the road. Investigators determined that the cars emitted more than 40 times the legal limit of nitrogen oxide, which can cause respiratory problems in humans.

The company got away with the scheme for seven years until independent researchers reported it to government regulators.

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This article was originally published at 9:25 a.m.
Apple Inc. has removed all Iranian apps from its App Store, a move the technology giant attributed to U.S. economic sanctions, reports said.

The New York Times reported Thursday that popular apps for food delivery, ride-hailing and other services in Iran have been removed in recent weeks. Citing Iranian media, the Associated Press said the Cupertino, Calif., tech giant had removed all Iranian mobile apps.

According to the New York Times, Apple reportedly notified Iranian developers whose apps were affected by the ban, saying, Under the U.S. sanctions regulations, the App Store cannot host, distribute or do business with apps or developers connected to certain U.S. embargoed countries.

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Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Los Angeles Times.

In reaction to Apples decision, Iranian Telecommunication Minister Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi tweeted that Apple accounts for 11% of Irans mobile phone market, even though the tech firm does not have an official presence in Iran or any other Persian Gulf country, according to the Associated Press.

Giving respect to consumer rights is a principle today which Apple has not followed, Jahromi tweeted. We will follow up the cutting of the apps legally.

Iran is home to a vibrant developer market, which has given rise to apps like Snapp, an Uber-like, ride-hailing service that has revolutionized the taxi industry, said Djavad Salehi-Isfahani, professor of economics at Virginia Tech and a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. Snapp was one of the apps the New York Times said was removed from the App Store.

When Ive been in Iran, Ive really enjoyed using that, Salehi-Isfahani said. Because its regulated by customer response, the prices are lower, they are fixed, theres no haggling.

He said the ban will probably have a limited effect on the countrys economy and tech industry. Whats more important is what it signals  simmering political and economic uncertainty around the future of the 2015 nuclear deal Iran signed with six other world powers.

Salehi-Isfahani said there has already been much uncertainty about foreign investment, and Apples removal of Iranian apps could be a sign that the company believes the accord may be in jeopardy.

The impact in terms of what peoples perception is of where Iran is going with globalization and with relations with the West is fairly big, he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

samantha.masunaga@latimes.com

Twitter: @smasunaga
Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet L. Yellen said Friday that tough new regulations have made the financial system safer with little downside, a strong rebuttal of Republican criticisms that reforms have stunted economic growth.

Yellens comments at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas Citys prestigious policy conference in Jackson Hole, Wyo., could hurt her chances of being renominated as the central banks chief.

Yellens four-year term as Fed chair expires in February. Its unclear if President Trump  a sharp critic of the Dodd-Frank regulatory overhaul spurred by the 2008 financial crisis  will nominate her for another term or if Yellen is interested in serving one.

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Trump has said he is considering Yellen and his top economic advisor, Gary Cohn, for the post. Cohn might not have helped his chances Friday as he publicly criticized Trumps response to the violence in Charlottesville, Va.

But Yellens speech Friday likely didnt help her case. The defense of the 2010 Dodd-Frank law puts her clearly at odds with Trump and most congressional Republicans.

The events of the crisis demanded action, needed reforms were implemented, and these reforms have made the system safer, Yellen said in prepared remarks to the conference.

Michael Gapen, chief U.S. economist at Barclays Investment Bank, said the speech was a subtle shot across the bow of Trump administration officials and lawmakers who would like to reverse many of the Dodd-Frank regulations.

We think a chair expecting (or desiring) another term may have put forward a different message, Gapen wrote in a research note.

Yellen acknowledged that some of the regulations may be affecting market liquidity somewhat. Some small businesses might find credit less available and mortgages might be tougher to obtain, particularly for people with less-than-perfect credit histories, she said.

The Fed is watching for adverse effects and considering some changes to mitigate them, Yellen said.

But, overall, most research suggests that the core reforms we have put in place have substantially boosted resilience without unduly limiting credit availability or economic growth, Yellen said.

Yellen reviewed the wreckage caused by the 2008 financial crisis, including the loss of nearly 9 million jobs, and warned of the consequences of forgetting the damage done to the U.S. and global economies.

Already, for some, memories of this experience may be fading  memories of just how costly the financial crisis was and of why certain steps were taken in response, she said.

The Republican-controlled House voted along party lines in June to repeal many of the Dodd-Frank regulations. Trump has promised to dismantle Dodd-Frank and Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin has proposed a major rollback.

Trump was highly critical of Yellen during the presidential campaign and analysts expect him to replace her, with Cohn as the leading choice.

Last month, Trump said Cohn, a former executive at investment bank Goldman Sachs Group Inc., was under consideration along with Yellen.

I like her. I like her demeanor. I think shes done a good job, Trump told the Wall Street Journal. Id like to see rates stay low. Shes historically been a low-interest-rate person.

Cohn might have roiled the waters on the choice of a new Fed chair with his criticism of Trumps Charlottesville response.

In his first public comments on the matter, Cohn told the Financial Times in an interview published Friday that the Trump administration can and must do better in consistently and unequivocally condemning white supremacists, neo-Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan.

Cohn, who directs the White House National Economic Council and is helping lead the administrations push for a tax overhaul, said he had come under enormous pressure both to resign and to remain in my current position.

The New York Times reported Friday that Cohn had seriously considered resigning and even drafted a resignation letter, citing two unnamed people familiar with the draft.

Cohn, who is Jewish, stood by Trumps side during an impromptu news conference in New York last week in which the president said there were some very fine people marching alongside neo-Nazis in Charlottesville.

But Cohn said he was not leaving his White House job.

As a patriotic American, I am reluctant to leave my post as director of the National Economic Council because I feel a duty to fulfill my commitment to work on behalf of the American people, Cohn told the Financial Times.

But I also feel compelled to voice my distress over the events of the last two weeks, he said.

As a Jewish American, I will not allow neo-Nazis ranting, Jews will not replace us to cause this Jew to leave his job, Cohn said. I feel deep empathy for all who have been targeted by these hate groups. We must all unite together against them.

Twitter: @JimPuzzanghera

jim.puzzanghera@latimes.com

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9:45 a.m.: This article was updated with comments from Michael Gapen of Barclays Investment Bank.

This article was originallypublished at 8:40 a.m.
Heres a look at what about $900,000 buys in the Ventura County cities of Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks and Ventura.

SIMI VALLEY: A barbecue island, swimming pool and spa and covered patios invite outdoor entertaining at this five-bedroom home in a guard-gated community.

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Address: 67 W. Boulder Creek Road, Simi Valley, 93605

Listed for: $895,000 for five bedrooms, 4.5 bathrooms in 3,390 square feet (6,582-square-foot lot)

Features: Vaulted-ceiling living room; kitchen with center island; tropical landscaping

About the area: In the 93605 ZIP Code, based on 82 sales, the median sales price for single-family homes in July was $569,000, up 4.4% year over year, according to CoreLogic.

THOUSAND OAKS: Built in 1964, this ranch-style house takes in panoramic tree-top and mountain views from its quarter-acre lot.

Address: 877 Falmouth St., Thousand Oaks, 91362

Listed for: $897,700 for four bedrooms, two bathrooms in 2,524 square feet (10,166-square-foot lot)

Features: Two fireplaces; living room with built-in bookshelves; in-ground spa

About the area: In the 91362 ZIP Code, based on 30 sales, the median sales price for single-family homes in July was $825,000, up 10.7% year over year, according to CoreLogic.

VENTURA: This two-bedroom cottage, built in the 1950s and since updated, is a stones throw from San Buenaventura State Beach.

Address: 1163 Pittsfield Lane, Ventura, 93001

Listed for: $899,999 for two bedrooms, one bathroom in 930 square feet (3,443-square-foot lot)

Features: Tile and laminate wood floors; French doors; patio

About the area: In the 93001 ZIP Code, based on 19 sales, the median sales price for single-family homes in July was $599,000, down 25% year over year, according to CoreLogic.

SIMI VALLEY: A gated courtyard sits off the front of this Mediterranean-style home with nearly 4,100 square feet of interior space.

Address: 5828 Indian Terrace Drive, Simi Valley, 93063

Listed for: $899,000 for five bedrooms, 4.25 bathrooms in 4,091 square feet (6,655-square-foot lot)

Features: Two-toned custom paint; family room with fireplace; master suite with walk-in closet

About the area: In the 93063 ZIP Code, based on 45 sales, the median sales price for single-family homes in July was $554,000, up 4.5% year over year, according to CoreLogic.

THOUSAND OAKS: Set behind a white picket fence, this four-bedroom ranch-style home was remodeled and expanded two years ago.

Address: 417 Glenwood Place, Thousand Oaks, 91362

Listed for: $888,000 for four bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms in 2,426 square feet (9,820-square-foot lot)

Features: Maple wood flooring; master suite with claw-foot tub; updated kitchen

About the area: In the 91362 ZIP Code, based on 30 sales, the median sales price for single-family homes in July was $825,000, up 10.7% year over year, according to CoreLogic.

VENTURA: This multilevel house, tucked against the hillside on a cul-de-sac, features vaulted ceilings, stone fireplaces and sweeping canyon views.

Address: 682 Aliso St., Ventura, 93001

Listed for: 889,000 for four bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms in 2,718 square feet (0.84-acre lot)

Features: Step-down living room; eat-in kitchen; oversized backyard

About the area: In the 93001 ZIP Code, based on 19 sales, the median sales price for single-family homes in July was $599,000, down 25% year over year, according to CoreLogic.

neal.leitereg@latimes.com

Twitter: @LATHotProperty

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There are times when FreedomPop founder Stephen Stokols would get better coverage or service using a competing cellular carrier. Like when he got booted from his own provider after getting tripped up by confusing settings.

But Stokols  along with his 2 million customers  has been willing to suffer occasional headaches in exchange for an unbeatable deal. Half the people using FreedomPop pay nothing for cellphone service, including mobile Internet access.

There are limits on monthly usage (500 megabytes in the U.S.) and caps on calling and texting (three hours and 500 messages). Finding a shop, reaching a customer service agent or buying a phone from FreedomPop can be complicated. And users need a credit card.

Stokols contends, though, that many should find the trade-offs attractive because he pegs median mobile data usage in the U.S. at about 700 megabytes per month.

Customers can pay a few dollars to pick up extra data, up to about $20 a month for unlimited data, calling and texting. Not a bad deal compared with $40 most elsewhere.

FreedomPop can afford to slash prices thanks to its departures from industry conventions, including accepting lower profit margins.

The Los Angeles company says its emergence over the last six years has led to imitation from T-Mobile, a near-acqusition for as much as $450 million by Sprint and price cuts at Verizon and AT&T. And all that has come while serving just a fraction of the 18% of U.S. cellphone subscribers not tied to a Big Four carrier, according to market researcher Besen Group.

Outside the U.S., FreedomPop is licensing technology in Italy and Mexico and gaining users in Spain and the United Kingdom. Its targeting 100 million users worldwide by 2020, some through partners that collectively have 500 million subscribers.

Touching 20% of them is not unrealistic, Stokols says.

But he must decide how far to see through his vision to give away more and more data. The company is reviewing a previously undisclosed acquisition offer, but discussions are continuing about potentially going public next year.

FreedomPop has raised $109 million in venture capital, and the company could become self-reliant soon if, as expected, it generates profit for the first time this winter. Stokols declined to provide specific financial figures.

We want to get to where communications is a free utility everywhere, Stokols said. If you have Internet, youre at an instant advantage.

FreedomPop CEO Stephen Stokols pictured at the companys headuqarters in Los Angeles, where the firm located after a coin-flip between Southern and Northern California. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times) (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

The catch

FreedomPops investors say that the company is special because its marketing costs, about $10 per customer, are lower than anyone elses. Free offers tend to get noticed with little spending on advertising. That lets FreedomPop charge customers less.

Stokols says the companys goal is to get people paying  not necessarily to twist them into paying as much as possible. Thats what is different from a typical carrier, Stokols said.

FreedomPop collects data about users backgrounds and phone habits. Stokols said the company can identify whos likely to be a freeloader who will never pay  and in turn, the company doesnt waste time pitching such users. Instead it closely studies users who pay for extra features to find new subscribers with similar characteristics who may be more likely to spend in the future.

Some may be open to spending a couple of dollars for data compression, to help them stay under data limits. Others may benefit from international calling and not realize it. The average monthly revenue per paying user is about $15, compared with about $45 at the major carriers.

Some customers have accused FreedomPop of being sneaky with terms and conditions. Stokols acknowledges his company must improve on warning users about forthcoming charges or service suspensions as limits near. He has responded with new self-serve account management tools that reduce the need for customer service agents or stores.

Over the long run, Stokols said, automatically and aggressively responding to customer complaints with refunds or other adjustments is cheaper than having a large customer service crew bickering over small charges. A fed-up customer immediately reimbursed $5 is more likely to spend money in the future and less likely to trash the company online. FreedomPop expects that increased usage of surveys may identify issues before they spread.

Investors say they're not losing sleep over pockets of negative feedback.

Theres ambitiously excessive desires from consumers, said Mark Tluszcz of Mangrove Capital, a FreedomPop shareholder. But when youre offering a real cheap service sometimes you have to cut corners on service or quality. We have no ambitions to be whiter than white snow.

FreedomPop tries to prevent itself from being swindled by requiring most customers to have a credit card. We have no wiggle room for customer service or fraud, Stokols said.

The company further keeps costs low by holding little equipment. It provides service through free Wi-Fi hotspots and the cellphone towers of Sprint and AT&T.

FreedomPop pays Sprint and AT&T based on customer usage. The two big carriers can see what websites FreedomPop users are checking out, but neither they nor FreedomPop can record or monitor calls as long as only FreedomPop users are participants. This may add a layer of security for users if a legal warrant were to be issued.

Matt Carter, who struck a deal with FreedomPop while overseeing Sprints enterprise business, credits Stokols and his co-founders for being among the first to recognize that people were overpaying for data. They filled a niche for cost-conscious and smart users, Carter said.

About one-third of new customers buy phones from FreedomPop  mostly refurbished models. That number is falling fast as its pushing customers to get devices from retailers such as Amazon and Groupon. Reducing inventory and returns is a cost-saver and valuation-booster.

Were trying to look more like a software company, Stokols said. Weve never made a lot of money on devices.

Overall, the company rakes in gross profit margins of about 15%, or one-third of whats typical for larger service providers.

The start

Before starting FreedomPop, Stokols sold a video-based dating app called WooMe to dating website Zoosk. The sale wasnt gargantuan, but investors in WooMe, such as Mangroves Tluszcz, decided to issue Stokols several hundred thousand dollars to pursue either a Groupon-type company or a telecommunications start-up.

Tluszcz said he backed Stokols again because he was the rare entrepreneur who saw investors and founders as equal. Stokols could have sold WooMe for less, in exchange for a bigger share of the cash. He instead sacrificed some of his own cut to get a bigger price for WooMe and give its investors a bigger share.

Theres always temptations when buyers are trying to get a better deal and promising the founder something, Tluszcz said. Within those moments, you can see who you can trust.

Others supported Stokols because of his background as a Tustin-raised entrepreneur whod spent several years at a big telecommunications firm in Britain. Teaming at the start with Niklas Zennstrom, a Skype co-founder and major European investor, lent Stokols additional credibility.

He really knew how to do both sides of the fence, said David Chao, general partner at FreedomPop investor DCM Ventures. If you get just a telecom guy, you get boxed-in thinking, while an Internet guy doesnt know how to run a telecom service.

FreedomPop board of directors Stephen Stokols, CEO

Steven Sesar, chief operating officer

Mark Tluszcz, co-founder of venture capital firm Mangrove Capital

David Chao, general partner of venture capital firm DCM Ventures

Chris Rogers, co-founder and former senior vice president of Nextel

Mark Menell, general partner of venture capital firm Partech Ventures

Chris Rogers, a FreedomPop board member who has traveled Europe with Stokols for business, described the CEO as a pairing of surfer demeanor with tech aura.

When you have an entrepreneur who is the picture of innovation but can communicate with a carrier, thats really powerful, Rogers said.

In the boardroom, Stokols is known for going against the grain. He pushed for international expansion when investors preferred U.S. domination first. Stokols told them the company needed more industry relationships, for instance, to broaden the pool of potential acquirers.

Shifting resources hasnt cost the company because several U.S. rivals shut down in the last year, with many orphaned customers moving to FreedomPop, Stokols said.

He again diversified the business with a new licensing scheme for large carriers to launch cheap plans using FreedomPops up-selling and calling technologies. Such arrangements are in operation in four markets, with deals expected to become active in five more regions by years end.

As the company heads north of 100 employees, Stokols has tried to preserve FreedomPops lean feel. Every employee, including Stokols, spends at least one day a month handling customer service inquiries. He has sent staff to personally deliver phones and handle issues in the Los Angeles area. Of course, all employees use FreedomPop as their carrier.

You have to be eating your own dog food, Stokols said.

The efforts are meant to foster an open culture. The idea of rolling over unused data from month to month was introduced by a customer service agent a few years ago, Stokols noted.

He tries to show the same dedication to employees as they show to the company. Early employee Ryan Spillers recalled Stokols taking a Saturday to buy him a bicycle after his was stolen outside the office.

From that point I was calling him Uncle Steve, Spillers said. I dont know many bosses that would stick their neck out like that.

Essential to the companys culture are Fridays at 5 p.m., when a bottle of tequila tells an entire story.

Employees taking shots of Clase Azul, an organic variety that can sell for thousands of dollars, means the company is on track with customer sign-ups. Cheap tequila means its been a weak week. Former employees said they appreciated the transparency and camaraderie the gatherings foster. Nondrinkers take water shots.

You could throw out a $1,000 bonus, and they would be more motivated by the tequila, Stokols said.

The next frontier

Stokols is concentrating on two fronts. He wants to expand awareness, and hed like to find new ways to generate revenue.

On the former, the start-up is getting shelf space for SIM cards in Best Buy and other retailers this fall. On the latter, the hope is adding $4 to $7 in average revenue per user by selling ads shown to subscribers.

But the company recognizes growth could stall as competition among the Big Four depresses prices in the U.S. and international carriers smart up to the threat from the likes of FreedomPop.

They are getting closer and closer to accepting and understanding the culture of Silicon Valley because they have to: Its just not OK to stand still, FreedomPop board member Rogers said of top service providers.

T-Mobile and Sprint declined to comment. Verizon and AT&T didnt respond to requests to comment.

A near-bankrupt FreedomPop was hours away from selling to Sprint in 2015 when a new $30-million investment came in from venture capitalists. Stokols isnt in a cash crunch this time around.

Investors are equivocal about when to sell, saying that theyll weigh any offers, like the one on the table now, but that they generally want to see the company remain independent for some time.

If they hold out, investors could turn into potential acquirers. That would include Axiata Group, which has 320 million cellphone subscribers across Malaysia, Indonesia and eight other countries in Southeast Asia. Another investor, LetterOne, has connections to leading cellphone carriers in Russia, Italy and Turkey.

Stokols said he avoids using the companys original slogan  Internet access is a right, not a privilege  because it stirs unease in an industry that generates revenue from charging hundreds of dollars a year for service. But he insists that belief underlies each decision.

The companys newest plan, launched this week, yet again is challenging industry norms. For $49 a year, customers get 17 hours of calls, 1,000 texts and 1 gigabyte of data each month. Its the most data we can give away for under $5 a month, Stokols said. Were getting as bare bones as we can.

paresh.dave@latimes.com

Twitter: @peard33

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True Detective season three, starring Oscar winner Mahershala Ali, is officially confirmed at HBO By Sarah Rodman Mahershala Ali accepting his Oscar for Moonlight. The actor will star in the third season of the HBO drama True Detective (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) During the HBO executive session at the summer edition of the Television Critics Assn. press tour, programming president Casey Bloys confirmed reports that Moonlight Oscar winner Mahershala Ali would star in a third season of True Detective. Although he was mum at the time on when it might happen, he did say that he had read five scripts and thought they were terrific. Thursday night, the premium pay cabler released a statement officially confirming that the series will indeed return for a third installment. While no episode count or premiere date was included in the release, an enclosed synopsis stated that the next iteration of the show tells the story of a macabre crime in the heart of the Ozarks, and a mystery that deepens over decades and plays out in three separate time periods. Ali will star as Wayne Hays, a state police detective from northwest Arkansas. (Ali follows in the footsteps of season one stars, and continuing executive producers, Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson, and season twos Colin Farrell and Vince Vaughn. No word yet on whether hell have a partner.) The show will once again be helmed by creator Nic Pizzolatto, who penned all the episodes of the upcoming series, save the fourth, which he co-wrote with David Milch (Deadwood, NYPD Blue). He will share directing duties with fellow executive producer Jeremy Saulnier (Blue Ruin.) Im tremendously thrilled to be working with artists at the level of Mahershala and Jeremy, said Pizzolatto in a statement. I hope the material can do justice to their talents, and were all very excited to tell this story. Bloys noted that Nic has written truly remarkable scripts. With his ambitious vision and Mahershala Ali and Jeremy Saulnier aboard, we are excited to embark on the next installment of True Detective.  Facebook

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Newly reopened Angels Flight has long been a popular L.A. shooting location By Mark Olsen Its among the more unusual landmarks in Los Angeles, a short, steep railway that gets people up and down a single hill. So it makes sense that Angels Flight has been featured in many movies and television shows over the years. Angels Flight resumed regular service Thursday after being closed since 2013 (it did operate for one day of shooting on La La Land). It remains to be seen if it starts to appear again in movies and television shows. (Not that it ever really stopped.) Speaking to The Times at last years Toronto International Film Festival, La La Land star Ryan Gosling reflected on the use of historic locations in the movie. This was an opportunity to show an L.A. thats still there.... Youve got to squint your eyes a little, but there are still places in L.A. that are still part of the golden years of Los Angeles when Hollywood was in its heyday, Gosling said. I lived around the corner for a long time from Angels Flight and Grand Central Market, although I never got to ride Angels Flight because it had been shut down, Gosling added. Those places are still there... these gems that are there, and we were able to shoot them one by one. Angels Flight reopened on Thursday. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times) The small piece of land next to the top of Angels Flight, known as Angels Knoll, was also prominently featured in (500) Days of Summer. The location has appeared in a wide variety of movies over the years, as early as 1916s Good Night, Nurse, 1918s Up She Goes and 1920s All Jazzed Up. It has also had high-profile cameos in Act of Violence (1949), M (1951), Kiss Me Deadly (1955), The Exiles (1961), The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies (1963) -- all the way up to to 2011s The Muppets and last years La La Land. And on television, Angels Flight has been seen on Perry Mason, Dragnet and the recent series Bosch. READ MORE: Angels Flight: How it works and what its been through in its 100-year history Facebook

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Jamie Foxx announces telethon for Harvey relief By Libby Hill (Andrew Krech / News & Record via Associated Press) A new stream of celebrity support for victims of Hurricane Harvey opened Wednesday, as Jamie Foxx announced that a telethon fundraiser is in the works. In an Instagram post where the actor revealed his own donation of $25,000 to GlobalGiving, Foxx also shared preliminary plans for the upcoming benefit. From a fellow Texan, my heart goes out. My prayers go out, Foxx, from Terrell east of Dallas, said. September 12 we have a telethon that were doing. Well give you more details, so we can raise as much money as we can for everybody down there. View Instagram post Scooter Braun, talent manager and mastermind of One Love Manchester, is helming the event along with rapper and Houston native Bun B. TMZ reported that Foxx, Reese Witherspoon, Blake Shelton, Hilary Duff and Michael Strahan are all involved with the project, with commitments from the four major broadcast networks to air the special for an hour on Sept. 12. In an interview with TMZ, Bun B said that fellow Houston natives Beyonce and Jim Parsons are high on his wish list for the telethon. The outlet also reported that Bun B would only want President Trumps presence if it was via a show of unity with other former presidents. Solange also announced Wednesday that she will be holding a benefit show at Bostons Orpheum Theatre on Sept. 28. Featuring the Sun Ra Arkestra, the performance is titled Orions Rise and all proceeds will go to Hurricane Harvey relief. View Instagram post Facebook

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Gwyneth Paltrows love life? Yeah, she admits shes screwed up plenty of relationships By Libby Hill Gwyneth Paltrow takes full responsibility for her romantic failings. She admitted as much in a recent interview with the podcast Girlboss Radio, during which Paltrow went deep on some of her lost loves. Oh, my god, Ive [screwed] up so many relationships, so many, Paltrow said. Im actually a pretty good friend and a good sister and a daughter and a mother, but I am at my potentially most vulnerable  in the romantic slice of the pie. So its taken me a lot of work to get to the place where I have a good romantic relationship. Paltrow consciously uncoupled from ex-husband Chris Martin in 2014 after 10 years of marriage and has been romantically linked to American Horror Story creator Brad Falchuk for the past three years. On Girlboss Radio, Paltrow sent a shout-out to former beau Brad Pitt, whom she dated from 1994 through 1997, and was at one point engaged to. I [screwed] that up, Brad, Paltrow said. Paltrow also delved into her experiences as founder and CEO of her lifestyle brand Goop, sharing that once shes in the boardroom with investors, no one cares if shes a celebrity. I go into the room, and for the first 90 seconds, Im Gwyneth Paltrow, she said. And theyre like, Oh, my god, my wife loves you .... And then, about 90 seconds later, Im just getting grilled like anyone else. But she doesnt get offended; she relishes the challenge. It was such a beautiful chapter of my life when I started raising [venture capital financing], because it knocked me down so many pegs. I was like, Oh, Im, like, no one. Im nothing. This [stuff] is real. I have to know the most granular aspects of my business and be able to defend it. The celebrity just completely drains out of the room. Its irrelevant, she said. Paltrows full conversation with Sophia Amoruso can be streamed at Girlboss. Facebook

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Longtime Simpsons composer Alf Clausen fired from the show after 27 years By Randall Roberts When the 29th season of The Simpsons premieres in the fall, it will, for the first time in decades, be doing so without its longtime musical contributor, Alf Clausen. Clausen, who composed the Fox animated shows incidental music, was told that the show was looking for a different kind of music moving forward, according to Variety. Clausen confirmed his firing via Twitter. Thank you for all of the support...unfortunately, the news is true... https://t.co/jBQH0b40cz  Alf Clausen (@TheAlfClausen) August 31, 2017 The composers orchestral scores supported the familys foibles since the shows primitively drawn early days. And although The Simpsons theme song was penned by Danny Elfman, the sonic feel of the series has been defined by Clausens grandiose, often epic productions. Hes responsible for scoring Mr. Burns breakout See My Vest moment and crafted the tunes for the Springfield musical theater companys A Streetcar Named Desire adaptation. Ditto The Planet of the Apes musical. In short, nearly every classic music moment of The Simpsons has featured Clausens fingerprints. On Twitter, fans thanked Clausen for his work while expressing outrage at the circumstances surrounding his departure. Fired over the phone, yet, wrote one user. Clausen quickly corrected him with a one-word reply: Email ... On Thursday, producers for The Simpsons issued a statement to Variety. It stressed that Clausen will continue to contribute to the series: We tremendously value Alf Clausens contributions to The Simpsons and he will continue to have an ongoing role in the show. We remain committed to the finest in music for The Simpsons, absolutely including orchestral. The statement concluded: This is the part where we would make a joke but neither Alfs work nor the music of The Simpsons is treated as anything but seriously by us. Update, 1:16 p.m.: This story was updated with a statement from The Simpsons. Facebook

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Instead of statues, Trevor Noah and Roy Wood Jr. have another idea for honoring Confederate history By Chris Barton With the country still reeling from the harrowing impact of Hurricane Harvey in Texas, Wednesday nights Daily Show looked at one of the summers ongoing controversies: Confederate monuments. Occasionally setting aside the shows usual comedic tone, Trevor Noah enlisted correspondent Roy Wood Jr. to consider whether these statues honor Southern heritage, as their supporters claim, or the nations history and lingering problem with racism. After showing a montage of guests on network news shows who reminded viewers that these statues were erected during the Jim Crow era, decades after the Civil War, Wood equated slavery to another tragedy. Its like if a woman got out of an abusive relationship and then she had to keep pictures of her ex up in her house to remember the time, a straight-faced Wood explained. No, I dont need pictures to remember pain. People say, We want to remember the history of the Civil War, Noah added. Theres an easier way to remember what happened in the Civil War: Just walk around in the South. And if you see free black people, then you know what happened. Watch the segment above. Facebook

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Gloria Gaynor sings to Texas Harvey victims: You will survive By Christie DZurilla (Astrid Stawiarz / Getty Images) Gloria Gaynor wants people affected by Harvey to know they will survive, and shes communicating that message through a new version of the song that has defined her career. Gaynor, whose I Will Survive became an anthem over the years, rewrote the 1978 disco hit to reach out to victims in Texas and posted her rendition on social media Wednesday. Hi, my neighbors in Texas, she said in a video shot while she sat at a piano she was about to play. This is Gloria Gaynor with a song that hopefully will cheer you up just a little bit. @SylvesterTurner @rashivats @SallyMacFox26 @TheRitaGarcia @kaitlinmonte @ChrisdyannUribe @MsCoCoDominguez @JMartinFOX26 TX WILL SURVIVE  pic.twitter.com/FCNOnDr85o  Gloria Gaynor (@gloriagaynor) August 30, 2017 Here are the tweaked lyrics, for those who dont want to hit play with the sound on. First we were afraid

We were petrified

Thinking Texas couldnt live

With floodwaters this high

We know you spent plenty of time

Preparing for this hurricane

Who couldve known that it would come

With so much devastating rain

But we will strive

And youll survive

With all our love and help and prayers

We will stay strongly by your side

We are your neighbors tried and true

Well do all we can for you

And youll survive

You will survive, you will survive Similarly on Monday night, Coldplay unleashed a new original song written after the band was forced to cancel its Friday show in Houston with Hurricane Harvey bearing down. This is a new song, and well never play it again, frontman Chris Martin told an audience in Miami. Its a once-off. Its called Houston. Were going to sing it in Miami for everybody here, and then were going to send it over there to everyone who missed the show. Facebook

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Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation donates $1 million to Harvey recovery By Christie DZurilla (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times) Leonardo DiCaprio has stepped up with a $1-million donation to aid the victims of Hurricane Harvey, now a tropical storm, which has dumped historic levels of rain on the Gulf Coast over the last several days. United Way Worldwide announced Wednesday that it has started the United Way Harvey Recovery Fund with a seven-figure donation from the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation. The money  100% of it, according to the charity  will go to help victims of flooding with mid- and long-term recovery over the coming years. There are 23 United Ways that operate in the path of the storm, which made landfall Aug. 24. We are incredibly grateful for the generosity of Leonardo DiCaprio and his foundation, United Way Worldwide President and CEO Brian Gallagher said in a statement. Responding to Hurricane Harvey requires the best of all of us  and thats what this gift represents. DiCaprio has been urging support of the United Way and American Red Cross this week on his Twitter account and retweeting stories talking about Harvey and climate change. Di Caprios foundation has been committed to climate-related issues and environmental projects since 1998, Terry Tamminen, president and CEO of the foundation, said in a statement. We support efforts to build climate resilient communities and protect vulnerable wildlife and ecosystems across the planet, and have supported disaster relief and victim funds in the past. We hope others will step up and support the United Way and other organizations. Earlier this week, Sandra Bullock, who has a home in Texas, gave $1 million to the American Red Cross, repeating the lump-sum generosity she showed after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the U.S. Ellen DeGeneres was also in the seven-figure donation tier. The comic and talk-show host dropped $1 million in the relief bucket on Wednesday via J.J. Watts foundation. The effort by the Houston Texans star player topped $10 million on Thursday, with Watt chronicling its progress all week via videos on social media. Update, 8:50 a.m.: This post was updated with information about DeGeneres donation to Watts fund. Facebook

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A Star Is Born: Chris Tucker turns 45 today By Los Angeles Times Staff (Iris Schneider / Los Angeles Times) I had a dream as a kid: I wanted to be big, big like Richard [Pryor] and Eddie [Murphy]. I imagined it. I studied it. I had a passion.  Chris Tucker, 2001 FROM THE ARCHIVES: In a Big Rush Facebook

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Springsteen on Broadway was born to run, is extended through February By Libby Hill Bruce Springsteens solo shows on Broadway have been extended through February, just hours after the original run sold out. (Greg Allen / Invision/Associated Press) Good news for Bruce Springsteen fans who were locked out of purchasing tickets Wednesday morning for his upcoming run of shows on Broadway. Ticketmaster announced that Springsteen on Broadway, an intimate stage experience that launches in October and features the rock legend performing solo, will be extending for 10 additional weeks. Originally scheduled to close in November, the show was extended through February after the original block of tickets sold out in a matter of minutes Wednesday. "#SpringsteenBroadway has been EXTENDED! the ticket outlet tweeted, with a follow-up tweet explaining that fans who had previously registered to purchase tickets will not have to register again. #SpringsteenBroadway has been EXTENDED!

More information coming today.

There will NOT be any additional codes released for today's onsale. pic.twitter.com/xGY3rj3Yrl  Ticketmaster (@Ticketmaster) August 30, 2017 #SpringsteenBroadway extended run information 

YOU DO NOT HAVE TO REGISTER AGAIN!

NEW #VerifiedFan registration: https://t.co/2xNBBhcVES pic.twitter.com/FT3mLaTLPV  Ticketmaster (@Ticketmaster) August 30, 2017 Springsteen will be performing at New York Citys Walter Kerr Theater, which houses fewer than 1,000 seats. To curtail ticket scalping, Ticketmaster relied on its Verified Fan program. The program forces fans to register to even have an opportunity to purchase tickets and are limited to two tickets per purchase. For all of Ticketmasters efforts, resale sites already are flooded with Springsteen on Broadway tickets, with some reaching $10,000 apiece. Fans interested in trying their luck for the second batch of performance dates will need to register with Ticketmaster Verified Fan by Sept. 3 (at 7 p.m. Pacific). Tickets will be available for purchase 10 a.m. Pacific on Sept. 7. Facebook

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Sandra Bullock donates $1 million to Harvey relief efforts By Libby Hill Sandra Bullock donated $1 million to the American Red Cross for storm relief. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) With the Gulf Coast still battling the aftereffects of Tropical Storm Harvey, celebrities continue to come forward to help with relief efforts for the humanitarian crisis. Sandra Bullock, who has a home in Texas, donated $1 million to the American Red Cross emergency efforts, the organization confirmed to The Times on Wednesday. We are so thankful for the overwhelming and generous response from those who want to help those affected by this devastating storm, Elizabeth Penniman, vice president of communications for American Red Cross national headquarters, said in an email. Massive disasters like Hurricane Harvey create many critical and immediate needs, so we are heartened by donations like this  which allow us to provide immediate shelter, food and comfort to thousands in need, Penniman continued. The entertainment community has been so supportive to the Red Cross in response to this devastating disaster, and we are so grateful. Bullock is just the latest star who has donated to recovery efforts in Texas. The Kardashian family pledged $500,000 to the Salvation Army and Red Cross on Tuesday. Kevin Hart also spearheaded a celebrity-driven fundraising campaign on Crowdrise that has brought in more than $1 million for the Red Cross. Facebook

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Corinne Olympios wants DeMario Jackson to know she doesnt blame him for anything By Christie DZurilla Corinne Olympios doesnt have any hard feelings toward DeMario Jackson, the fellow Bachelor in Paradise cast member who was with her at the center of a scandal that shut down production on the reality TV series in June. I dont blame DeMario. I never pointed fingers at DeMario. I never said a bad word about DeMario, the 25-year-old told host Chris Harrison in an early-August taped interview that aired Tuesday night on ABC. She and Jackson havent spoken since production was halted after allegations of misconduct were made by a producer, leading to an investigation of what happened during a period when, Olympios now says, she was blacked out. I was almost a little bit nervous to talk to [DeMario], because he did run to the media and I didnt want to add fuel to the fire, she said. Before she had a chance to collect her thoughts, he was out there and so on the defensive, she said. He was doing his thing and I didnt want to get messed up in that. ... I cant help but feel like maybe he felt like I thought he did something to me. Jackson did not do anything bad, she insisted. Seeing him start crying in a clip from his own interview with Harrison, which had aired on the show last week, Olympios welled up a bit too. It was hard for me to go through something like that. I know exactly how he feels. The media wants to paint you a certain way that you know youre just not, she said. Olympios told Harrison the same things she had said in a Tuesday morning interview with Good Morning America about blacking out from drinking too much and mixing alcohol with medication. However, she didnt directly address her I am a victim statement that was released at the height of the scandal. On GMA, she said she meant she was a victim of the media. Regarding Bachelor in Paradise with Harrison, she simply talked about how awful it was to have so many people acting like they had been there or were suddenly experts on her life. To even get up and go get eggs at the grocery store ... my face was all over every magazine and I had to check out and everyones staring, Olympios said. Youre looking at them and its like, Im not what youre thinking right now. Then, near the end of the interview, she shared one big wish. Obviously hindsight is 20/20, she said, and I wish it could have been handled differently. Facebook

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Tomi Lahren finds new home at Fox News By Libby Hill Conservative firebrand Tomi Lahren is again gainfully employed after being fired from Glenn Becks The Blaze in March. On Wednesday, Lahren announced via her Facebook page that she is joining the Fox News team as a contributor. This exciting new step will allow me to give voice to all the America-loving patriots who have had my back since day one, Lahren wrote. I will remain a solid and passionate advocate for you. Though 25-year-old Lahren has made television appearances before -- including a contentious appearance on The Daily Show With Trevor Noah -- much of her career has been in digital media. She hosted On Point With Tomi Lahren for One America News Network, and her Final Thought videos have garnered her over 4.4 million Facebook followers. In addition to her role as a contributor, Lahren will also have a signature role on a Fox News digital product in development, according to a press release issued by the network. Lahren makes her debut on Wednesdays edition of Hannity at 7 p.m. PDT. Facebook

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Trevor Noah is shocked  shocked  by the latest revelations about Trump and Moscow By Robert Lloyd Even as the Earth offers humanity another taste of its weather future  and President Trump keeps Sheriff Joe Arpaio out of jail and North Korean missiles fly over Japan  late-night TV hosts have disappeared from their chairs as if it were August in France. Trevor Noah is on the job, though, hosting The Daily Show. Tuesday night, he had some mirthful words about the ongoing investigation into the Trump campaigns Russian affairs. Specifically, he reflected on the revelation of a letter of intent, signed by POTUS himself, to build a Trump Tower skyscraper in Moscow  and make it the tallest building in the world  despite Trumps repeated claims to have no business, no interests, no nothing in Russia. How can one person lie so big? HOW? Noah asked, amazedly. Its like if your friend said he had never heard of Mumford and Sons and then one day you see the album cover and youre like, wait a minute, youre Mumford. Were those connections strictly business, or were they getting out on the votey-votey action? Thats not clear yet, he said. What was clear is that a typically dubious character was at the center of it  namely Felix Sater, a Russian-born real estate developer once convicted of stabbing a man in the neck and face with the stem of a broken margarita glass. Of all the glasses to stab someone with, a margarita glass is the worst, Noah said. Youre literally putting salt into the wounds. There was also a conviction for Saters involvement in a $40-million stock fraud, Noah added, which came as no surprise to the host. You never trust someone with a cat name. If a human goes by Felix or Whiskers or Mittens, you should probably just stay away. There were emails, of course; there are always emails. Buddy, our boy can become President of the USA and we can engineer it. I will get all of Putins team to buy in on this, Sater wrote to Trumps personal lawyer, Michael D. Cohen. This buddy boy email may not be the smoking gun for Trump, Noah concluded, but what it could end up being is the broken taillight  the thing that gives law enforcement the excuse they need to look into Trumps trunk. And we all know, he said, as a picture of the golfing presidents derriere appeared over his shoulder, hes got a lot of junk in that trunk. Facebook

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Jury president Annette Bening addresses lack of female representation at Venice Film Festival By Nardine Saad (Claudio Onorati / Associated Press) Though there arent as many women represented at this years Venice Film Festival as she would like, jury president Annette Bening believes things are changing. The four-time Oscar nominee, whose film credits include American Beauty, The Kids Are All Right, 20th Century Women and Bugsy, addressed the lack of female directors Wednesday during the 74th annual Venice Film Festivals opening press conference. (Only one of the 21 films in competition is directed by a woman this year.) As women, we have to be sharp, shrewd and creative in what we choose to make. Sexism does exist and there is no question about it. But things are changing, the actress said at the opening press conference, according to Variety. The more we can make films that speak to everybody, the more we will be regarded as filmmakers, she added. Bening, the first woman to chair the jury in more than a decade, said she knew of both veteran and rookie filmmakers struggling to get their movies made whether they are men or women. She said the industry has a long way to go, in terms of parity but was confident that the direction were going is positive. Facebook

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A Star Is Born: Lisa Ling turns 44 today By Los Angeles Times Staff (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) [People have said to me], When you were in the worlds largest slum [in India], you could almost smell what it was like by your expression.' Its not that Im trying to force myself on the viewer. Im just their eyes and ears. I think our work is quite pure.  Lisa Ling, 1997 FROM THE ARCHIVES: Taking news personally Facebook

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In wake of Charlottesville strife, Virginia Film Festival to host director Spike Lee as special guest By Josh Rottenberg Director Spike Lee photographed in 2015. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times) As the city of Charlottesville, Va., and the nation as a whole continues to grapple with the violent racial strife that erupted earlier this month, the Virginia Film Festival announced on Tuesday that it will host filmmaker Spike Lee as a special guest at the upcoming festival as part of a program around the legacy of slavery. Lee, who has tackled thorny issues of race throughout his career, will present his Oscar-nominated documentary 4 Little Girls about the 1963 bombing of a Baptist church in Birmingham, Ala., that claimed the lives of four African American girls, an act of white supremacist terrorism that marked a pivotal moment in the civil rights movement. We have for many years been interested in bringing Spike Lee to the Virginia Film Festival as he remains one of the most talented, innovative, and socially conscious filmmakers in our world today, said Jody Kielbasa, director of the film festival and vice provost for the arts at the University of Virginia. We first reached out to Mr. Lee in the spring to include him in our upcoming collaboration with Montpelier, and of course, the recent events in Charlottesville have made his participation more compelling, relevant and vital. The festival program will also include a short film titled I Cant Breathe that combines footage of the 2014 chokehold death of Eric Garner during his arrest by a New York City police officer with footage of the death of Radio Raheem under similar circumstances in Lees 1989 film Do the Right Thing. The program is part of a larger collaboration with Montpelier, the Virginia plantation of President James Madison, who owned more than 100 slaves, that will explore both how the legacy of slavery continues to affect the lives of African Americans and how they are depicted in film and other media. The 30th annual Virginia Film Festival will run from Nov. 9 to 12 in Charlottesville. Facebook

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Jerry Seinfeld recaps childhood in Netflixs first Jerry Before Seinfeld trailer By Nardine Saad The first trailer for Netflixs stand-up special Jerry Before Seinfeld has arrived, and its a madcap recap of Jerry Seinfelds humble beginnings, quirky family dynamics and bits of everyday observations. The teaser opens with Johnny Carson introducing the iconic comic in 1981 during his debut on The Tonight Show. Then it showcases the sitcom star back at the mike at the Comic Strip, the famous New York comedy club where he launched his career. Throwback photos, videos and interviews with Seinfeld are woven throughout. Hes back where he began, the title reads, doing what he loves. The original comedy special is the first of two stand-up specials Seinfeld will deliver in his massive deal with the streaming giant. (The deal also includes the entirety of his Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee catalog and 24 new episodes of the Emmy-nominated talk show, which will launch later this year.) Seinfeld and Netflix teased to the special last week with several clips posted on Instagram and a close-up look at the numerous legal pads scrawled with handwritten jokes hes kept from the 1970s. Jerry Before Seinfeld begins streaming Sept. 19. Facebook

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Kermit the Frog finds his new voice in Matt Vogel By Nardine Saad The new Kermit the Frog has arrived and hes following his dreams -- literally. New Muppeteer Matt Vogel made his vocal debut as the iconic frog on Monday in a Muppet Thought of the Week video posted on YouTube. Dreams are how we figure out where we want to go. Life is how we get there, he says in the brief clip. Im headed this way. The veteran voice actor has worked on Sesame Street and also operates the Muppets Floyd, Constantine and Sweetums. He is only the third puppeteer to take on Kermit the Frog full time since the character was created in 1955. He replaced former puppeteer Steve Whitmire, who began work on The Muppet Show in 1978 and inherited the role of Kermit when creator Jim Henson died in 1990. Whitmire was dismissed over concerns about his repeated unacceptable business conduct over a period of many years and he consistently failed to address the feedback, the Muppets Studio said at the time. Whitmire claimed he was fired in October 2016 and kept quiet about it until Vogel was announced as his replacement in July. It was his opinionated communication style that earned him his walking papers, he said. Facebook

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Trevor Noah says Trumps pardon of Sheriff Arpaio renders courts powerless By Nardine Saad The Daily Show host Trevor Noah broke down former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaios presidential pardon on Monday, explaining how President Trumps decision undermines the judicial branch of government. The controversial Maricopa County lawman, who was convicted of criminal contempt of court for violating Latinos rights, earned himself a thuggish reputation as a sheriff, Noah said, citing his agencys use of tent cities, stun guns, jail overcrowding and numerous cases of inmate deaths and police brutality. But those were just his extracurriculars, Noah said. It turns out his full-time job is racism. The 85-year-old Arpaio was found guilty in July of defying a 2011 court order barring officers from stopping and detaining Latino motorists to check their immigration status. As much as Sheriff Arpaio presented himself as anti-illegal immigrants, it turned out really he was just anti being a decent human being, Noah said. When the president of the United States steps in and pardons someones contempt conviction, hes essentially rendering the courts powerless.  Daily Show host Trevor Noah His abuses hurt inmates and taxpayers, costing the state $142 million in legal fees, settlements and compliance costs, Noah said. Other things they could have spent that money on? Schools, roads or they could have just paid Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather to just punch Arpaio in the face. But Noah made the point that Trumps decision completely undercut the judiciary. Remember how the three branches of government are supposed to be equal? Well, convicting someone of contempt is the one and only way the judicial branch can put muscle behind its decisions. So when the president of the United States steps in and pardons someones contempt conviction, hes essentially rendering the courts powerless, he said. Watch the full segment above. Facebook

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Watch Coldplay dedicate new song to Harvey victims -- and vow never to play it again By Randall Roberts (Jens Meyer / Associated Press) On Monday night in Miami, Coldplays Chris Martin drew attention to the victims of Tropical Storm Harvey by unveiling a new song called Houston -- and then vowed never to play it again. The band, which was forced to cancel its Houston show days earlier due to the storm, wrote the song as the region was enduring historic flooding. After acknowledging that he and the band all grew up loving country music, and, of course, thats kind of what we think of when we go to Texas, Martin asked the crowd to bear with them. This is a new song, and well never play it again, Martin said. Its a once-off. Its called Houston. Were going to sing it in Miami for everybody here and then were going to send it over there to everyone who missed the show. Vowing to return to Houston, Martin and band huddled and tentatively started a twangy little number. Im dreaming of when I get back to Houston, sang Martin, replete with a touch of Johnny Cash-ian twang. Describing it as that city where they send you into space, Martin crooned of Corpus Christi, Harris County, Galveston, of a harmony that hums down there in Houston, and urged the region to keep on keeping on. Merle Haggard it wasnt (and everyones a critic), but the performance drew huge applause from fans and went viral on Tuesday morning. Coldplays quick-turnaround ditty is hardly the first to document such deluges. Johnny Cashs Three Feet High and Rising occurred in real time as a family struggled to keep dry. In Charley Pattons High Water Everywhere, the country blues singer recalled the lives lost in the Great Flood of 1927, which consumed the Mississippi Delta and spawned dozens of songs: Oh, Lordy, women is groaning down / Oh, Lordy, women and children sinking down, Patton sang. I couldnt see nobody home, and was no one to be found. Below is another song about the flood of 27: Bessie Smiths Backwater Blues. Facebook

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Corinne Olympios on Bachelor in Paradise scandal: I was really a victim of the media By Christie DZurilla (Frazer Harrison / Getty Images) Corinne Olympios says medication, the booze and the media were key players in Junes production-stopping Bachelor in Paradise scandal and its aftermath. Calling the situation just really unfortunate, she said Tuesday on Good Morning America that she doesnt remember anything that happened. Seeing video of what transpired on the first day of production on the looking-for-love reality show was like watching not-me, she said. Im watching someone else. On that day, Olympios and fellow cast member DeMario Jackson allegedly wound up in the pool or hot tub together in a situation that a producer thought went too far. Allegations of misconduct were made, and production shut down the next day for an investigation that ultimately determined nothing untoward had happened. The show, sans Corinne and DeMario, premiered its fourth season Aug. 14, a week later than originally planned. I did drink, too much, I definitely understand that, Olympios said. But I was also on a medication that severely blacks you out and impairs your judgment and messes with your balance, that I didnt know you were not supposed to not drink on, and so it really just caused a horrible, horrible blackout. It was like I went under like anesthesia and then just like woke up. Shes now weaning off the medication, she said, and cutting down on her drinking. But in explaining her provocative official statement that she was a victim living out her worst nightmare, Olympios revealed her specific definition of victimhood, which had little or nothing to do with consent, which was a hot topic throughout the scandal. I was really a victim of the media, Olympios said. It was just, all of a sudden people became an expert on the situation and on what happened, and it was like, Im still trying to figure out exactly what happened. It was just horrible to deal with. It got really, really bad. ..., she added. The things people say are just insane. When the remaining Paradise cast met as a whole on the first episode of the season, their sympathies seemed to lie with Jackson as they worried about the long-term effects the scandal would have on him and any future career opportunities, especially given the lingering racial issues of alleged misconduct between a white woman and a black man. However, they were quick to say they were not slut-shaming Olympios either. Jackson spoke last week on Bachelor in Paradise, sitting down with host Chris Harrison to give his take on what happened. Heres a taste of that, courtesy of GMA: Facebook

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Victorias Secret Fashion Show heads to Shanghai this year By Nardine Saad Angels will fly over the Great Wall of China in November as the Victorias Secret Fashion Show heads to Shanghai for the first time. Supermodels Adriana Lima, Alessandra Ambrosio, Behati Prinsloo, Candice Swanepoel, Lily Aldridge and more will strut their stuff for the annual lingerie extravaganza, Victorias Secret and CBS said in a statement on Tuesday. The iconic pre-holiday show  replete with teensy underwear and massive angel wings  is usually filmed in New York, but Miami, Los Angeles and London have also hosted the scantily clad runway walk. The broadcast will air on CBS on Nov. 28 and will be shown in more than 190 countries. Models Elsa Hosk, Jasmine Tookes, Josephine Skriver, Lais Ribeiro, Martha Hunt, Romee Strijd, Sara Sampaio, Stella Maxwell and Taylor Hill will also walk in this years show. Musical performers will be announced at a later date, the statement said. Ni hao, China! This year's #VSFashionShow is headed to Shanghai. Watch it Nov 28, 10/9C on @CBS. Learn more: https://t.co/AHWHWjKOCI pic.twitter.com/tgIVJs7Lsr  Victoria's Secret (@VictoriasSecret) August 29, 2017 Facebook

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A Star Is Born: William Friedkin turns 82 today By Los Angeles Times Staff (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) I love the experience of making films. I love the mud. I love the dirt. I love all the inconveniences. Thats why you do it. If you do it because youre looking to be the Great American film maker, youre liable to experience disappointment.  William Friedkin, 1989 FROM THE ARCHIVES: The Exorcisms of William Friedkin Facebook

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Taylor Swifts Look What You Made Me Do video bashes another YouTube record By Randy Lewis Taylor Swifts official video for her first new music in three years, Look What You Made Me Do, has blasted through the existing YouTube record for most views tallied during its first 24 hours of release. The clip logged 43.2 million views since the video was posted Sunday evening. That far surpasses the record set in 2013 by Korean pop star Psys Gentleman, which racked up 36 million views in its first day. It also hasnt slowed interest in Swifts previously released lyric video for the same song, which set a record for lyric video viewership by drawing 19 million views in the first 24 hours. That version has now surpassed 47 million views in less than four days. Both videos have generated flurries of debate and analysis among Swifts fans and her dissenters, the former seemingly outnumbering the latter by a margin of nearly 5 to 1. Likes have surpassed the 1 million mark, while dislikes stood at 232,000 at the 24-hour mark. The song is the first single from her forthcoming album Reputation, due Nov. 10. It will be Swifts sixth studio album. Each of her last three albums sold more than 1 million copies during the first week of release. Swift is the only artist with that achievement to her credit. Update Aug. 29, 10:30 a.m.: This post has been updated with the finalized 24-hour viewer total. Facebook

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Watch the Game of Thrones cast and crew break down some of Season 7s best scenes By Tracy Brown Game of Thrones Season 7 may have concluded Sunday, but there is still plenty left for fans to unpack before Thrones"-withdrawal sets in. Along with all the burning questions left in the wake of the season finale, HBO has left us with some behind-the-scenes videos from this seasons most epic moments. The production magic of Game of Thrones is undeniable and it extends to beyond special effects dragons. From Arya donning Walder Freys face to dole out her brand of vengeance to Daenerys walking into Dragonstone for the first time, there is plenty to explore from just the first episode alone. The video above dives deep into what it took to craft the Season 7 premiere, including how Cerseis fancy new giant map came to be. Of course, plenty of fans are probably still contemplating the latest episode and what Jon and Danys new level of intimacy means going into the final season. Can this be how the actual prince that was promised is conceived? And if you were a bit squicked out by the pairs developing relationship, youre not alone. Unlike Jon and Daenerys, Emilia Clarke and Kit Harington are definitely aware that they are both Targaryens. For us as actors its just weird, said Clarke in a video about the coupling. The reality of what they are to each other. In fact, the actors had more facial expressions and sound effects to convey their feelings about this union than words. Watch in the video below. Facebook

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Ed Skrein leaves Hellboy after whitewashing furor By Christie DZurilla (Jordan Strauss / Associated Press) Ed Skrein will not play Maj. Ben Daimio in a reboot of Hellboy, the English actor said Monday, noting that when he accepted the role he didnt know that in the comics the character was of mixed Asian descent. Just a week ago, Skrein had tweeted his excitement over taking on the role. Backlash  in the form of whitewashing allegations  ensued. It is clear that representing this character in a culturally accurate way holds significance for people, and that to neglect this responsibility would continue a worrying tendency to obscure ethnic minority stories and voices in the Arts, the 34-year-old Deadpool actor said in a statement announcing that he had changed his mind about portraying Daimio. Calling it a moral decision, he said he was sad to leave the movie but hoped his action would make a difference in making equal representation in the arts a reality. David Harbour, the Stranger Things actor slated to play Hellboy, tweeted, Hey internet. Thank you for your voices. An injustice was done and will be corrected. Many thanks to @edskrein for doing what is right. Mike Mignola, who created the Hellboy comics, also thanked Skrein on Monday and said the move was very nicely done. Hey internet. Thank you for your voices.



An injustice was done and will be corrected.



Many thanks to @edskrein for doing what is right. https://t.co/tUvP6YibgG  David Harbour (@DavidKHarbour) August 28, 2017 In addition to Harbour, the 2018 version of the story so far stars Milla Jovovich as Nimue, Ian McShane as Professor Broom and Alice Monaghan as Sasha Lane, according to IMDb. Neil Marshall, who among other things has helmed episodes of Game of Thrones and Westworld, is set to direct. The Daimio character didnt appear in the 2004 or 2008 Guillermo del Toro films based on the Hellboy comics. Heres Skreins full explanation: pic.twitter.com/8WoSsHXDFO  Ed Skrein (@edskrein) August 28, 2017 Updated, 2:39 p.m.: This story was updated with comments from Harbour and Mignola. Facebook

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Kathy Griffin and Anderson Cooper are super-friends no more By Libby Hill Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin (Rob Kim / Getty Images) What began as a tasteless joke at the expense of President Trump continues to have real-life consequences for comedian Kathy Griffin. In an extensive interview with The Cut, Griffin admitted that her 17-year friendship with Anderson Cooper, with whom she co-hosted CNNs New Years Eve gig for a decade, ended in the wake of the Trump controversy. In May, Griffin publicized a photo shoot that featured her holding a bloodied imitation severed head bearing a strong resemblance to the president. The backlash was immediate and largely bipartisan, as many saw the images as glorifying violence and furthering political division. Griffin quickly apologized for the misstep but the damage had been done, with condemnation from the White House, investigation by the Secret Service and the loss of several jobs, including her CNN gig. On May 30, Cooper tweeted his disapproval of Griffins artistic expression, calling it disgusting and completely inappropriate, and Griffin admitted at a June 2 news conference that Coopers comments hurt her. For the record, I am appalled by the photo shoot Kathy Griffin took part in. It is clearly disgusting and completely inappropriate.  Anderson Cooper (@andersoncooper) May 31, 2017 In July, Cooper appeared on Bravos Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen and stated that he and Griffin were still friends. Yeah, were still friends, and look I said what I said about  I didnt think what she said was appropriate, but I wish her the best and I hope she bounces back, he stated. But Griffin claimed that at that point, nearly two months after the fact, she had yet to hear from Cooper privately. In reality, it wasnt until Aug. 10 that Cooper finally reached out to Griffin in a series of text messages, CNN confirmed to The Cut  at which point Griffin informed him that their friendship was over. Facebook

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In One Mississippi Season 2 trailer, Tig Notaro prays for the gay to stay By Christie DZurilla Tig Notaros One Mississippi is coming back for a second season, one in which her character is getting used to life back in her small Mississippi hometown. Season 1 of the Amazon Prime Video series took viewers through a fictionalized series of events that echoed Notaros own life: a potentially deadly intestinal illness, breast cancer, a double mastectomy, the unexpected death of her beloved mother and a romantic breakup. Yup, its a dark comedy. In Season 2, L.A. transplant Tig is navigating her new environs, including strategizing about how to proceed with a crush on Straight Kate and dealing with some well-meaning, pray-the-gay-away critics of her radio show. Plus, theres her stepfathers whole dishwasher drill to contend with, not to mention the story line that has to do with sexual assault. The new season of One Mississippi starts streaming Sept. 8. Facebook

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Watch Frank Oceans lyric video for new song Provider By Randall Roberts As is his wont these days, R&B superstar Frank Ocean unveiled a new song, Provider, his own way: during the newest installment of Blonded Radio, the Apple Music/Beats 1 radio show he hosts and curates. The ballads a meditation that name-checks Aphex Twin, shoegaze, Talking Heads, Jaws, Patagonia sportswear and Stanley Kubrick, and moves through verses without much regard for structure. Immediately following the Sunday premiere, Ocean dropped the lyric video on his website. Featuring a souped-up mini-boombox retrofitted with bigger speaker cones and a Velcro-attached machete, the clip suggests an owner getting ready to hunt prey while using Provider as the lure. Ocean hasnt uploaded the clip to YouTube, but you can listen and watch on his blonded.co website. Facebook

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Gone With the Wind, deemed insensitive, has been pulled from a Memphis theater By Christie DZurilla Gone With the Wind will not be shown in the future by a Tennessee theater that decided it was insensitive to many in the local community. The 1939 movie, which marked the first Oscar win by a black actor, depicts a romanticized view of slavery and life on a Southern plantation before, during and after the Civil War. Gone With the Wind, which won 10 Academy Awards in 1940, including for best picture, had been shown by the Orpheum Theatre Group for years as part of an annual Summer Movie Series, according to Memphis Commercial-Appeal. At times, it was screened more than once a year, the paper said. This year, however, a different climate prevailed. The recent screening of Gone With the Wind at the Orpheum on Friday, Aug. 11, 2017, generated numerous comments, Brett Batterson, president of the theater group, said Friday in a statement (via the New York Times). The Orpheum carefully reviewed all of them. As an organization whose stated mission is to entertain, educate and enlighten the communities it serves, the Orpheum cannot show a film that is insensitive to a large segment of its local population. The majority of Memphis residents are black, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The screening happened, coincidentally, on the day before a rally of white nationalists that turned violent in Charlottesville, Va.  a rally that has been followed by a national conversation about whether to purge monuments to Civil War generals and soldiers from public spaces. In an interview with the Commercial-Appeal, Batterson said the appropriateness of screening Gone With the Wind had been discussed every year, but the social media storm this year really brought it home. By Monday, comments on social media, including on the Facebook post announcing the screening, had shifted in large part to defense of Gone With the Wind as a product of its time that, despite its romanticized portrayal of the Old South and of slavery, was still part of movie history and worth showing on a big screen. The Orpheum did not respond Monday to The Times requests for comment. Hattie McDaniels Oscar win for supporting actress was a significant first but was also loaded with a lot of political and racial issues given that the film was the classic archetype of the Mammy, said Adilifu Nama, associate professor of African American Studies at Loyola Marymount University, speaking to The Times in 2014. McDaniels role of Mammy is fundamentally a subservient role and is part of a film that is a Southern racial fantasy, Nama said. Facebook

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Taylor Swift gets petty and Pink talks pretty in the must-see moments from MTVs Video Music Awards By Libby Hill Were you too busy watching [spoiler] revealed as [spoiler] on Sunday nights Game of Thrones finale to watch MTVs Video Music Awards? Fear not! Weve gathered up four must-see moments from the socially conscious affair (and one lackluster video debut from Taylor Swift) to keep you in the loop. Pinks PowerPoint presentation It was a banner night for singer Pink, who received the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award for her body of work and used the occasion to share an anecdote about her daughter Willow. Recently, Pink stated, her daughter referred to herself as the ugliest person she knew and complained that she looked like a boy with long hair. At first, the Raise Your Glass singer was taken aback by her daughters words but soon swung into action, compiling an elaborate PowerPoint presentation about the history of androgynous rock stars, including Michael Jackson, David Bowie and Annie Lennox. Pink relayed a simple sentiment that most of us could learn a lot from: So, baby, girl, we dont change. We take the gravel and the shell and we make a pearl. Logic talks emotions Plenty of artists used the VMAs stage to speak passionately about issues they care about, but few did so as extensively as rapper Logic. After his performance of 1-800-273-8255" with Khalid and Alessia Cara, the title of which is the phone number of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, Logic talked about mental health and equality. Beginning at 3:50 in the above video, Logic first thanked the audience for giving him a platform to discuss the important issue of mental health. He then quickly pivoted to other pressing social issues including discrimination, sexism and domestic violence. I dont give a damn if youre black, white or any color in between, Logic said. I dont care if youre Christian, youre Muslim, youre gay, youre straight, I am gonna fight for your equality because I believe that we are all born equal, but we are not treated equally and that is why we must fight. Jared Leto honors Chester Bennington Logics performance and subsequent speech were particularly moving given the past years loss of two rock musicians to suicide  Linkin Parks Chester Bennington and Soundgardens Chris Cornell. Jared Leto, an Academy Award winner and frontman of Thirty Seconds to Mars, spoke about both men at Sundays ceremony. MTV asked me to come here to say a few words about Chester and the late, great, Chris Cornell, two artists I had the absolute pleasure of touring with, Leto said of the two singers who were also close friends. Chester said of Chris, Your voice was joy and pain and anger and forgiveness, love and heartache, all wrapped up into one, Leto recalled. Leto also recounted his own memories of Bennington. I think about his heart, Leto said. And I remember his voice. At once ferocious and delicate, that voice will live forever. Fifth Harmony gets shady Despite the pleas for equality and the heartfelt speeches, there was still plenty of time for pettiness at the VMAs, as evidenced by Fifth Harmonys performance. As the group took the stage to perform its latest single, Angel, a mystery fifth member appeared in the lineup before being unceremoniously yanked offstage as the song began. What appeared as an inexplicable stunt to the uninitiated was likely a shady reference to former Fifth Harmony frontwoman Camila Cabello, who exited the group in December to pursue a solo career. It wasnt so much that Cabellos departure stung her former colleagues but that she reportedly failed to inform them of her decision before announcing it to the world. Oops. Also Taylor Swift Unless you were in a coma for the whole of last week, you probably heard that Taylor Swift announced the release date for her upcoming album, Reputation, as well as releasing the first single, Look What You Made Me Do. Its fine. Sunday night, Swift debuted the video for Look What You Made Me Do. It is also fine. This has been your daily Taylor Swift update. Facebook

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Kevin Hart, Beyonce and Drake lead charge for Hurricane Harvey flood relief By Nardine Saad (Liz O. Baylen / Los Angeles Times) As Harvey lashed southeastern Texas over the weekend, celebrities rallied for the relief effort. Comedian Kevin Hart led the charge Sunday night, donating $25,000 and challenging his celebrity friends to donate to the Red Cross amid catastrophic flooding in the Lone Star State. I think weve participated in a lot of challenges on the Internet, some meaningful, some meaningless, but weve all done them. Ive been a person thats partaken in several of them, Hart said in an Instagram video. At this point, this is a serious matter, he continued. I think the people are in bad shape and they need help. Im going to lead the charge and step up in this way. The Jumanji star called on his co-star Dwayne Johnson, comics Steve Harvey, Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle and Jerry Seinfeld, as well as musicians Jay-Z, Beyonce and Justin Timberlake to make donations and tag someone else to do the same. At that point, Houston native Beyonce and Kelly Rowland of Destinys Child had already posted notes about their hometown on Instagram, sending thoughts and prayers to the state that launched their careers. View Instagram post View Instagram post The deluge of support continued with country star Chris Young. The Man I Want to Be singer posted an emotional YouTube video about his certainty that his Texas home was destroyed and concern for his friends and family in the state. He donated $100,000 to relief efforts to a GoFundMe campaign to benefit the Red Cross. Harvey, one of the worst natural disasters in the states history, slammed onshore Friday as a Category 4 hurricane, then weakened to a tropical storm on Saturday, dropping up to 24 inches of rain on Houston in 24 hours. The National Weather Service reported that at least five people had died as of Sunday evening, but that number was expected to increase as the floodwaters recede. More than 30,000 people across the Gulf Coast are likely to seek temporary shelter as the tropical storm continues to drench southeastern Texas and Louisiana with heavy rains and surging floodwaters, The Times reported. Toronto native Drake, who has lived in Houston for the last eight years, said that he and DJ Future the Prince are working with local relief groups to aid and assist the people of Texas in anyway we can and in the most immediate way possible. I also want to thank all the men and women of service and volunteers for their courageous efforts to help people in need, the rapper said on Instagram. I encourage everyone to do what they can to assist the people of Texas knowing whatever effort you can make to help will go a long way. View Instagram post Also, during the MTV Video Music Awards Awards on Sunday, host Katy Perry touched upon the catastrophic event. She too urged viewers to donate to the Red Cross. All of us here at the VMAs are sending love to the people of southeastern Texas and everyone affected by Hurricane Harvey right now, Perry said onstage. Were praying for your safety in the days to come and we stand with you as you rebuild because were all in this together. According to the Houston Chronicle, more than 15 inches of rain could fall on several more southeastern Texas cities. Corpus Christi, where Harvey first made landfall, saw upward of 20 inches of rain in two days. By Monday morning, up to 40 inches of rain had fallen on northeast Houston. Another 20 inches were expected Monday before Tropical Storm Harvey travels farther east. Facebook

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Susan Bro, mother of slain Charlottesville protester Heather Heyer, announces anti-hate foundation at the MTV VMAs By Randall Roberts (Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP) During an evening filled with defiant messages against racism, homophobia and body shaming, the mother of Heather Heyer announced some concrete actions to further the cause. Susan Bro, whose daughter was killed two weeks ago during protests in Charlottesville, Va., has worked through her grief by speaking out against racism, and took a further step by creating the Heather Heyer Foundation. Describing it as a nonprofit organization that will provide scholarships to help more people to join Heathers fight against hatred, Bro requested that viewers visit the new site to help me make Heathers death count. Added Bro: Heather never marched alone. She was always joined by people from every race and every background in this country. Bro was introduced by Robert Lee IV -- a descendant of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee -- who said his ancestor has became of idol of white supremacy and hate. Lee went on to describe racism as Americas original sin. He went on to ask all of those with privilege to confront white supremacy and racism head-on. Watch his speech below. I call on all of us with privilege and power to confront racism and white supremacy head-on" - Robert Lee IV #VMAs pic.twitter.com/ko4SM9VnaU  MTV (@MTV) August 28, 2017 Facebook

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Watch Pinks inspiring MTV VMA speech to individuality By Randall Roberts In receiving her Video Vanguard award at the MTV VMAs on Sunday at the Forum -- the shows equivalent of a lifetime achievement trophy -- the pop star Pink told a story about a conversation shed recently had with her young daughter. They were driving to school and her daughter said, Mama, Im the ugliest girl I know. Pink replied, Huh? And she was like, Yeah, I look like a boy with long hair. Pink said that she immediately thought, My god, youre 6. Where is this coming from? The artist and mom didnt lecture her daughter. Instead, said Pink: I went home and made a PowerPoint presentation for her, and in that presentation were androgynous rock stars and artists that live their truth; are probably made fun of every day of their lives and carry on and wave their flag; and inspire the rest of us. These are artists like Michael Jackson and David Bowie and Freddie Mercury and Annie Lennox and Prince and Janis Joplin and George Michael, Elton John, so many artists. Pink said that her daughters eyes glazed over, but Pink pressed her about why she felt that way about herself. What do you think I look like? She said, Youre beautiful. The pop singer explained that she gets critiqued, too. They say I look like a boy or Im too masculine or Im too -- I have too many opinions. My body is too strong. I said to her, Do you see me growing my hair? She said No Mama. I said, Do you see me changing my body? She said, No Mama. Do you see me changing the way I present myself to the world? No Mama. Do you see me selling out arenas all over the world. Yes Mama. OK baby girl. We dont change. We take the gravel and the shell and we make a pearl. And we help other people to change so that they can see more kinds of beauty. Added Pink in closing: To all the artists here, Im so inspired by you. Thank you for being your true selves and for lighting the way for us. Facebook

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Watch Jared Leto offer touching tribute to Chris Cornell and Chester Bennington at the MTV VMAs By Randall Roberts In a moving tribute to two fallen musicians, the actor and musician Jared Leto honored the lives of Chris Cornell of Soundgarden and Chester Bennington of Linkin Park at the MTV VMAs on Sunday. Cornell and Bennington committed suicide in 2017, and Leto was friends with both. In 1976 in Phoenix, Ariz., a child was born. He was precocious, full of life, and determined, and grew up to become the singer of one of the greatest rock bands in the history of music, Leto said. His name was Chester Bennington, and the band is Linkin Park. Leto added that MTV asked him to say a few words about Bennington and Cornell, who he described as two artists that I had the absolute pleasure of touring with. They were close friends with one another -- Chester even singing the cover of the classic Hallelujah at Chris funeral. Recalling Benningtons words at Cornells funeral service, Leto said: Chester said of Chris, Your voice was joy and pain and anger and forgiveness, love and heartache all wrapped up into one. Just weeks later, Chester himself was gone. Chester was my friend. As he was to so many. Witnessing his life taught me important things -- especially about working relentlessly, pursuing dreams and being kind and caring while doing it. Facebook

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Kodak Black, Lil Uzi Vert and more steal the MTV VMA spotlight By Gerrick Kennedy Kodak Black arriving at the MTV VMAs. (Jordan Strauss / Invision / Associated Press) The line near a concession stand inside the Forum minutes before the MTV VMAs kicked off on Sunday was lengthy, but no one was waiting on food or drinks. Instead, a dozen or so folks waited patiently to get a selfie with Kodak Black, who high-fived and posed with as fans fumbled with smartphones. The VMAs are typically rife with heavyweights (Kendrick Lamar, Katy Perry, etc.) but this years ceremony looked to tap into the wide scene of rising acts that have been dominating streaming services and social media all summer. Before the telecast even began Lil Uzi Vert clinched a major win, taking the trophy for song of summer for XO Tour Llif3" and he later joined Ed Sheeran for the tune, no doubt the nights most surprising collaboration. Meanwhile, Khalids pre-show medley could have easily anchored the main show while reality star turned breakout rap sensation Cardi B was another highlight of the pre-show festivities. Her viral hit Bodak Yellow rattled throughout the Forum during nearly every commercial break. Fifth Harmony later made its debut at the VMAs with an explosive main stage performance of Down, a song that also won the award for pop video. Facebook

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Jack Antonoff is living his best life at the MTV VMAs By Mikael Wood Jack Antonoff performs onstage during the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards pre-show. (Joshua Blanchard / Getty Images) Has anyone at MTVs Video Music Awards had more screen time so far than Jack Antonoff? First the A-list producer and songwriter turned up on the nights pre-show ceremony for a performance with his band Bleachers. Then he introduced Lorde by noting that hed seen her eat gas-station sushi during the two years they spent together working on her album Melodrama. He also accepted the award for best collaboration  for Taylor Swift and Zayns I Dont Wanna Live Forever (Fifty Shades Darker), which he helped create  because the singers couldnt be there. But Antonoffs best moment? Obviously the candid reaction shot in which he was shown casually eating a banana, as his girlfriend, Lena Dunham, described it on Twitter. My boyfriend just casually eating a banana at the VMAs is a good reminder of why we've been at it half a decade  Lena Dunham (@lenadunham) August 28, 2017 Facebook

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Watch Taylor Swifts bold Look What You Made Me Do video, which premiered during the MTV VMAs By Randall Roberts Taylor Swifts new video for Look What You Made Me Do, which premiered during the 2017 MTV VMAs on Sunday night, features her dressed as a zombie, a diamond-drenched queen, a red-dressed seductress, a car-crash victim, a bird in a cage, a kitty-masked thief with a baseball bat, a biker chick wearing studded leather and a whip-snapping dominatrix. As she poses and pretends, Swift makes a not-so-veiled reference to her ongoing feud with Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, getting all combative behind the microphone as a feather-light melody jumps behind her. The video premiered during a ceremony hosted by pop star and avowed Swift nemesis Katy Perry. Perry didnt introduce the clip, a hint that the two probably still arent besties. Inside the Forum, the video premiered on multiple big screen TVs rose that from the stage, and Perry was nowhere in sight. As the clip seems to be winding down, the music fades. But Swift hasnt fully made her point. In its final moments arrive a dozen-odd versions of Swift standing in front of a black private jet with the name of her new album, Reputation, scrawled on it. The many Swifts start bickering and referencing the various criticisms that have been lobbied at her over the years. Stop making that face, its so annoying, the zombie Swift says, a nod to what some believe is the exaggerated excitement the artist shows when she wins awards. A young version of Swift interrupts with an innocent Yall! but is shot down by an embittered Swift: Oh stop acting like youre so nice. Youre so fake! Standing in the center of the line is Swift seemingly dressed as she was at the 2009 VMAs, when West interrupted her victory speech to decry Beyonce's loss. Holding her VMA trophy, she says, Id like very much to be excluded from this narrative, both a nod to to the musical Hamilton and a repeat of a phrase Swift posted on social media in wake of controversy resulting from Wests song Famous. In that 2016 tune, he he boasted that I made that [profanity] famous and, therefore, that he and Swift might still have sex. The other Swifts reply in unison: Oh shut up! Facebook

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Kendrick Lamar opens 2017 VMAs with fiery performances of DNA and Humble By Randall Roberts Wearing a red scarf on his head and a poofy winter coat onstage, Compton rapper Kendrick Lamar opened the 2017 MTV VMAs needing neither. Within a few minutes of launching with DNA a dancer center stage burst into flames. You could almost feel the heat simmering through the screen. I was born like this, since one like this, Lamar rapped. Immaculate conception/I transform like this, perform like this. Perform he did, moving into a second track, Humble, from his recent album Damn. Shedding the coat, he stood in front of a fiery backdrop grid that burned as dancers scaled it. As they did so, Lamar rapped, My left stroke just went viral/Right stroke put lil baby in a spiral. It was the opening shot of a VMAs in which politics and protest may end up taking center stage. Indeed, moments later presenter Paris Jackson drew a rousing applause when she denounced the racism and hatred propogated by white supremacists and neo-Nazis. Facebook

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Heidi Klum, Jack Antonoff and others stand in support of transgender military service members at VMAs By Randall Roberts View Instagram post As the 2017 Video Music Awards were approaching, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) was out in full force at the Forum. Its president and CEO, Sarah Kate Ellis, walked the red carpet along with her invited guests: six transgender members of the military. The action came in the wake of President Donald Trumps direction to the Pentagon on Friday, as reported in The Times, to return to the long-standing policy and practice barring military service by transgender individuals. Praising MTV as a pioneering advocate for the LGBTQ community, Ellis said in a statement, Throughout all the tweets, memos, and speculation, brave transgender Americans are still serving their country and defending the freedoms of this nation while meeting the same rigorous standards of their peers. We are proud to stand with them. Posing in support: musicians and celebrities including Jack Antonoff (Bleachers), supermodel Heidi Klum, actor-comedian Billy Eichner and others, who stood alongside transgender service members including Jennifer Peace, Logan Ireland, Sterling James Crutcher and Akira Wyatt, as well as trans veterans Laila Ireland and Brynn Tannehil. Also joining them was LGBTQ philanthropist August Getty, who in his other life is a fashion designer responsible for Miley Cyruss red carpet dress. Facebook

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MTV VMAs return to Southern California with an overwhelmingly impressive setup By Gerrick Kennedy Cardi B performing at the pre-show for the MTV VMAs. (Chris Pizzello / Invision / Associated Press) After heading to the East Coast last year, the MTV VMAs have returned to Southern California. And tonight at the Forum in Inglewood, it was clear that the network decided to go big  huge really. Upon arrival to the venue it appeared that the scale of this years show was unlike anything MTV had done in recent history. A structure that looked like a space shuttle swallowed the lot in front of the venue, and stars such as Cardi B and Big Freedia could be seen pumping through the red carpet (its a deep shade of blue this year). Inside the Forum, the stage took up the entirety of the venues ground floor. The imprint of the stage was impressive, even overwhelming in size as a maze of catwalks and secondary stages traced the floor, all of which was outlined by hundreds of glowing triangles and projection screens. It made for a futuristic playground of geometric glowing shapes that show opener Kendrick Lamar put to use immediately as he emerged from the center of the venue for the explosive DNA, strutting through half of the venue before making it to the main stage. Facebook

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Taylor Swift breaks YouTube record with Look What You Made Me Do video By Randy Lewis Taylor Swift set a YouTube record with the lyric video for her new single Look What You Made Me Do, tallying 19 million views in just the first 24 hours. Thats more than double the previous first-day record for a lyric video, which was set in February by the lyric video for the Chainsmokers Something Just Like This featuring Coldplay, which registered 9 million views upon its release. Its also the best 24-hour figure Swift has logged, besting the first-day result for her 2015 official video for Bad Blood, which attracted 17 million views, and has since totaled more than 1.1 billion views. As of Sunday morning, the tally for Look What You Made Me Do had surpassed 35 million. It sets the stage for the premiere tonight of Swifts official video for the new single, which will be introduced during the MTV Video Music Awards Ceremony, taking place at the Forum in Inglewood. The overall record for viewership in the first 24 hours for any music video belongs to Adele, who registered 27.7 million views in 2015 at the premiere of the official video for her song Hello. Facebook

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Why William Friedkin called Tobe Hoopers Texas Chain Saw Massacre an Umami Burger of a movie By Mark Olsen Director Tobe Hooper, who died in Los Angeles on Saturday at age 74, created many movies and TV shows during his long career  including stepping to helm the filming of Poltergeist when Steven Spielberg was contractually banned from directing other films during the production of ET: The Extra Terrestrial. Hoopers most admired film, of course, was 1974s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. In 2014, on the occasion of the films 40th anniversary, The Exorcist director William Friedkin interviewed Hooper before an overflow audience at Los Angeles Vista theater. During the engaging conversation, Friedkin called Hooper one of the sweetest, nicest guys Ive ever known. And then added, So I often wonder where this stuff comes from. Hooper talked about purposely pitting his actors against each other to keep the on-screen tension high, how an unlikely pair of albums  Elton Johns Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and Lou Reeds Berlin  inspired him during the writing of the screenplay, and about how damn strong women are, referring to the resilent character played by Marilyn Burns. Shes just not going to die. At one point, Friedkin provocatively asked, Do you think this is a work of art? Hooper first asked, Should I be modest? before responding with a salty confirmation, Its a ... work of art. The Times Mark Olsen was there for the interview. At the end of his article, theres this affirmation of the film from Friedkin: No 3-D, no CGI, welcome to this Umami Burger of a movie. Read on to find his reasoning. Read More Facebook

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Cinefamily suspends all activities in wake of sexual misconduct allegations By Sonaiya Kelley The Cinefamily on Fairfax Avenue in Los Angeles. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times) Following the resignations Tuesday of two leadership figures at Cinefamily, the Los Angeles independent film venue has announced that it is temporarily suspending all activities to allow for the investigation and necessary restructure of management and the board. Recently, claims were made alleging improper behavior by one of more members of the organization, reads a release posted on the organizations website and social media pages. The Board of Directors of The Cinefamily has no tolerance for any form of behavior that does not conform to the high standards demanded by our members and staff and that of common human decency. The letter also says that Cinefamily is bringing on an independent third party, Giles Miller at Lynx Insights & Investigations, to conduct a thorough investigation into the allegations. View Twitter post A spokesperson for the theater could not immediately be reached for comment. The announcement comes in the wake of two high profile exits: co-founder and executive creative director, Hadrian Belove, and vice president of its board of directors, Shadie Elnashai, resigned on Tuesday following allegations of sexual misconduct. The exits were announced in postings on Cinefamilys social media accounts. In light of recent events, Shadie Elnashai has resigned from Cinefamilys Board of Directors and Hadrian Belove has resigned as the Executive Creative Director of Cinefamily, read the statement. Addressing the anonymous allegations in a post to his personal Facebook account following his resignation, Belove described the emails contents as demonstrable lies and half-truths, and allegations without known victims. It is not clear whether screenings currently scheduled will still run, and there has been grumbling by monthly billed members as to whether or not automated charges will be suspended or cancelled. Facebook

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The Texas Chain Saw Massacre director Tobe Hooper dies in Los Angeles at 74 By Associated Press Tobe Hooper, the horror-movie pioneer whose low-budget sensation The Texas Chain Saw Massacre took a buzz saw to audiences with its brutally frightful vision, has died. He was 74. The Los Angeles County coroners office says Hooper died Saturday in Sherman Oaks. It was reported as a natural death. Hooper and contemporaries like George Romero crafted some of the scariest nightmares that ever haunted moviegoers. He directed 1982s Poltergeist from a script by Steven Spielberg and was behind the 1979 miniseries Salems Lot, based on the Stephen King novel. Read More Facebook

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Is Taylor Swift trying to turn off her listeners? By Mikael Wood We can skip the rundown of Taylor Swifts feud with Kanye West, right? Less than 24 hours after the worlds biggest pop star unleashed her new single on a waiting commentariat, Im already exhausted by the idea of having to read (let alone write) yet another rehash of this deeply tiresome conflict. But you know whos not over it? Taylor Swift. In Look What You Made Me Do  released online Thursday night as the lead single from a new album, Reputation, due in November  the singer sounds positively fired up as she takes whack after brutal whack at the rapper who once interrupted her at an awards show. (Swift doesnt name West, to be clear, but with her reference to a tilted stage, she doesnt need to.) I dont like your perfect crime / How you laugh when you lie, she seethes over a throbbing electronic groove, You said the gun was mine / Isnt cool  no, I dont like you. Later in the tune, which Swift created with Jack Antonoff, she pretends to answer a phone call from someone evidently looking for the old Taylor  the sucker, you presume, who mightve let bygones be bygones. But she cant come to the phone, Swift tells the caller. Why? she adds. Oh, cause shes dead. Whats surprising about Look What You Made Me Do  beyond the harsh industrial production that makes it feel like Swifts response to her enemys Yeezus  is that it suggests the singer no longer cares (or is no longer able to tell) what pop fans want. Swift rose to superstardom by anticipating listeners desires; she knew just when to pivot from acoustic guitars to sleek synthesizers, from the fairy-tale romance of early hits like Love Story to the more grown-up depiction found on her last album, 2014s smash 1989. On tour behind that record, she spent a good portion of her show every night telling the members of her audience how closely shed been paying attention to them. But dredging up Taylor v. Kanye again? I mean, I cant be the only one whos sick of this topic  something Swift wouldve known a few years ago without even having to think about it. OK, so she hardly lacks for company among A-listers eager to cook expired beef. Earlier this summer Katy Perry revived her ancient tussle with Swift  I believe it had something to do with backup dancers?  for Swish Swish. But Perrys song takes delight in its own pettiness, whereas Look What You Made Me Do just makes me think of President Trump whining endlessly about fake news. (Crediting Right Said Fred for the songs supposed debt to Im Too Sexy is funny in writing, but the inspiration adds little humor to the dour music.) Maybe Swift isnt aiming for me, though. Maybe this polarizing song is meant to galvanize her base  which, sure enough, is rhapsodizing about the track on social media  even at the expense of the wider world shes dominated for much of the last decade. If thats her play, its a wild one, especially coming after her powerful testimony during the recent trial regarding her alleged sexual assault at the hands of a Denver radio DJ. In court, Swift appeared driven to speak with a voice loud enough for others. Now, just days later, she seems uninterested in that job. Have we ever seen a pop star so happily give up a portion of her following? Thats an idea Im not tired of considering. Maybe Reputation will take it up. Facebook

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Concerts by Coldplay, other acts canceled as Hurricane Harvey nears Texas By August Brown Coldplay performs at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena in 2016. (Michael Owen Baker / For The Times) As the potentially devastating Hurricane Harvey approaches the Texas coast, major acts including Coldplay, Lady Antebellum and Mary J. Blige have canceled or rescheduled their Houston-area concerts. Coldplay on Friday postponed a show scheduled for NRG Stadium in Houston. We really wanted to play tonight, but sitting here all together watching the news about the storm, we feel that we cant ask anyone to put their safety at risk. So, sadly, we will have to postpone, the band wrote. Live Nation Houston said ticket-holders would be updated when there was further information. We urge all fans in the area to stay safe, it said. A makeup date has not yet been scheduled. The country trio Lady Antebellum canceled its Sunday show at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in the Woodlands, citing the storm. Blige postponed her Friday show at the Smart Financial Centre at Sugar Land. The venue announced that the concert had been rescheduled to Sept. 19. The Category 3 storm, which would be the first major hurricane to hit the United States since 2005, is expected to make landfall in coastal Texas on Saturday morning, bringing 100-mph winds and up to 35 inches of rain in some areas. Facebook

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Bachelor couple Nick Viall and Vanessa Grimaldi break off their engagement By Christie DZurilla (Leon Bennett / Getty Images) Nick Viall and Vanessa Grimaldi, who got engaged on the most recent season of The Bachelor, have  with a great amount of heartbreak  called the whole thing off. We gave this relationship our all and we are saddened that we did not get the fairytale ending we hoped for, they said Friday in a statement to E! News. The relationship lasted five months after the proposal aired on the Season 21 finale of The Bachelor in March. The two said in their statement that theyre parting with love and admiration for one another. The silver lining to what they called a difficult decision? This means Nick is potentially available for yet another TV stint in the Bachelor/Bachelorette franchise. That as-yet-imaginary gig would be his fifth ride on the looking-for-love roller coaster. In Bachelor Nation, its always good to dream. Facebook

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Mila Kunis, Ashton Kutcher settle lawsuit over websites photos of their kids By Nardine Saad (Michael Nelson / EPA) Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis legal battle with British website MailOnline has been settled. The Two and a Half Men actor, the Bad Moms actress and the outlet have reached a satisfactory resolution of their legal action regarding the publication of photos of their children, their legal representatives said in a joint statement to The Times on Friday. The couple, who starred in That 70s Show together years before they began dating, took the websites publisher, Associated Newspapers, to Londons High Court in July 2015 over two articles featuring their daughter, who was 1 at the time. The U.K.'s MailOnline.com published images of Wyatt taken during a private family outing to the beach. A paparazzo used a long-lens camera to obtain the images, and the couple said they were unaware the photos were being taken. They claimed that the photos breached the Data Protection Act and were used for the unauthorized promotion of clothing on the website. [T]hey have reached a satisfactory resolution of their legal action, which includes an agreement to pixelate photographs of their daughter, Wyatt, their son, Dimitri, and any future children they should have together.  Joint statement from Kutcher, Kunis and the MailOnline announcing their lawsuit settlement Per the agreement announced Friday, the outlet will pixelate photographs of Kutchers and Kunis daughter, Wyatt, their son, Dimitri, and any future children they should have together. The settlement is the latest legal blow to MailOnline and its associated newspaper, the Daily Mail. (The U.S. version of the website, DailyMail.com, is run by a separate news team.) In April, the tabloids parent company settled a libel suit with First Lady Melania Trump over an article it ran in the paper and online that suggested she may have once worked as an escort. In July 2014, George Clooney lambasted the Daily Mail in a USA Today op-ed that accused it of making up stories in the wake of an article it published about his mother-in-law. He got an apology and an acknowledgement that the story was inaccurate. That same month, Angelina Jolie reportedly threatened to take legal action after it published a video that claimed to show her under the influence of heroin in the 1990s. Facebook

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Taylor Swifts Look What You Made Me Do lyrics: Let the analysis begin By Randy Lewis As if there were any doubt as to the level of interest in Taylor Swifts first new music in three years, her first single from her forthcoming album, Reputation, has been blowing up since it premiered Thursday night. The lyric video for Look What You Made Me Do had logged more than 7 million views as of 9:30 a.m. Friday. Additionally, Swift tweeted that the official video for the song will premiere Sunday during the MTV Video Music Awards ceremony. For those who want to dig in and attempt to decode what and to whom the I dont like you references might refer, here are the full lyrics to the song: Look What You Made Me Do FIRST VERSE I dont like your little games Dont like your tilted stage The role you made me play Of the fool, no, I dont like you I dont like your perfect crime How you laugh when you lie You said the gun was mine Isnt cool, no, I dont like you PRE-CHORUS But I got smarter, I got harder in the nick of time Honey, I rose up from the dead, I do it all the time Ive got a list of names and yours is in red, underlined I check it once, then I check it twice, oh! CHORUS Ooh, look what you made me do Look what you made me do Look what you just made me do Look what you just made me do Ooh, look what you made me do Look What you made me do Look what you just made me do Look what you just made me do SECOND VERSE I dont like your kingdom keys They once belonged to me You ask for a place to sleep Locked me out and threw a feast (what?) The world goes on, another day, another drama, drama But not for me, not for me, all I think about is karma And then the world moves on, but one things for sure Baby, I got mine, but youll all get yours PRE CHORUS REPEATS But I got smarter, I got harder in the nick of time Honey, I rose up from the dead, I do it all the time Ive got a list of names and yours is in red, underlined I check it once, then I check it twice, oh! CHORUS REPEATS Ooh, look what you made me do Look what you made me do Look what you just made me do Look what you just made me do Ooh, look what you made me do Look what you made me do Look what you just made me do Look what you just made me do THIRD VERSE I dont trust nobody and nobody trusts me Ill be the actress starring in your bad dreams I dont trust nobody and nobody trusts me Ill be the actress starring in your bad dreams I dont trust nobody and nobody trusts me Ill be the actress starring in your bad dreams I dont trust nobody and nobody trusts me Ill be the actress starring in your bad dreams (Look what you made me do) (Look what you made me do) ANSWERING MACHINE INTERLUDE Im sorry, the old Taylor cant come to the phone right now. Why? Oh cause shes dead! CHORUS REPEATS Ooh, look what you made me do Look what you made me do Look what you just made me do Look what you just made me do Ooh, look what you made me do Look what you made me do Look what you just made me do Look what you just made me do Facebook

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Patty Jenkins isnt surprised James Cameron doesnt get Wonder Woman By Tracy Brown Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins has some words about James Camerons comments on the Amazonian warrior goddess: Of course he doesnt get it. Following the Avatar directors claims that Wonder Woman is a step backwards for women, Jenkins responded in a tweet that Camerons thoughts are unsurprising because he is not a woman. In an interview with the Guardian, Cameron threw some shade on Wonder Womans success by trying to compare Diana Prince to Sarah Connor from his Terminator franchise. "[Sarah Connor] was strong, she was troubled, she was a terrible mother, and she earned the respect of the audience through pure grit, Cameron said. Nothing like the objectified beauty icon he considers Wonder Woman to be. Jenkins points out that Camerons narrow qualifications for what makes a good female hero are restrictive and not at all progressive. If women have to always be hard, tough and troubled to be strong, and we arent free to be multidimensional or celebrate an icon of women everywhere because she is attractive and loving, then we havent come very far have we, Jenkins wrote. Jenkins also insisted that there should be room for all types of female lead characters and that women themselves should be the judge of these icons of progress. There is no right and wrong kind of powerful woman, she wrote. Read Jenkins full statement below. pic.twitter.com/8zkJXHLCJW  Patty Jenkins (@PattyJenks) August 25, 2017 Facebook

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James Cameron thinks Wonder Womans success is misguided: Shes an objectified icon By Nardine Saad (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times) James Cameron isnt here for Wonder Womans blockbuster success. In fact, the moviemaker calls the much-loved superhero flick (Wonder Woman is currently at 92% on Rotten Tomatoes) a step back from the female heroes he created in the 80s and 90s. It appears that the Titanic and Terminator 2" director, whose films often put tough women at the center of the action, doesnt think that Gal Gadots character was complicated or groundbreaking enough to merit so much acclaim -- $800 million at the worldwide box office aside. All of the self-congratulatory back-patting Hollywoods been doing over Wonder Woman has been so misguided. Shes an objectified icon, and its just male Hollywood doing the same old thing! Cameron said in an interview with the Guardian. All of the self-congratulatory back-patting Hollywoods been doing over Wonder Woman has been so misguided. Shes an objectified icon, and its just male Hollywood doing the same old thing!  Filmmaker James Cameron on Wonder Woman The director, who was cast in the article as softened and evolved from his bone-crushing early movie-making days, believes that Wonder Woman was a step backwards. (Dont get him wrong, he did like Patty Jenkins summer blockbuster -- the first-ever feature-film incarnation of the DC Comics heroine and the highest-grossing live-action film directed by a woman -- just not enough to let it pass without throwing a little shade Diana Princes way.) Backwards in comparison with Camerons complex Sarah Connor character from the Terminator franchise. Sarah Connor was not a beauty icon. She was strong, she was troubled, she was a terrible mother, and she earned the respect of the audience through pure grit. And to me, [the benefit of characters like Sarah] is so obvious. I mean, half the audience is female! Cameron said. The three-time Oscar wi
John Huston: A Retrospective The film series concludes with the directors final two films. Jack Nicholson heads the cast of the darkly comic Prizzis Honor (1985) as Charley, the doltish hit man for a Brooklyn crime family. Nicholson pursues blond beauty and fellow hired gun Irene (Kathleen Turner), and is in turn pursued by black sheep mafia princess Maerose Prizzi (Anjelica Huston, who won an Oscar for her role). Hustons final film, The Dead (1987), is both a nod to his second home, Ireland, and a true family affair. Son Tony adapted the screenplay from James Joyces short story, and once again daughter Angelica stars, this time as Gretta, a married woman who still pines for her first love, now dead. Huston himself was dying during the production and the film was released posthumously. UCLA Film & Television Archive, Billy Wilder Theater, 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, (310) 206-8013. Aug. 27, 7 p.m. $10; $8 for senior citizens. www.cinema.ucla.edu/events

Cary Elwes Double Feature In The Princess Bride (1987), screenwriter William Goldman and director Rob Reiner take the fairy tale trope and put a quirky, Python-esque spin on it. Robin Wright stars as the beautiful Buttercup who is pursued by both the handsome and noble farmhand (Elwes) and the conniving and nefarious Prince Humperdinck (Chris Sarandon). The excellent cast includes Mandy Patinkin, Wallace Shawn, and Christopher Guest. Its preceded by the recently released The Queen of Spain starring Penelope Cruz as a screen queen playing the title character in a sequel of sorts to director Fernando Truebas 1998 The Girl of Your Dreams. Elwes, who will be on hand for a discussion between the films, costars as Cruzs rakish American leading man. American Cinematheque, Aero Theatre, 1328 Montana Ave., Santa Monica. (310) 260-1528. Aug. 27, 7:30 p.m. $12; $8 for Cinematheque members. www.americancinemathequecalendar.com

GKids Presents Studio Ghibli Fest Hayao Miyazakis 1986 animated adventure Castle in the Sky was the first release from the famed Japan animation studio. In the magical tale, an orphaned girl and a small-town boy seek out a mystical sky castle while being pursued by both government agents and sky pirates. Anna Paquin, James Van Der Beek, and Cloris Leachman lend their voices to the English-language version. Selected AMC, Cinemark, Regal, Pacific locations and other theaters. English version screens Aug. 27, 12:55 p.m., and Aug. 30, 7 p.m. The subtitled Japanese version screens Aug. 28, 7 p.m. www.fathomevents.com

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David Lynch: The Art of Life (2017) The film and television auteur recounts his idyllic childhood and his years as an art-school student in Philadelphia through the time he moved to Hollywood to make Eraserhead. The viewer gains some insight into the directors psyche, but in true Lynchian fashion, he leaves us hanging with a question: Just what did that neighbor say to him as a boy when his family was preparing to move to Virginia? Laemmle Culture Vulture Series, Town Center 5, Encino; Playhouse 7, Pasadena; Royal, West Los Angeles; Claremont 5, Claremont. Aug. 28, 7:30 p.m. Aug. 29, 1 p.m. $16; $13 for seniors, 62+. www.laemmle.com

Pariah Mudbound director Dee Rees 2011 drama is about a Brooklyn teenager named Alike (Adepero Oduye) who grapples with her familys expectations and her evolving relationships with friends when she comes out as lesbian. Pariah screened at the Sundance and Toronto film festivals, and Oduye was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award. The film will be followed by a discussion. Hammer Museum, Billy Wilder Theater, 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, (310) 443-7000. Aug. 29, 7:30 p.m. Free. www.hammer.ucla.edu

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Looking for something good to watch? Times film critics Kenneth Turan and Justin Chang have turned a spotlight on 35 films from the last 20 years that they believe are worth unearthing: the buried treasures of cinema. In the following features, we invite you to explore the conversation Turan and Chang had about their mutual list of 25 cherished selections  which range from 2008s Love and Death on Long Island to 2016s Midnight Special  the individual lists they compiled of five additional titles each, and four profiles of key talent from the films in discussion.

The buried treasures of cinema from the last 20 years

List of all 25 overlooked films chosen by Kenneth Turan and Justin Chang. (Handout)

Theres never been a better time to be a movie lover. The sheer volume of titles available, and the speed and ease with which consumers can access those titles no matter where they live, is unprecedented.

But all of those options can paradoxically make finding the very best films even more of a challenge. For every gem waiting to be discovered (or rediscovered) on a streaming service there are numerous less worthy titles crowding them out, and exceptional cinematic works are still in danger of slipping through the cracks.

Thats one reason why Times critics Kenneth Turan and Justin Chang resolved to collaborate on a list of 25 buried treasures from the last 20 years in cinema. (And took the additional step of adding five more personal favorites each on individual lists.)

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Kenneth Turan's five buried film treasures

Eriq Ebouaney as Patrice Lumumba, as the starring in the movie Lumumba. (Zeitgeist Films, Ltd) (UNKNOWN / ZEITGEIST FILMS, LTD)

Picking five personal choices for neglected pleasures was harder than collaborating on a top 25. It felt cold and final to consign delightful but unselected individual finalists like David Mamets inside Hollywood spoof State and Main or the New Zealand sensation Hunt for the Wilderpeople to the outer darkness of neglect. But rules are rules, so here are my five, listed in alphabetical order.

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Justin Chang's five buried film treasures

Nazanin Sedighzadehn, left, Reza Farhadi and Golnaz Farmani star in Offside. (Sony Pictures Classics) (Offside / Sony Pictures Classics / Sony Pictures Classics)

Its safe to say that most great films are neglected films, which is why narrowing down a personal list of five undersung favorites was such an impossible exercise. On any other day this completely random grouping might have included Hou Hsiao-hsiens Flight of the Red Balloon, Bela Tarrs Werckmeister Harmonies, Pascale Ferrans Bird People, Richard Linklaters Everybody Wants Some!! and Michael Manns Blackhat. But heres how Im feeling today:

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David Oyelowo describes the 'gift' Ava DuVernay gave him while filming 'Middle of Nowhere'

David Oyelowo and Emayatzy Corinealdi in the movie Middle of Nowhere. (AFFRM) (AFFRM)

By all accounts, 2012 was supposed to be Ava DuVernays year. Her breakout sophomore feature, Middle of Nowhere, nabbed best director at Sundance and bountiful critical praise. But as the films male lead David Oyelowo can attest, there was still a struggle.

Something people wont know, and Im sure Ava wont talk about, [is that] there were other directors who were of a different gender and different race, who didnt even come close to the level of achievement that she had at that time, who went on to great things immediately after their films had done the same [festival] route, he said. Ava was not getting the phone calls  not from agencies, TV channels, studios or other production companies.

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Tang Wei's spectacular career comeback after being banned in China

Tang Wei stars in Ang Lees Lust, Caution. (Chan Kam Chuen / Focus Features) (Chan Kam Chuen / Focus Features)

In 2006, Tang Wei landed the kind of breakout role most actresses would envy: the female lead in Ang Lees epic romance Lust, Caution. Then she didnt work again for three years.

The films steamy love scenes led to a state-imposed hiatus, and Tang struggled to find her way back to the screen before emerging as Asias A-list romantic heroine. Understandably, the roles shes picked since are often characterized by extreme duress and resilience.

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Jason Priestley's memories of working with John Hurt

John Hurt and Jason Priestley in Love and Death on Long Island. (C. Reardon / Newsday) (C. Reardon / Newsday)

Jason Priestley was 26 years old and in the thick of his pop Hollywood stardom as part of the Beverly Hills, 90210 cast when an unmissable opportunity to stretch his acting muscles came along: Love and Death in Long Island, an indie drama about love and obsession in which hed star opposite Academy Award-nominated actor John Hurt.

All around the planet [90210] had become a global phenomenon, Priestley reminisced by phone last week from Vancouver, where the actor-turned-helmer is directing Ghost Wars for SyFy. Having the opportunity to work with an actor like Sir John was an amazing experience, especially for a young man like I was at the time.

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Jane Campion followed 'Bright Star' with a move to TV and 'Top of the Lake'

Ben Whishaw as John Keats and Abbie Cornish as Fanny Brawne in Jane Campions Bright Star. (Apparition) (Apparition)

Technically speaking, Jane Campion hasnt released a film since 2009s Bright Star. But as far as shes concerned, she never stopped making movies.

Yes, Top of the Lake, which aired on Sundance in 2013, and its follow-up, Top of the Lake: China Girl, premiering next month, are both TV miniseries. And yet the critically praised projects have an inexorably cinematic quality that perhaps explains why they were screened at the Sundance and Cannes film festivals, respectively.

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The martial arts biopic Birth of the Dragon claims to be inspired by Bruce Lees rise to fame in San Francisco, but it seems just as beholden to Ip Man, the international hit that turned the real life of a kung fu pioneer into an exaggerated action epic.

Set in 1964, Birth of the Dragon stars Philip Ng as Lee, who at the time was an aspiring actor and martial arts instructor, legendarily angering some Chinese traditionalists with his willingness to teach kung fus secrets to Americans. Billy Magnussen plays the fictional Steve McKee, a Lee student who brokers a match between his master and the Shaolin-trained Wong Jack Man (Xia Yu).

Some Lee devotees (as well as his daughter Shannon) have been irked that so much of Birth of the Dragon is about a made-up white guy. Thats a fair criticism, though to be fair, the movies other minor threads are just as corny and phony, with the kind of mobsters and human traffickers who typically populate pulp.

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Really, whats most striking about Birth of the Dragon is how irreverent director George Nolfi and screenwriters Christopher Wilkinson and Stephen J. Rivele are willing to be toward Lee, who for much of the movie is depicted as a grandstanding self-promoter, offering a violent, vulgarized version of his craft. The humble, spiritual Wong is more the ideal that Lee (eventually) aspires to.

The plot here is cliche-ridden, and the fight scenes are largely unspectacular. And of course theres an argument to be made that fictionalizing Lees story in this way is deeply disrespectful to a legend.

Still, its unusual to see a film like this make its nominal hero into a jerk, who learns something essential from his nemesis. True or not, the complex characterization does make for a better story.

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Birth of the Dragon

Rating: PG-13, for martial arts violence, language and thematic elements

Running time: 1 hour, 43 minutes

Playing: In general release

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A map of Sunset Boulevard's musical memories

(Alexander Vidal / For The Times) (Los Angeles Times)

Over the course of Sunset Boulevards life, hundreds of labels, studios, venues and publishers have come and gone. Gigs that seemed crucial in the moment have dissipated. Memories of debauchery have blurred. So-called sure hit records have missed. Stories, however, remain. Below, a few pieces of the Sunset puzzle as recorded in recent books and interviews.

Sunset Boulevard and Pacific Coast Highway

(Alexander Vidal / For The Times)

We had an early connection to Sunset Boulevard, even at the point where it hits the ocean. I mean, it may not look that way from the way we look now, but we spent so much time at the beach, and it was always kind of near where Sunset hits the Pacific Coast Highway.  Ron Mael of Sparks, on growing up in Pacific Palisades

FULL COVERAGE: Sunset Boulevard's musical history 

Michael Jackson overdose, 100 Carrolwood Drive

(Alexander Vidal / For The Times)

Paramedics found Jackson in cardiac arrest when they arrived at his home shortly before 12:30 p.m., three minutes and 17 seconds after receiving a 911 call. ... Jackson was not breathing, and it appears he never regained consciousness.  Los Angeles Times

The Roxy, 9009 Sunset

(Alexander Vidal / For The Times)

Every second-division rock musician in the region seemed to have a tab there and could be found draped over a bar stool on any given night trying to drown their professional and personal woes with copious shots of tequila.  Music journalist Nick Kent, from Apathy for the Devil

Whisky a Go Go, 8901 Sunset

(Alexander Vidal / For The Times)

What happened in the Los Angeles of 1965 and 1966 has given our world immeasurable color and contributed to much positive social change. For one fleeting moment, all of the progress made in the allied arts during the 20th century came to a head in one crystalline apex. The possibilities were boundless.  L.A music historian Domenic Priore, from Riot on Sunset Strip: Rock n Rolls Last Stand in Hollywood

READ MORE about the Whisky a Go Go 

Tower Records, 8801 Sunset

(Alexander Vidal / For The Times)

Tom Petty picked [Bruce Springsteen] up at the Sunset Marquis. They went down Sunset Boulevard to the water, stopping at Tower Records on the way, picking up half a dozen eight-tracks. They drove until theyd listened to every song on every one of them.  Warren Zanes, from Petty: The Biography

Sunset Sound, 6650 Sunset

(Alexander Vidal / For The Times)

Now that I was living in Los Angeles, where people thought nothing of driving half a block to buy a newspaper, I adopted a when in Rome policy. When I wasnt working on my own project I drove to Sunset Sound to play as a sideman and sing background on James songs. -- Carole King, on working with James Taylor in the early 70s, from Carole King: A Natural Woman

Club Lingerie, 6507 Sunset

(Alexander Vidal / For The Times)

I mention a gig at Club Lingerie that featured the iconic Screamin' Jay Hawkins, with Tex and the Horseheads and my band the Screaming Sirens opening. It wasn't unusual for true rock and blues legends to play at or just hang out at local clubs that were featuring punk and alternative bands. Screamin' Jay Hawkins was always getting stoned in the kitchen at Raji's, while Iggy Pop, Sky Saxon from the Seeds and the Legendary Stardust Cowboy were around all the time.  writer Pleasant Gehman, as quoted in the LA Weekly

Amoeba Music, 6400 Sunset

(Alexander Vidal / For The Times)

 I'd just like to take a little moment to ... just take this all in, OK? McCartney said, having gotten up from the piano after The Long and Winding Road. He sang a quick Happy Birthday to somebody near the front, then opted for audience participation.  The Times on Paul McCartneys 2007 in-store appearance

READ MORE about Amoeba Music 

Hollywood Palladium, 6215 Sunset

(Alexander Vidal / For The Times)

I saw the Kinks for the first time at the Hollywood Palladium. The Davies brothers got into a fight, though it was a one-sided affair. Ray just hauled off and sucker punched Dave and knocked him down. Dave kept playing his guitar until a pair of roadies came out to lift him up.  Keith Morris (Black Flag, Circle Jerks, Off!), from The Story of a Punk Rock Survivor

READ MORE about the Hollywood Palladium 

Los Globos, 3040 Sunset

(Alexander Vidal / For The Times)

My parents used to party at Los Globos way back in the day. That was the place  Lets go to Los Globos! And then when we were coming up, that was more of a what we call a bisa spot  more regional Mexican music. It went through different phases.  Uli Bella of Ozomatli

READ MORE about Los Globos 

Epitaph Records, 2798 Sunset

(Alexander Vidal / For The Times)

In 1990 I was still working out of Westbeach, with no formal Epitaph offices, when I signed Down by Law, Rancid and the Offspring. The Offsprings Smash album sold 9 million worldwide.  Since that time Ive received countless offers from major corporate conglomerates to sell.  Brett Gurewitz of Epitaph Records, from We Got the Neutron Bomb: The Untold Story of L.A. Punk by Marc Spitz and Brendan Mullen

The Echo, 1822 Sunset

(Alexander Vidal / For The Times)

When I first opened the place [in 2002], everyone in the music industry told me, Youre crazy. Everyone. They were like, No ones going to come to your venue. The police tried to talk me out of opening it up. They sat down with me and said, We dont really want you here.   Mitchell Frank, co-owner, Spaceland Productions, which owns the Echo, the Echoplex and Regent Theater

A closer look at Sunset Boulevard

For tips, records, snapshots and stories on Los Angeles music culture, follow Randall Roberts on Twitter and Instagram: @liledit. Email: randall.roberts@latimes.com.
Last month a shudder rumbled through the L.A. music world when news spread that Amoeba Music in Hollywood, the massive pop-culture retailer at the corner of Sunset and Cahuenga boulevards, might be forced to relocate.

The buildings owners, GPI Properties, unveiled plans to construct a 28-story tower on the spot, a move that, if approved, would dramatically reshape an already changing neighborhood.

If Amoeba is forced to move, it wont be the first time that Sunset Boulevard has lost a major music retailer. But depending on where Amoeba lands, it could mark the first time in more than 75 years that the boulevard wont be home to a music superstore.

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Before Amoeba, West Hollywoods Tower Records reigned supreme. Until it shuttered in 2006, Tower served as the go-to spot for fans, artists and the music industry during the LP, cassette and CD eras.

Prior to Towers arrival in the early 1970s, another massive enterprise, Wallichs Music City, owned by one of the founders of Capitol Records, occupied the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Vine Street that now houses a Walgreens.

Beloved to earlier generations. Wallichs ran the retail landscape during the era of the 45 rpm record and the ascent of the LP. The shop featured private listening booths where buffs could sample the music before buying it.

At Wallichs, young entrepreneurs such as Herb Alpert, Simon Waronker, Phil Spector and Lou Adler could measure the real-time success of records on A&M, Liberty, Philles, Dunhill and Ode.

We used to go there and count how many Lonely Bull records were sold, said Alpert.

The shop was so popular that a vocal group called the Pleasures recorded a song about it called Music City.

Wallichs closure in 1978, like Towers a decade ago, marked a turning point.

Contacted for an update on a possible move, Amoeba co-owner Jim Henderson declined to comment, other than to stress that Amoeba has every intention of remaining in L.A.

He cited the stores statement on Facebook as the most complete update on its future at 6400 Sunset. It reads, in part, Rest assured, we are NOT closing, but we are now in a position where we may have to change locations in the coming years.

The statement adds that while Amoeba hopes to remain at its current location, its also looking at several other spaces that could suit us well.

Such turnover is inevitable. Just ask Matt Groening, who used to work at Licorice Pizza in West Hollywood. Or Axl Rose, who stocked racks at the same Tower Records where his future Guns N Roses bandmate Slash shoplifted.

Or Foo Fighters and Germs guitarist Pat Smear, who manned the counter at the SST Superstore. The early 1990s retailer was the outpost for the punk label founded by Black Flag. It was down the street from big-box music retailer Virgin.

Regardless of where Amoeba lands, Sunset will still have its share of vinyl-heavy boutique stores, most notably the metal hub Vacation Vinyl in Silver Lake and Permanent Records, which assumed control of the former Origami Records in Echo Park.

And for those wondering, the Tower Records building, which still stands, is likely way too small to house a future Amoeba.

For tips, records, snapshots and stories on Los Angeles music culture, follow Randall Roberts on Twitter and Instagram: @liledit. Email: randall.roberts@latimes.com.
Although unassuming from the street, a single business along Sunset Boulevard has arguably aided more musical superstars than any other: Studio Instrument Rentals.

Founded by Ken Berry and Dolph Rempp in 1967 to service the recording scene along Guitar Row in Hollywood, the company now is celebrating 50 years in business.

And what a half-century.

In those decades, its Los Angeles hub has in one way or another catered to every single group that you could imagine, Berry says, including the Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Madonna, Lionel Richie, Run the Jewels, Sonny & Cher, Stevie Nicks and Janis Joplin.

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Its compound is a music cathedral. Rows of electric guitars line walls. In a second-floor wing, rows of shelving hold hundreds of percussion instruments. Another space is devoted to DJ gear.

FULL COVERAGE: Mapping Sunset Boulevards musical history 

1 / 7 A gallery of photographs, including the late David Bowie, welcomes visitors to Studio Instrument Rentals (SIR) in Los Angeles. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 2 / 7 Dolph Rempp, co-founder of Studio Instrument Rentals (SIR), checks out one of many make-up/dressing rooms offered to musicians who rent studio space at the flagship headquarters on Sunset Boulevard. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 3 / 7 Dolph Rempp, co-founder of Studio Instrument Rentals (SIR), is dwarfed by the variety of drums available for rent. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 4 / 7 A variety of guitars hang in a display case at Studio Instrument Rentals (SIR). (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 5 / 7 Backline technician Matthew Giordano checks an electric guitar on its return to Studio Instrument Rentals (SIR). (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 6 / 7 Ken Berry, left, and Dolph Rempp, co-founders of Studio Instrument Rentals (SIR), which is now celebrating its 50th year in business on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 7 / 7 Employees of Studio Instrument Rentals (SIR) gather for a photo in the early days of the business. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Rempp recalls one of the companys earliest clients, Jimi Hendrix, with a story of introducing the master guitarist to his first wah-wah pedal and connecting it to an amplifier designed for electric organs.

He recommended Eric Clapton, because he was doing some shows, Rempp says, so we ended up getting to know Eric Clapton and running around and doing stuff for him too.

Rempp says that he helped the guitarist track down a custom Gibson SG with gold humbuckers.

As the demand grew, he adds, we thought, Wow, this could be a good business  helping other people get whatever they need for a show or whatever. 

When during an interview hes alerted that guitarist Paul Stanley of KISS is downstairs, Rempp is nonchalant; theyve worked with the band for four decades.

Before relocating in the mid-90s to its current location a block west of Amoeba Music, Studio Instrument Rentals operated in a number of complexes in Hollywood, most notably in a building near the old Columbia Pictures lot at 6048 Sunset Blvd.

The company now has 13 locations in cities including Miami, Chicago, Nashville, San Francisco and Seattle.

Backline technician Matthew Giordano checks an electrical guitar atStudio Instrument Rentals (SIR) on Sunset Blvd. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

The anchor location sits amid storied studios  Sunset Sound, EastWest and United. Major label consolidation shuttered the Sunset offices of Motown, RCA, Columbia, Geffen, Liberty and more, but that hasnt affected Studio Instrument Rentals bottom line.

As long as artists need gear, tour support, rehearsal space and technicians, the companys getting paid. It continues to be the bond that connects neighborhood studios, labels, agents and artists.

These days Studio Instrument Rentals trucks run all over the metro area, delivering gear from an arsenal that includes thousands of instruments, DJ setups, mixing boards, amplifiers and props.

Inside the Sunset location, musicians have their choice of three stages and eight studios, and on any given day the place is a mess of musical creativity.

Weve rented a lot of exotic things to different bands, Berry says. A couple different artists have said, We want every drum you have in the store. So wed pack up a couple trucks and bring them up to the studio.

That was years ago, Berry says, when all their drums could fit in a couple trucks. Now, youd have to take 10 trucks.

Dolph Rempp, co-founder of Studio Instrument Rentals (SIR), stands inside one of many make-up/dressing rooms offered to musicians who rent studio space. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

For tips, records, snapshots and stories on Los Angeles music culture, follow Randall Roberts on Twitter and Instagram: @liledit. Email: randall.roberts@latimes.com.
To supporters, it is a respectable civil rights movement. To critics, its an anti-police organization that deserves to be banned.

Black Lives Matter came into existence following the 2012 killing of Trayvon Martin, an African American teen, by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman in Sanford, Fla. The group became known nationally amid protests in Ferguson, Mo., after a white police officer shot and killed Michael Brown, an 18-year-old black man.

Since then, the organization founded by Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi has been on the front lines of protests against what it calls the sustained and increasingly visible violence against black communities.

While its prominence appears to have waned in recent months, Cullors, 32, a native of Van Nuys who lives in Los Angeles, insisted that the movement is today more relevant than ever.

It has swelled to 40 chapters, including branches in Canada and Britain. In November, the group will receive the Sydney Peace Prize, Australias leading award for global peacemakers.

Cullors, who is writing a memoir, recently shared reflections on the state of Black Lives Matter and its future. Her comments have been edited for length and clarity.

Does Black Lives Matter even matter today?

I think Black Lives Matter is very relevant today, especially given the rise of white supremacists and white nationalists across, not just this country, but across the globe. And so our work over the last four years has been putting anti-black racism on the map, talking about the impact anti-black racism has on this country, has on local government, has on policy and how it actually impacts the everyday life of black people.

How do you characterize the impact and influence youve had?

As organizers, we have to think every day are we making an impact. Are we changing the material conditions for black people? I think, yes, we've had an impact. I think part of what we're seeing in the rise of white nationalism is their response to Black Lives Matter, is their response to an ever-increasing fight for equal rights, for civil rights and for human rights.

Left-wing groups accuse BLM of not being visible enough under President Trump . Are they right?

I would actually challenge the media, because the media has in large part focused primarily on Trump and his administration. And so, as our folks have continued to organize locally, have continued to, not just hit the streets, many of our people are thinking about how to enact a political strategy. How do we build black power in this moment? How do we actually get people in office?

It's not a hashtag that built the movement. It was organizers, activists, educators, artists  people who built an actual infrastructure so that a movement can exist and have life. And if the media was interested in the everyday strategy they would know that Black Lives Matter is not just still here, that it's thriving and it's doing some of its best work in this moment.

Trump has called BLM a threat. Is the door open to talk to him?

It's not. And we wouldn't take the invitation.

Why not?

We wouldn't as a movement take a seat at the table with Trump, because we wouldn't have done that with Hitler. Trump is literally the epitome of evil, all the evils of this country  be it racism, capitalism, sexism, homophobia.

He has set out some of the most dangerous policies, not just that impacts this country but impacts the globe. And so for us, the answer is not to sit with him but to resist him and to resist every single policy that he's implemented that impacts our communities.

And  if I'm thinking about what I want my children to know in 30, 40, 50 years, I want them to know that I resisted a president at all costs, because this president literally tried to kill our communities, and is killing our communities.

So then how does your activism have to change?

Some things don't change. I don't want to act like if we have Hillary Clinton in office everything would be different. No.

The first thing that Black Lives Matter had to do was remind people that racism existed in this country because when we had Obama people thought we were post-racial. That was the debate. Is racism over? And very quickly we understood that it was not over. And then the second one was to talk about anti-black racism. And then I think the next step for Black Lives Matter was to decide, What was our target?

And I want to be frank. I think our target has been law enforcement, and that has been important because black folks not only are killed with impunity, but also black folks are some of the most marginalized and vulnerable communities in this country. We believe if we can actually get real accountability in this country around mass criminalization, we could start to change the other apparatuses inside this country.

A 2016 protest in New York in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. (Kena Betancur / AFP/Getty Images) (KENA BETANCUR / AFP/Getty Images)

What kind of influence do you want to have on policing?

I want to see Black Lives Matter be able to ultimately reduce law enforcement funding.

People often ask the question, why reduce their funding? Because they're the one industry in our nation, and locally in particular, that is given more money than education or access to education, resources to shelter, resources to people to have access to healthy food. Over the last 30, 40 years what we've seen is the pouring of millions of dollars into law enforcement and literally divesting from communities, especially poor communities. And so our argument is ... they can start divesting from law enforcement and reinvesting into our communities.

The Harvard-Harris poll found that most people view Black Lives Matter unfavorably. What kind of impact has that had?

I always want to ask who is taking the poll? Which Americans are they talking about? Are they talking about white Americans or talking about black Americans? Are they talking about people who are new to this country?

But the second thing I'll say is [civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.] had some of the lowest acceptance rates during his time  him and the civil rights movement. And look at us now. Look at how important of a figure he was.

A message at the Democratic National Convention in July 2016. (Joe Raedle / Getty Images) (Joe Raedle / Getty Images)

Do you believe in violence as a method of protest?

I believe in direct action, but nonviolent direct action. And our movement believes in that nonviolent direct action. But I do believe that our communities need to be defended.

What happened in Charlottesville shouldnt have happened. Many folks that were on the ground said the police were not helpful at all. And yet when Black Lives Matter hits the streets, when we are nonviolent, were the first ones to be snatched up by police. Were the first ones to be beaten by police. So while I think our movement should stick to nonviolent direct action, I do think the government should do a better job at defending us and defending protesters in particular.

Where do you see BLM four years from now?

One of the biggest places that I see us will be in local and national government. I think youll see, not just black people, but black folks and our allies really pushing to be a part of local government, city government and national government  to move to be mayor, county board of supervisors, to be on boards.

Is that something that interests you?

People have asked me to really think about taking elected office. At this moment, I feel Im more effective on the ground. Im not interested in elected office at this moment. But who knows?

ann.simmons@latimes.com

@amsimmons1

jaweed.kaleem@latimes.com

@jaweedkaleem
It doesnt seem safe, organizer says in canceling San Francisco far-right rally

(Eric Risberg / AP)

Organizers said they canceled Saturdays planned right-wing rally in San Francisco because of safety concerns.

Joey Gibson, founder of the Patriot Prayer group, in a Facebook Live post said that his group had been working with police and decided that tomorrow really seems like a setup.

It doesnt seem safe, a lot of peoples lives are going to be in danger tomorrow, he said during an interview with Unite America First. The rhetoric from Nancy Pelosi, Mayor [Ed] Lee, the media  all these people are saying we are white supremacists and its bringing in tons of extremists. It just seems like a huge setup, so we just decided that we are going to take the opportunity and not fall into that trap and we are not going to go down there. We are not going to have a rally at Crissy Field.

Instead, Gibson said, the group would hold a news conference at 2 p.m. Saturday at Alamo Square Park in San Francisco to talk about some of the rhetoric in the city.

We have a lot of respect for the citizens in San Francisco and at the end of the day, we want people to be safe, he said.

The park was supposed to be closed off, Gibson said, so organizers could control the event, search people who were entering and turn others away.

But he said that it appeared that wasnt going to happen.

Anyone could have come in and it would have been mingling [anti-fascist groups]. Also white supremacists could have shown up, Gibson said.

Honest, in our opinion, it seem like it would have been a huge riot, he said.

Law enforcement has spent weeks planning for the events in San Francisco and Berkeley. At the center of the campaign will be a huge police presence, perhaps more than a thousand officers who intend to crack down at the first sign of trouble.

The San Francisco Police Department planned to have its entire roster on duty for Saturday afternoons rally. Officials said they could not immediately comment Friday on if theyre plans would change for the following day in light of Gibsons announcement.

In Berkeley, the site of Sundays rally, city officials have expressly banned weapons, sticks, projectiles and even soda cans from gatherings of more than 100 people within the city limits. The National Park Service, which operates the land where Saturdays protest was to take place, has established similar rules.

Organizers for both rallies this weekend have said that the white supremacists and neo-Nazis who surfaced in Charlottesville are not welcome at their events. Gibson had demanded that white nationalist figures such as Richard Spencer and Nathan Damigo stay away.

Last week, Gibson told The Times he was concerned that some extreme or racist figures might try to co-opt his rally, a fear shared by experts who track hate groups. He has repeatedly denied the assertion that his event is a white supremacist demonstration and criticized politicians who branded it as such.

Youve got two different people in this world right now. You have people that are trying to change hearts and minds of people, and you have people who are trying to divide the country, he said.

The need for stronger crowd control became clear in the wake of the violent clashes this month between white supremacists and counter-protesters in Charlottesville, Va., where demonstrators on each side complained of lax law enforcement.

But hands-off policing can also allow events to spiral out of control. Anaheim police drew criticism last year after a violent Ku Klux Klan rally. Uniformed officers were nowhere to be found when Klansmen arrived in Pearson Park, and several people were stabbed during a series of brawls between Klan members and anti-racist protesters.

One of the most difficult things we do in our profession is policing 1st Amendment activity, said LAPD Deputy Chief Bob Green, who has served as a commander at dozens of protest scenes during his 30-year career.

Sundays rally in Berkeley, branded by organizers as an anti-Marxism demonstration, has drawn additional concern. Berkeley has been home to a number of violent clashes between political opponents this year. Violent protests on the UC Berkeley campus shut down an appearance by Milo Yiannopoulos in February, and subsequent demonstrations in support of Trump collapsed into roving street fights.

Those opposed to the rallies, including San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, have called on counter-demonstrators to stage their events several blocks from the proposed far-right events. Some activists have also said they are hoping to avoid the violent exchanges that have marred Berkeley in recent months. One woman affiliated with Pastel Bloc in Berkeley, who would only speak on condition of anonymity, said she hopes the number of counter-protesters will swell because of the planned nonviolence.

By not directly confronting the white supremacists, who have brought weapons and started fights before, maybe people who have been hesitant to come show solidarity will feel more empowered to do so, she said, adding that Pastel Bloc itself will not take part in Sundays events.

Even with vows of nonviolence on both sides, law enforcement leaders said they are well aware that it would only take a few agitators to cause a fracas. The issue with policing protests, they say, is that it becomes hard to isolate violent individuals in crowds that often number in the thousands.

Green said preparation is critical to minimizing violence at any large-scale demonstration, adding that the move to disarm protesters in the Bay Area is a good idea.
Los Angeles lawmakers voted Friday to back the planned overhaul of two terminals at Los Angeles International Airport, overriding concerns from the nearby city of El Segundo.

Airport officials plan to tear down and rebuild parts of terminals 2 and 3 to ease crowding at security checkpoints, make it easier for passengers to get to their gates, and give aging areas of the terminals a makeover.

The renovations will nearly double the size of the two terminals to more than 1.6 million square feet.

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Mark Waier, communications director for Los Angeles World Airports, said in a written statement Friday that the proposed project will improve safety and security and provide operational efficiencies.

In addition to much needed renovations to aging terminal facilities, the project could include up to four additional aircraft gates to accommodate existing demand at LAX, Waier said.

El Segundo lodged an appeal against the plan after it was approved by the Board of Airport Commissioners last month, arguing that airport officials failed to properly analyze and mitigate the effects the proposed renovation would have on its residents.

For instance, the city has raised concerns about how hauling trucks for airport construction will affect pavement conditions and safety on nearby Imperial Avenue.

The city of El Segundo is not at war with LAX, said Coby King, a spokesman for the city, in an emailed statement. Improvements to the airport will bring benefits to everyone, including the residents of El Segundo. But growth at LAX has a direct impact on the city, and we are simply looking to ensure that those impacts are addressed.

King added that the city had been engaged in cordial, professional and productive negotiations with the airport over the plan.

The Los Angeles City Council approved the planned overhaul of the two terminals on a 11-0 vote Friday without discussion.

LAX is currently pursuing a $14-billion renovation that includes terminal upgrades, transportation improvements and a new concourse. Airport operators are already facing a lawsuit from a parking operator over another part of the planned renovation, the Landside Access Modernization Project, which is meant to reduce traffic congestion around the busy airport.

emily.alpert@latimes.com

Twitter: @LATimesEmily

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Based Stickman, the far-right figure who gained Internet notoriety for fighting anti-fascists in the streets of Berkeley earlier this year, may not participate in one of two Bay Area protests this weekend, a judge ruled Friday.

Kyle Chapman, 41, of Daly City was ordered to stay away from the Say No to Marxism rally at which he was scheduled to speak Sunday in Berkeley. The ruling came Friday morning, when Chapman appeared in an Oakland courtroom to answer felony weapons possession charges, according to Alameda County Assistant Dist. Atty. Teresa Drenick.

The charges stem from the same protests that made Chapman a popular figure among the far-right groups that have repeatedly clashed with anti-fascists in the Bay Area this year. Chapman was captured on video fighting with anti-fascists while carrying a shield and staff. Prosecutors charged him last week with possession of a leaded cane/billy club.

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Bail for Chapman was set at $135,000 and he was ordered to stay at least 300 yards away from Civic Center Park in Berkeley, the site of one of two far-right rallies scheduled this weekend that many fear will lead to another round of street fights. Drenick said Chapman was also barred from possessing any dangerous weapons including pepper spray, brass knuckles and wooden sticks.

Chapman and his supporters say he was acting in self-defense, but the 41-year-old has a history of weapons-related offenses and other criminal charges.

If convicted, the current charges would mark Chapmans third strike under California law, which enhances penalties for multiple convictions. He has a 2009 burglary conviction for which he served time in prison.

Attempts to contact Chapmans attorney were not successful. Chapman has ignored requests for comment from the Los Angeles Times, and has ranted on social media that the charges against him were trumped up in an attempt to stop his activism. Calls seeking comment from his attorney, John Noonan, were not immediately returned.

The Berkeley event is one of two rallies expected to draw throngs of far-right activists and counter-protesters to the Bay Area this weekend.

On Saturday, the group Patriot Prayer will hold a rally in Crissy Field Park near the Golden Gate Bridge. The event has been denounced as a white supremacist rally by San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, though the organizer of the event has repeatedly said white supremacists, neo-Nazis and other groups blamed for the violence in Charlottesville, Va,. earlier this month are not welcome.

Sundays rally in Berkeley, a city that has become synonymous with violent political clashes during the Trump administration, is expected to draw a more controversial crowd, including a known white supremacist from Florida, according to experts who track hate groups.

In a Facebook post published prior to the court hearing, Chapman swore he would attend both rallies.

I will be attending the SF and Berekley rallies, he wrote. Never surrender.

james.queally@latimes.com

Follow @JamesQueallyLAT for crime and police news in California.
Back-to-back rallies this weekend that are expected to draw both far-right figures and large groups of counter-protesters to the Bay Area will offer a test of whether police can prevent the violence that plagued similar protests earlier this year.

Law enforcement has spent weeks planning for the events in San Francisco and Berkeley. At the center of the campaign will be a huge police presence, perhaps more than a thousand officers who intend to crack down at the first sign of trouble.

The San Francisco Police Department plans to have its entire roster on duty for Saturday afternoons Freedom Rally at Crissy Field Beach. In Berkeley, the site of Sundays rally, city officials have expressly banned weapons, sticks, projectiles and even soda cans from gatherings of more than 100 people within the city limits. The National Park Service, which operates the land where Saturdays protest will take place, has established similar rules.

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Updates: Bay Area police ready for weekend of protests >>

The need for stronger crowd control became clear in the wake of the violent clashes this month between white supremacists and counter-protesters in Charlottesville, Va., where demonstrators on each side complained of lax law enforcement.

Law enforcement agencies have long struggled to balance 1st Amendment rights and public safety when patrolling large-scale political demonstrations. Aggressive tactics by the Los Angeles Police Department during the 2000 Democratic Convention and a 2007 May Day immigration rally sparked criticism and huge financial settlements by the city. The Oakland Police Department faced similar criticism, and financial losses, after its officers were accused of excessive force during the Occupy Oakland movement.

Earlier this week, the American Civil Liberties Union criticized what it called the Phoenix Police Departments widespread, indiscriminate, and excessive use of crowd-control weapons, including tear gas, to subdue a crowd of counter-protesters outside a rally held by President Trump on Tuesday.

But hands-off policing can also allow events to spiral out of control. Anaheim police drew criticism last year after a violent Ku Klux Klan rally. Uniformed officers were nowhere to be found when Klansmen arrived in Pearson Park, and several people were stabbed during a series of brawls between Klan members and anti-racist protesters.

One of the most difficult things we do in our profession is policing 1st Amendment activity, said LAPD Deputy Chief Bob Green, who has served as a commander at dozens of protest scenes during his 30-year career.

San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott said officers need to prevent prolonged clashes and crack down on any exchange that might turn physical, regardless of political affiliation.

When you see something violent happening you stamp it out immediately, he said.

Organizers for both rallies have said that the white supremacists and neo-Nazis who surfaced in Charlottesville are not welcome at their events. Joey Gibson, the founder of the Patriot Prayer group leading the San Francisco event, has demanded that white nationalist figures such as Richard Spencer and Nathan Damigo stay away.

Last week, Gibson told The Times he was concerned that some extreme or racist figures might try to co-opt his rally, a fear shared by experts who track hate groups. He has repeatedly denied the assertion that his event is a white supremacist demonstration and criticized politicians who branded it as such.

Youve got two different people in this world right now. You have people that are trying to change hearts and minds of people, and you have people who are trying to divide the country, he said.

Sundays rally in Berkeley, branded by organizers as an anti-Marxism demonstration, has drawn additional concern. Berkeley has been home to a number of violent clashes between political opponents this year. Violent protests on the UC Berkeley campus shut down an appearance by Milo Yiannopoulos in February, and subsequent demonstrations in support of Trump collapsed into roving street fights.

Those opposed to the rallies, including San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, have called on counter-demonstrators to stage their events several blocks from the proposed far-right events. Some activists have also said they are hoping to avoid the violent exchanges that have marred Berkeley in recent months. One woman affiliated with Pastel Bloc in Berkeley, who would only speak on condition of anonymity, said she hopes the number of counter-protesters will swell because of the planned nonviolence.

By not directly confronting the white supremacists, who have brought weapons and started fights before, maybe people who have been hesitant to come show solidarity will feel more empowered to do so, she said, adding that Pastel Bloc itself will not take part in Sundays events.

Even with vows of nonviolence on both sides, law enforcement leaders said they are well aware that it would only take a few agitators to cause a fracas. The issue with policing protests, they say, is that it becomes hard to isolate violent individuals in crowds that often number in the thousands.

Green said preparation is critical to minimizing violence at any large-scale demonstration, adding that the move to disarm protesters in the Bay Area is a good idea.

When people turn up with torches and bats, right away, we approach the individuals and tell them those arent going to be allowed at this protest. They need to go back in your cars, he said.

An overwhelming number of police can serve as a simple, but effective, deterrent to violence, he said.

After an incredibly bitter 2016 campaign season, many feared last years Republican National Convention would turn downtown Cleveland into a weeklong battleground between Trumps supporters and counter-demonstrators.

But Cleveland police, flanked by thousands of officers from out-of-state, vastly outnumbered demonstrators on both sides of the political aisle, resulting in few arrests or injuries over the course of the week.

Last weekend, a rally in Boston staged by a few dozen far-right figures also ended in relative peace when a phalanx of city police was able to keep counter-protesters separated from the group.

While the San Francisco rally is expected to be largely confined to Crissy Field, the Sunday event in Berkeley could prove more problematic. During past confrontational rallies in the city, far-right figures and anti-facists have traded punches and projectiles on city streets surrounding Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center Park. Police hope the emergency powers granted to the city manager can help stymie that issue as well.

History shows that in previous events we had some success in keeping items out of the park. In every occasion, people have gone outside of the park and that results in fights and people getting injured with these same weapons, said Berkeley police Capt. Allison Hart, who will command the weekends police response.

Complicating matters is the planned attendance of some controversial figures from the far-right who have been linked to white supremacist gatherings and other controversial rallies.

Ninety-seven percent of the people arent there to cause trouble. But a small percentage arent there peaceful.  LAPD Deputy Chief Bob Green

Augustus Invictus, described by the Anti-Defamation League as a Florida-based white supremacist, has also said on Twitter that he plans to speak at the Berkeley rally. Invictus filmed himself among a mob of torch-carrying demonstrators chanting blood and soil, a known Nazi refrain, in Charlottesville.

Kyle Chapman, a Daly City resident who gained infamy and the nickname Based Stickman after he was filmed battling anti-facists with a shield and staff in Berkeley earlier this year, plans to speak at both rallies. Chapman, who has declined a request for comment from The Times and suggested reporters can all go to hell on Twitter recently, is currently facing felony weapons charges in Alameda County.

Jack Posobiec, who hawked the false Pizzagate conspiracy that led to a shooting in Washington, D.C., and has been accused of hurling anti-Muslim slurs at former Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin, will also attend Sundays rally in Berkeley, according to Joanna Mendelson, the senior investigative researcher with the Anti-Defamation Leagues Center On Extremism.

The presence of those fringe right-wing figures, as well as the Black Bloc anarchists who sometimes appear among counter-protesters in Berkeley, speaks to the heart of law enforcements struggle, police leaders said.

Ninety-seven percent of the people arent there to cause trouble, Green said. But a small percentage arent there to be peaceful.

richard.winton@latimes.com

james.queally@latimes.com

paige.stjohn@latimes.com

Follow @LACrimes for police and public safety news. Follow @JamesQueallyLAT & @paigestjohn for coverage of rallies in the San Francisco and Berkeley this weekend.
Los Angeles County sheriffs detectives are looking for a group of men wearing orange construction vests who forced their way into a house in Calabasas, tied up the residents and then ransacked the home, officials said.

Investigators held a news conference Thursday and announced they were looking for three men who escaped in two cars after robbing the home in the 22500 block of Charlestown Drive on the afternoon of Aug. 6.

According to detectives, two men posed as construction workers and knocked on the door. As they waited for someone to answer, the men discussed their so-called job with a construction company to keep up the ruse, just in case someone was listening on a security camera, authorities said.

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Authorities think this group has committed similar robberies.

When a resident answered their knock  KTLA reported it was an 18-year-old man  the two robbers forced their way in, fought with the teen and shocked him with a Taser gun before tying him up with zip ties.

While the two men restrained the teen, a third robber walked in and pillaged the home of more than $200,000 in valuables.

Thats when a woman who also lived at the home arrived, KTLA said.

The second victim was also assaulted, terrorized, and bound with zip ties by the suspects, the Sheriffs Department said in a statement.

Within minutes, the trio escaped in a 2010-2015 black 5 or 7 Series BMW sedan and a 2015-2017 dark gray Chevrolet impala.

One of the victims managed to dial 911 afterward, authorities said.

Detectives are asking for any assistance in tracking the three men. The city of Calabasas is offering a $5,000 reward in exchange for any information leading to an arrest and conviction.

Anyone with information is asked to call the sheriffs burglary-robbery task force at (562) 946-7187.

joseph.serna@latimes.com

For breaking California news, follow @JosephSerna on Twitter.
A 28-year-old mussel farmer was rescued Thursday morning after falling out of his boat and treading water for about two hours, officials said.

About 8:15 a.m., a U.S. Coast Guard cutter crew on a routine patrol spotted a 14-foot boat traveling in circles  unmanned  about five nautical miles south of Huntington Harbour, said Mark Barney, a Coast Guard spokesman.

The cutter crew alerted a rescue helicopter, which spotted Tony White treading water about two miles away.

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He wore blue coveralls without a life jacket. A swimmer jumped out of the helicopter to help White before the Coast Guard crew picked them up and took them back to the base.

White was working at sea when his hat fell into the water, Barney said. When he reached for it, a wave hit his boat and he fell in.

He spent about two hours trying to swim to safety before he was rescued, Barney said. White was not injured.

He was a little shook up. He couldve been out there swimming still, Barney said. We just happened to stumble upon the situation  got lucky on that one.

Barney encouraged mariners to wear life jackets, calling them lifesavers in these situations.

Not only does it keep you afloat so you can conserve energy, but normally theyre a bright color, so its a lot easier to find you, he said.

alene.tchekmedyian@latimes.com

Twitter: @AleneTchek

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An Austrian man was severely burned when he was struck by lightning this week while hiking in a remote wilderness area in the Sierra Nevada, authorities said.

The hiker, whose identity was not released, and his girlfriend were visiting from Austria and had set out to hike with a friend Tuesday afternoon, according to the California Highway Patrols air operations in Sacramento.

As the friends hiked from Donner Summit to Squaw Valley, they observed no thunderstorm activity or lightning, the CHP said on Facebook.

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The victim then separated from the group and started walking ahead.

Thats when his girlfriend and friend heard a large crack and saw a flash of light at Tinker Knob summit, where the victim had been standing, the CHP said.

Worried about subsequent strikes, the two friends remained off the ridge and called 911 for help, the CHP said. They attempted to make voice contact from a safe distance with the victim.

The man eventually yelled back and waved his arms.

A CHP helicopter later responded and landed at the summit, where a paramedic assisted the victim, who had difficulty walking, authorities said.

The victim was taken to an area hospital, where he was stabilized. He was later flown to the UC Davis Burn Center, the CHP said.

Photographs from the scene showed the victims tattered clothing and mangled shoes.

veronica.rocha@latimes.com

Twitter: VeronicaRochaLA
Following Los Angeles Countys approval last month of the long-contentious Newhall Ranch development, opponents have asked a court to halt the project until additional environmental issues are remedied.

The petition, filed last week in L.A. Superior Court by Friends of the Santa Clara River and the Santa Clarita Organization for Planning and the Environment (SCOPE), argues that the Board of Supervisors should not have approved a revised environmental impact report and permits for two of Newhalls five villages at its July 18 meeting.

The development would harm the [Santa Clara] River in very significant ways, and have substantial negative environmental impacts on water quality, on aquatic and riparian habitat, on wildlife movements, on greenhouse gas emissions, and on Native American cultural resources, the petition says. The board and county abused their discretion in approving the projects.

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Newhall Land and Farming Co., a subsidiary of Five Point Holdings, is also named in the petition.

The boards approval of the Landmark and Mission villages at Newhall Ranch followed more than two decades of debate over the planned community, which would provide up to 21,500 homes in the Santa Clarita Valley. The environmental groups legal challenge represents the last significant hurdle before construction may begin.

An environmental impact report was completed in 2011, but courts later found the developer hadnt provided sufficient evidence that the project would not affect greenhouse gas emissions and raised concerns about threats to a native fish, the unarmored threespine stickleback.

In 2016 the developer revised its environmental impact report. The supervisors approved the revised portions and authorized development of Newhalls first two villages.

In so doing, the lawsuit claims, the county failed to fulfill its obligations under the California Environmental Quality Act. The environmental groups argue that the revised analysis was too narrow and didnt take into account substantial recent changes, including Californias drought and the expansion of a nearby landfill.

Five Point has dubbed the project Net Zero Newhall, saying it will offset all greenhouse gases it generates. In their court petition, opponents say the developer cannot guarantee zero net emissions and should take additional steps to mitigate the gases.

An additional concern of the environmental groups is the developments impact on water. The petition says the areas water table has dropped approximately 90 feet since 2005 because of drought and overuse.

This drop is a strong indication that the local water supplies are not sufficient for homes and businesses already in the area, it says.

At the same time, the Legislature is considering a bill that would consolidate the Castaic Lake Water Agency and the Newhall County Water District.

Proponents say the bill would reduce duplication and benefit ratepayers. Opponents, including the groups that filed last weeks lawsuit, say the merger was negotiated with little transparency and is a ploy to enable the new development to draw on already depleted water sources.

The bill works in Trojan Horse fashion, Lynne Plambeck, president of the environmental group known as SCOPE, and former Castaic water board candidate Stacy Fortner wrote in an op-ed in the Sacramento Bee this month.

Newhall Land & Farming needs surface water and groundwater to make its mega development happen, and this bill will shore up those supplies, they wrote.

State Sen. Scott Wilk (R-Santa Clarita), the bills author, said it has nothing to do with Newhall Ranch. Its in the best interest of rate payers and the best interest of the environment, he said.

Wilk added that the consolidated agency can achieve economies of scale, more efficiently manage water resources, and likely compete more successfully for grants.

Through a spokesperson, Five Point Holdings declined to comment. The company has repeatedly said it has ample water for the project and Chief Executive Emile Haddad said last month that Newhall Ranch would set the new standard for development with its plan for addressing greenhouse gas emissions.

Stephanie Pincetl, a professor at the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, said the ultimate decision on whether the project moves forward will depend on how broadly a judge interprets the developers obligations under the California Environmental Quality Act.

Newhall  complied with the letter of the law, she said. Itll depend on the judge and if the judge is willing to look at the larger set of impacts and not rule in a very narrow way.

nina.agrawal@latimes.com

Twitter: @AgrawalNina
A woman accused of driving drunk as she livestreamed a crash that killed her younger sister says she continued streaming after the crash in hopes of helping to pay for her siblings funeral expenses.

Obdulia Sanchez, who has been detained since her July 21 arrest, described her reasoning in a four-page, double-sided letter to a reporter at KGPE-TV in Fresno.

I made that video because I knew I had more than 5,000 followers, the 18-year-old Stockton resident wrote. It was the only way my sister would get a decent burial. I would never expose my sister like that. I anticipated the public donating money because my family isnt rich.

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Sanchez apologized for making the video, saying, I look awful, but I accomplished my goal.

More than $12,000 was donated to a GoFundMe account created by the family to help pay for her 14-year-old sisters funeral.

Sanchez, who is charged with half a dozen criminal offenses, including gross vehicular manslaughter, told the station in a separate interview that the video wasnt her first livestream while driving. She said livestreaming was like a reflex, an act carried out all the time.

Sanchezs case gained attention after she broadcast the July 21 crash on Instagram Live.

The video showed Sanchez looking into the camera and singing as she drove on a highway in Los Banos, with her sister, Jacqueline Sanchez, and a second 14-year-old girl in the backseat.

As Sanchez recorded herself, she lost control of her 2003 Buick and crashed. The video stopped.

During that time, Sanchez told the news station, she called 911 for help.

After the crash, Sanchez started recording again. She panned to the body of her sister, who was lying in a grassy field and appeared to have suffered major head trauma.

As the video streamed, Sanchez said, I  killed my sister, OK? I know I am going to jail for life, all right? This is the last thing that I wanted to happen, OK?

Merced County Deputy Dist. Atty. Harold Nutt, who is prosecuting the case, has said Sanchezs blood alcohol content was 0.10% at the time of the crash.

He said Sanchez was inattentive, driving erratically and not holding the wheel.

Sanchezs court-appointed attorney, Ramnik Samrao, told The Times last week that other factors may have led to the crash, including issues with the tread on the vehicles tires that caused one to blow out.

Samrao said Sanchez watched the video for the first time from jail on Aug. 13. At that moment, he said, she realized the gravity of her actions.

Sanchez told KGPE she has several goals for her future and hopes to tell her story to students. She said she plans to dedicate a music album to her sister and write a song about the dangers of texting and driving.

veronica.rocha@latimes.com

Twitter: VeronicaRochaLA

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UPDATES:

7:40 p.m.: This articles headline was updated to clarify that Obdulia Sanchez was referring to video livestreamed after the crash.

This article was originally published at 10 a.m.
Sometimes people yell at the monthly turnout of the Los Angeles County Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission, but on Thursday the fireworks started before some attendees could get inside.

A man attempting to bring a camera to the public forum, held at the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in Pasadena, was handcuffed and ultimately ejected after he began filming a dispute with security guards over whether he could bring recording devices into the federal courthouse.



For the record: A previous version of this article said a meeting of the Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission was held at the 9th District Court of Appeals. It was the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

After being detained about an hour, Gary Gileno, a freelance journalist and a member of We The People Rising, a group opposed to illegal immigration, was issued a $280 citation for failing to comply with court security officers directions.

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Gileno, who said he has filmed a public gathering inside that courthouse before, said hes well-versed about his rights at open meetings and that what happened to him was outrageous.

U.S. Marshals had been telling those entering the building that no electronics were allowed, even if people were headed to the public forum. The agents eventually let most people bring their phones and cameras inside, although they did not allow people to hold up signs in the meeting.

Mike MacBean, acting supervisor for the U.S. Marshals Service for Californias central district, said officers who detained Gileno were simply enforcing rules barring recording devices of any type inside federal courthouses.

But the ordeal highlighted an awkward situation for the oversight commission, which is bound by the state open meetings law that says anyone at official public meetings has a right take pictures, video or audio of the proceedings, unless doing so creates a persistent disturbance.

Commissioners have frequently said they want to foster a welcoming atmosphere for anyone to come and speak about their experiences with the Sheriffs Department.

I felt a little humiliated having to take off my shoes and stuff, said Commissioner Heather Miller, a rabbi, noting the airport-like security measures at the federal courthouse. You talk about law enforcement triggering things for people.

Robert C. Bonner, a former federal judge who serves as chair of the civilian oversight panel, said he recommended that the federal courthouse be used for the meeting. The commission has been trying out different locations in search of a more permanent home.

The cameras are not allowed in a federal courthouse, thats all I can tell you. These arent my rules, he said.

Bonner said he was not familiar with certain provisions of Californias open meetings law, known as the Ralph M. Brown Act, and that he relies on county counsel for advice on the legalities.

Why is it that people would have to have their own separate audio recording when we have an audio recording that picks up everything thats said? Bonner asked.

The commission posts audio files of its meetings online, but there is typically a lag time of a few weeks.

Brian Williams, the commissions executive director who approved the location, said he wasnt aware that cameras were not allowed inside federal courthouses. He said he would keep that in mind when deciding on future sites for the monthly meeting, which has recently been held at the Metropolitan Water District building next to Union Station.

I want to make sure the public has unfettered access, Williams said.

Peter Bibring, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, said the oversight commission has an obligation to follow state law and should not hold meetings in places where people arent allowed to bring cameras or other recording devices.

Also on Thursday, the commission approved a resolution opposing President Trumps statement last month to a crowd of law enforcement officers in which he told them, Please dont be too nice, when arresting people.

The president was appearing to encourage and condone out of policy and inappropriate use of force against suspects, the commissions resolution said.

Commissioners and members of the public also discussed the Sheriffs Departments mental evaluation teams, which pair deputies with mental health clinicians to respond to calls requiring special handling of mentally ill people.

A preliminary report issued by an ad-hoc committee studying the teams said the program should be expanded and given more funding. The report also found that the county Department of Mental Health has faced obstacles assigning enough clinicians to the teams  which currently number 10  perhaps due to the odd hours the teams must deploy or the perceived risks associated with working alongside deputies. The committee will publish a final report in October.

The preliminary report said that all deputies, who are the first responders on scene regardless of whether a mental evaluation team eventually arrives, should receive training to deescalate volatile situations. While many deputies have been trained in crisis intervention, the department has been unable to set a timeline on when all 2,826 patrol deputies will have completed the training, the report said.

maya.lau@latimes.com

Twitter: @mayalau
An expressive and influential jazz guitarist as adept with standards as he was with flights into rock-accented fusion, John Abercrombie has died at 72 in New York

His death Tuesday after a long illness was confirmed by his longtime label ECM, where Abercrombie had recorded as a leader and a sideman for more than 40 years. His 1974 debut recording, Timeless, featured a trio of drummer Jack DeJohnette and keyboardist Jan Hammer and forged a new direction in jazz fusion with swift, angular runs balanced by a delicate hand with atmospheric ballads.

John was a big part of my life and early musical adventures, DeJohnette said in a statement on social media. His musical contribution will live forever. Miss you brother but will always hear you. You are now truly Timeless.

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Nels Cline, a Los Angeles-born guitarist for the rock band Wilco who has pushed the envelope of jazz in his own recordings, also paid tribute to Abercrombie on Wednesday, writing on Twitter that his influence on me as both guitarist and as composer is deep and vast, like [his] wondrous legacy.

Born in Port Chester, N.Y., on Dec. 16, 1944, Abercrombie first picked up the guitar at 14, playing along with Chuck Berry records. He soon discovered jazz through recordings of Barney Kessel and, after high school, he moved to Boston to attend the Berklee College of Music. While still a student, he went on tour with organist Johnny Hammond Smith and met Randy and Michael Brecker, who would combine with Abercrombie to form the jazz-rock fusion trio Dreams.

Later, he moved to New York City, where he became an in-demand session guitarist, playing with Gil Evans, Chico Hamilton and Billy Cobham in the early 70s before connecting with Manfred Eichers German label ECM for the release of Timeless. The guitarist soon reunited with DeJohnette and along with former Miles Davis bassist Dave Holland formed the Gateway Trio for two albums in the late 1970s.

A restless sonic explorer, Abercrombie also played electric mandolin on some of his late 70s albums as well as McCoy Tyners 1980 album Quartets 4x4. In the 1980s, he recorded with Michael Brecker and Peter Erskine and began playing a guitar synthesizer hybrid to further expand the reach of his instruments voice, but he eventually returned to the familiar electric and acoustic guitar.

It just felt better because all of a sudden, the flesh of my hand was right on the string, Abercrombie told NPR in 2000. I didnt have this piece of plastic that kind of interfered, you know?

In a review of a 1993 concert after he had moved away from synthesizers, the Times Leonard Feather wrote that Abercrombies performance was not exactly the musician many listeners expected to hear . In no way does the result represent a retrogression. Abercrombie still makes imaginative use of tone colors, of free-jazz concepts, unexpected shifts of mood, tempo and meter. 

In his later recordings, Abercrombies spare, occasionally slippery way with notes could frequently say more than those with flashier styles. His tone was capable of adding a nimble, Eastern-tinged flourish in some of his contributions to labelmate Charles Lloyds recordings in the early 2000s.

Abercrombie continued to tour and earn accolades into the next decade, including for his 2012 album Within a Song, which paid tribute to influences such as Sonny Rollins, Jim Hall and Ornette Coleman with a deft, understated hand. His final album for ECM, Up and Coming, was released earlier this year and featured a quartet that included frequent collaborator Marc Copland on piano.

Id like people to perceive me as having a direct connection to the history of jazz guitar, while expanding some musical boundaries, Abercrombie noted on his record labels website. His influence can still be heard in a broad variety of guitarists who continue pushing at those boundaries, including Bill Frisell, Pat Metheny and John Scofield.

Abercrombie is survived by his wife Lisa.

See the most-read stories in Entertainment this hour 

chris.barton@latimes.com

Follow me over here @chrisbarton.

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The Defense Department will let California National Guard members keep more than $190 million in disputed enlistment bonuses and other payments  far more than previously acknowledged  after the military spent six years trying to recover the money from veterans who had served at the height of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

In all, repayments were waived for 17,092 California Guard soldiers who were given what were later deemed questionable bonuses, according to a Defense Department report obtained by The Times. Those who already repaid their bonuses are being reimbursed.

The report, which was sent to the House and Senate Armed Services Committees this month, concludes that the overwhelming majority of California Guard soldiers did nothing wrong in accepting bonuses of $15,000 to $80,000 each. Only 393 soldiers have been ordered to return the money, chiefly due to disciplinary or criminal conduct.

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The sweeping forgiveness represents an almost total retreat by the Pentagon and the California Guard, which drove the aggressive recoupment effort against thousands of military veterans  including some who were wounded in combat  and has yet to publicly apologize to them.

The California Guard used tax liens, wage garnishments and other heavy-handed tactics to try to recover the bonuses it paid to soldiers chiefly to enlist or reenlist between 2004 to 2010, a period when the Pentagon was desperate for troops it could send to war.

The scandal offers a dark perspective on the Pentagons use of hefty cash incentives to fill its all-volunteer force during the longest era of warfare in the nations history.

The overwhelming majority of cases were resolved in favor of the individual soldier, the 26-page report by the undersecretary of Defense for personnel and readiness concludes. In these cases, the soldier received a full grant of relief.

Many of the waivers were granted because files lacked adequate documentation or because the soldier had deployed to a combat zone, had completed his/her service, or would not be expected to have known that he/she was ineligible for a bonus, the report said.

The report also carved out exceptions if a soldier who got a bonus was deceased, a Purple Heart recipient, receiving combat disability compensation or met other conditions.

Last October, The Times first disclosed the California Guards aggressive campaign to force nearly 17,500 veterans to repay their bonuses.

In response, then-Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter suspended the recoupment effort. Two months later, Congress passed legislation that gave the Defense Department until July 30 to review every case with a goal of waiving the debts unless the soldier knew or reasonably should have known that he or she was ineligible for the bonus.

Pentagon officials said at the time they did not know how much money was involved, although they estimated it could be in the tens of millions of dollars. The total was far higher.

According to the report, the California Guard paid more than $233 million in bonuses and student loan repayments to fill its enlistment goals from 2004 to 2015.

For most of that time, the California Guard relied on a single enlisted soldier, Master Sgt. Toni Jaffe, to issue the bonuses with virtually no controls. Jaffe later said she faced intense pressure from higher-ups to approve the payments to meet enlistment goals.

After a federal and state investigation, Jaffe pleaded guilty in 2011 to charges of approving payments that she knew were fraudulent, and served 30 months in prison. The Guard simultaneously launched its aggressive recoupment effort, targeting soldiers who it said were ineligible for the bonuses, or whose cases lacked proper paperwork.

The Times found that most of the soldiers had taken the money in good faith, had served honorably and had fulfilled their enlistment contracts, often serving in war zones.

They were ordered to repay their bonuses years later. Many had left the military and had spent the money long ago on homes, cars and other expenses.

The Pentagon report backed those findings.

It said that 17,092 of these cases  the overwhelming majority  were resolved in favor of the individual soldier. In an additional 393 cases, it said, the available evidence did not support a full grant of relief.

Most of those in the latter cases were ordered to repay their bonus because they did not complete their enlistment contracts, either because they went absent without leave or were kicked out of the service due to drug abuse or other disciplinary problems.

These cases typically involved a soldiers receipt of an incentive in exchange for an enlistment of a certain length, which was subsequently curtailed by the soldiers own misconduct  most frequently Absence without Leave or substance abuse, the report said.

Though Congress ordered the Pentagon to finish the review last month, appeals are ongoing for 191 of those soldiers, the report said. An additional 202 have exhausted their appeals and have repaid the money or still must do so.

Two soldiers who were ordered to pay back the money after their cases were reviewed were granted full forgiveness on appeal, the report said.

The report gives only a brief flavor of the tactics used by the Pentagon to go after soldiers that it formerly had accused of taking money improperly. Many soldiers ordered to repay the large sums were slapped with interest charges, wage garnishments and tax liens if they refused or could not.

After the scandal came to light last fall, the Defense Finance Accounting Service, the department unit responsible for collecting debts, withdrew the existing debt collection actions from its own accounts, the report said.

The office also requested that the Treasury Department, private debt collection agencies and credit reporting bureaus immediately expunge from their databases all collections records and other adverse information pertaining to these debts, the report said.

The California Guard did not respond to a request for comment.

The report shows that $80.9 million of the questionable bonuses went to newly recruited soldiers, while $73.5 million went to soldiers already in uniform. Many have said they were summoned to mass meetings and promised the money if they reenlisted for an additional six years.

An additional $3.27 million in recruiting bonuses went to officers.

In response to the bonus scandal, the National Guard has put in place new computer software that is intended to ensure that bonuses are not given out improperly, and California has adopted the system, the report said.

Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Turlock), who helped craft the legislative language that ordered the Pentagon to examine all the cases by this month, said he doubted the military would have acted without prodding from Congress.

It shouldnt have taken an act of Congress to have the [Defense Department] admit their mistake and fulfill the contracts made to our California National Guard, Denham said. The men and women who wear the cloth of this nation deserve the security of knowing that the country they swore an oath to protect has their back at the end of their service.

david.cloud@latimes.com

Twitter: @davidcloudLAT

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For one veteran in Reno, a chance to see the president. But hes seen enough in a divided country
Residents and rescue workers across Texas on Friday coped with the massive floodwaters left behind by Tropical Storm Harvey. The storm broke the record for rainfall on the U.S. mainland on Tuesday.

Some areas of Houston have seen over 50 inches of rain  more than they usually receive in a year. The Mont Belvieu industrial suburb east of Houston recorded 51.12 inches, breaking the previous record for a single storm of 48 inches in Medina, Texas, during Tropical Storm Amelia in 1978.

The death toll rose to 31 as of Thursday night, according to authorities.

Nearly a half million people are likely to seek federal aid, U.S. officials said.

Harvey is now being estimated to be the second-costliest natural disaster in U.S. history, trailing only the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

The storm slammed onto shore Aug. 25 as a Category 4 hurricane and powered its way north of Corpus Christi. It weakened Saturday to a tropical storm, but officials cautioned catastrophic flooding continues across southeast Texas.

Harvey makes its second landfall

Early Wednesday morning, Harvey made its second landfall near Cameron, La.

Though the worst of the storm was over and skies were clear over much of Texas, forecasters said Friday morning that parts of Kentucky could receive more than four inches of rain from Harvey's remnants over the next 24 hours.

In Texas, about 70% of Harris County's 1,777 square miles was covered with 1.5 feet of water at some point after the deluge, flooding about 136,000 buildings, county officials said Friday.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers opened two swollen flood-control reservoirs early Monday. The Corps said it needed to undertake a controlled release of water from the Addicks and Barker reservoirs to limit the scope of the disaster.

However, flood control officials reported Tuesday morning that water was beginning to seep over the top of the Addicks Reservoir spillway, the first time water had breached the dam.

Even with the controlled release, the reservoirs were rising at a rate of 4 inches an hour, said Edmund Russo, deputy district engineer for programs and project management for the Army Corps of Engineers Galveston District.

It could create additional problems, additional flooding, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said at a news conference Monday. People who were not in a crisis state yesterday may find themselves in a crisis state today.

In Brazoria County, south of Houston, the Brazos River was beginning to overflow its banks. On Tuesday morning, a levee breached in the Columbia Lakes neighborhood, prompting county officials on Twitter to warn residents, GET OUT NOW!!

People are stranded

More than 30,000 people in Houston and across the Gulf Coast sought temporary shelter.

People wade through a flooded street in Houston. (Joe Raedle / Getty Images) (Joe Raedle / Getty Images)

Others remained trapped inside their homes, as entire neighborhoods were submerged.

The full scope of devastation was not immediately clear. Debris and floodwater covered roads across small towns and inner-city neighborhoods, in some cases blocking access for emergency crews.

No evacuation order was issued for Houston ahead of the storm, even for those in low-lying areas prone to flooding.

On Tuesday, local authorities reported a man in Montgomery County, north of Houston, drowned Monday night while trying to swim across a flooded road. In Galveston County, Clear Creek Independent School District reported that a former track and football coach had died in the flooding.

By Tuesday night, the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences updated its storm-related deaths to include an 89-year-old woman, Agnes Stanley, who was found floating in 4 feet of floodwater in a home. Another woman, 76, was discovered floating in water near a vehicle. Her name was not released. A 45-year-old man, Travis Lynn Callihan, left his vehicle and fell into floodwater. He was taken to a hospital, where he died Monday.

Officials in Harris County, which includes Houston, had already reported at least six potentially storm-related fatalities. A 60-year-old woman died in Porter, a small community north of Houston, when a large oak tree fell on her mobile home. Another person died in the small coastal town of Rockport, near where Harvey made landfall. A 52-year-old homeless man was found dead in La Marque, a small city near Galveston.

Local officials were also looking into reports that a family of six  four children and their great-grandparents  drowned Sunday near Greens Bayou in east Houston. Virginia Saldivar, 59, said her brother-in-law, Sam, was driving her grandchildren and her husbands parents to higher ground when the current swept up the van.

Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo broke down in tears Tuesday as he announced that Sgt. Steve Perez had drowned during the weekend after trying to get to work through an underpass in the darkness.

He laid down his life, Acevedo said during a news briefing, noting that before Perez left for work he told his wife, who urged him to stay home: I've got work to do.

In Galveston County, Clear Creek Independent School District reported that a former track and football coach had died in the floods.

Rescues are still underway

Local, state and federal authorities were continuing to work to reach those stranded by flooding.

(Jon Shapley / Associated Press) (Jon Shapley / Houston Chronicle)

By Monday morning, Houston 911 operators had received 56,000 calls for help. A backlog that left residents hanging on the telephone, calls unanswered, was almost resolved, city officials said at a news conference.

Acevedo said Tuesday that officers had rescued 4,100 people across the city and were launching more boats in the water every hour.

Trump visits Texas

President Trump assured Texans on Monday that Congress would deliver swift federal aid. On Tuesday, he visited the storm-ravaged state, declaring, We are here to take care of you, and promising a better than ever before relief effort.

President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump arrive in Corpus Christi, Texas, on Tuesday. (Evan Vucci / Associated Press) (Evan Vucci / Associated Press)

Trump first visited Corpus Christi, southwest of the worst-hit areas of Houston and its environs, and then traveled to the state capital of Austin.

There, he repeatedly praised federal, state and local officials.

The world is watching and the world is very impressed with what you are doing, Trump told officials at the Texas Department of Public Safety operations center in Austin who were coordinating rescue and shelter operations.

Perhaps more welcome than praise was the presidents promise of unspecified federal aid. We are working with Congress on helping out the state of Texas; its going to be a costly proposition, Trump said.

"Texas is healing fast thanks to all of the great men & women who have been working so hard," Trump tweeted on Friday. "But still, so much to do. Will be back tomorrow!"

Hurricanes of Category 3 or higher are serious

The National Hurricane Center ranks storms into Categories 1 through 5. Hurricanes in Categories 3 and above are considered major.

Hurricane Harvey made landfall as a Category 4 storm. Heres the National Hurricane Centers definition: With sustained winds of 130 to 156 mph, catastrophic damage will occur: Well-built framed homes can sustain severe damage with loss of most of the roof structure and/or some exterior walls. Most trees will be snapped or uprooted and power poles downed. Fallen trees and power poles will isolate residential areas. Power outages will last weeks to possibly months. Most of the area will be uninhabitable for weeks or months.

Its important to know that storms can change quickly and Harvey could be upgraded or downgraded within hours.

A NASA satellite image shows Hurricane Harvey off the Gulf Coast. (NASA) (NASA)

Remember Wilma?

The last Category 3 to make landfall was Hurricane Wilma, which hit South Florida in 2005. It resulted in nearly $20 billion in damage.

Meanwhile, Hurricane Charley in 2004 was the last Category 4 storm to hit the United States. That storm made landfall in Florida and resulted in $16 billion in damage.

Heres some perspective

The Great Galveston Hurricane of 1900 was the deadliest hurricane to ever hit the United States, leading to nearly 10,000 deaths.

When the storm made landfall in September of that year, it was a Category 4.

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina became the most expensive hurricane in U.S. history. Katrina, which had been a Category 5 storm offshore, was a Category 3 when it hit Louisiana and Mississippi, resulting in $108 billion in damage.

In 1900, a large part of Galveston, Texas, was reduced to rubble and nearly 10,000 people were killed in the deadliest hurricane to ever hit the United States. (Associated Press) (AP)

Staff writers Kurtis Lee, Sean Greene, Matt Pearce, Molly Hennessy-Fiske, Hailey Branson-Potts, Laura Nelson and special correspondent Jenny Jarvie contributed to this report

alexandra.wigglesworth@latimes.com

Twitter: @phila_lex

ALSO

With the Brazos River headed for an off-the-charts flood, a Texas neighborhood is on the run

Why didn't Houston evacuate before Harvey? It's not that simple

Armed with a boat, a dump truck and a school bus, this crew rescued dozens of Houston families

UPDATES:

9:45 a.m., Sept. 1: This article was updated with a new death toll, quote from the president and Harvey being estimated as the second-costliest natural disaster.

2:30 a.m., Aug. 30: This article has been updated with a new death toll and the storms landing in Louisiana.

6:40 p.m., Aug. 29: This article has been updated with police officer death, new figures for those in shelters, other details.

5:20 p.m. Aug. 29: This post was updated with an increased death toll, the latest forecast and information on President Trumps visit.

7:50 p.m. Aug. 28: This post was updated with an increased death toll, the latest forecast and more information on flood control efforts and rescues.

4:15 p.m. Aug. 27: This post was updated with information about rainfall forecasts from Harvey and death toll figures.

5:10 p.m. This post was updated with information that Hurricane Harvey increased from a Category 3 to a Category 4.

This post was originally published at 11 a.m. Aug. 26.
The Republican National Committee walked the tightrope Friday in carefully but resolutely denouncing white supremacist groups without criticizing President Trump, who waffled in his own statements in the wake of the deadly clash in Virginia this month.

Meeting in Nashville, the RNC approved a raft of resolutions, including one asserting Nazis, the KKK, white supremacists and others are repulsive, evil and have no fruitful place in the United States.

And though the vote was unanimous, some members had grumbled that the resolution was unnecessary and reflected unnecessary defensiveness.

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Its amazing that we have been lured into this argument that were not racists. Its absurd, said Colorado Republican Chairman Jeff Hays. Why would we feel compelled to do that?

The sentiment reflects a difference between RNC leaders concerned about the partys image in light of Trumps latest rhetorical thicket and newer, more ardently pro-Trump state Republican leaders who say such a statement appears defensive.

But this was a priority for Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel, as well as for committee members who were openly bothered by Trumps initial resistance to singling out the racist groups after the violence in Charlottesville, Va.

Hearing about the grumbling, McDaniel made the rounds Friday morning to reinforce with members that the measure was a priority. Every day, I wake up proud that were the party of Lincoln, McDaniel told the committee Friday. Condemning violence is not a Republican or Democratic issue. It is an American issue.

Despite the resolution, there doesnt appear to be a softening of support for the president within the partys national organization.

Rather, what was to be a sleepy, pro-forma late summer gathering seemed to spark renewed backing for the president despite a series of recent setbacks: the GOPs stunning failure to repeal and replace Obamacare and the departure of crowd favorite Reince Priebus, the former RNC chairman, as Trumps chief of staff.

The president was not wrong to point out what the media has failed to point out, that counter-protesters also came for a battle in Charlottesville, said Pennsylvania Republican Chairman Val DiGiorgio.

DiGiorgio stood by the many sides comment Trump made immediately after the clash in Virginia, in which a car was driven into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing a woman. The president was criticized harshly by Republicans and Democrats because he didnt immediately denounce the white nationalist groups.

There was palpable contempt in the conference room for counter-protesters who were ready to fight. RNC member Morton Blackwell, who affirmed his support for the resolution, said, Every person who came to Charlottesville intending violence was evil.

Bill Palatucci, a RNC committeeman from New Jersey who sponsored the resolution, said it was important for the committee to formally denounce white supremacists. Palatucci said, I think he [Trump] got it wrong a week ago Tuesday, in regards to Charlottesville, when the president said during a free-wheeling, defiant news conference that there were very fine people on both sides at the demonstration.

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This Confederate history activist condemns white supremacists but says Trump was right
The University of Texas is being sued for removing four Confederate statues from the main area of campus in Austin.

The Sons of Confederate Veterans filed the lawsuit Wednesday, three days after the statues were quickly taken down following a late-night order from University President Greg Fenves.

The removals followed a deadly white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va. The school says the statues will be moved to other areas on campus, including a museum.

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The statues were paid for by former University of Texas Regent and Confederate veteran George Littlefield in 1920. The lawsuit argues the school broke its agreement with Littlefield by removing the statues.

A university spokesman said the schools lawyers had carefully considered the decision.

The association unsuccessfully sued the university in 2015 to stop the removal of a statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis.

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This Confederate history activist condemns white supremacists but says Trump was right

Nancy Pelosi calls on House Speaker Paul Ryan to remove Confederate statues from the Capitol

After violence in Charlottesville, cities rush to take down monuments as white supremacists gear up to fight

New Orleans takes down first of four Confederate statues
A month after President Trump first tweeted about a ban on transgender people in the military, details of a proposal are emerging. Here are the stories you shouldnt miss today:

TOP STORIES

Trumps Transgender Ban: Some Exclusions May Apply

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When President Trump tweeted one month ago that the military would no longer accept or allow transgender troops to serve in any capacity, it surprised top Pentagon officials. Their response was, essentially: Well wait for more specifics. Now, details of draft guidelines are emerging, and they suggest that the White House is backing away from a blanket ban. Instead, the policy could give Defense Secretary James N. Mattis discretion to keep current transgender service members. But the guidelines arent final, and Congress may try to undo any ban.

More Politics

-- After helping Democrats revamp Californias landmark climate change policy and drawing the ire of conservatives, Chad Mayes will step down as Republican leader of the state Assembly.

-- Nationally, Democrats are taking shots at one another in their hunt for a winning economic plan.

-- Meanwhile, on Twitter  Trump kept bashing the Republican leaders in Congress he needs to pass his agenda.

Texas Faces a Tempest

Winds greater than 110 mph. Up to 35 inches of rain. Texas is bracing for Hurricane Harvey, which could be the first major hurricane to hit the United States in 12 years. Forecasters have warned of life-threatening and devastating flooding along the middle Texas coast Friday and over the weekend. Houston officials told residents to stockpile water, food and medication for up to a week.

Californias Crime and Capital Punishment

California hasnt executed a prisoner in more than 10 years, but that could change in the coming months after a state Supreme Court ruling this week. The court largely upheld Proposition 66, a ballot measure voters passed in November aimed at speeding up death penalty appeals. Now the focus will shift to Gov. Jerry Brown, who has the power to commute death sentences but didnt take a public position on Prop. 66. California has 747 inmates on death row; this interactive feature explains the crimes that put each one there.

These Lands Are Your Lands

The White House is getting ready for a fight over monuments, but this time it has nothing to do with statues of Confederate generals. At issue are plans to shrink large swaths of land designated as national monuments, home to some of the Wests unique geological formations, archaeological artifacts and pristine landscapes. The Department of Interiors recommendations havent been made public yet, much to the anger of environmentalists and others. Heres a closer look at the monuments being reviewed.

Coming to Daytime TV: The Shocking Details!

Once upon a time, soap operas, courtroom dramas and game shows were the stuff of daytime TV. But in the age of streaming, people are turning away from my stories. In the 2016-17 season alone, traditional daytime TV viewing dropped 4% from the previous year, and even more among 18- to 49-year-olds. How to win back those eyeballs? Fox and CBS syndication unit are hoping celebrity gossip, in the form of Page Six TV and Daily Mail TV, will do the trick.

FLASHBACK FRIDAY

In 1944, the U.S. Navy built a pontoon bridge, a 6-month temporary emergency structure linking downtown Long Beach with Terminal Island during World War II. Despite being the site of many a car crash, it was used until the 1968 completion of the Gerald Desmond Bridge  which today is in the process of being replaced itself. In 1966, bridge operator Toby Reed told The Times that he had seen eight cars and a motorcycle go over the side: Thats when we grab the life rings and hurl them into the channel.

MUST-WATCH VIDEO

-- Film critics Kenneth Turan and Justin Chang discuss the best little-seen movies over the last 20 years.

-- Chang reviews the violent South Korean thriller The Villainess.

-- Performance artist Ron Athey on the solar eclipse and his new exhibit at the Broad.

CALIFORNIA

-- Back-to-back rallies in the Bay Area this weekend are expected to draw far-right figures and large groups of counter-protesters. It will be a big test for police.

-- Cal State will no longer require all its general-education math courses to have a strict intermediate algebra prerequisite.

-- The University of Californias new payroll system will cost at least $200 million more than expected.

-- We wont let it happen again: Canters restaurant vows to clean up its act after it was ordered closed this month for the first time in 20 years because of health violations.

YOUR WEEKEND

-- Perfect for breakfast, dinner and more: 15 favorite frittata recipes.

-- Wolfgang Puck is opening a Spago at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. Yup, it has a view of the fountains.

-- As it turns out, laser tag is an incredibly fun way to get in a workout.

-- Seniors age 62 and older can buy a pass for access to federal recreational lands for a lifetime. It costs $10, but dont wait: The price will jump to $80 starting Monday.

HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS

-- Taylor Swifts new single, Look What You Made Me Do, is the artist at her toughest. Listen to it here.

-- Avatar director James Cameron thinks Wonder Womans success is misguided: Shes an objectified icon.

-- In case you wondered: George R.R. Martin watches Game of Thrones. No, hes not caught up on Season 7.

NATION-WORLD

-- Thirty-two years after the murder of a DEA agent in Mexico, a drug lord has been sentenced in the case.

-- A South Korean court has sentenced a billionaire Samsung heir to five years in prison after finding him guilty of offering bribes to the countrys former president.

-- Italy is taking an increasingly hard line on migrants. Police in Rome used a water cannon to scatter them from a piazza where some had camped for five days.

-- Washington state officials are asking anglers to catch as many Atlantic salmon as they can in the waters around the San Juan Islands. Sounds like fun, but the reason is troubling.

BUSINESS

-- Starting Monday, Whole Foods  a.k.a. Whole Paycheck  will cut prices on certain best-selling staples after Amazon finishes acquiring it.

-- Sees Candies, a California institution, has found that brick-and-mortar stores are still a sweet spot.

SPORTS

-- The tale of the tape: Whats going down when Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Conor McGregor enter the ring on Saturday. Plus, columnist Dylan Hernandez wonders whether its too dangerous.

-- Videos showing high school cheerleaders crying out in pain while being held in the splits position have led to an investigation by Denver police.

OPINION

-- Heaven forbid, a Republican willing to work with Democrats! The California GOP is shooting itself in the foot.

-- Sean Hannity hits a right note in a discordant time: See the David Horsey cartoon.

WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING

-- The demise of the Goldwater Rule? (The New Yorker)

-- A reporter tells the story behind the story of women in the alt-right. (Longreads)

-- Do you sleep under a blanket, even if its hot at night? Here are some theories why. (Atlas Obscura)

ONLY IN L.A.

Youve checked them out on Yelp, Instagrammed their dishes and probably made a reservation on OpenTable, but if you want to cook like one of L.A.s trendiest chefs, what do you do? Check out the printed page. Given the number of new publications celebrating local food and restaurants, we could be in a golden age of L.A. cookbooks. Check out seven of the best  just to whet your appetite.

If you like this newsletter, please share it with friends.
If the California Republican Party is looking for a path to irrelevance in Sacramento, pushing aside Chad Mayes as the GOP leader in the Assembly is a good way to get there.

The Yucca Valley assemblyman and seven Republican colleagues had the temerity last month to support a bill to extend the states cap-and-trade program to limit greenhouse gas emissions, a system that some other Republicans deride as a burdensome tax on businesses and consumers. Mayes and the other GOP nonconformists deserve credit for setting aside partisanship to tackle the existential threat of climate change. Instead, Mayes got the boot, and Republican legislators are getting a reminder to hew to the party line  or else.

On Thursday, Mayes gave into the pressure and said he will step down as Republican Assembly leader to make way for Brian Dahle (R-Bieber) after the session ends next month. This may be what GOP officials want, but it is short-sighted and wrongheaded. Mayes was pushed out for providing exactly the type of leadership the states shrinking Republican Party needs right now, assuming it wants to have any kind of say in how the state is governed.

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Being ideologically pure isnt as important as delivering the services people need and tackling the problems they want tackled.

Mayes didnt just vote for AB 398, the cap-and-trade bill; he worked with the Democrats (you know, the party with the supermajority in both houses of the state Legislature) to make it more palatable to fiscal conservatives. One concession that came out of the negotiations: The measure scraps a fee the state imposes to pay for rural firefighting, a levy that conservatives have been trying to kill ever since it was passed. In fact, Mayes efforts resulted in a bill that was so business friendly, it made environmentalists uncomfortable. (Also, its worth noting that AB 398 was backed by the California Chamber of Commerce and other business groups that favor free-market solutions  like cap and trade.) We didnt prefer the changes, but they certainly made the measure more appealing to Republicans.

Youd think that the party would be lauding Mayes for getting concessions even while being hampered by the GOPs super-minority status. Well, there was one prominent Republican singing Mayes praise. Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who signed the first cap-and-trade bill, wrote on Facebook: I hope Republicans around the country can learn from the example of Assemblyman Mayes and his fellow Republicans that we can fight for free market policies to clean up our environment for our children at the same time we fight for a booming economy.

So much for that. And so much for the states GOP, which has been steadily losing ground among voters statewide and in longtime Republican districts. The party wont gain lost ground unless it can stop focusing exclusively on foiling Democrats rather than representing the interests of all Californians.

Obviously, Republicans want a smaller state government, lower taxes, less regulation and more local autonomy than Democrats typically do. But when it comes to elevating the party in the minds of state voters, being ideologically pure isnt as important as delivering the services people need and tackling the problems they want tackled.

And in this state, residents from across the political spectrum say they want action on climate change. The handful of Republicans who voted for the cap-and-trade bill might have been bucking the party line, but they were responding to the majority of Californians. A recent survey by the Public Policy Institute of California found that 81% of Californians believe climate changes is a serious threat to the states economy and quality of life. In fact, 25% of the Republicans surveyed said the threat was very serious. Meanwhile, 53% of the Republicans surveyed support requiring all of the states electricity to come from renewable energy sources by 2045, the premise of SB 100 by Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles). Yet not one of the Assembly Republicans who had a chance to do so voted for the bill when it was in committee, and that includes their newly minted leader Dahle, who also opposed the cap-and-trade bill.

Thats disappointing. The GOP needs more leaders like Mayes who can push the party past its knee-jerk obstructionism, not those who are afraid to compromise in order to address important issues facing the state. Thats not good for California or for the future of the states Republican Party.

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The news that executions might resume in California after more than a decade is terribly depressing, for all the reasons weve repeated so often. Even those who dont believe it is cruel and unusual for the state to take lives must see that death sentences are meted out unfairly and disproportionately to the poor and minorities. And mistakes can easily be made (consider that at least 159 inmates already on death row have been exonerated nationwide since 1973). And whats more, the death penalty has been repeatedly shown to have no deterrent effect on crime, one of the key arguments proponents make in favor of it.

Despite all that, the people of California have repeatedly voted to keep it. And last year they went a step further, approving an initiative to speed up the notoriously slow appeals process so that condemned prisoners could be put to death more expeditiously. On Thursday, the state Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of much  but not all  of that law.

Our view is this: If executions are going to happen (and they shouldnt), the system must be rigorously careful and fair beyond questioning. That means making sure that due process rights are scrupulously enforced and that everyone facing a death sentence has a thorough chance to argue for innocence or mercy. Such steps can take a long time and can be frustrating to those, especially relatives and friends of murder victims, who would like to see sentences carried out. But even the condemned have constitutional rights that must be observed.

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Executions could resume in California in a year or so for the 18 death row inmates who have already exhausted their appeals.

Proposition 66 was designed to speed up executions by setting a five-year limit on the state appeals process, expanding the pool of appellate attorneys to handle cases, allowing lower courts to hear certain appeals instead of just the Supreme Court, and allowing the state to approve a new lethal injection protocol without going through the usual lengthy process for adopting new regulations. On Thursday, the court noted that the proposition included no mechanism for enforcing its requirement that all state death appeals be completed in five years. Therefore, the court said, the timeline must be considered directive rather than mandatory. Thats a relief because it means the courts wont cut corners  in the form of prisoners due process rights  to meet the propositions arbitrary deadlines.

The decision also leaves it unclear how much real impact the proposition will have on accelerating the appeals process and execution timetables  especially since expanding the capacity of the system hinges on additional funding from the state Legislature for more defense appellate lawyers and other related costs.

The most immediate effect of the ruling is that, barring further legal impediments  efforts to develop a new single-drug execution protocol, for instance, still must get approval by a federal judge under a separate legal challenge  executions could resume in California in a year or so for the 18 death row inmates who have already exhausted their appeals. They are only a fraction of the states 748 condemned killers. Which means Californias death penalty system, which has been more of an abstract concept for the last decade, could be on the verge of roaring back to life. In fact, since California resumed the death penalty in 1978, more than 900 people have been sentenced to death, but only 13 have actually been killed. Inmates have spent an average of more than 17 years on death row, and 108 have died of causes other than execution.

Californias death penalty has been dysfunctional for years, and should have been ended a long time ago. But when they passed Proposition 66, voters also rejected a separate proposition that would have banned capital punishment altogether. In doing so, they placed the state against the tide of progress on the issue. The U.S. is one of the few nations in the developed world that still executes convicted criminals, and the vast majority of executions in this country are carried out by only a handful of counties in a handful of states. Executions themselves have declined around the country from a peak of nearly 100 in 1999 to 20 last year, suggesting that the nations evolving standards of decency are moving on. The U.S. Supreme Court should take note of this shift and remove this medieval mechanism from the machinery of criminal justice.

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Since Inauguration Day, anti-Trump resistors nationwide have turned to California as a laboratory for a new liberal democracy. What they dont realize is that, years ago, somebody broke into our lab and ransacked the equipment, leaving behind one beaker and a microscope with the eyepiece missing.

Ill give you an example: A majority-minority state with a Democratic lock on the Legislature, California should eagerly volunteer to reform the money bail system. Nearly 450,000 Americans are held in local jails every day  not because of a crime but because theyre too poor to buy their freedom. When we say the names Sandra Bland and Kalief Browder, we should recognize that they died behind bars because they couldnt afford bail before their trials.

The median bail rate in California is an unconscionable $50,000, out of reach to the disproportionately black and brown population in the criminal justice system. They turn to the $2 billion-a-year bail bond industry, which guarantees trial attendance and takes a 10% cut of the bail price even if the defendant is found innocent.

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Two of Californias most prominent national leaders, Congressman Ted Lieu and Sen. Kamala Harris, have introduced federal legislation to end money bail. Dozens of local and national activist groups have organized around the issue in California. Its a top agenda item for criminal justice reform, which Trumps arrival sank in Washington. Picking up the slack, Democratic state lawmakers Bob Hertzberg and Rob Bonta introduced legislation this year to base pre-trial release on risk rather than the size of the defendants bank account.

It shouldnt be this hard to roll back injustice in the alleged capital of liberal America.

But while the Senate passed Hertzbergs SB 10 in June, the Assembly rejected Bontas identical bill: Fourteen Democrats voted no, with six others abstaining, killing the legislation by walking away. Then on Friday, we learned that the bill would be put on ice for the rest of the year.

Why?

Fifteen of the 20 Assembly Democrats who either opposed the legislation or cast no votes have received campaign contributions from bail companies or their insurers since the start of 2015, totaling $62,250. The industry also donated $105,000 to the state Democratic Party prior to its convention. The funding muscle comes from the 10 insurance companies that underwrite nearly all bail bondsmen in the country.

The fact of those relatively skimpy donations, however, isnt a sufficient explanation. You couldnt buy a single television ad in Los Angeles with the $4,000 each legislator received on average from the bail industry.

To focus only on campaign donations, or even the $309 million spent on corporate lobbying in 2016 (a record eclipsed only by the $314 million the year before), is to miss a bigger factor: the implicit promise of future employment in exchange for playing ball. Artificially short terms create that opportunity.

Special interests can purchase influence on the cheap because of the structure of state politics. Term-limited legislators have only 12 years in the Legislature to make enough of a showing to win higher office or find another line of work. They often wind up rotating into the blob of lobbyists and consultants who outnumber politicians in the state Capitol by 15 to 1. If lawmaking is a hobby, influencing lawmakers is the career.

Among the biggest spenders in Sacramento are local governments, precisely because Proposition 13s funneling of taxes upstream and other constraints on local control leaves cities at the mercy of the state. When lobbyists warn that it would be too costly for counties to track and remind inmates of court dates, they conveniently neglect the giant price tag for warehousing inmates who cannot afford bail. In fact, Santa Clara, the one California county with a pre-trial release system in place, estimates saving $265,000 a day in incarceration costs.

The constant churn of inexperienced legislators through Sacramento allows the blob to dominate. Lobbyists simply know more about state government than those who make the laws, and they shape that knowledge to serve their interests. The state Chamber of Commerce annually labels job killer bills that almost never become law after they land on the list.

And if Californians want to hold lawmakers responsible for succumbing to big business, they run into an electoral system that structurally protects incumbents. Oversized legislative districts disconnect lawmakers from the public and make organizing nearly impossible without giant sums of cash. The top-two primary system denies party rank-and-file the ability to select their preferred candidate. Lawmakers can follow the money instead of their constituents, without fear of reprisal.

A larger, more experienced Legislature, an electoral system that encourages accountability and a constitution not beaten to submission by ballot-box budgeting would create a foundation for state politics that reflect the popular will. Instead, we must move mountains to end the horrors of money bail on vulnerable populations, while Kentucky  Kentucky!  has taken the national lead on pre-trial release without lockups with excellent results.

Even though Hertzberg modified SB 10 to allay his colleagues concerns, including building in a two-year ramp-up and giving judges maximum discretion in setting bail, the bill will not see the Assembly floor this year. Gov. Jerry Brown announced Friday that he would work with the bill sponsors and the chief justice of the state Supreme Court to reform the system in a cost-effective and fair manner, freeing the Assembly from a showdown vote. The finished product wont be unveiled until 2018. Browns statement included buzzwords like public safety and rights of the accused, precisely the talking points of the bail industry, which suggests the governor is buying time to water down the reform further.

This means that, despite high-profile support, despite documented inequities for thousands of vulnerable and mostly minority Californians, were going to have to wait at least another year for bail reform. It shouldnt be this hard to roll back injustice in the alleged capital of liberal America.

David Dayen contributes to the Nation, the Intercept and the New Republic.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion or Facebook

UPDATES:

2:45 p.m.: This article was updated with details of Fridays decision by Gov. Jerry Brown to put a plan for overhauling the bail system on hold.

This article was originally published at 2 a.m.
Joel Pollack, a writer at Breitbart.com, recently offered a seductive political analogy to illuminate what high-profile staff changes at the White House portend. Donald Trumps decision to part ways with Steve Bannon can be understood as an effort to save his presidency after Charlottesville, he wrote. It may turn out to be the beginning of the end for the Trump administration, the moment Donald Trump became Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Both President Trump and former California Gov. Schwarzenegger ran as celebrity outsiders, promising to reform a corrupt, wasteful political system. Both won against establishment Democrats with the support of opportunistic conservatives, though neither was a doctrinaire conservative in his own right.

But after struggling with intense media criticism, and after losing a key referendum on reforms to state government, Schwarzenegger gave up on his agenda, and abandoned the political base that had brought him into office, Pollack wrote. He re-invented himself as a liberal. And with Bannon gone, he concluded, there is no guarantee that Trump will stick to the plan.

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This prediction will, of course, be received quite differently by Trump supporters (with fear) and by his liberal opponents (with pleasure). To those on the left, another Schwarzenegger probably doesnt sound half bad.

The action hero never carried the same racial baggage as the reality star.

The Breitbart right is correct to anticipate changes it wont like. Bannon, who has returned to his former position at the website, believed Trump was a useful vessel for his preferred agenda. So far, however, Trump has used Bannon more successfully than Bannon ever used Trump. The president appears to be abandoning America First thinking on national security, escalating the war in Afghanistan after years of insisting that it was a waste of blood and treasure.

But the president is unlikely to become Arnold Schwarzenegger, in part because for all his similarities with the former governor, right down to the multiple groping allegations against the two men, the action hero never carried the same racial baggage as the reality star.

And last week put that difference in stark relief.

Like so many figures who rode a wave of right-wing populist resentment to power, Trumps rise has been suffused with open bigotry and deliberate attempts to stoke ethnic tensions and exploit white anxiety. Long before Trump declared that some very fine people marched alongside the neo-Nazis in Charlottesville, Va., he was denigrating Mexicans, Muslims and Black Lives Matter.

In contrast, Schwarzenegger ran the rare right-populist campaign that eschewed attempts to exploit racial or religious divisions (and not coincidentally, the only right-populist campaign I can think of where the candidate was an immigrant with a foreign accent). Things could have gone a different way in a state as diverse as ours. Indeed, some years prior, Gov. Pete Wilson used white identity politics to win reelection.

After Charlottesville, Schwarzenegger made the sort of forceful comments against racism you might expect from a national leader. Fulfilling his iconic cineplex promise Ill be back, the governator reemerged in political headlines last week by releasing a video that doubled as a fundraiser for the Museum of Tolerance.

He criticized Trump, telling the president that he has a moral responsibility to send an unequivocal message that you wont stand for hate and racism, then turned his attention to neo-Nazis. Your heroes are losers, he declared. Growing up I was surrounded by broken men, men who came home from the war filled with shrapnel and guilt, men who were misled as a losing ideology. And I can tell you that these ghosts that you idolize spent the rest of their lives living in shame. Right now, theyre resting in hell.

When Trump marshals language that biting, he directs it at Rosie ODonnell.

White nationalists indulge a delusion: that the conflicts and problems that plague us would melt away in a white ethno-state where people of different races did not mix. But if they traced their own lineage back to Europe, they would find whole countries full of white people who slaughtered one another for centuries in the name of nationalism or religion. Their forebears escaped persecution by other white people by fleeing to this melting pot.

If white supremacists had their own ethno-state it would be worse than what their ancestors fled. It would be filled with a self-selecting cohort notable for extreme hatefulness and a psychological inclination to blame others for their problems.

Schwarzenegger is fighting that delusion, having seen the harm that it causes.

So long as the delusion persists, however, irresponsible demagogues will exploit it. Bannon helped teach Trump how. And while Trump may give up on Bannons ends, he is unlikely to abandon those means, much less become another Schwarzenegger.

Conor Friedersdorf is a contributing writer to Opinion, a staff writer at the Atlantic and founding editor of the Best of Journalism, a newsletter that curates exceptional nonfiction.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion or Facebook
To the editor: It is sad to realize that Los Angeles residents want permanent supportive housing for homeless people, but apparently only if it is in someone elses neighborhood. (If L.A. cant even approve one small homeless housing project, how will it build thousands of units? editorial, Aug. 22)

Even though we all agree that housing is a basic need, we still fear to have the newly housed near us. Let us open our hearts to others to share the pride of having a place of ones own and paying rent. Let us be happy that the people experiencing homelessness can feel safe, get medical and mental health services where they live and have a safe place keep their medications.

Our neighborhoods will become stronger because we welcome all people into the melting pot of Los Angeles. Homeless people want what we want, and many Angelenos are one paycheck away from having no place to stay.

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We want people with low-paying jobs or who are looking for work to have a place to stay. Lets say yes when a development comes to our neighborhood.

Sandra Trutt, Los Angeles

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook
To the editor: Dick Gregory embodied the rebellious spirit of the 1960s. He kept that spirit alive long after so many of us had returned to the boring life of middle America during the Reagan and Bush years. (Dick Gregory, who rose from poverty to become a groundbreaking comedian and civil rights activist, dies at 84, obituary, Aug. 19)

And it is the conformist life of middle America that had helped to give rise to the antiwar and civil rights movements to which Gregory so courageously, intelligently and humorously spoke.

I was fortunate enough to have heard Gregory speak at several special events in the 1970s. His words were strong, mostly critical of the status quo, and always delivered with an uncompromising and penetrating authority. His adamant and unending opposition to the Vietnam War, his key role behind Martin Luther King Jr. in the civil rights movement and his responsible embrace of vegetarianism and other healthful lifestyle changes were always rooted in his obvious and deep love and concern for humanity.

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No other social rebel could express this concern with such clever logic and both dead seriousness and irreverent humor as Gregory. This country badly needed him, and we were lucky to have had him for so long.

Ramakumar Jones, Fairfax, Calif.

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.
Is President Trump crazy?

Not can-you-believe-he-really-said-that? crazy. Certifiably-mentally-unfit-to-serve-as-president crazy.

Its an outlandish assertion  insulting, really  and a measure of the antipathy of Trumps critics that some, including members of Congress, have seriously raised the subject. Which brings us to the 25th Amendment.

Born of the Cold War and enacted after the assassination of President Kennedy, the language amounts to a bit of technical housekeeping appended to the Constitution. It outlines the presidential line of succession, including procedures in the event, as the amendment states, the chief executive is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.

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With impeachment of Trump an exceeding long shot  given the GOPs firm grip on Congress  a small chorus of Democrats has suggested an even less likely antidote to a presidency they cannot and will not abide: removing Trump on the grounds he is mentally unsound.

Democratic Rep. Zoe Lofgren of San Jose has introduced a resolution urging Trump to seek a medical and psychiatric evaluation to determine his fitness for office. Democratic Rep. Ted Lieu of Torrance has talked up legislation requiring a psychiatrist be stationed at the White House.

The presidents spokeswoman has brushed aside questions about Trumps mental health as beneath contempt.

Ridiculous and outrageous and unworthy of a response, said Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, responding to a suggestion by Sen. Bob Corker, a Republican of Tennessee, that Trump has not yet been able to demonstrate the stability, nor some of the competence, that he needs to demonstrate in order to be successful.

Still, the 25th Amendment is having a moment. Searches spiked on Google during the presidents fiery brimstone appearance at a rally Tuesday night in Phoenix.

What does the 25th Amendment say?

If a president dies, resigns or is removed from office, the vice president steps up and takes over. The new president then nominates a vice president, subject to congressional approval. The amendment also allows a president to transfer power to the vice president if he is temporarily incapacitated, during surgery, for instance, then reclaim those powers afterward.

What does that have to do with Trump and his mental health?

Patience, please. Thats addressed in the fourth and final section. In the event the president cannot fulfill his constitutional duties and cannot or will not step aside, the amendment outlines a procedure for his ouster.

Go on.

Under the law, the vice president and a majority of the presidents Cabinet may declare the president incapacitated by notifying the leaders of the House and Senate. At that point, the vice president assumes the duties of the president.

President Pence, here we come!

Look, the chances of any of this taking place, short of some medical crisis, are somewhere between exceedingly improbable and utterly impossible.

But didnt President Trump say just the other night, Most people think Im crazy to have done this. And I think theyre right!

Please.

OK. But what if?

If the vice president and Cabinet declared the president incapacitated, he could reclaim his powers by writing to legislative leaders and declaring his ability to do the job. If the vice president and Cabinet members object, the matter then gets kicked over to Congress, which has 21 days to act. It would require a two-thirds vote in both chambers to strip the president of his powers, once and for all.

You mentioned the Cold War and JFK.

A bit of history: The Constitution makes it pretty clear the vice president is next in line to the president. But there was some question about how exactly that worked, and quite a kerfuffle in the 1840s when President William Henry Harrison died and Vice President John Tyler took over.

But were not going there.

Fast-forward to the Eisenhower administration. After a 1955 heart attack and other serious maladies, the president worried about the transfer of power if he were temporarily incapacitated, especially given hair-trigger relations with the Soviet Union. President Eisenhower worked out an informal arrangement with his vice president, Richard Nixon, in case he needed to temporarily cede power. Still, Eisenhower thought it better to have some mechanism explicitly spelled out in the Constitution.

After Kennedys assassination in November 1963, Democratic Sen. Birch Bayh of Indiana took up the matter in his capacity as chairman of the Senate subcommittee on constitutional amendments. Congress passed the 25th Amendment in July 1965 and it was ratified on Feb. 10, 1967.

Has the 25th Amendment ever come into play?

The amendment guided the process when President Nixon chose Rep. Gerald R. Ford of Michigan to replace Vice President Spiro Agnew after his resignation in October 1973. Ford, in turn, became president when Nixon quit in August 1974. Ford then chose former New York Gov. Nelson Rockefeller as his vice president.

In 1987, aides to President Reagan weighed the possibility of invoking the amendment when concerns grew about his listless and detached behavior in his second term. The prospect was soon dismissed, however, when Chief of Staff Howard Baker deemed Reagan fit to serve.

Separately, on three different occasions Reagan and President George W. Bush voluntarily transferred power to their vice presidents when they had surgery under general anesthesia.

So the mental capacity clause has never been tested?

No. But its great for stirring up Trumps opposition.

mark.barabak@latimes.com

@markzbarabak

ALSO

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Hillary Clinton in new book says Trumps debate shadowing made her want to shout, Back up, you creep

Again breaking ground, Trump takes the permanent campaign to new heights
Six weeks after helping Democrats revamp Californias landmark climate change policy and facing a torrent of anger from conservative critics, the Republican leader of the state Assembly agreed Thursday to step down and allow a rural Northern California lawmaker to lead the GOPs fractured caucus.

The shuffle, which saw Chad Mayes replaced by Assemblyman Brian Dahle (R-Bieber) as leader, comes as the California Republican Partys numbers continue to shrink among registered voters and in elected office. Republicans make up just over a quarter of the states total voters, while Democrats in the last election won supermajorities in both houses of the Legislature.

The change at the top is also happening as members of the GOP are split on whether to embrace the state partys moderate image of the recent past, or move further to the right to stand with President Trump.

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Rancor over Mayes leadership began last month, when the Yucca Valley assemblyman aligned with Democratic state lawmakers and Gov. Jerry Brown to extend the cap-and-trade program, a move made as the Trump administration withdraws from the battle against global warming. Chummy photos of a beaming Mayes sitting with Democratic leaders after the vote spread over social media, infuriating Republican activists who saw his vote as a betrayal.

Mayes decision to relinquish his role came after four other Republican lawmakers announced they would seek to replace him as leader of the partys 25-member caucus. Mayes, who will stay in the Assembly, announced during Thursday mornings floor session that Republicans voted unanimously to elect Dahle  pronounced to rhyme with valley  to the post.

California Legislature extends states cap-and-trade program in rare bipartisan effort to address climate change>>

Dahle, 51, who voted against the bipartisan proposal to extend cap and trade, will take over when the Legislature adjourns for the year on Sept. 15 so there can be a smooth transition, Mayes said.

Other Republicans said Dahle has the leadership and bridge-building skills to heal the rift in the party, and a willingness to sit at the table with the majority party without surrendering on conservative principles.

Hes a gifted leader, said Shawn Steel, a Mayes critic and one of Californias two representatives to the Republican National Committee. Hes an effective unifier of the caucus, and we really needed that. Im so glad the drama is over. Chad was just not the right leader at the right time.

Mayes also praised his successor.

Im actually very excited about Brian taking over as Republican leader, Mayes said, standing next to Dahle in a state Capitol hallway. He has proven himself to be a very strong leader, somebody who is of great character, who has a heart for California and a heart for the people of his district.

Dahle, a Lassen County resident, said he is honored and humbled to lead the caucus, of which 10 members voted in a private meeting Monday to remove Mayes. Thirteen votes are needed to replace the leader, but the 10-vote tally signaled dissatisfaction among a large share of the caucus over the direction Mayes was taking.

I look forward to bringing us together and moving forward, said Dahle, who was elected to the Assembly in 2012 and is seen as more conservative than Mayes.

Mayes ouster was the first political consequence since the vote July 17 to extend the cap-and-trade program. Republicans are worried that others in their caucus who voted for the extension may face backlash at the polls in the next election.

Six Republican Assembly members joined Mayes in voting to extend cap and trade. Mayes said criticism of the vote from within the party played a role in his decision to step down. He decided to call an early vote when Dahle told him Wednesday night that he had more than the 13 votes  a majority of the caucus  needed to be elected.

In looking at where we are at, there were some members of our caucus who were taking tremendous amounts of pressure from folks back at home and it seemed important that we come up with a win-win situation, Mayes said.

Mayes had been under pressure to step down for some time. The California Republican Partys board voted Aug. 18 to urge Mayes to step down over fallout from the cap-and-trade extension.

Many Republicans said the cap-and-trade program, which requires polluters to buy carbon emission credits, will hurt businesses and add to the cost of goods and services for consumers.

What it really is, is a massive tax grab to support Jerry Browns bullet train and feel-good programs that are very expensive, Steel said.

Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez (R-Lake Elsinore) led the criticism of Mayes, saying his vote enabled the Democrats to pass a bill that will harm the states economy and that would not have passed without Republican support. On Thursday, Melendez said she has tremendous respect for Dahle.

Assemblymen Jay Obernolte (R-Big Bear Lake) and Vince Fong (R-Bakersfield) had also announced they were challenging Mayes, but Fong said after the vote that he wants the party to end the division.

Now is the time to unite our state and our Republican caucus in our collective fight for common-sense policies that improve the lives of everyday Californians, Fong said in a statement.

California Politics Podcast: The winners and losers in the new cap-and-trade agreement>>

Dahle, a farmer and seed business owner who served on the Lassen County Board of Supervisors, acknowledged differences with Mayes on cap and trade, but said legislators have to represent the feelings of their districts.

There are 24 other members of this caucus and they all have different views, Dahle said. There are people in our caucus who voted their conscience for their district, and I support those who did that. In my case it didnt work in my district, so I was opposed to that.

The leader-elect said he wants Republicans to be involved in talks with Democrats on big issues such as cap and trade.

That was part of Mayes thinking when he negotiated with Democrats on extending Californias signature program to address climate change. Senate President Pro Tem Kevin De Leon (D-Los Angeles) praised him Thursday for his common-sense leadership. And Brown responded to news of Mayes stepping down with a tweet: Sad day when the Grand Old Party punishes a leader whose only flaw was believing in science & cutting [regulations], costs & taxes for Californians.

Mayes, who has been leader since January 2016, said addressing climate change would show young voters in particular that the Republican Party was not obstructionist.

I think for too long weve had a party that just wanted to be in opposition instead of wanting to be the proposition party, Mayes said Thursday.

Dahle hails from a strongly conservative district  President Trump beat Hillary Clinton by 20 points there in the election last year  and the assemblymans voting record hews closely to the rightward lean of his constituents.

Harmeet K. Dhillon, a Republican party official who led the charge against Mayes, described her reaction to Thursdays leadership change in one word: relief.

But the reverberations after the cap-and-trade vote are likely to continue, she said.

Now, given the fact that six of these [Republican lawmakers] did vote for a massive tax increase, Republicans are going to be very vigilant about these issues, Dhillon said.

Times staff writers Melanie Mason and Chris Megerian contributed to this report.

patrick.mcgreevy@latimes.com

Follow @mcgreevy99 on Twitter and sign up for our daily Essential Politics newsletter

ALSO:

Assembly Republican leader Chad Mayes is still in charge after caucus meeting  but another vote is on the way

California Legislature extends states cap-and-trade program in rare bipartisan effort to address climate change

Updates on California politics
For President Trump, Afghanistan and the Republican party both represent conquered territory, neither of them subdued.

This week opened with the president renewing Americas war in central Asia, taking the rare step of publicly admitting that he had changed his mind and accepting a decision that went against his instincts.

Perhaps that feeling of being pushed into a corner influenced what came next: On Tuesday, Trump went to Phoenix and tossed aside the advice  and the text  he had received. In his speech, he escalated that other war he faces, the one against the party that he conquered, but never fully subdued, in last years election.

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Hello, Im David Lauter, Washington bureau chief. Welcome to the Friday edition of our Essential Politics newsletter, in which we look at the events of the week in Washington and elsewhere in national politics and highlight some particularly insightful stories.

PROMISING VICTORY, AIMING FOR STALEMATE

Trumps Afghanistan policy starts with a huge internal contradiction: In his speech to the nation Monday night, the president repeatedly insisted that the U.S. goal is to win, but as David Cloud, Bill Hennigan and Tracy Wilkinson wrote, the actual policy he embraced aims to achieve something well short of victory  a stalemate that could lead to a negotiated settlement.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson spoke more candidly than his boss on that subject, quickly earning scorn from some corners of Trumps coalition, notably Breitbart News, the website now once again headed by Steve Bannon, Trumps strategist who was ousted a week ago. (One big winner from Bannons ouster? The Koch brothers. Lisa Mascaro explained why).

During his time in the White House, Bannon opposed plans to send more U.S. troops to Afghanistan. In that opposition, he hewed to one of his main roles, keeper of Trumps campaign promises.

Trumps past opposition to the U.S. presence in Afghanistan created part of the difficulty of Mondays speech: He was trying to sell the public on a policy he previously had disparaged, as Brian Bennett and Noah Bierman wrote.

My original instinct was to pull out, and historically I like following my instincts, Trump said. But all of my life I heard that decisions are much different when you sit behind the desk in the Oval Office.

His grudging acceptance of escalation in Afghanistan marked a victory for the trio of retired and current generals who now guide Trumps administration, Chief of Staff John Kelly, Secretary of Defense James N. Mattis and national security advisor Gen. H.R. McMaster.

In one of the odder twists of history, the policy closely resembles the one that former Vice President Joe Biden advocated early in President Obamas administration  a significant, but limited, U.S. troop presence aimed primarily at killing the leaders of Al Qaeda and other potential terrorists, not at transforming Afghanistan.

Obama pushed aside that advice in 2009, opting for a much more ambitious military surge, which saw the U.S. troop presence grow to a peak of more than 100,000 in 2010 and 2011. The hope was to achieve a military victory that would allow Afghan leaders to create a more unified, peaceful country that would not require constant U.S. intervention.

That didnt work. Now, Trump, without acknowledging the author, will give the Biden plan a try. In refusing to set any timetable for U.S. involvement, he tacitly accepted a future that Obama sought to avert, but which advocates of intervention, led by Sen. John McCain of Arizona, say cant be avoided: a U.S. military presence stretching into the indefinite future.

In his speech, Trump loudly declared that the U.S. will eschew nation building. Laura King offered this Q&A on what that means and why avoiding nation-building is easier said than done.

PROMISING POLITICAL WAR, AIMING FOR WHAT?

Monday night, Trump read, somewhat awkwardly, from a teleprompter. On Tuesday, in Phoenix, he tossed the prepared text  and caution  aside for a long yowl of anger aimed at the media and the Republican Party.

As Cathy Decker wrote, Trumps 76-minute speech repeatedly took aim at both of the states Republican senators, McCain, and Jeff Flake. Trump had praised one of Flakes potential primary opponents, Kelli Ward, on Twitter, and he met backstage with two others who are considering a primary run. In the speech, he belittled the senator. Flake already was a Democratic target for 2018; hes now even more politically endangered.

Trump also continued his running feud with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). And White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders fired back at another leading Republican, Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee, saying that his questioning of Trumps competence and stability was ridiculous and outrageous.

The next day, in Reno, Trump took a more restrained approach, calling for national unity in a speech to the American Legion, as Michael Finnegan and Phil Willon wrote.

Republican leaders prefer the more subdued Trump, but theyre likely to continue to see the riled-up one.

As Lisa Mascaro wrote, fights with the GOP leadership do little to advance Trumps agenda in Congress, where he depends on McConnells backing and needs both McCains and Flakes votes. The most immediate battle ahead when Congress returns to work just after Labor Day will be over raising the federal debt ceiling. Failure to do that would put the U.S. credit rating at risk, the Fitch rating agency warned this week.

But winning congressional battles isnt Trumps primary goal right now. Political survival is.

The presidents ardent supporters dismiss public opinion polls as part of the fake news. But Trump knows better; he follows polls avidly and comments on them frequently.

As I wrote earlier this week, the most recent polls do not show Trumps support collapsing, but they do show a slow, steady decline. Trumps hard-core backers still love him, but outside their ranks, his support among Republicans has weakened. Among those who never liked him, Trump is now so toxic that he cant even attend the annual Kennedy Center honors for fear of causing a boycott.

Trump needs to keep that core support fired up, and if he cant deliver on his promises to them, he needs to focus the blame away from himself. The congressional Republicans  a group less popular than he is  form a convenient target.

A PROMISE NOT KEPT

One prime example of the gap between Trumps rhetoric and the reality of his governing involves the Border Patrol. In his first weeks in office, Trump loudly proclaimed that he would hire 5,000 new Border Patrol agents. That never happened, Joe Tanfani writes. Instead, the Border Patrols ranks have shrunk, and the Homeland Security Department says the shrinkage likely will continue, at least through the end of this year.

Some other Trump policy positions took halting steps forward this week.

The White House is preparing official guidance to the Pentagon on transgender service members, as Brian Bennett and David Cloud wrote. The guidance, designed to turn Trumps Twitter messages into official policy, appears to allow current service members who are transgender to stay on duty. That would mark a significant retreat for Trump.

The plan also includes a built-in six-month delay, which could allow time for Congress to reverse the policy. Already, Democrats say they will try, with Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, an Iraq war veteran, leading the way.

On another policy, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has identified a handful of national monuments to shrink, Evan Halper reported. The administration appears to have backed away from plans to eliminate some monument designations altogether, but the proposals to change boundaries and allow more mining, fishing and logging in some areas are still likely to generate a lot of opposition. Officials are keeping the precise list of recommendations under wraps while the White House reviews it.

SOME OTHER NOTABLE STORIES

Trump is having his problems, but alls not easy on the other side of the aisle. Halper reported on the fight among Democrats as they squabble over which way to turn on economic policy.

Jaweed Kaleem reports on a federal court ruling that Texas voter ID law illegally discriminates against Latinos and Asian Americans. The ruling is one of several in recent weeks that have found deliberate racial discrimination by Texas Republican-majority legislature.

In California, Republicans continue to fight among themselves over how to respond to Gov. Jerry Browns victory on legislation to fight global warming. The Assembly Republicans replaced their leader, who had supplied a key vote for Browns plan, Patrick McGreevy wrote.

On the Democratic side, several former Obama staff members hope to build on his legacy as they run for office, Seema Mehta reported.

A federal judge in Washington approved a limited search warrant for data from a website about anti-Trump protesters. The case has been carefully watched by tech companies and Internet privacy advocates. Federal prosecutors say they need the information to determine who planned acts of violence during the demonstrations that marked Trumps inauguration.

U.S.-backed Iraqi forces are moving on another stronghold of the Islamic State militants, continuing to gain ground in a grueling campaign, wrote Bill Hennigan, who spent the past week traveling with Mattis. The Defense secretary also went to Ukraine, where he offered support, but stopped short of promising weapons.

LET THEM WEAR HERMES

Sometimes, fairly or not, a single scene can come to symbolize an administration. In 1992, George H.W. Bushs seeming amazement at a supermarket scanner provided an enduring image of a privileged man out of touch with ordinary life. Obama was tagged for years with his remark in 2008 about bitter voters in the Midwest who cling to guns or religion or antipathy toward people who arent like them.

Louise Linton may end up filling that role for the Trump administration. The 36-year-old former actress, who earlier this year married Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin, posted a snarky rant on Instagram this week responding to a woman who had criticized her ostentatious display of wealth while on an official trip to Kentucky with her husband.

Have you given more to the economy than me and my husband? Either as an individual earner in taxes OR in self sacrifice to your country? Linton demanded. She later apologized, but the image of contemptuous wealth lingered, made worse by the disclosure that Mnuchin had timed the trip in a way that allowed him and Linton to watch Mondays solar eclipse from the roof of Ft. Knox.

The moment was made for columnists. To Robin Abcarian, it seemed likely to stand as one of the iconic moments of the Trump Era. Michael Hiltzik dissected Lintons assertion that she and Mnuchin had sacrificed for their country (adopted country, in her case). He found the claim unpersuasive.

ALL THE PRESIDENTS TWEETS

Twitter has long been Trumps favored means of pushing his message. Were compiling all of Trumps tweets. Its a great resource. Take a look.

LOGISTICS

That wraps up this week. My colleague Christina Bellantoni will be back Monday with the weekday edition of Essential Politics. Until then, keep track of all the developments in national politics and the Trump administration with our Essential Washington blog, at our Politics page and on Twitter @latimespolitics.

Send your comments, suggestions and news tips to politics@latimes.com.

If you like this newsletter, tell your friends to sign up.

David.lauter@latimes.com

@davidlauter
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.
Several local water districts learned this week that Californias water board is loosening its water-use reduction mandates, a move that could help districts that have struggled to meet the states goals for conservation.

State water officials in February extended restrictions on urban water use through October but also indicated that some water districts could apply to have their reduction goals reduced based on population growth, warmer-than-average weather in certain areas and significant investments in drought-resilient water sources. Reductions to conservation standards range from 2 to 8 percentage points, according to data from the State Water Resources Control Board.

The water-use reduction target for the Mesa Water District has been lowered to 13% from 20%, but the state board eventually could knock it down to 12%, according to district spokeswoman Noelle Collins. Since June, when state water mandates were implemented, the district has achieved 21.2% cumulative savings, putting it far ahead of its new goal, state data show.

I think its a tribute to the good planning and the investments that our board and our customers have put forth in the past, said district General Manager Paul Shoenberger.

The eased requirement, Shoenberger said, is a nod to the districts efforts to develop drought-resilient water supplies such as the Mesa Water Reliability Facility, which filters water pumped from a deep underground aquifer.

The facility provides about 30% of the districts drinking water. The remainder comes from Orange Countys groundwater basin, meaning the district does not import any water from Northern California or the Colorado River, Shoenberger said.

Mesa Water serves 108,000 customers in Costa Mesa and portions of Newport Beach.

Mesa Waters customers are increasingly aware of the value of water and have stepped up their water efficiency efforts through reduced outdoor watering, upgraded landscapes and fixing leaks, Mesa Water board President Shawn Dewane said in a statement Thursday.

The city of Newport Beach, which serves 66,219 water customers, has struggled month after month to reduce its water use to meet its original 28% conservation target. However, the state agreed to lower Newports mandate to 21%, which could help the citys water service meet its goal by October.

It achieved 19.9% cumulative savings from June through February, according to city data.

Were close, but were not meeting the 21%, said Municipal Operations Director George Murdoch. People need to continue to conserve. With warmer months ahead, its going to get more difficult moving forward.

The state was expected to reduce conservation targets for several Orange County water districts because many of them receive a large portion of their supply from the Orange County Water Districts groundwater replenishment system, Murdoch said.

The system, which started operating in 2008, is a water-purification project that can produce up to 100 million gallons of water every day, lessening the countys dependence on imported water from Northern California and the Colorado River, according to the Orange County Water District website.

Shoenberger said Mesa Water plans to stick to its outdoor irrigation schedule for as long as the states drought restrictions are in effect.

Mesa Water customers can water outdoors before 8 a.m. and after 5 p.m. Tuesdays and Saturdays. Watering is not allowed during rainfall or for 48 hours afterward.

Newport Beach also will maintain its outdoor irrigation schedules. Residents are allowed to water their lawns once per week. Each area of the city is allotted a particular day for watering.

Murdoch said Newport also will continue to fine customers who habitually waste water. In February, the city issued 1,284 notices of violation.
Two construction workers pleaded guilty Wednesday to misdemeanor charges based on accusations that they killed or injured about a dozen baby birds last year by knocking them out of a Newport Beach tree where they were nesting.

Stephen John Esser, 47, of Dana Point and David Roger Stanley, 41, of Downey entered the plea in Orange County Superior Court and were immediately sentenced to three years of informal probation and 120 hours of community service.

Each has already paid $13,570 in restitution to cover the cost of nursing the injured birds back to health, according to court records.

Both of my clients, although they never intended to harm any birds, accepted responsibility for what they did, said Jeremy Goldman, an attorney representing Esser and Stanley.

According to the Orange County district attorneys office, Esser and Stanley were doing demolition work May 28 in the 1500 block of East Balboa Boulevard when they began removing a ficus tree that held eight or nine nests of snowy egrets and black-crowned night herons.

About a dozen baby birds not yet able to fly plummeted from the ficus, authorities said. Five of them died, according to prosecutors.

Neighbors who saw what was happening said they pleaded with the workers to stop and rushed to save the surviving birds from the debris.

Something like this that is so brutal, so senseless, it affects you deeply, resident Shelley Ervin told the Daily Pilot in July, when prosecutors filed charges against Esser and Stanley.

The surviving birds were taken to the Wetlands & Wildlife Care Center in Huntington Beach and rehabilitated.

Esser and Stanley originally faced four misdemeanor charges each, with a possible penalty of up to a year and a half in jail.

However, they agreed to plead guilty to two of the counts  unlawful destruction of bird nests or eggs and unlawful taking of migratory nongame birds  and prosecutors Wednesday dropped the remaining charges of animal cruelty and harassing a bird or mammal.

--

jeremiah.dobruck2@latimes.com

Twitter: @jeremiahdobruck
The Laguna Food Pantry has a new executive director.

The nonprofit announced that Anne Belyea filled the void left by Justin Myers, who wanted to dedicate more time to his catering business, according to a news release.

Belyea, who has lived in Laguna for more than 25 years, was on the pantrys board, but vacated that position to fulfill her new role overseeing the organizations development and communications, the release said. Her first day was Aug. 15.

Im delighted, Belyea said when asked about her new position. We serve a great need within the community and Im excited to be a part of it.

The Louisiana native was a senior administrative analyst for the city of Laguna Beach from 2008 to 2015 and previously worked as the executive director of a privately-funded nonprofit transportation agency, the release said.

Belyea earned a masters in business administration from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

Anne is a longtime supporter of the pantry and knows our organization well, so we jumped at the chance to recruit her for this leadership position, Korey Jorgensen, pantry board chairman, said in the release.

The pantry provides free, nutritious groceries to more than 300 low-income families, half of which have babies and children, every weekday, the release said.

The pantry, located at 20652 Laguna Canyon Road, is open from 8 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Monday through Friday.

New volunteers are welcome. For more information, call (949) 497-7121 or visit lagunafoodpantry.org.

bryce.alderton@latimes.com

Twitter: @AldertonBryce
Odds are Newport Beach activist Mike Glenns slander/libel small-claims suit against Newport Beach Councilwoman Diane Dixon wont go in Glenns favor because shes protected by legislative privilege that essentially gives her the right to say what she wants to as an elected official in a public meeting.

At least thats the opinion of Costa Mesa Councilman John Stephens, an attorney who practices business litigation.

Under California Civil Code Section 47 (a) and (b), [Councilwoman] Dixons statements would be considered privileged, even if she made them with malice, he says. Bottom line: She cant be sued.

Stephens said Glenns case lacks merit, as the policy behind the absolute privilege is to allow those participating in the legislative meeting to feel free to express themselves without the fear of civil liability.

Though Dixon calling Glenn out publicly from the dais about the alleged $600 he owes the city for his public record requests  which he supposedly never picked up  might be in poor taste, under California law her questionable behavior isnt legally actionable, Stephens said. (Glenn denies he owes the city $600.)

The consequence of an errant or impertinent statement during a meeting is risk to the speakers reputation in the community and, potentially, political backlash, but not civil liability, Stephens explained. The privilege has the potential to shield some malicious statements, but the Legislature has made a policy decision to accept that risk.

Glenns lawsuit also warrants conversation about the records request process in our cities.

How do you balance the publics right to know, yet dissuade abusers of a system who frivolously rack up costs and staff time?

One possibility I see is in investing in technology to enable citizens to easily search a municipalitys databases, either via on-site terminals or online. It could greatly widen the scope of whats currently available to them, like adding a councils correspondence, voicemails, etc.

Simply analyzing the citys webpage of record requests history would give a direction to start.

Glenns lawsuit isnt the only controversial news in Newport. Councilman Scott Peotter recently put out another email blast to supporters looking for donations to fight the recall effort against him.

In it, he claims the recall will cost $500,000, calling this a bunny tax.

We know Peotter is no fan of the citys bunny sculptures at the Civic Center, or their cost. But in his campaign against them, he greatly underestimated residents fondness for them, so why hed use this analogy here is beyond me. Furthermore, Newports city clerk has told me a recall effort vote of this kind would cost an estimated $300,000.

Peotters blast asks those who signed the recall petition to take it back, download a bunny tax petition and mail it in.

In a rambling email, he calls out who he deems people behind the recall: former council members Keith Curry, Rush Hill, Tony Petros, Mike Henn and former council candidates Mulligan Mike Toerge, Fred Ameri and Toerge supporters Paul Blank, Sharon Wohl and Hugh Logan. Peotters email also notes that he defeated Toerge in 2014 and that Blank criticized his support of traditional marriage.

He also calls out big government activists Nancy Skinner and her radical daughter Susan Skinner.

Supporting Peotters efforts, and sounding a little less crazy, was a mailer from his Team Newport compatriots: Mayor Kevin Muldoon and Mayor Pro Tem Marshall Duffy Duffield. It urges those who have signed the recall petition to rescind their signatures.

Team Newports flier claims the recall will cost $502,400. Im not sure how their math works. I couldnt figure it out and tried several ways to reach their figure. They cite a cost of $3.40 to verify each signature, 11,000 needed signatures and $80,000 for the extensive city staff time to sort it all out.

Speaking of Peotter, in another recent email blast  titled Say No to Free Money  he touts the council protest vote not to accept state revenue from the new gas tax and vehicle registration hike.

Im not for the gas tax, but why not protest by supporting San Diego tax reformer Carl DeMaios statewide effort to reverse the gas tax by gathering signatures to bring the gas tax to a referendum vote of the people in 2018?

Craziness aside, what could this tax revenue mean to a city, as money generated at the gas pump is earmarked for road improvements in that city?

Costa Mesa City Manager Tom Hatch estimates $2.5 million annually in his city alone.

Now this revenue can only be used to enhance existing road and street projects. The city cant cut its current budget efforts regarding road improvements; this extra money is meant to go above and beyond their efforts.

Newports refusal of money here is misguided and will have no impact on Sacramento policymaking. It only shows how shortsighted leaders here are.

BARBARA VENEZIA lives in Newport Beach. She can be reached at bvontv1@gmail.com.
Entering his fifth year as Glendale Community Colleges superintendent/president, David Viar will continue leading the institution through June 2020.

Members of the board of trustees unanimously approved a three-year contract extension for him last week during a board meeting.

Viars annual salary will remain the same  at $270,324 per year, according to a staff report.

He certainly deserves to be around at least until 2020  if not longer, Armine Hacopian, board president, said. We want to state that we got the best. Thats all there is to it.

In a phone interview Wednesday, Viar said utilizing the remaining $325 million from Measure GC is a top priority for him during the upcoming academic year.

Last year, 73% of voters supported the measure, which will help fund the renovation of the colleges facilities.

A preliminary plan showing how $122 million of the total bond funds will be used includes seismic retrofitting of the Verdugo Gym, roof repairs on several buildings and electrical work, all of which were approved by trustees earlier this year.

Focus will also be placed on closing the student-success-achievement gap to make sure all students are thriving educationally, he said, and completing the colleges institutional master plan, which will provide guidance for faculty and staff on how to best move the college forward.

Viar  who began his leadership role at Glendale Community College in 2013 after leaving Sacramento, where he was president at American River College  said he doesnt plan to leave the community anytime soon.

This is where well stay so long as I can continue to serve the college well, he said.

priscella.vega@latimes.com

Twitter: @vegapriscella

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By now you know that Big Ben, the bell that rings above Britains Parliament, tolled for the last time Monday. Its temporarily silenced  with a few exceptions  until 2021, when workers finish a $37-million refurbishment for Londons famous landmark.

Only on special occasions, such as New Years Eve and Remembrance Sunday  a day to honor those who fought in the two world wars  will its bells ring, an L.A. Times story says.

How to cope? Here are some things that could take the edge off the long silence.

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1. Listen to the final ringing (over and over, if you like)

In case you missed it, you can hear the bells final bongs at noon Monday on this video.

British Prime Minister Theresa May has previously expressed her unhappiness about the situation, saying in media reports: Of course we want to ensure peoples safety at work but it cant be right for Big Ben to be silent for four years.

Not everyone was so moved.

Ruth Davidson, leader of Scottish Conservatives, said on a panel discussion at the Edinburgh International Television Festival: I have to say for somebody being 450 miles away from London, nothing gets on my wick more than screeds of news and time and effort and newsprint being given to a bloody clock thats going to stop ringing for a bit.

2. Take the quiz

Parliaments website has devised a 10-question quiz to keep folks interested in trivia about the Elizabeth Tower, Big Ben and the Great Clock. Dont sweat it if you dont know the answers; its designed to teach you something about the landmark.

Check out the quiz here.

3. Enjoy silly tweets

There seems to be more than one (who knew?) unofficial Big Ben account on Twitter, each delighting in bringing you the bells bongs in a series of timely tweets. @big_ben_clock, which has gathered almost half a million followers since it began in 2009, keeps the bell ringing in social media (sort of).

BONG BONG BONG  Big Ben (@big_ben_clock) August 25, 2017

4. Find another bell to love

If youve visiting London, Big Ben certainly isnt the only bell in town.

Go to St. Pauls Cathedral on Ludgate Hill, which lays claim to Great Tom (listen below). Or seek out St. Mary-le-Bow in Cheapside and listen to the bells that once defined whether people were true Londoners or Cockneys.

With Great Paul (16.5 tons) and #BigBen (13.5t) both out of action, Great Tom (5t) becomes London's biggest working bell! pic.twitter.com/N8BoFFtlK4  St Paul's Cathedral (@StPaulsLondon) August 21, 2017

5. Make your own Big Ben

There are all kinds of YouTube videos about making a replica of Big Ben, out of Legos, paper or other materials. I love this time-lapse sketch (see below) of the clock tower done over four days and posted by Veni Arts.

travel@latimes.com

Twitter: @latimestravel

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A bus carrying construction workers drove off a pier in southern Russia on Friday, killing at least 17 people, officials said.

The bus was carrying workers who were building a pier for an oil company on the Black Sea coast not far from Crimea, the Investigative Committee said. Several oil companies are drilling for oil off the Russian Black Sea coast.

Official accounts of how many workers were on the bus that plunged into the sea changed several times Friday morning. In the early afternoon, the Emergency Situations Ministry said 50 people had been on the bus  the 17 people found dead in the water in addition to 33 others who were rescued by divers.

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Video released by emergency services showed the mangled bus lying on the pier after it had been lifted out of the water.

Eight people have been hospitalized, five in serious condition, emergency officials said.

Investigators didnt immediately say why the bus drove off the pier, but local officials pointed to faulty brakes. The Tass news agency quoted the town hall of the Temryuk district as saying that the bus drove along the pier for nearly a quarter of a mile before the brakes failed.

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UPDATES:

11:20 a.m.: This article was updated with the number of people found dead, the number of people rescued and a possible cause.

This article was originally published at 2 a.m.
The federal prosecutors office in Belgium says Belgian soldiers have shot dead a man in downtown Brussels after he attacked the troops with a knife.

Spokeswoman Esther Natus said that the suspect is dead in the clash Friday night, adding that one soldier was slightly injured.

A man armed with a knife attacked a group of soldiers. The soldiers fired at him and neutralized the individual, Belgian Federal Police spokesman Jonathan Pfunde said.

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Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel tweeted: All our support is with our soldiers. Our security services remain on alert. We are following the situation closely.

Associated Press television images from central Brussels showed that police had sealed off a main street not far from the Belgian capitals main Grand Place tourist attraction.

Belgium has been on high alert since suicide bombers killed 32 people in attacks on March 22, 2016, at the Brussels main airport and subway system.

The federal prosecutors office handles terror probes in Belgium.

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Police use water cannon on migrants in Rome, reflecting new, hard-line tactics

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UPDATES:

2:05 p.m.: This article was updated with the suspected attacker reported dead.

1:30 p.m.: This article was updated with the police spokesmans quote.

This article was originally published at 1:10 p.m.
Militants stormed a packed Shiite mosque in the Afghan capital during Friday prayers in an attack that lasted for hours and ended with at least 20 worshipers killed and 50 others, many of them children, seriously wounded, an official said.

Two of the assailants blew themselves up and another two were shot to death by Afghan security forces, according to police official Mohammed Sadique Muradi.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack, the latest to target Afghanistans minority Shiites. The Taliban condemned the violence, with a spokesman for the militants, Zabihullah Mujahid, telling the Associated Press in a telephone interview that the group had nothing to do with it.

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President Ashraf Ghani condemned the violence and said the militants were turning to attacking places of worship because they were losing on the battlefield. He urged Islamic clerics everywhere to condemn the bloodshed.

The death toll of 20 was expected to rise because many of the victims were seriously wounded, said Mohammad Salim Rasouli, chief of Kabuls hospitals.

Terrified worshipers endured about four harrowing hours of gunfire and explosions during the afternoon before the four attackers were killed.

Islamic State said in a statement on the website of its Aamaq news agency that it had deployed two attackers to the mosque. There was no immediate explanation for the contradictory number of attackers.

Security forces had surrounded the mosque in the northern Kabul neighborhood but did not initially enter to prevent further casualties to the many worshipers inside, police official Mohammed Jamil said. Later, as police tried to advance, one of the attackers set off an explosion that forced them to withdraw, Muradi said.

The cleric who was performing the prayers was among the dead, said Mir Hussain Nasiri, a member of Afghanistans Shiite clerical council. The gunmen had taken over the cavernous prayer hall for men and the separate, second-floor prayer area for women, he said.

The mosque could accommodate up to 1,000 people, Nasir said.

When police initially tried to get inside, they discovered the militants had blocked the door leading to the second floor, turning the women upstairs into hostages, he said.

I was trying to escape over the wall when I saw my daughter, who was wounded, also trying to climb the wall, one man who gave his name only as Bismillah told the AP.

There was another girl who was shot in the head. I saw the body myself, he said. Finally I managed to escape with my daughter and the police escorted us to safety from the back of the mosque.

Last month, the Sunni-dominated Islamic State group attacked the Iraqi Embassy in Kabul and then warned Shiites in Afghanistan that their mosques would be targeted. Sunni extremists consider Shiites to be heretics.

Within days of that, Islamic State also took responsibility for a suicide attack on a Shiite mosque in western Herat province that left 32 people dead.

In southern Kandahar province Friday, Afghan security forces repulsed a Taliban attack on an outpost overnight, according to the provincial police chiefs spokesman, Zia Durrani. Four members of the security forces died in the exchange and seven others were wounded, he said.

Durrani said the Taliban sustained heavy casualties. There was no immediate comment from the militants.

Elsewhere, provincial deputy police chief Nisar Ahmad Abdul Rahimzai said Afghan security forces recaptured a district in eastern Paktia province from the insurgents.

The summer fighting season in Afghanistan has seen relentless Taliban attacks as the insurgents battle to expand their footprint.

On Thursday, Gen. John Nicholson, the top U.S. general in Afghanistan, and Hugo Llorens, the U.S. Embassys special charge daffaires, told reporters in Kabul that the new U.S. strategy was a promise to Afghans that together they would defeat terrorism and prevent terrorist groups from establishing havens.

Nicholson vowed to defeat the countrys Islamic State affiliate and the remnants of Al Qaeda, and he had the following message to the Taliban: Stop fighting against your countrymen. Stop killing innocent civilians. Stop bringing hardship and misery to the Afghan people. Lay down your arms and join Afghan society. Help build a better future for this country and your own children.

President Trump had announced the new plans for Afghanistan on Monday. Though he did not give specifics, senior U.S. officials have said that he might send up to 3,900 more troops, with some deployments beginning almost immediately.

UPDATES:

11:15 a.m.: This article was updated with additional details and comments from Gen. John Nicholson.

7:15 a.m.: This article was updated with a revised death toll.

This article was originally published at 6:30 a.m.
Ten civilians, including three children, were killed in a raid by foreign and Somali forces on a farm in southern Somalia, a deputy governor said Friday as officials displayed victims bloodied bodies in the capital. The U.S. military confirmed it supported a Somali operation in the area and said it would look into the allegations.

The farmers were killed one by one after soldiers stormed the farm in Barire village early Friday, the deputy governor of Lower Shabelle region, Ali Nur Mohamed, told reporters in Mogadishu.

Somalias information ministry said Shabab extremists were killed instead.

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Three children ages 8 to 10 and a woman were among the dead, the deputy governor said. Their blanket-wrapped bodies were laid out in a grassy courtyard for display. Bodies of civilians, especially those killed in misdirected attacks, often are taken from remote areas to Mogadishu to draw media attention.

These local farmers were attacked by foreign troops while looking after their crops, Mohamed told reporters. The troops could have arrested them because they were unarmed, but instead shot them one by one mercilessly.

A statement by Somalias information ministry said the raid killed eight Shabab fighters and that the extremists began shooting at Somali forces after they entered the farm. No civilians were harmed or killed in this operation, the statement said.

The U.S. Africa Command confirmed that U.S. forces were supporting the Somalia National Army while it conducted an operation in the area. It gave no details about the operation. The U.S. military has stepped up efforts this year against the Somalia-based Shabab extremist group, often in support of Somali forces.

We are aware of the civilian casualty allegations near Barire, Somalia. We take any allegations of civilian casualties seriously, and per standard, we are conducting an assessment into the situation to determine the facts on the ground, the U.S. Africa Command said in a statement.

Shabab, which has become the deadliest Islamic extremist group in Africa, continues to hold vast areas of rural Somalia after being chased out of major cities in recent years by a multinational African Union force and Somali forces. The group continues to threaten the fragile central government and carry out deadly attacks in neighboring countries, notably Kenya.

Earlier this year, President Trump approved expanded military operations against Shabab, including more aggressive airstrikes and considering parts of southern Somalia areas of active hostilities.

The U.S. and Somalia in recent weeks said strikes have killed Shabab leaders responsible for planning and executing deadly attacks in Mogadishu, where high-profile areas such as hotels and military checkpoints are often targeted with deadly bombings.

UPDATES:

11:05 a.m.: This article was updated with the U.S. military confirming it supported a Somali operation in the area of the raid and would look into allegations.

This article was originally published at 8 a.m.
Chinese investors agree to pay $1.39bn for the Chaglla hydroelectric plant, capping a deal that took more than two years to complete, sources say
Bethlehem police Thursday released surveillance photos showing an armed robbery earlier this week at a West Bethlehem gas station.

It occurred at 8:35 p.m. Monday at Sunoco, 2450 Catasauqua Road.

The robber aimed a handgun at the clerk, ordering him to hand over all the money from the cash register, city police Detective Chris Beebe said.

The clerk complied, and the gunman additionally demanded two cartons of cigarettes.

The gunman ran to the rear of the store toward hotels along Motel Drive, where an investigation determined he was not a guest at any of the establishments, police said.

No one was injured in the holdup.

The robber is described as a male of Hispanic descent in his mid-20s to mid-30s, standing about 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighing about 165 pounds with a medium complexion.

He wore a head mask, or balaclava, and prescription glasses, a black long-sleeved T-shirt with a distinctive design over the left breast and on the back, black jeans, white sneakers and blue latex medical gloves.

Police ask anyone with information on his identity to call Detective Chris Beebe, badge No. 358, at 610-997-7681.

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
The changing seasons of the Lehigh River valley will beckon outpatient surgery patients from their recovery beds at the newest addition to St. Luke's Hospital in Bethlehem Township.

On Thursday, the scene out the third-story windows was bucolic green, as St. Luke's University Health Network celebrated the opening of its new Specialty Pavilion at the campus off Freemansburg Avenue and Route 33.

"This facility was really designed to promote patient safety as well as patient comfort," said Dr. Zach Goldsmith, medical director of ambulatory surgical care at St. Luke's. "Our patients are going to have views of this beautiful campus and the surrounding natural beauty from their recovery room, not to mention our convenient location and easy parking."

The $26 million center sits across the main driveway from the campus' main hospital complex. At the time it opened in 2011, the St. Luke's Anderson Campus was the first new, full-service, acute-care hospital built in Pennsylvania in 40 years.

At 75,000 square feet spread over three floors, the Specialty Pavilion will employ 200 of the St. Luke's network's 11,000 employees.

"We have these beautiful buildings and we have this great technology and we have medical science, but what really makes it all come together are the employees, their passion, their dedication, their commitment, their drive and their sense of urgency and focus on patient care," said St. Luke's President and CEO Richard Anderson, for whom the campus is named.

It will offer outpatient procedures in orthopedics, urology, gynecology, gastroenterology, head and neck surgery, vascular surgery, podiatry and plastic surgery, according to Goldsmith.

The Specialty Pavilion includes 25,000 square feet of shell space to accommodate future expansion while addressing some of St. Luke's facility needs in Bethlehem Township, said Ed Nawrocki, president of the Anderson Campus.

"The new $26 million specialty pavilion expands the Anderson Campus to include a six-OR, four-procedure room ambulatory surgery center; a new and larger space for our practices in urology, OB/GYN and GI; a new laboratory-blood draw area and a cafe for our visitors and guests," he said.

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
After a year and a half of planning, Easton's first charter school is just about ready to open.

Easton Arts Academy Elementary Charter School founder Thomas Lubben said staff are working feverishly to have the school open on schedule Monday.

When he opened the charter arts high school in Bethlehem, the first day was delayed a week. Teachers helped move the furniture in on Saturday for his arts middle school to open on time in Salisbury Township.

His arts elementary school in Allentown opened on time, he said.

"It gets a little easier each time through, to be honest with you," he said Thursday.

Plans for the school in the former Express-Times building at 30 N. Fourth St. were first unveiled in March 2016.

The cost of running the school is met by taxpayer contributions from the sending school district of each child. Children don't pay tuition to attend the publicly-funded school.

The school cost $6 million to build, according to Pete Reinke, vice president of development with Ashley Development, the site developer.

Lubben said 345 children in kindergarten through fourth grade are enrolled. Enrollment will swell to 420 next year when fifth grade is added.

Lubben said enrollment is capped at 250 for children who live in the Easton Area School District. Non-Easton area children are coming from 13 other sending school districts.

"Believe it or not we have 35 kids coming on a bus from the Poconos every day," Lubben said.

He said there's a waiting list to enroll children in kindergarten and first grade.

He admits the dance studios and some music classrooms won't be operational on the first day of school. But he anticipates most other rooms will be ready.

He touted the school as a great complement to the neighborhood. The school has partnerships with the nearby State Theatre and Crayola Experience. The children and their parents will be downtown every day to the benefit of the Easton Public Market and other businesses, he said.

"I think Easton is much better served having a school here than another group of apartments," Lubben said.

Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @RudyMillerLV. Find Easton area news on Facebook.
A 26-year-old East Stroudsburg man is being held without bail on charges he shot and killed a 25-year-old man on Thursday afternoon in the Monroe County borough, authorities report.

Stroud Area Regional officers were called at 3:25 p.m. to a shooting in one of the apartments on Barnum Street, police said in a Facebook post. The shooting scene is about a block from the police station, reports indicated.

The man, who had a chest wound and was found in an apartment doorway, was taken by Suburban EMS to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said.

Witness interviews led to a suspect, police said. A 9 mm semiautomatic handgun with obliterated serial numbers was recovered at the scene, police said.

Lashawn Marquis Sanders was arrested and arraigned at 10:45 p.m. before District Judge Phillip R. Riley on charges of homicide and possession of a firearm with an altered serial number, police and court records said. Sanders was sent without bail to Monroe County jail, records show.

The news release did not explain why Sanders allegedly killed the man. Police did not identify the victim.

Lashawn Marquis Sanders, 26. (Courtesy photo | For lehighvalleylive.com)

A neighbor told WNEP that the area has turned dangerous.

"There's been incidents on this street, there's been incidents over on the next avenue, so I'm not surprised, doesn't surprise me," Amy Krushinski said, according to the station's report. "It's not the safest when I walk (my dog). I carry pepper spray at night."

Local officers and detectives were assisted by Pennsylvania State Police from the Stroudsburg barracks, the state police forensics unit and county detectives.

Sanders' preliminary hearing is tentatively scheduled 10 a.m. Sept. 5 in District Judge Michael R. Muth's court. He is being represented by the county's public defender's office, records show.

Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyRhodin. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
Parents of children in the Vicarstown and Emo areas will meet with Minister of State for Training and Skills, John Halligan TD on Wednesday, August 20 in Leinster House.

Laois TD and Minister for Justice and Equality, Charlie Flanagan TD has confirmed that Minister John Halligan TD will meet with the concerned parents in Dublin to discuss the need for a larger bus to serve the area so that local children can attend secondary schools in Portlaoise.

Up to 18 students in the Vicarstown, Emo and wider rural community will not have a way to get to school when the new term starts back this week due to lack of seating and the criteria in place to get a seat on the bus.

A 32 seater bus is running but this is not enough seats to cater for the number of students who need it.

Bus Eireann

In 2009, Bus Eireann cut the service from a 52 seater bus to a 32 seater because the numbers were not there however, eight years on the number of students has changed.

Bus Eireann has said that under the Department of Education & Skills Post Primary School Transport Scheme, children are eligible for transport where they reside not less than 4.8km from and are attending their nearest education centre as determined by the Department/Bus Eireann.

There were 32 eligible applicants for 33 available seats for the bus route this year from the Vicarstown/Emo area to Portlaoise.

Only one concessionary student could be accommodated via random selection.

The simple solution to the problem would be for Bus Eireann to run a larger bus however it has said that it does not have the money in its budget to do that.

The problem with the criteria of attending the nearest school is a lack of availability in schools.

Families Affected

The Athy secondary school is 0.02km nearer to Yvonne Kelly than Portlaoise College is.

She could not get her son into secondary school in Athy as there was no availability.

Yvonne was very grateful that Portlaoise College had a space to take her son after it was the third secondary school she tried to get him into.

Now her son has no way of getting to Portlaoise College because of the criteria in place that the student must be attending their nearest school.

All we want is a bigger bus, it is so simple and it is ridiculous. It is extremely unfair.

This problem seems to raise its head every year in areas like Emo, Vicarstown and Stradbally. This is not the first year and this problem is not going to go away, lets use common sense here, she said.

Political support

Yvonne was one of around 40 people who met in Vicarstown on Thursday evening, August 24 with local political leaders to discuss the matter.

Charlie Flanagan has said that he brought the issue to Minister John Halligan.

"I have made strong representations to Minister John Halligan on the urgent need for a larger school bus to serve the Vicarstown/Emo route so that all children on concessionary tickets can be accommodated for the coming year and I will continue to pursue matters in this regard with the Minister at the meeting next week, he said.

Sinn Fein TD Brian Stanley and Fianna Fail TD Sean Fleming attended the meeting and listened to the different reasons why parents were not granted tickets for the bus and the difficult situations parents have now been put in.

Cllrs Tom Mulhall, Paschal McEvoy and Mary Sweeney also attended at the meeting.

Around 40 people went to the meeting including parents of pupils who will need the school bus service in the future.

There was great community support behind the parents and students who were in the situation of not having a ticket for the school bus.

Yvonne will be one of the parents who goes to Leinster House on Wednesday August 30 to meet Minister Halligan and try to secure a larger bus service for the area.

Read more: Laois students will be left stranded on Tuesday morning with lack of school bus service.
A brand new secondary school in Portlaoise will open its doors to for the first time next week.

Dunamaise College or Colaiste Dhun Mhasc as it will be known to the students who choose to study through Irish, will open for the first time on Tuesday, August 29 at 9:00am.

Students and their parents will have a chance to meet their teachers, and have their photographs taken at 9:00am before heading into class at 9.30am.

Forty students from 10 primary schools across two counties will attend Dunamase College for the first time on the day.

Some students will be studying in the mainstream English school and some will be studying all their subjects through Irish in the aonad lan Ghaeilge.

Dunamase College will be strongly technology focused and is opening in a newly refurbished building on Railway Street Port Laoise.

The school is on Railway Street in the centre of Portlaoise town and the building has been refurbished over the summer ahead of the new school term.

Read more about Dunamase College here.
A St Bernard sanctuary in Kildoon has put out an appeal for donations for vet fees and running costs.

Lucy and her husband James Fennelly run the sanctuary with the help of their two daughters and volunteers Aoife Mills and Eve O'Connor.

They are still waiting on an officer to put them as a charity and give them a charity number, said volunteer Aoife Mills.

They have been waiting up to a year for this and if they have it the government will pay for any vet bills for the these dogs.

According to Aoife there are five Saint Bernards or Saints to be cared for and each has his or her own ailments.

Buddy was treated badly in previous home and no body cared for him. Buddy is nearly seven. Butch has a heart condition where his heart beats very fast. Butch is eight this December. He has terminal cardiomyopathy. He's also on heart tablet which are 128 a month. He was given six months to live back in January but he's proved them wrong as we are now nearly in the ninth month with him. Elsa is nine on the 1 September. She has a heart condition also on tablets for life. Bailey is six and has an in continuance problem is on tablets for life. And Molly is nine. She has problems with her neck, she is on Metacam for pain. She also had to have serious attention for an abscess on her womb and has a skin infection. Her treatment is on going. Molly is sick and her vet bills are costing around 700 and continuing.

"We are looking for more donations and we will be doing fundraising very soon. You can find us on Facebook for regular updates.

Meanwhile Lucy explained that they are the only dedicated St Bernard Rescue Sanctuary in Ireland.

"We are a not for profit organisation waiting on our Charity application to be processed current information is this can take up to year. Current recurring medical bills alone run at over 180 per month before vet treatments are included.The five dogs we have here now are not for re-homing due to their various health issues, we do offer help with re-homing other Saints and provide assistance whenever possible. The Charity status will allow us to apply for Government grant assistance which will help a bit with the day to day expenses and allow us to hold raffles, fundraisers. We hope to bring some of the dogs to visit any interested local nursing homes, hospitals, Autistic centres as therapy dogs in the future as we believe this will of great benefit to the residents there."

FOR MORE SEE: St Bernard Sanctuary
Three men who appeared at Naas District Court on Thursday, August 24, were arrested as a part of ongoing investigations into alleged burglaries and thefts in the Tipperary.

They were among four men arrested by Gardai from Tipperary, Carlow and the Armed Support Regional unit last Wednesday morning.

The three who appeared in Naas were Edward Collins, 42, with an address listed as 15 Collinstown Crescent, Neilstown, Dublin 22, Martin Collins, 35, 27 Woodford Drive, Clondalkin and Michael Collins, 25, of 7e Pearse House, Dublin 2.

Edward Collins is charged with theft on May 21, 2017 at Railway Station Nenagh, and possession of stolen property, a dogbox-syle trailer on August 23, 2017 at his home address.

Martin Collins is charged with theft at Tippo International, Thurles Road, Nenagh on August 6 last as was Michael Collins.

Michael Collins is also charged in relation to the alleged theft at Railway Station, Nenagh and with theft on August 13 last at Turtulla Business Park, Turtulla, Thurles.

All three men were granted bail by Judge Miriam Walsh.

Gardai did not object to bail, although they did insist in conditions, which were that they were to stay out of Tipperary except for court appearances, a curfew and that they provide Gardai with a mobile number and that the phone be charged and turned on at all times.

Edward Collins is also instructed to stay out of Co. Kilkenny.

Their cases were adjourned to a date in September.
IN recent seasons, horse racing in Ireland has been extremely fickle. When it comes to the training game, the sport has most definitely seen more people struggle than it would have ever liked.

Charlie Swan and Sandra Hughes, two trainers which have tasted success at the highest level, are prime examples.

For most within and outside of horse racing, Conor ODwyer will be most associated with his days in the saddle. What a career he enjoyed as well.

Very few jockeys can boast about winning the two biggest prizes in National Hunt racing but for ODwyer, he won both the Champion Hurdle and Cheltenham Gold Cup on two separate occasions.

He was one of Irelands most established jump jockeys when he steered Imperial Call to glory at Prestbury Park glory in National Hunts blue riband in 1996. He would have to endure an eight year gap for his next win at the sports biggest festival but it was very much worth it when he experienced the first of his two consecutive Champion Hurdle successes on the Dessie Hughes-trained Hardy Eustace in 2004.

Then at the 2006 festival, he supplied Gigginstown House Stud with their first Cheltenham Gold Cup triumph on board War Of Attrition.

They were ODwyers four Cheltenham festival victories but he also played his part in numerous memorable finishes, including the one which saw Ruby Walsh record the first of his 42 festival triumphs on Alexander Banquet in 1998.

On that occasion, as he did at so many different festivals, Conor teamed up with JP McManus with the apparent Irish banker of the week in Joe Mac.

It was all looking to be going to plan as well when the 6/4 favourite loomed upsides a scrubbed along Alexander Banquet rounding the final bend. It was then when ODwyer knew that his opposite jockey, some 13 years his younger, was going to be a star as Walsh galvanised his mount to endure disappointment for so many Irish punters on that afternoon.

There are many horses in which ODwyer will always be associated with from his riding days and, as well as the ones already mentioned, they include Native Upmanship, Youlneverwalkalone, Redundant Pal and Grimes.

Ten years ago, after hanging up his britches, Conor ODwyer done what a lot of jockeys have tried to conquer. The art of training.

It took ODwyer a little while to get to grips with his new profession but one horse which gave him plenty to smile about during his early seasons was Hangover, which gave Conor one of his first winners when landing a competitive bumper at Punchestown in January of 2008.

Hangover would win four more times, with his win in a handicap hurdle on Red Mills day at Gowran Park probably being the pick. To this day, Folsom Blue would be regarded as the best ODwyer has trained and he notched up four wins in total for the Kildare based trainer, including three consecutive successes during his novice hurdle season.

His victory in the Listed Mercedes Benz Novice Hurdle was followed by a fine runner-up effort behind Lyreen Legend in the 2012 Michael Purcell Memorial Novice Hurdle at Thurles.

The Gigginstown House Stud owned gelding also landed the 2014 Grand National Trial at Punchestown before being twice placed in graded company later that season. Uncle Tom Cobley and Competitive Edge were two others of ODwyers stable stars which managed to keep him afloat around that same time.

Recent seasons have brought ODwyer back down to earth and from enjoying a personal best of 14 winners during the 2011/12 season, he didnt manage to send out a single winner during the 2015/16 season.

Two winners followed the following campaign but in the last month alone, ODwyer has been a revelation.

Not only did he send out three consecutive winners in a ten day period but one of those was Flaming Sea at the Galway festival. In a maiden on the Flat I might add too.

Two seasons ago, Conor ODwyer might have been wondering what the future might hold for him.

Right now, theres no more in-form trainer than the Kildare based handler. That really does prove that, in sport, you never really know whats around the corner.
Irelands annual nocturnal cultural extravaganza returns on Friday September 22. Showcasing the vibrant arts and creative scene of towns, villages, islands and cities across the country, thousands of participants are gearing up for an evening of culture, creativity and celebration as they get ready to switch on Culture Night 2017.

The programme for this, the twelfth Culture Night, is now available on www.culturenight.ie

Museums, galleries, cathedrals, studios, libraries, parks, government buildings, theatres and more, across the country will throw open their doors late into the night for FREE visits, tours, workshops, readings and performances. Organisers are hoping to build on last years phenomenal turn-out of over 400,000 nationwide. With thousands of individual events there is free family fun across the country; captivate the kids with creative art workshops, wax lyrical with spoken word sessions, relive hidden histories in historical tours, immerse yourself in music, dance like no one is watching with classes and performances of all genres, explore visual art in all its forms..ALL FREE.

Culture Night is brought to you by the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht with the regional arts offices, local authorities, and cultural organisations throughout the island of Ireland.

The full programme of events and participating venues for Culture Night 2017 is now available here.
PARTICIPANTS of a scheme which provides educational and training support to young men have built a shed for the Mid-West Simon Community in Limerick.

Members of Palls, an education and training centre funded by the Probation Service, have been building the structure in their warehouse at the Dock Road.

And they have agreed to donate it to the Simon Community, which supports families facing homelessness. Palls is Probation in Limerick and Linkage Scheme.

Rachel Reilly, the assistant manager at Palls, which has been running for nine years, said: We were going to run a programme to make a shed for ourselves and for the lads to learn the different skills. But when we realised it would be finished too quickly, we decided to build two sheds, and donate one to the community.

Palls members all voted and decided the Simon community should benefit following a competitive application process by a number of charities.

Tracey Reddy, of the Simon Community said: The idea of the shed for us is to have a space where children can hang out, to have a little space for themsellves and their family members. When we got notice from Palls they would be raffling a shed, we felt it would be a great opportunity to link in with another community organisation.

As well as woodworking, Palls also provide drug and alcohol support, therapeutic support, career guidance and counselling to its participants, which number over 200.

Art therapy, plus health and fitness programmes are also included.

One of those taking part, Patrick McCarthy, 28, from Moyross said: I have accomplished a lot of things here. I have Vtec certs in woodwork. I like the company here, and I also enjoy being part of a team and learning new things, hopefully to move forward in the future.

Patrick is hoping to take on a welding course in the future.If we had this back before I went to jail, I know I would not have ended up there, he added.

Seamus Curtin, 35, from Weston, added: I was caught up in crime. But when I got out of jail, I came here and decided not to look back.
LIMERICK agricultural firm Samco is set to invest 2m in an expansion plan which will make way for ten new staff members in the village.

The Adare company, run by the Shine family, currently operates out of a 20,000sq ft facility in the village  the new extension will add 15,000 sq ft.

Already employing 35, Samco is known for manufacturing a machine which sows seed, sprays the soil and lays a thin layer of biodegradable plastic film over the seed bed.

The new project is due for completion in 2019.

Samco will be offering jobs in all areas from production staff including extruder operators, clerical administration and international sales to name a few, said Stephanie Shine on behalf of the company.

We are currently employing 35 and look to increase that to 45. We strongly believe in having a highly skilled innovative workforce is key to success, she added.

Up to 80 percent of the companys work is in export trade, including in northern Europe, Chile, Canada, China and Japan.

Britain, of course, is one of the companys largest export markets, and Samco is navigating the choppy waters of Brexit, albeit coping positively with the political shift.

Things are still tipping away here since the news broke of Brexit. Our business in the UK is growing steadily even through Brexit talks, said Ms Shine.

We have established strong customer relations in the UK and we work hard on customer support. The UK market has a lot of potential still for Samco, in terms of forage maize and also the vegetable market.

We can only prepare for the worst and adapt to change, and hope the Irish Government can put their best foot forward when making a decision on border control and tax laws, she added.
THE University Hospital Limerick has confirmed that 15 nurses have left the emergency department in the past 20 months, with nursing representatives claiming that staff are unable to cope with the mounting pressure in the ward.

A total of 54 patients were waiting for beds on trolleys and in wards this Friday, but the hospital said that this figure typically reduces over the day.

While 15 nursing staff have left the unit, the number of nurses in the department has increased by more than 30, to 98.36 whole time equivalent (WTE) nurses from 67.4 to enable the opening of the new 24m department this May.

An additional 15 health care assistants have also been employed.

Of the 15 nurses who have left the department, three have left the HSE and the remainder either requested a transfer to another area or were promoted into other departments across the hospital or into the Community Health Organisation, said the hospital.

This kind of turnover is to be expected in a large department and indeed as a teaching hospital we actively encourage staff to avail of opportunities to develop their skills in other areas and to seek promotions, said a spokesperson for UHL.

The hospital recently had 7.03 WTE vacancies in the department which have been filled, with nurses due to take up their posts in the coming weeks.

Given the worldwide shortage of nursing staff, we are delighted to have such interest from nurses in working at UL Hospitals Group and especially in our new emergency department. The ED at UHL has the highest staffing complement of any ED in the country.

Mary Fogarty, industrial relations officer in the Mid-West with the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO), earlier told the Limerick Leader that the pressure is becoming unbearable for many staff, who are choosing to leave their roles.

She said she has been inundated with calls and messages from staff who continue to voice concerns about the emergency unit.

There is no let-up. The pressure is constant. There is no de-escalation. It is constantly in escalation with pressure for beds. Its not a workplace environment thats conducive to retaining staff. How much more can staff and patients take, questioned Ms Fogarty.

The UL Hospitals Group has brought forward its meeting with the INMO and Siptu Nursing to discuss issues that arise in the emergency department to Thursday next, August 31.

We look forward to positive engagement with nursing representatives on that date, they said.
Aug 25, 2017, 11 AM

During 1964-66, Fridley, Minn., ran what it called a Special Pony Express to protest the lack of a post office in the small town. Wayne Youngblood, in The Odd Lot, reveals the impetus behind the publicity stunt that promised to "shave a day away" from loc

By Charles Snee

No doubt youve read our report this week about the latest United States counterfeit stamp to appear in the marketplace. That story and numerous others await you in the Sept. 11 issue of Linns Stamp News that will go in the mail to subscribers Monday, Aug. 28. If youre a digital subscriber, you get early access Saturday, Aug. 26. To tide you over until your copy arrives, we offer this trio of teasers. Happy collecting!

Are you familiar with the Special Pony Express of Fridley, Minnesota?

In this months The Odd Lot column, Wayne Youngblood takes us all the way back to Nov. 23, 1964, when the small Minnesota town inaugurated its own pony express to protest the lack of a local post office. This publicity stunt, as Youngblood calls it, owed its genesis to an offhand political misstatement.

A passionate pursuit of British telegraph cancels yields a delightful surprise

In his quest to unravel some of the mysteries behind Victorian-era telegraph cancels, Great Britain Philately columnist Matthew Healey reaps a pleasant bonus  friendship with a pair of collectors who share his fascination with these intriguing markings.

The Yugoslavia and Macedonia postal tax stamps that memorialize a devastating 1963 earthquake

A feature common to the designs of some of these stamps is the clock from the Skopje train station, the hands of which are frozen at 5:17 a.m., the exact time at which the earthquake occurred. Rick Miller discusses this and more in this months Stamps of Eastern Europe column.

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Dispatch from Lakme Fashion Week Highlights from Lakme Fashion Week Winter/Festive 2017 unpacks trending style sensibilities rooted in crafts and sustainability /fashion/trends/dispatch-from-lakm-fashion-week-111646829428710.html 111646829428710 story

The Lakme Fashion Week (LFW), a biannual event, was held at The St. Regis Mumbai last week. With over 80 designers showingbetween the runway and stallsthe five-day event dedicated one day to sustainable fashion, a crafts is cool" theme lingered, and bridalwear was complemented by experimental compositions. We picked out five lessons from five shows.

Sanjay Garg shows us how to do classic with a twist

Sanjay Garg has established an alternative narrative of Indian luxury with his two labelsRaw Mango, founded in 2009, and his eponymous label, launched in 2014. I see three visions of India: the kitsch India, the maharaja India and the block-printed, cow-dung India," says Garg. His work is an unfaltering portrayal of the third; austere in form, rich in colour and rooted in tradition. Within those boundaries, Garg has been constantly reinventing himself.

He opened this years fashion week with his collection Cloud People. With a total of 65 ensembles, Garg showed saris and flowing gowns, matched organza shirts with lehngas and skirts, and kurtas with shararas and wrap dresses.

The surprise element was the Chikankari work. The 36-stitch relief embroidery work is usually done in floral patterns. A closer look at Gargs garments reveals motifs like clouds, wings and angels. Garg also makes new material compositions, combining Bengal mul, Zardozi and handwoven brocade. Indian textiles are the soul of Indian fashion, but we must make different marriages among them: Chikankari with organza, Shibori, and with brocade," he says.

Cosmic Love by Manish Arora

Anavila Misra shows us how to go BACK to Black

In the seven years of her practice, Anavila Misra has single handedly popularized the linen sari. But in all these years she has rarely worked with darker colours, only one charcoal and one black", she says. In sharp contrast to her light, breezy, sunlit pastel colour palette, this season, Misras collection of over 50 pieces, Blur, had one common thread: black.

Predominantly sarisalso including tunics, kurtas and dressesthe collection is anchored in black and melds into dark olive, bark browns, wine, blue and grey. Apart from exploring a new colour-scape, Misra also goes beyond her staple material, with silk woven into linen in the same garment, and made on the same loom", with Jamdani in the linen body with a silk border, handblock prints, Batik for some surface texturing, and blends of wool and Khadi. For the last six years, weve experimented with yarns and textures. Weve understood the textile part of it. The craft cluster I work with has become an expert at it. We now wanted to focus on the design, the apparel, the cuts of the blouses," says Misra.

Why black? Because black lends itself beautifully to just exploring form and design," says Misra. Also black is always stuck in the extremities of either formal or sexy. What about the in-between delicate, romantic side of black?" she asks. In emptying her canvas of all colour, Misra has revealed new creative potential.

To be young is to be bold, show Rara Avis and 431-88

Pattern on pattern, part drape, part structure, 1970s vintage with futuristic-laser cut appliquestheres order in this chaos and its called Gen Next. A few shows dedicated to emerging designers unveiled one central idea: A bold expression of individuality trumps all other fashion rules.

Designer Sonal Verma of Rara Avis showed a collection titled Colander that cut up classic silhouettes like trench coats and wrap jackets asymmetrically, and layered faux fur with leather. Collection 10 by Shweta Kapur of 431-88 brought out jackets with power shoulders and pinched waists, in eccentric combinations of jacquard, leather and jersey. Fashion is a way of communicating who you are. Our generation is not one to hide and drown themselves in loose sacks of cotton shirt dresses. Its about confidence, regardless of size, shape, age," says Kapur.

Actor Sonal Chauhan in a Rara Avis sequinned dress.

EMBRACE your inner David Bowie with Manish Arora

Manish Arora returned to the LFW after six years, and the runway burst into a profusion of colour and whimsy. Arora, who has been in Paris for the last decadeincluding a two-season stint as creative director of the French fashion house Paco Rabanne in 2011celebrated his 10th anniversary of showing at the Paris Fashion Week with his collection Cosmic Love, and showed the same at the LFW. African tribal patterns, Aztec prints, optical art, a peacock-patterned ensemble, Swarovski crystals creating shooting stars on silk dresses, cosmic motifs appliqued on velvet gowns and elaborate head wrapsCosmic Love stayed true to Aroras psychedelic, irreverent style.

In celebration of gender-neutral fashion, men walked in heels and carried avant-garde planet and disc shaped clutches. If the collection seems too much of a spectacle, it could be made more wearable by picking out one statement piecea quilted bomber perhaps, paired with neutrals, and you could spin your own David Bowie (or Ziggy Stardust, if you prefer) avatar.

A sari from Anavila Misras collection Blur

Be conscious of your carbon footprint, says the Huemn Project

In a quieter part of the venue, an art installation and audio-visual presentation brought to light disturbing facts and figures on the impact of the fashion industry on ecology:

The second largest polluting industry in the world, after oil, is fashion."

The average woman throws away a fast fashion garment after only seven wears."

While cotton, especially organic cotton, might seem like a smart choice, it can still take more than 5,000 gallons of water to manufacture just a T-shirt and a pair of jeans."

In Reflection by the Huemn Project, an offshoot of the label Huemn, by designers Pranav Misra and Shyma Shetty, the installation of human bodies wrapped in shreds of clothing and plastic bags resembled a landfill of fashion-bodies. Misra and Shetty collaborated with other designersBodice, Dhruv Kapoor, Munkee See Munkee Doo, Kanika Goyal, Ilk Drvv, AntarAgni and Ikai by Ragini Ahujaand sourced fashion-waste from their ateliers to create 10 recycled" ensembles. We keep reading these worrying statistics and considering we, as designers, drive this consumerist culture, its important for us to create a dialogue around this," says Shetty.

While the installation drove home the point most viscerally, the thread of fashion consciousness ran across a lot of shows. IMG Reliance held a show titled Restart Fashion, featuring designers who specifically work with post-consumer waste fabric like Chola and Doodlage. UK-based fashion activist organization Fashion Revolution took the opportunity to reveal the chain reactions and consumerism fuelling the fashion industry. We were formed as a response to the tragic Rana Plaza disaster (garment factory collapse in 2013) when we lost over 1,138 people in Bangladesh, Dhaka," says Suki Dusanj, the India coordinator. Addressing concerns of fair wages, safe working conditions, resources used in manufacturing, and waste disposal, sustainability was taken beyond the buzzword it has become.
Vulnerability is not weakness An excerpt from Natasha Badhwar's forthcoming book, which brings together Lounge columns from the last six years with new writing /news/talking-point/vulnerability-is-not-weakness-111646983677462.html 111646983677462 story

My Daughters Mum knits together Natasha Badhwars popular Lounge column and new writing where the author describes her journey as a mother; the wife of a man from a different religious background; and an individual with dreams detached from the roles of wife and mother. Releasing 11 September, this is also a memoir that tells us about an India where questions of identity and personal freedom are in dialogue with ideas of nationality. An excerpt:

A story that revisits me every day is what happened when I was twelve-and-a-half years old. Our two older daughters Sahar and Alizaare 14 and 12 right now. Our youngest daughter Naseem is 9.

Are you twelve-and-a-half years old, Sahar?" I asked our firstborn a couple of years ago.

Yes," she said.

Exactly 12.5?"

Yes."

I showed her my incision-scar. I have 45 stitches running down the centre of my right arm. It is shorter than my left arm by 4 inches. I was twelve-and-a-half when this happened," I said.

She nodded. I have told my children about my fall from the roof of our home when I was a child.

The truth is, I had jumped. At 5am on a winter morning in January, I had jumped from the fourth floor and crashed on to the concrete ground below. I had decided that it was better to die than face the day.

I had attempted and survived suicide.

***

A child tries to kill herself; a child doesnt die. The child grows up and has children of her own. Her fears, her guilt, her desire to talk about her suicide attemptthese become a part of the story that haunts her. A story she has to understand.

Memories come back and perch on her shoulder. They take the shape of dreams. They visit as tears.

She wants to talk to her parents. She does not want to hurt them again. She does not want to make them remember. She wants to ask for forgiveness. She wants to cry in her mothers arms. She wants to be loved. Openly. So she can love openly. So she can abandon the fear that she will be punished when she becomes a parent. That history will repeat itself.

It is okay to talk about this. She knows that.

***

My mother Sudha is the fifth daughter and sixth child of her parents. There were eight siblings. Her closest sister committed suicide in her early twenties. Her name was Chanchal. My mother talks to me about her. She speaks of the household they grew up in. She was four years old in 1947 when this country became independent and was partitioned into India and Pakistan. Her mother, my Nani, was expecting her seventh child when the family abandoned their ancestral home in Lahore and moved to Amritsar. It took years, decades, generations, for them to feel at home again.

Like most Indian families, both sides of my parents family are obsessed, to some degree, with the male child and his privileges. My mother tries to rationalize it. She tells me brutal stories of how other significant adults were mean to girls, but she becomes protective about her own mother and father. They were valiant and fair.

I did not get a chance to know my mothers parents very much, but my Nani appears in my dreams sometimes. I want to speak to her. I want to know how parents can love their daughters and still not give them permission to have any agency over their lives. I want to know how they can silently reaffirm that girls must have no control over their destinies. It angers and baffles me. I know that Nani wont have the answers.

I am determined to break the script my grandmothers lived and died by. They were powerful women who did not have the authority to protect their own children. They were caregivers for everyone but they did not have permission to assert their needs and desires.

My fathers mother had three sons. Dadaji, my fathers father, is the only grandparent I really got to know. He lived past 90. We were both loving and confrontational in our relationship with each other. I defied him in ways that no one else did. We taught each other a lot.

Dadaji took the news of my decision to marry Afzala Muslim from Uttar Pradeshvery badly. For a few days, he seemed to lose his grip on reality.... We did not know whether he would recover, but he did. When he met my in-laws eventually, he was gracious, soaking in conversations in Urdu with my father-in-law and Afzal. When our youngest child Naseem was born, he called out to her each time we visited, and glowed with happiness when she responded to him.

Raising children and being in love make me vulnerable. I have learnt that vulnerability is not weakness. Recognizing ones vulnerability is pure courage. It gives me the will to stand up to oppressionto be honest, to confront. It makes me see things with clarity.
A Sita we must not know Aubrey Menen's Rama Retold was the first book to be banned in independent India /how-to-lounge/books/a-sita-we-must-not-know-111646833803902.html 111646833803902 story

It is that time of the year when we indulge our national predilection for taking offence, banning books and hounding writers. We have Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar, for example, whose collection, The Adivasi Will Not Dance, is deemed pornographic" for portraying an impoverished tribal woman who, for 50 rupees and a pakoda, transacts sex with a policeman. That Shekhar reflects the reality of many marginalized women is irrelevantthe real danger to womens honour in 2017 still lies in the refractory pages of a book, and the only recourse is to order an immediate, uncompromising ban.

When in 1955 independent India first decided to outlaw an English novel, its author was only a little anguished. As he remarked later, with an indifference designed to inflame the sanctimonious, Efforts should be made to lift all bans on all books." But those efforts wouldnt come from him: My job in life," he declared, is to write books, not chew the cud over them." Aubrey Menen lived in Italy and while Indians were deprived of his Rama Retold, the book became a sensation abroad.

Success allowed him to parade his disdain for incensed elders at home, though in private he did ask Jawaharlal Nehru why in a democracy any book should be banned at all. The prime minister was, it is said, apologetic, but felt that certain creative leaps in Menens tale came a little too early for its time."

He was afraid of being criticized," Menen recalled, and the books opening indicates why. This is the story of Rama," begins the Irish-Malayalees retelling, a prince of India who lived his life according to the best advice. He reverenced his intellectual bettersand did what they told him to do. He took his morals from the best moralists, and his politics from the most experienced politicians. As a result he was ruined, exiled, and disinherited: his wife was stolen from him and when he got her back, he very nearly had to burn her alive from the highest of motives. In the teeth of the soundest and most reliable guidance from his moral and mental superiors, he finally recovered his country, his throne, and his common sense. He lived more than two thousand five hundred years ago but everybody will recognize his experiences." Wry, revealing, and pointed, Menens pen knew no sacred cows.

Menens pronounced irreverence often invited trouble, but in 1955 the charge against him was of tarnishing a legendary womans equally legendary honour. For he had created a Sita who takes unorthodox decisions in the interests of survival. She is, like in traditional versions, dedicated to Ram, though sometimes she does suffer a little fatigue from all the devotion. It seems that we are going to renounce the world," she informs Laxman on being told of their exile. When?" he asks. Tomorrow morning," she responds distractedly. On encountering Valmiki (whose idea of saying grace is to seek good pumpkins from the Almighty), she is told that he is a poet. Very well," says Sita, if he starts talking poetry I shall get up and leave the room"a wise policy for all women who endure the verbal flatulence typical of males of our species.

What was scandalous about Menens Sita, however, was her attitude towards Ravan. They meet, and he falls in love with her. While Ram is preoccupied with contemplating tremendous questions about life" as Sita cooks and cleans, Ravan is a simpler, oddly refreshing contrast who actually talks to her. Though she is flattered by Ravans attention, she is not interested. But when the Lankan king attacks them after a brawl with Laxman, and it is clear that they cannot win, Sita walks up and agrees to go with Ravan if he ceases hostilities. It is against honour, but she saves everyones lives. All this, predictably, shocked Nehrus generationa Sita who remembers Ravan as gentle with women". Naturally, more correct Ramayan scholars like C. Rajagopalachari dismissed Menens audacity as pure nonsense", while others demanded a ban.

Menen reconciled the matter of Sitas chastity with her uncomfortably long stay near Ravan by simply not bothering to reconcile it. Other Ramayan poets have struggled somewhat. Tulsidas addresses the issue by introducing gods who carry the real" Sita away, replacing her with an illusion before Ravan abducts herthat way, Sitas chastity is never under question at all. In another version, Ravan suffers from a curse that prevents him from coercing an unwilling woman, indirectly protecting Sita in captivity. In any case, the public had to be convinced, and Menen stayed true to the story of trial by fireexcept that his fire was a magicians trick (Egyptian Fire") orchestrated with Rams connivance. And soon, Sita appears unscathed, having completed the charade. I hope you were not frightened," asks Ram. There was more smoke than I expected," confesses Sita. All this while they are sipping sherbet in what was once Ravans palace.

There is much in Rama Retold that is provocative, just as there is much food for thoughtthe choice would have been the readers if one were actually allowed to read it. At the end of the day, Menens intention was to tap into Indias long-standing tradition of scepticism, eschewing overblown moralizing. A fine point if it didnt today entail more bans, burning effigies, and mobs of internet warriors who uphold antiquated fallacies with furious clicks of the mouseat least for those writers who cant go abroad and must continue in this ancient land of timeless glory, where Ram is always infallible, Sita the emblem of monochrome virtue, and our elders gatekeepers of what is and is not in the interests of true honour.

Medium Rare is a column on society, politics and history. Manu S. Pillai is the author of The Ivory Throne: Chronicles Of The House Of Travancore.

The writer tweets at @UnamPillai
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Actor Wendell Pierce, known for his roles in The Wire, Selma and other dramas, is diving into the Bay Area real estate market by planning a massive housing and retail project on a site in downtown Richmond that has long been blighted.

Pierce  who has invested in economically challenged areas of New Orleans and Baltimore  told The Chronicle that he chose Richmond for his latest venture because the city has a diverse population and the development site is close to a transit hub, the waterfront and the East Bay Center for the Performing Arts.

The actor said that a visit Wednesday to the site at Macdonald Avenue during a music festival helped cement his commitment to the city.

The two-block-long development would be a short walk from the Richmond BART and Amtrak station. The project would include multiple buildings and commercial space on the ground floor for local businesses and tech incubators, Pierce said. Of the 400-plus units of housing, some will be affordable or subsidized.

Pierce built homes in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and an apartment complex in Baltimore following riots over the police-custody death of Freddie Gray. But Richmond would be his largest single project yet.

We knew we could make a significant impact if we stepped off the sidelines and actually invested in parts of our community that arent being served, he told The Chronicle. Richmond has everything youd want in a community, so its just mining those resources and assets.

Although he once lived in San Francisco and traveled around the region, Pierce said his experience with Richmond was limited up until the citys Office of Economic Development contacted his development group. The outreach, Pierce said, made him want to invest in Richmond, rather than Oakland or other nearby cities.

I was ashamed to know that Id lived in the Bay Area and not visited the waterfront and downtown core of Richmond, he said.

The city-owned site on Macdonald Avenue from 11th to 13th streets has been slated for redevelopment and mostly vacant since 2005.

The first developer to win a bid to build at the site, Oakland-based A.F. Evans Co., went bankrupt during the recession before anything could be erected. Gov. Jerry Browns dissolution of redevelopment agencies in 2011 put the project and others in the corridor in flux, said Amanda Elliott, executive director of Richmond Main Street, a nonprofit working to revitalize the area.

Theres a lack of retail in the downtown corridor, Elliott said. Residents who have been here have been lacking services for more than a decade.

She said that despite increased interest in the area, for whatever reason, Richmond doesnt come to mind when people think of opening a business.

Last spring, the city sought new proposals for the Macdonald and 12th Street site and subsequently chose Pierce and the firm he is partnering with, SA+A Development, to develop the site. Richmond officials and business leaders hope the project will galvanize other housing and retail ventures in the area.

Keba Konte, founder of Red Bay Coffee in Oakland, called the area a coffee desert and said he is going to open a store at Pierces Richmond project. He said his roastery is already working on outfitting a converted shipping container  how its specialty coffee is sold  for the site.

The development team is considering creating affordable housing units specifically for artists, Pierce said. His partner, Ernst Valery, said they are looking at creating an outdoor amphitheater for the arts center as well.

Prices are out of control in the Bay Area, Valery said. You have one-bedrooms that go for $3,800. That didnt make sense to me. Theres a lot we can do to be inclusive and help the existing shops and community there.

Pierce said he will also offer an apprenticeship program, similar to one he created in Baltimore, for anyone who wants to be trained in development. In Maryland, he said, the program provided locals with employment and instruction, with the idea that Pierce and his partners would invest in future undertakings by their pupils.

We want to create a cohort of local folks in Richmond who can redevelop other sites so theres no blight in the city, Valery said.

The project could break ground in the next year after securing necessary approvals from the City Council in the coming weeks.

Kimberly Veklerov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: KVeklerov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kveklerov
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East Houston Regional Medical Center suspended all operations and evacuated its patients Friday morning as Hurricane Harvey barreled closer to the Texas coast.

Other hospitals across the Houston area kept a wary eye on the strengthening storm and began rolling out preliminary emergency measures and stockpiling food, water and medical supplies.

At the University of Texas Medical Branch hospitals, including those in Galveston and League City, nonessential employees were sent home at 3 p.m. and all outpatient clinics were closed. Elective surgeries were also postponed, and 76 patients were discharged early.

LANDFALL: Hurricane Harvey comes ashore near Rockport

UTMB's three main hospital locations across the region remained open and patients needing emergency care were being directed there, but officials said they would be continuing to monitor the deteriorating conditions and make adjustments as needed.

"A decision to evacuate would be based on a threat that would put patient and staff lives in danger," UTMB president Dr. David Callender said in a statement.

Callender said he had confidence the hospital could withstand the impending storm. But, he added, "There is no structure that is completely safe in the face of a very severe hurricane."

In 2008, Hurricane Ike devastated the Galveston medical facility, forcing patient evacuation and a closure that stretched for months. Since then, officials said more than $1 billion in improvements have been made, but the memory loomed large Friday.

Meanwhile, 51 patients at East Houston Medical Center were transferred to other facilities within the HCA Healthcare Gulf Coast Division network, some as far away as Conroe.

In addition, services at the Bayshore Medical Center 24-hour Emergency Center, also part of the HCA network, were suspended Friday.

FLOOD WATCH: These areas of Houston are most likely to see high water

Both measures were taken to "consolidate resources and for patient safety purposes," the health care network announced in a bulletin.

Patients needing emergency care were being diverted to Bayshore Medical Center in Pasadena.

Even there and at its sister hospital, Clear Lake Regional Medical Center, it remained unknown what further emergency steps would be needed.

"We have to determine this hour by hour," said Debra Burbridge, spokeswoman for HCA Healthcare Gulf Coast Division.

Texas Children's Hospital announced Friday afternoon that it was closing all clinics and canceling outpatient procedures Saturday through Monday. The order affects facilities at the Texas Medical Center, The Woodlands and the West Campus.

The community maternal-fetal medicine and obstetrics-gynecology clinics also will be closed through Monday, Texas Children's said.

Other hospitals across the Houston area said they plan to operate as usual through the weekend but they were ready to quickly adjust plans.

HISTORIC HURRICANE: This is what happened the last time a Category 4 hit Texas

At Memorial Hermann Health System, incident command centers have been established to keep an eye on staffing and supplies.

Systemwide, patients who could be discharged safely were being released.

Memorial Hermann outpatient rehabilitation centers will be closed over the weekend, a spokeswoman said. Also on Friday, all patients at Memorial Hermann Orthopedic & Spine Hospital in Bellaire were discharged or sent to the Texas Medical Center hospital, the spokeswoman said.
George Pelecanos has spent the past 30 years becoming a successful novelist and screenwriter. Along with David Simon, he's now a co-writer and co-producer for "The Deuce," an HBO series that debuts Sept. 10. It stars James Franco, who plays a pair of twin mobsters in Times Square. Pelecanos spoke to The Washington Post from his home in Silver Spring, Md.

---

Q: How did your collaboration with David Simon on "The Deuce" come about?

A: Years ago, David and I met with a guy who had a mobbed-up bar in Times Square at the dawn of the modern pornography industry. After just a couple of hours with him, we decided to develop the story into a series. The characters were too rich to ignore. We brought in novelist Richard Price because no one writes about New York with his depth and humor. We also have Megan Abbott and Lisa Lutz, two very good novelists, on our writing staff.

---

Q: Did you all develop the plot, about prostitution in Times Square, together?

A: Prostitution is just a small element of the story. We have characters from all walks of life. It's a panoramic look at a city in a moment when the selling of sex became legal. It's also a story about labor, and how people in the trenches profit the least. This time, the laborers weren't in manufacturing. They were selling their own flesh.

---

Q: Is the story open-ended?

A: It will eventually encompass three different eras in Times Square history. So we hope to get three seasons out of it. Check that, because I'm an optimist: We (BEGIN ITAL)will(END ITAL) get three seasons. We already have it mapped out in our heads.

---

Q: When did you start making up stories?

A: My father owned and operated the Jefferson Coffee Shop, at 1225 19th Street, in Northwest Washington, which is now Art Carlson's beloved CF Folks. At 11 years old, in 1968, my job was to deliver food on foot, so I spent my day walking around the city. I had an active imagination, jacked up by movies. I passed the time making up stories and serializing them. My dad used to call me "the dreamer." He was right.

---

Q: What turned you on to crime fiction?

A: My senior year at College Park, University of Maryland, I took an elective class in crime fiction taught by Charles C. Mish. He turned me on in a big way to reading and books. I was lucky to have a teacher who changed the course of my life.

---

Q: Did success come quickly?

A: After college, I spent a decade working the kinds of jobs that I write about - bartender, shoe salesman, kitchen man - while voraciously reading novels. At 31, I tried writing fiction for the first time, then sent the manuscript up to New York, un-agented and over the transom. A year later, I heard back from Gordon Van Gelder, a young editor at one of the big publishing houses. He had picked up my book off the slush pile and wanted to buy it. By then, I had nearly completed my second novel. The faucet was on.

---

Q: How did you start writing for "The Wire"?

A: I met David Simon at a funeral for a mutual friend in Baltimore. He had read one of my novels and asked me if I'd like to write a script for a new show he had sold to HBO. I had worked for Jim and Ted Pedas at Circle Films for nine years, and done feature screenplays, so I had some experience. But working on "The Wire" was like going to graduate school. Over five seasons, I learned how to produce and write for television. David gave me that opportunity.

---

Q: Some of us think "The Wire" is the best TV dramatic series ever. Did it feel that way writing for it?

A: We kept our heads down and pushed a rock up a hill, day by day. But by the end of season two it hit me that we were doing some pretty good work.

---

Q: You wrote four excellent novels about a D.C. private detective named Derek Strange - "Right As Rain," "Hell to Pay," "Soul Circus" and "Hard Revolution." Will they become a television series?

A: I adapted "Hard Revolution," my novel about the '68 riots, for HBO, but it was put in turnaround. My plan now is to find another home for the Derek Strange story. I'm currently working on an anthology feature consisting of short films based on my stories. All of them are being shot in the District with local crews. I'm trying to get something going here.

---

Q: Will you be writing mostly TV and movies now?

A: I recently completed my 21st D.C. novel, "The Man Who Came Uptown," to be published in 2018. I like working in television, but I'll age out of it eventually. Then I'll write books for the rest of my life. I'll never retire, Pat. I'm still dreaming.

---

Anderson writes regularly about mysteries and thrillers for The Washington Post.
Wonderlandscape: Yellowstone National Park and the Evolution of an American Cultural Icon

By John Clayton

Pegasus. 285 pp. $27.95

---

As Ken Burns put it in the subtitle of his 2009 documentary on the national parks, they are "America's best idea." In "Wonderlandscape," an energetic and insightful new book on Yellowstone, journalist John Clayton shows that, at least as applied to America's first national park, the "best idea" has been an evolving one.

Several men claimed to have hatched the notion of designating federal land in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho as a national park. The semiofficial credit - the nod given by Yellowstone's influential superintendent Horace Albright at the park's 50th birthday party in 1922 - went to attorney Cornelius Hedges. In 1870, Hedges took part in a fireside conversation in which several other well-heeled sightseers discussed filing legal claims to the canyons and geysers they had been exploring. As reported by a witness, Hedges argued that "there ought to be no private ownership of any portion of that region, but that the whole of it ought to be set apart as a great National Park." He may have had in mind the counterexample of Niagara Falls, its environs already reduced to an international eyesore by commercial greed.

Clayton calls this anecdote "the national parks' creation myth." Today many historians believe that "Hedges was merely articulating a commonly held view, a previously expressed impulse, to somehow honor this magical land." Two years after Hedges' recommendation, at any rate, Yellowstone National Park was up and running.

Advancing his insight that "the story of Yellowstone is the story of what America (BEGIN ITAL)wants(END ITAL) from Yellowstone," Clayton identifies boosting the national ego as a powerful early desire. Scenic marvels such as Yellowstone set the United States apart from gently picturesque Europe. "America is special," the reasoning went, "because of its wondrous landscapes."

Artists and architects gravitated to Yellowstone with something more personal in mind: challenges and fame. A year before the park's establishment, a painter named Thomas Moran had come into his own there. His watercolors, shipped back to Washington and enlisted in the cause, gave lawmakers a sense of the incomparable scenery they were being asked to save from spoliation by private enterprise. (Moran's eventual masterpiece in oil, "The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone," graces the "Wonderlandscape" cover.)

In a bravura chapter on the park's architecture, Clayton focuses on Old Faithful Inn, designed by Robert Reamer. "Although multistory lobbies are quite common today," the author observes, the inn's "was a huge innovation in 1903: a space so tall and airy that it seemed to be both indoors and outdoors at the same time." So admired was Reamer's design that it fathered a new style, known as National Park Service Rustic.

Seven decades after Moran's visit, during World War II, another visual artist, the photographer Ansel Adams, arrived with a commission from the federal government - and a private agenda. Yellowstone, Adams believed, was being sold to the public as a pleasure ground, whereas to him it was more like a church. Leaving humans out of his shots, "he believed that the spiritual validity of wild, beautiful places arose in part from our simplicity of experience in them. That usually meant sacrificing comforts and undergoing difficulties." If this sounds elitist, the pendulum swung the other way a generation later, with the broadcast of the 1960s animated TV series "The Yogi Bear Show." Fans of the program flocked to Yellowstone to see the inspiration for Yogi's Jellystone. The cartoon bruin, Clayton writes, "secured [Yellowstone] for the masses."

By then the masses tended to live in suburbia; accordingly, the Park Service had embarked on Mission 66, a system-wide "infrastructure upgrade" to make its holdings more car-friendly. At Yellowstone, this entailed the razing of an old hotel and its replacement by "motel-style accommodations in an uninspiring location about a mile away." "The change," Clayton dryly notes, "was poorly received."

Old Faithful and other thermal features are the park's signature attractions, but Clayton fails to do them justice. After reminding us that the park contains "nearly one-quarter of all the geysers in the world," he says little about what spawned them. Geologists, too, have wanted something from Yellowstone - scientific understanding - and Clayton would have done well to tag along with one of them as he investigated the park's innards.

On the other hand, I like the author's frankness. Yellowstone, he admits, is not an illimitable cornucopia of wild splendor. "Although [the park] unfolds vast quantities of empty backcountry, much of it is monotonous lodgepole-pine forest." If you're looking for "a steady stream of awe-inspiring solitude," he adds, you might try Glacier National Park instead.

Clayton closes his book with a discussion of what might eventually happen to Yellowstone: an eruption of the supervolcano beneath it, a blowup that might conceivably unleash 8,000 times the fury of Mount St. Helens in 1980. The growing concern about such a cataclysm, the author suggests, reflects today's "zombie apocalypse" mentality. In fairness to the zombies, it should be noted that, in June, tremors felt in Montana suggested that the supervolcano might be waking up from its long nap. In any event, supervolcanic fears nicely round out Clayton's thesis that throughout its history, Yellowstone has long been both a showcase of natural extravagance and a cultural construct.

---

Drabelle, a former contributing editor of The Washington Book World, writes frequently on environmental issues.
The sprawling, Frank Gehry-designed venue on 40 acres of woods and rolling lawns between the District of Columbia and Baltimore was built to house the National Symphony Orchestra, but it was pop music that has kept the lights on. It was named after heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post in anticipation of a donation that, as far as anyone knows, never came. The orchestra soon decamped to Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts, but 50 years after it opened, Merriweather Post Pavilion remains one of the best-loved music spaces in America.

The Columbia, Maryland, venue has seen seemingly everything and hosted everyone: aspiring presidents (both Eugene McCarthy and George Wallace held rallies there in the late '60s) and actual presidents (Jimmy Carter joined Willie Nelson onstage twice to sing "Georgia on My Mind"), Taylor Swift and Kanye West, the Who and Led Zeppelin (together on a bill for the only time ever, in May 1969).

Merriweather is now run by concert promoter I.M.P., which also oversees D.C.'s 9:30 Club. They signed a deal to book shows at Merriweather for the next 40 years and have undertaken a $55 million renovation. There's a new band shell called the Chrysalis, and the backstage area is now a rustic oasis of glass and wood, with two swimming pools and a massage cabana - if there were a really nice Hyatt at Camp David, it would look like this.

The spa-level artist pampering is a necessary inducement. An independent venue like Merriweather often can't pay artists what a corporate-run amphitheater could, which is probably why Jimmy Buffett, who performed at Merriweather a record 46 times, now plays at regional rival Jiffy Lube Live in Bristow, Virginia.

More upgrades lie in the venue's future, even as some of its past has been lost to the mists of pre-internet history: Did the Who's road crew really have to kick showboating openers Led Zeppelin off the stage? (Possibly. No one really remembers). Was the Grateful Dead really banned from the venue? (No. But it was close.)

A decade-by-decade look back at the most notable moments from Merriweather's first 50 years:

- The 1960s

Jimi Hendrix, Aug. 16, 1968

Hendrix's show was the second rock concert ever held at the venue (Tiny Tim, with Ted Nugent's Amboy Dukes opening, had played the previous month). It was mythical. Biblical, even: Hendrix played the guitar with his teeth, during a thunderstorm. The set list included "Hey Joe" and "The Star-Spangled Banner." Grainy videos from the 45-minute set, cut short by a power outage, can still be found on YouTube.

Honorable Mention: Janis Joplin, like Hendrix, was on a pre-Woodstock upswing when she played Merriweather in July 1969. "Simply, an evening with Janis Joplin is a party and a romp," wrote future Watergate reporter Carl Bernstein in a review for The Washington Post.

- The 1970s

Everyone, May 27-Sept. 16, 1973

Merriweather's legendary summer of '73 lineup was so ridiculously overstuffed with greatness that a flier announcing its schedule has recently become a meme. It had everything: proto-yacht rock (Seals and Crofts), tasteful soft rock (John Denver, the Carpenters), iconic vocalists (Ella Fitzgerald, Johnny Mathis), up-and-coming openers (ELO, King Crimson), establishment superstars (the Beach Boys, the Guess Who). Stevie Wonder, Pink Floyd and Glenn Campbell played in the same week. Arlo Guthrie, Miles Davis, Muddy Waters and Al Green performed in a three-day stretch. That summer's herculean feats of awesomeness would never be duplicated; the following year, rock acts would be barred from the venue altogether.

Honorable Mention: Tom Jones and Gladys Knight, June 22-27, 1970

In the '70s, rock shows were banned off and on at Merriweather, which had struggled to contain gate-crashers and scattered acts of violence, but pop acts were always welcome. To book Welsh crooner Tom Jones, then just a few years removed from his late-'60s peak, the venue added 1,800 seats to its loge section. The seats remain in use, and the multi-night stint is among the longest, and most beloved, in the venue's history.

- The 1980s

The Grateful Dead, June 1983-1985

The Dead played three turbulent summers in a row at Merriweather, waging battle against the weather (in '83, after rainstorms made a mud pit out of the lawn, the venue brought in helicopters to hover above the grass, hoping the wind from the rotors would dry it out) and the locals. Residents complained to the police about Deadheads, who overran the entry gates and turned the adjacent Symphony Woods into a trash-filled shantytown. ("Ban Grateful Dead, People Tell Police," was a typical headline in the Columbia Flier. a local newspaper.) The threatened Dead ban never materialized, nor did a potentially more ruinous ban on electrical amplifiers at the venue. Post-Dead projects now routinely come through Merriweather, including a Jerry Garcia tribute concert in 2015.

Honorable Mention: Madonna and the Beastie Boys, June 1, 1985

Madonna, nearing the end of her first-ever Virgin Tour, performed before a record capacity sea of wannabes. The Beastie Boys, not famous yet or even old enough to drink, were her expletive-happy, beer-swilling, much-loathed openers. Madonna's fame quickly outstripped the confines of Merriweather, and she, like the Dead, never returned.

- The 1990s

Phish, Aug. 8, 1998

During Phish's first headlining show at Merriweather, the venue used horses to help control the crowds. Soon, police were using helicopters with spotlights. Phish has played some of its career-best shows at the venue (the 1998 and 2000 shows are particular standouts) and is perhaps more closely associated with it than any other act besides the Dead.

Honorable Mention: Alanis Morissette and Radiohead, Aug. 22, 1996

Morissette was still touring behind her genre-defining hit album "Jagged Little Pill." Radiohead had one hit single ("Creep") and one then-underappreciated masterpiece ("The Bends") to their credit. The actual set list is lost to time, but Radiohead is known to have tried out several eventual "OK Computer" tracks, including a rough version of "Paranoid Android," on their 17-day stint opening for Morissette.

- The 2000s

Green Day, August 2005

Some of the venue's most distinctive shows have been by artists who sought to shape Merriweather to their own specifications. For Green Day, the first 15 rows in the orchestra section were torn out and replaced with a mosh pit to win over frontman Billie Joe Armstrong, who preferred to play general admission venues. The pit, which houses about 2,000 people, remains.

Honorable Mention: Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, June 13, 2008

Krauss and Plant teamed for a widely praised, roots-centric show that included three Led Zeppelin covers. Plant reminisced about the '69 show, though he didn't seem to remember more about it than anybody else.

- The 2010s

Assorted festivals, including HFStival, Virgin FreeFest, Sweetlife, Summer Spirit and the Warped Tour

Merriweather was an early adopter of Lilith Fair, and has since become one of the area's go-to venues for midsize summer festivals. Though it books everything from Top 40 to hard rock to EDM (this summer alone, it hosted John Legend, Gorillaz and the Chainsmokers), the venue's sweet spot is jam-happy white guys with guitars. Festivals have proved the best way to broaden the venue's reach, with an emphasis on the next wave hip-hop and R&B artists like the Internet and PartyNextDoor.

Honorable Mention:Animal Collective, July 9, 2011

The experimental pop band, whose members were raised in Baltimore County, named their 2009 breakthrough release after the venue they went to as kids. They played Merriweather for the first time two years later, though in typically perverse Animal Collective fashion, few songs from that album actually made it into their set.
Joe Illidge looks at his career in the comic book industry and feels he's come full circle.

Illidge began his career in comics as an intern with Milestone Media in 1993, working with classic black comic book characters such as Icon, Rocket and Hardware. He learned under the leadership of the Milestone co-founder, the late Dwayne McDuffie, as they embarked on a publishing journey meant to give black superheroes their place in comics with roles that were more than sidekicks and stereotypes. He edited Batman at DC Comics from 1998 to 2000, and has been a columnist on diversity in comics for Comic Book Resources.

Today, Illidge is a senior editor at the Lion Forge imprint Catalyst Prime, a job he got in June 2016 to oversee a new superhero/sci-fi comic book universe featuring diverse characters - and, just as important to Illidge, diverse creators - with stories taking place all over the world.

"What attracted me to the job was, as an alumni of Milestone Media, I have always in my career in comics believed in the promotion of people from different backgrounds as creators through fiction," Illidge told The Washington Post. "Having the opportunity to take the next step of that dream and make it a reality with a company that believes in the same things was impossible to resist."

Catalyst Prime's comics include "Noble," featuring a black astronaut who goes missing on assignment in space and resurfaces with superpowers, though he's on the run in Latin America while his wife and a Latina-led secret organization track him down. The series "Accell" centers on a Latino character who runs faster than the speed of thought after exposure to an alien object. Cosmosis, a character with down syndrome, is featured in the series "Superb." There's even a color guide, created at the suggestion of Catalyst Prime editorial assistant Desiree Rodriguez, that assures that when characters leave their own title and appear in another, their hue remains consistent.

Illidge has assembled some of the top writers in comics, including writers David Walker ("Luke Cage"), Christopher Priest ("Black Panther") and Amy Chu ("Poison Ivy: Cycle of Life and Death").

While a strong believer in diverse characters written and drawn by talent that's just as diverse, Illidge says that won't be the only philosophy that defines Catalyst Prime.

"We don't always want to do straight lines, because in a weird way that segregates talent," Illidge said. "That only says, well if you're black, you can only write black characters or if you're a woman you can only write a female character. We want to show that we can expand beyond that."

Illidge takes pride in Catalyst Prime's mission in an era when much of the industry is still catching up to the call for more diversity. He feels Catalyst offers stories for areas of comic book fandom (people of color, women, disabled) that at times have felt they haven't had enough representation.

Despite efforts at major publishers like Marvel and DC Comics to introduce new, diverse heroes - at times taking existing mantles (Spider-Man, Thor, Green Lantern) and placing them on minorities - Illidge feels a void has been apparent in the comic book industry since Milestone ceased publishing in 1997.

In 2015, Milestone Media announced to The Post and the world they were returning to comics, but the comeback has still yet to happen. Illidge wants the many fans who are eagerly awaiting Milestone's return to know that there is a comic book universe right now, being overseen by someone who was there when Milestone was born, that can satisfy their needs.

Most importantly to Illidge, McDuffie's influence at Milestone guides him to this day.

"The biggest lesson I learned from Dwayne that I'm able to bring to this job is that story is the most important thing,' Illidge said. "Creative ego has to go in back of the story. Every person in the process, from myself as senior editor, the writer, the penciler, inker, letterer, colorist, everyone's primary job is to tell the story. If we at the Catalyst Prime team can give you that, then I feel like we're fulfilling our promise to the readers and our fans."
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UPDATE: All of Bobby Heugel's bars, including Better Luck Tomorrow have decided to close Friday in anticipation of Hurricane Harvey.

Harvey is big news this week, but not all of it is about dangerous weather.

The Harvey Wallbanger cocktail is enjoying a local revival thanks to Hurricane Harvey barreling into Texas. Houston bartenders will no doubt be breaking out their Galliano, a key ingredient in the Harvey Wallbanger, just in case there are customers who want a cocktail that shares a name with the headline-grabbing hurricane.

At Ouisie's Table in River Oaks (3939 San Felipe), the Harvey Wallbanger will be feature in what promises to be a very wet weekend. On Friday and Saturday the restaurant will serve up a Harvey Wallbanger and plate of fried Gulf oysters for $10. If flooding closes the restaurant, it will offer rain checks for the cocktail/oyster combo.

At The Hay Merchant (1100 Westheimer) the Harvey Wallbanger will be the featured cocktail today, Friday, for $8 from 3 to 11 p.m. (the restaurant is unsure if it will be open Saturday, but if it is, the Wallbanger will be served).

The Harvey connection prompted Houston's craft cocktail guru, bartender Bobby Heugel, to riff on social media about the simple cocktail that was "in every bar's training manual years ago" and that he served to older regulars at one of his first bartending jobs. The Harvey Wallbanger (a simple merger of vodka, orange juice and Galliano) might be decidedly old school, but it can make for a satisfying cocktail if done right, Heugel suggests.

The big mistake is thinking you can make a simple Screwdriver then float some Galliano on top.

No, Heugel said, you have to show a little more finesse.

"The real trick, as with most orange drinks, is to add a touch of lemon. It's brightens the orange juice. And I prefer to shake the vodka, orange juice and lemon together and strain before floating with Galliano on top," Heugel wrote on Facebook and Instagram. "Whatever you do though, don't ever serve this drink with a straw. Those old regulars insisted this of me, and they're right. Here's my preferred HW recipe. It's a tasty, casual, fun drink anybody can make."

If you've never had a Harvey Wallbanger, this Harvey-whipped weekend is the perfect opportunity. One of Heugel's bars  Better Luck Tomorrow, 544 Yale will be serving $6 Wallbangers if the bar is open today and tomorrow, weather permitting.

Harvey Wallbanger

Courtesy Bobby Heugel

1  ounces vodka

1  ounces orange juice

 ounce lemon juice

 ounce simple syrup

Float  ounce Galliano

Shake the vodka, orange juice, lemon, and simple syrup with ice. Pour into a glass and float Galliano on top. Garnish with an orange slice. No straw.
City and county officials expect an influx of evacuees fleeing from the lower Texas coast due to Hurricane Harvey, they said Thursday in a joint news conference at the Laredo Fire Administrative Center.

Laredo Fire Chief Steve E. Landin said local hotels are nearing maximum capacity.

Meanwhile, one Texas county has approached local authorities seeking help to accommodate about 50 inmates, said Webb County Judge Tano Tijerina.

"There's going to be an influx of inmates coming to the Webb County Jail. We're ready to help and serve," he said.

Officials will continue to monitor the weather and prepare in the event that shelters are needed.

"The continued monitoring of the weather conditions and the identified need will dictate if any shelters are to be opened," city officials said in an email.

READ MORE: Forecasts, closures and other things to know on Friday about Hurricane Harvey

Landin said Laredo is ready to help.

"We've not received any formal request from any other city in the State of Texas and the coastal area for any shelter," he said. "However, in a sense of readiness, the City of Laredo is in preparation for a shelter in the event that we may need to offer that to the public."

Laredo is expected to see 1 to 3 inches of rain starting this afternoon.

"We do not see 1 to 3 inches as a threat to our community," Landin said.

However, the storm could change path and bring more rain to the city, he added.

Barricades

"In the event that the rain does come down hard because we will have great periods of heavy rainfall, we may put up barricades and we ask for (people's) cooperation in not trying to go around the barricades. If they can't see the road, then they should go around," he said.

LPD and the traffic safety department are ready to deploy barricades in flood-prone areas such as Springfield Avenue and Hillside Road, Calton Road, Jacaman Road, North Bartlett Avenue, McPherson Road, Bristol Road, Las Cruces and Century City.

"If in any of these areas you see water above the roadway, we ask you to avoid them. If you see barricades, do not tamper with the barricades. That's an arrestable offense," said LPD Chief Claudio Trevino Jr.

He added, "We're here to provide the safety to our citizens and any visitors coming into the city. We're expecting a large number of visitors to the city this weekend seeking shelter from the storm."

TAMIU

The Texas A&M International University announced Thursday they may welcome approximately 100 students and staff from sister campuses Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi and Texas A&M University-Kingsville as part of an evacuation plan.

TAMIU said they began receiving students Thursday as part of interagency contracts between TAMIU and other Texas A&M University System campuses that designate TAMIU as their evacuation site.

"In times of crisis, each System campus works to help the others and this is no exception. We have activated our Crisis Management Team here, and are ready to welcome our first group of student visitors. The number of students will vary based on the storm's trajectory, but we look forward to sharing our campus with the Islanders and the Javelinas," said Juan J. Castillo, TAMIU vice president for finance and administration.

Student guests are expected to be housed at the university's Kinesiology and Convocation Center and will have access to all university facilities. Meals will be provided.

TAMIU does not plan to cancel classes Friday or Saturday.

LIFE Downs

Laredo International Fair and Exposition, or LIFE Downs, will be open to house animals from affected areas.

"We got some counties that came to us with some animals, a lot of them are doing the shows, all the prospect shows, a lot of the heavy, big-prized ... animals to house them," Tijerina said.

Tijerina also announced that Bruni High School, 619 F Ave., opened its doors Thursday in case people from the surrounding areas need shelter from the storm.

"Our community embraces that. We're here to help. We're wanting to help," he said.

Sandbags

City officials said they will provide sandbags to residents who live near flood-prone areas.

Sandbags can be picked up at the Public Works facility, 5512 Thomas St.

"For those who do not want to wait in line there is also a self-serve "make your own sand bag" site at the Park and Ride parking lot located on 1800 E. Hillside Road ... There is a limit of 10 sandbags per household," officials said in a statement.

Sandbag distribution starts at 8 a.m. today.
Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) may welcome approximately 100 students and staff from sister campuses Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (TAMIU-CC) and Texas A&M University-Kingsville (TAMU-K) as part of an evacuation plan in advance of Hurricane Harvey.

Interagency contracts between TAMIU and other Texas A&M University System campuses designate TAMIU as their evacuation site. The University began receiving some students Thursday.
Submitted

Two Splendora ISD business department employees were recognized at the August Splendora ISD Board of Trustees' meeting for obtaining their Certified Texas School Business Official (CTSBO) designation.

Accounts Payable Clerk Julie Bolster and Inventory Specialist Tammy Butts were recognized by Assistant Superintendent Kevin Lynch for achieving this designation and for their outstanding work ethic.
Chef David Bouley

At an exclusive Thuzio event at his test kitchen, renowned New York chef and Japanese cuisine goodwill ambassador David Bouley shared a story from his latest trip to Okinawa. Fascinated by residents' long life-spans and great health, Bouley asked for three tips for a long and happy life. Bouley is the proprietor of many restaurants including Manhattan's Brushstroke, which serves inventive multi-course Japanese meals. His focus is on the relationship between health and food.

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Florida on Thursday performed its first execution since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down its death penalty more than 18 months ago, carried out with a drug never before used for a lethal injection.

Mark Asay, 53, is believed to be the first white person Florida has executed for killing a black person in the modern era. The lethal injection came three decades after a double killing that officials say was fueled by racial hatred.

In court documents, state officials say Asay shot and killed Robert Lee Booker and Robert McDowell after a night out drinking, using racial slurs to describe one of them. A cellmate testified that Asay admitted to shooting the men, used a racial slur and had white power and swastika tattoos, according to court documents.

Attorneys for Asay appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing a key fact about the case has been misstated, but the justices on Thursday afternoon rejected their request for a stay.

Asay told News4Jax, a North Florida news outlet, he shot McDowell while "having a meltdown" but denied killing Booker. He also said he is not a white supremacist and got the tattoos to blend in while incarcerated in Texas.

The execution ended an unusually lengthy hiatus in Florida, which remains one of the country's last bastions of capital punishment, as other states have shifted away from the death penalty.

Since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976, Florida has executed 93 inmates, trailing three states - Texas, Virginia and Oklahoma - over that span, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, a Washington-based nonprofit. With Asay's execution, Florida joined Texas as the only two states to have executed a person during each of the last 10 years.

Before Thursday, Florida had executed 56 white death-row inmatesin the modern era, and none for killing any black victims, said Robert Dunham, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center.

Florida's death penalty has been in limbo since January 2016, when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down its statute in the case Hurst v. Florida. A law was signed earlier this year, requiring a unanimous jury decision to impose a death sentence.

Asay's attorneys said the state's new death penalty statute should be applied to him, because the jury that found him guilty recommended a death sentence by a vote of 9 to 3. But his stay request was denied by the Florida Supreme Court earlier this month.

Asay's execution also broke ground with the drug used for the lethal injection, the latest state to altering its process because of an ongoing drug shortage.

In January, Florida adopted a new lethal-injection protocol utilizing an injection of etomidate, an anesthetic that experts say has never before been used to carry out an execution. The state also planned to inject Asay with rocuronium bromide and potassium acetate, both of which have been used in executions, though the latter was used inadvertently in at least one case.

That prompted criticism from a division of Johnson & Johnson, the pharmaceutical giant, which said this week it does "not condone the use of our medicines in lethal injections for capital punishment." Johnson & Johnson does not sell etomidate - invented by its scientists - in the United States, and it is now made by multiple generic manufacturers.

Under Florida's lethal-injection protocol, which went into effect on Jan. 1, the drug etomidate would replace midazolam.

"The Florida Department of Corrections follows the law and carries out the sentence of the court, as laid out in Florida Statute," the corrections department said in a statement. "This is the department's most solemn duty, and the foremost objective with the lethal injection procedure is a humane and dignified process."
As Hurricane Harvey continued to intensify Friday, airlines have announced they will waive change fees for travelers whose plans may have included stops in and around cities in Texas. According to forecasters, Harvey is shaping up to be the strongest hurricane to hit the United States in 12 years. Already light rain has begun falling in the region.

Travelers hoping to fly in or out of the Houston airport should expect cancellations and delays, according to the Houston Airport System, which operates George Bush Intercontinental and William P. Hobby airports, two of the busiest aviation hubs in the country.

By late Friday morning, airlines had canceled more than 100 flights at both airports, while dozens of other flights were delayed, the airport system reported.

Corpus Christi International Airport also said Friday morning that "all flights [are] canceled for the foreseeable future."

Airlines, including Delta, JetBlue and American, said they would waive fees for travelers rebooking travel through cities in Texas and Louisiana. Two large U.S. carriers - American and Southwest - are based in Texas.

Fort Worth-based American Airlines said travelers who are traveling through, to and from the following cities in Texas: Austin, Beaumont/Port Arthur, Brownsville, College Station, Corpus Christi, Houston, McAllen/Mission and San Antonio and Lake Charles in Louisiana, may be able to change their trips without an extra charge under the following conditions:

_ Are traveling on an American Airlines flight

_ Bought their ticket by Aug. 23

_ Are scheduled to travel Aug. 25 - 27

_ Can travel through Aug. 30

_ Don't change their origin or destination city

_ Rebook in the same cabin or pay the difference

United Airlines will waive change fees and any difference in fares for new United flights departing on or before Sept. 1 as long as travel is scheduled in the originally ticketed cabin and between the same cities as in the original itinerary. Original travel dates must be between Aug. 25 and Aug. 29 through, to or from the following airports: Austin, Brownsville, College State, Corpus Christi, Harlingen, Houston, Laredo, McAllen and San Antonio in Texas and Lake Charles in Louisiana.

Dallas-based Southwest Airlines, which does not charge change fees said that passengers flying to, through or from Austin, Corpus Christi, House, Harlingen and San Antonio may want to alter their travel plans since flights may be canceled, delayed or diverted.

Airlines are advising passengers to check with their carrier before leaving for the airports.

According to the flight tracking website, FlightAware.com, only a small number - 150 flights within, into or out of the United States were canceled as of midday Friday, but those numbers could grow as the hurricane intensifies and the airlines opt to cancel or delay flights.
KABUL, Afghanistan - A suicide bomber set off a blast at a Shiite mosque Friday as gunmen opened fire and panicked worshipers leapt from windows in the latest attack claimed by the Islamic State against Shiite sites. At least 12 people were killed during a siege that lasted nearly five hours.

Scores of worshipers, including women and children, were inside the mosque in Kabul when at least four assailants wearing police uniforms stormed the compound and later battled security forces that surrounded the site.

Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danesh said 10 worshipers and two policemen were killed, and at least 30 people were wounded. Women and children were among the victims, he said.

Officials from security services and the Public Health Ministry warned that the casualty count could go higher. The Associated Press, citing hospital officials, said the death toll was at least 20.

Earlier, a member of Afghanistan's Shiite clerical council, Mir Hussain Nasiri, said the mosque's imam was among those killed.

A statement carried by the Islamic State-linked Amaq News Agency said the militant group's Afghanistan-based wing claimed responsibility for the attack. But the Islamic State often quickly asserts responsibility for attacks, and the claim could not be independently verified.

At least a dozen people are feared to have been wounded either by the blast or the gunfire from the attackers, he said.

Danesh said special police units were dispatched to the area. Security forces exchanged fire with the assailants, and the sound of an explosion was heard nearly two hours after the attack began.

The attack is the latest in a spate of strikes against Shiites in Afghanistan, where both the Taliban and the Islamic State affiliates are fighting against the government and foreign troops. Sunni extremists view Shiite Islam as a heretical branch of the religion.

The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for all of the targeted attacks against Shiites. In one such attack a few weeks ago, more than 30 worshipers were killed when assailants stormed a Shiite mosque in the western province of Herat.

The Islamic State's Afghanistan faction consists of some disaffected Taliban members, and it has been behind attacks that have claimed the lives of several U.S. troops in recent weeks.

President Donald Trump this week announced a revamped strategy for Afghanistan that includes possibly boosting U.S. troop levels.

Bashir Bezhen, a security analyst, said the latest mosque attack was part of an effort to widen sectarian rifts.

"These attacks are quite worrying and dangerous," he said, "and the aim is to start a conflict this time between the Shiites and Sunnis."
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When Brittany Sylvester was stopped around lunchtime Tuesday, she panicked and started to cry.

The 32-year-old Port Neches woman said when she saw the police officer standing at her car window, images began to flash through her mind of other traffic stops shared on social media. Stops that had gone wrong.

"I was caught off-guard by my own emotions," she said Thursday. "I felt like I got hit in my gut. I was literally crying. I was shaking. The whole time I was thinking, 'I want to make it back home to my son. I don't want any problems.'"

Sylvester was stopped by Beaumont Police Officer Kolin Burmaster for running a stop sign.

Burmaster, who has a reputation for ticket writing (he once ticketed his wife, now his ex), said he could tell Sylvester was nervous.

"All of us officers are trained to look at the body language," he said. "I go back to (print out) the ticket, and I could see tears running down her face, and I'm thinking, there's more to this traffic stop than what's meeting the eye here."

Burmaster said he eyed the situation and decided to give Sylvester a warning and tore the ticket up.

"I thought, 'You know what? It's my traffic stop,' and I asked her when was the last time she'd had a citation," he said. "It'd been years, I guess. So I ripped (the ticket) up."

Sylvester posted an emotional video on Facebook after the stop, thanking Burmaster for his kindness. As of Thursday night, the video had been viewed more than 5,000 times.

> > MORE: Seen the video here

Sylvester, who operates her own cleaning and grocery delivery business in Port Neches, said she wasn't aware of Burmaster's reputation when she made the video. She said her anxiety came from incidents of police misconduct reported in the media,

"I thought that 'yes, because I am black, this is possible,' but I had never thought about it until I got stopped," she said. "I don't watch those videos too often, but the ones that I've seen have just been horrible. I guess I had that in the back of my mind."

Viral videos like those Sylvester was referring to include a July 26 traffic stop in Northern California where a police officer pointed a gun at a black driver for nine minutes and the shooting of Philando Castile last year as he sat in the passenger seat of his girlfriend's car during a traffic stop in Minnesota.

Sylvester said she and Burmaster talked about the state of the world during the stop and that he assured her that no matter what she's seen on social media, she's not likely to see any of it in Beaumont.

"He was so soft-spoken," she said. "He was very respectful, and he just has a great spirit. I was so surprised that he took the time to talk me down and to assure me that I was safe."

Burmaster said any officer who would do differently wouldn't be fit to wear the uniform.

"You gotta treat people with respect," he said. "If you got an officer out there that is screwing around and doing dumb things, he doesn't deserve to wear that badge. Not at all. He's a liability. He's not an asset to this community."

Burmaster said some of his traffic stops are less pleasant than his experience with Sylvester.

"There are times I've stopped somebody and you can see it in the mirror," he said. "Their jaw is moving, the verbiage, they're moving their lips. And you get up there, and it isn't any better."

He said in those situations, he does what a lot of police officers do - he tries to keep his cool.

"I'll walk back, get back on my motorcycle, rock it a few times, hit the siren, dismount and say, 'Now, would you like to start this all over again?'" he said. "Eight times out of 10, it ends it, and it's a laughing matter."

Sylvester said the stop changed her preconception of police officers.

"He restored my faith in wanting to feel that every officer is good," she said. "I want to make sure the people of Beaumont and the people of Jefferson County know that compassionate officers are out there."

TCollins@BeaumontEnterprise.comTwitter.com/tadamcollins
Southeast Texans are preparing for upwards of 20 inches of rain to accompany Hurricane Harvey, which is scheduled to make landfall on the lower Texas Gulf Coast early Saturday.

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The Republican National Committee on Friday approved a resolution condemning racism and white supremacy at its summer meeting in Nashville - but don't call it a rebuke of President Donald Trump.

"This has nothing to do with the president," said the resolution's sponsor, Bill Palatucci, an RNC committeeman from New Jersey. "This is the RNC saying that racism and bigotry have no place in America."

Palatucci, an attorney who served as general counsel to Trump's presidential transition committee, said that he began drafting the resolution Aug. 13, the day after a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, ended with the murder of a counterprotester.

"The core issue was for us as RNC members to clearly and loudly denounce white supremacists," Palatucci explained. "There can be no hesitation for the Party of Lincoln."

The resolution itself makes no mention of Trump or the president's multiple reactions to Charlottesville, which led to three presidential advisory councils being disbanded as their members quit in protest.

Instead, it states that "the racist beliefs of Nazis, the KKK, white supremacists and others are completely inconsistent with the Republican Party's platform," and urges that "swift and certain justice be meted out to domestic terrorists." Most of the remaining text focuses on the history of the party and the need for colorblind policy and politics.

"We recall that the Republican Party was founded in the struggle against slavery and a rejection of the racial beliefs underlying the institution of slavery," the resolution reads. "The Republican Party subsequently led the fight to assure all human beings have equal standing before the law, promoting instead the foundational idea that each person be judged as an individual on merit and not on the color of skin or other circumstance of birth."

The RNC's resolution nonetheless breaks from the president by condemning white nationalists specifically and not dovetailing into criticism of the left. It's the latest of several Republican responses that have taken that tone, but have often been buried by coverage of the president.

RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel gave the party's first official response to Charlottesville in a series of Aug. 13 tweets, and responded again at an Aug. 14 event in Detroit designed to demonstrate the party's ongoing outreach to black voters.

"White supremacy, neo-Nazi, KKK and hate speech and bigotry are not welcome and [do] not have a home in the Republican Party," McDaniel told reporters, as black Republicans waited for a closed-press roundtable to begin. "This isn't a partisan issue. This is an American issue."

Over the next 10 days, Republicans in every state fended off questions about the president's markedly different response to Charlottesville - condemning violence on "many sides," attacking the "alt-left," and occasionally being congratulated by white nationalist leaders for his tone.

It was agonizing for Republicans who had tried, before Trump, to broaden the party's appeal to non-white voters. Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., the highest profile black Republican in Congress, told Vice News that Trump's "moral authority" had been compromised by his Charlottesville response. Michael Steele, who as the first black RNC chairman had apologized for the GOP's racial politics, said after Charlottesville that his party was making a grave error by defending Trump.

"In 2009, I declared the Southern Strategy of the GOP was dead. It was over," Steele said on an August 15 episode of his Sirius XM radio show. "I am sad to say that in the course of the 2016 campaign, that strategy was revived."

Outside of the Opryland complex, other Republicans were engaged in an argument about what else the party needed to do. On Tuesday, Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., told reporters that a bust of Nathan Bedford Forrest, the founder of the Ku Klux Klan, should be removed from the state capitol complex. But the leading Republican candidates for governor, including Rep. Diane Black, R-Tenn., stopped short of that, suggesting that the issue needed further debate in the Republican-controlled state legislature.

Meanwhile, the leadership of the Democratic National Committee accused Republicans of distracting from a crisis that they'd enabled long before Trump's victory.

"The Republican Party, led by President Trump, has cultivated a culture of hate through their rhetoric and policies," said DNC spokeswoman Xochitl Hinojosa. "A vote on a resolution doesn't fix the systemic problems within the Republican party. When will they take responsibility, denounce racism and stop pursuing divisive policies like voter identification laws and extreme immigration reforms?"

Republican officials, who entered the Nashville meeting celebrating a historic level of control in Washington and states, said that their resolution would at least clear up where they stood and where the president needed to arrive.

"I think the vote on the resolution will be unanimous and I support it," said Steve Duprey, an RNC committeeman from New Hampshire. "I do think it is useful to remind America that our party condemns all of these hate groups, and that while the President may have not articulated it as well as he could have initially, he too has been forceful in condemning racists, supremacists, the alt right, Nazis, and other hate groups."
A small group of neo-Nazis gathered outside an Arlington, Virginia shopping center Friday to commemorate the 50th anniversary of an American Nazi leader's assassination.

As one man held a large red flag emblazoned with a swastika, half a dozen others raised their right arms in a Nazi salute. Their ceremony came two weeks after neo-Nazis and white supremacists rallied in Charlottesville, where clashes with counterprotesters left one woman dead and many others injured.

The neo-Nazis who appeared in Arlington are members of New Order, a successor to the American Nazi Party, whose founder, George Lincoln Rockwell, was shot to death at the Dominion Hills shopping center on Aug. 25, 1967.

Martin Kerr, New Order's chief of staff, said most of those who attended the commemoration live in the Washington area, although one came from Wisconsin to pay tribute to Rockwell.

"We laid a wreath, I said a few words and then we gave a nationalist socialist salute for 88 seconds," Kerr said, explaining that the 88 seconds symbolized "Heil Hitler."

Kerr described Rockwell, who called for shipping blacks to Africa and sending millions of "Communist Jews" to the gas chambers, as "an authentic American patriot."

Matt Garcia was getting a haircut when he saw the Nazis gathering outside Tom's barber shop.

"I stood up in the [barber] chair to see what was going," he said. "It was startling, obviously, to see right there."

Garcia, who is Mexican-American, lives in New York City but grew up around the corner from Dominion Hills. He was home visiting his parents and had gone to the barbershop with his mother and five-year-old son.

"I always thought of Arlington as a diverse and welcoming place," he said. "Seeing a Nazi flag go up in your neighborhood is shocking and disturbing, especially after what happened in Charlottesville."

Kerr, who attended the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, said his group didn't hesitate to pay tribute to Rockwell at such a fraught time and scoffed at any suggestion that it was inappropriate.

"There lots of things in society that offend and disgust me. That's part of living in a diverse society. You have to put up with it," he said.

His group's antics were a "test," he said.

"It shows whether or not they can tolerate us," he said. "It shows their commitment to diversity."

Kerr said that Rockwell's racist legacy is more alive now than ever.

"We're very encouraged generally about the mood of the country," he said. "We think things are moving towards radicalization and polarization. I know a lot of people think polarization is a bad thing but we don't. The more racial polarization, the better."

Garcia, who'd never heard of Rockwell before Friday, said he and his son stayed inside the barbershop until the Nazis short ceremony was over.

His mother was "disgusted" by the event, he said, but his son seemed unfazed.

"I don't think he registered exactly what was going on," Garcia said. "Maybe down the road he might understand."

His wife, Jamila, who did not witness the neo-Nazi gathering, said they have tried to explain what happened without going into too much detail.

"It's not something we want to explain to him yet," she said. "He's so young, and it's a very tangled web if you go into why people hate other people."
WASHINGTON - The Trump administration asked that a Capital Bikeshare dock be removed from White House grounds , telling the District Department of Transportation it was deemed a "security concern" by the U.S. Secret Service, according to emails obtained through a public records request.

The dock, which was not publicly accessible, was originally requested by the Obama administration in 2010. It was located at 17th Street and State Place NW.

In an undated letter, attached in an email to Kim Lucas, DDOT's Capital Bikeshare program manager, the Executive Office of the President requested the bike rack's removal "as soon as possible."

The "United States Secret Service has deemed the bike rack a security concern," wrote Sierra L. Bedregal, special projects and programs manager in the Executive Officer of the President.

DDOT responded to the letter in late July and, last week, removed the nine-slot dock at the administration's request.

The Secret Service did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether it had determined the bike rack to be an issue, and if so, what the nature of the concern was, and why the dock suddenly posed a problem.

Lucas forwarded the White House letter to three DDOT officials and a senior operations manager for Capital Bikeshare on July 21, according to emails obtained through the records request. But it appeared from the emails that the administration had been pushing for the dock's removal for at least two months prior.

"I manage Capital Bikeshare for Washington, D.C., and was told that you wanted to discuss the potential removal of the Capital Bikeshare station that is on the grounds of the White House?" Lucas wrote to an administration official on May 23.

The official responded:

"That is correct we want you to remove Capital Bikeshare station from the White House," wrote Gelila A. Teshome, of the Executive Office of the President.

The correspondence appeared to pick back up in July.

DDOT said last week that bikes had been checked in and out of the stations 5,085 times since it was installed. There were 71 trips in July, the agency said.

DDOT directed inquiries on the correspondence and the bike rack's removal to the Secret Service and The White House.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

- - -

Perry Stein contributed to this report.
At his raucous Phoenix rally, President Donald Trump threatened to shut down the government in a matter of weeks if Congress refuses to fund the border wall he has long promised supporters.

"If we have to close down our government, we're building that wall," Trump told attendees, who fist-pumped and chanted, "build that wall."

The Tuesday rally wasn't the first time Trump had raised the prospect of a government shutdown. In May, he tweeted that the "country needs a good 'shutdown'" to leverage a better budget deal for Republicans.

"either elect more Republican Senators in 2018 or change the rules now to 51%. Our country needs a good 'shutdown' in September to fix mess!

- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 2, 2017"

A good shutdown? Recent history shows there's no such thing.

Trump, for example, likes to brag about the growth rate of the GDP.

But the 16-day government shutdown of October 2013, which was the longest since 1980, resulted in an estimated $24 billion in lost economic output, or 0.6 percent of projected annualized GDP growth, according to the Standard & Poor's ratings agency.

Much of that came from government workers, including civilian contractors, not getting paid. And it wasn't the whole of the government workforce that was "furloughed," only about 850,000 employees, or about 40 percent of the federal civilian workforce, according to the Congressional Research Service. There were exemptions for many workers deemed essential.

Trump has promised to supercharge oil and gas drilling in America. But the shutdown of government all but shut down the drilling permitting process temporarily.

He portrays himself as someone who knows how to run a business, loves monuments and is making life better for veterans.

But the 2013 shutdown closed national monuments, stalled disability checks for veterans and disrupted loans for small businesses.

The shutdown was overwhelmingly unpopular, with eight in 10 Americans saying they disapproved of the government closure, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll.

At the time, President Barack Obama blamed Republicans, who he said used the budget bill to try to leverage a rollback of the Affordable Care Act. Republicans blamed Obama and the Democrats, who they said wouldn't negotiate.

Sen. Claire McCaskill, D.-Mo., said that it was "very hard from a distance to figure out who has lost their minds. One party, the other party, all of us, or the president."

If a shutdown occurs this year, there might not be the same blame-game: Trump has already claimed responsibility for it. That's unprecedented for a sitting president.

The current bipartisan spending agreement, reached in late April, will fund government operations through Sept. 30. Lawmakers reached the deal only after Trump dropped his demand that the spending package include funds for the border wall. But the rift between Trump and Congress - including his notably frosty relationship with Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell - has only grown since then.

Trump is a man who loves a good show. But the optics of a shutdown, the way it looks on television, are awful.

In 2013, a group of visiting veterans, some in wheelchairs and other leaning on canes, went to the World War II Memorial, which had been closed by the National Park Service because of the shutdown. It was riveting television but lousy politics.

The same was true for those tourists at the Statue of Liberty, disappointed and angry to learn they couldn't visit it.

National parks closed, leading to $450,000 a day in lost revenue, according to the National Park Service, including considerable economic suffering for the communities near them.

Below is a sampler of other shutdown consequences from 2013 taken verbatim from a November 2013 report from the Executive Office of the President. The government shutdown:

"Disrupted private-sector lending to individuals and small businesses. During the shutdown, banks and other lenders could not access government income and Social Security Number verification services. Two weeks into the shutdown, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) had an inventory of 1.2 million verification requests that could not be processed, potentially delaying approval of mortgages and other loans.

"Hindered trade by putting import and export licenses and applications on hold. For example, because the Treasury Department's Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau was unable to issue export certificates for beer, wine, and distilled spirits, more than two million liters of U.S. products were left sitting at ports unable to ship.

"Halted permitting and environmental and other reviews, delaying job-creating transportation and energy projects. For example, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) was unable to process about 200 Applications for Permit to Drill, delaying energy development on Federal lands in North Dakota, Wyoming, Utah, and other states.

"Halted Federal loans to small businesses, homeowners, and housing and healthcare facility developers. The Small Business Administration (SBA) was unable to process about 700 applications for $140 million in small business loans, and the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) was unable to process over 500 applications for loans to develop, rehabilitate, or refinance around 80,000 multifamily rental units.

"Stalled weekly progress in reducing the backlog of veterans' disability claims, which was previously being reduced at a rate of almost 20,000 claims per week.

"Delayed almost $4 billion in tax refunds and . . . the start of the 2014 tax filing season by up to two weeks.

"Prevented the timely and complete investigation of 59 airplane accidents by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

"Delayed workshops for 1,400 military service members to help them transition to civilian life and employment."

In short, shutdowns tend to remind people in dramatic ways that the government actually does things, things that are often missed when they're gone.
With a major hurricane forecast to make landfall in the U.S. for the first time since 2005, we may be fated for another debate about how climate change does, and doesn't, affect these kinds of events.

It would be strange to ignore the role of a changing climate when it comes to hurricanes, since they themselves have a climatology - that is, certain conditions make them more likely to form and also to worsen. But it's August, and the Gulf of Mexico can certainly sustain fierce hurricanes this time of year. Singling out Harvey as some kind of climate-driven anomaly would be a big mistake.

Yet the climate influence is still something we need to consider, says Kerry Emanuel, a hurricane theorist at MIT.

"My feeling is, when there's a hurricane, there's an occasion to talk about the subject," he said. "But attributing a particular event to anything, whether it's climate change or anything else, is a badly posed question, really."

Scientists like Emanuel prefer to speak about climate-related factors that can worsen hurricanes, like Harvey, in specific ways - and about the ways in which certain attributes of Harvey seem consistent with what to expect, more generally, in a warming climate, even if they can't be causally attributed to it.

The biggest in the first category is atmospheric moisture. Harvey is expected to unleash rain-induced flooding that the National Hurricane Center recently described as "catastrophic," with rainfall in some specific locations reaching 35 inches as the storm stalls out along the coast.

This particular storm track and unfortunate expected behavior is what makes for the main rainfall risk. But scientists say that in general, storms will rain more in a warmer climate, due to sped up evaporation.

"The storm is a bit more intense, bigger and longer lasting than it otherwise would be," added Kevin Trenberth, a climate researcher with the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado.

And then there's sea level - it's higher along the Texas coast than it was 100 years ago or more. At least part of that is due to climate change and its melting of ice and swelling of ocean water - though there are other factors in the mix too, like the subsidence of land.

Sea level matters for storm surge, one key destructive aspect of any hurricane. "New York, when Sandy hit, the sea level was already about a foot higher than it was 100 years earlier," said Emanuel. "So if Sandy had hit in 1912, it probably would not have flooded lower Manhattan."

Another way that climate change affects hurricanes is that it is expected to lead the average storm to be more intense. And sure enough, in 2015 we saw what may well have been the most intense storm ever measured - Hurricane Patricia in the Northeast Pacific, with maximum sustained winds of 213 miles per hour.

That's not so relevant of a trait for Harvey, though, as it falls well shy of the most intense hurricanes before making landfall.

Finally, there's an aspect that's noteworthy about this storm and also relevant in a climatic context, in the sense that it's something we should expect to see more of: Its rapid intensification.

On Thursday morning, Harvey was a tropical storm with 45 mile per hour winds. By Friday afternoon, it was at the top end of Category 2 strength, with 110 mile per hour winds, and expected to strengthen a bit more before landfall.

There have been hurricane intensifications much more rapid and alarming than this - like Hurricane Wilma in 2005 and Hurricane Patricia in 2015 - but in general, any major change in storm strength close to land is a huge risk because people have little time to prepare for it. And Emanuel has published research suggesting that hurricanes will be capable of intensifying more rapidly in warming climates.

In a study in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society published earlier this year, he found that:

". . .a storm that intensifies 60 [knots] in the 24 h just before landfall, occurring on average once per century in the climate of the late twentieth century, may occur every 5-10 years by the end of this century, while 24-h prelandfall intensifications of 100 [knots], which are essentially nonexistent in the late twentieth-century climate, may occur as frequently as once per century by the end of this century. Even holding the overall basin frequency constant, the incidence of storms that intensify rapidly just before landfall increases substantially as a result of global warming."

Fortunately, it appears that Harvey's slow speed of movement is muting its potential for greater rapid intensification, Emanuel noted. Storms churn up cold waters from below, and so weaken themselves. They have more ability to do that if they're moving slowly across a stretch of warm ocean than if they're moving rapidly. That could mean less of a storm surge and weaker winds than the storm might have produced otherwise.

So in sum: Harvey's expected damage will mainly be attributable to the simple fact that it's a strong summer hurricane that is not only going to hit the U.S., but will do so along an unfortunate path, and is expected to linger, dumping huge amounts of rain. But the climatic and sea level context in which the storm is occurring is also relevant to some aspects of its behavior, as it is for other modern hurricanes as well. We should neither overplay that, nor forget it.
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Former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra may have fled Thailand before a scheduled court verdict on Friday that could've led to her imprisonment, according to Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan.

"There may be a possibility that Yingluck already escaped out of the country because there are several paths for her to leave," Prawit told reporters in Bangkok. "But I would like to assure you that the government has no knowledge or intention to let her escape."

A Thai court issued an arrest warrant for Yingluck after she failed to show up on Friday to hear a verdict in a negligence case. Prawit said he heard a rumor that she may have fled across the border to neighboring Cambodia, while newspaper reports said she may have later gone to Singapore or Dubai.

The verdict threatened to reopen fissures in Thai society that have triggered violent clashes over the past decade between urban royalists and rural backers of exiled former leader Thaksin Shinawatra, Yingluck's brother. Allies of Thaksin have won the past five elections, only to be unseated by the courts or military.

Yingluck, whose government was ousted in a 2014 coup, faced up to a decade in jail if convicted of failing to curb losses from her government's $26 billion rice-purchasing program for poor farmers. She has denied the charges and says the two-year trial is politically motivated.

Earlier on Friday, the court postponed the verdict until Sept. 27, saying the prosecution didn't believe that Yingluck was ill. Her lawyer Norawit Larlaeng told the court that she had vertigo and couldn't attend the hearing. He later told reporters that he didn't know Yingluck's whereabouts.

Matichon reported that Yingluck left Thailand via Cambodia before heading to Singapore. She was in Singapore on Wednesday and left for the United Arab Emirates on Thursday, the newspaper said, without saying where it got the information.

In a related trial that did conclude Friday, Boonsong Teriyapirom, a former commerce minister in Yingluck's administration, was sentenced to 42 years in jail over irregularities in rice procurement deals.

If Yingluck did leave Thailand, she would be following in the footsteps of her brother. Thaksin fled abroad to avoid jail time on corruption charges brought after his own government's ouster in a 2006 coup. Yingluck became Thailand's first female prime minister after a 2011 election, the last one held in the country.

The Thaksin-backed Pheu Thai party couldn't immediately be reached for comment on her location.

Yingluck was impeached in 2015 and banned from politics for five years for alleged corruption in the rice-purchasing program. She was also hit with a 35 billion baht ($1 billion) fine over the allegations of negligence in overseeing the policy, which purchased grain at above-market rates to help farmers.

Yingluck on Thursday had urged her supporters to avoid thronging the court complex in Bangkok, as General Prayuth Chan-Ocha's military administration stepped up security to avert unrest.

Thai stocks were little changed after the court issued the arrest warrant. The benchmark SET index has climbed about 2 percent this year, one of the worst performers in Asia, weighed down in part by a climb in bad loans in Thailand.

Bonds have proved a bigger draw for foreign investors, helping to make the baht the region's top-performing currency in 2017.

While the delay in the court ruling may hang over the stock market, the overall downside risk for investors from the saga is limited, said Rakpong Chaisuparakul, an investment strategist at KGI Securities (Thailand) in Bangkok.

Thailand's military government clamped down on political activity after seizing power three years ago following a period of unrest, pledging to restore stability. The current stretch of military rule is one of the longest since the 1970s, in a country with a history of coups since the end of absolute monarchy in 1932.

The promulgation of a new constitution in April set the stage for a possible return to democracy in 2018, though a date for elections has yet to be announced. Prayuth said in a speech Thursday that the country would return to a democratic path soon.

---

Bloomberg's Yumi Teso contributed.
#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...
AUSTIN  Amid a long day preparing for Hurricane Harvey, Houston's elected leaders spent Friday afternoon countering an unexpected message from Gov. Greg Abbott.

"Even if an evacuation order has not been issued by your local official, if you are in areas between Corpus Christi and Houston ... you need to strongly consider evacuating," Abbott said mid-day Friday in a basement bunker at the state emergency operations center in Austin.

"If I were living in the Houston region, as I once did, I would decide to head to areas north of there," he added. "Think of your life first."

"A lot of people are going to go a long time without basic necessities," he said, warning of catastrophic and record-breaking floods. "If you have the ability to evacuate and go someplace else for a little while, that would be good."

Abbott's off-the-cuff advice came despite local leaders' repeated messages that residents will be more safe hunkering down at home.

READ ALSO: As Hurricane Harvey arrives, here are areas likely to flood

Francisco Sanchez, spokesman for the Harris County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, tweeted soon after the governor's comments, "Local officials know best. Houston has no evacuation order. In Harris County: very limited to select communities. LOCAL LEADERS KNOW BEST."

Ed Emmett, the Harris County judge, said Friday afternoon that the area will likely miss the dangerous winds and storm surge. Instead, this will be an extreme rain event with severe flooding. But that's only life-threatening if residents venture into high water outside.

"The safest thing is to stay where you are and ride out the storm," Emmett said.

"We don't anticipate any kind of massive evacuation," he added, saying that residents should not drive if they're not told to evacuate because it would clog roadways for those who do need to leave their homes, including a few towns along Galveston Bay.

READ ALSO: 20,000 stuck at sea in cruise ships as Galveston hunkers down

Mayor Sylvester Turner also cautioned against evacuations.

"There are a number of people who are in Hurricane Harvey's direct path, and evacuation orders have been given to them," Turner said. But for the Houston area, "This is a rainmaker for us. There's no need for people to be thinking about putting themselves in greater danger."

In 2005, many Houstonians fled Hurricane Rita. The immense evacuation led to gasoline shortages, massive traffic jams and gridlocked highways. At least 120 people died, including 23 who were killed in a bus crash near Dallas.

At a late afternoon news conference at the county's emergency operations center, Emmett said he spoke to the governor twice Friday.

"The other thing he said was, listen to your local officials," Emmett said, trying to walk back the governor's statements. "Perhaps it was a bit of a mixed message."

But the county judge was unambiguous: "There's no reason to get on the road. ... There's absolutely no reason to evacuate from Houston."

Ted Cruz, Texas' junior U.S. senator and a 2016 candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, stopped by the Harris County emergency center Friday evening and weighed in.

"Listen to your local officials," Cruz said at a news conference. "Here in the Houston area, the projections are that we'll face significant rain. We're not under an evacuation order."

Andrea Zelinski reported from Austin, Andrew Kragie from Houston.
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The Eureka Heights Brewing Company on 18th St. is offering Houstonians free water ahead of Hurricane Harvey.

Co-owner Casey Motts said one of the brewery's employees was having a hard time finding water in time for Harvey when they realized the answer was right in front of them: massive reverse osmosis water tanks used in the brewing process.

Now, the brewery is offering free water to anyone who can provide a container. Thirsty Houstonians will have to move fast as the brewery closes at 9.

UPDATE: Hurricane Harvey intensifies after becoming Category 3 storm

Motts said if conditions are safe, the brewery may reopen Saturday afternoon. So far, the booze makers have already filled up a five gallon jug and other smaller containers.

Of course, patrons can show up and buy some beer to wait out Harvey too.

Harvey is expected to make landfall in the Lone Star State by 1 a.m. Saturday. The Category 3 hurricane is the first storm of that magnitude to hit Texas in more than a decade.

CONFLICTING ADVICE: Abbott advises Houstonians to evacuate; local officials disagree

Residents of Harris County should expect widespread flooding, rainfall through the weekend and numerous road closures.

Visit Chron.com's Hurricane Harvey to stay updated on the most recent news from the storm.

See how Galveston is preparing for Hurricane Harvey above.
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz visited the Harris County emergency operations center Friday evening, bringing assurances that the federal government was ready to help in the wake of Hurricane Harvey.

Cruz said he spoke Friday with President Donald Trump, who beat Cruz for last year's Republican presidential nomination, making jabs at "Lyin' Ted Cruz" and his family members. The senator famously called then-candidate Trump a "serial philander," a "narcissist" and a "pathological liar."

That was all in the past Friday.

"The president made that personal commitment to me that everything that Texas needs in the wake of this storm, we will get," Cruz told reporters.

The senator said the federal government was ready to help when asked, from the U.S. Coast Guard at the Port of Houston to the National Guard available across the state.

Cruz added that his own family would be hunkering down in Houston, as local officials have advised.

"We've got some extra water, some flashlights and batteries and food," he said. "Like many Houstonians, we've been through flooding before."

He said he hopes the disaster brings people together to help one another.

"I'm continually amazed at the unity Texans show," he said. "At other times we have lots of things that can divide us. ... But in the face of natural disaster, Texans come together."
Speaking to Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday night, President Donald Trump pledged "all available resources from the federal government" to help Texas deal with Hurricane Harvey.

According to a news release detailing portions of the phone call, Abbott thanked the president and said the state is "working hand-in-hand with local and federal partners on all issues related to the storm."
Midland County Judge Mike Bradford clarified reasons behind the proposed tax rate at Thursdays public hearing about the topic.

The Midland County Commissioners Court this month proposed leaving the tax rate at its current rate of 15.5992 cents per $100 valuation  which is more than 9 percent above the effective rate of 14.1823 cents. The proposed tax rate is below the rollback rate of 16.3145 cents.

The countys proposed 2017-18 budget estimates the general fund revenue balance at $61.3 million at the end of this fiscal year. It collected $27.4 million of this fiscal years projected $28 million in sales tax revenue as of June, according to a previous Reporter-Telegram report.

During the public hearing, resident Lee Wallace asked the court questions about the increase over the effective rate and the amount in reserves. She said she appreciated the countys fiscal responsibility but hoped to pay the same amount in taxes next year.

I understand its a balancing act, but lets tip the scales down this time, Wallace said.

Bradford said when proposing the tax rate, uncertainty about decisions at the Texas Legislatures special sessions played a role. Of interest is recent discussion about the state capping local governments property tax revenue.

Bradford said its a wonderful sound bite but is really a Trojan horse.

The reality is, it would guarantee tax rates going up every year  because you are not allowed to do the steps necessary to recover from a downturn, Bradford said after the hearing. We have all kinds of downturns here that are dramatic and quick. Services still have to be delivered.

Bradford said the county prefers to keep $30 million to $32 million in reserves in the event of emergencies or changes in oil prices  which could impact property values and sales tax collection. He also said the county is required to pay increasing amounts for expenses, including inmates health care and indigent attorney fees.

Commissioners Robin Donnelly of Precinct 2 and Luis Sanchez of Precinct 3 were not present at Thursdays meeting. The Commissioners Court meets again 9 a.m. Monday, and the second tax rate hearing is scheduled for 11 a.m. that day.

The public hearing on the county budget is scheduled for Sept. 11.






A Bexar County grand jury indicted a former San Antonio Police Department officer Thursday on three counts of driving while intoxicated with a child under 15.

Gena Belinda Rodriguez, who served on the force for 11 years, rear-ended a 2011 Ford F150 around 10:16 p.m. near Loop 1604 and Culebra Road on April 13, according to previous reports.

Details of the indictments were not immediately available as the paperwork was still being processed Thursday afternoon.

RELATED: 2 San Antonio police officers arrested on drunken driving charges hours apart

Rodriguezs three children were inside the vehicle with her when the accident occurred, according to the San Antonio Police Department.

She allegedly refused to allow emergency responders to treat her children, even though one child had a bump on his left arm that he said was caused by the accident, police said.

A statement from the department said that the DWI officer evaluating her could smell intoxicants on Rodriguez's breath.

She also had slurred speech and was unsteady on her feet, police said. She was arrested at the scene.

SAPD Chief William McManus had placed Rodriguez on administrative leave pending a full internal and criminal investigation.

Officials confirmed that she resigned from the force in June.

JBeltran@express-news.net
Gov. Greg Abbott requested a presidential disaster declaration Friday afternoon as Hurricane Harvey barreled toward the state.

U.S. Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz also sent a letter to President Trump urging him to grant the request.

Hundreds of military and emergency personnel have been deployed to assist with search and rescue efforts, 500 buses are available to get evacuees out of coastal towns, and the state can house 41,000 evacuees if "the need arises," Abbott said during an Austin press conference. So far the state has spent $9 million on hurricane efforts.

Abbott urged residents near the Gulf Coast to heed evacuation recommendations and move inland. Hurricane Harvey is expected to land on the coast late Friday night bringing 8-12 inches of rain to the San Antonio-area and upwards of 25 inches to cities in the southeastern part of the state.

Now Playing: Harvey storms across Texas Video: San Antonio Express-News

"This is going to be a very major disaster," Abbott said.

Shelters will be open in Dallas, Waco, Austin and San Antonio, among other areas in North Texas. Undocumented immigrants will not be asked for identification at evacuation centers, Abbott said.

"Think of your life first," he said.

More than 200 people have been moved to San Antonio from Corpus Christi, the governor said. Officials in San Antonio said 444 evacuees had arrived as of about 11:30 a.m.

The Red Cross currently has seven shelters open, and plan on opening 47 more.

The state will be "dealing with" the affects of Hurricane Harvey for weeks after the fact, Abbott said.

The hurricane is going to "provide a record amount of flooding," he said.

Text HARVEY to 77453 to receive instant alerts on the massive Texas storm.

kbradshaw@express-news.net

Twitter: @kbrad5
Nearly all San Antonio school districts and universities have responded to the impending inclement weather Hurricane Harvey will bring throughout the weekend.

Some schools dismissed early Friday and most have cancelled student activities throughout the the weekend  including SAT testing.
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WASHINGTON  With the wind and sea rising from Hurricane Harvey, authorities from Austin to the White House said Friday they were ready for the monster storm barreling into the Texas coast.

But as they planned ahead for a lumbering storm that could wreak havoc for days, they kept in mind one of the most colossal public safety failures of modern times: Katrina, the hurricane that devastated New Orleans 12 years ago.

"It's not just what's on my mind," said White House Homeland Security Advisor Tom Bossert, who served as deputy homeland security advisor to President George W. Bush. "It's on the minds of all the emergency managers in our community, especially those in Texas and Louisiana. That experience is still in their memory, in their experience, in their muscle memory, and what we've done is gotten a lot better as a government."

Katrina was also on the mind of one of the Senate's most senior Republicans, Chuck Grassley of Iowa, who warned President Donald Trump on Twitter not to "make "the same mistake Pres Bush made w Katrina."

Trump, for his part, took to Twitter to urge residents in the path of the storm to "#PlanAhead." He also provided links to government preparedness agencies and video of him meeting with officials of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

FEMA administrator Brock Long made a pitch for preparedness on ABC's "Good Morning America," warning people to heed evacuation warnings on the coast. "I'm afraid that people may not be taking this storm seriously," he said. "That window to evacuate is coming to a close."

In a Chronicle interview, deputy FEMA administrator David Grant said that the tempest's rapid escalation from tropical storm to category 3 hurricane might catch some residents unawares of the approaching danger.

"I'm not sure if everyone living along the entire coast of Texas and Louisiana paid as much attention to it," Grant said.

Even as officials sought to reassure residents in southeast Texas about the government's preparedness, they emphasized the importance of individual responsibility and planning.

"I would say this," Bossert said. "You never want to plan for the federal government to swoop in and provide everything you need, when you need it, just in time, right?"

Although Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's request for federal disaster declaration was still pending Friday afternoon, federal officials said they were not waiting to send aid.

FEMA officials said they were taking advantage of post-Katrina rules that have allowed them to pre-position truckloads of supplies around Texas, including 96,000 liters of water and more than 300,000 meals. They have also trucked in large quantities of blankets, tarps, cots and generators.

"Every storm is different," Grant said. "We, of course, try to learn from every disaster, whether it's Katrina, Ike, Gustav or any other disaster, we will always try to learn from that and get better."

For now, most of the supplies needed for Hurricane Harvey have been staged inland to avoid direct damage from the storm. One concern is that the slow-moving nature of the hurricane could cause ongoing rain and flooding that hinders reponders' ability to bring supplies to battered coastal communities.

Republican U.S. Sen. Blake Farenthold, who represents Corpus Christi, warned on CNN Friday that in some cases rescuers might not be able to reach affected areas until weather conditions clear.

"Which means folks are going to have to make do with the supplies they have on hand," Farenthold said.

Grant acknowledged that torrential rains and continued flooding as the storm settles over the region could slow FEMA's response. "That could inhibit, it won't prevent, but it could inhibit our ability to get in there and help," he said.

Long told Congress earlier this month that FEMA's disaster relief fund, which currently stands $3.3 billion, is enough to get through the summer, "absent a new catastrophic disaster." With Congress returning to work after Labor Day, officials anticipate that any catastrophic expenses resulting from Harvey could be appropriated in short order.

For Trump, facing his first major civil emergency as president, one of the most important lessons of Katrina might be how quickly a natural disaster can become political, much as Bush's lackluster response to the devastation in New Orleans tarnished his presidency.

Although Trump took off Friday for the official presidential retreat at Camp David, Maryland, his aides emphasized that he can monitor events and communicate with officials just as well from the mountain compound. "It is just as well-resourced as the White House," Bossert said.

The White House noted that Trump received briefings from Bossert and Long, along with Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Elaine Duke and Chief of Staff John Kelly. He also spoke with Abbott and Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards.

In a White House statement as he left for Camp David, Trump reinforced the importance of heeding the advice of state and local authorities, a message that was echoed by Texas U.S. Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz.

Said Bossert: "Now is not the time to lose faith in your government institutions."
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WASHINGTON  The White House, like Texas, is getting ready for Hurricane Harvey, which is expected to hit the Gulf Coast late Friday or early Saturday.

White House officials announced Friday morning that President Donald Trump has been briefed on preparations and the storm's progress since Thursday by his Homeland Security Advisor, Tom Bossert.
Texas residents preparing for Hurricane Harvey have another place to stock up on supplies -- Sam's Club is waiving membership requirements in response to the impending storm.

Walmart Spokesman Ragan Dickens confirmed multiple locations around Texas would not require their usual membership to shop the wholesale store.
Alicia Ortiz Garcia, who worked in civilian and military hospitals as a registered nurse and later became a nurse practitioner, died Sunday at 91.

Garcia decided to become a nurse when her two brothers were sent overseas to fight in World War II.

She went into nursing in the mid-1940s with the specific idea of being a military nurse, her son, David Garcia, said. She graduated almost at the exact time the war ended.

A devout Methodist, Garcia joined a missionary program that worked within the United States.

More Information Alicia Ortiz Garcia Born: Feb. 19, 1926, San Antonio Died: Aug. 20, 2017, San Antonio Preceded by: Daughter Grace Ann Garcia; parents Josephina Aguirre and Maurillo V. Ortiz Sr.; two brothers; and a sister. Survived by: Son David R. Garcia; grandson Cole David Garcia. Services: Visitation at 9:30 a.m. followed by funeral service at 11 a.m. Saturday at Porter Loring Mortuary, 1101 McCullough Ave. See More Collapse

She was providing health care to the poor in El Paso when she met her future husband through his father, a Methodist pastor.

Marrying in 1952, Garcia accompanied her new husband, an Army officer, to Germany where, even after the birth their two children, she continued to work as a nurse.

Everywhere we went there was a military hospital, David Garcia said. Shed show up and say, Can yall use a nurse? and theyd ask when she could start.

Garcia maintained her career during moves to Oklahoma, Texas and California.

She really did not like not nursing, David Garcia said. I think that was a little bit of a discussion between my parents, how much she worked, but the reality was that financially, it worked well for us.

Living in San Antonio when her husband was sent to China and Vietnam, Garcia worked mostly at Methodist Hospital.

She had a wide range of experience, as an operating room nurse, an intensive care nurse, worked in the emergency room and in OB-GYN, David Garcia said. She loved working with babies and young children.

Garcia entered a new program that trained experienced nurses to become nurse practitioners in 1975 and was among the first graduating class at the University of Texas Health Science Center.

Retiring after working at the outpatient clinic at the Audie L. Murphy Memorial VA Hospital for several years, Garcia volunteered at El Divino Salvador United Methodist Church on the near Northwest Side.

She became very concerned about the poverty in the area, especially the kids, her son said.

Garcia made food baskets to give to area residents.

It mushroomed and they started serving about 300 families a week, David Garcia recalled. It was a major kind of outreach for them for a number of years.

mheidbrink@express-news.net
1 Missing sailors: The U.S. Navy on Thursday released names of one sailor who died and eight who were missing after the destroyer John McCain collided Monday with an oil tanker near Singapore. Divers recovered the remains of Electronics Technician 3rd Class Kenneth Aaron Smith, 22, from New Jersey. The military says five sailors were injured and 10 were missing following Mondays collision. The missing sailors include Dustin Doyon, 26, of Connecticut; Charles Nathan Findley, 31, of Missouri; Timothy Eckels Jr., 23, of Maryland; Kevin Bushell, 26, of Maryland; Corey George Ingram, 28, of New York; John Henry Hoagland III, 20, of Texas; Logan Stephen Palmer, 23, of Illinois; and Jacob Daniel Drake, 21, of Ohio.

2 Boat disaster: A Brazilian commuter boat carrying more than 100 passengers flipped and sank Thursday in northeast Brazil, killing at least 18 people and leaving dozens missing in rough ocean waters. It was the second fatal accident involving passenger boats this week in the South American nation, where aquatic travel of all kinds is common. Navy Lt. Col. Flavio Almeida said the vessel went down in the morning while traversing the Bay of All Saints off the coast of the city of Salvador. Twenty-one people were rescued by naval teams, and private boats.
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Now in its nineteenth year, and this year ably supported by main sponsors Joe and Kathleen Murtagh, its reasonable to assume this north Longford installment of agricultural excellence has everything one could desire in a spectacle that has steadily grown in prominence over the past two decades.

Part of that burgeoning notoriety is borne out by the events diverse array of attractions which are rarely often seen or experienced at more conventional agricultural shows.

Among them is a car vintage display, penalty shoot out competition and the always entertaining sight of a ducking chair for those who want, or are perhaps deserving of, a soaking!

For those interested in catching a glimpse of rare and not so rare animals, the presence of Enniskillen based Corbally Mobile Fun Farm is an absolute must for spectators.

From miniature horses to zwartble sheep, giant rabbits and even chipmunks, there isnt much the northern based farmstead leaves to chance for show enthusiasts.

And thats before you even contemplate the likes of the more traditional vintage car displays, craft and trade stands, John Daly purebred dry stock, home baking, dog show as well as the always popular tractor, loy and horse ploughing exhibitions.

If all of those attractions have taken their toll, there is the added bonus of a hospitality tent where spectators can avail of a cup of tea or coffee and other delectable refreshments.

It all takes place this year on the welcoming surrounds of lands owned by Sean and Margo Campbell directly across from the well respected local family shop and butchers.

Every year we try and go a step further, said chairperson Micheal Shaughnessy.

Its a family fun day which really does draw people out and has seemed to work with the crowds that have increased nearly every year.

So, if its a spot of ploughing, taking a closer look at some vintage cars or eyeing up how best to make soda bread and sweet cake then a trip to Colmcille on Sunday week is an absolute must.

Proceedings get underway with a vintage parade starting from the cross to the site field at 11am after Mass.
By Long Island News & PR Published: August 25 2017

40 Recruits Graduate from DEC's 21st Basic School for Uniformed Officers.

Albany, NY - August 25, 2017 - Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the graduation of 31 Environmental Conservation Officers and nine Forest Rangers from the State Department of Environmental Conservation's 21st Basic School for Uniformed Officers. The 40 new officers received their diplomas in a formal ceremony at the Kallet Theater in Pulaski today, Friday, August 25.

"These officers and Forest Rangers are the first line of protection for New York's environment, and with the addition of this graduate class, our natural resources and wildlife will continue to be a top priority as we protect the health and safety of New Yorkers and visitors alike," Governor Cuomo said. "I congratulate this new class of officers who will serve this state by upholding New York's rich tradition of environmental stewardship, and safeguarding our citizens and our natural resources for generations to come."

The Basic School was held at the Office of Public Protection's Training Academy in Pulaski, Oswego County, which runs along the Salmon River.

The Academy began February 12 and ran for 28 weeks. Training and coursework include environmental conservation law, criminal procedure, vehicle and traffic laws, physical conditioning, firearms, wildlife identification, emergency vehicle operations, search and rescue, land navigation, boating, and wildfire suppression.

"New York's environment and natural resources are better served and protected thanks to these dedicated men and women," said DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos. "Our new ECO's will safeguard the health of our air, land, water and wildlife. Our new Forest Rangers will protect more than five million acres of state lands from forest fires and execute search and rescue missions throughout the state. These graduates are a great addition to the proud history and dedicated ranks of Forest Rangers and ECOs across New York."

21st Basic School Graduates:

Environmental Conservation Officers

ECO Sara G. Barrett, Phelps, NY

ECO Aaron J. Bonilla, North Syracuse, NY

ECO Taylor M. Della Rocco, Berne, NY

ECO Brendan P. Dickson, East Quogue , NY

ECO Shane T. Dobies, Canandaigua, NY

ECO Connor A. Dodge, North Tonawanda, NY

ECO Jeremy M. Fadden, Lake Placid, NY

ECO Ryan T. Grogan, Herkimer, NY

ECO Joshua P. Harvey, Wanakena, NY

ECO Corey J. Hornicek, Hortonville, NY

ECO Jacob A. Jankowski, Dunkirk, NY

ECO Joshua T. Jarecki, Clayville, NY

ECO Jeffrey P. Johnston, Warminster, PA

ECO Robert M. Kaufherr, Centereach , NY

ECO Ryan W. Kelley, Paul Smiths, NY

ECO Zachary M. Kochanowski, Waterville, NY

ECO Amanda M. Lerch, Dix Hills, NY

ECO Robert J. McCabe, Wading River , NY

ECO Adam L. Muchow, Clarence, NY

ECO Nicholas G. Nicholas, Johnstown, NY

ECO Dustin T. Osborne, South New Berlin, NY

ECO Daniel R. Plows, Brookfield, NY

ECO Zachary T. Prentice, Auburn, NY

ECO Sean W. Rockefeller, Olean, NY

ECO Matthew S. Rutherford, Averill Park, NY

ECO Chloe S. Swansen, Putnam Valley, NY

ECO Matthew T. Thibodeau, Fort Edward, NY

ECO Kevin N. Wamsley, Pine Plains, NY

ECO Ryan W. Wing, Mt. Vision, NY

ECO Max D. Woyton, Naples, NY

ECO Michael Wozniak, Lancaster, NY

Forest Rangers:

FR Calee C. Baker, Warrensburg, NY

FR Mark A. Brand, Buffalo, NY

FR Richard D. Franke, Jr., Liberty, NY

FR John T. Gagne, Round Top, NY

FR Lincoln N. Hanno, Castorland, NY

FR Matthew S. Hettenbaugh, Cherry Creek, NY

FR Patrick L. Lee, Lowville, NY

FR John J. Rusher, IV, Toms River, NJ

FR Ryan A. Wickens, Geneva, NY

ECOs, originally called Game Protectors, were first appointed in 1880 and undertake actions ranging from investigating deer and checking fishing licenses on local waterways to conducting surveillance on corporate chemical dumping. Across the state in 2016, ECOs responded to 26,400 calls and issued 22,150 tickets for crimes ranging from deer poaching to corporate toxic dumping and illegal mining, the black market pet trade, and excessive emissions violations.

"Since 1880, but now more than ever, the mission of the Division of Law Enforcement is vital to the protection of New York's abundant natural resources," said Joseph Schneider, Director of DEC's Division of Law Enforcement. "From Montauk Point and the City of Buffalo to deep in the Adirondack wilderness, ECOs protect New Yorkers from environmental damage and exploitation, whether enforcing clean air and water regulations, supporting fish and wildlife laws, investigating large scale environmental crimes, and ensuring solid waste is properly managed."

Originally known as Fire Wardens, the Forest Rangers were established in 1885 with the creation of the Forest Preserve. Their duties focus on protecting state lands and forests and include search and rescue missions, wildfire suppression and educating the public on the safe use of state lands. In 2016, DEC Forest Rangers conducted 356 search and rescue missions, extinguished 185 wildfires that burned a total of 4,191 acres, and worked on cases that resulted in nearly 3,000 tickets or arrests.

"These men and women are entrusted to protect New York State's vast natural resources and millions of acres of state and public lands," said Eric Lahr, Director of DEC's Division of Forest Protection. "No matter the weather, terrain or hour of the day, our Forest Rangers safeguard against illegal public land use, search for lost or missing persons in the wilderness, rescue outdoor recreationists and visitors injured in the backcountry, and protect our forest lands from wildfire."

The graduating class will join the ranks of 275 ECOs and 131 Forest Rangers currently serving across the state. Recruits in this newest class were selected from an eligible list of qualifications and passing scores generated from the most recent Civil Service exam, which was given in 2013.
The Islamic States Khorasan province claimed credit for todays suicide assault that took place at a crowded Shiite mosque in the Afghan capital of Kabul.

The Amaq News Agency, an official propaganda arm of the Taliban, said that two immersers carried out the assault on the Imam Zaman Mosque.

According to TOLONews, Afghan security personnel battled the jihadists for more than two hours before killing them. Hundreds of civilians were trapped in the crossfire during the fighting. Afghan officials are claiming that more than 30 civilians were killed and at least 80 people were wounded in the attack.

The Islamic States Khorasan province, like the main branch in Iraq and Syria, has had no qualms about targeting Afghan civilians, particularly Shiites, in mass-casualty suicide attacks in mosques and other locations. The group does not view Shiites as proper Muslims and targets them as viciously as it does Western forces. [See FDDs Long War Journal reports, Islamic State suicide bomber kills dozens at Kabul mosque and Islamic State continues to target Shiite civilians in Kabul.]

Khorasan provinces last attack on a mosque took place on Aug. 2 in the western city of Herat; at least 29 people were killed and more than 60 were wounded.

Bill Roggio is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Editor of FDD's Long War Journal.

Are you a dedicated reader of FDD's Long War Journal? Has our research benefitted you or your team over the years? Support our independent reporting and analysis today by considering a one-time or monthly donation. Thanks for reading! You can make a tax-deductible donation here.
Cars / F1

Gear up for a weekend of fun with the creative team behind the much talked about Boudoir Noir from 2015.

Aug 24, 2017 | By LUXUO

Boudoir Blanc, one of the four exciting after parties being held during the Singapore Grand Prix 2017, is set to give you two evenings of decadent fun. Dubbed as a multi-sensorial experience, the event is created and organized by luxury lifestyle creative agency Imaginoires Founding Director, Jeannette Tan.

Come September, you can expect an unforgettable weekend of parties to take place at the Clifford Pier, with sweeping panoramic views of the Marina Bay area to commemorate a decade of the race in Singapore. Promising an interesting lineup for all, we take a look at whats in store for the Formula 1 weekend. Here are five highlights of Boudoir Blanc 2017.







An alternate reality

Proving once again that a historic location can be the setting for some boundary pushing fun, the Clifford Pier will be transformed into two different worlds on September 16 and 17th. Step through those glass doors on Saturday to revel in the Fantasy Land that will welcome guests and the surrealistic Twilight Zone on Sunday.

Signature cocktails all night long

Thanks to Vodka Grey Goose, guests will sample specially crafted signature cocktails over the two nights. These cocktails will be served at Boudoir Blancs specialty pop-up bars by Maison Ikkoku. Ensuring that there is something for every palette the organisers, Imaginoire have roped in Tattinger as the official champagne sponsors so you can be certain that you will be toasting the night away. As the official beer sponsors Peroni will be ensuring a steady supply of delicious beer from the Italian brewery.

One Tequila, Two Tequila, Three Tequila, More!

Straight from Mexico, comes Tequila Codigo 1530 that offers an interesting lineup of spirits. Aged in a manner similar to whiskey, this is one to sample and enjoy at a leisurely pace while you soak in the atmosphere of Boudoir Blanc. Start it off with the Blanco that has been aged for over seven years before making your way through to the Rosa, Reposado, Anejo and Origen which have been rested for several months. With its interesting flavours, we guarantee that you will appreciate tequila in a whole new way.

Boudoir Players

From Hanli Hoefer to Nellei Lim, Sonya Davidson, Ginny Wiluan and Kata Chay as just some of the Boudoir Players, who will be present to help ring in the festivities. Personifying the various traits of Boudoir Blanc, the influencers are set to help take you on a journey through the unique trackside party.











A little party never hurt nobody

From burlesque royalty Fallon Dee making her debut in Singapore and Acantha Lang as Boudoir Blancs emcee the weekend, this will be one party for the ages. Over two days, guests will be dancing the night away with French DJ Klingande, DJ Erok and Patrick Oliver as they spin at The Clifford Pier.
Business / Finance

Aug 25, 2017 | By Jonathan Ho

Neighboured by Finland, Latvia and Russia, the Republic of Estonia is a highly developed high income economy ranked among the fastest growing in the European Union. Having shed the shackles of communist Russia in the 80s, the country in the Baltic region has clawed its way out of economic mismanagement and become one of the richer European states in the North.

As a member of the European Union, Estonia is considered a high-income economy with a 2017 GDP of $40.275 billion and per capita income of $30,764. Estonia also has the lowest ratio of government debt to GDP among EU countries at 6.7% at the end of 2010.

Since its independence from Soviet rule, Estonia has become one of the worlds most digitally advanced societies  in 2005, they held the worlds first elections over the internet and 3 years ago, they became the first nation to provide E-residency. On 24 August 2017, the Managing Director of Estonias e-Residency program Kaspar Korjus announced a proposal to make Estonia the first country in the world with its own cryptocurrency  their very own version of a bitcoin dubbed Estcoins through an Initial Coin Offering (ICO).

Rise of the Digital Economy: Estonia E-Residency

When you consider the bureaucratic red tape surrounding the incorporation of a business enterprise anywhere in the world, Estonias E-Residency program offers a stark example of a pioneering model where artificial barriers like national boundaries no longer matter. Estonia is the first country to offer e-Residency, a government-issued digital ID available to anyone in the world. Thats right, you dont even need to be a citizen of Estonia nor have an Estonia shareholder in your corporate business structure, Estonian E-Residency offers anyone the freedom to easily start and run a global business in a trusted EU environment  it must be said, if not already implied, that this is fundamentally game-changing program.

Estonias e-Residency is a game-changer. Anyone in the world can now apply for a rock-solid digital ID, giving them what Estonians have taken for granted for years: the ability to identify themselves online, to make binding agreements and to communicate securely. This turns the internet from a confusing Wild West into an environment where trustful interaction is frictionless and ubiquitous.  Edward Lucas, Senior Editor of The Economist and 1st e-resident

According to Korjus, Estonias e-Residency program was founded on the belief that no one should be held back from their entrepreneurial potential just because of where they live or where they choose to travel. As a result, Estonia e-Residency pioneers the age of the digital nation with a digital economy backed by a population e-Citizens ready to share the vision of a borderless digital world. As such, a sovereign backed crypto-token or cryptocurrency like Estcoin, is an enticing glimpse into the new market to come  a digital economy.

Even though there are only a little over a million of us, thanks to Estonias capabilities, we can make ten million payments, perform ten million requests and sign ten million contracts in just ten minutes. Even ten times larger states cannot beat us. But the good news is that it is possible to join our exclusive club of digitally empowered citizens.  Kersti Kaljulaid, President of Estonia

How has cryptocurrency and the digital economy been developing?

Writing for Seeking Alpha, Michael Atassi, an equity and tech specialist states that Bitcoin has grown 600% to date, valued at $4150 while Ethereum has grown 4700% to date albeit holding lower values to Bitcoin, the prevailing opinion is that cryptocurrencies should now be part of any balanced investment portfolio especially with the current political uncertainty affecting the markets.

Ethereum versus Bitcoin, the uncorrelated hedge

Where cryptocurrencies like Ethereum and Bitcoin both use a platform of Blockchain technologies, Ethereum differs from Bitcoin as a decentralised smart-contract solution as opposed to Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies or alt-coins like it. Essentially cryptocurrencies as an investment vehicle stand apart from traditional assets in that theyre not typically affected by world issues and geopolitics  therefore, they are an uncorrelated hedge where a typical market crash affects everything else. Thus, a cryptocurrency like Estcoin, Bitcoin, Jetcoin etc, can be argued to have better robustness than even gold in hard times where even mild currency manipulations are irrelevant. That said, a fundamental weakness in digital currencies are their volatility and over-dependence/reliance on technologies like the Internet.

Cryptocurrency Goes Mainstream: Estonia proposes Worlds First Government Bitcoin, the Estcoin

In a blog post on medium, Korjus lays out the fundamental rational for the Estcoin, the Estonia bitcoin: Estcoins managed by the Republic of Estonia, but accessed by anyone in the world through its e-Residency programme and launched through an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) would revolutionise a small nation-state with just 1.3 million residents by offering them a digital economy and access to at least 10 million digital residents.

Estonia e-Residency offered huge value to entrepreneurs seeking trust, location-independence (its an online world, your business is, by its very digital nature, a global one as a result), minimal bureaucracy, low business costs and access to a wider range of fintech services.

Furthermore, partnered with the United Nations, Estonias e-Residency program provides eTrade For All, a digital fintech platform helping tackle the problem of financial exclusion in developing countries. When one considers the immense potential of untapped, underdeveloped economies and markets in the world, the financial upside outweighs the risks

Advised by cryptocurrency heavyweights like Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin, Estcoin has the potential to snowball into a digital investment fund which not only benefits Estonia but also provides incentives to investors in the success of Estonia and its growing digital economy. Additionally, the Estcoins could be built on a blockchain platform giving it the flexibility of a bitcoin, making it easy and convenient to convert and use in smart contracts and a myriad of other applications.

As the digital investment fund grows through the initial coin offering (ICO), Estcoin can then be invested in public and private ventures mimicking other successful Nordic investment funds like the Norwegian oil fund. With Estonia e-Residency, the infrastructure, by way of government issued digital identities, is largely available for such a venture already.

Where bitcoin operates in a veil of anonymity, Estcoin, a national cryptocurrency uses the countrys platform already developed with secure digital identities and a safe, trusted and transparent digital economy, side-stepping the bitcoin downsides of potential for illegal activities.

Bonds may create financial instability if a country faces a difficult economic situation. Then, its ability to pay back debt would go down and its need for more debt would go up, leading to a vicious circle. Creating instruments where incentives between government and holders of these instruments are aligned seems to me to be a win-win.  Korjus speaking to The Next Web

According to The Next Web, their article postulates that a state run ICO is merely the 2017-version of government bonds however, Korjuss response is that while there are similarities, the Estcoin is imminently more flexible and tradeable than a typical Bond issue.

But the issue is now one of execution  so far, Korjus as reached out to captains of the startup industry in Estonia to submit ideas and proposals. The government is also looking out for hashtags #estcoin and #eResidency on social media to listen in on comments, opinions and ideas from netizens everywhere.
International trade mark number 1109244 (filed as a shape mark on the basis of a German registration with proven secondary meaning) was filed in class 30 for "chocolate goods also with fillings" and shows a piece of chocolate in the form of a pyramidal stump having on the top surface impressed a stylised star. The protection for that mark was rejected by the Patent Office and the Appellate Court. So its owner restricted the list of goods by inserting after "goods" the words "in tabular arrangement" and at the end "except pralines". It was found that that shape mark is neither inherently distinctive nor that acquired distinctiveness is proven, although it is marketed in Austria under the trade mark Schogetten packaged as a bar.

The examination of registrability has to be performed for the specific goods considering usual shapes in that trade. The owner of the registration argued that no comparable chocolate bar existed on the market and hence the requested protection is not for a usual form. The Appellate Court answered that a chocolate bar in whatever form is not part of the depicted mark but only a separated piece of it. The restriction of the list of goods only limits the scope of protection. But the distinctiveness has to be judged according to the shown single piece of chocolate. The further limitation "except pralines" has no significance.

The depicted chocolate piece does not have an essential different form in relation to usual filled chocolate pieces even when marketed only arranged as a chocolate bar. A simple difference to the norm does not suffice for the protection of a 3D mark  the difference must be (highly) significant. Here there are no additional features that could be seen as specific and original in order to enable customers to identify that product alone on the basis of its form as originating from a specific enterprise. Since in the field of chocolates a wide variety of forms exist, high requirements for originality have to be demanded.

Also the stylised star on the top plain of the pyramidal stump is ordinary and simple. In view of the great variety of different embossings and notches in chocolate pieces, it does not convey to the shown chocolate piece any peculiar characteristic to be remembered by customers. Thus the whole form is not characteristic enough to make that mark inherently distinctive. Accordingly it could only be protected if secondary meaning through use could be shown.

However, the first instance decision found a non-liquet  the presented documents are not suitable for showing acquired distinctiveness. The presented expert opinion shows a high recognition rate but not in sufficient manner that the consumers recognise in the form of the chocolate piece an indication of origin. The rate of assignment to a particular company was found to be under 40% and not  as required here  at least 50%. Furthermore there was no linking to the earlier date of extension of protection of the international mark to Austria which is the decisive date in this case. Also a copy of a specialised economic journal was produced which was published 15 years before the date of extension of the international mark. But this is too long before the decisive date to show secondary meaning on that date. Furthermore, that journal does not address the consumers and would hardly be read by them.

This decision shows again that 3D marks can only be registered when they show a highly noticeable difference from the usual form. Otherwise they are registrable by showing secondary meaning. However, there are high demands to prove secondary meaning. Not only high knowledge of the product is required but a very good showing that (at least for consumer articles) at least 50% of consumers would recognise in the form itself an indication of origin.

For new products (which was here not the case at the date of extension of the mark to Austria) it would be wise to first protect the 3D form by means of a design registration before marketing it. Within its long period of protection one can then invest in good marketing to bring to the consumer's mind the connection between the 3D form and the company as originator of the product. It is strange to see for an IP professional that most applicants for 3D marks do not use that way of shielding their product first by design protection for many years and profiting from an intensive use to then achieve a 3D-mark registration.

Helmut Sonn

SONN & PARTNER Patentanwalte

Riemergasse 14

A-1010 Vienna, Austria

Tel: +43 1 512 84 05

Fax: +43 1 512 98 05

office@sonn.at

www.sonn.at
Online shopping is very popular in China due to the great variety of products and cheap or even free product delivery. As a tactical choice, some IP owners begin to purchase infringing products online and have the process of product delivery notarised. In this way, the plaintiffs attempt to bring lawsuits in a venue having jurisdiction over the place where the delivered product is received or the place where they reside, so as to gain home court advantage or win a favourable edge over the defendants. However, this could cause unfairness and inconvenience to the defendants.

No clear jurisdiction rules

The current relevant laws and regulations are unclear as to whether such forum shopping is proper. According to the Civil Procedure Law (effective as of 2015), a lawsuit arising from acts of infringement may be brought in a court having jurisdiction over a place where an act of infringement is committed or where the defendant resides. There are three relevant articles in the Judicial Interpretations of the Civil Procedure Law released by the Supreme Court (SPC), but they seemingly have some overlap. Article 24 provides that places where acts of infringement are committed include a place where an act of infringement is performed and a place where the result of infringement occurs. While common understanding can be reached for the meaning of the place where an act of infringement is performed, disagreement has arisen about places where the result of infringement occurs.

As to the question whether a place where the delivered product is received can be understood as a place where the result of infringement occurs, there are a lot of controversies. Articles 20 and 25 make things more complicated: according to Article 20, for a sales contract concluded via information networks, the place where the contract is performed may be one where the purchaser resides or one where the purchased product is received; according to Article 25, a place where an act of information network infringement is performed includes a place where the computer performing the accused act of infringement is located, and a place where the result of infringement occurs may be one where the right holder resides.

Some plaintiffs rely on Article 20 or Article 25 to argue that they are entitled to bring a civil action in a court having jurisdiction over a place where the delivered product is received or where they reside. Several such IP cases emerged across the country during the past two years; different courts have different decisions. For example, such forum shopping tactics were supported by courts in Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang, but were rejected by courts in Beijing and Guangdong.

SPC's position

In two recent cases, the Supreme People's Court (SPC) said no to such forum shopping tactics and held that patent or trade mark infringement cases are not governed under Article 20 or 25.

In a design patent infringement case No 2016-MinShen-731, the SPC held that the acts of patent infringement alleged by the plaintiff are essentially inconsistent with the acts of infringing online dissemination rights and thus the plaintiff's residence cannot be used as a link for venue choice. Although no detailed explanation is given in the court decision, SPC believes that an act of IP infringement is not an act of information network infringement and thus Article 25 is not applicable for venue purposes in patent infringement cases.

In a more recent trade mark infringement case No 2016-MinXiaZhong-107, the SPC made more clarifications. The SPC reasoned that the rationale behind Article 20, which sets a further provision regarding the place where the contract is performed, is that for a sales contract concluded via the information network, it's difficult to determine the place where the defendant resides or the place where the contract is performed. The SPC implied that IP infringement cases should not be subject to Article 20 since it's easy to determine the place where the defendant resides or the place where the contract is performed. In the SPC's view, a case arising from breach of contract largely differs from an IP infringement or unfair competition case: the former merely concerns particular acts and particular parties, while the latter is not directed to the particular product, but to all products embodying a particular IP right. For the latter, the allegations of the plaintiff are not directed to the other party to a contract, but to all parties suspicious of infringement relating to the product of concern under relevant laws. In consideration of these differences, the SPC concluded that IP infringement or unfair competition cases shall be subject to their respective particular provisions, and it's improper to apply Article 20 even if the accused infringing product is purchased via online shopping.

Implications

First, when it comes to forum shopping, the nature of patent and trade mark infringements remains unchanged in spite of the internet. For such cases, the place where an act of infringement is performed or the place where the defendant resides can be determined without much difficulty. Therefore, IP owners are not allowed to establish venue as in cases involving contracts concluded via information networks and infringements occurring via information networks.

Second, for IP cases, random forum shopping is not advocated and "centralised control" is the future trend. During the past three years, China launched a pilot programme to set up three specialised IP courts in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, and to further include four new IP tribunals in Nanjing, Suzhou, Wuhan and Chengdu. All these measures are taken to avoid dispersing IP cases (especially patent cases) across the country, so as to avoid inconsistent decisions for similar cases to be reached at different courts. This is also supported by the case guidance system developed by the SPC and embraced by the Beijing IP Court. With these in mind, it would be easy to understand why the SPC is unwilling to empower jurisdiction of IP cases to all courts whose judicial districts can be reached via delivery or shipment.

Steve Song Christina Qi

AnJie Law Firm26/F, Tower D, Central International Trade Center6A Jianguomenwai Avenue, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100022, PR ChinaTel: +86 10 8567 5988Fax: +86 10 8567 5999wuli@anjielaw.comwww.anjielaw.com
In the case of Hewlett-Packard v Digital Revolution (Court of Appeal, The Hague, May 23 2017) a fair number of claims of the patent (EP 2170617) were held to be invalid on the basis of the interpretation of the means-plus-function claims. The appeal court endorsed the interpretation that was used by the EPO Board of Appeal in case T 0096/12.

Normally, functional features in claims need to be understood as "suitable for" the specified function. However, the EPO Board of Appeal held that especially when considering claims relating to computer programs and data processing, on a proper construction the claimed apparatus should be interpreted as adapted to carry out the specified function. The "adapted to" interpretation is further justified by the claims through the wording "configured to" used therein. When explained in this way, the prior art of Paulsen (EP 0956963) was found to be novelty destroying for the apparatus claims 1 to 6.

Further, this case includes an interesting decision on contributory infringement. Digital Revolution sold ink cartridges that were to be used in a printer from Hewlett-Packard. HP argued that these cartridges caused indirect infringement on the remaining valid method claim 7 because the use of this cartridge in an HP printer implies implementation of the claimed method. Digital Revolution counter-argued that by buying the printer the user would have got an implied licence for using the printer, including the software of the controller of the printer and the method of claim 7 incorporated therein (the cartridge itself did not infringe). The court found this a valid argument, because it was proven that the printer could only function with an ink cartridge that was provided with a memory function capable of communicating with the software of the printer (and thereby obligatory for performing the claimed method).

Bart van Wezenbeek

V.O.

Johan de Wittlaan 7

2517 JR The Hague

The Netherlands

Tel: +31 70 416 67 11

Fax: +31 70 416 67 99

info@vo.eu

www.vo.eu
Kannur: In a latest report, the intelligence wing of Kerala Police has confirmed the death of 14 Keralites who had joined the terror outfit Islamic State. According to the reports, Shajeer Mangalaserry, head of the Islamic State in Kerala were also killed in the attack organised by Syrian army.

Shajeer was the kingpin behind running the websites for the IS recruitment in Kerala. Reportedly, more than 80 people from Kerala were assumed to be the members of Islamic State.
About Swachh Bharat Mission

Why this project started?

When it will be completed?

Efforts by Government

Implementation of Project

Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (rural)

Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (urban).

Major Issues of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan

According to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Urban India generates about 47 million tonnes of solid waste every year. It is also reported that more than 75 percent of sewage or wastewater disposal is not treated in India. Recycling solid waste is a big problem. These issues need to be addressed now, so that a major crisis can be prevented in the future.

In rural India, lack of adequate sanitation is a huge challenge.

Another major challenge is to change the mindsets of the people. When will our countrymen learn not to spit or throw garbage on the roads? Or when will our people learn to keep themselves and their localities clean?

Controversy

Conclusion

Swachh Bharat Mission: Facts and Figures Project Cost: Rs. 1,96,009 crore Project Start Date: 2nd October 2014 Project Estimated End Date: 2nd October 2019 Ministries Involved in Project: Ministry of rural development, ministry of urban development, ministry of drinking water and sanitation, Public Sector Undertakings ( PSUs), corporations, NGOs, state governments etc. Purpose of Project: To make India a filth-free country in five years, to construct community and public toilets in rural and urban areas, to provide running water supply, to treat waste water, to keep roads, pavements and localities clean etc.

List of 73 Cleanest Cities in India

Sl. No. City Rank State Sl. No. City Rank State 1 Mysuru 1749 Karnataka 38 Bengaluru 1182 Karnataka 2 Chandigarh 1716 Chandigarh 39 Delhi - SDMC 1180 Delhi 3 Tiruchirappalli 1715 Tamil Nadu 40 Thiruvananthapuram 1167 Kerala 4 Delhi - NDMC 1704 Delhi 41 Aizawl 1138 Mizoram 5 Visakhapatnam 1643 Andhra Pradesh 42 Gandhinagar 1133 Gujarat 6 Surat 1605 Gujarat 43 Delhi - North DMC 1132 Delhi 7 Rajkot 1574 Gujarat 44 Kozhikode 1107 Kerala 8 Gangtok 1565 Sikkim 45 Kanpur 1090 Uttar Pradesh 9 Pimpri Chinchwad 1559 Maharashtra 46 Durg 1089 Chhattisgarh 10 Greater Mumbai 1534 Maharashtra 47 Agra 1081 Uttar Pradesh 11 Pune 1533 Maharashtra 48 Srinagar 1072 J&K 12 Navi Mumbai 1530 Maharashtra 49 Amritsar 1062 Punjab 13 Vadodara 1511 Gujarat 50 Guwahati 1041 Assam 14 Ahmedabad 1452 Gujarat 51 Faridabad 1037 Haryana 15 Imphal 1441 Manipur 52 Delhi - EDMC 1015 Delhi 16 Panaji 1385 Goa 53 Shillong 1012 Meghalaya 17 Thane 1367 Maharashtra 54 Hubli and Dharwad city 992 Karnataka 18 Coimbatore 1361 Tamil Nadu 55 Kochi 990 Kerala 19 Hyderabad 1355 Telangana 56 Aurangabad 981 Maharashtra 20 Nagpur 1348 Maharashtra 57 Jodhpur 971 Rajasthan 21 Bhopal 1336 Madhya Pradesh 58 Kota 954 Rajasthan 22 Allahabad 1323 Uttar Pradesh 59 Cuttack 925 Odisha 23 Vijayawada 1284 Andhra Pradesh 60 Kohima 893 Nagaland 24 Bhubaneshwar 1279 Odisha 61 Dehradun 876 Uttrakhand 25 Indore 1276 Madhya Pradesh 62 Ranchi 874 Jharkhand 26 Madurai 1245 Tamil Nadu 63 Jabalpur 872 Madhya Pradesh 27 Shimla 1244 Himachal 64 Kalyan Dombivli 858 Maharashtra 28 Lucknow 1237 Uttar Pradesh 65 Varanasi 839 Uttar Pradesh 29 Jaipur 1236 Rajasthan 66 Jamshedpur 827 Jharkhand 30 Gwalior 1235 Madhya Pradesh 67 Ghaziabad 820 Uttar Pradesh 31 Nashik 1232 Maharashtra 68 Raipur 818 Chhattisgarh 32 Warangal 1226 Telangana 69 Meerut 760 Uttar Pradesh 33 Agartala 1222 Tripura 70 Patna 746 Bihar 34 Ludhiana 1222 Punjab 71 Itanagar 639 Arunachal Pradesh 35 Vasai - Virar 1215 Maharashtra 72 Asansol 497 West Bengal 36 Gurgaon 1194 Haryana 73 Dhanbad 464 Jharkhand 37 Chennai 1194 Tamil Nadu

Blogs about Swachh Bharat Mission

Last Updated on: September 04, 2019

Government Schemes and Campaigns

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched his dream project "Swachh Bharat Abhiyan" on 2nd October 2014, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. Swachh Bharat Abhiyan or the "Clean India Campaign" is the biggest ever cleanliness drive in the country and Prime Minister had appealed to each Indian to get involved in the mission and make it a success.It is very sad to say that the country has a massive problem of open defecation. More than 72 percent of rural people in India respond to their nature's call behind bushes, in fields or on roadsides. This has led to various other problems like untimely deaths of children, spread of infections and diseases and most importantly rapes of young girls who go to deserted places to relieve themselves. India has a population of more 1.2 billion people, out of which nearly 600 million people or 55 percent has no access to toilets. Even in areas, where there are toilets in rural India (32 percent of rural households, as per the 2012 data), there are no running water facilities available. Slum dwellers in cities have no access to running water supply and also toilets.Considering this grave problem of rural sanitation in India and open defecation, the then UPA Government had launched Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan in 1999. In this Abhiyan, a target was set for universal household sanitation coverage by 2012. This was an integral part of the Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC) launched in 1991. However, the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan could not achieve its objectives.Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan has now been restructured by the present Government as "Swachh Bharat Abhiyan" with the objective of making India a "clean" India by stopping the problem of open defecation, building up of toilets for all households, providing running water supply, treating of solid and liquid wastes in a proper manner. This drive also includes cleaning of roads, pavements, and clearing of encroachments in unauthorised areas. Above all, the project aims at creating awareness among people about the need for proper sanitation and hygienic facilities.Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, with the help of the Government of India, political parties, NGOs, corporations and with active people's participation, is slated to be completed in 2019. It was Mahatma Gandhi who laid great emphasis on cleanliness. He himself said "Sanitation is more important than Independence". He wanted India to be a clean India. He very well had a clear understanding of the pathetic condition of the rural people. It's been 67 years of Independence, and even today, more than half of India's population does not have proper toilets. Considering this fact in mind, the present Government of India wants to fulfil the dream of Mahatma Gandhi and usher a clean India by 2019, which will mark the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.For proper execution of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, a 19-member expert team has been formed under the chairmanship of scientist Raghunath Anant Mashelkar. Mashelkar is the former director general of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). The entire team will be involved to suggest the best and the most advanced technology to provide sanitation and water facilities in various states using methods that are affordable, sustainable, and scalable.On 2nd October 2014, when our PM launched the mission, he was accompanied by party officials, Bollywood actor Aamir Khan, thousands of government employees, school and college students. Prime Minister has been actively supported by his cabinet ministers. To make it a mass movement, he also nominated nine celebrities including Priyanka Chopra, Shashi Tharoor, Sachin Tendulkar and Anil Ambani to take up the cleanliness challenge, who in turn should invite nine more people and in this way the chain should continue. They have already accepted the challenge and have appealed more people to get involved. Some states have also participated in this cleaning campaign and more plans and programs are in the process to make this a success.The "Swachh Bharat Abhiyan" has two sub missions:For execution of these two sub-missions, the ministries of drinking water and sanitation and rural development will look after the affairs in rural areas and the ministry of urban development in urban areas.Under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan for the rural areas, the ministry of rural development will provide Rs 20 lakh to each village each year for the next five years. Under this programme, the government has fixed the unit cost of individual household latrines at Rs 12,000 so that ample water supply can be provided for cleaning, bathing and washing. An estimated Rs 1, 34, 000 crore will be spent by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation for the programme.For Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in the urban sector, the aim is to provide individual household toilets, community and public toilets, including solid waste management, covering 1.04 crore households in all 4,041 statutory towns. It will provide more than two lakh seats of public toilets, and more than two lakh seats of community toilets, including solid waste management facility for all towns. In areas, where there are problems of constructing individual household toilets, community toilets will be constructed. Public toilet facilities will also be made available in common locations such as markets, bus stations, near railway stations, tourist spots, and public recreation places. The urban development ministry has allocated Rs 62,000 crore for this project.The overall project cost has been estimated at Rs 1, 96,009 crore. This amount will help in construction of 12 crore toilets across the country. The ministries of rural and urban development have requested religious gurus and groups like Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, and the Gayatri Parivar to propagate the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan project.The dimensions of the problem of sanitation are so huge that it makes us wonder whether the PM will really be able to meet his target to clean up India by 2019 or not?While Prime Minister's Swachh Bharat Abhiyan has been highly acclaimed by many in India and abroad, there are still controversies involved in the mission. Similar programmes were launched earlier with little or no success, the most evident example being Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan. Controversies have come up because this programme too has more or less same ideas that were under UPA's Nirmal Bharat schemes. Huge amount of money was invested for that program that time. What was the outcome? Where did all the money go? But, as a matter of fact, this mission should not be involved in any kind of controversies. That is why, Narendra Modi said, "Swachh Bharat" mission is "beyond politics" and is inspired by patriotism.Mere launching a program is not enough, results matter. It is not only the Government who can make it a success, people's participation is of utmost importance. Also, a detailed blue print should be prepared for implementing the programme. India will definitely be a clean country in coming years provided the Government and the people participate in this Swachh Bharat Mission in a holistic manner.
4 Charts Show Why You Should Run Away From The Stock Market S&P 500

BY JOHN MAULDIN : My friend James Montier, now at GMO, and his associate Matt Kadnar have written a compelling piece on why passive investors should avoid the S&P 500.

Their essay argues that the forward growth potential of the S&P 500 is significantly lower than that of other opportunities, especially emerging markets.

Lets look at a few of their charts.

For the Next 7 Years, S&P 500 Returns Will be a Negative 3.9%

The chart above breaks the total return from the beginning of the current bull market in the S&P 500 into its four main components: increasing multiples, margin expansion, growth, and dividends.

He notes that this total return is more than double the level of long-term real return growth since 1970.

If earnings and dividends are remarkably stable (and they are), to believe that the S&P will continue delivering the wonderful returns we have experienced over the last seven years is to believe that P/Es and margins will continue to expand just as they have over the last seven years. The historical record for this assumption is quite thin, to put it kindly. It is remarkably easy to assume that the recent past should continue indefinitely, but it is an extremely dangerous assumption when it comes to asset markets. Particularly expensive ones, as the S&P 500 appears to be.

More bluntly put, the historical record supporting this assumption is non-existent. It never happened. Just saying

The authors then describe how they build their seven-year forecasts of S&P 500 returns.

They argue that for the next seven years, returns will be a negative 3.9%. Note that GMO is not a perma-bear money-management business. Their forecasts were extremely bullish in February 2009.

They are a valuation shop, pure and simple. Investorstypically large institutions and pension fundsthat are leaving Granthams management firm now are going to regret it. The consultants or managers who suggested that move are going to need to polish their resumes.

No Good Options Are Left

The bottom line? The cruel reality of todays investment opportunity set is that we believe there are no good choices from an absolute viewpointthat is, everything is expensive (see the chart below).

For a relative investor (following the edicts of value investing), we believe the choice is clear: Own as much international and emerging market equity as you can and as little US equity as you can. If you must own US equities, we believe Quality is very attractive relative to the market. While Quality has done well versus the US market, long international and emerging versus the US has been a painful position for the last few years, but it couldnt be any other way. Valuation attractiveness is generally created by underperformance (in absolute and/or relative terms). As Keynes long ago noted, a valuation-driven investor is likely seen as eccentric, unconventional, and rash in the eyes of average opinion. [Emphasis mine.]

In absolute terms, the opportunity set is extremely challenging. However, when assets are priced for perfection as they currently are, it takes very little disappointment to lead to significant shifts in the pricing of assets. Hence, our advice (and positioning) is to hold significant amounts of dry powder, recalling the immortal advice of Winnie-the-Pooh, Never underestimate the value of doing nothing or, if you prefer, rememberwhen there is nothing to do, do nothing.

Markets appear to be governed by complacency at the current juncture. Indeed, looking at the options market, it is possible to imply the expected probability of a significant decline in asset prices. According to the Minneapolis Federal Reserve, the probability of a 25% or greater decline in US equity prices occurring over the next 12 months implied in the options market is only around 10% (see Exhibit 12). Now, we have no idea what the true likelihood of such an event is, but when faced with the third most expensive US market in history, we would suggest that 10% seems very low.

Those are wise words indeed.

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Sharp macroeconomic analysis, big market calls, and shrewd predictions are all in a weeks work for visionary thinker and acclaimed financial expert John Mauldin. Since 2001, investors have turned to his Thoughts from the Frontline to be informed about whats really going on in the economy. Join hundreds of thousands of readers, and get it free in your inbox every week.

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 2005-2019 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication.




Are Precious Metals About To Go Parabolic?

With the metals providing us with the pullback we were expecting in our report last weekend (Aug 12-13), they continued to push higher from that pullback. Moreover, the structure continues to look quite bullish. However, the only question the market has yet to answer is if we see one more drop before the parabolic rally commences, or if we simply begin to rally strongly from here.

Since the market has not done anything unexpected this past week, I have to note that my overall perspective has not changed. My main expectation is still looking for a bit more pullback before we are ready to rally through resistance. Moreover, there is really not much more I am able to provide by way of further analysis to what I have been saying all week:

When dealing with fireworks, all it takes is one spark, and the entire box can be ignited. The metals market is in no different position right now. It does have the potential for a direct break out, and if we should see silver take out its blue box overhead with strong buying volume, do not stand in its way, since it means someone has lit the match, and it will likely have begun the heart of its 3rd wave higher.

As far as GDX is concerned, as I have been saying for the last several weeks, the micro structure is truly messy on this rise. While GLD and silver have been displaying truly ideal Elliott Wave structures, GDX has been an overlapping mess. So, the question of how to count the micro structure has become a bit of a challenge. Rather than provide you with multiple count potentials, I am going to provide resistance and support levels. Currently, the resistance for GDX resides between 23.60-23.96. As long as we remain below that resistance region, I am expecting another pullback in the complex. However, should we see a direct break out of that region, then you should set your stops just below the 22.83 region, for if it is a true 3rd wave break out from that point, we should not see the 22.80 region again.

In summary, I remain bullish the complex, but am on alert for one more pullback before the market finally breaks out for a rally into the fall of 2017.

The one difference that I can add to this weekends analysis is that I am now just a little less confident that GLD can drop down as deeply as the 117-118 region, and it may hold over 118 on the next pullback. It has provided us with a much stronger bullish count in this rally off the July lows, and the pullbacks may no longer be as deep as we have seen in the past. Should this occur, rather than seeing the deeper pullback in the coming week or two, it is a first sign that GLD has changed its nature, and shallow pullbacks may now be the order of the day, which is often what we see when this chart begins to act extraordinarily bullish.

Lastly, I have warned many times about analysis that follows simple trend lines, as they have been the most whipsawed type of analysis in the metals market for years. You see, metals usually move towards extreme positions. This means that we have often seen the metals move just outside of trend lines to get those following them either overly bullish on a break out or overly bearish on a break down. At that point, they have then reversed strongly in the opposite direction. We have seen this occur more times than I can count over the last several years. This is likely why you see some of the most bullish analysis on the internet on a break out and the most bearish on a break down, which explains why these folks have been terribly whipsawed at each high and low.

At this point in time, the three charts we follow  GLD, GDX and silver  have all broken out of downtrend channels. And, yes, many of the same people have again turned uber-bullish. And, while GLD has been grinding just beyond the resistance we noted weeks ago, both GDX and silver are still below their respective resistance regions. This is why using Fibonacci Pinball is a much more accurate measure of market movements as compared to any analysis that primarily uses trend lines and channels.

In fact, my resistance on GDX was 23.60-23.96, whereas it seems to have topped this past week within 12 cents of that resistance. Silver still has not been able to move through the bottom of our resistance, which begins at 17.26, with the high in silver being struck at 17.30 this past week with a spike and reversal on Friday. It has not been able to sustain any move through our resistance level.

So, for now, I am on high alert for another pullback in the complex before the real break out is seen. But, again, if the market is able to overcome these resistance regions noted above, then do not stand in its way, as a 3rd wave is likely in progress.

See charts illustrating the wave counts on the GDX, GLD, and Silver Futures (YI).

Avi Gilburt is a widely followed Elliott Wave technical analyst and author of ElliottWaveTrader.net (www.elliottwavetrader.net), a live Trading Room featuring his intraday market analysis (including emini S&P 500, metals, oil, USD & VXX), interactive member-analyst forum, and detailed library of Elliott Wave education.

 2017 Copyright Avi Gilburt - All Rights Reserved Disclaimer: The above is a matter of opinion provided for general information purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. Information and analysis above are derived from sources and utilising methods believed to be reliable, but we cannot accept responsibility for any losses you may incur as a result of this analysis. Individuals should consult with their personal financial advisors.

 2005-2019 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication.




Each week, MassLive showcases pets available for adoption at shelters at rescue organizations across Massachusetts. With the participation of the shelters listed below, many animals should be able to find a permanent home. We also provide some pet-related news items that we hope you will enjoy.

Pet of the Week: Chelsea, Westfield Homeless Cat Project

Chelsea, Westfield Homeless Cat Project.

The Republican Newsroom

WESTFIELD - Chelsea has been at the shelter for quite a long time and staff at the Westfield Homeless Cat Project said she needs to be placed in a home soon.

She's been here forever. She hates being in a cage and needs to find her forever home, staff said, adding that she would do best in a home as the only cat.

Staff said calico's can be a little feisty as times, so an experience cat person would be best for her. Stop in Thursday 5 -7 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. or Sunday 1-3 p.m. and meet this adorable kitty.

MASSACHUSETTS SHELTERS:

Dakin Pioneer Valley Humane Society

Address: 163 Montague Road, Leverett

Hours: Tuesday-Sunday, 12:30 to 4:30 p.m.

Telephone: (413) 548-9898



Address: 171 Union St., Springfield

Hours: Tuesday-Sunday, 12:30 to 5:30 p.m.

Telephone: (413) 781-4000

Website: www.dakinhumane.org

Thomas J. O'Connor Animal Control and Adoption Center

Address: 627 Cottage St., Springfield

Hours: Monday, Tuesday, Saturday, noon-4 p.m.; Thursday, noon-7 p.m.

Telephone: (413) 781-1484

Website: tjoconnoradoptioncenter.com

Westfield Homeless Cat Project

Address: 1124 East Mountain Road, Westfield

Hours: Adoption clinics, Thursday, 5-7 p.m.; Saturday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

Website: http://www.whcp.petfinder.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/westfieldhomelesscatprojectadoptions

Westfield Regional Animal Shelter

Address: 178 Apremont Way, Westfield

Hours: Monday-Friday, noon-5 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

Telephone: (413) 564-3129

Website: http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/ma70.html

Franklin County Sheriff's Office Regional Dog Shelter and Adoption Center

Address: 10 Sandy Lane, Turners Falls

Hours: Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-2 p.m., Friday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.

Telephone: (413) 676-9182

Website: http://fcrdogkennel.org/contact.html

Polverari/Southwick Animal Control Facility

Address: 11 Depot St., Southwick

Hours: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-1 p.m.

Telephone: (413) 569-5348, ext. 649

Website: http://southwickpolice.com/chief-david-a-ricardis-welcome/animal-control/

Berkshire Humane Society Address: 214 Barker Road, Pittsfield

Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 10:00 a.m.-4 p.m.; Thursday, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., Sunday, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Telephone: (413) 447-7878

Website: http://berkshirehumane.org/

Purradise Feline Adoption

Address: 301 Stockbridge Road, Great Barrington

Hours: Monday and Tuesday: Closed; Wednesday, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.; Thursday 10 a.m.- 6 p.m.; Friday,10 a.m. - 4 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; Sunday, noon-4 p.m.

Telephone: (413) 717-4244

Website: http://berkshirehumane.org/contact-us/

Greyhound Options, Inc.

Address: 43 Sygiel Rd., Ware, MA. 01082

Telephone: 413-967-9088

Website: greyhoundadoptions.org

Animal Rescue League of Boston

Address: 10 Chandler Street, Boston, MA 02116

Telephone: (617) 426-9170 Fax: (617) 426-3028

Website: adoption@arlboston.org

Worcester Animal Rescue League

Address: 139 Holden St., Worcester, MA 01606

Telephone: (508) 853-0030 Hours: Open 7 days a week from noon to 4 p.m.

Website: www.worcesterarl.org

Rainbow Rescues Inc.

Address: Foster-based organization

Hours: By Appointment Only Telephone: (413) 612-2744

Website: www.rainbowrescues.org
Barnstable County Commissioner Ronald Beaty's controversial proposal to bait and kill sharks near Cape Cod's swimming beaches was never run by the regional board on which Beaty serves, says its chairman.

"On behalf of the Barnstable County Board of Regional Commissioners, I would like to clearly state that no item regarding a so-called "shark mitigation plan" has been presented for review, nor is one expected to be placed on any future agenda," Chairman Leo Cakounes said in a statement.

"A press statement relative to such a plan was drafted and distributed by one member of the Board of Commissioners without the knowledge of fellow board members or County staff, and all inquiries should be made to that individual Commissioner."

Beaty's plan, which Cakounes refers to as "a so-called 'shark mitigation plan,'" would use baited drum lines to lure, hook and kill sharks that lurk too close to the popular beaches that are a staple to Cape Cod. Beaty said his proposal is modeled after baited drum line techniques used in South Africa and Australia.

The proposal came just a day after a shark was captured on video killing and eating a seal just feet away from a packed Nauset Beach in Orleans.

In Massachusetts, there has not been a fatal shark attack since 1936. But studies have found the number of individual white sharks in Cape waters has increased since 2014.

Matt Beaton, the Massachusetts energy and environmental chief, said that Beaty's strategy "would be an incredibly disappointing approach," adding that "science and reason will prevail."

Marine life experts such as the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy say the capture and kill method has been unsuccessful in Western Australia, where a new state leader stopped the program this year. The AWS Conservancy also said the presence of the great white sharks is indicative of a healthy ocean ecosystem.

Senior Marine Fisheries Biologist Dr. Gregory Skomal said that while he'd have to review the proposal more closely, the number of great white sharks in 2017 appears to be on par with the amount identified in 2016. He added that he'd have to examine the basis of the proposal.

"Is it the killing of the seals?" Skomal asks. "Is it number of people killed by sharks in Massachusetts? Because I can't find any."
As housing and rent prices in Boston continue their long, upward creep and new real estate investors keep coming out of the woodwork, mass evictions have become increasingly common, reports The Boston Globe.



Saying her housing advocacy nonprofit City Life/Vida Urbana has worked more than 66 building clearout cases in recent years, Lisa Owens told the paper "mass displacement is a crisis" in the city.



"We have speculators brazenly coming to our neighborhoods marketing them as ripe for gentrification," she added.



The Globe assessed the circumstances surrounding the increase, noting how in neighborhoods like East Boston, Dorchester and Roxbury, developers are seeking to exploit ever-increasing property values and rents by renovating older buildings then charging more to live there.



The problem is the tenants in these buildings can't afford the new prices.



In "rapidly gentrifying" Chinatown, the paper notes, the Chinese Progressive Association attested to helping assist in six recent building clearouts, with more on the horizon.



The same kind of process can be seen happening in some largely Latin American parts of East Boston, according to The Globe.



City officials meanwhile are moving to enact new protections for tenants.

A proposal would require landlords to notify the city of rent increases of five percent or more and end full building clearouts.
BOSTON -- The Boston Police Fugitive Apprehension Unit arrested a Mattapan man and charged him with the Sunday shooting death of Michael Miranda.

Keiwann Watson, 29, was taken into custody in the area of Norfolk Avenue in Mattapan on Thursday morning, Boston police said in a statement.

Miranda and a second man were shot as they walked on Tremont Street just after 2 a.m. Sunday. Miranda was transported to a local hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

The second victim, a 21-year-old male, suffered non-life-threatening wounds.

Watson has been charged with murder, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, unlawful possession of a firearm and unlawful possession of ammunition. He is expected to be arraigned in Dorchester District Court on Friday morning.
CHICOPEE - Police arrested a man accused of robbing the Westfield Bank Thursday less than six hours after the crime was committed.

The robbery happened at about 11:29 a.m. at the Westfield Bank, 70 Center St. Police immediately responded, canvassed the neighborhood and searched the area with a K-9, Michael Wilk, Chicopee Police public information officer, said.

The suspect did not show a weapon but demanded money, he said.

"Based on tips our detectives received, an arrest has been made. Thank you all for sharing," he said.

This is a breaking story, MassLive will update when the man's name is released.
CHICOPEE - A New York City woman was arrested after being accused of trying to pass two fake $100 bills to coffee shop employees two days in a row.

Carly Gozza, 27, of 147 Fairmont Place, Bronx, New York, was charged with uttering and possession of counterfeit notes, which are both felonies, Michael Wilk, Chicopee Police public information officer, said.

On Wednesday employees from Starbucks, 620 Memorial Drive, reported to police that Gozza allegedly passed a fake $100 bill and received change. Thursday Gozza returned to the coffee shop and allegedly passed a second fake $100 bill.

"This time our officers arrived while she was in the store," Wilk said.

She was arrested and held on $1,040 bail overnight in the Chicopee Police Department. She is scheduled to be arraigned in Chicopee District Court on Friday, he said.
We all found ourselves gasping with wonder over and over again.

I know of no better place to heed the words of that travel slogan: Get Lost in Montana.

By: Ed Kemmick

Full Story: http://lastbestnews.com/site/2017/08/first-time-for-everything-lost-in-crow-country/
A civil rights attorney who dedicated his life to fighting for death row inmates spoke to more than 6,000 people at Montana State University on Thursday night, urging students to create a world with greater justice.

MSU President Waded Cruzado welcomed Bryan Stevenson as this years Freshman Convocation speaker. Nearly 3,000 new students, plus 3,400 parents and community members attended the event in the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse.

Stevenson, 57, a Harvard-educated lawyer, wrote the bestselling memoir "Just Mercy." Incoming MSU freshmen were asked to read the book before arriving on campus so they can discuss it in freshman seminars.

By Gail Schontzler Chronicle Staff Writer

Full Story: http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/montana_state_university/msu-students-urged-to-join-fight-against-injustice/article_dc39062e-b1b7-58a1-bedb-3da11be49bb3.html
Prospera Business Network is the lead non-profit organization advancing and supporting community-centered economic development in southwest Montana. Our focus is helping people start and grow their business  in turn strengthening our regions economy and communities.
Cecil Andrus, a Democrat and the longest-serving governor of Idaho, who saved Castle Peak from miners and engineered the protection of 25 percent of Alaska as wilderness, wildlife refuges and national parks, died Thursday.

Andrus went from logging in Orofino to the governors mansion in 1970 before Jimmy Carter made him Idahos first presidential Cabinet member, recruiting him as Interior secretary from 1977 to 1981. He returned to Idaho and won back the governors desk in 1986, championing increased support for education. He went on to serve four total terms as governor.

BY ROCKY BARKER

[email protected]

Full Story: http://www.idahostatesman.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article169280227.html
The Wyoming Legislature is taking baby steps toward considering new taxes in a state known for heavily relying on the boom and bust energy industry for revenue.

Arno Rosenfeld 307-266-0634, [email protected]

Full Story: http://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/wyoming-lawmakers-to-consider-menu-of-new-taxes-as-education/article_b785541e-45e3-5482-b55a-a746f2ece716.html
Big Sky Commerce https://bigskycommerce.com , a Montana independently started, owned, and family-run corporation, and a leading national Merchant Service Provider since 2003, is hiring a Business Manager for our Missoula, Montana office.

This energetic, enthusiastic, and career-minded individual will help manage communications and bolster company growth in the payment-processing industry. This key member will work closely with company owners to optimize business process flows. Responsibilities and tasks include general front office duties and a wide range of multitasks including: proficiency with business applications including Microsoft Office 365, Quickbooks, Google Drive, Skype, industry online reporting tools, while managing client, partner, and vendor relations, administering meeting and call appointments among multiple parties, filing and document management, shipping and receiving, and data entry. Keen competencies with troubleshooting, proper follow-through, and attention to detail are critical, while managing multiple tasks and projects effectively. This person must exhibit a high-aptitude for todays innovative payment technologies. Compensation is dependent on experience.

QUALIFICATIONS:

Excellent oral and written communication skills including phone, Instant Messenger, and email correspondence with exceptional attention to detail.

At least 5 years of Customer Service, Banking, Marketing, and/or Sales experience is preferred.

Ability to work effectively with individuals and groups.

Full-time 35-40 hours per week Mon-Fri; Start date as early as 9/5/17.

Monday  Friday 8:30am-4pm

No phone calls please.

https://bigskycommerce.com/contact-us/
A new study has investigated which neurons react to different vocal pitches, discerning between different voices and reacting to emphasis. The findings help us to understand how the brain gains meaning from the sound of speech. Share on Pinterest New research examines how the brain processes the sound of speech and converts it into emotionally meaningful information. Whether it is discerning between a question and a statement, detecting the phenomenon of upspeak, or simply figuring out when a person is angry, our brains are constantly at work distinguishing innumerable variations in sounds and gaining meaning from them. This is all the more impressive when we consider the fact that people have different voices, each with their specific pitch, and that while discerning these minor differences within a persons voice, the human brain also breaks down the sound of speech into consonants, vowels, and word units. This is all done, of course, at remarkable speed. New research carried out by scientists at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) examines how the brain processes the subtle changes in vocal pitch or intonation during speech. These patterns of sound  called prosody by scientists and poets  are crucial to our ability to gain meaning from sound. The findings were published in the journal Science. As the authors explain, previous research in primates has located areas in the brain that respond to pitch and intonation, but these studies did not go into further depth to identify how neurons in these areas pick up prosody and help the brain to process it into meaning. The new research  led by study co-author Claire Tang, a fourth-year graduate student in the laboratory of senior study author Dr. Edward Chang, a professor of neurological surgery at the UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences  aimed to do just that.

Studying neurons in brains auditory cortex Tang and colleagues recruited 10 participants and asked them to listen to four sentences. These sentences were recorded by three different synthesized voices. Each of the sentences was spoken under four different intonation conditions: neutral, emphasis 1 (emphasizing the first word in the sentence), emphasis 3 (emphasizing the third word), and question. For instance, one sentence was Movies demand minimal energy. It was first said as a neutral statement, then as Movies demand minimal energy, thirdly as Movies demand minimal energy, and finally as Movies demand minimal energy? Using high-density electrocorticography  in which the participants had tiny electrodes placed at a high density over the surface of their brains  Tang and team monitored the neuronal activity of a brain area called the superior temporal gyrus (STG). The STG is known to play a key role in the recognition of prosody and spoken words, as it forms the primary auditory cortex of the human brain. To assess how neurons in this area react to different variables, the team designed a set of conditions wherein these sentences were spoken varying the intonation contour, the phonetic content  that is, a sentence that starts with the word Movies is different in sound from one that starts with the word Reindeer  or the speakers identity.
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The AI system--trained using tens of thousands of skin images and their corresponding eumelanin and hemoglobin levels--could initially reduce the number of unnecessary biopsies, a significant health-care cost. It gives doctors objective information on lesion characteristics to help them rule out melanoma before taking more invasive action.The technology could be available to doctors as early as next year."This could be a very powerful tool for skin cancer clinical decision support," said Alexander Wong, a professor of systems design engineering at Waterloo. "The more interpretable information there is, the better the decisions are."Currently, dermatologists largely rely on subjective visual examinations of skin lesions such as moles to decide if patients should undergo biopsies to diagnose the disease.The new system deciphers levels of biomarker substances in lesions, adding consistent, quantitative information to assessments currently based on appearance alone. In particular, changes in the concentration and distribution of eumelanin, a chemical that gives skin its colour, and hemoglobin, a protein in red blood cells, are strong indicators of melanoma."There can be a huge lag time before doctors even figure out what is going on with the patient," said Wong who is also the Canada Research Chair in Medical Imaging Systems. "Our goal is to shorten that process."Wong developed the technology in collaboration with Daniel Cho, a former PhD student at Waterloo, David Clausi, a professor of systems design engineering professor at Waterloo, and Farzad Khalvati, an adjunct professor at Waterloo and scientist at Sunnybrook.The research was recently presented at the 14th International Conference on Image Analysis and Recognition in Montreal.Source: Eurekalert
Imagine getting paid upwards of Rs 17 lakh a year just to go to pool parties in Vegas, cocktail making experiences, and festivals. Sounds like a dream, right? Well, a Brighton-based company is here to make your wildest dreams come true!

If you hate your job, this opportunity is perfect for you. Just imagine actually looking forward to going to work every day.

HenHeaven, (https://www.henheaven.co.uk/) a company that specialises in making hen dos as fun as possible, is currently on a global hunt for someone to join their team as Head Vlogger. So, basically, the head vlogger's job is to travel around the world  from party-central Las Vegas to glamourous Nottingham  and take part in some incredible experiences, while filming the whole thing.

The company will send one lucky person everywhere, from pool parties in Vegas to street parties in Mardi Gras.

Some other trips include going for salsa dancing in Madrid, the Cheese Rolling even in Gloucester, Buso festival in Hungary and the Guinness tour in Dublin.

Moreover, you don't even need to know how to edit videos, you will just have to party and shoot videos. According to the company, they're looking for an applicant who's enthusiastic and incredibly comfortable' in front of the camera.

They're mainly looking for someone who can entertain the audience and give the videos an edge.

If you're interested, you can send HenHeaven a video via WeTransfer to marketing@henheaven.co.uk along with your CV.
Ireland says it has seen a fivefold increase in the number of Chinese delegations visiting the country seeking potential business opportunities in the wake of the UK's departure from the European Union.

International markets are eyeing Ireland for potential business opportunities since last year's Brexit vote.

"We've seen a lot of inbound activity," said Dublin Chamber chief executive Mary Rose Burke.

She said there have been 10 delegations from China this year so far, compared with just two in the same period in 2016.

The most recent involved representatives from food, technology, finance and aircraft leasing sectors.

In May a delegation of Chinese fund managers was in Dublin for an event hosted by Irish Funds, the trade body for the industry, which also launched a guide to the Irish fund management industry for Chinese investors.

"For the first time in the history of our conference, we had a delegation coming from the industry in China," Pat Lardner, chief executive of Irish Funds, told the Irish Times.

He said China represented a potential source of new business for the industry, which already employs 15,000 people.

Dublin Chamber said as well as China, it has received interest from the Republic of Korea, Indonesia, Singapore, the Western Balkans and Belgium.

"I think everybody is looking to the future, with the change, where potential new markets are," Burke said. "Places like Singapore would be appearing to take more of an interest in Ireland and I would interpret that as being on the back of Brexit. People are looking at what does their European strategy mean in the event of Brexit."

Dublin Chamber, which represents over 1,300 companies across the four local authority areas, this week published the result of a survey which found almost one in four Irish companies believe that Brexit will have a positive impact on their business, up from one in seven at the same point last year.

The survey, carried out in the first two weeks of August and involving 359 companies, found that the number of firms that believe that Brexit will hit them negatively fell slightly from 50 percent to 46 percent.
Zhao Xiaoyong has made more than 100,000 copies of Van Gogh's works. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Documentary paints rich picture of Chinese art ists reproducing Western masterpieces. Guo Ying and Yuan Quan report.

Photographer and filmmaker Yu Haibo first visited Dafen, a suburb of Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong province, in 2004.

The trip to the area helped Yu form bonds with local painters such as Zhao Xiaoyong, who came from rural Hunan province, and Zhou Yongjiu, also from a peasant family. Zhao, Zhou and many others like them became part of Dafen's reputation as a "village of oil paintings"churning out reproductions of Western masterpieces such as Vincent van Gogh's portraits and sunflowers that end up on shelves and walls worldwide.

In the past decade, Dafen has provided rich material for Yu to record the phenomenon of "China's Van Goghs". That is also the name of his documentary film, which clinched the best Sino-foreign production in the category at the Beijing International Film Festival in April. It has been screened at other international festivals, including the 2017 Vision Du Reel International Documentary Film Festival in Switzerland, TRT Documentary Awards Turkey and the New Zealand International Film Festival. Yu also won best director in Japan's Skip City International D-Cinema Festival in July.

The documentary offers a perspective on the relationship between China and the globalized world, Yu says.

"These Chinese painters working intensively to produce copies of Western masterpieces still play the role of cheap labor in the chain of global capitalism. But I think their paintings are different from those industrial products generated on an assembly line," he says. "Their creativity and artistic imagination are reflected in their copies of Van Gogh's paintings."

The origins of Dafen's position as the "world's largest oil painting reproduction factory" can be traced to 1989, when Hong Kong painter Huang Jiang started an oil painting business and gradually gathered a group of painters to reproduce classic paintings.

Zhao alone has made more than 100,000 copies of Van Gogh's works, while Zhou and his apprentice have painted more than 300,000 classic replicas.
[Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Foreign writers have signed agreements to publish 38 new titles on China at the Beijing International Book Fair.

Sinologists, professors, doctors, journalists and politicians are among those to successfully pitch their ideas at the book fair on August 23.

"These titles delve deep into Chinese society and life, and they have the potential to be bestselling books to global readers," Xu Baofeng from Chinese Culture Translation and Studies Supports, said.

He added that those books will be eligible for subsidies during the process of publishing.

Forty-six sinologists from 34 countries, who are in Beijing for the week-long Sino-Foreign Literature Translation and Publishing Workshop, witnessed the signing ceremony, together with 12 winners of the Special Book Award of China, and representatives from more than 10 publishing houses.

The 38 titles were selected from 72 candidates, pitched by about a 100 writers, covering topics including philosophy, politics, society, culture, literature and arts in 19 languages.

The deals are part of the Foreigners Writing about China plan. Launched in March, the plan initiated a global brainstorm-like campaign to solicit publishing topics from 150 publishers and 1,000 Sinologists and translators.

It is an innovative way of boosting the appeal of Chinese topics in foreign markets, Xu said.

On Thursday, a second planning conference was held at the fair.
Thirty-eight titles about China, written by foreign authors, including Sinologists, professors, doctors, journalists and politicians, will be published soon. The authors pitched the topics and signed agreements with publishers in Beijing on Wednesday, at the ongoing 24th Beijing International Book Fair.

"These titles delve deep into Chinese society and life, and they have the potential to be best-selling books to global readers," said Xu Baofeng, with the Chinese Cullture Translation and Studies Support, adding that those books could get subsidies.

Forty-six Sinologists from 34 countries, who are in Beijing for a weeklong 2017 Sino-Foreign Literature Translation and Publishing Workshop, witnessed the signing ceremony, together with 12 winners of the Special Book Award of China, and representatives from more than 10 publishing houses.

The 38 titles were selected from 72 candidates, pitched by some 100 writers, covering topics like philosophy, politics, society, culture, literature and arts and encompassing 19 languages.
BAD AXE  The Michigan Attorney General's office has closed its investigation of the Huron County prosecutor for his handling of a 2014 case involving the son of a former county circuit court judge.

Huron County Prosecutor Timothy J. Rutkowski was investigated by the Attorney Generals Office (AG) for alleged willful neglect of duty, along with Sanilac County Prosecutor James V. Young and Sanilac County Assistant Prosecutor, Brenda S. Sanford.

The AG, however, found no wrongdoing in the case that began when Michael A. Knoblock, son of former Huron County Circuit Judge M. Richard Knoblock, was pulled over in Ubly on June 21, 2014.

Upon arrest, Michael Knoblock was charged with operating while intoxicated (OWI)  high blood alcohol content, speeding and three counts of child endangerment. There were three children in the backseat of the car at the time he was pulled over.

In September 2014, he pled guilty to OWI-visibly impaired and was sentenced to six months probation.

On June 24, 2014, Rutkowski petitioned the AG for a special prosecutor for the case, according to the investigation report obtained by the Tribune through a Freedom of Information Act request.

Huron County Sheriff Kelly J. Hanson filed the original complaint in November 2014, asking the AG to look into the case, while also expressing concerns about the process by which a special prosecutor is appointed.

The AG investigated whether, as Hanson reportedly told investigators, Judge Knoblock had worked out a plea agreement for his son to plead to impaired driving, prior to the selection of the special prosecutor, according to the report.

The Tribune also conducted an investigation into the matter, beginning soon after Michael Knoblocks arrest.

After an AG investigation concluded more than three years after the incident, the Attorney Generals Office (AG) sent a letter to Hanson on July 17, 2017, summing up the investigation.

The Tribune obtained the letter via a Freedom of Information Act request.

 We determined that there was no basis for bringing charges against anyone in this matter, stated the letter, which was signed by John S. Pallas, criminal practice and victims rights manager/Criminal Appellate Division chief.

On Aug. 17, a statement was posted a to www.huroncountyprosecutor.com titled, Attorney General Finds No Wrongdoing.

After conducting an extensive and thorough investigation, neither Attorney General (Bill) Schuette nor his investigators had any concerns on how the special prosecutor was appointed or how the case was resolved by the Special Prosecutor, the online statement states.

In a letter to Rutkowski dated July 17, 2017, Pallas closed with: It is our hope that this ends any controversy in this matter and that, if it has not already occurred, you and Sheriff Hanson can begin the process of again working together as partners in law enforcement. As I indicated in my letter to Sheriff Hanson, we strongly believe that the Prosecutor and Sheriff of a county need to work together as full partners in law enforcement to effectively serve the citizens of the county.

Pallas made a similar statement in his July 17 letter to Hanson.

Hanson told the Tribune Friday that there are "more questions that have come to be as opposed to eliminating any doubt," although he's "glad it's over with."

"That's their investigation," Hanson said. "Somebody is apparently not telling the truth because some say it's one way and some says it's another way."

He said that in order to iron out discrepancies in the investigation, those whose stories conflict should be put under oath.

He added the AG should be responsible for selecting a special prosecutor, more so than the county prosecutor.

Rutkowski refused to answer questions from the Tribune directly, and instead provided a written response earlier this week.

"I did nothing wrong," it read, in part.

He added that as chief law enforcement officer for the county, he will "continue to work with the sheriff's department and all of our law enforcement agencies to fulfill my elected mandate."
The midsummer morning is shrouded in white, every mountain crevice filled with a milky mist that overflows from plateau lakes clearly too shallow to hold it all.

I am in Saihanba, China's largest national forest, to see and learn about the epic, often tragic, effort that has gone into transforming this once desolate expanse into hectare upon hectare of lush green forest. But before I can even contemplate that task, the sheer majesty of the place sweeps me off my feet.

At Seven-Star Lakes, located in the central-west of the forest and whose name refers to seven small patches of water in the area, I let that beauty and the flower-perfumed cool morning air seep deep into me.

One morning in July, Saihanba National Forest is immersed in mist. Photos by Zou Hong / China Daily Early morning at the Seven-Star Lakes. A nest of newborn birds.

I have been here since 5:40 am, about 40 minutes after sunrise, and millions of golden beams penetrate the mist before bouncing on the lake surface. The interplay between the light, water and the mist is a wonder to behold and is ever-changing, resulting in multiple layers of color floating above the surface of the lakes.

After spending seven hours the previous day traveling from Beijing to this paradise in Hebei province, the view more than compensates for the fatigue and car sickness I endured. All around are young people with cameras.

A photographer accompanying me who was here two hours before me tells of the magnificent sunrise: the sky and the lakes that reflect it were flush with a blend of crimson, fuchsia and ocher as the dark blue receded to usher in a new day.

Everything here is sculpted by sunlight, from a blade of grass to the mountains and trees in the far distance. By 7 am, the mist has largely dissipated, and the warm sun pours a bucket of golden dye into the water and onto the anglers who sit at the lakeside. Saihanba has arisen.

Although the forest is officially located in Hebei, its northern edge borders China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region, which gives the place a strong Mongolian flavor. For one thing, in Mongolian, Saihanba means "beautiful highland".

In history, the place has consistently lived up to that designation, first becoming a royal hunting ground in the early 10th century. That was when the Liao Empire, set up by a nomadic people, ruled vast tracts of land in northern China. Saihanba, with its lush forests and boundless grassland, was where successive Liao emperors continued their tradition of spring and autumn hunting, chasing wild geese with their specially trained birds of prey.

Later, Saihanba experienced its heyday during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), China's last feudal dynasty. The founders were Manchu people, one of the two ethnic minority groups that have ruled the whole of China. Also a horseback people, the Manchu picked up their Liao predecessors' hunting practice and turned the place into the world's largest royal hunting ground.

Enclosure hunting was carried out: Soldiers wearing deer horns sneaked into the forest before starting to blow whistles made of birch bark. The sound resembles that of a female deer, enough attraction for the male deer and the animals who preyed on them.

That lasted for another century and a half, until the fortunes of the empire began to wane, in the early 19th century. Western powers were pounding on the door of the Middle Kingdom, which meant the days for its rulers to pamper themselves in the name of their ancestors were gone. Royal hunting ceased in 1820, and in 1860 the hunting ground was opened to the public. Farmers and herders moved in, grass was grazed and trees felled. Over the coming decades, the land was reduced to a shadow of its former self, and as its beauty vanished, Saihanba became the land people forgot.

It would not draw widespread public attention again until the 1950s, having become a passageway through which sandstorms blew, carrying their payload for hundreds of kilometers. Thus, in 1962, the Chinese government decided to build a national forest there.

Those who lived there over the next few decades would have to withstand utter isolation and the bitter cold, but by 1982 their travails had borne fruit, the land being covered by 64,000 hectares of forest, which has since grown From page 1 to 69,000 hectares.

At the height of summer, this vast expanse is a sight to behold, a seemingly endless green carpet that is astonishingly uniform rolling across the land, with single species of trees, including conifer, Scots pine, birch and spruce each allotted their own patch over which to hold sway.

In the autumn, the vivid green that has spilled into every corner morphs into a combination of gold, ocher and dark green. For those who love pictures and photography, all the color, dripping and saturated, is a heady, addictive mix.

But that beauty is fleeting; when winter, for which Saihanba is renowned, arrives, all the visual noise is silenced. Most of the trees lose their leaves and the full intricacy of their branches becomes apparent. Autumn's blanket of leaves gives way to a blanket of snow, a white, spotless spectacle all its own.

Cycle of life

Far away from the rushed cacophony of the city, the cycle of life here is tangibly felt and honored by all who call it home.

At one poignant moment of my too-short visit, I and my group almost literally stumbled upon a nest of newborn birds, whose maker had ingeniously built it with twigs barely hidden in the grass on the ground. A mother seemed to have worked out that sometimes it is in the most conspicuous place that safety lies.

The birds were so heartbreakingly young that they were devoid of feathers, with only pink, transparent skin as a covering. Their eyes firmly closed and mouths agape, they called incessantly for their mother, which, a forester said, must not be far away, in fact probably standing on a tree branch overlooking us.

"She comes down every half hour to feed her chicks," he said.

On his advice we left, fearing our presence was impeding the mother in her parental duties. However, just before we left, this gentle man, who said he had been keeping an eye on the fledglings for several weeks, carefully readjusted the surrounding grass to better shield the birds from the sun.

In bygone centuries, this place was a paradise for animals. Emperor Kangxi (1654-1722) of the Qing Dynasty, a consummate archer and the first Qing emperor to hunt at Saihanba, is said to have captured 318 rabbits in a day. Today, the mature forests have coaxed back wild animals including deer, wild ducks and boar.

But most of the animals are shy. The only time I saw one was at Seven-Star Lakes, when a wild duck suddenly jumped out of the wetland in front of me and glided for a short while before diving back into the tall grass.

However, as our bus headed along the road between patches of farmland with forested mountains as their backdrop, it was evident that many scarecrows dot the potato fields.

"We do have boars here," the driver said. "By day they hide in the forest, and by night they come out for potatoes."

Another place of beauty at Saihanba is where the forest park borders Inner Mongolia, and where several rivers originate before running through a myriad of terrains toward places including Beijing and neighboring Tianjin.

Improved environment

The improved environment has been conducive to the reappearance of animals previously thought to be extinct. One of these is the fine-scaled fish, which inhabits the chilly waters of plateau lakes.

Among the flora is a yellow flower the locals dry in the sun to make a medicine for treating inflammation of the throat, and a purple flower that outsiders often mistake for lavender. In northern Saihanba is a stretch of land filled with that little purple flower. Right beside it is a tree, about 20 meters tall and known, very matter of factly, as The Tree. Locals reckon that just before the national forest was founded in 1962, Liu Kun, an official of the State Forestry Administration, came to do ground research and saw that tree.

"At the time, the tree was estimated to be 150 years old," says Chen Zhiqing, a member of the forest's management. "The sight of that old tree, standing solitarily on the sandy ground, convinced him that a forest could be built here."

If the estimates are right, that tree has long since blown out the candles on its 200th birthday, and it still continues to enjoy relative solitude. But all around it forests have appeared.

Liu died in 2013 and asked that his ashes be scattered in the forest.

"People come here to escape the summer heat, and to be awed by the green 'ocean' around them," Chen says. "What few realize is that the way this beauty has been created is infinitely more inspiring than the beauty itself."

zhaoxu@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily European Weekly 08/25/2017 page1)
If you're a veteran living or traveling outside the country how can you get VA healthcare?

Generally, as long as the medical treatment is necessary for the treatment of a VA-rated, service-connected disability and it is a medical treatment or drug that is authorized in the U.S., the VA will pay for it.

Pre-registration is not necessary. However, veterans who are permanently relocating to a country are encouraged to notify the VA upon establishing a permanent foreign mailing address. At that time, arrangements will be made for registration and the mailing of detailed program material which provides detailed information on benefit coverage and limitations, how to select health care providers and claim filing instructions.

Veterans receiving health care services in the Philippines should register with the VA office in Pasay City. Veterans calling from within the Philippines may contact the VA office in Pasay City at 1-800-1888-8387. If calling from outside of the Philippines, the number is 011-632-318-8387.

Veterans may also register by email at IRIS.va.gov. All other veterans living or planning to travel outside the U.S. should register with the Foreign Medical Program at:

Foreign Medical Program PO Box 469061 Denver, CO 80246-9061

or via telephone at 303-331-7590.

For information visit: https://www.va.gov/communitycare/programs/veterans/fmp/index.asp.

Some veterans traveling or living overseas can call the VA toll free from these countries. These numbers are available from 0800 - 1845 Eastern Time:

Canada 877-345-8179;

Germany 0800-1800-011 ;

; Australia 1-800-354-965 ;

; Italy 800-782-655 ;

; United Kingdom 0800-032-7425 ;

; Mexico 001-877-345-8179 ;

; Japan 00531-13-0871 ;

; Costa Rica 0800-013-0759 ;

; Spain 900-981-776.

(Note:Veterans in Mexico or Costa Rica must first dial the United States country code.)

VA is not authorized to ship medications or medical/surgical supply items outside of the U.S. or its Territories. For veterans registered with the Foreign Medical Program, prescription reimbursement is approved only for FDA approved medications.

If you are in the U.S. and plan to travel abroad, you can notify the VA who can opt to fill prescriptions early to ensure you have enough medications for your trip. This may be done on a limited basis and requires advance notice.

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Camp Lejeune Town Halls Aim to Help Those Exposed to Toxic Water. Heres How You Can Go.

Retired Marine Master Sgt. Jerry Ensminger made it his mission to tell the world that if they lived or served on Camp Lejeune...
U.S. Army officials announced Friday that a soldier stationed at Fort Carson in Colorado died Tuesday while deployed to Germany, marking the third death of a Carson soldier this week.

Sgt. Michael J. Martinez, of the 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, was found unresponsive and medically evacuated to a local German medical facility where he was pronounced dead, according to a press release from the base.

The 22-year-old soldier was deployed to Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany, as part of a nine-month deployment to Eastern Europe in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve, the U.S. mission to support NATO in response to Russia's military involvement in Ukraine.

The cause of Martinez's death wasn't immediately unknown. The incident is under investigation.

Martinez, originally from Norwalk, California, entered the Army on July 2, 2013, as a fire support specialist. He deployed to Germany Jan. 21 as part of a U.S. forces' commitment to the security of NATO allies and partners conducting bilateral training and multinational exercises in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Germany, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria, the release states.

"We are extremely saddened by the death of Sgt. Michael J. Martinez," said Col. Michael J. Simmering, commander of 3rd ABCT, 4th Infantry Division. "This is an unexpected tragedy and a personal loss to the Iron Brigade family, and my heartfelt condolences go out to Michael's family at this time."

He added, "All of our 3,500 deployed men and women are serving diligently to maintain the security and wellbeing of Europe, and Michael was a tremendous example of that dedication and selfless service to others."

Martinez is the third soldier from Fort Carson to die this week.

Spc. Matthew R. Turcotte died Wednesday morning during a live-fire training exercise at the base, officials said.

Turcotte, 20, was assigned to the 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division. He was shot while participating in a combined arms live-fire exercise at a southern range when the accident occurred, Carson officials maintain.

Turcotte received "extensive medical aid" at the location of the accident, but he was pronounced dead on the range. The cause of the accident is under investigation.

Meanwhile, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Lamont O. Williams, 38, was killed while on terminal leave in Stafford County, Virginia, on Tuesday, Fort Carson officials confirmed. The cause of death is unknown.

Williams had been in the Army for 20 years and arrived to Fort Carson in the 4th Infantry Division in December 2014, the Army said. For his service, he received several awards including the Purple Heart, the service said.

-- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com.
More than 10 US diplomats and their family members in Cuba have experienced strange symptoms including hearing loss, mild traumatic brain injury, and central nervous system damage after being exposed to some kind of mysterious sonic weapon, according to a review of medical records by CBS News.

The Associated Press reported: "After months of investigation, U.S. officials concluded that the diplomats had been exposed to an advanced device that operated outside the range of audible sound and had been deployed either inside or outside their residences. It was not immediately clear if the device was a weapon used in a deliberate attack, or had some other purpose."

But a number of experts aren't sure whether such a device exists.

"There isn't an acoustic phenomenon in the world that would cause those type of symptoms," Seth Horowitz, a neuroscientist and author of the book "The Universal Sense: How Hearing Shapes the Mind," told Business Insider via email.

Horowitz explained that no known inaudible -- and seemingly undetectable -- device could have the properties attributed to these strange sonic weapons.

Would someone target diplomats with mysterious devices?

Starting in late 2016, a number of diplomats and their family members sought medical attention for mysterious nausea, hearing problems, and balance issues. At least five Canadians have experienced similar symptoms, according to CNN.

The attacks -- if that's what they were -- appear to have stopped. But it remains unknown what sort of device could have caused these medical issues and who was behind these attacks.

Diplomats have experienced other forms of harassment, like break-ins and surveillance, since the US formally restored diplomatic relations with Cuba in 2015. But a physical attack is unprecedented, and many experts say Cuba has no interest in damaging relations with the US. Some experts have said that the fact Canadians experienced similar symptoms make the possibility of an intentional "attack" even less likely, since Cuba and Canada have a strong relationship.

Because of these factors, experts wonder whether the symptoms could be the result of a third party (potentially from another government) trying to sabotage US-Cuban relations. Others have mused that this could be some sort of eavesdropping device gone haywire.

It "sounds like a science experiment," James Carson, former head of the US Interests Section in Havana, told The New York Times.

For the most part, it seems victims didn't hear anything, which implies the device operates outside the audible range of sound. But CNN's report said two officials also described "a deafeningly loud sound similar to the buzzing created by insects or metal scraping across a floor," though no one knew where that sound came from.

Toby Heys, the leader of Manchester Metropolitan University's Future Technology research center told New Scientist that it's possible for something emitting infrasound -- vibrations at a frequency below what humans can hear -- to cause hearing loss. But Heys said that would require large subwoofers, making covert deployment unlikely.

Ultrasound devices, which operate above the range of human hearing, exist and could damage the ears, Heys said. But these would need to be directly targeted into the ear.

"Overall, I would be pretty circumspect about the claims to be honest -- it is all very Philip K. Dick territory," Heys said. "That said, we are living in a fairly surreal world right now."

Horowitz said via email that without more evidence of these weapons, this incident should be considered a non-story, and that other possible explanations for these medical problems should be considered.

The use of sonic weaponry

Sonic weapons do exist, but for the most part they are "highly visible and easy to avoid," according to Horowitz.

Such weapons include long range acoustic devices, or LRADs, which emit a shill, loud, disabling sound that can damage the hearing of people more than 900 feet away. These devices have been used by US troops in Iraq, for crowd control in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, and by cruise ships to repel Somali pirates. Similar "sound cannons" were also used by police against protestors at the G-20 meetings in Pittsburgh in 2009.

But those devices are large and emit obvious sounds. A mystery machine that emits harmful, silent waves defies any immediate explanation.

Business Insider has reached out to other experts on non-lethal weaponry and will update this post if a plausible explanation emerges

More From Business Insider:
The threat of a government shutdown next month due to a back-and-forth between the White House and Congress over the budget, the debt ceiling and the border wall has once again raised the issue of whether veterans benefits and military pay would be protected.

The last time a government shutdown briefly loomed in April over the budget and Congressional continuing resolutions, Veterans Affairs Secretary Dr. David Shulkin stressed that there would be no impact on veterans benefits because of the way the VA is funded.

At the time, Shulkin said a shutdown posed "no risk to veterans," and told CBS, "The VA is in a fortunate situation in that we have what's called an advanced appropriations so we get our money a year ahead of time because I think Congress understands that the VA can't shut down, that we are there for the safety of our veterans."

However, in the last government shutdown which ran Oct. 1-16, 2013, then-VA Secretary Eric Shinseki warned that checks to 5.1 million veterans might not go out if the shutdown lasted into late October.

Related: US Military Budget for Fiscal 2018

The 2013 shutdown began with a fight in Congress over funding of the Affordable Care Act that led to Congress' failure to agree on a budget for the new fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, 2013. According to Standard & Poor's, the 2013 shutdown cost the government $24 billion, or about $1.5 billion daily.

Military pay is another matter.

The long-standing guidance from the Pentagon's Defense Finance and Accounting Service is clear: The Defense Department "will have no legal authority to pay military members or civilian employees for the days during which the government is shut down."

However, in past shutdowns Congress has come up with workarounds -- at least for those in uniform -- to keep the paychecks flowing. As former Defense Secretary Robert Gates said when a shutdown seemed possible during his tenure, Congress should take heed to "pay the guys with guns first" to avoid the political fallout.

Just before the government shutdown began in 2013, President Barack Obama signed an emergency bill to continue paying the troops for however long the shutdown lasted.

Civilian employees of the Defense Department were among the 800,000 government workers who were furloughed during the 2013 shutdown, except for those whose duties were deemed to be critical. The government employees received back pay once the shutdown ended.

Veterans of Foreign Wars spokesman Joe Davis said that the current threat of a shutdown would likely be avoided once Congress returns from recess after Labor Day.

"It's something to watch out for," he said but "there'll be something done. We're not up in arms in advance."

Congress will also have to decide on the next pay raise for the military in 2018. The White House has proposed a 2.1 percent pay increase for the troops, and House Republican leaders have proposed a 2.4 percent increase.

In late June, a group of House Democrats proposed the "Give Our Troops A Raise Act" which would boost military pay by 2.9 percent. One of the sponsors, Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., said in a statement:

"Our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines deserve pay increases that are competitive with opportunities in the private sector and that better reflect the gravity of their sacrifices on behalf of our nation."

Once Congress returns, lawmakers will have until Oct. 1 to pass a spending bill and also will have to lift the debt ceiling by late September to allow the government to continue borrowing money to pay its debts.

"It's completely unpredictable" whether Congress will be able to reach agreement, Maya MacGuineas, president of the bipartisan Committee for a Responsible Budget, told The Washington Post. In addition, negotiations on possible agreements "just got a mini-bomb tossed into it," MacGuineas said.

She referred to President Donald Trump's threat of a shutdown unless Congress comes up with the money to pay for his promised border wall, which he said during the campaign that Mexico would pay for.

At a rally in Phoenix on Tuesday night, the president said, "We are building a wall on the southern border, which is absolutely necessary."

He added, "Now the obstructionist Democrats would like us not to do it, but believe me, if we have to close down our government, we are building that wall."

In May, Trump's 2018 budget proposal for border security asked for $2.6 billion, of which $1.6 billion would go to begin construction for a southern border wall.

At a White House briefing Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump was serious on getting funding for the wall.

"He campaigned on the wall," she said, "and he's going to make sure that gets done. He's going to continue to fight for that funding." She deflected questions on Mexico paying for it.

Since 1976, there have been seven shutdowns which led to federal employees being furloughed. During the administration of former President Ronald Reagan, there were three brief shutdowns lasting a day.

In 1990, during the administration of George H.W. Bush, there was a weekend shutdown. In the administration of former President Bill Clinton, there was a shutdown lasting five days in 1995 and one lasting 21 days in 1996. The next shutdown was in 2013.

-- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com.
In 2016, about 250,000 members of the U.S. military transitioned from military service to the civilian sector, adding to the more than 10 million veterans already in the workforce. The U.S. Armed Forces are one of the best feeder programs to companies as few organizations teach leadership, discipline, accountability, organization, and teamwork like the military. Evidence suggests military veterans are excelling in the workforceespecially as senior leaders and CEOs. Military veteran CEOs have longer tenures and deliver better results than their non-military peers. While military service can provide the foundational experience and education needed to excel as a business leader, military service is not required to apply military leadership practices in the workplace. Here are five things the military does well that every business leader can immediately apply to the workplace.

1. Be on time.

Tardiness is a problem that plagues companies and destroys productivity. In a recent survey, nearly 70 percent of employees admitted to being late to meetings; about 37 percent of all meetings started late, with an average delay of 15 minutes. The problem worsens with increased responsibility. For example, CEOs are late for 8 out of every 10 meetings. When CEOs and other senior leaders are late, the problem compounds within the organization as it sets a culture of tardiness-acceptability. We have all been on the conference calls or meetings where the leader or organizer joins late and then asks for a complete recap of what has happened. Its more than frustratingits very expensive, costing about $3 billion in lost productivity each year in the United States.

There is a saying in the military that goes, If you are on time, then you are late. There is an expectation that you arrive early and prepared. The precision of punctuality is a cornerstone of military efficiency; it is instilled in every soldier, sailor, airman, and marine from the first day of initial training. The military takes it so seriously, that in certain cases its against the Uniform Code of Military Justice (military law) to be late. Punctuality is not only an input to efficiency, but its also a sign of professionalism and respect.

2. Look sharp.

The adage about first impressions is true, and even small details can make a big impact. A study showed that after only three seconds of observation, a person wearing a tailored suit was rated as more confident, successful, flexible and a higher earner than the subject in the off the rack suit. If you are well dressed, people will presume you are in a position of authority and wield influence. In an experiment, psychologists found that pedestrians waiting to cross at a light were more inclined to jaywalk following a man in a business suit than a poorly dressed man. This phenomenon is generalizable to the workplace as well. As a well-dressed leader, you are more likely to be followed by your subordinates and supported by your colleagues.

Few organizations in the world take pride in their uniforms than the U.S. military. Countless hours are spent perfecting the fit and presentation of the military uniform. The attention to detail is impeccable. Make no mistake: a power suit is the business equivalent of a commanding military uniform. Take a lesson from FedEx CEO Frederick Smith, a former Marine Captain, who still shines his own shoes daily and ensures his belt buckle lines up with his shirt front and trouser fly of his blue pinstripe suit.

3. Be prepared.

The value of proper planning is undervalued in our Ready, Fire, Aim business culture. Lack of adequate preparation is a productivity-and-revenue-killer. In a recent survey of senior managers, 71% of respondents claimed their organizations meetings are unproductive and inefficient. No agenda, goals, nor assigned roles are commonplace. Quite often, an ineffective meeting leads to a need for another meeting and the vicious cycle perpetuates. Time is a companys most scarce resource, yet firms squander it away with little care by being unprepared. Externally, to customers and clients, 78 percent of sales managers do not adequately prepare for customer-facing meetings. Showing up having a presentation with another clients name on the title slide, an unrehearsed pitch, and inoperative demonstration equipment are some of the more egregious mistakes resulting from unpreparedness.

Conversely, military meetings happen with more purpose and discipline, and have better outcomes. Decisions are made following the Military Decision Making Process (MDMP), a single, established, and proven analytical approach to problem-solving that facilitates collaborative planning and drives preparation. The military follows a one-third, two-thirds rule; about one-third of the total time is allotted to planning and two-thirds to execution. Meticulous rehearsals are conducted to standard before execution, and pre-checks and inspections are embedded into every missions plan. By making preparation a required component of all company action, firms will become more productive and efficientand ultimately more profitable.

4. Develop leaders.

During the financial crisis during the previous decade, American corporations reduced their investment in leadership development programs and practices. For example, between 2007 and 2014, the number of companies providing full sponsorship toward executive MBA programs for their high-potential leaders dropped by 29 percent. Internal practices such as on-the-job leadership development and mentorship programs declined as well. As a result, most surveyed senior executives claim that leadership development is a top concern in their organizationabout half characterizing their companys leadership development as poor or ineffective. This is a troubling admission since 85 percent of CEOs in the U.S. were appointed from within. An extraordinary example is James Skinner, a U.S. Navy veteran, who started with McDonald's in 1971 in the manager-trainee program and decades later became the companys CEO.

In the military, there is a core focus on leadership at all levelsfrom enlisted team-leaders to commanding officers. Training and education are purposeful and plentiful, with a focus on the fundamentals, such as ethics, problem-solving, critical thinking, and simply taking care of subordinates. The militarys decentralized authority and responsibility structure allow for progressive and sequential leadership experiences throughout a career. Companies should embrace the strategic and long-term value of leadership development and not be distracted by quarterly income statements. Firms that do so have stronger long-term performance, including high growth in customer satisfaction, market share, revenue, and profit.

5. Embrace teamwork.

In the bravado individualistic culture of the United States, there is often glorification of the hero. This perception is exacerbated by Hollywood dramatization. In reality, few high achievements are accomplished without the support of a cohesive team. Trust, shared values, open communication, a common goal, and cognitive diversity are often the determinants of success than a gaggle of high-performing individual contributors out for riches or extolment. In a recent survey of employers, teamwork was ranked the second most important quality for business leaders, only second to communication. Many business schools have listened to employers and have transitioned from a cut-throat, destructively competitive culture to one that focuses more on teamwork and collaboration.

The concept of the team and its importance in goal achievement is inculcated into every member of the military. Even at the lowest level, everything is done using a buddy systema battle buddy or a swim buddy, working in small teams. Shared experiences, especially through challenging times, help strengthen military teamsno one understands this more than a combat veteran. Intense training can create a similar effect and can strengthen a teams esprit de corps, improve effectiveness, and increase morale. Companies can experience similar team bonding outcomes with off-site retreats and team building events. Many corporate training programs even offer military-style obstacle and rope courses and group problem-solving scenarios. Research shows that building and nurturing cohesive, positive teams can lead to better business outcomes.

Aaron Sean Poynton served in the U.S. Army for seven years, attaining the rank of Captain. He has since transitioned into the civilian sector and has worked for Fortune 500, FTSE 100, and private companies in business leadership roles. He has an MBA from Dukes Fuqua School of Business and is a Senior Vice President at Federal Resources.
Cooperation with China promises great benefits for the people and economies of both countries

Elections, in a democratic society, give the people new hope and give those elected a mandate to govern legitimately. A democratic government is guided by the grand aggregate average of the wishes of society, and that is the reason why leaders have to sell their agendas by explaining their manifestos to the electorate. Kenya has been holding elections to choose its leaders since independence in 1963.

The promulgation of the 2010 Constitution provided an expanded space for the growth of democracy, through acknowledgement of basic human rights and freedoms and a standard of integrity for its leaders. Therefore, it is expected that the total application of the provisions of the Constitution will, through time, result in rapid economic development.

Globalization provides Kenya with opportunities for partnerships with other countries for the mutual benefit of their people. China is one of the countries whose cooperation with Kenya has provided benefits within a very short period of time. It is no secret that contracts awarded to Chinese companies have been carried out on schedule, and even in some cases projects have been completed ahead of schedule. This has resulted in Kenya being able to enjoy the projects' benefits and opportunities without extra costs normally associated with contract extensions.

Major projects undertaken by Chinese contractors include the Thika-Nairobi Super Highway, the standard gauge railway and many others.

In the past, Kenya has experienced high costs in doing business because of inefficiencies in existing infrastructure facilities such as roads, power and telecommunications. Today most of these inefficiencies have gone, thanks to the investment in infrastructure mostly financed by the Chinese government and executed by Chinese companies.

Since Vision 2030 became the major policy blueprint to guide economic planning and investment in Kenya by both public and private entities, the economy has grown on average by 6 percent annually, almost doubling GDP in 10 years. Increased cooperation with China, following past performance, may result in Kenya achieving the aim of Vision 2030, namely becoming a middle-income country by 2030. If Kenya achieves a sustained annual GDP growth of 10 percent in the next 13 years, by 2030 it will attain such status, with a minimum per capita income of $3,000.

However, for this to be achieved a number of things must occur. Hence, the need for increased cooperation between Kenya and China.

The huge potential existing in the key sectors outlined in Vision 2030 must be fully exploited. Kenya, being a low-income country, may not be able to harness adequate and sufficient resources to undertake the huge investment required to grow these sectors. Hence, countries like China need to take advantage and invest heavily in Kenya's agriculture, manufacturing, mining, IT, wholesale and retail marketing, the financial sector and the health and education sectors. To exploit this potential, heavy investment presents huge opportunities to build the required foundation for faster economic growth, such as water, power, fiber optic connections, education and technology.

In agriculture, together with the need for increased food production, value addition in agricultural materials such as tea, coffee, horticulture and animal products is imperative. These will enhance and stabilize farmers' incomes, create employment and increase Kenya's export capacity. These aims can easily be achieved through harnessing water for irrigation, introducing better seeds, control of plant and animal disease, research and development of better technologies and new products.

The manufacturing sector needs to be expanded to widen the product range to include consumer goods, processed industrial materials, pharmaceuticals and chemicals, electrical appliances, electronics, motor vehicles, tractors and industrial equipment. The rapidly growing real estate, building and construction sectors require the production of building and construction materials locally. Since China has long experience and technology in these sectors, Chinese companies are welcome to invest in Kenya to fill the existing production gaps.

The biggest problem facing Kenya and other African countries is youth unemployment, which in some areas is above 50 percent. This is unsustainable. It is a fact that China's economy in some sectors is now gradually becoming less competitive due to rising labor costs. Therefore, relocation of some of these industries to Kenya could ease youth unemployment while enabling Chinese manufacturers to remain competitive and hold on to existing markets. This will result in mutual benefit for Kenya and China.

In conclusion, the recent peaceful election is evidence that Kenya remains one of the best locations for investment and business in Africa. Chinese investors need to focus their investment on Kenya to exploit the existing market opportunities the country has developed over the years. The return on investment in Kenya is comparable to the best of the world, averaging 30 percent and above.

Kenya is located on the East African coast next to the Indian Ocean, and its neighbors are Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, South Sudan and Somalia. Its population is 45 million. It is a member of the East Africa Community, comprising five countries - the others being Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi - with a combined population estimated at 150 million.

The author is general manager for investor services of the Kenya Investment Authority. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

(China Daily European Weekly 08/25/2017 page12)
Spill Response and Absorbent Products for Oil, Gas and Hazardous Waste on Land and in Water
Approach by China's Mogao Caves can point the way for European destinations which are now being swamped by visitors

Residents of the English university city of Cambridge recently echoed the sentiments of Venice, Reykjavik and other much-visited European destinations by complaining they were fed up with tourists.

Reacting to the city authority's plan to raise even more than the current 764 million ($985 million; 834 million euros) from 5 million visitors a year, one irate local suggested walling off the city center and setting up turnstiles to charge visitors entry.

In an era of ever-growing mass tourism, there is an ever-growing backlash from communities that feel they are being swamped by a tidal wave of trippers.

At the height of the summer season in July, about 2,000 Venetians staged a march to protest that tourism had eroded their quality of life, damaged the environment and driven away long-term residents.

There have been similar demonstrations in Iceland - population 335,000 - that have focused on the bad behavior of some of the visitors, whose overall numbers have more than doubled since 2010 to almost 5 million. Travel website The Culture Trip this month listed the Icelandic capital of Reykjavik among 11 European destinations best avoided if visitors did not want to face the ire of angry locals who were sick of seeing them.

The commentary said that in Iceland and elsewhere, local residents were voicing their anger at rising housing costs, overcrowded streets and a sense that the tourist boom benefits some more than others.

The Iceland example perfectly illustrates the tourism conundrum. A boom in visitor numbers rescued the island economy after the 2008 financial crisis, but locals have struggled to cope with the social and environmental impact.

In some places, complaints have focused not just on visitor numbers but also on a minority who abuse the hospitality of the host destinations through drunken and inappropriate behavior.

On one level, the anti-tourist gripes can be dismissed as the minority view of people who want to have their cake and eat it - many benefit from the tourism economy in parts of Europe that are otherwise unproductive but they do not want the headaches that mass tourism brings with it.

That said, there is clearly a problem. Mass tourism can contribute to destroying the very experience that visitors go in search of. A generation ago, the medieval courtyards of Cambridge's prestigious colleges were open to all. For most of the time, they are now closed to the general public.

I remember being virtually alone when I first visited the Acropolis in Athens in 1962. These days it is as crowded as London's Oxford Street on the Saturday before Christmas.

There is a certain snobbery, of course, in wishing for a return to the old days. Why should lifetime experiences be confined to a minority when everyone is entitled to travel where they like and more people can afford it in an era of mass tourism?

But tourism can be exploitative. Cruise liner companies boost their profits by hauling passengers off to whatever must-see site is within range of every port of call. The trippers spend little money ashore, usually eat on board and often have only a cursory idea of what it is they are being taken to visit.

The problem is not confined to Europe. Authorities in China's Gansu province recently adopted new technology to address the phenomenon of mass tourism potentially threatening the Mogao Caves, which house the world's largest collection of Buddhist art.

Before visitors start their tour of the real caves, they are taken to a visitor center, where 3-D digital technology is used to show them the frescoes and sculptures. This preparation means visitors can gain knowledge while spending less time in the fragile caves.

It is an interesting strategy. It will not be applicable to the challenges of every destination drowning in a sea of tourists. But it's a start.

The author is a senior editorial consultant for China Daily. Contact the writer at harveymorris@gmail.com.

(China Daily European Weekly 08/25/2017 page11)
YPSILANTI, MI - Two Ypsilanti moms and their families are receiving keys to new homes for themselves and their family courtesy of Toyota Motor Co. and Habitat for Humanity of Huron Valley.

Adriana Ponce and Tiffany Cole have put in hundreds of hours of sweat equity and contributed a $1,000 down payment ahead of moving into newly-renovated homes in the Ypsilanti area, for which Toyota contributed $80,000 to fund the work.

More than 300 volunteers from Toyota also joined in the renovation effort, painting walls and cleaning up yards at the two residences.

The ten year anniversary of the partnership is being marked by an event from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 26 at the site of one of the houses at 1324 Wendell Ave. in Ypsilanti.

Toyota Vice Presidents Jeff Makarewicz and Shinichi Yasui are expected to speak at the event, along with Sarah Stanton, executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Huron Valley.

According to the Habitat for Humanity, Ponce is a University of Michigan employee and has a 6-year-old daughter. They moved to Michigan in 2013.

Cole has a 1-year-old son and is expecting her second child, a daughter, any day.

In addition to 250 hours of "sweat equity," Ponce and Cole are required to attend financial management and home maintenance classes through Habitat for Humanity.

The 10-year partnership between Toyota and Habitat for Humanity of Huron Valley has resulted in 11 homes built or renovated, more than $386,000 in donations and around 17,000 hours of volunteer work.

Stanton said Toyota's continued commitment is "invaluable" to the organization's work of making affordable homeownership possible in Washtenaw County.

"Toyota's investment in our organization has made a tremendous local impact on our communities," Stanton said in a statement. "Toyota's strong support has helped us grow from building a handful of houses 30 years ago to renovating 19 houses and providing home improvements to an additional 1,000 existing homeowners this year."

In addition to its partnership with the Habitat for Humanity, Toyota is also celebrating the 40th anniversary of its North America Research and Development efforts.

The automotive company recently expanded its research facility in York Township, a $154 million expansion that is part of the "One Toyota" plan to consolidate operations in North America.

Charan Lota serves as executive manager of Toyota North America R&D and on the board of the Habitat for Humanity of Huron Valley. He said in a statement the partnership between the two organizations has created friends and strengthened bonds.

"We look forward to continuing this relationship for years to come. Thank you to Habitat Huron Valley for the opportunity to make a difference," Lota said in the statement. "We value our strong partnership with Habitat for Humanity of Huron Valley and nationally."

Habitat for Humanity of Huron Valley said it hopes it renovate 19 houses in Washtenaw County in 2018.
ANN ARBOR, MI - An entrance ramp on U.S. 23 north of Ann Arbor is closing this weekend for reconstruction.

The Michigan Department of Transportation reports the southbound U.S. 23 ramp to Six Mile Road in Northfield Township will close at 6 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 26 through 5 a.m. Friday, Sept. 1.

Drivers can follow a posted detour.

Following that, the northbound U.S. 23 ramp to Barker Road in Northfield Township will close at 9 p.m. Sept. 8 through 7 a.m. Sept. 11 for storm sewer reconstruction.

The construction is part of MDOT's U.S. 23 "Flex Route" project, which is adding a rush-hour lane on the inside shoulder on each direction of the freeway from Ann Arbor to Nine Mile Road or M-36 to relieve traffic congestion.

MDOT's project includes lengthening entrance ramps and rebuilding and widening several overpasses.

Construction should be complete in November, and the Flex Route should open to traffic in December or January, according to MDOT.
Shane A. Schindler, taken at the Bay County Jail in May 2015.

LAS VEGAS -- When someone began fatally bludgeoning homeless men on Las Vegas streets in early 2017, police set up a decoy in hopes of baiting the killer. Sure enough, a man beat the mannequin with a hammer as it lay on a street corner, only to be quickly arrested by police.

Now, that man -- Bay City native Shane A. Schindler -- is heading to prison for up to two decades for attacking the dummy. He's avoided any penalty related to the actual slayings.

Schindler, 30, on Thursday, Aug. 24, appeared before Clark County District Judge Michael P. Villani for sentencing. The judge ordered Schindler incarcerated for eight to 20 years, the maximum sentence allowed.

The judge gave Schindler credit for 182 days already served in jail.

Schindler did not offer a comment and appeared "blank-faced" during the hearing, according to The Las Vegas Review-Journal.

"These attacks are senseless," Judge Villani said. "It boggles the mind."

Schindler in June pleaded guilty to one count of attempted murder. In exchange, the prosecution dismissed a charge of carrying a concealed weapon.

As part of the plea deal, prosecutors agreed not to file additional charges related to two homeless men's killings, defense attorney Ashley Sisolak told The Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Clark County Chief Deputy District Attorney Marc DiGiacomo told the newspaper there was reasonably compelling evidence Schindler committed the two slayings.

The body of David M. Aldape, 46, was found Jan. 4; 60-year-old David H. Dunn's body was found Feb. 3. Both men died of head injuries and neither had been robbed.

As part of their investigation into the deaths, police placed a decoy dummy on a street corner near the scene of the previous slayings. They staked out the location and placed a video camera on a nearby traffic signal pole.

The footage shows Schindler on the night of Feb. 22 approach the mannequin and amble around it for nearly 15 minutes. He then pulls a ball-peen hammer from a plastic bag and delivers two quick blows to the dummy's head.

Moments later, police enter the frame and arrest Schindler.

In video footage of an interview with two homicide detectives, Schindler maintains he knew the figure was not a real person before he struck it. He adds he moved to Las Vegas from Bay City about eight months prior and was living on the streets.

Investigators later searched Schindler's cellphone and found two selfies of him lying on his back near where Aldape's and Dunn's bodies were found.

Schindler has an outstanding warrant in Bay County on a charge of domestic violence. The warrant was issued in April 2016 and lists his mother as his alleged victim.
WAYNE COUNTY, MI - For the first time in Michigan, officials have found Asian tiger mosquitos, capable of spreading the Zika virus.

The mosquitoes were located in an industrial area in Livonia, along the I-96 corridor in Wayne County, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services announced Friday, Aug. 25.

There is no evidence, however, of mosquitoes infected with the virus in the state or the Midwest this year, the department emphasized in a statement.

The discovery is "no reason for great concern," Dr. Eden Wells, chief medical executive for the health and human services department, said in a statement.

She urged people to still take precautions against mosquito bites. Preventative measures include eliminating sources of standing water such as wading pools, old tires, buckets and containers; wearing long-sleeved shirts, pants and socks when outside; applying insect repellent; and making sure doors and windows have tight-fitting screens.

An outbreak of the Zika virus caught the world's attention beginning in 2015 in South and Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean. It can be passed during unprotected sex and from a pregnant woman to her fetus, and can cause certain birth defects, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Asian tiger mosquitos, an invasive day-biting species bread in water collection containers, have been extending their range. They were recently found in Nebraska, Conneticut, Indiana, Minnesota and Wisconsin, according to the statement.

There have been seven confirmed and probable Zika virus disease cases in 2017 in Michigan and 215 throughout the United States. None have been acquired through presumed local mosquito-borne transmission, the CDC reports. All but two of the cases involved travelers returning from affected areas.

This summer, the Department of Health and Human Services, with help from the CDC, has partnered with health departments in Wayne and 24 other counties to conduct surveillance for two mosquito species possibly carrying the virus.

In Livonia, officials have treated 11,000 catch basins annually since 2003 to eliminate larval mosquitoes, the Department of Health and Human Services reported.
A Metro Detroit boy is receiving worldwide attention after saving his drowning brother's life.

Ten-year-old Jacob O'Connor of Roseville restarted his 2-year-old brother Dylan's heart using knowledge learned from an unlikely teacher, movie star Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

In subsequent interviews, the first with C&G News, Jacob said he performed CPR on Dylan by imitating the Rock, whose character in one of Jacob's favorite Hollywood movies, 2015's "San Andreas," saved his daughter following a fictional tsunami.

"The movie just popped up in my head and I started thinking about that scene," Jacob told The Washington Post. "And that's when I started doing the compressions."

Jacob told the Post he performed chest compressions on his little brother for nearly a half-minute until his heart started beating and he vomited a little water.

After the story was reported, the Rock himself issued a congratulations to Jacob on Twitter that went viral and led to coverage by the Washington Post, "Good Morning America," "Inside Addition," and others.

Jacob's mother, Christa O'Connor, said she is currently having discussions with representatives from "Ellen DeGeneres Show" about a possible appearance.

Real life hero 10yr old Jacob O'Connor found his 2yr old brother, Dylan lying face down in their pool. Amazing story. Amazing boy. https://t.co/0cHsuBGqwS  Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) August 24, 2017

Wow amazing story. Giving you a Twitter  Jacob for saving your little brother's life. You're a real life hero. We're all proud of you! DJ https://t.co/M34d2NIYIy  Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) August 24, 2017

Jacob's mother, Christa O'Connor, who's listed as a 33-year-old caregiver and criminal justice student at Madonna University in her Facebook profile, called the outpouring of support and recognition for Jacob an "absolute blessing."
FLINT, MI -- An income tax violation charge against the city's new chief recovery officer has been dismissed in Genesee District Court -- more than a year after the debt was paid off.

An order of dismissal was signed by Judge William Crawford on Tuesday, Aug. 22, in the misdemeanor case against Jameca Patrick-Singleton, the woman hired by Mayor Karen Weaver to help manage the response to Flint's water crisis.

Patrick-Singleton, 42, is the former director of Metro Community Development's Coalition Building Programs and was the coordinator for the Flint/Genesee Continuum of Care, according to the city.

The city filed the income tax violation against her in January 2016, and city records show she paid off the amount due in February 2016.

But the case was never dismissed until this week.

Interim City Attorney Angela Wheeler told MLive-The Flint Journal that the dismissal should have occurred after the bill was paid -- something that's routine in such cases.

Kristin Moore, a spokeswoman for the city, said in emails to The Journal that the city typically files about 25 such criminal cases against individuals who are usually at least a year overdue in paying city income taxes.

City records supplied to The Journal don't say how much Patrick-Singleton owed or how long the taxes were delinquent, but she said the amount was a few hundred dollars.

Funding for the new chief recovery officer position comes from the Skillman Foundation, one of 10 groups, including three Flint-based foundations, that pledged $125 million to the city in an effort to restore the community in the aftermath of the water crisis.

In her new job, Patrick-Singleton is earning $85,000 annually.
FLINT, MI -- One of the state officials charged with criminal wrongdoing in the Flint water crisis wants a judge to force the release of documents related to Legionnaires' disease from McLaren-Flint hospital.

Chip Chamberlain, an attorney for Michigan Department of Health and Human Services director Nick Lyon, filed a motion in Genesee District Court this week seeking to compel the cooperation of officials from McLaren, one of four institutional witnesses he is seeking documents from.

DHHS and McLaren disagree over whether the hospital or the Flint water is primarily responsible for Legionnaires' disease outbreaks here in 2014 and 2015.

Lyon, a member of Gov. Rick Snyder's cabinet, is the highest-ranking official in state government to have been charged with crimes -- involuntary manslaughter and misconduct in office -- related to the water crisis.

Special prosecutor Todd Flood has charged Lyon, 49, with having intentionally misled and withheld information about Legionnaires from Snyder and that he directed a health official to discontinue an analysis that would have aided in determining the source of the outbreaks that killed at least a dozen people here.

Chamberlain has called the charges against Lyon "baseless."

Genesee District Judge David Goggins must decide on Lyon's new request of McLaren, something that could happen as early as Sept. 6, the next court appearance scheduled in the case.

MLive-The Flint Journal could not immediately reach a McLaren representative for comment on the new motion, which says the subpoena issued to the hospital called for production of records by Monday, Aug. 21.

Rather than comply or move to quash the subpoena, an attorney for McLaren "simply wrote ... advising of his client's intentions not to comply, claiming unspecified 'privileges' under law and the criminal court rules," the motion says.

The motion says Lyon's attorneys requested the subpoena because Robert Skidmore, the man whose death their client is accused of contributing to, contracted Legionnaires' at McLaren.

"The subpoena seeks records pertinent to the conditions at the hospital, all of which bear directly on the issue of the cause of death," the motion says.

The death certificate for Skidmore, filed in the Genesee County Clerk's Office, lists the 85-year-old Genesee Township man's cause of natural death as "end stage congestive heart failure."

Neither Legionnaires' disease nor Legionella is listed on the death certificate, but experts on the disease and the process have said heart failure, for example, could have been the end result of other factors.
Six months ago, An Xulin moved from his home village to Saihanba National Forest Park 30 kilometers away. When I meet him, he is busy preparing cuts of beef to sell.

"When things are going well, I can sell 10 kilograms of these a day," he says. Every three kilograms of raw beef processed gives him one kilogram, which he sells for 240 yuan ($36; 31 euros; 28), which is not exactly cheap.

"You may think I'm raking it in, but people come here only between June and October. For the rest of the year we get almost no one. Most of the restaurants and small hotels you see along the road will then be closed."

That is because in Saihanba, winter lasts for six months, with the temperature dropping to as low as minus 43 C. The man-made forest in Hebei province bordering the Inner Mongolia autonomous region is the largest of its kind in China. Tourism booms in summer, and those who have grown up knowing little about this place apart from how cold it gets can then cash in on the opportunities.

Seasons of change

The scene offers a sharp contrast to what the area was like more than five decades ago, when the forest was nonexistent. Zhao Zhenyu, 76, who was at Saihanba in 1962, the forest's first year, knows all about it.

"That winter I was asked to drive some cattle from one part of the forest to another. Soon after I set out, snow started falling... and the wind was lashing hard in my face," Zhao says. "Believe it or not, I left at about 8 am and didn't reach my destination until about 10 am the next day. I thought I'd never make it." Zhao was among the 369 people who were there right from the start.

"At moments when it was too cold to walk I thought about abandoning the cattle, but I couldn't because that would have spelled certain death for them. If anything, living with the forbidding winters of Saihanba has made every one of us more respectful of life."

It was with such respect that Zhao and his forestry colleagues planted every tree, a devotion that has never waned.

"You can barely imagine the attention and care we give to each sapling," says Chen, the national forest's deputy director, who came to Saihanba in the 1990s.

"We put a thin layer of soil on top of certain types of saplings, a few millimeters thick. We wanted to protect the trees without limiting their growth."

In the forest, there is specially delineated ground for the cultivation of saplings. A little tree may be just 20 centimeters tall but be in its third or fourth year. Just as Beijing was not built in a day, it has taken three generations for the forest to become what it is now.

Changing of the guard

Most of those working there today belong either to the second or third generation. Liu Guo, 51, is a second-generation Saihanbaer who arrived 32 years ago, when he was 19. I meet him in the dormitory he shares with his workmate Li Feng, 60. The inside of the dormitory features two beds and little more, Spartan but clean. Hot water and electricity are provided, and in winter the big boiler ensures that hot water fills the entire heating system. Liu says he is more than satisfied.

No wonder. Just steps away from where he lives are the so-called second-and third-generation workers' dormitories. (The forest is so vast that it is divided into six areas, each with its own dormitory. Liu's lies somewhere in the north of the forest.)

"The first-generation building - if that's the right word for an improvised shelter propped up on tree trunks and covered with nothing but twigs and straw - was simply too fragile to survive," Liu says.

"Look at the row of chimneys on that rooftop," he says, pointing to the second-generation dormitory, built in the 1970s. "Tree branches were collected from the forest and burned, and that's how people managed to get through the long winters."

The third-generation dormitory was built in the 1990s, and the fourth, where Liu lives, in 2013.

Coal replaced wood as a fuel for fire in the early 1980s, and hot water on tap in the dormitory built in 2013 means workers can now take a shower whenever they want to.

"We used to go for weeks and sometimes even months without taking one," Liu says.

"The water in the mountain creeks is really cold, even in summer, and if you were to take a dip in one of those you can be sure you would come down with rheumatism, which happens to be the most common ailment here."

Life in isolation

Liu, like almost all of his workmates, is inured to hardship, to the point of stoicism, and he gives little away, even as I press him for details. But when a reporter with me asks about his daughter, the eyes of the stout 51-year-old water up and he begins to cry.

"I never got to spend time with her when she was little," he says, sobbing.

After talking to many people here, I realize that if there were a shred of consolation for Liu over his years of remorse for that forced neglect, it was thin indeed: knowing that many of his workmates were wracked with the same kind of guilt.

"In theory, we can go home to the town center not far away - by that I mean two hours by bus - once a week, but in reality, everyone must be here continuously for three months twice a year, during the spring and autumn fire seasons," Liu says.

"Spring used to be a big tree-planting season, and to some extent still is, but now there's little vacant land, so no one's going to leave, and in winter all roads down the mountain in effect are blocked by snow."

Changes have taken place since then, but not big enough to prevent Yu Lei, 36, from feeling the same as his parents did decades ago.

"I came - I should say 'came back' - to Saihanba in 2006, after graduating from the Beijing Institute of Technology, and have worked in the forestry's fire-monitoring center since then."

When Yu's grandfather came to Saihanba in 1962, his father was just 2.

"My father went on to work at Saihanba, and so did all my uncles. Altogether I have 14 relatives working here, me being the latest addition."

Yu married in 2008, and his wife now works at Saihanba, too. The couple have a daughter who is 8.

"A few weeks ago, when I last went home, my mother, who is now taking care of my daughter, told me that the girl got the correct answer to a very difficult math question, but no one else in her class did," he says.

"I asked how she did it, but she said she couldn't remember. ... I felt I was missing out on her growing up, just as my parents did, to their own regret."

Sadly, Yu has become an object of envy to many of his peers - children whose parents also once worked at Saihanba and whom Yu grew up with. "I wanted to come back and they welcomed me. This has not happened to everyone."

Chen, the deputy director, knows more about this.

"In 2014, we recruited 130 young people, of whom about 40 have already left," he says.

New challenges

As time passes and self-sacrifice and hardship become a work ethic that few people are willing to contemplate, Saihanba faces a new challenge.

"The overwhelming majority of our staff are either older than 45 or younger than 30," Chen says. "Those in the first group have spent their whole working life here - most being offspring of the first-generation Saihanbaers. But they will retire in 10 to 15 years.

"The second group consists of people recruited over the past few years. Although some have stayed long enough to start calling this place home, many more have wavered and left, unsure whether all the hard work and isolation are really what they want."

The way people are recruited has made things worse, Chen says.

"The rules call for all vacancies to be advertised, and there is open competition for them, mostly among university graduates. But most of the candidates, especially those from outside the province, know little about what the work entails, or they see it simply as a springboard to other opportunities. Many go on to do postgraduate study or take tests for government jobs after a year or two."

At the same time, children of the older generation of forest workers are shut out.

"That's because they don't have qualifications; most having grown up unattended by their parents," Chen says. "And the quality of education in this part of the province has certainly not been the best.

"But they love this place, which is their home. Of course, they need to study and improve themselves if they are to be up to the task. But if you have ever spent one winter here, you'll know that there's only one thing that can beat it, and that's love."

(China Daily European Weekly 08/25/2017 page16)
(This story has been updated to correct information about the replacement of 18,000 water service lines.)

FLINT, MI -- The man who has overseen Flint's massive effort to replace every lead-tainted water service line in the city plans to leave his job in two months, several city officials say.

Michael McDaniel, the project coordinator for the Flint Action and Sustainability Team Start program, has overseen the effort since it was announced by Mayor Karen Weaver in February 2016.

Acting city attorney Angela Wheeler and members of the City Council said Thursday, Aug. 24, that they have been told of the plans of McDaniel, a retired National Guard brigadier general who has been on a leave of absence from Western Michigan University's Cooley Law School where he has worked as dean.

Council reconsidered -- and approved -- an extension of McDaniels' contract until the end of October during a special meeting Thursday. The reversal came after members deadlocked on the issue in a vote on Aug. 16.

Thursday's approval came after an assistant Michigan attorney general warned the city of the need to reconsider or risk being in violation of the terms of a lawsuit settlement in a case brought by the Concerned Pastors For Social Action and others.

The contract will pay McDaniel $60,000 and compensate him for nearly four months that he has worked without an extension.

"One thing I know for sure is ... he is not coming back after October," Angela Wheeler, acting city attorney, told council members Thursday. But McDaniel "wants to go ahead and finish out this first phase," she said.

Kincaid said he agreed to change his vote on the contract extension after the Weaver administration committed to pairing McDaniel with a city employee who would be in a position to take over FAST starting in November.

The city is under an order from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to make water system improvemnets and agreed in settling a lawsuit to replace 18,000 lead and galvanized water service lines by 2020.

That's a tall order considering that just 3,280 lines have been replaced since FAST Start began in March 2016.

MLive-The Flint Journal was able to reach McDaniel through an email message Friday, Aug. 25, but he was not immediately available to comment.

Funding for his position has come from a grant from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation.
Tian Tian, a giant panda eats bamboo in the outdoor enclosure at Edinburgh Zoo, Scotland April 12, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]

Tian Tian, the only female Chinese giant panda in the UK, is believed to be pregnant and may give birth soon, officials at Edinburgh Zoo have confirmed.

A spokeswoman for the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland said: "Giant panda breeding is a very complicated process but we believe that Tian Tian is pregnant."

Emails between Edinburgh Zoo and the Scottish Government, obtained through a freedom of information request, suggest the birth is imminent, though the zoo did not disclose a specific date.

The spokeswoman said: "Like all babies, it's hard to predict precisely and the panda breeding season can last until late September. Tian Tian is being closely monitored by our expert team and we will be the first to share any news as soon as we can."

Tian Tian, which means Sweetie, and male panda Yang Guang (Sunshine) arrived at Edinburgh Zoo in 2011 as part of a 10-year agreement on panda conservation signed by China and the UK.

Under the terms of the agreement, panda cubs born through the breeding program must be returned to China when they turn two years old.

Tian Tian and Yang Guang are the only giant pandas in Britain. A separate pair, Ming Ming and Bao Bao, left London Zoo in 1994 after failing to breed.

Tian Tian has previously fallen pregnant while at Edinburgh Zoo, via artificial insemination, but never produced a cub. She successfully reared twin cubs in China in 2009.

Giant panda breeding is a complicated process, involving difficult pregnancies and challenging neonatal care, according to researchers.

Giant panda fetuses are tiny and hard to detect, while adult females can experience "pseudo-pregnancies" where their behavior and hormonal changes suggest pregnancy when none exists.

The zoo said in a statement that they have supported over 30 conservation projects to help safeguard the wild population of giant pandas in Western China, and their work has contributed to the reclassification of the giant panda from "endangered" to "vulnerable" in the wild.
The Conservative UK government's immigration policy has come under fire after estimates for the number of foreign students who overstay their visas were revealed to be hugely inaccurate.

Prime Minister Theresa May faces mounting pressure to remove foreign students from immigration figures after new data from the Office for National Statistics showed that just 4,600 international students remained in the UK after their visas expired last year. The government's previous estimates had been in the region of 100,000.

May has repeatedly shot down calls to exclude foreign students from the Conservatives' mooted policy to limit net migration to the UK to the "tens of thousands".

The UK Parliament's Education Committee recommended in a recently published report that international students should be listed under a "separate classification" and not be counted against the overall migration limit.

Chancellor Philip Hammond, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, International Trade Secretary Liam Fox, and Education Minister Jo Johnson have all raised concerns that limiting net migration will deter foreign students from coming to the UK.

The new data appeared in a Home Office report published in August. The figures are described as "experimental statistics" achieved through an exit checks program that analyses passenger ticket bookings, passport swipes at the border, and immigration records.

The report found that of the 181,024 international students whose visas expired last year, 97.4 percent departed the UK on time and a further minority left after their visas expired. The Office for National Statistics corroborated that the majority of students in 2015 and 2016 either left when their visas expired or were granted extensions.

Tim Bradshaw, director of the Russell Group, an association of 24 UK universities, said: "This exit check data confirms that in addition to helping create a diverse learning environment and making a big economic impact, an overwhelming majority of international students comply fully with the terms of their visas."

Ning Yang, director of admissions and immigration service Sunrise Immigration, believes it would be "unwise" for the government to include foreign students in its plans to limit migration.

"Chinese students are making a contribution to UK economy," Yang said. "Local accommodation, housing, and restaurants all benefit from them."

There are more students from China in the UK than from any other non-EU nation, and China is the only country showing a significant increase in student numbers.

In 2016, 91,215 Chinese students were studying in the UK for higher education degrees. The number has increased annually by 1.8 percent since 2013.

Cao Yuan, director of admissions agency O4U, says Chinese students still identify the UK as an attractive place to study.

"Chinese students are still willing to come," Yuan said. "They are coming because studying in the UK is more economical, it only takes one year to obtain a Master's degree. Education in the UK still has a good reputation in China."
Vishal Sikka, who resigned from Infosys may soon take up a top post in Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE). Sikka could be joining HPE as its Chief Technology Officer, reports The Economic Times, quoting multiple sources.

The newspaper adds that HPE is an American firm which was established in 2015. The company has close to two lakh employees and sells data centre hardware and software.

The company which was created following the split from Hewlett Packard has the position of CTO vacant since last year. This was after Martin Fink stepped down from the post as CTO.

According to the report, Vishal Sikka who has a doctorate in artificial intelligence from Stanford has been offered the post. He had earlier worked as CTO in the German firm SAP before joining Infosys three years ago.

Vishal Sikka had resigned from the post of MD and CEO of Infosys, Indias second largest IT firm last Friday.

Vishal Sikka though has not responded to the rumours yet. He had earlier told in an interview that he has no plans after leaving Infosys and would spend more time with family and go surfing.
In his first call with investors after returning to the Infosys Board as Chairman, Nandan Nilekani made it clear that the company was focused on its search for a new chief executive and that he will stay on only until the business and Board stabilise.

I plan to be here as long as necessary. I will not be here as soon as I am not necessary, Nilekani said on the call that lasted a little over an hour on Friday morning.

The countrys second largest software services companys first non-co-founder chief executive Vishal Sikka stepped down a week ago, citing continuous distractions and increasingly personal attacks on him. On Thursday, he resigned as the Executive Vice Chairman, a role in which he was to help the company transition to a new CEO. Along with him, two Board members- Jeffrey Lehman, John Etchemendy -- also put in their papers.

Nilekani took over as the non-executive, non-independent director and chairman of the Board even as the ex-chairman R Seshasayee exited.

On the call, Nilekani made it clear that there were three main things he was looking to do as Chairman- CEO search has to be done, Board has to be reconstituted, business has to be stabilised, he told investors.

He added that for the CEO position, Infosys will look at both internal and external candidates. We will also look at Infosys alumni. He was referring to former Infosys employees as alumni.

The search would be global, and the idea candidate would have experience in managing a large organisation, has a strong technology prowess, and is able to strengthen relationship between all key stakeholders. It is clear that the company does not want to land itself in a similar founder-Board face-off as has been going on for the past few months.

We have an excellent nominations committee headed by Kiran Mazumdar Shaw; they will drive the CEO selection, added Nilekani.

He made it clear that there was no set time limit for which he will continue as the Board chairman, but stressed that his role was not that of an executive, and that he will steer the company towards stability, honouring the faith that the Board, Murthy and investors had placed in him.

On questions regarding the Panaya deal, Nilekani said he was looking at the issue dispassionately, and reiterated his stand that Infosys takes corporate governance standards very seriously.

He also peppered his interaction with references to how he handled Indias biometric identification system Aadhaar between two ideologically different governments, and stressed that he would be returning to his various different roles outside of Infosys.

I really want to be focused on the future. We want to bring complete stability in the organisation. We have to ensure there are no discordant voices on the board, everybody is on the same page I have not come as the CEO, not as the execution guy. I have come as a guy who has confidence of all the stakeholders, be it board, employees and customers, he said.
McDonald's released an ad of a widow and her son in which the only thing in common between the kid and his father was their favourite burger. After facing severe backlash Mcdonald's decided to pull the ad

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With McDonald's (MCD) terminating its franchise agreement with Connaught Plaza Restaurants (CPRL), markets have started speculating who could be the potential suitor for the store operations of MCD in North and East of India. Given the long-term opportunity of the Indian market, we do not expect MCD to remain undecided for long and let competitors gain market share.

Potential suitors for the North-East franchise

McDonalds franchisee for west and south region (running 261 MCD restaurants)  a listed entity by the name of Westlife Development (Market cap: Rs 4139 crore) is seen as a front runner.

The other suitor could be Devyani international, an associate company of RJ Corp (largest bottler for Pepsico) and has the largest franchisee for Pizza Hut, KFC and Costa Coffee in India. Devyani International also operates its own brand Vaango  a south Indian QSR chain.

One cannot completely rule out the name of the biggest success story in the QSR space in India - Jubliant Foodworks -- albeit its sagging fortunes in last few years. We cannot comment on whether such an arrangement would interfere with its master franchise agreement with Domino's. However, given that they have an agreement with Dunkin' Donuts, we cant rule that out at this stage.

Whats the price?

Our estimates suggest that 50 percent CPRL stake can be pegged at close to Rs 1300 crore.

QSR (quick service restaurant) industry that had everything going in its favour like urbanization and rising per capita income is facing headwinds from the change in customer preferences and competition. Industry has witnessed steep decline in same store sales growth over the years, though the last quarters organic numbers for Jubliant Foodworks and Westlife Development were surprisingly positive.

As per Euromonitor, market share of MCD in the chained food service industry in India has declined by 350 bps (during 2012-2016) to 7.4 percent. The market size of the chained food service industry is pegged at Rs 20,067 crore. On the basis of this data point, market share of Westlife Development works out to 4.2 percent. Hence, the derived market share (7.4 percent minus 4.2 percent) of Connaught Plaza Restaurants should be around 3 percent.

Taking a blended EV/sales multiple of 4.2 (average of Jubliant Foodworks & Westlife Dev.), equity valuation of CPRLs 50 percent stake comes to around Rs 1279 crore.

Chart: Blended valuation multiple

If we go by the sales per stores of Westlife Development (Rs 3.6 crore in FY 2017), the derived equity valuation of CPRL works out to Rs 1210 crore.

However, going by the actual sales data provided by the CPRL (sales of Rs 709 crore for FY17), equity valuation comes about Rs 1419 crore for the 50 percent stake.

Valuation estimate for the franchisees 50 percent stake in Connaught Plaza Restaurants

#: McDonald's has another 50 percent stake; assuming cash equivalent is negligible at CPRL.

On a blended basis, it will be fair to assume that the new owner will have to shell out close to Rs 1300 crore for this stake.

Westlife: Is it ready for heavy debt exposure

As per Westlife Developments FY16 annual report, their long term debt is just Rs 7.5 crore. However, if they go for the debt route to acquire 50 percent stake in Connaught Plaza Restaurants, their debt-to-equity ratio would be ~ 2.4x making it slightly stretched for the business which is just seeing early signs of profitability. The other factor to consider would be whether MCD would award pan India licence to one entity, given the operational risk they are currently facing.

Structural slowdown in operational cash flow

Should Jubilant Foodworks jump into the fray, its debt-to-equity ratio can rise to about 1.7 (from near zero D/E). However, given their understanding of the market and need to diversify beyond Dominos and Dunkin Donuts to grow, this should not come as a complete surprise.

For an unlisted player like Devyani International, with backing of private equity entities like Temasek holdings and ICICI ventures, further expansion of their consumption portfolio is possible.

However, for any new investor, the price to pay will be a function of multiple factors including the shift in consumer preferences, headwinds of operating expenses coming from rentals and employee expense, strategic fit and last but not the least any legal liability arising from the unpleasant spat.

For the two listed entities discussed getting CPRLs stake would be a formidable leap that investors cannot ignore.
On a day packed with back-to-back calls and meetings, Infosys new Board Chairman Nandan Nilekani on Friday firmly established that he would remain at the helm only until the business stabilises.

Addressing the press following a Board meeting earlier in the day, he said that the next few months would be devoted to building a strategy and finding a new chief executive.

I am extremely excited about the future of Infosys," said Nilekani, reading from a press release he frequently referred to during the press meet. "The Board is focused on bringing complete stability to the company. It has also tasked its Committee of Directors to work with the CEO and management to review and refresh the companys strategy by October."

Dressed in a sharp blue suit, Nilekani was clearly in charge, and spelt out the rules for the duration of his interaction with the press. He betrayed no rush for an investor call that took place immediately after the conference.

The statement also regretted the recent run-ins it had with Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy. The Board believes it to be unfortunate that various differences of opinion have arisen between Mr. Murthy and the Board in the recent past. The Board wishes to express that it was not its intention to cause Mr. Murthy or any other affected person any personal distress or anguish while stating its point of view.

It was marked change of tone from last Friday, when the companys first non-co-founder CEO Vishal Sikka stepped down and the Board had issued a strongly worded statement blaming Murthys continuous assault as the primary reason for Sikka leaving.

Nilekani stressed that his priority as Board chairman would be the search for a new CEO, for which Infosys has received several emails from interested candidates. The Board has also approved the appointment of the executive recruitment firm Egon Zehnder to work with its Nominations and Remunerations Committee to review and identify the right candidate to be the Companys next CEO and MD, the company said.

In sharp contrast to the previous few press interactions where the Board and CEO often seemed visibly perplexed, Nilekani was at ease and relaxed while fielding questions from the press and analysts.

While several questions were asked-both in the conference and on the investor call about the reasons for Sikkas and other Board members exit, Nilekani mostly avoided or skirted around them, or referred to the press statements issued by the company.

On Thursday, two Board members  Jeffrey Lehman, John Etchemendy  also put in their papers in addition to Chairman R Seshasayee.

Nilekani reiterated the faith Murthy, institutional investors and shareholders had placed in him, and said he will ensure that Infosys gets back its iconic status. He added that Murthy is a transformational leader and visionary, but the Board will take the final call on all big decisions.

Iconic founders have always had a relationship with the company, whether formal or informal. Murthy is very much in that league. I will seek his advice and inputs. But I do have an obligation to look at the company from all complex stakeholder angles. The Board will have the final say.

He also desisted from spelling out any future plans, but did say that all of Sikkas initiatives such as artificial intelligence and Zero Distance would be assessed to see if they fit in with the companys strategy going forward.

The Board further appointed DN Prahlad, a member of the Board, Chairman of EdgeVerve Limited- Infosys products and platforms unit - with immediate effect.
* Nilekani says he will personally review recent investigations

* Vishal Sikka says bringing Nilekani back an 'excellent idea'

20:48 Here's a summary of what Sikka said about Nilekani's return and reports of him joining HP.

20:16 Sikka says the Board had insisted he stay back after quitting as CEO for the sake of continuity and succession. But when Nilekani agreed to come back, he felt it was necessary to give him a free hand, so resigning from Infosys altogether would be the best option.

20:08 "Nilekani is a great man and I am sure the company will thrive going forward," says Sikka.

20:02 Will Sikka become an entrepreneur? For sure, he says.

19:56 I want to take some time and think about the lessons I've learnt from the last three years at Infosys: Sikka

19:54 Nandan is an extraordinary leader and an iconic man, says Sikka.

19:51 Sikka says he is keen to take some time off and is not looking to take up a job immediately.

19:49 On the decision not to make the Panaya investigation report public, Sikka says it was the Board's mandate. He calls the probe a "nonsensical detour".

19:45 He says there is no truth to rumours that he will be joining Hewlett Packard. Reports had suggested that he would take up the CTO role at the firm.

19:43 Sikka says he made no specific comments on Narayana Murthy. He was referring to the generally "vitiated atmosphere".

19:40 Infosys Board insisted that I stay back, says Sikka.

19:38 Resigned because I felt I couldn't do the job anymore, says Sikka. Says he offered to quit as executive vice-chairman because he felt it was in the best interests of all concerned so that Nilekani could have a free hand and it also meant that the succession process would be complete.

19:36 Vishal Sikka speaking now to CNBC-TV18. Says he thought it was a brilliant idea to bring Nilekani back.

19:12 How will the markets react to the developments in the last 24 hours? We'll have to wait till Monday, but experts say Nilekani's return should see Infosys jump 7-10 percent on Monday.

18:38 That's it from the investor call. Nilekani has spoken at length over the last 90 minutes but we still have no clarity on why several Board members resigned yesterday.

18:34 On Infosys' relationship with Murthy: Iconic founders have always had a relationship with the company, whether formal or informal. Murthy is very much in that league. I will seek his advice and inputs. But I do have an obligation to look at the company from all complex stakeholder angles. The Board will have the final say.

18:32 We have received emails from candidates interested in taking up the CEO role, he says.

18:29 "I have come here to take stock and go forward," Nilekani says on investor call.

18:26 Nilekani says Infosys' legal team will take a look at the class action lawsuits.

18:24 Strategy will be in place by October. We are fully aware of what we need to do to make sure investors are on board with our decisions, says Nilekani.

18:22 Will ensure Infosys gets back its iconic status, he says.

18:17 Murthy among shareholders who asked me to take up this assignment, says Nilekani.

18:14 Murthy is a transformational leader and a visionary, says Nilekani, listing out his fellow co-founder's achievements. "I owe my professional success to him," he says.

18:11 The investor call has begun. Nilekani says his experience with Aadhaar and global trends in technology will hold him in good stead in his new role.

18:04 Read the full text of the Infosys press release in which it regretted earlier comments on Narayana Murthy.

17:57 The press conference has ended. Nilekani will address an investor call in a few minutes.

17:52 Murthy is the father of corporate governance in India, says Nilekani.

17:49 Nilekani says he is committed to reviewing recent investigations with an unbiased mind.

17:45 I will not run this company based on comments on Twitter and TV channels, says Nilekani.

17:43 Asked about who first approached him to return to Infosys, Nilekani says the answer is best left for a novel.

17:40 Expect Prahlad and Ravi Venkatesan to do a great deal of the heavy lifting, says Nilekani.

17:38 My return to Infosys is also a form of national service, he says.

17:36 Nilekani says there is no time-limit on his appointment as non-executive Chairman.

17:34 Asked whether everything is hunky-dory at Infosys now, Nilekani says yes.

17:32 Nilekani says he plans to be at Infosys for as long as required. "I have had a record of doing things successfully," he said.

17:30 Nilekani reiterates that he has returned to Infosys to represent "100%" of the stakeholders.

17:28 DN Prahlad has been appointed as the Chairman of Edgeverve Limited with immediate effect.

17:27 I would like to think that I am here not just because I am a co-founder, says Nilekani.

17:25 Nilekani says a firm has been appointed to look for a new CEO. A committee will also look into the governance structure of the Board.

17:23 A sub-committee of the board will seek feedback from investors and shareholders on corporate governance issues.

17:21 Nilekani says he will receive a full briefing on recent investigations including the Panaya acquisition.

17:20 Reading from a press release, Nilekani says it is unfortunate that there were disagreements between the Board and co-founder Narayana Murthy. It wishes to state that it was not the Board's intention to cause any personal distress, anguish.

17:17 A board meeting of Infosys took place this morning.at which they resolved to reboot the company's strategy in October.

17:15 "Our immediate priority is to have stability and make sure the management and the whole board are back to what they should be doing," says Nilekani.

17:12 Nilekani says the transition is officially complete after two board meetings.

17:10 I am here to help everybody, says Nilekani.

17:09 "I am back here because there was no one else," jokes Nilekani.

17:07 Nilekani says he was unanimously invited at Thursday's board meeting to join the Board as non-executive Chairman.

17:00 The press conference is set to begin now. Nilekani and Pravin Rao are having a chat before taking the stage.

16:55 Nandan Nilekani will address a press conference at 5pm.

16:20 Interim CEO UB Pravin Rao has sent out an email to employees welcoming back "Employee No.0002" Nandan Nilekani. Read the full text here.

15:46 The unanimous decision of the board (to appoint Nilekani as non-executive chairman) reflects the confidence every one of us had in his credible leadership to steer Infosys out of these troubled time," says Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw.

15:10 What next for Vishal Sikka? Is he heading to Hewlett Packard as CTO? Read more here.

14:27 Stay tuned for the media interaction and the second conference call due today.

11:53 Balakrishnan further says that Vishal Sikka leaving Infosys because of Narayana Murthy is a 'big lie' and opines that Nandan should retract the statement made by the Infosys board on NRN Murthy.

11:25 Speaking to CNBC-TV18, former Infosys CEO V Balakrishnan says that there are a lot of good and eligible alumni that can fill the CEO post at Infosys.

11:12 In his closing statement, Nilekani thanks investors for attending the call and apologizes for 'yanking them' out of their long weekend. With this the first investor call comes to an end. There will be another one at 6:00 IST for global investors.

10:51 Will take every effort to ensure that business performance is intact, see no disruption in near term: Nandan Nilekani

10:50 Nandan Nilekani says Vishal Sikka felt it was the appropriate time for him to exit Infosys entirely.

10:46 For the post of CEO "we are looking at internal candidates, external candidates and Infosys alumni," says Nilekani.

10:45 Nandan Nilekani says the company is searching for a new CEO globally and will look at right additions for the board.

10:44 Nandan Nilekani says the legal team will look at issues with respect to potential class action lawsuits.

10:37 The company will discuss business related issues with investors after the board meeting in October.

10:32 "I see my role as a holistic role which interacts with all stakeholders to take this company forward," Nilekani says.

10:31 This company will be a board managed company: Nilekani

10:28 Mr Murthy is one of the iconic visionaries of India, you can think of him as a father of corporate governance in India: Nilekani

10:23 Speaking to investors, Nilekani says that there was universal acceptance on him joining back the company. "I was invited by the board unanimously and also I have the full support of the founders, Mr Narayana Murthy," he says.

10:18 Nandan Nilekani starts the first investor call after coming back to Infosys.

23:08 We'll bring you live updates from the two investor calls at 10 am and 6 pm tomorrow along with the Press Conference at 4 pm. Stay tuned to Moneycontrol for more updates.

22:02 Nandan Nilekani says happy to return to Infosys, now in the role of non-executive chairman. I wish Vishal Sikka well in his future endeavours, he adds.

22:02 R Seshasayee says Nandan Nilekani is the ideal leader for Infosys at this stage in the cos development.

Vishal Sikka says in Nandan, we have found an ideal leader to manage transition. Nandan's appointment to help guide Infosys to new frontiers of success, he adds.

22:33 Nandan Nilekani: The man who was a true technocrat. Here is his full profile.

22:30 Nilekani took over as the CEO from Founder NR Narayana Murthy in 2002, and stayed on in the role until 2007. He was succeeded by S Gopalakrishnan.

22:27 An electrical engineer from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, Nandan Nilekani co-founded Infosys in 1981, and went on to hold several positions at the company, including that of chief operating officer, CEO, president and managing director.

22:21 Infosys' ADRs rally over 1% to USD 15 on Nandan Nilekani's return. Read the full story here.

22:12 R Seshasayee steps down as Infosys Chairman: Here's all you need to know about him.

22:07 The company will continue to look for a permanent CEO.

Earlier this week, Vishal Sikka had stepped down as the CEO and UB Pravin Rao had been appointed as an interim CEO.

21:53 Nandan Nilekani returns as Chairman of Infosys: Read the full company statement.

21:49 Ravi Venkatesan resigned as the Co-Chairman of the Board, but will continue as an Independent Director.

Talking about Seshasayee, he said, "It is a great privilege to have worked with a person of such stature and dignity as Sesh. It has been an honour for the entire Board to be captained by him. His strength of character and his unwavering commitment to the Company is deeply admired by all members who have served alongside him on this Board."

21:40 Here's what you should know about Nandan Nilekani:

21:36 Major overhaul at Infosys: Nilekani to be chairman, Sikka, Seshasayee resign from Board. Here's the full report.

21:31 Resigning was one of the hardest decisions, but had to be done, says Vishal Sikka. Read the full story here.

21:22 Prof. Etchemendy, the outgoing Director of Board said, "With Vishals departure, the board and his successor will embark on a new phase in Infosys future, and I think that giving up my board seat to a new independent director is the right decision."

21:15 Analyst comments coming in now:

"Investors' confidence in the board has sunk to new depths and they want to see immediate changes. I expect them to install a new CEO and move aggressively to kickstart a fresh start for the firm. The damage is now done and the only way forward is positive, decisive change. Wipro and TCS, in particular, are lurking to target Infosys clients, creating a real panic to get their ship in order as quickly as possible. The speed of these changes this week indicates a fresh urgency to get their act together and come back fighting," Phil Fersht, CEO and Chief Analyst, HfS Research tells Moneycontrol.

21:12 Prof. Lehman, who was slated to retire from the Infosys Board in April 2018, says, With Vishal's departure, Infosys is entering into a stage in which the time demands on independent directors will be compounded even further."

"In light of the other demands on my time, I think it best if I accelerate my departure from the Board by a few months to allow a new independent director to start in this important role, he added.

21:08 Board coup at Infosys: Nilekani to be chairman, Sikka, Seshasayee resign from Board. Here's the full story.

21:06 Infosys severs all ties with Vishal Sikka, settles full and final dues. Read more here.

21:04 Outgoing Board Chairman R Seshasayee said, "Under Nandan, Infosys will build a cohesive management team that will no doubt take the Company to a leadership position in the industry."

"I believe these changes will infuse further confidence to the stakeholders in executing the transition plan and in reinforcing the strategy for the future. I am confident our employees and customers will join me in welcoming Nandan to the Company," he added.

21:00 UB Pravin Rao who appointed as the interim CEO after Vishal Sikka resigned, will continue as the Interim CEO and MD.

20:54 According to the company's declaration made to stock exchanges, the first investor call will take place at 10:00 am IST on August 25, 2017.

The second investor call will take place at 6:00 pm IST on August 25, 2017.

The dial-in numbers for the calls will be put up on the Companys investor website.

A Press conference will take place at 4:00 PM IST on August 25, 2017.

20:52 Here's what Nandan Nilekani had to say:

I am happy to return to Infosys, now in the role of non-executive chairman, and look forward to working with my colleagues on the Board and in executive management on the business opportunities we see before us and delivering benefits to our clients, shareholders, employees and communities. I thank Vishal for his service as the CEO of Infosys over the last 3 years and wish him well in his future endeavors.

Nilekani also stated that the Board will actively consider a broad based shareholder consultation process as a critical part of its overall engagement initiatives with all the stakeholders of the Company that are being taken up on a priority basis.

20:50 M Damodaran, former Chairman, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) tells CNBC-TV18 that Nilekani's first task would be to do an investor call.

20:42 Ravi Venkatesan has also resigned as the Co-Chairman of the Board with immediate effect, but will continue as an Independent Director.

20:41 Prof. Jeffrey Lehman and John Etchemendy have also resigned as the directors of the Board with immediate effect.

20:39 Welcoming Nilekani, outgoing Chairman R Seshasayee said, Nandan is the ideal leader for Infosys at this stage in the Companys development. His appointment will allow Infosys to focus on the strategic changes it needs to make in order to capitalize on the attractive opportunities in the years ahead."

20:36 Nandan Nilekani thanks Vishal Sikka for his contributions.

20:32 R Seshasayee has resigned as the Chairman of the Board and as a director on the Board with immediate effect.

Vishal Sikka has resigned as the Executive Vice-Chairman of the Board and as a Director on the Board with immediate effect.

Nandan Nilekani has been appointed as the non-executive, non-independent director and as the Chairman of the Board of Directors with immediate effect.
Arena Saeed and her children, Shadia Salem, 6, and Rami Saeed, 4, found dead

Discovered at flat in Toxteth, Liverpool, where Lennon lived with wife Cynthia

Sami Salem said he unlawfully killed wife - whom he wed in arranged marriage

But he won't enter formal pleas to murder until psychiatrist has examined him

+5 Sami Salem (left) admits killing Arena Saeed (right) and her children, Shadia Salem (back left), six, and Rami Saeed (back right), four A father today admitted suffocating his wife and drowning his two children at the former home of John Lennon. Arena Saeed and her children, Shadia Salem, six, and Rami Saeed, four, were found dead last month at the flat on Falkner Street in Toxteth, Liverpool. Sami Salem, 30, said he unlawfully killed his wife - whom he wed in an arranged marriage - and children at the property where he lived, while appearing via videolink at Liverpool Crown Court. However, the court was told he would not formally enter pleas to the three counts of murder until he had been examined by a psychiatrist. Salem said: 'I want to plead guilty to the suffocation of my wife and the drowning of my kids and I'm saying it now.' The father, who had a beard and wore a grey jumper, was in tears at points during the hearing and appeared to be rocking backwards and forwards in his seat. Shadia and Rami were drowned by their father Sami, he admitted today. They were found dead last month at the flat on Falkner Street in Toxteth, Liverpool Judge David Aubrey adjourned the case until September 22, when Salem is expected to formally enter pleas. Residents on Falkner Street were told to evacuate their homes due to concerns over a gas leak after the bodies were discovered on May 30.

The property is a regular stop for Beatles fans on sightseeing tours of the city as the band's manager Brian Epstein used to own a flat there.





Lennon and his first wife Cynthia lived in the flat shortly after they were married.





Earlier this month Arena's brother Yaseen Alshape, 30, claimed she moved from Yemen to Britain 'to build a future for her children' after an arranged marriage.





Speaking through a translator, Mr Alshape told the Liverpool Echo that she moved to the UK 'to build a future' for her children after getting married to Salem in 2009.





He said: 'Arena was loved by her friends for her patience in dealing with people. She had many dreams and wanted to live in Britain to build a future for her children.





'When Arena and the children departed, our smiles departed. She left a void in her family, we lost our most cherished sister and her children.





'We raised them in Yemen and they will never leave our memories. So far in our house in the city of Aden we receive solace from all who knew her and her children.





'We ask God to accept her martyr and to have mercy on her and forgive her. This is a heinous crime against humanity and the right of children.'




Smart City

Vandana Ramnani

Moneycontrol News

After the Smart City Challenge, the government is now planning an India Housing Construction Technology Challenge in 2018 to select the most cost-effective technology to speed up construction of affordable housing and meet the target of building 1.2 lakh houses by 2022.

The ministry of housing and urban affairs (MoHUA) has proposed to adopt the competition route to bring in the desired technology from across the globe involving all stakeholders like Central/state governments, academic institutions, private sector, technology certification and standardization agencies and professional organisations.

We will conduct a challenge for the construction sector in the next 18 months. Global firms will be invited to India to demonstrate construction techniques for housing that are affordable and take minimum time  as less as three months instead of the conventional three years for construction," Housing and Urban Affairs Secretary D S Mishra said at a round-table meeting here on the India Housing Construction Technology Challenge (IHCTC) organised by the ministry of housing and urban affairs.

Use of technology in construction will help save working capital. The government may even consider incentives for states that embrace new technology in construction, he said.

Mishra also said that the techniques showcased by those who win the competition will be adopted in the upcoming housing projects of the government.

The roundtable focused on aspects like rollout of the housing challenge, branding promotion, awareness creation, financing the challenge, defining role of stakeholders, criteria for technical evaluation for selecting technologies, awards and incentives, B2B discussions and signing of MoUs, institutionalisation and adoption of selected technologies by Central and State governments etc.

Around 200 delegates from state governments, major construction companies/portals, real estate agencies- representatives of NAREDCO and CREDAI, private sector developers and academic institutions participated.

Addressing the event, Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant pitched for the use of technology in the affordable housing sector to speed up construction. "You cannot do affordable housing if you are constructing them in three years. The rate of interest is so high that it will never be affordable. Affordable houses need to be constructed in 3-4 months and that is possible with the help of technology," he said.

Stating that the pace of urbanisation will be higher in the next 4-5 decades in India than seen in the last 5,000 years, Kant advocated "innovative and sustainable urbanisation" as the country faces various challenges such as scarcity of land, gas and water.

"We need to have extremely sustainable and innovative urbanisation which should become the model for the rest of the world...there are two challenges -- how do we use technology and compress the speed of construction," he said

Till date, the government has sanctioned about 26 lakh houses, grounded 11 lakh units and completed three lakh units. The aim is to achieve the target of about constructing 1.2 lakh affordable homes (as against 1.8 lakh earlier) by 2022. The main challenge is to make states adopt new technologies.

National Buildings Construction Corporation, the governments construction arm, has been given the task to provide a working model for construction technologies to the states. NBCC would handhold the state governments in the initial Housing Challenge. According to sources, the ministry has identified 25 cities where the model can be rolled out on a pilot basis.

We are still in the era of brick and mortar construction. We have adopted a few new technologies such as 3D printing technology in construction. We are importing this technology from companies in Russia, China and Dubai. All our new projects will be constructed using the 16 new technologies that have already been approved, said Anoop Kumar Mittal, CMD, NBCC, adding the use of new technology in construction is likely to bring down costs by 20 per cent to 25 per cent.

The state government machinery is not equipped to adapt these technologies. We will be showcasing some pilot projects for them to accept it, he added.
Holidays and education travel group Cox and Kings is eyeing over 12 percent expansion in revenue this financial year on the back of growing domestic travel industry, a senior company executive has said.

"This year the quarter one has been good and we expect to achieve over 12 per cent growth in revenue in FY18, mainly on account of robust domestic business," Cox and Kings Group CEO Peter Kerkar told PTI here.

Cox and Kings' revenue stood at Rs 7,176 crore in FY17.

The company, he said, is focusing on increasing the franchise base and also band promotions through a tie-up with Bollywood.

"Going forward, we are focused on increasing our franchise base in the country from the current 150 cities. We will also promote our brand through a tie-up with Bollywood projects," he added.

Kerkar said the company's Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, Events (MICE) business, both in the domestic market and overseas, was robust.

"Our MICE business is robust. In India, destinations like Hyderabad, Cochin, Bengaluru, Goa, Jaipur, Agra, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala and Odisha are much in demand.

"For overseas destinations, corporates mostly prefer short haul places. However, long haul countries like the US, Europe, South Africa and Australia are also much in demand," he added.

Talking about its arm MEININGER Hotels, Kerkar said Cox and Kings is planning to have 15,000 beds by 2020.

Currently, MEININGER currently operates 17 hotels with up to over 8,000 beds in 11 European cities, including Amsterdam, Berlin, Brussels, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Cologne, London, Munich, Salzburg, Vienna and Copenhagen, he added.

The company is a subsidiary of Holidaybreak, a travel group specialising in educational and activity holidays.

Holidaybreak is a subsidiary of Prometheon Holdings (UK), which is a part of Cox and Kings.

"For Holidaybreak expansion, we spend around Rs 200 crore a year or every other year on capex. Recently, we have acquired three new properties. One is in Suffolk, one is in Yorkshire and the third was in Australia, which is our third property in Australia.

"Our ambition is that if we can put on 5 per cent capacity every year, that is a pretty good growth rate to look at in terms of capacity," he said.

Talking about Holidaybreak in India, he said land is an issue but there is always a market here.

"We have been looking at India for a long time. However, to set up here we need land, which is an issue here. There is always a market here," he added. PTI SM RSY .
representative image

Eighteen AIADMK MLAs loyal to sidelined deputy general secretary TTV Dinakaran today vacated the seaside resort, where they were putting up since Tuesday, and checked into a hotel.

The legislators moved out of the resort as it was already booked for the weekend, sources said. Police were deployed in strength at the hotel near Marapalam in the Mudaliarpet Assembly constituency.

Earlier in the day, the DMK urged Tamil Nadu Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao to immediately direct Chief Minister K Palaniswami to prove his majority in the Assembly in the wake of revolt by the MLAs, saying any delay could lead to "horse trading". The Chief Government Whip had yesterday sought the disqualification of the 19 dissident MLAs for alleged anti- party activities.

In a swift response, Speaker P Dhanapal had issued notice to the MLAs, 18 of whom had been staying at the resort since they met Rao on Tuesday and expressed lack of confidence in Palaniswami. The Speaker had sought their replies within seven days. The rebels had termed the move to disqualify them as a "planned drama" and said they would legally challenge it.

DMK working president and leader of the opposition in the assembly M K Stalin today dubbed the Palaniswami dispensation a "minority government". In a statement in Chennai, he also questioned the Speaker's decision to issue notices to the MLAs. The DMK leader said the Governor should ensure that Palaniswami does not continue in power by "creating a constitutional crisis and misusing anti-defection law". The Dhinakaran camp MLAs had raised the banner of revolt after the AIADMK factions led by Palaniswami and former chief minister O Panneerselvam merged on August 21.

Of the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly, the AIADMK has 134 MLAs. There is no one representing the RK Nagar constituency in the House. The DMK has 89 seats, Congress eight and IUML one. PTI COR SA APR TVS .
Smartphone and Android enthusiasts rejoiced after Samsung finally launched the much speculated Note 8 on Wednesday at a live event in the New York City. While the flagship device was busy grabbing the eyeballs with all the features it is packing inside its massive 6.3 inch body Samsung, silently introduced the all new Gear VR (Virtual Reality) headset.

Samsung said the latest Gear VR has been designed keeping just Note 8 in mind. In fact, the new headset is the only VR headset that supports Note 8s 6.3 inch display. The headset will be available at a price of USD 129.99.

Though older VRs are not compatible with Note 8, the latest Gear VR is backward compatible with all the recent devices from Samsung such as S8, S8+, S7 and S7 Edge, among others.

Specifications wise, the headset is compatible with the latest Samsung devices which run on Android 5.0 version or above. Note 8 edition Gear VR is equipped with a controller in the box to assist in navigation. The headset also includes sensors such as Accelerometer, Gyro Sensor, and Proximity Sensor.

Surprisingly, Samsung had kept the Gear VR launch extremely low key. However, it is available for pre-order now at Samsung.com and Amazon in the US.

Samsung had released a new VR headset when it launched S8 and S8+ handsets, just about five months back, which unfortunately doesnt support Note 8. However, it would be fair to expect the new Gear VR to be compatible with devices Samsung will be launching at least in the near future.
Representative image

With the Supreme Court upholding privacy as a fundamental right for every citizen of India, a plethora of other issues that have been on the anvil might get resolved.

While the right to privacy was solidified as a fundamental right, protected in Part III of the Constitution, there are "reasonable restrictions" applicable, making privacy not an "absolute right".

Drawing a close to decade long arguments on the issue, the landmark judgment will not only resolve matters relating to Aadhaar number but also reinvigorate debates on decriminalising homosexuality, criminalising marital rape among other issues.

#The matters related to privacy and Aadhaar will resume hearing in the apex court by a five-judge constitution bench which will decide the fate of Aadhaar linked schemes and social benefits in the country.

#A common man will be liable to challenge unreasonable state intrusions and can protect information. This would directly mean that telecom operators, banks, and other service providers will have no access to personal phone numbers and other details. Incessant calls by service providers requesting one to buy their new products or offering discounts might come to a close.

#The verdict will also give a boost to gender activists who have challenged Article 377 of the Constitution which criminalizes sexuality. The nine -judge bench has observed that matter of sexuality is a private affair. Hence, a curative petition which awaits judgement in the Supreme Court on the matter is sure to benefit from the verdict.



Constitutionality of marital rape will be heard Mon, Del HC. #RightToPrivacy shd bolster our arguments on women's right to bodily integrity. https://t.co/ThKp8qCQ6W

 Karuna Nundy (@karunanundy) August 24, 2017

#Some lawyers are of the opinion that it will also prove beneficial for the struggle for criminalising marital rape in India. The matter which is due in the Delhi High Court next week would see a manifestation of the verdict delivered on Thursday. Lawyer Karuna Nady tweeted regarding the verdict directly raising arguments of "bodily integrity" of women in relation to the case against marital rape.
The Supreme Court verdict upholding Right to Privacy came as welcome news to Aadhaar activists, who have been striving to nix the Centre's efforts to link the 12-digit identification number to social benefit schemes, subsidies and other benefits.

RethinkAdhaar.in, a campaign actively involved in challenging the multifaceted implications of the Aadhaar project in India is celebrating the verdict which upheld that Right to Privacy is a fundamental right in the Constitution of India.

RethinkAadhaar features extensive work done in the remote areas of Rajasthan which documents rural people encountering several problems in receiving social benefit schemes, subsidies, and pensions linked to their Aadhaar number.



We welcome the judgment of the Supreme Court affirming the Right to Privacy as a fundamental right #No2UID #AadhaarNahiSudhaar pic.twitter.com/9LZzpFkEgw

 Rethink Aadhaar (@no2uid) August 24, 2017

As it eagerly waited for the nine-judge bench to deliver its verdict on the right to privacy hearing, it expressed its happiness once the historic judgement came out.

Praavita, one of the key members of the RethinkAadhaar initiative, told Moneycontrol that the verdict will put greater pressure on the Aadhaar project to prove its legitimacy and lawfulness. "This judgment is an existential threat to the foundations of the Aadhaar project. Now that the 9 judge bench has decided that privacy is a fundamental right, the Aadhaar hearings can now resume. We hope for an early hearing," she said.

She added: "The Centre can do what it wants to do. The Supreme Court has now drawn a line in the sand, a Lakshman Rekha. Everything will be tested on the anvil of the fundamental right to privacy."

She added: "We plan to continue raising awareness on the multiple shortcomings of Aadhaar and its coercive, anti-privacy nature. We also plan to launch a campaign calling for the delinking of Aadhaar from the multiple programmes."

Praavita, who calls herself a feminist, was also confident that the judgement will prove to be beneficial for the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer) rights activists in decriminalising homosexuality and battling Article 377 of the Indian Constitution.

"For me, the right to privacy is the heart of dignity and democracy. It means the right to be free from constant surveillance, it means that the state does not have unfettered powers over my life, and I have the freedom to dissent. Privacy to me is important as a feminist and an activist," she said.
Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif looks out the window of his plane after attending a ceremony to inaugurate the M9 motorway between Karachi and Hyderabad, Pakistan February 3, 2017. REUTERS/Caren Firouz - RTX2ZI70

Pakistan may face another "dismemberment" like the one it witnessed in 1971 if the people's mandate is not respected, ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif warned on Friday as he took a dig at the Supreme Court for disqualifying him.

Sharif's outburst came a day after the Lahore High Court banned broadcast of "anti-judiciary" remarks by him and his partymen.

He also targeted the country's intelligence agencies for being part of the Panama Papers investigation against him and his family members' offshore holdings.

"This is the first time in the country's history that representatives of intelligence agencies - Inter Service Intelligence (ISI) and Military Intelligence (MI) - were made part of the Joint Investigation Agency (JIT) to investigate the case which is not related to terrorism and national security," he said.

Speaking at a lawyers' convention here, 67-year-old Sharif said the Supreme Court's July 28 decision to disqualify him has not been accepted by the masses.

"This decision will be remembered as 'unjust verdict' in the country's history," he said.

The deposed premier said during the country's 70-year history all 18 prime ministers were sent home without completing their terms.

"This has to be stopped now and we must ensure respect of the ballot. If the people's vote is not respected I fear that Pakistan may face an eventuality like that of 1971 when it was divided into two," he said, adding that Pakistan cannot move forward without fixing this problem.

Sharif was referring to the creation of Bangladesh in 1971 following the liberation war against Pakistan.

"Although I have stepped down after the verdict but I have not accepted it nor the people of Pakistan. My mission is to shut down the means through which democracies are derailed and elected leaders are sent home," he said.

Pakistan's military has always played a crucial role in the country's politics. The army has ruled Pakistan for more than 33 years of the country's 70-year history.

Sharif said that he has been fighting for civilian supremacy in Pakistan and he will not sit back home till he achieves his goal with the help of masses.
Education

Montgomery County Community College will present the spring installment of the interview/talk show program Issues and Insights April 20 from 12:30 to 2 p.m. in Science Center room 214, 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell. The programs will be simulcast to the Colleges West Campus in South Hall room 216, 101 College Drive, Pottstown. Dr. Kolsky will offer a humorous presentation, Carrots, Sticks and Politics: A State of the Nation and the World Message. In this speech, he will provide his interpretation of domestic and international politics and then welcome questions from the audience for discussion. Issues and Insights, is free and open to the public. For information, contact Dr. Thomas Kolsky, professor of political science, at 215-641-6380 or tkolsky@mc3.edu.

Montgomery County Community Colleges STEM Scholars Program will host a STEM Jam! open house April 25 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the Advanced Technology Center at the Colleges Central Campus, 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell. The drop-in event is designed for students interested in learning more about careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Activities will include STEM program information and career advising, STEM speakers throughout the day from industry and academia, micro-helicopter and robotics competitive obstacle courses and demonstrations and static models of STEM student and faculty work. For more information about STEM Jam! or STEM programs at MCCC, contact William Brownlowe at wbrownlowe@mc3.edu or 215-641-6644, or Robin Zuhlke at 215-619-7440 or rzuhlke@mc3.edu.

Temple Ambler, located at 580 Meetinghouse Road, presents the following events:

International Club Global Bazaar April 15 from 5 to 8 p.m. The Ambler Campus International Club invites all students, faculty, staff and the community to celebrate a multitude of diverse cultures, which will be showcased at the organizations Global Bazaar. This family friendly event will highlight cultural traditions and celebrations in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, South American, North America and Africa through music, entertainment, food and informative displays developed and presented by students at the Ambler Campus. Young visitors will be provided with passports, which they may get stamped at each country they visit. Prizes will be awarded to world travelers who talk to cultural representatives, answer questions about the countries theyve visited and take part in fun-filled activities designed to help them learn about the rich diversity of cultures found throughout the world. Refreshments will be served. The event is free. For more information, call 267-468-8108 or e-mail tuc36466@temple.edu.

EarthFest 2011 April 29 from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. More than 75 exhibitors, including the Philadelphia Zoo, The Franklin Institute, the Academy of Natural Sciences, the Elmwood Park Zoo and the Insectarium, will take part in EarthFest 2011. School students of all ages are invited to attend and develop displays of their own. EarthFest partner the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society also offers its Kids Grow Expo, featuring the Junior Flower Show, as part of the event. For more information, call 267-468-8108 or e-mail duffyj@temple.edu.

Annual Spring Plant Sale May 7 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The plant sale  an Ambler Campus tradition dating back to the early 1900s  will feature woody plants and perennials in portable sizes, hardy trees, shrubs, and vines, native plants that are attractive to wildlife, herbs, and hanging baskets. There will also be numerous special plants for sale to highlight Amblers special anniversary year. Garden books and garden tools will also be available for sale. Students, staff, and volunteers from the Department of Landscape Architecture and Horticulture and the Ambler Arboretum Advisory Committee will be available to answer questions. All proceeds from the Spring Plant Sale will support the Ambler Arboretum Fund and the Pi Alpha Xi National Honor Society. Information: 267-468-8001 or judy.shatz@temple.edu. Learn more at www.ambler.temple.edu/anniversary.

June Homecoming/Louise Bush-Brown Garden Dedication June 5 from 12:30 to 2 p.m. (June Homecoming), Bright Hall Lounge; 2 p.m. (Garden Dedication), Ambler Campus Formal Perennial Gardens. Tickets  June Homecoming: Participant  $18 per person; Sustainer  $25 per person; Benefactor  $40 per person. The 2011 June Homecoming, sponsored by the School of Environmental Design Alumni Association, will include the Alumni Association annual meeting and luncheon. June Homecoming will be followed by the formal dedication of Temple University Amblers Formal Perennial Gardens as the Louise Bush-Brown Formal Gardens. During this 100th anniversary of the campus, Temple University Ambler and the Ambler Arboretum of the Temple University is honoring Louise Bush-Browns many contributions to the history of the campus by formally dedicating the gardens in her honor. During the program, campus Executive William Parshall will welcome guests, Ambler Arboretum Director Jenny Rose Carey will speak about the Bush-Browns and the history of the garden, and an official ribbon cutting will be held for the Louise Bush-Brown Formal Garden. Following the ribbon cutting, guests are invited to take a tour of the gardens, which will wend their way to the Campus Greenhouse for the School of Environmental Designs annual Plant Auction. Information (Garden Dedication): 267-468-8001 or judy.shatz@temple.edu. Information (June Homecoming): 215-482-0722. Learn more at www.ambler.temple.edu/anniversary.

Northview Garden Tour and Fundraiser for the Ambler Arboretum June 12 from noon to 5 p.m. Call for reservations. Tickets: $15 per person or $20 at the door. In addition to the gardens of the Ambler Arboretum of Temple University, Arboretum Director Jenny Rose Carey has a garden oasis all her own right in Ambler  Northview. Visitors will have the opportunity to take self-guided tours throughout the many gardens, where garden experts will be available to answer questions about the various designs. The Ambler Keystone Chapter of the Womans National Farm and Garden Association will also provide tea and refreshments. All proceeds from the tours will support the Ambler Arboretum of Temple University. Information or to register: 267-468-8001 or judy.shatz@temple.edu. Learn more at www.ambler.temple.edu/anniversary.

The Senior Adult Activities Center of Montgomery County, 536 George Street, Norristown, will hold the following events:

SAAC Adult Day Care, an alternative to Nursing Home Care is available  for information call 610-275-1960

Volunteers are needed for Meals on Wheels Program (call the number above)

SAACs Fifth Avenue Boutique opens Monday through Friday from 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

Exercise with Theresa will be held every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 1 p.m.

Dance class is held every Monday at 10 a.m.

Tai Chi is held every Monday at 10 a.m.

Yoga is held every Tuesday at 10:30 a.m.

Line Dancing is held every Thursday at 10:30 a.m.

Dancing with Joan is held every Wednesday at 10:30 a.m.

Sculpture Class is held Wednesdays from 2 to 3:30 p.m.

Why Should I Learn Spanish? will be held Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m.

Generations On-Line computer classes for seniors will be held Monday through Friday from 8 a.m.  4 p.m.  computers are available during those hours.

Health Living will be held every Tuesday at 1 p.m.

Boomer U will hold the following events. Boomer U is located at 45 Forest Avenue, Ambler. Registration & payment is required for all events: 215-619-8863.

Pilates Class is held Wednesdays and Fridays at 9:30 a.m. First class is free; please bring a mat. For information call 610-291-5376.

Blue Bell School of Dance, 921 Penllyn Blue Bell Pike, Blue Bell, hosts Argentine Tango Classes and a Milonga dance party every Friday evening. Lessons start at 8:30 p.m. followed by dancing at 9:30 p.m. Andrew Conway, master Argentine Tango dancer, instructor and performer and his partner Linda Chase will instruct. All levels welcome and no partner is needed. Refreshments will be served. Fee is $12 per person and includes lesson and dancing. Information: 215-634-1101 or www.amoretango.com.

The Montgomery Hospital Medical Center will offer the following classes:

Childbirth Education Class- all parents are invited to participate, including those who are delivering at

other hospitals. For more information on maternity services or classes, call 610-270-2020.

CPR and First Aid Courses are offered for beginners to experiences health care providers. Call 610-270-2313.

The Ambler SAAC (Senior Adult Activities Center), located at 45 Forest Ave in Ambler will hold the following events:

Tai Chi every Monday and Thursday at 11 a.m.

Yoga is every Tuesday at 1 p.m. and Friday at 10:30 a.m.

Strength and balance training every Wednesday at 10 a.m.

Armchair Aerobics is held every Monday at 10 a.m.

Gourmet Weight Wise every Thursday at 12:30.

Fitness Center and Pool Room open daily 8 a.m.-4 p.m.

The Diabetes Education Center will offer day and evening classes each month. Health insurance pays for diabetes education classes. Preregistration is required. Call 610-270-2301.

For Kids & Families

The Ambler Kiwanis Club will host its annual Easter Egg Hunt April 26 at 10 a.m. in Ambler Borough Park, located just off of the intersection of Hendricks Street and Valley Brook Road. Members of the Wissahickon Key Club will assist Kiwanians in hiding thousands of wrapped chocolate eggs in a designated area of the park. Also hidden will be plastic colored eggs, which are redeemed for prizes. Elementary school children are separated by age.

Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation will hold its 21st annual Storybook Egg-Stravaganza April 15 fom 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Upper Dublin Township Building. Toddlers and preschoolers love this annual event where photo opportunities with favorite friends abound! Treasures are collected from UDP&Rs assortment of lifesize cutouts of favorite cartoon characters from Disney, Sesame Street, Nickelodeon and other well-known animation. Children can have their picture taken with Bugsy OHare; bring your own camera. And dont forget a basket for goodies! $7 for UD residents; $12 for non-residents. Pre-register at 215-643-1600 ext. 3443.

Splash Week is a free week-long program that teaches children and families basic swimming skills and water safety practices. All YMCA branches will host multiple classes each day from April 11 to 15. For more information, contact the Ambler Area YMCA at 215-628-9950.

Healthy Kids Day is April 16 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The day is filled with fun, engaging and artistic activities that cultivate healthy living as part of the YMCAs larger efforts to help more kids and families become physically active. All activities are free and open to the community. For more information, contact the Ambler YMCA at 215-628-9950. No reservation is required.

The Ambler Area YMCA has added several new programs for area youngsters. Classes are held late afternoons or evenings on various weekdays. For more information, visit philaymca.org or call 215-628-9950.

Basic Beading: Ages: 10+. Wednesdays 7 to 7:45 p.m. This class will teach you the fundamentals of wiring and stringing along with how color can be used to create unique and vibrant beadwork design. You will create various jewelry including earrings, bracelets, charm pendants and much more! Supplies will be provided. Bringing your own jewelry pliers or tools would be a plus.

Messin with the Masters: Ages: 8-12. Thursdays 7 to 7:45 p.m. Learn about some of the worlds greatest artists. You will be inspired to create your own Starry Night with oil pastels and tempera paints, a tissue paper painted Monet garden, a Picasso head using scraps of paper, a Georgia OKeeffe clay flower bowl and a Rousseau jungle collage.

Super Scientist: Ages: 5-7. Mondays 4:30 to 5:15 p.m. Well be concocting chemistry experiments such as making slime, mixing potions and having fun with magnet magic. Your budding little scientist will enhance his/her creative thinking and motor skills and to top it off will learn that science can be serious fun.

Wacky Junk Art: Ages: 8-12. Thursdays 6 to 6:45 p.m. Why throw it away! Instead join us to make household junk into aliens from outer space, wacky specs, crazy hats, body masks or a recycled train.

Globe Trotters: Ages: 4-6. Tuesdays 4:30 to 5:15 p.m. Youre never too young to start thinking globally. Each week, we explore a new country through crafts, games, music, stories and even some taste-testing. A perfect introduction to our great big world!

Crazy about Crafts: Ages: 5-7, Thursdays 4:30 to 5:15 p.m. Let your childs creative juices flow with our fun arts and crafts projects each week. Fine motor skills and creative thinking skills will be enhanced with this crafty class.

Come out and join the Ambler Area YMCAs Teen and Junior Leaders Club. Participants are given the freedom to plan community service projects year round and truly make a difference in the lives of people in need. Those in Teen and Junior Leaders also attend leadership retreats all along the East Coast three times a year and meet other leaders who are doing the same great work in their respective areas. Dont miss out on this inspiring opportunity. Teen Leaders, ages 13-17, meet every Wednesday from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Junior Leaders, ages 10-12, will begin in the spring and will meet every Monday. For more information, contact Mike Miles, Teen Director, 215- 628-9950 x 1540 or mmiles@philaymca.org.

Did you know that the new Ambler Area YMCA holds childrens birthday parties at its site for members and non members as well. The Ambler Y does all the work from start to finish and birthday parties include a personalized cake, ice cream, beverage and paper products. Parties are held on Saturday and Sunday afternoons and include two party hosts to lead activities, set-up, clean-up and assist with serving. You can have a Splash Party for children ages six to 12 in the new zero depth entry pool with water slide and spray fountains. Up to 25 children have exclusive use of the pool area with 30 minutes in the party room. Sports Parties are offered for kids ages four to 12 with age appropriate activities and games, and sports such as floor hockey, soccer, basketball or dodge ball. Children ages three to five years of age will enjoy parties in the Family Active Center with use of the Moon Bounce and organized activities, such as parachute play and songs. For information, 215-628-9950 ext. 1583.

Community Events at the Ambler Y:

-YAchievers YMCA Achievers is a developmentally based, extracurricular, educational and team mentoring program designed to help students in grades five through 12 prepare for fulfilled livelihoods in college and beyond. Participation is free and all students in this program receive a free YMCA membership. Registration for the 2009 program begins now. You do not need to be a YMCA member to utilize these special services. Call 215-628-9950 to register.

Greater Norristown Art Leagues Childrens Weeklong Summer Art Camps will be held at 800 West Germantown Pike in East Norriton, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday throughout the summer. The cost per session is $125 per student for ages 6 and up. Jo Ann Cooksey Bono teaches an introduction to basic drawing skills and techniques from 10 a.m. until the lunch break each day. In the afternoon sessions, Mary Vogel Lozinak involves the students in hands on projects such as collage, papermaking, T-shirt printing, 3D design and sculpy clay. Fridays Graduation Day includes an art show, awards ceremony and reception for parents, siblings, grandparents and friends. All supplies are included. Students provide their own lunch. A refrigerator is available and the building is air-conditioned. This is the 15th year to run this successful program. Both instructors are professional artists with State Police and Child Abuse Clearances. To register, call Jo Ann at 610-279-1008, or register on-line at www.gnal.org.

Health

Dresher Physical Therapy is hosting an interactive seminar discussing its Golf Assessment Progam April 30 from 10 a.m. to noon at Dresher Physical Therapy, 1075 Virginia Drive, Suite 200, Fort Washington. Physical therapist Chris Miller, certified through the Titleist Performance Institute, will discuss why your body may be the most important piece of golf equipment you invest in and how this can drastically improve your game. $10 in advance; $15 at the door. Call 215-619-4545 to reserve your spot.

The Chestnut Hill Center for Enrichment, Center on the Hill and Chestnut Hill Hospital will host a Senior Health and Resource Fair April 14 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Chestnut Hill Presbyterian Church, 8855 Germantown Ave. The event is free. For more information, call 215-248-0180 or e-mail chseniors@cavtel.net.

The Ambler Senior Adult Activities Center is hosting Help Yourself to Health, a new six-week workshop for older adults with ongoing health conditions such as arthritis, diabetes, high blood pressure, anxiety, heart disease and others. The free workshop will take place at the Ambler Senior Adult Activities Center, 45 Forest Ave. on six Thursdays, May 12 through June 16 from 9:30 a.m. to noon. Although there is no charge to participate, registration is required. To register, call 215-619-8863.

The Ambler Senior Adult Activities Center is sponsoring an eight-week program called A Matter of Balance: Managing Concerns About Falls. Presented by the Montgomery County Health Department, this workshop will be held on Tuesdays, May 3 to June 21 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Ambler Center, 45 Forest Ave. If you pre-register by April 27, the fee is only $5! Registration at the first class is $10. (Checks should be payable to SAAC and will benefit our Meals on Wheels program that serves homebound seniors.) A workbook will be provided and refreshments will be served. Call 215-619-8863 to register or for more information.

Fort Washington Wellness Center classes are ongoing. There are several offered during lunch or right after work, for your convenience: Boot Camp from noon to 1 p.m. on Monday; Zumba is MWF from 11 a.m. to noon and Friday at 4 p.m.; there are 25 cycling classes; Ashtanga and Vinyasana Yoga and Pilates; and a group Womens Strength Training class M-F from 10 to 11 a.m. Questions, call Cathy DeMarco at 215-641-1245.

Following the success of other local area programs, Impact Sports and Upper Dublin Parks and Recreation are delighted to team up again to offer a spring program for the 2011 season! Upper Dublin area children ages 3-5 years old can attend a Sports Program featuring their favorite sports games; soccer, rugby, hockey, track and field, basketball, and more. The program will start on April 27 and run through June 1. Cost for the program is $85 for the six weeks. The classes will be running 12- 1 p.m.; 1- 2 p.m.; 2- 3 p.m. For more info or to register, call Upper Dublin Township on 215 643 1600 or visit their website a http://www.upperdublin.net.

Spring Aquatic Programs  UDHS Pool:

-Summer is just around the corner  Community Aquatic Programs at the UDHS Pool can help get you into shape! Programs begin in March; preregistration is required.

 Shallow Water Aerobics  Two 5-week programs, Wednesday nights, 8-8:45 p.m., $40R/$50NR.

 Adult Swim Instructions  Two 5-week programs, Wednesday nights, 7-8 p.m., $50R/$60NR

-Open Rec Swims are fun for the whole family! Come out on Fridays from 7-9 p.m. or Saturdays from 1-4 p.m. and enjoy use of the pool and diving area. Fridays are offered through June 17; Saturdays are offered March 12-May 21.

-Join a growing group of adult lap swimmers and water walkers. Lanes are set aside evenings and weekends for use; lanes are shared. Monday  Thursday from 7:30-9:30 p.m.; Fridays from 7-9 p.m. and Saturdays (March 12-May 21) from 1-4 p.m.

-Private Swimming & Diving Lessons for ages 3-adult are offered at the UDHS Pool through a partnership with the Upper Dublin Aquatic Club (UDAC). Visit the UDAC website for more information, www.udac.us, and click the link to UDHS Private Lessons.

-Looking for local programs for US Masters Swimming (adults) or Water Polo (all ages)? UDAC and UDSD are working together to develop programs that will be offered at the UDHS Pool. Add your name to Interest Lists by emailing slohoefer@upperdublin.net. emails will be sent about clinics and program start dates.

Questions about Community Aquatic Programs at the UDHS Pool, group use of the pool or pool rental? Contact Susan Lohoefer, Facility & Community Affairs Manager at slohoefer@upperdublin.net or call 215-643-8800 x8994.

SilverSneakers Fitness Program. The Healthyways SilverSneakers Fitness Program is a result-oriented program that enables older adults to take charge of their health. The program is an innovative blend of physical activity, healthy lifestyle and socially oriented programing. Members of the program are eligible for a free YMCA membership, with use of the pool and exercise equipment, along with customized classes designed for older adults who want to improve their strength, flexibility, balance and endurance. If you are a subscriber to Independence Blue Cross (Personal Choice 65 PPO) or Keystone 65 HMO, Bravo Health, or Health Options Programs (HOP), call the Ambler Area YMCA, 215-628-9950 or Hatboro Area YMCA, 215-674-4545. You can also visit www.silversneakers.com.

Zumba Fitness offers Zumba dance/fitness classes at Academy of Dance and Music/BBAD Studio located at 1524 DeKalb Pike in Blue Bell (behind Sherwin Williams). Classes are offered three times a week: Tuesdays at 6 p.m., Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 8 a.m. For a free trial pass for your first class, email us at info@danceandmusic.biz or call 610-277-2557. For more info, visit our site at www.academyofdanceandmusic.org.

Chestnut Hill Health Systems presents the following Health Education Programs:

FITNESS CLASSES

Golden Yoga: A Breathing, Stretching and Relaxation Class. Fridays, 2:30-3:30 p.m. Lea Auditorium, Chestnut Hill Hospital, 8835 Germantown Ave. Registration for four classes at a time required. Golden Yoga is Classical Yoga, adapted by the SKY Foundation, to accommodate those who have difficulty getting up and down from the floor. The program includes postures, breathing, relaxation and meditation techniques, all performed while sitting in a chair and standing. Registration required. Call 215-247-3029. Cost: $20 for 4 classes per month.

Tai Chi: Tuesdays & Thursdays, 8:30  9:30 a.m. Springfield Residence, 8601 Stenton Ave. Classes, for the novice or beginner/intermediate student, are designed to improve balance, power, posture, coordination, flexibility and mental focus. Slow, gentle movements are modified to most everyones abilities. For more information or to sign up for a free introductory class, call 215-882-2804. Cost: $8 per class/paid monthly.

SUPPORT GROUPS

Weight Loss Surgery Support Group: Fourth Wednesday of the month, 7-8 p.m. Williams Conference Room, Chestnut Hill Hospital, 8835 Germantown Ave., Philadelphia. Join us for a monthly get-together where well share information for those interested in weight loss surgery, learn from guest speakers discussing current news on issues including lifestyle modification, nutrition and exercise and provide ongoing support for those who have completed surgery. Registration required. Call 215-753-2000.

Breast Cancer Networking Group: Fourth Tuesday of the month 5:30  7 p.m. Williams Conference Room, Chestnut Hill Hospital, 8835 Germantown Ave., Philadelphia. A free, confidential support group for women living with a diagnosis of breast cancer designed to provide a forum for sharing information, feelings and concerns associated with breast cancer. Facilitated by Tish Wakefield, LCSW, Oncology Social Worker. Registration required. To register or for more information, call 215-248-8047.

New Moms Support Groups Tuesdays 10:30 a.m.  12 p.m.; contact Jeanine ORourke, MSW or 2:30  4 p.m.; contact Susan Schack, Ph.D Volunteer Conference Room, Chestnut Hill Hospital, 8835 Germantown Ave. The Center for Postpartum Depression at Chestnut Hill Hospital is pleased to offer two new support groups to support new moms. Both groups will be run by experienced mental health professionals who really get it when it comes to new motherhood and juggling relationships, extended family, work/family balance and self-care. If you are experiencing new mom challenges that often heighten anxiety and involve hormonally driven depression, join us for an informative and supportive forum to connect with other moms. Infants are welcome. $30 per session (flexible based on need). Registration is required. Call Dr. Schack, 646-265-2484, or Ms. ORourke, 215-206-2931.

Man to Man Prostate Cancer Support Group Third Thursday of the month 8-9 a.m. Williams Conference Room, Chestnut Hill Hospital, 8835 Germantown Ave. A networking group for men diagnosed with prostate cancer designed to provide education, support and encouragement. Spouses and partners welcome. Harry M. Baer, MD, Chief, Urology Division, will host Ask the Doctor. Registration required. Call 215-248-8325.

Contact the Senior Center by phone 215-248-0180 or email (chseniors@cavtel.net) with your questions about these programs or any of our on-going activities and classes.

Holy Redeemer HomeCare and Hospice seeks compassionate and emotionally mature volunteers to provide support to local hospice patients and their families in Bucks, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties. Volunteers may also assist with pet therapy and administrative work within the hospice department and are requested to have daytime availability. Hospice patient care volunteers visit with patients in their homes or nursing facilities once a week for two to three hours. They provide emotional support and companionship to patients and family members, assist with errands or provide respite for caregivers. Bereavement volunteers support the families of hospice patients following the loss of a loved one, while administrative volunteers assist with typing, mailings and/or filing. Hospice care workers provide a great service to families and loved ones of hospice patients. Many volunteers also report a great deal of personal satisfaction as a result of their services. Patient care and bereavement volunteers complete an application and attend an 18-hour volunteer training program that covers the medical, psychological and spiritual aspects of hospice volunteering. Day and evening training programs are offered. To sign up for volunteer opportunities in Pennsylvania, contact Holy Redeemer Volunteer Coordinator Jean Francis at 215-698-3737 or email jfrancis@holyredeemer.com.

Librarytalk

Upper Dublin Public Library, 805 Loch Alsh Avenue, Ft. Washington, 215-628-8744

www.upperdublinlibrary.org

APRIL CHILDRENS PROGRAMS:

Storytimes: Please register in the library.

o Wee Ones: 0 to 23 months Thursdays and Fridays 10:30 to 10:50 a.m.

o Tiny Tots: age 2. Wednesdays 10:30 to 10:50 a.m. and Fridays 11 to 11:20 a.m.

o Jr. Book Lovers: ages 3 to 6. Tuesdays 10:30 to 11 a.m.

o Bedtime Storytimes: 7 to 7:30 p.m. April 20 and 27. Wear your jammies, bring your teddy & hear Miss Barbara read bedtime stories! For ages 3 to 6.

APRIL TEEN PROGRAMS:

North Hills Library Teens April 28 from 4 to 6 p.m. Movie Matinee

APRIL UDPL ADULT PROGRAMS:

NEW! ESL Conversation Group. Tuesdays from 7 to 8 p.m. Interested in practicing your English in a safe and caring environment? Come to our conversation group and improve your skills! Please register with Kay Klocko at 215-628-8744 or kklocko@mclinc.org.

One-on-One Computer Mentoring. Get personalized assistance from experienced computer volunteers! Sign-up for a one-hour session. Limit one session per month. Please register  contact info above.

Book Groups Please register with Kay Klocko 215-628-8744.

o Daytimers: April 21 at 1:30 p.m. Tired of book groups where you all read the same book? Read any fiction or non-fiction book on this months theme: Explorers. Please register.

Meetings:

Annual Meeting of the Friends of UDPL: April 14 at 1 p.m.

Board of Directors: April 20 at 7 p.m.

Blue Bell Library www.wvpl.org Upcoming Events: The Wissahickon Valley Public Library, 650 Skippack Pike (Route 73) in Blue Bell, is diagonally across from the Blue Bell Inn. Call 215-643-1320 or visit their website at www.wvpl.org.

For children and teens at Blue Bell:

* Story times with guitar music by Miss Michelle, the singing librarian.

* Mondays at 10:30 a.m. for all ages.

* Wednesdays at 4:30 p.m. for all ages.

* Fridays at 10:30 a.m. for all ages.

* Family Movies, new releases, second Saturdays of the month at 1:30 p.m.

* May 14  Despicable Me

* June 11  Alpha and Omega

* Special Events

* April  watch for date of spring/Easter events

* April 14 at 4:30 p.m.  Junior Lego Club for children ages 3 through 5. Parents and caregivers need to stay with children.

* April 14 at 7 p.m.  Jeopardy for ages 11 to 18. Test your book and library knowledge for prizes. Sign up to be a contestant. No sign up to be in the audience. Snacks provided.

* April 16 at 1 p.m.  Adult Mystery Book Group discussing The Beekeepers Apprentice by Laurie King.

* April 16 at 1:30 p.m.  Childrens event for One Book, Every Young Child celebration. Story and craft for book Whose Shoes?

* April 19 at 7 p.m. and April 26 at 1:30 p.m.- Adult book group discusses The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester. Group led by Adam Button.

* April 30 through May 3  Friends book sale with about 10,000 items for sale for children, teens and adults.

* May  sign up for Science in the Summer

* June  sign up for Enrichment Programs for Elementary-Age children

* June  sign up for Summer Reading, all ages

For adults at Blue Bell:

* Daytime Book Discussion Group  fourth Tuesday, Jan  April at 1:30 p.m.

* April 26  The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester

* Night-time Book Discussion Group  third Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m.

o April 19  The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester

* Art Series with Dr. Sheldon Weintraub, docent at The Barnes and speaker at local colleges

o April 27 at 2 p.m. The Art of Looking at Art-Is She Nude or Is She Naked?

*Mystery Book Discussion Group, third Saturday of the month at 1 p.m.; new mystery theme each month; www.wvpl.org/programs

* Yoga on Mondays at 1:30 p.m. $20 for eight classes; $5 per drop-in class.

* Tai Chi on Mondays at 3 p.m. with Dr. Kurt Findeisen. $20 for eight classes; $5 per drop in class.

* Philadelphia Museum of Art presents class on their Marc Chagall exhibit, April 13 at 2 p.m.

* Giant Book Sale, April 29  May 3

o Starts with almost 10,000 items for children and adults!

o Held during library hours.

o Preview for members of the Friends of the Library, April 28 at 7 p.m.

o Join the Friends and attend the preview sale. Modest fee to join.

* Blooms at Blue Bell Gardening Series

o May 11 at 1 p.m.  Summer Bulbs by PA Horticultural Society

* Knitting group Mondays and Wednesdays at 10 a.m. Work on your project or observe and learn. The groups continue year-round in the community room.

* Socrates Cafe discussion group every Monday at 7 p.m. You pick the topic to discuss each week. No sign-up, nothing to read.

* Bridge every Friday at 12:30 p.m. New players welcome.

* Mah Jong every Wednesday at 1 p.m. New players welcome.

*Chess every Wednesday at 7p.m. for adults and teens 14 and older.

* Movie Matinee showing recent releases every Thursday at 2 p.m. April 14: Maos Last Dancer; April 21: Welcome to the Rileys; April 28: Conviction; May 5: Inception; May 12: Inside Job; May 19 The Kings Speech; May 26 The Fighter; June 2 Rabbit Hole; June 9 Black Swan; June 16 127 Hours

* Ongoing like-new, year-round book sale for adults & children during library hours

* Library opening at 10 a.m. Monday through Saturday!

Ambler Library, a branch of the Wissahickon Valley Public Library, 209 Race St., 215-646-1072. www.wvpl.org. All the following events occur at the Ambler Library.

* Story times with guitar music by Miss Michelle, the singing librarian.

* Tuesdays at 10:30 a.m. for all ages.

* Thursdays at 4:30 p.m. for all ages.

* For adults:

* Beading Group meets the first and third Monday of every month at 1 p.m. Work on your own projects or come to watch and learn.

* Free Family History Lookup with Connie Briggs. Email Connie for an appointment at the Ambler Library. conniebriggs@comcast.net

* Special Events:

* April 14 at 1:30 p.m.  Book Group discusses Skeletons at the Feast by Chris Bohjalian.

* April 19 at 7 p.m.  Travel to Paris with world traveler Harry Balin. Tea and scones at 6:30 p.m.

* April 21 at 7 p.m.  Art with Sara for children in fourth through seventh grades.

*May 2 at 6:30 p.m.  Discuss the movie Lone Star with Temple Professor Lisa Hawkins. Watch the movie ahead of time.

*May 10  Robert Capucci discusses Art into Fashion. Tea and scones served at 6:30 p.m. Program at 7 p.m.

*May 12 at 1:30p.m.  Book Group discusses The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman.

*May 17  Tour the gardens of Devon and Southwest England with Lois McMullen. Tea and Scones at 6:30 p.m. Program at 7 p.m.

*June 13 at 6:30 p.m.  Discuss the movie Blade Runner with Temple Professor Lisa Hawkins. Watch the movie ahead of time.

Meetings and Lectures

The Unisys Blue Bell Retiree Group will meet in the Church on the Mall in the Plymouth Meeting Mall April 14 at 1:30 p.m. Kathy Sacket Young, director/trainer with the North Penn YMCA, will speak on Keeping Fit in Retirement. For more information, contact Membership Committee Chairperson Jerry Feldscher at 610-275-3538 or President Al Rollin at 215-368-4833.

The next FWBA meeting will be April 28 at the Hilton Garden Inn Fort Washington. Networking begins at 11:30 a.m.; meeting from noon to 1 p.m. Leon Singletary, Principal, First Contact HR and FWBA Executive Board, will present: Social Media: How to Use It To Get More Business. Lunch is provided courtesy of the Hilton Garden Inn Fort Washington. Members are welcome to bring a guest. An RSVP is requested by return email or 215-628-0313.

Big Brothers Big Sisters Southeastern PA is hosting a information sessions over the next few weeks on how to become a Big Brother. The information sessions will take place: April 16 at noon, April 19 at 8 a.m. and April 28 at 6 p.m. All sessions will be held at the groups Norristown Office,t 530 DeKalb St., Norristown. For more information, call 610-277-2200.

The North Penn Chapter of the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) normally meets on the third Tuesday of each month from now until May. Meetings are held at the William Penn Inn on Route 202 and Sumneytown Pike, Upper Gwynedd, PA. Social hour starts at 5:30 p.m., dinner is served at 6:30 p.m., and the technical program begins at 7 p.m. Cost with reservation is $28 for members. Members without reservations and guests pay $30. Students with reservations pay $15. Reservations may be made by noon on the Monday preceding the meeting by phoning 215-371-1854 or emailing the reservation to northpennima@yahoo.com northpennima@yahoo.com. Information about the North Penn Chapter is available at http://northpenn.imanet.org/.

LeTip, a professional organization of men and women who are dedicated to the highest standards of competence and service meets every Tuesday at Cedar Brook Country Club, 180 Penllyn Pike, Blue Bell at 7 a.m. -meeting officially starts at 7:16 a.m. and ends at 8:31 a.m. Our purpose is the exchange of business tips, leads, and referrals. Each business category is represented by one member and conflicts of interest are disallowed. Guests are welcome to visit any of our breakfast meetings.

Every third Thursday of month, Sunrise Assisted Living of Blue Bell (795 Penllyn Pike, Blue Bell, PA 19422, 215-619-2777) serves as a satellite site to 148th Legislative district PA congressman Mike Gerber from 10 a.m. to noon. Stop by for help needed with things such as disability placards and license plates, vehicle registration, utilities issues, birth/death certificates,property tax/rent rebates, etc. Notary services arranged by appointment.

The Eastern Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce is an action-oriented organization dedicated to promoting its members and the economic health of eastern Montgomery county. The Chamber is committed to serving as a catalyst by uniting business, community agencies, government and education to make our county a great place to live and work. For information, call 215-887-5122 or visit www.emccc.org.

Do you have a fear of public speaking? Blue Bell Toastmasters Club can help. We meet from 7 to 9 p.m., on the second and fourth Tuesday at the Marriott Courtyard, located on Route 202, directly across from the Montgomeryville Mall. Learn how to improve communication and leadership skills in a friendly and supportive environment. Guests are welcome. Admission fee: $5. For more info, visit www.bbtoast.org.

The PennSuburban Chamber of Commerce will hold the following meetings (for reservations to any of the following, email info@PennSuburban.org)

-Breakfast News Network, 7:30-8:45 a.m. at Normandy Farm Hotel (1401 Morris Road, Blue Bell, PA 19422) $15 members, includes full buffet breakfast. Join us for a networking program at Normandy Farm Hotel every Thursday morning for breakfast, business news, informative speakers, and plenty of networking. The cost includes a full breakfast buffet. Copies of the business cards will be made available to those who would like them.

The BNI, Fort Washington Chapter meets every Monday at The Hilton Garden Inn, 520 Pennsylvania Ave., Fort Washington for a networking meeting. Meetings are from 11:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. Visitors are welcome. The only cost to attend is the cost of your meal. For information or a reservation to attend, please call Luanne Cram at 215-947-7784, or visit our Internet site at: http://www.BNIDVR.Com and click on the menu item Find a Chapter.

For the past seven years, people have enjoyed participating in WVWAs Adopt-a-Tree program. Individuals can support the Association in its reforestation efforts by purchasing native trees to be planted. Supporters can plant their adopted tree or have WVWA volunteers will plant it. Trees cost $30 each. If you would like to volunteer or purchase a tree(s), please contact: Bob Adams at Bob@wvwa.org or call: 215-646-8866 for more information. Check www.WVWA.org for directions and maps.

Sustainable Upper Dublin, http://sustainableupperdublin.org, meets the first Thursday of each month at 6:30 p.m., at the Upper Dublin Township Building, 801 Loch Alsh Avenue, Fort Washington, PA 19034. Please send any questions to suec@sustainableupperdublin.org or call 610-996-6316. To learn more about Sustainable Upper Dublin, view or join the discussion at http://googlegroups.com/group/sustainableupperdublin.

Special Events

The Mattie N. Dixon Community Cupboard will hold its first nutrition class April 19 at 10 a.m. at the Community Cupboard, 150 N. Main St., Ambler. Lynne Sinclair, a nutritionist from Abington Memorial Hospital specializing in diabetic nutrition, will conduct the class. Topics will include healthy eating, beneficial foods, recipes, making meals with every day foods, and how to use unfamiliar produce. A healthy snack will be provided.The class is is open to all residents in Montgomery County.

The Historical Society of Fort Washington presents The History of Conshohocken April 19 at 8 p.m. at the Clifton House, 473 Bethlehem Pike, Fort Washington. Jack Coll will present an illustrated program on the history of the Borough of Conshohocken. Coll is a longtime resident of Conshohocken and a member of the Conshohocken Historical Society. He is co-author with his son, Brian, of the Arcadia Then and Now Series book Conshohocken. He has also done books Conshohocken and West Conshohocken Sports and Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Italian Feast. He has taken many photos for the Conshohocken Record and the Norristown Times Herald. This program is free. Refreshments will be served. For additional information, call 215-646-6065.

Taste of the White House Soiree featuring former White House Chef Walter Scheib will take place April 29 at 6 p.m. at Manufacturers Golf & Country Club in Fort Washington to celebrate HealthLinks 10th anniversary and honor its founders, the Eugene Jackson Family. The evening will heat up with a Chef Meet & Greet, followed by a specially selected presidential menu. Gala tickets are $150 per person. Proceeds benefit HealthLink, a free clinic providing compassionate, quality medical and dental care to uninsured, working adults in Bucks and Montgomery counties who fall in between the health care cracks. Go to http://tasteofthewhitehouse.charityhappenings.org to make reservations online or lend support through sponsorship. For event information, call 267-699-0124 or email jmarushak@healthlinkmedical.org.

The Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association will hold an open house at the Evans-Mumbower Mill April 17 from 1 to 4 p.m. The Mill is at the corner of Swedesford and Township Line Roads in Upper Gwynedd. The open house is free but donations are welcome. For more information, call 215-646-8866 o email info@wvwa.org.

The Eastern Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce will host Breakfast With Your County Commissioners and State Representatives April 21 from 8 to 9:30 a.m. at the Holiday Inn Fort Washington, 432 W. Pennasylvania Ave. Commissioners: James R. Matthews (Chairman), Joseph M. Hoeffel (Vice Chair), State Representatives: Todd Stephens (District 151) and Josh Shapiro (District 153). Register onlineat www.emccc.org. $10 for EMCCC member; $20 for non-members.

Upper Dublins Districtwide Allied Art Show will be held April 27 from 5:30 to 9 p.m. in the Upper Dublin High School Athletic Complex.

The Rev. Alfred Muli, chaplain at Fort Washington Estates, will be the featured speaker at the Kiwanis sponsored breakfast observing the National Day of Prayer May 5 at 7 a.m. at the William Penn Inn. The breakfast is open to the public ($15). Reservations can be made by calling 215-646-4356 or by emailing georgesaurman@Juno.com.

The Upper Dublin Shade Tree Commission invites people to participate in its spring bare root planting events, sponsored in part by Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation and Friends of Robbins Park. On April 9, zix trees will be planted at the Evelyn B. Wright Park & Community Pool, 401 Logan Ave., North Hills, at 9 a.m., followed by the planting of 10 trees at Sheeleigh Park, Loch Alsh Avenue and Douglas Street, Ambler, at 10:15 a.m. On April 29, students from Upper Dublin High School will join the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society to plant 16 trees in Robbins Park, Butler Pike and Meetinghouse Road, Ambler, to help launch the societys Million Trees campaign. This event will occur in conjunction with Temple Amblers EarthFest. Experienced tree-tenders are sought to assist the students. For more information,contact Ron Ayres at 215-653-0421 or 215-483-4348.

The Friends of the Wissahickon and the Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association are teaming up once again to clean the Wissahickon Creek from top to bottom April 30 from 9 a.m. to noon. This spring marks the 41st anniversary of Wissahickon Valley Watershed Associations annual Creek Clean Up, and the second year that FOW has teamed up with WVWA. Volunteers of all ages will clean the creek, the surrounding trails and the many tributaries of the Wissahickon Creek. Armed with bags, volunteers will be assigned to sections of the creek. Following the clean up, all volunteers are invited to WVWAs Talkin Trash picnic in Fort Washington State Park, with food provided by Whole Foods Market of North Wales. The pavilion is located on Mill Road in Flourtown. To help out in Montgomery County, all volunteers must be pre-assigned a section of the Wissahickon Creek to clean. Please contact Bob Adams, WVWA director of stewardship, at 215-646-8866 ext. 14 or bob@wvwa.org. To work with the Friends of the Wissahickon in Philadelphia, meet at the pavilion along Forbidden Drive, a short distance south of the intersection of Forbidden Drive and Northwestern Avenue. Limited parking is available along Northwestern Avenue and other nearby streets. Volunteers are encouraged to bike or carpool to the event. To participate, register at www.fow.org. Contact Kevin Groves with questions at 215-247-0417 ext. 105 or groves@fow.org.

Montgomery County Community Colleges International Club invites the community to the second annual International Festival April 20 from 5 to 9 p.m. at the Central Campus, 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell. The rain date is April 26. The International Club will transform the outside quad area into multicultural celebration with various performances by dancers, singers and musicians. Artists will share their artwork at various display tables. Activities include games, raffles, Easter egg decorating and henna tattoos. Students will have samples of international cuisine at tables representing different countries and will serve food from various local ethnic restaurants. Throughout the evening, volunteers will accept donations and will raffle gift baskets and prizes to raise funds for Habitat for Humanity. Donations of food, international clothes and prizes are needed. Volunteers, including artists and performers, are welcome. For more information or to sponsor an activity, contact Gillian Nel, International Club president, at gnel9277@students.mc3.edu or 267-974-0163.

The Arts and Humanities Division at Montgomery County Community College is partnering with the Philadelphia Writers Conference to host Memoirs Matter: How Life Stories (Including Yours) Can Transform Your Relationship to Literature April 23 from 1 to 3 p.m. in Advanced Technology Center room 101, 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell. The event is free and open to the public. In the first part of this two-hour seminar, professor and author Robert Waxler will explain how writing his two memoirs affected his life as well as his relationship to literature. In the second part, blogger and workshop leader Jerry Waxler will present a sequence of steps to help writers find their own story. For information, contact Dana Resente at dresente@mc3.edu.

The Maple Glen Garden Club will hold its fourth annual Plant Sale on May 7 from 8 to 11 a.m. Perennials, shrubs, vegetables and native plants grown by the club members will be sold. The club uses the plant sale proceeds to fund community projects, a college scholarship and community plantings. The sale will be held in the 500 block of Coach Road, Horsham, as part of a neighborhood garage sale. Plants will be sold at bargain prices. For more information, email MapleGlenGardenClub@gmail.com.

The Relay for Life Craft Show is looking for local crafters to participate in show, which will be May 21 from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the Wissahickon High School track, 521 Houston Road, Ambler. There is a $10 entry fee, and 20 percent of sales are donated to the American Cancer Society. Participants will receive a 6-foot table under a tent. For information, contact Joanne at joannescoles@comcast.net or Mindy at mcamsilver@comcast.net.

Spring House Estates is hosting its annual book fair on April 18 from 4 to 7 p.m. and April 9 from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Included will be hardback and paperback used books. Spring House Estates is located at 728 Norristown Road, Lower Gwynedd.

The PennSuburban Chamber of Commerce will present the Penn Suburban/Hatfield Joint Business Card Exchange April 20 from 5 to 7 p.m. at Univest Bank Lansdale Area Financial Service Center, 120 Forty Foot Road, Hatfield. The event is free. To make reservations, visit PennSuburban.org/Events. Join Univest National Bank and Trust Co. for a spring-inspired Business Card Exchange at its newest office in the Hatfield Pointe Shopping Center. Come out and meet members of Univests executive management team while enjoying fine food and beverages.

13th Annual Community Reading Day Kick-off Breakfast Get Together April 26 from 8 to 9:30 a.m. at the North Wales Area Library, 233 Swartley St., North Wales. The event is free. To make reservations, visit PennSuburban.org/Events. For more information, contact the chamber office at 215-362-9200 or info@pennsuburban.org. Join presenting sponsor Verizon, chamber staff and fellow members for the Community Reading Day volunteer get together. The Community Reading Day program allows volunteers to read a designated book to second-grade students throughout 38 area public and private schools and present the book as a gift to each class. Even if you are not a volunteer, you are cordially invited to stop by to network, enjoy coffee and pastries.

Ambler Mennonite Church is hosting a Spring Craft Show and Flea Market May 21 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Rain date will be May 28. The community is invited to shop the great craft booths, find some gifts and deals, as well as enjoy home baked goods and tasty lunch specials. Childrens activities are planned. All vendors are encouraged to contact the church at 215-643-4876 or AmblerMennonite@verizon.net. Advertising, signage, customer parking and a shuttle to auxiliary parking at nearby lots for vendors will be provided. 10 foot by 10 foot spaces can be rented for $5 each and tables for an additional $5 each. All proceeds from space and table rentals go toward school kits for children around the world. The church is located at the corner of East Mt. Pleasant Avenue and North Spring Garden Street, Ambler.

The Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association presents The Life & Times of Aquatic Insects in the Wissahickon Creek April 16 from 1 to 3 p.m. Join WVWA for a hands-on program. RSVP required: www.wvwa.org or 215-646-8866. WVWA member fee: $5 per person / $15 per family. Non-WVWA member fee: $10 per person / $20 per family.

The photography exhibition Natures Palette by photo-artist Judy Miller will run March 18 to May 19 at the Art in the Storefront gallery, 41 E. Butler Pike, Ambler.

JPRN  Networking For People in Transition & People Who Can Help Them  Unemployment remains high. JPRN, the Jarrettown Professional Relationship Network can help. Are you trying to network your way to a new job? Do you have expertise or contacts that can help people in transition? Is your company or organization looking for people in the area? This is a free outreach program to support those seeking work, involve people with contacts and networking know how, and involve local companies. Meetings held monthly at Jarrettown United Methodist Church, Limekiln Pike.

Pennsylvanias Low-Income Home Energy Assistance (LIHEAP) grant program is now open for the 2010-11 heating season. Grants are based on income, family size, type of heating fuel and region. Additional information, such as specific income limits, and applications for LIHEAP grants are available online via the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Access to Social Services (COMPASS) website at www.compass.state.pa.us. Applications are available at most public officals district offices, county assistance offices, local utility companies and community service agencies, such as Area Agencies on Aging or community action agencies.

Begin your holiday shopping at Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation! Entertainment books for 2011, Philadelphia North, are now on sale at $30 each. Regal/United Artists movie tickets are on sale for just $7.50 each, and tickets to the Adventure Aquarium, Baltimore Aquarium, and the Philadelphia Zoo are also available. Discounted ski vouchers to area mountains will be arriving in December; call 215-643-1600 x3443 for more information. Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation office hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

RSVP of Montgomery County and the Wissahickon Valley Public Library have partnered again to offer the public their popular free mock interview sessions. The mock interviews are conducted by RSVP volunteers who are retired professionals, some of whom were in hiring positions themselves. Packets of information which include a sample employment application and interviewing tips with mock interview questions are available at the library to pick up prior to a scheduled mock interview or will be sent via email once the interview is scheduled. To schedule your interview, please contact Janis Glusman at RSVP 610-834-1040, ext. 16. The library is also offering a free resume review service. Bring in your current resume and the professional reference staff will assist you with hints and tips on capturing your work history accurately.

Registration for Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation summer playgrounds, Camp B.I.G. and Small Folks, X-Zone, and sports camps has began. Register online at www.upperdublin.net/store, or at the UDP&R office, 801 Loch Alsh Avenue, Fort Washington. Call 215-643-1600 x3443 for more information.

Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation and Danielles Espresso Cafe presents Mornings at Mondaug Bark Park April 16 and May 21 from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. Meet fellow dog lovers. These events include complimentary coffee, treats for people and pups and raffles/giveaways.

Upper Dublins Annual Spring Flea Market will be held June 4 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Reserve a table, or come and shop. Tables are $15 for UD residents, $20 for non-residents. This successful event occurs rain or shine. Refreshments available. Call 215-643-1600 ext. 3443 to register for a table.

Regal movie tickets available for purchase at Upper Dublin Township Parks & Recreation. Reduced rate: $7.50 per ticket. Some restrictions apply. Call 215-643-1600 x3443.

Whitpain Township Parks & Recreation movie tickets $7.50 Regal Cinemas, United Artist & Edwards Cinemas on sale throughout the year Monday  Friday from 9 a.m.  4 p.m.

Whitpain Township Parks & Recreation Camp Sign-ups for Stony Creek Day Camp  Stony Creek Tracers and Park n Tots. Register on-line at www.whitpaintownship.org OrCome to Township Building with check or Visa MasterCard Monday  Friday from 9 a.m.  4 p.m. For additional information call 610.277-2400 ext. 374

Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation offers exciting new programs for the fall:

-Returning favorites include UK Elite Petite Soccer, Tiny Dancers, Kiddie Tennis, Fun-nastics, Messy Playtime, Little Chefs, and more. Babysitters Training will be offered in November and December. Continuing Adult Fitness Classes include Cardio Circuit, Core & More, Yoga, Boxing, and Adult G.Y.M. For more information call 215-643-1600 x3443. Register for programs online at www.upperdublin.net/store.

Music and Theater

The community is invited to a Cantors Concert April 16 at 8 p.m. Congregation Beth Or, 239 Welsh Road, Maple Glen. Listen and hum-along to the Yiddish, pop tunes and classical music performed by Congregation Beth Ors own Cantor David Green and his special guest, Cantor Irvin Bell, from Temple Beth Israel in Deerfield Beach, Fla. The cantors will be accompanied by Mark Sobol and his Klezmer musicians. Tickets are $18 in advance and $25 at the door. RSVP with payment to Barb Murtha, 239 Welsh Road, Maple Glen, PA 19002, or call 215-646-5806 ext. 220.

Gwynedd Friends Coffeehouse will host the Jameson Sisters May 14. Doors open at 7:30 pm, performance at 8:00 pm. Gwynedd Friends Coffeehouse is located at the corner of Rte. 202 & Sumneytown Pike, Gwynedd. $5 suggested donation. Light refreshment available at a modest cost. For further information, call 215-393-9576 or visit gwyneddmeeting.org/coffeehouse.html.

Celebrate patriotism through song with Gwynedd-Mercy Colleges choir, the Voices of Gwynedd, as it presents Hear America Singing April 15 at 8 p.m. The choir will perform song selections from all over the country, including Georgia on My Mind, New York State of Mind, and a medley including Philadelphia Freedom and Allentown. The performance will end with When the Saints Go Marching In to acknowledge the choirs upcoming tour in New Orleans. Hear America Singing will take place in the Julia Ball Auditorium, located in St. Bernard Hall. Parking is available in lots A, C and D. Admission is free.

The Choristers will present Anton Dvoraks Stabat Mater April 16 at 7:30 p.m. at Upper Dublin Lutheran Church in Ambler. The choir will be accompanied by a 41-piece orchestra. Tickets are $20 for adults, $15 for senior citizens, $10 for students and children are free. Tickets will be sold in advance or at the door. For more information, call 215-542-7871 or visit TheChoristers.org

Religious News

The Staircase Gallery at Or Hadash: A Reconstructionist Congregation in Fort Washington will feature the work of Emily Ennuat-Lustine. The artist will be showing paintings and graphics inspired by her own personal spiritual journey and quest for meaning. Some of the works to be shown have been inspired by Biblical Psalms and writings. Her work has been shown at Abington Art Center, Cheltenham Arts Center and Old City Gallery of Jewish Art among others. The exhibition is open Friday evenings starting Feb. 18 after Shabbat services. Gallery hours are: Mondays through Thursdays 10-4:30, Fridays 10-3 and following Shabbat Services and Sundays 10-1. The synagogue is located at 190 Camp Hill Road in Fort Washington. For additional information contact the synagogue office at 215-283-0276.

Reunions

St. Matthews High School Conshohocken Class of 1961 is looking for classmates. For details, contact Greg Marincola at 215-646-2239, 215-740-1296 or gregcola@comcast.net.

Olney High School Class of 1971 is Lloking for classmates for a 40th reunion Oct. 28. For details, contact Judy at ohsclassof71@yahoo.com or 215-870-7572.

Abington High School Class of 1961 is seeking classmates for a 50-year reunion to be held Oct. 14-15, 2011.Visit the website, www.abington61.com, for details or call 215-947-1779.

Overbrook High School class of January 1956 is having a 55 year reunion on May 22, 2011 at the Bala Golf Club in Philadelphia. For information please contact overbrookreunion56@comcast.net

Germantown High School Class Of January 1961 is looking for classmates for 50th year reunion to take place in May of 2011. Please contact: 215-362-9148, 856-577-0659 or samdelcomo@comcast.net

The June 1961 class of Germantown High School is holding their 50th reunion on May 15, which will be a brunch. For further details please contact Linda Dorfman Alten at lindaalten@yahoo.com or call 215-441-8411.

Support

New Life Presbyterian Church in Dresher, will host GriefShare, a special seminar and support group which will run on Monday evenings from 7 to 9 p.m., from March 7 through June 6. At each meeting there will be a DVD about the grief process, discussion and reference to a grief workbook. Preregistration is required to secure a place in the group and to purchase a GriefShare notebook (for a one-time fee of $15). The notebook goes along with the 13-week schedule covering such topics as: living with grief, the effects of grief, and stuck in grief. For more information or to register, call: Sandy Elder at 215-884-5149.

PUPS (People Understanding Parkinsons) A self-help group for those adjusting to a new diagnosis or dealing with the early stages of Parkinsons Disease. Meets fourth Tuesday of the month from 1 to 2:30 p.m., at Abington Health Center, Schilling Campus, Willowood Building, 2510 Maryland Road, Suite 251, Willow Grove. For more information or to RSVP, contact Lorna at 215-542-2931.

The North Penn Visiting Nurse Associations Meals on Wheels program is looking for volunteers to pack or deliver meals to the elderly and infirmed. Meals are packed and delivered mornings, Monday through Friday. You can volunteer for as many days per week or month as you would like. Packaging meals requires approximately 2-1/2 hours of your time each day and involves making sandwiches, packaging food into individual serving containers and packing coolers with the meals. Delivering meals requires approximately 1-1/2 hours of your time each day and involves loading coolers into your car and delivering a route of approximately 10 to 15 stops. The Meals on Wheels program is also in need of emergency, winter-weather volunteers to pack and deliver meals in bad weather. North Penn VNA is located at 51 Medical Campus Drive in Lansdale and delivers meals in the Lansdale, North Wales and Blue Bell areas. For more information or to volunteer, please call Bridget, North Penn VNA Meals on Wheels coordinator at 215-855-8296.

Elkins Park Area CHADD (Children and Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) meets the first Tuesday of every month, 7- 8:30 p.m., at Einstein at Elkins Park Hospital in Elkins Park. For information on CHADD or ADHD, please see our website www.chadd.net/249 or call Claire Noyes at: 215-779-6656.

Center for Loss and Bereavement, 3847 Skippack Pike, Skippack (610-222-4110) www.bereavementcenter.org Offers professional counseling for individuals, couples, children and families dealing with issues of loss and bereavement. Six-week adult support groups: Newly forming young adult grief support group  every other Wednesday, 7  8:15 p.m. (free of charge); Monthly loss of child support  second Mondays, 7-8:15 p.m.; Six-week young loss of spouse/partner  Thursdays, 10-11:15 a.m.; Other groups scheduled as interest is shown for suicide loss support, adult loss of parent, motherless daughters, adult loss of sibling, coping with chronic illness and disability and mens loss of spouse. Nellos Corner Family Bereavement program offers peer grief support groups for ages 4 through teen and their caregivers  Every other Tuesday or Wednesday (free of charge) Local chapter of Parents of Murdered Children also meets at the Center. Registration required. Call for further information.

CHADD is a national organization for children & adults with Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder, providing education, advocacy and support for individuals and their families with AD/HD. Einstein at Elkins Park Hospital, 60 Township Line Road, Elkins Park, PA 19027, will host children & adults with Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder on the First Tuesday of each month 7  8:30 p.m. Free, no childcare provided.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphias Kehillah of Old York Road is sponsoring a free Caregiver Support Group for individuals who care for an elderly person with cognitive and/or physical impairments. The group meets at SarahCare Adult Day Care Center, 101 Washington Lane, Suite G-6, Jenkintown, Pa., on the first Wednesday of each month. Patty Rich,
Drop box worries, ballot harvesting concerns, voter intimidation fears, lengthy delays and long-awaited results: The fretting over Election Day procedures was on full display in the weeks before the mid-term election on Tuesday. Add to those unfounded worries were the...
Donald Trump staked his presidential candidacy on building a wall along the Mexican border and won. He promised repeatedly throughout the campaign that Mexico would pay for the wall, a promise he cannot enforce. So now he wants American taxpayers to foot the bill, and this week he threatened to shut down the entire government if Congress doesn't include wall funding in a debt ceiling bill that must be signed into law by Sept. 30, when the government's authorization to spend money runs out.

The president issued his warning at a rally in Phoenix this week before a crowd that cheered wildly. I wonder how happy those same people would be if Trump were to follow through on his threat, seeing as large numbers of them, judging from the audience pictures on live TV, wouldn't receive their Social Security checks in the mail.

Building the wall isn't about controlling illegal immigration; there are more effective and cheaper means to do so. And illegal immigration is at historically low rates now anyway. The peak in illegal crossings occurred between 1995 and 2000, when more than 1.6 million people were apprehended trying to enter the country illegally. Since then, the numbers have declined steadily, with a couple of upticks, and declined most dramatically after the Great Recession. In 2016, the number of people caught was about 409,000 (in the same range as the early 1970s). And the figures have dropped even more in the first six months of 2017  a fact Trump has repeatedly taken credit for, claiming, misleadingly, a 76 percent decline since he was elected.

Trump uses immigrants as a convenient scapegoat whenever the need arises, as it did this week after widespread condemnation of his divisive and contradictory statements in the wake of the death of a woman in Charlottesville, Virginia, after a neo-Nazi drove his car into a group of people protesting a white supremacist march. It is no accident that Trump headed to Phoenix, ground zero in recent immigration battles, when the heat rose. He can always whip up a crowd by invoking Mexican "rapists" and drug dealers. No wonder some 62 percent of Americans say the president is doing more to divide the country, while 59 percent say Trump's actions and behavior have encouraged white supremacists, according to a new Quinnipiac poll.

Trump's threats and bullying  especially of members of Congress in his own party  are getting old. At some point, he must accomplish something concrete for the American people. And by "concrete," I don't mean an ugly, unnecessary barrier between the United States and our third-largest trading partner. The president has promised to repeal and replace Obamacare, reform our tax laws, get rid of counterproductive regulation and rebuild our infrastructure. So far, the only progress he's made is in the regulatory area. He cannot accomplish the rest of his agenda without Congress. That's the way our system works, a lesson he apparently missed when he went to "better schools" and was "a better student" than his critics. ("I live in a bigger, more beautiful apartment, and I live in the White House, too, which is really great," he also reminded the rallygoers.)

Congress returns after the long August recess Sept. 5. The debt ceiling and government funding bills are just the most pressing on the legislative agenda. The president has spent much of the week insulting the very people he needs to move forward, blaming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan by name for failing to get anything done. But Trump has been the most feckless president in recent memory.

Barack Obama assumed office with a thin resume and few accomplishments to his credit, but he managed to get important legislation passed to keep the country from slipping further into economic disaster amid a difficult and lengthy recession.

Bill Clinton flailed in his first couple of years, which resulted in his party's losing the House of Representatives in the midterm election for the first time in 42 years. And Jimmy Carter surrounded himself with loyal but inexperienced White House staff members, who alienated many of their needed allies on the Hill, and was largely regarded as a failed president. But Donald Trump is even more hapless.

Trump needs to stop talking about building walls and focus on building the relationships he needs within his own party. The country doesn't need a government shutdown. It needs a president interested in more than his own ego.

Linda Chavez is the author of "An Unlikely Conservative: The Transformation of an Ex-Liberal." To find out more about Linda Chavez, visit www.creators.com.
Emma Wall: Hello and welcome to the Morningstar Series "Why Should I Invest With You?" I'm Emma Wall and I'm joined today by Ian Heslop, Manager of the Old Mutual North American Fund.

Hello Ian.

Ian Heslop: Hi Emma.

Wall: So, U.S. sentiment, seems to fall into two very distinct camps at the moment. That is that these record highs are actually the new norm and because of various central bank policy, because of the underlying macro environment, actually valuations arent this high and they have further to go. Although is the complete counter argument that the U.S. rally has been great for those who have been in it, but this is the top get out now while you can, where do you fall on that spectrum.

Heslop: Well I think U.S. equities or North American equities have moved to reflect the growth that you can see in the economy. We've seen some good earnings growth from many companies, but I wouldnt sit here and argue that equities are cheap.

They are not aggressively expensive when you take into account the growth you can see in north America, but they arent cheap. I think one of the things that we do have to be aware of is as valuations rise obviously there is less of an ability to soak up any problematic information that might come out of either the economy or individual companies or indeed the White House, given that we have quite an unpredictable kind of political environment as well in the U.S.

Wall: Presumably there are stocks which are more sensitive to those issues that you just described, and those that are perhaps less so and indeed perhaps look better from evaluation point of view. Because we are looking at the market as a whole, well there are thousands of U.S. listed companies arent there.

Heslop: It's exactly right and when you look at the U.S. market and you look at what's being driving the U.S. market over the last sort of 12 months. And it's been very tightly held in a certain number of stocks. So, there is definitely pockets of valuation opportunities within North America in aggregate you could argue that the North American market is a little bit more expensive, than it certainly has been trading recently. What we look at, one of the interesting things we find is that when we think about where investors have been putting their money in North America. One of the ways they have been tapping North American markets is through ETFs. So, index type products.

Now that naturally leads to the stocks that are in those indices becoming somewhat more expensive than the stocks that arent in those indices. You do find that in North America the large cap stocks are trading very expensive relative to the small and mid-cap stocks. So thats one of the things I would point to that there are opportunities maybe in less well travelled stocks within North America to still find good value. But some of the kind of larger cap names and the fangs that I was alluding to just before there.

They are trading really quite expensively relative to where they have traded historically. Now that maybe for a good reason. They are showing strong earnings growth, they have a lock on a certain area of the economy. But we do have to be very aware that these valuations dont leave much if there is a problem with individual names.

Wall: So smaller and mid-size going down the cap scale. What about any particular thematic or sector picks that you think look like a good opportunity right now.

Heslop: So, I think one of the things we've all had to deal with within the North American market is that it has been highly rotational. And it's been highly rotational over and above any changes that we've seen at the economic level.

So, the economy is chugging along there is not too much difference between say the economy pre-Trump to the economy now. But what we are seeing is significant rotations in sentiment. So, investor sentiment is changing and that does impact and reflect on the types of stocks that you should be holding in my view in a portfolio. So, at the moment if we go back to the beginning of the year it was very, very risk on, everyone was very happy, investors were very confident about the outlook. So, investors were buying a lot of the riskier names within the U.S. market.

Now thats kind of come full circle and we are back to those types of stocks that investors were holding in 2015. So, to a degree the bond proxies but very much more kind of balance sheet strength companies. Companies that are stable enough to deal with an unstable macro environment, effectively investors are even though markets are moving somewhat more high to greater heights, investors are kind of voting with their feet.

They are definitively reducing the risks that they are taking within North American equities and certainly now, I think that has obviously to do with, you cant avoid the political noise that we have at the moment in North America it has not to do with the macro itself. The economy is chugging along as I said. But very much at the moment I think people are hunkering down a little bit within equities.

Wall: Ian, thank you very much.

Heslop: Thank you.

Wall: This is Emma Wall from Morningstar. Thank you for watching.
In a recent posting, Ottawa-based accredited mortgage professional Allan Jensen of the Dominion Lending Centres discussed the relationships between the recent cap rate compression and risk in commercial real estate investment.Defining the cap rate as the ratio of rent paid by your tenants, to the price/value of the building, Jensen stated that this metric remains an important barometer on the current state of the market.Cap rates are inversely related to value. As the price/value goes up, the cap rate decreases. Falling prices infer the inverse is true, he explained. [Increases] in property income are a major driver of value, and consequently of lower cap rates. Furthermore, cap rates reflect the risk free return plus a risk premium, less the growth in long term rental income.The components which enter into an assessment of the relative risk of a real estate investment of course include financing costs. These costs are directly related to bond yields, as Government Bonds often are held to be the risk free investment alternative for institutional lenders, Jensen added.And since bond yields are presently at record-low levels, does the current downward movement in cap rates mean that investors are now impervious to risk?I am starting to think that there is a continued bifurcation in the market. Off shore investors have a different take on risk free investing it seems. They are often larger players, likely have greater access to less expensive funding, and perhaps more importantly, have a longer term investment horizon.However, Jensen warned that the market is an unconscious entity that does not differentiate between local and offshore buyers.Cap rates reflect buyer sentiment. In this increasingly global marketplace, domestic investors are of necessity on the same playing field with larger off shore investors. The result seemingly is a continued cap rate compression. By some accounts this reflects an absence of a risk premium, or at the very least, a difference of opinion as to what constitutes risk.
On their connection to Miami County:

Joe  I was born on the farm and raised here. My father passed away when I was very young, about three months old. I was raised by my mother and my grandparents here. I was always involved with the farm as it was growing and changing. I started working at a young age on the farm, about ten or twelve years old. I didnt get very involved with the market until I got back from college. When I got back my brothers and I started running different parts of the farm.

Kelsey  I was born in Wilmington, North Carolina and lived there until I was ten. My family is from Miami County, which I didnt know when I was younger. My grandparents actually lived one country block away from Fulton Farms. Joe and I both went to Miami East. Im glad that we came back, even though we moved away I got to move back to all my family history.

Joe  Were high school sweethearts. Its been fun because we grew up together.

Kelsey  For both of us, this was our first job. I started working here when I was fifteen or sixteen. I worked in the greenhouse with Joes mom, now my mother-in-law, Bev. [laughs] Wed be out in the greenhouse every spring and summer. Over the last ten years working here Ive fallen in love with the farm.

On the history of Fulton Farms:

Joe  My grandparents bought the first 60 acres of the farm in 1958. By 1977 they had expanded the farm to 2000 acres. They started an outdoor market about a mile down the road. Later they purchased this barn and the south part of the farm. They turned into the barn into Fulton Farms Market. They started growing strawberries in the late 60s, early 70s. It was one of the best things to happen at the farm in years. My grandpa and Steve Hamilton started the Strawberry Festival in Troy. My grandparents were on the board for the festival for years. That was one of the things that lifted us up and got our name out there. We became very well known for it.

They started growing sweet corn pretty early on. Initially, it was extra income. In the beginning, they would pull the corn wagons in the barn. People would line up around the wagon with bags and get their corn. I cant tell you how many people have told me that we have the best sweet corn. People will travel from out of state, from West Virginia and Michigan to buy their sweet corn. They come from all over.

About Fulton Farms today:

Joe  Weve been farming this land for three generations. My grandparents, my mom and uncle, myself and my two brothers, along with my cousin Levi. Its neat to work with your whole family all day. My brother Josh does a lot of the planting and harvesting. He also does a lot of our wholesaling to Kroger and Meijer. Our cousin Levi does a lot of our small crop production. His wife, Christie, works here too. They manage the farm workers and keep on schedule out in the field and bringing in the crops. We have farm workers that have been here for twenty and thirty years. Theyre like family to us and thats how we treat them. Thats how they deserve to be treated. Theyve dedicated their whole lives to the farm. Its hard to find people like that. We appreciate them so much.

About the Market at Fulton Farms:

Joe  We meet a lot of people at the market. People who we would never have a chance to talk to otherwise. We hear amazing stories. Thats one of the neat things about the market. People are happy when they come here. We want to give them an experience. We dont want to be some grocery store where they stop at, get their corn and leave. We want parents to take their kids to see all the animals out back. We have a big 700-pound pig, Charlotte. She eats like six times a day. We want them to come out to the farm and make a day of it. Have some lunch and ice cream.

Joe  Kelsey and I are in charge of the cafe now. Were trying to modernize and bring in new revenue.

Kelsey  Weve been sprucing it up and making some changes. We started the new shake and sundaes menu. The popular one right now is the blackberry one. Peach is another popular one.

Joe  We focus on items that were grown here on the farm. Its also seasonal, the blackberry shake is a summer shake. Well do a strawberry shake in the spring and a pumpkin spice one this fall. My dream is to open a field to fork or farm to table restaurant out here.

Kelsey  Using our own ingredients adds so much extra flavor. Theres nothing like having a homegrown tomato on your sandwich  it makes such a difference.

How visitors can enjoy Fulton Farms:

Joe  One of the things I love seeing families do is come here to pick strawberries. Its an experience. We always joke that we should weigh the little kids when they come out of the fields. There are some people that are just covered in strawberries  and we dont care  thats why theyre here.

Kelsey  Thats me when I pick. Ill have half a quart in my belly [laughs].

Joe  We have people who tell us that their mom brought them here to pick strawberries when they were little. So theyve brought their kids and grandkids to pick strawberries. Its neat to see a community that has been raised with Fulton Farms and how appreciative they are.

In the fall we have hayrides and u-pick pumpkins. People will walk all the way across the field to get that perfect pumpkin. I always tell people there are a lot of good pumpkins right up front because everybody goes way out [laughs]. The fall is one of my favorite times at the farm. We have the hay maze and a petting zoo with lots of baby goats.

About the Sweet Corn Festival:

Joe  The community has loved this festival and this is our first year doing the event ourselves. The past three years were a collaboration and the event was held here.

Kelsey  Ive become the event coordinator. The feedback that weve gotten from everybody so far has been amazing. We will have a classic rock band play on Saturday. On Sunday, a local country band, ReFlektion will play. Theyre an awesome band from Piqua.

Well have jumpies for kids out here. Free face painting and games for the kids. Well have a corn shucking contest. There will be four age categories, age 4-7, age 8-12, age13-17 and age 18-up. There will be prizes for the winners of each of the brackets.

I cant wait to sample all the food vendors. We have thirteen different food vendors. We have Thai food, Cajun food theres so much variety this year. Theyre all local too. Some of the vendors have restaurants in the area so its a way for them to show off their items. I dont know if Ill be able to get through all of them! Were having a competition for the food vendors too. Everybody will have tickets. You can vote for your favorite food and favorite beverage. Whichever vendors win will get a gift basket from the farm  and bragging rights [laughs].

Joe  Everybody has something different. Thats what we wanted. We didnt want one kind of food, we want food from different cultures.

Kelsey  One of the new things for this year is a surprise that Joes brother did for the event. He planted a huge sunflower patch. He showed it to me last week  I didnt even know it was out there  and my jaw dropped. It goes on and on, all the way back to the tree line.

Joe  Well have hayrides out to the sunflower patch and sunflower u-picks. People can go out and see it, and take pictures.

We feel the need to give back and the need to show our community that we appreciate them. Anytime somebody approaches us we definitely want to help them and do anything we can. We want to help out when people need help. Having the Sweet Corn Festival is our way to give back. People can bring their family out here and learn about the farm.

Kelsey  Thats one of the reasons we wanted to keep the Sweet Corn Festival free. A lot of people were telling us that we could start charging tickets and make a lot of money. We dont want to do that. We want to keep it free and have something fun for the kids and families. Our sponsors have helped us keep it as a free event. Weve had a really good response from our sponsors.

Its so important to expose kids to where their food comes from. Families can come to our u-pick and pick their own tomatoes or peppers and get back in touch with their food. So many folks grow up only going to the grocery store and not seeing where their food comes from.

Joe  A lot of our sponsors are friends and family but weve had people we dont know reach out and say they want to help. Its cool to see how interested people are. These are people that we dont know and they want to get involved because they love the experience and want to help. My mom always told me to be a blessing when you can.

Kelsey  Be a blessing, not a burden is what shed say. I remember the first time you went camping with my family, we were seventeen. Your mom sent you to the campground with three boxes full of produce and food  we were only there for the weekend. There was no way we could eat all that food [laughs] but you were like Mom said, be a blessing, not a burden. It was so cute [laughs].

Fulton Farms

2393 OH-202, Troy, Ohio

Monday  Thursday: 9:00am  6:00pm

Friday  Sunday 9:00am  5:00pm

Facebook: @Fulton-Farms-106214867550

Instagram: @fulton_farms_market

Twitter: @fultonfarms

Fulton Farms Sweet Corn Festival, (free to attend)

Saturday, August 26  Sunday, August 27

Facebook: facebook.com/events/292144477913190

Instagram: @fultonfarms_sweetcorn_fest
Italy Road Trip! Cruising in a Fiat 500L

So, I did a thing where I said some words, exchanged some rings, and eventually hopped on a plane to Italy! The wife and I probably could have taken trains to get around, but were MIQ, we drive. And, when youre in Italy, you drive a Fiat if youre a person of normal means. Plus, the Ferrari 488 didnt fit our luggage. So, Im going to fill you in a bit on the 500L and some tips and tricks for driving Italy.

The seats are stylish. Its Europe, so of course the car is a manual. The guy at the Hertz rental car counter did ask me twice to verify I knew the car was stick with me being American and all. Seat comfort was not an issue and there were no complaints coming from the passenger seat. You do sit in SUV/high seating position, its no sports car. The shift knob was comically large along with the odd rectangular parking brake lever between the seats. The seats are stylish. Its Europe, so of course the car is a manual. The guy at the Hertz rental car counter did ask me twice to verify I knew the car was stick with me being American and all. Seat comfort was not an issue and there were no complaints coming from the passenger seat. You do sit in SUV/high seating position, its no sports car. The shift knob was comically large along with the odd rectangular parking brake lever between the seats.

The controls on the wheel, steering wheel stalks, and dash were easy enough to use. The steering feel itself was weighted a bit where you had to use more than a finger to turn the wheel, but lacked any real feel like most modern cars. I like knobs as opposed to buttons, especially for HVAC controls. My wife was able to hook up her phone and stream audio easily through the infotainment system, so thats a nod towards ease of use.

The yellow sticker is there to remind you the car is a diesel. The 5k rpm redline will tip you off too. In Europe, fuel economy is measured in liters of fuel used per 100km. With our mixed use driving, we averaged 4.5L/100km which is about 52mpg. That including highway driving at 130-140kmh (80-87mph). So heres my first observation; Italians drive way faster than the posted speed limit. I swear the speed limit was only 110kmh, but I was about to get run over going that speed. When in Rome though not literally as we went to Tuscany and Cinque Terre. Pro tip: always have some euros ready to go for the tolls on the highway. The yellow sticker is there to remind you the car is a diesel. The 5k rpm redline will tip you off too. In Europe, fuel economy is measured in liters of fuel used per 100km. With our mixed use driving, we averaged 4.5L/100km which is about 52mpg. That including highway driving at 130-140kmh (80-87mph). So heres my first observation; Italians drive way faster than the posted speed limit. I swear the speed limit was only 110kmh, but I was about to get run over going that speed. When in Rome though not literally as we went to Tuscany and Cinque Terre. Pro tip: always have some euros ready to go for the tolls on the highway.

If you look at the previous picture and the lower right corner of the display, theres the 2 next to a headlight looking simple. Turns out you can adjust the aim of the headlights up and down using buttons under the infotainment. I was wondering why the headlights were aimed so low when I was driving at night on the highway. If you look at the previous picture and the lower right corner of the display, theres the 2 next to a headlight looking simple. Turns out you can adjust the aim of the headlights up and down using buttons under the infotainment. I was wondering why the headlights were aimed so low when I was driving at night on the highway.
Sally Muhlig and her mother Katy Leydic have formed the Muhlig Team at Carolina One Real Estates Mount Pleasant Hwy. 17 North office.
Veteran finds his place at Moorpark College Moorpark College student Jarrett Tillis-Herron spent five years at Camp Humphreys duty station in South Korea. The experience changed his life. Originally from Houston, Tillis Herron decided to enlist in...

Posse saddles up to help children Russell Libby describes his golden palomino horse, Sonny, as the calmest, sweetest guy and his best friend for nearly two decades. Sonny is the reason Libby and his wife, Laura,...

Kris Kringle to support library programs The Moorpark Friends of the Library is offering the second annual Letter from Santa fundraiser. For a $25 donation to the Moorpark Friends of the Library, children will receive a...
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It's a favorite talking point among Texas politicians. With the U.S. oil and gas boom on, will the day come when the United States becomes "energy independent," i.e. we produce enough oil and gas we don't have to rely on imports from the Middle East.

Only that goal is likely a ways off. Even with production nearing record levels, U.S. consumption far outpaces what domestic wells can pump - resulting in imports of about 10.1 million barrels a day last year.

But what if we thought less about our national reserves and more about continental reserves? The United States, Canada and Mexico rank as the first, fourth and eleventh largest oil producers in the world.

And according to analysis done by the American Petroleum Institute, the United States "could supply virtually all" its oil and other liquid fuel needs right her in North America by 2020.

"U.S. consumers are already enjoying the advantages of leading the world in production and refining of oil and natural gas. With resources from Canada and Mexico rounding out our supply, we're shielded even more from overseas disruptions that once frequently sent fuel prices on a roller coaster ride," API President Jack Gerard wrote in an op-ed in the Washington Examiner Thursday.

RELATED STORY: In Texas, shine of NAFTA dulls

Those comments come as President Donald Trump is in the midst of a renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canadian and Mexican officials. And many in the oil and gas sector - and industry at-large - are worried Trump might want to scuttle a deal that in their minds has been a great boost to the U.S. economy.

In a rally in Phoenix Tuesday night, Trump said he would "end up probably terminating" NAFTA "at some point."

In the meantime, lobbyists are furiously trying to get their message to Trump that ending NAFTA would harm industries like oil and gas - something Trump has said he wants to grow.

"With NAFTA's important zero-tariff, trade liberalization and market access policies, U.S. energy resources flow to our neighbors, and profits flow back, generating job growth and stimulating even more production and economic activity like construction and manufacturing," Gerard wrote.
Retired Gen. Tommy Franks told a packed house at the east Midland elementary school named in his honor that Midland, Texas, is the American dream.

It doesnt matter what you show up with and doesnt matter who you are; Midland, Texas, will give you every chance to be everything you can be and a whole lot more, he said.

The product of West and Jane Long elementaries, Alamo Junior High, Midland High (as a sophomore) and Lee High School also said he hopes General Tommy Franks Elementary School represents opportunity to the next generation of Midland students because there is nothing more important than education.

Some people believe you dont have to have the bricks and mortar and education to do whats right; thats when people fall through the cracks, Franks said. This little elementary school will solve that.

Thursdays dedication, which included a ceremonial ribbon-cutting and the pomp and circumstance one would expect from such an event, was a celebration of the campus many hope will have an impact. Franks Elementary is the 2.0 version of Crockett Elementary, which Midland ISD officials shut down after one of the longest failing streaks in the state. Students who attended Crockett will attend either or DeZavala or Milam elementary.

Franks Elementary will be open to the 349 students -- those located east of State Highway 349 and north of Loop 250. Many of those students attended Fasken Elementary in northwest Midland last year, but overcrowding on that campus and the situation at Crockett forced the district to make changes.

The celebration of the new campus included Franks Elementary teachers and staff in special camouflage T-shirts commemorating their new assignment. Franks Elementary Principal Leslie Goodrum called the event an opportunity to celebrate a new beginning at 401 E. Parker Ave. MISD Superintendent Orlando Riddick said he appreciated the energy in the room and that it was important for all campuses to have that type of energy. Franks said he could feel the passion the teaching staff was set to deliver to students up and down the halls.

Franks Elementary also will be a pilot campus for the Midland Values Project, which promises to complete a an attitude transformation similar to what has been reported at Midland Memorial Hospital. The Warren Charitable Foundation is funding the program that instills 12-core values inside the school and district.

I cant think of anyone who embodies (leadership) more in their life than Tommy Franks, school board President Rick Davis said. I am proud Midland is the first of its kind (to have a Tommy Franks campus).

Franks talked about coming to Midland with his family in the mid-1950s. His father worked for Bum Gibbins at Basin Supply Co. He talked about attending the University of Texas for a year before finding his calling as a military man. Franks rose up the ranks, eventually becoming commander in chief, U.S. Central Command. He led Americans response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, including the invasion of Afghanistan and the overthrow of the Taliban. He also led the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the overthrow of Saddam Hussein.

Midland was then like Midland is now, Franks said. It is all about the energy and opportunity.

Talking to the media afterward, Franks said, Boy, I wish some of my elementary school teachers could be here. They would all be in disbelief.

Franks admits he lived his high school days for Friday nights. He also is a prime example that a person can go far if the right opportunity comes ones way.

I have recognized the value of an education, Franks said. It is the foundation on which all these people build their lives.
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A long-vacant grocery store in west Orange County is finally getting new life as a cultural center for the Pine Hills community.

Vacant grocery store on corner of Colonial Drive and Hiawassee Road

Orange County wants to use it for Pine Hills Cultural Center

Up for final approval from commission on Tuesday

Were really excited to have the Pine Hills Cultural Center here," said Sheila Belle of the planned 56,000-square-foot center at the intersection of Colonial Drive and Hiawassee Road.

Belle is the President of the Pine Hills Seniors Inc., a non-profit organization overseeing elder-friendly programs and fun recreational activities for seniors in Pine Hills.

The Pine Hills Cultural Center will be much bigger than any similar facility in west Orange County. It will be a five-acre complex that will be the go-to resource center for residents in Pine Hills.

I will be working with the community, so we can actually design what its going to look like on the inside," explained District 6 Commissioner Victoria Siplin.

Commissioner Siplin said Orange County will pay about $2.5 million to buy the vacant grocery store near the corner of Colonial and Hiawassee in Pine Hills.

Money to purchase the property will come from Mayor Teresa Jacobs' $300 million INVEST initiative. Final approval for the purchase is expected to happen at the Orange County commission meeting next Tuesday.

Belle says the center is needed to expand the senior program, as space is at a premium at the Pine Hills Community Center. But the center won't just be for seniors.

"To have as many, many age groups as possible get together and enjoy each other," Belle explained.







Commissioner Victoria Siplin talks about the plethora of cultures in Pine Hills.

We see something that can change lives and bring pride into Pine Hills, bring pride into Orange County," Siplin said about the vacant storefront. "Where people can come celebrate the different cultures that we have here."

However for Belle, she's happy her fellow Pine Hills residents soon will not run out of meeting or event space ever again.

It seems like more people can come and enjoy themselves and seems the community would really get together and do many, many more exciting things," Belle said.

Commissioner Siplin hopes to have the Pine Hills Cultural Center up and running some time in 2018.

The Belles talk about the need for a bigger place for seniors in Pine Hills.
The Deltona man accused in the murder of his wife and her two children in 2013 on Friday asked that the jury for his trial be sequestered.

Luis Toledo is accused in murder of wife and her 2 children

Defense wants jury to come from adjacent county, then sequestered



Toledo has denied hurting the children

INTERACTIVE TIMELINE: A look at the Luis Toledo case

Previous stories on this case

Luis Toledo is accused in the October 2013 murder of his wife and her two young children. Prosecutors say he admitted to his wife's killing but denied harming the children.

On Friday, the defense requested Judge Raul Zambrano to sequester the jury, which means the jury would have to stay together in a hotel and stay away from anyone who could influence their decision. Toledo's team filed a motion to have jurors picked from St. Johns County and brought back to Volusia County for the trial, where they will be sequestered.

The defense argues that media coverage and widespread interest in the case will make it virtually impossible for jury instructions to be followed, and it's concerned about a mistrial.

Zambrano decided to take it into consideration but wait until closer to the trial date, which is Oct. 2.

Investigators said they found traces of blood inside the family's Deltona home, as well as evidence that Toledo tried to clean up the murder of Yessenia Suarez, 28; Thalia Otto, 9; and Michael Otto, 8.

If Toledo is found guilty, he could face the death penalty.
Update: 7 a.m. - The Minotaur IV rocket launched just after 2 a.m. Saturday. It was the first Minotaur rocket launch from the Cape Canaveral AFS.

Minotaur IV rocket launched just after 2 a.m.

Rocket will carry Air Force satellite into orbit

Minotaur rocket is smaller, made of old ICBM stages



DESTINATION SPACE: Complete coverage of space news

The Minotaur IV launched off Pad 46, which hasn't been used since the late 90's.

The Minotaur IV, which soared into space with three solid rocket booster stages, stood at 78 feet tall, compared to the current Atlas V at 191 feet tall and the SpaceX Falcon 9 at 230 feet.

Minotaur IV combines government motors and commercial boosters, making it a cost effective way to launch satellites into orbit.

The Operational Response Satellite was launched to space to track other satellites at risk of collisions and space debris.

Jeffrey Margaritondo captured a beautiful shot of the rocket launch overnight.

Original Report: The Minotaur IV rocket is expected to make its Space Coast debut Friday night, but it's already facing a delay. Orbital ATK announced the opening of the launch window has been pushed back to 2:04 a.m.

The rocket is carrying a satellite for the U. S. Air Force.

Because the satellite needs to be placed 360 miles above the equator, the company behind the Minotaur rocket, Orbital ATK, decided to launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

This now gives us launch capability from all four corners of the United States, from Alaska, Southern California, off the coast of Virginia and now here, said Orbital ATKs Terry Feehan.

The Minotaur IV is made up of old peacekeeper intercontinental ballistic missile stages to keep launch costs down.

The rocket will launch the Operational Responsive Space 5 satellite, also known as SensorSat. The satellite is designed to track other satellites and space debris in geosynchronous orbit, close to 22,000 miles above it.

This satellite keeps an eye on them, because if they get out of position and start bumping into each other, thats a bad thing, Feehan said. And we can also keep tabs on our friends and not-so-friendly nations that might be there as well.

The rocket will launch from Space Launch Complex 46, which hasnt been used for a launch since the 1990s.

It has been in a mothball status waiting to be revived, but Space Florida made an investment in that, along with the state, to bring this opportunity to the local area, Feehan said.

The Minotaur IV rocket is 78 feet tall  smaller compared with the Atlas V at 191 feet or the Falcon 9 at 230 feet.

The launch window now opens up at 2:04 a.m. and runs until 3:15 a.m. Saturday.

Theres a 60 percent chance of favorable weather conditions with lightning being the main concern.

Orbital ATK says if youre heading to the coast to watch the launch, Port Canaveral and Jetty Park will be the best bet for a good view.
School trustees left the property tax rate for Plainview ISD unchanged at $1.17 per $100 valuation for 2017-18 while awarding employees an across-the-board $1,200 raise at Thursdays regular board meeting.

With Trustee Ron Warren absent, the remaining board members unanimously approved a balanced budget for 2017-18 that includes $44.6 million in general fund expenditures and $2.9 million for food service costs.

Art Martin, district business and financial consultant, described the budget as being conservative, with a projected 40 student decline in enrollment, $300,000 increase in transportation costs, and an extra $300,000 for deferred maintenance. There are additional funds technology improvements and an across-the-board 2.5 percent cost-of-living raise.

With 700 employees, the raise will cost the district about $900,000. We didnt want to be too ambitious this year, said Dr. Rocky Kirk, school superintendent. Hopefully we will be able to consider another bump in compensation next year.

The district anticipates increasing its fund reserve at the end of 2016-17 by $2.5 million to $3 million, due largely to a pair of one-time only benefits -- a first-year benefit of about $1 million from a wind farm that came online, and a one-time payment of about $600,000 from White Energy upon the expiration of a 10-year tax abatement on its ethanol plant. The district also benefited from last years successful tax ratification election along with strong property tax collections. Also, during the regular session the Texas Legislature increased formula funding which will bring the district an additional $1 million.

We will finish the current year in good shape with a solid fund balance of about four months of operating capital, Martin explains. Since the majority of property tax payments are received in December and January, having four months of operating funds in reserve allows us to pay our bills in September, October, November and December without having to take out a loan. A fund balance is more than a savings account. Its an operating account and something bond rating agencies watch closely.

While PISD employees will be receiving a 2.5 percent raise, it wont be enough to keep pace with higher health insurance premiums. While district employees can choose different levels of coverage, premiums are increasing from 9 percent to 25.5 percent. Deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums for all plans will increase as well.

Before adopting the 2017-18 budget and setting the tax rate, trustees approved final budget amendments for 2016-17. Trustee Brandon Brownlee described that as a routine housekeeping item to get the books ready for auditors.

Sharon Wright, executive director for curriculum and instructional services, reported on the STAAR/End Of Course/Accountability and end of year data. Those reports show an overall improvement in most grade areas, particularly in middle schools. That follows a district reorganization that put fifth, sixth and seventh graders on the same campuses instead of having single grade-level campuses in those grades.

Thunderbird showed significantly better scores, which she attributed to a stable staff. In light of those improvements, and since Thunderbird met TEA accountability standards for the past two years, trustees approved a recommendation to suspend implementation of the Thunderbird Turnaround Plan for the coming year. That vote will result in cutting one inverventionist from the Thunderbird staff. That position was already vacant.

Trustees also adopted a change in the districts catastrophic leave pool. They also OKd the recruitment and retention incentives, supplemental duty schedule for 2017-18, and district goals as recommended by the Educational Improvement Council. Those goals call for an increase in STAAR reading, STAAR math and ACT composite scores as well as improved communication access for parents and the community.
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City officials urged people to call 911 only if they are in "imminent danger" as flood water in the Houston area continued to rise.

Tropical Storm Harvey hovered over Houston early Sunday and dumped 20 to 30 inches of rain on already saturated streets, killing at least five people and prompting evacuations of apartment complexes and dramatic rescues, according to the National Weather Service.

"It's catastrophic, unprecedented, epic -- whatever adjective you want to use," said Patrick Blood, a NWS meteorologist. "It's pretty horrible right now."

As of 7 a.m., the weather service said August was the wettest month on record for the Houston area, with an average rainfall of nearly 23 inches, beating June 2011.

NOAA radar shows Hurricane Harvey moving over the coast. A hurricane warning is in effect for the counties shaded in red on the map. Created by Data Journalist Rachael Gleason

Across the region, rising waters pinned some into their homes or on rooftops, as low-lying areas turned into massive lakes and streams. Freeways in some parts were so deluged, water was lapping at overhead freeway signs.

Police were using transit buses to evacuate those unable to get to shelters on their own.

Here is the latest on forecasts, damage, evacuations, closures and more as the storm continues to churn in South Texas.

FLASH FLOOD WARNINGS - 6:10 a.m.

The entire Texas Gulf coast is under a "catastrophic" flash flood emergency until 10:45 a.m.

The 12 counties under a flash flood emergency are the counties of Harris, eastern Wharton, Austin, southeastern Grimes, southeastern Washington, Galveston, southwestern Montgomery, Fort Bend, northern Brazoria, Waller and central Matagorda.

Rainfall totals for the past 12 hours topped 20 inches. And the forecast for the next few days remains dire, with computer models showing continued rounds of thunderstorms spawned by Harvey, which has been downgraded from a hurricane to tropical storm. Blood said the Houston area can expect at least an additional 15 to 25 inches over the next few days.

"I know for a fact this is the worst flood Houston has ever experienced," Blood said. "Worse than (tropical storm) Allison. It's so widespread."

STORM-RELATED DEATHS - 5:01 a.m.

Five people have died in the Houston area in unconfirmed flood-related deaths, according to the National Weather Service.

The actual toll from Harvey remains unclear as rescue workers are still trying to reach vehicles and people stranded across the region.

Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez tweeted at 2:41 a.m. about an unconfirmed report that a female and child were inside a submerged vehicle along Interstate 10 near Lathrop.

A woman who allegedly tried to exit her flooded car near the Buffalo Bayou became the city's first fatality Saturday night, authorities said.

RESCUES, 7:35 a.m.

Emergency workers are overwhelmed with calls for water rescues early Sunday. Harris County Judge Ed Emmett estimated 1,000 water rescues had taken place.

"We're all under water out here," said Jonell Soto, the wife of South Houston mayor, Joe Soto. The couple was in an 18-wheeler on Sunday morning trying to reach Joe Soto's 87-year-old mother, who lives on Indiana Street in South Houston.

"It's just crazy out here," she said.

Houston police officials also evacuated two apartment complexes in Greenspoint, rescuing more than 50 children from rising flood waters overnight.

"It breaks your heart," Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said via a livestream on Twitter, as he stood in waist-high water in north Houston. "But, it's Texas, we'll get through it."

Relief efforts Sunday morning were coming in from across Texas and the nation. Drivers in high-water rescue trucks were aproaching from College Station.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio committed 120 city staff, saying they were headed to Houston.

"After Superstorm Sandy, so many cities stepped up to help our people," he said via Twitter. "We'll do all we can to help those affected by this storm."

Houston TranStar listed 181 high-water locations on the roads, which were lined with stalled and stranded motorists. Hobby Airport closed because of flooding. Metropolitan Transit Authority suspended all service. Harris County Toll Road Authority ceased tolling, so those forced to avoid high water could use the tollways.

Dozens of exits were closed along freeways and tollways, cutting off many neighborhoods, which were dealing with their own isolated, rising waters.

State roads will not reopen until waters recede and any debris can be cleared.

"We have crews ready to head out to do what they can," said Danny Perez, spokesman for TxDOT in Houston, adding "they will do so when it is safe."

As of 7 a.m., CenterPoint said more than 65,000 people in their Houston coverage area were without power, and number that was steadily rising.

In Harris County, the heaviest rainfalls over the past 12 hours were around Webster, where the county flood control gauge on the Galveston County line registered 19.3 inches since 5:30 p.m.

Harris County Sheriff's were responding to numerous rescue requests in the area, stressing people should only use 911 in dire emergencies, as dispatchers were struggling to keep up with the calls.

"Difficult to get to everyone right away," Gonzalez tweeted. "Hang tight."

Panic set in Saturday night as entire neighborhoods were swallowed by feet of rain, forcing some residents to flee to their attics, especially along Interstate 45 between downtown and Clear Lake, including parts of Pasadena, said Jeff Lindner with the Harris County Flood Control District.

About 119 sections of waterways in Harris County had spilled over their banks, according to the Harris County Flood Warning System. One of the rain bands dumped between 5 and 6 inches of rain on parts of the Houston metro area late Saturday, and a second still working its way across the area could bring 6 additional inches.

A third band of torrential rain is moving its way up from along Highway 59 from El Campo and could bring another 3 to 5 inches of rain on top of the 15 inches some areas received.

Now Playing: FOX 26 News anchor Kaitlin Monte and Harris County Flood Control District meteorologist Jeff Lindner Video: Fox 26 Houston

RAINFALL: See which Houston areas got the most water thus far

SUNDAY MORNING SITUATION: Dozens of high water locations, Thousands without power - 4:45 a.m.

With a few hours to go until dawn and no end to the rain in sight, officials are carefully watching many high water locations and telling residents waking up to another day with Harvey to stay put.

Houston TranStar listed 154 high-water locations on the roads, which were lined with stalled and stranded motorists. Hobby Airport closed because of flooding. Metropolitan Transit Authority suspended all service.

As of 4:30 a.m., CenterPoint said nearly 57,000 people in their Houston coverage area were without power.

SHELTER IN PLACE: Pasadena fatality may not be weather-related - 4 a.m.

Battered by heavy rains overnight, the city of Pasadena remained under orders to shelter in place through Sunday morning with many of the city's roads made impassable from flood waters.

The shelter in place was issued by the city's Office of Emergency Management at approximately 12:45 a.m. after hours of continuous rainfall pounded many of the city's streets, according to Pasadena Police Department spokesperson Jessica Ramirez.

At Richey Street and Highway 225, the roadway, which dips at a certain point, was completely submerged by water.

"You can't even tell it's a freeway right now," Ramirez said.

From what officers could tell, she added, it appeared that no vehicles had been on the road at the time.

According to Ramirez, police responded to a significant number of residents reporting flood waters in their homes.

"We've people hundreds of people call that they had water damage and were trapped in their homes," she said. "It may be a matter of having a few inches in their homes and they can't go anywhere at this point because the streets are flooded."

Impassable roadways also posed challenges to emergency responders, said Ramirez.

"We are responding to emergency situations but the roads are pretty flooded and some of our high-water vehicles can't get to certain places right now," she said.

Police reported one fatality overnight, with police responding to a 911 call from a home on Pauline Street just after midnight, but police say that it was likely unrelated to weather conditions and the death remains under investigation, Ramirez said.

Ramirez said no major weather-related injuries had been reported as of 4 a.m. Sunday.

"It's too soon to tell at this time," she said.

RESCUES: Surge of water rescues in Pasadena, Clear Lake and La Marque - 2 a.m.

Emergency officials said they've seen a spike in the number of people requiring water rescues but were unable to give any specific numbers.

Mario Gomez, a volunteer with the Harris County Joint Information Center, said hundreds of water rescues were ongoing by Sunday morning. He said the majority of rescues are happening in the southeast Houston region, around Pasadena, La Marque and Clear Creek.

Within one hour Saturday night, the Houston Fire Department responded to 17 water rescues along Houston roads, according to its Twitter account. The areas most affected by water rescues include the Southwest Freeway, the Katy Freeway and Westheimer Road.

Emergency officials urged drivers to stay off the roads Saturday night and into early Sunday morning.

The Coast Guard rescued 20 people and a dog left stranded after Harvey Saturday.

FORECAST: Harvey to sit over inland Southeast Texas until Monday - 1:50 a.m.

After nearly making it through two intense bands of rain, the blog Space City Weather reports that a third band of torrential rain is on track to hit the Houston area during the early hours of Monday morning.

As of about 1:45 a.m., the second band was still working its way across west Houston, while the first band had stalled over east Houston, including Baytown. The third band had passed El Campo and was heading northeast along Highway 59.

The National Weather Service predicted the center of Tropical Storm Harvey would remain inland over southeastern Texas through Monday, according to their 1 a.m. update. The storm is expected to drift towards the south or southeast.

Maximum sustained winds have decreased to near 45 miles per hour with higher gusts, and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 115 miles away from the center.

The National Hurricane Center said a severe thunderstorm capable of spawning a tornado was located over northern Pasadena, moving north at about 15 miles an hour. Those in Pasadena, Deer Park, Galena Park, Cloverleaf, Channelview and other nearby areas should seek shelter.

The thunderstorms are part of a second band of strong rain that will drench the area early Sunday morning, according to the National Weather Service.

Officials said the new band is generating 5 to 6 inches of rainfall each hour.

Space City Weather predicted the third band could bring an additional 3 to 5 inches of rain on top of the 5 to 15 inches that had already fallen across the Houston area.

FLOODING: Multiple bayous, Lake Conroe spill over their banks - 1: 25 p.m.

About 119 sections of waterways - including bayous and rivers - had spilled past their banks early Sunday morning, according to the Harris County Flood Warning System. At least six of those areas were within the I-610 Loop, but about 19 were located in southeast Harris County.

Lake Conroe exceeded its normal elevation by early Sunday, and officials planned a series of water releases through the lake's dams throughout the morning.

The cities of Pasadena and Dickinson told residents to shelter in place overnight Sunday as flood waters continued to rise in both areas.

The Dickinson Police Department said all roads in the city are impassable, and that the department had conducted multiple high water rescues.

The National Weather Service has blanketed huge swaths of the Houston area a flash flood warnings, among the most dire alerts the agency can issue. It issued flash flood emergencies for the following areas: from the Hobby Airport to Friendswood and Pearland; from Cloverleaf to Pasadena to near San Luis Pass; and from west central Harris, east Fort Bend and north Brazoria counties.

Acevedo tweeted that as many as 110 city roads were impassable at about 11:45 p.m. due to flooding. That number had jumped to 142 by 1:30 a.m. The high water road closures are listed here.

Friendswood officials issued an alert at 10:57 p.m. Saturday that the city is experiencing street flooding. Residents were urged to to stay in their homes and avoid driving through high water.

Turner tweeted that a rain band appeared to stall over the Braeswood and Meyerland areas, producing as much as 4 inches of rainfall within one hour there. City and emergency officials warned people in those neighborhoods to move valuables and electronics off the floors and to be prepared for water to come into some residences.

Officials in Fort Bend County warned drivers to avoid multiple roads as water crept onto area streets Saturday evening.

US 59 southbound and Northbound lanes from FM 762 to Reading Road were closed due to high water by Saturday evening, as was the State Highway 99 northbound feeder road at Highland Knolls, according to the Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office. Deputies also urged caution as water levels rose on roadways in the Sunrise Meadow subdivision and on Beechnut Road between Harlem and Mason roads.

Keegans Bayou was so high Saturday afternoon that it lapped at the concrete support struts under the Roark Road bridge at U.S. 59, swelled onto the grassy banks in places, and crept up the walking path there.

"I've never seen it like this," said Mark Cardenas, 24, from Rosenberg, who stopped just to see the whitewater. "It looks pretty bad. That water is flowing."

The meteorologist for the Harris County Flood Control District said the county has yet to see severe flooding. Some streets and a few feeder roads have flooded, but meteorologist Jeff Lindner said it was nothing threatening.

Lindner said, the areas of concern were South Mayde Creek near west Houston's George Bush Park, where the creek rose a foot above its banks by mid-morning near Greenhouse Road. Officials were also watching Keegans Bayou in the southwest part of the county, near Sugar Land.

Francisco Sanchez, spokesman for the county's emergency management team, added that officials are watching high water on freeways, but most has been limited to feeder roads. The highway most affected as of 10 a.m. was Beltway 8 in the Pasadena area.

"Stay home if you can," Sanchez warned drivers.

High rain fall was also reported in Fort Bend County. Nearly 9 inches had already fallen near First Colony around 6:15 a.m., according to the National Weather Service.

POWER OUTAGES - More than 40,000 without power in the Houston area - 11:50 p.m.

More than 41,000 CenterPoint Energy customers were without power late Saturday night, according to the utilities company. Earlier in the evening, only about 19,000 were without power.

At one point over the past 48 hours, Centerpoint Energy Spokeswoman Alicia Dixon said as many as 197,000 were without power, but power had been restored to more than 170,000 customers.

"Others continue to lose power as rain bands and tornadoes go through," Dixon said. "Overall we serve 2.4 million customers and haven't had a large percentage impacted. The system has held up really well."

Now Playing: Coast Guard rescued four people in distress aboard the vessel Signet Enterprise near Port Aransas, Texas in response to Hurricane Harvey, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017. A Coast Guard Air Station Corpus Christi MH-65 Dolphin helicopter aircrew launched to assist the people in distress. Video: San Antonio Express-News

TORNADOES: Multiple tornadoes confirmed - 8:51 p.m.

The Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office and the Stafford Police Department reported tornado sightings at about 8: 30 p.m. The Sheriff's Office also tweeted that a different tornado had been spotted near U.S. 90 and the Texas Parkway minutes earlier.

A tornado warning has been issued for Meadow Place, Addicks and Santsuma through 9 p.m.

National Weather Service Meteorologist Wendy Wong confirmed seven tornadoes touched down in the Houston area between Friday evening and Saturday afternoon.

A possible eighth tornado may have formed near FM 359 and McCrary Road in Fort Bend County, according to a Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office Twitter post at 7:15 p.m.

Four of those tornadoes spawned in northwest Harris County within the 4 p.m. hour Saturday, Wong confirmed. Another struck the Sienna Plantation neighborhood in Fort Bend County earlier Saturday.

On Friday, two tornadoes spawned closer to the coast - one near La Marque and Texas City and another on Galveston Island, Wong said.

Among the recent tornadoes in northwest Harris County, the first touched down at 4 p.m. near Cypress Ranch High School and moved toward Hockley, Waller and Todd Mission. Video on social media showed a large but disorganized funnel cloud moving near Barker Cypress Road and West Road near Cypress-Fairbanks.

It was not immediately clear where the other three tornadoes touched down in that area Saturday afternoon.

Gonzales tweeted that some homes had suffered "extensive damage" in the Lone Oak Subdivision, and that other buildings had been impacted near the Barry Center; Black Horse Ranch; Fry Road at Cypress North Houston Road; and between Tuckerton and West roads. Photos tweeted by Gonzales show the roof of one home was almost completely ripped off, while gutters and other hardware hung down the walls of another.

Other twisters caused damage near College Station and Sargent.

Melissa Huffman, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Houston, said Harvey's strong winds have set in motion smaller vortexes, resulting in frequent but brief tornadoes. Such conditions are expected to continue through Monday.

"They're not super long-lived," she said. "That's the good thing."

EVACUATIONS: Red Cross opens two emergency shelters in Houston - 8:30 p.m.

The Red Cross has opened two emergency shelters in Houston at the following locations: the Chinese Community Center, located at 9800 Town Park Dr., Houston, Texas, 77036; and the M.O. Campbell Education Center, located at 1865 Aldine Bender Rd., Houston, Texas 77032.

"We want to assure people who live in flood prone areas, as well our most vulnerable residents, that resources will be available if they need them," said Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner. "With the experience of the American Red Cross on our side, we will continue to muster every available resource to protect all residents as much as possible from this very unpredictable threat."

Fort Bend County Judge Robert Hebert issued a mandatory evacuation order for residents of low-lying areas surrounding the San Bernard River earlier on Saturday, warning it could swell to record levels by Monday afternoon.

Hebert also announced a voluntary evacuation order for residents in low-lying areas near the Brazos River, and urged residents in both areas to "quickly gather your loved ones, pets, emergency kit and necessities before leaving the evacuation zones as soon as safely possible."

The National Weather Service forecasts record flooding along both rivers, with a potential crest of 55 feet along the Brazos River and a crest of 34.1 feet for the San Bernard River at Sweeny. Both projections show rivers will rise above the record-setting levels reached in 2016.

Evacuation orders were issued to about 4,000 residents near Surfside Beach, prompted by fears that storm surges could reach up to 8 feet. County officials have opened an emergency shelter in Angleton, about 20 miles inland. In Holiday Lakes, a town of 350 households, local leaders also prepared Saturday to issue a mandatory evacuation order. About 95 percent of Holiday Lakes households were flooded last year.

Oil companies have evacuated personnel from about 15 percent of the manned oil-production platforms and half of the working drilling rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, federal officials said Saturday.

As of 11:30 a.m., Gulf operators reported they have evacuated 112 out of 737 platforms and five of 10 drilling rigs, and one so-called dynamically positioned rig has moved off its drilling site, a precautionary move as the storm swept through the region, according to the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement.

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice evacuated about 4,500 inmates in the Ramsey, Terrell and Stringfellow units in Rosharon in Brazoria County by buses to facilities in East Texas.

READ ALSO: Corpus Christi newspaper staff forced to evacuate

PHOTOS: Maps that explain Tropical Storm Harvey's impact on Texas

CLOSURES: Major grocers plan Saturday night closures - 2:20 p.m.

Kroger announced Saturday afternoon that it will close all Houston-area stores at 9 p.m. Saturday night. H-E-B stores, including Joe V's Smart Shop and Mi Tienda, will close at the same time.

Walmart closed some Houston-area stores Saturday, including one on Interstate 45 near Greenspoint and locations in La Marque, Lake Jackson, Humble, Angleton and West Columbia. It also closed eight Sam's Club stores in Houston, Katy, Humble, Conroe and La Marque.

The University of Houston announced that it will not be open on Monday. The campuses in Katy and Sugar Land will also be closed. Texas Southern University announced it would decide Sunday by 3 p.m. on whether classes would be held as scheduled.

More than 20 Houston-area school districts cancelled classes Friday, Monday or both days in light of the storm. In some districts, including Houston ISD, closing school meant cancelling the first day of school on Monday, postponing the start of the school year.

FLIGHTS: More than 300 departures cancelled -- 12:35 p.m.

United Airlines announced Saturday afternoon that it is suspending flights out of Houston to non-hub airports. That represents about 300 departures.

It plans to continue operating flights from Houston to its hub airports and most international destinations, United spokesman Charlie Hobart said in an email Saturday.

As of Friday, United suspended operations at Corpus Christi, McAllen Miller and Valley international airports.



DAMAGE: Reported tornadoes in Missouri City, Katy - 12:15 p.m.

A suspected tornado brought on by Hurricane Harvey tossed trailers and pushed over a billboard early Saturday at a boat and RV storage business in Katy.

Katy Freeway Boat and Storage and Trailer World of Katy along the Katy Freeway near FM 1463 were hit about 5:30 a.m.

"We have two businesses here on the property - or we did," said manager B.J. Prendergast as he was surveying the damages.

Although it could not be officially confirmed by the National Weather Service, Prendergast said he was told a bystander reported seeing the twister moving across a road toward the business.

Another reported tornado caused damage to about 50 homes and left trees down inside the Sienna Plantation neighborhood overnight in Missouri City, according to the Fort Bend Office of Emergency Management. The Red Cross is in route to the area and will evaluate the need for shelter for residents.

The tornado touched down in Missouri City around 12:50 a.m., according to reports from the National Weather Service.

Downed poles and power lines were also reported in Rosenberg by the police department.

Across the Rockport area, there were reports of damaged buildings, including a high school. People were believed to be trapped in multiple buildings and some structures collapsed with people inside, according to preliminary reports.

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Other bayous across Houston area also were quickly gaining water. Brays Bayou at Beltway 8 was already at 52 feet around 7:30 a.m. During Hurricane Ike, the bayou reached 58 feet.

The National Weather Service issued flash-flood watches for the following counties: Harris, Fort Bend, Brazoria, Galveston, Montgomery, Waller, Liberty, Grimes, Chambers, Brazos, Colorado, Austin, Washington, Jackson, Burleson and Wharton.

Harvey is expected to produce total rainfall amounts of 15 to 35 inches, with isolated pockets of 40 inches through Wednesday. The weather service said "rainfall of this magnitude will cause catastrophic and life-threatening flooding."

GOVERNMENT: What's the latest storm detail from Texas, U.S.

President Donald Trump tweeted Friday night that he signed a disaster proclamation, "which unleashes the full force of government help!"

Gov. Greg Abbott requested a presidential disaster declaration for Hurricane Harvey as it neared the Texas coast.

"I want to continue to encourage Texans to take this threat seriously, heed warnings from local officials, and do all they can to prepare as the state of Texas works to ensure we are in the best position to respond to urgent needs following this storm," Abbott said in a statement Friday afternoon.

READ ALSO: Gov. Abbott, local leaders send conflicting messages on Harvey

READ ALSO: As Hurricane Harvey arrives, here are areas likely to flood

In Freeport, home to about 12,000 residents, city officials issued a mandatory evacuation for low-lying areas and urged all residents to leave. Seven counties from Corpus Christi to the western end of Galveston Island were also evacuated.

PHOTOS: Houstonians share their survival prep kits for Hurricane Harvey

Brooke A. Lewis, John D. Harden, Y.C. Orozco, Jacob Carpenter, Andrew Kragie, Margaret Kadifa, Ryan Maye Handy, Cindy George, St. John Barned-Smith, Emily Foxhall, Todd Ackerman, Rebecca Elliott, Andrea Rumbaugh, Katherine Blunt and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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The first hurricane to hit the Texas coast since 2008 could pound the state as early as Friday as an escalating Tropical Storm Harvey churns toward the Houston region, forcing emergency officials to brace for a major rain event.

The storm is expected to make landfall near Matagorda Island late Friday, according to weather service models. In its 6 a.m. Thursday update, the National Weather Service said a hurricane warning is in effect from Port Mansfield to Matagorda, while a tropical storm warning is in effect from Matagorda to High Island. That warning includes Harris County.

Its growing strength and directed path toward the coast prompted Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday to preemptively declare a state of disaster for 30 counties.

Harvey's main threat, meteorologists say, is its prolong duration coupled with heavy rainfall.

The storm is projected to move slowly across southeast Texas and then stall while dumping between 10 to 15 inches over the state's middle and upper coast for three days, said National Weather Service meteorologist Dan Reilly.

Before it makes landfall, Reilly said it's likely the storm could strengthen into a hurricane, bringing strong winds, tornadoes and flooding.

Emergency crews from Corpus Christi to Houston elevated their readiness levels Wednesday morning after forecasts revealed remnants of Harvey resurged into a tropical depression and continued to intensify.

By Wednesday afternoon, the weather service issued several tropical storm watches for counties near the coast including Harris, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Victoria and Wharton.

The service also issued 15 hurricane watches along the coast for counties that include Brazoria, Matagorda and Nueces. Those were upgraded to warnings on Thursday morning.

For Houston, the potential for life-threatening flooding remains high. Officials predict at least 8 to 12 inches, with higher amounts scattered across the area.

"Depending on how quickly that rain falls, we could have major flash flooding in Houston," said Michael Walter, spokesman for the city's emergency operations center.

Officials say it's still too early to tell what the storm may do. Nevertheless, county officials are urgently telling residents to prepare.

"We're asking everyone to play it safe," said Steve Rose, Brazoria County's emergency management coordinator. "Now's the time to stock up on everything you need in case of an emergency  batteries, radios, food and water."

Counties closer to the Gulf are expected to receive the heaviest rain totals and see tides rise by Thursday.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Harvey's tides weren't expected to greatly affect the coast, but the National Weather Service issued its first ever storm surge watch for Texas for Calhoun County about 150 southwest of Houston.

With the surge watch the weather service warns of the potential for 4 to 6 feet of water above ground and the possibility of mandatory evacuation.

After the storm makes landfall, it's expected to hook eastward and slowly hover over Houston through Monday, pouring copious amounts of rain on the region, according to weather and emergency officials.

But officials warn that the storm's path could change.

"While the track of this storm is still very uncertain, we do know that this will be a significant rain event for our entire area," said Niki Bender, emergency management coordinator for the city of Galveston. "Residents should prepare their homes for tidal flooding, gusting winds and rains in excess of 15 inches from Friday to Monday."

One weather service model has the storm arriving late Friday, while another predicts a late Saturday landfall.

"The track could change," Reilly said. "But once it makes landfall it's forecast to sit for a while  a recipe for heavy rainfall."

Emergency crews prepared Wednesday by cramming into emergency meeting rooms, fueling rescue vehicles and staffing their operation centers.

The last hurricane to hit Texas was Ike in 2008. That catastrophic storm is known for the billions of dollars in damages it caused in a path that extended far into the Atlantic and along the Caribbean, devastating the coasts of Texas and Louisiana with 100 mph winds and a powerful storm surge.

Since then the gulf has remained relatively quiet and has adopted the nickname the "Ghost Coast" from observers for its lack of hurricane activity.

But after predictions of a very active hurricane season, the Texas coast and Houston region seem to be keeping their eyes on the Gulf more than usual.

More than two dozen state agencies  including the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Texas Attorney General's Office  are also involved and prepping for a possible hurricane.

"As the State Operations Center increases its readiness levels, I also encourage Texans in the storm's path to make their own emergency preparations, heed warnings from local officials and avoid high water areas," Abbott said.

He said preemptively declaring a state of disaster will allow Texas to quickly deploy resources for the emergency response effort in anticipation of the storm's hazardous conditions.

LEARN MORE: Forecasts, satellite, radar & maps to explain everything you need to know about tropical storm Harvey

Late last week, Tropical Storm Harvey appeared to be of minimal impact for the Texas coast.

The storm was moving westward through the Caribbean, but reportedly posed no threat to the Gulf Coast, according to the National Weather Service. It brought heavy rains to northern Central America and the Yucatan Peninsula and by Saturday it became disorganized and degenerated into a tropical wave after losing strength.

But once it crossed over Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, it regained speed after hitting the Gulf of Mexico, said Brian Kyle, a National Weather Service meteorologist.

That's pretty typical behavior for storms, which often lose strength over land but regenerate over warm open water, he added.

Once winds hits 39 miles per hour, the depression will be re-categorized as a tropical storm.

Kyle said winds could reach hurricane level  upwards of 70 miles per hour  by the time it reaches the Texas coast.

The storm's resurgence has put oil and gas companies in the Gulf on high alert.

Shell, ExxonMobil and Anadarko Petroleum have each announced a reduction of production and personnel in the Gulf of Mexico.

"We are closely monitoring weather updates, determining which of our facilities may potentially be in the path of the storm and preparing those structures," said Susan Guthrie, ExxonMobil operations media coordinator. "We will evacuate personnel from those offshore facilities expected to be in the path of the storm."

Regional stores from Walmart to Lowe's have stocked up on supplies in case of a disastrous storm.

"We've got an entire aisle for storm prep as soon as you walk in," said Dustin Spacey, manager of the Lowe's in Pearland.

Spacey said the store was fully stocked with pallets of water, charcoal grills, generators, flashlights, batteries and portable AC units. After the Tax Day flood of 2016, Spacey said that what he needed most  and what people came in looking for the most  was water.

Jordan Blum, Emily Foxhall and Marialuisa Rincon contributed to this report.
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP)  Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has ordered flags be lowered to half-staff to honor a Connecticut sailor who was killed when the USS John McCain collided with an oil tanker near Singapore.



Twenty-six-year-old Electronics Technician 3rd Class Dustin Louis Doyon was from Suffield, Connecticut.



Malloy says U.S. and state flags will be lowered immediately and remain at half-staff until burial or memorial services are held. Details on such services have not yet been announced.



Malloy calls Doyon an American hero who represented the best of Connecticut and the United States.



Doyon was initially among 10 sailors missing after Mondays collision. The U.S. Navy has found his remains and the remains of one of the other sailors, while the others remain missing.






Wallingfords Mayor Dickinson has often stated that the primary function of local government is to provide a set of basic services to its residents. The key word here is basic: public education, road maintenance, health regulation, zoning, recreation, emergency services, utilities and so forth. At least in Wallingford, these services are provided very competently and, for the most part, very quietly. So much so that we residents take it for granted that we will always have these services provided to us.



Because we are in the dog days of August, things in town are pretty quiet, politically speaking. So I am taking you back to Cliff Island, Maine, to a place where these basic services can never be taken for granted. I thought you would find it interesting to see how this tiny community of 50 full-time residents living on a 180-acre island eight miles north of Portland is working to provide services that will keep the place sustainable, to provide for themselves the essential services that will attract people to live there year-round.



Cliff is politically part of the City of Portland, but, being eight miles from the city proper, most city services dont reach out this far, and neither do many private or nonprofit services. There is one full-time public works employee that, essentially, collects the trash, maintains the dirt roads, and performs whatever other tasks are required. There is a volunteer fire department with a new (federally-mandated) ambulance with seven volunteers trained by the city. There is the last one-room schoolhouse in Maine, and the city provides the teacher and funds for supplies and maintenance, but it is only for grades K-5. After that, the children take a 6:10 a.m. ferry into Portland.



Other than an island liaison in Portland city government, and a City Councilor whose district includes the islands that are part of the city, the municipal government is pretty hands off. While that is a blessing in many ways (for instance, very few of the thirty or so cars on the island are registered, and the city cant be bothered to chase the owners to do so), the flipside is that the residents are pretty much on their own to keep their little piece of paradise economically viable.



So five years ago, four full-time islanders formed an organization called Sustainable Cliff Island and began planning. They determined that the three absolutely essential elements that a working island needed are a post office, a store and a school. They fought successfully to keep the post office that was slated for closure. All the residents raise funds and many provide assistance to the school in order to prevent Portland from shutting it down due to low enrollment. And they purchased the site of an old store and fuel dock to reopen those facilities.



Heres how Sustainable Cliff Island will provide other services: 1) Health: build a health clinic for a visiting nurse practitioner to provide part-time medical care, 2) Affordable housing: provide a home for the school teacher at a very reduced rent, 3) Energy: replace the fuel tanks so that gas and diesel can be sold to lobster fishermen and vacationing boaters, 4) Retail economy: reopen the old store, possibly as a co-op, and 5) Utilities: install microwave towers from the mainland and fiber optic cable to every home on the island.



All this will be financed through donations and grants. The organization has raised $300,000, but their plans will require a total of $750,000. They are receiving guidance from the Island Institute, an organization whose mission is to see that the fifteen Maine island communities that are inhabited year-round stay viable, attractive places for people to reside. They have received a grant from them for the engineering of the broadband project as well as one from the Maine Community Foundation to partially fund the construction of the health clinic.



I write about Cliff Island so enthusiastically because I am inspired by the energy, the optimism and the self-reliant spirit that the full-time residents display over and over, this time through the Sustainable Cliff Island organization. Island living is not exactly for everyone, and living on a small one like this one can get downright inconvenient at times. To assure its future as an independent and successful place to live, those that make their home on this tree-covered rock in Casco Bay are determined to build their own future. This is the attitude that built our nation, and I wanted you to know that it still resides in the islands of Maine.



Stephen Knight is a former Wallingford town councilor.






The leader of a right-wing group that had planned a Saturday rally at Crissy Field in San Francisco called off the event Friday just as local and federal officials put the finishing touches on a slate of security measures designed to head off the kind of violence seen this month in Charlottesville, Va.

But Joey Gibson of Patriot Prayer said the group will instead hold a press conference at 2 p.m. Saturday at Alamo Square Park in the Western Addition.

The announcement  which suggested the event had become a moving target, at the mercy of the whims of a fringe group  prompted the National Park Service to lift a batch of restrictions it had planned around Crissy Field on Saturday. Businesses in the Presidio can open as usual.

But it left San Francisco leaders scrambling to come up with a plan to keep the peace in Alamo Square, heading off potential clashes between the right-wing group and counterprotesters.

On Facebook Live, Gibson said the same speakers and bands who were going to appear at Crissy Field would be at Alamo Square Park. But while he was granted a special-event permit for the Presidio, he does not have one for his press conference.

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Gibson and other supporters appearing with him on the Facebook feed said theyd changed their plans because of fears that violent protesters using black bloc tactics would attend their Crissy Field rally. They also said the speakers and bands scheduled to perform at the rally had been harassed.

I am calling on (city officials) to denounce antifa publicly, said Will Johnson, an event organizer, referring to antifascist protesters who have clashed with right-wing activists in recent months at events in Berkeley and around the country. We could have had this rally, and it would have been peaceful. Not a single person wants to fight. They are bringing the violence.

The organizers blamed statements by Mayor Ed Lee and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, for creating a hostile climate against them. Both politicians had called on the National Park Service to deny the group a permit for what Pelosi called a white supremacist rally.

Gibson has said his group does not espouse racist views. Its events, however, have drawn white nationalists. Violent clashes with counterprotesters have broken out at past rallies.

San Francisco Supervisor Mark Farrell, whose district borders Crissy Field, said the press conference was a blatant attempt to provoke more trouble.

Whether they hold the rally at Crissy Field or make plans elsewhere to disrupt our city, it is our responsibility to make sure every contingency is planned for, Farrell said. I was hoping they would cancel and pack up their tents and go home. This is just meant to cause further disruption to the residents of San Francisco. That is their mode of operation.

State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, said Patriot Prayer had showed its true colors by canceling, at the last minute. ... Patriot Prayer is not interested in simply exercising free speech. Rather, Patriot Prayer wants to create a volatile, chaotic, violent tinderbox.

He said he was deeply concerned the Alamo Square Park gathering will lead to violence.

The mayors office said late Friday that officials were still considering whether to undo safety measures that were taken around Crissy Field, including rerouting several Muni lines on Saturday.

Counterprotesters were keeping tabs on the fluid situation, responding to the change of plans by posting antihate posters at the new gathering site and vowing to turn up Saturday wherever the Patriot Prayer group landed.

Weve got them on the run, thats for sure, but theyre still holding an event, said Yvette Felarca, an organizer with the left-wing activist group By Any Means Necessary. Were still calling for everyone to come out.

As the fog and wind rolled into Alamo Square on Friday night, two San Francisco police cars were stationed along the walkways. A community organizer showed up with duct tape and flyers reading, You Will Not Divide Us.

News of the new venue wasnt received well at the site of the Painted Ladies, where tourists snapped photos of themselves and children romped on the playground.

Theyre having it here? said neighborhood resident Robert Mora, 48, as he stopped to read an antihate poster. Now I'm really pissed off. Theyre not welcome here. I know they have free speech and all, but they are just spewing hatred.

According to the city Recreation and Park Department, any gathering is considered a special event if it involves amplified sound, advertises that it is open to the public, or requires special barricades and fences, among other things. Police can disband an unpermitted event and arrest organizers.

The city requires special-event applications to be submitted at least 60 days in advance. The fee is $62.

Police Chief Bill Scott said unpermitted events happen around San Francisco and commanders must gauge whether there is a threat of violence.

What oftentimes happens is, when we get there, we have to decide to allow it or shut it down, Scott said. If there is no violence, and we dont need anything other than a police presence to facilitate safety, we will just do that. If it feels unsafe, unlawful or violent, that is when we will shut it down.

Every police officer will be on duty Saturday, he said. He declined to give specifics about the citys evolving plan.

Across the bay, it was unclear whether a separate, unpermitted rally would be held at 1 p.m. Sunday at Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center Park in Berkeley  an event that Gibson said he would attend. Police were planning to respond to the No Marxism in Berkeley event with a force of hundreds of officers from the city and surrounding agencies.

However, an organizer of the Berkeley rally, Amber Cummings, said in a rambling email Friday that she was urging people not to show up, because she feared violence by counterprotesters.

It will be me alone attending, no one else please, Cummings said. In the event I am hurt or killed attending this rally, I ask you to please not retaliate on each other as a result of my injuries. Let my life be the last one lost.

Prior to the cancellation of the Crissy Field rally, San Francisco and Berkeley officials urged residents opposed to the right-wing events to send a message by joining together for peaceful gatherings in locations far from the rallies. Many such demonstrations are planned this weekend.

Yall know that some people are coming tomorrow to our city, Lee said outside City Hall on Friday, as hundreds of people gathered, stopping traffic on the street. It was a preview of a much larger counter-rally scheduled for the space Saturday.

Lee was joined by other top city and state Democratic leaders, including Wiener and Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Hillsborough. Nearly two dozen men and women from the Glide Ensemble, wearing rainbow shirts and holding Unite Against Hate signs, sang gospel music.

We are at the forefront of every new social movement, Speier said of San Francisco. Hate will not infect us and become a cancer in this city. Love will win.

Across the bay, Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin said he planned to attend a counterprotest Sunday organized by nearly 60 community groups. He said he was inspired by peaceful protests last weekend in Boston, which overshadowed a right-wing rally.

What happened in Boston has changed the situation, where we have seen that a large counterprotest can have the effect of discouraging hate groups from coming into a city, Arreguin said. It sends a powerful message that communities can rise against hate.

Chronicle staff writers Vivian Ho, Michael Bodley and Kurtis Alexander contributed to this story.

Lizzie Johnson is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: ljohnson@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @LizzieJohnsonnn

This weekends events

The Bay Area is gearing up for a series of political events this weekend that have law enforcement authorities on edge, including far-right gatherings in San Francisco and Berkeley and a number of counterdemonstrations.
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Uber is planning to sell the former Sears building in downtown Oakland, which it bought two years ago for $123.5 million and where it once intended to place up to 3,000 employees, the company confirmed on Friday.

As we look to strengthen our financial position so we can better serve riders and drivers for the long term, were exploring several options for Uptown Station, including a sale, Uber wrote in a statement. We remain committed to serving Oakland and our broader hometown Bay Area community.

The ride-hailing giant is expected to offer the building at 1955 Broadway for roughly what it paid for it and abandon plans to put workers there, the San Francisco Business Times reported.

Uber had already drastically curtailed its plans for the 380,000-square-foot building near the 19th Street BART station, saying in March that it would move only a few hundred employees there. Uber plans to consolidate many of its local employees in a new headquarters building in San Franciscos Mission Bay neighborhood.

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Uber bought 1955 Broadway in 2015 from developer Lane Partners, which purchased the seven-story property the year before from Sears for $24.25 million. The developer and an architecture firm undertook what was to be a $40 million overhaul of the former department store.

The Greenlining Institute, an Oakland nonprofit, had initially pushed for Uber to provide community benefits when the firm moved workers to Oakland, such as hiring locally and guaranteeing employees a living wage. But the group later launched a No to Uber in Oakland campaign, fearing the project would cause displacement of residents and lead to gentrification.

We started No Uber Oakland because we worried Uber could have negative effects on a city already struggling with gentrification, and because we never saw evidence that Uber had any real commitment to Oakland, despite occasional pleasant rhetoric. Clearly, that second part at least was right, Orson Aguilar, president of Greenlining, said in a statement Thursday night.

Still, we never gave up hope that Uber would sit down and work with the Oakland community to create something that would be good both for the company and for Oaklanders, Aguilar said. Uber, sadly, never had any interest in a real partnership with Oakland.

Uber officials stressed that the company remains committed to support Oakland, noting that it has donated $70,000 to help ensure every graduate of Oakland Unified School District can attend college, and that it has given away nearly $30,000 in free rides to a variety of Oakland organizations through its Community Credits Program.

Bill Hutchinson is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: bhutchinson@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Bill_Hutchinson
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One of the right-wing speakers invited to UC Berkeley to speak next month said hes worried about violence breaking out and is urging supporters not to come out in his defense.

Former Breitbart News editor Ben Shapiro said he looks forward to speaking at UC Berkeley on Sept. 14 and plans to address tribalism in the United States. Still, he has safety concerns.

Im actively telling people not to show up to defend my free speech, Shapiro told The Chronicle. Thats the polices job. If people want to come protest me, more power to you.

Shapiro is one of two conservative speakers that UC Berkeley is preparing to host at separate events next month. The other, former Breitbart News editor Milo Yiannopoulos, planned to speak on campus in February, but the event was canceled amid violent protests.

Shapiro is scheduled to speak 7 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, which seats just over 1,900 people. The Berkeley College Republicans, the campus group that invited Shapiro to speak, expects a sold-out crowd, campus spokesman Dan Mogulof said.

Mogulof said the university charged Berkeley College Republicans $15,000 in security fees based on the crowds size. The fees were paid for by Young Americas Foundation, a conservative outreach group, Shapiro said.

Another campus group, the Berkeley Patriot, invited Yiannopoulos for its Free Speech Week event, scheduled for Sept. 24-27. The university is working with the Berkeley Patriot to determine an exact date, time and venue for Yiannopoulos appearance.

Mogulof said that at this time, Yiannopoulos is the only confirmed speaker for that event. He and representatives of the Berkeley Patriot would not confirm reports that former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon and conservative author Ann Coulter had been invited for Free Speech Week.

The Berkeley Patriot said it would release details about the event in the next few days.

Security is a concern for the university after the violent protests in February that forced police to cancel Yiannopoulos appearance on campus.

Masked protesters threw fireworks and stormed the building where Yiannopoulos was to speak a few hours later. He was evacuated and the event was canceled, but protests continued throughout the evening and into the streets of Berkeley. Some people threw bricks and fireworks at police officers and smashed the windows of banks and stores.

UC Berkeley Chancellor Carol Christ released a letter to the Berkeley community Wednesday addressing Yiannopoulos and Shapiros upcoming appearances. She said violence would not be tolerated and it was critical for Berkeley to come together in support of free speech.

Yiannopoulos shared the letter on his Facebook page and noted the difference he sees between now and six months ago.

Let's hope Berkeley sticks to this commitment to free expression, he wrote.

Alison Graham is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: agraham@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @alisonkgraham
Alana Barragan says she was so put off by the high-pressure sales pitch she encountered while car shopping at AutoNation Honda in Fremont, California, that she didnt buy one. After discussing the experience with a manager, he spent the next hour trying to hire her.

Barragan now sells about 18 vehicles a month for the store and finds women are some of her best customers. But car shoppers are hard pressed to find many salesmen like her. Even as women make or influence the majority of auto purchases in the U.S., retailers have failed to attract and retain female employees, according to CDK Global, which advises dealerships on sales strategies.

Thats one of the reasons I wanted to get into this, Barragan said of joining AutoNation Honda in January. I could be more open and honest to customers and give them an experience that I would want. The customers appreciate that.

Women make up about 19 percent of U.S. dealership employees and most of those are support staff, according to the latest estimates from the National Automobile Dealers Association. The annual turnover rate for the few women who do sell cars is 88 percent, CDK says, meaning would-be buyers interested in negotiating with a female dealer may find themselves fresh out of luck.

By dealerships not attracting and retaining women in the workforce, they are potentially missing out on a huge sales opportunity, said Grace Wepler, senior market research analyst for CDK.

The lack of women on car dealers sales floors starts with lackluster hiring efforts. More than 60 percent of female dealership employees surveyed by CDK in May said their companies werent doing anything to help recruit more women.

When women do get recruited, many say they find dealerships still arent a welcoming place. More than half who CDK surveyed have been in their current position for six or more years, suggesting upward mobility is an obstacle. And 57 percent reported experiencing gender bias, like having to endure boorish, sexist banter.

A lot of people are intimidated by the industry because its a male-dominated field, said Barragan, 31, who previously sold appliances at Sears. Initially the guys tried to say, Oh, let me help you, let me do that for you. You just have to stand up to them and show them your confidence and say Ive got this.

Kathy Caron, general manager of Hopper Buick GMC Dealership in Ontario, Canada, described the industry as a boys club and said women dont seek out jobs in dealerships because theyre intimidated by that fact.

Ive gone to big GM functions, and I always say you never have to wait in line for the womens washroom, said Caron, who was among the CDK survey participants.

Sales roles in particular have a poor representation of women because of the long hours and lack of flexibility, said Judy Farcus Serra, chief financial officer of Headquarter Hyundai in Sanford, Florida.

Its a dog-eat-dog kind of setup, an every man for them self kind of environment on the sales floor, said Serra, another CDK survey participant. Women need mentors to offer advice and support and few get such help, she said.

Women tend to get more support if they work in a dealership run by other women, with 63 percent saying the gender ratio in key positions was favorable at women-run dealerships compared with 29 percent in those run by men, CDK found. Women were also much less likely to be harassed, according to respondents.

General Motors Co. is trying to increase the number of women owning Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac franchises from 243 stores, or 5.5 percent of its dealer network, said Jim Cain, a spokesman for the automaker. About 450 women have been named successors at existing dealerships and the largest U.S. automaker has an advocacy, mentoring and business development program as well as scholarships dedicated to these efforts, he said.

AutoNation, the largest dealer group in the country, has set goals to hire more women into general manager roles and at every other level of the company, said Andrea Schliessman, senior director of learning and development.

The share of women running AutoNation dealerships has increased to 7 percent this year from 4 percent in 2012, and the number of assistant service managers has more than doubled to exceed 300 in that time frame, said Dan Best, head of human resources for the Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based company.

AutoNation also is rethinking compensation and schedules to help recruit more women. Rather than pay employees entirely on commission and sometimes require them to work seven days a week, they can now opt to receive about half their pay in salary and also work closer to a 40 hour week, according to Best.

Whether employees are compensated with partial salary or pure commission, total pay ranges from about $42,000 to $47,000 for a starting sales associate, and the more flexible schedule can be attractive to female candidates, Best said.

Late last year we started looking at changing things that had been a barrier to women and other employees, Schliessman said. So far this year, she said about 20 percent of new hires are women.

Barragan said she ultimately bought a used Honda Civic from another dealer the day she was turned off by the sales pitch at AutoNation Honda. Shes now one of four women at the dealership selling alongside about 25 men.

I do feel that women are more comfortable working with a woman sales associate, said Barragan, who eventually bought a new vehicle from her current employer. They can feel like theres a little more trust, maybe, that were not trying to just push something on them. Even as a customer myself, I felt that way, too. I didnt want someone pushing something on me.
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Industrial activity slowed along the Gulf Coast on Thursday as energy companies brought workers in from oil platforms and ships evacuated ports ahead of Hurricane Harvey.

About 5 percent of Gulf oil platforms were evacuated by 11:30 a.m. Thursday, the most recent update available, and almost 10 percent of all Gulf oil production was temporarily cut off. That's the equivalent of 167,000 barrels of oil a day, according to the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement. Of more than 700 manned platforms in the Gulf, at least 39 reported being evacuated.

The eye of the storm is likely to make landfall closer to the Corpus Christi region, where there's an assortment of refining and petrochemical facilities. One of the largest there is Valero Energy, which said Thursday it is preparing for the storm.

Also prepping in Corpus Christi were the pilots who guide large ships in and out of the port. The Aransas-Corpus Christi Pilots halted activity after the last outbound ship left its dock at 2 p.m. Thursday. The pilots decided to stop boarding ships to guide them in or out at 8:20 p.m., said Henry A. de La Garza, spokesman for the Texas State Pilots Association.

Ports farther from the hurricane's projected landfall were taking action, too.

The Freeport-based Brazos Pilots reported that the last outbound ship at the port there was scheduled to set sail at 6 p.m. Thursday. Houston Pilots suspended boardings for inbound vessels at 12:30 p.m. Thursday. They had 45 ships scheduled to depart between 10 a.m. Thursday and noon on Friday, he said.

The U.S. Coast Guard set port condition yankee - in which ships are not allowed to enter port - for Houston, Galveston, Freeport, Texas City and Corpus Christi. The designation also requires transfer-of-cargo operations to stop when wind speeds reach 40 mph.

As of Thursday, there were no plans to close any Port Houston terminals although officials continued to monitor the weather.

Spokeswoman Lisa Ashley said Port Houston has a communications plan in place to keep employees and customers up to date on the latest information regarding terminal operations. She added that officials are advising everyone to "exercise their own due diligence and caution regarding their personal safety."

Inland construction sites have also slowed in preparation of Harvey.

Workers at Slack & Co. Contracting were preparing job sites in the Houston, Beaumont and Galveston areas. They secured materials to prevent them from floating away, moved equipment to higher ground, and they returned dirt to trenches and holes to lessen the damage to work that has already been performed.

"Despite all our precautions, the storm will have a tremendous economic impact on our business, due to lost time on 23 jobs, damaged materials, and jobsite reconstruction," Karen Kershner, director of organizational development, said in an email.

Scaffolding company Big City Access has been fielding calls since Wednesday with requests to either take down or secure their equipment all over town, including buildings downtown and in the Texas Medical Center area.

"The last thing we need is all our stuff flying through downtown," said James Evanicky, Houston branch manager for the scaffolding company.

He said officials will wait until around 3 p.m. on Friday to determine if workers will be out in the field all night.

"We're going to work as long as we can," he said.

Employees for Allstate Commercial Flooring, however, may get Friday off, co-founder Gary Sharpe said. At most, they will be let off work around 2 p.m.

Power plants also began battening the hatches. NRG Energy runs a 2,700-megawatt nuclear power plant in Matagorda County about 10 miles from the Gulf of Mexico. Spokesman Buddy Eller said the plant has special storm crews working around the clock, on a rotating basis.

Several hours before sustained winds reach 73 mph or greater, operators will start to shut down the plant. But they will also monitor power outages carefully to see if the grid will need the plant to act as a backup to replace lost power supplies.

"You are monitoring what the transmission system is doing so you can respond accordingly," NRG spokesman Dave Knox said.

In the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico, Exxon Mobil is reducing production and scaling back at its Hoover-Diana field, spokeswoman Suann Guthrie said. Exxon also is evacuating its Galveston 209 platform and temporarily ceasing oil production from its Hadrian South subsea system.

Royal Dutch Shell said it halted production and secured its massive Perdido platform in the Gulf. And The Woodlands-based Anadarko Petroleum said it was removing nonessential personnel from four of its Gulf fields.

"Although, there have been no impacts to production at this time associated with the weather, we are prepared to shut in our facilities and evacuate remaining personnel if necessary to ensure safety and protect the environment," the company said.
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Flight cancellations have begun at Bush Intercontinental and Hobby airports.

According to their most recent Twitter updates as of 2 p.m., Bush Intercontinental reported 43 cancellations and 73 delays. Hobby reported 56 cancellations and 51 delays.

MORE: Businesses get ready as Hurricane Harvey shows its hand

Southwest Airlines said Thursday night that it will reduce flights to Hobby Airport on Friday and Saturday, with plans to operate a normal schedule on Sunday. Airports in Austin and San Antonio will see some flight adjustments on Saturday because of Hobby's adjusted schedule.

Southwest has issued a travel advisory offering added flexibility to flight changes for Austin, Corpus Christi, Houston, Harlingen and San Antonio.

United Airlines is likewise reducing flights to Bush Intercontinental Airport. As of Friday morning, there have been about 25 proactive flight cancellations. These canceled flights are from airports more directly in the path of Hurricane Harvey that would have flown to Houston, said spokesman Charlie Hobart.

He said United was still planning to operate a full schedule at Bush Intercontinental on Friday.

United Airlines has a travel waiver in place Friday through Tuesday allowing customers to change their flights without any additional fees.

READ ALSO: These are the areas most likely to flood due to Hurricane Harvey

Houston Airport System spokesman Bill Begley said airport officials are finalizing preparations for Hurricane Harvey. They're preparing the facilities for inclement weather, storing equipment inside and working with airlines and other partners to make sure there is appropriate staffing.

Travelers should contact their airlines for the most up-to-date information, though the Airport System will also provide information at fly2houston.com and through its social media accounts.
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Hurricane Harvey will hit San Antonios electrical grid, but only a few power generation resources will be impacted, according to the citys power utility.

Downed trees and flooding could hamper restoration efforts, CPS Energy spokesman John Moreno said.

We do expect Harvey to impact our service area. We have taken action to be as prepared as possible. Our emergency crews have been assigned and trucks have been outfitting with additional supplies in preparation for power outages.

Moreno added that CPS is waiting to see Harveys impact on San Antonio before it sends crews to the Gulf Coast, which is bearing the brunt of the hurricanes force.

While San Antonio is not expected to have widespread water shutoffs because of Harvey, residents can best prepare by filling their own containers instead of buying bottled water.

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Grocery stores in the city have seen a run on bottled water as Harvey approached. The storm is expected to bring 6 to 12 inches of rain over parts of San Antonio through the weekend, which will likely lead to widespread flooding.

The San Antonio Water System relies on a network of roughly 200 groundwater wells across the city, SAWS spokeswoman Anne Hayden said. It also can draw on the more than 100,000 acre-feet stored in an Aquifer Storage and Recovery system in South Bexar County. An acre-foot is 325,851 gallons.

We do not believe there will be major outages, SAWS spokeswoman Anne Hayden said Friday, though she added that theres no way to be sure flooding wont affect water service.

The majority of our water sources are deep underground, and our equipment is redundant so we have multiple lines, multiple pumps and multiple sources, she said. The equipment that is above ground is built to withstand this kind of weather.

Still, water main breaks can happen even in good weather. A broken main on the South Side left 5,000 people without water for most of the day Wednesday until SAWS restored service.

Rather than buying costly and polluting bottled water, residents can prepare for Harvey by filling reusable bottles, pitchers, buckets and bathtubs, Hayden said.

The storm will affect the citys municipally owned utilities in other, less obvious ways.

Due to Harvey, two South Texas wind farms CPS buys power from will be shut down to protect the equipment. The wind turbines can provide 180 total megawatts, or enough power for 36,000 Texas homes at peak demand.

CPS spokesman Jonathan Tijerina said other than the affected wind farms, all CPS power generation units will be available to meet demand, which he added is past the peak August time period.

The South Texas Nuclear Project Electric Generating Station  a 2,700-megawatt nuclear power plan in Matagorda County that provides more than 1,000 megawatts of electricity to CPS  is monitoring Harvey, which became a Category 4 hurricane Friday evening.

Winds at the South Texas Project are estimated at 40 and 50 miles per hour, said spokesman Buddy Eller. He added that the nuclear reactors will be shut down only if hurricane-force winds above 73 miles per hour are recorded.

We dont want folks out checking systems and equipment in those types of conditions, Eller said. The second reason is  if you have wind speeds of that nature youre probably going to have some issues with your transmission grid infrastructure. So there wouldnt be any place to send the power to.

The power plant has 200 to 250 employees who will remain on site throughout the storm, Eller said.

For SAWS, the most pressing issues could be flood-related sewer spills as floodwater infiltrates sewer lines, especially through holes in manhole covers. When that happens, raw sewage mixed with stormwater can flow from sewer lines into creeks.

Areas such as Holbrook Road near Salado Creek on the East Side and Chappie James Way near Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland  notorious for frequent sewage spills  are vulnerable this weekend, Hayden said.

The usual places will probably be a problem, she said. Well do everything we can, but we cant send people down into creek beds while theres a flood.

SAWS is upgrading its sewer system to reduce sewage spills under a 10-year, $1.1 billion agreement with federal regulators in 2013.

rdruzin@express-news.net, @druz_journo
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A mentally ill man in a maximum-security area of Dublins Santa Rita Jail has been charged with killing a fellow inmate minutes before walking out of his cell to be set free, The Chronicle has learned.

The homicide, which jail officials believed to be by asphyxiation, happened the afternoon of July 6. Officials with the Alameda County Sheriffs Office did not publicly report the incident, a departure from its standard practice, even though they informed the state and county authorities required by law.

A spokesman for the department confirmed Thursday that James Hunter, 22, was charged in the killing of Antonio Rodriguez, 27, after inquiries from The Chronicle, which was contacted by a woman who said her brother was accused in the slaying.

Denisha Pena, 39, Hunters sister, said she has been frustrated with the lack of information given to the family about the case.

She said the family learned Hunter was in jail on Aug. 11, when they called local shelters, one of which said he had been arrested. A call to Santa Rita Jail confirmed he was incarcerated.

A person answered the phone and told my mom the charges, including murder, said Pena. And I was like, murder? He can be violent if hes under the influence, but hes not going to provoke anything.

Hunter was initially booked on suspicion of vandalism at the UC Berkeley campus, though it wasnt clear Thursday what date he was arrested. Monica Duckett, his mother, had made a missing-person report to the Oakland Police Department before finding out he had been jailed.

Hunters cellmate, Rodriguez, had been in custody since Aug. 29, 2015, on charges of attempted murder, discharging a firearm in an inhabited dwelling and illegal possession of a firearm with a prior felony conviction, said Sgt. Ray Kelly, a spokesman for the sheriffs office.

On the afternoon of July 6, a jail control booth technician remotely opened the doors of Hunters cell and ordered him to leave because he was due to be released that day, Kelly said.

The inmates know when they leave a cell theyre supposed to close the door, he said.

At 4:38 p.m., a jail deputy patrolling the hallway noticed that Hunter hadnt closed the door all the way. Inside the cell, he found Rodriguez dead on the floor, Kelly said. The incident was treated as a suspicious death before investigators with the sheriffs office later ruled it a homicide.

Officials with the Alameda County coroners bureau said they couldnt discuss the case because of an information hold by the sheriffs deputies investigating the case.

Hunter, who had made it to a staging area of the jail, where inmates go right before being released, was kept in custody. He is being held on a murder charge.

Alanna Coopersmith, his court-appointed defense attorney, said he will enter a not-guilty plea on his next court date, Sept. 7. She declined to comment further.

Pena said her brother has behavioral problems and is a diagnosed schizophrenic. Duckett said he should not have been housed with someone else because of his mental health problems, especially someone accused of violent crimes.

I feel like theres a lot of questions that need to be answered, Pena said. Why were they together? It doesnt make any sense. I just want to know what happened.

Kelly said its common for inmates with mental illness or behavioral problems to be housed with other inmates, and deputies conduct hourly patrols. He said no cameras would have captured what happened in the cell. No weapons were found, Kelly said.

Duckett said that when she visited her son in jail last week, he didnt seem to realize what he had been accused of doing.

Hes not a bad kid, Duckett said. He dont carry guns. He dont hang out on corners. He just got mental health issues.

The last inmate homicide at Santa Rita Jail was reported in October. Hours after the incident  which also happened in a maximum-security unit for inmates with mental illness or behavioral problems  Kelly held a news conference for reporters outside the jail.

Why officials didnt publicly reveal the July 6 killing wasnt clear. Asked Thursday morning about the death, Kelly and another sheriffs spokesman, Sgt. J.D. Nelson, said they didnt know anything about it.

Later, after speaking with jail administrators and reviewing the police report, Kelly said deputies had properly reported the killing to state officials, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors and the sheriffs investigative division, as required by the departments protocols.

Kelly said any time theres a homicide, it should be reported to the public.

Thats my opinion and belief and best practice, he said. As to why a press release wasnt put out on this one, I wasnt told to do so.

Kimberly Veklerov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kveklerov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kveklerov
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If there's one thing you can count on during stormy weather, it's a proper hurricane party. And this one comes with a custom cocktail built in.

Specials on the Harvey Wallbanger, be it loyal reproductions of the quintessential '70s libation or sophisticated updates, can be found in a number of San Antonio bars as Hurricane Harvey bears down on the Texas Gulf Coast.

The drink is essentially a frat party screwdriver with a dab of European sophistication from the herbaceous Italian liqueur Galliano. In the right hands -- namely those who know how to squeeze fresh oranges -- it can be a bright and refreshing delight. Most of the time, it's a little bit like a spiked sippy box.

Matt Collette, beverage director for Piatti at the Quarry, gave the stodgy staple a much needed shake for a special running through the storm. His twist, dubbed the Harvey Squallbanger ($8) swaps the OJ for orange bitters, lemon juice and a float of extra dry prosecco.

"With Hurricane Harvey coming in, oh my gosh, this is too good to pass up," an enthusiastic Collette said of his inspiration. "Classic cocktails exist for a reason. They are there to be your building block."

Piatti at The Quarry is located at 255 E. Basse Road, Suite 500 and Collette's concoction will be available for $8 through the storm. And at least two other area restaurants have been caught in the wind.

Cured (306 Pearl Pkwy. in The Pearl) owners Steve and Sylvia McHugh, both longtime New Orleans residents, know how to handle a storm. In addition to Harvey Wallbangers ($4 from 3-6 p.m., $8 after 6 p.m.) they're running an $8 deal on the Blue Ribbon Burger made with bacon, onion jam and Blue Ribbon American cheese with fries. The Cured crew will have their eye on the storm and are prepared to close if necessary, so call ahead at 210-314-3929 to confirm it's open.

Krause's Biergarten + Cafe at 148 S. Castell Ave. in New Braunfels is slinging Harvey Wallbangers for $5. And the drink makes a perfect partner to the restaurant's current surf and turf deal: Surf on Turf Special of boudin and shrimp stuffed quail with green cabbage, carrots, potatoes and a choice of sides for $20.

High waters got you rained in? Fear not. As long as you have a well-stocked liquor cabinet, you can play along at home.

Matt Collette's Harvey Squallbanger

1 ounce Tito's vodka

1/2 ounce fresh squeezed lemon juice

1/2 ounce Galliano

1/4 ounce simple syrup

2 dashes Angostura orange bitters

Extra dry prosecco such as Mionetto brut

Orange twist for garnish
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The Dallas estate dubbed "Casa Belle Vista,"  also known as "Casa Bellamini"  has come into national reality TV stardom. And it's not for its foyer pool or $200,000 chandeliers.

The house, known for its distinctive features and lengthy time on the market, was featured on a recent episode of Bravo's "Real Housewives of Dallas." Cameras took a tour of the property as cast member Stephanie Hollman and her husband mulled the idea of bidding on the property.

MIDCENTURY-MODERN: Time capsule Texas homes showcase bright, retro appeal

They eventually did, and they won it for roughly $5 million at the October 2016 Concierge Auctions sale. It went to closing in November.

In the second episode of the second season, Hollman tells her husband, Travis, that she wants to discuss whether or not they should submit a bid on the house, which was previously listed at $8.9 million. She tells viewers that she's never been a part of the home-buying process with her husband, a businessman who dabbles in real estate investing. She also explains that the house is not a good fit for a family with young boys, among other concerns.

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Travis Hollman nonetheless surprises his wife with the news that they're the new owners of the custom home. She, of course, isn't thrilled but toasts to the purchase. (They've since built a cover for the home pool that can be opened when they entertain.)

HOME ATRIUM: Famed Texas chef's unique Memorial home features glass-covered courtyard

Whether they sell it as a mere investment venture  Travis Hollman recently flipped a L.A. luxury house  or move into it has not yet been determined.

Although some Texans wouldn't consider letting go of the house, with its Moroccan-influenced facade and pricey custom finishes.

Built in 2008, the 8,631-square-foot home was designed by renowned Dallas architect Cole Smith, a partner at Smith, Ekblad & Associates. Smith designed a Mediterranean-style exterior that contrasts with the contemporary interior, with its clean lines and vibrant hues. The four-bedroom home has an in-house spa area with a jetted hot tub overlooking the grounds.

ZIP CODES: Texas' top 20 priciest when it comes to renting

Outside, there's a two-story loggia with a view of the infinity-edge swimming pool.

"It's the best of all worlds," Kelly Watson, Keller Williams Realty Urban Dallas said about the property."The interior designers are very well-known all around the world. They do homes in India, they do diplomats' homes."

Watson had the listing, and Hannah Schuessler was the Concierge Auctions project sales manager who handled this transaction.
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GREENWICH  Nearly a dozen staff members of Bimbo Bakeriess Greenwich location, some of whom were supposed to be off from work, picked up hammers and screwdrivers Friday morning to build a playhouse.

The volunteers assembled on the grounds of Family Centers Grauer Preschool to put together the one-story structure and move it into place at the pre-schools playground in time for the opening of school on Aug. 31.

Our people love this, said Marcela Diaz, human resources generalist for the baking company. They look forward to it every year. Theyre always asking what project were going to get involved inTheyre always suggesting projects around Fairfield County that we can get involved in.

Carter Ashforth, Family Centers advancement specialist, said Bimbos has built playhouses before for the non-profit, at both Armstrong Court and Gateway preschools.

Family Centers is a Greenwich based non-profit agency that offers human services to all age groups in the area and runs four pre-school programs.

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Bimbos staffers built the playhouses through the companys national Good Neighbor Project, which sponsors community projects each year.

Its amazing, Ashforth said. Being a non-profit, like we are, we arent always able to give our clients and our students everything that we want to give them. Without loyal community partners like Bimbo Bakeries, we wouldnt be able to give them everything we want to give them.

Diaz said bakery staff loves to work with Family Centers because they know the donation of money and hard work is going to help the children.

Theyre our future, Diaz said. One of our beliefs at Bimbo is that we are one community. We are very focused on the communityThis is what its all about. We want to be hands on. We are making a quality product for our consumers every day and we want to do that in the community, too. We want to put in the work and putting in our personal touch.

Among those wielding tools Friday was plant manager Carl Zilla.

This is a very strong company in terms of what it believes in for its cultural values, Zilla said. Theyre big on the person and theyre big on community. ...This is something creative and were all together. Each of us have a part in this and whatever little thing we can do in the community, were going to do.

Johnson Asamoah, production manager at the bakery, helped build the earlier playhouses.

Its a lot of fun to do this and know the kids are going to be able to use this and have a great time, he said.

The old playhouse had been out of service for the past year because it was unsafe. It had been cordoned off with yellow tape, but Family Centers didnt have money in the budget for a replacement.

The bakery, after receiving corporate approval, donated $5,000 for the new playhouse and supplied the labor; any money left over will be used to help Family Centers programs, Ashforth said.

There is huge value to this, Yenny Toone, Family Centers early care and education director said. Children like to play, especially through imaginary play. It adds to the value of their play and their development. They get to play out different scenarios with other students and work on their social skills. They learn about being friends and negotiations. Theres so much they gain out of this.

There are scheduled to be 54 youngsters at Grauer this year; overall, 231 children are expected to be part of Family Centers preschool programs during the 2017-18 school year.

Toone said the value of a pre-school education is immense, describing it as the foundation of learning.

The playhouse, sitting in the back play area of the pre-school, is part of an area that includes slides, tunneling logs and a place for children to ride tricycles.

kborsuk@greenwichtime.com
On this date in ...

1917: Early in the morning while the family of Martin Doyle was asleep in their apartments on the second floor of a two-story house on Watervliet Avenue, the burglar who just robbed them of $5 in cash and a gold watch sat at their dining room table about 20 feet away and ate an entire apple pie and drank two glasses of milk. Upon finishing, he left the apartment and bid good morning to the housewife who lived in the first-floor flat, who was an earlier riser than the Doyles.

1967: The Constitutional Convention, slightly more than a month away from adjournment, met for 35 minutes in the stately Assembly Chamber of the Capitol and then about 30 delegates retired for the rest of the day to Saratoga Race Track for lunch and betting. Meeting early in the morning, the delegates were reminded to rest up for the hard weeks ahead. Of the 186 delegates, 100 were marked present by the clerk. Only 75, however, were heard answering the roll call personally. Of those, 30 made the pilgrimage to support the Sport of Kings.

1992: A new state law, which gave victims or surviving members of their families the right to make an impact statement to a judge before defendants were sentenced, got what was believed to be its debut in Saratoga County Court when a 36-year-old horse trainer was sentenced on five counts each of second-degree manslaughter and second-degree vehicular manslaughter before County Court Judge Frank B. Williams.

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See http://blog.timesunion.com/history/
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Cohoes

Fifty years ago this weekend, a former American Nazi Party member killed a 59-year-old Jewish man in Cohoes.

Francis Mainville lay in wait for Harry Pearlberg, a door-to-door salesman from Troy, before gunning him down on Saturday, Aug. 26, 1967. Police arrived to find Pearlberg lying in a pool of blood and Mainville standing at the top of the stairs with a unregistered .32 caliber revolver.

"Here I am, officer," police recalled the 29-year-old saying as his gun was snatched away. "If you'd been black, I'd have shot you, too."

He wore a Nazi armband and a silver SS pin.

The slaying came a day after the assassination of George Lincoln Rockwell, the founder of the American Nazi Party, by another party member in Arlington, Va. Doctors who assessed Mainville's mental state later testified at trial that he had killed Pearlberg as a twisted form of retaliation.

"Hitler was like God to me and Rockwell was next," Mainville told a psychiatrist after his arrest. He was ultimately sentenced to life in prison after a jury rejected an insanity plea. He later died in prison.

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A husband, father and grandfather, Pearlberg had fled Poland during World War II and settled in Troy, where he was a respected member of B'nai B'rith and the Jewish Community Center. At his funeral, Rabbi Herman Horowitz said, "The hour of the extreme right is still with us."

Those fears echo in the nation's current conversation on racial intolerance.

A white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va., turned violent Aug. 12 when a car mowed down counterprotesters, killing one woman and injuring 19 more. The night before, men with torches and Nazi flags chanted, "Jews will not replace us," as they protested the City Council's decision to remove a Confederate statue from a public park.

Fifty years ago, Pearlberg's murder sparked public outcry for stricter gun control laws, better psychiatric care and harsher punishment for hate crimes. Today, lawmakers and advocates are asking for many of the same measures.

"I don't think anything has gotten better," Pearlberg's son said in an interview last week.

Edward Pearlberg was cautious, though, to cast his father's killing as political. "I just want him to be remembered as my father, not as a martyr of the Jewish community," he said. "I remember him as having a tremendous sense of humor. He was a scholar in his own right, as far as Judaism was concerned, and devout. He liked people and people liked him."

The murder

Mainville knew Pearlberg, who had been selling dry goods to his family and the bakery where Mainville worked for four years. The morning of the shooting, the two men had coffee at the same counter and discussed Pearlberg stopping by to pick up a payment, Edward Pearlberg recalled.

Later that day, Mainville sat alone in his Ontario Street apartment, watching television with a loaded pistol in his hand, "waiting for this Jewish guy," he said in a signed statement to police. A paperboy and grocery delivery boy had already stopped by unharmed.

When Pearlberg rang the doorbell, Mainville called out, "Who's there?"

"It's only Harry," the salesman said.

Gunfire smashed through the door. One bullet grazed Pearlberg's abdomen, another struck him beneath the left arm and ripped into his heart. He bled to death before reaching the hospital, without seeing his son or wife, Rose.

"That was probably the last day of her real life," Edward Pearlberg said about his mother, who fell ill shortly after her husband's death.

Mainville, on the other hand, was a "calm, cool, collected suspect who showed absolutely no remorse," Cohoes Police Chief John Klieb told reporters. The killer told officers he was "a Nazi stormtrooper" and wrote in a signed statement, "Jew, I hope you die."

Mainville registered as a member of the National Socialist White People's Party five years before the killing but kept up his membership for just six months, the organization told the Times Union in 1967. After his arraignment on a first-degree murder charge, Mainville posed for a photograph pointing to an SS armband and giving a Nazi-style salute to the gathered crowd.

Mainville had a history of threats and violence. Ten years before the killing, Mainville told an Albany County judge, probation officer, sheriff's deputy and his father, "I will get you," after he was sent to prison on a burglary conviction. The 19-year-old later escaped but was caught two days later.

In 1963, Mainville attacked his pregnant wife just a month after they had married, nearly killing her. He brandished a machete and knife before strangling her, later telling police he'd decided to "kill my wife with my bare hands." The attack left her hospitalized. Mainville was convicted of assault but received probation.

And a year before shooting Pearlberg, Mainville went to an Army-Navy Store on Remsen Street planning to kill the proprietor  also Jewish  but turned around when he noticed children inside the shop, he told police after his 1967 arrest.

The trial

Two days after the killing, Mainville set fire to his clothing and mattress in an apparent suicide attempt inside Albany County jail. He was taken to Albany Medical Center Hospital with second-degree burns and kept under psychiatric observation. Days later, he appeared in court  bandaged and silent  to enter a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity. The judge sent Mainville to Hudson River State Hospital in Poughkeepsie for further psychiatric evaluation.

Mainville remained in state psychiatric care for eight years before doctors ruled in May 1975 that he was competent to participate in his own defense. The trial began that September.

Mainville's family and neighbors testified about his obsessive fear that black and Jewish people would take over the United States, while doctors hired by the defense argued his bigotry was the result of paranoid schizophrenia  a theory the jury rejected.

"Is fanatical hatred by itself sufficient to classify one as mentally ill?" the prosecutor said, asking the defense's medical expert if he considered "80 million German people fanatics and psychotics." The doctor demurred.

After his arrest, Mainville told a psychiatrist that he'd heard about Rockwell's death on the radio and "decided to kill the first Jew I saw. I didn't have anything against that little guy."

"When I shot the guy, I was not sick," Mainville told another doctor. "This is my belief. I am a Nazi." His statements are eerily similar to those made by Dylann Roof, the 22-year-old white man who massacred nine black parishioners during a June 2015 Bible study in Charleston, S.C.

When asked to explain the fatal shooting, Roof told jurors, "There's nothing wrong with me psychologically." As at Mainville's trial, family and friends said they knew about Roof's fanatical hatred and his violent intentions before the attack. Roof was sentenced to death in January.

Mainville was ultimately convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison after a three-day trial in Albany County Court. He died by suicide in 1979.

Edward Pearlberg, now 80, said it wasn't until then that his family stopped looking over their shoulders in fear of Mainville's release.

The lesson

Edward Pearlberg thinks his father was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, but he's not surprised that the story of the murder has resurfaced in the aftermath of the Charlottesville riots.

Earlier this month, rabbis Israel Rubin and Leible Morrison gathered about 20 elementary school-aged day campers inside the Maimonides Hebrew Day School in Albany to explain how they saw the connection.

"There is a difference between not liking someone and hating someone," Rubin told the children. "God made all of us in different ways. ... We have to learn how to accept each other, even if we can't love everybody."

Rubin's family was nearly wiped out in the Holocaust. When he asked his students if they'd heard anything about Charlottesville, roughly half raised their hands.

"It's important for you to know this," he said before explaining how neo-Nazis targeted a historic synagogue in the Virginia city during the protests.

Three men dressed in fatigues and armed with semiautomatic rifles reportedly stood across the street from Congregation Beth Israel on the morning of Aug. 12, as neo-Nazis marched past and shouted, "Sieg Heil!" The temple's rabbi stood in the doorway with a security guard hired to keep the congregation safe.

"They didn't shoot anybody but it was really nasty," Rubin told the children, who at the mention of guns momentarily stopped fidgeting. "There was real hate. And the Jews inside were very, very worried. They had to go out the back, hiding."

Morrison said people raised without compassion or a sense of the need to care for others grow up to hate.

It's not an easy conversation to have with kids, but Morrison believes it's a necessary one.

"We always have to remember: There's hate, there's not liking and there's loving. So we have to do a lot more mitzvahs so that the love and caring takes away the hate," he says, using the Hebrew word for good deeds.

Morrison pointed to Harry Pearlberg as an example.

"Neighborhoods wouldn't matter to him. He was a grassroots kind of guy, and that's how most peddlers were," Morrison said, adding that it was common practice for Jewish salesmen to sell goods to hard-up neighbors with the simple promise of later payment.

"They were very trusting and compassionate," Morrison told the kids. "And that's the example we want to follow: They brought out the goodness in people."

emasters@timesunion.com  518-454-5467  @emilysmasters
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NEW HAVEN >> A federal jury has found that Metro-North Commuter Railroad Co. and The United Illuminating Co. were not responsible for the injuries of Milton Omar Colon when he fell in March 2011 from a electric tower he had climbed to catch a better look at a deer he had seen minutes earlier.

The jury ruled this week in U.S. District Court in New Haven that Colon had not proven by a preponderance of the evidence all five elements of the claim of negligence against Metro-North, according to a jury verdict form filed in court.

Specifically, the jury found that Colon failed to prove that his injuries, which included electric shock, were caused by a serious hidden danger, that Metro-North had a knowledge of constant intrusion in a limited area or that Colons injuries were caused because of a failure to reasonably warn passersby of the danger.

With regard to United Illuminating, the jury found that there wasnt enough evidence to prove that UIs wires atop catenary tower #1043 directly or indirectly caused the injuries to Colon.

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The ruling came Tuesday in the courtroom of U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Meyer.

What we know happened is that he fell from where he was 45 feet onto the Metro-North railroad tracks, said attorney Charles P. Reed of Loughlin/Fitzgerald of Wallingford, who represented UI in the case. But they found that the railroad was not responsible ...

Metro-North in turn had brought a third-party claim against UI, based on a contract that would have required the railroad to be indemnified if the UI transmission system was found to have either directly or directly caused Colons injuries, Reed said.

Colons lawyer, Tampa, Fla. attorney Brian Rush, said that an appeal is certain because its a significant departure from existing Connecticut law, in that it practically makes it impossible to prove a claim under the Constant Intrusion Doctrine.

I think the rulings of the court, especially the jury instructions, effectively eliminated Connecticuts Constant Intrusion Doctrine, especially in regard to railroad trespasser injuries, Rush said. Nevertheless, I thought Judge Meyer was a very fair judge, although I disagree with his restrictive interpretation of the Constant Intrusion Doctrine.

Colon, a self-proclaimed lover of heights, climbed more than 45 feet up a high-power electric tower alongside Metro-North train tracks in West Haven near the former Spring Street landfill, so he could catch a better look at a deer, he said in court, the Register reported on Aug. 8. As he turned to get a better look, he testified, he fell onto high-voltage lines.

Colon, who uses a wheelchair, now must use his arms to drag himself up the stairs in his brothers house, he testified.

He described his difficulties climbing stairs Aug. 8 during the second day of a federal civil trial in New Haven.

Colon, 32, is a native of Puerto Rico who has lived in New Haven since 2006. He filed the suit with his wife, Arlene Davis, in March 2013, claiming that the couple have suffered economic hardships because of the accident as well as injury to their marital relationship. In addition, the suit details the hardships Colon has suffered due to his injuries from the fall.

They sought more than $20 million in damages.

According to previous reports by the Register, Metropolitan Transportation Authority police said at the time of the accident that Colon fell from a tower near Mix Avenue and Interstate 95 in West Haven. The tower carries 12,000-volt cables to power trains.

After he fell, Colon dangled by his foot from a high-voltage cable.

The Register reported at the time that it took 45 minutes for West Haven Fire Department and Metro-North Power Department to cut the power and rescue Colon as he burned while hanging from the cables. Police said at the time that Colon had been trespassing when the accident occurred.

During his testimony, Colon said he had been to a methadone clinic the morning of the incident for treatment. He had been struggling with a heroin addiction since he was a teenager, he said. After his visit to the clinic, Colon admitted he went to buy drugs and smoked marijuana.

Colon said he only smoked marijuana that day after leaving the clinic and before climbing the tower, but the attorney for Metro North, Robert Hickey, said hospital records showed that there were traces of cocaine in a urine sample obtained from Colon following the fall.
This story originally appeared on KCRA.

UPDATE: Two South Lake Tahoe sisters who were reported missing Wednesday after their parents had not heard from the girls for several days have been found safe, according to the girls' father.

Melissa Lea, 18, and Kalila Lea, 7, were found when people at a grocery store in Prineville, Oregon recognized the sisters, the girls' father, Darryl Lea, told KCRA 3.

There is no cell phone coverage up there, and the sisters told their father they stayed longer than they thought they would after attending the Symbiosis Event in nearby Big Summit Prairie, Oregon.

ORIGINAL STORY: Two South Lake Tahoe sisters were reported missing Wednesday after their parents had not heard from the girls for several days.

Melissa Lea, 18, and 7-year-old Kalila Lea are believed to have attended the Symbiosis Event in Big Summit Prairie, Oregon, for the eclipse, according to the Crook County Sheriff's Office.

Their parents didn't know about the festival and last heard from the girls on Sunday when they were in nearby Bend, Oregon.

Melissa called her mom about 10 p.m. and said they stopped in Bend to spend the night after getting tired from the drive. Her parents are unsure where they stayed.

Courtesy of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children

Melissa's father, Darryl Lea, said that is the last time AT&T logged any activity on Melissa's phone. When her family tries to call, it goes straight to voicemail and iMessages are undelivered.

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But according to the family's bank, Melissa's debit card was used twice since Melissa's mom spoke with the girls: on Monday in Oregon and on Wednesday at a grocery store in Petaluma, California. The bank sent Darryl Lea a fraud alert for attempted charges at a grocery store in Petaluma.

The South Lake Tahoe family is fearing the worst.

"Something happened," Darryl Lea said. "I'm worried I'm not going to see them again. I just want to protect my family and I'm torn up."

The parents said Melissa is not a danger to Kalila. They filed a missing persons report and requested a welfare check with the sheriff's office because they had not heard from their daughters.

The girls may be in a 2006 black Toyota Sequoia, with California license plate 5SWB598.

Melissa has brown hair and brown eyes. She is 5 feet and 7 inches tall and weighs 115 pounds.

Kalila has with brown hair and hazel eyes, is 4 feet tall and weighs 45 pounds.

Anyone with information about the girls is urged to call the South Lake Tahoe Police Department 530-542-6110 or the Crook County Sheriff's Office at 541-447-6398.
Florida on Thursday performed its first execution since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down its death penalty more than 18 months ago, carried out with a drug never before used for a lethal injection.

Mark Asay, 53, is believed to be the first white person Florida has executed for killing a black person in the modern era. The lethal injection came three decades after a double killing that officials say was fueled by racial hatred.

In court documents, state officials say Asay shot and killed Robert Lee Booker and Robert McDowell after a night out drinking, using racial slurs to describe one of them. A cellmate testified that Asay admitted to shooting the men, used a racial slur and had white power and swastika tattoos, according to court documents.

Attorneys for Asay appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing a key fact about the case has been misstated, but the justices on Thursday afternoon rejected their request for a stay.

Asay told News4Jax, a North Florida news outlet, he shot McDowell while "having a meltdown" but denied killing Booker. He also said he is not a white supremacist and got the tattoos to blend in while incarcerated in Texas.

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The execution ended an unusually lengthy hiatus in Florida, which remains one of the country's last bastions of capital punishment, as other states have shifted away from the death penalty.

Since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976, Florida has executed 93 inmates, trailing three states - Texas, Virginia and Oklahoma - over that span, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, a Washington-based nonprofit. With Asay's execution, Florida joined Texas as the only two states to have executed a person during each of the last 10 years.

Before Thursday, Florida had executed 56 white death-row inmatesin the modern era, and none for killing any black victims, said Robert Dunham, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center.

Florida's death penalty has been in limbo since January 2016, when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down its statute in the case Hurst v. Florida. A law was signed earlier this year, requiring a unanimous jury decision to impose a death sentence.

Asay's attorneys said the state's new death penalty statute should be applied to him, because the jury that found him guilty recommended a death sentence by a vote of 9 to 3. But his stay request was denied by the Florida Supreme Court earlier this month.

Asay's execution also broke ground with the drug used for the lethal injection, the latest state to altering its process because of an ongoing drug shortage.

In January, Florida adopted a new lethal-injection protocol utilizing an injection of etomidate, an anesthetic that experts say has never before been used to carry out an execution. The state also planned to inject Asay with rocuronium bromide and potassium acetate, both of which have been used in executions, though the latter was used inadvertently in at least one case.

That prompted criticism from a division of Johnson & Johnson, the pharmaceutical giant, which said this week it does "not condone the use of our medicines in lethal injections for capital punishment." Johnson & Johnson does not sell etomidate - invented by its scientists - in the United States, and it is now made by multiple generic manufacturers.

Under Florida's lethal-injection protocol, which went into effect on Jan. 1, the drug etomidate would replace midazolam.

"The Florida Department of Corrections follows the law and carries out the sentence of the court, as laid out in Florida Statute," the corrections department said in a statement. "This is the department's most solemn duty, and the foremost objective with the lethal injection procedure is a humane and dignified process."
Madison County prosecutor Rachelle Aud Crowe has announced her candidacy for state Senator Bill Haines seat in the 56th Illinois Senate District. The announcement came on Wednesday, a week after Haine announced he would not seek another term.

Crowe pledged to bring local values and a prosecutors determination to Springfield.

She has spent more than a decade as a criminal prosecutor at the Madison County States Attorneys Office where she was one of the first prosecutors assigned to the Violent Crimes Unit. She built a reputation for taking on tough cases, including hundreds of homicides, drug abuse, and gang-related crimes.

In the courtroom, Ive never been afraid to take on the most difficult cases to protect our community, Crowe said in a written statement.

In the Senate, I wont be afraid to tackle Illinois most difficult problems to create a brighter future for our state. I fight every day to protect this community, my home, and I would be honored to do the same as your Senator.

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Haine had been diagnosed earlier in the year with a rare form of blood cancer known as multiple myeloma. He had served on the Madison County Board and as Madison County States Attorney before being appointed to replace the retiring Evelyn Bowles in the state senate.

The 56th District comprises all or parts of Edwardsville, Glen Carbon, Alton, Bethalto, Caseyville, Collinsville, East Alton, Elsah, Fairview Heights, Hartford, Godfrey, Granite City, Madison, Maryville, OFallon, Pontoon Beach, Roxana, Shiloh, South Roxana, Swansea, and Wood River.

Our community has felt the squeeze of ever-increasing property taxes due to under-funded public schools and job losses. As a prosecutor, I can attest to how the lack of educational and employment opportunities has impacted the health of our community, she said.

Crowe and her husband are raising two young children in Glen Carbon.

I grew up in the Wood River area in a family who worked at Olin, Laclede Steel, and the Wood River Refinery, she said.

Our district knows the devastation of manufacturing job losses, but remains attractive and primed for wide growth. Ill be a strong advocate for job creation and investment in businesses and workers, including protecting the hard-fought rights of working families. Ill also fight for more school funding with less of a reliance on property taxes, so teachers will have the resources they need without families having to pay the price, she wrote.
Washington

The White House is preparing guidance for the Pentagon to carry out President Donald Trump's decision to bar transgender people from the military, but the ban appears to have exceptions for current service members, according to a military officer familiar with the deliberations.

The draft details suggest that White House officials are backing away from the blanket ban Trump described, instead giving discretion to Defense Secretary James N. Mattis to retain people now serving in the military while barring new entrants who are transgender.

Mattis reportedly could allow a self-declared transgender service member to remain in the military if the person is considered capable of being deployed in a war zone, in military exercises or aboard ship.

The Pentagon would have to stop admitting transgender people into the military, end payments for medical treatment related to gender transition, and fully implement the restrictions within six months, according to the draft guidelines, which were first reported by The Wall Street Journal in Thursday's editions.

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The guidelines are not final and have not been officially sent to the Pentagon. They are still being vetted by Trump administration lawyers to try to protect against likely legal challenges.

Press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders wouldn't say whether the White House was close to sending such guidance to the Defense Department. "When we have an announcement on that I'll let you know," she said.

In anticipation, however, one congressional critic vowed to seek legislation to undo any ban. Democrats and Republicans have said that anyone who wants to serve should be allowed to do so.

"When I was bleeding to death in my Black Hawk helicopter after I was shot down, I didn't care if the American troops risking their lives to help save me were gay, straight, transgender, black, white or brown," said Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, a Democrat who lost both her legs in the helicopter crash during her Army service in Iraq.

"If the president enacts this ban, which would harm our military readiness, the Democratic and Republican Members of Congress who oppose this discrimination must enact legislation that prevents it from taking effect," Duckworth continued in her statement.

Trump unexpectedly announced the ban on Twitter on July 26, writing that the military would no longer "accept or allow" transgender troops to serve "in any capacity."

The announcement was a reversal for Trump, who had promised repeatedly during his presidential campaign to support the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.
Washington

Americans retreated from buying homes in July as sales sank to their lowest level of the year.

The National Association of Realtors said Thursday that sales of existing homes fell 1.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.44 million. Despite the second straight monthly drop, sales are 2.1 percent higher than a year ago.

But purchases are starting to slow as fewer properties are coming onto the market. The real estate market is grappling with the consequences of a persistent shortage of homes for sale despite strong demand from would-be buyers.

The decline in listings has driven up prices and made many homes unaffordable: Prices are rising faster than the wages of potential buyers despite a solid job market.

The number of existing homes listed for sale has plunged 9 percent over the past 12 months to 1.92 million. In the meantime, the median sales price has risen 6.2 percent to $258,300  more than double the pace of growth in average hourly earnings.

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The lack of homes on the market is also causing properties to sell more quickly. The average number of days on the market was 30 in July, compared with 36 a year ago.

In July, sales plummeted 14.5 percent in the Northeast and fell 5.3 percent in the Midwest. But buying picked up 2.2 percent in the South and 5 percent in the West.

Homeowners are increasingly staying put. The average tenure of someone selling their home in July was 8.28 years.
French President Emmanuel Macron sharply criticized Poland Friday, saying Prime Minister Beata Szydlo's opposition to a revamp of European Union rules on cheap labor is one of numerous policies that are marginalizing her country.

Speaking in Bulgaria's Black Sea port of Varna at the beginning of a European diplomatic blitz, Macron campaigned to end the "social dumping" that he says occurs when workers from low-wage countries are hired in other EU nations at their own pay levels for extended periods. He wants to shorten the period for the exemption.

Szydlo issued a sharp response, telling a Polish website that Macron's comments were "arrogant" and seek to "split" the EU. She reiterated that her government won't stop defending the rights of Polish workers, arguing that Macron's proposals would breach fundamental EU principles of free movement of labor and services.

For Macron, gaining traction on the issue is part of his effort to reform labor laws in France. At the same time, he was expressing his conviction that the EU exists to bolster living standards for workers across the region rather than to allow some countries to benefit by competing for business with lower wages and weaker social programs.

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The disagreements are about more than labor. Poland, the bloc's biggest eastern economy, may face EU sanctions amid an unprecedented standoff over what the union calls an attack on the rule of law. A series of overhauls of the judiciary, for instance, have raised questions over the independence of courts. The nation, along with regional peers Hungary and the Czech Republic, have also ignored EU policy and refused to take in migrants, citing security concerns.

"Europe is a space created on the basis of values that Poland is now trying to resist," Macron said alongside Bulgarian President Rumen Radev in Varna. The Polish government's positions are putting the country on the "margins of Europe and the history of Europe," he said, adding that "the Polish people deserve better."

Macron went as far as to raise the subject of the regional development funds that Poland receives from the EU, arguing that they are provided to put the country on a path of convergence with the rest of the bloc in terms of pay and social programs.

It's the idea of "convergence that is behind the logic of structural development funds that Poland receives," he said.

Macron should focus on French issues and boosting the French economy instead of criticizing fellow EU members, Szydlo told pro-government website wPolityce.pl.

"His arrogant comments may stem from his lack of experience, which I understand. But I expect more restraint from him in the future," she was quoted as saying. Macron should be "more conciliatory and not split the EU."

Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski said that "Poland isn't isolated," citing his meetings on Friday with the NATO Secretary General and the foreign ministers of Romania and Turkey.

The specific issue being discussed is the use of "detached" or "posted" workers. Those employees typically are brought from low-wage eastern European countries to higher-cost ones such as France or Austria to perform tasks that would be more expensive to hire for locally.

There are an estimated 300,000 such workers in France. For employers, the advantages are obvious. The minimum wage in France is about 1,480 euros ($1,740) a month. In Poland, it's about 450 euros.

Macron wants to reduce the length of working stays to one year in every two and increase cooperation to ensure that minimum wage and social charges are applied through cooperation between EU governments. He is seeking an agreement on the matter at an EU summit in October and said in Varna that he is confident an accord can be reached by year-end. The decision requires only a qualified majority of EU countries.

In Austria Wednesday, Romania Thursday and Bulgaria Friday, Macron received indications of support or a willingness to compromise from leaders of those countries, as well as from Czech and Slovak leaders with whom he met in Salzburg.

"I shared the concern of Emmanuel Macron on the detached workers directive and social dumping," Bulgarian President Radev said in Varna. "Bulgaria is against all social fraud and every effort to get around the rules."

---

With assistance from Slav Okov Paul Abelsky and Wojciech Moskwa.

Deen is based in Varna, Bulgaria; Strzelecki in Warsaw.
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The City of Plainview on Tuesday approved a request to rezone 1307 W. Sixth St. with a Special Use Permit for a bed-and-breakfast, according to an Aug. 22 Plainview Herald story.

Mike and Debra Melcher have purchased the home and are busy making the changes necessary to convert a private home into a working bed-and-breakfast.

Currently Senior Director of Major Gifts at Wayland Baptist University, Melcher is planning to retire at the end of the 2017-2018 school year. Debra Melcher is store manager at the Jimmy Dean Museum on WBU campus.

The home has four bedrooms, each with its own bath, so there wont be any bath-sharing or going down the hall to take a bath, Melcher said. Its set up very well with a living room, dining room and a basement for meetings. We can fit 30 people down there without any problem.

According to Hale County Homes, the Colonial-style house was built around 1940 and owned by E. May and Laura Osborne, the parents of Ethel Ramsower, who was married to Rex Ramsower.

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According to The Wayland Century: 100 Years of Presidents, Policies and Pictures by Wayland Baptist University, the Osbornes donated the home to WBU in 1966 for use as a home for Wayland presidents as well as for campus social functions.

Dr. Roy C. McClung was the first Wayland president to live in the home, moving in 1967. He retired in 1980. The last president to live in the home was Dr. Paul W. Armes, who lived there from 2001 to 2016. Prior to Armes retirement, Wayland trustees determined that when he stepped down the university would no longer own a presidents home. Current President Dr. Bobby Hall and his wife Laurie had an option to buy the Presidents Home from the university, but ended up purchasing their own residence.

The home has been part of Wayland for more than 50 years, Melcher said. Its a beautiful home, well-built and very impressive. Were going to do our very best to keep the character and the history of the home alive.

The Melchers plan to have a display honoring the history and legacy of the home, emphasizing its time as part of Wayland. The establishment will be named The Presidents House Bed & Breakfast, and the four bedrooms will be named after WBU presidents, such as Hall, Armes and Davis.

We think its fitting to honor the presidents with that, Melcher said.

The breakfasts will be full, cook-to-order breakfasts.

Years ago we owned our own cake shop and catering business in Amarillo, so weve had a little experience in the food business, Melcher said.

As for lodging, the Melchers have been doing extensive research, talking with many people to get the best ideas possible.

Melcher credits Debra Melcher with making most of the plans and doing all the hard work.

She has great taste and is doing a great job of reaching out and getting ahold of things to put it together, Melcher said.

Some of the work, such as installing a sprinkler system, is necessary to bring the home up to code and ensure that its safe.

Were trying to bring it up to code without disrupting the integrity of the interior of the home, Melcher said. For example, were trying to keep beautiful molding intact.

The home will be available for events such as anniversary and Christmas parties.

Once the word got out about the bed-and-breakfast, people started saying theyd always wanted to see the home and now theyll be able to, Melcher said. Theres a lot of excitement in the community, and we want open the home to as many people as we can.

Melcher also has a dream that the home might be a refuge for grieving families. He recently spoke to a friend who returned to Plainview for a funeral and really had no place where the entire family could come together and relax.

Id like to have it available when someone loses a member of the family, offering a discounted rate so that they could take whole home for a couple of days. It would be a place for them to be together, for the kids to play. Theyd have the full use of the home, Melcher said.

The Melchers hope to be available to WBU for off-campus receptions and events as well.

We want to do a lot of things with Wayland. We feel a strong sense of gratitude to the school for allowing us to be able to do this, Melcher said.

A Nov. 1 opening date is planned.
TOKYO - North Korea launched three missiles into the sea between the Korean Peninsula and Japan on Saturday morning, reigniting tensions after a month of heated rhetoric between Pyongyang and Washington and dispelling President Donald Trump's assertion that Kim Jong Un had come to "respect" him.

The missiles appeared to be short-range, not the intercontinental ones capable of reaching the mainland United States that North Korea fired last month, and all quickly failed.

Still, the latest launches underscore Kim's continued focus on making strides in his weapons program and his continued defiance of international calls for him to desist.

Analysts said the launches appeared to be a response to the ongoing joint exercises between the United States and South Korean militaries, exercises that North Korea always strongly protests because it considers them preparation for an invasion.

Furthermore, South Korea fired three missiles of its own this week.

"When they [North Korea] fire salvos of missiles, it's usually because they're training, so in a way, they're doing their own exercises," said Melissa Hanham of the Center for Nonproliferation Studies in California.

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Kim had just supervised a special forces target-striking contest, practicing attacks on two South Korean islands, the North's state-run Korean Central News Agency reported separately Saturday.

The North Korean People's Army "should think of mercilessly wiping out the enemy with arms only and occupying Seoul at one go and the southern half of Korea," Kim told his special forces, KCNA reported.

Saturday's salvo was composed of three short-range missiles fired over the course of half an hour from Kittaeryong on North Korea's east coast, according to the U.S. Pacific Command in Hawaii.

The first and third missiles failed in flight, while the second appears to have blown up almost immediately.

"We are working with our interagency partners on a more detailed assessment and we will provide a public update if warranted," Cmdr. Dave Benham, a spokesman for the U.S. Pacific Command, said in a statement. The missiles did not pose a threat to the United States, he added.

The White House said that the president had been briefed on the launches and that it was monitoring the situation.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said they were working to determine the types of missiles fired, which they said traveled only 150 miles before falling into the sea. South Korea's national security council convened to discuss the latest provocations.

The launches puzzled analysts because North Korea does not typically have problems with tried and tested short-range missiles like Scuds.

Even though the launches failed, they still constitute violations of the U.N. Security Council resolutions prohibiting North Korea from launching missiles or conducting nuclear tests, and they will spark another round of condemnation from the international community - condemnation that will, again, fall on deaf ears in Pyongyang.

The latest launches came as the Trump administration, after a month of threatening to unleash military "fire and fury," expressed hope that the North Korean regime was curtailing its provocations.

At a campaign rally this week, Trump said that Kim "is starting to respect us" and that maybe "something positive can come about."

This echoed an earlier remark from Secretary of State Rex Tillerson that "Pyongyang has certainly demonstrated some level of restraint that we've not seen in the past."

The latest salvo appeared to be a rebuttal to that assessment but also a direct response to the Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercises that are taking place in South Korea until Aug. 31.

Those exercises, which mainly involve computer simulations rather than battlefield maneuvers or flyovers with bombers, are smaller than usual this year, with 17,500 American troops participating, down from 25,000 last year.

China and Russia had been calling on the United States to scale back the exercises, but the Pentagon said the decrease in troops was due to operational reasons, rather than to tamp down tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

North Korea has still issued angry statements about the exercises, saying most recently that they were evidence that the United States planned to invade the country. The United States and its "puppets" in South Korea should "act with discretion if they want to evade the historic moment of death," KCNA reported.

Kim has been aggressively pursuing more advanced missile technology, and North Korea has now conducted 17 launches so far this year. By comparison, his father, Kim Jong Il, presided over only 16 missile launches during 17 years in power.

Most alarmingly, North Korea last month fired its first intercontinental ballistic missiles, which are technically capable of reaching the mainland United States.

As tensions increased this month, Kim's regime warned that it was considering launching missiles into the Pacific Ocean near the U.S. territory of Guam, prompting Trump's warning that the U.S. military was "locked and loaded" and ready to retaliate.

Kim has not been deterred.

This week he visited the Chemical Material Institute of North Korea's Academy of Defense Sciences and inspected designs for two new longer-range missiles, according to state media reports. The new and untested designs, labeled as the Pukguksong-3 and the Hwasong-13, appear to be for new types of intercontinental ballistic missiles.

The ICBMs that North Korea fired last month were theoretically capable of reaching Denver and Chicago, a development that has alarmed policymakers but which nonproliferation experts say is clearly in line with Kim's stated aims.
The Rev. Al Sharpton organized more than 1,000 religious leaders from multiple faiths to rally Monday in Washington, D.C., saying he hopes to show that opposition to President Trump is not merely a political reproach, but also a moral one.

The "One Thousand Ministers March for Justice" in front of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial will come on the 54th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, where King delivered his famed "I Have a Dream" speech.

The rally was planned long before a deadly white supremacist protest earlier this month in Charlottesville, although Sharpton said the events in Virginia only intensified the mission of Monday's march.

"Charlottesville gave it a new energy, and a lot of ministers called in saying that this is the time to make a moral statement," Sharpton said. "The president called for unity, and we are going to show unity. The question is, which side is the president on?"

According to National Park Service permits, the rally will start at 10 a.m. near the MLK Memorial at West Potomac Park-Polo Field on the National Mall.

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The rally will include a prayer vigil and ceremony in which leaders will "recommit to being at the forefront of social justice and civil rights," the permit states. Participants then will march to the Department of Justice.

Sharpton's National Action Network organization is planning the rally, which will be attended by Jewish, Christian and Muslim faith leaders. Former Barack Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett and King's older son, Martin Luther King III, also are expected to attend.

"We want to convene ministers from all faiths to make a moral statement that no matter what party is in office, there are certain moral things that should be nonnegotiable," Sharpton said. "That is voting rights, health care, criminal justice reform and economic justice."

In the wake of the Charlottesville protest - in which a white supremacist rallygoer allegedly drove his car through a crowd of counterprotesters, killing one woman - Trump received condemnation from both parties after he said there was blame on "many sides" for the deadly violence. (Under pressure the next day, he condemned neo-Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan by name, but later seemed to defend his original remarks.)

Rabbi Jonah Pesner, director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, said it's critical for Jewish leaders to have a presence at Monday's rally. Pesner was one of many rabbis who said he would not participate in an annual conference with the president ahead of the Jewish High Holidays because of Trump's Charlottesville remarks.

He said Jews marched 5,000 years ago out of Egypt, they marched with Martin Luther King Jr. 54 years ago and would be marching Monday against Trump. More than 200 Jewish leaders are expected to march Monday, Pesner said.

"We Jews will march for 5,000 more years if that's what it takes to make sure that all people experience compassion and justice and equality," Pesner said. "We know that it's our jobs as Jews to always show up and beat back the forces of white supremacy, racism and hate of all forms."

Trump and Sharpton, two prominent New Yorkers, have a long and public history. During the 1989 Central Park jogger case, Sharpton stood by five black teens who were accused of attacking a white female jogger in Central Park. Trump, in an open letter published as an ad in The New York Times and other newspapers, called for the teens to be sentenced to death.

The teens were exonerated in 2002 after another man confessed to the crime.

Trump and Sharpton, according to Sharpton, have "always had an adversarial political relationship." "It's fair to say that we are doing this march because the basic tenants of Dr. King's dream are at risk now by the policies being promoted by this administration," Sharpton said. "Trump has kept the bust of Dr. King in his office, but what about the dream of Dr. King?"
Washington

President Donald Trump lashed out Thursday at Republican leaders in Congress, suggesting efforts to increase the country's borrowing limit to avoid an economic-rattling default on the nation's debt are "a mess!"

On Twitter, Trump said he had asked Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan to attach legislation to increase the country's borrowing limit to a bill he recently signed related to veterans. Trump said they didn't do it and "now we have a big deal with Dems holding them up."

Raising the federal borrowing limit is a must-do item for Congress when they return to Washington from summer break. Congress faces an October deadline to increase the government's borrowing authority and avoid defaulting on U.S. obligations.

Adding to the complexity, Congress needs to pass stopgap legislation to avert a government shutdown when the budget year ends Sept. 30.

Speaking at an event with Boeing employees in suburban Seattle Thursday, Ryan insisted Congress would "pass legislation to make sure that we pay our debts."

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He added, "I'm not worried that's not going to get done because it's going to get done."

Ryan also said he and Trump are in "constant contact" to work on a policy agenda, adding "for me it's really important the president succeeds, because if he succeeds then the country succeeds."

Later, in an interview with CNBC, Ryan said he didn't view Trump's tweets as "going after me." He also said the idea of tying debt ceiling legislation to the veterans bill had been considered, but that they still have more options.

McConnell, at an event in Louisville, Kentucky on Thursday, did not respond to questions about Trump's comments. During an appearance earlier this week with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, McConnell said "there is zero chance, no chance, we won't raise the debt ceiling."

The federal government has never before defaulted on debt payments. Financial experts have warned that default on U.S. bond payments could roil financial markets.

Trump's long-promised wall along the U.S.-Mexican border could complicate efforts to keep government running. Trump threatened Tuesday to force a federal shutdown unless Congress provides funds for the project.

White House counselor Kellyanne Conway stressed on Thursday the president was serious about moving forward with the wall.
AUSTIN  People fleeing Hurricane Harvey will not be asked about their immigration status at storm shelters, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott said during a press briefing at the state operations center Friday.

Our main focus here, in a situation like this, is the safety and security and the protection of life. Were going to do everything we can to make sure everybody is safe, he said.

Harvey, a category 3 hurricane, is expected to make landfall Friday evening and dump rain across the coast and inland until early next week. State officials, on a call this morning with Abbott, warned Friday that life threatening, devastating and record flooding is expected.

After speaking with President Donald Trump about the storm Thursday, Abbott on Friday morning sent him a letter requesting a presidential disaster declaration that would provide financial assistance to affected areas.

Granting this request will provide Texans the additional resources needed to protect themselves, their property and rebuild their lives if necessary after Hurricane Harvey, Abbott said.

The state has already spent more than $9 million preparing for the hurricane, a sum that does not include costs expended at the local or private level. You can expected the cost is going to be far higher than that, Abbott said.

Officials could not provide the number of residents estimated to have already evacuated or those who remain in the more than two dozen areas where mandatory evacuation orders are in place.

Shelters set up in San Antonio, and other inland cities, have the capacity to hold about 41,000 people, officials said on the call.

Abbott urged Texans who live in the affected areas to strongly consider evacuating. If you have the ability to evacuate and go somewhere else for a little while, it would be good, he said, but added that its up to local officials to make the call about whether to issue mandatory evacuation orders.

I can be suggestive of what I would do. If I were living in the Houston region... I would decide to head to areas north of there, he said.

Dozens of state officials and representatives from FEMA and the military are camped out in the state operations center, two floors below ground at the Texas Department of Public Safety, to manage storm response.

AMorris@express-news.net
If you spot a malfunctioning traffic light, a downed tree limb or any other flood damage caused by Hurricane Harvey, call the city's 3-1-1 line, and not 9-1-1.

Traffic signals often lose power or start flashing during weather events with high winds and rains, said April Alcoser Luna, spokeswoman for the city's Transportation and Capital Improvements Department.
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CORPUS CHRISTI  Herminia Garcia, 91, of Corpus Christi had never before left town for a storm, and she only vaguely remembers when Hurricane Celia smacked the Coastal Bend in 1970.

But when her friend, a police officer who checks on her named Jaime Silvia, came by Friday morning urging her to accept a ride to the buses that would take her inland, Garcia knew she needed to take his word for it and get out of danger.

My house is not very strong, its in very bad condition, she said in Spanish, her voice trembling with worry as she waited for her turn to load one of the charter buses at the citys staging area on Cabaniss Road. Secured in a cage next to her was Priscilla, her tiny dog.

She shook her head when asked if she knew anybody in San Antonio, where the buses were heading.

I live alone, she said. My family is in Nevada.

Outside the city facility, Hurricane Harveys first heavy rain bands pelted cars and began pooling in the parking lot.

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As of 2 p.m., the National Weather Service was reporting Harvey as a Category 3 storm expected to bring catastrophic flooding to Southeast Texas. The storm was due to make landfall Friday evening. Its track held a steady course to hit somewhere between Corpus Christi and Victoria/Port Lavaca.

National Weather Service forecaster Douglas Vogelsang said some areas could see nearly 3 feet of rain, on top of the storm surge washing over low-lying highways and bridges.

As of early afternoon, belts of heavy rain had begun whipping palm fronds into the streets. There was already a flash flood warning for Oso Creek near Corpus Christi, which had begun overflowing near apartment buildings, barns and outbuildings and was fast pushing water toward homes.

Its been a little while since one hit this square, Matt Hyder said as he assisted his sister, 69-year-old Nancy Hyder, move her collection of artwork and sculptures into a minivan. Thats whats got everybody freaked out, I think.

Once Harvey breaks up, and it might not be until early next week, the 6-to-12 feet storm surges could cause extreme beach erosion and massive damage to marinas, boardwalks, piers and other structures.

Coupled with high winds, locations could be uninhabitable for weeks or months

Residents who could heeded warnings and got out of town. By Thursday night, restaurants along the Corpus Christi Marina and out toward the shore had shuttered, with owners knowing they couldn't jeopardize staff by taking them from families to report to work.

Meanwhile, most flights out of Corpus Christi International Airport were canceled until Monday.

At the Corpus Christi Gym, the evacuation staging area, families registered and were given bar codes, a safety precaution to ensure accountability that was developed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

FEMAs probably running the entire show, said Rondo Gonzales, a Corpus Christi Fire Marshal who was assisting the evacuation.

We train every year for this, said Don Gosson, a fire inspector who also was assisting. Now were actually getting to put it in place. This is not a drill.

Garcia was on the pet line, where family units of parents, children, dogs and cats waited patiently to the board the buses in search of safety.

About five were lined up outside, and city officials kept the staging area open until noon.

Last night we started thinking about it, said Lucia Ortiz, 34, who waited with her husband, five children, and pet chihuahua snuggled in a pouch that hung from her neck. Today it was like, our neighborhood gets flooded with just regular rain. We have to do it. It was quick, about two hours to get everything we could together  snacks, dog food, phone chargers, important documents. I already just told them to just say goodbye to everything else. The family was not sure where they would stay in San Antonio, but had been told there would be shelter.

We brought dominoes, Ortiz said with a smile. Hopefully we can look back as a family adventure.

Ashley Williams, waiting with her mother, Thelma, said she was being met in San Antonio by relatives of friends from church.

I had a newborn to think about, and my son, she said, referring to 6-weeks-old Jamyiah and 6-year-old son, Josiah Ford. They said its supposed to be Category 3. All I could think about was Hurricane Katrina.

Josiah, upset because it looked like Harvey could delay his first day of first grade, said he was excited to be going on the big bus.

Ive only been on the yellow ones, he said, adding, Im not scared. I believe in God.

Back at the city evacuation hub, Incident Commander Lisa Oliver said that more than 1,000 people had been evacuated since Thursday night.

With the storm now a reality, filling roads with water and gusting winds too strong to walk in, the emergency management team had had to suspend the city bus service to the evacuation buses as of noon to protect the safety of personnel.

She said the last time the city had launched that scale of an evacuation was for Ike in 2008, which caused $37.5 billion in damages overall but left Coastal Bend residents relatively unscathed.

As you can imagine, were down to the nitty gritty, she said. Right now, were processing any individuals that were already at the evacuation hub.

In San Antonio, the evacuees would be taken to a reception center and then transported to a shelter, she said. But she said those details were being handled by officials in the Alamo City.

At my level, my concern is the hub, she said.

Of course, some people couldnt resist the urge to go as close to the water as possible to see natures power firsthand.

At Cole Park, a usually peaceful bayside playground and fishing pier, a few daring onlookers scrambled out of pickups and SUVS to take in the angry gray whitecaps lashing against the sea wall.

I love it, said Matt Lookingbill, a 35-year-old who said he planned to wait out the storm, thinking that the most dangerous, dirty side, would hit to the north.

I love the intensity, he said. It gets your adrenaline pumping. I love nature. You look at the satellite photos and its so beautiful. Yet so destructive.

lbrezosky@express-news.net
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Gulf and East Coast states know what bad hurricanes look like and sometimes, it's required to leave during the worst storms.

Texas is bracing for Hurricane Harvey, which is predicted to make landfall as a Category 3 storm late Friday or early Saturday. Mandatory evacuations have been ordered in various Gulf Coast counties and cities, with some evacuees taking refuge in San Antonio.

RELATED: Hurricane Harvey begins making its mark on Texas Gulf Coast

As a result, evacuees can return home and worry whether the food in their fridge is any good to eat anymore.

Now Playing: Harvey storms across Texas Video: San Antonio Express-News

But we've learned a super simple trick that could save you hours in the bathroom with food poisoning.

Thanks to Sheila Pulanco Russell of North Carolina, we've learned that all we have to do is freeze a cup of water, then place a coin on top of the ice when totally frozen, then leave it in the freezer while you're evacuated. Associate Professor Don Mercer of Food Science at University of Guelph suggests that a penny is the best choice of coin because copper pennies are good conductors of heat.

Once you return, check the placement of the coin. If the coin is at the bottom of the cup, that means the ice melted low enough for the coin to drop off and sink to the bottom. If this is the case, the food in the fridge is no longer safe to eat.

RELATED: Here are all the places being evacuated in Texas due to Hurricane Harvey

Of course, the ideal situation is to find the coin exactly where you left it, on top, which means the power wasn't out at all or for a significant amount of time for the ice to melt.

So there you have it. We no longer need to guesstimate to how sour our food got while the power was out.
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San Antonians went to grocery stores across the city to stock up on bottled water and canned goods in preparation for Hurricane Harvey, which was upgraded to a Category 4 storm by 6 p.m. Friday.

But locals visiting the Whole Foods Market in The Quarry weren't all that concerned about what the National Weather Service has called the "life-threatening" and "devastating" amount of water headed their way.

RELATED: Hurricane Harvey begins making its mark on Texas Gulf Coast

"Hopefully the power doesn't go out," said Jack Whitten of Houston. "We'll watch some TV, hang out. Just have a chill weekend."

Whitten's visiting San Antonio for the weekend, and he said the city is far enough inland for him to not take Harvey "too seriously."

"People just need to learn not to drive through water and not be stupid," he said.

Now Playing: Harvey storms across Texas Video: San Antonio Express-News

Paige Rodriguez, who was seen stocking up on water and canned goods, said she lived in Houston through Katrina and Ike.

"It was my friends who were like, 'Why haven't you stocked up on water and canned goods?!'" she said. "Personally, I don't think it's going to be that big of a deal."

Rodriguez said she watched the weather radars on the news Thursday evening, but on Friday, she was more concerned whether or not her kids would get out of school early.

"We're so far inland," she said. "We're gonna be fine. But we'll see."

One person who was taking Harvey seriously was Bobby Contreras, the senior pastor of Alamo Heights Baptist Church, who was on his fourth water run to Whole Foods on Friday.

"We're just getting the church ready for, really, more so after the storm," he said. "We're preparing how we serve best once the storm is done and the rain has subsided."

RELATED: NWS: Harvey could generate tornadoes east of Bexar County

Contreras said his church has a pantry they'll be pulling from to cook food for whoever needs it, space for anyone needing last minute shelter and, if the electricity doesn't go out, outlets to charge their phones.

In addition to serving as senior pastor at Alamo Heights Baptist Church, Contreras also works for the non-profit Blueprint Ministry, which serves socio-economically disadvantaged areas of San Antonio.

"My mind is definitely on them right now, too," he said, referring to the people he works with through the non-profit.

Dozens of H-E-B and Walmart stores have shut down businesses along the coast so that they can keep stores in San Antonio and Austin stocked with water and other vital supplies.

H-E-B has deployed mobile emergency response units around the city. The units include mobile kitchens and pharmacies, as well as generators and water tanks.

Walmart's emergency operation center in Arkansas is communicating with stores in Texas to determine where to send water, fuel and other supplies.

"You're working with traffic, you're working with weather," said spokesman Reagan Dickens. "You're working with high winds, high waters. The timelines (to restock) are a little more difficult to predict."

RELATED: Meteorologist: S.A. area residents should prepare for 'record-setting historic event'

First responders are taking Harvey seriously as well, having set up a command center at the AT&T Center grounds with room for up to 300 first responders. Trucks stocked with food and medicine are ready to deploy to the Texas coast, as are buses ready to bring back evacuees.

"We're preparing for what we would consider to be the worst case scenario," said Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff, "and that's really heavy rainfall and evacuees coming in."

Staff writers Joshua Fechter and David Hendricks contributed to this report.

Text HARVEY to 77453 to receive instant alerts on the massive Texas storm.

cdowns@mysa.com

Twitter: @calebjdowns
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First responders from across the state poured into the AT&T Center grounds Friday to set up a command center in response to Hurricane Harvey.

State agencies are managing the command center, which is prepared to host around 300 first responders from around the state.

"We're preparing for what we would consider to be the worst case scenario, and that's really heavy rainfall and evacuees coming into the city," said Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff.

RELATED: For many evacuees coming to S.A., Hurricane Harvey isn't their first brush with disaster

More than 100 buses sat in a parking lot of the AT&T Center ready for deployment to the Corpus Christi area to pick up evacuees when necessary. Nelson said as many as 300 evacuees have already made it to San Antonio, and more are on the way.

Any evacuees coming to San Antonio that need a place to stay are asked to first visit the check in center in the 200 block of Gembler Road, where they will be assigned to a shelter somewhere in the city.

More for you Texas couple finds ring lost in tornado, immediately gets engaged

In addition to the evacuee buses, the AT&T command center is the staging area for ambulances and around 80 trucks packed with food and medicine that can be sent to the coast, if necessary.

"I think we're ready for whatever hits us and whatever comes our way," Wolff said.

Hundreds of cots have been set up in a community arena at the AT&T Center for the first responders coming to San Antonio to help. There's also a cafeteria serving them breakfast, lunch and dinner.

One of the responding agencies staying at the center for the duration of the storm is the Texas Task Force 2, a 70-member team comprised of first responders from various agencies in North Texas.

The majority of the team, however, is made up of firefighters from Dallas Fire-Rescue. Jason Evans, a spokesman for Dallas Fire-Rescue, said their primary focus is high water rescues, but the team is able to handle fires, hazardous material spills, road and bridge collapses and pretty much any thing else.

"In any rescue situation, they'll turn up," Evans said.

The task force typically only handles situation in North Texas, but if the State of Texas asks them to help our anywhere else, they'll respond. Evans said the state's request for help with Harvey came in Thursday around noon.

RELATED: Hurricane Harvey begins making its mark on Texas Gulf Coast

The Texas Task Force 2 and all other first responders will most likely be staged at the command center through at least the weekend, as Harvey is not expected to make landfall until late Friday evening or early Saturday morning. When it arrives, it is expected to be a category 3 hurricane.

Certain areas of Bexar County could receive up to 20 inches of rain and heavy winds.

Wolff said first responders in Bexar County are primarily concerned with low water crossings. More than 150 low water crossing signals have been activated in the county, and authorities plan to erect numerous barriers, in an effort to warn drivers to not cross flooded areas.

"We're staging also for the aftermath. You saw what happened here not too long ago," Wolff said, referring to the August 7 floods that prompted a handful of high water rescues and clean up efforts.

Text HARVEY to 77453 to receive instant alerts on the massive Texas storm.

cdowns@mysa.com

Twitter: @calebjdowns


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The National Weather Service is predicting "catastrophic" flooding along the Texas Gulf Coast due to heavy rainfall and storm surge of Hurricane Harvey, now a Category 4 storm.

The storm was making landfall near the city of Rockport about 8:30 p.m., according to a tweet from the National Weather Service in Birmingham, Ala.

The last update from the NWS says the storm reached a category 4 level with sustained winds of at least 130 mph. People near the eye of the storm were told to brace themselves as if a tornado were approaching.

Winds in a Category 4 storm can reach speeds of up to 156 mph that can damage roofs and exterior walls of framed homes, destroy mobile homes and uproot large trees.

The National Hurricane Center said the hurricane made its official landfall near Rockport about 10 p.m. between Port Aransas and Port O'Connor.

The landfall is considered official once the center of the eye of the storm crosses land.

EMERGENCY CONTACT: City releases number to call for broken traffic lights, downed tree limbs

Now Playing: Harvey storms across Texas Video: San Antonio Express-News

Tropical storm winds moving 39-73 miles per hour could arrive in San Antonio Friday night, officials said.

Hurricane Harvey is still expected to bring 6-12 inches of rain to most of San Antonio, while a swath of Texas east of Interstate 35 expected to receive 10-20 inches of rain could include parts of San Antonio and Austin, said Steve Smart, a meteorologist with the NWS.

The chance of precipitation is 80 percent on Saturday and drops to 60 percent Sunday night, according to the National Weather Service.

"This one is probably going to be a record-setting historic event," Smart said.

Areas south of I-10 near Cuero could receive 25 inches of rain.

Bexar County will be under a flash flood watch beginning at 1 p.m. Friday through Tuesday. The county is already under a tropical storm warning.

READ ALSO: Photos show inside the hurricane command center at AT&T Center

"Our confidence is very high that it will be raining this weekend," Smart said.

Evacuees from coastal towns began arriving in the Alamo City, where at least 6,000 beds are prepared, Friday morning. San Antonio buses are continuing to shuffle evacuees to and from the coast.

Mayor Ron Nirenberg and county officials declared the city and county local disaster areas, effectively activating San Antonio's emergency operations center.

RELATED: Evacuees fleeing Hurricane Harvey begin to arrive in San Antonio

Where Harvey will affect the San Antonio-area is uncertain it could move inland hitting Goliad, Victoria and Lavaca Counties, and it may stall and loop back out toward the Gulf, Smart said. Meteorologists do expect the San Antoino-area to receive a "tight gradient of rainfall," across the entire metro area.

"Residents should prepare accordingly while they still can Friday, Smart said.

"Please do not be out and about," Smart warned. "Monitor weather conditions and know what you'll do if you're caught in a dangerous situation."

Text HARVEY to 77453 to receive instant alerts on the massive Texas storm.

kbradshaw@express-news.net

Twitter: @kbrad5
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If theres one thing you can count on during stormy weather, its a proper hurricane party. And this one comes with a custom cocktail built in.

Specials on the Harvey Wallbanger, be it loyal reproductions of the quintessential 70s libation or sophisticated updates, could be found at a number of San Antonio bars Friday.

The drink is essentially a frat party screwdriver with a dab of European sophistication from the herbaceous Italian liqueur Galliano. Matt Collette, beverage director for Piatti at the Quarry, dubbed his updated version the Harvey Squallbanger, swapping the OJ for orange bitters, lemon juice and a float of extra dry prosecco.

The Harvey Wallbanger also is being featured at Cured in The Pearl and Krauses Biergarten + Cafe in New Braunfels.

Other bars feeling celebratory Friday according to their Facebook pages were The Gold Bar on South Flores, which posted on its Facebook page that it is open until they flood or run out of booze, and Chisme on the St. Marys Strip, which was holding a Hurricane Harvey Watch Party all weekend with hand-crafted hurricanes.

Bexar Pub, the mostly outdoor downtown pub, on Friday said it planned to be at 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday for hard Harvey partying, offering 16-ounce hurricanes.

Those hoping to go to a bar to catch Saturdays UFC match with Floyd Mayweather vs. Connor McGregor might face some trouble with that plan as several bars have canceled plans to show the fight in fear that not enough customers would show up to justify the price of buying rights to the broadcast.

Justin Vitek, co-owner of Hills & Dales explained that promoters charge an upfront fee based on a bars capacity  not actual viewership. As of Friday, he still planned to show the fight.

Other food businesses were being more cautious and somber. The New Braunfels Farmers Market, The Pearl Farmers and the Alamo Quarry Market farmers market all announced they would be closed all weekend.

Signature, Inspired by Chef Andrew Weissman, contacted those with reservations this weekend and also posted that the restaurant would be closed Saturday and Sunday. And Mixtli chef and co-owner Diego Galicia indicated on his personal Facebook page the Olmos Park restaurant would close Saturday.

Angelica Cortez, bakery manager of Mi Tierra Cafe y Panaderia, which famously never closes, claims they couldnt close the restaurant for the hurricane even if they wanted to; no one knows where the keys are.

According to Cortez, the only time the restaurant ever closed was during her grandfathers funeral in 1984. All of the employees wanted to pay their respects and be there, so, The San Antonio Police Department volunteered to come over and watch over the property (during the funeral), she said.

cblount@express-news.net
Idalia Molina, known as Ida to those close to her, spent her life dedicated in service to those around her, from her family and friends to strangers.

She embraced everybody, if someone needed help, she helped them out, said son Henry Galindo Jr. She touched so many lives.

Molina, a graduate of St. Francis Academy, stayed active with the St. Francis Alumnae Association, serving as the associations vice-president, and had a hand in many fundraising efforts to provide scholarships for underprivileged children to attend school.

The alumni association just had a big dance that was a huge success thanks to her, said Bernice Villanueva, also a St. Francis graduate and Molinas lifelong best friend.

In addition to her work with her alma mater, Molina would invite service members stationed in San Antonio to her house for holidays when they werent able to be with their families.

It helped me understand how loving and good of a person she is, her son said.

More for you Texas couple finds ring lost in tornado, immediately gets engaged

Molina died Aug. 19. She was 66.

A mother of three and a grandmother of four, Molina loved her family more than anything. From celebrating their accomplishments to keeping up with them online, she would always find a way to let her loved ones know she cared about them.

More Information Idalia Molina Born: Oct. 12, 1950, San Antonio Died: Aug. 19, 2017, San Antonio Preceded by: Parents Guillermo Molina Sr. and Juanita Molina Survived by: Son Henry Galindo Jr. and husband Matt; daughter Evelyn Galindo Leach and husband Kyle; son Daniel Galindo and fiancee Jacqueline; brother Guillermo Molina Jr. and his wife Adelina; brother Alfredo Molina and wife Susan; four grandchildren; and lifelong friend Bernice Villanueva Services: Funeral Mass at 10 a.m. today at St. James the Apostle Catholic Church, 907 W. Theo Ave. See More Collapse

When she got onto Facebook, she would interact with every single person, including my friends, her son said. She was interested in everyones lives and their happiness.

Molina enjoyed taking frequent beach and camping trips with her friends and family.

That was one of Idas favorite places. Taking long walks on the beach, picking up sand dollars and shells, said Judy Patterson, Molinas former sister-in-law.

When not at the coast, Molina would spend time shopping at Goodwill, looking for things to fill and customize her house.

She loved to salvage things, said son Daniel Galindo. She was never wasteful and could find a use for everything.

Molina also was a regular shopper at Chicos, so regular that she was asked to model for an area store.

Her wardrobe was an extension of her natural beauty, and she was known for always being put together, from her clothes to her hair to her poise.

She was so graceful and carried herself so well. She was one of those women who looked good no matter what she wore, said Patterson.

PRocha@express-news.net
To: Mar-a-Lago staff

From: DJT

Subject: Upcoming bookings at the club

Please note the following changes to our schedule for next season, which is no reflection of the terrific job we all have been doing  especially me  to make Mar-a-Lago and America great again.

The American Cancer Society event for 2018 has been canceled due to inclement weather.

The Cleveland Clinics annual fund-raiser and gala will be held elsewhere due to failings of Obamacare, which is collapsing miserably, buh-lieve me.

The American Friends of Magen David Adom, which raises money for Israels equivalent of the Red Cross, will not be joining us as previously scheduled next year due to radical Islamic terrorism.

Yes, I said those three words. A lot of people are thanking me for that.

Also, please scratch The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in New York from the schedule. I hear the reason is they expect a cure before the end of the year. Thats what Im hearing.

Theyre great people, the leukemia people. And they love me. But theyre saying, Donald, we desperately want to have an event at your club, but how could we with a cure? It changes the whole ballgame. Sad!

The Palm Beach Zoo wont be having their event at the club either. Which is fine by me. I like the animals that arent captured.

The American Red Cross told me they would really love to have their event at Mar-a-Lago next year, too. But I turned them down. Their breath has been very bad in the past.

Unfortunately, we also had to remove The Dana Farber Cancer Institute event from our calendar next year because it conflicts with a dinner I had scheduled with my advisers  Sean Hannity and the cast from Fox & Friends.

The Salvation Army Holiday Snow Ball will not be held at Mar-a-Lago so we can all say Merry Christmas again. Youre welcome.

The Susan G. Komen Foundation Perfect Pink Party gala will not be held at our club next year due to a scheduling conflict with the Night of the Tiki Torches gala held by some of the very fine people in the neo-Nazi community.

Youre going to have to also remove events by the The Autism Project of Palm Beach County, The Ryan Licht Sang Bipolar Foundation and Unicorn Childrens Foundation from the schedule next season due to wet paint.

Ive also been informed by my daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, that her charity, the Big Dog Ranch Rescue, would not be holding its event at the club next year. On a related note, please reassign my son Erics bedroom at the club to the Russian ambassador.

Ive had to also remove The Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach event from the clubs schedule. Unfortunately, theyve done very little to preserve our beautiful Confederate statues across America. So no great loss there.

In the near future, we will be partnering with some very impressive preservation foundations, my attorney general tells me. Stay tuned!

The Lois Pope Life Foundation and Leaders in Furthering Education is canceling its event at the club due to concerns over excessive government regulations put in place by the Obama administration as well as wiretapping of the club by the FBI.

This will be fixed sooner rather than later. That I can tell you.

And finally, The Kravis Centers Palm Beach Wine Auction Dinner will not be held at the club. We had to move them out in order to make room for a Friends of the Confederacy Slave Auction Dinner inadvertently scheduled on that same night.

If there are other cancellations and schedule changes, I will let you know and tell you the truth about whats really going on, because theres a lot of fake news out there that is trying to make these schedule changes sound like some kind of rebuke of my presidency.

Which as you know is going very, very, very well. Thats what everybody is telling me. They cant believe how smooth everything is going and how much Ive already accomplished in such a short time.

Got to go, now. Some other charity group is on the line calling to congratulate me..

Frank Cerabino writes for The Palm Beach Post. Email: fcerabino(at)pbpost.com
For more than a week, the headlines have been splashed across news outlets: Texas governor signs rape insurance bill into law and Rape insurance abortion coverage becomes Texas law.

Its shocking language and no doubt generates clicks and outrage alike. The problem is that while this characterization isnt technically inaccurate, it sensationalizes the issue while ignoring many who will be harmed by Texas latest outrageous restriction on abortion.

At the close of this summers special session, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law a ban on private insurance coverage of abortion in Texas. This bill bans private insurers from including abortion in health insurance, which historically has been covered until and unless politicians interfere. Because of the new ban, anyone who wants insurance coverage for abortion will have to buy supplemental coverage, adding expenses to their monthly premiums and forcing people to guess whether they might need an abortion.

Of course, a huge problem with this bill is that we rarely anticipate our exact health care needs  thats why we have insurance in the first place. Not every woman who needs prenatal coverage would have guessed so in advance, nor would every person who might end up needing X-rays or antibiotics. In the case of abortion, which is most often necessary due to an unwanted pregnancy, asking someone to anticipate the unintended is unreasonable and insulting. Its worth noting that abortion is the only health care excluded by statute from private insurance plans.

This new ban will effectively eliminate abortion coverage in Texas. The state already denies abortion coverage to low-income people enrolled in Medicaid. So how did a bill that takes away insurance coverage for abortion from even more people become a rape insurance bill?

During the course of floor debate regarding the bill, House Democrats offered an amendment that would allow insurers to cover abortion care sought because of rape. Ultimately the amendment was rejected, meaning that under this new Texas law, someone who becomes pregnant as a result of rape will have to pay for an abortion out-of-pocket if she didnt anticipate the possibility and buy a separate insurance policy to cover abortion care.

I was truly heartened to see legislators take on rape culture on the House floor. However, there are two serious problems with the subsequent focus on rape insurance.

First, bans on abortion coverage that include exceptions for pregnancy caused by rape dont actually work. Research has shown that these exceptions are poorly enforced and often unknown to patients and Medicaid personnel. In rare cases when someone is able to get abortion coverage, it may mean having to submit doctors notes and police reports proving the rape.

The second problem with an overemphasis on abortion coverage bans as rape insurance is that it renders invisible and unimportant anyone who might need an abortion for a reason other than rape, or who is not willing to put their reasons for needing an abortion up for the scrutiny of strangers. No one should be forced to prove that their reason for needing an abortion is good enough or extreme enough  this is a personal decision each of us should make for ourselves.

Every day, at the Texas Equal Access Fund, we hear from Texans who are making the best possible decisions for their unique circumstances. Some of our callers are survivors of sexual assault; most are not. All are harmed when politicians push abortion out of reach.

Rape is a horrific crime, a form of all-too-common gender-based violence that must be stopped. Survivors should be supported, and they should be able to get whatever health care they need to heal and continue their lives, whether thats counseling, emergency contraception or an abortion.

But the harms of abortion coverage bans are so much broader.

We need to talk about the widespread harms of abortion-coverage bans. In doing so, lets not imply that one decision is more valid or one person more valuable than another who also needs affordable reproductive health care.

Nan Little Kirkpatrick is executive director of Texas Equal Access Fund, the abortion fund that serves northern Texas. She wrote this for InsideSources.com.
Imagine how many lives would be saved and injuries avoided if each of the hate groups (white, black, brown, etc.) would stay away from each others legal protests and marches. Like it or not, there are haters in each of the groups. This would, of course, include the press (print, internet and TV) also staying away.

Let those with legal permits march and rally with no coverage outside of their own audiences. I bet few people would give a fig, and the rest of us could get on with our lives without the sensationalism that comes with 24-hour coverage of these events every day. I, for one, no longer read most of the newspaper, watch TV or view internet news sites.

Cindy Peters

Listen to history

Those who wish to erect true monuments to learn from the history of the Confederacy should know the monuments would be to misguided hubris.

From the first volley by the rebels at Fort Sumter, it was predetermined that the South would lose and its people would endure untold suffering. The North had too much might, and that peculiar institution of one man owning another man was becoming unsupportable.

Charles A. Schmidt

Statues and treason

I understand that Confederate statues mark a history, but its a history that doesnt deserve lionization in stone and metal.

In San Antonio, the debate centers around a statue of a Confederate soldier in a park. Not far away, equality activists are requesting a rainbow-colored crosswalk to show support for the LGBTQ community.

They are connected and must be approached in concert. The statue should come down and the painting should commence to show our support for equality and justice over freedom to commit treason, to own other human beings and to spew hatred. Let us not forget that the Confederacy rebelled against the United States of America. Thats called treason.

William O. Pate II
HARARE provincial magistrate Mr Elisha Singano has issued a fresh warrant allowing the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) to search and seize all documents relevant to its investigations of whether or not University of Zimbabwe Vice Chancellor Professor Levy Nyagura corruptly awarded former First Lady Grace Ntombizodwa Mugabe a doctoral degree.

The same magistrate issued the first warrant on February 12 this year, but the High Court stopped its execution on February 16.

ZACC successfully applied for a fresh warrant, which was issued on February 19 this year.

The UZ says it got wind of the new search warrant on March 7.

In a bid to block the execution of the warrant, the UZs lawyers Chihambakwe, Mutizwa & Partners, filed an urgent chamber application seeking nullification of the document.

The High Court is yet to set the matter down for hearing.

Mr Singano directed the registrar or any other senior official at the UZ to provide a set of relevant documents, records and articles to the investigators.

The documents include Mrs Mugabes pre-registration application form, her research proposal submitted to the Department of Sociology, minutes of departmental board assigning a supervisor to Mrs Mugabe, academic certificates of her supervisor, minutes showing that the doctoral degree passed through the academic committee, and minutes of the UZ Senate recommending to the University Council the conferment of the doctorate to Mrs Mugabe.

Mr Singano also directed the university to allow ZACC access to minutes of the University Council recommending to the University Chancellor the conferment of the doctorate to Mrs Mugabe, copies of progress reports at Post Graduate Centre, copies of contract of research assistant and contract of teaching assistant in respect of Mr Justice Tandire.

ZACC must also be furnished with the UZ Faculty Ordinance number 44, UZ quality assurance guidelines and benchmarks for management and supervision of higher degrees by research, General Academic Regulations for Post-Graduate Degrees of the university of Zimbabwe 1998/99 Volume 11, as well as copies of the transcript, notification and Doctor of Philosophy Degree awarded to Mrs Mugabe.

In the urgent chamber application filed at the High Court on Thursday, the UZ argued the warrant of search and seizure was invalid. The affidavit relied upon by ZACC when applying for the warrant was fraught with inconsistencies, it said.

From paragraphs 5,6,7, 8 and 9 of the affidavit, it is alleged that the accused person acted without knowledge and approval of various UZ officials, bodies and councils but the warrant seeks, in bulletin points 9,12, 13,14 and 15 to paragraph 13, minutes of meetings of the officials, bodies, and councils approving the process in which it is alleged that the accused acted without knowledge and approval, reads the application.

The UZ also argued that the commissioning of the affidavit was questionable, rendering it defective and invalid.

The person who signed as commissioner of oaths has a stamp which is not that of a commissioner of oaths, reads the application.

The stamp merely states that the person who signed is the officer-in-charge at Avondale Police Station. Further, the signing of an affidavit deposed to by a member of the ZRP by an alleged commissioner of oaths who is a member of the ZRP is a violation of Section 2(1) of the Justices of Peace and Commissioners of Oaths (General) Regulations, 1998 (SIB 183/1998).

There is therefore no properly commissioned affidavit upon which the warrant could have been issued.

 Chronicle

Breaking News via Email
Government has activated health emergency systems to respond to the Covid-19 variant  B.1.1.529  detected in neighboring countries, South Africa and Botswana.

The variant described as, the worst one weve seen so far is not yet in Zimbabwe.

This particular variant has presented the world with a huge challenge and fears of the latest mutant has sparked Africa travel curbs starting with the United Kingdom temporarily suspending direct flights from some Southern African countries including Zimbabwe.

Vice President and Minister of Health and Child Care Dr Constantino Chiwenga urged the nation to remain calm and told a Health Professions Authority congress this morning that Zimbabwe has to escalate its response mechanism to contain the new variant.

Zimbabwe has so far defied the odds with a thorough and effective response to the pandemic, including a comprehensive curb of the highly infectious  B.1. 617  widely known as the Indian variant.

With regards to the recent new Covid-19 variants being reported in the media, the country should not panic because we are very prepared, said Vice President Chiwenga.

The ramping up of our vaccination programme in the past month has seen marked increase in the vaccination uptake.

We remain focused on this very critical initiative that is designed to protect the nation from the negative impact of any new variants.

Meanwhile, our scientists are already doing genomic sequencing for identification of any new variants hence help support timely strengthening of our response, said VP Chiwenga.

 Herald

Breaking News via Email
Owing to inordinate delays in the appointment of vice presidents, President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who leaves for an investors meeting in South Africa today, could be forced to appoint a Cabinet minister to act in his absence.

Unless the 75-year-old politician, who is also a qualified lawyer, appoints his deputies and swears them into office before he leaves, he may make a first in the countrys history by appointing a Cabinet minister to act as president in his absence.

The only other way to escape the knotty power vacuum that may be occasioned by this would be to return from his trip on the same day.

Mnangagwa has so far kept the nation on tenterhooks by deferring the announcement of his two deputies.

Recent events in the military, which played a crucial role in his rise to power, however, betray a re-configuration of forces that puts former army commander Constantino Chiwenga in good stead to become one of the two vice presidents (VPs).

In terms of the ruling partys constitution, Mnangagwa must appoint one of the two VPs in line with the Unity Accord, signed between former president Robert Mugabe (Zanu) and Joshua Nkomo (Zapu) in 1987 to end the disturbances that rocked the Midlands and Matabeleland provinces in the 1980s.

Until recently, that position was occupied by Phelekezela Mphoko who was swept aside by the wave triggered by the military intervention in Zanu PFs internal affairs last month.

Among those leading the race to deputise Mnangagwa on the Zapu side are former minister of State for Mashonaland East province Ambrose Mutinhiri, former War Veterans minister Tshinga Dube and Defence and State Security minister Kembo Mohadi.

Under the current Constitution, there are two provisions that deal with the appointment of an acting president.

The first provision provides that whenever the president is absent from Zimbabwe or is unable to exercise his functions due to illness or some other cause, those functions must be exercised by the first vice president or in his absence, the second vice president.

Under this provision, where there is no vice president, this role is assumed by a minister who is designated by the president for such a scenario or is nominated by Cabinet.

The second provision is s. 14(3) of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, which provides that where there are two vice presidents, the president may nominate one of them to be acting president in his absence or where he is unable to exercise his functions due to illness or for any other reason.

Constitutional law expert Lovemore Madhuku said Mnangagwa, who came to power last month after the fall of former president Robert Mugabe, is playing a dangerous game by delaying the appointment of his deputies as provided for in the Constitution.

Under the Constitution, he can appoint a deputy from Cabinet with Cabinet approval. But it is a very dangerous game that he is playing. He cannot continue working without ministers or deputies. Perhaps he would have appointed the deputies before he leaves for South Africa. But if not that, that will be the first time that happens in the country, said Madhuku.

Another constitutional law guru Craig Lennington said the Constitution allows for the president to appoint anyone from his Cabinet to be the acting president.

He can appoint ministers to be the acting presidents if there is no vice president; the Cabinet of which the president is a member can appoint a minister to be acting president, said Lennington.

Mnangagwa is making his first trip to South Africa since he became president late, last month.

He is due to hold an interface meeting with potential investors while in South Africa.

Zimbabwes ambassador to South Africa Isaac Moyo has invited Zimbabweans doing business in the rainbow nation and all business persons with an interest in investing in Zimbabwe to the meeting to be addressed by Mnangagwa. DailyNews

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CHICOPEE, Mass.  The owner of the Pride convenience store location that sold the winning Powerball ticket will donate the stores share to charity, the Boston Globe reports. A single ticket won the $758.7 million Powerball jackpot on Wednesday.

Initially, the Massachusetts State Lottery indicated a Watertown convenience store had sold the winning ticket, only to correct that statement early Thursday to the Pride Station & Store in Chicopee, which is owned by Bob Bolduc. Bolduc owns the Pride chain and is a NACS member.

We apologize for the confusion this created and remain thrilled that a jackpot winning ticket and two $1 million winning tickets were sold here in Massachusetts, said Michael Sweeney, executive director for the state lottery.

Before the winner came forward, Bolduc told reporters yesterday that we hope that they share it properly, also, because theres a lot of needs in this area. For his portionaround $50,000Bolduc plans to donate all of it to local charities.

His 30 Pride locations in Connecticut and Massachusetts have sold winning lottery tickets before, including four $1 million tickets and a single $4 million ticket. This location has had some big ones, he said of the Chicopee store.

Bolduc also mentioned that the family business is already celebrating 100 years, so selling the winning ticket is icing on the cake.
First Bank of Nigeria Limited (FirstBank) is Nigerias largest financial services institution by total assets and gross earnings. With more than 10 million customer accounts, FirstBank has over 750 branches providing a comprehensive range of retail and corporate financial services.The Bank has international presence through its subsidiaries, FBN Bank (UK) Limited in London and Paris, FBNBank DRC, FBNBank Ghana, FBNBank Gambia, FBNBank Guinea, FBNBank Sierra-Leone and FBNBank Senegal, as well as its Representative Offices in Johannesburg, Beijing and Abu Dhabi.Requisition ID: 1700001YLocation: LagosJob Code: STR/EBIZ/195Schedule: RegularJob Type: Full-timeOne of the strategic themes of the Banks 2019 strategy is to create a digitized bank, automating key customer journeys and core banking processes. In line with this strategy, the Management Committee (ManCo) has approved the launch of the FirstBank Digital Lab.The vision is for the lab to drive innovation in the Banks digital product engine and ultimately pioneer a new wave of better, faster, and more efficient products.FirstBank Digital Lab is designed to be an innovation hub with a customer centric approach to rapidly simulate innovative solutions to real-life industry challenges. In addition, the lab will serve as a platform for the Bank to collaborate with and advance the Nigerian technology ecosystem with a focus on financial technology (FinTech).To facilitate a smooth take-off of the inaugural FirstBank Digital Lab, we are seeking to engage suitably qualified, dynamic, innovative, competent and self-motivated individuals with the right skill set, who wish to be part of this Project in the following capacities:Reporting to the Group Head, E-Business, the ideal candidate will have overall responsibility to execute relevant initiative within the Banks overall digital banking strategy, deploy superior digital experiences across the online and mobile banking platforms while also ensuring that the framework for the project is strictly adhered.Specific responsibilities amongst others include:Identify, collect, analyze and validate key business requirements for the projectDrive data collection, research and analysisChampion effective stakeholder engagement with external and internal customers to deliver on the projects functional requirementsSupport development of clear business case/impact assessment for the projectDevelop detailed work plan and monitor progress of the Project, and ensure timeliness and anticipated quality of deliverablesA minimum of Bachelor'sDegree /HND in finance and e-commerce or any related discipline.Minimum of 10 years years relevant banking experience in finance, strategy and/or digital banking with at least 7  8 years in a Senior Management roleExcellent knowledge of Electronic payment card systems and e-channelsGood working knowledge of Project Management and Agile MethodologyExceptional stakeholder management skillsSound Industry knowledgeGood knowledge of computer usageExcellent presentation skillsRequisition ID: 1700001TLocation: LagosJob Code: STR/1EBIZ/199Schedule: RegularJob Type: Full-timeOne of the strategic themes of the Banks 2019 strategy is to create a digitized bank, automating key customer journeys and core banking processes. In line with this strategy, the Management Committee (ManCo) has approved the launch of the FirstBank Digital Lab. The vision is for the lab to drive innovation in the Banks digital product engine and ultimately pioneer a new wave of better, faster, and more efficient products.FirstBank Digital Lab is designed to be an innovation hub with a customer centric approach to rapidly simulate innovative solutions to real-life industry challenges. In addition, the lab will serve as a platform for the Bank to collaborate with and advance the Nigerian technology ecosystem with a focus on financial technology (FinTech).To facilitate a smooth take-off of the inaugural FirstBank Digital Lab, we are seeking to engage suitably qualified, dynamic, innovative, competent and self-motivated individuals with the right skill set, who wish to be part of this Project in the following capacities:Reporting to the Head, Internal Control & Enhancement Group, the ideal candidate will have overall responsibility for enforcing the governance framework while maintaining a dotted reporting line to the Group Head, E-Business.Specific responsibilities amongst others include:Partnering closely and Providing governance framework to the product conceptualization and design teamEngaging stakeholders to determine necessary inbuilt controls in e-Payment and alternative channels applications.Providing support to the product conceptualization and development teams by identifying possible risks embedded in the products/processes developed and proffering mitigants.Key Requirements:A minimum of Bachelor's Degree/HND in Business, Information Technology or any numerate related field.Sound knowledge of product development and controlExcellent knowledge of Application security and controlMust be self-solution driven, proactive and have acceptable knowledge of the business environmentGood working knowledge of Risk Control & GovernanceEligibility:Control Officers is open to staff between BO - AM gradesRequisition ID: 1700001SLocation: LagosJob Code: STR/EBIZ/197Schedule: RegularShift: StandardJob Type: Full-timeOne of the strategic themes of the Banks 2019 strategy is to create a digitized bank, automating key customer journeys and core banking processes. In line with this strategy, the Management Committee (ManCo) has approved the launch of the FirstBank Digital Lab. The vision is for the lab to drive innovation in the Banks digital product engine and ultimately pioneer a new wave of better, faster, and more efficient products.FirstBank Digital Lab is designed to be an innovation hub with a customer centric approach to rapidly simulate innovative solutions to real-life industry challenges. In addition, the lab will serve as a platform for the Bank to collaborate with and advance the Nigerian technology ecosystem with a focus on financial technology (FinTech).To facilitate a smooth take-off of the inaugural FirstBank Digital Lab, we are seeking to engage suitably qualified, dynamic, innovative, competent and self-motivated individuals with the right skill set, who wish to be part of this Project in the following capacities:Reporting to the Team Lead, Product Conceptualization & Design Leader, ideal candidate will overall responsibility for developing project rationale and scoping assessments to determine feasibility of the projects.Specific responsibilities amongst others include:Developing project justification and performing scoping assessments to determine feasibility products and projectsDigital market insight and intelligence gathering, weekly competitor activity reports, local and internal week-in-view reports for financial services industry.Partnering closely with Business leaders and stakeholders across Segments e.g. Product & Marketing, Corporate Transformation, Retail Banking Group and Channels Management in aligning and prioritizing investment and execution priorities.Leading the digital transformation of the entire customer journey across all channels and contributing to the innovative perceptual shift drive with the aid of new technologies.Rapidly convert ideas into working prototypes in simulated environmentKey Requirements:A minimum of Bachelor's Degree /HND in Business, Information Technology or any Sciences or Engineering related field.Minimum of 4 years relevant post-graduation experience 1 year of which must have been in relationship management with internal business customers.Sound knowledge of Requirements Definition and Management (REQM 3)Exceptional Portfolio, Programme and Project Support skillsAbility to anticipate future consequences and trends accuratelyEligibility:Team Members, Product Conceptualization & Design is open to staff between BA - SBO gradesRequisition ID: 1700001ULocation: LagosJob Code: STR/EBIZ/198Schedule: RegularJob Type: Full-timeOne of the strategic themes of the Banks 2019 strategy is to create a digitized bank, automating key customer journeys and core banking processes. In line with this strategy, the Management Committee (ManCo) has approved the launch of the FirstBank Digital Lab. The vision is for the lab to drive innovation in the Banks digital product engine and ultimately pioneer a new wave of better, faster, and more efficient products.FirstBank Digital Lab is designed to be an innovation hub with a customer centric approach to rapidly simulate innovative solutions to real-life industry challenges. In addition, the lab will serve as a platform for the Bank to collaborate with and advance the Nigerian technology ecosystem with a focus on financial technology (FinTech).To facilitate a smooth take-off of the inaugural FirstBank Digital Lab, we are seeking to engage suitably qualified, dynamic, innovative, competent and self-motivated individuals with the right skill set, who wish to be part of this Project in the following capacities:Reporting to the Head, Digital Lab, the ideal candidate will have responsibility for managing a team of developers and system testers in developing and innovating technologies as well as system designing and working closely with the solution Architect in transforming the customer experience.Specific responsibilities amongst others include:Translating ideas into engineering design and logical units of tasksEvaluating technical feasibility and implementation of deployable itemsWriting and verifying codes and ensuring strict adherence to acceptable criteriaEngage product owners to develop products that creates value to customer in line with product development best practicesA minimum of Bachelor's/HND Degree in Business, Information Technology or any numerate related field.Minimum of 6 years' experience in Design and Development of SolutionsSound knowledge of Project team ManagementGood experience with Agile and test-driven development, and behavioral driven developmentAdvanced knowledge of object oriented design principlesRobust experience with continuous integration (Jenkins) and version control (Git)Requisition ID: 1700001RLocation: LagosJob Code: STR/EBIZ/196Schedule: RegularShift: StandardJob Type: Full-timeOne of the strategic themes of the Banks 2019 strategy is to create a digitized bank, automating key customer journeys and core banking processes. In line with this strategy, the Management Committee (ManCo) has approved the launch of the FirstBank Digital Lab. The vision is for the lab to drive innovation in the Banks digital product engine and ultimately pioneer a new wave of better, faster, and more efficient products.FirstBank Digital Lab is designed to be an innovation hub with a customer centric approach to rapidly simulate innovative solutions to real-life industry challenges. In addition, the lab will serve as a platform for the Bank to collaborate with and advance the Nigerian technology ecosystem with a focus on financial technology (FinTech).To facilitate a smooth take-off of the inaugural FirstBank Digital Lab, we are seeking to engage suitably qualified, dynamic, innovative, competent and self-motivated individuals with the right skill set, who wish to be part of this Project in the following capacities:Reporting to the Head, Digital Lab, the ideal candidate will be responsible for driving product roadmaps and supporting the product teams to bring products to market.Specific responsibilities amongst others include:Provide leadership to the product teams including owners and designers.Conducting market scan and presenting reports of new trends on products/services offerings within the financial and technology (Fintech) industry while identifying opportunities for the BankCo-ordinating the product development team by conducting ideation sessions to shape and refine ideas/opportuities into marketable product concepts.Developing business and commercial launch plans for feasible products under the leadership of Head, Digital LabPresent the long and short term product visionResponsible for interfacing directly with the development team to ensure delivery on agreed tasksTeam Lead, Product Conceptualization & Design:A minimum of Bachelor's/HND Degree in Computer Science or Engineering or any related field.Minimum of five (5) years relevant banking experience in product management and development.Sound operational knowledge of electronic payment System and Channels Management.Excellent knowledge of Data Gathering and Statistical AnalysisGood knowledge of financial services industryUnderstanding of the Banks operational processes.Eligibility:Team Lead, Product Conceptualization & Design position is open to staff on AM  MGR grades.Click on Job Title below:HEAD, DIGITAL LABCONTROL OFFICERTEAM MEMBERS, PRODUCT CONCEPTUALIZATION & DESIGNTEAM LEAD, APPLICATION DEVELOPMENTPRODUCT CONCEPTUALIZATION & DESIGN LEADER
Tipperary County Council opened the proposed new Fethard amenity area between Burke Street and Barrack Street for the public to view on Tuesday afternoon, August 8.

Although the weather was unfavourable, many people still braved the elements and came to see the extent of land available for development and the section of Fethard's medieval town wall currently hidden from public view.

The general consensus of those present that the first priority should be to open the area to the public when the area was cleared and made safe, followed by the installation of good lighting, CCTV cameras and a gated entrance on both ends that would be opened and closed by a local community group. Clare Lee, representing Tipperary County Council, stated that presently only limited funding is available but further development could possible be added at a later date.

The next stage will present a proposed landscaping plan for the area designed by experts in other similar projects completed around Ireland. The plans will then need to go through the planning process, which will also be open to public consultation and submissions.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg praised Poland for making important contributions to the Alliance during a visit to Warsaw on Friday (25 August 2017). He highlighted Polands contributions to NATO operations in Afghanistan and Kosovo, training in Iraq, and thanked Poland for hosting key NATO commands and capabilities. Mr. Stoltenberg also welcomed Polands leadership on defence spending, by meeting the NATO benchmark of investing 2% of GDP in defence.

In Warsaw, Mr. Stoltenberg recalled the importance of the decisions taken by Allies at NATOs 2016 summit in the Polish capital, which led to the greatest reinforcement of the Alliances collective defence since the end of the Cold War. We have tripled the size of the NATO Response Force, established new headquarters in the east of the Alliance and enhanced our forward presence here in Poland, as well as in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, Mr Stoltenberg said.

Commenting on Russias ZAPAD military exercise, scheduled for September in Belarus and western Russia, Mr Stoltenberg said NATO would be watching closely. He further urged Russia to respect its commitments to military transparency and the OSCE. "All nations have the right to exercise their forces, but nations should also respect their commitments to transparency, he said.

While in Warsaw, Mr Stoltenberg held talks with Polish President Andrzej Duda, Prime Minister Beata Szydlo, Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski, and Defence Minister Antoni Macierewicz. He also participated in a trilateral meeting with Polish Foreign Minister Waszczykowski, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Melesscanu, which focused on current security challenges and preparations for next year's NATO summit in Brussels.

The Secretary General wrapped up his trip to Poland by visiting a 1,200-strong multinational NATO battlegroup stationed in the northeastern town of Orzysz. The NATO battlegroup is one of four in the Baltic nations and Poland established following Russias illegal annexation of Crimea. Mr Stoltenberg noted that NATOs forces in the eastern part of the Alliance were a key outcome of the Warsaw Summit, adding that they show Europe and North America standing united.
(As delivered)

Thank you so much, Prime Minister Szydo.

Its great to be back here in Warsaw. Poland was the first country I visited as Secretary General when I was appointed back in 2014. And I really appreciate our close cooperation and all the contributions of Poland to our shared security, to our collective defence.

And as you mentioned, one year ago, we had a very successful Summit of NATO here in Warsaw where we made many important decisions on how to adapt, how to change NATO in response to a changing and more demanding security environment. We made the decision to strengthen our deterrence and our defence, and to project stability beyond our borders, not least to fight terrorism. And after the Warsaw Summit we have implemented the greatest reinforcement of our collective defence since the end of the Cold War. We have tripled the size of the NATO Response Force, established new headquarters in the east of the Alliance and enhanced our forward presence here in Poland, as well as in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

Poland has played a leading role in these efforts. Contributing to our shared security, with exercises on land, at sea and in the air, guarding the airspace of our Baltic neighbours and hosting key NATO facilities, including our Multinational Corps Northeast. And from next year, a site for NATOs Ballistic Missile Defence.

You also helped to project stability beyond our borders, with hundreds of Polish soldiers serving in Afghanistan and Kosovo. And the Polish air force contributes to the global fight to defeat ISIS in the Middle East. And Poland leads by example on defence spending, by investing 2% of GDP on defence. And I also welcome very much your commitment to further increase Polish defence spending.

Today, during our meeting, we discussed the importance of NATOs presence in Poland. In Orzysz, your forces train together with American, British and Romanian troops. Our multinational battlegroups in Poland and also the battlegroups we have in Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania are signs of NATOs unity, strength and resolve. Sending a clear message  that an attack on one Ally is an attack on the whole Alliance. We are here to prevent conflict, not to provoke conflict.

When tensions run high, dialogue is even more important. Thats why NATO has always kept channels of communication open with Russia.

At last months meeting of the NATO-Russia Council, Russia briefed on the ZAPAD exercise 2017.

And we will be watching very closely as it takes place next month. All nations have the right to exercise their forces, but nations should also respect their commitments to transparency.

So I call on Russia to ensure compliance with its obligations under the OSCEs Vienna Document. Because predictability, transparency, is especially important when we have increased military activity along our borders. The Vienna Document is the best platform to ensure predictability and transparency related to military exercises and military activity.

So Prime Minister Szydo, thank you once again for your leadership.

And thank you once again for hosting me and my delegation here in Warsaw. Thank you.
(Natural News) As America grapples with alleviating the opioid addiction crisis that killed more than 30,000 people in the country in 2015, the debate rages on over the best way to tackle the issue. One aspect many people can agree on, however, is the fact that doctors are overprescribing these dangerous drugs, spurring addictions that can eventually send patients to the street to get their next high once their prescription runs out.

Why are so many doctors prescribing these pills despite the dangers? The answer is simple: money. A study out of the Boston Medical Centers Grayken Center for Addiction Medicine that was published in the American Journal of Public Health revealed that one out of every 12 American doctors has received at least one payment from an opioid pharmaceutical company. It was the first national, wide-scale study that focused specifically on opioid-related industry payments.

They reached their conclusions after analyzing the database for the Open Payments program from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. In the U.S., drug companies are required to report every payment they make to doctors under the Physician Payment Sunshine Act. The researchers honed in on opioid-related payments that were made from August 2013 to December 2015. These included not only direct payments but also meals, consulting fees, travel reimbursement, and speaking fees.

More than 375,000 non-research payments related to opioids were shelled out to 68,177 doctors during the period studied, to the tune of $46,158,388. The average payment might have been just $15, but the top one percent of physicians  681 doctors in total received more than $38 million combined. Food and drink payments were the most common type of reimbursement, accounting for 94 percent of all payments, but speaking fees accounted for the most money overall.

Payments influence prescribing habits regardless of amount

Even when payments are small, past research has shown that drug company payments lead to increased prescriptions from doctors. One study last year found that doctors who accepted just one meal that was sponsored by a pharmaceutical company were significantly more likely to prescribe name-brand drugs to patients afterward.

The researchers of the current study believe that inappropriate prescriptions are playing a big role in the nations opioid-related deaths, and they suggest that policy makers place a cap on opioid-associated payments given to doctors by drug companies. They also believe that mandatory prescriber education might be needed to counteract the influence Big Pharma has on prescribing behavior.

The White House Office of National Drug Control Policys former director, Michael Botticelli, who is now the Grayken Centers Executive Director, said that one of the epidemics main drivers was the vast overprescription of painkillers.

He wrote: Pharmaceutical companies should take responsibility for how these payments are contributing to the growing epidemic.

Physicians also have a role to play by prescribing judiciously and advancing safe opioid prescribing education on the front lines.

Even the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say that doctors are driving the crisis by prescribing opioids to too many people over periods that are too lengthy and in doses that are simply too high.? Another problem is that pharmaceutical companies devote more time and effort to marketing opioids than they do to less addictive painkillers.

A study that was published in the Annals of Internal Medicine discovered that 38 percent of U.S. adults were prescribed opioid painkillers in 2015 in a finding that even surprised the studys authors, illustrating the extent of this problem. Five percent of American adults misuse opioids in some way, which equates to 11.5 million people. These are frightening statistics and something needs to be done about the shameful behavior of Big Pharma and the doctors who are irresponsibly prescribing these drugs, creating addicts and destroying lives.

Sources include:

DailyMail.co.uk

NBCNews.com

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) Over the past 35 years, Ive exposed as least as much fraudulent science as any reporter around. Thats just a fact.

(Article by Jon Rappoport republished from Jonrappoport.wordpress.com)

I mention it, because one would expect Ive learned a few lessons in the process.

And I have.

Government-backed science exists because it is a fine weapon to use, in order to force an agenda of control over the population.

We arent talking about knowledge here. Knowledge is irrelevant. What counts is: How can we fabricate something that looks like the truth?

I keep pointing this out: were dealing with reality builders. In this case, they make their roads and fences and buildings out of data, and they massage and invent the data out of thin air to suit their purposes. After all, they also invent money out of thin air.

Since 1987, one of my goals as a reporter has been to educate the public about false science.

Between then and now, I have found that, with remarkably few exceptions, mainstream reporters are studiously indifferent to false science.

They shy away from it. They pretend it couldnt be. They refuse to consider facts. They and their editors parrot the experts.

Official science has a stranglehold on major media. It has the force of a State religion. When you stop and think about it, official science is, in a significant sense, a holy church. Therefore, it is no surprise that the churchs spokespeople would wield power over major information outlets.

These prelates invent, guard, and dispense what is known. That was precisely the role of the Roman Church in times past. And those professionals within the modern Church of Science are severely punished when they leave the fold and accuse their former masters of lies and crimes. They are blackballed, discredited, and stripped of their licenses. At the very least.

Totalitarian science lets you know youre living in a totalitarian society.

The government, the press, the mega-corporations, the prestigious foundations, the academic institutions, the humanitarian organizations say:

This is the disease. This is its name. This is what causes it. This is the drug that treats it. This is the vaccine that prevents it.

This is how accurate diagnosis is done. These are the tests. These are the possible results and what they mean.

Here are the genes. This is what they do. This is how they can be changed and substituted and manipulated. These are the outcomes.

These are the data and the statistics. They are correct. There can be no argument about them.

This is life. These are the components of life. All change and improvement result from our management of the components.

This is the path. It is governed by truth which our science reveals. Walk the path. We will inform you when you stray. We will report new improvements.

This is the end. You can go no farther. You must give up the ghost. We will remember you.

We are now witnessing the acceleration of Official Science. Of course, that term is an internal contradiction. But the State shrugs and moves forward.

The notion that the State can put its seal on favored science, enforce it, and punish its competitors, is anathema to a free society.

For example: declaring that psychiatrists can appear in court as expert witnesses, when none of the 300 so-called mental disorders listed in the psychiatric literature are diagnosed by laboratory tests.

For example: stating that vaccination is mandatory, in order to protect the vaccinated (who are supposed to be immune) from the unvaccinated. An absurdity on its face.

For example: announcing that the science of climate change is settled, when there are, in fact, huge numbers of researchers who disagree. And then, drafting legislation and issuing executive orders based on the decidedly unsettled science.

For example: officially approving the release and sale of medical drugs (safe and effective) which go on to kill, at a conservative estimate, 100,000 Americans every year. And then refusing to investigate or punish the agents of these drug approvals (the FDA).

For example: permitting the widespread use of genetically modified food crops, based on no studies of their impact on human health. And then, arbitrarily announcing that the herbicide, Roundup, for which many of these crops are specifically designed, is non-toxic.

For example: declaring and promoting the existence of various epidemics, when the viruses purportedly causing them are not proven to exist or not proven to cause human illness (SARS, West Nile, Swine Flu, etc.)

A few of you reading this have been with me since 1988, when I published my first book, AIDS INC., Scandal of the Century. Among other conclusions, I pointed out that HIV had never been shown to cause human illness; the front-line drug given to AIDS patients, AZT, was overwhelmingly toxic; and what was being called AIDS was actually a diverse number immune-suppressing conditions.

Others of you have found my work more recently. I always return to the subject of false science, because it is the most powerful long-term instrument for repression, political control, and destruction of human life.

As Ive stated on many occasions, medical science is ideal for mounting and launching covert ops aimed at populationsbecause it appears to be politically neutral, without any allegiance to State interests.

Unfortunately, medical science, on many fronts, has been hijacked and taken over. The profit motive is one objective, but beyond that, there is a more embracing goal:

Totalitarian control.

On the issue of vaccines, Ive written much about their dangers and ineffectiveness. But also consider this: the push for mandatory vaccination goes a long way toward creating a herd effectwhich is really a social construction.

In other words, parents are propagandized to think of themselves as a kind of synthetic artificial community.

Here we are. We are the fathers and mothers. We must all protect our children against the outliers, the rebels, the defectors, the crazy ones who refuse to vaccinate their own children. We are all in this together. They are the threat. The enemy. We are good. We know the truth. They are evil.

This community of the willing are dedicated to what the government tells them. They are crusaders imbued with group-think. They run around promoting safety and protection. This group consciousness is entirely an artifact, propelled by official science.

The crusaders are, in effect, agents of the State.

They are created by the State.

Androids.

They live in an absurd Twilight Zone where fear of germs (the tiny invisible terrorists) demands coercive action against the individuals who see through the whole illusion.

This is what official science can achieve. This is how it can enlist obedient foot soldiers and spies who dont have the faintest idea about how theyre being used.

This is a variant on Orwells 1984. The citizens are owned by the all-embracing State, but they arent even aware of it.

Thats quite a trick.

One of my favorite examples of double-think or reverse-think is the antibody test. It is given to diagnosis diseases. Antibodies are immune-system scouts sent out to identify germ-intruders, which can then be wiped out by other immune-system troops.

Prior to 1985, the prevailing view of a positive antibody test was: the patient is doing well; his body detected the germ and dispensed with it. After 1985, the view was suddenly: this is bad news; the patient is sick or he is on the verge of getting sick; he has the germ in his body; it does harm.

Within the medical community, no one (with very few exceptions) raised hell over this massive switch. It was accepted. It was actually good for business. Now, many more people could be labeled needs treatment, whereas before, they would have been labeled healthy.

While I was writing my first book, AIDS INC., in 1987-8, I wrote the FDA asking about a possible AIDS vaccine. I was told the following: every person given such a vaccine would, of course, produce antibodies against HIV. That is the whole purpose of a vaccine: to produce antibodies.

However, I was informed, patients receiving this vaccine would be given a letter to carry with them, in case they were ever tested for HIV and came up positive. The letter would explain that the antibodies causing the positive test were the result of the vaccine, not the result of natural action inside the patients body.

In other words, the very same antibodies were either protective against AIDS (good) or indicative of deadly disease (bad).

This was the contradictory and ridiculous and extraordinary pronouncement of official science.

It carries over into every disease for which an antibody test is administered. If a vaccine against disease X is given, it delivers immunity, because it produces antibodies. But if a diagnostic test for disease X reveals the presence of the same antibodies, naturally produced in the body, this is taken as a sign of illness.

Extrapolated to a more general level, the Word is: synthetic medical treatment is good; the action of the body to heal itself is incompetent.

This is a type of superstition that would astonish even the most primitive societies.

It no longer astonishes me. I see it everywhere in official science.

From the medical establishments point of view, being alive is a medical condition.

The most useful politiciansas far as official science is concernedare those who automatically promote its findings. Such politicians are lifted into prominence. They are champions of the Science Matrix. They never ask questions. They never doubt. They never make waves. They blithely travel their merry way into new positions of power, knowing they have enormous elite support behind them. When they need to lie, they lie. They are taught that those who question or reject official science are a tiny demographic who can be ignored during election campaigns. Dont worry about them. They dont count. These politicians are never in the trenches with the people on issues of health.

The elite Plan is universal collectivism, in which all citizens are atoms of a giant molecule. Many lies need to be told in order to make that dream/nightmare come true. If some of those lies are about science, so much the better. People believe in science.

Think about the agendas behind universal vaccination, climate change, universal psychiatric treatment, GMO food, and other science-based frauds. They all imply a model, in which individuals give up their power in exchange for doing good and becoming members of the largest group in the world: disabled people with needs that must be addressed and satisfied.

Instead of supporting the liberation of the individual, the controllers want to squash it. Why? Because they fear individual power. It is forever the unpredictable wild card. They want a society in which every thought an individual thinks connects him to a greater wholeand if that sounds attractive, understand that this Whole is a fiction, intentionally faked to resemble a genuine oceanic feeling. The elite Whole is ultimately a trance-like fiction that will slow down time to a crawl, and shrink space to a sliver, and focus attention on a single mandate: wait for the next instruction from above, content in the knowledge that it will benefit all of humanity.

This program has many agents.

(Read more at: Jonrappoport.wordpress.com)

Some of them are agents of official science.
(Natural News) Late last month, it was reported that a Wisconsin company called Three Square Market was planning on surgically implanting microchips underneath the skin of its employees for convenience purposes. Three Square Market CEO Todd Westby told KSTP, the Twin Cities ABC affiliate station, that the microchip implants are the next big thing thats inevitably going to happen, and we want to be a part of it.

Westby explained that the microchip would be capable of doing a number of different things, from allowing people to purchase food in the break room by simply scanning their hand, to serving as an electronic key to open doors and access computers.

The microchips use Radio Frequency Identification technology (RFID) to function, which also happens to be the technology used when you pay for items using your iPhone or Android device.

We foresee the use of RFID technology to drive everything from making purchases in our office break room market, opening doors, use of copy machines, logging into our office computers, unlocking phones, sharing business cards, storing medical/health information, and used as payment at other RFID terminals, said the Three Square Market CEO in a statement. Eventually, this technology will become standardized allowing you to use this as your passport, public transit, all purchasing opportunities, etc.

But while Todd Westby may be enthusiastic about the use of this microchip technology in everyday life, thousands or even millions of others are no doubt concerned. The idea of implanting microchips underneath the skin in order to store information regarding your health and finances sounds like something straight out of George Orwells famous book 1984. Even if the chips do not have a GPS system and its impossible to track those that have them embedded underneath their skin, the overall concept is still unnerving. Americans are conditioned to embrace individual liberty, and microchip implants force them to embrace the exact opposite of that.

Noelle Chesley, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, believes that the use of microchips is only going to become more common in the not-so-distant future. It will happen to everybody, she explained. But not this year, and not in 2018. Maybe not my generation, but certainly that of my kids. (Related: Australia has become the first country to microchip its citizens.)

In fact, the idea of using microchips in order to track the financial situations of welfare recipients has already been suggested by one politician in Finland. According to Sputnik News, a member of Finlands conservative Finn Party recently recommended implanting satellite-tracking chips inside of welfare recipients in response to news that some recipients continued to receive payments after leaving the country to fight for the Islamic State.

Pasi Maenranta, the politician who suggested the idea, argued on his Facebook page that in order to receive welfare payments from Kela, one has to tell exact data about your location using your personal code, read by a satellite. Maenranta also noted that it would be possible to implant microchips beneath the skin of all those traveling overseas who for example receive medical welfare from Kela, also known as the Social Insurance Institution.

But regardless of how good the intentions may be, there are still a lot of questions that must be answered before the people of our country and elsewhere embrace the use of surgically implanted microchips. Can they ever be turned off or removed? Who exactly will have access to your location should the microchip be equipped with GPS technology? And if the microchips contain personal information regarding health and finances, will it be possible for that information to be hacked and potentially sold by a third party?

If Americans are serious about holding on to our Fourth Amendment right to privacy, then these are questions that we should all demand be answered before more advancements in microchip technology are made.

Sources include:

TheDailySheeple.com

Breitbart.com

SputnikNews.com
(Natural News) Without question, President Donald J. Trump and the Republican-led Congress have a lot of work to do to restore the U.S. economy after it was ravaged by former President Barack Obama and Democratic policies.

Things are so bad, in fact, that a majority of us are now living literally from paycheck to paycheck  meaning any interruption of our income stream would put scores of Americans in dire financial straits.

As reported by CNBC, that includes 10 percent of Americans who are making $100,000 or more:

Seventy-eight percent of full-time workers said they live paycheck to paycheck, up from 75 percent last year, according to a recent report from CareerBuilder.

Overall, 71 percent of all U.S. workers said theyre now in debt, up from 68 percent a year ago, CareerBuilder said.

Whats more, under half of those surveyed  46 percent  said their debt was manageable, leaving fully 54 percent who admitted they were in over their heads.

And its not getting any better for these folks, either. CareerBuilder found that more than half  56 percent  said they could only put away $100 or less each month.

The employment website said it surveyed more than 2,000 hiring and human resource manager and more than 3,000 full-time workers between May and June to obtain the results.

Meanwhile, CBS News reported similar findings: Nearly 80 percent of those surveyed said they have to live paycheck to paycheck:

With unemployment in the U.S. at its lowest level in 16 years, experts are prone to talk about the economy as if it has fully recovered from the housing crash. But other measures of how Americans are doing reveal a darker picture.

Living paycheck to paycheck is the new way of life for U.S. workers, said Mike Erwin, a spokesman for CareerBuilder, in an interview with CBS News. Its not just one salary range. Its pretty much across the board, and its trending in the wrong direction.

Throughout Obamas eight-year, two-term tenure, the U.S. economy never once reached three percent growth in annual GDP for even a single quarter  something thats never happened in the history of the country.

So even though employment figures are up, overall Americans economic picture isnt bright.

Why is that? There are a number of reasons  some the mainstream media will discuss and some it wont.

One reason is wage stagnation, as Erwin told CBS News; another is that virtually all consumer services and goods are much more expensive than they should be or have been in recent years.

But why are they more expensive? Much of that is due to government policies. Obamacare, for instance, has raised the cost of doing business for thousands of companies, via higher labor and compliance costs. Obamacare has ravaged the health insurance industry, causing premiums and out-of-pocket deductibles to skyrocket.

Government bureaucracy and red tape  much of which was implemented during the Obama years  has also led to major downward pressure on company earnings, leading them to expand less, hire fewer workers while depressing wages. Education costs have gone through the roof  but they would when a) government lenders guarantee loans so b) colleges and universities jack up tuition to take advantage of all the free money.

Last year, about 75 percent of Americans said they were living paycheck to paycheck; that figure has risen this year to 78 percent. And with the Bureau of Labor Statistics noting that some 122 million are in the full-time workforce, that means about 95 million are teetering on the fiscal edge. (Related: There is a storm of civil unrest coming and you need to be fit to fight  Heres how to prepare)

Believe it or not, this is a prepper issue. Household debt coupled with an inability to sock away cash hurts your ability to stock up and prepare for emergencies. Financial experts advise that you should have six months in savings socked away in case you lose your job or otherwise cannot work for a while. Most Americans dont even come close to that; can you imagine the social chaos if a major economic event caused massive job losses?

Get busy now reducing your debt in any way possible. Also, check out this list of items that WONT lose value should SHTF.

J.D. Heyes is a senior writer for NaturalNews.com and NewsTarget.com, as well as editor of The National Sentinel.

Sources include:

Collapse.news

CNBC.com

CBSNews.com
(Natural News) Nuclear fusion has long been eyed as a potential source for limitless clean energy, yet the complexity behind its process made it unfeasible for some time. However, this may all change soon. A team of researchers hailing from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has found a way to bring us one step closer to a future of clean energy.

According to the DailyMail.co.uk, these scientists were able to increase the energy output of nuclear fusion simply by adjusting its process or its recipe. Instead of using just two ion species in the plasma mix  95 percent deuterium and five percent hydrogen  they added trace elements of another ion, helium-3; the complete details of which they discussed in their recently published study. In essence, the researchers came up with a new type of plasma that multiplied the energy output of the nuclear fusion process.

With the help of researchers from the Laboratory of Plasma Physics in Brussels, Belgium, they then placed their plasma mix inside the Alcator C-Mod tokamak at MITs Plasma Science and Fusion Center (PSFC). The researchers heated up the plasma mix and focused energy on the helium-3 particles. What resulted was energy output on the same range as activated fusion products, with ions reaching megaelectron volt (MeV) energy levels  a feat that had never before been achieved in non-activated fusion devices. A single megaelectron volt is equal to one million electron volts.

To be able to create such energetic ions in a non-activated device  not doing a huge amount of fusion  is beneficial, because we can study how ions with energies comparable to fusion reaction products behave, how well they would be confined, explained Dr. John C. Wright, a research scientist on the study.

The success of their experiment on the Alacator C-Mod prompted other research scientists to attempt to replicate the results on the Joint European Torus (JET), Europes largest fusion device.

On this, Wright commented: The JET folks had really good energetic particle diagnostics, so they could directly measure these high energy ions and verify that they were indeed there. The fact that we had a basic theory realized on two different devices on two continents came together to produce a strong paper.

Though more work and research is necessary, the astounding potential of the MIT teams efforts cannot be stressed enough. The closer we are to achieving an efficient means of creating clean energy, the less reliant well become on fuels that damage the earth with every use. (Related: Scientists bring energy-efficient nuclear fusion closer to reality.)

What is nuclear fusion?

As the name suggests, nuclear fusion involves fusing lighter nuclei into a heavier nucleus. The process of nuclear fusion serves as the suns power source. Nuclear fusion is the opposite of nuclear fission, the source of energy for nuclear power plants. Unlike nuclear fusion which requires hydrogen, nuclear fission needs uranium, a finite resource that can and will run out in due time.

Currently, there are three problems that prevent us from utilizing nuclear fusion to produce electricity. The first is temperature: For nuclei to fuse, temperatures must exceed millions of degrees to peel away the electrons. The second is time: Its been estimated that plasma needs to be held together for about one second at 40,000,000 K to start the fusion process. The third is containment: Plasma at 40,000,000 K is gas that can easily vaporize even the best ceramics developed for space travel. Magnetic fields can contain this plasma, but any leaks will prevent the nuclear fusion process from occurring.

Stay up-to-date on even more scientific breakthroughs by visiting FutureScienceNews.com today.

Sources include:

DailyMail.co.uk

Nature.com

ImpactNottingham.com
El Cerrito police on Thursday identified the suspect in an attempted sexual assault of a female that occurred Tuesday morning.

An off-duty law enforcement officer from another agency saw images of the suspect on the television news and recognized the suspect, police said. He contacted the El Cerrito Police Department, and after further investigation, police obtained an arrest warrant for 28-year-old Mario Xavier Hills.

Hills' last known address is in San Francisco, police said.

Anyone who knows his whereabouts is asked to contact law enforcement. It is believed that Hills traveled to El Cerrito via BART, so BART riders are advised to remain cautious, police said.
Kyle Chapman, one of 10 people arrested during a violent "March 4 Trump" rally in Berkeley in May, was remanded in custody by a judge Friday. The Daly City man's bail was also set at $135,000, according to the Alameda County District Attorney's Office.

Chapman, hailed on social media as Based Stickman or Alt-Knight, is accused of bashing an Antifa protester in the head with a stick when fights broke out during the May rally.

Dressed in a hoodie, knee pads, a fume mask, goggles, and a helmet, Chapman, who was also carrying a shield, was caught on camera hitting the protester.

Chapman posted bail late Friday and provided no comment as he was leaving the Santa Rita Jail in Dublin.

#BREAKING Kyle Chapman aka @BasedStickMan_ booked in Santa Rita jail on charges of possessing weapon, lead filled cane @ March Berkeley demo pic.twitter.com/PFioF8qIYU  Jodi Hernandez (@JodiHernandezTV) August 25, 2017

Conditions of Chapman's bail include staying away 300 yards from an anti-Marxism rally slated for Sunday in Berkeley. He is also ordered to not own, use or possess any dangerous weapons, including pepper spray, brass knuckles, wooden sticks, according to the conditions of his bail.

Organizers and supporters for this weekend's counter demonstration said they are glad Chapman has been ordered to stay away. They are encouraging the community to go to the rally and stand against hate.

Kyle Chapman aka @BasedStickMan_ bails out of jail. No comment when asked what he thinks of rallies cancelled or if he still plans to go. pic.twitter.com/xIBYMfj9HI  Jodi Hernandez (@JodiHernandezTV) August 26, 2017

Attorney Charles Briggs says lawyers will help counter-demonstrators if they are arrested.

"We want the community as a whole to feel comfortable extending their enthusiasm and vigor against white supremacy," Briggs said.

Despite his legal troubles, Chapman took to Facebook pledging to attend weekend rallies and to never surrender. His next court date is set for Sept. 5.
Conservative group Patriot Prayer has canceled a controversial free speech rally in San Francisco, citing the "fear brought on" by the city's leaders, including Mayor Ed Lee and Nancy Pelosi.

The group said they will hold a press conference instead at Alamo Square, home to the city's famous Painted Ladies, and have invited the media to attend.



Patriot Group leader Joey Gibson made the announcement during a Facebook Live Friday afternoon, saying all the measures brought on by the city's police and leaders forced the organizers to cancel it.

"After several conversations with the police, and understanding the situation, we've decided that tomorrow really feels like a set-up," Gibson said. "A lot of people's lives aren't going to be safe. The rhetoric from Nancy Pelosi, Mayor Ed Lee, the media, all these people are saying we're white supremacists, bringing in tons of extremists, and it just seems like a huge set-up, so we're not going to fall into that trap, we're not going to rally at Crissy Field."

"At the end of the day we want people to be safe," Gibson said.

The National Park Service late Friday confirmed Gibson relinquished his permit for the event on Crissy Field.

Gibson said organizers felt the event would have turned into a huge riot, and asked for protection during the press conference, especially from "antifa," groups that oppose fascism, often violently.



Intermingling of protesters would have left nothing but casualties, organizers said.

Patriot Prayer had promised to hold a peaceful rally, but the group has held events elsewhere that have turned violent.

The rally has been hugely controversial from the very beginning, with Mayor Lee and other Democratic leaders vociferously speaking out against it.

City and state leaders immediately criticized Patriot Prayer for holding a press conference at Alamo Square. "This is illegal as they have no permit," San Francisco Supervisor Scott Weiner tweeted. He later added:

"Afternoon from hell: Trump pardons racist Arpaio & bans transgender soldiers, extremists try to cause chaos/violence in SF. We will #resist."

Supervisor London Breed asked residents not to be alarmed by the change of location: "Please don't be alarmed, we are working on it!," she tweeted.

Meanwhile, Pelosi released a statement applauding the decision: Reason has prevailed because the people of San Francisco have demonstrated our determination to protect the freedom of peaceful expression as well as public safety. We must be ever vigilant across our country against those who would abuse the Constitution to inflict harm on our communities.

As expected from the most liberal city in America, San Francisco had decided to counter the rally at the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge - and the larger "alt-right" movement - in a quintessentially San Francisco way. If clowns, sheet cake, dancing and dog poop wasnt enough in terms of a protest, Bay Area ports were planning to close down Saturday as well.



Dock workers, members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 10, voted to "Stop the Fascists in San Francisco Thursday in order to prevent a repeat of the events in Charlottesville, Virginia.

"Dock workers, who have a long history of port shutdowns against racism, war and police terror, aim to prevent a repeat of last weeks murderous Nazi/white supremacist attack," the union said.

A giant inflatable chicken, resembling President Donald Trump's hairdo, was also supposed to make an appearance in the San Francisco Bay, trolling the rally.



Nobody really knew what to expect at the rally, which was approved by the National Parks Service despite protests from Lee and Pelosi.



Local bloggers summarized Patriot Prayers beach-side event as a photo op of Battle Royale with Golden Gate Bridge as the backdrop."



The location will be particularly powerful when it comes to image-making, and that is likely the intent of Patriot Prayer in choosing it, local blog SFist wrote.



The Southern Poverty Law Center describes the Patriot Prayer group as "provocateurs," whose previous rallies have been attempts to provoke black-clad ideologues on the left into acts of violence."

And pictures and video of such violence with the Golden Gate Bridge as a backdrop  given all that the words 'San Francisco' symbolize for commentators on the right, and even the center-right  are most certainly what extremist groups and alt-right personalities are hoping for, SFist wrote.



Gibson said that the group respected the residents of San Francisco, and called on them for support.



Protests on the other side of the Bay Bridge in Berkeley for Sunday were also canceled minutes after Gibson's announcement. A permit had been denied for the event, but "Rally Against Marxism" organizers vowed to show up anyway. In a statement Friday, organizers said safety concerns had forced them to change plans.[[441782263, C]]
A woman walking down a Portola district street earlier this month was grabbed, flung to the ground and struck  and the entire, seemingly random, attack was captured on surveillance cameras.

The disturbing video, which has a date stamp of Aug. 10, shows a man blindsiding the victim in broad daylight, wrestling her to the ground on Sweeny Street and running away.

Two different cameras show the unprovoked assault and apparent robbery as the suspect appears to take something from the womans hand. As she struggles to get up, he doubles back, hits her in the face and races off in the same direction from which he came.

People who live in the area were shocked and said they were trying to wrap their heads around the violent attack.

"Oh my God, horrible! That is just horrific. And yet, the audacity of that man to just push her down and come back and hit her again!" said Rose Orellana, who lives near the crime scene.



A woman, identified only as Paige, who lives in the area said she was shocked by the footage.

I think I would call 911 right away and just yell, she said.

Paige said she too was recently accosted by a man who tried to spit in her face.

At that point I said, Im going to take Uber if its going to be late, she said, or Im going to have a stun gun and a mace.

Orellana agreed.

Its scary, because I walk this block all the time. I walk with my kids, I walk with my parents, and now it seems like you cant walk by yourself, she said.



The owners of the security cameras told NBC Bay Area that theyve shared the images with police.

The San Francisco Police Department remains tight-lipped about the incident, saying only that there is an active and ongoing investigation.

The neighborhood association is concerned about an uptick in crime. So, too, is Supervisor Hillary Ronen, whose Chief of Staff Carolyn Goossen said that 40 percent of the district is Chinese-speaking, and Asians are being disproportionately affected by the lawlessness.

Police would not corroborate that, but did confirm that the assault victim is Asian.
The two-year-old U.S. diplomatic relationship with Cuba was roiled Wednesday by what U.S. officials say was a string of bizarre incidents that left a group of American diplomats in Havana with severe hearing loss attributed to a covert sonic device.

New information released by the Department of State said that 16 Americans in the U.S. Embassy suffered from the symptoms, beginning in 2016.

Those affected are being treated in Miami and Havana.

According to Department of State spokeswoman Heather Nauert, she said the incidents have stopped but cannot say whether a device was found.

In the fall of 2016, a series of U.S. diplomats began suffering unexplained losses of hearing, according to officials with knowledge of the investigation into the case. Several of the diplomats were recent arrivals at the embassy, which reopened in 2015 as part of former President Barack Obama's reestablishment of diplomatic relations with Cuba.

Some of the diplomats' symptoms were so severe that they were forced to cancel their tours early and return to the United States, officials said. After months of investigation, U.S. officials concluded that the diplomats had been exposed to an advanced device that operated outside the range of audible sound and had been deployed either inside or outside their residences. It was not immediately clear if the device was a weapon used in a deliberate attack, or had some other purpose.

The U.S. officials weren't authorized to discuss the investigation publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the U.S. retaliated by expelling two Cuban diplomats from their embassy in Washington on May 23. She did not say how many U.S. diplomats were affected or confirm they had suffered hearing loss, saying only that they had "a variety of physical symptoms."

The Cuban government said in a lengthy statement late Wednesday that "Cuba has never permitted, nor will permit, that Cuban territory be used for any action against accredited diplomatic officials or their families, with no exception."

The statement from the Cuban Foreign Ministry said it had been informed of the incidents on Feb. 17 and had launched an "exhaustive, high-priority, urgent investigation at the behest of the highest level of the Cuban government."

It said the decision to expel two Cuban diplomats was "unjustified and baseless."

The ministry said it had created an expert committee to analyze the incidents and had reinforced security around the U.S. embassy and U.S. diplomatic residences.

"Cuba is universally considered a safe destination for visitors and foreign diplomats, including U.S. citizens," the statement said.

U.S. officials told The Associated Press that about five diplomats, several with spouses, had been affected and that no children had been involved. The FBI and Diplomatic Security Service are investigating.

Cuba employs a state security apparatus that keeps many people under surveillance and U.S. diplomats are among the most closely monitored people on the island. Like virtually all foreign diplomats in Cuba, the victims of the incidents lived in housing owned and maintained by the Cuban government.

However, officials familiar with the probe said investigators were looking into the possibilities that the incidents were carried out by a third country such as Russia, possibly operating without the knowledge of Cuba's formal chain of command.

Nauert said investigators did not yet have a definitive explanation for the incidents but stressed they take them "very seriously," as shown by the Cuban diplomats' expulsions.

"We requested their departure as a reciprocal measure since some U.S. personnel's assignments in Havana had to be curtailed due to these incidents," she said. "Under the Vienna Convention, Cuba has an obligation to take measures to protect diplomats."

U.S. diplomats in Cuba said they suffered occasional harassment for years after the restoration of limited ties with the communist government in the 1970s, harassment reciprocated by U.S. agents against Cuban diplomats in Washington. The use of sonic devices to intentionally harm diplomats would be unprecedented.
Former Interior Secretary Cecil V. Andrus, who engineered the conservation of millions of acres of Alaska land during the Carter administration, has died. He was 85. Andrus died late Wednesday of complications from lung cancer, daughter Tracy Andrus said.

A onetime lumberjack, Andrus resigned midway through his second term as Idaho governor in 1977 to become President Jimmy Carter's secretary of the Interior Department and served until Carter's term ended in 1981. He then was elected governor two more times, becoming the first four-term governor in Idaho history. He was also the last Democrat to hold the office in red-state Idaho.

Carter declared permanent national monuments on 56 million acres in Alaska in 1978. Despite criticism from many Alaskans, Andrus ordered protection of an additional 52 million acres of public lands in the state the same year.

The threat of additional federal protections by executive fiat forced Alaskan lawmakers to compromise on the 1980 Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, signed by Carter just a month before he left office. The law set aside an area the size of California as national parks, national forests and refuge areas such as the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

"In the Lower 48, we have to fight to save some single remnant of an area that's already been ruined," Andrus later said. "In Alaska, we have a chance to do it right the first time."

Andrus' conservation efforts earned him the praise of environmental groups but the rancor of many Alaskans who depended upon resources extracted from public lands for their livelihoods. A popular bumper sticker on Alaskan pickup trucks proclaimed, "Lock up Andrus, not Alaska."

In a 2003 speech, Andrus criticized the much-debated proposal to allow oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. "It is a place that is so fragile it takes 100 square miles for a grizzly bear to forage," he said. "It takes 50 years for a tree to grow."

Historian T.H. Watkins once wrote that only three Interior secretaries  Harold Ickes, Andrus and Stuart Udall  understood the importance of wilderness preservation "to the spiritual and ecological well-being of the nation."

The outdoors was Andrus' passion and Beltway power-politics never suited him, even if he was considered adept at it. He liked to brag that after leaving the Interior post, he never spent more than one night in Washington, D.C., again.

"The reason so many people live back East is because they don't know any better," he once told The Salt Lake Tribune.

Andrus was a state senator when he won the governor's race in 1970 after the original Democratic nominee died in a plane crash.

His popularity was cemented with a regular-guy governing style. Andrus listed his home phone number in the Boise directory, made breakfast for his children each morning before driving himself to his office at the statehouse and took three days off in the heat of his successful 1974 re-election campaign to bag an elk.

"A decaying highway infrastructure cannot be appreciated when you are traveling by helicopter or talking on the phone in the back of a limousine," Andrus wrote in his 1998 autobiography. "A cook in the governor's mansion means you have to learn food prices only when ambush interviews threaten at election time."

Even before it was evident Carter would not be re-elected in 1980, Andrus had publicly said he planned to return West in 1981. He said being governor of Idaho was "the best political job in the world."

After returning to Idaho to work as a consultant, Andrus mounted a comeback campaign and narrowly won election as governor again in 1986 with a scant 3,600 votes over Republican Lt. Gov. David Leroy. Voters then sent him back to an unprecedented fourth term in 1990 with 68 percent of the vote.

His biggest fight in the waning days of his political career came when he blocked the U.S. Department of Energy from shipping radioactive waste from a Colorado nuclear weapons site to the Idaho National Laboratory. After accepting the waste on a "temporary" basis for 17 years, Andrus said, Idaho would no longer be the nation's radioactive garbage dump.

The standoff persisted through his Republican successor, Gov. Phil Batt, and the energy department ultimately signed a 1995 agreement to remove all the radioactive rubbish that had been dumped in Idaho since the Cold War.

When the federal government challenged the terms of that agreement in court in 2006, Andrus took the witness stand to help the state's successful case to hold federal energy officials to the cleanup commitment.

"We live in a society where a person's word is a contract," Andrus testified. "Inside the Beltway, they don't live that way."

Andrus would continue fighting the issue during his final years, pointing his criticism toward Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter when it became known in January that the state was looking at creating a waiver to allow shipments of spent fuel.

Andrus was born in 1931, in Hood River, Oregon, and attended Oregon State University but did not graduate before he served in the Navy during the Korean War. He came back to Oregon to work as a logger and then moved with his family in 1955 to Orofino in northern Idaho to work at his father's sawmill.

After the sawmill closed, Andrus entered the insurance business. His 35-year political career began when he arrived late at the Veterans of Foreign Wars hall in Orofino to discover his beer-drinking buddies had decided to nominate him to run for the Legislature. In 1960, at age 29, he defeated a Republican incumbent and was elected to the first of three two-year terms as a state senator before an unsuccessful 1966 bid for governor. He returned to the state Senate in 1968.
Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner has vetoed legislation that would have raised the states minimum wage to $15 per hour.

The measure, which passed both chambers of the legislature in late May, would have raised the wage to the $15-per-hour mark by 2022, but Rauner rejected the bill because of the impact he says it would have on employers.

This legislation would cost significant sums of money for the very people it purports to help, Rauner said in a statement. Illinois needs to be seeking comprehensive solutions that grow the economy and the number of jobs available where individuals can train, grow, and attain better lives for themselves and their families.

An override of the governors veto is unlikely, as the bill passed by eight votes in the House and by seven votes in the Senate.

Numerous candidates for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, including J.B. Pritzker and Ameya Pawar, support raising the minimum wage.

"The fact is working families and our most vulnerable communities continue to get left behind and raising the minimum wage to $15 moves our state in the right direction," Pritzker said when the bill passed.

Governor Rauner also vetoed legislation that would have prevented employers from asking prospective employees about their previous salary and compensation at former employers, and a bill that would have allowed municipalities in the state to sell or transfer their interest in funds received from the state.
Navy and Marine Corps divers have recovered and identified remains of Suffield native 26-year-old Electronics Technician 3rd Class Dustin Louis Doyon.

He is the second victim identified from the collision between the destroyer USS John S. McCain and an oil tanker near Singapore. Eight sailors are still missing.

Doyon's family put out the following statement via the First Selectman's Office:

"On behalf of the entire Doyon family, we want to thank all those who have extended their support and prayers. Dustin was a wonderful son, big brother, and Sailor. He truly loved his family, the Navy, and his shipmates. We are incredibly proud of him and his service to our country. We will miss him immensely and we are so very thankful for the 26 wonderful years we had together."

"As we mourn the loss of our son and brother, we would like extend our appreciation to so many people, especially to the community of Suffield, Connecticut who has been supporting us since we first learned of the accident. We are also thankful to the United States Navy for their continued support and are thinking of the brave crew of USS John S. McCain who are still hard at work with a difficult task."

"We ask everyone to keep the families and friends of those affected by this terrible tragedy in your thoughts and prayers."

"As you can imagine, this is a very difficult time for our family and we respectfully request that you continue to respect and honor our privacy."

Doyon graduated from Cathedral High School in Springfield, Massachusetts in 2009.

Gov. Dannel Malloy has issued a directive to lower United States and state flags to half-staff in honor of Doyon.

It is with tremendous sadness that we mourn the loss of Petty Officer Doyon and his fellow shipmates, who gave their lives serving our nation, Gov. Malloy said in a statement. Petty Officer Doyon is an American hero who represented the best of Connecticut and the United States. This loss reminds us of the dangers faced day and night by the men and women of our military who are stationed overseas. Our hearts are with his family and friends during this difficult time  they should know how incredibly proud the people of Connecticut are of his service to our country.

Congressman Joe Courtney also issued a statement.

"The Doyon family's tragic loss of their beloved son Dustin who was ably serving in our nation's defense is a loss for every American. His decision to volunteer to join the Navy, and put himself in harms way for his country showed his patriotism and caring for others, which we should all revere and honor, Courtney said.

On Wednesday, the commander of the Navy's Asia-based 7th Fleet was dismissed after a series of warship accidents raised questions about its operations in the Pacific.

A two-sentence statement issued by the Navy says Adm. Scott Swift, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, had relieved Vice Adm. Joseph Aucoin "due to a loss of confidence in his ability to command."
When students head back to Central Connecticut State University (CCSU), theyll notice a new safety measure can be added right to their phones.

CCSU Police are testing out the LiveSafe app, which allows students and staff to share information with CCSU's police if they see any suspicious activity.

The app is set to go live on on the first day of classes, Aug. 29.

The app is free in the app store. A student or staff member can select the tip type they want to submit to CCSU Police, such as an accident, any suspicious activity or a medical issue. After, the user can enter the more detailed information, like a description of the incident.

"It is the blue light phone in your hand. You can press a button, text a message, send it to our dispatch center. You can take pictures, videos and do it anonymously or even add your phone number and name and we can get back to you for more information," CCSU Police Sgt. Jerry Erwin said.

The app can also act as a personal escort by sending a location to whoever the user wants and the person can watch where the user is walking.

Its a feature CCSU student Antonia Newman said she would use.

"That might be a little more better than just calling my friend," Newman said.

Even parents, like Amalia Teixeira, can use it. She lives in New Jersey and can track her son, a CCSU student, if he requests her to do that through the app.

"I like the fact that you can open up the app and kind of watch him walk where hes supposed to be just in case because you never know what happens," she said.

Some believe the app wouldnt be useful to them.

"I dont think I would use it because Im always around people and I dont really feel like Im at trouble," CCSU student, Terrell Huff, said.

CCSU police said its just another resource they can use to keep students safe.

Currently, CCSU has armed police officers, About a thousand cameras scattered across campus and emergency call boxes.
As the state continues to run without a budget, the news for towns and cities is grim as hundreds of millions of dollars are on the line.

On Wednesday, town leaders from Glastonbury, Ellington, Tolland and Newington gathered in South Windsor to rally against the cuts.

"I assure you that we are united in our commitment to education and in our frustration and dismay over the governor's executive order," South Windsor Mayor Carolyn Mirek said.

Gov. Dannel Malloy has been running the state through executive order since lawmakers failed to pass a budget nearly two months ago. Last week he proposed eliminating all education cost-sharing grants, known as ECS, from 85 school systems and significantly reducing it for 54 others.

"It's devastating. It's the entire $12 million gone," said South Windsor Board of Education member Rick Stahr.

Stahr said they thought they prepared for the worst but the numbers they're seeing from the governor are far more extreme.

"Our worst-case scenario was $3, maybe $4 million, and that's where we were hoping to keep it, somewhere around that. But now we're looking at three times that," Stahr said. "What is the impact? I don't know, but it's going to be very deep."

"Very frustrated when you see the millions of dollars not being provided to our town. It's just unbelievable," said Catherine Stahr, whose son will attend South Windsor High when school starts back up next week.

She said the uncertainty is affecting students and staff.

"At least if we know what we're dealing with, we can deal with it, but not knowing what the budget is going to be, the ECS funding is going to be, just leaves everybody in limbo," said Catherine Stahr.

"The fact is we do not have a true education cost sharing formula that is fully funded or used the way it should be used here in Connecticut," said State Rep. Jeff Currey, (D-East Hartford, Manchester and South Windsor).

Currey was one of the several lawmakers who attended Wednesday's rally and said the House Democrats latest budget proposal was done as a bipartisan effort.

With Republicans expected to come out with a revised budget, the hope is that the end is in sight.

"If we can put the two of them together, we will have a good budget," said Rep Sam Belsito (R-Ashford, Tolland and Willington).

No vote is expected at the Capitol until the week of Sept. 11.
Volunteers from the American Red Cross and Stamford-based Americares have been sent to Texas to help as Hurricane Harvey, now a Category 3 storm, approaches.

Save the Children, a Fairfield based organization has also sent members to Texas. The group will be providing supplies to families at shelters to make them feel more like home. Those items include cribs, changing tables, diapers and play places for children.

The Red Cross has sent five people from Connecticut to Texas.

The National Hurricane Center is predicting that Harvey will make landfall along the Gulf Coast Friday night and becomes the first hurricane to strike Texas in almost several years.

The Red Cross said it is mobilizing trained Red Cross disaster relief workers to support the response effort and has more than 17 shelters ready to open and support thousands of people if needed.

Another dozen or more Red Cross volunteers are expected to travel to Texas after the hurricane makes landfall to provide relief.

Americares said it has been in contact with its network of local health centers, free clinics and response partners in Texas and is already responding to requests for water and medications.

Connecticuts division of the National Disaster Medical System is also in Texas to help.

New Britain resident, Dave Cruickshank, is a member and will serve as the police chief. Its something familiar to the 10-year Berlin Police officer, who is part of the command staff to a team of 47 people that will provide medical attention for anyone who needs it.

We go and we set up field hospitals and we have the ability to replace hospitals that are damaged or without power or flooded, he said.

The team has everything they need to staff a hospital for 24 hours a day for two weeks.

At this time, its unclear where they will be stationed.

To make a donation to the Red Cross, visit redcross.org, call 1-800-RED CROSS or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.

Donations to the Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund will support Americares response to the storm. To make a donation, go to americares.org/Harvey.
Signs of crumbling foundations were found at two public buildings a firehouse and school in Tolland, officials said.

Birch Grove Primary School and Fire Station 140 on Crystal Lake Road both showed cracks characteristics of crumbling foundations, according to a public buildings review, the Journal Inquirer reported.

Town Manager Steven Werbner said the school is expected to take core samples and follow up with an engineer, but since the fire station is less extensive, town staff will be monitoring and taking monthly photographs.

Werbner and the building official both said Birch Grove and Fire Station 140 continue to be safe for occupancy.

In July 2015, NBC Connecticut Troubleshooters broke the story about dozens of homeowners in Hartford, Tolland and Windham Counties who discovered their concrete foundations are deteriorating. The homes with faulty basements were all built between the early 1980s and the early 2000s and most began to show signs of deterioration between ten and 20 years after construction.

The NBC Connecticut Troubleshooters investigation was the catalyst for the State of Connecticut to launch its own multi-agency probe into the cause and scope of the problem. In a series of initial reports, the NBC Connecticut Troubleshooters reported pyrrhotite, a naturally-occurring iron sulfide mineral, as the likely root of the foundation issues.
There was standing-room only as both of Connecticuts U.S. Senators came to northern Connecticut Wednesday to address the states crumbling concrete crisis.

Some people actually had to stand outside the Tolland Fire Department Training Center and wait for the senators to speak with them.

At this point, 556 people have filed complaints with the state, saying their basement walls are crumbling underneath their homes and businesses.

Since the NBC Connecticut Troubleshooters brought this problem to light two summers ago, the answers have been few.

Homeowners learned most insurers have changed their policies so they dont cover the problem. Most of the homeowners did not discover the issue until well after the 10-year statute of limitations for defective product claims.

Beyond outlining what assistance they are trying to get from the federal and state governments, Senators Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal took aim at many of the insurers.

They changed the policies. They didnt do it by accident, they knew what they were doing, Blumenthal said.

Several people in the audience did criticize the senators, however, noting that it has been almost two years since they learned about this issue without any assistance arriving.
At least 10 critically ill babies from a hospital in Corpus Christi will ride out Hurricane Harvey in North Texas, where they are receiving care at Cook Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth.

They began arriving Thursday on airplanes equipped with specialized medical equipment after they were evacuated from Driscoll Children's Hospital along the South Texas coast.

"They made a wise decision to get them out as quickly as possible," said Debbie Boudreaux, director of transport for Cook Children's. "The problem keeping them there is the ventilation system they're on, the lifesaving ventilator, would not be able to be maintained without electricity."

Harvey become a major Category 4 hurricane and made landfall near Rockport late Friday. The slow-moving storm will dump several inches of rain  perhaps as much as three feet in some areas  and cause dangerous conditions in much of the southern and coastal regions of the state.

Dr. Jonathan Nedrelow, medical director of the neonatal intensive care unit at Cook Children's Medical Center, said they don't typically like to move babies this fragile, but with Hurricane Harvey barreling down on the coast, it was critical.

"It would have been catastrophic for these kids to be in a place without all of the modern amenities that ICUs afford these children," Nedrelow said.

It took a village to make it happen.

"It was a team effort to use multiple different specialized pediatric transport teams to move these kids," Nedrelow said.

Four planes each carried one or two of the newborns at a time Thursday, making several flights from Corpus Christi to Meacham Airport in Fort Worth.

"It takes a talented team of nurses, paramedics and respiratory therapists to assess the needs of those babies and to be able to safely monitor those babies through the entire transport," said Cheryl Peterson, chief nursing officer at Cook Children's.

The newborns  some weighing less than a pound  will stay at the NICU for the duration of the storm.

"Some of these medications, if we stop them for longer than a minute, for longer than 30 seconds, it can be pretty detrimental to the little one. And sometimes even fatal," said Martin Hurtado, a paramedic involved with the transport.

All of the newborns made it safely to Fort Worth, but Nedrelow said their journey is far from over.

"We just don't know yet for many of the babies, because of how sick they were at the time of their transport," he said.

Nedrelow said they are now caring for about 70 babies in the NICU at Cook Children's, and they could take in more if needed.

"We're able to take care of any child, any newborn with critical needs for care and support, so we feel well prepared to take care of these children, and we have room in our neonatal intensive care unit," Peterson said.

The babies' parents are driving up from the coast to join their children at the hospital in Fort Worth.

Children's Health in Dallas provided two of the four medical transport planes needed to transport the newborns.

The other two planes are from Cook Children's and Driscoll Children's in Corpus Christi.

"We had to call in many, many people to help with this surge of babies. Ten babies all at once never happens," Nedrelow said.
In September, Dallas Independent School District officials will tackle the controversial topic of changing the names of five schools which bear the name of Confederate figures.

Thursday night, parents from several of those schools made impromptu pleas to the school board to change the names.

Meanwhile, the alumni of Robert E. Lee Elementary School have started thinking of alternative names and said they have landed on a beloved former teacher at the school.

I had an idea to think a step ahead and try to make something positive out of it, William Olsson of Dallas said. If they are going to rename the school, which seems like it might happen, we have a good person to name it for and thats one of our teachers.

Olsson attended the school in 1978 and he will never forget his teacher Mae Wesley, who taught at the school for 25 years. He started a petition, which has grown in support.



The thought that we can have this situation that has made people feel awful and have a school named after Miss Wesley that we all love and still be able to drive by there and say, Hey thats pretty good, he said.

Olsson said Wesley started teaching when parts of Dallas were still segregated. He said no matter who she taught and no matter their race or background, she made all of her students feel as if they were the same; all special and loved.

Lets do what we learned from Miss Wesley and put aside our differences and think about how we are going to live together, Olsson said. Not all this hurt and division. We were one family and Miss Wesley played a big role in making us feel that way.

Olsson said not everyone in their alumni group supports the name chance.



Dallas ISD will begin discussion about the possible name changes at their Sept. 14 meeting.
Hurricane Harvey has many vacationers worried about how the storm will impact their plans, especially people planning to take cruises out of Galveston.

Carnival and Royal Caribbean cruise lines are both monitoring the storm to figure out the best course of action between now and the weekend.

Cruise lines typically will not sail their expensive ships anywhere near a potentially dangerous storm.

Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas did sail into a storm off the Atlantic coast last year, forcing the ship to turn around, and subjecting the passengers to the consequences of high wind and waves.

To avoid those situations, the ships  which are currently positioned in the southern Caribbean and along the Mexican coast  could stay on the back side of the storm until it passes. It would mean an extra sea day or two for passengers currently on board and less time on the ship for those expecting to cruise next week.

Even if the ships make it to port, some passengers may not be able to make it to Galveston if roads are flooded in the low-lying areas leading to the port city.

Right now, Carnival tells us their customers should sign up for text messages alerts to keep up with updates from the company.

Royal Caribbean didn't respond to requests for comment on their plans, but their ship isn't slated to arrive until Sunday and may be able to keep its schedule.

Refunds are not likely, but credits are possible for those whose cruise is shortened. The best protection against bad weather and other interruptions to your vacation is travel insurance.

The insurance needs to be purchased ahead of time.

You can also follow the cruise lines on Facebook and Twitter for possible updates regarding for your trip.
Gov. Greg Abbott is warning of the "potential for very dramatic flooding" from Harvey.

He's expanded a state declaration of emergency from the state's original 30 counties to 50.

Abbott says it's too early to speculate as to how much property damage the storm has caused.

Hurricane Harvey Preps on Friday



Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is warning people that Hurricane Harvey "is going to be a very major disaster."

Abbott said Friday that he's asked President Donald Trump for a federal disaster declaration.

Harvey made landfall in Texas at about 10 p.m. Friday as a Category 4 storm.

Abbott has activated about 700 members of the Texas National Guard in preparation for Harvey. The storm is set to be the first hurricane to make landfall on the Texas coast since Hurricane Ike in 2008.

Aside from savage winds and storm surges, the system was expected to drop prodigious amounts of rain. The resulting flooding, one expert said, could be "the depths of which we've never seen."

President Donald Trump says he's keeping a close watch on Hurricane Harvey.

On Twitter Friday, Trump said he "Received a #HurricaneHarvey briefing this morning" from top federal officials.

In another statement on Twitter, Trump said he had spoken with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards. He added: "Closely monitoring #HurricaneHarvey developments & here to assist as needed."

Trump tweeted Thursday, encouraging people to be prepared.

The mayor of the popular Texas Gulf Coast city of Galveston says the city is expected to be inundated with water from Hurricane Harvey.

He says a leading concern is that high tide will occur Saturday morning, shortly after Harvey makes landfall, and the water is not expected to recede for three or four days.

Forecasters now say there's a good chance Hurricane Harvey may hit Texas twice, worsening projected flooding.

The National Hurricane Center's official five-day forecast Friday has Harvey slamming the central Texas coast, stalling and letting loose with lots of rain.

Then forecasters project the weakened but still tropical storm is likely to go back into the Gulf of Mexico, gain some strength and hit Houston next week.
Specially trained Southern California firefighters are heading to Texas to provide assistance in case of damage from Hurricane Harvey.

Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Larry Kurtz said early Friday the California Urban Search & Rescue Task Force 5 departed overnight and is expected to reach San Antonio after an 18- to 20-hour drive.

The task force has 45 firefighters from the county, Anaheim and Orange city fire departments.

Its capabilities include wide area searches, water rescues, medical aid and assessment of hazardous materials situations.

Half a dozen firefighters from Riverside's Urban Search and Rescue Team Task Force 6 were deployed early Friday morning. They "have arrived safely in Dallas, TX," read a statement from the City of Riverside Fire Department.

In Texas, they will join others from Tennessee, Nebraska, Missouri, Ohio and Utah.
A former Miami-Dade police officer who pleaded guilty to smuggling guns through Miami International Airport was sentenced to four years in prison Friday.

Michael Freshko, 48, pleaded guilty in June to conspiracy to unlawfully export firearms from the United States to the Dominican Republic.

Prosecutors said Freshko received firearms from a co-conspirator then used his position as an officer to get the guns through the passenger screening area.

Freshko would go to the departure gate to return the guns to the co-conspirator, who in turn would place the firearms in a carry-on baggage and travel to the Dominican Republic on a commercial flight.

Prosecutors said Freshko smuggled six guns from MIA to the Dominican Republic, including four Glock .9 mm pistols, one Sig Sauer .9 mm pistol and one Sig Sauer 5.56 rifle.

Freshko had worked for the department since 2004 and was promoted to sergeant in 2010. During his tenure, he was assigned to the airport district. Freshko also worked as an actor on the side and appeared in several local productions, including "The Last Supper" and "Truth is Stranger Than Florida," according to his IMDb profile.
A cross-country manhunt for a murder suspect has made its way to South Florida.

Police in Massachusetts said Cornell Bell, 46, could be at large in Coral Gables and should be considered armed and dangerous.

Cornell is accused of murdering his ex-girlfriend Michelle Clarke in Massachusetts last weekend and is now believed to be hiding out in South Florida.

Close friends are still in mourning over Clarkes death, as investigators work to find Bell, who police say has ties to Miami.

Investigators received word on Thursday that he had been in the Coral Gables area.

Police told NBC 6 that Bell had several Massachusetts drivers licenses under three aliases, and sometimes goes by a half dozen other names, including Tony Smith, Mark Simmons, Cornel James, Cornel Carara, Cavin Lebert and Kerrol Bailey.

Investigators said Clarkes boyfriend called police when he didnt hear from her after a bartending shift.

"All of the Coral Gables Police Department have boots on the ground, have the subjects picture, the description of the vehicle he supposed to be operating, as well as a tag," said PIO Kelly Denham. "We are on the lookout for this dangerous individual to see if he is in our area we can assist in making an arrest."



Bell has a violent past, police said. According to police, his record includes two outstanding warrants  one for a 1997 assault with intent to commit murder and another for a 2002 bank robbery.

Police say he may be driving a stolen dark blue Ford pickup truck with a Massachusetts plate: FF47BK.

If you have seen him or know where he may be, youre asked to call 911 immediately.
What to Know NWS upgraded Harvey to a major Cat. 4 hurricane Friday evening; downgraded to Cat. 2 early Saturday morning

Extreme winds expected; main threat will be flooding and storm surge

State of disaster declared for 30 counties on or near the coast

Watch live video from Palacios, Texas, as Hurricane Harvey moves inland on the Central Texas coast.



Hurricane Harvey smashed into Texas late Friday, lashing a wide swath of the Gulf Coast with strong winds and torrential rain from the fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a decade.

The National Hurricane Center said the eye of the Category 4 hurricane made landfall about 10 p.m. CDT about 30 miles northeast of Corpus Christi between Port Aransas and Port O'Connor, bringing with it 130 mph sustained winds and flooding rains.

The eye of the hurricane made a second landfall at about 1 a.m. local time on the northeastern shore of Copano Bay, as the slow-moving storm churned inland at about 6 mph. Harvey was then downgraded to a Category 3 hurricane.



Harvey's approach sent tens of thousands of residents fleeing the Gulf Coast, hoping to escape the wrath of an increasingly menacing storm set to slam an area of Texas that includes oil refineries, chemical plants and dangerously flood-prone Houston, the nation's fourth-largest city.

Fueled by warm Gulf of Mexico waters, Harvey grew rapidly, accelerating from a Category 1 early in the morning to a Category 4 by evening. Its transformation from an unnamed storm to a life-threatening behemoth took only 56 hours, an incredibly fast intensification.

Reports of damage began to emerge from Rockport, a coastal city of about 10,000 people that was directly in the path of Harvey when it came ashore.

City manager Kevin Carruth said multiple people were taken to the county's jail for assessment and treatment after the roof of a senior housing complex collapsed.

KIII-TV reports that 10 people have been treated there. The Associated Press was unable to reach an operator at the Aransas County Detention Center in Rockport just after midnight. Carruth also said that Rockport's historic downtown area has seen extensive damage.

Volunteer Fire Department Chief Steve Sims said there are about 15 volunteer firefighters at the city's fire station waiting for conditions to improve enough for their vehicles to safely respond to pleas for help.

"There's nothing we can do at this moment. We are anxious to get out there and make assessments, but we're hunkered down for now," he said.

Earlier Friday, Rockport Mayor Pro Tem Patrick Rios offered ominous advice, telling KIII-TV those who chose to stay put "should make some type of preparation to mark their arm with a Sharpie pen," implying doing so would make it easier for rescuers to identify them.

[NATL] Dramatic Images: Floods Hit as Harvey Drenches Texas

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott warned that the monster system would be "a very major disaster," and the forecasts drew fearful comparisons to Hurricane Katrina, one of the deadliest ever to strike the U.S.

In a tweet Friday evening, President Donald Trump said: "At the request of the Governor of Texas, I have signed the Disaster Proclamation, which unleashes the full force of government help!"

In another tweet early Saturday, Trump wrote: "We will remain fully engaged w/ open lines of communication as #HurricaneHarvey makes landfall. America is w/ you! @GovAbbott @FEMA @DHSgov"

Millions of people were bracing for a prolonged battering from the hurricane, which will likely be the strongest hurricane to hit the US in about 13 years. Forecasters labeled Harvey a "life-threatening storm" that posed a "grave risk," saying it could swamp several counties more than 100 miles inland.

Brock Long, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said on MSNBC earlier Friday that Harvey was a "very serious" threat and that the window for evacuating was quickly closing.

"Texas is about to have a very significant disaster," Long warned.

At least one researcher predicted heavy damage that would linger for months or longer.

"In terms of economic impact, Harvey will probably be on par with Hurricane Katrina," said University of Miami senior hurricane researcher Brian McNoldy. "The Houston area and Corpus Christi are going to be a mess for a long time."

Aside from savage winds and 12-foot storm surges, the system was expected to drop over 3 feet of rain.

Gov. Greg Abbott is warning south Texans to evacuate ahead of Hurricane Harvey and not take any chances.

Rain bands from the storm began pelting the coast early Friday. As of 1 p.m. Friday, Harvey was centered about 85 miles southeast of Corpus Christi and was moving northwest at 10 mph.

All seven Texas counties on the coast from Corpus Christi to the western end of Galveston Island have ordered mandatory evacuations of tens of thousands of residents from all low-lying areas. Officials in four counties ordered full evacuations and warned there was no guarantee of rescue for people staying behind. Voluntary evacuations have been urged for Corpus Christi itself and for the Bolivar Peninsula, a sand spit near Galveston where many homes were washed away by the storm surge of Hurricane Ike in 2008.

The Dallas Office of Emergency Management opened at shelter Friday at the Walnut Hill Recreation Center to accommodate evacuees from Hurricane Harvey.

Texas officials expressed concern Thursday that not as many people are evacuating compared with previous storms.

"A lot of people are taking this storm for granted thinking it may not pose much of a danger to them," Gov. Greg Abbott told Houston television station KPRC. "Please heed warnings and evacuate as soon as possible."

Victoria bracing for more than 30 inches of rain as Hurricane Harvey sits over the Texas Gulf Coast. Shelters in Victoria are full.

The U.S. Navy has closed Naval Air Station Corpus Christi and ordered the evacuation of all non-essential active-duty military. Oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico also began evacuating employees Thursday.

Abbott has activated about 700 members of the state National Guard ahead of Hurricane Harvey making landfall.

A NOAA hurricane hunter aircraft flies into Hurricane Harvey.

Harvey's effect would be broad. The hurricane center said storm surges as much as 3 feet could be expected as far north as Morgan City, Louisiana, some 400 miles away from the anticipated landfall.

And once it comes ashore, the storm is expected to stall, dumping copious amounts of rain for days in areas like flood-prone Houston, the nation's fourth most-populous city, and San Antonio.

Homes and businesses in Rockport are boarded up as Hurricane Harvey approaches the Texas coast. Fishermen tell NBC 5's Kris Gutierrez they are worried about their livelihood if the storm produces the expected damage.

State transportation officials were considering when to turn all evacuation routes from coastal areas into one-way traffic arteries headed inland. John Barton, a former deputy executive director of the Texas Department of Transportation, predicted state officials will do this before the storm hits, but said timing and determining where to use it are the key factors. Storms change paths and if contraflow starts too early, supplies such as extra gasoline needed to support impacted areas can't get in, he noted.

Meanwhile, residents along the Texas coast flocked to grocery and hardware stores, and gas stations to stock up on last-minute supplies, NBC affiliate KRIS reported.

Harvey would be the first significant hurricane to hit Texas since Ike in September 2008 brought winds of 110 mph to the Galveston and Houston areas and inflicted $22 billion in damage. It would be the first big storm along the middle Texas coast since Hurricane Claudette in 2003 caused $180 million in damage.

A NOAA hurricane hunter flies into Hurricane Harvey.

It's taking aim at the same vicinity as Hurricane Carla, the largest Texas hurricane on record. Carla came ashore in 1961 with wind gusts estimated at 175 mph and inflicted more than $300 million in damage. The storm killed 34 people and forced about 250,000 people to evacuate.

First lady Melania Trump tweeted "thoughts and prayers" to those leaving near the hurricane's path, adding the "entire country [is] with you."



Evacuees from the Texas Gulf Coast are seeking shelter at the St. Joseph High School gym in Victoria. It was built to withstand hurricane force winds.

The White House said the president was closely monitoring the hurricane and planned to travel to Texas early next week to view recovery efforts. The president was expected to receive briefings during the weekend at Camp David.

Trump's homeland security and counter-terrorism adviser, Tom Bossert, said the administration was "bringing together the firepower of the federal government to assist the state and local governments, but the state and local governments are in the lead here."

Millions of people in South Texas have made the decision to either flee to safety or ride out the storm as Hurricane Harvey approaches the Texas coast.
The Coast Guard was searching for a person in the waters off Governors Island after witnesses reported someone jumping off the Staten Island Ferry.

The Coast Guard says it received a call from New York Vessel Traffic Service about multiple people witnessing the person jump off the Spirit of America around 10:15 p.m. Thursday.

Ferry crews threw a life ring into the water and deployed their small boat, the Coast Guard said.

Sector New York issued a 29-foot response boat from the Coast Guards New York station to assist in the search efforts, along with units from the NYPD and the FDNY. The search was stopped around midnight.

The ferry involved in the incident docked in Staten Island around 11 p.m. Authorities say ferry service was temporarily suspended during the search.

Police continue to investigate.
What to Know Mark Schlegel, who works for a Manhattan talent agency, was last seen walking out of his New Jersey home August 13

Schlegel, 57, was considered to be mentally and physically fit; he left without his keys, phone or wallet, officials say

His body was found in the woods Thursday

The missing 57-year-old Manhattan talent agent from New Jersey who hasn't been seen since August 13 has been found dead in the woods, authorities say.

Mark Schlegel of Oradell left his home without his keys, phone and wallet, authorities said at the time, but he was said to be mentally and physically sound.

His body was found off Soldier Hill Road Thursday, according to a law enforcement source. A police officer was led to the body by smell, and it appears he had been in the bushes several days or longer.

[NATL-DO NOT USE] In Memoriam: Influential People We've Lost in 2017

There's no obvious evidence of foul play but police are awaiting an autopsy.

Schlegel worked for CornerStone Talent Agency in Manhattan. His clients included Brandon Flynn, Daniel Sujata and Dominic Chianese, among others, according to Deadline.com.

Viola Davis was among the actors who tweeted their condolences Thursday. She wrote, "RIP Mark Schlegel. Thank you for seeing my talent. God bless your family."
A radical Muslim cleric who was convicted of stirring up racial hatred in Britain and deported to Jamaica was indicted Friday in New York on charges of recruiting would-be terrorists.

Sheikh Abdullah el-Faisal was arrested in Jamaica.

Jamaica's Ministry of National Security said that el-Faisal was arrested in the capital of Kingston and taken to his house in the nearby parish of St. Catherine, where police executed a search warrant. Authorities in Jamaica said el-Faisal is scheduled to appear later in court, although they did not provide a date. He is expected to be extradited to New York after his court appearance in Jamaica.

El-Faisal was arrested after a monthslong sting carried out by an undercover New York Police Department officer who communicated with him by email, text and video chat.

According to the Manhattan district attorney, el-Faisal offered to help the undercover officer travel to the Middle East and join fighters with the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS.

It's not clear if el-Faisal has an attorney.

The 53-year-old el-Faisal was born Trevor William Forrest in Jamaica.

U.S. authorities had long been concerned about him, fearing that he would emerge as a recruiter of marginalized, disaffected youth in Jamaica.

Born to Christian parents, he converted to Islam as a teenager and later left Jamaica for religious study. He preached in London mosques, delivering sermons that advocated war with Jews, Hindus and other groups and the use of chemical weapons to exterminate unbelievers.

"The way forward is the bullet," he said in one recorded message.

Those talks got renewed attention after the Sept. 11 attacks and in 2003 he was convicted under of a seldom-used British law for inciting murder. After his release from prison in 2007 he was deported to Jamaica. The Islamic Council of Jamaica, which had banned el-Faisal from preaching in the country's mosques because of his inflammatory sermons, did not immediately return a message for comment.

El-Faisal was subsequently ejected from Kenya after a trip there in 2009 because of suspicions of encouraging young men there to join an Islamic extremist group in Somalia. He was then deported to Jamaica in early 2010.

In diplomatic cables, first obtained and released by WikiLeaks, U.S. officials said he or his associates had been eyed in several suspected terror plots.

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance said el-Faisal "has dedicated his life to terror recruitment."

"Through his lectures, website and videos, he incites untold numbers of people around the world to take up the cause of jihad," Vance said. "As is alleged in this case, he provided material support to the Islamic State by facilitating the passage of a self-described ISIS sympathizer from New York to Syria. A charismatic leader, the defendant's rhetoric has been cited by several convicted or suspected terrorists in New York, London, and beyond."

____

Associated Press writer Danica Coto in San Juan, Puerto Rico ,contributed to this report.
Authorities have made an arrest in the Staten Island shooting that wounded an Italian tourist.

Henry Degroat, 19, was charged with criminal possession of a weapon and reckless endangerment in the August 20 shooting near Crescent Avenue and Jersey Street.

Prosecutors say Degroat fired a 9-mm gun in the middle of the day in a playground filled with people, including children.

A 57-year-old man sitting on a bench was hit in the arm by a bullet. The victim, an Italian national visiting New York City on a temporary work visa, was taken to the hospital with a bullet lodged in his shoulder. Authorities said man was not the intended target in the shooting.

The victim was taken to an area hospital to be treated for non-life threatening injuries, police said.

The man was trying to find the Italian museum on Tompkins Avenue when he was shot, according to police.

Bail for Degroat was set Thursday at $75,000. Attorney information wasn't immediately available.
What to Know Ten sailors, three from the tri-state area, went missing following an Aug. 21 collision between the USS John S. McCain and an oil tanker

After more than 80 hours of multinational search efforts across 2,100 square miles of water, the U.S. Navy has suspended its search efforts

Only one set of remains -- those belonging to a 22-year-old from New Jersey -- have been recovered

The family of a 28-year-old sailor from Poughkeepsie missing since a ship collision near Singapore three days ago is refusing to give up hope he may be found alive, despite the U.S. Navy's announcement Thursday it had called off search and rescue efforts after scouring 2,100 square miles of water.



Information Systems Technician 2nd Class Corey George Ingram, 28, of Poughkeepsie was aboard USS John McCain when it collided with an oil tanker Monday. Ingram and nine other sailors vanished in the Asian waters.



Only one set of remains -- those belonging to a 22-year-old the Navy says is from New Jersey -- have been recovered.



Ingram's family says he's been in the Navy nearly a decade.



"He's a strong guy. He's very tough. I think this situation will put him through the test and he'll make it through," Ingram's younger brother Darren told News 4. "We're staying positive here and we are not going to let this situation get the best of us."



Ingram's family asked that a prayer be side in his name as they rely on faith and community to get them -- and the young sailor -- through this time.



The Navy recovered the remains of Electronics Technician 3rd Class Kenneth Aaron Smith, 22, from New Jersey, over the course of its 80 hour multinational search operation. He has been the lone sailor confirmed dead. The nine missing were officially identified Thursday; they include Ingram, Charles Nathan Findley, 31, from Amazonia, Missouri; Abraham Lopez, 39, from El Paso, Texas; Kevin Sayer Bushell, 26, from Gaithersburg, Maryland; Jacob Daniel Drake, 21, from Cable, Ohio; Timothy Thomas Eckels Jr., 23, from Manchester, Maryland; Dustin Louis Doyon, 26, from Suffield, Connecticut; John Henry Hoagland III, 20, from Killeen, Texas and Stephen Palmer, 23, from Decatur, Illinois.



At least four other sailors were hurt in the accident, which occurred as McCain was heading to Singapore for a routine port call. They are expected to be OK. Despite calling off the ocean search, the Navy's 7th Fleet said divers will continue to search flooded compartments inside USS McCain.

The commander of the 7th Fleet was relieved of duty on Wednesday following the McCain collision and other accidents this year that raised questions about its operations in the Pacific. Seven sailors died in June when the destroyer USS Fitzgerald collided with a container ship off Japan. Two lesser-known incidents occurred earlier in the year.

The firing of Vice Adm. Joseph Aucoin, a three-star admiral, was a rare dismissal of a high-ranking officer for operational reasons.

Aucoin was due to retire in a few weeks, and the officer named to succeed him, Vice Adm. Phillip Sawyer, assumed command immediately.

Sawyer, speaking Thursday at a maritime security meeting in Bali, Indonesia, thanked regional navies for helping in the search for the missing McCain sailors.

"Often it is a brutal reminder that what we do is dangerous work in an unforgiving environment, requiring honed skills and constant vigilance," he said. "And even with those, bad things can happen."

The Navy has ordered an operational pause for its fleets worldwide to make sure all steps are being taken to ensure safe and effective operations. The Pacific Fleet will also carry out a ship-by-ship review of its vessels, looking at navigation, mechanical systems, bridge resource management and training.
Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon and conservative firebrands Milo Yiannopoulos and Ann Coulter have been invited to speak at UC Berkeley in September, according to campus officials.

A student-run publication, the Berkeley Patriot, has invited the three speakers to campus as part of a planned "Free Speech Week" between Sept. 24 and 27.

UC Berkeley spokesperson Dan Mogulof said plans have been underway since mid-July. No time or venue has been carved out for the speaking engagements, but the school is working to provide safety and security protections, he said.

The university, which is known as the birthplace of the "free speech movement," has been a flashpoint in recent months. Several violent protests have broken out during scheduled speaking engagements by Coulter and Yiannopoulos, costing the school hundreds of thousands of dollars in security fees and damage repairs.

For its part, campus leadership has been roundly criticized for its handling of the recent skirmishes. Supporters of the conservative speakers have lambasted school officials for not doing enough to facilitate the appearances, while others have asserted that the school should never have approved speakers whose viewpoints are antithetical to the campus' stated values of inclusivity and non-discrimination.

The school's new chancellor, Carol Christ, confirmed Yiannopoulos' visit in a campus-wide message to students Wednesday, in which she reiterated the school's commitment to free speech. Sheltering students from opposing ideas would make them less equipped for life after graduation, she wrote.

"Call toxic speech out for what it is, dont shout it down, for in shouting it down, you collude in the narrative that universities are not open to all speech," she said in part. "Respond to hate speech with more speech."

Yiannopoulos praised Christ's letter on his Facebook page, writing that he hopes "Berkeley sticks to this commitment to free expression."

Coulter and Bannon have yet to respond publicly to the invite. Berkeley Patriots, a group that advances conservative and libertarian thought, did not immediately return NBC Bay Area's request for comment.

Mogulof said that the university cannot control invitations issued by student groups, nor does it attempt to. Student groups are separate legal entities from the university, he said.

"They have full independence and autonomy," Mogulof said. "As a matter of law, policy and long-standing practice, the university does not have the right or the ability to interfere with their invitations to speakers based on the perspective of those speakers."

He added that school leaders work with student groups to invite speakers not out of legal requirement, but because "it's an essential part of the academic experience."

Mogulof closed by praising the Berkeley Patriot for their handling of the upcoming events, calling them "good-faith partners."

"They have been scrupulous about their adherence to event policy," he said. "They are clearly aware of, and concerned about, tensions that might arise on campus and have expressed an interest in working with the university to address that."
Fire crews in Delaware County battled flames at an apartment building Friday afternoon after some sort of explosion outside the building, officials said.

The fire broke out at an apartment building located at the intersection of Woodland and Sharon avenues in Sharon Hill just before 2:30 p.m.

Flames and thick, black smoke could be seen coming from the roof of the building as SkyForce10 hovered above.

Officials said one woman was treated for smoke inhalation.

The fire went to 3-alarms with crews from more than 15 companies called to respond.

Officials used a drone to check for flare-ups from above.

Residents in all six apartments were displaced. The American Red Cross was providing assistance 14 people.

Officials continued to look for a cause and account for all residents who live in the building.
The state of California is hiring for positions related to the legalization of recreational marijuana.

California voters approved legalizing recreational marijuana in November 2016.

As of January 1, 2018, it will be legal for anyone over the age of 21 to possess, transport and buy up to 28.5 grams of marijuana for recreational use.



In preparation for a newly-regulated cannabis industry, state licensing authorities are looking for people to help with the ongoing regulatory process.

The positions are located throughout the state and require people with computer, science, health or legal backgrounds and skills.

The California Water Resources Control Board is looking for a senior legal analyst based in Sacramento who will manage the agencys handling of cannabis cultivators who cause damage to the environment. The annual salary for the position runs $60-70,000.

There is also a position available for an associate program analyst who will develop an inspection system for cannabis cultivation in Southern California and keep an eye on trends including crop size, plant variety, and pesticide use. The minimum annual salary for this position based in Riverside County will be $57,000.

The California Department of Public Health is searching for two environmental scientists to work in San Diego County for the Manufactured Cannabis Safety Branch (MCSB). The person in this position will make sure manufacturers abide by cannabis laws and regulations including whether products are packaged appropriately and child-resistant. Annual salaries range from $41,000 to $80,000.

The division is also hiring a Senior Environmental Scientist based in Los Angeles County who will oversee the Inspection and Compliance Unit. This department will inspect cannabis manufacturers and make sure they are using good manufacturing practices.

Also, the California Department of Food and Agriculture is looking for someone to build the department's system to monitor cannabis licensing and activity. This systems software specialist will be based in Sacramento County and will make an annual salary of $72-95,000 a year.

The Department of Consumer Affairs is hiring multiple environmental scientists to review applicants and inspect cannabis labs. The positions are based in Sacramento County with the Bureau of Cannabis Control.



Find more jobs with the state through the California Jobs website.
While tens of thousands of people fled from the path of Hurricane Harvey Friday, a San Diego disaster team and Coast Guard Sector San Diego crew is heading in that direction to help save lives.

The Disaster Medical Assistance Team CA-4 (DMAT-CA4), based in San Diego, is preparing to assist in the emergency response to the hurricane. Two Chula Vista personnel have also been deployed to Hurricane Harvey, according to the City of Chula Vista.

DMAT-CA4 is part of the federally coordinated health care system under the National Disaster Medical System (NDMS). Their 48-person team includes nurses, doctors, pharmacy personnel, paramedics and specialists in security, communication and logistics, according to a spokesperson.

Two #ChulaVista personnel have been sent to help in Hurricane Harvey. The huge storm is heading to Texas; stay safe everyone! @chulavistaFD pic.twitter.com/eZAZZPqg4E  City of Chula Vista (@thinkchulavista) August 25, 2017

"Many of the issues that may result from Hurricane Harvey can already be anticipated: massive flooding will require medical care for thousands of evacuees, and hospitals may be in the flood zone and might require evacuation," said Dr. Jake Jacoby, in a statement.

At around 2:45 p.m. Friday, a Coast Guard Sector San Diego helicopter crew also deployed to Texas to assist disaster response operations. The five person crew will arrive in El Paso, Texas and stay there until response efforts begin.

A five-person MH-60 Jaywawk helicopter crew departed to El Paso, Texas Friday to assist disaster response operations for Hurricane Harvey.

"A unique capability of the Coast Guard and our people is our adaptability when it comes to answering the call to action," said Cmdr. Rob Potter, the Sector San Diego chief. "San Diego is our home, but our crews are ready to deploy across the country to help those in need."

There will be no impact to local Coast Guard operations.

On Friday, the National Weather Service announced that Harvey had strengthened to a Category 4 storm with maximum sustained winds of 130 mph. Forecasters have labeled Harvey a "life-threatening storm" that poses a "grave risk." The storm could swamp several counties more than 100 miles inland.

"We are honored to be selected to stage for this serious situation, especially if the hurricane stalls when it is over both land and water," Jacoby said.

His team has been deployed to 17 previous disasters. That includes the Northridge Earthquake in 1994, eight missions in response to hurricanes and a super typhoon in Guam, according to a spokesperson for the team.
A Northern Virginia community is grieving after a well-loved pastor was deported to Peru.

Pastor Juan Gutierrez was deported Thursday, the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy announced.

Gutierrez typically led a small service of about 10 to 20 members at his home every Saturday in Dumfries, Virginia. But that all changed earlier this summer.

Gutierrez went to a Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office for his usual check-in, when he was suddenly taken into custody.

"I say why? He do everything like the rules say," Gutierrez 's wife Aurelia Sicha said. "I was really sure surprised. I started to cry."

Gutierrez came to the U.S. from Peru in 2002 with a visa to play music. Sicha, who is a U.S. citizen, became pregnant, and he stayed to help care for their family.

He received an order of removal from ICE in 2012.

"I understand my husband broke the rules of this country because he's here without the visa, but he's a good man. Never he do [anything] wrong. He's a pastor. He's a preacher. The word of God," Sicha said last month.

An ICE official confirmed to News4 that Gutierrez did not have a criminal record, writing in a statement, "As DHS Secretary Kelly and Acting ICE Director Homan have stated repeatedly, ICE prioritizes the arrest and removal of national security and public safety threats; however, no class or category of alien in the United States is exempt from arrest or removal."

The Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy said Sicha now fears the family will lose their home.

"We call on ICE to immediately release immigrants being detained and end deportations. Our communities are suffering," a spokeswoman for the group said.

The couple has a son in the U.S. Air Force and a 13-year-old daughter.


FEMA's Massachusetts Task Force One is gearing up in case they're called on to respond to Hurricane Harvey.

The task force just finished a hurricane training exercise on Wednesday night.

By Thursday, they got word from Federal Emergency Management Agency headquarters to start packing up trucks just in case they are needed in Texas to help with the response to the now-Category 3 hurricane.

This task force specializes in search and rescue - 80 members from here - along with gear and boats that are locked and loaded inside several hangars at Beverly Airport.

The team has plenty of experience deploying to major hurricanes like Katrina and Sandy. And with Harvey set to make landfall Friday night, the team now waits for word on whether it will be needed.

Some other Massachusetts residents have already headed to Texas to help out. The American Red Cross said it has deployed four Massachusetts residents to assist in sheltering operations.
Rhode Island State Police say a former boxer whose father was convicted in a mob killing has been arrested on charges of violating his bail and a protective order.

Police say 43-year-old Jarrod Tillinghast, of Providence, turned himself in on Tuesday. The Providence Journal reports (http://bit.ly/2g3r9Ug) that he was wanted for violating his ex-wife's no-contact order. Police say that triggered a bail violation for a pending DUI charge.

A message left for his lawyer was not immediately returned.

Tillinghast is the son of Gerald Tillinghast, who served time in prison for a mob-related killing.
Police in Mansfield, Massachusetts, are searching for a woman who attempted to steal numerous items from a Kohls store.

According to police the woman wandered throughout the store on Thursday stuffing various items into her shirt and backpack.

Once confronted by Loss Prevention, she dropped some of the items and then ran out of the store with the rest.

She jumped on her pink and white motorcycle and fled the area.

Police say she was wearing a matching pink shirt, blue jean shorts, "Daisy Duke-style" as described, and a pink and white motorcycle helmet.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: The stalemate between Coal India management and unions over the issue of salary hike has come to an end as both have reached an understanding.

"We have reached an understanding with the Coal India management for 20 per cent minimum guaranteed benefit," D D Ramanandan, General Secretary of CITU-affiliated All India Coal Workers Federation, told PTI.

The central trade unions at the coal PSU had been demanding 25 per cent increase on gross wages as on June 30, 2016, plus 4 per cent as perks. Ramanandan said the unions have settled for 20 per cent minimum guaranteed benefit as the management was earlier not contributing to the medical scheme, but now has agreed to provide Rs 18,000 per person.

"Already, the management is contributing 1.16 per cent of the pension funds, which will be increased to 7 per cent," he added. Every five years, all central workmen unions negotiate with the management for a salary hike through a series of meetings.

Validity of the last pay hike expired on June 31 last year. S Q Zama, Secretary General of Indian National Mine Workers Federation affiliated to INTUC, said the 25 per cent increase in gross wages is less than its expectations.

The trade unions and the Coal India management met for three days -- on August 17-19 -- in Ranchi and in the national capital yesterday to deliberate on the issue of the wage hike. The five operating central unions in the coal industry are INTUC, BMS, HMS, AITUC and CITU.

NEW DELHI: The stalemate between Coal India management and unions over the issue of salary hike has come to an end as both have reached an understanding. "We have reached an understanding with the Coal India management for 20 per cent minimum guaranteed benefit," D D Ramanandan, General Secretary of CITU-affiliated All India Coal Workers Federation, told PTI. The central trade unions at the coal PSU had been demanding 25 per cent increase on gross wages as on June 30, 2016, plus 4 per cent as perks. Ramanandan said the unions have settled for 20 per cent minimum guaranteed benefit as the management was earlier not contributing to the medical scheme, but now has agreed to provide Rs 18,000 per person. "Already, the management is contributing 1.16 per cent of the pension funds, which will be increased to 7 per cent," he added. Every five years, all central workmen unions negotiate with the management for a salary hike through a series of meetings. Validity of the last pay hike expired on June 31 last year. S Q Zama, Secretary General of Indian National Mine Workers Federation affiliated to INTUC, said the 25 per cent increase in gross wages is less than its expectations. The trade unions and the Coal India management met for three days -- on August 17-19 -- in Ranchi and in the national capital yesterday to deliberate on the issue of the wage hike. The five operating central unions in the coal industry are INTUC, BMS, HMS, AITUC and CITU.
By Reuters

MUMBAI: India restricted imports of gold and silver from South Korea from Friday, the government said in a statement.

The move comes as traders have been taking advantage of a recent tax change that enabled them to avoid customs duty.

India, the world's biggest gold consumer after China, imposes a 10 percent import duty on gold and silver, but this does not apply to countries with which it has Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), like South Korea.

To avoid duty-free imports from those countries, India previously imposed a 12.5 percent excise duty. However, this was scrapped along with other local taxes when a goods and services tax (GST) was introduced on July 1.

After implementation of the GST, some trading houses started importing gold from South Korea without paying import tax, industry officials said.

The protection given under FTA will not be applicable for imports of silver and gold from South Korea, the government said in a notice, but did not say how it would restrict imports.



MUMBAI: India restricted imports of gold and silver from South Korea from Friday, the government said in a statement. The move comes as traders have been taking advantage of a recent tax change that enabled them to avoid customs duty. India, the world's biggest gold consumer after China, imposes a 10 percent import duty on gold and silver, but this does not apply to countries with which it has Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), like South Korea. To avoid duty-free imports from those countries, India previously imposed a 12.5 percent excise duty. However, this was scrapped along with other local taxes when a goods and services tax (GST) was introduced on July 1. After implementation of the GST, some trading houses started importing gold from South Korea without paying import tax, industry officials said. The protection given under FTA will not be applicable for imports of silver and gold from South Korea, the government said in a notice, but did not say how it would restrict imports.
Sesa sen By

Express News Service

CHENNAI: Digital business transformation company, Tekplay Systems is looking to acquire three technology companies by 2020, of which two companies based in Singapore and Dubai are already in the pipeline. Were in advanced stage of discussion to buy two tech firms and we expect the benefits of new acquisitions to materialise from next fiscal onwards,, said Prabhuram Ramanathan, Executive Director, at Tekplay.

Tekplay will pay $6 million for the Dubai firm and $13 million for bagging the Singapore company, said Ramanathan, without disclosing names of the companies. The Chennai-based company has acquired three companies in the US in the previous quarter and the new acquisitions are expected to be completed by March 2018. The company also has a presence in the US where a bigger acquisition for up to $30-40 million is in the offing.

Tekplay has major clients in financial services and manufacturing with revenue at $15 million and $10 million respectively and hopes to grow its business to over $100 million by 2021. On the companys association with India Cements, Ramanathan said, It is one of our largest clients and we are trying to integrate all the factories through IoT which will further help them to cut down cost and increase productivity.

On challenges, he said going forward, the company might face pressures in getting the right talent in our digital space. Launched in March this year, the company has acquired three technology companies  XcellFORCE, a San Jose-based services company; Tekoptimize, a products company in California; and GlobalSoft Solutions of New Jersey.

With these acquisitions, the company has grown to a consolidated annual revenue of $30 million in the current fiscal. Tekplays partnership with Chennai Super Kings, the IPL team, would integrate e-commerce platform for merchandising and ticketing in a digital platform, said Ramanathan.

CHENNAI: Digital business transformation company, Tekplay Systems is looking to acquire three technology companies by 2020, of which two companies based in Singapore and Dubai are already in the pipeline. Were in advanced stage of discussion to buy two tech firms and we expect the benefits of new acquisitions to materialise from next fiscal onwards,, said Prabhuram Ramanathan, Executive Director, at Tekplay. Tekplay will pay $6 million for the Dubai firm and $13 million for bagging the Singapore company, said Ramanathan, without disclosing names of the companies. The Chennai-based company has acquired three companies in the US in the previous quarter and the new acquisitions are expected to be completed by March 2018. The company also has a presence in the US where a bigger acquisition for up to $30-40 million is in the offing. Tekplay has major clients in financial services and manufacturing with revenue at $15 million and $10 million respectively and hopes to grow its business to over $100 million by 2021. On the companys association with India Cements, Ramanathan said, It is one of our largest clients and we are trying to integrate all the factories through IoT which will further help them to cut down cost and increase productivity. On challenges, he said going forward, the company might face pressures in getting the right talent in our digital space. Launched in March this year, the company has acquired three technology companies  XcellFORCE, a San Jose-based services company; Tekoptimize, a products company in California; and GlobalSoft Solutions of New Jersey. With these acquisitions, the company has grown to a consolidated annual revenue of $30 million in the current fiscal. Tekplays partnership with Chennai Super Kings, the IPL team, would integrate e-commerce platform for merchandising and ticketing in a digital platform, said Ramanathan.
Abhinay Deshpande By

Express News Service

HYDERABAD: Hyderabadis are all set to welcome Lord Ganesha into their households this Friday. Arrangements for the 11-day festivities, which concludes with the immersion of idols on September 5, are also in full swing.While the citys idol makers are working overtime to meet the deadlines, people are busy hitting the bazaars to complete last minute purchasing for the rituals involved in the puja on Ganesh Chaturthi, which also marks the beginning of the long season of festivals in the Hindu calendar.

The local markets have been buzzing with activity since Thursday morning and several makeshift shops selling Ganesha idols have come up on the pavements in localities including Ameerpet, Banjara Hills, Begum Bazar, Koti, Sultan Bazar, Badi Chowdi and elsewhere in the city.With an increase in the demand of fruits and flowers for the festival, the prices have also gone up forcing people to think twice before making a purchase. On Thursday, a kilogram of apple was priced anywhere between `180 and `250, mosambi and oranges costed between `50 and `80 respectively., and pomegranate ranged between `80 and `100 per kilogram, depending on size and quality.

Meanwhile, people could be seen bargaining with vendors on the high prices of flowers at the Gudimalkapur flower market on Thursday. A kilogram of marigold flower came for around `100 and Chrysanthemum, popularly known as chamanthi, was priced between `150 and `200 per kilogram, said Srinivas, a vendor at Gudimalkapur flower market.

Eco-friendly idols

According to the vendors, eco-friendly Ganeshas are in great demand among the people. The craze for clay Ganesha idols is gradually picking up not just among adults but even children, as they are more aware of the harm caused to nature by using POP idols, said S Mallesh, a vendor at Mehdipatnam.

Meanwhile, estimates suggest that the GHMC limits will have a staggering 1.25 lakh Ganesh pandals this year. Dr Bhagwanth Rao, general secretary, Bhagyanagar Ganesh Ustav Samiti, said: There was nearly one lakh Ganesh pandals last year but this year it has increased to 1.25 lakh, including pandals in apartments, gated communities and slums.

Eco-friendly Ganesha competition held at Gitam varsity

Hyderabad: GITAM University, Hyderabad, which has switched to celebrating Ganesh festival in an eco-friendly manner, held eco-Ganesha competitions on its campus on Thursday for budding engineers. The main aim of this event is to encourage and educate the students to use eco-friendly material in preparing idols using natural vegetable colours and organic material. School of Technology principal prof Ch Sanjay said, Plaster of Paris (POP) idols painted with chemically loaded colours are dangerous to the environment. Eco-friendly clay Ganesha idol will help to protect the environment. A panel of judges selected the best idols and gave away the prizes.

Guv, CM to attend Khairatabad puja

The Khairatabad Ganesh, this year, is 57 feet tall. G Sandeep Raj, convener, Khairatabad Ganesh Utsav Committee said Governor ESL Narasimhan will perform special puja at 10.30 am on Friday. Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao is expected to join the evening puja.

Police to ban DJs during festival

In view of the festivities from Friday, Hyderabad Police Commissioner M Mahendar Reddy on Thursday asked pandal organisers not to indulge in playing DJs. Use of DJs are banned. We give permission to use loud speakers from 6 am to 10 pm as per court orders. There is no court order to use DJs at the idol pandals, he said.

HYDERABAD: Hyderabadis are all set to welcome Lord Ganesha into their households this Friday. Arrangements for the 11-day festivities, which concludes with the immersion of idols on September 5, are also in full swing.While the citys idol makers are working overtime to meet the deadlines, people are busy hitting the bazaars to complete last minute purchasing for the rituals involved in the puja on Ganesh Chaturthi, which also marks the beginning of the long season of festivals in the Hindu calendar. The local markets have been buzzing with activity since Thursday morning and several makeshift shops selling Ganesha idols have come up on the pavements in localities including Ameerpet, Banjara Hills, Begum Bazar, Koti, Sultan Bazar, Badi Chowdi and elsewhere in the city.With an increase in the demand of fruits and flowers for the festival, the prices have also gone up forcing people to think twice before making a purchase. On Thursday, a kilogram of apple was priced anywhere between `180 and `250, mosambi and oranges costed between `50 and `80 respectively., and pomegranate ranged between `80 and `100 per kilogram, depending on size and quality. Meanwhile, people could be seen bargaining with vendors on the high prices of flowers at the Gudimalkapur flower market on Thursday. A kilogram of marigold flower came for around `100 and Chrysanthemum, popularly known as chamanthi, was priced between `150 and `200 per kilogram, said Srinivas, a vendor at Gudimalkapur flower market.Eco-friendly idols According to the vendors, eco-friendly Ganeshas are in great demand among the people. The craze for clay Ganesha idols is gradually picking up not just among adults but even children, as they are more aware of the harm caused to nature by using POP idols, said S Mallesh, a vendor at Mehdipatnam. Meanwhile, estimates suggest that the GHMC limits will have a staggering 1.25 lakh Ganesh pandals this year. Dr Bhagwanth Rao, general secretary, Bhagyanagar Ganesh Ustav Samiti, said: There was nearly one lakh Ganesh pandals last year but this year it has increased to 1.25 lakh, including pandals in apartments, gated communities and slums. Eco-friendly Ganesha competition held at Gitam varsity Hyderabad: GITAM University, Hyderabad, which has switched to celebrating Ganesh festival in an eco-friendly manner, held eco-Ganesha competitions on its campus on Thursday for budding engineers. The main aim of this event is to encourage and educate the students to use eco-friendly material in preparing idols using natural vegetable colours and organic material. School of Technology principal prof Ch Sanjay said, Plaster of Paris (POP) idols painted with chemically loaded colours are dangerous to the environment. Eco-friendly clay Ganesha idol will help to protect the environment. A panel of judges selected the best idols and gave away the prizes. Guv, CM to attend Khairatabad puja The Khairatabad Ganesh, this year, is 57 feet tall. G Sandeep Raj, convener, Khairatabad Ganesh Utsav Committee said Governor ESL Narasimhan will perform special puja at 10.30 am on Friday. Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao is expected to join the evening puja. Police to ban DJs during festival In view of the festivities from Friday, Hyderabad Police Commissioner M Mahendar Reddy on Thursday asked pandal organisers not to indulge in playing DJs. Use of DJs are banned. We give permission to use loud speakers from 6 am to 10 pm as per court orders. There is no court order to use DJs at the idol pandals, he said.
By IANS

NEW DELHI: Priyanka Chopra's production "Pahuna: The Little Visitors", which narrates the story of three Nepalese children separated from their parents and their journey back home, will be screened at the prestigious Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) next month.

TIFF 2017 will be held from September 7-17. The film will be screened on the first day only.

Paakhi A. Tyrewala has directed the Sikkimese film, which is backed by Priyanka and her mother's banner Purple Pebble Pictures (PPP).

"It is a very proud moment for me, my mother Madhu Chopra and the entire team at PPP. This is only our fifth production and to have it chosen to be screened at TIFF is an honour," Priyanka said in a statement.

"As a producer, my goal is to be able to bring great stories to life and to give new talent the right kind of platforms to launch their dreams. With Pahuna: The Little Visitors' and our talented director Paakhi Tyrewala, both these objectives were met and all of us at PPP couldn't be happier with the result.

"We're looking forward to sharing this amazing story with the world, told in Sikkimese about the life of three ordinary children under extraordinary circumstances," added the "Quantico" star.

The first look of the film was released at the Cannes Film Festival this year.

Madhu also said: "Making 'Pahuna...' has been an amazing experience. Working with the artists, technicians and government of Sikkim to tell this story was a very special journey for us all. We couldn't be prouder to have the film screened at TIFF. It is a great honour for us. We are hoping that this film will, in whichever way possible, give a fillip to the film industry in the region."



NEW DELHI: Priyanka Chopra's production "Pahuna: The Little Visitors", which narrates the story of three Nepalese children separated from their parents and their journey back home, will be screened at the prestigious Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) next month. TIFF 2017 will be held from September 7-17. The film will be screened on the first day only. Paakhi A. Tyrewala has directed the Sikkimese film, which is backed by Priyanka and her mother's banner Purple Pebble Pictures (PPP). "It is a very proud moment for me, my mother Madhu Chopra and the entire team at PPP. This is only our fifth production and to have it chosen to be screened at TIFF is an honour," Priyanka said in a statement. "As a producer, my goal is to be able to bring great stories to life and to give new talent the right kind of platforms to launch their dreams. With Pahuna: The Little Visitors' and our talented director Paakhi Tyrewala, both these objectives were met and all of us at PPP couldn't be happier with the result. "We're looking forward to sharing this amazing story with the world, told in Sikkimese about the life of three ordinary children under extraordinary circumstances," added the "Quantico" star. The first look of the film was released at the Cannes Film Festival this year. Madhu also said: "Making 'Pahuna...' has been an amazing experience. Working with the artists, technicians and government of Sikkim to tell this story was a very special journey for us all. We couldn't be prouder to have the film screened at TIFF. It is a great honour for us. We are hoping that this film will, in whichever way possible, give a fillip to the film industry in the region."
By PTI

NEW DELHI: Political advisor to the Congress party President Sonia Gandhi, Ahmed Patel, met farmers from Tamil Nadu at Jantar Mantar.

Senior party leader Patel assured his support to the farmers in their demands. Farmers who have been protesting in Delhi for the last 40 days have adopted a series of different kinds of protests. Like biting chunks of pork meat, acting like animals and among other such tactic to grab attention from the public in order to derive a response from the central government in view of their demands of interlinking of rivers.

But till have failed to do so, meanwhile leaders from Aam Aadmi Party Panjab unit also came to the protest site to show solidarity with the farmers.

NEW DELHI: Political advisor to the Congress party President Sonia Gandhi, Ahmed Patel, met farmers from Tamil Nadu at Jantar Mantar. Senior party leader Patel assured his support to the farmers in their demands. Farmers who have been protesting in Delhi for the last 40 days have adopted a series of different kinds of protests. Like biting chunks of pork meat, acting like animals and among other such tactic to grab attention from the public in order to derive a response from the central government in view of their demands of interlinking of rivers. But till have failed to do so, meanwhile leaders from Aam Aadmi Party Panjab unit also came to the protest site to show solidarity with the farmers.
Harpreet Bajwa By

Express News Service

CHANDIGARH: As many as 22 columns of army were deployed on Thursday night to maintain law and order after scores of Dera Sacha Sauda followers thronged Chandigarh and nearby areas despite prohibitory orders. The orders were imposed ahead of Fridays verdict on rape-accused Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.

Director general of police Haryana B S Sandhu said, We requested the army to maintain law and order, after which it sent 22 columns in the state. Twenty of these columns will be deployed at Panchkula and two at Sirsa by Thursday night, he said.

The decision came after the High Court rapped the state government for its failure to stop assembly of such a large number of followers despite imposition of the prohibitory orders. The HC asked the police to remove the followers from gathering here and appraise it about the action taken.

Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh also authorized the DGP to impose curfew if necessary. Singh said the Western Command of the army had been put on standby to tackle any eventuality arising out of the judgement, expected on Friday afternoon.

Apart from the army, more than 15,000 paramilitary personnel was deployed in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh. In addition to that, mobile internet and data services across the three areas have been suspended for 72 hours.

IN PICTURES | Panchkula under lockdown; Lakhs of Dera Sacha Sauda followers throng city

Ram Niwas, additional chief secretary (Home) Haryana, said that the decision to suspend mobile internet services and data services was taken at a coordination-committee meeting of Haryana, Punjab and the union territory (UT) held under chairmanship of the Punjab governor and UT Administrator, V P Badnore, at Punjab Raj Bhawan during the day.

A joint-control room of Haryana and Punjab would be set up at Control Room, Sector-9, Chandigarh, where a police officer from both states would be deployed for effective coordination between the police forces to maintain law and order.

Niwas also said that a request was made to the Ministry of Railways to stop all passenger trains coming to Chandigarh for two days. Buses of Haryana Roadways coming to Chandigarh and Panchkula have already been stopped for two days.

The additional chief secretary said, as per earlier orders, Section 144 had been imposed in every districts and carrying of any kind of weapon had also been prohibited.

Ten senior IPS officers were deployed and two general-level additional directors have also been appointed to ensure peace. In addition, 10 duty magistrates have been appointed at various locations. Action was being taken by the civil and police administration on the basis of intelligence inputs as and when received, he added.

CHANDIGARH: As many as 22 columns of army were deployed on Thursday night to maintain law and order after scores of Dera Sacha Sauda followers thronged Chandigarh and nearby areas despite prohibitory orders. The orders were imposed ahead of Fridays verdict on rape-accused Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh. Director general of police Haryana B S Sandhu said, We requested the army to maintain law and order, after which it sent 22 columns in the state. Twenty of these columns will be deployed at Panchkula and two at Sirsa by Thursday night, he said. The decision came after the High Court rapped the state government for its failure to stop assembly of such a large number of followers despite imposition of the prohibitory orders. The HC asked the police to remove the followers from gathering here and appraise it about the action taken. Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh also authorized the DGP to impose curfew if necessary. Singh said the Western Command of the army had been put on standby to tackle any eventuality arising out of the judgement, expected on Friday afternoon. Apart from the army, more than 15,000 paramilitary personnel was deployed in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh. In addition to that, mobile internet and data services across the three areas have been suspended for 72 hours. IN PICTURES | Panchkula under lockdown; Lakhs of Dera Sacha Sauda followers throng city Ram Niwas, additional chief secretary (Home) Haryana, said that the decision to suspend mobile internet services and data services was taken at a coordination-committee meeting of Haryana, Punjab and the union territory (UT) held under chairmanship of the Punjab governor and UT Administrator, V P Badnore, at Punjab Raj Bhawan during the day. A joint-control room of Haryana and Punjab would be set up at Control Room, Sector-9, Chandigarh, where a police officer from both states would be deployed for effective coordination between the police forces to maintain law and order. Niwas also said that a request was made to the Ministry of Railways to stop all passenger trains coming to Chandigarh for two days. Buses of Haryana Roadways coming to Chandigarh and Panchkula have already been stopped for two days. The additional chief secretary said, as per earlier orders, Section 144 had been imposed in every districts and carrying of any kind of weapon had also been prohibited. Ten senior IPS officers were deployed and two general-level additional directors have also been appointed to ensure peace. In addition, 10 duty magistrates have been appointed at various locations. Action was being taken by the civil and police administration on the basis of intelligence inputs as and when received, he added.
Anuraag Singh By

Express News Service

BHOPAL: Prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPc have been clamped in Narsinghpur town of Madhya Pradesh after a flag resembling that of Pakistan was found hoisted atop a Hanuman Temple.

The flag was found hoisted atop the Panchmukhi Hanuman Temple in Jarjora Road area of Narsinghpur town (around 200 km from state capital Bhopal).

The temple priest spotted the flag atop the temple on Thursday. Local police were informed and the temple staff immediately removed the flag that had a white star and a crescent on a dark green field, with a vertical white stripe at the hoist. But unlike on the Pakistans national flag, the crescent of the flag on the temples top was facing downward with a star below it.

A message was also found scribbled on the temple wall, threatening to wipe out a particular community.

According to DIG Chhindwara Range, Dr GK Pathak, a case has been lodged against unidentified persons for hurting religious sentiments and CCTV footage retrieved from near the temple is being scanned to find the culprits.

Members of saffron outfits immediately got into the act and carried out a procession in the town over the incident, which prompted the local administration to impose Section 144 of CrPc, prohibiting the gathering of more than four persons in the town.

The local police have also warned of action if anyone is found sharing communally sensitive content on social media platforms.

BHOPAL: Prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPc have been clamped in Narsinghpur town of Madhya Pradesh after a flag resembling that of Pakistan was found hoisted atop a Hanuman Temple. The flag was found hoisted atop the Panchmukhi Hanuman Temple in Jarjora Road area of Narsinghpur town (around 200 km from state capital Bhopal). The temple priest spotted the flag atop the temple on Thursday. Local police were informed and the temple staff immediately removed the flag that had a white star and a crescent on a dark green field, with a vertical white stripe at the hoist. But unlike on the Pakistans national flag, the crescent of the flag on the temples top was facing downward with a star below it. A message was also found scribbled on the temple wall, threatening to wipe out a particular community. According to DIG Chhindwara Range, Dr GK Pathak, a case has been lodged against unidentified persons for hurting religious sentiments and CCTV footage retrieved from near the temple is being scanned to find the culprits. Members of saffron outfits immediately got into the act and carried out a procession in the town over the incident, which prompted the local administration to impose Section 144 of CrPc, prohibiting the gathering of more than four persons in the town. The local police have also warned of action if anyone is found sharing communally sensitive content on social media platforms.
Harpreet Bajwa By

Express News Service

CHANDIGARH: The BJP Government in Haryana totally failed to contain the violence after Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was today convicted of the rape of two sadhvis of his sect, as it did not act on intelligence inputs and did not implement the Section 144 of CrPC orders properly.

Sources said that the Haryana police had intelligence inputs that lakhs of followers were coming to Panchkula where their 'godman' would be to be present in the special CBI court today in this case. As not only state intelligence had this information that the Dera followers were planning to congregate at Panchkula but central intelligence agencies and neighbouring Punjab Police too had shared the information with the Haryana Police.

But the police did not act and let the Dera supporters freely enter the city. All the police did was to put up a few barricades in place but to no avail.

On condition of anonymity a police officer said, "If we had the orders to stop Dera followers, we would have stopped them but we did not have any such orders."

When questioned by the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the state government had no answer to why Section 144 (prohibitory orders) was not imposed in letter and spirit. More than an lakh and fifty thousand Dera followers, known as premis, flooded the quiet town of Panchkula in Haryana over three days ahead of the verdict pronounced by the CBI court located there.

That Haryana Police had prior intelligence and did not act came to light when Haryana Advocate General yesterday told the Punjab and Haryana High court that they had imposed section 144 (prohibitory orders). The High Court on reading the notification came down heavily on the Haryana government, pointing out that the government had not expressly banned the assembly of five or more people in Panchkula. To this the AG admitted that there had been a mistake in the notification and that they would correct it now.

But it was too late as more than a lakh of people had already reached Panchkula by then.

The High Court was so annoyed that it even went to the extent of accusing the state government of conniving with the agitators. The judges said that the Haryana government had failed during the Jat agitation and the (Baba) Rampal agitation and did not want another such situation to arise again. The court even threatened to take action against the entire Haryana government and the DGP.

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Friday visited the Civil Hospital in Panchkula to meet those injured in the violent protests. When asked about the intelligence inputs and goof-up in implementing section 144 he had no answer.

CHANDIGARH: The BJP Government in Haryana totally failed to contain the violence after Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was today convicted of the rape of two sadhvis of his sect, as it did not act on intelligence inputs and did not implement the Section 144 of CrPC orders properly. Sources said that the Haryana police had intelligence inputs that lakhs of followers were coming to Panchkula where their 'godman' would be to be present in the special CBI court today in this case. As not only state intelligence had this information that the Dera followers were planning to congregate at Panchkula but central intelligence agencies and neighbouring Punjab Police too had shared the information with the Haryana Police. But the police did not act and let the Dera supporters freely enter the city. All the police did was to put up a few barricades in place but to no avail. On condition of anonymity a police officer said, "If we had the orders to stop Dera followers, we would have stopped them but we did not have any such orders." When questioned by the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the state government had no answer to why Section 144 (prohibitory orders) was not imposed in letter and spirit. More than an lakh and fifty thousand Dera followers, known as premis, flooded the quiet town of Panchkula in Haryana over three days ahead of the verdict pronounced by the CBI court located there. That Haryana Police had prior intelligence and did not act came to light when Haryana Advocate General yesterday told the Punjab and Haryana High court that they had imposed section 144 (prohibitory orders). The High Court on reading the notification came down heavily on the Haryana government, pointing out that the government had not expressly banned the assembly of five or more people in Panchkula. To this the AG admitted that there had been a mistake in the notification and that they would correct it now. But it was too late as more than a lakh of people had already reached Panchkula by then. The High Court was so annoyed that it even went to the extent of accusing the state government of conniving with the agitators. The judges said that the Haryana government had failed during the Jat agitation and the (Baba) Rampal agitation and did not want another such situation to arise again. The court even threatened to take action against the entire Haryana government and the DGP. Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Friday visited the Civil Hospital in Panchkula to meet those injured in the violent protests. When asked about the intelligence inputs and goof-up in implementing section 144 he had no answer.
By ANI

NEW DELHI: The rape charges against Dera Sacha Sauda (DSS) chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, regarded as a spiritual leader, has shocked millions of his followers spread across several states with a large concentration in the states of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.

Gurmeet Ram Rahim, was on Friday held guilty by the Special CBI Court of Panchkula. The quantum of sentence will, however, be announced on August 28.

Popularly known as Baba Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh claims to command a veritable following of more than 60 million of his faithfuls, especially the Dalit Sikhs, according to the website of his organisation Dera Sacha Sauda.

Here is all about the case against Baba Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh:

1. In 2002, two women, who used to be members of the Dera Sacha Sauda (DSS), accused that they were sexually exploited by the spiritual leader Baba Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh at the headquarters of the sect in Haryana's Sirsa.

2. The case begun with a anonymous letter sent to the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, by a Sadhvi, who was part of the organisation, narrating how Singh raped her along with various other Sadhvis.

3. According to the media reports, the Sadhvi accused that the spiritual leader Ram Rahim summoned her one night to his room where a pornographic film was running in the background and he possessed a revolver.

4. The Sadhvi alleged that she was sexually assaulted by Singh for three years, and 35-40 other women also suffered the same fate.

5. The Punjab and Haryana High Court took suo motto cognisance of the explosive letter, and the matter was subsequently referred to the CBI in September 2002.

6. Eighteen Sadhvis were questioned by the investigating agency and two of them levelled allegations of rape against the spiritual leader.

7. One Sadhvi accepted to investigation officials of CBI that she was raped, but she justified her rape on the grounds that it would purify her.

8. Testimonies of the two women were recorded under Section 164 of CrPC by CBI, which implied that these statements could be produced in court as evidence.

9. On 10 July 2002, a DSS member Ranjit Singh was killed.

10. On 23 October 2002 a journalist (the editor of Poora Sach, a local daily from Sirsa) Ram Chander Chattrapati was also killed.

11. It was alleged that Ram Chander Chattrapati - the editor of Poora Sach, was killed because he reported on the nefarious happenings within the Dera Sacha Sauda.

12. The slain Ranjit Singh was believed to have been involved in the drafting of the anonymous letter making rape allegations against the DSS chief.

13. Singh was named as an accused in both the killings of DSS member Ranjit Singh on 10 July 2002 and journalist Ram Chander Chattrapati on 23 October 2002.

14. However, DSS chief Singh consistently denied charges of rape saying, he was Not fit to Indulge in physical relationships.

15. On 30 July 2007, five years after the rape case was filed in 2002 against Ram Rahim Singh, CBI filed a charge sheet against him.

16. In 2008, the trial against the spiritual leader commenced following the charge sheet filed by CBI.

17. On 6 September 2008, the CBI charged DSS chief Singh under Section 376 (rape) and Section 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.

18. In April 2011, after three years of the charge sheet filed against Singh, the CBI court was shifted from Ambala to Panchkula.

19. The DSS chief has consistently dismissed the charges of rape and murder against him as false and baseless.

20. In 2014, Singh even conveyed to the Panchkula court that he was not fit to indulge in physical relationships, according to his counsel SK Garg Narwana.

The above allegations of rape are not the only controversy Singh has courted till now. He has been in the controversy for several other reasons also including the allegations of murdering people and castrating his followers as well.

 In 2005, a criminal case was filed against Singh for the alleged kidnap of a woman named Guddi Devi on the complaints filed by Kamlesh Kumar with the Jawahar Circle police station in Jaipur.

 In his complaint, Kamlesh Kumar claimed Singh and his followers had kidnapped his wife Guddi, who had gone to the headquarters in Haryana to attend a Satsang.

 A case was of wrongful confinement and abductions was lodged against Singh, Dera managing director DPS Dutta and others under Sections 344, 346, 365 and 120b (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code, according to media reports.

 In 2007, DSS chief Singh dressed up as the 10th guru of Sikhs  Guru Gobind Singh  in an advertisement that sparked huge controversy and was considered blasphemous by a section of Sikhs.

 Hundreds of people injured after his move to pose himself as the 10th guru of Sikhs  Guru Gobind Singh  which ignited violent clashes between Sikhs and his followers.

 In 2012, Singh was accused for the mass castration case.

 A petition was filed in the Punjab and Haryana High Court by Hansraj Chauhan, a former DSS follower, alleging that 400 followers, including him, were castrated inside the ashram on Singh's order.

 Chauhan said Singh claimed the followers would be able to realise God after castration.

 In 2014, the Singh was booked in connection with the case by CBI.

 CBI found evidence against Singh in the mass castration case a year later.

 In 2014, after reports of illegal arms training surfaced online, the Punjab and Haryana High Court ordered the state government to monitor the activities of the DSS.

 However, no evidence of illegal arms training at the DSS headquarters in Sirsa in Haryana was found, in the investigations, the state government claimed.

 In 2015, Singh again came in MSG movies controversies, when the then censor board chief Leela Samson resigned after the film got clearance from Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT), saying "It is a mockery of Central Board of Film Certification. My resignation is final."

 Sikh organisations and leaders protested against the release of the film prompting Punjab and Haryana governments to put high alert after film hit screens.



NEW DELHI: The rape charges against Dera Sacha Sauda (DSS) chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, regarded as a spiritual leader, has shocked millions of his followers spread across several states with a large concentration in the states of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. Gurmeet Ram Rahim, was on Friday held guilty by the Special CBI Court of Panchkula. The quantum of sentence will, however, be announced on August 28. Popularly known as Baba Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh claims to command a veritable following of more than 60 million of his faithfuls, especially the Dalit Sikhs, according to the website of his organisation Dera Sacha Sauda. Here is all about the case against Baba Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh: 1. In 2002, two women, who used to be members of the Dera Sacha Sauda (DSS), accused that they were sexually exploited by the spiritual leader Baba Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh at the headquarters of the sect in Haryana's Sirsa. 2. The case begun with a anonymous letter sent to the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, by a Sadhvi, who was part of the organisation, narrating how Singh raped her along with various other Sadhvis. 3. According to the media reports, the Sadhvi accused that the spiritual leader Ram Rahim summoned her one night to his room where a pornographic film was running in the background and he possessed a revolver. 4. The Sadhvi alleged that she was sexually assaulted by Singh for three years, and 35-40 other women also suffered the same fate. 5. The Punjab and Haryana High Court took suo motto cognisance of the explosive letter, and the matter was subsequently referred to the CBI in September 2002. 6. Eighteen Sadhvis were questioned by the investigating agency and two of them levelled allegations of rape against the spiritual leader. 7. One Sadhvi accepted to investigation officials of CBI that she was raped, but she justified her rape on the grounds that it would purify her. 8. Testimonies of the two women were recorded under Section 164 of CrPC by CBI, which implied that these statements could be produced in court as evidence. 9. On 10 July 2002, a DSS member Ranjit Singh was killed. 10. On 23 October 2002 a journalist (the editor of Poora Sach, a local daily from Sirsa) Ram Chander Chattrapati was also killed. 11. It was alleged that Ram Chander Chattrapati - the editor of Poora Sach, was killed because he reported on the nefarious happenings within the Dera Sacha Sauda. 12. The slain Ranjit Singh was believed to have been involved in the drafting of the anonymous letter making rape allegations against the DSS chief. 13. Singh was named as an accused in both the killings of DSS member Ranjit Singh on 10 July 2002 and journalist Ram Chander Chattrapati on 23 October 2002. 14. However, DSS chief Singh consistently denied charges of rape saying, he was Not fit to Indulge in physical relationships. 15. On 30 July 2007, five years after the rape case was filed in 2002 against Ram Rahim Singh, CBI filed a charge sheet against him. 16. In 2008, the trial against the spiritual leader commenced following the charge sheet filed by CBI. 17. On 6 September 2008, the CBI charged DSS chief Singh under Section 376 (rape) and Section 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code. 18. In April 2011, after three years of the charge sheet filed against Singh, the CBI court was shifted from Ambala to Panchkula. 19. The DSS chief has consistently dismissed the charges of rape and murder against him as false and baseless. 20. In 2014, Singh even conveyed to the Panchkula court that he was not fit to indulge in physical relationships, according to his counsel SK Garg Narwana. The above allegations of rape are not the only controversy Singh has courted till now. He has been in the controversy for several other reasons also including the allegations of murdering people and castrating his followers as well.  In 2005, a criminal case was filed against Singh for the alleged kidnap of a woman named Guddi Devi on the complaints filed by Kamlesh Kumar with the Jawahar Circle police station in Jaipur.  In his complaint, Kamlesh Kumar claimed Singh and his followers had kidnapped his wife Guddi, who had gone to the headquarters in Haryana to attend a Satsang.  A case was of wrongful confinement and abductions was lodged against Singh, Dera managing director DPS Dutta and others under Sections 344, 346, 365 and 120b (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code, according to media reports.  In 2007, DSS chief Singh dressed up as the 10th guru of Sikhs  Guru Gobind Singh  in an advertisement that sparked huge controversy and was considered blasphemous by a section of Sikhs.  Hundreds of people injured after his move to pose himself as the 10th guru of Sikhs  Guru Gobind Singh  which ignited violent clashes between Sikhs and his followers.  In 2012, Singh was accused for the mass castration case.  A petition was filed in the Punjab and Haryana High Court by Hansraj Chauhan, a former DSS follower, alleging that 400 followers, including him, were castrated inside the ashram on Singh's order.  Chauhan said Singh claimed the followers would be able to realise God after castration.  In 2014, the Singh was booked in connection with the case by CBI.  CBI found evidence against Singh in the mass castration case a year later.  In 2014, after reports of illegal arms training surfaced online, the Punjab and Haryana High Court ordered the state government to monitor the activities of the DSS.  However, no evidence of illegal arms training at the DSS headquarters in Sirsa in Haryana was found, in the investigations, the state government claimed.  In 2015, Singh again came in MSG movies controversies, when the then censor board chief Leela Samson resigned after the film got clearance from Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT), saying "It is a mockery of Central Board of Film Certification. My resignation is final."  Sikh organisations and leaders protested against the release of the film prompting Punjab and Haryana governments to put high alert after film hit screens.
Fayaz Wani By

Express News Service

SRINAGAR: The opposition parties in Jammu and Kashmir are mulling to contest Article 35-A petition challenging the validity of Article 35-A of constitution, which grants special privileges to residents to the State.

We will not shy away from becoming party to the Article 35-A case in the Supreme Court. We are mulling to challenge the petition legally in the apex court. We are consulting the lawyers and may file the petition in the apex court, National Conference president and former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah told the meeting of opposition leaders convened by him at his residence, here today.

The State Congress leaders, CPI (M) State Secretary Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, independent MLA Hakeem Yasin, former minister Ghulam Hassan Mir and others attended the meeting which was also attended by NC working president and former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and many top NC leaders.

The meeting was called by Farooq Abdullah to chalk out joint strategy to defend Article 35-A of the constitution.

The Supreme Court is hearing a petition filed by an NGO Jammu Kashmir Study Centre seeking abrogation of Article 35-A, which confers special rights and privileges on permanent residents of J&K and debars non-residents from buying land or property, getting a government job or voting in State Assembly elections. The next hearing of the case, which was to be held on August 29, would now be held after Diwali.

A senior NC leader, who attended the meeting today, said it has been decided that the opposition leaders would consult some legal experts to know their opinion before deciding to contest in supreme court the petition challenging Article 35-A.

He said the leaders of opposition parties would be travelling to Jammu and Ladakh to meet representatives of political parties, civil society members, traders and lawyers and garner support for joint fight against attempts to abrogate Article 35-A.

Meanwhile, Congress leader and former PDP MP, Tariq Hameed Karra, today said he has been accepted as private respondent by the Supreme Court in Article 35A case.

The plea has been accepted by the Supreme Court and I have been accepted as a private respondent into the case, he said.

Karra, who had resigned from PDP last year, said he had moved an application before Supreme Court to empanel him as a private respondent in the matter of Article 35A.

The petition of intervention was filed by his lawyer Ashok Mathur in the supreme court .

The lawyers staged protests in Srinagar and other parts of the Valley today to protest against any attempt to abrogate Article 35-A.

The separatist leaders Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Mohammad Yasin Malik had called on lawyers to stage protests today in favour of safeguarding Article 35-A.

The separatist leaders, meanwhile, today called off the August 29 strike and protest programme on Article 35-A after the Supreme court rescheduled the hearing of the petition challenging J&K State subject law after Diwali.

SRINAGAR: The opposition parties in Jammu and Kashmir are mulling to contest Article 35-A petition challenging the validity of Article 35-A of constitution, which grants special privileges to residents to the State. We will not shy away from becoming party to the Article 35-A case in the Supreme Court. We are mulling to challenge the petition legally in the apex court. We are consulting the lawyers and may file the petition in the apex court, National Conference president and former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah told the meeting of opposition leaders convened by him at his residence, here today. The State Congress leaders, CPI (M) State Secretary Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, independent MLA Hakeem Yasin, former minister Ghulam Hassan Mir and others attended the meeting which was also attended by NC working president and former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and many top NC leaders. The meeting was called by Farooq Abdullah to chalk out joint strategy to defend Article 35-A of the constitution. The Supreme Court is hearing a petition filed by an NGO Jammu Kashmir Study Centre seeking abrogation of Article 35-A, which confers special rights and privileges on permanent residents of J&K and debars non-residents from buying land or property, getting a government job or voting in State Assembly elections. The next hearing of the case, which was to be held on August 29, would now be held after Diwali. A senior NC leader, who attended the meeting today, said it has been decided that the opposition leaders would consult some legal experts to know their opinion before deciding to contest in supreme court the petition challenging Article 35-A. He said the leaders of opposition parties would be travelling to Jammu and Ladakh to meet representatives of political parties, civil society members, traders and lawyers and garner support for joint fight against attempts to abrogate Article 35-A. Meanwhile, Congress leader and former PDP MP, Tariq Hameed Karra, today said he has been accepted as private respondent by the Supreme Court in Article 35A case. The plea has been accepted by the Supreme Court and I have been accepted as a private respondent into the case, he said. Karra, who had resigned from PDP last year, said he had moved an application before Supreme Court to empanel him as a private respondent in the matter of Article 35A. The petition of intervention was filed by his lawyer Ashok Mathur in the supreme court . The lawyers staged protests in Srinagar and other parts of the Valley today to protest against any attempt to abrogate Article 35-A. The separatist leaders Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Mohammad Yasin Malik had called on lawyers to stage protests today in favour of safeguarding Article 35-A. The separatist leaders, meanwhile, today called off the August 29 strike and protest programme on Article 35-A after the Supreme court rescheduled the hearing of the petition challenging J&K State subject law after Diwali.
By PTI

KOLKATA: A senior official of Israel tourism has said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Israel this year has given a boost to its tourism sector with the arrival of Indian tourists to Israel recording a rise of 26 per cent.

"The historic visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to our country has sparked a renewed interest among Indians to visit Israel," Hassan Madah, director-Israel ministry of tourism, India, told PTI.

"In the last seven months, over 34,000 Indians have visited Israel, which is a growth of 36 percent," he said.

PM Modi's visit, Madah said, had sent out a "positive message".

"First of all, it is the awareness that it is good to do business with each other, secondly business travellers influx will automatically grow. Overall the positive atmosphere is helping us (tourism sector) to grow ," Madah said.

He pointed out that direct flights from New Delhi to Israel, will help the tourism sector to grow much faster.

Madah said, talks are on for introducing direct Air India flights connecting New Delhi with Israel.

"If it (direct flight) commences, then the tourist traffic is likely to surge from India and vice-versa," he said.

When asked whether Israel would provide special package or concessions to Indian Jewish community wishing to visit Israel, Madah said, "As regards tourism, the population of the Jewish community in India is very small. Our focus is not the Jewish community."

"In the US, the Jewish community is very big, there our focus is the Jewish community," he said.

"In india, our focus is pilgrimage (tourism), quality tourism, leisure, events, conferences, incentive tourism," Madah said.

Quoting statistics, Madah said, near about 39,529 Indian tourists travelled to Israel in 2015 and the figure went up to 44,672 in 2016.

"Till July 2017, 34,300 Indians have visited Israel. So you can just see the rise," he said.

KOLKATA: A senior official of Israel tourism has said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Israel this year has given a boost to its tourism sector with the arrival of Indian tourists to Israel recording a rise of 26 per cent. "The historic visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to our country has sparked a renewed interest among Indians to visit Israel," Hassan Madah, director-Israel ministry of tourism, India, told PTI. "In the last seven months, over 34,000 Indians have visited Israel, which is a growth of 36 percent," he said. PM Modi's visit, Madah said, had sent out a "positive message". "First of all, it is the awareness that it is good to do business with each other, secondly business travellers influx will automatically grow. Overall the positive atmosphere is helping us (tourism sector) to grow ," Madah said. He pointed out that direct flights from New Delhi to Israel, will help the tourism sector to grow much faster. Madah said, talks are on for introducing direct Air India flights connecting New Delhi with Israel. "If it (direct flight) commences, then the tourist traffic is likely to surge from India and vice-versa," he said. When asked whether Israel would provide special package or concessions to Indian Jewish community wishing to visit Israel, Madah said, "As regards tourism, the population of the Jewish community in India is very small. Our focus is not the Jewish community." "In the US, the Jewish community is very big, there our focus is the Jewish community," he said. "In india, our focus is pilgrimage (tourism), quality tourism, leisure, events, conferences, incentive tourism," Madah said. Quoting statistics, Madah said, near about 39,529 Indian tourists travelled to Israel in 2015 and the figure went up to 44,672 in 2016. "Till July 2017, 34,300 Indians have visited Israel. So you can just see the rise," he said.
By ANI

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday ordered the Chandigarh administration to release Rs. one lakh to the family of a 10-year-old rape survivor.

The apex court also ordered to make a fixed deposit of Rs. nine lakh for the survivor and asked the hospital to keep her medical records in a sealed cover.

The Supreme Court also directed the Chandigarh administration to provide free medical service, counseling and other necessary help to the girl at her home so as to protect her identity.

In its earlier hearing, the top court sought responses from the Centre and the Chandigarh administration on a plea seeking Rs. 10 lakh compensation for the victim, who delivered a baby on August 17.

On July 28, the Supreme Court had dismissed a plea seeking its nod for terminating the 32-week-old pregnancy of the 10-year-old rape survivor after taking note of a medical report that abortion was neither good for the girl nor for the foetus.

A bench comprising Chief Justice J S Khehar and Justice D Y Chandrachud took note of the report of the medical board set up by PGI (Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research) Chandigarh to examine the rape survivor and the consequences if the termination of pregnancy was allowed.

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday ordered the Chandigarh administration to release Rs. one lakh to the family of a 10-year-old rape survivor. The apex court also ordered to make a fixed deposit of Rs. nine lakh for the survivor and asked the hospital to keep her medical records in a sealed cover. The Supreme Court also directed the Chandigarh administration to provide free medical service, counseling and other necessary help to the girl at her home so as to protect her identity. In its earlier hearing, the top court sought responses from the Centre and the Chandigarh administration on a plea seeking Rs. 10 lakh compensation for the victim, who delivered a baby on August 17. On July 28, the Supreme Court had dismissed a plea seeking its nod for terminating the 32-week-old pregnancy of the 10-year-old rape survivor after taking note of a medical report that abortion was neither good for the girl nor for the foetus. A bench comprising Chief Justice J S Khehar and Justice D Y Chandrachud took note of the report of the medical board set up by PGI (Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research) Chandigarh to examine the rape survivor and the consequences if the termination of pregnancy was allowed.
GS Vasu By

Express News Service

Thursdays pronouncement by a nine-judge Constitution bench that right to privacy is very much a part of the fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 21 is not just historic. The judgement is, more importantly, an instruction to the State on how to deal with its citizens. It demolishes the belief of those in power, irrespective of political ideology, that Man is a creature of the State, and reinforces what has been stated in the Preamble  We the People of this country are the intended beneficiaries of the Constitution. There are many lessons to be drawn from this judgment, written concurrently and separately by the cream of our judiciary; and the lessons apply equally to those who have ruled this country in the past, those in power now and such of those who are eager to occupy the throne in future.

Lesson 1: Within a couple of hours after the unanimous judgement was delivered, Congress prince-in-waiting Rahul Gandhi, saw enough reason to attack the government of the day, forgetful as he might be that the first attempt to trample on the fundamental rights of citizens and stifle institutions came in the form of the Emergency imposed in 1975 by his grandmother.

Todays judgment has rewritten history. If a majority of judges on the then Constitution bench ruled in the infamous ADM Jabalpur case that rights guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution stand suspended in the wake of Emergency, Justice D Y Chandrachud, who wrote a common judgement on behalf of four judges on the current bench, had this to say: The judgement in the Jabalpur case is seriously flawed. Life and personal liberty are inalienable to human existence. Neither life nor liberty are bounties conferred by the State nor did the Constitution create these rights.

Lesson 2: A few hours later, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad expectedly lashed out at Rahul Gandhi and claimed that this government has always recognised right to privacy as a part of the Fundamental Rights. But this is not what the Attorney General told the Supreme Court. The judgement quotes the AG as having said that right to privacy is basically an elitist construct and must be forsaken in the interests of the welfare entitlements provided by the State. The bench was unequivocal in saying that it is an unsustainable argument and the refrain that the poor need no civil or political rights has been utilized throughout history to wreak human rights violations.

Lesson 3: It is always in the interest of those in power -- again, irrespective of ideology, present or past -- to develop tolerance for criticism as it acts as a checks-and-balances mechanism. As the judgement says, Those who are governed are entitled to question, have a right to scrutinize and right to dissent. And, this right cannot be taken away on grounds of better development which cannot be seen as a process of inanimate object of convenience such as GNP per head, promoting industrialization or technological advancement. It has to be expansion of peoples freedom.

Todays verdict is, however, bound to open up a huge debate on what constitutes privacy, what are the reasonable restrictions that the State can impose on grounds of national interest since no right is absolute in nature and whether fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution should be limited to State vs individual relationship or go beyond touching upon even family issues. For the people of this country, this judgement is a classic victory. It may not be so for political leaders. The peoples interest must win.

Thursdays pronouncement by a nine-judge Constitution bench that right to privacy is very much a part of the fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 21 is not just historic. The judgement is, more importantly, an instruction to the State on how to deal with its citizens. It demolishes the belief of those in power, irrespective of political ideology, that Man is a creature of the State, and reinforces what has been stated in the Preamble  We the People of this country are the intended beneficiaries of the Constitution. There are many lessons to be drawn from this judgment, written concurrently and separately by the cream of our judiciary; and the lessons apply equally to those who have ruled this country in the past, those in power now and such of those who are eager to occupy the throne in future. Lesson 1: Within a couple of hours after the unanimous judgement was delivered, Congress prince-in-waiting Rahul Gandhi, saw enough reason to attack the government of the day, forgetful as he might be that the first attempt to trample on the fundamental rights of citizens and stifle institutions came in the form of the Emergency imposed in 1975 by his grandmother. Todays judgment has rewritten history. If a majority of judges on the then Constitution bench ruled in the infamous ADM Jabalpur case that rights guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution stand suspended in the wake of Emergency, Justice D Y Chandrachud, who wrote a common judgement on behalf of four judges on the current bench, had this to say: The judgement in the Jabalpur case is seriously flawed. Life and personal liberty are inalienable to human existence. Neither life nor liberty are bounties conferred by the State nor did the Constitution create these rights. Lesson 2: A few hours later, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad expectedly lashed out at Rahul Gandhi and claimed that this government has always recognised right to privacy as a part of the Fundamental Rights. But this is not what the Attorney General told the Supreme Court. The judgement quotes the AG as having said that right to privacy is basically an elitist construct and must be forsaken in the interests of the welfare entitlements provided by the State. The bench was unequivocal in saying that it is an unsustainable argument and the refrain that the poor need no civil or political rights has been utilized throughout history to wreak human rights violations. Lesson 3: It is always in the interest of those in power -- again, irrespective of ideology, present or past -- to develop tolerance for criticism as it acts as a checks-and-balances mechanism. As the judgement says, Those who are governed are entitled to question, have a right to scrutinize and right to dissent. And, this right cannot be taken away on grounds of better development which cannot be seen as a process of inanimate object of convenience such as GNP per head, promoting industrialization or technological advancement. It has to be expansion of peoples freedom. Todays verdict is, however, bound to open up a huge debate on what constitutes privacy, what are the reasonable restrictions that the State can impose on grounds of national interest since no right is absolute in nature and whether fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution should be limited to State vs individual relationship or go beyond touching upon even family issues. For the people of this country, this judgement is a classic victory. It may not be so for political leaders. The peoples interest must win.
By Express News Service

MADIKERI/BENGALURU: The case of DySP Ganapathys suicide is back to haunt the Congress with the BJP demanding Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Minister K J Georges scalps. Both are accused of tampering with evidence in the death of the DySP. Reiterating the BJPs allegations is Ganapathys family. His brother M K Machaiah told Express on Thursday that they have no faith in the states investigating agencies as it may protect ministers and officers. We have been asking the state government to hand over the case to the CBI but it never did and always maintained that it was a suicide. The Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) report has proved that the CID officers destroyed crucial evidence to shield ministers and officers. The DySPs family had approached the Madikeri JMFC court to register an FIR in the death.

I regret that my brother served the department for more than two decades. He was harassed by corrupt politicians and police officers, who obstructed him from discharging his duty. When contacted, advocate Pavan Chandra Shetty, who represents Ganapathys family, said that he strove hard to take the case to the Supreme Court as the state High Court had refused them. We want the case to be handed over to CBI. The forensic report reportedly says that at least 335 contacts had been deleted from Ganapathys phone, besides 2,400 photographs, 110 emails, 61 SMSes and 145 PDF documents. Call records pertaining to a prominent MLA and a minister too have been deleted but the CID had filed a closure report in the case. He added the FSL report had brought the CID investigation under the scanner.

CM, George must resign: BJP

The BJP is set to mount another attack on CM Siddaramaiah and Bengaluru Development Minister K J George, demanding their resignations for destroying evidence in the death of the DySP. At least 145 videos, 31 audio files, 2,552 MS Word files, hundreds of emails, details of 45 to 50 calls and other documents from the mobile phone and computer of Ganapathy have been destroyed. It is clear that somebody powerful is behind this. This matter should be referred to CBI, BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa said here on Thursday. Yeddyurappa alleged that the CM was protecting K J George. A BJP delegation will call on Home Minister Rajnath Singh on August 26 and apprise him of the need for a CBI enquiry into this case, he said.

MADIKERI/BENGALURU: The case of DySP Ganapathys suicide is back to haunt the Congress with the BJP demanding Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Minister K J Georges scalps. Both are accused of tampering with evidence in the death of the DySP. Reiterating the BJPs allegations is Ganapathys family. His brother M K Machaiah told Express on Thursday that they have no faith in the states investigating agencies as it may protect ministers and officers. We have been asking the state government to hand over the case to the CBI but it never did and always maintained that it was a suicide. The Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) report has proved that the CID officers destroyed crucial evidence to shield ministers and officers. The DySPs family had approached the Madikeri JMFC court to register an FIR in the death. I regret that my brother served the department for more than two decades. He was harassed by corrupt politicians and police officers, who obstructed him from discharging his duty. When contacted, advocate Pavan Chandra Shetty, who represents Ganapathys family, said that he strove hard to take the case to the Supreme Court as the state High Court had refused them. We want the case to be handed over to CBI. The forensic report reportedly says that at least 335 contacts had been deleted from Ganapathys phone, besides 2,400 photographs, 110 emails, 61 SMSes and 145 PDF documents. Call records pertaining to a prominent MLA and a minister too have been deleted but the CID had filed a closure report in the case. He added the FSL report had brought the CID investigation under the scanner. CM, George must resign: BJP The BJP is set to mount another attack on CM Siddaramaiah and Bengaluru Development Minister K J George, demanding their resignations for destroying evidence in the death of the DySP. At least 145 videos, 31 audio files, 2,552 MS Word files, hundreds of emails, details of 45 to 50 calls and other documents from the mobile phone and computer of Ganapathy have been destroyed. It is clear that somebody powerful is behind this. This matter should be referred to CBI, BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa said here on Thursday. Yeddyurappa alleged that the CM was protecting K J George. A BJP delegation will call on Home Minister Rajnath Singh on August 26 and apprise him of the need for a CBI enquiry into this case, he said.
By Express News Service

KASARGOD: A former member of the Bellur panchayat in Kasargod district of Kerala, battling a neurological condition, was found dead behind his house, in a suspected case of suicide, said Adhur police.

Kunhappa Nayak (75) of Adwala in the border panchayat of Bellur was found dead by his son Balakrishna Nayak Thursday evening. Kunhappa, a member of the Marathi tribe, was debt-ridden and struggling to meet his medical expenses, said Sasidhara Golikkatta, a neighbour who had known him for decades. "He had attended several special medical camps, including the one held this April, to identify victims of (the indiscriminate use of the killer fertiliser) Endosulfan," he said.

Kunhapa Nayak (75) from Bellur in Kasargod district, Kerala | Photo: ENS

Last month, he submitted a petition to district police chief K G Simon when he conducted an open hearing for Scheduled Tribe communities in Bellur. The petition seeking free medical treatment was forwarded to the Bellur Primary Health Centre, Sasidhara said.

Nayak needed around Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,000 to buy medicines every week, he said. He was also struggling to repay a loan of around Rs 2.5 lakh to the Bellur Service Cooperative Bank, the neighbour added.

He became a member of the panchayat when his ward was reserved for Scheduled Tribe in 1988.

He is survived by his wife Janaki, son Balakrishna, a driver, and three daughters Vanaja, Sasikala, and Shymala.

Fourth suicide in Bellur

Activists said Nayak's suicide exposed the lack of medical care given to persons with disabilities. "Last year, two persons ended their lives under similar conditions," said Ambalathara Kunhikrishnan, an activist fighting for the rights of Endosulfan victims.

Last year, on the day chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan was inaugurating a state-of-the-art BUDS school for children with disabilities in Periya, Rajivi (62), an Endosulfan victim hanged herself at her home.

Officials came to know of her death only the next day on November 5, 2016.

Her sons Srinivasan and Karunakaran had said that Rajivi was a heart patient and doctors had advised a surgery. She ended her life because she could not raise the money for the surgery, they alleged.

A week after that, on November 12, Jaganatha Poojaray (52), father of two Endosulfan victims, and an employee of Vaninagar Primary Health Centre hanged himself from a cashewnut tree near his house in Enmakaje panchayat, next door to Bellur.

Kunhikrishnan said one Janu Nayak had committed suicide in 2013 after an official said his name did not figure in the list of victims to be compensated by the government.

KASARGOD: A former member of the Bellur panchayat in Kasargod district of Kerala, battling a neurological condition, was found dead behind his house, in a suspected case of suicide, said Adhur police. Kunhappa Nayak (75) of Adwala in the border panchayat of Bellur was found dead by his son Balakrishna Nayak Thursday evening. Kunhappa, a member of the Marathi tribe, was debt-ridden and struggling to meet his medical expenses, said Sasidhara Golikkatta, a neighbour who had known him for decades. "He had attended several special medical camps, including the one held this April, to identify victims of (the indiscriminate use of the killer fertiliser) Endosulfan," he said. Kunhapa Nayak (75) from Bellur in Kasargod district, Kerala | Photo: ENSLast month, he submitted a petition to district police chief K G Simon when he conducted an open hearing for Scheduled Tribe communities in Bellur. The petition seeking free medical treatment was forwarded to the Bellur Primary Health Centre, Sasidhara said. Nayak needed around Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,000 to buy medicines every week, he said. He was also struggling to repay a loan of around Rs 2.5 lakh to the Bellur Service Cooperative Bank, the neighbour added. He became a member of the panchayat when his ward was reserved for Scheduled Tribe in 1988. He is survived by his wife Janaki, son Balakrishna, a driver, and three daughters Vanaja, Sasikala, and Shymala. Fourth suicide in Bellur Activists said Nayak's suicide exposed the lack of medical care given to persons with disabilities. "Last year, two persons ended their lives under similar conditions," said Ambalathara Kunhikrishnan, an activist fighting for the rights of Endosulfan victims. Last year, on the day chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan was inaugurating a state-of-the-art BUDS school for children with disabilities in Periya, Rajivi (62), an Endosulfan victim hanged herself at her home. Officials came to know of her death only the next day on November 5, 2016. Her sons Srinivasan and Karunakaran had said that Rajivi was a heart patient and doctors had advised a surgery. She ended her life because she could not raise the money for the surgery, they alleged. A week after that, on November 12, Jaganatha Poojaray (52), father of two Endosulfan victims, and an employee of Vaninagar Primary Health Centre hanged himself from a cashewnut tree near his house in Enmakaje panchayat, next door to Bellur. Kunhikrishnan said one Janu Nayak had committed suicide in 2013 after an official said his name did not figure in the list of victims to be compensated by the government.
By Express News Service

BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday handed over appointment letters to 150 junior technicians for recruitment in Odisha Power Transmission Corporation Limited (OPTCL). Congratulating the new recruits, the Chief Minister said, The OPTCL has recruited 1,581 professionals in various disciplines which should be an example for other public sector units (PSUs).

Highlighting that the consumption load of Odisha is projected to reach 30,000 million units by 2022, Naveen said the transmission utility has proposed an expansion of grid network in the State with construction of 57 new grids in order to ensure uninterrupted quality power supply.

Noting that the transmission system availability of OPTCL has reached 99.96 per cent, which is the highest in the country, he said, OPTCL has been suitably awarded by the Ministry of Power on this account. Considering its excellent performance, the State Government has entrusted many State-funded projects worth over `10,000 crore to OPTCL as a nodal implementing agency. The Chief Minister also inaugurated the rooftop solar power system of Jaydev Bhawan.

BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday handed over appointment letters to 150 junior technicians for recruitment in Odisha Power Transmission Corporation Limited (OPTCL). Congratulating the new recruits, the Chief Minister said, The OPTCL has recruited 1,581 professionals in various disciplines which should be an example for other public sector units (PSUs). Highlighting that the consumption load of Odisha is projected to reach 30,000 million units by 2022, Naveen said the transmission utility has proposed an expansion of grid network in the State with construction of 57 new grids in order to ensure uninterrupted quality power supply. Noting that the transmission system availability of OPTCL has reached 99.96 per cent, which is the highest in the country, he said, OPTCL has been suitably awarded by the Ministry of Power on this account. Considering its excellent performance, the State Government has entrusted many State-funded projects worth over `10,000 crore to OPTCL as a nodal implementing agency. The Chief Minister also inaugurated the rooftop solar power system of Jaydev Bhawan.
By Express News Service

CHENNAI: Appearing unperturbed by the Speakers notice on their disqualification as lawmakers, the dissenting MLAs remained defiant saying that they would take legal recourse in the case of disqualification.

It is nothing but tactics of intimidation. We will meet it in the court if the Speaker takes action (to disqualify us), P Vetrivel, MLA, told reporters at the Secretariat.

Terming the move irrational, the vocal supporter of T T V Dhinakaran stated that there was no ground for any such action as no whip was in force and the one issued last time (February) had lapsed.

Vetrivel representing Perambur in the Assembly questioned why no action had been taken so far against Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam and the other 11 MLAs who voted against the confidence motion moved by Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami in February last.

He also stated that the steps aimed at disqualifying the dissenters went against the spirit of the judgment of the Supreme Court in the BS Yediyurappa case.

Meanwhile, the dissenting MLAs said that they had not received any notice from the Speaker.

None of us has received any notice from the Speaker so far, Thanga Tamilselvan, MLA, told Express on Thursday.

He also questioned the rationale behind the move aimed at disqualifying the rebel MLAs.

If they venture to disqualify us, it will be tantamount to contempt of court, Thanga Tamilselvan noted.

CHENNAI: Appearing unperturbed by the Speakers notice on their disqualification as lawmakers, the dissenting MLAs remained defiant saying that they would take legal recourse in the case of disqualification. It is nothing but tactics of intimidation. We will meet it in the court if the Speaker takes action (to disqualify us), P Vetrivel, MLA, told reporters at the Secretariat. Terming the move irrational, the vocal supporter of T T V Dhinakaran stated that there was no ground for any such action as no whip was in force and the one issued last time (February) had lapsed. Vetrivel representing Perambur in the Assembly questioned why no action had been taken so far against Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam and the other 11 MLAs who voted against the confidence motion moved by Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami in February last. He also stated that the steps aimed at disqualifying the dissenters went against the spirit of the judgment of the Supreme Court in the BS Yediyurappa case. Meanwhile, the dissenting MLAs said that they had not received any notice from the Speaker. None of us has received any notice from the Speaker so far, Thanga Tamilselvan, MLA, told Express on Thursday. He also questioned the rationale behind the move aimed at disqualifying the rebel MLAs. If they venture to disqualify us, it will be tantamount to contempt of court, Thanga Tamilselvan noted.
By Associated Press

JERUSALEM: White House adviser Jared Kushner on Thursday kicked off a renewed push by the Trump administration to restart Mideast peace talks amid signs of growing Palestinian impatience with a lack of progress so far.

Kushner, who is President Donald Trump's son-in-law, was holding separate talks with the Israeli and Palestinian leaders, seeking to breathe life into a White House effort that appears to have gotten off to a slow start. That effort has been further complicated by domestic troubles for Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

After initially welcoming the election of Trump, the Palestinians have expressed increasing frustration with what they say is a failure by the U.S. president to offer a clear vision for peace. Specifically, they are seeking a halt in Israeli settlement construction on occupied lands, and an American commitment to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state as part of a peace deal with Israel.

"The U.S. envoys come empty handed," said Mahmoud Alloul, a top official in Abbas' Fatah movement. "That's why we will ask them whether they have answers about the basic issues. We will not deal with marginal issues."

Kushner was meeting with Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Thursday afternoon, before heading to the West Bank city of Ramallah to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the evening. Kushner is expected to return to the U.S. on Friday.

"We have a lot of things to talk about, how to advance peace, stability and security in our region, prosperity too," Netanyahu said, standing next to Kushner. "I think that all of them are within our reach."

Kushner said Trump is "very committed to achieving a solution here that will be able to bring prosperity and peace to all people in this area."

Trump took office with hopes of forging what he calls the "ultimate deal" between Israelis and Palestinians. But he has since given few details on his vision for peace, managing to frustrate both sides.

On the campaign trail, Trump took a staunchly pro-Israel line. He promised to relocate the American Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem  a move welcomed by Israel and opposed by the Palestinians  and refused to endorse the Palestinian goal of independence. His platform played down the significance of Israeli settlements and he surrounded himself with a group of advisers with deep ties to the settlement movement, including Kushner.

But since taking office, Trump decided not to move the embassy and has urged Israel to restrain settlement construction.

Still, he has not come out in support of the two-state solution, a position supported by most of the international community and also his Republican and Democratic predecessors. Disappointed Palestinian officials privately gripe that Trump's team has begun to support Israeli positions and ignore their concerns.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki told the Voice of Palestine radio station on Thursday that the Palestinians would be seeking "clear answers" from Kushner on settlements and independence.

"Their answers to these questions will enable us to say if we have a historical chance for a peace process that can end the occupation or these visits are no more than a waste of time," Malki said.

The atmosphere has been further complicated by troubles for all three leaders. Trump's administration has become preoccupied with a series of domestic crises, most recently the fallout from the deadly racially charged violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, earlier this month.

Netanyahu, meanwhile, is facing a growing corruption investigation that could soon yield an indictment against him. These legal troubles, along with Israeli concerns about a possible long-term Iranian presence in neighboring Syria, make it unlikely that he will agree to any major diplomatic initiative.

After years of on and off peace efforts that have yielded no progress, Abbas is deeply unpopular at home. He also is stuck in a bitter rivalry with the Islamic militant group Hamas, which seized the Gaza Strip from his forces a decade ago and is now pursuing a reconciliation deal with Mohammed Dahlan, a former Abbas ally who has turned into his political nemesis.

These troubles will also weigh on Abbas if he is forced into making concessions to Israel.

JERUSALEM: White House adviser Jared Kushner on Thursday kicked off a renewed push by the Trump administration to restart Mideast peace talks amid signs of growing Palestinian impatience with a lack of progress so far. Kushner, who is President Donald Trump's son-in-law, was holding separate talks with the Israeli and Palestinian leaders, seeking to breathe life into a White House effort that appears to have gotten off to a slow start. That effort has been further complicated by domestic troubles for Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. After initially welcoming the election of Trump, the Palestinians have expressed increasing frustration with what they say is a failure by the U.S. president to offer a clear vision for peace. Specifically, they are seeking a halt in Israeli settlement construction on occupied lands, and an American commitment to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state as part of a peace deal with Israel. "The U.S. envoys come empty handed," said Mahmoud Alloul, a top official in Abbas' Fatah movement. "That's why we will ask them whether they have answers about the basic issues. We will not deal with marginal issues." Kushner was meeting with Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Thursday afternoon, before heading to the West Bank city of Ramallah to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the evening. Kushner is expected to return to the U.S. on Friday. "We have a lot of things to talk about, how to advance peace, stability and security in our region, prosperity too," Netanyahu said, standing next to Kushner. "I think that all of them are within our reach." Kushner said Trump is "very committed to achieving a solution here that will be able to bring prosperity and peace to all people in this area." Trump took office with hopes of forging what he calls the "ultimate deal" between Israelis and Palestinians. But he has since given few details on his vision for peace, managing to frustrate both sides. On the campaign trail, Trump took a staunchly pro-Israel line. He promised to relocate the American Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem  a move welcomed by Israel and opposed by the Palestinians  and refused to endorse the Palestinian goal of independence. His platform played down the significance of Israeli settlements and he surrounded himself with a group of advisers with deep ties to the settlement movement, including Kushner. But since taking office, Trump decided not to move the embassy and has urged Israel to restrain settlement construction. Still, he has not come out in support of the two-state solution, a position supported by most of the international community and also his Republican and Democratic predecessors. Disappointed Palestinian officials privately gripe that Trump's team has begun to support Israeli positions and ignore their concerns. Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki told the Voice of Palestine radio station on Thursday that the Palestinians would be seeking "clear answers" from Kushner on settlements and independence. "Their answers to these questions will enable us to say if we have a historical chance for a peace process that can end the occupation or these visits are no more than a waste of time," Malki said. The atmosphere has been further complicated by troubles for all three leaders. Trump's administration has become preoccupied with a series of domestic crises, most recently the fallout from the deadly racially charged violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, earlier this month. Netanyahu, meanwhile, is facing a growing corruption investigation that could soon yield an indictment against him. These legal troubles, along with Israeli concerns about a possible long-term Iranian presence in neighboring Syria, make it unlikely that he will agree to any major diplomatic initiative. After years of on and off peace efforts that have yielded no progress, Abbas is deeply unpopular at home. He also is stuck in a bitter rivalry with the Islamic militant group Hamas, which seized the Gaza Strip from his forces a decade ago and is now pursuing a reconciliation deal with Mohammed Dahlan, a former Abbas ally who has turned into his political nemesis. These troubles will also weigh on Abbas if he is forced into making concessions to Israel.
By AFP

TOKYO: Japan said Friday it will impose fresh sanctions on North Korea by freezing the assets of Chinese and Namibian firms doing business with the nuclear-armed state.

The move against a half dozen organisations and a couple of individuals comes days after Washington expanded its own punitive measures against Chinese and Russian firms, as well as people linked to Pyongyang.

The US move drew an angry response from Beijing, North Korea's key ally, while Japanese media said Friday that Namibia has been tightening its links to the North in recent years.

"We will continue to make strong calls (for North Korea) to take actions toward denuclearisation," Yoshihide Suga, the Japanese government's top spokesman, told a regular press briefing.

"Now is the time to apply pressure," he added.

The sanctions are aimed at disrupting the flow of cash funding North Korean weapons programmes, which are in violation of United Nations resolutions.

Japan has previously frozen the assets of entities and individuals involved in natural resources and research work related to Pyongyang's nuclear and missile development programmes.

The US and its allies, particularly Japan and South Korea, have been on high alert in recent months as North Korea carried out successive missile tests.

Tensions have eased since North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un pulled back from a plan to send a salvo of missiles towards the US Pacific territory of Guam.

But Pyongyang Wednesday disclosed significant technological advances and ambitious plans to further improve its missile capabilities.

US President Donald Trump, like his predecessors, has called on China to play more active roles in convincing North Korea to stop threatening its neighbours and the US.

But China has so far been lukewarm on the idea, preferring to address the issue through long-stalled talks.

On Friday, China hit out the new Japanese sanctions.

"We firmly oppose any other unilateral sanction outside the framework of the UN Security Council, in particular those targeting Chinese entities and individuals," Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a regular press briefing in Beijing.

"We urge the Japanese side to stop this and if it insists on doing this wilfully, it must accept the consequences," she added, without elaborating.

China backed new United Nations sanctions against North Korea this month and has announced that it was upholding them by banning imports of iron, iron ore and seafood from its neighbour.

Beijing had already suspended imports of North Korean coal in February.

TOKYO: Japan said Friday it will impose fresh sanctions on North Korea by freezing the assets of Chinese and Namibian firms doing business with the nuclear-armed state. The move against a half dozen organisations and a couple of individuals comes days after Washington expanded its own punitive measures against Chinese and Russian firms, as well as people linked to Pyongyang. The US move drew an angry response from Beijing, North Korea's key ally, while Japanese media said Friday that Namibia has been tightening its links to the North in recent years. "We will continue to make strong calls (for North Korea) to take actions toward denuclearisation," Yoshihide Suga, the Japanese government's top spokesman, told a regular press briefing. "Now is the time to apply pressure," he added. The sanctions are aimed at disrupting the flow of cash funding North Korean weapons programmes, which are in violation of United Nations resolutions. Japan has previously frozen the assets of entities and individuals involved in natural resources and research work related to Pyongyang's nuclear and missile development programmes. The US and its allies, particularly Japan and South Korea, have been on high alert in recent months as North Korea carried out successive missile tests. Tensions have eased since North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un pulled back from a plan to send a salvo of missiles towards the US Pacific territory of Guam. But Pyongyang Wednesday disclosed significant technological advances and ambitious plans to further improve its missile capabilities. US President Donald Trump, like his predecessors, has called on China to play more active roles in convincing North Korea to stop threatening its neighbours and the US. But China has so far been lukewarm on the idea, preferring to address the issue through long-stalled talks. On Friday, China hit out the new Japanese sanctions. "We firmly oppose any other unilateral sanction outside the framework of the UN Security Council, in particular those targeting Chinese entities and individuals," Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a regular press briefing in Beijing. "We urge the Japanese side to stop this and if it insists on doing this wilfully, it must accept the consequences," she added, without elaborating. China backed new United Nations sanctions against North Korea this month and has announced that it was upholding them by banning imports of iron, iron ore and seafood from its neighbour. Beijing had already suspended imports of North Korean coal in February.
By PTI

LAHORE: Pakistan may face another "dismemberment" like the one it witnessed in 1971 if the people's mandate is not respected, ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif warned today as he took a dig at the Supreme Court for disqualifying him.

Sharif's outburst came a day after the Lahore High Court banned broadcast of "anti-judiciary" remarks by him and his party-men. He also targeted the country's intelligence agencies for being part of the Panama Papers investigation against him and his family members' offshore holdings.

"This is the first time in the country's history that representatives of intelligence agencies - Inter Service Intelligence (ISI) and Military Intelligence (MI) - were made part of the Joint Investigation Agency (JIT) to investigate the case which is not related to terrorism and national security," he said.

Speaking at a lawyers' convention here, 67-year-old Sharif said the Supreme Court's July 28 decision to disqualify him has not been accepted by the masses. "This decision will be remembered as 'unjust verdict' in the country's history," he said. The deposed premier said during the country's 70-year history all 18 prime ministers were sent home without completing their terms.

"This has to be stopped now and we must ensure respect of the ballot. If the people's vote is not respected I fear that Pakistan may face an eventuality like that of 1971 when it was divided into two," he said, adding that Pakistan cannot move forward without fixing this problem. Sharif was referring to the creation of Bangladesh in 1971 following the liberation war against Pakistan.

"Although I have stepped down after the verdict I have not accepted it nor the people of Pakistan. My mission is to shut down the means through which democracies are derailed and elected leaders are sent home," he said.

Pakistan's military has always played a crucial role in the country's politics. The army has ruled Pakistan for more than 33 years of the country's 70-year history. Sharif said that he has been fighting for civilian supremacy in Pakistan and he will not sit back home till he achieves his goal with the help of masses.

LAHORE: Pakistan may face another "dismemberment" like the one it witnessed in 1971 if the people's mandate is not respected, ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif warned today as he took a dig at the Supreme Court for disqualifying him. Sharif's outburst came a day after the Lahore High Court banned broadcast of "anti-judiciary" remarks by him and his party-men. He also targeted the country's intelligence agencies for being part of the Panama Papers investigation against him and his family members' offshore holdings. "This is the first time in the country's history that representatives of intelligence agencies - Inter Service Intelligence (ISI) and Military Intelligence (MI) - were made part of the Joint Investigation Agency (JIT) to investigate the case which is not related to terrorism and national security," he said. Speaking at a lawyers' convention here, 67-year-old Sharif said the Supreme Court's July 28 decision to disqualify him has not been accepted by the masses. "This decision will be remembered as 'unjust verdict' in the country's history," he said. The deposed premier said during the country's 70-year history all 18 prime ministers were sent home without completing their terms. "This has to be stopped now and we must ensure respect of the ballot. If the people's vote is not respected I fear that Pakistan may face an eventuality like that of 1971 when it was divided into two," he said, adding that Pakistan cannot move forward without fixing this problem. Sharif was referring to the creation of Bangladesh in 1971 following the liberation war against Pakistan. "Although I have stepped down after the verdict I have not accepted it nor the people of Pakistan. My mission is to shut down the means through which democracies are derailed and elected leaders are sent home," he said. Pakistan's military has always played a crucial role in the country's politics. The army has ruled Pakistan for more than 33 years of the country's 70-year history. Sharif said that he has been fighting for civilian supremacy in Pakistan and he will not sit back home till he achieves his goal with the help of masses.
By AFP

WASHINGTON: Donald Trump's top economic advisor criticized his failure to unequivocally condemn neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups, breaking ranks with the president and exposing deep unease inside the White House on Friday.

Gary Cohn -- head of the White House national economic council and one of the most prominent Jewish-Americans in Trump's administration -- went public with his displeasure over the president's response to recent deadly violence in Charlottesville, Virginia.

"This administration can and must do better in consistently and unequivocally condemning these groups and do everything we can to heal the deep divisions that exist in our communities," Cohn told the Financial Times, without specifically naming Trump.

Cohn, a former Goldman Sachs executive tipped as a possible future chairman of the Federal Reserve, said he faced "tremendous pressure" to quit after the president appeared to draw moral equivalence between white nationalist demonstrators and anti-racism counter-protesters.

One woman was killed when an avowed white supremacist plowed his car into a crowd of people after the Charlottesville rally turned violent, and numerous demonstrators were injured during the events of August 11 and 12.

Trump drew widespread condemnation when he suggested there was blame "on both sides," and that there were "very fine people" among the white supremacist protesters -- who were opposing the removal of a statue honoring secessionist Civil War general Robert E. Lee.

Cohn told the FT that "citizens standing up for equality and freedom can never be equated with white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and the KKK."

Having faced calls to quit, Cohn said he decided he could be more effective by remaining in the administration and would not be pushed out.

"I have come under enormous pressure both to resign and to remain in my current position," the former banker told the British daily.

"As a patriotic American, I am reluctant to leave my post... because I feel a duty to fulfill my commitment to work on behalf of the American people," Cohn said.

"As a Jewish American, I will not allow neo-Nazis ranting 'Jews will not replace us' to cause this Jew to leave his job," he added.

- Pivotal to tax reform -

Cohn is a crucial link between the White House and Wall Street, which has generally welcomed Trump's presidency.

Trump's ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, has also criticized the president's response saying it "wasn't fine."

But another Jewish-American in the administration, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin -- who also faced calls to quit in the aftermath of Charlottesville -- has staunchly defended Trump.

"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 said in written comments last week.

Cohn's remarks are a rare on-the-record display of unease inside the West Wing and come just as the administration plans to roll out plans for tax reform.

In his comments to the FT, Cohn said Trump would launch a major push to overhaul the tax system with a speech in Missouri next week, with the aim of driving the measures through Congress by the end of the year.

"Starting next week, the president's agenda and calendar is going to revolve around tax reform," he said.

Cohn indicated that the White House has not nailed down a detailed plan, and in particular would not say if the White House would seek a corporate tax rate of 15 per cent -- which Trump had previously insisted on.

Cohn is a pivotal figure in the tax reform effort, which is seen as offering Trump his best chance of reviving a stalled legislative agenda further put in doubt by the president's frequent spats with Republicans.

On Friday the president trained his sights on one-time vice-presidential possible Senator Bob Corker, who questioned the president's fitness for office.

"Strange statement by Bob Corker considering that he is constantly asking me whether or not he should run again in '18. Tennessee not happy!" Trump said.

Failure to pass at least a tax cut -- if not broader tax reform -- would test Trump's relationship with mainstream Republicans and influential donors to breaking point.

WASHINGTON: Donald Trump's top economic advisor criticized his failure to unequivocally condemn neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups, breaking ranks with the president and exposing deep unease inside the White House on Friday. Gary Cohn -- head of the White House national economic council and one of the most prominent Jewish-Americans in Trump's administration -- went public with his displeasure over the president's response to recent deadly violence in Charlottesville, Virginia. "This administration can and must do better in consistently and unequivocally condemning these groups and do everything we can to heal the deep divisions that exist in our communities," Cohn told the Financial Times, without specifically naming Trump. Cohn, a former Goldman Sachs executive tipped as a possible future chairman of the Federal Reserve, said he faced "tremendous pressure" to quit after the president appeared to draw moral equivalence between white nationalist demonstrators and anti-racism counter-protesters. One woman was killed when an avowed white supremacist plowed his car into a crowd of people after the Charlottesville rally turned violent, and numerous demonstrators were injured during the events of August 11 and 12. Trump drew widespread condemnation when he suggested there was blame "on both sides," and that there were "very fine people" among the white supremacist protesters -- who were opposing the removal of a statue honoring secessionist Civil War general Robert E. Lee. Cohn told the FT that "citizens standing up for equality and freedom can never be equated with white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and the KKK." Having faced calls to quit, Cohn said he decided he could be more effective by remaining in the administration and would not be pushed out. "I have come under enormous pressure both to resign and to remain in my current position," the former banker told the British daily. "As a patriotic American, I am reluctant to leave my post... because I feel a duty to fulfill my commitment to work on behalf of the American people," Cohn said. "As a Jewish American, I will not allow neo-Nazis ranting 'Jews will not replace us' to cause this Jew to leave his job," he added. - Pivotal to tax reform - Cohn is a crucial link between the White House and Wall Street, which has generally welcomed Trump's presidency. Trump's ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, has also criticized the president's response saying it "wasn't fine." But another Jewish-American in the administration, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin -- who also faced calls to quit in the aftermath of Charlottesville -- has staunchly defended Trump. "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 said in written comments last week. Cohn's remarks are a rare on-the-record display of unease inside the West Wing and come just as the administration plans to roll out plans for tax reform. In his comments to the FT, Cohn said Trump would launch a major push to overhaul the tax system with a speech in Missouri next week, with the aim of driving the measures through Congress by the end of the year. "Starting next week, the president's agenda and calendar is going to revolve around tax reform," he said. Cohn indicated that the White House has not nailed down a detailed plan, and in particular would not say if the White House would seek a corporate tax rate of 15 per cent -- which Trump had previously insisted on. Cohn is a pivotal figure in the tax reform effort, which is seen as offering Trump his best chance of reviving a stalled legislative agenda further put in doubt by the president's frequent spats with Republicans. On Friday the president trained his sights on one-time vice-presidential possible Senator Bob Corker, who questioned the president's fitness for office. "Strange statement by Bob Corker considering that he is constantly asking me whether or not he should run again in '18. Tennessee not happy!" Trump said. Failure to pass at least a tax cut -- if not broader tax reform -- would test Trump's relationship with mainstream Republicans and influential donors to breaking point.
By AFP

WASHINGTON: The head of the US office for disaster preparedness urged residents of Texas Friday to get out of the path of Hurricane Harvey, warning of an impending "disaster" from the powerful storm.

"Texas is about to have a very significant disaster," said Brock Long, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, speaking to CNN.

He said he is most concerned that residents might not have heeded warnings from local officials to evacuate their homes ahead of the arrival of Harvey, which is due to make landfall in Texas and Louisiana overnight Friday into Saturday.

"If they have not, their window to evacuate is rapidly coming to a close," Long said, adding that the greatest danger from the storm will come from flooding.

"Storm surge has the highest potential to kill the most amount of people and cause the most of damage. On top of that, we are looking at a significant inland flood event over many counties, which is going to be a sizable event," he said.

He made his comments as millions along the US Gulf Coast braced for the arrival of Harvey, a category two hurricane with winds of up 105 miles (165 kilometers) per hour.

The storm was due to become even more powerful before it makes landfall, weather officials said, as Harvey roared toward an area of enormous economic significance in the United States -- the center of the energy industry that processes some seven million barrels of oil a day.

WASHINGTON: The head of the US office for disaster preparedness urged residents of Texas Friday to get out of the path of Hurricane Harvey, warning of an impending "disaster" from the powerful storm. "Texas is about to have a very significant disaster," said Brock Long, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, speaking to CNN. He said he is most concerned that residents might not have heeded warnings from local officials to evacuate their homes ahead of the arrival of Harvey, which is due to make landfall in Texas and Louisiana overnight Friday into Saturday. "If they have not, their window to evacuate is rapidly coming to a close," Long said, adding that the greatest danger from the storm will come from flooding. "Storm surge has the highest potential to kill the most amount of people and cause the most of damage. On top of that, we are looking at a significant inland flood event over many counties, which is going to be a sizable event," he said. He made his comments as millions along the US Gulf Coast braced for the arrival of Harvey, a category two hurricane with winds of up 105 miles (165 kilometers) per hour. The storm was due to become even more powerful before it makes landfall, weather officials said, as Harvey roared toward an area of enormous economic significance in the United States -- the center of the energy industry that processes some seven million barrels of oil a day.
By AFP

KUALA LAMPUR: An American general insisted Friday the United States would not pull back from operations in the disputed South China Sea to combat Beijings territorial claims despite a series of accidents involving US warships.

General Terrence O'Shaughnessy, Pacific Air Forces commander, said the American military still had credibility... all over the world despite the incidents, which have raised concerns that the US armed forces are overstretched in Asia.

In the latest incident, the USS John S. McCain collided with a tanker off Singapore early Monday, tearing a huge hole in the vessels hull and leaving two sailors dead and eight missing.

It was the fourth accident involving an American warship in the Pacific this year, two of them fatal.

The McCain had been heading to the city-state after conducting a freedom of navigation mission -- sailing close to a contested island in the South China Sea in a show of strength to challenge Beijing's territorial claims.

The US has been carrying out a growing number of such operations in recent years as China increasingly asserts its claims to almost the entire sea, despite partial counter-claims from some Asian neighbours.

There is no setback to those (freedom of navigation) operations following these incidents, O'Shaughnessy told reporters during a visit to the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur.

We stand firm that we are going to sail and fly anywhere where international rules allow. We will continue to do that.

Every day, we have operations within the South China Sea and areas surrounding it.

He added that the latest collision should not eclipse the work of the US military as a whole.

"I dont think that we should let one incident overshadow the great capability that the United States of America brings across all services," he said.

Still, the incidents have provided a propaganda windfall to US rivals like China, with the foreign ministry in Beijing voicing concerns American warships posed a "security threat" to civilian vessels in the South China Sea.

Mondays accident was the second involving an American destroyer in two months after the USS Fitzgerald collided with a cargo ship off Japan in June, killing seven sailors.

A multinational search operation at sea for the missing sailors on the McCain was called off Thursday, with divers now focusing on flooded compartments in the warship.

The remains of a second sailor were recovered from the ship late Thursday and identified as Dustin Louis Doyon, the US Navy said.

KUALA LAMPUR: An American general insisted Friday the United States would not pull back from operations in the disputed South China Sea to combat Beijings territorial claims despite a series of accidents involving US warships. General Terrence O'Shaughnessy, Pacific Air Forces commander, said the American military still had credibility... all over the world despite the incidents, which have raised concerns that the US armed forces are overstretched in Asia. In the latest incident, the USS John S. McCain collided with a tanker off Singapore early Monday, tearing a huge hole in the vessels hull and leaving two sailors dead and eight missing. It was the fourth accident involving an American warship in the Pacific this year, two of them fatal. The McCain had been heading to the city-state after conducting a freedom of navigation mission -- sailing close to a contested island in the South China Sea in a show of strength to challenge Beijing's territorial claims. The US has been carrying out a growing number of such operations in recent years as China increasingly asserts its claims to almost the entire sea, despite partial counter-claims from some Asian neighbours. There is no setback to those (freedom of navigation) operations following these incidents, O'Shaughnessy told reporters during a visit to the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur. We stand firm that we are going to sail and fly anywhere where international rules allow. We will continue to do that. Every day, we have operations within the South China Sea and areas surrounding it. He added that the latest collision should not eclipse the work of the US military as a whole. "I dont think that we should let one incident overshadow the great capability that the United States of America brings across all services," he said. Still, the incidents have provided a propaganda windfall to US rivals like China, with the foreign ministry in Beijing voicing concerns American warships posed a "security threat" to civilian vessels in the South China Sea. Mondays accident was the second involving an American destroyer in two months after the USS Fitzgerald collided with a cargo ship off Japan in June, killing seven sailors. A multinational search operation at sea for the missing sailors on the McCain was called off Thursday, with divers now focusing on flooded compartments in the warship. The remains of a second sailor were recovered from the ship late Thursday and identified as Dustin Louis Doyon, the US Navy said.
By AFP

CARACAS: Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has warned the armed forces in his crisis-hit country against "fissures" in their ranks, ahead of war games seen as a show of strength after US President Donald Trump's threat of military action.

Maduro yesterday launched the warning in a speech to his top military leadership, including General Vladimir Padrino, his defense minister, and General Remigio Ceballos, commander of operational strategy, two days before the drills begin tomorrow.

"We must be clear, especially for the youth in the military, that we must close ranks within the homeland -- that this is no time for any fissures and that those with doubts should leave the armed forces immediately," Maduro said.

"You are with Trump and the imperialists, or you are with the Bolivarian national armed forces and the homeland," he added. "Never before has Venezuela been threatened in such a way."

Maduro has faced months of deadly mass protests by opponents who blame him for an economic crisis and are demanding elections to replace him. His main source of support is the military.

Venezuela's opposition has repeatedly urged the military to abandon Maduro, so far to no avail. He has only faced lowlevel dissent, such as from the two rebel officers who staged a raid on an army base this month.

Maduro urged the military to "be prepared to fight fiercely... in the face of an eventual" US invasion.

"They treat us as a dictatorship," said the embattled president.

Since Trump's threat, Vice President Mike Pence sought to soften the message, saying during a visit to Latin America that he was sure democracy could be restored in Venezuela through economic and diplomatic pressure.

In another move made with an eye on Washington, Maduro announced he had moved his oil minister Nelson Martinez over to run the state oil giant PDVSA -- and brought the company's boss Eulogio Del Pino over to be his oil minister.

Maduro told the military leaders that in the face of possible future added US sanctions on Venezuela, "I decided to do some re-casting... we have to prepare ourselves."

He pointed out that Del Pino, who has been at the helm of PDVSA since 2014, was the architect of agreements between OPEC and non-OPEC countries to boost flagging crude prices.

As for Martinez, who took over the oil ministry in January, Maduro said he would work to increase Chinese, Russian, Indian and Malaysian investments in PDVSA's various projects.

"We are in a moment of flexibility to face the economic war," said Maduro.

So far, the United States has applied economic sanctions directly targeting Maduro, who says the economic collapse that has dragged his country into crisis is a US-backed conspiracy.

He has accused Washington of preparing fresh economic sanctions and a "naval blockade" to stifle oil exports, which account for nearly all of Venezuela's hard currency reserves.

The fall in world crude prices has left Venezuela which has the largest proven oil reserves in the world short of dollars for vital imports. The country is suffering from shortages of basic goods and medicines.

Earlier this month, PDVSA reported a sharp 33.5 percent drop in revenues for 2016, as compared with the previous year.

The average price of a barrel of Venezuelan crude declined 21 percent to $35.15 in 2016, down from $44.65 in 2015, it said.

The opposition blames Maduro's economic management for the crisis, and his critics accuse him of clinging to power by hijacking state institutions, such as by installing a new constituent assembly packed with loyalists.

Clashes between anti-government protesters and police this year have left 125 people dead, according to prosecutors.

Also yesterday, Venezuela took two Colombian television networks off the air -- Caracol Television and RCN.

Caracas is angry at Bogota for offering protection to Maduro's onetime attorney general Luisa Ortega, who is now a fierce critic of his government.

CARACAS: Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has warned the armed forces in his crisis-hit country against "fissures" in their ranks, ahead of war games seen as a show of strength after US President Donald Trump's threat of military action. Maduro yesterday launched the warning in a speech to his top military leadership, including General Vladimir Padrino, his defense minister, and General Remigio Ceballos, commander of operational strategy, two days before the drills begin tomorrow. "We must be clear, especially for the youth in the military, that we must close ranks within the homeland -- that this is no time for any fissures and that those with doubts should leave the armed forces immediately," Maduro said. "You are with Trump and the imperialists, or you are with the Bolivarian national armed forces and the homeland," he added. "Never before has Venezuela been threatened in such a way." Maduro has faced months of deadly mass protests by opponents who blame him for an economic crisis and are demanding elections to replace him. His main source of support is the military. Venezuela's opposition has repeatedly urged the military to abandon Maduro, so far to no avail. He has only faced lowlevel dissent, such as from the two rebel officers who staged a raid on an army base this month. Maduro urged the military to "be prepared to fight fiercely... in the face of an eventual" US invasion. "They treat us as a dictatorship," said the embattled president. Since Trump's threat, Vice President Mike Pence sought to soften the message, saying during a visit to Latin America that he was sure democracy could be restored in Venezuela through economic and diplomatic pressure. In another move made with an eye on Washington, Maduro announced he had moved his oil minister Nelson Martinez over to run the state oil giant PDVSA -- and brought the company's boss Eulogio Del Pino over to be his oil minister. Maduro told the military leaders that in the face of possible future added US sanctions on Venezuela, "I decided to do some re-casting... we have to prepare ourselves." He pointed out that Del Pino, who has been at the helm of PDVSA since 2014, was the architect of agreements between OPEC and non-OPEC countries to boost flagging crude prices. As for Martinez, who took over the oil ministry in January, Maduro said he would work to increase Chinese, Russian, Indian and Malaysian investments in PDVSA's various projects. "We are in a moment of flexibility to face the economic war," said Maduro. So far, the United States has applied economic sanctions directly targeting Maduro, who says the economic collapse that has dragged his country into crisis is a US-backed conspiracy. He has accused Washington of preparing fresh economic sanctions and a "naval blockade" to stifle oil exports, which account for nearly all of Venezuela's hard currency reserves. The fall in world crude prices has left Venezuela which has the largest proven oil reserves in the world short of dollars for vital imports. The country is suffering from shortages of basic goods and medicines. Earlier this month, PDVSA reported a sharp 33.5 percent drop in revenues for 2016, as compared with the previous year. The average price of a barrel of Venezuelan crude declined 21 percent to $35.15 in 2016, down from $44.65 in 2015, it said. The opposition blames Maduro's economic management for the crisis, and his critics accuse him of clinging to power by hijacking state institutions, such as by installing a new constituent assembly packed with loyalists. Clashes between anti-government protesters and police this year have left 125 people dead, according to prosecutors. Also yesterday, Venezuela took two Colombian television networks off the air -- Caracol Television and RCN. Caracas is angry at Bogota for offering protection to Maduro's onetime attorney general Luisa Ortega, who is now a fierce critic of his government.
Portsmouth, Middletown headed to Super Bowls. How they did it.

While Portsmouth and Middletown will play for championships, Rogers will be left out following semifinal loss.
New Delhi: Nandan Nilekani, the person who enjoys the trust of the management, employees, board and founders, is back at the helm of Infosys to soothe frayed nerves and steady the ship.



Within hours of being made Chairman of the Board of Infosys, Nilekani and other top executives of Infosys held a conference call with shareholders. Nearly 600 investors logged into the conference call in which Nilekani said that he had come in to provide stability and align the interests of the company to shareholders and look for a new CEO.



I have come back to Infosys as a person who enjoys the confidence of the founders, board, customers, shareholders and employees, Nilekani said during the course of the call. I have the full support of Narayana Murthy and expect to make some quick decisions in the next few days, he added.



It was exactly a week ago that Vishal Sikka resigned as the CEO of Indias second largest software services firm. Since then a growing rift between the founder Narayana Murthy and the board of directors has jangled nerves as shareholder wealth of $4.5 billion eroded amidst a selloff of Infosys stock. Questions were also raised about corporate governance and the role of the founder and the board.



Last night in a statement to the exchanges the company announced that Nilekani, who left in 2009, was returning as a non independent director and chairman of the board. The company also announced sweeping changes to the board of directors, with the resignations of R. Seshasayee as Chairman and Ravi Venkatesan as co-Chairman. Both were involved in the public spat with Narayana Murthy.



Nilekani told the investors on the call that his role would be to put in place a high quality CEO and a board to assist said CEO. Stating that it is too premature for him to comment on Infosys' strategy and earnings, the architect of Aadhaar said he is committed to ensuring the highest standards of corporate governance are adhered to at Infosys.



"I will ensure there are no discordant voices in the company and everyone is on the same page," he asserted. Nilekani said as the non-executive Chairman, his role will be oversight, governance and functioning and to help with the CEO search that will look for internal and external candidates as well as Infosys "alumni". He stressed that he will stay as long as necessary, but declined to put a timeline to his latest stint.



He said that Kiran Mazumdar Shaw would be heading the search for a new CEO.



Infosys will hold another press conference and investor call later in the day.



(With PTI inputs)
Joined @Infosys at 26, re-joined it at 62. Life does turn full circle!  Nandan Nilekani (@NandanNilekani) August 25, 2017

A decade after leaving, Nandan Nilekani is back at the helm of Infosys and will remain the software giants chairman for two years, bringing hopes of stability in the IT major which was rattled by Vihsal Sikkas exit as CEO and MD.Nandan Nilekani, 62, who was CEO of the company between 2002 and 2007 and is credited as the architect of the world's largest biometric ID card programme Aadhaar, will take over as Chairman of Infosys, replacing R Seshasayee who quit, with immediate effect.Tweeting on his return to the IT major, Nilekani said life has come a full circle for him now, as he joined Infosys at the age of 26 and is not rejoining it aged 62.His return and co-chairman Ravi Venkatesans resignation along with that of Seshasayee brought about a near-complete overhaul of the nine-member Infosys board, meeting key and persistent demands of the founders led by NR Narayana Murthy.Infosys faced a leadership crisis after first non-founder chief executive Vishal Sikka abruptly quit on August 18, blaming founders for slander. On the same day, the Board in an unusual move, made a scathing attack on Murthy, blaming his "misguided campaign" for Sikka's resignation.Murthy and other former executives like ex-CFO V Balakrishnan insisted that their concerns for past several months pertained to alleged lapses in corporate governance, including irregularities in the $200 million acquisition of Israeli firm Panaya.A dozen institutional investors, including HDFC Asset Management, ICICI Prudential Asset Management and Birla SunLife Asset Management  who together own roughly 10 per cent of Infosys shares  also wrote to the Board seeking return of Nilekani, arguing that he enjoyed the confidence of clients, shareholders and employees.In a late evening announcement on Thursday, Infosys said its board of directors has "unanimously" approved Nilekani's appointment, terming him an "iconic leader."Seshasayee, whose resignation along with those of other key executives including Sikka has been accepted by Board, said, "Nandan is an ideal leader for Infosys at this stage in company's development.""His appointment will allow Infosys to focus on strategic changes it needs to make, in order to capitalise on the attractive opportunities in the years ahead," he said.
New Delhi: The Interconnect User Charge (IUC) must be reduced to zero immediately for the benefit of the customer as well as the industry, top telecom experts said, adding that regulatory decisions have to be in line with this objective.



IUC is a charge paid by a telecom company on whose network a call originates to the company in whose network it ends. It is currently 14 paise/minute and telecom regulator TRAI wants to cut it to under 10paise/minute. It has also submitted an affidavit in the Supreme Court in favour of moving away from IUC to a Bill & Keep system.



Bill & Keep is a modern approach to interconnection charging in which the networks recover their costs only from their own customers rather than from the sending network. Such an arrangement acts to remove the wholesale cost barrier to the retail pricing for off-network calls and has been proven to result in significantly higher levels of calling activity.



"The IUC should be reduced to zero as soon as possible," Rakesh Kumar Upadhyay, a former Chairman and Managing Director of BSNL, told CNBC-TV18. He added that eliminating IUC would speed up the progression from existing 2G/3G networks to IP networks that use 4G. This will help consumers get the benefit of the latest technology.



Sanjay Kapoor, former CEO of Bharti Airtel, felt that reducing IUC will increase international competitiveness for businesses and bring down rates for individuals.



Industry observers also pointed out that now that IP networks and volte (Voice over LTE) has become a reality in India, the arguments for a steeper IUC doesn't wash.



"TRAI has already submitted to the Supreme Court that it will move from IUC to Bill & Keep. With the development of technology it will be difficult to distinguish between voice and data calls. The only solution is for TRAI to move to Bill & Keep and reduce IUC to zero," said RSP Sinha, a former MD of MTNL.



Sinha also exposed the hypocrisy of those arguing for higher IUC charges by recalling that 13 years ago when he ran MTNL, state-run firms wanted the IUC to be hiked to 50 p/m, but the then new private operators (now incumbents) wanted it lowered, saying it was good for consumers and for the development of the market.



"How can those same operators now say it should be increased because the argument they gave was that you are protecting inefficiency?" he asked.



The argument that most telecom revenue for companies comes from voice calls too is under serious pressure because more and more consumers are using over the top (OTT) applications like WhatsApp, Skype, Viber and WeChat as VoIP (voice over internet protocols). In fact, voice over data and Voice over LTE (VOLTE) was slowly becoming the standard in India. This regime is incompatible with IUC. Hence switching to Bill & Keep will not only help telcos gain money to invest in their networks, but also make the latest technology accessible to consumers.



Upadhyay said that the existing telecom companies should have taken early steps towards Volte. "It is enough for data, but the quality of voice calls has really gone down. Anyway, cost recovery has happened for the existing players, so the argument that IUC must be increased to recover cost is something I don't agree with. The Indian telecom sector is moving towards IP networks where the per minute call cost is less than a paisa. Why should consumers suffer because of continuation of old technology? IUC promotes inefficient technology," he said.



Sanjay Kapoor said that telecom sector was going through a transformation. He said that eventually IUC will die down in India, but before it does so there needs to be a shift in Indian telecom towards providing digital services. "In advanced markets revenue streams are divided between data packets and digital services and Indian companies need to move there. Once that happens IUC will die down," he said. Kapoor said that voice is still a prime earning for a lot of incumbents but as packets take over and voice becomes a packet, both parties will share revenue.
Dera violence in Delhi, two buses set ablaze on Mandoli flyover in Delhi's Nand Nagri. #RamRahimSingh (ANI)



LIVE: https://t.co/bXNCQfcDjn pic.twitter.com/oIGI7gf5S6  News18 (@CNNnews18) August 25, 2017

Violence spills out of #Panchkula and #Sirsa into Delhi. #RamRahimSingh supporters set train on fire in Anand Vihar Railway Station, Delhi. pic.twitter.com/TT1QLVxU3b  News18 (@CNNnews18) August 25, 2017

Student of the year 2012 refuses to grow up. #RamRahimSingh pic.twitter.com/az5OifkvUF  SAGAR (@sagarcasm) August 25, 2017

After this shameless tweet people should bycott his film  Sadak ka Gunda  (@Raggi03) August 25, 2017

R u really so stupid  pallavi ghosh (@_pallavighosh) August 25, 2017

I am planning to go to #Panchkula just give me the movie in phone. I would love to watch it between teargas and bullets.  Chandler Bing (@honest_jokes) August 25, 2017

These should have been two separate tweets lol

You can wish them peace without promoting your film Sid  Hani (@rf_fangirl) August 25, 2017

Don't die. Our film is coming soon. I don't even. pic.twitter.com/OIskNqHDb2  Abhishek Baxi (@baxiabhishek) August 25, 2017

Seriously? You can promote your film later https://t.co/h7vszOiecO  Nidhi Razdan (@Nidhi) August 25, 2017

Kuch hope hi nahi hai bollywood mei iq ka https://t.co/ZDzPbJ0uAD  Shama (@Smhing_) August 25, 2017

Is he this dumb, or he has done this deliberately? https://t.co/6rb8oVOjqt  Vishakha (@VishakhaJ18) August 25, 2017

GOOD GOD, BOLLYWOOD. CAN YOU PLEASE CONTROL YOUR STUPID TEENAGE CHILDREN. PLEASE. https://t.co/WIiIA7SlRq  Gigi (is back) (@mycrotchetyluv) August 25, 2017

Bhai we all paytm you 100Rs but please deactivate your account and live in peace. https://t.co/npkbkRjoT9  adah (@SlinkyFeline_) August 25, 2017

Irony died watching a gentleman. pic.twitter.com/88jVleEecO  Swagshank (@zZoker) August 25, 2017

RT if you have never seen an actor stoop so low to promote his film. https://t.co/mt3PNO3DcZ  The-Lying-Lama (@KyaUkhaadLega) August 25, 2017

He..he tweeted...he tweeted twice..for two.. different states.. He tweeted the same shit...twice...TWICE...how stupid are these actors? pic.twitter.com/Uz1Mgf9byF  Aditya (@Brewkenstein) August 25, 2017

Slowest claps not slow enough for this pic.twitter.com/U5oSfCHSV8  Bakwas Rider (@BakwasRadio) August 25, 2017

Bollywood Maslow's hierarchy -

* Stay safe

* Watch my movie https://t.co/9nQfVmq7Qz  Aashish Chandorkar (@c_aashish) August 25, 2017

Its really sad to see the situation worsen since morning and see people in Punjab and Haryana https://t.co/u8TeWwEaW0 and prayers.  Sidharth Malhotra (@S1dharthM) August 25, 2017

To people who are commenting on my morning tweets,they were made before the verdict ! Thoughts n prayers  Sidharth Malhotra (@S1dharthM) August 25, 2017

At least 13 people have been killed and more than 200 injured as Panchkula turned into a virtual war zone after Dera Sacha Sauda Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was found guilty of rape by a CBI court on Friday.The followers of the godman have gone on a rampage in three states. The rioters have torched at least two railway stations, a power grid and petrol pumps in Haryana.In Delhi, a train has been set on fire in Anand Vihar and two buses have also been torched. Media persons, including News18 staff, have also been attacked.The government's claims of keeping the situation under control have fallen flat. The controversial godman-turned-actor now faces a minimum of 10 years in jail since the victim was a minor at the time of the sexual assault.Sidharth Malhotra, whose new film,A Gentleman , opened in theatres today, took to the microblogging site Twitter to promote the movie. Although the tweet was posted before the Dera verdict, the actor was subjected to trolls because of his insensitive approach to promoting his movie.Malhotra wrote, "To all the people of Haryana, please stay safe. Hope you can see our film soon #Agentleman #PeaceAndLove."All hell broke loose on Twitter as people called out on actor's ignorance and how Bollywood is only concerned about promoting their films even when people are losing their lives and law and order situation in several states has gone for a toss.He wrote, "Its really sad to see the situation worsen since morning and see people in Punjab and Haryana suffer.Love and prayers."The actor further wrote, "To people who are commenting on my morning tweets,they were made before the verdict ! Thoughts n prayers."
Beijing: China's navy has held a rare live-fire drill in the Indian Ocean to improve its fleet's performance under real combat circumstance, state media reported on Friday.



A Chinese naval formation consisting of the destroyer Changchun, guided-missile frigate Jingzhou and supply vessel Chaohu conducted the drill in the waters of the western Indian Ocean, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.



The fleet carried out strikes against "enemy" surface ships and completed transverse replenishment of fuel and drinking water during an exercise that lasted for several days, the report said without disclosing the exact location.



The drill is aimed at improving the ships' performance under real combat circumstances, said Chen Denan, chief of staff of the Chinese fleet.



The fleet is on a half-year friendship visit to Asia, Europe, Africa and Oceania and has conducted joint exercises with foreign navies from 10 countries since it started its voyage on April 23, the report said.



Since the standoff with India at Doklam in the Sikkim section, China has been flexing its military muscle by holding several publicised live-fire exercises in Tibet.



This is the first-time in recent years, the Chinese navy has conducted the naval exercise in the Indian Ocean. The exercise followed the recent Malabar Naval exercises held in the Indian Ocean by the navies of India, the US and Japan.



China, which has been ramping up its naval power to enhance its global reach, recently operationalised its first overseas logistics naval base at Djibouti at the Horn of Africa in the Indian Ocean and signed a 99 year lease to acquire the Hambantota port in Sri Lanka.



China has also acquired the strategic Gwadar port in Pakistan which is being linked to China's Xinjiang province through the $ 50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor traversing through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
Washington: The US is aware of India's position that talks and terrorism cannot go together and has asked Pakistan to crackdown on terror groups like the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e -Mohammed (JeM) that are responsible for attacks inside India, a senior White House official has said.



The top official also encouraged the two South Asian neighbours to engage in talks to reduce tensions. "The US is very aware of India's position (that talks and terror cannot go together) and we have called on Pakistan to crackdown on organisations like Lashkar and Jaish and others," the official said, on condition of anonymity.



"We have called Pakistan to take actions against people involved in the Mumbai attack, the Pathankot attack and other attacks. So, US is very clear about its position," the senior administration official told reporters during a conference call.



The official made the remarks while responding to a question on India's stand that talks and terror cannot go together in the context of the Trump administration's South Asia policy that seeks a direct dialogue between India and Pakistan to reduce tensions.



Pakistan needs to crackdown on terror groups, the official said.



The official also referred to the India-US joint statement issued after the White House meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump on June 26, which made it clear that these issues are important to the US.



"And we are working with India to improve its counter terrorism. I think there is a lot of understanding between US and India on this issue," the official said in response to a question.



Earlier this month, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had told Parliament that the Indian government had laid the "roadmap" envisioning peace and normalcy with Pakistan even before it took over.



"But it can't be one-sided...Terror and talks cannot go together. The day they stop promoting terror, we will start the talks," she had said.



The State Department on Wednesday had also asked the two countries to engage in talks.



"I think one of the things that we would do is ask or encourage India and Pakistan to sit down together and engage in direct dialogue that is aimed at reducing tensions between both of those countries," State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert had told reporters.
Conviction of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh signifies that the special court has found the proof of crime against him "beyond reasonable doubt". The evidence, including the testimonies of the minor victim and others, have successfully established Singh's offence and he now faces a minimum of 10 years in jail.The Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahi Singh, who was immediately taken into custody after he was pronounced guilty by the special judge, can also be sent behind bars for his entire life under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), 2012 and Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code if the trial judge takes a serious view of his position when he sexually assaulted the minor victim.The criminal law adopts a stringent view if a man commits rape on a woman by virtue of his position of control and custody.While the detailed order on Singh's conviction is yet to be released, he is likely to have been held guilty under Sections 5 and 6 of the POCSO for "aggravated penetrative sexual assault".An offence is treated as "aggravated" under the POCSO when committed by a person in a position of trust or authority of custody. Punishments for a conviction under these charges will entail a minimum 10 years in jail which can extend up to life term, along with fine.Besides, Section 376 also includes various clauses whereby police officers or those in management of hospitals and other such institutions are punished more severely. For such convicts, a minimum of 10 years in jail has been prescribed by the IPC too.On August 28, the trial court will hear the arguments on the quantum of sentence against Singh.According to the sources, CBI is expected to seek life imprisonment for the Dera chief.Singh's counsel, on the other hand, is likely to press for a suspension of his sentence to enable them file an appeal before the Punjab and Haryana High Court.The quantum of punishment may be deferred for a later day too if the trial judge requires more time to deliver the order on sentence.
New Delhi: Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, also known as MSG, and controversy are bedfellows. The self-styled godman was given a 10-year jail term for raping a minor 15 years ago. News18 takes a look at the time line of the allegations against him.



2002: Was accused of rape by two sadhvis (women followers). The Punjab & Haryana High Court handed over the case to the CBI later.



November 2002: MSG accused in the killing of Ram Chandra Chatrapati, a 53-year-old editor of Poora Sach (complete truth), an evening daily from Sirsa. The case is still pending in a CBI special court.



May 2007: Charged with hurting religious sentiments by addressing followers in Salabatpura in bhatinda by dressing like sikh guru Gobind Singh. He was acquitted in the case.



2010: Accused in the murder of former Dera functionary Faqir Chand. The CBI closure report stated that there was no evidence against the dera sacha sauda chief.



2014: Was accused of forced castration of around 400 followers. Investigations in the case are still on.



2014: Reports of arms training being given to followers at the Dera emerge. The Punjab & Haryana High Court ordered periodical monitoring of Dera activities.



January 2016: The All India Hindu Students Federation, in a complaint filed with the Mohali police, accused the Dera chief of hurting religious sentiments by dressing up as lord Vishnu.
Chandigarh: Army columns arrived in Panchkula past midnight as scores of Dera Sacha Sauda followers gathered in the town ahead of a court verdict in a rape case against Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh on Friday.



The Haryana Police assisted by central forces were involved in an operation to flush out scores of Dera Sacha Sauda followers even as the Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh made a video appeal to his followers to go back home.



The Army was deployed in Panchkula on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday, officials said. The Army was called out at Panchkula and Sirsa as thousands of Dera Sacha Sauda followers had gathered and tension prevailed in the region.



"At the sect headquarters at Sirsa, police and paramilitary forces took out a flag march past midnight to enforce the curfew clamped at 10 pm for an indefinite period," Sirsa SP Ashwin Shenvi said.



The Dera followers made it to Panchkula over the past three days despite prohibitory orders under CrPC Section 144 being in force.



However, speaking to reporters in Panchkula late on Thursday, a senior police official said that restrictions regarding carrying of weapons was earlier imposed under Section 144, which was later on amended and a provision invoked banning assembly of five or more persons.



Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh has said that he would be reaching the court in Panchkula on Friday for the verdict. He is expected to reach Panchkula by a chopper.



Haryana DGP BS Sandhu earlier said that a night-long operation would be carried out in Panchkula and the Dera followers would be moved out in buses arranged by the government.



The followers were likely to be taken out in buses to nearby Ambala from where they would be asked to head to their respective homes.



Security forces were faced with a tough situation as many Dera followers remained reluctant to move, saying they had come to the town on their own and would move only after having sect head's "darshan".



The Dera Sacha Sauda followers could be seen occupying parks, roads and other available places like under the flyovers to pitch their tents.



However, authorities said that they had sealed the road leading to the district court complex and nobody was being allowed on that route.



Authorities used loud speakers to appeal to followers to move out of Panchkula.



The sexual exploitation case was registered against Dera chief in 2002 by the CBI on the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court after anonymous letters were circulated about the alleged sexual exploitation of two 'Sadhvis' (female followers) by Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.



However, the sect head has denied these charges.
Chandigarh: The Chandigarh Police have warned Dera Sacha Sauda followers of stern action if they try to enter the Union Territory ahead of a verdict in Panchkula in a rape case against the sects chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.



An estimated 1.5 lakh Dera Sacha Sauda followers, including men, women and children have gathered in Panchkula, where a CBI court is set to deliver its verdict on Friday.



The police maintained that they were on high alert. "No Dera Sacha Sauda follower will be allowed to enter Chandigarh," the police said in a statement. "If they (Dera followers) try to enter Chandigarh, stern action will be taken as per the law," officials said.



Prohibitory order under Section 144 has also been imposed in the city, they said, adding Chandigarh has already been declared sensitive as thousands of Dera followers have gathered in Panchkula.



Security personnel are also making an appeal to Dera followers to evacuate Panchkula.



Despite Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh making an appeal to his followers to leave Panchkula, many of them have refused to relent and kept sitting alongside roads and parks there.



Since mobile internet and data services have been suspended in Haryana, Punjab and Chandigarh, Dera followers complained of being unable to see the video clip of the sect head making an appeal to return to their homes.



Security forces were faced with a tough situation as many Dera Sacha Sauda followers remained reluctant to move, saying they had come to the town on their own and would move only after having sect head's "darshan".



The sexual exploitation case was registered against Dera chief in 2002 by the CBI on the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court after anonymous letters were circulated about the alleged sexual exploitation of two 'Sadhvis' (female followers) by Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.



However, the sect head has denied these charges.


Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was on Friday convicted of rape by the CBI court in Panchkula. The sentencing hearing will be on August 28.With the verdict, the states of Punjab and Haryana are on the edge.Mobile services have been suspended, 150 companies of paramilitary forces have been deployed and 22 trains through Punjab and Haryana have been cancelled. Two stadiums in Haryanas Sirsa district have been converted into special jails. All this is being done because of Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, chief of the religious sect Dera Sacha Sauda. According to reports, Dera followers have been stocking up on petrol and arms. But this is not the first time that the court appearances and imminent arrest of a self-styled Godman have triggered a civil war-like situation in the country. News18 looks at two other such instances which led to massive loss of life.Rampal, whose followers refer to him as Jagatguru Rampal ji, Sant Rampal ji and Rampal Dass ji, is the founder and leader of a religious sect called Kabir Panth. In 2006, he triggered a row by criticizing the central text of the Arya Samaj and that triggered clashes between the two sects. Arya Samaj followers surrounded his Ashram and one person was shot dead in the clashes, besides 59 others being injured. Rampal was charged with murder and spent 22 months in jail. In 2008, he was released on bail but refused to attend court hearings regularly. Between 2010 and 2014, Rampal skipped court proceedings 42 times. In September 2014, he was asked to appear before the Punjab and Haryana High Court in a contempt of court case. Chandigarh was kept under virtual lockdown and 2,000 police personnel were deployed to prevent his followers from entering the city. Despite this, thousands of Kabir Panth followers made their way to Chandigarh.Following this, the High Court issued a non-bailable warrant against him. On November 5, his followers protested by blocking road and rail traffic in Ambala. On November 9, Haryana Police finally made its way to Rampals Ashram in Hisar to arrest him but found that his followers had formed a human chain around the Ashram to prevent the cops from detaining their Guru. Police tried to negotiate with them but the standoff continued for over a week.Cops clashed with Kabir Panth followers and had to eventually use earth-movers to break the wall and enter the Ashram. Rampal, however, was not inside. When cops swept the premises, they found the corpses of five women and an 18-month-old baby. It was finally by November 19 that the police finally arrested along with 492 of his followers. They were booked under sections of sedition, murder, attempt to murder, conspiracy, hoarding illegal weapons and aiding and abetting suicide-mongers.In 2014, the members of Swadheen Bharat Subhash Sena, a cult made up of Subhash Chandra Boses followers, sat on a protest in Jawahar Bagh in UPs Mathura. The outfit was led by a man named Ram Vriksha Yadav. The protest went on and turned into a prolonged illegal encroachment. In 2016, the Allahabad High Court rejected Yadavs appeal to let them stay and directed the police to evict them from the park. On June 2, 2016, when the police reached the park, they were met with violent protesters. The protests soon turned ugly as the squatters pelted stones and fired shots at the police.The police, though measured at first, fired back after two policemen, including Mathuras Superintendent of Police (City) Mukul Dwivedi, was killed in the clashes. The protesters had stored large amounts of ammunition and cooking gas cylinders inside the park and they set fire to them. Two cops died in the clashes and at least 23 were seriously injured. Additionally, 22 of the squatters also died. Police scanned the area to arrest Yadav but found that he had burned to death in the fire inside Jawahar Bagh, along with 11 others. Cops recovered 47 guns, 6 rifles, and 179 hand grenades, which revealed the degree to which Ram Vriksha Yadav had cultivated his private army.
New Delhi: Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, the leader of the religious sect Dera Sacha Sauda, is facing serious charges as he appears before a CBI court in Panchkula. However, the taint of a rape accusation against him is not enough to deter thousands of his followers to take to the streets in Panchkula and other parts of Punjab and Haryana in his support.



According to reports, Dera followers have been stocking up on petrol and arms. This poses a serious law and order challenge for the two states. Internet services have been shut, 150 companies of paramilitary forces have been deployed and 22 trains through Punjab and Haryana have been cancelled. But why is it that 5 crore people continue to support Ram Rahim despite the rape charges?



In Punjab and Haryana, where caste divisions are deeply entrenched in society, Dera Sacha Sauda promises a caste-free society. The Dera chief has laid an emphasis on equality and humility which attracts people, particularly those from lower strata of society, to his sect. Moreover, the Dera offers subsidised food and medicine to those followers who come from underprivileged backgrounds.



Ram Rahim, during his time as Dera chief, has launched several public welfare projects, 104 of which are currently ongoing. The Dera has even won 13 Guinness Awards for de-addiction, ophthalmological, diabetes and cardiac clinics, tree-plantation and cleanliness drive. It has a 70,000-strong trained volunteer force for nationwide relief and rescue operations



Over the last ten years, Punjab has been in grip of a drug epidemic. The Dera claims it has rescued about five crore people from the clutches of alcoholism and drug abuse.
New Delhi: As reports of violence erupting in Panchkula, just minutes after Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was convicted of rape by a CBI court, pour in, it is imperative to note that followers of the self-styled godman had stocked themselves up with arms, police had said last week.



Ahead of the Fridays order in the sexual assault case against controversial self-styled Godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, intelligence inputs had told CNN News18 last week that his followers had stored petrol, diesel in drums and are stocking sharp edged weapons and stones at the prayer centre of the Dera Sacha Sauda premises.



Director General of Police (Law and Order) Punjab, in a letter to all the senior police officers of the state had said it has come to the notice that Dera Sacha Sauda, Sirsa premises, has stock of petrol, diesel in drums.



The letter also said that stones and sharp-edged weapons are being stored at Naam Charcha Ghars (prayer centre) in Faridkot district. The police fears that if the court verdict goes against Gurmeet Ram Rahim, then his devotees can use petrol and weapons to harm/destroy the government or public properties. Both Haryana and Punjab were put on high alert ahead of the court order. As a precautionary measure, government also ordered closure of schools and colleges in Panchkula district on August 24 and 25. About 160 companies of central forces have also been called in, including the CRPF, BSF, CISF, ITBP and SSB. Ninety seven companies of CRPFs Rapid Action Force and a womens company were also deployed with immediate effect.



Ignoring appeals from the administration and their sect head, a large number of Dera Sacha Sauda followers continued to stay put in Panchkula on Friday giving a tough time to authorities.

Haryana Police assisted by central forces launched a night-long operation to flush out scores of Dera followers gathered over the past four days in Panchkula, but the followers have largely refused to budge.



Security forces are facing a tough situation as many Dera followers remained reluctant to move, with most saying they had come to the town on their own and will move only after the court delivers its verdict.



Security forces in Haryana and Punjab were seen taking out flag marches at many sensitive places. Haryana government had already clamped prohibitory orders in all its districts as a precautionary measure. Police have also set up barricades at several places in the two states, besides the common capital Chandigarh, where security has been further tightened ahead of the court verdict.




New Delhi: Dera chief Ram Rahim was, on Monday, sentenced to 10 years in jail over a 15-year-old rape case.



The sadhvi who had written an anonymous letter to then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2002 can indeed heave a sigh of relief after 15 years.



In 2002, a sadhvi (a woman who partakes in activities of the Dera Sacha Sauda and often resides there) wrote an anonymous letter to Vajpayee, narrating her ordeal. She alleged that Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh had raped her and other sadhvis.



The trial commenced on September 6, 2008 and included charges of Section 376 (rape) and Section 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC.



Though the sentencing has been slated for August 28, it is not hard to presume what lies in store for the Dera Sacha Sauda chief.



The offence of rape attracts a punishment of not less than seven years, which may also extend to life-term depending upon the gravity of the case. This sentence will also be coupled with criminal intimidation which draws an imprisonment of not less than two years. Both offences have a fine attached to it too.



So what prompted the court to convict MSG or the self-styled Messenger of God?



This was not only a case of rape, but also of prolonged sexual assault and abuse involving not one but a number of women.



The contents of the letter written by the sadhvi had indicated that she was called to Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh's room one night. When she entered the room, the Dera Sacha Sauda chief, armed with a revolver, was allegedly watching a pornographic movie. The sadhvi had alleged that she was raped and assaulted for three years and that 40 other women were also sexually abused.



This was further corroborated by statements by the victims to the CBI which was recorded under Section 164 of CrPC.



The case got a lot murkier when Ranjit Singh, a member of the Dera Sacha Sauda, was killed on July 10, 2002. Ranjit Singh was believed to have assisted the anonymous sadhvi.



Later, Ram Chander Chattrapati, a journalist working for Poora Sach was also killed. This was one of the few papers that had claimed to expose the secrets of the Dera Sacha Sauda.



These two killings also give enough meat for Judge Jagdeep Singh to check what was the repercussion of the crime and how were these crimes inter-linked with the original offence of rape and sexual assault.
New Delhi: It was from under the nose of Haryana administration that lakhs of Dera Sacha Sauda followers continued to pour into Haryana over last several days equipped with firearms and petrol. Despite intelligence inputs from Punjab police, Haryana police allowed mobs to assemble in and around Panchkula in huge numbers. It finally took the Punjab and Haryana High Court to ask the state government to rein in the mobs. But by then, it was already too late.



DSS followers have left a trail of destruction in Haryana, Punjab and Delhi. At least 13 people have been killed and over a 100 have been injured in the violence that started from outside the CBI court in Panchkula, where the sect chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim was convicted of rape on Friday.



Despite a letter written by the Director General of Police (Law and Order) Punjab a few days ago, warning his fellow officers that DSS followers were seen storing inflammables in drums and were seen stocking sharp instruments, the Haryana police did nothing to prevent the mob fury.



In fact, police started heavy deployment in and around Panchkula 48 hours in advance but did nothing to prevent assembly of lakhs of heavily armed DSS followers.



As this piece is being written, arson continues to rip apart Haryana and Punjab, and the national capital. Mobile services have been suspended, 150 companies of paramilitary forces have been deployed and 22 trains through Punjab and Haryana have been cancelled.



Government offices have been set on fire, media vehicles have been damaged and government properties in Delhi have been set ablaze. Now, the army has been pressed into action and six columns of the army are being deployed in and around Haryana. The Union Home Ministry and the Prime Ministers Office is reportedly now keeping a tab over the unfolding violence.



Barely one-and-a-half years ago, Haryana had witnessed similar scenes of mob violence. Todays mob fury looks strikingly similar to the Jat agitation that unfolded in February last year. And as happened the last time, intelligence inputs clearly warning the state about mob violence had started to come in two weeks in advance.



The first intelligence inputs about Jat reservation agitation being violent came in on February 4, and the last came on February 18. The government chose to ignore the intel warnings and over the next one week, the state burned and the violence consumed lives of 30 people and properties worth crores of rupees was destroyed.



Last year in February, after their demand for reservation in government jobs wasnt met, Jat mobs had set on fire several parts of Haryana and had attacked minority communities in several districts of the state, worst affected of which were Jhajjar and Rohtak. Nearly 30 people were killed in Haryana in three days and well over a 100 people were injured.



During those days too, the administration under the Chief Ministership of Manohar Lal Khattar had watched helplessly as Jat mobs had practically taken over the state. Even then the state administration had allowed mobs of thousands of Jats to assemble over days.



But the state administration seems to have learnt little from the last big episode of mob violence, the injuries from which havent healed till today.



According to sources, the state got its first warning on August 18, when hundreds of Dera followers walked into the CBI court assuming that it was verdict day. The police was caught unawares.



The state machinery continued to sleep even after August 18. Dera followers were allowed to assemble and were described as peaceful by the authorities. Interestingly, while they allowed Premis (as the sect followers are known) to assemble, the state government also sought the central governments assistance in case of any unprecedented situation if the court ruled against the Dera chief.



In fact the Director General of Police (Law and Order) Punjab, in a recently written letter to all the senior police officers of the state had explicitly mentioned that it has come to the notice that Dera Sacha Sauda, Sirsa premises, has stock of petrol, diesel in drums.



The letter also said that stones and sharp-edged weapons are being stored at Naam Charcha Ghars (prayer centre) in Faridkot district. The DG Punjab police had warned well in advance that if the verdict didnt go in Rahims favour, then his devotees can use petrol and weapons to harm/destroy the government or public properties.
Panchkula: For the last couple of days, if you live in Panchkula, you couldn't step out of the house without encountering alternating hordes of policemen & Dera Sacha Sauda (DSS) followers.



Now, you can't step out of the house at all.



Ironic, that mere days after my fight for freedom started, the entire state is now locked inside their houses for fear of their lives.



Having seen the coverage, and interacted with some of these dedicated 'fans' though, it feels like most of these people are flocking for no other reason than to support their 'Pitaji', and maybe just to get a glimpse of this man they've elevated to a God-like status. These people vehemently claim that anyone associated with the Dera never has and never will, indulge in violence.



At first glance, it seems almost unbelievable that this crowd could even be capable of violence. There are women and children of all ages, langars being organised, First-Aid points have been established, charging points for mobile phones have been set up, announcements about keeping their surroundings clean echo through the throng every now & then; it hardly seems more threatening than a dharamshala.



Many of these fans are willing to self-immolate for him, assuring anyone who asks "Hum to kisi ka patta bhi nahi todenge, lekin apni jaan daanv par lagadenge".



However, history, popular opinion & common sense dictates that it takes less than nothing to transform a peaceful crowd into a frenzied, violent mob.



This spirit of laying down their own lives in support of this Godman, could, within a split second, turn into a spirit of taking lives for the same reason. A mob has no discipline or authority or logic.



And if I know this, and most of the citizens of the country know it, I think it's safe to assume that the government knows it too.



Yet, here are lakhs of people; a potentially violent, seemingly uncontrollable mob, and all the officials have done is make announcements about deadlines for curfews.



Deadlines which have been conveniently ignored by all these followers.



Would it not be a lot easier to control the situation if these people had never been allowed to congregate in the first place? Why must we wait for disruption to start before any real action is taken?



Two stadiums have been converted into temporary jails, but what good does that do anyone? Instead, why not let these people be contained in those stadiums already, and just let them support their Pitaji from the inside.



Our houses are locked, shops, schools, banks, offices are shut, roads are empty. The peace-loving citizens of the state are going through harassment, while those who are likely to incite & indulge in violence are roaming the streets as they please. I doubt people with health emergencies would even be willing to go to the hospital, out of fear of this mob.



The officials have gone through the motions, and assure everyone they are prepared to handle the crowd if something goes awry; but it inspires no confidence. No effective actions have been taken to make sure the situation never arose in the first place.



If law is not enforced, irrespective of who the accused is, how are we different from a banana republic? Why should it be possible for any citizen of the country to defy law enforcement by using any kind of circus?



It is the money of the taxpayers, the citizens, that is spent to run the government, and the citizens, unfortunately, are on the receiving end in all such cases.



(The author is a music artiste. She was recently in news for her complaint against an alleged stalker. Views are personal)
Murder, rape, castration, abduction  a rap sheet as long as his arm and yet Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Insans followers are ready to die for him.



Many of those who sought to intimidate the state government and judiciary by converging in large numbers on Haryanas Panchkula town in support of the Love Charger guru, are well-educated, wealthy and socially prominent; certainly not wild-eyed fanatics.



The question of why mentally sound individuals are willing to sacrifice their health, wealth, family and friends at the behest of a godman continues to puzzle social psychologists. It is not that such people are chronically depressed or dont value their lives; it is just that they value their guru more. In contrast with political or social activists, they are unconcerned with the social outcomes (constructive or destructive) of their actions. The guru is an end in himself.



Last year, Karnataka Congress MLC VS Ugrappa claimed he was viciously trolled by followers of Raghaveshwara Bharti, head of the Ramachandrapura Mutt, for denouncing police inaction in the sexual harassment cases against the godman.



In 2014, Jagat Guru Rampalji Maharajs refusal to surrender to the law led to a violent face-off between his followers and the Haryana police at his ashram in Barwala, resulting in the death of four women.



Likewise, Asaram Bapu, his son and Nithyanand Swami, jailed on charges of rape, continue to enjoy a substantial following.



Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh stands out among the herd of dubious godmen, not just because of his colourful personality, vast political network and success in evading the charges against him, but the blind dedication of his army of followers across all castes and classes.



Why would Hans Raj Chauhan submit to castration while in the prime of life, a surgery allegedly performed by doctors at the Dera? He claims (according to press reports) to have joined the cult at the age of 16, at the behest of his parents and quit only in 2009, after developing health complications following the surgery. In 2014, the Punjab and Haryana High Court handed over the probe into the alleged castration of 400 Dera Sacha Sauda followers to the CBI.



Nor did Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singhs followers suffer any diminution of faith when, in 2007, the CBI finalised three chargesheets against him, for the murders of former Dera manager Ranjit Singh and Sirsa-based journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati and the sexual exploitation of female inmates. The latter was based on a probe ordered after an anonymous letter to then prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee in 2002.



Yet another probe was ordered into the mysterious disappearance, in 1991, of Faqir Chand, an accountant at the Dera Sacha Sauda (the CBI tried to close the case in 2010, but it was revived by the High Court in 2016). An expose by a news magazine a decade ago alleged institutionalised sexual exploitation of sadhvis, forced castrations and a string of mysterious deaths.



Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singhs followers dont buy it, maintaining that he is the victim of a conspiracy. But who would conspire against him? The Congress has sought his assistance in fighting Assembly elections, as have the BJP and the Akali Dal.



BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvarghia famously called on the godman at his Teravas in Sirsa, with an entourage of ministers and MLAs in tow, to thank him for his support in the Haryana assembly polls. State chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar returned the favour by giving the Dera a clean chit, after the High Court demanded that its premises be searched for illegal arms and ammunition.



The power of devotion is formidable: it creates suicide squads, enables a David to beat Goliath and mobilises a hundred thousand people to defy the law, bringing to a halt rail and communications networks! Ultimately, their devotion is based on a dependency syndrome. So central is the godman to the lives of his devotees, so essential to their identity and concept of self that they will die for him. The devotee is more invested in the divinity of guru than the guru himself, because without it, his life lacks meaning.



Granted, most humans are vulnerable to the idea of a 'higher power'. Evolutionary psychologists trace this concept to the uniquely human ability for symbolic reasoning. The capacity for abstract thought enables humans to cooperate with genetic strangers in large numbers towards a cause bigger that they are, be it nation, community, religion  or a godman. (Women in particular are educated, through cultural symbols, to surrender their all to a higher cause.)



The dependency on the 'higher power' has been enhanced in the last few decades by abrupt socio-economic transformation. Community ties have weakened and society atomised, rendering the individual rootless and faceless. He or she finds a locus and an identity in the community of devotees around a godman.



The dissonance of modern life  where the individual either strives for wealth or, having found it, realizes that it does not bring happiness drives people to seek a spiritual solution. The godman becomes their spiritual preceptor, psychologist, family confidante and business advisor. He holds out the promise of happiness, lays out a road map, takes away the burden of decision-making and invests life with purpose and meaning. And best of all, unlike an abstract deity or an idol, he is present in physical form. He can be seen, touched and heard.



The followers are thus open to brain-washing, or coercion through the threat of exclusion from the cosy community. At times, devotees may lose faith in the godman, when they perceive that he no longer has all the answers.



The Beatles abandoned Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Mata Amritananmayees personal attendant fled from her, Sathya Sai Babas devotees accused him of sexually exploiting children. But such instances are the exception, not the norm.



Some analysts see the growing clout of spiritual entrepreneurs as a consequence of the increasing religiosity in Indian society. Meera Nanda, in The God Market, observes that India is not free of the forces of politicised religiosity which expresses itself in a growing sense of Hindu majoritarianism. Globalisation, she contends, has sharpened religious identities, fuelled by a state-temple-corporate nexus.



Perhaps that explains the success of Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh. The Dera Sacha Sauda was one of many cults in Punjab and Haryana when he took over in 1990. He expanded it many times over, leveraging his personal charisma and launching a variety of social welfare campaigns. His distinctly un-godmanlike behaviour  belting out rock songs and starring in home productions with sketchy social themes, high-end motorcycles and bizarre, bling costumes  is interpreted as reaching out to younger devotees. As the number of his followers has grown, so has his political clout  to the point where he now feels secure in challenging the secular power of the state.



(The writer is a senior journalist and author of Gurus: Stories of India's Leading Babas. Views are personal)
New Delhi: Amid reports of people dying in violence of Punjab and Haryana post the verdict against Dera Sacha Gurmeet Ram Rahim, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh defended the administrations in the two states.



"State governments did take precautions. You can't blame them," he said soon after his return from the SCO summit in Kyrgyz Republic.



Singh said that spoke to Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lala Khattar and Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh and that both CMs assured him that situation is under control.



When asked as to why congregation of Dera supporters was allowed in Panchkula, he said, In a democracy, how can you stop movement of people all together?



Singh also appealed from peace. I appeal to all, including supporters (of Dera Sacha Sauda) to maintain peace. I have been told that Baba Ram Rahim has also appealed for peace, he said.



Any harm to life and property due to this unrest cannot be compensated by any amount of money, he added.



Singh said he has taken stock of the situation in Haryana, Punjab and Chandigarh. I preponed my return after getting to know about the situation as it was unfolding. The moment I landed I spoke to CMs along with administration officers and reviewed the situation. Both CMs told me that situation under control, he said.



I told them if any assistance is needed center will provide whatever force they have asked has been given, he added.



Singh was on a visit to Kyrgyzstan when the situation unfolded, causing him to rush to Delhi.



About 13 people died after the special CBI court in Panchkula convicted the Dera chief in a rape case. The central government has already dispatched around 20,000 paramilitary personnel to Haryana, Punjab and Chandigarh to assist the local administration in maintaining law and order.
New Delhi: The Punjab and Haryana High court has ordered that no politician or religious leader should make any provocative statements in the aftermath of the violence that followed the conviction of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a rape case.



Ordering a list of guidelines for the state authorities to follow, the order by a bench of Acting Chief Justice SS Saron, Justice Surya Kant and Justice Avneesh Jhingan came on a PIL claiming obstruction to law and order that police must prevent any such cases from happening that may impact public order.



In case any politician or anybody else including ministers interferes in the enforcement of law FIR be registered against him or them. In case of failure eon part of the police officer to register an FIR, similar action would be called against him, the bench said.



No politician, leader, social worker, spiritual leader, religious leader or any such organisation shall make any provocative speech or statement which may have a tendency to affect public order, the bench added.



Just hours after the order, BJP lawmaker and controversial Hindu leader, Sakshi Maharaj, called the rape convict was a kind soul.



Who is right? Crores of people who see god in Ram Rahim or that girl who filed a complaint? Accusing a noble soul like Ram Rahim, he said.



Maharajs statement came amid violence in Haryana and Punjab, in which at least 32 people were killed and over 250 injured after the Dera chief was convicted by a CBI court for raping a minor, 15 years ago.



Sakshi Maharaj said Ram Rahims conviction was an attempt to malign Indian culture". He went on to blame the court for violence that had erupted soon after Rahim was convicted.



"There is so much of ruckus over it, law and order has been disturbed, people are dying... Shouldn't this be a consideration," he added.



The court has also stated that the police force and paramilitary can deal with the situation as they like and should be unrelenting in performing their duties.



The police force and paramilitary forces would have free-hand to deal with the situation wherever and whenever required against any individual or any section of the society or organisation. In case of need, the army shall be deployed and be made operational. The police forces must act and perform their duties to the full, there should be no lapse on their part in the performance of their duties. They should be unrelenting in performing their duties at this critical hour, the bench said.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday said even news reports of a celebritys sexual relations amount to breach of privacy as it highlighted that the Right to Privacy could be violated not only by the government but also by private entities.



Dismissive of the 'big brother' attitude, Justice Sanjay K Kaul noted "something interesting is happening" as internet users have created information far more than humanity ever created before the advent of the 'world wide web'.



"Uber knows our whereabouts and the places we frequent. Facebook at the least, knows who we are friends with. Alibaba knows our shopping habits. Airbnb knows where we are travelling to," said the judge, who was a part of the concurring verdict on acknowledging privacy as a fundamental right.



All the information, the judge noted, were available with these entities although Uber, the worlds largest taxi company, owns no vehicles.



"Facebook, the worlds most popular media owner, creates no content. Alibaba, the most valuable retailer, has no inventory. And Airbnb, the worlds largest accommodation provider, owns no real estate," wondered Justice Kaul.



He pointed out that as we move towards becoming a digital economy and increase our reliance on internet-based services, we are creating deeper and deeper digital footprints  passively and actively.



"These digital footprints and extensive data can be analyzed computationally to reveal patterns, trends, and associations, especially relating to human behavior and interactions and hence, is valuable information," said the judge.



Justice Kaul said that collation of all such information leads to creation of 'big data' which can then be exploited for targeted advertising.



"Knowledge about a person gives a power over that person. The personal data collected is capable of affecting representations, influencing decision making processes and shaping behaviour. It can be used as a tool to exercise control over us like the big brother State exercised," he said.



And this, Justice Kaul held, can have a stultifying effect on the expression of dissent and difference of opinion, which no democracy can afford.



Supporting views of Justice D Y Chandrachud, Justice Kaul said the situation warranted unprecedented need for regulation regarding the extent to which such information can be stored, processed and used by non-state actors. There is also a need for protection of such information from the State.



"Our Government was successful in compelling Blackberry to give to it the ability to intercept data sent over Blackberry devices. While such interception may be desirable and permissible in order to ensure national security, it cannot be unregulated," he added.



Citing the popular fiction '1984' by George Orwell, the judge said that what the writer had created as a fictional State can become a reality.



"The technological development today can enable not only the state, but also big corporations and private entities to be the big brother," cautioned Justice Kaul.
New Delhi: Creating an embarrassing situation for the BJP government, party leader Sakshi Maharaj, on Friday, said that rape convict, self-styled godman Ram Rahim was a kind soul.



Who is right? Crores of people who see god in Ram Rahim or that girl who filed a complaint? Accusing a noble soul like Ram Rahim, said the controversial Hindutva leader.



Maharajs statement came amid violence in Haryana and Punjab, in which at least 32 people were killed and over 250 were injured after Dera Sacha Sauda chief Ram Rahim was convicted by a CBI court for raping a minor, 15 years ago.



Sakshi Maharaj said Rahims conviction was an attempt to malign Indian culture". He went on to blame the court for violence that had erupted soon after Rahim was convicted.



"There is so much of ruckus over it, law and order has been disturbed, people are dying... Shouldn't this be a consideration," he added.



"Can the Supreme Court or High Court call the Shahi Imam (head) of Jama Masjid in this manner? He is also wanted in many cases... Is he their relative? Ram Rahim is a simple man so he is being harassed," Maharaj said.



Even as violence from Panchkula spread to the national capital and parts of Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, the ruling party remained silent.



Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh defended the administrations in the two states. "State governments did take precautions. You can't blame them," he said soon after his return from the SCO summit in Kyrgyz Republic.



Singh said he spoke to Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh and that both CMs assured him that situation is under control.




Chandigarh: Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was convicted in a rape case on Thursday after a wait of 15 years, but for the bereaved son of Ram Chander Chhatrapati, the man who exposed the self-styled godman, the judgment day is still to come.



Chhatrapati, who was the editor of a Haryana daily Poora Sach, was shot at point blank range after he published the explosive letter sent to then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in his newspaper in 2002. The letter written by the women disciples of the Dera chief contained details of the rape, and more.



In September that year, the Punjab and Haryana High Court took suo motu cognizance of the letter, which had caught enough attention by now.



On October 24, the 53-year-old editor was shot four times by two men on a bike, and battled for his life in Apollo hospital, New Delhi for 28 days. The men were alleged to be Dera followers. Before he died on November 21, Chhatrapati named Singh behind the act.



His son Anshul, told the press that the cops left the godman's name out of the FIR. Anshul, a key witness, petitioned the High Court for a CBI probe, in early 2003. I was 21 then, and did not know where to go for justice after the police did not include the name of the Dera chief in the FIR, he said.



Chhatrapati, along with other senior journalists in the region had received threats soon after the letter made news and, and had asked the Sirsa Superintendent of Police for protection. Chhatrpati had been known as a crusader among local journalists and had exposed several wrongdoings by the sect and its chief.



Though Singh has been convicted of rape on Friday, Chhatrapati's murder case is still being heard at the same CBI court in Panchkula. The current status of the case is that the presentation of the evidence has been concluded. Anshul, who has made several rounds of the court, hopes for a quick verdict.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear after Diwali pleas challenging Article 35 A, relating to special rights and privileges of permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir.



A bench headed by Justice J S Khehar accepted the plea of the Jammu and Kashmir state government that the pleas challenging Article 35 A be heard after Diwali.



Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi and Advocate Shoeb Alam mentioned the matter before a bench also comprising Justices Dipak Misra and D Y Chandrachud that even the Centre has no objection if the pleas are taken up after Diwali.



"All the pleas will be taken up for hearing after Diwali," the bench said.



Earlier the apex court had favoured hearing of the matter by a five-judge constitution bench in case the Article is ultra vires of the Constitution or if there is any procedural lapse.



The court had said that a three-judge bench will hear the matter and refer it to a five-judge bench if necessary.



The apex court was hearing a plea filed by Charu Wali Khanna challenging Article 35A of the Constitution and Section 6 of the Jammu and Kashmir Constitution which deal with the "permanent residents" of the state.



The plea has challenged certain provisions of the Constitution which deny property right to a woman who marries a person from outside the state.



The provision, which makes such women from the state lose rights over property, also applies to her son.



Article 35A, which was added to the Constitution by a Presidential Order in 1954, accords special rights and privileges to the citizens of the Jammu and Kashmir.



It also empowers the state's legislature to frame any law without attracting a challenge on grounds of violating the Right to Equality of people from other states or any other right under the Indian Constitution.



"Section 6 of the Jammu and Kashmir Constitution restricts the basic right of women to marry a man of their choice by not giving the heirs any right to property if the woman marries a man not holding the Permanent Resident Certificate.



"Her children are denied a permanent resident certificate thereby considering them illegitimate -- not given any right to such a woman's property even if she is a permanent resident of Jammu and Kashmir," the plea said.



While Jammu and Kashmir's Non-Permanent Resident Certificate holders can vote in Lok Sabha elections, the same individual is barred to vote in local elections in the state.


New Delhi: After a long time, the nation saw a week that was full of action, so much that it changed the discourse of the society.



Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was on Friday convicted of rape by the CBI court in Panchkula. This was not the only case which hailed the judiciary in India was celebrated by one and all over the last week.



In a landmark verdict, the apex court ruled in favor of the rights of Muslim women by striking down the instant, oral, unilateral triple talaq  Talaq-E-Biddat on August 23rd, 2017.



CJI JS Khehar headed a Constitution bench comprising of Justice Kurian Joseph, Justice RF Nariman, Justice UU Lalit, and Justice Abdul Nazeer.



The verdict ruffled few patriarchal feathers who struck a defiant note in the aftermath and the ripple effects of the verdict are sure to continue for long. The tears of victory rolled down the cheeks of petitioners and victims as they faced the brazen triumphant wind on the green lawns of the Supreme Court.



The joys did not stop at that. On August 24, 2017, the court ruled in favor of the Right to Privacy, giving people of the country the right over their lives and bodies.



The case was heard by Chief Justice JS Khehar; Justice J Chelameswar; Justice SA Bobde; Justice RK Agrawal; Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman; Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre; Justice DY Chandrachud; Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul; Justice S Abdul Nazeer.



It was a 547-page judgment that declared privacy to be a fundamental right. This was a step ahead, as the Supreme Court overruled verdicts given in the MP Sharma case, which was in 1958 and the Kharak Singh case in 1961. The two cases were similar as they harped on the point that the Indian Constitution does not protect the right to privacy.



And now, on Friday, courts lived up to the spirit of Constitution and did not give in to the passions and threats. This time, a CBI court declared the verdict on Baba Ram Rahim, self-proclaimed godman, and head of Dera Sacha Sauda, charged with rape in 2002. The run up to his verdict was marked by angry and anxious followers camped on streets and threatened to resort to violence. The erupted in anger attacking media the moment the verdict was announced. Paramilitary forces were deployed to keep the crowd and crazy followers in control. The sentence will be announced on August 28.



This verdict by the competent and upright judge Jagdeep Singh, in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) special court, wrapped up the week leaving the nation grappling with a bout of positive changes.




On August 23, my wife and I drove from our Sector 4 house in Panchkula to a nursery. The worst of the summer seemed to be over and it was time for the annual planting of flowers. Along the three kilometer journey, we saw crowds of people who had occupied pavements along the road and areas under the flyovers. There was also a steady stream of men and women pouring into Panchkula. A heavy deployment of police was visible but they seemed to have no orders to prevent the crowds from entering.



The lifestyle of Panchkula residents changed over the next few days. As Dera supporters took over the streets, residents were increasingly confined to their homes. Slowly, public parks in residential complexes were occupied. Areas where ladies took their evening stroll turned into open bathing points.



Schools were shut down, public and private functions were cancelled. We looked into our refrigerator and made a list of items to be stocked up. To us it was obvious that the thousands of Dera supporters who had descended on our small township could resort to violence. It did not require an Intelligence Bureau report, only basic common sense.



On August 24, hearing a PIL on the situation in Panchkula, the Punjab and Haryana High Court came down heavily on the Haryana government for its failure to prevent crowds from entering Panchkula, accusing it of collusion. The High Court bench observed, the residents of Panchkula too have a right to live in peace. How have you allowed this to happen?



August 25 dawned with Panchkula residents totally locked into their sectors. Sitting in our homes, we saw pictures of Baba Ram Rahim zooming to the court in a convoy of 192 cars. It was an arrogant display of power, and to us it looked like an abject surrender of state authority.



Half an hour before the pronouncement of the court verdict, electricity was snapped and TV screens went blank. Internet services had already been suspended and we were now in an information blackout. Anxious residents climbed on rooftops to get some idea of what was going on. The mystery was cleared soon enough as firing of guns was heard.



Plumes of black smoke from burning vehicles and buildings was seen rising in the sky. In the Army, we are used to dealing with uncertain situations but Panchkula has a large number of retired and aged persons, some single. I could imagine what would be going through their minds as they saw arson and battles outside their homes.



As I write this, death toll in the violence after Baba Ram Rahim was declared guilty has touched 32. A curfew has been declared in Panchkula but from my balcony I can see crowds of people streaming along the highway. Hopefully they are leaving.



The State has a responsibility towards the silent citizen. It is a sad condition if in our country, law-abiding people are held prisoners in their homes while goons have the run of the city. Unless there is a clear realisation of this, and a strong will to deal with lawlessness, such scenes may continue to haunt us.



(The author is former Northern Commander, Indian Army, under whose leadership India carried out surgical strikes against Pakistan in 2016. Views are personal.)
Kolkata: Close to a hundred representatives of various sweetmeat makers from across West Bengal began a three-day relay hunger strike on Friday to protest the imposition of Goods and Services Tax (GST).



The strike coincides with the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi, a day when sweets from 'barfi' to 'modaks' are in high demand.



The hunger-strike comes days after a state-wide strike by sweet manufacturers against the new tax regime.



"Irrespective of our products being high on demand for Ganesh Chaturthi, we have all gathered here in the city to protest against GST. There are people from districts like Malda, Howrah and Birbhum," West Bengal Mistanna Byabasayee Samity's General Secretary R.K. Paul told IANS.



Iconic sweet-makers K.C. Das, whose erstwhile owner Nabin Chandra Das is widely regarded as the inventor of the rosogolla in 1868, said they are also pitching in the hunger strike.



"I am going there myself and we will be there for the next two days," K.C. Das's Director Dhiman Das said.



While the industry is directly responsible for the livelihoods of at least 10 lakh people, Paul said, there is no estimate of those living off the business indirectly.



Elaborating on their opposition to GST, he said the Rs 50,000 crore industry in Bengal is "hugely different" from the sweet-making ventures in other states, in terms of the products being "highly perishable", a category exempted from the new tax regime.



"We deal with highly perishable goods. Our sweets are very delicate and have a shelf life of only 24 hours. In other states, the kind of sweets they produce is different and can stay on for longer. We were exempted from VAT. The Centre has exempted highly perishable goods from GST. We don't understand why they included our sweets in GST if they are highly perishable," Paul said.



Confectioners said what has added to their woes is that their products fall under all slabs -- 28 per cent for any sandesh/sweet with chocolate in it, five per cent for rosogolla and sandesh, and 12 per cent for mishti doi.



In addition to the evergreen traditional recipes of rosogolla, mishti doi and sandesh, Bengal sweetmeat makers have adapted to modern tastes by incorporating ingredients like chocolates, fruit pulps like those of mangoes, kiwis and blueberries and extending their repertoire with innovations like ice-cream sandesh and kulfi sandesh.




Integration of patient-friendly technologies with medical tourism can boost the flow of foreign patients in India and also keep them well informed about their decisions on the hospitals, said health experts on Thursday.



They said that the revenue from medical tourism in India is worth $3 billion currently, however, it has put a target of $8 billion by 2020.



Speaking at the fourth Healthcare Summit and Awards organised here by India Virtual Hospital and Healthcare Eco-System Partner of Business World, Neerav Goyal, Head of Apollo Liver Transplant at Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, said: "At this juncture technology can play a major role and can change the whole dynamics. However, the use of technology in medical tourism is still at nascent stage in India and the digital benefits are yet to reach the medical travellers."



Stating that technology can immensely contribute for boosting of medical tourism, Goyal said with right and relevant dissemination of information, it can empower patients to take informed decisions.



"For instance, e-diagnoses and e-consultations may inform medical travellers of their options before they travel. Electronic health records and digitised medical devices help health care providers to easily make more informed decisions," he said.
A major storm, Harvey, was upgraded to hurricane status on Thursday, as it targeted hundreds of miles of coastline in Texas and Louisiana.



The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) warned of a potential for "life threatening" floods from the storm, which was due to make landfall sometime on Friday.



The NHC said the category one hurricane could hit land as a much more powerful category three, with winds of 130 miles (209 kilometers) per hour.



Harvey also was expected to deluge flood-prone New Orleans in neighboring Louisiana, where the catastrophic Hurricane Katrina in 2005 caused widespread flooding and killed more than 1,800 people.



"We could see some localized flooding," New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu told a news conference on Thursday, adding that sandbags, boats and high-water rescue vehicles were being readied, although no evacuations were immediately planned.



"We just need to make sure that we're prepared for heavy rain over the course of the next week," Landrieu said.



Harvey's wind speed on Thursday was about 80 miles (129 km) per hour.



A storm is categorized as a category one hurricane when it has winds of 74 miles (119 kilometers) per hour.



The slow-moving storm was expected to dump as much as 30 inches of rain in some parts of Texas. Dangerous storm surges were also forecast, reaching between six to 10 feet above ground level in the worst-hit regions.



Even though landfall was still hours away, Governor Greg Abbott on Thursday issued disaster declarations in 30 counties, saying the preemptive move would allow "Texas to quickly deploy resources for the emergency response effort."



Officials in Houston, the biggest city in the path of the storm, said they did not anticipate issuing evacuation orders, but expected heavy rainfall to last up to five days.
New Delhi: The Congress on Friday called for the resignation of Haryana chief minister M L Khattar, with party president Sonia Gandhi expressing grave concern over the violence in the state.



The Congress president appealed for peace, while vice-president Rahul Gandhi stressed that violence and brutality had no place in society.



"@PMOIndia must put the interest and safety of Indians before his party's interests. @mlkhattar must resign," the party said on Twitter.



At least 30 people were killed and 250 injured on Friday in widespread violence, arson and police firing in Haryana triggered by the rape conviction of self-styled godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, the head of Dera Sacha Sauda.



In a statement here, the Congress president said several people including children had died in the violence, and "there was widespread destruction of public property and senseless attacks" on the media.



She appealed to the people to maintain peace. She also spoke with Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and asked the government of Haryana and the Chandigarh administration to ensure the safety of all citizens.



Rahul Gandhi, who left for Norway earlier on Friday, condemned the "rampage and lawlessness" in Haryana and appealed for the restoration of peace.



"Violence and brutality have no place in our society. Condemn the rampage and lawlessness in Haryana and appeal to restore peace and tranquillity," he said on Twitter.



His tweet came a few hours after he left for Oslo, where he is expected to meet and interact with political and business leaders.



Former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda also appealed for peace but said the government should have been prepared.



"The priority now is to restore law and order, peace and harmony. I appeal to the people of Haryana to maintain calm and ensure there is no loss of life or damage to property," he told reporters after violence broke out in Panchkula and other

parts of the state in the wake of the conviction in the 2002 rape case.



Hooda said it was not the time for a blame-game but said the government should have been prepared and steps taken in advance to ensure law and order.



He said Haryana had already suffered because of the "laxity" and "weakness" of the government during earlier agitations.
New Delhi: Two years before the next general election, the Narendra Modi-led NDA government is electorally stronger than in 2014 and with mega Cabinet reshuffle around the corner, one can expect surprises and strategic appointments from the prime minister and BJP chief Amit Shah.



Cabinet reshuffle can take place anytime between Saturday and September 5 when Pitru Paksha or Shradh, a fortnight considered inauspicious in Hindu calendar, begins.



Sources say that among the new NDA allies  the JD(U) and the AIADMK (which is yet to formally join the fold)  could find a place in Modi Cabinet. While Nitish Kumars party could get a minister of state with independent charge, two MoS berths could be given to AIADMK.



Highly placed sources say major changes are expected in Maharashtra with Devendra Fadnavis being seen as a possible central minister. The state's PWD minister Chandrakant Patil could head the government in the state.



The corridors of power are abuzz that the NCP may get rewarded for its open defiance of the Congress leadership in the recent past. But there is no talk of Sharad Pawar formally joining NDA. Does that mean that Maratha strongman's daughter Supriya Sule, who is among the most active MPs in Parliament, could be placed in the Cabinet? Well, no one but PM Modi and BJP chief knows the answer.



While some of the less-performing ministers may be asked to leave, those doing good work  like power minister Piyush Goyal and petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan  may get elevated.



Another big question is on the fate of railway ministry. While it's being considered a done deal that Suresh Prabhu would not remain in Rail Bhavan for long, but he may find place in some other ministry. According to sources, he continues to enjoy PMs trust.



In that case, who will be the new railway minister? Two theories are doing rounds in Delhi's corridors of power. One is that a mega transport and mobility ministry could be created under Nitin Gadkari, who has a good track record as highways and shipping minister.



Another speculation is that former railway minister Dinesh Trivedi, who was made to resign by Mamata Banerjee in March 2012 when he had increased the passenger fares by 2 paise, could replace Prabhu.



Sources say Trivedi and Ashwani Lohani, who has been appointed as Chairman of Railway Board, could make for a leadership to reform Indian Railways and take forward Prabhu's work.



During Trivedi's short tenure as railway minister, multiple committees were set up. One was Kakodkar Committee for safety review committee that had made 106 recommendations on various aspects of railways working.



Politically, Trivedi's appointment could render a body blow to Mamata Banerjee in Bengal. Trivedi is a Gujarati whose family migrated to India from Karachi during partition. He started political career with Congress in 1980s, before switching over to Janata Dal in 1990. In 1998, he joined Trinamool Congress and became its first general secretary.



Kalraj Mishra could be dropped because of the upper age limit of 75. Also some non-performing ministers could be dropped.



All said and done, one can expect surprises from the Modi-Shah duo.
Chennai: For the first time since his arrest, Rajiv Gandhi assassination case convict A. G. Perarivalan has been granted parole by the Deputy Inspector General of Prisons, Vellore, on the orders of the Additional Chief Secretary to Tamil Nadu government.



The one-month (30 days) parole was solely granted on humanitarian grounds that Perarivalan's father is sick. Perarivalan's mother Arputhammal had been constantly lobbying for his parole order while several political parties, including the DMK and the PMK, backed his plea.



Speaking on the issue, DMK working president M. K. Stalin said: "Tamil Nadu government should to take steps to release him from jail permanently." Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) founder S. Ramadoss also welcomed the state government's decision. He urged the state government to release convicts permanently.



The Tamil Nadu prison authorities had earlier rejected his 30-day leave application on the grounds that he was sentenced under Central Acts and could not be granted parole under the provisions of the Tamil Nadu Suspension of Sentence Rules, 1982.



Perarivalan was arrested on June 11, 1991 and charged with providing a 9-volt battery for the explosive device to assassination conspirator Sivarasan. His death penalty finally commuted to life term imprisonment after Supreme Court verdict on February 1, 2014.



A life convict, Nalini moved the Madras High Court seeking parole for six months after the jail authorities rejected her parole. In her petition, Nalini said that as per law, she was entitled to avail a one-month parole once in two years. She also added that she hasn't taken any leave during her 26-year jail term. The Madras High Court had issued notices to the State government to examine her petition.



This case has always been a political issue with the ruling urging the Centre for the release of all the seven convicts and the DMK attacking the AIDMK for not taking concrete steps to release them.
Indian IT services firm Infosys named Nandan Nilekani, one of its founders and former heads, as chairman on Thursday in a bid to end a lengthy feud between the board and the company's founders. The move is likely to reassure employees and clients and quell shareholder concerns after the shock resignation of its Chief Executive Vishal Sikka last week spooked investors and wiped billions of dollars from the company's market value.Nilekani, credited for driving up Infosys' annual revenue fourfold to $2 billion during his 2002-2007 tenure as CEO, will take over as the non-executive chairman and as a non-independent director with immediate effect, India's No. 2 IT services firm said in a statement. Chairman R Seshasayee, Sikka, who was serving as executive vice-chairman after exiting as CEO, and two other directors also resigned as part of the board shake-up.Ravi Venkatesan stepped down as co-chair, but will continue as an independent director on the board, Infosys said. The Infosys board will try to engage with all shareholders as a matter of priority, Nilekani said in the statement. Following Sikka's exit, Nilekani, the architect of India's ambitious biometric identity programme, was widely expected to return to Infosys, whose board has been tangled in a protracted public spat with founder Narayana Murthy, who accused the board of corporate governance lapses.Disagreements between founders and the board centered around a rise in Sikka's pay, the acquisition of Israeli automation firm Panaya for $200 million and a severance package offered to a former finance chief.STOCK RISESIndian media reports on Nilekani's likely return had already boosted investor confidence and pushed the stock higher over its last two trading sessions. Shriram Subramanian of shareholder advocacy group InGovern said Nilekani-led Infosys urgently needed to formally address corporate governance concerns raised by the founders. "Otherwise it would be a complete eyewash," he said. "Other shareholders will be completely clueless as to why the board succumbed to pressure from founders."Nilekani returns to the Bengaluru-headquartered company at a time when Indian outsourcers have been dented by cautious client spends in their biggest market, the United States, and as they brace for changes to a U.S. work visa program they have heavily relied on in the past to fly engineers into the country.The incoming chairman will also be tasked with leading the company's efforts to find a replacement for Sikka, widely known as an innovator in the global software industry. "It's a good development as the company has got a credible face on the board who will act as a guide, and assure clients and shareholders that critical functions and strategies will continue," said Harit Shah, IT analyst at Reliance Securities.Reuters reported earlier this week that a group of 12 major institutional investors in Infosys had called on the company to bring Nilekani back onto the board to help end the feud with the company's founders. Nilekani and his family own about 2.3 percent of Infosys, and according to Forbes, he is worth $1.72 billion.
U.S. action against suspected Russian cyber criminals has surged to a record high this year despite efforts by President Donald Trump to improve ties with Moscow. The United States has arrested or indicted seven Russians on U.S. cyber crime charges in 2017. On average, just two Russian cyber criminals were extradited to the United States each year between 2010 and the start of this year.Below is a breakdown of the arrests and indictments so far this year:STANISLAV LISOVArrested in Spain on Jan. 13, aged 32. Lisov, also known by hacker names "Black" and "Blackf", according to court documents, is accused of creating the "NeverQuest" banking trojan which targeted customers of financial institutions around the world and caused millions of dollars of damage.A Spanish court agreed to extradite Lisov to the United States in early August, where he faces up to 35 years in prison. Lisov's lawyer opposed the extradition, arguing that the allegations and evidence against him were too vague, that the United States did not have jurisdiction over any of the alleged crimes.IGOR SUSHCHINIndicted on March 15, aged 43. One of two officers from Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) charged by the United States in March with masterminding the 2014 theft of up to 500 million Yahoo accounts, the first time the U.S. government criminally charged Russian spies for cyber offences. Reuters was unable to reach Sushchin for comment.DMITRY DOKUCHAYEVIndicted on March 15, aged 33. The second FSB officer indicted in the Yahoo hack and Sushchin's subordinate. Allegedly a former hacker who stole and sold credit card details under the online alias "Forb", Dokuchayev was one of four men detained on mysterious treason charges by Russian authorities in late 2016. He is currently being held in Moscow. Reuters was unable to reach Dokuchayev for comment.ALEXEI BELANIndicted on March 15, aged 29. One of two hackers accused of working with Sushchin and Dokuchayev to break into Yahoo email servers and steal data from up to 500 million user accounts. Belan has spent years on the FBI's most-wanted list for crimes. He was arrested in Europe in June 2013 but escaped to Russia before he could be extradited to the United States. Reuters was unable to reach Belan for comment.PETER LEVASHOVArrested in Spain on April 7, aged 36. A spammer accused by U.S. prosecutors of operating a botnet, or network, of tens of thousands of infected computers used by cyber criminals to pump out spam emails. Levashov has been accused of using the botnet for a multitude of criminal schemes, such as stock fraud, online credential phishing attempts and the distribution of malware, including ransomware. He is being held in Spain awaiting extradition to the United States, where he faces up to 52 years in jail. He denies the charges against him.YURY MARTYSHEVArrested in Latvia on April 26, aged 35. Accused of helping run a service that let cyber criminals test-drive malware before attacking victims. His extradition to the United States was denounced by the Russian government as "another case of kidnapping of a Russian citizen by the US authorities." Martyshev denies the charges against him, according to Russian media reports.ALEXANDER VINNIKArrested in Greece on July 25, aged 37. Vinnik is accused of laundering at least $4 billion in criminal funds through the BTC-e crytpo-currency exchange since 2011. This is alleged to be part of a scheme to facilitate crimes including computer hacking, fraud and drug trafficking.U.S. authorities also linked him to the failure of Mt. Gox, a Japan-based bitcoin exchange that collapsed in 2014 after being hacked. He is being held in Greece awaiting extradition to the United States, where he faces up to 55 years in jail. He denies the charges against him, according to Greek media reports.
Los Angeles: Three letters penned by world-renowned physicist Albert Einstein, including one warning of German dictator Adolf Hitler prior to World War II, are up for auction in the US.



The letters were written by Einstein to his friend Michele Besso, a Swiss-Italian engineer who was credited along with Einstein on the original version of his theory of special relativity.



The letters are on auction at Nate D Sanders Auctions in Los Angeles in the US.



The first letter was written in October 1938, less than a year before Adolf Hitler invaded Poland and started World War II. It was postmarked in Princeton, New Jersey.



Einstein began the letter by expressing frustration that he could not issue more affidavits to allow more Jewish people to come into the US.



He then went on to express his scepticism about English Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's inclination to look the other way if Hitler annexed Czechoslovakia.



"You have confidence in the British and even Chamberlain? O sancta simpl...! Hoping that Hitler might let off steam by

attacking Russia, he sacrifices Eastern Europe," Einstein wrote in the letter.



"But we will come to see once more that shrewdness does not win in the long term. In France, he pushed the Left into a corner and, in France as well, helped give power to those people whose motto is, 'Better Hitler than the Reds'," he wrote.



The letter has a starting bid of $ 25,000, the 'Live Science' reported.



In addition to the letter mentioning Hitler, the auction will include a letter from Einstein discussing his divorce from his first wife, Mileva Maric, and his financial prospects as a result of winning the Nobel Prize in physics.



Bidding for that letter starts at $ 42,250. A third letter, which details his son's problems with schizophrenia, has a starting bid of $25,000.
Paris: President Emmanuel Macron's office has confirmed a report that the French leader spent 26,000 euros on makeup during his first three months in power, and says it's trying to find a cheaper alternative.



The report in Le Point news magazine prompted harsh criticism of the president from French social media users. It said the cost includes the pay of a freelance makeup artist following Macron during television appearances and trips abroad.



The president's office confirmed the amount today. The report comes at a bad time for Macron, with polls showing his popularity plunging in recent weeks following the announcement of budget cuts and divisive labor reform.



Le Point said Macron's makeup expenses are lower than those of predecessor Francois Hollande, who paid a full-time employee about 10,000 euros monthly.
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Beirut: At least 34 Syrian soldiers and allied fighters have been killed in an Islamic State counterattack in the east of Raqa province, rolling back regime gains, a monitor said Friday.



The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor, said the jihadist group had recaptured large swathes of territory from government forces in the fighting on Thursday.



Syria's army is seeking to advance through Raqa province to reach neighbouring Deir Ezzor, where jihadists have besieged government forces and civilians in the provincial capital since 2015.



Earlier this month, government troops and allied fighters arrived at the outskirts of Madan, the last IS-held town in the eastern Raqa province countryside before Deir Ezzor.



But in Thursday's counterattack, IS "made major progress and... expanded the area under its control along the southern bank of the Euphrates," the Observatory said.



"IS has managed to push regime forces back 30 kilometres (18 miles) from the western outskirts of Madan," Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said.



The Syria army operation in the area, backed by air support from ally Russia, is separate from the battle for provincial capital Raqa city.



The effort to oust IS from the city, once the jihadist group's Syrian stronghold, is being led by the Syrian Democratic Forces, a US-backed alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters.



The SDF has captured just under 60 percent of Raqa city since it entered in June after months of fighting to encircle it.



More than 330,000 people have been killed in Syria since the conflict began in March 2011 with anti-government protests..
Lahore: Pakistan may face another "dismemberment" like the one it witnessed in 1971 if the people's mandate is not respected, ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif warned on Friday as he took a dig at the Supreme Court for disqualifying him.



Sharif's outburst came a day after the Lahore High Court banned broadcast of "anti-judiciary" remarks by him and his party-men.



He also targeted the country's intelligence agencies for being part of the Panama Papers investigation against him and his family members' offshore holdings.



"This is the first time in the country's history that representatives of intelligence agencies - Inter Service Intelligence (ISI) and Military Intelligence (MI) - were made part ofthe Joint Investigation Agency (JIT) to investigate the case which is not related to terrorism and national security," he said.



Speaking at a lawyers' convention here, 67-year-old Sharif said the Supreme Court's July 28decision to disqualify him has not been accepted by the masses.



"This decision will be remembered as 'unjust verdict' in the country's history," he said.



The deposed premier said during the country's 70-year history all 18 prime ministers were sent home without completing their terms.



"This has to be stopped now and we must ensure respect of the ballot. If the people's vote is not respected I fear that Pakistan may face an eventuality like that of 1971 when it was divided into two," he said, adding that Pakistan cannot move forward without fixing this problem.



Sharif was referring to the creation of Bangladesh in 1971 following the liberation war against Pakistan.



"Although I have stepped down after the verdict but I have not accepted it nor the people of Pakistan.My mission is to shut down the means through which democracies are derailed and elected leaders are sent home," he said.



Pakistan's military has always played a crucial role in the country's politics. The army has ruled Pakistan for more than 33 years of the country's 70-year history.



Sharif said that he hasbeen fighting for civilian supremacy in Pakistan and he will not sit back home till he achieves his goal with the help of masses.
Washington: The Trump administration is worried that nuclear weapons and materials in Pakistan could land up in the hands of terror groups and the concerns are aggravated by the development of tactical weapons, a senior US official has said.



The senior Trump administration official said that during a compressive review, one of the major issues that continually came up for discussion and is very important to the US was the nuclear danger in the region.



That is a critical element of the South Asia strategy, the official told reporters during a conference call.



The Trump administration is worried that nuclear weapons and materials in Pakistan might land up in the hands of terrorist groups or individuals, the senior administration official said, on condition of anonymity.



The South Asia strategy announced by US President Donald Trump on Monday notes that the "nuclear weapons or materials could fall" into the wrong hands, the official said.



"It (South Asia policy) also prioritises the escalating tension between India and Pakistan, the two nuclear power countries, and looks for ways to de-escalate the tension between the two to avoid any potential military confrontation among them," the official said.



"We are particularly concerned by the development of tactical nuclear weapons that are designed for use in battlefield. We believe that these systems are more susceptible to terrorist theft and increase the likelihood of nuclear exchange in the region," the Trump administration official said.



The official said it was due to this that the strategy also focuses on confidence building measures between India and Pakistan and encourages them to come to the negotiating table.



The danger of nuclear weapons was also mentioned by Trump in his Afghanistan and South Asia policy speech on Monday.



"For its part, Pakistan often gives safe haven to agents of chaos, violence, and terror. The threat is worse because Pakistan and India are two nuclear-armed states whose tense relations threaten to spiral into conflict. And that could happen," he had said in his first prime time televised address to the nation.



In an article published in 'War on the Rocks', Christopher Clary, who worked on the South Asia policy in the Office of the Secretary of Defence from 2006 to 2009, said Pakistan likely possesses more than 100 nuclear weapons today and might possess fissile material for up to 200 or 300 nuclear weapons.



"The US presence in Afghanistan is primarily about preventing terrorist groups operating there, but there is some reporting that suggests elements of the US government are wary of losing basing in Afghanistan that is useful to monitor Pakistani terrorist groups and Pakistan's nuclear weapons development efforts," Clary said.



Stephen Tankel, an American expert, said the US has two vital security interests in Pakistan -- ensuring militants in the region do not attack the US homeland and keeping militants from getting their hands on nuclear material.



"America also has a critical interest in preventing Indo-Pakistani nuclear escalation and terrorist attacks against US persons and infrastructure in the region," Tankel recently wrote for Center for a New American Security.



"Maintaining a sufficient counter-terrorism presence in Afghanistan has been a cornerstone of the broader US counter- terrorism policy. This, in turn, has required ensuring the Afghan government retains sufficient control over its territory," he said.



Pakistan is developing tactical nuclear-capable 'Nasr' ballistic missiles for battlefield use in order to deter a limited Indian military response to terrorist attacks by Pakistan-supported militants, he wrote.



"The common concern about Pakistani nuclear weapons is that they are vulnerable to internal threats. In reality, these weapons are most likely to fall into terrorists' hands if forward-deployed during a conflict with India," Tankel said.



"Even some Pakistani analysts recognise that it would be difficult for the Pakistan military to ensure the full security of these weapons once they were deployed in the field," he said.


Frustration with flat Standards of Learning test results for students in Lynchburg City Schools was on display at Thursdays Equity Task Force meeting.

That frustration was directed at the achievement gap between white and minority students. While SOL scores trended slightly up overall in LCS, scores remained flat and little progress was seen in the results for minority students who did not perform as well on state standardized tests as their white classmates. Members of the task force, which was created to advise the division on equity issues, shared their thoughts with school board members and LCS administrators on ongoing academic struggles for minority students. Black students make up 49.5 percent of student population in LCS.

To be honest with you, we havent seen any progress, task force member Danny McCain told LCS Interim Superintendent Larry Massie.

Massie acknowledged the reality of the achievement gap and described it as an urgent issue for LCS.

I believe firmly to address this issue, we need to address the homes of children, Massie said.

Massie noted many students struggling academically were at risk and lacked support systems in their homes. To boost those at-risk students, Massie said the division needs to identify them and match them with a significant other who can help them achieve academic progress with the appropriate support.

I want to get about the business of saving as many of those children as we can, Massie said.

Overall, LCS students as a whole earned a 69 in reading, 61 in writing, 79 in history and social sciences, 69 in math and 72 in science. However, the numbers for African-American students come in much lower at a reading score of 55, 46 in writing, 67 in history and social sciences, 57 in math and 57 in science. Economically disadvantaged students earned a 57 in reading, 47 in writing, 69 in history and social sciences, 59 in math and 60 in science.

But SOL scores werent the sole source of frustration. A policy that would have allowed non-violent felons to volunteer in schools was reversed by the school board earlier this month, much to the dismay of members of the Equity Task Force, as expressed Thursday. According to school board Chairman Michael Nilles, that change came after the school division faced a possible spike in the cost of liability insurance, or the loss of coverage altogether, he explained.

The policy, as previously approved by the school board in April, would have allowed felons to volunteer in Lynchburg schools provided they had not committed a barrier crime, which refers to a wide range of egregious criminal actions including murder, sexual assault, child pornography and similar offenses. Additional stipulations included the need for approval from the LCS superintendent and that the felon is five years removed from conviction of the crime.

Nilles said it took a considerable amount of work to reach a policy the divisions legal counsel was comfortable with, and then the division was rebuffed by its insurance provider, Liberty Mutual. Though the division was not given an estimate, there was expected to be a premium increase or the possibility of having no coverage at all.

It comes down to you cant run the division without liability insurance, Nilles said.

It would not be prudent to do anything different than we did, school board Vice Chairman James Coleman added.

The Equity Task Force, which had discussed the policy previously and advised the board on it, wanted more information Thursday.

Whats the underwriter basing that on? What are the risks? task force member Amy Cohen asked.

Members urged the school board to seek more information from the insurance provider, though Massie stated going forward was risky.

I think we stand to lose our coverage if were not careful. I think the board did what was reasonable and prudent on that, Massie said.

Despite reversing course, school board members noted at their last meeting  when the decision was made  that they could review it within 90 days.
Always uphold the 'Virginia Way'

Full disclosure: I am a proud Virginian, American and descendant of honorable veterans of the Vietnam War, WWII, WWI and the War Between the States (Confederate of course). I am also an avid traveler, and when I travel abroad, I am always asked, Where are you from? As a proud Virginian, I respond accordingly, Im from Virginia. I never have to explain where Virginia is, nor our cherished legacy, for Virginia has carefully garnered an honorable reputation over the last 400 years that is known well beyond our borders. Every resident of the commonwealth has the honor and duty to defend and perpetuate her legacy and tradition, so I write the following to my fellow Virginians and the citizens of our 49 sisters.

The totality of events witnessed by the world in Charlottesville is not representative of our dear commonwealth or what true Virginians know to be the Virginia Way. The evil demonstrated has no place in America and is certainly not indicative of the America my forefathers fought to preserve.

For those not of Virginia and those wayward Virginians who cast aside the Virginia Way, allow me to explain what this tradition entails. The Virginia Way is a long-held tradition of honor, propriety, civility, duty and liberty. This prescription demands Virginians practice individual self-government, walk in truth and conduct themselves in such a manner that is respectful and civil to all met, irrespective of any status. It also demands, as we walk in truth, to individually and collectively challenge those who espouse ideas irreconcilable with the virtues of Virginia.

So this Virginian calls upon his fellow Virginians to protect the honor of the commonwealth and cast out those who do not subscribe to the Virginia Way, and to those visiting Virginia, make certain you not only obey the laws of the commonwealth during your visit but also the bounds of the Virginia Way. This is the cradle of American liberty. This is the land of Washington, Jefferson, Marshall, Henry, Mason, Jackson and Lee. For the sake of our noble heritage and our posterity, rise to the standard set by our forefathers  be Virginian.

JOSHUA T. PUCCIO

Lynchburg

A despicable addition

In his Aug. 24 letter to the editor, Lets talk all of history, Art Costan makes several proposals such as adding a statue of a slave family on the auction block on Monument Terrace near the statue of the Confederate soldier.

I dont believe Monument Terrace would benefit from such an addition. I believe that the memorials there are to remember those who served in the military. Having served in Vietnam, I am acutely aware of how veterans were perceived by some of the people back in the United States. We were baby killers to them and were ridiculed and reviled for doing what by law we were required to do.

During the Civil War, some of those who served were conscripted. They did not join to tear apart the union in their ultimate bloody defense of slavery, as Costan writes.

I myself would gladly have accepted two years of compulsory public service such as the Peace Corps rather than going to war, but that was not the opportunity to serve America that I was offered. For Costan to propose to put objectionable statuary at the site of a war memorial is despicable.

KENNETH G. SMITH

Lynchburg

Would you ... ?

Would you trust your banker if he made fun of a female tellers face? Would you trust your pastor if he told you to just punch em out, about members of the congregation who didnt agree with him or with you? Would you trust your financial advisor whod been involved in numerous lawsuits and whose company had been found guilty of defrauding students? Would you trust the principal of your childs school if he made fun of a disabled student during an assembly? Would you trust your neighbor who disparaged a man held captive and tortured for five years in a Vietnamese prisoner of war camp, especially if that neighbor had never served one minute in the U.S. military?

Would you trust your president ... ? Just wondering.

MARY BUTZ

Lynchburg
Williams headlines CanEx Jamaica

TT national Douglas Gordon who is the event director says the cannabis industry is the fastest growing business opportunity globally. He said the business conference and expo was arguably the most critical networking, discussion and information exchange platform in the Caribbean where participants would have the opportunity to meet and interact with stakeholders and professionals.

At the event, there will be over 20 speakers headlined by Montel Williams, the American television personality and radio talk show host, who is also a spokesman for the Partnership for Prescription Assistance (PPA). After being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1999, Williams created the MS Foundation, a non-profit organisation with a focus on research and education, a year later.

Williams has openly said that he uses medical cannabis, saying it helps to ease his multiple sclerosis-caused neuropathic pain. He has also become a vocal advocate of cannabis, supporting efforts to pass medical cannabis laws in the US, as well as calling for full legalisation.

Gordon said: The event comes at a pivotal time in Jamaica and will bring together professionals from across the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe and North America to discuss opportunities for investment, medical developments and the legal landscape. The conference will also feature presentations and exhibitions by experts, policymakers, researchers and business people.

Gordon is inviting local stakeholders to get involved in the event.
I was briefed by my security personnel about the incident. I dont have much, but what I can tell you is that the illegal panners trespassed into the fields and they were spotted by our guards who subsequently chased them away. I am told that during the chase four of them fell into the dam and they drowned. You can contact the police to get more details, he said.
AN unlicensed Zimbabwe Republic Police constable has been sentenced to an effective nine months in jail for causing an accident that killed three people in Kwekwe.



Constable Privilege Fundira (31), of Number 1 Mugabe Way in Newton suburb, Kwekwe, was driving without a valid drivers licence and has been banned from driving for six months, from the time he acquires a certificate of competency.



Fundira overtook at a blind rise near Sable Chemicals along the Kwekwe-Harare Highway resulting in a head-on collision that killed the chief executive officer of Redcliff based company, Steelmakers, Mr Alexander Johnson, his wife Achamma and their driver Mr Sherman Majuru, last year.





Kwekwe Magistrate Mr Livard Philemon convicted Fundira on all three counts of culpable homicide and another of driving without a licence, after a full trial.

Fundira pleaded not guilty throughout the trial, but was convicted on overwhelming evidence.





In passing sentence, Mr Philemon said the degree of Fundiras negligence was gross.

The courts finding is that the degree of negligence on the part of the accused was gross. It actually borders between gross negligence and reckless driving. Such specific finding calls for a custodial term. Hence, the accused is sentenced to nine months imprisonment for culpable homicide.





For driving without a licence the accused is fined $300 in default, six months in prison and in addition he is banned from driving for a period of six months from the time he gets a licence, said Mr Philemon.

During trial, Fundira produced a photocopy of a licence he claimed to have obtained from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Mr Philemon said the licence appeared to be fake.





Prosecuting, Ms Yeukai Mugumba said on May 18 last year, Fundira was driving a Mercedes Benz along the Harare-Kwekwe Highway towards Kwekwe without a valid drivers licence.





On the same date, Mr Majuru, the driver of Mr Johnsons vehicle was driving a Mercedes Benz on the same road going the opposite direction with Mr and Mrs Johnson on board, she said.





Ms Mugumba said on approaching the 196km peg, near Sable Chemicals, Fundira encroached on to the right lane to overtook another vehicle, resulting in a head-on collision with Mr Johnsons vehicle.





Mr Johnson and his wife died on the spot while Mr Majuru died on admission at Kwekwe District Hospital, she said.





The court heard that Fundira and two other passengers were seriously injured and were also taken to Kwekwe District Hospital where they were admitted and later discharged.





The driver was negligent as he was travelling at an excessive speed under the circumstances and even went on to overtake on double continuous lines. Fundira failed to stop or act reasonably when an accident or collision seemed imminent and failed to keep the motor vehicle under proper control, said Ms Mugumba. Herald
THE Government has blamed financial institutions for high default rates in repaying the Youth Development Fund (YDF) loans saying there were sloppy in vetting beneficiaries.



It is not clear how much the financial institutions such as CABS, CBZ, the now-defunct Allied Bank, and Infrastructure Development Bank of Zimbabwe lost in allocating loans to youths but the money runs into millions of dollars.



In an interview yesterday, the Minister of Youth, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Cde Patrick Zhuwao said banks who rolled out the funds were giving out the loans without vetting the capacity of beneficiaries in repaying the money.





Cde Zhuwao said the banks were dishing out up to $3 000 to youths.

Some of the youths are alleged to have diverted their loan allocations to buying personal luxuries.





Cde Zhuwao said the Government will not account for abused funds as it did not have a direct relationship with the beneficiaries who ended up defaulting.





The relationship is between the bank and the particular individuals. Our relationship is between Government and the financial services institutions. Now the financial services institutions are running away from us because a lot of them did not do their due diligence.





They have what is referred to as know your customer requirements. Some of them did not do that, he said.





Cde Zhuwao said it was worrying that the high default rate had created a wrong impression that youths are not dependable with loan facilities.

It becomes rather unfortunate, because these financial institutions should have been more serious. Because what it then does is tarnish all young people and the narrative that then goes out is that the young people are not bankable, said Cde Zhuwao.





But that is not true. This economy is being run by young people. We need to recognise that and demonstrate that young people not only have the capacity to run this economy but also have the capacity to be bankable.





He said the Government will be stricter in vetting individuals seeking loans when it rolls out funds from the coming Youth Bank.





Cde Zhuwao said vetting will be done at local level as people at grassroots level will be tasked to identify those who should allocated the funds.





One of the things that we want to do to ensure that this is more sustainable is that we want to engage with a young person within their local community.





So you cannot turn around and say somebody for example from Pumula has to go to Harare and somebody from Harare should be vetting their application.





It has to be done at the local level because its only at the local level that you realise that the person you are dealing with is a credible business person or the person you are dealing with is not serious. Chronicle
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Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has completed his President Trump-ordered review of 27 national monuments declared by Trump's three predecessorsand while he hasn't recommended abolishing any of them, he tells the AP he has proposed shrinking a "handful" of them. Insiders tell the New York Times that Zinke's report recommends Trump shrink at least four monuments, including the 1.35-million-acre Bears Ears National Monument in Utah. Ranchers, loggers, fishing groups, and others opposed to the designations welcomed the proposals in a summary of the report released Thursday, though details of what monuments might be affected are being kept under wraps for now.

Tribal groups and environmentalists have vowed to fight attempts to shrink the monuments, the Washington Post reports. It will be the first time such a move has been contested in court, and experts say the legal battles are likely to be the toughest test the Antiquities Act has faced in its 111-year history. Democrats have spoken out against the proposals, which are supported by many Republicans in Western states. Utah state Rep. Mike Noel says shrinking Bears Ears will be "a victory for our state" against federal attempts to restrict grazing, drilling, and mining. "When you turn the management over to the tree-huggers, the bird and bunny lovers, and the rock lickers, you turn your heritage over," he says. (Read more Ryan Zinke stories.)
A newborn infant was found in a Fargo, North Dakota, apartment building Thursday where a missing pregnant woman was last seen, and police have arrested two people in connection with her disappearance. Per a Fargo PD Facebook post, an investigation "thus far indicates the probability" that the infant is the child of 22-year-old Savanna Greywind, who was last seen at her apartment building Saturday afternoon, the AP reports. Fargo Police Chief Dave Todd says the child was discovered as officers carried out a search warrant in the residence of Brooke Lynn Crews, 38, and William Henry Hoehn, 32, whose apartment is in the same building where Greywind lives. Police say Crews initially told them Greywind had left her apartment after helping her with a sewing project.

Tarita Silk, a sister-in-law of Greywind's mother, says police informed the family that a "2-day-old healthy baby girl" was taken from the apartment, per KFGO radio. Earlier police searches of the apartment came up empty, but a neighbor recalls hearing "odd sounds" coming from the residence's bathroom, KFGO reports. Todd says his department is receiving help from outside agencies and that officers have used aircraft, watercraft, and police dogs in the search for Greywind. Silk says family members are searching an area in Minnesota east of Fargo after receiving a tip. "We just want Savanna to come home. We're prepared for the worst," she says. Hoehn and Crews have both been charged with felony conspiracy to commit kidnapping. (Online clues were found in a 2015 case of a baby cut from a pregnant woman.)
Locals are getting creative in how to deal with right-wing rallies in the wake of Charlottesville, and no more so than in San Francisco. The Patriot Prayer group will hold a "free speech" rally Saturday at Crissy Field, and the Guardian reports on an idea thought up by 45-year-old artist Tuffy Tuffington: to blanket the park with dog excrement. "I just had this image of alt-right people stomping around in the poop," Tuffington says. "It seemed like a little bit of civil disobedience where we didn't have to engage with them face to face." Other tactics planned by residents include deploying "contingents of clowns," as well as lots of cars to take up parking spaces and kids for the "cuteness" factor. A "flowers against fascism" effort will see residents handing out "all the cut flowers" they can gather.

Tuffington has set up a Facebook page to organize the dung droppers. Meanwhile, per CNN, Patriot Prayer founder Joey Gibson insists his group isn't meant for white supremacists (he says he's a person of color himself), and on the event's Facebook page it notes "no extremists will be allowed in. No Nazis, Communist, KKK, Antifa, white supremacist, I.E., or white nationalists. Specifically, Richard Spencer and Nathan Damigo will not be welcome." The event listing also points out black, Muslim, Hispanic, and other speakers will be in attendance. As for those concerned the park will be ruined for everyone else after Saturday's rally, the Guardian notes Tuffington's group plans on returning Sunday to "clean up the mess and hug each other." (Read more San Francisco stories.)
Neighbors say they thought three elderly brothers who shared a home in Seattle were weird but harmless. What police have found in the home, however, suggests that the Emery brothers were extremely disturbed and potentially dangerous individuals. Police say former Seattle Children's Hospital janitor Charles Emery, 82; Thomas Emery, 80; and Edwin Emery, 79; were arrested after a relative found obscene materials while cleaning out their garage and called authorities. Police say they searched the home the brothers have shared since 1962 and found a vast amount of child pornography, along with girls' underwear and notes about the "kidnapping, torturing, raping, and murdering of young girls," the Seattle Times reports.

Police say the relative who contacted them said two of the brothers had abused her and another relative as a child, the Washington Post reports. Authorities say Edwin Emery was investigated after "child erotica" was found on a computer he brought in for repair in 2013 but he was never charged, despite the fact that he admitted to abusing two female relatives. Seattle Police Capt. Mike Edwards says the writings found in the brothers' extremely cluttered home "express desires to kill children." KIRO 7 reports that police are now investigating whether the brothers acted on those desires, looking into possible links to missing-persons cases and digging around the home. (Read more child pornography stories.)
While the aftermath of the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville continues to play out on a national level, developments are emerging locally as well. The Daily Progress and WTOP shed some light on what's been happening in the college town, as well as in the state of Virginia, since the violent events earlier this month:

On Thursday, Charlottesville police confirmed an investigation is underway on a report of vandalism that came in Sunday. The subject of the vandalism: a statue of Thomas Jefferson apparently splattered with red paint on the north side of UVa's Rotunda.

The college's Student Council Executive Board was presented with a list of demands from the school's Black Student Alliance and other groups, and the board on Monday endorsed those demands, which include stripping the Rotunda of all Confederate plaques, taking measures to help boost African-American enrollment, and mandating all students take a class on white supremacy and slavery as they tie back to Jefferson, the school's founder.

Charlottesville Mayor Mike Signer says he wanted to be involved in making sure the rally was kept peaceful. But he says he and the City Council were never given access to the security plan for the event, and when he asked police Chief Al Thomas how he could help out, he claims he was told: "Stay out of my way." No word from Thomas on that allegation.

Gov. Terry McAuliffe has put in place via executive order two groups: the Task Force on Public Safety Preparedness and Response to Civil Unrest (which will look into what happened in Charlottesville on Aug. 11 and 12) and the Commonwealth Commission on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, designed to assess "how hatred and discrimination against racial minorities, religious groups, and gay, lesbian, bisexual, and [transgender] individuals led to those tragic events."

(Read more Charlottesville, Va. stories.)
Jared Kushner continued his long-shot quest for Mideast peace on Thursday in meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders, but as the AP account of the sessions notes, expectations are low and skepticism high. As they probably should be, writes David Ignatius in the Washington Post. Still, he finds a kernel of optimism in the changing dynamics of the region, particularly in "a budding Sunni Arab coalition of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Jordan." A key part of the new strategy revolves around getting Hamas, which controls Gaza, to move away from their hard-line backers in Qatar. (This is an "offshoot" of the current feud between Qatar and its moderate Arab neighbors, writes Ignatius.) This could bring Gaza back into the fold of the Palestinian Authority, and a newly united PA could speak for all Palestinians in future peace talks.

"The Trump administration seems to envision an 'outside-in' strategy for breaking the Palestinian-Israeli stalemate," writes Ignatius. "The United States, its hoped, could eventually bring together Israelis and leaders of the major Arab states for a peace conference," and the president's close ties with Israel and Gulf Arabs could help on that front. The White House sees all this as a potential "game-changer," but Ignatius warns that 50 years of failed deal-making "sadly warn us that a new initiative probably wont work." Plus, President Trump's troubles in the US won't help in the delivery of any promises. But, Ignatius concludes, "the opportunities for trade, investment and security cooperation between Israel and the Arabs have never been greater." Click for the full column. (Read more Mideast peace stories.)
President Emmanuel Macron's office has confirmed a report that the French leader spent $30,695 on makeup during his first three months in power, and it says it's trying to find a cheaper alternative. The report in Le Point news magazine prompted harsh criticism of the president from French social media users. It said the cost includes the pay of a freelance makeup artist following Macron during television appearances and trips abroad. The AP reports that the president's office confirmed the amount Friday, with Slate reporting it explained it had to "[call] in a contractor as a matter of urgency" and that the cost will drop going forward.

The report comes at a bad time for Macron, with polls showing his popularity plunging in recent weeks following the announcement of budget cuts and divisive labor reform. Le Point said Macron's makeup expenses are lower than those of predecessor Francois Hollande, who paid a full-time employee the current equivalent of about $12,000 monthly, or $36,000 for the quarter. But they have the British beat by a landslide: The Guardian reports that between 1999 and 2005, Tony Blair spent $2,300 (at today's exchange rate) on makeup.
A New Jersey priest was sentenced to up to two years in prison Thursday for uploading child pornography to his computer, the New York Daily News reports. But don't worryhe says he only did it to punish God for making him lose at poker. According to WNEP, Fr. Kevin Gugliotta told probation officers he felt God was making him lose poker tournaments and he wanted to get back at the deity. Gugliotta, 55, was charged with 40 counts related to child pornography for images he uploaded to his computer between July and August of 2016 at an apartment in Pennsylvania, the Pocono Record reports. He pleaded guilty to one count in return for the other 39 being dropped. In addition to prison time, Gugliotta must register as a sex offender.

Gugliotta's reason for uploading child pornography was a surprise to a number of people in court. "No matter what he says why he did it, he still admits he did it and that's the important thing as a prosecutor," DA Janine Edwards tells WBRE. And Gugliotta's lawyer admits "there are other ways to handle issues and handle anger." A contingent of New Jersey priests were in court Thursday to support Gugliotta. "People do things under stress they wouldn't normally do," Fr. Gabriel Costa of the Archdiocese of Newark tells WNEP. Gugliotta has already spent 10 months in jail and could be released from prison in a little over a month. Costa says Gugliotta has used his time behind bars "almost as a retreat; he's prayed a lot." The archdiocese has yet to decide if it will allow Gugliotta to return as a priest. (Read more weird crimes stories.)
For the first time in history, a ship was able to traverse the Northern Sea Route through the Arctic without the help of an accompanying icebreaker thanks to new tanker technologyand climate change. The New York Times reports the Christophe de Margerie, carrying liquefied natural gas from Norway to South Korea, traversed the Northern Sea Route in a record 6.5 dayspart of a 19-day trip from Europe to Asia that would have normally taken 30% longer going through the Suez Canal. The Christophe de Margerie was built with a reinforced steel hull that allows it to get through ice up to 4-feet thick. Its very exciting that a ship can go along this route all year round, the Guardian quotes a spokesperson for the Russian tanker's owner as saying.

But fancy internal icebreaker or no, the Christophe de Margerie wouldn't have been able to make the trip just a few years ago. The Telegraph reports Arctic ice hit an all-time low earlier this year due to "polar heatwaves." In the past, the Northern Sea Route was only usable for four months of the year, and then with the help of an icebreaker. In the busiest year, there was still only 15 crossings of the route, and fewer than 500 crossings have ever been made. Due to climate change and new tankers, Russia expects there will be 150 annual crossings by 2020. Vladimir Putin calls the Christophe de Margerie's voyage "a big event in the opening up of the Arctic." But environmentalists are worried what increased traffic will mean for the future of the Arctic. (Read more Arctic stories.)
The Trump administration on Friday slapped sweeping financial sanctions on Venezuela, barring banks from any new financial deals with the government or state-run oil giant PDVSA, per the AP. The sanctions Trump signed by executive order are bound to dramatically escalate tensions between Venezuela and the US and exacerbate the country's economic crisis. "These measures are carefully calibrated to deny the Maduro dictatorship a critical source of financing to maintain its illegitimate rule, protect the United States financial system from complicity in Venezuela's corruption and in the impoverishment of the Venezuelan people, and allow for humanitarian assistance," the White House said in a statement.

The actions prohibit dealings in new debt and equity issued by the government of Venezuela and its state oil company. They also prohibit dealings in certain existing bonds owned by the Venezuelan public sector, as well as dividend payments to the government of Venezuela. But they stop short of cutting off US imports of Venezuelan oil that are crucial both to Venezuela's economy and US oil refiners. Vice President Mike Pence had signaled the upcoming move earlier, tweeting that the US "will not stand by as Venezuela crumbles." Last month, the Trump administration promised to take strong economic actions if President Nicolas Maduro's increasingly authoritarian government went ahead with plans to create a constitutional assembly comprised of government loyalists. The new assembly has since been seated. (Read more Venezuela stories.)
"It is not if, but when Houstons perfect storm will hit," ProPublica states in a massive report about Texas' hurricane preparednessor lack thereofpublished back in 2016. ProPublica warned of thousands dead, the loss of industries and shipping, and hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses flooded. A Republican congressman said such a storm would "kill America's economy." With Hurricane Harvey, it appears that perfect storm may be about to arrive. Experts hoped Hurricane Ike's near miss in 2008 would spur Texas to prepare for the inevitable. It didn't, and last year the state's land commissioner said the possibility of a major hurricane hitting without the necessary preparations having been made "keeps me up at night." Here's what else you need to know about Hurricane Harvey:

In its latest forecast, the AP reports Harvey will likely hit Texas twiceonce this weekend and again sometime next weekmaking flooding worse in areas already expected to get up to 3 feet of rain in the next day or two.

Harvey is President Trump's first natural disaster, but it will be handled by President Obama, at least figuratively, according to Quartz. Trump hasn't filled the top spot at NOAA or two of the three politically appointed positions at FEMA. The three roles are currently being staffed by Obama holdovers.

CNET has video released from NASA showing the massive Hurricane Harvey as seen from the International Space Station. "Here's a prayer for family, friends, and everyone," astronaut Jack Fischer says. "Stay safe."

Experts tell CNN gas prices could jump between five and 15 cents due to the hurricane. "You're seeing prices move up because refiners have to take precautionary measures," one analyst says. Dozens of production platforms and at least one oil rig have been evacuated.

The Times-Picayune reports a Louisiana coroner warns Hurricane Harvey could trigger PTSD in people who survived Hurricane Katrina 12 years ago. "This is not to be taken lightly," Charles Preston says.

"You should believe the meteorologists." That's the message from FiveThirtyEight when it comes to the deadliness of Hurricane Harvey. The site notes that the ability to predict winds, flooding, and hurricane paths is better than ever.

Finally, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott wants undocumented immigrants to know that they won't need to show an ID in order to get into shelters, the Washington Post reports. What everyone is focused on right now is doing all we can to protect life," he says. The feds also say they don't plan to conduct "non-criminal" immigration checks at evacuation sites or shelters.

(Read more Hurricane Harvey stories.)
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Sen. Mike Duffy is taking legal action against the Senate and the federal government, seeking nearly $8 million in damages.



The suit seeks $6.5 million in general damages, $300,000 for loss of income and benefits and $1 million in punitive damages relating to the treatment Duffy faced during the Senate expenses scandal.



In a statement, the P.E.I. senator said Conservatives are still in control of the Senate's powerful internal economy committee  which deals with budget and other personnel matters  and they have proven they are "not interested in correcting the unjustified actions taken against me by the Senate."



"The Harper Conservatives have left me with no choice but to go back to the courts for justice," Duffy said.



An Ontario judge dismissed all 31 criminal charges relating to Duffy's Senate expenses in April 2016, clearing the way for his return to the Senate. Duffy now sits as a member of the Independent Senators Group (ISG).



Mike Duffy will face a battle if he wants back pay, senior Tory senators say



Duffy said Thursday he has suffered "stress and serious financial damage" since the Senate moved to suspend him from the chamber and referred his questionable expenses to the RCMP for investigation in 2013. The senator maintains that he was not afforded due process or the presumption of innocence throughout these proceedings.



The P.E.I. senator's pay  and most of his benefits  were withheld for two years but were later restored when former prime minister Stephen Harper dissolved Parliament to call the last election. After Duffy's acquittal, the Senate also clawed back some $17,000 of expenses  which came to light during the trial  that it deemed inappropriate despite the judge's findings.



In December 2016, Duffy requested a reimbursement of the salary, living allowances and pension accruals that were withheld because of his suspension. The senator said that request has been ignored.



The Senate's interim law clerk, Jacqueline Kuehl, told CBC News the Red Chamber would not comment as the matter is before the courts. The Senate will soon be expected to file a statement of defence in response to Duffy's accusations.



A former top Harper staffer said Thursday Duffy's demand for such a large monetary sum speaks to his true character.



"By going for this grossly inflated figure of nearly $8 million, it just confirms, I think, what everybody knows about Mike Duffy and that his north star is greed," Andrew MacDougall, Harper's former director of communications, said in an interview.
Mumbai:

Bollywood stars such as Farhan Akhtar, Anupam Kher and Raveena Tandon, among others have praised the court's judgement against Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.

CBI judge Jagdeep Singh held the 50-year-old self-styled godman, guilty of rape in a case that was registered on the basis of an anonymous written complaint in 2002 that he had sexually exploited two female followers.

Violence broke out in Punjab and Haryana post the verdict, which claimed 30 lives and left 250 injured.

"To all those on the rampage and all those allowing it to continue, please try and imagine what the victims must feel seeing the violence in support of their rapist...

"I assume that you, his followers, were taught the meaning and value of compassion... Please end the violence. Please allow the police to do their job. Please allow the law of the land to take its course", Farhan posted.

Kher tweeted, "Violence is what #GurmeetRamRahimSingh seems to have taught his followers. This is nonsense and government needs to use full force to stop it now."

Raveena wrote, "The way the followers are reacting, rioting, itself proves what the cult was all about... Saddened to see such shameful goons on the loose."

Filmmaker Hansal Mehta said, "Thanks to our judiciary democracy lives on. #Pride."

Stand-up comedian-actor Vir Das posted, "I hope he stays in jail long enough to see every one of his nut job followers lose enthusiasm, go back to life, and forget about him.

"The nation has to address the fact that we are addicted to blind servitude and worship. Gurus, politicians, will always use it against us."

Music composer Salim Merchant tweeted, "I'm sure the 'Guru' taught the importance of peace in this world. Reports from Punjab and Haryana are devastating. #RamRahimVerdict"

A Anubhav Sinha said he was surprised by the violence against the "arrest of a convicted rapist".

"Hundreds of thousands of us so violently protest against the arrest of a convicted rapist. Is this who we are?" he wrote.

Actor Amyra Dastur tweeted, "A big win for the people, especially the daughters of India #RamRahimVerdict.

"But can't believe the poor measures that have been taken to prevent such a horrific mob outburst from happening!"

VJ-actor Rannvijay Singha, who hails from Punjab, said, "Punjab and Haryana High Court orders attachment of entire property of #DeraSachaSauda to compensate for the damage. But what about the lives lost?"

Actor Bhumi Pednekar tweeted, "I hope my friends and family are all safe in Chandigarh. It's a very sad state of affairs. Be safe."

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Violence is what #GurmeetRamRahimSingh seems to have taught his followers. This is nonsense & Govt. needs to use full force to STOP it NOW. a Anupam Kher (@AnupamPkher) August 25, 2017

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Punjab&Haryana High Court orders attachment of entire property of #DeraSachaSauda to compensate for the damage.But Wat about the lives lost? a Rannvijay singha (@RannvijaySingha) August 25, 2017

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I hope my friends and family are all safe in Chandigarh.Its a very sad state of affairs.Be safe YY a bhumi pednekar (@psbhumi) August 25, 2017

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New Delhi:

Indian skipper Virat Kohli is busy in Sri Lanka playing ODI series. Meanwhile, his fan shared a cool picture on social media in which he is sharing thali at a restaurant.

Virat is quite active on social media and keeps posting pictures with Anushka and their lovely outings.

But, this time it was one of the fan of Indian captain who shared the picture of the couple having meal in a restaurant.

In the picture, both are looking casual and talking to each other.

Recently, a fan shared a photo of the couple with fans in Sri Lanka also went viral on social media and captioned it, aaFinallyyyy...... YYYY A @anushkasharmaA andA @virat.kohliA with fans in Sri Lanka! So happy to see like this Love u sooo muchaa.

Virat Kohli during IIFA shared a photo with Anushka while on the drive from New York and wrote, aMuch needed break with my loveaa.

Love BITES,!YYaYY A post shared by a a a a a a a iiiii iiiii Y (@viratkohli.x) on Aug 24, 2017 at 9:28am PDT

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Beijing:

India on Friday termed as factually incorrect a Chinese official media report claiming that it was planning to impose fresh anti-dumping duties this year on 93 products originating in China, saying they were already in force after decisions over a course of five years.

A report in the state-run China Daily on Friday said that India would this month impose anti-dumping duties on 93 products imported from China.

Some recent media reports have mentioned that the Government of India is planning to impose anti-dumping duty on 93 products from China. These reports are factually incorrect, the Indian Embassy here said in a statement.

The current situation is that anti-dumping duty is already in force on 93 products from China comprising of chemicals and petrochemicals, products of steel and other metals, fibres and yarn, machinery items, rubber or plastic products, electric and electronic items, consumer goods among others, it said.

The decision to impose anti-dumping duties on these 93 products originating in China were taken over a course of previous five years, it said.

Ministry of Commerce said on Wednesday that India should refrain from abusing trade remedy measures, which would disrupt economic cooperation and bilateral trade relations.

ALSO READ: With road in Ladakh, 'India slapped own face', says miffed China

According to the ministry, India has launched 212 investigations against Chinese products since 1994 and 93 of them are still in progress.

So far this year, 13 investigations have been initiated, the China Daily quoted the ministry as saying.

The report said that India overtook the US in the first half of this year with the most trade remedy investigations against China.

China is paying close attention to trade investigations and hopes India would carry them out in a prudent way based on relevant regulations, Commerce Ministry spokesman Gao Feng was quoted as saying by the Daily.

China and India are both BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) members with vast cooperation opportunities and should jointly maintain a free and open multilateral trading system, Gao said.

Instead of resorting to trade remedy measures and disrupting trade orders, the two countries can settle trade disputes through consultation and realise a win-win situation through expanded economic and trade cooperation, he said.

Last month Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman, who took part in the BRICS Commerce Ministers meeting in Shanghai, held candid talks with her Chinese counterpart Zhong Shan over the ballooning bilateral trade deficit which had crossed over USD 52 billion.

The two Ministers exchanged views, in a candid manner, on further development of a strong, balanced and sustainable trade and investment partnership between India and China, the Indian Consulate in Shanghai had said in a statement.

Sitharaman, in particular, sought the assistance of Chinese Commerce Ministry in reducing the trade deficit, facilitating greater market access and for providing a level-playing field for Indian IT, pharmaceuticals and agro products in China, it said.

Indias trade deficit with China in 2015-16 swelled to USD 52.68 billion, which according to Indian officials has become unsustainable.

ALSO READ: China again issues safety advisory for its citizens traveling to India

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New Delhi:

It is a known fact that high levels of good cholesterol are considered to be beneficial for health. However, the excess of the same can put your health at risk, as per a new study by researchers at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark.

As a matter of fact, cholesterol, a lipid molecule, is important for the normal functioning of the human body.

The research indicated that people who have extremely high levels of good cholesterol were found to have a higher mortality rate when compared to people with normal levels.

Researchers, in order to conduct the study, analysed the data of 1,16,000 people. These people were followed by the team for an average of six years. The results were shocking as it revealed more than 10,500 deaths.

For men who had extremely high levels of cholesterol, the mortality rate was 106 percent higher when compared to the normal group. In case of women with extremely high levels, the mortality rate was 68 percent higher than the normal group.

Doctors are known to congratulate patients with high level of HDL (good cholesterol) in their blood. But the new research suggests it should be avoided as it is linked to higher mortality rate.

This is not all. The researchers have also claimed that people who have extremely low levels of cholesterol in their blood also have the risk of mortality.

People who had medium levels of HDL in their blood were found to have the lowest mortality. For women, this level was 2.4 mmol/L while for men it was 1.9 mmol/L.
Maungdaw (Myanmar):

At least 89 people including a dozen security forces were killed as Rohingya militants besieged border posts in northern Rakhine State, Myanmars authorities said on Friday, triggering a fresh exodus of refugees towards Bangladesh.

The state is bisected by religious hatred focused on the stateless Rohingya Muslim minority, who are reviled and perceived as illegal immigrants in Buddhist-majority Myanmar.

The office of de-facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi said 12 security officials had been killed alongside 77 militants the highest declared single day toll since fighting broke out last year.

Fridays fighting exploded around Rathedaung Township which has seen a heavy build-up of Myanmar troops in recent weeks, with reports filtering out of killings by shadowy groups, army-blockaded villages, and abuses.

Some 20 police posts came under attack in the early hours of Friday by an estimated 150 insurgents, some carrying guns and using homemade explosives, Myanmars military said.

The military and police members are fighting back together against extremist Bengali terrorists, Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing said in a statement on Facebook, using the states description for Rohingya militants.

One resident in Maungdaw, the main town in northern Rakhine, said gunfire could be heard throughout the night.

We are still hearing gunshots now, we dare not to go out from our house, the resident said by phone, asking not to be named.

Footage obtained by AFP showed smoke rising from Zedipyin village in Rathedaung township where fighting was ongoing Friday.

Despite years of persecution, the Rohingya largely eschewed violence.

But a previously unknown militant group emerged as a force last October under the banner of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), which claims to be leading an insurgency based in the remote May Yu mountain range bordering Bangladesh.

A Twitter account (@ARSA_Official) which purports to represent the group confirmed its fighters were engaging Myanmars military in the area and accused the soldiers of carrying out atrocities in recent weeks.

Myanmar says the group is headed by Rohingya jihadists who have trained abroad but it is unclear how large the network is.

Suu Kyis office posted pictures of weapons that had been taken from militants, mainly home-made bombs and rudimentary knives and clubs.

Fridays violence pushed new waves of Rohingya to flee towards Bangladesh.

But border guards there said they would not be allowed to cross.

More than a thousand of Rohingya women along with children and cattle have gathered near the land border between Myanmar and Bangladesh since this morning, Manjurul Hasan Khan, commander of Ukhiya towns border guards, told AFP.

The flare-up came just hours after former UN chief Kofi Annan released a milestone report detailing conditions inside Rakhine and offering ways to heal the festering sectarian tensions there.

Commissioned by Myanmars own government, it urged the scrapping of restrictions of movement and citizenship imposed on the roughly one million-strong Rohingya community in Rakhine.

In a statement, Annan said he was gravely concerned by the latest outbreak of fighting.

The alleged scale and gravity of these attacks mark a worrying escalation of violence, he said.

The UNs top official in Myanmar, Renata Lok-Dessallien, called on all sides to refrain from violence, protect civilians (and) restore law and order.

The wedge of Rakhine closest to Bangladesh has been in lockdown since October 2016.

Deadly attacks by the militants on border police sparked a military response that left scores dead and forced some 87,000 people to flee to Bangladesh.

The UN believes the military crackdown may have amounted to the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya.

But the army and Aung San Suu Kyis civilian government vehemently deny allegations of widespread abuses, including rapes and murders.

They have so far refused to grant visas to UN investigators tasked with probing the allegations.

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New Delhi:

Are you still wondering about why half of the Chinese are unfit to join the army, than its because of Obesity. It means having too much body fat or in other word being overweight.The weight may come from muscle, bone, fat, and/or body water.



The PLA run state daily has said that at least 56 per cent of the youth applying in the chinese army are not fit. It has also been said that frequent masturbation and a sedentary lifestyle has resulted to such a condition. However, medical science does not draw a clear linkage between varicocele and masturbation.

Moreover, excessive use of smart-phones and excessively high mineral content in drinking water are the other reasons given by the PLA run daily in the Report.

This report has created buzz on social media with many voicing concerns that the future may see a paucity of fit men for recruitment for the PLA.

"China's recruitment process has strict rules and procedures... The quality of our recruits is guaranteed, and the headwaters of our military will flow long and strong," the defence ministry said in a statement. "Recruitment is the foundation of national defense, and high-quality recruits are crucial to the military's combat capability," the statement also read.

"Recruitment is the foundation of national defense, and high-quality recruits are crucial to the military's combat capability," the statement also read.







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New Delhi:

At least 20 killed and over 50 were injured in a suicide bomb and gun attack on a Shiite mosque in the Afghanistan capital of Kabul on Friday, an official said.

aWe have ten civilians martyred and over 40 wounded. One police and one special forces member were also killed,a Najib Danish, deputy interior ministry spokesman, told AFP, adding that the attack was over.

The Hospital official said at least 20 killed and 50 wounded in Shiite mosque attack in Kabul, reported news agency Associated Press.

The Islamic States has claimed the responsibility for the deadly Shiite mosque attack.

Hospital official says at least 20 killed, 50 wounded in Shiite mosque attack in Afghan capital, reports AP a ANI (@ANI) August 25, 2017

More details are awaited.

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United Nations:

UN chief Antonio Guterres has informed through a letter to the Security Council of the order given by the International Court of Justice in the case of Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav, who has been sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court.

In a letter dated August 8 to the President of the Security Council, Guterres said he was transmitting copies of the texts of the orders indicating the provisional measures in three cases pending before the ICJ.

One of the orders relates to the Jadhav case while the others are those in cases between Ukraine and Russia and Equatorial Guinea and France.

A diplomatic source told PTI here that the communication from the Secretary-General to the 15-nation Council is routine information under ICJ Statute and that the UN chief is required to transmit to the Council all the cases where provisional measures have been taken by the Court and the judgments in those cases.

ALSO READ | No official info on visa to Kulbhushan Jadhav's mother: India

The source said the Secretary-General has forwarded the copies of the orders in the cases that he receives from the Registrar of the ICJ and in compliance with the ICJ Statute.

Under the ICJ Statute, every year the Security Council needs to be informed what are the cases before the ICJ and the interim judgments entered in those cases.

In its May 18 verdict, the Hague-based International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled unanimously that Pakistan shall take all measures at its disposal to ensure that Jadhav is not executed pending the final decision in these proceedings and shall inform the court of all the measures taken in implementation of the present order.

ALSO READ | Kulbhushan Jadhav death row: Pakistan army chief analysing 'Indian national's' plea, decision on merit

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Islamabad:

Pakistan government is planning to summon a joint session of Parliament to discuss and finalise the way forward in the wake of US President Donald Trump's remarks warning Islamabad against providing safe havens to terrorists, according to a media report.

Dawn News reported that Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi in his brief remarks made in the Senate had indicated that a joint session could be called to deliberate the issue. Abbasi described the US' stance as a critical issue andsaid the federal cabinet had deliberated on it for three hours on Tuesday while the NSC discussed the matter for about four hours.

Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani had earlier informed the prime minister that a Senate panel had been formed to frame recommendations spelling out the way forward after the US president's aggressive remarks. He said the panel was on the verge of completing a draft.

He proposed that the recommendations be taken to the joint sitting of Parliament for adoption or any amendments --an idea apparently accepted by the prime minister, the report said.

Rabbani indicated that after adoption of the draft by the Senate, it would be taken to the joint session of Parliament,it said. Earlier, taking part in the discussion on Trump's remarks, Senators said the US must remember that Pakistan was a frontline state in the war on terror and had suffered the most.

They said the US, that mocked Pakistan for receiving dollars in aid, should keep in mind that it had not given afraction of the losses incurred by Pakistan in the war amounting to around USD 150 billion.

The Senators said that the educational institutions and health facilities and other infrastructure of Pakistan had badly suffered due to blasts in the country following the then military ruler "General Pervez Musharraf's complete surrender before the US", the report said. Besides this, they said, thousands of civilians and armed forces personnel had laid down their lives. Former interior minister Rehman Malik said that the threat emanating from Washington should be taken seriously.

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Hello, fellow moviegoers!

The Hitmans Bodyguard is directed by Patrick Hughes, and it stars Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson, Gary Oldman, and Elodie Yung. When an international hit man is the only viable witness to a ruthless dictators crimes, its up to one of the worlds top bodyguards to keep him alive en route to the courtroom.

The Hitmans Bodyguard was actually a surprisingly entertaining time at the theater that can make for a fun night out with friends. While its far from perfect, the good definitely outweighs the bad here. It was funny, it had entertaining action scenes, and it was just an amusing, simple movie that you can have some fun with.

While The Hitmans Bodyguard isnt the funniest movie of the year, it still managed to get plenty of laughs out of the whole theater. The humor in this film may not be the wittiest, the most clever, or the most original, but it worked for what it was. The point of a comedy (granted, this is an action-comedy, but a comedy nonetheless) is to make the audience laugh. The Hitmans Bodyguard succeeded at that. While occasionally it does rely on toilet-humor, annoyingly so, for the most part, there are quite a few laughs to be had in this film.

The action scenes also stood out as being very well shot. The Hitmans Bodyguard was able to keep focus very well in its action scenes. It never became overly complicated to the point that you werent sure what was going on. It was always very clear what was happening in the action and chase scenes, even though they could get quite complicated. At times, they reminded me of what you would expect to see from a film like Kingsman: The Secret Service.

No film is perfect, and The Hitmans Bodyguard does have its flaws. Primarily, it doesnt really handle emotional or romantic scenes very well. When they happen, as they do often in this film, they come off as cheesy and cliche. In addition to that, the musical score, which is mostly very good, also gets very formulaic in those scenes.

At the end of the day, The Hitmans Bodyguard isnt an amazing film, but it was enjoyable. This is the type of film that you can go see in the theater with a group of friends and have a really good time. Its pretty straightforward. The Hitmans Bodyguard is exactly what youd expect an action-comedy starring Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson to be, though thats not a bad thing. If you enjoy these two actors then youll enjoy The Hitmans Bodyguard. Its as simple as that.

7 out of 10

Thanks for stopping by!

Kyle Kruse is a freshman at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He loves watching and writing about movies, primarily dramas and action flicks. He will share his thoughts about a movie for Fremont Tribune readers every other Thursday. You can find more of his reviews and miscellaneous movie thoughts at www.Kruzereviews.com.
Lancaster County Treasurer Andy Stebbing has been charged with five felonies relating to title violations, being an unlicensed dealer and filing fraudulent state income taxes, according to court documents.

Stebbing, 53, was cited for the offenses, fingerprinted and released Thursday afternoon at Nebraska State Patrol headquarters, according to the Nebraska Attorney Generals Office.

Stebbing faces two counts of falsifying a bill of sale, two counts of filing false Nebraska income tax returns and one count of acting as an unlicensed dealer, according to the complaint.

On Friday, Lancaster County Board Chairman and fellow Republican Todd Wiltgen contacted Stebbing to ask him to resign.

I just spoke with Andy and told him that I dont know how he can continue to serve as treasurer with these charges having been filed, said Wiltgen, who said he wasnt speaking on the County Boards behalf.

Its the right thing to do for the sake of the county, the treasurers office and the taxpayers and residents of the county for him to resign.

Democratic State Chair Jane Kleeb also called on Stebbing to resign immediately.

Gov. Ricketts should be publicly calling for this move as well, she said Friday. Democrats are increasingly concerned a one-party rule of our state leads to corruption. We are confident Lancaster County can find a replacement so the work of the people can move forward.

The charges are the result of an investigation by the State Patrol and Department of Revenue into private motor vehicle sales conducted by Stebbing and the income generated from those sales.

Chief Deputy Attorney General David Bydalek alleges in the complaint that Stebbing acted as an unlicensed dealer between November 2015 and July 2016.

Bydalek alleges the title violations occurred in January and May of 2016 and that Stebbing filed the false returns in 2016 and 2017.

Each felony is punishable by up to two years in prison and a $10,000 fine. If found guilty of filing a false income tax return, Stebbing also may be forced to repay any unpaid taxes, plus interest and penalties.

Stebbing did not return a call for comment Friday.

He is scheduled to make his first court appearance on the charges in Lancaster County Court on Sept. 15.

News of an investigation broke in April, with officials saying only that the inquiry was focused on Stebbing in a personal capacity and not his role as an elected official or the county department he leads.

Stebbings office was searched by Nebraska State Patrol investigators April 21.

The Journal Star has previously reported that authorities sought documents from the Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles related to the investigation.

In June, patrol investigators confirmed they had completed their investigation and the Nebraska Attorney Generals office was reviewing the case.

Stebbing, a retired Lancaster County deputy sheriff, has been Lancaster County Treasurer since 2011 and won re-election in 2014. The Republican lost to Chris Beutler in the 2015 Lincoln mayoral race.

The county treasurer is responsible for collecting property taxes to be distributed to schools, fire districts, cities, villages and other political subdivisions. Stebbings office also manages more than 300,000 motor vehicle registrations and titles.

Stebbings department works out of offices at three locations  the County-City Building, North 46th Street and West O Street.
With farmland ownership, can come a variety of methods for managing that land.

Whether owners plan to farm the land themselves, or lease to an outside party, there are a multitude of decisions that come along with either strategy.

The upcoming Ag Land Management Seminar: Back to the Basics, 101 will provide those who own farmland with useful information and education to help make decisions about ownership.

The seminar will be held at the University of Nebraska Eastern Nebraska Research and Extension Center near Mead, formerly the Ag Research and Development Center, at 1071 County Road G, Ithaca, NE, on Thursday, September 7.

.The program is conducted by Allan Vyhnalek, Aaron Nygren, and Jim Jansen, Nebraska Extension Educators who provide farm land management and agronomy education in eastern Nebraska. The seminar will run 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Nygren provides Extension agronomic support for Colfax, Cuming, and Stanton counties. Jansen works as Agricultural Systems Economist Extension Educator at the University of Nebraska Haskell Agricultural Laboratory. Vyhnalek has worked in Extension in Iowa and Nebraska for 28 years and his focus areas include Farm Management and Ag Economics.

The workshop is designed to provide primer education for those that havent been on the farm much, or on the farm much recently. It is also designed to be a refresher course for those that would like to have the latest information on land management and rental.

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, Vyhnalek said. 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.

Topics covered at the daylong seminar include determining whether to keep a farm or sell it, how do manage a farm, what can be learned from soil tests, organic and natural production, and other considerations.

As far as leasing goes, the seminar will cover key lease provisions, legal considerations when leasing, communication expectation between landlord and tenant, and key pasture leasing considerations.

Pre-registration is requested by two days prior to the event, September 5. The registration fee is $20 per person or $30 per couple. The fee covers handouts, refreshments and lunch. Interested individuals can preregister by calling 402-624-8030.

For more information or assistance, contact Allan Vyhnalek, Nebraska Extension Educator, Farm Succession, at 402-472-1771 or avyhnalek2@unl.edu.
NEW HAVEN >> Twenty-three Yale graduate students who were arrested during attempts to form a union and a protest about alleged sexual harassment have had their charges dismissed after they performed community service.

The students were arrested in May for blocking streets in downtown New Haven. All of them were charged with disorderly conduct. Three of them also were charged with interfering with a police officer.

At an earlier hearing May 19, the lawyers for the students, Hugh Keefe and Tara Knight, worked out an agreement with the state by which the defendants would do community service work in exchange for prosecutors likely dropping the charges.

During a follow-up hearing this week, Assistant States Attorney Devant Joiner nolled the charges. Keefe then asked Superior Court Judge Thomas V. OKeefe Jr. to go a bit further and dismiss the charges, which OKeefe did.

Keefe said 20 of the students did five hours of community service and the three arrested on the additional interfering charge did 10 hours. The work was done at the citys soup kitchens and other non-profits.

The arrested students are affiliated with UNITE HERE Local 33, whose members have tried to persuade Yale university officials to recognize the new union of graduate students and come to the negotiating table. But the street-blocking protest was held to demand the university end alleged sexual harassment on campus.

The students cited a 2015 survey stating 54 percent of Yales female graduate students reported being sexually harassed. But Yale officials say the university already has policies and procedures to effectively address sexual harassment.

Regarding the union issue, university officials have noted that only 9 percent of the graduate students were eligible to vote in the February election and that Yales Graduate Student Assembly voted last fall to oppose Local 33.

Keefe called the dismissals of the charges following community service a fair and just disposition.

He described the students as wonderful, committed, idealistic people.

Joiner could not be reached for comment.

Call Randall Beach at 203-680-9345.
DANBURY  Danny Hayes knows getting treatment for his combat trauma got his life back on track.

Hayes knows the consequences of not getting treatment for combat trauma.

A gentleman I was trying to help ended his life, Hayes said of a Vietnam combat veteran who had sought trauma treatment but was turned away by the Veterans Administration. They told him nothing was wrong.

Hayes, Danburys director of veterans affairs, said he hopes Fridays visit from Sen. Chris Murphy includes an update about Washingtons progress to help more combat veterans receiving treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder.

Murphy on Thursday said he promises to bring one. Murphy has introduced a bill to make combat veterans with PTSD, who have been dismissed from the military for misconduct, eligible for mental health treatment from the VA.

Thousands of veterans who get with less-than-honorable discharges can be ineligible for federal benefits, like health care.

This is a very unique class of veterans who suffered PTSD or brain injury and then did something as a result  maybe they went AWOL or lashed out verbally or committed a physical offense, Murphy said. No soldier that acts out because of a brain injury should be made ineligible for VA services  that is inhumane.

He plans to speak about his bill and other legislation affecting the military at a 1:30 p.m. discussion with veterans at VFW Post 149 on Byron Street.

Hayes, who served six months in Iraq as a specialist with the Army, agrees.

They send you overseas in the blink of an eye, he said. But when you come back they dont help.

When Hayes came back from Operation Desert Storm with a Bronze Star he was not the same man, and he knew it.

I was angry all the time, he said. I was getting in trouble a lot  going out and getting into fights which wasnt like me.

Not until Hayes started to see a psychiatrist did his recovery began.

Back in the 1990s, there was no such thing as PTSD and there was nobody to talk to, Hayes said. But today you can get help, and there are peer groups where guys can go.

Murphy said veterans with PTSD who are in VA care are less likely to commit suicide than veterans not in the system. If we send them off to war and their brains are injured in the process, it is reprehensible that we dont offer them the treatment they deserve, he said.

rryser@newstimes.com; 203-731-3342
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DANBURY  Sen. Chris Murphy visited a local Veterans of Foreign Wars post Friday to tout reforms and tell veterans of a bill he introduced this spring that would provide mental health care to those with other-than-honorable discharges.

At the post, he received thanks for his efforts and requests for more help from some 50 veterans and veterans advocates, who criticized Department of Veterans Affairs red tape and the slow pace of VA reform.

Murphy promised to keep up his fight, and said Congress was making bipartisan progress on issues facing GIs, even as other issues, such as health care reform, have stalled due to party divides.

For, as political as Washington is these days, issues around veterans funding and veterans programs tend to be one of the few places where Republicans and Democrats are able to work together, and work together pretty well, he said. Weve made some pretty big changes to that programming just in the 10 years that Ive been in Congress.

Changes include an update to the GI Bill, signed into law this month, eliminated a 15-year deadline for veterans to use federal money for education and allowing Purple Heart recipients to receive VA care regardless of time served in the military.

Murphy reiterated Friday that the VA and veteran services are still works in progress. Next stop, he said, is to get the Honor Our Commitment Act of 2017, which he introduced in the Senate, signed into law.

The act would make combat veterans with PTSD who have been dismissed from the military for misconduct eligible for mental health treatment from VA.

The suicide rate (among veterans) is just out of control, one an hour, and what we found was that a lot of the guys that are committing suicide have gotten what you guys call a bad-paper discharge, Murphy told the Danbury crowd.

Those veterans might have been discharged for minor offenses or going AWOL for a few days as a result of PTSD or traumatic brain injuries they got on the job, Murphy added.

Its so unconscionable because they get PTSD, they come back, they screw up, they get a dishonorable discharge, they lose their eligibility for the VA and then things just spiral downwards, he said. They got a diagnosis they cant get any help for.

Veterans in the audience thanked Murphy, but had several issues they wanted him to bring back to Washington, such as expanding the GI bill further so veterans who didnt use their education in the past and missed the 15-year deadline could still go back to school.

Several veterans complained of VA bureaucracy, which makes it difficult to get the care they need.

Sunny Hoskins, of Brookfield, told the room it took her 13 months and contacting Murphys office for the local VA to amend her paperwork with a keystroke change between single and married.

Thats what we all go through, she said.

Murphy, whose aide worked the room collecting stories and contact information, said he would do what he can for each veteran requesting assistance.

I understand that I get to do my public service in the air conditioned chamber of the U.S. Senate because you all and millions of others have decided to do your public service in a much more brave and courageous way, Murphy said.

blytton@hearstmediact.com; 203-731-3411; @bglytton
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New Fairfield, Ridgefield and Brookfield have decided they likely wont comply with a request from the state for local financial information, fearing that sending such information could trigger a loss of even more state funds.

The request, sent earlier this month from Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and then passed down to municipalities by Benjamin Barnes, secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, asks towns to detail their general and unassigned fund balances for the last and current fiscal years.

Malloy said the information, along with reports hes gathered on municipal aid history, is needed to better inform officials working through the state budget process.

But area towns worry that the request is simply a way to determine which municipalities are fiscally strong enough to deal with more cuts as the state tries to reduce its deficit.

My speculation is theyre looking at the ability to pay, said Ridgefield First Selectman Rudy Marconi. Those who have healthy fund balances...are now going to be penalized. All the state wants to know is, Who are the healthy towns? and Can we cut you any more? 

Marconi argues that municipalities shouldnt be punished for proper management of town funds, and that in any case Ridgefield has nothing more to give, because almost all of its state aid has been zeroed out in the governors plans.

Connecticut has yet to set its budget amid legislative discord and a looming deficit, but Malloys executive order outlining state aid should a budget not pass by October reduces Ridgefields funding to $578.

And in the governors own budget proposal, which includes a plan to make municipalities pay one-third of teacher pension costs, the town would owe the state nearly $4 million.

New Fairfield First Selectman Susan Chapman said she likely will not send the fund balance information, either, because she worries the state will use it to further harm the town. In Malloys executive order, New Fairfield was reduced from $4 million in state aid to just $3,755.

Brookfield First Selectman Steve Dunn said using town funds to compensate for a loss of state aid would likely harm the towns bond rating and raise future interest payments.

Chapman, Marconi and Dunn also said that without a state budget outlining exactly what theyll get in state aid, the towns cant be expected to project next years fund balances.

Projecting 2018 is practically impossible, Chapman said. We cant even project our budgets right now.

The three towns are not alone in their concerns, said Francis Pickering, executive director of the Western Connecticut Council of Governments.

The 18 member towns in the council have mixed opinions on how to approach the states request, but most of them share the same fears about how the state might use the information, Pickering said. He added that a fund balance doesnt always reflect how much a town actually has saved, because some of the money might be intended for projects already in the pipeline although not formally encumbered.

The information may be misinterpreted, Pickering said. Every municipality has different finances and context is not reflected in reserves. If you take a snapshot of general funds, sometimes a municipality has money thats targeted for a certain purpose but has not yet been restricted. Thats a significant problem.

Bethel First Selectman Matt Knickerbocker said this fear was actually one of the reasons the town decided to respond to the request. He said because the state already has access to fund balance numbers, he wanted to include an explanation of his towns funds so the state would understand the money is not up for grabs.

Basically it was a polite way of saying, Please keep your hands off of it, Knickerbocker said. (The state) has run out of piggy banks to break, so now theyre looking to the towns, and that is just wrong.

Officials from Redding and Newtown took similar approaches by sending the information but attaching more than a page each of criticism on how the state might use the numbers for further cuts.

Both towns' top elected officials provided detailed outlines of their efforts to create a strong fund balance and bond rating. They criticized the states approach to solving its own deficit by taking money from municipalities.

Quite frankly, this is an outrageous approach to governing, said Redding First Selectwoman Julia Pemberton. Redding residents paid $38,950,565 in income taxes to the state of Connecticut in 2015. What does Redding get in municipal aid for every dollar paid in income taxes? Pennies.

aquinn@newstimes.com
With late summer in Fremont comes a flood of new and returning students to the campus of Midland University.

As classes began on Thursday the campus was not only buzzing with students, but also with 80 area businesses and organizations filling Hopkins Arena for the annual Back to Business Bash.

During Thursday afternoons event, nearly 500 students freshman through senior made the rounds through the arena, mingling with 80 vendors and business leaders who made an appearance.

It is the first day of classes and we have a lot of out-of-state students here as well, so they get to learn about what we have to offer in the community, said Brenda Wilberding, Business Development Manager and event organizer.

Last year, the event featured 77 local businesses and organizationa, and with the addition of three new vendors, this years event was the largest ever.

We just continue to grow and were always excited to see new faces, Wilberding said. We have had a great turnout and a good amount of students come through.

For students, one of the biggest draws to the event is the plethora of free items offered by businesses including hats, shirts, bags, food, candy and many other complimentary items.

The first thing was to hit up the free food of course with some Buffalo Wild Wings and some pizza, said Hakim Sims, a junior wrestler and cheerleader.

Along with enjoying the free goodies available, Sims, and all the other attending students, use the event to find jobs and learn about services in the community.

At this years event, Sims also signed up for a bank account with Pinnacle Bank, and previously found a job at the Bash during his freshman year.

My freshman year I got a job at the YMCA, he said. We talked for 10 minutes at their booth and I went to the Y and got the job right on the spot.

For Sims, who is from Fort Worth, Texas, the event has provided a welcoming atmosphere each year he attends.

Every time I get to know more about the community and where we live, and every business out here just seems so supportive of the school, he said. It makes you feel more welcome.

For businesses, the Bash is a great way to network with potential employees, advertise services and interact with a variety of people.

We are just trying to make sure we have an impact on campus, and we actually have a lot of career financial advisors that attended Midland, said Jordan Crook, financial advisor with Northwestern Mutual. We are trying to make sure we get a few interns and weve had a lot of business.

The event is also a great opportunity for local businesses to offer deals on services, like free windshield repairs from Fas-Break Auto Glass Service.

These students are coming and going from different parts of the country, and driving a lot, said Shannon Smith, Owner of Fas-Break. If they get a rock chip and they dont get that taken care of right way it can turn from a repair to a replacement.

At the Fas-Break booth, Smith gave away business cards that included stickers on the back that are good for a free repair.

We give away our business cards, and with that they get a free repair, so they are actually worth like 60 bucks, Smith said.

Whether it is the businesses, or the students, the event is a great way to network.

Its always good, we are here to offer the service to them but also I am looking for a couple of students to shoot a training video for us, Smith said. So it is a two-way street.
A newborn swaddled in an adult cotton T-shirt and small blanket was left in the dark of night last week beside a Danbury grocery store. New lungs responding to air for the first time, the baby boy was so recently born that his umbilical cord was still attached.

Fortunately, a man walking in the area heard the babys cries, called 911, and stayed with the newborn until police arrived. The outcome otherwise might have been devastating with the temperature dipping to 40 degrees that night of May 21.

The case of the abandoned baby is still under investigation by police so details are scant, but the baby is recovering in the hospital and the unidentified mother turned herself in to authorities days later and is receiving medical attention.

Though unusual, abandoned newborns are not rare. In Connecticut, 31 babies have been left at hospitals since a Safe Haven law was adopted in 2000. Under the law, someone can leave a baby younger than 30 days at an emergency room with no questions asked and no repercussions of prosecution. The child is placed in protection of the state Department of Children and Families and ultimately could be adopted.

This is a compassionate law, with the well-being of a helpless infant the foremost interest. More people, especially teenagers and young adults, need to know about Safe Haven.

For a pregnant woman who is frightened, the options must seem few and the consequences can be tragic. Ten years ago a Danbury teen was charged with murder, later reduced to first-degree manslaughter, after her newborn drowned in the toilet when the mother gave birth, secretly and alone. She was released from prison last year and while she has to live with her babys death every day, she hopes others will learn there are choices.

In reaction to the news of the baby left outside last weekend, state legislators are taking another look at a bill that didnt get past the General Assemblys Education Committee earlier this year. The bill would have mandated teaching the Safe Haven law in 10th-grade health classes. About two dozen legislators intend to co-sponsor an amendment to an education bill that would require teaching about the law in public high schools.

The amendment, with no costs associated, ought to be passed.

But that doesnt mean teachers, school counselors, nurses or others have to wait for legislation to talk with teens about the Safe Haven. Education can save a new life.

In a perfect world, pregnancy should occur when a mother and father are ready for the responsibility. But in a complicated and sometimes confusing world, that is not always the reality.

This newborn boy could have been harmed or died from the chilled Sunday night. Thankfully, his cries were heard. A loving family will welcome him. The Spanish words YO SOY LINAJE ESCOGIDO on the large T-shirt wrapped around the baby translate to this: I am a chosen.
Toronto-based technology services firm provides breadth of digital and technology integration experience

TORONTO, Aug. 24, 2017 /CNW/ - Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has acquired VERAX Solutions ("VERAX"), a Toronto-based technology and systems-integration consulting firm that serves the financial services sector in Canada. Financial terms were not disclosed.

VERAX is a privately-owned company founded in 2003 that employs around 180 people at offices in Toronto and Halifax. Its key service areas include IT strategy, enterprise architecture consulting, project and program management, financial risk and compliance solutions, as well as business intelligence and data warehousing. Serving leading banking, insurance and capital markets institutions, VERAX delivers IT consulting initiatives across the full range of financial-services lines of business, including wealth management, brokerage and mutual funds, mobile and online banking, retail and commercial banking, and insurance and capital markets.

The addition of VERAX  with its proven technology and systems-integration expertise across the financial services sector  will complement and enhance Accenture's consulting and technology capabilities in Canada.

"VERAX consultants are known for their deep technical expertise, collaborative culture and strong reputation for delivery, which we believe will greatly complement and enhance the breadth and depth of our financial services capabilities in Canada," said Robert Vokes, managing director of Accenture's Financial Services practice in Canada. "The combination of Accenture and VERAX will help enable our clients to react even more quickly and with even more confidence, as banks face increased pressure to adjust to new digital capabilities, new regulatory requests, and increased competition."

Sid Thomas, VERAX's CEO and founder, said: "We are excited to join Accenture, whose scale, scope and reputation for excellence will benefit our clients and will provide an opportunity for our employees to escalate their careers and enhance the benefits they deliver to our clients."

About Accenture

Accenture is a leading global professional services company, providing a broad range of services and solutions in strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations. Combining unmatched experience and specialized skills across more than 40 industries and all business functions  underpinned by the world's largest delivery network  Accenture works at the intersection of business and technology to help clients improve their performance and create sustainable value for their stakeholders. With more than 411,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries, Accenture drives innovation to improve the way the world works and lives. Accenture plans to hire 1,000 people in Canada this fiscal year. Visit us at www.accenture.com.

About VERAX

VERAX is a client-centric professional consulting company with a proven record of successfully delivering mid and large size business IT initiatives for Fortune 500 companies. VERAX forms partnerships and long-term relationships that meet and exceed clients' current expectations while anticipating their future needs. The VERAX team delivers business solutions based on knowledge, professionalism and a commitment to developing optimum solutions for every project.

Forward-Looking Statements

Except for the historical information and discussions contained herein, statements in this news release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "may," "will," "should," "likely," "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "projects," "believes," "estimates," "positioned," "outlook" and similar expressions are used to identify these forward-looking statements. These statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied. These include, without limitation, risks that: the transaction might not achieve the anticipated benefits for Accenture; Accenture's results of operations could be adversely affected by volatile, negative or uncertain economic conditions and the effects of these conditions on the company's clients' businesses and levels of business activity; Accenture's business depends on generating and maintaining ongoing, profitable client demand for the company's services and solutions including through the adaptation and expansion of its services and solutions in response to ongoing changes in technology and offerings, and a significant reduction in such demand or an inability to respond to the changing technological environment could materially affect the company's results of operations; if Accenture is unable to keep its supply of skills and resources in balance with client demand around the world and attract and retain professionals with strong leadership skills, the company's business, the utilization rate of the company's professionals and the company's results of operations may be materially adversely affected; the markets in which Accenture competes are highly competitive, and Accenture might not be able to compete effectively; Accenture could have liability or Accenture's reputation could be damaged if the company fails to protect client and/or company data from security breaches or cyberattacks; Accenture's profitability could materially suffer if the company is unable to obtain favorable pricing for its services and solutions, if the company is unable to remain competitive, if its cost-management strategies are unsuccessful or if it experiences delivery inefficiencies; changes in Accenture's level of taxes, as well as audits, investigations and tax proceedings, or changes in tax laws or in their interpretation or enforcement, could have a material adverse effect on the company's effective tax rate, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition; Accenture's results of operations could be materially adversely affected by fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; Accenture's business could be materially adversely affected if the company incurs legal liability; Accenture's work with government clients exposes the company to additional risks inherent in the government contracting environment; Accenture might not be successful at identifying, acquiring, investing in or integrating businesses, entering into joint ventures or divesting businesses; Accenture's Global Delivery Network is increasingly concentrated in India and the Philippines, which may expose it to operational risks; as a result of Accenture's geographically diverse operations and its growth strategy to continue geographic expansion, the company is more susceptible to certain risks; adverse changes to Accenture's relationships with key alliance partners or in the business of its key alliance partners could adversely affect the company's results of operations; Accenture's services or solutions could infringe upon the intellectual property rights of others or the company might lose its ability to utilize the intellectual property of others; if Accenture is unable to protect its intellectual property rights from unauthorized use or infringement by third parties, its business could be adversely affected; Accenture's ability to attract and retain business and employees may depend on its reputation in the marketplace; if Accenture is unable to manage the organizational challenges associated with its size, the company might be unable to achieve its business objectives; any changes to the estimates and assumptions that Accenture makes in connection with the preparation of its consolidated financial statements could adversely affect its financial results; many of Accenture's contracts include payments that link some of its fees to the attainment of performance or business targets and/or require the company to meet specific service levels, which could increase the variability of the company's revenues and impact its margins; Accenture's results of operations and share price could be adversely affected if it is unable to maintain effective internal controls; Accenture may be subject to criticism and negative publicity related to its incorporation in Ireland; as well as the risks, uncertainties and other factors discussed under the "Risk Factors" heading in Accenture plc's most recent annual report on Form 10-K and other documents filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Statements in this news release speak only as of the date they were made, and Accenture undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statements made in this news release or to conform such statements to actual results or changes in Accenture's expectations.

SOURCE Accenture

For further information: Contacts: Theresa Ebden, Accenture, +1 416-358-6741, [email protected]; Melissa Volin, Accenture, +1 267 216 1815, [email protected]

Related Links

http://www.accenture.ca


HALIFAX, Aug. 25, 2017 /CNW/ - The Government of Canada is committed to growing the economy, strengthening the middle class, and helping those working hard to join it. Through the Build in Canada Innovation Program, the Government of Canada is investing in Canadian innovations to create inclusive and sustainable economic growth for communities across Canada.

Andy Fillmore, Member of Parliament for Halifax, today announced that the Government of Canada is investing in a made-in-Canada innovation that monitors the quality of bodies of water, the FluoroSea Imager. This underwater microscope can quickly and accurately detect and identify harmful algae species to help prevent and manage hazards to aquatic ecosystems and human health.

4Deep (Resolution Optics Inc.) of Halifax, Nova Scotia, received a $266,569 contract for its innovation, which will be tested by Fisheries and Oceans Canada. This investment was made through the Build in Canada Innovation Program, which helps Canadian innovators land their first sale and get their innovations tested by the Government of Canada. This program is just one of the many ways the Government of Canada supports innovation and small and medium-sized businesses across Canada.

Canadian innovators can submit their proposals on the Build in Canada Innovation Program's website.

Quotes

"Our government is supporting companies like 4Deep by matching their innovative products with government needs. The Build in Canada Innovation Program helps companies find a crucial first customer, while departments get early access to useful state-of-the-art technologies. These partnerships enable Canadian companies to grow their business while providing good middle-class jobs."

Steven MacKinnon

Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Services and Procurement

"Halifax is home to some of Canada's most driven and capable innovators. 4Deep is an excellent example of the growing number of talented innovators in Halifax who are helping Canada become a global leader in innovative technologies. Our government is committed to supporting our region's innovators through the Build in Canada Innovation Program, which helps Canadian companies move their products from the lab to the marketplace."

Andy Fillmore

Member of Parliament for Halifax

"Fisheries and Oceans Canada is looking forward to testing 4Deep's FluoroSea Imager through the Build in Canada Innovation Program. This innovation can potentially fill an important gap in our monitoring programs by providing robust information about the phytoplankton community on a seasonal, annual and multi-annual basis. This would lead to a better understanding of primary production, which means the production of energy in organic compounds by living organisms, in the ocean, including the impacts of climate change on the marine food web."

Marc Ringuette

Biological Oceanographer

Fisheries and Oceans Canada

"On behalf of everyone at 4Deep, we are delighted to have been awarded a Build in Canada Innovation Program contract. Partnering over the next year with Fisheries and Oceans Canada will ensure robust and extensive testing and validation of the hardware and software. The end result should ensure global adoption of the technology for the monitoring of phytoplankton and harmful algal blooms."

Dr. Stephen Jones

Chief Executive Officer

4Deep

Quick facts

While other water-sampling methods require significant manpower and cost and have an inherent time lag, this innovation operates on site in natural environments and provides real-time, detailed and accurate results.

The microscope's technology is a unique combination of image analysis and fluorescence signals.

More than 245 contracts, 20 of which were in Nova Scotia , have been awarded under the Build in Canada Innovation Program, bringing Canadian companies one step closer to selling to domestic and international markets.

, have been awarded under the Build in Innovation Program, bringing Canadian companies one step closer to selling to domestic and international markets. More than $105 million has been awarded in contracts since the Build in Canada Innovation Program began in 2010.

Associated links

Build in Canada Innovation Program

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SOURCE Public Services and Procurement Canada

For further information: Mary-Rose Brown, Office of the Honourable Judy M. Foote, 819-997-5421; Media Relations, Public Services and Procurement Canada, 819-420-5501, [email protected]

Related Links

www.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca


VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug. 24, 2017 /CNW/ -- Tahoe Resources Inc. (TSX: THO, NYSE: TAHO) ("Tahoe" or the "Company") today reported that it has learned through unconfirmed sources that the Guatemalan Constitutional Court issued a decision upholding the lower court's preliminary decision to provisionally suspend the mining license of Tahoe's Guatemalan subsidiary, Minera San Rafael ("MSR"). This decision responds to an appeal filed by Minera San Rafael in an action brought by the anti-mining organization, CALAS, against Guatemala's Ministry of Energy and Mines ("MEM") in May. CALAS alleged that MEM violated the Xinca Indigenous people's right to consultation in advance of granting the Escobal mining license to MSR. The Constitutional Court decision upholds the lower court's preliminary decision to temporarily suspend the license to operate the Escobal mine until the definitive constitutional claim is heard on the merits, which hearing is scheduled for August 28th. The Court is expected to issue a ruling within the next several months following the August 28th hearing. The Company understands that MEM complied with ILO Convention 169 before it issued the Escobal license.

Top government officials have expressed dismay at the significant economic, human and environmental impacts resulting from the decision to suspend the Escobal license. The leading private sector industrial chamber has taken independent legal action to challenge the suspension that has damaged many thousands of workers and their families.

The municipal road to the Escobal mine continues to be blocked by protestors. The Company continues to work diligently with the government, community leaders and others to resolve the situation peacefully and expeditiously, however, the road blockage shows no signs of immediate resolution.

As a result of the suspended operations at Escobal, the Company will continue to reevaluate its previous multi-year guidance. The financial impacts to the Company are currently under review to assess effects of the suspended operations to longer term capital and exploration programs. Until operations are resumed, the Company will not be able to access the full capacity of the revolving credit facility entered on July 18, 2017, and may continue to be subject to events of default.

The Company's balance sheet remains strong, with a quarter-end cash balance of over $190 million, and the Company continues to look forward to pursuing its growth goals in the gold businesses once operations recommence.

About Tahoe Resources Inc.

Tahoe's strategy is to responsibly operate mines to world standards and to develop high quality precious metals assets in the Americas. Tahoe is a member of the S&P/TSX Composite and TSX Global Mining indices and the Russell 3000 on the NYSE. The Company is listed on the TSX as THO and on the NYSE as TAHO.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, Section 21E of the United States Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, or in releases made by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, all as may be amended from time to time, and "forward-looking information" under the provisions of applicable Canadian securities legislation, concerning the business, operations and financial performance and condition of the Company. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the decision of the Constitutional Court which has the effect of continuing the suspension of the Company's mining license in respect of the Escobal mine, the time for appeals to be heard and decided and the likelihood of the provisional decision of the Supreme Court of Guatemala being reconsidered and reversed by the Supreme Court of Guatemala or overturned by the Constitutional Court in Guatemala; the timing and likelihood of the road blockage being peacefully cleared and resolved; the future price of silver, gold, lead and zinc; the timing and amount of estimated future production, costs of production, capital expenditures, free cash flow, currency exchange rate fluctuations; requirements for additional capital; government regulation of mining operations; environmental risks; unanticipated reclamation expenses; timing and possible outcome of pending litigation, title disputes or claims; and limitations on insurance coverage. Generally, these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" , "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" , "believes", or variations or comparable language of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "should", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved" or the negative connotation thereof.

Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of factors and assumptions that, if untrue, could cause the actual results, performances or achievements of the Company to be materially different from future results, performances or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. Such statements and information are based on numerous assumptions regarding present and future business strategies and the environment in which Tahoe will operate in the future, including the price of silver, gold, lead and zinc, anticipated costs and ability to achieve goals. In respect of the forward-looking statements concerning a decision from the Supreme Court of Guatemala on the definitive claim, the factors to be considered by the Supreme Court in the definitive decision and by the Constitutional Court on appeal, the timing and the likelihood of success that the definitive decision will be issued, the timing and likelihood of the road blockage being peacefully cleared and resolved, the potential impacts of the court decision and road blockage, and the time and expense of the decision, challenges to such decision and efforts to peacefully clear and resolve the road blockage, on the Company's operations, financial condition and liquidity, Tahoe has provided them in reliance on certain assumptions that they believe are reasonable at this time. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list is not exhaustive. Tahoe's actual results, programs and financial position could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of numerous factors, risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's control. These include, but are not necessarily limited to workings of the Guatemalan legal system, social unrest and political or economic instability in Guatemala and the Company's ability to efficiently resume operations once the suspension of the mining license is lifted and roadblock is cleared, and relationships with our partners, including employees, vendors and community populations.

Certain important factors that could cause actual results, performances or achievements to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include, among others, silver, gold, lead and zinc price volatility, discrepancies between actual and estimated production, mineral reserves and mineral resources and metallurgical recoveries, mining operational and development risks, litigation risks, regulatory restrictions (including environmental regulatory restrictions and liability), changes in national and local government legislation, taxation, controls or regulations and/or change in the administration of laws, policies and practices, expropriation or nationalization of property and political or economic developments in Guatemala, Peru, and Canada, and other jurisdictions in which the Company does or may carry on business in the future, delays, suspension and technical challenges associated with capital projects, higher prices for fuel, steel, power, labor and other consumables, currency fluctuations, the speculative nature of gold exploration, the global economic climate, dilution, share price volatility, competition, loss of key employees, additional funding requirements and defective title to mineral claims or property. Although Tahoe believes its expectations are based upon reasonable assumptions and has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended.

Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks, uncertainties and other factors include but are not limited to; the fluctuation of the price of silver and gold; opposition to development and mining operations by one or more groups of indigenous people; actions that impede or prevent the operations of the Company's mines; the inability to develop and operate the Company's mines; social unrest and political or economic instability and uncertainties in the jurisdictions in which the Company operates; the timing and ability to maintain and, where necessary, obtain necessary permits and licenses; changes in national and local government legislation, taxation and controls or regulations; environmental and other governmental regulation compliance; the uncertainty in the estimation of mineral resources and mineral reserves; fluctuations in currency exchange rates; infrastructure risks, including access to roads, water and power; and the timing and possible outcome of pending or threatened litigation and the risk of unexpected litigation.

For a more detailed discussion of these and other risks relevant to the Company, see the Company's Management's Discussion and Analysis for the second quarter of 2017 filed on SEDAR and with the SEC on August 8, 2017 and our other public filings available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com, on EDGAR at www.sec.gov or on the Company's website at www.tahoeresources.com.

Although Tahoe has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and, accordingly, are subject to change after such date. Except as otherwise indicated by Tahoe, these statements do not reflect the potential impact of any non-recurring or other special items or of any disposition, monetization, merger, acquisition, other business combination or other transaction that may be announced or that may occur after the date hereof. Forward-looking statements are provided for the purpose of providing information about management's current expectations and plans and allowing investors and others to get a better understanding of Tahoe's operating environment. Tahoe does not intend or undertake to publicly update any forward-looking statements that are included in this document, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

For further information, please contact:

Tahoe Resources Inc.

[email protected]

Tel: 775-448-5800

SOURCE Tahoe Resources Inc.

Related Links

http://www.tahoeresourcesinc.com


OTTAWA, Aug. 25, 2017 /CNW/ - The Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, issued the following statement:

Today, federal Member of Parliament for Bourassa Emmanuel Dubourg, as a member of the Ad Hoc Intergovernmental Task Force of Irregular Migration, wrapped up a series of outreach activities with the Haitian community in Miami, Florida.

This is part of Canada's effort to counter false information with facts and promote a better understanding of Canada's asylum system and the risks associated with outside official border crossings. Entering Canada in this manner is against the law.

Canada is an open and welcoming country. However, people must enter Canada using the proper channels.

Social media messages on WhatsApp and other channels suggest that Canada gives asylum seekers a free pass into Canada. This simply is not true. It is not a message from the Government of Canada. Strict processes are in place for all those seeking refugee protection, regardless of how they enter Canada.

With local elected officials, community leaders, local and national media, MP Dubourg explored new ways to dispel the myths circulating about Canada's immigration laws and inform Miami's Haitian diaspora  300,000 strong  about the significant risks facing those entering Canada through irregular channels.

MP Dubourg was first briefed by Canada's Counsul General in Miami, Susan Harper, where he was given a lay of the land of the community.

He then met City Clerk Alix Desulme, himself of Haitian descent, the first Black American to serve in this capacity for the City of North Miami.

MP Dubourg also highlighted Canada and Haiti's strong bilateral relationship with Haiti's Counsul General, Thomas Gandy. Canada and Haiti have developed a close relationship, with, shared language and numerous people-to-people ties uniting the two countries.

He also travelled to the Notre Dame Catholic Church in the historical neighbourhood of Little Haiti to inform influential members of the community about Canada's strong rules-based immigration system.

MP Dubourg concluded the day with a series of interviews with Haitian, Canadian and U.S.-based media where he had the opportunity to speak directly to this tight-knit community.

He reinforced the message that the Government of Canada discourages people from entering Canada outside of designated ports of entry as it can be dangerous and is a violation of our laws.

MP Dubourg also stressed that under the law, anyone claiming asylum in Canada has the right to due process. However, there are no guarantees that an asylum seeker will be allowed to stay in Canada at the end of this process. For example, a significant portion of all asylum claims made by Haitian nationals in 2016 were rejected, and the claimants were obligated to leave Canada.

As well, he noted that asylum seekers crossing the border into Canada from the U.S. who are under Temporary Protected Status (TPS) may think that this status applies in Canada. The TPS on the U.S. does not apply in Canada.

SOURCE Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada

For further information: (media only) Hursh Jaswal, Minister's Office, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, 613-954-1064; Media Relations, Communications Branch, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, 613-952-1650, [email protected]

Related Links

http://www.cic.gc.ca


Harriette Hoyt main

Harriette M. Hoyt

(Elmira Police Department)

Elmira, N.Y. -- A 17-year-old Pennsylvania girl accused of abandoning her infant daughter in a plastic bag left in the backyard of a New York home has been indicted on attempted murder and other charges.

The Chemung County prosecutor says Harriette Hoyt, of Sayre, Pa., was arraigned Thursday on charges that also include reckless endangerment and abandonment of a child.

Authorities say the teen was visiting friends in Elmira on Aug. 5 when she left her 8-month-old baby in a garbage bag placed near bushes. The baby wasn't discovered until three days later by neighbors checking out animal-like sounds.

The child spent 10 days recovering in a Rochester hospital before being placed in foster care.

Hoyt remains in jail. Public advocate attorney John Brennan says his office continues to review the evidence.
Connecticuts housing market posted gains in several key performance indicators in July, according to data released Thursday by a real estate industry trade group and the states Department of Economic and Community Development.

The most significant gain came in area of new housing permits.

There were 340 units of new housing permits issued last month, a 53 percent increase over July 2016, according to the data from DECD.

The median sale prices for single-family homes and condominiums also increased in July. The Connecticut Realtors trade group reported a 3 percent increase in the median sale price for single-family homes and a 1.2 percent hike for condominiums.

New housing permits are considered a leading economic indicator because the industry accounts for about 27 percent of investment spending and 5 percent of the overall economy. Furthermore, the housing industry also has an impact on retail growth for household goods such as appliances, electronics and furniture.

Westport led the state in new housing permits issued with 97. Milford and Greenwich had the next largest number of new housing permits issued, with 18 each.

Donald Klepper-Smith, chief economist and director of research for New Haven-based DataCore Partners, said the increase in housing permits last month compared to July 2016 reflects the volatility associated with looking at the data on a month-to-month basis.

This was a better month than relative to last year, but the year-to-date numbers are off significantly, Klepper-Smith said.

Through the first seven months of this year, the number of housing permits is down 19.7 percent compared to the same period in 2016. There were 2,427 new housing permits issued through July 2016 compared to 1,948 given out during the first seven months of this year.

The number of housing permit issued so far this year looks even worse when compared to how many were issued during the same period in 2015. There were 3,060 permit issued through the first seven months of 2015, so the 2017 year-to-date total represents a 36.3 percent decrease.

The median sale price of single-family homes sold in Connecticut during July increased by 3 percent, or $8,000, to $273,000. The median sale price for single-family homes sold in the state during July 2016 was $265,000.

The median sale price for condominiums sold in Connecticut during July increased by 1.2 percent, or $2,000, compared to the same period a year ago. The median sale price for condominiums last month was $169,000, compared to $167,000 in July 2016.

The number of single-family homes and condominiums sold last month was largely unchanged, according to the Connecticut Realtors group.

Single-family residential home sales in Connecticut were down by a slight 0.1 percent last month compared to July 2016. There were 3,694 homes sold last month, compared to 3,698 in July 2016.

Condominium sales in Connecticut were off by 0.5 percent in July compared to the same period a year earlier. There were 803 condominiums sold last month compared to 807 in July 2016.

Overall, the housing market leaves a little bit to be desired right now, Klepper-Smith said.

Call Luther Turmelle at 203-680-9388.
NEW HAVEN >> The citys Broadway Shopping District is about to add another outdoor clothing retailer.

California-based Patagonia will open its second Connecticut store next week at 1 Broadway. Patagonias other Connecticut location is in Westport.

The space in which the new Patagonia store is opening has been hard to fill for landlord Yale University Properties. The location hasnt had a permanent tenant since Au Bon Pain closed in May 2013, though it served as a temporary home for a Peabody Museum satellite location for a time.

The new Patagonia store will be operated by local outdoor goods retail veteran Chris Howe.

The Guilford resident and his partners, Todd Raskin and David Venables, own seven other outdoor clothing stores in Connecticut and Rhode Island. Six of those stores operate under the name Denali and the seventh is called Trailblazer and is also located in the Broadway Shopping District at 296 Elm St.

The New Haven Denali location, at 13 Broadway, will be relocated and combined into the existing Trailblazer store, located across the street at 296 Elm St., according to a press release from Yale University Properties.

Lauren Zucker, Yale University associate vice president for New Haven Affairs and University Properties, said the new Patagonia store expands upon the relationship the schools real estate arm already has with Howe and shows continued support for local, Connecticut-owned businesses at The Shops at Yale.

Yale Universitys community investment program supports the growth of New Haven businesses, creating jobs, reinvigorating New Havens downtown, and expanding the citys tax base, Zucker said in a statement.

Even with the New Haven location of Denali being folded into its sister store, the opening of Patagonia in the same block will make for a highly competitive marketplace for outdoor clothing retailers in the city.

And the competition will only intensify when L.L. Bean opens a two-story, 9,000-square-foot store at 272 Elm St. next summer.

The new L.L. Bean location will be located next door to Trailblazer.

Howe was not available for comment Thursday night, but in a statement touted the experience of himself and his partners.

We have been continuously operating in New Haven for more than 22 years, Howe said. We love New Havens unique culture and the active retail and dining environment.

David Cadden, a professor emeritus at Quinnipiac Universitys School of Business, called the decision to locate so many outdoor clothing retailers so close together a bit peculiar.

Im sure he has done his homework, Cadden said of Howe. But I really cant imagine there is a strong enough market for stores that similar so close together.

Call Luther Turmelle at 203-680-9388.
If were all going to get through what remains of the Trump era and keep ourselves together as a nation, well need to tamp down our emotions, try to chill out in our interactions.

These are hard, tense times for America. But as Rodney King said, after being beaten by Los Angeles police officers, resulting in street riots: Cant we all just get along?

Its impossible to shake those images of the white supremacists on the march in Charlottesville two weeks ago. We beheld ranks of angry white men holding Tiki torches, shouting phrases such as Jews will not replace us! Some of them had their arms outstretched in Nazi salutes.

Those guys reminded me of the howling villagers mobs in the old Frankenstein movies. They carried torches, too, and they were angry, out for blood, yelling Get him!

After the Charlottesville confrontations led to a white supremacist in a car running down and killing a counterprotester, Heather Heyer, we sorely needed direct criticism of the supremacists and soothing Lets get along words from President Trump. Instead part of what we heard him say was that there were nice people on both sides and blame on each side. As for criticizing anybody, mostly he blamed reporters, which is his usual fallback tactic.

With tensions so high, I was very concerned last Saturday morning about reports of a free speech group coming into Boston, my old college town, and the mounting numbers of counterprotesters planning to confront them.

The free speech people had listed at least one prominent white supremacist as a featured speaker.

But as I watched on CNN along with many other worried Americans, I was relieved to see the events on the Boston Common never spiraled into serious violence. Police, working effectively to keep opponents separated, quickly broke up some street scuffles. It also helped that, by the count of the Boston Globe, only about 50 free speech demonstrators came out, compared with about 40,000 who were there to speak against hate.

Trump, always a handy helper on Twitter when tensions need to be defused, sent out a tweet saying looks like many anti-police agitators in Boston. No, those were anti-Trump, anti-hate agitators.

Reporters for CNN and other media noted that once or twice free speech demonstrators and counterprotesters got in each others faces. But quickly other counterprotesters yelled, Do not engage! and No violence! This seemed to help. This was gratifying to see.

But we need to remember that no matter how repugnant the message from white supremacists, they still have their First Amendment rights in America. And so I was dismayed to read that Boston police kept reporters from getting close enough to the free speech rally to hear what the speakers were saying.

While we listen to each other express different views, non-violence is key. When I was participating in peace protests, many of them in Boston, during the Vietnam War, there was often a jerk or two in the crowd who wanted to throw a brick or smash a window. The rest of us tried to stop them because it was wrong and their actions directly contradicted the message of peace.

And now, in these angry, polarized times reminiscent of the 1960s, we have some Antifa (anti-fascist) protesters who dress in black, often wear masks and sometimes resort to violence as they confront the right-wingers.

There were Antifa people on the New Haven Green last month, going up against a group of white nationalists, the Proud Boys, who were rallying there. The New Haven Register ran a photo on Page 1 of a woman in black kicking a Proud Boy in the rear end.

The person accused of doing the kicking, Roseanna Ryburn, of Brooklyn, New York, was arrested on a charge of interfering with police officers. I was in Superior Court in New Haven recently to cover another case when I saw her come in to accept a plea deal of six months in a probationary program.

When I introduced myself to Ryburn in the lobby after her court appearance, she was not willing to be quoted but clearly she had no regrets about her actions on the Green.

I reminded her that a long line of liberal activists, including Henry David Thoreau and my professor at Boston University, Howard Zinn, had always remained non-violent as they protested and went to jail. I was basically telling her what the counterprotesters had said on the Boston Common: Do not engage! No violence!

She didnt seem moved by my message.

I have no doubt we will see more clashes between white supremacists, who seem emboldened by Trump, and counterprotesters in the days ahead. I can only hope that peaceful people will be there and their calls for non-violence will be heeded.

Meanwhile, we can do our part as we go about our daily lives. In this tense, bleeding country, we need to be nicer to one another. Ive noticed some people are trying to do so. And Ive been trying to smile and say hello to strangers I pass on a walk or on a run, especially those whose skin color is different than mine.

Cant we all just get along?

Contact Randall Beach at rbeach@nhregister.com or 203-680-9345.
NEW HAVEN >> Next weekend, Jeffery Broussard & the Creole Cowboys will be playing their traditional, accordion-driven Louisiana zydeco music for thousands of people at the big Rhythm & Roots Festival Labor Day party in Rhode Island. But on the way, theyre going to stop off at Cafe Nine and play a much more intimate show just for you.

Cafe Nine (250 State St.) will be filled with the rootsy sound of zydeco  and mostly likely some two-step dancers  on Aug. 29 when Jeffery Broussard & the Creole Cowboys return.

Its always a celebration when Broussard, one of the leading lights of zydeco, the bluesier Creole cousin of Louisiana Cajun music, comes down  so head on down and celebrate!

Showtime is 9 p.m. Tickets are $12 in advance at cafenine.com or $15 at the door.

Broussard, a native of Lafayette, Louisiana  and the son of zydeco musician Delton Broussard  has for years now been one of the best and most influential zydeco accordion players. Hes a member of zydecos top echelon with the likes of C.J. Chenier, Geno Delafose and Nathan Williams of Nathan and the Zydeco Cha Chas.

Zydeco, for the uninitiated, is the music of the predominantly French-speaking Creole people of southwestern Louisiana. They are the descendants of the diverse blending of free people of color, Native Americans, French and Spanish settlers  and their music is just as diverse and spicy as their culture.

I love my music and I love my culture, Broussard says. I am proud and honored to be a part of it. By playing traditional music, that is my way of giving back to my community, to my culture, and to get others interested in the music, in other parts of the country, and to fulfill my daddys dream.

Broussard began his career in traditional Creole zydeco music playing drums  at age 8  in his fathers band, Delton Broussard & The Lawtell Playboys.

From there, he moved on to a more modern sound in Zydeco Force, and has now returned to a more traditional zydeco with Jeffery Broussard & The Creole Cowboys.

Born in Lafayette in 1967, Broussard is the youngest of 11 children, with five brothers and five sisters. His family lived in Frilot Cove, a rural community northwest of Opelousas, on a farm where his father was a sharecropper.

He left school after seventh grade to farm potatoes full time in order to help his parents make ends meet. But he still found time to sneak into the house and get his fathers accordion down from the closet to teach himself how to play.

Each time he would put the accordion up, he would set it on the shelf slightly differently. His dad suspected that someone was playing his accordion, but never reprimanded Jeffery for it.

As a teen, Broussard played drums in his oldest brother Clintons band, Clinton Broussard & The Zydeco Machines. It was in his brothers band that Jeffery played the accordion in public for the first time.

Although accordion is his main instrument, Broussard also plays guitar, bass, fiddle and percussion instruments (drums, triangle, and scrubboard).

Also happening Tuesday, if your taste ranges more toward the bluegrass end of things, Jenni Lyn of the great, all-women bluegrass band Della Mae, will perform at The Ballroom at The Outer Space (295 Treadwell St., Hamden) with Lisa Bastoni opening. (Its tough to have both of these shows happening at the same time on the same night.)

Showtime is 7:45 p.m. Tickets are $12 in advance at theouterspace.net or $15 at the door.
Lawrence and Patricia (Dahlquist) Page of Stony Creek celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary on Aug. 17. A celebration with family and friends was hosted by their children that weekend.

They were married on Aug. 17, 1956 at St. Marys Church in Branford.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 1 of 3 Courtesy of West Haven Police Dept. Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Show More Show Less 3 of 3





WEST HAVEN >> Two men were arrested after officers allegedly found a stash of untaxed cigarettes, non-invoiced tobacco products and counterfeit tax stamps.

Sheikh Ahmed, 48, and Rizwan Ahmed, 41, both of Mix Avenue, Hamden, were each charged with fraudulent cigarette tax stamp, illegal sale of unstamped cigarettes, illegal sale of untaxed tobacco, sale of cigarettes other than unopened and conspiracy to commit fraudulent cigarette tax stamp, police said.
MILFORD  MILFORD - The Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut agreed Thursday to pay a settlement to a local woman who claimed she was sexually assaulted at St. Peters Church when she was 12 by the pastors adult son.

The terms of the settlement were not disclosed. The settlement was reached as the case was to go to trial before a jury in Superior Court here against the diocese, the church and its former pastor, Andrew Osmun.

The pastors son, Jesse Osmun, is currently serving a 15-year federal prison sentence for sexually assaulting young girls at a school in South African where he was working while in the Peace Corps.

This case clearly shows why it is so important for those charged with watching our children, to follow the policies and procedures that are put in place for their protection. said Douglas

Mahoney of the Bridgeport law firm Tremont Sheldon Robinson and Mahoney, who represented the young woman. If those policies that were in place had been followed by Reverend Osmun, Jesse Osmun would never have been able to assault other young girls.

Diocese officials did not immediately return calls and emails for comment.

The lawsuit claims Jesse Osmun, then 28, sexually assaulted the woman, now 23, at the West River Street church in 2007.

Andrew Osmun was pastor of the church from 1999 to 2012.

Mahoney said he developed evidence to prove that Reverend Osmun had known for years before 2007 that his son Jesse was attracted to preteen girls and that Jesse Osmun had engaged in inappropriate sexual behaviors. Despite this knowledge, Rev. Osmun allowed his son to volunteer with the youth group at St. Peters and have access to its children including the plaintiff who was a parishioner at St. Peters, he said.

In addition, Mahoney said Jesse Osmun worked at a number of overnight youth camps and schools throughout Connecticut.

Jesse admitted in 2007 to his father that he had assaulted the plaintiff, Mahoney said , however, Rev. Osmun did not report that information to law enforcement as required by Connecticut law.

Jesse Osmun later joined the Peace Corps where he continued to work with children.

While working at a preschool at an HIV/AIDS camp in South Africa, federal authorities said Jesse Osmun sexually assaulted girls between the ages of three and six, bribing them with candy.

"The very little children that we were nurturing were being abused in the most heinous way," Joan Dutton, director of the Umvoti AIDS Centre where the abuse occurred, later wrote a federal judge.

"These children have so little, but Jesse has taken the very fundamentals of their lives away ... The children are going to counseling but he has ruined their little lives."

Jesse Osmun was arrested when he returned to Milford in 2011. He later pleaded guilty to the sexual assaults of the girls in South Africa and is serving his sentence in the federal prison at Fort Dix, NJ.

My firm strongly believes that if policies that are in place are followed, it will make it much more difficult for child molesters to succeed. However, when the policies which are in place are ignored, children are hurt in ways that will affect them for the rest of their lives, Mahoney said. Tragically, that is exactly what happened to Jane and to the other children in Africa.

About a month after Jesse Osmun's arrest, his twin brother Seth Osmun was arrested by police in Austin, Texas, for allegedly possessing child pornography. Police there found pictures on his computer of a young girl, between 7 and 9 years old engaging in intercourse and oral sex with an adult male, according to an affidavit submitted by Sgt. Robert Sunley of the Southern Texas Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

Seth Osmun law later sentenced to two years in prison.
DERBY >> The Board of Aldermen Thursday approved beefed-up security measures for the Green in an effort to protect the historic Civil War monument which has stood watch there for 140 years.

Based on recommendations from Police Chief Gerald Narowski, the monument, which currently is undergoing a much-needed makeover, will be well protected from potential vandalism and theft.

The security improvements will include installing four LED lightpoles near the monument, not only to beautify the monument, but to serve as a deterrent for would-be vandals. Narowski also said surveillance cameras will be installed on the Green, with proper signage posted notifying visitors that the area is being monitored. The Public Works Department also will cut down a small tree on one corner of the Green thats blocking surveillance.

Other improvements include replacing the current low-light bulbs in the existing lightpoles around the Green with brighter LED bulbs.

Narowski said surveillance cameras along with better illumination of the Green, located on Elizabeth Street, will absolutely cut down and deter potential theft and vandalism from occurring there.

The improved security, Narowski said, will not cost the city anything, as he is working with other agencies to purchase the cameras. Narowski said he wouldnt disclose where the cameras will be situated, or when they will be installed, but just wants people to know they will be there and authorities will be watching.

Mayor Anita Dugatto said bolstering security will enable the city to protect the precious piece of history, and the overall Green.

The cameras will give us eyeballs on the area 24/7, and with the new lighting, it will serve as an excellent deterrent (for potential vandals), said Dugatto.

Narowski said the police, Public Works Department and Board of Education are working in conjunction with each other on the security improvements.

Narowski was glad to see aldermen approve the measures, especially because the newly restored monument is slated to be unveiled and re-dedicated on Veterans Day.

The effort to bring the weathered monument, featuring a weary Civil War solider resting against his rifle, surrounded by four cannons, back to life began last year. Retired Valley lawyer and former Valley Community Foundation President and CEO Jamie Cohen spearheaded a major fundraising campaign to bring the monument back to its original heyday.

Since then, both Derby and Shelton made generous donations, along with residents and various Valley organizations.

The monument identifies the battles at Atlanta, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg and New Bern that killed 82 soldiers from Derby and Huntington (which Shelton was known as back in the 1800s).

The $72,000 restoration effort is being performed by Francis Miller of Conserve ART LLC in Hamden, known for its preservation of many well-known structures, including the Soldiers and Sailors monument in New Haven, the World War I monument in New Britain and the Civil War monument in Deerfield, Massachusetts.

Derbys monument had been the target of vandalism over the last few years by thieves who pried off bronze pieces of the soldiers rifle strap, bayonet and cannon straps, and tried but failed to pry off its plaque, only bending it.

The monument is currently surrounded by chain-link fence while the restoration continues.

Those interested in making a donation to complete the project can visit www.valleyfoundation.org/DonateOnline.aspx?fn=Civil+War+Monument+Restoration+Fund.
Two United States Attorneys, Bruce Fein and Bruce DelValle of Fein& DelValle PPLC have met with ten Nigerian witnesses on the suit filed in the United States District court of Columbia against 14 Nigerian defendants for their complicity in the 2016 torture and extra-judicial killings of pro Biafran agitators during their peaceful protests.The two attorneys who arrived Nigeria three days ago met with the families of the victims at an undisclosed location and also extracted various statements from them which were deposed as affidavits of facts to the suit.Ten Biafran plaintiffs are seeking millions of dollars as damages to compensate for their grievous losses and suffering following the alleged gruesome killings of pro Biafra agitators in Nkpor and Onitsha , Anambra State and Aba, Abia State in 2016 during the peaceful demonstration for the release of the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu.The identities of the plaintiffs are hidden for security reasons while the case name is John Doe , etal vs Tukur Yusuf Buratai etal civil action No. 1:17-cv-01033. The case has been assigned to United States District Judge Ellen S. Huvelle, appointed by President William Jefferson Clinton.Speaking to Daily Sun in an exclusive chat, Attorney Bruce Fein said they were in Nigeria as a follow up to the suit already in court because of Biafra agitators who were murdered as a result of high level military and security agencies infringement of their rights to freedom of assembly and expression while the state governors could not also protect the demonstrators.He explained that under the United States law, those human rights crimes are prosecutable in the United States courts even though the plaintiffs and defendants are citizens of the country, Nigeria.Fein said after filing the case in the US court, they were able to convince the judge that revealing the identities of the complainants /plaintiffs in the suit could result in retaliations and danger against their families, hence the reason the court settled for the name John Doe etal so that it can proceed anonymously.He confirmed that 13 defendants out of 16 have been effectively served with the court summons and noted that the Igbos and Christians have the right to live in the country and enjoy their full rights as citizens of Nigeria.The Nigerian facilitators, Emeka Umeagbalasi , board chairman, International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law and Okpalaezenri Emeka Onyeso of the Forum for the Promotion of National Ethos and Values, in their separate remarks noted that the struggle to ensure justice for the victims and families of those who died through the use of state power of coercion while engaging in peaceful protest is a noble cause that must be pursued to a logical conclusion.They thanked the Ekwenche Organisation of Chicago, USA for their role in the suit, noting that the capability of countries to set up laws that regulate and protect all fundamental rights of man within the context of the United Nations Declarations, Covenants, Conventions and other multilateral treaties, and punish offenders, to a very large extent, influence the level of human development in most countries of the worldOther defendants in the suit included former Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase, former Commander 302 Artillery Regiment, Onitsha, Col Ibrahim Maigeri and Governors Willie Obiano and Okezie Ikpeazu of Anambra and Abia States among others
(Being Text of Press Conference By Southern Leaders Forum (SLF) on August 23, 2017 @ Lagos)The Southern Leaders Forum (SLF) welcomes President Muhammadu Buhari back to the country after 105 days medical vacation in the United Kingdom. It is our fervent prayer that God Almighty will perfect his health so he can effectively discharge the functions of his office as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.We have studied the national broadcast by Mr. President on Monday 21August, 2017; and after a careful and thorough analysis of the speech, we make the following observations.1. The President expressed his disaffection about comments on Nigeria while he was away that question our collective existence as a nation and which he said have crossed the red lines.Against the background of the threat to treat hate speech as terrorism, we see a veiled threat to bare fangs and commence the criminalization of dissenting opinions in our national discourse.Experience worldwide has shown that any attempt to deal with dissent by force usually drives it underground which makes it much more dangerous and difficult to deal with.We should have learnt a lesson or two from Boko Haram, which was an open organization before the state drove it underground and we are still under its reign of terror despite official claim that it has been technically defeated or degraded.As elders who believe that it is better to seek solutions to problems, we appeal that we must engage in social engineering fully aware that globalization has made it very difficult to use repressive tactics to repress opinions.2. Mr. President deploys the imagery of the late Chief Emeka Ojukwu to play down the demand for the renegotiation of the structure of Nigeria by saying they both agreed in Daura in 2003 that we must remain one and united.While we agree with them, the meeting between the two of them could not have been a Sovereign National Conference whose decisions cannot be reviewed. The fact that we agree on their conclusion that we should remain united does not foreclose discussions of the terms and conditions of the Union.The claim that Nigerias unity is settled and not negotiable is untenable. Every country is a daily dialogue and there is nothing finally settled in its life.Stable nations are still fine-tuning details of the architecture of their existence now and then. How much more Nigeria that has yet to attain nationhood?If we were a settled nation, we would not be dealing with the many crises of nation building that are afflicting us today which have made it extremely difficult to squarely and urgently face issues of growth and development.The British negotiated to put the various ethnic groups together. All the constitutional conferences held in the years before independence were negotiations.When the North walked out of the parliament in 1953 after Chief Anthony Enahoro moved the motion for independence it took negotiations to bring them back into the union after their eight point agenda, which was mainly about confederation. All the conferences held after independence on constitutionalism are all forms of negotiations. There is no peaceful co-existence that is not about negotiations in a plural society.3. The one sentence by the President that every Nigerian can live anywhere without let or hindrance if meant to address the quit notice by Arewa youths against Igbos is rather too short to address the clear and present danger that the unwarranted threat represents.We are distressed by the refusal of the police to comply with the arrest orders given by the Kaduna State Governor and the Vice President while the President was away. Instead of ensuring that these orders are carried out, the President has now come to just make a bland comment on the explosive issue. We are of the view that leadership requires more than this at this crucial moment.4. We acknowledge the Presidents admission that there are  legitimate concerns in the land. That is commendable. We however disagree with his take that Nigeria is a federation. Nigeria ceased to be a federation since 1966 after the first coup. The turning of Nigeria into a unitary constitution, which is not conducive for peace and development in a multi-ethnic country, is what the military-imposed 1999 Constitution, which lied against itself with the We the people, is all about. This is the taproot of the crisis of nationhood in Nigeria.5. We do not accept the Presidents claim that the National Assembly and the Council of State are the only legitimate the appropriate bodies for national discourse. While we do not dispute that these are legal bodies, we insist they are not appropriate bodies to discuss the social contract that could bind us together as a nation-state. While the composition of the National Assembly is clearly jigged and indeed, one of the bodies to be restructured, the Council of State is not open to Nigerians for any discourse.If any discourse is to take place on constitutional changes within the democratic framework Mr. President is the one who has the responsibility to initiate the appropriate process.6. We are equally miffed that the President talks about the serial onslaughts by AK-47 wielding Fulani herdsmen against defenseless farmers as a conflict between two quarreling groups. In the last 2 years, the Fulani herdsmen have become much more ferocious in their attacks against farmers in the South and Middle Belt areas of the country with security forces shying away from enforcing law and order.To present the various onslaughts on farmers by these herdsmen as two -fighting would portray the President as taking sides with the aggressive Miyetti Allah.While we do not hold the Administration responsible for all the causes of agitations in Nigeria due to the crises of unitary constitution, there are clearly many errors of commission and omission the government has committed that have accentuated the strong self-determination feelings and agitations across the country which only restructuring can tame today:1 The insensitive and clearly lopsided recruitments/appointments into all federal institutions. Even key prominent northern leaders have expressed openly, their disapproval of the pattern of appointments.2 Concentration of most of the heads of Armed Forces and other National Security Agencies in a section of the country.3 The President going on a global stage to say he could not treat those who gave him 5% of their votes equally with those who supported him with 97%4 Official indifference to the murderous activities of herdsmen against peace-loving citizens on their farms and other settlements.5 The flagrant breach of the constitutionally enshrined Federal Character principle.6 Appointment of Legal Adviser of Meyiti Allah as Secretary of the Federal Character Commission.7 The early retirement of mostly southern senior officers from the Nigerian Armed forces and other security forces.CONCLUSIONAs elders who have spent most of our lives fighting for the unity of the country based on justice, fairness and equity, we call on the President to realize that the country is in a very bad shape at the moment and requires statesmanship and not ethnic, religious, regional and political partisanships.This is the time to renegotiate Nigeria along federal lines negotiated by our founding fathers to stem the tide of separatist feelings and agitations.This is why we do not accept that it portrays the President in a favorable light to be away for a long time and to return to a badly fractured polity and avoid promoting in a new dialogue for a better, just, inclusive and peaceful country. Chief E K Clark & Chief A K HorsfallSouth South Chief Nnia Nwodo & Prof. Joe IrukwuSouth East Chief R F Fasoranti & Chief Ayo AdebanjoSouth West
Nollywood actor and reality show host, Chidi Mokeme, has reacted to the President Muhammadu Buharis Mondays nationwide address on the uni...

Nollywood actor and reality show host, Chidi Mokeme, has reacted to the President Muhammadu Buharis Mondays nationwide address on the unity of Nigeria.

The 45-year-old thespian said in a letter he addressed to the President that he was mostly worried about the dictatorial tone with which the address was delivered to Nigerians.





He also faulted President Buharis comment that Nigerias unity was not negotiable, saying that under the present realities Nigerians must discuss how they want to live.





Mokemes letter to Buhari reads, MR PRESIDENT YOU ARE RIGHT ABOUT THE UNITY OF NIGERIA BUT. My major concern about Mr Presidents speech is the dictatorial tone applied, negating your fatherly factor and the concerns of dissenting voices in a democracy, especially as it relates to the restructuring of Nigeria.





These dissenting voices in my estimation does not include IPOB. Mr President I agree with you that it is good to keep Nigeria united. But to say that the type of unity we currently have is nonnegotiable smacks of dictatorship.





In case you have forgotten the so called unity was actually discussed by our fathers and the terms of unity Nigerians wanted was agreed upon. But the military boys came in with violent disorder and destroyed what was negotiated prior to independence and in 1963, and gave us what you now describe as nonnegotiable, called 1999 constitution.





What the military led by one man gave us is unanimity and not unity. They took away the content of what was negotiated that was supposed to be nonnegotiable and gave us inequality, stifled systems that undermine Nigerias progress, development and prosperity. Indeed our fathers had a detailed discussion and negotiation with the British in the 50s about the kind of union that was acceptable us.





They all agreed on real federalism whereby each zone maintained its own economy, peculiar political structure and institutions. These included resource control, regional/state police and prisons and many other creative structures that made Nigeria progressive pre-independence to 1967.





Any document decided by Adulsalam Abubakar and his junta called the 199 constitution is without our general contribution ant it is largely not acceptable. And the change required cannot be made by only a council of state populated by retired generals from one region or national assembly without equal representation from across the states and zones.





There maybe need for input from other well meaning Nigerians if we are serious about carrying zone along. A unity based on inequality and military imposition must be negotiable.
A grandmother-of-six has vowed to continue fighting for a visa for her new husband, who is 45 years her junior, lives 4,000 miles away, ...

A grandmother-of-six has vowed to continue fighting for a visa for her new husband, who is 45 years her junior, lives 4,000 miles away, and who she met face-to-face on their wedding day.Angela Nwachukwu, 72, married her husband CJ Nwachukwu in April 2015, just three months after he had added her on Facebook and struck up a conversation.The retired taxi driver from Weymouth says she couldnt help but fall for her 27-year-old lover from Nigeria, when they started talking, and is devastated that their applications for visas have failed.She says she has spent 20,000 on him, including lawyers to help with the visas and flights to visit him, but says he had repaid her half when he can.She told the Sun shed been left lonely and isolated after the breakdown of her marriage, six months before they met online.One day she found a message and a friend request from Mr Nwachukwu, and couldnt see the harm in striking up conversation.She said: He was so handsome, with big, brown eyes and a body to match.We chatted for hours about our families and hobbies. It was like wed known each other for years. Before I knew it, we were messaging daily.Despite our huge age gap, we got on really well. I couldnt help it and began to develop feelings for him. I tried to stop myself.To her surprise, he popped the question on Skype, and she gleefully accepted.The pair wed in Lagos, Nigeria, and have since seen each other twice, as she has flown there to visit him.Mr Nwachukwu has even been denied a tourist visa to see his wife, and their applications have been turned down because its thought they wont have financial backing.Despite criticisms, Mrs Nwachukwu insists the marriage is not a scam, because she doesnt have any money and was upfront about that at the start.She now hopes he will be able to get a student visa for a Masters, to be reunited with her.British citizens can apply for a Family visa to move their partners to the UK.Its an expensive process  the Home Office charges 1,464 for people applying from outside the UK to joining their partners or spouses, and nearly 1,000 for extensions.Those willing to part with a few hundred pounds more can get the premium extension service.Spouses applying to move to be with their partners have to prove they can support themselves and their partners, and they have to have been living with them for two years.Partners will then be given permission to move for around two and a half years and should extend this after that time.Mr Nwachukwu has to be able to show he can support himself or be supported to be granted a Marriage Visitor visa, by the rules of the Home Office.Under the visa for visitors, the trip must be no longer than six months, and applicants should prove they will leave at the end.Two years ago, Julie Dag from Bournemouth told of how she was duped into spending 20,000 after falling for local musician Lamin Sidibeh while on holiday in The Gambia in West Africa in 2007.Appearing on a Channel 5 documentary, she revealed that she had married him, before spending her honeymoon filling in visa applications. But within three months of returning to England and setting up home, he had left her.
Former President Goodluck Jonathan on Thursday took a swipe at the move by the President Muhammadu Buhari administration to curb hate sp...





I am the most abused and insulted President in the world but when I leave office, you will all remember me for the total freedom you enjoyed under me.

The ex-leader shared a picture of a quote he made on Facebook in 2014.The post read in part,Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo had said last week that thenceforth, the Federal Government would treat hate speech as terrorism, while the military said it would be monitoring comments on social media to tackle anti-government and anti-security views.Jonathans re-post had elicited 3,190 comments from his over two million followers as of 8pm.While some hailed the former President, others lambasted him for allegedly allowing corruption to thrive during his administration.One of the followers, Ngweeh Anthony Klassik, said, You are blessed GEJ. People now know what freedom really meant. During your time, we had every right to post and comment with all manner of recklessness. Today, we are being monitored on the social media with a death sentence hanging on us.Another follower, Raheem Abidemi, wrote, To be candid, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan happens to be one of the most mature Presidents Nigeria has ever had. Despite the series of insults he received from the likes of Lai Mohammed while in office, he never for once used his political might on them. He was really a mature President and I will continue to applaud him for that.However, Falola Olayinka, told Jonathan to bury his head for failing Nigeria.He wrote, The freedom you granted Diezani to loot us dry; the freedom you granted all your cronies, including ministers and service chiefs, to empty the CBN vault. We have not forgotten how you killed unemployed graduates in the Nigeria Immigration Service recruitment scandal and so many other harm you caused this country.Khalid Adam wrote, You should bury your face in shame. You allowed Boko Haram to kill people anyhow and Nigerian money to be looted with your comment of stealing is not corruption. You are the worst president Nigeria ever produced.Speaking on the telephone with one of our correspondents, a former Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, described Jonathans re-post as a prophecy foretold.Fani-Kayode, who was the spokesman for the Goodluck Jonathan Campaign Organisation in 2015, said the ruling All Progressives Congress got to power through hate speech and rigging.He pointed out that it was hypocritical of the APC government to complain about hate speeches.The ex-minister said, Jonathans statement was a prophetic statement of fact. Those that wish to silence the opposition and dissenting voices by claiming that all they (opposition) are saying is hate speech shall fail.They came to power through hate speech and they will leave through hate speech. Jonathan and those who stood by him in 2015 have been vindicated because today, we have a government and a ruling party that cannot take as good as it gives.They insulted, threatened and rigged their way into power and all they have ever known is hate. Now that people are criticising them, they are labelling it as hate speech, which is not true. There is a distinction between vigorous opposition, harsh criticism and the expression of bitter truth on one hand and hate speech on the other hand. That is the lesson this government needs to learn.The President of the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights, Mr. Malachy Ugwummadu, said the re-post was a sign that the former leader regretted his inaction while in power.Ugwummadu, a lawyer said, The nostalgia that the former President entertains now is understandable. It is usually associated with people who had the opportunity to make history but failed to do it. I sympathise with him.He tends to make us to believe that the rights he talked about were given by him. The rights were not given by Jonathan, but were bequeathed by being human beings.The same rights are protected by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and other international human rights laws which Nigeria is a signatory.Ugwummadu, however, advised the President Muhammadu Buhari administration to handle its desire to tackle hate speech with the recognition of citizens constitutional rights.We recognise the need to moderate the rising incidence of hate speeches and their effects on social harmony and corporate coexistence of citizens of the country.However, the Presidents desire (as handed over to the service chiefs) cannot foreclose the constitutional rights of Nigerians to freely express themselves as guaranteed under Section 39(1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).The Executive Director, Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders, Debo Adeniran, said it was not for ex-President Goodluck Jonathan to praise himself.He said he did not use the tools of governance well, noting that it was under his administration that mind-boggling amounts of money were stolen by his lieutenants.I dont know what kind of freedom he was talking about; maybe the freedom to steal, the freedom to violate peoples rights with impunity, maybe the type he gave his lieutenants to help themselves to the nations coffers. However, those of us at the receiving end of such freedom to steal by his cohorts are the ones that felt the pain, Adeniran stated.The activist said it was during Jonathans administration that the nation experienced several scandals, including the theft of billions of naira meant for weapons for the military to fight insurgency.He said, It was also during his time that several millions of dollars were ferried to South Africa; it was during his time that Diezani Alison-Madueke, the petroleum resources minister, had unfettered access to proceeds of petroleum products.Jonathans observation was that if $20bn was missing from the economy, the Americans would know. That was the dumbest statement anybody could have made. He said stealing was not corruption; so the kind of freedom he gave was disruptive to the lives of Nigerians and that is not what we wanted.The APC described Jonathan post as a personal opinion.It added that Jonathan did not mention the APC in his post.The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, said, It is the personal opinion of the former President. We should respect it since he didnt mention the APC in it. Lets allow him to enjoy his freedom.
Governor Darius Ishaku of Taraba State, yesterday, pleaded with the Federal Government to refund to the state over N30 billion spent on rehabilitation of Federal roads by the previous administration of late the governor, Danbaba Suntai.The governor made the appeal yesterday while receiving the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, who is on an official visit to commission projects.He told the Vice President that he had written several letters to the Federal Executive Council, FEC, and relevant government agencies to have the money refunded, without success.He said payment of the money will help the state government embark on more projects that will be of benefit to the people.Ishaku further called on the Federal Government to support the state in the area of agriculture, adding that the state had vast opportunities for agricultural development.Responding, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo appreciated Governor Ishakus efforts, adding we, as a government, will support states that engage in meaningful development and Taraba will not be an exception.My plea with Israelite company handling the Green House is that they impact the technology on Nigerian youths, who are working with them so that even when the company has gone, the youths here can maintain the project and remain useful to themselves.Projects commissioned by the Vice President were Jalingo Great Water Works, built for N6.8 billion; Jalingo-Kona Road, N1.3 billion, and Taraba Green House, N2.04 billion.
Centre for Anti-corruption and Open Leadership, CACOL has commended President Muhammadu Buharis signing of an extradition treaty with the ...

Centre for Anti-corruption and Open Leadership, CACOL has commended President Muhammadu Buharis signing of an extradition treaty with the United Arab Emirates, UAE and agreements with some other countries.

Executive Chairman, Debo Adeniran said the signing is auspicious and timely with the background of an expedient need to re-invigorate the anti-corruption drive; it will improve inter-border cooperation among the countries which will enhance their task of ensuring the security of lives and property.





He said it would assist the anti-corruption agencies, particularly the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC to trace looted funds stashed in Dubai and extradite the looter to Nigeria to face prosecution.





CACOL said an example which easily highlights the significance of the signing of the treaty on extradition with UAE is the case of a former governor of Delta State, James Ibori.

We must recall that the man decided to escape to Dubai when the EFCC with active collaboration of other law enforcement agencies were closing-in on him to face prosecution for corruption crimes in Nigeria because there was no extradition treaty between Nigeria and the UAE.

However, unknown to Ibori, there was such treaty between the UAE and the UK, which as of then in search of the former governor. He was thereafter extradited to the UK where he was prosecuted and convicted on corruption charges.

The signing of the treaty is so appropriate. Remember, that the former governor of Delta State escaped to his hometown in Oghara in Delta State when law enforcement agencies were looking for him.

He went through the waterways and landed in Dubai. The reason why the authorities of the UAE could not extradite him directly to Nigeria was because there was no Mutual Legal Assistance between the country and Nigeria.

So, he chose to go to the UAE because of the absence of any Mutual Legal Assistance between the UAE and Nigeria. But he forgot or didnt think it wise to know that there was Mutual Legal Assistance between the UAE and the United Kingdom. That was why the UK was able to request his extradition from the UAE to the UK and the rest is history.

If you look around, that is why most of Nigerian looters have properties in Dubai. So it is fashionable for looters to keep their loot in Dubai and tie it down there with properties. The treaty will now assist the EFCC to trace looted funds and seek assistance from the UAE for the extradition of the concerned persons when necessary. It will help the fight against corruption.

As we commend President Muhammadu Buhari for the bold and progressive step as it clearly shows his determination to combat corruption, we hasten to emphasize the quintessence of strengthening institutions, as they are the ones which will ensure the achievements so far endures and built upon as the country progresses.

The Federal government must also ensure it perseveres in its efforts to have similar treaties or agreements and other legitimate instruments with the UK, USA and other countries where loots from our country are being hidden.

Diezani Alison-Maduekes extradition as a matter of fact should be on the priority list of fugitives which the FG through its agencies should be pursuing vigorously at present given the plethora of corruption charges she has to answer for, Adeniran concluded.
The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, has faulted the Federal Government on the minimum cut-off mark for 2017/2018 admission into the nations tertiary institutions.The academic union was reacting to the JAMB Registrar, Ishaq Oloyedes announcement pegging the minimum scores for admission into University and Polytechnic at 120 and 100 respectively.He had said: 30 per cent of those in higher institutions do not take JAMB or have less than the cut-off marks. The admission process is now automated with direct involvement of the Registrar of JAMB for final approval. We have agreed to regularize admissions that were done under the table this year. From next year we will not accept anything like that.But, speaking with newsmen in Ibadan, Chairman ASUU, University of Ibadan, Dr Deji Omole described the new cut-off marks as a sad policy decision for the future of Nigeria.According to Omole, rather than sanctioning the identified universities who admitted over 17,000 students illegally, the JAMB registrar simply regularised illegality and lowered cut-off marks to favour the interests of the friends of government who own private universities and are hell bent on destroying public education.While calling for the scrapping of JAMB, Omole said students should apply directly to universities of their choice for admission.The ASUU boss said; Where are those that JAMB registrar said entered universities illegally? which universities admitted them? If 30 percent did not take JAMB and found their way into the university system is that not corruption and a message that JAMB is not significant any more? What sanction did those who did the illegal thing receive other than regularization of illegality. We are watching because long before now we have said that JAMB has outlived its usefulness. Let the universities set their unique standards and those who are qualified can come in.Even in those days 40 percent was graded as fail. But now JAMB said with F9, which is scoring 30 percent, you can be admitted. They deliberately want to destroy education. Even for polytechnic 100 marks is 25 percent. It is sad. And that is where we are in Nigeria. They want to destroy public education at all cost.This is not setting standard for education in Nigeria. It is purely lowering standards and digging the grave for the future. This is why ASUU is currently on the struggle to influence the government to do the needful for education in Nigeria, he said.
National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, Zone B, yesterday, urged the Federal Government to meet the demands of striking university lecturers in the interest of the students and the overall development of the countrys education sector.It also called for the restructuring of Nigerias education sector, lamenting that the recurring strike actions by the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, were impacting negatively on the country.The zone, in a statement by its Coordinator, Pedro Obi, said: It is very unfortunate that strike actions by lecturers have become a ritual of sort by every new leadership of ASUU.The recurring strike actions call for a moment of sober reflection, raising questions such as, what are we doing wrong as a nation with regard to our education? Of course, you cant be doing same thing over and over and expect a different result.This is indeed time for us to restructure our education sector and most importantly the tertiary education.Our opinion at this point may not be popular, but to us the Federal Government must hands off our tertiary education, give total autonomy to the institutions to raise fund for the running of our universities.This is surely the only way to bring our universities to be at par with their counterparts across the globe. Though there is a caveat to this: before Federal Government adopts this, it must establish a loan board that will make loans readily available for students to pursue their academics to any level.In the interim, NANS aligns with ASUU in her struggle and calls on Federal Government to do the needful, so the strike can be called off and allow students to return to school, as most of them are supposed to be writing their examinations.Failure to do this, we will be left with no option but to mobilise our members to press home our demands.
Vice-Chancellors and the Academic Staff Union of Universities have rejected the decision of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board...

Vice-Chancellors and the Academic Staff Union of Universities have rejected the decision of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board to peg admission cut-off mark at 120 for universities and 100 for polytechnics, monotechnics and colleges of education.ASUU said the action, which it described as a sad policy decision, was in tandem with the dream of the present government to destroy public universities in the country.Most of the vice-chancellors our correspondents interviewed on the issue maintained that they would not lower admission standards in their respective varsities.The vice-chancellors stated that the decision would add no value to the nations university system.For instance, in a statement issued by the Vice-Chancellor, University of Ibadan, Prof. Idowu Olayinka, on the issue and released by his Media Assistant, Mr. Sunday Saanu, on Thursday, the premier university stated that it would never admit any candidate that scored 120 in the UTME.The statement added, It should worry us as patriots that candidates who scored just 30 per cent in the UTME can be admitted into some of our universities. Yet, we complain of poor quality of our graduates. You can hardly build something on nothing. The consolation here is that since JAMB started conducting this qualifying exam in 1978, UI has never admitted any candidate who scored less than 200 marks out of the maximum 400 marks.This translates to a minimum of 50 per cent. This remains our position as an institution aspiring to be world-class. Reality is that only about four other universities in the country have such high standard. To that extent, apart from being the oldest, we are an elite university in the country at least judging by the quality of our intakes.Olayinka, however, commended the decision of the Federal Government to re-introduce the post-UTME test and exonerated the incumbent JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, from the cancellation of the test two sessions ago.It is gratifying to note that the Honourable Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, who chaired the meeting, apologised publicly for canceling the post-UTME screening last year.In effect, universities are now allowed to conduct the test using modalities approved by the Senate of each institution.To be fair to the incumbent Registrar of JAMB, he was not the Registrar when the policy somersault of cancelling the post-UTME test was made last year. As strongly canvassed by us at every opportunity, for UI, the need to admit the best admission seekers is the primary motivation for the test and not money, even though we do not pretend that you can run any university so properly called without funds.Speaking to newsmen on Thursday, the Vice-Chancellor, Tai Solarin University of Education, Ogun State, Prof. Oluyemisi Obilade, said that the onus would ultimately fall on parents and employers of labour to decide between a first-class graduate of a university which takes 120 as its cut-off mark or one that takes 180 as its cut-off mark.Obilade, who said that TASUED would never go below 180, insisted that many of the VCs at the Combined Policy Meeting during which the 120 benchmark decision was made, said they would not go below 180.She said, But some universities chose 120 at the meeting. What the JAMB has done is to transfer power back to the Senate of universities to decide their cut-off marks. What I can tell you is that many public universities and even private universities will not go below 200. We were told that some universities were doing what they called under the table admission and then come back to JAMB after four years for regularisation.TASUED will not go below 180, not under my watch. Even in the United States, there is what we call Ivy League universities, and there are those you can call Next Level Universities. There are also those that are termed community colleges. At the meeting, the outcome is that universities have been given the freedom to decide. It is not general legislation and it is not binding on everybody.Speaking with journalists in Ibadan, the Chairman of ASUU at the University of Ibadan, Dr. Deji Omole, said it was the dream of the present government to destroy education in the country.He said, Rather than sanctioning the identified universities that admitted over 17,000 students illegally, the JAMB registrar simply regularised illegality and lowered cut-off marks to favour the interests of the friends of government who own private universities and are hell bent on destroying public education.Omole said it was vital for JAMB to be scrapped in order to save the nations education and its future. He said the board had outlived its usefulness and that prospective students should apply directly to universities of their choice for admission.He said, Where are the students that the JAMB registrar said entered universities illegally? Which universities admitted them? If 30 per cent did not take JAMB and found their way into the university system, is that not corruption and a message that JAMB is not significant anymore? What sanction did those who did the illegal thing receive other than regularisation of illegality.We are watching because long before now we have said that JAMB has outlived its usefulness. Let the universities set their unique standards and those who are qualified can come in. Scoring 120 out of 400 marks is 30 per cent. Even in those days, 40 per cent was graded as pass. But now JAMB said with F9 which is scoring 30 per cent you can be admitted.They deliberately want to destroy education. Even for polytechnic, 100 marks is 25 per cent. It is sad. And that is where we are in Nigeria. They want to destroy public education at all costs. This is not setting standard for education in Nigeria. It is purely lowering standards and digging grave for the future. This is why ASUU is currently on the struggle to influence the government to do the needful for education in Nigeria.Also, the Dean of Students Affairs, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Prof. Kayode Alese, who spoke on behalf of FUTA management, said that the institution would soon unveil its cut-off mark.However, I can assure you that FUTA has never gone as low as 120. It has never happened and it will never happen, he said.Alese added, Having spoken for the university, my personal opinion is that the 120 cut-off mark will not add value to our education system. The Federal Government has just increased the pass mark from 40 to 45 in universities. What that means is that you must score at least 45 for you to pass any course. We have enough candidates and yes you may try to increase access but tertiary education should be for those who have the capability.Also, the Vice-Chancellor, Obafemi Awolowo University, Prof. Tope Ogunmodede, said the institution would not admit any candidate with 120 UTME score.He said, Traditionally, OAU has never admitted students who scored below 200 in the UTME. For us, we are sticking to 200. The minimum benchmark is 120 but you can go higher than that. I expect that an institution should be able to determine the quality of its graduates because there are internal exams. What has been done is to provide a leeway for universities to decide their cut-off marks.Meanwhile, the National Association of Nigerian Students has described the reduction of the cut-off marks for admission into tertiary institutions as a gross misplacement of priority and an exercise in futility.The organisation said that the reduction by JAMB, from 180 for universities and 165 polytechnics, to 120 and 100 respectively for the 2017 UTME, would translate to a disastrous outcome in the future.The President of NANS, Chinonso Obasi, in a statement on Thursday, threatened that the decision would be resisted if JAMB refused to adhere to the status quo.He said, As critical stakeholders in the educational sector, NANS will vehemently resist the review and call on government to maintain the status quo and endeavour to conduct a comparative study and analysis of policies from other climes that support functional learning and production of young people that can compete with their peers globally.Even with the current status, the general phenomenon is that Nigerian graduates are not employable. The lowering of standards will translate to a disastrous outcome in the future by churning out young people who cannot fit into the demands and expectations of the 21st century.According to him, since the 21st century is being driven by innovation and competitiveness, lowering the entry level into tertiary institutions would only further contribute to reducing the productivity and peak performance of young people seeking admission into the countrys higher institutions of learning.However, the Vice-Chancellor of the Christopher University, Ogun State, Prof. Friday Ndubuisi, said the new admission benchmark would have no negative implication on the quality of education.He said, This is not an imposition. The cut-off mark is a minimum benchmark for admission. This idea of taking the UTME every year without getting admission is worrying. About 1.6 million candidates sat for the examination this year and about 500,000 will be admitted mostly because of the cut-off mark. Most universities will not go below 200, but with five credits obtained in two sittings, a person should be qualified for admission. This is, however, not an imposition. Universities still get to decide on whom to admit through the post-UTME.
The governor of Borno State, Kashim Shettima has stated that leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu is acting out of ...

The governor of Borno State, Kashim Shettima has stated that leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu is acting out of ignorance.

Shettima stated this after he led some other prominent Northerners and the Coalition of Northern Youths, to the withdrawal of quit notice issued on Igbos living in the region.





He also noted that the IPOB leader was acting out of immaturity.





According to him, Nnamdi Kanu is acting out of ignorance and immaturity.

The Biafran agitation is only the past-time of a tiny but vocal minority.





Shettima called on other Nigerians not to label all Igbos as agitators.





He added The northern governors believe in the unity of this country.

I would personally prefer to be a small fish in a big pond than a big fish in a small pond.
The Deputy National Publicity Secretary of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chuks Ibegbu, has lauded Arewa Youths, after they withdrew the quit notice give...

The Deputy National Publicity Secretary of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chuks Ibegbu, has lauded Arewa Youths, after they withdrew the quit notice given to Igbos living in the North.

In a telephone chat with The Tribune, Ibegbu said it was a welcome development.





The withdrawal of the quit notice is a welcome development. I am happy that the Arewa youths have to realise that it was wrong in the first instance for any person or group of persons to issue a quit notice to any group to leave Nigerian territory.





The Arewa Youths got it wrong ab initio as they have no constitutional right to sack Ndigbo from their area.





I am also happy that the present administration has said it without any equivocation that every Nigerian is free to live in any part of the country.





We have to remind ourselves that injustice, marginalisation, among others, led to hate speeches and restiveness in the land.

The present administration should try as much as possible to address the perceived political imbalance to stem further agitation across the country, he said.





Spokesman for the coalition of Arewa Youths, AbdulAziz Suleiman, said the withdrawal was as a result of series of consultations and pressure from different groups.





He revealed that the Northern Governors through their chairman and Governor of Borno State, Kashim Shettima, as well as Northern traditional rulers, the Director-General of the DSS and some officials of the Presidency, influenced their decision.




SOME Niger Delta leaders and stakeholders, yesterday, urged the Coalition of Niger Delta Agitators, CNDA, to return the favor of Arewa youths, who, Thursday, suspended and withdrew their earlier quit notice and 90-day ultimatum to Igbo to leave the north by correspondingly vacating its counter quit directive to Hausa, Fulani and Yoruba in the oil region.Former Provost Marshal of the Nigerian Army, Brigadier General Idada Ikponmwen (retd), factional president of the Ijaw Youth Council, Eric Omare, Itsekiri rights activist, Amechi Ogbonna, who spoke to Saturday Vanguard, said it was the right thing to facilitate unity in the country.Meanwhile, three Niger Delta militant groups, the Reformed Egesu Fraternity, REF, Reformed Niger Delta Avengers, RNDA, Niger Delta Revolutionary Crusaders, NDRC, have also expressed their support for the withdrawal of the ultimatum with the REF saying that it would reach out to the CNDA to vacate its ultimatum.Ikponmwen stated: Arewas withdrawal of the quit notice is a very welcome one, it certainly must go on record as one of the measures that are imperative for dousing prevailing tension in our country at the moment. For me, it was a necessary outflow to the widespread reaction of abhorrence that followed the quit notice from within and outside Nigeria.It is my ardent hope that other quit notices that followed the Arewa one would be vacated soon. The withdrawal of the quit notice across board is one the measures that will pave way for conducive environment for national effort for placing our country in the mood for the inevitable reorganization that has become necessary for peace, guaranteed prosperity in national cohesion that visibly needed for our countrys corporate existence, he added.Factional President of Ijaw Youth Council, IYC, Mr Eric Omare, told Saturday Vanguard: The IYC is glad that reason has prevailed over emotion and divisive tendencies of the Arewa youths with the withdrawal of their ultimatum to the Igbo living in the north.However, such politically motivated quit notice must not repeat itself in the future. Those calling for restructuring and self-determination have a right to do so, hence it should not be a basis to issue them a quit notice.And the way to avoid a repeat of such quit notice in the future is to address the issues underlying the inter-ethnic crisis, which is to restructure Nigeria. Nigeria must be restructured for peace to exist in the county, he asserted.Itsekiri rights activist, Mr. Amechi Ogbona, said: It is a good omen for the country to be informed that the Igbo man is a Nigerian, the misleading songs on Biafra do not add value to the Igbo man.REF spokesperson, Tamarakuro Owei, said: We commend the coalition of Arewa youths for their suspension and withdrawal of the ultimatum to Igbo of Southern Nigeria and wish to say that we will reach out to our sister Niger Delta youths to do same.He, however, added: This does not foreclose our determination and resolve to our quest for total overhaul of Nigeria.Leader of RNDA, self-styled Major-General Johnmark Ezonbi, who spoke guardedly, asserted: What we are agitating for in the creek is resource control, true federalism and 50 per cent derivation of oil produced from the region as it was done for the northern region. The issue of quit notice by Arewa youths to the Igbo living in the north was uncalled for and it was the only highly treasonable offence ever committed against the country.However, if Yerima and his group withdraw it, which does not mean they are above the law because the north is in command, it does not mean anything to us in the creek. What we want is unity and fairness.Reacting through its spokesperson, W O I Ezon Ebi, the NDRC said. It is a welcome development because we all need one another to build great Nigeria of our dream in this 21st century, where there will be justice and equity, devolution of power and true federalism.
The Katsina State Governor, Aminu Masari, has said that the House of Representatives almost impeached former President Olusegun Obasanjo...

The Katsina State Governor, Aminu Masari, has said that the House of Representatives almost impeached former President Olusegun Obasanjo before the ex- Presidents failed third term bid became public knowledge.Masari, who was Speaker of the lower house during the period, stressed the need for both the executive and legislative arms to establish cordial working relationship toward achieving development and democratic growth.Addressing members of the Executive Intelligence Management Course 10 at the Institute for Security Studies on Thursday in Abuja, he noted that acrimonious relationships at the state and federal levels were unhelpful to the nation.Masari pointed out that the removal of Alhaji Balarabe Musa by the Kaduna State legislators on June 23, 1981 set an unwholesome precedent, stressing that poor relations between the executive and legislative arms had proven to be a recipe for political volatility in several countries.In his paper titled: Executive-Legislature Relations and the Challenges of Democratic Consolidation and Development in Katsina State, Masari said he had no hand in the recent removal of the Speaker of the Katsina State House of Assembly and expressed concern about the spate of hostility between both arms since 1999.He said, In the present Republic, there have been a series of threats of impeachment, and absence of cordiality between the executive and the legislature; even at the federal level, we could recall the acrimonious relationship that defined Chief Olusegun Obasanjos administration and the House of Representatives from 1999 to 2003.The highlight of this hostility and militant disposition of the House was the attempted impeachment of Obasanjo. Of course, the move was jettisoned following intervention by some well-meaning Nigerians.The governor stated that the development was instructive about the nature and impact of executive-legislature relations on the overall governance of the country and the development of democracy.He contended that Katsina State is now a model because it evolved a relationship of respect, trust and cooperation between the executive and the legislature for the common good of the people.Masari added that such relationship would always remain crucial to democracy and development.In his five-point recommendation for building and sustaining of good executive-legislature relationship in the state and at the federal levels, the governor urged the two arms to fully understand the constitutional limits of their powers and know that the legislature has a duty to ensure accountability.He advised the legislators to resist the temptation to appoint themselves as judge and jury over all issues.
James "Gypsy" Haake, an 85-year-old drag queen from Denville, will perform with Miley Cyrus at Sunday's MTV Video Music Awards, The Daily Record reports.

Haake performs in a revue in Palm Springs, California and will accompany Cyrus -- who infamously twerked at the awards show alongside Robin Thicke in 2013 -- in a dance number.

"Miley Cyrus' fans will be very jealous of me because she gets to kiss me quite a few times," Haake told the Desert Sun during rehearsals at The Forum in Inglewood, California. "I don't know if it will cure my social problems, but it's sure going a long way toward it."

Haake, who performs regularly at Omar's Cafe and Bar in Palm Springs, first linked up with Cyrus, 24, as a part of her music video for "Younger Now," released this month.

Through the years, Haake called lights of Hollywood like Lana Turner and Lucille Ball his friends, along with the iconic advice columnists Ann Landers and Dear Abby.

Early in his career, Haake, whose name is on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars and who is known for managing the La Cage Aux Folles supper club in Los Angeles, performed in summer stock at Millburn's Paper Mill Playhouse and became known as an emcee at Gypsy's, a New York cabaret. He also landed roles in the 1983 Mel Brooks film "To Be or Not To Be," the 1986 film "The Morning After" with Jeff Bridges and Jane Fonda and the 1989 movie "Troop Beverly Hills."

Katy Perry will host the VMAs, and Haake had something to say about her, too.

"(Katy Perry) won't say anything to me because I wear her eyelashes in the show," he told the Desert Sun. "She has her eyelashes sold in CVS, so, if she gets too hinky, I'll just raise my eyebrows and tell her I'm wearing her eyelashes."

Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @AmyKup or on Facebook.
ORANGE -- A shooting near a fast food eatery Thursday left one person dead in Orange's first reported slaying of the year, according to authorities.

Malcolm T. Ford, 24, of Orange, was shot in the 200 block of Scotland Road, near Minton Place, around 11 p.m., according to the Essex County Prosecutor's Office. Ford died about 15 minutes later at University Hospital.

"The individual who had been shot came into our restaurant and White Castle team members phoned for help," Jamie Richardson, a vice president at White Castle, said.

"First and foremost, our thoughts and prayers are with all those affected," Richardson added in a statement.

No White Castle employees or customers were threatened or harmed in the incident, which did not occur on the burger chain's property, a company representative said. The shooting scene was about a block from the fast food eatery.

Several evidence markers were placed near Scotland Road and Minton Place. Orange police blocked part of Scotland Road around 11 p.m. and placed yellow tape near the driveway to the fast food restaurant.

Authorities said there were no arrests or suspects in the slaying. Anyone with information was urged to call the prosecutor's office tip line at 1-877-TIPS-4EC or 1-877-847-7432.

The killing marked the first murder of the year compared to five killings in the same span last year, according to law enforcement records.

Several hours earlier, authorities said an Essex County Sheriff's detective fatally shot an armed bank robbery suspect near the Orange train station.

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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ORANGE -- An Essex County Sheriff's detective shot and killed an armed bank robbery suspect near the Orange train station Thursday evening, law enforcement officials said.

Sheriff's detectives were in the area investigating reports of drug activity when they heard an alert about a bank robbery at a PNC branch on Main Street around 5:30 p.m., according to Sheriff Armando Fontoura.

The detectives found the armed suspect, identified themselves as police officers and ordered him to stop, but the suspect refused the commands of the officers, said Essex County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Thomas Fennelly.

It appeared that one detective fired his weapon, according to Fennelly, who said the investigation was continuing. The suspected robber was rushed to University Hospital, where he died around 6:15 p.m.

The suspect's gun was recovered at the scene near the station along with an unspecified amount of cash stolen in the robbery, authorities said.

"He was armed with a weapon," Fennelly added. "The weapon was recovered."

Fennelly described the gun as an "apparent handgun."

Authorities would not identify the suspect until next-of-kin could be informed.

Fontoura said none of his detectives were injured in the encounter, but were being checked at an area hospital.

"They happened to be on the scene at the right time in the right place," the sheriff said of the two detectives.

Police were not seeking any more suspects, authorities said.

The PNC branch is located less than a quarter mile away from the shooting scene.

Police closed off several streets around the Lincoln Avenue station, but trains were continuing to run Thursday.

Investigators placed several evidence markers on the sidewalk near an apartment complex across from the station. Earlier, plastic gloves and what appeared to be a black bag were littered near the shooting scene.

Several people waiting behind a police line said they didn't know what happened, but saw a swarm of patrol cars.

A sign posted on the bank door said the branch was closed due to an emergency.

State Attorney General guidelines require the county prosecutor's office to review any incident where an officer fired a weapon.

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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DEPTFORD TWP. -- Two men were arrested after they allegedly robbed a pair of juveniles at gunpoint and pistol-whipped one of them, according to police.

Dalton J. Wilson, 19, of Glassboro, and Marcus H. Boone Jr., 19, of Deptford, met the victims at Good Intent School on the evening of Aug. 5, according to criminal complaints.

The complaints do not note the purpose of the meeting.

Security camera footage shows Wilson pull a handgun from his waistband and strike one of the youths in the face with the weapon, police said.

The victim required eight stitches to close the wound.

Boone allegedly took a cellphone and wallet containing cash and Visa gift cards from the victims. Video shows him smashing the phone at the scene, police noted.

Wilson and Boone then left the school in a car driven by Boone.

In addition to the video evidence, the victims provided statements to police.

Wilson is charged wth robbery, aggravated assault, conspiracy and multiple weapons offenses. Boone is charged with robbery, conspiracy and criminal mischief.

Both were arrested this week and remain jailed at Salem County Correctional Facility.

Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattGraySJT. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.
JERSEY CITY -- Jersey City police arrested two men spotted in a stolen car near the Grove Street PATH Station and also found stolen gun inside the vehicle, authorities said.

On Tuesday, police set up surveillance after confirming the 2013 Infinity parked at the corner of Grove Street and Newark Avenue had been reported stolen in Texas, according to a criminal complaint.

Authorities then watched as Jersey City residents Jerome Mack entered the passenger side vehicle and Anthony Smith got into the driver's side. Additional units were called to the scene and the vehicle was stopped after it began driving away, the complaint alleges.

Mack and Smith were removed from the vehicle and placed under arrest. Smith was found to have a Ziploc bag that contained suspected cocaine and a straw, according to the complaint.

A .40 caliber handgun, also reported stolen in Texas, was then found in the vehicle's center console, the court document states.

Mack, 34, of Beacon Way, was charged with unlawful possession of a weapon, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and receiving stolen property regarding the gun, the complaint says.

Smith, 49, of Morgan Street, was charged with receiving stolen property regarding the vehicle, receiving stolen property regarding the gun and possession of drug paraphernalia, the complaint says.

Both men made their first appearances on the charges Wednesday in Criminal Justice Reform Court in Jersey City via video link from Hudson County jail in Kearny.

At the hearing, the state moved to hold both men though the course of their prosecution and a detention hearing is set for Monday before Hudson County Superior Court Judge Paul DePascale.
An autopsy was never performed on the immigrant who died in June while in the custody of Hudson County corrections officials, The Record is reporting.

The state medical examiner determined Rolando Meza Espinoza, who also went by the name Carlos Mejia-Bonilla, died of natural causes and never ordered an autopsy, according to The Record.

The 35-year-old man's family had been hoping autopsy results would shed light on his death.

Meza Espinosa was one of two Hudson County inmates to die in custody this year (the county has launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding both).

He was picked up by ICE agents in March -- he entered the country illegally -- and brought to Hudson County's Kearny jail. He was brought to Jersey City Medical Center, where he died on June 10 after suffering from gastrointestinal bleeding. His family has said they did not find out he was dead until two days later, when they called to check in on him.

Jennifer Towle died at the jail on July 14. She was serving a six-month sentence for a DWI charge.

Religious leaders and immigrant rights groups in June held a protest in front of the jail, where the Rev. Eugene P. Squeo, retired co-pastor at St. Patrick and Assumption All Saints in Jersey City, called for an end to the "cruelty of the detainment and deportation system."

Terrence T. McDonald may be reached at tmcdonald@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @terrencemcd. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.
JERSEY CITY - Reports filed with the state Department of Environmental Protection shed new light on the "standard repairs" being performed at a Newport pier that forced one the state's most popular wedding venues to abruptly close.

Earlier this month Battello announced it would close its doors in September until at least next spring. One day after news of the closure was reported in the media, the restaurant was informed it would have to close that day.

On Aug. 10 - the same day The Jersey Journal reported the restaurant was closing - Newport Associates Development Company filed for an emergency authorization to "stabilize the Newport Marina Pier," according to DEP records.

The DEP sent Newport Associates Development Company a letter the following day granting authorization for work to begin immediately. The letter cites "stress cracks in the asphalt surface and concrete seawalls, surface settlement and deterioration of the pier's pilings in two primary areas including the southwest corner and the easterly end of the structure where a restaurant is currently located."

Additionally, damage was found on timber pilings from boating activities, according to the letter.

The emergency approval would have required the work to begin within 60 days of the authorization and then completed within 30 days of the start.

But a spokesman for the DEP said that during an Aug. 16 meeting the work was no longer considered an "emergency" and did not need to be completed within 30 days.

Construction renderings show a portion of the restaurant, specifically the outdoor patio area, will be demolished and additional pillars will be added along the entire length of the pier as part of the stabilization plan.

A spokeswoman for Newport Associates and Newport Marine Holdings, the owner and landlord of the pier, did not respond to emails seeking comment on why emergency work records had been filed or when the project is expected to be complete.

Battello, which opened in 2014, has been working with clients to reschedule events, including dozens of weddings.

Caitlin Mota may be reached at cmota@jjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter @caitlin_mota. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.
ROBBINSVILLE -- Robbinsville's school board president has resigned after being arrested on drunken driving charges.

Matthew O'Grady in a file photo

Matthew O'Grady submitted his letter of resignation Thursday morning, a day after his arrest was made public.

O'Grady, 45, was arrested Sunday night in Hightstown and charged with driving while intoxicated through a school zone.

Police stopped him on South Main Street around 8:30 p.m. for motor vehicle infractions and found him to be driving under the influence.

He was charged with failure to stop, reckless driving, DWI, DWI in a school zone and refusal to submit breath samples.

O'Grady was first appointed to the board in 2007 to fill a vacancy and won re-election in 2008 and 2011. He resigned in July 2011 to take a job in Ohio, but returned the following year. He has served as the board's president since January 2015.

Superintendent Kathie Foster said the board will officially accept O'Grady's resignation Tuesday night during its monthly meeting.

Cristina Rojas may be reached at crojas@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @CristinaRojasTT. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
WOODBRIDGE -- The fatal shooting of a Bronx man at a couples motel in June was a robbery gone wrong, according to the attorney of a woman accused of helping plot the heist.

Cynthia Rivera, 18, of the Bronx, is accused of planning with her boyfriend, Martin Martinez Jr., to rob a 24-year-old man after he posted on social media about possessing a large sum of money, Assistant Prosecutor Keith Abrams said Thursday during a detention hearing in Middlesex County Superior Court.

Rivera was at the Loop Inn Motel in the Avenel section of Woodbridge with Andrew Torres, Chelsey Mendoza and the unidentified 24-year-old man, all of whom are from the Bronx. Rivera had told her boyfriend, Martinez, of the score, Abrams said.

The four rented a room and were in a Jacuzzi when Martinez and another unnamed man arrived with handguns, knocked on the door and fatally shot Torres, according to the prosecutor. The unnamed 24-year-old, who had posted about the money, was also shot multiple times.

"She facilitated this entire crime, your honor," Abrams told Superior Court Judge Michael Toto of Rivera.

"To say that she facilitated this is just not accurate," Rivera's attorney, Anthony Fazioli, later told the judge.

Rivera, Martinez and Mendoza were arrested on charges of conspiracy and murder. The three appeared in court Thursday, handcuffed in green jumpsuits.

Shortly after 4:50 a.m. June 21, Woodbridge police responded to the shooting at the motel, where officers found 21-year-old Torres, who was pronounced dead at the scene. The other victim, who had posted about the money, was shot multiple times and taken to University Hospital in Newark in critical condition, prosecutors said.

Before undergoing surgery, the man told authorities he and Torres went to the motel with Rivera and Mendoza. He said he had never met the women before that night.

A motel clerk told police Torres rented a room at the motel early that morning, Abrams said. About an hour later, two men arrived at the desk and said they were there for a party. The clerk did not give them access into the motel, so the two rented a room under the name Martin Martinez, Abrams said.

While the victims and the two women were in the Jacuzzi in the motel room, Torres answered a knock at the door and was "immediately shot," the assistant prosecutor said.

Rivera and Mendoza ran out of the room as two men, one of whom was later identified as Martinez, entered the room with handguns, Abrams said. The man who posted about his money on social media was then shot and robbed, he said.

Rivera's attorney said he was unsure if the armed man with Martinez was being sought by police.

Woodbridge police referred questions about the unnamed man to the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office, which is leading the investigation. A spokeswoman for the prosecutor's office said she could not confirm or deny whether a second gunman was involved.

After the killing, Rivera and Martinez, who Abrams said are dating, as well as Mendoza and the other unidentified man drove back to the Bronx, the prosecutor said. Martinez's car was seen on camera traveling over the George Washington Bridge into New York about half an hour after the shooting, he said.

Prosecutors claim Rivera planned the meeting after the man who was shot but lived posted on social media displaying "a large amount of money." Once at the motel, Rivera let Martinez know of their whereabouts, Abrams said.

Fazioli, Rivera's attorney, said his client did not arrange the gathering. When he asked the judge not to order his client detained, Fazioli said Rivera, who is pregnant, was not the shooter and argued that her mother could monitor her at home if she were released.

"She indicated that there was supposed to be a robbery, but that this went too far," Fazioli said.

Toto, however, ordered Rivera detained on a felony murder charge. She had already been detained on the conspiracy charge and posed a risk of running from authorities, the judge said.

Rivera turned herself into authorities about three weeks after the shooting. The prosecutor's office announced Mendoza, who was also charged with hindering her own apprehension and hindering the apprehension of another, was arrested the same day.

Martinez turned himself in the week prior.

The motel opened in 1988 and is advertised as a romantic "scenic hide-away" that caters to couples looking for a getaway for their honeymoon or anniversary, according to its website.

The New York Police Department assisted Woodbridge police and the prosecutor's office in the case, Abrams said.

Luke Nozicka can be reached at lnozicka@njadvancemedia.com or on Twitter @lukenozicka.

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TRENTON -- The former chief of a volunteer fire department in Camden County was given a six-year prison sentence on Friday after admitting he used a station computer to share child pornography online.

John Terruso, 46, used electronic devices at the Audubon Park Volunteer Fire Company to amass a collection of more than a thousand files depicting graphic child sexual abuse, according to state Attorney General Christopher Porrino's office.

John Terruso

"A fire chief is supposed to be a guardian of public safety and a person children look up to, but Terruso instead used his position and public equipment to participate in the cruel exploitation of children by distributing child pornography," Porrino said in a statement following the sentencing. "This lengthy prison sentence is appropriate punishment for his vile betrayal."

Terruso was charged in 2015, after investigators monitoring a file-sharing network known as a haven for child pornography traced files shared on the network to an IP address used by the fire house. He had been fire chief for about four years when he was arrested, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported at the time.

He pleaded guilty in May to charges of possession and distribution of child pornography and was sentenced Friday in front of Judge John T. Kelley in Camden County.

Under the terms of the sentencing, Terruso will be ineligible for parole for at least three years, is banned from public office and must register as a sex offender under Megan's Law.

S.P. Sullivan may be reached at ssullivan@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
EMS trainer works in community

As an EMS Field Training Officer with Jersey City Medical Center, my colleagues and I often interact with individuals in need of immediate medical care and assistance.

As someone who grew up in the Greenville section, attended local schools and who calls Jersey City home, I see many people whom I have assisted when I go about my daily tasks. They are neighbors and friends.

I have been privileged to serve as the EMS community liaison for Wards A and F in Jersey City. In this role, my co-workers and I attend various events throughout the community - at houses of worship, neighborhood associations, block fairs, etc. We provide screenings and information on healthy lifestyles and available services.

During the week and nearly every weekend, we are meeting with youth, parents and seniors. It is a privilege to see our neighbors in a different setting than when we respond to a call. It strengthens our bond with residents and reminds those whom we serve that we care and are a resource.

I urge community leaders in Wards A and F who have not partnered with us already to please contact me at Chantal.bailey@rwjbh.org.

Chantal Bailey, Jersey City

Keep labor unions strong

The article concerning the project labor agreement in Jersey City was quite disturbing. It is a reminder once again of the saying "the more things change, the more they remain the same."

If people studied the history of the labor movement, they would never say anything like "This helps one party: the unions." People do not realize that when unions are strong, everyone benefits.

In the 1950's, one out of three workers was in a union. The nation was booming because people were making living wages and putting their money back into the economy. When you fight unions, you're opening doors for exploitation of workers, lower wages, longer hours, unsafe working conditions and job security.

Workers fought to organize unions because they wanted dignity in the workplace and social justice. Although I deeply respect the NAACP and applaud them for their work through the years, I beg to differ in their stance on this issue.

If unemployed workers are looking to become employed in the construction industry, encourage them to apply for apprenticeship positions. The trades are always looking for people of color and women. After all, as a developer, I would prefer employing a union trained professional who has the skills to build a safe structure, rather than hiring someone who requires on-the-job training. UNION YES!

Angelica Santomauro, Director, American Labor Museum, Haledon

Trump continues environmental assault

The Trump Administration will push ahead with disbanding the Advisory Committee for the Sustained National Climate Assessment. The 15-member panel reports on the National Climate Assessment and climate change recommendations.

This panel has been an important way for our government to understand and use climate science. We need this information to prepare us against future storm events and sea level rise. He is putting us all at risk from the effects of climate change and sacrificing our environment and economy.

Under President Trump, governmental agencies can't even say words 'climate change,' let alone incorporate climate change policies in their rules and regulations. He has eliminated the Clean Power Plan, increased limits on methane leaks, rescinded NEPA climate guidance and eliminated review of emissions standards for new oil and gas operations. Trump's anti-environmental tirade has pulled as out of the Paris Accords, silenced scientists, and undone decades of important protections

Trump wants to slash the EPA budget by almost a third and cut $5 billion from NOAA grants which will affect climate and resiliency projects. States like New Jersey will no longer be receiving important funding for resiliency projects against sea level rise and storm events.

We'll need to fight back at a state level by reopening our office of Climate Change and adaptation and implementing renewable energy programs such as offshore wind and solar panels. The entire country is gearing up for resistance against Trump and his agenda. We're going to keep fighting to Make Our Planet Great Again.

Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club

Submit letters to the editor and guest columns to jjletters@jjournal.com
NEWARK -- Gov. Chris Christie on Thursday evening again called for President Donald Trump to formally declare a national emergency in response to a plague of opioid overdoses that last year claimed more American lives than did the peak of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

But as he did, the governor also publicly embraced the Justice's Department's new harder line on drug prosecutions to encourage a president whose administration has been inconsistent and hesitant in its response to the overdose crisis.

"I hope that when we get new leadership at the U.S. attorney's office, that we'll return to a time when we're once again aggressive about drug enforcement as part of what needs to be done," said Christie, who spent seven years as a U.S. attorney for New Jersey.

Laxness in interdiction, Christie argued Thursday, was helping fuel addiction.

"People who are profiting from spreading death throughout our neighborhoods and our communities need to held accountable and need to be put in jail for that."

That jibes with U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions new policy of seeking drug convictions that "carry the most substantial guidelines sentence, including mandatory minimum sentences."

But the governor made his remarks at a showcase of artwork from opioid addicts in recovery, and the crowd of 100 applauded cautiously at this new, harder-line rhetoric.

Christie has devoted his final year in office to addressing opioid addiction, and in March, Trump appointed him chair of presidential commission tasked with determining the federal response to the opioid crisis.

However, the president has vacillated on whether to accept the findings of the commission's interim report.

Two weeks ago, Christie and his five member presidential commission unanimously argued for the declaration of a national emergency by the president, noting that 142 Americans die of drug overdoses daily, mostly from opioids.

At first, Trump's White House seemed to dismiss the national emergency declaration recommendation.

"We believe at this point that the resources that we need or focus that we need to bring to bear to the opioid crisis can be addressed without the declaration of emergency," said Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price on August 8.

But two days later, when Trump was asked by a reporter why the loss of as many American lives as were claimed by the 9/11 attacks every three weeks was not a national emergency, the president reversed himself.

"The opioid crisis is an emergency and I'm saying right now it's an emergency. It's a national emergency," Trump said on August 10. "We're going to draw it up and we're going to make it a national emergency."

Two weeks later, there's been no formal emergency declaration by Trump.

On Thursday, a White House spokesman told CNN that the delay was because of "a legal review" and said that "we are declaring one but we are considering which option to use to declare one."

A national emergency declaration made under the Stafford Act would provides access to resources and funding typically used by FEMA after natural disasters like Superstorm Sandy. Declaring one under the Public Health Services Act would give the Health and Human Services Department broader authority to act.

On Thursday, Christie again pressed his case for the president to make a formal declaration.

"I urged the president to declare a national emergency because this is a national emergency," said Christie Thursday. "Let us have the kind of response that that loss of life that we had to the loss of life in the World Trade Center, and the Pentagon and Shanksville, Pennsylvania."

But as he exited the DEA's second annual opioid-themed art show at Newark's Gateway Center, the governor declined to answer questions about if he knew why the president had not made a formal emergency declaration.

Claude Brodesser-Akner may be reached at cbrodesser@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ClaudeBrodesser. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.
NEWARK -- Attorneys for U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., filed a motion Thursday night asking the judge to adjourn his upcoming corruption trial on days needed for critical Senate votes in Washington.

Those votes, according to the motion, include one to raise the federal debt ceiling and another to approve a spending deal to avoid a shutdown of the federal government.

Menendez, who succeeded Jon Corzine in the Senate in 2006, is scheduled to stand trial Sept. 6 along with Salomon Melgen, an ophthalmologist from Florida, on a federal indictment accusing the men of swapping the senator's intervention in government matters for private trips on Melgen's plane and financial contributions, among other gifts.

U.S. District Judge William H. Walls, who is overseeing the trial in Newark, denied requests by the defense Tuesday morning to delay the trial until late October, or to provide an explanation to the jury on days Menendez is absent for business in Washington.

The judge told Menendez's defense team, led by veteran white-collar litigator Abbe D. Lowell, that he had "no problem" with Menendez's need to cast votes on the items, which attorneys said Thursday "must occur in September."

"But, with regard to adjourning the case, no, I am not going to adjourn the case. If the Senator wishes to absent himself at times for purposes of vote, that is his prerogative and I have no problem with that," Walls said. "And with regard to informing the jury, I will just tell the jury that the Senator has absented himself."

But that, according to Menendez's lawyers, poses a dilemma for the senator.

"A defendant's constitutionally protected right to be present at his trial comes into direct and unavoidable conflict with other important constitutional values, where, as here, the defendant is a sitting United States Senator who can only perform certain constitutional responsibilities if he is physically present at certain dates and times on the floor of the United States Senate in Washington, D.C.," they argued.

In addition to the debt ceiling and spending bill votes, the National Flood Insurance Program and the Federal Aviation Administration also must be renewed. Senate Republicans also could try again to replace the Affordable Care Act with legislation that would leave more than 20 million additional Americans without insurance.

In a narrowly divided Senate -- Republicans hold just 52 of 100 seats -- Menendez and other Democrats can help pass, or kill, legislation, making his vote crucial.

Defense attorneys argued the court had broad discretion in the case, and that it should "exercise that discretion to adjourn the trial on those days when Senator Menendez's presence is needed in the Senate for the types of major actions described above," indicating Menendez would be able to provide notice a day in advance of such votes.

In a rapid response to the motion, filed just after midnight Friday, prosecutors from the Justice Department's Public Integrity Section urged the judge to reject what their filing described as the senator's "request for special treatment."

"Many defendants try to evade their criminal trials -- but only a United States Senator can try to hide behind the very office he corrupted to avoid accountability to the public for his actions," the prosecutors wrote. "This Court has consistently recognized that defendant Menendez is not entitled to special treatment because of his status. It should maintain that principle here."

A jury of six men and six women -- plus four alternates -- was seated Wednesday to hear the trial after just two days of jury selection in Walls' fourth-floor courtroom at the federal courthouse in Newark.

Melgen was convicted in April in a separate Medicare fraud case in Florida. His sentencing has been postponed until the conclusion of the New Jersey trial.

Jonathan D. Salant contributed to this report.

Thomas Moriarty may be reached at tmoriarty@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ThomasDMoriarty. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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What's in Gov. Andrew Cuomo's grand plans to replace and make over Penn Station for to provide relief for New Jersey commuters from the crowded subterranean catacombs of New York's Penn Station?

Right now, not much, which is why a senior transportation official and Somerset County freeholder is publicly asking for the state to be involved in any plans to re-make or replace Penn Station.

Peter S. Palmer, chairman of the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority, wants to make sure that the needs of N.J.commuters are addressed in any plan to make over the station, or in one case, recreate the original 1910 landmark station.

He voiced his concerns in a July 29 letter to U.S. Senator Cory Booker, D- N.J

"New Jersey should be an equal partner in preparing the plans for the redevelopment of the station," Palmer wrote to Booker. "I am very concerned that Penn Station is but a pawn in a shortsighted chess game orchestrated by New York interests to achieve a quick fix."

Palmer said he wrote to Booker because Amtrak is a federal agency and owner of Penn Station and NJ Transit commuters make up 40 percent of the daily passengers using it.

"He is in a position to do something about it," Palmer said. "My effort is to stir the pot and get people (interested) such as the (New Jersey) governor, whoever that will be."

Palmer's concerns are not unfounded. Transit advocates said the first phase of Moynihan Station, known as the West End Concourse, which opened up on June 15, is geared to Long island Rail Road and Amtrak passengers, they said.

New York's Empire State Development Corporation, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Amtrak and federal grants funded that $1.6 billion project.

NJ Transit commuters are not included because their trains run on shorter tracks that don't extend into Moynihan hall.

"Senator Booker has been long committed to providing New Jersey commuters the relief they desperately need, including his work to strengthen our mass transit networks through critical projects like the Gateway Program," said Thomas Pietrykoski, a Booker spokesman. "Senator Booker is looking forward to continue working with our Federal and State partners along with all stakeholders committed to moving the Gateway Program forward."

Palmer has met with Booker's staff previously and is scheduled to meet with them next month, he said.

NJ Transit could make the Moynihan station useable for its commuters by extending the short tracks from Penn Station to the new train hall, advocates said.

"Extending tracks gives commuters access to the full (Moynihan) facility. For commuters, it means getting into Penn Station faster and getting on and off (trains) faster," said David Peter Alan, Lackawanna Commuter Coalition president. "NJ Transit could run any train to any platform."

Moynihan serves nine platforms and 17 tracks that extend between it and Penn Station, but not tracks one to four, which NJ Transit uses.

NJ Transit board members were asked in July to allocate $10 million to design the track and platform extension by Joe Clift, a former Long Island Rail Road planning director and transit advocate.

"It would be a huge increase in waiting space," Clift said. "There is a benefit to having all tracks accessible.



NJ Transit officials said they're working on a different plan.

"NJ Transit is currently working on a central concourse extension at PSNY which would provide additional passenger egress from the platform level into the station, improved signage for better pedestrian flow, and access to elevators and escalators," said Nancy Snyder, a spokeswoman.

The agency investigated extending the four tracks and platforms in 2007 and found it would have cost around $200 million, was too complex and provided little benefit to riders, Snyder said.

That proposal "posed significant engineering and design challenges and requires extensive and difficult modifications to the railroad's infrastructure," she said.

Regardless of which plan is pursued, Palmer wants New Jersey to have a voice and he said that will require a commitment of funds from the state.

Palmer said he is meeting with Booker's chief of staff about his concerns on Penn Station on Sept. 6.
OSAGE | Despite the somber occasion, nearly 100 attendees of the Sacred Heart Church sang their praises to God earlier this month.

The 8:30 a.m. Mass, celebrating an Aug. 15 Holy Day, was the final service in the 89-year-old structure.

Some lingered a few minutes after the service or gathered in the basement, where they reminisced about what the old structure meant to them.

Others shared their grief of knowing their familiar sanctuary and basement fellowship hall would soon be demolished to make way for a new $4 million accessible facility, that will house a sanctuary, offices, nave and fellowship hall.

Larry Hemann, who came to Osage 73 years ago, had his six children baptized at the church.

"It feels terrible," he said. "Its like tearing down my house."

Almost 90-year-old Marcella Voight, who was one of the youngest members of congregation when the church was built, said, It feels like a loss. Its been home.

Erma Adams, 75, said she had special memories of the building.

"I have been here since I was born," she said. "It's sad, but progress has to go on."

Annette Uker, a long-time member of the congregation, joined the Sacred Heart staff as pastoral minister five years ago.

"Like everyone else, I have a lot of history here, but its a good thing for the future, as the new church will be handicap accessible and the gathering space will be more welcoming," she said. "I am more excited about the future than I am about the loss.

Members decided to remodel the current gym into a fellowship hall with a kitchen and restrooms. An accessible, one-story entrance will replace the former church, and a parking lot will be added east of the new structure.

The church will worship temporarily at the Knights of Columbus Hall until work on the new fellowship hall can be completed, said Leo Chisholm, who is a member of the building committee. His parents helped build the church in 1928.

The new sanctuary is scheduled to be completed in July or August 2018.

Volunteers from the congregation are helping move pews into storage and packing other belongings needed in the temporary worship centers and new sanctuary.

In addition to the pews, many items will be moved to the new building, including the furniture, altar, Stations of the Cross, organ and stained glass windows.

During his final Sunday Mass in the building, the Rev. Ray Burkle told his congregation, Its like a loved one dying. Many have been baptized, been confirmed, took first Communion, been married and had loved ones' funerals here.

There are a lot of memories here. There are some who are ready for a new church; for others, the closing of the church is too fast, and there are others of you who are ready for whatever happens.

I know they will miss some things from the old building, but I dont think they will miss the stairs, or the bathrooms in the basement, and there will be a greater space between the pews," Burkle said.

Gene Evans, who ushered in the last service, said, There is a sense of sadness for the old building going away and a great excitement for a church that will accommodate everyone. It will be more convenient for all our parishioners.

Janice Schonrock, 77, provided her personal sentiments, I was born, baptized and married here. This is home. I have been telling myself I know the church is coming down, but the church is more than a building  its a community, and a family.
FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP)  Survivors of Hurricane Ian face a long emotional road to recover from one of the most damaging storms to hit the U.S. mainland. For those who lost everything to disaster, the anguish can be crushing to return home to find so much gone. Grief can run the gamut from frequent tears to utter despair. The Lee County medical examiner says two men in their 70s even took their own lives a day apart after viewing their losses. Experts say suicides climb after disasters and more funding for mental health should be provided as climate change makes storms and fires more frequent and devastating.
MASON CITY | As a Presbyterian pastor, Le Anne Clausen de Montes stands for equality, human rights and overall diversity in her community.

So when the events of Charlottesville and the resulting outcry grabbed the nation's attention earlier this month, she knew she had to act.

"This isn't new, it's just that it's much more public and overt than it has been in previous years," said de Montes, 39. "And we need to be just as public and overt in our calling for human rights and equality and dignity, and the respect for all people of all backgrounds."

She and other local community leaders took a step in that direction Thursday night around 6 p.m., when they gathered at First Congregational Church at 100 First St. N.E. for "Love over Fear: A response to hate."

De Montes, along with First Congregational pastor Chuck Kelsey and about 80 others, marched downtown around Central Park, and then back to the church.

When they returned, they assembled into the church's nave while "Let's Get Together" played on three plasma video screens. Then, after a singing of "Lift Every Voice and Sing," multiple attendees addressed the congregation with messages of diversity, tolerance and acceptance of all religions and sexual orientations, taking about a total of 45 minutes.

Kelsey, 62, credited de Montes and others with organizing the event during the past week. He added that as a religious leader, he's been disappointed with many Americans during the past couple of weeks.

"I'm a firm believer in what Jesus says: feed the hungry, clothe the naked, set free the oppressed," he said. "There are too many people who aren't following through with what they say their faith is."

Despite the recent negative news, those gathered took the time to introduce themselves to a new face over refreshments in the church's fellowship room, following the group of speakers and a closing performance of "We Shall Overcome."

One of those speakers was Faruk Jessa, a Muslim who lives in Mason City. Jessa centered his speech on pluralism and the importance of having conversations with people of different ethic and religious backgrounds.

"I would like to see a society across this country ... that enables people, that gives confidence, predictability, and mutual trust," said Jessa, who is in his early 40s. "We're Americans, we should be doing that."

"Love over Fear" appeared to be a good start to that message, as those gathered sang loudly in unison, and held small lit candles during "We Shall Overcome."

Art Martell of Mason City was one of those in attendance. While he said he has been distraught with recent news, he was glad to hear what those had to say.

"We are a world of diversity, and we need to celebrate that, rather than try and divide it," Martell, 65, said.

"Tonight is a good beginning," he added. "These kinds of things need to keep happening ... we have more in common than we have not in common, and I think we need to hear those other points of view."
The cross of Jesus at Calvary was a symbol of persecution, of someone working for all the poor, until King Constantine in 321 AD, put the cross on the shield of the Roman Empire as a strategy to further messianic empire building.

Our spirituality has to lead to political choices, otherwise our spirituality and faith encourages fatalism of the part of the poor, having only the promise of better hereafter. We must stand in awe of the burden the poor have to carry instead of standing in judgment of how they carry it. We must always stand within the circle of compassion. A politically committed spirituality contends against wrong without becoming contentious. It confronts national self-interest and righteousness without self-righteousness. Yet, today when we give food to the poor, they call us saintly, but when we ask why the poor have no food, they brand us as socialists or communists.

Religious communities need to council Americans that we have sold our birthright of freedom and justice, for a blather of national security, which says, I can only preserve the security of my country by threatening the security of yours. This must transform itself into something more in line with the religious version which proclaims, Our common security, insists that no one is safe unless we are all safe. Our faith and spirituality cannot be passive, it has to go forth, in order to assault the conscience and excite the imagination. Our faith and spirit should not be used merely for support, like a lamppost for a drunk, but for our illumination.

No tyranny, no narcissistic madman, no aggressive government can take from the hearts of man the desire of our spirits for the living waters, for it is born and thrives in the hearts of all humanity.

For, after all, truth is so pure and simple; the angels have no difficulty accepting it. Only man casts his shadow upon it. For it is faithless men, who have created wretchedness and poverty and grief, and taken the roof from the widows and orphans.

Jesus and Socrates, two teachers of virtue and love were executed because of the unsettling power of their spirits and souls; that was revealed in their personal lives. For, in the end our spiritual, political and humanitarian challenge, is to develop commentaries on the amazingness of how love can overcome the differences in all species of mankind.

St. Theresa said it all: It is not great deeds that will ensure our salvation; it is great love. Love, love, love.
There's hope for everyone, even racists and Nazis: Opinion
National Dog Day: These pups can be your best friend for 10 bucks
The study looks at two smaller-scale projects that are in some ways predecessors to the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion, the $2 billion plan to slow land loss erasing Louisiana's coast. Construction on that project could begin as early as next year, while a similar one on the opposite side of the river known as the Mid-Breton Diversion could follow.
The body of 10-year-old Minnie Bowers was found lodged in a pile of mud and debris. She was one of more than 40 people who died in the flood of 1876 that swept through northeast Iowa, wiping out the tiny hamlet of Rockdale near Dubuque.

On July 4, 1876, towns and cities across the country were celebrating the nations centennial. In northeast Iowa, residents had returned to their homes by the time torrential rains began pounding the earth.

The rains continued for hours and, shortly after midnight, streets and cellars were flooded. According to The New York Times, terrific thunder and blinding lightning partnered with rushing torrents to gorge the sewers in Dubuque, where a baby drowned in her crib before her frantic parents could reach the infant.

The Dubuque Herald reported that, like a mighty wave of the ocean, the flood waters crashed down the valley to Rockdale, perched on the banks of Catfish Creek. They licked up bands of steel in rail bridges, toppled the hotel and store and ripped a portion of the dam away.

The voices of men, women and children crying for help could be heard as the storm embraced the heart and life of the peaceful hamlet, The Herald reported.

Those who survived told harrowing tales of violent brushes with death. The Harris family clung to the rafters in their attic for three hours as waters rose to their armpits.

Charles Kingsley climbed to the roof of his house through a window. He tried to hold his wifes arm as she struggled to join him, but the house fell apart and his wife was gone.

Charles Themmesch lept off the roof of his floating house and landed on shore.

An 11-year-old boy seized his brother by the hair as they floated downstream, eventually reaching a tree. The pair clung to its limbs until morning, when they were rescued.

Martin Carrie had been in the saloon when he looked out the window to see his house crushed like an eggshell as his wife and two children were flung into the churning waters. He survived by clinging to a tree, but his family drowned.

The following morning, the roads were lined with visitors, who were shocked to witness the devastation. Many opened their homes to aid the survivors. Only the mill survived, but thousands of dollars of grain were destroyed.

It was estimated that damages in Rockdale totaled between $50,000 and $100,000.

The Cedar Falls Gazette reported that the Centennial Fourth will not soon be forgotten by the people of northern Iowa.
Progress continues on a new housing development in Council Bluffs.

For Neil Smith, long active in metro housing projects, this project is a special one.

This is by far my favorite project, said Smith, who works in land development for Omaha-based BHI Development.

Whispering Oaks, a project represented by NP Dodge with a 400-lot single-family subdivision, is located slightly less than a mile east of Valley View Drive on Greenview Road.

Its going to be a beautiful project  lots of access to nature, Smith said on Wednesday at the monthly breakfast meeting of the Southwest Iowa Association of Realtors.

Whispering Oaks is being built by Jerry Torczon, an Omaha builder-developer for more than 30 years, who oversaw numerous developments on the other side of the Missouri River, including Shadow Lake, Whispering Ridge and Cimarron Ridge.

Three of Torczons home-building companies  Woodland Homes, Pine Crest Homes and Richland Homes  will be involved in the Council Bluffs project, Smith said.

Situated on 180 acres, the lots range in size from 7,000 to 10,000 square feet with home prices ranging from $275,000 to $600,000, he said. There will be 40 lots set aside for villa-type homes. Prices there range from $275,000 to $325,000.

Residents will enjoy the beautiful background of some 50 acres of woodlands, plus extensive landscaping will be made, Smith said.

What a beautiful piece of property it is, Smith said.

Underground utility work has already started, he said, and the home foundations are expected to begin in October.
TAMPA, Fla., Aug. 25, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- HCI Group, Inc. (NYSE:HCI), a holding company primarily engaged in homeowners insurance with additional operations in reinsurance, real estate and information technology, plans to participate in two financial conferences in September 2017.



Management will hold one-on-one meetings with institutional investors at the 2017 Keefe, Bruyette & Woods (KBW) Insurance Conference and present and hold one-on-one meetings at the 6th Annual Liolios Gateway Conference.

2017 Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Insurance Conference

When: Wednesday, September 6, 2017 and Thursday, September 7, 2017

Where: The Westin Times Square, New York City

HCI Group Executive: Paresh Patel, Chief Executive Officer

For more information on the KBW conference or to schedule a one-on-one meeting, please contact Meriden Daly at atmdaly@kbw.com or your KBW representative.

6th Annual Liolios Gateway Conference

When: Thursday, September 7, 2017

Where: The Four Seasons Hotel, San Francisco

HCI Group Executives: Mark Harmsworth, Chief Financial Officer and Kevin Mitchell, Vice President of Investor Relations

For more information on HCI Group or to request a one-on-one meeting or invitation to the Gateway Conference, please contact gateway@liolios.com.

About the Gateway Conference

The 6th Annual Gateway Conference is an invite-only conference presented by Liolios, which brings together the most compelling companies with the nations top institutional investors and analysts. This years event features more than 100 companies from a number of growth industries, including technology, business and financial services, consumer, digital media, clean technology and life sciences. The format has been designed to give attendees direct access to senior management via company presentations, Q&A sessions and one-on-one meetings. For more information, visit www.gateway-conference.com or www.liolios.com.

About HCI Group, Inc.

HCI Group, Inc. owns subsidiaries engaged in diverse, yet complementary business activities, including homeowners insurance, reinsurance, real estate and information technology services. The company's largest subsidiary, Homeowners Choice Property & Casualty Insurance Company, Inc., is a leading provider of property and casualty insurance in the state of Florida.

The company's common shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "HCI" and are included in the Russell 2000 Index and the S&P SmallCap 600 Index. HCI Group, Inc. regularly publishes financial and other information in the Investor Information section of the companys website. For more information about HCI Group and its subsidiaries, visit www.hcigroup.com.
Record numbers of senior citizens are lining up to buy $10 lifetime passes to Americas national parks.

More than 400 people purchased permits Wednesday  shattering by dozens a record set Tuesday  at the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail headquarters in Omaha, said Neal Bedlan, chief of interpretation.

The pass has cost $10 since 1994. Congress in December voted to increase the price to $80 as part of the National Park Service Centennial Act. The Park Service announced in July that the new price would start Monday.

The passes are for anyone 62 years of age or older and a citizen or permanent resident of the United States.

Among those buying passes Wednesday were Jerry and Pam Bothwell. The Omaha couple have a daughter they visit in California.

We want to be able to go to the national parks when we go out, Pam said.

They have several parks on their wish list. Jerry has never been to Yellowstone in Wyoming and Pam wants to visit Yosemite in California.

Well more than be able to get our money back, Jerry said.

They each bought a pass to ensure that theyll always have one between them.

We thought that one of us will probably lose it, Pam said.

Omahan Bill Kathrein often travels by motorcycle, visiting four or five parks in a single trip.

Its a good deal, he said. I could spend $200 going to a bunch of parks.

Kathrein said the $10 bargain is worth the 30-minute wait in line some may have in Omaha.

Thousands of passes have been sold at Homestead National Monument near Beatrice, Nebraska, said Susan Cook, chief of interpretation.

All of a sudden theres a big rush, she said.

A fresh supply of passes arrived this week at the Army Corps of Engineers Lewis and Clark Visitor Center north of Crofton, Nebraska, near Gavins Points Dam.

In addition to national parks, the passes are valid for entry at roughly 2,000 sites, including wildlife refuges, national forests and places run by the Bureau of Land Management. Theyre good for anyone traveling in a passenger vehicle with a pass holder or for three additional adults. And they provide discounts on campgrounds and other amenities.

Omahas Lewis and Clark Visitor Center is in the National Park Service building at 601 Riverfront Drive, Omaha, near the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge. Hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekends. The $10 price ends Sunday. Buyers must have a photo ID to verify age. Purchases at the Omaha site can be made with credit or debit cards only, no checks or cash.

Passes also can be ordered online at store.usgs.gov/senior-pass. There is an additional $10 processing fee for ordering online. Purchasers also will need to upload a photo or scanned copy of their drivers license or passport.
The hallways of schools in Council Bluffs and throughout southwest Iowa are once again bustling as youngsters begin a new school year.

Its a fresh start for students, teachers and administrators, a new year full of new opportunities. Were happy to see students across the area are happy to be back in school.

Students in the Lewis Central Community School District and Iowa School for the Deaf returned to class Wednesday, while the Council Bluffs, St. Albert and Heartland Christian School districts kicked things off Thursday, along with Heartland Family Service Therapeutic School.

Kalli McSorley, who started third grade Wednesday at Titan Hill Intermediate School, mentioned writing and friends among reasons shes glad to be back. Im looking forward to seeing all my friends and making new ones, she said.

Jaden Smith, a fifth-grader, said he was looking forward to being in Lisa Kokes class. He knows her, he said, and believes she will be a good teacher. Jaden also likes art and said he will have fun playing with his friends.

In a school assembly at the Lied Multipurpose Complex at Iowa School for the Deaf, Assistant Principal Ty Thornock told students the school would keep its theme from last year, Success Every Day.

I want to learn more reading, said Ali Sellwood of Ottumwa, a fifth grader. I want to read more about animals and babies and cute things like that.

During a kickoff for the new school year, teachers, administrators and staff in the Council Bluffs Community School District gathered at the MAC to celebrate past accomplishments and get excited for the accomplishments to come.

Keynote speaker Scott Siepker of Iowa Nice Guy and PBS Iowa Outdoors fame summed up the importance of all employees in education at the event. Siepker used a metaphor for the importance of school staff.

Whether youre a custodian like my grandfather, a lunch lady like my grandma, or youre part of the support staff, youre an administrator, youre a teacher, he said, you are the lottery ticket for every single one of the students that walks into your buildings, into your district. Youre the lottery ticket that they need, that will pay them  not in a lump sum but over the course of a lifetime.

The end of summer vacation is a bummer, as it means fall nears and winter is coming. But these first few days of school are invigorating, not only for the teachers and students ready to dive into a new year of learning, but also for an entire community that gets to share in the excitement of new beginnings.
Greenville, North Carolina, Aug. 25, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) released on Friday, August 25 a presolicitation notice in which it outlined plans to lease space from a government contractor for a period of between 10 and 15 years in Greenville, North Carolina.

The space, according to the presolicitation, must be within four blocks of 215 S. Evans Street in Greenville, a minimum of 17,030 (ABOA) square feet, and come with at least 10 parking spaces.

The space must be contiguous, have the ability to accommodate ISC Level III Security Requirements, and have finished ceilings that are at least nine-feet high. The space cannot be within 1,000 feet of a school or childcare center. The space also must meet all government requirements contained in the RLP/Lease to be issued, including requirements for fire safety, accessibility (ABAAS), and seismic and sustainability standards by the required occupancy date per the terms of the Lease.

The proposed leased space shall be fully serviced, and space must not be in the 100-year flood plain. The GSA intends to lease the space for at least 10 years, and, according to the presolicitation, will hold an option to extend the lease by five years.

The U.S. government currently occupies 30,058 BOMA RSF office and related space in a building under lease in Greenville, NC, that will be expiring on February 1, 2018. According to the presolicitation, the government is considering alternative space if economically advantageous, and before making a decision, will consider, among other things, the availability of alternative space that potentially can satisfy the government's requirements, as well as costs likely to be incurred through relocating, such as physical move costs, replication of tenant improvements and telecommunication infrastructure, and non-productive agency downtime.

Interested and capable contractors must respond by no later than September 1 to David M. Barrueta, Cushman and Wakefield, 1180 Peachtree Street, Suite 3100, Atlanta, GA 30309 with the following information:

Building name/address and the location of available space within the building

Rentable square feet available and the expected rental rate per rentable square foot, fully serviced

ANSI/BOMA office area (ABOA) square feet to be offered and the expected rental rate per ABOA square foot, inclusive of a Tenant Improvement allowance meeting GSA's standard building shell requirements

Date of space availability

Building ownership information, including parent company, if applicable

Amount of parking available onsite

One-eighth inch scale drawing of space offered

Name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address of authorized contact

In cases where an agent is representing multiple ownership entities, written acknowledgement and permission to represent multiple owners for the same submission

Businesses interested in bidding on and receiving contracts from the government must be registered with the System for Award Management (SAM) database and have as part of the Registration all current Representations and Certifications.

US Federal Contractor Registration, the worlds largest third-party government registration firm, and a firm that not only helps companies survive but also thrive, completes the required Registrations on behalf of its clients. It also makes available information about opportunities like this, as well as training on how to locate, research, and respond to opportunities.

We also make available for our clients and for contracting officers our proprietary Advanced Federal Procurement Data Search (AFPDS). Our Advanced Federal Procurement Data Search (AFPDS) gives you in one place instant bid notifications, bid proposal prospecting, and information about government procurement officers. We make this search tool available to clients, as part of our commitment to helping each and every USFCR client succeed and thrive as a government contractor.

For contracting officers, the AFPDS gives them in one place access to a database of available contractors and also a place to post information about opportunities. Contracting officers get free access to AFPDS. We also provide interested contracting officers a list of contractors who may be able to provide a service and/or product that they need.

For more information, to get started with a SAM registration, to learn more about how US Federal Contractor Registration can help your business succeed, to find out how we can help you complete the processes necessary to become certified as one or more types of small business(es), and/or to speak with our federal training specialists about how to craft a memorable proposal, call 877-252-2700, ext. 1.
TORONTO, Aug. 25, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Goldmoney Inc. (TSX:XAU) (Goldmoney) (the Company), a precious metal financial service and technology company, today announced it will hold its Annual General Meeting (the Meeting) on Friday, September 29, 2017 at 1 p.m. ET. The meeting will be held at the flagship Goldmoney Branch located at 38 Avenue Road, Toronto, ON M5R 2G2, Canada.

The record date to determine those shareholders entitled to attend and vote at the meeting is August 15, 2017, and the materials for the meeting, including the Companys management information circular and the form of proxies, and voting instruction forms to be completed by shareholders, have been mailed to shareholders on August 23, 2017 and are available on SEDAR.

Goldmoney also announces the internal appointments of Senior Software Engineer Paul Mennega as Chief Operating Officer of the Goldmoney Group, and Director of Finance Steve Fray as Senior Vice President of Finance and Operations, replacing Darrell MacMullin who has stepped down as Chief Operating Officer as of today. Mr. MacMullin will continue to advise on the development of the Goldmoney business and payment network as a consultant.

Darrell has contributed valuable experience and vision, and has been instrumental in the development of a thriving Goldmoney community. We are all extremely grateful for his service and dedication as an Officer of the Company, and wish to thank him for his contributions to the early stage growth of BitGold and the Goldmoney Network, said Goldmoney CEO, Roy Sebag. Paul is one of the company's original engineers, and is a talented full stack web and mobile application architect with a pragmatic approach to technology. His intricate knowledge of the business, products, and the tools to best service our global client base is unmatched, and we are thrilled to have him to take on this new leadership role. Steve began developing into a clear senior leader from day one and has been an invaluable addition to the organization. We look forward to leadership from Paul and Steve as we scale a profitable operation and focus on the next phase for the Company under the newly consolidated Goldmoney Holding.

About Goldmoney Inc.

Goldmoney Inc., a financial service company traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX:XAU), is a global leader in precious metal investment services and the world's largest precious metals payment network. Safeguarding $1.9 billion in assets for clients located in more than 150 countries, Goldmoney is focused on a singular mission to make precious metals-backed savings accessible to all. Powered by Goldmoneys patented technology, the Goldmoney Holding is an online account that enables clients to invest, earn, or spend gold, silver, platinum, and palladium that is securely stored in insured vaults in seven countries. All bullion assets are fully allocated and physically redeemable property. Goldmoney Wealth Limited is regulated by the Jersey Financial Services Commission (JFSC) as a Money Services Business. Goldmoney Network is a reporting entity to the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC), and is registered with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) in the U.S. For more information about Goldmoney, visit goldmoney.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains or refers to certain forward-looking information. Forward-looking information can often be identified by forward-looking words such as "anticipate", "believe", "expect", "plan", "intend", "estimate", "may", "potential" and "will" or similar words suggesting future outcomes, or other expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions, intentions or statements about future events or performance. All information other than information regarding historical fact, which addresses activities, events or developments that the Goldmoney Inc. (the "Company") believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future, is forward looking information. Forward-looking information does not constitute historical fact but reflects the current expectations the Company regarding future results or events based on information that is currently available. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve numerous assumptions, known and unknown risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, that contribute to the possibility that the predictions, forecasts, projections and other forward-looking information will not occur. Such forward-looking information in this release speak only as of the date hereof.

Forward-looking information in this release includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to: service times for transactions on the Goldmoney network; growth of the Company's business, expected results of operations, and the market for the Company's products and services and competitive conditions. This forward-looking information is based on reasonable assumptions and estimates of management of the Company at the time it was made, and involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Such factors include, among others: the Company's limited operating history; history of operating losses; future capital needs and uncertainty of additional financing; fluctuations in the market price of the Company's common shares; the effect of government regulation and compliance on the Company and the industry; legal and regulatory change and uncertainty; jurisdictional factors associated with international operations; foreign restrictions on the Company's operations; product development and rapid technological change; dependence on technical infrastructure; protection of intellectual property; use and storage of personal information and compliance with privacy laws; network security risks; risk of system failure or inadequacy; the Company's ability to manage rapid growth; competition; effectiveness of the Company's risk management and internal controls; use of the Company's services for improper or illegal purposes; uninsured and underinsured losses; theft & risk of physical harm to personnel; precious metal trading risks; and volatility of precious metals prices & public interest in precious metals investment; and those risks set out in the Company's most recently filed annual information form, available on SEDAR. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, except as required by law.
The U.S. imported 3.4 million tons of steel last month, a decline of 11.5 percent as compared to June, according to preliminary Census Bureau data.

That included 2.8 million tons of finished steel products that wouldn't need to be processed further in the U.S., which is a 4 percent month-over-month decline. Despite the overall drop, imports of standard pipe, cut lengths plates, line pipe and oil country goods, all jumped by double digits in July.

Through the first seven months of the year, imports totaled 23.1 million tons, a 22.1 percent increase as compared to the same period in 2016, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute. So far this year, finished steel imports rose by 17.3 percent to 17.9 million tons as promised tariffs and quotas have failed to materialize.

Imports of oil country goods have skyrocketed by 254 percent through the end of July, according to the AISI. Standard pipe, line pipe, cold rolled sheets, sheets and strip all other metallic coatings, mechanical tubing, hot rolled bars, sheets and strip hot dipped galvanized, wire rods and tin plate all increased by double digits when compared to last year.

Imports of finished steel products captured 29 percent of the market share in July, and seized 28 percent so far this year.

At the current rate, the U.S. is on pace to import 39.7 million tons in 2017, a 20.3 percent increase.

During the first seven months of the year, the largest offshore suppliers were South Korea, Turkey, Japan, Taiwan and Germany. Imports from Taiwan are up 54 percent and down 5 percent from South Korea.
CALGARY, Alberta, Aug. 25, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Groundstar Resources Limited (TSXV:GSA) (the Company) is pleased to announce that it has executed a loan agreement (the Loan Agreement) with a private Alberta-based lender (the Lender) which will provide for the Company to borrow an amount of up to CDN$100,000 to fund its general working capital requirements and to further operations on its properties. The Loan Agreement provides that the funds advanced shall be repayable over a term of sixty days, starting on August 25, 2017, subject to an extension of an additional thirty days with the consent of the Lender. In consideration of the loan amounts provided under the Loan Agreement, the Company shall pay interest in the amount of 10% per annum on all amounts borrowed. In addition, pursuant to the Loan Agreement, the Company will be providing security in all of its assets to the Lender as collateral for the loan pursuant to a general security agreement. The Company anticipates servicing the amounts owing under the Loan Agreement through revenue generated by its operating activities. The Lender is a private company which is owned and controlled by Dale Hammons, a director of the Company. Mr. Hammons recused himself from all deliberations regarding the establishment of the Loan Agreement. The entering into of the Loan Agreement by the Company is subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.



About Groundstar Resources Limited

Incorporated in 1968, Groundstar Resources Limited is a publicly traded oil and gas company actively growing a portfolio targeting producing oil and gas assets with development opportunities and exploration upside. The Companys current portfolio of resource assets provides both near term and longer term potential. Groundstar is quoted and trades under the ticker symbol GSA on the TSX Venture Exchange.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.
GARY  Students taking courses in Indiana University Northwest's new Arts & Science building love the facility with its many classrooms, labs and learning centers.

Located on the IUN campus at 35th and Broadway, the building is shared by the university and Ivy Tech Community College. It opened to students Monday when fall classes began.

Kathryn Carr, of Lake Station, a senior work study student majoring in history, said she enjoys the space and the art gallery where she works.

Madison Breford, a sophomore from Lake Station majoring in theater, said the building is really nice and "it's cool to have a new facility" on campus.

"We've also got a new theater here," she said. "It was awesome to see it all come together as they were building it. It's very good for the university and the community."

Officials predict the $45 million, 126,300-square-foot building will have a long-term, positive impact on the city of Gary, Northwest Indiana and its residents.

When asked to envision how the building will shape the citys future, officials from IUN, Ivy Tech and the city of Gary identified three themes  the buildings impact on economic development, residents overall quality of life and the benefits of improved access to higher education.

This latest addition to Broadway is a part of Gary's plan to redevelop the commercial corridor in what the city is calling the University Park neighborhood and what traditionally has been considered part of Glen Park.

Designed with innovative learning spaces and cutting-edge technology, the building also features an art gallery, 500-seat professional mainstage theater and 100-seat black box studio theater open to both students and the community.

"Having these laboratories positioned in an instructional space that also exposes students to sophisticated arts and theater spaces creates potential for a synergetic learning community," said Margaret Semmer, vice chancellor of academic affairs at Ivy Tech Community College. "We envision that students will embark on meaningful educational pathways, all within one building, that will develop and reinforce critical thinking, creative problem solving and team-building skills. Ivy Tech students will have the opportunity to include fine and performing arts courses previously not offered in the Region in their degree pathways."

During a tour of the building, Andrew Kapocius, IUN's facilities and operations executive director, pointed out a large, first-floor lecture hall shared by both institutions on the south side of the building. Other features include small rooms throughout the building for quiet study or project work; Room 1010, an informal study area that holds up to 125 people; and a large room upstairs for entertaining, which Kapocius said university leaders may consider renting to the public for functions.

During the month of July, the new Arts & Sciences Building was filled with IU faculty, staff and equipment from five different buildings, emptying three leased buildings on Grant Street in the process, with one additional building to be emptied by late fall.

Officials said IU Northwest is utilizing 50 percent of the space. Ivy Tech is using 30 percent of space,with the remaining 20 percent to be classrooms and study areas that will be shared by both campuses. This required the addition of approximately five staffing positions within building services and the IU Northwest Police Department."

A dedication ceremony is set for 4 p.m. today.
The Hammond Police Department is trying to determine whether a shooting Thursday morning in Chicago was linked to a rash of early morning armed robberies last week in Hammond.

The department released surveillance footage and photos earlier this week of two young black males detectives believe threatened three people with handguns during robberies Aug. 18.

The suspects first attempted to rob an 85-year-old man at 6:20 a.m. in the 5800 block of Hohman Avenue, and then minutes later reportedly robbed a 67-year-old man in the 4000 block of Grover Avenue and a 33-year-old woman in the 4100 block of Wabash Avenue.

Police said they believe the individuals also robbed a 49-year-old man in East Chicago.

The department's detectives are working with the Chicago police to determine whether those same suspects wounded a 73-year-old man in a shooting Thursday morning in Chicago, according to Hammond police Lt. Steve Kellogg.

Kellogg said the shooting suspects, who were captured on surveillance footage, resembled the suspects in the city's armed robberies. The lieutenant said the crimes shared other similarities  the shooting resulted from an armed robbery during the early morning hours.

The man was shot at 6:30 a.m. while walking in the 6100 block of South Kennedy Avenue, Chicago police said. A black male exited an SUV and shot the man in the stomach when he refused to give up his possessions.

The man was transported to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn in stable condition, according to Chicago police.

Kellogg said the Hammond Police Department received a significant number of tips from the public after it released images of the suspects, and detectives are now trying to sort through them.

Maybe Chicago can lend some information, and something they put together might be able assist with our investigation, Kellogg said.

The lieutenant said police were not certain whether the suspects were from Hammond or Chicago.

Kellogg said anyone with information about the crimes can contact police departments in Hammond or Chicago.
CROWN POINT  For the second time this month, the plea submission hearing has been rescheduled for a Chicago Heights man charged with attempted murder in a shooting at the Munster Fed Ex Distribution Center in February.

Hexadore Randall, 23, is one of two Illinois men charged with attempted murder, armed robbery and felony battery for allegedly shooting a woman during an attempted carjacking the morning of Feb. 3 at 101 45th Ave.

Defense attorney David Urbanski filed a motion to reset the Aug. 24 hearing to Sept. 7 in Lake Criminal Court Judge Samuel Cappas courtroom. The same motion was made Aug. 8 to reschedule the submission of a plea to the Aug. 24 date.

Randalls co-defendant Roberto Pettigrew-Sanders, 26, of Dolton, pleaded guilty July 7 to the felony level 3 charge of robbery and will be sentenced by Cappas on Aug. 31.

Munster police responded at 5:40 a.m. Feb. 3 to the distribution center for a report of a shooting victim. Officers found the female victim who had been shot once. She was transported by ambulance to Methodist Hospitals Northlake Campus in Gary for treatment.

While investigating the shooting, police received a call from the Family Christian Center, at 45th Avenue and Margo Lane, for a report of two suspicious subjects running east in the area of the church.

Munster police, along with officers from Highland, Dyer and Lansing, responded to the area.

Police received a third call regarding two suspicious subjects in the area of the 500 block of Progress Avenue. A fourth call was received about two subjects acting suspiciously at Fitness Pointe, 9950 Calumet Ave.

Randall and Pettigrew-Sanders were arrested at Fitness Pointe and a weapon was recovered.
The benefit began in 1962 when some St. Mary School mothers held the first supper. The idea was to combine motherly love for their children with a homemade dinner to help the school.
This September, the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana asks the community to mobilize across Lake and Porter counties to fight hunger in the Region. To encourage the communitys participation and provide critical food assistance to people facing hunger across the Region, the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana will kick off Hunger Action Month with two special distributions to provide food assistance to 1,000 local families.

The sixth annual Mobile Market distributions will be held from 3 to 6 p.m. Sept. 8 at Wicker Memorial Park in Highland and from 4 to 6 p.m. Sept. 12 at South Haven Christian Church in Valparaiso.

The Food Bank of Northwest Indiana also encourages members of the community to get involved during Hunger Action Month. About 100 volunteers are needed to help distribute food at the Mobile Markets, and the Food Bank regularly accepts individuals and groups of volunteers at their facility.

Hunger has a huge impact on Northwest Indiana and in the lives of our neighbors, said Steve Beekman, executive director of the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana. It takes more than just a few people fighting hunger to make a difference  it takes a community. We encourage everyone to get involved in the fight against hunger  whether you volunteer, donate or simply take a few minutes to learn more about hunger in our region, it will make a big difference in the lives of the people we serve.
Farmers are often seen driving tractors or combines. But flying a helicopter to plant seed? Now that's different.

A helicopter piloted by Nathan Schrock, of Crosswind Aviation in LaCrosse, recently planted a cover crop of oats and radish among the stalks of corn already growing on a 90-acre Pine Township field farmed by Jan and Keith Meyers, of Chesterton.

The Meyers are allowing the field to serve as a demonstration area for the Porter County Soil & Water Conservation District's Field and Stream Day, to take place from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Sept. 6.

We have always tried to be a proactive soil and water district in promoting cover crops and other conservation practices. When we heard about helicopter seeding, we knew it was something we wanted to investigate" said Keith Gustafson, SWCD fiscal officer and cover crop farmer. "Farmers in the northern part of Porter County face some unique challenges with weather and soil types, and maybe this could be a workable option for seeding cover crops.

Derek Schmitt, the Natural Resources Conservation Service's district conservationist for Lake and Porter counties, said cover crops provide many benefits, including building soil health, reducing compaction and adding nutrients, which all benefit traditional crops like corn and soybeans planted in the spring.

Since cover crops blanket the ground throughout the fall and winter, they keep soil in place, preventing erosion, thereby protecting water quality.

In addition to a tour of the Meyers field, the field day also features a presentation by Charles Morris, environmental protection specialist with the National Park Service, and staff. The team will provide a look at fish found in the Little Calumet River and surrounding small tributaries.

Landowners and farmers interested in learning more are encouraged to attend this free event. Reservations must be made by Aug. 28. Call the Porter County Soil & Water Conservation District at 219-462-7515, Ext. 3, or email michelle.benson@in.nacdnet.net.
Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today:

Within a 24-hour span, Trump delivers one speech in which he tears into the media and members of his own party, and a second in which he calls for national unity and love.

Angry and upset Charlottesville residents are getting a chance to talk with city officials about a white nationalist rally that devolved into deadly violence.

A single winning Powerball ticket matching all six numbers and carrying a jackpot of $758.7 million has been sold in Watertown, Massachusetts.

The move disregards the demands of Arab nations now locked in a regional dispute with the energy-rich country that it lessen its ties to Tehran.

Divers have found remains in flooded compartments of the USS John S. McCain, which is docked at Singapore's naval base, but the Navy has not disclosed specifics.

Authorities say South Florida, long a U.S. hub of the substance abuse recovery industry, has become a focal point for rampant insurance fraud that relies on keeping addicts hooked.

The tropical storm crawls toward the Texas Gulf Coast amid forecasts it could become a hurricane by landfall later this week, dumping heavy rain and raising the threat of flooding.

The U.S. band Allah-Las had to cancel a gig in Rotterdam at the last minute after Spanish police tipped Dutch authorities off about a terror threat.

BB-8-happy fans are about to get a glimpse at a new character as a part of a marketing rollout of toys and products inspired by the film.

Rich Hill's bid for a perfect game was spoiled by a leadoff error in the ninth inning and then he lost his no-hitter on a Josh Harrison homer in the 10th in the Pirates' stunning 1-0 win.
Last summer Amanda McCarthy was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and soon after, her son was diagnosed with autism.

The news hit McCarthy hard and she became so depressed she contemplated whether or not she wanted to live.

I realized that I wanted to live, but I had no idea how to pick up the pieces for my son and myself. I felt I didnt have anyone to turn to, McCarthy said.

I remember one morning the house was a mess and my husband came home from work and I just said, Here you go. And I left and walked around the block a few times. I came back and I felt better  it cleared my head.

McCarthy, of Oak Lawn, went on to establish Urban Nerd Herd, a Midwest hiking group. The mission is to promote emotional and spiritual wellness by providing hiking adventures and connecting with nature.

McCarthy eventually quit smoking and drinking coffee and started walking more often. Soon she was up to seven miles a day, then 20 miles and found herself planning a portion hike on the Appalachian Trail.

McCarthy originally started the Urban Nerd Herd Facebook page so her family wouldnt worry about her walking alone and could see her whereabouts.

I started talking about my journey with my diagnosis as well as my journey in the local Midwest, McCarthy said.

I posted a group hike in March and I had a couple of people join me and it was good. During the week people would reach out to me and they wanted to walk with me. They were dealing with depression and it felt good that I wasnt alone either.

Urban Nerd Herd is partnering with Mental Health America of Lake County for Hike for Hope on Sept. 24. The event is free and participants will hike the 3 Dune Challenge at Indiana Dunes State Park. After the hike, a Hike for Hope fair will follow with concessions, open-mic and vendor booths.

Renae Vania-Tomczak, president and CEO of Mental Health America of Lake County, said she is grateful for McCarthys support.

We are grateful for Amandas support through this event to bring awareness to not only the work of our organization, but to the reality that Indiana ranks 45th out of 51 (states/District of Columbia) in the 2017 State of Mental Health report indicating a higher prevalence of mental illness and lower rates to access of care, Tomczak said.

Taking good care of your body and mind can make a difference in how healthy you are in general and how well you cope with the everyday pressures of life and your ability to adapt to change. We are excited to partner with Amanda in her journey to enhance overall wellness. Simply put, there is no health without mental health.

For more information, visit www.facebook.com/events/535741993428496 or mhalakecounty.org.
Here's a nice thing: A Manhattan couple were married earlier this week while riding a crosstown city bus, surrounded by about 80 friends, an accommodating driver, and a couple of very confused passengers.

OJ Jimenez, an artist and writer, and Kara Mullins, a trends forecaster, made it official on Sunday afternoon while riding through west-bound traffic on 14th Street, NY1 reports. "If there is anyone present today who knows of any reason why this couple shouldn't be married, please get off the bus!" the Universal Life Minister officiant said.

No one did, and the couple happily exchanged vows as family and friends stood on seats and applauded. They were eventually dropped off at West 14th and Washington, for a reception at Le Bain atop the Standard.



According to Jimenez, the bus was the most logical venue for the occasion. "We met on the bus, I proposed to her on the bus, and right when I did it I said, 'You know what? When we get married, let's do it here,'" the 41-year-old groom said, per the Post.

The two first locked eyes 13 years ago, not long after Mullins, the daughter of an Indiana preacher, arrived in New York. But neither made a move until hours later, when Jimenez spotted Mullins standing in a bar just before 4:00 a.m.

He told me he had seen me on the bus earlier, and I think I just couldnt deal, recalled Mullins.

Thirteen years later, Jimenez proposed during one of their regular crosstown bus rides, and the pair quickly decided on the M14 marriage.

They even designed their own MetroCard invitations (after unsuccessfully petitioning the MTA for a swipe-able MetroCard invite), which instructed guests/riders to meet at the beginning of the route, on Columbia and Delancey Streets.

A post shared by K-HLE (@karamelloooo) on Aug 13, 2017 at 10:43am PDT

The real MVPs, according to the couple, were the two MTA bus drivers who ensured that the four-wheeled ceremony went according to plan.

"We figured out that the drivers had the same schedules every week, so we did a dry run the Sunday before," Mullins told the Post. "She arranged it with the guy after her on the schedule, so that she would go first to pick up any people on the route, so we would be clear," Jimenez added. "They were amazing."

After the guests arrived, Jimenez got on the bus at Avenue D, while Mullins joined the celebration on East 10th. Along the way, a couple of good-spirited commuters unknowingly crashed the wedding. "Two ladies got on with me who were just going shopping, said Jimenez. They were like, This is the most amazing thing Ive seen in my life!
Businesses in Jamaica are doing their part to make sure all customers know they are welcome.

The Sutphin Boulevard business improvement districts wants to make sure that the community knows they are a part of the Hate Has No Business Here" campaign.

Store owners have posted fliers and stickers in their businesses and on their windows to promote the cause.

The campaign's aim is to inspire conversations to combat discrimination .

"As a business leader, it's important for us to send the right message and a clear message that we're not going to tolerate that kind of behavior here. So that people feel safe and can come out shop at their convenience" said the Executive Director Glenn Greenidge, Sutphin Boulevard Business Improvement Districts

Twenty one business improvement districts throughout the city are a part of the campaign.
Record Number of Black Candidates Seeking History During Midterm Elections

While some already are household names like Stacey Abrams in Georgia, Val Demings in Florida, and Anthony Brown in Maryland, others like Natalie James in Arkansas, Will Boyd in Alabama,...

Tell the Supreme Court: We Still Need Affirmative Action

One of the great joys of my life is teaching. Im fortunate to teach classes on social justice at the University of Pennsylvania, one of the most respected schools in...
It's bad enough that climate change is spiking our sea levels and turning spring and fall into distant memories, but now, it's possible global warming is batting for the enemy in the endless Rat War.

The New Republic has reported that cities like New York, Washington D.C. and Chicago are experiencing worrisome spikes in rat complaints and infestations. In our fair town, calls to the extermination company Orkin apparently rose 129 percent from 2013 to 2015, and though rats have long been part of NYC's landscape, at least one expert says things are getting much, much worse. "I travel all over the world with this animal, and the amount of complaints and feedback and questions I hear right now are all, 'Weve never seen rats in the city like this before,'" noted rodentologist Bobby Corrigan told TNR. "Theyre all expressing the same concern: Our rat problem is worse than ever."

The culprit? Global warming, potentially. "I personally feel there is a connection with climate change, just because of logic and the biology of rats reproductive cycle," Corrigan said. "Global climate change fits into this discussion in some measurement. How much, Im just not sure."

Scientists have speculated for some time that warmer winters are contributing to rat baby booms, since rats tend to breed less in cold weather. The shorter the cold season, the more time rats have to make new rats. Two breeding-ready rats can spawn an extended family of 482 million rats in just three years, according to TNR, which means it's just a matter of time until the Upper West Side is lost to the rodents for good.

Last month, Mayor de Blasio pledged to spend $32 million to combat the city's rat population, but if climate change is compounding the issue, we'll need more action on a federal levelboth to combat rats directly, and to mitigate global warming. Rats carry a staggering number of diseases and they're incredibly hard to control, much less eradicate.

In the end, Zardulu will have the last laugh, and the rest of us will be eaten by rats, as foretold in this old David Lynch PSA:
A parent has petitioned Uganda Bankers Association (UBA) over the charges they force students to pay whenever they deposit school fees on their accounts.

In a May letter to UBA, Henry Mutumba, a resident of Seeta, argues that the fees were unfair and amounted to fleecing of unsuspecting students. He said since students dont have accounts with the banks, the money should be charged on the accounts of the schools, and not students.

You [UBA] look into this matter and save students and pupils from paying these charges every time they pay school fees into the banks, Mutumba writes.

Every time a student pays school fees, he/she is charged an extra fee which goes to the bank. It is usually in the region of Shs 2,000 and Shs 3,000.

A student who pays in many batches means he or she will pay more in charges, which is unfair, Mutumba writes.

He argues that fees are unfair to the poor students and parents in particular. Mutumba says he pays school fees through banks.

Banks charge the money mainly on account that they facilitated the transaction. UBA has not given him a substantive response, but said in a reply that they would look into the matter.

We have taken note of your concern and well discuss this matter at UBA level and revert..., UBA publicist Patricia Amito wrote back.

Charges on school fees are most banks cash cow and it is very unlikely that they would contemplate removing it.

amwesigwa@observer.ug
Police in Mbarara district are holding a quark veterinary doctor accused of conning livestock farmers out of money.

The suspect, Justus Kosiya, has reportedly been receiving money from livestock farmers to vaccinate their animals. Police claim that Kosiya posed as an employee of the ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries.

According to Police, Kosiyas vaccine containers were branded with leaflets bearing the Uganda court of arms. By the time of his arrest, Kosiya had reportedly vaccinated more than 500 animals against the Foot and Mouth disease.

He was picked from Rukindo ward in Nyakayojo Division in Mbarara municipality. He was found collecting between Shs 20,000 and 30,000 from farmers to vaccinate their animals.

Jomo Mugabi, the Nyakayojo Division LC III Chairman, said the suspects arrest followed reports that people were rushing to vaccinate their animals yet the veterinary department in Mbarara hadnt communicated any such activity.

Dr. William Mwebembezi, the District Veterinary Officer, has since cautioned farmers against seeking help from people who present quick solutions that may endanger their animals.

Mbarara district has been battling the foot and mouth disease outbreak for the last three months.

Samson Kasasira, the Rwizi Region police spokesperson, said they are holding the suspect at Mbarara Central Police Station as investigations continue.






The Observer newspaper has been named as the most gender sensitive newspaper in Uganda, beating The New Vision to second place.

The accolade was presented to this newspaper at the Annual Gender Media Awards (AGMA), which were held on Wednesday at Hotel Africana.

According to the Uganda Media Women Association (UMWA), the organisers of AGMA, they monitored the coverage of gender issues by five newspapers, before aggregating their performances to decide on the winner.

For The Observer, this is the second award in less than two years that lauds the newspapers objectivity on gender issues.

Last year, UMWA recognized The Observer as the most gender conscious newspaper during the coverage of the campaigns ahead of the February 18, 2016 general elections.

Speaking about the award, The Observers editor, Benon Herbert Oluka said that the award is testimony that more than 12 years since it was founded, the newspaper still lives by its founding principles which, among others, include giving a voice to the voiceless in society and fairness in its practice of journalism.

The fact that this recognition falls under gender shows that the scope our efforts to stick to The Observers founding principles stretches far and wide, and it includes areas that other media houses may not always pay attention to, noted Oluka.

Initiated by the UMWA in November last year, the AGMA are geared towards making gender sensitive reporting a standard journalistic practice in Ugandas media.

The awards are meant to identify, recognise and award the efforts of journalists and media houses, both electronic and print, that have made commendable efforts to address gender issues across all their products.

The Executive director UMWA, Margaret Ssentamu-Masagazi, who is one of the brains behind the awards, said that while individual journalists made direct entries by submitting their work, media houses were selected and monitored by a Gender Monitoring Team of experts established by the association.

These awards are meant to motivate both journalists and media houses to adopt gender-sensitive reporting, said Masagazi.

According to the awarding body, a total of 26 individual journalists from 17 media houses across the country took part in the competition while six newspapers, five radio stations and three TV stations were monitored between December 2016 and February 2017.

In his speech as the events chief guest, the minister of Information and Communications Technology, Frank Tumwebaze, noted that gender sensitive reporting is important since there is a deliberate move to promote gender equality by parliament.

Parliament of Uganda will continue to fight and defend the rights of women not only in journalism but in all other spheres, Tumwebaze said.

Other winners included NBS TV, which took the television category award for the most gender-sensitive television.

Journalists such as KFMs Benjamin Jumbe, NBSs Solomon Sserwanja and Record TVs Justine Nabunya were awarded for their outstanding efforts. The Observers John Okot was also recognized for his gender-sensitive reporting in the features category.



pbaike@yahoo.com
As the opposition FDC presidential campaign gets into the second of what is shaping up to be a heated campaign, BAKER BATTE LULE evaluates the contentious issues confronting the five candidates, which may make or break their campaigns and by extension the party.



The bruising 2012 party presidential race between Mugisha Muntu and Nathan Nandala-Mafabi left the party widely divided. And although Nandala-Mafabi has stayed away from this years race, preferring to stay put as secretary general, the wounds from the 2012 battle seem far from healed.

Muntu, who is seeking re-election, is running against four other candidates. They are former Kumi County MP Patrick Amuriat Oboi, Kawempe South MP Mubarak Munyagwa, Dan Matsiko and Moses Byamugisha.

The real competition, however, seems to be between Muntu, Amuriat and, to some extent, new kid on the block Munyagwa.

On Monday, all candidates, except Moses Byamugisha, (who was upcountry), addressed a joint press conference at the party headquarters, outlining their vision for the countrys largest opposition party and the country.

In their respective speeches, some of the key sticking issues that will define the campaign came to the fore, as each candidate tried hard to dampen the others selling points.



DEFIANCE/COMPLIANCE

The term defiance came to dominate the FDC vocabulary after the 2016 general election, which the party claims was rigged in favor of the ruling NRM and its candidate Museveni.

Dr Kizza Besigye, the FDC flag bearer, maintains he won the election with 52 per cent of the vote and declared himself president of the peoples government.

Both Munyagwa and Amuriat are members of the peoples government, with the former serving as the minister for security. Matsiko and Byamugisha also believe in the peoples government and contend that FDC must concentrate on reclaiming their 2016 victory before looking at the next general election in 2021.

We must refocus the party into activism to take advantage of the strength built in the peoples government to reclaim our victory, Amuriat said on Monday.

He accused the party leadership of sidelining Besigye and refusing to accord him any space to accommodate his defiance cabinet.

The 2016 election was not an ordinary election; we took a deliberate decision to form a peoples government. What we expected of the party leadership was to respect the partys NEC [National Executive Committee] decision. Today, the party president has shunned the peoples government. Apart from Ingrid Turinawe and a few party leaders, others have also been conspicuously absent; how do we know you support us?

However, Muntu argued that it is wrong for proponents of defiance to seek to lock out people they think dont support them.

There is no defiance activity that has come and we dont give it our full support. There are people who seem to be giving certificates to join defiance; it is a dangerous situation. If I can be denied entry, what about others who dont have name recognition like I do? he asked.

Muntu added that defiance should go hand in hand with building party structures so that if defiance is unable to break President Musevenis government, FDC will be ready to outcompete NRM in an election.

I fight wars that I want to win but you cant win a war when youre not prepared. I have a background in command and planning so I am careful and deliberate in doing things. I dont fight battles on emotions, Muntu said.



SHADOW CABINET

The other sticking issue that will determine the election is whether FDC, which claims the 2016 presidential election victory, was right to form a shadow cabinet or not.

Munyagwa argued that if elected president, he will, within 24 hours of being sworn in, recall the shadow cabinet.

You cant be pregnant and at the same time claim to be a virgin, he said. If you claim you won the election, then how do you be in the opposition?

Amuriat, who lost his re-election bid for a fourth term as MP, said the only right thing to do was never to allow the formation of a shadow cabinet, let alone take seats in parliament.

You cant eat your cake and have it, he said.

However, Muntu, who was at pains to defend his decision to appoint a shadow cabinet, said attacks against him are misguided.

He said in both elections of 2006 and 2011, FDC believed the polls were rigged in favor of Museveni but the party, through its NEC, resolved to participate in government with Dr Besigye appointing the leader of opposition in parliament in Prof Ogenga Latigo and Nathan Nandala-Mafabi in 2006 and 2011 respectively.

I want to understand colleagues who keep attacking me as a person yet it was the organs of the party that made the decision, a visibly agitated Muntu said.

People have abused me for the whole year for doing the same thing Dr Besigye did. I want to understand the motive.

THREE/FIVE YEARS

Dr Kizza Besigye, the FDC founding president, held the position up to November 2012 when he stepped down before the completion of his five year term that was due to end in 2015.

This created confusion in the party. That meant the term of office of the party president and that of other party officials ended at different times breaking from the tradition of all officials leaving office at the same time.

In 2012, FDC grappled with the question of whether Gen. Muntu should serve out Besigyes remainder of three years or complete his term of five years.

The National Executive Committee later resolved that Muntu completes five years as FDC president.

However, in the current race, two of the candidates, Munyagwa and Amuriat, have said if they are elected, they will serve only three years to save the party from spending a lot of money to organize two delegates conferences, which according to organisers cost close to Shs 500million.



AGE/EXPERIENCE

The two main contenders, Muntu and Amuriat, have a long history in leadership at national level. The same cannot be said of Matsiko Byamugisha and, to some extent Munyagwa, a onetime chairman of Kawempe division and now one year into his first term as Parliamentarian.

But Munyagwa insists that Muntu, who spent five years in the bush fighting to bring Museveni to power, has dithered for far too long at the helm of FDC.

When you continue with the same formula that has failed to deliver, you will be mad to expect different results, he said.

To Matsiko and Byamugisha, 2017 is the time for the youths, who constitute the party support base, to take power.



WEST VERSUS EAST

Both Besigye and Muntu hail from western Uganda; Rukungiri and Ntungamo respectively. Many party members this writer interviewed think it is time for another region to take over.

We must not be seen to be like the NRM, which is dominated by people from one side. I think its time to have another president from another region, said Moses Bakubi Lukubira, who bowed out of the race at the last minute.

Besides Muntu, the other two contenders, Byamugisha and Matsiko come from Bushenyi and Rukungiri respectively, both districts in Western Uganda.

Okello Kennedy, a KCCA councilor and staunch supporter of the Amuriat campaign, believes his camp has an edge.

There is a general consensus in FDC that somebody from another region takes over as party president, Okello said on the sidelines of Amuriats nomination.

Campaigns are expected to go on until November 17 when the more than 1,500 delegates meet in Namboole to decide who will be their president.



bakerbatte@gmail.com

bakerbatte@observer.ug
Unless he fails to beat the last hurdle, which is the much needed parliamentary approval, Justice Alfonse Chigamoy Owiny-Dollo is on course to become Ugandas deputy Chief Justice.

Owiny-Dollo will replace the controversial Justice Steven Kavuma, who retires next month having clocked the mandatory retirement age of 70.

Of the three judges that made the final list of nominees to replace Kavuma as deputy Chief Justice, Owiny-Dollo was the most junior.

During the search process, which took months, Justice Owiny-Dollo faced stiff competition from Justice Frederick Egonda-Ntende, a former chief justice of Seychelles, who is now at the Court of Appeal and Prof Lillian Tibatemwa-Ekirikubinza, a Supreme Court judge.

But on Tuesday night President Museveni, in exercising powers vested in him by article 142 (1) of the constitution and acting on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), appointed Owiny-Dollo as deputy Chief Justice. Owiny-Dollo now awaits parliamentary approval.

Justice Alfonse Chigamoy Owiny-Dollo

In the same communication, Museveni promoted Justice Owiny-Dollos colleagues, Justices Richard Buteera and Paul Mugamba, to the Supreme Court.

Justice Owiny-Dollo takes over the helms of the Court of Appeal, which also doubles as the Constitutional court at a time when the courts image has been soiled by Justice Kavumas unilateral issuance of controversial interim orders, which have since angered judges.



CASE BACKLOG

As Owiny-Dollo takes over the court, he will have to confront a huge case backlog. The national court census of 2016 found that the Court of Appeal and the Constitutional court combined have a total of 5,836 pending cases, accounting for 5 per cent of the pending cases (114,809) in the entire Judiciary.

Nevertheless, many legal experts believe that Owiny-Dollo, who has a bachelors degree of law (Makerere University), Masters of Arts Degree in conflict Resolution from Bradford University, and a certificate in advanced mediation skills from the Center for Conflict Resolution, Cape Town, will rise to the occasion.

Like I have said before, Owiny-Dollo is a judge with what we term as judicial temper, Julius Galisonga, a city advocate said, adding, He doesnt quarrel with lawyers, he just guides and thats what we need in the judiciary.

Interviewed yesterday, Ben Wacha, the former Oyam North legislator, who together with Justice Owiny- Dollo was in the Constituent Assembly (CA) and the sixth parliament, described the judge as principled. He said Owiny-Dollo understands the law.

If his work isnt interfered with by outsiders, Im confident he will do a good job, Wacha, a seasoned lawyer said. During our days in parliament, he did a good job. Even in the judiciary, he has done a good job.

But dealing with conflict situations, as the case is at the Court of Appeal, is not alien to Owiny-Dollo who represented Ogago County both in the CA and sixth parliament.

In 2006, he had a face-to-face meeting with LRA rebel leader Joseph Kony in Garamba forest in the DR Congo. During the meeting, he advised the warlord on the imperatives of pursuing a negotiated settlement to the armed conflict in Northern Uganda.

Owiny-Dollos mediating skills where further tested between 2007-2008 when he was the legal counsel to Riek Machar (then vice president South Sudan) who was the chief mediator in the Juba peace talks between the Ugandan government and the LRA rebels.

During the talks, the judge was tasked to recommend a transitional justice process suitable for the post-conflict Northern Uganda, a process that led to the establishment of the High court International Crimes Division (ICD) in Uganda.

The court, which follows the template of the International Criminal Court (ICC) was set up to try perpetrators of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide including commanders of the Joseph Kony-led LRA and other rebel groups.

Justice Owiny-Dollos experience in settling conflicts through mediation started in 1988 when he was appointed as legal counsel in the peace talks between then rebel outfit, Uganda Peoples Democratic Movement (UPDM), and government.

As legal counsel, he drafted the document that was executed as the historic peace agreement between government and UPDM at Pece Stadium, Gulu on June 3, 1988.

Born on January 18, 1956 Justice Owiny- Dollos judicial journey commenced in 2008 when he was appointed as a judge of the High court.

In his seven year tenure as a High court judge, he has served as resident judge of the High court in Fort Portal; he headed the Execution and Bailiffs division of the High court and also had a stint at the International Crimes Division (ICD) of the High court.

After seven years at the High court, in 2015, Owiny-Dollo, was promoted to the Court of appeal. However, he couldnt take his seat at the court immediately because he was still tied up at the High court criminal division hearing a terrorism case in which 13 men were accused of killing 76 people in twin bombings in Kampala.



TIES TO MUSEVENI, NRM

Though he has tried to exhibit his independence as a judge, his critics say he has too many ties with the ruling NRM regime to be independent.

They say those ties could handicap him, just as was the case with Kavuma, who served as minister for finance and defence before he was appointed as Court of Appeal judge.

In respect to Owiny-Dollo, critics cite his 1996 appointment as minister of state in charge of Northern Uganda Reconstruction Programme (NURP).

In 2006, two years before he was appointed as a judge, Owiny-Dollo was a member of President Musevenis defence team when his election was challenged by Dr Kizza Besigye in the Supreme Court.

Though he has a history with government, in his rulings, Owiny-Dollo showed no hesitation in ruling against NRM interests.

For instance, in 2011 while sitting in the Masaka High court, Owiny Dollo nullified the election of NRMs Muhammad Muyanja Mbabaali for forging academic documents. The petition had been filed by DPs Mathias Nsubuga, who has since passed on. Muyanja and Nsubuga battled for the Bukoto South seat.

In 2016, then junior lands minister Aidah Nantabas salary was attached by the High court following a judgment by Owiny-Dollo.

Nantabas salary was attached after she had failed to pay costs worth about Shs 23.7 million to one Abby Kasoro Kiberu.

Interviewed yesterday, seasoned lawyer Peter Walubiri said there are no questions marks about Owiny-Dollos abilities as a judge and an administrator. However, he warned that Owiny-Dollo is going to work in the same environment as Kavuma did.

Can he withstand the pressure and go against the powers that be? Can he rise above the clouds like an eagle? Walubiri asked, adding that though he doesnt expect miracles from Owiny-Dollo, he thinks he wont sink too low.

I dont expect him to change the judiciary but at least he will get the basics right, Walubiri said.



dkiyonga@gmail.com
Dr Stephen Isabalija has been fired as the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, only after ten months in the job.

Isabalija, who was appointed in November 2016, was shown the exit on Wednesday and he didnt turn up to office yesterday.

He had replaced Kariisa Kabagambe, who had been at the ministry for 20 years. When The Observer called him, he neither picked nor returned our calls. He also didnt answer our text messages.

However, the government spokesperson, Ofwono Opondo, confirmed Isabalijas sacking on Twitter, saying he has been asked to step aside. He did not give the reason for the sacking.

Dr Stephen Isabalija

Dr Isabalija had expectations that he was supposed to meet but failed so his contract was revoked by the president, he wrote. Isabalija hasnt been posted anywhere. There president directed that he should be given a one-month salary in lieu.

Yesterday, the government announced that Isabalija has been replaced, in acting capacity, by Robert Kasande, hitherto the acting director at the directorate of petroleum in the energy ministry.

Denis Kusasira, a lawyer and expert in energy industry, said Isabalija sold himself as somebody who knew something about the industry and the president believed him but he had failed to keep up once he was put on the hot seat.

If you dont know and dont want to learn, the industry will reject you. This is an industry of knowledge. You cannot get into it if you dont know, he said. The people youre dealing with know what they are doing. You cant come and gamble. He ended up messing up.

The most recent discomfort with Isabalijas management style was the way he handled the oil refinery deal. One of the consortia, led by Guangzhou DongSong Energy Group Ltd, complained they were appraised as best bidder but were surprised to see another firm being announced as having been chosen for the deal.

Government had chosen a consortium made up of American and Italian firms including General Electric [GE], Yaatra Ventures/ Intracontinent Assets Holdings and Saipem of USA and Italy.

The blame was laid squarely on Isabalija, who later told The Observer that they went through a verifiable process that is open for scrutiny and we are still following the same

Isabalija was blamed for choosing another consortium without informing the Energy Minister Irene Muloni.

However, some oil industry watchers told The Observer that it was highly unlikely that a mere Permanent Secretary would make a key decision on bids for such a strategic and highly lucrative piece of oil infrastructure without the nod or direction of President Museveni or cabinet, let alone the Energy minister.

The refinery will cost about $4 billion to build. President Museveni has been intimately involved in key decisions concerning development of the oil sector, in particular the oil refinery and the pipeline.

Given this, observers say, Isabalija could have been fired to appease powerful actors in the oil industry, including the Chinese consortium, who are not satisfied with the decisions on lucrative oil deals.

But there have also been complaints over the handling of the chasing of artisanal miners from the Mubende gold fields.

A source at the ministry of Energy told us one of Isabalijas transgressions was insubordination. He said he took decisions without the knowledge of the minister, which created discomfort at the ministry.
A meeting convened yesterday by the Prime Minister, Dr Ruhakana Rugunda has resolved that telecommunication companies abide by the August 30 deadline set by government to deactivate all unregistered Sim cards.

Dr Rugunda, while addressing the media at the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) conference hall today, revealed that the meeting had agreed not to extend the deadline, in spite of pleas by the telecom companies requesting for more time to verify their subscribers.

PM Ruhakana Rugunda (L), Judith Obitre Gama executive director, NIRA and Security minister, Henry Tumukunde

Rugunda chaired the consultative meeting last evening, which was attended by Security Minister, Lt. Gen Henry Tumukunde, Internal Affairs minister, Gen Jeje Odongo, senior officials from the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA), Uganda Communication Commission (UCC) and the National Information Technology Authority (NITA).

The major telecom companies also attended the meeting.

Dr Rugunda explained that a high level technical committee, chaired by Tumukunde and is composed of representatives from the telecom companies, NIRA, NITA and UCC, has been set up to ensure the seamless implementation and enforcement of the deadline.

We would like to stress that the purpose of the SIM card validation and verification exercise is to ensure the security of persons and property, and to prevent bad elements amongst us from using Sim card enabled devices from committing crime, the Prime Minister stressed.

Rugunda said subscribers who will be switched off but have balances on their mobile money accounts will be given a window period to only withdraw the money. He however did not state how long the period will be.

Tumukunde warned citizens against manipulating the system, particularly those who may attempt to use other peoples National Identity Numbers (NINs) to register their Sim cards.

Illegality will be treated as an illegality. We have the capacity to tell when things are not going well. The aftermath of this exercise will be to take care of these wrong acts and thats why the technical committee has been put in placeThis registration exercise is largely about placing criminal activity to an individual, Tumukunde said.

The Prime Minister said that approximately 98 per cent of active Sim cards in Uganda are compliant to the requirements of the current validation and verification exercise.

Official statistics from NIRA indicates that data for 31.3 million subscribers have been forwarded to the authority for verification.

Out of these, 25.3 million subscribers have had the data used to register their Sim cards corroborated with information in the NIRA database, while 4.66 million subscribers were not found.


I have been following undertakings in the Forum for Democratic Change for a couple of years and have been admiring their democratic path.

Many people have been praising their progress towards democratisation, internally and externally. Even some NRM members have openly praised FDC for being a democratic organisation.

But we are on the verge of losing out on the good values propagated by FDC should they fail to democratically handle the current campaigns for party president.

There is a group in FDC all over social media hurling insults at whoever is not supporting a candidate presumed to be backed by Dr Kizza Besigye. I remember during Uganda Young Democrats (UYD) days, there was a tendency of mudslinging whoever was opposed to Al Hajji Nasser Ntege Sebaggala as a mole.

In the ongoing FDC presidential campaigns, the same is surfacing and now entrenched by people you would think are the mirror of the party. I think this is as a result of building a party based on sentimentalism, not ideology.

Many people are obsessed with removing President Museveni against building capacity for parties. Museveni will go someday, but do we have the strength and capacity to outdo his machinery which he has built for over three decades?

The 2009 Buganda riots were a golden opportunity to do away with Museveni, but he survived because we had no organisation. If we dont organise and preoccupy ourselves with removing Museveni, he will go but independents such as Bobi Wine will take over and parties will remain spectators.

For Dr Besigye, it is not proper to keep quiet when a group purporting to be speaking his mind is all over media demonising whoever they think is opposed to their line of thinking.

I have worked closely with Dr Besigye and his democratic credentials are not questionable. I remember during our struggles against unemployment, some people alleged that some members were paid by the regime to spy on us.

Dr Besigye invited us and I remember him telling us not to worry about spies because what we were doing was legitimate.

He told us when a mature person professes something during day, why get concerned of what he does at night? He even told us of FDC MPs who confessed to going to State House to solve their financial problems; but they were never dismissed from the party.

Thus, Besigye should come out and give direction on how campaigns should be handled to avoid disintegration of the party.

To my colleagues in FDC, I think you can make your case on the manner and direction you want your party to take without name calling. At one point in time, the society will lose trust in all of us in the opposition.



Abdulnoor Ssentongo Kyamundu,

Justice Forum spokesperson.



I support the proposal for local products market day



I recently listened to a radio talk show where they hosted Hajjat Hadijja Nakakande, the spokesperson of the ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives, as she talked about the new strategic plan of promoting the Buy Uganda, Build Uganda (BUBU) campaign.

The ministry has come up with a specific Sunday every month that will give a platform to all local products to have market, just like Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) did for street vendors.

Although the ministry had introduced BUBU, the program lacked accessibility by local consumers and coming up with this initiative is a good thing.

Majority Ugandans have been buying products from other countries just because similar local products are inaccessible.

I do not see the reason why we keep importing coffee yet we have our own; importing clothes when we have Nytil factory that produces the same cotton clothes; or importing milk products when we have our cows.

I believe that this specific Sunday for local products will give a chance to Ugandans to fully utilize their own products.

In 1933, America introduced a law of Buy America Hire America which has promoted the products made from America mainly to the local consumers and manufacturers.

Introducing a local product market day is a good initiative from ministry of Trade because local consumers will know the exact place to find products which are made here and those selling them will know where buyers will be finding them.

David Serumaga,

serumagadavid916@gmail.com.



Minister Lokodo right to stop gays



On August 16, 2017, Ethics minister Simon Lokodo issued a directive stopping a gala, scheduled to take place at the Sheraton hotel in Kampala, accusing the organizers of attempting to stage an illegal gathering aimed at recruitment, exhibition and promotion of homosexuality.

While the Anti-Homosexuality Act of 2014 was annulled, it should be made clear that homosexuality and all related activities remain unacceptable in this country.

Uganda has a high unemployment rate, with the youth taking the biggest percentage. These are young and gullible people that are most likely to be taken up by new trends such as homosexuality in the guise of getting money.

However, despite the challenge of unemployment, homosexuality should not be given a platform in our country because it is not part of our norms. It is good that Uganda is making it clear.

I, therefore, thank the minister and encourage Ugandans to stand with him in maintaining their social and religious stand against homosexuality and should not be intimidated by these so-called human rights activists.

Natasha Mariam,

Kampala.



Visit the beach to relax your mind



It was a Friday afternoon that I left my workplace and went to the beach. I was under much stress and my head needed serious rest before I ran insane.

At the lakeside, I relaxed while watching the calm water making small waves. It was a nice experience and by the time I left, my mind was free of most of my troubling experiences.

Many things stress us at home, work, school or anywhere. Learn to leave your usual environs and visit a cool place to refresh your mind. This cencept has worked for me.

You can make a mind give you back anything you want, but remember the mind can give back only what it was first given. Saturate your thoughts with peaceful experiences, peaceful words and ideas. - Norman Vincent Peale.

Herbert Ssekitto,

hssekitto11@gmail.com.



letters@observer.ug
Last week, opposition chief whip and Kira municipality MP Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda rattled some among the ranks and leadership of his party, the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC).

Ssemujju, it should be noted, is also the spokesperson of Ugandas main opposition party, FDC. Ssemujju maintains an unusual and unapologetic knack for speaking his mind.

Writing in his column in this newspaper, he made a few statements that ultimately earned him some dose of ridicule from sections of his party or, perhaps more precisely, those who unwaveringly believe in FDCs founding president, Dr Kizza Besigye. At least two are worth paraphrasing here.

First, in a major departure from his previous alignment with one of FDCs two contending factions, he announced that he is backing incumbent Gregory Mugisha Muntu in the race for party president. Voting is slated for November and nominations were conducted last week. Ssemujju emerged as head of Muntus campaign team.

Second, he stated with some candor that he was not in the business of blindly following a person or an idea and that the narrative of defiance against the Museveni regime (headed by Dr Besigye) and compliance with the status quo (ostensibly represented by Muntus style of leadership) is a misleading conjecture.

When Muntu ran against Besigye for party president and presidential candidate, Ssemujju openly supported Besigye on both occasions. On both occasions, Besigye won and Muntu conceded.

In the November 2012 race for party president, pitting Muntu against MP Nathan Nandala-Mafabi, Ssemujju backed the latter.

In this instance, Muntu emerged winner but Mafabi did not concede, citing unfairness and irregularities at the behest of the then party secretary general, Alice Alaso. Muntus victory was contested and plunged the party into a factional split from which it has never recovered.

This time, Muntus opponent is not Besigye or Mafabi but a surprising challenger in former MP Patrick Oboi Amuriat. Just like in 2012, Besigye has not made his preference known, at least not publicly.

But because some of his closest and ardent supporters have openly ostracized Muntu, called him a mole, belittled his leadership credentials and questioned his commitment to defeating Musevenis authoritarian establishment, there is a sense that Besigye did not favor Muntus candidacy in 2012 and is unlikely to back his 2017 reelection.

Ssemujjus announcement that he was backing Muntu, and his assertion that he would not blindly bow to a false dichotomy of defiance versus compliance, was met with swift condemnation and gratuitous ridicule.

He instantly became a traitor to those who see the struggle against Musevenis misrule as involving, on the one hand, those who are firmly behind Dr Besigye and, on the other, those who support Museveni and his NRM.

If you are not with the NRM regime and its cabal of rulers, you must be unreservedly behind Besigye. To be part of the latters cause, one cannot have any reservations about the ideas on the table and the methods of work proposed.

You can question neither tactic nor strategy. You cannot be seen to be finding a middle ground and that can potentially yield a wider coalition of opposition, including from within the ruling NRM behemoth.

Last week, quite predictably, Ssemujju became the latest target of cheap blackmail and misguided denunciation.

For someone who was for long known to hold unfailing faith in Besigye and uncompromising opposition against Museveni and the NRM, it emerged overnight from FDC circles that Ssemujju is a mole. We were told that he had been paid a billion shillings or something like that.

Suddenly, it emerged last week that Ssemujju was always suspected of being slippery and would not be trusted to remain true to towing the correct line.

Now that he had decided to openly support Muntu, a man who cannot be trusted to lead FDC and who is not genuinely opposition, it confirms that Ssemujju is not with the pure FDC cause.

Looked at very carefully and closely, there is a strand of FDC that is actually quite dangerous for progressive politics in Uganda. It seeks purity of opposition.

It dubiously attempts to patent opposition such that whoever is seen as not opposition enough necessarily belongs to the other side. For this group, aggressive activism is the thing. Strategy is not necessarily critical; introspection is probably out of the picture.

This strand of FDC does not entertain any questioning of the leader seen as the towering captain of the struggle against Museveni and his decadent regime.

If you openly express views contradictory to the stated agenda of Dr Besigye, however unclear and inchoate that agenda might be, it cant be that you are being candid and independent-minded. It can only be that you either quietly work for

Museveni or one of his handlers have handed you some money. This mindset is most unfortunate because it means Besigye, the FDC leadership and the wider collection of opposition forces who otherwise hold a common agenda cannot pull in one direction.

They cant forge linkages and harness resources from the many Ugandans opposed to the Museveni regime but who cannot stand the politics of insults and mudsling. The ultimate beneficiary is the Sabalwanyi.

moses.khisa@gmail.com



The author is an assistant professor of political science at North Carolina State University.
Britain's Public Relations and Communications Assn.is expected to sanction Bell Pottinger for its campaign that stirred up racial tensions in South Africa.

In July, BP CEO James Henderson issued a "full, unequivocal and absolute apology" for the firm's work on behalf of former South African client Oakbay Capital, which is owned by the controversial Gupta family.

Critics charged the PR campaign bolstered the conglomerate by cashing in on the Guptas close ties with South African president Jacob Zuma while depicting opponents as agents of "white monopoly capital."

PRCA will publish its decision on BP during the week of Sept. 4.

Director Francis Ingham said in a statement the BP sanctions decision will be made "once it has been through the full and balanced process set out in our professional charter and codes of conduct, including any appeals."

Henderson, who has denied reports that he had resigned, told the Guardian that BP board is "considering all options" in the aftermath of the scandal.

Those options could lead to Henderson selling his stake in the firm.
The US China Business Association, a non-profit comprised of American business executives dedicated to promoting bilateral economic development and trade relations between China and the United States, as well as assisting Chinese businesses entering the U.S. market, has inked a pact with law firm Thompson Coburn LLP for representation on economic development issues on Capitol Hill.

China is currently the U.S.s largest goods-trading partner. U.S. goods exported to China in 2016 totaled $115 billion, making China the U.S.s third-largest export market, behind Canada and Mexico. Chinese goods imported to the U.S. last year, by contrast, were far larger, at about $462 billion.

TC will help UCBA arrange meetings with the White House and administration officials as well as members of Congress, according to lobbying registration documents filed in August.

Partner Ken Salomon, who also serves as treasurer of Thompson Coburn's Political Action Committee, leads the account.

Thompson Coburn, which was founded in 1929 and staffs about 400 attorneys, maintains offices in Chicago, St. Louis, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C. and Southern Illinois.
An Offaly father is in a critical condition in hospital after he fell from a teleporter with his young son at a house in Offaly on Thursday, August 24.

The 47-year-old man was injured along with his 11-year-old son in Shinrone at around 3.50pm in the afternoon following the tragic incident.

The father was airlifted to Tallaght hospital after the accident but was later transferred to Beaumont hospital where he is said to be in a critical condition.

Gardai were called to the scene in Shinrone where the accident occurred at a house in Congort.

As the father was taken to Dublin, his young son, who was also injured, was taken to Tullamore hospital to be treated for non-life threatening injuries.

The Health and Safety Authority are aware of the incident and inspectors are set to assess the scene on Friday.
Aubrey Plaza is very good at playing various shades of bad.

In Parks and Recreation, she was the mischievous misanthrope April. In Dirty Grandpa and Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates, she became a hot-mess sociopath. In the FX series Legion, she got to play an enormously powerful psychic demon-god.

And in the indie dramedy Ingrid Goes West, Plaza gets her best big-screen role to date, as a deeply unstable woman with a penchant for stalking her social media friends.

When we first meet Ingrid, shes recovering in a Pennsylvania mental hospital following the death of her mother and a subsequent violent act: Ingrid maced an acquaintance at a wedding.

Ingrids best friend  in her own mind  is Taylor (Elizabeth Olsen), a minor social media star living a seemingly perfect little life in L.A. Ingrid comments on one of Taylors Instagram photos, Taylor responds and Ingrid becomes obsessed.

She uses $62,000 in inheritance money to pack up and move to L.A., where she can stalk Taylor IRL.

Her first stratagem is to go to all of Taylors favorite hipster haunts, in the hopes of inserting herself into Taylors life. When that doesnt work, she kidnaps Taylors dog.

As Ingrids efforts escalate, Ingrid Goes West grows increasingly darker.

Ingrid encounters obstacles to dominating Taylors affections in the form of Taylors pop-artist husband (Wyatt Russell) and recovering-addict brother (Billy Magnussen). Also slowing her plans: Ingrid develops feelings for her friend and landlord, Dan (OShea Jackson Jr.), who is obsessed with Batman.

Writer/director Matt Spicer infuses the film with some soft but amusing satire, lampooning easy targets like vapid L.A. scenesters and the web celebrity culture they are consumed with. (Spicer also has a good eye for making social media imagery pop on screen.) But the satire curdles into something disturbing when it comes to Ingrid, who has made this vacuous lifestyle her object of worship.

Ingrids self-delusion and narcissism make it impossible to root for her, but its these same toxic qualities that make her (and sometimes the film) so compelling.

She wants only to be loved, but shes unremittingly unlikable. She wants someone to care about her, but she refuses to care about anyone but herself.

No one would have been better-suited for this part than Plaza; its a match made in hell.

Ingrid Goes West

Grade: B

Cast: Aubrey Plaza, Elizabeth Olsen, OShea Jackson Jr., Wyatt Russell, Billy Magnussen

Director: Matt Spicer

Rating: R for language throughout, drug use, some sexual content and disturbing behavior

Running time: 1 hour, 37 minutes

Theaters: Alamo, Oakview
Wind River begins with a young American Indian woman running barefoot through the snow in the dead of night before collapsing and drowning in her own blood.

The victim is Natalie (Kelsey Asbille Chow), an 18-year-old from Wyomings Wind River Indian Reservation. Her body is soon discovered by Cory Lambert (Jeremy Renner), a tracker who knew her.

The authorities are called in, and a sole FBI agent arrives: Jane Banner (Elizabeth Olsen), who comes to the scene underdressed for the snowstorm and unprepared for the despair and cruelty to which shell soon bear witness.

Together, Cory, Jane and tribal police chief Ben (Graham Greene) launch their investigation, heading up the mountain and into hell. Thus begins another crackerjack crime thriller from Sicario and Hell or High Water writer Taylor Sheridan.

Wind River is a satisfying whodunit, but the crime itself is brutally simple. The murder serves as the tip of the iceberg to a much larger and more pervasive injustice: violence toward American Indian women.

The film ends with an enraging postscript: While missing person statistics are compiled for every other demographic, none exist for Native American women.

Citing data compiled by the Justice Department, the New York Times wrote in 2012 that American Indian women are raped or sexually assaulted at four times the national average and are 10 times as likely to be murdered as other Americans. Such an outrage is aided in part by jurisdictional conflicts that tribes say result in a second-rate justice system for their communities.

Wind River is nothing if not a full-throated howl at this systemic inequity, and it capably packages its rage into its gripping case-of-the-week plot. It helps that theres so much going on under the surface because Wind River occasionally tends to lean a little conventional.

Its not as good as the films Sheridan previously penned. It doesnt have the operatic intensity of Sicario nor the gruff gallows humor of Hell or High Water. But then Sheridan, who directed Wind River himself, isnt at the level of the filmmakers Denis Villeneuve and David Mackenzie. Those two directors also managed to iron out some of Sheridans cheesier tendencies.

Sheridan handles his own material just fine, often better than fine, but he clearly needs a collaborator to take his screenplays to another level.

Nonetheless, the setting does a lot of the work for him in establishing an appropriately hopeless mood. The frigid isolation of the reservation and the surrounding area makes for an infinitely more compelling locale than that of the typical thriller.

Our heroes are entirely on their own, and you feel it in every shot of the vast, barren vistas.

Before heading into what will clearly be a shootout, Jane asks Ben if theyre going to wait for backup. He shakes his head.

This isnt the land of backup, Jane. This is the land of Youre on your own. 

By the time the films soul-shattering finale arrives, Jane sees just how true that is.

****

Wind River

Grade: B+

Cast: Jeremy Renner, Elizabeth Olsen, Kelsey Asbille Chow, Graham Greene, Gil Birmingham, Julia Jones, Martin Sensmeier

Director: Taylor Sheridan

Rating: R for strong violence, a rape, disturbing images and language

Running time: 1 hour, 47 minutes

Theaters: Aksarben, Alamo, Bluffs 17, Majestic, Oakview, Regal, Twin Creek, Village Pointe, Westroads

*******

Sheridan keeps building on his success

Actor-writer-director Taylor Sheridan is on a bit of a roll.

In 2015 he wrote the acclaimed drug-cartel actioner Sicario.

In 2016 he penned the Oscar-nominated screenplay for the modern Western Hell or High Water.

And now hes got yet another early-autumn critical darling in theaters: Wind River, a modern mystery he directed as well as wrote.

Thus far Sheridan has proven really adept at this: Putting great characters into a pressure-cooker conflict and making them fight their way out.

His roll looks to continue into next year.

In the summer of 2018 well see Soldado, Sheridans sequel to Sicario, which brings back the characters played by Benicio Del Toro and Josh Brolin.

And sometime next year well get to see Sheridans scripted series on the new Paramount Network, Yellowstone. The Western drama stars Kevin Costner as the patriarch of a Montana family trying to fend off various encroachers to their ranchland.
College history students this semester have the chance to create two exhibits to be featured at the Durham Museum next year.

The museum is partnering with the University of Nebraska at Omaha and Creighton University on its Community Classroom program, in which students from both schools will research and prepare exhibit material. The final projects will be included in the museums 2018 exhibit lineup.

Students at UNO are working on Women in Omaha: A Biographical Sketch of Persistence Through History, which will cover the experiences of women in the Western United States.

Students in UNOs Service Learning Academy this spring interviewed notable Nebraska women or their descendants to gather oral histories, said Carrie Meyer, director of curatorial and education services at the museum. This semester another class of service learning students, led by Elaine Nelson, assistant professor of history and executive director of the Western History Association, are writing text that will place the interviews in historical context.

At Creighton, history students this fall will complete Omaha in the Anthropocene. The exhibit centers on a proposed label for the current geologic era, based on the idea that humans have significantly affected Earths environmental history.

Students of Adam Sundberg, assistant professor of history and digital humanities at Creighton, will select an object from the Durhams archives and research how that object connects to humanitys global impact, Sundberg said.

An old Butter-Nut coffee can, for example, could be used to tell the story of the coffee bean, from its domestication to its distribution as an international commodity.

Its easy to go to a museum and see historical objects and say This is a part of my past, but all of those objects are also very concretely related to how we live today, Sundberg said.

The challenge for students at both schools, Meyer said, is to take broad, complicated topics and make the information interesting and digestible for the public.

It gives the students the opportunity to bridge between the classroom and real life, Meyer said. Its an opportunity for the students to speak directly to the community.

******

Coming to The Durham Museum in 2018

Women in Omaha: A Biographical Sketch of Persistence Through History

Feb. 3 through July 29

The exhibit will feature oral histories of Nebraska women speaking about their experiences in the Western United States.

Fighting for the Right to Fight: African-American Experiences in World War II

Feb. 17 through July 15

Developed by the National World War II Museum in New Orleans, the exhibit documents the wartime experiences of African-Americans, many of whom enlisted in hopes of securing equality.

Omaha in the Anthropocene

March 10 through Jan. 27, 2019

The exhibit places artifacts from the Durhams collection in the context of the Anthropocene, a proposed geologic era based on the idea that humans have become a significant factor in Earths geologic history.

American Adventure

March 17 through July 29

The exhibit is an immersive, role-playing experience that challenges visitors to survive one year as one of the original Jamestown colonists.

Fighting for the Good Life: Nebraskans and the Great War

Aug. 18 through Jan. 27, 2019

The exhibit commemorates the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I by highlighting the wars effects on Omaha and the region. The museum is asking anyone with relevant objects to reach out to WW1@durhammuseum.org.

Thomas D. Mangelsen: A Life in the Wild

Sept. 1 through Jan. 6, 2019

The museum is hosting the world premiere of acclaimed nature photographer Thomas D. Mangelsens exhibit, which features his 40 most resonant images. Mangelsens career spans more than 40 years and all seven continents.
My son sat on our front steps, elbows on knees and chin in hands, waiting patiently. Hed been there for at least 15 minutes.

All of the sudden he popped up. Mom, I gotta go potty. Let me know if the mail lady comes. Ill be right back!

In mid flight, he paused, turned to me with a serious expression and said: The other day I went potty, and I missed her. I dont want to do that again!

Then he disappeared into the house.

I couldnt help but admire his commitment. On those slow summer days, getting the mail was often the highlight of his afternoon. It meant he got first dibs on opening the junk mail, plus the mail lady was always sweet to him.

That day, he returned to his watch post in time and was rewarded with a heap of junk mail, which he dutifully brought inside to be sorted.

That's right. Thanks to Victorias Secret, our mail now has to go through a motherly screening process.

I like their bras, but what I dont like is that placing an order basically signs you up for a six month subscription to soft porn. Once you make an order, they start sending you magazines with a woman in her underwear on the cover.

Maybe I sound a little prudish here. After all, underwear is the product theyre trying to sell.

But come on, Victorias Secret, know your target audience. Cant you put a model in some of those comfy pajamas on the front? Im a busy mom of two...youre going to seduce me with sleep, not a half-naked woman.

And at least then my boys would have a chance at avoiding soft porn in their mailbox at such a young age. Theyd have to actually open the magazine to see something Id rather them not be thinking about before they even have a chance to reach their pre-teen years.

I know we live in a world where sex sells and this kind of thing is everywhere you look, but we have to draw the line somewhere. So I stopped shopping at Victorias Secret, and the magazines have stopped coming.

Its not much; a drop in the bucket compared to everything kids are exposed to these days. But its something I could do, and when youre trying to raise little boys to be good men, every little bit helps.

***

Jenni DeWitt is married and has two sons, the youngest of whom battled childhood leukemia  and won. Jenni writes weekly for Momaha.com. She is the author of "Forty Days" and "Why Won't God Talk to Me?" You can read more about Jenni here.
The Learning Community property tax rate will go up next year to fund programs aimed at helping metro-Omaha poor and immigrant kids succeed in school.

Members of the Learning Community Coordinating Council voted to increase the levy to 1.5 cents per $100 of valuation, the maximum under state law. The rate will rise from 1.4 cents.

The increase of one-tenth of a cent will raise about $558,000 for the district.

For the owner of a $150,000 house, it will add $1.50 in property taxes, bringing the bill to $24.38 a year.

David Moon, the Learning Communitys finance director, said the impact to the average homeowners pocketbook was about a soda.

John Pinkerton of Omaha, one of several people who testified at a public hearing on the tax increase, said even a small increase is too much for a businessman struggling to pay his taxes.

Lets try decreasing the budget by a soda, Pinkerton said.

Willie Barney, who heads the Empowerment Network, testified that he supports the work of the Learning Community.

He said Omaha is ahead of other cities, making progress in addressing poverty and improving student achievement. He said the Learning Communitys been a part of the solution.

Now is not the time to take your foot off the accelerator, he said.

Council member Tonya Ward questioned whether the millions of dollars spent on programs are helping children. She said the Learning Community has a top-down organization, and the money never trickles down to the people in deep poverty who need the most help.

You cant program children out of poverty, she said.

Council President Lorraine Chang said the Learning Community cant give direct support to those in poverty. Its approach, she said, is to influence those who work with kids, providing a very strong indirect impact on children.

The council approved a $9.8 million budget for 2017-18, of which about $7.7 million would be spent on its elementary learning center programs.

About $2.1 million will pay for programs at the north Omaha center at 24th and Franklin Streets.

The center provides programs and services for parents, children and teachers, focusing on six elementary schools: Kellom, Conestoga, Franklin, Lathrop, Skinner and Minne Lusa.

Parent University  offering an array of support classes for parents at those schools  is centered at the north site.

About $1.3 million will go to programs provided through the Learning Community Center of South Omaha at 23rd and M Streets.

Its primary program is the family-learning program, also offered at Gateway Elementary School, giving parents skills to better navigate the school system and support their children.

About $2.6 million will go to an early childhood initiative launched in 2015.
The fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a decade came ashore late Friday about 30 miles (48 kilometers) northeast of Corpus Christi as a mammoth Category 4 storm with 130 mph (209 kph) winds. It weakened overnight to Category 1 and then to a tropical storm.
LINCOLN  Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson says he lacks the legal authority to seek a court-appointed attorney to investigate possible wrongdoing at the State Patrol, as a group of state senators has asked him to do.

Seventeen of the 49 members of the Nebraska Legislature signed a letter this week asking Peterson to let the courts appoint a special assistant attorney general to look into allegations that patrol supervisors meddled in internal investigations. A conflict of interest would require an outside prosecutor, they argue, because state law compels the attorney general to defend state troopers facing criminal charges or lawsuits.

In a written response Thursday, Peterson said he cannot ask to have the courts appoint a special prosecutor. But nothing would prevent a county attorney from prosecuting a violation that may be uncovered in an ongoing probe by the FBI.

In another patrol-related development, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has closed a complaint from a female trooper who underwent what she alleged was a sexually invasive physical when she was a recruit. The complaint was closed without an investigation by the federal agency that reviews complaints about workplace discrimination.

Trooper Brienne Splittgerber has alleged in a federal lawsuit that a doctor contracted by the patrol required her to expose her genitals for a medically unnecessary exam that was part of a mandatory physical she underwent as a recruit in 2014.

In a June letter to Splittgerber, the federal employment commission said it could not investigate her complaint because the complaint was filed too late. The commissions letter also indicated the patrol had already remedied the conditions which you allege were discriminatory, according to the Associated Press.

An email from a patrol attorney said the exam in question was a hernia check, but that recruits could request to have their physicals performed by their own doctors if they preferred. The agency has since awarded its medical contract to a different clinic.

Omaha attorney Tom White, who represents Splittgerber in the lawsuit, said Thursday two additional female troopers have filed complaints with the employment commission about the same exams. While those complaints also were lodged after the deadline, the commission has not yet dismissed them, White said.

He said the high degree of public scrutiny on the patrol may have prompted the commission to take a closer look this time. A spokeswoman for the commission did not comment.

On June 30, Gov. Pete Ricketts fired Col. Brad Rice as the superintendent of the State Patrol after a preliminary personnel review found that Rice and other patrol staff had interfered in internal investigations involving the use of force by at least two state troopers. Further review also raised concerns about the way the female troopers complaints had been handled.

Although the matter has already been turned over to the FBI, Omaha Sen. Burke Harr argued that the state should conduct its own investigation.

Based on the conflict, the law requires you petition the court to appoint a special assistant attorney general to perform the prosecutorial functions in this matter, Harrs letter stated. Failure to request an appointment carries an appearance of impropriety and raises ethical concerns.

In response, Peterson said only the attorney general has the authority to appoint special assistants. The law requiring him to defend state troopers precludes him from doing so in this case, he argued.

I simply cannot use my office to initiate a process that has no sound legal basis, Peterson said.
Eighty members of Nebraskas Task Force One are en route to San Antonio to await further instruction on how to help potential victims of Hurricane Harvey.

The federal task force  composed of doctors, engineers, first responders and firefighters from Omaha, Lincoln and Papillion fire departments  are pulled from their day jobs to serve the team. The team also includes five canine search specialists with five dogs.

They will wait in San Antonio along with teams from Tennessee, Ohio, Colorado, Missouri and California, and then most likely be deployed to other Texas cities, such as Corpus Christi, to assist in water evacuations.

Were kind of at the mercy of Harvey at what direction it wants to go, said Brad Thavenet, the task force program manager and a battalion chief at Lincoln Fire & Rescue Department. Well move like a chessboard, moving the pieces accordingly.

The team was told it would stay for 14 days, but the duration could be shorter or longer, he said.

The Nebraska group is one of 28 federal task forces, Thavenet said.

The team is specially trained to handle emergency situations. Nebraskas Task Force One has responded to other major events, such as the World Trade Center attack in 2001 and the Little Sioux, Iowa, tornado in 2008.

People of Nebraska should be blessed to have the task force in their backyard, he said.
Nearly a decade ago, Nebraska abruptly launched a controversial effort to privatize child welfare services  the care and support for vulnerable children facing crisis situations at home.

These home emergencies arise from mental health issues, substance abuse concerns, financial problems or abuse and neglect.

Nebraskas attempt at child welfare privatization wasnt adequately planned or funded, however, and it triggered major disruption and instability. A series of private providers dropped out.

There was one exception: Nebraska Families Collaborative, formed by Boys Town and other Omaha-area providers. The nonprofit organization continues to handle the cases in Douglas and Sarpy Counties, while the State Department of Health and Human Services handles cases in the rest of Nebraska.

Matt Wallen, the new Children and Family Services director for HHS, was right this week when he said its in the public interest for the state and Nebraska Families Collaborative to work constructively with each other to ensure children receive needed care.

Differences in perspective will arise at times between HHS and the collaborative, but its imperative that the two organizations keep any disagreements from undercutting the quality of care.

The collaborative handles about 5,000 child welfare cases a year  just under half of the state total.

Nebraskas child welfare system has made progress in several ways since its privatization effort all but collapsed. NFC, for example, has made improvements in regard to child safety, social worker caseloads, permanent placement and placement with relatives.

The Legislature and Gov. Pete Ricketts took an important step this year by approving funding for a sixth juvenile court judge for Douglas County. That step should go far in reducing delays that currently leave too many foster children in limbo for extended periods.

Considerable challenges remain for Nebraskas child welfare system, both statewide and in the Douglas-Sarpy area. Federal standards for such services are being tightened. Turnover among front-line personnel is still too high.

Above all, as the Nebraska Families Collaborative acknowledges, children are removed from the home in Douglas and Sarpy Counties at far too high a rate, especially in regard to children of color.

Additional uncertainties remain. State funding falls well short of meeting Nebraskans behavioral health needs, burdening the child welfare system with the consequences. The federal government may make major changes to the Medicaid program, creating possible complications.

The collaboratives current contract will expire in mid-2019, and contract negotiations with the state always prove complicated and challenging in hashing out payment rates and other specifics.

Nebraskas child welfare situation, then, is a mixed one  plenty of positives, but also many challenges. A key to further progress is a positive working relationship between the state and Nebraska Families Collaborative. So far, theyre sending the right message of cooperation.
The writer, a farmer from southwest Iowa, is a founding board member of Western Iowa Energy and a director on the National Corn Growers Association board.

As a farmer who raises corn, soybeans, hay and cattle, Im troubled by the direction of the Renewable Fuel Standard. Backing away from this federal renewable fuel requirement, as the Environmental Protection Agency is proposing, will affect Nebraska, Iowa and other Midwestern states in ways we may not realize.

I have a strong recollection of the rural economy when I was young, seeing the struggles of my grandparents. The RFS is helping to shape the future, defining a new bioeconomy. It is the driving force behind a robust market for agricultural products.

Feed sources such as DDGs, wet cakes, soy hulls and vegetable oils are all parts of ag processing, but when grains are left unprocessed, the full economic value is never realized. Its all about adding value.

With biodiesel and ethanol plants now dotted across the landscape, weve created American jobs and brought our country more economic stability.

Biofuel production, research and education has helped rebuild our rural economy. This policy is making farmers stronger, which makes our countrys food supply stronger.

Not only do rural areas benefit from the RFS, but urban centers are also big winners. The air quality benefits that we gain from using biodiesel and ethanol have been measurable. City fuel consumers see lower costs at the pump as a direct result of the success of this policy.

Many are also relieved to use less foreign oil. The United States must be a world leader in renewable energies, and we must defend policies such as the RFS.

I have witnessed these important rural economic wins as a founding board member for Western Iowa Energy. Our biodiesel plant in Wall Lake, Iowa, has been a big win for a small town. Not only have we returned to our investors the money they entrusted with us, but we also have returned jobs.

We employ 30 people full-time, and our daily business activities contribute to employ truckers, construction workers, the hairdresser, the packing plant, workers at the diner and of course our farmer neighbors. We have made Wall Lake and the surrounding area a better place for generations to come.

While these dollars are working in our community and beyond, it saddens me to see EPA underestimate the production ability of the biodiesel industry once again.

Its proposed volumes, being well below capacity, are not only disappointing, but also tarnish the reputation of what I believe will go down in history as one of the greatest pieces of American legislation for its wide-scale benefits.

At Western Iowa Energy, we have run below our production capacity many of our years in business, and it is disheartening to see the EPA choke the potential of this industry once again.

It doesnt have to be this way. With renewed support from the EPA, more investment into biofuels will come. I urge anyone who cares about this American industry to submit comments by Aug. 31 to the EPA to reconsider its position (biodiesel.org) and let biodiesel help move America forward.
The Trump administration has surprised Egypts autocratic government by delaying or diverting nearly $300 million in U.S. aid. Its an appropriate response to the most severe repression in the Arab countrys modern history and to the regimes collaboration with North Korea.

But for those who believe that President Donald Trump has suddenly lost his affection for Egyptian strongman Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, some perspective is necessary: The actions were largely forced by congressional legislation, and they are unlikely to have much effect unless there is follow-up in the next federal budget.

Congress has banned military aid to foreign forces suspected of human rights abuses, and it has specifically linked 15 percent of the $1.3 billion in annual military aid to Egypt to human rights.

The administrations action affects $65 million in military aid from fiscal year 2014 that was set to expire Sept. 30 and that could not be justified under the so-called Leahy amendment linking foreign military aid to human rights performance. An additional $30 million in economic aid  unspent because of Cairos noncooperation  was withdrawn.

Meanwhile, the administration issued a waiver to avoid the congressional human rights restrictions on $195 million more in military aid. It says it will hold that money until the Sissi regime meets new terms set by the administration, including mitigating a new law that places drastic controls on nongovernmental organizations and reducing Egypts cooperation with North Korea.

Sissi should not be surpised by this: He ignored strong messages from Washington on North Korea and the nongovernmental organization law. He may have calculated that Trump would fail to hold him accountable  as happened under President Barack Obama.

The Trump administration will be tempted to follow the same course. Instead, it  and Congress  should fundamentally reform aid to Egypt. The administrations budget for 2018 includes no cut in aid to Cairo even while slashing assistance to virtually every other country in the world. By way of contrast, Tunisia, the only country to emerge from the Arab Spring as a democracy, under a government eager to cooperate with the United States on counterterrorism, is slated for a 67 percent cut.

Egyptian military aid has been delivered though a system called cash-flow financing that allows Cairo to commit to the purchase of big-ticket items such as F-16 fighter planes years in advance. The practice made it virtually impossible to reduce U.S. aid without breaking contracts with American corporations.

Though it shied away from funding cuts, the Obama administration engineered an end to cash-flow financing as of this year. That provides a chance to undertake a wholesale restructuring of the aid.

Some should be diverted to funding the fight against the Islamic State, and all should be linked to significant human rights conditions, without the waiver loophole the administration just used.

Some of the withheld aid should be transferred to Tunisia. Why not reward a struggling democracy that, unlike its neighbor, is eager to partner with the U.S.?
An active weather pattern was expected to impact eastern Nebraska and western Iowa through part of the weekend, possibly delivering thunderstorms to the region, forecasters said.

Radar early today showed a storm system stretching from about Sioux City, Iowa, to Beatrice moving east through the Omaha area, producing heavy precipitation in some locations.

Later today, the National Weather Service office in Valley said, skies should become partly sunny in the Omaha area and a high around 80 is likely.

I think by lunch time, said KMTV meteorologist Audra Moore, things should be clearing out.

There is a decent chance of more showers and thunderstorms Saturday and Saturday night, with a high around 85 and an overnight low around 65.

The weather service said conditions are to improve in the Omaha area beginning Sunday, when mostly sunny skies and a high in the lower 80s are forecast.

Good news for Sunday, said Moore, most of the rain should be out of here by early morning.

Monday through Thursday of next week will be quite mild  sunny skies with highs around 80 and overnight lows in the upper 50s to around 60.

Rainfall totals in inches for the 24 hours ending at 7:30 a.m. today: Blair, .34; Columbus, trace; Fremont, 1.16; Lincoln, .01; Offutt Air Force Base, .11; Eppley Airfield, .24; Florence (8 a.m.), .54; Millard, .27; Plattsmouth, .02; Tekamah, .21; Valley, .54; Wahoo, 1.03; Wayne, 1.86; Council Bluffs, .14; Harlan, .09.
AIADMK crisis: TTV Dinakaran moves MLAs to another resort

India

oi-Anusha

After spending five days at Windflower Resort in Puducherry, AIADMK MLAs supporting TTV Dinakaran will be moved to another. While demanding that Chief Minister Edappadi Palanisamy reach out to them, legislators supporting Dinakaran are moving into Sunway manor.

The legislators have been asked to explain their stand on Tamil Nadu Assembly chief whip's recommendation to disqualify them. The Dinakaran camp on Thursday pushed for current assembly speaker Danapal's name for Chief Minister. Danapal, however, has now demanded a reply from each of the rebel MLAs.

Political analysts, however, believe that the whip only has powers inside the house. With no assembly session underway, neither the whip nor the speaker can be in a position to initiate action against the 19 MLAs. Moreover, no such action was recommended against 11 MLAs in February when they voted against Palanisamy during a floor test. For this very reason, the recommendation may not survive the scrutiny of law.

Even as Dinakaran continues to play hardball, Edappadi Palanisamy-Panneerselvam combine is struggling to keep their flock together. Two more MLAs have made public statements that they supported neither of the camps but understood that the part can't survive if Dinakaran and Sasikala are ousted, making it clear where their loyalties lie.

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Story first published: Friday, August 25, 2017, 12:35 [IST]
Tuesday is now No Meeting Day in Haryana and officers to be with people on Friday

Haryana panchayat polls: Public holiday in several districts on Nov 9 and 12

Dera supporters on rampage, 11 dead, over 100 injured

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

Barely an hour after the godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim was convicted in a rape case, hell broke loose in Panchkula and other parts of Haryana as Dera Sacha Sauda supporters went on a rampage on Friday.

Dera supporters turned violent in several parts of the state, setting vehicles on fire and damaging property.

The security forces seemed to have no clue as the mod ran amok and damaged anything that came in their way.

Media personnel were attacked, OB vans and fire brigades were set ablaze, the crowd entered residential areas as the casualties kept mounting in the hospitals in Panchkula. Smoke was seen billowing out of many areas in Panchkula.

With the fear that the violence may spill over to other states, an alert has been sent out.

"Alert sounded in adjoining districts to ensure no spillover of trouble in UP through strict check on borders...Administrative machinery is geared up in Western Uttar Pradesh," Uttar Pradesh's ADG Law and Order Anand Kumar said.

Briefed @rajnathsingh ji. Situation is being monitoring extensively, strict action will be taken against those who try to disrupt peace.  Manohar Lal (@mlkhattar) August 25, 2017

Immediately after the verdict was pronounced, Ram Rahim was taken into custody by the Haryana police, and transferred to a jail in Rohtak in a chopper.

As per latest reports, six Army columns have been deployed in Panchkula. Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who retuned after SCO meeting Krygystan, was briefed about the situation in Haryana.

The extent of riot and damage to property across the state has not been accessed yet but it clearly reminds of chaos during the Jat agitation.

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Story first published: Friday, August 25, 2017, 17:21 [IST]
Doklam standoff: Air Force prepared to face any eventuality, says Dhanoa

India

oi-PTI

Bengaluru, August 25: In the wake of a standoff between the Indian and Chinese troops in the Doklam sector in Bhutan, Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa on Saturday asserted that the Indian Air Force (IAF) was prepared to tackle all contingencies.

Dhanoa was replying to a query on the preparedness of the IAF to face any eventuality.

The Air Chief Marshal was in the city to inaugurate the 56th Annual Conference organised by the Indian Institute of Aerospace Medicine. Dhanoa had, in a media interview in July, said there had been a tremendous jump in the capabilities of the Air Force from the time of the 1999 Kargil war and the ability to operate day and night and in all weather conditions had shown a significant increase in the last 18 years.

He had also said the ability to keep a vigil along the border had increased, as had the IAF's reconnaissance capabilities.

In a message to his men, Dhanoa had said they should be ready to execute operations in a very short time with whatever they had and not with what they were supposed to have.

Earlier, addressing the gathering, Dhanoa said grounding of pilots on medical grounds was a tremendous loss to the IAF and also adversely affected the morale of the individuals concerned.

Dhanoa further said that scientific work might provide hope to the aviators, who have overcome medical ailments, to return to active flying duties.

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Story first published: Friday, August 25, 2017, 17:03 [IST]
Ghost of DySp Ganapathy returns to haunt K J George, BJP threatens statewide stir

India

oi-Anusha

Accusing the Karnataka government of a massive cover up in the DySP Ganapathy death case, BJP has threatened to go on a statewide strike. The BJP has accused the Congress of tampering with evidence in the case to ensure a clean chit to those involved.

Armed with a Forensic Science Laboratory report that confirms deletion of certain data from his phone, the BJP has demanded the resignation of K J George and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. State BJP chief is leading the charge and has demanded the case be handed over to the CBI. Ganapathy's family has alleged that data has been deleted to protect influential people, including K J George who was then the Home Minister of Karnataka.

"The forensic report clearly states that some 320 contacts, almost 2,500 photographs, more than 100 emails, 60 SMSes and 145 PDF documents have been deleted from his phone. Call records pertaining to a prominent MLA and a minister have been deleted. How did the CID file a closure report and give a clean chit to those accused?" asked Ganapathy's brother M K Machaiah.

"If data is deleted from Ganapathy's phone it is clear that powerful people are behind this. From D K Ravi to Ganapathy, the state government has continuously targetted officials. The Chief Minister should resign and so should K J George. We have no trust in the state agency and hence the case should be transferred to the CBI," said B S Yeddyurappa who also added that his party will initiate statewide protests over the same.

The allegation of corruption comes as a massive blow to K J George who was forced to resign as the then Home Minister after Ganapathy in an interview hours before his death had named George and a few police officials of harassing him. THe CID in its report last year had given a clean chit to accused persons. It was after the clean chit that George was re-inducted into Siddaramaiah's cabinet but was given the portfolio of Bengaluru Development minister.

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Story first published: Friday, August 25, 2017, 13:23 [IST]
GJM to attend talks with the State Government

India

oi-Amitava

By Amitava

Darjeeling, August 25, 2017: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has stated that she has not received any letter from Gorkha Janmukti Morcha Chief Bimal Gurung but has stated that the State Government has received a letter from GJM Chief Coordinator Binay

Tamang. She stated that the GJM will be attending the all Hill party talks called by the State Government on August 29 at Nabannya, the State Secretary in Howrah.

According to a letter circulated by the GJM amongst media persons Gurung who has recently gone incommunicado had shot a letter to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee requesting the CM to initiate a political dialogue on Gorkhaland to help resolve the present crisis of Darjeeling.

The letter dated August 22 (which General Secretary Roshan Giri claimed was dispatched on 23rd evening) presented a charter of demands including withdrawal of all cases old and new filed against agitators and release of those detained during agitation. Gurung recently has been charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in connection with the Darjeeling and Kalimpong blasts.

The letter demanded a CBI or Judicial inquiry into the deaths caused due to police action and compensation to the family of the victims; Restoration of supplies of food and essential commodities; Withdrawal of all cases old and new filed against agitators and release of those detained during agitation; Ensure restoration of internet, cable TV

and local TV channels along with provide to all those families whose kin have been killed in police firing and also compensation for those who have been injured.

"I would like to appeal to you that that the State Government must take appropriate measures to address all related issues including the present crisis on a permanent basis and ensure that normalcy returns to Darjeeling so that people of Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Siliguri, Terai and Dooars can get their rightful due," stated the letter.

The letter claimed that despite the shortage of food, vegetables and essential commodities, people are willing to continue with the bandh till the Gorkhaland demand is fulfilled. Incidentally an indefinite bandh has been clamped in Darjeeling since June 15.

The letter stated that the two failed Councils in Darjeeling namely the DGHC and GTA should pave way to "learn" from previous mistakes that "experimental models" to temporarily curb people's aspiration for separation from West Bengal has not worked in the past nor present.

The GJM had organised a rally in Kurseong on Thursday. "We will be attending the meeting called by the CM. On Friday there will be a GJM meeting to chalk out the strategy that GJM will adopt in the Kolkata meet" stated DK Pradhan, Central committee member, GJM.

The Gorkhaland Movement Coordination Committee (A conglomeration of 14 pro- Gorkhaland outfits) has a meeting in Kalimpong on Friday to chalk out their strategy regarding the State Government meeting in Kolkata on August 29.

Meanwhile there were reports of a blast in Lodhama, 37 km from Darjeeling, in the wee hours of Thursday. A police source stated that at around 1pm there was a low intensity blast on the Link Road.

The blast site is around 700m above the Lodhama police station. There was no reports of any loss of life or injury. Incidentally there have been blasts at the motor stand in Darjeeling, police station in Kalimpong and the police station at Sukhiapokhari.

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Story first published: Friday, August 25, 2017, 9:05 [IST]
Hind Ka NaPak Ko Jawab

He plays a spy, Sher-e-Hind. He almost single handedly takes on the Pakistan Army in response to the Uri attack. At times one does not know whether one should laugh or be in the awe of the man, who actually thinks no end of himself.

Jattu Engineer

He gives comedy a shot here. Laced with cheap comedy, he attempts to reform a village while giving sermons on drug addiction.

MSG: The Warrior-Lionheart

Was it not enough he called himself Messenger of God. He had to add warrior and then Lionheart to the title as well. He plays a top secret agent who is on a mission to fight aliens from space. Who writes such things--- oh wait, it is he himself.

MSG 2: The Messenger

What, huh.. wait, we thought one was bad enough. He decided to make another. He has made several entries in this movie backed by rock music. Here he plays a warrior who converts people into civilised human beings.

MSG: Messenger of God

Ok, this is where it all started. Dressed in attires which could shake the very surface of this earth, he dons the role of a rock star to spread the message of God. Well the movie was a super hit.
Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar says he had no role in Ram Rahim's parole

Here are the other self-styled Godmen who were accused of various criminal charges

India

oi-Shreya

By Shreya

A CBI Court in Panchkula, will pronounce the verdict on rape accused Gurmeet Ram Rahim, Dera Sacha Sauda Chief on Friday. This after the Punjab and Haryana High Court took suo moto cognizance of an anonymous letter alleging rape by the self-styled Godman, which was addressed to the then Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.

This is not the first time that such allegations have been leveled on spiritual leaders. In a country, where religion and spiritualism are deeply followed by several, self-styled Godmen in many cases have taken advantage of blind faith and unquestioned devotion.

Ahead of the High Court's verdict in Gumeet Ram Rahim's case, here are the other religious leaders who have been accused of sexual assault and other criminal activities:

Asaram Bapu: In 2013 a 16-year-old girl accused the self-styled Godman of raping her in his ashram in Jodhpur. The girl's parents had lodged a complaint with Delhi police. After Asaram denied showing up for interrogations, he was booked by the police on charges of wrongful confinement, criminal intimidation, and rape.

He was also accused by another woman for rape in 2013.

Chandraswami: Accused of repeated financial irregularities he was arrested in 1996 on charges of fraud worth $100000. Besides facing regular charges for violating the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, he was also allegedly involved in the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi.

Sant Rampal: In 2014, Rampal, who posed as the successor of Kabir, was arrested along with his followers on charges of sedition, murder, attempt to murder, conspiracy, hoarding illegal weapons and aiding and abetting suicide-mongers when the bodies of five women and an 18-year-old was found inside his Satlok ashram in Hisar.

Swami Sadachari: The once influential 'Godman' who was known closely associated with those in power was arrested for running a brothel.

Shiv Murat Dwivedi: Better known as Ichchadhari Sant Swami Bhimanand was arrested in 1997 for running a prostitution racket. He was released on bail only to be arrested again 2010 for running a multi-crore sex racket.

Swami Premananda: An immensely popular self-styled Godman who had ashrams all over the world, was arrested and fined on charges of rape. He was sentenced to life in imprison for 13 rapes, along with molestations and murder.

Gyanachaitanya: Having spent 14 years in jail after being convicted in three murder cases, Gyanachaitanya after his release sexually tortured and assaulted a British woman who he claimed was his wife in the previous birth, he was arrested again by the police after the woman escaped.

Swami Amrita Chaitanya: The Indian Godman's real name is Santosh Madhavan, he was accused of pedophilia and producing pornographic films of underage girls, he was sentenced to 16 years in jail for molesting minor girls.

Jayendra Saraswathi: The 69th Shankaracharya Guru of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham was accused of ordering a murderous assault on a temple auditor who questioned the disappearance of 83 kg gold meant for Kamakshi Temple, in 2002.

In 2004, he was accused of murdering a temple manager and former devotee of the Kanchi Mutth.

With so many cases against these self-styled 'Godmen', it's time people question their wrongdoings.

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Story first published: Friday, August 25, 2017, 14:05 [IST]
Hurriyat terror fundings: Watali says he tried negotiating Kargil conflict

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

Zahoor Watali continues to make startling claims. Earlier he had claimed that he had got Nawaz Sharif to attend the swearing in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Now he says that he offered to negotiate the Kargil conflict.

A prominent Srinagar businessman Zahoor Watali was arrested in the terror funding case.

He said he was closely associated with Hurriyat leader Abdul Ghani Lone. I carried a letter on his behalf to the then prime minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif in which an offer to mediate the Kargil crisis was mentioned, he said.

He further said that he had accompanied Lone to the US where he met with Benazir Bhutto. At that meeting Lone told Bhutto that his first choice would be an independent Kashmir, but if there was no option then Kashmir should be with India.

Watali is the 8th person to be arrested in the Kashmir terror funding case. He will now be questioned along with the others arrested. There is enough material on hand to suggest that he had played a key role in the funding. He was close to ISI officials and several politicians in Pakistan. He would also pick up money from the high commission and remit it into the accounts of separatists for a commission of 9 per cent, sources also informed.

Earlier he had claimed that he got Nawaz Sharif to attend Narendra Modi's swearing in as Prime Minster. This is a clear diversionary tactic used by Watali who was arrested by the NIA in the terror funding case.

He takes the names of politicians and speaks about how well connected he is. He baffled the NIA when he said that he was instrumental in bringing former Pakistan Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif to India for Narendra Modi's swearing in as PM in 2014.

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Story first published: Friday, August 25, 2017, 5:53 [IST]
'I protect the country but my family faces boycott,' Army jawan pleads for help

India

oi-Anusha

An Indian Army soldier posted in Srinagar has alleged that his family has been boycotted by a village in Karnataka. Vithal Kadakol in a video plea has requested the government to protect his aged parents who live in Totagatti village of Belagavi.

In a video plea, the soldier has highlighted how he faces threats from Pakistan and China every day and puts his life at risk to protect the country but back home his aged parents are defenceless against village strongman. Vithal has alleged that his family is being targetted over a piece of land that belongs to them.

" My family has have been ostracised over a piece of land. The villagers want us to give up a piece of our land for an Anganwadi school. They are threatening to ostracise us if we refuse. They have issued a stern warning to fine anyone who speaks to us, we are not allowed to visit the temple or draw water," he is seen saying in the video. The rift is over a small piece of land that Vithal's family uses as a cow shed. The villager leaders led by Panchayat chief have been demanding that the family gives up the land to make way for an Anganwadi school.

Vithal has alleged that some men in his village have eyed the land only to target his family since his aged parents live alone. "I have been serving in the army for five years now and I am currently posted in Srinagar. My brother is a BMTC driver in Bengaluru and my aged parents live alone here. I don't know what to do. I protect the country and face boycott from my villagers," Vithal said.

He has returned to his village on emergency leave but has to return to Srinagar on August 27. "My leave ends on August 27 and I have to report back to duty. I am scared to leave my parents alone. I request you to please help them and give us justice," he pleaded. The district administration held a peace talk between the villagers on August 19 but Vithal claims that nothing positive came out of it. "In fact, Ningappa Bommannavar, Eeranna Hirolli, Sangappa Hirolli, Ningappa Kodliwad and Holeppa Chennasetty, the thugs who have been troubling my family, threatened even the officials who had come to offer a solution," he said.

District officials, however, have maintained that a consensus has been arrived upon to provide land for the Anganwadi near the village school. They have also denied that there was any boycot against the soldier's family.

OneIndia News
In MP, school named after freedom fighter Chandra Shekhar Azad turns into garbage yard

India

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia

Bhopal, August 25: It's a sad state of affairs when a school has been allowed to turn into a garbage dump yard. Moreover, it also speaks volumes about how much we respect our freedom fighters at a time when India has just celebrated its 70th Independence Day.

A government-run school--Chandra Shekhar Azad Middle School--named after revolutionary freedom fighter, Chandra Shekhar Azad, located in TT Nagar, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, has turned into a garbage dump yard.

Several pictures taken by a lensman of news agency, ANI, showcase how bad the situation is in the school, as the vicinity of the school has turned into a garbage dump yard.

On Thursday, a group of 22 students were forced to leave the school midway after they failed to withstand the stench emanating from the heaps of garbage parked within the close range of their classrooms.

The students, who brave to attend their classes in the school, always wear a mask to help them from getting some amount of relief from the nauseating smell.

Because of the piling thrash around them, the students, teachers and other staff members of the school are facing serious health issues. In fact, the teachers reported about the issue to the higher authorities in the state education department, however, nobody took note about their plight.

The school authorities also stand guilty in the matter as they did not stop miscreants from throwing garbage near the school campus.

Now, if Azad was alive he would have surely regretted his sacrifice to fight for the nation which after 70 years of Independence does not even care to give children a clean environment to study in schools.

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Story first published: Friday, August 25, 2017, 14:03 [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: BSF jawan injured in ceasefire violation by Pak

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

One BSF jawan was injured in the ceasefire violation by Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir's RS Pura sector on Friday.

Even on Wednesday, a ceasefire violation by Pakistan was reported in Jammu and Kashmir' Poonch area.

On Tuesday one woman was injured in a ceasefire violation by Pakistan in Baaz and Nambla areas of Uri sector in Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla district.

On Saturday, a 45-year-old lady had lost her life in a ceasefire violation by Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir. The incident took place at the Medhar sector early on Saturday morning.

On August 13, three Army jawans got injured in firing along the Line of Control (LoC) in Uri of Jammu and Kashmir

There has been an increase in the number of cease fire violations by Pakistan as it is trying to help terrorists infiltrate into the Valley. Intelligence Bureau officials report that there is a major push being made to enhance infiltrations.

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Story first published: Friday, August 25, 2017, 15:26 [IST]
Mumbai University results 2017: August 31 is the new deadline

India

oi-Anusha

The Mumbai University has set August 31 as its new deadline to declare the results. This, even as hundreds of students raised complaints about being marked absent for examinations that they took. The university has called the erroneous marking, a 'technical glitch'.

Hundreds of students of Bachelor of Arts (Literature) and Bachelor of Arts (Psychology) were shocked to see themselves marked absent. Complaints are piling up with colleges affiliated to the Mumbai University over students being marked absent for exams that they attended. BA students received their results on Wednesday but complaints are pouring in since Thursday after result sheet in colleges declared them absent.

The University, however, has blamed a technical glitch for the confusion. Many of the students who have been marked absent first checked their results online. The online platform claimed that their results had been withheld. Once the students checked the consolidated marks sheets of their college, they realised that they had been marked absent, adding to the burden that students are already bearing due to the delay and declaration of Mumbai University results 2017.

Meanwhile, officials of the University told the Bombay High Court that all efforts are being undertaken to declare the results by August 31. A bench of justices Anoop V Mohta and Bharati Dangre were told that all the teachers were working round the clock to complete assessment of answer papers.

The August 31 deadline will only apply for Arts, science and commerce students, final semester of three-year and five-year LLB courses. The wait will, however, be long for students of distance learning courses. So far, the varsity has declared the results of 374 out of 477 examinations held in the first half of the year.

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Story first published: Friday, August 25, 2017, 16:47 [IST]
UPCOMING EVENTS

Qigong classes offered in East Helena

AARP Montana is sponsoring six Qigong sessions for seniors in East Helena. Qigong is coordinated body posture, movement, breathing and meditation.

Sessions will take place at the East Helena City Hall Gym, 306 East Main St., East Helena (corner of Montana and Main). Participants need not be AARP members to participate. Also, participants need not be East Helena residents to participate. All sessions will be free.

Classes will begin at 10:15 a.m. and end at 10:45 a.m. No experience with Qigong is needed. Wear comfortable clothes and shoes. Plan to arrive before 10:15. Classes will be offered on Tuesdays and Wednesdays only, Aug. 29-30, Sept. 5-6 and 12- 13. For more information email mt@aarp.org or phone 443-1924.

***

Experimental aircraft open house planned

Helena Chapter 344 of the Experimental Aircraft Association will be holding an open house/Young Eagles rally with a free pancake breakfast on Saturday, Sept. 9, at Montana Aeronautics HQ, 2630 Airport Road in Helena, from 9 to 11 a.m. The public is encouraged to come out to enjoy the pancake breakfast and view aircraft on display built by the pilots who fly them. Youngsters 8 to 17 may register for free airplane rides by experienced, EAA volunteer pilots. Young Eagles must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

More than 2 million next generation pilots and aviation professionals have received first-hand flight experiences through the EAA Young Eagles program. More information about EAA and the Young Eagles program can be found at www.eaa.org. Questions may be directed to Chapter 344 president Albert Hathy, EAAch344@gmail.com.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Firefighters to receive registration extension

Classes at the University of Montana begin Thursday, Aug. 31. However, UM and the Montana University System will extend important deadlines for students who are fighting wildfires.

The extension gives student firefighters extra time  until Tuesday, Sept. 5  to meet registration, financial aid, housing and other deadlines. To take advantage of the extended deadlines and reserve space in courses for which they are registered, UM students who are fighting fires must call 406-243-6599 by Wednesday, Aug. 30.

The recorded message at that number instructs students to provide the following information: their name, student identification number, the name of the agency employing them, and whether they are scheduled to move into UM housing.

The extension applies to all students working in the firefighting effort, including those providing support services for fire crews, as well as National Guard members and other military personnel.

For more information call the UM Registrars Office at 406-243-5600.

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Cowboy Hall of Fame announces 2017 inductions

Today the Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame & Western Heritage Center (MCHF & WHC) has announced the 10th class of inductions into the Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame. The inductees were chosen from a field of candidates nominated by the general public. Inductees are honored for their notable contributions to the history and culture of Montana.

Our volunteer trustees around Montana vote on nominations that come from the district in which they reside, said Jeff Bolstad, MCHF & WHC President.

The MCHF & WHC board of directors has designated 12 trustee districts across the state from which up to 20 trustees may be appointed. Nomination criteria established by the board for the Class of 2017 inductions allowed the election of up to one Living Inductee and two Legacy Inductees from each of the 12 districts.

The 2017 inductees from District 8 (Broadwater, Jefferson, & Lewis and Clark Counties) into the Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame are:

Living Award  Governor Judy (Morstein) Martz, Helena

Legacy Award  Robert F. Bob Cooney, Helena, and James J. Jim McLucas, Helena

The MCHF & WHC will honor these inductees during the annual Circle the Wagons gathering February 2-3, 2018, in Great Falls.

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STUDENT NEWS

Helena students attend National Youth Science Camp

Caleb Noble, a graduate of Capital High School, and Kris Bosch, a graduate of Helena High School, represented Montana at the National Youth Science Camp. Noble and Bosch joined 108 other delegates from 50 states and eight countries in the annual STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) program. The National Youth Science Camp, located in the Monongahela National Forest near Green Bank, West Virginia, integrates engaging and thought-provoking STEM presentations and hands-on activities with adventurous outdoor experiences and performing and applied arts.

Each year, graduating high school seniors with high achievements in STEM fields are selected from the 50 states, Washington, D.C., and eight countries to attend the National Youth Science Camp. For almost a month, delegates attend lectures by science industry leaders, engineers and researchers, but also experience the beauty of the West Virginia outdoors through backpacking, caving, mountain biking and rock climbing.

The National Youth Science Camp is operated by the National Youth Science Foundation. To apply for the National Youth Science Camp, go to www.apply.nysc.org. To learn more about the programs and work of the National Youth Science Foundation, please visit www.nysf.com.

Noble plans to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the fall, to study electrical engineering.

Bosch plans to attend the University of Montana or Montana Tech in the fall, to study conservation ecology.

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WITH THE COLORS

U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Jacklyn J. Girard graduated from basic military training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, San Antonio, Texas.

The airman completed an intensive, eight-week program that included training in military discipline and studies, Air Force core values, physical fitness, and basic warfare principles and skills.

Airmen who complete basic training also earn four credits toward an associate in applied science degree through the Community College of the Air Force.

Girard earned distinction as an honor graduate.

She is the daughter of Tammy Copenhaver J. and Mark R. Copenhaver, and granddaughter of Virginia Toycen and Sandra G. Copenhaver, all of Helena, and wife of Ryan B. Girard of Great Falls.

She is a 2014 graduate of Helena High School and earned an associate degree in 2016 from Great Falls College- Montana State University, Great Falls.

***

Army 2nd Lt. Paul J. Langer has been decorated with the Army Achievement Medal for service as a Cadet Summer Training cadre.

The medal is awarded to personnel who have distinguished themselves by meritorious service or achievements while serving in a combat or non-combat area with the Army.

Langer is the son of Paul And Kellie Langer of Helena and husband of Alex C. Langer of Missoula.

He graduated in 2012 from Capital High School and earned a bachelor's degree in 2017 from the University of Montana, Missoula.
Paryushana 2017: Know about Jain Festival of forgiveness, fasting rituals

India

oi-Madhuri

By Madhuri

Paryushana 2017 is one of the most important festivals of Jains, which lasts for about 8 to 10 days. The main objective of the this festival is to seek forgiveness from God for one's sins. Jainism has two main sects, Svetambara and Digambara.

When is Paryushana celebrated?

Paryushan 2017 will begin on August 18 at 1 am, and several Jains celebrate this week long festival according to their abilities.

What is the meaning of Paryushan?

Paryushan means "abiding and coming together', and it is the time when Jains vow to study and fast. There are no stringent rules on fasting and celebrating this festival.

Significance of Paryushana

Jains celebrate this festival of forgiveness by observing fasts and also indulging in several spiritually enlightening session of meditation. The celebration of Paryushana is observed by reciting the ten chapters of Tattvartha Sutra for Digambara Jains, who also organise several processions. The Svetambaras celebrate the festival by reciting Kalpa Sutra, which is a Jain text.

Fasting rituals

Digambara Jains observe the fast by not taking any food or water more than once in a day while Svetambaras Jains observe the fast by consuming only boiled water between sunrise and sunset. The span of the fast can last for a day to 30 days.

OneIndia News
Explained: What the SC said and how is Talaq-e-Hasan different from triple talaq

For triple talaq victims, judicial verdict in favor but social verdict still against them!

UP: Muslim woman agrees to Nikah Halal, instead gets gangraped by ex-husband, his brother

Pregnant woman in UP given triple talaq by husband hours after SC verdict

India

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia

Lucknow, August 25: While the nation celebrated the landmark Supreme Court verdict on triple talaq on Tuesday, hours later a pregnant woman in Sardhana area of Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, was allegedly divorced by her husband by saying the three words--talaq, talaq, talaq (divorce).

The five-bench judge of the apex court struck down the practice of instant triple talaq by a 3-2 verdict, as majority of the judges found the centuries-old practice among the Indian Muslims as unconstitutional, manifestly arbitrary and void in law.

However, the minority judgment concluded that "talaq-e-biddat" was a matter of personal law of Muslims that does not breach the Constitution's Article 25 (right to practice one's religion).

Afterwards, the distraught woman approached the police to get justice. The woman, a resident of Mohalla Kamra Nawaban, in a complaint filed with the police alleged that her husband beat her up for dowry and drove her out of their house.

Based on the woman's complaint, the police had filed a First Information Report (FIR) against the man. The police said the talaq was "invalid" according to the ruling of the apex court.

The woman, who married the accused six years ago and is a mother of three, also alleged that she suffered a miscarriage due to the beating, the police said.

Reacting to the incident, the All India Muslim Women Personal Law Board (AIMWPLB) said the case posed a question as to what punishment will be given to those who continue to indulge in the practice.

The woman's family members on Tuesday met her in-laws to discuss the matter. But her husband divorced her by pronouncing the word talaq thrice, the police said. She said her family told her husband that the Supreme Court had struck down the practice, but he did not relent.

A police official said an FIR has been registered against the woman's husband and six others under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Dowry Prohibition Act.

AIMWPLB president Shaista Amber told PTI that it was a case of contempt of the apex court and that the board would approach the top court for fixing punishment in such cases.

She said the Supreme Court had asked for framing of a legislation on triple talaq but the government was "trying to shirk its responsibility by saying that it was not required after the verdict".

"It has to be ensured that the issue of triple talaq is fully addressed else Muslim women will continue to face injustice," the AIMWPLB president said.

"The court and the government need to clarify their stand or we will be forced to take to the streets," she said.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Friday, August 25, 2017, 7:02 [IST]
'The downtrodden in need of food also have right to privacy', says SC in Aadhaar matter

Privacy is fundamental right: Government's double standards now exposed

India

oi-Anusha

If the Union government was all for privacy as a fundamental right, why was the Attorney General arguing against it? This question embarrassed the Narendra Modi government after it claimed that it had been in favour of privacy as a fundamental right all along. The arguments placed before the Supreme Court by the government and its final reaction to the apex court's verdict only exposed the double standards of the government.

After the BJP attempted to give credits to Modi government for the Supreme Court's order deeming Privacy a fundamental right, internet and privacy activists attacked the government. 'Save the Internet' co-founder Nikhil Pahwa was one of the first to highlight that no earlier governments had ever contested privacy as a fundamental right. The UPA, as well as the previous NDA government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, worked on the idea that it was already a fundamental right.

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Right to Privacy is fundamental, not absolute: Elaborates Arun Jaitley | Oneindia News

4. Ashok Desai, AG under Vajpayee govt, said that they always operated based on the idea that privacy is a fundamental right.  Nikhil Pahwa (@nixxin) August 25, 2017

If this was not proof enough, submissions made by the union government during the hearing of the matter gives clarity. "There is no general or fundamental right to privacy under the Constitution. Privacy is a concept which does not have any specific meaning or definition and the expression is inchoate," reads a submission made by the Attorney General for India. The submission even states that the Government has been critical of the recognition given to a general right of privacy.

If some still insists that the Govt was in favour of #RightToPrivacy, the Supreme Court has documented all its arguments *against* privacy  pic.twitter.com/9PwkK56FD5  Saikat Datta (@saikatd) August 25, 2017

Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, as soon as the Supreme Court upheld privacy as a fundamental right, tweeted that the government too was of the same opinion. His tweet received massive flak with netizens exposing the government's double standards when it came to privacy.

On 16 March 2016 govt had clearly stated in Rajya Sabha that it considers #RightToPrivacy as Fundamental Right. https://t.co/XCI7tnU4cC  Ravi Shankar Prasad (@rsprasad) August 24, 2017

In May, the government had submitted to the Supreme Court that 'citizens didn't have absolute right over their bodies'. The Attorney General had told the Supreme Court that citizens can't refuse Iris scan, fingerprinting etc. While Union Minister Arun Jaitley attempted to draw the difference between fundamental right and absolute right, it did little to save the government's face.

Many raised some simple questions. If the government never contested privacy as a fundamental right, why would the matter go before a 9-judge bench of the Supreme Court? If the government believed that privacy was s fundamental right, who then was the Attorney General arguing for? If the government and petitioners were all on the same side that privacy was a fundamental right, why was there a case in the first place?

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Friday, August 25, 2017, 12:14 [IST]
'The downtrodden in need of food also have right to privacy', says SC in Aadhaar matter

Quit religion if you do not want to confess in Church: Kerala HC

Privacy verdict to have impact on beef ban says SC

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

The Supreme Court on Friday indicated that the Right to Privacy verdict will have some impact on the beef ban in Maharashtra.

Justice Chelameswar and Justice Chandrachud, both of whom were part of the nine-judge Constitution bench, held that the right to food of one's choice is part of the right to privacy. Therefore, it was apparent that the judgment will have a bearing on matters of consumption of beef and alcohol.

In January this year, the Bombay High Court upheld the ban imposed by the Maharashtra government on the consumption of beef. Anyone found to be selling beef or in possession of it can be jailed for five years and fined Rs 10,000.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Friday, August 25, 2017, 13:44 [IST]
Priyanka Gandhi admitted to hospital

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

Priyanka Gandhi has been admitted to a hospital in Delhi. She was diagnosed with dengue fever. She is currently being treated at the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in Delhi.

"Priyanka had fever initially, later she was confirmed as suffering from dengue. She was brought to the hospital on August 23 evening according to D S Rana, Chairman (Board of Management) of SRGH. The doctors treating her say that she is recovering well.

She was recently in the news after reports emerged that her mother and Congress president Sonia Gandhi was planning an active role for her in politics. The Congress however termed the news as a mischievous instance of fake news.

Senior Congress leader Anand Sharma said the news report was "laughable" and "planted".

"This is laughable that the media takes planted news seriously. This is mischievous and a fabrication," he said.

"We reject it but let me caution the media, don't walk into a trap of planted news. This is to distract attention and focus from what is happening -- from the failures of this government, non-performance, non-deliverance, rising terror attacks and killings of soldiers and jawans," he also added.

OneIndia News
Ram Rahim guilty: Complete mayhem in Haryana, Punjab; governments are to blame

India

oi-Anusha

Haryana and Punjab are witnessing absolute break down of law and order with Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh's followers indulging in arson and attacks. Public property is being set ablaze in both states and media and security personnel are being attacked by Dera followers. Friday's riots are the result of cumulative failure on part of the both, Manohar Lal Khattar and Capt Amarinder Singh's, governments.

Had the state governments acted appropriately and taken due precautions, the riots could have been stopped. Even as media vans were vandalised, vehicles and officers were set ablaze, clashes were witnessed in various places in Punjab and Haryana, Manohar Lal Khattar kept mum while Capt Amarinder refused to acknowledge that violence had even taken place in Punjab.

As reports of violence emerged from various places, citizens and politicians alike demanded that the two state governments take responsibility for what was happening on the ground. Many sought for the resignation of the Cheif Ministers. Despite understanding the consequences, both governments refused to take action in time. Section 144 was not imposed in advance In Haryana. The Punjab government did not bother stopping hoards of Dera supporters from moving towards Panchkula.

Citizens have demanded that the Chief ministers of both states resign over their handling of the situation. What is worse is the fact that the Punjab and Haryana government allowed such mayhem to take place despite being fully aware of what to expect if the verdict was to go against Ram Rahim.

The gurudwara opposite my house in Punjab where my family is, is about to be burned. NEVER thought this would happen. I grew up watching it.  Abhishek Upmanyu (@AbhiUpmanyu) August 25, 2017

Chilli bombs? Pepper grenades? Pellet guns? Do the forces keep those only for protesting Kashmiris? https://t.co/pToTv37eOG  Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) August 25, 2017

The number of casualties is steadily rising with hundreds of people sustaining injuries. Hospitals in and around Panchkula are overflowing with people being rushed for emergency aide. Security personnel, journalists, residents of Panchkula and supporters of Ram Rahim have been injured in the violent clashes. Why did both government fail to ensure the safety of its citizens despite being aware of what to expect from Dera followers? Can they governments brush aside their criminal negligence that led to the violence in both states over a rapist?

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Friday, August 25, 2017, 18:28 [IST]
Dera chief Ram Rahim Singh changes adopted daughter Honeypreet's name to 'Ruhani Didi'

Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar says he had no role in Ram Rahim's parole

Ram Rahim guilty: 32 killed, 350 injured, PM Modi reviews situation

India

oi-Madhuri

Recommended Video

Gurmeet Ram Rahim found guilty in rape case by CBI court | Oneindia News

A special CBI court in Panchkula convicted Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim in a 15 year old rape case. The quantum of his sentence would be pronounced on Monday.

Moments after his conviction violence broke out with his supporters going on the rampage. The police had to resort to lathi charge and firing of tear gas shells to curb the mob. Media vans, police stations and a railway station was set on fire following the verdict.

Here is how it all unfolded throughout the day

22:50: Curfew imposed in Sangrur, security stepped up after violent protests by Dera followers

20:40: Tightening the security in various parts of Haryana and Punjab, the government has deployed six column army in Panchkula, two columns army in Sirsa, one column army Mansa and Mukhtsar.

22:35: Section 144 imposed in Uttarakhand's Nainital.

22:30: Baghpat District Magistrate directs all schools in the region to remain closed on Saturady.

We used tear gas,lathicharge,pellet bullets and fired on them (protesters) where arson was reported: BS Sandhu,DGP Haryana #RamRahimVerdict pic.twitter.com/E9eaDXM6eD  ANI (@ANI) August 25, 2017

22:09: Delhi Transport Corporation has suspended bus services to NCR due to incidents of arson.

Panchkula is completely peaceful at the moment, flag marches conducted: DGP Haryana, BS Sandhu #RamRahimSingh pic.twitter.com/MJuoZW1694  ANI (@ANI) August 25, 2017

22:05: Chandigarh Police have arrested six private commandos of Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh and seized weapons and petrol cans.

21: 48: No major incident took place in Delhi today, 5 arrested for involvement in small incidents. Will keep close watch tomorrow also:Delhi Police.

21:38: Haryana chief minister talks to media about the ongoing violence in Panchkula and nearby areas.

Haryana Government had made complete arrangements; the mob was really huge: Manohar Lal Khattar, Haryana CM #RamRahimVerdict pic.twitter.com/qE7ie3WYqY  ANI (@ANI) August 25, 2017

21: 28: Police impose Section 144, restricting assembly of four or more people in 11 districts of Delhi, including New Delhi.

21: 14: Security beefed up in Rohtak, where Dera chief is kept in police guest house.

19:05: Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a tweet on Friday condemned the violence following the conviction of Dera Sacha Sauda chief and termed it as deeply distressing. "The law & order situation is being closely monitored. I reviewed the situation with NSA & Home Secretary," tweeted PM Modi.

19:30: Rahul Gandhi says violence and brutality have no place in society; condemns "lawlessness" in Haryana.

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar visits Civil Hospital in Panchkula to meet those injured in violent protests #RamRahimVerdict pic.twitter.com/acufgGpewM  ANI (@ANI) August 25, 2017

19:12: Violence, damage to public property after court verdict is condemnable;appeal citizens to maintain peace, tweets Pres Kovind.

19:06: Section 144 also imposed in Noida and Ghaziabad following violence.

19:05: Dera supporters set power sub-station office on fire in Sriganganagar.

Rajasthan: Dera supporters set power sub-station office on fire in Sriganganagar,vehicle at sub-station premises also torched #RamRahimSingh pic.twitter.com/96GMb8suy3  ANI (@ANI) August 25, 2017

19:26: 28 dead, 250 injured in Panchkula violence in Haryana, reports PTI.

18:40: Protesters identified. We have video footage&strict action will be taken against them. Most of the protesters ousted from city: Ram Niwas

18: 35: Section 144 imposed in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar and Baghpat, in view of violent protests in Punjab and Haryana

18: 25: 1000 Dera chief followers have been detains in Panchkula.

18: 21: One killed in Sirsa. Death toll raises to 18.

18: 20: Ram Rahim reaches police training centre, Sonaria, near Rohtak, which has been temporarily notified as a jail.

18:18: 200 injured admitted to Panchkula general hospital, according to senior medical officer Vivek Bhadoo; 57 critically injured referred to other hospitals.

18: 18: We have been "wronged", will appeal in higher court, says Dera Sacha Sauda

18:05: 17 killed, 40 referred to PGIMER and 100 admitted to Panchkula general hospital.

18:02: Panchkula police commissioner visits hospital, says situation "now under control".

18:01: Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh is being flown to Rohtak jail from Panchkula in a chopper.

17:52: The Punjab and Haryana High Court orders attachment of all properties owned by the Dera chief to compensate for all the destruction caused by his supporters.

17: 46: The death toll in the riots that ensued Gurmeet Ram Rahim's conviction in a rape case has risen to 13 now.

17: 45: Drones and helicopters carry out aerial survey in Panchkula following violence by Dera followers.

17: 43: Income Tax office in Punjab's Mansa set alight by Dera protesters, vehicles in the premises torched.

17: 42: A bus set on fire by 2 persons in Loni, fire brigade & police on the spot

17: 41: Bus set ablaze near Babu Jagjivan Ram Memorial Hospital in Delhi

17: 37: Police use water cannon on violent #DeraSachaSauda followers in vicinity of Panchkula's Spl CBI Court.

17:35: Punjab and Haryana high court says Dera will have to pay for damages caused.

17: 30: A train at Anand Vihar Railway Station and a bus in northeast Delhi were set ablaze by Dera supporters, according to police.

17:27: Security tightened at railway stations in Delhi post rape conviction of Dera Chief: Northern Railway Spox Neeraj Sharma

17:24: Army columns moved in Haryana's Sirsa for quick reaction, as violent protests continue post rape conviction of Dera Chief.

17:16: Strict action will be taken against those who try to disrupt peace: Haryana CM

17:15: At least 70 people injured in violent protests in Panchkula, admitted in Sector 6 General Hospital Haryana.

16:28: Security alert on Delhi borders after RamRahim is found guilty of rape.

16:27: Heavy force deployment in Sirsa as crowds turn violent, Rapid Action Force also reaches #Haryana

16:26: At least one confirmed dead near Hafed chowk in Panchkula

16:25: Power house in Punjab's Sangrur set on fire.

16:23: Curfew imposed in Panchkula.

16:22: Mob enters Sector 3 residential area in Panchkula.

16:09: Ram Rahim boards chopper, taken to Rohtak

16:05: Fear of mob entering houses grips people in places adjoining Panchkula such as Peer Muchala.

16:05: Curfew imposed in three Punjab town - Ferozepur, Mansa and Bathinda.

16:03: Two police stations have been set on fire by protesters of the Dera Sacha Sauda

15:58: Malout Railway Station & petrol pump set on fire by protesters in Punjab, similar incidents also reported in Bathinda

15:54: Tear Gas and lathicharge in Sector 5 Panchkula as crowds turn violent, Live bullets fired in the air to disperse crowds

15:46: The violence comes even after the Punjab and Haryana High Court pulled up the government over lax in security.

15:45: Violence has reportedly begun by Dera Sacha Sauda supporters. The protestors have attacked cars, media persons, and media OB vans.

15:45: "Everything is under control. Do not sensationalise the situation. We are absolutely under control," says Sirsa SP.

15:44: Doctors team arrives at Panchkula courts for mandatory check-up after arrest

15:40: Police resort to using tear gas shells to handle growing mobs in Panchkula, fire blank shots.

15:38: Now, violence reported from Panchkula's Sector-4. Dera followers resort to vandalising cars and other vehicles.

15:30: Curfew likely to be imposed in Panchkula.

15:18: Police ready with pellet guns near the Panchkula court if the situation goes out of control

15:16: An Army convoy has moved around the CBI court premises in Panchkula and security forces are dispersing the crowd of about 50 to 60 thousand Dera Sacha Sauda supporters.

15:15: Gurmeet Ram Rahim to be taken to Rohtak jail on chopper.

15:14: Dera followers observe silence, begin gathering in one place

15:13: Dera Sacha chief taken into custody by Haryana Police

15:12: Self-styled godman likely to be taken to Ambala central jail. Followers reportedly begin agitation.

15:00:Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh has been convicted of rape charges by the CBI court in Panchkula. Quantum of sentence to be decided on August 28.

14:54: After internet services, power supply of nearby areas in Panchkula disconnected

14:52: Meanwhile, many supporters are seen rejoicing. They say that the Dera chief is cleared of all charges. However there is no confirmation about the verdict as yet.

14:50: The verdict on Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh on the rape charges in the CBI court is going to be kept undisclosed for close to 45 minutes to 1 hour.

14:47: The verdict on Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh on the rape charges in the CBI court is going to be kept undisclosed for close to 45 minutes to 1 hour.

14:42: Hushed silence in Panchkula as thousands of Dera followers sit quietly in the open awaiting verdict in the rape trial against Ram Rahim Singh on Friday afternoon.

14:29: Hearing begins in rape case against Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh



14:24: Haryana CM ML Khattar appeals to people, especially Dera followers to remain calm. He also said,''Whatever is verdict, will implement it. Ready to deal with any circumstances,security arrangements are in place.''

14:21: Visuals of Dera followers in Haryana's Sirsa ahead of verdict in rape case against Ram Rahim Sing

#WATCH: Visuals of Dera followers in Haryana's Sirsa ahead of verdict in rape case against Ram Rahim Singh #RamRahimVerdict pic.twitter.com/ozD1k1b4Dm  ANI (@ANI) August 25, 2017

14:07: The verdict in Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh's rape case is likely to be read out at 2:30 pm.

14:04: Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh left Sirsa with a 200-strong convoy.

13:48: The Army is currently on standby in Panchkula and security personnel are armed with tear gas and water cannons, ready for a possible standoff with Dera Sacha Sauda Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh's supporters.

13:47: Dera Sacha Sauda Chief reaches CBI court in Panchkula.

13:46: Security has been stepped up at gurdwaras in Haryana. At Nadha Sahib Gurudwara, as many as five police personnel are deployed at its entrance and are on alert.

13:45: Curfew has been imposed in a one kilometre radius around Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh's residence, reports HT.

13:40: Rajasthan: Internet services suspended for 48 hours & Section 144 imposed in Sri Ganganagar

13:30: Section 144 imposed in Hanumangarh too ahead of verdict

12:55: Punjab & Haryana HC to Hayrana govt - Use force if needed, file FIR against leaders if they make provocative statements.

12:42: Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh leaves for Panchkula in massive convoy to appear before special CBI court in a sexual exploitation case

11:59: Army helicopter conducts security surveillance over Panchkula

11:45: The Dera followers could be seen occupying parks, roads and other available places like under the flyovers to pitch their tents.

11:30: Want to appeal to people of Haryana to maintain peace, says Bhupinder Singh Hooda, former Haryana CM

11:00: There's peace in the region & everything is in place. Have faith in us, proceedings will take place peacefully: DGP Haryana

There's peace in the region & everything is in place. Have faith in us,proceedings will take place peacefully: DGP Haryana #RamRahimVerdict pic.twitter.com/fvCkIOiNkX  ANI (@ANI) August 25, 2017

10:25: Many Dera followers fainted as Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh's convoy passed in Sirsa

Many Dera followers fainted as Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh's convoy passed in Sirsa #RamRahimVerdict pic.twitter.com/sZPspHiEmk  ANI (@ANI) August 25, 2017

10:16: Dera followers cry and try to block Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh's convoy in Sirsa

Dera followers cry and try to block Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh's convoy in Sirsa #RamRahimVerdict pic.twitter.com/6mzEfhLf64  ANI (@ANI) August 25, 2017

09:41: Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh's convoy has left from Sirsa for Panchkula court

Haryana: Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh's convoy has left from Sirsa for Panchkula court #RamRahimVerdict pic.twitter.com/cBdxuFfMt7  ANI (@ANI) August 25, 2017

09:29: Dera chief leaves for court ahead of Ram Rahim verdict

08:27: Supporters of Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in Panchkula

#Haryana Supporters of Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in #Panchkula ahead of verdict in rape case against him today #RamRahimVerdict pic.twitter.com/zSjrgzk2Kf  ANI (@ANI) August 25, 2017

08:20: Heavy security presence around Panchkula Court ahead of his verdict

08:14: 74 trains have been cancelled in the view of law and order situation in Haryana ahead of Ram Rahim Verdict

08:12: Mobile internet services to remain active in Gurgaon & Faridabad

08:00: Army has set up control rooms in Panchkula. Police barricades have been set up nearly 2.5 kilometres from court premises.

07:55: Section 144 has been imposed in Sirsa and three nearby villages as a "precautionary measure" to maintain law and order.

A case was registered against Dera chief Singh in 2002 by the CBI on the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court after anonymous letters were circulated about alleged sexual exploitation of two female followers, as per a PTI report. Singh was accused of raping them inside the Dera campus on the outskirts of Sirsa town in Haryana. A charge sheet in the case was filed by the CBI in 2007. However, the Dera chief has denied these charges.

OneIndia News
Ram Rahim verdict: Rajnath Singh calls for high-level meet

India

oi-Deepika

By Deepika

Home Minister Rajnath Singh will hold a high-level meeting on Saturday morning to take stock of the situation and decide the future course of action in the wake of violence in Panchkula and other parts of Haryana and Rajasthan.

Top home ministry, Intelligence bureau, para military officials expected to attend the meeting.

At least 32 people have been killed and more than 250 injured as Panchkula turned into a virtual warzone after Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was found guilty of rape by a CBI court on Friday.

The followers of the godman have have torched at least two railway stations, a power grid and petrol pumps in Haryana. In Delhi, a train has been set on fire in Anand Vihar and two buses have also been torched. Media persons, including News18 staff, have also been attacked.

Earlier in the day, Rajnath told reporters that he cut short his visit to Kyrgyzstan where he had gone to attend a Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meeting following the violence.

"I cut short my visit by three hours and spoke to both CMs immediately. They apprised me of the situation. Adequate forces have already been deployed and if needed additional forces will be sent. I have assured them of all help," Singh told reporters. He also appealed for calm.

OneIndia News
Lack of development in J&K for decades was one of the reasons behind rise of terrorism: Rajnath Singh

His contributions ignored: Why Rajnath Singh said Netaji was first PM of India

Ram Rahim Guilty: Rajnath calls for emergency meeting as violence spreads in Haryana

India

oi-Madhuri

Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday has called on Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh and Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar to take control of the situation immediately and impose a curfew if the situation so demands.

Meanwhile, more than 100 vehicles have been set ablaze in Panchkula. The hospitals are struggling with a massive influx of patients and reports of blood shortage.

At least 11 people have been killed and more than 200 injured in Panchkula as Dera Sacha Sauda followers have gone on a rampage after a CBI court convicted Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh of rape charges on Friday. The rioters have torched at least two railway stations, a power grid and petrol pumps in Haryana.

OneIndia News
Will give compensation to kin of dera followers killed in violence if court directs: Haryana CM

Ram Rahim verdict: Congress condemns violence, calls for Khattar resignation

India

oi-PTI

Taking a dig at the law and order situation in Haryana, the Congress on Friday called for the resignation of Haryana chief minister M L Khattar over violence that shook the state soon after Dera chief was held guilty in a rape case.

The Congress president appealed for peace, while vice- president Rahul Gandhi stressed that violence and brutality had no place in society.

"@PMOIndia must put the interest and safety of Indians before his party's interests. @mlkhattar must resign," the party said on twitter.

At least 30 people were killed and 350 injured on Friday in widespread violence, arson and police firing in Haryana triggered by the rape conviction of self-styled godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, the head of Dera Sacha Sauda.

In a statement here, the Congress president said several people including children had died in the violence, and "there was widespread destruction of public property and senseless attacks" on the media.

She appealed to the people to maintain peace.

She also spoke with Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and asked the government of Haryana and the Chandigarh administration to ensure the safety of all citizens.

Rahul Gandhi, who left for Norway earlier today, condemned the "rampage and lawlessness" in Haryana and appealed for the restoration of peace.

"Violence and brutality have no place in our society. Condemn the rampage and lawlessness in Haryana and appeal to restore peace and tranquillity," he said on Twitter.

His tweet came a few hours after he left for Oslo, where he is expected to meet and interact with political and business leaders.

Former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda also appealed for peace but said the government should have been prepared.

"The priority now is to restore law and order, peace and harmony. I appeal to the people of Haryana to maintain calm and ensure there is no loss of life or damage to property," he told reporters after violence broke out in Panchkula and other parts of the state in the wake of the conviction in the 2002 rape case.

Hooda said it was not the time for a blame-game but said the government should have been prepared and steps taken in advance to ensure law and order.

PTI

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Story first published: Friday, August 25, 2017, 22:03 [IST]
As an investigation into the death of a Helena carjacking victim continues, his alleged attacker faces more charges stemming from a rampage in Salt Lake City.

Authorities say Eddie Christopher Sanchez, 45, of Helena, started his crime spree in Helena early Sunday when he allegedly led officers on a pursuit and then strangled a man during a carjacking on Washington Street. He is also accused of assaulting a woman in Dillon and forcibly taking her wallet Sunday afternoon.

On Tuesday, authorities in Salt Lake City picked up Sanchez on a Helena-based warrant on felony charges of criminal endangerment, aggravated assault and robbery.

Just before authorities apprehended Sanchez, he pulled a knife on someone in Salt Lake City, according to police reports. He then allegedly attempted to carjack someone while brandishing a gun. Within moments, Sanchez was the suspect in another carjacking at an Audi dealership.

Police reports state Sanchez then attempted to enter an apartment. Officers arrived on scene and a brief foot chase ensued.

"The suspect pointed his gun at officers and was then challenged by them. The suspect surrendered by throwing his gun into the road and was taken into custody," police reports state.

In addition to the Helena charges, Sanchez also is jailed on Utah charges of two counts of aggravated robbery, aggravated assault on a police officer, fleeing on foot and possession of another person's identifying documents.

Meanwhile, an investigation into the death of his alleged local victim continues. Kerry Paul Malkerson, 67, of Texas, was getting ready to leave a hotel in the 3100 block of Washington Street around 3:30 a.m. Sunday when someone strangled him and stole his Crown Victoria. The victim was taken to a hospital and later returned home to Texas, where he died Monday. Officials said they are working to conclude if Malkerson's injuries from the carjacking caused his death.

Court documents state Malkerson told officers he was approached by a man asking for money and when he declined, the man hit him in the head and demanded his keys. The suspect, Sanchez, attacked Malkerson and ending up strangling him from behind.

"The male said he was going to kill (Malkerson)," the documents state.

Malkerson told officers he began to lose consciousness and thought he was going to die.
On PMs guidance how Devbhoomi Uttarakhands Temples will be developed

Portals of Gangotri shrine close for winters, devotees can worship at Mukhba village now

Anand Mahindra's tweet about UPI at country's 'last tea shop' is every Indian's emotion

NSA Ajit Doval, late CDS Gen Rawat among others to be awarded Uttarakhand Gaurav Samman

RSS suggests a cow pilgrimage centre in Uttarakhand's Katarpur

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has suggested to the Uttarakhand government that the village of Katarpur in Haridwar district be developed into a cow pilgrimage site.

Katarpur, which is 70 kms from state capital Dehradun, is a site where several Hindus laid down their lives in 1918 to stop the killing of a cow, said reports.

The HT quoted the RSS zonal head Dinesh Semwal as saying that our Hindus were hanged and 135 others jailed during a protest in 1918.

Top RSS leaders, including Dattatreya Hosabale and Gopal Kishan, met Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat to suggest that Katarpur be developed into a cow pilgrimage site. The national general secretary of the BJP, Ram Lal, and Uttarakhand tourism minister Satpal Maharaj also attended the meeting.

A 'Gau Rakshak memorial' already exists in Katarpur where tributes to those who laid down their lives are paid annually.

According to reports, several BJP leaders and state ministers have opined that the RSS' suggestion should be implemented and Katarpur be declared as a cow piligrimage centre.

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Story first published: Friday, August 25, 2017, 13:20 [IST]
SC bench headed by Justice Khehar to hear pleas challenging Article 35A after Diwali

India

oi-PTI

New Delhi, August 25: The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear after Diwali pleas challenging Article 35 A, relating to special rights and privileges of permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir.

A bench headed by Justice J S Khehar accepted the plea of the Jammu and Kashmir state government that the pleas challenging Article 35 A be heard after Diwali.

Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi and Advocate Shoeb Alam mentioned the matter before a bench also comprising Justices Dipak Misra and D Y Chandrachud that even the Centre has no objection if the pleas are taken up after Diwali.

"All the pleas will be taken up for hearing after Diwali," the bench said. Earlier the apex court had favoured hearing of the matter by a five-judge constitution bench in case the Article is ultra vires of the Constitution or if there is any procedural lapse.

The court had said that a three-judge bench will hear the matter and refer it to a five-judge bench if necessary. The apex court was hearing a plea filed by Charu Wali Khanna challenging Article 35A of the Constitution and Section 6 of the Jammu and Kashmir Constitution which deal with the "permanent residents" of the state.

The plea has challenged certain provisions of the Constitution which deny property right to a woman who marries a person from outside the state.

The provision, which makes such women from the state lose rights over property, also applies to her son. Article 35A, which was added to the Constitution by a Presidential Order in 1954, accords special rights and privileges to the citizens of the Jammu and Kashmir.

It also empowers the state's legislature to frame any law without attracting a challenge on grounds of violating the Right to Equality of people from other states or any other right under the Indian Constitution.

"Section 6 of the Jammu and Kashmir Constitution restricts the basic right of women to marry a man of their choice by not giving the heirs any right to property if the woman marries a man not holding the Permanent Resident Certificate. "Her children are denied a permanent resident certificate thereby considering them illegitimate -- not given any right to such a woman's property even if she is a permanent resident of Jammu and Kashmir," the plea said.

While the Jammu and Kashmir's Non-Permanent Resident Certificate holders are barred to vote in local elections in the state, the same individuals can vote in Lok Sabha elections.

PTI
As the countdown clock struck zero, rocket of Aakash BYJUS took off from Bandra Bandstand

Sham called rural electrification? Students study under kerosene lamps in Chhattisgarh

India

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia

Raipur, August 25: These determined children from Chhattisgarh, who in spite of all odds, are not going to give up on their education.

Three young students, photographed by a lensman of news agency ANI, who are seen studying under a kerosene lamp in Chhattisgarh's Koriya, where power lines are yet to be laid by the government, clearly indicated the farce called "rural electrification".

#Chhattisgarh Children study under kerosene lamp in Ramgarh's Koriya as no power lines have been laid in the area till now pic.twitter.com/WfxhPj8LjJ  ANI (@ANI) August 25, 2017

At a time when the Narendra Modi government is claiming to bring electricity to every rural household under the Centre's flagship rural electrification scheme, the Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana, such stories are truly a bolt on developing economy like India.

Earlier, PM Modi had announced that the Centre will bring electricity to every village in the country by 2018, and every home by 2022.

Looking at the ground reality, the 'tall claim' made by the government is far from true.

What is more shocking is the excuse given by the officials of Koriya. One official of Koriya told ANI that the area has no electricity lines, but has solar power plants.

"There is trouble during rainy season, as batteries and solar plates don't work. Within a month repair of batteries and solar plates will be done and electricity will be restored in the area," a senior official told ANI.

If we trust what the official has claimed, that means the children of Koriya have to study under lamps for at least a month as they won't have any access to electricity till then.

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Story first published: Friday, August 25, 2017, 11:11 [IST]
Teradata files IP theft suit against SAP, alleges former CTO Vishal Sikka was in the know

Vishal Sikka likely to join Hewlett Packard Enterprise as CTO: Report

India

oi-Chennabasaveshwar

By Chennabasaveshwar

Former CEO of Infosys Visha Sikka is likely to join Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) IT company as chief technology officer (CTO).

Sikka resigned as CEO and managing director of Infosys last Friday. Again, in less than a week, Sikka stepped down from the company as executive vicechairman with immediate effect on Thursday.

According to The Times of India report which has gathered information from multiple sources, is most likely to join the $50-billion Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) IT company as chief technology officer (CTO).

However, Sikka has not responded to an email sent by TOI.

American firm Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) was created in 2015 after it split from Hewlett-Packard (HP). HPE sells data centre hardware and software, while HP sells personal computers and software.

In fact, Sikka had told TOI in an exclusive interaction last Friday that he had no concrete plans post-Infosys and that he hoped to go surfing and spend time with his family.

OneIndia News
Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar says he had no role in Ram Rahim's parole

Week after big birthday bash, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh convicted in rape case

India

oi-Chennabasaveshwar

By Chennabasaveshwar

Rockstar 'godman' Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh has been held guilty of rape charges a week after celebrating his 50th birthday.

The court at Haryana found him guilty under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code. The court also agreed with the arguments put forth by the prosecution and investigation agency while holding him guilty.

The court will pronounce the quantum of sentence on Monday. The CBI had filed a FIR against Ram Rahim, accused of raping two 'sadhvis' in 2002. The trial in the case began in 2008.

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Ram Rahim Verdict : Dera Chief leaves for Panchkula court | Oneindia News

According to dera sacha sauda website, his 50th birthday was celebrated in several unique ways across the world last week.

The Dera Sacha Sauda disciples claimed that 15th August on the day of Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh's birthday a new world record was set. Around 125 admirers and followers simultaneously lit 1,50,000 candles on a single birthday cake.

Know the judge who will give verdict in Gurmeet Ram Rahim rape case

The giant cake was spread over an area of 427.25 square feet and was three inches thick.

They claimed that complete preparations had been made in advance to ensure the hygiene of the cake during this attempt. After the completion of the event layers of wax created by the candles on the cake was carefully and entirely removed. The huge cake was distributed afterwards.

Recalling 'godman' Rampal Maharaj's arrest in 2014

The details of this event will now be sent to the Guinness World Records, stated the website.

Further, it claimed that this new world record breaks the previous one which was held by Shri Chinmoy Center, New York, USA for simultaneously lighting 72,585 candles on 27th August 2016. In this new record made by the Dera Sacha Sauda, the number of candles (1,50,000) is more than double compared to the previous world record.

OneIndia News
Frequent masturbation, obesity make Chinese unfit to join army: Report

International

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

Why are half the Chinese unfit to join the army? Obesity and a condition called varicocele when veins become enlarged in the scrotum are some of the reasons that have been cited.

The PLA run state daily has said at least 56 per cent of the youth applying in the army have found to be unfit. Frequent masturbation and a sedentary lifestyle led to such a condition although medical science does not draw a clear linkage between varicocele and masturbation. Excessive use of smart-phones and excessively high mineral content in drinking water are the other reasons given by the PLA run daily.

The report has generated a big online debate with many voicing concerns that the future may see a paucity of fit men for recruitment for the PLA, the world's biggest army particularly in the backdrop of a strict one-child norm for three decades which were slightly relaxed only in November 2013 when married couples in which just one parent is an only child can also have a second baby.

"China's recruitment process has strict rules and procedures... The quality of our recruits is guaranteed, and the headwaters of our military will flow long and strong," the defence ministry said in a statement.

"Recruitment is the foundation of national defense, and high-quality recruits are crucial to the military's combat capability," the statement also read.

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Story first published: Friday, August 25, 2017, 6:17 [IST]
Japan to impose fresh sanctions on North Korea

International

pti-PTI

Tokyo, Aug 25: Japan on Friday said it will impose fresh sanctions on North Korea by freezing the assets of Chinese and Namibian firms doing business with the nuclear-armed state.

The move against a half dozen organisations and a couple of individuals comes days after Washington expanded its own punitive measures against Chinese and Russian firms, as well as people linked to Pyongyang.

The US move drew an angry response from Beijing, North Korea's key ally, while Japanese media said today that Namibia has been tightening its links to the North in recent years.

"We will continue to make strong calls (for North Korea) to take actions toward denuclearisation," Yoshihide Suga, the Japanese government's top spokesman, told a regular press briefing.

"Now is the time to apply pressure," he added.

The sanctions are aimed at disrupting the flow of cash funding North Korean weapons programmes, which are in violation of United Nations resolutions. Japan has previously frozen the assets of entities and individuals involved in natural resources and research work related to Pyongyang's nuclear and missile development programmes.

The US and its allies, particularly Japan and South Korea, have been on high alert in recent months as North Korea carried out successive missile tests. Tensions have eased since North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un pulled back from a plan to send a salvo of missiles towards the US Pacific territory of Guam. But Pyongyang Wednesday disclosed significant technological advances and ambitious plans to further improve its missile capabilities.

US President Donald Trump, like his predecessors, has called on China to play more active roles in convincing North Korea to stop threatening its neighbours and the US. But China has so far been lukewarm on the idea, preferring to address the issue through long-stalled talks.

PTI
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Kabul: 28 killed, 50 wounded as suicide bomber strikes Shiite mosque

International

oi-Madhuri

At least 28 people were killed and 50 others wounded on Friday when a suicide bomber detonated himself inside a Shiite mosque in the Afghanistan capital of Kabul, according to the Associated Press.

According to Eyewitnesses, attackers killed the guards & entered the mosque at 1:15pm and the injured has been taken to hospital.

Eyewitnesses said a number of armed men entered the Shiite mosque in the Afghan capital, TOLO News reports. Prior to the gunfire, reports emerged of a blast that occurred inside the mosque.

There was no immediate word on casualties. A Special Forces unit was deployed to the scene, the news outlet said.

Meanwhile, Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish confirms attack on Imam Zaman Mosque. He says Police Special Unit have entered the mosque.

Another explosion occurred close to Imam Zaman Mosque; gunfire continues, reports TOLO news.

OneIndia News
Nigeria: Boko Haram ambush leaves five dead

International

pti-PTI

Kano (Nigeria), Aug 25: An ambush by Boko Haram jihadists in Nigeria's northeast Nigerian Borno state has left five people, including four members of a militia force, dead.

The attack took place days after suicide attacks in the area killed 28.

A convoy of trucks under military and militia escort came under fire from Boko Haram jihadists yesterday at Meleri village in Konduga district which has been repeatedly pounded by Boko Haram attacks.

"We lost four of our colleagues and the driver of one of the trucks they were escorting in the ambush," said Ibrahim Liman, leader of a militia force fighting the jihadists.

Two soldiers were also injured in the attack which happened 27 kilometres from the Borno state capital Maiduguri, Liman said.

The trucks were carrying sand to the town of Bama, 30 kilometres away, for ongoing reconstruction works after the area was totally destroyed when Boko Haram invaded it two years ago, said another militia member Musa Ari.

"The military and vigilantes in the convoy fought off the Boko Haram attackers but four of our comrades and a driver were killed," Ari said.

Last week three female suicide bombers blew themselves up at the entrance to a camp for displaced people in nearby Mandarari village on Tuesday, killing 28 people and wounding 82. Konduga district is a known hotbed of Boko Haram activity, despite government and military claims that the jihadists are a spent force, having been forced out of their Sambisa Forest enclave.

In June, eight members of a civilian militia force where killed in an ambush by Boko Haram gunmen hiding in trees outside Kayamla village in the area, while eight loggers were killed and their bodies burnt near the village two months earlier.

The eight-year conflict by the Sunni jihadist group aimed at establishing a hard-line Islamic Caliphate has left at least 20,000 people dead and displaced 2.6 million, creating one of world's major humanitarian catastrophe. The violence has spilt into neighbouring Niger, Chad and Cameroon.

PTI
At UNSC, US calls on world to tell Russia to stop its nuclear threats

Pakistan nukes could land up in terrorists' hands, says senior US official

International

oi-PTI

Washington, August 25, 2017: A senior US official has said the Trump administration is worried that Pakistan's nuclear weapons and materials could land up in the hands of terror groups and their concerns are aggravated by the development of tactical weapons.

The senior Trump administration official said that during a compressive review, one of the major issues that continually came up for discussion and is very important to the US was the nuclear danger in the region.

That is a critical element of the South Asia strategy, the official told reporters during a conference call. The Trump administration is worried that nuclear weapons and materials in Pakistan might land up in the hands of terrorist groups or individuals, the senior administration official said, on condition of anonymity.

The South Asia strategy announced by US President Donald Trump on Monday notes that the "nuclear weapons or materials could fall" into the wrong hands, the official said. "It (South Asia policy) also prioritises the escalating tension between India and Pakistan, the two nuclear power countries, and looks for ways to de-escalate the tension between the two to avoid any potential military confrontation among them," the official said.

"We are particularly concerned by the development of tactical nuclear weapons that are designed for use in battlefield. We believe that these systems are more susceptible to terrorist theft and increase the likelihood of nuclear exchange in the region," the Trump administration official said.

The official said it was due to this that the strategy also focuses on confidence building measures between India and Pakistan and encourages them to come to the negotiating table. The danger of nuclear weapons was also mentioned by Trump in his Afghanistan and South Asia policy speech on Monday.

"For its part, Pakistan often gives safe haven to agents of chaos, violence, and terror. The threat is worse because Pakistan and India are two nuclear-armed states whose tense relations threaten to spiral into conflict. And that could happen," he had said in his first prime time televised address to the nation.

In an article published in 'War on the Rocks', Christopher Clary, who worked on the South Asia policy in the Office of the Secretary of Defence from 2006 to 2009, said Pakistan likely possesses more than 100 nuclear weapons today and might possess fissile material for up to 200 or 300 nuclear weapons.

"The US presence in Afghanistan is primarily about preventing terrorist groups operating there, but there is some reporting that suggests elements of the US government are wary of losing basing in Afghanistan that is useful to monitor Pakistani terrorist groups and Pakistan's nuclear weapons development efforts," Clary said.

Stephen Tankel, an American expert, said the US has two vital security interests in Pakistan -- ensuring militants in the region do not attack the US homeland and keeping militants from getting their hands on nuclear material.

"America also has a critical interest in preventing Indo-Pakistani nuclear escalation and terrorist attacks against US persons and infrastructure in the region," Tankel recently wrote for Center for a New American Security. "Maintaining a sufficient counter-terrorism presence in Afghanistan has been a cornerstone of the broader US counter- terrorism policy.

This, in turn, has required ensuring the Afghan government retains sufficient control over its territory," he said. Pakistan is developing tactical nuclear-capable 'Nasr' ballistic missiles for battlefield use in order to deter a limited Indian military response to terrorist attacks by Pakistan-supported militants, he wrote.

"The common concern about Pakistani nuclear weapons is that they are vulnerable to internal threats. In reality, these weapons are most likely to fall into terrorists' hands if forward-deployed during a conflict with India," Tankel said.

Tankel further said that even some Pakistani analysts recognise that it would be difficult for the Pakistan military to ensure the full security of these weapons once they were deployed in the field.

PTI
A man wanted by the FBI was arrested Thursday morning in Helena after police caught him with fake vehicle plates. Authorities say he had a motel room filled with drugs and ammunition, alongside his baby.

Chase Ryan Storlie, 33, has been on the run since failing to appear on federal methamphetamine dealing charges. A federal arrest warrant was issued in June.

A Helena officer noticed suspicious plates on Storlie's vehicle about 1 a.m. Thursday and made a traffic stop near the intersection of Butte and Lamborn. Storlie, the driver, immediately jumped from the vehicle and tried to run away, according to court documents.

Storlie is accused of clenching his fists and taking an attacking stance against the pursuing officer, who then used a Taser on Storlie.

At first, Storlie refused to identify himself. It was later confirmed he is a federal probation absconder with a nationwide federal arrest warrant out of Salt Lake City.

Storlie's current mugshot looks markedly different than the one taken in 2013. He had short brown hair and no facial hair in the earlier photo, and shaggy blond hair and a beard in the one taken Thursday.

After being booked into the jail, Storlie made a phone call instructing someone to pick up his infant child from Motel 6. Officials responded to the motel room and found his baby. Court documents state .38-caliber ammunition, multiple meth pipes, cut lines of meth on a mirror, a bong and a bag with traces of meth also were found.

Storlie faces new local felony charges of possession of dangerous drugs and endangering the welfare of a child. Court documents state baby bottles and other items were in a soaking tub right next to the drugs and paraphernalia. Officials noted the baby is mobile and can pull herself up.

Storlie later told police he had been living at the motel with the baby and the infant's mother, who also was arrested. The 27-year-old Deer Lodge woman, Savannah Raine Moody, is jailed on felony charges of endangering the welfare of a child and accountability to criminal possession of dangerous drugs.

State officials took custody of the 9-month-old child.

Storlie has previously lived in Deer Lodge and Spokane, Washington. His federal charges are conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense.
Samsung heir Lee Jae-Yong jailed for five years on bribery charges

International

oi-Madhuri

A court in South Korea on Fariday has sentenced Samsung's billionaire heir Lee Jae-yong to five years in prison on bribery charges. Lee was accused of bribery in a scandal that also saw the impeachment of South Korea's former president.

The case has gripped the public amid growing anger against South Korea's biggest companies, known as chaebols. Lee, who denied all charges, had faced a jail sentence of up to 12 years.

Earlier in February 2017, Lee was arrested over his alleged role in a political and corporate scandal, linked to South Korea's impeached president, Park Geun-hye.

Who is Lee Jae-yong?

The 48-year-old Lee, is the son of Lee Kun-hee, chairman of Samsung Group, Korea's largest conglomerate. He is also the grandson of Samsung founder Lee Byung-chul.

Le studied from a degree college in Seoul before completing a doctorate at Harvard Business School. He became a Samsung president in 2009 and in 2013 was made vice-chairman of Samsung Electronics.

But ever since Lee's father suffered a heart attack in 2014, he has been considered de facto boss of the entire Samsung group. Forbes also ranked him as the 40th most powerful person in the world.

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Bailey McCann, Opalesque New York:

Colony Northstar executives Paul Fuhrman, Jae Yi and Perry Hariri have left the firm to launch Miramar Capital a Santa Monica, CA-based real estate operating and investment platform. Miramar will team with private and institutional capital sources to pursue value-add commercial real estate investments targeting infill properties in California.

The new platform has closed three transactions - the most recent being a venture with Grand China Overseas Investment Management LTD (Grand China). The two firms partnered in an off-market deal for office space in Mountain View, California. "The transaction with Grand China is an example of the kinds of deals that are in the sweet spot for us," Fuhrman explains in an interview with Opalesque. "We know the Mountain View area very well and there is an additional opportunity with re-entitlements for that property. With the operator/investor model, we are well placed to partner with other investment firms."

The other two transactions include a mixed-use development in San Jose and office space in Fremont, California.

Miramar has also reached an agreement with Colony Northstar, to pursue certain California-based development and re-entitlement opportunities, according to Fuhrman. Colony has allocated $100 million to investment opportunities with Miramar.

"Finding basic bread and butter transactions is much harder now because we are at the end of the cycle," Fuhrman says. "But we're ......................

To view our full article Click here
Benedicte Gravrand, Opalesque Geneva:

A federal appeals panel supported on Wednesday the insider trading conviction of Mathew Martoma, a former portfolio manager for Steven A. Cohen, currently serving a nine-year prison sentence. Martona, 43, was found guilty in September 2014 of securities fraud and insider trading. Martona's lawyers argued that the jury in the trial had not been properly instructed and that the evidence the government presented was not sufficient to support a conviction, reports NYTimes.

The Court answered 'yes' the question of whetherSalmanrepealed the portion ofNewmanthat seemed to heighten the requirement for the relationship between the tipper and the tippee, according to Harry Sandick , partner at Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP and a former Assistant US Attorney for the SDNY.

"There is no requirement anymore in the Second Circuit that there be a "meaningfully close personal relationship" between the tipper and the tippee," he continues."This part ofNewmanis not good law afterSalman.The Supreme Court decided many years ago inDirksthat the test for whether there has been a breach is if the tipper personally benefits from the disclosure to the tippe......................

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Opalesque Industry Update - Preqin's latest survey of hedge fund managers* finds that they are adopting a bearish attitude in the second half of 2017, despite indications that fundraising and performance environments may be improving. Net inflows to hedge funds totalled $25bn in H1 2017, following five consecutive quarters of outflows. At the same time, the industry recorded its highest H1 performance since 2009, and two-thirds of fund managers met or exceeded their returns objectives over the preceding 12 months. However, fund managers do not feel optimistic about the months ahead: 69% predict that net asset flows will be flat or negative in the second half of the year, and more than a third believe that investor sentiment is more negative now than it was 12 months ago. Key Hedge Fund Manager Outlook Facts: Overall, while just half of fund managers surveyed in June 2016 believed that they had met or exceeded their return goals, as at June 2017 67% believed they have met or exceeded their return goals. Additionally, 60% of managers report that their assets have increased in the past 12 months, while only 15% reported seeing a decrease.

At the same time, net inflows to hedge funds reached $25bn in H1 2017, compared to the $110bn net outflows seen in 2016.

The market rally following President Trump's election at the end of November 2016 is seen as having the largest impact on performance; 79% of managers reported that this had affected their performance in 2017 and 80% of those reported that this had affected their performance positively.

Despite this, 30% of hedge fund managers reported that fundraising has become more difficult over the past 12 months. However, this is an improvement from 47% that said the same in 2016.

Looking ahead, although 2017 YTD has seen positive net asset flows, 69% of hedge fund managers believe that over H2 2017 flows will be flat or negative.

Additionally, 45% of fund managers report that investor demand for more favourable fees is the key driver of change in the hedge fund industry.

Thirty-six percent of fund managers report that investors have become more negative towards hedge funds over the past year while only 24% believe that investors feel more positive. Amy Bensted, Head of Hedge Fund Products: "Following net outflows from the hedge fund industry of more than $100bn in 2016, the first half of 2017 has seen two consecutive quarters of capital inflows. This may indicate that investor sentiment toward the asset class is becoming more positive, perhaps in response to the improved performance environment over the past 12 months. However, fund managers do not seem to believe that this will benefit them in the longer term, and their judgement of investor sentiment is negative overall. It is particularly notable that over a third of managers gauge that investor sentiment is worse than in June 2016 - an historic low-point for hedge fund investor confidence. It remains to be seen in the remainder of the year if fund managers will be proved right, or if investor sentiment will continue to warm."
BestofElectricals Unveils A Fresh and Improved Version of Website

Best of Electricals - Online Electrical Shop

www.BestofElectricals.com

www.BestofElectricals.com

www.BestofElectricals.com

To give the customer more comfort and ease, BestofElectricals has presented a new version of the portal. Major changes of the website include easy access to the desired product, clean and attractive design and increased site speed.BestofElectricals is much pleased to unveil the new version of its fully featured site. This revamped website has been designed to provide enhanced user-friendly experience with improved functionality and navigation. Planned with new colors and uncluttered design, the site looks more attractive. Responsive design allows the portal portability on multiple user devices be it a computer, laptop, tab or a smartphone. Speed of the website has also been improved to give a great shopping experience to visitor.This new site has better views and a new, redesigned, easier to use and reliable checkout page that lets the buyer complete the purchase in far lesser mouse clicks. At, a customer will find numerous electrical products ranging from Fans, LEDs & Lighting, Cables & Wires, Switches & Automation, Protection Devices, Switchgears, Appliances, Waterproof Devices, Consumables, Tools & Electric Hardware and Meters. Sufficient categories and sub-sections help customer to find the desired electrical product easily. All the items are manufactured by reputed brands and are sold at discounted prices.Based in Delhi,is very well known for offering electrical products that are manufactured by the reliable brands. The entire range is genuine and comes with comprehensive warranty. Enough number of safe and secure payment options like debit card/credit card, Paytm, Freecharge, Airtel Money, PayZapp, etc. are there on portal. Logistics partners of the firm like FedEx, Delhivery and The Professional Couriers make it sure that the order will be delivered on time.BestofElectricalsJasdeep Singh Dawar, DirectorPhone: 9810658660Email: sales@BestofElectricals.comWebsite:
Small Miracles Are God's Way Of Speaking To Us Says Donna Louis, Author Of 'Miracles of Direction'

Miracles of Direction cover

http://www.miraclebook.net

A recent story on the Oprah website titled "Unbelievable True Stories That Will Give You Goosebumps" presented a number of submissions, some of which could be called small miracles. In one of those stories, a young girl was taken by her father to buy a watch. After looking at many possibilities and rejecting them all, one caught her eye. Being mysteriously drawn to the design of the watch, she chose that one, to the great surprise of her father. Once home, he opened an envelope from his desk and revealed a watch. The watch belonged to the young girl's grandfather, given as a present by her grandmother nearly 80 years before. The watch was a nearly perfect twin of the watch the girl chose.While some of us believe only water turning into wine and people rising from the dead qualify as miracles, that is simply not true. Synchronicity is a form of miraculous event; the everyday reminders that we are all connected at the soul level, across time and space. Spirit interacts with mind when we are willing to let Spirit show us that everything is one complete, perfect synchronous whole creation. In that we have the freedom to choose, we can see these events as random chance in a chaotic universe, or as reminders of the wonder of God's creation.Donna Louis, author of 'Miracles of Direction, Miracles of Conquest, Miracles of Provision and Miracles of Purpose' knows that miracles are not just found in the Bible. Modern day miracles occur all over the world, every day.'Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you unless indeed you are disqualified? 2 Corinthians 13:5.' "Jesus Christ makes his home inside of each and every one of us and that is why miracles occur every day," Louis stated. "Everything does not have to be grandiose like the parting of the Red Sea, we just need to keep a watchful eye and believe."Louis' book explores biblical miracles that took place while Jesus was here on earth. She then references with miracles that take place on a daily basis in the modern world. She separates these miracles into four categories and presents insightful example of each type, taken directly from the Bible. She knows that miracles happen every day, even today, and offers readers a message of hope and faith.Louis knows her subject well, as she has personally experienced three miracles. As the result of those life-altering experiences, she began an in-depth study of some of Christianity's most well-documented miracles. In her book, she attempts to expand upon and explain both the purpose and the direction of those miracles.Donna was chosen as a winner in the 2015 and the 2016 '50 Great Writers You Should Be Reading' awards contest. She was recently nominated in the 2017 Top Female Author Awards Program. Miracles' has also received rave reviews from readers. One review called it "amazing, uplifting and inspirational". Another stated, "I was profoundly impressed by the writing."Donna is now making her book available to organizations to be used as a fundraising tool. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the e-books may be donated to those organizations that qualify. Churches and other charitable organizations whose mission is to uplift and inspire are welcome to contact Donna using the information below to discuss the details of the program.Donna Louis is available for media interviews and can be reached using the information below, or by email at louistolouis@aol.com. More information is available at her website. Miracles of Direction is available at online retail book outlets. More information is available at her website.Donna Louis is happily married to her husband of 30 years Patrick Louis and currently resides in Florida. She lives to accomplish the task that God created her for and on a daily basis to follow Proverbs 3:5-6. "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."PO Box 1613Shallotte, NC 28459
Best-in-class IP Camera that provides you Crystal Clear Night Vision

www.matrixvideosurveillance.com

Matrix 2MP IP Bullet camera is specially designed to give superior image quality even at lower illumination. Matrix 2MP Camera has back illuminated sensors which provide excellent image quality even when there is negligible light in the background. It has true WDR, which gives consistent image without any glare at variable exposure levels.Key Features:1. Superior Image Quality EXMOR Technology: This is a SONYs patent technology with back illuminated sensor, which reproduces colored image at light as low as 0.08lux. True WDR: With this feature, camera will capture two sample images and smartly varies its exposure time, thus, rectifying the overexposed and underexposed areas in the scene giving more informative and clear image. Consequently, True WDR gives consistent image without any glare at variable exposure levels.2. Low Storage and Bandwidth Consumption H.265: Latest Video Compression Technique is used for bandwidth and storage optimization. Adaptive Streaming: During non-activity period, this feature helps record at lower bitrate. Hence, bandwidth consumption will be low. Region of Interest: This feature allows streaming and recording of only critical areas from the entire image and saves 30% of bandwidth. Smart Streaming: It divides a single stream into multiple resolutions based on its importance. The result is surveillance video that preserves video quality where it matters, while significantly reducing overall network bandwidth consumption.3. Video Analytics Motion Detection: Areas where motion should not occur can be marked. If motion occurs, it sends instant notifications. Trip Wire: It identifies any motion over a defined virtual line. This can be extremely useful in perimeter security by virtual fencing. Intrusion Detection: Provides notification on entry or exit from a high security or dangerous area.4. Others Network Disconnect: Provides notification on detection of a network disconnection. IP Conflict: Provides notification in case of more than one camera having the same IP. Storage Alert: Sends out an alert in case the SD card of the camera gets full. Four Stream Support: for Four Simultaneous Users SD Card Support: The storage provided is up to 128GB.Thus, Matrix IP Camera gives you a higher image quality with reduced noise and smoother action sequences leading to enhanced security.About MatrixEstablished in 1991, Matrix is a leader in Telecom and Security solutions for modern businesses and enterprises. Matrix, an innovative, technology driven and customer focused organization, is committed to keep pace with the revolutions in the telecom and security industries. With more than 40% of its human resources dedicated to the development of new products, Matrix has launched cutting-edge products like IP Video Surveillance, Access Control, Time-Attendance, Unified Communications, IP-PBX, Universal Gateways, Convergence, VOIP Gateways and GSM Gateways. These solutions are feature-rich, reliable and conform to the international standards. Having global footprints in Europe, North America, South America, Africa and Asia through an extensive network of more than 500 channel partners, Matrix ensures that the products serve the needs of its customers faster and longer. Matrix has gained trust and admiration of customers representing the entire spectrum of industries. Matrix has won many national and international awards for its innovative products.Matrix Comsec394 GIDC, Makarpura, Vadodara-390010
KELCH KENOVA set line V9xx-S System concept to meet the most demanding requirements / New presetter and shrink fit device

The benefits for users include the convenient operation of the unit coupled with maximum precision. (Image: Viktor Grauer)

http://www.kelch.de

Weinstadt, 24.08.2017. Kelch GmbH, which specialises in peripherals and services for manufacturers and users of machine tools for cutting processes, is launching a new system concept for a tool presetter from the KELCH KENOVA set line V9xx-S range. The focus here is on the redesign of the shrink fit equipment and side unit. The redesign also incorporates a redesigned control panel and innovative components, including an operating monitor with touchscreen with an ergonomically designed holder for optimum operating convenience. Once again Kelch is setting new benchmarks in the design of tool presetters. Handling is made significantly easier, thanks to the new shrink fit cooling concept. The benefits for users include the convenient operation of the unit coupled with maximum precision. After all, KELCH has over 75 years of experience in this field, explains Viktor Grauer (B. Eng), member of the Executive Board and Head of Innovation Management at Kelch.Measurement, presetting and shrinkingA combined tool presetter and shrink fit device for the precise and repeatable presetting of tools in shrink fit holders to a target dimension represents the pinnacle of tool presetting. Kelch has rigorously redesigned its KaliTec system, which has proved itself over many years and resulted in the KENOVA set line V9-S system.New tower concept  measuring tower and shrink fit equipment fully redesignedAbout the measuring towerKelch has fully redesigned the tower design for all Premium Line series units (V6, V9 und V9-S) . The basic design of the tower is made of highly rigid grey cast iron and the design has been systematically simplified. Additional component options, including cutting edge monitor, turning centre and grinding camera, can be very easily attached to the new tower. A laser pointer (laser class 1) integrated in the camera holder is also new and is used for improved visual locating of the cutting edge.About the shrink fit equipmentNew fixed shrink fit equipment has been designed for the V9 basic machine. The position of the tower on the V9 basic body has been chosen to enable convenient and accessible handling. The shrink fit equipment is fixed on the right front side of the V9 basic body using a stable bracket adapter, which enables tools with a max.  of 420 mm to be measured.A smoke extraction unit is also optionally available for the shrink fit equipment.The stop ring can be swapped easily and quickly, as with the previous unit. EASY operating software has been adapted for ease of access: in the event of a service, the software moves the coil body into a conveniently accessible replacement position.Multifunctional side unitKelch has fully redesigned the side unit: all the key components for the shrink fitting and cooling workflows are accommodated in the side unit. The induction coil control and cooling unit are integrated in the lower part of the side unit.The close positioning of the side unit to the V9 presetter helps to ensure that there are no long distances between the work processes shrinkingwith measurement and cooling.There is space on the worktop of the side unit for a label printer alongside the adapters, cooling bushings, cooling stations etc. needed for shrinking.A data printer can be held on the side of the side unit with a separate holder. Users also have the opportunity to attach additional brackets at the side, which provide space for storing additional spindle inserts and tool holders in the KELCH Tul system.The side unit is equipped, as standard, with a wireless keyboard and wireless mouse, which further simplifies operation of the unit.New redesigned control panel for all Premium Line series units (V6, V9 and V9-S)The innovative control panel stands out on account of the fact that the motorised adjustment of the X, Z and C axes is done using a joystick instead of using cursor keys. The X and Z linear axes are controlled by steering the joystick in the direction indicated by the arrows on the cover panel. A push-button is incorporated in the top of the joystick to move the C axis. All 3 axes can be moved simultaneously. A toggle button incorporated in the top of the joystick switches between fast mode and creep speed for each movement of the axis.Operating monitor with touchscreenA further unique feature is the fixture of an optionally available operating monitor with touch function. While the standard monitor is fixed on the side unit on the side facing the user, the touch version is supplied with a swivel arm for ease of operation and can be positioned by the user according to their body position.Kelch GmbH, based in Weinstadt near Stuttgart, offers peripherals and services for manufacturers and users of machine tools for cutting processes. With over 100 employees, the company generates annual revenue of approx. 13 million. As a fully owned subsidiary of Harbin Measuring & Cutting Tool Group Co., Ltd. (HMCT), Harbin/China, Kelch is part of the China General Technology (Group) Holding Co., Ltd. (Genertec), Beijing. Genertec is represented in 100 countries worldwide, with 45,000 employees in 51 companies. Kelch GmbH acts as the technology centre for the international business group in Europe. KELCH develops, manufactures and markets tool holders, cleaning devices, shrinking devices, presetters as well as measuring machines and also offers tool management services.More information atKelch GmbHWerkstr. 3071384 WeinstadtDaniela OpatzTelefon: +49 (0) 7151 / 205 22 24E-Mail: daniela.opatz@kelchgmbh.de
Nano Jewelry Shows off Groundbreaking Inscription Technique with a Unique Necklace

I Love You in 120 Languages - The Love Necklace - Nano Jewelry

www.nano-jewelry.com

Tel Aviv, Israel  Nano Jewelry, an online jewelry store specializing in creating necklaces adorned with miniature 24 Karat Gold inscriptions, has shown off its most complex creation to date. Dubbed the love necklace, it is a pendant inscribed with the words I Love You in 120 different languages.Zohar Ezra, Nano Jewelrys founder and leading designer stated, Weve put out some one-of-a-kind pieces in the past, but this one is truly special, both from a technical and an emotional standpoint. Were proud to have refined the process that made us who we are today to the point of being able to create jewelry such as this, and believe that it will help people recognize our brilliant gift shop for what it really is  a great place to shop for gifts they wont find anywhere else.The showcased necklace consists of a chain and a round frame made from 14-karat gold, as well as a polished onyx stone at its center. The stone is inscribed with pure 24-karat gold and features phrases corresponding to I love you in 120 languages.According to Ezra, none of Nano Jewelrys competitors can create inscriptions with the same amount of detail and on such a small scale. He sees the necklace as an unusual gift for women whose theme and execution are likely to strike a chord with a large audience. It is his hope that it will become a welcome gift for birthdays and anniversaries, not to mention major holidays like Christmas and Valentines Day.Nano Jewelry has been in business for 26 years and offers a wide assortment of necklaces online, all with their signature golden inscriptions. Customers browsing their site can pick from a variety of themes including religious and spiritual jewelry, romantic gift ideas for various occasions and others.All the necklaces come in four different precious metal variants  14-karat yellow and white gold, gold plated and 925 sterling silver. Most also feature gems whose color can be chosen as well. Each necklace comes with its own box, and a magnifying glass for easier viewing.While browsing, customers can drop a hint to someone they feel should also take a look. Pressing the corresponding button sends them a subtle email encouraging them to get the necklace as a gift. The site offers secure payment options and promises quick delivery. A money back guarantee as well as a return policy are also in place.For more information, Ezra can be reached by emailed at: service@nano-jewelry.com , and by visitingonline.Love, Uniqueness and Beauty are united in Nano Jewelry necklaces. Innovative technique of pendants inscribed with the 24K gold words makes your gift different. Magnifying glass for text viewing accomplishes the magic dream of every woman.6, Rabbie Yohanan, Tel Aviv 6813812, Israel
STUDENTS AT WEBBER INDEPENDENT REACH NEW HEIGHTS

Robert at Webber Independent Achieves 9,8,9, 5A*s, 3As and a B

www.schoolguide.co.uk

92.3% of students achieved A* to C/9 to 4 grades in five or more subjects including English and Maths, up an impressive 17% on last years GCSE results.Students at The Webber Independent School performed extremely well across all subjects, with stand-out results in Chemistry, Physics, English, Maths, French, Italian, Spanish, History, Music and Physical Education, where 100% of students gained A* to C/9 to 4 grades. With the top three students achieving thirty A*to A/9 to 8 grades between them.Charlie deGorter found good reason to smile about the number nine, he achieved a hat trick in English Language, English Literature and Maths, in addition to five A* grades and three A grades (including further Maths).I cant quite believe it! Three nines in the new grading system, wow  Im blown away. Im so happy, and I cant thank my teachers enough for their support in preparing me for the new style GCSEs in English and Maths."Im now off to celebrate with a big cooked breakfast.Mrs deGorter said: I am delighted that my son has done so well. Webber has been a fantastic school for Charlie, which is reflected in his results.Robert Beilby also joined Charlie at the top of the class with a nine in English Language, eight in English Literature and nine in Maths, in addition to five A* grades and three A grades (including further Maths). Im shocked! Im so happy and I cant stop smiling. I so pleased with my results.Mrs Beilby said: I am so proud of Robert  such amazing results  thank you to all the staff at Webber Independent School that have supported and encouraged Robert to reach his full potential.Speaking about the Schools performance, Headmistress, Hilary Marsden said:Our students have worked their socks off and they should be very proud of their individual performances.I couldnt be happier with the amazing results our students have achieved, with 21% obtaining A* to A/9 to 8 grades and 92.3% achieving A* to C/9 to 4 grades in five or more subjects including Maths and English. The results will give our young people the best opportunities and choices for their future education and career paths.Mrs Marsden continued: I am very pleased with our strong performance in STEM subjects, which is a testimony to our teaching staff for their relentless commitment to helping our students achieve their full potential, and our students for their hard work and focus.The Webber Independent School was founded in 1987 and is the countys leading independent co-educational day schools for 4 to 18 year olds. Conveniently located in central Milton Keynes, the school offers a varied National Curriculum and a wide range of extra-curricular activities. Its focus on Real World Learning, innovative teaching and excellent pastoral care has seen the school achieve outstanding results and inspection reports. The Webber Independent School is rated 5* by theThe Webber Independent SchoolSoskin DriveMilton KeynesMK15 6DP
Genotyping Market worth $17.0 Billion by 2020

http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/genotyping-market-249958595.html

http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/PressReleases/genotyping.asp

The Genotyping Market by Technology (Polymerase Chain Reaction, Sequencing, Microarray, Electrophoresis, MALDI_TOF), Application (Pharmacogenomics, Diagnostic Research, Animal Genetics, Agricultural Biotechnology), Products - Global Forecast to 2020 analyzes and studies the major market drivers, restraints, and opportunities in North America, Europe, Asia, and Rest of the World.Full report :Browse 113 market data tables and 37 figures spread through 200 pages and in-depth TOC on Genotyping Market by Technology (Polymerase Chain Reaction, Sequencing, Microarray, Electrophoresis, MALDI_TOF), Application (Pharmacogenomics, Diagnostic Research, Animal Genetics, Agricultural Biotechnology), Products - Global Forecast to 2020"The global genotyping market is segmented by products & services, technology, applications, end users, and region. This report also discusses the key market drivers, restraints, opportunities, and challenges for this market and submarkets. The market, by products & services, is segmented into instruments (sequencers & amplifiers, and analyzers), reagents & kits, bioinformatics software and genotyping services. The reagents & kits market segment accounted for the largest share of 49% of the global genotyping market in 2014. The accessibility of a wide range of reagents and increasing need for genotyping for assessing drug efficacy and safety, to personalize the treatment for chronic diseases, to develop good breeds of animals & plants are some of the factors that are expected to drive the genotyping reagents market.North America, a major market for global genotyping, occupied a major share in this market, closely followed by Europe. However, emerging countries in the Asia-Pacific region and the Rest of the World (Latin America) are expected to record strong growth during the forecast period. The Asia-Pacific market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 25.4% during the forecast period of 2015-2020. Countries like India, China, and Brazil will majorly drive market growth owing to the introduction of healthcare reforms, rising investments by public and private players to provide improved healthcare services in these countries, and the unmet medical needs of patients suffering from diseases such as cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.Key players in this market include Affymetrix, Inc. (U.S.), Illumina, Inc. (U.S.), Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. (U.S.), QIAGEN N.V. (Netherlands), Agilent Technologies (U.S.), Beckman Coulter (U.S.), Sequenom, Inc. (U.S.), Roche (Switzerland), GE Healthcare (U.K.), and Fluidigm Corporation (U.S.).Press Release :MarketsandMarkets is worlds No. 2 firm in terms of annually published premium market research reports. Serving 1700 global fortune enterprises with more than 1200 premium studies in a year, M&M is catering to multitude of clients across 8 different industrial verticals. We specialize in consulting assignments and business research across high growth markets, cutting edge technologies and newer applications. Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model  GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors.M&Ms flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "RT" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets. The new included chapters on Methodology and Benchmarking presented with high quality analytical infographics in our reports gives complete visibility of how the numbers have been arrived and defend the accuracy of the numbers.We at MarketsandMarkets are inspired to help our clients grow by providing apt business insight with our huge market intelligence repository.Mr. RohanNorth - Dominion Plaza,17304 Preston Road,Suite 800, Dallas, TX 75252Tel: +1-888-600-6441Email: sales@marketsandmarkets.com
Bish SuperCrop Sorghum Header Endorsed by the National Sorghum Producers

http://www.BishEnterprise.com

http://sorghumgrowers.com/industry-partners/

LUBBOCK, Texas  National Sorghum Producers welcomes Bish Enterprises to the NSP Industry Partner Program as a Gold Level sponsor.We believe in working together to help the sorghum industry realize its full potential, said Tim Lust, National Sorghum Producers CEO. We look forward to drawing on the expertise of Bish Enterprises as we advocate for a more profitable, diverse and competitive sorghum industry.The Bish SuperCrop sorghum header is completely newly designed header, created specifically to cater towards the needs to todays farmers and harvesters. The header itself is designed and manufactured from the ground-up from a domestic manufacturer in Giltner, NE  a true Built in the USA product.The Bish SuperCrop sorghum header was designed to be able to easily pick-up down sorghum, while simultaneously achieving the optimal design for harvesting standing sorghum - leaving a minimum of 15 of stubble in the field in both conditions. This capability is obtained by introducing a sickle bar toward the back of the row units instead of rotary knives. The row units can pitch 15 degrees via in-cab control to obtain the proper angle while harvesting. The versatility of this header means that the header is not limited to one crop, which has allowed for excellent yield intake results for sorghum, sunflower, millet, dry-land corn, industrial hemp, and a variety of other row-crops.With its simplistic design, the Bish SuperCrop sorghum header is lighter, allowing harvesters to use 30% less combine load than comparable row-crop headers which translates into a real world fuel savings of 25%-35%, all while improving yield intake. Routine maintenance costs come in at the remarkably low figure of around $1 per row/per acre. Most repairs can be performed in the field and all header replacement parts can be purchased from Bish or sourced locally at John Deere and Agco Dealerships for quick repair and replacement if neededThe NSP Industry Partner Program provides the resources necessary to effectively represent the sorghum industry. Collaborations with the private industry  like Bish Enterprises  allows NSP to lead legislative and regulatory change as well as maintain full momentum in advancing opportunities for grain, sweet, and biomass sorghum.For more information on the Bish Enterprises SuperCrop Sorghum Header, contact COO Andrew Bish at 402-849-2674 or visitFor more information on the NSP Industry Partner Program, contact NSP Development Director at 806-749-3478 or visitBish Enterprises  At A GlanceFor over 40 Years, Bish Enterprises has been providing innovative agricultural products,serving farmers and dealers that serve farmers harvest the crops that help feedAmerica.Bish Enterprises is an agriculture engineering and manufacturing facility providinginnovative & high-quality agricultural products to farmers and harvester that help feedAmerica. Bish Enterprises is the largest manufacturer & distributor of combine headeradapters and combine header conversions. Bish Enterprises is also home to the BishSuperCrop Header, the best choice solution for harvesting Sorghum (milo), Sunflowers,Hemp, & Popcorn.In addition to header adapters, header conversions, and the SuperCrop Header, Bishbranded harvest products and accessories include: Custom Built Headers, Custom Corn Headers & Custom Row-Crop Headers -For Case IH, John Deere, Claas, Lexion, Agco, Gleaner, Massey, Oxbo, & More! Research Headers - #1 Harvest Research Header Manufacturer in the U.S. John Deere Frame Kits Case IH Frame Kits John Deere Row Crop Header Rebuilds New Corn Header, New Row Crop Header, & Used Draper Header Parts,Accessories, Sales, & Repairs Used Corn Header, Used Row Crop Header, & Used Draper Header Parts,Accessories, Sales, & Repairs Down Corn Reels Drive Kits - For Case IH, John Deere, Claas, Lexion, Agco, Gleaner, Massey,Oxbo, & More! Bin Extensions - For Case IH, John Deere, Claas, Lexion, Agco, Gleaner,Massey, & More! Telescoping Power Shafts (TPS, PTO) - Shafts, Yokes, Cross Kits, PlasticHousing, Bearings, and Other Miscellaneous Items Feeder House Covers Poly Row Dividers & Sheet Metal Row Dividers Reinke Pivot Parts & ServiceBish Enterprises sells and ships products both domestically & internationally, and is the#1 choice of Farmers & Harvesters looking to achieve maximum return on investmentduring their harvest season.Bish Enterprises508 South D RoadGiltner, NE 68841
Global X-Band Radar Market Professional Survey Report 2017

Global X-Band Radar Market Professional Survey Report 2017

https://www.qyresearcheurope.com/goods-691119.html

http://www.qyresearchglobal.com/

This report studies X-Band Radar in Global market, especially in North America, China, Europe, Southeast Asia, Japan and India, with production, revenue, consumption, import and export in these regions, from 2012 to 2016, and forecast to 2022.This report focuses on top manufacturers in global market, with production, price, revenue and market share for each manufacturer, coveringRaytheon CompanySAABNorthrop GrummanFuruno ElectricIsrael Aerospace IndustriesJapan RadioSelexEnterprise ElectronicsKelvin HughesTermaReutech Radar SystemsOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoPortable X-Band RadarNon-portable X-Band RadarBy Application, the market can be split intoCivilianMilitaryBy Regions, this report covers (we can add the regions/countries as you want)North AmericaChinaEuropeSoutheast AsiaJapanIndiaTo get a free professional report sample, please email to tinaning@qyresearch.com or Browse our detailed product page:Table of contents:1 Industry Overview of X-Band Radar2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of X-Band Radar3 Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis of X-Band Radar4 Global X-Band Radar Overall Market Overview5 X-Band Radar Regional Market Analysis6 Global 2012-2017E X-Band Radar Segment Market Analysis (by Type)7 Global 2012-2017E X-Band Radar Segment Market Analysis (by Application)8 Major Manufacturers Analysis of X-Band Radar9 Development Trend of Analysis of X-Band Radar Market10 X-Band Radar Marketing Type Analysis11 Consumers Analysis of X-Band RadarRelated Reports:Europe X-Band Radar Market Professional Survey Report 2017China X-Band Radar Market Professional Survey Report 2017USA X-Band Radar Market Professional Survey Report 2017Korea X-Band Radar Market Professional Survey Report 2017Japan X-Band Radar Market Professional Survey Report 2017India X-Band Radar Market Professional Survey Report 2017Contact Details:Tina| Sales ManagersCompany Name: QYResearch CO.,LIMITED | focus on Market Survey and ResearchEmail: tinaning@qyresearch.com Tel: 0086-20-22093278(CN)Web:QYResearch focus on Market Survey and ResearchQYResearch established in 2007, focus on custom research, management consulting, IPO consulting, industry chain research, data base and seminar services. The company owned a large basic data base (such as National Bureau of statistics database, Customs import and export database, Industry Association Database etc), experts resources (included energy automotive chemical medical ICT consumer goods etc industries experts who own more than 10 years experiences on marketing or R&D), professional survey team (the team member with more than 3 years market survey experience and more than 2 years depth expert interview experience),Excellent data analysis team (SPSS statistics and PPT graphics process team); QYResearch has always pursuit product quality, adhere to the quality is the soul of business.Room 2311 VILI International Building No.167 Linhe West Road Tianhe District
Onsite ATMs Global Market Outlook 2017-2022 Diebold, Inc., NCR Corporation, Wincor Nixdorf AG

Onsite ATMs Market

http://bit.ly/2wBtL38

http://bit.ly/2itFNoW

Onsite ATMs Market Research ReportA market study  Global Onsite ATMs Market  examines the performance of the Onsite ATMs market Size 2017. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Onsite ATMs market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Onsite ATMs market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.Request For Sample Report:The Global Onsite ATMs Market 2017 report includes Onsite ATMs market Size, Revenue, market Share, Onsite ATMs industry volume, market Trends, Onsite ATMs Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report.It shows manufacturing capacity, Onsite ATMs Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2022.Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Onsite ATMs Market 2017:Diebold, Inc.NCR CorporationWincor Nixdorf AGTriton systems of Delaware, LLCGRG Banking Equipment Co. Ltd.Hitachi-Omron Terminal Solutions, CorporationHESS Cash Systems GmbH & Co KGNautilus Hyosung CorporationFujitsu Ltd.Euronet Worldwide, Inc.Onsite ATMs Market : Type AnalysisBrown label ATMsWhite label ATMsSmart ATMsCash dispensersOnsite ATMs Market : Application AnalysisOffsiteWorksiteFirstly, the report covers the top Onsite ATMs manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Enquiry for More Info@Further, the Onsite ATMs report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Onsite ATMs industry, Onsite ATMs industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Onsite ATMs Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.The Onsite ATMs research report includes the products that are currently in demand and available in the market along with their cost breakup, manufacturing volume, import/export scheme and contribution to the Onsite ATMs market revenue worldwide.Finally, Onsite ATMs market report gives you details about the market research findings and conclusion which helps you to develop profitable market strategies to gain competitive advantage.About Us:"Spire Market Research" is a leading market intelligence team which accredits and provides the reports of some of the top publishers in the field of technology industry. We are as a firm expertise in making extensive reports that cover all the necessary details about the market assessments such as major technological improvement in the industry.Contact Us5001 Spring Valley Road,Suite 400 East,Dallas, TX 75244, USA
Natural Fragrances Global Market Outlook 2017-2022 Givaudan, Firmenich, Takasago International

Natural Fragrances Market

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Natural Fragrances Market Research ReportA market study  Global Natural Fragrances Market  examines the performance of the Natural Fragrances market Size 2017. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Natural Fragrances market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Natural Fragrances market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.Request For Sample Report:The Global Natural Fragrances Market 2017 report includes Natural Fragrances market Size, Revenue, market Share, Natural Fragrances industry volume, market Trends, Natural Fragrances Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report.It shows manufacturing capacity, Natural Fragrances Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2022.Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Natural Fragrances Market 2017:GivaudanFirmenichTakasago InternationalSymriseSensient TechnologiesKerryFrutarom IndustriesNatural Fragrances Market : Type AnalysisNatural ExtractAroma ChemicalEssential OilsNatural Fragrances Market : Application AnalysisBeveragesDairy ProductConfectionaryOral ProductsTobaccoFirstly, the report covers the top Natural Fragrances manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Enquiry for More Info@Further, the Natural Fragrances report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Natural Fragrances industry, Natural Fragrances industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Natural Fragrances Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.The Natural Fragrances research report includes the products that are currently in demand and available in the market along with their cost breakup, manufacturing volume, import/export scheme and contribution to the Natural Fragrances market revenue worldwide.Finally, Natural Fragrances market report gives you details about the market research findings and conclusion which helps you to develop profitable market strategies to gain competitive advantage.About Us:"Spire Market Research" is a leading market intelligence team which accredits and provides the reports of some of the top publishers in the field of technology industry. We are as a firm expertise in making extensive reports that cover all the necessary details about the market assessments such as major technological improvement in the industry.Contact Us5001 Spring Valley Road,Suite 400 East,Dallas, TX 75244, USA
Mobile Phone Accessories Global Market Outlook 2017-2022 Beats (Apple), Incipio, Panasonic, Samsung

Mobile Phone Accessories Market

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Mobile Phone Accessories Market Research ReportA market study  Global Mobile Phone Accessories Market  examines the performance of the Mobile Phone Accessories market Size 2017. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Mobile Phone Accessories market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Mobile Phone Accessories market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.Request For Sample Report:The Global Mobile Phone Accessories Market 2017 report includes Mobile Phone Accessories market Size, Revenue, market Share, Mobile Phone Accessories industry volume, market Trends, Mobile Phone Accessories Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report.It shows manufacturing capacity, Mobile Phone Accessories Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2022.Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Mobile Phone Accessories Market 2017:Beats (Apple)IncipioPanasonicSamsungSonyBelkinBoseBYD ElectronicEnergizerPhilipsMotorolaPlantronicsSennheizerMobile Phone Accessories Market : Type AnalysisBatteriesChargersHeadsetsMemory cardsMobile Phone Accessories Market : Application AnalysisApplication 1Application 2Firstly, the report covers the top Mobile Phone Accessories manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Enquiry for More Info@Further, the Mobile Phone Accessories report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Mobile Phone Accessories industry, Mobile Phone Accessories industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Mobile Phone Accessories Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.The Mobile Phone Accessories research report includes the products that are currently in demand and available in the market along with their cost breakup, manufacturing volume, import/export scheme and contribution to the Mobile Phone Accessories market revenue worldwide.Finally, Mobile Phone Accessories market report gives you details about the market research findings and conclusion which helps you to develop profitable market strategies to gain competitive advantage.About Us:"Spire Market Research" is a leading market intelligence team which accredits and provides the reports of some of the top publishers in the field of technology industry. We are as a firm expertise in making extensive reports that cover all the necessary details about the market assessments such as major technological improvement in the industry.Contact Us5001 Spring Valley Road,Suite 400 East,Dallas, TX 75244, USA
HostForLIFE.eu Launch Drupal 8.3.7 Hosting with Fast Support

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Drupal is the #1 platform for web content management among global enterprises, governments, higher education institutions, and NGOs. Flexible and highly scalable, Drupal publishes a single web site or shares content in multiple languages across many devices. Technology and business leaders transform content management into powerful digital solutions with Drupal backed by one of the world's most innovative open source communities.European Windows and ASP.NET Spotlight Hosting Partner in Europe, HostForLIFE.eu, has announced the availability of new hosting plans that are optimized for the latest update of the Drupal 8.3.7 hosting technology. HostForLIFE.eu hosts its servers in top class data centers that is located in Amsterdam, (NL), London, (UK), Washington, D.C. (US), Paris, (France), Frankfurt, (Germany), Chennai, (India), Milan, (Italy), Toronto, (Canada) and Sao Paulo, (Brazil) to guarantee 99.9% network uptime. All data centers feature redundancies in network connectivity, power, HVAC, security, and fire suppression. All hosting plans from HostForLIFE.eu include 247 support and 30 days money back guarantee. The customers can start hosting their Drupal site on their environment from as just low 2.97/month only.This release fixes security vulnerabilities. No changes have been made to the .htaccess, web.config, robots.txt or default settings.php files in this release, so upgrading custom versions of those files is not necessary. HostForLIFE have hosted large numbers of websites and blogs until now. Their clients come from diverse backgrounds from all sectors of the economy. HostForLIFE.eu clients are specialized in providing supports for Drupal for many years. They are glad to provide support for European Drupal 8.3.7 hosting users with advice and troubleshooting for their client website when necessary. A few sites have reported #2869449: PluginNotFound exception after update to Drupal 8.3 where the plugin name mentioned in the exception may vary. Administrators of affected sites should check the issue queues of contributed modules in use. Comment on #2869449 if necessary.Sites that have the HAL module enabled and are upgrading from 8.1.x have encountered #2867444: Configuration schema errors whilst updating to 8.3.0. Possible workarounds include updating to 8.2.7 first and then to 8.3.0, or (for sites using Drush) updating to Drush 8.1.10. (Note that 8.1.x has been end-of-life since September 2016, so we generally do not provide full support for updates that skip minor releases.) Drupal 8 currently has a number of known issues related to incorrect tracking of file usage, which can result in files being unexpectedly deleted from a site. Site owners experiencing unexplained file loss should consider setting "Delete orphaned files" to "Never" on /admin/config/media/file-system until these issues are resolvedHostForLIFE.eu is a popular online Windows-based hosting service provider catering to those people who face such issues. The company has managed to build a strong client base in a very short period of time. It is known for offering ultra-fast, fully-managed and secured services in the competitive market. Their powerful servers are especially optimized and ensure Drupal 8.3.7 performance. They have best data centers on three continent, unique account isolation for security, and 24/7 proactive uptime monitoring.For more information about this new product, please visitAbout HostForLIFE.euHostForLIFE.eu is an European Windows Hosting Provider which focuses on the Windows Platform only. HostForLIFE.eu deliver on-demand hosting solutions including Shared hosting, Reseller Hosting, Cloud Hosting, Dedicated Servers, and IT as a Service for companies of all sizes.HostForLIFE.eu is awarded Top No#1 SPOTLIGHT Recommended Hosting Partner by Microsoft. Their service is ranked the highest top #1 spot in several European countries, such as: Germany, Italy, Netherlands, France, Belgium, United Kingdom, Sweden, Finland, Switzerland and other European countries. Besides this award, they have also won several awards from reputable organizations in the hosting industry and the detail can be found on their official website.12-14 Mansion House PlaceLondon, EC4N 8BJ
Bottle Sterilizers Global Market Outlook 2017-2022 Philips, WABI BABY, Dr. Browns, Munchkin

Bottle Sterilizers Market

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Bottle Sterilizers Market Research ReportA market study  Global Bottle Sterilizers Market  examines the performance of the Bottle Sterilizers market Size 2017. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Bottle Sterilizers market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Bottle Sterilizers market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.Request For Sample Report:The Global Bottle Sterilizers Market 2017 report includes Bottle Sterilizers market Size, Revenue, market Share, Bottle Sterilizers industry volume, market Trends, Bottle Sterilizers Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report.It shows manufacturing capacity, Bottle Sterilizers Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2022.Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Bottle Sterilizers Market 2017:PhilipsWABI BABYDr. BrownsMunchkinHyGenie3B BabyLil JumblTommee TippeeBottle Sterilizers Market : Type AnalysisElectric Bottle SterilizerMicrowave Bottle SterilizerUV Bottle SterilizerChemical Bottle SterilizerBottle Sterilizers Market : Application AnalysisHomeTravelFirstly, the report covers the top Bottle Sterilizers manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Enquiry for More Info@Further, the Bottle Sterilizers report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Bottle Sterilizers industry, Bottle Sterilizers industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Bottle Sterilizers Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.The Bottle Sterilizers research report includes the products that are currently in demand and available in the market along with their cost breakup, manufacturing volume, import/export scheme and contribution to the Bottle Sterilizers market revenue worldwide.Finally, Bottle Sterilizers market report gives you details about the market research findings and conclusion which helps you to develop profitable market strategies to gain competitive advantage.About Us:"Spire Market Research" is a leading market intelligence team which accredits and provides the reports of some of the top publishers in the field of technology industry. We are as a firm expertise in making extensive reports that cover all the necessary details about the market assessments such as major technological improvement in the industry.Contact Us5001 Spring Valley Road,Suite 400 East,Dallas, TX 75244, USA
Semi Trailer Global Market Outlook 2017-2022 Daimler AG, Schmitz Cargobull, Great Dane, Utility Trailer

Semi Trailer Market

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Semi Trailer Market Research ReportA market study  Global Semi Trailer Market  examines the performance of the Semi Trailer market Size 2017. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Semi Trailer market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Semi Trailer market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.Request For Sample Report:The Global Semi Trailer Market 2017 report includes Semi Trailer market Size, Revenue, market Share, Semi Trailer industry volume, market Trends, Semi Trailer Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report.It shows manufacturing capacity, Semi Trailer Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2022.Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Semi Trailer Market 2017:Daimler AGSchmitz CargobullGreat DaneUtility TrailerPaccarVolvoWabash National CorporationFontaineHyundai TransleadNavistarKogel Trailer GmbhSchwarzmuller GroupCIMCLiangshan HuayuSINOTRUKFAW SipingHuida HeavySemi Trailer Market : Type AnalysisUp To 50 Tonnes50-100 Tonnes100+ TonnesSemi Trailer Market : Application AnalysisCement IndustryFood IndustryChemical IndustryLogistics IndustryOil and Gas IndustryFirstly, the report covers the top Semi Trailer manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Enquiry for More Info@Further, the Semi Trailer report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Semi Trailer industry, Semi Trailer industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Semi Trailer Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.The Semi Trailer research report includes the products that are currently in demand and available in the market along with their cost breakup, manufacturing volume, import/export scheme and contribution to the Semi Trailer market revenue worldwide.Finally, Semi Trailer market report gives you details about the market research findings and conclusion which helps you to develop profitable market strategies to gain competitive advantage.About Us:"Spire Market Research" is a leading market intelligence team which accredits and provides the reports of some of the top publishers in the field of technology industry. We are as a firm expertise in making extensive reports that cover all the necessary details about the market assessments such as major technological improvement in the industry.Contact Us5001 Spring Valley Road,Suite 400 East,Dallas, TX 75244, USA
Rugged Tablet PCs Global Market Outlook 2017-2022 Panasonic, Getac, DT Research, Xplore, DRS Technology

Rugged Tablet PCs Market

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Rugged Tablet PCs Market Research ReportA market study  Global Rugged Tablet PCs Market  examines the performance of the Rugged Tablet PCs market Size 2017. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Rugged Tablet PCs market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Rugged Tablet PCs market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.Request For Sample Report:The Global Rugged Tablet PCs Market 2017 report includes Rugged Tablet PCs market Size, Revenue, market Share, Rugged Tablet PCs industry volume, market Trends, Rugged Tablet PCs Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report.It shows manufacturing capacity, Rugged Tablet PCs Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2022.Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Rugged Tablet PCs Market 2017:PanasonicGetacDT ResearchXploreDRS TechnologyMobileDemandAAEONNEXCOMHPDellMilDefTrimbleKontronRugged Tablet PCs Market : Type AnalysisFully Rugged TabletsSemi Rugged TabletsUltra-Rugged TabletsRugged Tablet PCs Market : Application AnalysisEnergyManufacturingConstructionTransportation & DistributionPublic safetyRetailMedicalGovernmentFirstly, the report covers the top Rugged Tablet PCs manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Enquiry for More Info@Further, the Rugged Tablet PCs report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Rugged Tablet PCs industry, Rugged Tablet PCs industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Rugged Tablet PCs Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.The Rugged Tablet PCs research report includes the products that are currently in demand and available in the market along with their cost breakup, manufacturing volume, import/export scheme and contribution to the Rugged Tablet PCs market revenue worldwide.Finally, Rugged Tablet PCs market report gives you details about the market research findings and conclusion which helps you to develop profitable market strategies to gain competitive advantage.About Us:"Spire Market Research" is a leading market intelligence team which accredits and provides the reports of some of the top publishers in the field of technology industry. We are as a firm expertise in making extensive reports that cover all the necessary details about the market assessments such as major technological improvement in the industry.Contact Us5001 Spring Valley Road,Suite 400 East,Dallas, TX 75244, USA
CHICAGO  Archer Daniels Midland Co. has appointed Rachel D. Hudson vice president and treasurer, the company said in a news release Friday.

She will oversee all treasury activities globally, including funding and capital markets, currency risk-management and worldwide banking activities, the company said.

Hudson joined ADM in 2002 and has held leadership positions in the company's finance, treasury and commodity-trading functions in the U.S., Brazil, Germany and Switzerland. She will also continue her role as chief financial officer for the company's corn division.

Hudson earned her bachelor's degree from Colgate University and a master's degree in international law and diplomacy with a concentration in finance and banking from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tuffts University in Medford, Massachusetts.

With more than 4,000 workers in Decatur, ADM is the city's largest employer. The company's North American headquarters are located here, as well as its James R. Randall Research Facility and its intermodal rail hub.
Global Over the Top (OTT) Services Market Sales Volume (Million Units) and Growth Rate (2012-2022) Analysis in a Latest Research Report

Top (OTT) Services Market

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The Over the Top (OTT) Services Market Research Report Forecast 2017-2022 is a valuable source of insightful data for business strategists. It provides the Over the Top (OTT) Services industry overview with growth analysis and historical & futuristic cost, revenue, demand and supply data (as applicable). The research analysts provide an elaborate description of the value chain and its distributor analysis.For this report, the Over the Top (OTT) Services market value is provided for 2016 in USD millions, an expected CAGR % as well as USD million worth of industry in 2022. Regionally, the globe is segmented into United States, China, Europe, Japan, Southeast Asia and India to study their market size and local analysis. End user applications of Over the Top (OTT) Services market covering Personal, Commercial and Others are studied in this research. Share of Over the Top (OTT) Services market is covered by applications as well supported with potential applications in the future.Buy the complete Over the Top (OTT) Services report with Comprehensive table of contents @The research methodology used to estimate and forecast the Over the Top (OTT) Services market involves a primary and a secondary research. A systematic procedure has been used to arrive at the global size of the Over the Top (OTT) Services market and present revenue of key players in the market. Accurate data has been collected by conducting extensive interviews with people holding key decision making positions in the industry such as CEOs, VPs, directors, and executives.Inquire for discount for this report @Industry chain analysis covering upstream raw materials and equipments of Over the Top (OTT) Services market, their suppliers' information as well as analysis of downstream major consumers for Over the Top (OTT) Services is provided to understand the complete industry chain structure. Overall market analyzed in this report is divided by regions, types and manufacturers/companies. The research estimates 2017-2022 Over the Top (OTT) Services market development trends covering capacity, production and revenue forecasts as well as regional supply consumption forecasts.Towards the end, this report includes a feasibility analysis of New Project Investment covering SWOT analysis of Over the Top (OTT) Services OR marketing strategy analysis and market effect factor analysis. Overall, the report provides factual insights collected and analyzed with detailed primary and secondary research on Over the Top (OTT) Services market.The research compiles profiles of small and big Over the Top (OTT) Services market companies covering their product details as well as important statistics on production, capacity, price and more. These active companies' numbers are supported with information on marketing traders and/or distributors of the Over the Top (OTT) Services industry along with their contact information. This data gives valuable industry insights and direction to individuals and/or companies that are new entrants, eyeing to enter or grow in the Over the Top (OTT) Services market. Some of the Key vendors profiled in this research include:FacebookTwitterLinkedInNetflixGoogleSkype (Microsoft Corporation)AmazonAppleRakutenEvernote CorporationDropboxHulu, LLCPartial list of Tables and Figures for this report include:Figure Global Over the Top (OTT) Services Market Size Share by Regions in 2022Figure United States Over the Top (OTT) Services Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2017-2022)Figure EU Over the Top (OTT) Services Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2017-2022)Figure Japan Over the Top (OTT) Services Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2017-2022)Figure China Over the Top (OTT) Services Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2017-2022)Figure India Over the Top (OTT) Services Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2017-2022)Figure Southeast Asia Over the Top (OTT) Services Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2017-2022)Table Global Over the Top (OTT) Services Market Size (Million USD) by Type (2017-2022)Figure Global Over the Top (OTT) Services Market Size Share by Type in 2017Figure Global Over the Top (OTT) Services Market Size Share by Type in 2022Table Global Over the Top (OTT) Services Market Size (Million USD) by Application (2017-2022)Figure Global Over the Top (OTT) Services Market Size (Million USD) by Application in 2017Figure Global Over the Top (OTT) Services Market Size (Million USD) by Application in 2022About Us:eMarketOrg.com aims to provide businesses and organizations market intelligence products and services that help in making smart, instant and crucial decisions. Our database offers access to insights from industry leaders, experts and influencers on global and regional sectors, market trends, user behaviour, for companies as well as products. With data and information from reputable and trusted private and public sources, our clients are never short of statistics and analysis that are up to date.Contact Details:Ronald Aldensales@emarketorg.cominfo@emarketorg.comeMarketOrg.com aims to provide businesses and organizations market intelligence products and services that help in making smart, instant and crucial decisions. Our database offers access to insights from industry leaders, experts and influencers on global and regional sectors, market trends, user behaviour, for companies as well as products. With data and information from reputable and trusted private and public sources, our clients are never short of statistics and analysis that are up to date.Starting with market research reports, eMarketOrg.com plans to add conferences, knowledge products, which can be periodically subscribed to, and more to its range of business offerings. Spread across the globe, our network of partners, in collaboration with our service specialists, ensure that our clients receive the right product, service and/or solution that meet their requirements in convenient timelines and within comfortable budgets that neither go underutilized nor dig a big hole into their monthly, quarterly and/or yearly spends.Get in touch with us to experience a new one-stop market intelligence and business service.F/3, 4A Bharat Pushpa Apt.,Subhash Nagar, Shukrawar Peth,Pune  411002
Remote Control Home or Office Window Blinds with EzWand

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EzWand motorizes existing blinds at home or the office. It has never been easier to make an office or home window blinds into luxurious remote controlled blinds. Installation of the EZ Wand (Easy Wand) does not require any special tools or the need to hire someone to install. Everything one needs is in the Box. Using Patent technology, the EZ Wand can tilt close or open your blinds. The EZ Wand is the least expensive and fastest way to turn existing blinds into remote control blinds just by replacing the wand. EZ Wand is works perfectly at an office with large windows and one that uses mini blinds or vertical blinds.In an interview, the CEO said, An EZ Wand remote controlled blind is a cheap and cost effective luxury that offers you convenience. At the push of a button on the EZ Wand remote, adjusting your blinds happens in a snap. You dont have to move away from where you are; comfortably lay down to close the blinds if the sunlight gets too bright. You save time and effort when you have EZ Wand automatic blinds. Shop for remote window blinds today.EzWand can also provide users with the benefit of security. If one wants to keep their home or office hidden in a particular time of the day, they can quickly close the blinds with EZ Wand. Or if anyone wants to let the sunshine in and show that their home or office is not vacant, EZ Wand allows up to eight blinds to be adjusted at one moment. If one has ever researched or considered having remote blinds, they know the expense of tailor made alternatives and motorized railings. Those expensive alternatives can cost hundreds of dollars.The CEO added, The EZ Wand remote control blinds are perfect for home settings where you want the convenience of raising and lowering your blinds, one at a time, at an affordable cost. Never should closing and opening blinds be a task. This is particularly true when you have a lot of windows in your home or office; you may have to spend a few minutes each day walking around opening them in the morning and closing them when the day gets too sunny, and late in the evening for privacy. When you have EZ Wand, think about your convenience, and the time you will save each day.Having remote controlled blinds can help save money in other ways as well. One can have the most beautiful pieces of furniture. But, if they are regularly heated by the sun for too long, the furniture can quickly age and start to deteriorate. Being able to easily close blinds when the sun is at its peak can lengthen the life of ones furniture. This means they won't have to spend thousands of dollars to replace their furniture. Affordable, remote control blinds, like those provided by remotewindowblinds.com, is how one can help keep money in their pockets.The company allows office and homeowners to motorize their existing curtains using the Easy Wand device. Remote control blinds are perfect to have for hard to reach windows, such as those in foyers, stairwell windows, and upper windows.10531 4s Commons #166-411San Diego, CA 92127Email: info@remotewindowblinds.comWebsite:
Optical Transceivers Market and Opportunities by 2015 - 2021

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Optical transceivers are the modernized components for the efficient use of network. The major factor bolstering the adoption of optical transceiver components is their low cost transport of information over the network. Additionally, optical transceivers are preferred over conventional transceiver devices as they require low maintenance cost as compared to conventional devices. Optical transceivers support large bandwidth and hence, are widely used in high speed network infrastructure such as broadband internet connections. These are used as both carriers and data centers. Optical transceivers are deployed to update the communication networks and data center networks for efficient traffic management with higher speeds. Optical networks are the backbone for mobile communication network. With growing demand for reliable and high speed mobile communication, optical transceivers are increasingly being used for the communication network infrastructure.A sample of this report is available upon request @Geographically, North America is seen as highly attractive market for the optical transceivers due to increasing demand for sophisticated communication network. In addition, the rising deployment of 100G transceivers for high speed networks is another factor contributing to high demand for optical transceivers. Europe is equally fast in adoption of 100G transceivers and follows North America in terms of demand for optical transceivers. Moreover, the combined use of 40G and 100G modules in Europe and North America is expected to show steady growth in demand for optical transceivers in near future. In Asia-Pacific, China is expected to be the fastest growing market for optical transceivers owing to its increasing demand for deployment of 100G equipment. The updating of the existing communication networks in this region is another factor which is expected to boost the growth of optical transceivers market in near future.Request to view table of content @In North America, JDS Uniphase Corporation, Oclaro Inc., Finisar Corporation, Cisco Systems, Alcatel-Lucent and others are the manufacturers of optical transceivers. In Asia-Pacific, Avago Technologies and Wuhan Telecommunications Devices Co. Ltd. are some of the leading manufacturers of optical transceivers.Buy Now: You can now buy a single user license of the report @About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a U.S.-based full-service market intelligence firm specializing in syndicated research, custom research, and consulting services. PMR boasts market research expertise across the Healthcare, Chemicals and Materials, Technology and Media, Energy and Mining, Food and Beverages, Semiconductor and Electronics, Consumer Goods, and Shipping and Transportation industries. The company draws from its multi-disciplinary capabilities and high-pedigree team of analysts to share data that precisely corresponds to clients business needs.PMR stands committed to bringing more accuracy and speed to clients business decisions. From ready-to-purchase market research reports to customized research solutions, PMRs engagement models are highly flexible without compromising on its deep-seated research values.ContactPersistence Market Research Pvt. Ltd305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.commedia@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Growing Industrialization will influence the Military Vehicles and Aircraft Simulations Market Growth

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Military vehicles and aircraft simulation have now become critically important due to high safety and security reasons in every part of the world. Growing need to cut down the cost of pilot training, technological developments, and introduction of new generation aircrafts is escalating the growth in the global military vehicles and aircraft simulation. Additionally, increased environmental impacts, cost of fuel and real wear and tear on weapon system, is anticipated to be the major target market in near future. The simulation technology (imitation of the operation of a real-world process or system over time) allows both commercial and military trainees to learn faster and master to advance on and off road operations along with handling hazardous and dangerous situations without risk to machine and man. However, simulation of technology is used in many contexts such as safety engineering, education, training, testing, performance optimization, video games and others. It is also used in computer experiments to study simulation models.The military vehicles and aircraft simulation continues to gain importance in the aerospace, defence and military industry. With reduced financial resources, governments are taking initiatives to cut down on training budgets. Owing to this, currently militaries are focusing on attaining cheaper and more effective solutions for their training requirements. Owing to this, flight simulations has evolved to become an essential part of civil aviation operations and military capability. It is a device that artificially creates the environment for flight (where it flies) for pilot training and other purposes. Flight simulator may vary from one model to another and is widely used in commercial and military applications. As a result, training in a fight simulator is more operative than training in aircraft, also it has made a major contribution towards the aviation industry.Request Report Sample@Military Vehicles and Aircraft Simulations Market: Drivers & RestraintsTo accommodate new generation aircrafts, mission rehearsal and simulation technologies are moving forward along with embed in a variety of military systems to carry out training in reality at reasonable cost. Commercialization of unmanned aerial vehicles is the emerging trend and will give new opportunities to this market. A fundamental growth driver to the market is growing awareness over the benefits of virtual pilot training. Additionally, demand for trained pilots and crew members, technological advancements, rising demand for air transportation which has further resulted in growing needs for safety and security concerns along with cost advantages are the drivers identified in the military vehicles and aircraft simulations market. Safety regulations and push from the government side is also helping in increasing the degree of awareness among the users. However, high implementation cost, lack of reliable communication and complexity in system are the major setback for military vehicles and aircraft simulations market.Military Vehicles and Aircraft SimulationsMarket: SegmentationOn the basis of types global military vehicles and aircraft simulations can be broadly into: Virtual, Live, and Constructive and others. On the basis of application global military vehicle and aircraft simulation market is segmented into: Platform, System and Maintenance. On the basis of system, global military vehicles and aircraft simulations can be further segmented into: Flight simulation and Non-Flight Simulation.Visit For TOC@Military Vehicles and Aircraft SimulationsMarket: Region-wise OutlookThe global military vehicles and aircraft simulation market is expected to register CAGR of 6.27 percent over the forecasted period 2015-2025. Depending on geographic regions, global military vehicles and aircraft simulation market is segmented into seven key regions: North America, Latin America, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Asia-Pacific, Japan, and Middle East & Africa. In terms of regions, Europe accounts for the largest market share followed by North America. Asia Pacific market is projected to register a significant CAGR during the forecast period. Increasing demand for training of pilots and rising demand for air transportation along with technological updates is fuelling the growth of global military vehicles and aircraft simulations market in Asia Pacific. Eastern Europe and Latin America are also forecast to register a significant growth in the global military vehicles and aircraft simulations market, as growing awareness over the pilot training is expected to grow in these regions as well.Military Vehicles and Aircraft SimulationMarket: Key PlayersSome of the players identified in the aircraft simulation are FLIGHTRiX (Command Sims Pvt. Ltd.), Presagis (formed through the acquisition of three industry leading companies includes Engenuity Technologies, MultiGen-Paradigm, and TERREX.), Rheinmetall Defence, Alsim, Atlantis System Corp., CAE Inc., Bae Systems PLC, FlightSafety International Inc., Moog Inc., Simteq B.V., Lockheed Martin Corporation, Thales Group, Rockwell Collins, PMDG, Israel Aerospace industries, ATC Flight Simulator, Mechtronix Inc., L-3 Communications Holdings Ltd., among many others.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
High-Intensity Sweetener Market Forecast By End-use Industry 2015-2025

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High-intensity sweeteners (HIS) are ingredients which are used to sweeten and enhance the flavour of foods. High-intensity sweeteners are generally used as sugar alternative because of its unique property which makes it many times sweeter than sugar and contributes few to no calories when added to food & beverages. The calorie content in high-intensity sweetener varies from zero to 4 kcal/gm. It is commonly used in desserts, soft drinks, confectionery, dairy products, chewing gums and hot chocolate drinks. The major advantage of high-intensity sweetener is low calorie value, thus making it suitable for consumption for diabetic patient. High-intensity sweeteners also usually do not raise blood sugar levels in the human body.High-Intensity Sweetener: Drivers and RestraintsRising health concerns coupled with increasing number of people suffering from weight related problems such as diabetes and obesity are some of the major advantage of high-intensity sweetener. Rising demand for low calorie sweetener, growing number of obese population are the major factors driving the demand of high intensity sweetener globally.Request Report Sample@High-Intensity Sweetener: SegmentationHigh-intensity sweetener market is segmented on the basis of type, application and region. On the basis of type the high-intensity sweetener market is segmented into nutritive sweeteners and non-nutritive sweetener. Aspartame is the only HIS falling under the category of non-nutritive sweetener. While, non-nutritive sweetener can be sub-segmented into saccharin, sucralose, acesulfame potassium, neotame, advantame, steviol extract, cyclamate and monk fruit extracts. Cyclamate was the leading sweetener in terms of consumption accounting for almost 51% of global high-intensity sweetener consumption in 2013. Saccharin and cyclamate are the low cost high-intensity sweeteners available, and thus enjoy wide use in the global market, specifically in the developing regions such as Asia, Africa, and Central and South America. Further, on the basis of application the market is segmented into food & beverages, personal care products and pharmaceuticals. Lastly, on the basis of region high-intensity sweetener market is segmented into North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia Pacific, Japan and Middle East and AfricaHigh-Intensity Sweetener: Regional OverviewNorth America is the largest market for high-intensity sweetener which is majorly used in confectionaries and baked goods and the region is expected to continue its dominance in the global consumption of high-intensity sweetener. Europe is also a major user of high-intensity sweetener and with key usage in alcoholic beverages. The consumption of high-intensity sweeteners in the U.S., Canada, Japan and the Western European countries is expected to grow at lower rates, as the market is quite matured in the countries. China is one of the largest producer of high-intensity sweeteners, accounting for approximately 70% of world production in 2013. India is also emerging as one the major producer of high-intensity sweetener, due to rising demand for baked products, confectionaries and desserts in the region.Visit For TOC@High-Intensity Sweetener: Key PlayersThe key players in this segment are Stevia First Corporation, Cargill, Tate and Lyle Plc, Kerry Group and Hermes Sweeteners Ltd. Companies are focusing on the Stevia derived products in order to meet the consumer demand for high-intensity sweetener across the globe. Also, the big players are focused on acquisition and new product development in this category in order to expand its product portfolio and global presence. Within the high-intensity sweetener market, Tate & Lyle is one of the leading supplier for sucralose in terms of value, with more than 35% share in the global market.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email:press@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Radioimmunotherapy Treatment Market Analysis, a Size and Forecast Report 2027

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Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide and is projected to rise with an estimated 11.5 million deaths in 2030. The most common cancer is lung cancer, accounting about 1.59 million deaths, other types of cancer include liver cancer, breast cancer, stomach cancer, liver cancer, etc. Cancer can be treated by surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, hormone therapy, targeted therapy, precision medicine, immunotherapy and stem cell transplantation. Immunotherapy involves the use of persons immune system to fight cancer; it involves the stimulation of immune system to attack the cancer cells or provide the immune system with a man-made immune system.Different types of immunotherapy include monoclonal antibodies, designed to attack the specific cells; immune checkpoint inhibitors, drugs that recognize and attack the cancer cells by removing the brakes of the T cell; cancer vaccines, used to trigger the immune response against specific disease and various other non-specific immunotherapy are used to boost the immune system. Radioimmunotherapy is the combination of radiation therapy and immunotherapy. Monoclonal antibody is engineered in the laboratory and paired with a radioactive material called radiotracers. When injected, radio labeled antibody to bind to the specific cancer cell and destroyed the cancer cell by its radioactivity. The radioactive agents used mainly are Yttrium-90 Ibritumomab Tiuxetan, Iodine-131 Tositumomab, and others.Request Report Sample@Several clinical trials are ongoing to establish the potential of radio labeled monoclonal antibody. Radioimmunotherapy is also used to treat patients suffering from non-Hodgkin B-cell lymphoma, and other sub-types of lymphoma or patients who does not respond to chemotherapy. Generally, no side effects are seen during the treatment. In clinical field, clinical studies are done to enhance biological and chemical efficacy and treatment procedure improvements in radioimmunotherapy. Both direct and indirect method are used in the delivery of radioimmunotherapy molecules. Increasing discretionary funding for cancer research by government and federal agencies, increase in Medicare coverage, rising prevalence of cancer among growing population, availability of new cancer treatment, and various other factors are will booth the radioimmunotherapy market in the near future.Radioimmunotherapy Treatment Market: Drivers and RestrainsAccording to Word Health Organization, it is estimated that by 2030, about 23.6 million new cases of cancer will prevail worldwide. Governmental guidelines from American Society of Clinical Oncology and National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN /ASCO) are providing help to healthcare professionals in the management and treatment of cancer patients. Intense research and development in cancer therapeutics, the rise in the incidence of cancer cases, increased preference towards cancer research. In April 2016, the U.S. Government allocated US$ 5.2 Bn for the National Cancer Institute (NCI), a federal government agency, for cancer research and training. The budget increased by 5.3% as compared to the previous year. Insurance coverage and reimbursement issues, big companies are investing heavily in the cancer therapeutics involving both time and money, and there is no guarantee that the product will get coverage, radiation risk to healthcare professionals and patients are some factors that may decline the growth of radio-immunotherapy marketRadioimmunotherapy Treatment Market: SegmentationThe global radioimmunotherapy treatment market has been classified on the basis of drug type, procedure type, disease indication, target type and geography.Based on Drug Type, the radioimmunotherapy treatment market is divided into following:IbritumomabTositumomabRituximabEpratuzumabLintuzumabLabetuzumabTrastuzumabOthersBased on the Procedure Type, the global radioimmunotherapy treatment market is divided into following:Direct MethodIndirect MethodBased on the Disease Indication, the global radioimmunotherapy treatment market is divided into following:Non-Hodgkin lymphomaMyeloid leukemiaColorectal cancerBreast CancerMultiple MyelomaOthersBased on the End User, the global radioimmunotherapy treatment market is divided into following:HospitalsAmbulatory surgical centersCancer Research InstitutesOthersRadioimmunotherapy Treatment Market: OverviewBased on the drug type, the global radioimmunotherapy treatment market is segmented into ibritumomab, tositumomab, rituximab, epratuzumab, lintuzumab, labetuzumab and trastuzumab. On the basis of procedure type the radioimmunotherapy treatment market is segmented into direct and indirect method. O On the basis of disease indication, the market is segmented into non-hodgkin lymphoma, myeloid leukemia, colorectal cancer, breast cancer, multiple myeloma and others. Based on end user, the market is segmented into hospital, ambulatory surgical centers and cancer research institutes. The rise in cancer patient population, funding by the governmental bodies, focus on acquisition and merger by various key manufacturers is attributed towards the growth of radio-immunotherapy treatment marketRadioimmunotherapy Treatment Market: Regional OverviewRegion wise, the global Radioimmunotherapy Treatment Market is classified into regions namely, North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia-Pacific, Japan, Middle East and Africa. More than 70% of worlds cancer death occurs in Africa, Asia and South America. Around 33% of cancer cases worldwide are due to smoke and tobacco. Along with expansion in the emerging markets, and greater focus on early diagnosis, screening, monitoring and clinical development associated with radiotherapy treatment have been the major strategies adopted by major players in the global radioimmunotherapy treatment market.Visit For TOC@Radioimmunotherapy Treatment Market: Key PlayersSome of the key players in global Radioimmunotherapy Treatment Market are GlaxoSmithKline plc. Bayer AG, MabVax Therapeutics Holdings, Inc., Panacea Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Nordic Nanovector, Actinium Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Immunomedics, Inc., Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc.and others.Future Market Insights is the premier provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in London, the global financial capital, and has delivery centers in the U.S. and India.616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Portable Optical Time Domain Reflectometer (OTDR) Market and Segments 2015 to 2021

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Based on the design, OTDR can be bifurcated into three types: full-feature OTDR, hand-held OTDR and fiber break locator. Full-feature OTDRs are traditional OTDR and usually larger, heavier and less portable in comparison to hand-held OTDR. Full-feature OTDR can perform many fiber measurement tasks including larger color displays. It is widely used in laboratories and in the field of complex fiber measurements. Hand-held OTDRs are designed to troubleshoot fiber networks in a field environment. Hand-held OTDRs are light in weight, easy to use, less expensive in comparison to full-feature OTDR. It is generally used to measure fiber links and locate fiber breaks, end-to-end loss, high reflectance and optical return loss. Fiber break locators are designed to determine the location of point of high reflectance and fiber break. Fiber break locators are lighter and smaller and inexpensive. Based on the end-user, the global optical time domain reflectometer (OTDR) market is classified into five types: cable TV, telecommunication, private enterprise network, military and aerospace and others.In terms of geographic, North America and Europe dominates the global optical time domain reflectometer (OTDR) market. The U.S. represents the largest market for optical time domain reflectometer (OTDR) followed by Canada in North America. In Europe, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the U.K. holds major share of optical time domain reflectometer (OTDR) market.A sample of this report is available upon request @However, Asia-Pacific is expected to show high growth rates in the next five years in global optical time domain reflectometer (OTDR) market. Japan, China and India are expected to be the fastest growing optical time domain reflectometer (OTDR) markets in Asia-Pacific.The global optical time domain reflectometer (OTDR) market is experiencing a good growth, which is expected to continue in the coming years. Some of the major drivers contributing the overall market growth of global optical time domain reflectometer (OTDR) are increased deployment of fiber optic links in cable TV networks and recent legislative and regulatory initiatives. High implementation cost is expected to pose severe challenge to the growth of optical time domain reflectometer (OTDR) market.Request to view table of content @Some of the major companies operating in the global optical time domain reflectometer (OTDR) market are JDSU, Anritsu Electric, Corning, Yokogawa Electric, Fluke, EXFO, Agilent Technologies and Tektronix.Buy Now: You can now buy a single user license of the report @About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a U.S.-based full-service market intelligence firm specializing in syndicated research, custom research, and consulting services. PMR boasts market research expertise across the Healthcare, Chemicals and Materials, Technology and Media, Energy and Mining, Food and Beverages, Semiconductor and Electronics, Consumer Goods, and Shipping and Transportation industries. The company draws from its multi-disciplinary capabilities and high-pedigree team of analysts to share data that precisely corresponds to clients business needs.PMR stands committed to bringing more accuracy and speed to clients business decisions. From ready-to-purchase market research reports to customized research solutions, PMRs engagement models are highly flexible without compromising on its deep-seated research values.ContactPersistence Market Research Pvt. Ltd305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.commedia@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Diabetic Nephropathy Market Analysis, Segments, Growth and Value Chain 2016-2026

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Diabetes is a disease condition of high blood sugar level, caused due to malfunctioning of the pancreas. Nephropathy means kidney damage or impairment. Diabetic nephropathy is a kidney glomerulus disease which is one of the major complications in terms of morbidity and mortality for diabetic population. Symptoms and signs of diabetic nephropathy are unknown in early stages. However, in later stages major signs and symptoms occur which includes high blood pressure, ankle and leg swelling, vomiting, morning weakness, high level of blood urea nitrogen (BUN), increased albumin secretion in urine, nausea, and itching. For treatment of diabetic nephropathy, disease modifying therapies (DMT) that employ angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors are used. ACE inhibitors and ARBs provide superior protection to the kidney. Major ARBs are losartan, candesartan, and irbesartan while ACE inhibitors, such as lisinopril, captopril, enalapril, and ramipril decreases the amount of protein in the urine. The increasing investment in research and development for drug discovery followed by awareness of diabetes and kidney related disorder treatment are the major factors that are anticipated to boost the demand for products in the global diabetic nephropathy market. For instance, the American Diabetes Association organized regular programs to create awareness among diabetic population and it ensures all the patients are able to get the knowledge, best treatment and care for diabetes management.Diabetic Nephropathy Market: Drivers and RestraintsThe global market for diabetic nephropathy is expected to be driven by the increasing R&D investments in drug discovery and development and growing prevalence of diabetes. For instance, according to International Diabetes Federation 415 Mn people are currently affected by diabetes globally and it is expected to increase to 642 Mn diabetic people by 2040. Rising awareness for diabetes disease treatment and increasing usage of combination therapy are trending factor that is expected to influence the demand for global diabetic nephropathy market during the forecast period of 2016-2026. However, stringent regulations and lengthy product approval procedure for drugs are major concerns for the global diabetic nephropathy market.Request Report Sample@Diabetic Nephropathy Market: SegmentationThe global diabetic nephropathy market is classified on the basis of treatment type and geography.Based on treatment type, the global diabetic nephropathy market is segmented into the following:Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme InhibitorsAngiotensin Receptor BlockersDiureticsCalcium Channel BlockersRenin InhibitorsConnective Tissue Growth Factor InhibitorsAntioxidant Inflammation ModulatorMonocyte Chemoattractant Proteins InhibitorEndothelin-A Receptor AntagonistG Protein-Coupled ReceptorsDiabetic Nephropathy Market: OverviewThe global diabetic nephropathy market is expected to grow at a steady rate during the forecast period of 2016-2026. The growing incidence of diabetes has predominantly fueled the growth of the global diabetic nephropathy market. According to WHO, around 9% adults were affected by diabetes globally in 2014. By 2030, the diabetes is expected to be the seventh leading cause of death globally.Diabetic Nephropathy Market: Regional OverviewRegion wise, the global diabetic nephropathy market is classified into regions namely, North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia Pacific excluding Japan, Japan, Middle East and Africa. North America is expected to dominate the global diabetic nephropathy market in terms of value due to increased combination drugs usage along with rising awareness about the various kidney diseases. Europe is the second major contributor to the global diabetic nephropathy market in terms of value due to increasing prevalence of diabetes and increase in healthcare expenditure for diabetes treatment in the various parts of Europe. However, market in APEJ is expected to grow at rapid pace during the forecast period owing to increase in spending for healthcare treatment and increased awareness of new diabetic drugs in the market.Visit For TOC@Diabetic Nephropathy Market: Key PlayersSome of the key players in global diabetic nephropathy market include AbbVie Inc., Bayer AG Merck & Co. Inc., ChemoCentryx Inc., GenKyoTex S.A., Mesoblast Limited, Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals, Novartis AG, Sanofi S.A., Eli Lilly and Company, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation, Reata Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and others. The market for diabetic nephropathy is fragmented with presence of many vendors in international market. These companies are adopting strategy of increased emphasis on research and development for discovery of new drug combination.About Us  Future Market Insights is the premier provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in London, the global financial capital, and has delivery centers in the U.S. and India.CONTACT:616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Inositol Market : Global Trends, Analysis and Forecast 2026

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Inositol, also named cyclohexane-1,2,3,4,5,6-hexol, is a simple polyol precursor in a second messenger system important in the brain. Inositol is found in fruits, beans, grains, and nuts and is also made by the body. Inositol is a naturally occurring nutrient found in various forms, the most common being myo-inositol.It also holds some promise as an anti-depressant and against some other conditions associated with anxiety such as panic disorders. Inositol is used to promote the growth of bacteria and yeast for use as food additives. This product is also used in the preparation of a variety of vitamin pills and nutritional amino acid infused products.Request Report Sample@Inositol Market: Drivers & RestraintsDemand for inositol has been on the rise, due to the rapid growth in the food & healthcare industry. The Inositol market is expected to grow drastically. The increase in the scope of clinical research is also driving the market.According to a survey carried out by Center for Disease Control & Prevention, 31% of men and 32% of women in this world have high cholesterol level. This has been a major factor for the rise in the demand for Inositol globally.Taking too much inositol might make bipolar disorder worse, which has proved to be its major constraint.Inositol Market: SegmentationThe inositol market is segmented on the basis of form and application. On the basis of form, the inositol market is further segmented into; powder & liquid. On the basis of application, the market is segmented into pharmaceuticals, food & beverages, chemical industry, feed additive, and others.Inositol Market: Region Wise OutlookGeographically, the inositol market is segmented into seven regions which are; North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Japan, Asia Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ), Middle East and Africa (MEA) and Japan. The global production of Inositol is mainly concentrated in the China and Japan. China is the worlds largest producer of inositol in terms of capacity, accounting for over approximately 50% of the global capacity.Visit For TOC@Inositol Market: Key PlayersSome of the key players across the value chain dominating this market are Zhucheng Haotian Pharm Co., Ltd. , Changzhou Zhonglian Inositol Co., Ltd., Shandong Runde Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Biological Engineering Technology Co., Ltd., Holland & Barrett, Phoenix Herb Company, Mr. Bills Pipe & Tobacco Company, Ronas chemicals ind.co.,ltd., Charles Bowman & Company, T. J. Clark & Company. These companies are developing market strategies such as mergers and acquisitions, joint venture, new product development and expansion to increase their market share in global inositol market.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email:press@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Texturized Vegetable Protein Market Research Report and Outlook by Future Market Insights

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Texturized vegetable protein (TVP) often known as soya chunks are made from multiple sources like wheat, cotton seeds, oats etc. It is also known as textured soy protein (TSP) or soy meat. Texturized vegetable protein is high in protein content and quick to cook, due to which it is also used as a substitute of meat or meat extender by vegetarians. Texturized vegetable protein is originated from highly processed soy protein isolate. Texturized vegetable protein is low in calories, fats and carbohydrates which is rising its demand in health conscious people. Texturized vegetable protein are dehydrated pieces which can be rehydrated during the use and have long shelf life too. Processing of texturized vegetable protein includes addition of flavour enhancers, artificial colorings, emulsifiers etc. which can sometimes harm health in various ways. People with soy allergy are not recommended to eat texturized vegetable protein as it can cause symptoms like hives, tingling in mouth, swelling, stomach pain etc.Market Segmentation:Texturized vegetable protein market is segmented on the basis of raw material source as cotton seed flour, rape seed or canola concentrates, wheat, rice, oats, peanut flour, defatted sesame flour and soy protein such as soybean grits, flakes, meal, isolates and concentrates. Soy protein is the highly used source for the texturized vegetable protein production followed by other sources.Texturized vegetable protein market is segmented on the basis of distribution channels as retail stores, food malls, online portals etc. Distribution of texturized vegetable proteins is increasing through e-Commerce sites due to easy availability, also texturized vegetable protein are in demand from retail stores globally.Request Report Sample@Texturized vegetable protein market is further segmented on the basis of regions as North America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Latin America, Asia Pacific Excluding Japan, Japan, and Middle East and Africa.Market Regional Outlook:On the basis of regions, the Texturized vegetable protein market has been segmented into North America, Latin America, Western and Eastern Europe, Asia-Pacific region, Japan, Middle East and Africa. Texturized vegetable proteins are increasing its demand globally, the U.S., Brazil, Argentina, China and India are the major soy producing countries globally. Other countries like Uruguay, Bolivia, Ukraine, Canada and Paraguay are increasing the soy production facilities to cater to high demand of soy based products like texturized vegetable protein.Market Drivers and Trends:The trend towards healthy food is increasing globally which is helping texturized vegetable proteins market as it has multiple health benefits such as it can boost lung cancer treatment effectiveness, improves heart health, bone support, breast and endometrial cancer and also symptoms of menopause. As a substitute of meat, texturized vegetable protein is increasing its popularity in vegetarians as well as in children. Texturized vegetable proteins are low in calories, fats and carbohydrates which makes it more popular in health conscious consumers like bodybuilders, athletes etc. is driving the market. Availability of texturized vegetable protein on e-Commerce sites is also one of the reasons for driving the global market. Better taste, easy to cook and long shelf life are key reasons for rising demand of texturized vegetable proteins in the market.Visit For TOC@Texturized vegetable protein Market Key Players:Some of the key players in the Texturized vegetable protein market include ADM Proteins, Bob's Red Mill, Ruchi Soya Industries Limited, Galpro Srl, Avi Agri Business Pvt. Ltd., Harbi Hi-Tech Soybean Food Co. Ltd., Sinoprotein Biotech Co. Ltd., Nahar Agro World, Indian Soya Industries Pvt. Ltd., Oppenheimer Faith Foods Pvt.Ltd., Vippy Industries Limited etc. are among these.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email:press@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Non-Invasive Blood Glucose Monitoring Devices Market Analysis, Segments, Growth and Value Chain 2017-2027

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Diabetes has evolved as one of the primary healthcare epidemic characterized by high sugar levels and principle cause of mortality worldwide. In 2014, World Health Organization (WHO) estimated 8.5% of adults living with diabetes. A diabetic person cannot either synthesize enough insulin (type 1 diabetes) or either does not make enough insulin or cannot effectively use the insulin produced by the body (type 2 diabetes). Another type of diabetes that occur in women during her pregnancy is gestational diabetes. However, gestational diabetes is usually resolved after delivery but can precede towards type 2 diabetes later in a womens life. Most of the continuous glucose monitoring devices are invasive and involves use of needles leading to increased chance of infection. Furthermore, the invasive glucose monitoring device is considered to be discrete glucose measurement system which cannot be practically used for continuous monitoring of blood glucose. Certain evidences of hyperglycemia between measurements are however not recorded thus resulting in false or no representation of the blood glucose pattern. Noninvasive monitoring of glucose levels eliminates the need of painful pricking with increased risk of infection, and amount of damage caused to the finger tissue.Therefore, non-invasive continuous glucose monitoring devices are being widely investigated and studied over the past few years for their ability to monitor glucose continuously under highly controlled (e.g. in-clinic) conditions. Various techniques that involves measurement of blood glucose levels non-invasively includes, Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS), Mid -Infrared Spectroscopy (Mid-IRS), Raman Spectroscopy, Photo-acoustic Spectroscopy (PA), Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) and many more.Request Report Sample@Non- Invasive Blood Glucose Monitoring DevicesMarket: Drivers & RestraintsRising prevalence of diabetes globally is expected to result in greater use of noninvasive blood glucose monitoring devices among the prevalent population. Owing to the several disadvantages imposed by the use of invasive blood glucose monitors and growing need to develop noninvasive glucose monitoring diagnostic techniques, the market for non- invasive blood glucose monitoring devices is expected to rise at a greater pace during the forecast period. For instance, in June 2015, researchers in U.K. developed blood glucose device that utilizes low-powered lasers in order to measure the blood glucose levels on the skin surface. Also a bench-top version of the system is currently in clinical trials studies which might land in the market over the next few years. This includes, a finger-touch device similar to a computer mouse and a wearable version for continuous blood glucose monitoring. In addition, increasing efforts by several startup manufacturers, for example, Prediktor Medical- a Norway based manufacturer is developing a wearable device for estimation of blood glucose levels based on the combination of several principles determining the noninvasive glucose monitoring including, advanced multivariate analysis and dynamic models for insulin or glucose interaction. The device is expected to be in the form of a watch or bracelet communicating with the mobile phone or a tablet for data presentation. This would enable patients monitor their glucose levels continuously without the need for an implant. Currently available blood glucose measuring devices lacks specificity and sensitivity due to the substantial physical and chemical interference. Non-invasive glucose monitoring devices use multivariate regression analyses converting optical signal to glucose concentration. Hence the device should be designed in such a way that it leads to accurate detection of blood glucose levels imperative for optimum therapy and disease management.Non- Invasive Blood Glucose Monitoring Devices Market: SegmentationNon- invasive blood glucose monitoring devices marketis segmented by technology, modality end user and geography:By TechnologyMIR/NIR (Mid/Near Infrared Spectroscopy)Raman SpectroscopyOcclusion SpectroscopyOptical Coherence TomographyThermal Emission SpectroscopyPhotoacoustic SpectroscopyImpedance/Dielectric SpectroscopyElectromagneticPolarimetryFluorescenceBy ModalityWearable Blood Glucose Monitoring SystemsNon-wearable /Table top Blood Glucose Monitoring SystemsBy End UserHospitalsHome Care SettingsClinicsNon- Invasive Blood Glucose Monitoring Devices Market: OverviewRising prevalence of diabetes worldwide imposes significant economic consequences on the individuals life. Currently, there are 350 million people worldwide estimated to live with diabetes. Thus continuous monitoring of blood glucose levels is essential in order to manage the ever increasing prevalent population living with diabetes currently. For this reason manufacturers are focusing on developing diagnostic techniques that are highly reliable and monitors individuals blood glucose levels with greater accuracy with the capability to improve glycemic control and patient wellbeing. By integration of sensing elements, electronics along with a reliable power source in a single unit, noninvasive blood glucose monitors are offering immense opportunity for all the device manufacturers along with patients and various healthcare providers across the world. Accelerated regulatory approvals of blood glucose monitors is one of the another important factor leading to increased revenues of noninvasive blood glucose devices over the forecast period.Non- Invasive Blood Glucose Monitoring Devices Market: Region-wise OutlookOn the basis of region presence, Non- Invasive Blood Glucose Monitoring Devices market is segmented into seven key regions: North America, Latin America, and Eastern Europe, Western Europe, and Asia pacific excluding japan, Japan, Middle East and Africa. Growing number of diabetic population in U.S. is the leading factor contributing towards higher adoption of noninvasive blood glucose monitoring systems. Center of Diseases Control and Prevention estimated 29.1 million of U.S. population with diabetes in the U.S. The data also estimated adult population with diabetes are at 50% higher risk of death. Furthermore, growing need of continuous non-invasive method of blood glucose diagnosis among patients is expected to create higher demand for noninvasive blood glucose monitoring systems worldwide. The incidence of diabetes is higher in regions such as Asia Pacific, North America and Western Europe. Presence of several pipeline blood glucose monitoring systems and their expected launch is expected to drive the market for noninvasive blood glucose devices over the forecast period.Visit For TOC@Non- Invasive Blood Glucose Monitoring Devices Market: Key PlayersSome of the key market players in the non- invasive blood glucose monitoring devices market are, Abbott, Animas Technologies, Bayer Healthcare, Cercacor, Pendragon Medical, OrSense, and Bayer Healthcare.About Us  Future Market Insights is the premier provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in London, the global financial capital, and has delivery centers in the U.S. and India.CONTACT:616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
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EMI Shielding Materials Market expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.0% with Key Players Chang Gu Chuan (CGC) Technology Co., Ltd., Premix, Orion Industries Inc. by 2023

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A new research document with title 'EMI Shielding Materials - Global Market Outlook (2017-2023)' covering detailed analysis, Competitive landscape, forecast and strategies. The study covers geographic analysis that includes regions like North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and important players/vendors such as Chang Gu Chuan (CGC) Technology Co., Ltd., Premix, Orion Industries Inc. The report will help user gain market insights, future trends and growth prospects for forecast period of 2017-2023Request a sample report @SummaryAccording to Research , the Global EMI Shielding Materials Market is accounted for $6.47 billion in 2016 and expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.0% to reach $10.45 billion by 2023. Factors such as rising Electric Vehicle (EV) and Hybrid Vehicles, development of the global telecom industry, implementation of EMI shields in all electronic devices are driving the market growth. However, high costs associated with the manufacturing processes of EMI shields and stringent regulatory frameworks are the constraints faced by the market. The demand for next generation electronic circuits will provide remunerative growth prospects for EMI shielding materials.Conductive Coatings segment is anticipated to show attractive growth due to its properties such as better spreading capacity, and thermal resistance which is an essential for EMI Shielding Materials. Defense and automotive sectors of end user segment are expanding rapidly and are projected to be the leading markets in upcoming years. Asia Pacific is expected to grow at the highest rate during the forecast period owing to the increasing demand for consumer electronic products and development of advanced cellular infrastructure.Some of the key players in Global EMI Shielding Materials Market are: 3M Company, Chang Gu Chuan (CGC) Technology Co., Ltd., Premix, Orion Industries Inc., Greene Rubber Company, Kitagawa Industries Co., Ltd., Parker Hannifin Corp, System Integrators LLC, HEICO Corporation, CGS Technologies, Schaffner Holding and EMI Shielding Materials Company.Materials Covered: Conductive Plastics Conductive Coatings Metals LaminatesEnd Users Covered: Automotive Defense & Aerospace Healthcare Telecom & IT Consumer Electronicso Smartphoneso Tabletso TVso Other Consumer ElectronicsRegions Covered: North Americao USo Canadao Mexico Europeo Germanyo Franceo Italyo UKo Spaino Rest of Europe Asia Pacifico Japano Chinao Indiao Australiao New Zealando Rest of Asia Pacific Rest of the Worldo Middle Easto Brazilo Argentinao South Africao EgyptWhat our report offers:- Market share assessments for the regional and country level segments- Market share analysis of the top industry players- Strategic recommendations for the new entrants- Market forecasts for a minimum of 7 years of all the mentioned segments, sub segments and the regional markets- Market Trends (Drivers, Constraints, Opportunities, Threats, Challenges, Investment Opportunities, and recommendations)- Strategic recommendations in key business segments based on the market estimations- Competitive landscaping mapping the key common trends- Company profiling with detailed strategies, financials, and recent developments- Supply chain trends mapping the latest technological advancementsGet customization & check discount for report @1 Executive Summary2 Preface2.1 Abstract2.2 Stake Holders2.3 Research Scope2.4 Research Methodology2.4.1 Data Mining2.4.2 Data Analysis2.4.3 Data Validation2.4.4 Research Approach2.5 Research Sources....ContinuedView Detailed Table of Content @Thanks for reading this article, you can also get individual chapter wise section or region wise report version like North America, Europe or Asia.Buy this report @HTF Market Report is a wholly owned brand of HTF market Intelligence Consulting Private Limited. HTF Market Report global research and market intelligence consulting organization is uniquely positioned to not only identify growth opportunities but to also empower and inspire you to create visionary growth strategies for futures, enabled by our extraordinary depth and breadth of thought leadership, research, tools, events and experience that assist you for making goals into a reality. Our understanding of the interplay between industry convergence, Mega Trends, technologies and market trends provides our clients with new business models and expansion opportunities. We are focused on identifying the Accurate Forecast in every industry we cover so our clients can reap the benefits of being early market entrants and can accomplish their Goals & Objectives.Contact us :HTF Market Intelligence Consulting Private LimitedUnit No. 429, Parsonage Road Edison, NJNew Jersey USA  08837sales@htfmarketreport.com+1 (206) 317 1218
Global Tunable Capacitors Market Decline at a CAGR of 7.84% by 2021

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MarketResearchNest.com adds Global Tunable Capacitors Market 2017-2021 new report to its research database. The report spread across in 70 pages with table and figures in it.Research analysts forecast the global tunable capacitors market to decline at a CAGR of (7.84%) during the period 2017-2021.A capacitor is a device or component that has the ability to store energy in the form of an electronic charge and produce a potential difference (i.e., static voltage) across its plates, which is similar to a small battery. There are a variety of capacitors available in the market, ranging from small capacitor beads for resonance circuits to huge power factor correction capacitors. However, they all perform the same function (i.e., they store charge). In its most basic form, capacitors are made of two or more parallel conductive plates (metal). These plates are not connected to or touching each other in any aspect.Browse full table of contents and data tables atTechnavio recognizes the following companies as the key players in the global tunable capacitors market:AVX, Voltronics (Knowles), Murata Manufacturing, STMicroelectronics, WiSpry, Panasonic, Vishay Intertechnology, Sprague Goodman Electronics, Cavendish Kinetics, Tusonix (CTS Electronic Components), Qorvo, and IXYS ISS.One trend in the market is IoT driving growth of wireless computing devices. End-users seek efficient connectivity over wireless networks, such as Wi-Fi, 3G, 4G, and Bluetooth, to facilitate easy data exchange and transfer. IoT is one of the fastest-growing markets in the world. A total of 32 billion devices is expected to be connected to this platform by 2021, generating a total of about 55 trillion gigabytes of data. IoT enables devices to collect data using sensors and actuators in wireless computing devices.Order a Premium Report Copy atAccording to the report, one driver in the market is growth in shipments of LTE-enabled computing devices. The deployment of LTE networks is increasing in developed and developing economies. The unit shipments of LTE-enabled computing devices are increasing rapidly in different regions. The shipments of LTE devices doubled between 2014 and 2015, increasing to around 900 million units from around 450 million units. China accounted for the highest growth in terms of LTE-enabled device shipments, tripling to approximately 300 million units in 2016 from 90 million units in 2015. LTE-enabled devices are expected to account for around 50% of all smartphone shipments, and this value will likely increase to over 72% by 2020.Further, the report states that one challenge in the market is increased time-to-market pressure. Rapid technological changes, frequent product launches, short product life cycles, and the increasing demand for high-level integration are factors that outline the market landscape of the semiconductor industry. Owing to these factors, the period between time to market and design completion has increased in the recent years. The time taken to design complex and advanced RF modules, including the latest RF-based devices and components, is 13-18 months. However, the product life cycle is considered to be around 10 months only. Advances in mobile computing devices technology have resulted in high RF front-end complexity, thus increasing the manufacturing time.The study was conducted using an objective combination of primary and secondary information including inputs from key participants in the industry. The report contains a comprehensive market and vendor landscape in addition to a SWOT analysis of the key vendors.Inquiry before buying atMarketResearchNest.com is the most comprehensive collection of market research products and services on the Web. We offer reports from almost all top publishers and update our collection on daily basis to provide you with instant online access to the worlds most complete and recent database of expert insights on global industries, organizations, products, and trends.Mr. Jeet JainSales Managersales@marketresearchnest.com+1-240-284-8070 / +44-20-3290-4151Pune, India
Global Aerosol Propellants Market 2017 to 2021  Analysis of key players (Aeropres, Akzo Nobel, Honeywell International, National Gas, and Royal Dutch Shell)

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MarketResearchNest.com adds Global Aerosol Propellants Market 2017-2021 new report to its research database. The report spread across in 102 pages with table and figures in it.Research analysts forecast the global aerosol propellants market to grow at a CAGR of 5.52% during the period 2017-2021.Aerosol propellants are chemical substances used in aerosol cans to dispense the active product using high pressure provided by the chemical. Aerosol propellants find applications across various industries. They are mainly used in personal care, household, automotive and industrial, paints, and other applications. There are different types of aerosol propellants based on the chemicals used, including hydrocarbons, dimethyl ether (DME), and methyl ethyl ether, nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide, and chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) and hydrofluorocarbon (HFC).Browse full table of contents and data tables atTechnavio recognizes the following companies as the key players in the global aerosol propellants market:Aeropres, Akzo Nobel, Honeywell International, National Gas, and Royal Dutch Shell.Other Prominent Vendors in the market are:Arkema Group, AVEFLOR, Brothers Gas, Diversified CPC International, Harp International, IndianOil Petronas, Mexichem, PureGas, Settala Gas, Shanghai Cal Custom Manufacturing & Aerosol Propellants, SRF, SHV Energy, The Chemours Company, The Linde Group, and UNIGAS EUROPE.One trend in the market is increase in production of low cost and low GWP aerosol propellants. The global aerosol propellants market has experienced a lot of changes over time. Spray can propellants that deplete the ozone layer are long gone, and new alternatives have filled the demand supply gap as the years passed by. In the current scenario, after banning harmful variants of CFCs from applications in all areas, including aerosols, the ozone layer is recovering slowly.Order a Premium Report Copy atAccording to the report, one driver in the market is increasing demand from cosmetics and personal care applications. Aerosol propellants are used extensively in personal care and cosmetic products through aerosol sprays that replace compressed gas. However, aerosol sprays are harmful to the environment. The increasing adoption of aerosol cans in this industry is based on the consumers' convenience of use. Personal care and cosmetic product manufacturers highly rely on aerosol sprays as the products manufactured using aerosol sprays are increasingly accepted by consumers. Thus, a large number of personal care product manufacturers use aerosol propellants in huge quantities to manufacture products, such as hairsprays, hair mousse, deodorants, antiperspirants, shaving creams, face washes, foam products, sunscreen products, hair color sprays, and shampoo.Further, the report states that one challenge in the market is fluctuating raw material prices. The growth of the global aerosol propellants is highly based on the availability of raw materials, such as crude oil and natural gas. The prices of aerosol propellant gases will, therefore, vary according to the prices of these raw materials. Natural gas and crude oil are vital for the extraction of aerosol propellants. Price fluctuations of crude oil and natural gas affect the aerosol propellants market to a great extent. Due to supply demand imbalances and the volatile political circumstances in the Middle East that has the maximum world oil supply, there has always been high volatility in the price of crude oil in the overseas market, which has resulted in a significant increase in the prices of aerosol propellants.The study was conducted using an objective combination of primary and secondary information including inputs from key participants in the industry. The report contains a comprehensive market and vendor landscape in addition to a SWOT analysis of the key vendors.Inquiry before buying atMarketResearchNest.com is the most comprehensive collection of market research products and services on the Web. We offer reports from almost all top publishers and update our collection on daily basis to provide you with instant online access to the worlds most complete and recent database of expert insights on global industries, organizations, products, and trends.Mr. Jeet JainSales Managersales@marketresearchnest.com+1-240-284-8070 / +44-20-3290-4151Pune, India
Contrast Media/Contrast Agent Market Forcasted for Accelerated Growth by 2024

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Global Contrast Media/Contrast Agent Market: OverviewTo enhance the contrast of the structures or fluids inside the body contrast medium or the contrast agent is used in the medical imaging. The anatomical organs and structures are imaged better as the image contrast is increased. Thus, it is very helpful in the diagnostic methods such as CT scan and also in some serious surgeries. The global contrast media or the contrast agent market is growing at a good pace as there is an increase in the rate of surgical procedures and imaging diagnosis.Request Free Sample Report @Global Contrast Media/Contrast Agent Market: SegmentationThe global contrast media market is segmented into its type, procedure, route of administration, indication, and application. On the basis of type, the global market is segregated into iodinated contrast media, micro bubble contrast media, barium-based contrast media, and gadolinium-based contrast media. Based on the procedure, the global market is categorized into ultrasound, X-ray/computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). On the basis of the route of administration, the market is classified into urethral contrast media, injectable contrast media, rectal contrast media, and oral contrast media. Based on the indication, the contrast media market is bifurcated into oncology, musculoskeletal disorders, nephrological disorders, cardiovascular disorders, gastrointestinal disorders, and neurological disorders. The various applications where the contrast media market is used include interventional cardiology, radiology, and interventional radiology.Global Contrast Media/Contrast Agent Market: Growth FactorsThe market of contrast media is still in the grooming phase but in the coming years, it is going to develop. The factors that attribute to the market growth include the increase in the image guided surgical procedures, advancements in diagnostic technology, an increase in diagnostic imaging, and growth rate of cancer and cardiac disorders. The factors such as the rise in the acceptance for contrast agents and the increased number of diagnostic centers that has improved diagnostic imaging services are contributing to the market growth. The advanced techniques, such as in MRI imaging the technology used is a gas microbubble, is likely to enhance the market growth. The factors such as increasing investments in the contrast media market and the reforms that are made in the radiopharmaceuticals and healthcare sector are boosting the market growth.Request Report TOC (Table of Contents) @Global Contrast Media/Contrast Agent Market: Regional AnalysisThe contrast media market is segmented regionally into North America, Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa. The regions that dominate the market are North America and Europe. The factors owing to which the market is growing include improved MRI procedure in cardiovascular diseases, policies of reimbursements for contrast media, strong infrastructure, and advanced cath-lab. Asia Pacific region is also experiencing a good market growth owing to the factors such as the advancement in the technology and the rise in the rate of cardiac disorders.Browse detail report @Global Contrast Media/Contrast Agent Market: Competitive PlayersThe major market players in the contrast media market include Bracco Imaging Spa, CMC Contrast AB, GE Healthcare, Guerbet Group, Nano Pet Pharma GmbH., Sanochemia Pharmazeutika AG, Subhra Pharma Private, Ltd., Covidien, Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd., Genovis AB, Lantheus Medical Imaging, Inc., Nanoscan Imaging, LLC., Spago Imaging AB, Taejoon Pharm Co., Ltd.Inquire more before buying this report @About Us: Zion Market Research is an obligated company. We create futuristically, cutting edge, informative reports ranging from industry reports, a company reports to country reports. We provide our clients not only with market statistics unveiled by avowed private publishers and public organizations but also with Vogue and newest industry reports along with pre-eminent and niche company profiles. Our database of market research reports comprises a wide variety of reports from Cardinal Industries. Our database is been updated constantly in order to fulfill our clients with prompt and direct online access to our database. Keeping in mind the clients needs, we have included expert insights on global industries, products, and market trends in this database. Last but not the least, we make it our duty to ensure the success of clients connected to usafter allif you do well, a little of the light shines on us.Contact Us:Zion Market Research4283, Express Lane,Suite 634-143,Sarasota, Florida 34249, United StatesTel: +49-322 210 92714USA/Canada Toll-Free No.1-855-465-4651Email: sales@zionmarketresearch.comWebsite:Visit Our Blog:
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Thermosetting plastics production is expected to reach 41.96 million tonnes by 2020 showing a CAGR of 3.7%

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Reports And Markets Publish a New Market Research Report On  "Thermosetting Plastics Market - Segmented by Type, Industry and Geography - Trends and Forecasts (2017 - 2022)"Access Full Report With Table Of Contents @The major trend driving the thermosetting plastics market is the growing demand for Developing countries like India, China and Brazil, and is reflected in growing production of thermosetting plastics: in 2015 production of thermosetting plastics amounted to 34.99 million tonnes.Global thermosetting plastics production is currently estimated to be 34.99 million tonnes in 2015 and is expected to reach 41.96 million tonnes by 2020 showing a compound annual growth rate of 3.7%. Asia-Pacific currently dominates the market for thermosetting plastics followed by North America and Europe. The developing regions of South America and Asia Pacific are expected to increase its market share in the future owing to the growing purchasing power in the developing countries.Our thermosetting plastics current data shows that Europe and North America remain interesting as locations for research and development and also important as sales markets. However, the establishment of new production capacities is favored in the Middle East region.Thermosetting plastics are used in an increasing number of markets from Construction, Adhesives & Coatings, Electrical & electronics, Automotive & transportation and a number of other segments.DriversChina's demand for thermoset plastics has grown at a fast pace in the past decade. In the next five years, both production and demand will continue to grow and will be the principal driver for global thermosetting plastics demand to 2020. The rapid increase in downstream processing capacity additions, primarily geared towards export markets, will be the main driver of the demand in the future. The study indicates that innovations in packaging, rising living standards and population, growing demand in end user markets, and emerging economies are anticipated to boost the industry.Request For Sample Report @ChallengesThe industry is expected to face certain challenges such as regulatory standards to reduce CO2 emissions, fluctuation of crude oil prices, and product commoditization.What the report containsThe report elucidates the situation of thermosetting plastics around the world and studies the markets of the thermosetting plastics type which include Alkyds (Polyester resin), Epoxies (Epoxy resin), Epoxies (Epoxy resin), Polyurethane and others.Lastly, the report is divided by geography - North Americas, Europe, the Asia-Pacific (APAC), South America and Middle-East & Africa (MEA); where-in the market share of each region is analyzed and estimates are provided for the next 6 years. The various applications of thermosetting plastics have been discussed in detail in addition to a comprehensive overview of the market.Check Discount @For more information or any query mail at sales@reportsandmarkets.comAbout Reports And MarketsReports And Markets is part of the Algoro Research Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe.Are you mastering your market? Do you know what the market potential is for your product, who the market players are and what the growth forecast is? We offer standard global, regional or country specific market research studies for almost every market you can imagine.Contact PersonSanjay JainManager - Partner Relations & International Marketinginfo@reportsandmarkets.comPh: +1-214-377-1121 (US), +44-020-3286-9338 (UK)
Milk Allergy Clinical Trials Review Market 2017- Mayo Foundation, Bellevue, Cedars Sinai

Milk Allergy Clinical Trials Review Market

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Apex Research, recently published a detailed market research study focused on the "Milk Allergy Clinical Trials Review Market" across the global, regional and country level. The report provides 360 analysis of "Milk Allergy Clinical Trials Review Market" from view of manufacturers, regions, product types and end industries. The research report analyses and provides the historical data along with current performance of the global Milk Allergy Clinical Trials Review industry, and estimates the future trend of Milk Allergy Clinical Trials Review market on the basis of this detailed study. The study shares "Milk Allergy Clinical Trials Review Market" performance both in terms of volume and revenue.Get Free Sample Copy of Report Here:Top Manufacturers Analysis of This ReportPersonalabsAmerican College of AllergyMayo FoundationBellevueCedars SinaiMassachusetts General HospitalWalter Reed National Military Medical CenterNew York-Presbyterian HospitalThe Academy and College of PhiladelphiaThe Pennsylvania HospitalThe market research report explores the Milk Allergy Clinical Trials Review market across the globe along with major regions and countries. The research report provides a detailed study on each and every aspect of "Milk Allergy Clinical Trials Review Market". The research report studies the entire value chain from raw material to end user industries. The report also shares import/export statistics along with production and consumption for all major regions and countries. Moreover, the research study classifies the Milk Allergy Clinical Trials Review market based on major product types, application and end users industries of Milk Allergy Clinical Trials Review. Besides, the report also covers geographical segmentation for Milk Allergy Clinical Trials Review market. The report further provides production, capacity, price per region, gross margin, production cost, for all major regions and countries listed in report.The competitive landscape of the global market for Milk Allergy Clinical Trials Review is determined by assessing the major industry participants, production capacity, production capacity utilization rate, Milk Allergy Clinical Trials Review market's production chain, pricing by each manufacturer and the revenue generated by each manufacturer in the Milk Allergy Clinical Trials Review market globally.Enquire Before Buying @The worldwide Milk Allergy Clinical Trials Review market 2017 is further analyzed on the basis of product pricing, Milk Allergy Clinical Trials Review production volume, data pertaining to demand and Milk Allergy Clinical Trials Review supply, and the revenue garnered by the product. The report provides upstream and downstream analysis covering major raw material used in manufacturing of Milk Allergy Clinical Trials Review along with detailed manufacturing sources. The report also shares list of major raw material manufacturers along with their manufacturing locations. Detailed raw material price trend analysis along with manufacturing cost analysis is also incorporated into the report. Various methodical tools such as investment returns, feasibility, SWOT analysis and market attractiveness analysis has been implemented in the research study to present a comprehensive, detailed study of the industry for Milk Allergy Clinical Trials Review across the world.About UsApexResearch offer reports from top publishers and update to serve you with immediate on-line access to professional insights on global industries, companies, products, and trends. Customers can buys different reports across various categories such as Chemical and Material, Biotechnology, Healthcare, Food and beverages, Automobile and various sectors. Our Website offers safe and secure online ordering experience, convenient payment options.Contact UsFrank ValadezBusiness Development Executive| sales@apexresearch.biz
Global Biofertilizers Sales Market Report 2017

Global Biofertilizers Sales Market Report 2017

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In this report, the global Biofertilizers market is valued at USD XX million in 2016 and is expected to reach USD XX million by the end of 2022, growing at a CAGR of XX% between 2016 and 2022.Geographically, this report split global into several key Regions, with sales (K Units), revenue (Million USD), market share and growth rate of Biofertilizers for these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast), coveringUnited StatesChinaEuropeJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaGlobal Biofertilizers market competition by top manufacturers/players, with Biofertilizers sales volume, Price (USD/Unit), revenue (Million USD) and market share for each manufacturer/player; the top players includingPotashCorp Agri LifeBodisen Biotech, Inc.Italpollina SpAProtan AGNovozymes A/SGujarat State Fertilizers and Chemicals Ltd.T. Stanes & Company LimitedAgri LifeRashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers LimitedRizobacters Argentina S.ASymborg S.LBiomaxBio ProtanMapleton Agri Biotech Pty Ltd.Camson Biotechnologies LimitedTerra max IncOn the basis of product, this report displays the sales volume (K Units), revenue (Million USD), product price (USD/Unit), market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoNitrogen FixingPhosphate MobilizingPotassium MobilizingOn the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, sales volume, market share and growth rate of Biofertilizers for each application, includingCereals & GrainsOil seeds & PulsesFruits & VegetablesOthersTo get a free professional report sample, please email to tinaning@qyresearch.com or Browse our detailed product page:Table of contents:1 Biofertilizers Market Overview2 Global Biofertilizers Competition by Players/Suppliers, Type and Application3 United States Biofertilizers (Volume, Value and Sales Price)4 China Biofertilizers (Volume, Value and Sales Price)5 Europe Biofertilizers (Volume, Value and Sales Price)6 Japan Biofertilizers (Volume, Value and Sales Price)7 Southeast Asia Biofertilizers (Volume, Value and Sales Price)8 India Biofertilizers (Volume, Value and Sales Price)9 Global Biofertilizers Players/Suppliers Profiles and Sales Data10 Biofertilizers Maufacturing Cost Analysis11 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers12 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/Traders13 Market Effect Factors Analysis14 Global Biofertilizers Market Forecast (2017-2022)15 Research Findings and Conclusion16 AppendixRelated Reports:Europe Biofertilizers Sales Market Report 2017China Biofertilizers Sales Market Report 2017USA Biofertilizers Sales Market Report 2017Korea Biofertilizers Sales Market Report 2017Japan Biofertilizers Sales Market Report 2017India Biofertilizers Sales Market Report 2017Contact Details:Tina| Sales ManagersCompany Name: QYResearch CO.,LIMITED | focus on Market Survey and ResearchEmail: tinaning@qyresearch.com Tel: 0086-20-22093278(CN)Web:QYResearch established in 2007, focus on custom research, management consulting, IPO consulting, industry chain research, data base and seminar services. The company owned a large basic data base (such as National Bureau of statistics database, Customs import and export database, Industry Association Database etc), experts resources (included energy automotive chemical medical ICT consumer goods etc industries experts who own more than 10 years experiences on marketing or R&D), professional survey team (the team member with more than 3 years market survey experience and more than 2 years depth expert interview experience),Excellent data analysis team (SPSS statistics and PPT graphics process team); QYResearch has always pursuit product quality, adhere to the quality is the soul of business.Room 2311 VILI International Building No.167 Linhe West Road Tianhe District
Global Interventional Neurology Devices Market 2017 to 2021 - Analysis of key players (Abbott, DePuy Synthes, Medtronic, Stryker, and TERUMO)

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MarketResearchNest.com adds Global Interventional Neurology Devices Market 2017-2021 new report to its research database. The report spread across in 86 pages with table and figures in it.Research analysts forecast the global interventional neurology devices market to grow at a CAGR of 7.50% during the period 2017-2021.Interventional neurology is a specialty that uses minimally invasive, image-guided techniques to treat most of the complex and dangerous diseases of the brain, neck, and spine. Education and research are the main components of the interventional neurology services. The procedures performed by the interventional neurologists are complex. The primary aim is to minimize the risk to the patient by application of image guidance and minimally invasive techniques. The interventional neurologists specialize in the manipulation of needles and the use of fine catheter tubes and wires to navigate around the body using imaging control.Browse full table of contents and data tables atTechnavio recognizes the following companies as the key players in the global interventional neurology devices market:Abbott, DePuy Synthes, Medtronic, Stryker, and TERUMO.Other Prominent Vendors in the market are:Acandis, B. Braun Melsungen, Bayer, Boston Scientific, Biosensors International, evonos, Merit Medical Systems, MicroPort Scientific, Neurosign, Penumbra, Spiegelberg, Surtex Instruments, and W. L. Gore & AssociatesOne trend in the market is increased funding for R&D of neurotherapies. Currently, the government is providing funding for multiple R&D projects to encourage innovations and technical advances in brain monitoring devices. Many government and non-government agencies are collaborating for the prevention and control of neurological diseases like epilepsy, MS, and brain tumors. They are emphasizing on preventive care compared to curative care.Order a Premium Report Copy atAccording to the report, one driver in the market is increase in incidence of neurological disorders. Over the years, the global health effect of neurological disorders has been underestimated. The neurological services and resources are excessively scarce, particularly in low income and developing countries. Neurological disease is a growing and a severe problem in various parts of the world, which includes the US, Canada, Europe, China, India, and Germany. One of the most common neurological diseases is multiple sclerosis. It is diagnosed by using electroencephalogram to record brainwaves in response to different stimuli. It is most prevalent in Northern Europe, North America, Australia, and New Zealand.Further, the report states that one challenge in the market is inadequate and inequitably distributed resources. Neurological conditions are causing enormous burden, but they are mostly absent from the international health program. Also, health plans in many countries often do not cover neurological disorders at the equal level as other illnesses, which results in substantial economic problems for patients and their families. In the least developed countries of the world, poor people have higher chances to develop neurological disorders than wealthy people. The people in the least developed countries are not aware about the certain preventive measures that can be taken in the initial stage of diseases.The study was conducted using an objective combination of primary and secondary information including inputs from key participants in the industry. The report contains a comprehensive market and vendor landscape in addition to a SWOT analysis of the key vendors.Inquiry before buying atMarketResearchNest.com is the most comprehensive collection of market research products and services on the Web. We offer reports from almost all top publishers and update our collection on daily basis to provide you with instant online access to the worlds most complete and recent database of expert insights on global industries, organizations, products, and trends.Contact UsMr. Jeet JainSales Managersales@marketresearchnest.com+1-240-284-8070 / +44-20-3290-4151Pune India
Corundum Market has been estimated at USD 19.71 billion in 2015 and is projected to reach USD 27.25 billion by 2020, at a CAGR of 6.7% during the forecast period from 2015 to 2020

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Reports And Markets Publish a New Market Research Report On "Corundum Market - Segmented by Variety, End-User Industry and Geography - Trends and Forecasts (2017 - 2022)"Access Full Report With Table Of Contents @The Global Corundum Market has been estimated at USD 19.71 billion in 2015 and is projected to reach USD 27.25 billion by 2020, at a CAGR of 6.7% during the forecast period from 2015 to 2020. Asia-Pacific is the largest and the fastest growing region in the world, with China being the major producer and consumer of artificial corundum producing XX.XX thousand tons. Additionally, India, Thailand, Korea and Japan are the other major manufacturers of corundum. Europe, with an annual production of XX.XX thousand tons, also accounts for a considerable demand for the mineral. Manufacturing economies in the region such as Germany and other parts of Europe, are driving the demand for Corundum in the region. As for North America, demand for artificial corundum is high, due to the scarcity of natural corundum in its region.Corundum is mainly classified into Ruby, Sapphire including Padparadscha stones and Emery. It is mainly used as an abrasive for grinding optical glass, polishing metals. Additionally, Corundum is converted into sandpapers and grinding wheels. Corundum, in its varied forms, has several applications, for example: Ruby is widely used in jewelry; Sapphire is used in LEDs and refractory substances. Therefore, Corundum finds its application in several fields on a large scale. To meet its growing demand, corundum is also being manufactured artificially.The corundum gemstones Ruby and Sapphire are the most sought-after precious stones after diamond. Apart from rubies and sapphires, rare gemstones such as padparadscha have witnessed an increasing demand in the jewelry market, due to its rare hue.Request For Sample Report @The extreme hardness of corundum makes it useful as an abrasive. It is used for various purposes, including as a grinding media, sand papers, grinding wheels, other cutting applications and for polishing compounds. Moreover, Corundum is used in preparation of toothpaste, where its abrasive properties help in keeping teeth clean and white. To cater to the growing demand of Corundum, it is now being artificially produced using Calcined Bauxite.Natural and synthetic corundum are used in a wide variety of industrial applications because of their toughness, hardness and chemical stability. The major applications of corundum is in jewelry and abrasives. It is also used for making refractory products such as firebrick, kiln liners, kiln furniture and in electronic applications. Synthetic corundum is used in the manufacture of windows of grocery store scanners, watch crystals, aircraft windows and protective covers for electronic devices. Usage of Corundum is increasing rapidly in the field of electronics; this is the major driver for the market.The Asia-Pacific corundum market is expected to grow at a CAGR of XX%. This region is expected to be the fastest growing market for corundum during the forecast period. The increasing number of consumer class and their growing interest towards precious stones, growing demand of the durable goods and increasing demand for abrasives are the major drivers for the market in this region. In Asia-Pacific, Corundum is mined at Sri Lanka, India, Myanmar, Afghanistan, Vietnam and Thailand. The mines in this area provide some of the best materials for jewelry. Asia-Pacific is the major producer and consumer of the synthetic corundum, with China owning the prime credentials for this region. Additionally, Corundum is Indias main inorganic chemical export to China.Company profiles included in the report Arteka, Riken Corundum Co. Ltd., RUSAL, Rubicon Technology, Stars Gem Co., Ltd. and Changzhou Sunai Metallurgical Refractories Co. Ltd. among others.Key Deliverables in the StudyMarket analysis for the Global Corundum Market, with region specific assessments and competition analysis on global and regional scalesMarket definition along with the identification of key drivers and restraintsIdentification of factors instrumental in changing the market scenarios, rising prospective opportunities, and identification of key companies that can influence this market on a global and regional scaleExtensively researched competitive landscape section with profiles of major companies along with their market sharesIdentification and analysis of the macro and micro factors that affect the Global Corundum market on both global and regional scalesA comprehensive list of key market players along with the analysis of their current strategic interests and key financial informationA wide-ranging knowledge and insights about the major players in this industry and the key strategies adopted by them to sustain and grow in the studied marketInsights on the major countries/regions in which this industry is blooming and to also identify the regions that are still untappedCheck Discount @For more information or any query mail at sales@reportsandmarkets.comAbout Reports And MarketsReports And Markets is part of the Algoro Research Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe.Are you mastering your market? Do you know what the market potential is for your product, who the market players are and what the growth forecast is? We offer standard global, regional or country specific market research studies for almost every market you can imagine.Contact PersonSanjay JainManager - Partner Relations & International Marketinginfo@reportsandmarkets.comPh: +1-214-377-1121 (US), +44-020-3286-9338 (UK)
Motorized Quadricycles Market Projected to Gain Significant Value by 2025

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Global Motorized Quadricycles Market: IntroductionMotorized quadricycles are small and fuel-efficient vehicles used for local transportation in rural and urban areas. Motorized quadricycles have emerged as an alternative to small city cars and motorcycles. With a speed range of 45  100 kmph and weight of up to 400-500 kg, motorized quadricycles have become a popular means of internal transportation. Quadricycles are largely used in European countries. They are exempt from stringent regulations and safety tests that are applicable for passenger cars; also, they are road-legal and may not require a full license to be driven.As per the directive 2002/24/EC & CE, quadricycles have been categorized into: light quadricycles (L6e) and heavy quadricycles (L7e). Light quadricycles are limited to a speed of 45 kmph, while heavy quadricycles are not speed limited and may have a speed of up to 100 kmph. Motorized quadricycles must meet environment regulations w.r.t emissions, however this isnt a key concern for manufacturers as a major share of motorized quadricycles are electric; gas powered quadricycles hold a low market share. Despite some existing restraining factors, the motorized quadricycle market is expected to witness noteworthy year-on-year growth over the forecast period. It has been witnessed that elderly population accounts for a majority of the demand for motorized quadricycles owing to low cost, light weight and ease of handling of the vehicle. This trend is expected to exist throughout the forecast period.A sample of this report is available upon request @Global Motorized Quadricycle Market: DynamicsLow cost, ease of handling and lack of stringent regulations are some of the prominent factors driving the sale of motorized quadricycles. Quadricycles are many folds cheaper than city passenger cars and thus appeal to huge masses, particularly the elderly population who do not seek high power and high speed vehicles. Motorized quadricycles are easy to handle; these usually have a CVT transmission and require comparatively low maintenance as compared to other passenger cars. Majority of motorized quadricycles are electric powered and thus, are environment friendly. Furthermore, the motorized quadricycle market lacks stringent regulations. Regulations for driving quadricycles vary from country to country. In some countries, no license is required to drive a quadricycle, while in some countries a valid driving license and a minimum age of 18 years are prerequisites.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @The recent one-off tests conducted by Euro NCAP brought the quadricycle market to limelight. The frontal and side crash test conducted by the organization highlighted that quadricycles significantly lacked passenger safety even at a low speed of 50 kmph. The frontal and side impact tests highlighted the lack of minimum safety equipment in quadricycles. This has created pressure on manufacturers to transform their vehicles and ensure a high level of safety during crash, while maintaining cost of the vehicle; as surge in prices would not be acceptable to customers. At the same time, this incident may also restrain customers from buying quadricycles due to the lack of safety.Buy Now: You can now buy a single user license of the report @Global Motorized Quadricycle Market: Region-wise OutlookPresently, Europe leads the demand for motorized quadricycles in the global market, and the region is expected to remain predominant in the motorized quadricycle market over the forecast period. Flexible regulations in the region are expected to be the major driver for market growth and thus, increased adoption of quadricycles is expected over the forecast period. After Europe, North America and Latin America are anticipated to be major upcoming markets for motorized quadricycles.However, slow adoption rate is expected in some countries of these regions. The Asia Pacific motorized quadricycle market possesses significant growth opportunity owing to robust economic growth and increasing vehicle ownership per capita. However, some of the countries in the region create moderate demand for quadricycles, as quadricycles here are only limited to internal transport application and are not authorized to be driven on roads. Safety concerns for passengers and poor road infrastructure in some countries of the Asia Pacific region are expected to hamper demand for motorized quadricycles in the region.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Military Communications Market Expected to Grow at a Steady CAGR by 2022

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The objective of this report is to describe the market trends and revenue forecasts for the military communications market for the next five years. The report focuses on defining and describing the key influencing factors for the growth of the market. It also offers an in-depth analysis of the market size (revenue), market share, major market segments, different geographic regions, key market players, and premium industry trends.The report tracks the major market events including product launches, technological developments, mergers & acquisitions, and the innovative business strategies opted by key market players. Along with strategically analyzing the key micro markets, the report also focuses on industry-specific drivers, restraints, opportunities and challenges in the military communications market. The scope of this report covers the military communications market by its major segments, which include the components, communication, applications, and the major geographic regions.Download Free Sample:MARKET SEGMENTATIONThis report analyzes the military communications market by the following segments:Military Communications Market, by Component1. Security System2. Military Satcom3. Radio SystemMilitary Communications Market, by Communication1. Underwater Communication2. Airborne3. Air-GroundMilitary Communications Market, by Application1. Situational Awareness2. Control & CommandBrowse Report:About Scalar Market ResearchScalar Market Research Inc. aspires to assist organizations from around the world to achieve their business goal with premium market research reports and consulting services. Our real-time industry tracking with the help of advanced analytics offers a crystal clear view of all the activities in niche markets. Our team, with thorough global understanding, works relentlessly to gather the necessary market insights, including customer analysis, competitions and global forecast.Find out more about our services at:Contact:8770 W Bryn Mawr Ave.,Suite 1300Chicago, IL 60631Tel.: +1-800-213-5170 (U.S./Canada Toll-free)Email: sales@scalarmarketresearch.comFollow us on LinkedIn:
Hospital-Treated Gram-Negative Infections Market to Register Substantial Expansion by 2024

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Rising prevalence of various rare disease globally is expected to support the criteria of hospital-treated gram-negative infections market. There has been rising need for newer drugs for getting the appropriate effect on the micro-organisms. The increasing number of strains of the bacteria and growing resistance towards the previously existing pathogens are expected to favor the market for drugs used hospital-treated gram-negative infections. The world is running out of drugs for infections caused due to gram-negative bacteria. However, companies are laying efforts in drug discoveries by spending more and more in research and development.A sample of this report is available upon request @Furthermore, among all of the bacterial resistance problems, gram-negative pathogens are particularly troublesome and a reason for major worry in physician community as they are getting resistant to maximum currently available drugs. The most common gram-negative infections include the pathogens such as Enterobacteriaceae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Acinetobacter. Major challenges are rising for the treatment of patient suffering from pan-resistant or nearly pan-resistant gram-negative microorganisms.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @Powerful and frequent administration of antibiotics is becoming a standard-of-care treatment for gram-negative infections, specifically for those diseases acquired in healthcare facilities such as hospitals, nursing homes and long-term care facilities. As a result of frequently acquired infections, the rise in antimicrobial resistance rates has forced an immediate need to introduce novel antibiotic therapies with activity against multidrug-resistant gram-negative pathogens.As a result, various commercial opportunities falls particularly in the healthcare facilities, for latest brands defining clinical efficacy in patients with resistant infections, and precisely in those associated with high mortality rate. Nevertheless, the hospitals need to take perfect steps to prevent such infections such as basic cleanliness acquired by the patients in the hospitals and other medical facilities, use of disinfected instruments for treatment and making the people aware of the consequences of overusing antibiotics.Although, the reasons mentioned above may further act as an impediment for the market for the drugs used in hospital-treated gram-negative infections somehow is expected to maintain the traction for currently existing antibiotics. Shown improvements over presently available gram negative infection agents are expected to be key during reimbursement and pricing negotiations among the government and the pharmaceutical companies.The provision of positioning gram-negative infections antibiotics in the hospital formulary is also expected to be a key driver of market access in the hospital-treated gram-negative infections drugs market. Furthermore, hospital-treated GNI market is being dominated by generics available in the market as most of the infections can be treated effectively with older agents present in the generic form, which in turn is expected to impede the hospital-treated gram-negative infections drugs market. Novel and recently approved antibiotics are typically reserved for future prospected in the case where the older antibiotics are strongly resisting by gram-negative bacteria.Buy Now: You can now buy a single user license of the report @On the basis of region presence, hospital-treated gram-negative infections market is segmented into five key regions: North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Middle East & Africa. Presently, North America dominates the global market for hospital-treated gram-negative infections due to existing large number of facilities for research and development. However, growth in Asia-Pacific region is significant in terms of CAGR over the forecast period due to rising in resistance due to improper scheduled of antibiotics administration. The U.S. Hospital-treated gram-negative infections market is expected to dominate in terms of market share with significant share among all the regions.Some player exists in this group that are Merck, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Abbott, Lupin Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Istituto lusofarmaco d'italia spa, Adelco S.A, Zhejiang yuntao biotechnology co., Ltd, Alcon Laboratories, Inc.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
K-12 Robotic Toolkits Market to Grow at a CAGR of 20.59% by 2021

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MarketResearchNest.com adds Global K-12 Robotic Toolkits Market 2017-2021 new report to its research database. The report spread across in 71 pages with table and figures in it.Research analysts forecast the global k-12 robotic toolkits market to grow at a CAGR of 20.59% during the period 2017-2021.Robotic toolkits are small- or medium-sized robot tool sets that are increasingly being used in the global K-12 market mainly for teaching STEM subjects. The use of robotic toolkits in the K-12 sector is a transformational tool for learning, computational thinking, coding, and engineering. These toolkits are increasingly being viewed as critical ingredients for STEM learning in the K-12 education sector. They are increasingly being used to engage and educate students, especially those opting for science and engineering fields.Browse full table of contents and data tables atTechnavio recognizes the following companies as the key players in the global k-12 robotic toolkits market:EZ-Robot, LEGO Education, Makeblock, and Modular Robotics.Other Prominent Vendors in the market are:Raspberry Pi Foundation, Sphero, Valiant, VEX Robotics, and Wonder Workshop.One trend in the market is advent of virtual robotic toolkits. The increase in the virtualization of content has brought about a dynamic shift in the global K-12 robotic toolkits market. This has resulted in the shift from traditional robotic toolkits to virtual robotic toolkits. Virtual robotic toolkits is a STEM-based educational toolkit. They are used to teach both the students and teachers the fundamentals of engineering, coding, and 3-D design in a simulated environment.Order a Premium Report Copy atAccording to the report, one driver in the market is increasing student engagement through experiential learning. Robotic toolkits enhance the learning experience of students. In this technique of learning, students are required to interact with pre-programmed robots that help them understand the various concept of STEM and other educations. Students are increasingly motivated to engage in activities such as tinkering, building, sharing ideas, building, developing, and designing prototypes or models for new products. Most of the toolkits also require students to engage in Learning by Doing concept.Further, the report states that one challenge in the market is resistance to inclusion of robotic toolkits in classrooms. In many schools, educators have refused to comply with the inclusion of robotic toolkits in classrooms. Educational robotic tools have brought about a change in the educational equilibrium. This is because robots are increasingly being used to teach students in classrooms. It is observed that while the students enjoy the sessions, there is a heavy resilience on the part of instructors. This can be further substantiated by using virtual robotics kits.The study was conducted using an objective combination of primary and secondary information including inputs from key participants in the industry. The report contains a comprehensive market and vendor landscape in addition to a SWOT analysis of the key vendors.Inquiry before buying atMarketResearchNest.com is the most comprehensive collection of market research products and services on the Web. We offer reports from almost all top publishers and update our collection on daily basis to provide you with instant online access to the worlds most complete and recent database of expert insights on global industries, organizations, products, and trends.Mr. Jeet JainSales Managersales@marketresearchnest.com+1-240-284-8070 / +44-20-3290-4151Pune, India
Global Light-Emitting Diode (LED) Market to Grow at a CAGR of 18.46% by 2021

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MarketResearchNest.com adds Global Light-Emitting Diode (LED) Market 2017-2021 new report to its research database. The report spread across in 81 pages with table and figures in it.Research analysts forecast the global light-emitting diode (LED) market to grow at a CAGR of 18.46% during the period 2017-2021.LEDs are integral components of semiconductor devices and emit light by means of electro-luminescence. LED lighting products are bundled arrangements of LEDs that provide durable, affordable, and eco-friendly lighting systems. These products do not emit carbon dioxide, making them eco-friendly. Compared with incandescent bulbs, they consume 80% less energy, making them increasingly energy-efficient and affordable for consumers.Browse full table of contents and data tables atTechnavio recognizes the following companies as the key players in the global light-emitting diode (LED) market:Cree, GE Lighting, LG Innotek, NICHIA, OSRAM, Philips Lighting, and Samsung Electronics.Other Prominent Vendors in the market are:Dialight, Eaton, Emerson, Everlight Electronics, Lite-On, MLS (Forest Lighting), Seoul Semiconductor, and TOYODA GOSEI.One trend in the market is increase in urban population worldwide. An important factor contributing to the increasing demand for energy-efficient lighting devices in households is the rising global urban population. Rapid urbanization in the emerging economies, such as the BRICS nations, has led to a rise in living standards of the population. This urban population is well aware of these energy-efficient lighting products.Order a Premium Report Copy atAccording to the report, one driver in the market is favorable policy environment and governmental support. The rapid depletion of natural resources and global warming have generated an indispensable need for energy conservation across the globe. In 2016, lighting applications were estimated to account for more than 20% of global energy consumption. There is an immediate need to reduce this energy consumption, and governments across the globe are focusing on the implementation of favorable policies to promote the use of energy-efficient lighting products. Governments across the globe, those of the established economies like US and UK and emerging economies like China and India, are engaging in the promotion of LED lighting products by providing tax incentives and subsidies on these products.Further, the report states that one challenge in the market is lack of standardization. Despite the favorable government policy framework for LED lighting across the globe, the specifications for LED lighting differs from country to country. Currently, there is no single standard or set of guidelines for LED lighting that is applicable worldwide. This lack of standardization in the global market generates barriers for international vendors as they need to establish compliance with different standards based on different regions. There is also a lack of industry-wide dimming standards for LED lightings. This can adversely affect the adoption rate of LED lighting products.The study was conducted using an objective combination of primary and secondary information including inputs from key participants in the industry. The report contains a comprehensive market and vendor landscape in addition to a SWOT analysis of the key vendors.Inquiry before buying atMarketResearchNest.com is the most comprehensive collection of market research products and services on the Web. We offer reports from almost all top publishers and update our collection on daily basis to provide you with instant online access to the worlds most complete and recent database of expert insights on global industries, organizations, products, and trends.Mr. Jeet JainSales Managersales@marketresearchnest.com+1-240-284-8070 / +44-20-3290-4151Pune, India
Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) Market Overview, Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis, Growth Opportunities & Restraints To 2022

Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) Market

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Global Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) market has a total value of $15.05 billion, as of 2015. It is one of the biggest commodity plastics. The market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 8.3% during the forecast period to reach $22.4 billion by 2020.Currently, Asia-Pacific dominates the market for EPS with 47% of the global revenue share, followed by North America and Europe. China alone contributes to 40% of the global consumption in this market. Large population and growing activities in construction and packaging industries across Asia-Pacific are contributing to the higher consumption in this region. Asia-Pacific would continue dominating the market during the forecast period (2017 - 2022).Avail sample copy of this report at:EPS has found numerous applications across a wide range of industries due to its lightweight, rigidity, acoustic insulating properties, low thermal conductivity, shock and sound absorbing characteristics and moisture resistant properties. A large piece of demand for EPS comes from the building and construction sector, which finds it useful in a myriad of applications such as floor insulation, insulation foam for closed cavity walls and roofs. EPS is one of the foremost choices in green building because of its application in ICF blocks manufacture. It is also used as a resin in global cup and container manufacture market. Moreover, EPS is recyclable plastic. In 2015, over 127 million pounds of EPS was recycled, including 72.8 million pounds of post-consumer packaging and 54.5 million pounds of post-industrial packaging.Building & insulation and packaging are the major application of EPS, collectively accounting for about 90% of the market share. Downstream demand from the building & construction industry and packaging applications would boost the demand and revenue of EPS market. Growing demand for EPS in food processing, and consumer electronics are expected to drive the EPS market.More than 100 companies around the world are manufacturing EPS today and this number is expected to touch 200 within the next five years. However, environmental concerns and new environmental regulations being formulated are threatening the EPS manufacturers.Company profiles of the major players included in the report are Bayer MS, BASF SE, Dow Chemicals, DuPont, Formosa Plastics Group, SABIC, Total S.A., Nova Chemicals Corporation, Eastchem A.S. and Ineos Styrenics among others.Read more details of the report at:Key Deliverables in the StudyMarket analysis for the Global EPS Market, with region specific assessments and competition analysis on global and regional scalesMarket definition along with the identification of key drivers and restraintsIdentification of factors instrumental in changing the market scenarios, rising prospective opportunities, and identification of key companies that can influence this market on a global and regional scaleExtensively researched competitive landscape section with profiles of major companies along with their market sharesIdentification and analysis of the macro and micro factors that affect the Global EPS market on both global and regional scalesA comprehensive list of key market players along with the analysis of their current strategic interests and key financial informationA wide-ranging knowledge and insights about the major players in this industry and the key strategies adopted by them to sustain and grow in the studied marketInsights on the major countries/regions in which this industry is blooming and to also identify the regions that are still untappedEnquire more details of the report at:Orbis Research (orbisresearch.com) is a single point aid for all your market research requirements. We have vast database of reports from the leading publishers and authors across the globe. We specialize in delivering customized reports as per the requirements of our clients. We have complete information about our publishers and hence are sure about the accuracy of the industries and verticals of their specialization. This helps our clients to map their needs and we produce the perfect required market research study for our clients.Hector CostelloSenior Manager  Client Engagements4144N Central Expressway,Suite 600, Dallas,Texas  75204, U.S.A.Phone No.: +1 (214) 884-6817; +9164101019
Geopolymer Industry - Segmented by End use, Type and Geography (2017 - 2022)

Geopolymer Industry

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The Global Geopolymer Market has been estimated at USD 1,502.6 million in 2015 and is projected to reach USD 7,184.32 million by 2020, at a CAGR of 36.74% during the forecast period from 2015 to 2020. The global Geopolymer business is in its nascent stage and is expected to grow exponentially over the following years and approximated at a CAGR of 40% during the forecast period. In 2015, over 8 million tonnes of Geopolymer concrete was poured globally. Increased global acceptance of Geopolymers has swiftly increased the amount many times over and by September 2015, 70000 tonnes of Geopolymer concrete was used to complete the Brisbane West Wellcamp airport in Australia.There exist a wide variety of potential and existing applications for Geopolymers. Some of the Geopolymer applications are still in development whereas others are already industrialized and commercialized. The greatest application in volume comes through Geopolymer cements and which have been commercialized in many countries, the foremost being Australia and also being manufactured and studied by several research institutes. National standards and codes like the European cement standard, which are more prescriptive in nature and explicitly limit concrete to a Portland cement based binder, are an impediment to the industry. Performance based regulations like the ones implemented in Australia are more beneficial for the growth of research and industry. In the Geopolymer market report, we have taken into the following major end-user sectors into consideration: Buildings, Road and Pavements, Runways, Pipes and concrete repair, bridges, tunnel linnings, railroad sleepers and other uses. The Buildings segment accounted for more than 19.5% share of the Global Geopolymer market in 2015.Avail sample copy of this report at:The market is expected to be driven by construction chemicals as well as pre-set products oriented industries such as bricks and slabs, sealants & grouts, and others. The customer base is across markets from buildings, pavements, embankments, tunnel linings, railway sleepers to repair and rehabilitation of pipes, flooring and wall cracks as well as fireproofing panels. With new laws being drafted for better sustainability, increase in the construction sector in the developing countries and especially with an increasing public and scientific demand for sustainable materials, the geopolymer products are expected to witness a high growth in the foreseeable future.The Geopolymer market, on the basis of type can be broadly segmented into Cement, Concrete and Precast Panels, Grouts and Binders and others. Cement, Concrete and Precast Panels segment is the biggest segment of this market.The market has also been geographically segmented into APAC, North America, Europe, South America, and MEA. In terms of consumption in 2015, APAC led the market with a share of 57%. It was followed by Europe and North America. This high production is driven by a rapid growth residential, commercial and public sector infrastructure on account of growing population and changing lifestyle. However with regard to geopolymer products, consumer awareness in China and India is still lagging behind Australian, European and North American counterparts. This has resulted in lower market penetration of geopolymeric solutions in spite of them being the two biggest construction markets and presence of research dealing with newer geopolymeric product innovations.Read more details of the report at:Company profiles of the major Geopolymer precursor, Geopolymer cement & concrete, Geopolymer resin, binder & grout, Geopolymer panels & composites have been discussed in this study. These include Imeys Group, Milliken & Company Inc., BASF SE, Dow Chemicals, Wagner, Rolca, Murray & Roberts cementation Co. Ltd., and Zeobond Pty Ltd. Among others.Key Deliverables in the StudyMarket analysis for the Global Geopolymer Market, with region specific assessments and competition analysis on global and regional scalesMarket definition along with the identification of key drivers and restraintsIdentification of factors instrumental in changing the market scenarios, rising prospective opportunities, and identification of key companies that can influence this market on a global and regional scaleExtensively researched competitive landscape section with profiles of major companies along with their market sharesIdentification and analysis of the macro and micro factors that affect the Global Geopolymer market on both global and regional scalesA comprehensive list of key market players along with the analysis of their current strategic interests and key financial informationA wide-ranging knowledge and insights about the major players in this industry and the key strategies adopted by them to sustain and grow in the studied marketInsights on the major countries/regions in which this industry is blooming and to also identify the regions that are still untappedEnquire more details of the report at:Orbis Research (orbisresearch.com) is a single point aid for all your market research requirements. We have vast database of reports from the leading publishers and authors across the globe. We specialize in delivering customized reports as per the requirements of our clients. We have complete information about our publishers and hence are sure about the accuracy of the industries and verticals of their specialization. This helps our clients to map their needs and we produce the perfect required market research study for our clients.Hector CostelloSenior Manager  Client Engagements4144N Central Expressway,Suite 600, Dallas,Texas  75204, U.S.A.Phone No.: +1 (214) 884-6817; +9164101019
Software Development Intelligentization: Cases & Solutions

AIFORSE Conference 2017 - the first global Conference on Artificial Intelligence for Software Engineering - will host on the 10th of November 2017 in Barcelona.The Leaders and Experts of Software Engineering (SE) and pioneer Innovators of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in SE will meet on Communication Stage to accelerate the Development and increase the Efficiency of the Operations in the Industry.12 Hours of Networking, Discussions, bright and unique Reports of the 14 best Speakers in the Industry. Speakers are Representatives of Companies from around the World, who already apply AI to the Software Engineering. They will not only disclose the Tools that help solve Problems faster and decrease Costs, but will also define the Development Vector of Software Engineering Industry.The Program of the Conference is organized in a way to cover SDLC Process based on SWEBOK Areas: AI for Software Requirements Management AI for Software Design AI for Software Construction AI for Software Testing AI for Software Maintenance AI for Software Configuration Management / Process Management AI for Software Quality ManagementAIFORSE Conference 2017 includes not only a fascinating part of the Conference itself, but also the Demo Zone, where participants can: Find the latest Developments of both Startups and Industry Leaders Get new Development Opportunities Negotiate during the Networking Sessions Discuss the Business Issues and establish long-term friendly Relationships in an informal setting during the Networking Party.Participants of the Conference and the Demo Zone will be Companies of next types: Software Development AI Solutions for SE Development Researchers, Institutes, Communities etc.The Conference will be useful not only for novice Market Players, but also for the Industry old-timers.The New Era of Society Functioning is coming. Join it today.The Conference is organized by AIFORSE Community to raise and discuss the most vital problems of the Industry, its current state and further development. Aiming to collect the main SMEs and Contributors to establish the first Baseline of the Communitys Activities and to define the highest priority Vectors of the future Collaboration.AIFORSE CommunityUkraine, Kievo.grigoryevskaya@aiforse.org
CHICAGO  Illinois public schools awaiting state money could be getting closer to relief, as top legislative leaders said Thursday that they've tentatively reached a bipartisan agreement to fund public schools.

Though legislative leaders said details of the plan were still being worked out, Decatur School District Superintendent Paul Fregeau was hopeful when reached by phone Thursday night.

The news is encouraging, and things are moving in the right direction, he said. There's a lot of conjecture right now, but I hope they can come up with an amenable solution.

Fregeau has said Decatur schools would run out of money by mid-November if state funding doesn't come through. He has publicly advocated for Senate Bill 1, the legislation passed by the Democrat-majority General Assembly but given an amendatory veto by Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner.

He is among Macon County educators who have expressed increasing concerns about the uncertainty of state funding, with several superintendents saying they would run out of cash by early next year or sooner.

Legislative leaders have been meeting privately to resolve the funding fight that has held up state money for K-12 this year, a spinoff of Illinois' unprecedented two-year budget impasse, which just ended last month. Decatur-area lawmakers said Thursday that they were heartened by the progress.

"I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to get this job done," said state Sen. Andy Manar, a Bunker Hill Democrat who has worked for years toward education funding reform. He is the primary sponsor of SB 1.

Two House Republicans in phone interviews that they were briefed by party leaders on details of the plan, but have yet to see the full language.

Im encouraged that an agreement has evidently been reached, and am looking forward to hearing the details," said state Rep. Brad Halbrook, R-Shelbyville.

State Rep. Bill Mitchell, R-Forsyth, said he appreciated the work done by House Republican Leader Jim Durkin of Western Springs to reach an agreement. He said more information should become available in the coming days, and he hoped the news would come as a relief to local parents, educators and students.

"People will be, I think, happy that schools closures will not happen this fall," Mitchell said.

State Rep. Sue Scherer, D-Decatur, could not be reached for comment.

While most school have already opened, the state has has missed initial payments and districts aren't sure how long they can stay open. School superintendents across the state, particularly in Central and Southern Illinois, have been on edge. Many have cut back spending and say they'll have to borrow or dip into reserves to stay open.

In Decatur, Fregeau has said the district would consider borrowing against future tax revenue if lawmakers can't provide funding by the time its reserves run out. Meridian Superintendent Dan Brue also said his district, which has frozen spending for everything but essentials, would also consider that option.

Cerro Gordo Superintendent Brett Robinson also said his district would run out of money by early January.

Mount Zion Superintendent Travis Roundcount has said the district has solid financial reserves, and administrators have not determined when their crisis point would be.

Republicans and Democrats issued cautious statements after a meeting in Chicago. Democratic leaders Senate President John Cullerton of Chicago and House Speaker Michael Madigan of Chicago said there was "agreement in concept," while Senate Republican Leader Bill Brady of Bloomington and Durkin characterized it as "agreement in principle."

"Language will be drafted and details of the agreement released once the drafts have been reviewed," the statement from Brady and Durkin read.

The four planned to meet again Sunday at the state Capitol, a day before the Illinois House was expected to convene. Rauner applauded the efforts.

The schools issue has come up now because the spending plan legislators approved last month, ending the long stalemate, requires a new funding formula. There's wide agreement that Illinois' 20-year-old calculation is unfair. But Democrats and Republicans have been at odds over fixes.

The Democrat-run Legislature approved a new formula aimed at reducing disparities in per-student funding that existed between wealthy and poor districts under the previous funding formula.

In an amendatory veto, Rauner removed hundreds of millions of dollars for Chicago Public Schools, saying the plan was overly generous and a "bailout" to the nation's third-largest district.

The Illinois Senate overrode Rauner's veto, and the House had planned a similar vote. But legislative leaders said they'd seek a compromise instead.

Also on Thursday, four key members of Rauner's communications team resigned in the wake of the governors confusing response to a political cartoon depicting a black child begging a white man for money.

Rauner said he didn't sign off on a statement from his staff this week addressing the cartoon, which critics called racist. The statement had said Rauner wouldn't comment on the cartoon "as a white male."

He characterized the resignations from the high pressure jobs as mutual agreements.

"The communications effort is incredibly hard because we have attacks, political attacks coming 20 times a day. We have social media attacks coming 100 times a day. We have false rumors planted that have to be dealt with," he said at a pension-related bill signing in suburban Chicago. "Getting people who can do it well and are willing to do on this scale it's a challenge ... Sometimes other things get in the way. Other loyalties get in the way."

Rauner didn't elaborate.

The four employees  Diana Rickert, Laurel Patrick, Meghan Keenan and Brittany Carl  were hired last month in a major staff shake-up that included enlisting several individuals from the Illinois Policy Institute, a conservative think tank. Last week the organization circulated a cartoon, meant as a commentary on Illinois' ongoing school funding fight, of a black Chicago schoolchild panhandling for money from a suit-clad white man with a cigar and cash stuffed in one pocket.

The image and Rauner's response prompted wide bipartisan opposition, with claims the image played up racist stereotypes and was insensitive after the recent deadly attack at a white nationalist rally in Virginia.

Rauner said for days that he hadn't seen the image, but acknowledged publicly Thursday that he saw it and understood "why some people would be upset by it."

The resignations come at a critical time for Rauner, who's seeking a second term next year. They also raise questions about his links to the Chicago-based tax policy organization that runs a statewide media service and legal arm, which has challenged Illinois' same-day voter registration law in court.

Rauner, a wealthy businessman, donated to the group before he was governor. Last month's hires included the institute's former president as Rauner's chief of staff and Rickert, who was the group's spokeswoman. The staff housecleaning, that saw roughly two dozen people either fired or resigned, came shortly after the Democrat-run Legislature dealt Rauner a major political blow in ending the state's roughly two-year budget impasse. Several Republicans broke ranks and voted for the spending plan that includes an income tax increase over Rauner's objections.

Rauner defended the staff changes, saying he's always trying to build a strong team and isn't beholden to the Policy Institute. Messages left for the four people who resigned weren't immediately returned.

Herald & Review staff writers Jaylyn Cook and Ryan Voyles contributed to this story.
Invisible Dental Braces Market Perceive Robust Expansion by 2024

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On the basis of the product type global invisible dental braces market is segmented into lingual braces and external braces. Lingual dental braces also referred as nano braces or incognito braces. Lingual braces are placed behind the teeth, and they are not invisible due to their positioning. Companies like 3M (Incognito and iBraces), DENTSPLY (In-Ovation L) and American Orthodontics (Harmony) are involved in manufacturing and marketing of lingual dental braces. External braces are similar to the traditional braces, but they are not invisible.A sample of this report is available upon request @External invisible dental braces are smooth and comfortable made of the polyurethane polymer. The primary differentiating factor for external invisible braces are removable but lingual braces are not. Companies like Align Technology (Invisalign), Angel Align (Angel align Pro) and Clear correct (Clear correct aligner) are involved in developing and marketing of the external invisible braces.Based on the end user, the global invisible dental braces market is segmented into hospitals and dental clinics. Dental clinics are expected to have market share than the hospitals over the forecast period.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @On the basis of geography, Invisible Dental Braces market is segmented into five key regions: North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East & Africa. North America accounts the major market share due to reimbursement for the invisible dental braces and increases in dental cosmetic surgery are the major factors boosting the growth of this market during the forecast period. Europe and Asia Pacific Invisible Dental Braces market are expected to grow over the forecast period.Buy Now: You can now buy a single user license of the report @In Asia-pacific, an increase in dental tourism over the years specifically in the countries like India, Thailand, and Singapore and low cost based treatment are fueling the growth of this market over the forecast period. For instance, invisalign products international volume has increased to 32.5% from 2015 to 2014 this is primarily due to the strong performance by Asia Pacific region and Europe. Hence, companies are devising strategies to invest more in Asia Pacific and European regions to increase their revenues.Major players in the Invisible dental braces market include ClearCorrect. 3M, Dentsply International, Align Technology, Ormco, Angel Align and American Orthodontics. Align technology has generated sales revenue of around $ 845 Mn in the FY 2015 for its Invisalign products. Company is targeting different age groups by launching their products specific to their age. For instance, it has Invisalign full, teen and Assist products in their product portfolio. The innovation of invisible dental braces is not only restricted to Western countries few companies in Asia Pacific are also actively involved in launching invisible dental braces products. In FY 2016, Angel Align, Taiwan based company, has launched Angelalign Pro invisible dental braces into the Taiwanese market.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Rocket Bazaar Presents a New Set of Add-ons for its Multi-Vendor Marketplace

The Rocket Bazaar marketplace is a comprehensive solution that offers SMEs, enterprises, and large organizations the ability to significantly expand their online presence and enable multiple vendors to create and manage their custom-branded online stores on a single platform.The company regularly keeps on updating and adding the new, innovative features and extensions to empower the admin and make the solution more efficient and flexible, while meeting customer expectations and adopting the latest technologies.Heres a comprehensive list of features and specs of the Add-ons from Rocket Bazaar to enhance your marketplace.Return Merchandise AuthorizationThe feature dramatically eases up the process of returns and refund management. While it helps admin to generate RMA for an order from the admin panel and manage the different status of the RMA, the customers can generate return requests along with the reason to return, quantity, and the condition of the returned item. Admin, vendor and the customer can communicate for a particular return request and see the RMA history.Daily DealThis is the best feature for marketing and promotion where vendors can create deals with flat amount or percentage of the price for particular time and quantity. Admin can create deal on behalf of vendors and the customers can see the deals with the countdown timer.Brand ManagementThe solution offers an enhanced brand management feature which helps build a separate landing page for all the brands and product listing of the respective brand with filter and sorting options. Additionally, a smart widget to place slider of your featured brands anywhere on the storefront.The Rocket Bazaar marketplace is a one-stop solution to create an entirely organized marketplace befitting the ever-evolving customer requirements and eCommerce needs. The solution offers all the features and functionality that make selling easier on e-commerce. Bespoke customer service is available round the clock and provides an instant response with installation and support services at no cost.4th Floor, Aarya ArcadeNr. Shree Krishna CenterMithakali Six Road, NavrangpuraAhmedabad, Gujarat, India
Global Special Fire Truck Market - Morita Holdings, Magirus, E-ONE, KME, Gimaex

Global Special Fire Truck Market

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Apex Research, recently published a detailed market research study focused on the "Special Fire Truck Market" across the global, regional and country level. The report provides 360 analysis of "Special Fire Truck Market" from view of manufacturers, regions, product types and end industries. The research report analyses and provides the historical data along with current performance of the global Special Fire Truck industry, and estimates the future trend of Special Fire Truck market on the basis of this detailed study. The study shares "Special Fire Truck Market" performance both in terms of volume and revenue.Get Free Sample Copy of Report Here:Top Manufacturers Analysis of This ReportOshkoshMorita HoldingsMagirusE-ONEKMEGimaexZiegler FirefightingFerrara Fire ApparatusCFEBeijing ZhongzhuoTianheThe market research report explores the Special Fire Truck market across the globe along with major regions and countries. The research report provides a detailed study on each and every aspect of "Special Fire Truck Market". The research report studies the entire value chain from raw material to end user industries. The report also shares import/export statistics along with production and consumption for all major regions and countries. Moreover, the research study classifies the Special Fire Truck market based on major product types, application and end users industries of Special Fire Truck. Besides, the report also covers geographical segmentation for Special Fire Truck market. The report further provides production, capacity, price per region, gross margin, production cost, for all major regions and countries listed in report.The competitive landscape of the global market for Special Fire Truck is determined by assessing the major industry participants, production capacity, production capacity utilization rate, Special Fire Truck market's production chain, pricing by each manufacturer and the revenue generated by each manufacturer in the Special Fire Truck market globally.Inquire Before Buying @The Global Special Fire Truck market 2017 is further analyzed on the basis of product pricing, Special Fire Truck production volume, data pertaining to demand and Special Fire Truck supply, and the revenue garnered by the product. The report provides upstream and downstream analysis covering major raw material used in manufacturing of Special Fire Truck along with detailed manufacturing sources. The report also shares list of major raw material manufacturers along with their manufacturing locations. Detailed raw material price trend analysis along with manufacturing cost analysis is also incorporated into the report. Various methodical tools such as investment returns, feasibility, SWOT analysis and market attractiveness analysis has been implemented in the research study to present a comprehensive, detailed study of the industry for Special Fire Truck across the world.About UsApexResearch offer reports from top publishers and update to serve you with immediate on-line access to professional insights on global industries, companies, products, and trends. Customers can buys different reports across various categories such as Chemical and Material, Biotechnology, Healthcare, Food and beverages, Automobile and various sectors. Our Website offers safe and secure online ordering experience, convenient payment options.Contact UsFrank ValadezBusiness Development Executive| sales@apexresearch.biz
Nuclear Power Market in Taiwan Key Policies and Regulatory Framework Supporting Development & Outlook to 2030

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"Nuclear Power in Taiwan, Market Outlook to 2030, Update 2017 Capacity, Generation, Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE), Investment Trends, Regulations and Company Profiles" is the latest report from GlobalData, the industry analysis specialists that offer comprehensive information and understanding of the nuclear power market in Taiwan.Request a sample @The report provides in depth analysis on global nuclear power market with forecasts up to 2030. The report analyzes the power market scenario in Taiwan (includes thermal conventional, nuclear, large hydro, pumped storage and renewables) and provides future outlook with forecasts up to 2030. The research details nuclear power market outlook in the country and provides forecasts up to 2030. The report highlights installed capacity and power generation trends from 2006 to 2030 in Taiwan nuclear power market. A detailed coverage of nuclear energy policy framework governing the market with specific policies pertaining to nuclear is provided in the report. The research also provides details of active nuclear reactors in the country, market size of major equipment and company snapshot of some of the major market participants.The report is built using data and information sourced from proprietary databases, secondary research and inhouse analysis by GlobalDatas team of industry experts.Browse the complete report @ScopeA brief introduction on global carbon emissions and global primary energy consumption.Historical period is during 20062016 (unless specified) and forecast period is for 20172030.Overview on the global nuclear power market with installed capacity and generation trends, installed capacity split by region in 2016, installed capacity split by major nuclear power countries in 2016 and investment trends.Power market scenario in Taiwan provides detailed market overview, installed capacity and power generation trends by various fuel types (includes thermal conventional, nuclear, large hydro and renewables) with forecasts up to 2030.Details of Taiwan nuclear power market with installed capacity and generation trends, installed capacity by reactor type, installed capacity share by contractor/owner and information on major active and upcoming projects.Key policies and regulatory framework supporting nuclear power development.Company snapshots of some of the major market participants in the country.Buy a report @Reasons to buyThe report will enhance your decision making capability in a more rapid and time sensitive manner.Identify key growth and investment opportunities in Taiwan nuclear power market.Facilitate decisionmaking based on strong historic and forecast data for nuclear power market.Position yourself to gain the maximum advantage of the industrys growth potential.Identify key partners and business development avenues.Understand and respond to your competitors business structure, strategy and prospects.About Us:Orbis Research (orbisresearch.com) is a single point aid for all your market research requirements. We have vast database of reports from the leading publishers and authors across the globe. We specialize in delivering customized reports as per the requirements of our clients. We have complete information about our publishers and hence are sure about the accuracy of the industries and verticals of their specialization. This helps our clients to map their needs and we produce the perfect required market research study for our clients.Contact Us:Hector CostelloSenior Manager  Client Engagements4144N Central Expressway,Suite 600, Dallas,Texas - 75204, U.S.A.Phone No.: +1 (214) 884-6817; +912064101019Email ID: sales@orbisresearch.com
Global Ultrasound Gel Market - Phyto Performance, Besmed, Changchun Chengshi, Yijie, SINAN MEDICAL

Global Ultrasound Gel Market -

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Apex Research, recently published a detailed market research study focused on the "Ultrasound Gel Market" across the global, regional and country level. The report provides 360 analysis of "Ultrasound Gel Market" from view of manufacturers, regions, product types and end industries. The research report analyses and provides the historical data along with current performance of the global Ultrasound Gel industry, and estimates the future trend of Ultrasound Gel market on the basis of this detailed study. The study shares "Ultrasound Gel Market" performance both in terms of volume and revenue.Get Free Sample Copy of Report Here:Top Manufacturers Analysis of This ReportSonotechParker LaboratoriesEco-MedNational Therapy Products IncUltragel KftTele-Paper Malaysia Sdn BhdSonogel Vertriebs GmbhPhyto PerformanceBesmedChangchun ChengshiYijieSINAN MEDICALHangzhou Huqin YutangBeinuoThe market research report explores the Ultrasound Gel market across the globe along with major regions and countries. The research report provides a detailed study on each and every aspect of "Ultrasound Gel Market". The research report studies the entire value chain from raw material to end user industries. The report also shares import/export statistics along with production and consumption for all major regions and countries. Moreover, the research study classifies the Ultrasound Gel market based on major product types, application and end users industries of Ultrasound Gel. Besides, the report also covers geographical segmentation for Ultrasound Gel market. The report further provides production, capacity, price per region, gross margin, production cost, for all major regions and countries listed in report.The competitive landscape of the global market for Ultrasound Gel is determined by assessing the major industry participants, production capacity, production capacity utilization rate, Ultrasound Gel market's production chain, pricing by each manufacturer and the revenue generated by each manufacturer in the Ultrasound Gel market globally.Inquire Before Buying @The Global Ultrasound Gel market 2017 is further analyzed on the basis of product pricing, Ultrasound Gel production volume, data pertaining to demand and Ultrasound Gel supply, and the revenue garnered by the product. The report provides upstream and downstream analysis covering major raw material used in manufacturing of Ultrasound Gel along with detailed manufacturing sources. The report also shares list of major raw material manufacturers along with their manufacturing locations. Detailed raw material price trend analysis along with manufacturing cost analysis is also incorporated into the report. Various methodical tools such as investment returns, feasibility, SWOT analysis and market attractiveness analysis has been implemented in the research study to present a comprehensive, detailed study of the industry for Ultrasound Gel across the world.About UsApexResearch offer reports from top publishers and update to serve you with immediate on-line access to professional insights on global industries, companies, products, and trends. Customers can buys different reports across various categories such as Chemical and Material, Biotechnology, Healthcare, Food and beverages, Automobile and various sectors. Our Website offers safe and secure online ordering experience, convenient payment options.Contact UsFrank ValadezBusiness Development Executive| sales@apexresearch.biz
Humidity and temperature transmitter with interchangeable probes

EE220 in metal enclosure with separate sensing probes for humidity and temperature.

www.epluse.com

The EE220 transmitter from E+E Elektronik measures relative humidity and temperature in the range from -40 C to 80 C (-40 F to 176 F) with a high accuracy of 2 % RH and 0.1 C (0.18 F). The basis unit can be fitted with various pluggable and interchangeable sensing probes. Separate probes for humidity and temperature enable highly accurate loop calibration. The easy-to-clean metal enclosure and stainless steel probes are ideal for clean room applications and use in the pharmaceutical and food industry.Probe exchange in a matter of secondsThe EE220 basis unit can be equipped with a combined humidity and temperature probe or two separate probes, one for humidity and one for temperature. The EE07 probes can either be plugged directly onto the basis unit or mounted up to 10 m away using extension cables. Thanks to the plug-in system, the sensing probes can be exchanged in just a few seconds. As the calibration data is stored in the intelligent probes, the transmitter does not need to be re-calibrated after a probe replacement.Loop calibration according to FDA recommendationThe use of separate stainless steel sensing probes for humidity and temperature enables most accurate loop calibration, as recommended by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry. Using extension cables and without dismounting the EE220 basis unit, the humidity probe can be placed in a portable humidity calibrator and the temperature probe in a dry block calibrator. Thus, the entire measurement chain from the probe to the controller can be calibrated on-site (loop calibration).The probes can be individually adjusted with buttons on the E220 electronics board. Adjustment and calibration is particularly comfortable using the optional display, which can be simply plugged onto the EE220 board for this purpose.Accuracy check with reference probesTwo reference probes can be used instead of the regular probes to check the correct functioning and accuracy of the EE220 basis unit. The reference probes simulate defined humidity and temperature values which can be compared with the EE220 outputs.Optimum sensor protectionThe optional E+E proprietary coating is brings relevant benefits in harsh ambient conditions. It protects the sensing elements from dirt, dust and corrosion, thereby considerably improving the long-term stability and lifetime.Options and accessoriesThe EE220 basis unit and the EE07 sensing probes are available with polycarbonate or stainless steel enclosure. The current measured data is available locally on the optional display. The EE220 is suitable for wall mounting and rail installation according to DIN EN 50002. A duct mounting kit is also available.E+E Elektronik develops and manufactures sensors and transmitters for humidity, temperature, dewpoint, moisture in oil, air velocity, flow and CO2. Data loggers, hand-held measuring devices and calibration systems complete the comprehensive product portfolio of the Austrian sensor specialist. The main applications for E+E products lie in HVAC, building automation, industrial process control and the automotive industry. A certified quality management system according to ISO 9001 and ISO/TS 16949 ensures the highest quality standards. E+E Elektronik has a worldwide dealership network and representative offices in Germany, France, Italy, Korea, China and the United States. The accredited E+E calibration laboratory (OEKD) has been commissioned by the Austrian Federal Office for Metrology (BEV) to provide the national standards for humidity and air velocity.E+E Elektronik Ges.m.b.HLangwiesen 74209 EngerwitzdorfAustriaT: +43 (0) 7235 605-0F: +43 (0) 7235 605-8info@epluse.atPress contact:Mr. Johannes FraundorferT: +43 (0)7235 605-217pr@epluse.at
Polyolefin Catalyst Market - Segmented by Type, Application, and Geography - Trends and Forecasts (2017 - 2022)

polyolefin catalyst market, polyolefin catalyst market analysis, polyolefin catalyst market cap, polyolefin catalyst market cente

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Reports And Markets Publish a New Market Research Report On  "Polyolefin Catalyst Market - Segmented by Type, Application, and Geography - Trends and Forecasts (2017 - 2022)"Access Full Report With Table Of Contents @The Global Polyolefin Catalyst Market has been estimated at USD 1379.54 million in 2015 and is projected to reach USD 1777.5 million by 2020, at a CAGR of 5.2% during the forecast period. Polyolefins (polypropylene and polyethylene, PP/PE) products have grown to become an industry with global annual revenues of about USD 300 billion and an annual installed capacity of about 180 million tons.The current trend suggests that PE and PP's global installed capacity growth is expected to continue at 4%-5% over GDP over the next few years; with Asia being the fastest growing region, the growth in Middle East, North Africa and the Americas is also expected to be fast paced, while Europe and Japan will maintain and/or restructure their current capacity.Polyolefins are majorly produced by using three methods: conventional catalysts - Ziegler, Ziegler-Natta, or chrome on silica; metallocene or other single-site catalysts; or peroxide initiator. The catalyst represents the main part of any reactor system and can significantly change the competitiveness of a process technology.In order to ensure a higher likelihood of success few after-market catalyst suppliers have entered into joint development agreements to integrate the new catalyst into the process. Polyolefin Catalyst are used in large number of markets from Automotive & Transportation, Coatings & Additives, Medical, Packaging, Electronics, Building & Construction among others.This market is driven by a number of factors, such as easy availability of raw material in U.S. & China, and growing demand from packaging & construction industry. However, this market faces certain drawbacks, such as High manufacturing cost and fluctuating prices for precious metals. These factors may act as a roadblock to the growth of the market.Currently, Asia-Pacific is the largest Polyolefin Catalyst market, acquiring more than 45.3% of the global market. The region has huge installed plant capacities of Polyolefin Catalyst. The market is emerging in various countries like China, South Korea, India, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, etc. due to increasing industrial activity.Request For Sample Report @Also, large number of emerging manufacturers from Asia-Pacific is expected to reduce import dependency and is expected to drive the market in future. China is experiencing the highest Polyolefin Catalyst demand globally, mainly due to increase in its industrial growth.Some of the major companies dominating this market for its products, services, and continuous product developments are Albemarle, LyondellBasell, Grace, Toho Co. Ltd., Sinopec, Mitsui, Saudi Basic Industries Corporation among others.Key Deliverables in the StudyMarket analysis for the Global Polyolefin Catalyst Market , with region specific assessments and competition analysis on global and regional scalesMarket definition along with the identification of key drivers and restraintsIdentification of factors instrumental in changing the market scenarios, rising prospective opportunities, and identification of key companies that can influence this market on a global and regional scaleExtensively researched competitive landscape section with profiles of major companies along with their market sharesIdentification and analysis of the macro and micro factors that affect the global Polyolefin Catalyst market on both global and regional scalesA comprehensive list of key market players along with the analysis of their current strategic interests and key financial informationA wide-ranging knowledge and insights about the major players in this industry and the key strategies adopted by them to sustain and grow in the studied marketInsights on the major countries/regions in which this industry is booming and to also identify the regions that are still untappedCheck Discount @For more information or any query mail at sales@reportsandmarkets.comAbout Reports And MarketsReports And Markets is part of the Algoro Research Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe.Are you mastering your market? Do you know what the market potential is for your product, who the market players are and what the growth forecast is? We offer standard global, regional or country specific market research studies for almost every market you can imagine.Contact PersonSanjay JainManager - Partner Relations & International Marketinginfo@reportsandmarkets.comPh: +1-214-377-1121 (US), +44-020-3286-9338 (UK)
Global Activewear Industry Market Research Report 2017

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SummaryThe Global Activewear Industry 2017 Market Research Report is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the Activewear industry.Firstly, the report provides a basic overview of the industry including definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure. The Activewear market analysis is provided for the international market including development history, competitive landscape analysis, and major regions development status.Secondly, development policies and plans are discussed as well as manufacturing processes and cost structures. This report also states import/export, supply and consumption figures as well as cost, price, revenue and gross margin by regions (United States, EU, China and Japan), and other regions can be added.Then, the report focuses on global major leading industry players with information such as company profiles, product picture and specification, capacity, production, price, cost, revenue and contact information. Upstream raw materials, equipment and downstream consumers analysis is also carried out. Whats more, the Activewear industry development trends and marketing channels are analyzed.Finally, the feasibility of new investment projects is assessed, and overall research conclusions are offered.In a word, the report provides major statistics on the state of the industry and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the market.Ask a sample or any question, please email to:hebe@qyresearchglobal.com or hebe@qyresearch.comThe players list(Partly, Players you are interested can also be added):Adidas AGASICS CorporationColumbia Sportswear CompanyDick's Sporting Goods, Inc.Nike, Inc.North Face, Inc.Phillips-Van Heusen CorporationPuma SESkechers U.S.A., Inc.Under Armour, Inc.Key Topics Covered:Chapter One Industry Overview of ActivewearChapter Two Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of ActivewearChapter Three Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis of ActivewearChapter Four Capacity, Production and Revenue Analysis of Activewear by Regions, Types and ManufacturersChapter Five Price, Cost, Gross and Gross Margin Analysis of Activewear by Regions, Types and ManufacturersChapter Six Consumption Volume, Consumption Value and Sale Price Analysis of Activewear by Regions, Types and ApplicationsChapter Seven Supply, Import, Export and Consumption Analysis of ActivewearChapter Eight Major Manufacturers Analysis of ActivewearChapter Nine Marketing Trader or Distributor Analysis of ActivewearChapter Ten Industry Chain Analysis of ActivewearChapter Eleven Development Trend of Analysis of ActivewearChapter Twelve New Project Investment Feasibility Analysis of ActivewearChapter Thirteen Conclusion of the Global Activewear Industry 2017 Market Research ReportRelated Reports:US Activewear Industry Market Research Report 2017Europe Activewear Industry Market Research Report 2017India Activewear Industry Market Research Report 2017China Activewear Industry Market Research Report 2017Korea Activewear Industry Market Research Report 2017Japan Activewear Industry Market Research Report 2017If you need a report or have any question, please feel free to contact meHebe | Sr. Manager  Global SalesProfessional Market Research Report PublisherQYResearch Co.LtdQYResearch focus on Market Survey and ResearchPhone: +86-20-22093278Email: hebe@qyresearchglobal.com or hebe@qyresearch.comWeb:About QYResearchQYResearch established in 2007, focus on custom research, management consulting, IPO consulting, industry chain research, database and seminar services. the company owned a large basic database (such as National Bureau of statistics database, Customs import and export database, Industry Association Database etc), experts resources (included energy automotive chemical medical ICT consumer goods etc industries experts who own more than 10 years experiences on marketing or R&D), professional survey team (the team member with more than 3 years market survey experience and more than 2 years depth expert interview experience),Excellent data analysis team (SPSS statistics and PPT graphics process team); QYResearch has always pursuit product quality, adhere to the quality is the soul of business. Through the companys years of effort and a lot of customer support, QYResearch consulting group creative design method of many high-quality markets investigation and research team with rich experience. Today, QYResearch brand has become the consulting industry with quality assurance consulting brand. The company has 2500 global well-known customers, covering energy automobile pharmaceutical chemical agriculture more than 30 industries, services from the data analysis and recommendations-Consulting landing one-stop solution, and research regions cover China,US,EU,Asia,Middle East and Africa,South America,Australia,etc Global all regions,and also built research or marketing center in China USA UK France Hongkong etc regions. currently, QYResearch has become the first choice and worth trusted consulting brand in Global and China business consulting services.Media ContactCompany Name: QYResearch CO.,LIMITEDContact Person: HebeEmail: hebe@qyresearchglobal.comPhone: +86-20-22093278Address: Room 2311 VILI International Building No.167 Linhe West Road Tianhe DistrictCity: GuangzhouCountry: ChinaWebsite:(US) |(EU) |(JP)
Aerogel Market is projected to reach USD 1598.6 million by 2020, at a CAGR of 32.6%

aerogel market, aerogel market size, aerogel market research, aerogel market analysis, aerogel market forecast, aerogel market pd

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Reports And Markets Publish a New Market Research Report On "Aerogel Market - Growth, Trends, and Forecasts (2017 - 2022)"Access Full Report With Table Of Contents @The global aerogel market was valued at USD XX.XX in 2015 and is projected to reach USD 1598.6 million by 2020, at a CAGR of 32.6% during the forecast period from 2015 to 2020. Among all the regions in the world, North America is the largest market for aerogel and accounts for over 60.0% of the market, owing to its special interest towards research, development and innovation, and the usage of new materials in that region.Asia-Pacific is the fastest-growing market during the given forecast period due to the technological advancement in this region. Aerogel is a synthetic porous ultra-light material that is derived from a gel, in which the liquid component of the gel has been replaced with a gas.The aerogel segment that is the fastest-growing segment in the segmentation of aerogels based on raw materials, and it is growing at a CAGR of 47% during the given forecast period. The silica aerogel segment accounted for the largest revenue generated in 2014.By end user industry, the oil & gas segment dominated the global aerogel market with 72.0% of market share in 2014. By form, the blanket segment is the leading segment of the aerogel market and accounted for a share of 82.0% in 2014.The global aerogel market is segmented on the basis of raw materials into silica, carbon, alumina, and others; also on the basis of form into blankets, particles, blocks, and panels. The market has been segmented on the basis of application into building insulation, acoustic application, day-lighting, fire protection, automotive thermal management, industrial & cryogenics, and others.And it has also been segmented on the basis of end user industry into oil & gas, construction, automotive, marine, aerospace, and others. On the basis of geography, the market has been segmented into Asia-Pacific (China, India, Japan, South Korea, rest of APAC), North America (United States, Canada, Mexico, rest of North America), Europe (Germany, United Kingdom, Italy, France, rest of Europe), South America (Brazil, Argentina, rest of South America), and Middle-East & Africa (Saudi Arabia, South Africa).Among all the countries in the world, North America is the largest consumer and producer of aerogel due to its strong technological setup. China is the second largest consumer of aerogel in the world. Aerogel has been used in space suits by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the United States. Brazil, Japan, Germany, and the United Kingdom are among the few other countries, which have been using aerogels in large amounts, thereby, driving the growth of this market.Growth is largely fuelled by the increasing demand from developing countries in Asia-Pacific and Europe due to their increasing research in innovation of materials and new application areas. Aerogel is very easy to install as an insulator and is lighter, thinner, and more durable than conventional insulators, which adds to the growth of this market. Furthermore, aerogel is reusable and recyclable, which adds to the benefits of using aerogel.However, the higher costs of production serve as a major restraint for the growth of the global aerogel market, since it becomes very difficult to buy the end product for the customers, who ultimately have to take the whole burden. Adverse economic conditions in a particular industry also affect the market, as this factor decreases the overall sales of aerogel in the market. Volatility in the raw materials also hinders the growth of the studied market.Request For Sample Report @The key players in global aerogel market are:Acoustiblok UK LtdAirGlass ABBASF SEDow Chemical CorporationGreen Earth Aerogel TechnologiesHoneywell InternationalSVENSKA Aerogel ABKey Deliverables in the Study:Analysis for the global aerogel market, with region specific assessments and competition analysis on global and regional scale.Market definition along with the identification of key drivers and restraints.Identification of factors instrumental in changing the market scenarios, rising prospective opportunities, and identification of key companies that can influence this market.Extensively researched competitive landscape section with profiles of major companies along with their market share.Identification and analysis of the macro and micro factors that affect the global aerogel market on both global and regional scale.A comprehensive list of key market players along with the analysis of their current strategic interests and key financial information.A wide-ranging knowledge and insights about the major players in this industry and the key strategies adopted by them to sustain and grow in the studied market.Check Discount @For more information or any query mail at sales@reportsandmarkets.comAbout Reports And MarketsReports And Markets is part of the Algoro Research Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe.Are you mastering your market? Do you know what the market potential is for your product, who the market players are and what the growth forecast is? We offer standard global, regional or country specific market research studies for almost every market you can imagine.Contact PersonSanjay JainManager - Partner Relations & International Marketinginfo@reportsandmarkets.comPh: +1-214-377-1121 (US), +44-020-3286-9338 (UK)
EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) Dental Sterilization Cabinetry Market Report 2017

EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) Dental Sterilization Cabinetry Market Report 2017

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QYRlogoIn this report, the EMEA Dental Sterilization Cabinetry market is valued at USD XX million in 2016 and is expected to reach USD XX million by the end of 2022, growing at a CAGR of XX% between 2016 and 2022.Geographically, this report split EMEA into Europe, the Middle East and Africa, With sales (K Units), revenue (Million USD), market share and growth rate of Dental Sterilization Cabinetry for these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast)Europe: Germany, France, UK, Russia, Italy and Benelux;Middle East: Saudi Arabia, Israel, UAE and Iran;Africa: South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt and Algeria.EMEA Dental Sterilization Cabinetry market competition by top manufacturers/players, with Dental Sterilization Cabinetry sales volume (K Units), price (USD/Unit), revenue (Million USD) and market share for each manufacturer/player; the top players includingAPOZA EnterpriseBAUMERBest Dent EquipmentBMS DENTALBMT Medical TechnologyCARLO DE GIORGI SRLCRISTOFOLI EQUIPAMENTOSDABI ATLANTEDENTAL X SPAFedesaFONA DentalFoshan Hongke Medical Instrument FactoryFoshan Joinchamp Medical DeviceGnatusHager & Werken GmbHJSC Geosoft DentMedisafe InternationalMESTRA Talleres MestraituaMIDMARKMOCOM...On the basis of product, this report displays the sales volume (K Units), revenue (Million USD), product price (USD/Unit), market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoSteamDry HeatBeadOn the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, sales volume (K Units), market share and growth rate of Dental Sterilization Cabinetry for each application, includingHospitalClinicOthersTo get a free professional report sample, please email to tinaning@qyresearch.com or Browse our detailed product page:Table of contents:1 Dental Sterilization Cabinetry Overview2 EMEA Dental Sterilization Cabinetry Competition by Manufacturers/Players/Suppliers, Region, Type and Application3 Europe Dental Sterilization Cabinetry (Volume, Value and Sales Price), by Players, Countries, Type and Application4 Middle East Dental Sterilization Cabinetry (Volume, Value and Sales Price), by Region, Type and Application5 Africa Dental Sterilization Cabinetry (Volume, Value and Sales Price) by Players, Countries, Type and Application6 EMEA Dental Sterilization Cabinetry Manufacturers/Players Profiles and Sales Data7 Dental Sterilization Cabinetry Manufacturing Cost Analysis8 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers9 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/Traders10 Market Effect Factors Analysis11 EMEA Dental Sterilization Cabinetry Market Forecast (2017-2022)12 Research Findings and Conclusion13 AppendixRelated Reports:Global Dental Sterilization Cabinetry Market Report 2017China Dental Sterilization Cabinetry Market Report 2017USA Dental Sterilization Cabinetry Market Report 2017Korea Dental Sterilization Cabinetry Market Report 2017Japan Dental Sterilization Cabinetry Market Report 2017India Dental Sterilization Cabinetry Market Report 2017Contact Details:Tina| Sales ManagersCompany Name: QYResearch CO.,LIMITED | focus on Market Survey and ResearchEmail: tinaning@qyresearch.com Tel: 0086-20-22093278(CN)Web:QYResearch established in 2007, focus on custom research, management consulting, IPO consulting, industry chain research, data base and seminar services. The company owned a large basic data base (such as National Bureau of statistics database, Customs import and export database, Industry Association Database etc), experts resources (included energy automotive chemical medical ICT consumer goods etc industries experts who own more than 10 years experiences on marketing or R&D), professional survey team (the team member with more than 3 years market survey experience and more than 2 years depth expert interview experience),Excellent data analysis team (SPSS statistics and PPT graphics process team); QYResearch has always pursuit product quality, adhere to the quality is the soul of business.QYResearch established in 2007, focus on custom research, management consulting, IPO consulting, industry chain research, data base and seminar services. The company owned a large basic data base (such as National Bureau of statistics database, Customs import and export database, Industry Association Database etc), experts resources (included energy automotive chemical medical ICT consumer goods etc industries experts who own more than 10 years experiences on marketing or R&D), professional survey team (the team member with more than 3 years market survey experience and more than 2 years depth expert interview experience),Excellent data analysis team (SPSS statistics and PPT graphics process team); QYResearch has always pursuit product quality, adhere to the quality is the soul of business.Room 2311 VILI International Building No.167 Linhe West Road Tianhe District
Even the best-laid plans sometimes go wrong. No one knows this more than a farmer. They can plan out the entire year for how they will harvest a crop, but a single storm or a drop in the market can change everything. It can leave a farmer in financial ruin, and in the worst of cases, it can leave them without the ability to start again the following year.

This is why most farmers purchase crop insurance. It is the one part of the plan that holds together in a crisis. It is a tool that farmers rely upon when things go awry.

This hasnt always been the case. When crop insurance got its start in the 1930s, it was a poorly run government program and rarely used. The premiums were too high and the coverage area was too limited, which resulted in low participation. Farmers mainly relied on costly ad hoc disaster assistance when natural disasters wiped out their crops, but that required Congress to not only act to authorize this assistance, but to act quickly. It was a clumsy system that didnt provide any peace of mind to farmers or their bankers, and it was a costly way to operate since Congress was never budgeting for this disaster assistance.

This led lawmakers to rethink the mechanics of the program. In 1980, Congress passed the Federal Crop Insurance Act, which created the successful public-private partnership that remains today where risk is shared among farmers, the Federal government, and private insurance providers.

Premiums are more affordable for farmers through a government discount. Insurance products have expanded to include more crops across the country. Both of these factors have increased participation and broadened the risk pool, which makes the program more actuarially sound. Private companies are servicing the policies and making sure any claims are processed in an efficient and timely manner.

Another part of this success story is that Congress no longer has to worry about authorizing unbudgeted disaster assistance. Further, the current cost of crop insurance is under budget.

With Congress gearing up to write a new farm bill, a central concern for farmers all across the country is that lawmakers will fail to recognize this success story and will create new policy that undermines a farmers ability to manage risk.

The farm economy is struggling with net farm income half of what it was four years ago. Planning for the future is challenging enough given these circumstances, lets not make it harder by eliminating a farmers ultimate backup plan when everything else fails.
United States 3D Cameras and Sensors Market 2017 - 2022 Forecast

3D Cameras and Sensors

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Orbis Research released a new research report of 121 pages on title United States 3D Cameras and Sensors Market 2017 Industry Trend and Forecast 2022 with detailed analysis, forecast and strategies.DescriptionThe United States 3D Cameras and Sensors market report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the United States 3D Cameras and Sensors industry. This report evaluates the United States market for "United States 3D Cameras and Sensors".The United States 3D Cameras and Sensors market report report provides complete analysis of the United States 3D Cameras and Sensors market by analysing all round market dynamics such as regional market opportunities, drivers, challenges, constraints, threats, and other market trends.The United States 3D Cameras and Sensors Market report contains latest Business Data resulting from various Research sources that helps Decision Makers to deliver a Distinctive and Trustworthy Analysis for Companys Growth.Get a PDF Sample of United States 3D Cameras and Sensors Market report at:The United States 3D Cameras and Sensors Market Survey starts with Industry overview of United States 3D Cameras and Sensors Market covering Major Regions Status, Industry Chain Structure, Definitions and Specifications, with a detailed focus on Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis including Raw Material Suppliers, Equipment Suppliers and Manufacturing Process.In Next Part, the researchers has collected and presented information on Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis which comprises of Capacity and Commercial Production Date, Manufacturing Plants Distribution, R&D Status and Technology Source of Major Manufacturers in 2017.In following segment, with Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin, Business Region Distribution Analysis, Competition between various Company Profile has been given along with Product Pictures and Specifications in United States 3D Cameras and Sensors Industry Report.The Key Players Mentioned in United States 3D Cameras and Sensors Market Report are: Intel ARM NVIDIA CEVA Leap Motion Thalmic Labs Z-LASER Tyzx SICK, Inc. Google Microsoft Facebook Basler MESA Imaging Stemmer Imaging Point Grey Cognex National Instruments Allied Vision ShapeGrabber Mobileye Autoliv Mercedes-Benz Vizrt Perceptron Darling GeomaticsThe United States 3D Cameras and Sensors Industry Report is also a Great Source of Marketing Type Analysis consisting:1. United States 3D Cameras and Sensors Regional Marketing Type Analysis2. United States 3D Cameras and Sensors International Trade Type Analysis3. Traders or Distributors with Contact Information of United States 3D Cameras and Sensors by Regions4. United States 3D Cameras and Sensors Supply Chain AnalysisMajor Points From Table of Content:Chapter One: 3D Cameras and Sensors OverviewChapter Two: United States 3D Cameras and Sensors Market Competition by Players/SuppliersChapter Three: United States 3D Cameras and Sensors Sales (Volume) and Revenue (Value) by Region (2012-2017)Chapter Four: United States 3D Cameras and Sensors Sales (Volume) and Revenue (Value) by Type (Product Category) (2012-2017)Chapter Five: United States 3D Cameras and Sensors Sales (Volume) by Application (2012-2017)Chapter Six: United States 3D Cameras and Sensors Players/Suppliers Profiles and Sales DataChapter Seven: 3D Cameras and Sensors Manufacturing Cost AnalysisChapter Eight: Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream BuyersChapter Nine: Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/TradersChapter Ten: Market Effect Factors AnalysisChapter Eleven: United States 3D Cameras and Sensors Market Size (Value and Volume) Forecast (2017-2022)Chapter Twelve: Research Findings and ConclusionChapter Thirteen: AppendixGot any Query? Feel free to ask us at:Lastly, the Report provides Development Trend Analysis for 2016-2021 years which will forecast Market Size (Volume and Value), Sales Price, Consumption Forecast, Market Trend (Product Type) and Market Trend (Application). Also the List of Major Consumers is analyzed and Contact Details are provided to easy communicating.Finally, the Report is concluded with Various Methodology, Analyst Introduction and Data SourcesOrbis Research (orbisresearch.com) is a single point aid for all your market research requirements. We have vast database of reports from the leading publishers and authors across the globe. We specialize in delivering customized reports as per the requirements of our clients. We have complete information about our publishers and hence are sure about the accuracy of the industries and verticals of their specialization. This helps our clients to map their needs and we produce the perfect required market research study for our clients.Hector CostelloSenior Manager  Client Engagements4144N Central Expressway,Suite 600, Dallas,Texas  75204, U.S.A.Phone No.: +1 (214) 884-6817; +9164101019Follow Us on LinkedIn:
Ocular Hypertension Pipeline Insight and Therapeutic Assessment Reviewed in 2017

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Market Research Hub's latest Pharmaceutical and Healthcare disease pipeline guide Ocular Hypertension Pipeline Review, H2 2017, provides an overview of the Ocular Hypertension (Ophthalmology) pipeline landscape.Request For Free Sample -Ocular hypertension occurs when the pressure inside the eye (intraocular pressure) is higher than normal. If the aqueous humor does not flow through the trabecular meshwork properly, fluid pressure in the eye builds up, causing ocular hypertension. There are no symptoms with ocular hypertension. Risk factors include age, family history of glaucoma, lower systemic blood pressure, thinner central cornea and bleeding at the optic nerve head. Treatment includes eye drops to reduce intraocular pressure.Report HighlightsMarket Research Hub's Pharmaceutical and Healthcare latest pipeline guide Ocular Hypertension - Pipeline Review, H2 2017, provides comprehensive information on the therapeutics under development for Ocular Hypertension (Ophthalmology), complete with analysis by stage of development, drug target, mechanism of action (MoA), route of administration (RoA) and molecule type. The guide covers the descriptive pharmacological action of the therapeutics, its complete research and development history and latest news and press releases.The Ocular Hypertension (Ophthalmology) pipeline guide also reviews of key players involved in therapeutic development for Ocular Hypertension and features dormant and discontinued projects. The guide covers therapeutics under Development by Companies /Universities /Institutes, the molecules developed by Companies in Pre-Registration, Filing rejected/Withdrawn, Phase III, Phase II, Phase I and Preclinical stages are 1, 1, 7, 14, 3 and 5 respectively. Similarly, the Universities portfolio in Preclinical stages comprises 1 molecules, respectively.Ocular Hypertension (Ophthalmology) pipeline guide helps in identifying and tracking emerging players in the market and their portfolios, enhances decision making capabilities and helps to create effective counter strategies to gain competitive advantage. The guide is built using data and information sourced from Market Research Hubs proprietary databases, company/university websites, clinical trial registries, conferences, SEC filings, investor presentations and featured press releases from company/university sites and industry-specific third party sources. Additionally, various dynamic tracking processes ensure that the most recent developments are captured on a real time basis.Browse Full Report With TOC -Scope- The pipeline guide provides a snapshot of the global therapeutic landscape of Ocular Hypertension (Ophthalmology).- The pipeline guide reviews pipeline therapeutics for Ocular Hypertension (Ophthalmology) by companies and universities/research institutes based on information derived from company and industry-specific sources.- The pipeline guide covers pipeline products based on several stages of development ranging from pre-registration till discovery and undisclosed stages.- The pipeline guide features descriptive drug profiles for the pipeline products which comprise, product description, descriptive licensing and collaboration details, R&D brief, MoA & other developmental activities.- The pipeline guide reviews key companies involved in Ocular Hypertension (Ophthalmology) therapeutics and enlists all their major and minor projects.- The pipeline guide evaluates Ocular Hypertension (Ophthalmology) therapeutics based on mechanism of action (MoA), drug target, route of administration (RoA) and molecule type.- The pipeline guide encapsulates all the dormant and discontinued pipeline projects.- The pipeline guide reviews latest news related to pipeline therapeutics for Ocular Hypertension (Ophthalmology)Reasons to buy- Procure strategically important competitor information, analysis, and insights to formulate effective R&D strategies.- Recognize emerging players with potentially strong product portfolio and create effective counter-strategies to gain competitive advantage.- Find and recognize significant and varied types of therapeutics under development for Ocular Hypertension (Ophthalmology).- Classify potential new clients or partners in the target demographic.- Develop tactical initiatives by understanding the focus areas of leading companies.- Plan mergers and acquisitions meritoriously by identifying key players and its most promising pipeline therapeutics.- Formulate corrective measures for pipeline projects by understanding Ocular Hypertension (Ophthalmology) pipeline depth and focus of Indication therapeutics.- Develop and design in-licensing and out-licensing strategies by identifying prospective partners with the most attractive projects to enhance and expand business potential and scope.- Adjust the therapeutic portfolio by recognizing discontinued projects and understand from the know-how what drove them from pipeline.Make an Enquiry:About Market Research Hub:Market Research Hub (MRH) is a next-generation reseller of research reports and analysis. MRHs expansive collection of market research reports has been carefully curated to help key personnel and decision makers across industry verticals to clearly visualize their operating environment and take strategic steps.MRH functions as an integrated platform for the following products and services: Objective and sound market forecasts, qualitative and quantitative analysis, incisive insight into defining industry trends, and market share estimates. Our reputation lies in delivering value and world-class capabilities to our clients.Contact Details:Contact Us90 State Street,Albany, NY 12207,United StatesToll Free : 800-998-4852 (US-Canada)Email : press@marketresearchhub.comWebsite :Read Industry News at -
Global Marine Firefighting Equipment Market 2017 to 2021 - Analysis of key players (Akron Brass, Amerex Fire International, Asiatic Fire System, Fireboy-Xintex, and Sea-Fire)

Market Research Nest - Marine Firefighting Equipment Market

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MarketResearchNest.com adds Global Marine Firefighting Equipment Market 2017-2021 new report to its research database. The report spread across in 88 pages with table and figures in it.Research analysts forecast the global marine firefighting equipment market to grow at a CAGR of 2.31% during the period 2017-2021.Marine firefighting equipment such as fire extinguishing systems, water mist, spray, and sprinkler systems, and fire detection and alarm systems is used in on board seaborne vessels to safeguard them from fire accidents. All sea vessels are required to carry a minimum number of marine firefighting equipment as per the regulations imposed by regulatory bodies. There are several regulations framed by the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Convention, particularly Regulation 10.10.4, which pertains to firefighting and the adoption of marine firefighting equipment in seafaring vessels.Browse full table of contents and data tables atTechnavio recognizes the following companies as the key players in the global marine firefighting equipment market: Akron Brass, Amerex Fire International, Asiatic Fire System, Fireboy-Xintex, and Sea-Fire.Other Prominent Vendors in the market are: BRK Brands, Danfoss Semco, Delta Fire, Elkhart Brass Manufacturing, Fluid Global Solutions, Garbarino Pumps Asia, Hochiki Europe, Jason Engineering, Kidde-Fenwal, NAFFCO, and Survitec Group.One trend in the market is restructuring of China's economy. China is the world's second-largest economy. The country is trying to restructure its economy, which is showing slow growth in recent years. The country's economic growth depends on the import of raw materials and export of finished goods. The trend in China's reform process has been initiated, which is changing the significant source for dry bulk demand and impacting the container and wet bulk sectors.Order a Premium Report Copy atAccording to the report, one driver in the market is growing international market for OPVs. Maritime security operations include the action undertaken by modern naval forces to battle illegal activities like piracy, slavery, and hijacking. These ships and vessels are engaged in offshore patrolling to combat sea-based terrorism. Currently, many countries are re-directing their defense strategies due to uncertainties in some regions like the Middle East and APAC. This will impact the market positively, as an increase in the demand for naval vessels will integrate safety aspects like marine firefighting equipment.Further, the report states that one challenge in the market is slowdown in South Korea's shipbuilding industry. The South Korean shipbuilding industry is witnessing a slowdown due to the plunge in global energy prices, overproduction of ships, and sluggishness in international trade. The country's three biggest shipbuilding companies, namely, Daewoo, Samsung Heavy Industries, and Hyundai Heavy Industries recorded losses in 2015 and 2016. In South Korea, the shipbuilding industry is a major contributor to the economic development and is important to the country's international position. The slowdown in South Korea's shipbuilding market has affected international trade and will have a negative impact on the demand for marine firefighting equipment.The study was conducted using an objective combination of primary and secondary information including inputs from key participants in the industry. The report contains a comprehensive market and vendor landscape in addition to a SWOT analysis of the key vendors.Inquiry before buying atMarketResearchNest.com is the most comprehensive collection of market research products and services on the Web. We offer reports from almost all top publishers and update our collection on daily basis to provide you with instant online access to the worlds most complete and recent database of expert insights on global industries, organizations, products, and trends.Mr. Jeet JainSales Managersales@marketresearchnest.com+1-240-284-8070 / +44-20-3290-4151Pune, India
U.S. Organic Wine Market Report - Share, Size, Trends, Growth and Forecast 2017-2025

http://www.indexbox.co.uk/store/us-organic-wine-market-analysis-and-forecast-to-2020?utm_source=opr

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IndexBox has just published a new report "U.S. Organic Wine Market. Analysis and Forecast To 2025" ().The report provides a comprehensive survey of the U.S. organic wine market. It depicts the latest data of the market size and volume, domestic production, exports and imports, price dynamics and turnover in the industry. The outlook indicates market perspectives to 2025.Countries coverage: the U.S.Product coverage:Organic WineData coverage: Market value Volume and dynamics of organic wine production Key market players and their profiles Volume and dynamics of organic wine exports/imports Producer prices, import/export prices Forecast of the market dynamics in the medium term Per Capita ConsumptionReasons to buy this report: Take advantage of the latest data; Find deeper insights into current organic wine market developments; Discover vital success factors affecting the market.Source:IndexBox is a leading market research publisher in the world. You can find more than 25,000 research reports in our web store, which cover global industries and regional markets. All the worldwide marketing data you need is at your fingertips.Company Name: IndexBoxContact Person: Kirill BezverhiEmail: kirill.bezverhi@indexbox.co.ukPhone: +44 20 3239 3063Adress: United Kingdom, 44 Main Street, Douglas, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, ML11 0QW
Pressure Sensitive Adhesives Market growing at a CAGR of 6.3%

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Reports And Markets Publish a New Market Research Report On "Pressure Sensitive Adhesives Market - Segmented by Technology, Application and Geography - Trends and Forecasts (2017 - 2022)"Access Full Report With Table Of Contents @The global pressure sensitive adhesives market is currently valued at USD 5,962.7 million in 2014 and is expected to reach USD 8,602.85 million by 2020, growing at a CAGR of 6.3% during the forecast period 2014-2020Pressure sensitive adhesives (PSA) or self-stick adhesives are those adhesives which form a bond between the adhesive and adherent when pressure is applied. They maintain a fine balance between adhesion and cohesion. These adhesives do not require a chemical reaction to develop the adhesion force.They do not need activation either by heat, water or solvent to apply a strong holding force on the various materials such as plastic, cement, metal, paper, and wood. Pressure sensitive adhesives (PSA), owing to their viscous and elastic properties, and peel & shear resistance properties combined with initial tack, are becoming an integral part of various commercial and industrial sectors.Market Dynamics of the Global Pressure Sensitive Adhesives MarketDrivers:Increasing adoption of low-cost flexible packagingRapidly growing market in the Asia-Pacific region due to growing construction and automotive industryRestraints:Volatility in the raw material pricesStringent environmental regulations regarding VOC emissionsGlobal Pressure Sensitive Adhesives Market SegmentationThe global pressure sensitive adhesives (PSA) market can be broadly segmented on the basis of technology (water-borne, solvent-borne, hot melt, and radiation), and on the basis of applications (tapes, labels, graphics, and others). The water-borne technology segment, in terms of technology, is expected to be the fastest-growing segment in the market owing to the enactment of stern environmental regulations by the governments across the world to reduce the VOC emissions. The tapes segment, in terms of applications, accounted for about XX.XX% share of the global pressure sensitive adhesives (PSA) market in 2014.The market has also been geographically segmented into the Asia-Pacific, North America, Europe, South America, and Middle-East & Africa. In terms of consumption in 2014, APAC led the market with a share of about 56%. With the improvement in the financial status of the consumers, the purchasing power of the middle-class consumers has increased, which in turn, is increasing the demand for automobiles and buildings in the Asia-Pacific region, in turn making the region an area of immense potential and opportunities. However, the volatility in the raw material prices in the region has considerably hindered the growth of this market.Request For Sample Report @Furthermore, the recovering construction industry in the European region and adoption of bio-based pressure sensitive adhesives will offer numerous opportunities for the growth of the global pressure sensitive adhesives (PSA) market. Some of the major players in the pressure sensitive adhesives market discussed in the report are:3MArkema Group (Bostik SA)Avery DennisonCollano Adhesives AGFranklin InternationalH.B. FullerJowat AGSika AGKey Deliverables in the StudyMarket analysis for the global pressure sensitive adhesives (PSA) market, with region specific assessments and competition analysis on a global and regional scale.Market definition along with the identification of key drivers and restraints.Identification of factors instrumental in changing the market scenarios, rising prospective opportunities, and identification of key companies that can influence this market on a global and regional scale.Extensively researched competitive landscape section with profiles of major companies along with their market share.Identification and analysis of the macro and micro factors that affect the global pressure sensitive adhesives (PSA) market on both global and regional scale.A comprehensive list of key market players along with the analysis of their current strategic interests and key financial information.A wide-ranging knowledge and insights about the major players in this industry and the key strategies adopted by them to sustain and grow in the studied market.Insights on the major countries/regions where this industry is growing and to also identify the regions that are still untapped.Check Discount @For more information or any query mail at sales@reportsandmarkets.comAbout Reports And MarketsReports And Markets is part of the Algoro Research Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe.Are you mastering your market? Do you know what the market potential is for your product, who the market players are and what the growth forecast is? We offer standard global, regional or country specific market research studies for almost every market you can imagine.Contact PersonSanjay JainManager - Partner Relations & International Marketinginfo@reportsandmarkets.comPh: +1-214-377-1121 (US), +44-020-3286-9338 (UK)
Future of the Switching Mode Power Supply  Market Attractiveness, Competitive Landscape and Key Players SIEMENS, Omron, PHOENIX

Switching Mode Power Supply Market

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A new research document with title 'Global and United States Switching Mode Power Supply In-Depth Research Report 2017-2022 covering detailed analysis, Competitive landscape, forecast and strategies. The study covers geographic analysis that includes regions like North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia & Pacific, Africa & Middle East and important players/vendors such as SIEMENS, Omron, PHOENIX etc. The report will help user gain market insights, future trends and growth prospects for forecast period of 2017-2022.Request a sample report @The report is based on the market historical data from 2012 to 2016 and forecast the market trend from 2017 to 2022.This report focuses on the U.S. market and presents volume and value of market share by players, by regions, by product type, by consumers and also changes in prices. As an in-depth report, it covers all details inside analysis and opinions in Switching Mode Power Supply industry.Major CompaniesSchneider(France)SIEMENS(Germany)Omron(Japan)PHOENIX(Germany)TDK-Lambda(Japan)DELTA(Taiwan, China)ABB(Switzerland)Puls(Germany)4NIC(China)UPBRIGHT(US)Digipartspower(US)MOSO(China)MEAN WELL(Taiwan, China)DELIXI(China)CHINA ELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY GROUP CORPORATION(China)CHNT(China)Buy this report @Key RegionsNorth AmericaUnited StatesCaliforniaTexasNew YorkOthersCanadaLatin AmericaMexicoBrazilArgentinaOthersEuropeGermanyUnited KingdomFranceItalySpainRussiaNetherlandOthersAsia & PacificChinaJapanIndiaKoreaAustraliaSoutheast AsiaIndonesiaThailandPhilippinesVietnamSingaporeMalaysiaOthersAfrica & Middle EastSouth AfricaEgyptTurkeySaudi ArabiaIranOthersMain types of productsSwitching Mode Power Supply Market, by Main TypeDC Switching Mode Power SupplyAC Switching Mode Power SupplySwitching Mode Power Supply Market, by Main ClassificationMicro Low Power Switching Mode Power SupplyReverse Series Switching Mode Power SupplySwitching Mode Power Supply Market, by Connection MethodSeries Switching Mode Power SupplyParallel Switching Mode Power SupplyTransformer Switching Mode Power SupplySwitching Mode Power Supply Market, by Key ConsumersElectronic Power EquipmentInstrument and EquipmentCommunication EquipmentMilitary EquipmentMedical EquipmentGet customization & check discount for report @Table of ContentsGlobal and United States Switching Mode Power Supply In-Depth Research Report 2017-2022Chapter One Global Switching Mode Power Supply Market Overview1.1 Global Switching Mode Power Supply Market Sales Volume Revenue and Price 2012-20171.2 Switching Mode Power Supply, by Main Type 2012-20171.2.1 Global Switching Mode Power Supply Sales Market Share by Main Type 2012-20171.2.2 Global Switching Mode Power Supply Revenue Market Share by Main Type 2012-20171.2.3 Global Switching Mode Power Supply Price by Main Type 2012-20171.2.4 DC Switching Mode Power Supply1.2.5 AC Switching Mode Power Supply1.3 Switching Mode Power Supply, by Main Classification 2012-20171.3.1 Global Switching Mode Power Supply Sales Market Share by Main Classification 2012-20171.3.2 Global Switching Mode Power Supply Revenue Market Share by Main Classification 2012-20171.3.3 Global Switching Mode Power Supply Price by Main Classification 2012-20171.3.4 Micro Low Power Switching Mode Power Supply1.3.5 Reverse Series Switching Mode Power Supply1.4 Switching Mode Power Supply, by Connection Method 2012-20171.4.1 Global Switching Mode Power Supply Sales Market Share by Connection Method 2012-20171.4.2 Global Switching Mode Power Supply Revenue Market Share by Connection Method 2012-20171.4.3 Global Switching Mode Power Supply Price by Connection Method 2012-20171.4.4 Series Switching Mode Power Supply1.4.5 Parallel Switching Mode Power Supply1.4.6 Transformer Switching Mode Power Supply....ContinuedView Detailed Table of Content @Thanks for reading this article, you can also get individual chapter wise section or region wise report version like North America, Europe or Asia.HTF Market Report is a wholly owned brand of HTF market Intelligence Consulting Private Limited. HTF Market Report global research and market intelligence consulting organization is uniquely positioned to not only identify growth opportunities but to also empower and inspire you to create visionary growth strategies for futures, enabled by our extraordinary depth and breadth of thought leadership, research, tools, events and experience that assist you for making goals into a reality. Our understanding of the interplay between industry convergence, Mega Trends, technologies and market trends provides our clients with new business models and expansion opportunities. We are focused on identifying the Accurate Forecast in every industry we cover so our clients can reap the benefits of being early market entrants and can accomplish their Goals & Objectives.Contact Us:HTF Market Intelligence Consulting Private LimitedUnit No. 429, Parsonage Road, Edison, NJ USA - 08837sales@htfmarketreport.comPh: +1 (206) 317 1218
Colorectal Cancer Diagnostics Market to Reach US$ 2,000 Mn by 2022

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The global colorectal cancer diagnostics market is anticipated to exhibit an impressive expansion at a CAGR of 8.5% during the forecast period 2017 to 2022, according to a report by Fact.MR. Global revenues from the market is projected to surpass US$ 2,000 Mn by 2022-end.According to the World Cancer Research Fund, colorectal cancer forms the third-most occurring type of cancer across the globe. In 2012, over 1 Mn cases of colorectal cancer were diagnosed. Majority of these cases were reported across developed economies, and this is further estimated to exceed in the near future. This rise in incidences of colorectal cancer has boosted demand for its diagnostics, treatment, and therapeutics worldwide. However, the number of deaths owing to colorectal cancer has been witnessing a decline since recent past, owing to the awareness spread by the American Cancer Society. The introduction of more effective diagnostics, and development of screening methods are further expected to drive growth of the global colorectal cancer diagnostics market.Request For Report Sample:The advent of new diagnostic tests, increasing uptakes of diagnosis-associated therapies, and initiatives taken by private as well as government organisations are some factors expected to propel growth of the global market for colorectal cancer diagnostics. Increasing unmet requirements across several emerging economies, coupled with the absence of neoadjuvant and adjuvant pipeline agents for diagnosing high-risk patients affected with resectable colorectal cancer is expected to create huge growth opportunities for leading players in the market. However, factors such as growing reluctance towards medications of colorectal cancer by patients, and unawareness across several remote regions of the globe is expected to inhibit the market growth.6 Key Projections for the Global Colorectal Cancer Diagnostics MarketNorth America will continue to be the most lucrative region for the colorectal cancer diagnostics market. Revenue from market in North America is expected to surpass US$ 800 Mn by 2022-end.The colorectal cancer diagnostics market in Asia Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ) is expected to register the fastest expansion during the forecast period. However, revenue from the market in Middle East & Africa (MEA) will continue to be sluggish during the forecast period.Request For Discount:By test type, FOB will continue to be the largest adopted test for diagnosis of colorectal cancer across the globe. Revenue from FOB tests for colorectal cancer diagnostics will remain largest, followed by CTC tests.Immunochemistry tests for colorectal cancer diagnostics will exhibit the highest CAGR through 2022. However, revenue from BRAF tests will remain the lowest in the global colorectal cancer diagnostics market during the forecast period.On the basis of end-users, although hospital-associated labs will remain sought-after in the market, cancer research institutes will continue to register the fastest expansion during the forecast period.Revenues from hospital-associated labs for colorectal cancer diagnostics are expected to reach nearly US$ 1,000 Mn by 2022-end. Independent diagnostic laboratories will continue to be the second most lucrative end-users in the global colorectal cancer diagnostics market.The report also includes a comprehensive landscape of global market for colorectal cancer diagnostics, where companies namely Illumina, Inc., Foundation Medicine, Inc., Sysmex Corporation, Cancer Genetics, Inc., Danaher Corporation, Biocept, Inc, Pathway Genomics Corporation, Rosetta Genomics, Epigenomics AG, and Exact Science Corporation are profiled.Browse Full Report:ABOUT US:Fact.MR is focused on offering transformative intelligence that inspires breakthroughs and innovation. We believe that the right decisions at the opportune time are integral to achieve extraordinary success. We are here to help you with your strategic decision making.CONTACT:Suite 988427 Upper Pembroke Street,Dublin 2, IrelandPhone: +353-1-6111-593Email: sales@factmr.comWebsite:
Influenza Vaccine Market Outlook 2017: Opportunity,Demand Analysis and Market Forecast

dpi

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United States flu vaccine market is expected to reach nearly US$ 3 Billion by 2024.Growth in US flu vaccine market can be attributed to factors such as increased disease awareness, expanded recommendations by governmental and advisory bodies to be vaccinated against flu vaccine and introduction of quadrivalent flu vaccine.Longterm Growth Projection and Development: Sanofi to Acquire Protein Sciences Corporation It is likely that more than 185 Million persons being vaccinated with flu vaccines in 2024 Nearly 160 Million doses of flu vaccines have shipped to US for the 2017-2018 flu season It is projected that GSK flu vaccine sales value will reach around US$ 1.5 Billion by 2024 BiondVax reports positive phase 2b clinical trial results for its universal flu vaccineFlu Vaccine Market Outlook 2024: United States Opportunity and Demand Analysis, Market Forecast 2017-2024 provides a deep and thorough evaluation of the United States flu vaccine market. The report provides an indepth analysis of the flu vaccination pattern in both Children and Adults in the United States. It also provides essential insights into flu vaccine production, price, consumption, supply, distribution, demand and specification. It also covers reimbursement pattern and offers a clear view of the regulatory landscape. Additionally, the report includes assessment of clinical trials and promising flu vaccines in the clinical development. Key trends in terms of M&A, collaborations and licensing agreements are analyzed with details.The report concludes with the profiles of major players in the US flu vaccine market such as Sanofi Pasteur, GSK and Seqirus. The major market players are evaluated on various parameters such as company overview, product outlook, latest development & trends and sales analysis of flu vaccine market from 2011 to 2022. The report also entails major drivers and inhibitors in the US flu vaccine market.Complete Report @Key Topics Covered in the Report Market Overview: United States Flu Vaccine Market (2010 - 2024) United States Number of Persons Vaccinated with Flu Vaccine (2010 - 2024) United States Flu Vaccine Production, Price, Consumption, Supply, Distribution, Demand and Specification Reimbursement & Regulatory System in the US Flu Vaccine Market Mergers, Acquisitions, Key Agreements & Collaborations Promising Flu Vaccine in Clinical Development Flu Vaccine Clinical Trial Insights by Phase, Company & Country Key Drivers and Inhibitors of the US Flu Vaccine Market Key Companies AnalysisMajor Flu Vaccines Covered Under This Report Are: Fluzone HighDose Fluzone Quadrivalent Intradermal (ID) Trivalent Vaxigrip Fluarix Quadrivalent Flulaval Quadrivalent Flucelvax Quadrivalent Afluria Quadrivalent Agrippal Fluad Fluvirin FluvaxKey Companies Covered in This Report: Seqirus Sanofi Pasteur GlaxoSmithKline(GSK)DPI Research is a business solutions firm which offer bespoke market research reports, custom research solutions and consulting across multi geographies and industry verticals. We deliver wide range of cutting-edge research solutions that helps organizations in making better decisions of the business to business needs.DPI Research provides high standard of business research reports to the clients across industry verticals comprising Life Sciences, Information Technology, Telecom & Internet, Food Beverages & Agriculture, Travel & Tourism, Consumer Goods & Retail, Education and Social Sciences. We are committed to use advanced analytical tools and methodologies to help clients with crucial industry information for decision making.DPI Research approaches for the business research led by a team of dynamic industry experts. DPI Research provides a real insight for effective decisions to help business with the help of current source and accurate data available in the market. DPI Research reach across the globe with global standards from established markets in the North America and Europe to emerging markets in South America, Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa to provide the best business solutions.Maria RaiTel :+91 -7289949987Email: sales@dpiresearch.comWebsite:
Specialty Silicones Market growing at a CAGR of 8.32% during the period (2017 - 2022)

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Reports And Markets Publish a New Market Research Report On "Specialty Silicones Market - Segmented by Product Type, Application, and Geography - Trends and Forecasts (2017 - 2022)"Access Full Report With Table Of Contents @The Global Specialty Silicones Market has been estimated at XX.XX million tons in 2015 and is projected to reach XX.XX million tons by 2020, at a CAGR of XX.XX% during the forecast period. Silicones are polymers, which include inert and synthetic compounds that are made from repeating units of siloxane. Silicones are versatile products, and aids in enhancing the product performance, longevity, and make them more effective. Specialty Silicones are famous for their durability features.Silicones, owing to their thermal stability, low chemical reactivity, low toxicity, and heat and water resistance properties, are becoming an integral part from numerous industrial and commercial applications. In the Global Specialty Silicones market report, we have taken the following major end-user sectors into consideration: Textile, Healthcare, Electronics, Fertilizer, Construction, Beauty and Personal Care, Chemical Manufacturing (Resins and coatings), Automotive, Agriculture, Food Processing Industries, Energy, and Others.This market is driven by a number of factors, such as wide range of applications, new product developments to gain competitive edge in the market, and excellent chemical properties. However, this market faces certain drawbacks, such as high manufacturing costs, stringent regulatory issues in the personal care and cosmetics products industry. These factors may act as a roadblock to the growth of the market.Request For Sample Report @The global Specialty Silicones market, on the basis of product type, can be broadly segmented into Antifoam/Defoaming agents, Silicone Elastomers, Mould Release, forming, casting and curing, Silicone Greases, Silicone Surfactants, Silicone Polish/Shinning Agent, Silicone Textile Softeners, Silicone Water Repellants, Silicone Rubber, Thin Silicone Membranes, Custome Silicone Compounds,. The silicone elastomers segment accounted for the highest share in the global Specialty Silicones market in 2015. The segment is expected to reach about USD 12.89 billion by 2020, growing at a CAGR of 8.32% during the period (2017 - 2022).The market has been geographically segmented into Asia-Pacific, North America, Europe, South America, and Middle-East and Africa. In terms of consumption in 2015, APAC led the market with a share of XX.XX%. The improvement in the financial status of the consumers and the rise in their purchasing power, is increasing the demand for automobiles and buildings and need for infrastructural development in the Asia-Pacific region, in turn making the region an area of immense potential and opportunities.Furthermore, the increasing demand from the end-user industries such as construction, textile, and appliances will offer numerous opportunities in the growth of the Global Specialty Silicones Market. Some of the major companies dominating this market for its products, services, and continuous product developments are Evonik Industries, Dow Corning Corp., Siltech, Momentive Performance Materials Inc., AB Specialty Silicones, and KCC Basildon.Key Deliverables in the StudyMarket analysis for the Global Specialty Silicones Market, with region specific assessments and competition analysis on global and regional scalesMarket definition along with the identification of key drivers and restraintsIdentification of factors instrumental in changing the market scenarios, rising prospective opportunities, and identification of key companies that can influence this market on a global and regional scaleExtensively researched competitive landscape section with profiles of major companies along with their market sharesIdentification and analysis of the macro and micro factors that affect the Specialty Silicones market on both global and regional scalesA comprehensive list of key market players along with the analysis of their current strategic interests and key financial informationA wide-ranging knowledge and insights about the major players in this industry and the key strategies adopted by them to sustain and grow in the studied marketInsights on the major countries/regions in which this industry is blooming and to also identify the regions that are still untappedCheck Discount @For more information or any query mail at sales@reportsandmarkets.comAbout Reports And MarketsReports And Markets is part of the Algoro Research Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe.Are you mastering your market? Do you know what the market potential is for your product, who the market players are and what the growth forecast is? We offer standard global, regional or country specific market research studies for almost every market you can imagine.Contact PersonSanjay JainManager - Partner Relations & International Marketinginfo@reportsandmarkets.comPh: +1-214-377-1121 (US), +44-020-3286-9338 (UK)
Charlottesville And The Idolatry Of Hatred, Violence, And Vengeance - Joseph Ganci Author Of 'Gideon,' Issues Statement

Author Joseph Gance

http://www.gideonsglory.com

Hatred and violence are part and parcel of the human condition. We nevertheless like to believe, in this modern day and age, we have become more refined, cosmopolitan and enlightened. But have we made progress? The recent events in Charlottesville might make us pause before answering that question. Have we, as a society, managed to eliminate hatred, violence, and vengeance? Or are we still whistling in the graveyard of unrealized human potential? Joseph Ganci, the author of 'Gideon, The Sound, And The Glory,' recently issued a statement that shows us very little social progress is evident in the last three thousand years. Also, the current political landscape and modern-day happenings seem to mirror events related in the Bible."The years of Gideon, the son of Joash, were many. Israel enjoyed the sweet fruits of peace and prosperity. Gideons judgments always proclaimed the highest moral compassion. Gideon refused to be king, either his sons or their sons. For he labored all his days in the service of God and for Israel. Gideon sought no worldly acclaim or require the taxing bread from the sweat of another mans toil. He practiced love and tolerance and led by example. Gideon was always even-handed under the law - for both Israel and Canaan; both flourished under his leadership.""Upon the death of Gideon, a political coup was in the making. Gideons spoiled love child Abimelech, which means, 'my father is king,' would take evil under his wing. Abimelech would be king at all costs, descending to the wholesale slaughter of his seventy brothers - destroying Israels congress of judges. He pitted Canaan against Israel with nefarious allegations - and with the promise of a former glory, and all to gain power over their neighbors."Gideon cover"Abimelech took possession of the Baal-bereth, a well-meaning covenant with the Lord of hosts that his father Gideon created as a token to prove his undying love and affection for Jehovah. Abimelech turned this pure-gold and jewel-encrusted artifact into an evil standard to ensnare the righteous - and rally the rabel back into the idolatry of hatred, violence - and vengeance.""Three thousand years have passed, but history has taught us little, or nothing? For in every age an Abimelech raises his ugly head, and for the sake of control that pits brother against brother. And so, encourages carnage and mayhem to satisfy one insatiable mans lust for fame, fortune, and unrighteous dominion over the souls of men."'Gideon: The Sound and the Glory' has received rave reviews from readers and reviewers alike. A recent reviewer stated, "Joseph Gancis prose is arresting, peppered with fantastic imagery and succinct descriptions of plot, characters, and setting. The themes are masterfully created, and they are woven into the story in a way that allows the reader to enjoy both the inspiration the story offers and the accompanying action. The book explores powerful spiritual and political themes, capturing the conflicts and the dynamics of life within the community of God's chosen people. Gideon: The Sound and the Glory will appeal to fans of political thrillers, adventure, and conflict-driven stories laced with intense action." Other reviewers have used phrases such as "riveting," "amazing" "deftly crafted" and "highly recommended."Ganci has also announced he will make his book available as a fundraising tool for like-minded associations and charities. Donors can receive an eBook version of 'Gideon' in exchange for a donation to a worthy cause. For more details, contact Joseph via email.Joseph Ganci is available for media interviews and can be reached using the information below or by email at joseph@gideonsglory.com. 'Gideon: The Sound and the Glory' is available in both print, eBook, and a superb, ethnically correct audio narration. All from online retailers. More information is available at Ganci's website.Joseph Ganci is a Levite and a high priest and remains a passionate Italian. He is a Vietnam combat veteran and is the father of five daughters and five grandchildren. He resides in Texas.PO Box 1613Shallotte, NC 28459
The drive for Mount Zion-area residents wanting to get their fill of south of the border food and drinks has gotten shorter, again

Las Margaritas opened last month at 1745 Village Parkway in Mount Zion, filling the spot that had been filled by another Mexican restaurant, La Hacienda.

Co-owner Arturo Reyes said he and his business partners, Pachi Mortero and Julio Garcia, previously worked for Reyes uncle at Coronas Mexican Bar and Grill at 2350 S. Mount Zion Road.

After working in the restaurant industry for years, Reyes said the three men decided it was time to come together and go into business for themselves.

It was kind of like when a little bird starts to flap its wings for the first time, he said. It was just time for us to do something on our own.

Reyes knows the former owner of La Hacienda personally, and both decided that location would be perfect for Las Margaritas because all of the equipment they needed was still there.

It wasnt going to cost as much for us to open up there, Reyes said. This was great for us, because it gives us a chance to start low, and see what we can achieve on our own.

Reyes knows that his business faces competition from nearby Coronas and El Corral at 3655 E. Route 36. Not only does he believe that Las Margaritas can hold its own against the others, he thinks the restaurants signature menu items will stand out and attract customers.

One dish, in particular, that Reyes recommends is the Molcajete Mexicano, which is served in a hot stone and topped with carne asada, grilled chicken, sauteed onions, chopped cactus and homemade chipotle sauce.

They come back for those dishes. That, and just trying to eat some good food with good service, Reyes said. We were employees once, so we know how to treat the customers.

Las Margaritas is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. For more information, call (217) 864-1562.

***

Mount Zion also is home to a new sales branch for Aladdin Steel Inc.

Steve Hittmeier has been promoted to branch manager and has been tasked with staffing and managing the location. The office is located at 436 Sunset Court.

Aladdin Steel Inc., headquartered in Gillespie, Ill., stocks one of the largest and most varied inventories of steel tubing and pipe available in the United States. The company stocks custom sizes, carries a full selection of galvanized pipe, as well as aluminized and galvanized tubing. They provide cutting and de-burring services, and are responsive to special needs.

Aladdin Steel has over 400,000 square feet of inside storage and now stocks more than 20,000 tons of steel tubing and pipe. The company has offices in Illinois and Missouri and services customers throughout the United States.

***

On the other end of the county, Forsyth officials announced a Casey's General Store will locate at 111 E. Cox St.

This location currently is an empty lot that has been for sale for months, the village said. The Caseys will be directly across the highway east of Menards. Casey's has not announced a date for the store to open.

Andrew Zupkoff, Forsyth community and economic development coordinator, said in a news release that Forsyth officials the development provides another nationally recognized brand in the section of the village.

A study of Forsyths marketplace showed there is enough support for another gas station and convenience store, Zupkoff said.

***

Matthew Bullock Auctioneers, a firm based in Ottawa, is liquidating the contents of the former Ruby Tuesday building at 4405 East U.S. 36.

Bidding for the online-only auction began Aug. 16, and will end at 7 p.m. Sunday, according to auctioneer Matt Bullock. He said that everything from light fixtures, kitchen equipment and the Ruby Tuesday signage will be sold to the public.

Bullock said that anyone interested in the auction should visit his firm's website, bullockauctioneers.com. Potential bidders can see the equipment in person from noon to 4 p.m. Sunday at the former restaurant, he said.

Pasadena, Calif.-based restaurant chain Dog Haus has announced it will open a new location at the site.
Ionic Exchange Based Liquid Nuclear Waste Treatment Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2017  2025

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The report estimates and forecasts the Ionic Exchange based Liquid Nuclear Waste Treatment market on the global and regional levels. The study provides forecast between 2017 and 2025 based on revenue (US$ Mn) with 2016 as the base year. The report comprises an exhaustive value chain analysis for each of the segments. It provides a comprehensive view of the market. Value chain analysis also offers detailed information about value addition at each stage. The study includes drivers and restraints for the Ionic Exchange based Liquid Nuclear Waste Treatment market along with their impact on demand during the forecast period. The study also provides key market indicators affecting the growth of the market. The report analyzes opportunities in the Ionic Exchange based Liquid Nuclear Waste Treatment market on the global and regional level. Drivers, restraints, and opportunities mentioned in the report are justified through quantitative and qualitative data. These have been verified through primary and secondary resources. Furthermore, the report analyzes substitute analysis of Ionic Exchange based Liquid Nuclear Waste Treatment and global average price trend analysis.Request Free Sample Report:Global IE based Liquid Nuclear Waste Treatment Market: Scope of StudyThe report includes Porters Five Forces Model to determine the degree of competition in the Ionic Exchange based Liquid Nuclear Waste Treatment market. The report comprises a qualitative write-up on market attractiveness analysis, wherein end-users and regions have been analyzed based on attractiveness for each region. Growth rate, market size, raw material availability, profit margin, impact strength, technology, competition, and other factors (such as environmental and legal) have been evaluated in order to derive the general attractiveness of the market.The study provides a comprehensive view of the Ionic Exchange based Liquid Nuclear Waste Treatment market by dividing it into ionic exchange process, liquid waste type, liquid waste source and geography segments. The ionic exchange process have been segmented into Inorganic Natural Ion Exchangers, Organic Natural Ion Exchangers, Synthetic inorganic Ion Exchangers, Synthetic Organic Ion Exchangers, Modified Natural Ion Exchangers, and Others. The liquid waste type are segmented into Low Level Waste, Intermediate Level Waste, and High Level Waste. These segments have been analyzed based on historic, present, and future trends.Global IE based Liquid Nuclear Waste Treatment Market: Research MethodologySecondary research sources that were typically referred to include, but were not limited to, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), World Nuclear Association (WNA), IPFM: International Panel for Fissile Material, company websites, financial reports, annual reports, investor presentations, broker reports, and SEC filings. Other sources such as internal and external proprietary databases, statistical databases and market reports, news articles, national government documents, and webcasts specific to companies operating in the market have also been referred for the report.In-depth interviews and discussions with a wide range of key opinion leaders and industry participants were conducted to compile this research report. Primary research represents the bulk of research efforts, supplemented by extensive secondary research. Key players product literature, annual reports, press releases, and relevant documents were reviewed for competitive analysis and market understanding. This helped in validating and strengthening secondary research findings. Primary research further helped in developing the analysis teams expertise and market understanding.Global IE based Liquid Nuclear Waste Treatment Market: Market Segmentation Liquid nuclear waste from nuclear reactors needs intensive treatment before its storage and disposal into the environment. Liquid nuclear waste can be categorized into three segments: high level liquid nuclear waste, low level liquid nuclear waste, and intermediate level liquid nuclear waste. There are mainly five types of ionic exchangers that are utilized around the globe for the treatment of the liquid nuclear waste. Inorganic natural ion exchangers, organic natural ionic exchangers, synthetic inorganic ionic exchangers, synthetic organic ionic exchangers, and modified natural ionic exchangers. All ionic exchanger works on the ionic exchanged process which reduce the radioactive nucleoids into precipitates and reduce the radioactivity of the waste water. Low level and intermediate level liquid nuclear waste is treated effectively by the help of ionic exchangers. High level waste needs to be stored in underground storage, far from human interventions, for longer time duration before its radioactivity decays naturally to permissible limits for the ionic exchange treatment. There are primarily five types of nuclear reactors operating in different parts of the globe. These are pressurized water reactors, gas cooled reactors, pressurized heavy water reactors, boiling water reactors and others. Pressurized heavy water reactors and boiling water reactors produces large volume of radioactive liquid waste as compared to gas cooled reactors and pressurized water reactors. Among different types of ionic exchangers, majority of the liquid radioactive waste is treated by inorganic natural ionic exchangers. Others ionic exchangers such as organic natural ionic exchangers, synthetic inorganic ionic exchangers, synthetic organic ionic exchangers, and modified natural ionic exchangers are also employed. Regional segmentation includes the current and forecast consumption of Ionic Exchange based Liquid Nuclear Waste Treatment in North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Middle East & Africa (MEA). Market segmentation includes demand for consumption in all the regions individually.Browse Full Report With TOC:Global IE based Liquid Nuclear Waste Treatment Market: Competitive LandscapeThe report covers detailed competitive outlook that includes market share and profiles of key players operating in the global market. Key players profiled in the report include Areva SA, Bechtel Corporation, Augean PLC, SRCL Limited, Fluor Corporation, and Svensk Karnbranslehantering AB. Company profiles include attributes such as company overview, number of employees, brand overview, key competitors, business overview, business strategies, recent/key developments, acquisitions, and financial overview (wherever applicable).The global Ionic Exchange based Liquid Nuclear Waste Treatment market has been segmented as follows:Ionic Exchange based Liquid Nuclear Waste Treatment Market  Ionic exchange process Analysis Inorganic Natural Ion Exchangers Organic Natural Ion Exchangers Synthetic inorganic Ion Exchangers Synthetic Organic Ion Exchangers Modified Natural Ion Exchangers OthersIonic Exchange based Liquid Nuclear Waste Treatment Market  Liquid waste type Analysis Low Level Waste Intermediate Level Waste High Level WasteIonic Exchange based Liquid Nuclear Waste Treatment Market  Liquid waste Source Analysis Inorganic Natural Ion Exchangers Water Reactor (BWR) Organic Natural Ion Exchangers Cooled Reactors (GCR) Pressurized Water Reactors (PWR) Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWR) OthersIonic Exchange based Liquid Nuclear Waste Treatment Market  Regional Analysis North America U.S. Canada Latin America Brazil Mexico Rest of Latin America Europe Germany France U.K. Russia Belgium Rest of Europe Asia Pacific China Japan India South Korea Rest of Asia Pacific Middle East & Africa GCC South Africa Rest of Middle East & AfricaEnquire About this Report:In a word, the report provides major statistics on the state of the industry and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the market.About Market Research Hub:Market Research Hub (MRH) is a next-generation reseller of research reports and analysis. MRHs expansive collection of market research reports has been carefully curated to help key personnel and decision makers across industry verticals to clearly visualize their operating environment and take strategic steps.MRH functions as an integrated platform for the following products and services: Objective and sound market forecasts, qualitative and quantitative analysis, incisive insight into defining industry trends, and market share estimates. Our reputation lies in delivering value and world-class capabilities to our clients.Contact Us90 State Street,Albany, NY 12207,United StatesToll Free: 800-998-4852 (US-Canada)Email: press@marketresearchhub.comWebsite:Read Industry News at -
Fixed-mobile Convergence in Middle East and North Africa

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Market Research Hub (MRH) has recently broadcasted a new study to its broad research portfolio, which is titled as Fixed-mobile Convergence in Middle East and North Africa, provides an overview of the state of fixed-mobile convergence (FMC) in the MENA region. The report draws from examples of fixed-mobile convergence from operators around the world to understand the market conditions which lead to convergence. The report first provides an overall introduction to FMC and a comparison of FMC development in different regions. It offers an analysis of the pathway in which operators converge, and examines the benefits of convergence, with examples from operators. Then it provides an overview of the MENA region in terms of FMC, and analyzes the conditions for those markets which have already seen convergence, as well as those who have not. Looking at 11 MENA markets in particular, the report provides and in-depth comparison of different conditions relevant to FMC development. Then the report dives into three case studies of fixed-mobile convergence in MENA: Bahrain, Egypt, and Turkey. The report concludes with recommendations for operators interested in pursuing FMC.Request For Free Sample Report:Fixed-mobile convergence (FMC) has emerged in some competitive markets as a way for operators to differentiate and pursue growth. In MENA, FMC is nascent, with only a handful of opreators offering converged services. There are a number of market and regulatory conditions which support or hinder the development of FMC.Scope- Compared to Europe, where some operators have pursued fixed-mobile convergence as their central strategy, MENA has seen relatively few cases of convergence, and all of them relatively recent or at an early stage.- The state of competition, regulation, and base of subscribers bi-equipped for both fixed and mobile services are key for the development of convergence.- There is scope for more fixed-mobile convergence development in MENA. However, the feasibility and entrance point of convergence depends on the unique conditions of each market and the profile of each operator.Reasons to buy- This Insider Report provides a comprehensive examination of the market conditions and business models for fixed-mobile convergence, to help executives fully understand market dynamics, determine what works and what doesnt, formulate effective product development plans and optimize resource allocation and return on investments.- Three case studies illustrate the findings of the report, providing insight into particular situations in the fixed-mobile market in MENA; this will help the reader understand both the challenges confronted in the real world and the strategies employed to overcome those challenges.- The report discusses concrete opportunities in fixed-mobile convergence in MENA, providing a number of actionable recommendations for operators.- Eleven MENA markets are compared in terms of market competition, regulation, and subscriber base; providing an overview of the conditions facilitating and hindering convergence for the region.Browse Full Report with TOC:Table of ContentExecutive summarySection 1: Introduction to fixed-mobile convergence (FMC)Section 2: MENA market overviewSection 3: Case studiesSection 4: Key findings and recommendationsList of TablesExhibit 1: Common convergence strategiesExhibit 2: FMC households penetration by regionExhibit 3: Generic phases of market development and examples of product bundleExhibit 4: Typical conditions for rapid convergence market developmentExhibit 5: Plus Poland mobile + mobile broadband/pay-TVExhibit 6: KPN Netherlands FMC benefitsExhibit 7: FMC effect on Portugal TelecomExhibit 8: Expected and actual OPEX and CAPEX range synergy from integrating fixed and mobile networksExhibit 9: Markets with converged services in MENAExhibit 10: Typical conditions for FMC development in MENAExhibit 11: Competition in MENA mobile markets 2016Exhibit 12: FMC regulation in MENAContinueEnquire About This Report:About Market Research HubMarket Research Hub (MRH) is a next-generation reseller of research reports and analysis. MRHs expansive collection of ict market research reports has been carefully curated to help key personnel and decision makers across industry verticals to clearly visualize their operating environment and take strategic steps.MRH functions as an integrated platform for the following products and services: Objective and sound market forecasts, qualitative and quantitative analysis, incisive insight into defining industry trends, and market share estimates. Our reputation lies in delivering value and world-class capabilities to our clients.Contact Us90 State Street,Albany, NY 12207,United StatesToll Free: 800-998-4852 (US-Canada)Email: press@marketresearchhub.comWebsite:Read Industry News at -
The European Car Wash Market 2017: Market Size, Major Competitors and Channel Shares

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Market Research Hub (MRH) has recently broadcasted a new study to its broad research portfolio, which is titled as The European Car Wash Market 2017: Market Size, Major Competitors and Channel Shares, analysis of the commercial car wash market across 19 European countries, including France, Germany, Italy, Spain, UK, Netherlands, Sweden, Poland and Russia. Includes volume of car wash sites, number of wash occasions per year, value of the market and insight into strategic issues impacting the sector. Based on research with service station and standalone car wash operators, it provides an analysis of the car wash market across two commercial wash channels, and covers the four main types of car wash installation; jet, roll over ,tunnel and hand washes.Request For Free Sample Report:Wash price has become increasingly important for motorists over the last few years as rising wash prices have forced them to either reduce commercial wash occasions or switch from luxury and medium wash types such as rollover and tunnel to low cost jet washes, in order to maintain wash costs.Scope- The value of the European car wash market (made up of 19 countries in our analysis) rose by 60.9m in 2016 as wash operators increased wash prices. Rising wash prices across Europe is the primary cause of wash market value growth in 2016, as wash occasions declined over this period.- More than 1,500 car wash installations closed across Europe in 2016 as a drop in fuel volumes and disposable incomes caused wash operators to close their wash sites. The majority of wash site closures came from Germany and the UK, as wash occasions per installation declined, due to increased wash costs and home wash occasions in each market respectively, causing wash operators to close sites.- The total number of wash occasions in Europe declined by 0.9% in 2016 as motorists reduced their wash occasions as disposable income levels fell and operators increased wash prices across a number of European markets. 77.0% of wash occasions in Europe were undertaken at rollover and jet wash installations, as these wash types remained dominant in Europe in 2016.Reasons to buy- Make informed investment decisions by understanding the size of the car wash retail market and the nature of the competition within it.- Understand motorists wash habits and plan effect strategies to maximise wash occasions- Formulate market share objectives for your company and assess performance using our value data segmented by channel and installation type.- Develop superior strategies to those of your competitors by accessing information on their site numbers and marketing activities.Browse Full Report with TOC:Table of ContentExecutive SummaryEuropean Wash TrendsEuropean Market OverviewStandalone Wash Operator ProfilesWash Manufacturer ProfilesCountry Analysis:AustriaBelgiumCroatiaCzech RepublicFinlandFranceGermanyGreeceHungaryItalyNetherlandsNorwayPolandRomaniaContinueEnquire About This Report:About Market Research HubMarket Research Hub (MRH) is a next-generation reseller of research reports and analysis. MRHs expansive collection of retail market research reports has been carefully curated to help key personnel and decision makers across industry verticals to clearly visualize their operating environment and take strategic steps.MRH functions as an integrated platform for the following products and services: Objective and sound market forecasts, qualitative and quantitative analysis, incisive insight into defining industry trends, and market share estimates. Our reputation lies in delivering value and world-class capabilities to our clients.Contact Us90 State Street,Albany, NY 12207,United StatesToll Free: 800-998-4852 (US-Canada)Email: press@marketresearchhub.comWebsite:Read Industry News at -
Global Industrial Silica Market Analysis, Trends and Forecast 2017  2025

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Market Research Hub includes new market research report Industrial Silica Market  Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2017  2025 to its huge collection of research reports.Demand for fiberglass is high, due to its excellent functional and mechanical properties such as low weight and resistance to corrosion and heat. Thus, these resins are used in a wide range of end-user industries such as automotive. Usage of fiberglass in wind turbines is the fastest-growing application segment due to high demand for renewable energy and fast installation rate of wind turbines across the globe. Besides this, the fiberglass industry in China obtains subsidies from the government, enabling it to export fiberglass at a low cost to Europe and North America. Therefore, rising demand for industrial silica from fiberglass application is expected to drive the industrial silica market during the forecast period. Oil well cementing is one of the key operations in the oil & gas industry. A blend of amorphous, spherical, micro-silica in combination with industrial silica provides higher temperature sustainability. The blended mixture increases temperature resistance to a large extent. Therefore, rising demand for high temperature cementing in oil wells is anticipated to provide lucrative opportunities for the industrial Silica market during the forecast period.Request Free Sample Report This study analyzes, estimates, and forecasts the global industrial silica market in terms of volume (Kilo tons) and revenue (US$ Mn) from 2016 to 2025. The report also analyzes several driving and restraining factors and their impact on the market during the forecast period. The report provides a detailed view of the industrial silica market based on applications. Key applications included in the report are sodium silicate, fiberglass, cultured marble, additive, reinforcing filler, foundry work, ceramic frits & glaze, oilwell cements, glass & clay production, and others (pharmaceutical, etc.). Furthermore, the report segments the market based on key geographies such as North America (the U.S., Canada), Europe (France, Germany, Italy, U.K, Rest of Europe), Asia Pacific (China, Japan, ASEAN, Rest of Asia Pacific), Latin America (Brazil, Mexico, Rest of Latin America), and Middle East and Africa (GCC, South Africa, Rest of Middle East & Africa). It also provides market volume and revenue for each application under every regional segment. The industrial silica market is further analyzed into major countries of each region.Global Industrial Silica Market: Research MethodologyPrimary research represents the bulk of our research efforts, supplemented by an extensive secondary research. We reviewed key players product literature, annual reports, press releases, and relevant documents for competitive analysis and market understanding. Secondary research includes a search of recent trade, technical writing, internet sources, and statistical data from government websites, trade associations, and agencies. This has proven to be the most reliable, effective, and successful approach for obtaining precise market data, capturing industry participants insights, and recognizing business opportunities.Secondary research sources that are typically referred to include company websites, annual reports, financial reports, broker reports, investor presentations, and SEC filings, internal and external proprietary databases, and relevant patent and regulatory databases. Other sources include national government documents, statistical databases, and market reports, news articles, and press releases and webcasts specific to the companies operating in the market.Global Industrial Silica Market: Market SegmentationBased on applications and countries, the report analyzes the attractiveness of each segment with the help of an attractiveness tool. The study includes value chain analysis, which provides a better understanding of key players in the supply chain (from raw material manufacturers to end-users). Additionally, the study analyzes market competition and industry players using Porters five forces analysis.Browse Full Report with TOC Global Industrial Silica Market: Competitive LandscapeThe report includes an overview of the market share of key companies in the global industrial silica market. Key players profiled in the industrial silica study include Premier Silica LLC, International Silica Industries Company PLC, U.S. Silica Holdings Inc., Sil Industrial Minerals Inc., Adwan Chemical Industries Co. Ltd, Delmon Group of Companies, Opta Minerals Inc., Al Marbaie Est., Saudi Emirates Pulverization Industries Company, Short Mountain Silica, AGSCO Corporation, Al-Rushaid Group, and FINETON Industrial Minerals Limited.The report segments the global industrial silica market into:Industrial Silica Market  By Application Sodium Silicate Fiberglass Cultured Marble Additive (Paints, etc.) Reinforcing filler (plastics, rubber, etc.) Foundry work (metal alloy, etc.) Ceramic frits & glaze Oilwell Cement Glass & Clay Production Others (Pharmaceutical)Industrial Silica Market  Regional Analysis North America U.S. Canada Europe France U.K. Germany Italy Rest of Europe Asia Pacific China Japan ASEAN Rest of Asia Pacific Latin America Brazil Mexico Rest of Latin America Middle East and Africa GCC South Africa Rest of Middle East and AfricaEnquire about this Report About Market Research Hub:Market Research Hub (MRH) is a next-generation reseller of research reports and analysis. MRHs expansive collection of market research reports has been carefully curated to help key personnel and decision makers across industry verticals to clearly visualize their operating environment and take strategic steps.MRH functions as an integrated platform for the following products and services: Objective and sound market forecasts, qualitative and quantitative analysis, incisive insight into defining industry trends, and market share estimates. Our reputation lies in delivering value and world-class capabilities to our clients.Contact Us90 State Street,Albany, NY 12207,United StatesToll Free: 800-998-4852 (US-Canada)Email: press@marketresearchhub.comWebsite:Read Industry News at -
Radiotherapy Devices Value to reach US$ 7 Bn by 2022: Fact.MR

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With increasing risks of obtaining cancer treatment through chemotherapy, patients as well as medical professionals are turning towards radiotherapy as a sought-after oncological treatment for cancers. The Fact.MR report on global market for radiotherapy devices predicts that towards the end of 2022, more than US$ 7 Bn worth of devices will be sold across the globe, reflecting a stellar CAGR. Following insights from the report will offer a comprehensive outlook on the future of radiotherapy devices in the global healthcare industry during 2017-2022.Key Projections on the Global Radiotherapy Devices Market:In 2017, global sales of linear accelerator devices is expected to procure nearly half of global radiotherapy devices market value. The sales of linear accelerators for radiotherapy is expected to gain steadfast traction, procuring an annual growth of more than US$ 280 Mn from 2017 to 2022.Request For Report Sample:With soaring incidence of cancers across European countries, the healthcare infrastructure in this region is expected to remain lucrative for adoption of effective cancer therapies such as radiotherapy. The demand for radiotherapy devices is expected to gain traction in Europe owing to its advantage over other cancer therapeutic devices in terms of controlling the growth of the malignant tumors. Moreover, cancer patients are likely to remain more inclined towards radiotherapy devices that limit the hospital stay duration. According to the report, Europe will remain the largest market for radiotherapy devices throughout the forecast period.In North America, changing lifestyles of consumers and penetration of urban cultures is fuelling the incidence of pancreatic cancer. Radiotherapy devices are expected to remain of great use in treatment of pancreatic cancer and borderline resectable cancer. The radiotherapy devices market in North America is expected to witness robust gains throughout the forecast period.Manufacturers of radiotherapy devices are expected to view the Asia-Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ) region as lucrative for setting up production units. Favorable industrial regulations, low wages and high resource availability is expected to drive the growth of radiotherapy devices market in the APEJ region. The report predicts that the APEJ radiotherapy devices market is expected to grow at the fastest pace, reflecting a stellar CAGR of 11.5% through 2022.Request For Discount:Towards the end of 2022, hospitals will emerge to be the largest end-users of radiotherapy devices. The demand for radiotherapy devices in oncological treatment centers is also anticipated to gain traction, procuring over one-fourth share on global market values throughout the forecast period.The report has profiled leading manufacturers of radiotherapy devices which are expected to remain active in the expansion of global market, and these include Varian Medical Systems, RaySearch Laboratories AB, Theragenics Corp, Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation, Elekta AB, Accuray, Inc., IsoRay, Inc., GE Healthcare, Vision RT Ltd., C.R. Bard, Inc., Koninklijke Philips N.V., Siemens AG, IBA Ion Beam Applications SA, Eckert & Ziegler Bebig, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Shinva Medical Instrument Company Limited, Neusoft Medical Systems Co., Ltd. and AngioDynamics, Inc.Browse Full Report:ABOUT US:Fact.MR is focused on offering transformative intelligence that inspires breakthroughs and innovation. We believe that the right decisions at the opportune time are integral to achieve extraordinary success. We are here to help you with your strategic decision making.CONTACT:Suite 988427 Upper Pembroke Street,Dublin 2, IrelandPhone: +353-1-6111-593Email: sales@factmr.comWebsite:
2017 Atmospheric Water Generator Market Research Report for Period 2017 till 2022 Hendrx, EcoloBlue, AT Company, Konia, Shenzhen FND and Others

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Global atmospheric water generator market report provides detailed analysis of companies namely Hendrx, EcoloBlue, AT Company, Konia, Shenzhen FND and others. This report study includes global market statistics and analysis for example, company performance, historical analysis 2012 to 2016, market forecast 2017 to 2022 in terms of volume, revenue, YOY growth rate, and CAGR for the year 2017 to 2022, etc.As we know, 97% of the worlds water is undrinkable salt water and more than half of the 3% that is freshwater, is inaccessible due to polar ice caps. Even though 70% of the earth is covered by water, more than 50% of the world population has insufficient drinking water. According to the World Bank, $600 billion is invested in water delivery systems and the United Nations has announced a worldwide water shortage. Scientists have given warning of this and constructive steps are being taken, but current methods to achieve clean drinking water are expensive and wasteful.Request For Free Sample Copy Of Global Atmospheric Water Generator Market 2017 at goo.gl/1CFwWQTop Company Profiles and Analysis included in this report: Hendrx AT Company Shenzhen FND Aqua Sciences EcoloBlue Island Sky Drinkable Air Dew Point Manufacturing Sky H2O WaterMaker India Planets Water Atlantis Solar Watair Saisons Technocom Konia Air2Water GR8 Water Ambient Water OthersAtmospheric Water Generator Market: Key Product Type: Production Volume Rate below 100 Liters per Day Production Volume Rate between 100 and 5000 Liters per Day Production Volume Rate Higher than 5000 Liters per DayAtmospheric Water Generator Market: Key Application Residential Commercial Industrial Government and ArmyAtmospheric water generator market belongs to equipment industry and it comprise of detailed quantitative as well as qualitative information for Atmospheric water generator market. This research report provides consumption data and expected growth rate for major consuming regions worldwide.Atmospheric water generator market report provides detailed segmentation for market of atmospheric water generator based on products, applications, and size industry for all major regions and countries. This market research study further provides detailed information pertaining to global production, import and export data for all key regions across the globe. Moreover, this study further provides major drivers, restraints impacting Atmospheric water generator market. Additionally, the report provides the comprehensive study of expected opportunities in Atmospheric water generator market in coming future.The atmospheric water generator market analysis report provides detailed value chain for analysis of atmospheric water generator market. The value chain helps to analyze major upstream in raw materials, major equipments, manufacturing process, downstream customer analysis and major distributor analysis.The report also covers in-depth description, competitive scenario, wide product portfolio of prime players active in this market and business strategies adopted by competitors along with their SWOT analysis. Side by side, it also explicitly provides information about mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, and all the other important activities happened in current and past few years. The atmospheric water generator market report explores manufacturers competitive scenario and provides market share for all major players of this market based on production capacity, sales, revenue, geographical presence and other major factors.Related Reports:Enquire before Buying @Atmospheric water generator Market Research Industry Report is prepared with the help of extensive primary and secondary sources, directories, journals, newsletters and third-party application like Hoovers, Factiva, Bloomberg, Business week, etc.Table of Contents1 Market Overview1.1 Atmospheric Water Generator Introduction1.2 Market Analysis by Type1.2.1 Production Volume Rate below 100 Liters per Day1.2.2 Production Volume Rate between 100 and 5000 Liters per Day1.2.3 Production Volume Rate Higher than 5000 Liters per Day1.3 Market Analysis by Applications1.3.1 Residential1.3.2 Commercial1.3.3 Industrial1.3.4 Government and Army1.4 Market Analysis by Regions1.4.1 North America (USA, Canada and Mexico)1.4.1.1 USA Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.1.2 Canada Market States and Outlook (2012-2022) Continue (About Us:Market Reports Company is a global research and consulting company. We provide customized reports. We can study and analyze any market based on wide range of parameters.What we offer: Customized Reports: we provide customized report study on any market or industry. Region Specific Study: If you need region specific or if you are searching for particular region market study then, we have expert research team for that. How we work: We work in all domains and industries, you name it and we provide the market research industry report analysis of it. Expertise: Superior Research Team, 24*7 Customer Care ServiceContact UsJason Smith,Sales Manager, Global Business Development,Website:Email: jasonsmith@marketreportscompany.comContact us: +1-888-220-3424
2017 Synthetic Graphite Market Report for period 2017 till 2022 GrafTech, SGL Carbon, Fangda Carbon, Showa Denko, Jilin Carbon, Graphite India and Others

Synthetic Graphite GrafTech, SGL Carbon, Fangda Carbon, Showa Denko, Jilin Carbon, Graphite India among others

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Global Synthetic graphite Market report provides detailed analysis of companies namely GrafTech, SGL Carbon, Fangda Carbon, Showa Denko, Jilin Carbon, Graphite India among others. This report study includes global market statistics and analysis for example, company performance, historical analysis 2012 to 2016, market forecast 2017 to 2022 in terms of volume, revenue, YOY growth rate, and CAGR for the year 2017 to 2022, etc.Synthetic graphite is a man-made substance manufactured by the high temperature processing of amorphous carbon materials. The types of amorphous carbon used as precursors to graphite are many, and can be derived from petroleum, coal, or natural and synthetic organic materials. In some cases graphite can even be manufactured by the direct precipitation of graphitic carbon from pyrolysis of a carbonaceous gas such as acetylene (pyrolytic graphite). One important commonality between all graphite precursors is that they must contain carbon. Graphite is carbon, a specific form of carbon, so it can only be derived from other carbon containing substances.Request for Free Sample Copy of Global Synthetic graphite Market 2017 atTop Company Profiles and Analysis included in this report: GrafTech SGL Carbon Fangda Carbon Showa Denko Jilin Carbon Graphite India Tokai Carbon HEG Nippon Carbon JSC Energoprom Management SEC Carbon Yangzi Carbon Shida Carbon Toray Carbon Toyo Tanso Toho Tenax Group Mersen Group Mitsubishi Rayon Poco Graphite Ibiden Formosa Plastics Group Hexcel Asbury Graphite OthersSynthetic graphite Market: Key Product Type Graphite Electrodes Carbon Fibers Specialty Graphite Graphite Granular & Powder OthersSynthetic graphite Market: Key Application Iron and Steel Industry Battery Industry Aluminum Industry Industrial Components OthersSynthetic graphite Market: Key Region North America (USA, Canada and Mexico) Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy) Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia) South America (Brazil, Argentina, Columbia etc.) Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa)Synthetic graphite Market belongs to chemicals and materials industry and it comprise of detailed quantitative as well as qualitative information for Synthetic graphite Market. This research report provides consumption data and expected growth rate for major consuming regions worldwide. Synthetic graphite Market report provides detailed segmentation for market of Mosquito based on products, applications, and size industry for all major regions and countries. This market research study further provides detailed information pertaining to global production, import and export data for all key regions across the globe. Moreover, this study further provides major drivers, restraints impacting Synthetic graphite Market. Additionally, the report provides the comprehensive study of expected opportunities in Synthetic graphite Market in coming future.The Synthetic graphite Market analysis report provides detailed value chain for analysis of Synthetic graphite Market. The value chain helps to analyze major upstream in raw materials, major equipments, manufacturing process, downstream customer analysis and major distributor analysis.The report also covers in-depth description, competitive scenario, wide product portfolio of prime players active in this market and business strategies adopted by competitors along with their SWOT analysis. Side by side, it also explicitly provides information about mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, and all the other important activities happened in current and past few years. The Synthetic graphite Market report explores manufacturers competitive scenario and provides market share for all major players of this market based on production capacity, sales, revenue, geographical presence and other major factors.Related Reports:Enquire before Buying @Table of Contents:1 Market Overview1.1 Synthetic Graphite Introduction1.2 Market Analysis by Type1.2.1 Graphite Electrodes1.2.2 Carbon Fibers1.2.3 Specialty Graphite1.2.4 Graphite Granular & Powder1.2.5 Others1.3 Market Analysis by Applications1.3.1 Iron and Steel Industry1.3.2 Battery Industry1.3.3 Aluminum Industry1.3.4 Industrial Components1.3.5 Others1.4 Market Analysis by Regions1.4.1 North America (USA, Canada and Mexico)1.4.1.1 USA Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.1.2 Canada Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.1.3 Mexico Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.2 Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)1.4.2.1 Germany Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.2.2 France Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.2.3 UK Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.2.4 Russia Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.2.5 Italy Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.3 Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)1.4.3.1 China Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.3.2 Japan Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.3.3 Korea Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.3.4 India Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.3.5 Southeast Asia Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.4 South America, Middle East and Africa1.4.4.1 Brazil Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.4.2 Egypt Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.4.3 Saudi Arabia Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.4.4 South Africa Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.4.5 Nigeria Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.5 Market Dynamics1.5.1 Market Opportunities1.5.2 Market Risk1.5.3 Market Driving Force2 Manufacturers Profiles .ContinueSynthetic graphite Market Research Industry Report is prepared with the help of extensive primary and secondary sources, directories, journals, newsletters and third-party application like Hoovers, Factiva, Bloomberg, Businessweek, etc.About Us:Market Reports Company is a global research and consulting company. We provide customized reports. We can study and analyze any market based on wide range of parameters.What we offer: Customized Reports: we provide customized report study on any market or industry. Region Specific Study: If you need region specific or if you are searching for particular region market study then, we have expert research team for that. How we work: We work in all domains and industries, you name it and we provide the market research industry report analysis of it. Expertise: Superior Research Team, 24*7 Customer Care ServiceContact UsJason Smith,Sales Manager, Global Business Development,Website:Email: jasonsmith@marketreportscompany.comContact us: +1-888-220-3424Address: 20 N State Street, Chicago, Illinois, 60602 United States
2017 Specialty Insurance Market Research Report for Period 2017 till 2022: United Healthcare, Tokio Marine, XL Group, CPIC, RenaissanceRe Holdings, PICC and Others

Specialty Insurance

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2017 Specialty Insurance Market Research Report for Period 2017 till 2022: United Healthcare, Tokio Marine, XL Group, CPIC, RenaissanceRe Holdings, PICC and OthersGlobal specialty insurance market report provides detailed analysis of companies namely United Healthcare, Tokio Marine, XL Group, CPIC, RenaissanceRe Holdings, PICC and others. This report study includes global market statistics and analysis for example, company performance, historical analysis 2012 to 2016, market forecast 2017 to 2022 in terms of volume, revenue, YOY growth rate, and CAGR for the year 2017 to 2022, etc.There is no standard definition for specialty insurance, in this report, specialty insurance includes high-hazard insurance, non-standard general insurance, niche market segments, bespoke underwriting, and excess and surplus lines insurance.Request for Free Sample Copy of Global Specialty insurance Market 2017 atTop Company Profiles and Analysis included in this report: UnitedHealthcare AXA Allianz AIG Tokio Marine ACE&Chubb China Life XL Group Argo Group PICC Munich Re Hanover Insurance Nationwide CPIC Assurant Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Zurich Hudson Ironshore Hiscox Manulife RenaissanceRe Holdings Mapfre Selective Insurance OthersSpecialty Insurance Market: Key Product Type: Life Insurance Property InsuranceSpecialty Insurance Market: Key Application Commercial PersonalSpecialty insurance market belongs to electronics industry and it comprise of detailed quantitative as well as qualitative information for Specialty insurance market. This research report provides consumption data and expected growth rate for major consuming regions worldwide. Specialty insurance market report provides detailed segmentation for market of specialty insurance based on products, applications, and size industry for all major regions and countries. This market research study further provides detailed information pertaining to global production, import and export data for all key regions across the globe. Moreover, this study further provides major drivers, restraints impacting Specialty insurance market. Additionally, the report provides the comprehensive study of expected opportunities in Specialty insurance market in coming future.The specialty insurance market analysis report provides detailed value chain for analysis of specialty insurance market. The value chain helps to analyze major upstream in raw materials, major equipments, manufacturing process, downstream customer analysis and major distributor analysis.The report also covers in-depth description, competitive scenario, wide product portfolio of prime players active in this market and business strategies adopted by competitors along with their SWOT analysis. Side by side, it also explicitly provides information about mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, and all the other important activities happened in current and past few years. The specialty insurance market report explores manufacturers competitive scenario and provides market share for all major players of this market based on production capacity, sales, revenue, geographical presence and other major factors.Related Reports:Specialty Insurance Market Research Industry Report is prepared with the help of extensive primary and secondary sources, directories, journals, newsletters and third-party application like Hoovers, Factiva, Bloomberg, Business week, etc.Enquire before Buying @Table of Contents1 Market Overview1.1 Specialty Insurance Introduction1.2 Market Analysis by Type1.2.1 Life Insurance1.2.2 Property Insurance1.3 Market Analysis by Applications1.3.1 Commercial1.3.2 Personal1.4 Market Analysis by Regions1.4.1 North America (USA, Canada and Mexico)1.4.1.1 USA Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.1.2 Canada Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.1.3 Mexico Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.2 Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)1.4.2.1 Germany Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.2.2 France Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)Continue (About Us:Market Reports Company is a global research and consulting company. We provide customized reports. We can study and analyze any market based on wide range of parameters.What can we offer: Customized Reports: we provide customized report study on any market or industry. Region Specific Study: If you need region specific or if you are searching for particular region market study then, we have expert research team for that. How we work: We work in all domains and industries, you name it and we provide the market research industry report analysis of it. Expertise: Superior Research Team, 24*7 Customer Care ServiceContact UsJason Smith,Sales Manager, Global Business Development,Website:Email: jasonsmith@marketreportscompany.comContact us: +1-888-220-3424
2017 Alfalfa Hay Market Research Report for Period 2017 till 2022 Anderson Hay, Modern Grassland, ACX Global, Alfa Tec, Bailey Farms and Others

Alfalfa hay

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2017 Alfalfa Hay Market Research Report for Period 2017 till 2022 Anderson Hay, Modern Grassland, ACX Global, Alfa Tec, Bailey Farms and OthersGlobal alfalfa hay market report provides detailed analysis of companies namely Anderson Hay, Modern Grassland, ACX Global, Alfa Tec, Bailey Farms and others. This report study includes global market statistics and analysis for example, company performance, historical analysis 2012 to 2016, market forecast 2017 to 2022 in terms of volume, revenue, YOY growth rate, and CAGR for the year 2017 to 2022, etc.The global alfalfa hay market is estimated to reach 35.5 Billion USD in 2017. The objective of report is to define, segment, and project the market on the basis of type, application, and region, and to describe the content about the factors influencing market dynamics, policy, economic, technology and market entry etc.Request for Free Sample Copy of Global Alfalfa Hay Market 2017 atTop Company Profiles and Analysis included in this report: Anderson Hay ACX Global Bailey Farms Aldahra Fagavi Gruppo Carli Border Valley Trading Barr-Ag Alfa Tec Standlee Hay Sacate Pellet Mills Oxbow Animal Health M&C Hay Accomazzo Huishan Diary Qiushi Grass Industry Beijing HDR Trading Beijing Lvtianyuan Ecological Farm Modern Grassland Inner Mongolia Dachen Agriculture OthersAlfalfa Hay Market: Key Product Type Alfalfa Hay Bales Alfalfa Hay Pellets Alfalfa Hay CubesAlfalfa Hay Market: Key Application Dairy Cow Feed Beef Cattle & Sheep Feed Pig Feed Poultry FeedAlfalfa Hay Market: Key Region North America (USA, Canada and Mexico) Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy) Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia) South America (Brazil, Argentina, Columbia etc.) Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa) OtherAlfalfa hay market belongs to agriculture industry and it comprise of detailed quantitative as well as qualitative information for alfalfa hay market. This research report provides consumption data and expected growth rate for major consuming regions worldwide. Alfalfa hay market report provides detailed segmentation for market of Alfalfa hay based on products, applications, and size industry for all major regions and countries. This market research study further provides detailed information pertaining to global production, import and export data for all key regions across the globe. Moreover, this study further provides major drivers, restraints impacting Alfalfa hay market. Additionally, the report provides the comprehensive study of expected opportunities in Alfalfa hay market in coming future.The alfalfa hay market analysis report provides detailed value chain for analysis of Alfalfa hay market. The value chain helps to analyze major upstream in raw materials, major equipments, manufacturing process, downstream customer analysis and major distributor analysis.The report also covers in-depth description, competitive scenario, wide product portfolio of prime players active in this market and business strategies adopted by competitors along with their SWOT analysis. Side by side, it also explicitly provides information about mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, and all the other important activities happened in current and past few years. The Alfalfa hay market report explores manufacturers competitive scenario and provides market share for all major players of this market based on production capacity, sales, revenue, geographical presence and other major factors.Related Reports:Alfalfa Hay Market Research Industry Report is prepared with the help of extensive primary and secondary sources, directories, journals, newsletters and third-party application like Hoovers, Factiva, Bloomberg, Businessweek, etc.Enquire before Buying @Table of Contents:1 Market Overview1.1 Objectives of Research1.1.1 Definition1.1.2 Specifications1.2 Market Segment1.2.1 by Type1.2.1.1 Alfalfa Hay Bales1.2.1.2 Alfalfa Hay Pellets1.2.1.3 Alfalfa Hay Cubes1.2.2 by Application1.2.2.1 Dairy Cow Feed1.2.2.2 Beef Cattle & Sheep Feed1.2.2.3 Pig Feed1.2.2.4 Poultry Feed1.2.3 by Regions2 Industry Chain2.1 Industry Chain Structure2.2 Upstream2.3 Market2.3.1 SWOT2.3.2 Dynamics3 Environmental Analysis3.1 Policy3.2 Economic3.3 Technology3.4 Market EntryContinue (About Us:Market Reports Company is a global research and consulting company. We provide customized reports. We can study and analyze any market based on wide range of parameters.What we offer: Customized Reports: we provide customized report study on any market or industry. Region Specific Study: If you need region specific or if you are searching for particular region market study then, we have expert research team for that. How we work: We work in all domains and industries, you name it and we provide the market research industry report analysis of it. Expertise: Superior Research Team, 24*7 Customer Care ServiceContact UsJason Smith,Sales Manager, Global Business Development,Website:Email: jasonsmith@marketreportscompany.comContact us: +1-888-220-3424Address: 20 N State Street, Chicago, Illinois, 60602 United States
2017 Xylitol Market Research Report for Period 2017 till 2022 Danisco, Roquette, Futaste, Shandong Longlive Bio-Technology, Huakang and Others

Xylitol

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Global xylitol market report provides detailed analysis of companies namely Danisco, Roquette, Futaste, Shandong Longlive Bio-Technology, Huakang and others. This report study includes global market statistics and analysis for example, company performance, historical analysis 2012 to 2016, market forecast 2017 to 2022 in terms of volume, revenue, YOY growth rate, and CAGR for the year 2017 to 2022, etc.Xylitol is a derivative of xylose, Chemical formula: CH2OH (CHOH) 3CH2OH. Xylitol is a sugar alcohol, a low-calorie carbohydrate made from birch bark, corn cobs, fibrous vegetables and fruit. Its end-use applications comprise Chewing Gum, Confectionary, Other Foods, Personal Care and others etc.Request for Free Sample Copy of Global Xylitol Market 2017 atTop Company Profiles and Analysis included in this report: Danisco Roquette Futaste Huakang Shandong LuJian Biological Shandong Longlive Bio-TechnologyXylitol Market: Key Product Type: Normal Grade Pharma GradeXylitol Market: Key Application Food Industry Pharma & Healthcare Personal Care OtherXylitol Market: Key Region North America (USA, Canada and Mexico) Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy) Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia) South America (Brazil, Argentina, Columbia etc.) Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa) OtherXylitol market belongs to chemicals and materials industry and it comprise of detailed quantitative as well as qualitative information for Xylitol market. This research report provides consumption data and expected growth rate for major consuming regions worldwide. Xylitol market report provides detailed segmentation for market of Xylitol based on products, applications, and size industry for all major regions and countries.This market research study further provides detailed information pertaining to global production, import and export data for all key regions across the globe. Moreover, this study further provides major drivers, restraints impacting Xylitol market. Additionally, the report provides the comprehensive study of expected opportunities in Xylitol market in coming future.The xylitol market analysis report provides detailed value chain for analysis of Xylitol market. The value chain helps to analyze major upstream in raw materials, major equipments, manufacturing process, downstream customer analysis and major distributor analysis.The report also covers in-depth description, competitive scenario, wide product portfolio of prime players active in this market and business strategies adopted by competitors along with their SWOT analysis. Side by side, it also explicitly provides information about mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, and all the other important activities happened in current and past few years. The Xylitol market report explores manufacturers competitive scenario and provides market share for all major players of this market based on production capacity, sales, revenue, geographical presence and other major factors.Related Reports:Xylitol Market Research Industry Report is prepared with the help of extensive primary and secondary sources, directories, journals, newsletters and third-party application like Hoovers, Factiva, Bloomberg, Businessweek, etc.Enquire before Buying @Table of Contents:1 Market Overview1.1 Xylitol Introduction1.2 Market Analysis by Type1.2.1 Normal Grade1.2.2 Pharma Grade1.3 Market Analysis by Applications1.3.1 Food Industry1.3.2 Pharma & Healthcare1.3.3 Personal Care1.3.4 Other1.4 Market Analysis by Regions1.4.1 North America (USA, Canada and Mexico)1.4.1.1 USA Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.1.2 Canada Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.1.3 Mexico Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.2 Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)Continue (About Us:Market Reports Company is a global research and consulting company. We provide customized reports. We can study and analyze any market based on wide range of parameters.What we offer: Customized Reports: we provide customized report study on any market or industry. Region Specific Study: If you need region specific or if you are searching for particular region market study then, we have expert research team for that. How we work: We work in all domains and industries, you name it and we provide the market research industry report analysis of it. Expertise: Superior Research Team, 24*7 Customer Care ServiceContact UsJason Smith,Sales Manager, Global Business Development,Website:Email: jasonsmith@marketreportscompany.comContact us: +1-888-220-3424Address: 20 N State Street, Chicago, Illinois, 60602 United States
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2017 Chromium Trioxide Market Report for period 2017 till 2022 Lanxess, Soda Sanayii, Elementis, Hunter Chemical LLC, Aktyubinsk, MidUral Group, NPCC and Others

hromium Trioxide Lanxess, Soda Sanayii, Elementis, Hunter Chemical LLC among others

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Global Chromium Trioxide Market report provides detailed analysis of companies namely Lanxess, Soda Sanayii, Elementis, Hunter Chemical LLC, Aktyubinsk, MidUral Group, NPCC among others. This report study includes global market statistics and analysis for example, company performance, historical analysis 2012 to 2016, market forecast 2017 to 2022 in terms of volume, revenue, YOY growth rate, and CAGR for the year 2017 to 2022, etc.This report studies the Chromium Trioxide market, an inorganic compound with the formula CrO3. It is the acidic anhydride of chromic acid, and is sometimes marketed under the same name. This compound is a dark-purple solid under anhydrous conditions, bright orange when wet and which dissolves in water concomitant with hydrolysis. Millions of kilograms are produced annually, mainly for electroplating. Chromium trioxide is a powerful oxidiser and a suspected carcinogen.Request for Free Sample Copy of Global Chromium Trioxide Market 2017 atTop Company Profiles and Analysis included in this report: Lanxess Soda Sanayii Elementis Hunter Chemical LLC Aktyubinsk MidUral Group NPCC Vishnu Nippon Chem Zhenhua Chemical Yinhe Chemical Chongqing Minfeng Chemical Haining Peace Chemical Zhonglan Yima Chemical OthersChromium Trioxide Market: Key Product Type Purity 99.7% Purity 99.8% Purity 99.9% OthersChromium Trioxide Market: Key Application Printing and Dyeing Industry Electroplating Industry Wood Preservation OthersChromium Trioxide Market: Key Region North America (USA, Canada and Mexico) Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy) Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia) South America (Brazil, Argentina, Columbia etc.) Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa)Chromium Trioxide Market belongs to consumer goods industry and it comprise of detailed quantitative as well as qualitative information for Chromium Trioxide Market. This research report provides consumption data and expected growth rate for major consuming regions worldwide. Chromium Trioxide Market report provides detailed segmentation for market of Mosquito based on products, applications, and size industry for all major regions and countries. This market research study further provides detailed information pertaining to global production, import and export data for all key regions across the globe. Moreover, this study further provides major drivers, restraints impacting Chromium Trioxide Market. Additionally, the report provides the comprehensive study of expected opportunities in Chromium Trioxide Market in coming future.The Chromium Trioxide Market analysis report provides detailed value chain for analysis of Chromium Trioxide Market. The value chain helps to analyze major upstream in raw materials, major equipments, manufacturing process, downstream customer analysis and major distributor analysis.The report also covers in-depth description, competitive scenario, wide product portfolio of prime players active in this market and business strategies adopted by competitors along with their SWOT analysis. Side by side, it also explicitly provides information about mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, and all the other important activities happened in current and past few years. The Chromium Trioxide Market report explores manufacturers competitive scenario and provides market share for all major players of this market based on production capacity, sales, revenue, geographical presence and other major factors.Related Reports:Enquire before Buying @Table of Contents:1 Market Overview1.1 Chromium Trioxide Introduction1.2 Market Analysis by Type1.2.1 Purity 99.7%1.2.2 Purity 99.8%1.2.3 Purity 99.9%1.3 Market Analysis by Applications1.3.1 Printing and Dyeing Industry1.3.2 Electroplating Industry1.3.3 Wood Preservation1.3.4 Other1.4 Market Analysis by Regions1.4.1 North America (USA, Canada and Mexico)1.4.1.1 USA Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.1.2 Canada Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.1.3 Mexico Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.2 Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)1.4.2.1 Germany Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.2.2 France Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.2.3 UK Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.2.4 Russia Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.2.5 Italy Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.3 Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)1.4.3.1 China Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.3.2 Japan Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.3.3 Korea Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.3.4 India Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.3.5 Southeast Asia Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.4 South America, Middle East and Africa .ContinueChromium Trioxide Market Research Industry Report is prepared with the help of extensive primary and secondary sources, directories, journals, newsletters and third-party application like Hoovers, Factiva, Bloomberg, Businessweek, etc.About Us:Market Reports Company is a global research and consulting company. We provide customized reports. We can study and analyze any market based on wide range of parameters.What we offer: Customized Reports: we provide customized report study on any market or industry. Region Specific Study: If you need region specific or if you are searching for particular region market study then, we have expert research team for that. How we work: We work in all domains and industries, you name it and we provide the market research industry report analysis of it. Expertise: Superior Research Team, 24*7 Customer Care ServiceContact UsJason Smith,Sales Manager, Global Business Development,Website:Email: jasonsmith@marketreportscompany.comContact us: +1-888-220-3424Address: 20 N State Street, Chicago, Illinois, 60602 United States
2017 Calibration Management Software Market Research Report for Period 2017 till 2022 CyberMetrics Corporation, Beamex, Prime Technologies, Ape Software, Fluke Calibration and Others

Calibration Management Software

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Global calibration management software market report provides detailed analysis of companies namely CyberMetrics Corporation, Beamex, Prime Technologies, Ape Software, Fluke Calibration and Others. This report study includes global market statistics and analysis for example, company performance, historical analysis 2012 to 2016, market forecast 2017 to 2022 in terms of volume, revenue, YOY growth rate, and CAGR for the year 2017 to 2022, etc.This report studies the Calibration Management Software market. Using software for calibration management enables faster, easier and more accurate analysis of calibration records and identifying historical trends.Request for Free Sample Copy of Global Calibration Management Software Market 2017 atTop Company Profiles and Analysis included in this report: CyberMetrics Corporation Fluke Calibration Beamex PQ Systems Prime Technologies CompuCal Calibration Solutions Quality Software Concepts Ape Software Isolocity QUBYX Quality America OthersCalibration management software Market: Key Product Type: Installed Cloud basedCalibration management software Market: Key Application SMEs Large Business OthersCalibration management software market belongs to electronics industry and it comprise of detailed quantitative as well as qualitative information for Calibration management software market. This research report provides consumption data and expected growth rate for major consuming regions worldwide. Calibration management software market report provides detailed segmentation for market of calibration management software based on products, applications, and size industry for all major regions and countries.This market research study further provides detailed information pertaining to global production, import and export data for all key regions across the globe. Moreover, this study further provides major drivers, restraints impacting Calibration management software market. Additionally, the report provides the comprehensive study of expected opportunities in Calibration management software market in coming future.The calibration management software market analysis report provides detailed value chain for analysis of calibration management software market. The value chain helps to analyze major upstream in raw materials, major equipments, manufacturing process, downstream customer analysis and major distributor analysis.The report also covers in-depth description, competitive scenario, wide product portfolio of prime players active in this market and business strategies adopted by competitors along with their SWOT analysis. Side by side, it also explicitly provides information about mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, and all the other important activities happened in current and past few years. The calibration management software market report explores manufacturers competitive scenario and provides market share for all major players of this market based on production capacity, sales, revenue, geographical presence and other major factors.Related Reports:Calibration Management Software Market Research Industry Report is prepared with the help of extensive primary and secondary sources, directories, journals, newsletters and third-party application like Hoovers, Factiva, Bloomberg, Business week, etc.Enquire before Buying @Table of Contents1 Market Overview1.1 Calibration Management Software Introduction1.2 Market Analysis by Type1.2.1 Installed1.2.2 Cloud based1.3 Market Analysis by Applications1.3.1 SMEs1.3.2 Large Business1.3.3 Others1.4 Market Analysis by Regions1.4.1 North America (USA, Canada and Mexico)1.4.1.1 USA Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.1.2 Canada Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.1.3 Mexico Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)Continue (About Us:Market Reports Company is a global research and consulting company. We provide customized reports. We can study and analyze any market based on wide range of parameters.What can we offer: Customized Reports: we provide customized report study on any market or industry. Region Specific Study: If you need region specific or if you are searching for particular region market study then, we have expert research team for that. How we work: We work in all domains and industries, you name it and we provide the market research industry report analysis of it. Expertise: Superior Research Team, 24*7 Customer Care ServiceContact UsJason Smith,Sales Manager, Global Business Development,Website:Email: jasonsmith@marketreportscompany.comContact us: +1-888-220-3424
2017 Silicon Nitride Ceramic Substrate market report for period 2017 till 2022 Toshiba Materials, Rogers Corp, Kyocera, MARUWA, Coors Tek, Denka, Tomley Hi-tech and Others

Silicon Nitride Ceramic Substrate

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Global Silicon Nitride Ceramic Substrate market report provides detailed analysis of companies namely Toshiba Materials, Rogers Corp, Kyocera, MARUWA, Coors Tek, Denka, Tomley Hi-tech and others. This report study includes global market statistics and analysis for example, company performance, historical analysis 2012 to 2016, market forecast 2017 to 2022 in terms of volume, revenue, YOY growth rate, and CAGR for the year 2017 to 2022, etc.Silicon nitride ceramic substrate is a physical material that made of silicon nitride, upon which a semiconductor device, a photovoltaic cell or an integrated circuit, is applied. Silicon nitride with high thermal conductivity has emerged as one of the most promising substrate materials for the next-generation power devices.Request for Free Sample Copy of Global Silicon Nitride Ceramic Substrate Market 2017 atTop Company Profiles and Analysis included in this report: Toshiba Materials Rogers Corp Kyocera MARUWA Coors Tek Denka Tomley Hi-tech OthersSilicon Nitride Ceramic Substrate Market: Key Product Type High Thermal Conductivity Substrate Regular Substrate OtherSilicon Nitride Ceramic Substrate Market: Key Application Type Power Module Heat Sinks LED Wireless Modules OtherSilicon Nitride Ceramic Substrate Market: Key Region Germany UK France Russia ItalySilicon Nitride Ceramic Substrate market belongs to manufacturing and construction industry and it comprise of detailed quantitative as well as qualitative information for Silicon Nitride Ceramic Substrate market. This research report provides consumption data and expected growth rate for major consuming regions worldwide. Silicon Nitride Ceramic Substrate market report provides detailed segmentation for market of Silicon Nitride Ceramic Substrate based on products, applications, and size industry for all major regions and countries. This market research study further provides detailed information pertaining to global production, import and export data for all key regions across the globe. Moreover, this study further provides major drivers, restraints impacting Silicon Nitride Ceramic Substrate market. Additionally, the report provides the comprehensive study of expected opportunities in Silicon Nitride Ceramic Substrate market in coming future.The Silicon Nitride Ceramic Substrate market analysis report provides detailed value chain for analysis of Silicon Nitride Ceramic Substrate market. The value chain helps to analyze major upstream in raw materials, major equipments, manufacturing process, downstream customer analysis and major distributor analysis.The report also covers in-depth description, competitive scenario, wide product portfolio of prime players active in this market and business strategies adopted by competitors along with their SWOT analysis. Side by side, it also explicitly provides information about mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, and all the other important activities happened in current and past few years. The Silicon Nitride Ceramic Substrate market report explores manufacturers competitive scenario and provides market share for all major players of this market based on production capacity, sales, revenue, geographical presence and other major factors.Related Reports:Enquire before Buying @Table of Contents:1 Market Overview1.1 Silicon Nitride Ceramic Substrate Introduction1.2 Market Analysis by Type1.2.1 High Thermal Conductivity Substrate1.2.2 Regular Substrate1.3 Market Analysis by Applications1.3.1 Power Module1.3.2 Heat Sinks1.3.3 LED1.3.4 Wireless Modules1.3.5 Other ApplicationsContinue(Silicon Nitride Ceramic Substrate Market Research Industry Report is prepared with the help of extensive primary and secondary sources, directories, journals, newsletters and third-party application like Hoovers, Factiva, Bloomberg, Businessweek, etc.About Us:Market Reports Company is a global research and consulting company. We provide customized reports. We can study and analyze any market based on wide range of parameters.What can we offer: Customized Reports: we provide customized report study on any market or industry. Region Specific Study: If you need region specific or if you are searching for particular region market study then, we have expert research team for that. How we work: We work in all domains and industries, you name it and we provide the market research industry report analysis of it. Expertise: Superior Research Team, 24*7 Customer Care ServiceContact UsJason Smith,Sales Manager, Global Business Development,Website:Email: jasonsmith@marketreportscompany.comContact us: +1-888-220-3424Address: 20 N State Street, Chicago, Illinois, 60602 United States
2017 Solar Control Window Films market report for period 2017 till 2022 Eastman, 3M, Saint Gobain, Madico, Johnson, Hanita, Haverkamp, Sekisui, Garware SunControl, Wintech, Erickson, KDX, Shuangxing and Others

Solar Control Window Films

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Global Solar Control Window Films market report provides detailed analysis of companies namely Eastman, 3M, Saint Gobain, Madico, Johnson, Hanita, Haverkamp, Sekisui, Garware SunControl, Wintech, Erickson, KDX, Shuangxing and others. This report study includes global market statistics and analysis for example, company performance, historical analysis 2012 to 2016, market forecast 2017 to 2022 in terms of volume, revenue, YOY growth rate, and CAGR for the year 2017 to 2022, etc.Solar Control Window Films is a highly engineered, optically clear, polyester film composite. It undergoes various treatments to provide safety, security, solar control and decorative enhancements for building and transportation glazing.Request for Free Sample Copy of Global Solar Control Window Films Market 2017 atTop Company Profiles and Analysis included in this report: Eastman 3M Saint Gobain Madico Johnson Hanita Haverkamp Sekisui Garware SunControl Wintech Erickson KDX Shuangxing OthersSolar Control Window Films Market: Key Product Type Clear (Non-Reflective) Dyed (Non-Reflective) Vacuum Coated (Reflective) OtherSolar Control Window Films Market: Key Application Commercial Buildings Residential Buildings Automobile OtherSolar Control Window Films Market: Key Regions North America (USA, Canada and Mexico) Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy) Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia) South America (Brazil, Argentina, Columbia etc.) Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa)Solar Control Window Films market belongs to chemicals and materials industry and it comprise of detailed quantitative as well as qualitative information for Solar Control Window Films market. This research report provides consumption data and expected growth rate for major consuming regions worldwide. Solar Control Window Films market report provides detailed segmentation for market of Solar Control Window Films based on products, applications, and size industry for all major regions and countries. This market research study further provides detailed information pertaining to global production, import and export data for all key regions across the globe. Moreover, this study further provides major drivers, restraints impacting Solar Control Window Films market. Additionally, the report provides the comprehensive study of expected opportunities in Solar Control Window Films market in coming future.The Solar Control Window Films market analysis report provides detailed value chain for analysis of Solar Control Window Films market. The value chain helps to analyze major upstream in raw materials, major equipments, manufacturing process, downstream customer analysis and major distributor analysis.The report also covers in-depth description, competitive scenario, wide product portfolio of prime players active in this market and business strategies adopted by competitors along with their SWOT analysis. Side by side, it also explicitly provides information about mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, and all the other important activities happened in current and past few years. The Solar Control Window Films market report explores manufacturers competitive scenario and provides market share for all major players of this market based on production capacity, sales, revenue, geographical presence and other major factors.Related Reports:Enquire before Buying @Table of Contents:1 Market Overview1.1 Solar Control Window Films Introduction1.2 Market Analysis by Type1.2.1 Clear (Non-Reflective)1.2.2 Dyed (Non-Reflective)1.2.3 Vacuum Coated (Reflective)1.3 Market Analysis by Applications1.3.1 Commercial Buildings1.3.2 Residential Buildings1.3.3 AutomobileContinue(Solar Control Window Films Market Research Industry Report is prepared with the help of extensive primary and secondary sources, directories, journals, newsletters and third-party application like Hoovers, Factiva, Bloomberg, Businessweek, etc.About Us:Market Reports Company is a global research and consulting company. We provide customized reports. We can study and analyze any market based on wide range of parameters.What can we offer: Customized Reports: we provide customized report study on any market or industry. Region Specific Study: If you need region specific or if you are searching for particular region market study then, we have expert research team for that. How we work: We work in all domains and industries, you name it and we provide the market research industry report analysis of it. Expertise: Superior Research Team, 24*7 Customer Care ServiceContact UsJason Smith,Sales Manager, Global Business Development,Website:Email: jasonsmith@marketreportscompany.comContact us: +1-888-220-3424Address: 20 N State Street, Chicago, Illinois, 60602 United States
2017 Gluten Free Product Market Research Report for Period 2017 till 2022: NQPC, RAISIO PLC, Kelloggs Company, Kraft Heinz, HERO GROUP AG, KELKIN LTD, Big Oz Industries ,Dominos Pizza and Others

Gluten Free Product NQPC, RAISIO PLC, Kelloggs Company, Kraft Heinz among others

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Global Gluten Free Product Market report provides detailed analysis of companies namelyNQPC, RAISIO PLC, Kelloggs Company, Kraft Heinz, HERO GROUP AG, KELKIN LTD, Big Oz Industries ,Dominos Pizza and Others.This report study includes global market statisticsand analysis for example, company performance, historical analysis 2012 to 2016, market forecast 2017 to 2022in terms of volume, revenue, YOY growth rate, and CAGR for the year 2017 to 2022, etc.This report studies the Gluten Free Products market, Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye, barley or any of their crossbred varieties and derivatives. In baking, gluten is the binding agent within the flour that prevents the baked good from crumbling. As such, gluten is found in many processed and packaged product. A gluten free product does not contain any gluten or grains such as spelt-wheat, which is gluten-rich.Request for Free Sample Copy of Global Gluten Free Product Market 2017 atTop Company Profiles and Analysis included in this report: South America (Brazil, Argentina, Columbia etc.) North America (USA, Canada and Mexico) Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy) Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia) Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa) OthersGluten Free Product Market: Key Product Type: Bakery Products Pizzas & Pastas Cereals & Snacks Savories OthersGluten Free Product Market: Key Applications: Conventional Stores Hotels & Restaurants Educational Institutions Hospitals & Drug Stores Specialty ServicesGluten Free Product Marketbelongs to Food And Beverages industry and it comprise of detailed quantitative as well as qualitative information for Gluten Free Product Market.This research report provides consumption data and expected growth rate for major consuming regions worldwide. Gluten Free Product Market report provides detailed segmentation for market of Antimicrobial suture based on products, applications, and size industry for all major regions and countries. This market research study further provides detailed information pertaining to global production, import and export data for all key regions across the globe. Moreover, this study further provides major drivers, restraints impacting Gluten Free Product Market. Additionally, the report provides the comprehensive study of expected opportunities in Gluten Free Product Market in coming future.The Gluten Free Product Market analysis report provides detailed value chain for analysis of Gluten Free Product Market. The value chain helps to analyze major upstream in raw materials, major equipments, manufacturing process, downstream customer analysis and major distributor analysis.The report also covers in-depth description, competitive scenario, wide product portfolio of prime players active in this market and business strategies adopted by competitors along with their SWOT analysis. Side by side, it also explicitly provides information about mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, and all the other important activities happened in current and past few years. The Gluten Free Product Market report explores manufacturers competitive scenario and provides market share for all major players of this market based on production capacity, sales, revenue, geographical presence and other major factors.Related ReportsEnquire before Buying @Table of Contents1 Market Overview1.1 Gluten-Free Products Introduction1.2 Market Analysis by Type1.2.1 Bakery Products1.2.2 Pizzas & Pastas1.2.3 Cereals & Snacks1.2.4 Savories1.2.5 Others1.3 Market Analysis by Applications1.3.1 Conventional Stores1.3.2 Hotels & Restaurants1.3.3 Educational Institutions1.3.4 Hospitals & Drug Stores1.3.5 Specialty Services1.4 Market Analysis by Regions1.4.1 North America (USA, Canada and Mexico)1.4.1.1 USA Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.1.2 Canada Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.1.3 Mexico Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.2 Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)1.4.2.1 Germany Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.2.2 France Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.2.3 UK Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.2.4 Russia Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.2.5 Italy Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.3 Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)1.4.3.1 China Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.3.2 Japan Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.3.3 Korea Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.3.4 India Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.3.5 Southeast Asia Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.4 South America, Middle East and Africa1.4.4.1 Brazil Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.4.2 Egypt Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.4.3 Saudi Arabia Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.4.4 South Africa Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.4.5 Nigeria Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.5 Market Dynamics1.5.1 Market Opportunities1.5.2 Market Risk1.5.3 Market Driving Force2 Manufacturers Profiles2.1 Boulder Brands2.1.1 Business Overview2.1.2 Gluten-Free Products Type and Applications2.1.2.1 Type 12.1.2.2 Type 22.1.3 Boulder Brands Gluten-Free Products Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.2 DR. SCHR AG/SPA2.2.1 Business Overview2.2.2 Gluten-Free Products Type and Applications2.2.2.1 Type 12.2.2.2 Type 2Continue(Gluten Free Product Market Research Industry Report is prepared with the help of extensive primary and secondary sources, directories, journals, newsletters and third-party application like Hoovers, Factiva, Bloomberg, Businessweek, etc.About Us:Market Reports Company is a global research and consulting company. We provide customized reports. Wecan study and analyze any market based on wide range of parameters.What can we offer: Customized Reports: we provide customized report study on any market or industry. Region Specific Study: If you need region specific or if you are searching for particular region market study then, we have expert research team for that. How we work: We work in all domains and industries, you name it and we provide the market research industry report analysis of it. Expertise: Superior Research Team, 24*7 Customer Care ServiceContact UsJason Smith,Sales Manager, Global Business Development,Website:Email: jasonsmith@marketreportscompany.comContact us: +1-888-220-3424
2017 Maltodextrin market report for period 2017 till 2022 Grain Processing Corp, Roquette, Cargill Inc., Matsutani, ADM, Ingredion, Tate & Lyle, Agrana Group, Avebe, Nowamyl, SSSFI-AAA, Kraft and Others

Maltodextrin

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Global Maltodextrin market report provides detailed analysis of companies namely Grain Processing Corp, Roquette, Cargill Inc., Matsutani, ADM, Ingredion, Tate & Lyle, Agrana Group, Avebe, Nowamyl, SSSFI-AAA, Kraft and others. This report study includes global market statistics and analysis for example, company performance, historical analysis 2012 to 2016, market forecast 2017 to 2022 in terms of volume, revenue, YOY growth rate, and CAGR for the year 2017 to 2022, etc.Maltodextrin is a polysaccharide that is always used as a food additive. It is produced from various starches, such as corn, rice, potato, wheat, mandioc etc, by partial hydrolysis with the value of DE below 20%. And it is usually found as a white hygroscopic spray-dried powder.Request for Free Sample Copy of Global Maltodextrin Market 2017 at:Top Company Profiles and Analysis included in this report: Grain Processing Corp Roquette Cargill Inc. Matsutani ADM Ingredion Tate & Lyle Agrana Group Avebe Nowamyl SSSFI-AAA Kraft OthersMaltodextrin Market: Key Product Type MD 10 MD 15 MD 20 OtherMaltodextrin Market: Key Application Type Food & Beverage Pharm Industrial OthersMaltodextrin Market: Key Region North America (USA, Canada and Mexico) Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy) Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia) South America (Brazil, Argentina, Columbia etc.) Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa)Maltodextrin market belongs to food and beverages industry and it comprise of detailed quantitative as well as qualitative information for Maltodextrin market. This research report provides consumption data and expected growth rate for major consuming regions worldwide. Maltodextrin market report provides detailed segmentation for market of Maltodextrin based on products, applications, and size industry for all major regions and countries. This market research study further provides detailed information pertaining to global production, import and export data for all key regions across the globe. Moreover, this study further provides major drivers, restraints impacting Maltodextrin market. Additionally, the report provides the comprehensive study of expected opportunities in Maltodextrin market in coming future.The Maltodextrin market analysis report provides detailed value chain for analysis of Maltodextrin market. The value chain helps to analyze major upstream in raw materials, major equipments, manufacturing process, downstream customer analysis and major distributor analysis.The report also covers in-depth description, competitive scenario, wide product portfolio of prime players active in this market and business strategies adopted by competitors along with their SWOT analysis. Side by side, it also explicitly provides information about mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, and all the other important activities happened in current and past few years. The Maltodextrin market report explores manufacturers competitive scenario and provides market share for all major players of this market based on production capacity, sales, revenue, geographical presence and other major factors.Related Reports:Enquire before Buying @Table of Contents:1 Market Overview1.1 Maltodextrin Introduction1.2 Market Analysis by Type1.2.1 MD 101.2.2 MD 151.2.3 MD 201.3 Market Analysis by Applications1.3.1 Food & Beverage1.3.2 Pharm1.3.3 Industrial1.3.4 OthersContinue(Maltodextrin Market Research Industry Report is prepared with the help of extensive primary and secondary sources, directories, journals, newsletters and third-party application like Hoovers, Factiva, Bloomberg, Businessweek, etc.About Us:Market Reports Company is a global research and consulting company. We provide customized reports. We can study and analyze any market based on wide range of parameters.What can we offer: Customized Reports: we provide customized report study on any market or industry. Region Specific Study: If you need region specific or if you are searching for particular region market study then, we have expert research team for that. How we work: We work in all domains and industries, you name it and we provide the market research industry report analysis of it. Expertise: Superior Research Team, 24*7 Customer Care ServiceContact UsJason Smith,Sales Manager, Global Business Development,Website:Email: jasonsmith@marketreportscompany.comContact us: +1-888-220-3424Address: 20 N State Street, Chicago, Illinois, 60602 United States
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Balanced and evidence-based patient information on cancer screening can protect patients from inadequate medical advice. This was shown in a representative study by the Harding Center for Risk Literacy at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, recently published in the journal PLoS ONE.---When it comes to their own health or that of a loved one, many people are apprehensive and rely fully on doctors' recommendations. Yet in the case of cancer screening, numerous studies have shown that doctors themselves often do not know or understand the medical evidence for such tests, i.e., their scientifically established benefits and harms, and inadequately counsel symptom-free patients or give them advice that goes against existing medical guidelines. Researchers at the Harding Center for Risk Literacy at the Max Plank Institute for Human Development and the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin) therefore investigated how evidence-based versus non-evidence-based patient information on cancer screening affects people's decision for or against screening tests when this information contradicts doctors' advice.For the study, 897 persons in the context of the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) were intervieweda representative multi-cohort survey panel at DIW Berlin that regularly provides information about personal and political views, income, employment, education, and health. In a personal interview, those participating in the survey were given either evidence-based or non-evidence-based information on the benefits and harms of a cancer screening test. Because not all screening tests are covered by German health insurance companies, participants were also informed about whether the tests were covered or had to be paid individually. They were then asked to make a decision for or against the test. Subsequently, they were confronted with a non-evidence-based recommendation from a fictional doctor. This recommendation was based on actual recommendations by real doctors and was biased insofar as it focused solely on either the benefits or the harms of the screening test. Moreover, it provided no numerical information on the magnitude of benefits or harms. In conclusion, participants were asked to reconsider their decision in light of the doctor's recommendation.Approximately one third of the participants who had received non-evidence-based patient information altered their initial decision in favor of the doctor's non-evidence-based recommendation, if these differed. Those who had received evidence-based information were not as easily influenced: Only 16 percentaround half as many as those who had not been fully informedaltered their initial decision. Whether the test was covered by health insurance or not played no role. "Our results show that understandable, evidence-based patient information can facilitate informed and preference-sensitive decisions, even when a doctor provides inadequate counseling," says lead author Odette Wegwarth from the Harding Center for Risk Literacy.Nevertheless, she and her co-authors, Gerd Gigerenzer and Gert G. Wagner, do not want the results of their study to be interpreted as a general call to mistrust doctors' recommendations. A doctorpatient relationship built on trust is important. At the same time, it needs to be based on transparent, evidence-based advice on benefits and harms. As the authors note, in order for doctors to meet this prerequisite, statistical risk competency needs to be integrated more fully into medical education and CME.----Background InformationOriginal PublicationWegwarth, O., Gigerenzer, G. & Wagner, G. G. (2017). Can facts trump unconditional trust? Evidence-based information halves the influence of physicians non-evidence-based cancer screening recommendations. PLoS ONE 12(8):e0183024. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0183024Harding Center for Risk LiteracyThe center envisions a society of informed citizens who are competent enough to deal with the risks of a modern technological world. Established through a gift from the London-based global investment manager David Harding, the Center is affiliated with the Max Planck Institute for Human Development and funds research conducted by Prof. Dr. Gerd Gigerenzer and his team.Max Planck Institute for Human DevelopmentThe Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin was founded in 1963. It is an interdisciplinary research institution dedicated to the study of human development and education. The Institute belongs to the Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science, one of the leading organizations for basic research in Europe.Weitere Informationen:Quelle: idw
EUGENE -- The hazelnut crop in Oregon is a lot like a roller coaster: up one year, and down the next.

Hazelnuts, also called filberts, are a popular ingredient in baked goods, candy and snacks.

Based on field and lab tests, national agricultural experts recently predicted that Oregon will produce 36,000 tons of hazelnuts this year, down 18 percent from 44,000 tons last year.

But hazelnut growers and industry representatives say production always has been hard to predict, and in recent years, it has become even harder.

"There are so many variables that it's difficult to come up with this number every year," said Polly Owen, director of the Oregon Hazelnut Industry Office, based in Aurora, south of Wilsonville.

"For us, it's more of a guideline," she said. "It's a predictor. We won't know (the actual figure) until the crop comes in."

Garry Rodakowski, who has a 60-acre hazelnut orchard in Vida, near the McKenzie River east of Springfield, said he wasn't too surprised by this year's forecast of a smaller crop. Rodakowski is chairman of the Oregon Hazelnut Commission, a commodity commission and state agency under the state Department of Agriculture.

"As I look at my orchard out of the tractor window, I can see the effects of eastern filbert blight, and my trees won't produce as much as they used to because I'm having to prune that blight out," he said Wednesday.

Growers are pruning trees to contain eastern filbert blight, a deadly fungus, and some have replaced old, diseased trees with younger disease-resistant varieties.

Earlier this month, experts with the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service picked a limb with nuts off of two trees at 180 orchards in Oregon's Willamette Valley, said Dave Losh, a statistician with the service's Oregon field office.

Then nut samples were taken to a regional office where they were measured, weighed, cracked and analyzed to arrive at the 2017 crop estimate.

"We just found there were less nuts per tree, and the nuts were smaller than usual," Losh said.

Oregon hazelnuts

Acreage by county

Marion:

15,436

Yamhill:

12,962

Linn:

6,380

Washington:

6,001

Polk:

5,909

Clackamas:

5,809

Lane:

5,005

Benton:

2,847

Douglas:

315

Source: Oregon Hazelnut Industry Office

"Most of the decline has been to blight, but some has to do with the amount of pruning (by growers) to try to head off the blight," he said.

Rodakowski said he's trying to get five more years from his Barcelona variety trees  some of them are 85 years old  before he removes diseased trees and plants new varieties.

But other growers have been quicker to plant new trees, and those new varieties throw new variables into the annual crop forecasts.

"You have an increasing (production) curve for the new varieties and a downward curve for the Barcelona variety," Rodakowski said. "We don't know how quickly (the old varieties) are going downhill and how fast (the new varieties) are going uphill.

"We don't know what the production of 7- to 8-year-old orchards with new varieties is going to be compared to in the past," he said.

Another big question mark is what price the nuts will fetch after harvest.

Prices are determined by the world market, which is dominated by Turkey.

Oregon produces 99 percent of the U.S. hazelnut crop, but only about 5 percent of the world crop, according to the Oregon Hazelnut Industry Office.

"We're such a small portion of the world market, but we get a premium because of high quality of Oregon-grown nuts," Rodakowski said.

Oregon exports about half of its annual crop to markets, such as Europe and China.

Rodakowski said he didn't think the severe ice storms in parts of Oregon, including Lane County, early this year will affect this year's hazelnut crop.

Some growers in the River Road area of Eugene were hit hard, but most of Oregon's hazelnut orchards are farther north, Rodakowski said.

Marion County has the highest hazelnut acreage in the state, followed by Yamhill County.

"I think it will be a very good year regardless of the crop size," said Owen, director of the Oregon Hazelnut Industry Office.

"The demand for hazelnuts worldwide is growing," she said.

In the U.S., a growing number of products use hazelnuts, from bread to chocolate candy, Owen said.

-- Eugene Register-Guard
Dr. David Wilson was bracing himself for a spike in visitors to eye clinics after thousands of people flocked to Oregon to view the historic solar eclipse Monday.

Instead, the director of Oregon Health and Sciences University Casey Eye Institute has been pleasantly surprised. OHSU eye doctors have seen only a handful of patients with fears of eclipse-related eye damage, Wilson said Wednesday.

"I'm just delighted that everyone got to see that celestial magic without too much damage to their eyes," he said.

Shortly after the eclipse Monday, nine patients visited OHSU's mobile medical van at the OMSI Solar Eclipse Viewing Party in Salem, spokeswoman Elisa Williams said. The day after the eclipse, only a few more patients sought treatment for eye concerns at OHSU, she said. None of the people examined had signs of permanent retinal damage.

Other eye clinics have seen even fewer patients related to the eclipse. Legacy Health's Devers Eye Institute in Portland hasn't seen any increase in visitors, a spokesman said Wednesday.

Save for a few people calling medical advice lines to ask about eye concerns, Kaiser Permanente clinics have seen no effects from the eclipse, spokesman Michael Foley said.

Just like Wilson, Kaiser doctors were surprised, Foley said.

"We were definitely prepared for our patients to come in with injuries," he said.

Wilson credits public health warnings about the eclipse for the low number of patients.

Though most people's symptoms would have shown up within two days of the eclipse, it's still possible clinics may see more patients, Wilson said.

Symptoms of eye damage include blurred vision, eye pain and blind spots, Wilson said.

People who are concerned about their vision after the eclipse can take a test at home to determine whether they should see an eye doctor, Wilson said. The test, known as an Amsler grid, can be taken online.

Still, if someone has any concerns, Wilson recommends they seek help.

"I'd tell them to go see their eye care provider," he said.

-- Samantha Matsumoto

503-294-4001; @SMatsumoto55
A remaining mystery about Portland Public Schools' protection of educator Mitch Whitehurst in the face of years of complaints of sexual misconduct: Who concluded that eighth-grade girls' firsthand accounts about their gym teacher were rumors?

That decision, made in 2013, let Whitehurst skate yet again and is laid out in a video deposition. Yet no one will own it and no one will say who made that call.

School board members have pledged an independent investigation into the school district's treatment of Whitehurst, which was laid bare in a recent Oregonian/OregonLive article. At least two board members say they specifically want to know who wrote off the girls' firsthand accounts.

"I hope the investigation figures out who it was. I'd love to hear that person's logic," said board member Mike Rosen. "How many women had to come forward over 32 years before there was a credible complaint that wasn't quote a rumor? I think it is embarrassing. I mean who is accountable?"

Even after he and fellow board member Scott Bailey said employees who made key decisions in the Whitehurst case need to be held to account, current and former district employees have remained mum.

School board chair Julia Brim-Edwards, explaining why she felt a thorough independent investigation was needed, didn't hold back on her shock.

"As a parent, this is not at all how I would expect the school district to investigate and address student concerns about a district employee," Brim-Edwards said. "The student reports about Whitehurst's behavior are horrifying and deeply troubling."

Current and former district employees who might know but won't say who wrote off the girls' fears include current lawyer Stephanie Harper, former top lawyer Jollee Patterson, former human resources director Sean Murray, former Faubion Principal LaShawn Lee and current Faubion principal Jennifer McCalley. None will say. District spokesman Dave Northfield has said he doesn't know how the district could get any of them to talk.

The district's choice to write off the girls' concerns has drawn scrutiny after The Oregonian/OregonLive's story revealed how the district repeatedly protected Whitehurst from allegations of sexual misconduct. Their complaints, registered in 2013, followed other formal firsthand complaints from a current student and former student in 2001, 2008 and 2012.

Whitehurst worked in the district for 32 years before he was terminated after a male colleague complained Whitehurst mistreated him. Whitehurst pleaded guilty to misdemeanor harassment in that case and ultimately lost his teaching license in 2016 after the state investigated a former student's sexual misconduct claim Portland Public Schools had twice ignored.

Harper said repeatedly during a deposition in the coworker's lawsuit that the conclusion of the district's investigation at Faubion was that the girls' fears were "rumors."

Although Harper was not involved in the Faubion investigation, she testified as part of the lawsuit as the district's designated representative of its collective knowledge. She was specifically tapped to convey "knowledge of allegations of sexual misconduct against Whitehurst and what steps, if any, the district took to investigate."

There is no paperwork showing the district's conclusion. Harper has stressed it is not her opinion that the girls' fears were rumors. She said "rumors" is "the exact word that was conveyed" to her. But she refused to tell the opposing lawyer in the lawsuit and The Oregonian/OregonLive who conveyed that word to her.

Harper would not agree to be interviewed, but answered some questions in writing.

"Students should not feel uncomfortable like they did," she said in an email. "There clearly was enough information to warrant concern and follow-up."

But she has repeatedly refused to say who made the call on this investigation. In addition, she hasn't answered questions about why she has continued to ignore this question.

What does exist are transcripts of interviews with 24 students conducted in response to girls hiding in the bathroom or purposefully wearing shoes not fit for gym so they could sit out. Seventeen students described being personally unnerved by Whitehurst, with 14 saying they saw him leer at girls.

"He doesn't bother to learn our names," one girl reported when relaying that he called her and others "babe" or "baby." "He stares at chests and butts... He's looking like 'she looks good' for over a minute at a time."

"I saw him look at her backside. I panicked. People tell me it's happening to me too," another said. "I feel scared. I'm afraid of him."

"I wore the wrong shoes on purpose," said another. "I like P.E. but I don't want to be watched."

Those statements and the many others like them are not rumors, attorney Matthew Ellis told Harper during the deposition. Who concluded they were remains unsaid.

Murray and Lee never responded to questions from The Oregonian/OregonLive conveyed to them last month and again this week. McCalley would not agree to be interviewed. Patterson said she would not discuss district business, even though current school district officials gave her written permission to do so.

Read The Oregonian/OregonLive's Benefit of The Doubt investigation here:

 Bethany Barnes

Got a tip about Portland Public Schools? Email Bethany: bbarnes@oregonian.com
As a boy, Myles "Mike" Grant spent time with his grandmother in her Lake Oswego apartment. She read to him, worked on crafts and taught him to play chess. But she never talked about her past.

Only when he found documents more than 40 years after her death did he discover her heroic life. He wanted to recognize what she'd done and to make things right, which he accomplished last week during a ceremony at a Southwest Portland cemetery.

"She didn't take the easy path," Grant said. "She stood up for what she believed. To have her end up the way she did was shameful."

Mildred Hawes Glines Rollins died in a nursing home when Grant was 11. Within a few years of her death, his parents divorced. His father got custody, and he and his son moved four times in four years. He never knew where she was buried.

Deep roots were never part of Grant's legacy. His father, a West Point graduate, served in the U.S Army. Grant, born in Japan, spent time in Germany and California before settling in West Linn, where the family moved when his father was sent to Vietnam. His father believed it best if they were close to his mother and his sister, who lived in separate units in a Lake Oswego apartment complex.

Grant enrolled at Oregon State University and received a U.S. Army scholarship. After graduation, he served in the Army. Assignments took him around the world. He got married. The couple, who had a son, later divorced. When Grant retired from the Army, he settled in Olympia, earned a teaching certificate and is now a substitute teacher.

In July 2016, he learned that his aunt, Michele Grant, who'd never married, had died without a will. Two distant cousins who lived across the country, asked Grant to be the estate's personal representative. For the first time in decades, Grant returned to the apartment complex.

When he opened the two-bedroom unit where his aunt had lived for more than 50 years, he stepped into a time capsule. The closets were packed full of boxes jammed with photographs, newspaper clippings and documents. Drawers were stuffed with paper without any filing system.

Scenes from her life.

In one drawer, Grant found his father's childhood report card next to a decades-old bank statement. When Rollins moved the nursing home, Grant learned, her daughter moved all the furniture to her apartment. Over time, she piled her papers on top of the older ones.

In the bottom of one drawer, Grant found a document showing that more than 50 years earlier, his grandmother had purchased burial plots for herself and her daughter at River View Cemetery. Grant headed to River View. He wanted to see his grandmother's headstone, so he could match the lettering to the one he'd have made for his aunt. But when the funeral director led him to the spot on the map, they found just grass.

"My grandmother had been in an unmarked grave for all these years," Grant said.

Back in his aunt's apartment, the mystery of his grandmother's life became clear as he sorted through boxes and drawers. His grandmother had been chair of Rhode Island's National Woman's Party, a group that fought to get women the right to vote. In 1917, when she was 22, his grandmother wrote the resolution signed by the governor asking the state's U.S. senators to vote for the Equal Suffrage Amendment, called the 19th Amendment, which became the law of the land in 1920.

Devoted to her country, she served as a nurse in WWI and in WWII. Nearly 10 years after divorcing her first husband, an Army lieutenant she'd met after WWI, she met and married an old friend who'd served as a brigadier general in the U.S. Army during WWII. After he retired, her husband was appointed director of what was then called Portland's U.S. Veterans Hospital The couple moved to Lake Oswego. Her daughter soon followed.

"My impression of my grandmother grew a bit," Grant said. "She was such a modest person. To be accomplished and modest is something don't see much of these days."

Grant commissioned a headstone for his grandmother, but decided to postpone laying it. After more than 40 years, a little more time didn't matter.

He wanted the moment to have significance.

So, he chose Aug. 18, 2017, the 97th anniversary of the day Tennessee ratified the 19th Amendment, meaning the movement had enough states supporting ratification to make the amendment law of the land.

"I wanted to speak about her as a person," he said. "She was my grandmother. I also wanted someone to speak who could put her accomplishments in context.'

Grant contacted groups specializing in suffragette issues. He eventually connected with Sue Lean, 74, vice chair of the Washington Women's History Consortium, an advisory group to the Washington State Historical Society. Lean, who turned out to live just two miles from Grant, volunteered to drive to Portland for the event.

"To find an almost forgotten leader in the movement is significant," said Lean. "What she, and others did, is taken for granted. It was a 72-year-old struggle to get the vote. Rhode Island had voted no 15 times. I think about this young woman being a driving force in the suffrage movement going back to 1917 in her state. She never quit."

Grant said laying the headstone was the climax of a "very long struggle." A single parent, he taught during the week, and then traveled to Lake Oswego to sort through documents and take care of his aunt's estate.

At the appropriate moment, Grant stepped forward and unveiled the headstone: For decades you have rested here forgotten.

"When I stood there," Grant said, "I felt a great sense of closure."

--Tom Hallman Jr.
When Tony Lamont Brown barricaded himself inside the rental home last September, Portland police pulled no punches.

Brown was wanted for attempted murder in a domestic-violence case involving the woman living in the house on Northeast 81st Avenue.

Thus, the cops used explosives to breach the door, then lobbed tear gas inside. After several hours, the Special Emergency Reaction Team stormed the house and Brown was subdued.

Police were in top form. No harm, no foul, no unnecessary bruises.

Except, of course, to the house.

The house on Northeast 81st Avenue required more than $25,000 to repai

Nguyet Le, who has worked for the U.S. Postal Service in town for the last 21 years, owns the rental. Officer Eric Zajac was especially helpful, she says, telling her to contact the city's Risk Management Division about the extensive damage.

Nguyet Le did just that. She asked the city to reimburse her for approximately $25,000 in damages, costs not covered by insurance, and more than $4,300 in lost rent.

The City of Roses?

The Bureau of Development Services first fined her $288.58 for code violations related to the damage.

Then City Risk weighed in. Its response is best summed up as: "Sue us."

"I can't agree to pay the full amount because we do not accept legal responsibility for property damaged due to the criminal acts of a member of the public," analyst Becky Chiao told Le in an email. "But I may be able to pay $5,000 as a settlement."

Le was stunned. "The city of told me I had to fix the house, or it would be fine, fine, fine, fine, fine," she says. "I was crying. Really. I didn't have the money to fix it."

Equally annoyed is Margie Sollinger, the city ombudsman.

"The facts are undisputed," Sollinger says. "The city blew up this woman's house."

While no negligence was involved, Sollinger adds, Nguyet Le has a "fair and moral" claim against the city, and Portland's charter requires that it be heard.

For most of the 20th century, the city honored that obligation to make citizens whole when it damaged their property in cases that didn't involve legal liability. In a 1983 memo, the city attorney acknowledged that the "most common type of claims ... is for damage to doors allegedly caused by Portland police officers pursuant to search warrants."

But in 1990, Sollinger says, City Risk pulled off a "silent coup." In a seemingly innocuous change, it took control of the committee that considered fair and moral claims.

That committee hasn't met since. City Risk decides when compensation for personal property damage is warranted, making sure those "good will" payments remain off Council's radar.

As Kate Wood, the City Risk manager, said in an email, "The Oregon Tort Claims Act, adopted in 1967, broadened standards for public entities' legal liability and provided a remedy to citizens. The underlying public policy for 'fair and moral' claims became unnecessary."

Wood tenders a

from deputy city Attorney Benjamin Walters as proof that the citizens' "first remedy would be through the tort process."

Sollinger disagrees, passionately. The "fair and moral" claims process is still locked in the charter, she points out, and Council reaffirmed that in April.

"The bureaucracy just decided to do things differently," Sollinger says. "They assumed authority they have no right to exercise. That's how we change laws around here. Instead of using the process, they go behind closed doors and opt not to follow the law.

"It's the tail wagging the dog. And it's such a perversion of our entire city government."

When I spoke Thursday morning to Tom Rinehart, the city's chief administrator, he conceded much of Sollinger's argument.

"Risk management leadership has taken that city attorney's (1990) advice and the OTCA change, and made it their operating guideline that they decide all claims. Then they report to council," Rinehart says. "That's been the operating MO of the city for a long time."

The two choices before Council? "Follow what's in code and charter," Rinehart says, "or clean that up, and update that to our current practice."

When Sollinger made that case to former Mayor Charlie Hales, he punted, as was his style. "I've tried to educate the last two mayoral administrations," she notes. "They're supposed to hear these fair and moral claims. They need to follow the law."

Will Ted Wheeler ever come to the aid of Le, who has spent $30,000 to repair damage done by police to ensure public safety?

So far, Sollinger -- who initiated dramatic changes at the 911 center -- is fighting this battle alone. She helped Le secure a refund for those insulting code violations, but she can't convince the city to give her a rightful hearing.

"There's still room for them to do the right thing," she says. "A small window."

-- Steve Duin

stephen.b.duin@gmail.com
By Carli Brosseau and Rebecca Woolington

The whistleblower who reported a Clackamas County detective for bungling sex crime cases is now leading a campaign to push the state to take a more aggressive role in investigating bad cops.

Sgt. Matt Swanson was appalled that his supervisors waited a year to ask an outside agency to launch a criminal investigation of Detective Jeff Green for neglecting his duties, ignoring sexual assault cases and not following up with rape victims or submitting evidence.

Swanson is now spearheading a small group of mostly police officers who are working to make sure derelict cops like Green don't get a pass. The public call to reform the profession from within stands out in a national climate where police often close ranks around officers accused of wrongdoing.

It's particularly unusual, according to experts in police accountability, to see a grassroots movement made up of line officers.

"When you see the system is broken, it's time to change the system," Swanson told The Oregonian/OregonLive.

The members of his group number only about 10, and some haven't announced their affiliation because they fear backlash on the job. Swanson said they share the realization that no one else is likely to champion the reforms they see as necessary.

They call themselves Police Professionals for Law Enforcement Accountability and have set ambitious goals for the state:

Give the state police certification department more money and power to investigate problem officers and keep them from moving to other agencies.

Provide better protections to officers who face retaliation for reporting misconduct.

Offer better sexual assault training for officers and their supervisors.

"We're not trying to get cops in trouble," said George Dominy, a retired Lebanon police officer who serves as the group's spokesman. "We're just trying to bring our profession back up to where it needs to be."

Several scholars who study police certification said they've never heard of another group of officers agitating for this kind of regulatory change. More common is police union advocacy for less oversight.

"This is a very, very different approach," said Roger Goldman, professor emeritus at Saint Louis University School of Law. Pressure to increase police standards often comes from the chiefs of large agencies and established state-level training departments.

Matthew Hickman, a professor at Seattle University who occasionally surveys certifying departments across the country, said the idea was new to him, too. "It's like they're asking for an external oversight body," Hickman said.

That's not how certifying departments typically see themselves. In many places, Hickman said, an investigation by the state would be seen as butting into a local police agency's business.

All of the group's goals relate back to how Clackamas County handled Green's misconduct and Swanson's complaint.

Cases like Green's, Swanson said in a press release in announcing the group, "shock and disgust us all." He posted the announcement on Twitter on June 29, the same day that Green was sentenced to probation after pleading guilty to two counts of second-degree official misconduct in Clackamas County Circuit Court.

At the hearing, prosecutors said Green's offenses came to light only because Swanson doggedly pursued the case. Within days of being assigned as Green's supervisor in February 2015, Swanson noticed serious gaps in the detective's work and started asking his supervisors to take action. But they didn't ask Milwaukie Police Department to investigate until March 2016.

EXPANDING THE STATE'S ROLE

Swanson's group is looking to give officers in a similar position a place to appeal. That would require dramatically transforming the state's Department of Public Safety Standards and Training. The department and the board that oversees it have the final say on who can work as a police officer in Oregon.

The department grants police certifications and has the power to take them away for misconduct. Oregon has a reputation for being one of the most proactive states in stripping bad cops of the right to carry a badge. The state decertified 23 officers in 2015, according to a national survey of states that regulate the profession.

That's 3.6 decertifications for every 1,000 officers working in Oregon, compared to the national average of 2.3. At the time of the survey, six states didn't have the power to declare an end to an officer's career, and at least three more had the power, but didn't use it.

In Oregon, the board that oversees police decertification recently approved new rules, which were drawn up in secret by a state task force. The new rules narrowed the categories of misconduct that can get an officer thrown out of the profession. In many cases, the rules require more evidence of bad behavior and an officer's intent.

Swanson's group believes Oregon could be much more proactive.

The department focuses mainly on training officers. Out of the department's 150 employees, just two people review professional standards cases involving police, corrections and parole and probation officers and dispatchers. One of the professional standards investigators is a certified police officer.

The group envisions adding a whole investigative arm to the department, hiring more police officers as professional standards investigators and enabling them to do criminal inquiries when necessary. Members want the state to step in and investigate allegations of misconduct when police agencies refuse to take action themselves or when a top cop is the one accused.

The changes would require state lawmakers to give the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training more authority and more money.

"We don't have the staff or the budget," said Eriks Gabliks, the department's director. He estimated the department would need to add more than a dozen investigators.

The department is slated to receive about $60 million over the next two years, with the largest chunk devoted to training. About $3 million is allocated for standards and certification.

To meet requests of the group, Gabliks said, the department would need at least an additional $3 million to pay for staff, more office space, travel expenses, computers and other supplies.

Historically, the department hasn't investigated the complaints against officers that it receives from the public or other officers. Instead, it sends them back to an officer's employer.

After a rule change earlier this month, the department will follow up with agencies to make sure they received the complaints. In very limited cases, the department could launch an inquiry.

REQUIRING SWORN STATEMENTS

Swanson's group also wants to change how the state receives information from an agency that has investigated an officer's misconduct.

When an officer leaves a police agency, the agency must fill out paperwork to tell the state the terms of the departure. The paperwork dictates whether the state will consider revoking an officer's certifications.

For example, if an officer leaves under investigation, the state would follow-up to learn the findings of the inquiry. But if an officer resigns or retires, without notice of an investigation, the state will take no action.

Swanson's group contends that the current system leaves room for deceit, allowing agencies to shield officers in trouble by saying they left on good terms. Members want the paperwork to be a sworn statement to dissuade cover-ups, and they want anyone who makes a false report to be prosecuted.

Dominy, the group's spokesman, said he's heard of agencies misrepresenting why officers leave on the paperwork, allowing them to escape scrutiny from the state.

"You sneak it in, you hope for the best, and because he's your friend, you hope that everything goes away and he gets a job somewhere else or gets to retire and collect his pension," Dominy said, describing the current situation at some agencies.

The state recently mandated that a sworn officer sign the paperwork and began studying how other states collect this information.

IMPROVING SEXUAL ASSAULT TRAINING

Swanson's group also has targeted what it believes is inadequate sexual assault training.

Too many officers and their supervisors disbelieve sexual assault victims and blame them for what happened, the group says. It wants to make sure officers know that very few sexual assault cases involve strangers.

"Having seen police reports focusing on a victim's 'lack of emotion' 'inappropriate response,' attire, apparent confusion under questioning and the like we feel it is important to stress several things in training all officers and investigators," the group wrote in a letter to the department.

"First, statistically very few sexual assault reports are 'false.' Second, there is no 'normal' reaction to being the victim of a sex crime. Third, facts and statements matter and a complaint should be taken at face value and evidence pursued regardless of an initial assessment of victim credibility."

The state now contracts with the Oregon Attorney General's Sexual Assault Task Force to train officers going through the state's academy. The training materials discuss victim blaming at length and emphasize that sexual assault perpetrators choose victims because they are vulnerable and lack credibility.

The Sexual Assault Task Force offers some continued training to police officers that covers ways to improve sexual assault investigations, trauma responses in victims and ways to decrease barriers to reporting. But the state doesn't require it.

Michele Roland-Schwartz, executive director of the task force, said police need ongoing training.

"We're excited to hear that people are asking these questions and are wanting to improve our response in Oregon," she said.

Swanson's group is especially interested in requiring more training for supervisors, who can be promoted without ever having investigated sex crimes.

STRENGTHENING WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTIONS

The state needs to strengthen protections for whistleblowers before the group can begin lobbying for other changes, said Dominy, the group's spokesman who now works for the state teaching officers how to respond to active shooter situations.

Some members fear their employers will retaliate against them by withholding promotions, giving them undesirable assignments or even firing them, Dominy said.

Oregon law protects whistleblowers from retaliation in some circumstances, but the group wants the state to go further.

They want the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training to make sure supervisors are put on administrative leave while allegations against them are being investigated. Supervisors should be stripped of the power to hire or fire people during that period, Dominy said.

The department doesn't see that as its job, said Gabliks, its director.

"We're not the employer," Gabliks said. "That's an employer piece. We're not involved in that part."

Dominy thinks the group might be able to persuade Gabliks and the state board that oversees police standards to make changes if they can arrange a meeting.

The group wants to lobby the governor and lawmakers for more money and authority for the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training, but they want to do it with the department's blessing.

The department has responded warily. Gabliks said the department has a track record of being open to suggestions for improvement.

But when Swanson asked how to sign up to speak at a board meeting, the department's director of professional standards, Linsay Hale, didn't immediately agree to set it up.

"Board meetings are not typically open to public participation or public comment," she wrote in an email.

Hale said she would ask the board's chairman, Marion County Sheriff Jason Myers, for approval.

Myers said he would make time for the board to consider the group's suggestions, but he decided against letting members of the group speak.

-- Carli Brosseau and Rebecca Woolington
As the festival that drew tens of thousands to Crook County wrapped up this week, the sheriff's office had a message to those fearing their loved ones are missing: It's the cell service.

At least 30,000 people attended the Symbiosis Gathering, held on Big Summit Prairie in Central Oregon. It officially ended Wednesday, though county spokeswoman Vicky Ryan said there were still some stragglers Thursday.

The sheriff's office received calls about at least 35 people who were feared missing since the festival started, Ryan said. Only two of those were officially reported as missing, she said, and those two  young sisters -- were found.

The Sheriff's Office wanted to let people know they may not be able to reach their loved ones because there's no cell service on festival grounds.

"In most of these circumstances the issue... has been the lack of cell phone coverage," a Thursday news release said. When attendees re-entered cell range, they were able to make contact, the office said. The sheriff's office warned it could provide only limited help.

"Due to the vast number of people attending the event and the remoteness of the location, as well as the limited resources, it is next to impossible to find someone in that environment," the office wrote Thursday.

A 9-year-old boy went missing last week, as did a woman from Michigan. Both were found. The sisters, from Lake Tahoe, made contact with family when they got within cell range.

A spokesman for the festival said 30,000 people attended the event, the same number the county permitted them to host. But Ryan said a festival organizer had told the county there were about 28,000 cars at the festival  potentially pushing attendance far beyond the number on the permit.

Spokespeople for the festival did not answer questions about the discrepancy.

The county won't know the exact number of peopl or cars at the festival for at least a week. The county set up electronic strips near the festival entrance to count exactly how many cars come and go, Ryan said. They're also hoping to get the total number of tickets sold from the organizers. Ryan hopes there will be a final tally next week.

If they exceeded the permitted number, the county would likely ask the festival organizers to reimburse county and city agencies for the extra costs. The commission has already asked government services that were involved to calculate total costs for the event, Brummer said.

"The traffic counters will tell us a lot," he said.

-- Fedor Zarkhin

fzarkhin@oregonian.com

503-294-7674; @fedorzarkhin
State officials are wrapping up a wide-ranging investigation into allegations that a lawmaker ranked female lobbyists by their looks. They also are checking the lawmaker's claim that Salem insiders who spread rumors of a "hottest lobbyists list" violated his civil rights.

A fact-finding inquiry into allegations surrounding Rep. Diego Hernandez is "ongoing," Dexter Johnson, head attorney at the Legislature, said Thursday.

Lore Christopher, the Legislature's human resources chief whose staff is conducting the inquiry in cooperation with Johnson's, said the work should be complete by Thursday.

When the allegations became public July 1, Hernandez, a Portland Democrat in his first term, vehemently denied that he treated lobbyists inappropriately.

"Let me be as perfectly clear as I can be: I categorically and emphatically state that I have never engaged in any ranking of lobbyists based on physical attributes," said Hernandez, 29, in a statement.

"I believe that my civil rights have been violated by the spread of these vicious lies, and that question has become part of the inquiry. I believe that this whisper campaign against me is an attempt by some to intimidate me, and I won't let that stand."

Christopher said the investigation has included multiple interviews with lawmakers, staff and lobbyists and a "thorough review" of Hernandez's state-issued computer.

Citing attorney-client privilege, however, Johnson said Thursday he does not plan to tell the public what the investigation turns up or what conclusions it reaches. Johnson said Hernandez could share the findings on his own.

Hernandez said he plans to make public the investigators' conclusions.

"I want the truth out," Hernandez said in a text message. "This is unfair and I can't believe how easy it is to do this to someone."

-- Gordon R. Friedman

503-221-8209; @GordonRFriedman
After white supremacist demonstrators in Charlottesville, Virginia, displayed a black-and-white American flag with a blue line across its center, Multnomah County Sheriff Mike Reese announced a similar flag had been removed from a break room in the Multnomah County Courthouse.

For some, the symbol known as the "Thin Blue Line" flag is used to show support for law enforcement and honor officers killed in the line of duty. Others say it's gotten co-opted by the white nationalist movement and shows disrespect to people of color.

The flag was in a courthouse breakroom for Sheriff's Office staff, said sheriff's spokesman Lt. Chad Gaidos. A Multnomah County commissioner raised concerns about the flag to Reese earlier this week, Reese said in a statement Wednesday.

"The community concerns raised led me to ask that the flag be removed while we consider whether or not it is appropriate to display any altered United States flag inside a county-owned facility," Reese said.

The flag has sometimes served as a flashpoint in what has become the nation's fraught terrain of racial politics.

In March, a Florida woman was asked by her homeowners' association to take down her flag after complaints that it was anti-Black Lives Matter.

St. Louis residents complained after the flag was hung on a float during a popular city parade in June, saying it took attention away from marginalized groups. Parade officials later apologized for displaying the flag.

In Portland, emergency medic technicians were criticized in March for wearing patches with the Thin Blue Line emblem during protests. Portland Fire & Rescue Chief Mike Myers said it was inappropriate for medics to wear the patch because it suggested they sided with police against protesters.

In Charlottesville on Aug. 12, demonstrators displayed the flag alongside Confederate flags during a white nationalist protest. Later that day, a man drove a car into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing a woman and injuring at least 19 others. The suspect had expressed racist views in the past, friends reported.

Police Officer Darryl Turner, president of the Portland Police Association, said neo-Nazis and white supremacists have hijacked the symbol. He's not involved in the county decision, but spoke in general about the flag.

"It's a memorial to fallen officers who have given their lives to support and protect diverse and evolving communities," Turner said. "Anyone who supports (white supremacists') rhetoric should not be using that flag."

It should be made clear that the flag doesn't stand for racist beliefs, he said.

"We reject their rhetoric of hate, bigotry, racism and violence in this country. We need to stand together and fight against that," he said.

At the same time, he said, the flag has value as a way to honor police. "We also need to make sure we support and fight for our symbols," he said.

In a statement, Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury said the sheriff was right to remove flag.

"We must be open and try to understand how symbols may hurt or offend other people," she said. "The sheriff is taking a positive step and listening to the community's concern, talking to his people, and taking both into account."

The process to determine the flag's fate hasn't yet been determined, Gaidos said. Reese met with staff Wednesday to discuss the flag, the sheriff said in his statement.

"I ask them to work with me to resolve these issues by determining how and where to display the flag in a manner that will honor fallen law enforcement officers and also meet the expectations of our community," Reese said.

 Samantha Matsumoto

503-294-4001; @SMatsumoto55
Portland police officers who use deadly force will now have to speak with police internal affairs investigators within 48 hours of the incident.

The Portland City Council unanimously approved that rule Wednesday. It will take effect immediately.

The change from current practice, opposed by Multnomah County District Attorney Rod Underhill, was championed by Mayor Ted Wheeler and Commissioner Nick Fish. Underhill said compelling statements before a criminal investigation could violate officers' due process rights, making them immune from prosecution.

The council also unanimously decided to create a new commission on "community-engaged policing" as a means for the public to engage in bureau policies. That is intended in part to comply with a federal mandate for community engagement in the city's settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice.

Revs. LeRoy Haynes Jr. and T. Allen Bethel, co-chairs of The Albina Ministerial Alliance's Coalition for Justice and Police Reform, were among more than a dozen who testified in favor of the reforms Thursday.

"We have reached a crossroad in the struggle to bring 21st Century community policing to the city of Portland, and to address both the failures and the costly mistakes of the past," Haynes said.

The 48-hour rule applies to most officers. Only those who are physically incapacitated or unable to speak with investigators will be excused. The council removed a loophole from the original proposal that would have allowed the police chief and police commissioner to delay the interview.

The revisions came after the mayor and city commissioners heard testimony from the public at two hearings in the last several weeks.

"I want you to know I heard you," Wheeler said Thursday. "I appreciate the testimony that was provided here."

The council directed the city attorney to seek a court review of the policy.

In July, Underhill advised that the police bureau can't compel officers involved in fatal shootings to speak until a criminal inquiry is done.

Retired chief deputy district attorney Norm Frink this week told The Oregonian/OregonLive that he found Underhill's concerns "reasonable" but supports the city's decision to compel statements soon after deadly incidents. He urged city officials to consult with U.S. Department of Justice lawyers and Underhill's office to iron out the details of the policy.

The rule change came two weeks after Wheeler hired Danielle Outlaw to replace former Portland Police Chief Mike Marshman, making Outlaw the first African American woman to hold the position.

"Let us begin anew with the coming of a new chief that embraced 21st Century community policing and creating a new model not only for Portland but for the nation that will build respect and build trust and build accountability and justice to all the citizens of Portland as well as those who serve on the Portland Police Bureau," Haynes said Thursday.

Before voting in favor of the community engagement group on policing, Fish commended the mayor's leadership. He recalled Wheeler asking the public early in his term to judge him based on the progress he makes on police reform and accountability.

The mayor, Fish said, proposed an idea that got mixed reviews and a lot of push back, but he incorporated that feedback into the final policy.

Fish also complimented the mayor for getting consensus on the "very independently-minded" council on the third or fourth major issue in the last month.

"It's a mark of a different kind of leadership that you can bring the whole council along," Fish said. "To me, that's the hallmark of a good leader."

Wheeler also thanked his colleagues.

"This finishes the easy part," Wheeler said. "Now the hard work begins."

--Jessica Floum

503-221-8306
Clarification appended.

After spending $58 million to construct the never-used Wapato Jail and another $300,000 a year to maintain it, Multnomah County is looking to recoup at least some of its costs by selling the North Portland property.

To that end, the county announced Thursday that it has hired the commercial real estate firm CBRE to market the property. The county has already received multiple unsolicited offers, one of which  $10 million in cash from a Santa Monica developer  is still on the table.

About 20 years ago, voters passed a levy to construct the jail. According to county spokesman Mike Pullen, the sheriff at the time had drummed up support for it. But by the time it was completed in 2004, voter-approved measures limited funds for local jurisdictions and the county couldn't afford to operate its newest jail.

The North Portland facility has largely sat empty ever since, Pullen said, though it has been rented out for movie productions and was once used as a command center by the sheriff's office during a search-and-rescue operation.

"It's quite an embarrassing episode in the county's history," he said.

For years, the bond requirements forbade the county from selling the property. Now that the bonds have expired, the county is eager to sell it.

"We're hoping it finds a buyer and it gets back on the tax rolls," Pullen said.

But how does one sell a jail?

Graham Taylor, first vice president at CBRE, says the heavy industrial zoning affords lots of options.

He ticked off the various uses allowed by the city: Vehicle servicing or repair, self-service storage, manufacturing and production, warehouse and freight movement, wholesale sales, industrial service, parks and open areas.

These uses, Taylor said, could include a data center full of servers, a document storage facility, or even a home for an art collection.

"I'm sure we're going to get a lot of creative ideas from potential investors," he said. "There's all kinds of things that people like to keep secure."

With its commercial kitchen, showers, dentist chairs, medical rooms and countless offices and training rooms, it would make a great private bunker to fend off the zombie apocalypse, Taylor joked.

"It's swampy," he said. "Nice and quiet. It would be great for a Hollywood studio to buy and lease back to various production companies for shooting movies."

Or, he said, it could be used as a homeless shelter, a proposal that has been floated before. However, the land's industrial zoning doesn't allow any residential use, and County Chair Deborah Kafoury has opposed using the jail as a shelter, partly because of its distance from infrastructure and services.

While Pullen allowed that the county might consider an offer to sell the jail for use as a shelter, given the right circumstances, its goal is to sell the property for a use allowed within its current zoning.

Regardless of its future use, Taylor said, the new owner could remodel or redevelop the jail, adding windows or knocking out cell walls to make it more welcoming.

The 155,400-square-foot facility is situated on 18.24 acres. According to a 2016 valuation, the property is worth $8.5 million as an industrial building, after knocking off $1.5 million for alteration and conversion costs.

It's valued at $20 million as a detention center, but as the state forbids private prisons, it's unlikely that it will ever function as a jail off the big screen.

CBRE won the county's business in a competitive bid process earlier this year. In addition to the jail, the firm will also market the county's other surplus buildings. These could include the McCoy Building and the Central Courthouse, both located downtown.

-- Anna Marum

amarum@oregonian.com

503-294-5911

@annamarum

This story has been updated to clarify the county's stance on using the jail as a homeless shelter.
The nation's top-priority fire rages four miles from the Chetco Brewing Company and the brewery has been under a get-out evacuation order for about a week.

No matter. The beer must be brewed. Firefighters understand that.

"The National Guard has been really good to us," Chetco Brewing co-owner Alex Carr-Frederick said Friday, explaining the need to drive past safety checkpoints, "because we've had to check fermenters."

The brewery sits in the path of the Chetco Bar fire in an unincorporated area outside the southwest Oregon coastal community of 6,500.

Several outer areas have been under the top evacuation warning -- Level 3 -- for days, but the city proper had escaped an evacuation notice until Thursday.

That's when the fire moved about 5 miles northeast of Brookings and authorities issued the lowest-level alert (prepare to leave -- Level 1) for town residents.

The declaration was the latest indication of the seriousness of the Chetco fire, which authorities now rank as the No. 1 firefighting priority in the country.

Gov. Kate Brown arrived in Brookings later Friday and received a briefing from fire officials. She thanked firefighters for their work and residents for their cooperation. She urged people to remain ready to move at a moment's notice.

"Fire situations can get dangerous very quickly and we need everyone in this community to remain on their toes and to remain extremely cautious," Brown said.

Authorities were especially concerned about the potential impact of the wind-whipping "Chetco Effect"  a weather pattern that brings warm, dry air from inland down through valleys and out to sea. Similar conditions are blamed for vastly expanding the size of the fire last weekend.

The National Weather Service has issued a fire weather watch for the fire area, with strong, gusty winds (10-15 mph with gusts up to 25mph) and low relative humidity expected from 7 p.m. Friday through 11 a.m. Saturday.

Press briefing in Brookings on the Chetco Bar Fire Posted by Governor Kate Brown on Friday, August 25, 2017

The fire, believed to have been caused by lightning, began July 12 on a quarter acre. It has grown to 102,333 acres and nearly 1,400 people are fighting the fire.

And as Carr-Frederick and her husband, Michael Frederick, strive to ensure their business survives, they're also looking out for those firefighters.

In addition to their brewery, the couple operate the Chetco Brewing Company Tap Room in town. The pub has a popular pay-it-forward-style "Gift a Beer" promotion, where customers can buy a $5 beer for somebody to be redeemed in the future.

Two days ago, the pub launched a Gift a Beer exclusively for firefighters, at $4 each.

"We've had 240 beers purchased online," Carr-Frederick said, noting that buyers have been as far away as Germany, Texas and Minnesota. Only 11 beers have been claimed thus far.

Firefighters have told her the brewery's location -- next to the Chetco River -- makes it likely to survive. Nevertheless, the firefighters also have mentioned a variety of measures that could be taken to ensure the survival of the 900-square-foot brewery that now holds about 450 gallons of beer.

The prognosis was somewhat comforting for the brewery because it's preparing its entry this weekend to meet a deadline for the upcoming Great American Beer Festival in October in Denver.

Carr-Frederick said she's most concerned about people living in elderly care facilities in Brookings as well as animal shelters.

"Where are they going to go?" she wondered.

Earlier Friday, Brookings City Manager Gary Milliman noted that preparations for a possible evacuation have been underway in the community near the California border for more than a week.

That has included "getting our water system ready, making sure the water storage capacity is maintained at the highest possible level," Milliman said. "We are encouraging citizens to conserve water and to take note that there is a threat."

Milliman praised the coordinated firefighting team of the Oregon State Fire Marshall, U.S. Forest Service, Oregon Department of Forestry and Coos Fire Protection Association. "They're working well," he said.

Milliman said the Level 1 evacuation notice encourages residents "to work on things like developing a family emergency plan and thinking about where they might go if they had to evacuate and how they would secure their home."

He also said he has seen several examples of neighbors helping neighbors, particularly residents opening their homes to people living in unincorporated areas who have been evacuated from their homes.

"I have observed many travel trailers parked on property around town that are occupied by evacuees," he wrote.

--Allan Brettman

503-294-5900

@allanbrettman
Michelle Johnston Holthaus

Intel quietly made another change to its top ranks this week, just one day after a different longtime executive announced his exit.

Hillsboro executive Michelle Johnston Holthaus will run Intel's sales and marketing group, the chipmaker said Wednesday in a securities filing. The Linfield College graduate, who joined the company in 1996, replaces Greg Pearson.

Pearson, who'd held the job since 2013, will get a new job when he returns from sabbatical. He's based at the corporate headquarters in California,

The chipmaker's leadership has been in nearly continuous transition over the past two years as Intel repositions the business to prepare for long-term decline in its core PC business.

On Tuesday, Stacy Smith - president of Intel's manufacturing and sales organizations - told employees he was leaving for another, unspecified professional opportunity. Smith had been the company's longtime chief financial officer before taking a newly created job leading manufacturing and sales last year.

A half-dozen executives have left Intel's top ranks since July 2015, and the company has added a similar number of new executives from outside the business.

-- Mike Rogoway; twitter: @rogoway; 503-294-7699
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Republican National Committee walked the tightrope Friday in carefully but resolutely denouncing white supremacist groups without criticizing President Donald Trump, who waffled in his own statements in the wake of the deadly clash in Virginia this month.

Meeting in Nashville, Tennessee, the RNC approved a raft of resolutions, including one asserting "Nazis, the KKK, white supremacists and others are repulsive, evil and have no fruitful place in the United States."

And while the vote was unanimous, some members had grumbled the resolution was unnecessary and reflected unnecessary defensiveness.

"It's amazing that we have been lured into this argument that we're not racists. It's absurd," said Colorado Republican Chairman Jeff Hays. "Why would we feel compelled to do that?"

The sentiment reflects a difference between RNC leaders concerned about the party's image in light of President Donald Trump's latest rhetorical thicket and newer, more ardently pro-Trump state Republican leaders who say such a statement appears defensive.

But this was a priority for Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel, as well as for committee members who were openly bothered by Trump's initial resistance to singling out the racist groups after the Charlottesville violence.

Hearing about the grumbling, McDaniel made the rounds Friday morning to reinforce with members that the measure was a priority.

"Every day, I wake up proud that we're the party of Lincoln," McDaniel told the committee Friday. "Condemning violence is not a Republican or Democratic issue. It is an American issue."

Despite the resolution, there doesn't appear to be a softening of support for the president within the party's national organization.

Rather, what was to be a sleepy, pro-forma late summer gathering seemed to spark renewed backing for the president despite a series of recent setbacks: the GOP's stunning failure to repeal and replace "Obamacare"; the furious backlash over his comments about the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia; and the departure of crowd favorite Reince Priebus, the former RNC chairman, as Trump's chief of staff.

"The president was not wrong to point out what the media has failed to point out," that counter-protesters also "came for a battle" in Charlottesville, said Pennsylvania Republican Chairman Val DiGiorgio.

DiGiorgio stood by the "many sides" comment Trump made immediately after the clash in Virginia, in which a car was driven into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing a woman. The president was criticized harshly by both Republicans and Democrats because he didn't immediately denounce the white nationalist groups.

There was palpable contempt in the conference room for counter-protesters who were ready to fight. RNC member Morton Blackwell, who affirmed his support for the resolution, said "Every person who came to Charlottesville intending violence was evil."

Bill Palatucci, a RNC committeeman from New Jersey who sponsored the resolution, said it was important for the committee to formally denounce white supremacists. Palatucci said, "I think he got it wrong a week ago Tuesday, in regards to Charlottesville," when Trump said during a free-wheeling, defiant news conference that there were "very fine people on both sides" at the demonstration.

But even Palatucci, who was a devout supporter of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's 2016 presidential campaign, said, "I support the president's agenda." He cited deregulation measures Trump has signed and the president's plan, outlined Monday, to send additional U.S. troops to Afghanistan to revive the effort to root out terrorist cells.

The party's robust $87 million raised to date -- dwarfing what Democrats have raised -- has also lifted spirits, as has improving economic confidence.

The consensus in Nashville is that the Republican-controlled Congress, not Trump, has let down the party.

"There is a level of frustration that Congress didn't repeal and replace Obamacare," Ohio Republican Party Chairwoman Jane Timken said. "They want the president's agenda passed. They blame Congress."

While Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have feuded before and since the failed health care vote in July, there was little talk in Nashville of dumping the veteran Kentucky senator as leader.

"I'm not ready to abandon McConnell," Pennsylvania's DiGiorgio said. "But I would urge him to come together and get this done."

Trump has complained about McConnell and other Republican senators who have criticized the president or opposed his efforts. He notably pointed to Sens. John McCain and Jeff Flake, Arizona Republicans, during an angry speech to supporters in Phoenix on Tuesday.

Trump's intraparty attacks have some GOP strategists worried that the fighting could harm Republicans' chances of holding the Senate in next year's midterm elections, though that would require Democrats to retain almost all of the 10 seats they occupy in states Trump won last year.

Chairwoman McDaniel said Trump's taunts are the outspoken New Yorker's way of urging action.

"The president wants to see his agenda passed," McDaniel said. "He's channeling what I'm hearing from the American people, which is, 'We gave you the White House. You have the Senate. You have the House. Why aren't you getting these things done?'"

--The Associated Press
The growing Chetco Bar wildfire has prompted officials to issue an evacuation warning for Brookings residents.

The City of Brookings is under a level 1 evacuation notice, meaning residents should be ready to leave. Officials issued the warning at about 5:30 p.m. Unincorporated areas not already under evacuation notices are also included in the warning.

The Chetco Bar fire was ignited by lightning in the Kalmiopsis Wilderness on July 12 and is now about five miles northeast of Brookings, officials said Thursday night. The fire has scorched over 100,000 acres. It is zero percent contained.

The fire was listed as the top firefighting priority in the nation Tuesday after it grew rapidly last week. Oregon Public Broadcasting reported about 4,000 people have been evacuated from their homes.

Gov. Kate Brown announced a mobilization of an additional 125 Oregon National Guard resources to support others working on the fire starting Thursday.

More than 1,700 homes are threatened by the fire and six have been burned. Close to 30 other buildings have been damaged.

Officials estimate the fire won't be contained until October.

-- Samantha Matsumoto

smatsumoto@oregonian.com

503-294-4001; @SMatsumoto55
A conversation on climate change to explore the challenges facing communities and the churches. The conversation will include a presentation by Prof Jonathan Boston (Victoria University of Wellington), which will address the need to reduce emissions and adapt to climate change.

Date Saturday, 26 August 2017 Time 10:00am - 12:00pm Audience Public,Alumni,All University Event Category Humanities Event Type Open Seminar

Campus Dunedin Department Theology Location St Patrick's Community Centre, 40 Macandrew Road Cost Free Contact Name Centre for Theology and Public Issues Contact Phone 64 3 479 8516 Contact Email ctpinz@otago.ac.nz Website http://www.otago.ac.nz/ctpi/news

Save this event
Friday 25 August 2017 4:03pm

University of Otago researchers studying learning processes affected in brain disorders such as Parkinsons disease and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) have made new discoveries about how nerve impulses form memories, findings which have implications for developing new therapies for these conditions.

The researchers findings, published in the leading international journa l Nature Communications, have implications for better understanding of these conditions and for developing new treatments.

Professor John Reynolds, of the Department of Anatomy and the Brain Health Research Centre, says it has been recognised for nearly 20 years that the timing that nerve impulses arrive at cells - in the order of 1/100 of a second - is critical in the strengthening of brain cell connections during memory formation.

Researchers were faced by a conundrum in that the part of the brain that processes dopamine during the learning of a new skill seemed to follow completely the opposite timing rules to all other brain areas. In this case, it appeared that the brain cell needed to fire a nerve impulse before the actual movement activity was registered by the cell, which seemed intuitively wrong, Professor Reynolds says.

Otago PhD graduate Dr Simon Fisher and Professor Reynolds have now discovered that the pulse of dopamine into the brain that accompanies arrival of a reward had its own critical timing requirement, this time in the order of seconds. When that requirement is met, the timing of nerve impulses in memory formation became exactly the same as all other brain areas.

In other words, the naturally delayed arrival of these rewards shapes the ability for memories to be formed in a normal fashion, Professor Reynolds says.

The researchers believe this finding has important implications for better understanding of and for developing new treatments for brain disorders such as Parkinsons disease and ADHD, where the processing of brain reward is abnormal.

In addition, since pulses of dopamine are released by pleasurable stimuli such as chocolate or addictive substances such as alcohol and nicotine and drugs of abuse, it also helps us understand how habits can be formed for ingesting these substances, Professor Reynolds says.

Article link (open access)

For more information, contact:

Professor John Reynolds

Department of Anatomy, School of Biomedical Sciences

University of Otago

Tel 64 3 479 5781

Email john.reynolds@otago.ac.nz
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Food bank sends aid to hurricane zone

BLOOMINGTON  The Midwest Food Bank plans to send disaster relief food boxes to Texas on Friday in anticipation of damage and service disruptions likely to come from Hurricane Harvey.

The storm is expected to make landfall on the central part of the Gulf Coast late Friday or early Saturday morning as a Category 3 or higher storm. The storm is expected to stall and dump heavy rain for days, up to 29 inches in some areas.

The Salvation Army has requested two semitrailer loads of disaster relief be sent to Arlington, Texas.

Midwest Food Banks disaster relief boxes contain enough shelf-stable food and supplies to provide for a family of four for about five days.

Those interested in helping to pack boxes should watch the food bank's Facebook page. Donations of money may be sent to Midwest Food Bank, 2031 Warehouse Road, Normal, IL 61761, or made at bloomington.midwestfoodbank.org.
BLOOMINGTON  As a big upgrade at Central Illinois Regional Airport wraps up, the next is falling into place.

Work is set to finish in mid-September on a $1.3 million rehabilitation of both runways at CIRA, and a $1.1 million Federal Aviation Administration grant will help the airport upgrade the taxiways that bring planes to them.

"With this grant, the Bloomington-Normal Airport Authority will now have the opportunity to rehabilitate over one and a half miles of airport infrastructure ... to improve ground crew operations and passenger safety, said U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood, a Dunlap Republican, in a release. "These (improvements) will allow CIRA to continue to be on the forefront of bringing visitors and business to the Bloomington-Normal community.

Authority Chairman Jay Allen thanked LaHood and U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis, a Taylorville Republican, for their part in securing the federal grant money.

The airport will pay $110,000 of the taxiway project, which is unscheduled but will take 30 days, said CIRA Deputy Marketing Director Fran Strebing.

"We are working with state and federal agencies to determine the exact date construction will commence, finishing the necessary paperwork and working through the required process," she said. "There will be short-term closures of taxiways during the work that will not impact aircraft operations."

The runway project, funded by a $1.2 million FAA grant and $132,000 in local money, has shut down each of the airport's two runways in turn for a few weeks, first the east-west runway and then the north-south runway.
BLOOMINGTON  Veterans should be able to get veterans-focused health care closer to home when the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) opens an outpatient clinic in McLean County in July 2019.

The VA secretary has approved plans for the 20,000-square-foot clinic for five primary care teams and mental health services, said Diana Carranza, associate director for the VA Illiana Health Care System that covers 30 Central Illinois counties.

"I'm really excited that we're going to be able to do this for Central Illinois, especially in McLean County," Carranza told The Pantagraph on Friday. "This will make it easier for veterans to access the VA for their primary care and outpatient mental health services."

A location has not yet been determined. With the secretary's approval, the VA will move forward with a market assessment and a request for proposals from owners of new or existing properties that meet VA guidelines, Carranza said.

VA would sign a 10-year lease for the clinic and anticipates selecting the site in October 2018, she said. Following design and construction or renovation, VA plans to complete the work in May 2019 and open the clinic two months later, she said.

"For the veteran, it's going to be a great thing," said Jerry Vogler, superintendent of the McLean County Veterans Assistance Commission, noting veterans will have closer access to health care providers with experience treating veterans.

The commission transports 550 to 600 veterans each year to the VA Illiana Health Care System's nearest outpatient clinic  the Bob Michel VA Outpatient Clinic in Peoria, Vogler said.

Other Central Illinois VA clinics are in Decatur, Springfield and Mattoon, Carranza said. The VA hospital in Danville also includes primary care, outpatient and acute mental health services and long-term care.

The timing is good, too, Vogler said. More employers are no longer providing health insurance for their retirees, meaning that more veterans who are retired or will be retiring are looking to the VA for their health care, he said.

VA Illiana Health Care System serves about 33,000 veterans, Carranza said. In McLean County, 7,488 veterans are eligible for care through VA and 47 percent of them are registered and being treated in the VA system, she said. In Livingston County, 2,029 veterans are eligible and 49 percent receive care through the VA.

In an effort to increase those percentages in Central Illinois and beyond, VA is expanding its number of outpatient clinics, she said.

"Our goal is to provide (outpatient) services within 30 miles of any veteran," she said. That means that, in the VA Illiana region, veterans in McLean, Livingston and portions of Ford, Champaign and Iroquois counties have to travel more than 30 minutes for VA health care, or are receiving services outside the VA system, she said.

"We're hoping that we can get care closer to the veterans," Carranza said.

The number of employees at the McLean County outpatient clinic and its hours of operation will be determined closer to opening, she said. "All our clinics have normal business hours," she said.
NORMAL  When politicians throughout the state fan the flames of Chicago-Downstate divisiveness, it becomes more difficult to address the state's significant problems.

That was a message from Normal City Manager Mark Peterson at a forum on the state budget Thursday night at Normal Theater.

"There is a polarization in Springfield," he said.

That conflict makes it difficult to achieve compromise with legislators from other parts of the state  a compromise needed if Illinois is to dig itself out of its financial mess, he said.

"We need statesmen," Peterson said. "Everyone is to blame. We are running out of time. Soon the damage will be irreversible. Something's got to change."

"Chicago's health should be a concern to everyone," Peterson said.

Peterson was among five panelists at "State Budget: The Challenges Ahead," a forum sponsored by AARP Illinois, NPR Illinois and WGLT. About 75 people attended the event, which is among forums being conducted by AARP and NPR Illinois throughout the state to discuss what happens next now that Illinois has a state budget.

"There is still tremendous uncertainty and a lot more work to do to return to fiscal health in Illinois," Ryan Gruenenfelder, AARP director of advocacy and outreach, told The Pantagraph before the forum. Illinois has $15 billion in unpaid bills and a pension deficit that has been estimated at $251 billion by Moody's Investors Service, he said.

The purpose of the forums is to hear stories of the impact of the state's financial uncertainty and share those stories with lawmakers and others to encourage solutions, Gruenenfelder said.

"The budget was not a long-term solution," NPR Illinois General Manager/Publisher Randy Eccles said before the forum. "Are we going to do all this (have a state budget impasse) over again next year?"

Panelist Cheryl Gaines, CEO of Collaborative Solutions Institute, a counseling agency, discussed staff cuts that she has had to make because her agency hasn't been paid by the state in more than a year.

Panelist Vicki Hightower, YWCA McLean County vice president for adult services, discussed YWCA ending its state-assisted home care services program and its elimination of Medivan because YWCA is owed hundreds of thousands of dollars by the state. With the home care services cut, about 200 older adults were affected and 60 employees were laid off, she said.

While K-12 education received funding, cuts to human services agencies mean that teachers have become as much social workers as they are teachers, said panelist Mark Jontry, regional superintendent of schools.

"They're frustrated," Jontry said of teachers.

Good news for schools is that the governor and legislative leaders reached agreement in principle Thursday on an Illinois school funding bill, Jontry said. The Illinois House is expected to act Monday.

"I'm of the opinion that will pass next week," Jontry said, adding that politicians don't want to face angry voters during Labor Day parades.

More Illinoisans are attending college out of state and probably won't return, contributing to Illinois' "brain drain," Jontry said.

Meanwhile, Illinois' unfunded pension liability isn't even being discussed in Springfield, Peterson said.

Pensioners and state employees who have paid into the system shouldn't be blamed, Peterson said. "Had the state fulfilled its obligation, we would not have this problem."

Peterson said the problem can be solved but it will take many years. Jontry said the Center for Budget and Tax Accountability has laid out a plan.

While the state's fiscal situation is hurting economic development and business attraction, limiting property taxes is not the answer, Peterson said.

"It's an absolutely irresponsible proposal to limit property taxes and hamstring local governments and school districts without some other kind of relief," Peterson said.

"My confidence in the ability of state government is very low," Peterson said. One solution may be communities like McLean County collaborating more and figuring out locally how to address problems not being addressed by the state.

McLean County did that by raising sales taxes to address some mental health needs and can consider local solutions to other human services funding problems, Peterson said.

"We have to work collectively," agreed panelist Laura Furlong, CEO of Marcfirst, which helps people with disabilities.
It's safe to say that everything Netflix does now is an event. Yes, even something as simple as a trailer release. But then again, with such a diversified portfolio of superior televised content, it's easy to ensure that your audience stays glued to the edge of their seats, impatiently awaiting your next move with bated breath.

For their latest stunt, the streaming giant has dropped the first trailer for the fourth season of Black Mirror, the already popular British show about digital paranoia that Netflix acquired before the American release of its third season. Given the nature of the show  an anthology series in which each episode gets at least some of its intrigue from the precise fact that you literally have no idea what's going on for the first half of it  the trailer leaves much to the imagination, offering little information as to what each of these "stories" could mean. But to compensate, Netflix has provided us with the names of each episode, so we can speculate as much we care to. The episode titles for the six new stories are: "Crocodile," "Arkangel," "Hang the DJ," "USS Callister," "Metalhead," and "Black Museum."

Naturally, this is enough to grab a strong hold over my very short attention span.

(Also, Jodie Foster directed one of the episodes.)

Get spooked.

Splash photo via Netflix


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Apple is moving aggressively to shut down Iranian apps. On Thursday, Apple removed Snapp, a ride-hailing app similar to Uber that is popular in Iran, from its app stores. That followed the removal in recent weeks of apps for food delivery, shopping and other services.

The New York Times reports that "In a message to Iranian developers whose apps were affected by the ban, Apple said, "Under the U.S. sanctions regulations, the App Store cannot host, distribute or do business with apps or developers connected to certain U.S. embargoed countries."

Iran's new telecommunications minister, Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi, complained on Twitter about Apple's decision to remove the apps and said he was planning to pursue the issue."

Even though Apple is not formally represented in Iran due to the American trade restrictions, the Iranian telecommunications minister said that Apple holds about 11% of the countries smartphones."

Considering that North Korea is constantly threatening South Korea with war and supplying Iran with Nuclear technologies, it's disturbing that not only do they not join the U.S. in sanctioning Iran, they allow Samsung to aggressively open more stores in Iran. Samsung's largest sales center opened in central Tehran in February.





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This afternoon Apple announced their plans to build a 400,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art data center in Waukee, Iowa, to better serve North American users of iMessage, Siri, the App Store and other Apple services. Like all Apple data centers, the new facility will run entirely on renewable energy from day one.

Apple's investment of $1.3 billion will create over 550 construction and operations jobs in the Des Moines area, and the company is contributing up to $100 million to a newly created Public Improvement Fund dedicated to community development and infrastructure around Waukee.





Tim Cook, Apple's CEO: "At Apple, we're always looking at ways to deliver even better experiences for our customers. Our new data center in Iowa will help serve millions of people across North America who use Siri, iMessage, Apple Music and other Apple services  all powered by renewable energy.

Apple is responsible for 2 million jobs in all 50 states and we're proud today's investment will add to the more than 10,000 jobs we already support across Iowa, providing even more economic opportunity for the community."

Construction on the data center is expected to start early next year and Apple plans to bring it online in 2020.

Waukee Mayor Bill Peard: "Waukee is proud to welcome Apple. This new facility will bring with it high-quality jobs and important infrastructure developments for the city. We look forward to a continued partnership with Apple on this effort for decades to come."

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds: "We're honored Apple is choosing Iowa for the site of its most technologically advanced data center to date. Apple's commitment to innovation and renewable energy leadership mirrors our own. This investment in our state is vital as we continue to develop as a technology hub and grow our workforce.

About Making Comments on our Site: Patently Apple reserves the right to post, dismiss or edit any comments. Those using abusive language or negative behavior will result in being blacklisted on Disqus.
Today the guilty verdict on Samsung's de facto leader has driven the world's largest producer of smartphones and chips into a deeper quagmire. The court sentenced Samsung's Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong to a five year jail term, finding him guilty on all five charges over his involvement in the corruption scandal that led to the impeachment the nation's former president.

The court acknowledged a special counsel's accusation that Lee and other executives were aware of President Park Geun-hye's close relationship with her friend Choi Soon-sil, though he did not specifically request Park to lift regulatory hurdles for his succession plan.

The heir apparent of Samsung returned to a detention center in Gyeonggi Province, where he had spent the last six months, to appeal his case.

Samsung officials, though holding their breath, said there would not be any drastic changes in the company's management for now, but raised concerns on the possibility of a leadership vacuum that could suspend the conglomerate's future strategies and investment plans.

Samsung Electronics has three CEOs who each run major business segments -- smartphones, consumer electronics and microchips. They are experts in their respective fields and have proven their leadership in each segment, but they lack the authority to make large-scale acquisition investments without the owner family's approval.

"Making decisions on investing in new businesses, for which the return on investments is uncertain, or pushing for large-scaled merger and acquisitions, cannot be done by the hired executives, as they are too risky," said a Samsung official, adding that these are the kind of decisions only Lee had been able to make.

Lee joining the boardroom last October was widely seen as the heir opening a new chapter for Samsung, and adding a modern management style to the tech empire that had been led by his father, known as a charismatic leader.

There were mixed views on Lee including whether he could change Samsung's DNA from a manufacturing company to a software firm while completing his father's unfinished plan of making Samsung a leader in bio and financial technologies.

Samsung was active in the M&A market, acquiring five companies, including Harman International, in six months last year. Since the bribery scandal that flared up late last year, Samsung's M&A drive has been losing steam. There have been market rumors on potential M&A cases, but the tech giant has remained silent.

While some say it would be difficult for the group to paint a big picture without Lee, chaebol reformists call it an opportunity to end the long-standing problems of the chaebol model -- the opaque corporate governance and transfer of control within a group's founding family, often involving illicit means.

Samsung has been devising the most efficient ways to consolidate the heir's control within the group's crown jewel that produces smartphones, computer chips and flat-screen TVs. Samsung Electronics contributes to nearly 75 percent of the group's total revenue.

"I don't think that Samsung will face a management crisis anytime soon because of Lee's absence. But uncertainty over Lee's hereditary succession will surely grow and this would put not only Samsung but other conglomerates under enormous public pressure to take legal and transparent steps in the course of their succession," said Park Sang-in, a professor at Seoul National University's Graduate School of Public Administration.

Lee's verdict also sends a strong warning to other chaebol families and conglomerates they control, as the new government has been pushing a reform drive to cut the decades-old back-scratching connection between politics and businesses.

It also signals stronger intolerance toward the collusion between conglomerates and the politics.

"What we hope from the trial is to root out the government's long-held practice of demanding money from conglomerates whenever they need," a source from one of the top five conglomerates in Korea. The source added that "If the companies disobey the government's request, it often responded by replacing the management, imposing taxes and investigating the firms through antitrust authorities." This is what has to end.

Patently Apple began covering this story back in January in a report titled "Samsung Heir Identified as Suspect in Bribery Case."

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This October (6th-8th), you can join me and others at a beautiful lakeside retreat center on Flathead Lake in NW Montana. The retreat will offer an opportunity to step out of our busy, noisy, hectic every-day lives for two nights to quiet the mind and simply look within.

The idea of a retreat goes far back in both Eastern and Western religious and philosophical traditions and we will draw from both, but primarily Buddhist thought and practices (sitting and walking meditation), in a weekend of silence.

I will lead the retreat in a format of secular mindfulness based on my experience from Buddhist retreats in a number of different lineages / schools of Buddhist practice. This will include basic guided meditation practice: mindfulness of breathing, loving-kindness meditation, and walking meditation, along with an introduction to deeper  insight  practice at the end. In addition to this, we will look at some of the history of psychological and scientific work on mindfulness: its secular benefits and applications.

The retreat will not be incredibly intense, so the level of preparation is not as great as might be needed for a 10-day Buddhist retreat. However, it will be expected that all retreat participants have some experience with meditation beforehand, even if it is not extensive or recent. I will be providing written and recorded audio for those who sign up to help build up a practice going into the retreat. To enter any retreat  long or short  with no preparation will likely result in you getting nothing out of the retreat at best and encountering disturbing experiences and in turn disturbing others at worst.

With even just a little preparation though, and a willingness to work through challenged habit patterns, a short retreat like this can reveal incredible joy and deeply strengthen ones spiritual practice. We expect a mixture of experience levels, from folks who have meditated for decades and know exactly how beneficial a short retreat like this will be, to relative newcomers who have practiced some mindfulness or meditation (be it Buddhist, Catholic, Transcendental, etc) and would like to go further. Together, we will support one another in our silence and inward exploration.

Registration is open now and more information can be found at Merlin CCC (a registered 501c3 non-profit based in Helena Montana). Space is limited and registration closes September 6th, so dont wait too long to sign up. If you cannot come, but would like to support others through the scholarship fund, youll find a donate button at the Merlin CCC site.

Feel free to contact me here or by email if you have questions. I look forward to seeing some of you in person in October.

Support independent coverage of Buddhism by joining a community of fellow learners/practitioners at Patreon.

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Patna: Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday surveyed flood situation in Araria, Katihar, and Kishanganj districts and met with flood victims to ensure they were properly taken care of.

Arriving in Araria around 11:00 am, Kumar met with children of the flood victims and personally handed them packets of biscuits and asked them about their welfare. He also expressed his gratitude to the people of Araria for braving the flood with patience and elan saying he saluted them for their bravery and tenacity.

Kumar then left for Kishanganj where he visited the engineering college, the government relief center and reviewed functioning of the place. He also held a brief meeting with the local officials and directed them to leave no stone unturned in the relief work and to make sure no victim was left behind.

While in Kishanganj, the Chief Minister handed over checks of Rs. 4 lakh to families of six persons who had perished in the flood.

From Kishanganj, Kumar left for Katihar where once again he reviewed relief work and promised to send more help in the next couple of days.

Meanwhile in Patna, Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi flagged off 20 trucks carrying food and other survival items in the presence of Health Minister Mangal Pandey and others.
Patna: Those living in Patna with business or personal ties with Lucknow or those living in Lucknow with connection to Patna will appreciate the new Alliance Air direct daily service between the two historical cities with the introduction of Flights 9I-693/9I-694 on Thursday.

On its debut flight from Patna, the plane was rather empty with only 38 passengers leaving for Lucknow and 11 passengers for Bhopal. On its return flight from Lucknow, 35 passengers arrived at the Patna Airport, 30 from Lucknow and five from Bhopal.

The aircraft has a total capacity of 70 passengers.

According to Alliance Air officials, Flight Number 9I-694 will arrive at the Patna Airport from Lucknow daily at 1:20 pm. Thirty minutes later, this same flight, under Flight Number 9I-693, will leave for Lucknow at 1:50 pm arriving at Lucknow's Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport at 3:30 pm.

Passengers whose destination is Bhopal would remain inside the plane until 4:00 pm when the plane once again would take off under a new flight number arriving at Bhopal airport at 5:40 pm.

At 6:10 pm, it will leave Bhopal and return to Lucknow at 7:50 pm. After changing the flight number yet again, it would leave for Jaipur at 8:20 pm arriving there at 10:15 pm.

After remaining on ground overnight, it will once again take off for Lucknow and then for Patna arriving at the Jaya Prakash Narayan International Airport at 1:20 pm.

Air Alliance officials said once people become aware of this new service, it would become very difficult for passengers to book ticket on short notice due to Patna-Lucknow-Patna being a very busy flight route.
Iranian Filmmaker Jafar Panahi Refuses to Honour State-Backed Film

08/25/17

Source: Radio Zamaneh

Following the twelfth presidential elections in the Islamic Republic, the history of Iran's post Revolutionary state and political figures has become a hot topic and the government is engaged in glorifying its past actions. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is particularly investing in these films. However, the films are receiving a backlash from dissident film makers in Iran.



Midday Event (2017)

Iranian filmmaker Hossein Mahdavian was announced winner of the honorary award for his film The Midday Event at the eleventh Film Critics and Scriptwriters Award Ceremony held at Iran's Centre for Children's Intellectual Development on August 17.



However, prominent dissident filmmaker Jafar Panahi refrained from handing Mahdavian the award and used the forum to demand greater opportunity for Iran's independent cinema.



The focused state promotion of The Midday Event appears to be a direct attempt at providing a state approved view of the political conflicts of the 1980s in Iran when the state engaged in systematic elimination of opposition and alternative political groups - particularly in mass execution of political prisoners.



Panahi together with other veteran filmmaker Rakhshan Bani-Etemad and Mohsen Amir Yousefi were on stage at the Film Critics ceremony to hand the Best Director award to Hamid Nematollah for his film, Subdued. When Panahi realized that he is also supposed to hand the honorary award to Mahdavian. Panahi refused and descended the podium despite entreaties from the organizers.



Jafar Panahi speaking at the event.

Rakhshan Bani-Etemad (R) and Mohsen Amir Yousefi are also present on stage

(photo by ISNA)

The Midday Event recounts the events of the summer of 1982 and the conflicts between the Islamic Republic state and the Mojahedin-e Khalq (MKO) political group. The film depicts the murder of Mousa Khiyabani, an MEK leader and portrays Reza Seifollahi Deputy head of the Revolutionary Guards intelligence branch at the time as the hero of the events.



The film which was made with money from the Revolutionary Guards, was awarded prizes for Best Costume Design, Best Editing, Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor.



"We do not want to dictate who should or should not make films;" Panahi said on stage; "However, in a situation where state films are being made with mega budgets with exclusive distribution rights in all top theatres, we are just asking for a few theatres where we too can screen our films."



The Midday Event has been given the country's top film award the Fajr Crystal Simorgh award for Best Film from both national and public views. The film was commended by Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei who has asked those involved in making the film to also make a film about Assadollah Lajevardi, a controversial figure of the period with a notorious reputation for overseeing the torture and execution of numerous dissidents in 1980s Iran.



Ayatollah Khamenei's request entails a complimentary view of Lajevardi's service to the state. "God willing something will also be done about Mr. Lajevardi. He is a figure that deserves to be portrayed...before the Revolution we referred to him as "Man of Steel'" Khamenei was quoted as saying.



Meanwhile many Iranian diaspora groups are pushing for accountability for the mass execution of political prisoners in the 1980s and condemning support for contemporary political figures who had any involvement in them.



Jafar Panahi, a veteran filmmaker and winner of several national and international awards was arrested in the course of the protests against the 2009 presidential elections in Iran.



Millions of protesters came to the streets saying that the election was rigged and the state committed vote fraud in favour of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad post 2009 election.



Panahi was sentenced to six years in jail and banned from making films and travelling abroad. He was finally released on bail in 2010 after long periods on hunger strike protesting his sentence and treatment in jail.



While Panahi has managed to make low budget films, he is not permitted to screen his films in Iran and is practically blacklisted from opportunities open to filmmakers in the country. Panahi's 2015 film Taxi won the Berlinale's Golden Bear Award.
Iran says above 1,400 planes cross its skies daily

08/25/17

Source: Press TV

Iran says at least 1,400 planes cross its skies everyday - an announcement that a top military official in Tehran says is a proof of the country's airspace security for regional and transregional airliners.

"Today, Iran has been chosen [by airliners] as the safest air corridor in the Middle East," Brigadier General Farzad Esmaili, the commander of Iran's Air Defense Force, was quoted as saying by the domestic media.



The official added that over 700,000 international flights carrying a collective of above 50 million passengers had used Iran's skies over the past Iranian calendar that started 21 March 2016.



Official figures show around 450 planes crossed Iran's skies every day in 2014. However, the insurgency that Daesh militants waged in Iraq as well as the conflict in Ukraine pushed the number up to as high as 900 planes per day the next year, marking an increase of 100 percent.



The diplomatic crisis between Qatar and Saudi Arabia and its allies forced the tiny Persian Gulf state to use Iran's airspace for its international flights.



Accordingly, officials said this introduced an increase of 20 percent in Iran's air traffic.



The rise in Qatar's use of Iran's airspace has also provided the Islamic Republic with extra air transportation fee revenues. To the same effect, the domestic media said Iran was entitled to at least $13 million per month in air traffic fees.



In June, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, and the UAE closed their airspace to the Qatari planes after they cut diplomatic ties with the country, accusing the latter of supporting terrorism.
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Ghanas High Commissioner to South Africa, Mr George Ayisi Boateng on Thursday presented his letters of credence to President Jacob Zuma at Pretoria in South Africa.



Mr Ayisi Boateng, a founder member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Ashanti Region affectionately called Onipa Nua, was commissioned by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Monday, July 10 at a ceremony at the Flagstaff House in Accra where 21 other ambassadors were also presented with their letters of credence.



With him in Pretoria to present his letters to President Zuma was his wife, Linda Ayisi Boateng.



Mr Ayisi Boateng has the onerous responsibility to promote Ghana in South Africa as a country, whose reputation among the comity of nations was very high and regarded as one of the most stable on the continent.



You have three major roles to play; diplomatic, ceremonial and administrative, President Akufo-Addo told him when he was being commissioned and advised him to guard jealously, Ghanas image because he was the visible symbol of the country.

Source: Daily Graphic









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GOVERNMENT has facilitated processes for the Sunon-Asogli thermal plant to receive the first batch of Liquefied Natural Gas from Equatorial Guinea to power its plants.



When the arrangements are finalised, the Asogli plant will be able to scale up production from about 120 megawatts (MW) to a maximum of 580MW of power.



It means that Asogli, instead of producing about a 120MW of power, can now scale up to a maximum of 580MW of power, the Minister of Energy, Boakye Agyarko, has stated.



The infrastructure and regasification processes for Ghana to receive the contracted 150  200 million cubic feet of gas from Equatorial Guinea would be completed by the second quarter of 2018, the Energy Minister told The Finder.



It takes a little while to plan the infrastructure but we are looking at first quarter to second quarter of 2018. In the meanwhile, there is a temporary arrangement that is in the pipelineto bring the Liquefied Natural Gas to support the Asogli plant, he noted.



The deal was reached as part of agreements between Ghana and Equatorial Guinea during President Akufo-Addos recent three-day state visit to that country.



The Energy Minister was confident the gas agreements reached with Equatorial Guinea would have a huge boost to stability of power generation, transmission and distribution in Ghana.



He indicated further that for some time, we relied on Nigeria for the supply of gas from the Nigeria Gas Company, transmitted by the West Africa Gas Pipeline Company. The performance of that arrangement has been very unsatisfactory.



Out of the 120 million standard cubic feet of gas per day, we receive, on a daily basis, on the best of days, only 30 million standard cubic feet of gas per day, which had a negative impact on our ability to generate power, using gas as its fuel stock.



According to him, the arrangements to deliver the first gas to Asogli fit perfectly into governments agenda to power all of its thermal plants with gas.



We intend to power all our thermal plants with gas. This, according to him, is because gas has a lot of end uses, including petro- and agro-chemicals.



He explained that the country stands to make huge savings from switching from crude powered plants to gas in generating power.

Normally, when you change from liquids to gas, you are saving in terms of generation cost; you are saving in the neighbourhood of about 80 per cent of costIt is our hope that we will be able to come to this very quickly.



He reiterated that the ideal situation for reducing end user cost of electricity is to switch from liquid to gas. He was confident that in so doing, the lowered cost of production can then pass down to the end users.



I have made the commitment that any savings that we make in terms of the cost of generating power, we must necessarily transmit wholesale to the end user, he said.



During the Presidents visit, Ghana signed a government-to-government agreement with Equatorial Guinea for the supply of 150 million to 200 million standard cubic feet of gas per day of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).



The agreement was signed by Ghanas Minister for Energy, Mr Boakye Agyarko, and Mr Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima, Minister of Mines, Industry and Energy of Equatorial Guinea, and witnessed by President Akufo-Addo and President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo.

Source: The Finder









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The Minority in Parliament has requested the Energy Minister to supply to Parliament for ratification, the details for the agreement for the supply of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) from Equatorial Guinea to Ghana, for a period of 5 years.



Ranking Member for Mines and Energy Committee, Adam Mutawakilu, who was addressing a press conference in Accra on Friday, August 25, said it is an international transaction and per the Supreme Court ruling it should be brought to parliament for ratification which will help scrutinize the terms and conditions of the deal.



The MoU signed to that effect indicated that Equatorial Guinea will supply the equivalent of 150 million standard cubic feet of natural gas per day to Ghana.



The MoU also provides for the building and operation of a LNG regasification terminal in Takoradi in the Western Region.



However, Mr Mutawakilu said: LNG supply is not like lean gas from Nigeria where straight away, it goes to the generation plant.



He explained that: In LNG, you look at transportation, you look at the regasification unit, hence the need to find out more information about the regasification unit.

Source: ClassFMonline.com









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Illegal timber logging has been identified as a major threat to Ghanas forest which also serve as the sources of most of the river bodies that is used by the people.



Most rivers including the Densu which hosts the Weija dam that produces water for most people in the Greater Accra Region have its source from the Atiwa forest located in the Eastern Region.



It is estimated that about 80 per cent of all wood sold in the country are acquired illegally from Ghanas forest and the government is the highest consumer of such illegal wood also known as bush cut, as a result of various infrastructural projects that it engages in.



During a two-day media training workshop on the Public Procurement Policy (PPP) on Timber and Timber Products in Ghana, organized by the Nature and Development Foundation (NDF), an NGO with support from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), media personnel learnt that most of Ghanas forest cover was critically threatened amidst indiscriminate timber logging being done by chainsaw operators without regard to the laws.



Meanwhile the status of the Public Procurement Policy on Timber and Timber Products which the country started developing in 2012 to help guide how timber products could be sourced and used, is in limbo as its now being shelved.



Ms Matilda Appiah, Project Officer of NDF, said in an expression of commitment to show leadership in addressing illegal logging and trade in timber and timber products, and to support the development of sustainable forest management, the Government through the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources (MLNR) and the Timber Industry Development Division (TIDD) of the Forestry Commission started the development of the PPP on Timber and Timber Products for the domestic market.



She said the aim of the PPP was to use the purchasing power of government procurement to signal the market in favour of legally and sustainably produced timber and timber products.



She said to support the Governments effort at sanitizing the forestry and timber sector, the NDF with financial assistance from the FAO, collaborated with the MLNR and the TIDD to develop implementation guidelines for the policy.

She said the NDF also helped trained regional, metropolitan, municipal and district level procurement officers from the Ashanti and Greater Accra regions on the guidelines and the policy to ensure effective implementation.



However, after these actions, much has not been done in getting the policy passed, Ms Appiah noted.



Mr Glen Asomaning, Operations Director of NDF, said since the beginning of the century, Ghanas forest cover which was 8.2 million hectares had reduced to 1.6 million hectares in present times due to many illegal activities being perpetuated through deforestation, high demand for arable land, as well as weak enforcement of laws.



He said the state of the world forest was not too good and that of Ghana had become so critical as the country loses 55,000 hectares of forest annually and that if sustainable forestry management was not adopted it would be very detrimental to the survival of current and succeeding generations.



Mr Mustapha Seidu, Director of NDF urged Ghanaians to stop patronizing illegal timber from the market usually brought in by chainsaw operators which usually look shorter in length than the legally cut wood and also have rough edges most of the time.



He said most of the illegal wood usually does not last longer when they are used for building and other construction projects because the chainsaw operators always cut any wood in the forest without recourse to any regulations, making people to incur more cost.



People should ask for sawmill wood, which are highly susceptible to be from legal timber, he advised.



The purpose of the media training was to give participants an exposure to the public procurement policy on timber and timber products, and to build capacity of journalists to follow up on appropriate authorities to ensure that Ghanas forest cover was properly maintained to save humanity.

Source: GNA









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The Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi says he will not watch the younger brother of former President John Dramani Mahama, Ibrahim Mahama to engage in any form of mining as far as the NPP is in power.



He warned the business magnate to respect directives from President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo against illegal mining or face his wrath.



According to him  If some of us are respecting the presidents directives to stop illegal mining, then who is Ibrahim Mahama, who the hell is he?



The controversial bauxite mining concession approved to Exton Cubic Group Limited has created confusion among two Ministers in the Nana-Addo led administration.



The Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon Osei-Mensah, is not happy that the Lands and Natural Resources Minister, John Peter Amewu, is encouraging Ibrahim to move his equipment to the Nyinahin bauxite site for mining when there is a ban on mining in the region.



Mr Ibrahim Mahama moved his Engineers and Planners (E&P) heavy-duty equipment to the site but was prevented by the residents and the DCE of the area.



Chairman Wontumi as affectionately called in politics on NEAT FMs morning show Ghana Montie was emphatic that Ibrahim Mahama has no valid documents to allow him mine. The President has ban mining so he should respect that.



What is wrong is wrong, we are not going to allow him pollute our waters and destroy the forest. If John Peter Amewu still insists he can mine, we will demonstrate against him. This will not happen under my watch, he angrily said.









Ibrahim Accuses Wontumi of Sabotage

The Chief Executive Officer of Engineers and Planners (E&P), Ibrahim Mahama has accused the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Bernard Antwi Boasiako popularly known as Chairman Wontumi of sabotaging him in order to settle personal scores.



According to Ibrahim Mahama, the scheme of Chairman Wontumi by organizing his boys to undermine Exton Cubic will not succeed as planned.



Let's support our own. The attempt by certain individuals especially the Ashanti Regional Chairman of NPP to whip up sentiments against the company by organizing his boys in the area to undermine Exton Cubic will surely not see the light of day, he stated.



The EPA in a statement earlier suggested that Exton Cubic Group is not permitted to operate at the Nyinahini Bauxite Concession as they did not complete some requirements needed to gain the prospecting license.



The Minerals Commission has also issued a warning to Exton Cubic Group Limited to stop any attempt to enter the Nyinahin Kyekyewere Forest Reserve to undertake any mining activity.



According to a release signed by the newly appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Minerals Commission, Kwaku Addae Antwi-Boasiako, Exton Cubic Group has failed to fulfill all conditions as per the terms of their mining lease.

Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/Peacefmonline.com/ Twitter: @Washman5 / Instagram: ambrose_wash









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Callum Turner and Kate Beckinsale star in "The Only Living Boy in New York," directed by Madison West grad Marc Webb.
Morning briefing: One of the worlds most respected ecological thinkers sounds a warning for Lake Mendota
In this Aug. 25 file photo, Dave, right, and Kathy Smith with the help of Glenn Hooper put up a sign expressing some of their concerns about the proposed RDOS compost facility at the Summerland landfill.
FILE - In this April 10, 2008 file photo, the head of a North Atlantic right whale peers up from the water as another whale passes behind in Cape Cod Bay near Provincetown, Mass. Federal officials plan to provide more details on their investigation into the recent deaths of endangered North Atlantic right whales. The whales are among the rarest marine mammals in the world. Only about 500 right whales exist. At least 13 right whales were found dead this year off New England and Canada. More details on the investigation are to be released Friday, Aug. 25, 2017. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia, File)
Mathias Steinhuber, of Innsbruck, Austria, who survived being struck by a lighting bolt, pauses while discussing the near-fatal event, Thursday, Aug. 24, 2017, in Sacramento, Calif. Steinhuber had been hiking the Pacific Crest Trail near Donner Summit Tuesday when he stopped to take a photo and was hit by the lighting. He was taken by helicopter to the the Tahoe Forest Hospital in Truckee, before being flown to the University of California, Davis Hospital Burn Center where he is listed in fair condition. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
FILE- This undated file photo provided by the Florida Department of Corrections shows Mark Asay. Florida on Thursday, Aug. 24, 2017, executed Asay with an anesthetic never used before in a U.S. lethal injection, carrying out its first execution in more than 18 months on an inmate convicted of two racially motivated murders. Authorities said Asay, the first white man executed in Florida for the killing of a black man, was pronounced dead at 6:22 p.m. Thursday at the state prison in Starke. Asay received a three-drug injection that began with the anesthetic, etomidate. Asay was convicted by a jury of two racially motivated, premeditated murders in Jacksonville in 1987. (Florida Department of Corrections via AP, File)
FILE- In this March 10, 2011 file photo, Saudi Shiite protesters chant slogans during a protest in Qatif, Saudi Arabia. The kingdom's new crown prince hopes to transform the kingdom and modernize society, but the planned execution of 14 Shiite protesters charged with violence against security forces suggests the handling of sectarian tensions and unrest remains unchanged. (AP Photo, File)
UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank recently created a committee to research student organizations that were connected to the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s. The danger is that some alumni will be scapegoated as bigots while the larger structures of white supremacy will remain in the shadows. In this photo, UW-Madison students made an effort to shine a light on those larger structures by holding up signs protesting racism on campus during a meeting of the UW System Board of Regents on Dec. 11, 2015. AMBER ARNOLD -- State Journal
A wildfire is seen from a Canadian Forces Chinook helicopter as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau views areas affected by wildfire near Williams Lake, B.C., on Monday July 31, 2017. An evacuation order affecting about 1,100 people living east of Kelowna, B.C., was issued Thursday because of the threat of a wildfire. Elsewhere, calmer weather and continuing progress battling some of the other wildfires in the province means more people can return home while campers and hikers will be able to access more of the backcountry in the Interior. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
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.
A 25-year-old Coatesville man who told police he had associated in the past with white supremacist groups was in custody Thursday, accused of spray-painting racist and anti-Semitic graffiti on several locations in the Chester County city's West End this week.

After his arrest Wednesday evening, George Rissell told police of his claims about association with extremist groups, Coatesville Police Cpl. Shawn Dowds said. Police had no additional information regarding specific groups with which Rissell may have been connected, Dowds said.

On his Facebook page, Rissell had referenced white supremacist phrases and symbols, but Dowds said authorities were not aware of any hate groups active in the Coatesville area.

Rissell  who, according to Dowds, had been released from prison sometime in the last few months  faces charges of ethnic intimidation and criminal mischief.

Tuesday morning, police found a swastika, as well as white-nationalist codes, 14:88 and 23:16, on the storefront of the Valley Mart convenience store at Strode Avenue and Valley Road. Similar graffiti was left on a white Mercedes-Benz parked on South Church Street, and on a garage on the 800 block of Madison Avenue, Dowds said.

The vandalism crossed Coatesville city lines and continued into Valley Township, where the same kind of graffiti was left on street signs and a roadway, Dowds said.

Rissell lived on Strode Avenue, just a few blocks from the Valley Mart, Dowds said, and a surveillance photo led to his arrest. That arrest took place at the station, but Rissell did not turn himself in, said Dowds. The officer would not elaborate.

Rissell was being held at the Chester County Prison on Thursday with bail set at $150,000. His preliminary hearing is set for Monday. As of Thursday afternoon, an attorney for Rissell had not yet been listed on court documents.

Rissell has been arrested three previous times in Chester County, according to court documents.

In July 2016, he was arraigned on charges including aggravated assault, simple assault, reckless endangerment, and possessing an instrument of a crime. Rissell pleaded guilty to simple assault and possessing an instrument of crime. He was sentenced in December to a minimum of 11 months and 29 days in jail, and three years' probation.

In November 2010, he faced similar charges, eventually pleading guilty to one felony count of aggravated assault. He was sentenced to a minimum of two years in jail.

A month earlier, in October 2010, Rissell was also charged with assault, reckless endangerment, criminal mischief, harassment, and terroristic threats He pleaded guilty to criminal mischief and aggravated assault and was sentenced to a minimum of one year in jail, followed by probation.

It was not immediately clear how much time Rissell spent in jail on any of these charges, but Coatesville police said they believe he was released sometime this summer. Sentences often include time served awaiting sentencing.

On his Facebook page, Rissell posted a status on July 18 that read: "After 364 days of hell on earth im home. Time to sit back with the wife and some friends and enjoy a nice bbq!"

His Facebook postings also included references to white supremacist symbols.

On July 9, 2016, he posted photographs of what appeared to be a six-pack of Corona beer that had been lit on fire and placed in the roadway in front of his home. In the caption, Rissell wrote: "And y'all wonder why I'm 14:88, 23:16, WPWW!!"

WPWW stands for "White Pride World Wide" and is commonly used by white supremacists, according to the Anti-Defamation League. The two numeric codes  the same ones left in the graffiti in Coatesville  are also commonly used among such groups, with "23:16" meaning "white power," according to the ADL. "14:88" references a 14-word slogan coined by a member of a white supremacist terrorist group, according to the ADL, and "88" is a symbol for "Heil Hitler" (H is the eighth letter in the alphabet).

While Coatesville police said they did not know of any hate groups in their area, there are 40 such groups reported in Pennsylvania, according to data from the Southern Poverty Law Center. Seven of those 40 exist in Philadelphia or its suburban counties, according to the center.

Coatesville police said they took the incident very seriously.

"These beliefs are not held by the concerned citizens of both municipalities, and conduct such as that displayed by accused Rissell will always be met with immediate public condemnation," the department said in a statement.

On Thursday, police in Wilmington were also investigating an incident in which a parked car was vandalized with similar racist and anti-Semitic graffiti. Police there said they believe that was an isolated incident.

Regional ADL director Nancy K. Baron-Baer  whose territory includes Eastern Pennsylvania, South Jersey and Delaware  said her office has received an increase in the number of reports of anti-Semitic and racist incidents in the last two weeks since the white supremacist rallies in Charlottesville, Va.
The 2014 BMW 535i, part of the 5 Series shown here, was among vehicles with zero driver fatalities in the most recent Insurance Institute for Highway Safety report. Read more

When the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's statistics on driver death rates by vehicle were released in the spring, much was made about the cars in the top spots. Small models like the tiny Hyundai Accent, Nissan Versa, and Ford Fiesta hatchbacks tend to make it onto the high-driver-fatalities list.

But 11 vehicles had zero driver deaths between 2012 and 2015: Audi A6; Audi Q7; BMW 535i; BMW 535xi; Jeep Cherokee; Lexus CT200h; Lexus RX350; Mazda CX-9; Mercedes-Benz M-Class; Toyota Tacoma Double Cab Long Bed; and Volkswagen Tiguan.

Take out the behemoth SUVs and one largish pickup, and you're left with what? Audi A6, Audi Q7, BMW 535i, BMW 535xi, Lexus CT200h, and Volkswagen Tiguan.

Cars that, in my estimation, are driven by people who care about cars and driving.

And the BMWs and Audis definitely stand out because of their drivers' reputations for ambitious (some would say jerky) maneuvers  conventional wisdom backed up by actual research. (Disclaimer: I have never owned, and probably never will own, any of those vehicles. But I drive enough of them, so, go ahead, call me a jerk.)

Why, then, weren't Audi and BMW drivers splattered on the sides of the interstates?

Mr. Driver's Seat says: These vehicles are low in driver-death rates because of skill, interest, and attention to task. If we could instill that interest in more drivers, perhaps skill would follow, and we'd all be safer.

Too many people see driving as a chore, as something they just have to do. They'd rather be anywhere else and, like college students during my English grammar lessons, they turn on their phones or get lost in their daydreams or conversations.

BMW, for its part, cited its accident-avoidance technology, passenger protection during and after a crash, and crash-notification systems. A spokesman also noted its training programs, from BMW Teen School all the way up to an Advanced M School, which have trained a total of 100,000 participants per year globally, about 15,000 in the U.S.

Audi never responded to requests for comment.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety thinks I'm nuts, of course.

"We see no evidence in the insurance-claim data that BMW drivers are more skillful," said Russ Rader, senior vice president, communications, for IIHS.

But they're insurers, they have to say that. My insurance agent would be happier if I got rid of my dogs, so I don't trust the lot of them.

Still, the numbers show outliers, and I think I've landed on an explanation: The United States needs to make driving important and worth learning about. Driver's education in schools and required periodic training would go a long way to making the roads safer for everybody.

Sure, I'm adding to everyone's costs, both in finances and in time. But think of it as an investment.

The IIHS is not behind me here, either.

"There isn't any evidence that driver training reduces crashes; teens who take driver training are not less likely to crash," Rader said. The institute also is concerned about testing that allows younger drivers more freedom than they might otherwise have.

Which is why I'm not suggesting just driver's education for young people  keep those youngsters at home on their phones. I'm calling for periodic reviews of all our driving skills, mine included.

In researching all this, I learned that Louisiana is the only state that requires everyone of every age to receive formal training to obtain a driver's license.

Gwen Dunware, administrator for the Office of Motor Vehicles of Louisiana, said that the Pelican State expanded formal driver training for all  including classroom and behind-the-wheel instruction  in 2012.

"We have a reduction in the number of fatalities and injuries, so we're working very hard," Dunware said.

I'm not going to say the data back that up strongly  the numbers I received from Dunware showed no great change. (Read the report at http://datareports.lsu.edu/CrashReportIndex.aspx).

I'd go one further, though: Give drivers five-year, or 10-year, reviews. Let's show Louisiana a thing or two.

A trip around the block: Furthermore, beyond training, make drivers pass real tests.

Sturgis Kid 4.0 recently went from learner's permit to junior driver's license. As an attentive Mr. Driver's Seat, I made sure he spent more than the required hours learning different skills in all kinds of conditions. When he made mistakes, we went over the lessons learned clearly and repeatedly.

Come test day, however, he pretty much parallel-parked and drove around the block.

Now, perhaps BMW and Audi drivers are not ones to emulate. But factoring in that they're performing more elaborate and risky moves of derring-do around the rest of us, one would expect to find their vehicles up there in the high end of driver deaths.

They're not.

So let's commit to training ourselves better at the one thing almost all of us face daily. As U.S. traffic deaths and injuries have started to tick back up, it's past time to try real training as a way to bring those numbers down again.

Street Smarts

For those interested in getting driver training for their teens, a few programs are coming through the region.

 Tire Rack Street Survival Teen Driving School: Sept. 9, Oxford Valley Mall, Langhorne; Sept. 24, Montgomery County Community College, Blue Bell. Information: streetsurvival.org

 B.R.A.K.E.S. Teen Pro-Active Driving School: Oct. 7 and 8, Manheim Auto Auction, Manheim, Pa. Information: putonthebrakes.org
South Jersey's Stockton University has removed a bust of its namesake, Richard Stockton, who was a slaveholder as well as a signer of the Declaration of Independence.

The bust, which had been on display at the Richard E. Bjork Library, was removed on Wednesday, the Atlantic City Press reported.

The Press quoted the university's president, Harvey Kesselman, as saying the debate over the bust had been going on for several years but that its removal was relevant in view of the recent spate of protests over statues of controversial historical figures, including the rally by white nationalists to save a monument to Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee that turned deadly in Charlottesville, Va.

Stockton's action came as another area school, Bryn Mawr College, is taking steps to distance itself from M. Carey Thomas, a leading suffragist and perhaps its most influential president, citing her racist and anti-Semitic views.

Lori Vermeulen, Stockton's provost and vice president for academic affairs, said Thursday in a letter to the campus community that the bust's removal was temporary, and that there are plans to incorporate it in an exhibit that will show Richard Stockton's role from a more historical perspective.

Dylan Perry, a senior from Upper Township, Cape May County, told the Press the removal of the bust struck him as "an overreaction."

"The real problem in our nation is not statues of historical figures," Perry said. "Rather, the problem is that we have people in our nation with hate in their hearts. I understand we are in a PC era, but removing statues will not change things. Rather, addressing the feelings that caused those statues to be removed would be a good plan going forward."

The university opened in 1971 and was named after Stockton, a New Jersey delegate to the Second Continental Congress who also served as a trustee of what is now known as Princeton University.

Like a number of signers of the Declaration, including Thomas Jefferson, he owned slaves.

In November 1776, while on a mission for the Second Continental Congress, he was captured by the British and held on a prison ship in New York, where cruel conditions led to the deaths of about 12,000 inmates. Released on parole in February 1777 after renouncing politics to gain his freedom, Stockton never fully recovered from his prison ordeal. He died of cancer in 1781.
R. Eric Thomas, an emerging online voice working at Elle, at the East Passyunk Singing Fountain. Thomas is moving to Baltimore with his husband. Read more

Philadelphia is about to lose one of its funniest online voices  as a permanent resident anyway.

You may know R. Eric Thomas, 36, from his popular column at Elle in which he roasts the day's news, covering everything from Rep. Maxine Waters' rise to prominence ("Maxine Waters Is Back and She's Not Here to Play") to Justin Trudeau and Barack Obama's good looks ("This Photo of Three World Leaders Is the Only Light in a Dark Universe") to Taylor Swift's online high jinks ("I Am So Here for Taylor Swift Stealing Focus from the Eclipse"). He has also recently veered into the serious ("What I'm Not Going to Do Is Befriend a White Supremacist.")

Many of those columns have since gone viral, especially in regard to Waters, the congresswoman from California who became something of a meme after Thomas dubbed her "Auntie Maxine." As a result, Thomas has been profiled in the Washington Post. He has written for the New York Times. He has become one of the most prominent voices at one of the nation's leading women's magazines. (He has also written for the Inquirer: "The 5 best dog parks in Philly for people who don't actually have dogs.") He has 16,000 Twitter followers (including Shonda Rhimes, Ava DuVernay, and, of course, Waters). And it all started on a whim, says Elle editorial director Leah Chernikoff, Thomas' editor, who asked him to write for the magazine's website after she saw a Facebook post of his go viral.

"It was brilliant, hilarious, timely, and thirst-filled  just the kind of thing I was looking to bring to Elle.com," Chernikoff says of Thomas' writing. "It was that easy. He's one of the funniest, smartest, and quickest writers I've ever had the pleasure of working with."

Thomas is leaving for Baltimore, his hometown, and starting a full-time gig at Elle's New York City offices. But don't worry too much  Thomas says he plans to come back to Philly regularly, even if it leads to an epic commute between Baltimore and New York (Thomas likened it to the movie Snowpiercer, in which a postapocalyptic society travels in an infinite loop via train in order to keep society alive).

Locally, Thomas is known for hosting the storytelling series The Moth, as well as for writing plays, including the 2016 Barrymore Award-winning Time Is on Our Side, 2014's Always the Bridesmaid, and 2013's (in)voluntary Commitment. Thomas hopes to open a new play, Mrs. Harrison, about a black playwright in conflict with a white stand-up comedian, in May with the Azuka Theatre.

Thomas' theater work and Elle column led to his recent Best of Philly award for best humorist. Unfortunately, we're losing him. So, ahead of his departure, we caught up with Thomas to talk about Philly's influence on his writing, what's next in Baltimore, and how stalking Patti LaBelle kept him in town for so long.

How did you end up in Philly?

I bought a one-way ticket to Honolulu because I was depressed living in Baltimore and wanted sunshine. A friend's housing situation changed, and she said, "Want to move to Philly instead? We went to a good concert at World Cafe Live once." It was a nice concert. I don't remember the band, but that's the reason I moved to Philadelphia.

What made you stick around?

One reason is the theater community seemed promising, so I thought this was a place I could grow as a writer. The other reason is I was stalking Patti LaBelle pretty actively. So, I thought, "I have to stay until I meet her," and I did, eventually. But by then, I was already sold on the city.

Where did you end up meeting Patti LaBelle?

I met Patti at Pod in University City. Someone called me one day, and I ran to the restaurant. She was getting ready to leave when I arrived, and I babbled to her about being obsessed with her. After that, she came in five more times when I was there. I was like, "You need to stop stalking me. Get away. That's enough."

You ended up finding a home in the theater community. How did that start?

About seven years ago, I was working at a law firm in New Jersey, and I had to take an hour-long train and walk a mile to the office over a rickety bridge. Eventually, I thought, "Are you going to be Ally McBeal? Why are you doing this?" So I had to stop and find something else to do.

 READ MORE: PlayPenn

I interned at 30 years old for PlayPenn, and that changed my life. One of the interns was a guy named Jared Markman, and he commissioned me to write Time Is on Our Side. He directed that play, and it went on to win two Barrymores last year. It all started lugging boxes around the basement of the Adrienne Theatre. That's progress.

But youre leaving Philly at the end of the month for Baltimore?

I am. This story ends in tragedy. That's not true  the Baltimore Tourism Bureau would hate that I said that. I just also came here to meet a husband, and did, so I said, "I've done all the things. Got to go. I've peaked." He's a pastor and was called to a church in Baltimore, so we're moving.

Is leaving the city bittersweet?

It is. Philadelphia is not only a city that transformed my life, but it saved my life. It's a city that's up its own [keister]. You can't walk a block in Philly without seeing some sign or museum or person telling you about what happened there. That's exciting  to be in a place where narrative is valued, and history is in the soil. For a writer, that is gold. Everything is a story.

After columns like your coverage of Rep. Maxine Waters, youve become something of an internet celebrity lately. That must be weird.

A couple years ago, people started coming up to me saying, "Hey, I follow you on Facebook. You're funny." I'd say, "Oh, thank you. That's terrifying." It's this weird thing where you're semianonymous. I work from home, so I'm sitting around by myself all day making myself laugh, and saying, "I hope the internet loves me."

Did you expect the Auntie Maxine stuff to take off like it did?

I did not. I knew it would be a good column because she is just such great material. Sometimes, I write about things I think are hilarious and people don't care at all. You never know. She's taking advantage of a moment to speak truth to power, and I respect that. Part of it is me, and part of it is her. We're tag-teaming to change the country.

Being in Philly, do you feel separated from the celebrity element?

Actually, it's nice to be in the cities where you can be appreciated. I was named one of Philly Mag's 38 Philadelphians they love, which is fantastic, and very well deserved. That wouldn't happen in a city like New York. What I do is random and weird. I sit in my house, or sometimes at [a coffee shop], and write funny things. That's a harder category.

What was your path to Elle like?

If I were to write a self-help book about how to get famous, the first page would say, "Girl, I don't know," and then the rest would be mandalas you can color. I wrote a Facebook post a little over a year ago that went viral, and my editor reached out to me over Facebook and said, "Do you want to write stuff like that for the magazine?" I said, "That's not a job. What are you talking about?"

What purpose do you think your column serves for readers?

People are looking for a path back to hope, and one of the ways I find hope is by recontextualizing the narrative through comedy. The column reminds people you can laugh, and there's always something funny. Making people laugh when talking about things that make them angry or sad is a great way of reminding them a small part of them is alive.

Alleviating that existential dread, even for five minutes, seems like a worthy pursuit.

I am obsessed with elevating the frivolous. I will talk for hours about a movie trailer or a great brunch. It's not the Affordable Care Act, but I can do both. The reason I have health insurance and go to the doctor is so my lungs will be clear so I can scream about Beyonce. That's why I want to be alive. Otherwise, screw it  who cares?

Whats next after the move to Baltimore?

Trying to ingratiate myself to the Baltimore community so I can get Best of Baltimore next year. My ego demands I not take any demotions.
It sounded innocuous enough: Sit in on a Wicked-themed musical theater class for kids, try some moves, and jot down my observations.

Heck, it would be a treat. I raved about the touring production of Wicked, a variation on The Wizard of Oz that tells the story from the point of view of the witches, in my review for the Inquirer and Daily News. The show is currently on stage at the Academy of Music.

What's more, the class, offered Thursday by Music Theatre Philly, an outfit that set up shop in Center City two years ago, was taught by an actual member of the cast, Chicago-based actor-dancer Lauren Haughton, who has toured with Wicked since 2009. She's a swing performer and understudy for the role of Nessarose, the Wicked Witch of the East.

"There has been a real resurgence of interest in musical theater over the last few years," Haughton had said earlier in the day. "People are really into Broadway and into musical theater, and it's really exciting to see how many kids know about Wicked. We are reaching such a young audience because it's become such a phenomenon show."

Haughton said Wicked is a show of our times for our times, a show about female solidarity and equality between the sexes. "It's about female friendships and not just romance. There's a romance in it, but it's secondary. It's really about women helping each other. It's about empowerment, if you will."

I was jazzed. It would be a great afternoon. A fun day.

Fun? Boy, was I wrong.

I did not learn how to dance or belt out a showstopper like "I'm Not That Girl." Here are three things I did learn, though, at my Wicked master class.

1. Its true: Not everyone deserves the chance to fly.

Held at the Rock School for Dance Education at Broad Street and Washington Avenue, Thursday's class began with a few "light" warm-ups. At least that's what Haughton called them.

There are few things as humbling for a middle-aged dude than watching 24 energized "kids"  18 female and six male ranging in age from 9 to 25  dance to selections from the Wicked soundtrack. The afternoon was an ordeal, a reminder of just how old, how overweight, how out-of-shape and  yes  how unhip I've become.

It looked like torture. I decided straightaway I would abandon any idea of actually joining in the class.

My body wouldn't survive.

"What is this feeling?" I asked myself. "Something bad."

So I watched and listened as Haughton, who studied musical theater at Syracuse University, led a few numbers inspired by the show.

"I can't teach you actual choreography from the show," she said. "These are the Haughton variation."

Then she was off on one of her routines. "Six, seven, eight, then drag the left foot and roll the right shoulder."

2. Beyonce could use work on her jazz hands.

Midway through the class, Haughton explained the difference between regular dance and dance theater.

In musical theater, "you don't dance just because it looks pretty," as Haughton put it. "There is intention behind the movement."

Musical theater, she said, involves the attempt to use dance to convey story, not just emotion. "I love dancing to Beyonce like everyone else," she said. "But it's not the same thing."

How can dance portray intention?

"Think of being at the prom," she said. "The way you move toward your dance partner tells a lot about your excitement level."

So, apparently, does the mastery of what she called "the champagne hand," the Wicked version of a "jazz hand" flourish.

Sadly, I could not follow. I contemplated creating a flourish of my own to show how utterly inept I felt.

Then Haughton was off again on her routine. "Six, seven, eight, then drag the left foot and roll the right shoulder."

3. Rehearsing One Short Day makes for one long one.

Things got even more troubling when Haughton walked us through one of the show's more complicated numbers.

The song "One Short Day," a duet between sometime BFFs Glinda and Elphaba ("I think we've found the place where we belong!" goes the song, "I wanna be in this hoi polloi") was accompanied by a crazy series of counterintuitive movements. Haughton's arms and shoulders seemed to move in opposite directions at the same time.

I lost my balance and almost fell at one point  and I was just watching. Talk about defying gravity.

The songs from the show seemed suddenly very apt. "But I don't want it, I can't want it anymore," Elphaba sings. "Something has changed within me, something is not the same. I'm through with playing by the rules."

The other thing I learned from the class? A new critical appreciation for the craft of musical theater. And certainly to never, ever claim, "Hey, I could do that."
Gloucester County Habitat for Humanity official Ketty Christian at a work site in Deptford that has been burglarized three times since spring. Read more

For the third time since the spring, thieves have stolen tools and other equipment from a construction trailer on the work site of two Habitat for Humanity houses in Deptford Township.

The one-story ranch-style homes are being built side by side in the 800 block of Tanyard Road. Each will be inhabited by the end of the year by a single mother, one an office worker and the other a Marine Corps veteran who works as a welder.

"It's a little scary because this is the third time this has happened," said Tiaera Ratliff, 30, of Sewell, who is scheduled to move into one of the houses in the fall with her 6-year-old son, Ethan.

Ratliff, an office worker studying to be a teacher, has been staying with her stepmother for more than a year. She said an alarm system would be first on her list of purchases when she moves in.

The tools taken in the repeated burglaries were worth a total of $5,000, Habitat officials said. The latest loss is particularly devastating, according to Anthony Isabella, executive director of the Gloucester County affiliate of Habitat for Humanity, which is facilitating the construction.

The nonprofit helps build houses for moderate- and low-income families via volunteer labor, including help from the people who will inhabit the homes.

"After three times at the same location  it just feels awful for everyone involved," said Isabella. "If I had the chance to say something to these people who are doing this, I would say it's like you are going into a church and stealing from the collection plate."

The latest burglary follows a pattern of recent thefts at Habitat for Humanity chapters in the region, including one last month in Salem County and another last fall in Philadelphia in which thieves stole tools from the charity's construction sites. Stolen power tools are lucrative to sell on the black market, according to law enforcement officials.

"I think we're particularly vulnerable because our construction sites may be manned only 12 hours a week, because we are on a volunteer schedule and the thieves know this," Isabella said.

Ketty Christian, event and fund-raising director for the agency, said the theft may slow the project's construction schedule.

"This latest break-in comes as a huge blow to our organization, and maybe even our schedule for completing these projects.  It's devastating to think that these thieves are willing to steal from a charity, from single mothers, and even a veteran," Christian said.

After being burglarized twice before at the same site, the organization thought it was one step ahead of the thieves when it secured the equipment  including five nail guns, a portable compressor, and a chop saw and stand  inside a trailer protected with chains when crews left the work site Tuesday. And after the two previous thefts, Christian said, the charity had "wised up" and also had all its tools engraved with serial numbers and the name of the organization so they could be traced if they ended up for sale on Craigslist or at pawnshops.

"We thought we were safe, but somehow these thieves managed to cut through the heavy-duty chains we were using and break into the trailer and again steal our tools," Christian said.

The organization's construction volunteers are on a Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday work schedule at the site, and the theft likely occurred sometime between the time work ended Tuesday night and crews arrived Thursday morning, Christian said.

A similarly devastating theft occurred at a Habitat for Humanity work site in November at 16th and Fontain Streets in North Philadelphia when tens of thousands of dollars' worth of tools and equipment being used for the construction of 16 homes was stolen. Last month, $4,000 worth of tools belonging to volunteers were stolen from one of the organization's work sites in Pittsgrove Township, Salem County, police said.

Those who will eventually inhabit the homes in Deptford are "partner families" who assist the volunteer work crews with the construction, Christian said.

One of the homes  a modular scheduled to be finished by the beginning of October  is to go to Ratliff. The other house is being built for Marine veteran Rosa Pineiro of Deptford, who served four tours as a machine gunner and welder in Afghanistan. She is now is an ironworker and welder's apprentice in the private sector. She could not be reached for comment.
A day after protesters gathered outside the Bustleton home of a police officer involved in a fatal shooting in June, a Philadelphia judge agreed Friday to allow the police union to challenge the release of names of officers involved in shootings.

Under the ruling by Common Pleas Court Judge Daniel J. Anders, to which both the city and Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5 have agreed, the city will wait 72 hours after an officer-involved shooting to release an officer's name. But the union may seek an emergency petition within that time to stop the release if a shooting occurs before Sept. 29, when a full hearing on the issue is scheduled before Anders.

The ruling comes in response to a lawsuit filed Friday by the FOP seeking to block the Police Department's policy of releasing within 72 hours the names of officers who shoot people. The suit, in turn, was filed in response to a small but raucous demonstration Thursday night outside the home of Officer Ryan Pownall, who fatally shot David Jones, 30, in North Philadelphia while Jones fled from a pedestrian stop on June 8. Police have said Jones reached for an illegal gun before he ran away.

The flurry of legal action Friday is the latest ripple in the months-long fallout from Jones' death, which is under investigation by the Attorney General's Office. Earlier Friday, State Rep. Martina White, a Republican who represents Northeast Philadelphia, released a statement criticizing the protesters as well as Mayor Kenney and Police Commissioner Richard Ross, who she said did not take enough action to stop the protest.

"Black Lives Matter activists invaded a residential neighborhood without a permit, utilized bullhorns to spew profanity, and threatened an endless occupation of that neighborhood until their demands are met," White said.

Kenney released a statement distancing himself from the demonstration, during which protesters gathered to call for Pownall's firing and prosecution, using bullhorns and putting up posters that said Pownall was "wanted for the murder of David Jones." A large police presence was also on hand to watch the protesters.

"There are many Philadelphians and officers who are productively working to build police-community trust, including pushing for transparency and reform, which Commissioner Ross and I both agree must continue," Kenney said. "What happened [Thursday] night did nothing to move those efforts forward."

The FOP's suit argues that by continuing to release the names of officers involved in shootings, those officers will "suffer immediate and substantial harm, particularly with regard to their well-being and the safety of their families." Pownall, the suit says, has been subjected to death threats, and his wife has feared for the safety of the children.

The suit argues that the city implemented the policy unilaterally in 2015, violating state labor laws. It asks for the court to block the department from enforcing the policy, thus preventing the officers' names from being released within days of the incident.

Lauren Hitt, Kenney's spokeswoman, said the city was "prepared to defend the policy."

The policy has been the subject of previous debate over the past year. White, elected to the State House in 2015, has introduced a bill that would delay releasing officers' names until 30 days after a shooting  a measure that Ross and Gov. Wolf have both said they oppose. Wolf, a Democrat, vetoed similar legislation last year after it passed through the Republican-controlled Legislature, and the governor's spokesman said in March that Wolf's opposition was unchanged.

Staff writer Joseph A. Slobodzian contributed to this article.
Philadelphia Police Officer Cyrus Mann in 2010. Hired in 2008, he shot three men in four years, was fired in 2015, but was rehired after winning an arbitration ruling. Read more

Shortly after worshiping at his Germantown mosque on the night of June 25, 2014, Gregory Porterfield was shot eight times on a street in Lawncrest. The bullets pierced his chest, back, leg, shoulder, wrist, buttocks, and an index finger, nearly killing him.

On June 17, 2011, gunfire rained down on Jeremy May after he had dropped two friends at a hospital with gunshot wounds around 2 a.m. and drove his Chevrolet Suburban in the 5100 block of Duffield Street. May suffered a graze wound to an arm.

Less fortunate was Hassan Pratt, an unarmed 325-pound man. Just after 6:30 p.m. Aug. 9, 2012, in a West Philadelphia alley, he was shot three times in the chest and died.

Porterfield, May, and Pratt were shot by the same man  a defendant in at least six lawsuits, including three that have been settled for a combined $615,000. He was fired from his job in 2015 for killing Pratt but was rehired last year with the help of his union.

The gunman's name is Cyrus Mann, and he's a Philadelphia police officer.

Mann, 33, was not criminally charged in any of the shootings, but that's not unusual. In 18 years, no Philadelphia officer has been charged in connection with an on-duty shooting. Pieced together from interviews, lawsuit filings, and confidential records, the details of Mann's shootings, his firing, and reinstatement have never before been made public. His continued employment shows how hard it is for the department to get rid of cops it doesn't want.

Mann won his job back at least in part because of one sobering fact: The only witness to the fatal shooting was the man he killed  Pratt.

"There was no camera, no other officers, and no civilian witnesses," Ralph H. Colflesh Jr., the arbitrator who ruled that he must be rehired, said in an interview. "My hands were pretty much tied."

The department is reluctant to discuss Mann's record. A Philadelphia police spokesman, Capt. Sekou Kinebrew, said only that Mann "would be an example of a person who the department wanted to terminate, but he got his job back."

Scrutiny of police-related killings has intensified in the last three years, stoked in part by racially tinged cases in places including Ferguson, Mo., and Baltimore. But in Mann's case, he is, like his three gunshot victims, African American.

Mann declined requests to be interviewed for this article and did not respond to a certified letter. Officials of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5, Mann's union, did not respond to requests for comment.

The three shootings put him in a select group in the 6,500-officer Philadelphia Police Department: Between 2007 and 2013, just 12 officers were involved in three shootings, while three officers were involved in four, according to a U.S. Justice Department study on the department's use of deadly force.

Most police officers "will never have to shoot someone in their careers," said Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum, a Washington-based group that works with urban police departments. "It's exceedingly rare that you would have an officer to have three shootings in three years."

Mann's use of arbitration to win back his job is not unprecedented. Between 2012 and 2016, the Police Department dismissed 85 officers. Nine were reinstated after their grievances were sustained by independent arbitrators, and 19 more await rulings, according to department data provided to the Inquirer and Daily News.

Porterfield, a 58-year-old retired maintenance worker, has cited Mann's prior shootings in a lawsuit against the city, the officer, and his former patrol partner, Joseph Reiber. "There has to be a problem with a person who shoots so many people," Porterfield said.

He said he has permanent nerve damage and numbness in his right leg, a severe permanent limp, and decreased mobility in his left arm, and has lost the knuckle on his left index finger. "I go to make a step, and sometimes there's no feeling in it," he said at the Center City office of his lawyer, Paul Hetznecker. "I can't make a fist and I can't close my left hand. It's just one thing after another."

Hetznecker said Mann's ability to retain his job is "essentially ratifying the systemic culture within the Police Department over the decades that: 'We're not going to discipline our own. We're not going to charge those who happen to wear a badge when they use excessive force.' "

By the numbers

The actual number of officers the department attempts  and fails  to fire could be much higher than the data show. Those figures do not include officers who won arbitration rulings in which they not only got their jobs back but had their terminations expunged  or wiped clean  from department records. Kinebrew, the Police Department spokesman, said he was not at liberty to release that number.

Confidential arbitration documents obtained by the Inquirer and Daily News show that Mann is among the officers whose firings have been wiped from the department's records. The same is true for six narcotics unit cops accused  and later acquitted  on charges they were shaking down drug dealers. And it's true for Lt. Jonathan Josey, who made national news when he was caught on a cellphone camera striking and knocking down a woman after the 2012 Puerto Rican Day Parade.

Mann was fired by then-Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey in July 2015 after a nearly three-year investigation that determined that his shooting of the unarmed Pratt was unwarranted after a traffic stop that turned into a foot chase.

In December 2013, the city paid $465,000 to Pratt's father to settle a wrongful-death lawsuit against the city and Mann. The lawsuit said Pratt became frightened and ran after Mann's partner ordered him from the car and began searching him  actions described as "unnecessary," "overly aggressive," and "improper."

Ramsey's decision to fire Mann may have been "rationally influenced" by the officer's prior discipline for shooting May, for which he was suspended for four days, a Police Department official testified during the arbitration hearing, according to the March 2016 reinstatement ruling.

In overturning Mann's termination, arbitrator Colflesh took as fact the officer's testimony that Pratt had posed a threat because he had reached for his waistband, where criminals often carry guns, he noted, and lunged for the officer's Taser and gun. Colflesh also noted that the Police Department's case was weakened because Mann was the lone living witness.

"The burden that the city has in a case like that is, they have to prove that Mann's actions were inappropriate, and without any evidence whatsoever they couldn't do it," Colflesh said. "It wasn't that they didn't have enough evidence. They didn't have any evidence."

The ruling returned Mann to the force with back pay and no blemish on his record.

"It can be frustrating at times, but it's part of collective bargaining," Kenebrew said. "But to be completely genuine, sometimes when we get down to those arbitration hearings, sometimes investigations could have been done better. It's not always the fault of the arbitrator. Sometimes we have to turn the mirror and look at ourselves."

Wexler, of the Police Executive Research Forum, said rulings by outside arbitrators overturning officer terminations bring "enormous frustration" to police chiefs nationwide. The Washington Post reported this month that more than a quarter of 1,800 big-city officers fired for misconduct since 2006 had won their jobs back in arbitration hearings.

"The citizens of Philadelphia need to put a spotlight on the arbitration process, and they have to ask themselves: Is justice being served?" Wexler said. "It just undercuts the whole accountability process. I'm not saying everyone is not entitled to fairness. I'm simply saying the arbitration process is skewed to make it difficult to get rid of problem employees."

Colflesh, who in October will become the Mid-Atlantic coordinator for the National Academy of Arbitrators, said data might suggest a disproportionate number of wins for the police union, but, he said, that's because the unions pick the right battles. "They bring the cases that they think they can win. They and their lawyers are not stupid," he said.

"It's not a perfect world. The alternative is to have no system at all, to have the employer say, 'I think you're guilty, you're fired, your career is over.' "

This month, the city and union representing officers agreed to a new three-year contract. The pact doesn't include any significant changes to the arbitration or grievance process.

No one has definitive data on the percentage of police officers in the United States who have shot people in the line of duty. Still, numerous studies suggest that the numbers are in the low single digits.

The shootings

The Philadelphia District Attorney's Office last charged an on-duty officer for a shooting in 1999. But while Mann patrols Roxborough, questions about his three shootings remain, specifically about how his official version of events contradicts key evidence gathered by city investigators.

Porterfield said that Mann and his partner, Reiber, never said why they stopped him at 9:20 p.m. after he left a worship service, parked briefly, and was driving a friend to get something to eat. Mann later would tell investigators that Porterfield was stopped because one of his brake lights was out. Defense attorney R. Patrick Link said his investigation "conclusively determined that the brake light was not malfunctioning at the time of the stop, which was the entire reason for the encounter."

Mann told investigators that Porterfield seemed nervous, so he ordered him to get out of the car.

When Mann asked if he had any weapons, Porterfield said, he told the officer that he had a handgun in his pocket. He carried the gun for protection after a son had been murdered in 2010, although he had no license, Porterfield said.

"That's when a series of events kicks off and Greg puts his hands in the air to clearly demonstrate that he does not have a weapon in his hand, and he's shot in the back," said attorney Hetznecker.

Mann and Reiber, in sworn statements to Internal Affairs investigators, said they opened fire on Porterfield after he drew his gun and fired at them. Both officers said they heard the gun discharge and saw muzzle flash.

The Internal Affairs investigation found no fired cartridge casings from Porterfield's gun, but found lint in the barrel, suggesting it had not been recently fired.

"There was no evidence to support the officer's allegations that Gregory Porterfield discharged his semi-automatic handgun at the officers," according to the Internal Affairs report.

The District Attorney's Office in June 2015 dropped two counts of attempted murder, two counts of aggravated assault, and firearm charges against Porterfield, despite the claims of the officers. Mann and Reiber were not cited for lying and faced no discipline for the shooting.

Porterfield, meanwhile, was prosecuted and given probation for prescription pills found in his car.

In the June 2011 shooting of May, now 38, Mann told investigators he opened fire because he thought May was holding a gun while trying to run him over with his car. When other officers stopped May's car blocks from the shooting, he was found not to have a gun. The incident began when May  who had nine mostly minor criminal convictions dating to 1998  and his brother Joseph drove two friends who had been shot to Aria-Frankford Hospital and left without speaking to police, who then gave chase. At one point, Mann got out of his car and continued the pursuit on foot.

In 2013, a jury acquitted May of aggravated assault and simple assault, while finding him guilty of possession of an instrument of crime  the car  for which he was sentenced to 2 to five years in prison. The Police Department cited Mann for violating the policy prohibiting shooting at moving cars and suspended him for four days without pay.

The fatal shooting of Pratt, 28, followed an August 2012 traffic stop near 56th Street and Walton Avenue, according to the lawsuit filed by Pratt's father. Mann and his partner had made a U-turn and pulled over a Ford driven by Sean Salters, a relative of Pratt's. Pratt and his brother Mikaal were passengers. The officers told the three men that they were stopped because Salters had made an illegal turn, which Salters disputes.

The officers ordered the Pratt brothers out of the car and began searching them without legal justification, according to the lawsuit filed by Pratt's father. The unarmed Pratt  who had previous convictions for theft and drug possession but had recently graduated from an electrical trade school  became frightened, took off running, and ended up in an alley where Mann fatally shot him.

Meanwhile, Porterfield relives his shooting every day. "I have this fear now, I don't have to hear gunshots, I have a fear of police," said the married father of two.

"I have a fear of police that I just can't shake."
The alleged murder-for-hire plot began with a routine traffic stop.

On the afternoon of Aug. 3, a Pennsylvania state trooper pulled over Christoper Jerome Pickard on the westbound Pennsylvania Turnpike in Chester County for an unspecified vehicle code violation, according to court documents.

Pickard gave a fake ID to the trooper, who subsequently searched the car and found 813 baggies of heroin, according to the documents. The 29-year-old State College, Pa., resident was arraigned on drug charges and held in Chester County Prison.

But things for Pickard were about to get much worse.

There had been a passenger in his gray Chevrolet, and authorities say Pickard thought that man was ratting him out to police. So Pickard, along with his girlfriend, Latrice Harrington, 27, devised a plan to kill that man, whose identity is being withheld by police for safety reasons, court documents state.

Chester County District Attorney Thomas P. Hogan announced the arrests of Pickard and Harrington, both of State College, on Friday on charges that include conspiracy and solicitation to commit murder.

"Knowing that he had been caught with heroin, and suspecting that somebody was cooperating with police, defendant Christopher Pickard decided to have somebody killed rather than face justice," Hogan said. "He and his co-defendant will now pay the price for this cold-blooded scheme."

Within a week of Pickard's arrest, police learned that he was soliciting from jail a hit man to kill the man who was in his car. Pickard believed that would help him avoid prosecution, according to the documents.

Pickard was given a phone number for a hit man, a number that was actually that of an undercover police officer, court documents state.

In exchange for the killing, Pickard offered $2,000 in cash as well as "an ounce of the dog food," a code for heroin, according to the documents.

Harrington, who was not incarcerated at the time, was a go-between for Pickard and the fake hit man, court documents state. She and Pickard arranged for the hit man to see photographs of the victim on social media, gave the hit man the victim's address, and even suggested a time for the murder.

At Pickard's direction, Harrington obtained a sawed-off shotgun, as well as a .40-caliber semi-automatic handgun, from a storage unit of Pickard's. On Sunday, in the parking lot of a State College store, Harrington gave the guns to the fake hit man, along with a $300 down payment for the crime, according to the documents.

On Tuesday night, Harrington called the undercover officer disguised as the hit man. He told Harrington to tell Pickard "the dude's gone and he's not breathing and he's out of the state, many states away," court documents read.

About a half-hour later, Pickard called Harrington from prison. She told her boyfriend, according to the documents: "That thing is done, you don't need to worry about somebody anymore."

"This case is a clear example of how dangerous drag traffickers can be in the United States," said Pennsylvania State Police Sgt. Keye Wysocki.

On Friday, Harrington was arraigned and is also being held at Chester County Prison with bail set at $500,000. Her preliminary hearing is set for Sept 11. No attorney for Harrington had been listed on court documents as of Friday.

Pickard remains jailed under $400,000 bail on the heroin charges and awaits a preliminary hearing on the new charges. As of Friday, no attorney was listed for Pickard in either case.
Police are questioning a 16-year-old boy in a North Philadelphia home-invasion robbery during which a woman was shot and critically wounded.

Officers called to the 3000 block of North 23rd Street in Swampoodle for a report of a person with a gun about 1:30 a.m. found a woman with a gunshot wound to the stomach and three other residents of the house where she lives, police said.

The three victims who were not wounded told police they were awakened by two males armed with handguns demanding money. One told 6ABC she also heard the gunshot and heard the wounded woman calling for help. The shooting victim was taken to Temple University Hospital in critical condition.

The thieves fled with a laptop, police said.

Police later stopped a 16-year-old boy with a red hoodie who was walking with a female with a black hoodie because he matched a description of one of the robbers, officials said. He was positively identified and was taken into custody.

No charges have been filed yet.
A La Crosse woman was charged Thursday with election fraud after voting in the 2016 election while on felony probation.

According to a criminal complaint, Connie Sykes was convicted on Dec. 14, 2015, of possession of methamphetamine and sentenced to 12 months probation; Sykes, 63, then registered to vote and cast a ballot on Nov. 8, certifying she was eligible to vote and not serving a felony sentence.

Sykes admitted to voting and acknowledged being on probation until Dec. 13, but told an investigator she didnt know she had been convicted of a felony and that she couldnt vote.

The Wisconsin Elections Commission referred 79 cases of suspected felons voting to district attorneys in the 2016 general election, said spokesman Reid Magney.

Magney said voting by felons is the largest category of voter fraud in the state.

There were nearly 3 million ballots cast.
Helen Louise Johnson Tucker, of West Philadelphia, who worked as a secretary at the old Gimbels Department Store before leaving to take secretarial positions for both the Pennsylvania state and federal government, died Saturday, Aug 19, at Hahnemann University Hospital. She was 84. She died after about a two-year battle with cancer, said one of Mrs. Tucker's daughters, Kimberly Tucker.

Mrs. Tucker was born July 28, 1933 in Philadelphia, the third of five children born to Mary Ellen and Bennet Johnson, who raised their family in West Philadelphia.

After graduating from Overbrook High School, Mrs. Tucker attended Temple University and later obtained her associates degree in Business Administration from Community College of Philadelphia in 1983.

In 1953, she married George Herbert Tucker, a childhood friend, said their daughter, one of the Tuckers' four children.

"She was loving, caring, and she shared her spiritual values," said Kimberly Tucker. "She was very involved in our school activities and our other activities, whether it was sports, dance or singing. She was always there."

Kimberly Tucker said their mother was also active as a community leader who volunteered for several organizations.

She volunteered for the Carroll Park Association's food distribution program and served as president of the Mother's Club of the Philadelphia School of Dance Arts. She also volunteered for various activities at Guion Bluford Elementary School and was an active member of the NARFE, the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association.

Mrs. Tucker was also active at St. Philip's Evangelical Lutheran Church, where she had been a member since 1948. She served as president of the Dramatics Club, chair of the Bereavement Committee, a Youth Counselor, a volunteer for the Vacation Bible School, and assisted with the Food Distribution Program. Her hobbies included traveling, listening to music, dancing and reading. She also enjoyed watching the Philadelphia Eagles and 76ers games.

In addition to her husband and daughter Kimberly, Mrs. Tucker is survived by two other daughters, Angela Tucker-Cooper and Lisa Hodge; a son, Michael Tucker, a sister, a brother, four grandchildren, one great-grandson and several other family and friends.

A viewing is scheduled for 10 to 11 a.m. Monday, Aug 28 at St. Philip's Evangelical Lutheran Church, 525 N. 53rd St. with the funeral service to follow at 11 a.m. Interment will be at Fernwood Cemetery.
Danielle Gray, daughter Cameron, son Shane, and father Dustin at the back entrance of their new Habitat for Humanity home. Read more

Dustin and Danielle Gray walked through the door of their new home Friday morning, trailing daughter Cameron, 10, and son Shane, 6, who led the way. The kids were eager to show off their new rooms and their plans for decorating, squeals and screams soaring over their shoulders as they dashed up the stairs.

The Grays move into their new home, built by the newly merged Habitat for Humanity of Montgomery and Delaware Counties, on Monday, just in time for the kids' first day at school.

Dustin Gray, 30, is a Marine Corps veteran who served two tours in Afghanistan until 2014; he suffered a traumatic brain injury in battle and is dealing with PTSD. His wife works as a bus driver in the Colonial School District, and for now he works at getting better. His days are filled with therapy sessions and doctor appointments.

That didn't stop him from getting his hands dirty in the building process, which kicked off in January, putting in well over the 200 hours of "sweat equity" that Habitat requires from its soon-to-be homeowners.

"He was a rock star," said Elizabeth Hefner, a spokeswoman for the chapter. He "took charge, led volunteers, taught them how to do stuff."

The former soldier is visibly uncomfortable taking credit.

"I think they gave me more credit than they should," Gray said. "I just swing hammers and say thank you."

But he admits he enjoyed being a part of the process of building his own home.

"I've done 200 [hours] six months ago," Gray said. "I just come because I like it."

Their new home is one of four townhouses in Bridgeport going to families who have demonstrated both need and an ability to pay for their discounted homes. Dedicated on Friday afternoon, the homes are the 83rd through 86th homes the chapter has built in the area, including those constructed before the merging last month of the Montgomery and Delaware Counties chapters.

The Grays have been living just a short hop away in Conshohocken as they prepare for the final move.

Danielle Gray said she's excited to see the brick accent wall Dustin plans to build in the family room, learned from experience he gained from years of flipping houses with his father. Cameron wants her name decorated across the wall in her room. And Shane has a Brock Lesnar theme in mind for his new digs.

"He's from wrestling," Shane explained, gazing out the window in a room slightly bigger than his older sister's.

Cameron's gracious about the room-size thing; she said she likes the view from her room anyway.

"He has a lot of toys," she added. "so this is probably the best room for Shane."

One of Dustin's immediate plans once the last box is unpacked? A man cave. "It's been a while," he said.

Steve Weber, the site supervisor for the project, spoke of the satisfaction that comes with building homes with the chapter.

"It's a great mission," Weber said. "Even if it's a bad day, you're still contributing toward a good cause and getting these families off on a good foot and contributing to the kids."

The market appraisal for their new home is $230,000, according to the chapter's executive director, Marianne Lynch. The Grays will be making payments on a mortgage of $125,000, with a zero percent interest loan.

For Lynch, the satisfaction of seeing a home completed never gets old.

"It's the best feeling in the entire world," she said. "Once you get to the point where you are giving away those keys to that family, you know that in that moment, their life has changed forever. And there is nothing like that feeling  it is just so powerful and so emotional, and you just feel like you're putting good back in the world."

On the receiving end, Danielle Gray agreed. "This feels like a dream," she said.

Dustin Gray is ready to settle down and live.

"As a military family," he said, "we move so much that we just want to finally dig in roots."
A former South Jersey fire chief who used a computer at his fire station to share child pornography was sentenced Friday to a six-year prison term.

John Terruso, 46, of Marlton, headed the Audubon Park Volunteer Fire Company when authorities tracked file-sharing of child porn to a computer at the fire station. They found videos of "prepubescent" girls and boys engaging in sexual acts with adult males, the New Jersey Attorney General's Office said in a news release. Investigators found that Terruso was the person using the computer to share the child pornography online, the office said.

Terruso, who was arrested in June 2015, pleaded guilty this May to charges of second-degree distribution of child pornography and third-degree possession of 100 or more files of porn. He will have to register as a sex offender under Megan's Law and is barred from ever holding public employment, the Attorney General's Office said.

Terruso, who was sentenced by Superior Court Judge John T. Kelley in Camden, will be ineligible for parole for three years. The investigation involved state and federal as well as Camden County and Haddon Township law enforcement officials.

"A fire chief is supposed to be a guardian of public safety and a person children look up to, but Terruso instead used his position and public equipment in the cruel exploitation of children," Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino said in the statement.
Two Philadelphia police officers injured in a 2013 elevator accident at the city's Criminal Justice Center  three years before an elevator crash there paralyzed a sheriff's deputy  have settled their lawsuit against the company that maintains city buildings and its elevator subcontractor.

The lawsuit by Grace Gardner and Robert Lucini against U.S. Facilities Inc. and Schindler Elevator Corp. was supposed to have gone to trial before a jury on Wednesday before Common Pleas Court Judge Linda Carpenter.

John A. Manes Jr., the lawyer for Gardner and Lucini, did not return phone messages requesting comment.

H. David Seidman, a lawyer for U.S. Facilities, said Thursday that the company had always denied liability in the 2013 accident. "U.S. Facilities was not the principal party involved in the settlement and has no further comment," he said.

Court documents filed in the case show that because Schindler had the contract to maintain and repair the elevators, the company agreed to shoulder the defense in the case and its lawyers were responsible for the settling the case.

Lauren Michelle Steins, the attorney for Schindler, could not be reached for comment. It was not known whether the settlement will be made public.

U.S. Facilities, based in Philadelphia, specializes in operating and maintaining governmental and institutional buildings around the country. Schindler was its subcontractor, responsible for elevator maintenance repairs at the Criminal Justice Center and other city buildings.

Both companies have come under scrutiny following the Aug. 4, 2016, accident at the Criminal Justice Center where an employee elevator suddenly shot upward 15 stories at high speed and crashed through the ceiling at the top of the shaft.

Paul Owens, 49, then a sergeant in the Sheriff's Department, was the car's sole passenger, and the crash left him paralyzed below the middle of his chest.

In January, Owens and his wife, Heather, filed suit in Common Pleas Court against the Philadelphia Municipal Authority, the agency that acts as the landlord for city-owned buildings; U.S. Facilities; Schindler; and several other elevator companies.

Their lawsuit contends that since 2012, the defendants have ignored regular complaints about problems with the CJC elevators.

In July, Duilio "Lou" Angelini, the building manager whom U.S. Facilities assigned to the Criminal Justice Center, filed a whistle-blower lawsuit against his former employer. It maintains that he continually warned his bosses at U.S. Facilities about lax elevator maintenance and "dummied up" inspection reports at the CJC, and, after the accident, was demoted and fired.

If the parties are not commenting about why the suit was settled at the verge of trial, Angelini's lawyer, Mark D. Schwartz, said he believes he knows the reason. Angelini had been scheduled to testify for Gardner and Lucini in their trial, Schwartz said, and his testimony would have been damaging.

According to documents filed in the settled case, Gardner, now 55, and Lucini, now 62, were passengers with 13 others in one of the CJC's public elevators on Dec. 3, 2013.

Car 4A "yo-yoed," according to the documents, and then stalled between the fifth and sixth floors, trapping the passengers for about 30 minutes.

Rescue personnel were able to open the doors but the passengers had to jump several feet to the fifth floor to get out of the car.

Lucini sprained his back and left knee and leg, and missed work for physical therapy. Gardner sustained injuries to her lower back, neck and right arm and missed months undergoing rehab therapy. Both officers have since returned to work.
Superintendent Hite (right) reads a passage from Owl At Home through a new telephone tool that's part of a first grade classroom at Stearne Elementary School. Behind him is Mecca Jackson, the new principal of Stearne, and on the left is Paula Sahm, one of the educational facitilies planners. Read more

Teacher Kelly Kaczmarek hardly recognizes her kindergarten classroom.

For years, Room 210 at Stearne Elementary in Frankford featured dim lighting, old desks and chairs, and the sorts of materials that were standard issue in Philadelphia rooms for decades.

Now, 210 is transformed: new paint, bright lights, a colorful rug, handmade cubbies, boxes and boxes of new hands-on learning materials for students to explore, and extensive technology, including six iPads and a huge smartboard.

Kaczmarek was astonished that she would not have to make her usual back-to-school runs to Walmart to shop sales, stocking up on supplies so her students would have new materials for the year. She said she was used to a different kind of classroom  "old tile floors, old materials, books that might have drawings in them, might have rips and tears."

On Thursday, the Philadelphia School District unveiled a $5 million initiative to modernize select classrooms at eight city schools in an effort to boost achievement there. Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. toured Stearne, sitting in new chairs, examining science equipment, and testing a contraption called the whisper phone, which allows students to hear how they sound during independent reading. (Hite did well reading Owl at Home by Arnold Lobel in a first-grade classroom.)

Pre-K through second-grade classrooms at the schools  Stearne as well as Pennell, Locke, Lea, Duckrey, Gideon, Meade, and Haverford Learning Center  have gotten complete makeovers, with everything from flexible seating and new paint to cutting-edge technology and materials selected to help students learn better. The schools were chosen based on low literacy scores.

The district is paying $4.4 million out of its capital budget for the projects; the William Penn Foundation provided about $700,000 of support as well.

"We're intentionally focusing the work of our capital program on K-2 literacy," said Hite, who has made boosting students' reading abilities a centerpiece of his administration.

The school system's capital needs are enormous. A district study released this year found that Philadelphia has almost $5 billion worth of repairs outstanding at its more than 200 schools, money it does not have.

Still, Hite said, sprucing up classrooms must be a priority as well.

"We still have the leaky roofs, and we still have to fix them, but we still have to give some attention to the environment where our young people are learning," he said. "It's all about getting people excited about coming to school every day. It's important for people to see these investments."

Only the lower-grade classrooms at the eight schools will get the top-to-bottom treatment Stearne showed off Thursday. But schools around the district are moving to embrace elements of the upgrade, including center-based learning, which allows students to explore materials, grouped by subject, on their own, as opposed to more traditional teacher-led instruction.

Kaczmarek said she can't wait to use the sensory tables, the science center, the writing lab. The new setup, she said, will allow her students to be more engaged in activities they choose.

"It gives me the opportunity to meet them individually," said Kaczmarek, a five-year veteran of Stearne, which scored a 25 out of 100 on the School District's internal performance measure.

Ryan Smith, a lead teacher at the school, can't remember the last time Stearne, built in 1966, got new things  maybe when the actor Kevin Hart donated a few laptop carts six or seven years ago.

Smith imagines the brighter and more sophisticated settings will inspire Stearne students to achieve more, and give them not just an academic boost but also an emotional one, knowing that they are worthy of such investments. The total reboot is a revelation, he said.

"This is 21st-century learning," said Smith. "You're not used to seeing these things in Philadelphia."

Teachers at the eight schools will receive training in using the new materials next week, but Smith is eager for what happens the following week.

"I can't wait," he said, "to see the kids' faces when they see all this, to know it's theirs."
Pennsylvanias U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey answers a question from Nancy Rohrbaugh, of Dillsburg, Pa., right, during an hour-long question-and-answer session in the studios of WHTM-TV, Wednesday, July 5, 2017 in Harrisburg, Pa. (AP Photo/Marc Levy) Read more

WASHINGTON  Sen. Pat Toomey will hold a town-hall meeting in Bethlehem Thursday night before an expected audience of 54 people, scheduling the event after months of pressure from liberals who have regularly protested outside his offices across the state.

The event will be hosted by the local PBS station, which announced it Friday afternoon.

While opening Toomey to questions and spontaneous reactions from a live audience, as his critics have called for, the event will be a small one compared to other recent town halls, many of which have turned raucous as voters on the left urged lawmakers to stand against President Trump. Sen. Tom Cotton (R., Ark.) faced a crowd of around 2,000 in February and Sen. Bob Casey (D., Pa.) filled much of a 750-person auditorium for his first town hall of the year. Republican Rep. Tom MacArthur spoke to around 250 in South Jersey in May and Rep. Leonard Lance, a Republican from central New Jersey, took questions from a crowd of nearly 1,000 in April.

For Toomey's event, 30 tickets will be available to the general public on a first-come, first-serve basis for those who register on PBS39's web site. The remaining 24 seats will be split among Lehigh Valley Democratic and Republican groups, according to Toomey's office and PBS.

The senator lives in the Lehigh Valley.

The 7 p.m. town hall will arrive just before Labor Day weekend and as Congress prepares to return to Washington with a loaded September agenda that includes funding the government, raising the federal borrowing limit and GOP hopes for a major tax overhaul.

"Since joining the Senate in 2011, I have participated in more than 70 town halls and other public forums so that I can engage directly with my constituents on the issues being considered by the Senate and that matter the most to them," Toomey said in a release issued by the station. "The Lehigh Valley is home and I am looking forward to being with my constituents from the area."

Toomey will take some questions from the audience and also will answer others submitted in advance online. PBS39 and its partners for the event  the Allentown Morning Call and Muhlenberg College  will decide which online questions are posed to the senator. Participants will be required to sign a pledge to limit interruptions and outbursts. The town hall will be televised live.

In a larger sense, Pennsylvania voters rendered their judgment on Toomey last November, when he was narrowly elected to a second six-year term. He only began taking serious heat from the grassroots left after Election Day, when those inflamed by Trump's victory called on the senator to act as a check on the new president. They have insisted most prominently on having a public forum in which to question Toomey.

"We expect that questions may range from foreign policy to the recent events in Charlottesville. This is an opportunity for citizens of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to engage in constructive dialogue with an elected official," said PBS' Laura McHugh, who will serve as the moderator.

The group Tuesdays with Toomey has staged regular protests outside Toomey's offices in Philadelphia and elsewhere, and has accused the senator of ducking constituents by declining to hold open town hall meetings.

Toomey has said that he has engaged constituents from across the political spectrum in numerous private meetings, including sitting down with Tuesdays with Toomey participants and taking questions in large-scale conference calls with constituents, through social media and in televised question-and-answer sessions that included questions from voters.
Republican State Rep. Rick Saccone has an international resume rarely seen in Harrisburg. Partly because of that, he's running for U.S. Senate. He announced his bid in February.

Saccone, 59, a native of McKeesport in Allegheny County, is a candidate for the GOP nomination to oppose Democratic Sen. Bob Casey next year.

The Republican primary could be crowded and now includes Northeast Pennsylvania U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta, whom President Trump has encouraged to run.

Still, Saccone's a rarity in state politics.

Elected to the House in 2010 from a heavily Democratic Western Pennsylvania district and reelected three times since, he holds multiple degrees: a bachelor's from Weber State in Utah, where he was serving in the Air Force; a master's in public administration from the University of Oklahoma; another master's in national security affairs from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif.; and a Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh in international affairs.

During his career, he traveled to 75 countries for work or study, served in military or civilian capacities in counterintelligence (including in Iraq during wartime), and worked for corporations in South Korea and Central America, and in North Korea for a (failed) U.S. program to build nuclear power plants in exchange for the North Korean military's forgoing development of nuclear weapons.

Saccone has written several books, including Living with the Enemy: Inside North Korea (2006), and served as a full-time professor at St. Vincent College in Latrobe, Pa., where he still teaches part-time.

He met and married his Korean-born wife while serving in Korea 38 years ago. They have two adult sons, both in the Air Force, one currently in Korea.

Saccone, a big supporter of Trump, is one of the legislature's most conservative members and is controversial for pushing religious-related measures (some ended up in court), including a "Year of the Bible" resolution and a bill requiring all public school buildings to post "In God We Trust."

Columnist John Baer interviewed Saccone early this month about his campaign and his career.

So, at some point, you were a spy, yes? You're the spy who came into the House.

Well, I served in North Korea under a diplomatic mission.

But in South America, in South Korea, in Iraq during the war?

I was in counterintelligence, to catch spies.

Either way, why, with your background, are you in the state legislature?

Oh my gosh, I was teaching political science and I looked around the state in 2010, and we had eight years of late budgets and this 26-year incumbent (former Democratic Rep. Dave Levdansky) who was chairman of the House Finance Committee and in a gerrymandered district to keep him in office. And my wife and I prayed about it, and we ran on no new taxes, open government, budgets on time. Nobody thought I could win.

And why now run for Senate?

It's almost the same reason. Like my predecessor in the state House, Sen. Casey has lost touch. He's moved very far to the left. I represent the values of the people of Pennsylvania far more than he does. And I want to take my shot. I think I'll do a much better job.

You spent 13 years in South Korea, then a year in North Korea (in the mid-'90's). What do you make of our situation with North Korea now?

There are so many things we're doing wrong. We need a long-term plan that fixes our cultural ignorance. When working on agreements, Americans place the highest importance on details of the agreement, based on logic and reason. We can reach agreements with those we don't like. But Koreans view relationships as the most important part of the deal. 

We have to establish relationships with North Korea. We get all our information now from third parties. We need somebody on the ground now.

Let's talk closer to home. No state budget. What would you do?

I've always advocated cutting spending. It's too high. We shouldn't have passed a spending bill without a revenue bill. I'd come back [to Harrisburg] and cut more spending, use some existing funds, some lapsed funds, and pass this budget.

We haven't managed well. And the problem is special interests. When they line up, I mean even good causes like Alzheimer's or food banks, and say they need more money, I ask where we should take it from. We don't have more money.

Some stuff you've sponsored, like mandating "In God We Trust" in all public school buildings, seems to skirt the separation of church and state. Do you push your religion?

Look, our national motto is "In God We Trust." It has a Pennsylvania historical angle. It was Pennsylvania's 13th governor, James Pollock, while he headed the U.S. Mint, who recommended the motto to go on money, and President Lincoln signed it into law in 1864. That's a great story every kid in Pennsylvania should know.

I'm pushing religion? No. It's nonsense. It ["In God We Trust"] is chiseled in stone on the front steps of the state Capitol!

You were a spy, right?

I worked in counterintelligence.e
Harry Walker, who ran unsuccessfully in the Democratic primary in June for a Willingboro council seat, lost again in court last week. Read more

Can the candidate who finishes third in a primary race for two township council seats expect to move up a spot if the second-place finisher then drops out?

Not in Willingboro politics, and especially not if you don't follow required procedures.

Losing candidate Harry Walker's hopes of gaining a council seat were rebuffed first by the township's Democratic establishment and then dashed last week by a state Superior Court judge.

In the heavily Democratic township, and with no GOP challengers in November, winning the primary is akin to winning election.

Judge Jeanne T. Covert in Mount Holly said Walker had missed a deadline for filing his lawsuit.

She also wondered why he had not given notice to Mayor Chris Walker (no relation) to let him know he had filed a claim alleging that the mayor was not a township resident and thus was not qualified to run for reelection in the June Democratic primary.

Less than a week after his victory, Chris Walker, facing the same allegation from another resident, resigned from the council and withdrew his name from the November ballot.

One day before Chris Walker quit, he settled a complaint brought by Dennis Reiter, a former member of the Municipal Utilities Authority board, alleging that Chris Walker was not entitled to hold elected office in the town.

The settlement with Reiter called for Walker to resign from his $10,000-a-year post as mayor and $15,000-a-year post as a member of the MUA right before the case was to go to trial, though in a recent interview Walker said he resigned for health reasons and still resides in Willingboro.

When the township's Democratic Committee appointed former school board member Rebecca Perrone to fill Chris Walker's spot on the five-member council and slated her for the November ballot, Harry Walker filed his court complaint. Harry Walker contended he, and not Perrone, should be placed on the ballot because he ran in the primary.

Harry Walker, a real estate broker, and his running mate, Arrington Crawford, both newcomers to politics, had lost the primary race to Chris Walker and his running mate, Councilman Nat Anderson. Harry Walker was the third-highest vote-getter and said he would have won one of the two open seats if Chris Walker had been disqualified.

"Title 19 requires a candidate for local municipal office to actually be a valid and legal resident of the municipality that they are seeking to run for office in," Harry Walker's 10-page lawsuit said. He also cited a law that says if a candidate files "any false statement, the nomination or election of such candidate  shall be null and void."

Covert, however, did not consider any arguments at a hearing last week, saying Harry Walker should have filed his complaint within 10 days of the primary result, not weeks later. She also questioned why he had failed to notify Chris Walker of the lawsuit.

Harry Walker's suit named Chris Walker as well as the Willingboro Township Democratic Committee and its chairman Bill Carter, among others.

Rocky Peterson, a Princeton attorney who represented Carter and the town's Democratic Committee, said the main reason the judge dismissed the lawsuit was that Harry Walker's suit "was procedurally deficient, that he had filed late."

Still, Peterson said he had been prepared to argue that "you don't automatically get put up on the line just because you finished third."

Carter said the township's Democratic Committee didn't select Harry Walker to fill the voids left by Chris Walker because he was not a member of the Democratic Committee and in the primary had run independently against the party's endorsed candidates.

Harry Walker, who represented himself, said he plans to appeal the court's decision.

"I'm disappointed. I thought the law was different, but I was caught in a technicality that I wasn't aware of," he said.
Alex Taurel, deputy legislative director at the League of Conservation Voters, speaks as activists rally in front of the Interior Department on Thursday and protest Secretary Ryan Zinkes recommendations to alter several national monuments. Read more

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke recommended Thursday that President Trump alter at least three national monuments established by his immediate predecessors, including two in Utah, a move expected to reshape federal land and water protections and certain to trigger major legal fights.

In a report Zinke submitted to the White House, the secretary recommended reducing the size of Utah's Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments, as well as Oregon's Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, according to multiple individuals briefed on the decision.

President Bill Clinton declared the 1.9 million-acre Grand Staircase-Escalante in 1996, while President Barack Obama designated the 1.35 million-acre Bears Ears last year. Cascade-Siskiyou, which now encompasses more than 113,000 acres, was established by Clinton shortly before leaving office and expanded by Obama in January.

Trump had ordered Zinke to examine more than two dozen sites established by Clinton, Obama and George W. Bush under the 1906 Antiquities Act. The nearly four-month process pitted those who have felt marginalized by federal actions over the past 20 years against backers who see the sites as bolstering tourism and recreation while safeguarding important relics, environments and species.

The Interior Department did not give specifics on Zinke's recommendations, instead releasing a report summary that described each of the 27 protected areas scrutinized as "unique."

Yet his proposal takes direct aim at a handful of the nation's most controversial protected areas out west, according to several individuals who asked for anonymity because the report has yet to be made public. Zinke, who had called for revising Bears Ears' boundaries in an interim report in June, is recommending a "significant" reduction in its size, an administration official said.

The report also calls for changing the management rules for several sites, such as allowing fishing in marine monuments where it is currently prohibited, and would affect the boundaries of other monuments beyond the three officials identified Thursday.

"No President should use the authority under the Antiquities Act to restrict public access, prevent hunting and fishing, burden private land, or eliminate traditional land uses, unless such action is needed to protect the object," Zinke said in a statement. "The recommendations I sent to the president on national monuments will maintain federal ownership of all federal land and protect the land under federal environmental regulations, and also provide a much needed change for the local communities who border and rely on these lands for hunting and fishing, economic development, traditional uses, and recreation."

A White House official confirmed that Trump had received the report but would not say when it would be released or when the president would act on Zinke's recommendations. The secretary had earlier taken six monuments off the review list without any detailed explanation of why.

"Comments received were overwhelmingly in favor of maintaining existing monuments and demonstrated a well-orchestrated national campaign organized by multiple organizations," Zinke said in the statement on Thursday. He acknowledged supporters' point that monuments can bring economic benefits to local communities.

But he also noted opponents' concerns that designations had translated into reduced public access, confusing management plans "and pressure applied private land owners . . . to sell."

Zinke did not recommend abolishing any monument. Still, some of the key constituencies most critical of sweeping restrictions for federal lands and waters  ranchers, fishing operators and local Republican politicians  won key concessions in his final set of recommendations.

"Quite frankly, previous administrations got a little too greedy," said Ethan Lane, executive director of the public lands council at the National Cattlemen's Beef Association.

Nearly 3 million people submitted comments to Interior on the review, which stemmed from an executive order Trump signed in late April. The overwhelming majority of those comments supported the idea of preserving public lands and the sites' existing boundaries, though Interior officials noted that many of the comments received were form letters.

Zinke traveled to five states during the process, visiting Bears Ears, Grand Staircase-Escalante and Cascade-Siskiyou plus Katahdin Woods and Waters in Maine; Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks in New Mexico; and Gold Butte and Basin and Range in Nevada. He also discussed the fate of the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, which lies roughly 130 miles southeast of Cape Cod, with a top official from the New England Aquarium and then later with fishing and industry groups in Boston.

While the president's executive order targeted designations of at least 100,000 acres, Zinke later made an exception and added Katahdin Woods and Waters. Maine Gov. Paul LePage, R, a Trump ally, ranks as one of that monument's most vociferous opponents.

The administration plans to leave six designations in place: Colorado's Canyons of the Ancients; Idaho's Craters of the Moon; Washington's Hanford Reach; Arizona's Grand Canyon-Parashant; Montana's Upper Missouri River Breaks; and California's Sand to Snow. In each case, according to Interior spokeswoman Heather Swift, there was "very little, to no, local opposition."

Zinke focused instead on the most controversial designations by the three past presidents  mostly by Clinton and Obama.

Environmental groups have made clear that they would file legal challenges in an effort to preserve these sites' existing boundaries and protections. While Congress can alter national monuments easily through legislation, presidents have reduced their boundaries only on rare occasions.

Woodrow Wilson nearly halved the acreage of Mount Olympus National Monument, which Theodore Roosevelt had established six years earlier. In 1938, the U.S. attorney general wrote a formal opinion saying the Antiquities Act authorized presidents to establish a monument but did not grant them the right to abolish one, and several legal scholars argue that Congress indicated in the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 that it reserved the right to alter any existing monument.

Robert Rosenbaum, who serves as counsel to the National Parks Conservation Association, said Wednesday that no president has sought to shrink a monument's boundaries in the past four decades: "If the president attempts unilaterally to take adverse action on any of the monuments under review, he would be on very shaky legal ground, and we expect the action would be challenged in federal court."

Tribal officials have lobbied hard to preserve Bears Ears, which boasts extensive ancestral Pueblo artifacts and rock art. Seven tribes in Utah and the Fort Peck Assiniboine & Sioux Tribes of Montana, which counts Zinke as an adopted member, passed resolutions this month calling for the monument's boundaries to remain in place.

But many western Republicans criticized such large protected areas as a distortion of the law's original intent. In a call with reporters on Thursday, House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Rob Bishop, R-Utah, said that "Congress never intended one individual to unilaterally dictate land management policies for enormous swaths of federal land."

"It's about how we protect our resources, not if we protect them," said Bishop, noting that Obama had applied his authority under the Antiquities Act to more than 550 million acres of land and sea. "That's 190,000 acres of land and water locked up for every day he was in office."

Utah has become a flash point for tensions over the relatively obscure 111-year old law. Kane County Commission Chairman Dirk Clayson, whose county includes Grand Staircase-Escalante, said in an interview Tuesday that much of it "has been designated as primitive, and you can't promote visitation, create trail heads or restrooms for a safe, comfortable visitor experience . . . Extreme conservation groups want to protect and tie up the land."

Yet Nicole Croft, executive director of Grand Staircase-Escalante Partners, refutes such claims  in part by citing language in the monument's proclamation that specifically maintains existing permits for livestock grazing, for example. She said commissioners "refused to even sit down at the table" with the monument's supporters or to acknowledge how it has helped to power the local economy.

And Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell, the top Democrat on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, issued a scathing critique of the process the administration was using to scale back the designations.

"Teddy Roosevelt would roll over in his grave if he could see what Donald Trump and Ryan Zinke are trying to do to our national treasures today," she said. "Secretary Zinke's secret report to the president is the latest step in a rigged process to try and turn over our public lands to oil and gas companies."

Four marine national monuments also were part of the review, with fishing operators raising their own concerns.

Massachusetts Lobstermen's Association Executive Director Beth Casoni wanted Zinke to shrink the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts monument "to the size of a postage stamp" since it's unlikely to be eliminated altogether.

Within the monument's boundaries "is highly profitable, sustainable protein fishing ground"  tuna, tilefish, cod and sea bass to name a few, Casoni said. There are so many lobster and crab pots still in the area, more than 11,000, that the Obama administration allowed that fishery a seven-year grace period to pull them out. But thousands of fishermen were cut off almost immediately.

Yet proponents of the New England site and others that were far more remote, including Hawaii's Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, contend these underwater landscapes needed to be preserved.

Aulani Wilhelm, senior vice president at Conservation International's Center for Oceans, was the monument's first superintendent. In an interview last week, she said that the 582,578 square miles of land and sea that stretch across the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands not only serve as the world's largest gathering spot for seabirds but as a home for a myriad endangered species that have proven largely resilient despite climate change.

"There's a need to have areas in the ocean not only to understand the changes underway but to protect functioning systems as a hedge against those changes," she said.

The Hawaii-based long-line fishery has argued that the expansion of Papahanaumokuakea's boundaries last year impedes its catch. But the industry has already used up 94 percent of this year's fishing quota, prompting federal officials to temporarily close the fishery as of Sept. 1.
President Trump attacked another fellow Republican on Friday, taunting Sen. Bob Corker (R., Tenn.) after the Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman last week publicly questioned the president's stability and competence.

Trump's attack on Corker comes as the Republican National Committee is convening in the senator's home state of Tennessee for its summer meeting. One of Trump's sons, Eric, addressed the Nashville gathering on Thursday night.

Corker becomes the fifth GOP senator this month alone to draw the president's ire. On Thursday, Trump attacked Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) over his management of the health-care bill as well as the looming showdown over raising the federal government's debt limit. At a Tuesday night rally in Phoenix, Trump went after  though not by name  Arizona's U.S. senators, John McCain and Jeff Flake, both Republicans. And last week, Trump slammed Sen. Lindsey O. Graham, R-S.C., a longtime Trump punching bag.

Corker is well-regarded within the Republican establishment and was a dutiful supporter of Trump during last year's campaign, trying to educate the political novice-turned-presidential nominee on foreign policy and even introducing him at a rally. Trump in turn considered Corker as a possible vice-presidential running mate and secretary of state.

But their relationship began to rupture last week. Following Trump's wavering and widely denounced responses to the deadly white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Corker criticized the president's leadership.

"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," Corker told reporters in Tennessee. "And we need for him to be successful."

Corker's comments drew considerable media attention, but for a full week Trump resisted responding.

When White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was asked Thursday about Corker's statement, she said, "I think that's a ridiculous and outrageous claim and doesn't dignify a response from this podium."

Corker's comments may not have dignified a response from the briefing room podium on Thursday, but they evidently did dignify a response from the presidential Twitter handle as Trump on Friday issued his rebuke to Corker on social media.
Clarena Tolson, the Parking Authoritys interim executive director, and Richard Dickson, a first deputy executive director at the agency. Read more

The Philadelphia School District isn't typically in the business of turning down money.

Except when it thinks that money isn't real.

That is what happened this year with funding promised to the district by the Philadelphia Parking Authority. Uri Monson, the district's chief financial officer, has budgeted for $3.6 million in parking revenue, about a third of what the authority says it will send, because Monson said the authority told him it can only hit its own projection if City Council agrees to hike parking rates or fees.

At a time when the authority's books are under the probing eye of the state auditor general, that seems unlikely.

"The document they gave us showed  a rate increase from City Council in the fall," Monson said. "We budget based on fact. There's no expectation they're getting a rate increase."

Parking Authority officials deny they used optimistic accounting to paint a rosier-than-reality outlook.

Spokesman Martin O'Rourke said a $9 million "revenue-increases" line item on the authority's financial statement is not a rate increase. He said the authority plans to meet its $10 million pledge to the district with improved collections, efficiency, and staff deployment along with reduced expenses.

Officials at the authority declined, through O'Rourke, to explain how the agency would improve in those areas or to be interviewed on the topic.

"We have not planned for a rate increase at this time," O'Rourke said in an email.

A City Hall source familiar with the Parking Authority's finances confirmed Monson's take, saying the authority's projection is "contingent on a package of fee/fine/rate increases."

Whether the authority once planned to ask Council for a rate increase this fall, still does, or never did, the discrepancy is telling, given the authority's reputation as less than transparent.

The authority has long been accused of letting administrative excess come at the expense of the city's schools, which receive a portion of on-street parking revenue after the city and the PPA take cuts.

Thirty employees at the agency make six-figure salaries, and until reforms taken earlier this year, some officials were allowed to accrue massive amounts of comp and sick time that could result in six-figure payouts at retirement. Former executive director Vincent J. Fenerty Jr., who resigned last year amid a sexual harassment scandal, made $223,000 (more than Mayor Kenney) and now draws a $158,600 pension, the highest in the city's retirement system.

Interim executive director Clarena Tolson (who makes the same salary Fenerty once did) has promised transparency and undertaken reforms, including curtailing benefits for senior employees.

Even so, according to the School District's understanding, the authority will be unable to send the city's schools the same amount it did last year without charging its customers more. Because the authority says there is no shortfall, there is confusion on what factors, if any, could be leading to a decrease in revenue.

If the authority isn't looking for a rate increase now, it was a few months ago. Parking Authority officials briefly shopped the idea around during budget season this spring but got nowhere with members of Council, according to several Council staff members familiar with the discussions.

Council has little appetite for approving a rate increase, given what happened last time it did.

In 2014, Council signed off on a 50-cent-per-hour parking-rate increase meant to reap $7.5 million in new revenue for the School District. The money never materialized. The district received $13.2 million in 2013, $9.7 million in 2014, and no more than $11 million in each of the three years since, according to numbers provided by the Parking Authority.

At a Council hearing last year, authority officials said the district did not receive the additional money expected because of factors outside of their control, such as rising pension costs and lost parking revenue from snowstorms and the papal visit.

The state auditor general's investigation of the authority, started shortly after Fenerty resigned last year, is also hanging over any discussion of a possible rate increase. A spokeswoman for the auditor general said the report should be released this fall.

Council President Darrell L. Clarke's spokeswoman, Jane Roh, when asked about the likelihood of a rate increase being supported, declined to speculate, since a proposal hasn't been put on the table.

"We're all looking forward to the auditor general's report," she said.

Councilwoman Helen Gym, a long-time critic of the authority, called the confusion indicative of the way the Parking Authority operates.

"This is an agency that refuses any level of oversight," she said. "And there isn't a single agency that could get away with that, except for the Parking Authority."

Monson said the drop in revenue he has planned for would not be backbreaking. But he said the district is anticipating a $105 million deficit by the end of fiscal year 2019 and that if the authority only provides $3.6 million annually going forward, rather than the $10 million to $11 million the district has come to anticipate, it would contribute to about 10 percent of that shortfall.

Monson said that when the district told him its $10 million projection was contingent on a rate increase, he asked for details and was told, "Their expenses are increasing over time."

"They're not required to give us a justification," he said.

Monson has said the authority does not give him enough detail to fully understand its revenue projections. After voicing the concern at a Council hearing last year, he was invited to start attending the financial meetings regularly held with staff from the authority and the mayor's office.

"They're useful in some ways," he said of the meetings. "It's an opportunity for us to ask questions. We don't always get detailed answers, but at least we're able to ask the questions."
State Sen. Scott Wagner, a York County Republican running for governor, is followed by a video tracker from the state Democratic Party at the Pittston Tomato Festival in Luzerne County. Read more

Have you heard that old rule about never going to the supermarket when you're hungry?

The same concept applies to political candidates speaking to opposition "trackers" while annoyed.

State Sen. Scott Wagner, a York County Republican running for governor, was attending the Pittston Tomato Festival in Luzerne County on Saturday when a tracker from the Pennsylvania Democratic Party started filming him in the crowd.

Wagner, who just that day had published an op-ed on PennLive.com, knocking Democrats for suggesting he was too slow to respond to the violence sparked by a white-supremacist march in Charlottesville, Va., on Aug. 12, started talking about George Soros, the billionaire conservatives love to hate for making major financial donations to liberal political campaigns.

Wagner, in the video, called Soros a "Hungarian Jew" who "made a fortune" but has a "hatred for America."

The tracker tried to keep Wagner talking, but his campaign staff intervened.

"This is exactly what they want," a staffer told Wagner. "You're just feeding into his bull."

This is not Wagner's first tangle with a tracker. He snatched a camera from a tracker from American Bridge 21st Century in May, setting off a controversy.

Wagner said that tracker was trespassing in a private country club. American Bridge said Wagner assaulted its tracker. The state Attorney General's Office said "both men acted inappropriately" and dropped the matter.

The liberal-leaning American Bridge received $4 million from Soros from 2012 to 2015 and $80,000 two weeks after Wagner's run-in with the group's tracker.

We asked Wagner why he engages with trackers, who are always on the lookout for a slipup.

"This can be really vicious and brutal," Wagner said. "I'm trying to bring a little humor into it."

By calling Soros a Hungarian Jew? How often does Wagner, a millionaire who runs a trucking and waste-hauling company, get called a York County German American?

Wagner, 61, offered plenty of evidence that he is not anti-Semitic, describing his decades of involvement in and financial donations to a York Jewish community center, where he learned to swim when he was 5.

He came up short on explaining why he claims Soros, an American citizen since 1961, hates this country.

Wagner, who said he has made more than $1 million in political donations, acknowledged that he and Soros both came from humble beginnings, became wealthy, and now use their money to support people for public office.

Wagner, a big fan of President Trump, even conceded that the arc of his business success more closely matches Soros' career than that of Trump, born to a wealthy New York family running a real estate business.

But why claim Soros hates America?

"We have very different, polar-opposite beliefs," Wagner finally offered.

Pence for president 2017?

The next presidential election is more than three years away, but Bob Curley has already planted his lawn sign.

"Had enough yet?" the custom-made sign asks. "Pence for president 2017."

Below, in smaller print, it states: "Paid for by a veteran with SSI entitlement dollars."

Clout has a soft spot for political rebels  current president excluded  so we called Curley at his Richboro, Bucks County, home to chat him up. Below is a condensed transcript of our 3-minute, 56-second phone conversation.

Clout: Where'd you get the idea for the sign?

Bob: I came up with the idea because I've been disgusted with this idiot in the White House from the get-go and the Charlottesville, Va., thing just pushed it over the edge. I'm 70 years old and I'm worried about my kids and grandchildren with this lunatic in there. Who knows what's going to happen.

C: Where is the sign now?

B: It's on my front lawn, driving my neighbors crazy.

C: Did you vote for Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump?

B: I'm anti-both. I voted for Gary Johnson. There's no way I could pull the lever for Hillary or Trump. If that's the best we got, we're in deep sh.

C: So you paid for the sign with your Social Security income?

B: Yeah, I'm getting entitlement on money I paid to those sons of bs for 50 years. Yeah, they're giving me a gift. S. Sorry, I'm a bit sarcastic.

C: Thanks for your time, Bob.

B: You're not going to put my name in the paper, are you? Knowing the bozos in this country, I'm likely to get firebombed.

C: Nah, that probably won't happen.

B: Well, whatever. I don't care.

Curley, who served as a boilerman in the Navy, followed up with an email a couple of hours later to let us know he doesn't particularly care for Pence, either, but says it's the only alternative to the increasingly unhinged Trump.

So what are the odds that Trump gets impeached? Not bad, according to Paddy Power, an Irish online bookmaker, and other betting sites.

"ALL the money is for the Donald to be impeached," Paddy Power spokesman Lee Price emailed Thursday. "As in literally no one has bet against the Donald being impeached in his first term."

That is unusual at Paddy Power, where folks have even bet on the White House being painted gold, at ridiculous 500-1 odds.

"From this side of the pond, it seems like a matter of time before Trump is ousted," Lee said. "Though, for a man with such an ego, he'd surely jump before he was pushed."

Quotable:

"Ah- ha. No such thing. Never, ever. I'd tear it down myself."  Mayor Kenney, after Clout made a (Freudian?) slip, asking this week if we could talk to him about "the Kenney Statue" while meaning to inquire about the controversy swirling around the statue of the late Mayor Frank Rizzo.

Staff writers Chris Brennan and William Bender contributed to this column.
WASHINGTON  The immediate impact of Sen. Bob Menendez's corruption trial is laid bare in the Democrat's latest court filing, in which he asks the judge to allow breaks in his trial so he can cast critical Senate votes looming in September.

If Menendez misses those votes, Democrats will be temporarily weakened as they try to battle President Trump's agenda and as Congress takes up a series of critical issues.

In a motion filed Thursday, Menendez's attorneys point to expected September votes on the federal debt limit, plans to keep the government funded and running and the National Flood Insurance Program  which affects more than 200,000 policy-holders in New Jersey  as well as looming efforts to overhaul the tax code and the still-lingering chance of another vote on health care.

The impact of a single senator was illustrated when a Republican health-care plan failed by just one vote.

"The Senate is divided by razor-thin margins on consequential legislation, making Sen. Menendez's absence from any particular vote potentially determinative," his lawyers wrote in their filing.

Menendez's legal team argued that because of his constitutional obligations, the senator is in a different situation from most defendants. But if he goes to Washington to vote, they argued, jurors might take his absence as a sign that he doesn't care much about the case or the charges and hold it against him.

"He has constitutional obligations, which can only be discharged several hours from the location of his trial," the senator's attorneys wrote.

Asked about the trial, an aide to a senior Democrat wrote in an email, "Given the magnitude of the issues facing the Senate in September, including government funding and the debt ceiling, his vote will be important."

Menendez's lawyers asked District Judge William Walls to allow breaks in the trial as critical votes arise, so that Menendez can head to Washington.

Federal prosecutors, responding Friday, wrote that Menendez is seeking special treatment based on his status as a senator, and that political consequences in Washington should have no impact on the schedule of a trial in Newark.

"Many defendants try to evade their criminal trials  but only a United States senator can try to hide behind the very office he corrupted to avoid accountability to the public for his actions," Department of Justice attorneys wrote in a court filing. "Every defendant should be treated equally, and no defendant should receive special treatment based on power or privilege."

Prosecutors also argued that there is no precedent for scheduling a trial around Senate votes. "Defendant Menendez failed to find a single case supporting his assertion that his status as a United States senator affords him the right to dictate the schedule of his criminal trial," the department wrote in its response Friday.

Menendez's attorneys argue that he has both the right to confront witnesses against him and a constitutional responsibility to fulfill his Senate duties.

Walls, the judge, already dismissed the requests in a back-and-forth with Menendez's lawyers during jury selection in Newark earlier this week. The filing requests a formal ruling.

The immediate issue of Menendez's absence from Washington during a trial expected to last six to eight weeks is a microcosm of the larger dilemma facing Democrats in the Capitol. If he is convicted and forced from office while Gov. Christie is still in charge in New Jersey, the Republican would appoint a Senate replacement  almost certainly giving the GOP an added vote in a chamber where they now have only a two-vote margin.

Menendez is accused of using his office to help a friend and donor, Salomon Melgen, in return for lavish gifts and massive campaign contributions to aid his 2012 reelection. The senator has said the gifts were simply presents between friends and that he acted on policy concerns. He has vowed to be vindicated at trial.

Opening arguments are scheduled to begin Sept. 6.
On Aug. 13, I joined hundreds of my neighbors at a rally in response to the events in Charlottesville. Several members of the crowd held signs reading, "Hate Has No Home Here." One side of the sign is red and the other is blue. The phrase is repeated in six languages. I had put the same sign on my lawn just before the presidential inauguration, and I watched as more and more appeared in the yards of my neighbors.

Disagreements over these lawn signs is why, six months later, I found myself sitting at a table of 16 people with alternating red and blue name tags and surrounded by a ring of 20-plus observers and members of the nonpartisan group Better Angels.

This disagreement was a symptom of a much bigger issue facing Americans. Somehow our politics became so contentious that we often can't even speak to each other, and recognizing the "opposition's" position has become equated with surrendering our own.

A few weeks ago, the two sides came together for a dialogue convened by Better Angels, a group that helps Democrats and Republicans talk and, more important, listen and better understand each other's perspectives. Better Angels is bringing these dialogues to communities across the country to defuse the partisan anger that prevents us from moving our nation forward together.

We sat in two concentric circles; the Democrats in the outer ring listening as Republicans shared their experience in the township after the election. Then we switched roles. The rules are simple, the inner ring speaks and the outer ring listens. Those in the outer ring are not to respond: no sighs, no eye rolls, and definitely no rebuttals.

With the possibility of directly responding removed, I found my ability to listen greatly improved. I heard my Republican neighbors talk about how their Trump sign had been stolen or defaced, how their kids were bullied for being Trump supporters, how neighbors stopped speaking with them after the election. Their pain was clear.

It was a struggle at times to just sit and listen, but it was also an odd relief to know that it was the only option. My defenses were lowered, and I could focus and genuinely hear all of what my neighbors and community members were saying. I could finally look through their eyes and understand that when the signs began popping up after the election, they didn't see a nonpartisan red-and-blue sign. To them, the signs said, "Trump supporters are hateful"  in other words, "Republicans, you are hateful." When given the framework of their experience, I could finally understand where their interpretation came from.

Then it was the Democrats' turn to speak about why we had put up the signs. People of color spoke about being harassed as they walked down the street or even in their own driveways since the election. I shared that my 8-year-old son worried for his friends, who were taunted at school that they would be deported. Another Democrat shared her dismay at the increase in hate-fueled speech and actions nationwide since Election Day. The Democrats were in agreement: We posted the signs to support members of our community who are experiencing hate and fear.

The evening was never meant to be a debate with a winning side, and we certainly didn't resolve the issue in one evening. This was the start of a dialogue, a chance for both sides to be heard.

While some of the Republicans felt better about the signs, most still wanted them taken down. And though some Democrats were moved to rethink their signs, most agreed they would keep them up. Several Republicans and Democrats were disappointed they hadn't swayed the other side to their position. Regardless, both sides left with a better understanding of the other and less rancor. Two weeks later, that Aug. 13 rally in Ardmore was called "Stand Up for Love" in the hope that all would feel welcome.

Our nation was founded on differing viewpoints, and our diversity is our strength. Mutual understanding does not require unanimity, and we can respectfully recognize another point of view without conceding our own. We need that balance of different voices in our communities and our government. If we can learn to listen and understand the other side, then maybe we can move forward together rather than continuing to pull our nation further apart.

Ashley Best-Raiten is a former U.S. history and government teacher and a co-leader of Indivisible Lower Merion. indivisiblelm@gmail.com
When John Adams wrote into the Massachusetts Constitution a commitment to a "government of laws and not of men," he probably assumed that the rule of law meant the rule of laws, no matter how many laws there might be. He could not have imagined the modern proliferation and complexity of laws, or how subversive this is of the rule of law.

Such a subversion will confront Congress when it reconvenes. Congress is nimble at evading responsibilities but cannot avoid deciding either to repudiate or to tolerate a residue of President Barack Obama's lawlessness, one that most, perhaps all, congressional Democrats and many, perhaps most, Republicans want Obama's successor to continue.

The Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) requires insurance companies to insure people with "preexisting conditions," a locution minted to avoid the awkward candor of saying, in most cases, "people who are already sick." The individual mandate, requiring people to purchase insurance, is one way the ACA subsidizes insurance companies that are mandated to engage in money-losing undertakings.

The subsidy that Congress must confront in September is the ACA requirement that the secretary of health and human services devise a program to compensate insurers for the cost of selling discounted plans to some low-income purchasers. Obama's HHS secretary created a program to give billions of dollars to insurers to defray the costs of the low-income purchasers who are more than half the ACA enrollees.

But  speaking of awkwardness  although the ACA authorizes a permanent expenditure for this, an authorization is not an appropriation, and Congress has never provided an appropriation. Come September, these payments may dramatize the increasing difficulty of discerning Republican and Democratic differences commensurate with their heated rhetoric.

Democrats are untroubled by the payments because progressives believe that unfettered presidents are necessary to surmount the inefficiencies, as progressives see them, inherent in the Framers' great mistake, as progressives see it  the separation of powers. Republicans, however, have a dilemma: Halting the payments might unleash chaos; continuing them seals Republican complicity in perpetuating the ACA.

The Constitution says: "No money shall be drawn from the treasury, but in consequence of appropriations made by law." Nevertheless, the Obama administration spent the money for the insurance subsidies, breezily arguing that it was being faithful to something higher than the Constitution  the ACA's text. Or its logic. Or something.

Republican members of the House (including Georgia's Tom Price, who now is secretary of HHS) sued to stop the payments. In May 2016, a federal judge said they were right on the merits but stayed the decision to allow the Obama administration to appeal.

Donald Trump has exceeded Obama's executive willfulness, which at least strove for a patina of implausible legality. Last month, Trump said that, absent Republican success in replacing the ACA, he might end the payments "very soon." Clearly, he thinks either spending or not spending unappropriated billions is a presidential prerogative.

The Constitution  yes, that again  says that presidents "shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed." The Framers, who were parsimonious with words, perhaps included the adverb for the reason Noah Feldman of Harvard Law School suggests: "The Constitution recognizes that the president can't necessarily enforce every law. But it requires a good faith effort." So, the intent of any nonenforcement matters: Is it to husband scarce enforcement resources? Or is it to vitiate a law?

Trump's unparsimonious dispensing of words has included threats to intentionally cause the ACA to "implode" by halting the unconstitutional disbursement of unappropriated money. Feldman evidently thinks this would be "nonenforcement" in bad faith because the law could no longer function. It is, however, strange to say that dispensing unappropriated funds is faithful "enforcement" of a law just because without the funds the law would collapse.

Were Trump constitutionally punctilious  entertain the thought  he would embrace the judge's ruling on behalf of the House members, and, obedient to his oath of office, stop the unconstitutional payments. But chaos might envelop the ACA exchanges and then the wider individual insurance market, causing many millions of Americans severe mental and financial stress. Republicans can say "let the rule of law prevail though the heavens fall," or they can say 

Enter Sen. Lamar Alexander, the Tennessee Republican who chairs the pertinent committee. He wants Trump to "temporarily" continue the payments "through September," pending "a short-term solution" for stabilizing insurance markets "in 2018." Watch carefully as Alexander copes with a pathology of modern  meaning, presidential  government unanticipated by John Adams: laws that subvert the rule of law.

George Will is a Washington Post columnist. georgewill@washpost.com
Mount Horeb reaping benefits of expansion

MOUNT HOREB  There is more room for mens underwear that provides, well, more room in the front.

In the womens department, some shirts have extra buttons to prevent a Janet Jackson-like wardrobe malfunction. And just for good measure, the Wally Keller Memorial Tool Museum includes farm devices like a nipple wrench and a castration tool.

But the additional 2,219 square feet at the Duluth Trading Co. store in downtown Mount Horeb isnt just fixing plumbers butt. The 8,345-square-foot retail experience is also adding more fuel to the energetic vibe of this villages troll-themed downtown that will also gain the Duluth headquarters in 2018 in a five-story building under construction a block away from the store.

There are few empty retail spaces, parking is at a premium and the other shops, restaurants, cafes and Grumpy Troll Brew Pub are reaping the rewards that many downtowns can only dream about.

We are thriving. Its hard to keep up, said Melissa Theisen, executive director of the Mount Horeb Area Chamber of Commerce. It means a lot to our community for jobs, the health of the economy, not only for our downtown but for our area. Theyre marketing all of the time to bring people here.

The expansion project at the Duluth store at 100 W. Main St. will culminate Saturday when part of Main Street is blocked off for a ribbon cutting. There will be speeches by dignitaries, an appearance by Duluths CEO, Stephanie Pugliese, and in keeping with the theme of the clothing line, two lumberjack shows, one at 10:30 a.m., the other at noon.

The event is the latest in the continued growth of Duluth that is bucking the trend in retail contraction, expanding across the country with brick-and-mortar stores. Since opening its flagship store in Mount Horeb in 2010, the company, known for its casual wear and work wear, has added 20 more stores and two outlets. This fall it will open six more stores in four states.

Its tremendous success gave us the confidence to pursue our retail store expansion, Pugliese said in a statement. Mount Horeb has been very good to us, and we are proud to present our town with a newly renovated store and later with a new Duluth Trading headquarters building just a few blocks away.

The expansion of the store began in February and became possible when Fisher King Winery moved out of the village last fall for a new facility in Verona. The winery space and a conference room that had been used by Duluth are now part of an expanded womens department, while the original store space, built in the former site of the Mustard Museum, has more room for mens clothing and hard goods like flashlights, mugs and small tools.

The project also doubled the number of bathrooms to four, doubled the number of fitting rooms to eight and added a second checkout counter with three registers.

The increased space means more room for more mens underwear that range in price from $19 to $28 a pair and $54 flannel shirts. It will particularly help Duluth better serve its growing female clientele at the Mount Horeb store, which leads all company stores in womens clothing sales, said Holly Deschenes, the stores manager.

We truly believe were a destination store, said Deschenes, 35, a Brodhead native, UW-River Falls graduate and former horse trainer. It really helps keep the downtown alive. Were always sending (our customers) to different shops on the street and to different restaurants.

A snowball effect

At the Sunn Cafe, which opened in October at the corner of East Main and South Second streets, the lunch rush packed the 45-seat restaurant. Customers lined up for arugula and white bean soup and spicy panini and forced owner Cindy Curtes to take a break from her law practice down the street to help her overwhelmed staff. Shes already thinking of ways to accommodate the employees of Duluths headquarters when it moves to town next year.

I think its an amazing thing for this town. Absolutely wonderful, but the whole town has been incredibly supportive, Curtes said as she took a break from wiping down tables and counters after the crowd died down. Our weekdays are busier than our weekends because of the working people who are here every day.

Duluth Trading was founded in 1993 by two brothers from Duluth, Minnesota, selling tool organizers. In 2000, Duluth Trading Co. was acquired by Gemplers outdoor supplies, which was then owned by Steve Schlecht. Schlecht had opened Gemplers in Mount Horeb in 1985 but moved it to Belleville in 1997. Schlecht sold Gemplers in 2003 to concentrate on developing the Duluth Trading business.

In 2015, the company raised $80 million in an initial public stock offering, and in June announced it had increased its first-quarter sales for 2017 to $83.7 million, a 21.9 percent boost compared to last year, the company reported.

One of the biggest announcements for the company came in December when it unveiled a $20 million project to move its corporate headquarters to Mount Horeb from Belleville. Duluths warehouse, distribution center and call center will remain in Belleville, where the company nearly doubled the size of its warehouse in 2016 with a 75,000-square-foot addition.

But the 108,000-square-foot, five-story office building adjacent to the Military Ridge State Trail and next to a food innovation facility under construction is expected to be home to 150 employees. Theyll further add to Mount Horebs downtown vibrancy and give Duluth an even larger presence there.

Theyre going to be eating and theyre going to be shopping, Theisen said. Its a snowball effect. Other businesses are certainly being supported because of the increased traffic by the (existing) Duluth Trading store.
Neo-Nazis, white nationalists and white supremacists march through the University of Virginia the night before the Aug. 11 Unite the Right rally. Read more

Why do we allow white supremacists to spew their bile? Why not arrest them for their hate speech? Why not lock them up before another person is poisoned by their ideas?

Those are fair questions. Indeed, similar reasoning has prompted many liberal democracies to outlaw hate speech.

So why, then, do we permit hate speech?

It's too simplistic to say that the First Amendment forbids us to punish hate speech. Yes, it's true that the amendment says that "no law" shall abridge the freedom of speech. But no court has ever interpreted the amendment so literally. Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes disposed of that notion long ago with a single sentence: "The most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man in falsely shouting 'fire' in a theatre and causing a panic."

If we protect hate speech, it is because we choose to do so. But why would we do that?

The reason is that Americans believe it is safer to entrust people with access to ideas than to entrust the government with the power to decide which ideas we may express or hear. In other words, the cure for bad ideas  government censorship  is worse than the disease itself.

Certainly, this principle makes sense when people reasonably disagree about which ideas are meritorious. We don't want the government deciding whether we can talk about evolution or socialized medicine or the value of fighting a foreign war. But hopefully the vast bulk of Americans would agree that hate speech is unequivocally bad. So why not banish this one indisputably pernicious idea from the marketplace of ideas?

Maybe we should. But try creating an exception to the First Amendment you could live with.

At first glance, that doesn't seem hard to do. For example, why not this rule: "Speech that disparages a group of people based on their race, national origin, religion, gender, or sexual orientation is not protected"?

This sounds good in theory, and few of us would shed a tear if the government used this exception to prosecute Ku Klux Klan members or neo-Nazis.

But whenever you carve out an exception to the First Amendment, it can come back to haunt you. What if the government declared that "Black Lives Matter" is hate speech toward whites? What if the government declared that a public celebration of Israel's Independence Day is hate speech toward Palestinians? What if the government declared opposition to same-sex marriage to be hate speech toward gays and lesbians or opposition to religious accommodations to be hate speech toward religious believers?

Do we really want the government deciding which ideas are worthy of First Amendment protection? Or are we better off barring the government from making these decisions?

Our nation has chosen the latter approach. That's why the Supreme Court has repeatedly stated that "there is no such thing as a false idea" under the First Amendment. Federal Judge Frank Easterbrook captured the reasoning behind this approach. "Any other answer," he observed, "leaves the government in control of all of the institutions of culture, the great censor and director of which thoughts are good for us."

So that's why we protect hate speech.

This doesn't mean white supremacists have a right to threaten individuals, engage in violence, or incite imminent lawbreaking. These actions are not protected by the First Amendment  they are the equivalent of falsely yelling fire in a crowded theater.

Nor has the Supreme Court held that the Second Amendment gives white supremacists (or anyone) a right to bring guns to their rallies. The court has said only that the right to bear arms protects the right to possess a handgun at home. (In Charlottesville, the problem was a Virginia law that permits the open carrying of weapons.) All white supremacists have is a right to assemble peacefully to espouse their ideas.

While white supremacists may express their beliefs, however vile, that doesn't mean that the rest of us must remain silent. Indeed, the opposite is true.

Implicit in the decision to entrust people with access to ideas is the responsibility of people of goodwill to expose the fallacy of pernicious ideas. Because we can't rely on government censorship to stem the spread of racist ideas, it is up to us  "We the People"  to do so.

The proper response to a march by 100 neo-Nazis is not censorship. It is a counter demonstration of thousands of people committed to tolerance  as recently happened in Boston

Now, more than ever, Americans opposed to hatred and white supremacy need to raise their voices in unison and denounce racism and xenophobia. Now, more than ever, Americans who believe in tolerance and inclusivity need to use their sacred right to vote to remove public officials who pit one American against another instead of fostering unity.

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said of an earlier era: "History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people."

Let us ensure that no one could ever say the same about our own era.

Alan Garfield is a professor at Widener University Delaware Law School. aegarfield@widener.edu
Where did you venture to view the Great American Eclipse? About 100 people were lucky enough to make the trip of a lifetime for it: 38,000 feet above the Pacific Ocean, courtesy of Alaska Airlines.

Last year, veteran eclipse chaser Joe Rao amazingly managed to convince Alaska Airlines to alter the departure time and flight path of one of its flights out of Hawaii in order to catch a total solar eclipseand the results were stunning. For this years Great American Eclipse, Alaska Airlines decided to take it a notch further thanks to another suggestion by Rao, planning a special charter flight for invited scientists, eclipse chasers, journalists, and a few lucky Alaska employees to view the eclipse. Thanks to Twitter, I was lucky enough to be one of two astronomers invited onboard.

The day started quite early on August 21st. We were instructed to arrive at the Portland airport (PDX) no later than 5AM. After a long TSA security line, I made my way to the two adjacent gates Alaska Airlines had taken over for the event. It was quite a sight to see: Big light-up boards about the eclipse, TV cameras being set up, and a wall full of Voodoo Doughnuts to pump us full of sugaras if we needed any more excitement!
On most summer days you can buy a gallon of fresh milk, witness the creation of ice cream or pet the baby goats outside Sassy Cow Creamery.

But this Saturday is even more special: Its when you can also take a farm wagon ride, visit with Alice in Dairyland, tour Sassy Cows new 40-cow rotary milking parlor or simply get your fill of local pie and ice cream.

Its all part of the dairy farms annual, end-of-season Ice Cream Social, held 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. A family-owned dairy farm located just outside Sun Prairie, about a 35-minute drive northeast of Madisons Capitol Square, Sassy Cow held free public tours on Fridays through the summer (the last this year is Aug. 25) and will continue offering school tours and tours by appointment through October.

Saturdays ice cream social, however, is something extra, a celebration of green pastures and prime ice cream-eating weather before autumn sets in.

Its important to us for people to see where their milk is coming from, said Sassy Cow sales and marketing manager Kara Kasten-Olson.

These are the cows that make the milk. Were very transparent  I think thats why we offer so many tours. Theres just not a lot of farms that people can go and visit anymore.

Sassy Cow, which operates on 1,700 owned and rented acres, is home to 500 traditional and 200 organic cows. Its creamery produces a line of milk products, plus ice cream, all processed on site using milk from only from the Sassy Cow herd.

Those products and many other made-in-Wisconsin foods are for sale to the public in the creamerys retail shop, housed in a shiny bright red building at W4192 Bristol Road, Columbus. Visitors can buy a towering, double-scoop ice cream cone for $2.50 (called a small), a large cone for $3.50, or a kid-sized cone for $1.50. Theres a variety of sundaes and ice cream sandwiches made on site, too.

A collection of antique milk bottles hangs on the walls of the shop, and theres plenty of Sassy Cow T-shirts, hats, bags and other merchandise to take home. Refrigerated cases are lined with quarts and half gallons of Sassy Cow ice cream to buy, plus close to 100 varieties of Wisconsin-made cheese.

Its not unusual for out-of-state visitors to leave with more than $70 worth of cheese to take home for friends and neighbors, Karsten-Olson said.

Sassy Cow used to make its own cheese, but now concentrates on milk, chocolate milk, heavy cream, half and half and 40 flavors of ice cream, she said.

The dairy voluntarily recalled its products last spring after a faulty booster pump seal was found during a routine plant inspection. No contamination was found, but the company stated at the time in a news release that We always want to (err) on the safe side out of care and concern for our customers, as well as our peace of mind in the products we produce, therefore we have issued a voluntary recall.

Karsten-Olson said that Milk was pretty easy to replace on grocery shelves after the recall, but removing ice cream and replacing it in nearly 80 retail locations was much harder.

So its been a summer of catching up with ice cream, she said.

Sassy Cow farmstead is owned and operated by brothers James and Robert Baerwolf and their families. The land was purchased by their grandfather in 1946, and the Baerwolfs parents, lifetime farmers themselves, still are involved in the family operation. James and Robert began dairy farming right after graduation from UW-Madison.

The Baerwolfs added the creamery in 2008 between the brothers two herds to handle all processing. Farm tours have been going on for many years, but the weekly summer Friday tours just started last year, Karsten-Olson said.

Today, a cheery playground just outside the creamery offers climbing equipment, toddler-sized tractors to pedal and a pair of pens holding big-eyed, photogenic baby goats and calves. Tour-goers meet at the building and are led to the fields in their own vehicles. There they see Sassy Cows new 40-cow rotary milking parlor, and can meet and even pet some of the dairys cows.

A school bus will shuttle visitors between the creamery building and the pastures during Saturdays ice cream social, Karsten-Olson said.

People dont realize how close we are  we have a Columbus mailing address, but being just north of Sun Prairie people dont realize were just a half hour from Downtown Madison, she said. Were open year-round. Even in the winter, people can come out and see the bottling and the ice cream making.
Dallas K-9 Drummer apprehened a shooting suspect while officers gave aid to the victim. (Photo: Dallas PD/Facebook)

Dallas officers helped save a shooting victim's life with a tourniquet early Friday while a police dog nabbed one of the men suspected of shooting him, police said.

About 2 a.m., officers in Old East Dallas heard a gunshot in the 4700 block of Capitol Avenue and found a man with a leg injury.

The first officers to arrive at the scene used a tourniquet to help the victim before he was taken to Baylor University Medical Center. He was reportedly in stable condition as of Friday morning, Dallas News reports.

Police called the K-9 unit to help find his assailants. Drummer, a police dog, found one of the suspects and nabbed him by the shoulder. The other suspect was still at large as of 5 a.m.
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CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (Reuters)  Hurricane Harvey intensified early on Friday into potentially the most powerful hurricane to hit the U.S. mainland in more than a decade, as authorities warned locals to shelter from what could be life-threatening winds and floods.

Harvey is set to make landfall late Friday or early Saturday on the central Texas coast where Corpus Christi and Houston are home to some of the biggest U.S. refineries. Oil and gas operations have already been disrupted and gasoline prices have spiked.

Now is the time to urgently hide from the wind. Failure to adequately shelter may result in serious injury, loss of life, or immense human suffering, the National Weather Service said.

Harvey grew into a category 2 storm with winds of 110 mph (177 kph) as it moved northwest about 145 miles (233 km) off Port OConnor, Texas, the National Hurricane Center said.

Up to 35 inches (97 cm) of rain are expected over parts of Texas, with winds up to 125 mph, and sea levels may surge as high as 12 feet (3.7 meters). Louisiana could get 10 to 15 inches of rain. Flood warnings are in effect for Louisiana and northern Mexico.

Life-threatening and devastating flooding expected near the coast due to heavy rainfall and storm surge, the hurricane center said.

The storms approach triggered evacuations and forced classes to be canceled on Friday at dozens of schools along the south Texas coast, home to 5.8 million people from Corpus Christi to Galveston.

Harvey also forced the cancellation or delay of at least 40 flights in and out of major airports in Texas on Friday, according to Flightaware.com, which tracks airline traffic.

Louisiana and Texas declared states of disaster, authorizing the use of state resources to prepare. President Donald Trump has been briefed and is ready to provide resources if needed, the White House said on Thursday.

Harvey is forecast to come ashore as a Category 3 hurricane, the NHC said, the third most powerful on the Saffir-Simpson scale. That would make it the first major hurricane to hit the mainland United States since Hurricane Wilma struck Florida in 2005.

The NHC expects Harvey to move slowly and linger over Texas for days. Some tracking models forecast that the storm could circle back out over Gulf waters after making landfall, and then hit the Texas coast again.

Houston, the nations fourth most populous city, warned residents of flooding from close to 20 inches of rain over several days.

GASOLINE PRICES SPIKE

More than 45 percent of the countrys refining capacity is along the Gulf Coast, and nearly a fifth of the nations crude oil is produced offshore. Ports from Corpus Christi to Texas City, Texas, were closed to incoming vessels.

The government said 9.6 percent of crude output capacity was shut and 14.6 percent of natural gas production was halted.

Three refineries in Corpus Christi and one farther inland at Three Rivers were shutting down ahead of the storm. Concern that Harvey could cause shortages in fuel supply drove benchmark gasoline prices to a three-week high.

One other refinery reduced output and others were considering shutting.

Prices for gasoline in spot physical markets on the Gulf Coast rose even more, hitting a one-year high.

The U.S. government has emergency stockpiles of crude available to plug disruptions, and has regularly used them to dampen the impact on energy supplies of previous storms.

The stockpiles in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve were last used in 2012, after Tropical Storm Isaac shut down 95 percent of oil output in the Gulf and hit Louisiana. The government has not yet said if it plans to use the reserve after Harvey.

Profit margins for refineries producing gasoline rose by more than 12 percent on Thursday, on course for their biggest daily percentage gain in six months, according to Reuters data.

Houston-based energy bank Tudor Pickering Holt & Co said in a research note not to expect significant nor lasting production impacts from Harvey. But it said it would impact some production and disrupt refinery runs, imports and exports, which will show up in the weekly inventory numbers for the next few weeks.

Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Anadarko Petroleum Corp and Exxon Mobil Corp have evacuated staff from offshore oil and gas platforms in the storms path.

The storm could also bring flooding to shale oil fields in southern Texas that produce more than one million barrels of oil a day.

EOG Resources Inc said it had curtailed drilling and shut some production in the Eagle Ford shale region. Noble Energy Inc and Statoil ASA also said they were evacuating some staff from production facilities.

For a graphic on Hurricane Harvey, click: http://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/rngs/STORM-HARVEY/010050JN183/HARVEY.png

(Reporting by Brendan OBrien in Milwaukee and Brian Thevenot in Corpus Christi; Editing by Robin Pomeroy and Phil Berlowitz)
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Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley (Iowa) felt the need to remind the President Of The United States to pay attention to the hurricane that is about to hit the state of Texas.

Grassley tweeted:

@realDonaldTrump #hurricane keep on top of hurricane Harvey dont mke same mistake Pres Bush made w Katrina  ChuckGrassley (@ChuckGrassley) August 25, 2017

This is how far the presidency has fallen. Trump is so out of touch with reality that he needs to be reminded of a looming serious natural disaster that is likely going to cause massive damage and has the potential to be deadly. Grassleys comparison to Bush and Katrina is a good lesson for all presidents, because after the storm, Bush administration officials admitted that they did not properly prepare for the consequences of the Hurricane.

After eight years of Obama preparedness and competence, it is frightening to think that Americans may lose their lives because the people who is now president is not paying attention. Trump country ready for what is coming. The country should not have to prepare the President to do his job.

Obama received bipartisan praise for the way that his administration responded to natural disasters. There is still no indication that the Trump administration has a plan in place to deal with Harvey.

The fact that someone who has communicated personally with Trump felt the need to issue this warning is a sign that the people in the path of this storm could be in big trouble if they are expecting Trump to be there for them.
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WASHINGTON (Reuters)  President Donald Trumps top economic adviser Gary Cohn said in an interview published on Friday that the administration needs to be more unequivocal in condemning hate groups, but added he was reluctant to quit over its response to a recent protest.

White supremacist and neo-Nazi activists clashed with anti-racism protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia, earlier this month over a plan to remove a statue of Robert E. Lee, a Confederate general in the U.S. Civil War. A man thought to have neo-Nazi sympathies drove a car into a crowd of counterprotesters, killing one woman and injuring more than a dozen others.

Following the clashes, Trump said there had been violence on both sides, remarks that spurred condemnation by both Republican and Democratic politicians.

Cohn considered resigning over Trumps response, the Financial Times newspaper reported, citing friends of the former Goldman Sachs president.

I believe this administration can and must do better in consistently and unequivocally condemning these groups and do everything we can to heal the deep divisions that exist in our communities, Cohn told the paper in his first public comments on the controversy.

Cohn, who is Jewish, said he felt compelled to voice my distress over the events of the last two weeks and had come under intense pressure to quit over Trumps reaction to the incident but decided against it.

As a patriotic American, I am reluctant to leave my post as director of the National Economic Council because I feel a duty to fulfill my commitment to work on behalf of the American people, Cohn said.

(Editing by David Alexander and Bernadette Baum)
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President Trump threatened yet another Republican Friday morning, this time it was Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee, as if he is trying to help Democrats win back the Senate in spite of a map that favors Republicans.

Strange statement by Bob Corker considering that he is constantly asking me whether or not he should run again in '18. Tennessee not happy!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 25, 2017

Corker questioned the Presidents competency and stability and said without a change the nation would be in great peril, 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. He also recently has not demonstrated that he understands the character of this nation. He has not demonstrated that he understands what has made this nation great and what it is today and without the things that I just mentioned happening, our nation is going to go through great peril.

Thursday, Sarah Huckabee Sanders said she wouldnt dignify Corkers ridiculous and outrageous claims with a response, and hours later her boss is on Twitter drawing attention to Corkers comments.

Harry Enten noted:

The odds of a Dem controlled Senate are minimal, but @realdonaldtrump is trying to make it happen. https://t.co/SY4179I3cn  (((Harry Enten))) (@ForecasterEnten) August 25, 2017

His Friday morning ego pump also included touted passing minor bills and pretending hes defeated/done ISIS (?), as he promised he would do in 30 days, taking the fiction further into the land where few, if any other administrations have done so much (this is absolutely inaccurate):

Few, if any, Administrations have done more in just 7 months than the Trump A. Bills passed, regulations killed, border, military, ISIS, SC!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 25, 2017

PolitiFact on Trumps ISIS promises:

In a major foreign policy speech Aug. 15, then-candidate Trump said his administration would aggressively pursue joint and coalition military operations to crush and destroy ISIS. A few weeks later at a campaign rally, he promised to take the preliminary step of crafting a winning strategy. We are going to convene my top generals and give them a simple instruction, Trump said on Sept. 6, They will have 30 days to submit to the Oval Office a plan for soundly and quickly defeating ISIS.  So Trump said he would ask for a plan, and he did. He said the plan would be one for soundly and quickly defeating ISIS. Whether the plan actually leads to the defeat of ISIS is another matter. For now, we rate this promise In the Works.

Apparently Trump is now giving himself the Republican dreaded participation award  a trophy for a plan, even if the plan has yet to work or might not work. As if other presidents did not have a plan to fight ISIS. In Trump world, he is the only Might Warrior who promised to defeat ISIS, and words are better than reality, thus he is the winner.

In reality, ISIS has not been defeated and while no one can say if Trumps plan will work, to suggest ISIS is something done is inaccurate by a long shot.

Then Trump made sure his base knows who to blame for his own legislative failures, although it was Republican John McCain who tanked Trumps healthcare bill:

If Senate Republicans don't get rid of the Filibuster Rule and go to a 51% majority, few bills will be passed. 8 Dems control the Senate!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 25, 2017

President Trump is trying to threaten Bob Corker, but instead he just proved Corkers point. He is not fit for the office.
Watchdog/Public Service Editor

Glenn Smith is editor of the Watchdog and Public Service team and helped write the newspapers Pulitzer Prize-winning investigation, Till Death Do Us Part. Reach him securely on Signal at 843-607-0809 or by email at gsmith5@protonmail.com.
The S.C. Secessionist Party plans to return to the College of Charleston campus Oct. 28. They previously waved a Confederate flag outside of a Bree Newsome speaking event in February, and Charleston Black Lives Matter leader Muhiyidin d'Baha, whose legal name is Muhiyidin Elamin Moye, was arrested after attempting to snatch it away. File/Deanna Pan/Staff
The Wisconsin Veterans Home at King has not been able to keep additional nursing positions filled, leading to a dramatic increase in overtime and complaints from workers, according to a report released Friday by the nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau.

The audit recommends that King work on finding ways to fill all the jobs to cut down on overtime. The audit said that over a two-year period, the bureau received 47 complaints about King, most of which were staff-related, including concerns about overtime.

In 2016, on average, 685 veterans and their spouses received care at King. The Legislature in 2013 authorized King to hire nearly 83 additional nurses to address concerns about the level of care at the facility.

Despite the authority to hire more nurses, the number of vacancies increased from 32 in June 2012 to 47 in June 2016, the audit said.

That resulted in the number of overtime hours increasing to the point where the 65,100 worked in 2016 exceeded the 64,300 worked before the additional positions were authorized.

Overtime hours were at their lowest point  36,800  in 2013-2014, according to the report.

Veterans Affairs Secretary Dan Zimmerman said in a response letter to the Audit Bureau that the additional overtime required because of the nursing shortage has placed an unsustainable burden on the employees as well as the department budget.

It is my focus to eliminate all forced overtime and reduce all voluntary overtime to acceptable, affordable levels as quickly and efficiently as possible, Zimmerman said.

The Audit Bureau recommended that the Veterans department report back to lawmakers by January on progress it is making in filling nursing vacancies and reducing the amount of overtime.

Other findings

The audit also found:

Between 2012 and 2016, the Department of Health Services issued fewer citations for violations at King, on average, than at other skilled nursing facilities in the state. King received 184 citations over that time, the most severe of which resulted in a $76,900 civil penalty in 2016 in connection with substandard care it provided in the death of a 94-year-old resident.

Based on a federal five-star rating system, the combined overall rating for Kings four residence facilities exceeded those for other similar skilled nursing centers in Wisconsin.

The federal Department of Veterans Affairs issued King 15 citations between 2012 and 2016, and five additional citations as the result of a January 2017 inspection. Two of those related to an incident in which a resident fell from his bed and was seriously injured.

The audit follows one in May that focused on finances at the veterans homes. Lawmakers called for the audits after The Capital Times newspaper published a report that revealed staff shortages, compromised care and a culture of retaliation at the veterans home at the same time millions of dollars was transferred from the facility to other veterans funds.

The State Journal reported in 2013 on an increasing number of citations and staffing shortages at King, including one for not thoroughly searching for a missing 79-year-old Korean War veteran who drowned in a foot of water.

Then-Secretary John Scocos resigned in January, four months after the audits were ordered, and was replaced by Zimmerman.
Two things are motivating the Charleston County School District to consider the idea. The first is the difficulty in attracting teachers to an area where they would struggle to afford housing. The second is the fact the district already owns land where apartments could be built. Read moreWith rents unaffordable, the Charleston school district considers building teacher housing
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions is an old-school drug warrior, so it came as no surprise that his Department of Justice recently sent Washington and other states with legalized marijuana letters with a fusillade of bullet points on the dangers of legal weed.

What is surprising, however, is how misleading and cherry-picked his data was. Sessions wrongly portrayed Washingtons marijuana experiment as a circus, with exploding marijuana-extraction labs and stoned teens weaving across the road.

The experiment is a work in progress, but Sessions letter to Gov. Jay Inslee warrants a rebuttal  and not just because of bad data.

It missed the fundamental point made by voters in Washington and Colorado in the historic 2012 election. It has subsequently been made in California, Oregon, Alaska, Massachusetts, Nevada and Maine.

Legalization is spreading because it is a rational response to the failed policy of prohibition. Arresting and incarcerating marijuana users and growers doesnt make them go away; it drives them underground. Prohibition had a vastly disproportionate impact on black men. Maintaining the ban was a drain on law-enforcement resources; a legalized, regulated market creates a tax source to pay for treatment and teen-prevention campaigns.

Inslee and Attorney General Bob Ferguson, in a letter to Sessions this week, rebutted his litany of problems, which included Washington-grown marijuana being found in 43 other states, an increase in stoned drivers and 17 marijuana labs exploding in 2014 alone.

As Inslee and Ferguson accurately note, that data was gathered before Washingtons first licensed and regulated marijuana store opened in 2015. Sessions data, in fact, comes from the prohibition era he apparently favors.

Since Washington began fully regulating marijuana, state inspectors have cracked down on state stores that sold to minors. Theyve required licensed growers to track every ounce of legal weed.

And since those state-licensed stores opened, the annual state Healthy Youth Survey of Washington students found the number of current underage users is actually down among younger students, and virtually flat for high school seniors. All groups say it has become slightly harder to get.

Thats not to say legalization is without challenges, including the normalization of underage pot use. The answer is prevention education, which is paid for with some of the $730 million in state marijuana taxes and fees projected for the next two years.

In his letter, Sessions rattled the sword of prohibition, but did not say the feds were coming to end the legalization experiment. And for good reason. The feds dont have the resources to take on a majority of the country.

Nearly one in five Americans now live in a state with legal recreational marijuana. Three out of five live in states with legal medical marijuana access. The numbers are growing. The prohibition era is done, whether Sessions wants to admit it or not.
Traffic is an inescapable problem on Johns Island. During peak travel times we have extensive backups at our signalized intersections. At almost any time of day we have collisions on our roads that too frequently result in fatalities. Read moreCommentary: There is a middle-ground solution to Johns Island's traffic woes
From Alabama poultry plants to Utah hotels, employers who want to hire unauthorized workers  or to escape accountability for their poor treatment of legal workers  appear to be turning to temp agencies and other labor contractors to evade scrutiny.

The practice is especially prevalent in Western and Southern states that require private employers to use E-Verify, a federal online service, to confirm that their employees are legal residents.

In eight of the nine states that require E-Verify for private employers (Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Utah), the number of temporary workers grew faster than the national average between 2012 and 2016, according to a Stateline analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data. The one exception was Louisiana.

"It is not a coincidence that the significant rise in temporary workers happened around the time when a number of states were enacting laws which mandated use of E-Verify," said Muzaffar Chishti, an immigration law expert at the Migration Policy Institute, a nonprofit research group.

"It became difficult for companies to comply because people did not have work authorization," Chishti said. "They quickly realized that the law applies to hiring people, but they can't accuse you if you're not literally hiring people. They could get agencies to hire for them or use workers as contractors without hiring them."

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The practice has drawn concern both from conservative experts who want less illegal immigration, and from immigration advocates who find temp agencies harder to hold accountable for worker abuse.

Ira Mehlman of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which favors immigration restrictions, said "business wants to take advantage of this loophole," and that state and federal officials lack the political will to close it.

On the other side of the political spectrum, Naomi Tsu of the Southern Poverty Law Center, which has studied the abuse of Hispanic employees at Alabama poultry plants, said the use of labor contractors to evade E-Verify "is a double-edged sword. (Immigrants) can get jobs, but it does open them up to abuse."

The Southern Poverty Law Center, or SPLC, has filed complaints about laborers hired by a contractor for the Wayne Farms and Pilgrim's Pride poultry plants in Alabama. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission followed up with a lawsuit against the contractor, East Coast Labor Solutions.

Both the SPLC and the federal commission accused East Coast Labor Solutions, which has had a series of different names, of singling out Hispanic workers  both noncitizens in the country illegally and U.S. citizens recruited from Puerto Rico  for harder work, lower pay and more dangerous conditions on segregated lines.

"Plant workers, many of whom are immigrants, are often treated as disposable resources by their employers," a 2013 SPLC report found. "Threats of deportation and firing are frequently used to keep them silent."

The federal government had already taken action against Pilgrim's Pride. The company paid a $4.5 million settlement in 2009 after federal authorities arrested 338 illegal immigrants during raids on plants in five states.

In 1986, the federal Immigration Reform and Control Act made it illegal to knowingly hire unauthorized workers. Employers have sought ways around the law ever since, according to Chishti.

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In states that don't mandate E-Verify screening, employers may hire workers with falsified paperwork and still comply with federal law, since they are not knowingly violating it. Furthermore, E-Verify cannot be used to screen existing employees  only new hires.

"Obviously if the working unauthorized population is near 7 million, something is going on," Chishti said. "How are people able to find work if the law says you can't hire them?"

Even in states that mandate the use of E-Verify, the threat of state legal action has been mostly theoretical. A spokesman for Alabama's attorney general said the office is charged with enforcing the law but hasn't actively done so. In Georgia, the Department of Audits requires that companies prove they are using E-Verify by providing a registration number, but the agency doesn't have the resources to check up on individual hires.

"A lot of politicians want to pass laws to make themselves look good but they don't fund the enforcement," said David Fowler, president of the E-Verify Employer Agent Alliance, a trade group of computer programmers working to build tools to help employers use E-Verify.

Still, because of occasional federal audits and investigations of whistleblower complaints, it's risky for a company to hire unauthorized immigrants indirectly through contractors, Fowler said. He pointed to a 2005 case in which Wal-Mart paid $11 million to settle accusations that it used cleaning contractors that hired unauthorized immigrants.

More recently, in 2014 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement uncovered suspicious hiring at a Salt Lake City-based hotel chain. Grand America Hotels and Resorts paid nearly $2 million to settle accusations that managers and employees created temporary employment agencies to rehire unauthorized immigrants who had been fired after an earlier audit.
A Rochester man made his first appearance Wednesday in Olmsted County District Court, where he's accused of pushing his way into a woman's apartment and threatening to assault her.

James Jean Austin, 37, was charged with one count each of criminal sexual predatory conduct and first-degree burglary, both felonies, as well as two counts of misdemeanor fifth-degree assault.

He remains in custody and is due back in court Sept. 7.

The charges stem from an incident Aug. 10, when police were sent to a home in southeast Rochester for a report of an assault.

The victim said Austin, who lives in the apartment below her, is a drug dealer, the criminal complaint says. She allegedly said she bought marijuana from him and owed him $20; in the past, the woman said, she's bought marijuana from him and he's wanted sex from her as a form of payment.

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Police call notes indicate a similar dispute between the two back in July, court documents say; the victim said she'd avoided Austin since then because she's afraid of him.

That night, though, Austin approached her as she sat outside. She believed him to be drunk, so she got up and started to walk to her apartment. She didn't have a chance to shut the door before Austin walked in, too.

He allegedly grabbed her arms and told her she was going to perform a sex act, because she didn't have his $20. The woman told officers she went into "survival mode" and started fighting him.

Austin "threw her around the room," the complaint says, knocking over furniture and ripping her shirt in the process.

Another man in the apartment came into the living room and told Austin he was going to call the police; Austin left.

The male witness said he saw Austin push his way into the apartment, grab the woman by the arms and demand sex, the court documents say;he said Austin is "a large guy" and it wouldn't be easy for the victim to have shut the door and keep him out.

Austin refused to answer his apartment door, so officers obtained a search warrant and began to take down the door. After a couple of strikes with the ram, Austin opened the door.

He denied entering the victim's apartment, said he doesn't want to have sex with her and she's "crazy," the documents continue. Austin said if he'd tried to do something to her, the woman would have "beat him up."

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Austin is listed as 6 feet 2, weighing 298 pounds.

He was convicted in July 2009 of second-degree criminal sexual conduct-victim under 13, and sentenced to 122 months in prison.
A week after Rochester Community and Technical College received news the entire college would be re-accredited , one of its programs has received a more specific certification.

The Automotive Mechanic Program is now accredited by the National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation, or NATEF, meeting standards for the highest level of achievement, the Master Automotive Service Technology Accreditation.

The certification will allow the program to expand its business partnerships and access helpful databases.

The school will be able to connect with auto manufacturers for donations and support, including new vehicles and diagnostic equipment, according to Dave MacLeod, RCTC automotive mechanic instructor.

The program will also have free access to a diagnostic database called "Identifix," used by many auto repair facilities throughout the country.

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"Most importantly, this certification ensures we are teaching our students current and useful diagnostic and repair procedures so our graduates will be better prepared for the workforce," MacLeod said.

It's an accreditation just a small percent of schools receive, according to NATEF President Patricia Serratore in a congratulatory letter to the college.

"Achieving the accreditation is a strong testament to the quality instruction provided to our students and support received from our industry partners," said Lori Jensen, the college's associate dean of career and technical education.
HAYFIELD  When Wandah Nielsen thinks about her brother Verlyn Hegna, she likes to remember the generous young man who liked treating his little sisters to candy while running errands.

"We went to the Oslo store," she said, adding the family's farm lay about two miles south of the unincorporated town, close to the city of Sargeant. "He'd take me and my little sister with him, and if we we're good he'd buy us a candy bar."

He almost always judged the girls' behavior as good, treating them to candy and cementing his status as a wonderful guy for an older brother.

It's a better memory than the telegram the family received Aug. 5, 1944, telling Nielsen  then 7-year-old Wandah Hegna  her parents and her siblings that Verlyn had died July 16, 1944, in France.

The story is one of 140 retold by Minnesota author Jill Johnson, who researched little cities in Minnesota  those of populations around 100 or smaller  that lost their soldiers, sailors and airmen in World War II. Her book "Little Minnesota in World War II" will be out Sept. 26.

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Johnson said she found the 100 smallest cities  incorporated towns with a mayor and council  in Minnesota then researched their fallen heroes from the war. As it turns out, she found 140 men from across the state who died  starting with John Emery of Perley who died when the USS Arizona was sunk at Pearl Harbor and ending with Herman Thelander of Kinbrae who was lost nearly four months after the war in a training flight through the Bermuda Triangle.

In between, three young men from little cities in Southeast Minnesota perished. Donald Rose of Whalan died after being hit by shrapnel during the battle of Guadalcanal on Sept. 13, 1942. Hegna was shot during the bloody push to the town of Saint-Lo shortly after the Normandy invasion. On Jan. 22, 1945, Howard Hanson of Taopi was shot during the waning days of the Battle of the Bulge, Germany's final major offensive on the Western front.

Some of the small towns, already losing population after the Great Depression, were devastated by the loss of their young men in Europe or the Pacific, Johnson said.

"Some of them lost seven and eight men," she said. "That's almost unbelievable to me. And these were kids who had never been off the farm. Some of them, they'd never been to Minneapolis."

"They were devastated," Nielsen said, recalling her parents' reaction to the news of Verlyn's death. Her father had broken his leg, and Verlyn took over running the family farm as a teen, never attending high school. Her father, she said, always regretted that his oldest son missed that time in his life.

Later, when Verlyn was drafted, the family had to sell the farm due to his absence, and they moved to Hayfield where her dad ran the cafe in town. Had he never been drafted, she said, the family still might have had to leave the farm near Sargeant, but they certainly would have lasted longer out in the country.

In doing her research, Johnson discovered that the "upper brass really wanted these kids from farms because they could fix things. All of them could shoot."

Johnson said she developed a passion for telling stories about little Minnesota towns after going to the 50-year reunion of the first class her dad taught in the tiny town of Strandquist (2016 population: 68) about 10 years ago. "He said, 'Jill, I think all these little towns are going to disappear.'"

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So, she wrote a book called "Little Minnesota: 100 Towns Around 100." It was during the research on that book that she noticed how the towns changed around World War II. Talking with the families who lost loved ones during World War II, she said, the memories of those men all seemed to come flooding back.

"They dug through old trunks to find information and rediscover a loved one they hadn't thought about in years," she said.

For Nielsen, she'll never forget the last time she saw her elder brother.

"He was home on furlough," she said, adding that she did not know he would be there and was in school that day. "There was a knock on the (classroom) door, and the teacher said, 'Wandah, someone wants to see you.'"

There stood Verlyn, dressed in his uniform, ready again to spend the day with the little sister who he loved.
MAZEPPA  As Charolais and Black Angus grazed on the lush grass of Katie and Ted Brenny's farm near Mazeppa, guests of CommonGround's "Field to Fork Farm Dinner" talked farming.

"We're 'city folk,'" said one young father, there with his 3-year-old daughter. "How can people who live in cities connect with farmers and the ag community?"

"How can we encourage young girls to pursue ag as a profession?" asked Rebecca Montpetit, a mom of two young children.

These and other questions were answered by each of the three women in farming who served on the evening's panel  Katie Brenny, Angela Guentzel and Becca Gustafson. The three are volunteers with CommonGround, a group of farm women who volunteer their time to share information about farming and food.

The purpose of CommonGround, explained Guentzel, who joined the organization a year and a half ago, is to connect women involved in agriculture with consumers. CommonGround is in 22 states, and has more than 200 volunteers.

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The question-and-answer session was the conclusion to an evening of hospitality shared by CommonGround Minnesota. More than 50 people attended, which began with a hayride to a picturesque rise of the Brenny land.

Following a social hour, guests took their seats for the first course, a shaved fennel and apple salad with baby arugula, walnuts and citrus cider dressing. The main course was beef short ribs glazed with asian five spice and roasted sweet potatoes. As the dessert course ended, Brenny, Guentzel, and Gustafson, took their seats to answer questions.

Responses to the first question gave a clear indication of just how personal farming is to each of them, and how deeply concerned they are about the misconceptions that are out there.

"For people who don't farm, what is one thing that is helpful to know?" a guest asked.

As Guentzel, a sixth-generation farmer from Kasota, who grows corn and soybeans, took the microphone and began to speak, her voice broke and her eyes filled with tears.

"When I hear the words "big ag" or "factory farming" I can't help but take offense," she said "it's my family, my life."

Brenny's response  a reflection on her choice to be a farmer  was similarly heartfelt.

When Gustafson took the microphone, she spoke about the issue of food safety.

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"You're food is safe," she said. "We do our best to provide the best for you to eat."

Guests of the event were a mixture of members of the farming community, food bloggers, moms and dads, and the media.

Mary Lahammer, anchor and reporter at Twin Cities Public Television, attended with her husband, Chad Flynn, and their daughter Bayliss. Lahammer is the host of "Farm Fresh Food" on TPT.

Lahammer commented about the female farmer.

"This year on Farm Fresh Road Trip, we featured nothing but female farmers," she said. "It's a stereotype, I know, but when we hear the word farmer we think man. I'm happy to see the three of you up there."

"The best part of stereotypes is crushing them," Guentzel replied. She then mentioned how she occasionally calls her husband "my farm wife."

Wendy Knight, president of the Minnesota School Nutrition Association, attended the dinner to meet others interested in locally grown food.

"Schools are trying to incorporate locally grown products into school lunch menus," she explained.

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Another guest, Michelle Rossman, who has a cattle farm near Douglas, said she recently had the opportunity to talk to 250 Rochester school children in kindergarten through sixth grade about farming and where their food comes from through the "Fun with a Farmer" program. She said she was dismayed to see how many students didn't know the origin of their food. She was also concerned how people get their information about aspects of farming from unreliable sources.

"They should come talk to me," she said. "I would love to talk to you."

Jared Luhman, of Dry Creek Red Angus in Goodhue, said he feels events such as the dinner are important to connect consumers with farmers. He has also participated in Minnesota Farm Bureau's Speak for Yourself program, which gave him the opportunity to talk to high school students and clubs about farming.

"I enjoy the questions from people," he said. "I can talk about my farm all day."

Workshop focuses on questions, concerns from women farmers
A two-story building has been purchased Downtown.

Some $3 million in renovations are nearing completion.

After six years of planning and effort, Dane County is finally close to opening a day resource center for the homeless in Madison.

Only a last-minute budget hole could cause further delay.

Local elected officials shouldnt let that happen. Dane County and Madison have come too far  for too long  to allow this strong priority to falter again.

The State Journals Dean Mosiman reported on Thursdays front page that a funding gap of about $135,000 for next years operating budget could force officials to push back a planned Oct. 16 opening.

Catholic Charities, when it was picked to run the center last year, had submitted a projected $688,000 budget for 2018. But city officials, who are helping pay for the facilitys operation, apparently didnt see that figure until last month, and it was higher than they expected.

Dane County Executive Joe Parisi now is seeking $172,000  a quarter of the operating cost  in next years county budget. And Catholic Charities intends to give that much, too.

But the city is so far sticking to its original plan of spending $110,000. City officials have floated cutting the centers operating budget, but that would hurt its ambitious mission.

The United Way, a fourth partner on the homeless resource center, had pledged $100,000 for next year and is understandably waiting for the results of its annual fundraising campaign before making a decision on giving more.

The day center, called The Beacon, is supposed to open in the former Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce building at 615 E. Washington Ave. Besides giving the homeless a warm place to hang out during the day, The Beacon will offer multiple services to an estimated 150 people daily.

This includes, as the County Board approved last spring, laundry facilities, showers, computers, help finding employment, and private offices for health care and addiction treatment.

We respect Madison Mayor Paul Soglins administration for seeking savings. But Catholic Charities drew up its budget based on best practices from around the country. Catholic Charities makes a convincing case that its budget is necessary to fund six full-time and seven part-time staff, with plans for 20 volunteers each day. The Beacon plans to stay open 365 days a year, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Cutting its budget would mean the center might have to rely on even more volunteers and close on weekends.

I think the community would be disappointed by something like that, said Jackson Fonder, president and CEO of Catholic Charities.

Hes right.

The city should commit more money on par with the other partners to ensure the homeless resource center is a success.
Hillary Clintons books are said to induce nausea. My advice? Skip the books; read the reviews. Especially if they are written by Steve, or by P.J. ORourke.

ORourkes review of Mrs. Clintons It Takes a Village, published by the Weekly Standard, was hilarious. He called the review It Takes a Village Idiot. Here is the opening:

It takes a village to raise a child. The village is Washington. You are the child. There, Ive spared you from reading the worst book to come out of the Clinton administration since- lets be fair-the last one. Nearly everything about It Takes a Village is objectionable, from the title to the acknowledgments page, where Mrs Clinton fails to acknowledge that some poor journalism professor named Barbara Feinman did a lot of the work. Mrs Clinton thereby unwisely violates the first rule of literary collaboration: blame the co-author. And let us avert our eyes from the Kim Il-Sung-type dust jacket photograph showing Mrs Clinton surrounded by joyous-youth-of-many-nations.

Please overlook the fact that ORourke endorsed Clinton in 2016 and read the whole thing. Laughter is the best medicine.

I also encourage you to read the entirety of ORourkes 2003 review of Mrs. Clintons followup effort Living History, which also appeared in the Weekly Standard. I wrote about it here.

ORourke began that review this way:

If you plan not to read this summer, Living History is just the book. Hillary Clintons new memoir is more than 100,000 pages long. At least I think it is. There are only 562 page numbers, but you know how those Clintons lie.

He concluded by offering historical perspective plus a partially prescient look forward (though ORourke might deny it):

Conservatives, including most of the Founding Fathers, have always worried that the price of a democratic system would be a mediocre nation. But George Washington and William F. Buckley Jr. put together could not have foreseen, in their gloomiest moments, the rise of Clinton-style uber-mediocritywith its soaring commonplaces, its pumped trifling, its platinum-grade triviality. The Alpha-dork husband, the super-twerp wife, and the hyper-wonk vice presidenttogether with all their mega-weenie water carriers, such as vicious pit gerbil George Stephanopoulos and Eastern diamondback rattleworm Sidney Blumenthalspent eight years trying to make America nothing to brag about. They failed. And that is, ultimately, what makes Living History such a good nonread. If theyre going to throw the book at us, and the book is by Hillary, the republic will endure (and the Republicans will prevail).

Fourteen years before the fact, ORourke thus correctly answered, perhaps now to his chagrin, the question that provides the title of Mrs. Clintons latest book. He explained what happened to Hillary Clinton last year.
This video is pretty entertaining. Ami Horowitz interviewed New York millennials, asking about their views on the all-important question of income equality. Actually, anyone who thinks about the subject for two minutes should be able to figure out that a society without income inequality would scarcely be worth living in. But these people are without a clue.

Horowitz continues with questions about Venezuela, where starving people are fighting over dead rats. New York millennials (the ones in the video, anyway) claim to believe that poverty is a small price to pay for socialism. My guess, though, is that a few days of eating dead rats for dinnerif theyre luckywould change their views on socialism. Here it is:

My one quibble is the assumption that Venezuela exemplifies income equality along with socialism. In fact, relatives and friends of the Chavez/Maduro regime have made off with billions while the majority went hungry. Socialism always leads to this kind of stark inequality. As I wrote at the link:
I have learned the hard way not to put my personal life on the Internet. But suffice it to say that, God willing, things should be pretty much back to norm...

4 weeks ago
The day two of the National Health Dialogue organised by the Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism, PTCIJ, the Project for Advocacy in Child and Family Health, PACFaH, and the Project Pink Blue continues on Friday in Abuja.

The event is being held at the Shehu Musa YarAdua Centre, Central Business District Abuja.

The day one of the health dialogue was chaired by the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, and hosted by the Minister for Health, Isaac Adewole.

The keynote address was also delivered by Emir of Kano and former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Muhammadu Sanusi II.

In todays event, the Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole; Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun; Minister of Budget and National planning, Udo Udoma are some of the distinguished guests expected.

The dialogue has been able to bring together stakeholders in the Health and Development sectors to discuss the challenges and prospects of Universal Health Coverage, UHC, in Nigeria.

According to the organisers, since the enactment of the National Health Act in 2014, there have been several efforts targeted at providing quality and affordable health care for Nigerians in line with the goals of Universal Health Coverage. However, these goals are yet to be achieved.

The dialogue will recommend actionable strategies for sustainable health care financing.

PREMIUM TIMES brings you live updates of the event.

Arrival of guest and recap of yesterdays dialogue

Panel Discussion 4: Primary Health Care Delivery at the state level; panel chaired by state health commissioners.

Commisioner for Health Niger state, Mustapha Jubril, opened the floor. He discussed the operational module of primary health care delivery at the state and federal level.

Mr. Mustapha said most funding for health care delivery was dione by partners and the ministry was more like an infractructure development centre.

We need to correct this and we are running a one roof PHC and it brings all problems to the agency which falls under the ministry of health.

He said people should be educated to understand the concept of PHC, Many people see it as free health service.

Happening Now! Panel 4: Primary Health Care Delivery at the State Level

10.16am: Major topics to be discussed today: Cancer Survivorship: A critical issue in UHC; Interministerial coordination for health sector financing; Media advocacy and accountability: experiences and challenges and the way forward.

10.24am: Participants asking questions as others pay rapt attention.

10.57am: The Commissioner for Health in Nasarawa, Daniel Iya, gave a different view.

We are trying to provide free health delivery by using UHC to achieve health insurance for the state.

Mr. Iya said mandatory contribution will help achieve universal health care.

The health commisoner for Bauchi, Halima Mukaddas said the state government of Bauchi decentralised the ministry of health in the state which led to the creation of new boards.

This allows autonomy and allows more focus on the running of health issues.

Mukaddas said up to 90 per cent of PHCs in Buachi are now under one roof program.

What is left is the salaries of the health workers.

You can send in questions on twitter with #healthdialogue

11.35am: The Niger State official, Yahaya Nauzo, said the state is vibrant and filled with intelligent people. 

If we are leading in achieving UHC, it is because of this.

Mr. Nauzo called for collaboration of all the health sectors in the state and federal level to achieve UHC.

Another panelist from Kaduna, Cecilia Marcus, said PHC has never been under one roof until this Buhari regime.

Marcus said the government has already upgraded 225 PHCs in Kaduna State and there are plans to scale up more facilities and health resources.

Recounting challenges PHCs face in Kaduna, Cecilia said there is no equity in the cadre of human resources in the state. She said staffing of PHCs is a major challenge for PHCs in Kaduna.

We are trying to employ more human resources to fill in the gaps.

Mustapha Jubril, the commissoner of health Niger State said Niger is number 6 in the last national scorecard for PHCs in the country.

We have been able to operationalise most of our PHCs under one roof.

Jubril however noted that funding is a major issue in the state.

He said there are 274 PHCs in the state and they have resources and equipments to function.

The politics to fund these projects is there on the part of the governor. 15 per cent of the local government funds have been signed to go to the PHCs.

Jubril said the issue of trust to set up insurance program in the state is another challenge.

Daniel Iya, in his closing remark, said the major problem bedevilling the entire health sector is staffing, especially in the rural areas. Iya noted that more than half of PHCs in the country do not have a qualified midwife or a nurse not to talk of a doctor.

If we cannot get adequate and qualified hands to man the PHCs then that is a big problem.

The commisssioners where advised to convey the deliberations related to challenges faced by PHCs across the nation to other commisioners in other states so as to map out new approaches.

Conclusion of panel discussions. Tea Break.

Arrival of her excellency Dr. Zainab Shinkafa Bagudu, Wife of the Executive Governor of Kebbi State, founder Medicaid Cancer Foundation & CEO Medicaid Radiodiagnostics.

12:45 PM Happening now! Panel 5 begins: Cancer survivorship  A critical issue in Universal Health Coverage.

Investigations by PREMIUM TIMES confirmed that there are only eight radiotherapy machines in the whole of Nigeria. Seven of them are in different teaching hospitals across the country, the eighth being the one at Eko Hospital in Lagos.

The number of cancer patients in the country requiring radiotherapy at any time will stretch the facilities even if all the eight machines are working. But at no point ever have all the eight been fully functional.

Patients thus have to book and await their turns for the procedure. For some, their turns never come before they succumb to the killer disease.

Radiotherapy is one of the key regimens in the painful fight against cancer. A cancer patient often needs the treatment at one point or the other. And experts say it is often better not to start it than to have a break in the sessions.

This panel will be discussed by cancer survivors and technical experts. Stay glued!!!

The wife of the governor of Kebbi State, Zainab Bagudu, also founder cancer control advocate, is the first panelist called on stage.

The calling up of Mrs. Bagudu was followed by introduction of panelists.

12:51 PM Cancer survivors recounts there experience.

Comfort Oyayi Daniel, a breast cancer patient, shared how her left breast was removed.

She said she was asked to bring N6 million for surgery. She said she spent almost two years running around for funds until she met with the organisers of Project Pink Blue who introduced her to Wife of Kebbi state governor.

When she (wife of Kebbi state governor) met me, she gave me a cheque of N500,000. Pink Blue also introduced me to AIT who now helped in the fund raising, she said.

She said N17 million was spent on the surgery through combined efforts of Pink Blue and other contributors.

After the surgery, the doctors said I need radiotherapy and Pink Blue came to my aid again, she said.

She said her left breast was removed and radiotherapy was conducted on her in Lagos.

She however decried the poor state of radiotherapy machines in the country and poor delivery in cancer treatment in the country.

She said cancer is a deadly disease.

My fiancee left me as a result of this sickness. I no longer have nails and hair on my head, my legs changed colour but I thank God I am alive and I survived, she said.

She thanked the Pink Blue Project that orchestrated the fund raising project for her treatment.

Ms. Daniel was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer (HER 2- Positive) for which she had surgery. Because the cancer had spread to her head and lungs, she needed urgent radiotherapy sessions after the surgery.

But she could not get the service in any of the federal teaching hospitals which have seven of the linear accelerator machines in the country. All the machines there had packed up.

Participants asking panelist questions

Group photo with the panelist and sponsors of the National Health Dialogue

2.15pm: A panelist, Moji Makanjuola, the immediate past national co-coordinator of cancer control in Nigeria, shared experiences of cancer cases.

She said a woman she met had a cancer of the breast which was not properly treated.

You can not stand the stench coming out from her breast. We took to the Abuja national hospital where she eventually passed on. I have lost three patients to cancer, she said.

The major issue about cancer treatment even at the early stage is that treatment is not cheap. We dont have the adequate facilities and equipment in Nigeria that is why most citizens travel to countries like India and even Ghana for Chemotherapy.

The bulk of money spent in India if brought back to the country would make us one of the best in cancer treatments in the world. Treating cancer at home will also help psychologically for the patients when they are with their family. 

Makanjuola called for rehabilitation of radiotherapy machines in the country which are in a poor state.

We have made verbal and media commitment and campaign to tackle cancer but little have being done practically, she said.

She said cancer should be treated as top health priority.

Cancer leads to the death of 72,000 people in the country annually, experts say. The number is set to increase given that there are 102,000 new cases each year. For a country of about 180 million people, cancer is gradually emerging as a tropical disease due the dilapidated medical infrastructure and poor financing.

Yet, millions of Nigerians still believe that cancer is a death sentence or a punishment from supreme beings.

2.22pm: In her own contribution, wife of Kebbi state Governor, Zainab Bagudu, said a lot should be done in creating more awareness for cancer because, people are still holding unto their cultural belief. We need to do this awareness through indigenous ways to help prevent cancer as much as possible.

Mrs. Bagudu also said power has been a major challenge in setting up of cancer machines.

Ghana does not have the resources Nigeria has but they have the commitment. That is why they are improving in cancer treatment, she said.

Gloria Orji, a six-year cancer survivor, recounted her experience.

I was diagnosed with cancer in august 2010. Cancer is a battle between your body and your cells, she said.

Orji said strikes by doctors, ineffectiveness of radiotherapy machines were some of the problems bedeviling cancer treatment in the country.

I am a miracle because during my radiotherapy sessions, I never missed one. Cancer patients have no business dying if the right things are put in place, she said.

Recounting her experience further, Orji said cancer treatment drains the patient physically, emotionally and mostly financially.

Orji urged the government to have the political will to tackle cancer.

She said NHIS stopped covering cancer in 2016. even the tumor makers to detect cancer type in the body are no longer covered in the scheme.

We need to keep talking until something is done because spread of cancer waits for no body.

2.23pm: A panelist, Taofeeq Ige, stressed the need for more survivors to come on board to push the cancer campaign.

This will show that people can survive cancer, it will give people hope, he said.

Mr. Ige, a medical doctor, said treating cancer patients is one of the oddest jobs anybody can do.

To work on people with all forms of negative situation surrounding them.

Mr. Ige said cancer patients need hope.

2.26pm: The director of Project pink blue, Runcie Chidebe, said everyone has a duty to hold the government accountable.

Chidebe urged Nigerians to spend more time tweeting about cancer and other health challenges in the country than on hate speech and irrelevant things.

We dont have any agency that checks people for human insurance but we have more than three for vehicle insurance, Chidebe said.

We all have to find a way to make an impact in the health sector. it is time to wake up to hold the government by the hand for accountability.

The whole of South South does not have a radiotherapy machine.

Chidebe recounted prominent Nigerians that died of cancer: Gani Fawehmi, Dora Akunyili, Remi Oyo, Sunny Okosun, Mariam Babangida, among others.

A participant asked what were the plans on ground to screen students and youth for cancer so as to curb the disease at the early stage.

In response, Kebbi Governors wife, Mrs. Bagudu said cervical screening for students are underway.

She said more awareness was being created among students and youth on health issues.

We have set up clubs on cancer and sickle cells in the schools where they are thought all they need to know about the disease and we expect that in the next 4 years more students will be abreast of all health related issues, she said.

Panel 5 is concluded as panelists take turns to snap pictures.

Lunch Break.

3.03pm: Discussions resume: Panel 6: Media advocacy and accountability  Strategies for achieving UHC

Introduction of panelists: Dayo Olorunyomi, CEO Premium Times newspaper is on stage with other panelists.

Mr. Olorunyomi starts by quoting a section of the Nigerian constitution. He said it is the responsibility of the media to hold government accountable.

He charged journalist to go deeper in investigation especially in the health sector. We in the media need to take the lead in advocacy for UHC.

Seember Nyager, CEO,Public and Private Development Centre, PPDC said information is important to ensure UHC. She said procurement processes and budgetting especially for health project should be publicized. We need to follow the budget and procure processes through until service delivery.

4:01 PM: Mohammed Suleman, a panelist representing the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN said their should be a collaboration between the media and health ministry. He said Nigerians should take health issues seriously.

Ifeanyi Nsofor, a panelist, recounted his experience when he had his first daughter.

Mr.Nsofor said he spent more than $10,000 in foreign hospitals treating his new born baby. He said everybody in the media should be motivated to do stories and advocate for proper health service delivery.

We should be selfish when it comes to health because we dont know when we will fall victim, said Mr. Nsofor who works for Nigerian Health Watch.

For Mr. Olorunyomi, health is a key focus in PremiumTimes.

We are putting lots of attention on it until we get to where we should be.

He said if we must fix health, we must fix health journalism.

Health is a fundamental human right, it is not a myth.

Ms. Nyager said Investigative reporting will help to open more channels and discovery to challenges faced in the health sector.

4:02 PM: A participant asked why health as a human right is not enforceable.

Another participant tasked the media to emphasise more on health. She said little has been done on mental health because of inadequate awareness.

Another participant said the media has a greater responsibility when it comes to health.

A participant said that journalists should be developed with skills on how to report health issues. He said that health workers should open up to the media, Make journalists to understand ssues of health. If media owners and heads dont collaborate with health workers, health stories will not make the front page.

Another participant said a mindset of the media should be changed. he said the media should be partners of health projects.

4:05 PM: Mr. Olorunyomi in response to questions said health is human right, that is why we need to fight for it.

In response to questions, Mr. Nsofor said the arrangement of the media makes it difficult to investigate issues.

Ms. Nyager said health will not come to you if you dont fight for it. She said information sharing is very crucial to the effective media advocacy.

Mr. Suleiman, a representative for NAN said journalists should be used as a tool for heath advocacy.

Mr. Olorunyomi concluded by saying,  Accountability belongs to the citizens, they are the ones who really need to get the government to put things in place.

Panel 6 is concluded. panelists take a pose for pictures!!

Commencement of panel 7, final Panel: Interministerial cooridnation for health sector financing  experiences and challenges and the way forward.

Panelists steps on stage: the health minister, Isaac Adewole, represented by Banjo Filani, technial assistant to the health minister on finance, was the first to take the microphone.

4:37 PM: Mr. Banjo, who held brief for the health minister, decried poor funding of the health sector by the government.

Mr. Banjo however said partnerships have yielded more results in the health sector especially on Malaria treatment.

In the last 10 years, malaria has dropped from 42 per cent to 27 through partnerships.

Mr. Banjo said the minister of health had to write to the president on how to raise more funds for health and how to spend it.

This year, capital budget for health has about 70 per cent increase from last year.

Daniel Iya, Nasarawa health commissioner, in his own contribution ,stressed the need for collaboration between the health sector and other sectors, especially the stakeholders because it is important in the aspect of funding.

There is need to increase the interrelationship between the ministry of health and states.

4:49 PM: Mr. Filani said the outcome of the inter-minsterial committee was to increase the capital expenditure of health and the fund flow for procurement.

He said a PHC is considered gateway to build a proper health system and the financing is very important.

With the push for UHC, all stakeholders should join efforts to pull funds together.

Mustapha Jubril, the health commissioner in Niger State, also stressed the need for health funding.

Mr. Jubril said power is key to achieving UHC.

In his submission on interministerial relationship on health concern, Mr. Jubril said every minister should work and act as a health minister because activities of all the ministers are affected by health directly or indirectly.

Every facility or amenity the country needs, if not well provided, will have an effect on health, Mr. Jubril said.

Mohammed Jamil-Zakari, commisioner for agriculture in Nasarawa, said agriculture is essential to health because its about people eating eating healthy.

He said there has been collaborations between the ministries of health, agric and commerce. Mr. Zakari however said funding is hindering the progress of such collaborations.

We need to inject more money to both sectors. No food, No nation. Agriculture is essential to health, he added.

A twitter user asked how judicious money budgetted for health is used.

4:57 PM: On donor funding, Mr. Banjo said Nigerians in the private sector should key into the health care support space. He said there is need for private sector alliance in the health sector.

In response to how money budgeted for health is spent, Mr.Iya said that tracking needs to be done. He stressed the need that people contracted for health projects should be held accountable.

He urged NGOs and CSOs to track health procurement processes.

On issue of staffing of health care facilities and equal distribution of man power, Mr. Iya decried the inequality in the staffing of health workers. He said some big hospitals in the country are over-staffed while the small PHCs do not have adequate staff.

5:08 PM: Jamil-Zakil in his final submission said there is need for people to know the kind of drugs they take.

He said wrong diagnosis is a major issue eating deep into the fabric of the health lives of Nigerians. He finally submitted that good food is essential for good life.

When you eat good food, you will be healthy.

Mr. Jubril also stressed for proper distribution of funds, saying this is why money budgetted does not bring commiserate result.

People at different administrative level gets a cut before the funds get to its final destination.

End of panel discussions.

5:25 PM: Summary of presentations of National health dialogue.

Stakeholders should conduct advocacy so health sector can move forwad

Inclusion of mental health in NHIS

Family planning advocacy should be concerned with health spacing

CSO should understand the dynamism of health policies

Engagement of community members in health processes so as to hold leaders accountable

Equal appropriation of funds.

Vote of thanks to PTCIJ, PACFAR, Project pink blue and other partners. Vote of thanks also went to the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo; Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole; commisoners, ministers and other stakeholders that graced the health dialogue.

Motion was moved on the communique of the health dialogue.

The Commissioner of Health in Nasarawa State, Daniel Iya, was called to conclude the national dialogue 2017.

Mr. Iya said the national dialogue should be a yearly event.

National health dialogue 2017 ends.

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President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday in Abuja said democracy needs vibrant and responsible opposition to survive.

At a meeting with the leadership of the ruling APC and the PDP, Mr. Buhari said in a multi-party democracy, opposition does not mean hostility, enmity or antagonism.

Multi-party democracy is a very tried and tested form of government. Opposition does not mean hostility, enmity or antagonism. Democracy needs opposition, one that is vibrant but responsible.

I am very pleased to see you assembled here all shades of opinion in Nigeria. Please convey to our countrymen and women in your respective states my deep gratitude to all those who prayed for my recovery, he said.

Mr. Buhari enjoined all Nigerians to continue praying for peace and prosperity in the country.

In his remarks, Ahmed Makarfi, PDP caretaker chairman, said the opposition would always support the administration in all areas that are of benefit to the people.

According to him, PDP would continue to play the role of responsible opposition energetically, vibrantly, but very decently and with all sense of responsibility.

We assure you of our cooperation as much as the opposition can possibly give to enable you give your best in the process navigating the ship of our state into of a better tomorrow.

We are glad to note that already the legislators of our party are cooperating with those of the majority party in both arms of the National Assembly to ensure a smooth legislative sail for the system.

We are also proud of the contributions of our governors to the deliberations and other activities of both the National Council of State and the National Economic Council, he said.

Mr. Makarfi stated that PDP would continue to support the fight against terrorism as well as other crimes like kidnapping, banditry and farmers/herdsmen clashes.

We also offer our support for the fight against corruption and appeal that the institutions saddled with this onerous task be given the necessary encouragement and independence to do the right thing.

There is no way we can have a respectable voice in the comity of civilized nations until we rebuild our institutions and imbue them with the necessary independence and confidence that will improve both their visage and standing with the citizenry, he added.

The APC chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun, described the meeting as a welcome development, saying the APC would continue to promote harmonious political environment in the country.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the meeting with the leaderships of the APC and PDP marked the first time President Buhari was meeting with the members of the opposition from the PDP since his assumption of office in May 29, 2015.

(NAN)

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Last night was indeed a charming one for a couple who won the highly competitive Chevening Scholarships to study in the United Kingdom.

Sabastine and Helen Wakdok, both qualified physicians in Abuja, were the focus of attention at a ceremony that was held in honour of this years recipients of the scholarships.

We knew people would be fascinated by our luck, Mr. Wakdok told PREMIUM TIMES at the event which held at the residence of the UK Ambassador to Nigeria, Paul Arkwright.

The couple said although they had become professionals in the public health sector for years, obtaining further education had always been at the top of their priorities.

Weve always wished we could go for our masters, but financial constraint had made it impossible until this opportunity came, Mrs. Wakdok said.

They said their four years of living together as a couple contributed immensely towards crafting their essays for application.

We aimed to flow with each other while submitting our application, Mrs. Wakdok added. We achieved just that.

The Wakdoks said they hope to return with new knowledge that would help them mitigate some of the numerous public health challenges facing Nigeria.

The husband enrolled for public policy studies at the University College London; while the wife elected health policy, planning and financing at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

The Chevening is a UK government global scholarships programme offering access to Masters degree courses in universities across the UK for individuals with ambition and leadership potential.

The one-year programme had produced thousands of masters degree holders since it was launched in 1983 as part of Britains foreign policy efforts.

At least 43 people were selected from a pool of over 6,000 applicants in Nigeria alone this year  down 10 from the 53 persons who were selected out of 4,000 applicants last year.

Mr. Arkwright implored about a dozen new Chevening scholars who showed up for their certificates to deploy every skill they learn in service to their country.

The Chevening encourages students to learn from others and to come back to their home countries to contribute to their home economy and develop their countries with the knowledge gotten from the UK educational system, Mr. Arkwright said.

Some of the 43 new recipients received their certificates from UK Deputy High Commissioner, Laure Beaufils, at a similar ceremony held in Lagos last Thursday.

Last nights event was attended by several Chevening alumni, some of whom narrated their experiences to bolster the preparation of the new scholars.

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The Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has rejected the withdrawal of the quit notice issued to the Igbos by the Coalition of Northern Groups.

The coalition had ordered the Igbos to leave the north on or before October 1, 2017, but a suspension of the notice was announced on Thursday by the groups spokesperson Abdulazeez Suleiman, at a press briefing at the Transcorp Hilton hotel in Abuja.

But a statement issued by the IPOBs spokesperson, Emma Powerful, on Friday, said the withdrawal was inconsequential as far as their aspirations were concerned.

It is inconsequential to IPOB whether the quit notice was rescinded or not because it will in no way impact the pace and direction of our effort to restore Biafra. If they had any honour, they will stick to it, he said.

Threats dont have any effect on us, so our advice to the Arewa North is to please stick to the October 1 deadline or else they have no honour. We urge all Southerners in the core North to return home before October 1 as history will most definitely repeat itself, he added.

He said Southerners (living in the North) must be vigilant despite the assurances given by the coalition.

Southerners were massacred in the pogroms of 1966 and 1967 after similar assurances were issued then that people should remain in the North. The presence of a serving governor and senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria during the supposed press briefing confirms what we have always known that the incitement to genocide, which is what the quit notice is all about has the blessing of the Arewa political class.

IPOB also had verbal barbs for President Muhammadu Buhari.

If President Muhammadu Buhari is at all serious about clamping down on hate speech, he should arrest those behind the quit notice along with their sponsors.

Trying to drag the name of our leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, into their unintelligent blood feast will be resisted. If the idea is to cow our leader with calls for his arrest, then those behind the genocidal edict of Igbos must leave the North are even dumber than we thought.

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"Poland's constitution is very unclear, not in how the authorities are divided, but in how their powers are divided", President Andrzej Duda said on Friday, at a conference on changes to Poland's supreme law in Gdansk, northern Poland.

The event, organised by the Solidarity trade union in the Gdansk Shipyard, and entitled "Constitution for the citizens, not for elites", featured President Andrzej Duda, Senate Speaker Stanislaw Karczewski, Solidarity head Piotr Duda, its former chief Marian Krzaklewski, and the presidential aide tasked with the constitutional referendum, Pawel Mucha.

Friday's conference is meant to launch a discussion about changes to Poland's constitution, an idea first put forward in May by the president, who wants a nationwide referendum to be held on the subject.

In his speech, Andrzej Duda emphasised it was thanks to "Solidarity" that Poland emerged from under communism.

"Such is the assumption, the great assumption behind this systemic change, the Poland should be a Republic, which means a truly democratic state of the citizens", he said.

"Today's debate is organised precisely so that, 30 years after this great institutional change, we can implement this process of really building a democratic state in Poland also through rectifying the faults of the current constitution", President Andrzej Duda added.

The president said that a certain dispute had caught his attention in recent years.

"This was the controversy between the then Prime Minister Donald Tusk and the then President Lech Kaczynski over their respective powers, with the prime minister asking the Constitutional Tribunal to resolve the issue", President Duda explained.

"That situation showed me how imprecise the 1997 constitution is in that regard, how unclear the division is, not of the authorities, but of their respective powers", the president stressed. (PAP)
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg started his two-day visit to Poland by meeting with President Andrzej Duda in the Belweder Palace. The Zapad military exercises and the security of NATO's eastern flank were on the agenda.

NATO's Secretary General first met President Andrzej Duda for a one-on-one discussion, followed by a plenary meeting, where the president was joined by head of his cabinet, Krzysztof Szczerski, Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski and head of the National Security Bureau (BBN) Pawel Soloch.

Minister Soloch said that because of the Russian and Belarussian military exercises Poland expected NATO to demonstrate that "they are carefully watching the situation" to monitor whether the exercises "are exactly like the Russian official statements claim".

Pawel Soloch also said that during their meeting President Duda wanted stress the significance of the security and safety of NATO's eastern flank, and the importance of the constant presence of allied troops in the region.

According to the BBN chief, the President wished to use this opportunity to discuss the Polish expectations regarding next year's NATO summit. Amongst other topics, the current situation in Ukraine was also to be discussed.

On Friday, Stoltenberg will also meet with PM Beata Szydlo, who will be joined by Minister Waszczykowski and Defence Minister Antoni Macierewicz.

The Secretary General will later on Friday visit the Orzysz proving grounds, where he will meet with soldiers from the NATO Battalion Battle Group. He will be accompanied by the minister of defence. (PAP)
President Duda will commemorate the 78th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II in Wielun (central Poland), according to President's spokesperson Krzysztof Lapinski. "This is meant to emphasize that the vast majority of deaths in WW2 were civilians", he explained.

"Westerplatte exists in the Polish consciousness, and it has existed there for a long time. There is no danger that anyone will forget what happened there", he stated.

"The situation is different with the events in Wielun - the Luftwaffe bombed the unfortified city and killed 1,200 innocent civilians", Minister Lapinski said on Friday, during a press conference in Gdansk, when asked why the President would not be present at Westerplatte.

He also added that the Wielun authorities kept asking for a presidential visit on September 1 for many years.

"The world will not only know that the war started in Poland, on Westerplatte, but also that from the very first days the biggest losses were civilian, and that Nazi Germany committed atrocities like bombing innocent civilians", added Krzysztof Lapinski.

Before the war, Wielun had around 16,000 residents and was situated only 21 kilometers away from the German border. On September 1, 1939, Nazi Germany dropped 380 bombs on the city. The first target was the All Saints Hospital, bombed at 4:40 am, five minutes before the shelling of Westerplatte. As a result of the bombings, the city was almost completely destroyed.

According to historians, when the Luftwaffe attacked, no Polish military troops were deployed in or around the city. The city also lacked anti-aircraft warfare. Thus, the bombing is considered an act of terrorism, as it targeted the civilian population.

Previously, Wielun was visited by Presidents Aleksander Kwasniewski and Lech Walesa. They, however, started the commemorations at Westerplatte and later in the day visited Wielun. (PAP)
Police have located a teen from Dearborn who went missing Sunday from a local park.

Adam Richko, 16, was last seen Sunday at Geer Park near Charles and Prospect streets, his grandmother told Dearborn police.

A search for the cognitively impaired boy began a short time later with police following leads that the teen has family ties in Ohio and may have been trying to get to them.

At about 4:45 p.m. Monday, Richko was found in a suburb outside Cleveland. He was unharmed and reunited with his legal guardians.

The Dearborn Police Department thanked the FBIs Southeast Michigan Trafficking and Exploitation Crimes Task Force in Detroit and the FBI in Cleveland for their quick assistance in locating, recovering and reuniting the teen with his guardians.
Though its a relative newcomer to the trend-driven dining scene, the Vietnamese noodle dish pho is beginning to capture hearts, with businesses bearing its name and pledging to spread the good news, popping up all over South Jersey.

Perhaps were putting too fine a point on it, but there is a reason pho is so popular. It starts with rice noodles and a fragrant broth. From there, additions like beef, onions, scallions, bean sprouts, mint and other herbs are tossed in, adding flavor and substance. The result is something thats fresh and uniquely flavorful, with the soul-satisfying effect of a hearty soup.

Whipping up pho on the daily is the aptly named Ivy Pho in Ocean City. And this is no imitation, Americanized knock-off pho  owner Bryan Pham moved to the U.S. from Vietnam and opened the shop as a way to bring a bit of Vietnam with him.

We have our ingredients, which come from my parents and grandparents, Pham says. Its a beautiful flavor, thats why we opened the restaurant. Its tradition.

Pham says he was lucky to find the then-vacant restaurant before he opened Ivy Pho May 2016, after scouring the country for a place suitable for a pho shop of his own.

We tried looking for restaurants for a long time because we wanted to have an independent restaurant. We went to Florida so many times and tried to look for a spot. We were lucky to find this place that were in now, he says. Ocean City is a nice place to live. Its very quiet and a lot of tourists come down here. Theyre looking for a place like us to eat. And so far, so good. Weve been keeping busy since we opened.

As abundant as Ocean City is in restaurants focusing on American or coastal fare, Ivy Pho fills an untapped niche in the shore town. Its pho comes in varieties like rare steak, brisket tendon and beef ball ($14.99); sweet and sour spicy seafood noodle with shrimp, scallops, squid and crab stick ($15.99); and vegetarian with broccoli and bok choy ($11.99).

10 farmers markets to hit on your way to the beach The summer season might be drawing to a close, but the local produce season is at its peak. On your way to the beach, grab some farm-fresh goo

The key to good pho? Its all about the broth, Pham says.

It depends on the temperature, he explains. You have to adjust the temperature inside the kitchen, you have to know when to boil it. Thats the secret.

The menu extends beyond pho, though, with several rice vermicelli (rice noodle) bowls like grilled pork ($14.99), chicken ($14.99) and shrimp ($15.99). Pan fried noodles and rice platters round out the menu. Pham suggests the grilled salmon on rice ($17.99), naming it as one of his specialties.

Its healthy, its good. Most people do the stir fry with oil but we do it with broth, says Pham of his restaurants fried dishes. In fact, as most of the meals at Ivy Pho are full of vegetables and made of low-calorie ingredients like rice noodles, its one of the most health-conscious choices you can make in a town known for its donuts and ice crem.

Ivy Pho uses mostly organic food and fresh produce, which is us going out every day to get the produce to cook the food, Pham assures. Its all very healthy.
Saturday is a special day for mans best friend.

National Dog Day, which was founded in 2004 by pet and family lifestyle expert and animal advocate Colleen Paige, celebrates dogs of all mixes and breeds. The date is significant because it was the day that Paige and her family adopted her first dog Sheltie when she was 10 years old.

The event was adopted into New York legislation in 2013, and while your social media pages will be flooded with memes and pictures of canines, the point of the day is to raise public awareness to hopefully create some new homes for dogs across the county and the world. National Dog Day is also celebrated in the U.K., Ireland, Italy and other countries.

Here in South Jersey, there are plenty of places to adopt. There is the Humane Society of Atlantic County, the Humane Society of Ocean City and the Cape May County Animal Shelter, just to name a few. And if you are already a proud pup owner, you can enjoy National Dog Day at plenty of pet-friendly beaches in Wildwood, Longport and Brigantine.

According to the American Pet Products Association, about 40 percent of dog owners learned about their pet through word of mouth. And according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, almost one quarter of dogs are adopted through animal shelters and humane societies. On National Dog Day, we celebrate those who made that leap to becoming an owner.

Kathy Kelsey, manager of the Atlantic County Animal Shelter, said it recently had 97 dogs adopted for Clear the Shelters Day.

She doesnt expect that type of turnout Saturday, but said National Dog Day is still important.

Its a testament that every homeless dog or homeless animal deserves to have a place call home, Kelsey said. In my opinion, its a tribute to the bond with people and their dogs.
CAPE MAY  Inside the Mad Batter Restaurant & Bar is the legacy of Harry Kulkowitz, who fled the Nazis, only to return as a U.S. soldier storming the beach at Normady, determined to rid the world of Adolf Hitler.

Harry Kulkowitzs determination served as inspiration to President Barack Obama, who mentioned him in a 2014 speech marking the 70th anniversary of D-Day.

Think of Harry Kulkowitz, the Jewish son of Russian immigrants, who fudged his age at enlistment so he could join his friends in the fight, Obama said. Dont worry, Harry, the statute of limitations has expired.

Kulkowitz, former owner of the Mad Batter, died Tuesday at age 92.

He had fled Eastern Europe before World War II to come to America. Once he arrived here, he lied about his age, enlisted in the U.S. Army and went back to Europe.

He felt that this was the good war for him, said Mark Kulkowitz, Harrys son. It was a very personal thing.

Kulkowitz was part of the invasion at Normandy, landing at Utah Beach on D-Day. A radio intercept operator under Gen. George Patton, Kulkowtiz intercepted a German message that tipped the Allies to a coming offensive that led to the Battle of the Bulge.

At the end of the war, he returned to France, savoring the hugs and kisses from the French women thanking him for his service.

He was also awarded the French Legion of Honor and has a park dedicated to him in Houseville, France, according to his son. Black drapes were put around the Kulkowitz sign at the park and the church bells rang for 14 minutes the day he died, Mark Kulkowitz said on Friday, wiping tears away from his eyes.

Kulkowitz worked as a picture framer in Philadelphia, going on to create the Kenmore Art Gallery before moving to Cape May in 1975.

While playing poker at the historic Carroll Villa Hotel, Kulkowitz told his friends that if he could just get an awning for the porch, he could create a great restaurant, community meeting center and art gallery.

He bought the hotel in 1978, but it took more than just an awning to bring the hotel up to speed. When he bought it, the Carroll Villa had 31 rooms and eight bathrooms, but much of it had been worn out and was in need of major renovations.

In 1985, those renovations began with refurbishing antique furniture, installing a heater and air conditioner, and adding a private bathroom to every room. The name The Mad Batter came from childrens story Alice in Wonderland, but his family said the nickname Mad Batter fit his personality very well.

He would dance around when he was happy or when he was thinking. One of his favorite meals was pasta and meatballs covered in ketchup.

With his family and friends, Kulkowitz turned the Mad Batter Restaurant & Bar into a staple of the Cape May community and helped lead a restaurant renaissance from a then-sleepy Cape May in the 1980s.

Jewish tradition calls for the body of the deceased to be buried within a day or two of their death. On short notice, over 100 people showed up for Kulkowitzs memorial service at his grave site that included Cape May officials, police officers, business people, and state Senator Jeff Van Drew.

I thought that it would just be the immediate family and we would have a celebration down the road, Mark Kulkowitz said. My family and I were all really touched by the support.
Ocean City resident Stephen French, a repeat-offender drunken driver who killed Richard Ricci Branca Jr., 17, of Egg Harbor Township, in 2006, was released last month after serving close to 10 years in prison.

French, 65, pleaded guilty in 2007 to aggravated manslaughter and admitted leaving the scene after killing Branca and injuring two of his friends as they rode their bicycles along Ocean Drive between Ocean City and Longport. He was originally sentenced to 16 years.

Sherri Branca, the mother of the killed teen, wrote the state Department of Corrections and said she believed French should serve his full sentence.

I think its very unfair. ... I just dont understand the system. It makes me speechless, said Branca, 54, who added people think a parent eventually gets over the death of a child.

You never get over it. Its a part of you now thats gone.

Frenchs attorney, Joseph J. Rodgers, could not be reached for comment.

Sherri Branca said her husband, Ricci Sr., 58, has had to live without his son. Brancas daughter, Adriene Foster, 34, also of Egg Harbor Township, has had to live without her brother, she said.

French, who comes from an affluent family in Ocean City, lived above the familys real estate office, French Realty, now a Keller Williams office.

The real estate agent drank 10 glasses of wine during the course of four hours prior to getting behind the wheel of his car to drive home, according to police and court testimony.

About 9:15 p.m. July 14, 2006, French, an admitted alcoholic, was driving his car on Ocean Drive when he struck three of five bicyclists riding together. The teens were riding on the shoulder single-file toward Ocean City.

Branca was taken with severe head trauma to AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center, City Campus, in Atlantic City, and died as a result of his injuries four days later.

Sherri Branca said French lost his drivers license for the rest of his life but that she knows people who have previously had their driving privileges taken away for life.

Driver strikes Econo Lodge, charged with DWI ATLANTIC CITY  A driver was charged Saturday with a DWI after he was involved in two accide

That dont mean that man will not get in a car and drink and drive again, Branca said. There is nobody stopping him. You cant lock him to a pole, and hes a known alcoholic all his life.

Even though French served 10 years, Branca cant see him coming back into society and not drinking.

It breaks my heart thinking that that man  its a possibility with him being out of jail  can actually go drink and drive again and kill somebody else, Branca said. I dont want anyone else to go through what we have gone through.

Sherri and Ricci Branca Sr. lobbied Trenton lawmakers to pass Riccis Law. Named for their son, it requires ignition interlocks for drivers convicted of driving with a blood-alcohol content higher than 0.15 percent.

Branca said her family wanted to take the state law national, but paperwork in Washington, D.C., has been lost or misplaced since the death in 2013 of U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg, one of the two senators representing the state at the time.
The coastal breezes are just as strong in both states, yet today an island off Rhode Island is harnessing wind power to generate clean electricity while New Jersey has only generated hot air.

In 2010, New Jersey was poised to be the first state to tap the immense potential of offshore wind energy. Seven years ago this month, the governor signed a measure creating the tax credits and financial assistance for offshore wind that would be essential to getting the new technology off the ground.

The new law directed the state Board of Public Utilities to develop a program that would require about 1,100 megawatts of offshore wind capacity. It compelled BPU to create a credit system to stimulate interest from developers  just as New Jersey had accomplished with solar power.

Unfortunately, the Christie administration has failed to deliver on New Jerseys promise of offshore wind. The BPU has not developed the all-important credit system. Today, Massachusetts, New York and Maryland are closer than New Jersey to getting power from wind.

Why wind? The arguments are as strong as the Atlantic gusts that could be powering New Jersey homes and businesses. Wind is clean energy  an advantage over the fossil fuels that cause climate change, harm health and risk public safety. And the Business Network for Offshore Wind calls it the only renewable energy resource that can be deployed at an electric output scale comparable to nuclear generation.

While consumers will pay a bit more initially, offshore wind costs will become comparable to other power sources. And when the health benefits of cleaner air are factored in, wind easily beats fossil fuels.

A study of offshore winds potential in Massachusetts explains that initial costs will decline because, as with so many other things, prices go down as demand and scale increase and technology improves. Just think about what that computer you bought 10 years ago cost, compared to today.

That Massachusetts study predicted costs would drop continuously during 10 years of buildout starting in 2020. When states commit to offshore wind, business risks plummet. Costs also decline dramatically as the workforce grows experienced and the supply chain becomes more efficient.

Europe shows us what lies ahead for the U.S. offshore wind industry. There, the price of building an offshore wind farm dropped dramatically  46 percent  in the past five years.

Wind also means the development of an entire industry, along with good jobs and tax revenues.

Maryland recently awarded contracts to two offshore wind developers for 368 megawatts of capacity, to be available starting in 2021. That state expects to create around 9,700 new direct and indirect jobs and $74 million in state tax revenues over 20 years.

Public opinion certainly isnt a barrier. Three-quarters of New Jersey voters favor offshore wind, according to a Fairleigh Dickinson University poll last fall.

Back in 2010, while announcing the new policy that would never be carried out, Gov. Christie proclaimed that developing New Jerseys renewable energy resources and industry is critical to our states manufacturing and technology future.

The statement is as true now as it was then. Lets make up for lost time and take the steps necessary to make New Jersey a leader on offshore wind.

Tom Gilbert is campaign director of ReThink Energy NJ and New Jersey Conservation Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in Far Hills.
EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP  A Ventnor man was sent to the hospital with minor injuries after he allegedly lost control of his truck and overturned along the Black Horse Pike in the West Atlantic City section of the township on Friday, Aug. 18.

According to police, Steven Masland, 25, of Ventnor was driving a 2001 Dodge Ram pickup truck west on the pike around 10:30 a.m. in the area of Fox Place when he lost control of the vehicle. Police said the truck crossed over the eastbound lanes, left the roadway and struck a utility pole and a fire hydrant before overturning and coming to rest in the eastbound shoulder.

Masland suffered minor injuries, was treated at the scene by the Egg Harbor Township Ambulance Squad and was transported to AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center-City Campus. The West Atlantic City Volunteer Fire Company assisted at the scene of the crash.

Traffic was detoured for approximately two hours while the crash was being investigated and cleared. The crash is being investigated by Officer Kevin Devlin of the Egg Harbor Township Police Department Traffic Safety Unit.
ATLANTA, Aug. 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Atlanta's Centerpoint IT is thrilled to announce their inclusion in the 2017 edition of the Inc. 5000 List! The list recognizes innovative leaders in business nationwide and the entire Centerpoint team is incredibly proud of this accomplishment. Inc. 5000 is a highly-respected publication in the greater business community and Centerpoint is honored to be included on this esteemed list.

Atlanta IT Support Makes Inc. 5000 list Atlanta IT Services Company Inc 5000 member

The Inc. 5000 list began in 1982 as the Inc. 500 List, expanding to 5000 in 2007. Its purpose is to bring attention to the most innovative and successful private companies across the United States. The Inc. 5000 List is a distinguished editorial award, based on the overall revenue growth of a company over a three-year period. This year, on average, companies included on the list have grown six-fold since 2013!

This award is especially exciting for the Centerpoint IT team, as it highlights their commitment to continual growth and excellence within the industry. This accomplishment is a direct recognition of Centerpoint's above-standard commitment to professionalism, innovation, and reliability that has not only kept their clients satisfied and successful but continued to attract new business over time as well.

As an Inc. 5000 honoree, Centerpoint IT is in good company, among corporate giants such as Zappos, Under Armour, Microsoft, GoPro and dozens of other Inc. 5000 alumni that have gone on to become household names. Centerpoint President, Chris Chao will be attending the Inc. 5000 Awards Gala in Palm Desert, California later this fall.

"I am incredibly proud of the entire Centerpoint team for this recognition," says Chris Chao. "Our team understands the importance not only of technical skills, but the significance of providing premium customer service as well."

"Being recognized as a nationwide business leader is an incredible honor," continues Chao. "We are thrilled to have been recognized and are humbled to be included among the other impressive honorees. We hope to continually build on this accomplishment and optimize our approach to IT service and strategy for many years to come."

Chris Chao is available for an immediate interview about this incredibly valued accomplishment.

About Centerpoint IT:

Since founding in 2006, Centerpoint IT's mission has been singular: to deliver on the promise of new technology for small and mid-sized businesses by making IT simple. In order to be more than a full-service business IT partner and phone system provider, Centerpoint IT focuses on taking the uncertainty and hassle out of what is an often complicated and critical area of business. Cutting through the noise of changing technology is where Centerpoint adds value to businesses. Centerpoint believes in delivering effective, affordable and simple services such as managed IT, cloud, hardware, network security, disaster recovery, connectivity solutions and business phone systems. This helps business owners to form the essential foundation for success so employees can focus on doing their best work each and every day.

For more information about Centerpoint IT please visit: www.centerpointit.com

Media Contact:

Chris Chao

[email protected]

404.781.0200

SOURCE Centerpoint IT

Related Links

http://www.centerpointit.com


BOCA RATON, Fla., Aug. 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- MedAmerica Properties Inc. (OTC: MAMP) ("MedAmerica" or the "Company") today announced that Joseph C. Bencivenga and Bennett Marks have joined the board of directors, effective August 23, 2017. In addition, Mr. Bencivenga was promoted to chief executive officer and Robert I. Schellig has joined the Company as senior vice president and general counsel.

Mr. Bencivenga, 58, joined MedAmerica as president effective August 8 of this year. Prior to joining the Company, he spent more than 30 years in investment banking in New York, California, and London with Barclays Capital, Salomon Brothers, Drexel Burnham, and Lehman Brothers. He has also served as a board member for numerous companies providing strategic financial advice in businesses in real estate, music, gaming, solid waste management, and many other industries. Prior to this role, Mr. Bencivenga was a founding partner of a $5 billion hedge fund whose business included lending to and investing private equity in small to medium sized companies. During his tenure at Barclays Capital, Mr. Bencivenga served as Managing Director/Global Head of High Yield, and his team originated over 75 high yield, mezzanine and bridge loan transactions and acted as lead or joint lead on over twenty transactions.

Bennett Marks, 69, previously served as a member of the Company's board from November 2008 to October 2013 and chief financial officer from November 2008 to May 2010. Mr. Marks has been executive vice president and CFO of Patriot Rail Corp., an owner and operator of short line and regional railroads, since 2005. Mr. Marks has served as EVP and CFO of six publicly-held and privately-owned companies in the transportation, healthcare, manufacturing, distribution and telecommunications industries. While CFO at RailAmerica, Inc., he developed and implemented the financial framework of the company as revenues grew from $130 million to $450 million. Mr. Marks has more than twenty years of experience in public accounting, including ten years as an audit/client services partner with KPMG where he was an Associate SEC Reviewing Partner and the Administrative Partner in Charge of the West Palm Beach office. A licensed CPA in Florida and New York, he has held leadership positions in a variety of community, charitable, and professional organizations. Mr. Marks received his degree in accounting from New York University.

Mr. Schellig, 73, has over 47 years of legal experience in the areas of regulatory compliance, acquisitions and divestitures, contract administration, government relations, real estate and litigation. Following eight years of experience as chief trial attorney at Canadian National Railroad's U.S. subsidiaries, he moved to the executive department where he headed the Corporate Development, Real Estate Development and Government Relations departments among other duties. He served in that capacity for 14 years and then entered the private sector specializing in the same general areas of law. Mr. Schellig served as vice president  law and then chief legal officer at Patriot Rail Corp. before assuming his present position at MedAmerica. Mr. Schellig received his Juris Doctor degree with Honors from Michigan State University (Detroit College of Law) and a B.A. from Albion College in Michigan.

Gary O. Marino, the Company's chairman of the board, commented, "We are pleased that Joe has agreed to step up to the CEO position and join our board of directors where we believe his extensive experience in capital formation, investment underwriting and structuring, and financial management will be of great value. Bennett's accounting and finance experience will be particularly helpful to our board as we acquire properties in connection with our new acquisition strategy. Robert's legal skills will also be in high demand as we negotiate and enter into the agreements necessary to effectuate these transactions."

About the Company

MedAmerica Properties Inc. is a Delaware corporation pursuing the acquisition and management of well-located medical office buildings with the intention of aggregating multiple properties with strong fundamentals in attractive geographic locations, particularly in the sunbelt states.

Safe Harbor Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Although we believe that the acquisition and ownership of medical office buildings is fundamentally sound, we cannot assure you that we will be successful in this endeavor or that we can locate, finance and acquire these properties. Some of the statements that we make in this press release, including statements about our confidence in the Company's prospects and strategies, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are statements other than historical information or statements about our current condition. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of terms such as "believes," "contemplates," "expects," "may," "will," "could," "should," "would," or "anticipates," other similar phrases, or the negatives of these terms. We have based the forward-looking statements on our current expectations, estimates and projections about us. We caution you that these statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties. We have based many of these forward-looking statements on assumptions about future events that may prove to be inaccurate. Accordingly, our actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what we have expressed or forecast in the forward-looking statements. Any differences could result from a variety of factors, including our ability to (i) continue to successfully raise capital to fund our operations; (ii) successfully find medical office buildings to acquire; (iii) comply with SEC regulations and filing requirements applicable to us as a public company; and (iv) any of our other plans, objectives, expectations and intentions contained in this release that are not historical facts. You should not place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements, which reflect our analysis only as of the date of this release. The risks and uncertainties listed above and other documents that we file with the SEC, including our annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, and any current reports on Form 8-K, must be carefully considered by any investor or potential investor in the Company. We undertake no obligation to update forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

SOURCE MedAmerica Properties Inc.
Boehringer Ingelheim commences Phase II program of investigational drug candidate BI 1467335 acquired from Pharmaxis with a 12 week Phase IIa proof of clinical principle study in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)

New study underscores Boehringer Ingelheim's aspiration to deliver more first in class medicines with breakthrough potential for patients with cardio metabolic diseases

Pharmaxis to receive 18 million milestone payment in a significant further endorsement of the company's ability to generate value from its early stage pipeline.

INGELHEIM, Germany and SYDNEY, Aug. 24, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Boehringer Ingelheim and pharmaceutical company Pharmaxis (ASX: PXS) announce that Boehringer Ingelheim has initiated a European and North American Phase IIa trial in NASH with BI 1467335 (formerly known as PXS-4728A), acquired from Pharmaxis in May 2015. The compound is an oral inhibitor of amine oxidase, copper containing 3 (AOC3)1, and works by blocking leucocyte adhesion and tissue infiltration in inflammatory processes underlying NASH.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), the most common liver disorder in Western industrialized nations, and its more serious form NASH, is highly prevalent amongst patients with type 2 Diabetes. NASH is a major cause of liver fibrosis and cirrhosis and is an area of high unmet medical need with no treatments currently available. The high prevalence of type 2 diabetes and obesity is expected to make NASH one of the most common causes of advanced liver disorders in coming decades. 25% of the general adult population in the world has NAFLD and the prevalence of NASH has been found to range from 1.5% to 6.45% in current research, a number twice as high as 20 years ago.

In 2016 Boehringer Ingelheim obtained Fast Track Designation from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the development of BI 1467335 in NASH. Fast track is a process designed to facilitate the development and expedite the review of drugs to treat serious conditions which fill an unmet medical need. The designation provides opportunities for Boehringer Ingelheim to accelerate the development of this investigational drug candidate in NASH.

This Phase IIa trial is a multi-centre, double-blind design in 150 patients with clinical evidence of NASH. The primary objectives are to establish proof of clinical principle, investigate suitable dosing, and to evaluate the safety of BI 1467335. Patients will be randomized to either one of four dosages of BI 1467335 or to placebo for a 12-week treatment period.2 A subsequent Phase IIb study will seek to confirm and extend these findings.

Dr. Christopher Corsico, Chief Medical Officer Boehringer Ingelheim Boehringer Ingelheim commented, "Advancing BI 1467335 into Phase II clinical research is important news for patients with NASH. Boehringer Ingelheim is committed to developing novel therapeutics designed to address unmet medical need and improve public health. Boehringer Ingelheim looks forward to further studying this novel compound in NASH patients".

Boehringer Ingelheim has a long history of excellence in the discovery and development of medicines for cardiometabolic disease patients. It has established a broad portfolio of marketed products for thromboembolic diseases, type 2 diabetes, acute myocardial infarction, hypertension and cardio-renal risk reduction. The cardiometabolic diseases pipeline extends beyond type 2 diabetes and anticoagulation with a focus on innovative drugs for the treatment of the devastating consequences of diabetes.

Pharmaxis CEO Mr. Gary Phillips said, "Pharmaxis selected Boehringer Ingelheim as our partner for PXS-4728A both because of the company's reputation as a leader in cardio metabolic research and development, and its outstanding track record in advancing external research. Today's announcement of the start of this Phase IIa clinical trial for NASH is excellent news and is very significant for Pharmaxis. It triggers the payment of an 18 million (A$27m) milestone to Pharmaxis and opens the path to a total of 195 million in milestone payments as the drug progresses through development and approval for this indication. The initiation of Phase II trials in a second indication later this year by Boehringer Ingelheim can bring the total potential value of the partnership with Boehringer Ingelheim to 418.5m (A$627m) plus sales milestones and high single digit earnout payments on annual net sales."

1 Also known as vascular adhesion protein-1 (VAP-1) or semicarbazide-sensitive amine oxidase (SSAO) 2 https://clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT03166735

#ends#

Contact: Contact: Pharmaxis Boehringer Ingelheim Felicity Moffatt Dr. Reinhard Malin Phone: +61 418 677 701 Head of Communications Innovation Unit [email protected] Phone: +49 (6132) 7790815

[email protected]ingelheim.com

About Boehringer Ingelheim

Innovative medicines for people and animals have for more than 130 years been what the research-driven pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim stands for. Boehringer Ingelheim is one of the pharmaceutical industry's top 20 companies and to this day remains family-owned. Day by day, some 50,000 employees create value through innovation for the three business areas human pharmaceuticals, animal health and biopharmaceutical contract manufacturing. In 2016, Boehringer Ingelheim achieved net sales of around 15.9 billion euros. With more than three billion euros, R&D expenditure corresponds to 19.6 per cent of net sales.

Social responsibility comes naturally to Boehringer Ingelheim. That is why the company is involved in social projects such as the "Making More Health" initiative. Boehringer Ingelheim also actively promotes workforce diversity and benefits from its employees' different experiences and skills. Furthermore, the focus is on environmental protection and sustainability in everything the company does.

More information about Boehringer Ingelheim can be found on www.boehringer-ingelheim.com or in our annual report: http://annualreport.boehringer-ingelheim.com.

About Pharmaxis

Pharmaxis (ACN 082 811 630) is an Australian research pharmaceutical company focused on inflammation and fibrosis with a portfolio of products at various stages of development and approval. Its product Bronchitol for cystic fibrosis is marketed in Europe, Russia and Australia. Its product Aridol for the assessment of asthma is sold in Europe, Australia and Asia. The company's development pipeline is centred on its expertise in amine oxidase chemistry and includes a series of Lysyl Oxidase Inhibitors that will enter clinical development in 2017 targeting fibrotic diseases of the heart, kidney, liver and lung. In May 2015, Boehringer Ingelheim acquired the Pharmaxis investigational drug PXS-4728A, a potent inhibitor of Semicarbazide-Sensitive Amine Oxidase (SSAO), to develop it for the treatment of the liver-related condition Non-alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH) and other inflammatory diseases. Pharmaxis is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (symbol PXS). The company's head office, manufacturing and research facilities are located in Sydney, Australia. For more information about Pharmaxis, please see www.pharmaxis.com.au.

SOURCE Pharmaxis Ltd
SEATTLE, Aug. 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Boeing [NYSE: BA] and Tokyo-based Japan Investment Adviser Co., Ltd., (JIA) [TSE: 7172] today finalized an order for Boeing 737 MAX 8 airplanes, valued at $1.12 billion at current list prices.

The order was previously announced as a commitment at the 2017 Paris Air Show in June.

The new 737 MAX 8s are the first directly purchased airplanes for JIA and will help bolster the lessor's growing fleet of next-generation aircraft.

"We are excited to introduce the new 737 MAX 8 airplane into our single-aisle fleet and we are confident that this airplane will diversify our operating lease portfolio in the years ahead," said Naoto Shiraiwa, president and CEO of JIA. "The 737 MAX will provide us with a stronger competitive advantage in providing our future airline clients with reliable airplanes that make sense economically."

JIA is an innovative Financial Solutions Provider and is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Its activities include operating a lease business that manages a fleet of around 60 aircraft worldwide through its operating lease arm, JP Lease Products & Services (JLPS). The current managed fleet includes Next Generation Boeing 737s as well as Boeing 777s.

"We are truly honored to play an important role in the growth of JIA as a key player in the commercial leasing business within Asia," said Rick Anderson, vice president of Northeast Asia Sales, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "JIA has made the perfect selection for their new fleet strategy, as the 737 MAX provides operators with market-leading economics and reliability. We are proud to share this milestone with JIA as we continue to strengthen our partnership going forward."

The 737 MAX family has been designed to offer customers exceptional performance, flexibility and efficiency, with lower per-seat costs and an extended range that will open up new destinations in the single-aisle market.

The 737 MAX incorporates the latest technology CFM International LEAP-1B engines, Advanced Technology winglets, Boeing Sky Interior, large flight deck displays, and other improvements to deliver the highest efficiency, reliability and passenger comfort in the single-aisle market.

About JIA

Japan Investment Adviser Co., Ltd. (JIA) is an emerging financial services provider with a diverse business scope that ranges from operating leases to renewable energy and investment banking services, such as IPO and M&A advisory. JIA's mainstay is the origination and management of investment funds focused on operating leases and renewable energy through its wholly owned subsidiary, JP Lease Products & Services Co., Ltd. JIA is listed on the Mothers section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

Contact:

Rob Henderson or Shino Yuasa

Boeing Japan Communications

Office: +81 (3) 5223 2028 (Tokyo)

[email protected]

[email protected]

Kevin Yoo

Boeing Commercial Airplanes Communications

Office: +1 (206) 766 2906 (Seattle)

[email protected]

Teiji Ishikawa/ Yoshio Ogino

Japan Investment Adviser

Office: +81 (3) 6804 6806 (Tokyo)

[email protected]

[email protected]

SOURCE Boeing

Related Links

http://www.boeing.com


LINCOLN, Neb., Aug. 25, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Robert B. Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute at the University of Nebraska has gained a strong ally in its mission to ensure water and food security, welcoming Howard W. Buffett to its board of directors.

"The University of Nebraska has an opportunity to lead the way in sustainably feeding the world. It's an ambitious vision and we need the right people around the table to achieve it," said NU President and DWFI Board Chair Hank Bounds. "Howard W. Buffett is one of those people. He has broad experience in agricultural development, policy, philanthropy, international relations and academia. He is well-connected and highly regarded. He cares deeply about the mission of the Daugherty Institute and the vital role higher education plays in solving the most urgent global challenges. Howard's talents and guidance will be a great benefit to the Institute  and to the Nebraskans and people around the world we serve."

DWFI leverages the university's expertise in agricultural research and water management, expanding it through strong international partnerships with other universities, businesses, non-profit organizations and governmental agencies. Buffett will join a prestigious team of advisors on the board, including NU President Hank Bounds, Robert B. Daugherty Foundation Chair Mogens Bay and Chancellor of The City University of New York James B. Milliken. Together with more than 120 NU Faculty and Global Fellows, DWFI works through research and policy development, education and communication to enhance knowledge, build capacity and develop innovative solutions to sustainably manage water and increase food security.

"We are delighted to gain Howard's valuable input and leadership on our board of directors," said Peter G. McCornick, executive director of the DWFI. "We have ambitious goals to further advance our research and policy impacts and Howard's experience, international perspective and broad network will accelerate our success. Having been a farmer himself, Howard understands the many challenges to agricultural production and the urgent need for effective water management."

"Agriculture is one of the most important industries in the world," said Howard W. Buffett. "Ensuring global food security may sound like an impossible goal, but it can be done. The Daugherty Institute at the University of Nebraska is leading the way in work and research toward this goal. I look forward to working with the institute, university leaders, faculty and students, as well as partners across borders, to create innovative and lasting solutions."

Howard W. Buffett lectures on international food security, foreign aid, and agricultural policy in the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He is also a lecturer in international and public affairs at Columbia University. He was previously the executive director of the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, which distributes more than $100 million annually to initiatives that improve the lives of impoverished and marginalized populations across the world. Buffett also led agriculture-based economic stabilization and redevelopment programs in Iraq and Afghanistan for the U.S. Department of Defense. For his work, he received the highest civilian honor presented by the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the request and approval of the combatant commanders. Buffett also served as a policy advisor in the White House, where he co-authored the President's cross-sector partnerships strategy, and launched the White House Energy Innovation Conference Series. Prior to that, he was a member of the 2008-2009 Presidential Transition Team, serving on the Technology, Innovation, and Government Reform Policy Working Group in the Office of the President-Elect.

Buffett earned a BS from Northwestern University and an MPA in Advanced Management and Finance from Columbia University. He is a Term Member at the Council on Foreign Relations, and has served in advisory capacities for the Aspen Institute, the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, the United Nations Office for Partnerships, Toyota North America Inc., and others. With his father, Howard G. Buffett, he co-authored the New York Times Bestseller, "40 Chances: Finding Hope in a Hungry World."

The Robert B. Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute at the University of Nebraska was founded in 2010 to address the global challenge of achieving food security with less stress on water resources through improved water management in agricultural and food systems. It is committed to ensuring a water and food secure world while maintaining the use of water for other human and environmental needs.

DWFI is one of four interdisciplinary, university-wide institutes that leverage talent and research-based expertise from across the University of Nebraska system to focus on complex state, national and global challenges.

Learn more at waterforfood.nebraska.edu/.

Contact: Molly C. Nance, Director of Communication and Public Relations, Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute at the University of Nebraska

402.472.5512 or [email protected]

SOURCE Robert B. Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute at the University of Nebraska

Related Links

http://www.waterforfood.nebraska.edu/


SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Aug. 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Specializing in business financing & business consulting, equipment leasing and private investment capital, Business Finance Consultants lead the way when it comes to assisting businesses with finding the financing needed for organizations to be successful. Just recently, Business Finance Consultants assisted two large call centers with finding capital for further growth and operating capital needs.

A global $20M contact center that's headquartered on the east coast needed assistance in finding operating capital after being turned down a few months earlier. With a goal of moving into new office space, they really weren't certain how they would come up with the capital. After finding the Business Finance Consultants, they not only moved into their new office space but they were able to purchase the real estate rather than leasing space. Business Finance Consultants assisted the company in finding funding for a $1.8M property for their office space, in addition to a $500,000 line of credit and $500,000 in new computer equipment that they leased. The lease allowed the company to purchase brand new workstations, 1,000 in total, with a fixed monthly payment. The expense not only can be deducted from their balance sheet but they will now be able to refresh that equipment every two years, rather than continuing with a significant balance on the equipment by the time it becomes obsolete.

After being declined from their bank, a second call center was assisted by Business Finance Consultants, a $30M call center headquartered in Arizona. The company has offices in Utah, Mexico, Georgia, and Arizona and needed operating capital to restructure some debt. Business Finance Consultants took over the commercial loan application process and put them in front of lenders that write checks. As a result, they secured $700,000 in new operating capital. 500K in the form of invoice factoring and another 200K in a revolving line of credit. The company is now discussing providing additional capital that can be used by the call center to buy out another company.

Business Finance Consultants work with startups to billion-dollar companies. It doesn't matter if you've just opened your new business or if you believe you have poor credit, lenders want to give you money. Business Finance Consultants know how to get the banks to lend you their money! If you have any type of cashflow challenges- contact Business Finance Consultants. If you have a need for new equipment in your business- contact Business Finance Consultants. If you're not sure what else you can do, contact Business Finance Consultants!

Visit Business Finance Consultants online at www.businessfinanceconsultants.com or call for a consultation. A contact form is also offered online for inquiries.

About Business Finance Consultants: Based in Scottsdale, Arizona, Business Finance Consultants is a boutique business consulting firm providing strategic consulting and commercial loan brokerage services. Areas of service include commercial lender negotiations, professional underwriting, business finance solutions, strategic planning and consulting, startup advisement, product, market, and finance management & more!

For more information, visit www.businessfinanceconsultants.com

Business Finance Consultants Media Contact:

Business Finance Consultants

c/o Brad Sterling

17470 N. Pacesetter Way

Scottsdale, Arizona 85255

Main: (480) 800-7123

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Business Finance Consultants

Related Links

http://www.businessfinanceconsultants.com


The Freedom Award was established in 1996 as part of the Department of Defense's Employer Support of Guard and Reserve ( ESGR ) program. Since then, only 260 companies and government agencies have received this recognition, which is given annually to five large companies, five small companies and five government agencies. In addition to Cargill, 2017 honorees included Johnson & Johnson, Boston Scientific, NBC/Comcast and Tesoro.

"It inspires me to see that so many companies are making efforts to recruit and retain military employees. We call on all corporate leaders to work together and share best practices because unemployment is still higher for veterans than for the general population," said David MacLennan, Cargill's chairman and chief executive officer. "We can do more to support and help ease the transition to civilian life and the business world."

There were more than 3,000 nominations for the award in 2017  more than any previous year. Cargill has been nominated by its employees for the past three years. The winning nomination this year was submitted by Traci Earls, general manager at the company's protein plant in Butler, Wis. Earls is a Lieutenant Colonel in the Kansas Army National Guard.

"We are incredibly proud to receive this award. Cargill is committed to hiring people like Traci who serve in the military. They are valued colleagues for many reasons but in particular because of the diverse experiences and global perspectives they bring to their work and teams," said MacLennan.

Cargill has a number of initiatives in place to hire and retain veterans, reservists and members of the National Guard, including:

Requiring diverse slates of candidates when we hire, and that diversity explicitly includes military service members.

Having a dedicated military recruiter.

Offering our military employees a specialized business resource group, the Cargill Veterans and Military Support Network.

Offering our military employees mentorships to ease their transition into civilian life and flexible workplace policies to accommodate the needs of reservists.

Working with the Beyond the Yellow Ribbon Network, a state-based veterans outreach initiative in Minnesota .

As a reminder for its employees every day of the sacrifices made by the members of the military, Cargill displays an American flag that flew over Baghdad on Sept. 11, 2003, during Operation Iraqi Freedom at its headquarters outside of Minneapolis.

About Cargill

Cargill provides food, agriculture, financial and industrial products and services to the world. Together with farmers, customers, governments and communities, we help people thrive by applying our insights and 150 years of experience. We have 150,000 employees in 70 countries who are committed to feeding the world in a responsible way, reducing environmental impact and improving the communities where we live and work. For more information, visit Cargill.com and our News Center.

SOURCE Cargill
NEW YORK, Aug. 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Report Details

This latest report by business intelligence provider visiongain assesses that Chemical EOR spending will reach $2.56bn in 2017. This report addresses the development of the global Chemical EOR market, analysing the prospects for 6 technologies, 15 regional & national markets and including forecasts for Spending and production from 2017-2027. It is therefore critical that you have your timescales correct and your forecasting plans ready. This report will ensure that you do. Visiongain's report will ensure that you keep informed and ahead of your competitors. Gain that competitive advantage.





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 ASP

 Polymer

 Surfactant

 Biopolymer

 ASP/Polymer

 Polymer/Surfactant



Regional Chemical EOR market forecasts from 2017-2027 with drivers and restraints for the regions including:

 China

 Canada

 Russia

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 Rest of Middle East

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 Venezuela

 Colombia

 Rest of Latin America

 United States

 India

 Mexico

 North Sea

 Malaysia

 Rest of the World



Company profiles for the leading 10 Chemical EOR companies

 BlackPearl Resources

 Cenovus Energy

 PetroChina (CNPC)

 China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC)

 Canadian Natural Resources (CNRL)

 Murphy Oil Corporation

 Petroleum Development Oman (PDO)

 Rex Energy

 Sinopec Corp

 Zargon Oil and Gas



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__________________________

Contact Clare: [email protected]

US: (339)-368-6001

Intl: +1 339-368-6001

SOURCE Reportlinker

Related Links

http://www.reportlinker.com


BEIJING, Aug. 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- China Online Education Group ("51Talk" or the "Company") (NYSE: COE), a leading online education platform in China, with core expertise in English education, today announced its unaudited financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2017.

Second Quarter 2017 Financial and Operational Highlights

Net revenues were RMB191.8 million ( US$28.3 million ), a 97.9% increase from RMB96.9 million for the second quarter of 2016.

( ), a 97.9% increase from for the second quarter of 2016. Gross billings were RMB355.1 million ( US$52.4 million ), an 81.9% increase from RMB195.2 million for the second quarter of 2016.

( ), an 81.9% increase from for the second quarter of 2016. Gross margin was 62.9%, compared with 64.9% for the second quarter of 2016.

Percentage of gross billings contributed by K-12 students was 71.9%, compared with 49.3% for the second quarter of 2016.

Net cash provided by operating activities reached RMB53.1 million ( US$7.8 million ).

Key Operating Data



For the three months ended





June 30,

June 30,

Y-o-Y

2016

2017

Change











Gross billings (in RMB millions) 195.2

355.1

81.9% Gross billings contributed by K-12 students (in RMB millions) 96.3

255.3

165.2% Active students[2] (in thousands) 86.6

152.3

76.0%













Mr. Jack Jiajia Huang, Founder, Director and Chief Executive Officer of 51Talk, said, "We continued to see dynamic growth in gross billings, net revenues and number of active students in the second quarter of 2017. We also saw the number of foreign teachers on our platform exceed 10,000 for the first time in the Company's history, growing to approximately 12,600[3] at the end of the second quarter. "

Mr. Huang continued, "Quality growth remains our key theme this year. Currently, over 95% of our active students use our proprietary, next-generation technology, which delivers superior audio and video quality with extremely low latency. By pairing this industry-leading technology with our dynamic curriculum, toward the end of the second quarter, we were able to successfully pilot an exciting new lesson format for K-12 students that allows small groups of students to simultaneously study and interact with each other and a teacher. We call this our 'small class' offering. We believe the new small class offering can significantly widen our existing market reach for K-12 students. This is an exciting and significant new addition to our product portfolio alongside our one-on-one offerings."

Mr. Jimmy Lai, Chief Financial Officer of 51Talk, added, "Alongside our higher-than-expected revenue growth, our sales and marketing efficiency also continued to show improvement in the second quarter of 2017. Non-GAAP[4] sales and marketing expenses as a percentage of gross billings fell to 43.0% from 55.6% in the same quarter last year. I am also very pleased to report that net operating cash flow for the second quarter of 2017 reached a record high RMB53.1 million. As we look into the second half of 2017, we are optimistic about the rollout of our small class offering as this bodes well for margin improvement, especially within our American Academy program."

[1] Gross billings for a specific period, which is one of the Company's key operating data, is defined as the total amount of cash received for the sale of course packages and services in such period, net of the total amount of refunds in such period. [2] An "active student" for a specified period refers to a student who booked at least one paid lesson, and excluding those students who only attended paid live broadcasting lessons or trial lessons. [3] The number of foreign teachers is defined as those who are qualified to deliver lessons on our platform as of the end of the period, including both office-based and home-based foreign teachers. [4] Non-GAAP results exclude share-based compensation expenses. Explanation of the Company's non-GAAP financial measures and related reconciliations to GAAP financial measures are included in the accompanying "Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures" and "Reconciliations of Non-GAAP Results of Operation Measures to the Comparable GAAP Measures."

Second Quarter 2017 Financial Results

Net Revenues

Net revenues for the second quarter of 2017 were RMB191.8 million (US$28.3 million), a 97.9% increase from RMB96.9 million for the same quarter last year. The increase was primarily attributed to an increase in the number of active students and, to a lesser extent, an increase in the average revenue per active student. The number of active students was 152.3 thousand, a 76.0% increase from 86.6 thousand for the same quarter last year.

Cost of Revenues

Cost of revenues for the second quarter of 2017 was RMB71.2 million (US$10.5 million), a 109.0% increase from RMB34.0 million for the same quarter last year. The increase was primarily driven by an increase in total service fees paid to teachers, due to the delivery of an increased number of paid lessons as well as the increased cost per lesson with the expansion of western teachers.

Gross Profit and Gross Margin

Gross profit for the second quarter of 2017 was RMB120.6 million (US$17.8 million), a 91.9% increase from RMB62.8 million for the same quarter last year.

Gross margin for the second quarter of 2017 was 62.9%, compared with 64.9% for the same quarter last year. The decrease was mainly attributable to the expansion of American Academy program which has a lower gross profit margin.

Operating Expenses

Total operating expenses for the second quarter of 2017 were RMB258.4 million (US$38.1 million), a 29.4% increase from RMB199.7 million for the same quarter last year. The increase was mainly the result of increases in sales and marketing, product development, and general and administrative expenses.

Sales and marketing expenses for the second quarter of 2017 were RMB153.6 million (US$22.7 million), a 38.0% increase from RMB111.3 million for the same quarter last year. The increase was mainly due to higher expenses related to an increase in the number of sales and marketing personnel, as well as higher marketing and branding promotional expenses, partially offset by lower recognized share-based compensation expenses. Excluding share-based compensation expenses, non-GAAP sales and marketing expenses for the second quarter of 2017 were RMB152.8 million (US$22.5 million), a 40.8% increase from RMB108.5 million for the same quarter last year.

Product development expenses for the second quarter of 2017 were RMB50.7 million (US$7.5 million), a 31.7% increase from RMB38.5 million for the same quarter last year. The increase was primarily the result of newly added technology and course development-related personnel to further strengthen technology platforms and expand curriculum offerings, as well as technical services fees, partially offset by a reversal of share-based compensation expenses recognized related to unvested options upon departure of some technology-related personnel. Excluding share-based compensation expenses, non-GAAP product development expenses for the second quarter of 2017 were RMB51.9 million (US$7.7 million), a 72.5% increase from RMB30.1 million for the same quarter last year.

General and administrative expenses for the second quarter of 2017 were RMB54.1 million (US$8.0 million), an 8.4% increase from RMB49.9 million for the same quarter last year. The increase was primarily due to additional expenses for personnel necessary to support expanded operations, as well as higher recruitment costs and costs related to compliance and reporting obligations as a public company, partially offset by lower recognized share-based compensation expenses. Excluding share-based compensation expenses, non-GAAP general and administrative expenses for the second quarter of 2017 were RMB47.6 million (US$7.0 million), a 47.2% increase from RMB32.4 million for the same quarter last year.

Loss from Operations

Loss from operations for the second quarter of 2017 was RMB137.8 million (US$20.3 million), compared with RMB136.9 million for the same quarter last year.

Non-GAAP loss from operations for the second quarter of 2017 was RMB131.7 million (US$19.4 million), compared with RMB108.1 million for the same quarter last year.

Net Loss

Net loss for the second quarter of 2017 was RMB139.3 million (US$20.5 million), compared with RMB137.9 million for the same quarter last year.

Non-GAAP net loss for the second quarter of 2017 was RMB133.2 million (US$19.6 million), compared with RMB109.0 million for the same quarter last year.

Basic and diluted net loss per American depositary share ("ADS") attributable to ordinary shareholders for the second quarter of 2017 was RMB6.90 (US$1.05), compared with basic and diluted net loss per ADS attributable to ordinary shareholders of RMB21.97 for the same quarter last year. Each ADS represents 15 Class A ordinary shares.

Non-GAAP basic and diluted net loss per ADS attributable to ordinary shareholders for the second quarter of 2017 was RMB6.60 (US$1.05), compared with non-GAAP basic and diluted net loss per ADS attributable to ordinary shareholders of RMB18.40 for the same quarter last year.

Balance Sheet

As of June 30, 2017, the Company had total cash, cash equivalents and time deposits of RMB701.5 million (US$103.5 million), compared with RMB647.0 million as of December 31, 2016.

The Company had deferred revenues (current and non-current) of RMB988.2 million (US$145.8 million) as of June 30, 2017, compared with RMB687.1 million as of December 31, 2016.

Outlook

For the third quarter of 2017, the Company currently expects:

Net revenues to be between RMB220.0 million to RMB225.0 million , which would represent an increase of approximately 82% to 86% from RMB121.0 million for the same quarter last year; and

, which would represent an increase of approximately 82% to 86% from for the same quarter last year; and Gross billings to be between RMB350.0 million to RMB360.0 million , which would represent an increase of approximately 50% to 54% from RMB233.2 million for the same quarter last year.

The above outlook is based on the current market conditions and reflects the Company's current and preliminary estimates of market and operating conditions and customer demand, which are all subject to change.

Conference Call

The Company's management will host an earnings conference call at 8:00 AM U.S. Eastern Time on August 25, 2017 (8:00 PM Beijing/Hong Kong time on August 25, 2017).

Dial-in details for the earnings conference call are as follows:

United States (toll free): 1-888-346-8982 International: 1-412-902-4272 Hong Kong (toll free): 800-905-945 Hong Kong: 852-3018-4992 China: 400-120-1203

Participants should dial-in at least 5 minutes before the scheduled start time and ask to be connected to the call for "China Online Education Group."

Additionally, a live and archived webcast of the conference call will be available on the Company's investor relations website at http://ir.51talk.com.

A replay of the conference call will be accessible until September 1, 2017, by dialing the following telephone numbers:

United States (toll free): 1-877-344-7529 International: 1-412-317-0088 Replay Access Code: 10111519

About China Online Education Group

China Online Education Group (NYSE: COE) is a leading online education platform in China, with core expertise in English education. The Company's mission is to make quality education accessible and affordable. The Company's online and mobile education platforms enable students across China to take live one-on-one interactive English lessons with overseas foreign teachers, on demand. The Company connects its students with a large pool of highly qualified foreign teachers that it assembled using a shared economy approach, and employs student and teacher feedback and data analytics to deliver a personalized learning experience to its students.

For more information, please visit http://ir.51talk.com.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

In evaluating its business, 51Talk considers and uses the following measures defined as non-GAAP financial measures by the SEC as supplemental metrics to review and assess its operating performance: non-GAAP sales and marketing expenses, non-GAAP product development expenses, non-GAAP general and administrative expenses, non-GAAP operating expenses, non-GAAP loss from operations, non-GAAP income tax expenses, non-GAAP net loss, non-GAAP net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders, and non-GAAP net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders per share and per ADS. To present each of these non-GAAP measures, the Company excludes share-based compensation expenses. The presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP. For more information on these non-GAAP financial measures, please see the table captioned "Reconciliations of non-GAAP measures to the most comparable GAAP measures" set forth at the end of this press release.

51Talk believes that these non-GAAP financial measures provide meaningful supplemental information regarding its performance by excluding share-based expenses that may not be indicative of its operating performance from a cash perspective. 51Talk believes that both management and investors benefit from these non-GAAP financial measures in assessing its performance and when planning and forecasting future periods. These non-GAAP financial measures also facilitate management's internal comparisons to 51Talk's historical performance. 51Talk computes its non-GAAP financial measures using the same consistent method from quarter to quarter and from period to period. 51Talk believes these non-GAAP financial measures are useful to investors in allowing for greater transparency with respect to supplemental information used by management in its financial and operational decision-making. A limitation of using non-GAAP measures is that these non-GAAP measures exclude share-based compensation expenses that have been and will continue to be for the foreseeable future a significant recurring expense in the 51Talk's business. Management compensates for these limitations by providing specific information regarding the GAAP amounts excluded from each non-GAAP measure. The accompanying table at the end of this press release provides more details on the reconciliations between GAAP financial measures that are most directly comparable to non-GAAP financial measures.

Exchange Rate Information

This announcement contains translations of certain RMB amounts into U.S. dollars at a specified rate solely for the convenience of the reader. Unless otherwise noted, all translations from RMB to U.S. dollars are made at a rate of RMB6.7793 to US$1.00, the rate in effect as of June 30, 2017 as certified for customs purposes by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains statements that may constitute "forward-looking" statements pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will", "expects", "anticipates", "aims", "future", "intends", "plans", "believes", "estimates", "likely to" and similar statements. Among other things, 51Talk's business outlook and quotations from management in this announcement, as well as 51Talk's strategic and operational plans, contain forward-looking statements. 51Talk may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its periodic reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), in its annual report to shareholders, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about 51Talk's beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement, including but not limited to the following: 51Talk's goals and strategies; 51Talk's expectations regarding demand for and market acceptance of its brand and platform; 51Talk's ability to retain and increase its student enrollment; 51Talk's ability to offer new courses; 51Talk's ability to engage, train and retain new teachers; 51Talk's future business development, results of operations and financial condition; 51Talk's ability to maintain and improve infrastructure necessary to operate its education platform; competition in the online education industry in China; the expected growth of, and trends in, the markets for 51Talk's course offerings in China; relevant government policies and regulations relating to 51Talk's corporate structure, business and industry; general economic and business condition in China, the Philippines and elsewhere and assumptions underlying or related to any of the foregoing. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in 51Talk's filings with the SEC. All information provided in this press release is as of the date of this press release, and 51Talk does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable law.

For investor and media inquiries, please contact:

China Online Education Group

Investor Relations

+86 (10) 5692-8909

[email protected]

The Piacente Group, Inc.

Brandi Piacente

+86 (10) 6535-0148

+1-212-481-2050

[email protected]

CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP UNAUDITED INTERIM CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (In thousands)







As of







Dec. 31,

Jun. 30,

Jun. 30,







2016

2017

2017







RMB

RMB

US$

















ASSETS













Current assets















Cash and cash equivalents

274,873

376,388

55,520



Time deposits

372,150

325,158

47,963



Prepaid expenses and other current assets

65,766

65,667

9,687

Total current assets

712,789

767,213

113,170



















Non-current assets















Held to maturity

6,943

6,889

1,016



Property, plant and equipment, net

41,576

39,947

5,892



Intangible assets, net

4,629

5,703

841



Goodwill

4,223

4,223

623



Other non-current assets

5,367

7,083

1,045

Total non-current assets

62,738

63,845

9,417



















Total assets

775,527

831,058

122,587

















LIABILITIES













AND STOCKHOLDERS' DEFICIT





Current liabilities















Deferred revenues

653,413

950,275

140,173



Accrued expenses and other current

liabilities

166,524

188,242

27,767



Taxes payable

18,923

23,163

3,417

Total current liabilities

838,860

1,161,680

171,357



















Non-current liabilities















Deferred revenues

33,706

37,933

5,595



Deferred tax liabilities

226

175

26



Other non-current liabilities

1,918

2,082

307

Total non-current liabilities

35,850

40,190

5,928



















Total liabilities

874,710

1,201,870

177,285

CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP UNAUDITED INTERIM CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (In thousands)























As of







Dec. 31,

Jun. 30,

Jun. 30,







2016

2017

2017







RMB

RMB

US$





































Total shareholders' deficit

(99,183)

(370,812)

(54,698)



















Total liabilities and shareholders'













deficit



775,527

831,058

122,587

CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP UNAUDITED INTERIM CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE LOSS (In thousands except for number of shares and per share data)







For the three months ended

For the six months ended





Jun. 30,

Mar. 31,

Jun. 30,

Jun. 30,

Jun. 30,

Jun. 30,





2016

2017

2017

2017

2016

2017





RMB

RMB

RMB

US$

RMB

RMB



























Net revenues

96,874

159,519

191,753

28,285

169,065

351,272 Cost of revenues

(34,043)

(54,752)

(71,150)

(10,495)

(60,351)

(125,902) Gross profit

62,831

104,767

120,603

17,790

108,714

225,370 Operating expenses























Sales and marketing expenses



(111,339)

(146,077)

(153,619)

(22,660)

(205,584)

(299,696) Product development expenses



(38,500)

(50,601)

(50,686)

(7,477)

(65,042)

(101,287) General and administrative expenses



(49,890)

(48,364)

(54,095)

(7,979)

(75,548)

(102,459) Total operating expenses

(199,729)

(245,042)

(258,400)

(38,116)

(346,174)

(503,442) Loss from operations

(136,898)

(140,275)

(137,797)

(20,326)

(237,460)

(278,072) Interest and other (expenses)/income, net

(592)

963

(409)

(60)

1,074

554 Loss before income tax expenses

(137,490)

(139,312)

(138,206)

(20,386)

(236,386)

(277,518) Income tax expenses

(380)

(728)

(1,058)

(156)

(742)

(1,786) Net loss



(137,870)

(140,040)

(139,264)

(20,542)

(237,128)

(279,304) Accretions to preferred shares redemption value



(41,816)

-

-

-

(91,631)

- Deemed contribution from preferred shares



2,618

-

-

-

2,618

- Net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders

(177,068)

(140,040)

(139,264)

(20,542)

(326,141)

(279,304)



























Weighted average number of ordinary shares used in























computing basic and diluted loss per share



120,877,785

300,860,235

301,352,242

301,352,242

96,572,658

301,107,598



























Net loss per share attributable to ordinary shareholders























basic and diluted



(1.46)

(0.47)

(0.46)

(0.07)

(3.38)

(0.93)

CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP UNAUDITED INTERIM CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE LOSS (In thousands except for number of shares and per share data)





For the three months ended

For the six months ended



Jun. 30,

Mar. 31,

Jun. 30,

Jun. 30,

Jun. 30,

Jun. 30,



2016

2017

2017

2017

2016

2017



RMB

RMB

RMB

US$

RMB

RMB

























Net loss per ADS attributable to ordinary shareholders





















basic and diluted (21.97)

(7.05)

(6.90)

(1.05)

(50.66)

(13.95)

























Comprehensive loss:





















Net loss

(137,870)

(140,040)

(139,264)

(20,542)

(237,128)

(279,304) Other comprehensive loss



















Foreign currency translation adjustments

4,193

(6,011)

(6,064)

(894)

4,774

(12,075) Total comprehensive loss (133,677)

(146,051)

(145,328)

(21,436)

(232,354)

(291,379)

























Share-based compensation expenses are included in the operating expenses as follows:

































Sales and marketing expenses (2,871)

(1,192)

(863)

(127)

(2,871)

(2,055) Product development expenses (8,411)

(5,146)

1,221

180

(8,411)

(3,925) General and administrative expenses (17,540)

(6,785)

(6,465)

(954)

(17,540)

(13,250)

CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures to the Most Comparable GAAP Measures (In thousands except for number of shares and per share data)





For the three months ended

For the six months ended



Jun. 30,

Mar. 31,

Jun. 30,

Jun. 30,

Jun. 30,

Jun. 30,



2016

2017

2017

2017

2016

2017



RMB

RMB

RMB

US$

RMB

RMB

























Sales and marketing expenses

(111,339)

(146,077)

(153,619)

(22,660)

(205,584)

(299,696) Less: Share-based compensation expenses

(2,871)

(1,192)

(863)

(127)

(2,871)

(2,055) Non-GAAP sales and marketing expenses

(108,468)

(144,885)

(152,756)

(22,533)

(202,713)

(297,641)

























Product development expenses

(38,500)

(50,601)

(50,686)

(7,477)

(65,042)

(101,287) Less: Share-based compensation expenses

(8,411)

(5,146)

1,221

180

(8,411)

(3,925) Non-GAAP product development expenses

(30,089)

(45,455)

(51,907)

(7,657)

(56,631)

(97,362)

























General and administrative expenses

(49,890)

(48,364)

(54,095)

(7,979)

(75,548)

(102,459) Less: Share-based compensation expenses

(17,540)

(6,785)

(6,465)

(954)

(17,540)

(13,250) Non-GAAP general and administrative expenses

(32,350)

(41,579)

(47,630)

(7,025)

(58,008)

(89,209)

























Operating expenses

(199,729)

(245,042)

(258,400)

(38,116)

(346,174)

(503,442) Less: Share-based compensation expenses

(28,822)

(13,123)

(6,107)

(901)

(28,822)

(19,230) Non-GAAP operating expenses

(170,907)

(231,919)

(252,293)

(37,215)

(317,352)

(484,212)

























Loss from operations

(136,898)

(140,275)

(137,797)

(20,326)

(237,460)

(278,072) Less: Share-based compensation expenses

(28,822)

(13,123)

(6,107)

(901)

(28,822)

(19,230) Non-GAAP loss from operations

(108,076)

(127,152)

(131,690)

(19,425)

(208,638)

(258,842)

CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures to the Most Comparable GAAP Measures (In thousands except for number of shares and per share data)





For the three months ended

For the six months ended



Jun. 30,

Mar. 31,

Jun. 30,

Jun. 30,

Jun. 30,

Jun. 30,



2016

2017

2017

2017

2016

2017



RMB

RMB

RMB

US$

RMB

RMB

























Income tax expenses (380)

(728)

(1,058)

(156)

(742)

(1,786) Less: Tax impact of Share-based compensation expenses -

-

-

-

-

- Non-GAAP income tax expenses (380)

(728)

(1,058)

(156)

(742)

(1,786)

























Net loss

(137,870)

(140,040)

(139,264)

(20,542)

(237,128)

(279,304) Less: Share-based compensation expenses (28,822)

(13,123)

(6,107)

(901)

(28,822)

(19,230) Non-GAAP net loss (109,048)

(126,917)

(133,157)

(19,641)

(208,306)

(260,074)

























Net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders (177,068)

(140,040)

(139,264)

(20,542)

(326,141)

(279,304) Less: Share-based compensation expenses, net of tax (28,822)

(13,123)

(6,107)

(901)

(28,822)

(19,230) Non-GAAP net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders (148,246)

(126,917)

(133,157)

(19,641)

(297,319)

(260,074)

























Weighted average number of ordinary shares used in





















computing basic and diluted loss per share

120,877,785

300,860,235

301,352,242

301,352,242

96,572,658

301,107,598

























Non-GAAP net loss per share attributable to ordinary shareholders



















basic and diluted

(1.23)

(0.42)

(0.44)

(0.07)

(3.08)

(0.86)

























Non-GAAP net loss per ADS attributable to ordinary shareholders



















basic and diluted

(18.40)

(6.30)

(6.60)

(1.05)

(46.18)

(12.90)

SOURCE China Online Education Group

Related Links

http://ir.51talk.com


This summer, the Most Imaginative Bartender program traveled across 33 North American cities to narrow down and identify the top 12 finalists  11 from the US, one from Canada  with the most boundary-pushing cocktail creations. Pierce joins an illustrious roster of former Most Imaginative Bartender winners who continue to make waves within today's cocktail industry.

FINALS EXPERIENCE

On Monday August 21, the 12 competing finalists converged at the BOMBAY SAPPHIRE BREEAM-certified Laverstoke Mill Distillery in Hampshire, England, to embark on an immersive experience with the brand. Led by Sam Carter, the BOMBAY SAPPHIRE gin Senior Ambassador of Laverstoke Mill, Global Ambassador Raj Nagra, and North American Ambassador Gary Hayward, the 12 finalists received a first-hand engagement with the gin's unique vapour-infusion distillation process and ten exotic botanicals showcased within the dazzling dual-climate glasshouses.

The competition portion officially commenced on Tuesday in the heart of London, where bartenders competed in the first-ever "Artistry Challenge" that included a 1-hour curated tour of one of London's famous art galleries. The finalists selected works of art which served as inspiration to craft their creative cocktails. Annie Williams Pierce snagged the win after crafting an avant-garde recipe, illustrating the collision between art and mixology. Additional challenges included "The On Air Challenge," which put the competitors' presentation skills to the test  prompting their ability to create a recipe while engaging an audience during a filmed demonstration. To heat things up, the 12 finalists were also tasked with designing a bespoke cocktail menu at a top London bar for the "Guest Shift" challenge. Each bartender had the day to source local ingredients throughout to the city in order to batch and prepare three different gin-forward cocktail recipes for their menu. Tampa's Brenda Terry and Las Vegas' SeongHa Lee earned the top scores for challenges two and three.

In London today, during the 'Final Cocktail Showcase" at the Connaught Bar, each finalist presented an original BOMBAY SAPPHIRE Gin cocktail while sharing the inspiration for their unique creation. New York's Luis Hernandez was named the last individual challenge winner of the competition.

Finally, this evening, during the closing awards gala, the esteemed panel of judges including Hayward, acclaimed New York mixologist and Pouring Ribbons founder Joaquin Simo, as well as USBG Southwest Regional Vice President and Phoenix beverage consultant Kim Hassarud, came together to name Pierce as the 2017 North American Most Imaginative Bartender winner.

Pierce reveled in her victory after the announcement stating, "Being honored and celebrated this evening for my creative passion is a feeling that I will never forget. The Most Imaginative Bartender Competition really pushes the boundaries of what cocktail making can be and being able to flex my creative muscles is one of the main reasons I chose to embrace this craft in the first place. I'm still reeling from the week's events but can't wait to experience all of the invaluable opportunities that this title will open up for me."

"We are thrilled to announce and celebrate Annie as the 11th annual winner of the Most Imaginative Bartender program; Annie exhibited an extraordinary level of imagination in this year's competition." says Tom Swift, North America VP, Managing Director for BOMBAY SAPPHIRE gin. "Each year of the program, emerging talents from across North America continuously showcase cocktail making as a pure art form, exhibiting cutting-edge levels of craft and imagination. The innovative work of these bartenders continues to propel this industry forward."

Annie Williams Pierce's' final cocktail recipe:

London x Tokyo

1.75oz Bombay Sapphire Gin washed with Persian lime infused olive oil

1.33oz Blanc vermouth infused with sugar snap peas

0.25oz verjus

Shiso olive oil

2017 MOST IMAGINATIVE BARTENDER FINALISTS

Chris Morris | Houston, TX

| Annie Pierce | Columbus, OH

| Adam Robinson | Portland, OR

| SeongHa Lee | Las Vegas, NV

Eric Jeffus | Chicago, IL

| Eddie DiDonato | Burlington, VT

| Collin Nicholas | San Francisco, CA

| Brenda Terry | Tampa, FL

| Brittney Olsen | Los Angeles, CA

| Luis Hernandez | New York, New York

| Andrew Lue | Miami, FL

| Timo Salimaki | Calgary, Canada

About the USBG

The United States Bartenders' Guild is an organization of beverage service professionals dedicated to the continued refinement of our craft. Such refinement is achieved through advanced product education; original hand-crafted cocktail competitions; and aggressive involvement with other professionals in the beverage industry throughout the country and internationally. It is our intention, desire and main focus to become the most skilled, knowledgeable and professional group of bartenders in the industry. Above all, the United States Bartenders' Guild supports and promotes well-informed, responsible consumption of alcoholic beverages.

ABOUT BOMBAY SAPPHIRE

BOMBAY SAPPHIRE is the world's fastest growing premium Gin and number one premium Gin by value. BOMBAY SAPPHIRE is created with a unique combination of ten sustainably sourced botanicals from around the globe. The brand's signature distillation process known as vapour infusion is showcased at the BREEAM award-winning Laverstoke Mill Distillery in Hampshire, England. The vapour infusion process skillfully captures the natural flavors of the botanicals which results in the Gin's smooth, complex taste. Awarded a double gold medal in the 2017 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, BOMBAY SAPPHIRE is consistently recognized for crafting the finest quality gin. For more information, please explore www.bombaysapphire.com.

The BOMBAY SAPPHIRE brand is part of the portfolio of Bacardi Limited, headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda. Bacardi Limited refers to the Bacardi group of companies, including Bacardi International Limited.

BE BRILLIANT AND INSPIRED. DRINK RESPONSIBLY!

Facebook.com/bombaysapphire

Instagram.com/bombaysapphireus

2017. BOMBAY SAPPHIRE AND ITS TRADE DRESS ARE TRADEMARKS.

IMPORTED BY THE BOMBAY SPIRITS COMPANY U.S.A., CORAL GABLES, FL. GIN - 47% ALC. BY VOL.

SOURCE BOMBAY SAPPHIRE
BEIJING, Aug 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Concord Medical Services Holdings Limited ("Concord Medical" or the "Company") (NYSE: CCM), a leading specialty hospital management solution provider and operator of the largest network of radiotherapy and diagnostic imaging centers in China, today announced its unaudited consolidated financial results for the six months ended June 30, 2017[1].

2017 First Half Highlights

Total net revenues were RMB 206.2 million ( $30.4 million ) in the first half of 2017, a 19.0% decrease from total net revenues of RMB254.6 million in the same period last year. Total net revenues included net revenue from the network business of RMB196.4 million ( $29.0 million ) and net revenue from Singapore Concord International Hospital of RMB9.9 million ( $1.5 million ).

( ) in the first half of 2017, a 19.0% decrease from total net revenues of in the same period last year. Total net revenues included net revenue from the network business of ( ) and net revenue from Singapore Concord International Hospital of ( ). Gross profit was RMB71.3 million ( $10.5 million ) in the first half of 2017, representing a 29.8% decrease from RMB101.6 million in the first half of 2016. The gross profit margin for the first half of 2017 was 34.6%, compared to 39.9% for the same period last year.

( ) in the first half of 2017, representing a 29.8% decrease from in the first half of 2016. The gross profit margin for the first half of 2017 was 34.6%, compared to 39.9% for the same period last year. Net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders in the first half of 2017 was RMB101.8 million ( $15.0 million ), compared to RMB50.4 million in the same period last year.

( ), compared to in the same period last year. Both basic and diluted loss per American Depositary Share ("ADS") [2] in the first half of 2017 were RMB2.34 ($0.34) , compared to RMB1.15 in the same period last year.

in the first half of 2017 were , compared to same period last year. Non-GAAP net loss in the first half of 2017 was RMB100.1 million ( $14.8 million ), compared to non-GAAP net loss of RMB50.0 million in the same period last year. Non-GAAP basic and diluted loss per ADS in the first half of 2017 were both RMB2.24 ($0.33) .

( ), compared to non-GAAP net loss of in the same period last year. Non-GAAP basic and diluted loss per ADS in the first half of 2017 were both . Adjusted EBITDA[3] (non-GAAP) was negative RMB3.9 million ( $0.6 million ) in the first half of 2017, compared to RMB68.6 million in the same period last year.

Dr. Jianyu Yang, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Concord Medical, commented, "Changes in the policies regarding the hospital partners have further led to the closure of a number of our centers, which put pressure on our operating income in the first half of 2017 and presented us with challenges. However, our new business model, focused on self-built high-end cancer hospital, is steadily developing and growing, which helps mitigate the impact of these adverse factors. We believe that the new business model will bring us new growth points and more opportunities in the future."

"The Singapore Concord International Hospital has grown rapidly since 2017, the number of patients received is increasing monthly, so that the hospital's income has also been improved. At the same time, in order to continue growing Singapore Concord International Hospital, we are stepping up to improve its operating and radiotherapy areas both in hardware and software facilities. We look forward to serving more cancer patients with high-quality and efficient services in the future."

"Starting from 2016, Meizhong Jiahe has been responsible for the daily operations of Shanghai ProMed Cancer Center ("ProMed"), and we are in the process of acquiring ProMed. Since the first half of 2017, ProMed's medical service has become increasingly mature and well-known. In the future, we plan to align ProMed with the MD Anderson Cancer Center at the technical level to gradually improve the functions of ProMed as a first-class high-end cancer clinic and to provide more international medical services to patients in the region."

2017 First Half Financial Results

Network Business

Net revenues from the network business were RMB196.4 million ($29.0 million), a 20.4% decrease from net revenues of RMB246.7 million in the first half of 2016, primarily attributable to the closure of certain centers in our network of centers. With 18 centers closed in the first half of 2017, the Company operated a network of 60 centers in 34 cities in China as of June 30, 2017.

Cost of revenue of the network business was RMB109.5 million ($16.2 million), representing a 20.6% decrease from RMB137.9 million in the first half of 2016.

Gross profit from the network business was RMB86.8 million ($12.8 million), representing a 20.2% decrease from RMB108.8 million in the first half of 2016. The gross profit margin for the first half of 2017 was 44.2%, compared to 44.1% for the same period last year.

Selling expenses of the network business were RMB30.3 million ($4.5 million), representing a 26.3% decrease from RMB41.1 million in the first half of 2016. Selling expenses as a percentage of net revenues was 15.4% in the first half of 2017, compared to 16.7% in the first half of 2016. The decrease in selling expenses of the network business was mainly due to reduced marketing, conference, office and travel expenses.

General and administrative expenses of the network business were RMB94.0 million ($13.9 million), representing a 78.4% increase from RMB52.7 million in the first half of 2016. General and administrative expenses as a percentage of net revenues were 47.9% in the first half of 2017, compared to 21.4% in the same period last year. The increases were mainly due to management fees and consulting fees to Zhongrong Guofu Investment Management Company Limited.

Comparing to RMB30.9 million in the same period last year, capital expenditures decreased to RMB11.1 million ($1.6 million) in the first half of 2017.

Accounts receivable were RMB205.6 million ($30.3 million) as of June 30, 2017, compared to RMB188.7 million as of December 31, 2016. The average period of sales outstanding for accounts receivable (also known as Days Sales Outstanding) was 182 days in the first half of 2017.

As of June 30, 2017, the Company had bank credit lines totaling RMB5.2 billion ($760.6 million), of which RMB1.8 billion ($261.2 million) was utilized.

During the first half of 2017, the Company handled 8,617 patient treatment cases and 115,188 patient diagnostic cases, representing a 19.5% decrease and a 18.5% decrease from the same period last year, respectively, mainly due to the closure of certain centers during the past year and first half of 2017.

Hospital Business

Singapore Concord International Hospital[4] is a leading privately-owned, for-profit oncology hospital in Singapore. The Company acquired Singapore Concord International Hospital, formerly known as Fortis Surgical Hospital, in April 2015 and is now transforming it into a premium cancer hospital.

Net revenues from the hospital business were RMB9.9 million ($1.5 million or S$2.0 million [5]) in the first half of 2017, representing a 23.8% increase from net revenues of RMB8.0 million in the first half of 2016.

Cost of service of the hospital business in the first half of 2017 was RMB25.5 million ($3.8 million or S$5.2 million), a 67.8% increase from cost of service of RMB15.2 million in the first half of 2016, mainly because of high construction fees to improve hardware and software facilities in hospitals.

Gross loss from the hospital business was RMB15.6 million ($2.3 million or S$3.2 million) in the first half of 2017, compared to RMB7.2 million in same period last year.

Selling expenses of the hospital business were RMB0.2 million ($0.03 million or S$0.04 million) in the first half of 2017, representing a 33.3% decrease from selling expenses of RMB0.3 million in the first half of 2016.

General and administrative expenses of the hospital business were RMB21.9 million ($3.2million or S$4.4 million) in the first half of 2017, of which employee benefit expenses were RMB10.9 million ($1.6 million or S$2.2 million). In the same period of last year, general and administrative expenses of the hospital business were RMB22.8 million.

Comparing to RMB5.9 million in the first half of 2016, capital expenditures of the hospital were RMB72.6 million ($10.7 million or S$14.7 million) in the first half of 2017, which was mainly related to construction fees.

As of June 30, 2017, Singapore Concord International Hospital had accounts receivable of RMB0.7 million ($0.1 million or S$0.1 million), a 22.2% decrease from accounts receivable of RMB0.9 million as of December 31, 2016. The number of Days Sales Outstanding was 16 days in the first half of 2017.

Singapore Concord International Hospital operated 34 beds and had 93 medical and non-medical staff as of June 30, 2017.

Recent Developments

Datong Meizhong Jiahe Cancer Hospital

On May 10, 2017, Datong Meizhong Jiahe Cancer Hospital held an opening ceremony and officially opened for operation. Datong Meizhong Jiahe Cancer Hospital is the first cancer specialty hospital in the Concord Medical hospital system and is also one of designated hospitals by social medical insurance programs in Datong city. The hospital has approximately 100 beds, and is equipped with linear accelerator and other international advanced medical equipment.

Notes:

[1] This announcement contains translations of certain RMB amounts into U.S. dollars at specified rates solely for the convenience of the reader. Unless otherwise noted, all translations of RMB into U.S. dollars are made at a rate of RMB6.7793 to $1.00, the noon buying rate in New York City for cable transfers payable in RMB, as certified for customs purposes by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on June 30, 2017.

[2] Each ADS represents three Class A ordinary shares of the Company.

[3] Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net income plus interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, share-based compensation expenses, and other adjustments. Other adjustments include foreign exchange gain, gain from disposal of property, plant and equipment, changes in fair value of derivative and other income.

[4] The financial results of Singapore Concord International Hospital were consolidated into our financial results starting in the second quarter of 2015.

[5] Translations of Singapore dollar amounts into U.S. dollars are made at a rate of S$1.3765 to $1.00, the noon buying rate in New York City for cable transfers payable in Singapore dollars, as certified for customs purposes by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on June 30, 2017.

About Concord Medical

Concord Medical Services Holdings Limited is a leading specialty hospital management solution provider and operator of the largest network of radiotherapy and diagnostic imaging centers in China. As of June 30, 2017, the Company operated a network of 60 centers with 41 hospital partners that spanned 34 cities and 19 provinces and administrative regions in China. Under long-term arrangements with top-tier hospitals in China, the Company provides radiotherapy and diagnostic imaging equipment and manages the daily operations of these centers, which are located on the premises of its hospital partners. The Company also provides ongoing training to doctors and other medical professionals in its network of centers to ensure a high level of clinical care for patients. For more information, please see http://ir.concordmedical.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements can be identified by words or phrases such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates" and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to uncertainties and contingencies beyond the Company's control and based upon premises with respect to future business decisions, which are subject to change. A number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable law.

About Non-GAAP Financial Measures

To supplement the consolidated financial statements presented in accordance with United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ("GAAP"), Concord Medical uses certain non-GAAP measures. The Company presents certain of its financial information that is adjusted from results based on GAAP to exclude the impact of share-based compensation expense. The Company believes excluding share-based compensation expense from its GAAP financial measures is useful for its management and investors to assess and analyze the Company's core operating results, as such expense is not directly attributable to the underlying performance of the Company's business operations and do not impact its current cash earnings. Concord Medical also believes these non-GAAP measures excluding share-based compensation expense are important in helping investors to understand the Company's current financial performance and future prospects and to compare business trends among different reporting periods on a consistent basis. In addition, Concord Medical also presents the non-GAAP measure of Adjusted EBITDA, which is defined in this announcement as net income plus interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, and share-based compensation expenses and other adjustments. Other adjustments include foreign exchange gain, gain from disposal of property, plant and equipment, changes in fair value of derivatives and other income. Furthermore, Adjusted EBITDA eliminates the impact of items that the Company does not consider to be indicative of the performance of the network business and hospital business. The Company believes investors will similarly use Adjusted EBITDA as one of the key metrics to evaluate its financial performance and to compare its current operating results with corresponding historical periods and with other companies in the healthcare services industry. The presentation of these additional measures should not be considered a substitute for or superior to GAAP results or as being comparable to results reported or forecasted by other companies. The non-GAAP measures have been reconciled to GAAP measures in the attached financial information.

For more information, please contact:

Concord Medical Services

Ms. Carol TIAN (Chinese and English)

+86 10 5903 6688 (ext. 608)

[email protected]

Concord Medical Services Holdings Co., Ltd. Consolidated Balance Sheets (in thousands)

December 31, 2016

June 30, 2017

RMB

RMB

US$

(audited)

(Unaudited)

(Unaudited) ASSETS









Current assets









Cash and cash equivalents 189,905

608,204

89,710 Restricted cash, current portion 518,494

515,150

75,989 Accounts receivable 189,589

206,244

30,423 Inventories 5,923

6,194

914 Prepayments and other current assets 161,812

160,124

23,620 Non-current assets held for sale 70,073

65,765

9,701 Net investments in direct financing leases, current portion 59,060

41,243

6,084 Total current assets 1,194,856

1,602,924

236,441











Non-current assets









Property, plant and equipment, net 775,338

773,891

114,155 Intangible assets, net 17,188

14,991

2,211 Deposits for non-current assets 268,747

253,222

37,352 Net investments in direct financing leases, non-current portion 27,190

40,687

6,002 Equity method investments 210,088

206,449

30,453 Cost method investment 22,160

22,160

3,269 Other non-current assets 39,726

36,335

5,360 Restricted cash,non-current portion 50,000

-

- Prepaid land lease payments 441,810

441,135

65,071 Prepayment for long term investment 181,500

338,820

49,979 Total non-current assets 2,033,747

2,127,690

313,852











Total assets 3,228,603

3,730,614

550,293























LIABILITIES AND EQUITY









Current liabilities









Short-term bank borrowings 562,372

468,993

69,180 Long-term bank borrowings, current portion 82,632

231,264

34,113 Accounts payable 2,038

6,630

978 Accrual for purchase of property, plant and equipment 3,594

3,998

590 Accrued expenses and other liabilities 273,590

275,173

40,590 Income tax payable 24,124

14,268

2,105 Deferred revenue, current portion 214

149

22 Dividend payable 2,495

2,436

359 Total current liabilities 951,059

1,002,911

147,937











Non-current liabilities









Long-term bank borrowings, non-current portion 215,671

15,085

2,225 Deferred tax liabilities, non-current portion 49,658

50,689

7,477 Long-term secured borrowings 248,604

208,115

30,699 Advances from long-term investment 528,896

1,217,396

179,575 Other long term liabilities 2,945

100,044

14,757 Total non-current liabilities 1,045,774

1,591,329

234,733











Total liabilities 1,996,833

2,594,240

382,670























EQUITY









Ordinary shares 105

105

15 Treasury stock (8)

(8)

(1) Additional paid-in capital 1,852,245

1,856,517

273,850 Accumulated other comprehensive loss (87,968)

(84,926)

(12,527) Accumulated deficit (598,196)

(699,975)

(103,252) Total Concord Medical Services Holdings Limited shareholders' equity 1,166,178

1,071,713

158,085 Noncontrolling interests 65,592

64,661

9,538











Total equity 1,231,770

1,136,374

167,623











Total liabilities and equity 3,228,603

3,730,614

550,293



























































Concord Medical Services Holdings Co., Ltd. Consolidated Profit & Loss (in thousands, except for number of ADS and per ADS data)

June 30, 2016

June 30, 2017

RMB

RMB

US$

(Unaudited)

(Unaudited)

(Unaudited) Revenues,net of business tax,value-added tax and related surcharges:









Network 246,653

196,350

28,963 Hospital 7,982

9,893

1,459 Total net revenues 254,635

206,243

30,422











Cost of revenues:









Network (137,859)

(109,512)

(16,154) Hospital (15,217)

(25,458)

(3,755) Total cost of revenues (153,076)

(134,970)

(19,909)











Gross profit 101,559

71,273

10,513











Operating expenses:









Selling expenses (41,412)

(30,513)

(4,501) General and administrative expenses (75,472)

(115,802)

(17,081) Impairment of long-lived assets -

(28)

(4)











Operating loss (15,325)

(75,070)

(11,073) Interest expense (41,821)

(37,809)

(5,577) Foreign exchange income 417

9,636

1,421 Gain from disposal of property, plant and equipment 38

973

144 Interest income 13,761

6,728

992 Changes in fair value of derivatives 2,776

-

- Equity pick up of equity investee 3,560

3,967

585 Other income 690

3,002

443











Loss before income tax (35,904)

(88,573)

(13,065) Income tax expenses (15,433)

(15,847)

(2,338) Net loss (51,337)

(104,420)

(15,403)











Net loss attributable to non-controlling interests (975)

(2,641)

(390)











Net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders (50,362)

(101,779)

(15,013)











Earnings per ADS









Basic (1.15)

(2.34)

(0.34) Diluted (1.15)

(2.34)

(0.34)











Weighted average number of ADS outstanding:









Basic 43,726,902

43,543,956

43,543,956 Diluted 43,726,902

43,543,956

43,543,956











Other comprehensive (loss) income, net of tax









Foreign currency translation (4,821)

3,041

449 Total other comprehensive (loss) income, net of tax (4,821)

3,041

449 Comprehensive loss (56,158)

(101,379)

(14,954) Comprehensive income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests 590

(931)

(137) Comprehensive loss attributable to Concord Medical Services Holdings Limited's shareholders (56,748)

(100,448)

(14,817)

Reconciliations of non-GAAP results of operations measures to the nearest comparable GAAP measures (*) (in RMB thousands, except per ADS data unaudited)

















For the six months ended

June 30, 2016

For the six months ended

June 30, 2017

GAAP

Measure Adjustment Non-GAAP

Measure

GAAP

Measure Adjustment Non-GAAP

Measure Operating loss (15,325) 1,342 (13,983)

(75,070) 4,272 (70,798) Net loss (51,337) 1,342 (49,995)

(104,420) 4,272 (100,148) Basic loss per ADS (1.15) 0.03 (1.12)

(2.34) 0.10 (2.24) Diluted loss per ADS (1.15) 0.03 (1.12)

(2.34) 0.10 (2.24)















(*) The only adjustment is share-based compensation.











Reconciliation from net income to adjusted EBITDA(*) (in RMB thousands, unaudited)















For the six months ended For the six months ended

June 30, 2016 June 30, 2017 Net loss (51,337) (104,420) Interest expenses, net 28,060 31,081 Income tax expenses 15,433 15,847 Depreciation and amortization 76,234 62,901 Share-based compensation 4,118 4,272 Other adjustments (3,922) (13,611) Adjusted EBITDA 68,586 (3,930) EBITDA margin 28% -2% (*) Definition of adjusted EBITDA: Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net income plus interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, share-based compensation expenses and other adjustments. Other adjustments include foreign exchange gain, gain from disposal of property, plant and equipment, changes in fair value of derivatives and other.

SOURCE Concord Medical
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Aug. 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Debbie's Dream Foundation: Curing Stomach Cancer (DDF) presented its 2017 Volunteer of the Year award to South New Jersey chapter founder and leader Melani Vincelli. The award recognizes an outstanding individual for achievements in advocacy, volunteerism, chapter development, patient support and other activities in support of the mission of DDF.

DDF President and Founder Debbie Zelman, 2017 DDF Volunteer of the Year Award Recipient and New Jersey Chapter Leader Melani Vincelli, DDF North Carolina Chapter Leaders Christy and Tony Leonard 2017 DDF Volunteer of the Year Award Recipient and New Jersey Chapter Leader Melani Vincelli and DDF President and Founder Debbie Zelman

Vincelli is an eight-year stage IV stomach cancer survivor. In December 2009, following a series of operations and treatments, she was pronounced cancer free and has remained so since then. A New Jersey native, she became involved with DDF after meeting President and Founder, Debbie Zelman, in 2011 on the set of the Dr. Oz Show. Vincelli volunteers with DDF in many capacities: as a mentor to stomach cancer patients; an advocate for increased research funding; and a participant and speaker at DDF educational events. She also serves as a voice in her local community and nationally to raise awareness about stomach cancer and DDF and is working on a fundraising event in New Jersey.

"Melani has been a really strong advocate for gastric cancer," said Zelman, who is also a stage IV stomach cancer survivor for more than 9 years. "From the beginning, Melani has been a wonderful mentor in our Patient Resource Education Program, she's been on two Symposium patient panels, served as a representative on two patient advisory boards, and was a guest speaker at a pharmaceutical company. We truly appreciate her passion and dedication toward helping us achieve our mission and goals as a DDF Chapter Leader. I am honored to have presented her with this award."

The award was presented during the 2017 DDF Capitol Hill Stomach Cancer Advocacy Day on February 26, 2017.

For more information about Debbie's Dream Foundation, visit www.DebbiesDream.org.

About Debbie's Dream Foundation: Curing Stomach Cancer

Debbie's Dream Foundation: Curing Stomach Cancer (DDF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness about gastric cancer, advancing funding for research, and providing education and support internationally to patients, families, and caregivers. Debbie's Dream Foundation seeks as its ultimate goal to make the cure for stomach cancer a reality.

DDF was founded in 2009 by Debbie Zelman after she was diagnosed with stage IV incurable stomach cancer in 2008 and given only weeks to live. DDF now has a Scientific and Medical Advisory Board of world renowned doctors and chapters throughout the United States and in Canada and Germany. Considered a "Super Survivor," Debbie is still receiving chemotherapy 9 1/2 years later and is thrilled to be able to watch her three children grow up. To learn more about DDF, please visit us at www.DebbiesDream.org.

Media Contact:

Brittnay Starks

Communications Coordinator

Debbie's Dream Foundation: Curing Stomach Cancer

(954) 475-1200

[email protected]

www.DebbiesDream.org

SOURCE Debbie's Dream Foundation: Curing Stomach Cancer

Related Links

http://www.debbiesdream.org


SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- From August 3rd to August 11th, ECI Awards, the first Chinese international business innovation awards organization, held its first annual ECI Festival North America in Silicon Valley, California. On the first day of the Festival, a conference was hosted by ECI Awards at the Santa Clara Convention Center where speakers from both China and the United States analyzed the latest marketing strategies, investment trends, government policies, and technology partnerships coming out of China and the United States.

The conference has received a warm welcome and strong support from China-US diplomats, government officials, and industry associations. Ro Khanna, US Congressman and Yang Yihang, Economic and Commercial Counselor with Chinese Consulate General in San Francisco both spoke at the event and expressed hope that ECI Awards could help US entrepreneurs better understand the Chinese economy and strengthen the cooperation and exchange between Chinese and US companies. Franklin Urteaga, Co-founder & CEO of OIGETIT and Former White House Technology Advisor who launched the First White House "Net Day" to promote the Internet, gave the speech One Belt One Road in the Age of Artificial Intelligence to talk about the opportunities in China's B&R Initiative. Lisa M. Glimor, Mayor of City of Santa Clara, Marilyn Librers, President of China Silicon Valley and Li Xisha, Chairman of China Advertising Association of Commerce all expressed their confidence in the potential for a China-US cooperation in innovation.

The proper funding and marketing is crucial to any growing company. Tony Perkins, Creator and former Editor-in-chief of the Red Herring magazine and Founder and Editor of Alchemist shared the latest business trends in the Silicon Valley in his speech "Why it's important to gain influence and build a powerful network in the Silicon Valley". Ben Jones, Creative Director of Unskippable Labs at Google talked about how to use their program to achieve marketing success. Binxuan Chen, Head of Product Marketing Communications, China at Facebook told the audience connecting with people where they spend time could translate into measurable results for business. Rocky Chan, Partner and CFO of Mind Fund Group analyzed current trends to come up with 8 Step-ups for Startups. Other speakers also shared their deep insight into their respective fields.

With representatives from many of the largest tech companies in attendance, ECI Awards also hosted a forum at the conference on the latest technological breakthroughs in renewable energy. Hanergy, the world's leader in thin-film solar technology, demonstrated their latest solar panel roofing and held round table discussions on the future of renewable energy.

2017 ECI China-US Business Innovation Leaders Awards Ceremony also took place on the night of August 3rd to recognize and honor outstanding organizations and individuals in China-US business innovation.

Since 2014, ECI Awards has celebrated business innovation in the digital space in six areas (product, service, technology, business model, marketing, and management). By promoting, recognizing, researching and sharing the successful cases, ECI Awards encourage innovation as well as connect innovative entrepreneurs with potential investors. After ECI Festival North America 2017, it looks to bring about more exchanges in digital business between China and the rest of the world. It's expected that soon enough ECI Awards will launch its program in Australia.

SOURCE ECI
WASHINGTON, Aug. 25, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Statement of law firm Fein & DelValle PLLC:

The law firm of Fein & DelValle PLLC travelled to Enugu, Nigeriathe heart of Igbolandfrom August 19-August 24, 2017. Our visit was to meet with our plaintiffs-clients, to gather facts and to conduct research to advance the Torture Victims Protection Act (TVPA) lawsuit we have filed in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia on behalf of ten (10) anonymous plaintiffs against sixteen (16) individual defendants for extrajudicial killings and torture perpetrated under color of Nigerian law motived by the Igbo ethnicity, Christian faith, and political viewpoints of the victims. The case is styled John Doe, et al v. Tukur Yusuf Buratai, et al, Civil Action No. 1:17-cv-0133.

Plaintiffs are seeking compensatory and punitive damages to secure justice for the Igbo people, to give them hope for the future, and to deter genocide, ethnic cleansing or the extermination of Christians in Nigeria by radical Islamic Hausa-Fulani terrorists in Northern Nigeria. We are convinced that Nigeria is the most dangerous country in the world for Christians. They routinely defile the sanctity of churches by killing children hiding their tiny bodies in pews. In violation of Nigeria's professed secular constitution, Nigeria has joined the Organization of Islamic Countries and twelve northern states have adopted sharia law. The Christian Open Door Report of 2015 found that Boko Haram, the northeast Islamic terrorist organization, had killed 11,000 Christians, destroyed 13,000 churches and 1,500 Christian schools, had created 2.6 million internally displaced persons, and forced 1.3 million Christians to flee.

On July 11, 2017 by the Fulani Youth Consultative Forum (ACYF) issued an odious, chilling and genocidal threat to plunder the properties and evict by force and violence eleven (11) million Igbos peacefully residing in Northern Nigeria if they do not vacate the region by October 1, 2017. The Government of Nigeria and nineteen northern States have tacitly endorsed the ACYF threatened genocide of twice the number who was exterminated by the Nazis in the Holocaust! The federal and state governments in northern Nigeria have refused to arrest even a single ACYF member. But today, the ACYF threat was withdrawnperhaps because frightened by the prospect of TVPA suits against their members. Whether the withdrawal was bogus or genuine remains to be seen.

In our Buratai suit, the District Court issued an order granting the plaintiffs' motion to proceed anonymously because they reasonably feared lethal retaliation against themselves or families if their identities were known.

The actions of the defendants were crimes against humanity that can be prosecuted in any jurisdiction in the world. Indeed, the Convention Against Torture mandates that signatory nations like the United States and Nigeria prosecute the crimes of torture or extrajudicial killings.

Fourteen of the individual defendants are federal officials and two are state governors in the Southeast. One of the two, Governors, Willie Obiano of Anambra State, has already apologized for the brutal killings of plaintiffs that he admits were perpetrated under his aegis. The other defendant Governor is Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State.

The defendants have yet to answer. Several are in default for failure to respond within 21 days of the service of the summons and Complaint. We are optimistic about our chances of victory at trial or earlier. Defendants are represented by a small Nigerian law firm in California thousands of miles from the venue of the litigation in the District of Columbia. They represent they have been contacted by the Government of Nigeria, not by the individual defendants.

We salute the courage of our ten anonymous plaintiffs and their brave supporters throughout Igboland. We are unified in our insistence on obtaining justice for the Igbo people through peaceful and lawful means that disavow the lawless savagery of their persecutors. They should tremble when they reflect that God is just, and that his justice will not sleep forever.

CONTACT: Bruce Fein or Bruce DelValle, 202-465-8727, [email protected]; [email protected]

SOURCE Fein & DelValle PLLC
CLEVELAND, Aug. 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Beacon Roofing Supply announced today that it plans to acquire Allied Building Products, a leading distributor of roofing and other building products, from Ireland-based CRH. The acquisition, which is expected to close early in 2018, will create a company that has nearly 600 distribution facilities across the US and Canada.

According to Freedonia Group analyst Matt Zielenski, the acquisition reflects the ongoing evolution of consolidation in the roofing distribution industry. "In our recent study on US roofing distribution we found that over the past decade medium- and large-sized roofing distributors have frequently purchased smaller firms in order to gain market share. However, as the industry has consolidated it has become increasingly difficult to boost sales in this manner. By acquiring one of its largest competitors, Beacon Roofing Supply is significantly expanding its presence in the market with a single purchase, and will cement its position as the US' second largest roofing distributor with nearly $5 billion in annual roofing sales."

Furthermore, noted Zielenski, the purchase offers Beacon Roofing Supply the ability to increase its roofing sales through organic growth, as more than half of Allied Building Products' locations are in the Northeast and Midwest regions of the US. "Those parts of the US have a substantial number of homes and businesses with roofs that are nearing the end of their lifespans and will require replacement. As reroofing activity generates the large majority of roofing demand in the US, Beacon Roofing Supply will be well-positioned to distribute roofing to a much larger network of contractors."

In addition to expanding its presence in the roofing distribution market, Beacon Roofing Supply's purchase of Allied Building Products will greatly boost its sales of complementary building products, such as wallboard, acoustical ceiling tiles, siding, and windows and doors. While the large majority of Beacon Roofing Supply's sales are related to roofing, only about half of Allied Building Products' sales are derived from roofing.

Roofing distribution is a fairly concentrated market, which can limit growth opportunities for distributors, save for purchasing competitors, noted Zielenski. "However, the distribution market for other building materials is more fragmented." Thus, firms such as Beacon Roofing Supply can see substantial sales increases by offering such related building products as wallboard and ceilings. "For instance, ABC Supply -- one of Beacon Roofing Supply's main competitors -- was able to use its acquisition of L&W Supply to position itself not only as a leading supplier of roofing, but also as a major distributor of gypsum wallboard and ceiling products. Thus, Beacon Roofing Supply's purchase of Allied Building Products will enable it to reach not only those contractors who specialize in roofing installation, but perform a wide range of construction services."

More information about the Roofing Distribution Market in the US study is here: https://www.freedoniagroup.com/industry-study/roofing-distribution-market-in-the-us-by-sales-channel-market-and-product-3497.htm

For more information on the outlook of both the roofing and the overall construction industry in the US, check out the Construction and Building Products page featuring the following industry studies by The Freedonia Group:

Low-Slope Roofing in the US (July 2017)

Siding Distribution Market in the US (July 2017)

Asphalt Shingles in the US (May 2017)

Ceilings Market in the US (April 2017)

Roofing Distribution Market in the US (March 2017)

Roofing Underlay Market in the US (November 2016)

About The Freedonia Group  The Freedonia Group, a division of MarketResearch.com, is a leading international industrial research company publishing more than 100 studies annually. Since 1985 we have provided research to customers ranging in size from global conglomerates to one-person consulting firms. More than 90% of the industrial companies in the Fortune 500 use Freedonia Group research to help with their strategic planning. Each study includes product and market analyses and forecasts, in-depth discussions of important industry trends, and market share information. Chemical studies can be purchased at www.freedoniagroup.com and are also available on www.marketresearch.com and www.profound.com.

Press Contact:

Corinne Gangloff

+1 440.684.9600

[email protected]

SOURCE The Freedonia Group

Related Links

http://www.freedoniagroup.com


GCL-SI, a module and integrated system solution provider, is showcasing its PV module products and E-KwBe intelligent energy storage system. At the same time, the company is demonstrating its capability of delivering one-stop energy solutions to the local and international customers at the expo.

The module GCL-P6/72 unveiled at the expo appeals specifically at utility power plant, which is the major driver of demand in the Brazilian market. The module achieves maximum power output of 325 watts. In addition, the module has been tested twice 100% EL inspection to ensure the quality and reliability. Other than this, the module has passed 192hours' 85% humidity and 85C test with less than 3% degradation, making the modules highly PID resistant.

Besides the activities at the expo, GCL-SI will hold its first-ever workshop in Sao Paulo as a follow-up session on August 25th. The workshop will include a more detailed presentation on the company and products, both solar panel technology and storage system. There will also be a discussion of the results of the company's research into Generation Distribution (GD) in the Brazilian market.

Mr. Hu Huiming, the vice president of GCL-SI sales overseas, said, "Intersolar South America 2017 offers us a great opportunity to introduce our brand, reach out to potential local customers, listen to their needs and learn more about their requirements. By making connections at this event, we hope that we'll be able to help solve local problems and bring more green energy to South American countries."

GCL-SI has developed business partnerships with quite a few local and international companies, including Balfar Solar and Fenix Solar in Brazil and Germany-based Eurosolar, by supplying them with GCL-SI's modules. After the expo, GCL system will visit each company to organize workshops and communicate in-depth with their partners. "While we are always on the lookout for new partnership opportunities, we are committed to deepening our relationships with our existing client base," said Mr. Dong Shuguang, the executive president of GCL-SI.

About GCL-SI

GCL System Integration Technology Co., Ltd. (002506 Shenzhen Stock) (GCL-SI), is part of the GOLDEN CONCORD Group (GCL). GCL-SI delivers a one-stop, cutting-edge, integrated energy systems and is committed to becoming the world's leading solar energy company.

SOURCE GCL System
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug. 24, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Tahoe Resources Inc. (TSX: THO, NYSE: TAHO) ("Tahoe" or the "Company") today reported that it has learned through unconfirmed sources that the Guatemalan Constitutional Court issued a decision upholding the lower court's preliminary decision to provisionally suspend the mining license of Tahoe's Guatemalan subsidiary, Minera San Rafael ("MSR"). This decision responds to an appeal filed by Minera San Rafael in an action brought by the anti-mining organization, CALAS, against Guatemala's Ministry of Energy and Mines ("MEM") in May. CALAS alleged that MEM violated the Xinca Indigenous people's right to consultation in advance of granting the Escobal mining license to MSR. The Constitutional Court decision upholds the lower court's preliminary decision to temporarily suspend the license to operate the Escobal mine until the definitive constitutional claim is heard on the merits, which hearing is scheduled for August 28th. The Court is expected to issue a ruling within the next several months following the August 28th hearing. The Company understands that MEM complied with ILO Convention 169 before it issued the Escobal license.

Top government officials have expressed dismay at the significant economic, human and environmental impacts resulting from the decision to suspend the Escobal license. The leading private sector industrial chamber has taken independent legal action to challenge the suspension that has damaged many thousands of workers and their families.

The municipal road to the Escobal mine continues to be blocked by protestors. The Company continues to work diligently with the government, community leaders and others to resolve the situation peacefully and expeditiously, however, the road blockage shows no signs of immediate resolution.

As a result of the suspended operations at Escobal, the Company will continue to reevaluate its previous multi-year guidance. The financial impacts to the Company are currently under review to assess effects of the suspended operations to longer term capital and exploration programs. Until operations are resumed, the Company will not be able to access the full capacity of the revolving credit facility entered on July 18, 2017, and may continue to be subject to events of default.

The Company's balance sheet remains strong, with a quarter-end cash balance of over $190 million, and the Company continues to look forward to pursuing its growth goals in the gold businesses once operations recommence.

About Tahoe Resources Inc.

Tahoe's strategy is to responsibly operate mines to world standards and to develop high quality precious metals assets in the Americas. Tahoe is a member of the S&P/TSX Composite and TSX Global Mining indices and the Russell 3000 on the NYSE. The Company is listed on the TSX as THO and on the NYSE as TAHO.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, Section 21E of the United States Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, or in releases made by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, all as may be amended from time to time, and "forward-looking information" under the provisions of applicable Canadian securities legislation, concerning the business, operations and financial performance and condition of the Company. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the decision of the Constitutional Court which has the effect of continuing the suspension of the Company's mining license in respect of the Escobal mine, the time for appeals to be heard and decided and the likelihood of the provisional decision of the Supreme Court of Guatemala being reconsidered and reversed by the Supreme Court of Guatemala or overturned by the Constitutional Court in Guatemala; the timing and likelihood of the road blockage being peacefully cleared and resolved; the future price of silver, gold, lead and zinc; the timing and amount of estimated future production, costs of production, capital expenditures, free cash flow, currency exchange rate fluctuations; requirements for additional capital; government regulation of mining operations; environmental risks; unanticipated reclamation expenses; timing and possible outcome of pending litigation, title disputes or claims; and limitations on insurance coverage. Generally, these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" , "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" , "believes", or variations or comparable language of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "should", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved" or the negative connotation thereof.

Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of factors and assumptions that, if untrue, could cause the actual results, performances or achievements of the Company to be materially different from future results, performances or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. Such statements and information are based on numerous assumptions regarding present and future business strategies and the environment in which Tahoe will operate in the future, including the price of silver, gold, lead and zinc, anticipated costs and ability to achieve goals. In respect of the forward-looking statements concerning a decision from the Supreme Court of Guatemala on the definitive claim, the factors to be considered by the Supreme Court in the definitive decision and by the Constitutional Court on appeal, the timing and the likelihood of success that the definitive decision will be issued, the timing and likelihood of the road blockage being peacefully cleared and resolved, the potential impacts of the court decision and road blockage, and the time and expense of the decision, challenges to such decision and efforts to peacefully clear and resolve the road blockage, on the Company's operations, financial condition and liquidity, Tahoe has provided them in reliance on certain assumptions that they believe are reasonable at this time. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list is not exhaustive. Tahoe's actual results, programs and financial position could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of numerous factors, risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's control. These include, but are not necessarily limited to workings of the Guatemalan legal system, social unrest and political or economic instability in Guatemala and the Company's ability to efficiently resume operations once the suspension of the mining license is lifted and roadblock is cleared, and relationships with our partners, including employees, vendors and community populations.

Certain important factors that could cause actual results, performances or achievements to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include, among others, silver, gold, lead and zinc price volatility, discrepancies between actual and estimated production, mineral reserves and mineral resources and metallurgical recoveries, mining operational and development risks, litigation risks, regulatory restrictions (including environmental regulatory restrictions and liability), changes in national and local government legislation, taxation, controls or regulations and/or change in the administration of laws, policies and practices, expropriation or nationalization of property and political or economic developments in Guatemala, Peru, and Canada, and other jurisdictions in which the Company does or may carry on business in the future, delays, suspension and technical challenges associated with capital projects, higher prices for fuel, steel, power, labor and other consumables, currency fluctuations, the speculative nature of gold exploration, the global economic climate, dilution, share price volatility, competition, loss of key employees, additional funding requirements and defective title to mineral claims or property. Although Tahoe believes its expectations are based upon reasonable assumptions and has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended.

Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks, uncertainties and other factors include but are not limited to; the fluctuation of the price of silver and gold; opposition to development and mining operations by one or more groups of indigenous people; actions that impede or prevent the operations of the Company's mines; the inability to develop and operate the Company's mines; social unrest and political or economic instability and uncertainties in the jurisdictions in which the Company operates; the timing and ability to maintain and, where necessary, obtain necessary permits and licenses; changes in national and local government legislation, taxation and controls or regulations; environmental and other governmental regulation compliance; the uncertainty in the estimation of mineral resources and mineral reserves; fluctuations in currency exchange rates; infrastructure risks, including access to roads, water and power; and the timing and possible outcome of pending or threatened litigation and the risk of unexpected litigation.

For a more detailed discussion of these and other risks relevant to the Company, see the Company's Management's Discussion and Analysis for the second quarter of 2017 filed on SEDAR and with the SEC on August 8, 2017 and our other public filings available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com, on EDGAR at www.sec.gov or on the Company's website at www.tahoeresources.com.

Although Tahoe has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and, accordingly, are subject to change after such date. Except as otherwise indicated by Tahoe, these statements do not reflect the potential impact of any non-recurring or other special items or of any disposition, monetization, merger, acquisition, other business combination or other transaction that may be announced or that may occur after the date hereof. Forward-looking statements are provided for the purpose of providing information about management's current expectations and plans and allowing investors and others to get a better understanding of Tahoe's operating environment. Tahoe does not intend or undertake to publicly update any forward-looking statements that are included in this document, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

For further information, please contact:

Tahoe Resources Inc.

[email protected]

Tel: 775-448-5800

SOURCE Tahoe Resources Inc.

Related Links

http://www.tahoeresourcesinc.com


STOCKHOLM, Aug 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Haldex has today submitted its response to Knorr-Bremse's application where they request the Swedish Securities Council to extend the offer period to February 9, 2018. Haldex Board of Directors rejects a further grant of an extension.

At the extraordinary general meeting in Haldex, Knorr-Bremse's proposal, stating that the Board should support an extension of the acceptance period, gained most votes. The Board has made the assessment that such an instruction cannot be implemented as it contravenes the Companies Act. As a further support for its assessment, an opinion has been received from Erik Nerep, Professor of Swedish and International Trade Law at Stockholm School of Economics. A summary of his conclusion reads:

"The board of directors owes a duty of loyalty and a duty to obey towards Haldex AB per se, but not in relation to individual shareholders or groups of shareholders, unless consensual authority is at hand. In the present matter the Instruction from the general meeting is not based on consensual authority. The board of directors may consequently not comply with the Instruction without at the same time breaching the facultative and compulsory provisions of the Companies Act. This means that the board of directors of Haldex AB must disregard the Instruction. The board of directors should consequently act as previously in order to protect the company and its owners. Accordingly, the board of directors remains as a guarantor that the company and its owners are protected from actions which may harm the company in connection with the ongoing takeover bid.

Another conclusion from what has been stated is that the resolution on the Instruction by the general meeting could become the subject of challenge proceedings pursuant to the Companies Act, Chapter 7, Sections 50-51. The basis for the proceedings is that the Instruction, as in certain respects being categorical and consequently without exception, contains a requirement for the board of directors of Haldex AB to in the situation at hand act in breach of primarily the principle of equal treatment set out in the Companies Act, Chapter 8, Section 41, 1st paragraph. In my opinion, such a challenge of the resolution in question should be deemed successful, and therefore the legal consequence should be assumed to be that the resolution is null."

In short, it says that if not all shareholders agree on a decision, and that decision harms the company and benefits only a group of shareholders, it cannot be executed. Erik Nerep is also making the assessment that the decision may be subject to challenge and set aside.

Jorgen Durban, Chairman of the Board comments: "Our assessment is still that EU will say no to the acquisition which makes this a necessary, but nevertheless a controversial decision. It's now two months since the Commission communicated its serious doubts but despite that, Knorr-Bremse has not been able to present a concrete proposal on how this acquisition could get clearance from the authorities. As ultimately responsible for Haldex and our business we do not see that we as a Board can act in any other way without violating the Companies Act."

Erik Nerep's full statement is available in Swedish at http://corporate.haldex.com/en/investors/public-offer

For further information,

visit http://corporate.haldex.com or contact:



Jorgen Durban, Chairman of the board

Phone: +46-418-476163



Ake Bengtsson, Acting CEO

Phone: +46-418-476150



Catharina Paulcen, SVP Corporate Communications

Phone: 46-418-476157

E-mail: [email protected]

The information was submitted for publication by the Haldex media contact stated in the release on August 25, 2017 at 8.45 CEST.

This document is essentially a translation of Swedish language original thereof. In the event of any discrepancies between this translation and the original Swedish document the latter shall be deemed correct.

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

http://news.cision.com/haldex/r/haldex-rejects-the-approval-of-a-further-extension-by-the-swedish-securities-council,c2333419

The following files are available for download:

http://mb.cision.com/Main/1432/2333419/713866.pdf Press release as pdf

SOURCE Haldex

Related Links

http://corporate.haldex.com


Innova is a UK-based innovative publishing company, co-founded by FLTRP (UK), a wholly-owned subsidiary of FLTRP, Hujiang, and Elite Concept Holding Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of New Oriental. It aims to help students around the world to better prepare for study or work in English or Chinese, and to provide matching training and support for global educators. It also commits itself to publishing quality innovative products about China and Chinese culture for English-speaking readers, leveraging the resources of the three shareholders.

According to the 2017 China Digital Publishing Industry Annual Report, the annual revenue of China's digital publishing industry last year was over 570 billion CNY (nearly 86 billion USD). With a market size of over 100 billion CNY, the digital education publishing is accelerating at a rapid pace and is increasingly playing a critical role in the digital publishing industry. Apparently, the growing need for online education and digital education publishing stems from the pursuit of high-quality teaching content among domestic users.

Hujiang provides multilingual courses used in almost 200 countries and regions. It has the most comprehensive e-learning matrix in the industry and has established a complete ed-tech ecosystem, raging from the huge web traffic attracted by free e-learning materials and tools, to high conversion rate brought by quality resources on HJCLASS (Hujiang Online Class), a massive online course platform, and CCtalk, an interactive online teaching platform.

In recent years, tens of thousands of teachers as well as institutions and publishers have benefited from the Hujiang platform, including Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, McGraw-Hill Education and Harper Collins Publishers.

"FLTRP, as the largest and leading foreign languages publisher in China, has abundant overseas copyrights resources and partners. New Oriental is a pioneer in the training industry, and has furthered the development of language training and education in China. Hujiang enjoys a fully-developed ecosystem, and possesses the learning behavior patterns and data of 150 million learners around the world. The three parties complement each other. I hope Innova can bring in quality overseas copyrights, and facilitate the export of Chinese copyrights and educational products," said Arnold Fu, founder and CEO of Hujiang EdTech,

Founder of New Oriental Michael Yu added, "New Oriental has been dedicating in English teaching for the last two decades. But it came to us that, to come up with world-class English learning materials, we should not only look to domestic teaching resources. Based in London, it is easier to create good publications. Also, this cooperation has a far-reaching effect as three corporations will work in a complementary way. FLTRP will bring the publications to a higher level and Hujiang could provide excellent online communication channels."

At the ceremony, FLTRP designated the British core management team for the operation of Innova. He Haoyu, Vice President of FLTRP and Chairman of the Board of Innova, issued a letter of Appointment for President of Innova to Richard Peacock, a British professional manager. In his inaugural speech, Mr. Peacock detailed the mission of the new company, and demonstrated his confidence in making it an innovative publisher in the UK targeting global users.

In his remarks, Cai Jianfeng, President of FLTRP, acknowledged the alliance with New Oriental and Hujiang as mutually complementary and strategically coordinated. He hopes that Innova can provide global learners with quality English and Chinese publications, and promote Chinese culture overseas. "We will work hard to make the joint venture a model in Sino-British cultural and creative industries, as a part of our effort to enhance the international influence and appeal of Chinese culture."

Those also present included Richard Burn (Minister of the British Embassy in Beijing and Director of the Department of International Trade in China), Peng Long (President of Beijing Foreign Studies University), Wang Hua (Deputy Inspector of the Department of Import Administration of the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television), and Li Pengyi (Vice President of Publishers Association of China).

About Hujiang EdTech

Founded in 2001, Hujiang EdTech started as an online BBS community offering online courses, and now it becomes one of China's leading online education companies. Hujiang EdTech strives to make high-quality education more accessible and enjoyable through mobile learning applications, online courses, and its interactive online teaching platform. Serving over 150 million users (including 120 million mobile users) in China, Hujiang EdTech offers a wide range of online educational programs, including international & domestic examination preparation, foreign language learning, professional skills training, and more.

About New Oriental

New Oriental, as a world leading education group, became listed at the New York Stock Exchange in 2006. In 23 years since its founding, New Oriental has established 77 schools and 855 studying centers in China, and has offered over 30 million person-times on-site teaching.

About FLTRP

FLTRP is China's largest foreign languages publisher and a leader in educational publishing. Its publications range from general readings, Chinese, to natural sciences, children's books and others. With more than 500 global partners, it publishes in nearly 50 languages an array of materials, over half of which are results of international cooperation.

SOURCE Hujiang EdTech
NEW YORK, Aug. 25, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Hurricane Harvey is barreling toward the central coast of Texas, and could make landfall as a major hurricane (Category 3 or higher)the first in a dozen years. Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.) subject matter experts will be available this weekend to assist reporters with questions on insurance coverage, the insurance industry's disaster response and steps consumers can take following the storm.

"Harvey is the third Atlantic hurricane to form since August 9," said Dr. Phillip J. Klotzbach, meteorologist in the Department of Atmospheric Science at Colorado State University (CSU) and a nonresident scholar with the I.I.I. "In only two other years since 1900 have three hurricanes formed between August 9 and August 24: 1969 and 1995," he noted.

"The insurance industry is on the ground, ready to help citizens rebuild in the wake of any damage arising from Hurricane Harvey," said I.I.I. CEO Sean Kevelighan. "We urge anyone in the path of the storm to listen to local authorities, while also doing what is needed to prepare, such as reinforcing windows with shutters and taking a home inventory, if time permits. If you have to evacuate, bring your financial documents, including your insurance policy, so you can start the claims process once the storm has passed," said Kevelighan. "Keep in mind, the more prepared you are, the greater the potential to be more resilient and withstand damage."

Texas Landfalling Major Hurricanes (Cat. 3 Or Greater) 1851-2016*

Year Month Day Name Landfall

Wind (Kts) Landfall

Pressure (mb) Saffir-Simpson

Category 1875 9 16 First Indianola 100 955 3 1886 8 20 Indianola 130 925 4 1900 9 9 Galveston 120 936 4 1909 7 21 Velasco 100 959 3 1915 8 17 Galveston 115 940 4 1916 8 18 1916 Texas Hurricane 115 932 4 1919 9 14 Florida Keys 100 950 3 1932 8 14 Freeport 130 935 4 1933 9 5 Cuba-Brownsville 110 940 3 1941 9 23 1941 Texas Hurricane 110 942 3 1942 8 30 Matagorda 100 950 3 1945 8 27 1945 Texas Hurricane 100 963 3 1961 9 11 Carla 125 931 4 1967 9 20 Beulah 110 950 3 1970 8 3 Celia 110 945 3 1980 8 10 Allen 100 945 3 1983 8 18 Alicia 100 962 3 1999 8 23 Bret 100 951 3

*The chart does not include Hurricane Ike in 2008, which was a Category 2 storm, nor Tropical Storm Allison in 2001, which caused extreme flooding.

Source: Dr. Phillip Klotzbach, Colorado State University.

Wind damage from tropical storms and hurricanes is covered under standard homeowners, renters and business insurance policies. Flood damage is excluded under standard home and business policies. Separate flood coverage can be purchased from FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and some private insurers.

Damage to cars from tropical storms and hurricanes is covered under the optional comprehensive coverage available with a standard auto insurance policy. Nearly four out of five drivers choose to purchase comprehensive coverage. Comprehensive coverage for automobiles includes wind damage, flooding and damage from falling objects, such as tree limbs.

As Hurricane Harvey prepares to make landfall, the number one priority is public safety. Heeding evacuation orders is imperative. The I.I.I. recommends that Texans recall the lessons from Hurricane Ike in 2008. Not only can high winds be deadly; storm surge is also a serious threat to human life. Residents near coastal areas and inland bodies of water should have a plan for evacuating from flood-prone areasand be ready to put that plan into action.

For more information, visit the following resources:

Facts and Statistics

Key Facts on the Texas Insurance Industry

Flood Insurance

Hurricanes

Hurricane Fact Files And Market Share By State (including Texas)

Consumer and Business Resources

Avoiding Scams After A Disaster

Disaster Planning For Older Adults

Filing an Auto Insurance Claim

How Do I File A Homeowners Insurance Claim?

Preparing An Evacuation Plan

Trees And Insurance

Background Papers

Catastrophes: Insurance Issues

FEMA Report on Impact of Hurricane Ike

Flood Insurance

Hurricane And Windstorm Deductibles

Residual Market Property Plans

Videos

Disaster Planning With Pets

Filing A Homeowners Claim

Learning About Hurricanes with Dr. Phillip Klotzbach

Additional Resources

Colorado State University

FEMA  Coming Home After a Flood; Debris Removal Guidelines; How To File A Flood Insurance Claim

Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety

Insurance Council of Texas

Texas Windstorm Association

The I.I.I. has a full library of educational videos on its YouTube Channel.

THE I.I.I. IS A NONPROFIT, COMMUNICATIONS ORGANIZATION SUPPORTED BY THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY.

Insurance Information Institute, 110 William Street, New York, NY 10038; (212) 346-5500; www.iii.org

http://www.facebook.com/InsuranceInformationInstitute

http://twitter.com/iiiorg

http://www.linkedin.com/company/insurance-information-institute

http://www.youtube.com/iiivideo

https://plus.google.com/113369356227754162778

SOURCE Insurance Information Institute

Related Links

http://www.iii.org


PASADENA, Calif., Aug. 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- IndicaMD.com has launched to provide patients in California and New York a new source for medical marijuana. The company is an online medical marijuana doctor service that provides patient evaluation for the safe, complementary and alternative use of cannabis. Physicians are licensed in California and New York and can approve patients for their medical marijuana card so they are able to gain access to all medical cannabis dispensaries in their state.

"Indica MD provides our patients the safety and privacy to visit knowledgeable and compassionate medical marijuana doctors online from their smartphone, tablet, or computer," says Dr. Teddy O'Connell, CEO of Indica MD. "Before a patient can access medical marijuana, they must first obtain a valid recommendation or certification from a qualified, state-licensed medical doctor. Indica MD's doctors provide these evaluations and operate in full compliance with the laws of California and New York."

Indica MD lists on their website the number of different medical conditions that qualify for medical marijuana use in California and New York. These include illnesses like inflammatory bowel disease, cancer, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, spinal cord injury, neuropathy, epilepsy, HIV, chronic pain, and more. In California, a recommendation for medical marijuana can also be obtained for arthritis, fibromyalgia, glaucoma, migraine headaches, anxiety, and more. Once a patient is ready, all they need to do is sign up on the IndicaMD.com site and have a 100 percent risk-free evaluation, only paying if approved. Patients are able to video-chat with the doctor, and if approved, instantly receive an email with their California Medical Marijuana Recommendation Letter or New York Medical Marijuana Certification. Information about dispensaries in each state is also provided.

Patient information is a private and secured HIPAA protected medical record. Approved patients also access 24/7 online verification and live customer services Monday through Saturday from 10:00am to 10:00pm PT. To learn more, visit IndicaMD.com.

About Indica MD

Indica MD provides a HIPAA compliant telehealth platform that allows California and NY patients to connect with our doctors online from any smartphone, tablet or computer. For more information, visit IndicaMD.com.

Media Contact

Dr. Teddy O'Connell, CEO of IndicaMD

P: (844) 307-9950

E: [email protected]

SOURCE Indica MD

Related Links

http://IndicaMD.com


WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif., Aug. 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, iPayment Holdings, Inc. and iPayment, Inc. (collectively, the "Company"), and Carl and Jessica Grimstad, announced an agreement whereby the Company will voluntarily dismiss its New York state litigation against the Grimstads without any payment by the Grimstads.

As part of the settlement, the Company has agreed to retain Mr. Grimstad, its founder and former Chief Executive Officer, as special advisor. The Company recognizes that the Grimstads believe that the allegations in the lawsuit were false. The Company regrets any distress that may have been caused to the Grimstads by the public filing of the litigation against them. Both sides believe it is in the best interest of all parties, as well as the interests of the Company's numerous stakeholders and employees, to put this matter behind them.

About iPayment

iPayment is a trusted provider of payment processing solutions in the U.S. With over 18 years of experience and more than 137,000 SMB customers, the company is consistently recognized for its depth of payments experience, breadth of product offerings, and commitment to transparency and SMB support. From new product innovation to customer service satisfaction, iPayment is an organization focused on small business enablement and delivering relevant and impactful services and solutions that help partners and SMB customers grow their individual businesses. For more information on iPayment, please visit http://www.ipaymentinc.com.

SOURCE iPayment

Related Links

https://www.ipaymentinc.com


BATTLE CREEK, Mich., Aug. 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Kellogg's is challenging foodies everywhere to stir up their imaginations  and cereal bowls  by experimenting with unexpected ingredients and flavors. To inspire cereal lovers, Kellogg's is partnering with Taste Talks Food & Drink Festivals to take cereal to a new level through a cereal-inspired throw down.

The Taste Talks Festival competition kicks off in Brooklyn on September 9, showcasing notable reality TV chefs and food artists, including Dale Talde, Angie Mar and Floyd Cardoz.

Each of the chefs will compete to reimagine a bowl of cereal using their favorite Kellogg's products and ingredients with unique taste and textures.

"We are so thrilled to partner with these chefs to reimagine the way we think about a bowl of cereal," said Aleta Chase, Marketing Director. "We can't wait to see what exciting combinations they dream up!"

Beyond Brooklyn, the Taste Talks Food and Drink Festivals will travel the country from Chicago to Los Angeles to Miami, bringing foodies together. To join in on the fun visit Taste Talks.com for information on a festival near you! Can't make it to the events? Visit Kellogg's Pinterest page to try more culinary-inspired combinations at home.

About Kellogg Company

At Kellogg Company (NYSE: K), we strive to make foods people love. This includes our beloved brandsKellogg's, Keebler, Special K, Pringles, Kellogg's Frosted Flakes, Pop-Tarts, Kellogg's Corn Flakes, Rice Krispies, Cheez-It, Eggo, Mini-Wheats and morethat nourish families so they can flourish and thrive. With 2016 sales of $13 billion and more than 1,600 foods, Kellogg is the world's leading cereal company; the second largest producer of crackers and savory snacks; and a leading North American frozen foods company. And we're a company with heart and soul, committing to help create 3 billion Better Days by 2025 through our Breakfasts for Better Days global purpose platform. To learn more, visit www.KelloggCompany.com or www.OpenforBreakfast.com and follow us on Twitter @KelloggCompany, Youtube and on our Social K corporate blog.

SOURCE Kellogg Company

Related Links

http://www.kelloggcompany.com


IDAHO FALLS, Idaho, Aug. 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Kyani, Inc. announced today the availability of the Fleuresse Go Kit. Joining the Fleuresse line of skin care products, the Fleuresse Go Kit was created both as a sales tool for Kyani Business Partners and as a convenient travel-sized skin care regimen for customers  allowing them to Be Timeless on the go.

The Go Kit is available in two configurations. The Go Kit 3 includes the Fleuresse Boosting Cleanser, Fleuresse Serum and Fleuresse Eye Creme. The Go Kit 5 also includes Fleuresse Day Brightening Creme and Fleuresse Night Creme. The kit complies with the volume of liquids allowed by the TSA, making it convenient to take when traveling. Business Partners are also encouraged to use the Go Kit as sales incentives and for sampling with prospective Business Partners.

"The Go Kits are among the most versatile product sets in the Fleuresse Line," said Kyani VP of Skin Care Jodi Soper. "These kits are ideal for personal travel, the perfect 'pamper me' gift and they offer a lower entry price point for a new customer who wants to experience the entire Fleuresse Line. There are countless ways our Independent Business Partners can utilize the Go Kits to showcase the quality of Kyani's products to potential new customers or recruits to build their Kyani business."

The Fleuresse Go Kit is available now at shop.kyani.com or by talking to a Kyani Business Partner.

About Fleuresse

The Fleuresse Skin Care System is based on natural botanicals extracted from the stem cells of a rare Swiss apple. These extracts, combined with some of the same ingredients found in Kyani's incredibly popular nutritional products  including blueberry, Noni, and Vitamin E Tocotrienols  act as nutritional building blocks for the skin's own regenerative process, and leave the user with softer, brighter, more youthful looking skin. Fleuresse products can be purchased at shop.kyani.com.

About Kyani

Kyani, Inc. is a wellness company founded in 2005. With a mission to bring hope through wellness and opportunity to people throughout the world, Kyani products are distributed in over 60 countries worldwide. With the Triangle of Health and Fleuresse product lines, Kyani offers complete nutrition for the body, both inside and out. Learn more about Kyani at www.kyani.com or the official Kyani News site: news.kyani.com.

Media Contact: Jon Rea

Director of Global Communications

+12085299872

SOURCE Kyani, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.kyani.com


ANDERSON, Ind., DALLAS and YVERDON LES BAINS, Switzerland, Aug. 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Leclanche SA (SIX: LECN), one of the world's leading energy storage solution companies, announced today the opening of its North American subsidiary's new research and manufacturing facility located within Purdue University's "Polytechnic Center" in Anderson, Indiana.

The Purdue Polytechnic and Flagship Enterprise Center is an all-encompassing educational complex, from academic and lab spaces to mini-manufacturing operations, which creates hands-on interaction and engagement with high-tech Indiana companies  all under one roof  providing collaboration and exposure to entrepreneurship and innovation.

Globally, Leclanche produces a wide range of energy storage solutions for homes, small offices, industry, electricity grids, as well as solutions for transport such as electric buses and cars, and marine applications. Leclanche North America, headquartered in Dallas, was formed in 2016 to capitalize on fast-growing, renewable energy market opportunities in the United States and Canada. The company currently has three major projects underway in North America including energy storage systems for grid ancillary services in the midwest U.S. and Ontario, Canada, and a recently announced network of electric vehicle fast-charging stations along a portion of the Trans-Canada Highway.

Leclanche North America's new 10,000 square foot facility houses office, research and development, testing and manufacturing floor space along with a customer demonstration area. The company's Dallas headquarters hosts management, sales and marketing personnel.

"We are extremely pleased to be part of this dynamic Enterprise Center at Purdue Polytechnic which brings together the university's incredible resources and engineering traditions," said Thom Reddington, senior vice president, Leclanche North America. "While this facility once saw tremendous advances in automobile engineering, it now becomes the home of future renewable energy storage solutions that will power our homes, businesses and cars in a carbon-free environment. We are honored to be part of this exciting enterprise."

About Leclanche

Leclanche is one of the world's leading, vertically integrated, energy storage solution providers. It delivers a wide range of energy storage solutions for homes, small offices, industry, electricity grids, as well as solutions for transport such as electric buses and marine applications. Established in 1909, Leclanche has been a trusted provider of battery energy storage solutions for over 100 years.

Leclanche is listed on the Swiss stock exchange, and is the only listed, pure-play, energy storage company in the world.

SIX Swiss Exchange: ticker symbol LECN | ISIN CH 011 030 311 9

Disclaimer

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements relating to Leclanche's business, which can be identified by terminology such as "strategic", "proposes", "to introduce", "will", "planned", "expected", "commitment", "expects", "set", "preparing", "plans", "estimates", "aims", "would", "potential", "awaiting", "estimated", "proposal", or similar expressions, or by expressed or implied discussions regarding the ramp up of Leclanche's production capacity, potential applications for existing products, or regarding potential future revenues from any such products, or potential future sales or earnings of Leclanche or any of its business units.

You should not place undue reliance on these statements. Such forward-looking statements reflect the current views of Leclanche regarding future events, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. There can be no guarantee that Leclanche's products will achieve any particular revenue levels. Nor can there be any guarantee that Leclanche, or any of the business units, will achieve any particular financial results.

SOURCE Leclanche

Related Links

http://www.feintuchpr.com


"One year after successfully spinning off Adient as an independent automotive supplier from Johnson Controls, we will now engage in the next phase of developing Recaro Automotive Seating as the world's leading brand of performance car seats with outstanding potentials in the passenger and commercial vehicle businesses," says Ingo Fleischer, vice president Adient Specialty Seating. "In particular I want to thank Markus Kussmaul for his commitment and for his dedicated work on behalf of the company."

Markus Kussmaul worked for the companies Keiper and Recaro for 17 years. After joining the Keiper sales team in 2000, he served in different leadership positions until 2011. When Keiper and Recaro Automotive Seating became part of Johnson Controls in 2011, he led the U.S. business operations of Recaro Automotive Seating until 2014. From 2014 he held leadership positions at Recaro Commercial Vehicle Seating, global sales at Recaro Automotive Seating and later as head of Recaro Performance Car Seating.

Martin C. Klein holds a university degree in Economics and has over 25 years of professional experience in the automotive business, both in the passenger car and commercial vehicle sectors. He has held various leadership positions at Daimler in Germany and the United States with particular expertise in marketing, branding and sales.

About Recaro Automotive Seating:

Recaro Automotive Seating is a product group of Adient. At seven locations in Germany, Poland, Slovakia, Japan, Mexico, and the USA, we design, manufacture, and market complete seats representative of our core competencies of design, ergonomics, craftsmanship, robustness, lightweight construction, and first-class workmanship, under the brand name Recaro. Recaro Automotive Seating consists of two units: While Recaro Performance Car Seating offers passenger car seats for OEMs and the aftermarket, Recaro Commercial Vehicle Seating focuses on commercial vehicle seats in the OEM and aftermarket segments. Recaro Automotive Seating uses the brand Recaro under a license of the Recaro Holding.

About Adient:

Adient is a global leader in automotive seating. With 75,000 employees operating 230 manufacturing/assembly plants in 33 countries worldwide, Adient produces and delivers automotive seating for all vehicle classes and all major OEMs. From complete seating systems to individual components, the company's expertise spans every step of the automotive seat-making process. Adient's integrated, in-house skills allow it to take products from research and design all the way to engineering and manufacturing  and into more than 25 million vehicles every year. To learn more, please visit adient.com.

SOURCE Recaro Automotive Seating

Related Links

http://www.recaro-automotive.com


BLOOMING PRAIRIE, Minn., Aug. 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Rain, rain, go away!

The Minimizer Bandit Big Rig Series tried making its Missouri debut at I-44 Speedway in Lebanon, Missouri, back on August 5th, but it wasn't to be, thanks to a large dose of rain from Mother Nature.

Tyler Kruckeberg (#54) attempts to pass Darren "Moe" Proffitt (#27) at Madison International Speedway, Friday, July 28th, 2017.

Don't fret, Show Me State fans. The Bandits will be back in Lebanon on Saturday, September 2nd.

"It's too bad the rain made us postpone the race, but I think our fans will soon realize that the wait is well worth it," Bandit Director of Operations Brian Madsen said.

Lebanon is the westernmost race on the schedule, opening up the Bandits to a whole new audience.

"We're looking to expand westward in the near future, so this is a great chance for some fans to see the Bandits in person for the first time," team owner and Bandit Craig Kruckeberg said.

Bandits try to steal a $50,000 purse at every event. $10,000 goes to the top finisher in the feature race.

"Our series is headquartered in the Midwest, and I know our fans will be rocking the house in Lebanon, September 2nd," Madsen said.

Ricky Rude and Mike Morgan are one-two in the points standings, respectively, with Tommy Boileau in third.



Boileau has been making a recent charge up the standings, thanks to back-to-back wins at the last two races.

"We call him Pretty Boy Tommy," Madsen said. "He comes from a racing family and he's starting to figure this circle track thing out."

Five races remain in 2017, which has seen many Bandit firsts, including the first time a father/son have competed (Bob & Tommy Boileau) as well as an entire family of Bandits (Craig, Tyler & Trevor Kruckeberg).

Grandstands open at 4 p.m. September 2nd and the racing action starts at 7:30 p.m.

About Bandit Big Rig Series

The Minimizer Bandit Big Rig Series returns big rig tractor truck racing to the short track in the United States. The series was designed to be affordable and accessible for anyone wishing to put together a race team.

For additional information, please contact Elijah Van Sice at (320) 212-0290, or email [email protected].

About Minimizer

Leveraging almost 40 years of manufacturing expertise at its state-of-the-art facility in Blooming Prairie, Minnesota, Minimizer is not only the leader in poly semi truck fenders - we invented the category. Minimizer poly fenders and integrated bracket kits are nearly indestructible and are guaranteed for life.

Our research and development team constantly "tests and tortures" each of our products to make sure what goes on, in or is used to fix the truck meets the rigors of our tough industry.

We also manufacture industry-leading light kits, mud flaps, tool boxes, tire masking kits, work benches and other accessories. Our most recent innovations include the world's ONLY custom molded floor mats for semi trucks, as well as the revolutionary "whole body health" Minimizer Truck Seat System.

Minimizer has been family owned and operated for three generations. The company manufactures its products in the USA and makes everything tough enough to please tough people in a tough industry.

For more information or to contact a Minimizer distributor, call us at (800) 248-3855 or email us at [email protected].

Contact: Craig Kruckeberg

Bandit Big Rig Series

(612) 360-9936

[email protected]

SOURCE Minimizer

Related Links

http://www.minimizer.com


Evacuation orders are in effect throughout parts of the two states. More than 90 people spent Thursday night in 7 Red Cross shelters and nearly 50 additional shelters are ready to open and support thousands of people if needed. People in the path of this storm should stay informed and immediately heed any evacuation orders underway from local officials.

"This is a dangerous storm and the next few days are going to challenge everyone along the Gulf Coast. This is the time for folks to come together to support one another," said Brad Kieserman, vice president of Disaster Services Operations and Logistics for the Red Cross. "We are launching our largest hurricane relief effort in years, and with the help of our partners, we are ready to shelter thousands of people."

The Red Cross is mobilizing hundreds of trained Red Cross disaster relief workers, truckloads of kitchen supplies, and tens of thousands of ready-to-eat meals to support this response effort. Trailers full of shelter supplies including cots and blanketsenough to support more than 20,000 peopleare arriving in Texas today. More than 40 Red Cross emergency response vehicles are activated with more on alert. The Red Cross is also working in close collaboration with government officials and community partners in both Texas and Louisiana to coordinate potential response efforts.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

The Red Cross depends on financial donations to be able to provide disaster relief immediately. Help people affected by Hurricane Harvey by visiting redcross.org, calling 1- 800-RED CROSS or texting the word HARVEY to 90999 to make a $10 donation. Donations enable the Red Cross to prepare for, respond to and help people recover from this disaster.

HURRICANE SAFETY STEPS

People can find a shelter by visiting redcross.org or by downloading the free Red Cross Emergency App. The Emergency App also puts real time information about the storm and hurricane safety tips at your fingertips. The app is available in app stores by searching for the American Red Cross or going to redcross.org/apps. People should also follow these safety steps:

Continue listening to local area radio, NOAA radio or TV stations for the latest information and updates.

If your neighborhood is prone to flooding, be prepared to evacuate quickly if necessary.

Follow evacuation orders and do not attempt to return until officials say it is safe to do so.

Head for higher ground and stay there.

Stay away from floodwaters. If you come upon a flowing stream where water is above your ankles, stop, turn around and go another way.

Turn around, don't drown. If driving, turn around and go another way. If you are caught on a flooded road and waters are rising rapidly around you, get out of the car quickly and move to higher ground. Most cars can be swept away by less than two feet of moving water.

Keep children out of the water.

Be especially cautious at night when it's harder to see flood danger.

During the storm:

Stay indoors.

Don't walk on beaches, riverbanks or in flood waters.

Use flashlights in the dark if the power goes out. Do NOT use candles.

Turn off the power and water mains if instructed to do so by local authorities.

Don't forget your pets. Bring them indoors and maintain direct control of them. Prepare an emergency kit for your pets, including sturdy leashes or pet carriers, food and water, bowls, cat litter and pan, and photos of you with your pet in case they get lost.

CORPORATIONS HELP The generous donations from members of the Red Cross Annual Disaster Giving Program (ADGP) and the Disaster Responder Program enable the American Red Cross to prepare communities for disasters big and small, respond whenever and wherever disasters occur and help families during the recovery process.

ADGP $1 Million members are: American Airlines; Anheuser-Busch Foundation; Anthem Foundation; Bank of America; Caterpillar Foundation; The Clorox Company; Costco Wholesale; Delta Air Lines; Disney; Enterprise Rent-A-Car Foundation; FedEx; General Motors Foundation; Grainger; The Home Depot Foundation; LDS Charities; Lowe's Companies, Inc.; Mazda North American Operations; Microsoft Corp.; Nationwide Foundation; State Farm; Target; UPS; VSP Global; Walmart and the Walmart Foundation; and The Wawa Foundation.

ADGP $500,000 members are: Altria Group; American Express; Aon; Boise Paper; Capital One; Cisco Foundation; Citi Foundation; Darden Restaurants, Inc. Foundation; Discover; Edison International; Farmers Insurance; Ford Motor Company; Humble Bundle; John Deere Foundation; Johnson Controls; McDonald's Corporation; Medtronic Foundation; Meijer; Merck Foundation; Mondelez International Foundation; PepsiCo Foundation; Procter & Gamble Company; Reynolds American Foundation; Ryder; Southwest Airlines; Sunoco; TD Ameritrade; The TJX Companies, Inc.; United Airlines; and Wells Fargo.

Disaster Responder Program members are: Adobe; Alcoa; Alliance Data; Astellas USA Foundation; AT&T; AvalonBay Communities, Inc.; AXA; The Ball Foundation; BNY Mellon; CarMax; Cox Automotive; Duke Energy; Entergy Corporation; Harbor Freight Tools Foundation; Hewlett Packard Enterprise Foundation; HP Foundation; IBM Corporation; IHG Foundation; Ingersoll Rand Foundation; The J.M. Smucker Company; Land O'Lakes, Inc.; Mastercard; Morgan Stanley; Neiman Marcus Group; New Balance Foundation; Northrop Grumman Corporation; Northwestern Mutual and the Northwestern Mutual Foundation; Prudential Foundation; SC Johnson; SERVPRO; Southeastern Grocers Home of BI-LO Harveys Winn Dixie; Standard Textile; Toyota; U-Haul International; United Technologies Corporation; The USAA Foundation; U.S. Bank; and Visa.

About the American Red Cross:

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nation's blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or cruzrojaamericana.org, or visit us on Twitter at @RedCross.

SOURCE American Red Cross

Related Links

http://www.redcross.org


CHICAGO, Aug. 24, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Landmark juvenile justice reform legislation signed Thursday by Gov. Bruce Rauner will clear roadblocks to success for tens of thousands of Illinoisans whose youthful mistakes have restricted access to education, jobs, and housing.

House Bill 3817 strengthens confidentiality protections against the sharing of juvenile records and expands the number of juvenile records eligible for automatic expungement. The new system of erasing past mistakes and protecting public safety is similar to an American Bar Association model statute and implements most of the recommendations of the Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission's 2016 report "Burdened for Life: The Myth of Juvenile Record Confidentiality and Expungement in Illinois."

"As one of the first juvenile justice systems in America, the Illinois system was built on the principle that mistakes made by children should not brand them for life," said Paula Wolff, Director of the Illinois Justice Project. "However, confidentiality protections eroded over time, and a complicated and expensive expungement system has made record clearing uncommon, rather than the norm."

"Loose confidentiality laws and arrest records that follow kids for life make it extremely difficult for youth to overcome their mistakes  can cause families to become homeless, can stall or end a youth's education and can make every road to a job a dead end," said Julie L. Biehl, Director of the Children and Family Justice Center at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law. "This broken system has made our neighborhoods less safe, but this new, balanced law will eliminate some of the burdens for young people attempting to leave their past behind them and lead productive lives."

The Illinois Justice Project commended the HB 3817 sponsors, Rep. Elaine Nekritz, D-Northbrook, and Sen. Michael E. Hastings, D-Tinley Park, as well as Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, who championed these reforms and was a strong advocate of the reforms.

A fact sheet explaining HB 3817 is available on our website (www.ILJP.org)

Working at the state and local levels, the Illinois Justice Project (ILJP) uses research findings to advance proven criminal justice reforms of policies and practices that make communities safer and make the justice system more equitable. Established in 2014 as a legacy project of Metropolis Strategies, the non-profit ILJP is a supporting organization of the Chicago Community Trust and an affiliate of The Commercial Club of Chicago. http://www.ILJP.org

SOURCE Illinois Justice Project

Related Links

http://www.iljp.org


"I am very excited to accept this award on behalf of my team," said Mariah Olivera, President of Soledad. "We aim to be the best and we are committed to spreading renewable energy as far as possible. We will continue to work hard to keep the Cup in our office this year and beyond, delivering outstanding service to both the customer and the client."

The highly trained sales and marketing force at Soledad takes pride in representing cost savings and renewable energy alternatives to traditional energy sources with a focus on sustainability, opportunity, and leadership. In response to client demand, Soledad is continuing to grow and expand. In addition to sales success, the firm believes in investing in its employees and providing limitless career paths to entrepreneurially minded individuals with outstanding work ethics and the drive to succeed.

Like Soledad on Facebook.

About Soledad

Soledad is a privately owned marketing and consulting firm based in New York that works with energy and sustainability-focused clients to acquire and retain long-term customers. Focused on providing sales solutions for premier companies across the nation, Soledad increases brand awareness, market share, and customer loyalty on behalf of the client. For more information, call 917-417-6908 or go to https://soledad-inc.com/.

Contact: Mariah Olivera

914-417-6908

SOURCE Soledad

Related Links

https://soledad-inc.com


WALTHAM, Mass., Aug. 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Inc. magazine today ranked Spindrift, the first sparkling water made with real fruit, No. 385 on its 36th annual Inc. 5000 list, the most prestigious ranking of the nation's fastest-growing private companies. With more than 1,119 percent three-year sales growth, Spindrift also earns the place of fastest growing sparkling water brand, according to Inc. Magazine. The brand also ranks No. 16 in the Food & Beverage category, No. 13 in Massachusetts and No. 14 in the Boston metro area.

Driven by consumer demand for brands that offer simple ingredients and a focus on transparency, Spindrift has been able to grow steadily in the emerging sparkling water space. Most recently, Spindrift announced the closing of $10 million of new growth capital led by VMG Partners, a private equity firm that specializes in investing in and building branded consumer product companies. Additional investors in the round include Prolog Ventures, Karp Reilly, and other existing investors.

"We are excited and humbled by the continued support and passion for our brand," says Founder & CEO Bill Creelman. "It's a rewarding challenge to break through the sparkling water category by moving away from the conventional way of production  natural flavors  and offering consumers a beverage made with only real ingredients."

The list represents a unique look at the most successful companies within the American economy's most dynamic segment its independent small and midsized businesses. Companies such as Microsoft, Dell, Domino's Pizza, Pandora, Timberland, LinkedIn, Yelp, Zillow, and many other well-known names gained their first national exposure as honorees of the Inc. 5000.

"The Inc. 5000 is the most persuasive evidence I know that the American Dream is still alive," says Inc. President and Editor-In-Chief Eric Schurenberg. "The founders and CEOs of the Inc. 5000 tell us they think determination, risk taking, and vision were the keys to their success, and I believe them."

Creelman started Spindrift in 2010 as a solution to kick his soda addiction, and to create something he felt comfortable giving to his young kids. The decision to use real fruit originated from growing up on a farm in Western Mass. where his food was sourced primarily from local farms. From the kitchen to the board room, Spindrift began in Creelman's house in Charlestown, Mass. and now has more than 30 employees. Spindrift is distributed in key retailers such as Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Target and Costco.

For more information about Spindrift, please visit www.spindriftfresh.com.

About Spindrift:

Spindrift is the first and only sparkling water made with real, fresh fruit. Founded in 2010, Spindrift celebrates simplicity, transparency and the superior taste that only real ingredients can deliver. All products have no added sweeteners and only consist of triple-filtered sparkling water and real fruit  yup, that's it! Fruit is picked from family farms and then squeezed within a few days from harvest. The result is light, bright, and flavor-rich sparkling water. Spindrift retails for $5.99 for an eight pack 12 oz. cans, and real fruit flavors include Strawberry, Orange-Mango, Grapefruit, Blackberry, Cucumber, Lemon, and Raspberry-Lime. They are available nationwide at key retailers such as Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Target, Costco and Panera. Spindrift was ranked #385 on Inc. Magazine's 2017 list of fastest-growing companies. The company also donates 1% of total net sales to not-for-profits through their 5 year membership to 1% For The Planet. The company was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in Waltham, MA.

For more information, visit www.spindriftfresh.com.

About Inc. 5000:

The Inc. 5000 is a list of the fastest-growing private companies in the nation. Started in 1982, this prestigious list of the nation's most successful private companies has become the hallmark of entrepreneurial success. The Inc. 5000 Conference & Awards Ceremony is an annual event that celebrates their remarkable achievements. The event also offers informative workshops, celebrated keynote speakers, and evening functions.

For more information on Inc. and the Inc. 5000 Conference, visit http://conference.inc.com.

SOURCE Spindrift

Related Links

http://www.spindriftfresh.com


COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho, Aug. 24, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Star Gold Corp. ("Star Gold" or the "Company") (OTC Markets: SRGZ) announced today that it has entered into the second of two separate agreements securing water allocation rights for its Longstreet Project in Nevada. Each agreement provides for an option to lease water rights for mining purposes.

Commenting on securing of the necessary water rights, Star Gold President David Segelov stated "With the execution of these two water rights agreements, Star Gold is able to tick off another requirement on the pathway to an approved Plan of Operations and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for its proposed mine at Longstreet. The agreements provide for some redundancy as they supply an amount of water somewhat larger than is, at this point, anticipated to be needed for the proposed mine plan. Importantly, Star Gold will not be reliant on an allocation from the State of Nevada and Star Gold expects that this development will speed the process of approval of the Plan of Operations and toward the issuance of an EIS in the coming months."

About Star Gold Corp.

Star Gold is a gold exploration/development company with 125 unpatented claims located within the Walker Lane belt. The Company is currently focused on developing its flagship property, the Longstreet Property. The Longstreet Property is located in Nye County, Nevada.

Investor Contact:

David Segelov

Office: 208-664-5066

Cell: 646-626-3356

[email protected]

[email protected]

Disclaimers

Certain statements in this press release that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements may be identified by the use of words such as "anticipate," "believe," "expect," "future," "may," "will," "would," "should," "plan," "projected," "intend," and similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements, involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Star Gold Corp (the Company) to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The Company's future operating results are dependent upon many factors, including but not limited to the Company's ability to: (i) obtain sufficient capital or a strategic business arrangement to fund its expansion plans; (ii) build the management and human resources and infrastructure necessary to support the growth of its business; (iii) competitive factors and developments beyond the Company's control; and (iv) other risk factors discussed in the Company's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which are available for review at www.sec.gov under "Search for Company Filings.

SOURCE Star Gold Corp.

Related Links

http://www.stargoldcorp.com


ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Salvation Army Emergency Disaster Services (EDS) in Texas and along the Gulf Coast is prepared to provide physical, emotional, and spiritual care to survivors and relief workers. Hurricane Harvey is expected to make landfall late Friday evening or early Saturday morning.

Hurricane Harvey was recently upgraded to a Category 3 storm with sustained winds exceeding 125 miles per hour. In addition to catastrophic winds, the storm is expected to leave 15 to 25 inches of rain, with some communities receiving as much as 35 inches.

In response to Hurricane Harvey, The Salvation Army is doing the following:

Deploying 42 mobile kitchens and two field kitchens

Each mobile kitchen can feed more than 1,500 people per day

Staging a 10,000 square-foot emergency supply center with clean-up kits, water and food

Positioning leadership teams in San Antonio , Galveston/Texas County, Houston and Corpus Christi

, Galveston/Texas County, and Coordinating with federal disaster responders and supporting operations at FEMA's National Response Coordination Center in Washington , D.C.

"Our trained staff and volunteers will be ready to provide physical, emotional, and spiritual support," said Lt. Col. Ron Busroe, National Community Relations and Development Secretary for The Salvation Army USA. "We humbly ask the American public to consider supporting our efforts through prayer and monetary donations."

The Salvation Army asks people who want to help those affected by Hurricane Harvey to visit helpsalvationarmy.org or call 1-800-SAL-ARMY. The best way to help after a disaster is to make a financial donation. People can also donate by texting STORM to 51555.

About The Salvation Army

The Salvation Army, established in London in 1865, has been supporting those in need without discrimination for more than 135 years in the U.S. More than 25 million Americans receive assistance from The Salvation Army each year through a range of social services: food for the hungry, relief for disaster victims, assistance for the disabled, outreach to the elderly and ill, clothing and shelter to the homeless and opportunities for underprivileged children. For every dollar donated to The Salvation Army, 82 cents is used to support those services in 5,000 communities nationwide. The Salvation Army tracks the level of need across the country with the Human Needs Index (HumanNeedsIndex.org). For more information, go to salvationarmyusa.org or follow on Twitter @SalvationArmyUS.

SOURCE The Salvation Army

Related Links

http://www.salvationarmyusa.org


WAYNE, N.J., Aug. 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Millions of Star Wars fans across the globe are gearing up for an out-of-this-galaxy celebration in honor of Force Friday II  the worldwide debut of all new products inspired by the upcoming theatrical film, Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Beginning at midnight (local time) on Friday, September 1, Toys"R"Us stores in the U.S. and select stores around the world will host special midnight celebrations, giving customers of all ages the opportunity to be among the first to purchase hundreds of new Star Wars items, like the Toys"R"Us exclusive Luke Skywalker's Landspeeder from Radio Flyer.

Fans attending the special midnight openings will receive special giveaways, including a t-shirt and an exclusive collectible Star Wars: The Last Jedi poster**. Additionally, shoppers will be able to purchase new merchandise on Toysrus.com/DestinationStarWars beginning at 12:00am EST.

All weekend long fans will be able to bring to life some of their favorite Saga characters at Toys"R"Us stores worldwide. In commemoration of the worldwide launch of new products inspired by Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Disney and Lucasfilm have announced Find the Force, an unprecedented pop-up Augmented Reality (AR) treasure hunt that unites fans around the world in the battle against the dark side for a unique global three-day event.

For more information about Force Friday II midnight celebrations, new products and the AR experience in-store, visit the Toys"R"Us corporate blog, No Assembly Required and starwars.com/findtheforce.

*Toys"R"Us stores in the U.S. will open at 12:00am local time on Friday, September 1, except for stores in Paramus, NJ, and Dedham, MA, which have varying store open times due to local ordinances (Toys"R"Us Express and Toys"R"Us Outlet locations are excluded from this event). All store hours can be found online at www.Toysrus.com/StoreLocator.

**Event open to all ages. Parental supervision required at all times. All giveaways and event materials available while supplies last and distributed to event participants only. Limit one per person. Quantities limited; no rain checks. Giveaway quantities vary by store.

About Toys"R"Us, Inc.

Toys"R"Us, Inc. is the world's leading dedicated toy and baby products retailer, offering a differentiated shopping experience through its family of brands. Merchandise is sold in 879 Toys"R"Us and Babies"R"Us stores in the United States, Puerto Rico and Guam, and in 815 international stores and over 255 licensed stores in 37 countries and jurisdictions. With its strong portfolio of e-commerce sites including Toysrus.com and Babiesrus.com, the company provides shoppers with a broad online selection of distinctive toy and baby products. Toys"R"Us, Inc. is headquartered in Wayne, NJ, and has nearly 65,000 employees worldwide. The company is committed to serving its communities as a caring and reputable neighbor through programs dedicated to keeping kids safe and helping them in times of need. Over the past three decades, the Company has given more than $100 million in product donations to children's charities. Since 1992, the Toys"R"Us Children's Fund, a public charity affiliated with Toys"R"Us, Inc., has also donated more than $130 million in grants. For more information, visit Toysrusinc.com or follow @ToysRUsNews on Twitter.

STAR WARS, and related properties and character names are trademarks and/or copyrights, in the United States and other countries, of Lucasfilm Ltd. and/or its affiliates.  & TM Lucasfilm Ltd.

SOURCE Toys"R"Us, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.toysrus.com


u-blox posted an encouraging 7.9% increase in revenues from CHF 179.7 million to CHF 193.9 million .

EBIT rose by 6.1% to CHF 29.5 million , representing a margin of 15.2%.

Operating activities generated a cash flow of CHF 22.1 million , 11.4% of revenue.

Net profit saw a 2.6% decrease to CHF 18.0 million , a net profit margin of 9.3% (H1 2016: 10.3%).

u-blox finalized a CHF 60 million bond issue (6 years, interest 1.375%) supporting the continued strategic development of the company.

A surge of new and prospective products consolidates u-blox ' s leading position in the industry.

Full-year revenue and EBIT expectations remain unchanged.

Remark: All numbers in this report are IFRS based. Adjusted numbers are provided in the last table to this report.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150826/261282LOGO )



u-blox (SIX: UBXN), a global leader in wireless and positioning modules and chips, today announced results for the first half year. The company maintained a strong financial performance, posting a 7.9% increase in revenues, which, combined with the effectiveness of u-blox's strategic approach, helped to further solidify profitability. During the first half of 2017, consolidated revenues stood at CHF 193.9 million.

u-blox registered another increase in gross profit from CHF 82.5 million to CHF 87.4 million, with gross profit margin remaining high at 45.1%. Operating profit (EBIT) was up from CHF 27.8 to CHF 29.5 million, representing an improvement of 6.1% over the same period last year, while the EBITDA margin stood at 20.8%. There was a 2.6% decrease in net profit, which declined from CHF 18.5 million in 2016 to CHF 18.0 million, due to foreign exchange impact. Net cash flow from operations was CHF 22.1 million, which represented 11.4% of revenue. The balance sheet remained solid, with a healthy equity ratio of 58.1%.

All these figures underscore u-blox's ability to meet medium to long-term revenue and profit targets. A full pipeline of new products and developments is likewise a firm indication of potential future growth.

Revenue development and breakdown

The first half of 2017 showed continued growth in u-blox's positioning & wireless products segment.

Consolidated revenues from chips and modules for positioning and wireless connectivity rose by 7.9% from CHF 179.5 million in the first half of 2016 to CHF 193.8 million during the first half of 2017. Revenue growth was slightly negatively impacted by -0.3% foreign exchange decay. Wireless services (including intra-Group sales) generated CHF 12.3 million in revenues compared with CHF 15.1 million for the same period last year.

During the first half of 2017, u-blox reported an overall increase of revenues of 7.9%, with Asia-Pacific accounting for 53.4%, EMEA for 25.7% and the Americas for 20.9%. Asia Pacific reported 25.3% growth over first half year 2016 to CHF 103.4 million, EMEA by 8.5% to CHF 49.9 million and Americas revenues decreased by 20.7% to CHF 40.6 million. When compared to second half year 2016, the growth rates amounted to 8.0% for Asia-Pacific, 9.1% for EMEA and 3.9% for Americas.

Strong growth in Asia

In Asia, the economic environment was strong, with production capacity in the electronics industry running at limits. Our revenues grew by 25.3%, driven by strong product sales in all categories. Several customers reported large-scale operational expansion, while new applications, such as wearables and the smart bike also boosted our revenues.

In the Americas, business declined by 20.7% as a direct result of the slowdown in 2016, which led to lower business activity at the beginning of the year. Compared with the second half of 2016, however, revenue increased again. The migration to new LTE-based cellular standards generated new traction as the industry has now opted for the M1 standard for M2M applications. There was a strong increase in sales of LTE-based modules, with sales of CDMA-based products declining. Demand in the automotive sector remained buoyant.

The EMEA region delivered a 8.5% growth in revenues over the first half of 2016. Strong demand in the industrial and automotive sectors drove business forward. In-car communication and navigation, smart meters, industrial controls, road pricing and asset tracking guaranteed expanding business.

u-blox maintained a wide customer base during the first half of 2017, generating around 80% of its total revenue from 74 customers, with the largest accounting for 5.3%. The company extended its operations to various new markets and regions, and supplied products and services to 5700 customers.

In all regions, u-blox pursued a record number of new business opportunities, driven by general interest in the Internet of Things (IoT).

Increased gross profit

Gross profit saw a 5.9% improvement during the first six months, taking it from CHF 82.5 million in the same period last year to CHF 87.4 million. Gross profit margin stood at 45.1%, a small decline over first half year 2016.

Research and product development

In the first half of 2017, R&D expenses stood at CHF 32.0 million, or 16.5% of revenue. These figures compare with CHF 32.1 million and 17.9%, respectively, during the same period in 2016.

Distribution and marketing activities

Wide-ranging expansion in our operations drove distribution and marketing expenses up from CHF 15.9 million to CHF 17.2 million. This figure is equivalent to 8.8% of revenue, compared with 8.8% during the same period last year.

Further increase in profit

u-blox posted EBIT of CHF 29.5 million, or 15.2% during the first half of 2017, which compares favorably with the CHF 27.8 million or 15.5%, in 2016. The EBITDA margin was 20.8%.

Finance income and costs

Finance income totaled CHF 0.3 million, while finance costs amounted to CHF 7.0 million, due mainly to negative unrealized foreign currency impacts, and interest on the bonds issued in 2015 and 2017.

Strong financial position

u-blox maintained a strong balance sheet during the first half of 2017, the equity ratio amounted to 58.1% influenced by the purchase of treasury shares during the period. Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities totaled CHF 168.6 million as of June 30, 2017, compared with CHF 157.1 million on December 31, 2016. Also u-blox carries treasury shares in the amount of CHF 24.4 million; shares that will serve the employee stock options program. In 2017, u-blox placed a fixed-rate domestic straight bond worth CHF 60 million. The issue will further increase the company's financial flexibility and ability for strategic action.

Strategic highlights and initiatives

u-blox is pleased to report that u-blox remains on course for sustained growth and profitability thanks to a time-tested strategy that is founded on four discrete pillars: ongoing strengthening of our leading market position; continuing technological development and innovation; outstanding operational performance, and strategic partnerships. During the first half of 2017, u-blox made significant advances in all three of its key strategic technology areas: positioning, cellular, and short range.

In February, the company announced the launch of a groundbreaking, super-low-power GNSS receiver chip for wearable applications. The new super-efficient chip offers a unique balance of performance and ultra-low power use, cutting power consumption by two-thirds to just 20 mW, while supplying one positional update every second with virtually no loss of accuracy.

This was followed in May by the world's smallest quad-band LTE Cat M1 module. M1 is one of the new LTE standards for M2M solutions. Carriers in the US have selected this standard and are now expanding coverage on a broad scale.

Finally, in June, u-blox announced it was accelerating deployment of its VERA-P1 series V2X communication modules for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, which are designed to make vehicles safer and increase the level of automation. All major car OEMs put considerable effort in this new functionality.

In addition to product news, in the beginning of the second half of 2017, u-blox announced a new strategic initiative with Sapcorda Services GmbH. Later in 2017, Sapcorda will be entering into a joint venture with Bosch, Geo++ and Mitsubishi which will bring high precision GNSS positioning services to mass market applications and facilitate the establishment of a worldwide available and affordable solution for system integrators, EOMs and receiver manufacturers.

New product rundown

In the first six months, u-blox released several new products designed to meet its customers' wide-ranging and continuously evolving needs. These products are vital in our range of offerings developed, designed and produced to keep the company at the forefront of existing markets, while enabling u-blox to make inroads into future markets. Below follow details of some of the first six months' new product highlights.

The ultra-small, multi-GNSS ZOE-M8G module launched in January is an ideal location sensor for wearables, drones and asset trackers. It offers exceptionally high performance and was designed for markets where very small size, minimal weight and high location precision are essential. It simplifies product design because it can be used with passive antennas, eliminating the need for additional components.

In January, u-blox announced the launch of JODY-W1, a host-based automotive Wi-Fi and Bluetooth module with Real Simultaneous Dual Band (RSDB) support that is ideal for in-vehicle infotainment and telematics applications requiring high data rates and concurrent connectivity.

The two NINA-W1 Wi-Fi modules introduced in March comply with all the latest security standards and are the most advanced of their kind for industrial markets. With ultra-low power consumption they are ideal for Wi-Fi applications including telematics, low-power sensors, connected buildings, points of sale, and health devices.

In June, u-blox announced its TOBY-L4 LTE modules, a new series of secure, advanced automotive telematics modules with powerful embedded CPU that provide fully integrated gateway solution for automotive OEMs enabling data, voice, positioning, eCall and advanced telematics. They meet all current industry and carrier requirements for high data transmission capacity.

Revenue by reporting segments

u-blox operates in two segments:

Positioning and wireless products

u-blox develops and sells chips and modules for positioning and wireless connectivity that are used in automotive, industrial and consumer applications. Revenue was CHF 193.8 million for the first half of 2017 compared with CHF 179.5 million during the same period last year.

Wireless services

u-blox also offers wireless communication technology services in the form of reference designs and software. In the first semester, revenue for wireless services was CHF 12.3 million compared with CHF 15.1 million in the first half of 2016 (including intra-group revenue, recorded on newly defined basis).

Board and management

There were no changes in the board and management during the period under review.

Outlook

For 2017, u-blox anticipates EBIT as before of between CHF 60 million and CHF 65 million, based on revenue predictions of between CHF 410 million and CHF 425 million, with unchanged assumptions for foreign exchange rates. Medium to long-term perspectives expect continued growth.

Table 1: consolidated income statement

(Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/548893/UB119_Table1.jpg )

Table 2: consolidated statement of cash flows (condensed)

(Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/548894/UB119_Table2.jpg )

Table 3: consolidated statement of financial position (condensed)

(Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/548895/UB119_Table3.jpg )

Table 4: Consolidated Income Statement (adjusted)

Adjusted numbers are provided below for allowing comparison with industry peers.

(Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/548896/UB119_Table4.jpg )



This press release can be downloaded in PDF format here.

For more information, please view online at:

Half year report (PDF): https://www.u-blox.com/en/investor-relations/reports

Presentation: https://www.u-blox.com/en/investor-relations/presentations

About u-blox

Swiss u-blox (SIX:UBXN) is a global leader in wireless and positioning modules and chips for the automotive, industrial and consumer markets. u-blox solutions enable people, vehicles and machines to locate their exact position and communicate wirelessly over cellular and short range networks. With a broad portfolio of chips, modules and software solutions, u-blox is uniquely positioned to empower OEMs to develop innovative solutions for the Internet of Things, quickly and cost-effectively. With headquarters in Thalwil, Switzerland, u-blox is globally present with offices in Europe, Asia and the USA.

(http://www.u-blox.com)

Find us on LinkedIn, Twitter @ublox, YouTube, Facebook and Google+

Financial calendar

Analyst day: October 31, 2017

2017 Full year results: March 15, 2018

Annual general meeting: April 24, 2018

Disclaimer

This release contains certain forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements reflect the current views of management and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements of the u-blox Group to differ materially from those expressed or implied. These include risks related to the success of and demand for the Group's products, the potential for the Group's products to become obsolete, the Group's ability to defend its intellectual property, the Group's ability to develop and commercialize new products in a timely manner, the dynamic and competitive environment in which the Group operates, the regulatory environment, changes in currency exchange rates, the Group's ability to generate revenues and profitability, and the Group's ability to realize its expansion projects in a timely manner. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in this report. u-blox is providing the information in this release as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in it as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.



This press release is published in German and English. Should the German translation differ from the English original, the English version is binding.

u-blox contacts:

Thomas Seiler, Chief Executive Officer

Phone: +41-44-722-74-22

E-mail: [email protected]



Roland Jud, Chief Financial Officer

Phone: +41-44-722-74-25

E-mail: [email protected]



SOURCE u-blox
"It is an honor to support Love Rolls, Inc. as they work towards their goal of delivering one million rolls to the homeless community in Atlanta and beyond," said Martha Issa, Director of Strategy and Marketing for Veritiv Facility Solutions. "Veritiv employees are committed to giving back to the communities in which we live and work through our Veritiv Connects program. As a leader in the distribution of facility supplies, Veritiv is well-positioned to support the mission of Love Rolls and we hope that our donation will help improve the day-to-day lives of homeless individuals across the country, and inspires others to join this wonderful cause."

"We are so appreciative of the support that Veritiv has provided to Love Rolls," said Kendall Robinson, Founder, Love Rolls, Inc. "Through the generous donations of companies, like Veritiv, we are able to better serve Atlanta's 14,000 homeless people and the homeless communities in New Jersey, New York, Florida and beyond."

The team from Love Rolls, Inc. visited Veritiv's facility in Suwanee, GA to receive the toilet paper donation which will be sorted and distributed to those in need by Love Rolls and its charitable partners.

In commemoration of National Toilet Paper Day, Love Rolls will be hosting its inaugural fundraiser on Saturday, August 26 beginning at 5 p.m. Held at the Suwanee Town Center, the event consists of a 5K race (run or walk) followed by a family movie night. The event is open to the public. For more information please visit https://raceroster.com/events/2017/13339/love-rolls-5k-race-run-walk.

About Veritiv

Veritiv Corporation (NYSE: VRTV), headquartered in Atlanta and a Fortune 500 company, is a leading North American business-to-business distributor of packaging, facility solutions, print and publishing products and services; and also a provider of logistics and supply chain management solutions. Serving customers in a wide range of industries, the Company has approximately 160 operating distribution centers throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico, and employs approximately 8,700 team members that help shape the success of its customers. For more information about Veritiv and its business segments visit www.veritivcorp.com.

#nationaltoiletpaperday

SOURCE Veritiv Corporation

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New Delhi, Aug 21 : After the NCP legislators voted with the BJP in the recent Rajya Sabha election, the Congress' Gujarat unit on Monday said it has decided not to invite the party for its 'Kisan Rally' next month but left it to the party high command to take the final call.

State Congress chief Bharatsinh Solanki told reporters here that the state unit will not invite the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) to the rally due to their "cross-voting in favour of BJP" in the fiercely contested Rajya Sabha election earlier this month.

Solanki, along with party MLAs, met party President Sonia Gandhi and Vice President Rahul Gandhi and said that the two told them to unitedly fight the upcoming assembly elections.

He said Rahul Gandhi will address the September 1 rally, that will also be addressed by leaders of several major opposition parties.

The rally will mark the start of Congress campaign in the state and is also being seen as an effort by the opposition parties to jointly take on the Narendra Modi government.

About the NCPd, Solanki said: "We are not inviting NCP for the Kisan Rally. The high command may invite Sharad Pawarji. We are not sure."

At the party's regular briefing, Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari did not give a specific answer to NCP being invited.

"They (the NCP) have been our colleague in the UPA government for 10 long years. For 15 years, they have been our valuable colleague in Maharashtra. In so far as the specific question with regard to a particular rally is concerned, it will appropriate for me to check with state unit before I respond.

"But conceptually speaking if ever there was a time in the past 70 years, this is the time for all the people who believe in the Idea of India to come together," he said.

Solanki also said the Gandhis told them that after the manner in which they defeated the BJP in Rajya Sabha election, they have to defeat it in the assembly elections.

Party General Secretary in-charge of Gujarat Ashok Gehlot was also present at the meeting.

Rahul Gandhi later tweeted that he had "a good meeting" with party MLAs and leaders from Gujarat.

Solanki said Raul Gandhi felicitated the MLAs for staying united for victory of party leader Ahmed Patel in the Rajya Sabha elections despite all-out efforts of BJP to defeat him.

Later, the MLAs had a dinner meeting with Ahmed Patel, who is also political secretary to the Congress President.
Los Angeles, Aug 22 : A jury panel in California has ordered the world's largest health-care company Johnson & Johnson to award $417 million to a 62-year-old woman with ovarian cancer.

The ruling by the jury panel of Los Angeles county Superior Court came on Monday after it found the company was liable for failing to warn the woman about the cancer risks of using talcum products, Xinhua news agency reported.

In the first such case going to state-court jury in California, Eva Echeverria said she used the Johnson's Baby Powder from age 11 until 2016, when she saw a news about a woman with ovarian cancer who also used the product.

Echeverria, diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2007, was too weak to show up in the court after a surgeon removed a softball-sized tumour.

She said that if Johnson & Johnson had put a warning label on the product showing a linkage between talc and cancer, she would not have used it for so many years.

Moreover, her attorneys stressed that Johnson & Johnson had known long ago about cancer risks of using its talcum products but still marketed the unsafe products without any warning label as some experts advised.

The company argued that the plaintiff's allegations were not supported by scientific evidence and studies conducted by federal agencies, including the US Food and Drug Administration.

After two days of closing arguments by lawyers, the jury decided to award Echeverria with $68 million in compensatory damages and $340 million in punitive damages.

In May, a Missouri jury awarded a Virginia woman $110.5 million for a similar allegation, by then, three other Missouri juries had awarded $197 million to plaintiffs who made similar claims.

There are more than 300 similar cases pending in California and about 4,800 in other courts across the US.

The company immediately announced it would seek to overturn Monday's verdict, saying science supports the safety of Johnson & Johnson's Baby Powder.

Talcum powder is made from talc, a mineral made up mainly of the elements magnesium, silicon, and oxygen. As a powder, it absorbs moisture well so that is widely used in cosmetic products such as baby powder and adult facial powders for keeping skin dry and helping to prevent rashes.

According to the American Cancer Society, even though many studies have looked at the possible link between talcum powder and ovarian cancer, researches on this field are continuing since findings have been mixed.
Beijing, Aug 23 : China on Wednesday rejected the unilateral sanctions imposed by the US on Chinese individuals and entities for their collaboration with North Korea and urged Washington to withdraw them.

Beijing said the economic sanctions imposed on more than 10 Chinese and Russian entities and individuals by the US Treasury Department on Tuesday will not help resolve the crisis on the Korean Peninsula, Efe news reported.

"China opposes unilateral sanctions out of the UN Security Council framework, especially the 'long-arm jurisdiction' over Chinese entities and individuals exercised by any country in accordance with its domestic laws," said Chinese Foreign Ministry's spokesperson Hua Chunying at a press briefing.

"We strongly urge the US to immediately correct its mistake, so as not to impact bilateral cooperation on relevant issues," she added.
Bhopal, Aug 24 : Swine flu cases are on the rise in Madhya Pradesh, with the disease claiming 13 lives so far in the state, officials said.

According to the state health department, the number of patients suffering from the H1NI virus has been increasing at an alarming rate over the last few days.

Of the 391 suspected cases of swine flu in the state, between July 1 and August 22, so far 72 cases were confirmed for the disease.

While 18 patients are being treated in state government hospitals, 14 are undergoing treatment in private hospitals. Thirteen patients died of the disease in this period.

One patient also died of dengue.

According to the health department, isolation wards have been set up for swine flu and dengue patients in most of the state's district hospitals.

Madhya Pradesh Health Minister Rustam Singh has appealed to the people to remain alert.
Bengaluru, Aug 25 : Nandan Nilekani, co-founder of global software giant Infosys, on Friday said he will be with the company as its non-Executive Chairman till it was "stable" and "on its path of full potential".

In an investors' call that had over 600 participants, Nilekani said: "I plan to be here (with the company) as long as it is necessary, and I will not be here as soon as I am not necessary.

"I have a set of tasks to accomplish -- the CEO search has to be done, the Board has to be reconstituted and the business has to be stabilised."

"I will be there as long as it takes and will work as hard as necessary to make sure Infosys is on its path of full potential," he said.

The search for a new CEO is on globally -- both internal and external to the company, Nilekani said.

"We are casting our nets very wide and we expect both internal and external candidates to apply for the CEO position. We are also looking at Infosys alumni," he said.

"The nominations committee that will pick the CEO will be headed by Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw," Nilekani said.

Issues related to the business of the company like strategies, transformation plan etc., will be discussed with investors in October, Nilekani added.

Calling Infosys a "resilient company", he said, "I hope to put the company on the right path."

"I am committed to a high standard of corporate governance."

"We will make sure we continue to remain an iconic company that has been held in high regard for its achievements and driven by a great team," he said.

No "disruptions" are expected in the road ahead, he said, adding, "I spoke to Vishal (Sikka), and we agreed it was an appropriate time to leave."

Nilekani, 62, who was CEO of Infosys from March 2002 till April 2007 and its Vice-Chairman, quit the company in 2009 to head the Unique Identification Authority of India as its first Chairman till May 2014.

He had to "pause a lot of things" because he had to come back to Infosys, Nilekani told the investors, adding that he was "fully committed" to all the shareholders.

After the software firm's first non-founder executive Vishal Sikka resigned as the CEO on August 18, Nilekani returned to the company as a non-Executive Chairman of the Board on Thursday.
New York, Aug 25 : United States President Donald Trump has played the India card against Pakistan in the Afghan great game, but would that become a true trump card for India?

Earlier this week, Trump assigned a "critical" role for India in his country's South Asia strategy for fighting terrorism, building up a safe Afghanistan and appealed for help, while at the same time warning Pakistan of repercussions for the double game of unleashing terrorists against the Afghans and the US while collecting billions from Washington.

It amounts to threatening Islamabad that Washington could pivot to India if it didn't stop supporting "the same organisations that try every single day to kill our people", as Trump put it.

The US move comes as the civilian leadership is unmoored after Nawaz Sharif was removed as Pakistan Prime Minister by a court order.

It also coincides with the simmering military standoff between India and China, the other power with deep involvement in the region and patron of Pakistan. How Beijing reacts would be a factor in the way things work out for India.

There are two other players in the great game, Iran and Russia, with whom the US has a hostile relationship. They can influence developments in Afghanistan and India can play a covert intermediary role between them.

Past US Presidents, George W. Bush and Barack Obama, have in joint statements acknowledged New Delhi's humanitarian and development assistance to Afghanistan, but what makes Trump's statement different is that he openly incorporates India into the US strategy for Afghanistan and South Asia and juxtaposes it with his warnings to Pakistan.

Trump putting Pakistan on notice directly marks a change from the tradition of the Cold War that made Pakistan the indisputable and indispensable ally and there is a twist of irony here.

Soon after 9/11 in 2001, as the US prepared to go into Afghanistan, India offered the use of its airbases, but it was turned down and Washington decided to go with Pakistan despite its history of aiding both the Taliban and Al Qaeda.

Trump's request to India was deliberately open-ended, while stressing what is already being done. "We want them to help us more with Afghanistan, especially in the area of economic assistance and development," he said.

New Delhi has committed more than $3 billion in aid to Kabul and has undertaken important projects like constructing a Parliament house and building major highways in the face of Taliban attacks.

And there limits to what more it can do.

India couldn't send troops in combat or frontline advisory roles. But it already trains Afghan troops and police in India -- and had one time set a target of putting 30,000 of them through the paces. Now, trainers could work in Afghanistan itself, if India chooses and the US agrees to drop its opposition driven by Pakistani sensibilities -- but away from areas of direct conflict.

But it could let the US use airbases in India, though Islamabad could ban overflights and a route through Iran is out of question.

India has provided military helicopters to Afghanistan, and General John Nicholson, the US commander in that country, has recently said that Kabul could do with more of them -- as well as other military supplies. New Delhi could also increase its role as middleman for supplying Russian weaponry and spares given the Washington-Moscow standoff.

In the development sphere, India could increase -- and probably will -- its aid to Afghanistan in cash and kind. However, it may not be able to sustain a major expansion of assistance programmes requiring the deployment of Indian citizens because that would likely require security personnel to protect them and risk direct confrontation.

A major component of India's economic assistance to Afghanistan runs counter to US interests as dictated by the Middle East because it is linked to Iran. India is developing the Chhabahar port in Iran that will provide landlocked Afghanistan an outlet to the world using the Indian-built Delaram-Zaranj highway to the Iran border. In turn, that highway will link to the Ring Road project that connects important Afghan cities.

This will provide a significant boost to Afghanistan's economy.

At the same time, dire strategic compulsions could make the US overcome its repugnance to Tehran and through India use the Chhabahar link to get supplies into Afghanistan.

What is behind the changed US attitude to Islamabad -- and to India as a collateral -- and Trump's own reluctance to further get involved in Afghanistan? It is the influence of the triumvirate of generals, Chief of State John Kelly, Defence Secretary James Mattis and National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster, with personal connections to the Afghan war.

Kelly lost his son, a Marine officer in Afghanistan to a terrorist roadside bomb, making the war on the Taliban personal. Mattis was the commander of the CENTCOM that oversaw the Afghan war and McMaster as the deputy to the planning commander at the international forces headquarters in Kabul.

Both have seen Islambad's double game. Already last month, the US withheld $50 million in aid Pakistan citing its failure to rein in the Haqqani terrorist network.

Add to that Trump's disenchantment with China over its refusal or inability to rein in North Korean taunts and threats.

How will the military and Islamist establishments react? To acquiesce to the US is one option that may be accompanied by the diversion of Islamist terrorists to India.

The other option of defiance would depend on China. Beijing sees Washington-New Delhi ties in the larger picture -- its state media has accused the West, specifically the US, of instigating war between it and India.

But Beijing has some limitations here. Beyond making up for the loss of US billions to Pakistan if Islamabad stood firm, China also has strategic interests in the region that could be endangered by terrorism: The One Road One Belt project and the likelihood of terrorism getting a boost in the Uighar region and in Central Asia.

The real danger would be a Pakistani terror push towards India with Chinese backing.

(Arul Louis is the IANS correspondent in New York, from where he covers international relations and the United Nations. He can be reached at arul.l@ians.in)
New Delhi, Aug 25 : Congress President Sonia Gandhi's daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is suffering from dengue and is under treatment at the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital (SRGH) here, said hospital authorities on Friday.

Priyanka Vadra was admitted to the hospital on August 23 and her treatment is being monitored by chest medicine consultant Arup Basu.

"Priyanka Vadra had fever initially, later she was confirmed as suffering from dengue. She was brought to the hospital on August 23 evening," D.S. Rana, Chairman (Board of Management) of SRGH, told IANS.

On being asked about her condition, Rana said that Priyanka Vadra was recovering well.

Till now, Delhi has recorded 657 cases of dengue - with 325 patients from Delhi and 332 from other states. The patients are being treated in Delhi hospitals.

Areas under South Delhi Municipal Corporation have reported the highest number of 64 cases, followed by 42 cases in areas of New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC). NDMC usually reports fewer dengue cases every year.
Kumarakom (Kerala), Aug 25 : A four-year-old Saudi boy died in a swimming pool at a plush resort in Kerala's famed Kumarakom tourist spot, police said on Friday.

A police officer told IANS on condition of anonymity that an inquest took place at the Kottayam Medical College Hospital.

"The incident occurred on late Thursday evening. The real cause of the death is being probed," said the officer.

The boy was in a baby pool and his father was at the pool for adults when the incident occurred.

The boy's father told the media that there was an electricity leakage in the pool and that might have caused the death.
Agartala, Aug 25 : The Election Commission has asked chief electoral officers (CEOs) of all states and union territories to involve Booth Level Agents (BLAs) of political parties more extensively in the special summary revision of photo electoral rolls across the country, an official said here on Friday.

The Election Commission in its August 23 letter to all CEOs of 27 states, excluding election-bound Gujarat and Himchal Pradesh, and seven union territories has directed them to conduct special summary revisions of the photo electoral rolls with January 1, 2018, as qualifying date of age.

"The Commission has asked to involve the BLAs more extensively in doing the special summary revisions of the photo-affixed voters' list. Only the BLAs of national political parties would be involved in the process," a Tripura Election Department official said.

Currently, India has seven national parties -- the Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party, the Communist Party of India, the Communist Party of India-Marxist, the Nationalist Congress Party and the Trinamool Congress.

The poll panel in its letter said that CEOs would ask the recognised national political parties to identify and appoint one BLA in each polling station to involve them in the campaign.

The BLAs along with the poll panel's Booth Level Officers (BLO) would go through the draft electoral rolls and identify the suitable corrections.

"With a view to ensure more involvement of political parties, the Commission has allowed BLAs of recognised political parties to file applications in bulk, subject to the condition that a BLA shall not submit more than 10 application in prescribed form to BLO at one time or in one day," the EC's letter said.

"If a BLA files more than 30 applications during entire period of filing claims and objections, then cross verification must be done by electoral registration officers themselves."

The official said that as per the Election Commission schedule, West Bengal is the first state that published the draft electoral rolls on August 22 followed by Tripura on August 24.

The others would publish the draft electoral rolls in September, October and November keeping in mind the local conditions and the final electoral rolls of all states and union territories would be published by the second week of January 2018.

The official also said that Gram Sabhas would be held in all villages, and similar public gatherings in municipal council or corporation areas, to make people aware about the special summary revisions.

Stressing at least two Gram Sabhas must be held in each Gram Panchayat area during the revision process, he said that that the Commission wants an error-free voters' list, including all eligible people in the electoral rolls. "In the Gram Sabha, existing rolls (draft rolls) would be read out and appropriate steps would be taken on the spot."

The dates of the Gram Sabha would be fixed by the Election Commission in consultations with the states concerned or election authorities.

In Tripura, the draft electoral rolls were published on Thursday.

Currently Tripura has 2,505,997 voters, of them 1,230,628 females.

"In each summary revision of electoral rolls two to three per cent voters were increased. This is an all India phenomenon. However, during election year, the increase is slightly more," the official added.
Washington, Aug 25 : Pakistan and the US have established back-channel contacts to resolve differences over key issues after US President Donald Trump singled out Islamabad for supporting terrorism.

A group of diplomats, military officials and security experts from the two countries earlier this month held their third off-the-record meeting here to discuss thorny issues, including Pakistan's support for peace in Afghanistan, increasing US ties with India, New Delhi's role in Afghanistan and Islamabad's drift toward Beijing after initiation of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Former Pakistan ambassador to the US Jalil Abbas Jilani told The News International that the two sides were discussing the issues and would prepare recommendations for the government for the future of ties.

He said the informal interaction called the "Track II diplomacy" aimed at bringing private individuals and groups from the two countries to promote better understanding of issues and suggest solutions.

Pakistan's Ambassador to the US Aizaz Chaudhry welcomed the dialogue, saying: "Track II is not a substitute for official contacts but officials can benefit from the ideas generated."

Representatives from the Pakistani side included former head of Military Intelligence Lt Gen Ishfaq Nadeem Ahmad (retd) and former Ambassador to Afghanistan Muhammad Sadiq.

The US side included former US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher, former Ambassador Robin Raphel and security experts Tricia Bacon and David Smith.

Trump while announcing his new strategy for Afghanistan and South Asia on Monday lashed out at Pakistan, urging the country to stop giving sanctuary to "agents of chaos, violence and terror".

"We can no longer be silent about Pakistan's safe havens for terrorist organisations, the Taliban and other groups that pose a threat to the region and beyond," the US President said.

Pakistan, reacting to the criticism, expressed disappointment over lack of acknowledgement by Trump of Islamabad's sacrifices in war against terror.

The News International reported that Islamabad was unhappy with the US for its support to "its arch-rival India's role in Afghanistan".

Michael Kugelman, Deputy Director of Asia Programme at The Wilson Centre, said the dialogue was meant to convene former government and military officials in a closed, off-the-record environment to discuss possible pathways for cooperation.

Kugelman said that apart from terrorism and Afghanistan, both sides also discussed new potential areas of cooperation including the field of economics.

"The dialogue clarified the potential and limits of the relationship. That's a useful thing at a moment when the future of the US-Pakistan relationship is so unsettled," he said.

"Pakistan has expanded its control of its territory, especially into the tribal areas, but still needs to control its border to prevent fighters and supplies from moving across in both directions. We should support that effort," Richard Boucher said.

Ambassador Chaudhry said lasting peace in Afghanistan could only be achieved through comprehensive political process. "Pakistan stands ready to work with Afghanistan and the US to that end."

This objective is not served when one country indulges in a vicious blame game against the other, the ambassador said. "It is Pakistan -- not Afghanistan -- that has instituted strict border management measures to control cross-border movement. It is time to recognise that."
Kathmandu, Aug 25 : Former Nepali Prime Minister and CPN-UML Chairman K.P. Sharma Oli on Friday termed Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deubas activities and the statements during his ongoing India visit as "disgraceful".

Talking to journalists at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) here before heading to Thailand for a health check-up, the opposition leader -- a strident critic of Premier Deuba -- said: "Deuba raised the issue of Constitution's acceptability out of context on a foreign land. Who was he trying to please by such remarks?"

During a joint press conference on Thursday, Deuba told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that efforts to amend the Constitution were underway.

"He is the Prime Minister, he took the oath of office and secrecy from the same Constitution. He was elected the Prime Minister under the same Constitution," he was quoted as saying by the Kathmandu Post.

The Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) Chairman said that Deuba, who is in India on a five-day visit, made a mockery of the decision taken by lawmakers of Nepal regarding the Constitution amendment.

Earlier on Monday, the much-awaited Constitution amendment bill which was brought to address key demands of the agitating Madhes-centric parties failed to muster the required two-thirds majority in the Legislature-Parliament.

Out of 553 lawmakers, 347 lawmakers voted in favour of the bill, 48 short of the two-thirds majority required to pass the bill.

Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal "Prachanda" -- whose Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) is an ally in the coalition government headed by Deuba -- also took exception to the remarks made by the Nepal Premier during his India visit.
New Delhi, Aug 25 : The Congress party on Friday appointed four working presidents in Gujarat ahead of the assembly elections in the state.

The Congress also appointed a state election committee with state Congress chief Bharatsinh Solanki as its chairman.

A Congress release said that party Vice President Rahul Gandhi has approved the appointment of Tushar Chaudhary, Paresh Dhanani, Kuwarji Bavaliya and Karsan Das Sonali as working presidents.

The election committee, which will recommend names of candidates for assembly polls, also includes party leaders Ahmed Patel and Madhusudan Mistry.
Sydney, Aug 25 : Babylonians were the pioneers of trigonometry -- the study of triangles -- and they trumped the Greeks by 1,000 years, revealed an analysis of a 3,700-year-old mathematical clay tablet, whose purpose was not known till now.

The findings showed that the Babylonian clay tablet, discovered in the early 1900s in southern Iraq, is the world's oldest and most accurate trigonometric table, possibly used by ancient mathematical scribes to calculate how to construct palaces and temples and build canals.

Known as Plimpton 322, the small tablet has four columns and 15 rows of numbers written on it in the cuneiform script of the time using a base 60, or sexagesimal, system.

"Plimpton 322 was a powerful tool that could have been used for surveying fields or making architectural calculations to build palaces, temples or step pyramids," said Daniel Mansfield, scientists at the University of New South Wales in Australia.

Until now, the widely accepted view was that the tablet was a teacher's aid for checking students' solutions of quadratic problems.

"The huge mystery, until now, was its purpose -- why the ancient scribes carried out the complex task of generating and sorting the numbers on the tablet," Mansfield said.

"Our research reveals that Plimpton 322 describes the shapes of right-angle triangles using a novel kind of trigonometry based on ratios, not angles and circles. It is a fascinating mathematical work that demonstrates undoubted genius," he said in the paper published in the journal Historia Mathematica.

Hipparchus -- the Greek astronomer, who lived in about 120 BC -- was long been regarded as the father of trigonometry. His "table of chords" on a circle was considered as the oldest trigonometric table.

But "Plimpton 322 predates Hipparchus by more than 1,000 years," said Norman Wildberger, Associate Professor, UNSW.

Further, the 15 rows on the tablet were deciphered as a sequence of 15 right-angle triangles, which are steadily decreasing in inclination.

The researchers also demonstrated how the ancient scribes, who used a base 60 numerical arithmetic similar to our time clock, rather than the base 10 number system we use, could have generated the numbers on the tablet using their mathematical techniques.

The tablet, which is thought to have come from the ancient Sumerian city of Larsa, has been dated to between 1822 and 1762 BC.

"With Plimpton 322 we see a simpler, more accurate trigonometry that has clear advantages over our own," Wildberger noted.
New Delhi, Aug 25 : Priyanka Chopra's production "Pahuna: The Little Visitors", which narrates the story of three Nepalese children separated from their parents and their journey back home, will be screened at the prestigious Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) next month.

TIFF 2017 will be held from September 7-17. The film will be screened on the first day only.

Paakhi A. Tyrewala has directed the Sikkimese film, which is backed by Priyanka and her mother's banner Purple Pebble Pictures (PPP).

"It is a very proud moment for me, my mother Madhu Chopra and the entire team at PPP. This is only our fifth production and to have it chosen to be screened at TIFF is an honour," Priyanka said in a statement.

"As a producer, my goal is to be able to bring great stories to life and to give new talent the right kind of platforms to launch their dreams. With 'Pahuna: The Little Visitors' and our talented director Paakhi Tyrewala, both these objectives were met and all of us at PPP couldn't be happier with the result.

"We're looking forward to sharing this amazing story with the world, told in Sikkimese about the life of three ordinary children under extraordinary circumstances," added the "Quantico" star.

The first look of the film was released at the Cannes Film Festival this year.

Madhu also said: "Making 'Pahuna...' has been an amazing experience. Working with the artists, technicians and government of Sikkim to tell this story was a very special journey for us all. We couldn't be prouder to have the film screened at TIFF. It is a great honour for us. We are hoping that this film will, in whichever way possible, give a fillip to the film industry in the region."
Jammu, Aug 25 : A Border Security Force trooper was injured on Friday in a ceasefire violation by Pakistan Rangers on the International Border in Jammu district, BSF officials said.

BSF sources said Pakistan Rangers violated the ceasefire in Arnia sub-sector of R .S.Pura sector, and trooper K.K.Appa Rao was hit by a bullet fired by a sniper.

"The injured trooper has been shifted to hospital for treatment," a sources said adding that the BSF retaliated to the unprovoked firing.
. 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.

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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.
Panaji, Aug 25 : Less than a week after the Goa Church warned of a Nazi Germany like scenario in contemporary Goa and India, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar on Friday said that efforts were on to "destroy" the coastal state's communal harmony.

"So that inspite of a lot of efforts to destroy it (communal harmony) by some people, by trying to divide the society on communal lines, I think people know very well," Parrikar told reporters here.

Parrikar also told reporters at his ancestral home in Parra village, 20 km north of Panaji, that Ganesh Chaturthi was a festival for people of all religions in Goa and recalled fondly how he used to visit Catholic homes in the neighbourhood on Christmas Day.

"In Goa, Ganesh Chaturthi is a festival of everyone, Hindu, Catholic, Muslim. Christmas is festival of everyone. It is also enjoyed. For example in this house, when I grew up we had a Catholic family here, we have a Catholic family there. I used to go and enjoy Christmas at their place," Parrikar said.

"I wish that people enjoy the next year, as a prosperous year, peaceful year, as a year of peace and love. That is the symbol of Ganesh Chaturthi," he added.

Last week, an article in a periodical published by the influential Roman Catholic Church had drawn a parallel between conditions in Nazi Germany and contemporary India, while subtly asking voters of Panaji assembly constituency not to vote for Parrikar, who was contesting the August 23 by-poll.

"In 2012, everyone thought in terms of having a corruption free Goa. This thinking continues till 2014 but from then and increasingly everyday, what we are witnessing in India is nothing but a constitutional holocaust. Corruption is very bad, communalism is worse, but Nazism is worse than both," the article said.

"Anybody who has read William Shirer's 'The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich' or Allan Bullocks' 'A Study of Tyranny' or Hitler's own 'Mein Kampf' will find an extraordinary identity between the growth and rampage of Nazism in Germany in 1933 onwards and India in 2014," it said.

Around 26 per cent of the state's 1.5 million people are Catholic for whom the Church is a spiritual and religious guide.

The festival of Ganesh Chaturthi, one of the biggest Hindu festivals in the state, got underway on Friday.
New Delhi, Aug 25 : At least 13 people had died in violence in Panchkula in violence following conviction of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmit Ram Rahim Singh, the Union Home Ministry said.

"As per Panchkula Control Room, 13 deaths reported during violence and in Sector 16, various shops were set ablaze," said a ministry spokesperson.
Ranchi, Aug 25 : Agitated over removal of barricades put up by them and police firing in the air to disperse them, angry villagers held Khunti district Superintendent of Police (SP) and 150 security personnel hostage through Thursday night.

Their release could only be secured on Friday morning after Khunti Deputy Commissioner and Ranchi range Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) reached the spot and pacified the angry villagers.

The problem began when a police team led by Sub Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Ranbeer Singh went to remove the barricade erected by the villagers at three villages -- Sodag, Randag and Sulhe -- on Thursday to protest over some local issue.

The local villagers equipped with traditional weapons surrounded the police force. The villagers got further incensed when policemen fired in the air.

Khunti SP Ashwani Kumar reached the site on Thursday night with around 150 security personnel. As Kumar reached, the villagers also surrounded him and the force.

The SP and 150 security personnel remained in the villagers' captivity until the next morning. The security personnel avoided using any force to free those held captive.

The DIG and the DC reached the spot on Friday morning and tried to talk it out with the villagers. Initially they were not ready to hear anything, but after repeated efforts, the officials pacified the villagers and they were allowed to leave the village.

"The villagers became angry when the barricades were removed by 'outsiders'. They got further enraged as shots were fired in the air to scare them away," Amol B. Homkar, Ranchi range DIG, told reporters.
Kabul, Aug 25 : At least two people were killed and 11 others were injured in a suicide bombing and subsequent armed assault on a Shia mosque in the Afghan capital on Friday. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack.

Worshippers had gathered for prayers when a suicide bomber blew himself up outside Imam Zaman Mosque in Khair Khana neighbourhood at 1.30 p.m. Several attackers then stormed into the mosque, Xinhua news agency reported.

"Police Special Unit pulled out a large number of our countrymen from Imam Zaman mosque," Afghan Interior Ministry spokesperson Najib Danish said on his Twitter account.

The IS group's news outlet, Amaq, said IS militants had carried out a "commando" attack on the mosque.

Friday's attack is the first major one in Afghanistan since US President Donald Trump on Monday announced his new strategy for the country, which includes sending more US troops.

Trump's announcement was celebrated by Afghan authorities, while the Taliban threatened that Afghanistan would turn into a "graveyard" for US soldiers.
Paris, Aug 25 : French President Emmanuel Macron has spent 26,000 euros ($30,670) on makeup bills in the first three months of his presidency, a media report said.

According to a report in France's Le Point magazine, the large sum was claimed by a personal makeup artist who was hired to beautify Macron as "a matter of urgency".

The artist, who was only referred to only as Natacha M. in the report, submitted two expense bills for the first three months of Macron's presidency, one for 10,000 euros and another for 16,000 euros.

The same makeup artist also applied foundation to Macron during his presidential campaign, the Daily Telegraph said.

Previous French leaders had similarly extravagant budgets for stylists and beauticians. Macron's predecessor, Francois Hollande, paid his makeup artist at 30,000 euros per quarter and reportedly employed a barber on a yearly salary of 99,000 euros.

The revelations will further hit Macron's plummeting popularity, the report said. In the first 100 days of his time in office, it has fallen faster than any previous French President and his favourability rating dipped to 36 per cent, according to a recent poll.

The makeup bills also come a month after Macron announced that the government was going to cut a type of housing benefit by five euros a month which will affect millions of people in France including students, the jobless and people living below the poverty line.

The measure has sparked fury from parts of civil society who accused the President of "hitting on the poor".
New Delhi, Aug 25 : The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear challenge to the Constitution's Article 35A and the Jammu and Kashmir Constitution's Section 6 granting special rights and privileges to natives of Jammu and Kashmir but denying to a woman who marries a non-Kashmiri and her children.

"All the pleas will be taken up for hearing after Diwali," said a bench of Chief Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar, Justice Dipak Misra and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud after senior counsel Rakesh Dwivedi, who mentioned the matter, also pointed out that the Central government too had no objection.

Charu Wali Khanna has moved the top court challenging the provisions which deal with "permanent residents" of the state and their special rights and privileges.

In the course of the hearing on August 14, the bench of Justice Misra and Justice A.M. Khanwilkar had said that the challenge to the validity of the constitutional provisions would be heard by a five judge constitution bench, only if it was satisfied that the provision was violative of the Constitution's "basic structure".

Earlier the bench headed by Chief Justice Khehar had on July 17 referred to the three judge bench the challenge to Article 35A.
Hyderabad, Aug 25 : Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba on Friday visited the Infosys campus and T-Hub in Hyderabad.

Deuba, who arrived here on a two-day visit, went around the Infosys campus at Gachibowli where the Infosys officials briefed him about the facility.

The Nepal Prime Minister, who is currently on a five day-visit to India, went to T-Hub, the start-up incubator facility set up by the Telangana government.

Jayesh Ranjan, Secretary, Information Technology, and T-Hub officials explained to the visiting dignitary the functioning of the facility and the initiative taken by the state to promote start-ups.

Deuba later left for the Taj Falaknuma Palace, where the state government hosted a cultural reception. He met Telangana and Andhra Pradesh Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan, who hosted dinner in his honour.

After a night halt at Taj Falaknuma, he would leave for the temple town of Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh on Saturday morning.

Earlier, Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mohammed Mahmood Ali and senior officials welcomed Deuba and the delegation accompanying him at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport.
Abuja, Aug 25 : Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has lauded opposition political parties for their prayers during his medical vacation in London, saying democracy needs vibrant but responsible opposition as being exhibited in the country.

Buhari held a meeting with leaders of the ruling All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Friday and said that in a multi-party democracy, opposition did not mean hostility, enmity or antagonism.

"I thank you sincerely, collectively and individually for finding time from your busy schedules to come all the way to Abuja and welcome me back home.

"This visit signifies the unity of Nigeria. It is not a party occasion, it is not a political gathering. It is a symbol of our national unity. It is also an expression of the maturity of our democracy," the President said.

Buhari urged all Nigerians to continue praying for peace and prosperity in the country.
New Delhi, Aug 25 : A CBI team on Friday raided Delhi Home Minister Satyendar Jain's residence in connection with a money laundering case but his AAP rejected the charges and called the move an effort to "frame" him.

An official of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said the raid was conducted at four different places and the agency had also registered a case in the matter of disproportionate assets.

"Four places in Delhi including the official residence of the Minister, one of the places of his shell company and two of the places of his associates, were raided today (Friday). The CBI on Thursday has also registered an FIR of having disproportionate asset against Jain," the official told IANS.

The CBI has also claimed to have recovered some certain incriminating documents during searches.

Jain -- who holds several important portfolios including Health and PWD -- also confirmed the development, tweeting: "CBI reached my home for search."

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) denied all the charges against its leader and accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of misusing the CBI.

"Jain is facing the charges of money laundering which is completely false. The BJP at Centre is misusing the CBI and the Income Tax department and is trying to frame Jain," AAP said in a statement.

The agency registered a case under charges of Prevention of Corruption Act and abetment charge under Indian Penal Code against Jain, his wife and four of his associates.

"It has been alleged that Jain while functioning as a public servant has amassed assets disproportionate to his known sources of income to the extent of Rs 1.62 crore during December 14, 2015 to May 31, 2017," the CBI official said, adding Jain's wife and associates have allegedly abetted the commission of said offence.

The CBI in April this year had registered a preliminary inquiry against Jain and others in an alleged money laundering case to the tune of Rs 4.63 crore in 2015-16 and found during its inquiry that Jain and his associates were involved in money laundering through shell companies.

This apart, before becoming public servant, Jain was allegedly involved in laundering of Rs 11.78 crore during 2010-2012 through the shell companies based in Delhi, the CBI official said.

"It was also alleged that Jain had control over these shell companies either in the form of being one of the directors and by holding 1/3rd shares of these firms in his name or in the names of his family members and others. Although, he had resigned from the directorship of three companies in 2013 before contesting election, however, his investments in these companies were allegedly continued.

"It was further alleged that the said companies did not have any business and were shell companies and were utilized for parking money in the form of investments in equity shares in connivance with Kolkata based shell companies," the CBI official said.

The CBI had also questioned Jain earlier in June in the money laundering case.

The inquiry against the Minister was registered on the basis of several evidences collected against him by the CBI, saying he was involved in money laundering despite being a public servant.

He is accused of being involved in the crime through Kolkata-based companies Prayas Info Pvt Ltd, Akichand Developers and Mangalyatan Project Pvt Ltd -- a charge denied by Jain.
New Delhi, Aug 25 : Condemning the violence in Haryana, Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Friday expressed "concern and shock", and appealed to maintain peace and harmony.

Sonia Gandhi spoke to Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and asked the governments of Haryana and Chandigarh to ensure safety and security of all citizens.

In a statement, she expressed "grave concern and shock at the unabated violence in Panchkula and other parts of Haryana resulting in the death of over two dozen persons including children, widespread destruction of public property and senseless attack on the media".

Rahul Gandhi tweeted: "Violence and brutality have no place in our society. Condemn the rampage and lawlessness in Haryana and appeal to restore peace and tranquility."

The violence in Panchkula erupted after a CBI special court on Friday held controversial Dera Sacha Sauda sect chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh guilty of raping and sexually exploiting two female disciples.
New Delhi, Aug 25 : Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah questioned why pellet guns and human shields were not used to control mob violence in Haryana, wondering whether the forces kept them "only for protesting Kashmiris", but withdrew his tweets "unconditionally" after deaths were reported in the violence.

Omar Abdullah also demanded sacking of Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, stating that the latter had enough time to prepare before the situation got out of hand.

"Chilli bombs? Pepper grenades? Pellet guns? Do the forces keep those only for protesting Kashmiris?," Omar said in a tweet.

"No human shields in Panchkula? Tried & tested crowd control technique much appreciated in many TV news studios not long ago," he said, as thousands of supporters of Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim indulged in violence after his conviction in a rape case.

The National Conference leader however unconditionally withdrew his tweets, without deleting them, following the reports of rising death toll.

"Although I'd tweeted it before any deaths took place I can't help feeling that my tweet about the pellet guns is inconsiderate & misplaced," he said.

"There is no point deleting it but I do withdraw it unconditionally with my condolences to the families of all deceased & prayers for injured," he added.

At least 30 people were killed as security forces fired at rampaging mobs at Panchkula, Haryana.

"Good God. This madness needs to end & end now. No man, much less a convicted rapist, is worth this much death and destruction," Omar reacted.

Omar also said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should sack the Haryana Chief Minister.

"PM Modi should sack his Haryana CM for gross dereliction of duty. The CM had more than enough time to prepare for this eventuality."
Lucknow, Aug 25 : Following violence in many parts of Haryana and Punjab by Dera Sacha Sauda sect members, police has been put on high alert in the districts of western Uttar Pradesh, officials said on Friday evening. Prohibitory orders under Section 144 have also been clamped as a precautionary measure in Baghpat, Muzaffarnagar, Ghaziabad and Noida, adjoining Delhi.

Principal Secretary (Home) Arvind Kumar told IANS that vigil has been stepped up on the borders and police has been asked to identify possible rioters who might try to sneak into UP and foment trouble.

Officials have also been asked to remain in touch with the management of Dera Sacha Sauda Ashram in Baghpat, he said.

"Local authorities have been assured that there would be no violence on their part," the top ranking Home Department official added.

Ghaziabad District Magistrate Ministhy S. Nair, while proclaiming the enforcement of preventive measures in the district, said initially the prohibitory measures would be in place for two weeks and the situation would be reviewed later.

Prohibitory orders have also been enforced in Gautam Budh Nagar district comprising Noida and Greater Noida.

Noida District Magistrate B.N. Singh said Section 144 was already in place and in view of the developments in the adjoining state, it has been extended.

Security has been beefed up in all western UP districts and a state of high alert has been declared specially in Baghpat where the sect has an ashram in Barnava. Magistrates and extra police force have been deployed on the border of Haryana.

Thousands of Dera followers have already left for Sirsa and Panchkula earlier in the day.

Vehicles are being checked on the border and a Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) and Circle Officer (CO) have been posted on the Niwada check post. District authorities said they are being extra vigilant and all measures were in place to ensure that violence does not spill into the UP side.

Ambulances and fire tenders have also been put on alert so that in case of any emergency they could come in handy, an official said.
New Delhi, Aug 25 : The BJP leadership is believed to be unhappy with the way Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar handled the situation ahead of the court verdict in a rape case against Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.

The Dera chief's conviction on Friday triggered widespread violence in which over 30 people were killed.

The violence in Panchkula and some other parts of Haryana on Friday was the third major instance of violence in the state since Khattar became Chief Minister of the first Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Haryana in 2014.

Six people had lost their lives in November 2014 following a stand-off between supporters of controversial sect leader Rampal and security forces in Hisar district. Thirty people had died in the Jat agitation for job quotas in the state in February last year.

Party sources said Khattar may not have a grip over the administration, and lapses continued to mar the image of the party and that of the government in the state that could cast a cloud over the central leadership as well.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh is also believed to have spoken his mind on the issue when he talked to the Chief Minister. He cut short his visit to Kyrgyzstan and rushed back ahead of the judgment.

The feeling at the Centre is that the Khattar government did not take adequate measures to prevent the Dera supporters from gathering in large numbers in Panchkula.

Party sources said Khattar had a clean image but the incidents had raised doubts about his administrative abilities.

Khattar, a first-time MLA, was chosen by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party chief Amit Shah to lead the party government in Haryana.
Beijing, Aug 25 : China on Friday criticised the economic sanctions imposed by Japan on some Chinese companies for their links with North Korea and warned of consequences if the decision was not withdrawn, media reports said.

Earlier on Friday, the Japanese government had announced the freezing of assets of four Chinese and two Namibian companies as well as one Chinese national and a North Korean, Efe news reported.

"We have urged Japan to stop this," China's foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said in a press conference, warning that Tokyo would have to face consequences if it persisted with the sanctions.

The spokesperson added that Beijing had expressed its "dissatisfaction and strong opposition," to these measures, since "China has always comprehensively implemented UN sanctions in their entirety".

Tokyo's decision involves freezing the assets of those believed to be collaborating with the North Korean regime in exporting coal and sending labour abroad, and is meant to curb capital inflows into the rogue nation in response to its military programme escalation.

As a punishment to those associated with the Pyongyang regime's weapons programmes or raw materials trade, Tokyo had already included five companies and nine individuals from China on the list in late July.

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said during a press conference on Friday here, that Japan believes it is extremely important to pressurise North Korea, along with the US and South Korea.

The Japanese measures follow similar steps announced by the US this week against companies and individuals from China and Russia for their alleged collaboration with the North Korean regime.

Beijing has opposed the imposition of unilateral sanctions by any country outside the framework of the UN.

The UN Security Council approved new sanctions against North Korea earlier this month, imposed for the rogue state's two intercontinental missile tests in July, which could reduce Pyongyang's annual export revenue by $1 billion.
New Delhi, Aug 25 : Condemning the violence against journalists in Panchkula, the Press Club of India on Friday asked the Haryana state government to ensure the safety of journalists and compensate for their losses.

"The Press Club of India strongly condemns the violence against mediapersons in Panchkula by the followers of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Baba Ram Rahim who was convicted in a rape case by a court," Press Club President Vinay Kumar and Secretary General Gautam Lahiri said in a statement.

They said that it is of "utmost serious concern" that Dera supporters went on a rampage, set on fire a number of OB vans of television news networks and also targeted camerapersons and reporters who were out in the field discharging their duties of reporting

"We demand that strict action should be taken against the miscreants and the state government should take urgent steps for safety and security of journalists and also compensate the television news networks for the losses suffered by them," they said.
New Delhi/Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 25 : Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday expressed his concern to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the instances of violence across north India in the wake of Dera Sacha Sauda chiefs conviction.

Describing the situation as "worrying", Vijayan advised Modi to ensure that the law took its own course in the case.

"It is worrying that widespread instances of violence, rioting and arson are being reported in several north Indian states following the verdict convicting Gurmeet Ram Rahim by a CBI special court in Panchkula," Vijayan said in a letter to the Prime Minister.

"I have personally been receiving calls from Malayalis from the affected areas, who are in fear for their life and property. May I request you to take immediate and necessary action to ensure that the life and property of all our citizens are protected without fail," he said in the letter.

He said that strict action against those behind "these unprecedented acts of violence" should be ensured.

Vijayan said that "measures that evoke confidence in our public that our Constitution will be upheld and that the law will be allowed to take its due course will undoubtedly be much appreciated".

At least 30 people were killed and hundreds injured as security forces fired at rampaging mobs in Panchkula in Haryana after a CBI court held Gurmeet Ram Rahim guilty of rape and sexual exploitation.

The Dera supporters set hundreds of vehicles on fire and also attacked the media persons reporting from the ground.

Curfew has been imposed in a number of towns in 10 Punjab districts and in three Haryana towns, including Panchkula and Sirsa, following the violence. Also, prohibitory orders were issued by police in Delhi-NCR.
Ahmedabad, Aug 25 : The Congress high command on Friday appointed four working presidents of its unit in poll-bound Gujarat in addition to existing party chief Bharatsinh Solanki, a day after it expanded the state leadership to include as many as 122 office-bearers at different posts.

Congress sources disclosed that the appointment of the four working presidents was to apparently clip the wings of Solanki, who has been facing charges of being arrogant, inaccessible and insensitive to aspirations of the party's rank and file, besides giving effective representation to the key regions and castes.

Removal of Solanki from the top post was the key demand of rebel leader Shankersinh Vaghela, who engineered a revolt of sorts in the party by getting 14 MLAs close to him resign of which three of them joined the BJP. The others too are in queue, except him.

Vaghela, who quit as a legislator after the Rajya Sabha elections when his desperate efforts to ensure Congress veteran Ahmed Patel's defeat failed, wanted himself to be named the party chief and made the Chief Ministerial candidate.

Among the four working presidents are aggressive young Amreli legislator Paresh Dhanani and former Lok Sabha MP from Rajkot and four-time legislator Kunwarji Bavaliya. Both of them are from the key Saurashtra region and belong to the influential Patidar (or Patel) community, which has turned against the ruling BJP ever since the beginning of the pitched Patidar agitation led by firebrand young leader Hardik Patel.

Former union minister Tushar Chaudhary, a tribal leader from Surat district in South Gujarat and son of former Chief Minister Amarsinh Chaudhary, and veteran North Gujarat leader Karsandas Soneri are the other two working presidents. Chaudhary is from the Scheduled Tribes and Soneri is a Scheduled Caste or Dalit leader from Sabarkantha.

Besides Dhanani and Bavaliya from the Patidar community, the Congress high command picked Siddharth Patel, son of former Chief Minister Chimanbhai Patel, as the chairman of Election Campaign Committee.

Senior leaders Madhusudan Mistry, Shaktisinh Gohil and Arjun Modhvadia have been appointed as chairmen of Election Manifesto Committee, Election Media Committee and Election Publicity and Material Committee respectively.

Party General Secretary Mistry, who is believed to be close to Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, has also been named Chairman of the Election Coordination Committee for Urban Areas which is the toughest territory for the Congress in Gujarat.

A senior leader told IANS that with a view to have a vast representation from the second and third rung leaders "to make them feel part of the decision-making process and responsible for the party's victory", the high command has expanded the State structure at various levels by appointing over 100 new office-bearers.

The appointments include 10 Vice Presidents, 14 General Secretaries, seven spokespersons, 63 Secretaries, four Executive Committee members and nine special invitees. This is besides 13 presidents of various city and district party committees.
New Delhi, Aug 25 : A doctor working with the city's St. Stephen's Hospital was stabbed to death and his throat slit by a former colleague within the hospital premises in north Delhi over personal animosity, police said on Friday.

Police said the accused, identified as Suyesh Gupta, went missing after killing his friend, deceased Sashwat Pandey, 26, in the Radiology Department of the hospital. A manhunt is on to nab the killer doctor.

The incident came to light when the body of Pandey, 26, hailing from Allahabad, was found lying in a pool of blood by senior doctors and police late on Thursday night in the X-ray Department of the hospital.

"With the help of biometric record, we discovered that around 1.00 a.m Gupta had entered Pandey's room in the Radiology Department. When a staff-member went to take signature of Pandey at the department, he found the door was locked from outside. He got suspicious as the door is never locked from outside during duty hours," Deputy Commissioner of Police Jatin Narwal said.

"The hospital administration informed police and they jointly broke open the door. The body of Pandey was found inside the department with surgical blade injuries on his chest, face and neck," Narwal said.

"Gupta and Pandey were friends and worked in the same department in the hospital, but Gupta was later sacked by the management over some irregularities four months ago. Gupta stays with his mother in Sabzi Mandi area. His car with its seat with blood stains was recovered from Anand Vihar area," the officer added.

"They later turned foes owing to some personal issue, following which Gupta killed Pandey. The exact reason for killing Pandey can be ascertained only after his arrest," he said.

Pandey did his MBBS from Manipal University in Karnataka and took admission in 2015 at the St. Stephen's Hospital's college. Gupta is a native of Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh.
Rieti (Italy), Aug 26 : A pine forest in Italy's Lazio that spelled out the world 'Dux', the Latin nickname given to wartime fascist dictator Benito Mussolini by his followers was severely damaged by a wildfire, the fire brigade said on Friday.

A man was reported to police for allegedly starting the fire on Monte Giano near Rieti while trying to cook some tomatoes, according to the fire brigade.

The 20,000 pine trees were planted on the mountainside by forestry students in honour of Mussolini in 1939 and later declared a natural monument.

Mussonlini was known as Il Duce (The Duke) in Italian. 'Dux' is the Latin translation.

Far-right group CasaPound said it would re-plant the forest and giant letters of the Duce's name.

"It survived 70 years of militant anti-fascism and we won't allow it to be wiped out by the careless act of a fool," the group said.
Tehran, Aug 26 : Iran's telecommunications minister said his country will legally sue a recent decision by Apple for removing Iranian apps from its App Store, Tehran Times daily reported on Friday.

Apple holds 11 percent share of the Iranian cellphone market, however, it has not observed the Iranian consumer rights, Mohammad Javad Azari-Jahromi was quoted as saying.

"We will legally sue (the issue of) removing of the apps," Azari-Jahromi said.

Pursuant to the US sanctions, Apple has no official presence in Iran. Millions of Iranians use iPhones smuggled in from different countries and thousands of apps have been created for Iranians in App Store.

On Thursday, Apple removed Snapp, a ride-hailing app similar to Uber that is popular in Iran, from its app stores. That followed by the removal in recent weeks of apps for food delivery, shopping and other services.

In a message to Iranian developers whose apps were affected by the ban, Apple said, "Under the US sanctions regulations, the App Store cannot host, distribute or do business with apps or developers connected to certain US embargoed countries."

In January, Apple pulled a number of Iran-based iOS apps from the App Store, including online e-commerce service Digikala, citing noncompliance with Iranian Transactions Sanctions Regulations.

"Since Apple takes a cut of all App Store purchases, sales from Iranian apps generate revenue and are thus in violation of US law," Apple said.
FDIC-insured investments are a niche product for conservative investors, but there is demand there.

Savingforcollege.com, a leading independent college savings resource and authority on 529 plans, conducted a study to review and compare plans that offer FDIC insured products. The study found that yield on FDIC-insurance products varied widely, ranging from 0.03% to 0.92% for savings portfolios to 0.25% to 2.00% for CDs, depending on the duration. Total annual asset-based fees for plans offering an FDIC-insured product ranged from 0.00% to 0.67%, and nine plans charged account maintenance fees unless certain conditions were met.

At the time of the study, the Utah Educational Savings Plan offered the highest APY net of fees, at 0.92%, followed by the Arizona Family College Savings Program - Bank Plan (0.90%) and Indianas CollegeChoice CD 529 Savings Plan (0.90%), both managed by College Savings Bank, a division of NexBank SSB. The study also examined cost versus returns, looking at published fees as reported by the plans. A wide disparity and lack of correlation was found between expense ratios and yield, where plans with no fees, including Ohios CollegeAdvantage Direct 529, the Arizona Family College Savings Program - Bank Plan and CollegeChoice CD achieved the highest yields with zero fees, and Achieve Montana, which has above-average costs and a low yield.

FDIC-insured investments are a niche product for conservative investors, but there is demand there, said Brian Boswell, Savingforcollege.coms vice president of research and development. This study found that these products can vary greatly from plan to plan. Families interested in using FDIC-insured products inside a 529 plan would do well to look carefully at fees, yields, withdrawal restrictions and penalties before participating.

FDIC-insured investments are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government up to certain limits in the event of a bank failure. Currently, there are 24 college savings plans that offer an FDIC-insured investment option, which include savings accounts and bank certificates of deposits (CDs). These products allow families to take advantage of the tax benefits and flexibility offered by 529 plans, without risking their principal investment.

This study was sponsored by CollegeSavings Bank, a division of Nexbank SSB. To download the complete report, click here.

About Savingforcollege.com:

Savingforcollege.com has been a leading independent authority on 529 college savings plans since 1999. The site compiles and analyzes data, and creates content and tools to provide parents, financial professionals and state agencies with resources to help them understand how to meet the challenge of increasing higher education costs.
With regular dental visits and the use of the effective LANAP procedure, I can provide my patients with their best chance at treating their gum disease and maintaining periodontal health.

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About Dr. Kingsley

Dr. Kingsley graduated from dental school at B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Science in 2006, then received a Masters of Science in Periodontics from the University of Detroit Mercy in 2015. She also served as Chief Resident for Graduate Periodontics from 2014-2015. She lives in Minneapolis with her husband and son. They enjoy hiking and spending time on the lakes.

For information on the LANAP protocol, call (612) 638-1234 or visit https://www.metro-dentalcare.com.
Girls in Tech, a global organization focused on the empowerment, entrepreneurship, engagement, and education of women in technology, is proud to announce female founder Sophia Mahfooz, originally from Afghanistan via the UK, as Chief Operating Officer. In her new role, Sophia will drive growth opportunities, global partnerships, and new programming to expand Girls in Techs global reach, paying particular attention to underserved populations and regions in order to create a new generation of women in STEM fields.

Sophias promotion to COO marks a major milestone for Girls in Tech, which now has more than 60,000 members across more than 60 global chapters. She has worked directly with some of the biggest names in tech to build custom programming that fosters diverse and inclusive recruitment initiatives.

Sophia brings incredible dedication and work ethic to Girls in Tech. Her leadership skill and passion for helping women founders have impacted everyone from our members to our partners to our chapter directors, said Adriana Gascoigne, Founder and CEO of Girls in Tech. Whats more, her unique and impressive background as an advocate for global womens rights brings an incredible perspective to Girls in Tech. These are things that we need now more than ever as we continue to grow international impact and reach more women in tech around the world

For Mahfooz, opportunities for women and girls has been close to her heart since her family was forced to escape Afghanistan, and settle in London in her youth. She excelled at school early on, took part in hackathons and founded multiple startups. She arrived in the U.S. to take part in Draper University, where she was mentored by Tim Draper and later became a startup mentor for a new generation of female founders.

In addition, she works with Parliament to increase initiatives for Afghan women and co-wrote a proposal to create the Ideas College, a school now funded by the British government that gives underprivileged pupils and immigrant and minority children access to training in skills like coding and UX design.

Sophias key focus will build regional relationships to ensure Girls in Tech continues to expand globally, and will lead cross chapter projects and initiatives.

What excites me most about my role at Girls in Tech is our massive potential for global change, Sophia Mahfooz said. With international reach and such a large membership base, there is no limit to what we can achieve.

About Girls in Tech

Girls in Tech (GIT) is a global nonprofit focused on the engagement, education and empowerment of girls and women who are passionate about technology. Adriana Gascoigne founded GIT in 2007 to create a support framework to help women advance their careers in STEM fields. GIT aims to accelerate the growth of innovative women entering into the high-tech industry and building startups. GIT achieves this through the creation of proprietary, innovative programming and strategic global partnerships.

With headquarters in San Francisco and more than 60,000 members located around the globe, GIT relies on volunteer efforts to lead each of the 60 local chapters. Programming and events vary by chapter based on local interests and needs. GIT is not just for professional women. It exists for anyone with an interest in technology, startups and providing women with a platform for growth. But GIT operates with the spirit of the girl within all of usfearless, lively and determined. For the latest updates, read GITs blog or follow them on Facebook or Twitter.

For questions or media inquiries, please email Girls In Tech at: ann.murray(at)girlsintech(dot)org
SEO Services Consultants, a full-service offshore SEO solutions agency, headquartered in Mohali, Punjab  and serving thousands of overseas clients  has reported the launch of its new, optimized website. Developed by the expert web designers of Softtrix Web Solutions, an award-winning web development and digital marketing company in Chandigarh, India the new SEO tools based website is responsive and upgraded for the highest quality customer experience.

The website that went online on 15th August, features advanced navigation which is all the more welcoming to clients looking for information related to Search Engine Optimization, Search Engine Marketing, including the latest developments happening in the online marketing world.

Softtrix Web Solutions is a well known enterprise who has over the years introduced an array of web tools for website management and strategy. The company has helped customers gain visibility and a sizable social media presence. SEO Services Consultants, one of the elite customers of Softtrix, will be outfitted with a full range of content management, social media management and content marketing tools.

The design of the new website is specifically developed for all mobile devices is honed for Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs), as well as integrated with an informative blog. Softtrix has also been contracted to create, enhance and manage social media pages for SEO Services Consultants (http://www.seo-services-consultants.com), regards to various world-leading social networking websites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and so on.

Ashwani Kumar, the co-founder and Managing Director of Softtrix, while in a media conference held in Mohali Press Club, last Sunday said, The website will work beautifully on mobiles and will be a big step forward to expand the online presence of SEO Services Consultants. Our focus was customer experience. So, our website is designed to have user-friendly navigation options and feature, all the engaging products, services of SEO Services Consultants.

Softtrix, has additionally integrated a modest bunch of easy to navigate sub-pages. They highlight the diverse aspects of, Search Engine Marketing and Social Media Optimization for improving the knowledge of customers. The information on the website is updated on a daily basis. Various packages and programs on digital marketing campaigns, specials, including the Request a Service option, are auxiliary features which are available for the benefit of customers.

About Softtrix Web Solutions

Since 2006, Softtrix has been a market leader in end-to-end digital marketing products and services. Softtrix has consistently supported local as well as international companies to assert, their authority in cyberland. The agency is based in Mohali, Punjab that offers bespoke packages on Website Design, SEO (https://www.softtrix.com/outsource-seo-services/), Digital Marketing, Pay-Per-Click Advertising, Social Media campaigns, content marketing, etc. Softtrix works to empower B2B and B2C companies, over a large range of industries.
The Diameter Health platform normalizes, transforms, enriches, and de-duplicates disorderly clinical data so it can be used to improve patient care and enable population health analytics.

Diameter Health and Four Points Technology, LLC announced today that they received an award for the Diameter Health CCD Analyzer solution from the Department of Veterans Affairs(VA) to provide clinical data quality surveillance for VA health system. The VA provides healthcare services to more than 9 million enrolled US Veterans across more than 1700 outpatient sites, Vet centers and VA hospitals.

Organizations like VA who must manage clinical data from different electronic health records (EHRs) know all about what we call clinical data disorder, said Eric Rosow, Diameter Healths CEO. The Diameter Health platform normalizes, transforms, enriches, and de-duplicates disorderly clinical data so it can be used to improve patient care and enable population health analytics.

Diameter Health is teamed with Four Points Technology for this effort. Four Points is a CVE-verified Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) delivering technology solutions to Government customers around the world. Four Points partners with top manufacturers and software companies to provide leading edge information technology solutions.

Working with healthcare solution providers such as Diameter Health, and innovating into the Cloud, we are enhancing the ability of VA healthcare professionals to serve Veterans, in which we take great pride. Having better data will allow clinicians to help Veterans more effectively, stated David Gilchrist, President and CEO of Four Points Technology.

We are honored to be awarded a contract from the Department of Veterans Affairs to serve its members, Americas service men and women, said Rosow. Additionally, we very much appreciate our partnership with Four Points. Their depth of experience with VA, and with federal government technology standards in general, is a perfect complement with Diameter Healths expertise in clinical data management and technology.

About Diameter Health

Diameter Health was founded to transform healthcare through clinical intelligence fueled by interoperability standards. Diameter Health is a technological innovator in enabling productive use of clinical data. For more information, visit http://www.diameterhealth.com or email us at info(at)diameterhealth(dot)com .

About Four Points Technology

Four Points Technology is a CVE verified Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) dedicated to providing IT Products and Professional Services to the Federal Government. Four Points Technology offers solutions that support a wide variety of business initiatives specifically suited for Government organizations. http://www.4points.com
FASF recipient Julia Morris, Johnny Mac Soldiers Fund President MaryEllen Picciuto, Freedom Alliance Founder & Honorary Chairman Oliver North and FASF Student Ambassador Jake Rangel. "We are proud to partner with such a great organization," said Freedom Alliance President Tom Kilgannon.

Freedom Alliance, a nonprofit that supports military service members and their families in a variety of ways, recently received a $350,000 donation from Johnny Mac Soldiers Fund. The presentation was held Wednesday, August 23 at Freedom Alliance headquarters in Dulles, Virginia.

Freedom Alliance provides more than $1 million each year in college scholarships to the children of fallen or disabled service members. Since 2003, more than 1,000 students have been provided with financial assistance for college, but more importantly, each scholarship awarded honors the military service and sacrifice of an American hero. Tom Kilgannon, President of Freedom Alliance explained that the organizations scholarship program is unique because the only way a student can qualify is through great personal sacrifice for them and their parent.

The Johnny Mac Soldiers Fund shares the same passion for helping military families. The organization was established in 2014 by a group of West Point graduates and named after fellow classmate, Colonel John Johnny Mac McHugh, who was killed in Kabul, Afghanistan on May 18, 2010 by a suicide bomber who attacked his convoy. McHugh was a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, served for 24 years in the Army, was a Blackhawk helicopter pilot, a devoted husband and the father of five children. To date, the Johnny Mac Soldiers Fund has honored his legacy by awarding $6 million for college scholarships.

It is a privilege to partner with Freedom Alliance to fund college scholarships for children of our nations fallen or disabled service men and women. Its our duty  were united in that vision at Johnny Mac Soldiers Fund, commented the organizations president, MaryEllen Picciuto.

Picciuto presented the check to Freedom Alliance President Tom Kilgannon who commented, Colonel McHugh was an American hero who dedicated himself to his family and country. His classmates at West Point are doing an amazing job in honoring his legacy and caring for fellow service members in his name. We are proud to partner with such a great organization," said Kilgannon.

Jake Rangel, a Freedom Alliance scholarship recipient, was also on hand for the presentation. Jake is one of 323 students who are currently receiving scholarships from Freedom Alliance and is an example of the impact this kind of assistance makes in the lives of heroes children. Jakes father, SSgt. Ray Rangel, served as a firefighter in the Air Force until he died in Iraq while risking his life to save two soldiers trapped in a Humvee that overturned in a canal. Jake was only 9 years old when he lost his father in 2005. Now, with assistance from Freedom Alliance, he is beginning his senior year at Kutztown University and pursuing a degree in communications. As the Freedom Alliance Student Ambassador this summer, Jake represented scholarship students by traveling and sharing his story with supporters and grateful Americans across the country.

There are an estimated 6,000 children whose fathers lost their lives in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom who, if they choose to attend college, will be eligible for the Freedom Alliance scholarship. This scholarship is awarded to undergraduate students once per academic year and is renewable for a total of four terms.

Freedom Alliance is now accepting applications for the upcoming academic year. Students interested in applying can find additional details online at http://www.FAScholarship.com.

For more information on the Johnny Mac Soldiers Fund, please visit http://www.JohnnyMac.org.

About Freedom Alliance

Freedom Alliance is a charitable organization which provides help and support to wounded troops and military families. Freedom Alliance has awarded nearly $12 million in college scholarships to the children of military heroes killed or disabled in military service and spent millions more helping injured veterans and military families with outdoor recreational therapy trips, Heroes Vacations, care packages for deployed troops, mortgage-free homes, all-terrain wheel chairs and much more. You can learn more about Freedom Alliance at http://www.FreedomAlliance.org.
KARNAK, an industry-leading manufacturer of reflective coatings, sealants and cements, today announced the launch of an updated website designed for an improved user experience. A key feature on the new site is a decision tree that helps visitors determine which product is right for them by walking them through a series of simple questions.

The new design gives site users quick access to important information and resources including product installation videos and instructions and technical data. Frequently asked questions are addressed as they relate to fabrics and reinforcements; damp proofing and waterproofing and for general roofing scenarios.

The Roof and Foundation Conditions page identifies common issues that are experienced on roofs and walls. The causes of the conditions are reviewed and the damage that can be created is described along with suggested maintenance and repair information provided for each condition.

The new website is optimized for access from mobile devices with pages that rapidly load and navigation that is easy to use on a smartphone or tablet. Visitors to the site can also stay informed on the latest company activities and news by signing up for the new email newsletter. Visit the new site at http://www.karnakcorp.com

About KARNAK Corporation

KARNAK, a Certified Womens Business Enterprise, manufactures and supplies reflective coatings, cements, and sealants for roofing and waterproofing. It provides roofing products, damp-proofing and waterproofing products, fabrics and repair tapes, caulks, sealant and flooring products, and elastomeric products. The company serves architects, specifiers, contractors, distributors, and building owners in the United States, the Caribbean, Latin America, the Middle East, Europe, and Asia. It markets and sells its products through sales representatives in the United States and internationally. The company was founded in 1932 and is based in Clark, New Jersey. For more information, visit http://www.KARNAKcorp.com.
HigherVisibilitys Internet marketing solutions are built around offering better results for the long haul, and that requires more of a strategy than a quick fix.

Inc. Magazine has released its annual Inc. 5000 list, and Memphis-area SEO firm HigherVisibility has again been named on the list as one of Americas most rapidly-growing private companies. 2017 marks the third year that HigherVisibility has received this honor.

Founded in 2008 by a team of Internet marketing veterans, HigherVisibility has experienced an average growth rate of 75% over the last three years and placed #3865 on this years list. HigherVisibility has grown its services over the years, expanding its offerings from more local, SEO-centric services to a fuller range of Internet marketing options that also include social media strategy, PPC (pay per click) marketing and Web design.

HigherVisibilitys Internet marketing solutions are built around offering better results for the long haul, and that requires more of a strategy than a quick fix, says Scott Langdon, HigherVisibilitys Managing Partner. Were dedicated to keeping up with Internet marketing trends and staying ahead of the competition in an industry thats constantly evolving!

HigherVisibility has also helped level the playing field for businesses of different sizes, across a wide spectrum of industries.

Whether you have your own internal or external marketing department in place or need us to step in and handle all your SEO, social media strategy, web design and other marketing needs, were ready to work with you to get the best results, says Langdon. Well work with your team or as your team.

Along with many smaller mom-and-pop shops across the country, HigherVisibility has also attracted many major clients -- including Orangetheory Fitness, eBay, Mathnasium, Warner Brothers, PBS, Allstate Insurance, Caliber Collision, and many more household names.

HigherVisibilitys individualized approach is not only attractive to clients, but its encouraging and positive workplace culture is also attractive to potential employees: HigherVisibility has been a past finalist in Memphis Business Journals annual Memphis Best Places to Work; and in 2013, the SEO firm was honored with a Hire Power Award for being one of the top job creators in Tennessee for that year.

Making the Fortune 5000 list three years in a row is a great honor, says Langdon, but we intend to keep improving on areas where were already one of the leading SEO firms in the country.

About HigherVisibility

HigherVisibility was founded in 2008 and quickly grew from a company offering SEO and Web design to Memphis-area businesses to a national leader in the Internet marketing field. The company has been featured in The Huffington Post, Forbes, Business Insider, Entrepreneur and many other high-profile business publications. HigherVisibility is also consistently one of the most highly ranked companies on the Top 10 lists of third party SEO review sites such as BestSEOCompanies.com, Clutch.co, TopSEOs and others.

For more information contact:

HigherVisibility

Adam Heitzman

Managing Partner

901-672-7243 x13

adam(at)highervisibility(dot)com
CSG Government Solutions, a national leader in government program modernization, today announced that several of its state healthcare and human services program experts were featured speakers at the annual Medicaid Enterprise Systems Conference (MESC) held August 15-18 in Baltimore, Maryland.

MESC brings together leaders from state and federal programs, as well as the private sector, to exchange information and ideas on Medicaid systems and initiatives, and health policy affected by those systems. Attendees gain valuable insight into recent trends, best practices, and ways to maximize results from their systems and processes.

Leaders of CSGs Healthcare and Human Services practice who led presentations and participated in panels included Lisa Alger, Dawn Boland, Michael Collisi, Robin Dufresne, Mark Elliott, Jeff Leintz, and Amanda Starr. CSGs experts spoke on trending topics including Medicaid Information Technology Architecture 3.0, modularity, integration and interoperability, Independent Verification and Validation, data management, testing, and privacy and security.

We appreciated the opportunity to share our knowledge and expertise during the MES conference again this year, says Robin Dufresne, Director of CSG's Healthcare and Human Services practice. Our continued participation in this key industry event reinforces our dedication to advancing the Medicaid program and state healthcare initiatives, and CSGs reputation as a leader in healthcare program transformation.

CSG Government Solutions deploys highly experienced teams and innovative methods, knowledge, and tools to help governments modernize complex program enterprises. CSG clients include 45 state governments, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Department of Labor, and large municipal governments.

CONTACT:

Robin Dufresne

Director, Healthcare and Human Services Practice

CSG Government Solutions

180 N. Stetson Ave

Suite 3200

Chicago, IL 60601

312.444.2760 Fax: 312.938.2191

rdufresne(at)csgdelivers(dot)com

About CSG Government Solutions:

CSG Government Solutions is a leading government operations consulting firm focused on helping states modernize critical program enterprises. Our highly experienced teams and industry-leading Centers of Excellence help governments leverage innovative technology and processes to meet the challenges of administering complex programs. Founded in 1997, CSG has established itself as a trusted adviser to government agencies across the U.S. For more information, visit http://www.csgdelivers.com and connect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter.
President of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy (AIFD) and co-founder of the Muslim Reform Movement, Dr. M. Zuhdi Jasser, expressed disappointment at President Trump's "business as usual" approach to extremism in his speech on Afghanistan and terrorism on Monday, August 21st.

Dr. Jasser states, "I approached [Trump's] speech with some hope that he would introduce a plan to fight the root cause of violent jihadi terror, Islamism. Unfortunately, he did exactly the opposite: vowing a bold military approach without the on-the-ground work to defeat radical ideology at its source."

Rather than a full throated condemnation of Islamism, the totalitarian theo-political ideology behind violent jihadi terror, the speech was merely a commitment to more military action: something that is no doubt often necessary, but that is not the solution to the root cause of Islamist violence.

"This is both troubling and dangerous. To commit to only military action without a holistic approach to Islamism is like arresting a drunk driver and dropping him off at the bar... Without the muscular liberalism required to support reformers and squash Islamism, the threat of Islamist violence will never vanquish," he concludes.

A devout Muslim, Dr. Jasser founded AIFD in the wake of the 9/11 attacks on the United States as an effort to provide an American Muslim voice advocating for the preservation of the founding principles of the United States Constitution, liberty and freedom, through the separation of mosque and state. Dr. Jasser is a first generation American Muslim whose parents fled the oppressive Baath regime of Syria in the mid-1960s for American freedom.

He is leading the fight to shake the hold that the Muslim Brotherhood and their network of American Islamist organizations and mosques seek to exert on organized Islam in America.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Dr. M. Zuhdi Jasser also published recently an article in Asia Times entitled "Radical Islam: We Must Talk About More Than Just ISIS." It can be read here: http://www.atimes.com/radical-islam-must-talk-isis//
Millburn's Complete Streets program is restoring the vibrancy of downtown with locations where pedestrians gather called "parklets." The Complete Streets project has made the town safer for our customers. New sidewalks and safer crosswalks will lead to increased foot traffic in our store," says Kevin Schmidt, general manager of Playa Bowls.

Millburn Township announced today that a four-week construction project, stretching from Spring Street to Douglas Street along Millburn Avenue, will begin on September 6, 2017. The work is the last piece of Phase I of Millburn Townships Complete Streets program that improves the safety and livability of the downtown area. This project, along a short stretch of Millburn Avenue, will improve pedestrian safety for students at Washington School and Millburn High School while enhancing sidewalk accessibility by making the area compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

We recognize that the timing of this last portion of construction of Phase I is not ideal. The timing, however, is a result of careful review by the Ad Hoc Committee and its recommendations to the Township Committee, based on feedback from our community members. We are looking forward to the completion of Phase I of the project while we carefully consider the next phase. I want to thank each and every person in Millburn for their patience and understanding while we work to complete Phase I, says Millburn Township Mayor Cheryl Burstein.

The goal of this last piece of the project is to establish an aesthetic and inviting entrance into downtown Millburn while improving pedestrian safety.

Crews will work in the area Monday through Friday from 7:00 AM - 3:00 PM ET while being cognizant of school traffic; deliveries to the contractor will be limited to the hours of 9:00 AM  2:00 PM ET. There will be no lane closures and traffic flow will not be disrupted or detoured. Police officers will be on site during critical periods of construction to assist pedestrians crossing the street.

The scope of improvements includes increasing the size of the existing pedestrian safety island at the intersection of Douglas Street and Millburn Avenue, making the crossing distance shorter for pedestrians. It will also create safer crossing conditions for students who make the daily trek to Millburn High School along Millburn Avenue.

In addition to the enlarged pedestrian safety island on Douglas Street, the corner curb will be adjusted to provide space for an ADA-compliant curb ramp and improve pedestrian visibility.

Lastly, adjustments will be made on Millburn Avenue between Douglas Street and Spring Street. Improvements will include new sidewalks, ADA-compliant driveway aprons, street trees, landscaping, bicycle racks and improved crosswalks. Particular care will be taken to facilitate easy traffic flow to the new fifth grade Washington School for cars and buses.

The work being done along Millburn Avenue makes me feel much safer as a pedestrian and a parent. I am happy the township is prioritizing the safety of its residents, especially after all the accidents weve seen here, says Adam Goldberg, a resident of Millburn Township for more than 11 years, with two children who are nine and seven years old.

The Complete Streets project has made the town safer for our customers. New sidewalks and safer crosswalks will lead to increased foot traffic we see in our store. We are excited to see the new life this project will bring to the downtown area as we continue to grow our business in Millburn, says Kevin Schmidt, general manager of Playa Bowls, located on Millburn Avenue off Main Street.

The $8.2 million Complete Streets program was adopted by the Township Committee in 2014 to update functionally obsolete downtown infrastructure and make roadways and sidewalks safer for motorists and pedestrians. From 2013 to 2016, Millburn saw 117 accidents, with 19 of those involving pedestrians, where Millburn Avenue and Essex Street intersect with Main Street.

Two years of extensive planning and engineering research went into the Complete Streets project with multi-disciplinary design professionals from Arterial, LLC, expert traffic analysis by Sam Schwartz Engineering and recommendations from the township engineering department, the local police and fire departments, and Essex County. The project also includes feedback from multiple public open houses where residents shared safety and traffic flow concerns.

Phase I of construction began in July 2016. A stretch of Main Street, between Essex Street and Millburn Avenue, was transformed into a downtown event space that can host festivals, concerts and more. The new event street features widened sidewalks, a concrete roadbed and overhead string lighting. Millburn Avenue was then improved to include wider sidewalks, fresh landscaping with more than 40 new street trees, corner bump-outs and high-visibility crosswalks. Modern traffic signals and timing were also incorporated into the design to improve traffic flow.

Additionally, a new road called Town Hall Plaza was created to serve as a connection between Essex Street and Millburn Avenue to help ease traffic and improve the shopping experience and commercial viability in this area.

Creating walkable and vibrant downtowns are the trend across the country  and with this project, Millburn is ahead of the curve. While we recognize that it is still very early, we are very optimistic about the impact it is having already, says David Lustberg, CEO and Principal of Arterial, LLC. In addition to the pedestrian safety aspects, the project provides a canvas for the town and merchants to use to energize the downtown through creative place making, pedestrian activity and events.

To address parking concerns and impacts expressed by residents and store owners, Millburn Township added 15-minute free parking spaces in Zone C on Millburn Avenue. The township also improved upon a SmartPhone app, MPay2Park. This app allows motorists to easily pay for parking on their phones, eliminating time spent at parking meters. Convenience fees were removed from the app.

About the Complete Streets Program

Starting in 20143, Millburn Township adopted a Complete Streets program outlining a series of goals and objectives to make the streets safer for pedestrians, improve traffic flow, address intersection congestion and calm traffic where appropriate. The Complete Streets program is part of a national coalition that is driving towns throughout the U.S. to create livable, attractive communities with accessibility to public places for all. The changes in Millburn, enacted through multiple phases of construction, will also enhance the vibrancy of streets for pedestrians leading to greater walkway flow for local businesses while supporting the economic vitality of the area. The proposed changes came from a complex assessment process that took into consideration a myriad of challenges that faced vehicles, pedestrians and businesses in the town. Township officials encourage residents to review the conceptual plans, ask questions and provide feedback. http://www.twp.millburn.nj.us/302/Complete-Streets

About Millburn, New Jersey

Established in 1857, Millburn, NJ is a suburban township in Essex County, New Jersey. With a population of more than 20,000, the township is home to 200 retailers along with top ranked schools that serve over 4,000 students. Landmarks within Millburn, NJ, include the South Mountain Reservation, The Mall at Short Hills and the Paper Mill Playhouse. http://www.twp.millburn.nj.us
Governor Chris Sununu is pleased to welcome Digital Skin Imaging (DSI Acquisition Inc.), a new high-tech medical device company, to Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The welcome event will be held on Tuesday, August 29, 2017 from 5:30 PM  7:30 PM at Medtronic, 180 International Drive in Portsmouth, NH. Speakers will include Governor Sununu, Karleen Seybold, CEO of DSI, and Linda Fanaras, EVP of DSI. The event is open to the public and the media.

As part of his 100 Businesses in 100 Days initiative launched early in his term, Governor Sununu met with DSIs CEO Karleen Seybold to discuss the relocation of DSI to New Hampshire. The Governors goal through his 100 Businesses in 100 Days initiative was to connect with out-of-state businesses  with a focus on technology, manufacturing, and aerospace  and learn what they wanted and needed in order to relocate to New Hampshire. This initiative is part of the Governors greater commitment to stimulating economic development, and bringing more businesses into the state.

Governor Sununu said, Workforce, jobs, and quality of life are all interconnected. By attracting many great companies like Digital Skin Imaging, we can reach that critical mass of opportunities for new workers. By combining those opportunities with our unparalleled quality of life, we can ensure a vibrant and dynamic new workforce, and unleash the untapped potential of New Hampshires economy.

Karleen Seybold, CEO of DSI, stated, We are excited by the opportunity to join many great technology businesses in New Hampshire. As a first-to-market total body imaging solution in its early stages, DSI is seeking growth capital through an engagement with US Capital Partners, San Francisco, CA. Our goals align with the NH initiative, and we plan to build a >$100m company over the next five years. We are looking forward to bringing hundreds of new jobs and opportunities to New Hampshire and the Portsmouth area.

Welcome Event Information:

VIP Guest

Governor Chris Sununu

Date/Time:

Tuesday, August 29

5:30 PM  7:30 PM

Event Location:

Medtronic

180 International Drive

Portsmouth, NH 03801

Presented by:

Karleen Seybold, Digital Skin Imaging (DSI Acquisition Inc.), CEO

Linda Fanaras, Digital Skin Imaging (DSI Acquisition Inc.), EVP

Patrick Steele, US Capital Partners, Sr. Vice President

RSVP:

Contact: Linda Fanaras, 617-869-1668

RSVP: lfanaras(at)digitalskinimaging(dot)com

About Digital Skin Imaging

Digital Skin Imaging offers DermSpectra, an innovative, automated total body digital skin imaging system that enables physicians to detect, track, and monitor critical skin changes (skin cancers, eczema, moles, psoriasis, and rashes) to ensure the best healthcare outcomes for patients. Installed in medical centers throughout the US, this new technology equips physicians with a state-of-the-art, powerful skin and body imaging tool that aids in the detection of skin cancers. Dedicated to the advancement of medical technologies in early skin disease detection, the DermSpectra product is rapidly gaining adoption by the medical community, government, and general public.

For more information, call 1-800-610-2079.

###

DermSpectra is a trademark of DSI Acquisition Inc.

Other trademarks are trademarks of their respective companies
Payroll Debit Cards

Directly depositing payroll has been the backbone for U.S. employers payroll and accounting structures for decades. Even the U.S. Treasury Department utilizes electronic payments, such as direct deposit, as a result of a U.S. federal law in 1996. With 82% of U.S. workers paid through direct deposit*, the key benefit to employers has been the elimination of costly manual check preparation and delivery plus improved worker satisfaction and efficiency.

The challenge, however, that arises for employers in todays business environment is that nearly one-fifth of the U.S. workforce continues to be unbanked, meaning they dont have a bank account, therefore requiring a physical paycheck. Historically speaking, the unbanked population has primarily been lower-wage employees. However, with the emergence of millennials in the workplace, innovative payroll solutions such as Juice For Business have become necessary since millennials are intentionally shunning traditional financial institutions. The difficulties facing millennials, as well as lower-wage employees, include bank requirements of maintaining minimal balances as well as costly account fees.

Founded in 2016, Juice For Business is an innovative paycheck replacement solution that provides Juice PayOut Cards* to employees in lieu of a traditional printed payroll check. This pioneering payment system mutually benefits both the company as well as the employees. Juice PayOut Cards* provide employees without a bank account a simplified, effective means of getting compensated. Rather than write out individual paychecks each pay period, the employer automatically pays their workers with Juice PayOut Cards*. Using proprietary technology, this payment solution immediately puts the funds into the hands of employees via their individual Juice PayOut Cards.

The benefits are numerous including the elimination of printing out checks. According to NACHA, the electronic payments association, the average cost to a company for a printed payroll check is approximately $157 per employee, per year, every year*. On the employee side of the equation, unbanked individuals routinely utilize check cashing facilities, however, check cashing services can be expensive and time consuming. The payout cards save the employee money and time.

The system is quite simple - the payroll funds are automatically loaded onto each employees payout card. At this point, the employee can spend the card at any of the 35 million locations worldwide that accept Mastercard. Cardholders can conveniently use their Juice PayOut Cards* to pay bills or make online purchases.

Juice For Business, CEO, Moshe Golomb, stated at a recent industry roundtable discussion, Juice Payout Cards are appealing to todays millennials who find that the banking industry doesnt meet their financial needs with monthly maintenance fees, and overdraft charges. The appeal of PayOut Cards is a rapidly growing option that helps millennials and unbanked workers manage their money and protect their finances.

Juice For Business, located in New York, NY, has made direct deposit more direct than ever. For information on how your company can take advantage of Juice Payout Cards, contact Juice For Business at +1 888 JUICE-50, or visit http://www.juiceforbusiness.com.

*Source: nacha.org

*PayOut Cards are a general purpose reloadable prepaid card, presented as an option for employee enrollment. * Print cost per check based on data from http://www.nacha.org.
The compromise of SB 1 will still attempt to bailout Chicago Public Schools' pension debacle and deepen the state's financial problems while adding in scholarship tax credits.

CHICAGO - The Illinois Republican Party is very pleased with the education bill compromise the four party leaders and Governor Rauner have arrived at, but at least two GOP House members are very disappointed with the plan they could be asked to vote on as soon as next week. [UPDATE: One Democrat House member is now on record opposing it, too.]

"Yesterday, Governor Rauner, House and Senate Republicans, and House and Senate Democrats announced a compromise plan to pass historic education funding reform," a statement from the IL GOP said Friday. "It proves that bipartisanship is still possible in Illinois."

Dundee's GOP State Rep Allen Skillicorn isn't as enthusiastic, especially since early reports indicate the school funding compromise to replace SB1 includes the same Chicago Pension Bailout or more.



"Not a dime of this money is going to the kids. A yes vote for this is a vote to shovel millions more to the special interests who oppose reform and stand in the way of 21st century education," Skillicorn said in a statement issued Friday. "I'm troubled that the Governor and Republicans will so easily conspire with Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel."

"We can't forget that this crisis started because Speaker Madigan added this poison pill [the Chicago bailout] into the last month's tax hike. If those 16 Republicans and most Democrats had read the bill, our schools wouldn't be hostages," Skillicorn said.



The Illinois GOP said "strong negotiations led by House GOP Leader Jim Durkin and Senate GOP Leader Bill Brady" poises Illinois to have a school choice program for the first time  something the Chicago Teachers Union is not happy about.

This plan will simply make things worse - much worse, State Rep. David McSweeney (R-Barrington) told Illinois Review Friday.

"The 'compromise' education formula deal appears to be a total capitulation by the Governor. I now understand why Mayor Emanuel is so happy," McSweeney said.

Under the plan as McSweeney reads it, CPS could get even more money than under SB 1 and the state will spend about $7.5 billion more on education over the next ten years without real reforms that cut school administrative costs and encourage consolidation.

It may actually force yet another tax hike, McSweeney said.

"While I support the scholarship tax credits, overall, this is a bad deal for taxpayers that will set up immediate pressure for another harmful tax hike."

UPDATE: Democrat State Rep. Will Guzzardi of Chicago is opposed to the compromise the four leaders have agreed upon - hinting that it may not be so easy to get the three-fifths needed to override the Governor's veto.

Legislative leaders in Springfield have proposed a resolution to the state's school funding crisis. That compromise contains a $75 million annual tax credit for wealthy people who donate to private scholarships, Guzzardi's statement says.

"The General Assembly needs to reject this deal. Giving rich people a huge tax loophole for driving students out of public schools and into private schools is bad public policy," Guzzardi said. "It undermines public education and increases wealth inequality."

Guzzardi said that the legislature should instead pass school funding that supports every public school in our state, especially those schools that serve our students in greatest need.

More to come ...
And, we're told, the governor could be getting other letters similar to Lake County's over the weekend.

But the measure isn't at all what some are saying it is, Lake County GOP Chairman Mark Shaw wrote the governor. SB 31 is a phony proposal that won't change the state law towards federal authorities at all. Indeed, Shaw said, it's a "sham bill."

LAKE COUNTY - The Lake County Republican Central Committee sent Governor Rauner a letter this week, asking him to veto SB 31 - but not for the same reasons to which other conservative Republicans have been pointing. The bill Governor Rauner's office is saying he will sign into law next Monday would stop local law officials from notifying federal immigration authorities as to whether a person they've arrested is in the US illegally.

Shaw told Illinois Review he was disappointed that the letter made its way into our hands, but stood firm in defending its content. He said the Lake County Central Committee is in agreement understanding the political trick bag Speaker Madigan loves to put Republican officeholders and activists in by calling for sham votes on bills set up to gain political advantage.

SB 31 is one of those bills, Shaw writes in the letter, and explains their position as to why he should veto the bill in the letter:

In considering whether to veto Senate Bill 31, we understand that some local law enforcement officials may claim that requiring them to question people about, and/or detain people because of, their immigration status when performing official duties may hinder that performance. In addition, we understand that some local law enforcement officials may claim that they have inadequate resources to question and/or detain people that are suspected of being in violation of federal immigration law. Nevertheless, as we are sure you are aware, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, in the case captioned, Jose Jiminez Moreno and Maria Jose Lopez v. Janet Napolitano, et al., No. 11 C 5452 (N.D. Ill 2016), ruled that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainers issued without a warrant, or without probable cause to believe that a removable person is likely to escape, are unenforceable under 8 U.S.C. 1357(a)(2). Additionally, we are sure you are aware that ICE does not require local law enforcement officials to enforce their detainers  whether enforceable or unenforceable under federal law. Therefore, because certain ICE detainers in violation of 8 U.S.C. 1357(a)(2) are already unenforceable under 8 U.S.C. 1357(a)(2), and others not in violation of 8 U.S.C. 1357(a)(2) are not required by ICE to be enforced by local law enforcement officials, Senate Bill 31 is nothing more than a sham bill designed to make you look bad to those who are unlikely to vote for you anyway or to low information voters who are unaware of the political games being played, if you do not sign the bill into law.

Shaw says in the letter that he personally spoke with the legislators that represent Lake County and they agreed that Rauner should be asked to veto the bill. Two of those legislators - Senators Pam Althoff and Dan McConchie both voted for SB 31.

One of the Lake County lawmakers, State Rep. David McSweeney (R-Barrington) told Illinois Review that he opposed SB 31 on the floor and still opposes it.

"Instead of signing SB 31, the governor should use his political capital to focus on developing and passing a plan to cut state spending," McSweeney said. "The governor's failure to focus on a detailed plan to cutspending and his acvocacy of the "Capitol Compromise' tax hike were big mistakes."

Shaw said he'd rather letters like the one he sent the governor would have remained private, but that he hopes the governor will veto SB 31 and call Speaker Madigan on his political ploys.

More to come...
In a statement on Thursday, Baier said he decided to reach out to the president publicly after Trump praised Fox News during an Arizona rally, saying the network treated him "very fairly." Trump specifically complimented opinion hosts who have granted him sympathetic interviews, including Sean Hannity and the hosts of "Fox & Friends."

But Baier noted that Trump hadn't sat for an interview with anyone on the network's news side during his time as president. (Fox News defines its programs as either "news" or "opinion.")

Baier said:

Baier said his staff had been in contact with the Trump transition team and then the White House press office every week since the election to try to schedule an interview.

On his show on Wednesday, Baier pointed to a recent Harvard University Shorenstein Center study that examined coverage of Trump on cable news programs. It found that "Special Report" was 52% negative and 48% positive, while most news programs' coverage of Trump was overwhelmingly negative.

"President Trump, I assume you know you will be treated fairly here and of course, asked tough, but fair questions," Baier said. "I look forward to getting you back on the number one news show on the number one news channel very soon."

Trump has sat for interviews with opinion hosts like Jesse Watters, Tucker Carlson, and Hannity since taking office, but he has avoided interviews with news anchors like Baier and "Fox News Sunday" host Chris Wallace.

At a moment when many hosts on Fox News' opinion programs have defended and supported Trump, hosts on the news side like Wallace have frequently posited tough questions of many top Trump administration officials. Both Wallace's contentious interviews with Trump administration officials and anchor Shepard Smith's monologues critical of the president have repeatedly gone viral.

For his part, Baier has carefully attempted to maintain a reputation of fairness.
Increasingly, robots are too.

According to Karen Panetta, dean of graduate engineering at Tufts University and editor-in-chief of IEEE WIE Magazine, artificial intelligence software and early-stage humanoid robots are playing a growing role in pre-K and kindergarten.

Over time, Panetta says, people should only expect machines' presence to increase.

"Look at movie theaters right now," Panetta told Business Insider. In a handful of locations around the country, Disney has been tracking audience engagement with emotion recognition software  the kind that could someday live inside an artificially-intelligent robot inside a classroom, Panetta said. "That same technology is going to be pivotal for the future of learning."

According to Panetta, the most ground-breaking technologies in the early education space help students learn basic language skills, rudimentary coding, and give kids with special needs equal opportunities to their peers.

She points to toys like the Code-a-pillar, an animatronic caterpillar made by Fisher Price that gets kids familiar with simple commands to guide the toy's motion. But she also has observed more advanced AI that can customize lesson plans based on kids' individual skill sets.

One promising example is Newsela, a literacy platform that helps kids improve their reading skills by automatically adjusting the language found in news articles on a tablet app. Stronger readers may read an original article as it appears in the Washington Post or New York Times, while a weaker reader may get a simplified version crafted by the staff at Newsela. Currently, the company is in 75% of American classrooms.

Eventually, this type of software could live inside built devices that walk and talk.

SoftBank's Pepper robot, for instance, was developed to live with people who need a companion or aide, such as the elderly or disabled.

Overall, US education has been slower to adopt robotics than other countries, especially those in Asia. In 2015, Singapore launched a program called Playmaker, in which preschools across the nation were given four toys meant to boost kids interest in science, technology, education, and math (STEM).

Busy Bees involves kids pulling labeled cards off a stack, such as the words "Shark" or "Book," and programming an electronic bumblebee to move across a floor mat to the corresponding image. Another toy in the Singapore program is Kibo, which was developed right next door to Panetta at Tuft's Department of Child Study and Human Development. Kibo is a four-wheeled device that can scan a series of coded blocks, arranged by the students, and chart its path on the floor based on the order of those blocks.

Panetta still had her doubts that robots could  or should  replace teachers or human interaction altogether as some researchers have explored.
The curvaceous actress has always seen jet-setting to the best locations all around the world and her recent post on social media post is nothing short of a vacationers dream.

She took to her Instagram page to give her fans a glimpse of what she has been up to in the states.

The actress visited the famous time square in New York and was seen taking in the sights, admiring the skyscrapers and visiting one of Madame Tussauds famous locations in the Big Apple.

She snapped a picture with the wax figure of the leader of the free world, Donald Trump as well as taking a photograph with other notable wax figures.

The Selfie actress was beaming with smiles as she snapped a quick one with the authorities of the New York Police Department (NYPD) with the two officers of the law towering over the actress.

It seems the run in with the New York police was purely one of admiration for the policemen rather than an offence.
Pulse.com.gh brings to you five fashion icons setting the must follow trends.

READ ALSO: 12 outfits from the Glitz Style Awards you can try for church

1.Samira Bawumia

It didn't take us by surprise when our second lady of Ghana was honored at the just ended Glitz Style ward as the fashion icon of the year. From the presidential inauguration where she stunned us all in a unique way ever to her last appearance which was at awards, Her Excellency, Samira Bawumia has been consistent with her looks.

She has redefined the classic woman look in a decent but elegant way. He style is an inspiration to the generation.

2. Nana Akua Addo

To many Ghanaians, she is the Slay Queen but we love to call her the "red carpet guide". From her grand appearances that separate the style icons from the trend followers, Nana Akuas fashion accolades say it all.

Who gets this much awards for their unique style. From the BET red carpets to the AMVCA where she won best-dressed celebrity in Africa and the Glitz style awards, need I say more? Nana Akua Addo is synonymous with fashion. Doubt it? check it up in your style dictionary.

READ ALSO: Top 7 photographers capturing the beauty of Ghana now

3. Sandra Ankobiah

Ghanas very own celebrity lawyer, entrepreneur and television host, Sandra Ankobiah. Seemingly on the low for some time but has won our hearts already with her edgy but sophisticated style.

Her sleek approach to fashion makes her worth following.

4. Berla Mundi

Now, this is the lady that makes less look more. Simplicity is indeed the ultimate sophistication and Berla is one the few that have certified this assertion. The TV and radio host always has a way of amazing us in all her appearance.

READ ALSO: Here are the top 5 celebrity stylists in Ghana

5. Zynnell Zuh

She stands out as the most daring celebrity here in Ghana and it is exactly what works for her. Her high Fashion sense is just phenomenal.

Zynnell does a lot of haute couture which is very complex and could be a total mess if not put together well.
Luck eluded Osman Abdul Gafaru as he got arrested by residents when he entered the bank to rob. His accomplice who was standing outside and spying was able to escape.

READ MORE: 20 prisoners escape after gunmen ambush

Gafaru pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery, attempt to commit crime, unlawful entry and causing unlawful damage.

However, the court, presided over by Mr Aboagye Tandoh found him guilty of three of the offences. He was acquitted and discharged of the charge of conspiracy to commit robbery.

The Judge in pronouncing the sentence said the convicts stay in custody for about a year already mitigated the sentence. He ceased the opportunity to counsel the youth that do not allow your friends to influence you to break the law, all in the name of making quick money,

Prosecuting, Chief Inspector Kwabena Adu narrated to the court that on January 20, 2016, the convict and his accomplice went to the bank at about 7:30 p.m. with the intention to rob.

When they got there, the security man had gone to buy food and Gafaru went for the keys and then locked the main gate.

He said with the aid of a pinch bar and a claw hammer, Gafaru and Caesar broke into the bank. Gafaru entered the bank to steal, while Caesar was spying.

Chief Inspector Adu stated that the security man had to climb the wall into the premises upon return when he realised that the gate was locked.

READ ALSO: SHS student jailed for robbery in Prestea

He further stated that on entering the premises, Caesar attacked him with a knife and stabbed him in his right palm and on his forehead. The security man started bleeding profusely and screamed for assistance. Then a group of young men went to his aid.
None of the three were hesitant to give their opinions as to what they thought about Trump's presidency which has been maligned daily by the mainstream media, the Shadow government, Democrat leaders past and present, organizations funded by billionaire Democrat donor, George Soros and Never Trumpers. All those have been a detriment to Trump's success, besides members of his own Republican Party that don't realize that by participating in the on-going concerted effort to destroy Trump and his presidency, they are contributing to what would be the destruction of this nation and the principles upon which this nation was founded.

Joe Walsh's initial remark to the assembled was greeted enthusiastically: "She isn't president anymore!" Not so with Joe's second remark, which at least caused me to question what surprises might be in store for me: "We all don't think the same on everything."







I already knew that I was in disagreement with Joe Walsh about Trump's Afghanistan remarks of the night before (August 22), having heard Walsh state his firm opposition to Trump's decision to remain in Afghanistan instead of pulling out, while listening to The Joe Walsh Show while driving to the Bolingbrook event.

I was pleased to hear later on in the program that Hugh Hewitt thought Trump's Afghanistan address was one of the four best speeches he had given so far, rating with the ones in Saudi Arabia, his Joint Address to Congress, and his speech in Warsaw, Poland. Hewitt went on to call Trump's Afghanistan speech as Trump's "Better Angel" moment, specifically because Trump honored all of the military and admitted the difficulty that comes with the job of being president (changing his mind because of threats perceived). Guy Benson elaborated on the aspect of humility and on Trump's ability to display such humility.

Discussion of the previous weekend's events in Charlottesville was another divisive topic that engendered controversy regarding the nature of Trump's Tuesday news conference of August 15 in front of Trump Towers, as Hugh Hewitt and Guy Benson raked Trump over the coals, seeming to take their cues from the Left and further condemning Trump's rhetoric as "not presidential," which, I'm sure will continue to be a thorn in the side of both Hewitt and Benson.

Not so with Joe who rated the combative encounter of Trump and the media as very good. As Joe said, 67% of Republicans liked what Trump said and how he said it, believing that Trump had initially condemned all hate, but that Democrats only see hate on one side -- the Republican side.

With the failure of the Republican U.S. Senate and House to pass a Repeal and Replacement of Obamacare, this discussion fostered some rather unorthodox views. To Hewitt's credit he did label all 5 healthcare systems in America as broken, but then went on to claim that McCain's vote, which defeated the Senate's healthcare bill, was a vendetta against McConnell. Benson, in turn, blamed the House Freedom Conference for the problems encountered by the House in crafting its bill.

Once again Joe spoke up in his usual no-hold-back way: "If Republicans can't get something done, we will lose the House." In countering Joe's pessimistic view, Benson said: "Thank God for having Nancy Pelosi as Leader in the U.S House." As to the Senate, "We have ten Democrats in the Senate up in 2018 for re-election whose states were won by Donald Trump." Not to be outdone, Walsh came back with, "Republicans haven't done squat!"

The two most shocking revelations of the night were 1) comments by Hewitt and Benson about how they viewed Republican leaders McConnell and Ryan and 2) whether they were supportive of Senator Jeff Flake's re-election bid in Arizona given his public assault on Trump.

Walsh stated unequivocally that both Ryan and McConnell have been in office way too long and new blood is needed in the House and Senate leadership positions. There will also be no endorsement forthcoming from Joe for Senator Flake.

Not so with Hugh Hewitt who described Mitch McConnell as the "best leader Republicans have had in the Senate for years." His support of Mitch seemed to be based solely in that McConnell had saved the Supreme Court by getting Judge Gorsuch confirmed. Benson likewise touted the Gorsuch appointment to the Supreme Court, further noting that it's difficult to corral the members of the Senate.

As a friend of House Leader Paul Ryan, Benson further expressed the need for Ryan's institutional expertise to govern. Notwithstanding that Arizona's Senator Flake has a visceral dislike for Trump and that Senate Leader Mitch McConnell is doing all he can to keep Flake in the Senate with massive funds available to him to spend to keep the status quo in the Senate, both Hewitt and Benson are on the side of Mitch McConnell in their support of Flake, believing that it's better to keep the seat Republican by eviscerating a Republican challenger, even if the "R" in front of Flake's name means nothing.

Grades Assigned to Trump by Benson, Hewitt and Walsh

Near the end of the event, Benson, Hugh, and Walsh gave their own letter grade as to how they viewed Trump's seven months in office and the reason for their grade. Having heard how Benson and Hewitt were less than complimentary in many of their comments, I was surprised by the marks both Benson and Hugh assigned President Trump.

Guy Benson, in averaging all his likes and dislikes, arrived at a "C". Benson likes Trump's conservative cabinet and the appointment of Justice Gorsuch.

Hugh Hewitt assigned Trump a "B". Mentioned specifically for not giving Trump a higher grade was Hewitt's belief that Trump's Department of Defense is a failure. He said the Secretary of State should have been John Bolton or Nikki Haley.

Joe Walsh assigned the highest mark to Trump, an "A-", further mentioning all the amazing things going on after the regulatory government of the past administration.

In Conclusion

Although Joe Walsh makes known his disappointment with President Trump on his weekday radio program, he did express his support for Trump on almost every issue and stood out as the most supportive of Trump. Joe is honest, blunt, not always politically correct, and you know where he stands. These are the same traits that appeal to Trump supporters and why they remain loyal to him, despite efforts to discredit him. Hewitt exposed himself as an establishment Republican talk show host, while Guy Benson pegged himself as just another establishment Republican

Voices of dissent could be heard from time to time from those in attendance when displeasing Trump remarks were made, but as is apt to happen when an audience of Republican conservatives and Tea Party members are brought together, they were respectful of the speakers. However, stunned looks could be seen on the faces of those in attendance as they left the event, still puzzling over some of what Hewitt and Benson had to say.

I also talked to several attendees on the way out of the event who felt the same way about Hugh Hewitt and Guy Benson. Questions and Answers were entertained, but had to be cut short when Joe Walsh announced that Hugh Hewitt had to leave because because had to be up early the next morning for his radio show.
She always has a way of gearing our hearts towards her persona anytime our attention is almost of her. This virtue of hers is what keeps making her relevant.

Sister to Ghanas hiplife musician, Wanlov the Kubolor brilliantly secures her longevity in the industry by constantly amazing us from time to time that gets us falling in love with her always.

Pulse.com.gh brings to you the eleven times the sleek celebrity got us falling in love with her.

1. Uncle Obama hit single

The year, 2012 was a very political period both here in Ghana and the United states of America. Deborah Vanessa strategically took advantage of this moment to record the Uncle Obama song.

This song made mega waves not only in Ghana, Africa and the world as a whole. She referred to Barrack Obama as Uncle Obama which got international media like the United States of America, CNN, cover this creative piece.

READ ALSO: 12 outfits from the Glitz Style Awards you can try for church

2.The Channel O music Appearance

Deborahs see through net-like dress to the channel O music video awards will forever be in our hearts. She exposed her stunning physique in a way that left more to be desired by the audiences. Unfortunately for us, she covered her private parts; nipples were covered not forgetting the black pants she wore under that left us all hanging in amusement.

3. Nude photo

That moment she broke the Internet with her completely nude photos showing her butt crack. She proved to us she felt very comfortable in her skin. Critics had less to say about this picture possibly because they were equally stunned.

READ ALSO: Top 7 photographers capturing the beauty of Ghana now

4. 2014 VGMA red carpet

Sister Debbie always has a way of being very distinct from trends. She got all of us amazed with the cheeky school girl look she brought to the red carpets of VGMA red carpet in 2014. She wore the little wine crop top with a high waist skirt not forgetting her slay trick; the white socks she wore with her pencil heels.

5. Sister Deborahs Collection

The many that were present at the Glitz Africa Fashion in week 2013 were all jaw dropped when they realized she was the brain behind some of the incredible fashion pieces that were shown on the red carpet. She dazzled when she popped out and took the bow for credits as the designer

6. Love life with Medikal

The Uncle Obama hit maker got us all startled when she publicly confirmed for the first time her life live. She talked about her romantic relationship with one of Ghanas biggest musicians, Medikal.
Trust me, the Upper West Region is the best place to visit for your weekend getaway. Pulse.com.gh bring to you 4 reasons the Upper West Region is the best to visit.

1. Pito

If you love the local beverage known as Pito that much, then the Upper West Region is the best place to have it. This is one of the distinctive features of the Upper West Region that is worth traveling for.

Pito is a sweet, mildly alcoholic beverage derived from millet. They produce the best and freshest Pito. Pito is sold by the brewers in open air bars and drunk from a calabash.

READ ALSO: 8 ways to save money on toiletries

2. Great tourist sites

The beautiful sceneries in the Upper West Region are just breathtaking. Tourists love the great and unique sites that differ from the remaining regions in Ghana.

From the Wa Naas Palace and Dondoli Sudamic (Larabanga) Mosque, Jirapa Naas Palace to the Hippopotamus Sanctuary at Wechiau and the most talked about Nandoom all stoned Gothic church. The upper west in deed a must visit zone.

3. Low Cost of living

Things in the Upper west Region is relatively cheap. Good hotel rooms, great meals, to clothes, everything there is not much costly like in the southern part of Ghana.

READ ALSO: 6 ways to save money on makeup

4. Impressive Handicrafts

Culture in the Upper West Region is not only observed through the celebration of their festivals but can be seen also in their intriguing handicrafts. Their handicrafts include weaving and smock designing. That certifies why most smock lovers purchase that which is made from the Upper West.
This suspicion gained grounds after some realised that the type tilapia bred by the said foreigners mature in a relatively short period compared to the species known by Ghanaian farmers.

The Ministry of Fisheries and the Water Research Institute are investigating claims that some foreigners are breeding a strain of tilapia in the country with steroids.

READ ALSO: Works on cocoa roads halted by COCOBOD

An average tilapia on the Ghanaian market takes about six months to mature, but the newly introduced one takes half the time, and its growth rate has been attributed to steroids.

Reacting to the development the Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture, Elizabeth Naa Afoley Quaye, told Accra-based Class FM that they have taken samples to relevant agencies for investigations.

We took samples of their fish from the farm where it was suspected that the fish grew faster and want to find out the genetic makeup of the fish and also to find out other reasons why their fish could be growing faster than the others. It could be the feed that is given to them, other factors like some medication, chemicals mixed for the fish or something."
This is a request made by the Minority in Parliament.

At a press conference in Accra the Ranking Member of the Mines and Energy Committee, Adam Mutawakilu, said: it is an international transaction and per the Supreme Court ruling it should be brought to Parliament for ratification which will help scrutinize the terms and conditions of the deal.

READ ALSO: TOR to work on weekends to avoid premix shortage

The MoU signed indicated that Equatorial Guinea will supply the equivalent of 150 million standard cubic feet of natural gas per day to Ghana.

The MoU also provides for the building and operation of a LNG regasification terminal in Takoradi in the Western Region.

READ ALSO: TOR to work on weekends to avoid premix shortage

But Mutawakilu said: LNG supply is not like lean gas from Nigeria where straight away, it goes to the generation plant.
It is expected to replace the current 225 megawatts barge which was delivered in November 2015 and docked at the Tema Fishing Harbour.

The arrival of the second Karpowership is part of the agreement signed in the Power Purchase Agreement which was signed with the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).

The agreement requires Karpowership Ghana Company Limited to provide a total of 450MW capacity and directly feed it into the national grid for 10 years.

The second Karpowership will also be connected to the national grid. Both the barge and the vessel will work simultaneously for about a month.

Experts envisage that the vessel would be well stabilized before the 225mg barge is decommissioned and moved out of Ghana.
Presiding over the case on Friday, Justice Naa Adoley Azu said that the rights of the Indian businessman should be respected as far as he remains in the country.

Mr Sivaram had earlier petitioned Ghanas president, Nana Akufo-Addo to call the Minister of Interior and the Comptroller of the Ghana Immigration Service to order over what he described as harassment being meted out to him by these persons.

Ashok Kumar Sivaram in the said petition accused the Interior Minister, Ambrose Dery, Director/Comptroller of the Immigration Service, Kwame Takyi and Deputy Comptroller General in-charge of Operations, Laud Afrifa of conspiring to illegally deport him and take over his company.

READ ALSO: Court orders release of detained Indian businessman

According to him, officials of the Ghana Immigration Service are constantly harassing him, and he feels that their intention is to transfer his interest in his company Jai Mai Communications Limited, to his business partner.

Mr. President, the action of the respondents is a deliberate ploy to render my status in the country without a valid permit in order to easily facilitate my removal from the jurisdiction. This action by the respondents is also a clear attempt to undermine the order for valuation of the company the by high court dated 5th May, 2017. Mr. President, I implore you as the father of the nation to graciously step in to resolve the matters raised in my petition. I shall forever be grateful to you for your prompt action on this matter, he said in the petition.

An Accra High Court last month declared as illegal the Interior Ministers decision to deport the Indian businessman in June 2017 over alleged fraud and other offences.

According to the court, presided by Kwaku Ackah Boafo, the Minister erred in his action and he also refused to give a fair hearing to the businessman.

Ashok Kumar Sivaram was deported on June 1, 2017, following a directive issued to the Ghana Immigration Service by the Interior minister Ambrose Derry.

This came on the back of claims that he obtained a fake marriage certificate to enable his stay in Ghana.

But Ashok Kumar Sivaram who had lived in Ghana for almost a decade denied those claims.
At a press conference in Accra, the Communications Director of Exton Cubic, Sammy Gyamfi, said the seizure of their equipment by the government is an illegality.

He added that they are discussing the issue with their lawyers to take legal action over the development as it is affecting their prospecting activity.

We have all our permits, Engineers and Planning have not committed any offence, Exton Cubic has not committed any offence but we have been told by the minister that he is not ready to meet with us and that is why it has become and legal issue and we trust that our lawyers will deal with that.

The Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon Osei-Mensah, has said that his decision not to allow Exton Cubic Group Limited to continue mining bauxite at the Tano-Offin Forest Reserve in the Atwima Mponua District, is in the interest of the country.

He had before this seized equipment and logistics hired by the company for its operations and has vowed not to release them until the company provides documents to show they have been licensed to mine in the region.

The equipment belongs to Engineers and Planners Co. Ltd, a company owned by Ibrahim Mahama, brother of former President John Dramani Mahama.

Some believe that the Minister has taken that stance to witch-hunt the brother of the former president, a claim the minister has denied.
Residents who are not sure of their safety are leaving the country, Accra-based Joy FM reports.

Streets are empty, hundreds have closed their shops and commercial vehicles have also been parked out of fear following the protests.

Reports are that those who are living the country are doing so under the pretext of attending church conventions.

READ ALSO: Chaos in Lome as protesters declare another day of demonstration

Meanwhile, Immigration Officers on the Ghana side of the border are said to be on high alert and security has been beefed up at the border.

A protest in the country last Saturday left seven people dead and about 27 arrested.

The protest was to challenge the presidency of Faure Gnassingbe.

The Gnassingbe family has been ruling Togo since 1967 after a coup by Eyadema.

Faure who is also the new chairperson of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), has won three presidential elections.

But many argue that he won those elections under controversial circumstances.
Most streets are empty, shops have closed and owners of vehicles both private and the public have parked their cars out of fear.

READ ALSO: GIS cautions Ghanaians against travelling to Togo on Friday

Those fleeing are giving the excuse of attending church conventions in order to move out of the country.

This has caused the Immigration Officers on the Ghana side of the border are on high alert. Security has tightened at the border as well.

A journalist with Lome-based Second Television, Roger Lovenou told Accra-based Joy FM that civil servants had to go to work because they have been threatened by the government to slash their salaries.

He said if you are a private worker or you own your own business, you dont have a problem. But, those who are working in the civil service, the government says if you dont go to work, you will not be paid."

A protest in the country left seven people dead and about 27 arrested.

The protest was to challenge the presidency of Faure Gnassingbe.

The Gnassingbe family has been ruling Togo since 1967 after a coup by Eyadema.

Faure who is also the new chairperson of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), has won three presidential elections.

But many argue that he won those elections under controversial circumstances.

Residents of Togo are now demanding that the Constitution be amended to prevent his familys continued stay in power.
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Yellen speaks at Jackson Hole. Fed Chair Janet Yellen will deliver her speech, titled "Financial Stability," at 10 a.m. ET and will be followed by European Central Bank head Mario Draghi at 3 p.m. ET.

Hurricane Harvey threatens oil refineries in the Gulf of Mexico. West Texas Intermediate crude oil trades up 0.65% at $47.74 a barrel as Hurricane Harvey bears down on Texas.

Japanese price pressures are building. Core consumer prices rose at a 0.5% year-over-year rate, their fastest since March 2015, but remain well below the Bank of Japan's 2% target.

The market is starting to freak out about the debt ceiling. The yield on Treasury bills due October 5 jumped to 1.175% on Thursday, its highest since August 10, over anxiety Congress won't be able to reach an agreement to raise the debt ceiling.

The most important pillar of the bull market is starting to crumble. Corporate earnings growth, historically the biggest contributor to share-price appreciation, has nowhere to go but down, according to Nicholas Bohnsack, the president and head of quantitative research at Strategas.

Amazon once again flashes its ability to destroy the competition. Amazon announced it would close on its Whole Foods acquisition on Monday and immediately slash prices, sending rival grocery-store stocks sharply lower.

Samsung heir Jay Lee receives a prison sentence. Lee was sentenced to five years in a South Korean prison for paying bribes to President Park Geun-hye in anticipation of favors, Reuters says.

Stock markets around the world are higher. Hong Kong's Hang Seng (+1.2%) led the gains in Asia, and Germany's DAX (+0.41%) paces the advance in Europe. The S&P 500 is set to open higher by 0.33% near 2,447.

Earnings reports trickle out. Big Lots reports ahead of the opening bell.
LONDON  Former Conservative minister Baroness Altmann has threatened to quit the Conservative party if Prime Minister Theresa May pursues a "hard" Brexit.

Speaking to the HuffPost, Altmann, who served as Pensions minister under David Cameron, said she would consider walking away and even joining a new party in the event of Britain crashing out of the European Union with no deal.

"The Government has put forward papers but the papers are a wish list. What if we cant have it? What if its not achievable?" the peer said.

"I am hoping theres room in the mainstream parties for people with different views.

"I am not a dyed-in-the-wool Tory. I do think there are a number of people in the party who are very concerned with no deal."

Altmann was speaking to the HuffPo to promote the People's March for Europe event which will see thousands of anti-Brexit campaigners march on Westminster Saturday, September 9.

Her comments echoed those of Conservative backbencher Anna Soubry, who earlier this month said she would consider quitting the party altogether if Prime Minister "sides with the hardliners" over Brexit.

"Mrs May must waste no time in taking on the Hard Brexiteers and making it clear that she sides with responsible Cabinet Ministers  such as Chancellor Philip Hammond  who appreciate that we need a sensible Brexit transition period to avoid plunging this country headlong into an economic nightmare," Soubry wrote for the Mail on Sunday.

Asked whether she feels the same as Soubry MP, Atlmann said: "I am on a similar page to that."

When asked if she backed the creation of a new anti-Brexit party, she added: "It maybe we do need a new party, but I hope thats not the case."

The Tory peer's remarks come as the UK government struggles to make progress in Brexit negotiations with EU negotiators. The EU side is "increasingly doubtful" that talks will be able to move onto the next phase in October as initially planned, Politico reports. British and EU negotiators were scheduled to discuss trade when talks resume next month, however, the two sides are yet to reach agreement on the so-called divorce bill and future role of the European Court of Justice.

Sir David Edward, a former ECJ judge, told Business Insider this week that Prime Minister is "ignorant" for believing she can end all ECJ jurisdiction over Britain after the country leaves the EU.

"It just shows how ignorant she is," Sir David said.

"To end UK jurisdiction is simply to say we are not going to obey EU law anymore. Well, this is fine, as long as British business chooses to operate entirely inside the UK."

He added: "If a business manufacturing goods in the UK wants to export goods to the EU, as hundreds of them do, then those goods must comply with EU standards. As a practical matter, if you're manufacturing wedding cakes, for example, and you have to comply with EU food standards, you don't want to have to create two sets of wedding cake. You want to create one set to come off the production line so the cakes can be consumed both in the UK and the EU.
Confirmed not long after Trump's inauguration, Pompeo has been overseeing the Counterintelligence Mission Center, a role that puts him close to the FBI's ongoing investigation into the Trump campaign's ties to Russia.

The center has followed the investigation closely, and it tipped off the FBI about potential collusion between Russian agents and Trump's campaign, according to The Post.

But now, CIA officials who spoke to the Post have started to worry that Pompeo  who once said Russia's interference in the 2016 US presidential election was "no news" and part of a pattern  could be tested by his ties to Trump. The center, which is pursuing information about the election interference, reports directly to Pompeo.

"People have to watch him," an unnamed CIA official told The Post. "It's almost as if he can't resist the impulse to be political."

But Director of the CIA Office of Public Affairs Dean Boyd told Business Insider that Boyd decided to oversee the CIMC to "strengthen counterintelligence mechanisms and safeguards at CIA" and crack down on "dangerous leaks."

Boyd also throughly shot down assertions that the CIA was leading the charge in the Russia probe. "The FBI and Special Counsels office are leading the law enforcement investigation into the Russia matter  not CIA," said Boyd. Boyd insisted the CIA would execute all of its duties in regard to the investigation "

A second official told the Post that many at the agency were concerned that "if you were passing on something too dicey" to Pompeo, "he would go to the White House with it," but the CIA took issue with that as well.

But Pompeo has had a closer relationship with the president than other top intelligence officials do, according to The Post, and his publicly expressed views mirror many of the White House's official stances on issues such as North Korea, Russia's role in Syria, and leak prevention.
The watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington has filed a Freedom of Information Act request for details about the trip, which it said appeared to have been "planned around" the eclipse, The Washington Post reported on Thursday night.

Kentucky was one of the best places in the US to view the eclipse, with the western part of the state located on the path of totality. Mnuchin and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who is from Kentucky, spoke at a luncheon in Louisville from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. local time on Monday, The Post reported. The partial eclipse in Louisville began at 12:59 p.m. and ended at 3:51 p.m., The Post noted.

Such speaking engagements have been routine for McConnell, who normally takes questions afterward. A Louisville Chamber of Commerce spokeswoman told The Post that this time McConnell and Mnuchin "went right on out."

They watched the solar eclipse from atop Fort Knox, near Louisville and just outside the path of totality. McConnell posted a picture of himself with Mnuchin. In the photo, McConnell is seen holding the protective eyewear required for viewing the eclipse.

"The U.S. Department of the Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and I in front of the main door to the United States Bullion Depository at Fort Knox before we viewed the #solareclipse from the rooftop today," McConnell's Facebook caption said.

McConnell said Mnuchin invited him to join in on the eclipse viewing at Fort Knox. "It just kind of came up as a result of a casual conversation," the Senate majority leader told reporters, according to The Post.

Mnuchin's wife, Louise Linton, had posted a photo of herself and Mnuchin exiting a government jet in Kentucky on Monday in which she tagged several high-end designers. The picture drew fierce criticism online, with one commenter calling Linton "deplorable" for flaunting her wealth. Linton snapped back, calling the commenter "adorably out of touch." Linton later apologized for the remark.
The plant has no power, so there's a risk that the plant could cause more explosions as the chemicals' temperatures continue to rise. People nearby have been advised not to return until the chemicals burn out.

Harvey's death toll continues to rise as family members and authorities report more fatalities. Galveston County Emergency Management confirmed three more deaths on Wednesday night, bringing the total so far to at least 41.

Some 33,000 people in Texas have sought refuge in more than 230 shelters, and 325,000 have signed up for disaster assistance, officials said.

"This is a landmark event for Texas," Brock Long, the Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator, said Monday. "Texas has never seen an event like this."

Record rainfall and catastrophic flooding

Harvey arrived on the shores of Texas as a hurricane Friday night, packing sustained wind speeds as high as 130 mph. It made a second landfall as a tropical storm on the Texas border near Cameron, Louisiana, around 4:30 a.m. CT on Wednesday. As of Thursday morning, it was classified a tropical depression with maximum winds of 20 mph.

On Tuesday, a rain gauge near Highlands, Texas, a city east of Houston, registered 51.88 inches of rainfall  breaking the record for most rainfall from a single storm in the entire continental US.

The "relentless, torrential" rain has moved east, and forecasters don't expect it to fizzle out until at least Saturday. could get 3 to 5 more inches of rain by Saturday, with isolated areas seeing up to 10 inches.

Harvey was moving northeast across the top of Louisiana at 10 mph as of 10 a.m. CDT on Thursday, leaving flooding and destruction in its wake. The center of the storm was sitting about 150 miles north of Baton Rouge.

The National Weather Service called the rainfall event "unprecedented", and while the National Hurricane Center's warnings of "catastrophic and life-threatening flooding" have subsided, the floodwaters in southeast Texas and southwest Louisiana will take days, if not a week, to retreat.

The storm surge  the quick rise in water caused by a hurricane's strong winds  crested several feet at the height of the storm on the Texas coast. By Thursday, all local storm surge warnings had ended.

Widespread devastation

Harvey's devastating hurricane-force winds, storm surge on the Gulf Coast, and landmark flooding inland combined to make it a catastrophic event for Texas.

Officials expect more deaths to be confirmed in the coming days. Houston police Chief Art Acevedo told The Associated Press on Monday that he was "really worried about how many bodies we're going to find" when the floodwaters recede.

The Houston Chronicle reported Tuesday that a police Sgt. Steve Perez, a 60-year-old man who had been on the force for 34 years, died in his patrol car after he took a wrong turn and got caught in the high water.

Long said in a press conference Monday (and reiterated on Wednesday) that crews were still focusing on rescue and recovery and would have to wait until the storm passed to fully evaluate the damage. Flooding and debris on roadways are still keeping emergency crews from reaching some places.

Accounts of destruction in the areas hit hardest by Harvey have been steadily emerging.

Astounding video shows nume... @ Evan McMurry

Emergency crews plucked people from rooftops using aircraft, dump trucks, and boats as the floodwaters rose. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said on Wednesday that 8,500 people had been rescued statewide.

The Associated Press estimated that the storm knocked out power for about 300,000 residents over the weekend, and that there were still 107,000 power outages in Texas on Wednesday afternoon.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said 911 emergency services in the city had received over 56,000 calls by Monday. By Tuesday, police officers and firefighters had saved more than 3,500 individuals in Houston, Acevedo said.

Turner announced a curfew on Tuesday night, extending from 12 a.m. to 5 a.m. Wednesday, amid reports of looting, armed robberies and people impersonating police officers.

Near Port Arthur, Texas, a city located about 90 miles east of Houston in Jefferson County, over 26 inches of rain were recorded on Tuesday alone. Residents in the area were desperate to escape, and 150 boats came to find them. Mayor Derrick Freeman told CBS News that 20,000 homes had as much as 6 feet of water in them.

The coastal city of Rockport, Texas, located near the point where the hurricane initially made landfall, sustained extreme damage. Residents have been told it is not safe to return for the time being (a mandatory evacuation was put in place there). Mayor Charles Wax of Rockport told CNN there had "been widespread devastation."

As the storm approached Friday, Mayor Pro Tem Patrick Rios of Rockport requested that people who did not evacuate write their names and Social Security numbers on their arms in case rescuers later needed to identify them.

The Category 4 storm Hurricane Ike, the most recent major hurricane to hit the Texas Gulf Coast, caused $38 billion in damage in 2008. When Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans and the Gulf Coast in 2005, it caused over $100 billion in damage.

Why hurricane categories dont tell the full story

Hal Needham, a hurricane scientist at Louisiana State University, wrote in a blog post on the weather site WXshift that a storm's category doesn't fully convey how dangerous rainfall could be and how much damage it could cause.

"Hurricanes and tropical storms throw three hazards at us: wind, rainfall, and storm surge," he wrote. "Think of the impacts separately. Storms with weaker winds are more likely to stall and dump heavier rainfall. This shocks people, as it would seem intuitive that a Category 5 hurricane would tend to dump more rain than a Category 1 hurricane. But the opposite is true."

While strong winds can rip shingles off roofs and tear down power lines, flooding often causes more widespread, costlier damage  and can be more dangerous for humans. The scale used to distinguish a hurricane from a tropical storm is based solely on maximum sustained wind, but Needham explained that "storms are too complex to define by one number."

Trumps first serious crisis

Hurricane Harvey is Donald Trump's "first serious" crisis from a natural disaster as president. He flew to Corpus Christi Tuesday morning with first lady Melania Trump to survey the damage and relief efforts, and made a stop in Austin to attend a briefing on emergency operations from Texas leadership.

"We want to do it better than ever before. We want to be looked at in five years, in 10 years from now as, this is the way to do it," Trump said at a press conference alongside Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. "This was of epic proportion. Nobody's ever seen anything like this."

How Texas and Louisiana prepared

Thousands of Texas residents, many in the towns of Port Aransas, Port O'Connor, and Corpus Christi, near where the hurricane first made landfall, evacuated before the storm. The Corpus Christi Regional Transportation Authority began busing evacuees to San Antonio on Thursday.

Houston didn't order evacuations before the storm hit, and only issued orders in some areas of Harris County on Monday and Tuesday. Jeff Masters, a meteorologist at The Weather Company who cofounded the weather-data website Weather Underground, recommended evacuating only if local emergency experts said to do so. Many of the deaths during Hurricane Rita in 2005 occurred as people tried to evacuate.

He also issued a federal disaster declaration in 33 counties, which Trump approved. Trump has approved emergency disaster declarations in both Texas and Louisiana, directing federal aid toward the affected areas.

On Monday morning, Abbott activated the entire Texas National Guard of 12,000 people, and increased the number deployed to 24,000 National Guard troops on Thursday.

Before the storm hit, the American Red Cross opened pop-up shelters throughout Houston and San Antonio. Dallas opened shelters as well, and Mayor Mike Rawlings invited those stranded to seek refuge in a press conference Tuesday morning.

Turner, Houston's mayor, said Tuesday that more than 9,000 people are seeking shelter at the George R. Brown Convention Center, the largest shelter that has been opened so far. It has a 5,000-cot capacity.

The Health and Human Services Department said it was deploying assets to Texas and Louisiana ahead of Harvey's landfall, moving six teams of emergency medical responders to the Dallas area as well as teams to support medical personnel in both states.

FEMA said it readied 3 million meals, 2.8 million liters of water, and 8,800 staff members for the storm response.
One main candidate, Jeff Immelt, the former CEO of GE, reportedly has the support of Team Kalanick. Recode's Kara Swisher says Immelt would be much more likely to let Kalanick play an active role in the company if he took the CEO job.

But the board is also considering Meg Whitman, the CEO of Hewlett Packard Enterprise, though she has publicly denied any interest in being Uber's CEO. One person familiar with the process says Benchmark Capital  the investor that has an Uber board seat and is suing Kalanick, alleging fraud  is trying to "ram through" Whitman. Whitman reportedly would want to keep Kalanick at bay so she could run the company without him breathing down her neck.

But according to someone familiar with the process, there may be a third person in the running. That's presumably Andy Jassy, the CEO of AWS  which operates Amazon's cloud service  who reports to Jeff Bezos. When we floated that name to an Uber representative, we were cautioned "not to believe rumors." When we asked whether the representative was in a position to know the validity of this rumor, they declined to say.

Jassy joined Amazon in 1997 and cut his teeth as Bezos' "technical assistant." He was so close to Bezos that in those early days he was internally called his "shadow." He was instrumental in launching Amazon's juggernaut, industry-changing cloud-computing business, which is expected to reach revenue of at least $14 billion by the end of this year.

The makeup and size of Uber's board have changed a lot since last summer. In June 2016, Uber's board expanded from eight to 11 directors, and Kalanick was given the sole right to choose who sat in the three new seats. That expansion is a key part of the lawsuit Benchmark filed earlier this month against Kalanick. Benchmark alleges that when Kalanick pushed for the new seats, it was not aware of the "gross mismanagement and other misconduct at Uber."

Benchmark wants those seats eliminated and Kalanick off the board. Kalanick, of course, wants to keep them and maintain control, which would give him an opportunity to return as CEO down the line.

Earlier this summer, following an investigation into the company's culture, several board members left and were replaced. Here's who will be in the room on Friday to determine Uber's future, as well as where their allegiances seem to fall, according to a source familiar with their thinking:

Team Benchmark

Matt Cohler

Cohler, who was an early Facebook executive, is a partner at Benchmark. He joined Uber's board in June when Bill Gurley, his fellow Benchmark partner who's a former Kalanick champion, suddenly stepped down.

Ryan Graves

Graves was the first CEO of Uber. He was replaced by Kalanick but stayed on in an executive position for years before announcing his departure last month.

Graves' tenure has not been without controversy. He oversaw Uber's human-resources department at the same time that Susan Fowler, a former engineer, says that she was being sexually harassed and that the company was doing little about it.

At one time a member of Kalanick's A-team of trusted advisers and friends, Graves has in the past few weeks come to lean much more closely toward Benchmark's position, a person familiar with the situation says. He may even have been in favor of Kalanick's ousting in June.

Team Kalanick

Travis Kalanick

Kalanick said in June that he was taking a leave of absence from Uber. The announcement came right after former Attorney General Eric Holder presented the findings of his investigation into Uber's workplace culture to the board, and after Kalanick's mother died in a boating accident. Kalanick stepped down as CEO about a week later.

Shervin Pishevar, an early Uber investor, has alleged Benchmark took advantage of Kalanick's absence to push for his resignation.

If Benchmark wins its lawsuit, Kalanick could be booted from the board.

Arianna Huffington

Huffington has defended Kalanick, despite the revelations of the bombshell investigation into the company's toxic culture.

According to a letter written by Pishevar, the Benchmark camp wants to remove her from the board, possibly because of her support for Kalanick.

Yasir bin Othman Al-Rumayyan

Al-Rumayyan is the chief executive of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, which poured a few billion into Uber in mid-2016.

Wild cards

Garrett Camp

Camp, who created StumbleUpon and the startup incubator Expa, founded Uber with Kalanick. He has publicly said Kalanick will not return as Uber's CEO, but that may not make him anti-Kalanick. One friend of Camp's said he may not have meant by his statement that Kalanick would be gone "forever."

David Trujillo

Trujillo, a partner at the investment firm TPG, is new to the board. He replaced David Bonderman, his fellow TPG partner, after Bonderman made an insensitive joke about women during an Uber all-hands meeting in June. A source describes him as not necessarily on Team Benchmark, but also not a member of Team Kalanick.

Wan Martello

Martello, the former chief financial officer of Nestle, is described as relatively independent, siding with one party or the other depending on the issue at hand.

In sum: Its a pretty even split
The man identified only as Pastor Tony, the founder of a church known as Royal God's Gospel Ministries located along Okon Edak off Atamunu Street, Calabar, according to Calabar News, was alleged to have kidnapped and killed an infant baby and was about using it for a ritual when he was apprehended.

The news reportedly got residents of the area angry and they moved to the church where they destroyed it and in the process, they were shocked when fetish items were discovered buried in different corners of the church.

It took the timely intervention of the police to rescue the Pastor and take him into their custody before the angry crowd could lynch him.

A Facebook user, Peter Okon, who witnessed the scene, also wrote that the baby boy was kidnapped on the morning of Thursday, August 24, 2017, and sold to the Pastor who slaughtered him for ritual purposes.

This is what Okon posted on his wall:

The police arrested and interrogated the guy this morning over the missing baby boy and the guy led them to the Pastor he sold him to.

The Pastor got arrested in connection with the allegations and was taken to his church where fresh blood was found spilled around, along with things of different sorts, including photographs of men and women, womens lingerie, and other under-wears as well as other devilish things.

Another Facebook user, Antee May, who shared the photos, wrote:

Somewhere in Calabar South: Ritual pastor who kidnapped a baby this morning Busted.

Another user, Prince Daniel Edem, also wrote on the incident, giving more details:

Pastors and rituals at Okon Edak, Street, Calabar South
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Laing who is currently the Africa Correspondent for the Times of London, took a swipe at the excuse, saying it is one of the silliest she has ever heard that a Presidential office could be invaded by rodents where the furniture, air conditioners and other items were reportedly damaged.

Laing who had previously covered some of the biggest stories to come from the continent including the Westgate Mall siege in Kenya, the Oscar Pistorius and Shrien Dewani trials, the Ebola crisis, the civil war in Ivory Coast and the death of Nelson Mandela, wrote that such an excuse could only be told by the dumbest of spokespersons and wondered why Nigerians who have some of the most intelligent minds in the world, would allow such people speak for them.

Laing tore into the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu after he made the statement that the President would have to work from home because rats invaded his office following his absence from the country for 104 days on medical vacation in the United Kingdom.

Opening her salvo, Laing wrote:

"In the annals of excuses, it might rival 'the dog ate my homework' for sheer inventiveness. President Buhari of Nigeria, who has been on sick leave for all but three months of the past year, says he cannot return to work in his office because rats have eaten it.

Garba Shehu, the presidents spokesman, revealed that Mr. Buhari, 74, would be working from home for the next three months because his office at Aso Rock, the presidential complex on the outskirts of the capital, Abuja, had to be renovated.

He claimed that rodents had damaged the furniture and air conditioning units. Rats put the presidents office out of action while he was away."

Laing's knocks off the outrageous excuse given for the President's decision to work from home, has been receiving a wide range of mockery from both local and international media.

The BBC was the first to drop their thoughts on the scandal when it talked about it on their pidgin language service thus:

"Garba Shehu, senior special assistant, SSA on Media mata to President Muhammadu Buhari say rodents don damage di President office and dis na why im dey work from home.

'After im no dey for office for about three months, rodents don cause plenty damage for di furniture and air conditioning units wey dey for im office and dis na why e dey work from home for now,' Shehu tell BBC.

Shehu tell BBC say dis na one of di reason why dem dey clean and renovate di office now. After over 100 days in London where im dey on medical vacation, President Buhari return to Nigeria on Saturday, August 19.

Im address di nation on Monday morning, come send letter to di National Assembly say im don resume work.

But, on Monday, di President still work from home and people come dey ask wetin cause this one.

Shehu say dem just dey clean di office and dis na why di President dey work from di office wey im get for di residential area of Aso Rock villa, wey bi seat of government for Nigeria."
Obiano said the tricycle ambulances would help improve primary healthcare services, especially during emergencies in the hard-to-reach areas of the state.

The ambulances will assist in emergencies and this is part of my commitment towards the provision of quality healthcare services in Anambra, he said.

The governor said he would also construct nurses quarters in government owned primary healthcare centres.

Obiano said that his administration was working on 63 health Centres in parts of the state, which according to him, are at various stages of completion.

Obiano said provision of infrastructures in health sector was not limited to just physical buildings.

We will supply medical equipments, functional operational vehicles, conducive and clean environment to enhance efficient and smooth operations generally, he said.

He said the state government would soon commence payment of allowances to nurses working in remote areas to further motivate them.

We divided health sector intervention into three; upgrading of health infrastructure, ensuring the comfort of patients and training/retraining of health workers and welfare, he said.

He also said that the funds distributed to the missions were part of governments efforts at supporting them as major players in the health revolution initiative of the state.
Buhari on Friday, August 25, met with the governor at the State House, Abuja.

The Chairman of the PDP's Caretaker Committee, Ahmed Makarfi and other leaders of the opposition party were also present at the meeting.

"For those insinuating that I shunned the Presidents meeting with governors, I didnt. I had my installation as Apesin of Ado Ekiti slated for today," the Governor wrote on Twitter on Friday.

He added that "guests were already in Ekiti since yesterday for the chieftaincy title installation before I received notice of the meeting with the President."

ALSO READ: Buhari to meet 36 state governors
The Sultan, who stated this in Abuja at the Annual Lecture Series and 25th Anniversary of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), added that hate speech should be declared as terrorism offence.

He said that the traditional institution was in support of the recent declaration by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo as Acting President that none will be allowed to get away with making speeches that can cause sedition or that can cause violence.

The monarch said that the phenomenon of hate speech and fake news has reached an alarming state and decisive action should be taken by the government.

The monarch said he was a victim of fake news only on Wednesday when he was misrepresented at a Nigerian Labour Congress event in Abuja that he kicked against Restructuring

He clarified his position at the event that he was only against any restructuring that would lead to the disintegration of Nigeria.

The monarch said that he was also shocked by a Television station reports which claimed that there was fracas at the same event.

Shortly after the event, many people were calling me that what was I doing at the event where there was fracas.

There was nothing like fracas at that event as reported by a popular TV station which I will not named here.

A former comrade governor who was at the event canvassed a position which did not go down well with the audience and people were shouting.

The President of NLC waded into the situation and the Comrade Governor continued with his speech.

At the end of the speech the former governor was given a loud ovation. So, how can that, be described as fracas, he said.

The monarch said he was shocked to see news report on the event with the headline, Restructuring, Sultan kicked, Oshiomole booed

The monarch said that the freedom of speech as enshrined in the Constitution should not be used to violate other peoples rights.

The Sultan also decried a recent development where President Muhammadu Buharis health condition was politicised and made to generate hate speeches.

He called on political and religious leaders at all levels to guide their utterances and condemn hate speeches.

Retired Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, the former Chief Security Officer (CSO) to late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha also decried the alarming rate of hate speech.

He said although the phenomenon was not new, government must be decisive in addressing the trend.

Al-Mustapha said there was international dimension to sponsorship of hate speech especially by those who had seen the potential of Nigeria.

He said local collaborators were being recruited as merchants to use fake news to subvert the nation.

Al-Mustapha, therefore, called on NBC to create synergy with International Intelligence Community in addressing the challenge.

He also called for regulation of the review of only front pages of newspapers in the television and radio station programmes.

Al-Mustapha said that knowing well that the review attracted large follower-ship, sponsors of hate speech messages will always ensure that their stories are published in front pages while developmental news are tucked inside the papers.
This disclosure was made by the anti-graft agency's spokesperson, Wilson Uwajaren, while he was speaking on Channels TV, on Thursday, August 24, 2017.

Uwajaren said that unlike what some people think, only the Ministry of Justice has any authority in matters of extradition.

This revelation is a response to a planned protest by organisers of the 'Resume or Resign' protests who, this week, announced a 2-day sit-out protest against the EFCC to demand for the extradition of the former minister.

When asked about his reaction to the development, Uwajaren said, "The proper agency to talk to is not the EFCC. The EFCC, contrary to the views of some people, is not the one in charge of extradition.

"That type of extradition is handled by the office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice who is the right person to talk about extradition of any Nigerian from any part of the world."

When asked if the agency had previously pushed for the Ministry of Justice to extradite the former minister, Uwajaren said, "What I can tell you is that we already have the charge in court in which Mrs Diezani was listed as one of the defendants, and in that charge we stated that she's stiill at large - which means that we were not able to bring her into the country to face trial.

"We are still waiting for her to respond because we have invited her for questioning but she has not responded. We are aware that she is living in the UK where she was taken to court sometime ago and was released on bail.

"Ours is to investigate and prosecute, but issues of extradition are handled by the Ministry of Justice."

Allison-Madueke has been linked to a slew of corruption cases, with courts seizing assets and funds that have been suspected to be proceeds of her loot.

On Tuesday, August 22, a Federal High Court in Lagos ordered the interim forfeiture of assets valued at $16,441,906 linked to her.

On Wednesday, August 9, 2017, Justice Chuka Obiozor of a Lagos Federal High Court also ordered the interim forfeiture of the sum of N7,646,700,000 linked to the former minister after the EFCC filed an ex parte application.

This ruling came only days after a Federal High Court, also in Lagos, ordered the permanent forfeiture of a $37.5m Banana Island mansion owned by the former minister on Monday, August 7.

In addition to the building, the court also ordered the permanent forfeiture of the sums of $2,740,197.96 and N84,537,840.70 realised as rents on the property.

On Tuesday, August 8, the EFCC revealed that its operatives discovered boxes of gold, silver and diamond jewellery from the Abuja residences of the former minister.

In a statement signed by the leader of the 'Our Mumu Don Do' group, Charles Oputa, aka Charly Boy, and the leader of the 'Concerned Nigerians' group, Deji Adeyanju, they said the protest is a challenge directed at the anti-graft agency to file for the extradition of the former minister, who is away in the United Kingdom, so that she can be prosecuted for her crimes.
According to a statement by the Deputy Director of Press in the ministry, James Odaudu, Sirika said government will not be the weak link in aviation security.

The statement quoted the minister as saying this while addressing participants at the ongoing Regional ministerial conference on aviation security in Egypt on Thursday.

The minister assured that President Muhammadu Buharis administration will take seriously any task, role or assignment assigned to the nation of Nigeria.

Sirika said this promise had been been demonstrated by a presidential approval of programmes tailored to aviation security in the country.

He explained that the security operatives in the nations aviation industry had been exposed to training and now bear arms.

The minister expressed appreciation to the United Nation Counter-Terrorism Department for conducting the training of the aviation personnel on security.

We have established training facilities in Abuja and Lagos by the help of United Nations Counter-Terrorism Department.

We have also established a training department within the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority training centre and with Nigerian College of Aviation Technology to further strengthen aviation security

ALSO READ:FG to float National Airline in 2017

said in addition to two trainings that had already been conducted by the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Department; that there was plans for the exercise to remain continuous.
The Federal Commissioner, Hajiya Sadiya Farouk said this when she visited the National Hospital Trauma Centre on Thursday in Abuja to sympathise with victims of the fire out break.

They are IDPs that were affected in the fire incident, and with what we have seen, its a very traumatic sight.

The agency is saddled with the responsibility of giving assistance and protection to persons in concern and being IDPs children.

We are going to provide that assistance and protection, we have seen them and we are going to foot all bills and all necessary arrangements to help them recover.

Farouk said that the fire explosion was as a result of fuel licking from a generator that was on, which entered the room of the victims.

Also speaking, Dr Olaomi Oluwole, Director clinical services of the National Hospital, Trauma Centre, said that the three patients at the centre had a major burnt.

He said that the minors were responding to treatment, noting that children recover faster than adult in burnt cases.

The three IDPs children had major burnt, they are in the burnt unit which is an ICU for burnt patients, they are young so I pray that they should be able to recover better and faster than the adults.

 The young children had major burnt and will need a lot of efforts both in terms of consumables, dressing, drugs and human attention, to make them get over their present predicament.

They are responding to treatment, so far, they look more lively, less of pains and they are more comfortable now, the burnt is on their upper limbs and one of them have burnt on her face, he said.
The president had met with all state governors in the country in the Council Chamber at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, but Governor Fayose did not show up.

His absence was confirmed by the president's Personal Assistant on New Media, Bashir Ahmad, on his Twitter handle

He tweeted, "As reported by some media houses, Mr. Fayose didn't attend the governors' meeting with President Buhari earlier at the Presidential Villa."

While the other governors were meeting with President Buhari in Abuja, Governor Fayose was in Ado-Ekiti where he was installed as the Apesin (Apagun P'ote) of Ado-Ekiti by the Ewi of Ado Ekiti, Oba Rufus Adejugbe.

Gombe state governor, Ibrahim Dankwambo also snubbed the meeting with the president as he was also installed as the Akinmuagun of Ado-Ekiti alongside Fayose.

Governor Fayose has always been a staunch outspoken critic of President Buhari's administration with many public outbursts earning him backlash.
The coalition of 16 different groups had, on June 6, issued a declaration order threatening Igbo residents in the north to vacate the region before October 1, or risk consequences.

The coalition, which includes Arewa Citizens Action for Change, Arewa Youth Consultative Forum, Arewa Youth Development Foundation, Arewa Students Forum and Northern Emancipation Network, promised to execute measures to carry out their directive.

After widespread criticism and months of intervention meetings both by the Federal Government and the governors of the country's 19 northern states, the coalition withdrew the quit notice on Thursday, August 24, at a press briefing at the Transcorp Hotel in Abuja.

In an announcement that was made by the group's spokesman, Abdulaziz Suleiman, it said despite the withdrawal, the group will not relent in pursuing petitions to the United Nations and the Federal Government to sanction IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, and other IPOB sponsors for their disruptive activities.

ALSO READ: Northern youths withdraw quit notice to Igbos

IPOB has issued its own stinging response, as it refused the withdrawal, insisting that Igbos in the northern region should return to the South East before the October deadline.

In its response, the group's spokesman, Comrade Emma Powerful, said the northern group should stick to its word, branding the withdrawal as 'inconsequential'.

Powerful also accused the political leaders of the north of being responsible for fueling the actions of the group in its bid to incite genocide.

He said, "It is inconsequential to IPOB whether the 'quit notice' was rescinded or not because it will in no way impact the pace and direction of our effort to restore Biafra.

"Threats don't have any effect on us, so our advice to the Arewa North is to please stick to the October 1 deadline or else they have no honour.

"We urge all southerners in the core North to return home before October 1 as history will most definitely repeat itself.

"Southerners were massacred in the pogroms of 1966 and 1967 after similar assurances were issued then that people should remain in the North.

"The presence of a serving governor and senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria during the supposed press briefing confirms what we have always known that the incitement to genocide, which is what the 'quit notice' is all about, has the blessing of the Arewa political class.

"It betrays the mindset of those clamouring for One Nigeria as irredeemable blood thirsty psychopaths hiding behind ethnic bigotry to unleash what will amount to the mass murder of non indigenes resident in core Arewa North."

He also called on President Muhammadu Buhari's administration to arrest the sponsors of the quit notice to show its seriousness in its war against hate speech in the country.

He added, "If President Muhammadu Buhari is at all serious about clamping down on hate speech, he should arrest those behind the 'quit notice'along with their sponsors.

"Trying to drag the name of our leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, into their unintelligent blood fest will be resisted.

"If the idea is to cow our leader with calls for his arrest, then those behind the genocidal edict of 'Igbos must leave the North' are even dumber than we thought.

"Nigeria is crumbling today before our eyes due to the arrest of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu; those wishing for him to be arrested again are basically signing the death warrant of Nigeria."

The June quit notice had set off a series of secessionist agitations in the country with several ethnic groups clamouring for separation from the Republic of Nigeria.
According to Daily Post, Shettima said this during the announcement reversing the eviction order issued to Igbos by a Northern youth group.

On Thursday, August 24, 2017, the youths issued a statement withdrawing the quit noticewhich they issued to Igbos living in the North.

Speaking further, the Borno state Governor said Nigerians should not label all Igbo people as agitators.

He also said The northern governors believe in the unity of this country.

I would personally prefer to be a small fish in a big pond than a big fish in a small pond.

Nnamdi Kanu is acting out of ignorance and immaturity.

The Biafran agitation is only the past-time of a tiny but vocal minority, he added.
The Coalition of Northern Youths, during a press briefing at the Transcorp hotel in Abuja, on Thursday, August 24, 2017, announced the suspension of the quit notice.

You will recall that the Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari, Sen. Babafemi Ojudu, on Tuesday, August 23, 2017, held a meeting with the Coalition of Northern Youths.

Speaking to Tribune on the development, the Deputy National Publicity Secretary of Ohanaeze, Chuks Ibegbu said The withdrawal of the quit notice is a welcome development. I am happy that the Arewa youths have to realise that it was wrong in the first instance for any person or group of persons to issue a quit notice to any group to leave Nigerian territory.

The Arewa Youths got it wrong ab initio as they have no constitutional right to sack Ndigbo from their area.

I am also happy that the present administration has said it without any equivocation that every Nigerian is free to live in any part of the country.

ALSO READ:Northern youths withdraw quit notice to Igbos

We have to remind ourselves that injustice, marginalisation, among others, led to hate speeches and restiveness in the land.

The present administration should try as much as possible to address the perceived political imbalance to stem further agitation across the country.
Comrade Sunmonu gave this assurance while appearing on the OSBC Television current affairs Yoruba programme, Kabenko.

He commended the state government for using the funds available judiciously to take care of workers welfare and enumerations.

The Osun Fund Allocation Committee, set up by Governor Rauf Aregbesola, comprises of labour leaders, government representatives and other stakeholders who allocate available government fund to the payment of salaries, pension, allowances and other obligations.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, had disclosed that Rodents had wrought plenty of damage in President Buharis Aso Rock office; a situation that meant Buhari now has to be working from home for a couple of weeks, pending when the damaged office furniture is fixed.

Buhari made a return to Nigeria on August 19, 2017, after spending 103 days in London on a medical vacation. In his absence, said Shehu, Rodents ransacked his office space and punctured furniture for fun.

Following the three months period of disuse, Rodents have caused a lot of damage to the furniture and the air conditioning units," Shehu lamented.

Shehu also disclosed that it isnt uncommon for Nigerian presidents to work from home.

There are also general works (to be carried out in the office) and it is not uncommon. Buhari has used the residential office for many years.

What is important is that the job gets done. Whether he does it from his bedroom or his sitting room or his anteroomit does not matter. Let the job be done and it will be done, Shehu said.

ALSO READ: That moment when Rats chase your president from office

The spokespersons comments immediately drew the presidency plenty of flak and backlash from Nigerians who viewed the Rodent angle as comical and embarrassing.

However, a top ranking aide of the president who craved anonymity for this story, said the Rodent slant was absolutely necessary at the time.

Garba Shehu said it because people wanted to know why Buhari is working from home. If we didnt offer an explanation, people would have misinterpreted the silence to mean Buhari is not physically fit given his recent health struggles. They would have said he's still ill and thats why hes working from home.

Shehu was under pressure to offer an explanation and we didnt want an information vacuum. He didnt know what else to say, so we went for the truth.

The aide told that the Rodent explanation was the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

According to the aide, Buhari always demands that his staff hand out the truth to the public at all times, no matter the circumstances, hence the Rat explanation.

President Buhari always asks us to tell the truth, the official explained. He would say dont lie to Nigerians, tell Nigerians the truth. The day you lie to Nigerians, that is the day you go'. Im telling you. Thats what he tells us. He doesnt joke about these things. He goes: you must tell the truth always'. So, if people find truth hard to swallow this time, we offer no apologies.

The aide also said the office of the Nigerian president wont be the first to play host to Rodents.

It happened in America. We always make reference to America. It happens everywhere. Even in the UK, there are rats, cockroaches in government offices.

had to contend with Mice. dealt with Mice. Even during era, the whole place was overtaken by cockroaches. So, these things happen.

The presidency official however conceded that the presidents office could have been rid of the Rodents in time for his return.

My only problem is that we should have sorted this out while the president was away. We should have sorted this out earlier.

The aide also said there was no need for the uproar from Nigerians because the presidents home office is only a minute away from his official space.

The distance between the presidents home office and his official office is less than a minutes walk. That is what people dont know. Both offices are in the same area.

"So, if the president doesnt go to his official office, he goes to the home one which is a stone-throw away. It has nothing to do with his fitness or lack of it, at this time. This has nothing to do with telling Nigerians a lie or covering up anything. We only gave out the truth", offered the aide.
This was disclosed by the president's Personal Assistant on New Media, Bashir Ahmad, on his Twitter handle

He tweeted, "After meeting with leadership of the APC and PDP, President Buhari will later meet with governors of the 36 states of the federation."

On Friday morning, the president met leaders of the ruling party, the All Progressives' Congress (APC) and main opposition party, the People's Democratic Party (PDP).

At the meeting, which took place at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, the president appealed for unity, pointing out that the country will benefit from vibrant responsible opposition.

He said, "Multi-party democracy is a very tried and tested form of government. Opposition does not mean hostility, enmity or antagonism. Democracy needs opposition, one which is vibrant but responsible.

"I am imploring all Nigerians to continue praying for peace and prosperity in Nigeria."

The APC delegation at the meeting was led by national party chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun, while the PDP's delegation was led by caretaker chairman, Senator Ahmed Makarfi.

Also speaking after the meeting, Makarfi welcomed the president back to his official duties and pledged to him the full backing of the opposition PDP.

He said, "We believe the President of our country - regardless of what party flag he or she flies - is our President.

"We will never wish ill of anyone, not to talk of the person saddled with the responsibility of leading Nigeria.

"PDP ready to offer legitimate, decent opposition. We will do this to keep govt in check, but ultimately for the benefit of Nigeria.

"We assure you of as much cooperation as an opposition party can give - after all the role of the opposition is to take over power."
A statement issued Thursday evening by Malam Imam Imam, the spokesman of Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, said "While Sultan Muhammad Sa'ad Abubakar and state Deputy Governor Ahmed Aliyu will attend the prayer at the Sultan Bello Mosque in Sokoto, all Imams have been directed to lead prayers in their localities for continued good health of President Muhammadu Buhari.

"In the same vein, Sokoto pilgrims have been informed of the need to use the occasion of the last ten days of the Dhul Hajj in the Islamic calendar, which are holy days, to intensify prayers for the good health of the President and peace and stability of the nation.

"The government equally urged all individuals to privately pray for our beloved leader after his return to the country from medical vacation," the statement added.

ALSO READ:That moment when rats chase your president from office

Meanwhile, the Oluwo of Iwo, Adbulrahsheed Akanbi has said that he is ready to bear the ailment troubling the President.
According to Premium Times, he said All those who are wishing him dead and those who are clamouring for his resignation shall fall sick.

Akanbi said this while hosting religious leaders who came to pray for Buharis health in his palace.

It is painful that those who launched that campaign of Resume or Resign are not patriotic as they claimed.

They politicised the campaign which shouldnt be. Buhari is my son and I wont be happy when people are wishing him dead.

If any civil servant or police officer falls sick, will you advise them to resign? Those who are clamouring for Buharis resignation are not sane.

Nigerians dont love those that love them but they are passionate about those that hate them, he added.
What better way to ease off the stress of the week than watch a good movie.

With that in mind, check out our list of movies currently showing in cinemas across Lagos and Abuja.

Starring: Toyin Aimakhu-Johnson, Seyilaw, Ali Nuhu, Kunle Idowu

Synopsis: Hakkunde is an intriguing story of a young graduate who battles everything (including love, family, discrimination, drug abuse, culture, tradition and self) on his journey to self discovery and actualization.

Fri:1:00pm 4:00pm

Sat - Wed:4:00pm

Thu: 2:50pm

Daily: 4:10PM

Daily: 10:30AM

Starring: Dane DeHaan, Cara Delevingne, Clive Owen

Synopsis: A dark force threatens Alpha, a vast metropolis and home to species from a thousand planets. Special operatives Valerian and Laureline must race to identify the marauding menace and safeguard not just Alpha, but the future of the universe.

Daily: 1:00PM

Daily: 12:00pm 2:40pm

Sun: 12:20pm

Starring: Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Robert Downey Jr.

Synopsis: Several months after the events of Captain America: Civil War, Peter Parker, with the help of his mentor Tony Stark, tries to balance his life as an ordinary high school student in Queens, New York City while fighting crime as his superhero alter ego Spider-Man as a new threat, the Vulture, emerges.

Showing:

Friday - Thursday: 12:55PM (except Sunday)

Friday - Thursday: 2:05PM

Synopsis: My Wife and I is a comedy that deals with the trials and tribulations of the duo who are successful in every other aspect of their lives, except their marriage.

Their decision to make things work leads them to Pastor Theophilus, who is responsible for putting them through a series of unfortunate events.

Cast: Omoni Oboli, Ramsey Nouah Rachel Oniga, Jemima Osunde, Dorcas Shola Fapson, Sambasa Nzeribe

Friday - Thursday: 3:00PM,5:00PM,9:00PM

Fri - Wed: 5:20pm 7:30pm

Thu: 5:20pm 8:30pm

Daily: 1:10PM, 5:10PM, 8:10PM

Daily: 3:35PM, 4:30PM, 8:45PM

Starring: Ansel Elgort, Lily James, Jon Hamm

Synopsis: After being coerced into working for a crime boss, a young getaway driver finds himself taking part in a heist doomed to fail.

Showing:

Daily: 11:25AM, 8:20PM

Synopsis: When her boyfriend dumps her before their exotic vacation, a young woman persuades her ultra-cautious mother to travel with her to paradise, with unexpected results.

Showing:

Friday - Thursday: 12:20PM, 6:25PM

Daily: 2:15PM,7:00PM

Daily: 5:45PM, 7:30PM, 9:15P

Sunday - 7:10PM, 8:50PM

Fri: 2:00pm

Sat - Wed: 2:00pm 6:00pm

Thu: 1:00pm 6:00pm

Starring: T.J. Miller, James Corden, Anna Faris

Synopsis: Gene, a multi-expressional emoji, sets out on a journey to become a normal emoji.

Showing:

Daily: 11:45AM

Daily: 12:25PM

Daily: 11AM, 1:50PM, 4PM, 6:10PM

Daily: 11:50am 1:40pm 3:30pm

Starring: Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Javier Bardem

Synopsis: Gru meets his long-lost charming, cheerful, and more successful twin brother Dru who wants to team up with him for one last criminal heist.

Showing:

Daily: 11:10AM

Starring: Miranda Otto, Stephanie Sigman, Lulu Wilson.

Synopsis: Several years after the tragic death of their little girl, a doll-maker and his wife welcome a nun and several girls from a shuttered orphanage into their home, soon becoming the target of the doll-maker's possessed creation, Annabelle.

Showing:

Daily: 11:00AM,12:40PM,3:55PM

Daily: 11:20AM, 8:20PM

Daily:6:15PM

Starring: Adams 'Vj Adams' Ibrahim, Idowu 'Frank Donga' Olakunle, Joy Nice, Antar Laniyan Yewande Lawal, Rotimi Salami, ill Rhymz, jumoke Salami, Bayo Ogundele.

Synopsis: Inspired by real life events Olaolu Cole- charismatic, suave, and intelligent is a popular OAP in Lagos who believes he always wants to stand for the truth. This movie explores the effects (negative or positive) media personalities have on people in different strata of the society.

Showing:

Daily: 10:55AM, 12PM, 3:10PM

Daily:10:45AM,1:00PM,

Starring: Regina Hall, Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett Smith

Synopsis: When four lifelong friends travel to New Orleans for the annual Essence Festival, sisterhoods are rekindled, wild sides are rediscovered, and there's enough dancing, drinking, brawling, and romancing to make the Big Easy blush.

Showing:

Daily: 1:30PM, 4:05PM, 8:45PM

Daily: 3:25PM, 6:30PM, 8:50PM

Daily: 1:30PM, 3:45PM, 6:05PM, 8:25PM

Daily: 5:15pm 7:45pm

Starring: Bimbo Manuel, Chioma Omeruah, Patrick Diabuah, Uche Jombo, Saidi Balogun

Synopsis:He is paired with the cantankerous Ijeoma who will do anything to save her fathers house in Banana Island from the bank coming to reclaim it in three days. The two of them must first survive each other, then learn to work together, and eventually fall in love, to see their destinies unfold.

Showing:

Daily: 2:45PM,5:00PM,9:05PM

Daily: 11AM, 6:10PM

Daily: 5:45PM, 7:50PM

Sat - Thu: 1:00pm 6:10pm

Starring:Idris Elba, Matthew McConaughey, Tom Taylor

Synopsis: The last Gunslinger, Roland Deschain, has been locked in an eternal battle with Walter O'Dim, also known as the Man in Black, determined to prevent him from toppling the Dark Tower, which holds the universe together. With the fate of the worlds at stake, good and evil will collide in the ultimate battle as only Roland can defend the Tower from the Man in Black

Showing:

Daily: 10:40AM,6:55PM

Daily: 7:10PM, 9PM

Fri: 3:00pm 5:00pm 9:50pm

Sat & Mon - Thu: 1:30pm 3:50pm 8:00pm
Nigeria holds a general election to choose a new president in 2019; with the tenures of the incumbent and those of a host of other elected representatives up for grabs in a few months.

There is already a fierce jostle for power behind the scenes, with a host of candidates lining up to replace the ailing Buhari who has embarked on medical trips abroad thrice in the last two years.

Political pundits and opposition figures say Buhari, who is entitled to seek re-election once his first term winds down in 2019, will be too frail and remains medically unfit to affix his name on the ballot.

In an exclusive chat however, an aide of the president told Pulse that after observing Buhari from close quarters since his return on August 19, the Daura born former General has not only fully recovered from an undisclosed ailment, hes got one more grueling electioneering campaign in him.

was told that the Nigerian leader is in fine fettle and rude health.

Buhari is fine. He is very, very fine. He is stronger than he was shortly before he left Nigeria for London, the top ranking Aso Villa official told Pulse.

Pressed on whether Buhari has fully recovered and if Nigerians should be worried about seeing their president take to the skies soon to tend to his health troubles, the aide shot back:

Buhari even runs these days. Thats how fit he is. He has fully recovered. The Doctors didn't keep him in London this long just to have him return there after only a few days.

Buhari is strong enough to run in 2019. He is physically strong enough for the rigours of another electioneering campaign. Yes. I believe he is even stronger now. Buhari isnt the kind of person to act dramato put up a show for the cameras. I worked with Buhari during the electioneering campaign of 2015. I knew how he was, up close and personal and I know how he is now".

pressed this aide on whether his comments should be taken as an official confirmation that Buhari will seek another term in office.

He may decide not to run or otherwise. It's still early days. But from what I see, he looks ready to run, the official said.

Presidential spokespersons Garba Shehu and Femi Adesina were not immediately available for comments for this story.

Buhari was elected Nigeria President in March of 2015 and was sworn-in in May of the same year.

The retired Army General won the poll on the platform of the then opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) which gave the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) a run for its money at the first time of asking.

In a gentlemans agreement, the Nigerian presidency often rotates between a Christian dominated South and a Muslim dominated North.

Buhari, a Muslim from the majority North, is expected to see out a two term of eight years in spite of his health concerns.

The Nigerian leader is yet to announce his intention to seek re-election. He is also yet to refute speculations suggesting hell seek another term of office.

However, campaign posters declaring re-election motives on the presidents behalf, intermittently surface on the boulevards of Abuja, the countrys capital.

The health of a Nigerian president remains a sensitive subject in Africa's most populous country, following the death of Umaru Yaradua who was diagnosed of kidney and heart complications.
The meeting took place at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Friday, August 25, 2017.

Speaking at the meeting that was also attended by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, President Buhari said, "Multi-party democracy is a very tried and tested form of government. Opposition does not mean hostility, enmity or antagonism. Democracy needs opposition, one which is vibrant but responsible.

"I am imploring all Nigerians to continue praying for peace and prosperity in Nigeria."

The APC delegation at the meeting was led by national party chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun, while the PDP's delegation was led by caretaker chairman, Senator Ahmed Makarfi.

Also speaking after the meeting, Makarfi welcomed the president back to his official duties and pledged to him the full backing of the opposition PDP.

He said, "We believe the President of our country - regardless of what party flag he or she flies - is our President.

"We will never wish ill of anyone, not to talk of the person saddled with the responsibility of leading Nigeria.

"PDP ready to offer legitimate, decent opposition. We will do this to keep govt in check, but ultimately for the benefit of Nigeria.

"We assure you of as much cooperation as an opposition party can give - after all the role of the opposition is to take over power."

Odigie-Oyegun also praised the president's efforts to unify the country, saying that he has "sent out a message that he's President of all Nigerians, regardless of party/religion/ethnicity."
Ladoja, along with Mr Seyi Makinde, a chieftain of the Social Democratic Party(SDP) in the state, moved to the PDP on Thursday in Ibadan, when Sen. Ahmed Makarfi, Chairman of the PDP National Caretaker Committee, visited the Oyo capital.

The former governor, who won the seat on the ticket of the PDP in 2011, said that he was returning to his home, adding that it was not his wish to leave the PDP when he did.

When I left the PDP some years ago, it was because of the injustice done to me.

We left because the PDP leaders, at that time, were not ready to protect the interest of all members. We are back now because the new leadership has promised to right all wrongs and avoid mistakes of the past.

I have discussed with members of the Accord party and they have asked for amnesty; we need assurance from Makarfi that Accord Party members will be given equal treatment and a level playing ground, Ladoja stated

In his response, Makarfi said that he came to Ladoja to take you back to where you belong.

We want you to return to your great beginning; we want to start all over again as one family, he said.

Makarfi expressed optimism that Ladojas presence would add value to the PDP in Oyo State, adding that he (Ladoja) had committed no crime to warrant a plea for amnesty.

He implored PDP members to forget the past and work toward party unity, and assured Ladoja and new PDP members of equal opportunity for all.

Makinde, in his remark, assured Makarfi of his groups total support to the ideals of the PDP, urging him to protect the interest of his members.

Two PDP chieftains, Chief Richard Akinjide and Chief Yekini Adeojo, who spoke at the occasion, commended Makarfi over his efforts to reconcile warring factions and especially for wooing new members into the fold.

Akinjide particularly promised to assist Makarfi toward rebuilding the PDP, and urged him to carry all members along, so as to create a sense of oneness.
Regional authorities in north-central Para state said 21 people were confirmed dead so far after a boat sank on the Xingu river late Tuesday.

That vessel, the Capitan Ribeiro, had 49 people on board, 23 of whom were rescued.

Emergency teams were still searching for five more, the department said in a statement.

Separately, the navy said 18 people died when a ferry sank early Thursday off the northeastern state of Bahia.

Naval commander Flavio Almeida lowered the death toll in that accident from an earlier count of 22.

That boat reportedly had at least 120 people on board. Almeida told AFP at least 21 of them had been rescued by official means, but he added that many more were believed to have been picked up by civilian vessels.

The boat was running the short route from the island of Itaparica across the bay to the city of Salvador, capital of Bahia state, when it went down in a storm.

"It was raining... a wave came and the boat turned over. There were a lot of people" on board, one survivor, Edvaldo Santos de Almeida, told top news website G1.

The naval commander said scores of military personnel were working on rescue efforts at the site.

The state government declared three days of mourning.

"I have been personally following this difficult operation from an early stage and all measures have been taken immediately," said Bahia governor Rui Costa.

Search for survivors

In the incident in Para, in a northern Amazon region, survivors told local media that the boat got caught in a rainstorm.

The vessel had left the port of Santarem bound for Vitoria de Xingu.

The regional public safety department said 21 people were confirmed to have died in that sinking, including two children.

Rescuers were searching for others missing in the Xingu river.

"It's a hard-to-access area," Colonel Augusto Lima, from the Para firefighters' service, was quoted as saying on Wednesday by the newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo.

The victims who were rescued got out by swimming, Globo news reported, saying the boat went down about 500 meters (1,640 feet) from the riverbank.

Ferries, fishing vessels and big commercial ships ply the Amazon waterways as one of the main forms of transport in a region with relatively few roads.
Temer's decision issued Wednesday scrapped a national reserve in the northern Para and Amapa states that had protected a 17,800 square mile (46,000 square km) area since 1984, when Brazil was still run by a military dictatorship.

The Reserva Nacional del Cobre y Asociados is bigger than Denmark and home to virgin forest, as well as indigenous territories of the Aparai, Wayana and Wajapi tribes.

But it also contains important reserves of gold, manganese, iron and copper -- and Temer believes cash-strapped Brazil should start digging.

Until now, state-owned companies had a right to exploit the resources, but rarely did. Temer's measure will open the door to private business.

Temer's aim with the decree is not just to boost the industry but to bring control over activity that is already being performed by illegal miners who use destructive methods that poison the rivers with mercury.

In addition, Temer promises that the mining will not take place in special conservation areas, only outside. "Our promise is to bring sustainable development in the Amazon, uniting environmental protection with revenue generating for the local population," he said.

But analysts are skeptical that much good can come from a president who leans increasingly on the powerful agro-industrial lobby for his political survival amid swirling corruption scandals.

"The measure is meant to bring economic expansion, but it could bring a huge impact. What price will be paid in such a sensitive area as the Amazon?" asked Ely Paiva, an expert at the Getulio Vargas Foundation in Rio.

Mining disaster

The World Wildlife Fund says private mining expansion will risk irreversible damage both to the environment and the indigenous peoples.

"It's a tragedy waiting to happen," said WWF's director in Brazil, Mauricio Voivodic.

"This can cause deforestation, contamination of rivers and ramp up activities like illegal mining. It's about going back to an old vision of the Amazon as a source of natural resources."

Voivodic pointed to the disaster at the Samarco iron ore mine in the Minas Gerais region in 2015 that killed 19 and sent huge quantities of toxic mud flooding into a major river system.

"This decree is the biggest attack on the Amazon in the last 50 years. Even the military dictatorship didn't dare," said leftist Senator Randolfe Rodrigues, who is planning to challenge the decree in court.

Campaigns on social media are going under hashtags like "SOS Amazonia" and Bundchen has given glamorous weight to the resistance.

"What a disgrace. They're selling off our Amazon!" she tweeted.

Bundchen gets listened to in her native Brazil. In June, Temer told her in a tweet that he was promising to veto laws that would reduce protected areas in the Amazon.
Sebastien Ajavon is accused of having used several of his businesses to execute an elaborate tax dodge for three years and now allegedly owes 167 billion CFA francs ($302 million, 254 million euros).

"He is accused of organising tax evasion through several of his companies in the years 2014, 2015 and 2016," Benin's tax service told AFP.

Ajavon's overall tax bill eclipses Benin's per capita GDP of $2,200 and is more than one percent of the country's overall domestic product, as measured in 2016.

The 52-year-old has so far declined to comment publicly on his massive tax bill, according to local media.

"From May to mid-August 2017, a team of five tax inspectors were embedded in Sebastien Ajavon's companies," a source close to the investigation said.

Ajavon's supporters have accused authorities of persecuting the businessman-turned-politician, saying they "are seeking to put him prison by any means," according to supporter Cyrille Hounsou.

Ralmeg Gandaho, a lawyer, said Ajavon could appeal the charge and choose to sue the government.

Ajavon, who made his fortune in the food industry, received almost a quarter of the vote in the first round of the 2016 presidential election, coming in third.

He then threw his weight behind fellow businessman and eventual winner, Patrice Talon, who has described Ajavon as a "great man" and a "great business operator".

Ajavon defines himself as a "self-made man" and has interests in the transport and media sectors, owning the Sikka TV station and radio Soleil FM.

This is not the first time he has faced legal troubles.

In October 2016, Ajavon was arrested after an 18-kilogramme (40 pounds) shipment of cocaine, with a street value of $16 million, was found in a container destined for one of his businesses.
State authorities drew criticism for initially ruling out his journalism as a possible motive.

But prosecutors are now analyzing a video that allegedly shows a powerful local politician threatening the reporter, according to the head of the state's Commission to Protect Journalists, Jorge Morales.

Prosecutors "are looking at (the video) as a prominent element," Morales told AFP.

The video, posted on social media, purportedly shows former mayor Gaspar Gomez of the town of Hueyapan de Ocampo threatening to "bash (Rios's) head in."

Rios's family and editor say he had previously been the target of attacks and death threats from Gomez, whom the journalist had repeatedly accused of corruption in the pages of his newspaper, Diario de Acayucan.

"Once (Gomez) and his police officers beat him up right in front of me," Rios's widow, Hilda Nieves, told AFP.

Rios was enrolled in the so-called Mechanism to Protect Human Rights Defenders and Journalists, a government program launched in 2012 to stop assassinations of activists and reporters.

It has been widely criticized for failing to stem the violence.

Some 50 journalists protested Thursday in Mexico City, demanding the authorities overhaul the program and increase its budget, which has been cut from $2.1 million in 2013 to half that this year.

"We're very concerned that a person who was protected under the mechanism was murdered," protest organizer Alejandro Melendez, a photojournalist, told AFP.

Rios, 55, was the second journalist under government protection to be murdered, according to media watchdog Article 19.

More than 90 percent of journalists' murders in Mexico remain unpunished.

Rios was the 10th reporter killed this year. Most had been reporting on powerful crime gangs and government corruption.
The attack was the latest in a wave of deadly raids on residential areas of Yemen blamed on a Saudi-led Arab military coalition, drawing strong international condemnation.

Friday's air raid destroyed two buildings in the southern district of Faj Attan, leaving people buried under debris, said an AFP photographer on the scene.

The images he took showed severely damaged buildings, piles of smashed concrete blocks and splintered beams of wood.

Medics at the site said at least 14 people including six children and two women had died in the strike at 3:15 am (0015 GMT).

Al-Massira television channel run by the Shiite Huthi rebels who control the capital said those killed were all civilians, and blamed the Saudi-led coalition for the strike.

Mohammed Ahmad, who lived in one of the buildings, said he was among those who had taken nine bodies to a hospital.

"We extracted them one by one from under the rubble," he said. "Some of them were children from a single family."

"When the rocket hit, one of the buildings was immediately destroyed which caused the building next door to collapse too. Some residents got out, but others were trapped."

Some of them died and others were wounded, he told AFP.

Diggers were still working at the site hours after the raid as medics and residents searched for the missing. Survivors sat on the rubble and helped move the wounded to ambulances.

A man wearing a bloodied white gown walked among the torn and burnt pieces of clothing and bits of wooden furnishings.

Series of strikes

The coalition entered Yemen's war in 2015 in support of the government against the Iran-backed rebels, who seized Sanaa the previous year after forming a fragile alliance with troops loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.

The World Health Organization estimates nearly 8,400 civilians have been killed and 47,800 wounded since the Saudi-led alliance intervened.

Friday's raid came two days after at least 35 people died in a series of strikes on Sanaa and a nearby hotel that rebels have also blamed on the coalition.

Coalition spokesman Colonel Turki al-Malki told AFP that those killed in Wednesdays air strike were "armed militants", adding that the strike was aimed at "a high-value target".

On Friday's strike, he said: "I will review the information."

Human rights groups have repeatedly criticised the coalition, which controls Yemen's airspace, over the civilian death toll from the bombing campaign.

Northern and southern Yemen have both come under aerial attack in recent months, and the coalition has come under massive pressure from international organisations including the United Nations over the raids.

The United Nations has said the coalition was likely responsible for a July attack on the southwestern Taez province that killed 20 people, including children.

"In the week from August 17 to August 24, 58 civilians have been killed, including 42 by the Saudi-led coalition," UN human rights office spokeswoman Liz Throssell told reporters in Geneva on Friday.

"In all these cases, in which civilians were killed and injured, witnesses said that there had been no warnings that an attack was imminent," her agency said.

Yemen also faces a deadly cholera outbreak that has claimed nearly 2,000 lives and affected more than half a million people since late April.

A combination of war, disease and a coalition blockade have pushed Yemen, long the poorest in the Arab world, to the brink of famine.
"A serviceman of the armed forces of the Donetsk People's Republic who was killed by the bullet of a Ukrainian sniper became the first 'victim'" of the ceasefire, separatist news agency website quoted senior rebel commander Eduard Basurin as saying.

The ceasefire came into effect after midnight ahead of the new school year.

The Ukrainian side of joint ceasefire monitoring centre said the first breach of the new truce was recorded less than two minutes into it, when the separatists shelled the village of Talakivka in Donetsk region with small arms and heavy machine guns.

"The armed forces of Ukraine did not give in to provocations and did not open fire in response," it said in a statement posted on the defence ministry website.

Kiev also reported the loss of a government soldier just minutes after midnight, though the injuries that led to his death were received during the shelling earlier this week before the ceasefire went into effect.

The new truce was agreed at a meeting of the Contact Group for Ukraine attended by the separatists on Wednesday.

In June the warring sides agreed on a so-called "harvest ceasefire" from June 24 that was set to last until August 31.

The US special envoy on Ukraine Kurt Volker on Tuesday also backed a fresh ceasefire to come in force as schools start on September 1.
Syria's army is seeking to advance through Raqa province to reach neighbouring Deir Ezzor, where jihadists have besieged government forces and civilians in the provincial capital since 2015.

Earlier this month, government troops and allied fighters arrived at the outskirts of Madan, the last IS-held town in the eastern Raqa province countryside before Deir Ezzor.

But in Thursday's counterattack, IS "made major progress and... expanded the area under its control along the southern bank of the Euphrates," the Observatory said.

"IS has managed to push regime forces back 30 kilometres (18 miles) from the western outskirts of Madan," Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said.

The Syria army operation in the area, backed by air support from ally Russia, is separate from the battle for provincial capital Raqa city.

The effort to oust IS from the city, once the jihadist group's Syrian stronghold, is being led by the Syrian Democratic Forces, a US-backed alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters.

The SDF has captured just under 60 percent of Raqa city since it entered in June after months of fighting to encircle it.
Lee, 49, is vice chairman of Samsung Electronics, the world's largest smartphone maker and the flagship of the Samsung Group founded by his grandfather in 1938.

Lee's father Lee Kun-Hee went on to build up the tech empire but was convicted of bribery in 1996. The Seoul Central District Court also found him guilty of tax evasion and other charges nine years ago but suspended sentences meant he never served time in jail.

Similarly, Lees grandfather was engulfed in a huge case of smuggling by his fertiliser manufacturing company in 1966. He avoided being charged after "donating" the firm to the state.

But on Friday it proved third time unlucky for the Lee dynasty, with the scion jailed for five years, convicted of bribing the then-South Korean president Park Geun-Hye and her secret confidante.

'Minus touch'

Mild-mannered and often smiling inscrutably, bespectacled divorcee Lee Jae-Yong cuts a different figure from his father -- a visionary but eccentric and reclusive leader who rarely made public appearances.

The senior Lee is credited with transforming a once-obscure electronics firm into a global powerhouse that today is the biggest maker of mobile phones as well as memory chips.

But his son is not seen as having inherited his management prowess, with some critics instead ascribing him a "Minus touch" after several of his pet projects at Samsung fizzled out.

The junior Lee earned a degree in Asian history at South Korea's top Seoul National University before studying business at Japan's elite Keio University and later Harvard.

In 1998 he married the granddaughter of the founder of South Korean food giant Daesang. The couple had a daughter and son but divorced in 2009 and Lee remains single.

He started his career at Samsung Electronics in 1991 before a rapid climb up the corporate ladder -- common among offspring of the founding families of the South's powerful, family-run conglomerates known as chaebols.

He became an executive in 2001, a vice president in 2010 and a president less than a year later, when the firm was growing rapidly thanks to its burgeoning smartphone business.

He was made vice chairman in 2012, a banner year when Samsung dethroned Apple as the world's top smartphone maker and shattered profit records every quarter.

But the stellar performance was largely credited to his father and an elite coterie of Samsung veterans at the now-disbanded Future Strategy Office, which dictated key management decisions at the sprawling empire.

Vision thing

Since a heart attack three years ago left his father bedridden, Lee has functioned as the public face of Samsung, attending key events and meetings with visiting luminaries.

But how much he has contributed to Samsung's business decisions remains unclear.

The Lee clan is known for its secrecy, with neither the scion nor his father ever having given a media interview.

The Park scandal put Lee under an unprecedented level of public scrutiny, fumbling for words and being shouted at by lawmakers at a live-televised parliamentary hearing.

jpegMpeg4-1280x720In court, Lee's lawyers and his co-accused, four other former Samsung executives, painted him as an inexperienced and overcautious heir who was sidelined by seasoned Samsung veterans handpicked by his father, in what was seen as a strategy to save him from legal responsibility.

Lee himself told the court his knowledge of the group's overall operations was "limited", he was still "learning" from other executives and "simply following" their advice.

Former senior executives consider Lee indecisive and detail-obsessed while lacking broader vision, according to Shim Jung-Taik, author of several books on Samsung, including a biography of Lee Kun-Hee.
"However, the aggressive behaviour of Russia has undermined stability and security in Europe," he added.

The 2014 incursion of pro-Russian forces into eastern Ukraine and Russia's annexation of Crimea have strained ties with the west to the limit.

In response, NATO has bolstered its presence in eastern European countries that are now allies but were once ruled from Moscow.

Stoltenberg described Russia's "illegal annexation of Crimea" as "the first time since World War II that a European nation had taken the territory of another country by force.

"Russia continues to destabilise Eastern Ukraine. It is a conflict in which nearly 10,000 Ukrainians have been killed and this has changed the security context enormously," he said.

But the NATO chief said he was not looking for a confrontation with Russia and that he strongly believed in dialogue.
Her comments come as French President Emmanuel Macron is rallying other low-wage eastern EU states to agree to an overhaul of the rules of the so-called Posted Workers Directive.

It currently allows firms to send temporary workers from low-wage countries like Poland to other member states without paying local social charges.

Macron has insisted that the regulation leads to unfair competition on the French labour market, to the detriment of French workers.

Poland is the country that benefits most from the Posted Workers Directive and wants to keep its current rules intact.

An estimated 500,000 of its nationals are employed by Polish companies in other EU members.

Austria and France are among the bloc's key recipients of temporary employees.
Mattis made the one-day visit after stopping in Iraq to review progress in the campaign against the Islamic State group, urging coalition partners to prevent other political issues from disrupting the growing momentum against the jihadists.

He met with Erdogan at the presidential palace after talks with Defence Minister Nurettin Canikli in Ankara.

Turkey, an important NATO ally of the United States and part of the coalition fighting the IS militants, is incensed that Washington has been arming the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in the assault on the jihadists' stronghold of Raqa, in northern Syria.

Turkey regards the YPG as the Syrian affiliate of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), but Washington has been impressed with its ability to combat IS on the ground.

In May, the Pentagon said it had begun transferring small arms, including AK-47s, and vehicles to the YPG to support its role as a leading player in the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a Kurdish-Syrian Arab alliance fighting IS.

During the meeting, Erdogan told Mattis that Turkey was "uneasy over the US support" for the YPG, presidential sources said.

The Pentagon said Mattis addressed Turkey's "legitimate" security concerns in the meeting and both men expressed a shared interest for their countries "to create conditions for a more stable and secure region."

'Whatever the price'

Erdogan has repeatedly vowed that Turkey will thwart any attempt by the YPG to carve out a Kurdish state in northern Syria, leaving open the possibility of a cross-border operation to prise the town of Afrin from Kurdish control.

"Turkey will not allow a terror corridor reaching the Mediterranean in northern Syria," Erdogan told reporters on his plane back from a visit to Jordan.

"Whatever the price, we will conduct the necessary intervention," he said, quoted by the Hurriyet newspaper on Wednesday.

Last August, Ankara launched a cross-border operation in northern Syria aimed at clearing the border zone of both YPG fighters and jihadists.

Complaining about Washington's arming of the YPG, Erdogan said up to 1,000 trucks had crossed from Iraq to Syria carrying weapons for the SDF, which Turkey fears will reach the PKK.

The rise of jihadists in the Syrian northwestern province of Idlib has also caused concern in Ankara, Moscow and Tehran.

Erdogan alluded to plans for Idlib, controlled by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham jihadist alliance, but would not elaborate, only saying: "What is there now? There is Idlib."

'Cancel Kurdish referendum'

US officials said Tuesday that the grinding fight was the "priority" in the campaign against IS since the fall last month of Mosul, the jihadists' Iraqi hub.

The Kurdish regional government in northern Iraq -- whose peshmerga security forces are playing a key role in the fight against IS -- is planning its own independence referendum in September.

But at the date approaches, the plan is fuelling increasing discomfort in the region.

Mattis met Tuesday with Iraqi Kurdish leader Massud Barzani in Erbil to express US opposition to the referendum.

Erdogan and Mattis reaffirmed their opposition to the vote, Turkish presidential sources said on Wednesday.

And Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, in Baghdad to meet Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and other Iraqi officials, reiterated Turkey's opposition to the "wrong" decision to hold the referendum.

Cavusoglu also held talks with Barzani in Arbil.

The US is concerned at signs of warming ties between Iran and Turkey, whose relationship in the past has been far from straightforward.

The Pentagon said Mattis and Canikli discussed "concern over Iran's malign influence in the region", without giving further details.

Iranian armed forces chief General Mohammad Hossein Bagheri visited Turkey last week, with both sides agreeing to step up regional security and oppose the Kurdish referendum.
General Terrence O'Shaughnessy, Pacific Air Forces commander, said the American military still had credibility... all over the world despite the incidents, which have raised concerns that the US armed forces are overstretched in Asia.

In the latest incident, the USS John S. McCain collided with a tanker off Singapore early Monday, tearing a huge hole in the vessels hull and leaving two sailors dead and eight missing.

The McCain had been heading to the city-state after conducting a freedom of navigation mission -- sailing close to a contested island in the South China Sea in a show of strength to challenge Beijing's territorial claims.

The US has been carrying out a growing number of such operations in recent years as China increasingly asserts its claims to almost the entire sea, despite partial counter-claims from some Asian neighbours.

There is no setback to those (freedom of navigation) operations following these incidents, O'Shaughnessy told reporters during a visit to the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur.

We stand firm that we are going to sail and fly anywhere where international rules allow. We will continue to do that.

Every day, we have operations within the South China Sea and areas surrounding it.

He added that the latest collision should not eclipse the work of the US military as a whole.

"I dont think that we should let one incident overshadow the great capability that the United States of America brings across all services," he said.

Still, the incidents have provided a propaganda windfall to US rivals like China, with the foreign ministry in Beijing voicing concerns American warships posed a "security threat" to civilian vessels in the South China Sea.

Mondays accident was the second involving an American destroyer in two months after the USS Fitzgerald collided with a cargo ship off Japan in June, killing seven sailors.

A multinational search operation at sea for the missing sailors on the McCain was called off Thursday, with divers now focusing on flooded compartments in the warship.
GALESBURG -- Businessman and developer Mark Kleine has announced his candidacy for Illinois' U.S. 17th Congressional district, running as a Republican.

If Mr. Kleine wins the primary, he will face incumbent Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Moline. The primary election will take place March 18, 2018, followed by the general election on Nov. 6.

Prior to his announcement, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee sent out a release saying Mr. Kleine attempted to silence Congresswoman Bustos for trying to protect Illinois children from lead-contaminated water.

The allegation stems from an April 9, 2016, Associated Press story revealing tests of Galesburg's water supply showed the water exceeded the acceptable level for lead content.

Rep. Bustos became involved in Galesburg's efforts to remove lead from the water supply.

Mr. Kleine was working on a housing development on the city's north side at the time. In response to her involvement, Mr. Kleine allegedly asked Rep. Bustos to issue a statement declaring the city's water as safe to drink, according to the release. Rep. Bustos declined.

According to Kleineforcongress.com, Mr. Kleine opened his first John Deere tractor dealership, Kleine Equipment Inc., in northwestern Illinois in 1994. He built the business into a $150 million company with six retail locations and 150 employees.

In 2013, he founded Kleine Companies, a development company focused on residential housing and the revitalization of downtown Galesburg.

Mr. Kleine sits on the OSF St. Mary Medical Center board, the Knox County Area Partnership for Economic Development board, and the St. Ambrose University board.

According to the Peoria Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Kleine and his wife, Jeannette, donated $1.5 million in 2016 to establish the Mark and Jeannette Kleine Pediatric Wellness Center.
LECLAIRE -- Vettes will be helping vets Saturday on the LeClaire levee from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Mid-West Corvette Club is hosting Vettes on the River -- Vettes Supporting Vets." All money raised will go to Quad-Cities veterans organizations.

In addition to car displays on the levee -- where admission will be free for all spectators -- the event will feature cars on Wisconsin Street from Cody Road up to 4th Street. That part of Wisconsin Street will be closed to accommodate the extra cars the club is expecting, according to an event release. Most cars should be in attendance by noon that day. A flag-raising ceremony by Vietnam veterans will take place at 11 a.m., to salute all veterans and active military members.

Over 500 old and new Corvettes from across the Midwest are expected to be displayed Saturday, the release said. A LeClaires Choice Award and trophies for each C generation will be given out at a 3 p.m. awards presentation.

The complete schedule is:

8 a.m.: Car registration begins and continues until 11 a.m.

8 a.m.: Breakfast at the Levee Pavilion (provided by Big Dave & Hollys).

8:30 a.m.: Raffle drawings start. Tickets will be drawn every 15 minutes.

11 a.m.: Lunch at the Levee Pavilion (provided by Big Dave & Hollys).

11 a.m.: Vietnam Veterans Color Guard flag ceremony.

2 p.m.: Silent auction winners announced.

3 p.m.: Awards presentation, including a 50/50 drawing, and donation presentation to Vietnam Veterans of America chapters 776, 669 and 299.

For updates, visit vettesontheriver.com.
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP)  A judge has declined to grant a permanent restraining order against an Iowa Republican Party leader and candidate for state treasurer accused of stalking his ex-fiancee.

Judge Michael Huppert dismissed the petition filed against John Kurt Thompson following a hearing Wednesday.

Huppert's order said that Thompson's ex-fiancee, MacKenzie Dreeszen, withdrew the petition under an agreement between the parties. Huppert says a temporary restraining order has been vacated.

Dreeszen alleged that Thompson used her iTunes account's "Find my iPhone" app to track her whereabouts. She also alleged that she was threatened during a July 23 incident at Thompson's Jefferson home in which police were called to check her safety.

Thompson denied making any threats. He said he used iTunes to find her location only because he was concerned for her safety.
The trains, which were originally built in Australia for opertion in Perth, became surplus to requirements after Auckland introduced its new electric train fleet in 2014. A few of the trains have been retained to operate between Papakura and Pukekohe, although these will be replaced by independently-powered EMUs being supplied by CAF.

By selling the trains, it reduces ATs costs, as these have been stored in Mount Maunganui since the new electric trains began operating, says Mr Brendon Main, group manager, AT metro operations. Since the citys rail network was electrified weve seen incredible growth in patronage, were nearing 20 million rail trips a year.

There are also 110 coaches in storage in New Zealand, 104 of which were originally built for British Rail in the early 1970s and later exported to New Zealand and refurbished for long-distance operation. AT says it has recently entered into conditional agreements for the sale of 31 coaches, and Main says there is also interest in the remaining 79 coaches.
Moscow court to review tax evasion case against Browder

MOSCOW, August 25 (RAPSI)  The criminal case against head of Hermitage Capital William Browder and his business partner Ivan Cherkasov, charged with tax evasion, has reached the Tverskoy District Court of Moscow, RAPSI learnt from the courts press-service on Friday.

Browder had been charged with several economic crimes, including deliberate bankruptcy and tax evasion, his attorney Alexander Antipov has told RAPSI earlier. The investigation into Browder was completed within the shortest possible time, from February 8 to 17, 2017, the lawyer added. However, neither the defendant nor his legal team were notified about investigation. According to Antipov, this fact exemplifies secret justice and violates the law.

In February, the Tverskoy District Court arrested Browder in absentia on charges of embezzling stock of Russias oil giant Gazprom. According to Russian authorities, Browder illegally bought over 130 million Gazprom shares worth at least 2 billion rubles ($32.6 million at the current exchange rate) at a lower, intra-market price through a Russian company he controlled, Kameya LLC, which amounts to large financial loss for Russia.

However, the United Kingdom refused to extradite its national.

In 2013, a Russian court sentenced Browder in absentia to nine years in a penal colony. The court found that in 1997-2002, Hermitage Capital auditor Sergey Magnitsky created and applied an illegal tax evasion scheme in the interests of Browder.

Magnitsky worked for Firestone Duncan and represented Hermitage Capital, which the Russian authorities accused of tax evasion. Magnitsky was arrested on fraud charges in November 2008 and found dead in a Moscow detention center in November 2009. The lawyers death provoked an international outcry.

In July 2013, Moscows Tverskoy District Court found Magnitsky guilty of tax evasion and closed the case due to his death. According to the case materials, Magnitskys and Hermitage Capital director William Browders actions cost Russia over 500 million rubles (over $8 million).
Sacramento I'm not sure how Californians managed during the Legislature's recent recess, but now that lawmakers are back at the Capitol, they are busy fixing the state's pressing problems. They will hold hearings to deal with California's cancer of white supremacy. They're fine-tuning a law that will turn the state into a sanctuary for illegal immigrants. As localities struggle to pay six-figure pensions for government workers, legislators are working on a bill that could push some counties to the fiscal brink, largely by outlawing cost-saving outsourcing. For their part, Republicans  supposedly the opposition party  finally managed to dump
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Price: $ 255 Seller State of Residence: Florida City: Orlando State/Province: Florida Zoning: Mixed Type: Recreational, Acreage Property Address: Dill Road Location: 328**, Orlando, Florida

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You Are Bidding On The Full Purchase Price for 5.13 Acres in Washington! Huge Pine Trees. Views for Miles. Seller Will Finance With Only $499 down! Property: This auction is for legal description: Lot 62 Pine Chee Plat 1. This is a 5.13 ACRE parcel of land in Okanogan County, Washington. The land is located about 4miles southeast of Chesaw, Washington on Trap Line Loop Road. There are pine trees on the property! The property is loaded with many la rge trees. The trees provide a nice windbreak an...

Price: $ 19,900 Zip/Postal Code: 98844 State/Province: Washington Seller State of Residence: Arizona Property Address: 3 Trapline Loop Rd City: Chesaw Zoning: Residential Type: Homesite, Lot Location: 852**, Tempe, Arizona

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The Coral at Taino Beach Float Week, Floats Weeks 1 - 52 2 Bed/2 Bath, Float Efficiency & Studio Unit, Sleeps 4 Annual usage beginning in 2018. Maintenance fees are approx. $585 every year and will be billed to you for your 2018 usage. WINNING BID IS ALL YOU PAY! SELLER HAS PAID CLOSING COSTS AND TRANSFER FEES! NOTE: ALL TRANSACTIONS WILL BE HANDLED THROUGH EMAIL AND USPS. LOCAL PICK-UP IS NOT NECESSARY. Surrounded by clear blue sea, white powder beaches and lush tropical landscaping, the resort...

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Westgate Vacation VillasKissimmee, FLOwnership InformationNumber of Bed/Bath: 2/2Sleeps: 6Week: 21 Unit: 12Building: OLockout: YesCheck in Day(s): Fri, Sat, SunUsage Type: AnnualFirst Year of Usage: 2018Maintenance Amount: $877Maintenance Schedule: YearlyTotal Closing/Transfer Fees: $300 & $150 (Paid By Seller) The total cost of this property will be the winning bid only!**The winning bidder will receive a $100 VISA once the transfer is complete.**************************************************...

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We can't say that the release of the Gen5 Glock is the biggest surprise in the worldwith rumors and leaks swirling for weeks, it's unlikely this comes as unexpected news to many of you. As you'll learn below, the next generation Glock is very similar to the much-leaked, but seldom revealed FBI M-series pistols.

Glock says the G17 Gen5 and G19 Gen5 pistols were inspired by the GLOCK M pistols used by the FBI, and include more than 20 design changes compared to it's predecessors; the most obvious include a non-polyagonal rifled barrel, an updated grip with an integral magwell and no finger grooves, a new nDLC finish, and ambidextrous slide stop levers. The new guns will be on dealers shelves beginning August 30, 2017, and prices will be comparable to their Gen4 brethren.

While down in at Glock's US headquarters in Smyrna, Georgia a few weeks ago, we got familiar with the Gen5 pistols while shooting them in the company's new Glock Operator Course.

Exterior: A Modern Throwback

A quick glance at the exterior let's you know that these new pistols are nearly identical to the FBI-contract Glocks 17M and 19M. The most obvious changes from all previous generations is the absence of both the locking block pin and the much-maligned finger grooves.

The Gen5's have a flared magwell that we didn't find obnoxious or printy, and the Gen5 G17 has a cutout on the front to help get a grip on stubborn mags.



First and second generation Glocks had triggers with only one pin in the locking block/trigger mechanism. A second pin, the locking block pin, was added to third generation pistols because the trigger pin alone wasn't strong enough to deal with some cartridges [read: .40 cal] and displayed durability issues on high round-count pistols. Now with the fifth generation, the locking block pin has gone to live at the farm with the grip's finger grooves. While this change might be a result of Glock improving the strength and design of the trigger bar and locking block components, we suspect that's part of the story. Since Glock says the Gen5's will only be offered in 9mm, the parts may not require the .40 cal reinforcement that came from the locking block pin.

Yup, currently the G17 and G19 are the only Gen5's in the lineup.

The magazine release didn't become truly ambidextrous. Like the Gen4, it's swappable to either side. The slide stop got an ambi upgrade and is now and can be hit from both sides of the pistol without digital contortion. The Gen4 and Gen5 grip backstraps are identical.

The finish on the slide is new and the process is named nDLC. Glock tells us it's similar to a black nitride finish. We can't give you a report on its durability, yet, what we can tell you is that nDLC definitely holds fingerprints, as evidenced in all our photographs.



Glock says three different sight configurations will be available:

 Three dot night sights

 Ameriglo sights with a tritium and photoluminescent front sight

 Plastic OEM sights

The factory sights are a little narrower than those on older generations. There is currently no public plan for an MOS-series (optic-ready) Gen5; though we will hold out hope.

Gen5 magazines are a smidge different. The followers are orange for easy visual identification and there's a lip on the front to make reloading easier. All previous generation magazines are compatible with the Gen5 if the pistol's magazine release is setup for righties; and all newer ambi-cut magazines will work regardless of the pistol's mag release orientation.







It's What's on the Inside that Counts

(At least that's what mom told us)

We knew just from the externals that the guts were going to be different. The barrel has changed. Polygonal rifling is sleeping with the fishes, as Glock opted for more traditional rifling with a match crown. They say the new rifling results in increased accuracy. We'll get this on a ransom rest and see if the claims are true; stay tuned.

We asked about Gen5 threaded barrels, but Glock says none are available. It appears that Gen4 G19 threaded barrels may work, but not for the G17 due to the new locking arrangement.



The Gen5 barrels can't be swapped with Gen4 or any previous generation. In order to simplify agency parts procurement, both the Gen5 17 and 19 share a locking block. This also means the Gen5 G17 recoil spring is also proprietary due to its slightly longer length and the location of the slide lock lever changed.



Speaking of the slide lock lever, the Gen5 skipped the leaf spring and instead went with a traditional coil spring.



Looking at the underside of the slide shows a ramped striker safety plunger.



The striker, extractor, and even the slide cover plate are different on the Gen5. We almost feel bad for the guys who bought Punisher skull cover plates. Almost.







Digging deeper into the frame side of things is where we find the more drastic changes.



Every part of the trigger system is different. It looks like you might be able to use an aftermarket connector, but we can't confirm proper function.





Holster Compatibility

Because there are some new dimensions, not every holster on the market will work with the Gen5. However, most of what we tested them in worked just fine. Some of them were a bit tight and had less of a positive lock because of the right side slide stop arm.



Previous Generation Compatibility

It's actually much easier to list what is compatible with Gen 4 Glocks than what isn't:

-Magazine Release

-Magazines

-Recoil Spring (G19 only)

-Striker spring and sleeve

-Channel Liner

-Spring cups

This means virtually all of your aftermarket parts won't work with the Gen5. Glock tells us they were focused on increasing durability, accuracy, and cost effectiveness at an agency level with the Gen5; the aftermarket isn't their focus. If the Gen 5 proves successful, the aftermarket will follow.

Regarding durability, we've heard from a reliable source that the Mean Rounds Between Stoppage (MRBS) is 11,000 and there's at least one Gen5 with more than 30,000 rounds through it with no parts replacement. The increased commonality of parts between the G17 and G19 means cheaper repairs and a reduced parts inventory for law enforcement, government, and military agencies, and for commercial armorers, as well.

We'll be wringing the Gen5 out over the next few weeks and publish a full report first in the next issue of RECOIL'S CONCEALMENT.
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The new album maintains the sound the band established for itself on its self-titled album Coasts.
The vision of a 'New India' would talk about constructing a nation where the so-called appeasement of religious minorities would stop, Hinduism would be accorded due status and there will be one law for all citizens, including for the people of Jammu and Kashmir, reports Archis Mohan.

In its campaign for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the Bharatiya Janata Party had promised achche din, or better days. But its 2019 Lok Sabha campaign, already in the works, is expected to shift the goalpost to building of a New India.

The campaign would focus on the efforts made during the Narendra Modi governments tenure in meeting the Sangh Parivars core ideological agenda -- the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya, the implementation of a uniform civil code, and repeal of Article 370, or the related provisions like Article 35A that grant Jammu and Kashmir special status.

This 'New India' campaign that the PM spoke about in his Independence Day speech is set to be spelt out in greater detail at the BJPs forthcoming national executive meeting next month.

According to party sources, this vision of a 'New India' would talk about constructing a nation where the so-called appeasement of religious minorities would stop, Hinduism would be accorded "due status" and there will be one law for all citizens, including for the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

The BJP leadership has been quick to claim credit for Tuesdays Supreme Court verdict that quashed instant triple talaq as unconstitutional. It has said the judgment vindicates BJPs consistent stand on the issue.

The BJP plans to disseminate the message that the apex court order is one of the first steps in achieving its long-standing demand for a uniform civil code.

Last year, the Law Commission had initiated the process to seek views of all the states and other stakeholders on the issue of uniform civil code. This process is likely to gather pace in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls.

But, the BJP would also stress how it would abide by the decisions of the judiciary on contentious issues, including constructing a Ram temple in Ayodhya. The case is currently in the Supreme Court and daily hearings are likely in the weeks to come.

The BJP has also launched a campaign for the repeal of Article 35A of the Constitution, which empowers the Jammu and Kashmir government to define permanent residents of the state.

From 1951 onwards, the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the previous avatar of the BJP, had campaigned for ek desh mein do pradhan, do vidhan, do nishan, nahin chalenge (a single country cannot have two prime ministers, two constitutions and two national emblems).

According to party leaders privy to the BJP strategy, the Modi-Shah leadership is determined not to repeat the mistakes of Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led National Democratic Alliance-I government.

The top leadership is of the view that Vajpayee governments 'India Shining' campaign of 2004 backfired because it upset the core Hindutva support base of the party, which contributed to its defeat. The BJP leadership believes any hopes of an encore depend on the partys ability to have ensured the steadfast support of its core support.

The BJP, however, has also not ignored the potential of Mandal politics. That Modi hailed from a backward caste had helped the BJP in the 2014 polls.

Wednesdays Cabinet decision to set up a committee to examine the possibility of sub-quotas for the most marginalised communities within the OBCs (Other Backward Classes) is aimed at consolidating its new-found non-Yadav OBC support base in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the nation on Independence Day. Photograph: PIB.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday appealed to people, particularly supporters of Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, to maintain peace in the wake of the Dera Sacha Sauda chiefs conviction in a rape case.

I appeal to everyone, particularly his supporters, to maintain peace. Any harm to life and property due to this unrest cannot be compensated by any amount of money, he told reporters.

Singh said he took stock of the situation in Haryana, Punjab and Chandigarh in the wake of violence following conviction of the Dera chief.

I have also spoken to chief ministers of Haryana and Punjab (Manohar Lal Khattar and Amarinder Singh respectively), and they briefed me about the current situation and the steps taken to restore normalcy, he said.

He also spoke to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje.

Omar Abdullah calls for Khattars removal Former Jammu-Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should sack Haryana CM M L Khattar for gross dereliction of duty in the wake of mounting death toll in violence following conviction of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh by a special CBI court in a rape case. PM Modi should sack his Haryana CM for gross dereliction of duty. The CM had more than enough time to prepare for this eventuality, Omar wrote on Twitter.

The home minister said both Haryana and Punjab chief ministers were confident of the bringing law and order situation under control soon.

Singh, who rushed to the North Block office of the home ministry directly from airport after arriving from Kyrgyz Republic, assured them all assistance in restoring peace.

He has also held a high-level meeting with top officials and reviewed the situation.

He said he cut short his visit by three hours and rushed to Delhi from Kyrgyz Republic in the wake of situation in Haryana, Punjab and Chandigarh.

Singh directed the central agencies to monitor the situation and apprise him regularly.

He is also expected to brief Prime Minister Narenda Modi about the situation.

The central government has already dispatched around 20,000 paramilitary personnel to Haryana, Punjab and Chandigarh to assist the local administration in maintaining law and order.
Sidharth Malhotra was on Friday slammed on social media for promoting his latest release A Gentleman in Haryana ahead of the verdict against Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.

Post the verdict, violence broke out in the state claiming 28 lives. The violence left a trail of destruction and vandalism, a Haryana government official said.

To all the people of Haryana, please stay safe. Hope you can see our film soon #Agentleman #PeaceAndLove, Sidharth had tweeted earlier in the day.

Post the judgment, many people blasted him for the tweet.

After this shameless tweet people should boycott his film, one of the Twitter users wrote.

This was a shameful way of promoting your film. For god sake can you get considerate, another tweet read.

Another user wrote, I mean like such a ungentlemanly gesture.

The actor later clarified, saying his thoughts and prayers are with the people affected by the violence. Its really sad to see the situation worsen since morning and see people in Punjab and Haryana. Love and prayers.

To people who are commenting on my morning tweets, they were made before the verdict! Thoughts and prayers, he wrote.

Central Bureau of Investigation judge Jagdeep Singh held the 50-year-old Dera Sacha

Sauda chief, guilty of rape in a case that was registered on the basis of an anonymous written complaint in 2002 that he had sexually exploited two female followers.
'A Life With Wildlife is a must for all who are concerned about how a billion Indians will coexist with over 500 mammals and 1,300 birds, not to mention 25,000 flowering plant species in the new century,' says Mahesh Rangarajan.

IMAGE: M K Ranjitsinh's book shows how the world in which he grew up, princely Wankaner, was one where skeins of geese darkened the sky in winter and it could take hours to cross a road due to large herds of black buck. Photograph: Kind courtesy HarperCollins India

Readable memoirs by Indian civil servants are few and far between.

The legendary R P (Ronnie) Noronha of the Indian Civil Service penned the classic A Tale Told By An Idiot, which concludes in the late 1960s.

B K Nehru, with his long distinguished career as bureaucrat, diplomat and governor, penned an inappropriately titled but charming book called Nice Guys Finish Second.

These gave rare insight into the goings-on at the district and state levels and at the apex of the political pyramid.

A Life With Wildlife is a different kind of memoir.

It is as much about the passion as about the man himself.

Why a student of masters in history from Delhi's elite St Stephens College and an Indian Administrative Service officer of the 1961 cadre should be so dedicated to the denizens of the forest may be a mystery at first sight.

M K Ranjitsinh's work shows how the world in which he grew up, princely Wankaner, a state-let in Gujarat, was one where skeins of geese darkened the sky in winter and it could take hours to cross a road due to large herds of black buck.

Having watched these birds and beasts first through the sights of a rifle, for he was an avid shikari, he later became an ardent conservationist.

This, then, is the story of his journey through life, which has taken him to a host of wild and beautiful places.

Stunning colour photographs of Indian animals and birds as well as many from remote Asian landscapes grace the book.

But the core of the story is as riveting and relevant as those who wrote of the corridors of power.

Ranjitsinh argues strongly in favour of a second look at the princely legacy.

As many as 277 of India's parks and sanctuaries, more than one in three, began as a hunting reserve of the princes.

He shows how some, like the Nawab of Junagadh, took care to protect the rare lions; others, like his older relative in Dungarpur, reintroduced the tiger once extinct in the forested hills of the state.

Such legacies crumbled after Independence.

Even as he looks back to the days of duck shoots and falconry, beats for tigers and long waits in machaans, he does much more.

He asks why independent India took a good two decades to get an active machinery in place to save its wild heritage.

His own life shows up part of the answer.

IMAGE: M K Ranjitsinh's book was launched by then vice president Hamid Ansari. Photograph: Kind courtesy vicepresidentofindia.nic.in

As a young civil servant he joined forces with forest officials to help secure and protect better the forests and maidans of the Kanha Park in central India, giving a lease of life to not only the tiger but the central Indian barasingha (stag).

This slow maturing of awareness of the many ways in which humans were obliterating the natural world found a champion at the pyramid of power: Indira Gandhi.

The author was in the right place at the right time as director, wildlife preservation and found the federal government in the early 1970s seized with decisive energy to protect forests, wildlife and nature.

His recounting shows directives and decisions from the very top, powering the creation of reserves and all-important laws on forests and wildlife.

It is fascinating that on his return to the state cadre in Madhya Pradesh, he drew on the same laws and helped vastly expand the acreage of protected areas.

Along the way Ranjitsinh earned a doctorate on the black buck antelope, but the main thrust of the latter half of the book is not celebration but critique.

For one, he sees in successive governments a weakening of resolve and a lack of appreciation for the wider role of ecosystems for human welfare.

Short-term gain for economic growth is matched by populist demands for land for cultivation and livelihood.

To be fair, since his retirement in 1996. he has been a key figure in voluntary efforts including innovative schemes to compensate cattle-owners for livestock losses to tigers.

He also advocates community-level conservation and does not mince words about government indifference to the under classes as much as to nature.

Yet, at the end is a nagging question.

If nature to be secured requires power from the top to flow in the desired direction, what when that resolve weakens?

If anything, the high tides of rapid unplanned growth in democratic India as much as in authoritarian China will not leave much space for nature.

Securing a wider constituency may need much more than good enforcement and a hard, tough government.

It may call for a different set of approaches that go beyond the State and into society for succour and support.

The book does, however, demonstrate an exceptional memory, often stretching back decades.

Encounters with animals and wild places have rarely covered such a spectrum of habitats and landscapes.

There are also rare vignettes.

When the lion was about to make way for the tiger as India's national animal, the author argued in favour of keeping the former.

Karan Singh accused him of wanting the lion because it was part of his name and he was a Gujarati.

Ranjitsinh retorted that the latter's nick name was 'tiger'!

He lost this standoff, but seems to have stood his ground against a powerful environment minister, Bhajan Lal, in the 1980s on the far more important matter of easing environmental protection rules.

All in all, A Life With Wildlife is a deeply educative read and a must for all who are concerned about how a billion Indians will coexist with over 500 mammals and 1,300 birds not to mention 25,000 flowering plant species in the new century.

This is a fine account of one who tried and, though in his eighties, soldiers on.

The wild may or may not survive unscathed, but this is a fine account of a stout defender of its place on the planet.
Kishore Singh on Jean-Michel Basquiat and his worth.

IMAGE: Yusaku Maezawa paid twice the estimate to walk away with his Basquiat prize.

Basquiat's paintings are disquieting, often consisting of heads of warriors, priests, kings, sportsmen, musicians in a rictus of pain or death. Photograph: Kind courtesy @sothebys/Facebook

By now, unless you've been living under a rock, everyone knows that the highest price ever paid for a work by an American artist, and for a painting made post-1980, was by a Japanese billionaire, who bested his own previous record of $57 million last year by paying $110.5 million for a Jean-Michel Basquiat at a Sotheby's auction.

For decades, works by Claude Monet, Paul Cezanne, Paul Gauguin, Alberto Giacometti, Edvard Munch, Amedeo Modigliani, Pablo Picasso, Francis Bacon -- all European artists -- have been walking off with absurdly high records that make the Basquiat seem like a beginner, but the value of the Untitled work painted by the coloured American in 1982 has become a talking point for its worth.

Is it really worth the price?

You could be forgiven for asking 'Basquiat who?'

The Brooklyn-born artist began his career as part of an informal graffiti duo SAMO ("same old") who left their signature footprints over walls in Manhattan's Lower East Side and died tragically young of a heroin dose.

At 28 in 1988, he was the same age as Amrita Sher-Gil at the time of his death, but his life had taken more turns, most noticeably as a rock musician.

It was then that he had befriended Andy Warhol at a restaurant and showed him some of his work, famously leading to a collaboration a few years later.

By then, he had begun making his mark as an artist, showing at the Times Show Gallery in New York in 1980 (he was just 20 then), and working out of basements at the Annina Nosei and Gagosian galleries to create works for sellout exhibitions.

It didn't do him harm that Madonna was his girlfriend at the time.

Basquiat's paintings are disquieting, often consisting of heads of warriors, priests, kings, sportsmen, musicians in a rictus of pain or death; they also feature writings that reference the slave trade, as well as collages, a visual assault in bright colours of neo-expressionist horror that overpowers anything else around it.

If human entrails and internal organs are on display, they can be blamed on Gray's Anatomy, the medical book his mother gave him when he was confined to bed at the age of eight following an accident.

His mother's own incarceration in a mental asylum when he was a teenager must have added to his anguish and found a reflection in his work.

IMAGE: With the Sotheby's auction Jean-Michel Basquiat unseated Andy Warhol as America's most expensive artist. Photograph: Kind courtesy Wikimedia Commons

The only parallel I can pull out of India is Rabin Mondal who, like Basquiat, became interested in painting following a bout of illness that confined him to his bed as a child.

Like Basquiat, he has been attracted to the primitive urges surrounding authoritarianism and the canker of corruption that limns it.

Like Basquiat, Mondal painted heads and figures of priests, kings, queens and deities, their aura of power diminishing their humanity.

Both artists had a disdain for the market, though the former found it in his own lifetime, while Mondal is still chasing relevance in the Indian mainstream.

It is telling that both their views are ironically similar.

Basquiat waived off criticism saying, 'I don't listen to what art critics say. I don't know anybody who needs a critic to find out what art is.'

And Mondal said, 'I'll just continue with my art regardless of what people like.'

Yusaku Maezawa, the 41-year-old millionaire who beat the odds and paid twice the estimate to walk away with his Basquiat prize, has one thing in common with the artist. He is a punk rock musician too.

It's another matter that Basquiat also bested his one-time model, and top selling American artist, Andy Warhol, smashing past his $105 million record.

Kishore Singh is a Delhi-based writer and art critic.

These views are personal and do not reflect those of the organisation with which he is associated.
Largo, FL -- (ReleaseWire) -- 08/25/2017 --Everyone loves their parents and does not mind taking care of them. There are times, however, when it becomes difficult for one to manage both. Handling a regular job and ailing and aged parents at home can be stressful at times. The problem is making a choice becomes hard for one. With home care service providers like Bayshore Home Care, no one has to make a compromise. Just hiring their homemaker companionship service in Florida is going to serve the purpose. The trained home care companion from Bayshore Home Care will look after the ailing senior members of the family when one is not around or is away from home. Bayshore Home Care is a reliable health care service provider, and they have been helping their clients for many years now.



Bayshore Home Care is a reliable source to hire help for elder care in Holiday and Tampa FL. The company was established in 1986 with the prime concern of providing premium home health care services for all the senior citizens. They have been very successful in not only adding new clients to their existing list but have been able to get clients come back to them time and again. They have genuinely tried to keep their clients' happy and contended through improved services.



The best thing about trusting Bayshore Home Care with the elder care and home companionship job is that they never take their job lightly. They send customized teams for taking care of all loved ones. They have a talk with the clients first, take note of their requirements and then build a customized team.



Call them at 800-335-2150 for more details.



About Bayshore Home Care

Bayshore Home Care is a reliable name when it comes to homemaker companionship service in Florida. The company also offers elder care, personal care assistance and more.
Activist Tan Aijun from China's southwestern region of Guangxi, who was blocked tying to enter Hong Kong and told he had been slapped with a travel ban because he was a "threat to national security," in undated photo.

The ruling Chinese Communist Party has issued orders to local officials and law enforcement banning the occurrence of any major crimes, including acts of terrorism or extreme acts of personal violence, and any mass gathering of people, including petitioners heading to Beijing to complain about the government.

The move comes as President Xi Jinping seeks to silence dissent ahead of the 19th Party Congress, consolidating his power as a "core" leader of the party in the tradition of late supreme leaders Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping.

An unsigned directive sent to neighborhood committees around the country identifies the three biggest threats to a successful Party Congress as any mass gathering of people "having nationwide impact," a terror attack, and any incident involving public safety.

The notice calls on local officials and security teams to "take strict steps to prevent any major event having a major impact on political stability."

Such events might include "mass incidents involving petitioners coming to Beijing," the notice said, in a reference to potential protests like those organized in recent months by thousands veterans of the People's Liberation Army outside government buildings in the capital.

Fire disasters involving large loss of life and injury or major transportation accidents are also cited as potential threats to stability, the notice warned.

Authorities across China must also be on the lookout for potential acts of terrorism or "individual extreme violence," the notice said.

Beijing-based democracy activist Zha Jianguo said the clampdown means close surveillance by state security police for any critics of the regime ahead of the Party Congress, which is expected in October.

"The 19th Party Congress is the biggest political event in mainland China this year, and therefore the most sensitive time of all," Zha said.

He said the state security police recently intervened to prevent around 10 of his friends from gathering in a Beijing restaurant to mark his birthday.

"They were stopped from coming, and they took me away [out of town]," Zha said. "They wouldn't allow me to be in Beijing on that day."

"During our 'chats' on that day, they mentioned the 19th Party Congress in October," he said. "The police asked me where I wanted to go on vacation during the 19th Party Congress."

Enforced 'vacations' for dissenters

China's state security police frequently use enforced "vacations" with dissidents and activists in out-of-town tourist destinations to prevent them from gathering at politically sensitive times.

The directive comes as authorities in the southwestern province of Yunnan detained a man on with the online nickname "Guanlan Tianxia" in Luoping county for social media tweets about Mao Zedong and Xi Jinping.

He was held for five days' administrative detention, which can be handed down to perceived troublemakers by police without the need for a trial, and released on , sources said.

"For the past couple of years, [people have been] held in administrative detention, criminal detention, or event sentenced to imprisonment because they dare to mention our emperor," a social media user who asked to remain anonymous told RFA.

"Wang Jiangfeng from Zhaoyuan was jailed for two years, while Li Tiantian and Ren Niejun from Shanghai were held under criminal detention," the social media user said. "All for criticizing our current emperor."

Last week, authorities in the southwestern region of Guangxi detained rights activist Tan Aijun after he boarded a bus to Hong Kong, preventing him from crossing the internal immigration border at Shenzhen.

Tan said he had been hoping to catch a plane to Thailand in a bid to flee continual official harassment at home, but was told he had been slapped with a travel ban because he was a "threat to national security."

"He took my documentation and just cut out [my travel permit]," Tan told RFA after the incident. "They wouldn't let me go through immigration, and they didn't give me a reason. I found out after I got home that I've been under this ban since last October."

And Sichuan rights activist Deng Chuanbin reported a similar ban after he tried to leave China along with his family.

"They told me that the police in Yibin, Sichuan, had canceled my travel permit," Deng said.

Reported by Qiao Long for RFA's Mandarin Service, and by Hai Nan for the Cantonese Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
Workers from North Korea dispatched to Russia to earn foreign currency for the Kim Jong Un regime are being shortchanged as their employers flee the U.S. dollar in favor of the Chinese yuan to avoid sanctions targeting Pyongyang's illicit arms programs, according to sources.



North Korea regularly exports workers to Russia, China, and places farther afield such as the Middle East and Africa, but requires them to remit much of their earnings to Pyongyang, which is believed to use the cash to fund development of missiles and nuclear weapons.



North Koreans in Russia usually work as loggers or construction workers, particularly in Primorsky Krai provinces capital Vladivostok, a city located near Russias border with North Korea.



At the beginning of the year, Russia-based employers largely ended the practice of paying North Koreans in U.S. dollars, which Pyongyang prefers because of the currencys stability, but which are more likely to attract attention for skirting sanctions, sources said.



Instead, they said, the employers are paying North Korean handlers in rubles, which the handlers then change into yuan before paying workers and transferring the rest to Pyongyang. But the new system has led to frustration over how handlers determine what to give workers wages and what to give the state.



A North Korean source who once worked processing timber in Russia, but recently relocated to China, told RFAs Korean Service that workers stopped receiving their wages in U.S. dollars earlier this year in favor of Chinese yuan, and that they were now earning significantly less money.



I was paid U.S. $50 per month last year, but I got 300 yuan (U.S. $45) per month since the beginning of the year, said the worker, who spoke on condition of anonymity.



A monthly wage of 300 yuan comes to only around U.S. $40 after a currency exchange [due to fees].



The worker said that as a technician, he was granted permission to relocate to an area of China near the border with North Korea, so that he could be closer to his hometown, but said his fellow workers had been required to stay in Russia.



Most North Korean workers in Russia are getting paid in Chinese yuan this year  and they are not happy about it, he said.



Standing firm



A North Korean executive of a trading firm who recently visited Russia told RFA that businesses operating in Russia are under intense pressure from the ruling North Korean Workers Party Central Commission to make deals for U.S. currency.



However, Russian enterprises are standing firm on the decision not to compensate in U.S. dollars because of international sanctions on North Korea, said the executive, who also asked to remain unnamed.



Due to the stricter sanctions imposed by the United Nations against North Korea in March this year, Russian enterprises want North Korea to accept rubles as payment instead of U.S. dollars. So the Central Committee is now demanding crude oil or steel instead.



The source confirmed that Russian enterprises had been paying monthly salaries of U.S. $350 per North Korean worker until this yearU.S. $50 of which was given by handlers to workers as wages and the rest wire transferred to Pyongyang.



The executive suggested that there should be no difficulties for North Korea in paying its workers in Russia their regular wages, despite the switch from U.S. dollars to yuan, noting that more than a quarter of total dispatched workers in Russia are employed by Chinese business owners who possess land in Russia.



Last month, a source in Vladivostok told RFA that his companys internal policy specifies that it must transfer 70 percent of North Korean workers salaries to Pyongyang while the workers keep the rest, but he acknowledged that they had nearly nothing left to spend after they used their earnings to cover room and board.



Even if they have some money left over, it is not enough to send to their families in North Korea or even to buy some drinks or cigarettes, he said at the time.



Another source in southeast Russias city of Khabarovsk said North Korean authorities are keeping a close eye on citizens it sends to the region, establishing a reporting system for each work group and even monitoring workers during their dining hours.



Reported by Sunghui Moon for RFAs Korean Service. Translated by Leejin Jun. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.
Homes in a village burn in the aftermath of deadly attacks on police outposts in the northern part of western Myanmar's Rakhine state, Aug. 25, 2017.

UPDATED at 4:52 P.M. on 2017-08-25

Overnight attacks on police outposts by Rohingya Muslim "extremists" in Myanmars volatile northern Rakhine state have left at least 71 people dead, in the latest violence to grip the religiously and ethnically divided area, the government said Friday.

Among the dead are one security staffer, 10 policemen, a deputy township officer, and 59 extremists, according to a statement issued by State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyis office.

Eleven people were injured in the attacks, three of them seriously, and one terrorist was arrested, it said.

The Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) claimed responsibility for the attacks on 30 outposts in Maungdaw, Buthidaung, and Rathedaung townships in a Twitter post, calling them defensive action against persecution of Rohingya Muslims by government forces.

The group is believed to have incited deadly attacks on three local border guard posts in October 2016 and claims to lead an ongoing insurgency movement in northern Rakhines Mayu mountain range.

"Burma has been ramping up military in Arakan state since last few weeks in order to derail the 'Kofi Annan Commission Report and Recommendations' by triggering an unrest in the state," the ARSA said on its Twitter page. "Therefore, we have tried our best to avoid any potential conflict meanwhile."

It accused the "military and security forces" deployed in two areas of carrying out "raids; committing killings, loot[ings] in many Rohingya villages across the townships; and molesting Rohingya women."

ARSA chief Ata Ullah said in a 19-minute video uploaded to YouTube earlier this month that the group's "primary objective" is to "liberate our people from dehumanized oppression perpetrated by all successive Burmese regimes.

Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmars de facto leader, strongly condemned the attacks on security forces, saying that they were deliberately carried out after an advisory commission on Rakhine state led by former United Nations chief Kofi Annan released its final report with recommendations on steps to end the regions's sectarian strife and violence.

Among the commissions many suggestions were calls for reviews of the countrys 1982 Citizenship Law, which prevents the Rohingya from becoming Myanmar citizens because they are viewed as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, and an end to restrictions placed upon them in the Buddhist-dominated country.

The government had been aware of the risk of the attacks to coincide with the release of the commissions final report yesterday and had issued instruction to relevant Union ministers, she said in the statement issued by her office.

It is clear that todays attacks are a calculated attempt to undermine the efforts of those seeking to build peace and harmony in Rakhine state, she said. We must not allow our work to be derailed by the violent actions of extremists.

Early morning attacks

The police outposts that were attacked starting around 1 a.m. include Natchaung, Tamantha, Kuntheepin-Chaungwa, Nantthataung, Nantthataung-Chaungwa, Meetaik-Chaungwa, Kyeekyun, Zeepin-chaungwa, Laungdon, Thihokyun, Zinpaingnyar, Tharaykonboung, Panyaungbingyi, Shweyinaye, Myinlut, Alethankyaw, Udaung (Natala), Taung Bazzar, Phaungtawpyin and Maungdaw (Natala), the statement said.

At that time, about 500 to 600 attackers entered Taung Bazzar village market in Buthidaung township, and Myanmar army soldiers and police fought them for an hour and half until they retreated, said local police officer Tun Naing.

People from Buthidaung and Taung Bazzar are frightened and worried, so we took about 200 of them to Light Infantry Regiment No. 522, he told RFAs Myanmar Service. No villagers are left in Taung Bazzar. The government army, police, and border security guards are deployed in the area now.

At about 3 a.m., about 150 extremist terrorists divided themselves into two groups and attempted to infiltrate Light Infantry Regiment No. 552 where they were driven out by Myanmar army soldiers, according to the statement issued by the State Counselors Office.

Other local administrative staffers and villagers in several locales in the region were evacuated to military battalions, and police and border guard stations, the statement said.

Security force are evacuating civilians in Maungdaw township to safer places and carrying out area clearance operations, it said.

Myint Swe, a Muslim resident of Maungdaws ward No. 2, told RFA that he and his family left their home and sought shelter in downtown Maungdaw after they heard gunfire.

Some other families are moving out to the places where they think its safe, he said. We have police and security guards in Maungdaw, but we cant go around the town now.

He said local residents had assisted the terrorists with their armed assaults.

These terrorists came into our area, and some local residents helped them carry out the attacks, he said. They could not have done these attacks without help from the locals.

Fighting between "extremists" and security forces is still occurring in some areas.

We heard that minor fighting is still going on in [Maungdaw townships] Maunghnama village, said Rakhine State government secretary Tin Maung Swe.

A mine exploded near three border guard police vehicles in front of the villages local mosque at 2 p.m. during a reinforcement mission, he said.

Bangladesh fears new influx

The violence and renewed security operations prompted a new exodus of Rohingya refugees to head towards neighboring Bangladesh to where more than 75,000 Rohingya from northern Rakhine fled during a military crackdown following last Octobers attacks.

"The new influx of Rohingya people will generate more problems," Iqbal Sobhan Choudhury, Information Advisor to the Prime Minister told BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service, in Dhaka. "We request the Myanmar authority to be cautious in handling the issue. They should solve the problem politically, not militarily,"

"Already Bangladesh is bearing the brunt of their conflict," he said. "Now Rohingyas will try to enter into Bangladesh. Those who are already staying in Bangladesh are causing big socioeconomic problem."

According to the United Nations, more than 80,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh since last October's clashes, the Associated Press reported.

Bangladesh Foreign secretary Mohamndd Shahidul Haq told BenarNews on Friday that Bangladesh has issued a note of protest to Myanmar, citing that it is not possible to allow new Rohingyas anymore, though the country has allowed thousands of Rohingyas from the humanitarian ground for decades.

We dont think we will allow anymore new Rohingya now," he said. "It cant happen again and again. We have issued a strong note of protest to Myanmar.

Sariful Islam Jomaddar, Deputy Commander (Teknaf 2) Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) said that there was a wave of Rohingya arrivals early Friday and that 146 of them had been detained from different points of the Naf River border. "And later on, we have sent them back with some humanitarian aid."

BenarNews sources in Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh said ARSA militants had been crossing into Bangladesh.

There are more than 150 members of Myanmars separatist Rohingya groups in Ukhiya-Teknaf areas, who go back and forth across the borders, said a high-ranking source at a refugee camp who requested anonymity.

Asked about presence of ARSA in Bangladesh, Iqbal Sobhan said, Anybody can make irresponsible claim. But that is not true."

"Our Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has announced zero tolerance to militancy or insurgency," he said. "Our government does not allow any insurgence group to use our land against the neighboring county like India and Myanmar. But if they have any authentic information about insurgence group, they can inform our security agency.

In early August, the Myanmar government dispatched an army battalion to northern Rakhine state to provide additional security for ethnic Rakhine people following a spate of deadly attacks blamed on Muslim terrorists that began after the security operation ended in February.

A street in Maungdaw township in Myanmar's northern Rakhine state is deserted after authorities told residents to stay in their homes following attacks by Rohingya 'terrorists,' Aug. 25, 2017. Credit: AFP Annan, rights groups weigh in

The latest spate of violence in northern Rakhine could elevate the current level of repression to which the Rohingya have long been subjected since communal violence directed against them by Buddhists in 2012. At the time, more than 200 people died, and 140,000 Rohingya were driven from their homes into internally displaced persons camps.

On Friday, Annan, who is chairman of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State, said: I am gravely concerned by, and strongly condemn, the recent attacks.

I strongly urge all communities and groups to reject violence, he said. After years of insecurity and instability, it should be clear that violence is not the solution to the challenges facing Rakhine state.

London-based rights group Amnesty International said the fresh attacks signal a dangerous escalation in the turmoil in northern Rakhine.

These attacks are a dangerous escalation in violence and could put ordinary people in Rakhine state at risk, in particular as tensions have been reaching a boiling point in the region recently, said Josef Benedict, the group's international deputy campaigns director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific. We urge all sides to show the utmost restraint and ensure that ordinary people are protected from human rights violations and abuses.

Amnesty international was one of the right groups that documented unlawful killings, arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, torture, rape and other sexual violence inflicted upon the Rohingya by security forces during the four-month crackdown following the October 2016 attacks.

Benedict cautioned that the new violence cannot lead to repeat of last years vicious military reprisals responding to a similar attack, when security forces tortured, killed and raped Rohingya people and burned down whole villages.

Although the government has an obligation to protect people, this cannot be seen as giving the army a blank cheque to commit atrocities against parts of the population, he said, adding that it is crucial for the government to address the systematic discrimination in Rakhine state, which has left people trapped in violence and destitution.

He called on the government to implement the recommendations outlined in the final report of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State.

Similarly, Charles Santiago chairman of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) and a member of Malaysias parliament, expressed alarm about the latest violence in Rakhine.

The events of the past 24 hours cast in stark relief the urgent need to take immediate measures to deescalate conflict and chart a path toward long-term peace, and the recommendations delivered to the government by the [Advisory] Commission [on Rakhine state] are an ideal place to start, he said in a statement.

The latest developments reinforce the need, emphasized the commissions report, for the government and security forces to act to ensure that basic human rights, including freedom of movement and access to basic services, are afforded to all people in Rakhine state, and that accountability exists for human rights violations, he said.

The United States embassy in Yangon also condemned the attacks.

We recognize the government and security forces have the responsibility to act to apprehend the perpetrators and prevent further violence, and we urge them to do so in a way that protects all innocent civilians, said a statement issued on the embassys website.

We also urge all communities to ensure their rhetoric and their actions contribute to restoration of peace and stability, it said.

Reported by Thet Su Aung, Thin Thiri, and Khin Khin Ei for RFAs Myanmar Service, and by BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service. Translated by Khet Mar. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.
Authorities in the capital of northwest Chinas Xinjiang region are offering Uyghur residents large subsidies to relocate from districts dominated by their ethnic group to those largely inhabited by majority Han Chinese as part of a new policy aimed at promoting unity, according to official sources.



Urumqi has become increasingly segregated amid tensions between Uyghur and Han residents in the aftermath of ethnic violence in the capital in July 2009 that, according to state media, left some 200 dead, although Uyghur groups in exile put the number much higher.



As part of a bid to promote ethnic friendship and stability following his appointment in August 2016, Xinjiang party chief Chen Quanguo initiated a new become relatives policy in October which aimed to assign a Han Chinese relative to each Uyghur household who would monitor the familys adherence to Chinese rule and report its activities to the authorities.



According to an announcement recently obtained by RFAs Uyghur Service, Chen expanded on the become relatives policy on July 7 with an Integrated Residency promotion that encourages residents of Urumqis traditionally Uyghur districts of Tengritagh (in Chinese, Tianshan) and Saybagh (Shayibake) to move to four Han-dominated districts in return for residential subsidies.



Residents from the two districts deemed eligible may receive between 50,000 yuan (U.S. $7,515) and 80,000 yuan (U.S. $12,025) towards purchasing homes in the neighborhoods of Bulaktagh (Shuimogou), Jingkai, Midong, and Gaoxin, depending on whether the apartments are located in buildings up to seven floors or eight floors and above.



Han Chinese buyers are entitled to the same subsidies for purchasing homes in the Tengritagh and Saybagh districts.



If the purchase is made within 90 days of the announcement, 60 percent of the subsidy will be paid in the first year and 10 percent paid in each of the following four years. For purchases made after the 90-day period, 40 percent of the subsidy will be paid in the first year and the remainder paid out over the following four years.



Aid is also available for the purchase of a land ownership certificate for eligible buyers who have purchased an apartment, the announcement said, based on the square meterage of the unit.



The local government will pay up to 20 percent of utility and heating costs for 10 years after the purchase of the unit, also based on the footprint of the unit, it said.



Additionally, the government will assist family members of the buyer to become registered for social services within Urumqi if they are moving from outside of the city, train the buyer for new employment opportunities, and provide educational conveniences for the buyers childrenincluding helping them attend better schools and adding five points to their middle school graduation exam scores.



Those who receive subsidies for purchasing their apartment in the four districts cannot resell the apartment until they have lived there for 10 years and then can only sell it to a buyer from the same ethnic group as the owner, the announcement adds.



An announcement of subsidies offered for relocation according to Urumqi's Embedded Residency Project. Credit: RFA listener Breaking up communities



A Uyghur staff member with the Integrated Residency Project Leadership Group of the Saybagh district government confirmed the terms of the announcement and said the promotion was aimed at preventing members of ethnic communities from residing together in groups in the city.



As you know, the Tengritagh and Saybagh districts are Uyghur-dominant areas, so a Uyghur who purchases an apartment in the four Han Chinese-dominant districts will benefit from the policy, she said.



In this way, Uyghurs from these two districts can be scattered into those Han Chinese districts  If the Han Chinese want to receive benefits they must purchase apartments in the Tengritagh and Saybagh districts. In this way, various ethnic groups can mutually understand each other, learn each others language and create a harmonious and united atmosphere.



The staff member said that in order to avoid possible conflicts that could arise after the launch of the Integrated Residency project, government employees had already begun propaganda work by visiting homes to explain the relevant policies, laws and regulations to residents.



Were introducing Uyghur customs to the Han Chinese, while presenting Han Chinese traditions to the Uyghurs, she said.



Eligible applicants must not have committed any crimes, as verified by residency committee and local police stations, she added.



A Uyghur staff member with the Integrated Residency Project Leadership Group of the Bulaktagh district government told RFA that in order to receive the subsidy, a buyer must purchase an apartment in a designated district and his neighbor must not be from his own ethnic group.



If inhabitants of certain building become dominantly Uyghur, then well disperse those Uyghurs to other buildings, because gathering certain ethnic groups into the same building goes against the policy, she said.



The reason why we started in the Tengritagh and Saybagh districts is that the majority of the population is Uyghur and the Han Chinese dont want to buy apartments there. Amid this kind of ethnic segregation, we decided to encourage them to reside together  the governments aim is to balance the residential rate of various ethnic groups.



According to the staff member, the majority of applicants for the subsidy program so far have been Uyghur.



The majority of Uyghurs live in poorer economic conditions, compared to Han Chinese, so the government aid is attracting lots of them through this project, she said.



Emigration incentives



A Han Chinese official with the Residency Committee of Urumqis Nanmen district told RFA that the Integrated Residency project also made it easy for Hans from outside of Xinjiang to move their household registration to the regiona process that is often extremely difficult for Uyghurs looking to move to other parts of China.



The new household registration is very convenient for emigrants from China proper because the government is making a great effort to encourage Han Chinese to move to Xinjiang, he said.



He also praised Han Chinese who had been assigned as relatives of the area Uyghurs, as well as married couples comprised of Hans from outside of Xinjiang and local Uyghurs, who he said are helping to contribute to the stability of the region.



Xinjiang is now enjoying ethnic unity and the become relatives policy, he said.



I have personally become the relative of a Uyghur and we do many things together, such as playing, eating and killing time. Its widely accepted now that Han Chinese must have a Uyghur relative and vice versa.



Ilshat Hassan, president of the Washington-based Uyghur American Association, said the subsidy program is Chens latest measure aimed at assimilating Uyghurs, who complain of pervasive ethnic discrimination, religious repression, and cultural suppression under Chinese rule in the region.



The Chinese government is telling Uyghurs that if they love the government and the Han Chinese people, then they will receive many things, including such benefits, Hassan said.



Its also Chinese policy to relocate Uyghurs from Uyghur-dominant areas to Han Chinese-dominant districts in order to integrate them into the Chinese family, but the Uyghurs will never accept this, he said.



The final goal of such an integration policy is to completely assimilate the Uyghurs by encouraging their intermarriage with Han Chinese, and wipe them out from this resource rich region.



In its 2016 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, the U.S. State Department said that Beijing's policy of encouraging Han Chinese migration into minority areas had significantly increased the population of Han in the [Xinjiang region].



"In recent decades, the Chinese-Uighur ratio in the capital of Urumqi reversed from 20/80 to approximately 80/20 and continued to be a source of Uighur resentment," the report said, adding that "discriminatory hiring practices gave preference to Han Chinese and reduced job prospects for ethnic minorities.



Reported by Eset Sulaiman and Kurban Niyaz for RFAs Uyghur service. Translated by Kurban Niyaz.
A 10-story hotel planned for the Locks development just north of the James River would open up a dark section along the Kanawha Canal in downtown Richmond.

A brown metal hulk of a building straddling the Kanawha Canal would be torn down to make way for the Hyatt Place Hotel at The Locks, opening up the Canal Walk on either side of the waterway.

The industrial structure, used decades ago to process aluminum foil at the North Plant site for Reynolds Metals Co., blocks an entire area, covering the canal and providing no clear sense of direction for pedestrians and bicyclists.

We believe this development can be transformative while accomplishing a number of good things  the first hotel on the Canal Walk and the first hotel south of the Downtown Expressway, said Charles Macfarlane, the local developer on the project.

It will facilitate the removal of the old Reynolds warehouse building from over the top of the canal, it will offer very nice James River views from a pool deck terrace, and it will provide commercial and meeting space on the Canal Walk, said Macfarlane, principal of Macfarlane Partners LLC.

The property sits on a sliver of land between South 12th and Virginia streets, just west of the historic Lady Byrd Hat building, which the Goochland County-based used-car retailer CarMax Inc. is leasing for its digital and technology innovation center.

The hotel  targeted to open in 2019  would be built north of the Kanawha Canal, overlooking waterways on the south-facing side and the Downtown Expressway on the other. It would have 144 rooms on the six upper floors and 111 parking spaces in a parking deck and 14 spaces on a surface lot.

The primary entrance would be off South 12th Street, with cars entering the parking deck on the hotels second level. The rear entrance would be off Popes Alley, which runs behind the Lady Byrd Hat building.

The alley is the subject of a lawsuit involving Lady Byrds alleged encroachment on the narrow road and the hotels need to use it.

A settlement is in the works, said Richard Souter, a partner at The WVS Cos., co-developer of The Locks, which is the redevelopment of the former Reynolds site into apartments and commercial space along the Haxall and Kanawha canals.

We do not believe the lawsuit will hinder the ability to build the hotel.

North Falls Acquisition, which is made up of Souter and others, including principals of Fountainhead Property (co-developer on The Locks), filed the suit in March against the owner of the Lady Byrd Hat building at 140 Virginia St.

An entity tied to Margaret Freund, owner of that building and the property-management business Fulton Hill Properties, countersued in May, seeking to retain control of easements in the alley.

Jon Ondrak, chief operating officer at Fulton Hill Properties, said he had no comment regarding the pending litigation.

Although an equitable resolution is expected, the lawsuit has slowed the time frame for the proposed project.

We thought we had a chance to start in November, but thats gotten pushed back, Macfarlane said. Realistically, were probably looking at the second quarter to start and 15 months of construction.

The first floor would be used for meeting and commercial spaces, possibly retail fronting the Canal Walk. Above that would be the hotel entrance and lobby. Amenities would include a pool and outdoor terrace.

While the $34 million project is in the feasibility and due diligence phase, the architectural review and approval process is wrapping up.

A plan of development was filed with the city of Richmond last month.

An important aspect of the Canal Walk  1 miles along the James River and Kanawha and Haxall canals  involves continuing efforts to help drive commercial activity and bring more people to the area on a regular basis, said Mark A. Olinger, director of the citys Department of Planning and Development Review.

He noted positive aspects of the project: removal of the warehouse and the introduction of commercial space and opportunities for outdoor enjoyment.

Weve crossed a lot of hurdles, Macfarlane said. Were close to getting a commitment on the plan of development, finishing the underwriting and working with the city on improvements on the Canal Walk.

An estimated $1 million worth of improvements is needed along the canal, including shoring up retaining walls, he said.

Other notable projects by Macfarlane Partners include The Power Plant at Lucky Strike, a 20,000-square-foot office building at the end of Richmonds Tobacco Row on East Cary Street, and Main2323, a rehab of two buildings into 71 apartments along East Main Street.

This one I am really excited about, Macfarlane said about the hotel project. With its proximity to and views of the James River and its location a couple blocks from Shockoe Slip; from an infill perspective, this is one of the best.

Souter said a hotel will add to the vibrancy of the Canal Walk. This is the highest and best use for that site.

Downtown Richmond has seen a burst of hotel openings in the past couple of years, including the 205-room Graduate Richmond at 301 W. Franklin St. in June and a Homewood Suites and a Hampton Inn & Suites in an office tower at 700 E. Main St. in 2016.

Quirk Hotel, a boutique hotel, art gallery and restaurant at 201 W. Broad St. in Richmonds Art District, opened its doors in 2015. Two adjoining hotels  Courtyard by Marriott and Residence Inn by Marriott  at Cary and 14th streets opened in late 2014.

A building at Fifth and Franklin streets in downtown Richmond is being converted into an 87-room Moxy hotel, a new Marriott-branded boutique property.

But none is this close to the river.

A hotel along the canal will improve pedestrian flow and bring a whole other aspect of interest to the area, Souter said. When that building comes down, it will be like turning on the lights. If you look at it now, its a massive visual barrier.

Jack Berry, president and CEO of Richmond Region Tourism, declined to comment on the project. However, he has said recent hotel additions have been good for the citys hospitality industry.

The Hyatt Place Hotel, with a striking green glass architectural element, would nearly complete the puzzle in the 6.7-acre Locks development site, Souter said. That piece is the missing tooth, he said. The Locks is home now to 226 apartments in five buildings and the Casa Del Barco restaurant.
Richmond Mayor Levar Stoneys Monument Avenue Commission is postponing its Sept. 13 public hearing, the mayors office announced Friday.

This decision is made in the interests of public safety, and to allow for a restructuring of the commissions engagement with the public, promoting accessibility and constructive dialogue so more voices can be heard, Stoney said in a news release.

Stoney conferred with the commissions co-chairs, local and state law enforcement agencies and members of the community before making the decision, according to the release. The mayor said he plans to reschedule the hearing in October.

Last week, City Councilwoman Kimberly Gray, who serves on the commission, sent a letter to Stoney asking that he delay the commissions proceedings in the wake of violence and death at the Aug. 12 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville.

Richmond cannot become another Charlottesville, Gray wrote. I believe now is the time to take a breath and afford cooler heads an opportunity to prevail.

Stoney formed the commission in June, tapping 10 historians, academics and community leaders to explore how the city could add context to the five Confederate monuments lining Monument Avenue: Civil War Gens. Robert E. Lee, J.E.B. Stuart and Stonewall Jackson; the president of the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis; and oceanographer Matthew Fontaine Maury, who served as a Confederate naval commander.

After a series of work group meetings, the commission held its first public hearing on Aug. 9. More than 500 people attended, and many more were turned away from the event, which was held at the Virginia Historical Society.

The two-hour affair was contentious. Audience members heckled speakers with opposing viewpoints, and organizers struggled to keep order. Much of the discussion centered on whether the statues should remain, not how the city could contextualize them, as organizers intended.

Then Charlottesville happened.

In the aftermath, Stoney initially defended his commissions approach.

For me, its about telling the complete truth, the mayor told reporters two days after the violence in Charlottesville. I dont think removal of symbols does anything for telling the actual truth or changes the state and culture of racism in this country today.

Two days after that, Stoney issued a statement expanding the charge of the commission to include a discussion of removal or relocation of the monuments.

While we had hoped to use this process to educate Virginians about the history behind these monuments, the events of the last week may have fundamentally changed our ability to do so by revealing their power to serve as a rallying point for division and intolerance and violence, Stoney said in the statement.

The reversal came as cities and institutions across the country were removing or hastening plans to remove Confederate statues. It also coincided with a shifting of the party line on the issue.

Republican gubernatorial nominee Ed Gillespie announced that he believed individual localities should decide what happens to Confederate monuments, pointing to Stoneys commission as a sound approach. On the same day, two prominent Democrats  Lt. Gov. Ralph S. Northam, who is the partys gubernatorial nominee, and Gov. Terry McAuliffe  backed removal or relocation.

In a short interview the day after issuing his statement, Stoney said he felt a sinking feeling after Charlottesville that limiting the scope of the commission was no longer the right approach.

Now weve put the commission on the right course, weve put the city on the right course, but the process will play itself out, and were going to get a lot of different ideas and comments and input, but we have to be open to that, Stoney said in the interview.

Additional information will be announced about the commissions next steps in the coming weeks, according to Fridays news release.

I remain deeply grateful to the members of the commission for their commitment and courage to take on this challenging and important work, Stoney said in the release.
By PTI: New Delhi, Aug 25 (PTI) The Delhi government has trained around 320 supervisors of anganwadi centres in early childhood education (ECE) to make children school-ready.

The supervisors were trained by experts from Pratham, an NGO, and the Centre for Early Childhood Development and Research (CECDR), Jamia Millia Islamia, an official statement said.

Their five-day-long training ended today.

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"The classroom training will now be followed by two weeks of on-the-job practice sessions, which will be followed by two days of evaluation and feedback module," the statement said.

The supervisors, after completing the module, would be fully equipped to impart training to anganwadi workers.

Using this cascade model, around 10,000 anganwadi workers would be trained by the end of September, it said.

One supervisor is responsible for the functioning of about 25 anganwadi centres.

The allowances of anganwadi workers and helpers have recently been raised by the Delhi government. Thousands of workers had gone on a strike demanding the same, forcing many centres to stop functioning. PTI SBR NSD

--- ENDS ---
Charlottesville Mayor Mike Signer on Thursday said that he did not have access to security details before the deadly white nationalist rally earlier this month, claiming that his citys police chief at one point told the mayor to stay out of my way.

Though Signer said he had little ability to direct the police response himself, security concerns the Virginia State Police raised before the rally were relayed to Signer in an Aug. 2 phone call from Gov. Terry McAuliffe, according to state officials.

According to Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security Brian J. Moran, McAuliffe took the unusual step of relaying several specific recommendations to Signer, including the possibility of restricting weapons, requiring rally attendees to meet at one location to be bused in for the event, and shortening the duration of the five-hour permit.

Throughout this process there were conversations between Colonel (W. Steven) Flaherty and Charlottesville, Moran said in an interview this week, referring to the state police superintendent. There came a time that the state police had recommendations to us. And they shared them with me and then we shared them with the governor so that he could communicate those recommendations with the mayor of Charlottesville.

In an interview, Signer confirmed that he received advice from the governor, but said he did not receive any written recommendations.

Hes a friend and I know he was trying to help us, Signer said.

The Charlottesville Police Department did not respond to multiple inquiries about how the city responded to the governors suggestions.

Moran said the state mobilized its resources in unprecedented fashion to support the city for the Aug. 12 rally, but as with any other disaster such as a tornado or a hurricane, the locals were in control.

In the aftermath of the violence, many have questioned whether police were instructed to take a less-than-forceful posture at the rally, which swiftly dissolved into running street battles between white nationalist demonstrators and counterprotesters. During a Ku Klux Klan rally in July at a different park a few blocks away, police maintained strict physical separation between a group of about 50 Klansmen and more than 1,000 anti-Klan protesters.

After the July rally, police were criticized for using tear gas to disperse protesters as Klan members left the area, fueling speculation about whether police dialed back their tactics in response. After this months event, both rally organizers and anti-racist protesters accused the police of doing too little.

The vehicular crossing of the citys pedestrian mall where one counterprotester was killed was supposed to be closed on the day of the event. Officials have not explained how several cars  including the one that rammed into a crowd of people, injuring 30 and killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer  were able to drive through the area.

Charlottesville Police Chief Al Thomas, who last year became the first African-American to lead the police department, has defended the law enforcement response. Charlottesville officials have said the KKK cooperated with efforts to coordinate the groups arrival, while the hodgepodge of so-called alt-right groups that attended the August rally arrived at different times and were less willing to provide officials with accurate information about their plans.

Until Thursday, state and local politicians had largely shied away from appearing to criticize the police.

In a lengthy Facebook post published Thursday morning, Signer made the case that his hands were tied by the citys council-manager form of government, in which a city manager oversees daily governmental operations and reports to a council that passes legislation and sets policy.

During a briefing on the Thursday before August 12 with the Police Chief, the Fire Chief, and the City Manager, when I asked the Police Chief what I could do to be helpful during that day as Mayor, he answered, Stay out of my way,  Signer wrote. Despite repeated requests, I was not allowed into the Citys Command Center (run by City staff) and was instead asked to be in the Emergency Operations Center (where fire, rescue, and other stakeholders were monitoring the situation).

Thomas did not respond to a request for comment.

Signer went on to say he had no legal authority to tell police to back off.

I couldnt order a stand down if I wanted to, said Signer, a Democrat who made headlines this year by declaring Charlottesville a capital of resistance to President Donald Trump.

The mayors post preceded a closed-door council meeting Thursday to discuss the events of Aug. 12, which he said raised serious questions about the citys handling of security, communications and governance.

Around midday, the council emerged from the meeting to say Thomas and City Manager Maurice Jones still have their jobs, according to The Daily Progress. The city has said it will seek an independent review of how the rally was handled.

Moran said he didnt believe the state raised any concerns regarding the use of tear gas due to the criticism leveled over the crowd-dispersal methods used in July.

We would have done the same thing on Saturday, Moran said. But they moved them out of the way and we never had to deploy any gas. People dispersed throughout the city.

Citing public safety concerns and the potential for unmanageable crowds, Charlottesville officials tried to move the rally from Emancipation Park, a small downtown park thats home to a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. The Lee statue, which the city intends to remove if not blocked by a pending lawsuit, was the ostensible reason that white nationalist groups from around the country descended on Charlottesville for a white pride display that was called off before its noon start time when officials ordered the crowd to disperse.

The city tried to move the rally to McIntire Park, a bigger, open area away from tightly packed downtown streets, but a federal judge ruled Friday that the city failed to make its case that the permit was changed for neutral public safety reasons rather than disapproval of the white nationalists and their cause.

The first recommendation  restricting firearms and other weapons as a condition of allowing large-scale rallies  is shaping up as a major focus for official reviews of the Charlottesville violence, one that raises tricky constitutional questions about how the Second Amendment coincides with the First Amendment.

No shots were fired during the rally, but both sides made liberal use of clubs, sticks and tear gas.

The question of whether Virginia localities can ban weapons at public demonstrations did not come up in the free-speech litigation over whether the city could move the rally.

The issue of weapons never came up, said Claire Guthrie Gastanaga, executive director of the ACLU of Virginia, which was involved in the lawsuit against the city. The citys only argument was a numbers argument. Too many people were coming downtown.

To begin the process of reviewing the governments handling of events in Charlottesville, McAuliffe signed two executive orders Thursday establishing a task force on civil unrest and a diversity commission that will explore ways to combat intolerance and prevent political violence.

We must engage in a thorough review of the events that took place before, during and after the incident in Charlottesville and identify any existing gaps or issues that need to be addressed, including our permitting process, McAuliffe said in a written statement.

House Republican leaders responded with a statement of their own, saying, Many Virginians are beginning to ask fair questions about how this incident was handled. The response from the office of House Speaker William J. Howell, R-Stafford, asked that the chairs of the legislatures public safety committees be included in the work of the task force and called for all reports and findings to be made public to ensure confidence and determine whether a more independent investigation is necessary.

Moran will chair the task force reviewing the response to what he described as weaponized hate speech.
Attorney General Mark R. Herring issued an advisory opinion Friday saying cities can remove or relocate Confederate monuments as long as there are no individual laws or restrictions governing those particular monuments.

The opinion does not change or create law, but is Herrings interpretation of existing law. It comes as localities across Virginia debate whether to relocate Confederate monuments following violence in Charlottesville on Aug. 11 and at an Aug. 12 rally organized under the pretext of defending the Robert E. Lee monument there, which drew white supremacists.

Virginia is debating whether a 1998 statute restricting the movement of war memorials in cities is retroactive or affects only war memorials constructed after 1998. Herring says the law is not retroactive:

When the General Assembly omits a clear manifestation of intent that a statutory change should apply retroactively, it generally should be concluded that the legislature did not intend such an application.

Additionally, because the existing law was first passed in 1904, it doesnt even apply to any war memorial or monument constructed before then, according to Herrings opinion.

However, the law prohibits removal of war memorials in counties if the memorials were constructed after 1904, Herring opined.

John Adams, Herrings GOP challenger in the November election, said Herring appears to have changed his mind since a 2015 opinion related to war memorials, when Herring made no mention of state law not being retroactive. Adams said current law does not permit cities to move a war memorial.

The idea that the legislature only wanted to protect monuments in cities after 1998, it makes no sense, Adams said. Its very clear they were trying to make sure that the same protection that was extended to the counties was extended to the cities.

Adams said he would defend Virginia law as attorney general regardless of what the law was. Personally, he said, he thinks removing Confederate monuments is a bad idea. Adams is a graduate of Virginia Military Institute, and his Twitter cover photo features the statue of Gen. Thomas J. Stonewall Jackson at VMI.

I think the entire story of the United States from our founding to today is a story of ever-increasing freedom, and slavery was an evil, a stain on our country, no doubt, he said.

I do not like the idea of taking down monuments that tell the story of that American journey, he said. I think its very dangerous.

A circuit court judge in Danville also has ruled that the state law is not retroactive prior to 1998. However, there is a lawsuit in Charlottesville Circuit Court over that issue. A Charlottesville judge has stopped the city from removing its Lee statue while the case is pending.

Even some lawmakers arent sure about how the law could be interpreted. In 2016, they passed legislation clarifying that a locality cannot move a war memorial  no matter when it was erected. Gov. Terry McAuliffe vetoed the legislation.

Herring issued his opinion in response to a request from Julie Langan, director of the Virginia Department of Historic Resources.

Norfolk City Attorney Bernard A. Pishko also had asked Herring for an opinion. The Norfolk City Council this week passed a resolution stating its desire to move a Confederate monument from downtown into a cemetery where rebels are buried.

Pishko wrote in an Aug. 18 opinion to the attorney general: It is my opinion that neither the civil nor the criminal statute prohibits the relocation being considered by Norfolk City Council.

Norfolk also sent Herring a memo from the Norfolk Commonwealths Attorneys Office that agreed:

While the General Assembly has imposed certain restrictions on the removal or relocation of Monuments through Code  15-2-1812 and its predecessor statutes going back to 1904, those restrictions do not appear to apply to most Monuments put up in municipalities prior to 1998.

For that reason, the removal or relocation of a Monument put up in a municipality, especially if put up by order of a municipal governing body or a private entity with the permission of that governing body, would not implicate Code  18.2-137 (the statute imposing criminal penalties for removal, etc. of war monuments).
Updated, Saturday, 9:23 a.m.: Virginia State Police said a father and his 2-year-old boy died from injuries sustained in a crash Wednesday in King George County.

Police said the crash occurred about 8:20 p.m. on Comorn Road, less than a mile north of Igo Road.

DeShon T. Brown, 21, was riding a youth dirt bike with his 2-year-old son. As Brown attempted to cross Comorn Road, he crashed the bike in the roadway, police said.

The 2-year-old  Brayden C. Brown of Colonial Beach  was thrown from the bike and onto the roadway. Moments later, a 2007 BMW was traveling north on Comorn Road.

The BMWs driver ran off the road in an attempt to avoid hitting the child and father, but the young boy was struck and killed. DeShon Brown suffered life-threatening injuries and was flown to Inova Fairfax Hospital, where he passed away on Friday.
By PTI: Patna, Aug 25 (PTI) Five RJD legislators were evicted from Bihar legislative council for unruly behaviour during protests over the multi-crore Srijan scam which rocked both houses of the state legislature again today.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who was present in the legislative council when RJD members indulged in unruly behaviour, lambasted the opposition for "sullying the reputation of the legislative house".

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Legislative council Deputy Chairperson Harun Rashid who ordered the house marshals to evict RJD MLCs Subodh Kumar, Ranvijay Singh, Kamre Alam, Radhacharan Seth and Dilip Rai referred the matter to the disciplinary committee for further action against them.

When the legislative council resumed sitting after recess, the RJD MLCs carrying posters and banners trooped into the Well of the House and started raising anti-government slogans. As the MLCs refused to listen to the Chair, house marshals were instructed to evict them.

The chief minister and Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi were present in the House at the time.

JD(U) MLC Neeraj Kumar demanded action against the RJD members and demanded that the case be hand over to the conduct committee. He was supported by CPI member Kedar Pandey, BJPs Awdesh Kumar Singh and Rajnish Kumar.

Rashid then ordered the issue of the RJD MLCs to be handed over to the disciplinary committee.

"The disciplinary committee will look into the matter and if a case is made out against the erring members, action would be taken," he later told reporters.

The disciplinary committee is headed by JD(U) MLC P K Shahi who was also a former advocate general of Bihar.

Lambasting the RJD for disrupting the proceedings of the House for the last four days, Kumar said, "If you (the RJD) want to raise an issue do it in accordance with rules and the government will be ready to reply to it."

"By coming to the House with banners and posters, these members are sullying its reputation," he said.

He also attacked the opposition which was trying to corner the JD(U)-BJP government over the Srijan scam.

"Which scam are they talking about? As soon as I came to know about it on August 8, I mentioned this in my speech on Earth day on August 9 and a probe began immediately into Bhagalpur NGO scam case," he said.

Government funds to the tune of Rs 950 crore were allegedly diverted illegally to the account of Srijan NGO in Bhagalpur in the scam.

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The matter came to light after a government cheque bounced. The district magistrate then inquired about it and intimated the headquarters in Patna.

In an apparent dig at RJD chief Lalu Prasad and his partymen who were demanding a CBI probe into the scam under supervision of the Supreme Court, the chief minister said, "If you do not have faith in the CBI, go to court and say this."

Referring to members speaking about documents related to the scam coming up in 2003, 2008 and 2013, he said, "Hand over all these documents to the CBI which will help them in the probe."

The issue was raised in the Assembly too where the opposition RJD, the Congress and the CPI-ML pressed for the resignations of Kumar and Modi and the ruling JD(U)-BJP claimed that the NGO started during the Rabri Devi regime.

The members of the opposition RJD, the Congress and the CPI-ML then staged a walkout from the Assembly.

Speaker Vijay Kumar Chaudhary had to adjourn the Assembly twice in the first session due to the din created over the issue.

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Showing documents, Modi, who was present in the assembly during the first session, alleged that the NGO was allowed office space in a government building at Bhagalpur in 2000 when Rabri Devi was the chief minister.

"Srijan was given 24 decimel space in Trysam building on a 30-year lease by the order of the then district magistrate of Bhagalpur in 2003 and a lease deed was signed to this effect on February 25, 2004. The lease was later extended for 50 years in the same year," he alleged quoting documents.

Modi also showed another document from 2000 and alleged that the then Bhagalpur district magistrate allowed the opening of an account by Srijan with a cooperative bank and permitted it to keep government money in its accounts down to the block level.

"The RJD government led by Rabri Devi was in power in the state between 2000 and 2004 when these favours were given to Srijan," the deputy chief minister alleged even as his party (BJP) MLAs shouted Chor machaye shor at the RJD.

He urged the speaker to expunge "unparliamentary" words used by the opposition against him and the chief minister from the House proceedings to which speaker said it has already been ordered.

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Leader of the Opposition Tejaswi Yadav compared Srijan scam with Madhya Pradeshs Vyapam scam where a number of people connected with it had died mysteriously.

He alleged that an accused in the Srijan NGO scam was killed "on behalf of the state government".

Later, speaking to reporters, Modi alleged that Rajni Priya, an alleged key players of the scam who was absconding with her husband, was the daughter of a Congress leader from Jharkhand and the niece of a former Union minister.

Asked about his accountability as he had served as the MP of Bhagalpur from 2000 to 2004 and was the deputy chief minister and finance minister during the previous NDA rule, Modi said, "Nobody had complained or informed me of the irregularities in the NGO."

The five-day Monsoon Session of the Assembly was later adjourned sine die by the speaker. PTI ANW SNS KK AAR

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Hurricane Harvey will slam the coast of Texas with destructive winds and storm surge tonight and Saturday, then stall and inundate eastern Texas with flooding rains over the following days.

On Friday afternoon, Harvey was a Category 2 storm with sustained winds of 110 mph. The National Hurricane Center expects Harvey to strengthen slightly while moving northwest today, then make landfall near Corpus Christi early on Saturday morning with sustained winds near 120 mph.

Padre Island could be threatened by a 6- to 12-foot storm surge, a wind-driven pile of water.

The inland flooding may take longer to play out, but the end result could be more widespread and more destructive.

Over the weekend, Harvey will slow down and dump intense rainfall across coastal Texas and western Louisiana for at least two days, perhaps until Wednesday.

At least 15 inches of rain would fall across much of the coastal region of Texas, including the Houston metro area. Some isolated spots could have totals in excess of 35 inches.

Harvey will hover right along the coastline, so it may not weaken as quickly as storms usually do when they encounter land.

It is expected to bring tropical storm-force winds to the Houston area early next week, but flooding will be the much more serious threat there.

No matter how much the winds weaken after landfall, inland flooding is inevitable given Harveys size and slow speed.

Beyond the next five days, its impossible to say exactly where Harvey will be centered and where the remnant rainfall would wind up.

Hurricane Harvey is not a direct threat to Virginia. The Richmond area will continue to experience quiet and comfortable weather over the next several days because of high pressure building in from Canada.

A weak disturbance near Florida may have the opportunity to develop into a tropical storm off the Carolina coastline early next week, once conditions become more favorable.

If a storm develops in that region, it may be close enough to the beaches of North Carolina and South Carolina to cause heavy surf or gusty winds.

It would probably be steered northeast into the open Atlantic Ocean, so its premature to consider it a direct threat to Virginia.

Texas hasnt taken a direct hit from a hurricane since 2008, when Hurricane Ike killed 18 people in Texas and caused approximately $30 billion in damage to the Gulf Coast.

Ikes storm surge proved deadly and destructive, despite having Category 2 winds at landfall.

The United States hasnt been hit by a hurricane at Category 3 strength since Hurricane Wilma near Naples, Fla., on Oct. 24, 2005.

This is currently the longest spell without a major hurricane landfall - Category 3 or higher - in the United States in records that date back to the 1850s.

Thursday marked 25 years since Hurricane Andrew devastated South Florida on Aug. 24, 1992. Andrew was the most recent Category 5 landfall in the U.S.
By PTI: By Sajjad Hussain

Islamabad, Aug 25 (PTI) Pakistans population has surged to 207.8 million, a 57 per cent spike since the last census in 1998, according to provisional census data released today.

Pakistan has 106.45 million males, 101.31 million females and 10,418 transgenders, the provisional data presented to the Council of Common Interest (CCI) shows.

Compared with the results of the fifth census, there was a 57 per cent increase in the population at an annual rate of 2.4 per cent. The 1998 census found that Pakistan had a population of over 132 million.

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Pakistans population has risen to 207.8 million with an increase of 75.4 million people within 19 years, according to provisional summary results of the 6th Population and Housing Census 2017, the Express Tribune reported.

The CCI ? the constitutional body headed by the prime minister with four chief ministers in the chair, approved the provisional summary results today. However, the final results will be available next year, the report said.

The sixth population census in Pakistan, conducted by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) earlier this year after a gap of nearly two decades, reveals an acceleration in the population growth rate of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Balochistan and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata), even as growth in Punjab and Sindh has slowed compared to previous results.

The results show that 30.5 million people reside in KP, 5 million in Fata, 47.9 million in Sindh, 12.3 million in Balochistan, 2 million in Islamabad, while Punjab ? the largest province in terms of population ? houses 110 million people, Dawn newspaper reported.

An increase in the urban-rural ratio has been observed in all administrative units except Islamabad, which remains the second most urbanised unit in the Muslim nation.

Over 52 per cent of Sindhs residents live in urban areas, which has surpassed the capital territory as the most urbanised territory of Pakistan.

Close to 36.4 per cent of Pakistanis live in urban areas, the provisional results reveal.

Balochistan, the least urbanised of Pakistans provinces, has experienced the fastest average annual growth rate since 1998 of 3.37 per cent.

Punjabs average annual growth rate remained the slowest at 2.13 per cent, slightly below the national average of 2.4 per cent.

The provisional results exclude data from Gilgit Baltistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, which is likely to be included in the final report, the report said.

The census is likely to have important implications for the general elections, as constituencies are expected to be redrawn according to the newly-compiled results, it said.

The PBS had conducted the exercise in two phases across Pakistan under the supervision of the military.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi appreciated the law enforcement agencies for completing the countrys census on time.

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He urged the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics staff and the Ministry of Statistics to ensure early completion of final figures so that economic and social planning of the country can be brought to scientific footing. PTI AKJ/SH UZM

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A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind.
A Roanoke County man charged with slashing two people with a kitchen knife pleaded no contest Friday to two counts of aggravated malicious wounding, according to the prosecutors office.

Wasil Rafat Farooqui, 21, was set to face trial Monday morning in the case stemming from a 2016 attack on a man and a woman at an apartment complex on Banbury Lane.

Instead, his attorney notified prosecutors early Friday that he was opting to plead, said Roanoke County Commonwealths Attorney Randy Leach.

A sentencing date has been set for Jan. 23. A message left for defense attorney Neil Horn wasnt immediately returned late Friday.

Farooqui was arrested last August and charged with repeatedly stabbing a couple with a knife. The attack, which both victims survived, appeared to be random, authorities said.

Witnesses reported Farooqui was screaming Allahu akbar, Arabic for God is great. Horn sought unsuccessfully last week to convince the court to bar any mention of that term at trial.

Farooqui told a detective that hed been hearing voices urging him to attack someone, according to a 2016 search warrant.

His sanity was expected to be one of the primary issues raised by the defense at trial. No deals or sentencing agreements were part of Fridays proceedings, Leach said.

A sentencing evaluation and victim impact statements will be prepared for the courts review in January.
Ragging on India's school and college campuses has over the years provoked dozens of students to commit suicide, fall into depression, or leave renowned institutes that few can get into.

By Priyanka Sharma: The All India Institute of Medical Sciences has suspended a dozen students for three months over ragging, in the first such step by India's premier medical institution.

Five of the culprits were studying MBBS while the rest were paramedical students.

According to sources, a first-year student has been badly injured and is receiving treatment. Ragging on India's school and college campuses has over the years provoked dozens of students to commit suicide, fall into depression, or leave renowned institutes that few can get into.

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The issue received international attention in 2009 when 19-year-old Aman Satya Kachroo died after allegedly being bullied by four seniors at a medical college in Himachal. His father took the matter to the Supreme Court and managed to get an order setting up parameters on ways to prevent ragging.

The incident at AIIMS came to the notice of authorities this week when the victims complained to the anti-ragging cell of the institute.

A senior official at the medical, on the condition of anonymity, told Mail Today, "The very recent incident has happened around three days back when senior MBBS student harassed at least 3-4 first-year MBBS students. Another case of ragging was noticed among students of BSc optometry and MSc students who were found to have indulged in ragging."

The AIIMS administration has issued strict directives to check ragging. In view of the incident, the security guards have been asked to keep vigil on students, said the official.

"Looking at the very sensitive matter, we formed the anti-ragging committee at AIIMS in which director, deputy director (administration), dean and registrar took the decision to suspend the students for three months from all academic activities and hostel facilities," he said.

"A large number of private security guards would be deployed in the institute. They will keep an eye on resident doctors, senior and new medical and nursing students."

Another senior AIIMS official informed Mail Today that the ragging took place at the boys' hostel where first-year students were forced to perform embarrassing acts.

"In this entire sad incident, one student got injured when he tried to protect himself," he said. "In 2015, a 17-year old MBBS first-year student allegedly committed suicide at her hostel room inside the campus by hanging herself, which police suspected was a case of ragging."

Also read

Revised norms allow doctors to practise in AIIMS till 70 years of age

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By India Today Web Desk: Currently busy with the post-production work of Mahesh Babu's Spyder, filmmaker AR Murugadoss has confirmed that he will be directing superstar Rajinikanth very soon. According to a report in Deccan Chronicle, Murugadoss was quoted as saying, "After his two films, Kaala and 2.0, release, my project will start."

Known for helming films based on several societal issues, Murugadoss' film with Rajinikanth is expected to have a strong message. Now that Thalaivar is constantly making news for his political entry. Earlier, reports were rife that Murugadoss was teaming up with Ilayathalapathy Vijay for the third time after their Thupakki and Kaththi. However, we await an official confirmation regarding the same.

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AR Murugadoss and Mahesh Babu have left for Romania to shoot the final song for Spyder, which is tipped to be an action thriller. Made on a budget of Rs 100 crore, Spyder is slated to release next month.

Meanwhile, Rajinikanth is expected to resume Kaala shoot. The team has completed 60 per cent of the shoot, according to reports. After a long time, Rajinikanth will have two releases -- 2.0 and Kaala in 2018.

ALSO READ: Vivegam Movie Review

ALSO READ: Kamal watches Vivegam with daughter Akshara

ALSO READ: Vivegam box-office collection Day 1 | Ajith's film beats Rajini's Kabali

ALSO WATCH: Rajini in politics | Thousands urge Superstar to take the plunge in Tamil Nadu's Trichy

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By PTI: Melbourne, Aug 25 (PTI) Greeks were not the first to invent trigonometry, say scientists who found that a famous 3,700-year old Babylonian clay tablet is the worlds oldest and most accurate trigonometric table.

The tablet was possibly used by ancient mathematical scribes to calculate how to construct palaces and temples and build canals using trigonometry - the study of triangles, researchers said.

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Known as Plimpton 322, the small tablet was discovered in the early 1900s in what is now southern Iraq by archaeologist Edgar Banks, the person on whom the fictional character Indiana Jones was based.

It has four columns and 15 rows of numbers written on it in the cuneiform script of the time using a base 60, or sexagesimal, system.

Scientists at the University of New South Wales in Australia provide an alternative to the widely-accepted view that the tablet was a teachers aid for checking students solutions of quadratic problems.

"The huge mystery, until now, was its purpose - why the ancient scribes carried out the complex task of generating and sorting the numbers on the tablet," researchers said.

"Our research reveals that Plimpton 322 describes the shapes of right-angle triangles using a novel kind of trigonometry based on ratios, not angles and circles," they said.

"It is a fascinating mathematical work that demonstrates undoubted genius," they added.

A trigonometric table allows you to use one known ratio of the sides of a right-angle triangle to determine the other two unknown ratios.

The Greek astronomer Hipparchus, who lived about 120 years BC, has long been regarded as the father of trigonometry, with his "table of chords" on a circle considered the oldest trigonometric table.

"Plimpton 322 predates Hipparchus by more than 1,000 years," said Norman Wildberger, an associate professor at UNSW.

"It opens up new possibilities not just for modern mathematics research, but also for mathematics education. With Plimpton 322 we see a simpler, more accurate trigonometry that has clear advantages over our own," Wildberger said.

"Plimpton 322 was a powerful tool that could have been used for surveying fields or making architectural calculations to build palaces, temples or step pyramids," researchers said.

The tablet, which is thought to have come from the ancient Sumerian city of Larsa, has been dated to between 1822 and 1762 BC.

It is now in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Columbia University in New York.

A Pythagorean triple consists of three positive whole numbers such that the sum of the square of two numbers is equal to the square of the third.

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The integers 3, 4 and 5 are a well-known example of a Pythagorean triple, but the values on Plimpton 322 are often considerably larger with, for example, the first row referencing the triple 119, 120 and 169.

The name is derived from Pythagoras theorem of right- angle triangles which states that the square of the hypotenuse (the diagonal side opposite the right angle) is the sum of the squares of the other two sides. PTI MHN SAR MHN

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RJD has been upping the ante on Kumar and his deputy, Sushil Modi in the Rs 871 crore Srijan scam alleging that there was direct involvement of the two leaders along with other top BJP leaders.

By Rohit Kumar Singh: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has hit out at the Opposition RJD for raising allegations of his involvement in the multi-crore Srijan scam in Bhagalpur. Speaking at a meeting of his party MLAs and MLCs on Thursday, Nitish said that no amount of money in the world was enough to corrupt him.

"There is nothing in this world that can corrupt me. I have done politics with honesty all my life and will never compromise with my ideals," Kumar was quoted to have said at the meeting.

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RJD has been upping the ante on Kumar and his deputy, Sushil Modi in the Rs 871 crore Srijan scam alleging that there was direct involvement of the two leaders along with other top BJP leaders. RJD maintains that Kumar was Chief Minister and Sushil Modi, the Finance Minister between 2005-2013, the period when the scam is alleged to have taken place.

It is notable that after Nitish requested the Central Bureau of Investigations to take over the case of Srijan scam for investigations, the premier investigation has begun their probe. The CM commented in the party meet that who so ever was involved in the scam would be dealt with in a stern manner and not spared.

"Those guilty will not be spared, irrespective of the political party which they belong to. Proper inquiry will take place," said Nitish Kumar at the meeting.

Also Read:

Srijan scam rocks Bihar Assembly, Tejashwi demands CM Nitish's resignation

'From Hey Ram to Jai Shri Ram in minutes': Tejashwi, Tej Pratap vow to expose Nitish, embark on Janadesh Apmaan Yatra

Rahul says he knew about Nitish Kumar's plans to join hands with BJP, but what did he do?

Bihar CM Nitish Kumar says no leader capable of challenging Modi in 2019

WATCH | Nitish Kumar: Tolerated Lalu & Co a lot, lost patience

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Japan said it was concerned about bombers flying close to its territory.

By Reuters: No amount of interference or shadowing of its aircraft will stop the Chinese air force from carrying out long-range drills, the defence ministry said, announcing another round of exercises of the type that have unnerved neighbouring Taiwan and Japan.

The air force carried out further long-range exercises on Thursday, the ministry said, without giving details of where they happened. Japan said it was concerned about bombers flying close to its territory.

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Such "normal" drills accord with international law and practices and are part of an "ordinary need" to raise combat abilities and strengthen the military, it added.

CHINA AIR FORCE TO CONTINUE DRILLS

"No matter what obstructions are encountered, the Chinese air force will carry on as before; no matter who flies with us, the Chinese air force will fly a lot and as normal!" the ministry added, citing an air force spokesman.

China has been increasingly asserting itself in territorial disputes in the South and East China Seas. It is also worried about self-ruled Taiwan, claimed by China as its own and run by a government Beijing fears is intent on independence.

Japan's government said six Chinese bombers flying from the East China Sea on Thursday passed close to its islands on route to the Pacific Ocean.

It was the first time we have recorded Chinese military aircraft flying this route," Minister of Defence Itsunori Onodera said during a regular press briefing on Friday. "We expressed our concern through diplomatic channels," he added.

DRILLS CARRIED OUT NEAR TAIWAN

Drills over the past few months have mostly focused on flying near Taiwan and by Japan's southern island chain to the north of Taiwan. Taiwan's military said earlier this month it was on a high state of alert following three straight days of drills by the Chinese air force near it.

Beijing has never ruled out the use of force to bring proudly democratic Taiwan under its control, and has warned that any moves towards formal independence could prompt an armed response. Taiwan is well armed with mostly US weaponry, but has been pressing Washington to sell it more high-tech equipment to better deter China.

China is in the midst of an ambitious military modernisation programme that includes building aircraft carriers and developing stealth fighters to give it the ability to project power far from its shores. Separately, the official Xinhua news agency said on Friday that Chinese warships had carried out live fire drills in the western part of the Indian Ocean, though it did not say where exactly.

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Chinese warships frequently pass through the Indian Ocean on their way to anti-piracy patrols in the waters off Somalia and Yemen. India, with which China has a festering border dispute, has expressed concern about Chinese military activity in the Indian Ocean.

ALSO READ | Doklam standoff: As India-China war of words continues, a look at how global media is reporting it

ALSO READ | Why Chinese mock video is a pack of lies, India has committed no 'sin' in Doklam

ALSO READ | Hindi-Chini Bhai Bhai only way out: Dalai Lama on India-China Doklam standoff

ALSO WATCH | Doklam: Japan slams China's efforts to change status quo by use of force

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Rob Tracy and Tracy Dixon

A THRIFTY shopper who refused to pay 5 for two 99 cones ended up wearing the dessert after a fed-up ice cream seller saw red.

Rob Tracy (64) said he had assumed the sweet treats would cost around 1.50 and was shocked when the ice cream man told him the price - despite it being advertised on the window of the van at Parkgate Shopping.

Mr Tracy, who claimed he could have been blinded, is now calling for the ice cream man - named only as Steve - to be sacked.

But Parkgate bosses are standing by him. Disciplinary action had been taken but they now consider the matter closed.

Mr Tracy was shopping with his wife Tracy Dixon and dog - coincidentally called Ice - last Wednesday when Ms Dixon visited the ice cream van outside Poundworld.

When he found out the cost, Mr Tracy suggested they refuse to pay.

But the seller told him he had rent to pay for the Parkgate spot.

When the couple threatened to walk away, Mr Tracy said, the ice cream man swore at me and threw the ice creams at me from the van.

He added: They hit me on the left side of my head and went all down my shoulder and back - I could have been blinded if the cornet or flake had hit me in the eye.

Ice cream also landed on German shepherd Ice, Mr Tracy added: He loves ice cream, but not when its thrown at him.

He rang police and told them he had been assaulted by an ice cream seller.

Mr Tracy, of Greasbrough, said: It took around an hour for the officer to arrive - I think he was the only one for miles around.

The ice cream man was asked to leave the site and frozen out for the rest of the day.

Mr Tracy claimed the price stickers on the vans window were inadequate.

They were very small, around the size of a 5p and you dont look at the price, he said.

I was shocked - it ruined a perfect day.

A South Yorkshire Police spokeswoman confirmed they had received a report that a man had been hit on the arm by an ice cream cone following an altercation.

Mr Tracy said police had spoken with him later in the day and said the incident would not be investigated further because it was not in the public interest.

I dont understand their reasoning, said Mr Tracy. Im not happy at all.

Parkgate Shopping manager Janet Drury said the ice cream man would not be sacked.

Customer service is our main priority at Parkgate Shopping and we swiftly made a full and frank apology to the customer involved, she said.

We have also undertaken a full disciplinary review with the employee concerned and, having carefully considered all aspects of this incident and surrounding circumstances, we are satisfied that the matter is now closed.
A SEX abuse survivor has called for an MP who shared a hurtful tweet saying child abuse victims should keep their mouths shut to resign.

Sammy Woodhouse, who was groomed as a teenager by abuser Arshid Hussain, spoke out after Naz Shah, Bradford West Labour MP, retweeted and liked a tweet from a parody account of newspaper columnist Owen Jones.

It said: Those abused girls in Rotherham and elsewhere just need to shut their mouths. For the good of diversity.

Ms Shah later deleted the retweet and unliked the post.

A spokesman in her office said it was a genuine accident and to suggest otherwise was absolute nonsense, but did not offer her apologies.

But Sammy (32), who waived her right to anonymity to campaign for other victims, said: I am not buying that it was an accident.

I think she has done it, realised she has got a backlash and then deleted it.

Maybe she should shut her mouth because we (survivors) have done more for this country than she will ever do.

We have spoken out and raised awareness and for people to say we should shut our mouths is ridculous.

I am not going to let her bring me down but I think she should resign.

She should at very least be making a public apology.

The fact she hasnt shows maybe it was a little bit more intentional than she is making out.

The tweets come just a week after Ms Shah labelled Sarah Champion irresponsible after a controversial article in The Sun, in which Ms Champion wrote: Britain has a problem with British Pakistani men raping and exploiting white girls.

Ms Shahs spokesman added: Her record speaks for itself.

Naz has been working for over 20 years on the issues of child abuse, violence against women and grooming, which is well documented.

She has and will continue to advocate for all victims, and work towards eradicating this evil from society.
John Silker

TRIBUTES have been paid to Magna boss John Silker after he died suddenly while working at the science centre.

Dad-of-three Mr Silker (64) spent 37 years in the leisure and hospitality industry before joining the Templeborough attraction as chief executive in 2013.

He had previously been manager at Hellaby Hall Hotel for eight years and was a former vice-president of Rotherhams chamber of commerce.

Fellow businessman Nick Cragg, an ex-chamber president, led the tributes this week. He said: Rotherham has lost a true friend, as have I.

John very quickly immersed himself in the business, charitable and civic life of Rotherham. He made a significant contribution to the Rotherham chamber of commerce, firstly as a members representative then as a director and finally as vice president.

He worked tirelessly to ensure that Magna, one of the jewels in Rotherhams crown, was preserved.

He always held a positive countenance and a can-do mentality, even in the darkest hours.

Along with his great sense of humour, he brought a lifetime of experience in events management and catering to the business.

Mr Cragg added: One of the most important things he did was to refresh the trustee board and leaves Magna in a far better position than he found it.

Mr Silker, a former manager of the VIP suite at Old Trafford, was brought in at Magna to strengthen the corporate and events offer in order to fund improvements to exhibits at the former steelworks.

He said he wanted the centre to become the first choice venue for business events in Yorkshire.

Last year he said: Magna was a bit of a sleeping giant. My team and I have worked hard to realise its potential and we now have more event bookings than ever.

Magna announced plans for a 20 million global centre of excellence for glass production in May, when Mr Silker spoke of his excitement at the project.

Mr Silker, who lived at Aston and leaves three daughters, died on Sunday.

Magna trustee Brian Chapple said: John worked tirelessly and with passion to realise Magnas potential and drive it to be the best it can be.

He was devoted to the venue and was a friend, as well as a colleague, to many.

He will be greatly missed by all and our thoughts are with his family and friends at this very sad time.

The staff and trustees will continue the work that John started.
US polished-diamond imports fell by both value and volume in June, according to data the government released recently.

Polished imports declined 2.7% year on year to $1.67 billion, while by volume they slid 8% to 728,000 carats, the figures showed. The average price rose 6% to $2,294 per carat.

Polished exports increased 4.5% to $2.71 billion, leaving net polished imports 19% higher than a year ago at negative $1.04 billion, as the US exported a larger value of goods than it imported. June is a relatively quiet month for the US polished import trade, but is one of the busiest times of the year for exports, as goods return from the Las Vegas trade shows that take place at the start of the month.

During the month, rough imports stood at $102 million, versus $23 million a year ago, while rough exports jumped 55% to $78 million. Net rough imports were $24 million, compared with negative $27 million a year earlier.

The US net diamond account for June  representing total rough and polished imports minus total exports  came to negative $1.02 billion, versus negative $903 million a year earlier.

In the six months to June, polished imports dropped 7% to $11.32 billion, with polished exports slipping 2.6% to $9.73 billion. Net polished imports slumped 28% to $1.59 billion. Rough imports grew 35% to $471 million, with rough exports up 53% to $355 million, leaving net rough imports 1.2% lower at $116 million.

The US net diamond account for the first half fell 27% to $1.7 billion.




Congress has demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar after violence in Haryana following Ram Rahim's conviction in a rape case by Panchkula court claimed over 30 lives and injured 250.

By India Today Web Desk: After violence in several parts of Haryana following Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim's conviction left over 30 dead and around 250 others injured, the Congress has demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, with party chief Sonia Gandhi expressing grave concern over the clashes.

Sonia appealed to people in the state to maintain peace and calm, while Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi stressed that violence and brutality had no place in society.

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"@PMOIndia must put the interest and safety of Indians before his party's interests. @mlkhattar must resign", the party said on Twitter.

The widespread violence, incidents of vandalism and police firing in Haryana were triggered by the conviction of self-styled godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a 15-year-old rape case.

In a statement, the Congress chief said several people, including children, had died in the violence, and "there was widespread destruction of public property and senseless attacks" on the media.

Sonia also spoke with Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and asked the Haryana government and the Chandigarh administration to ensure the safety of all citizens.

RAHUL CONDEMNS 'RAMPAGE, LAWLESSNESS' IN HARYANA

Rahul Gandhi has also condemned the "rampage and lawlessness" in Haryana and urged people to restore peace and tranquillity.

In a late-night tweet, he said, "The rule of law is a pillar of democracy. Let's respect it. The government must allow accurate reporting by the media to ensure transparency and accountability."

Congress communications in-charge Randeep Surjewala tweeted, "Reckless violence, deaths and destruction in Haryana proves the complete breakdown of law and order. Time for CM Haryana to own responsibility and quit (sic)."

Former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda also appealed for peace but said the government should have been prepared.

"The priority now is to restore law and order, peace and harmony. I appeal to the people of Haryana to maintain calm and ensure there is no loss of life or damage to property," he told reporters after violence broke out in Panchkula and other parts of the state in the wake of the Dera chief's conviction in the 2002 rape case.

Hooda said that this was no time for a blame game but added that the government should have been prepared and steps taken in advance to ensure law and order.

He said Haryana had suffered even earlier because of the "laxity" and "weakness" of the government during previous agitations.

In another tweet, Congress party said, "In @PMOIndia #NewIndia there is no accountability. @mlkhattar too has his job secure despite failure."

(WITH INPUTS FROM PTI)

ALSO READ |

Ram Rahim: Yoga, tea and 2 slices of bread, this is how rape convict Dera chief began his day in jail

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Violence after Baba Ram Rahim conviction: How Khattar failed on three occasions in as many years

LIVE: After violence post Ram Rahim's conviction, Army enters Dera headquarters in Sirsa

WATCH VIDEO: Haryana violence: Khattar should resign on moral grounds, says former Haryana CM Bhupinder Hooda

--- ENDS ---
Signet Jewelers Limited, the world's largest retailer of diamond jewelry, announced its results for the 13 weeks (second quarter Fiscal 2018) ended July 29, 2017.

Signet's total sales were $1,399.6 million, up $26.2 million or 1.9%, compared to a decrease of 2.6% in the 13 weeks ended July 30, 2016 ("second quarter Fiscal 2017").

Sales increases were driven predominantly by fashion jewelry including bracelets, rings, and necklaces. In addition, branded bridal also contributed to the sales increases. eCommerce sales in the second quarter were $82.2 million, up $12.6 million or 18.1%, compared to $69.6 million in the second quarter Fiscal 2017. Both mall and off-mall stores delivered sales growth.

In the second quarter, Signet's operating income was $135.6 million or 9.7% of sales compared to $119.9 million or 8.7% of sales in prior year second quarter.

Signet operates approximately 3,600 stores primarily under the name brands of Kay Jewelers, Zales, Jared The Galleria Of Jewelry, H.Samuel, Ernest Jones, Peoples and Piercing Pagoda.



Alex Shishlo, Editor of the Rough&Polished European Bureau in Brussels




Rockwell Diamonds is planning to delist from the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) and list on the NEX given the status of its South African subsidiaries which are under business rescue, which allows for the orderly restructuring of companies in financial distress.

The company had decided last April to seek to delist from the TSX in view of its current market capitalization, and to initiate the application process for listing on the TSXV.

However, considering the current status of its South Africa subsidiaries the decision had been made to list on the NEX, a separate board of TSX Venture Exchange, which provides a trading forum for listed companies that have fallen below TSX and TSX Ventures ongoing listing standards.

The company, which would maintain its dual JSE-listing, expects the concurrent delisting and relisting to take place on or about August 31.

Trading of Rockwells shares on the TSX and JSE was halted, pending the outcome of the hearing on the merits of the liquidation application against the companys three subsidiaries, which was postponed to November 3, 2017 in view of the business rescue proceedings.

The company however, remains in full compliance with its securities regulatory requirements, it said.



Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished




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Our technologies  CVD machines and growing technology  are game changers, asserts Arnaud Flambeau, Executive Chairman, 2DOT4 Diamonds LLC Arnaud Flambeau is the Executive Chairman of 2DOT4 Diamonds LLC, Dubai, a fully integrated lab-grown diamonds company. The Company provides rough 'as grown' diamonds, in-house polished IGI certified loose polished diamonds and high-quality...

Stargems brings the DaVinci system to Botswana Stargems, which was founded by Shailesh Javeri in 1981, has diversified into manufacturing, wholesaling, retailing and tendering or auctioning of diamonds and diamond jewellery.

It is also one of the leading players in the manufacturing, wholesaling...

Coloured diamonds are the best investment option if anyone would like to invest in diamonds Dr Sergio Calqueiro, the President and Managing Director of the Dubai-based Foz Gold & Diamonds Trading has been dealing in polished diamonds, gold, Import & Export, International trade and development for the past six-plus years. Sergio is also the...
Ariana Grande cited issues as her reason for canceling her August 23 concert in Vietnam at Ho Chi Minh City's Quan Khu 7 Stadium.

"My babes in Vietnam, I apologize from the bottom of my heart but I'm really dealing with some health problems at the moment. I came here to Vietnam, so excited to perform," Grande wrote. "My doctor won't allow me to do the show for you tonight. I'm so so sorry. There is nothing I hate to do more than to do this but I promise to make it up to you in the future. I love you and thank you for understanding."

Grande's next tour date is on August 26 in Beijing, China. Her upcoming tour plans also include stops in New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, and Taiwan.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Entertainment News
(Agencia CMA Latam) - Colcap, the main index of the Colombian Stock Exchange, fell 0.26% Thursday, closing at 1,477.41 points, primarily due to Bancolombia and Ecopetrol.

Ramses Pestanapalmett, an analyst at Ultraserfinco, noted that the underperformance shown by Bancolombia confirms that there is a deterioration in its portfolio, in line with a report on credit institutions that revealed a generalized portfolio deterioration in the financial sector.

Meanwhile, Ecopetrol reported that the Ministry of Labor imposed an 88.494 billion Colombian pesos fine (US$ 29.71 million) on the company for an alleged failure to comply with the Labor Code. The oil company said it would appeal the decision.

Meanwhile, Avianca's shares closed higher after the airline reported that it agreed to finalize an agreement that ends more than four years of misunderstanding with a local union related to workers claims.

The shares of ETB (+2,56%), Grupo Aval (+1,54%), Corficolombiana (+1,21%), Avianca (+0,55%), Cemargos (+0,38%) and Davivienda (+0,24%) rose, while Bancolombia (-1,83%), Bancolombia Preferencial (-1,44%) and Ecopetrol (-0,72%) fell.

The locally traded U.S. dollar closed at 2,898.00 Colombian pesos, marking a 0.67% fall, on the eve of a meeting of central banks governors in Jackson Hole.

Wilson Tovar, an analyst at Acciones & Valores, said that the bulk of Latin American currencies started the day presenting valuations, taking advantage of the weakness of the U.S. dollar and the stabilization of global risk levels.

by Agencia CMA Latam

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Economic News

What parts of the world are seeing the best (and worst) economic performances lately? Click here to check out our Econ Scorecard and find out! See up-to-the-moment rankings for the best and worst performers in GDP, unemployment rate, inflation and much more.
(Agencia CMA Latam) - Ibovespa, the benchmark stock index in Brazil, rose 0.92%, closing at 71,132.80 on Thursday, driven by the approval of the legislation that creates the Long-Term Tax (TLP) and the optimistic mood generated by the privatization package announced yesterday by the Brazilian government.

Ibovespa's closing level was the highest since January 12, 2011.

"The stock market seems never to fall. The climate is favorable to return to the 73,000 points," stated Pedro Galdi, an analyst at Magliano Corretora. "The government has been successful in announcing privatizations as an exit to solve the public accounts situation. Moreover, the TLP approved today is enthusiastic, since it can help in further reducing Selic."

In addition to the positive local news, iron ore rose again in China, pushing Vale's shares (VALE3 +4.12%) and steelmakers such as Usiminas (USIM5 +4.17%), which were among the higher Ibovespa's gains.

Meanwhile, Gerdau Metalurgica (GOAU4 -2.42%) and Gerdau (GGBR4 -0.68%) papers fell back after the company announced the departure of the Gerdau family from the executive branch, with its members going to the board of directors.



Also, the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office accused executives of the company of irregularities under the scope of the Operation Zelotes investigations.

The locally traded U.S. dollar rose 0.09%, to R$ 3.1470, amid importers' purchases at the end of the day. Investors have also adjusted positions before the speeches of central banks governors expected at the end of a meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

by Agencia CMA Latam

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Economic News

What parts of the world are seeing the best (and worst) economic performances lately? Click here to check out our Econ Scorecard and find out! See up-to-the-moment rankings for the best and worst performers in GDP, unemployment rate, inflation and much more.
Computacenter plc (CCC.L), whose ambition is to be Europe's preferred IT provider to enable users and their in a digital world, reported that its profit after tax for the six month period ended 30 June 2017 increased to 34.5 million pounds from last year's 16.1 million pounds in the previous year.

Earnings per share increased by 114.4 per cent to 28.3 pence from last year's 13.2 pence.

The Group made a statutory profit before tax of 47.5 million pounds, an increase of 101.3 per cent in actual currency from last year.

The Group's adjusted profit before tax increased by 58.7 per cent in constant currency to 41.9 million, and by 65.6 per cent in actual currency.

Adjusted earnings per share increased by 67.3 per cent to 25.6 pence in the first half of 2017.

The Group's revenues increased by 8.7 per cent in constant currency to 1.70 billion pounds, and by 15.0 per cent in actual currency.

The company announced an interim dividend of 7.4 pence per share. The interim dividend will be paid on Friday 13 October 2017. The dividend record date is Friday 15 September 2017, and the shares will be marked ex-dividend on Thursday 14 September 2017.

The company said it remains on track for a record performance, and marginally ahead of the upgraded board expectation expressed at its Trading Update in April 2017.

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Business News
The verdict came as a big setback to Ram Rahim's followers who indulged in violence attacking media and police vehicles.

By India Today Web Desk: Enraged followers of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh today attacked media vehicles and journalists after a CBI special court here held the self-styled godman guilty in a rape case.

An India Today TV crew was attacked in Sirsa. The TV team's cameraman Pradeep Gupta was seriously injured in the attack. Stones were pelted at the India Today vehicle as they tried to get out of the court complex.

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The camerman had to be immediately rushed to a local hospital. He received serious injuries on his face. The vehicle was trying to reach the main gate of Sirsa which was only at a distance of 2kms. The followers were reportedly carrying sharp weapons with which the they attacked the India Today crew.

The Outdoor Broadcasting vans of several television news channels were attacked by the supporters outside the court complex here, adjoining Chandigarh. Some OB vans were set on fire in Panchkula. A telephone exchange was also torched by Dera protestors in Chananwal in Punjab's Barnala.

A special CBI court in Panchkula convicted Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim in a rape case filed against him 15 years ago. Ahead of the CBI court's verdict in the 15-year-old rape case, an unprecedented security cover was put in place across Punjab and Haryana.

The verdict came as a big setback to Ram Rahim's followers who indulged in violence attacking media and police vehicles. Police had to fire tear gas and gunshots to control the angry supporters.

Police and paramilitary forces have been deployed in great numbers. Ten trucks of army entered CBI courts complex and took charge of securing the courts complex after the judgment.

The police and paramilitary forces could not react adequately as the mobs indulged in violence. But tear gas was fired at one place, leading to stone throwing by Ram Rahim Singh's supporters.

A total of 15 incidents of violence were reported within 45 minutes in Punjab and Haryana after the court verdict became known. Most attacks took place in Sectors 3, 4 and 5, which are all close to the court complex.

Meanwhile, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh is being taken to the Western Command Headquarters in Chandimandir. From Chandimandir he will be flown out on a helicopter to either the Rothak Jail or to Gurugram.

Also Read:

Love Charger Baba Gurmeet Ram Rahim found guilty of rape, quantum of punishment on Monday

How Baba Ram Rahim went from being a 'prophesied' child to being a rape convict

Watch:

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Watch: Enraged Dera supporters attack India Today vehicle; camerman injured

--- ENDS ---
Health insurer Aetna Inc. (AET) accidentally revealed the HIV status of some of its customers when it sent mails to them last month regarding information about medication for the disease.

The mails regarding instructions for filling HIV medication prescriptions were reportedly sent by Aetna to about 12,000 people across multiple states.

"Recipients were stunned when they realized information about HIV medication was clearly visible through the window on the envelope," two legal groups said Thursday.

Legal Action Center and the AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania noted that the letters were sent to customers currently taking medications for HIV treatment as well as for Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), a regimen that helps prevent a person from acquiring HIV.

Customers who contacted the legal groups reported that the Aetna letters were seen by their family members, roommates and even neighbors who received the mail. The customers demanded that Aetna stop a practice that violates federal and state privacy laws and exposes them to potential discrimination.

"Although medical advances have transformed HIV into a chronic yet manageable condition, widespread stigma still exists against people living with HIV, leading to everything from employment, housing and education discrimination to violence," the legal groups noted.

Attorneys from both the groups have sent a demand letter to Aetna, calling for an immediate end to the letters sent in the current form and also asking the insurer to correct its practices and procedures.

The demand letter was sent by the attorneys on behalf of individuals in Arizona, California, Georgia, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C.

In response, Aetna said in a statement, "This type of mistake is unacceptable. We sincerely apologize to those affected by a mailing issue that inadvertently exposed the personal information of some Aetna members."

In a letter sent to affected customers, Aetna said it was first made aware on July 31 that customers' personal health information was revealed.

The company noted that the vendor handling the mail had used a window envelope, and in some cases, the letter could have shifted in a way that allowed personal health information to be viewable through the window.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
President Donald Trump continued his assault on members of his own party in a post on Twitter on Friday, with Republican Senator Bob Corker, R-Tenn., serving as his latest target.

Trump's attack on Corker comes after the Tennessee senator recently suggested the president has not demonstrated the stability or competence needed to be successful.

"Strange statement by Bob Corker considering that he is constantly asking me whether or not he should run again in '18. Tennessee not happy!" Trump tweeted.

The tweet from Trump comes after Corker offered pointed criticism of the president in remarks to reporters after speaking to Chattanooga's Rotary Club last Thursday.

"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," Corker said.

"And we need for him to be successful. Our nation needs for him to be successful. It doesn't matter if you're a Republican or Democrat," he added. "The world needs our president to be successful."

Corker argued that Trump needs to demonstrate the characteristics of a president who understands what has made America great and what it is today.

The comments from Corker came in reaction to Trump's response to the violent events in Charlottesville, Virginia, earlier this month.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was asked about Corker's remarks during a press briefing on Thursday.

"I think that's a ridiculous and outrageous claim and doesn't dignify a response from this podium," Sanders said.

Trump's tweet against Corker comes on the heels of attacks on other Republicans lawmakers, including Senate Majority Mitch McConnell, R-Ken., House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and Senator Jeff Flake, R-Ariz.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
Movie filtering service VidAngel will continue to remain closed after appeals court upheld a lower court ruling against the service.

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling that stopped the movie-filtering service from operating.

VidAngel Inc. is a streaming service that allows users to stream movies after filtering out nudity and violence. However, Disney, 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros had filed a lawsuit in 2016 to halt the service alleging that its practices violated copyright law.

VidAngel had argued that its services are protected from copyright claims by the federal Family Movie Act, which allows people to legally edit inappropriate material out of films.

A lower court had initially ruled against VidAngel in December 2016 ordering the service to shut down operations on the grounds that its streaming content is not derived from an "authorized copy," and therefore not protected by the Family Movie Act.

The 9th Circuit heard the appeal in June. VidAngel offered its users family-friendly versions of existing movies by cracking the encryption on discs.

The three-judge panel today agreed with the district court decision, saying "VidAngel's interpretation would create a giant loophole in copyright law, sanctioning infringement so long as it filters some content and a copy of the work was lawfully purchased at some point."

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
A U.S. judge on Thursday dismissed lawsuits that accused food manufacturers and retailers cheating consumers over a "100% grated Parmesan cheese" labels although the products included non-cheese ingredients.

In 2016, Wal-Mart, Kraft Heinz Co, Target, Supervalu and other cheese makers were slapped with several lawsuits that claimed they were deceiving consumers. The lawsuits were consolidated into a single case in a multidistrict litigation in federal court in Chicago.

The judge came to a conclusion that the retailers and cheese makers were not deceiving customers, and there "labeling and marketing" should be viewed as a whole.

He noted that full ingredients are listed on the products and make clear that cellulose, a filler made from wood pulp, is mixed into the Parmesan.

U.S. District Judge Gary Feinerman said the plaintiffs' claims were not substantial as "the readily accessible ingredient panels on the products" revealed the presence of non-cheese ingredients.

The judge also said reasonable consumers should understand that the grated cheese must contain some additives, as it does not require refrigeration before the container is opened.

"Cheese is a dairy product, after all," Feinerman said, "and reasonable consumers are well aware that pure dairy products spoil, grow blue, green, or black fuzz, or otherwise become inedible if left unrefrigerated for an extended period of time."

Judge also said that there are multiple ways to interpret the "100%" as the label could have meant that the cheese is 100 percent grated or that 100 percent of the cheese in the product is Parmesan as opposed to cheddar.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
Police on Thursday night started a massive exercise to evict over 2 lakh followers of Dera Sacha Sauda sect chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh from Panchkula and Chandigarh, ahead of today's court verdict.

By Indo-Asian News Service: After being reprimanded by the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the police on Thursday night started a massive exercise to evict over 2 lakh followers of Dera Sacha Sauda sect chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh from Panchkula and Chandigarh, ahead of today's court verdict. The Army is to be deployed in Panchkula.

Talking to journalists, Director General of Police B.S. Sandhu said that according to the directive of the High Court, the police started the drive to take the Dera followers, who were gathered in large numbers, out of Panchkula.

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He said 20 columns of the Army from the Western Command would be deployed in Panchkula late on Thursday night along with the paramilitary and state police forces to handle any exigency.

"We will take the dera followers to the nearby places. The High Court directed the counsel for the dera chief to make an appeal to his followers to vacate the place ahead of his appearance in the court", he added.

Sandhu said the law and order situation in the city was under control.

Security tightened in Panchkula.Photo: Prabhjot Gill.

'RAM RAHIM LIKELY TO APPEAR IN COURT AT 2.30 PM'

On sect chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh's appearance in a special CBI court in Panchkula on Friday, he said, "He is likely to appear in the court at 2.30 p.m."

Fearing violence by the huge number of Dera supporters gathered at Panchkula where the court is based, officials announced several other restrictive steps even as the sect chief appealed to his followers to maintain peace.

Nearly two lakh sect followers have descended on Panchkula and nearby places mostly from across Punjab and Haryana.

A Central Bureau of Investigation court in Panchkula will pronounce its verdict in the rape case against Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh today. The court has asked the sect chief to appear in the court.

ALSO READ |

Dera Sacha Sauda Sirsa: Curfew imposed, Army deployed in sect headquarters

Gurmeet Ram Rahim verdict today: Punjab, Haryana on high alert

ALSO WATCH VIDEO | Exclusive video of Gurmeet Ram Rahim appealing to supporters to maintain peace

--- ENDS ---
By PTI: By Shirish B Pradhan

Kathmandu, Aug 25 (PTI) Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba today faced criticism from political parties in the country for assuring India about Constitution amendment to address the issues of Madhesis.

Deuba, who is currently on a state visit to India, during a joint press conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed confidence that a Constitution "encompassing" the views of the people from all sections and ethnicities would be a reality.

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Talking to reporters at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) before heading to Thailand for a medical check- up, main opposition leader and CPN-UML chairman K P Oli criticised him for raising the issue in a foreign country.

"PM Deuba raised the issue of Constitution?s acceptability out of context from the foreign land, which is highly objectionable," Oli said.

"This has put at stake our national pride and sovereignty," the former prime minister said.

"Deuba has taken the oath of office and secrecy while assuming the post of Prime Minister under the same Constitution and he was elected the Prime Minister under the same Constitution, how can he speak against the Constitution in the foreign country," Oli questioned.

He said Deuba had no right to raise the issue that was decided by the Nepalese Parliament.

"This is an objectionable matter. It is exclusively our concern what kind of constitution we adopt. Deuba is surrendering to India to prolong his tenure in the coalition government," main opposition CPN-UML Vice chairman Bhim Rawal told reporters while reacting to Deubas remarks.

Ruling Nepali Congress Lawmaker Dhan Raj Gurung also said that Deubas remarks about Constitution amendment were unnecessary as it was very much an internal issue of Nepal.

"It was unnecessary to speak about the Constitution amendment issue as this is not a matter of bilateral affairs that needed to be agreed with the neighbouring countries," he said.

Nepals parliament on Monday failed to endorse the much- awaited Constitution amendment bill after it failed to muster the required two-thirds majority.

Madhesis, mostly of Indian-origin, launched a prolonged agitation between September 2015 and February last year against the implementation of the new Constitution which they felt marginalised the Terai community. PTI SBP NSA AKJ NSA

--- ENDS ---
Dear Editor,

The Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Laaulialemalietoa Leuatea Polataivao Fosi Schmidt has done partly right in resigning from being a Government Minister but its not right at all in not resigning full time from Parliament.

How can he remain as a Faipule when he has been accused of serious offences?

E ogaoga ma mamafatu moliaga.

He should vacate the Government/Parliament premises.

I trust the Speaker of the House, Afioga Toleafoa Faafisi Toleafoa would exercise the Speakers power in ordering Laaulialemalietoa Leuatea Polataivao Fosi Schmidt to resign from Parliament.

May I use this space to ask the Speaker to exercise his rightful duty/his power of conviction to the Independent State and the People of Samoa to do right.

Ia manuia lau silasila ma le faitau Samoa o le Aomamala,

Vaa F Aga

APIA I LE VAIMAUGA
By PTI: Hyderabad, Aug 25 (PTI) Nepalese Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba today expressed appreciation for T-Hub, a startup incubator launched by the Telangana government, and evinced interest in setting up such centre in his country.

Deuba visited T-Hub here and interacted with the Telangana government officials.

During his visit, the prime minister said a team of Nepalese officials and business leaders will soon meet the state government officials to prepare a roadmap for a T-Hub- like project in the Himalayan nation, said Telangana Principal Secretary for IT and Industries Jayesh Ranjan.

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"He (Deuba) was very much impressed with the concept of T-Hub. He said his officials and delegation members will soon get in touch with us to work out a possible tie-up for replicating T-Hub concept in Nepal," Ranjan told PTI.

T-Hub, a state government initiative for startups, acts as a platform for entrepreneurs, mentors, investors and academia to interact and collaborate. Housed in 70,000 sq ft Catalyst building, the facility provides co-working spaces for startups and acts as a support system that connects organisations and stakeholders.

Deuba, who is on a five-day tour to India, also visited the Infosys campus in the city.

Deputy Chief Minister Mahmood Ali said Deuba will be leaving for Tirupati tomorrow.

"He visited Infosys (campus). He was impressed with the IT growth in Hyderabad. He also visited T-Hub. He was curious about the Nizams dynasty and its rule.

"I explained him about the Nizams legacy. I also explained him about the measures the Telangana government is taking for IT development," Ali said.

Earlier in the day, Deuba and his wife arrived here from New Delhi. They were received at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport by Deputy Chief Minister Ali. PTI GDK VVK RSY BAL

--- ENDS ---
A Samoan chief, Tupuola Letoa Tineiafi, has defended the influx of foreign-owned businesses popping up throughout the country saying it is a good thing for Samoa.

The businessman and farmer has called on Samoan businesses to embrace the challenge of competing against these foreigners so that members of the public will reap the benefits.

I think that our people should be ashamed, he said. Why? Because judging from what some of them are saying, they are afraid of competition.

According to Tupuola, the Chinese businesses thriving in Samoa are that way because they have good work ethics.

They have vision. They don't set up shop to make others jealous or to earn a living to show off what they have accomplished.

In fact achievement to these people is not them but in the wellbeing of their next of kins.

He believes they do it well because they put their heart into it.

They set up to build their whole families. They do it well because they don't care what other people think about them or their reputations or how well they should dress or look on the outside.

They do it to really earn a living and do it well because they are fast learners who don't complain and just sit on it. They actually go ahead and make changes.

So instead of opposing them, Tupuola said Samoans should work with and learn from them.

I think we could learn something from them instead of going off and complaining. Do you notice them showing off that they have millions like literally - in a way that they flash around money?

Do you see them eat at fancy hotels, dress off in $700 pricey dresses or outfits?

No they are classy but even in cheap outfits because they know those clothes dont reflect real achievement.

They only flash around what they are able to make because of hard work - that purchasing property to invest in, setting up other business the business ideas roll over on the other.

Tupuola added that while our people continue to moan about not being able to compete with the Chinese, they are making a mockery out of our fighting spirit.

I thought we were the Moanas of the ocean of the pacific...I mean the pearl of the Pacific. I thought we are navigators - yet we ought to be ashamed - we get so much handed to us that we forget the real beauty of hard work.

We forget the real beauty of achievement and success that it doesnt come overnight.

We reap what we sow - so if we sow something good now we may not live long enough to see it bloom.

He knows that a right-minded person thinks about his or her children.

If they are taught well they will continue to flourish that business or set up and their next of kins - the best example of that is the Otts and of course the Ah Liki/Westerlunds.

The problem with our people is that they are too greedy - they are hypocrites.

There is no lie in that word at all...they talk about love and kindness, hospitality and humbleness yet the truth is they dont strive for others but themselves.

We fail because we allow ourselves to wallow too long in self pity and blaming others for our place of initiative and lack of vision.

He reminded that the biggest problem for our people - the lack of vision.

Its easy to think...Oh I need extra money, I need to build a shop the problem there is this - they set up a business just for that 30 seconds without even realizing the truth behind the whole picture.

The idea, research (competition; commodity what works and doesnt work...etc), and then a five- ten year plan (where do i want to be with this business) and the list continues - continues we only started at initiate set up and ola faaigikia loa guessing game.

However, when the first sale hits off they automatically think this is the profit

No, Jesus no this is not the profit they failed to think the sales for the first day should make up for the finance that bought the goods and if lucky set up the license and etc etc.

But instead they get the first days intake and they use it to celebrate - uma ifo ua pu le kaga. I mean they work daily and not think commercially.
The closure of the largest private employer, Yazaki EDS Samoa Ltd., today, will have economic and labour market implications for Samoa.

The International Labour Organization (I.L.O) is responding with a series of national partner organisation led programmes to ensure redundant workers are provided with employment and social protection services that could lead to securing waged and self-employment.

After 25 years of operation of the Japanese multinational enterprise which is currently employing approximately 700 workers is set to officially cease operations today, 25 August 2017.

Based on the last Labour Force Survey (L.F.S 2012), the company provided employment for approximately 15% of the national formal urban workforce and approximately 30% of manufacturing sector workers.

The national manufacturer of electrical harnesses for cars exports to General Motors and Toyota Australia, comprising approximately 60per cent of Samoas total exports.

Our preliminary assessment indicates that 60% of Yazaki workers are youth, 62% are women and 50% are sole income earners in their families, said Donglin Li, the I.L.O Director for Pacific Island Countries.

In addition, approximately ST$1.040m total annual income circulating in the economy will cease. Therefore, you can already deduce the magnitude of impact this will have on family income, quality of life and local private sector.

He added that this is why the I.L.O, in collaboration with its tripartite partners view this as a priority.

In May of this year, the I.L.O conducted a mapping exercise of existing employment and social protection services in Samoa, some of which were established through past I.L.O technical assistance, and as such recommendations were put forward to the Samoa National Tripartite Forum (S.N.T.F).

With the closure of Yazaki already highlighted as a concern in the Samoa National Employment Policy (S.N.E.P) launched in November 2016, the S.N.T.F endorsed the I.L.O recommendations, said Pulotu Lyndon Chu Ling, the chair of the S.N.T.F.

Labour Market Surveys conducted by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Labour (M.C.I.L) indicated in 2004 and 2007 that the manufacturing Industry was the largest employer with about 20% of total workforce.

It was in 2010 that the industry started to see a slight decline and by 2013 the manufacturing industry was ranked 3rd behind Wholesale Retail and Motor Vehicle Repair industries.

However, Yazaki still remained the largest employer in the manufacturing industry and private sector.

Tomasi Peni, the I.L.O National Coordinator in Samoa said that 86% of the workers had below tertiary level qualifications are therefore more likely to experience longer period of unemployment. Therefore, the I.L.Os first intervention was to work with the Yazaki senior management and staff association to build their capacity on career counselling and plan the best approach for various programmes so no one is left behind, he further added.

Uelese Tupuola, the President of the Yazaki Staff Association, said that the trainers have already reached out to about 130 workers since May and they will plan to extend this knowledge to more before the closure.

From 16th August, the I.L.O supported national partners have commenced registering the soon to be redundant workers for various programmes. These include:

1. The Samoa National Youth Council (S.N.Y.C) has commenced registering youths on their e-Youth Hub which generates Curriculum Vitaes automatically and is linked to the government Labour Market Information System (L.M.I.S). This will also provide village level information of youths for relevant government ministries to extend community based economic empowerment programmes, including overseas seasonal work schemes.

2. The Samoa Chamber of Commerce & Industry (S.C.C.I) has commenced delivering training on how to manage redundancy packages and registering for their internship programmes. The internship programme will provide opportunities for the workers to be placed in various private sector organisations with the aim to secure full time employment.

3. The Samoa First Union is registering individual workers to provide protection services and training on rights and non-discrimination. The Samoa Workers Congress (SWC) is supporting this initiative.

4. The Small Business Enterprise Center (S.B.E.C) is registering women, particularly sole family earners with in-school children for business training and mentorship.

The registrations have been progressing well with overwhelming interest by the workers for the various programmes. This has also created roll-on effects. Four private companies turned up wanting to recruit 50 workers. Yazaki has topped up the initial ILO funds to SBEC to allow for more women to access their programme. The support is incredible, said Mr. Peni.

The General Manager of Yazaki EDS Samoa Ltd, Funefeai Oliva Vaai, and Manager of Human Resources, Papalii Tate Simi are supportive of the technical assistance from I.L.O and Yazaki acknowledges the assistance through the programmes for Yazaki workers since May this year to present and beyond the closure.

At the end of the year, the I.L.O plans to undertake an evaluation of the programmes to determine what impact they have had. We then hope to share this model and lessons for potential replication in countries facing similar challenges and how this may impact on the future of work in the Pacific, said Mr Donglin Li.

The closure of Yazaki EDS Samoa Ltd is linked to the shutdown of General Motors and Toyota plants in Australia, relocating its operations to Thailand. In 2014, a University of Adelaide report estimated almost 200,000 jobs will be lost in Australia alone due to the closure of these major car manufactures.

I.L.O National Coordinator Mr. Peni, also like to convey his sincere appreciation to the support of Funefeai Oliver Vaai, Papalii Tate Simi and the Yazaki management for the great opportunity and partnership in allowing ILO and its national partners to provide the assistance services for the workers of the company. Nevertheless support of these companies that managed to run interviews and recruiting during the last 2 weeks from Yazaki; Ah Liki Investment Limited, Italiano Pizza Bar, and Orator Hotel.
Samoa Airways (OL) Samoas new international airline, has outlined its Northern Winter Schedule as it prepares to launch jet services on 14th November from its hub at Faleolo International Airport.

The schedule (subject to regulatory approval) consists of 6 flights between Apia and Auckland and 2 services between Apia and Sydney per week, and will be valid up to 24th March 2018.

Convenience, which is an important factor for the airline and its offering, is a key feature of the schedule. Guests travelling via Auckland to and from other parts of New Zealand will have the benefit of same-day connections (to and from Apia), while passengers travelling from around Australia via Sydney can connect right-through to Apia on the same day.

The Airline recognises the significance of both Kiwis and Aussies to Samoas tourism industry, and the strong family, community, cultural and business links which Samoa and American Samoa have with New Zealand and Australia.

The Airline is confident that its flights, which are mostly daytime operations, will support the ongoing development of the leisure and business segments and provide consumers across the board a competitive choice.

All flights will be operated using a 170-seat 2-class Boeing 737-800 with 8 seats in Business Class and 162 seats in the Economy cabin.

Flights are expected to open for bookings soon and the airline advises that in the lead-up (to accepting bookings), the market including the travel trade will be updated accordingly about its range of Malaga (Travel) Deals.

Apia-Auckland

Tue/Wed/Thu/Sat OL731 APW 0700 AKL 1015

Fri/Sun OL731 APW 0715 AKL 1030

Auckland-Apia

Mon/Tue/Wed/Thu/Sat OL732 AKL 1110 APW 1605

Fri OL731 AKL 1125 APW 1620

Apia-Sydney

Thu/Sat

OL855 APW 1705 SYD 2040

Sydney-Apia

Thu/Sat

OL856 SYD 2140 APW 0615+1
Samoa Stationery and Books and partner Sleepwell NZ have stepped in as Sleepwell International to try and take over part of the Yazaki compound.

The plan was announced during a presentation conducted for the staff of Yazaki by the President of S.S.A.B., Fiti Leung Wai, yesterday.

The presentation was made a day before Yazaki officially closes today, after 25 years of operation in Samoa.

Representing the Auckland-based Sleepwell NZ was Sala George and David Lutu. Also in attendance was former Attorney General Aumua Ming Leung Wai who is also a Director in the partnership.

According to Mrs. Leung Wai, fifty percent of Sleepwell International is owned by George and David Lutu of Sleepwell NZ and the other fifty percent will be owned by S.S.A.B.

Their main objective is to reduce the number of unemployment in Samoa.

We want to increase employment opportunities for the people of Samoa as well as offering opportunities for those who have worked here, she said.

For your information the factory will start off with employing of 50 people but our aim is to offer more than 200 work opportunities for the people of Samoa in the next 2-3 years.

It will also help with our export markets by exporting to neighbouring Pacific Islands as well as Australia and New Zealand.

And it will also help provide quality and affordable beds, lounge suites and furniture.

They offer a relatively attractive salary package for local standards.

We will provide salary that is above the minimum wage so the starting rate is $4 and your pay will also be based on good references, she said.

There will also be bonuses on special occasions but depending on your sales.

Part of their offer will be the provision of light breakfast and lunch, a recreation area as well as a sick bay.

There will be a prayer room because we believe that if we put God in the center of all that we do we will succeed, she said.

And the work environment will be guided by Christian principles and Samoan culture.

We are taking in application letters now until the 16th of September, 2017 and you must deliver them to S.S.A.B. Togafuafua.

Sleepwell International will also be providing trainings for the successful applicants and we are looking at operating around January or February 2018.

Sleepwell International is currently in negotiations with the National Provident Fund regarding the lease of part of Yazaki premises.

However the directors believe with the governments help they will co-invest in the new established factory as it will create more employment for the people of Samoa.
Life is tough for Faifua Mose of Fasitoo uta.

The 31-year-old is a street vendor who sells bottles of water, cans of soft drinks and snacks.

He was busy selling his products at the Apia Park Stadium when the Village Voice approached him for an interview.

Faifua was quite happy with the crowd.

This is a good day for me because of the many students and people that came together for the Champ of Champs, he told the Village Voice.

Faifua was on his sixth round in selling off his drinks and snacks and he was really proud of it.

He has been a vendor for quite a while now and according to Faifua, this is the only job he has to earn a living.

The cost of living is too much and Im not going to lie and say that my job will always help me make that easier because sometimes its just a bad day for me because not that many people buy stuff.

Normally I get about two hundred something in a week but when I get more than that then its a blessing.

This is the only work that I have to support my family and my children, who are still in school.

He is a father to three children.

The cost of living is too much for me and people that are like me; you know those who are doing this kind of work but what can we do? We can only do our best to work hard because we all have families depending on us and the money we get from our work.

Thats why despite the fact that this job is not like other jobs, its still a job to me and the least I could do is being thankful that I have this to support my family.

He went on Its enough for the meantime but hopefully things will get better for me and my family in the coming days.
Changes happen but it doesnt mean we should forget what matters to Samoa.

So says Vaivasa Perez of Leauvaa. She was reflecting on the current state of affairs in Samoa with the rising number of crimes.

The 67-year-old stays with her children and grandchildren.

Speaking to the Village Voice, she pointed out some of the issues we should be concerned about.

Every week theres always a crime, theres always someone being reported by the media that they have done something bad.

Our country is known to be one of the most religious countries that I know because we are founded on God, but I also understand that this life is not perfect and eventually bad things happen.

We are now in time where its hard to avoid things like these from happening because this is how the world works and I believe the cause of everything happening now starts from how somebody truly feels inside.

Whether youre happy or mad about something; your emotions determine how you are going to act towards a particular situation and mind you, everyone is different and they all react differently to everything that happens in this lifetime.

And for me, with these situations, the only answer is God because nobody can help you change the way you feel but him.

We are a Christian country after all so we can try and work to make things better for our own families and for own country.

Vaivasa also advised the government to not bring in any more Chinese businesses.

Im a positive person I tell you, and I honestly dont have anything against the Chinese because in other ways, they are one of the countries who are always helping Samoa in terms of employments and our cost of living.

But as a Samoan woman, I care more about the future of our country than this which is why I think the government should put an end to any more new foreign businesses being set up on our lands.

The number of Chinese and other foreign businesses we have now is enough, and we dont need more because our country is already struggling to look for lands whereas most of them have been bought by people that are not even citizens of Samoa.

Just think about it; if people from outside countries end up taking everything that belongs to us; our lands, our businesses, then what exactly is left for Samoa?
It has been an interesting week locally and regionally.

Whereas all the attention in Samoa is fixed on the resignation of the former Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Laauli Leuatea Polataivao, over a longstanding feud with a fellow H.R.P.P member, a few hours from Faleolo International Airport in Tonga, something quite spectacular was unfolding there as this edition of the paper was going to print last night.

From what weve been told, for the first time in Tongan history, the monarch has dismissed a Prime Minister and dissolved Parliament sparking fears of violence.

The decision comes after Prime Minister Akilisi Pohiva has been under increasing pressure in recent months, especially after he cancelled the Pacific Games, which has now placed Samoa in the box seat as host.

The latest development is not surprising though. Pohiva has been accused of so many things including nepotism and being careless with government money.

Now last night, King Tupou had ordered that new representatives be elected, at elections to be held no later than 16 November 2017. (see story)

Reactions came swiftly from the Tongan community around the world. For instance, Pasifika Director at Massey University Dr Malakai Koloamatangi told One News that although in the past ministers have been dismissed, its the first time its happened on such a large scale.

Constitutionally he has the power to do it but usually under the advice of the Prime Minister, he said.

Dr. Koloamatangi says there is a very real fear of violence given that Akilisi Pohiva has a lot of support amongst Tongans.

This is certainly a very interesting time for the Kingdom. We can only hope that whatever happens next, peace is maintained at all times and that Tongans will think about mutual respect and peaceful dialogue as the way to resolve problems. We say this thinking back to the riots in the Kingdom a few years ago, which we are pretty sure no one wants to revisit.

But then here in Samoa, weve got some pretty big problems of our own too to think about.

Earlier this week, the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Laaulialemalietoa Leuatea Polataivao Fosi, unexpectedly resigned from his ministerial portfolios.

The decision comes after the former Speaker was charged with allegedly obtaining money by deception in relation to an on-going court case over a nonu company involving another senior member of the ruling Human Rights Protection Party and Associate Minister of Cabinet and Prime Minister, Peseta Vaifou Tevaga.

During the press conference, Laauli said he is resigning with a heavy heart out of respect for the government.

It is with a heavy heart that I announce my resignation as a Minister of Cabinet, he said. For the integrity of Cabinet, Government and with the highest of respect to the Prime Minister, I willingly surrender my Cabinet portfolios but will retain my status as a Member of Parliament to await the outcome of the court proceedings.

The decision is welcomed by Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi

Even though the charges are not related to performing his duties and responsibilities as a Cabinet Minister, he (Laaulialemalietoa) decided to resign to protect the integrity of Government and Cabinet, Tuilaepa said. He made the courageous decision for the sake of the governments accountability and transparency.

Tuilaepa said leaders should lead by example.

They must do what is right and not leave any room to be questioned by the public, said Tuilaepa, adding that the incident is a timely reminder to public servants that the performance of their duties are subject to public scrutiny.

This is also an important lesson to Members of Parliament and Ministers.

Well he is correct.

As for someone to replace him, Tuilaepa said he is waiting for a divine whisper from the heavens. Lets hope he hears correctly. And soon too.

Come to think of it, these are challenging times. One of the biggest challenges comes with the closure of Yazaki as highlighted on the front page of the paper you are reading.

And as we unwind this weekend, whisper a prayer and remember these troubling times and all the people who are struggling with one thing or another. For many of us, we sure face plenty of challenges but step back a bit, take a deep breath and soon youd realise that its not that bad.

Somebody always has it worse than you. Have a restful weekend Samoa, God bless!
An era in Samoas history ended yesterday.

After 26 years of operation in Samoa, the countrys biggest private employer officially closed during a bittersweet ceremony held at the Robert Louis Stevenson Museum last night.

There, the Head of State, His Highness Tuimalealiifano Vaaletoa Sualauvi II joined Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi to bid farewell to the Yazaki Corporation.

Tuilaepa thanked them for their contribution to Samoas economy through job creation.

The closing ceremony was well attended with more than 1,000 guests joining employees of the company which opened its doors in Samoa in 1991.

Prime Minister Tuilaepa said when Yazaki closed its doors in Australia, this opened the opportunity for Samoa.

The government immediately offered attractive options for Yazaki to consider Samoa as place of operation, he said.

The main objective the government considered was to offer employment to our people.

Initially, 3,000 employees were hired for jobs that 1,000 people could do. The public were impressed when Yazaki made the move to Samoa and especially with the hiring of 3,000 people and an enormous compound.

The question was posed: how did the government deliver such compelling achievements? The answer was simple.

The quick actions by the cabinet to offer enticing and attractive options, such as the government construction of the buildings, for them to utilize free of charge and they were exempted from paying duty taxes.

According to the Prime Minister, there were challenges the management faced with the attitude of the Samoan employees at the beginning. The employees were not used to standing the whole day and working all the time, until break. They were not allowed to talk while on the job, not allowed to smoke, and other employees were always late in the mornings, calling in sick, when they were actually doing something else.

I was asked at the time I was Minister of Finance, to talk to the employees and encourage them on the importance of hard working and following the rules.

I gave them the ultimatum and threatened to close down Yazaki. He told the audience the action by Yazaki is a business move.

This is how corporate businesses operate, they open one branch and close another and they target countries that make them money and most especially countries with low minimum wage.

Tuilaepa thanked Yazaki for the many years they invested in Samoa.

For those who are left jobless, today the Committee met and went through the numerous proposals by companies who are interested in utilizing the Yazaki Compound. These companies have been waiting for this day, he said.

To the Yazaki Management: I am bidding you farewell as you leave our shores. You have made a huge contribution to our economy, and created job opportunities for our people, and for that I thank you for your decision to invest in our Country. Wherever you may be should you decide again to return we will always be here to welcome you back with open arms, said Tuilaepa.

President of Yazaki, Craig ODonohue noted the auspicious occasion is one of the most significant milestones in the history of Yazaki Samoa Limited.

My role today is simple, were all here to celebrate and I stand here today to declare my pride, sincere appreciation to all the supporters of this great company who graciously joined us today. He said that Yazaki was fortunate to have extremely talented people.

A key message of today that is the achievement of the Yazaki members before us, our customer, our company, all of our friends and our people, perfect quality, perfect people, and perfect performance. To the employees: I can absolutely say you are the best in class, world class in everything they do in a very quickly and changing global environment.

The performance of Yazaki Samoa in the highest level of global expectation must never be under estimated and I say this most sincerely, it must never be under estimated by the whole of the country of Samoa, said Mr ODonohue.

Tagaloa Ryosuke Yazaki a member of the Yazaki Family also spoke at the event and noted that Samoa is very special to Yazaki. He was honored with a newly bestowed Chiefly title of Tagaloa from the village of Vaitele on Friday morning. He spoke about his experience with the Samoan people and how they are unique. I was 22 at the time, I lived in Lalovaea for 100 days, and it was the most memorable days of my life, and my purpose, here was to learn harnessing wire production, before I joined the company.

The biggest lesson I learned in Samoa, in other countries, people expect something in return for favors, but not Samoans. Their true hospitality, Samoan people lends support, by nature, and by heart. And it is one of the most important things that I love about Samoans.

Yazakis biggest customer Toyota also had a Representative, Corporate Manager of Purchasing Mr Ray Borg who gave remarks on behalf of Global President Akio Toyota. Mr Toyota in his letter I would like to personally thank you for your strong cooperation in the 26 years of production in Samoa.
Qualcomm canceled a plan Thursday to erect two 70-foot-tall banners on a downtown waterfront hotel in reaction to criticism from a national beautification group and the California Coastal Commission.

The banners were approved earlier this month by the San Diego Unified Port District and were scheduled to go up for 30 days, starting Sept. 1, on two towers at the Wyndham San Diego Bayside hotel at Harbor Drive and Ash Street.

They would have read: The smart inside in every smartphone was born here in San Diego.

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Company spokeswoman Yelena Tebcherani said it canceled the banners in light of the growing opposition.

Qualcomm has been in the community so long and definitely, if theres an issue, were not going to take it lightly, she said.

The signs were part of Qualcomms love your smartphone national campaign to alert the public to the companys role in cellphone technology.

Various versions started appearing earlier this month in print and on street advertising, including small flyer-sized posters on a rental bike rack at the west entrance to Balboa Park.

The banners were the first ones allowed under the ports one-year pilot program, approved in May, to test the publics acceptance of outdoor advertising along the waterfront.

The port of San Diego is committed to keeping San Diego beautiful, the agency said in a statement, and has given a lot of thought to the placement of advertising signage in the form of building wraps.

Port officials defended the banners as providing needed revenue for the district and a logical extension of the building wraps that have been installed during the annual San Diego Comic-Con International convention.

Spokeswoman Brianne Page said the port stood to receive $8,000 of the $40,000 Wyndham was going to charge Qualcomm.

Melody Lassiter, a planner at the coastal commissions local office, said a meeting is scheduled with the port on Monday to review the ports banner policy. Elsewhere, she noted, the commission has been pushing to remove billboards in the coastal zone.

Wed rather not see it at all, she said.

Comic-Con banners make sense because downtown is transformed a little bit to fit with the pop-culture hype and the visual impacts are not as large as a standalone banner unrelated to an event or festival, Lassiter said.

This is a building wrap that is just advertising Qualcomm in the middle of a highly scenic area, Lassiter said before Qualcomm canceled the banner.

Port Commissioner Rafael Castellanos defended the banner program as an experiment that can be ended if public reaction is negative. He said if the reaction is positive, the port could generate $1 million or more a year to help fund park maintenance and security.

I think we want to be very judicious and limited and see what might work and might not work, what people like and dont like, he said.

San Diego launched a lengthy attack on billboards when Pete Wilson was mayor in the 1970s and a U.S. Supreme Court decision eventually authorized local control over outdoor advertising.

But Castellanos said times have changed and young people seem to welcome constant messaging on a daily basis.

We live in a world full of visual information and thats a fact and thats where the port is headed  can we have a reasonable, limited form of outdoor advertising and communication, he said.

The port had previously planned to set aside an 80-foot tall section of the Hilton Bayfront hotel garage next to the San Diego Convention Center for similar ads that would appear up to 334 days a year and generate up to $100,000 per year. But the proposal was removed from the July agenda and has not been rescheduled for consideration.

Meanwhile, the Scenic America group launched an online petition, signed so far by nearly 500 people, against the ports banner program. The group simulated what the downtown waterfront could look like if such banners went up everywhere possible. The petition reads:

We the undersigned support San Diegos longstanding ban on new outdoor advertising and we ask Port Commissioners to respect this policy and protect the unique scenic character that makes San Diego such a wonderful place to live, work and visit.

Scenic America President Mark Falzone said cities that have approved billboards in tourist areas have come to regret it.

The last thing we want to do is take a beautiful city and make it ugly, Falzone said in an interview. Thats what these outdoor ads will do.

Pamela Wilson, director of Scenic San Diego, urged the port not to approve its garage banner and contacted city officials and others when she learned that the Qualcomm banner was approved administratively by port staff.

Its nothing but a billboard on the side of a building, she said.

Business

roger.showley@sduniontribune.com; (619) 293-1286; Twitter: @rogershowley
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has decided to get strict with SBI and Bank of Baroda for hiding evidence against corporate entities involved in the Rs 29,000 crore coal import scam and not cooperating in the investigation against them.

By Virendrasingh Ghunawat: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has decided to get strict with State Bank of India (SBI) and Bank of Baroda (BoB) for hiding evidence against corporate entities involved in the Rs 29,000 crore coal import scam and not cooperating in the investigation against them.

If the situation arises, the DRI will take action against these banks by issuing a show-cause notice to them.

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The last communication of DRI with SBI and BoB took place in May 2017, when the agency requested them to share the money trail details of each corporate entity, as the "country has witnessed revenue losses in crores", but in reply, both banks responded negatively. Now, the DRI has decided to take these leading public sector banks head on.

On the condition of anonymity, senior DRI official told India Today, "So far, we have been soft with these banks. But within the next few months, if all these banks continue to remain adamant and deny sharing financial transaction details of all the 40 entities, the agency would not think twice before sending them notices and issue them a show-cause notice."

DRI has set a deadline of six months to complete the entire investigation and take this case to its logical end. "The agency has decided to explore MLAT (Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty) route to procure required evidence from Singapore, Hong Kong and Dubai", the official said.

Surprisingly, DRI officials have also hinted at the possibility of someone trying to stop the required evidence from reaching them.

"After issuing the letter rogatory (LRs) to a few countries, case details have started coming in. Even countries like Singapore are more than willing to share the evidence with us, but it looks like an "invisible outside hand" is stopping it from happening. The central government has been informed about it", the official told India Today without divulging more details regarding suspicious interferences.

On July 2016, India Today was first to expose these bottlenecks faced by DRI and the Department of Revenue (DoR) in a case which involves the biggest and respectable names of corporate India.

HOW BANKS WERE INVOLVED IN OVER-INVOICING IN SCAM

Almost two years ago, DRI Mumbai had unearthed a major coal import scam against 40 energy companies and coal traders, both public and private, who were involved in the alleged over-invoicing of imported Indonesian coal.

During the investigation, the agency established that the major banks involved in the money transfer and over-invoicing in this scam were State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda (BoB) and ICICI Bank's branches in Singapore.

"Almost 85 per cent of the fraudulent over-invoicing done by these companies took place through SBI's Singapore. Bank of Baroda's foreign branches handled around 10 per cent and ICICI Bank handled around 5 per cent", the official said.

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Despite having clinching evidence in hand, DRI's probe reached a dead end due to non-cooperation of banks, citing reasons of international legal agreement with concerned countries.

When DRI reported the hurdles to DoR on May 2016, Revenue Secretary Dr Hasmukh Adhia shot a confidential letter to SBI's chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya seeking "cooperation in the matter of great importance" and requested SBI to submit the documents to DRI at the earliest.

In his letter, Dr Adhia wrote, "During investigation, DRI had made a request to all such Indian banks for sharing the documents negotiated for the sale and purchase of Indonesian coal. The State Bank of India is yet to do the same citing legal constraints. To bring the investigation to a logical end, documents negotiated by SBI are required by the DRI. As a public sector bank, your Bank's cooperation is a matter of great importance".

But SBI was reluctant to share a single piece of information with the Indian government. In reply to Dr Adhia's letter, SBI chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya replied saying, "Section 47 of the Banking Secrecy Act does not allow the bank to disclose Singapore customer information directly to foreign government authorities unless specific permission has been granted by the customer himself. You may wish to seek permission from the customer to release the information".

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"In view of the decision conveyed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and in the absence of any mandate from the customer, SBI is unable to share the documents with DRI, Mumbai", Bhattacharya concluded.

WHAT IS COAL IMPORT SCAM?

It is a case of over-invoicing of imported coal prices starting from 2008 onwards. The DRI smelled a huge scam in coal imports from Indonesia, from where almost 80-90 per cent coal is imported to India.

In December 2014, the DRI had carried out a series of search-and-seizure raids across 80 locations in Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Kerala and Odisha. The raids were carried out on coal importing companies, shippers, intermediaries and laboratories.

During the probe, it was noticed that even though the ships carrying coals directly from Indonesia to India, the bills were routed through fictitious and benami firms in Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai and British Virgin Islands.

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The major allegation is that by using benami shell companies, the corporate entities inflated the prices of coal and sold it to the power projects (mostly belonging to its own subsidiary companies).

"The objective of over-valuation appears to be to siphon off money abroad and to avail higher power tariff compensation based on artificially-inflated cost of the imported coal", one of the investigators said.

Currently, 40 companies (public and private) are under DRI's radar for importing coals at inflated prices. It has been noticed that the value of coal was inflated to more than 250 per cent by these companies.

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--- ENDS ---
A free job fair for veterans and service members transitioning out of the military and military spouses is set for Aug. 29-30 at Camp Pendleton.

The Hiring Our Heroes Transition Summit features networking opportunities with 100 local and national employers along with workshops, interactive panel discussions, recruiter training and workshops on topics such as resume building and digital networking.

The event, organized by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, is slated to feature key federal and state agencies, influential military leaders, innovators in the business and employer community and local community leaders.

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Guest speakers include Bonnie Amos, wife of former Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. James F. Amos, and Marine Sgt. Dakota Meyer, recipient of the Medal of Honor and author of The New York Times best-selling book, Into the Fire: A Firsthand Account of the Most Extraordinary Battle in the Afghan War. Amos and Meyer will discuss how veterans can build their transition team by tapping into all available resources, such as the Transition Summit and Resume Engine.

The Aug. 29 transition summit is from 7 to 4 p.m. at Camp Horno/53 Area  Regimental Instructional Facility starting with job seeker registration from 7 to 8 a.m.; opening remarks from 8 to 8:30 a.m. and industry briefings for job seekers from 8:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. followed by the hiring fair from 1 to 4 p.m. A networking reception will be from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Views Event Center, 202850 San Jacinto Road on base.

The Aug. 30 transition summit is from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Pacific Views Event Center, starting with job seeker registration from 7 to 8 a.m.; opening remarks from 8 to 8:30 a.m.; panel discussion with Perspectives on Transitions from 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. and industry briefings for job seekers from 9:30 a.m. to noon, followed by the hiring fair from 1 to 4 p.m.

Register at hiringourheroes.org/events
More details came out in a key pretrial hearing in Vista on Thursday for a former Navy sailor accused of harming three of his neighbors dogs, maiming one and presumably attacking another.

Testimony in the preliminary hearing for David Herbert revealed that the DNA of two of the victimized dogs was found in his car, including the blood of a golden retriever mix that remains missing.

But testimony also also revealed that no evidence links the 36-year-old man or any other suspect to a bizarre incident in which someone entered his neighbors home and gouged out the eye of one of the dogs.

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The preliminary hearing, which started Wednesday, is expected to conclude today. At the end of the hearing, Superior Court Judge Robert Dalquist will decide if there is enough evidence to order Herbert to stand trial.

Herbert has pleaded not guilty to six felony charges of animal cruelty, as well as a count of residential burglary, a charge arising from allegations that he entered his neighbors home and attacked their two huskies.

Herbert is also charged with misdemeanor vandalism, accused of slashing tires on vehicles belonging to the owners of the huskies.

Herbert served six years in the Navy, reportedly including a deployment to Iraq, and received an honorable discharge. If convicted, he faces up to 16 years in prison.

Police and prosecutors accuse Herbert of pouring a caustic chemical on the two huskies, and of later gouging out the left eye of one of the dogs. They also allege he harmed the dog of another family who later moved into the same house.

Their dog, Lala, remains missing and is believed dead. A spot of her blood was found on a small bat in Herberts home, and more was smudged inside the back of his sport utility vehicle, according to testimony Thursday.

The dogs lived at the rental home next to the home Herbert owned and lived in. The attacks on the huskies dated back to someone feeding them marijuana in December. They came to a head in April, when their owner came home to find that someone had come into the home and gouged out their dogs eye. The family moved out that day.

A month later, Michelle Plaketta and her family  including her husband, four kids and two dogs  moved in. Two days later, on May 30, Lala disappeared.

Oceanside police Sgt. John McKean testified Thursday that surveillance video from the time Lala disappeared showed a dog that looked like Lala in the back seat of Herberts Audi as he drove out of the cul-de-sac.

Oceanside police Detective Gabriel Nolasco took the stand as well, and said that the saliva of one of the huskies, Cocuyo, was also found inside Herberts vehicle. Cocuyo had gone missing for a few hours in February, but turned up later that day on Camp Pendleton military base.

During his time on the stand, McKean also said that a much lower quality surveillance video from February showed a person crouched down by the tires of Cocuyos owners vehicle. Cocuyos owners said their tires were repeatedly slashed during the same time frame when their dogs were targeted.

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 An Oceanside man faces up to 16 years if convicted of charges that he tortured, maimed and possibly killing neighbors dogs in what a prosecutor called a campaign of terror.

teri.figueroa@sduniontribune.com

(760) 529-4945

Twitter: @TeriFigueroaUT
As San Diego braces for a record number of deaths this year related to the powerful opiod fentanyl, drug traffickers took a major hit last week when Mexican soldiers seized their largest haul ever  some 140 pounds of powder and nearly 30,000 pills.

Potential street value: $20 million per kilo.

The drugs were headed to Tijuana but most likely would have made it across the border and into the U.S.

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All I can say is that this not a surprise, Tijuana is the main corridor for Mexican drug traffickers to smuggle fentanyl into the United States, said Mark Conover, deputy U.S. attorney in San Diego, and head of an inter-agency fentanyl working group. All the indicators are that this load of fentanyl was destined for the city streets of the United States.

San Diego has seen a rising number of fatalities related to fentanyl. Last years 33 fentanyl-related deaths were a record for the county, according to the San Diego County Medical Examiners Office. And this years tally is likely to exceed that, with 33 fentanyl-related deaths reported so far this year.

Mexican drug cartels have in recent years added fentanyl to their portfolio of illicit drugs, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. The drug is manufactured in Mexico with precursors obtained from China and then crossed as contraband into the United States, said Amy Roderick, the DEAs spokeswoman in San Diego.

The seizure, announced this week by Mexicali-based Second Military Region, is the largest recorded by the countrys National Defense Secretariat. It comes amid U.S. government concern that international drug trafficking organizations are increasingly turning to the smuggling of fentanyl, a drug so powerful that even a tiny amount can be fatal.

The drugs were found Aug. 19 south of Yuma at a checkpoint in the municipality of San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora.

The illicit cargo was hidden inside a tractor-trailer truck ostensibly transporting grocery supplies from Mexico City to Tijuana. Soldiers seized 29,955 pills and 140 pounds of powder, both showing characteristics of fentanyl, according to the statement.

The driver and another man were taken into custody. They were not identified.

The alarm over fentanyl comes amid a rising number of accidental U.S. opioid overdose deathsa tally that is estimated to have reached close to 60,000 in 2016. Probably the best known fentanyl victim is Prince, the musician whose death at his Minnesota estate in April 2016 was determined to have been caused by an accidental overdose of the drug.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, fentanyl is 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more powerful than morphine. In many cases it is blended with heroin or sold as oxycodone tablets.

While the fentanyl overdoses have been most prevalent in the East and Midwest, California has seen a rise in fatalities as well. In Sacramento last year, fentanyl was linked to seven deaths numerous overdoses over a single-week in March.

The largest single U.S. fentanyl seizure to date took place in San Diego County in June, when DEA agents found 100 pounds of the drug in Lemon Grove following an extensive investigation, and arrested three suspects, including the daughter of a former mayor.

Also in June, officers with U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the San Ysidro Port of Entry made a record seizure of 66 pounds of fentanyl hidden inside a vehicle that was crossing from Mexico. The driver was arrested.

A kilo of pure fentanyl can produce one million tablets selling for $20 apiece or $20 million. But most of the fentanyl seized in San Diego County is diluted to a potency of about five percent, according to the DEA, and that sells for about $31,000 per kilo, Roderick said.

Congratulations to the government of Mexico, Roderick said of the militarys latest seizure. Its fentanyl thats not going to hit the streets of the United States and potentially kill people. Thats why were constantly working together to stop the flow of this deadly drug.

sandra.dibble@sduniontribune.com

@sandradibble
A San Diego federal judge ruled Friday that the lawsuit against the El Cajon police officer who fatally shot Alfred Olango, an unarmed black man, last year can move forward. In the same ruling, U.S. District Judge Cynthia Bashant dismissed the city from the case, saying there was not enough evidence to argue that policies or specific decisions made by the Police Department contributed to Olangos death.

Olangos father, Richard Olango Abuka, argues Officer Richard Gonsalves used excessive and unreasonable force when he fired on Olango and that he also failed to request medical aid for the dying man, according to the lawsuit.

Olango, a 38-year-old Ugandan refugee, was having a mental breakdown the morning of Sept. 27, according to his sister. She called 911 three times to ask for help and report his strange, paranoid behavior, which included wandering in traffic.

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Gonsalves found Olango pacing in the parking lot of the Broadway Village shopping center and confronted him. According to the officer, he commanded Olango to take his hands from his pockets, but Olango wouldnt comply. Surveillance and cellphone video shows Olango suddenly pull an item from a pocket and point it toward the officer in what police have described as a shooting stance, prompting the officer to fire.

The item turned out to be a vaping device.

Richard Olango Abuka holds a photo of his son, Alfred Olango, who was fatally shot by El Cajon police. (Nelvin C. Cepeda/U-T)

The District Attorneys Office, which reviews all police shootings, determined the officer reasonably feared for his life and was legally justified in the shooting.

The judge ruled that a jury could find that the officers conduct shocked the conscience because the officer knew going into the call that Olango was having a mental breakdown, that he had not been threatening anyone and hadnt committed a crime.

The judge also ruled that, when viewing the allegations in the most favorable light to the plaintiffs  as required at this point in the case  it is sufficient to conclude that  at the time Officer Gonsalves shot and killed Mr. Olango  it was clearly established (law) that someone who is unarmed, is not a threat to anyone, and had not committed any crime has the right not to be shot and killed.

kristina.davis@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @kristinadavis
Weeks before a 10-state coalitions deadline for the President to get rid of a program that protects dreamers from deportation, Itzel Guillen struggled to control her nerves as she sat in a car waiting to cross into the U.S. from Mexico.

Guillen, who first came to the U.S. without authorization at age five from Mexico City with her family, is a beneficiary of former President Barack Obamas program called deferred action for childhood arrivals, or DACA. Though she had permission to leave the U.S. for a short work trip to Tijuana, Guillen knew that she still risked being turned away if border officials did not find her trip credible. She took that risk, she said, because with the program in limbo, Guillen hoped that her journey would shed light on the kinds of opportunities that DACA has given to people like her.

The DACA program works, she said. This is giving me a light to where my roots are. It grounds me.

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DACA does not give Guillen legal status in the U.S., but it does give her work authorization and a promise from the federal government that she wont be deported as long as she is part of the program.

When President Donald Trump was on the campaign trail last year, he promised that he would end the DACA program. He later seemed to change his mind.

Some news agencies reported that White House officials intend to use the program as a bargaining chip to get Congress to pass legislation funding Trumps other immigration proposals like a border wall or additional deportation officers. Rumors began to circulate late this week that Trump is leaning toward ending the program next week.

In late June, a coalition led by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton informed the Trump administration that it would have to get rid of DACA or the ten states involved would pursue a lawsuit challenging the program. The coalitions letter gave Trump until Sept. 5 to decide. Attorneys general of several Southern states as well as Idaho signed the letter. California is not one of the states pushing to end the program.

I feel like I cannot make a decision about my life because it could go either way, Guillen said. Its difficult to live in that uncertainty every day.

DACA does not enable recipients to come back to the U.S. if they leave. They can apply before they travel for permission to reenter the U.S. through another legal process called advance parole. The federal government grants advance parole in a handful of circumstances  humanitarian reasons like getting medical treatment or going to a family members funeral, educational reasons like study abroad programs or work-related reasons like conferences or meeting with overseas clients.

Guillen, who, as an activist and organizer at Alliance San Diego, specializes in issues in San Diegos immigrant communities, got advance parole to meet with community leaders at migrant shelters in Tijuana. She also attended a conference for a study abroad program that caters to dreamers with advance parole.

Children in Mexico working as street vendors made her realize what her life could have been like, she said.

Seeing the children working, trying to make a living, it makes me feel privileged, Guillen said. I understand why my family made the decision to come to the U.S.

During her trip, she reunited with Sergio Rene, a cousin who is like an older brother to her, and met his two children, ages six and four, for the first time. The differences in opportunity that Rene and Guillen have had in life illustrate the importance of the DACA program, Guillen said.

They crossed the border together in 1999, and were raised together until Rene graduated high school and realized that as an unauthorized immigrant, he wouldnt be able to go to college in the U.S.

He moved back to Mexico when Guillen was 15. He went to a university for a while, he said, and now works in Mexico Citys tourism industry.

One of their last memories together is dancing a tango at Guillens quinceanera. Rene, now 34, still keeps a photo of the moment on his phone.

Right after Guillen graduated high school in 2012, Obama introduced the DACA program. With the ability to work legally to pay for her education, Guillen, who is now 23, recently graduated with a bachelors degree from San Diego State University.

Had he stayed in the U.S., Rene would have qualified for DACA as well, Guillen said.

I think that mostly sucks, Guillen said. The opportunities that were given to me were not given to him. I know we had the same potential.

When he looks at his cousins life, Rene said, he feels proud.

I never thought I would see her doing what shes doing, he said.

The most important thing Guillen learned from the trip, she said, was a fuller sense of self. Before her journey, she felt disconnected from Mexico, an important part of her identity.

What resonates most is to embrace the fact that I am from both, Guillen said. I am binational. I am bicultural.

Growing up in San Diego, she said, she avoided going too far south for fear of making a wrong turn and ending up on the other side of a line she could not recross. When she passed the Last USA exit sign on purpose last week, she said, reality hit her.

On Monday morning, as she ate her last meal in Mexico, chilaquiles with salsa verde, Guillens nerves took away her appetite.

Christian Ramirez and Andrea Guerrero, who both work with Guillen at Alliance San Diego, accompanied her across the border. Ramirez made jokes to distract her and took her through deep breathing exercises as they waited for about an hour and 45 minutes to get to the front of the line. Because of Guillens advance parole, a border official sent the car to secondary inspection, where Guillen was taken inside a building for questioning.

While she was inside, another official searched the hood and trunk of Ramirezs car. He rapped his knuckles against the doors to listen for signs that something might be stashed there.

When Guillen returned about 15 minutes later, she was glowing with happiness and relief. As Ramirez drove his car toward San Diego, Guillen called her mother to tell her that she was home.

She hopes that one day she will be able to visit Mexico again, as long as she can still come back.

Immigration Videos On Now New developments in family separation case 9:53 On Now A San Diego woman volunteered as a medic in Texas helping migrant families 2:35 On Now Immigration policy protests in Carlsbad nearly cancelled after permit issue 1:38 On Now When children are separated from their parents at the border, here is where they go next On Now Prospects of a deal for 'Dreamers' may hinge on separating Trump from hard-liners on his staff On Now What is DACA? On Now Border wall prototype contractors selected On Now Video: Ukrainian boxer wins asylum in U.S. On Now 30 apprehended after Border Patrol agents discover tunnel On Now Video: Kurdish diaspora prepare to vote on independence

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The U.S. State Department has warned its citizens about traveling to Cancun and Los Cabos, two of Mexicos most popular tourist destinations, after a surge in violence in those regions.

A travel advisory issued Tuesday upgraded the warnings for two states, Quintana Roo and Baja California Sur, saying turf battles between criminal groups have resulted in violent crime and shootings in which innocent bystanders have been killed.

For years, both regions were largely insulated from the drug war violence that has engulfed other parts of Mexico, but this year they have each seen a major uptick in killings.

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There have been deadly gun battles in downtown Cancun, and in January, five people were killed at a nightclub in nearby Playa del Carmen. In Los Cabos, a municipality on the Pacific Coast that includes the cities of Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo, three people were shot to death this month at the entrance to a popular beach.

The travel warning could deliver a major blow to Mexicos $20-billion-a-year tourism industry, which represents about 7% of the countrys gross domestic product.

This is a very bad news for Mexico, said Rafael Fernandez de Castro, director for the Center for U.S.-Mexican studies at UC San Diego, who said recent growth in Mexicos tourism industry has been a rare bright spot in an economy that quaked after President Trumps threats to tear up free trade agreements and build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

But the rapid increase in development, especially in Los Cabos, may have helped contribute to the violence, Fernandez de Castro said, as migrants from around the country came to build new hotel rooms and resorts.

The growth of Los Cabos has been way too accelerated in the last two years, he said. Its creating a little bit of social chaos.

The State Departments decision to warn residents about travel to the resort cities is a reality check for the booming towns and economy of Mexico, he said.

Mexican officials have gone to lengths to portray the countrys beach resorts as family friendly and safe. Violent incidents are extremely rare among the millions of international tourists who visit Riviera Maya each year, and the entire tourism industry works to ensure the safety and satisfaction of all visitors, reads a statement on the website of the Assn. of Riviera Maya Hotels.

But 10 years into the countrys military-led drug war, violence is surging across the nation. This year, Mexico is on track to record more homicides than in any year in the last two decades.

Rising demand for heroin in the U.S. and power struggles among the countrys top drug cartels, authorities say, have led to an increase in killings in 27 of Mexicos 32 states.

In Quintana Roo, the state where Cancun is located, 169 killings were reported from January to July, more than twice as many as during the same period last year.

In Baja California Sur, home to Los Cabos and Cabo San Lucas, 232 slayings have been reported this year, nearly four times as many as during the same period last year.

Although tourism from the U.S. dropped off about five years ago during another period of high violence in Mexico, it has substantially recovered, with the number of American visitors increasing 12% from 2015 to 2016, according to the World Tourism Organization. Mexico recently surpassed Turkey to become the eighth most popular travel destination in the world, drawing 35 million international visitors last year.

Tourism officials in the Riviera Maya, the long stretch of Caribbean coastline that includes Cancun as well as Playa del Carmen and Tulum, have already been on the defensive this year after reports that a young woman died after drinking tainted alcohol at a resort.

The State Department also issued a warning in response to those reports, cautioning vacationers to drink alcohol in moderation and seek medical help if they begin to feel ill.

Cecilia Sanchez in The Times Mexico City bureau contributed to this report.

kate.linthicum@latimes.com

Twitter: @katelinthicum

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UPDATES:

4:05 p.m.: This article was updated with additional comments and details about the violence.

This article was originally published at 1:30 p.m.
He was known as El Padrino  the Godfather  and, as co-founder of the once-dominant Guadalajara drug cartel, Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo reigned over Mexicos multibillion-dollar narco-commerce with all the ruthlessness and aplomb of the fictional Don Corleone.

The former street cop and bodyguard turned-drug kingpin counted police commanders and politicians among his protectors and supplicants.

But eventually, Gallardo went too far. The international outrage following the 1985 murder in Mexico of a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent, Enrique Kiki Camarena, eventually led to the fall of Gallardo and his close associates and the splintering of their nationwide criminal network.

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The fallout of Camarenas murder  and the unraveling of Gallardos cartel  continues to be felt in Mexico to this day, influencing law enforcement, politics and how modern cartels operate. Even though Gallardo was arrested decades ago, the case made the news again this week when a Mexican federal court sentenced Gallardo to 37 years in prison for the murder of Camarena and a Mexican pilot, Alfredo Zavala.

As part of Wednesdays court decision, Gallardo also was ordered to make the equivalent of $1.18 million in reparation payments, presumably to the families of the victims.

Gallardo, now in his early 70s, has been in Mexican custody since 1989, when intense pressure from U.S. authorities led Mexican authorities to arrest him.

But the kingpins case had dragged on for decades in Mexican tribunals amid a plethora of legal maneuvers and a court ruling throwing out a previous 40-year sentence against Gallardo. It is said to be one of the longest judicial proceedings in Mexican criminal history. Several more years of appeals are possible, authorities say, even though Gallardo has already served the bulk of his term.

The official sentencing comes 32 years after Camarena  the DEA agent and former Calexico cop and U.S. Marine  was brazenly snatched in broad daylight in Guadalajara. Camarena was kidnapped while walking along a street to meet his wife for lunch. Zavala, who was assisting Camarena in his undercover investigations, also disappeared.

Exterior of the house in Guadalajara where Enrique Kiki Camarena was tortured in 1985. (Rick Tulsky / Los Angeles Times)

The Camarena case, which has inspired films, books and television series, put the public spotlight on the organized and brutal nature of Mexican drug-trafficking rings. The intense law enforcement focus ultimately contributed to altering the makeup of the drug gangs, but did not come close to putting an end to the illegal cross-border commerce.

In a sense, the takedown of the Guadalajara cartel set a template for the Mexican drug wars that have raged to this day  often with much more bloodshed and brutality than in the heyday of Gallardo and his henchmen.

After Camarena disappeared, an irate Reagan administration pressed the Mexican government to find him. U.S. customs officials all but shut down the nearly 2,000-mile-long border, triggering a binational crisis.

It was a low point in U.S.-Mexico relations perhaps unmatched until President Trump took office in January amid threats to build a border wall, slap a tariff on Mexican imports and carry out large-scale deportations of Mexican citizens in the U.S. illegally.

The bodies of Camarena and Zavala were found, a month after their February 1985 disappearances, near a ranch in the western state of Michoacan. Their remains showed signs of torture.

The subsequent manhunt for the killers was called the largest in DEA history. Suspicion immediately fell on the Guadalajara cartel and its three principal figures: Gallardo, Ernesto Don Neto Fonseca and Rafael Caro Quintero, all giants of the Mexican demimonde, subjects of corridos (ballads) and legends.

In his undercover work, Camarena had developed an extensive informant network that led to large-scale seizures of marijuana and destruction of pot plantations in northern Mexico, authorities say. His murder was called payback for the damage done to the Guadalajara mob.

Mexican authorities soon rounded up Fonseca and Caro Quintero, but Gallardo  reportedly protected by authorities  was not arrested until 1989.

Though Gallardo remains in prison, Fonseca was transferred to house arrest in 2016 under terms granted to elderly prisoners with health problems.

Caro Quintero was released from prison in 2013 on a legal technicality, to the dismay of U.S. authorities  who have offered a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to his capture or conviction. Both Mexican and U.S. officials are seeking Caro Quintero.

In 2016, Caro Quintero gave an interview from hiding to Mexicos Proceso magazine denying any role in Camarenas murder and rejecting reports that he had returned to the drug world.

Amid continuing demand for drugs in the United States, experts say, the destruction of the Guadalajara cartel resulted in a fragmenting of the market and the emergence of distinct regional cartels.

Among them was the Sinaloa cartel of Joaquin El Chapo Guzman and other criminal mobs in Tijuana, Ciudad Juarez and elsewhere. All built on the sophistication of the Guadalajara cartel, with its close ties to South American cocaine producers. The evolving U.S. appetite for heroin, amphetamines and other illicit substances has been a boost for the trafficking enterprise.

Under pressure from U.S. authorities, Mexican officials have taken down one drug lord after another. Critics question, however, whether the kingpin strategy has exacerbated the problem, amid escalating national homicide rates. Violent junior sicarios, or hit men, and other would-be successors now regularly battle for leadership after the incarceration or murders of their bosses.

The arrest of Guzman, and his extradition this year from Mexico to the United States, is a case in point. His absence and the subsequent leadership void have spurred violent clashes among competing blocs fighting for control of Guzmans fractured empire.

Mexican drug gangs since the 1980s have diversified into other fields  including extortion, kidnapping, human trafficking and the forced takeover of legitimate businesses.

Like their predecessors in the Guadalajara cartel, Mexicos current narco-leaders maintain financial and social ties to police and elected lawmakers. The nexus among gangs, law enforcement and politicians  and the resulting impunity for many criminals and corrupt officials  continues to bedevil reform efforts in Mexico.

For U.S. anti-drug authorities, a key lesson of the Camarena killing was the need for an immediate and robust response to any menace to its personnel.

Because of the Camarena case, even the mere allegation of a threat is the tripwire that unleashes DEAs fury, Jay Bergman, former regional director of the DEAs Andean office, told the Los Angeles Times in 2015. The message is loud and clear: Just thinking about harming an agent will turn your world upside down.

Cecilia Sanchez in The Times Mexico City bureau and special correspondent Chris Kraul in Bogota, Colombia, contributed to this report.

patrick.mcdonnell@latimes.com

twitter: @mcdneville

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Saudi-led coalition fighter jets rained bombs on the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, on Friday leveling houses packed with civilians and killing at least 14 people, including eight members of a single family, relatives and witnesses said.

The familys 1-year-old baby was among those killed, they said, looking over the rubble of one of the bombed homes in the citys southern district of Fag Attan, hours after the attack.

The bombing was the latest in a significant escalation in the coalitions air campaign in Yemen. On Wednesday, at least 41 people died when aircraft bombed a small hotel in the town of Arhab, north of Sanaa.

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The attacks prompted calls for an investigation by the coalitions top ally, the internationally recognized government of Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, and the United Nations.

What happened today in Fag Attan in the capital by the fighter jets against the civilians requires an investigation by the coalition, Yemeni Foreign Minister Abdel-Malek Mekhlafi posted on Twitter, in what appeared to be a rare show of discontent at the governments main backer.

Over the past two years, more than 10,000 people have been killed and 3 million displaced amid the coalitions relentless air campaign against Yemens Iran-backed Shiite rebels. The Saudi-led campaign is seeking to restore Yemens internationally recognized government to power.

The worst-hit house in Fridays attack in Fag Attan was a three-story building occupied by at least three families. Mohammed Rimi and his wife lived on the first floor with their six children. A brother-in-law was visiting. They all perished, except one child.

Mohammeds brother Ali Nasr Rimi said he was speaking with him on the phone when the airstrikes started.

We heard the first, second and third explosion, then after the forth blast, the line was cut, he said. I was so afraid, I rushed to the house. I couldnt recognize the place.

For hours, he said, he had been retrieving the bodies of his brothers family, all torn into pieces. One of his brothers children survived, 3-year-old Bothina. Her leg was smashed by a huge chunk of cement, Ali Nasr Rimi said.

Another relative sat by in shock, helplessly watching bulldozers removing rubble and searching for more bodies. The death toll was expected to rise.

The Houthi-run official agency SABA reported that the toll has reached 16 dead, including eight children and four women in addition to 22 injured.

Recently, the strikes in and around Sanaa, targeting army compounds and other locations of the rebels known as Houthis, have intensified. Liz Throssell, a spokeswoman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, said the U.N. has confirmed that 33 of the 41 people killed in Arhab were civilians.

The Saudi-led airstrikes have hit schools, hospitals and markets, killing thousands of civilians and prompting rights groups to accuse the coalition of war crimes. Activists have called upon Western countries, including the United States and Britain, to cease their military support for the coalition.

In addition to civilian casualties, the conflict triggered a set of humanitarian crises including cholera epidemic, which killed around 2,000 people and infected more than half a million as Yemens health, water and sanitation systems were near collapse while a shortage in basic necessities left millions hungry and pushed the impoverished nation to the brink of famine.

The escalation comes amid signs of fracturing between the two main components of the rebel alliance in Sanaa, the Houthis and loyalists of ousted President Ali Abdullah Saleh  a standoff that has triggered fears of street violence. The rebel alliance controls much of northern Yemen, including Sanaa; the coalition along with the internationally recognized government of Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi controls much of the south.

On Thursday, ex-president Saleh drew about 300,000 supporters for a rally in the streets of Sanaa in a public show of support for him amid the tensions with the Houthis. Salehs supporters said in a statement that the party will evaluate its partnership with the Houthis.

Yemens brutal war has shown no signs of abating and U.S. support for the coalition led by Riyadh appears to be only increasing.

On Wednesday, Gen. Joseph Votel, the top U.S. commander for the Middle East, visited the Saudi-Yemen border for a first-hand look at the kingdoms military fight against Yemens rebels  a visit that coincided with the attack in Arhab.

ALSO

Another grim milestone for Yemen: Cholera infections soar to half a million

Islamic States latest video features what it says is a child of a U.S. soldier

Iraqi forces launch offensive that could cost Islamic State a strategic stronghold

UPDATES:

11:25 a.m.: This article was updated with additional details.

This article was originally published at 1:35 a.m.
Pedestrian deaths across San Diego County last year hit their highest level in more than 20 years, and deaths caused by methamphetamine spiked to an all-time high, according to a report issued Thursday by the county Medical Examiners Office.

Walkers and drivers distracted especially by cellphones was a major reason for the 103 pedestrian fatalities, a number not seen since 1994, said Medical Examiner Glenn Wagner.

Methamphetamine killed 240 people, almost four times as many as died from the drug in 2000.

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Nationally, the number of pedestrian and meth-related deaths also continue to climb. The local numbers continued recent upward trends along with homicides, suicides, and accidental drug and medicine overdoses.

They mirror very much what we saw in 2015 and so far in 2017, said Wagner, who issued the annual report that details the trends and causes of deaths investigated by his agency.

His office is responsible for trying to determine the cause of sudden or suspicious deaths, ranging from vehicle crashes and overdoses to homicide and suicide. If alcohol or drugs are suspected of contributed to a death, that case also falls under the agencys jurisdiction.

The agency investigated about 8,500 cases last year, took jurisdiction over more than 3,000 of those, and conducted nearly 1,900 autopsies.

According to the report findings, the most common causes of death by categories were:

Accidents  47 percent, including drug overdoses, crashes and work-related or home accidents.

Natural  33 percent, with conditions such as heart attacks and cancer.

Suicides  14 percent.

Homicides  4.1 percent.

Undetermined  1.7 percent.

The percentages were similar to those in prior years.

Wagner said the statistical study raised special concerns for the number of pedestrian and all vehicle-related crashes.

We see more that it is (caused by) distraction on the part of both pedestrians and motorists using cellphones, Wagner said. He cited vehicle speeds as another factor, along with mental illness and substance abuse by pedestrians who stray onto busy roadways.

The county saw 307 of all types of vehicle-related deaths, including pedestrians, motor vehicles and bicycles, and including suicides.

Males age 20 to 24 accounted for the largest number of vehicle-related deaths, with 25.

A spokeswoman for Circulate San Diego, which seeks to reduce traffic deaths and improve safety for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists, said the report shows the need for continued traffic safety measures.

The streets need to be designed to be forgiving, said Maya Rosas, advocacy manager for Circulate San Diego. We know how to make streets safer, with traffic-calming engineering and lower speeds.

City police reported 14 pedestrian deaths last year, and 12 so far this year.

Rosas said government leaders across the county need to prioritize spending on traffic safety, and do it where the data show where to focus.

Wagner agreed that statistics provided by his annual reports should be used to set health and safety priorities.

Patterns and trends affect decisions across San Diego County, he said. We have an epidemic of prescription and illicit drug use. Meth, cocaine and heroin seem to always be the drugs of choice.

Death from heroin and cocaine overdoses were up across the county last year, but alcohol-related deaths dipped to 106 from 110 the year before. The report stated that the drugs killed when taken in excess or in combination with other drugs.

The annual report took a closer look at many other causes of death.

Last year there were 116 homicides  an increase over the 88 cases in 2013, but fewer than the 122 in 2012.

Firearms were used in 43 percent of the homicide cases in 2016. Cutting or stabbing was used in 22 percent of the cases; blunt force, 19 percent; asphyxia (smothering or strangling); 6 percent; and other methods, 10 percent.

Broken down by county sub-regions, the Mountain Empire from the Mexican border through Alpine and the lower desert saw the highest rate of homicides, 8.6 cases per 100,000 people. Southeastern San Diego was second, with 8.3 cases per 100,000. National City was third, at 5.5 cases.

On the lowest end of the scale were San Marcos, the coast from Coronado through Carlsbad, Poway, north San Diego and a swath around San Carlos, Navajo and Del Cerro.

The number of suicides has generally climbed since 1988, when 328 were reported countywide, to a high of 431 last year. More people took their own lives using firearms, followed by hanging/asphyxia, then overdose or poisoning, and jumping from a high place.

Most of the suicides were committed by men between the ages of 25 and 64. About twice as many men killed themselves as women through the ages of 25 to 74.

Young women commonly used hanging as a method of suicide, Wagner said. He said young men who commit suicide often have a history of having been bullied.

The region of Julian to Palomar Mountain saw the highest suicide rate of 45.8 per 100,000 population, followed by other mountain and desert regions, then central San Diego.

Of the nearly 1,000 natural deaths reviewed by the Medical Examiners Office, the largest number  690  died of cardiovascular causes. Another 76 were alcohol-related, 54 were pulmonary and 35 were related to infection. Diabetes accounted for 30 deaths, cancer 22, and obesity, 7.

Wagner said the obesity deaths are of high concern to him.

The populations fat, he declared. Our kids are fat, and that needs to be addressed. A lot of people come through (my office) prematurely, in my opinion.
By PTI: (Eds: Adding details, quotes of a hospital official)

New Delhi, Aug 25 (PTI) A 26-year-old radiology intern was found dead today with his throat slit at the St. Stephens hospital in the Tis Hazari area here, with the police suspecting he might have been killed by a colleague.

The body of Sashwat Pandey, a resident of Allahabad, was found lying this morning in the retiring room of doctors adjacent to the duty room at the hospital, they said.

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"His throat was found slit with a surgical blade. As per the preliminary investigation, the suspect appears to be a fellow doctor and an acquaintance of the deceased," a senior police official said.

Forensic officials and the crime team are investigating the incident, he said.

Meanwhile, the interns at the hospital today protested the killing and threatened to go on strike.

"All the interns lodged protest and threatened to go on strike, if action was not taken. The institutes director tried to pacify them. He told them that they should not do anything that would affect the patient care.

"He (director) also told them the case is being probed. We are also waiting to get more information on the case," a senior official of the hospital said.

Police said the victims mother, after learning of the incident, suffered a heart attack and was admitted to the St Stephens Hospital.

They said Pandey and the suspect had some nagging issues, about which the hospital authorities had lodged a complaint with the police. PTI SLB KND GVS

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La Jollas fabled Salk Institute says its in great financial shape. Just two years ago, it raised a record $361 million in private donations  far exceeding its goal.

But a short time later, the Salk noted in private documents that it still faces daunting money issues that come as it tries to preserve the singular approach it takes to studying human disease.

Like other biomedical research institutes, the Salk is under great pressure to develop discoveries to the point where they will attract big money from drug companies, the government and appreciative donors.

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The people who underwrite science say scientists can and must speed up the process of finding ways to alleviate suffering.

The 57-year-old Salk has long preferred to focus on more basic questions about how and why disease occurs  work that has aided in the creation of such cancer drugs as Gleevec and Iressa. Its painstaking research that doesnt always have a clear payoff, and can make it hard to compete for money.

The challenge comes as the Salk is coping with the fallout from three of its female professors filing lawsuits that accuse the institute of gender discrimination. The suits, filed in July, say the Salk favors men when it comes to pay, promotions, grants and leadership opportunities.

The allegations have been staunchly denied by Salk President Elizabeth Blackburn, a Nobel laureate.

The matter was further complicated on Friday when Ted Waitt, the billionaire who chairs the Salks board of trustees, unexpectedly announced that he will leave the position in November for personal reasons.

Waitt played a key role in helping the Salk raise $361 million in private donations during a capital campaign that ended in 2015. His announcement came a day before the institute holds Symphony for Salk, a community-building concert held every August.

Theres broad agreement that the Salk, which is determined to remain small, needs to raise a lot more money for everything from recruiting faculty to buying pricey scientific equipment.

Despite the success of the recent capital campaign, there are significant and daunting financial challenges facing the institute, many which need to be addressed through increased private philanthropy, the Salk says in internal documents obtained by the Union-Tribune.

Documents: Salk Finances 

The documents also show that, over the past couple of years, the Salk has considered a number of provocative ideas for dealing with the issue, including:

Attempting to raise $100 million in endowment funds during a one-year, one-time campaign.

Affiliating with a private hospital that is willing to distribute profits to the Salk in exchange for earning nonprofit status.

Exploring whether the institute would be willing to alter its official name if a private donor was willing to make a contribution upward of $1 billion. Such a gift is not imminent, and the idea could stir objections from admirers of the late Jonas Salk, who founded the institute after developing the first effective vaccine against polio.

Making Salk research more attractive to drug companies, especially in such hot fields as cancer immunotherapy and mental health.

Recruiting more mid-career faculty who have a record of obtaining big grants from the National Institutes of Health, the largest public underwriter of biomedical research. The Salks NIH funding has plummeted in recent years.

Hiring a major celebrity to raise big donations, particularly from people aged 30-50. The documents say the institute must get past is heavy reliance on older donors.

The Salk told the Union-Tribune on Thursday, The document leaked to you includes the preliminary brainstorming of several individuals holding various positions within Salk, including a number not serving in faculty or management roles, who were invited to present a wide-range of ideas for early consideration.

In no way is it equivalent to a strategic plan, which remains in development. It is simply a collection of initial thoughts. 

Without question, the Salk Institute, in many ways, is now in the best financial and operational position it has ever been. It is entirely inaccurate and irresponsible to suggest otherwise.

The institute added that it decided not to pursue a short-term endowment campaign, a hospital affiliation, or a name change.

The Salk is charting its future at a moment when its scientific neighbors in La Jolla are rapidly expanding in translational medicine, the term for turning discoveries into drugs and therapies.

Theyre being driven, in part, by big donors who want scientists to shorten the time it takes to develop treatments for everything from dementia and cancer to diabetes, spinal cord injuries and aging.

The demand has been pressed especially hard by donors like T. Denny Sanford, who gave UC San Diego $100 million in 2013 to speed up the quest to find ways to use stem cells to treat a variety of afflictions.

Sanford said, It is time to move stem cell research from animals into humans for trials, especially in areas like ALS (Lou Gehrigs disease) and spinal cord injuries, where I believe we can make a lot of progress.

His gift helped the university create a seven-story translational medicine building thats physically linked to the new Jacobs Medical Center to make it easier for researchers and clinicians to collaborate.

Researchers there are doing such things as using smartphones to help determine the severity of cystic fibrosis in patients, and developing devices similar to the medical tri-corder seen in Star Trek.

The new building also has enabled UC San Diego to carry out drug trials, which helped the university raise a record $1.12 billion in research funding last year. And it helped the campus recruit such star scientists as Jeremy Rich, a brain tumor specialist who came from the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.

A lot of people think that taking an idea or discovery from lab to clinic is simple. Its not; its almost impossibly difficult and exhausting, said Gary Firestein, the universitys associate vice chancellor of translational medicine.

The problem isnt just the science, but also the regulatory maze that stands between scientist and patient, he added. Translational medicine was invented to somehow bridge that gap.

The struggle has been playing out at places like The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) in La Jolla, which is led by CEO Peter G. Schultz, an accomplished chemist also at home in the business world.

Schultz brought in an affiliate called Calibr to advance research to the clinical trial stage, where therapies are first tested in people. At that point much of the risk in development is gone, and drug companies will pay more to license products.

Earlier this year, Schultz revamped TSRIs board of directors to include more biomedical and business leaders and wealthy individuals. This high-powered board provides not only more credibility, but has members with money to make large donations themselves.

If Schultz achieves his goals, the institute will greatly speed up its pipeline of therapies from the laboratory bench to the patients bedside. That means patients will get new therapies faster  and TSRI will get more money to continue churning out discoveries.

The Salk Institute faces pressure to do likewise, or be left behind. And it clearly sees this as a pivotal moment in its history. The institute summed up the challenge in a document obtained by the Union-Tribune.

A part of the document asks, simply: How do we make sure Salk is financially prepared to continue to be a leader in biological research?

For further reading

Salk board chairman stepping down amid institute turmoil

Salk president softens criticism of 2 faculty who sued for gender discrimination

Gender discrimination controversy grows at fabled Salk Institute

Salk Institute strikes back in gender discrimination feud

Salk Institute hires two noted researchers

From one cell to billions: Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte studies all stages of life

Salk Institute, UCSD scientists decode DNAs 3D shape

Scripps, Salk scientists independently make key biological advance

Science Playlist  On Now In a first, scientists rid human embryos of a potentially fatal gene mutation by editing their DNA On Now Space station flyovers visible from San Diego this week 0:55 On Now UCSD's 'ghost drivers' begin testing people's reaction seemingly empty cars 1:29 On Now 10 interesting facts about Mars On Now Kids can add years to your life On Now LA 90: SpaceX launches recycled rocket On Now Big passions, big giving: Malin Burnham 2:30 On Now Big passions, big giving: Darlene Shiley 2:40 On Now Big passions, big giving: Joan and Irwin Jacobs 2:45 On Now Ocean temperatures warming at rapid rate, study finds

Twitter: @grobbins

gary.robbins@sduniontribune.com
Its absolutely unacceptable that some 300 California communities with about 1 million residents  mostly in agricultural areas in the Central Valley but also including local neighborhoods near Potrero, Pauma Valley and Borrego Springs  have water as unsafe or worse than the water in Flint, Michigan. But to wait until the legislative sessions 11th hour and unveil a first-ever tax on tap water to address the problem is also absolutely unacceptable.

In a telephone interview with a Union-Tribune editorial writer, state Sen. Bill Monning, D-Monterey, said the announcement last week that new language had been added to his SB 623 that would add a maximum 95-cent fee to the monthly bills of all but low-income water customers wasnt a gut and amend late-session maneuver because SB 623 was already about improving water quality in threatened communities. Feel free to groan. This is a classic Sacramento power play, and the worthiness of the cause it addresses doesnt make it OK.

The most recent legislative analysis of the bill notes that the water tax and new fees on fertilizer and dairy products would generate about $122 million a year  one-tenth of 1 percent of the states $122 billion general fund budget. Yet Monning said a water tax was still necessary to fund water fixes because it would provide funding certainty.

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Please. In 2012, state lawmakers passed a measure declaring that every human being has the right to safe, clean, affordable, and accessible water. Now Californians are told lawmakers cant commit themselves to devoting a tiny fraction of the state budget to honor the intent of the measure, so a new category of taxation must be created. Baloney.

Yes, of course, the water problem must be addressed  but with honesty, not subterfuge.

Twitter: @sdutIdeas

Facebook: San Diego Union-Tribune Ideas & Opinion

UPDATES:

A factual error about the size of the proposed water fee was corrected on Aug. 27.
President Donald Trump put a blot on his reputation that may never fade with the appalling impromptu news conference last week in which he declared a lot of very fine people participated in a white supremacist, anti-Semitic protest replete with Nazi imagery in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Aug. 12. Trumps subsequent scripted indirect-apology speeches were welcome. Still, they seemed hollow, given the vim of his off-script vilification of media critics for their decrying the moral vacuum displayed by his fine people comments.

But now Trump may build on his image as a president who stokes racial and ethnic tensions by pardoning Joe Arpaio, the former sheriff in Maricopa County, Arizona, which includes Phoenix and has 4.2 million people  about 60 percent of the states population. In July, Arpaio was convicted of criminal contempt of court for defying a federal judges 2011 order that his Sheriffs Department end its unconstitutional policy of targeting Latinos  without probable cause  with warrantless traffic stops and detention. Trumps past remarks about a pardon seemed more like a trial balloon than anything else  until CNNs report Wednesday that the Arpaio paperwork was complete and ready to go.

Arpaios hardline tactics in fighting illegal immigration  and, arguably, his eager promotion of Obama birtherism  made him a tea party and Fox News favorite. Some on the right may not mind a sheriff who engaged in unconstitutional racial profiling; who is proud that temperatures routinely top 120 degrees every summer in his tent jail; who goes after humans being smuggled instead of their smugglers and who arrests unauthorized immigrants at factories and farms but not their employers.

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But those who are able to rationalize this away and who actually care about democratic norms should be appalled with the grotesque ways Arpaio used his power to bully and abuse his critics. Two county supervisors won nearly $4.5 million dollars in settlements over bogus charges orchestrated by Arpaios aides and allies. The Phoenix New Times CEO and top editor won a $3.75 million settlement after being arrested on bogus charges that followed critical coverage of the sheriff.

Last November, Maricopa County voters had had enough. After 24 years, Arpaio was easily defeated in his bid for a seventh term by political unknown Paul Penzone, a retired Phoenix police sergeant.

The Trump administration wastes a ridiculous amount of time putting out fires caused by a president who likes to say whats on his mind and then reflexively defend his remarks and trash his critics. This leads to a political cycle in which Trump defenders often say journalists have chosen to look at Trumps comments in the worst possible light, making pugnacity seem a manifestation of evil.

But pardons of people found guilty of federal crimes are in a different category than ill-chosen remarks. Arpaio is not a valiant retired law-enforcement officer who may have made a few mistakes but deserves a break. He was a tyrant with a badge who abused his power to torment his critics  and a lawman who targeted an entire ethnic group despite an explicit order from a federal judge to stop doing so because it was unconstitutional. If the president uses his power to free such a criminal from the consequences of his actions, it will be an act of civic arson  one thats even worse than his remarks about the Charlottesville tragedy.

Twitter: @sdutIdeas

Facebook: San Diego Union-Tribune Ideas & Opinion
A tropical storm named Harvey strengthened into a full-blown hurricane on Thursday and was heading straight for the Texas coast.

Forecasters warned of 3 feet of rain, 125-mph winds and 12-foot storm surges. People along the Gulf raced to prepare their homes and even evacuate ahead of impact. The hurricane was expected to become a Category 3 storm, meaning devastating damage will occur.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has already declared a state of disaster for 30 counties.

With landfall expected late Friday or early Saturday, heres a look at how people were preparing.

Some areas have been asked to evacuate

At least seven Texas counties along the coast ordered mandatory or voluntary evacuation on Thursday, including in Corpus Christi, home of about 325,000 people.

Corpus Christi Mayor Joe McComb said officials were very close to making evacuation orders mandatory.

"We could mandate it, but people need to make a decision of their own. I'm not going to risk our police and fire people going to try and drag somebody out of the house if they don't want to go," McComb said. "Because our fire and police, they're fathers and mothers, brothers, sisters, uncles. They've got relatives and they've got family, and we don't want to put them in harm's way because someone just wanted to stay."

Schools are closing

Many schools announced plans to close their doors ahead of the storm, including Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. Elsewhere in the state, the Houston Independent School District announced a plan to close all campuses and administrative offices for Monday.

The Houston Chronicle is tracking school closures here.

A race for supplies

Houston-area shoppers braved long lines as they prepare for Hurricane Harvey to make landfall in central Texas by late Friday. The last major hurricane to hit Texas was Ike in Sept ...

Reports of empty shelves and long lines from people trying to stock up on supplies were coming in from stores in towns across South Texas.

"We know that if anything as far as flooding happens, that's the one thing everyone runs to, we have to have water," Mariah Barter of Corpus Christi told KZTV. "It's a big deal. It scares the hell out of people. It's better to be prepared."

Troops to be deployed

Gov. Abbott called for the activation of 700 members of the Texas National Guard for the response effort.

"This is what we train for," said Brig. Gen. Patrick M. Hamilton, commander of Domestic Operations Task Force, in a prepared statement. "And we're proud to stand beside our civilian partners, first responders and volunteers to serve the citizens of Texas."

Email: abby.hamblin@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @abbyhamblin
Life was just fine for Tina Quarels at the Otter Creek womens prison in eastern Kentucky - rules were relaxed, she didnt have to work and the staff was familiar.

It was more like a family setting, said Quarels, who is serving 20 years for murder and arson in Jefferson County.

That setting came to an end at the Otter Creek Correctional Complex after a sex scandal involving prisoners and guards at the Corrections Corporation of America-owned prison, which pushed the state to relocate hundreds of female inmates 377 miles away to the state-run Western Kentucky Correctional Complex in Fredonia.

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At first, it seemed all that needed to be done were things like swapping out urinals with toilets and retrofitting showers to accommodate women. However, its turned into a more complex and stressful adjustment. The complex is a prison farm - and now that women are the ones working, inmates and officials are having to adapt to new rules and a new reality.

Its been an experience, said 36-year-old Tracy Arthur of Ashland, who is serving seven years for manslaughter and works on the prison farm. Those of us who had been at Otter Creek for a while, we didnt do much. Therefore we had to learn to get up and move a lot more.

Kentucky ordered female inmates moved from Otter Creek in January after news of the scandal, which included widespread allegations that several of the mostly male corrections officers had sex with inmates. Some were charged criminally.

Western Kentucky Correctional Complex budgeted about $590,000 for renovations, with work continuing in some areas through the summer. The early work consisted, in large part, of plumbing changes and trying to hire more female corrections officers. Officials wanted more than half the staff to be women.

The first female inmates arrived in April. A group of about 200 male inmates were still housed in minimum security outside the razor-wire fencing of the main prison complex until June.

Corn, soybeans and hay are grown on the 2,450-acre prison grounds in part to feed about 200 cattle kept there. Inmates grew 70,000 bushels of corn in 2009, using 10,000 to 15,000 bushels to feed the cattle, Department of Corrections spokeswoman Lisa Lamb said. The rest sold at market for about $3 a bushel, putting about $30,000 profit into the states general fund.

Lamb said the inmates were moved to Western Kentucky Correctional Complex, even though it had no history of housing women, because of its size. There wasnt enough space for them at local jails or the other all-female prison in the state, Kentucky Correctional Institute for Women near Louisville.

The western Kentucky prison stands in stark contrast to Otter Creek, which sits on the side of a mountain, with no farming, limited recreational space and almost no views from the yard.

We just have a lot of room, a lot of room to breathe, said 39-year-old Stephanie Spitser, who is serving life in prison for murder and kidnapping.

But the open space came with restrictions the inmates werent used to - regular head counts, strict uniform regulations and mandates that inmates show up for work on the farm. Quarels said the inmates call it boot camp.

And there are small differences - the women dont get the deodorant and shampoo they had before and dont have a hair stylist - that are disheartening to some inmates.

Warden Bryan Henson acknowledged that officials didnt factor in some accommodations for the switch from men to women. Male inmates generally werent concerned about their hair or how old they look, he said. Not so with the new inmates, said Henson, who is serving as a warden for women inmates for the first time.

Gray hair is not a positive for them, Henson said of the female inmates. They get stressed out. That was definitely something new for us.

Staff members also described their new charges as more curious than male inmates, requiring more explanation when they take on a new job.

You find an answer, that leads to another 15 or 20 questions, said corrections officer Lisa Adams, one of the new hires at the prison. They are very inquisitive.

Working the farm - driving tractors, tending to crops, raising animals - has been a learning experience for many of the women.

Theres not a lot of us that have done anything, said 35-year-old Lorrie Johnson of Danville, who is serving five years for theft and drug trafficking.

Former Otter Creek inmates now at Western Kentucky Correctional Complex called the eastern Kentucky prison a more relaxed but chaotic environment. The inmates said the once-friendly staff started keeping inmates at a distance and seemed to enforce rules randomly after the sex allegations arose.

Inmates interviewed by The Associated Press during a recent tour of the Fredonia prison blamed the scandal on prisoners trading sexual favors for privileges or looking for reasons to file lawsuits.

There was an agenda behind it, not that it was OK for a staff member to do that, Spitser said.

The Hawaii Department of Corrections removed 165 inmates from the prison in 2009, citing safety concerns. Several inmates have sued the prison company, saying they were sexually assaulted. Those lawsuits are pending.

The last female inmates should transfer to the western Kentucky prison by September for a population of 693, which gives prison officials more time to make changes before the facility is full, Henson said.

Long-term inmates like Spitser said the there is a learning curve to adjusting - picking battles wisely and not objecting to every rule.

I think its going to be all right, Spitser said. I think things can turn around for us.
By PTI: (Eds: Adding details about accused)

New Delhi, Aug 25 (PTI) A 26-year-old radiology intern was found dead today with his throat slit at the St. Stephens hospital in the Tis Hazari area here, police said.

They have identified a fellow intern, Suyyash Gupta, as the accused. He was on the run after the incident and was one of the last persons to have met the victim today, they said.

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The body of Sashwat Pandey, a resident of Allahabad, was found lying this morning in the retiring room of doctors adjacent to the duty room at the hospital, police said.

"His throat was found slit with a surgical blade. As per the preliminary investigation, the suspect appears to be a fellow doctor and an acquaintance of the deceased," a senior police official said, earlier.

Police said Pandey and Gupta had a "fallout" around two years ago over some issue. Gupta has threatened to kill Pandey, though the exact reason for the killing is not known, they added.

Gupta was known for his run-ins with the hospital administration and had even been suspended for his attitude. He was staying in Malkaganj, police said.

It is suspected that at around 12.45 AM, he used his card to open the electronic lock-in system and killed Pandey, they said.

Police said that even though he had been suspended for almost two months, his ID card had not been taken away and through which he entered the hospital premises.

After killing Pandey, he left from the hospital in his car for Anand Vihar bus stand. He left the car at the exit gate of the bus stand and fled the spot, they said.

Gupta hails from a town in Uttar Pradesh and teams have been sent to nab them, they added.

Forensic officials and the crime team are investigating the incident, the officer said.

Meanwhile, the interns at the hospital today protested the killing and threatened to go on strike.

"All the interns lodged protest and threatened to go on strike, if action was not taken. The institutes director tried to pacify them. He told them that they should not do anything that would affect the patient care.

"He (director) also told them the case is being probed. We are also waiting to get more information on the case," a senior official of the hospital said.

Police said the victims mother, after learning about the incident, suffered a heart attack and was admitted to the St Stephens Hospital.

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They said Pandey and the accused had some "nagging issues", about which the hospital authorities had lodged a complaint with the police. However, police said that Pandey did not want police action after both the sides resolved their issues. PTI SLB KND AQS

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Jorge Chediek, Special Envoy to UN Secy General on South-South Cooperation, said, "The best situation from the perspective of United Nations is that every country gets along with each other."

By Geeta Mohan: Even as China's volley of attacks against India continues over the border situation in Doklam (Doka La) plateau, United Nations has urged both sides to resolve the issue peacefully through dialogue.

Speaking to India Today TV on Thursday, Jorge Chediek, Special Envoy to UN Secy General on South-South Cooperation, said, "The best situation from the perspective of United Nations is that every country gets along with each other. Cooperation is always better than confrontation. So we look forward to the two countries solving their differences in a peaceful way, as they expect themselves to do and continue their collaboration with each other as well as with other countries."

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Even as the world community is monitoring the increased tension between India and China, the latter has upped the ante by acting on its threats of creating trouble in other areas of the Line of Actual Control (LAC). The recent being the Pangong incident when the Indian and Chinese forces came to blows and hurled stones at each other, making the whole of LAC, especially the vulnerable areas, very volatile.

Hence, a worried international community is waiting for signs of de-escalation. Chediek said that while he was not engaged in any process of looking into the Doklam crisis, he did raise concerns regarding the border tensions itself, emphasising on the need to come up with a peaceful resolution to the crisis through dialogue.

"The concern is that it is no good that two great countries have tensions. So the best way is to have a peaceful solution through dialogue," he said.

The Doklam stand-off continues since mid-June when Indian forces prevented Chinese troops from building a road in Doka La (Doklam), an area which is disputed between Bhutan and China.

Chediek was speaking on the sidelines of the 'South-South And Triangular Cooperation' conference organised by Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS) where he emphasised the need for 'practioners' of 'South-South cooperation' to get together and realise the corridor's full potential. He also appreciated prime minister Narendra Modi and his administration's efforts in promoting the initiative.

"Prime minister Modi has shown great leadership with the Asia-Africa corridor, triangular initiative with Japan and also his expression of solidarity in all international forums like BRICS and IBSA. He is a prominent leader who has given impetus to South-South cooperation," Chediek said.

Also Read

Modi-Deuba meet: How India, China are wooing Nepal as Doklam standoff continues

As Doklam standoff drags on, China says India slapping its own face by building Ladakh road

--- ENDS ---
"This is not only un-presidential, it's just childish. We need an adult running the country," one Twitter user wrote in response to US President Donald Trump retweeting a meme an ardent supporter tweeted.

By Ganesh Radha-Udayakumar: If the United States were led by anyone other than Donald Trump, Americans would probably be flabbergasted to see their leader retweet a juvenile meme mocking his predecessor, Barack Obama.

"Proud Trump supporter" Jerry Travone posted a reimagination of the stages of an eclipse, which shows a grinning Donald Trump gradually obscure a black-and-white photograph of Barack Obama. The meme smacks of puerility unbecoming of high office. It is similar to one created by supporters of Obama earlier this month, the website Heavy.com reported.

@jaketapper @CNNInsidePolitx Trump Tweeted ECLIPSE because an OBAMA eclipse meme has been popular for a week now. Made DT Crazy! pic.twitter.com/ov9Psk6SJ2- Stephanie M (@StephJMort) August 24, 2017

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But as even intermittent observers of the Trump presidency know, sobriety and decorum have not exactly stood out as the defining features of the commander-in-chief's tenure, or the election campaign that preceded it.

Evidence of his saying women allow famous men like him to "grab them by the p****" failed to halt his inexorable march to the White House. Among the things he has publicly called his political rivals are "crooked," "goofy", and "crazy." During a state visit to France, he was caught on camera telling that nation's First Lady that she was "in such good shape". He has an adversarial relationship with his country's mainstream media, which has doggedly covered the attrition of his administrative staff, his controversial response to deadly racist violence in Charlottesville, and an investigation into alleged Russian interference in last year's elections.

And finally, Trump's tirades and proclamations on Twitter -- rich in spelling errors, exclamation points and screaming capital letters -- reach 36.7 million people, a following larger than the population of Canada.

In fact, Trump's retweet marked a confusing pause in a rancorous rant against two of his Republican colleagues, the media, and a former intelligence official who wondered if the former television star was fit to be president.

Some of those who saw the meme couldn't remain indifferent to what they thought was another example of inappropriate behaviour.

Retweeting this is not only unpresidential, it's just childish. We need an adult running the country.- ?? J'Wan Yvette ? (@jwanyvette1) August 25, 2017

Your tweets make me proud of my 11 yr old who is about 8 years ahead of you in maturity & infinitely more decent and intelligent #pathetic- ((Jody Ranck)) (@jranck) August 25, 2017

You're so obsessed with Obama it's totally juvenile.- josanjez (@JocAtBay) August 25, 2017

Yet others decided to have a bit of fun by extending the metaphor. After all, memories of the most-observed solar eclipse of all time -- which Trump looked at without using protective glasses -- are still fresh in Twitteratis' minds.

A hunk of cold, lifeless rock temporarily gets in the way of a source of radiant warmth and illumination. Yup. Nailed it.- Ben Stephens (@stephens_ben) August 25, 2017

let's hope it lasts only as long as a solar eclipse...a mere blip in time- Abby Normal (@Sexandfoodand) August 25, 2017

Two things about eclipses: they've always been considered bad omens, and they don't last very long.- Jeff Kalmar (@JeffK627) August 25, 2017

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It appears that Jerry Travone can't get enough of the conversation he has started. On Saturday morning, he pinned his tweet.

After everything that happened in and after Charlottesville, it might interest Donald Trump to know that Travone posted and deleted this message last week, said several news reports: "We have enough of these jews where I live lol someone else take them . They just can't drive."

Travone says his tweets don't reflect what he really believes, and has apologised for his anti-semiti remark, the Daily News reported.

ALSO READ

Phoenix rally: Police attack protesters as Trump blames media for misrepresenting Charlottesville response

After Charlottesville, Barack Obama quotes Mandela in most-liked tweet ever: The story behind the South African leader's words

Donald Trump's spelling woes continue, says America will heel and be stronger than ever

--- ENDS ---

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Lewes, DE -- (SBWIRE) -- 08/24/2017 -- As per International Monetary Fund (IMF) Austria's real gross domestic product is expected to grow at a CAGR of 1.24% from it's 2015 level of euro310.47billion and reach euro 338.401by 2022.



Austria, officially the Republic of Austria, is a federal republic and a landlocked country of roughly 8.47 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the north, Hungary and Slovakia to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west. The territory of Austria covers 32,377 square miles and has a temperate and alpine climate. German in its standard form is the country's official language.



Austria had estimated population of 8.691 million in the year 2016 and expected to reach 9.038 million by 2022. Austria's 3.587% population was employed in 2016 and the unemployment rate was 6.108% of total labor force.



Austria's real gross domestic product (GDP) was around Euro 315.071 billions in 2016 whereas the nominal GDP was Euro 349.493 billions. This resulted in GDP deflator 110.925. Per capita GDP was estimated at USD 44498.37 whereas purchasing power parity (PPP) based per capita GDP was estimated to be at USD 48004.66.



The output gap for Austria in 2016 was negative at 0.554% of the potential GDP.



In 2016, Austrian government's revenue was Euro 173.429 billions whereas the expenditure was Euro 178.389 billions. This resulted Austrian government's net lending / borrowing negative at Euro 4.96 billion in 2016 indicating that enough financial resources were not made available by the government to boost economic growth.



The current account balance for Austria was estimated to be at USD 9.283 billions for the year 2016 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.36% and reach USD 9.387 by 2022. This positive current account balance indicates the Austria is net lender to the whole world.The newly launched market research reports featuring Austria's PESTEL analysis, SWOT analysis and Risk analysis are aimed at providing insights about Austrian economy and market.



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Lewes, DE -- (SBWIRE) -- 08/25/2017 -- As per International Monetary Fund (IMF) Bahrain's real gross domestic product is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.07% from it's 2015 level of BHD 11.703 billion and reach BHD 15.475 billion by 2022.



Bahrain is the smallest country on the Persian Gulf with just over 1 million inhabitants, half of which being expatriates. The discovery of oil in 1932 brought rapid modernization to Bahrain. Also, it was the first Gulf state to take serious action in the late 1990s to diversify its economy to prepare for the post-oil and post-gas period, and, as such, it is one of the more diversified economies in the region.



Bahrain had estimated population of 1.319 million in the year 2016 and expected to reach 1.486 million by 2022, registering an average growth rate of 2%.



Bahrain's real gross domestic product (GDP) was around BHD 11.91 billions in 2016 whereas the nominal GDP was BHD 12 billions. This resulted in GDP deflator 100.752. Per capita GDP was estimated at USD 24182.90 whereas purchasing power parity (PPP) based per capita GDP was estimated to be at USD 50704.07.



In 2016, Bahrain's government's revenue was BHD 2.117 billions whereas the expenditure was BHD 4.245 billions. This resulted Bahrain government's net lending / borrowing negative at BHD 2.128 billion in 2016 indicating that enough financial resources were not made available by the government to boost economic growth.



The current account balance for Bahrain was negative & estimated to be at USD 1.492 billions for the year 2016 and is expected to decrease at a CAGR of 7.68% and reach USD 1.262 by 2022. This negative current account balance indicates the Bahrain is net borrower from the whole world.



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Lewes, DE -- (SBWIRE) -- 08/25/2017 -- As per International Monetary Fund (IMF) Cambodia's real gross domestic product is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.66% from it's 2015 level of KHR 43009.27 billion in 2015and reach KHR 67530.36 billion by 2022.



Cambodia is a Southeast Asian nation whose landscape spans low-lying plains, the Mekong Delta, mountains and Gulf of Thailand coastline. Phnom Penh, its capital, is home to the art deco Central Market, glittering Royal Palace and the National Museum's historical and archaeological exhibits. In the country's northwest are the ruins of Angkor Wat, a massive stone temple complex built during the Khmer Empire.



Cambodia had estimated population of 15.776 million in the year 2016 and expected to reach 17.25 million by 2022, growing at a CAGR of 1.50%.



Cambodia's real gross domestic product (GDP) was estimated to be around KHR 46026.66 billions in 2016 whereas the nominal GDP was estimated to be KHR 82225.04 billions. This resulted in GDP deflator 178.647. Per capita GDP was estimated at USD 1229.61 whereas purchasing power parity (PPP) based per capita GDP was estimated to be at USD 3736.88.



In 2016, Cambodian government's revenue was estimated to be KHR 15932.10 billions whereas the expenditure was estimated to be KHR 18295.69 billions. This resulted Cambodian government's net lending / borrowing negative at KHR 2363.60 billion in 2016 indicating that enough financial resources were not made available by the government to boost economic growth.



The current account balance for Cambodia was negative and estimated to be at USD 1.678billions for the year 2016 and is expected to further decrease at a CAGR of 4.33% and reach USD 2.538 by 2022. This negative current account balance indicates the Cambodia is a net borrower from the whole world.



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Lewes, DE -- (SBWIRE) -- 08/24/2017 -- As per International Monetary Fund (IMF) Costa Rica's real gross domestic product is expected to grow at a CAGR of 3.96% from it's 2015 level of CRC 25945.97 billion and reach CRC 34053.90 billionby 2022.



Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west, and the Caribbean Sea to the east. A constitutional republic, it is the only Latin American country to have been a democracy since 1950 or earlier. Costa Rica has consistently been among the top-ranking Latin American countries in the Human Development Index (HDI), placing 62nd in the world as of 2012.



Costa Rica had estimated population of 4.91 million in the year 2016 and expected to reach 5.28 million by 2022. Costa Rica's unemployment rate was 8.224% of total labor force, and it is expected to decrease at a CAGR of 2.70% and reach 7.634% by 2022.



Costa Rica's real gross domestic product (GDP) was around CRC 27069.12 billions in 2016 whereas the nominal GDP was CRC 31287.38 billions. This resulted in GDP deflator 115.583. Per capita GDP was estimated at USD 11834.84 whereas purchasing power parity (PPP) based per capita GDP was estimated to be at USD 16435.83.



In 2016, Costa Rica government's revenue was CRC 4441.37 billions whereas the expenditure was CRC 6048.76 billions. This resulted Costa Rica government's net lending / borrowing negative at CRC 1607.39 billion in 2016 indicating that enough financial resources were not made available by the government to boost economic growth.



The current account balance for Costa Rica was estimated to be negative at USD 2.055 billions for the year 2016 and is expected to decline at a CAGR of 5.46% and reach USD 3.618 by 2022. This negative current account balance indicates the Costa Rica is net borrower from the whole world.



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New York, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 08/25/2017 -- WiseGuyReports published new report, titled "The Cards and Payments Industry in Egypt: Emerging trends and opportunities".



"The Cards and Payments Industry in Egypt: Emerging trends and opportunities to 2020" report provides detailed analysis of market trends in the Egyptian cards and payments industry. It provides values and volumes for a number of key performance indicators in the industry, including credit transfers, payment cards, cash, and cheques during the review-period (2012-16e).



The report also analyzes various payment card markets operating in the industry, and provides detailed information on the number of cards in circulation, transaction values and volumes during the review-period and over the forecast-period (2016-20f). It also offers information on the country's competitive landscape, including the market shares of issuers and schemes.



The report brings together research, modeling, and analysis expertise to allow banks and card issuers to identify segment dynamics and competitive advantages. The report also covers details of regulatory policy and recent changes in the regulatory structure.



This report provides top-level market analysis, information and insights into the Egyptian cards and payments industry, including 



- Current and forecast values for each market in the Egyptian cards and payments industry, including debit and credit cards.



- Detailed insights into payment instruments including credit transfers, cash, cheques, and payment cards. It also, includes an overview of the country's key alternative payment instruments.



- E-commerce market analysis and payment methods.



- Analysis of various market drivers and regulations governing the Egyptian cards and payments industry.



- Detailed analysis of strategies adopted by banks and other institutions to market debit and credit cards.



GET SAMPLE REPORT @ https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/1685836-the-cards-and-payments-industry-in-egypt-emerging-trends-and-opportunities-to-2020



Scope



- To replenish depleting foreign reserves and reduce illegal foreign currency trading in the country, the central bank directed banks to adopt measures to regulate the international use of Egyptian pound-denominated debit cards in 2016. Every bank must enforce a cap on payment card transactions and cash withdrawal limits for international transactions. Following the announcement, Credit Agricole Egypt banned the use of Egyptian pound-denominated debit cards abroad with effect from September 1, 2016. Likewise, CIB has reduced the limit on oversees spending on Egyptian pound-denominated debit cards. The maximum monthly purchase limit of its Classic, Titanium, and Platinum cards are $50 (EGP906.60), $150 (EGP2,719.90), and $300 (EGP5,439.70) respectively.



- Alternative payments are slowly gaining prominence in Egypt. Visa in association with QNB Alahli Bank launched its mobile payment solution mVisa in Egypt in May 2017. The service allows users to make in-store payments by scanning a QR code or entering the merchant's identification number. Banque Misr launched its mobile wallet BM Wallet in February 2017, allowing customers to transfer funds to individuals in Egypt, withdraw cash, make utility bill payments, and conduct in-store purchases at participating merchants. Similarly, CIB introduced its Smart Wallet in January 2016, allowing customers to conduct purchases, make utility bill payments, and pay for ticketing and mobile recharges.



- To increase financial inclusion and promote electronic payments, the Central Bank of Egypt introduced new regulations on mobile payment services in November 2016. Banks must now employ agents in remote areas to provide banking services to unbanked and low-income individuals. Users can transfer funds from their mobile account to other accounts within the same bank. Additionally, micro-enterprises and small merchants can receive payments from customers on their mobile accounts. The service enables consumers to receive cross-border family remittances on their mobile accounts, and the money transferred can be disbursed by beneficiaries through agents.



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- Make strategic business decisions, using top-level historic and forecast market data, related to the Egyptian cards and payments industry and each market within it.



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Table of Contents

https://www.wiseguyreports.com/conferences



1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

2. PAYMENT INSTRUMENTS

3. E-COMMERCE AND ALTERNATIVE PAYMENTS

4. REGULATIONS IN THE CARDS AND PAYMENTS INDUSTRY

5. ANALYSIS OF CARDS AND PAYMENTS INDUSTRY DRIVERS

6. PAYMENT CARDS

7. DEBIT CARDS

8. PAY-LATER CARDS

9. PREPAID CARDS

10. APPENDIX



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By PTI: Thimphu, Aug 25 (PTI) Set against the stunning backdrop of the Eastern Himalayas, the 8th edition of Mountain Echoes festival opened here today.

Inaugurated formally last evening at India House here by Bhutans Queen Mother Ashi Dorji Wangmo Wangchuck, the annual literary festival will explore globally relevant issues such as environmental conservation, natural history, spirituality, and Buddhism among others.

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Speaking about the India and Bhutans shared love for literature and art, the queen emphasised on the impact the festival has made on "young Bhutanese minds".

"Our shared love for literature and arts has brought India and Bhutan together to create and celebrate yet another edition of Mountain Echoes. "Over the years since we started the literary festival, I have noticed the impact this festival has had on the young Bhutanese minds -- there is a growth in interest in literature among the young generation. And it is also evident by the increased number of Bhutanese speakers and authors at this years event," she said.

Jaideep Sarkar, Indian ambassador to Bhutan, said that events like the Mountain Echoes opens Bhutan to the world and quipped it would supersede the Jaipur Literature Festival in popularity soon.

"I am thankful to the government of Rajasthan for their continued support and association with this event. It is not long before Jaipur Literature Festival will be but a successful imitation of Mountain Echoes!

"This year more than half of the listed speakers are from Bhutan. As Bhutan opens its society and culture to the rest of the world, we realise there is much to learn from the world but the world is also realising that there is a lot that they can learn from Bhutan through its lessons of harmony, balance and coexistence," Sarkar said.

The three-day festival will be attended by eminent Bhutanese and foreign authors including Markus Zusak, Shashi Tharoor, Ruskin Bond, Ashwin Sanghi among others.

The first day saw a discussion by Indian bestselling writer Ashwin Sanghi on "The Karma of Writing".

UK-born Bhutanese nun Emma Slade participated in a session titled, "Set Free" talking about about her life as the founder of charity Opening Your Heart to Bhutan which works for specially abled Bhutanese children. In the opening session on the first day, the queen talked about "The Legacy of Zhabdrung", shedding light on the life and legacy of the founding father of Bhutan, Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyel. The day also witnessed sessions by writers K Anis Ahmed, Sujeev Shakya, Tenzing Lamsang, along with a conversation between The Book Thief author Markus Zusak and Linda Leaming. The festival will come to a close on August 27. PTI MAH TRS

--- ENDS ---

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Lewes, DE -- (SBWIRE) -- 08/24/2017 -- As per International Monetary Fund (IMF) El Salvador's real gross domestic product is expected to grow at a CAGR of 2.16% from it's 2015 level of USD 10.003 billion in 2015and reach USD 11.615 billion by 2022.



Situated on the Pacific coast of Central America, El Salvador has Guatemala to the west and Honduras to the north and east. It is the smallest of the Central American countries, with an area equal to that of Massachusetts, and it is the only one without an Atlantic coastline. Most of the country is on a fertile volcanic plateau about 2,000 ft. (607 m) high. EI Salvador has a population estimated at 6.4 million, making EI Salvador one of the smallest and most densely populated countries in Central or South America.



El Salvador had estimated population of 6.149 million in the year 2016 and expected to reach 6.265 million by 2022. El Salvador's unemployment rate was 7.078% of total labor force and it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 0.46 and reach 7.228% of total labor force.



El Salvador's gross domestic product (GDP) was around USD 10.243 billions in 2016 whereas the nominal GDP was USD 26.709 billions. This resulted in GDP deflator 260.75. Per capita GDP was estimated at USD 4343.44 whereas purchasing power parity (PPP) based per capita GDP was estimated to be at USD 8909.43.



In 2016, El Salvador's government's revenue was USD 5.036 billions whereas the expenditure was USD 5.683 billions. This resulted El Salvador government's net lending / borrowing negative at USD 0.647 billion in 2016 indicating that enough financial resources were not made available by the government to boost economic growth.



The current account balance for EL Salvador was estimated to be negative at USD 0.669 billions for the year 2016 and is expected to decline at a CAGR of 9.50% and reach USD 1.737 by 2022. This negative current account balance indicates the El Salvador is net borrower from the whole world.



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Lewes, DE -- (SBWIRE) -- 08/25/2017 -- As per International Monetary Fund (IMF) Honduras's real gross domestic product is expected to grow at a CAGR of 3.69% from it's 2015 level of HNL 189.732 billion in 2015and reach HNL 244.438 billionby 2022.



Honduras is a Central American country with Caribbean Sea coastlines to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. In the tropical rainforest near Guatemala, the ancient Mayan ceremonial site Copan has stone-carved hieroglyphics and stelae, tall stone monuments. In the Caribbean Sea are the Bay Islands, a diving destination that's part of the 1,000km-long Mesoamerican Barrier Reef.



Honduras had estimated population of 8.19 million in the year 2016 and expected to reach 8.915 million by 2022. Honduras unemployment rate was 4% of total labor force.



Honduras's real gross domestic product (GDP) was around HNL 196.562 billions in 2016 whereas the nominal GDP was HNL 491.282 billions. This resulted in GDP deflator 249.938. Per capita GDP was estimated at USD 2608.58 whereas purchasing power parity (PPP) based per capita GDP was estimated to be at USD 5271.47.



In 2016, Honduras government's revenue was HNL 131.643 billions whereas the expenditure was HNL 137.945 billions. This resulted German government's net lending / borrowing negative at HNL 6.302 billion in 2016 indicating that enough financial resources were not made available by the government to boost economic growth.



The current account balance for Honduras was estimated to be negative at USD 0.81 billions for the year 2016 and is expected to decline at a CAGR of 3.35% and reach USD 1.017 by 2022. This negative current account balance indicates the Honduras is net borrower from the whole world.



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Lewes, DE -- (SBWIRE) -- 08/25/2017 -- As per International Monetary Fund (IMF) Italy's real gross domestic product is expected to grow at a CAGR of 0.83% from it's 2015 level of euro 1555.01 billionand reach euro 1648.08 billion by 2022.



Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a unitary parliamentary republic in Southern Europe. To the north, Italy borders France, Switzerland, Austria, and Slovenia, and is approximately delimited by the Alpine watershed, enclosing the Po Valley and the Venetian Plain. To the south, it consists of the entirety of the Italian Peninsula and the two biggest Mediterranean islands of Sicily and Sardinia.



Italy had estimated population of 60.666 million in the year 2016 and expected to reach 60.66 million by 2022. Italy's 22.685 million population was employed in 2016 and the unemployment rate was 11.65% of total labor force.



Italy's real gross domestic product (GDP) was around Euro 1568.69 billions in 2016 whereas the nominal GDP was Euro 1672.44 billions. This resulted in GDP deflator 106.614. Per capita GDP was estimated at USD 30507.18 whereas purchasing power parity (PPP) based per capita GDP was estimated to be at USD 36833.09.



The output gap for Italy in 2016 was negative at 2.422% of the potential GDP.



In 2016, Italian government's revenue was Euro 788.952 billions whereas the expenditure was Euro 829.66 billions. This resulted Italian government's net lending / borrowing negative at Euro 40.708 billion in 2016 indicating that enough financial resources were made not available by the government to boost economic growth.



The current account balance for Italy was estimated to be at USD 50.762 billions for the year 2016 and is expected to decline at a CAGR of 10.68% and reach USD 13,409 by 2022. This positive current account balance indicates the Italy is net lender to the whole world.



The newly launched market research reports featuring Italy's PESTEL analysis, SWOT analysis and Risk analysis are aimed at providing insights about Italy economy and market.



Scope of the Italy PESTEL Analysis, SWOT Analysis and Risk Analysis Market Research Reports



- These reports provide information about key macroeconomic indicators for Italy.



- These reports provide PESTELE (political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal) analysis for Italy.



- These reports provide SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis for Italy.



- These reports provide risk analysis for Italy.



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New York, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 08/25/2017 -- WiseGuyReports published new report, titled "The Cards and Payments Industry in Kazakhstan: Emerging trends and opportunities".



"The Cards and Payments Industry in Kazakhstan: Emerging trends and opportunities to 2021", report provides detailed analysis of market trends in the Kazakhstan's cards and payments industry. It provides values and volumes for a number of key performance indicators in the industry, including credit transfers, payment cards, direct debits, and cheques during the review-period (2012-16).



The report also analyzes various payment card markets operating in the industry, and provides detailed information on the number of cards in circulation, transaction values and volumes during the review-period and over the forecast-period (2017-21f). It also offers information on the country's competitive landscape, including the market shares of issuers and schemes.



The report brings together research, modeling, and analysis expertise to allow banks and card issuers to identify segment dynamics and competitive advantages. The report also covers details of regulatory policy and recent changes in the regulatory structure.



This report provides top-level market analysis, information and insights into the Kazakhstan's cards and payments industry, including -



- Current and forecast values for each market in the Kazakhstan's cards and payments industry, including debit and credit cards.

- Detailed insights into payment instruments including credit transfers, cheques, direct debit, and payment cards. It also, includes an overview of the country's key alternative payment instruments.

- E-commerce market analysis.

- Analysis of various market drivers and regulations governing the Kazakhstan's cards and payments industry.

- Detailed analysis of strategies adopted by banks and other institutions to market debit and credit cards.



GET SAMPLE REPORT @ https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/1685837-the-cards-and-payments-industry-in-kazakhstan-emerging-trends-and-opportunities



Scope



- Contactless payments are gradually gaining prominence in Kazakhstan as banks and card schemes are increasingly working towards offering convenient payment services to customers. In February 2016, Visa collaborated with Kazkommertsbank to introduce a contactless m-payment service. The service, which is based on host card emulation (HCE) technology, will allow the bank's customers to make contactless payments using Android smartphones with NFC chips. The solution enables holders of Visa cards issued by Kazkommertsbank to easily integrate them with their Android smartphones to pay for goods and services, both in Kazakhstan and in other countries where contactless Visa payWave technology is available. The service requires consumers to enter a PIN code for transactions over $15 (KZT5,000). Earlier in June 2014, Kazkommertsbank collaborated with Mastercard to launch mobile contactless payments.



- While banks in Kazakhstan still focus on traditional bricks-and-mortar branches to deliver services, B1NK Bank, a mobile-only bank of Capital Bank Kazakhstan, allows consumers to conduct banking transactions purely via mobile phones. In August 2016, the bank introduced a new service allowing users to transfer money to friends via a messaging app. The app also provides assistance regarding ATM and Capital Bank Kazakhstan branch locations, currency exchange rates, and card balances and transaction history. Meanwhile digital bank Altyn-i was launched by Halyk Bank in 2016. It offers an online platform for consumers to open a bank account, access credit, and save money for corporate or individual needs. The advent of mobile-only banks is likely to accelerate a shift towards electronic payments in Kazakhstan.



- To benefit from the growing adoption of alternative payment solutions, UnionPay International partnered with Halyk Bank to introduce its HCE- and tokenization-based mobile payment (m-payment) service QuickPass in Kazakhstan in May 2017. Previously, in February 2017 Visa announced plans to launch its m-payment solution mVisa, which allows users to make in-store payments by scanning a QR code or entering the merchant's identification number. Consumers can also transfer funds to family and friends and pay utility bills by linking the mVisa app with their respective Visa debit, credit, and prepaid cards.



Key points to buy



- Make strategic business decisions, using top-level historic and forecast market data, related to the Kazakhstan's cards and payments industry and each market within it.



- Understand the key market trends and growth opportunities in the Kazakhstan's cards and payments industry.



- Assess the competitive dynamics in the Kazakhstan's cards and payments industry.



- Gain insights into marketing strategies used for various card types in Kazakhstan.



- Gain insights into key regulations governing the Kazakhstan's cards and payments industry.



Table of Contents



1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

2. PAYMENT INSTRUMENTS

3. E-COMMERCE AND ALTERNATIVE PAYMENTS

4. REGULATIONS IN THE CARDS AND PAYMENTS INDUSTRY

5. ANALYSIS OF CARDS AND PAYMENTS INDUSTRY DRIVERS

6. PAYMENT CARDS

7. DEBIT CARDS

8. PAY-LATER CARDS

9. PREPAID CARDS

10. APPENDIX



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Petaling Jaya, Selangor -- (SBWIRE) -- 08/25/2017 -- - Themed "Innovating Supply Chain Risk Management Through Science And Technologies", experts from Rentokil Initial demonstrate to the participants just how important innovations are in managing food safety.



- The workshops were held at Spice Convention Centre in Penang and Double Tree by Hilton in JB on the 21st and 22nd of August respectively.



- Kuala Lumpur sessions are held at Le Meridien in KL on the 24th of August, 2017.



- Rentokil Initial Malaysia also took the opportunity to launch PestConnect and LED flies control trap - Lumnia, during the event.



Rentokil Initial Malaysia brought together over 200 key industry leaders nationwide, from F&B manufacturing, logistics, warehousing, hospitality, food handlers, pharmaceutical sectors with one objective - to improve food safety in Malaysia. The event was also joined by Health Inspectors from the Ministry of Health.



As the market leader in pest control, Rentokil recognises the importance of science and technology integration with pest management.



"The world population is going to reach 8.5billion by year 2030, and due to globalised supply chain, food safety management has gotten more challenging than ever. Also with the rise of social media, it is so much easier for consumers to broadcast their sentiments publicly, which can ultimately affect any business's reputation. Hence technologies and data transparency are crucial to safeguard the credibility of the entire supply chain. As the trusted pest management partner, Rentokil is excited to share more innovations and come together in improving food trust, creating safer food and pharma supplies for all." said Ms Carol Lam, the Managing Director of Rentokil Initial Malaysia.



Juliana Soo, Regional Technical Director of Rentokil Initial said at the event: "As devices become more connected to transmit and receive data, we hope that our sharing on the importance of data insights and Internet of Things (IoT) allow our customers to understand the importance of big data in an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) for effective supply chain pest risk management."



She added, "These innovative technological systems are able to deliver new data insights that enable businesses to identify trends and hotspot areas. It can also provide a real solution to help mitigate risk in the increasingly complex modern supply chains. It is a more proactive approach towards food safety that helps organisations throughout its supply chain risk management"



The innovations that we brought for our customers are based on their needs and according to IPM using the ERDM (Exclusion, Restriction, Destruction, Monitoring) methodology designed by Rentokil to manage pest risks in a holistic manner.



During the workshop, the participants were also given the first-hand experience on PestConnect, an online connected system, which provides continuous 24/7 monitoring, rapid response and protection against pest, for example rodents. The connected devices automatically detect pest activities and send the data directly to myRentokil, the online reporting system that allows customers to stay on top of any potential risks at their site (s). Tens of thousands of Rentokil's customers are able to access their myRentokil accounts for analysis and audit support.



On top of that, Rentokil also unveiled its Lumnia, the Insect Light Trap (ILT) with improved LED technology, which is proven effective to attract flies up to 150m2 because UV light is transmitted 40% further with LED strips compared to standard tubes. Lumnia delivers an average of 61% in energy savings, when compared to similar products.



About Rentokil Pest Control Malaysia

Rentokil Pest Control, part of Rentokil Initial group is one of the largest business services companies in the world. As the market leading pest control company that never stop innovating, Rentokil's Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programme provides wide range of solutions for the various sector ranging from the food processing industries, pharmaceutical, service sectors, retail to industrial and manufacturing.



Rentokil IPM programmes is designed to be compliant with recognised standards or certifications, such as AIB International, BRC Global International Standards, YUM!, Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP), and many more. Continuous pest monitoring, regular visitations and proactive recommendations are the standard supports delivered to ensure the effectiveness of the IPM programme.



To further complement Rentokil's IPM programme, an online reporting and analysis system has been deployed to help customers monitor pest activities at multiple locations effectively. It also provides recommendations management, better traceability and easy access to all key information and service delivery records needed for pest risk management and food audit requirement.



Research and Development is an intrinsic part of the business. We have Technical Research and Development Centres based in England and India, continuously create new innovations and more effective products in our fight against pests.



Press Contacts:

Ms. Louise Leong

Marketing Director, Malaysia, Thailand, Brunei and the Philippines

louise.leong@rentokil-initial.co

15th Floor, Menara Yayasan Selangor No. 18A, Jalan Persiaran Barat

46000 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia.

1300885911

http://www.rentokil.com.my/
Mumbai, India -- (SBWIRE) -- 08/25/2017 -- The report on Global Hydrogen Generation Market is the latest addition to the huge database of DecisionDatabases.com. This research study is segmented on the basis of applications, technology, geography, and types. The Report provides a detailed Hydrogen Generation Industry overview along with the analysis of industry's gross margin, cost structure, consumption value, and sale price. The leading companies of the Hydrogen Generation Market, manufacturers, and distributors are profiled in the report along with the latest Industry development current and future trends.



Access the Report and full TOC @ http://www.decisiondatabases.com/ip/7396-united-states-hydrogen-generation-industry-market-report



This report studies sales (consumption) of Hydrogen Generation in United States market, focuses on the top players, with sales, price, revenue and market share for each player, covering The Linde Group, Parker, Praxair Technology, Air Liquide, Air Products and Chemicals, Idroenergy, LNI Schmidlin SA, Hydrogenics, Proton, Peak Scientific, MVS Engineering Limited, Hy9, Ally Hi-Tech, Caloric Anlagenbau, Mitsubishi Gas Chemical, Suzhou Jingli Hydrogen Production Equipment Co.



Market Segment by States, covering California, Texas, New York, Florida, Illinois.



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Split by product types, with sales, revenue, price, market share, and growth rate of each type can be divided into Steam Reforming, Water Electrolysis, Thermochemical, Solar Hydrogen, Other.



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Table of Contents - Snapshot

1 Overview

2 United States Competition by Manufacturers

3 United States Sales (Volume) and Revenue (Value) by States (2011-2016)

4 United States Sales (Volume) and Revenue (Value) by Type (2011-2016)

5 United States Sales (Volume) by Application (2011-2016)

6 United States Manufacturers Profiles/Analysis

7 Manufacturing Cost Analysis

8 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers

9 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/Traders

10 Market Effect Factors Analysis

11 United States Market Forecast (2016-2021)

12 Research Findings and Conclusion

13 Appendix



About DecisionDatabases.com

DecisionDatabases.com is a global business research reports provider, enriching decision makers and strategists with qualitative statistics. DecisionDatabases.com is proficient in providing syndicated research Report, customized research reports, company profiles and industry databases across multiple domains.



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Plimpton 322, the most famous of Old Babylonian tablets (1900-1600 BC), is the worlds oldest trigonometric table, possibly used by Babylonian scholars to calculate how to construct stepped pyramids, palaces and temples, according to a duo of researchers from the School of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, Australia.

Plimpton 322, one of the most sophisticated scientific artifacts of the ancient world, likely came from the ancient Sumerian city of Larsa, which was located near modern-day Tell as-Senkereh in southern Iraq.

The tablet was most likely written between 1822-1762 BC (around the time of Hammurabi, the sixth king of the First Babylonian Dynasty).

It was discovered in the early 1900s by the archaeologist, academic and adventurer Edgar J. Banks, the person on whom the fictional character Indiana Jones was based.

In the 1920s, Banks sold the tablet to the American publisher and philanthropist George Arthur Plimpton.

Plimpton bequeathed his entire collection of mathematical artifacts to Columbia University in 1936, and it resides there today in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library.

Physically Plimpton 322 is made from clay and measures 12.7 x 8.8 cm, with the left-hand edge showing clear evidence of being broken, and indeed remnants of modern glue suggests that the break occurred in recent times.

Plimpton 322s obverse (front) is divided by 3 vertical lines into 4 columns, each with a heading, the first of which is partially obscured by damage, while the others are clearly readable.

The main body of the obverse is ruled by neat horizontal lines into 15 equally spaced rows containing sexagesimal (base 60) numbers, some of which are quite large. The vertical lines continue on the bottom and reverse, which are otherwise empty.

Plimpton 322 has puzzled mathematicians for more than 70 years, since it was realized it contains a special pattern of numbers called Pythagorean triples, said UNSW researcher Dr. Daniel Mansfield.

The huge mystery, until now, was its purpose  why the ancient scribes carried out the complex task of generating and sorting the numbers on the tablet.

The new study by Dr. Mansfield and his colleague, Dr. Norman Wildberger, provides an alternative to the widely-accepted view that Plimpton 322 was a scribal school text.

Our research reveals that Plimpton 322 describes the shapes of right-angle triangles using a novel kind of trigonometry based on ratios, not angles and circles. It is a fascinating mathematical work that demonstrates undoubted genius, Dr. Mansfield said.

The tablet not only contains the worlds oldest trigonometric table; it is also the only completely accurate trigonometric table, because of the very different Babylonian approach to arithmetic and geometry.

The Greek astronomer Hipparchus, who lived about 120 years BC, has long been regarded as the father of trigonometry, with his table of chords on a circle considered the oldest trigonometric table.

Plimpton 322 predates Hipparchus by more than 1000 years. It opens up new possibilities not just for modern mathematics research, but also for mathematics education. With Plimpton 322 we see a simpler, more accurate trigonometry that has clear advantages over our own, Dr. Wildberger said.

Dr. Mansfield read about Plimpton 322 by chance when preparing material for first year mathematics students at UNSW.

He and Dr. Wildberger decided to study Babylonian mathematics and examine the different historical interpretations of the tablets meaning.

The 15 rows on the tablet describe a sequence of 15 right-angle triangles, which are steadily decreasing in inclination, they explained.

The left-hand edge of the tablet is broken and we build on previous research to present new mathematical evidence that there were originally 6 columns and that the tablet was meant to be completed with 38 rows.

We also demonstrate how the ancient scribes, who used a base 60 numerical arithmetic similar to our time clock, rather than the base 10 number system we use, could have generated the numbers on the tablet using their mathematical techniques.

Plimpton 322 was a powerful tool that could have been used for surveying fields or making architectural calculations to build palaces, temples or step pyramids, Dr. Mansfield added.

The research is published in the journal Historia Mathematica.

_____

Daniel F. Mansfield & N.J. Wildberger. Plimpton 322 is Babylonian exact sexagesimal trigonometry. Historia Mathematica, published online August 24, 2017; doi: 10.1016/j.hm.2017.08.001
The overwater bungalow - that iconic symbol of the paradisiacal tropical vacation, standing in clear blue water on stilt legs - turns the big five-oh this year. The thatched huts, often outfitted with such luxury amenities as plunge pools and glass floors to better see the fish below, are a staple on the bucket lists and Pinterest boards of aspirational travelers the world over. Yet their origin lies in a surprisingly prosaic exercise in problem-solving.

Back in the '60s, three tanned, party-hearty California kids - Hugh Kelley, Don "Muk" McCallum and Jay Carlisle - left their 9-to-5s in pursuit of their tropical dreams in French Polynesia. Opening hotels on Moorea and Raiatea, the trio was dubbed the Bali Hai Boys, after the mystical island in James Michener's novel "South Pacific."

Carlisle, now in his 70s, reminisces about those days:

"Our Hotel Bali Hai on Moorea thrived with its beachfront property, but Hotel Bora Bora on Raiatea struggled," he says. "It didn't have any beaches." A serious problem, indeed. "Inspired by the vernacular thatched-roof fishing huts," he goes on, "Kelley derived the idea of building bungalows on concrete stilts out on the bay, providing direct access to the lagoon. We drilled down by hand; there were no electric drills or anything. We did all of the work." That was in 1967.

The trio assured the government that the stilted bungalows wouldn't damage the environment. "We built small docks that extended out into a flat place in the lagoon and attached them to pylons, " Carlisle said, "The coral grows around the pylons and attracts the fish."

They built three bungalows "with Plexiglas on the living room floor so you could see the reef below." That feature soon became known as "Tahitian TV," a must-have in any overwater bungalow.

People liked the bungalows, so the Bali Hai Boys built six more. And then another three. Then other hotels in the region started copying them. Even though the originals were never luxe, they ignited a revolution in posh hotel architecture, and French Polynesia became synonymous with tropical glamour.

Today, with the other men's children, Carlisle oversees the Club Bali Hai Moorea Hotel, the smallest and last of their properties. (McCallum now lives on the U.S. mainland, and Kelley died in 1998.) The hotel remains quite rustic, and Carlisle insists that he has no plans to change that.

The other original resorts are long gone, but in their place is a global industry of overwater bungalows.

"By my last count, there were 165 total resorts in the world with close to 9,000 overwater bungalows," says Roger Wade, who runs OverwaterBungalows.net.

The true overwater bungalow tends to have one thing: turquoise, swimming-pool-esque waters. They can't be exposed to waves and tides. At the Four Seasons Bora Bora, the South Pacific boasts what is consistently rated as the world's best.

"We've taken the overwater bungalow philosophy introduced by the Bali Hai Boys and have introduced the next level of design, comfort and luxury," says hotel spokesman Brad Packer. Each bungalow provides two outdoor living areas, one for sunning and one for dining, soaking tubs built for two, and glorious views of Mount Otemanu at every turn.

That said, you'll find the preponderance of overwater bungalows - two-thirds - in the Maldives. Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Cambodia have them as well.

Resorts closer to the United States have been feverishly developing overwater bungalows over the past few years, with Jamaica, St. Lucia, Belize and Mexico all offering the overwater experience. And some, according to Wade, are on par with those in the South Pacific, including Jamaica's new Sandals Royal Caribbean and the El Dorado Maroma in Mexico's Riviera Maya. Both are luxurious, offering infinity pools, outdoor showers, two-person Jacuzzis and, of course, the glass-floored living room to view the tropical fish. The main difference, Wade is quick to add, is that while these new Caribbean bungalows are set in very clear bays, their waters don't compare with the crystalline lagoons of the South Pacific or the Maldives.

Other destinations have what Wade describes as "eco-resorts" that take the overwater concept to rivers and lakes. You'll find them in Guatemala, Panama, even Honduras. "They're not quite the same," Wade says. Meaning, they don't have the beautiful, clear waters that make the South Pacific bungalows so alluring. Nevertheless, they offer the sublimity of being suspended overwater.

According to Wade, the demand for overwater bungalows shows no signs of diminishing. "Resorts have popped up in Qatar," he says, "even Africa has a couple, in Kenya and Mozambique."

There aren't any in the United States - yet. In the meantime, with the 50th anniversary in full swing, including special anniversary packages being offered by hotels around the world, Carlisle admits that the Club Bali Hai Moorea Hotel is not noting the occasion.

"I didn't even know about the anniversary," he says. "I guess we're not doing anything special."

No need. They did that 50 years ago.
Fifth of seven parts

Jim Bertram: Good morning, pastor.

Pastor Gallo: Good morning, Jim.

JB: Where are we now in our discussion of the enduring legacy of the Protestant Reformation?

PG: Thus far we've covered what might be called the great What of the Reformation  that is, the doctrine of salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, which stands as the theological core of all Protestant teaching. Today we're going to shift gears a little bit. Instead of talking about the great What of the Reformation, we need to talk about the great Says Who? of the Reformation, which has proved to be no less contentious in Catholic-Protestant debate.

JB: What do you mean by Says Who?

PG: In order to give a full account of human life and how it should be lived, any religion or worldview must not only teach what is true; it must also teach how we can know what is true. In other words, every belief system must seek to answer the question of authority: What source or sources reliably give us true knowledge? Some people will answer that only the empirical sciences can provide true knowledge (though how it is that they could empirically prove this axiom about knowledge, I couldn't say); others will simply say that there is no such thing as true knowledge and that all we have are our unreliable sense experiences and subjective thoughts.

The Christian, on the other hand, believes that God has made us knowledgeable creatures in a knowable creation, fallen though we might be; and that above all, God made us to know him and his will for us. The question for us, then, is this: Where and how has God authoritatively, reliably revealed himself to us? What has God given to the church for us to know with certainty what to believe and how to live?

JB: I suppose we wouldn't be here if Protestants and Roman Catholics answered this question the exact same way, would we?

PG: That's right. The traditional Catholic model was built on three sources of teaching, all of which were held to be equal in authority: (1) the Scriptures themselves; (2) the doctrines known as Apostolic Tradition, which are not found in the Bible but were said to have been passed down orally through the church from the original disciples of Jesus; and (3) the official declarations of the Roman clergy, which were considered under certain circumstances to be infallibly authoritative in the same manner as Scripture.

When the Reformers came onto the scene, however, they determined this model of doctrinal authority to be both historically dubious (given the many errors and abuses of the institutional church over the centuries) and logically inconsistent  but even more importantly, they found it to be out of step with what Scripture declares concerning itself. As Paul writes in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.

If it is the case that the Bible is the only revelation we have that is the very word of God  our only divinely inspired source of knowledge  then Scripture alone (Sola Scriptura) must indeed be the only infallible rule of faith and practice, our one supremely reliable and binding authority. In other words, the Bible teaches us everything we need to know in order to be true and faithful Christians.

JB: Clearly this is a deep subject with many contours. With our remaining time today, would you be willing to respond to a number of common misunderstandings and objections to Sola Scriptura in a sort of lightning round?

PG: That may be the nicest way anyone has ever told me, Pastor, you're rambling. But I think that's a great idea. Let's do it.

JB: All right then, first off: Does Sola Scriptura mean that the Bible tells us everything we need to know?

PG: No, that is a rather silly caricature of the Protestant view. The Bible tells us everything we need to know about God and Christianity, but it doesn't tell us how to wash our clothes, or what to use as medicine, or when the next solar eclipse will be, because that's not what God intended it for or what we need it to be. Scripture was given by God to people living in a world he created to teach us many things. The Bible is true, and many other things are true and knowable; but only the Bible (by virtue of its divine inspiration) is infallibly true and absolutely reliable, and thus serves as the final say-so in all religious matters.

JB: Does Sola Scriptura mean that we should reject the historic creeds and confessions of the church?

PG: Well, if we were to embrace a faulty logic like that, then I suppose we shouldn't bother to talk about the Protestant Reformation either! The creeds and confessions of the church are tremendously valuable in showing us how previous generations of Christians understood the Bible. So long as we don't make the mistake of assigning these documents a status on par with Scripture, Protestants can happily use them for instruction and devotion to the extent that they truly reflect what the Bible teaches  which is why, for instance, I often recommend that people interested in Sola Scriptura read the first chapter of the Westminster Confession of Faith (1646), which articulates the doctrine beautifully.

JB: Does Sola Scriptura mean that an individual Christian can understand the Bible all on his own?

PG: Again, no. We do well to remember that the Bible was written almost entirely to churches or communities rather than to individuals. God created us to study, learn and obey Scripture within the context of the church past and present. While the basic gospel message is blessedly clear, a Christian simply cannot strike out on his own  divorcing himself from the family of faith across time and space  and expect to understand everything the Bible teaches.

JB: Lastly, does Sola Scriptura mean that the Bible is the only authority in the life of a Christian?

PG: This really gets to the heart of the issue. Protestants maintain that the institutional church and the historic teachings of the church do have a true and proper authority, as the Reformers themselves were careful to demonstrate in their writings. But the authority of the church, while important, is not equal to the authority of Scripture  rather, it is derived from and dependent upon the authority of Scripture. Thus God has not given the church authority to require Christians to believe or do anything except what the Bible itself requires them to believe and do; but within this framework, we are indeed to submit to the proper authority which God has given the church to shepherd us in the Christian life.

JB: Excellent. How would you like to close our time today?

PG: My encouragement to all of us as we think over these issues is to treat the Bible with the same honor that Christ himself did in his own teaching: Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4, quoting Deuteronomy 8:3). When we place our confidence in the Bible  the whole Bible  as the sufficient and powerful word of God, we will find ourselves well equipped to declare the gospel and live loving, holy lives for Christ.

O for grace to trust him more! Amen.

JB: Amen.
By PTI: Mumbai, Aug 25 (PTI) The people of Mumbai today welcomed Lord Ganesh with the deitys idols -- from small to grand and decked up in vibrant colours -- installed in thousands of households and various pandals in the city.

The Ganesh Chaturthi today marks the 125th celebration of the festival after freedom fighter Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak called upon the people in 1892 to turn the private, household festival into a gala event.

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The festivities began this morning with Ganesh sthapna (installation of the idol) followed by prayers.

People stood in long queues to offer payers to their favourite God at the famous pandals of Lalbaugcha Raja pandal, Keshavji Naik Chawl at Girgaum, Mumbaicha Raja, Parelcha Raja, Andhericha Raja and Tilak Nagar mandal.

"Till last evening, 935 mandals were given permission by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) while applications for setting ups 911 mandals were still pending. Last year, 1,393 mandals were given permission," a senior civic official said.

This year the number of applications received by the BMC saw a decline, he said.

He said civic officials have been asked to keep a close watch on the organisers and their activities and to check the pandals set up illegally.

"With a view to popularise the festival among foreign tourists, the BMC along with Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation will set up a shamiana (makeshift ceremonial tent or structure) at Girgaum Chowpatty in south Mumbai to witness the religious fervour and visarjan (immersion of idols)," he said.

Girgaum Chowpatty is a key spot for the immersion of idols in the city.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Rashmi Karandikar, the spokesperson of Mumbai police, yesterday said elaborate security arrangements have been put in place across the city for the festival.

Prominent mandals have been asked to install CCTV cameras, while adequate police force has been deployed at multiple spots and the pandals receiving high footfall.

To prevent noise pollution during the festival, Brihanmumbai Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Samanvay Samiti, the umbrella body of Ganpati mandals in Mumbai, has appealed to the organisers to keep the sound level of loudspeakers low.

"The mandals have been asked to follow the rules and keep the sound level low in the best possible way and cooperate with the police and the BMC," the samitis president Naresh Dahibhavkar told PTI.

The celebrations will culminate on September 5 with the immersion of idols of the elephant-headed deity in different water bodies here.

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While the big mandals perform the immersion on the last day, small organisers and people setting up the idols at home generally do it either after one-and-a-half day, third, fifth or seventh day. PTI APM ARS GK RYS

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By PTI: (Eds: Updating with GMCC meeting outcome)

Darjeeling (WB), Aug 25 (PTI) The Gorkhaland Movement Coordination Committee, which is spearheading the statehood agitation in the Darjeeling hills, will request the GJM to take a call on the indefinite strike which entered its 72nd day today.

The decision to write to the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) to request for taking a call on the issue was taken at a meeting of the GMCC at Kalimpong today.

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The GMCC was divided on attending the August 29 talks convened by the state government in response to the GNLFs letter requesting for a dialogue to restore normalcy in hills as it was yet to receive a formal invite.

"Today two things were discussed. One that we will write to the GJM leadership requesting them to take a call on the strike. The GJM will have to take a call as they had called the indefinite shutdown," a senior GMCC member said.

"Secondly we are waiting for an official invite from the state government to join the talks. We will again meet on August 27 to announce our decision," he said.

The GMCC comprises members of all hill parties, including the GJM and the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF), and is headed by the GJM.

The GJM yesterday wrote a letter to the West Bengal government expressing its willingness to attend the August 29 talks to resolve the Darjeeling stalemate, abandoning its earlier stand.

A low-intensity blast rocked Teesta Bazar area in Darjeeling early today, four days before the hill parties are to meet in Kolkata for finding a solution to the impasse.

The police said that no one was killed or wounded in the blast which took place close to the Teesta bridge but some shops were damaged.

Todays blast is the third such incident since the indefinite shutdown began to press for a separate Gorkhaland state.

According to police sources, a pro-Gorkhaland activist was arrested in the hills for his alleged involvement in violence and arson that took place in the hills in June.

The Darjeeling district administration has, meanwhile, extended the ban on Internet for 10 more days. The ban was imposed on June 18. PTI PNT MD AAR

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Sporadic instances of violence were reported from Delhi where at least one Delhi Transport Corporation bus was set on fire.

By India Today Web Desk: Followers of Dera Sacha Sauda (DSS) chief Gurmeeet Ram Rahim went berserk with grief and anger after the controversial godman was declared guilty in a rape case. Violent clashes broke out in several parts of Punjab and Haryana. So far at least 31 Dera supporters have lost their lives and around 200 people have been injured.

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here have been nearly 300 incidents of violence reported from across Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh following the conviction of Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh for rape. Sporadic instances of violence were reported from Delhi where at least one Delhi Transport Corporation bus was set on fire.

Delhi Police said a bus was torched in northeast Delhi's Loni Chowk. Two buses were set ablaze on Mandoli flyover in Delhi's Nand Nagri while one was torched near Babu Jagjivan Ram Memorial Hospital in Delhi.

Ravindra Yadav, Joint CP Eastern Range Delhi Police today shared a video of the men who set DTC buses on fire in Loni, Delhi. The men in the video can be seen escaping on a bike after setting the bus ablaze. The Delhi cop requested anyone who had seen the men in the video to immediately inform Delhi Police, DCP North East Delhi or call 100.

Video footage of criminals who set DTC buses on fire.Please inform @DelhiPolice @DCPNEastDelhi or call 100,if any clue about their identity. pic.twitter.com/fB6YRdkoR8- Ravindra Yadav (@Ravindra_IPS) August 25, 2017

Hours after the verdict was announced, three OB vans were set ablaze by protesters. Several were injured and had to be shifted to a hospital in Sector 6 in Panchkula.

The Malout Railway Station and petrol pump was also set on fire by protesters in Punjab. Similar incidents were also reported from Bathinda.

Several government and private buildings were also damaged and some torched. Residents reported seeing plumes of black smoke rising into the sky at several places.

Delhi administration had been fearing that violence from the neighbouring Punjab and Delhi may spill over to Delhi where a high alert was sounded. Security at Delhi BJP headquarters was increased.

Also Read:

Ram Rahim convicted of rape: Watch Dera men attacking India Today TV cameraman

Ram Rahim Singh verdict: Violence spills over to Delhi; train, bus torched

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Watch: Enraged Dera supporters attack India Today vehicle; camerman injured

--- ENDS ---
An anonymous letter by a former sadhvi, who was too scared to come out in the open, ultimately sunk the ship of Gurmeet Ram Rahim, the mighty godman of Dera Sacha Sauda.

By India Today Web Desk: The CBI special court in Pankula today convicted Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim in a case of rape of two women followers. Gurmeet Ram Rahim faces a jail term upto seven years. The quantum of punishment will be pronounced on August 28.

The governments of Punjab and Haryana have made elaborate security arrangements to prevent any untoward happening.

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The case relates to rape and sexual exploitation of a former sadhvi at Dera Sacha Sauda. It began with an anonymous letter in 2002. It was supposed to be written by a devotee of Ram Rahim who became a sadhvi at his Dera.

WHAT LETTER CLAIMED

Typed in Hindi, the anonymous letter claimed that Gurmeet Ram Rahim raped and sexually exploited women followers at the Dera. The complainant said that she was a graduate from Punjab and had been convinced by her parents to become a sadhvi at the Dera Sacha Sauda and become a disciple of Gurmeet Ram Rahim.

The woman said that two years after joining the Dera as sadhvi, she was called to Ram Rahim's 'gufa'- residence of the Dera chief. Inside the gufa, the woman found Ram Rahim watching television with a pistol by his side.

Ram Rahim, the woman claimed, raped her and threatened with serious consequences if she spoke about it anywhere. The woman alleged that Ram Rahim raped her repeatedly during her stay at Dera.

The complainant claimed that there were many other girls who had met the same fate. Ram Rahim, she said in the letter, claimed that no authority could take action against him.

The anonymous letter that nailed Gurmeet Ram Rahim

HIGH COURT TAKES FIRST STEP

Shattered to core, the woman wrote a letter narrating her ordeal and sought intervention of the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. She addressed her letter to the Punjab and Haryana chief ministers, the Union Home Ministry, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

While others did not respond to her letter, the Punjab and Haryana High Court took cognisance of the letter and sought a report from the District and Sessions Judge of Sirsa. District judge MS Sular conducted an inquiry and submitted his report recommending probe by a central agency.

After getting the report from Sirsa, the Punjab and Haryana High Court referred the matter to the CBI for probe into the allegations leveled in the letter. The Chandigarh branch of CBI registered a case of rape under IPC Section 376, criminal intimidation under Section 506 and insult to the modesty of woman under 509.

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On the other hand, the Dera managers suspected that Ranjeet Singh - a Kurukshetra-based member of the management committee - was behind the letter. They accused Ranjeet Singh of getting his sister, who was a sadhvi at Dera, write the anonymous letter. Two months after the letter became public, Ranjeet Singh was killed allegedly by Ram Rahim's supporters.

The anonymous letter that nailed Gurmeet Ram Rahim

LOCATING THE COMPLAINANTS

As the letter was anonymous, it was a tough ask for the CBI to locate the complainant after filing an FIR in 2002. This was to be the first step in the probe against Gurmeet Ram Rahim.

The officials involved in the investigation first zeroed in on a former sadhvi based in Bathinda. But, the woman denied writing the letter and the claims made in it.

Before the CBI could locate the complainant, the Gurmeet Ram Rahim got a court order to stay investigation against him on the basis of an anonymous letter. The probe was stopped for better part of 2003 and 2004 when it was finally vacated.

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Now, the CBI got involved in the case with more vigour and succeeded in locating and identifying the complainant. It turned out that there was more than one complainant. It took a while for the CBI to convince the sadhvis to depose in the court against Gurmeet Ram Rahim.

In 2007, the CBI filed its chargesheet in the special court at Ambala. The CBI special court was later shifted to Panchkula. The two sadhvis deposed before the court stating that Gurmeet Ram Rahim sexually exploited them.

In 2008, the CBI court ordered framing of charges of rape against Gurmeet Ram Rahim and the trial began which ended today with the pronouncement of judgment holding him guilty of rape.

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Rape, murder, castration: What Gurmeet Ram Rahim, enjoying Z+ security, is accused of

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ALSO WATCH | Gurmeet Ram Rahim rape case: Sirsa and Panchkula under tight security cover

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--- ENDS ---
The memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Intra Asia and Hong Pat Coal and Resources is aimed a cutting the logistics costs of coal imports from Indonesia.Intra Asia president director Justin Lim and Hong Pat Coal and Resources chairman Phan Ngo To Hong signed the deal.

The port will especially be used for cargo and logistics that will serve exports and imports between Indonesia and Vietnam, particularly coal, said Intra Asia Indonesia commissioner Lutfi Ismail.Lutfi said construction of the port would facilitate the sustainability of coal exports from Indonesia to Vietnam, and would help fuel power plants in the country.Indonesia aims to export 4.5m tons of coal to Vietnam this year, said Lutfi. We hope that the cooperation will boost Indonesian coal exports to Vietnam, he added.

According to Vietnam Customs numbers, Vietnam imported 7.92m tons of coal in the first seven months of this year, with Electricity Vietnam (EVN) alone importing 5m tons. The figure is expected to increase to 11m tons by 2020 and 19m tons by 2025. This is set to rise even further as seven major thermal power plants have been planned for the Mekong Delta region alone and demand from these is set to rise to 43m tons per year by 2030.

However, many Vietnamese sea ports are ill suited for coal import, being mostly shallow draft, and capable for receiving only relatively small parcels of 50,000 to 60,000 tons, raising shipping costs. To aggravate the problem, most dedicated thermal power plant coal receiving ports are designed with a capacity to only accept 20,000 - 30,000 dwt vessels and often have to dredge.
The two ice-class 1A LNG-fuelled bulk carriers will start operation in the first half of 2018, with the first vessel Ms Viikki named in Helsinki in June.

This agreement is a milestone for Skangas. Ms Viikki will be the first vessel that we will serve from the new LNG terminal in Tornio, explains Kimmo Rahkamo, ceo of Skangas. There will be more to come. The use of LNG in marine transport can deliver significant environment, economic and social benefits.

Mikki Koskinen, md of ESL Shipping, said: This is a large step towards even greener shipping. Our combination of latest hull design and numerous other energy saving measures together with usage of LNG as fuel will reduce the carbon dioxide emissions per ton of cargo transported by more than 50% in comparison to present generation of vessels.
A special CBI court in Panchkula has convicted Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim in a rape case filed against him 15 years ago. He faces 7 years in jail. | WATCH LIVE

Tight security has been put in place across Haryana and Punjab to prevent violence in the wake of court's verdict. (Photo/PTI)

By India Today Web Desk: A special CBI court in Panchkula has convicted Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim in a rape case filed against him 15 years ago. He faces a 7-year jail sentence

WATCH LIVE

Ahead of the CBI court's verdict in the 15-year-old rape case, an unprecedented security cover was put in place across Punjab and Haryana.

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LATEST UPDATES:

Reports have no come in of violence in Delhi. At least 7 incidents of violence have been reported. Two coaches of the Rewa Express have been set ablaze near Anand Vihar Railway Station.

More than 250 Army jawans have been deployed in Panchkula.

Ram Rahim supporters set Malout and Balluanna railway stations ablaze in Punjab, the Northern Railway said.

Click here to Enlarge Burnt remains of a vehicle torched during clashes - location unclear

10 more reserve companies of the CRPF have been sent to Haryana while at least 50 more paramilitary companies have been deployed in Panchukula.

In a related development, Central Industrial Security Force personnel deployed within one km radius of Rohtak's Sunariya Jail.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has spoke to the chief ministers of Haryana and Punjab.

Curfew has so far been imposed in Punjab's Muktsar, Bathinda and Mansa.

So far there have been 224 incidents of violence in Haryana. 64 instances of violence have been reported from Punjab.

The death toll of those killed in clashes with police in Panchkula has now risen to five.

Curfew has also been clamped in Panchkula, where the CBI court today found Gurmeet Ram Rahim to be guilty of rape.

Reports also coming in of curfew being imposed in Bhatinda, Punjab.

Meanwhile, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh is being taken to the Western Command Headquarters in Chandimandir. From Chandimandir he will be flown out on a helicopter to either the Rothak Jail or to Gurugram.

Telephone exchange torched by Dera protestors in Chananwal in Punjab's Barnala.

Click here to Enlarge Smoke can be seen in the skies of Panchkula - it's unclear if the smoke is from tear gas shells or from a fire

Reports now coming in that three Dera Sacha Sauda followers have been killed in police firing in Panchkula.

An India Today TV crew was attacked in Sirsa. The TV team's cameraman Pradeep Gupta was injured in the attack.

Reports now coming in of curfew being imposed in Ferozpur, Punjab.

Followers of rape convict Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh attempted to set a railway station on fire. Punjab Police has reached the spot.

Haryana chief minister Amarinder Singh has issued an appeal for peace on Twitter. In a video posted on the social media network, CM Amarinder said, "I appeal to all Punjabis to maintain peace and harmony in the state. We won't allow anyone to disturb the peace & tranquility of our state."

I appeal to all Punjabis to maintain peace and harmony in the state. We won't allow anyone to disturb the peace & tranquility of our state. pic.twitter.com/YlUeJH1mZk- Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) August 25, 2017 India Today's OB van attacked by angry Dera supporters in Panchkula.

Two police vehicles set on fire in Mansa, Punjab.

Clashes between Dera supporters and security forces near Hotel Holiday Inn in Panchkula.

Reports of tear gas shelling by police, paramilitary forces in sector 3, Panchkula, to control Dera supporters.

Click here to Enlarge Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh has been taken from the CBI court to an indisclosed location for medical tests following his guilty verdict

Power cut in a few residential areas in Panchkula as precautionary measure.

Dera supporters being evicted from Panchkula and Chandigarh.

Haryana Police to conduct medical test of Baba Ram Rahim before taking him to jail.

Army carries out flag march in Panchkula after the court verdict against Baba Ram Rahim.

Gurmeet Ram Rahim taken into custody.

Gurmeet Ram Rahim held guilty of rape. He faces 7 years in jail.

Court asks police to file FIR against any politician who try to interfere in police duty.

Court asks police to use full force if Dera supporters try to enter court premises in Panchkula.

We are ready to handle any situation arising out of court's verdict in Gurmeet Ram Rahim's rape case, says CM Khattar.

Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar appeals Dera supporters to maintain peace.

Security deployed for verdict, CRPF: 97 companies; Rapid Action Force: 16; Sashastra Seema Bal: 37; ITBP: 12; BSF 21; Standby: 10

#WATCH: Ram Rahim Singh's convoy in Panchkula on way to Special CBI Court (Earlier Visuals) #RamRahimVerdict pic.twitter.com/Igxolh2kuD- ANI (@ANI) August 25, 2017 Internet services suspended for 48 hours and Section 144 imposed in Sri Ganganagar, Rajasthan in the light of expected verdict in a rape case against Gurmeet Ram Rahim.

Gurmeet Ram Rahim to reach Panchkula court shortly.

The high court reprimands Haryana government for laxity in dealing with the situation.

Ensure Gurmeet Ram Rahim appears before court today: Punjab and Haryana High Court tells Haryana government.

Helicopters deployed for surveillance. Panchkula administration plan to press drone into service for surveillance before court proceedings start.

#Haryana Army helicopter conducts security surveillance over Panchkula ahead of #RamRahimVerdict pic.twitter.com/0PlcIJQVld- ANI (@ANI) August 25, 2017 Scuffle between Dera supporters and police in Ambala as they are evicted from National Highway

We are fully prepared, Army is on standby, if situation arises, Army will conduct flag march: DGP Haryana BS Sandhu.

Dera followers fainted as Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh's convoy passed in Sirsa.

Many Dera followers fainted as Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh's convoy passed in Sirsa #RamRahimVerdict pic.twitter.com/sZPspHiEmk- ANI (@ANI) August 25, 2017 We have apprised Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the developments: MoS Home Affairs Hansraj Ahir.

The home ministry is monitoring the situation in both Haryana and Punjab: MoS Home Affairs Hansraj Ahir.

Eighteen trains has been cancelled from Jammu, Katra and Udhampur railway stations.

Gurmeet Ram Rahim leaves for Panchkula court from Dera headquarters in Sirsa. Gurmeet Ram Rahim is being taken to Panchkula from Sirsa via road.

201 trains originating or passing through Haryana have been cancelled.

Supporters of Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in Panchkula ahead of verdict.

#Haryana Supporters of Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in #Panchkula ahead of verdict in rape case against him today #RamRahimVerdict pic.twitter.com/zSjrgzk2Kf- ANI (@ANI) August 25, 2017 74 trains have been cancelled for today in the view of law and order situation in Haryana ahead of verdict.

Fearing trouble, especially if the verdict goes against the controversial Dera chief, thousands of jawans, including 15,000 paramilitary troops, have been deployed in sensitive areas across Punjab and Haryana.

"Police carried out flag march outside Dera headquarters, led by top officials. Security has been beefed up to maintain law and order in the district," he added.

"Two companies of Army from Hisar district have been called out to maintain law and order in Sirsa," a top police officer said.

The Army was called out in Sirsa today, ahead of a court verdict in a rape case against Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, even as security was tightened, with senior police personnel carrying out a flag march outside the the sect headquarters here.

SP Panchkula said Ram Rahim will be airlifted to Panchkula from Sirsa since bringing him via road may lead to clashes between hardliner Sikhs and Dera followers.

Over 5,000 supporters who were camping near the CBI court were removed and an area of 1-km radius around the court premises has been sanitised.

On Thursday evening, mobile internet services were restricted in Haryana, however mobile service providers sent out a message late into the night that services won't be affected. Even the police in Gurgaon tweeted that the satellite city, where top international firms have large offices, will not be affected.

Ggm police is prepared & working hard to ensure that the citizens are safe. Normal life won't be allowed to be disturbed. Plz avoid rumours.- Gurugram Police (@gurgaonpolice) August 24, 2017

Mobile data services expected to be normal in gurugram. There is no need to panic. Stay safe & alert.- Gurugram Police (@gurgaonpolice) August 24, 2017

Authorities are keeping a watch on various social media platforms so that there isn't a repeat of what happened during last year's Jat agitation.

Over 29 trains bound to Punjab and Haryana have been cancelled four days. READ THE LIST OF CANCELLED TRAINS HERE

Fearing trouble, especially if the verdict goes against controversial Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has authorised the police chief to impose curfew, if necessary, to maintain law and order.

Also read

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Gurmeet Ram Rahim was today convicted of rape by a CBI court. But, he is still facing several other serious charges including those of murder and castration of disciples.

By India Today Web Desk: Dera Sacha Sauda was established at Sirsa in 1948 by Shah Mastana Balochistani as a social welfare and spiritual organisation. Gurmeet Ram Rahim became its head in 1990. He was found guilty of raping two sadhvis at his Dera by a CBI court today at Panchkula.

Gurmeet Ram Rahim has been in controversies ever since he took over as the Dera Sacha Sauda chief. Gurmeet Ram Rahim was provided Z+ security by the government on the basis of inputs about threat to his life. The security cover will now be withdrawn.

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DEATH OF CHILD AND CLASH WITH JOURNALISTS

The first big controversy involving Ram Rahim erupted in 1998 when a child at Begu village in Sirsa came under a jeep belonging to Dera Sacha Sauda. The villagers came out in protest but the Dera tried to use its might and shut them up.

Local journalists picked up the case and reported in detail the activities and high handedness of the Dera and Gurmeet Ram Rahim. The Dera and its chief responded with threats to journalists. The Dera followers started calling up all the newmen who reported or published reports against Ram Rahim threatening them with dire consequences.

A joint committee of local journalists and the Dera people was formed. A village panchayat was held where Dera Sacha Sauda tendered written apology and the matter was laid to rest.

CHARGE OF RAPE AGAINST RAM RAHIM

In 2002, an anonymous letter took on Gurmeet Ram Rahim and Dera Sacha Sauda with allegations of rape against the "messenger of God". The letter, purportedly written by a sadhvi of the Dera Sachcha Sauda, claimed that Gurmeet Ram Rahim raped her repeatedly.

The Dera people blamed one Ranjeet Singh of Kurukshetra for the letter. Ranjeet Singh had been a member of the Dera Sacha management committee. Dera managers suspected that he got his sister, who was a sadhvi at the Dera, to write the anonymous letter. Ranjeet Singh was killed in July 2002, two months after the letter was written.

In September, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had ordered the CBI probe against Ram Rahim in the rape case. The Panchkula court is today delivering verdict in the same matter after 15 years.

MURDER OF JOURNALIST

In October 2002, journalist Ram Chander Chhattrapati was murdered. He is credited with exposing the illegal activities of the Dera pointing fingers at Gurmeet Ram Rahim. Ram Chander Chhattrapati was the editor of a small time newspaper Poora Sach.

On October 24, 2002, Ram Chander was shot allegedly by Dera followers. He died on November 21 at the Apollo hospital in New Delhi. This led to massive protests by journalists at Sirsa and other places in Haryana and Punjab demanding action against Gurmeet Ram Rahim.

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The Punjab and Chandigarh High Court ordered CBI probe in the killings of both Ram Chander and Ranjeet Singh in 2003. The case is still pending. Gurmeet Ram Rahim is the main accused in the case.

HURTING SIKH SENTIMENTS

In May 2007, Gurmeet Ram Rahim again courted controversies with his dressing. He appeared in public before his followers at Satawalpura of Bathinda in Punjab in a dress resembling Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh Guru.

The same photograph of Gurmeet Ram Rahim appeared in newspapers as advertisement. This led to huge uproar and massive protests across Punjab and Delhi. The Dera supporters attacked Sikh protesters at Bathinda, where demonstrators burnt the effigies of Ram Rahim. A criminal case was filed against Gurmeet Ram Rahim.

BAN ON VISITING PUNJAB

Unrest against Gurmeet Ram Rahim continued at several places. During one of the protest in May, 2007 at Sunam, Dera follower fired at protesting Sikhs. A youth identified as Komal Singh died in the firing.

The Sikh organisations took to streets and launched a massive campaign for the arrest of Gurmeet Ram Rahim. In the face of protests, the Punjab government put a ban on Gurmeet Ram Rahim's entry into the state.

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In June 2007, a petition was filed in the Bathinda court, which issued a non-bailable warrant against Gurmeet Ram Rahim. This led to fresh wave of violent protest but this time the demonstrators were the followers of Gurmeet Ram Rahim.

THREAT LETTER TO JUDGE

In July 2007, the special CBI court judge received a letter threatening him with unpleasant consequences if he proceeded against the rape and sexual harassment cases against Gurmeet Ram Rahim.

The threat letter followed the submission of probe report or challan by the CBI in the court after completing probe in the cases of murders and sexual harassment. The CBI had made Gurmeet Ram Rahim as the main accused in the three cases.

The judge sought security from administration and the cases went on. Gurmeet Ram Rahim was summoned to appear before the court on August 31.

EX-DERA MANAGER GOES MISSING

In 2010, a petition was filed in the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking CBI probe alleging that former Dera manager Fakir Chand was missing. The writ petition had been filed by another former Dera manager named Ram Kumar Bishnoi.

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Bishnoi alleged that Fakir Chand had been killed at the behest of Gurmeet Ram Rahim. The high court directed the CBI to probe the case. Following the court's order the followers of Gurmeet Ram Rahim turned violent in Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab. Public properties were damaged. Buses were set on fire.

However, the CBI filed a closure report citing lack of evidence. Bishnoi has challenged the closure report in the high court.

CASTRATION OF FOLLOWERS

In July 2012, Hansraj Chauhan of Fatehabad district of Haryana filed a petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court alleging that 400 disciples were castrated at the Dera premises.

The castration was allegedly done to avoid sexual advances of the disciples towards sadhvis. The petition claimed that the disciples were manipulated to go through the castration procedure on the pretext of union with God. The case is currently in trial stage.

POSSESSION OF ILLEGAL WEAPONS

Following the arrest of self-styled godman Rampal of Barwala in Hissar district of Haryana, Gurmeet Ram Rahim came under the scanner for allegedly possessing illegal weapons at this Dera Sachcha Sauda ashram. A tip-off to police claimed that arms training was being provided at the Dera.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court sought report from the local administration on the matter stating that "training of private commandos and arming them with illegal weapons to protect some individuals would definitely pose a challenge not only to the judiciary, but also to the state."

ALSO READ |

Ram Rahim verdict LIVE: Dera Sacha Sauda chief leaves for Panchkula court with convoy of 700 cars

ALSO WATCH | Exclusive video of Gurmeet Ram Rahim appealing to supporters to maintain peace

--- ENDS ---
Although they are an integral part of Michigans agricultural industry, migrant farm families often go unseen, moving from state to state, laboring for long hours in the fields, and living in rural communities.The very nature of the lifestyle makes it hard for their children to develop roots, friends, or a connection to school or community.Through a unique partnership between Saugatuck Center for the Arts Fennville Public Schools and South Haven Public Schools , students in summer migrant programs receive exposure to the arts, hands-on instruction and encouragement to express themselves in creative ways.SCAs Growing Young Artists program, which started last week and ends the first week of August, runs in conjunction with Fennville and South Havens summer migrant educational programs. The program uses art education to supplement what is being taught in the way of core subjects including literacy, language fluency, math and science. The project-based sessions also challenge students to move their bodies and minds in unique ways, promote self-expression through writing prompts and drawing, and experience West Michigans cultural arts and natural beauty.We realized we needed another way to deliver the same materials, says Whitney Valentine, SCAs education and exhibitions manager and former GYA instructor, referring to the literacy, writing and math/science curriculum. Fennville has really graciously built their entire summer curriculum around us.Overall, an estimated 40,000 to 45,000 migrant workers make the trek to Michigan from southern states to help harvest crops, according to Michigan Farm Bureau. In Allegan County alone, an estimated 1,000 to 1,300 migrant children live in the county, especially during the summer when their parents come to pick crops like blueberries, asparagus, cucumbers, celery, onions, tomatoes, and more. Michigans migrant farm season lasts from April through October, with July being the peak month of employment.Fennville and South Haven districts recruit students to the summer migrant programs. Typically, they are eligible if they are not enrolled in the district and many are considered at-risk, often behind in reading, math, or an entire grade level due to moving from school to school as their parents travel to obtain temporary or seasonal work.A lot of these families are from Texas, Florida, and Mexico, Valentine says Theyre trying to play catch up, but when youre transient, its hard to catch up.Students spend the morning in a traditional summer school environment, working with teachers on reading, math, and science. In the afternoon, GYA instructors arrive with art supplies, working with the students and teachers on art-related concepts and activities to reinforce core skills as well as soft skills like problem solving, teamwork, empathy, social etiquette, creativity, and community.Thanks to generous donors and grants, SCA has continued to expand the number of students reached, as well as the number of instructors and activities. GYA started at Fennville six years ago and branched out to South Haven two years ago. Theres a lot of collaboration between GYA instructors, hired by the SCA, and the migrant program teachers, which are both regular teachers and intern-level teachers hired by each district that help supervise the GYA sessions.Growing Young Artists served about 50 pre-K through eighth graders in Fennvilles migrant program and 100 students at South Haven in 2016. This years summer program kicked off last week and Valentine has noticed a decline in enrollment, in part due to a drop in federal funding for summer migrant programs. She also has heard more males are coming to work and not bringing their families, and in some instances, families have permanently settled in the area or another state.GYA instructors travel to Fennville on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and South Haven on Tuesdays and Thursdays and work with students in the afternoons. This years GYA theme is Raising Their Voice & Making Their Mark.GYA lessons are structured to help build trust with the students using games and writing exercises designed to spur on the students creativity and imagination. This is paired with formal art instruction. Students also do yoga and are given time to journal, often responding to open-ended questions on a topic about their family or favorite hobbies to build writing and communication skills.Theres a lot of drawing and writing prompts to get them thinking about who they are as a person and why they matter, says Zac Wanner, who took over as GYA coordinator this year after teaching for a few years. It really boils down to were making them think about who they are and giving them a chance to use their minds and bodies in a different way.Each student also receives a sketchbookwhich they carry with them during GYA to record thoughts, feelings, observations, and drawingsthat they get to keep beyond the program.Wanner says several returning students have said they still have their sketchbooks and art projects on display at home. Others remark its the best day of their life because theyve never used a paintbrush before, and teachers report better attendance on the days students have GYA.Sisters Cassandra Garcia, 10, and Liliana Garcia, 11, are two of Wanners former students in Fennville back this year. They say they enjoy painting and the GYA closing party, along with the field trips.Also returning for his second year, 9-year-old Luis Hernandez says he didnt know people painted with spray cans, referring to this years SCA artist in residence Ruben Aguirre , a contemporary muralist from Chicago.Then, with a burst of enthusiasm, Hernandez says, The most important thing about making art is you can put your mind to it and do hard work, noting he thinks its both fun and hard.The SCAs summer artist in residence is integrally involved in GYA, working alongside the students and leading a group project over the four-week session. Aguirres dad was a farmer in Mexico and came to the United States for better work opportunities, and he was moved by the mission of GYA.Its a lifestyle Im familiar with from hearing about it from my dad, Aguirre says. The outcome of him coming here for a better life has allowed me to become an artist and this program helps bridge those two ideas, those two cultures.Aguirres professional work aims to reimagine public spaces by using line and color to manipulate the perception of space and architectureusing a spray can. He plans to have each student make an individual piece for a larger mural that will be installed at the SCA.The mural with the students is looking at the history of patterns and talking about how patterns have been used to establish cultural identities in the past and now in the present, he says.As part of GYA, students are bussed to Saugatuck Center for the Arts, the beach and dunes, and other West Michigan arts and cultural institutions. This summer, they plan to tour several galleries in Saugatuck. Last year, they visited Grand Rapids Ballet and Grand Rapids Art Museum , and many of them commented they had never seen such tall buildings.The experience culminates with a closing party at the SCA, which includes dinner and the chance to show family members what the students learned and their artwork.Each year, the SCA brings in a different artist in residence who specializes in a different medium. Another returning student, Elida Hernandez, 13, recalls working with Grand Rapids-based artist Sofia Ramirez Hernandez last year. She guided the students as they created a seven-act play from start to finishwriting the narrative, making the cardboard sets, and life-sized, three-dimensional figures that correlated with the characters in the story.Im having fun with everything theyre doing, Elida Hernandez says. Over there [morning summer school], its pure work.The SCA continues to see the positive impact for everyone involved, giving both experienced teachers and young professionals and interns unique, immersive opportunities to learn from the artist in residence, the students and each other, along with reaching an overlooked population.Simply put, the SCA is committed to Growing Young Artists because it works, says Kristin Armstrong, SCA executive director. Student and teacher evaluations show, year after year, that kids learn moreand more deeplythrough GYA.Migrant children are under the radarmost of us are unaware that theyre living in our communities each summer, and going to school while theyre here, she adds. These children deserve access to the same programs our own children benefit from.Coming full circle, Valeria Almanza was a student in Fennvilles summer migrant program years ago, but has since graduated college and is working as a teachers assistant for third through fifth grades this year, joining the students for GYA in the afternoon. Shes also a teachers assistant for Head Start during the regular school year.I think it helps a lot coming from a Hispanic family, says Almanza. Ive been in multiple programs. My parents couldnt help me with my homework. They cant because they cant read or they cant write.While the migrant program focuses on several core subjects, Almanza emphasizes the importance of reading because it was always a big challenge for her. Her family eventually settled in Fennville, where she graduated from high school, and her parents progressed from the fields to full-time work.This is really rewarding to me because I can relate, she says. They need to see somebody that has been in their shoes and been to collegeI really enjoy it because its really important for the kids to express themselves and they start telling you more about themselves.Many GYA instructors sign on for the experience, because they have a passion for the arts or a passion for migrant students. Wanner teaches visual arts at Ada Christian Elementary School, but finds GYA rewarding because it gives kids exposure to an arts education that they might not necessarily get in their regular school.To me, this is an opportunity to give back, he says. To teach as a career is awesome, but to be able to come back and give to people that might not have that experience is huge for me because thats where I found success in my life.The program also focuses on building relationships and memories and empowering students to believe in themselves. Some budding young artists emerge, but they also gain confidence and exposure to the world.In general, their lives and their stories matter, Valentine says. Its more about relationships and life experiences than art making.This article is part of Michigan Nightlight, a series of stories about the programs and people that positively impact the lives of Michigan kids. It is made possible with funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation . Read more in the series here Marla R. Miller is an award-winning journalist and professional writer based in West Michigan. Learn more about her by visiting her website or Facebook Photography by Kristina Bird of Bird + Bird Studio
This is vastly different to the "rules of engagement" that was handed to Army when it was deployed in Haryana during the 2016 Jat agitation.

By Sudhi Ranjan Sen: The Indian Army - that has deployed ten columns in Haryana and Punjab to quell the violence that followed the conviction of self-styled god-man Ram Rahim- has been given a "free-hand" to "use force when necessary" to deal with the violence whenever deployed.

This is vastly different to the "rules of engagement" that was handed to Army when it was deployed in Haryana during the 2016 Jat agitation. Importantly, this time the army will not use placards to identify itself.

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Ten columns of the Indian Army - each comprising 80 soldiers each - have been deployed. Six columns have been deployed in Punchkula, two in Sirsa both in Haryana. Two columns have been deployed in Punjab- one in Muktsar and Mansa each.

During the 2016 Jat agitation the army was forced to use placards to differentiate itself from the other para-military forces for the benefit of the general public. Video clips of army columns being forced to withdraw during the 2016 Jat agitation circulated through the social media had raised eyebrows in South Block. The army also faced criticism. The Army too had expressed its displeasure at the manner its operations were restricted and raised the issue with South Block after the agitation subsided.

"Placards will not be used this time. The army will go in when required and use force when necessary to restore law and order," a senior Ministry of Defence (MoD) official told India Today.

"The army has a common procedure for dealing with law and order situation which is well documented based on instructions," senior Army official said.

The army has been kept on stand-by in pockets identified as "sensitive." Joint Control rooms - Army and Police - have been activated for faster and better flow of information, sources said.

"The military is called in to restore law and order when all other arms of the state have failed, the army therefore must be given a free hand to use force when necessary," sources said.

Also Read:

Violence over Ram Rahim verdict hits Delhi: These are the men who set DTC bus ablaze, inform cops if you see them

Ram Rahim verdict leads to violent clashes in Punjab, Haryana; 31 dead

Also Watch:

Watch how Dera followers in Panchkula went on rampage after Ram Rahim verdict

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Twice, two years ago, vandals attempted to destroy a mural in the Mission commissioned by Galeria de la Raza. First they spray-painted over the image  a tribute to queer Latinos and Chicanos; two men on one side, two women on the other and a trans man between them all  and then they set it on fire.

At the time, Ani Rivera, the director of the museum, found herself having to explain over and over again that the intersection of queerness and latinidad was nothing new, that it had a deep history, even if people didnt want to recognize it.

The Galeria has highlighted that intersection again and again, though often as a piece of larger shows  such as in a recent exhibition, Womxn Are Perfect!

Now, however, the gallery has dedicated its entire space to an exhibition full of art that addresses the narratives of queer Chicanos and Mexicans. The show  Queerly Tehuantin / Cuir Us  represents a 30-year history of queer artists working on both sides of the border. They address issues ranging from colonialism (and how it contributed to machismo and homophobia) to the AIDS crisis while referencing pre-Columbian cosmologies and celebrating bold sexuality.

We have a legacy; we do exist, Rivera says. Latinx identity exists far beyond what media and other mainstream channels continue to give us.

As folks of color, its important to understand the history and the legacy. Its very complex. Its also very rich.

Rivera curated the show with Ed McCaughan, a former San Francisco State University professor who sits on the Galerias board. The idea of a show that examined queer Chicano and Mexican art had been growing since the murals were set on fire. But, it wasnt until a recent trip to Mexico to look for emerging artists that the two really settled on the idea.

They were staying at the home of the painter and poet Nahum Zenil, whose work is represented in the show, when Zenil casually mentioned that his top floor was full of archival materials that hed been holding on to since the death of his friend Jose Maria Covarrubias, an early Mexican gay rights activist. He told Rivera and McCaughan that they were welcome to take a look. He thought most of it would be trash.

Instead what they found were letters and pieces of ephemera dating back to the first Semana Cultural Gay (Gay Cultural Week, now called Festival Internacional de la Diversidad Sexual)  a pride celebration held annually in Mexico. The archive felt overwhelming, and the two spent hours each night drinking wine and organizing it.

It was incredibly moving, McCaughan says. Being so moved by understanding what it took from the original activists and artists made us really want to make sure we highlighted some of the earliest work of the artists from that period.

They also felt a desire to tie those traditions to newer artists working on either side of the border.

This direct line is seen best, perhaps, in one corner of the Galeria. On one wall, three of Zenils paintings hang. In the central piece, Zenil has created a self-portrait that shows him as a stand-in for St. Sebastian, naked and shot through with arrows.

On the opposite wall are three pieces by Rurru Mipanochia, an artist from Mexico City, who revisits cosmologies from Aztec codices, reimagines them and depicts them in bright neon colors. Mipanochias work comes 20 years after Zenils, but together they rework cultural histories and icons.

This is a recurring theme in the exhibition. Naomi Rincon Gallardo, an emerging artist out of Mexico City, created her own cosmologies in a video piece called the Formaldehyde Trip, which is featured in the Galerias theater. And Joey Terrill, a Los Angeles artist who has been active since the 1970s, offers up a reimagining of the Aztec legend of Popocatepetl, a warrior, and Iztaccihuatl, a princess. In his rendering, they are both men, one holding the other, and Terrill calls for viewers to support your brothers with HIV.

Another piece of his places an early HIV drug at the front of a still life that represents, unmistakably, a Chicano table spread, complete with a serape and a bottle of Rompope.

All of the pieces, Rivera said, were carefully chosen, both to illuminate the contemporary experience of being queer and Mexican or queer and Chicano, but also to give space to imagine that queerness before colonialism.

The way that theyre retelling the story, it was really important to understand the impact of colonialism, how it erased our narratives, how it erased our queerness, she says. We have legacy.

Ryan Kost is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: rkost@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @RyanKost

Queerly Tehuantin / Cuir Us: Through Oct. 7. Free. Galeria de la Raza, 2857 24th St., S.F.
The fog, which comes on little cat feet, is moving on. So says the poet and so says the National Weather Service.

This weekend, the same fog that traditionally swathes San Francisco in August like a security blanket and which made a mess of Mondays partial eclipse will be departing the premises ahead of schedule. Skies should be clearer than usual and temperatures higher than usual into next week.

A substantial warming trend will start over the weekend as a ridge of high pressure to the east expands into our region, said meteorologist Charles Bell.

Inland temperatures in parts of Alameda, Contra Costa and Napa counties  in towns such as Livermore, Concord and Napa  could reach 90 degrees on Saturday and perhaps as high as the low 100s by Sunday.

Well have definitely less fog than weve had recently and it will burn off really fast, said Bell, who added that the usual San Francisco summer fog will be coming back before it departs for good come autumn.

This particular batch of weather is coming to the Bay Area courtesy of the Four Corners area of the Southwest  the region of the United States where Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona all come together at the same spot and predictors say the unpredictable can happen.

In San Francisco, folks who had bundled up for the usual morning fog were pleased to know that change was in the air.

Ive lived here 30 years and this fog sucks, said Michael Gregory, who was playing fetch with his Labrador retriever, Zoe, in Justin Herman Plaza. Gregory was dressed in a thick blue jacket, and Zoe was wearing an equally handsome yellow coat.

You cant really complain to anybody about it, Gregory added. Its just August in San Francisco.

Mike Hanley, who makes his living selling coins he cuts into keychains with a jewelers saw at the foot of Market Street, said too foggy weather and too sunny weather are equally bad for the street artist business.

When people are too cold, they just want to keep moving and walk right by, he said. Then, when they get too hot, they just want to keep moving and walk right by. About 75 degrees is just right.

When youre in the business of selling a half dollar  even an artistically cut one  for $30, you dont want a foggy morning like Thursday. Passersby kept their hands in their pockets, where their wallets were, and they didnt pull them out. By noon, Hanley hadnt sold a single one.

On a westbound California Street cable car, visitors Mike Thompson and Bill Ohde from Palm Springs were wearing heavy jackets, which is something they wouldnt have to do in if they had stayed in Palm Springs, where the temperature on Thursday was 107.

But they werent in Palm Springs, thank goodness, they said. They were spending their summer morning in good old foggy San Francisco, where it was much more comfortable.

You can just see a little bit of blue sky over there, said Thompson, as the cable car climbed Nob Hill. You better look fast.

As a matter of fact, said Thompson, if the weather does hit triple digits this weekend, they might just have to go back to Palm Springs.

Meteorologist Bell said the Bay Area can look forward to warm, clear and dry weather for at least a week. After that, meteorologists are as much in the dark about the weather as anyone else.

Steve Rubenstein is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: srubenstein@sfchronicle.com
NOAH BERGER / SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE

A person on the tracks at BARTs Bay Fair station in San Leandro was struck and killed by a train Thursday afternoon, the transit agency said.

The person killed was not immediately identified. The incident was reported at 2:43 p.m., said Alicia Trost, a spokeswoman for BART.
By all accounts, Visa Inc. seems to be a well-running machine.

The San Francisco financial giant far outpaces Mastercard, its largest competitor, in everything from payments volume to total transactions and cards issued. Last year, Visa generated $15.1 billion in revenue, a 9 percent jump from 2015.

But as ubiquitous as Visa cards have become, the company is preparing for a future without them.

Visa has been giving a lot of thought to what it calls a cashless future. But in truth, it sounds a lot like a cardless future.

For example, Visa recently unveiled a new technology that allows people to pay for goods and services by scanning a QR code on a mobile device. Visa is eyeing the technology for developing countries like India that lack the infrastructure to process card transactions.

But given the growing ubiquity of smartphones in the United States, it wouldnt be hard to picture a time when we wont even have to carry plastic cards because all payments will be done mobile device to mobile device.

Were already seeing that happen with the gig economy. Thanks to companies like Uber and Lyft, people pay for rides and even tip drivers just by tapping a button on smartphones. No cash. No cards.

I recently spoke with Sam Shrauger, head of digital products at Visa, at the companys new innovation center in San Franciscos Financial District. Before joining Visa, Shrauger worked briefly at Yahoo and for eight years at PayPal. The following conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

Q: So give me a little context here. How did we evolve to a point that we will no longer need cash?

A: When we originally started Visa in 1958, the technology was essentially running a card through and then sending in paper drafts. When landline connectivity became reasonably inexpensive in the early 1970s, we actually started the process of digitizing cash: Present a card in a store, send some data over to us as a payment network and then we would return the approval from the bank that you were good for the transaction.

Since then, cards have become more and more pervasive, whether theyre debit cards, credit cards  people have become very used to not having to walk around with cash. You add on top of that the sort of pervasive growth in all of these connected devices like computers, mobile devices and tablets. Now refrigerators and cars that are connected to the Internet are going to become points from which you could initiate a transaction.

Q: And cashless could mean cardless as well? It sounds like you dont even need to take out your card.

A: Theres an evolution certainly toward more and more card-free forms of payment. Even if you look at the growth rate of e-commerce, its all card-based but not with actual cards, and thats growing much faster than the rate of retail where people maybe actually swiping or dipping a card.

What the time horizon is for a cardless future I dont know, but ultimately we are going to be in a position where you dont need a physical element to carry around with you to provide the information you need to pay. That information is stored on a mobile phone or a wearable device, or some combination of all of those things. Its going to take time just because people are very used to cards. But thats going to change pretty dramatically.

Uber is an entirely cashless business in that I can pay the driver without a card.

Q: Did the emergence of the gig economy lead to this idea of a cashless society, or was Visa already thinking about this anyway?

A: At the end of the day, theres a lot of efficiency to be gained by electronifying payments, and thats what we do. The gig economy has been a very good catalyst for a new category of transactions that, you know, nobody had really thought about 10 years ago, but theyre upon us now.

Q: Would it surprise you to learn that the amount of cash in circulation is actually growing?

A: Depending on geography, there are different behaviors around cash. In the United States, the cash in circulation and cash as a percentage of gross domestic product has actually been going up. But there are other countries where the opposite has happened. If you look at some of the Nordic countries, theyve driven cash down to 2.5 or 3 percent of the economy.

Those governments actually took very proactive measures to drive toward a cashless society. A lot of other countries have looked at India and said, We should start thinking about our futures as well. They really want to migrate away from cash. Ultimately, going cashless generates economic efficiency both for the merchants themselves, as well as ease and simplicity for consumers.

Thomas Lee is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. Email: tlee@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ByTomLee
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From the outside, San Joses newest bookstore looks like any other. Inside, it looks like a Web page come to life. Highly Rated: 4.8 Stars and Above, reads one shelf. Another highlights books Read Around the Bay Area, while a third features Books with More Than 10,000 Reviews on Amazon.com.

Amazon Books held a grand opening Thursday for its first Bay Area location, in the Santana Row shopping center near San Joses border with Santa Clara. With 15 employees and about 3,500 titles, the store is focused on presentation. Each book is displayed cover out, with customer ratings and reviews printed underneath. Almost all the books and products have at least four stars on Amazon.com, though exceptions are made for best-sellers with lower ratings.

Its an unusual bookstore, but its overall very charming, said Yana Kosyakova, a Santa Clara resident who learned about the store after seeing signs posted a few months ago.

The Santana Row store is Amazon Books 10th location, and its second in California  the other is in San Diego. A Walnut Creek location will open this year, as will one in Los Angeles, according to Jennifer Cast, vice president of Amazon Books.

People spend a lot of time in the physical world, Cast said. We wanted to bring a new way to shop for books and a new way to learn about our devices.

Books are chosen based on the data Amazon collects about how its users pick books  both online and in person. Amazon said it intends for the store to make a profit, on a limited selection. This is not overwhelming, Cast said:

The online giants move to brick-and-mortar sites is noteworthy, since the number of physical bookstores in the U.S. declined from 14,676 in 1997  the year Amazon became a publicly traded company  to around 9,700 in 2008, according to census data.

I think its ironic  Amazon has been so predatory to brick-and-mortars in general, said Calvin Crosby, executive director of the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association.

Theres always a new way for Amazon to take a percentage of our sales, he said.

Crosby has visited Amazon Books New York City location, and said he wasnt impressed, calling it a kiosk and showroom-y. He said the growth of Amazon bookstores detracts from local businesses, which offer a deeper experience for customers. You get much more than a book put in your hand when you go to an independent bookstore.

Typically, a small bookstore would stock 8,000 to 10,000 titles, substantially more than San Joses Amazon Books, he said.

The South Bay has a rich history of independent bookstores, Crosby said. Books Inc., which has locations around the Bay Area, traces its history back to the California Gold Rush. Family bookstore Hicklebees has been in San Jose since 1979, and Keplers Books in Menlo Park opened more than 60 years ago.

Amazon.com began as a bookseller in 1995 but soon expanded to many more sectors of retail. Amazon Books displays various types of Kindle tablets and e-readers in its stores, as well as its Echo line of smart-home devices. Sales associates offer flash classes, less than 10 minutes long, for shoppers who want to learn how to use Amazon gadgets in person before purchasing.

Los Altos resident Hank Lee stopped by the store to give the Kindles a closer look  hes thinking of buying one for his wife. I didnt know they had such a range of Kindles, he said.

The book selection will be refreshed every couple of weeks, and the ratings and review cards will be updated every six months, according to Cast. A shelf for computers and coding-related books was added in the Seattle location by popular demand  and, said Cast, obviously it made sense in San Jose.

Isha Salian is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: isalian@sfchronicle.com
Beleaguered Uber is seeking to sell Uptown Station, the massive former Sears building in Oakland that it bought two years ago to create an East Bay office for 2,000 to 3,000 employees.

As we look to strengthen our financial position so we can better serve riders and drivers for the long term, were exploring several options for Uptown Station, including a sale, Uber said. We remain committed to serving Oakland and our broader hometown Bay Area community.

The year has been marked by scandals and turmoil at Uber, leading to the ouster of CEO Travis Kalanick in June. The companys search for a new CEO is complicated by internecine fighting among its directors and investors.

The potential sale of Uptown Station, which was first reported by the San Francisco Business Times, fits into Ubers broader efforts to cut losses and make a profit, it said. Despite its travails, Uber saw bookings of $8.7 billion in the second quarter, up 17 percent compared with the first quarter, and double the amount in the same period last year. The financial results were first reported by the Axios website and confirmed by Uber. The company said it lost $534 million on adjusted net revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter. (Bookings roughly represent the fares paid by passengers to drivers, while net revenue represents Ubers commission.)

Uber has also sought to cut losses in other areas. It sold its Chinese business to rival Didi Chuxing last year. A month ago, it merged its Russian business with rival Yandex, which will control the new company  and the Russian market.

Besides fixing its financial position, Uber needs to overhaul its corporate culture, too. Former workers have alleged a sexist environment rife with mismanagement, and the company brought in the law firm of former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate the problems. The company said that consolidating its employees in one location, rather than in several Bay Area offices, would help this effort. Uber is constructing two new buildings for its headquarters in San Franciscos Mission Bay neighborhood and is in talks with the Golden State Warriors for other potential space there. Its plan has always been to move out of its current Mid-Market headquarters when the Mission Bay space is complete, a spokesman said.

Newmark Knight Frank is handling the sale of Uptown Station. Located at 1955 Broadway, it occupies almost an entire city block atop the 19th Street BART Station and in the middle of Oaklands rapidly growing Uptown neighborhood. It opened in 1927 as the H.C. Capwell department store, and housed Sears from 1996 until 2014. It has been vacant since then.

Commercial real estate sources said that the building, with 318,266 square feet of office space and 52,522 square feet of retail, would probably sell for about $600 per square foot. That would result in a sales price of $222.47 million about $100 million more than the $123.5 million that Uber paid two years ago.

Uber has spent an undisclosed amount during the past two years to overhaul the historic building, which was severely damaged in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. Plans included opening up long-closed windows that had been sheathed in concrete and steel reinforcements. Two years ago, Uber said it expected to spend $40 million on rehabbing the structure.

Construction is expected to be finished in the second quarter of next year.

Uber already had pulled back on its Oakland plans. In March, it said it would house only a few hundred employees at Uptown Station and would rent out the remaining space.

In the last two years, major companies like Oracle, WeWork, Blue Shield and now Delta Dental have moved into Oakland, said Mayor Libby Schaaf. There are few locations in the region which offer such an array of social, economic and transportation benefits as Uptown Station. I look forward to working with the lucky buyer who hopefully will share Oaklands values of diversity, inclusion and equity.

The Greenlining Institute, an Oakland nonprofit, had protested Ubers Oakland plans with a #NoUberOakland campaign, fearing that the influx of well-paid tech workers would accelerate gentrification unless Uber committed to diverse local hiring, promoting affordable housing and other issues.

Uber backing out of Oakland tells us they werent ready to work with the community, said Orson Aguilar, Greenlining president.

Uber said it does remain committed to the East Bay city, and pointed to a $70,000 donation for a college fund for Oakland high school students, and $30,000 worth of rides it provided to local organizations.

Aguilars hope is that community organizations, backed by local millionaires, could join forces in a longshot effort to buy Uptown Station and use some of the space for public benefits, such as a training center for displaced workers. Since Uber owns the building, it could do a lot with special financing, he said.

Carolyn Said is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: csaid@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @csaid
The panel responsible for judging Californias judges appears all too eager to avoid being judged itself.

In a year-old dispute heard in San Francisco Superior Court last week, State Auditor Elaine Howles office has asked for Commission on Judicial Performance case records to conduct its first audit of the half-century-old body. The commission has refused, arguing that its constitutional power to keep proceedings secret trumps the authority of legislators requesting the audit.
The journalist who exposed the Gurmeet Ram Rahim rape case was shot dead right outside his house 15 years ago. The murder case is being heard by the same CBI court which will pronounce verdict in Dera chief rape case.

By India Today Web Desk: The special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Panchkula, which will be pronouncing the verdict in a rape case against against Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim later today, is also hearing a murder case.

Hearing in the murder case of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati is in the final stage in the special CBI court. Chhatrapati, who ran a local daily Poora Sacch, was the journalist who exposed the rapes of two women at Dera headquarters in Sirsa 15 years ago.

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Months after Chhatrapati published an anonymous letter giving details about how women were sexually harassed by Gurmeet Ram Rahim at Sirsa ashram, he was shot from point-blank range right outside his house on October 24, 2002.

Journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati. (File Photo)

Chhatrapati's son Anshul has been battling a lonely battle to get justice for his father. So far he has been unlucky.

THE ANONYMOUS LETTER

The anonymous letter published by Chhatrapati in his newspaper was addressed to then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and heads of several other institutions including the Chief Juctice of Punjab and Haryana High Court.

The three-page letter in Hindi explained in detail the 'deeds' of Gurmeet Ram Rahim. The letter, which appeared to have been written by a woman follower of Baba Ram Rahim, narrated how the Dera chief sexually exploited his women followers at the sprawling Sirsa ashram.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court took note of the letter and directed the then district and sessions judge in Sirsa to order a probe into the matter.

The judge then recommended probe by a central agency following which the high court asked the CBI to look into the matter.

The Chandigarh unit of CBI registered a case on December 12, 2002, under Section 376 (rape), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 509 (insult to the modesty of woman) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and launched an investigation.

ALSO READ:

Ram Rahim rape case verdict aside, did you know Dera chief has a force specialised in disaster relief?

Baba Ram Rahim verdict: Over 29 Punjab, Haryana bound trains cancelled

Gurmeet Ram Rahim rape case verdict today: Punjab, Haryana on high alert, Army on standby

WATCH: Exclusive video of Gurmeet Ram Rahim appealing to supporters to maintain peace

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At the end of last years presidential campaign, a sufficient number of voters in just the right places elected Donald Trump to go shoot up Washington and fundamentally change the way it operates.

Hes got the shooting part down just fine. But the big change part not so much.

In fact, 30 weeks after he took office, Trump is still shooting wild words and tweets at most anyone who criticizes him, hints at criticizing him or just moves.

Some Trump advocates say, You tell em! But some supporters and others who dont like the boastful New Yorker but had hoped he could deliver some necessary changes are starting to have serious doubts if he can ever deliver.

The 71-year-old Trump always wants to project strength and power. And he tried to show that in his Afghanistan speech this week. Theres a reason the real estate mogul did not build or rehab small buildings. And taking on the Washington establishment is no small task either.

In fact, its a huge, perhaps impossible task because the Congress, the bureaucracy, the lobbyists and especially the media there see their power, influence, job security and incomes threatened by changes to the status quo.

And many of them are quietly seeking to undermine Trumps efforts with slow-walks, steady leaks, passive-aggressive behavior and an astounding media animus thats lowered their public standing beneath even Trumps. This wounds the rookie president, and prompts him to say counterproductive, even false things.

Most every modern president rides into town vowing to fix the place that includes the nations wealthiest counties that see no need for fixing.

Changing Washington would be a herculean task for even a savvy, disciplined executive with vision and keen political skills. Which Trump is not.

The really rich guy, lone among the more than 20 men and women who offered themselves as potential presidents in the last cycle, read the visceral anger and frustration of millions in flyover country. Sporadically attentive to public affairs, these voters had long pleaded, cheered, donated, campaigned and voted for those on both sides who promised in so many words to drain the D.C. swamp.

And then didnt.

Trump spoke to and for those angry hopefuls.

His achievements, direct and indirect, have actually been many  Keystone Pipeline, VA reforms, regulation rollbacks, advances against Islamic State and MS-13, 1 million-plus new jobs, illegal immigration down, low unemployment despite many re-entering the labor force, soaring mortgage applications, consumer confidence and stock markets, among others.

Its surprising that someone so successful with big projects finds it so difficult to drive his own party to accomplish big projects in Washington.

But our form of government contains three equal branches for a reason, to deny any of them the power to dominate.

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.

Trumps a great cajoler. Unfortunately, hes an awful convincer.

Last weeks White House message was the desperate national need for infrastructure repairs, perhaps $1 trillion worth. Jobs. Growth. A better country. Trump touted his plan at a news conference. Then he demolished its coverage by indulging in punching back at people who charged his Charlottesville reactions were incomplete, even racist.

Boy, Trump sure told them. He has a right to do that, of course. But a need?

Remember when Trump criticized Arizona GOP Sen. John McCain, saying the man who survived six years of POW torture was no hero because he got captured?

Now, guess who rose from a cancer treatment bed to fly cross-country and cast the deciding Senate vote that killed Trumps oft-promised Obamacare repeal?

Andrew Malcolm is a veteran national and foreign correspondent covering politics since the 1960s. Twitter: @AHMalcolm
The new strategy for Afghanistan that President Trump unveiled Monday is a far cry from the bold changes candidate Trump described  abrupt withdrawal among them. He now seems to have fallen in line with his generals recommendations to stay the course with long-standing policies that have seen the Taliban regain control of half that country.

That is, he will continue to support the corrupt, ineffectual government in Kabul, and is poised to step up a training program that, for more than a decade, has been turning some of the worlds best natural warriors into one of the worlds worst armies. When stepped-up U.S. military operations that Trump hinted at lead to more casualties among innocents, the small tactical gains made will be offset by the general outrage of Afghans.

In short, the counterinsurgent campaign in Afghanistan continues to drift along a decaying orbit. Sadly, the war in Afghanistan is hardly the only indicator of Americas loss of strategic direction. The first sign was the blind faith that by simply spending more on the military we will do better.

It grows ever clearer that the damage inflicted 16 years ago by al Qaeda pales in comparison with the self-inflicted wounds from which Americans have suffered ever since. Take the burden imposed by the cynical use of 9/11 to justify the speedy doubling of military spending  despite the limited threat posed to Americans by terrorist networks. The country can ill afford this enormous fiscal burden. Even in the wake of the Great Recession, the Pentagon budget simply leveled off, despite urgent need to fund recovery-oriented initiatives rather than exotic new weaponry like the F-35.

The wrongheaded belief that a much bigger defense budget could somehow inspire new approaches that would defeat terrorist networks soon led to quixotic foreign military ventures. There was the idea that the worlds burgeoning terrorist networks could somehow be defeated by invading and transforming troubled nation-states. After successfully driving al Qaeda from Afghanistan  with just 200 Green Berets fighting alongside friendly Afghans  the U.S. and allied military presence grew to more than 150,000 in the costly, vain attempt to turn Afghanistan into a modern democratic state.

President Trump vowed Monday that we are done with nation-building. But what is continued support for the sitting Afghan government and the effort to build a national army? Nation-building.

The story is even worse in Iraq, a debacle begun with official lies (about Iraqs possession of weapons of mass destruction and links to al Qaeda) that led a gullible Congress to authorize an invasion that has cost trillions of dollars. The result: the democracy imposed by U.S.-led forces is really a Shiite autocracy that is much more closely aligned with Tehran than Washington. The lingering resentment felt by Iraqi Sunnis fueled the rise of the Islamic State, causing a whole new crisis in Iraq that helped fan the flames of the bloody civil war in Syria.

And while the United States has been mired in Afghanistan and Iraq, Russia and China have seized the opportunity to flex their muscles.

Under Vladimir Putin, Russia has pioneered a kind of covert warfare, skillfully annexing the Crimea and fostering a rebellion in Donetsk, Ukraine. China, for its part, is building a new kind of naval power to assert its aggressive territorial claims in the East and South China seas  replete with enhanced reefs that can house missiles, aircraft and attack boats. Russia and China have gained advantages in cyberspace, too. Their records of cyberespionage and intellectual property theft are truly unparalleled. Russias skill at using cyberoperations to fuel political warfare has been spectacularly successful, sowing the seeds of civic discord in America.

Rogue states have also benefited from 16 years of American strategic drift. Iran has made great gains in Iraq. But the Iranian mullahs have also won influence in Syria, opening up a Shiite arc connecting them more directly with Tehran-friendly, Lebanon-based Hezbollah  itself the worlds most vibrant Islamist network. Then there is Yemen, where Iran wages a species of proxy war against Saudi Arabia via its Houthi allies, who are more than holding their own in a bitter civil war conducted in one of the worlds poorest countries.

Afghanistan and Iraq will require continuing U.S. military involvement, given that our ill-fated nation-building enterprises have gone so wildly awry. But stability, if not peace, is still possible in both countries with just a light armed presence and a greater emphasis on diplomacy.

As to Syria, it is best that the United States simply bow out. Russian and Iranian support for Syrian leader Bashar Assad means that the effort to overthrow him is a fools errand. Even the idea of finishing off the Islamic State in Syria has little appeal, as this will simply hasten that terrorist networks shift to becoming a more dispersed  and thus a more globally dangerous  terrorist organization.

If such steps are taken to correct Americas strategic drift, then we will soon see proper attention being given to the greater issues posed by Chinas rise as a global power and the return of Russia as a major player. But without serious stock-taking of this sort, the drift will get worse, and our failures will compound  at ruinous cost.

Osama bin Laden is no longer around to savor the shape of the world he wrought with 9/11. However, his successor, Ayman al-Zawahri, is still on the loose, able to contemplate how he and his colleagues, with a single major attack, were able to provoke the worlds greatest power into a costly set of self-defeating actions that may yet allow the victory of terrorist networks and rogue nations. Lets not give him that satisfaction.

John Arquilla is professor and chair of defense analysis at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey. The views expressed are his alone. To comment, submit your letter to the editor at SFChronicle.com/letters.
It was an unusually warm day in San Francisco  sunny and 75 degrees  yet, I heard this knocking sound that seemed to be coming from the ceiling above my front door. That drumming in the pipes meant the heat was coming on.

I might not have believed my ears, but it was far from the first time this sort of thing has happened here. I live in a 100-square-foot room in a single-room-occupancy motel on the edge of the Tenderloin that is rife with habitability violations, but keeping the heat on is the only thing the landlord seems to think matters.

No matter what the weather is like outside, the central heat comes on here nearly every day and often stays on almost day and night, sometimes for up to 20 hours. It is usually off during the late morning and early afternoon  though there have been days when the heat continues burning around the clock. Sometimes, I wake up sweating and out of breath, my heart pounding, because of the excessive heat.

The landlord keeps the heat on because he thinks the law requires it. The city of San Francisco does have a heat ordinance, but the rule has been pushed too far by some tenants rights activists. The ordinance itself is part of the problem. The code mandates that units be heated to at least 68F, according to a pamphlet released by the citys Department of Building Inspection. The requirement for heating goes beyond mere comfort  it is considered essential to maintaining the health of individual occupants and the health, safety and welfare of the public at large.

I think the requirement actually goes beyond both health and comfort.

San Francisco needs to rethink its heating requirement. It needs to develop a better understanding of when heat is needed and then make that clear to residential property owners, landlords and tenants. And, it needs to set an upper limit rather than implying excessive heat is inherently superior to cool weather.

Heat is a right

Walking around my neighborhood, I see housing rights flyers taped to traffic and light poles all the time. They list common issues, like bedbugs and plumbing problems, but one is emphasized above the rest: NO HEAT!!! That is the only concern written in all caps. Requiring heat, if it actually got dangerously cold, would make sense, but the de facto rule has become that heat is required, period.

A former desk clerk in my building once told me about a tenant who would demand heat even when the temperature outside exceeded 80 degrees. I know my rights! she reportedly would insist. Apparently, she had mistakenly interpreted the citys heat requirement to mean she could demand heating  no matter what. In some buildings, her desire to exercise her rights would not directly affect anyone else. If the units had individually controlled heaters, she could turn hers on if it was 100 degrees, without baking her neighbors. But, as that clerk tried to remind her, turning on the heat for her in our building would mean turning it on for everyone.

That did not change her mind. So, he would turn on the heat, believing he had no choice. On another hot day, I asked a different clerk if he could turn off the heat after it had already been on for quite some time. He agreed but told me that the manager had said he must turn it back on if someone asked for it.

The heat ordinance is supposedly necessary to help keep the citys residents healthy. The brochure argues for the rule by saying, When heating is not provided, people are more susceptible to catching colds, influenza and respiratory or other illnesses. Most health professionals, however, agree that temperature itself does not cause increased occurrences of such illnesses.

When heat is unhealthy

In fact, people with respiratory conditions are at increased risk of suffering heat-related illnesses. Heat can aggravate symptoms in asthma sufferers, for example. Heat can also exacerbate multiple sclerosis symptoms, at least temporarily. Excessive heat can endanger peoples health by increasing the number of bugs present. My building, in particular, is infested with cockroaches and bedbugs, and there definitely seem to be more of both the more the heat is on.

Requiring a temperature of at least 68 degrees is problematic because it sets no upper limit, so technically, 67 degrees is unacceptable, but 110 would be perfectly fine. Also, turning on a heater will add much more than the few degrees needed to reach 68 from the typical outdoor temperatures already in the 60s. It already feels warmer inside the building than it does outside even during those brief times when the heat is off.

The Housing Rights Committee of San Francisco quotes the ordinance on its website and says it is based upon an exterior temperature of 35 degrees Fahrenheit. However, the temperature in San Francisco has dipped to 35 or below just a handful of times over the past 4 years I have lived here. Most of the lows during that time were in the 50s or 60s.

In some places, the heating regulations are absolutely needed to keep people healthy. San Francisco, however, does not normally get cold enough to be one of those places. The Board of Supervisors needs to take a closer look at the relationship between temperature and health, and rewrite the citys heat ordinance to protect residents from hot and cold temperatures alike.

Danielle Parenteau Decker is a graduate of the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism.
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In San Francisco, where watching The Dukes of Hazzard might be a questionable political decision in 2017, a flag of the Confederacy flying near City Hall with the blessing of the mayor seems unimaginable.

But for several months in 1964, the Confederate battle flag was raised every day in front of San Francisco City Hall. And when African American leaders protested, city leaders sided with the backers of the Civil War-era symbol  ordering it replaced after it was cut down during a protest rally.

The controversial flag was the idea of Stanley Bergman, a businessman and patriot who curated a Pavilion of American Flags in Civic Center Plaza, on 18 flagpoles that had been naked for years. The banners were raised on Flag Day, June 14, 1964, with a military band, Mayor John F. Shelley in attendance, and no foreshadowing of the fracas to come.

They ran Stanley Bergmans idea up 18 flagpoles in Civic Center Plaza yesterday and everybody saluted, a San Francisco Chronicle reporter wrote in a bright five-paragraph story the next day.

In just 48 hours, the narrative would turn into a full-blown Ruckus Over the Flag, as The Chronicles Page 3 headline stated, with demands for Shelley to remove the Confederate symbol.

The man who raised the Confederate battle flag in front of City Hall found himself manning the barricade as well yesterday, The Chronicle reported. Angry civil rights leaders  calling the Southern banner a symbol of hate  demanded that it come down.

James Herndon of the Negro American Labor Council called the flag the badge of slavery. Bergman countered with arguments that will sound familiar to anyone following 2017 flag and statue controversies in Virginia and other Southern states.

All the flags come from the history of America and, whether we like it or not, the Confederacy was a part of our history, Bergman said. You can no more take the flag out of an historical display than you can go to the history books and tear out the pages on the Civil War.

The American Civil Liberties Union backed Bergman, and so, ultimately, did the city. In a baffling compromise, Shelley decided the flag and the bronze plaque at the base would stay, then ordered a current U.S. flag to be placed above it on the same pole, to symbolize American unity.

The Confederate battle flag was cut down by activists later in the summer, during a July 12, 1964, march against the conservative policies of Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater. Police reported that the flag theft was the only crime committed during the otherwise peaceful gathering of 35,000 civil rights activists.

Later in the year, Bergman volunteered to replace the battle flag with the lesser-known Confederate Stars and Bars flag, which included three stripes and a circle of seven stars.

And then, seemingly out of nowhere, another flag controversy developed  this time started by Bergman.

When artists from Russia, Poland and other Eastern Bloc countries put in bids for a Civic Center Plaza beautification project, Bergman threatened to take all his flags down, fearing a communist architect might turn his flags into an honor guard for a nation that supplied munitions which led to the ultimate loss of 33,000 Americans in Korea.

The last Chronicle report had a flustered Bergman moving his flags to Union Square, although they apparently never got there. Most of Bergmans assorted American flags and plaques remain in Civic Center Plaza, including an original California Bear flag and a Dont Give Up the Ship flag flown on the flagship Niagara during the War of 1812.

Over the years, the less conspicuous Confederate flag was quietly removed. Fifty-three years later, good luck finding a San Franciscan who will publicly lobby for its return.

Peter Hartlaub is The San Francisco Chronicles pop culture critic. Email: phartlaub@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @PeterHartlaub
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Rep. Jackie Speier is convinced President Trump wont finish his four years in office and shes doing everything she can to hurry him out the Oval Office door.

The Hillsborough Democrat has called for Trump to be removed from office under the 25th Amendment, which allows the vice president and two-thirds of the Cabinet to declare a president unfit. In his first seven months in office, Trump has shown erratic behavior and lack of mental capacity that makes him incapable of serving as president, Speier said in a Thursday interview with The Chronicles editorial board.

Trumps promise to rain down fire and fury on North Korea, his changing takes on the rally in Charlottesville, Va., last week and the over 1,000 lies, she said he has told and been rebuked for in recent months are more than enough to show that keeping Trump in office is a threat to the nations security, she said.

I dont think hell serve out his term, in any case, Speier said. I dont think he likes the job. And once that real crisis occurs, I dont think hell want to handle it.

Trump could even find himself in prison for violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, she said. The 1977 law bars U.S. businesses from paying bribes to foreign officials and requires them to ensure they are not being used to launder foreign money through the sale of real estate and other assets.

There are people who think Trump will be facing prison time, Speier added.

Republicans and Democrats alike are whispering what Im saying publicly, she said, adding that Ive gotten a lot of heat for it.

But questions about Trump, his temperament and his mental stability have become more than whispers in recent weeks, especially from politicians in California, where the developer-turned-politician has few friends.

Besides Speiers unprecedented call to invoke the 25th Amendment, Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Torrance (Los Angeles County), has called for legislation requiring a psychiatrist to be present at the White House, and Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-San Jose, has introduced a congressional resolution calling for Trump to undergo a physical and mental evaluation to see if hes fit to remain president.

Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Sherman Oaks (Los Angeles County), has taken the oust-Trump effort a step further, last month introducing articles of impeachment against the president.

The concerns have become visible enough that the White House has been forced to respond, especially now that Republicans are starting to grumble.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders fired back at Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tennessee, who last week said Trump hasnt demonstrated the stability or competence he needs to display as president.

I think thats a ridiculous and outrageous claim that doesnt dignify a response from this podium, Sanders said Thursday, in the White Houses first response to Corkers comments.

With Republicans controlling both houses of Congress and every member of the Cabinet serving at the presidents will, getting the two-thirds vote needed to remove Trump is unlikely, but Speier is convinced it can be done.

Calling for the 25th Amendment to be invoked puts Vice President Pence and the Cabinet on notice that theyre responsible for ensuring that Trump is competent to run the country and can be trusted with the nations nuclear arsenal, Speier said.

Having Republican leaders tasked with determining whether Trump should stay in office would carry far more weight with the GOP-controlled Congress than if Democrats were directly involved.

If the vice president and a majority of the Cabinet members made that decision, its likely that enough Republicans in Congress would sign on to remove Trump, she said. And if they called for his ouster, Speier believes its likely the president would quickly resign.

Im not a medical doctor, but the 25th Amendment doesnt require one, Speier added. Its a matter of evaluation.

Speiers anti-Trump efforts are raising questions among her fellow Democrats, who worry that a total focus on the president takes away from the partys efforts to convince voters that they have positive plans for the future.

San Francisco Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic leader in the House, suggested Tuesday that many of the congressional efforts against Trump were distractions, since the Republicans in control will never let them come up for a vote.

Pelosi is probably upset because all these efforts are coming from her own state of California, said Thad Kousser, a political science professor at San Diego State University. She likely wants them to hold their fire until they see the whites of their eyes and not take individual actions that are likely to be ineffective.

But the nations security is her only concern, Speier insisted.

This isnt about politics, she said. Yes, I would rather have Mike Pence there (as president). Its about the national security of this country. Its about the stability of the country.

As a member of the House Intelligence Committee, Speier is at the center of the investigation into Russias purported efforts to involve itself in the 2016 presidential election and any possible links Russia supporters might have had with the Trump campaign.

The committees main job is to determine how, when, where and why Russia intervened in the election and make recommendations about what can be done to make sure it doesnt happen again, Speier said.

The question of impeachment isnt likely to be brought up before her committee, nor should it, she added.

But even if Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is conducting a criminal investigation into any Russian connections with the election and the Trump campaign, comes up with indictments that lead to an impeachment trial, thats a far slower process than the 25th Amendment when it comes to removing a president, Speier said.

I dont know how much time we have, she said.

John Wildermuth is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: JWildermuth@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jfwildermuth

Speier on video

To see a Facebook live with Rep. Jackie Speier, go to: http://bit.ly/2w8JNOy
Kash Feng is a name that those who follow the food scene will soon recognize, if they dont already. His King-Dum, a soup dumpling so large it requires a straw to suck out the scalding broth, has become a popular Instagram item, and no doubt it contributes to the lines that form outside Dumpling Time in San Franciscos Design District.

Yet focusing on this dish sells the restaurant short. Dont get me wrong  the softball-size dumpling with its pinched, twisted top strewn with flower petals looks like a party; its fun to sip through the fat straw, usually used for bubble tea. However, the restaurants other dumplings  gyoza, bao and xiao long bao  are even better.

Feng came here from China 18 years ago to attend City College. He was 17 years old with just $800 in his pocket. He didnt speak English. He immediately got a job as a busboy in Chinatown but lasted only two days because he spoke Mandarin while the rest of the staff were Cantonese. He then went through several jobs  often holding down two or three at the same time  until he found the right fit at Roys. This became his launching pad to become manager of Mikado on Bryant Street.

He partnered up with Jackson Yu, and they opened their first restaurant, Live Sushi Bar, in 2007. They now own six restaurants, including the three-star Omakase on Townsend and the adjoining Okane. They also own Live Sushi Bistro near Potrero Hill and Breakfast at Tiffanys in the Portola neighborhood.

Next up are three other places in the 241-unit One Henry Adams at Showplace Square: a Japanese steak house and whiskey bar; an udon restaurant; and a butcher shop that will feature Wagyu beef.

Ive been here since Im 17 so Im pretty San Franciscan now, said Feng.

Dumpling Time replaced the vegetarian restaurant Source, which never resonated in the area. It would be easy to blame that closure on the location, tucked away on Division Street where it meets King and De Haro. To get there, you have to know where youre going.

But Dumpling Time was an instant hit when it opened in May. Not only can there be a wait at 11:30 for lunch, but even if you arrive around 6:15 on a week night, it could be a half-hour before youre seated. Feng says hes thinking about offering take-out, but for now all the dumplings have to be consumed on premises because the staff can barely keep up with demand.

The 70-seat restaurant, which also has seating for 20 on the patio, has a modern, if utilitarian, design with close-together tables, storefront windows and dance videos playing against a white wall. Feng has attempted to keep the sound level in check by adding fabric panels to the ceiling, but it still feels like a spirituous party in cramped quarters.

Even with people crowded outside waiting for their names to be called, the staff remains calm and friendly, going as far as saying theres no hurry when they bring the check.

Throughout the day, from the covered patio and inside the restaurant, diners can see the chef Do Leung and his crew making fresh dumplings.

John Storey/Special to the Chronicle

While the soup dumplings arent as good as those at Yank Sing  on my visits they were a little too sticky  they are satisfying. Feng and Yu have also successfully tackled the problem of getting the dumplings from bamboo steamer to mouth without losing the broth by putting each one in tiny aluminum foil pans.

Where the dumplings excel are in their intense, finely crafted fillings. Youll find creative takes, like the tom yum goong (six for $9): The beet-stained dough is filled with a mixture of ground pork belly, shrimp and coconut milk  a riff on the well-known Thai soup. The best soup dumpling is plump with ground pork belly, shrimp and broth bolstered with Shaoxing rice wine.

The menu features two types of har gow (four for $6), one with a light ground shrimp and pork filling accompanied by a creamy cilantro sauce; and a more inventive filling with the same mixture but a bit of cream cheese, which isnt detectable but enhances the silken texture.

The gyoza are particularly good. Theyre pan-seared, which helps firm up the shells. One is filled with pork, onion, ginger and cilantro (five for $7.50), and another with chicken, shiitake and wood ear mushrooms (five for $7). A third, with a spinach-stained skin, contains shrimp, crab, scallops and spiced chile butter (five for $9.50).

Bao ($5.50-$6 for three), the white puffy buns, are filled with either chicken, pork or roasted pork belly with a secret ingredient: peanut butter. Diners can also order them pan-seared, which adds a much-appreciated crispness.

Dumplings aside, I am a fan of the Beijing noodles ($9) topped with a mixture of ground pork, ginger, green onion and soybean paste. The recipe is from Fengs mother, whom he brought to San Francisco about five years ago. Many recipes are devised with her help and by corporate chef, Edgar Agbayani, who oversees all the restaurants.

Dumplings are made to order, and the large soup dumpling take up to 20 minutes. To pass the time the menu features starters such as garlicky fried green beans ($8) and sauteed snap peas accented with ginger ($8). To help refresh the palate and avoid dumpling overload, Feng offers small bites ($5) that include pickled lotus, carrots and Fresno chile; a cucumber salad; and a medley of celery, yuba and peanuts.

John Storey/Special to the Chronicle

The restaurant features 10 beers on draft, including Sapporo from Japan, Tsingtao from China and Lagunitas from Petaluma. Only two wines are listed: an unnamed Chardonnay and a Cabernet Sauvignon. There are also two sakes: Kikusui ($15) and Kurosawa ($22).

Bao (three for $5.50) make a return appearance at dessert with three flavors. One, its dough green from tea flavoring, is filled with a milk mixture. A taro-stuffed option is pink from beets, and a third has white dough, creating a bold contrast to its bright egg yolk filling.

Perfecting the menu is an ongoing process, says Feng in a phone interview. Im not 100 percent happy with the menu yet. Im working on a couple of things with my mom.

  

Dumpling Time

Food:   

Service:   

Atmosphere:  

Prices: $$

Noise: BOMB

11 Division St. (at De Haro), San Francisco; (415) 525-4797 or www.dumplingtimesf.com. Lunch 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Monday-Friday and until 3 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. Dinner 5:30-9:30 p.m. daily. Beer, wine and sake. No S.F. surcharge. No reservations. Credit cards accepted. Street parking, sometimes difficult.

Correction: The original review misstated the number of stars for atmosphere. The restaurant is rated two stars.
Every Friday morning, SFGATE finds the biggest headlines in local (and sometimes national) beer. Check back here weekly for news, events, and information about special releases from your favorite local breweries.

21st Amendment is throwing the very fun-sounding AugustFest this weekend. Beginning at noon, the brewhouse will bust out some rare beers for guests to sip (along with their dependable standbys), fashion and open up a cigar lounge, and stage music from a few live bands, including the ever-rambunctious Stone Foxes. The event is free, and beer tickets will be on sale for $5 apiece. There's also a special beer in the works for the event  more on that below. Those traveling by BART can grab the free shuttle going to and from the brewery for the event.

Elsewhere in San Leandro, another beer fest of sorts is taking place Drake's Brewing Co.: They're turning an impressive 28 years old  no big deal. To celebrate, they're  naturally  throwing a party on August 26 in their San Leandro brewery, and bottling up a bomb of a beer to sell to guests on Saturday at the event. Seriously, that birthday beer is no joke; The Void, an "intergalactic stout" aged in rye whiskey barrels, clocks in at 17.5 percent. You can pre-order it here.

Over in Walnut Creek, another birthday will be underway at Farm Creek Brewing Company. The taproom there, which was been closed for some production space changes will reopen at noon on Saturday, August 26, with a ribbon-cutting, 10 beers on tap, and free BBQ pork sliders from San Ramon's Worth Ranch.

The California Craft Beer Summit's beer fest has released its brew lineup. Check it out here.

Pints at the Park is going down at Lake Merritt in Oakland this Saturday, starting at 2 p.m. Check out the ticketing page for more info.

Altamont and Alvarado Street are working on a collaboration beer. Per the hashtag usage, it will be #nothazy.

Speaking of collaborations, here's a weird one: up north, Lost Coast is brewing up a session IPA with the help of...Pennywise. Yeah, those guys. It's going to be called Pennywiser, and the group seemed pretty #stoked on it: "We had talked to a few different breweries and there was some good beer to offer up in the past, but nothing ever worked out. (Lost Coast) was a company that I was familiar with because I've had their Great White beer and the Indica IPA and I've enjoyed them and probably stumbled around or taken my shirt off or something after drinking them. But, the minute I heard their name thrown in, personally I was very interested because they're a great company and their labels always have really cool artwork."

Introducing PENNYWISER, an easy drinking Session IPA coming soon from our friends at @lostcoastbrewery. Click the link in our profile for more info. A post shared by Pennywise (@_pennywise) on Aug 21, 2017 at 8:01am PDT

Can and bottle releases:

August 25: Sonoma Springs releases Conan's Haze, a NE IPA, and Nomaweiss, a Hefeweizen. (See where you can get them here.)

August 25: Sante Adairius is selling bottles of their classic Saison Bernice.

August 25: Hop Dogma has released Altered Dankopotamus, an IPA.

This weekend: 21st Amendment releases the Tasty IPA (pictured above), a collaboration beer made with  you guessed it  Tasty McDole, expert homebrewer of The Brewing Network and mainstay at all your favorite beer events. Note that this release will be hella hoppy, thanks to Citra and Mosaic lupulin powder.

August 26: The Rare Barrel releases Entanglement, a blend of sour golden beers aged in oak barrels with orange zest and vanilla bean. Bring your growler: For one day only, they're offering to fill them with the Cellarmaker collab Birds in Paradise for non-club-member plebes.

Alyssa Pereira is an SFGATE staff writer. Email her at apereira@sfchronicle.com or find her on Twitter at @alyspereira.


What makes a perfect picture book? Perhaps the strong, seamless marriage of words and art, put toward good purpose, as in this tender tale about friendship and life cycles. The episodic plot unfolds in an apartment: A white cat is joined by a black kitten in need of basic education  how to eat, when to drink, where to go and so on. The younger grows big, the years slip by, and eventually the elder goes away, never to return. The tone is matter of fact: It was sad for everyone until the day a new cat came. Heavy black brushstrokes define the white cats, and the black cat is simply black. At play and at rest, the companions are drawn with circularity that suggests the endless inevitability of birth and death and that furthers life-affirming conversation around loss.

This harrowing and heart-wrenching novel focuses on the search for safe haven, connecting three parallel stories from different times and places. In Nazi Germany, Josef and his family face prejudice and worse, boarding the ill-fated MS St. Louis en route to Cuba. In post-Soviet Cuba, Isabel and her family face riots and unrest, taking a leaky raft to Florida. And in 2015, in war-torn Syria, Mahmoud and his family face death and destruction, risking all to reach Germany. These dramatic stories unfold in clearly delineated, rotating chapters that cover oppression, chaos, danger, sacrifice and survival. There is some contrivance to the structure, but not to the stories themselves. They are timeless and timely in proving a tragic truth: The more things change, the more they stay the same. This important book begs us to consider: And what is to be done?
Ahead of the CBI special court verdict in Panchkula today in a rape case against Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim, his followers have ignored appeals by him and the administration to go home. They say they will not move until the verdict is out.

Dera followers have refused to leave Panchkula despite the administration and Gurmeet Ram Rahim's appeals to them to do so. ANI Photo.

By India Today Web Desk: Ahead of the CBI special court verdict in Panchkula later today in a rape case against Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim, his followers have ignored appeals by him and the administration to go home. They have, instead, chosen to continue to stay put in Panchkula, giving a tough time to the authorities to maintain law and order.

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Helped by central forces, Haryana Police launched a night-long operation to flush out scores of Dera followers who had gathered over the past four days in Panchkula. But the self-styled godman's supporters have largely refused to back off.

Security forces are struggling to deal with these Dera followers who are unwilling to budge, with most of them saying that they had came to the town on their own and leave only after the court delivered its ruling.

Meanwhile, the authorities say that they have sealed the road leading to the district court complex in Panchkula and that nobody is being allowed on that route.

"We will not move out of Panchkula till the time we have pitaji's (Ram Rahim) 'darshan'. We will wait till the court verdict," said an aged follower, who had come from Bathinda in Punjab.

The Dera head is expected to reach Panchkula in the afternoon to remain present in the court before the verdict.

A little after midnight, a few columns of the Army also reached Panchkula after the state government sent a request to the Centre about the same.

SCHOOLS, COLLEGES SHUT DOWN IN PUNJAB, HARYANA

Haryana, Punjab and Union Territory Chandigarh have gone into lockdown since Friday, shutting down schools, colleges and paralysing transport services, including trains and buses. Mobile internet services have been suspended everywhere in these two states, except Faridabad and Gurgaon.

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and his Punjab counterpart Captain Amarinder Singh will be taking stock of the security situation in their respective states.

Apart from Haryana, Punjab too has a sizeable presence of Dera Sacha Sauda followers, including many in Bathinda.

Haryana DGP B S Sandhu had on Thursday said that night-long operations would be carried out in Panchkula and the Dera followers would be moved out in buses being arranged by the government.

However, even this morning, a significant number of Dera 'premis' could be seen occupying parks, camping near government buildings and pavements in different sectors of Panchkula, about 12 km from Chandigarh.

Despite the fact that the police used loud speakers througout the night to urge Dera followers to move out and cited prohibitory orders under Section 144, they paid no heed.

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GURMEET RAHIM URGED FOLLOWERS TO ABIDE BY LAW IN VIDEO APPEAL

The sect head released a video late on Friday night, asking his followers to abide by law.

"I had earlier appealed to maintain peace and calm and asked (followers) not to go to Panchkula. All those (followers) who are in Panchkula should return home."

"I have to go to the court for hearing the verdict and I will go to Panchkula. We should all abide by the law and maintain peace and calm", Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh said in his video appeal.

An estimated over one lakh Dera followers including men, women and children have assembled in Panchkula. UT Chandigarh Police has warned of stern action against Dera followers if they attempt to enter the city.

DERA FOLLOWERS ALSO CAMPING IN SIRSA

A large number of Dera followers are also camping in Sirsa, the headquarters of the sect, where authorities clamped curfew from 10 pm on Thursday. Army has been called in in Sirsa as well to deal with any law and order situation that may arise after the court verdict today.

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The high court had slammed the Haryana government for allowing Dera followers to enter Panchkula in large numbers despite prohibitory orders being clamped, questioning why Section 144 had not been imposed strictly.

The special CBI court in Panchkula is set to pronounce the judgment in a sexual exploitation case against Dera Sacha Sauda chief in the afternoon.

The sexual exploitation case was registered against the Dera chief in 2002 by the CBI on the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court after anonymous letters were circulated about the alleged sexual exploitation of two 'Sadhvis' (female followers) by Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.

However, the Dera chief has denied these charges.

(WITH INPUTS FROM PTI)

ALSO READ |

Ram Rahim verdict LIVE: Dera Sacha Sauda chief leaves for Panchkula court with convoy of 700 cars

Ahead of hearing in Panchkula court, police start evicting Dera chief Ram Rahim's followers from city

Ram Rahim rape case verdict aside, did you know Dera chief launched a force specialised in disaster relief? WATCH VIDEO | Ahead of verdict in Gurmeet Ram Rahim rape case, Sirsa and Panchkula under tight security cover

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TEHRAN  Officially, Apple has no presence in Iran. Because of U.S. sanctions against the country, the companys iPhones are not legally available for sale here, and Apple does not offer a version of its App Store in the country.

That has not stopped Iranians from snapping up millions of iPhones smuggled in from places like Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong. Nor has it kept Iranian app developers from creating thousands of apps for local users and offering them through App Stores outside Iran.

Now, Apple is moving aggressively to shut down Iranian apps. The crackdown follows the companys recent removal of apps in China that allowed residents to evade censors and gain access to the global Internet, and were deemed illegal by the Chinese government.

On Thursday, Apple removed Snapp, a ride-hailing app similar to Uber that is popular in Iran, from its app stores. That followed the removal in recent weeks of apps for food delivery, shopping and other services.

In a message to Iranian developers whose apps were affected by the ban, Apple said, Under the U.S. sanctions regulations, the App Store cannot host, distribute or do business with apps or developers connected to certain U.S. embargoed countries.

An Apple spokesman, Tom Neumayr, confirmed the messages authenticity. He declined to comment further.

Mahdi Taghizadeh, a founder of DelionFoods, an online food delivery service, said his app was among those taken down.

We work so hard, and have to fight all the time, and now this, he said in an interview. No one with an iPhone can download any of the popular apps any more. Imagine if in the U.S. you wouldnt be able to get Uber on your phone.

Taghizadeh has protested the move online, starting a campaign on Twitter, #StopRemovingIranianApps, to press Apple to end the crackdown. (Although the Iranian government has blocked Twitter in the country, determined users find ways to reach it.)

Google, which allows Android developers to publish apps in Iran so long as they do not involve purchases, does not appear to have taken a similar action against Iranian apps in its Play store, and its formal Play guidelines allow apps to be distributed in the country.

In addition to blocking Twitter, the Iranian government has long blocked Facebook and YouTube.

When it comes to technology, U.S. sanctions against Iran over its nuclear weapons program are complicated. Barack Obamas administration eased restrictions on U.S. tech companies that offered Internet services in Iran as a way of encouraging a free flow of information, especially among younger Iranians.

The Trump administration has modified the overall sanctions, and President Trump signed a new sanctions bill into law this month. It is unclear whether the administration meant to impose new restrictions on technology companies.

European countries lifted all sanctions against Iran after the 2016 nuclear agreement was reached.

Apple told Iranian developers in February to remove any payment options in their apps to prevent Iranian money from entering the United States in violation of the sanctions. Iran had developed its own internal online payment system, shaparak, in response to the sanctions. After the Apple notice, almost all Iranian apps, including Snapp, switched to shaparak, cash and other methods of payment.

The full removal of Iranian apps by Apple means our work will be much more complicated, said Taghizadeh. His company had started an online campaign to attract more customers, but has decided to halt those efforts for now. What is the point when people cant download your app?

Irans new telecommunications minister, Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi, complained on Twitter about Apples decision to remove the apps and said he was planning to pursue the issue.

Azari Jahromi wrote in Persian that 11 percent of the cell phone market in Iran belongs to Apple. He added: Respecting customer rights is a principle today that Apple hasnt abided by. We will legally pursue the omission of apps.

Twitter declined to comment, and YouTube had no immediate comment on the ministers remarks.

Thomas Erdbrink and Vindu Goel are New York Times writers.
Volkswagen engineer James Robert Liang, who had a key role in the diesel scandal, was sentenced Friday to more than three years in prison and a $200,000 fine, a steeper punishment than prosecutors requested. Liang, who faces deportation to Germany upon his release from prison, declined to speak on his own behalf Friday. Prosecutors had requested a 36-month prison term and a $20,000 fine.

Number of the day

$200,000

Thats how much that venture capitalist John Doerr considers an hour of his time to be worth, according to an excerpt from Ellen Paos new book, Reset, published in New York magazines The Cut. Pao unsuccessfully sued Doerrs firm, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, alleging gender discrimination. Even if you take the figure with a grain of salt, its a great number. In one hour, Doerr could earn nearly as much as seven San Francisco minimum-wage workers would get paid in a year (or pay a Volkswagen engineers court fine). In two hours, he would match the annual salary of the president of the United States. And in three hours, he could probably afford to rent a one-bedroom condo in Hayes Valley.

Mortality is fleeting

A novel called Handbook for Mortals had a very brief reign at the top of a New York Times best-seller list. The paper confirmed Friday that it had pulled Lani Sarems book from its young adult hardcover list for Sept. 3 because of inconsistencies in the reporting of sales. The announcement came after online complaints that Handbook for Mortals benefited from bulk sales, when hundreds or thousands of copies are ordered by a single buyer. On Twitter, young adult author Phil Stamper and others had questioned how a book they knew little about could reach No. 1.

Daily Briefing is compiled from San Francisco Chronicle staff and news services. See more items and links at www.sfgate.com. Twitter: @techchronicle
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Hackers have discovered that one of the most central elements of online security  the mobile phone number  is also one of the easiest to steal.

In a growing number of online attacks, hackers have been calling up Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint and AT&T and asking them to transfer control of a victims phone number to a device under the control of the hackers.

Once they get control, they can reset the passwords on every account that uses the phone number as a security backup  as services like Google, Twitter and Facebook suggest.

RELATED VIDEO: This Company Just Became the First Cryptocurrency 'Unicorn'

My iPad restarted, my phone restarted and my computer restarted, and thats when I got the cold sweat and was like, OK, this is really serious, said Chris Burniske, a virtual currency investor who lost control of his phone number late last year.

A wide array of people have complained about being successfully targeted by this sort of attack, including a Black Lives Matter activist and the chief technologist of the Federal Trade Commission. The commissions own data shows that the number of phone hijackings has been rising. In January 2013, there were 1,038 such incidents reported; by January 2016, that number had increased to 2,658.

But a particularly concentrated wave of attacks has hit those with the most obviously valuable online accounts: virtual currency fanatics like Burniske.

Within minutes of getting control of Burniskes phone, his attackers had changed the password on his virtual currency wallet and drained the contents  some $150,000 at todays values.

Most victims in the virtual currency community have not wanted to acknowledge it publicly for fear of provoking their adversaries. But in interviews, dozens of prominent people in the industry acknowledged that they had been victimized in recent months.

Everybody I know in the cryptocurrency space has gotten their phone number stolen, said Joby Weeks, a bitcoin entrepreneur.

Weeks lost his phone number and about $1 million worth of virtual currency late last year, despite having asked his mobile phone provider for additional security after his wife and parents lost control of their phone numbers.

The attackers appear to be focusing on anyone who talks on social media about owning virtual currencies or anyone who is known to invest in virtual currency companies, such as venture capitalists. And virtual currency transactions are designed to be irreversible.

Accounts with banks and brokerage firms are not as vulnerable to these attacks because these institutions can usually reverse unintended or malicious transactions if they are caught within a few days.

But the attacks are exposing a vulnerability that could be exploited against almost anyone with valuable emails or other digital files  including politicians, activists and journalists.

Last year, hackers took over the Twitter account of DeRay Mckesson, a leader of the Black Lives Matter movement, by first getting his phone number.

In a number of cases involving digital money aficionados, the attackers have held email files for ransom  threatening to release naked pictures in one case, and details of a victims sexual fetishes in another.

The vulnerability of even sophisticated programmers and security experts to these attacks sets an unsettling precedent for when the assailants go after less technologically savvy victims. Security experts worry that these types of attacks will become more widespread if mobile phone operators do not make significant changes to their security procedures.

Its really highlighting the insecurity of using any kind of telephone-based security, said Michael Perklin, chief information security officer at the virtual currency exchange ShapeShift, which has seen many of its employees and customers attacked.

Mobile phone carriers have said they are taking steps to head off the attacks by making it possible to add more complex personal identification numbers, or PINs, to accounts, among other steps.

But these measures have not been enough to stop the spread and success of the culprits.

After a first wave of phone porting attacks on the virtual currency community last winter, which was reported by Forbes, their frequency appears to have ticked up, Perklin and other security experts said.

In several recent cases, the hackers have commandeered phone numbers even when the victims knew they were under attack and alerted their cell phone provider.

Adam Pokornicky, a managing partner at Cryptochain Capital, asked Verizon to put extra security measures on his account after he learned that an attacker had called in 13 times trying to move his number to a new phone.

But just a day later, he said, the attacker persuaded a different Verizon agent to change Pokornickys number without requiring the new PIN.

A spokesman for Verizon, Richard Young, said that the company could not comment on specific cases, but that phone porting was not common.

While we work diligently to ensure customer accounts remain secure, on occasion there are instances where automated processes or human performance falls short, he said. We strive to correct these issues quickly and look for additional ways to improve security.

Perklin and other people who have investigated recent hacks said the assailants generally succeeded by delivering sob stories about an emergency that required the phone number to be moved to a new device  and by trying multiple times until a gullible agent was found.

These guys will sit and call 600 times before they get through and get an agent on the line thats an idiot, Weeks said.

Coinbase, one of the most widely used bitcoin wallets, has encouraged customers to disconnect their mobile phones from their Coinbase accounts.

But some customers who have lost money have said the companies need to take more steps by doing things like delaying transfers from accounts on which the password was recently changed.

Coinbase looks like a bank, stores millions of dollars like a bank, but you dont realize how weak its default protections are until you are robbed of thousands of dollars in minutes, said Cody Brown, a virtual reality developer who was hacked in May.

Nathaniel Popper is a New York Times writer.
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One of the men convicted of engaging in a gang-related firefight that killed an innocent bystander returning home with two of her children in West Oakland in 2015 was sentenced Thursday to 40 years to life in prison, authorities said.

Alex Davis, 27, was the first of the three convicted of second-degree murder to be sentenced for the broad-daylight slaying of 30-year-old Chyemil Pierce near her home on Chestnut Street.

Pierce had just picked up two of her children from school and parked her car on March 9, 2015 when a confrontation between two groups broke out near 30th and Chestnut streets.

As a barrage of bullets rained down around the family, Pierce tried to rush her then 7-year-old and 9-year-old children to safety, screaming for them to run for cover.

The children managed to make it to the family home and hide behind it, but Pierce was killed in the crossfire.

Prosecutors said Davis fired the bullet that struck Pierce in the back of the head. He was convicted of second-degree murder alongside Anthony Sims, 22, and Michael Stills, 23, in June. Sims and Stills are scheduled to be sentenced next month.

Jurors deadlocked on charges against a fourth defendant, Jerry Harbin Jr., 32, who later pleaded no contest to the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 13 years in state prison.

Investigators said the events that led to the shoot-out began when Harbin allegedly pushed 39-year-old Joneria Reed to the ground while she was engaged in a fight with a group of other women.

Angry about his interference, she called her son, 23-year-old Dijon Ward, and Sims, who got into a confrontation with Harbin and other men at the scene that quickly devolved into a gunbattle.

Reed pleaded no contest in April to second-degree murder as part of an agreement to testify against six of the other defendants. Her conviction will be reduced to voluntary manslaughter with a sentence of six years in custody if her testimony is determined to be truthful.

Ward pleaded no contest to being an accessory after the fact for hiding a gun that was allegedly used in the shooting and was sentenced to five years probation.

The two remaining defendants, Shelton McDaniels, 31, and Julian Ambrose, 19, are expected to go to trial later this year.

Pierces murder shocked West Oakland, a historically crime-ridden region of the city that had made vast improvements in recent years thanks to the efforts of longtime residents, community leaders and police.

Pierces family said they had lived in the neighborhood for decades. In addition to the two young children that she died protecting, Pierce, who worked as a Kaiser human resources employee, left behind a child who was 1 at the time of the shooting.

Vivian Ho is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: VHo@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @VivianHo
A man was shot to death in West Oakland near Interstate 880 on Thursday afternoon, police said.

The homicide was reported at 12:27 p.m. on the 1700 block of 7th Street at Willow Street, police said.
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The sexually exploited young woman at the center of a scandal involving multiple Bay Area law enforcement officers filed a lawsuit against Contra Costa County sheriffs officials, alleging a former deputy was engaged in an illegal quid pro quo sexual relationship with her.

The woman, who prefers to go by the name Jasmine and previously used the pseudonym Celeste Guap, alleges police in Oakland, Livermore, San Francisco, and sheriffs deputies in Alameda County have also abused her.

The scandal became public in 2015 after Oakland Police Officer Brendan OBrien committed suicide and left a note detailing his and other officers relationship with Jasmine, the daughter of an Oakland police dispatcher who was sexually exploited as a teen.

The Contra Costa County suit  filed Thursday night in federal court in San Francisco and announced by Jasmines attorney Friday  marks the third suit the woman has filed in relation to the scandal. The new lawsuit names Contra Costa County Sheriff David Livingston and former Deputy Sheriff Ricardo Perez as defendants.

She filed a similar lawsuit last week against the Richmond Police Department, naming Chief Allywn Brown, former Chief Chris Magnus, internal affairs supervisor Lt. Brian Dickerson and five officers as defendants. In May, the city of Oakland awarded Jasmine $989,000 to settle a case against their officers.

The widespread nature of it makes it horrible to consider that law enforcement, police officers from six departments, so blatantly (could) violate their oath, said Oakland attorney John Burris, who is representing Jasmine. It raises questions.

Burris said Jasmines 20th birthday was Friday, and that shes in a pretty good space.

The suit says Perez had sex with the girl multiple times when she was 17, and that she had told Perez she was underage.

When Plaintiff told Defendant Perez in January 2016 that she had been 17 at the time they had sex, his attitude was like, whatever, the suit states.

This conduct with this officer is so despicable, Burris said. Not only did he know ... but he continued to do it. And sought photographs, Burris said. He should be prosecuted.

Perez has been charged with multiple sex crimes in connection with the case.

Livingston said Friday that the lawsuit has not yet been served, but he added, We cannot let Mr. Burris hasty press conference go unanswered.

This case involves the off-duty conduct of one former deputy sheriff who resigned in lieu of termination when the allegations came to light. Additionally, he was fully trained on his requirement to report suspected child abuse and certified so in training documents, Livingston said in a statement. He is now properly facing criminal charges and we will vigorously defend this lawsuit.

The suit alleges Perez sent several photos of his penis to Jasmine between July 2015 and April 2016 and that she sent back nude photos of herself. Perez shared her photos with other members of the sheriffs department and may have sent her sexually explicit pictures while on duty, according to the suit.

Defendant Perez was informed by Plaintiff, and knew or should have known that the illegal sexual relationship was one of a Quid Pro Quo for minor Plaintiffs protection from the police as a sex trafficked child, the lawsuit states. Plaintiff informed Defendant Perez, she was having illegal sex as a minor with other police officers.

The suit says Livingston, as chief, bore the responsibility for hiring, training and supervising Perez, yet failed to ensure he was versed in California laws on child abuse and child sex trafficking.

The victim is seeking an unspecified amount in damages. Burris said they are considering filing suits against the Livermore and San Francisco police departments and the Alameda County Sheriffs Office, but have not made a final decision.

Jenna Lyons is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jlyons@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JennaJourno
Soon after the conviction, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was flown to a jail in Rohtak in Haryana.

Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was seen outside the Panchkula court dressed fully in white.

By India Today Web Desk: The special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court today convicted Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a rape case. The quantum of sentence will be declared by the court on Monday.

As the 15-year-long court battle ended, the sect chief was taken into custody. Soldiers deployed earlier rushed to the court and took charge. Soon after the conviction, the Dera chief was seen outside the Panchkula court dressed fully in white.

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Following which, the so-called godman was flown to a jail in Rohtak in Haryana.

Even though the verdict was announced amid unprecedented security and thousands of police as well as paramilitary forces were deployed outside, the mobs took over the streets in no time, setting fire to scores of vehicles and buildings.

Violent clashes broke out in several parts of Punjab and Haryana. So far, at least 31 Dera supporters have lost their lives.

Dera Sacha Sauda supporters went on a rampage in different parts of Haryana and Punjab including Sirsa and Panchkula.

Besides clashes with police, the cult's followers indulged in stone pelting, attacking mediapersons and damaging public properties despite heavy security arrangements being in place.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned the violence and urged everyone to maintain peace. "The instances of violence today are deeply distressing. I strongly condemn the violence and urge everyone to maintain peace," he said in series of tweets.

Also Read:

Make Dera pay for loss of property, High Court tells Haryana, Punjab

Haryana Chief Minister ML Khattar under pressure after Dera rampage; admits lapses

Watch:

Exclusive visuals of Ram Rahim being taken to jail after he is convicted of rape

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The 826 Valencia writing and tutoring center celebrates its 15th year with an 826 Day Block Party, a free celebration from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 26.

The event will have a strong 826 Valencia vibe, with activities for young people and an eclectic artistic lineup, including literary readings, dancing, terrarium building and a closing musical performance by 826 volunteer Thao Nguyen of Thao and the Get Down Stay Down.
The problem with Birth of the Dragon, George Nolfis largely fictionalized account of a 1964 fight between an Oakland martial arts instructor named Bruce Lee and San Francisco instructor Wong Jack Man is that Lee, the future movie star and worldwide phenomenon, is the third-most important character in the film.

Instead, its a story mostly told from a Caucasian perspective, through the eyes of Steve McKee (Billy Magnussen), an aspiring young martial arts student who is caught between his loyalty to Lee (Philip Wan-Lung Ng) and his fascination with Wong (Yu Xia), who has come from China specifically to put Lee in his place (Lees crime: teaching martial arts to Westerners).

Based on a 1980 article about the fight by Michael Dorgan in Official Karate magazine and set in and filmed (at least partially) in San Francisco, Birth of the Dragon presents an extremely talented but arrogant and cocky Lee who is in need of comeuppance. Wong, a Shaolin master, is the man to deliver it. He arrives by boat from China and takes a job as a dishwasher in a Chinatown restaurant. He waits for Lee to come to him.

At a martial arts tournament at San Francisco State, Lee humiliates his competition with Wong in attendance. Declining Lees offer to fight in front of the crowd, Wong instead criticizes Lees limitations.

Meanwhile, in a trite and annoying subplot, Steve falls for a waitress at a Chinatown restaurant who has been enslaved by her employers until she works off the debt she owes for her immigration.

Eventually, Wong agrees to a fight, but with the stipulation that it take place in private, behind locked doors and with only a few witnesses. The climactic portion of the film is this epic fight, which takes place in a warehouse near the Golden Gate Bridge.

In real life, the fight between the two 24-year-old martial arts masters took place in Oakland, and there is considerable dispute as to who won. The fight, though, affected Lee greatly and led him to expand his martial arts techniques and philosophy as he went on to television (The Green Hornet) and film (Enter the Dragon) stardom and became a martial arts guru to the stars (among his students: Steve McQueen, Chuck Norris, James Coburn and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar).

Wong, who is still alive and served as a consultant on the film, comes off as the most intriguing character. As played by Chinese actor Yu, he has a quiet and humble dignity.

You fight for ambition and pride, but you do not fight with your soul, he tells Lee.

Ng does a fine job as Lee, but as with Jason Scott Lee in the 1993 biopic Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story, he doesnt capture the charisma and magnetism of Lee  understandable, since he was among the most charismatic and magnetic people on the planet.

G. Allen Johnson is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: ajohnson@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @BRfilmsAllen

Birth of

the Dragon

Action. Starring Billy Magnussen, Philip Ng, Terry Chen. Directed by George Nolfi. (PG-13. 95 minutes.)
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CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas  Hurricane Harvey smashed into Texas late Friday, lashing a wide swath of the Gulf Coast with strong winds and torrential rain from the fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a decade.

The National Hurricane Center said the eye of the Category 4 hurricane made landfall about 10 p.m. about 30 miles northeast of Corpus Christi between Port Aransas and Port OConnor, bringing with it 130 mph sustained winds and flooding rains.

Harveys approach sent tens of thousands of residents fleeing the Gulf Coast, hoping to escape the wrath of an increasingly menacing storm set to slam an area of Texas that includes oil refineries, chemical plants and dangerously flood-prone Houston, the nations fourth-largest city.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott warned that the monster system would be a very major disaster, and the predictions drew fearful comparisons to Hurricane Katrina, one of the deadliest ever to strike the U.S.

Reports of damage began to emerge from Rockport, Texas, a coastal city of about 10,000 people that was directly in the path of Harvey when it came ashore.

Rockport City Manager Kevin Carruth said by telephone that he had heard reports of a tree falling into a mobile home and roofs collapsing on houses. The city, about 31 miles northeast of Corpus Christi, had peak wind surges of more than 125 mph, according to the National Weather Service.

Volunteer Fire Department Chief Steve Sims said there are about 15 volunteer firefighters at the citys fire station waiting for conditions to improve enough for their vehicles to safely respond to pleas for help.

Theres nothing we can do at this moment. We are anxious to get out there and make assessments, but were hunkered down for now, he said.

Earlier Friday, Rockport Mayor Pro Tem Patrick Rios offered ominous advice, telling KIII-TV those who chose to stay put should make some type of preparation to mark their arm with a Sharpie pen, implying doing so would make it easier for rescuers to identify them.

In Corpus Christi, the major city closest to the center of the storm, wind whipped palm trees and stinging sheets of horizontal rain slapped against hotels and office buildings along the citys seawall as the storm made landfall. Boats bobbed violently in the marina. It was too dark to tell whether any boats had broken their moorings.

Fueled by warm Gulf of Mexico waters, Harvey grew rapidly, accelerating from a Category 1 early Friday morning to a Category 4 by evening. Its transformation from an unnamed storm to a life-threatening behemoth took only 56 hours, an incredibly fast intensification.

Harvey came ashore as the fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in 13 years and the strongest to strike Texas since 1961s Hurricane Carla, the most powerful Texas hurricane on record.

Michael Graczyk and Frank Bajak are Associated Press writers.
1 Voter ID law: A federal judge who has compared Texas voter ID requirements to a poll tax on minorities once again blocked the law this week, rejecting a weakened version backed by the Trump administration and dealing Texas Republicans another court defeat over voting rights. U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos rejected changes signed by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott this summer as not only lacking but also potentially chilling to voters because of new criminal penalties. The new version didnt expand the list of acceptable photo identifications  meaning gun licenses remained sufficient proof to vote, but not college student IDs.

2 Visa limits: The Trump administration is poised to impose visa restrictions on four Asian and African nations refusing to take back their citizens whove been deported from the U.S., officials said Thursday. The officials said Cambodia, Eritrea, Guinea and Sierra Leone would soon be subject to sanctions. Theyre meant to coax recalcitrant countries into accepting the return of individuals the U.S. tries to remove.
WASHINGTON  The Defense Department will let California National Guard members keep more than $190 million in disputed enlistment bonuses and other payments  far more than previously acknowledged  after the military spent six years trying to recover the money from veterans who had served at the height of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

In all, repayments were waived for 17,092 California Guard soldiers who were given what were later deemed questionable bonuses, according to a Defense Department report obtained by the Los Angeles Times/Tribune Washington Bureau. Those who already repaid their bonuses are being reimbursed.

The report, which was sent to the House and Senate Armed Services Committees this month, concludes that the overwhelming majority of California Guard soldiers did nothing wrong in accepting bonuses of $15,000 to $80,000 each. Only 393 soldiers have been ordered to return the money, chiefly due to disciplinary or criminal conduct.

The sweeping forgiveness represents an almost total retreat by the Pentagon and the California Guard, which drove the aggressive recoupment effort against thousands of military veterans  including some who were wounded in combat  and has yet to publicly apologize to them.

The California Guard used tax liens, wage garnishments and other heavy-handed tactics to try to recover the bonuses it paid to soldiers chiefly to enlist or re-enlist between 2004 to 2010, a period when the Pentagon was desperate for troops it could send to war.

The scandal offers a dark perspective on the Pentagons use of hefty cash incentives to fill its all-volunteer force during the longest era of warfare in the nations history.

The overwhelming majority of cases were resolved in favor of the individual soldier, the 26-page report by the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness concludes. In these cases, the soldier received a full grant of relief.

Many of the waivers were granted because files lacked adequate documentation or because the soldier had deployed to a combat zone, had completed his/her service, or would not be expected to have known that he/she was ineligible for a bonus, the report said.

The report also carved out exceptions if a soldier who got a bonus was deceased, a Purple Heart recipient, receiving combat disability compensation or met other conditions.

In October, the Los Angeles Times first disclosed the California Guards aggressive campaign to force nearly 17,500 veterans to repay their bonuses.

In response, then-Secretary of Defense Ash Carter suspended the recoupment effort. Two months later, Congress passed legislation that gave the Defense Department until July 30 to review every case with a goal of waiving the debts unless the soldier knew or reasonably should have known that he or she was ineligible for the bonus.

Pentagon officials said at the time they did not know how much money was involved, although they estimated it could be in the tens of millions of dollars. The total was far higher.

According to the report, the California Guard paid more than $233 million in bonuses and student loan repayments to fill its enlistment goals from 2004 to 2015.

For most of that time, the California Guard relied on a single enlisted soldier, Master Sgt. Toni Jaffe, to issue the bonuses with virtually no controls. Jaffe later said she faced intense pressure from higher-ups to approve the payments to meet enlistment goals.

After a federal and state investigation, Jaffe pleaded guilty in 2011 to charges of approving payments that she knew were fraudulent, and served 30 months in prison. The Guard simultaneously launched its aggressive recoupment effort, targeting soldiers who it said were ineligible for the bonuses, or whose cases lacked proper paperwork.

The Times found that most of the soldiers had taken the money in good faith, had served honorably and had fulfilled their enlistment contracts, often serving in war zones.

They were ordered to repay their bonuses years later. Many had left the military and had spent the money long ago on homes, cars and other expenses.

The Pentagon report backed those findings.

It said that 17,092 of these cases  the overwhelming majority  were resolved in favor of the individual soldier. In an additional 393 cases, it said, the available evidence did not support a full grant of relief.

Most of those in the latter cases were ordered to repay their bonus because they did not complete their enlistment contracts, either because they went absent without leave or were kicked out of the service due to drug abuse or other disciplinary problems.

These cases typically involved a soldiers receipt of an incentive in exchange for an enlistment of a certain length, which was subsequently curtailed by the soldiers own misconduct  most frequently Absence without Leave or substance abuse, the report said.

Rep. Jeff Denham, R-Turlock (Stanislaus County), who helped craft the legislative language that ordered the Pentagon to examine all the cases by this month, said he doubted the military would have acted without prodding from Congress.

It shouldnt have taken an act of Congress to have the (Defense Department) admit their mistake and fulfill the contracts made to our California National Guard, Denham said.

David S. Cloud is a Tribune Co. writer.
WASHINGTON  A prominent Jewish member of the Trump administration said the White House can and must do better in consistently condemning hate groups.

The sharp critique from President Trumps top economic adviser, Gary Cohn, came nearly two weeks after deadly violence in Charlottesville, Va., in response to a rally led by white nationalist groups. Cohn considered resigning and even drafted a letter of resignation, according to two people familiar with the draft.

In his first public remarks on the national dialogue about the violence, Cohn said in an interview with the Financial Times published Friday that as a patriotic American he did not want to leave his job as the director of the national economic council.

But I also feel compelled to voice my distress over the events of the last two weeks, Cohn said.

In the days after the Charlottesville rally, when Trump defended white nationalist protesters, Jewish members of the administration were mostly silent. Cohn is one of the few in the administration to publicly condemn the presidents remarks. Military leaders posted messages on social media denouncing neo-Nazis and racism but did not specifically mention the commander in chief. Public deviation from the president by the military is unusual.

Trump said there were very fine people on both sides, as Cohn stood nearby in the lobby of Trump Tower where the president made his remarks to reporters. After Trump left, Cohn stood uncomfortably fielding questions about the presidents statements, and he repeatedly declined to comment. At the time, people close to Cohn said he was disgusted and deeply upset by Trumps comments.

Citizens standing up for equality and freedom can never be equated with white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and the KKK, Cohn told the Financial Times. I believe this administration can and must do better in consistently and unequivocally condemning these groups and do everything we can to heal the deep divisions that exist in our communities.

Cohn added, As a Jewish American, I will not allow neo-Nazis ranting Jews will not replace us to cause this Jew to leave his job.

Cohn also said he spoke privately with Trump about these issues. I have not been bashful saying what I think, Cohn said.

Cohns decision to publicly distance himself from the president comes at an awkward time, as Trump prepares next week to start a major national effort to sell a tax-cut plan, which Cohn has been toiling for months behind the scenes to craft.

Maggie Haberman and Kate Kelly are New York Times writers.
Minister of State for Home Affairs Hansraj Gangaram Ahir has said that stone pelting incidents and terrorist activities have decreased in Jammu and Kashmir after the modernisation of police in the state.

By Ashwini Kumar: Minister of State for Home Affairs Hansraj Gangaram Ahir has said that stone pelting incidents and terrorist activities have decreased in Jammu and Kashmir after the modernisation of police in the state.

After visiting the border outpost (BoP) in Baba Chimilyal area of Jammu's Samba district, he said that the Centre was spending about Rs 500 crore on modernisation of the state police, which included the latest equipments, arms and ammunition.

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About the presence of Rohingyas Muslims in Jammu, he said that the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had already given instructions to Jammu and Kashmir police to identify all these Rohingyas to see to it that they did not disturb peace in the state.

On the issue of citizenship rights to west Pakistani refugees, he said that certificates would be given to them very soon.

ALSO READ |

Kashmir: FIR against Army after authorities confirm student's death in fake encounter

Government claims law and order in J-K has improved, opposition contradicts

--- ENDS ---
The organizers of the latest rally in Berkeley, billed by right-wing activists as a demonstration against Marxism, have been denied a permit by the city.

In a letter, Deputy City Manager Jovan Grogan told organizers of the event planned for Sunday in Civic Center Park  the home in recent months to a growing number of such demonstrations  that the totality of circumstances prevented Berkeley from being able to safely host the event.

Organizers did not immediately return requests for comment.

On social media Thursday, the far-right event, advertised online as a No to Marxism rally, showed no signs of stopping.

Police in Berkeley have given no indications that they will stand down, and similar past events have moved forward, regardless.

Though other skirmishes in Berkeley in recent months have seen bloodshed, as well as arrests, Mayor Jesse Arreguin has expressed a heightened level of concern for this weekend.

Arreguin has said that racists are not welcome in Berkeley, and the mayor has repeatedly urged people of all political persuasions to avoid the park Sunday.

In three responses to organizers seeking to host events at the park Sunday, Grogan wrote that the applications lacked a number of measures to ensure safety.

They included, Grogan said: a lack of proper security, failing to provide proper identification of organizers and turning in applications late.

Grogan also alluded to national events in explaining the denial.

Recently, a large gathering of white supremacists and neo-Nazis in Charlottesville, Va.  and the widespread condemnation of President Trumps initial refusal to denounce them specifically  have ratcheted up racial tensions in the United States. A woman died in Charlottesville.

Organizers of the Berkeley rally have denied a racial motivation and have defended the need for the event.

Some have expressed loyalty to Trump, saying that the blue Bay Area is as good a place to stand up for their president  and for free speech  as any.

How to respond to the rally planned for Sunday has divided Bay Area activists, many of them left-leaning.

The loose collective known as antifa has pledged to meet those they call white supremacists in Berkeley, including violently, if they deem it necessary.

Others have advocated a more peaceful tack, saying they will use props and humor to try to keep the peace.

Michael Bodley is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mbodley@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @michael_bodley
By PTI: (Eds: Updating with fresh development, more quotes)

Mumbai, Aug 24 (PTI) The Bombay High Court Chief Justice Manjula Chellur today transferred all matters pertaining to noise pollution rules to another bench after the Maharashtra government alleged one of the judges hearing the issue was "biased" against the state administration.

The government today filed an application before the Chief Justice seeking that the petitions pertaining to noise pollution rules be transferred to another bench.

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"The Honble judge hearing the matter presently made a remark to the effect that there is hardly any compliance with the earlier orders. This and several other aspects in general demonstrate that the Honble judge is somehow harbouring a serious bias against the state machinery in this matter," the government alleged in its application.

Earlier in the day, when Advocate General Ashutosh Kumbakoni informed a division bench of Justices A S Oka and Riyaz Chagla about the application, it expressed shock and said it does not intend to recuse itself from hearing the matter.

"We are really shocked with the contents of the application. There is specific allegation against me that I am biased against the state government. But we wont get provoked by such allegations," Justice Oka asserted.

"I will not recuse myself from hearing the petitions just because the government is levelling allegations against me," he said.

The bench then directed the government to approach the Chief Justice and obtain an order on its application immediately.

"We will post these petitions this afternoon as the petitioners have sought interim relief by way of stay on the amendment to the Noise Pollution Rules," the court said.

In the afternoon session when the matter was called out, Justice Oka said, "All the matters have been transferred. We were told by the judicial registrar that the Chief Justice has passed the transfer order even before our order refusing to recuse from the matter (was issued)."

The petitions would now be placed before a division bench of Justices Anoop Mohta and G S Kulkarni.

The government had earlier this week informed the HC that pursuant to an amendment to the Noise Pollution Rules on August 10 this year, no silence zones exist in the state as on date.

The government will now carry out a fresh exercise to identify areas which will be declared as silence zones, it had said.

As per the amendment, any area/zone will have to be declared or notified by the state government as a silence zone.

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Kumbakoni had earlier told the court that by virtue of this amendment, an order passed by the High Court in August 2016 declaring any area not less than 100 meters of hospitals, educational institutions and courts as silence zones cannot be operated.

The bench had yesterday refused to accept the governments contention and said until the state files an application seeking review of the 2016 order, the directions passed therein will continue to operate.

"We had yesterday voiced our prima facie opinion to the state government and today the government has acted like an ordinary litigant and levelled allegations against me," Justice Oka said today.

The court noted that the government has failed to realise and understand the consequences of its decision to file such an application.

The bench has been hearing a bunch of petitions seeking strict implementation of the Noise Pollution Rules. PTI SP GK RSY SK

--- ENDS ---
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn.  Sen. Bob Corker refuses to say whether hell seek a third term, but he has carefully said and done all the right things to avoid provoking a spirited primary challenge next year.

The Tennessee Republican has limited public appearances back home largely to friendly civic clubs and chambers of commerce meetings, where he can regale members with tales of his pro-business agenda and blunt assessments of congressional dysfunction  all the while steering clear of direct criticism of President Trump.

Until last week.

Trumps defense of white nationalists following a violent rally in Virginia that left a protester dead caused Corker to issue a blistering rebuke, raising questions about the presidents stability and competence and demanding radical changes in the White House.

If Im going be a respectable public official, it had to be spoken to, Corker told Rotarians and Kiwanians a day after making those comments. Im an American first.

Corkers remarks last week got a smattering of applause from the crowd and put him in the vanguard of Republican lawmakers uneasy with Trump. The White House fired back Thursday, with press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders calling Corkers statement a ridiculous and outrageous claim.

How it will play back in Tennessee is another question. Already there are indications that the populist wing of the Republican Party in Tennessee  which includes the most ardent Trump supporters  doesnt like it one bit.

It is time Tennessee had a senator who believes in the virtues of what makes America great and is willing to fight for it, former state Rep. Joe Carr said in a Facebook post. We need a senator who will fight alongside President Trump not fight against him.

Like Trumps initial remarks, Carr said both sides were to blame for the violence in Charlottesville, describing the clashes as hate on hate.

Carrs Tea Party-styled primary challenge of U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander came within a surprising 9 percentage points of toppling the states senior statesman in 2014, and he has been making noise about running against Corker next year.

Corker is a former businessman  his construction company got its big break with a contract to install drive-through windows at Krystal restaurants  and served as Chattanooga mayor before his election to the Senate in 2006. That campaign was tinged by its own racial undercurrent, especially when an ad produced by the Republican National Committee hit the airwaves attacking his African American opponent, former U.S. Rep. Harold Ford Jr. of Memphis.

The ad included a white woman with blond hair and bare shoulders looking into the camera and whispering, Harold, call me.

Corker won that race by less than three percentage points.

Erik Schelzig is an Associated Press writer.
The hurricane is forecast to slam first near Corpus Christi, Texas, drop flooding rains along the central Texas coast and potentially loop back over the Gulf of Mexico before hitting Houston, some tracking models showed.

Monica Chavez walks along a pier as rain and winds from Hurricane Harvey move closer to shore, Friday, Aug. 25, 2017, in Corpus Christi, Texas. (Pic: AP)

By Reuters: Businesses closed and lines of cars streamed out of coastal Texas as officials called for residents to evacuate ahead of Hurricane Harvey, expected to arrive about midnight as the most powerful storm to hit the US mainland in more than a decade.

The hurricane is forecast to slam first near Corpus Christi, Texas, drop flooding rains along the central Texas coast and potentially loop back over the Gulf of Mexico before hitting Houston, some tracking models showed.

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"My urgent message to my fellow Texans is that if you live in a region where evacuation has been ordered, you need to heed that advice and get out of harm's way while you can," Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said in a televised address.

The storm has so far shutdown 22 percent, or 377,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Gulf of Mexico oil production, the US reported Friday afternoon, and halted 4.4 percent of US refinery output. Some inland shale oil producers ceased operations as a precaution against expected flooding.

Gas stations and grocery stores in the region were packed as residents readied their cars and pantries for any shortages following the storm. Coldplay, the British rock band, canceled a Friday concert in Houston, telling fans it didn't want to risk anyone's safety.

At a Willis, Texas, station, about 50 miles (77 km) north of Houston, Corey Martinez, 40, was heading to Dallas from his Corpus Christi home.

"It has been pretty stressful. We're just trying to get ahead of the storm," he said. "We've never been through a hurricane before."

Harvey became a Category 3 hurricane on Friday, the National Hurricane Center said, the third most powerful on the Saffir-Simpson scale with winds of 111-129 mile per hour (178-208 km/h) that can uproot trees, damage homes and disrupt utilities for days. That would make it the first major hurricane to hit the mainland United States since Hurricane Wilma struck Florida in 2005.

The storm was about 85 miles (140 km) off Corpus Christi and packing winds of 110 mph in early afternoon on Friday, the NHC said. It projected windspeeds could reach 120 mph just before landfall.

The NHC's latest tracking model shows the storm sitting southwest of Houston for more than a day, giving the nation's fourth most populous city a double dose of rain and wind.

"Now is the time to urgently hide from the wind. Failure to adequately shelter may result in serious injury, loss of life, or immense human suffering," the National Weather Service said.

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Up to 35 inches (97 cm) of rain are expected over parts of Texas, and sea levels may surge as high as 12 feet (3.7 meters). Louisiana could get 10 to 15 inches of rain. Flood warnings are in effect for Louisiana and northern Mexico.

"Life-threatening and devastating flooding expected near the coast due to heavy rainfall and storm surge," the NHC said.

The storm's approach triggered evacuations in south Texas communities and central coast residents were voluntarily leaving the area. Cities canceled classes on Friday and Monday at dozens of schools along the south Texas coast, home to 5.8 million people from Corpus Christi to Galveston.

David Ramirez left his home in Corpus Christi early on Friday to wait out the storm in San Antonio, Texas.

"With the level of storm surge they're talking about, there isn't a lot I could do to protect my house," he said in an interview while awaiting directions to an emergency shelter.

Harvey also forced the cancellation or delay of at least 40 flights in and out of major airports in Texas on Friday, according to Flightaware.com, which tracks airline traffic.

Louisiana and Texas declared states of disaster, authorizing the use of state resources to prepare. President Donald Trump has been briefed and is ready to provide resources if needed, the White House said on Thursday.

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The port of Houston, the nation's busiest petrochemical port, closed its terminals at noon, and earlier halted inbound and outbound ship traffic on Friday. The city of Houston warned residents of flooding from close to 20 inches of rain over several days.

GASOLINE PRICES SPIKE

More than 45 percent of the country's refining capacity is along the US Gulf Coast, and nearly a fifth of the nation's crude oil is produced offshore. Ports from Corpus Christi to Texas City, Texas, were closed to incoming vessels.

The US government said 9.6 percent of crude output capacity was shut and 14.6 percent of natural gas production was halted.

Three refineries in Corpus Christi and one farther inland at Three Rivers were shutting down ahead of the storm. Two others reduced output as ports were closed.

Concern that Harvey could cause shortages in fuel supply drove benchmark gasoline prices to their highest in four months, before profit trading pulled back prices. Meanwhile, US gasoline margins RBc1-CLc1 hit their strongest levels in 5 years for this time of year earlier in the day.

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Prices for gasoline in spot physical markets on the Gulf Coast rose to a near three-year high.

The US government has emergency stockpiles of crude available to plug disruptions, and has regularly used them to dampen the impact on energy supplies of previous storms.

The stockpiles in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve were last used in 2012, after Tropical Storm Isaac shut down 95 percent of oil output in the Gulf and hit Louisiana. The government has not yet said if it plans to use the reserve after Harvey.

Houston-based energy bank Tudor Pickering Holt & Co said in a note not to expect significant or lasting production impacts from Harvey. But it said it would impact some production and disrupt refinery runs, imports and exports, "which will show up in the weekly inventory numbers for the next few weeks."

Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Anadarko Petroleum Corp and Exxon Mobil Corp have evacuated staff from offshore oil and gas platforms in the storm's path.

The potential for flooding at shale oil fields in south Texas that produce more than one million barrels of oil a day led several producers to curb operations. EOG Resources Inc said shut some production in the Eagle Ford shale region. Noble Energy Inc and Statoil ASA also said they were evacuating some staff from production facilities.

Union Pacific Corp, the No. 1 US railroad, said it was moving rail cars in yards prone to flooding to high elevations and will curtail trains operating through areas likely to be hit by excessive winds and rain that will impact operations.

Union Pacific said changes could include locations from Brownsville near the border with Mexico north to Beaumont, Texas.

Also Read

9 dead, over 153 injured as typhoon Hato hits Hong Kong, China

Severe Typhoon Hato wreaks havoc in Hong Kong, hundreds of flights cancelled

--- ENDS ---
California wrongly disqualifies tens of thousands of mailed-in ballots in each election because officials decide the voters signature on the ballot envelope doesnt match earlier submissions, the American Civil Liberties Union said in a lawsuit Thursday.

The decisions, the suit said, are made by untrained staff without prior notice to the voter.

People should not be denied their right to vote because a government official doesnt like their penmanship, ACLU attorney Michael Risher said in a statement accompanying the suit, which was filed in the state Court of Appeal in San Francisco.

More than half of Californias voters cast their ballots by mail. The ACLU is challenging a law that allows county election officials to refuse to count a ballot if they decide the signature on the envelope is different from the voters signature on the registration form or other documents on file. The law does not require county registrars to notify voters or give them a chance to verify their identity.

A 29-county study after the 2016 election estimated that as many as 45,000 ballots were disqualified statewide because of alleged signature mismatches, the ACLU said. It said rejection rates were nearly 40 percent higher for Asian Americans than for the rest of the population, and nearly twice as high for Latinos.

The suit was filed on behalf of a Sonoma County resident, Peter La Follette, 25, who learned after the November election that the county had refused to count his mailed-in ballot. La Follette contacted the registrars office and was told last month that his signature on the ballot envelope differed significantly from the signature on file with the office  a discrepancy he could have fixed had he been notified before the election, the suit said.

Although automatic signature-verification technology is available, the ACLU said, most counties rely on personal inspection by staff who have no training in handwriting analysis.

The suit seeks a court order requiring elections offices to notify voters of any concerns about their signatures and give them a chance to respond before discarding their votes.

Asked about the lawsuit, Sam Mahood, spokesman for Secretary of State Alex Padilla, the states top elections official and a defendant in the case, said California is leading the nation in adopting measures to empower voters and has one of the nations lowest rates of rejecting mailed-in ballots. He did not comment on the ACLUs complaints about the signature-matching process.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @egelko
By PTI: (Eds: Updating with fresh inputs)

By Seema Hakhu Kachru

Houston, Aug 25 (PTI) Millions of Texas residents were today bracing for a potentially "life-threatening" storm as Hurricane Harvey was "dangerously approaching" the US state as a Category 2 storm with the potential to wreck havoc and dump up to three feet of rain.

Fuelled by warm Gulf of Mexico waters, Harvey would be the first major hurricane to hit Texas city in nine years, according to the forecasters.

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The "life-threatening storm," could bring up to three feet of rain, 125 mph winds and 12-foot storm surges.

"Recent data from a NOAA Hurricane Hunter aircraft indicated #Harvey has strengthened with estimated 100 mph and is now a Category 2 storm," National Weather Service (NWS) Houston tweeted.

It said the hurricane was approaching with and less than 36 hour out from landfall along the middle Texas coast.

Harvey is forecast to hit the Texas Gulf Coast as a Category 3 hurricane with winds of 115 mph, bringing a storm surge and flash flooding, the NWS said.

The weather agency was blunt in its warning, saying the storm was "dangerously approaching the Texas Coast" where it could linger for days and could spin back ashore to regenerate as it heads toward Louisiana.

"Texas is about to have a very significant disaster," Brook Long, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, was quoted as saying by the CNN.

He warned that a "significant inland flood event over many counties" was expected.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has declared a State of Disaster for 30 counties and requested 700 National Guard members to be activated.

"A lot of people are taking this storm for granted thinking it may not pose much of a danger to them. Please heed warnings and evacuate as soon as possible," Abbott told a local television station.

Schools and universities in Houston and nearby areas have cancelled classesas Harvey continues to gain strength.

School districts across Houston have also cancelled extra-curricular activities scheduled for today and this weekend.

While it has been nine years since Texas last saw a hurricane, the state is no stranger to devastating flooding from tropical systems.

In 2001, Tropical Storm Allison was a multi billion- dollar disaster for the state, specifically Houston.

In Corpus Christi, where Harvey will likely make landfall, a voluntary evacuation has been ordered. Long lines for grocery and essentials were seen at stores as the city cancelled todays dockets in city court and provided self- serve sandbags to residents.

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Port Aransas on Mustang Island and nearby Portland issued mandatory evacuation orders.

"The system is likely to slow down once it reaches the coast, increasing the threat of a prolonged period of heavy rain and flooding across portions of Texas, southwest Louisiana, and northeastern Mexico into early next week," the National Hurricane Center warned this week.

Meanwhile, residents along the Texas coast arent taking any chances. Theyre filling sandbags, stocking up on water and boarding up windows. PTI SHK MRJ

--- ENDS ---
Two far-right rallies are planned in San Francisco and Berkeley this weekend. They come just two weeks after a violent white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, that left one anti-racism protester and two police officers dead.

On Wednesday, the National Park Service approved a permit for a rally led by the far-right group Patriot Prayer at Crissy Field in San Francisco on Saturday, Aug. 26.

A "No to Marxism in America" protest is scheduled for Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center Park in Berkeley on Sunday, Aug. 27. Organizers of both rallies have repeatedly said the rallies are not associated with white supremacists or Nazi ideology, but members of white supremacist organizations and militias that have come armed to previous far-right rallies are expected to attend both rallies.

Numerous counterprotests have been scheduled over the weekend in response. BART and Caltrain say there will be no changes to their normal weekend service because of the rallies.

Here's what you need to know about this weekend's Bay Area rallies. This post will be updated as more information becomes available.

Patriot Prayer

When: Saturday, Aug. 26, 2-5 p.m.

Where: Crissy Field in San Francisco

Courtesy/Golden Gate National Recreation Area

Restrictions and closures: The Golden Gate National Recreation Area has banned numerous items from the event on Saturday including: weapons of any kind, bags exceeding 18x13x7, bicycles, coolers, drones, helmets, explosives, selfie sticks, signs larger than 24x36x1/4, sticks, grills and liquids other than factory-sealed water bottles. While people who are permitted to carry concealed weapons are normally allowed on GGNRA land, the permit governing Saturday's rally bans all weapons.

The Presidio will be divided into two zones during the rally. Zone 1, which includes Crissy Field, will be accessible only by foot via the Marina Gate at Mason and Lyon streets. No vehicles or bicycles will be allowed in Zone 1. Visitors will be screened upon entry to make sure they do not have any prohibited items.

Zone 2 includes the Presidio Main Post and surrounding area. No vehicles, bicycles or pedestrians will be allowed in Zone 2.

There will be numerous road closures inside the Presidio on Saturday.

The parking lots on the San Francisco side of the Golden Gate Bridge will be closed beginning at 9 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 25. They will remain closed, along with all visitor amenities on that side of the bridge, through Saturday. The bridge will remain open to vehicle, bicycle and pedestrian traffic.

The GGNRA also says parts of the Presidio, including many businesses within the Presidio (where Crissy Field is located), will be closed to the public on Saturday. "We strongly encourage visitors who will not be attending the Patriot Prayer event to consider coming to the Presidio on another day," said acting Golden Gate National Recreation Area General Superintendent Cicely Muldoon in a release announcing the permit.

Law enforcement presence: There will be a "strong police presence" at the event, according to a San Francisco Police Department spokeswoman. Numerous law enforcement agencies are involved in planning and protecting the event, including the United States Park Police, SFPD, the San Francisco Sheriff's Office, the California Highway Patrol and the California Office of Emergency Services. SFPD says if anyone sees something amiss, they should find a police officer or call 911, 311 or the SFPD non-emergency line at 415-553-0123.

What the organizers say about the event: Patriot Prayer leader Joey Gibson says the goal of the event is to "spread a message of love." The event's Facebook page says: "No extremists will be allowed in. No Nazis, Communist, KKK, Antifa, white supremacist, I.E., or white nationalists."

What elected officials say about the event: San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee and other city leaders asked the National Park Service to deny Patriot Prayer the permit for the event. Now that the permit has been issued, Lee has asked people to not go to Crissy Field to protest, but instead to attend counterevents taking place at Civic Center Plaza in San Francisco (see below).

Counterevents: Numerous counterevents have been scheduled over the weekend in response to the Patriot Prayer event. The list below is not exhaustive.

 Friday: Unite Against Hate Rally at Civic Center Plaza from 12-2 p.m. hosted by the San Francisco Human Rights Commission; People's Town Hall Candlelight Vigil at Crissy Field at 7 p.m. hosted by Gays Without Borders

 Saturday: Come Together Rally and March for Equality at Harvey Milk Plaza from 2-4 p.m. hosted by various groups; Peace, Love & Understanding: A Gathering Against Hate at Civic Center from 12-5 p.m. hosted by various groups; Better Angels San Francisco at Ocean Beach from 1-4 p.m. hosted by Annette Hurst; Stop Hate Human Banner at Ocean Beach from 2-4 p.m. hosted by Together We Will San Francisco

Public transportation: The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency is asking people to avoid driving around the city on Saturday because of increased congestion and limited parking. Muni service to the Presidio and Marina will not be running, in addition to other closures and reroutes (see a full list here).

Courtesy/San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency

SFMTA says there are no street closures currently planned around Civic Center, but there will be no parking on the surrounding streets and Civic Center Garage. SFPD and SFMTA personnel will be on-site directing traffic and could close streets if the need arises.

There are no planned changes to BART or Caltrain service.

No to Marxism in America

When: Sunday, Aug. 27, 1-5 p.m.

Where: Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center Park in Berkeley

Restrictions: No restrictions have been announced for this event, but the city is asking people to stay away from both this event and counterevents that could pull police to different locations.

Law enforcement presence: All Berkeley police officers not assigned to other patrols will be in uniform and on duty at the event. The Alameda County Sheriff's Office and other agencies will be providing support to Berkeley police.

A Berkeley police spokeswoman said that if violence occurs, people should separate themselves from the situation, get to a safe place and contact police if possible. Updates based on how the event progresses will be posted on Twitter @berkeleypolice.

What the organizers say about the event: Host Amber Cummings says the event is to protest Marxism in America. On the Facebook event page she said, "I do not invite or condone anyone showing up to this event with the intent of starting violence. I also want to add I do not stand with any racist groups like the KKK, neo-Nazis or any form of racist groups."

What elected officials say about the event: Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin is urging residents to stay away from the rally. He says he will not be at the rally because of death threats he has received since February when violence erupted before the planned appearance of right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos at UC Berkeley.

Counterevents: Multiple events have also been planned in Berkeley in opposition to the far-right rally.

 Sunday: Bay Area Rally Against Hate at the Crescent Lawn at UC Berkeley 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. hosted by Unite for Freedom from Right Wing Violence in the Bay Area; Resist Racist Violence & Hate in Berkeley at Ohlone Park from 11 a.m.  2 p.m. hosted by SURJ  Oakland/Bay Area
By PTI: By K J M Varma

Beijing, Aug 25 (PTI) India today termed as "factually incorrect" a Chinese official media report claiming that it was planning to impose fresh anti-dumping duties this year on 93 products originating in China, saying they were already in force after decisions over a course of five years.

A report in the state-run China Daily today said that India would this month impose anti-dumping duties on 93 products imported from China.

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"Some recent media reports have mentioned that the Government of India is planning to impose anti-dumping duty on 93 products from China. These reports are factually incorrect," the Indian Embassy here said in a statement.

The current situation is that anti-dumping duty is already in force on 93 products from China comprising of chemicals and petrochemicals, products of steel and other metals, fibres and yarn, machinery items, rubber or plastic products, electric and electronic items, consumer goods among others, it said.

The decision to impose anti-dumping duties on these 93 products originating in China were taken over a course of previous five years, it said.

Ministry of Commerce said on Wednesday that India should refrain from abusing trade remedy measures, which would disrupt economic cooperation and bilateral trade relations.

According to the ministry, India has launched 212 investigations against Chinese products since 1994 and 93 of them are still in progress.

So far this year, 13 investigations have been initiated, the China Daily quoted the ministry as saying.

The report said that India overtook the US in the first half of this year with the most trade remedy investigations against China.

China is paying close attention to trade investigations and hopes India would carry them out in a prudent way based on relevant regulations, Commerce Ministry spokesman Gao Feng was quoted as saying by the Daily.

"China and India are both BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) members with vast cooperation opportunities and should jointly maintain a free and open multilateral trading system," Gao said.

"Instead of resorting to trade remedy measures and disrupting trade orders, the two countries can settle trade disputes through consultation and realise a win-win situation through expanded economic and trade cooperation," he said.

Last month Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman, who took part in the BRICS Commerce Ministers meeting in Shanghai, held "candid" talks with her Chinese counterpart Zhong Shan over the ballooning bilateral trade deficit which had crossed over USD 52 billion.

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"The two Ministers exchanged views, in a candid manner, on further development of a strong, balanced and sustainable trade and investment partnership between India and China," the Indian Consulate in Shanghai had said in a statement.

Sitharaman, in particular, sought the assistance of Chinese Commerce Ministry in reducing the trade deficit, facilitating greater market access and for providing a level- playing field for Indian IT, pharmaceuticals and agro products in China, it said.

Indias trade deficit with China in 2015-16 swelled to USD 52.68 billion, which according to Indian officials has become unsustainable. PTI KJV CPS AKJ CPS

--- ENDS ---
By PTI: By Lalit K Jha

Washington, Aug 25 (PTI) Indias economic activities in Afghanistan pose "no direct threat" to Pakistan, a senior US official has said, asserting that Islamabad needs to change some of its "unhelpful behaviour" by cooperating with America to achieve the counter-terrorism goals in the region.

US President Donald Trump has sought an enhanced role for India in bringing peace in Afghanistan as he ruled out a hasty withdrawal of troops while announcing his Afghanistan and South Asia policy on Monday.

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Trump had said that a critical part of his South Asia policy was to further develop Americas strategic partnership with India. He also sternly warned Pakistan for providing safe havens to terrorists.

"While we welcome Indias role in Afghanistan, it has a lot of goodwill, they are doing developmental projects. They have given USD 3 billion in aid and US appreciates that and wants that to continue. But again we do not see that a direct threat to Pakistan," the White House official said on condition of anonymity.

"I am not going to discuss the steps and measures that the US is considering pursuing with Pakistan," a White House official said when asked about the critical statements coming from Pakistan after Trumps South Asia strategy announcement.

"There is some frustration in Pakistan. We just want to emphasise that Pakistan really has the choice here. It can choose to cooperate with the US and change some of the unhelpful behaviours. That is very much in its interest. The US is not taking a tougher approach just to make Pakistani lives more difficult," the official said yesterday.

The approach is aimed at bringing peace and stability to Afghanistan which will benefit Pakistan as well, he said.

"We do have areas where we cooperate that will continue. We are going to demand more action against terror groups," he said, adding that he will not discuss the actual tool that the Trump administration plans to deploy for Pakistan to change its "unhelpful behaviour".

While Pakistan is an important partner and a priority for the region, "it also must take decisive action against terrorist groups" that are a threat to US interests.

"As the president said, Pakistan has much to gain by partnering with the US, but has much to lose if it fails to take actions against terrorist groups. We recognise that we have many common interests with Pakistan and common enemies.

"We also recognise the sacrifices that Pakistan has made. However, no partnership will be able to survive until terrorists were directly targeting US service members. It is time for Pakistan to demonstrate that it is willing to assist the US in its counter terrorism goals in the region," he said.

The US recognises that Pakistan has legitimate security interest in the future of Afghanistan and that what happens in Afghanistan impacts Pakistan, he said.

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India is a valuable and influential partner and that the interest with India goes beyond South Asia, he said.

India is making important contribution to the development of Afghanistan as well as helping to build democratic institutions, the official said, adding that the US "looks forward to continuing and expanding that involvement".

"When we talk about India continuing its economic assistance in Afghanistan, we are by no means discounting Pakistans interest in the region and do not think Pakistan should worry about Indias economic involvement in Afghanistan. Acknowledging Indias role in Afghanistan is not going to impact our ability to work with Pakistan.

"We recognise Pakistans legitimate interest in Afghanistan. We would be working with them and at the same time make it clear that support to terrorist groups is not the best way to serve their interests in the region," he said.

The senior official said that while developing the strategy, the US did consider the threat posed to ground lines of communication to Afghanistan that runs through Pakistan if India got more involved in Afghanistan. The ground line of communication in Pakistan is very important to the US.

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"So, we do count on those line of communications in Pakistan," the official added. PTI LKJ CPS ASK AKJ CPS

--- ENDS ---
By Indo-Asian News Service: The Israeli Ministry of Tourism (IMOT) is exploring the niche segment of "anti-terrorism" or "defence" tourism with Indian travel agents, an Israeli official said here on Thursday.

"It's a niche concept. There are many tourists from the US and Europe who are interested to learn how people defend themselves and things about warfare... because the reputation of Israeli security is very high," Hasan Madah, Director, India in the Israeli Tourism Ministry told IANS here.

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Madah said after some tourists evinced an interest in training in defensive tactics, a clutch of entrepreneurs decided to push this as a segment.

"They want to know how to shoot, how to hide, how to tackle. It's similar to paintball (an adventure sport). Some entrepreneurs in Israel, they decided to go ahead and open a business like this," he said.

"You can go there and do whatever you like. Some people like to relax and some people like these things, so why not? We are exploring all (tourism) angles with travel agents in India. We are interested in promoting anything that brings in more tourists."

The Ministry officials were in the city for a six-city roadshow.

The Israeli delegation was led by Madah, along with Judah Samuel, Director - Marketing, Israel Ministry of Tourism, India, and included representative partners from the tourism industry of Israel.

The roadshow witnessed the participation of over 100 travel agents in each city.

Madah said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's historic visit to Israel early last month has sparked a renewed interest among Indians and the country wants to leverage this to increase destination awareness.

"We have seen many inquiries coming in. The indication from the market is that it (visit of Modi) has really helped. We expect the growth to be significant in the next few months."

Asked on the link between popularity of Israeli actress Gal Gadot, who plays Diana Prince in DC Comics' superhero film "Wonder Woman", and the renewed interest in Israel as a tourist destination, Madah said: "She is kind of an ambassador. She is promoting and also helping us through that."

Over 34,000 Indian tourists have travelled to Israel till July in 2017, marking a growth of 36 per cent over the previous year.

In June alone, Israel witnessed an exponential growth of 79 per cent in Indian arrivals compared to June 2016.

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The picture has roused suspicion that militants in Kashmir indeed have destructive weapons at their disposal- ringing alarm bells amidst brass corridors.

By Ashraf Wani: The picture above, reportedly of a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militant roaming in freely in Kashmir, with a rocket launcher on his shoulder has stirred the security agencies.

The viral picture has sent shockwaves among the security establishments in the Valley, as the militant identified as Shakoor Ahmad can be seen carrying two RPG (Rocket Projectile Gun) on his shoulders.

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Shakoor, a Lashkar militant has been active in the Valley since 2015.

The picture has further fuelled suspicion that militants in Kashmir indeed have destructive weapons at their disposal- ringing alarm bells amidst brass corridors.

A RPG is a projectile gun that is used to fire heavy rockets for maximum annihilation- with a fire power of over a km.

Security agencies are believed to have taken the issue up and serious and are gathering information on militant group's arsenal.

--- ENDS ---
Sources have told India Today that this is "as per provisions of the ICJ Statute" wherein the Secretary-General has to share copies of the orders that he receives from the Registrar of the ICJ with the P5 plus ten members of the Security Council.

By Geeta Mohan: United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in a letter dated August 8 informed the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) of the stay order on the death sentence of Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav, given by the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Jadhav was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on charges of espionage and terrorist activities against the Pakistani state.

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Sources have told India Today that this is "as per provisions of the ICJ Statute" wherein the Secretary-General has to share copies of the orders that he receives from the Registrar of the ICJ with the P5 plus ten members of the Security Council.

UNSG Guterres through the letter accessed by India Today informed the President of the Council of "the communication received from the Registrar of the International Court of Justice and in compliance with paragraph 2 of Article 41 of the Statute of the Court" and further 'transmitted' the "copies of the texts of the orders indicating provisional measures" in the cases.

There were three cases spelt out in that letter of which one was the 'Jadhav Case' (India v. Pakistan), order of 18 May 2017. The two other cases pertained to dispute between Ukraine and Russia; and Equatorial Guinea and France.

While the move is being called 'routine', a highly placed diplomatic source told India Today, "the verdict is now a document of the Security Council. Hence, it ensures that the interim verdict is now on the radar of the Council."

International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague on May 18, in its ruling had said, "Pakistan shall take all measures at its disposal to ensure that Jadhav is not executed pending the final decision in these proceedings and shall inform the court of all the measures taken in implementation of the present order".

Also Read

Pervez Musharraf: Kulbhushan Jadhav bigger terrorist than Ajmal Kasab, Pakistan should have ignored India's ICJ petition

How International Court of Justice decided in India's favour in Kulbhushan Jadhav case: An explainer

--- ENDS ---
By PTI: New Delhi, Aug 25 (PTI) Minister of state for external affairs M J Akbar visited Ghana and Equatorial Guinea from August 14-18 during which ways to deepen bilateral cooperation with the two African countries were discussed extensively.

During his stay in Ghana, Akbar held talks with Minister for Foreign Affairs Shirley Botchway on the entire spectrum of bilateral relationship, the external affairs ministry said today.

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Akbar also called on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo- Addo.

"The Minister of State reiterated to President Akufo- Addo the standing invitation to visit India and urged Ghana to join the International Solar Alliance (ISA) as a founding member," said the ministry in a statement.

Akbar paid a visit to Equatorial Guinea on August 18 during which he called on the countrys President Obiang

The MEA said that Obiang expressed his keen desire to intensify relations and expand cooperation with India.

"The President welcomed Indian partnership across all sectors and underlined the importance of South-South cooperation," it said. PTI MPB RT

--- ENDS ---
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I grew up in Berkeley in the 60s when this picture was taken during all the Free Speech/Anti-War demonstrations at Cal.

I saw the National Guard called in.

I saw how demonstrators fought for their Free Speech.

All of which brings us to this weekend.

And the debate once again over Free Speech.

There has been a lot of debate about whether the rallies should be allowed this weekend.

On that question I am very firm.

They absolutely should be allowed here.

SEE ALSO: Oakland family lived in their car until donations helped them get a place of their own

Thats what Free Speech is.

Protesters will call it hate speech.

(Even though the leaders of the rallies are very blunt and say they are not interested in hate speech or violence)

But even if it is hate speech it's still protected by our constitution.

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled:

[The idea that the government may restrict] speech expressing ideas that offend  strikes at the heart of the First Amendment.

Speech that demeans on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender, religion, age, disability, or any other similar ground is hateful.

But the proudest boast of our free speech jurisprudence is that we protect the freedom to express the thought that we hate.  Justice Samuel Alito

Make no mistake.

Im not defending Neo-Nazi groups or White Supremacists.

They make me sick.

For the record Im no fan of Antifa either.

I dont agree with their tactics and their methods.

But just as all of those groups are free to say who they hate.

I am free to say that I dont like them.

Thats what Free Speech is all about.

First Amendment U.S. Constitution:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; OR ABRIDGING THE FREEDOM OF SPEECH, OR OF THE PRESS; OR THE RIGHT OF THE PEOPLE PEACEABLY TO ASSEMBLE, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

I now open the floor for discussion.

As always I just ask that you keep it respectful.

Frank Somerville is a contributor to SFGATE and anchors the 5, 6, and 10 p.m. news on KTVU. This post originally appeared on his Facebook page.
Pier 70, a long-closed shipbuilding facility that most San Franciscans have never set foot on, moved closer to being transformed into a bustling neighborhood of housing, parks, shops, workplaces and art studios under a proposal the Planning Commission unanimously approved Thursday.

The plan calls for 1,100 to 2,150 units of housing and 1.1 million to 2 million square feet of office space on the 28-acre site. There will be 9 acres of new parks, including a waterfront green space that will extend the Bay Trail along the areas 1,300 feet of shoreline. Thirty percent of the housing will be affordable, in three stand-alone affordable buildings, with more below-market units spread throughout the market-rate buildings.

The $765 million in public benefits includes $177 million in affordable housing, $442 million in parks and infrastructure spending and $62 million in transportation improvements.

Calling the plan a comprehensive vision that weaves new parks and buildings into a tapestry of handsome historic industrial structures, Commissioner Kathrin Moore predicted that the project would be an award-winner that will thrust San Francisco into the limelight of how to do things right.

I am so happy about this I cannot tell you, said Moore, who is usually the toughest critic on the board when it comes to development design.

The biggest criticism of the plan came from neighbors, who said the fast-growing Dogpatch district doesnt have the infrastructure to support more big developments, and from housing advocates, who took issue with the lack of precision as to how much of the land would be dedicated to office space and how much to housing.

Fernando Marti, co-director of the Council of Community Housing Organizations, said that if the maximum office scenario is developed at Pier 70, it would worsen the citys already-stretched jobs-to-housing ratio.

Developer Forest City emphasized that the first phase of the project is geared heavily toward housing  930 units, compared with 350,000 square feet of office space. But the feasibility of the final phase of the development, 7 acres on the southern edge of the property, is harder to predict, because it abuts two industrial properties  a PG&E switch yard and an old power plant, which are also slated to be redeveloped. What happens with those properties will help determine what Forest City does in its final phase, probably a decade or more away.

The project starts as residential-heavy and buys us the time to know what makes the most sense, Forest City Senior Vice President Jack Sylvan said.

Commissioners were sympathetic to the request for more housing, and recommended that the Board of Supervisors, which also must approve the project, set a reasonable threshold of office space, above which the developer would have to go back to the city for a conditional-use authorization.

The project is in the middle of a string of mega-projects that include Mission Rock, the Giants parking lot development just south of AT&T Park; the Warriors arena, which is under construction; the redevelopment of the Potrero Power Plant; the transformation of India Basin into housing and open space; and the redevelopment of Candlestick Point and the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, also under way.

Taken together, the projects will bring 36,000 residents and 23,000 workers to the bayfront south of Mission Creek.

The Planning Commission approval represented the closing of one part of a process and hopefully the beginning of a next phase, Sylvan said. Its a foundation to create a great future for Pier 70, the one that it really deserves.

But Allison Heath, of the group Grow Potrero Responsibly, said Potrero Hill and Dogpatch have been overwhelmed with housing developments, and that the existing public transit and open space cant accommodate all the new arrivals.

We have a glaring lack of infrastructure to support another major development in our neighborhood, Heath said.

J.K. Dineen is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jdineen@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @sfjkdineen
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Sometimes starting over is the best option. Thats why architect Todd Gordon Mather called for a total teardown and rebuild of 3960 Belleview Ave. in Homewood, rather than try and renovate the ramshackle cottage near the western shore of Lake Tahoe.

At some point you have to say scrape it because it will cost more to try and fix it than to do it all over again correctly, said Mather, principal of TGM Architect in Tahoe City. In this case, it was better for the clients to pull the plug and cut losses, and go brand-new and get what they really wanted.

Originally built in the 1930s, the structure had fallen on hard times when a Napa couple bought the home in 2006. The electrical and plumbing systems where horribly outdated, and the foundation needed significant attention. The roofs ability to handle heavy loads of snow was also in question. These concerns saw the couple take Mathers advice and start from scratch.

Everything was a mess. The hardware was pathetic, the ceilings were low, and the staircase wasnt up to code, Mather said.

Eighteen months later, the empty nesters moved into a delightful abode known as the West Shore Cottage  a sumptuous getaway in the mountains of Lake Tahoe. The two-story cabin features a pair of en suite bedrooms, a great room, a reading loft and a chefs kitchen amid 1,850 square feet of living space. Repurposed finishes are found inside and out, and the facade features reclaimed timber sitting atop a stone wainscot.

Every single piece of the house was done with love and care. The reclaimed timber is placed with pristine cuts and the whole design is very upscale, said Morgahn Grey of Grey Blue Realty, who is listing the home for $3.2 million. Its a very warm and comfortable setting.

A living room with a soaring ceiling serves as the centerpiece of the design. Here, picture windows overlook an expansive lawn stretching to the shore as antique lights illuminate the fireplace and mantel. A series of gable windows complement the living rooms volume and welcome natural light into the space. The ceiling is fashioned from reclaimed timber and shelters a reading loft that overlooks the living room. Wood-paneled walls and hardwood flooring speak to the woodland ambience.

The kitchen hosts a reading space of its own, a welcoming alcove set beside a fireplace. Slate stones line the floor as a terraced island stands at the center. An imported La Conche range anchors the room as wood-paneled appliances lend a soothing aesthetic. Display cabinets rest beneath a beamed ceiling as picture windows frame views of the landscape.

Using cantilevers  a long beam or girder fixed at only one end  the team added volume to the home while maintaining the modest footprint dictated by local ordinances.

Cantilevers are often used in bridge construction for their ability to brace and support heavy loads. In this case, the cantilevers broadened the second level and raised the roofline, creating the reading loft. The large steel beams and columns frame the upper floor and connect with the foundation. While the reclaimed timber looks like it braces the ceiling, the wooden beams only provide aesthetics.

The master suite stands out as one of Mathers favorite parts of the design. Here, a Juliet balcony with lake views awaits beyond French swing doors as a gas fireplace warms the interior. The master suites closet features neither a door nor drywall; instead, the wardrobe is fashioned from built-in cabinetry.

Its a big walk-in closet without the wall and door that makes the room feel larger, Mather said.

The listing includes a one-bedroom guest house with a kitchen, as well an the adjacent lot opposite the home.

Listing agent: Morgahn Grey, Grey Blue Realty, (530) 545-9407, mgrey@greybluerealty.com.

Details

Address: 3960 Belleview Ave., Homewood.

Price: $3.2 million.

Features: Clad in reclaimed Utah barn wood, this two-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bathroom boasts 1,885 square feet of living space and the homeowners association includes a private pier and beach. The kitchen features an imported La Conche range and Lutron lighting illuminates the interior. A detached guest quarters rests above the garage and buoys at High and Dry Marina are available. The price also includes a view lot next door.
BANGKOK  The former prime minister of Thailand, Yingluck Shinawatra, has fled the country, a senior member of her party said Friday, and the Supreme Court issued an arrest warrant after she failed to appear in court.

A lawyer for Yingluck, who is facing a prison sentence of up to 10 years, notified the court Friday morning that the former prime minister had been too ill to attend the reading of the verdict in her case.

But, in fact, she had left Thailand initially for Singapore on Wednesday evening, according to the senior member of the Phue Thai Party, who declined to be named because he was not authorized to speak on her behalf.

Her failure to appear in court led to widespread speculation that she had fled. Her lawyer, Norawit Larlaeng, told reporters outside the courthouse that he had learned of her illness only an hour before the hearing.

Asked if she was in Thailand, he replied, I dont know.

The prosecution of Yingluck, who was Thailands first female prime minister, symbolizes the deep political divide that prevails in the country, run by a military junta that replaced her government three years ago. She has remained a popular figure.

Her no-show was the latest twist in the drama of a political family that transformed Thai politics by capturing support of the rural poor with promises to raise living standards.

She is charged with mismanaging a rice subsidy initiative while in office, costing the country $8 billion. A conviction could effectively ban her from political activities for life.

Hours after her scheduled hearing, the same court sentenced her former commerce minister, Boonsong Teriyapirom, to 42 years in prison on corruption charges related to the rice subsidy program.

More than 1,000 of Yinglucks supporters gathered in the capital in the vicinity of the courthouse hours before Fridays scheduled hearing, but police blocked roadways and set up barricades to prevent the crowd from getting close. The supporters showed up even though she had told them not to do so.

Yinglucks lawyer notified the court that she had Menieres disease, which causes fluid buildup in the eardrums, and was suffering dizziness and severe headaches, but the court did not accept the excuse because Yingluck had not sent a doctors certificate. It rescheduled the verdict for Sept. 27. The court also ordered her to forfeit her bail of about $900,000.

The case centers on whether Yingluck mismanaged a subsidy program that led to a stockpile of rotting rice.

Unlike her brother, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who fled the country after he was overthrown by the military in 2006 and was convicted in absentia on corruption charges, Yingluck remained in Thailand fought the charges against her.

There was widespread speculation that Yingluck had gone to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, possibly by way of Cambodia and Singapore, or to Hong Kong. Her brother has been reported to be living in Dubai.

Richard C. Paddock and Ryn Jirenuwat are New York Times writers.
KiwiRail, the state-owned rail and freight operator, said its full year net loss widened while the operating surplus sank by almost a third due to the impact of the Kaikoura earthquake in November.

The Wellington-based company reported a net loss of $197.3 million in the year to June 30 versus a net loss of $194 million in the prior year. The loss reflected an impairment charge of $295.8 million on KiwiRails rail assets. As the rail network does not generate sufficient cash to cover the level of required investment, a large proportion of the accounting value must be written off each year, it said.

KiwiRail said its operating surplus, or earnings before depreciation and amortisation, interest, impairment, capital grants and fair value changes, was $52 million versus $85.5 million in the prior year as the earthquake and its aftermath sapped revenue by $40 million.

The 7.8 magnitude earthquake isolated the tourist town of Kaikoura and caused damage in the upper reaches of the South Island and lower part of the North Island, including severed rail lines.

"If the earthquake had not occurred, the operating surplus would have exceeded forecast, budget and the FY16 underlying result of $86 million," chair Trevor Janes said. The company has a target of $80 million to $85 million and excluding the impact of the earthquake its underlying profit was $92 million.

The $40 million impact is made up predominantly of foregone domestic freight revenue as the Main North Line closed, plus some effect from falls in bulk freight such as steel and gas, said chief executive Paul Reidy. Passenger volumes on the Interislander also took a hit as tourists avoided road travel to Christchurch, and the Coastal Pacific tourism service was cancelled.

Operating revenues were down 14 percent on the year to $594.8 million. Operating expenses, meanwhile, were up 12 percent to $542.5 million. With the different business units, freight revenues fell 11 percent to $345.6 million, the Interislander ferries' turnover was up 2 percent at $130.2 million and Tranz Metro suburban passenger train services fell 99.8 percent to $100,000 after France's Transdev won the contract to operate Wellington's commuter service. Revenue at the Scenic Journeys passenger trains fell 23 percent to $22.8 million.

Looking ahead, Reidy said tourism looks set to "rebound quickly" with an 8 percent rise in rail passenger journeys prior to November "giving confidence that this is sustainable growth that will continue once our Coastal Pacific returns next year."

(BusinessDesk)

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Australia's biggest airline Qantas Airways said its net profit fell as the benefits of lower fuel prices were offset by the reduction in net passenger revenue and after a one-off gain in the prior year.

The Qantas Group said net profit in the year to June 30 was A$853 million, or 46 Australian cents, down from A$1.03 billion, or 49.4 Australian cents, in the prior year, which included the gain on sale of the Sydney Domestic Terminal. Underlying profit before tax was A$1.4 billion versus A$1.5 billion in the prior year. Qantas said the result was slightly ahead of guidance due to strong domestic performance.

Within Jetstar International - which includes New Zealand domestic and regional as well as Australia outbound flights among others - it pointed to a successful dual brand strategy in New Zealand with a strong network serving business and leisure customers.

It did not provide any specific New Zealand numbers but did point to "improved New Zealand performance." Within Jetstar International, passenger numbers jumped 8.4 percent to 6.2 billion while its revenue per kilometres rose 5.2 percent and its available seat kilometres rose 1.0 percent. That compares to a group wide lift of 1.9 percent in passenger numbers while its total available seat kilometers increased by 1.1 percent and its revenue passenger kilometers rose 1.8 percent.

The Jetstar Group, which includes Jetstar International, reported underlying earnings before interest and tax of A$417 million, down A$35 million on the year, but still the second highest in its history, it said.

Three years ago, we started an ambitious turnaround program to make the Qantas Group strong and profitable. We tackled some difficult structural issues, became a lot more efficient and kept improving customer service. Todays announcements show this plan has well-and-truly paid off," said chief executive Alan Joyce.

Group wide revenue fell by 1 percent A$16 billion. Net passenger revenue was down 1 percent, weighed down by competitive pressures in international markets and the ramp up of new routes. Net freight revenue was down 5 percent.

The company declared a final dividend of 7 Australian cents per share, to be paid on Oct. 13 with a record date of Sept. 11. It also announced a new share buyback programme worth up to A$373 million. Once this latest buyback is completed the number of Qantas shares is expected to have been reduced by more than 20 percent since October 2015.

The company also said non-executive Qantas Group employees will receive a bonus of A$2,500.

Looking ahead, it said it is investigating direct flights from the east coast of Australia to London and New York by 2022. Joyce said a challenge has been given to Airbus and Boeing to give their next-generation aircraft currently under development the range to make these non-stop flights possible with a full passenger load.

A direct flight would cut total journey time by up to four hours on Sydney-London and almost three hours on Melbourne-New York, he said.

"We believe advances in technology in the next few years will make Sydney to London direct a possibility and Qantas is well placed to be the airline to do it," he said, adding that any aircraft purchase would have to meet strict financial thresholds.

The ASX-listed stock last traded at A$5.80.

(BusinessDesk)

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The Commerce Commission has filed civil proceedings against Harmoney Corp, claiming the peer-to-peer lender's platform fees are unreasonable.

The antitrust regulator today filed papers in the High Court in Auckland accusing Harmoney of breaching the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act 2003, which prohibits lenders from charging unreasonable credit fees.

The commission claims the platform fee is a credit fee and is unreasonable, and wants a declaration to that effect, as well as compensation for affected borrowers, it said in a statement.

The civil suit comes a year after Harmoney said it would plead guilty to misleading consumers over pre-approval letters sent in various forms to more than 500,000 New Zealanders between October 2014 and April 2015, which misled recipients by telling them they had been pre-approved to borrow money from Harmoney. The peer-to-peer lender was ultimately fined about $293,000 over that breach.

(BusinessDesk)

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was deeply distressed over the instances of violence that were seen following Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh's conviction for rape.

By India Today Web Desk: Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed distress on the violence that was seen following the conviction of Dera Sacha Suda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh for rape.

Ram Rahim was convicted by a special Central Bureau of Investigation court in Panchkula today. Following the conviction, followers of the Dera chief took to the streets burning vehicles and clashing with security forces.

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"The instances of violence today are deeply distressing. I strongly condemn the violence & urge everyone to maintain peace," Prime Minister Modi said in a series of tweets posted Friday night.

"The law & order situation is being closely monitored. I reviewed the situation with the NSA & Home Secretary," Modi added. "Urged officials to work round the clock to restore normalcy and provide all possible assistance that is required."

Despite massive security arrangements in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh, widespread violence was seen in the two states. Sporadic violence was also reported from Delhi, where prohibitory orders, under Section 144, remained in place.

At least 30 people were killed as security forces fired at rampaging mobs in Panchkula in Haryana after a court held Ram Rahim guilty of rape and sexual exploitation.

Today's developments have led to calls for the resignation of Hayarna's BJP Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar with sources telling India Today that the Centre was displeased with how Khattar handled the lead-up to today's court date.

Khattar's role further attracted criticism after reports emerged that intelligence agencies had provided warnings earlier in the week that the situation could turn ugly today if the court held Ram Rahim guilty of rape, which it did.

Meanwhile, Khattar has promised strong action against those involved in today's violence even as Union Home Minister Rajanth Singh called for a high-level meeting to take stock of the situation.

ALSO READ | Make Dera pay for loss of property, High Court tells Haryana, Punjab

ALSO READ | Sakshi Maharaj embarasses BJP by supporting Ram Rahim, claims only 1 person against Dera chief

WATCH | How Dera followers in Panchkula went on rampage after Ram Rahim verdict

--- ENDS ---
By PTI: Jammu, Aug 25 (PTI) A Border Security Force (BSF) jawan was injured today in firing by Pakistan Rangers at an Indian border outpost on the International Border in Jammu district, police said.

"There was ceasefire violation by Pakistan in R S Pura sector (of Jammu) today," a police officer told PTI.

One BSF jawan sustained injuries in the firing from across the border and has been hospitalized, he said.

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Significantly, on July 17, the BSF and the Pakistan Rangers had held a commandant-level flag meeting in Samba sector along the International Border and "committed" themselves to maintaining peace.

In the flag meeting, the two sides had agreed to re- energise instant communication between field commanders, whenever required, to resolve petty matters, a BSF official had said.

"They committed to each other to maintain peace and tranquility at the International Border," the official had added.

Two days back, senior Army commanders of India and Pakistan also held a flag meeting on the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch sector in J&K and agreed to institute mechanisms for durable peace and tranquility on the border.

The year 2017 has seen a sharp increase in ceasefire violations by Pakistan.

Till August 1, there were 285 such violations by the Pakistan Army while in 2016, the number was significantly less at 228 for the entire year, according to the Army figures.

Eleven people, including 9 soldiers, were killed and 18 injured in ceasefire violations by Pakistan Army in the month of July, the Army data says.

There were 83 ceasefire violations, one BAT (border action team) attack and two infiltration bids from the Pakistani side in June in which 4 people, including 3 jawans, were killed and 12 injured.

In May, there were 79 ceasefire violations, according to officials. PTI AB AKK AKK

--- ENDS ---
By Suhani Singh: Director: Habib Faisal

Cast: Aadar Jain, Anya Singh, Prince Parvinder Singh, Peter Muxxa Manuel, Mikhail Yawalkar, Sachin Pilgaonkar and Ram Kapoor.

Rating: (1.5/ 5)

Filmmaker Habib Faisal wants to enlighten viewers about the emotional plight of the undertrials in his latest film Qaidi Band. The film starts off by narrating the true story of Machang Lalung who was in prison in Assam for 54 years awaiting a verdict for a crime that at maximum deserved a 10-year sentence. He was found not guilty. It's an immediate hook. Instead of a biopic, Faisal, also the writer, takes a different approach - music as a means to highlight the undertrials' agony and frustration as they wait for freedom. Faisal's fourth feature starts out on a promising note, introducing viewers to a plethora of characters who are brought together because of an Independence Day concert in their prison, and the limbo status of undertrials in jail. They don't wear uniforms and can't work because they aren't convicted.

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The undertrials here include Sanju (Aadar Jain), Bindu (Anya Singh), Maskeen aka Musky (Prince Parvinder Singh), Ogu (Peter Muxxa Manuel), Rufi (Mikhail Yawalkar), Tatyana (Anna Ador) and Sange (Cyndy Khojol). The diverse religious-racial background of the characters is a tool to show how prejudice is rampant in prisons. Inmates bear both verbal and physical abuse as they are embroiled in a daily game of survival of the fittest. It's one of the reasons why Qaidi Band's first half works because it immerses viewers into a new world and its ways. This isn't your standard prison film in which inmates eat hard rotis and raw onions. Here they warm up their dal and rotis by bribing a few officials and do odd jobs such as eyebrow threading to earn a living. In one revelatory scene a female prisoner dresses up and leaves her child behind with another to earn a few bucks. It is followed by Bindu delivering a passionate defence for mothers forced into prostitution in prisons. It's this didactic approach to a significant issue that hurts Qaidi Band despite its good intent.

Why have characters with shades of grey when audience sympathy can be won by tragic stories? Of course all the undertrial characters are in for a crime they didn't commit, or accidentally committed in desperate circumstances or for good reason. Music is their release offering them the brief spells of happiness. When the "I am India" track goes viral on the internet, the bandmates become pawns of a local politician who wants to use their songs to win "youth" votes. It's one of the early telltale signs that Qaidi Band will fall short on the promise it delivered early on. The film soon becomes a preachy lecture on the sloppy judicial system. The Sainanis escape with the hope to win a competition and then harp on about the virtues of freedom at a rock concert. But Qaidi Band joins Noor in the league of films that's convinced that social media campaigns, street protests and bad media coverage is all it takes to solve a problem and make a difference in society. If only it was that easy.

If Faisal paints a sensitive portrait of undertrials in India, the same cannot be said for his understanding of the rock concert scene. Sanju and Bindu would most likely have things hurled at them for their uninhibited display of mush on stage. Aadar Jain is watchable as the cynical Sanju who has a change of heart after he falls for Bindu, but it is Anya Singh who impresses the most as the affable young woman who is hopeful and helpful. Even as the film ventures into unreal and mawkish territory, her Anya remains an idealist, firm that there is good in the world.

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ALSO READ: Aadar Jain on his Bollywood debut Qaidi Band and nepotism debate

ALSO READ: Anya Singh on making it in Bollywood and her dream debut with YRF

--- ENDS ---
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A 19 year old showed complete disregard for a park full of people when he fired a gun in New Brighton Sunday afternoon and struck an Italian tourist, a criminal complaint alleges.

Henry Degroat, of New Brighton, allegedly fired a 9mm gun near Mahoney Playground at the intersection of Jersey Street and Crescent Avenue at about 1 p.m., and struck Marino Stocco, according to the complaint.

Degroat was arrested Wednesday at about 11:50 a.m., police said.

The Ely Street resident has a criminal record, including three arrests in July and August on charges that include criminal possession of a weapon, trespass and menacing, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation.

The victim heard shots fired and also observed several people running from the location, according to police.

Stocco, who has been staying in Queens since July 25, told the Advance he was hoping to tour the Garibaldi-Meucci Museum on 420 Tompkins Ave. in Rosebank when he got lost in St. George and began to explore the streets of Staten Island.

Degroat is facing charges of criminal possession of a weapon and reckless endangerment, according to the complaint.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The Port Authority will continue to shift when it closes the Bayonne Bridge for construction to help avoid summer-travel traffic back-ups.

The bridge will close at 10 p.m. Friday, Aug. 25, and will reopen at 3 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 27.

Once the bridge reopens on Sunday, it will remain open until 7 p.m. Monday, Aug. 28.

On July 16, drivers returning to Staten Island from weekend activities in New Jersey got stuck in hours-long traffic near the Outerbridge Crossing.

A Port Authority spokesman said this was due to volume, whereas the week before, "there was a late night accident on the Outerbridge that contributed to the problem."

Since speaking with Borough President James Oddo, who commissioned a meeting with transportation officials, the Port Authority agreed to open the Bayonne Bridge at 3 p.m. every Sunday through Labor Day to accommodate the traffic.

Almost every weekend the bridge had been closed through 5 a.m. Monday for construction, limiting drivers to the Outerbridge and Goethals bridges.

When construction on the Bayonne Bridge resumes next week, the span will be closed Monday through Thursday, from 7 p.m. until 5 a.m.

On certain overnights, the bridge will open by 4:30 a.m. to accommodate drivers affected by a traffic hold between 4:30 a.m. - 5 a.m. at the Goethals Bridge.
CITY HALL -- Councilman Joseph Borelli said he tried to stop attorney Richard Luthmann's social media attacks on former South Shore Assembly candidate Janine Materna, reported by NY1 this week.

Spectrum News NY1 obtained screen shots of private Facebook messages between South Shore Assemblyman Ronald Castorina (R-South Shore) and Luthmann, discussing the existence of an unauthorized Materna Facebook page, which allegedly resulted in death threats against her.

In a follow up story on Thursday, NY1 reported that Luthmann also discussed the postings with Borelli, who had backed Castorina in the race.

NY1 reported that Luthmann messaged Borelli a picture of Materna with President Barack Obama's first attorney general, Eric Holder, and Borelli replied, "lol...he's like, 'Why am I in a pic with this girl?' Borelli then messaged Luthmann, according to NY1, "we were talking about it...we all loved it...but then had some convos...it could change the narrative to bullying on women."

Borelli told the Advance he assumed Luthmann was responsible for negative Facebook ads and cautioned the attorney from using them.

The councilman provided the Advance with a screenshot of a Facebook message he sent to Luthmann last August in which he told him that he thinks whoever is doing the ads may be giving Materna sympathy. Borelli provided the screenshot on the condition the Advance wouldn't directly quote from or publish the message.

"I was attempting to rationalize to someone who makes fake Facebook pages and challenges people to duels," Borelli said. Luthmann unsuccessfully asked a judge to sanction a trial by combat to resolve a civil suit.

"The NY1 story left out the pretty significant fact that I assumed Rich was responsible and initiated a conversation with him to get him to stop. I am also not sure why NY1 didn't treat Ron Castorina as a victim of these attacks as well, since there were several fake accounts make to attack him."

A spokeswoman for Charter Company -- Spectrum's parent company -- Nikia Redhead declined to comment.

Materna disputed Borelli's comment in an email to the Advance.

"How can Joe say that he tried to stop it, when he shared posts from the fake Facebook page knowing it was false?" Materna said. "As a result, by him sharing the fake Facebook page gave it more validity."

Materna didn't provide proof that Borelli shared posts from the page. She also claimed Borelli "misled the public" and "helped provide content to the page and shared it multiple times adding to its validity."

Borelli disputed this, telling the Advance, "I didn't post anything from fake pages, the photos of her and Anthony Weiner and other on her own page were enough. However, her family was happy to interact with the fake pages about Ron."

Borelli shared a screenshot that showed Jennifer Materna responding to a Facebook commment on her sister's offical page from another page called "Crooked Ron Castorina." The Advance was able to independently find the comment.

In a lengthy Facebook post on Friday afternoon, Luthmann backed up Borelli.

"Joe Borelli was right. He tried to talk me out of what I was doing like a good Republican and Reaganite," he said. "But I am not a Republican or a Reaganite. I am a Trumpian and I play by a different set of rules."

Last year, Materna, who was running for the Republican nomination for the 62nd State Assembly district seat against Castorina, filed a police report over a fake Facebook page that had been disparaging her online.

The page contained posts mischaracterizing her positions and showing her with prominent Democrats, including Mayor Bill de Blasio, former Rep. Anthony Weiner and a crudely photoshopped Hillary Clinton.

NY1 alleges that Luthmann was the administrator of that page, as well as an unauthorized page featuring Councilwoman Debi Rose (D-North Shore).

When reached by the Advance on Thursday, Luthmann said he wouldn't comment on the situation, citing attorney/client privileges. However, he mentioned that he is preparing legal papers against Spectrum and the reporter who uncovered the story.

Castorina said he had "zero involvement in the creation of this page other than to be told in texts about it" and regrets "even engaging in any chat about it." Materna said, "I think it's really sad and disappointing that certain people are willing to stoop so low to partake in this low-class bullying."

This article was updated with additional comment and information from Materna, Borelli and Luthmann.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The Castleton Corners building that housed the former Doody's Home Center for 50 years will return to selling tools and home improvement items when it reopens as an Ace hardware dealer in November.

After Doody's at 1677 Victory Blvd. shut down in April, the building was sold to investors, who wanted to lease the building to a tenant that would fit in with the neighborhood, which includes three schools, said Michael Dukhovny, broker/owner of United National Realty in Castleton Corners.

That tenant is Costello's Hardware, which owns 30 stores in New York and New Jersey. The 11,300-square-foot store, which is currently under construction, is expected to open for business by Thanksgiving, said Dukhovny, noting sakes associates Giacomo Montuori and Paul Coglitore assisted with the sale.

"We offered the location to multiple corporate tenants, and we had a lot of interest from multiple companies," said Dukhovny. "We and the new owners wanted to find a business that matched the dynamic of the neighborhood."

And what better use than a hardware store at a location that has housed this type of business for a half century.

"We reached out to them (Costello's Hardware) to see if they would be interested," said Olga Tandilashvili, an associate broker for United National Realty. "One of the reasons they were never in Staten Island before was because of Doody's. So it seemed to be the perfect location for them."

She said the owners of Costello's Hardware plan to hire at least 20 employees, and are in talks with some of the former Doody's workers.

"They are really excited about coming to Staten Island. They are going to put a lot of effort into making the store beautiful. It will have a beautiful stucco finish," said Dukhovny.

"The facade of the building is going to be improved tremendously, very high-end and very neighborhood friendly," he added.

FOLLOW TRACEY PORPORA ON FACEBOOK
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A woman was injured in a crash on the Outerbridge Crossing heading to New Jersey that caused a traffic jam on the expressway leading to the span during the Friday morning rush hour.

A 31-year-old woman was transported to Staten Island University Hospital in Ocean Breeze, according to a spokesman for the Port Authority Police.

The two-vehicle crash around 9 a.m. was between the Staten Island Toll booth and mid-span, according to Total Traffic NYC. The crash was cleared around 9:45 a.m., according to an alert from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Traffic was backed up on the Korean War Veterans Memorial Parkway and the West Shore Expressway.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- If the statue of the Italian explorer that sits 70-plus feet above Columbus Circle is removed, Rep. Daniel Donovan wants it erected in Great Kills Park.

Italian-American lawmakers gathered on the steps of City Hall Thursday to protest the possible removal of the marble statue, calling on Mayor Bill de Blasio not to include it on a list of monuments being considered for removal by a commission that's reviewing "all symbols of hate on city property."

The group of bipartisan Staten Island elected officials and others from elsewhere in the city argued Thursday the statue represents the history of Italian immigrants in America more than it does the Italian explorer himself, who contributed to decimating the Native American population.

Donovan (R-Staten Island/Brooklyn) isn't Italian, but many of his constituents are, and he agrees with his colleagues.

De Blasio's commission has 90 days to review the possible removal of statues and plaques on city property. He announced its creation after deadly violence erupted in Charlottesville, Va., when white supremacist groups clashed with protesters around the removal of a statue of Confederate Army Gen. Robert E. Lee.

If the Columbus statue is removed from its pedestal outside Central Park, Donovan wants it transferred to the National Parks Service, which owns Great Kills Park.

"Christopher Columbus is a permanent fixture of our national history," Donovan said Friday. "Rarely can we trace the wheels of progress over 500 years back to the actions of a single person. If a radical group bent on sanitizing history doesn't want the statue at Columbus Circle anymore, Staten Island will gladly accept it."

Donovan spoke with senior Department of Interior officials on Thursday afternoon about the matter, and added, "Columbus is a symbol of Italian-American culture. He discovered our land and generations of Italian-Americans helped build New York. I will fight tooth and nail to see to it that his statue remains a fixture in our city."

While de Blasio demurred when asked during a mayoral debate Wednesday whether the Columbus statue would be spared, spokeswoman Natalie Grybauskas said Friday, "There are no plans to remove the Columbus statue. The statue, along with many other pieces, will likely be considered by the committee, who will offer recommendations on specific items as they create guidelines and criteria for amendment or removal of controversial structures."
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The NYPD K-9 Unit dog named after slain Detective Russel Timoshenko has recovered from injuries suffered during a gun raid in Brooklyn.

"We are happy to report that ESU K9 'Timmy' is back to work after having his stitches removed," said a post on the NYPD Special Operations Division Twitter feed.

Det. Benny Colecchia of Staten Island is seen holding his partner Timoshenko (Timmy) in pictures posted on the Twitter feed.

K-9 Timoshenko along with the rest of his unit, and officers from the 76th Precinct executed the warrant at a home on Seabring Street in Red Hook around 7:45 p.m., a spokesman for the NYPD said.

While searching the attic of the home, the German shepherd signaled where firearms were being kept when the sheetrock ceiling gave out, sources said.

He fell through, and suffered lacerations to his paw. He was treated at a local animal hospital and received eight stitches.
It is the first time Perarivalan has been given parole since his arrest in 1991. His mother had applied for one month parole for him to visit his ailing father.

By Indo-Asian News Service: The Tamil Nadu government on Thursday granted parole to AG Perarivalan, one of those convicted in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, to visit his ailing father.

It is the first time Perarivalan has been given parole since his arrest in 1991. His mother had applied for one month parole for him to visit his ailing father.

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The government order, granting him 'ordinary leave' or parole, did not specify the number of days of parole. It also said that strong police escort should be provided to Perarivalan during the leave period.

PMK founder S Ramadoss in a tweet expressed happiness at the development.

Earlier, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K. Palaniswami had told the assembly that the matter is under the government's consideration.

He said the government would take into consideration the feelings of all concerned and take a decision.

Perarivalan and six other convicts have been in prison since 1991, the year a woman Tamil Tiger suicide bomber blew herself up and killed Gandhi at an election rally near Chennai.

Also Read

Rajiv Gandhi: The fateful night of May 21, 1991 in Madras and New Delhi

Rajiv Gandhi assassination: Planned, precise, pulverising

--- ENDS ---
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The advisory issued by Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade warned the India-bound travelers to avoid large gatherings and follow the advice of local authorities.

Thousands of followers of Ram Rahim, who is the head of Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda, went on the rampage today, setting fire to vehicles, buildings. (Pic: Prabjot Gill)

By Press Trust of India: Australia today issued a safety advisory for its citizens travelling to India asking them to exercise a high degree of caution following widespread violence after the conviction of self-styled godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a rape case.

Thousands of followers of Ram Rahim, who is the head of Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda, went on the rampage today, setting fire to vehicles, buildings and railway stations soon after a special CBI court convicted him in a 2002 rape case.

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The advisory issued by Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) warned the India-bound travelers to avoid large gatherings and follow the advice of local authorities.

"Local transport has been significantly disrupted with a number of roads closed and rail services cancelled," the advisory said.

"On 25 August 2017, incidents of violence were reported in parts of the states of Haryana (particularly in Sirsa and Panchkula), and Punjab, and the Union Territory of Chandigarh, following the conviction of the leader of the Dera Sancha Sauda spiritual organisation, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh," it said.

"High alerts and a ban on unauthorised gatherings are in place in these areas until 30 August 2017. Avoid large gatherings as they could become violent. Mobile internet services in Chandigarh have been suspended. Monitor the media for developments that may affect your safety and security", it added.

Also Read

Dera Sacha Sauda men run riot in Punjab, Haryana after Gurmeet Ram Rahim's rape conviction; 30 dead, 250 injured

Haryana Chief Minister ML Khattar under pressure after Dera rampage; admits lapses

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Ahead of CBI court verdict today in a 15-year-old rape case against Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, both Punjab and Haryana are covered in a dense blanket of security, restrictions and police muscle.

By India Today Web Desk: With Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh on his way from Sirsa to the CBI court in Panchkula for the verdict in a 15-year-old rape case, both Punjab and Haryana have been fortified.

Both states are on high alert, with Centre also pressing into action by deploying 15,000 paramilitary troops to help in law and order management in Haryana and Punjab.

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As many as 97 CRPF companies have been deployed in parts of Haryana and Punjab, out of which four are all-women, in addition to 16 RAF companies already on the ground .

37 SSB, 12 ITBP and 21 BSF companies are also positioned to maintain law and order. Apart from such massive garrison of security personnel, 10 CRPF companies are on standby.

The Army is on standby in Sirsa, home to Ram Rahim's headquarters since Thursday evening and has been station in various parts of Panchkula.

Senior police officials today carried out a flag march outside the Dera sect headquarters in Sirsa as a show of strength to warn violators and nip any uprising at the onset.

VIGIL ON VEHICLES ENTERING HARYANA

This is in addition to thousands of para-military forces and Haryana Police personnel already deployed in Panchkula. The Punjab Government has a declared holiday today for government offices situated at Chandigarh.

All vehicles entering Haryana from Delhi are being searched and commuters questioned about their purpose behind entering the state. Police are keeping a tight vigil on Dera supporters in Delhi.

The authorities have restricted public transport services- as many as 201 trains originating or passing through Haryana being cancelled.

SOCIAL MEDIA SURVEILLANCE SPIKED

Police and security agencies are keeping a hawk-eye on social media posts, and specifically on messaging app groups like WhatsApp as part of their surveillance programme.

Except for Faridabad and Gurgaon, mobile internet services have been suspended for at least 72 hours, in Punjab, Haryana and joint capital Chandigarh.

All dongle services provided on mobile networks, except voice calls for the next three days have also been stopped.

SUPPORTERS DE-CAMPED

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has waved a green signal to impose curfew anywhere in the state if the situation flares up, "If need be we have authorised DGP to impose curfew wherever required."

Over 5,000 supporters who were camping near the CBI court were removed and an area of 1-km radius around the court premises has been sanitised.

"Chandigarh Police is on high alert. Section 144 of the CrPC has already been imposed. No Dera follower is allowed to enter Chandigarh. If they try to enter, stern action will be taken," a police press release said today.

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The tri-city area of Panchkula, Chandigarh and Mohali (in Punjab) have been turned into a fortress, curfew-like restrictions have been imposed in various areas in both states, with educational institutions shut for two days (Thursday and Friday), trains cancelled and bus services disrupted.

TRAINS CANCELLED

Some of the cancelled trains are Jaipur-Chandigarh Intercity Express, Barmer-Kalka Express, Barmer Haridwar Link Express, Firozpur-Chandigarh Express, Kalka Himalayan Queen.

Moreover, a complete ban has been issued on carrying firearms, with orders to shut down private gun houses selling arms and ammunition to license holders.

Also read: Ram Rahim case: Dera followers refuse to leave Panchkula, to stay put till verdict is out

Also read: Ram Rahim rape case verdict aside, did you know Dera chief launched a force specialised in disaster relief?

Also read: Journalist who exposed Gurmeet Ram Rahim rape case was shot dead outside his house

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Inspiration came on a cold, rainy night as Grant Edwards watched six dead United States officers carried past him in coffins.

During this ceremony Mr Edwards, a senior member of the Australian Federal Police, reflected upon the traumas his own colleagues had suffered in the line of duty.

AFP strongman Grant Edwards will attempt to pull a 190 tonne plane to raise mental health awareness.

He decided to raise awareness of this mental health battle by taking up the gruelling sport he had given away 16 years earlier.

"In February of 2016 I attended a military ramp ceremony at Dover Airforce Base for the repatriation of six US Law Enforcement Officers that had been killed in the line of duty in Afghanistan," he said.
At least 30 people died in widespread violence following the conviction of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Ram Rahim Singh for rape. Parts of Punjab and Haryana were placed under curfew following the day's incidents that were termed distressing by PM Narendra Modi.

Security men next to burnt remains of vehicle torched in Panchkula after violence erupted following Ram Rahim Singh's conviction for rape (India Today/Prabhjot Gill)

By India Today Web Desk: Large-scale violence was seen on Friday in several parts of Punjab and Haryana and some areas of Delhi and Chandigarh after controversial 'godman' figure Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was convicted of rape by a special Central Bureau of Investigation court in Panchkula, Haryana.

Ram Rahim, who will spend Friday night in a jail in Rohtak, awaits sentencing. The CBI court in Panchkula will pronounce the quantum of punishment on Monday, making it likely that the situation in Haryana, Punjab and surrounding areas would remain tense through the weekend.

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On Friday, despite massive security arrangements, at least 30 people died after followers of the Dera Sacha Sauda chief took to the streets, setting vehicles, railway stations and other public buildings on fire and clashing with security forces. More than 250 other people were injured in events Prime Minister Modi termed "deeply distressing".

Click here to Enlarge Dera Sacha Sauda followers clash with police in Panchkula (India Today/Prabhjot Gill/Panchkula)

Attempts were made to burn two railways stations in Punjab's Malout and Mansa towns by agitated followers of the self-styled godman. An electricity office in Sangrur town was set on fire. Reports said miscreants damaged and set on fire two Income Tax department vehicles in Mansa town.

In Sangrur district, miscreants set a tehsil office in Lehragaga town on fire. In Lambi town in Muktsar district, masked men lobbed petrol bombs on a telephone exchange and fired in the air to trigger panic.

Click here to Enlarge Vehicles set on fire during the violence that followed Ram Rahim's conviction for rape (India Today/Prabhjot Gill/Panchkula)

The most number of deaths and instances of violence were reported from Panchkula, where the CBI court that convicted Ram Rahim is located, the sect's followers set afire and damaged more than 100 vehicles.

Gurmeet Singh was convicted for sexually exploiting two sadhvis. Ram Rahim was wronged, the Dera Sacha Sauda said in reaction to today's rape conviction even as the sect's followers ran amok, causing widespread damage to public and private property.

Click here to Enlarge Unrest in Panchkula began soon after a special CBI court convicted Dera chief Ram Rahim for rape (India Today/Prabhjot Gill/Panchkula)

Outdoor broadcasting vans of TV news channels and media persons came under attack in Panchkula, where the CBI court delivered the verdict and in Sira, where the headquarters of the Dera Sacha Sauda are located.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court, which earlier had pulled up the administration for not doing enough to ensure security, Friday evening directed the states of Punjab and Haryana to attach properties owned by the Dera Sacha Sauda. The properties would be used for compensation for the destruction caused to public and private property, the court ordered.

Indian Army was called in to assist Haryana Police after the violence in Panchkula went out of hand (India Today/Prabhjot Gill/Panchkula) Click here to Enlarge Indian Army was called in to assist Haryana Police after the violence in Panchkula went out of hand (India Today/Prabhjot Gill/Panchkula)

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Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who returned from a foreign trip Friday evening, called for a high-level review meeting on Saturday as the BJP, being in power in Haryana, came under attack for failing to prevent the violence.

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar especially attracted criticism after reports emerged that intelligence agencies had earlier this week warned of the situation turning ugly if the Dera chief was convicted by the CBI court for rape, like he ultimately was.

Khattar seemingly accepted that Haryana Police has failed in some areas, saying, "We stopped trains, buses & other forms of transport, people walked on foot & they were able to hide their identity as well; We tried to control them & managed to enter the city."

Click here to Enlarge Charred remains of a TV channel that was torched during the violence in Panchkula (India Today/Prabhjot Gill/Panchkula)

Khattar added that his administration still managed to do its best and that the state was working to restore the situation back to normal. "Our plan worked well & it was a controlled situation; we regret death that took place due to firing," Khattar said.

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The CM, however, seems to be under massive pressure from within the Bharatiya Janata Party. Sources told India Today that the top leadership of the party was unhappy with Khattar's handling of the situation. Friday's incidents were part of the third major instance of violence in Haryana since Khattar became chief minister in 2014.

Click here to Enlarge The Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed that Dera properties be attached to pay for the damage caused in Friday's violence (India Today/Prabhjot Gill/Panchkula)

Meanwhile, several parts of Punjab and Haryana remained under curfew Friday night. The areas included Mansa, Bathinda, Patiala, Fazilka, Ferozepore, Faridkot, Malout, Sangrur and Barnala. Panchkula and Sirsa were among the other places that had been placed under curfew.

Parts of the National Capital Region too were on high alert, with prohibitory orders being in force in several areas. Parts of Delhi, Noida, Greater Noida, Ghaziabad and Hapur were under Section 144 Friday night.

Click here to Enlarge TV crews and vehicles came under attack in Panchkula following Ram Rahim's rape conviction (India Today/Prabhjot Gill/Panchkula)

Sporadic violence was seen in the national capital, Dera Sacha Sauda followers set Delhi Transport Corporation buses on fire. Delhi Police denied that any major incidents had taken place.

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"Dera Sacha Sauda followers tried creating mischief, case has been registered. We have CCTV footage, probe underway," Madhur Verma of the Delhi Police said. "No major incident took place in Delhi today, 5 arrested for involvement in small incidents. Will keep close watch tomorrow also."

Click here to Enlarge Following today's violence, Haryana CM ML Khattar has come under pressure to resign (India Today/Prabhjot Gill/Panchkula)

Also Read:

Also Watch:

Watch how Dera followers in Panchkula went on rampage after Ram Rahim verdict

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The territory government has boosted the number of checks it completes on public housing maintenance work, after an audit found oversight of the chief contractor, Spotless, was found to be 'inadequate'. That audit found the work completed under the government's $48 million contract with Spotless to maintain over 10,000 public houses was not being audited properly as to ensure quality of the work. The Northbourne Flats, now slated for demolition, was one of the public housing estates maintained by Spotless. Credit:Rohan Thomson Despite the audit finding a series of problems in Spotless' management of its, and its subcontractors work the government last year renewed the multi-million dollar contract last August for two years. Housing Minister Yvette Berry on Thursday officially responded to the audit report, saying the government had implemented all 18 of the ACT Auditor-General's recommendations.

She said the government was also talking to stakeholders including the Tenants Consultative Group, unions and industry players on what more could be done to improve public housing. Ms Berry said the government had reviewed the 'performance management system' for the contract, resulting in savings that allowed an extra $1.3 million be put towards actual maintenance work in 2016-17. "In comparison to the 2015-16 financial year, the changes implemented have resulted in over 600 additional planned maintenance jobs which have a major positive impact on tenants' lives," she said. Ms Berry also said the government had ordered Spotless to complete a 'root cause analysis' to identify the problems, but did not detail the findings of that analysis in the assembly. She said the changes made since the audit would help to ensure between seven and eight per cent of all public housing maintenance jobs were audited, a one per cent increase on the contracted amount before the audit last year.
The education union has accused a Canberra Liberal of having an "unhealthy obsession" with the Safe Schools program after she claimed teenagers were suffering sleepless nights due to its material.

Ginninderra MLA Elizabeth Kikkert said the anti-bullying program aimed at lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex students could be described as "grooming" after opposition education spokesman Andrew Wall tabled a petition calling on the ACT government to cease its support.

Australian Education Union ACT secretary Glenn Fowler.

" ... we let teachers ask a 13-year-old girl to fantasise about sexual intercourse," she said, a claim that was not verified by the Education Directorate.

"I have personally met with youth in Canberra who have gone home from their classes in tears so upset they couldn't sleep for several nights all because of the resources from the Safe Schools program."
Just when you thought Canberra had reached peak unicorn, a dessert company goes and does this.

Canberra cake and biscuit creators Rosebery St Bakehouse are hosting the capital's first official unicorn party - complete with buckets of pastel-coloured fondant, edible glitter and rainbow buttercream swirls.

The company's unicorn biscuits are 'hands down' its biggest sellers.

Rosebery St Bakehouse owners Lisa Johnston and Jade Sinkovits totally expect you to wear the unicorn onesie you haven't ventured out of the house in yet, and spend all day at the party baking and worshipping the mythical animals along with fellow unicorn lovers.

Lisa said the party was inspired by Canberra's obsession with Rosebery St Bakehouse's unicorn biscuits.
Karinya House in Canberra is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a special dinner at the Canberra Southern Cross Club in Woden on October 20.

The community-based, not-for-profit organisation provides supported accommodation, transitional housing, outreach, support groups and casework services to pregnant and parenting women and their families who are in crisis.

Karinya House is a special place for mothers and babies.

Karinya House started in 1997 in a rental home in Belconnen.

Chief Minister Andrew Barr last year officially opened the new Karinya House, a $4.45 million purpose-built complex in Belconnen funded by the ACT government.
"We can actually expose people to cutting edge science and a way to help them teach their students, to get them to aspire to go to university and things like that," Dr Sharwood said.

The Islamic School of Canberra principal and ANU ARC CoE Translational Photosynthesis research fellow hope to inspire East Timor teachers to help their students reach their full potential by sharing simple experiments and new ways of lesson delivery.

Decades after Mr Johns taught Dr Sharwood at St Stanislaus College in Bathurst, the pair have reunited to help East Timor teachers make a difference in the classroom.

David Johns remembers his former student's incredible thirst for knowledge. Rob Sharwood describes his former teacher as one in a million.

It's a journey the pair know well. Dr Sharwood once believed he was headed for a life as a fourth-generation sheep farmer. Hard work at school and the guidance of Mr Johns saw him study at the Australian National University and, eventually, Cornell University.

Things were different in the 1990s - Mr Johns wrangled a class of 35 students without the help of a laboratory technician. But it's nothing compared to the 60-strong classes teachers in Maliana head, often without tertiary training. Some walk for hours to get to school, and resources are few. Rote learning is the main method of instruction.

It's with this in mind that Mr Johns and Dr Sharwood plan how best to get their message across.

"We were always very focused on the fact that these guys have no money, let's go find what we can walking down to the shop, what can we find down the village or the market that's going to help the teachers and not going to cost a bomb that reinforces what they're trying to teach," Mr Johns said.

Dr Sharwood added: "My main thing was to encourage free thinking. As a scientist we have to have free thinkers. Rote learning was just surprising."
The number of people Canberra's police are arresting has jumped 30 per cent in five years, a possible sign the focus has turned to more serious crimes and restorative justice may be working.

Criminal justice statistics released for the five years to March this year show the number of charges for arrests has rose from 974 in June 2012 to 1331 in the March quarter this year.

The numbers of charges for arrests in Canberra has jumped 30%, a possible sign police are focussing on more serious crime and less on young, first-time offenders. Credit:Louie Douvis

That has coincided with an almost 70 per cent fall in cautions issued by police, down from 233 in the June quarter 2012 to 72 in the March quarter 2017.

While an ACT Policing spokesman said such trends could not easily be explained, as arrests and cautions are up to "officer discretion", an Australian National University criminologist said it could be a sign of less youth involvement with the ACT justice system.
One of Gary Ablett's closest friends, Geelong ruckman Zac Smith wants the dual Brownlow Medallist to return to the Cats next season, but isn't making an effort to sway the champion midfielder home.

Zac Smith, who played with Ablett at Gold Coast between 2011 and 2015, told Fairfax Media that he would be "stoked" if his close friend and former housemate made a dream return to Simmonds Stadium after seven seasons in Queensland.

"It's pretty obvious that if my best mate [Ablett] moved back to a club that I was now at, I'd be stoked," Smith said. "But to be honest, we don't talk about it. I don't want to bug him about it and I am not that type of person, too.

"I know that there are probably a ton of other people asking him that, so it is probably the last thing he wants to speak to me about.
The recently departed head of Australia Post, Ahmed Fahour, will take home pay of $10.8 million this year as more than $8.7 million in bonus payments bolsters his base pay of over $2 million.

This would rank him among the highest paid chief executives in the country when compared with the reported salaries of executives of our largest listed companies - and ahead of the likes of the heads of Telstra and BHP.

There is almost certain to be a public outcry about the largesse of the remuneration package.

But it has been defended by Australia Post chairman John Stanhope, who on Friday morning released the company's profit results showing revenue grew 3.7 per cent in the 2017 financial year and pre-tax profit increased from $41 million last year to $126 million.
Medibank Private's shares have shot up more than 7 per cent as the company revealed it has managed to stem some of its decline in customer numbers.

Australia's largest health insurer continued to shed market share during 2017, down 63 basis points, but the rate of decline was reduced as the company lowered the price on some insurance products and improved its handling of customer concerns.

Medibank Private has almost halved its share of customer complaints. Credit:Glenn Hunt

Chief executive Craig Drummond said the insurer's share of customer complaints filed with the Ombudsman almost halved, from 60.7 per cent for the quarter ending September 2016 to 35.6 per cent in the June 2017 quarter. Medibank was the most complained-about health insurer in Australia last year.

"Our focus on resolving customer complaints quickly is making a difference, and we expect our complaint numbers to continue to drop over the period," he said.
The Higher Ground restaurant has become a beacon for those wanting a sense of intimacy within what was once a power plant.

Overhauled by DesignOffice, it is the recipient of a swag of awards, including national and state awards for interior design from the Design Institute of Australia.

DesignOffice was behind the Higher Ground restaurant near Spencer and Little Bourke streets. Credit:Sean Fennessy

Those who recall the forecourt in front of the late 19th century building might now find it difficult to locate.

"Buried" behind a street cafe and below high-rise apartments, access to the Higher Ground restaurant/cafe/bar is from an entrance near Spencer and Little Bourke streets.
Dera Sacha Sauda has at least 15 Ashrams in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan.9 of them are in Sirsa alone.

By India Today Web Desk: As followers of the controversial godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh went on a rampage and destroyed properties across Haryana, Punjab and even in Delhi, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has ruled that all losses caused to property be recovered from Dera Sacha Sauda.

A Panchkula resident had filed a PIL raising law and order concerns after which the court ordered that "in case people indulge in causing loss to the properties, the process will be videographed and total loss will be recovered from the Dera.

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Meanwhile, Ram Niwas, additional chief secretary of the Haryana government, said the state government will compensate for the losses of media personnel and the properties of others.

Dera Sacha Sauda has at least 15 Ashrams in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. Sirsa, where the sect is based, alone has 9 Ashrams. There are three Ashrams in Rajashtan's Hanuman Garh besides Fatehabad, Mansa and Muktsar.

Hours after the court's decision that the Dera will pay for all losses, the sect removed this list of Ashrams from its website. IndiaToday.in accessed the site minutes before the list of Ashram was taken down by his followers.

Dera Sacha Sauda Amarpur Dham, Mehmad Pur Rohi, Fatehabad, Haryana

Dera Sacha Sauda Haridwar Dham, Rampur Thedi, Tehsil Rania, Sirsa, Haryana

Dera Sacha Sauda Nirbhaisar Dham, Chor Mar, Sirsa, Haryana

Dera Sacha Sauda Amarpur Dham, Mehmad Pur Rohi, Fatehabad, Haryana

Dera Sacha Sauda Satnampur Dham, Gadrana, Sirsa, Haryana

Shah Mastana Ji Dham, Sirsa, Haryana

Dera Sacha Sauda Anami Dham, Ghukanwali, Sirsa, Haryana

Punjab and Haryana High court had asserted that they did not want a repeat of situation similar to the one witnessed in February last year when violence during Jat reservation stir in Haryana claimed 30 lives and property worth hundreds of crores of rupees was damaged by arsonists.

Today's violence which broke out here was third major incident after last year's Jat agitation violence and November 2015 when there was a two-week tense standoff between some of the self-styled 'godman' Rampal's followers and the police in Hisar during which five women and a child had died.

Rampal had later been arrested after tense standoff between some his supporters and the police after close to 15,000 of his followers were evacuated from the sprawling premises.

Also read:

Ram Rahim verdict leads to violent clashes in Punjab, Haryana; 31 dead

Love Charger Baba Gurmeet Ram Rahim found guilty of rape, quantum of punishment on Monday

Rape, murder, castration: What Gurmeet Ram Rahim, enjoying Z+ security, is accused of

Who is Baba Ram Rahim Singh Insaan?: All from being a 'prophesied' child to being a rape accused

Journalist who exposed Gurmeet Ram Rahim rape case was shot dead outside his house

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WATCH VIDEO | Special CBI court in Panchkula finds Ram Rahim guilty of rape, sentences him to 7 years in jail

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Mathias Cormann's thunderous address at the Sydney Institute in the midst of a preposterous week of politics in a miserable month for the government was met with substantial joy in some Labor circles. On Wednesday night the Finance Minister, one of the government's grown-ups, went into full Cold War mode in an attack on Bill Shorten.

"As [Shorten] looks ahead to the next election, he has made the deliberate and cynical political judgment that enough Australians have forgotten the historical failure of socialism," Cormann said.

"The Berlin Wall came down 28 years ago, which means roughly 18 per cent of Australians enrolled to vote were born after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the failure of a system of government that destroyed the economies of eastern Europe.

"His rhetoric is the divisive language of haves and have-nots. It is socialist revisionism at its worst."
Sydney: Papua New Guinea has reportedly told the Australian government it will not be allowed to walk away from the asylum-seekers currently held in the Manus Island Detention Centre in October.

The country's newly-appointed Attorney-General Davis Steven told the ABC his government had not agreed to close the camps by the end of October.

That contradicts an agreement between the nations announced by Immigration Minister Peter Dutton in July.

"I am the chief legal advisor to government. I have not sighted a formal document that confirms that date has been mutually agreed," Mr Steven said on Friday.
An Australia Post mail centre in Canberra was evacuated in the early hours of Friday morning after two packages containing white powder, addressed to the Australian Christian Lobby, were discovered.

A spokesman for Australia Post confirmed to Fairfax Media that police HAZMAT units and the ACT Emergency Services Agency had conducted tests on two items received at the mail centre and that operations had now returned to normal.

"Australia Post takes the safety of all of our staff extremely seriously. Relevant authorities evacuated the Canberra Mail Centre early this morning following the detection of a suspicious mail item," the spokesman said.

ACT Police confirmed about 30 staff had been evacuated during the incident and that it had examined two packages addressed to the Christian Lobby.
A last-minute surge has seen a record number of Australians enrolled to vote ahead of the upcoming postal survey on same-sex marriage.

The Australian Electoral Commission on Friday released figures it described as "extraordinary" that show 90,000 new voters - mostly the young - had joined the roll since the survey was announced on August 8.

The development delighted same-sex marriage advocates but alarmed nervous Coalition MPs, who believe the enlarged youth vote will come back to bite them at the next election.

A further 675,000 people had updated their electoral details, and 165,000 transactions were yet to be processed as of Thursday night, the AEC said. In total, almost 1 million Australians had either enrolled for the first time or updated their details.
Pauline Hanson is a "hate preacher" seeking to divide the Australian community for her own political gain, Greens leader Richard Di Natale said, as debate over One Nation's proposed burqa ban continues to swirl.

Both senior Labor and government MPs have admitted to feeling "uncomfortable" with the garment, but have resisted calls to support a ban.

But Senator Di Natale, who along with his party colleagues have been some of Senator Hanson's biggest critics since her return to Parliament in the last election, said he did not see an issue.

"What is the problem here? We have a tiny fraction of our community who decide to wear a particular form of religious and cultural dress," he told Sky News.
A destroyed Russian tank in Tarin Kowt in 2013. Credit:Kate Geraghty Trump deliberately did not give numbers though US media reports consistently say the president has authorised about another 4000 American troops. Trump said he expected comparable commitments from other coalition countries. Australia will likely be asked to make a further contribution. But if a request comes, it is expected to be limited and not something that will overstretch the Australian Defence Force. Any return to combat is regarded as unlikely. US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson this week described the situation in Afghanistan as a "losing battle". Credit:AP What is Trump's plan?

Trump's approach has been broadly welcomed by analysts in the US and Australia, though most assessments say only that it is an improvement on the current state, in that it might yield a bearable outcome. The rationale for this modest optimism rests fairly heavily on the military component. Trump said that the US would use all of its power  diplomatic, economic and military  and his top diplomat Rex Tillerson followed that up with promises of "much more rigorous efforts" on combating corruption in Afghanistan. But those sentiments were secondary. As Secretary of State Tillerson himself summed it up: "This entire effort is intended to put pressure on the Taliban to have the Taliban understand: you will not win a battlefield victory. We may not win one, but neither will you." US soldiers on a military transport from Kyrgyzstan to Afghanistan in 2010. Credit:New York Times The immediate question is how the coalition will deny the Taliban this victory with a force that, even after troop increases, will be a fraction of the 130,000-strong foreign forces there in 2010. The government of President Ashraf Ghani now controls barely half the country by area; it generally holds major population centres whereas the insurgents' strength is in the rural areas. IS has set up in Afghanistan and al-Qaeda still has a presence. The chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Joseph Dunford, is preparing a military plan. Experts and insiders say the coalition increase will likely be a combination of special operations to kill or capture insurgent leaders and advise the Afghans, various so-called "enablers" such as intelligence, logistics and air medical evacuation, and more close air support from fighters, drones and helicopter gunships.

US Marines take a break during a patrol in Sangin, south of Kabul, Afghanistan, in 2011. Credit:AP Trump also indicated he would free up his commanders to make quick decisions with changed rules of engagement or ROEs. A former senior US official who has served as the chief of defence intelligence at the US Embassy in Canberra and worked closely with US National Security Adviser General H.R. McMaster in Afghanistan says this will be welcomed by the Pentagon. "Operations in the theatre have been ham-strung because the previous administration had stringent ROEs for different target sets," he says. "Now, be it [IS] or al-Qaeda or the Taliban or the Haqqani [militant network] the ROE will be the same. It makes command and control much simpler and much easier for the soldiers on the point." An Afghan women is rushed from the scene of a suicide car bomb in Kabul, in 2013. Credit:The New York Times What will Australia's role be?

There will also be more training of the Afghan forces, and that is where the ADF is most likely to see a boost in numbers. Any increase would be the result of a conversation with the US, rather than a straight request from Washington. There are other countries  namely those in NATO  Trump clearly had in mind when he called for more help, but Australia is also well regarded and therefore attractive to coalition planners. US Defence Secretary James Mattis and new White House Chief of Staff John Kelly  both former Marine generals  have long and close relationships with the Australian military. They won't ask for things they know the Turnbull government can't agree to. Chief of the Australian Defence Force Mark Binskin sent a strong signal that Australia is already pulling its weight in the broad fight against Islamist terrorism around the world. He tells Fairfax Media that the previously announced increase of 30 extra trainers, taking the Australian total to 300, was "entirely consistent with President Trump's call for the international community to deploy more troops to Afghanistan". He says it is important for Australia to remain in Afghanistan but added that "we do not consider Afghanistan in isolation" - suggesting Australia's efforts needed to be balanced against what it was doing elsewhere in the world. "Terrorism is a global issue and our counter-terrorism strategies are always considered in this context."

He says the ADF has 800 people fighting IS and was flying P-3 Orion spy planes in support of Philippines forces in Mindanao, where an IS-affiliated insurgency is poised to establish an enduring splinter "caliphate" that could become a base for South-east Asia. Can the Taliban be beaten? The model of training local forces while also advising them from relatively close to the front line and providing air strikes has worked well in Iraq. There may be some useful lessons from the fight against Islamic State  a point Tillerson made this week  but experts cautioned that while Iraq had relatively well-defined military goals of retaking cities such as Mosul, the Taliban rarely fights like a conventional military that would allow the coalition and Afghans to concentrate their forces and achieve major victories. "It's not just a little different, it's very different," says Michael Crane, a retired major-general who commanded Australian forces in the Middle East including Afghanistan in 2007 and again in 2013. "Afghanistan is a very difficult problem. You have remote mountain areas, border problems, corruption, no real sense of nation. And the Taliban is a very determined enemy." Crane envisions the US forces directly pursuing IS and al-Qaeda while leaving the Taliban largely to the Afghans, though with support. It will take a long time and will depend on considerable US patience.

Rodger Shanahan, a former Army officer now with the Lowy Institute, says "nation building" wouldn't exactly be abandoned as Trump had vowed, but it would not be based on values. That message  switching nation-building for "killing terrorists"  played well on Fox News. But it also was directed clearly at Taliban leaders, Shanahan says. "The strategic message to the Taliban is that there is no end state. And some of you guys can come on board. If you can guarantee us that people who are going to harm America don't have freedom of action in Afghanistan, you can implement your view of Afghan society to some degree. "It's the only way to get them to the negotiating table  raise the cost to them by military action and reduce the moral high ground on which you sat. Is it a morally good thing? Probably not. Does it mean you can perhaps set an achievable goal? It's more likely under this direction than previously." How realistic it is to negotiate with the Taliban is a matter of debate. William Maley, a leading Afghanistan expert at the Australian National University, branded any peace deal with the Taliban as "a pipe dream" because the group's extremism was fundamentally irreconcilable with any acceptable vision of Afghanistan. They have to be defeated, he says. Most Afghans hate the Taliban. People in a country of seemingly endless war back the side they think will win, and therefore decisive military victories underscoring resolve on the part of the coalition and the Afghan government could drive the Taliban into irrelevance.

Is it a 'losing battle'? Trump's other major pitch was that he would finally stop Pakistan allowing the Taliban to cross into sanctuaries in its territory to regroup. In fact the US has been trying to do this since 2001  it's just that Trump issued his threats very publicly. However cutting off military aid and removing Pakistan's status as a favoured non-NATO partner  much less bringing arch-rival India further into the equation as Trump threatened to do  could sever that relationship and create another enemy. And while nobody wants Afghanistan with its population of 33 million people to become a haven for terrorists, Pakistan is a country of more than 200 million people with its own Islamist forces and a nuclear arsenal. Pushing Pakistan away for the sake of Afghanistan doesn't make much sense, some insiders point out. The Pakistan part, if Trump follows through, is a high-stakes gamble, but some think it could pay off. "Washington is signalling to Pakistan there's a new administration in town and the commander-in-chief is half-crazy so when we make these kinds of threats, don't think it's empty rhetoric," Shanahan says.

Everyone Fairfax spoke to, both inside and outside the Australian government and officialdom, feel Trump's approach is an improvement on the present state of affairs. No one in authority in this country has been prepared to say what Tillerson said bluntly this week: that this has been a "losing battle". Chris May, who served two tours of Afghanistan, fractured his neck and suffered post-traumatic stress disorder when the Bushmaster armoured vehicle he was commanding hit a roadside bomb about 40 kilometres north of Tarin Kowt in 2011. Like many Australian veterans of Afghanistan, he feels the coalition drew down its forces too early. Trump's new approach isn't "so much a step forward as a step sideways", he says. Loading He talks about the progress they made while they were there: building girls' schools, trade centres, a water treatment plant, roads and bridges so that farmers could get their produce to Tarin Kowt  which had been a "thriving metropolis".
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has dressed down his predecessor Tony Abbott for missing a series of key parliamentary votes in 2009 because he was drunk and passed out on a couch.

After years of rumours, Mr Abbott has finally admitted he was asleep after a long night of drinking when several bills associated with the Rudd government's $42 billion stimulus package - its high-profile and contentious response to the global financial crisis - were voted on in the House of Representatives.

Mr Turnbull, who was opposition leader at the time of the 2009 votes, said he had been aware of Mr Abbott's booze-induced slumber and the opposition's parliamentary whips "tried to rouse him to get him down in the chamber to vote but they were unable to move him".

"It was a pretty important vote, too ... I was disappointed but you've got to move on with these things," Mr Turnbull told Melbourne radio station 3AW on Friday.
The actress, whose breakthrough role was in the 2011 thriller, , is the younger sister of twins Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen.

Olsen, 28, will make a brief visit to Australia this week to attend the opening of House of Dior: Seventy Years of Haute Couture at the gallery.

Actress Elizabeth Olsen has been revealed as the secret A-list guest who will walk the red carpet at the National Gallery of Victoria's inaugural Gala on Saturday.

Guess who's coming to dinner ... actress Elizabeth Olsen will be the star guest at the Dior gala in Melbourne on Saturday. Credit:Evan Agostini

She has since starred in the Avengers movie franchise and stars in Wind River, which is screening in Australia.

This week, Olsen told Modern Luxury magazine that the best advice her famous sisters, who appeared on the sitcom Full House as children and now have a luxury fashion line, The Row, was to stop oversharing in interviews.

"I was not caring what I was saying [in interviews] because I'd assumed no one would read it," Olsen said.

"They'd say, 'You know, even if you don't think anyone's going to read this article, someone might pull the quote later for [something else].' It's all part of how you hope someone interprets you, and how they frame who you are and the work you do," she said.
The down-and-out syndrome. It's what happens when bright young chefs working at the highest level decide to branch out on their own. They can't pay city rents, so they go down the fine-dining scale, and out a few suburbs. They think small rather than big, keep the focus tight and the overheads low  and it's the best news a city can get.

Emile Avramides from Melbourne's Cutler & Co and Maze is the latest to go down-and-out, opening Clove Lane, a rollicking neighbourhood corner restaurant along with co-chef Michael Tran from London's Hibiscus and The Bellevue. Former Vue de Monde head chef and mate Cory Campbell was also on hand in the early days helping pull the menu into shape.

Potatoes and green mustard. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

At night, the corner restaurant shines like a beacon on Clovelly Road. Walking in, I feel immediately restored by the warm hubbub, the French-accented waitstaff and the controlled madness of a Saturday night service, with diners tucked into all available spaces from the front to back and around the central bar. Even when things go wrong  and they do  it's a good place to be.

The menu is a tricky guessing-game list of dishes that appear to go from snacks to sides to mains, with price being the only clue. So two fat, grilled sardines with escabeche-y onions on thin crisp sourdough is a snack ($7) ... and a small but rich dinner-party dish of wine-braised beef cheek with velvety cauliflower puree ($18) is a starter? Go figure. Both are great, but it's Tattslotto night  you never quite know what's going to drop next.
Linton is a regular presence at Mnuchin's side, and not just at major events such as the inauguration, when she was still his fiancee, but also at hearings and commissioning ceremonies. She is always camera-ready. And she appears to have multiple Birkins and an affection for the work of designer Roland Mouret.

To be clear, Linton's Instagram post was not obnoxious because of the designer shout-outs. Those were ill-considered, but fashion folks do that all the time as they delight in some splendid new bauble. Everyone should be free to chirp with glee. And it's not as though anything she was wearing was startling or exceptional in the great scheme of fashion. (Sorry, Louise.) Indeed, those Valentino rock-stud strappy sandals have been around so long and had such commercial success that they are practically the iPhone of designer footwear.

Instead, it was Linton's impulse to lash out at JenniMiller29, who had all of 379 followers, with an extensive commentary about Linton and Mnuchin's financial contribution to the economy that set people's teeth on edge. "Have you given more to the economy than me and my husband? Either as an individual earner in taxes OR in self-sacrifice to your country? ... Pretty sure that the amount we sacrifice per year is a lot more than you'd be willing to sacrifice if the choice was yours," Linton wrote.

She made the sneering suggestion that a person's income is the best measure of their value and stature, which is to suggest that the millions of dollars Mnuchin made in banking and hedge-funding reflect his actual cultural and societal value rather than the nature of a capitalist economy - an economy that typically undervalues teachers, mothers, home health-care aides, day-care providers, etc. Linton implied that becoming treasury secretary for the world's largest economy was a breathtaking sacrifice in service to his country. (And I guess she took a blow for the nation by marrying one.) Surely it has its challenges, but part of sacrificing in the name of patriotism is not talking about how much you're sacrificing in the name of patriotism.

In a single Instagram post, Linton managed to tap into elitism, narcissism, self-righteousness, incivility, apathy and blonde privilege - all wrapped up in a designer package. Linton was so pleased with how chic she looked deplaning that she wanted to share that image on social media. The whole running-the-country thing was straight out of central casting. The couple looked the part. But even the best actors will tell you that beautiful costumes can't compensate for a lousy narrative.
Dera Sacha Sauda supporters went on a rampage in different parts of Haryana and Punjab including Sirsa and Panchkula after Ram Rahim was convicted in a rape case.

By India Today Web Desk: After controversial godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was declared guilty in a rape case, violent clashes broke out in several parts of Punjab and Haryana. So far at least 31 Dera supporters have lost their lives in clashes.

According to reports, 31 followers of the sect leader were killed in clashes and 100 injured with police in Panchkula.

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Dera Sacha Sauda supporters went on a rampage in different parts of Haryana and Punjab including Sirsa and Panchkula. Besides clashes with police, the cult's followers indulged in stone pelting, attacking mediapersons and damaging public properties despite heavy security arrangements being in place.

CASES OF VIOLENCE IN PUNJAB, HARYANA:

Delhi police has asked all SHOs, ACPs, DCPs and Joint CPs to patrol the area to prevent any further incidents.

1000 Dera Sacha Sauda supporters have been detained, says Haryana's ADGP (Law & Order) Muhammad Akil.

Section 144 was imposed in Noida in wake of Dera violence.

Two buses were set ablaze on Mandoli flyover in Delhi's Nand Nagri while one was torched near Babu Jagjivan Ram Memorial Hospital in Delhi.

Income Tax office in Punjab's Mansa set alight by Dera protesters.

Dera supporters tried to put powerhouse on fire in Jakhal area of Fatehabad in Haryana.

There were reports of at least 7 cases of violence in the national capital. Delhi Police said a bus was torched in northeast Delhi's Loni Chowk. There were no immediate reports of any injuries in the incident.

When an empty Rewa Express was stationed at Anand Vihar railway station in Delhi, Dera followers set two coaches on fire.

Curfew was imposed in Panchkula, Sirsa, Bhatinda, Ferozpur, Sirsa, Mansa.

Ram Rahim supporters set afire Moga, Malout and Balluanna railway stations in Punjab.

#WATCH Earlier visuals of #DeraSachaSauda followers attacking media vans after Panchkula's Spl CBI Court convicted #RamRahimSingh of rape. pic.twitter.com/CjaCO2cErS; ANI (@ANI) August 25, 2017

Dera protesters tried to torch a school in Rajpura area of Patiala in Punjab but police controlled the situation.

So far there have been 224 incidents of violence in Haryana. 64 instances of violence have been reported from Punjab.

Cases of arson and violence was reported in Dera area. SWAT team and RAF team have reached the spot.

In Punjab's Barnala, a telephone exchange was torched by Dera protesters in Chananwal village.

Dera supporters tried to torch Malot railway station in Muktsar in Punjab. Police has reached the spot.

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Media too face the brunt of violent attacks as media vans of Aaj Tak, India Today, NDTV, Times Now were attacked.

In Haryana's Sirsa, India Today's video journalist was left injured as their car was attacked.

A power house and Tehsil office was torched in Sanghrur, Punjab.

As a precautionary measure, the government sounded an alert in all adjoining districts of Uttar Pradesh to ensure that the violence doesn't spill over to the state.

Helicopters are being used to keep a watch on the situation in Panchkula.

Police used tear gas shells to disperse Dera protesters in Panchkula.

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh sent out a message asking all Punjabis to maintain peace and harmony in the state. He said he won't allow anyone to disturb peace and tranquility.

I appeal to all Punjabis to maintain peace and harmony in the state. We won't allow anyone to disturb the peace & tranquility of our state. pic.twitter.com/YlUeJH1mZk; Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) August 25, 2017

Curfew was imposed in Punjab's Bathinda after reports of violence.

Incidents of stone-pelting was reported at several places near the Dera ashram. Police resorted to lathicharge to disperse the crowd.

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Also read:

Love Charger Baba Gurmeet Ram Rahim found guilty of rape, quantum of punishment on Monday

Rape, murder, castration: What Gurmeet Ram Rahim, enjoying Z+ security, is accused of

Who is Baba Ram Rahim Singh Insaan?: All from being a 'prophesied' child to being a rape accused

Journalist who exposed Gurmeet Ram Rahim rape case was shot dead outside his house

Baba Ram Rahim rape case verdict: Dera chief heads for Panchkula court in 700-car convoy

WATCH VIDEO | Special CBI court in Panchkula finds Ram Rahim guilty of rape, sentences him to 7 years in jail

--- ENDS ---
After more than six months at sea and a record circumnavigation of Antarctica, sailor Lisa Blair will sail through Sydney heads victorious.

Ms Blair set off in her yacht Climate Action Now on January 22 determined to become the first woman to sail solo, non-stop and unassisted around Antarctica.

"I am so proud of my achievement': Lisa Blair.

But, after 72 days at sea, the mast snapped in rough seas and Ms Blair was forced to motored to a South African port for repairs.

It took two months to repair the vessel but, once she did, she sailed back out and restarted the clock.
Faye Leveson has described the pain and anguish inflicted on her family in a moving victim's impact statement to the inquest into the death of her son, Matthew.

Mark and Faye Leveson hold photos of the skeletal remains of their son Matthew Leveson after giving their impact statement at the Coroner's Court on Friday. Credit:Kate Geraghty

"There are times I don't want to go on any more," Mrs Leveson told the NSW Coroner's Court.

"I just want to close my eyes and never wake up."
However, a report prepared by concerned residents says Owens' portrayal of the response at the Richmond Tweed HQ "reads more like a TV comedy script from Yes Minister or Utopia than a high-quality emergency management team".The locals who wrote the report, including a former mayor, the SES officer in charge in the 1974 flood and an engineer who helped build the levee, tore shreds off the SES for sidelining the Lismore City SES in critical decision-making. The citizens' report contained a vignette that highlighted the bureaucratic madness that took hold as water edged up the levee: About midnight three trucks belonging to a South Lismore haulage company that had been donated to help clear stock and equipment from the CBD throughout Thursday were ordered by a policeman to get off a bridge or face a fine, so they drove into the CBD where a barrier prevented their escape. The drivers parked the vehicles and walked away. "Presumably, the policeman drove from the bridge to safety that way. All that was required was for the barrier to be moved aside whilst the trucks moved through and replaced again," the Citizens' Report said. "But as the water rose the parked fully loaded trucks all went under at a cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars to the company despite the road to higher ground being clear." The NSW government estimates at least 68 per cent of businesses in the Lismore CBD suffered damage and the estimated combined total damage to infrastructure and agriculture was just under $40 million. About 16 per cent of the CBD businesses have not reopened, and a combination of uninsured stock losses, damage to building interiors and equipment, plus lost business has cost individuals from $40,000 to as much as $450,000 in one instance.

An empty shop in Lismore is one of many left vacant after the floods. Credit:Janie Barrett The federal and NSW governments continue to dribble money into Lismore  a $2.1 million fund to help fund mental health support services and community engagement initiatives was announced by federal Minister for Justice Michael Keenan and NSW Minister for Emergency Services Troy Grant this week  but insurance companies have largely walked away from the town. Only 2 per cent of CBD businesses had flood insurance and the battle over stormwater versus floodwater continues with at least 20 businesses appealing objections. Further, businesses had difficulties dealing with assessors, and approvals and payouts were glacial. Lismore mayor Isaac Smith is worried about how long it will take for the city to get back on its feet. He also fears what the long-term and largely unseen psychological effects of living in the shadow of such a big natural catastrophe will have on people's welfare. "Research shows that these social costs can be two to five times the financial cost of disasters and last for decades," he says.

"Council surveyed businesses in June and found 76 vacant shops out of 481 CBD businesses. We estimated 90 per cent of the closed shops will reopen eventually, but right now the number of empty premises in the city centre is unprecedented and it is impacting on our our ability to recover economically." 'We were were ejected under threat of police intervention' Wilsons River: There have been 27 major floods in Lismore since 1870. Credit:Janie Barrett For Lismore, it was a new kind of flood. Previously, when the Wilsons River was "running a banker", water would seep into town and the residents, having had generations of practice, knew how to cope: They carried stock and equipment upstairs or hauled it home.

But when the levee was overtopped, water mixed with mud, diesel and gunk rushed into town and took a couple of hours to inundate the CBD. According to residents, someone at SES HQ ordered the first evacuation on Facebook at 11.21pm on March 29  before heavy rain fell and 28 hours before the levee overtopped. The following afternoon, at 3.53 pm, the Bureau of Meteorology issued a major flood warning. Seven minutes later the SES issued another evacuation order. Then at 4.14pm mayor Smith took to his Facebook page and assured all the that levee would not be overtopped: "Major Flooding in Lismore TONIGHT! Possibly 11m during the night which will not go over the levy(sic), but will flood a lot of places around town. Stay safe!' At 5.38 pm SES HQ in Wollongong sent a text message to Lismore residents: "SES FLOOD EVACUATION ORDER. People in low lying parts of North, South & CBD of Lismore must evacuate immediately". The SES issued a second evacuation order at either 10.30 or 11.30pm (SES reports differ) and with police and SES personnel clearing the CBD, sirens wailed through the night as the town waited for the water.

Lismore mayor Isaac Smith. Credit:Janie Barrett History protected some businesses. Kelly McLean, with her husband Todd, owns the Mecca Cafe in Magellan Street. It's been a Lismore staple since 1928 and, when the Gray family moved the business to the present site in 1932, they made it somewhat flood proof; the art deco booths can be dismantled. To save unique, huge hand-coloured photographs of Lismore  including SS Wyrallah berthed at Lismore and an early FX Holden driving along a dirt road  the Grays built a false wall that the hinged pictures could be swung up into, safe and dry. "We got a lot of stuff upstairs," McLean says. "Of course, the heavy kitchen stuff was floating around but we were selling coffee five days after the flood." Kelly McLean was able to raise the historic photos in Mecca Cafe so they were above flood level. Credit:Janie Barrett

But wood scientist Graeme Palmer and DPI technician Janice Palmer were denied such preparations. They took over the family china, jewellery and giftware business, Shoppe One 17 in Keen Street, six weeks before the flood hit and want to know "who the bloody fool" was who ordered the evacuation too early. "We started packing at 9am on Thursday, March 30," Graeme Palmer says. "We followed our plan until 6pm when the first SES officers entered and warned the evacuation was likely to occur within two hours  a full six hours before our prediction of a nine-metres flood peak, based on river rate rises. At 8pm were were ejected under threat of police intervention to force our evacuation. "We told the workers and family to leave but my wife and I stayed as we feared looting ... we were exhausted till about 1.30am and managed to move a great deal of stock upstairs but not the fixtures or carpets. Graeme and Janice Palmer in their homewares shop in Lismore. Credit:Janie Barrett "At 7.30am the first water appeared in the gutter in front of our shop ... and we left for higher ground without getting our feet wet; that was 13 hours after the evacuation order.

"We returned by boat on April Fool's Day ... we estimate losses close to $100,000, modest if compared to some of our near neighbours." Just down Keen Street, jeweller Jackie Ribbons was uninsured. She lost everything when water inundated her Lismore Rock Shop. It was pouring rain about lunchtime on Thursday and, watching water pour through the ceiling, Ribbons feared customers would slip so she closed shop about 1pm and headed home to her farm. Late in the afternoon she saw mayor Smith's Facebook post saying the flood would not top the levee so she tried to get back into the CBD to save her gear and stock but was turned back by police. An SES volunteer herself, even that was not enough to get her into town. The next time she saw her shop it looked like an abandoned, empty swimming pool. Her Lismore life is destroyed. She cries when she smells the mud on her instruments. She spent three months waiting for government money to come through and survived thanks to her retired father. "I'm going to have to sell up and leave. I can't start again. I've got nothing left," she says. "All my gear and equipment destroyed  I can't work. When I tried to get government help they wanted business records from the previous three months. They no longer exist  the computer drowned."

Jeweller Jackie Ribbons lost everything when water inundated her shop. Credit:Janie Barrett Mark Evans' Affordable Wholefoods was one of the few CBD businesses with flood insurance. "But it's not cheap," he says. "Thirty thousand a year's a lot of money, but this time it was worth it  we lost about $350,000 in stock and equipment last March. We reopened for business on May 22." Evans says police were threatening to arrest CBD business owners who refused to follow orders to evacuate and a lot of equipment was needlessly lost due to the wholesale panic that set in. Days later when he returned and the water subsided, the heat caused many millions of wholefood seeds to start sprouting and the shop looked like a seed-soaked bomb site. Now five months later and despite fresh paint and new display units and equipment, the flood lingers; dehumidifiers hum 24/7 sucking the moisture out of the air. Mark Evans, of Affordable Wholefoods in Lismore, was fully insured. Credit:Janie Barrett

"It's the bricks," Evans says. "Locally made, the walls absorbed the water as it crept up to three metres deep and the bricks all contain about a litre of water, which is still leaking out into the atmosphere." Another survivor was 90-year-old Angela Nutt, who opened Angelica's Boutique in Molesworth Street in 1967 and has seen a Lismore flood or two. "I just looked at the rain on the Wednesday morning  it had been pouring hard for a second day and said 'Right, that's it'. Rang the family and they came and we started taking all the stock home," she says. "I was closed Thursday, cleaned the mud out the following week and got all the stock back the following Wednesday and was opened for business while they were still cleaning up the mess outside. Thought we might get a bit of business from the gawkers." Angelica Nutt opened Angelica's Boutique in 1967 and has seen a Lismore flood or two. Credit:Janie Barrett Some 12 reviews into the March catastrophe have been initiated. With the exception of the Lismore City Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Lismore Citizens' Review of the March 2017 Flood, the rest are being carried out by universities, government departments or government-funded agencies.
A surfer is in a critical condition after being rescued from the water on the Gold Coast.

The man, aged in his 60s, was taken to Gold Coast University Hospital after being found unconscious in the water at Snapper Rocks, a Queensland Ambulance Service spokeswoman said.

Acting operations supervisor Sean Breeden said life guards pulled the man out of the water and started performing CPR straight away before ambulance crews arrived.

"(The) first crew of critical care paramedics were backed up by high acuity response team, they were able to achieve a heartbeat so the male was rushed to Gold Coast University Hospital," he said.
The family of a young man who died after being hit by a punch thrown outside a bar hopes the killer will be jailed for at least a decade, in keeping with penalties set under Victoria's one-punch laws.

Jaiden Walker, 22, died in hospital in May after being struck days earlier by Richard Vincec outside the Cherry Bar in Melbourne's CBD, when he leaned across a woman and threw a single fatal punch.

Vincec, 26, pleaded guilty this week to manslaughter and fronted the Supreme Court briefly on Friday. He is due to return to court for a pre-sentence hearing in October.

Mr Walker's father, Jon, said he and his family hoped prosecutors would seek a 10-year minimum jail term for Vincec.
Christopher Lavery says he was watching a Rambo film when his mate was murdered  found later with a knife in his neck and his body and Jeep torched.

But a Melbourne jury on Friday decided that instead of sitting in a cinema, it was Lavery himself who killed James Russouw and robbed him of cash to help pay off a $19,000 gambling debt.

A jury has found Christopher Lavery guilty of killing his friend James Russouw.

After deliberating for four days, the jury rejected Lavery's claims he was watching a Rambo film at the time Mr Russouw was killed in 2008.

The pair had a history of selling cannabis up until Mr Russouw was found dead in his burning car at Burwood East Reserve.
Victorian schools have been put on standby to help students distressed by "hurtful campaign material" ahead of the postal vote on same-sex marriage.

In a surprise move, Education Minister James Merlino wrote to every state primary and secondary school on Friday, requesting that they prepare to connect upset students to welfare staff and school nurses.

The postal survey allows a privileged majority to cast a verdict on people's lives. Credit:AAP

He also directed them to the controversial Safe Schools Program, Bully Stoppers and headspace.

"Sadly, there have already been reports of children and LGBTI families being targeted in hurtful campaign materials regarding marriage equality," Mr Merlino said.
Confused customers browsed mostly empty aisles, where goods had been replaced with signs reading, "This shelf is pretty boring without diversity", "This is how empty a shelf is without foreigners" and "We will be poorer without diversity".

Visitors take part in an interactive emoji display inside the Christian Democratic Union walk-in election manifesto, inside a former department store in Berlin, Germany. Credit:Bloomberg

The Edeka, in Hamburg, removed all foreign-made products from its shelves to illustrate how reliant Germany is on people from around the world.

"In our stores, we sell numerous foods which are produced in the various regions of Germany," a spokeswoman for Edeka told The Independent. "But only together with products from other countries, it is possible to create the unique variety that our consumers value."

Angela Merkel pictures adorn CDU election campaign literature ahead of the September 24 poll. Credit:Bloomberg

The effort drew praise from the vice chair of the Christian Democratic Union, Chancellor Angela Merkel's party, who praised it on social media as a "wise action".

A customer, Sven Schmidt, shared images of the store on social media. He told the newspaper that he liked the campaign.

"Looking at all the mentions of hate and lack of understanding of other people I got, I'm happy that I posted it and showed my two cents against the racists, even though I know it was mainly about diversity," he said.
RSS-affiliated legal rights body has shot a letter to none other than the religious leader of worldwide Catholic Church about the alleged cases of religious discrimination, domination and rape of women by the Christian missionaries in the North East.

By Siddhartha Rai: The right-wing is moving, not just on well-known points of confrontation with religious opponents such as the Left in Kerala or tenets pertaining to uniform civil code. The battle now is on in far-flung regions of the North East that are generally forgotten when talking about India.

Over the alleged cases of religious discrimination, domination and rape of women by the Christian missionaries in the North East, especially in the hill state of Meghalaya, an RSS-affiliated legal rights body has shot a letter to none other than the religious leader of worldwide Catholic Church, Pope Francis in the Vatican. The right-wing legal body has threatened that if the pope failed to condemn the acts of his community members in India, it would sue the Indian leadership of the Church in a court of law.

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Mail Today has accessed the last letter written to the pope via the Ambassador of the Holy See over religious discrimination practiced by Christian bodies in Meghalaya against the indigenous faiths that have refused to bend their knee. Another letter over cases of rapes, including those of minors in which the accused have been Catholic office bearers, is in preparation and would be shot to the pope in day or two.

The Holy See, also referred to as the See of Rome, is the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, and an independent sovereign entity. It serves as the central point of reference for the Catholic Church everywhere. As an independent sovereign entity, holding the Vatican City enclave in Rome as sovereign territory, it maintains diplomatic relations with other states.

WHAT DOES THE LETTER SAY

The letter addressed to the pope refers to the incident in which the priest of local faith 'Niam Khasi', Bah Kulam Nongrum, was not allowed to be cremated at the traditional crematorium in the Mylliem village in Meghalaya's Khasi hills. Violent protests were orchestrated, claimed Legal Rights Observatory run by former RSS pracharak in Megahalaya Vinay Joshi, who forced the cremation venue to be changed.

The letter said: "With this letter Legal Rights Observatory demands immediate apology from Catholic Head His Holiness Pope or serious condemnation from Pope for violent undemocratic behaviour of Catholics in Meghalaya and their bullying tactics vis-a-vis indigenous people of Mehgalaya. If His Holiness Pope, as the head of Catholic community worldwide, fails to do so, LRO reserves the rights to sue Indian Catholic leadership for inherent animosity, cultured arrogance and nurtured hatred towards indigenous faiths of India in an appropriate legal authority of our convenience to expose and punish those guilty in your community."

"We are in the process of drafting another letter in which we will be bringing to the notice of the pope such cases of rape and sexual assault aimed at intimidation which have been happening in the state and the neighbouring areas, and in which the members and office bearers of the Catholic Church have been accused.

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We demand action from the highest religious authority. The state has Christian majority and the police and administration have so far desisted from taking action against Church members who have been accused or found complicit in such acts of criminal nature as rape," Joshi told Mail Today.

Also read

Sikkim woman abducted, gangraped in moving car in Gurgaon, thrown on road in Delhi's Najafgarh

Rape highest reported crime in matrilineal Meghalaya

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The US Defense Department, the State Department, the US Agency for International Development and other agencies have spent $US714 billion ($904 billion) of war and reconstruction funding since the invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001 to bolster education programs, improve infrastructure and increase the competency of Afghan security forces.

Yet America's longest war has become a symbol for wartime graft and corruption in one of the world's least governable countries.

John Sopko, the Special Inspector-General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, or SIGAR, has led the effort in recent years to uncover wasteful spending. Here are some of most notable examples that he and others have found:

$US6 million: Cashmere goats
Seoul: With photographs obliquely showing a new rocket design, North Korea has sent a message that it is working on an intercontinental ballistic missile more powerful than any it has previously tested, weapons experts said on Thursday.

If developed, such a missile could possibly reach any place on the US mainland, including Washington and New York, they said.

North Korea's state media published photographs late on Wednesday of leader Kim Jong Un standing next to a diagram of a three-stage rocket it called the Hwasong-13.

Missile experts, who scrutinise such pictures for clues about North Korea's weapons programmes, said there is no indication the rocket has been fully developed. In any case, it had not been flight tested and it was impossible to calculate its potential range.
Jerusalem: A US delegation led by White House senior advisor Jared Kushner had a "productive" meeting with the Palestinian Authority on how to begin Middle East peace talks, the State Department said on Friday, though some Palestinian officials expressed frustration that the US still has not committed to a two-state solution.

Both sides agreed to continue with the US-led conversations as the best way to reach a peace deal, the State Department statement said.

US President Donald Trump with his son-in-law and advisor, Jared Kushner, who has been charged with striking peace in the Middle East. Credit:AP

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas also struck a positive note in public comments a day earlier after meeting Mr Kushner, Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt, and deputy national security adviser, Dina Powell, in Ramallah.

"We know that this delegation is working for peace, and we are working with it to achieve what President [Donald] Trump has called a peace deal," Mr Abbas said at the beginning of the meeting, according to the Palestinian Authority's website Wafa.
Bangkok: The top law office in the Philippines has claimed the execution of a high school student that sparked a public outcry across the country was an "isolated case" and "collateral damage" was inevitable in President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs.

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre made the comments at a Senate inquiry which heard forensic evidence that 17-year-old Kian Loyd delos Santos was slumped on the ground when three bullets were fired into his head in Caloocan City, in Manila last week.

Police had claimed the killing was done in self-defence.
San Francisco: Police in San Francisco were on Friday preparing for a weekend of protests, including a rally by an Oregon-based group that local leaders labelled "white supremacist" as the city's mayor urged residents to boycott the event.

The demonstrations planned for Friday, Saturday and Sunday across the Bay Area raised concern among San Francisco police and elected officials two weeks after right-wing activists, including neo-Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan, fought with anti-racism protesters in the streets of Charlottesville, Virginia.

A woman, 32-year-old Heather Heyer, was killed at the 'Unite the Right' rally when a man thought to have neo-Nazi sympathies drove his car into a crowd of counter-protesters. Nineteen other people were injured.

President Donald Trump has come under heavy criticism for his response to the Charlottesville protests.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and his British counterpart Theresa May visit Borough Market in London after the attack there, which killed two Australians. Credit:Andrew Meares Caliphate crumbling Two trends spell out why: one is our record levels of travel and the other is Islamic State's shifting focus on tourists as soft targets as the military coalition against it makes progress in Iraq and Syria. Last Sunday, Iraqi forces began their final assault on Tal Afar on the remaining IS presence in Iraq. The coalition-backed Syrian Defence Forces have been fighting for three months in Raqqa, which three years ago was a magnet for foreign fighters, including Australians Neil Prakash, Mohamed Elomar and Khaled Sharrouf. Belgian special forces soldiers sit on a rooftop with a guided-missile launcher, a few kilometres east of Tal Afar, Iraq, earlier this month. Credit:AP

"Our partners have momentum," Major-General Rupert Jones, the spokesperson for the coalition, said this week. "Raqqa almost had a mythical air to it. It doesn't feel so mythical right now  it's 55-60 per cent cleared." Hastily placed barriers to prevent vehicles from entering greet tourists at the Vittorio Emanuele gallery in Milan. Credit:AP "We're there to liberate towns and cities from [IS] ... to make sure that that organisation cannot direct and formally export terror into the West," General Jones said. "If you're a fighter in Raqqa right now, do you think they're plotting to attack Birmingham or Brussels? I'd wager not." But it is this very progress that is behind the increasing tempo of crude car ramming and stabbing attacks, often "inspired" by rather than orchestrated by IS.

A Belgian Army soldier stands outside Brussels Central Station. While the risk of being caught in a terror attack remains low, the perception of the public - and tourists - is another matter. Credit:AP "They know that the era of the physical caliphate is over but that doesn't mean that [IS] is over or that its ideology is over and defeated," said Julie Lenarz, an expert with two independent think tanks, the Washington-based Israel Project and the London-based Human Security Centre. "[IS] has been very explicit in recent months saying 'no longer come to the caliphate, stay put, stay in your home countries and try to carry out attacks there', and this is what we're seeing playing out on our streets at the moment." Stone blocks placed near Cologne cathedral to prevent attacks on tourists in the square. Credit:AP Ms Lenarz says even though the caliphate is crumbling, the ideology is "still kicking and alive" and can't be destroyed with "bombs, drones and ground troops".

"This is why we're seeing [IS] moving into different kind of threat, kind of al-Qaeda on steroids but quicker, faster, more lethal than ever before," she said. A woman writes a message on the ground at a tribute to those killed and wounded in the Barcelona atrocity. Credit:AP "They have learned from al-Qaeda's experience and other groups' experience in the sense that they understand you don't necessarily have to kill thousands of people at one time to cause chaos and destruction but that you can kill dozens of people at one time but do this steadily all the time. "This is going to stay with us for quite a while," she warned. Globetrotting Australians

Australians have long known they are targets for terrorists. Eighty-eight Australians were among the 202 people killed in Jemaah Islamiyah's Kuta nightclub bombings in 2002. But those attacks and the subsequent bombings at Bali in 2005 and in Jakarta in 2009 have not stopped Australians from travelling abroad in record numbers. Last year the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) recorded nearly 10 million short-term trips taken by Australians. Just five years ago that figure was 8 million. At the start of the century the number of Australians holding a passport was a mere 38 per cent, but that figure has soared to 56 per cent, with DFAT confirming that as of June 30, 2017, there were 13,864,033 passports on issue. By comparison, just 40 per cent of the US population has a passport, according to the State Department. Demographer Bernard Salt says Australia's prosperity, driven by the mining boom, combined with a desire to throw off its colonial past for a more urbane and sophisticated image is behind the country's burgeoning globetrotter status. "There's a lot of wealth, property wealth, washing over Australia so we convert that into lifestyle," he said. "We like to Instagram it, it makes us feel good about ourselves and we don't feel so cut off."

A final factor was the growth in baby boomers taking some "me time". "You now have close to five million baby boomers who are in the reward phase. They've worked for 35 to 40 years as a teacher or a nurse and they've made sacrifices, paid their mortgages and they're saying 'it's my time now'," he said. "They're aware they've got the means and a narrow time to travel." But choosing where to travel can feel like a gamble. As news of the attack washed over Barcelona, British tourist Frank Manning watched an American woman holding her baby scream out to no one in particular: "I didn't go to England because I wanted to stay away from terrorism, and now this!" The evidence is not just anecdotal. The latest data from Britain's Office of National Statistics show British tourists shunning France and favouring Spain in record numbers. Tim Jenkins from ETOA, a body representing hundreds of tourism operators across Europe, says terrorism does affect tourism but less than it did 30 years ago.

"Back in 1986 ... there was a haemorrhage of demand from North America to Europe, due to really a couple of incidents in the eastern Mediterranean, and operators saw declines of up to 50 per cent. We see nothing like that now, the impacts of these events become smaller and smaller." Whether or not travel to Europe declines as a result of the increasing attacks will be seen in the next few years of statistics. The Bali bombings have not dented Australia's love for cheap holidays in Indonesia. Travel to the country has boomed by 20 per cent per year over the last decade, compared to just four per cent growth in trips to New Zealand. That growth saw Indonesia displace the United States for second spot in the top 10 countries Australians travel to, with fourth spot going to Britain, where terrorism has claimed 35 lives this year. Julie Lenarz says it's important to keep the risk of being caught in terror attacks, which receive disproportionate media coverage, in perspective. "It's the era that we live in that we have to live with, the threat that if we are travelling to Paris or London or Washington and visiting these iconic places that we are at greater risk, but on the other hand we always have to put into perspective.
London: British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson says Donald Trump got his response to Charlottesville "totally wrong" and has all but confirmed the US President's state visit to Britain will no longer go ahead this year.

Prime Minister Theresa May issued the invitation when she became the first leader to visit Mr Trump in Washington seven days after his inauguration.

At the time, she was sharply criticised by her political opponents and some Tory MPs for appearing too chummy with Mr Trump.

Before the UK election, Downing Street had insisted the visit would take place in 2017, but it never confirmed a date.
Sanaa: Yemeni eyewitnesses say Saudi-led airstrikes have hit at least three houses in the capital, Sanaa, killing at least 14 civilians, including women and children.

They say the attack took please overnight and into the morning hours on Friday in the city's southern neighbourhood of Fag Attan. The death toll is expected to rise further as rescuers pull more victims from under the rubble.

Friday's air strikes followed similar strikes on a hotel in Arhab on Wednesday, which killed dozens of people. Credit:AP

Earlier this week, coalition fighter jets struck a hotel in Arhab, north of Sanaa, killing at least 41 people.

The Saudi-led coalition is waging an air campaign against Yemen's Shiite rebels and forces loyal to former president, Ali Abdullah Saleh.
The arrest of Ms Yingluck, 50, would stoke anger among her Red Shirt supporters who see the charges against her as a witch-hunt. Police officers deploy outside the Thai Supreme Court ahead of ascheduled verdict on charges accusing former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra of negligence in implementing a rice subsidy. Credit:AP Thousands of supporters defied a government ban on gatherings of more than five people and threats of legal action to converge on the court. Many were from her rural heartland in the country's north and north-eastern provinces. "Yingluck, fight, fight fight," many shouted. Thai police ride past supporters of former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra sleeping outside the Supreme Court ahead of Friday's scheduled verdict. Credit:AP

Ms Yingluck had told her supporters on the eve of the hearing to stay home, fearing people with "ill-intentions" might and try and cause trouble for her movement. "I want all of you to give me support by staying at home and monitoring the news to avoid any risk of unexpected incident by people with ill-intention against the country and us," she wrote on Facebook. A supporter of of Yingluck Shinawatra waves outside the court on Friday morning. Credit:AP The military government put its credibility on the line by pursuing the first charges against a former prime minister over a flawed government policy. The generals who toppled Ms Yingluck's democratically-elected government in 2014 knew they risked her becoming a heroine in the eyes of millions of Thais if she was found guilty and jailed.

Yingluck Shinawatra thanks supporters as she arrives at the Supreme Court for her final statements on August 1. She didn't attend the hearing on Friday. Credit:AP No corruption allegations were made against her in the case. Prosecutors alleged Ms Yingluck's government ignored numerous written warnings from the Auditor-General and the country's anti-corruption commission about the program's risks and irregularities. A police officer frisks a supporter of of Yingluck Shinawatra outside court on Friday morning. Credit:AP Ms Yingluck told the court she did not terminate the program because it was never intended to generate revenue but to raise the incomes of farmers, and she forwarded the warnings to the relevant government agencies.

A subsequent investigation found no irregularities, she said. Even before Friday's scheduled verdict authorities had hit Ms Yungluck with a $US1 billion ($1.2 billion) fine over the program and seized her 16 bank accounts, which prompted a public outcry. Other former governments have implemented similar subsidy schemes but the one Ms Yingluck promised during an election campaign in 2011 spectacularly collapsed with losses to the state of up to $17 billion. The plan was to buy up local rice harvests for as much as 50 per cent above market rates to drive up global prices. But the market saw it as a clumsy attempt at price manipulation. Thailand amassed huge rotting stockpiles of rice rather than sell at a loss overseas.

The case is the latest in a decade-long offensive against a largely rural-based mass movement supporting a political machine founded and directed by Ms Yingluck's elder brother, former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was toppled in a 2006 military coup. Mr Thaksin, a telecommunications tycoon, fled into exile in 2008 to escape a prison sentence on a conflict of interest charge he claims was politically motivated. Critics had predicted that Ms Yingluck too would flee overseas before Friday but she appeared calm in the days leading to the verdict, making merit at Buddhist temples. Reporters camped outside her residence in Bangkok said she had not been seen since Wednesday. The online news site Khaosod English quoted a source close to Ms Yingluck saying she had left the country for Singapore on Thursday. It said she travelled overland to Cambodia with her 15-year-old son and then few to Dubai, the base of her elder exiled brother Thaksin Shinawatra. The claims could not be verified. Thitinan Pongsudhirak, director of the Institute of Security and International Studies at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University, said it was clear enough that politics was involved in the trial.

"I mean, this is a government that was elected in 2011 by a simple majority and it had a policy platform led by the rice pledging scheme," he said. "The scheme led to losses probably, but on the other hand, if we use this benchmark for other governments, then we could have a lot of government leaders in jail." Professor Thitinan said the only way for Thailand to break a vicious cycle of coups, changing constitutions and elections is for retooled charter rules and laws to be determined by electors. "Otherwise the recent past of protests, confrontation and turmoil will return to haunt and keep Thailand stuck," he said. The Bangkok Post said in an editorial the case reveals how Thailand's justice system is prone to be dragged into political turmoil.

"The case against Ms Yingluck, prosecuted under the ruling regime which ousted her, is highly political," the newspaper said. Since the 2014 coup, Thailand has become one of south-east Asia's most repressive countries with political gatherings banned, strict censorship of the media and hundreds of activists, journalists, academics and former politicians detained or charged. Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, who led the coup, urged Thais to accept the court's ruling. "Please keep this like any other. Generally those who are guilty must be tried in courts," he told reporters. Mr Prayuth has promised to allow a return to democracy but has repeatedly delayed setting a date.
Prime Minister Mike Eman confirmed that Croes will remain a Minister of his cabinet.

ARUBA:--- Aruban Minister Paul Croes will remain in pretrial detention for the next eight days. Ann Angela from the Prosecutor's Office in Aruba has confirmed that Croes pretrial detention has been extened.

Despite the corruption, allegation levied against the sitting Minister that has no portfolio Prime Minister of Aruba Mike Eman confirmed to reporters in Aruba that Croes will remain a Minister in his cabinet despite his arrest and ongoing investigation. Eman told reporters he sees no reason for Croes to resign at this time.

After a lengthy investigation conducted by the Landsreachere. RST and KPA Croes and several members of his staff were arrested for alleged corruption with labor permits.
Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was Friday late night moved to a makeshift prison cell inside Rohtak's Sunariya Jail after spending a few hours at an air-conditioned police guesthouse next to the prison complex.

By India Today Web Desk: Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, chief of the Dera Sacha Sauda sect, was today convicted by a special Central Bureau of Investigation court in a 15-year-old rape case.

The self-styled godman, who is awaiting sentencing, will spend the next few days inside a special cell at Rhotak, Haryana's Sunariya Jail. Ram Rahim was moved to the special jail cell late Friday night after initially being lodged in an air-conditioned police guesthouse adjacent to the prison complex.

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Ram Rahim, who was held guilty of raping and sexually exploiting two female followers, will likely spend the weekend in the special cell until Monday, when the Dera chief is expected to be handed the quantum of his punishment.

After being convicted by CBI judge Jagdeep Singh, the 50-year-old was taken to Rohtak by helicopter as violence erupted in Panchkula, where the special CBI court is located.

Ram Rahim was initially meant to be taken to a jail in Haryana's Ambala, but the plan was junked by officials over fears that the situation there might become unmanageable. Officials had been informed that a large number of Dera followers had begun moving towards Ambala and this, along with the fact that Ambala is close to Punjab, led to Gurmeet Singh being ultimately taken to Rohtak.

There, Singh was first taken to a guesthouse is located inside the Police Training College next to Sunariya Jail. Three jail superintendents and one police officer of the rank of inspector general were specially deputed to oversee Ram Rahim's movements.

It was only later in the night that the Dera chief was moved to a special makeshift prison cell inside the Sunariya Jail. He will likely remain there until Monday, when he might be taken back to Panchkula for his sentencing hearing.

Following Friday's conviction announcement, Dera Sacha Sauda followers ran amok, burning vehicles, railway stations and other public and private buildings as an unprecedented security lockdown failed to prevent violence from engulfing parts of Punjab and Haryana.

At least 30 people, most of them in Panchkula, died after security forces opened fire to control ramping mobs in Haryana. The Indian Army was called out in Panchkula and Sirsa, where the Dera Sacha Sauda headquarters are located.

The situation seemed to have relatively calmed down by Friday nightfall with sources telling India Today that they are cautiously optimistic that the situation would be normalised by Saturday morning.

ALSO READ | Haryana Chief Minister ML Khattar under pressure after Dera rampage; admits lapses

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ALSO READ | Make Dera pay for loss of property, High Court tells Haryana, Punjab

ALSO WATCH | Ram Rahim rape verdict: Adequate precaution was taken, says ML Khattar

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PHILIPSBURG (DCOMM):--- Dr. Virginia Asin-Oostburg, Director of Surveillance, Disease Prevention and Control at the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), has called upon Caribbean communities to take the necessary precautions to prevent and reduce the spread of red/pink eye.

CARPHA continues to monitor the situation within the Region after a number of Caribbean islands reported outbreaks of red/pink eye also known as conjunctivitis.

Sint Maartens Collective Prevention Services (CPS), a department of the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labour, echos the current call of CARPHA for continued prevention measures by citizens of the community.

Several months ago CPS contacted family doctors about notifying the CPS surveillance system if they come across cases of conjunctivitis.

The most common causes of conjunctivitis are viruses, bacteria, irritants, and allergens. The virus and bacteria are very contagious. In Guadeloupe where laboratory tests were performed on a set of samples from suspected cases, they were positive for enteroviruses. Conjunctivitis bacteria is a leading cause of children being absent from daycare or school.

Symptoms of conjunctivitis can include: pink or red color in the white of the eye(s); swelling of the thin layer that lines the white part of the eye and the inside of the eyelid; increased tear production; feeling like a foreign body in the eye (s) or an urge to rub the eye (s); itching; irritation, and/or burning; discharge (pus or mucas); crusting of eyelids or lashes. Conjunctivitis is also one of the symptoms of Zika mosquito-borne disease.

Conjunctivitis can spread easily from person to person. You can greatly reduce the risk of getting conjunctivitis or spreading it to someone else by following some simple good hygiene steps.

If you have conjunctivitis, you can help limit its spread to other people by following these steps: wash your hands often with soap and warm water; wash them especially well before and after cleaning or applying eye drops or ointment to your infected eye; if soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.

Avoid touching or rubbing your eyes; wash pillows, sheets, washcloths, and towels often in hot water and detergent; wash your hands after handling such items.

Do not share personal items, such as pillows, washcloths, towels, eye drops, eye make-up, or eye glasses; do not use swimming pools.

If you are diagnosed with bacterial or viral conjunctivitis (aka Red eye, Pink eye), limit your contact with other individuals until you are better; keep your child home from school or daycare until he/she is no longer contagious.

Its usually safe to return to school or work when symptoms have been resolved. To minimize the risk of transmission, it is important to practice good hygiene.

If symptoms persist, you should contact your family physician who can then refer you to an eye specialist.

For additional information you can contact CPS at: 542-2078 or 542-3003.
Black Snake is what some of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe members call the Dakota Access Pipeline.

Not since Wounded Knee in 1973, has there been such a great gathering of indigenous tribes as there were in

Standing Rock. The first camps were set up in

August, 2016, along the Missouri and Cannonball rivers.

A year later, 2017, the tribe has achieved a significant victory over an environmental justice analysis. The case is Standing Rock v U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

What began as the protests aimed to protect and defend the water, sacred burial sites, and wildlife habitat in danger from a potential oil spill due to the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline, has become a national movement, attracting international attention.

The protestors fight has come to be known as the water protectors who stand in the path of DAPL.

June, 2017, Standing Rocks battle with US Army Corps of Engineers resulted in a pending case over environmental justice. The nonprofit environmental law firm Earthjustice represents the tribe.

According to attorney Jan Hasselman of Earthjustice, who represents the tribe, until now, the right of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe have been disregarded by the builders of the Dakota Access Pipeline and the Trump Administration-prompting a well-deserved global outcry.

The federal court has protected our laws and regulations from undue political influence. as David Archembault 11, Standing Rock Sioux Chairman said.

In the June 14th significant victory, Federal Judge James Boasberg said that the United State Army Corps of Engineers did not satisfactorily perform a study of the pipelines environmental justice analysis as it did not adequately consider the impacts of an oil spill on fishing rights, hunting rights or environmental justice. The court did not determine whether the pipeline operations should be shut off and requested additional briefing on the subject.

June 1, 2017, Dakota Access Pipeline began transporting crude oil from Bakkan/Three Forks, North Dakota to storage outside of Pakota, Illinois. The point of contention between Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and Energy Transfer Partners(parent company of DAPL), is Lake Oahe.

According to DAPL,  999.98 % of the pipeline is installed on privately owned property in North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, and Illinois, and it is does not enter Standing Rock Sioux reservation at any point. 

The Dakota Access Pipeline does not cross the Standing Rock Sioux reservation, even at the portion of the pipeline that is the subject of dispute at Lake Oahe.

https://daplpipelinefacts.com/

The controversy surrounding DAPL has been the potential impacts of an oil spill on the fishing rights of the Sioux Tribe in Lake Oahe, a sprawling Missouri River Reservoir under which the reservation sits, which is home to a variety of fish, including walleye, that serve as a significant food source for the tribe.

The $3.8 billion pipeline project, also known as Bakken Oil Pipeline, extends 1,168 miles across North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, and Illinois, crossing through communities, farms, tribal land, sensitive natural areas and wildlife habitat. The pipeline would carry up to 570,000 barrels a day of crude oil from the Bakken oil fields in North Dakota to Illinois where it links with another pipeline that will transport the oil to terminals and refineries along the Gulf of Mexico.http://standwithstandingrock.net/victory-standing-rock-sioux-tribe-court-finds-approval-dakota-access-pipeline-violated-law/

Standing Rock Sioux Tribe will not be backing down. Chairman of the tribe, Dave Archambault ll, has said, this is a major victory for the Tribe and we commend the courts for upholding the law and doing the right thing.

According to Earthjustice Law firm, the Standing Rock Tribe will be making their best arguments to the court that the pipeline should be shut down pending the completion of a lawful environmental review. A decision is expected in September.

The Corps EJ analysis defined the geographic unit as a half-mile radius around the Lake Oahe crossing which excluded Standing Rock Reservation. In the Corps EA it concluded that there is no concern regarding environmental justice to minority populations at the Proposed Action Area atLake Oahe. The court found that such a narrowly focused EJ inquiry was insufficient to discharge the Corps EJ responsibilities under National Environmental Policy Act https://www.law360.com/articles/939129/dapl-opinion-highlights-pipeline-project-nepa-challenges

Standing Rock fight has also inspired indigenous activists in other parts of the country. Camps have been set up in the Texas desert last January to fight a pipeline project there. This demonstrates that the water or planet protector movement has inspired other Native American protests across the nation, against pipelines, otherwise known as Black Snake, by indigenous people.

In Bismark, which is about 70 miles from Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, Christina, a white local bartender has a different take on the water protectors, as she observed them as trouble makers. She said that this is her home and that after the winter snow thawed out last April, the campgrounds in standing Rock were littered with refuse. According to Christina, this was hypocritical. There were also setting tires on fires which was hypocritical because theyre polluting the air, yet they are claiming to protect the water.

A member of the Standing Rock Tribe, Chase, who works at the Prairie Knights Casino, saw the water protectors as both good and bad. Bringing new voices to the situation was the positive side of the movement for Chase. The drawback Chase noted was how there were conflicts at the camp, and tires were slashed. He was not able to comment on who slashed the tires, but it was not a local member of the tribe. Chase also noted that back in July, 2016, protestors set vehicles on fire on the bridge over the Cannon Ball River, which separates Standing Rock from Mandan County, ND.

Professor Gary Helverson, Science instructor at Sitting Bull College in Fort Yates said that although the protests did build relationships with lots of tribes, and many voices were heard, there were also trouble makers who were primarily people from the outside.

Fort Yates. Distance, activist, archivist and assistant to Ladonna Brave Bull, a Standing Rock Tribe member, http://www.standingrockclassaction.org/?page_id=317

was concerned that Governor of North Dakota did not do more diplomacy to advocate natives legal right or concerns about burial rights. Distance also mentioned that pipeline was illegally approved.

Stand by and wait till September when Standing Rock will find out the Courts decision as to whether the pipelines operations will be shut down.

According to Earthjustice, The Obama administration made a carefully considered decision that these Treaty rights needed to be respected in connection with an oil pipeline immediately upstream of the reservation. The Trump administration ignored that advice, and acted as if the Tribe does not exist.

http://earthjustice.org/features/faq-standing-rock-litigation

The case between Standing Rock Tribe and USACE is not over yet.
The Supreme Court said Right to Privacy being a fundamental right will have some bearing in matters relating to possessing beef in Maharashtra.

By India Today Web Desk: A day after the Supreme Court declared Right to Privacy a fundamental right under the Constitution, the apex court today said the judgment will have "some bearing" in matters related to the possession of beef in Maharashtra.

A bench comprising Justices AK Sikri and Ashok Bhushan was informed by an advocate that Thursday's judgment from a nine-judge Constitution bench, declaring right to privacy a fundamental right, was important for adjudication of the appeal.

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"Yes, that judgement will have some bearing in these matters," the bench said and posted the matter for hearing after two weeks.

Senior advocate Indira Jaising, appearing for some of the petitioners, referred to the privacy judgement and said the right to eat food of one's choice is now protected under privacy. She also told the bench that Maharashtra government's appeal challenging the high court verdict was already pending before another bench of the apex court.

In its historic verdict on privacy on Thursday, the Supreme Court had said "nobody would like to be told what to eat or how to dress" while ruling that these activities come under the realm of the right to privacy.

BEEF BAN VS PRIVACY

The Maharashtra government had on August 10 moved the apex court challenging the high court's verdict striking down sections 5(d) and 9(b) of the Maharashtra Animals Preservation (Amendment) Act, 1995, which criminalised and imposed punishment on persons found in possession of beef of animals, slaughtered in or outside the state, on the ground that it infringed upon a person's "right to privacy".

The Maharashtra government has challenged in Supreme Court the Bombay High Court's May 6, 2016 order that decriminalised the possession of beef, in case of animals slaughtered outside the state.

The High Court had struck down sections 5(d) and 9(b) of the Maharashtra Animals Preservation (Amendment) Act, 1995, which criminalised and imposed punishment on persons found in possession of beef of the animals, slaughtered in or outside the state, on the ground that it infringed upon a person's "right to privacy".

The court had termed as "unconstitutional" the provisions which held mere possession of beef as crime, saying only "conscious possession" of the meat of the animals slaughtered in the state would be an offence.

In its judgment, the High Court had upheld the ban on slaughter of bulls and bullocks imposed by the BJP-led Maharashtra government, but had decriminalised possession of beef in case the animals were slaughtered outside the state.

Under the state Act of 1976, there was a ban on cow slaughter and possession and consumption of the meat. However, shortly after coming to power, the state government had also banned slaughter of bulls and bullocks in the Act by an amendment.

In the light of the landmark verdict on right to privacy declared on Thursday, it will now be keenly watched how the judgment affects a citizen's right to food in Maharashtra and elsewhere.

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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
By PTI: By Lalit K Jha

Washington, Aug 25 (PTI) The American sanctions against Chinese and Russian firms and individuals were not aimed at their governments, the US has said while hoping that Russia and China would implement the UN Security Council-approved sanctions against North Korea.

The Trump administration on Tuesday slapped sanctions on Russian and Chinese entities and individuals for helping North Korea advance its missile and nuclear weapons programme.

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The sanctions targeted 10 Russian and Chinese companies and six individuals involved in conducting business with the reclusive nation.

"These (sanctions) are not to target a government but to entities and individuals funding some of North Koreas (nuclear) programmes," State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert told reporters at her news conference yesterday.

She was responding to questions on sharp reaction by China after the US slapped sanctions on Chinese entities and individuals.

"The companies and the individuals who have been sanctioned ? the third-party sanctions ? are in China and Russia, but we dont target any specific governments at all with regard to sanctions.

"We look at those sanctions as not being necessarily a part of the government but companies that are involved in illicit activity, companies or individuals who are involved in illicit activity," she said.

Russia and China have pledged to adhere to the sanctions against the DPRK (Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea or North Korea), Nauert said.

"We trust and look forward to them adhering to that. We take them at their word; they said they would and we dont have any reason to believe they wouldnt," Nauert said.

She said that this can happen anywhere around the world where the US sees people who are involved in those types of things or companies.

"We will keep an eye on them and, if appropriate, Treasury will look into it and then sanction them," she said, adding that the US policy on North Korea has not changed.

"We want a denuclearised Korean Peninsula. The world wants that. UN Security Council resolutions have backed that up as well. So that has not changed. But the Secretary has looked at this, as one of the countries that cares deeply about this issue, and has said that (North Korean leader) Kim Jong-un needs to take further steps in order to show that he is serious before we are willing to sit down.

It has been three-plus weeks since they have not done any missile launches or missile tests, Nauert added. PTI LKJ CPS ASK CPS

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By PTI: against Article 35A

Srinagar, Aug 25 (PTI) Kashmiri separatists withdrew its five-day protest programme against a move to get Article 35A of the Constitution repealed, after the Supreme Court today deferred hearing on a petition challenging the validity of the provision.

"The protest programme, including the proposed strike on August 29, is postponed for the time being as the hearing," separatist leaders, including chairmen of both factions of Hurriyat Conference Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, and JKLF chief Yasin Malik said in a statement here.

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A new protest schedule would be issued whenever needed, they added.

The Supreme Court agreed to hear after Diwali pleas challenging Article 35 A, relating to special rights and privileges of permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir.

A bench headed by Justice J S Khehar accepted the plea of the Jammu and Kashmir government that the pleas challenging Article 35A be heard after Diwali.

The case was listed for hearing on August 29 and the separatists had called for a strike across the state that day.

The separatists had earlier issued a protest schedule against the legal challenge to the provision. PTI SSB MIJ SMN

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The Supreme Court today agreed to hear after Diwali pleas challenging Article 35 A, relating to special rights and privileges of permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir.

By Ashraf Wani: The Supreme Court today agreed to hear after Diwali pleas challenging Article 35 A, relating to special rights and privileges of permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir.

A bench headed by Justice J S Khehar accepted the plea of the Jammu and Kashmir government that the pleas challenging Article 35 A be heard after Diwali.

Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi and advocate Shoeb Alam mentioned the matter before a bench also comprising Justice Dipak Misra and Justice DY Chandrachud that even the Centre had no objection if the pleas were taken up after Diwali. "All the pleas will be taken up for hearing after Diwali", the bench said.

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Earlier, the apex court had favoured hearing of the matter by a five-judge constitution bench in case the Article was ultra vires of the Constitution or if there was any procedural lapse.

3-JUDGE BENCH WILL HEAR THE MATTER: SUPREME COURT

The court had said that a three-judge bench would hear the matter and refer it to a five-judge bench if necessary.

The apex court was hearing a plea filed by Charu Wali Khanna, challenging Article 35 A of the Constitution and Section 6 of the Jammu and Kashmir Constitution which dealt with the "permanent residents" of the state.

The plea has challenged certain provisions of the Constitution, which deny property rights to a woman, who marries a person from outside the state.

The provision, which makes such women from the state lose rights over property, also applies to their sons.

WHAT IS ARTICLE 35 A

Article 35 A, which was added to the Constitution by a Presidential Order in 1954, accords special rights and privileges to the citizens of Jammu and Kashmir.

It also empowers the state's legislature to frame any law without attracting a challenge on grounds of violating the Right to Equality of people from other states or any other right under the Indian Constitution.

"Section 6 of the Jammu and Kashmir Constitution restricts the basic right of women to marry a man of their choice by not giving the heirs any right to property if the woman marries a man not holding the Permanent Resident Certificate.

"Her children are denied a Permanent Resident Certificate, thereby considering them illegitimate - not given any right to such a woman's property even if she is a permanent resident of Jammu and Kashmir", the plea said.

While Jammu and Kashmir's Non-Permanent Resident Certificate holders can vote in Lok Sabha elections, the same individual is barred to vote in local elections in the state.

ALSO READ |

SC admits plea challenging Jammu and Kashmir's Article 370 status, Centre gets notice

Top LeT terrorist Ayub Lelhari killed in encounter in Jammu and Kashmir

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By PTI: Chennai, Aug 24 (PTI) The Tamil Nadu government today granted a 30-day "ordinary leave" for A G Perarivalan alias Arivu, a life convict in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, for the purpose of his fathers medical treatment.

A government order was issued in this regard following a plea from Perarivalans mother Arputham.

The grant of ordinary leave was given following an opinion from the Advocate General, according to a Home Department order.

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Relevant prison authorities had also remarked, among other things, that the "ordinary leave can be granted on the condition that life convict Perarivalan should be provided with strong police escort during the period of leave," it said.

The DIG, Prisons, Vellore Range was directed to grant the ordinary leave according to relevant laws following the Advocate Generals opinion and provide a "strong police escort during the period of leave," it said.

Perarivalan is one the three male convicts serving life sentence in the high security Central Prison at Vellore, the other two being Murugan and Santhan.

He has been lodged there since 1991.

Another life convict in the case, Nalini Sriharan, wife of Murugan, is lodged in the womens prison at Vellore.

Perarivalans mother Arputham had earlier sought parole for her son, with political parties including the DMK lending support to the demand.

His earlier parole pleas were rejected.

Last month, when the issue of granting parole to him had come up in the Tamil Nadu Assembly, Chief Minister K Palaniswami said the government had sought the Advocate Generals opinion on the matter.

Perarivalan was earlier brought to Chennai for medical treatment for a kidney problem. PTI SA SS BN

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As such, Gabriel's appetite has only grown for taking the kind of tough stance on Turkey that Germany had threatened. But the Foreign Ministry in Berlin has lately found itself confronted with reservations and opposition in both Brussels and Berlin.

When it comes to Gabriel's demand to review state export credit guarantees for deals with Turkey, the chancellor herself has intervened. Gabriel would like to introduce a cap on the total sum of such guarantees (known as Hermes Cover), but the Chancellery is skeptical. Merkel is concerned that such a move could hurt German exporters and she isn't interested in damaging relations with that constituency in the middle of her re-election campaign - particularly out of fear that she could lose votes to the business-friendly Free Democrats (FDP). The consequence is that negotiations between the Foreign Ministry and the Chancellery on the issue are making no progress.
Ali Ertan Toprak, head of the Kurdish Community in Germany (KGD), agrees. Erdogan critics in Germany receive far too little support, he says, adding that the government in Berlin isn't doing enough. Many secular and democratically minded Kurds and Turks no longer feel safe in Germany.

Bundestag candidate Kilic recently pricked up his ears when Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel of the SPD, who has been one of Erdogan's morevocal critics in Berlin, complained that his wife had been threatened by phone at her dental practice. "That's terrible, of course," Kilic says. "But maybe it will help the government understand what is going on here and what it means when your own family is threatened."

Left Party parliamentarian Sevim Dagdelen, 41, also says that she hopes the hostility displayed toward Gabriel and his wife will help change perspectives. She adds that German Chancellor Angela Merkel still isn't critical enough of Turkish President Erdogan.

Dagdelen and Ozdemir, the Green Party's lead candidate in this campaign, are both among the most-hated politicians for Erdogan fans in Germany. This spring, they urged Turkish-Germans and Turks in Germany to vote "no" in the Turkish constitutional referendum. Erdogan won that vote with a slim majority, allowing him to consolidate power by imposing a presidential system on the country. "What happens in Turkey always has a direct impact on Germany," Dagdelen says, alluding to the around 3 million people of Turkish origin who live in the country.

Insults and Hostility

She and Ozdemir, 51, are constantly accompanied by bodyguards at campaign appearances, and when Dagdelen held a speech in Hamm on Wednesday, Erdogan supporters tried to shout her down. Others sat in their cars and honked continuously in order to prevent her from being heard.

On Monday, unknown perpetrators broke into the Left Party's campaign office in Bochum, where Dagdelen is a candidate. They tore up posters and flyers and someone urinated on the floor. Dagdelen's personal district office in Bochum has likewise been daubed with paint on several occasions.

CDU parliamentarian Cemile Giousouf, whose parents belonged to the Turkish minority in Greece, avoided putting her picture on her campaign vehicle from the very beginning. She says doing so would simply have led to vandalism.

Ozdemir says that he often encounters insults and hostility from Turkish taxi drivers. In response, he often threatens to report them to the police.
Germany has a different concept of reality than the U.S., a clear separation between the spheres of dreams and politics, a high wall that makes political reality a bit more reliable and more serious.

Salvation

The Pilgrims who sailed to American on the Mayflower from Britain are central to the U.S.'s founding myth, religious fanatics whose ethos still shapes the country to a certain degree, especially its belief in salvation. Even today, some people still believe that the One will come and make everything great again. Barack Obama was that One for the left while Trump plays the role for the right. Both invoke pathos and euphoria, and both seek to appeal to the mind and the soul. Politics in the U.S. offers grand promises: that the world can emerge anew if you participate, or at least if you select the right candidate.

By now, of course, Americans know that salvation on Earth will never happen. That realization has led some to withdraw, but for others, as in religion, it's not knowledge that matters, but faith. A person believes, is disappointed, but keeps on believing. The fundamental approach is one of optimism.

Germans once believed they had found a savior, but then he tried to destroy the world, and now their belief in salvation has vanished. Sociologist Helmut Schelsky found that there was a "skeptical generation" of Germans who took part in the war when they were very young and then went on to build up the Federal Republic of Germany. They rejected all grand ideas, their state religion became Karl Popper's "piecemeal social engineering," the politics of small measures: turn a screw here, carefully open a valve there, make sure not to create too much hope. That is Angela Merkel's fundamental approach.

Freaks

There's a freak factor in politics. It can't be measured, but the freak factor expresses the likelihood that an outsider, a freak, a crazy person, an alien to the system, can prevail. It's related to the realm of possiblity, but also to the way politicians are recruited.

In the U.S., it's not only showbiz celebrities who stand good chances of coming to power, but also members of the country's political dynasties -- that is to say, the Kennedys, Bushes and Clintons. Conversely, the role of political parties is relatively small. Trump became the presidential candidate in the face of strong Republican opposition. The primaries are a kind of referendum. What counts is the connection candidates are able to establish with the voters -- at public appearances, and via the media and social networks. What matters is the money each of them raises, allowing them to communicate as much as possible. Those who have oodles of cash, who strike the chord of their era -- even if they are crazy -- can become president without belonging to the leadership circles of their parties.

In Germany, these kinds of careers are basically impossible. The parties have almost complete control over the recruitment of political staff. Those who want to move up the ranks must endure a hard slog through the party structures. Candidates are polished and schooled in the art of adaptation and compromise along the way. The biggest freak of the past decades was Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, whose fortunes waned almost as quickly as they had grown when he had to step down as Angela Merkel's defense minister in 2011 after it emerged that he had plagiarized parts of his Ph.D. thesis. A laughably tiny transgression when compared to Trump's consistent boorishness.

In the U.S., the individual may prevail, but in German politics it is the system that rules. This means that the circumstances in Washington change more starkly depending on who is in office. The governing system in Germany is more stable, uniform and enduring.

Hairdos

In his 1985 book "Amusing Ourselves to Death," media scholar Neil Postman wrote about the "talking hairdos." He claimed the future of politics belonged to them, because they are especially telegenic. It's as if he had foreseen Trump, the blondest of all talking hairdos. For Postman, "hairdo" was a metaphor not just for slickness, but for TV-ready beauty. In that sense, he didn't completely hit the mark.

Still, it is worth rereading Postman because he describes the damaging effect of American television -- the way it dumbs down the electorate and the effect that has on politics. Television presents politics as a TV format, and politicians in turn deliver politics in a TV format -- banal, exaggerated and gimmicky. It's logical, then, that a televisual creature like Trump can become president.

Postman wasn't yet familiar with Fox News, otherwise he would likely have predicted that a channel spouting right-wing populism would one day help catapult a right-wing populist into the White House. Trump and Fox are a perfect match.

In reading Postman, one gets the impression that German television still isn't as degenerate and efficacious as the American TV of the 1980s. The decisive difference, however, is that there is no truly powerful right-wing medium in Germany. The Axel Springer publishing house is as close as it gets, but even it is bound by a stipulation of founder Axel Springer that Germany's special friendship with Israel is unassailable, thus making any attack on the memory of Nazi crimes off-limits. Even Bild, Axel Springer's conservative tabloid, helps contain the right-wing radical margins, ensuring that Germany is a society with a broad center.

Therein also lies a problem that revealed itself during Germany's crisis year of 2016, which saw a backlash against the hundreds of thousands of refugees that had entered the country the previous year. Some Germans feel that their understanding of reality, their view, isn't represented in the media, and they feel shut out. Instead, they have turned to the internet, where political communication can take place without mediation from the media and the parties. At some point, that will create an opportunity in Germany for an individual, a freak or outsider, to turn him or herself into a political force independent of the system. It is here where the possibility arises, faint though it may still be, of a German Trump.

Business

Land acquisition, which is to say the procurement of a piece of real estate, is the origin of the American economy. It represents a grand wager: the loss of a scalp at the hands of Comanchees or Mohicans measured against the possibility of getting rich. This gambler's economy has enjoyed widespread admiration ever since and its blueprint was later followed by the slave traders, the oil prospectors, the real estate sharks and the financial speculators, right up to the founders of the internet economy. The fact that these kinds of business dealings cannot be carried out without ruthlessness or even brutality is widely accepted and cloaked in myth. A real estate tycoon like Trump is not at the margins of society, he's at its core. Admiration is guaranteed.

Germans don't idealize the gambler -- they idealize the engineer. The founding myth of German capitalism isn't the acquisition of land but the ingenious products developed by Siemens, Krupp or Daimler. On two different occasions, those companies were more than happy to put themselves at the service of warmongers, even operating a murderous slave economy during the Nazi era.

In addition, the German capitalist -- almost even before such a creature came into existence -- brought forth the greatest of all anti-capitalists, Karl Marx, a man whose movement ultimately gave rise to social democracy. The works council, representing the interests of workers, took its place alongside the engineer. Together, they created West Germany's postwar economic miracle, which was more a project of the collective than of the individual.

A modest background is still considered to be a positive qualification for holding political office in Germany. Wealth and entrepreneurship are cause for suspicion. In this sense, Trump is the anti-German, despite his family's roots in Germany's Palatinate region.

Fractures

Americans are used to the idea that the world can be remade every few years. After Johnson came Nixon; after Carter came Reagan. Such dramatic shifts are part of their political system since the majority, first-past-the-post voting system prevails there and you don't have the kind of coalition governments that are standard for the parliamentary systems common in Europe. After Obama came Trump -- a more dramatic shift is difficult to imagine.

The (West) German system encourages continuity above all. In the almost 70 years since the founding of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1949, there has been only one dramatic shift. It came in 1998, when the center-left Social Democrats (SPD) and the Greens, after years in the opposition, scored an election victory and formed a government. With that lone exception, at least one coalition party has always made it back into power with each election. Coalition governments are places where compromise and consensus thrive. The country seems to be forever governed by a grand coalition between the center-left SPD and Angela Merkel's center-right Christian Democrats (CDU) -- sometimes informally, at others formally. Germans seem to have a preference for social democratic political platforms coming from conservative chancellors.

Planets

The novel "A Little Life" by Hanya Yanagihara takes place in and around Broome Street in New York, a setting in which skin color, sexual orientation and family background are meaningless. Soon all become rich, but they are unhappy. It's hard to imagine a more different environment from the rural life that exists in large parts of the United States, with its many taboos and strict separation into right/wrong, good/bad, black/white. These milieus are so different they might as well be on different planets.

The contrasts could hardly be greater: The best universities alongside the ignorant creationists, who reject all scientific findings pertaining to evolution. The millionaire- and billionaire-factory in Silicon Valley, alongside massive homelessness in San Francisco. The relatively high risk of a black man being shot by a white police officer. The divisions are extreme. One-half of the country is so full of hatred for the other that many voters imposed Trump on themselves because they knew he was an even bigger imposition on the other half.

In Germany, this blind hatred isn't as widespread. East/West, rich/poor, these are also problems here. In particular, we are lacking equal opportunity. But the divisions aren't so big that hatred of others could catapult a man like Trump to the top of the government.

Egotism

After World War II, the U.S. had to weather a double shock -- one positive, the other negative. The country was by far the strongest power in the West, given that the strength of the United Kingdom and France had been significantly diminished. But the strongest power in the West wasn't automatically the strongest power in the world anymore because despite the Soviet Union's tremendous losses, the war also turned it into a challenger.

A nuclear race began, which encouraged megalomania. The Americans believed they had to be the strongest to survive, and to conquer their fear, they had to assume they were indeed the strongest. Together with their allies, they ultimately won this race.
Lord Inglewood takes over this significant position from His Grace The Duke of Montrose who handed over the reins at the recent NSA AGM in Ballymena, County Antrim.

With an active involvement as a member of the House of Lords as well as being a farmer and landowner in Cumbria with both upland and lowland farming interests, NSA feels Lord Inglewood is perfectly suited to the appointment. Among other commitments, he is also President of the Uplands Alliance and fulfills an influential role within the Livestock Auctioneers Association.

On his appointment as NSA President, Lord Inglewood says:

At a moment when UK agriculture is under review as never before, I am delighted to support those in the sheep sector - an integral part of livestock farming at this crucial moment. I am looking forward to working closely with NSA in the near future.
GREENWICH  A lawsuit by a former patient at Greenwich Hospital who said he was badly roughed up by a security guard in March of last year is proceeding as hospital lawyers deny misconduct in the case.

Sean Byrne, 51, filed suit against the hospital last summer, claiming that negligent, reckless and excessive actions on behalf of the security guard led to injuries that included a broken finger and a broken sternum.

Byrne was at the hospitals emergency unit in the early morning hours of March 19, 2016, for a cortisol imbalance brought on by a previous brain injury, the lawsuit said.

According to the lawsuit, Bryne tried to close a door and offer advice to another patient who wanted to leave the hospital, and a security guard intervened. A physical altercation ensued, and Byrnes lawsuit contends excess force was used by the security guard. The lawsuit also contends that poor training and supervision among security personnel was a factor in Byrnes injuries.

The attack on the plaintiff was unprovoked, the lawsuit contends.

A spokesman for the hospital, Dana Marnane, last year said, we disagree with Mr. Byrnes depiction of the events at issue and believe our staff acted appropriately.

But lawyers from the hospital are presenting another version of events and denying that the security guard behaved improperly. The hospital is seeking to dismiss the suit.

An incident report taken by Greenwich police stated that Byrne was yelling racial epithets at the hospital, heard by a number of medical staff, before the altercation began with the security guard, who is black. The police report indicated that Byrne was in an agitated state of mind, and three officers were involved in handcuffing him while he yelled curses at them, according to the police report.

Legal papers filed by a lawyer representing the hospital, Amy Goodusky, state that the security guard had never been disciplined for any excessive use of force or inappropriate behavior. The guard attended monthly training sessions. An internal review of the incident revealed that the guard had neither behaved inappropriately nor used force which was improper or excessive, according to the hospital lawyer.

Goodusky cited the police report that stated several officers were physically grappling with Byrne to secure him after police were called. The actual cause of the plaintiffs claimed injuries was more likely than not his own behavior ... Sean Byrne resisted their efforts (by police officers) to subdue him, she wrote.

The police report states that a doctor related that Sean was in and out of his room yelling various racial slurs. Medical staff then heard a commotion in one of the observation rooms and found a security guard restraining the patient, holding him down. The police report, citing another security guard, stated that Byrne had picked up a chair and was combative when he was confronted by hospital security.

After he was restrained by police officers, Byrne was charged with disorderly conduct. That charge was later dismissed in Superior Court.

It is not clear from court papers whether video footage of the incident from the hospitals emergency department documented the encounter with security guards.

Also being contested in court is whether Byrne was improperly held in the psychiatric unit after the incident, a case of false imprisonment.

The hospitals lawyers stated that a psychiatrist examined Byrne and determined he required hospitalization for acute stabilization.  The hospital contends in the court papers that legally mandated procedures were followed.

The case is proceeding through the system, with depositions being taken from witnesses and experts. If no settlement is reached, and the case is not dismissed, a tentative trial date of June 19, 2018, has been assigned by the court.

Calls and an email to Byrnes lawyer, Michael Stratton, werent returned this week.

rmarchant@greenwichtime.com
Arshi Nida, 23, filed a complained that her husband, Siraj Khan, who owns a school, had been harassing her for dowry since the first day of marriage.

By Sneha Agrawal: A few hours after the Supreme Court declared instant triple talaq unconstitutional, not far from the Capital a 30-year old Muslim man allegedly divorced his wife using the forbidden system.

The incident took place on Tuesday at Sardhana, a small town in Uttar Pradesh's Meerut district.

According to 23-year-old Arshi Nida, her husband, Siraj Khan, who owns a school, had been harassing her for dowry since the first day of marriage. "Thinking of my three children and the fourth unborn child, I had been bearing the torture for the last six years. When I refused to pay heed to his dowry demands, he gave me instant talaq," she said.

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Nida alleged that not only did her husband refuse to adhere to the Supreme Court ruling, but he even boasted about his actions in the locality.

The victim filed a police complaint against Khan who has been booked for dowry, hurt and criminal intimidation. She also accused him of trying to kill their unborn child.

However, Khan claims innocence. "I am being falsely implicated in the case. My wife and I are expecting our fourth child. In Islam it is forbidden to leave your wife in such a condition. Also, even while giving triple talaq, it is mandatory to have three witnesses, which are absent in the case. My father had given my wife's family a sum of Rs 50,000 which they do not want to return and are now filing a false case against me," he said.

KHAN TO BE QUIZZED

The police called Khan for questioning and have asked him to join the investigation as and when required.

Before any criminal proceedings, both sides have been asked to appear for mediation as per Supreme Court ruling in dowry harassment cases.

On the evening of August 22, Nida, who had come to visit her parents, says that while she was asleep, someone in the family told her that her children had fallen sick. When she went to see them, she claims that her mother-in-law stopped her from entering the house. "When my family went to speak to them and solve the matter, his father asked him to give me instant divorce. We told him that he cannot do this, but he said he was not afraid of the apex court order."

TRIPLE TALAQ DECLARED UNCONSTITUTIONAL

The same morning, a Supreme Court bench ruled with a 3-2 majority that the practice of instant divorce in Islam was unconstitutional. The decision marked a historic victory for Muslim women who have spent decades arguing that the custom violated their right to equality. The court banned instant triple talaq for six months and asked the government to frame new legislation to replace the abolished practice.

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Nida said, "It seems despite the Supreme Court order our situation is never going to change. My husband was boasting about his act."

Speaking about the sum that her father owed her husband, she said, "We had returned the money a long time ago. Despite being so well-off, he stooped so low and asked me for money. In the last six years of marriage he did not give me a single penny to spend on the needs of the house and the children."

Thousands of Muslim women from across India had raised their voices against the Sharia law custom that allowed men to split up with their wives by saying "talaq" thrice. The practice had already been barred by more than 20 Muslim countries including Pakistan, Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia.

The Supreme Court had convened a special summer session to hear the case - alongside others of constitutional importance - in May, when it is normally in recess.Also Read

Supreme Court has banned instant triple talaq, not triple talaq

Triple talaq verdict: What went behind the closed doors of courtroom no. 1

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Sunny skies, warm temperatures and low humidity are in the forecast for the last weekend in August.

Sounds like a perfect time to hit the beach.

But be aware, not all state beaches are open for swimming because of either high bacteria counts or blue green algae.

Among the beaches closed are Silver Sands State Park in Milford, Hammonasset State Park in Madison and the eastern part of Rock Neck in East Lyme. The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection retested the water on Friday and is expected to have results around noon Saturday.

Swimming is also not allowed at Indian Well State Park in Shelton and Kettletown in Southbury because of toxic blue green algae.

Kettletown has one of the longest closures of a state beach for blue-green algae. The swimming area, in a cove of Lake Zoar, closed to swimming Aug. 6, two days after signs were posted cautioning swimmers to avoid green film on the water.

Sherwood Island State Park is in Westport remains open for swimming.

More News 24 swimming hot spots in Connecticut State Parks

All town beaches along the Long Island Sound shoreline from Greenwich to Milford are also open for swimming.

According to state Department of Healths 2016 beach report, Connecticuts monitored beaches were safe for swimming 97.7 percent last season. Within the 72 beaches, there were 157 closure days and six advisory days during the 91-day season.

More Information What tests show at swimming areas Local towns/district health departments and the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection are required to do weekly checks of water at swimming areas. The tests are conducted from Memorial Day to Labor Day. The tests look for indicator bacteria, (Enterococci in salt water) and (E coli in fresh water). as set forth by the CT Department of Environmental Protection and the CT Department of Public Health. Samples are analyzed for indicator bacteria, which are not disease-causing pathogens, but are one of the tools used by public health and environmental protection officials to evaluate the potential contamination of waterbodies. Indicator bacteria are used to predict the threat of waterborne illness by detecting potential contamination from fecal material of human or animal origin. Salt water samples for Enterococci should not exceed 104 per 100 ml. For lakes and rivers, a reading of less of 235 per 100 ml of E coli is considered safe. Blue-green algae, also known as cyanobacteria, occur naturally in lakes and ponds throughout Connecticut. These microscopic organisms often go unnoticed and cause no harm. However, when nutrient loading exceeds certain levels, a water body can experience nuisance blue-green algae blooms that may produce and release toxins. See More Collapse

The report said that 58 percent of those closures were because of elevated bacteria levels, caused by stormwater runoff.

Many beaches are closed after a heavy rainfall because stormwater flows over land, paved streets and parking lots picking up trash, chemicals, sediment and animal waste. This polluted water flows directly into storm drains, rivers, lakes, streams and Long Island Sound elevating bacteria levels.

Although plenty of sunshine is expected on Saturday, highs will only rise into the mid to upper 70s as cooler air continues to filter into the region.

Sunday will also be sunny with a high of 75 degrees.
Vacations arent meant to be stressful. Theyre a time to unwind, relax and explore the interesting places the world has to offer. Most 9-to-5 workers take their annual leave for granted. If youre a busy entrepreneur, you've undoubtedly faced stretches when you haven't been able to take off any time from work.

There are just too many responsibilities to juggle -- too many obligations to staff members, clients, or suppliers -- and too many intricate processes that must be managed so things don't go disastrously wrong.

Regardless of your commitments, you will reach a breaking point: Take a break, or risk burning out. When that time comes, you need to be prepared so your business can run optimally without you. Here are four ways to make it happen.

1. Communicate with customers.

The tasks you need to automate will obviously be determined by the nature of your specific company. But effective communication is a staple in any business, and as such its the perfect place to get started.

Have you ever received one of those generic, automated emails? It's typically something like, "Daniel will be out of the office all week and will be available to answer your questions on Friday.

Thats an autoresponder message. Most of them dont make much of an impression. In fact, autoresponders can be frustrating because they hardly ever help your customers solve the problems they actually need help with.

Thats where automation comes in. Automation can be applied to any repetitive task -- including questions that customers email you time and again. The secret to creating a great autoresponder email lies in anticipating these questions and making it easy for people to find the answers themselves.

Turn your out-of-office email into a mini FAQ page with links to relevant information. It could lead them to blog posts, social-media content, business documents or the website contacts page to help them follow up with an appropriate staff member.

Related: Advancing Automation Means Humans Need to Embrace Lifelong Learning

2. Communicate with your team.

In an ideal world, wed want to switch off our phones and enjoy some peace and quiet, an exotic meal or a beachfront view. Sometimes, though, communicating with our team is unavoidable -- even when we're on vacation.

Still, you dont want to be glued to your inbox, waiting anxiously for any messages that require urgent attention. Heres how automation and some careful planning can put your mind at ease:

Brief your team that youll be available to talk only during a specific time frame, on a specific day. Be mindful of time-zone differences.

Set up a Google Doc team members can use to record any issues theyd like to discuss with you. Insist these issues must be important.

Set up a scheduling tool that works with your favorite calendar app. This lets your team members book time slots with you only during your specified "emergency" times.

You even can use automation software such as Zapier or IFTTT to automatically email you when someone has booked a session. You can configure these software settings to attach the Google Doc that contains his or her queries.

Presto! Crisis averted, and no need to spend hours making frantic back-and-forth phone calls. Just be sure to inform your staff members about these procedures before you jet off.

Related: 18 Tools That Saved Time and Grew My Business

3. Streamline financial tasks.

Modern software makes accounting, payroll and other repetitive financial tasks relatively painless. Many platforms automate the most routine procedures: sending invoices, capturing transactions and generating reports.

Chances are youre already making use of these automation features in your business. If youre not, preparing for a vacation is the perfect time to get them working smoothly.

The best part? Once these platforms are set up, theyll continue to do your financial tasks indefinitely. When you return from vacation, you can spend less time on the books and more time doing work you actually enjoy.

QuickBooks, FreshBooks and Pastel are among the dozens of options. Do some research and choose one that fits your budget, incorporates extensive automation and fulfills the majority of your financial needs.

Related: Want to Save Your Business an Hour a Day? Automate These 11 Tasks.

4. Prepare for post-vacation backlogs.

Even if you automate your business to near-futuristic levels of intricacy, youll probably still face a backlog when you get back to the office. Important customers will demand face time, and you'll need to touch base with your team as well.

That leaves little time to focus on more boring -- but equally important administrative tasks -- that could fall by the wayside. Fortunately, theres an entire industry that deals with just this sort of thing: virtual assistants.

Virtual assistants have gained popularity over recent years because they're convenient, efficient and increasingly affordable. While youre dedicating time to strategy and implementation, theyre doing all the simple tasks.

Virtual assistants (VAs) can prepare presentations, transcribe meetings and edit memos. A VA also is the perfect person to sort out your post-vacation backlog. If you can anticipate and identify tasks that inevitably will slip under the radar, make a note and include them in a brief to your VA.

This detailed list of chores will help your VA work more effectively for you, the moment you're ready to get back to the office.

Related: 17 Questions to Ask When Interviewing a Potential Virtual Assistant

Everyone needs a break. But a vacation isnt worth the effort if you have to work twice as hard picking up the pieces when you return. Automation is a lifesaver. It gets rid of repetitive tasks, enables hassle-free communication among staff members and customers, streamlines administrative functions and helps get your schedule back on track after some much deserved time off.

Implement automation in your business and youll have a well-oiled machine that runs just as smoothly when youre on a beach in Hawaii as when youre standing at the helm.

Related:

Automate These 4 Business Tasks Before Going On Vacation

#4 Things Not to Do In Your RPA Deployments

The Power of Genuine Human Touch in Entrepreneurship



Copyright 2017 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved



This article originally appeared on entrepreneur.com


When launching a startup, you need to make a great first impression, and you need to do it immediately. According to a New York University study, the very moment potential customers are exposed to your offering, their brains begin rapidly processing everything from your logo to your packaging to your product design.

If something about your brand's visual identity rubs customers the wrong way during this pivotal split-second window, good luck winning them over in the future.

Silicon Valley startup Juicero recently provided a cautionary tale about first impressions. After sparking investor interest through excellently designed branding and marketing, the company earned a $120 million valuation and slapped an exorbitant $700 price tag on its futuristic juicer. However, once the lauded product reached consumers, its fair to say they were less than excited about its physical design and quality. They peppered the web with negative reviews and forced the company into cleanup mode. Juicero has since sliced its price to $400 per juicer and is also offering full refunds to unhappy customers.

It doesnt matter whether your company specializes in juicers or JavaScript; your physical and digital design can make or break your big launch.

Related: Hey Juicero, Erlich Bachman Just Called and Wants to Invest

Your Catalogue of Creative Needs

The idea of building your business's entire visual identity can quickly become overwhelming. In addition to designing your product, you're going to need a website, packaging, business cards, promotional materials, a mobile app and headshots that help the world put a face to your brand. And that's just the beginning.

Simply put: You're going to need some help from creative professionals.

Time is one of your most precious resources, so sourcing high-quality candidates quickly is crucial. Job boards are an option, but with an estimated 150,000 job boards in the U.S. alone, according to TAtech, managing the resulting influx of (mostly unqualified) applicants will be a complete nightmare. Perhaps you'll consider hiring a headhunter, but, as the name implies, this route also presents some risks -- particularly predatory contracts and oversized commissions.



Related: The 3 Most Common -- and Costly -- Hiring Mistakes

The best option for finding top-notch creative talent is through the emerging gig economy. There are platforms and services -- such as ours -- that exist solely to help businesses and creative professionals navigate this new climate.

But before you dive in, here are a few tips that will help you hit the ground running:

Avoid an identity crisis.

When we were launching our company, LinkedIn was in the process of becoming a $26 billion powerhouse. Most entrepreneurs would have thought, "Hey, we should emulate LinkedIn's design because things are going pretty well over there." But we didnt take that route. Why? Because a big key to launching a successful startup is standing out -- not blending in.

Related: 5 Steps for Making Your Brand Identity More Consistent

According to the 2016 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Global Report, nearly 12 percent of working-age Americans have entrepreneurial intentions. That's millions of people who, just like you, plan to launch a business in the not-so-distant future. Do you really want to blend into all that noise?

Try playing a game I like to call We Are, We Arent.

Create a list of successful companies -- both inside and outside of your industry -- and assess how each one handles its design. Identify the tones, vibes and aesthetics you'd love to borrow for your brand, and identify the ones you'd never want to use.

For example, imagine your product wrapped in a box that resembles the sleek, elegant lines of Chanel. Then, imagine using a down-home design like Burts Bees. Both designs tell vastly different stories, and it's up to you to decide which one is more up your alley. This is a great exercise that will help you establish some parameters for your visual identity and select the right creative talent once that time comes.

Learn to decode portfolios.

A Deloitte report recently found that nearly 60 percent of business leaders don't feel confident in their ability to acquire and manage talent through the gig economy. An easy way to increase your edge in this realm is to become an expert portfolio evaluator.

A surface-level assessment of a portfolio will only provide the prologue; you need the full story. Dig deeply into the details, and read between the lines. Look for people who have produced previous work that resembles what you aim to create. This will help you determine whether they can complete your project. But beyond that, also assess whether candidates clearly articulate their creative process and seem eager to collaborate.

Especially if you're inexperienced in design, you're going to want to work with a professional who will take you by the hand, guide you through the design process, ask the right questions and happily provide strategic input. By taking the time to review each portfolio carefully, you can maximize your chances of landing a skilled team player.

Maintain your flexibility.

Even if it seems like you have 1,000 creative tasks on your plate, don't assume you need to hire full-time employees to knock them all out. CNN Money reports that between taxes and benefits, full-time employees cost employers 18 to 26 percent more than their base salaries -- a steep price that is driving 60 percent of companies to hire greater numbers of freelancers.

Related: The Freelancing Economy Has Seen Epic Growth

The freelance economy gives you the flexibility to tap into subject matter experts on an as-needed basis. Every time a unique need crops up, you can find an ideal candidate for the job. Then, if you realize an individual consistently works 40-plus hours a week (while producing amazing work in the process), you can then consider adding him or her to the full-time roster.

A company's size, age, and industry will determine its specific needs. But for those who are just getting off the ground, consider starting with one freelancer who will design your branding and logo. From there, bring in a separate freelancer for web development, and keep adding more experts as more needs arise.

Don't let shoddy design be the reason your startup fails to make a great first impression. Think deeply about what image you want to portray. Then, take your newfound knowledge over to the gig economy, and hire creative freelancers whose work wins over consumers in a heartbeat.

Related:

How to Recruit Creatives and Craft a Great First Impression for Your Startup

3 Tips for Turning Your Entire Team Into Recruiters

Don't Shuffle People Into the Wrong Job Just Because They're Already on the Payroll



Copyright 2017 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved



This article originally appeared on entrepreneur.com


By PTI: official

By Lalit K Jha

Washington, Aug 25 (PTI) The Trump administration is worried that nuclear weapons and materials in Pakistan could land up in the hands of terror groups and the concerns are aggravated by the development of tactical weapons, a senior US official has said.

The senior Trump administration official said that during a compressive review, one of the major issues that continually came up for discussion and is very important to the US was the nuclear danger in the region.

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That is a critical element of the South Asia strategy, the official told reporters during a conference call.

The Trump administration is worried that nuclear weapons and materials in Pakistan might land up in the hands of terrorist groups or individuals, the senior administration official said, on condition of anonymity.

The South Asia strategy announced by US President Donald Trump on Monday notes that the "nuclear weapons or materials could fall" into the wrong hands, the official said.

"It (South Asia policy) also prioritises the escalating tension between India and Pakistan, the two nuclear power countries, and looks for ways to de-escalate the tension between the two to avoid any potential military confrontation among them," the official said.

"We are particularly concerned by the development of tactical nuclear weapons that are designed for use in battlefield. We believe that these systems are more susceptible to terrorist theft and increase the likelihood of nuclear exchange in the region," the Trump administration official said.

The official said it was due to this that the strategy also focuses on confidence building measures between India and Pakistan and encourages them to come to the negotiating table.

The danger of nuclear weapons was also mentioned by Trump in his Afghanistan and South Asia policy speech on Monday.

"For its part, Pakistan often gives safe haven to agents of chaos, violence, and terror. The threat is worse because Pakistan and India are two nuclear-armed states whose tense relations threaten to spiral into conflict. And that could happen," he had said in his first prime time televised address to the nation.

In an article published in War on the Rocks, Christopher Clary, who worked on the South Asia policy in the Office of the Secretary of Defence from 2006 to 2009, said Pakistan likely possesses more than 100 nuclear weapons today and might possess fissile material for up to 200 or 300 nuclear weapons.

"The US presence in Afghanistan is primarily about preventing terrorist groups operating there, but there is some reporting that suggests elements of the US government are wary of losing basing in Afghanistan that is useful to monitor Pakistani terrorist groups and Pakistans nuclear weapons development efforts," Clary said.

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Stephen Tankel, an American expert, said the US has two vital security interests in Pakistan -- ensuring militants in the region do not attack the US homeland and keeping militants from getting their hands on nuclear material.

"America also has a critical interest in preventing Indo-Pakistani nuclear escalation and terrorist attacks against US persons and infrastructure in the region," Tankel recently wrote for Center for a New American Security.

"Maintaining a sufficient counter-terrorism presence in Afghanistan has been a cornerstone of the broader US counter- terrorism policy. This, in turn, has required ensuring the Afghan government retains sufficient control over its territory," he said.

Pakistan is developing tactical nuclear-capable Nasr ballistic missiles for battlefield use in order to deter a limited Indian military response to terrorist attacks by Pakistan-supported militants, he wrote.

"The common concern about Pakistani nuclear weapons is that they are vulnerable to internal threats. In reality, these weapons are most likely to fall into terrorists hands if forward-deployed during a conflict with India," Tankel said.

"Even some Pakistani analysts recognise that it would be difficult for the Pakistan military to ensure the full security of these weapons once they were deployed in the field," he said. PTI LKJ ASK ASK

--- ENDS ---

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Almost a week after Vishal Sikka's exit from Infosys, co-founder and former CEO Nandan Nilekani is back as the chairman of the company. Here's timeline of how the courtroom battle unraveled.

By Indo-Asian News Service: Software major Infosys has gone through a churn over the months, as its boardroom battles over a spate of issues led to the exit of its first non-founder executive Vishal Sikka on August 18 and the return of its co-founder Nandan Niliekani as non-Executive Chairman on Thursday.

Among the issues red flagged by the promoters, especially NR Narayana Murthy were: erosion in corporate governance, huge salaries to top executives, costly acquisition (Panaya) and a large severance package to an ex-CFO.

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February 9: Murthy expresses concern over governance issues in the Board.

February 13: Board denies rift with Murthy on governance issues, defends Sikka, acquisition of Panaya and high severance pay to ex-CFO Rajiv Bansal and General Counsel David Kennedy.

February 20: Board refutes an anonymous whistleblower's charges on Panaya deal in February 2015.

February 21: Sikka attacks media for targeting company, employees and him to the point of harassment.

February 23: Board hikes salary of Chief Operating Officer Pravin Rao, elevated as Interim CFO and Managing Director on August Friday till March 31, 2018.

April 13: Independent Director Ravi Venkatesan appointed as Board Co-Chairman and lowers revenue guidance for fiscal 2018.

June 1: Murthy tells IT honchos to take less salary and avoid layoffs.

June 13: Infosys terms media coverage, activist investors as risk factors.

June 24: co-founders keep away from stormy Annual General Meeting, (AGM).

July 17: Murthy regrets quitting as Infosys Chairman in June 2014.

August 18: Sikka resigns as CEO and MD, appointed Executive Vice-Chairman till March 31, 2018, Board blames Murthy for Sikka's exit, appoints Rao as Interim CEO and MD, company's stock crashes 10 per cent on BSE.

August 19: Announces buyback of 11.3 crore shares at Rs 1,150 each.

August 24: Board appoints co-founder Nandan Nilekani as non-Executive Director, Board Chairman R Seshasayee and Co-Chairman Ravi Venkatesan, Sikka and two Directors Jeffery Lehman and John Etchemandy resign.

Also Read

It's not just Infosys, many of India Inc's boardroom battles have been a virtual Game of Thrones

Sikka resignation: Infosys co-founder N Murthy says below dignity to respond to baseless claims

--- ENDS ---
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CRAWFORD  Anyone who has visited Fort Robinson State Park mentions the bison. Inside the 22,000 acre park, the bison roam, feeding on prairie grass, tumbling around in the dirt and lounging in the warm summer sun. Park visitors will travel as far as they need in order to catch up the symbol of the Great Plains.

At one point in time, there were hundreds of millions of bison (sometimes called buffalo) in North America. In one century, a few dozen remained. Man nearly wiped out the American bison (Bison bison). Through conservation efforts, their numbers have grown.

The National Bison Legacy Act, signed by President Barack Obama on May 9, 2016, made the bison the first national mammal of the United States. According to the Washington Post, the bison represents the countrys first successful foray into wildlife conservation.

Native Americans slaughtered what could be eaten and used the hair and bones. By the 1800s, the introduction of horses from the 1500s and guns meant certain doom for the thundering beasts on the plains. Westward expansion displaced Native Americans and killing bison was a tactic used by the U.S. government to control tribes. The introduction of cattle, and their associated diseases, reduced bison herds. Hides, which were worth a lot of money, tourists paying to shoot bison from train windows and the encroachment of farming on bison habitat all contributed to its demise.

The PBS Nature program American Buffalo: Spirit of a Nation told the story of the destruction of bison by greed and uncontrolled hunting. There were buffalo killing contests. A Kansan set a record by killing 120 bison in 40 minutes. Buffalo Bill Cody, hired to slaughter the animals, killed more than 4,000 buffalo in two years, PBS said.

According to the National Park Service (NPS), Yellowstone was the only place in the contiguous 48 states where wild, free-ranging bison persisted into the 20th century. Even with the Lacey Act, which meted out hard punishment for poachers, Yellowstones bison were reduced by poaching from as many as one thousand in 1872, to approximately two dozen animals in 1902.

Today, you can see herds in several places across the country, but it is unlikely they will ever reach the numbers they once had in the 19th century.
With the normal three month grace period for passed legislation to go into effect, 116 new bills from the recent legislative session will become law at the end of August.

Several other bills that carried an emergency clause became law upon passage, even though much of the session was taken up by the state budget and revenue shortfall.

Of the 116 bills that became law, there were 667 bills introduced in this years legislative session that wrapped up at the end of May.

We got a late start to where we were considering bills, said District 48 Senator John Stinner. We were probably at one of the lower totals for passing bills during a long session. But I think we looked through most of them.

One bill Stinner pointed out was LB 222, which he introduced. It would implement oversight measures into the Nebraska Tourism Commissions governing statutes. It would restructure the Board to include members who possess professional qualifications to sit on the Board.

Not all state senators think the large number of bills flowing through the Legislature every session is a good thing.

We pass way too many laws, statutes and regulations every year, said District 47 Senator Steve Erdman. A rules change would prohibit us from introducing as many bills as we want so we could focus on important legislation and not affect peoples lives as much as we do now.

One of the high-profile passed bills, LB 427, authorized school districts to give breastfeeding students a place to express and store breast milk. One of its opponents was Erdman, who tried to kill the bill on several occasions.

Superintendents from rural schools in my district told me they didnt see it as a necessity or a need, Erdman said. It seems to be an important issue for eastern schools, but out here in the west we take care of our own. If theres a need, we handle it without a statute change.

Another piece of legislation, LB 92, requires health insurance companies to reimburse doctors at the same rate for both telehealth services and in-person services.

This makes sense for people who are remotely located, Erdman said. As telecommunications improves, we can make decisions based on what we can see online. This can save people time and money.

Another bill that Stinner said was big was LB 289. That legislation imposes tougher sentences for human trafficking, including tougher sentences on both traffickers and solicitors of trafficking victims by increasing the felony classifications for an array of offenses. It was one of several new laws that have a direct effect on the law enforcement community.

Scotts Bluff County Sheriff Mark Overman said Attorney General Doug Peterson has sent out a 28-page report to law enforcement on how those new laws will affect how policing is done.

There are lots and lots of changes in law enforcement this year, Overman said. This is something we see every legislative session, so its difficult to stay up on.

Overman added theres a big push at both the state and local levels to create task forces to address the problem of human trafficking where it starts.

A lot of times, people involved in this are also being victimized and trafficked by someone else, Overman said. Our Attorney General is a big supporter of these task forces because the victims are often juveniles.
SCOTTSBLUFF  Seven years ago, members of the Scottsbluff Seventh Day Adventist Church saw an unmet need in the community and started on a journey to meet that need.

Pastor Ken Maldonado said, Some friends of mine, actually they were members here years ago, began seeing a need in the community for reaching out and touching people and helping them.

The church started the God in Shoes program. Maldonado said the purpose of the God in Shoes program is to give opportunities to people who wouldnt normally get them and to provide good, Christian fun.

We want to be able to reflect the spirit of Christ, Maldonado said. Thats why were called God in Shoes.

Some of the services offered by the program include job preparation and cooking classes as well as others. Along with those services, the God in Shoes ministry has free special events such as an upcoming Family Fun Day and Ladies Only Spa Day.

Maldonado explained a little about the spa day.

We offer it to the community because there are a lot of single mothers or single parents that never have that opportunity, he said. So, we want to pamper women and this is one of the ways that we can do it.

This will be the seventh year the God in Shoes program has offered the spa day and the Family Fun Day.

Maldonado said much of the materials used for the spa day are donated.

Many of the things actually are donated through our church or individuals in our church who are business people, he said.

One member of the church, who works for the national company Regis Salons, is able to donate salon items from the stores that change inventory or go out of business.

Most of the donated items and services are locally donated, said Maldonado.

We have tried to use local businesses but everybody is working at that time, he said. So people are willing, but it seems like their schedule is not. Because we usually have it Friday from noon until 4 oclock then on Sunday is when we have the family fun day.

Maldonado explained the reason they typically use the Friday then Sunday schedule.

The reason weve done this, well not this year, is because in the middle of the week before the spa day ,we had classes for women during the evening, he said. Just different classes, this year I didnt have time to incorporate that in.

Maldonado said that even though they wont have the week of classes leading up to the spa day, he still hopes the spa day will be a success.

What we want to do is just cater to them while theyre here, he said. Theres food and nice music and we try to make the atmosphere as nice as possible for the individuals.

Along with food, music and gifts the spa day will offer massages, manicures and free shoes.

Those providing the massages are from the Black Hills Health and Education Center.

They train therapists, Maldonado said. So theyre going through their training session and they bring them over here to help us out so that they can get experience.

The Ladies Only Spa Day is Friday, Sept. 8, from noon to 4 p.m. and the Family Fun Day is Sunday, Sept. 10, from noon to 4 p.m. Both events are free to the public.

For more information on the events visit scottsbluffne.adventistchurch.org/events.
Inner Mongolia, one of the most promising regions in China, convened commercial trade and economic negotiations with Kazakhstan during its week at the 2017 Astana Expo on Aug 22.

More than 160 officials and delegates attended the Inner Mongolia Week ceremony, including Bu Xiaolin, chairwoman of the Inner Mongolia Peoples Government; Zhang Wei, deputy president of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT); Liu Jiangping, commissioner of the China Embassy in Kazakhstan; and many other representatives from Kazakh authorities.

As one Chinas crucial energy base, Inner Mongolia has great confidence in cooperating with Kazakhstan and Eurasian countries in transforming traditional industries and new energy exploitation and utilization, according to Chairwoman Bu Xiaolin.

Abundant with energy reserves, Inner Mongolia will utilize the expo as a platform to seek opportunities with countries along the Belt and Road in fields of economy and culture, said Zhang Wei.

A total of 15 project agreements were reached during the ceremony in the areas of tourism, energy and commerce.

Officials visit the China Pavilion at the 2017 Astana Expo in Kazakhstan on Aug 22. [Photo/nmgnews.com.cn]
Ten-buck fever tightened its grip on senior citizens across America this week.

Record numbers of people age 62 and older streamed to National Park Service and other federal sites to purchase $10 lifetime passes to Americas national parks before the price jumps to $80 Monday.

In Omaha, a supply of 900 passes at the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail headquarters  which was expected to last through Sunday  was wiped out Thursday by purchasers who flocked to the riverfront site after reading about the deadline in The World-Herald, said Neal Bedlan, chief of interpretation. Buyers waited in a line that stretched out the door.

Although the inventory of plastic passes in Omaha is depleted, the $10 deal remains available at the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail visitor center through Sunday. The Park Service will provide vouchers to buyers, indicating proof of purchase, and will mail passes to buyers in the near future, Bedlan said.

Itll be crazy for us the next couple of days, but its really good that so many people want to get out and visit their national parks and other federal lands, Bedlan said.

Rangers at the visitor center expedited the process late Wednesday by accepting cash, in addition to credit or debit cards, for the passes. No checks are accepted.

The Park Service also has simplified its online option in the crush of orders at store.usgs.gov/senior-pass. Buyers provide their name, date of birth and the last four digits of their Social Security number to demonstrate eligibility. An initial requirement, now waived, called for scanning a copy of their drivers license or passport. There is an additional $10 processing fee for ordering online.

About 480 people purchased passes Wednesday in Omaha, breaking Tuesdays record of roughly 400 passes.

The passes provide access to more than 2,000 recreation sites managed by the National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, Forest Service and Army Corps of Engineers. Most federal sites where passes are accepted sell the pass.

The Lewis and Clark Visitor Center is in the National Park Service building at 601 Riverfront Drive, near the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge. Its hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekends.
Why did violence erupt in Charlottesville, Virginia on Aug. 12, and what simple consideration could have avoided it? The occasion for violence was the gathering of various white supremacy groups under the aegis of a local permit for such a gathering. This violence is not something that should have been unanticipated, though it would seem local authorities were caught off guard. Fortunately, however, other similar local events around the country, where similar hate groups gather to protest the taking of their country by minorities, are being canceled.
By MARK EVANS mevans@stegenherald.com Westover and Smith roads, on the far western edge of the county, will get paving priority for 2023. Country commissioners and Scott Schmieder, county road and bridge foreman, decided at last Thursdays commission meeting to go ahead and seal up that corner of the county. That way, graders will not have
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Premier Mihai Tudose said on Friday that talks about pension funds under Pillars I and II are advanced, adding that if thus the Romanians would be better off, the contribution to Pillar I will be increased.

"It's about deciding how to break down those amounts the Romanians pay to the two components which are both of state, only that one is privately managed. Half of the amounts are currently directed to Pillar I, and half to Pillar II. Yet [an analysis] found that the return under Pillar I, which has the nationwide average salary as a reference, is much higher than the return under Pillar II, and for this reason I asked the Ministry of Finance to proceed, together with pension scheme officials, to an analysis to see whether it is not appropriate to seize the opportunity now, in these years when economic growth is very high and the return on the Romanians' pension contributions is much higher under Pillar I, and increase transfers paid to Pillar I and lower those to Pillar II. Talks are advanced and the decision will be taken having in view the best interest of the contributors. As this is a contribution paid to a pool with a higher return, per capita pension funds will increase," said Tudose in the sea resort of Neptun, after the meeting of the Social Democratic Party's National Executive Committee.

The Premier assured that the government has no intention to dismantle pension Pillar II. "What was already accumulated there stays there, it's just that if this is better for the Romanians, we'll transfer more money to Pillar I," the PM said.

Agerpres..
CHICAGO  An Arkansas task force has advised the state to bar sprayings after April 15 next year of agricultural herbicides with the chemical dicamba, which has been linked to crop damage across 20 states, a group spokeswoman said on Friday.

If adopted by the state, the recommendation would prevent most Arkansas farmers from spraying dicamba weed killers on growing soybeans, a key selling point for products manufactured by Monsanto Co., BASF and DuPont.

Last month, Arkansas banned the use and sale of dicamba after farmers complained the herbicide was drifting away from where it was sprayed into neighboring fields and damaging crops that were not resistant to the chemical.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) also is reviewing label instructions for dicamba weed killers following the reports of crop damage.

Arkansas previously blocked Monsanto's product, XtendiMax with VaporGrip, because of a lack of extra testing that state officials wanted. The state approved BASF's product, Engenia.

Thirty-three other states  all the other states where the products were marketed  approved both products.

Monsanto said the recommendation by the Arkansas task force will put Arkansas farmers at a disadvantage to those in other states. The company said it was in talks with the EPA, which "is interested in achieving national uniformity with dicamba regulation in order to avoid a state patchwork."

BASF and DuPont did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The task force's recommendation will be provided to Arkansas' governor, agriculture department and the state plant board.
Stepping into an antique mall in Fairbanks, Alaska, Cheryl Semsrott of Des Peres politely said no when the shopkeeper asked her if there was anything she could help her find.

I thought, I am not even going to tell her Im looking for St. Louis things.

Semsrott turned her head, and in the booth next to her, she spotted a wooden, tabletop butter churn, stenciled with the name Samuel Cupples Woodenware Co. of St. Louis. She knew about Cupples, of the Cupples house on the St. Louis University campus and the Cupples complex of warehouses downtown, and that he sold items like these to pioneers going west.

This butter churn, all the way in Alaska, told a story. It went west, Semsrott said.

She bought it and paid for it to be shipped back home; it now it sits on her kitchen counter next to her programmable coffee maker.

Semsrott, 71, a retired behavior disorders teacher from the St. Louis Public Schools, decorates their home with St. Louis memorabilia. Shes drawn to advertising items, 1904 Worlds Fair souvenirs, items from companies she remembers as a child, and anything that speaks to a different mindset of the time  like the ad from American Brewing Co. in St. Louis that once ran on the inside cover of a Cinderella childrens book. The ad now hangs in their kitchen.

Metal sample drawers from Graham Paper Co. in St. Louis serve as an end table for their couch. A piano made by the Jesse French Co. of St. Louis in 1895 sits in the living room. The company sold pianos in rural areas, and she found this one in Arkansas.

A pressed-glass bowl stamped with St. Louis Coffin Company on the bottom rests in a dining room china cabinet. How would you like to eat out of this? she asked, chuckling. You eat your meal and youre like, oh.

Semsrott grew up in south St. Louis County, where her grandparents once owned a farm. In fact, Cheryl Court in Sappington, which sits on the former farmland, is named after her.

Before she and her husband, David, had their three children, Semsrott started out collecting silent movie memorabilia, which she also displays at their home.

Her prized possession is an original 1875 Currier and Ives panorama of St. Louis. Her father-in-law got it from the owner of a downtown sandwich shop he frequented. The print hung on the wall of the shop, and the owner gave it to him in the 1950s when it closed. Semsrott had it restored and framed, and now it hangs in their dining room. It was her father-in-laws prized possession, and now its hers, too. There it is, she said. I love it.

She shared a love of history with her husbands aunt, Minnie Gingerich, also a retired public school teacher. The pair looked up addresses of ancestors and businesses in old St. Louis street directories, and then drive around and see what they could find. Often, they returned disappointed. Many places were long gone. Gingerich died in 2009 at age 97.

The two shared their love of the Worlds Fair, and Semsrott has an entire china cabinet and then some dedicated to fair memorabilia. She most likes the giveaway items with company names on them  a match safe with Thomas Jeffersons head on the cover and Compliments of Jacob Strubel, 1714 Market Street, a seller of cigars and pipes, on a slip of paper inside the lid. People usually removed the advertising name if they could, so they didnt look cheap, Semsrott said. That address is now part of Memorial Plaza, across from Union Station.

Among dozens of other items are a little leather change purse compliments of the Brown Shoe Co., and a bar of Worlds Fair Baby soap, shaped like, yes, a baby. The baby has the Jergens name stamped on its back and no, it doesnt smell like much of anything anymore. I dont plan on using it, she joked.

Worlds Fair items are very easy to come by, especially with the advent of the internet  they got spread around the country simply because people visited St. Louis and then brought the items home. Its just another way her collection reflects changing times.

She knows the past wasnt always ideal, but sometimes, it was sweeter. Her collection gives her a chance to revisit some of those places or long-gone businesses, even if its in her minds eye. Its something thats not there anymore, she said. It reminds us of how easy it used to be.
VANDALIA, Mo.  If you were a part-time cop who knew the police chief was driving around in an unregistered 2001 Ford Taurus, would you write him a ticket?

What if it was in a small town 100 miles northwest of St. Louis where a state prison is essentially the only one hiring?

William Parker faced this quandary Jan. 6. And he says hes been dealing with the fallout ever since.

He noticed the Taurus when he showed up for work that evening at the Vandalia Police Department, a squat brick building with a tall radio tower. The vehicle was parked right in front without any license plates or temporary tags.

Parker asked about the car. It turned out to belong to Christopher Hammann, 38, the new police chief, who explained that hed just purchased the vehicle.

I informed him that after he bought the car that he could legally drive the car back home and then get it inspected and that was it, but it was not legal to drive around without any license plates on the vehicle, Parker wrote in a report.

Four days later, pressure apparently mounted. An anonymous tipster complained that a uniformed police officer was driving an illegal car and that if it had been anybody else, they would have been ticketed.

Parker went for it. His boss showed proof of valid insurance, but he still wrote Hammann up for failure to register a motor vehicle. Hammann, who declined to comment for this story, pleaded guilty and paid the fine.

Whats more, at that same time in January, Officer Raymond Bumbales took a similar bold step. Only he wound up ticketing Vandalia City Administrator Chase Waggoner, who was midway through a tumultuous and brief tenure with the city, one marred by allegations of pranks and ethnic slurs against officers.

According to an account in The Vandalia Leader, Bumbales was following up on complaints about a 1984 Dolphin motor home belonging to Waggoner that was parked in the roadway with expired license plates from Kansas.

Bumbales wrote Waggoner two tickets, one for abandoning the camper and another for not licensing his personal vehicle.

Waggoner said the bogus tickets were eventually thrown out.

But Bumbales didnt stop there.

About two days after issuing the two tickets as a Vandalia police officer, Bumbales was at his other job as volunteer police chief in nearby Farber, Mo., population 318. In that capacity, he pulled over a 2008 Ford Expedition for speeding.

Bumbales claimed it was dark outside and didnt know Vandalia Police Chief Hammann was at the wheel, according to a news report.

Bumbales said he stopped the vehicle for going 5 mph over the 45 mph speed limit. But he cut him a break because the radar gun ultimately locked in at 47 mph.

I was being nice to him and didnt write him up at 50 mph, Bumbales said in the article.

Chief Hammann was ticketed for failure to show proof of insurance.

About half the Vandalia police roster was scrapped around that time.

Vandalia City Administrator Waggoner said he fired Parker, Bumbales and their supervisor, William E. Jones, to get rid of part-time officers at the outset of Hammanns new police administration.

We were trying to get rid of part-time hours to devote more pay to recruit and maintain good, quality full-time officers, Waggoner said.

Prior disputes

Animosity between the city administrator and the police had been brewing for weeks before Bumbales ticketed Waggoner. And questions about Waggoners competency had escalated by the time he fired Bumbales, 50, Parker, 38, and Jones, 44.

Waggoner came to town in July 2016, hired for a city administrator post that had been vacant for some time. He formerly was fire chief in Girard, Kan., a city councilman in Lebanon, Mo., and a staffer in the Missouri Legislature.

Some say his troubles in Vandalia began with a prank gone wrong.

An internal city memo said Waggoner gained access to the police department when nobody was there in November and wrote a false statement.

The statement pretended to be written in another officers name and claimed Officer Bumbales touched his genitals. According to the memo, video surveillance showed Waggoner writing the report. Confronted about the report, Waggoner essentially told the officers it was a joke. Waggoner was also accused in the memo of using ethnic slurs against Bumbales Polish ancestry.

Waggoner, 34, wouldnt comment about the alleged prank. It could be too easily misconstrued, so I am not going to go into that, he said.

He denied making ethnic slurs.

Not long after the accusations, the departments interim Police Chief Justin Landis quit in December.

Hammann, who was supported by Waggoner, took his place but as a permanent position.

Both were top leaders in town when ticketed by the two police officers this winter.

But Waggoner was on his way out.

In March, just seven months after he was hired  and just two months after he fired the three officers  the Vandalia Board of Aldermen unanimously voted to fire Waggoner.

Waggoner said he wasnt given a reason for the dismissal. He suspected it was over fears that the three fired police officers would sue the city otherwise.

It was easier to throw me under the bus rather than support your city administrator, said Waggoner.

Former Mayor Pro-Tem Doug Bontz recalled that Waggoner did well in the interview process.

I thought he was going to be great for the community, Bontz said.

But he said Waggoner struggled to pull a good budget together and the prank situation at the police department was over the top.

For his own part, Bontz quit the Board of Aldermen in April. He said there wasnt a sense of urgency to come up with creative solutions to improve Vandalia. He said the lack of transparency about all the disruptions was maddening.

People have a right to know whats going on in their city, said Bontz, 60, a former small-town newspaper editor.

Forgery charges

Meanwhile, Chief Hammann  the man ticketed by both Parker and Bumbales  has brought in new blood to the police department since much of the roster was cut in early 2017. One new officer is Sgt. M. J. Eberhart, 52.

Eberhart has mid-Missouri roots and most recently worked as a deputy in Florida. He said he saw working in Vandalia as a new challenge.

We have a corps of (military) veterans, trying to right the ship, he said.

But there continue to be major distractions such as turnover. Some former officers claim they were wrongfully terminated, targeted and discriminated against.

Last week, Parker and Jones were charged with multiple counts of forgery. A new investigator at the police department accused the former officers of lying on their time sheets.

According to a probable cause statement, the investigator used radio log data to support the allegations.

Landis, the former interim police chief who signed off on the time sheets, said in an interview that he wasnt contacted for the investigation. He said that officers didnt always log in by radio.

The charges have broader implications. Apart from formerly working at the police department, Parker and Jones are also employed by the Missouri Department of Corrections.

Both Jones, deputy warden at Northeast Correctional Center in Bowling Green, and Parker, are on administrative leave, pending the outcome of the forgery charges.

If anything, our guys are probably owed more money by the city of Vandalia, not the other way around, said Gabe Harris, an attorney representing them. The issue is clear, these guys were working these hours, they simply werent logged into the radio.

Its an issue the next city administrator will likely deal with.

But the open position hasnt been filled.
Parkway students are calling on their district to change next year's high school graduation date because it conflicts with one of the holiest Jewish holidays.

Hannah Maurer, a 17-year-old senior at Parkway Central High School, started a petition Thursday to change the date. The petition has garnered more than 1,000 signatures from students and community members as of Friday afternoon.

Maurer, who is Jewish, said she will refuse to attend graduation if the date doesn't change. She said she knows of at least 80 classmates who are also Jewish.

"I have friends who I knew would be hurt and targeted by this, so I decided to step in and try and make a change," Maurer said. "It's just shocking to me, especially since Parkway is all about being inclusive to everyone and wanting to have that diversity, yet they dont take into consideration all their students."

On Wednesday, the Parkway School Board voted to set Saturday, May 19 as the graduation date for all four of its high schools. May 19 is the first day of Shavuot, which commemorates the day God gave the Torah to the Jewish people more than 3,300 years ago. On Saturdays, Jews also observe Shabbat, a day of rest.

Parkway officials chose May 19 because they say it was the only day available to reserve the St. Charles Family Arena. For the past several years, the district has used Queeny Park as a graduation venue, but the Family Arena has more seating and restrooms, better acoustics and closer and safer parking. The district also saves money with the Family Arena because it can hold all four graduations on the same day, unlike with Queeny Park.

"We have received a number of concerns from parents over the years and believe the Family Arena will provide a much improved and safer graduation experience for students and families," said Superintendent Keith Marty in an email to families Thursday.

District spokeswoman Cathy Kelly said school officials are aware of concerns about the graduation date and are currently discussing them.

A Facebook post that published Friday and was signed by four rabbis and the executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of St. Louis also condemned the graduation date decision.

"This move is hurtful to us as a community, regardless of individual Shabbat practices," the note states. "At a time when we are witnessing an increase in divisions in our country and in fear and anxiety within marginalized populations, this decision, even if unintended, is needlessly insensitive to our Jewish community."

According to the note, the Jewish leaders are speaking with the district to forge a solution.
WASHINGTON  Missouri Republican Ed Martin appears to be occupying what has recently been known as the Jeffrey Lord seat on the CNN shout shows.

Lord, you may remember, was the staunchest defender of President Donald Trump on CNN during and after the 2016 election until Lord was fired earlier this month after he used the term Sieg Heil, in an angry online exchange with a critic at the liberal Media Matters advocacy site.

Lord, whose contract was set to run out at the end of 2017, said he felt that CNN was caving to bullies. He often was the lone Trump holdout on a multi-voiced panel on CNN.

He became famous for the contortions he was willing to make to defend Trump. Commentators have had a field day compiling Lord moments.

Martin, chief of staff to former Republican Gov. Matt Blunt and former chair of the Missouri GOP, has been on CNN before, but since Lord left, he has appeared several times on CNNs Anderson Cooper 360," trying to pick up where Lord left off in defending Trump.

One of Martin's on-camera exchanges with Republican strategist Ana Navarro, a frequent CNN guest, is making the rounds on the internet.

After Martin told her that Trump's potential pardoning the controversial Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio would be an America first move, Navarro shot back: No sweetheart, Ill tell you what: I am America first and you dont get to tell me that Im not.

Later, she told Martin, who was seated next to her, that you are a little too close and you are getting in my danger zone.

Martin told the Post-Dispatch that he has welcomed the opportunity. He said he has not been paid to appear. He said Lord was a "long-time friend" but that he had not been in touch with him since Lord was fired.

Late last week, they invited me to New York City to do AC 360.  Martin said. It was a great experience. I had a chance to meet (CNN President) Jeff Zucker."

Martin co-authored a 2016 book with Brett Decker the late GOP icon Phyllis Schlafly called "The Conservative Case for Trump." Martin is now the president of the Phyllis Schlafly Eagles and the Eagle Forum Education and Legal Defense Fund.

Martin said he is still considering whether to seek the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate seat now held by Democrat Claire McCaskill. His campaign theme, if he runs, is evident.

We must defeat Claire and get another senator who will support America first, Martin said.
President Donald Trump will travel to southwest Missouri next week to talk tax reform, the White House said Friday  the same day that one of the states most prominent Republican elders condemned him as a hateful man and urged others in the party to disassociate from him.

Some of the top Republicans in the state are planning to attend Trumps appearance in Springfield, Mo., next week, notwithstanding former Sen. John C. Danforths scathing opinion piece in the Washington Post on Friday calling Trump the most divisive president in our history.

To my fellow Republicans: We cannot allow Donald Trump to redefine the Republican Party, wrote Danforth, who left the Senate two decades ago but remains a major voice in the Missouri GOP. Our country needs a responsibly conservative party. But our party has been corrupted by this hateful man, and it is now in peril.

In an interview Friday, Danforth declined to say whether he thought Missouri Republicans should boycott Trumps event but added: I would not be there.

Among those who wont have to decide is state Attorney General Josh Hawley, a newly seated Republican who is considering challenging U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., next year. Hawley was scheduled to leave Saturday for a week-long family vacation, according to his office.

Details of Trumps event still were being worked out Friday, said a White House official.

U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., will attend if asked, his office said. Republican Gov. Eric Greitens plans to attend, according to a spokesman. Lt. Gov. Mike Parson and other top GOP officials also are expected to be there.

Trump will use the speech to push for comprehensive tax reform and signal that he expects Congress to move on the issue after the failure this year to pass a repeal and replace of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, the White House official said.

The speech also is intended to show that Trump will be engaged in the tax-reform process as soon as Congress returns from an August recess early next month.

Tax reform, a key campaign promise of Trumps, has lagged in Congress as the debate over the ACA dominated much of Trumps first six months. But a simplified tax code could be an area of bipartisan breakthrough with Congress, despite Trumps criticism of GOP congressional leaders.

Blunt, a member of the Republican leadership team in the Senate, said Friday that tax reform is a logical extension of Republicans rollback of burdensome regulations. He said he looked forward to pursuing changes in our tax code that will increase U.S. competitiveness, boost wages and expand opportunity for Americans.

Danforth, who was in the Senate for almost 20 years from the mid-1970s through the mid-90s, has functioned since as a political mentor to other Missouri Republicans, including Hawley, the states new attorney general. Danforths enthusiasm for a possible Hawley Senate run likely helped clear the field of some serious potential Republican challengers like U.S. Reps. Ann Wagner and Vicky Hartzler.

Danforth on Friday declined to say he was pressing Hawley to repudiate Trump because of his remarks in the aftermath of this months violence in Charlottesville, Va., and other issues.

Im not singling out particular people. Im making a broader point than that, Danforth said. I think its very important to make it clear to the public that Donald Trump is not like us.

Hawleys state office and campaign representatives didnt respond to multiple requests Friday seeking reaction to Danforths condemnation of the president.

Hawley hasnt formally declared his intention to seek the GOP nomination to challenge McCaskill, the Democratic Senate incumbent, but he has set up an exploratory committee. McCaskill is a top target of national Republicans, in part because Trump won Missouri by almost 20 percentage points .

In rural town hall meetings across the state this month, McCaskill has been trying to burnish her persona as a political moderate, which will be crucial for her to have any chance with voters outside the urban regions at the ends of the state.

In contrast to many Democrats who have been publicly bashing Trump, McCaskill has been highlighting their narrow areas of agreement. On Friday, she said tax reform is an area on which Im optimistic President Trump and I will find common ground.

In Fridays op-ed, Danforth cites Trumps recent comments that critics say drew moral equivalence between white supremacists who rallied in Charlottesville this month and counter-protesters who opposed them.

During that conflict, a 32-year-old woman was killed when a car allegedly driven by one of the white supremacists plowed into a group of counter-protesters. The driver has been charged with murder.

Trump is always eager to tell people that they dont belong here, whether its Mexicans, Muslims, transgender people or another group, wrote Danforth. And when he has the opportunity to unite Americans, to inspire us, to call out the most hateful among us, the KKK and the neo-Nazis, he refuses.

Danforth references the GOPs founding as the pro-Union party in the Civil War and its civil rights legacy afterward.

Now comes Trump, who is exactly what Republicans are not, who is exactly what we have opposed in our 160-year history. We are the party of the Union, and he is the most divisive president in our history.

In an interview, Danforth acknowledged that its easier for me to say it  being out of politics, than for somebody whos in it. I understand that. But the bigger picture is, what is the Republican Party? Are we like Trump, or not like Trump? We have to make it clear were not like Trump.  Its a matter of principle.

Missouri Democratic Party Chairman Stephen Webber issued a statement on Trumps pending visit: Trumps staff may have finally gotten him away from his luxury golf resorts under the guise of talking taxes, but anything less than a pledge to not cut Medicaid and Social Security or a full condemnation of neo-Nazis will do nothing to reverse his disastrous presidency.
WEBSTER GROVES  Residents here opposed to a developers plans for an apartment complex cite concerns over zoning and building height.

Developers at Sangita Capital Partners want to put a five-story apartment building at 226 East Lockwood Avenue to appeal to empty nesters, baby boomers and young professionals.

They said the vibrancy of the area makes it ideal. The proposed complex would be where the shuttered YMCA used to sit. The facility closed in 2015.

Company president Michael Sansone appealed to the Webster Groves planning commission Thursday night to consider the project and its marketability as home ownership rate estimates decline. He said the project would serve a need for many years to come.

The building would have four studio apartments, 20 one-bedroom ones and 26 two-bedroom units. Rent could range from $1,200 for studios to $2,400 for two bedrooms.

Developers are also requesting 89 parking spots and 3,000 square feet of commercial space.

Sansone said after the meeting that the companys offer for the property is far below the $3 million asking price.

Webster Groves homeowners presented the planning board with a long list of concerns including the buildings proposed height, its proximity to single-family homes, light and noise pollution, property values and pedestrian and vehicle traffic.

Other questions concerned zoning. The property is in a residential district, which raises concerns over multifamily and commercial uses.

You dont break the rules just because its convenient for somebody else, said longtime Webster Groves resident Ed Timm.

He said he believed politics played more of a role in considering the project than public safety. For example, he said, a traffic study was not conducted to assess the project but rather data pulled from recent years.

Other residents expressed concerns about the possibility of students from nearby Webster University becoming tenants. Opponents to the plan said they believed the university and building developers were in cahoots after representatives from the two entities were said to have met in March.

But both Sansone and a spokesman for the university said Thursday that presumption was untrue.

This is undoubtedly not a student deal, Sansone said.

Later Sansone called the accusations categorically false.

Webster University spokesman Rick Rockwell also said the university has no particular interest in this project.

He said while there had been some interest early on, students wouldnt be able to afford the proposed rent prices. He said overall the university has taken no stance on the project.

The commission did not take action on the project, giving the developer time to order a traffic study and present a model of what the property would look like from different perspectives.

The next public hearing on the project is set for Oct. 2.
Lanka gets tougher with NK; relations have been rocky since the 1970s By Chandani Kirinde View(s): View(s):

Diplomatic relations between Sri Lanka and North Korea (NK) have been troubled from its inception, and also vacillating, depending on the Govt in power here. However, the past two years has seen Sri Lanka take a tougher stance against NK, condemning both its nuclear programme as well as its human rights record.

While the issue of a press release in late July, condemning NK for launching an Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile (ICMB) drew controversy, after President Maithripala Sirisena took issue at a Cabinet meeting saying, as Head of State and Head of Govt he should be informed when Sri Lanka issues a statement against another country, it brought to the fore the inconsistency in Sri Lankas policy towards NK.

The contentious issue, of late, between the two countries has been NKs continued testing of nuclear weapons, despite a UN resolution calling for a halt to all such testing.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) Spokesperson Mahishini Colonne said that, as a member State of the United Nations (UN), Sri Lanka honours the Resolutions adopted by the UN Security Council on NK, in relation to the conduct of nuclear tests and ICBM tests.

The MFA has issued five statements pertaining to the issue, with the first in 2006, followed by one in 2013, two in 2016 and the latest in July this year. While the statements issued in 2006, 2013 and one in 2016 were limited to expressing concern regarding the testing of nuclear weapons, there has been a hardening of the Govts stance on the matter since last year.

In the statement issued in September 2016 and in July this year, the Govt condemned NKs actions, with the latest one calling on the international community to unite in words and deeds to seek solutions to this grave situation, which is an ever increasing threat to international peace and security.

The inconsistent policy towards NK too, is reflected in the manner in which Sri Lanka votes on the UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolution, Situation of Human Rights in the DPRK, which comes up annually at the UNGA sessions in September.

In 2007, Sri Lanka voted in favour of the Resolution, abstained in 2008 and 2009, and then voted against the Resolution in 2014. By 2015/2016, Sri Lanka once again voted in favour of the Resolution condemning the NKs human rights record.

Sri Lankas decision to vote against the Resolution against NK in 2014, came at a time when Sri Lanka was itself facing censure by the UN over its human rights record.

Sri Lankas representative to the UN at the time had explained the decision to vote against the draft text on NK, stating name and shame Resolutions were unproductive and that its reference to encouraging the Security Councils referral of the issue to the International Criminal Court was unacceptable.

The troubled relations between the two countries began in July 1970, when diplomatic relations were established and NK opened its embassy in Colombo. However, in the wake of the 1971 Janata Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) insurrection, the Govt ordered the Embassy closed and expelled its entire staff.

The Govt has decided in its own interest that all Korean staff and their families in the Embassy of the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea in Ceylon should leave immediately, the United Front (UF) Govt of the day led by Mrs.Sirimavo Bandaranaike said in a statement issued on April 17, 1971. The country was in the throes of an insurrection by the JVP at that time and there was suspicion that the NK had assisted the rebels, which led to their expulsion from the country.

Prominent historian Prof K.M. de Silva, writing on Linguistic Nationalism and A Socialist Experiment in his book The History of Sri Lanka, says that, with the election of the UF Govt in 1970, which comprised the SLFP, the LSSP and the Communist Party (Moscow Wing), there was a new emphasis on the islands foreign policy with a distinct tilt to the left and due to this, In rapid succession, NK and the German Democratic Republic (then East Germany) were given diplomatic recognition.

The NK Embassy opened in Colombo months earlier, on July 15, 1970. This was just two months after the UF Govt took power winning the general election held in May. But in less than a year, relations turned sour with the NK Embassy shut down and the staff ordered to leave the country.

Nevertheless, the expulsion did not mean the end of diplomatic relations between the two countries. As the Ministry of Defence and External Affairs, which issued the official government communique announcing the expulsion in 1971, said, The decision was only for the removal of the NK personnel within the Mission, and did not imply the disruption of diplomatic relations between the two countries, which will remain for the present.

While the Govt of the day remained tight lipped about the actual evidence in its possession, to prove NK had assisted the JVP uprising, the decision was based more on strong suspicions about such a link.

M.D.D.Peiris who served as Secretary to Mrs. Bandaranaike between 1970-77, said the decision to close down the Embassy was likely because of the pervasive suspicion that NK had helped the insurgents.

Mrs. Bandaranaikes Govt in 1971 was left-of-center, with the CP (Moscow Wing) and LSSP in the coalition, and for her to decide to close down an Embassy of a socialist country, there had to be more than mere suspicion. But it is also possible that, in the aftermath of the shock of the insurgency, it was a precautionary measure, Mr Peiris said.

Retired Senor Superintendent of Police (SSP) Upali Seneviratne who was attached to the Investigation Branch of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in 1971, and was among the team of officers who questioned JVP leader Rohana Wijeweera, says that, a foreign connection to the insurgents did not transpire during the investigation.

There were a whole lot of rumors flying around about foreign involvement in the insurgency but, nothing of that sort transpired during the investigation which concluded swiftly, as we had the hierarchy of the JVP in custody shortly after they launched the attacks, Mr Seveviratne said.

The suspicions of a possible NK link was based on the propaganda activities their embassy here had engaged in.

The NK Embassy in Colombo had, through the Ceylon-NK Friendship Societies set up across the country, engaged in distributing literature on guerrilla warfare and run full page articles in local newspapers, propagating the thoughts of the founder of NK, Kim-Il-Sung, which the Govt found provocative.

The NK Embassy had, through Ceylon-NK Friendship Societies islandwide, distributed large quantities of revolutionary literature, much of which had been found in insurgent hideouts, American authors Lloyd and Susanne Rodolph in their book The Regional Imperative: The Administration of US Foreign Policy towards South Asian States under Presidents Johnson and Nixon, stated.

While no foreign connection transpired during the investigations by the Criminal Justice Commission established by the Govt to prosecute the insurgent leaders, the book on US foreign policy towards South Asians States says a few of the insurgent leaders had received some training in NK and that, its nationals may also have brought large amounts of foreign currency into the country, which they changed on the black market and distributed to the JVP. However, evidence for this is equivocal, while there is no evidence of any arms aid to the JVP.

Then Prime Minister Mrs Bandaranaike, in a radio talk on April 25, 1971, hinted at NK involvement in the move to topple her Govt through armed insurrection, saying that, in the case of one embassy (she did not name), certain activities carried out by them was giving strength and support to the terrorists who had been preparing themselves for their nefarious tasks, and as they (the Embassy personnel) did not desist from such activities, she had to ask the ambassador to close down the embassy and leave the country.

While the closing of the Embassy did not spell the end of diplomatic relations between the two countries, Sri Lanka and NK have continued to maintain relations, though both countries do not maintain resident missions in each others countries. The Sri Lanka Embassy in Beijing, China, is accredited to NK, while the NK Embassy in New Delhi, India, is accredited to Sri Lanka, Ms Colonne of the MFA said.

A senior retired Foreign Service official, who wished to remain anonymous, said that, a well advised foreign policy towards NK can elevate Sri Lankas international stature, but overstating concerns like in the case of the recent statement condemning NK was detrimental and unnecessary. Every country is concerned about nuclear weapons and we can express our concern as a party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, but there is no need for gung ho, he said.

He said that Sri Lanka has in the past, contributed to defuse tensions in the Korean peninsula, and one such example was, when, as the Chair of the Non Alignment Movement (NAM), the country called for an independent and peaceful reunification of Korea, by way of a Resolution adopted at the end of the 5th NAM Conference held in Colombo in 1976.
Rollie Heke has been charged with three counts of attempted murder after he was arrested early this morning at an address in the Kaingaroa Forest township.

The 37-year-old also faces charges of unlawful possession of a firearm, failing to stop and possession of equipment to manufacture methamphetamine.

He is due to appear in Rotorua District Court this afternoon.

Police have also arrested and charged five more people in relation to the operation to locate Rollie Heke, says Waikato District Commander Superintendent Bruce Bird.

Hekes associate, 43-year-old Irene Scanlon, was taken into custody on her warrant to arrest when Police executed a search warrant in Te Awamutu this morning.

She will appear on her outstanding warrant in Hamilton District Court this afternoon or tomorrow.

In addition to this, a 32 year-old-man and three women aged 62, 43 and 29, have all been charged with being an accessory after the fact and were set to appear in Rotorua District Court today.

One of the police vehicles that was shot at on August 13.

Police would like to thank members of the public for the information they have provided during this operation.

It has been of great assistance. As the matter is now before the courts, police is not in a position to comment further.
Rest assured Tauranga MP Simon Bridges is hearing the concerns of locals, loud and clear.

TeleAudiology is a world first in audiology, connecting audiology specialists with clients using advanced communications technology.

The MP was the first to experience the new audiology system which launched today at the Tauranga Triton Hearing Clinic.

His test results revealed normal hearing in both his ears.

Triton managing director James Whittaker says the new technology eliminates some of the key barriers with patients requiring audiology care.

What we wanted to do was become the hearing provider of choice in New Zealand, says James.

One of the things we have a really have a challenge about in growing is that there is a shortage of audiologists in New Zealand but one in six kiwis have a hearing loss  a lot of those people cant get access to services

He says the need came as a result of shortage in access to specialists.

With Triton Hearing Teleaudiology, the challenge of distance is eliminated. Communication technology enables remote consultations and the delivery of audiological services even if the client and audiologist are hundreds of kilometres apart.

The system has already been in operation in the companys Remuera and Timaru clinics since April this year.

What were trying to do is take audiology to you, rather than you having to come to us.

From our perspective its all about getting access to services for Kiwis, he says.

Triton Hearing clinical development manager Craig Lett has worked on the project for 18 months. He says the system was developed to maintain a personal feel.

Hearing loss is very personal, he says. The way we experience problems is very different from person to person it affects the way we communicate, affects our social interactions and overall quality of life.

So we wanted to find a way of maintaining those personal interactions when youre not in the room with someone and bring together the different technologies, says Craig.

It needs to be something thats easy to experience  something where you could just walk into a room and it feels like a normal interaction.

Tauranga MP Simon Bridges says he is excited about the new technology.

This is definitely the future of core services that well need to provide to people in health and other areas, he says.

Obviously what else is incredibly important about it as well is the help it will give people who have hearing loss which will have a big impact on the quality of life, and social lives and live a full life  so its great to see and really exciting to be a part of it.

Watch the video below to see how the system works.
For the first time in its history Tauranga City councillors have agreed to change the voting system which elects them into their three-year terms.

City councillors this week voted to try the single transferable vote system, instead of first past the post.

It is a decision that can be challenged by the electorate if enough people are against it. The council is required to give public notice of the right to demand a poll on the electoral system to be used for its elections no later than September 19 2017. Demanding such a poll requires five per cent of the enrolled voters at the previous elections  4,532 voters.

The difference between FFP and STV is that instead of placing a tick beside the name of a single candidate, with STV they are ranked by number according to the voters choice.

There are eight councils in NZ that use STV. Dunedin like Tauranga has a mix of ward seats and at large seats. Wellington regional council has wards. Wellington city council is also STV. Porirua wards, Palmerston North at large, Kapiti Coast is mixed and at large says returning officer Warwick Lampp. He thinks the Kaipara is a mix of wards and at large. Marlborough District Council Is also STV.

Returning officer Warwick Lampp says people do use the transferable vote.

What we see is that 30 per cent rank just one candidate. Twenty to 25 per cent rank two candidates, and then the rest is split between the other numbers.

So that shows that people do use those preferences, if they wish.

Under the STV system a person choosing only one candidate is effectively choosing to not allow their vote to be transferred to someone else.

Ranking candidates is all about ranking candidates in order of preference. What it allows you to do is record a preference beside candidates that you would like to see elected. You can rank as few or as many as you wish.

If your most preferred candidate doesnt get in then part of your vote goes to support your second preference.

The change was supported 8/3 with Mayor Greg Brownless, Terry Molloy and Bill Grainger voting against it.

Until we can adequately get it across to the community how this thing works, how you do get a better representation? Im not supporting it, says Terry. Greg Brownless says STV has a Dont worry trust us connotation, of what could possibly go wrong.

its a pity there werent three or four options here because we could do that STV system around the table, and have a little mock vote and see how it comes out.

Bill Grainger says if things are working well as they are, they do not need to fix them.

Kelvin Clout says hes very much in favour of it as it means each persons vote is less likely to be wasted.

You can pick number one for your most preferred candidate and you can go two three or four, just however many you want to.

If people cant figure out one means the top, and two second Im very concerned about the level of intelligence if they cant get their head around that. I believe STV is the fairest approach.
The ZineFest welcomes people to think outside of the box  literally  with one of the art pieces at the festival being a talking box.

Auckland artist Matt Liggins work The Real Pyramid Schemer Project will be one of the many interesting activities at this years Tauranga ZineFest on Saturday, August 26.

Event organiser Lynette Fisher says Matt has made a triangle box out of wood that he will get into three times during the festival to talk to people and draw pictures for the public.

A zine is anything self-published, hand-bound or artistic that usually conveys a controversial message or image.

Others artists attending the event are New Zealand poet David Merritt who makes zines out of banana boxes and Readers Digests, and Craig McClure who will be bringing a photocopier called a risograph to the event.

The Tauranga ZineFest is in its second year and, like Matts project, aims to be a space to allow free expression.

The artists are all very interesting, and the stallholders are all amazing people. Theyre so fun to talk to and its such a community feel, which is what you want, says Lynette.

The ZineFest is for that sub-culture to get together to share and swoop and sell. Zines are the epitome of freedom of expression.

We are hoping that groups of people and zine makers will spring up and it will become a nice little sub-culture in Tauranga.

Last year the ZineFest was one of the most popular events during the Tauranga Arts Festival and Lynette says she hopes it will be just as successful this year.

She says the festival is naturally very organic as each zine festival, regardless of its location in New Zealand, brings different people and works.

The zine makers are always so interested in attending these events, because its a real amazing community of creators: graphic designers, poets, writers.

Lynette says the hardest thing about creating the festival last year was organising it on a shoestring budget, however the festival has had some funding provided this year.

We are doing it for the Tauranga community, were not doing it to make money, says Lynette.

All ZineFests are very much like that, its all very self-produced and DIY.

There are people who go to every Zine ever and people, for example, who are returning from last time who have taken a workshop and are now producing their own zines for this one.

We are all about everyone doing it all together. We are absolutely non-exclusive, anyone and everyone is welcome.

Public are welcome to buy any of the zines and extra merchandise on display at the festival.

The Tauranga ZineFest will be held on Saturday, August 26 on the main floor of the Tauranga Art Gallery on Willow St from 10am-3pm.
Owners of shops and market stalls have said they are fed up with the amount of illegal street vendors selling goods, mostly fake branded items, in the Costas seaside resorts.

Rosa Maria Gonzalez, president of the Benalmadena business and traders association, has said that she is receiving daily complaints from members who have to put up with the sale of fake products right on their doorstep and nobody does anything.

She added that there are some areas, such as the Puerto Deportivo marina in the town, where its difficult to walk, referring to the large sheets that the illegal traders spread out on the pavement.

While the presence of people selling goods on the street to tourists is nothing new, this year numbers have noticeably increased.

The president of the Torremolinos business and traders association, Juan Vallejo, said: The answer isnt to arrest a few of the vendors a day, as they just return or others appear. We need to find better alternatives.

He recalled that last year at a meeting of the local council and the sellers, some of whom are illegal immigrants, it was agreed to find a space for them to set up a small market to sell their goods, but, says Vallejo, The town hall didnt carry out its promise.

Setting up dedicated zones where the illegal traders can operate is one of the solutions put forward to the growing problem. However critics point out that this would mean the sellers giving up one of their more lucrative sources of income, the sale of copies of luxury branded goods. In addition they would have to register as self-employed and pay social security.

Police overstretched

Police in the coastal resorts claim that they have limited resources to deal effectively with the problem, as the local population doubles during the tourist season and their resources are stretched.

When officers go to make their arrests, they find that vendors flee the scene, either leaving their goods or hiding them on the beaches, making it impossible to link what is being sold to a particular person. They also say that increasingly more of the sellers are officially resident in Spain, making it harder for them to deport offenders, who mostly come from west Africa.

Local Police in Benalmadena have carried out a study of how the groups operate which has uncovered that the sellers are highly organised with lookouts and getaway cars.

The local mayor, Victor Navas, is asking for a change in the law to allow him to recruit more people in summer to address the problem.
Juana Rivas, the Granada woman who was wanted from late July for ignoring a court order to hand over her children to their father, came out of hiding on Tuesday and voluntarily appeared in court.

She told the judge that she was keeping her children, aged 11 and three, in hiding for their safety. Rivas accuses their Italian father of domestic violence although he has a court order asking for their return.

The judge released her pending further investigations.

Meanwhile Guardia Civil officers continue to look for the children, although a search warrant for Rivas home outside Granada cant be issued until 1 September, as the civil courts are on their August break.
Investigations into the terror attacks that killed 15 and left more than 100 injured in Catalonia last week have revealed that the scenario could have been much worse.

Eight suspected members of the terrorist cell behind the attacks in Barcelona - where crowds were mown down in the tourist-packed Las Ramblas area - and Cambrils - where six were injured and a woman killed - are dead, while four men were arrested by police and appeared in court for questioning this week.

During the interrogation the court learned that the terrorists had planned to explode bombs at important tourist spots in the city.

An Andalusian in threatening video Security forces have identified one of the terrorists who appeared in a video praising the Catalonia attacks and threatening Spain as Yassin Ahram Perez, the son of a Malaga woman. Ahram Perez speaks Spanish in the video released by the so-called Islamic State, saying that Al-Andalus will be what it was, land of the Caliphate and praising the work of the Barcelona attackers whom he describes as brothers. Ahrem, who went to Syria in 2014 at the age of 38, is the son of Tomasa Perez Mollejas, a woman born in Malaga but who grew up and went to school in Pozoblanco (Cordoba) where her family came from. She converted to Islam at the age of 19 when she married Abdelah Ahram, who is now believed to be in prison in Tangier, accused of terrorism. It is thought that Tomasa went to Syria with all her six children in 2014.

A series of accidents thwarted their plans, however, and the attacks that finally took place were in fact the terrorists plan C.

The young men suspected of carrying out the attacks had been indoctrinated in just months by an imam believed to be behind the attacks, Abdelbaki Es Satty, who was based in the town of Ripoll where several of the suspects lived. The group met at an abandoned building in Riudecanyes, where half-burned passports were found on the remains of a bonfire this week.

Explosion

It was not until after the attack in Barcelona on Thursday last week, however, that police linked an explosion the previous night at a house in Alcanar, in the province of Tarragona, with the terrorists. The house, which the group occupied as squatters, was being used as an explosives laboratory to make the bombs the terrorists were planning to use in what could have been the most horrific chain of terror attacks in Europe in recent years.

Two people died in the explosion, the imam and Youssef Aalla, while a third man, Mohamed Houli Chemlal, was injured. Houli Chemlal is one of the four survivors who revealed more details of the plans in court.

After the explosion, the group turned to a plan B which involved two simultaneous terror rampages using rented vans in Las Ramblas in Barcelona and on the seafront in Cambrils on Thursday last week.

The first of the vans reached its destination and ploughed into pedestrians killing 13 and injuring many more of numerous nationalities. This van was driven by Younes Abouyaaqoub, who was not tracked down until Monday when, wearing a fake explosive belt, he was shot dead by police.

Accident

The second van, driven by Mohamed Hichamy, was involved in an accident on the AP-7 near Cambrils. Hichamy fled the scene on foot and joined his companions in Riudecanyes.

Flowers and candles as a tribute to victims in Barcelona. / EFE

This led to their third plan. Hichamy and four others, armed with knives and an axe that they had bought in a shop that evening, and wearing fake explosive belts, travelled to Cambrils in an Audi A3. The cars owner, Mohamed Aalla, has since been arrested and released on bail.

Once at the seafront the five drove into pedestrians and crashed into a police car. They injured six and stabbed one woman causing fatal injuries, before being shot dead by police.

Grief

Thousands of people, headed by King Felipe, came together to express their grief last Friday following the terror attacks. The crowds paid tribute to the victims with a minutes silence followed by two minutes of applause and cries of No tinc por - Im not afraid in Catalan.

The demonstration in the Plaza de Catalunya in Barcelona was also attended by Spains prime minister Mariano Rajoy, deputy prime minister, Soraya Saenz de Santamaria, and leaders of the countrys main political parties. They stood alongside the president of the Catalonian government, Carles Puigdemont, his ministers and the mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau.

Similar gatherings took place in Madrid and throughout Spain. A minutes silence was held outside town halls along the Costa del Sol.

Thousands are expected to turn out for a march against terrorism this Saturday in Barcelona.
They call themselves Las Kellys, an ingenious and customised abbreviation of "Las Que Limpian", in other words The Women who Clean. Hotel chambermaids started to join forces several months ago, tired of terrible conditions that include cleaning between 20 and 30 rooms a day in exchange for tiny salaries of no more than 700 euros a month. Their backs are suffering after so many years of making beds every day. For years theyve had knee and wrist problems, bent backs and premature osteoarthritis, but above all what hurts is their self-respect when they read that you cant complain in the tourism sector, that you have to smile at even the rudest of guests because the customer is always right. But that self pity doesnt last long; no longer than it takes them to realise that the politicians, entrepreneurs and journalists who celebrate record figures summer after summer, ignore the reverse side of the gold coin that is tourism on the Costa del Sol. And so they protest, and they have every right to do so. Because hidden behind those record figures of the industry that turns the wheels of this provinces economy is job instability and an unequal and unfair - and perhaps soon illegal - sharing out of the pie.

The union Comisiones Obreras (CCOO) is preparing to report more than 40 hotels in the province of Malaga to the employment inspectors for subcontracting their cleaning services out to firms that fail to comply with the workers agreement that governs the hospitality sector and guarantees a decent wage. This system results in cleaners earning half of what they should be. A recent sentence handed down by the Andalusian High Court obliged one of these multiservice subcontractors to pay a hotel chambermaid the salary indicated in the workers agreement. The ruling puts both these companies and the hotel groups who fail to demand that the agreement is adhered to in a predicament.

Recently some of the most important businesses in the sector publicly spoke out against the hoteliers who outsource their cleaning services to save thousands of euros by cutting salaries. They at least realise that the real defence of tourism lies in putting a stop to the degradation of those without whom the industry would collapse.
Blimey, Englands quiet isn't it? Having just got back to Malaga after a flying visit, I'm still readjusting to the hullaballoo that the city offers even in a supposedly tranquil period such as this just after the city fair. The contrast in decibel levels between Andalucia and Lancashire is quite astonishing.

Arriving at Manchester airport, I wondered if a baggage handler had recently snuffed it or something such were the reverentially hushed tones employed by staff and customers alike. Nope, it was just a normal shout-free day with everyone going about their shout-free business. After dropping my bags off at my destination, my first port of call was, of course, the nearest pub. Same again. When I walked through the door, I felt like one of those cowboys in an old western. The place was basically silent and the twenty or so customers turned as one to see who the stranger in town was. Having decided that his nondescript presence posed no threat, they soon went back to whispering softly at each other. I tried to keep my own voice as low as possible.

Pint of beer, please.

Silence. Sound of beer being poured.

Thank you.

Silence. A smile and a nod. Sound of coins dropping into till.

And that was it. I drank my pint and left, nodding and smiling (it was clearly the favoured form of communication) and everyone nodded and smiled back. Words, it seemed, were simply superfluous to requirements.

It was about seven in the evening by this time, pleasantly warm and light as I headed back home. I didnt see a soul on the leafy suburban streets except for an old woman driving a massive car very slowly and very quietly. So slowly and quietly, in fact, that I wondered if shed just set off for a family visit arranged for Christmas.

I could see directly into everybodys living room as I walked by and the whole town seemed to be watching quiz shows. With the volume turned down. In fact, all I could hear was the occasional wood pigeon and the sound of my own ear wax.

Theres no doubt that for a small island, the UK has offered a disproportionate number of cultural works in the fields of literature, music, theatre, art, photography and design to name but a few. I wonder to what extent the mind space that peace and quiet affords has played a part in that.

Theres something fascinating and vital about Malaga and its incessant racket because it makes you feel extraordinarily alive, but theres also a lot to be said for the spaces in between the chatter and noise because - whisper it softly, now - thats where the magic lies.
Retouched photograph This measure was first introduced in 2016 by the enactment of the Law No 2016-41 'on the modernisation of our health system' dated 26 January 2016 (see



It took over a year and a half for the measure to come into force as the 2016 reform could only be implemented by the introduction of a government decree. The decree, nicknamed the "photoshop decree" by the press, was finalised and published by the French government on 4 May 2017 (R 2133-4, This measure was first introduced in 2016 by the enactment of the Law No 2016-41 'on the modernisation of our health system' dated 26 January 2016 (see Article 19, here in French language ). The initiative came from the Ministry of Health who wished to take concrete steps towards improving issues of "body image in our society by preventing the promotion of unattainable ideals of beauty and tackling anorexia among young adults, [...] models in particular" (according to their official press release reported here in French language ). The Ministry reports that at least 600,000 teenagers and young adults suffer from eating disorders, including 40,000 from anorexia. These illnesses are the second most common cause of death for the age group 15-24, after road accidents. Ultimately, the government hopes that the negative message the notice conveys to consumers will deter advertisers from editing photographs in the first place.It took over a year and a half for the measure to come into force as the 2016 reform could only be implemented by the introduction of a government decree. The decree, nicknamed the "photoshop decree" by the press, was finalised and published by the French government on 4 May 2017 ( see here ). The new dispositions were drafted in collaboration with the industry according to the Ministry, and can now be found under Articles L 2133-2 R 2133-5 and R 2133-6 of the French Public Health Code. It is clear from these provisions are not limited to the fashion press, and will apply to all forms of commercial advertising campaigns that are communicated to the public online, in the press or on billboards.



The main provisions (translated)

[here] , whose physical appearance has been modified through the use of image processing software to slim down or thicken the model's silhouette must bear the notice: 'Retouched Photograph.'" Article L 2133-2 provides that, "photographs used for commercial purposes of models, as defined by Article L 7123-2 of the Employment Law Code





Article R 2133-5 further specifies that the, "notice must be affixed in the manner that is accessible, easily readable and clearly distinct from the advertising or promotional message." It goes on to stress that such presentation will be governed by "rules and conventions of good practice defined by the industry", and for this purpose the text refers directly to the French advertising regulation authority known as 'Autorite de Regulation Professionnelle de la Publicite'.





It is clear from Article R 2133-6 that the obligation to disclose the retouching of images rests on advertisers rather than photographers or publishers. Indeed, the provision reads "[t]he advertiser shall ensure that the legal obligations found under Articles L 2333-2, R 2133-4 and R 2133-5 of the Code are respected. To this end, they must ascertain that the photographs used for commercial purposes they purchase, directly or via other third parties, were retouched using image processing software with a view to slim down or thicken the model's silhouette". From the wording of the provision, it appears that only editing concerning the body shape of models will be subject to public disclosure but other common aspects of photo-shopping such as skin tone, hair colour or wrinkles may continue to go incognito.
BIMCO launches training for senior managers

BIMCO has launched a new course for experienced senior industry professionals.

The BIMCO Advanced Maritime Training Week will take place in Copenhagen from 9th October to 13th October. The five-day course will examine and analyse - markets, ship finance and maritime economics, business planning and implementation, chartering risk management and concludes with a business simulation exercise - the process and results of which will be judged by an expert panel. Angus Frew, BIMCO CEO and secretary general, said: "Every sector of the commercial shipping industry is being affected by sweeping changes, business models and market forces are under reconstruction. "New innovative manufacturing methods are maturing and are expected to transform logistics' chains. This has the potential to influence maritime transportation, but how - is still unpredictable. "This brand new course, featuring leading industry figures has been developed in direct response to comments from our members. Pitched at a high level for senior managers, the intention is to provide the participants with a clear understanding of the developments and transformational changes impacting shipping markets worldwide," he said. All of the speakers have been selected for their practical experience managing change and transformation in shipping and chartering businesses. The residential course will provide specialist training for senior staff in a boot camp style setting. The week will also include trips to the Maersk museum, to Avedore power station, in depth case studies, business simulation exercises and presentations. Advanced Maritime Training is aimed specifically at senior chartering and operations managers working in shipowning and shipmanagement, or for traders, commodity exporters or importers, as well as senior managers from bunker and ship agency/brokering businesses.




Hafnia Tankers remains in the black

The product tanker market contributed to Hafnia Tankers operating profit of $14.8 mill and net profit of $2.3 mill for the first six months of this year.

The book value of the fleet, including newbuildings and remaining capex, as of 30th June, 2017 was $1,093.4 mill. As of the same date, Hafnia had $64.9 mill in cash and $576.4 mill of bank debt. Hafnias share of the remaining capex for the newbuildings was $35.2 mill and as of the end of June, the company had a firm term sheet from a first-class bank to fund the newbuildings, and in combination with the cash balance, the newbuild programme was fully financed. No debt maturities are due before January, 2022, the company said. The overall product tanker market weakened further during the second quarter of 2017, reflecting the ongoing imbalance between supply and demand of tonnage. High inventories and reduced trading activity did not support any additional increase of freight rates. However, we did see the start of reduced oil inventories by the end of 2Q17, which in combination with a reduced orderbook, as well as growing oil consumption, are needed for an improved market, the company said. Gross earnings during 1H17 were about $14,650 per LR1 per day, $14,700 per MR and $13,175 per SR per day. As of 30th June, 2017 Hafnias fleet consisted of 37 owned and five chartered-in vessels. Vista Shipping, of which Hafnia Tankers has a 50% ownership, has two LR1s on order, with expected deliveries in 1Q19. Commercial management of the product tankers is handled by Hafnia Management. The three divisions - LR1, MR, and SR, have 111 vessels under management, including forward commitments, Hafnia said.




SGS Group orders ballast water monitoring kits

aqua-tools, a specialist in water microbiology, has delivered the first in series of 30 rapid ATP Ballast Water Monitoring Systems to the SGS Group.

The Geneva-based testing and certification body has agreements in place with several countries to inspect and monitor the treated ballast waters of vessels entering their ports, the latest of which is Saudi Arabia. Vessels discharging ballast water in Saudi Aramco ports are now required to present a ballast water report and sample effective 16th August, 2017. Dr Vladimiro Bonamin, vice president, global business development manager, SGS Group, said: With the entry into force of the Ballast Water Management Convention next month, ballast water monitoring will become an important aspect of the port state control function, as inspectors test treated water for compliance. aqua-tools, in collaboration with SGS Group (Switzerland) and LuminUltra (Canada), has developed a rapid ATP technology designed to be the most reliable and effective ballast water monitoring solution on the market. According to Bonamin, existing bioluminescence methodologies used to monitor Adenosine Tri-phosphates (ATP), a molecular structure, like DNA, that is found in all living organisms, are ineffective in high salinity waters and while an accepted method for testing surface waters, these rudimentary solutions do not provide a reliable tool with which to test the efficacy of ballast water treatment systems. Marc Raymond, aqua-tools managing director, said: Our test protocol is based on the bioluminescence principle, whereby the proportion of light correlates exactly with the number of Adenosine Tri-phosphates found in ballast water. Other luminometers measure the light but these use a very rudimentary measurement pen to take a small sample of the water. This is ineffective since the reagent required to extract the ATP from the organism is heavily diluted and does not provide an accurate measurement from which to assess efficacy across the entire spectrum specified in the IMO D2 parameters list. While much focus has been given to the ballast water treatment system, there has been little discussion about enforcement, said Bonamin. Existing ballast water testing methods could mean that incorrect measurements are taken, resulting in heavy financial penalties for shipowners. We now have the technology available to provide 100% indicative but accurate readings more or less immediately, without having to send samples off to laboratories. aqua-tools ATP 2G technology can be used on board vessels and by enforcement agencies to rapidly analyse treated waters on board during the de-ballasting process, providing results in less than 40 minutes. SGS Group has agreements in place to implement ballast water compliance verification tests and certification in seven countries, with the service available in US, Canada, South Africa, Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Finland, UAE, India, China, South Korea, Australia, Thailand and Taiwan. The 30 rapid ATP ballast water test kits will now be distributed to SGS Group offices in all those countries to which it has been contracted to carry out ballast water verification tests.




Stealthgas bullish going forward

Harry Vafias Stealthgas revenues for the three months ended 30th June, 2017 amounted to $39.3 mill, an increase of $3.6 mill, or 10.1%, compared to revenues of $35.7 mill for 2Q16.

This was mainly due to increased fleet utilisation and a slight increase in market rates. Voyage expenses and vessels operating expenses for 2Q17 were $4.5 mill and $14.4 mill, respectively, compared to $3.7 mill and $15.2 mill, respectively, for 2Q16. The $0.8 mill increase in voyage expenses was mainly due to higher bunker costs on the back of ncreased oil prices. The 5.3% decrease in vessels operating expenses compared to the same period of 2016 was mostly due to improved operating efficiency and a 10.6% decrease in store costs. Stealthgas recorded an impairment loss of $3.2 mill for three of its oldest vessels, two of which were classified as held for sale, as of 30th June, 2017. As a result of the above, the company reported a net loss of $1.7 mill for 2Q17, compared to a net loss of $1.6 mill for 2Q16. Adjusted net income was $1.5 mill for 2Q17, compared to adjusted net loss of $1.5 mill for the same period of last year. EBITDA amounted to $12.2 mill. Revenues for the first half of this year, amounted to $77.3 mill, an increase of $5.1 mill, or 7.1%, compared to revenues of $72.2 mill for 1H16, primarily due to improved market conditions. Voyage expenses and vessels operating expenses for 1H17 were $8.1 mill and $29.3 mill, respectively, compared to $7.6 mill and $29.8 mill for 1H16. The $0.5 mill increase in voyage expenses was mainly due to the higher bunker prices prevailing during the period, compared to 1H16. The $0.5 mill decrease in vessels operating expenses was mainly driven by improved operating efficiency and a decrease in store costs that led to the decline of daily average operating cost by 1.5%, compared to the first six months of 2016. The Company also recorded an impairment loss of $3.2 mill for the period. As a result of the above, Stealthgas reported net income for 1H17 of $0.3 mill, compared to a net loss of $0.9 mill for 1H16. Adjusted net income was $3.6 mill, compared to adjusted net loss of $1.3 mill for the same period of last year. EBITDA for amounted to $27.6 mill for 1H17. Board chairman, Michael Jolliffe, commented: The second quarter of 2017 was quite encouraging for StealthGas. In spite of the low seasonal demand, we managed to achieve close to 95% operational utilisation, which is the second best, second quarters performance marked since the year 2012. Consequently, our revenues were higher than anticipated. In addition to this, we succeeded in decreasing our operating costs. So both these factors contributed to our profitability which, excluding the impairment charges of the quarter, was quite satisfactory and significantly improved compared to the second quarter of 2016. Going forward, we have secured more than 83% of our fleet days in period charters and our market shows positive signs of improvement, such as increase in rates, low orderbook and acceleration of the scrapping activity. In addition we succeeded in pushing back the deliveries of our second and third 22,000 cu m semi-ref eco newbuildings to the first quarter of 2018. Last but not least, we sold two of our oldest ships at a hefty premium over scrap showing increased confidence from buyers even for overage ships. Based on all of the above, we remain confident for the quarters to come, he concluded.




Swedish Club strengthens reserves

The Swedish Club returned a solid performance in the first six months of the accounting year. Despite its decision to offer a discount of 4% to all P&I members 2017/2018, the Club delivered an operating surplus of $19 mill for the period.

Free reserves are now at a top level of $213.8 mill, reinforcing the Clubs commitment to meet members needs, while also allowing for further growth of the business. The combined ratio of 94% continues to show a stable performance, below 100% on an eight-year average, the Club claimed. Lars Rhodin, managing director of The Swedish Club, said: Our growth remains firmly in line with our agreed plans and has exceeded 70 mill gt combined owners and charterers P&I entries. This year is a special year for the Club with the celebration of its 145 years in the marine insurance business. The Asian market remains one of our key markets and we are also very proud to celebrate 35 years in Hong Kong this year, he added. At the 145th Annual General Meeting held in June, the Club welcomed three new board members - Chen Wei from Cosco Shipping Lines, Shanghai; Jude Correa from Seaspan Ship Management, Vancouver; and Lu Jian from Winning Shipping in Singapore.




Two tanker incidents reported

Two incidents involving tankers, which resulted in fatalities, were reported this week.

First, four workers were killed in an explosion in a tank of an LR1 under construction at the STX Offshore & Shipbuilding shipyard in Jinhae, South Korea for unnamed Greek interests, last Sunday. The four men, aged in their 30s to 50s, were painting inside the 12 m deep oil tank at the time of the explosion, the national fire agency reportedly said. The 74,000 dwt ship was was due to be delivered to a Greek owner in October. Second, the Stealth Maritime Corp-managed MR Alnic MC, which was involved in a collision with a US warship to the east of Singapore early on Monday, was carrying nearly 12,000 tonnes of fuel oil, but there was no reported oil spill. According to local reports, the MR was sailing from Taiwan to Singapore when the collision occurred, causing around 10 fatalities on board the warship. Following the collision, the Alnic MC proceeded to Raffles Reserved Anchorage where an investigation will take place. According to the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), Raffles Reserved Anchorage, located to the south of Bukom Island, is reserved for vessels requiring emergency repairs and damaged vessels or as directed by the Port Master. Later it emerged that Alnic MC was detected by the Singapore maritime authorities before its collision with the US destroyer USS John S McCain on Monday morning. The MPA said in response to questions from The Straits Times on Wednesday that its Vessel Traffic Information System (VTIS) had only detected the tanker. However, the MPA explained that SOLAS requiring mandatory carriage of AIS is not applicable to warships or troop ships. Admiral Scott Swift, commander of the US Pacific Fleet, told reporters in Singapore on Tuesday that nothing is being ruled out in the investigations. This includes possible negligence on the part of the crew, which will be investigated, he said, adding that "every scenario will be reviewed and investigated in detail". Yesterday (24th August), the Alnic MC, was discharging its cargo of 12,000 tonnes of fuel oil in Singapore, according to Stealth Maritime who also said that the cargo discharge was cleared by the Singaporean authorities. Once the discharge is completed,Alnic MC will proceed to a Singaporean anchorage to undergo further assessment and repair. The crew will continue to operate and maintain the vessel during this process, the company said in a statement. The tanker sustained a gash to the starboard side of the bow above the waterline. There were no injuries to crew and no reported pollution in the Singapore Strait. Stealth Maritime Corporation is continuing to co-operate fully with all of the relevant authorities in their investigations into the collision, the company said.




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A U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs decision to pursue a new direction in processing health records has created a highly visible endorsement of the use of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) information technology by federal agencies. President Trump cited the VAs action as an example of the administrations commitment to vastly improve federal IT management.

The VA earlier this month awarded a contract to Cerner to develop an electronic health record (EHR) system for the department. The Cerner program will replace the existing VA patient data system, known as VistA, which was developed in-house and has been in use for at least 30 years.

The sheer size of Veterans Affairs, which serves 8.7 million veterans through 1,700 facilities, makes the decision to use an outside contractor noteworthy, as federal agencies strive to meet recently introduced initiatives promoting the outsourcing of information technology.

For vendors, the policy turn indicates more potential in the federal market. VA did not immediately disclose the value of the Cerner contract, but it could amount to several billion dollars. The U.S. Department of Defense in 2015 awarded a similar medical records contract to a consortium of companies including Leidos, Cerner and Accenture, which was valued at US$4.3 billion. DoD noted that the eventual cost of the program could reach $9 billion.

Time for a Change

The VistA system, which VA personnel designed in their off hours decades ago, has been heralded as a pioneering effort in EHR management. The program became a template for both government and private healthcare providers.

However, VA Secretary David Shulkin recently decided that it would be more appropriate for the agency to concentrate on healthcare and leave data processing to commercial specialists.

The departments system is in need of major modernization to keep pace with the improvements in health information technology and cybersecurity, Shulkin said.

Software development is not a core competency of VA, he added.

I said recently to Congress that I was committed to getting VA out of the software business, that I didnt see remaining in that business as benefiting veterans, Shulkin said, and because of that, were making a decision to move towards a commercial off-the-shelf product.

In addition to the need for modernization, the shift to the Cerner offering was triggered by the VA and DoDs shared goal to create a seamless health record that would follow service personnel from active duty through veteran status.

After spending hundreds of millions on the effort, the agencies abandoned the project, largely because of the inability to provide proper interoperability functions, according to Shulkin. DoD then engaged the consortium of Leidos, Cerner and Accenture to provide EHRs for the military.

The prudent course for VA would be a similar approach based on the same technology, Shulkin concluded. As a result, the Cerner contract was issued as a sole source, noncompetitive transaction that potentially will assure compatibility by way of Cerners Millenium offering as the core technology for both the DoD and VA.

Another benefit of the sole source award is that it will save time, given that the DoD competitive process took more than two years from the initial Request for Proposals to the final contract award, Shulkin noted.

The emphasis on commercial off-the-shelf solutions began late in the Obama administration.

Agencies need a more centralized and collaborative software management approach so that they can optimize utilization of commercial and COTS software licenses and maximize the use of best-in-class software purchasing and management solutions, Anne Rung, then U.S. chief acquisition officer, said last year.

The effort to upgrade federal IT has been reinforced by the Trump administration.

Our goal is to lead a sweeping transformation of the federal governments technology that will deliver dramatically better services for citizens [and] stronger protection from cyberattacks, the president said in a recent meeting with technology executives.

VA Secretary Shulkin recently announced that were upgrading technology to allow the seamless transfer of veterans medical records from the Defense Department, which has been a huge problem for decades and decades for our great veterans, Trump said.

Conversion Challenges

The VA could encounter significant hurdles in implementing the COTS system.

Many COTS solutions are built around private sector healthcare models and workflows with zero direct application to how the VA actually works, while VistA was developed specifically to meet VAs needs according to its best practices, noted Deanne Clark, senior health informatics consultant for DSS, in an online post.

Many private sector COTS vendors of EHR programs have failed to meet federal interoperability standards, she pointed out.

Additionally, the VistA system, as an open technology government-developed program, has been adopted widely for use in the private sector health system, Clark said, and it received a top ranking by 20,000 clinicians.

The VA will face challenges switching to an unproven system while simultaneously maintaining the existing VistA system during the conversion period, she said.

Despite those misgivings, Clarks company, which has been a supporting contractor to VA, hopes to remain steadfast in that role.

We want to see VA succeed at this effort, she told the E-Commerce Times.

While the VA will switch out of VistA, Clark still sees value in the private sector version of VistA that will remain a service provided by her company.

We support VA and our veterans, but we will continue to innovate, enhance, and modernize VistA for our present and future commercial clients, and hopefully throughout the duration of VAs transition to COTS, she said.

Multiple factors went into VAs choice to use the COTS approach, Clark acknowledged.

I know that Secretary Shulkin based the decision on a number of factors, and I am not aware of all of the information he had available to make that decision, she said.

Contracting Competitors Busy at VA

While potential competitors for the VA contract could be miffed that the department used a sole source procurement, several seem satisfied with their existing business with the department.

For example, VA early last year gave 21 companies spots on a multiyear IT support contract known as T4NG, with a potential value of $22 billion.

The department in 2015 awarded a $624 million IT contract for health scheduling services to a former Lockheed Martin unit that is now a part of Leidos, along with Epic Systems, a major health IT provider.

We remain focused on and committed to our mission of delivering a world-class electronic health records [system] to the men and women of our Armed Forces, said Leidos Senior Vice President Jerry Hogge.

Our MHS Genesis solution was designed with system interoperability in mind. The VA Secretarys decision to accelerate getting the DoD and VA on a common electronic health record system represents a profoundly important milestone for our nations veterans, their families and beneficiaries, he told the E-Commerce Times.

Epic declined to comment directly on competitive issues but noted its continuing work with VA.

The company is proud to serve our veterans both through the VA scheduling project and through our customers that care for millions of veterans across America, Epic said in a statement provided to the E-Commerce Times by spokesperson Meghan Roh.

In fact, there is a good possibility that Cerner might enlist other companies to support the COTS contract with VA.

We look forward to sharing more information as we build the team of innovative and experienced partners that will join us to complete this vital work, Cerner said in a statement provided to the E-Commerce Times by spokesperson Dan Smith.

In cooperation with the DoD, the VA project will improve interoperability, Cerner said, as well as the creation of a single longitudinal health record that can facilitate the efficient exchange of data for current and former service members.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness on Wednesday announced that Google on mobile now provides people who search for the term clinical depression with a direct link to the PHQ-9 questionnaire used by medical professionals in the United States to evaluate patients for the disorder.

People can conduct a self-assessment by filling in the questionnaire online.

When someone conducts a Google search on mobile for information on clinical depression, a link to check if youre clinically depressed will appear in the depression knowledge panel.

Clicking on the link will take the user to the PHQ-9 questionnaire.

NAMI hopes teaming up with Google will help raise awareness of clinical depression and lead sufferers to determine their level of depression and the need to seek help, said Mary Giliberti, the organizations CEO.

Clinical depression is a treatable condition, and the PHQ-9 can be the first step to getting a proper diagnosis, she noted.

Noble Effort

One in five Americans experience an episode of clinical depression in their lifetime, but only about half the sufferers receive treatment, Giliberti pointed out, and generally only after six to eight years.

By making PHQ-9 easily accessible in the Clinical Depression Knowledge Panel, we hope that will help provide useful and insightful information to spur deeper research on the Web or to help you have more in-depth conversations with your doctor, said Google spokesperson Susan Cadrecha.

The effort is noble, though Id feel better if this project was managed by someone other than Google, with the appropriate medical background, oversight and protections, such as a major hospital, remarked Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group.

Privacy Questions

Because Google stores user data, there may be legitimate concerns that information entered into the PHQ-9 form would be retained.

The privacy and security of our users is of the utmost importance, Googles Cadrecha told TechNewsWorld.

We recognize that this information is sensitive and private, and Google will not store your responses or your results, she said.

This speaks to trust, and whether management actually knows what the engineers who have set this up actually did, Enderle told TechNewsWorld.

In the past, Google has been lax with regard to oversight, he added, so concerns about data retention are reasonable, even though it clearly isnt an executive intent.

Google parent Alphabet already collects some data on consumers health.

Its Verily Life Sciences division, formerly Google Life Sciences, in 2014 launched Project Baseline, which seeks to collect phenotypic health data from about 10,000 participants over four years.

The project will make de-identified data from the study available to qualified researchers for exploratory analysis.

Google Is Watching You?

Google sees everything that moves through their portal, said Michael Jude, a research manager at Stratecast/Frost & Sullivan.

At some level, everythings stored for some period of time, he told TechNewsWorld.

Google is asking us to trust them not to store anything long term, Jude added. However, the act of seeing this data lets it build profiles of users.

The company probably already can build a psychological profile of its users from their searches and other user data, he speculated. If a profile leaked, they could claim that it was simply from publicly disclosed data. How could anyone prove otherwise?
Microsoft and Red Hat this week expanded their nearly 2-year-old alliance to bridge the gap between Windows and open source computing with the launch of several new initiatives to help enterprise customers more easily adopt container solutions.

Through the new collaboration, customers will gain access to native support for Windows Server containers operating on Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform, Red Hat OpenShift Dedicated on Microsoft Azure, and SQL Server on Red Hat Enterprise Linux and OpenShift.

Microsoft and Red Hat are aligned in our commitment to bring enterprise customers the hybrid cloud solutions they need to modernize their businesses as they shift to operate in a cloud-native world, said John Gossman, lead Azure architect at Microsoft.

Native Support

The announcement bolsters an alliance that began in 2015, when Microsoft began offering Red Hat Enterprise Linux as the preferred choice for enterprise Linux workloads on Microsoft Azure.

Since then, the companies have expanded their collaborative efforts to offer integrated support across hybrid Microsoft and Red Hat environments.

The two also announced a collaboration on .Net this week, making .Net 2.0 available as a container in OpenShift. The companies also will bring SQL Server for Linux to Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Red Hat OpenShift.

These efforts alone have had a positive impact on our customers and we think the overall enterprise IT landscape, Mike Ferris, vice president for cloud strategy at Red Hat, told LinuxInsider.

Companies often want to run mission-critical applications on containers, but most IT organizations are not equipped to run on a single infrastructure stack, according to Microsoft. Therefore, when they run Windows and Linux platforms, the applications are siloed.

With the new collaboration, however, Windows Server containers will be supported natively on Red Hat OpenShift  a container application platform that brings Docker and Kubernetes to the enterprise. Docker is the technology for creating and using Linux containers, and Kubernetes is an open source platform for automating Linux.

Red Hat OpenShift will be the first container application platform built from open source Kubernetes to support Linux and Windows Server container workloads in a single platform across multiple environments of the hybrid cloud, the companies said.

Deepening Partnership

Microsoft wants to help enterprises more easily adopt containers and cloud-native apps on Azure, said Paul Teich, principal analyst at Tirias Research.

My read is that this deeper Red Hat alliance is part of Microsofts bigger Azure Stack infrastructure picture, he told LinuxInsider. Its not about open source as much as it is about microservices architecture.

As enterprises buy into the private cloud, they will consider modernizing the way they write their business logic, Teich said.

Azure Stack looks like a safe way for enterprises to move on-premises operations to a private cloud, and it scales very well to Azures public cloud, he pointed out.

Microsoft really sees an embrace of open source computing as the future of the company, and it increasingly will depend on integrating these platforms as cloud computing becomes the main focus for its enterprise business, suggested Gary Chen, research manager for software defined compute at IDC.

The reality today is that open source is a huge factor in cloud and next-gen platforms like containers, he told LinuxInsider. You cant be competitive without engaging in those communities, and Microsoft has done a very good job in doing so.
A secret Amazon team, dubbed 1492, has been working on a skunkworks project devoted entirely to healthcare, CNBC reported Thursday. The unit has been developing hardware devices and software applications related to electronic medical records, telemedicine and other health-related issues.

The 1492 moniker refers to the year that Christopher Columbus made his voyage to the Americas, but perhaps the Amazon team missed the irony that Columbus actually did not realize he had discovered a new continent and thought he was somewhere else.

Nonetheless, its clear that Amazons aim is to cover the bases in the healthcare arena, likely a bid to cash in on the sectors massive profit potential.

The greater U.S. healthcare market experienced double digital growth from 2000 to 2011, with an increase in U.S. revenue from US$1.2 trillion to $2.3 trillion, according to the Centers for Disease Control. That figure likely will grow at an increasing rate as healthcare costs in America continue to skyrocket.

Full Coverage

One of the goals of Amazons 1492 team appears to be ensuring that Amazon develops a foothold in multiple segments of the lucrative healthcare industry. The latest news builds on an earlier announcement that Amazon has been exploring the possibility of selling pharmaceuticals.

The 1492 team reportedly has been working on ways to streamline medical records management, so as to make the information available to consumers and doctors more readily. In addition, it reportedly has been considering a plan that could improve U.S. healthcare for those with limited access to a doctor. It could include the development of a new telemedicine platform that would allow patients to have virtual consultations with doctors.

Amazon is not entirely new to the medical world, as it already has developed health applications. The next step could be greater connectivity options between its medical devices and other proprietary products, such as its artificial intelligence assistant, Alexa.

Healthcare is the biggest sector in the economy and ripe for innovation, said Roger Entner, principal analyst at Recon Analytics.

Nobody spends more on healthcare than the U.S.,while many countries have significantly better outcomes for their citizens than the U.S., he told TechNewsWorld.

Healthy Market

Amazon is not the only company that has been exploring opportunities in the world of healthcare. Apple, Google and Microsoft each have launched their own initiatives.

It makes sense for all these companies to be investing in AI for healthcare, because along with AI in transportation, AI in healthcare will change society, said Jim McGregor, principal analyst at Tirias Research.

With access to all the medical scans, diagnoses and feed information that is available from the major healthcare providers, artificial intelligence would do a better job in some respects than a human, he told TechNewsWorld.

With its massive data centers and AI capabilities, Amazon is well positioned to be a leader in this area, but it needs to get access to the data, which has been the biggest challenge, added McGregor. Note that its only been within the last decade that the majority of medical information has transitioned to electronic form, so it would have been almost impossible to do before.

Cloud Computing and Healthcare

With advances in the archiving of digital information and deep learning, the time could be right to leverage AI for healthcare. However, regulations and privacy concerns could be major challenges, at least in the short term.

Unfortunately, many healthcare providers are trying to maintain control of all this data, said McGregor.

In the U.S., in particular, healthcare providers hide behind HIPAA regulations, which state that you need to keep the patients personal information private, not that you cant share the anonymized information, he added.

Healthcare organizations would have to be persuaded to share their data, even though doing so would leverage a third-party service provider like Amazon. Would the healthcare industry even consider such cooperation?

Up to now, the answer has been no  but it could significantly lower their costs and improve the quality of services provided, added McGregor.

In the long term, it will take an independent third party like Amazon to maximize the benefits of AI in healthcare, he suggested.

That is why the various players are entering this very controlled market  one that has both potential and hurdles  so cautiously.

We are so early in the digitization of healthcare that nobody is really leading, said Recon Analytics Entner.

There is definitely demand, but everyone needs to buy in for it to work for everyone, he said. The reason why everyone is flocking to it is market size, but the obvious fact is that it can be done better, and nobody is doing it remotely right.
Samsung let the cat out of the bag ahead of schedule again (read: 2017 Galaxy J5 and J7 and Galaxy S8 active), and this time around, it "accidentally leaked" the Gear Fit 2 Pro.

Now this goes without saying, but the Gear Fit 2 Pro is the successor to Samsung's Gear Fit 2, which was released back in June 2016. Across the board, the new wearable is more or less the same as its predecessor, but it does come with some upgrades worth taking note of.

Gear Fit 2 Pro vs Gear Fit 2

First and foremost, the Gear Fit 2 Pro features a water resistance of up to 5ATM. That translates to a capability of surviving about 50 meters or 164 feet underwater.

From the look of things, it's targeted at swimmers. That said, it supports a new Speedo app that can track wearers' swimming sessions and even a new strap that's designed to securely stay in place on users' wrists when hitting the pool.

One takeaway here is that it's somewhat leveling the wearable playing field with Apple's Watch Series 2, but that doesn't include the Pokemon GO deal.

Meanwhile, regarding color options, it seems that it's going to be available in either an all-black variant or a black and red model.

That's pretty much it. Elsewhere, the Gear Fit 2 Pro is the same as the Gear Fit 2 on all accounts, from the step counter and heart-rate tracker to the GPS and curved AMOLED display. That's not saying that these aren't welcome improvements, though.

Gear Fit 2 Pro Page Spotted Live Ahead Of Schedule

To give credit where it's due, the person who chanced upon the official Gear Fit 2 Pro website is none other than Evan Blass, aka @evleaks on Twitter.

Samsung Gear Fit2 Pro page live a bit early...https://t.co/7TTQm3L9jw pic.twitter.com/JqBWAGuQUE  Evan Blass (@evleaks) August 23, 2017

For the record, the leak of sorts is through the courtesy of Samsung Malaysia. Now the page is currently down at the time of this writing, but as luck would have it, the nitty-gritty details of the upcoming wearable have made the rounds online before then, which are outlined above.

As if things couldn't get any better, Blass also ran into the possible $199.99 price of the Gear Fit 2 Pro, thanks to a "big box retailer" in the United States. That's $20 more than the Gear Fit 2.

Samsung Gear Fit2 Pro pricing at a big box retailer in the U.S... pic.twitter.com/u9xNUKV8Zl  Evan Blass (@evleaks) August 20, 2017

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed that six people were killed and 53 injured in the blast. | Read More
DEAR BRUCE: A U.S. Post Office clerk recently told me postal employees can no longer take addressed letters without a return address. People can deposit addressed letters without a return address into standing unattended mailboxes, but postal employees are now forbidden from accepting them at postal counters.

It seems like the days of sending anonymous letters are about over. Do you think this infringes on freedom of the press and freedom of speech? -- R.G.

DEAR R.G.: It seems to me that maybe there's some narrow protection in not allowing you to send a letter without a return address. But since you've pointed out that you can walk outside and drop it in a letterbox and it will get mailed, it seems like an exercise in futility. If, for whatever reason, you don't want to put a return address on your mail, just send it off in a letterbox and go.

DEAR BRUCE: My wife and I are 57 years old and want to retire by 62. I will likely continue working as a consultant or teaching long past that, but not full time.

Our combined income is $170,000. Total debt is $175,000 (mortgage) and a $30,000 car loan. We have $700,000 in my 401(k) and $200,000 in the market with an adviser. We are saving 12 percent toward the 401(k) and adding $2,000 per month to the market. I will have $1,400 a month in retirement income as well.

When we retire, we will be moving south and will build a home. We already own the lot. Given the low mortgage rates, should we stop our market investing and build what would be a second home there now? Homes there are $350,000 to $450,000, so $2,000 a month is a likely mortgage.

The community is rapidly expanding, and four- to six-month rentals for people building their own homes have some demand, so we might explore that, though I wouldn't count on even 50 percent occupancy. I have owned rentals, so am well aware of and have no concern with the challenges. Tax and insurance will add another $500 a month. -- S.U.

DEAR S.U.: It would certainly appear that you've done well with your savings and have an ample amount of money to retire on when the time comes. The main question is, should you move ahead even though you don't need the property just yet?

I suggest that you make a strong effort to get the mortgage in place and then rent the property out. It's highly unlikely that you're going to see mortgage rates remain as low as they are. If I were you, I would be out looking in the mortgage market and get one nailed down, because when they start going up, I doubt seriously you'll see them return to these lows.
Vacancy code VA/2017/B0049/12994

Position title HR Associate - Staff contract administration

Department/office CSG, GSSC, Global Shared Service Centre

Duty station Bangkok, Thailand

Contract type Local ICA Support

Contract level LICA-6

Duration 1 Year

Application period 25-Aug-2017 to 24-Sep-2017

Background Information - UNOPS

UNOPS mission is to serve people in need by expanding the ability of the United Nations, governments and other partners to manage projects, infrastructure and procurement in a sustainable and efficient manner.



Within these three core areas of expertise, UNOPS provides its partners with advisory, implementation and transactional services, with projects ranging from building schools and hospitals, to procuring goods and services and training local personnel. UNOPS works closely with governments and communities to ensure increased economic, social and environmental sustainability for the projects we support, with a focus on developing national capacity.



Working in some of the worlds most challenging environments, our vision is to advance sustainable implementation practices in development, humanitarian and peacebuilding contexts, always satisfying or surpassing partner expectations.



We employ more than 6,000 personnel and on behalf of our partners create thousands more work opportunities in local communities. Through our headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark and a network of offices, we oversee activities in more than 80 countries.

Background information-HR Associate

The UNOPS Global Shared Service Centre (GSSC) is a Corporate Support Group (CSG) unit established for the purpose of providing internal, global and cost-effective transactional services which enhance the operational capacity of UNOPS and standardize systems and procedures. The GSSC, among other functions, carries out high-quality transactional services within the area of personnel administration, contract management, benefits & entitlements and payroll to UNOPS and its partners. To ensure increased cost-efficiency and consistency with UNOPS systems, GSSC has expanded its services to include both Individual Contractor Agreement (ICAs) and UN staff members.

Reporting to the HR Analyst, the HR Associate provides global support to HR, ensuring high quality of work, accurate, timely and properly recorded/documented service delivery.

The work area is within contract administration and benefits & entitlements for UN staff.

The HR Associate promotes a client-oriented and consistent approach with regards to UNOPS policies and UN Staff Rules and Regulations and in accordance with the Units established protocols. He/She works in close collaboration with operations personnel in field offices and with UNOPS HQ personnel to exchange information and ensure consistent service delivery.

Functional Responsibilities

Summary of Key Functions:

Administration of UN staff contracts, benefits and entitlements

Implementation of HR strategies and procedures

Knowledge building and knowledge sharing

1. Ensures efficient administration of contracts, benefits and entitlements for UN staff, focusing on achievement of the following results:

Monitoring and tracking of transactions to ensure timely, consistent and equitable provision of services with a client focus

Research of precedents and analysis of merits of specific requests and presentation of recommendations/solutions to supervisor

Drafting of letters of appointment and separation outlining the conditions of the appointment/separations for the approval of the supervisor. Briefing to personnel on the conditions of service related to contracts

Collection, verification and follow-up on required documentation related to benefits, entitlements and contracts

Proactive coordination of the flow of work

Advice to the supervisor on the status of pending requests and work deadlines and provision of proactive customer service to internal and external clients

2. Ensures implementation of HR strategies and procedures, focusing on achievement of the following results:

Full compliance of HR processes and records with UN and UNOPS rules, regulations, policies and strategies

Input to the content of internal Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) in HR management in consultation with the direct supervisor and office management

Support to Human Resources Analyst on management, implementation, monitoring of various HR initiatives

3. Ensures facilitation of knowledge building and knowledge sharing, focusing on achievement of the following results:

Participation in the trainings for the operations/ projects staff on HR

Contributions to knowledge networks and communities of practice

Competencies

UNOPS Core Values/Competencies

Integrity

Professionalism

Respect for Diversity

Creativity and innovation

Commitment to continuous learning

Planning and Organizing

Results orientation

Communications skills

Teamwork skills

Client orientation

Technological awareness

Functional Competencies

Knowledge Management and Learning

Shares knowledge and experience

Actively works towards continuing personal learning and development in one or more practice areas, acts on learning plan and applies newly acquired skills

Development and Operational Effectiveness

Ability to perform a variety of standard tasks and duties related to HR, screening, collecting and preparation of documentation, data input, transactions tracking, filing, provision of information

Ability to review data, identify and adjust discrepancies

Ability to produce accurate and well documented records conforming to the required standard

Ability to handle a large volume of work possibly under time constraints

Knowledge of UNOPS HR rules and procedures

Strong IT skills

Leadership and Self-Management
The White House says it is keeping a close watch on Hurricane Harvey's developments and staying in touch with Louisiana leaders about the potential threat to the state after the storm makes landfall in Texas.

A top White House adviser said Friday that Trump is concerned about the threat to Louisiana and particularly New Orleans as the slow-moving Harvey tracks back east.

"(A) concern from the Presidents perspective after hearing the briefing was not only that the people in harms way in Texas be prepared and be evacuated as appropriate, but that the people in Louisiana, should the forecast wobble in any direction, also be prepared," said White House national security adviser Tom Bossert.

Over the course of Friday, Trump tweeted about the Category 4 storm  the most powerful to hit mainland United States in more than a decade  at least half a dozen times. He repeatedly urged those who live in the hurricane's path to heed the advice of state and local leaders.

"Closely monitoring #HurricaneHarvey developments & here to assist as needed," he wrote Friday morning.

Bossert also stressed that residents of Louisiana and Texas should follow guidance from state and local officials.

"Don't worry about parsing whether they are right or wrong, if they are telling you to get out, listen to them," he said. "Listen to their advice and you'll be better off for it."

Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat who took office in January 2016, has been in regular contact with the White House and has personally spoken to Trump.

"Gov. John Bel Edwards in Louisiana has a strong handle on what he's doing," Bossert said.

But the storm could prove to be the first real test of Trump's leadership in crisis.

The last "major hurricane," meaning Category 3 or stronger, to hit the U.S. was Wilma, two months after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in 2005.

Harvey is expected to become the largest natural disaster since Trump took office in January.

The Trump administration does not currently have a permanent Homeland Security secretary, which oversees FEMA. Since Trump elevated Gen. John Kelly to chief of staff, Deputy Secretary Elaine Duke has been serving at the top in an acting capacity.

But the White House has repeatedly sought to tamp down any concerns about how prepared it is for a potentially catastrophic natural disaster.

"We couldn't have a better team, to be honest," Bossert said. "We're in good hands on the federal level."

"This is right up President Trump's alley ... He is acutely focused on making sure that the American people in the storms path have what they need," he said.

The White House, likely recognizing the high political stakes, spent much of Friday highlighting Trump's involvement in preparing for the storm. Trump even tweeted a photo of himself meeting with Kelly and Bossert during a briefing on the storm.

"His first concern was the life safety and evacuation timing. Are people getting out of harms way that need to get out of harm's way? And then his second concern was, do we have the appropriate resources to bring to bear? That was a question he directed at Administrator Long and Elaine Duke. Brock Long reported to him that we did, in fact, have all those resources pre-deployed," Bossert said of their briefings.

Then-President George W. Bush faced backlash over his handling of Katrina, and the storm was largely seen as a black eye for then-Gov. Kathleen Blanco.

Bossert, who was at FEMA during Katrina, repeatedly tried to downplay any comparisons between Harvey and Katrina, while acknowledging mistakes made during the past storm.

"Katrina was a massive event," he said. "It was a staggering event that took place in just the perfect condition, and we had a flooding event associated with levy failure and other things. So I dont want people to draw those comparisons. I wont characterize the magnitude of this event until its over."

After historic floods swept across Louisiana last August, then-candidate Trump repeatedly criticized President Barack Obama for not coming to Louisiana more quickly in the wake of the flooding. Trump and then-running mate Mike Pence came to Louisiana a week after the floods and before Obama arrived.

In a tweet at the time, Trump fired at Obama for "golfing" instead of tending to the flood crisis.

Trump left Friday for Camp David in Maryland, but tweeted that he would continue closely monitoring Harvey.

"It is just as well-resourced as the White House, so hell have access to anybody, all the communications means that he might need," said Bossert, who is also going to be at Camp David this weekend. "So its not a trip. I wouldnt characterize it as a trip."

As he prepared to board Marine One to take off for the presidential compound, Trump was asked if he had a message for those in Harvey's path and replied, "Good luck."

Though Edwards issued a state disaster declaration for the entire state ahead of Harvey's landfall, the White House has not issued a federal declaration, which has a higher threshold.

Bossert said Friday that a review was being conducted to determine when it would be appropriate to issue a federal disaster declaration.
Would you fly a plane straight into the eye of a hurricane?

That's what the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) Hurricane Hunters do, providing vital insight into major storms as they form and approach land.

Watch below as the Hurricane Hunters fly into the eye of Hurricane Harvey, which recently strengthened to a Category 2 storm in the Gulf of Mexico.

Can't see the video below? Click here.

Scroll below for more information on the approaching Hurricane Harvey, its projected devastating effects for portions of Texas and what to expect for Louisiana.

Can't see the video below? Click here.

Hurricane Harvey likely to boost gas prices for US drivers Hurricane Harvey is expected to hit a refinery-rich stretch of the Gulf Coast and U.S. drive
A few months ago, Nebraska officials got a "blind" request for proposals for a major factory looking to locate in eastern Nebraska, meaning they weren't told what company it was for.

Then a few weeks ago, "We found out the blind RFP was actually for Toyota and Mazda," said Pat Haverty, vice president for the Lincoln Partnership for Economic Development.

Earlier this month, the two Japanese automakers publicly revealed that they plan to partner and want to build a new U.S. plant.

The $1.6 billion plant would produce 300,000 vehicles a year, including Toyota Corollas and Mazda crossover vehicles and would employ as many as 4,000 people.

Nebraska is apparently being considered along with about a dozen other states, including Iowa and Missouri, for the plant, which the companies hope to have up and running by 2021.

LPED is collaborating with the Omaha Chamber of Commerce, the state Chamber of Commerce, the Nebraska Department of Economic Development and private companies, including utility providers and transportation companies.

"It's really a big team effort that we're putting together," Haverty said.

Most new auto manufacturing plants in the U.S. have located in the traditional "Rust Belt" states such as Michigan and Ohio or in Southern states like Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee.

While Lincoln has the Kawasaki Motors Manufacturing plant and there are a number of automotive supply companies in the state, auto manufacturing is non-existent, and the state rarely seems to be seriously considered for such industry.

But Haverty said Nebraska has a number of factors that make it attractive, including low utility rates, good access to both Union Pacific and BNSF Railway rail lines and a workforce that is universally known for its quality

He also said the state's low unemployment rate -- 2.8 percent in July, which was fourth-lowest in the nation and the state's lowest rate since 2000 -- is not a barrier.

Most other states competing for the plant have unemployment rates of 4 percent or less, Haverty said, so it's a pretty even playing field.

"It's a tight labor market all around the country," he said.

While the plant itself would employ around 4,000 people, Haverty said more than twice that many jobs could be created by suppliers, who often set up shop near where the factories are built.

It's not known what if any specific sites are being considered, although Black Hills Energy has been rumored to be eyeing sites in Sarpy County for a facility to supply gas to a plant.

Haverty said the plant would likely have to be located near Omaha and/or Lincoln because the RFP stipulates there must be a workforce of at least 250,000 people within a 60-minute drive of the plant.

As for Nebraska's chances, Haverty wouldn't speculate, but he did say the fact that a consultant for the companies contacted the state, rather than the other way around, is a positive sign.

Though it might make sense for Toyota and Mazda to locate near other auto plants, Haverty said he thinks they might be looking for some "geographic diversity," which also would be a factor in the state's favor.
Infant formula company Bellamy's Organics was punished by investors on Friday as it swung to a net loss of $809,000 after a turbulent 12 months, and warned challenges remain.

The company's shares jumped 36 in early trade to $8.72 but as investors absorbed the result - down from a $38.33 million net profit the previous year - the stock started sinking fast and ended the day 7.5 per cent, or 63, lower at $7.73.

The stock ended the day 7.3 per cent, or 61, lower at $7.75. Credit:Kate Geraghty

Bellamy's recorded a normalised net profit of $28.18 million for the year, down 26.5 per cent, but the bottomline was eroded by costs such as a previously flagged $27.5 million one-off payment to supplier Fonterra.

Revenue rose 2.6 per cent to $240.18 million and normalised earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell 21.6 per cent to $42.79 million.
Sorry, supermarkets: Amazon just confirmed that your worst nightmares are about to come true.

Ever since the e-commerce giant announced in June that it had agreed to buy US supermarket chain Whole Foods Market, speculation had been in overdrive about how their combined powers could shake up the grocery industry.

The $17 billion deal had also put a chill through Australian supermarkets, with shares of Woolworths, Coles' owner Wesfarmers and independent wholesaler Metcash all rocked by concerns Amazon's looming push into the Australian market will escalate the grocery wars.

On Thursday, investors achieved some clarity about the online behemoth's strategy: Amazon announced that it would start cutting prices at Whole Foods from next week on, making an immediate move to solve a problem that has plagued the grocer for ages: Its prices are simply uncompetitive now that it is far from the only organics game in town. US rivals such as Wal-Mart and Target are all in the organics business now, and shoppers have noticed.
Normally one would not mark the passing of a suburban hamburger takeaway shop owner. Sure, he or she would be missed by the family, but would it go beyond that? Would there be an impact beyond the family and the grill? Would some big international chain take over anyway?

Andrew Georghiou ran Andrew's Hamburgers in Bridport Street, Albert Park, for more than 50 years, becoming not only a local identity, a Melbourne institution (often recognised by this newspaper as the best hamburgers in Melbourne), but also embodied in himself a story that represents all of Australia.

The original Andrew's in Albert Park. Credit:Rebecca Hallas

Andrew fed me hamburgers since I was about six. He watched me grow, saw me develop from child to man, and in all that time remembered my name, what I did and where I was  no mean feat given that I was an international aid worker dancing from hot spot to hot spot.

When I returned from aid work in Yugoslavia in the 1990s the relief on his face was evident. "You are back," he would say. "We were worried about you." He would feed me burgers, not take money, ask how I was and would listen to the stories of hell and happiness I went through.
A 1000 Rupee note in rural India is a bill thats too large to break when it falls into the hands of the poor.

That's just what happens to Budhi, a widow who lives alone in a small village in the state of Maharashtra and gets more than one of the big bills in 1000 Rupee Note, the illuminating feature film debut of director Shrihari Sathe.

Beautifully played by Indian star Usha Naik, Budhi goes through her hard-scrabble life with a smile on her face, cleaning the home of a wealthy family to make money, dodging the rain that leaks inside her small ramshackle house and using her meager earnings to buy milk for her tea and bread each morning, then sharing them with, respectively, a dog, some red ants and her neighbor.

The neighbor is young goatherd Sudama (Sandeep Pathak), who lives next door with his wife and children and stops by for tea daily. Hes about the same age as Budhis son, who committed suicide the year before, unable to pay back the local moneylender. Sudama, she says, is her son as well.

Together, they and his family go to the center of the village to attend a speech by a politician seeking re-election. They dont have any desire to hear him talk. Theyre going to get the free meal thats been promised after.

Not only is there food, the politician hands out cash, a few rupees to each person in the line. But Budhi gets a bundle of 1000 Rupee notes.

Instantly wealthy -- the 1000 Rupee note which was outlawed last year to try to stem corruption was worth about $15 -- Budhi resists pleas from the villagers to spend her money there. Instead, she takes Sudama on a shopping spree at a market in a nearby city.

Thats where things start to go wrong -- with suspicious merchants, scams, crooked police and the return of the politician, who has violated the law by handing out the bills.

Filmed on location using the Marathi language, 1000 Rupee Note is as authentic as films get and its given a light tone by Sathe, who lets some humor shine through in a gentle presentation, even during the most painful parts of the picture. And Naiks performance is remarkable, giving the film an optimistic heart even as events head otherwise.

But 1000 Rupee Note is more than just a small story of a good woman to whom bad things happen, becoming a well-drawn view of poverty, corruption and the plain old unfairness of life.
The story of my life so far. I started as a baby, pretty standard start. Grew into a kid, that went OK. Tried a bit of teenager: not really my thing, moved on fast.

Gave adulthood a go: that was a little bit better. Upgraded to middle-aged adulthood: ahhh, this felt right, this was good. So I stuck with it: enjoyed years and years of happy carefree mundane middle-aged adulting ... until last week ... when I bought a 50 gram roll-pack of Werther's Original Butter Candies.

Anyone seen my Werther's Originals? Credit:Dean Mitchell

The Werther's Catastrophe happened in a supermarket. I'd gone in to buy my usual mundane middle-aged-adult staples: tabasco sauce and toilet paper, for use in that order.

Then I spotted something on a shelf in the confectionery section: something golden and shiny, calling out to me: "Danny! Are you in the mood for a creamy, buttery old-fashioned lolly, invented by a German confectioner in the tiny village of Werther, but pre-World War II so you know he wasn't a baddie? Try me, Danny it is time"
Hamilton Island's population  about 4800 people, including visitors  rises to about 5600 people during its annual race week, leaving but tumbleweeds in Sydney's eastern suburbs.

Guests flocking to the Oatley family's paradise on the pristine waters off tropical north Queensland include HRH Prince Frederik of Denmark (but not his Tasmania-born wife, Mary), Terry Biviano and her husband, former NRL great Anthony Minichiello, and billionaire James Packer's niece, Francesca Packer Barham, who told Fairfax Media the event was big on her social calender.

Francesca Packer kicking back and relaxing at Audi Hamilton Island Race Week with Roxy Jacenko (left). Credit:Francesca Packer/Instagram.

"It's always such a fun week, filled with great people, great food and Hamilton is just too beautiful for words. I love the Oatley family, they're such wonderful hosts," she said.

"It's definitely a highlight of my calendar."
Miranda Kerr's wedding dress and Nicole Kidman's Oscars gown will be some of the 140 couture garments on display in the upcoming Dior exhibition in Melbourne.

Opening this weekend in the National Gallery of Victoria, House of Dior: Seventy Years of Haute Couture will be one of the most extensive exhibitions from the French fashion house since its first collection debuted in 1947.

Evan Spiegel and Miranda Kerr, dressed in Dior, on their wedding day. Credit:Instagram/voguemagazine

The gallery will launch the collection this weekend with a surprise international A-list ambassador for a red carpet event on Saturday.

Katie Somerville, the exhibition's senior curator, has sifted through collections from Dior's fashion house in Paris to London's Victorian and Albert and the Metropolitan Museum in New York to decide what will go into the display.
New details about the family network that surrounded missing toddler William Tyrrell have been revealed as police stress his foster carers played no part in his disappearance.

Three-year-old William vanished from his foster grandmother's backyard on the NSW mid north coast in 2014.

The disappearance of the toddler in a quiet cul-de-sac in the sleepy town of Kendall sparked an intense and ongoing homicide investigation.

Police now believe William, who was dressed in a Spiderman suit at the time, was abducted while playing outside his grandmother's home.
Some of Queenslands police officers have let down their guard to reveal how they told their families or friends they were homosexual.

Policelink Commander and Programs Group Superintendent David Tucker said when he hit 40 years old he decided "gay life might be the way to go".

It sometimes did feel like there was a great big dark hole waiting to actually open up and swallow you and take you away, he said.

My eldest daughter rang me up one day and said 'Dad, I have a question to ask you,' and I said 'Oh yeah, OK'.
Apple is planning to unveil a renewed focus on the living room with an upgraded Apple TV set-top box that can stream 4K video and highlight live television content such as news and sports, according to people familiar with the matter.

The updated box, to be revealed alongside new iPhone and Apple Watch models at an event in September, will run a faster processor capable of streaming the higher-resolution 4K content, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans aren't yet public. Apple is also testing an updated version of its TV app, which first launched in 2016, that can aggregate programming from apps that already offer live streaming.

2015's revamped Apple TV. Credit:Bloomberg

Apple is seeking to revive its video ambitions with the new product. Apple TV trails devices from Roku, Amazon and Google in the US set-top box market share with only 15 per cent as of the end of March, according to a survey this month from Parks Associates. Apple CFO Luca Maestri told Bloomberg earlier this year that Apple TV sales had declined year-over-year in the 2016 holiday quarter. The iPhone maker has also lagged behind companies such as Amazon and Netflix in developing scripted shows and other video content.

In order to view 4K video, users will need to attach the updated Apple TV to a screen capable of showing the higher-resolution footage. Many recent TV models from Sony, LG and Samsung offer 4K output. The new box will also be able to play content optimised for TVs capable of playing High Dynamic Range (HDR) video, which produces more accurate colours and a brighter picture. In February, Bloomberg reported that a 4K Apple TV model had gone into testing. An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment.
Yarra Trams says the Andrews government's proposed West Gate Tunnel will increase the risk of tram-to-car collisions and passenger falls on its services by pumping thousands more vehicles onto North Melbourne and West Melbourne roads.

But lawyers for the government's road authority, VicRoads, on Friday told environmental impact hearings into the new toll road that cars from the road were unlikely to affect tram services.

Yarra Trams fear an increase in traffic caused by the West Gate Tunnel could increase the risk of collisions between cars and treams. Credit:Chris Hopkins

In its submission, Yarra Trams said not all tram routes were separated from traffic and that, with its trams already spending 17 per cent of their travel time stuck at traffic lights, any further delays were unwelcome.

It acknowledged the delays caused by the West Gate Tunnel would be minor. But the tram operator "noted with concern" that the government had claimed in its plan for the road it would "not result in any additional delays to trams".
Five men have been jailed for life over the death of 26-year-old Patrick Slater, who was stabbed with a screwdriver in a group attack in the Perth CBD hours after Australia Day celebrations last year.

Christopher Birdsall, Dylan Anthony, Clinton and Stefan Mead and Robert Pickett were convicted of murder last month and were officially sentenced on Friday afternoon.

Patrick 'Paddy' Slater died at the Esplanade Train Station in Perth on Australia Day 2016

The five men were sentenced to life behind bars with minimums of between 16 and 18 years.

An 18-year-old, who can not be named because he was a juvenile at the time of the attack, was sentenced to 12 years behind bars.
Police have seized around $1.6 million in cash after stopping a hire car in Perth's CBD.

Two suitcases containing about $1.6 million was found when the car was searched around 6.45pm on Tuesday, police say.

The $1.6 million cash WA Police seized in the CBD.

Two Victorian men, a 29-year-old from Carnegie and a 33-year-old man from Vermont South, were charged with unlawful possession of money.

The men are due to appear in the Perth Magistrate's Court on August 30.
Single parents in WA are the new "energy poverty" with families paying more than 10 per cent of their annual income on house hold bills, a report has found.

The Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre's report: Power to the People: WA's Energy Future released on Friday, found low-income families pay close to $1791 a year on energy bills.

Low-income families pay close to $1791 a year on energy bills in WA. Credit:Louie Douvis

It comes on the back of household bills increasing by close to $440 a year after the McGowan government introduced new fees and charges in June.

The report revealed while around 25 per cent of single parents spend more than 10 per cent of their income on bills, at least one in 10 are spending 15.1 per cent of their yearly wage.
An Uber driver has been banned from picking up passengers at Perth Airport after the driver defecated in one of the rideshare holding bays.

Radio 6PR's Morning host Gareth Parker obtained an email from Uber to the driver which claimed their access to the airport would be "revoked immediately" because they were spotted by a Perth Airport staffer defecating near Horrie Miller Drive within the Terminal One and Two precincts on Tuesday morning.

WAtoday understands it's not the first time such an incident has occurred.

"This breached the above Rideshare Driver Access Terms and Conditions, as you have behaved in a manner deemed antisocial and offensive," the letter read.
Houston: Residents along a vast swath of the Texas coast battened down the hatches and stocked up on emergency supplies as Hurricane Harvey crept closer to shore early Friday, threatening lashing rains and 160kmh winds in what could be the first major hurricane to hit the United States in 12 years.

Donald Trump and the team he has put in place at the Federal Emergency Management Agency were also bracing on Friday for one of the most important tests of his presidency.

The stakes could be exceedingly high. Few events test the effectiveness of an administration or bear as many political risks like a major natural disaster.

The storm, Hurricane Harvey, is expected to make landfall near Corpus Christi, Texas, as a Category 3 hurricane or higher by early Saturday. It is predicted to pummel the South Texas coast. After making landfall, forecasters predicted, the storm would make a turn back up the coast toward Houston.
Other Side of 50 Falls can be serious for older adults; take precautions

For weeks, friends and neighbors worked on planning a surprise block party for my friend Margarets 90th birthday. On the big day, over 50 people showed up with food, drink and gifts to celebrate. Several of the neighbors who attended...

Walk supports breast cancer research The fifth annual Walk 3to9 2022 Breast Cancer Charity Walk to benefit the Dr. Susan Love Foundation for Breast Cancer Research will take place at 8 a.m. Sun., Nov. 20 at Memorial Field on the Cal Lutheran University campus, Thousand...

Honoring the helpers Awards recognize those who support autism community

Thirteen community members and providers were recognized for their resilience, passion and heart at the 2022 Awesome in Autism Awards ceremony. The 14th annual event, hosted by Autism Society Ventura County, was held Oct. 20 at Wood Ranch Golf Club...

Go purple to support those diagnosed with pancreatic cancer November is the busiest month of the year for cancer awareness campaigns. Im going to focus on one of thempancreatic cancer because its a type weve seen a noticeable rise in over the last few years. And because it remains...
Lancaster County Treasurer Andy Stebbing has been charged with five felonies relating to vehicle title violations, being an unlicensed dealer and filing fraudulent state income taxes, according to court documents.

Stebbing, 53, was cited for the offenses, fingerprinted and released Thursday afternoon at Nebraska State Patrol headquarters, according to the Nebraska Attorney General's Office.

Stebbing faces two counts of falsifying a bill of sale, two counts of filing false Nebraska income tax returns and one count of acting as an unlicensed dealer, according to the complaint.

On Friday, Lancaster County Board Chairman and fellow Republican Todd Wiltgen contacted Stebbing to ask him to resign.

"I just spoke with Andy and told him that I don't know how he can continue to serve as treasurer with these charges having been filed," said Wiltgen, who said he wasn't speaking on the County Board's behalf.

"It's the right thing to do for the sake of the county, the treasurer's office and the taxpayers and residents of the county for him to resign."

Democratic State Chair Jane Kleeb also called on Stebbing to resign immediately.

"Gov. Ricketts should be publicly calling for this move as well," she said Friday. "Democrats are increasingly concerned a one-party rule of our state leads to corruption. We are confident Lancaster County can find a replacement so the work of the people can move forward."

The charges are the result of an investigation by the State Patrol and Department of Revenue into private motor vehicle sales conducted by Stebbing and the income generated from those sales.

Chief Deputy Attorney General David Bydalek alleges in the complaint that Stebbing acted as an unlicensed dealer between November 2015 and July 2016.

Bydalek alleges the title violations occurred in January and May of 2016 and that Stebbing filed the false tax returns in 2016 and 2017.

Each felony is punishable by up to two years in prison and a $10,000 fine. If found guilty of filing a false income tax return, Stebbing also may be forced to repay any unpaid taxes, plus interest and penalties.

Stebbing nor his attorney returned a call for comment Friday.

He is scheduled to make his first court appearance on the charges in Lancaster County Court on Sept. 15. Lancaster County Court judges recused themselves from hearing Stebbings case, according to court records. Seward County Judge C. Jo Petersen will hear it.

News of an investigation broke in April, with officials saying only that the inquiry was focused on Stebbing "in a personal capacity" and not his role as an elected official or the county department he leads.

Stebbing's office was searched by State Patrol investigators April 21.

The Journal Star has previously reported that authorities sought documents from the Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles related to the investigation.

In June, patrol investigators confirmed they had completed their investigation and the Nebraska Attorney General's office was reviewing the case.

Stebbing, a retired Lancaster County deputy sheriff, has been Lancaster County Treasurer since 2011 and won re-election in 2014. The Republican lost to Chris Beutler in the 2015 Lincoln mayoral race.

The county treasurer is responsible for collecting property taxes to be distributed to schools, fire districts, cities, villages and other political subdivisions. Stebbing's office also manages more than 300,000 motor vehicle registrations and titles.

Stebbing's department works out of offices at three locations  the County-City Building, North 46th Street and West O Street.
A judge Friday sentenced a former employee at the Youth Rehabilitation and Treatment Center in Kearney to four years of probation plus a month in jail for sexually abusing a teenager there.

Samantha Halstead, 29, of Pleasanton, also will have to register as a sex offender as a result of her conviction for second-degree sexual abuse of a protected individual.

She pleaded no contest in July.

Buffalo County District Judge John Marsh set her to report to jail Sept. 8.

A year ago, Halstead, who then was working as a licensed provisional mental health practitioner, became the focus of an investigation for inappropriate contact with a teenager at the facility.

According to a press release, the facility administrator became aware of evidence regarding the activity and the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services immediately notified the Nebraska State Patrol.

Halstead was suspended without pay and resigned a day later.
The County Indigent Health Care Program will begin its 32nd year in Brazos County on Sept. 1, and indigent residents are being encouraged to apply.

To qualify for the program, applicants must be a resident of the county in which they apply and intend to stay, fill out the application form (assistance is provided), must use approved physicians and must furnish information and documents required to verify residency, income, resources and size of family.

For a family of one, applicants cannot have resources that exceed $2,000 after exemptions. For a family of two, applicants cannot have resources that exceed $3,000 after exemptions.

Eligible Brazos County residents can get applications for the CIHC Program by writing to or calling the Brazos Valley Council of Governments, which administers the program:

 The Brazos Valley Council of Governments, P.O. Drawer 4128, Bryan, Texas, 77805; 595-2800, ext. 2267

 Assistance with the program is available at 3991 E. 29th St. in Bryan.
The stormy weekend has caused several events to be postponed or canceled, but there are still some things to do around town  including a Saturday Dance at Sons of Hermann Lodge, free admission to The Childrens Museum of the Brazos Valley on Sunday and a visit from Curious George at Kiddie Academy on Saturday. Its a good idea to check to make sure events are still happening before heading out.

 The Sons of Hermann Lodge is hosting The Westernaires at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at 1104 W. William J. Bryan Parkway in Bryan for a Saturday dance. The band will play classic country hits for a family-friendly event on a large dance floor. Tickets are $8. The event is also a po luck supper.

 The Childrens Museum of the Brazos Valley is hosting a Free Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Families are invited to enjoy all the exhibits, including the new Illumination Station. For more information, visit cmbv.org.

 Kiddie Academy of College Station is hosting Storytime LIVE! from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday at 4516 Mills Park Circle, College Station. Curious George will visit the classroom in person during the story time. Its open to current students or anyone who wants to learn more about the academy. Light refreshments and educational activities for children and families provided. Register at www.kastorytime.com.

 With students coming back into town and the end of Aggie Week, there is the annual 12th Jam Music Festival from 2 to 10:15 p.m. Saturday. Because of the weather, it is moved to the Rudder Auditorium. The event will feature three national touring headliners, Coast Modern, Vacationer, Hippo Campus and two local opening acts, Wartime Afternoon and Odd Folks. For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/events/494208414246331/permalink/513213152345857/.

 The Aggie volleyball team will take on Sam Houston State at 6:30 p.m. Friday. They will also go head-to-head with Texas State on Saturday at 1 p.m. and Virginia Commonwealth at 6:30 p.m. Saturday. All games will be played inside Reed Arena. For more information, visit http://www.12thman.com/schedule.aspx?path=wvball.
Local emergency officials are telling Brazos Valley residents to be prepared in the event of heavy rainfall and strong winds as Hurricane Harvey inches across the state.

Up up to 15 inches of rain through Tuesday and tropical storm-force winds are expected in the area.

Amy Grace, executive director of American Red Cross serving the Heart of Texas, said her organization could open between five and 10 shelters in the Brazos Valley, depending on how much rain the region sees. Grace said she will have more information after a morning meeting, based on the storm's development Thursday night.

Don Oettinger, meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said Harvey is expected to make landfall this evening near Rockport as a Category 3 Hurricane. He said to expect 10-15 inches of rainfall north of I-10 and 10 to 20 inches south of I-10; Brazos County has the potential for five to 15 inches of rainfall between today and Tuesday, said Oettinger.

"It kind of depends on what it does once it goes inland," Ottinger said of the storm and its potential power.

According to the National Hurricane Center's 10 p.m. update on Thursday, isolated areas along the Texas coast could receive up to 35 inches of rain through Wednesday.

Michele Bailey-Meade, Brazos County emergency management coordinator, is asking residents to remember "anything left outside needs to be tacked down." She is encouraging residents to stock their homes with enough food and water to last them a few days, keep up with weather reports from local media and not drive through standing or running water.

She said Brazos County could see higher than expected rainfall and wind speeds as Harvey "sits in the Gulf and builds strength."

And then there are the potential tornadoes.

Bailey-Meade said counties to the east of the hurricane -- "the dirty side of the storm," she said -- could potentially see tornadoes. As of now, Brazos County is projected to be east of the anticipated hurricane.

But until Harvey makes landfall late tonight, the storm's potential effects are unclear.

"There's too many things we don't know about what this storm is going to do," she said. In the time leading up to landfall, Bailey-Meade said her office is coordinating with emergency management, elected officials and partners such as the Red Cross, Salvation Army and United Way, among other organizations. Bailey-Meade said her department was also gathering for state and weather conference calls at the community emergency operations center.

Local residents were heeding the advice to stock up late Thursday, as many area grocery stores struggled to keep shelves stocked and lines were long.

While the H-E-B store on Villa Maria Road in Bryan reported having water and bread still available around 9:30 p.m. Thursday, an employee at the Tower Point H-E-B in south College Station said items were flying off the shelves, including produce, water and bread.

Also in College Station, the Kroger grocery store off Rock Prairie Road reported that water was not available and would not be restocked in the near future, as the store is supplied by distributors in Houston. Bread and produce were also reported to be low at the store. The Kroger on Boonville Road in Bryan reported low stock, but an employee said they expected the water supply to be replenished Thursday night.

At Walmart, the store on Harvey Mitchell Parkway in Bryan reported no water and long lines around 10 p.m. Thursday, but an employee at the store on Brothers Boulevard said the store remained stocked with most items.

Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the State Operations Center to elevate its readiness level, making state resources available for possible rescue and recovery actions amid forecasts the tropical storm would make landfall along the state's Gulf Coast. Abbott also pre-emptively declared a state of emergency for 30 Texas counties, one of which is Waller County.

David Lilly, Grimes County emergency manager, said his office has put local shelters on standby and made supplies available. Lilly said his county has weathered three natural disasters in the past several years.

"We kind of have this process down now," he said.

Lilly said a big concern was flooding and stressed that residents should not drive through high water.

"You may have done it before and gotten away with it, but it only takes one time to get swept away, and that's it," he said.

Lilly said he also was concerned about power outages caused by high winds.

"Even something as simple as air conditioning can be a life or death issue," he said. Lilly asked residents or those with loved ones who live with disabilities to call their local emergency management office.

"We need to know where these folks are, so we can get help to them when the need arises," said Lilly.

Angela Clendenin, public information officer for the Texas A&M University Veterinary Emergency Team, said area residents should determine whether their homes are prone to flooding and make sure their animals have access to clean water. Clendenin recommended having food and water on-hand for pets, and to make sure the higher ground that livestock will instinctually seek out in the event of a flood is also clear of water.

Clendenin also recommended thinking about a potential evacuation strategy before the storm even hits.

"If you're facing a potential evacuation, it's better to prepare now so you can get out before you get stuck," she said.

Clendenin said the A&M Veterinary Emergency Team will soon leave for San Antonio to pre-stage in anticipation for the weekend's storm. Though San Antonio is not projected to get as much rainfall as coastal areas, Clendenin said the city will give the team access to major roads that allow them to get to affected areas.

The American Red Cross serving the Heart of Texas will be training new volunteers from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday. Once training is complete, volunteers will be official Red Cross shelter workers and able to assist in the opening, operating and closing of a Red Cross shelter. Training, which is free and open to the public, will take place at 4240 Boonville Road in Bryan. Brazos County Sheriff Chris Kirk said his deputies were on standby. He said he has one deputy at the emergency operations center and he will react accordingly to the storm, augmenting normal patrols and calling in additional staff as needed.

"It all depends on where that storm goes and what comes our direction," Kirk said. "We're just standing by at this point."
The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents moved to establish the Gateway Education Center at the forthcoming RELLIS Campus in Bryan during its meeting in College Station on Wednesday, allowing System officials to move forward with seeking approval from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.

Designed as a University System Center, A&M officials said the Gateway Education Center is "not intended to be a university campus or a branch academic campus authorized to offer degrees." Instead, it is seeking approval to host multiple A&M System institutions and Blinn College, which will in-turn "offer selective degree certificate programs in collaboration with each other." Under the proposed academic system, responsibility for the programs offered "will continue to reside with the institution and faculty offering the program," according to System documents.

Any and all revenue collected through semester credit hours taken at the RELLIS Campus will be received by the institutions that offer the degrees and enroll students.

Blinn is planned to provide lower-level courses to students studying at RELLIS while four-year A&M System institutions -- including Texas A&M International University, Prairie View A&M University, Tarleton State University, Texas A&M University-Central Texas, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi and Texas A&M University-Texarkana -- provide the upper-level courses.

A&M officials said the current anticipated program offerings, and the institutions set to offer them, include the following: bachelor's of business administration, majoring in information systems and data analytics from Texas A&M International University; bachelor's of applied arts and sciences, concentrating on criminal justice, from Texas A&M International University; baccalaureate nursing program from Prairie View A&M University; bachelor's of science in criminal justice with a specialization in criminalistics from Prairie View A&M University; civil engineering from Tarleton State University; computer technology from Tarleton State University; bachelor's of public administration from Tarleton State University; bachelor's of science in criminal justice from Tarleton State University; master's of education in curriculum and instruction from Texas A&M University-Central Texas; business administration from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi; engineering technology from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi; biology from Texas A&M University-Texarkana.

The only costs expected to be covered by partnering institutions are "the faculty salary and the benefits for offering the degree program," according to System documents.

Students studying on the campus will be enrolled in one of the participating institutions, but able to take courses from any of the others as well -- the credit for which would then be transferred to count toward their chosen degree program. System officials said the goal of this arrangement is "the minimization [and hopefully eradication] of duplication among institutions."

In what officials described as a "conservative" projection, enrollment on the campus is expected to grow from just over 200 junior-level students in its first year -- beginning with the fall 2018 semester -- to a total 788 combined junior and senior-level students in its fifth.

The 112,460-square-foot Gateway Education Center complex -- approved by the Regents as part of the A&M System's Capital Plan in September 2016 -- is currently in the design phase with an allotted budget of $42 million. Officials said they hope to break ground on the facility in the fall of 2018 with an expected opening of fall 2020. Alongside Blinn College's 83,000-square-foot campus, set to open in fall 2018, A&M officials said they plan to use other existing facilities until the Gateway Education Center complex opens.

According to System documents, the new facilities are set to be located in close proximity to "provide for synergies that will enhance the educational opportunities" for students studying at the campus.

The complex is planned to be constructed in two phases. The first is expected to contain more than 41,000 square-feet of assignable space and the second -- which will not begin construction until "the enrollment projections are validated," according to System documents -- will contain more than 26,000 square feet of assignable space.

Once it is fully built out, the complex is planned to be about to house up to 2,500 students and will feature space for student support services, faculty and administrative offices, general-use classrooms, specialized laboratories and more.

In documents submitted to the Board of Regents, A&M officials said the financial model for the campus is "still being finalized," but that the total cost of tuition and fees paid by students studying at RELLIS are anticipated to be "about the median of the same degree program wholly completed on the home campus."

A&M System Chancellor John Sharp praised the objectives of the RELLIS Campus, as well as the Gateway Education Center, for its ability to address the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board's 60x30TX initiative focused on ensuring at least 60 percent of the state's 25 to 34-year-old population has earned either a certificate or post-secondary degree by the year 2030.

"The future of Texas is tied to education. Without an educated population, Texas cannot compete in a global economy," Sharp said in a statement. "The Texas A&M System is leading the way with this ground breaking RELLIS collaboration."

In addition to programs for two-year and four-year degrees, the polytechnic RELLIS Campus is also planned to offer workforce training, professional certification programs and research that brings together private companies with A&M System academics and state agencies.
July 25, 1922 - August 18, 2017

Doris Jane Foster, 95, passed away Friday, August 18 at Magnified Health and Rehab in College Station.

A memorial service will be held at 2:00 p.m. Sunday, August 27 at Christ United Methodist Church in College Station.

Doris was born July 25, 1922 in Underwood, Iowa the daughter of William John and Cora Eliz (Parish) Mackland. Doris retired from Scott & White Hospital after many years of service as a central supply tech. She volunteered many hours at College Station Medical Center and Scott & White Hospital,where she was known as the "coffee lady" and at Southwood Valley Elemetary School and sold ice cream. Doris always had a big smile and loved to give hugs.

Doris is preceded in death by her parents; husband, Guy H. Foster Sr.; son, Terrence Neal Foster; and six siblings.

She is survived by her children and their spouses, Jo Marie Larsen, Guy H. Foster and wife Dayne, Edgar "Bud" William Foster and wife Stephaney, and Doris "Dee" Elizabeth Rade; sisters, Coral Peterson and Evelyn Foster; grandchildren, Carla Leatherman, Jane Morgan, Tracy Jancha, Kenneth Larsen, Mikaela Foster Rush, Mallory Foster, Joshua Foster, Christopher Foster, Kaitlyn Foster, Matthew Rade and Dustin Rade; and eleven great-grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks you donate to the Baylor Scott & White Foundation at Giving.sw.org/areas-of-need/College-Station
If, for some unfathomable reason, you are planning to follow a congressman through a baking-hot Texas summer, I recommend you choose Will Hurd. Hes personable, mild-mannered and clearly in command of the issues. Also, he holds many of his town halls in Dairy Queens, so you can cool off with a Blizzard while you wait for the event to start.

Those were not my reasons for visiting Hurds district. I went to see Hurd because hes in the only competitive district in Texas. Running along the southwestern edge of the state, the Texas 23rd has 820 miles of border and a majority-Hispanic population. Hillary Clinton carried it by 3.4 percentage points. Hurd, a Republican, carried it by 1.3 points.

In short, it is that increasing rarity in U.S. politics: a truly competitive political district. Hurd is a moderate Republican, or at least, the closest thing weve got in these days of polarization. His opponents complain that he votes with his party too often, but party unity on congressional votes has been steadily rising for decades, and given the complete dysfunction of Congress in recent years, Hurd, now in his second term, hasnt had many opportunities boldly to buck his party on a major policy issue. Hes certainly not one of President Trumps yes-men.

Harsh words

Hurd was one of the 20 Republicans who voted against the American Health Care Act. At every stop on his town hall tour  charmingly named DC to DQ  he had harsh words for the idea of a wall along the Mexican border. And after Trump came out to defend some participants in a white supremacist demonstration, Hurd told CNN: If you are showing up to a Klan rally, you are probably a racist or a bigot. I think the outrage across the political spectrum about this is maybe the thing that ultimately unites us.

As a former CIA officer, Hurd says that his old job taught him moderation, and respect for the views of all sides. Being an intelligence officer, he said, you collect information from all sides, and when theres overlap, thats usually where the truth is.

A window

Hurds tour in the Texas 23rd is a window into what members of Congress are encountering during this August recess  or district work period, as lawmakers prefer to call it. Many hold town halls to reconnect with their home states. Its a very different perspective on national politics than we get back in Washington.

So, tagging along behind Hurd, I spent a few days visiting public libraries, coffee shops, Dairy Queens and, memorably, a sort of dance hall named John T. Floore Country Store. I wanted to hear what a member of Congress was hearing from constituents.

Veterans issues  something that almost never make the national conversation unless the Veterans Administration has a juicy scandal for us to gape at  loomed much larger in the questioning than health-care reform, which has obsessed the national media for the past nine months. That shouldnt really be surprising. The number of veterans in the country is roughly equal to the widely touted figure of 20 million people who gained insurance because of Obamacare.

Obamacare recipients are at best a weak interest group. Many people, especially Medicaid recipients, may not even be aware that Obamacare is the source of their insurance coverage. Moreover, Obamacare disproportionately benefited noncitizens, who cannot vote. Veterans, on the other hand, are well-organized, have their connection with the VA to bind them together as an interest group, and are overwhelmingly eligible to vote.

Veterans issues

Veterans issues were the most notable way that the local conversation differed from the national one, but far from the only one. I heard more about school policy than climate change, and a great deal about very local issues indeed  problems with asbestos in the water table, a local community college that someone said was doing a poor job of preparing kids for work.

When I asked Hurd whether the local conversation seemed different from the national one, he enthusiastically agreed. Thats absolutely right, he said. What the voters care about can be very different. And ultimately, those voters are Hurds boss.

Even on issues that are unmistakably big national concerns  notably securing the border  the conversation in Texas was very different from what you hear at the national level. Small towns are Trump country, but here this close to the border, even when the group was predominantly Anglo, I didnt hear a lot of support for Trumps wall.

Thats because for most of the country, the wall is a symbolic commitment to cracking down on people who illegally cross the border. In Hurds district, the wall is not symbolic. It is a real and a looming threat. Building it would mean using eminent domain to seize land from local farmers, creating a barrier to wildlife and stock that would wreak havoc with their operations.

Border control

Border control already presents problems for these people. I listened to one man relate the tale of a neighbor whose house fire raged out of control because border security had cut them off from the fire department. So rural whites who were probably Republicans, and who in other parts of the country might have been avid fans of the wall idea, nodded and smiled when Hurd said  as he did at every stop  that a wall is the most expensive and least effective way to handle border security.

This kind of local knowledge, by the way, illustrates the benefit of having a geographically based election system with single-member districts, rather than nationalized elections run by proportional representation. Coastal dwellers who have collected in very liberal cities frequently disparage this system, which hands outsize power to more rural, more conservative voters. But in a country that is 3,000 miles wide, national policies will have widely varying impacts depending on local conditions. If we used proportional representation, much of that local information would be lost to the political system. As it is, the Texas 23rd has a Republican in Congress making a vocal case against the presidents signature promise.

Trump is almost all Washington thinks about these days. But in the Texas 23rd, his name came up a lot less than I expected, in my interviews and in the questions aimed at Hurd. Voters seemed to have other things on their mind.

Some of those things  such as Trumps proposed border wall, and Education Secretary Betsy DeVoss support for vouchers  were Trump administration policy. But voters wanted to talk about the policy, not the people behind them.

Whats changed?

When I asked Hurd what had changed since Trumps election, he said the biggest change was not what people were talking about, but simply that more people were coming to the events. Those people were about roughly split between Democrats and Republicans, he observed. And from what I observed, very few of them were interested in debating whether Trump was an existential threat to the republic.

Oh, there were a few shouting matches between voters of differing political persuasions. But there was also a lot of talk about bipartisanship  from Hurd, and to him. The standard speech he gave at the beginning of every event leaned heavily on things that recently had passed Congress with bipartisan support, and always noted that he had learned two things on a road trip from El Paso to Washington with a Democratic counterpart: Far more unites us as Americans than divides us. And we can disagree without being disagreeable. These were big applause lines everywhere he delivered them.

It seems a pity we cant have more politics like that. But to the extent that the split nature of the district helps make its politics more reasonable, it also makes it less likely to show up elsewhere.

Local conditions complicate national policy, so that even people who ideologically ought to favor some idea think very differently when they know how it will be carried out on their local ground. You can think of American political parties  heck, the American electorate  as being steadily cut off from that vital local knowledge. The Democratic Party is cut off from learning about what its ideas will mean to people in small towns and far-flung exurbs; the Republicans have no base that can teach them about city centers. So both parties craft their policies in a partial vacuum.

In recent decades, the only institution weve had that has spanned this divide has been the presidency. To win the White House, a candidate needed to get lots of different kinds of voters interested, not just one type. But after the last election, even this no longer seems to be true.

Its hard at the moment to see a path beyond the morass. We need more politicians such as Hurd, but can those politicians thrive beyond districts such as the Texas 23rd? Its hard to say. It would be a good start if voters beyond those rare competitive districts could stop shouting, and maybe sit down together, have a Blizzard and try to hash things out like neighbors instead of enemies.

Megan McArdle is a Bloomberg View columnist. She is the author of The Up Side of Down: Why Failing Well Is the Key to Success. Email her at mmcardle3@bloomberg.net.
Should we tear down statues of Revolutionary, Texas heroes

Ramiro Galindo stated that we should not glorify those who had sworn allegiance to a country and then betrayed it. He said they were traitors.

Going back a little, were not George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, etc., who had sworn allegiance to the crown of England, and then betrayed their king also traitors? Yet we glorify them with monuments everywhere.

Here in Texas, in the 1830s, the founders of our state -- Stephen F. Austin, Sam Houston, William B. Travis, Ben Milam, etc. -- also had sworn an allegiance to Mexico and became Mexican citizens, agreeing to abide by Mexican law. Mexico had outlawed slavery, so the founders of Texas sidestepped the issue by declaring that the slaves were "indentured servants." Then they rebelled when Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna came in to enforce the laws of Mexico.

Slavery was a large reason for the war of Texas independence, and the new Texas Constitution in 1836 specifically allowed slavery.

By Galindo's logic, all early Texas heroes also are traitors. Should we tear down the Alamo, the San Jacinto monument, statues of Houston, Travis, and others? Should we rename many of our schools, counties, and towns? Where does it all end?

History, as smelly as it is, still is there, no matter how you whitewash it.

TERRY ZBORIL

Caldwell

Locate the Aggies Go to War exhibit in existing museums

I read a response from the Aggies Go To War group. I visited their exhibit at the MSC last year. While it is interesting, there are virtually no artifacts to bring the story of these five Aggies to life.

I have been to many museums in the U.S. and Europe that honor our veterans, including locally the Sanders Corps Center, The Museum of the American G.I. as well as the statue trail at Veterans Park. The G.I. Museum has a number of artifacts honoring Aggies, from a helicopter painted in the scheme of the most decorated Aggie in Vietnam to the Aggie ring of the author of the Aggie War Hymn. I asked if the GI Museum would consider hosting the Aggie Goes To War display. They said yes, but no one ever has asked.

Which brings me to the point of this letter. What does this group have to offer that the G.I. Museum, Corps Center and Veterans Park do not have? From past articles, this was just supposed to be a display about five Aggies during World War II. How has this mission morphed into a multimillion dollar building on public land? Isn't that in competition with existing organizations?

Where are all of the uniforms, artifacts and documents for this proposed museum being stored? Are public funds going to be used for construction of a building and purchase of artifacts?

The other museums have collections of military items and space for meetings and seminars.

I understand that more than $500,000 has been spent on the Aggies Go to War display. Were these public funds? If our elected officials are giving away our tax dollars, shouldn't all of the museums have equal access? If they don't, my guess is the other organizations don't have influential friends in high places.

PAUL VIENS

College Station
Cumbrian farmers have a problem. Although Cumbria is in the Low Risk Area (LRA) for bovine TB, the disease has quietly been on the increase for some years.

The county was badly hit in the 2001 foot-and-mouth crisis. A total of 3500 farms lost all or some of their stock, and when they started re-stocking the following year, it included cattle from an area in the South West that was known to have a high incidence of bTB.

TB testing had been suspended during the crisis so the cattle that went up north were a risk. But, given that farmers were literally in the depths of despair, it was thought best to restock as quickly and cheaply as possible. We now know, as they didn't then, that the TB skin test is pretty unreliable, and can leave many unidentified infected cattle in the herd.

However, farmers that had been to hell and back in 2001 were hypersensitive to disease risks and somehow managed to contain any possible bTB, so much so that Cumbria was rarely troubled. In 2013 in the northern half of Cumbria there were only three incidences of bTB (between Penrith and Carlisle). There were a further eight incidents in southern Cumbria.

But since then, in the north and in less than four years, there have been around 61 separate outbreaks, with yet more in the south. Bovine TB now surrounds the Lake District (see http://www.ibtb.co.uk/ - select all types/all years)

That infection had to come from somewhere, so what went wrong?

Cumbrian cattle farmers buy stock imported from other areas of England (even some from High Risk Areas), Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Tanis Brough from the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) said that strain-typing has shown that the strain of TB infecting Cumbrian cattle comes from Northern Ireland - a strain that had never previously been present in the rest of the UK.

APHA believed that this particular strain came from Northern Ireland in an animal imported prior to autumn 2014. "How this strain M.bovis 17Z came to be in the Cumbrian herds remains unclear," said Ms Brough. "We do not know if this original animal is alive. It is probably dead."

Because of the 2001 foot-and-mouth crisis, the tracking system for all farm stock was quickly improved. All cattle can now be individually identified and their movements followed. Yet here the system failed. In LRAs the default bTB testing is still every four years instead of annually. Trading is easier. But does farming in an LRA give a false sense of security? Security which turns out to be not so secure?
The Nebraska State Patrol will investigate the death of a 57-year-old inmate at the Tecumseh State Correctional Institution, according to a prison spokeswoman.

Ronald Fort suffered an undisclosed medical incident in his cell and was taken to Johnson County Hospital, where he died at 10:18 p.m. Tuesday, Nebraska Department of Correctional Services spokeswoman Dawn-Renee Smith said in a news release.

Fort was serving a combined sentence of 31 years and 8 months to life for Douglas County convictions of second-degree murder in 1978, possession of a firearm by a fugitive/felon in 1990 and manslaughter in 1992.

The firearm charge and the manslaughter charge stemmed from offenses occurring while Fort was on parole, she said.

A grand jury will be convened to investigate Fort's death, which is required by Nebraska law whenever a prisoner dies.
Electric cars have come a long way, both literally and figuratively, in the past few years. I remember when the green-minded father of a school friend bought a G-Wiz, the dinky electric car that blazed a modestly-paced trail among early adopters. In 2007 Top Gear named it the worst car of the year and co-presenter James May described it as "the worst car for this year - and indeed for every year whilst we have breath in our bodies." They blew one up later in the episode.

It's amazing to think that 10 years later, Tesla's Model X, a seven-seater, electric SUV would be beating a Lamborghini Aventador in a quarter mile drag race and UK Environment Minister Michael Gove would be announcing that the sale of new petrol and diesel cars would be banned in the UK by 2040. It's probably fair to say the beleaguered G-Wiz and its descendants have had the last laugh.

The rise of the electric car has given us a tantalising glimpse into a world of clean city air, free from choking vehicle fumes, cheaper running costs (as the many moving parts in the complicated combustion engine won't need fixing), not to mention a reduction in our national carbon emissions.

But a new report published today shows that electric vehicles will also dramatically improve Britain's energy security by reducing its dependence on foreign oil as well. The study, by the Green Alliance in conjunction with organisations such as WWF, Greenpeace and Christian Aid, shows that if Michael Gove and his Government were to bring forward the ban on new petrol and diesel cars to 2030 Britain could reduce its oil imports by 51 per cent in 2035 compared to current projections.

Considering the world's biggest oil producers include such delightful regimens as Russian, Iran and Saudi Arabia it seems obvious that we would want to spare ourselves having to rely on countries with such questionable human rights records as these, not to mention being wedded to potentially volatile and unreliable trading partners. When combined with the other benefits of electric vehicles it seems like a no brainer.

Bringing forward the era of new electric vehicles would see the UK starting to catch up with other countries which are already ahead of the curve. Norway has nearly ten times more charging points per head of the population than the UK and 29 per cent of new cars and vans sold there in 2016 were electric, compared to 1.4 per cent in the UK.

The report comes before the launch of the Government's plan, which will set out how the UK plans to cut its emissions and boost the nation's low carbon industries. Laura Taylor, Head of Advocacy at Christian Aid, said: "The UK Government's long-overdue Clean Growth Plan needs to prove that this government is serious about speeding up the low carbon transition, not slackening the pace."

That pace may well come faster than we expect. Technology advances often accelerate at surprising speed. The Daily Telegraph's Juliet Samuel recently told the story of consulting firm McKinsey, which was asked in the nineties to predict what the global market for smartphones would be by 2000. It guessed just under 1 million - wrong by a factor of 109. She concluded: "The decarbonisation of energy is coming. It's time for governments, investors and industry to plan for it, rather than sticking their heads in the sand."

Likewise, if the British Government is to put the UK in the fast lane for the coming low carbon vehicle revolution then it needs to publish a truly bold and transformative Clean Growth Plan next month.

This Author

Joe Ware is a journalist and writer at Christian Aid and a New Voices contributor at the Ecologist. He is on twitter @wareisjoe
Making a return to our two favourite summer locations, Mount Maunganui and Nelson in early January 2023, we've got whiff of the first release lineup and me oh my, yes boy
The Hearst Movie & A Martini meet-up for The Third Man in Bethel attracted a large and enthusiastic audience.

Directed by Carol Reed and written by Graham Greene, and starring Joseph Cotten and Orson Welles, 98 people came to see the 1949 film noir classic. About a third of the audience had already enjoyed the movie at home on television, but wanted to see the recent restoration on the big screen.

I moderated the discussion afterwards, with many in the audience saying the movie about a friendship gone wrong seemed as fresh as any 2017 film. Everyone agreed the zither music on the soundtrack (by Anton Karas) is a key component in the films mood. In 1950, the theme song topped the U.S. charts for 11 weeks.

Tom Carruthers, of the Connecticut Film Festival, which co-hosted the screening, was very happy with the turnout, and said he would like to team up with Hearst for more restored classics in the future, including Sweet Smell of Success and The Last Picture Show.

Next up for the Hearst film club is a screening of the 1961 French classic, Leon Morin, Priest, starring Jean-Paul Belmondo at the Avon Theatre in Stamford on Tuesday, Sept. 12, at 7:30 p.m. Visit Movie & A Martini Facebook page for the latest information.

Tony Abbott, Trumbull:

Ive loved the movie for years. It was good to see it again on a movie screen. I did read the Graham Greene novella, which was done in what was almost a more comic light.

John Fuller, Monroe:

I grew up in Sydney (Australia), where I would stand alongside the Regency (Theatre) listening to the wonderful music, which they would play outside the theater. Thats what got me to see the film and Ive seen it many times since then. Years later, I rode on that ferris wheel in Vienna.

Bob Feuerberg, Newtown:

I never had the opportunity to see it on a big screen before. The black-and-white photography is incredible, especially the use of shadows.

Bryan Kysela, Danbury:

Such a great movie. I own a copy and have watched it over the years, but thats not like seeing it in a theater.

Dolores Abbott, Trumbull:

It reminds me of that other Graham Greene movie, Ministry of Fear, set in the rubble of London during the Blitz. Theyre both about people trying to live any way they can after World War II. Greene wrote so many good films; Our Man in Havana is another one I love.
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WESTPORT  A fourth candidate recently entered Westports first selectman race, setting up a November contest between the two traditional major parties and and two independents.

Timothy J. T.J. Elgin, a 28-year-old resident of Robert Lane, is running as an unaffiliated candidate. The lifelong Westporter, a 2008 Staples High School graduate, said he chose to run as an independent for a brand-new, fresh start free of partisan conflict. For the past two years, he said, he has attended Democratic and Republican Town Committee meetings, as well as Representative Town Meetings.

Everybody has a good heart; they just need to put everything together. I didnt want to stick with either dividing party because its just basically factions of people fighting against each other  not really creating a better solution, Elgin said. So my goal and picture is to kind of get everybody more working together, and as a nonparty affiliate there cant be any real drama Im carrying behind.

Elgin joins independent candidate John Suggs, an RTM and former DTC member, Democratic candidate Melissa Kane and Republican candidate Jim Marpe, the first selectman. Kanes running mate is Rob Simmelkjaer, while Marpes is Jennifer Tooker. As independent candidates, neither Elgin nor Suggs could be seated with a running mate by town charter rules.

The town saw an independent candidate as recently as 2009, when John Izzo  garnering 172 votes  ran unaffiliated against Democrat Gordon Joseloff, the incumbent, and Republican Gavin S. Anderson. Joseloff won that election, receiving 3,676 votes. Elgin and Suggs petitions accrued a mix of signatures from Democrats, Republicans and unaffiliated voters.

The League of Women Voters  which is hosting its first selectman debate this fall on Oct. 24 at town hall  will invite all candidates on the ballot to participate.

A fourth candidate

Unlike his fellow candidates, Elgin has not held town office, but he cited a long-term track record of volunteer work and said he enjoys helping people and problem solving.

Elgin co-owns a health and wellness business, Something Wolfy Training Academy LLC, with his girlfriend. The pair focus on personal training and nutrition for the business, which was registered with the state in Bridgeport in January.

Elgin, who studied business management at the University of Bridgeport and Housatonic Community College, described himself as a big-picture person and avid chess player. He lives in town with his grandparents, who he helps care for.

Elgin said he has recently studied town- and state-wide politics and was inspired to get involved himself because he saw that there was a lot of self-interest with people that say they want to help. He said he is working with a group in Connecticut that is aiming to form a new political party in the state.

I want to see positive changes, and theres still even in the town a lot of self-interest, Elgin said of running. Im not trying to attack anybody at all, but whether I do become first selectman or not, I want to make sure that the person that is running the town does a thorough job and just keeps themselves balanced. You cannot be selfish at all and work in any form of government.

Elgins views

Elgin defined his top concerns for the town as transit issues  namely traffic congestion  as well as environmental concerns, including for the towns water quality, and Westports long-term fiscal future, which he said hed plan for 20 years down the line.

He advocated a toll system that would allow residents off the highway without charge, but charge a fee to out-of-towners as a method for decreasing traffic in town and accruing funds for road maintenance. He said Westport needs better road materials, saying he observes a constant stream of maintenance projects to upkeep town roads.

Elgin also has concerns about the towns water quality. He said he has visited the water treatment plant and wants Westport to change to filtering its water through a reverse osmosis filtration system, a system used in several locations for municipal water filtration in the United States.

On how he would run Westports government, Elgin said he would aim to look internally, rather than turning to outside sources. He called for greater transparency in town government and believes he could solve bickering he has seen in town committees through his problem-solving abilities.

Theres a committee for absolutely everything in the town and everybody bickers. Everybodys bickering one committee or another, Elgin said, and if we can have one leader that can clear that up, stop the bickering, get all the committees to work together, there can be so much more progress in the town.

On the Cribari Bridge, Elgin broke from the pack, saying he was in favor of the town keeping funding for a state rehabilitation project on a state list of upcoming projects for the next four years. Marpe asked the South West Region Metropolitan Planning Organization to remove the funding last week and the group complied, a move Kane and Suggs had expressed support for.

Elgin said he believes upkeep should be carried out and the funding kept if needed, but he would hope to preserve the bridge and create a contract with the state disallowing 18-wheel trucks from crossing the historic Saugatuck bridge.

A 4-person race

His fellow candidates welcomed Elgin to the race, commending the chance to add another viewpoint to the contest.

I think its great when residents want to get involved with town government or any volunteer activities, Marpe said, noting he knows Elgin from conversations at town meetings and events. I admire his interest in wanting to get involved to make a difference. I wish him well in the campaign, and I look forward to hearing his ideas.

Kane said elections need participation by all, voters and candidates alike.

I welcome as many voices as there are, she said. We need public discourse for Westport to be the best place it can be.

Suggs also welcomed Elgin.

I think this is a great opportunity to expand the public debate, he said.

Elgin said he liked his fellow candidates and that Suggs is the one who inspired him to become more involved in the race.

They all have helped and advised me a little bit, Elgin said.

Its almost like they all have helped me get to this point. If anything, I owe them all a thank you.

LWeiss@hearstmediact.com; @LauraEWeiss16
A $2 million gift from the Holland Foundation to the University of Nebraska will establish an endowed fund for the Buffett Early Childhood Institute's work to study early childhood care and education.

The gift creates the Richard D. Holland Presidential Chair in Early Childhood Development, which will be held by Samuel J. Meisels, a national leader in early childhood research and the executive director of the institute.

Given in the name of Dick Holland, an Omaha philanthropist interested in children, education, the arts, medicine and the environment, the endowed fund will also help the institute's public outreach and education efforts, NU said in a release.

NU President Hank Bounds said the gift is a fitting tribute to Holland  "a true champion for children and families"  while Meisels called Holland "a visionary leader, a true humanitarian and a dear friend."

"His passion for creating opportunities for all children was inspiring," Meisels said. "His philanthropy changed Omaha, our state, and the University of Nebraska for the better."

The Holland Foundation has supported numerous initiatives benefiting children, including the Child Saving Institute, Completely Kids, Partnership 4 Kids and the NorthStar Foundation, while also creating the Holland Children's Institute and Holland Children's Movement.
ST. PAUL  U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer said Thursday shes concerned about North Korea, especially since theyre now capable of reaching the U.S. with an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

This is a very real threat and its not to be taken lightly, Fischer said. This is a grave concern.

Fischer, who is a member of the Armed Services Committee, spoke to about 25 people Thursday at the St. Paul Civic Center.

The visit outlined what Fischer has been up to in Washington, D.C., and included a question and answer session. She spoke on infrastructure, getting along with people across the aisle and trade. Fischer went through each committee she was on and gave updates and insight on Washington.

Fischer said as part of the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, including the subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation and the Internet, she helps make legislation to ensure the safety and workability of new technology.

She said shes worked a lot with Sen. Cory Booker, a Democrat representing New Jersey. She said though she and Booker come from different parties and states, they agree on certain things. Booker serves on the subcommittee with her. Fischer said she and Booker agree that they dont want government regulations on products, including technology, of the future.

She said she doesnt think entrepreneurial ideas and products should be limited. She said things are changing so much, noting that there are now refrigerators that remind people to buy milk.

I really cant even imagine all the cool stuff that is going to be here in five years, in 10 years, Fischer said.

On infrastructure, Fischer commented on President Donald Trumps comprehensive bill to improve infrastructure. She said she disagreed with it at first, thinking there should be a separate bill for each infrastructure category, such as bridges, roads and ports. She said she originally thought that having separate bills would allow things to be looked at more closely.

However, she said once hearing the president talk about his plan, Im excited about the possibilities.

She said she doesnt agree with the presidents opinion about trade, such as withdrawing from the North American Free Trade Agreement.

We need trade. Trade is a growth for this state and this country, Fischer said.

She said she hopes the president will work to strengthen trade ties with Canada and Mexico, as well as work with Asia.

Fischer spoke briefly on the Farm Bill, which she said shes very worried about. She said shes heard from people in the ag industry that their number one concern is being able to keep crop insurance.

An audience member asked Fischer about working with people of a different political party, noting that people need to work together more in D.C.

Fischer responded that everyone comes from different backgrounds. She said from what shes experienced, its not as hostile as most people think it is. She said there are some people she cant work with, simply because the people they represent may have different needs than the Nebraskans she represents.

However, she said she sees, daily, the most liberal and conservative politicians working together.

If you want to get anything done in the Senate, you need a Democrat sponsor on your bill, Fischer said, because it makes things easier.

She said the same thing goes with the president, who she said has done a good job of reaching out to senators on both sides. She said hes invited senators for a social night, which helps create a cooperative atmosphere. She said in the Senate, you have to also develop relationships and trust with people.

There are good people, and I dont doubt anyone isnt there for the right reason, Fischer said of the Senate.
HASTINGS  A 40-year-old Hastings man police have been searching for was arrested early Friday morning.

Trinity P. Heil, considered armed and dangerous by Hastings Police, had several felony warrants out for his arrest, including first degree false imprisonment, two counts of domestic assault and two counts of strangulation.

Sgt. Brian Hessler said police have been looking for him to arrest him for those warrants. The arrest came after a search warrant for a house on Bateman Street on Wednesday night. That search was the result of an officer getting a tip on Trinitys whereabouts. Hastings police, with assistance from the Nebraska State Patrol SWAT team, searched for Trinity, who got away.

Authorities, on Wednesday, arrested Trinitys brother Travis on warrants. Since that incident, police have warned the public to be on the lookout as the search for Trinity continued.

On Thursday, the Crime Prevention Committee of the Hastings Area Chamber of Commerce is offered a $500 reward for information leading to Trinitys arrest. Hessler said the reward was a help in ultimately finding Trinity.

Hessler said Trinity was arrested around 1:30 a.m. Friday in the 100 block of East 6th Street.

Officers again received tips on Trinitys whereabouts, which led them to an area to do surveillance. Hessler said officers caught a glimpse of Trinity.

They were then led on a foot chase, in which Trinity again got away. Hessler said officers put a perimeter around the area, then the Nebraska State Patrol K-9 team searched for Trinity. He was found hiding in a backyard and arrested.
HASTINGS  Authorities are looking for a Hastings man who they consider armed and dangerous.

Sgt. Brian Hessler with the Hastings Police Department said officers are searching for Trinity P. Heil.

Hessler said Trinity has multiple felony warrants from Adams County, including first degree false imprisonment, two counts of domestic assault and two counts of strangulation.

Weve been looking for him to take him into custody for these warrants, Hessler said of Trinity.

A Hastings officer received a tip Wednesday afternoon of Heils possible whereabouts in a house on Bateman Street. Hessler said officers started doing surveillance and then petitioned the court for warrant to search the house.

Officers also got information that Trinitys brother, Travis, was at the Bateman Street residence. Hessler said Travis also had warrants, but he didnt think they were as serious or violent as Trinitys. Hessler didnt have the specifics on Traviss warrants.

Due to the potential for violence, Hessler said police called on the Nebraska State Patrol SWAT team for assistance. Hessler said the SWAT teams special equipment and training were needed.

He said authorities worked until 11 p.m. on the situation. Travis was arrested, Hessler said, but Trinity wasnt located.

We have reason to believe hes armed, Hessler said.

Trinitys birth date is March 31, 1977, making him 40 years old. He is 5 feet and nine inches tall with brown hair and brown eyes.

The Crime Prevention Committee of the Hastings Area Chamber of Commerce is offering $500 reward for information leading to the arrest of Trinity. If you have information on Trinity Heils whereabouts, you are asked to call the Hastings Police Department at (402)4612380 or 911. If your information leads to the arrest of Trinity Heil you will receive the reward.
The Food Bank is partnering with Trinity United Methodist Church to host a mobile food pantry in Grand Island on Saturday.

Approximately 25,000 to 30,000 pounds of food will be distributed for free to individuals and families who are food insecure.

The distribution will be from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the parking lot at the church, 511 N. Elm St.

Individuals and families living in Hall County and surrounding communities are welcome to attend. Those who come to the mobile pantry should bring boxes or bags for carrying the food they receive. No identification is required to receive food.

A mobile pantry is a traveling food pantry that delivers free food to individuals and families who need assistance. The goal is to provide food where there is a high need but limited resources. Items to be distributed Saturday include spaghetti, tomato sauce, canned pork and beans, cereal, pancake mix and other shelf-stable products, along with perishable items, including a variety of fresh produce and bakery items.

The next mobile pantry in Hall County will be on Sept. 23. The location is yet to be confirmed. Visit FoodBankHeartand.org for further details.

Financial Peace University courses planned in Grand Island

Financial Peace University classes will begin at two Grand Island churches in September.

Abundant Life Christian Center, 3411 W. Faidley Ave., will host classes at 6 p.m. Sundays beginning Sept. 10. Third City Christian Church, 4100 W. 13th St., will host classes at 6:30 p.m. Sundays beginning Sept. 17.

The nine-week course provides families and individuals with practical tools to gain control of their finances and set themselves up for long-term financial success. Each week a different lesson is taught by Dave Ramsey on DVD, followed by a small-group discussion. Lessons include budgeting, relationships and money, getting out of debt, saving for emergencies and investing.

Through common-sense principles and small-group accountability, FPU gives people the tools they need to change their behavior and succeed financially. On average, families who complete FPU pay off $5,300 in debts and save $2,700 in the first 90 days. Following the class nearly 94 percent of those families budget regularly.

FPU lessons also include guest speakers, Rachel Cruze, speaker and daughter of Dave Ramsey, and Chris Hogan, counselor and speaker for the Dave Ramsey organization.

After purchasing a membership, each participant receives a workbook, Dave Ramseys Complete Guide to Money, an envelope system and an audio CD library. Participants will also have access to budgeting forms and MP3s of all the lessons.

For more information on the local plans or to register, contact Abundant Life at (308) 382-4861 or Third City Christian at (308) 384-5038.

Clothing needed for garage sale giveaway

Messiah Lutheran Church in Grand Island is seeking used clothing for its Gods Work, Our Hands garage sale giveaway planned for noon to 4 p.m. Sept. 10.

Mens, womens, juniors, boys, girls, toddlers and infants clothes are needed, but the church asks that it be sorted when dropped off. Both summer and winter clothes will be distributed.

The church is also accepting small kitchen items and hygiene items. All donations can be dropped off at the church office.

Clothing racks for the event are also needed. Anyone with racks that could be used should call Janet Elrod at (308) 379-4830 or call the church office at (308) 382-3471.
Weather permitting, concrete pavement replacement, patching and bridge repair work will continue on U.S. Highway 281 in the Grand Island area with a traffic crossover switch beginning Friday, Aug. 25, according to the Nebraska Department of Transportation.

During the work, northbound traffic on U.S. Highway 281 north of Grand Island will be switched to head-to-head onto the southbound lanes. Southbound traffic will stay in their lane into Grand Island while northbound traffic will transition to the southbound lanes on Broadwell Ave. just south of the island. Northbound traffic will crossover just south of the Chapman Road intersection back to northbound U.S. Highway 281.

Traffic will be controlled at the Airport Road intersection with temporary traffic signals. Trucks will be restricted from turning left or right due to the turning radius with the islands.

Starting Monday, Aug. 28, traffic on westbound Airport Road will be detoured onto the Frontage Road north back to U.S. Highway 281 while this intersection is being repaired. Motorists are asked to drive safely near construction work and along detour routes.

The Department of Transportations project manager for this work is Bob Nordhues of Grand Island.
The Central Nebraska Humane Society, which is the recipient of a State Fair Cares grant, is hoping people will bring the organization donations to increase the value of the gift.

The Humane Society received a $10,000 grant as part of the Nebraska State Fair Cares program. An additional $5,000 is available if people drop off enough items needed to care for shelter animals. Those donations should be made at the Humane Society, which is at 1312 Sky Park Road.

If the value of the donated items is great enough, the shelter will earn up to an additional $5,000 for its homeless animals.

The Humane Society is raising funds to purchase a LaserCyte DX blood analysis unit. It will provide a prompt and accurate diagnosis of sick or injured animals being sheltered, says the Humane Society.

The Central Nebraska Humane Society placed second in the State Fair Cares program, which helps non-profits achieve their goals in fundraising and raising awareness about their organizations mission.

Donations of needed animal supplies should be made by Monday. The Humane Society is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday. For more information, call (308) 385-5305.

On Saturday and Sunday, the Humane Society will have a booth outside the Expo Building near the sky tram at the State Fair. The booth will provide information and activities to make items for your pet. You may also make an item and leave it for the shelter animals.

The booth will also feature videos and the opportunity to meet volunteers, staff and board members.
One of the five women appointed as a CASA volunteer Thursday signed up to counteract the negative energy in society.

Amy Jones of Aurora always felt that being a court-appointed special advocate was a great opportunity. Recently, shes noticed that theres a lot of negative energy in society in general and certainly that impacts young people, she said. So maybe it was a good time for me to get involved in something that I can give some positive energy to.

Jones was one of five women who were sworn in as court-appointed special advocates. The other people sworn in were Julie Bruning of Chapman, Tracy Bleier of Doniphan, Gladys Ediger of Aurora and Jordanne Speer of Central City.

They will serve as volunteers for Heartland CASA, which serves Hall, Hamilton, Merrick and Howard counties. Court-appointed special advocates support abused and neglected children in the court system.

Hall County Judge Al Corey led the ceremony, in which the women promised to execute the duties of a special advocate appointed by the Juvenile Court of Hall County.

Before becoming CASA volunteers, the women underwent 30 hours of training. They also went through a background check and an intensive interview. In addition, they were checked in the Child/Adult Abuse and Neglect Central Registry.

Ediger said she has worked with kids in some way or other all my life. She worked in daycare for 27 years. She and her husband were foster parents and she was a family support worker. Ediger, who is retired, is currently on the states foster care review board. Anything to do with children is near and dear to my heart, she said.

Bruning is the special education coordinator at Walnut Middle School.

She is interested in helping kids who are involved in the foster care system. Bruning wants to make sure that their voice is heard. She wants to support and advocate for the best interests of children.

Jordanne Speer became involved with CASA because I think its a great program that really allows kids in the system to have a voice. Kids dont always get that opportunity, she said. CASA is just an outstanding program and Im real proud to be a part of it, said Speer, who works in truancy prevention and juvenile services for Merrick County.

Speer had heard about CASA while she was in college. She wasnt able to do it then, but her boss, Merrick County Attorney Lynelle Homolka, suggested that she get involved. Speer contacted CASA and thats kind of how it came to be, she said.

Bleier has always wanted to be involved in CASA, and I finally have the opportunity to do so, she said.

I have a great desire to help children, she said. I used to substitute teach and be involved in teaching special education and so I thought this was a good way to help children, and I have the time to do it.

Jones, who is the administrative director for Prairie Plains Resource Institute, has seen commercials for CASA for several years.

She always felt it was a great opportunity for volunteers that had a certain skill set, she said.

Shes anxious to help abused and neglected children.

Ive always felt that young people should have the best chance the first time, Jones said.

For information about CASA, call (308) 385-5125.
As 17-, 18- or 19-year-old boys, Dennis Bjorklund of Greeley said he and his fellow soldiers went off to fight in the Vietnam War. While most kids today, he said, go off to college straight out of high school, he and his classmates were turned into soldiers.

We were 17, 18 and 19 years old when we went over there. Its hard to imagine now kids that young could be turned into soldiers, he said. Today, I see these 18-year-olds that are in college, straight out of high school and ask, How did we do it as 18- or 19-year-olds? Kids today can probably do it too, but Id hate to see them go through it.

Bjorklund was one of four Vietnam veterans who told their story of serving in the Vietnam War during a panel discussion Thursday night at the Grand Theatre. The panel was part of an event which also featured a screening of the upcoming 10-part, 18-hour PBS documentary series, The Vietnam War.

Martha Florence, director of community outreach for NET, said the purpose of Thursday nights event was to promote the upcoming PBS documentary series and to honor local Vietnam veterans.

Since NET is a statewide network, it is really important for us to be able to take this opportunity to actually have an opportunity to honor veterans, she said. Ive been with the station for almost 40 years, and this is the most rewarding experience I have ever had being able to take this around the state, honoring folks that have not been honored for over 50 years.

The preview screening Thursday was one of nine NET is hosting across the state to promote The Vietnam War.

Four Vietnam veterans  Marty Ramirez of Lincoln; Bjorklund; Ed Ryan of Greeley; and Jim Leschinsky of Grand Island, formerly from St. Libory  spoke as part of the panel after the preview screening.

Bev Schuele, Regent of the Betsey Hager chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) in Grand Island, who partnered with NET to coordinate Thursday nights event, said she was familiar with the panel members and invited them to speak.

Ramirez facilitated the discussion among the panel members. During the panel discussion, he asked his fellow veterans on the panel about their reactions to The Vietnam War documentary series preview.

It brought back a lot of memories of good times, bad times and the camaraderie, Bjorklund said. You went there (Vietnam) as individuals and you ended up as brothers.

Leschinsky said he was touched by the preview screening. He added, based on his experiences, that freedom is not free as he had some friends who never made it home from the Vietnam War.

They herded us on this cruise ship in California and it got dark when we got on it, he said. The next morning, I was hanging onto the ship railing. There was a brass plaque right between my hands. It was made in 1943 and I got goosebumps. How many soldiers had been on there and have never gone home?

That night, Leschinsky said he said his first real-life prayer in which he asked God to please let him see his country one more time. When it was his turn to come home, he said there was a soldier killed in action whose body was on the C130 flight and he turned his name tags over to see if he knew him.

Right at that moment, it dawned on me that my prayer had been answered, Leschinsky said. Im not a religious person. But God has answered just about every prayer that I have ever asked him for.

Ryan said he was honored to be on the panel and to share his story with those in attendance Thursday night. He added he speaks on panels all over the country telling his story and that he finds that young people, for years, have been looking for heroes.

What I know is that every time, in a room like this, all you have to do is look to your right, look to your left, look behind you, look in front of you, reach out and touch that person, he said. Those are the heroes in this room  the men and women who fought and the women who stayed behind.

After the panel discussion, Ramirez opened the floor to audience comments. The majority of those commenting took the opportunity, not to ask questions, but to thank veterans for their service  something they wished they received 50 years ago.

We all stand a little taller today because of what we did, Leschinsky said. It wasnt a very popular war. Weve probably had more recognition around this part of the country with the Hero Flights and warm homecomings we had when we came back. When I came home the first time, there was nobody waiting for me. We put on our work clothes and our coveralls and we went to work. But know what? You bet Id do it again. I love my country.

Right after he said this, Ryan told the audience that he had only met fellow Vietnam veteran Leschinsky two hours prior. But nonetheless, he held his hand and told Leschinsky, Welcome home, brother.
Bradley Kerwin accomplished what few ever do.

He convinced the Lincoln City Council to honor his claim against the city  partial payment for the loss of his 1992 gray Acura Integra  against the advice of the City Attorneys Office.

Kerwin was pulled over by police on March 11. He was driving legally with an interlock device. But the state computer system, used by local police, listed Kerwins license as being revoked. So Lincoln police ticketed him for driving on a revoked license, took him to jail and had his car towed.

Several days later, Kerwin took his letter  showing he was driving legally  to the county attorney. But it took Kerwin four months before the County Attorneys Office dropped the driving-on-a-revoked-license charge.

After a month, Kerwin checked on his car, but the towing charges and fees already topped his available funds. So the car stayed at the impound lot.

Kerwin expected when the criminal charge was dismissed, the towing charges and daily fees would be dropped and he would get his car back.

The charges were dismissed July 10. But when he went to pick up the car, he learned it had been sold at auction May 27 to cover the private company's fees and charges.

So Kerwin filed a claim with the city for the loss of his car.

The City Attorneys Office recommended denying the claim. The city police were not negligent. They were relying on a state computer system to give them accurate information. The city had no legal liability to honor the claim.

This is an unfortunate situation. He is not the first person who has lost a car and not been able to get it out. But I dont see how the city of Lincoln was at fault, City Attorney Jeff Kirkpatrick said at a recent council meeting.

But last week the seven-member City Council decided the just thing to do was to pay Kerwin $480, which was the cost of the towing and daily charges that had accrued before the car was sold. It was not quite the Kelley Blue Book price of the car, but Kerwin was pleased.

Council members said the city ordinance, requiring a vehicle to be impounded when a driver is caught driving on a revoked license, played a role. Few, if any, Nebraska communities have an ordinance like this, intended to motivate people to get a license, to get insurance.

Kirkpatrick warned that the council was setting a precedent, made easier because of the low value of the vehicle. He suggested council members might have a different response for a driver who owned a Tesla and wanted $5,000.

Someone who owned a Tesla would have had a better attorney, joked Councilman Roy Christensen.

Councilwoman Cyndi Lamm apologized to Kerwin and said, It is really unfortunate and I know it is hard to replace transportation you dont count on losing.

Councilwoman Leirion Gaylor Baird said she didnt want to have a system that punishes an innocent person who cant afford to get his car out of an impound lot.
Democrat Jane Raybould, a member of the Lincoln City Council, said Thursday that she plans to challenge U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer in the 2018 election.

Raybould said she wants to bring her business background and commitment to bipartisanship to the job. She said she is not happy with how congressional Republicans handled debate on the health care bill.

She also criticized Fischer, a first-term senator, for her vote to confirm Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.

Fischer formally announced her re-election bid in June, saying she would continue to prioritize national security and transportation during a second term.

Raybould acknowledged she has an uphill battle against a Republican incumbent in a state where Republicans outnumber Democrats by roughly 3 to 2.

But Raybould, 58, said shes ready.

I have never shied away from a fight, said Raybould, who is a vice president of her familys grocery store business.

She cites her time on the Lancaster County Board, where she was the lone Democrat, as proof that she can work across the aisle. Raybould said shes particularly proud of the boards work with labor unions and others to reduce the countys pension contributions.

On health care, Raybould said she would fight to maintain some provisions of the Affordable Care Act, such as mandatory coverage of pre-existing conditions and insurance subsidies for those whose incomes are under a certain threshold.

She said she wants a bipartisan group of the smartest and the brightest to come together to propose changes. She said she would look at a single-payer system or allowing people older than 55 to buy into Medicare, but did not endorse any specific changes in health care laws.

Raybould said she would be fierce on agricultural issues and would seek a spot on the Senate Agriculture Committee.

Fischer, a rancher from Valentine and a former state senator, has a position in Senate leadership as counsel to the majority leader.

It has been the honor of my lifetime to be your fighter, and today I am asking you for the chance to keep on fighting for our shared values, she said in June during her re-election announcement.

Fischer serves on the Environment and Public Works Committee and the Armed Services Committee. She has pushed back on Environmental Protection Agency regulations and has sought regulation changes to improve sales of ethanol. She talks frequently about the importance of modernizing the countrys nuclear force.

She was one of the last Senate Republicans to publicly announce her support for DeVos, President Donald Trumps pick to lead the Department of Education, a decision that drew heat from activists who objected to DeVos record on school choice.

Fischer said at the time that she supported the nomination after securing commitments from DeVos to fight for all children and to respect local control on issues like school choice.
Many Nebraskans can recall the devastating impact of the financial meltdown. The reckless actions of big banks cost working Americans their jobs and homes.

In response to this disaster, the Consumer Bureau was created to serve as a watchdog to the financial services industry and protect Americans from predator lenders. Since it was established in 2011, the Consumer Bureau has returned almost $12 billion to 29 million Americans.

Now, some Congressional Republicans, with support from the Trump administration, have passed the Financial Choice Act in the House of Representatives, which will seriously hinder the Consumer Bureaus ability to effectively regulate financial institutions and root out bad actors if its able to get through the Senate.

If this legislation is passed, American consumers will be left vulnerable to predatory lenders and big Wall Street banks.

The time has come to stand up for consumer protections by letting our senators in Washington know that we support the Consumer Bureau under the leadership of Director Richard Cordray.
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
At the beginning of each season of Segue, Southern Illinois University Edwardsvilles premier radio show on WSIE 88.7 FM The Sound that focuses on issues on campus and within the community, College of Arts and Sciences Dean Greg Budzban, PhD, likes to sit down with Chancellor Randy Pembrook, PhD, to speak about his hopes for the academic year.

When the state of Illinois passed its first budget plan for higher education in two years this July, Pembrook and other university leaders from around the Prairie State breathed a collective sigh of relief.

We were anticipating what could have happened and developed possible scenarios to be ready for anything, Pembrook says. When we got the news that we had a budget in the first week of July, it was a relief. The news that came out was better than any of the scenarios we had talked about.

Now that the states higher education budget has been passed, SIUE can finally plan for the future as funding for both the 2016-17 and 2017-18 fiscal years are set. Students eligible for MAP grants do not have to worry about how they will pay their tuition. The Universitys largest building project, renovations to its Science East building, should wrap up construction before the summer of 2018.

That building in particular not only holds a lot of our faculty offices and classes, but it also is designed so that as we do renovations in other buildings on campus over the next few years, we can temporarily move faculty into Science East, while we make those changes, Pembrook says. Thats quite a big deal for us.

I cant tell you how much the renovation in Science East is going to mean to the College of Arts and Sciences, Budzban remarks. It will change the complexion of our math and physics programs. In addition, our colleagues in the STEM Center will be housed there as well, only increasing the collaboration possibilities between STEM and the Arts and Sciences. Its great news for the College and for the entire University moving forward.

It created a sense of stability, Pembrook replies. In the contiguous states, universities with programs in the math and sciencesits become a competitive business. Illinois has lost approximately 15,000 to 20,000 students annually to other universities out of state. To have Illinois commit to a higher education budget also gives students a great deal of confidence that well be able to deliver programs at a quality they expect.

Instead of hunkering down, Pembrook, as well as other university administrators, are once again able to explore opportunities for growth and innovation. As the strategic plan for 2013-2018 comes to a close, leaders will head back to the drawing board to see what accomplishments were made despite the fiscal environment and how to continue to strive for excellence in the future.

As the new academic term begins, some University faculty and staff will adjust into new roles, just as Pembrook did one year ago. Southern Illinois University Carbondale just welcomed its new Chancellor, Carlo Montemagno, PhD, with open arms. Pembrook and Montemagno havent had the chance to meet, but plan to get to know one another at Septembers Board of Trustees meeting.

He sounds like quite an interesting person, Pembrook says. He was in the Navy, was a first-generation college student, and hes also been a chair and dean in higher education. The part I found most interesting about him is that he has an engineering background. He refers to himself as a builder.

He is an engineer in nanotechnology, and I believe that building and restructuring at Carbondale will certainly be on his agenda, Budzban replies.

State funding for higher education is anticipated to be a continuing challenge. Pembrook hopes to foster new relationships with corporations and government entities in both St. Louis and southwestern Illinois to allow both SIUE and its students to grow well into the future.

With one year as chancellor under his belt, Pembrook hopes that he and the rest of the University community can continue to make big things happen at SIUE for many years to come.

Catch the entire conversation between Pembrook and Budzban at 9 a.m. this Sunday on WSIE 88.7 FM The Sound.

By Madelaine Gerard, University Marketing & Communications
Jackson Budwell, an Edwardsville High School freshman, has been named a national finalist this year in the Environmental Science/Natural Resource Systems category in Division 1 of the National FFA Agriscience Fair. Budwell will compete for top honors during the annual National FFA Convention and Expo that takes place Oct. 25 to Oct. 28 in Indianapolis.

Although Budwell now attends EHS, he qualified for the national competition as an eighth grader in the FFA program at Lincoln Middle School. To qualify for the national competition, FFA members working as individuals or teams in grades seven through 12 were required to conduct a scientific research project pertaining to the agriculture or food science industries and win their states FFA agriscience fair.

Individuals or teams competed in one of six categories  animal systems; environmental services/natural resource systems; food products and processing systems; plant systems; power, structural and technical systems; or social science  in six divisions  individuals in grades seven to eight, teams grades seven to eight, individuals grades nine to 10, teams grades nine to 10, individuals in grades 11 to 12, and teams grades 11 to 12.

First place winners in each state qualified for the national pre-qualifying judging which took place recently in Indianapolis, Ind. The panel of judges, more than 20 agricultural teachers and college professors from throughout the U.S., reviewed entries and selected a maximum of 12 in each category and division to move on to the national competition.

Mark McKown, who teaches the Lincoln Middle School Ag Program, pointed out that Budwell was the first-ever District 7 student to advance to nationals in the Agriscience Fair.

Previously, an EHS Horse Evaluation team won the state contest and represented Illinois at nationals, he noted.

Budwells journey began at the state level where he presented his science fair project, report, and visual board titled Annihilation of Algae against the other Illinois FFA members in the Natural Resources-Middle School, Individual division.

He measured the effectiveness of algaecide, McKown pointed out. He was required to complete a written report including a purpose, hypothesis, review of literature, materials, methods, results, and conclusions. He interviewed as a middle school individual with a panel of judges.

Budwells project was selected as the top project in the state and recently was chosen as one of the top 12 projects in the country within Division 1-Environ Services/Natural Resource Systems and to compete in the National FFA Agriscience Fair.

I think he has been so successful because he is very thorough. His project reflects his work ethic, McKown said about Budwell.

We have worked to effectively present his ability and that shows in his project as well, McKown said.

Additionally, his project details and studies a very common feature (algae) of our everyday life. We see algae in ponds, lakes, and rivers all over the place. The ability to relate to that and improve upon such a relevant topic is helpful for a science fair project.

Budwells success is a representation of the growth in the districts middle school FFA student participation.

I hope this will set a trend for student involvement from Lincoln FFA to participate in the Agriscience Fair and experience similar success in the future, McKown added.

The FFA mission is to make a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education.

The National FFA Organization provides leadership, personal growth and career success training through agricultural education to 649,355 student members who belong to one of 7,859 local FFA chapters throughout the U.S., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The organization is also supported by 225,891 alumni members in 1,934 alumni chapters throughout the U.S. The 2017 National FFA Agriscience Fair is sponsored by Cargill, Chevrolet, John Deere and Syngenta.
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Linkedin Stevie Emilia (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, August 25, 2017 09:37 1906 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97adee24f 4 Environment environment,environmental-issues,#environment,An-Inconvenient-Truth,An-Inconvenient-Sequel,Paris-Agreement,climate-change,#ClimateChange,#ClimateChangeAgreement,Donald-Trump Free

When An Inconvenient Truth was released in 2006, the documentary, which centers on former United States vice president Al Gores campaign to educate the public on global warming, sent shockwaves around the world with its warnings of imminent environmental catastrophe brought by climate change.

Gore followed his gut and his heart, putting everything he had into an issue that had long lit a fire within him  confronting the increasingly alarming prospect of a global climate crisis that could literally signal the end of human civilization.

At that time, the climate crisis itself was at a crossroads, with scientific consensus coalescing around the costs to mankind, the global economy and the planet if zero efforts were made to cut down on man-made greenhouse gas emissions, which cause climate change. Then, the scope of the threat was just breaking through to the public and the fossil fuel industry was putting up strong resistance.

The inspiring film, directed by Davis Guggenheim, won two Oscars and contributed to taking the issue of climate change into popular culture, propelling Gore to being named a co-winner of the Nobel Peace Prize alongside the United Nations panel of climate scientists in 2007.

Its sequel, An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power, which hits theaters here on Aug. 25, shows how far the battle to reverse the effects of climate change has come in 10 years. It serves as the next chapter of the story as people see not just accelerating change, but also the emergence of new battles. Simply put, if the first movie was the wakeup call, millions of people are now wide awake.

An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power (Paramount Pictures/File)

Directed by Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk, the sequel sets off in a new direction. It follows Gore as he continues his tireless fight, traveling around the world training an army of climate leaders while influencing international climate policy.

The award-winning directors (The Island President; Audrie & Daisy) offer a fresh perspective and sense of warmth to the sequel, bringing in their skilled eyes for cinematography to make the story, which may not be easy to tell, entertaining.

Cameras follow Gore behind the scenes in a direct cinema style, connecting the audience to the subject while revealing the complexity of human relations in a manner as electrifying and dramatic as fiction.

The sequel reveals both private and public moments as well as funny, poignant and unscripted, off-the-cuff moments, as Gore explains that, while the stakes have never been higher, the perils of climate change can be overcome with human ingenuity and passion.

Cameras also shadow Gore on his journey across Greenland, India, Europe, Asia and the US, navigating through corridors of power as well as in the trenches with survivors, scientists, unlikely leaders and ordinary people moved to take extraordinary actions.

Unexpected scenes intimately show Gores day-to-day efforts  he peels off his soggy socks after wading through ocean-flooded Miami; he escapes traffic by taking a crowded Paris subway; he engages in power-brokering roles with top officials such as New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, Secretary of State John Kerry and UN Climate Chief Christiana Figueres; and he listens to heart-wrenching stories from typhoon survivors in Tacloban, Philippines.

The film also allows viewers to be there with Gore as he visits the Swiss Camp research station in Greenland that monitors the movement of ice sheets. There, he learns the station itself has collapsed several times over the last decade because the ice on which it is anchored is melting so precipitously.

Climate talk: Al Gore discusses efforts to reverse the effects of climate change in An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power. (Paramount Pictures/File)

One moving scene at Russell Glacier in Greenland shows Gore standing, his face in awe, while taking in what he sees  ice cracks off into a river that leads to the ocean, then says he can see that the glacier is in worse condition compared to last time he visited.

The film shows images of the climate change impacts splashed in the media  in the US alone, Louisianans in their cars are saved from drowning in a flood; ocean fish swim in Florida streets; and sci-fi-like rain bombs deluge Arizona. In India, a woman falls into a melting road. These scenes show that the urgency to solve the climate crisis is as great as ever.

Throughout the film, there is a sense of urgency and optimism, as well as a sense of connection with Gores passion, courage, resilience, heart and, most of all, his unique ability to inspire others.

While the first film may have caused deep concern, the sequel, while still pointing to extreme droughts, record-breaking downpours, melting Arctic ice and worrying scientific facts as evidence of climate change, has a more hopeful message in the worlds ability to solve the crisis.

Heart-warming scenes show, in the past 10 years, a low-carbon economy is emerging at an unprecedented pace, driven by innovative technologies and growing economic upsides. In fact, the year 2016 marked an all-time high in investments in renewable energy across the globe.

The sequel points out some huge climate success stories, including cities around the world achieving the goal of using 100 percent renewable electricity and how global investments in renewable electricity generation now exceed fossil fuels with markets increasingly turning away from them.

The films message is clear. There is hope that, together, we can solve the climate crisis. While economics alone do not paint the entire picture, the trends put the writing on the wall: the future belongs to renewables.

Just like the first film, the sequel delivers a powerful message for the world to hear. As Gore says: The next generation, if they live in a world of floods and storms and rising seas and droughts and refugees by the millions escaping unlivable conditions, destabilizing countries around the world, they would be well justified in looking back and asking, What were you thinking?

__________________________________________

An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power

(Paramount Pictures, Participant Media; 98 minutes)

Directed by Bonni Cohen, Jon Shenk

Cast: Al Gore, John Kerry, Angela Merkel, Barack Obama, Donald J. Trump, George W. Bush.
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Linkedin Yun Kyung Kim (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, August 25, 2017 09:24 1906 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97aded81a 4 Food street-food,#StreetFood Free

In recent years, colorful and tasty Indonesian food has captivated international interests with highly rated reviews.

CNN Travel, for example, named rendang (beef simmered in coconut milk and spices) as the Worlds Most Delicious Dish in 2011. During the recent World Street Food Congress 2017 in Manila, the Philippines, American chef and TV personality Anthony Bourdain reportedly praised the different kinds of Indonesian cuisine that have influenced the culinary palate of neighboring Southeast Asian countries.

Although Indonesian food has captivated the interest of many foodies across the world, the country still lacks the culinary credentials it deserves. Local chefs believe the country has a lot more to offer than the commonly known dishes if they are promoted through improved marketing tactics.

I believe regional dishes such as kerak telor (spicy omelet) from Jakarta, lumpia Semarang (fried spring rolls), ayam betutu Bali (Balinese-style roasted or steamed chicken) are some of the dishes that have not yet reached their potential in terms of attracting tourists, but if done right could very well be a strong influence in our tourism, celebrity chef Andrew Karmajana said.

More flavor: Celebrity chef Andrew Karmajana hosts an interactive cooking demonstration at the 2017 Indonesian Culinary Festival. (Inke Maris/File)

In a society driven by buzzes of technology, promoting local cuisine is a marketing and branding process and not a culinary one. It is about targeting a market group with the correct tools.

A little help from food bloggers will have a huge impact, because bloggers have a tremendous network of loyal followers, some of whom can be pretty fanatic, so if they say its spicy, their followers will think so too, chef Kenny Rianto of Taste Paradise, Grand Hyatt Jakarta, said.

The chefs believe that the government could play an important role in helping them extend the efforts to bring Indonesian culture onto the worlds culinary map. Kenny said the government should hold more events or festivals targeting youth so that they could learn more about their own food culture.

Ganesha Pideksha, the executive chef of Tanamera Coffee Indonesia, said the same thing. He said the food industry had the potential to grow as long as the younger generation took an interest.

I think Indonesian cuisine has a lot of potential abroad, and I think the government needs to work together with big producers or entertainers and produce content that will attract young people to understand more about the local food culture, he said.

Nasi goreng (fried rice), a common street food in Indonesia. (Shutterstock/-)

Ganesha said there was also a need to explore to the farthest island of the archipelago and promote the diverse food and variety on each island.

Indonesian food has a lot to offer, and its not only rendang, bakso [meatball soup], nasi goreng and satay. For example, Manadonese food is always good, and I personally think soto laksa Medan tastes better than Singaporean laksa, he said.

The rich flavors and colorful Indonesian street food can be found during a number of culinary festivals held across the country. Residents in the capital were recently pampered with food events featuring favorite and legendary food, such as Festival Kuliner Nusantara (Indonesian Culinary Festival) in Mall Artha Gading in North Jakarta and Kampoeng Legenda in Mal Ciputra in West Jakarta.

Historically, the archipelago attracted international trade even centuries ago for its abundant spices. Its culinary heritage celebrates rich flavors of the vast regions extending over 17,000 islands.

Considering the countrys long history as the land of spices, its local dishes are a composition of geographic, cultural diversity and multiple foreign influences. Each street item reflects the fusion of local ingredients and traditional cooking styles that have the potential to attract taste buds worldwide.

Kenny, who is also a food consultant, says Indonesian street food like sweet martabak (pancake) is versatile, so it can easily be exposed to foreigners using the correct promotional efforts.

Locally called martabak manis, this comfort food is widely available on practically every corner, especially in the evening. Once the thick batter is cooked, the layers are slathered with an assortment of choices from butter and chocolate sprinkles to freshly grated cheese. It is then completed with a generous drizzle of condensed milk, peanuts and sesame seeds.

Nowadays there are more martabak choices. Im pretty sure it would be easy to introduce to other countries. My family, who lives in Singapore, is always craving martabak, and they always ask me to bring some to Singapore every time, Kenny said.

Although Indonesian street food is known for its flavors, efforts are needed to improve hygiene and presentation to appeal to more people.

Hygiene and sanitation in Indonesia is a big problem, starting from the water we use to wash dishes to cooking methods. We need to be aware of this problem, and not just our government but also concerning culinary practices in our cuisine, Ganesha said.

***

The writer is an intern at The Jakarta Post
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Linkedin Marcel Thee (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, August 25, 2017 09:16 1906 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97aded1aa 4 People local-musician,pop-music,punk,indie-music Free

Having released records by some of the pop-punk scenes most-recognized acts, including its most successful one Saturday Night Karaoke, the label is run by its namesake  the one-named Rizkan  who likes to tell it like it is; running an indie label by himself is no picnic.

Although he says that the labels history is nothing special, he hints at some behind-the-scenes drama with a partner who left early due to financial problems.

Whether or not Rizkan still harbors any bitterness about the split, he certainly does not show it.

Far more eager to talk about the bands on his roster, Rizkan says that one of the goals is to realign pop-punks image from being easy-to-play, whiny-sung music into what it is to him: A life-changing approach to music with a wealth of history behind it.

For one, pop-punk is not always simply about playing the same three chords over and over again. It can be challenging to play.

If were now seriously talking about how to get a good pop punk band to put out a magnificent pop punk record, it wont be all about the music skills you have. Good pop punk records were not made up of simple chords and a not-too-good vocal style; its all about the songwriting and how you pour love and the swagger into it, Rizkan argues, passionately.

While Rizkan admits that a lot of pop-punk band, both locally and internationally, follow the same formula without adding much into it, this is not the case with the bands with his label.

Many of them may have started off trying to checklist all the expected pop-punk elements in their music and listening only to the same chart-topping bands all their peers did, but they have grown into evoking a wider set of influences into their melodic rock sound.

I have an example: Fatrace, Rizkan says excitedly regarding one his own bands.

Their first EP was, like, pretty mediocre, I have to say but the band eventually blossomed after its front man began listening to Japanese groups like The Hum Hums, Pelotan, as well as classic non-pop-punk bands such as the Beach Boys.

Jamming: Saturday Night Karaoke's album launch. (Rizkan Records/File)

Rizkans extroverted display of love for pop-punk, which is not particularly a new genre, having had its heyday in the late 1990s and early 2000s, is endearing but also begs the question of why now?

But what may feel passe to some is fresh and new to Rizkan, who formerly dove headfirst into hardcore punk music  specifically its sub-genres, which has names like powerviolence, d-beat, crust and grind.

Certainly the more-straightforward affection of pop punk comes as something that has recognizable elements (distorted guitars, energetic percussive work) and new ones (lots of melodic hooks, literal lyrics).

The shift came through the influence of a friend.

Saturday Night Karaoke and its front man Prabu totally changed the way I previously saw pop punk. As you know, most people see pop-punk as the music of high-school kids and for the uncool kids. But Prabu introduced me to bands from Lookout Records bands like The Queers, Screeching Weasel, Mr T Experience, Pansy Division and others from (the similarly influential) Asianman Records label. Bands like Spoonboy, The Ergs, Full of Fancy and Cheeky, Rizkan said.

From then on, Rizkan began to fall in love with a genre he formerly looked down on.

At the time, Rizkan was working on StoneAge Records, a netlabel (digital-only label) that put out all kinds of underground records from the punk scene. Putting his own name down for his new label, which would focus exclusively on pop-punk and release physical records, was his own method of committing fully.

Rizkan began by releasing albums and EPs by his friends bands.

He also connected with bands through social media, including Martha, Colour Me Wednesday, Felix! and Ghost Mice  all of which have now released albums with Rizkan. He also scours music-sharing websites such as Bandcamp to keep an eye on promising local acts that fit the label.

As for promotion, Rizkan admits to doing everything online, having abandoned the physical methods of promoting his bands.

I think printing out flyers today is so ineffective, he laughs.

Rizkan is not shy about standing out amid the many other pop-punk label in Indonesia.

I never aimed on penetrating the local pop punk scene. What Ive been doing now to this second, I will say its more about establishing a new emerging scene. Dont get me wrong, I am not being exclusive here. Its OK for me when friends listen to, let say, more mediocre pop-punk or skate-punk stuff. Im just trying to put out some positive vibe here.

Rizkan thinks that pop-punk in Indonesia runs the risk of being stagnant, with kids stuck and going nowhere, not being eager to dig into deeper influences.

Rizkan knows that for pop-punk to survive, it must evolve.

I have some words regarding the pop punk scene today. I think most kids are stuck listening to the same old bands  No Use For A Name again or Lagwagon again. Im OK with those bands and I like them, but we have to progress and be bolder in taking real action like setting up gigs, fanzines and labels.
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Linkedin Fadli (The Jakarta Post) Batam, Riau Islands  Fri, August 25, 2017 08:00 1906 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97adea4c5 1 National #MigrantWorkers,#Malaysia,#Indonesia Free

The Western Fleet Quick Response (WFQR) unit from the Batam Navy Base in Riau Islands foiled on Tuesday an attempt to smuggle undocumented workers into Malaysia.

A small boat with 27 people on board was intercepted as it sailed into Karang Galang waters at 2 a.m., said Batam Navy Base Commander Col. Ivong Wicaksono.

"Based on interrogations, the boat sailed an illegal seaport in Batams Punggur area, before heading to Desaru Beach in Johor Bahru, Malaysia," Ivong told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

Of the 27 people on board, one was a 2-month-old infant.

Ivong said that his team was still investigating whether the boy belonged to one of the workers or was part of a child-trafficking ring.

"We are also working to uncover the syndicate behind this [smuggling attempt]. We believe that they are experienced," he said.

Ivong added that Tuesdays discovery proved that Indonesias security forces needed to step up their efforts in preventing cases of human trafficking.

Indonesia and Malaysia have agreed to work together to tackle the increase in illegal workers by conducting re-hiring programs for Indonesian undocumented workers and voluntary deportations of those who do not qualify for re-hiring.
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Linkedin News Desk (Kuensel/ANN) Thimphu  Fri, August 25, 2017 12:49 1906 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97adf2b5f 2 World #Bhutan,#parliament,#Asia Free

The Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA) Standing Committee meeting on social and cultural affairs would be held from Aug. 31 - Sept. 2 at the Convention Center in Thimphu.

A press release from the National Council, the Association of Asian Parliamentary (APA) for peace, which was established in 1999 and transformed into Asian Parliamentary Assembly in 2006, stated that APA is in pursuit of peace based justice and for closer Asian parliamentary cooperation.

Bhutan is hosting the meeting for the first time where parliamentarians from 20 member countries would be participating.

National Assembly Speaker, Jigme Zangpo, is serving as the Vice Chairperson of the Standing Committee on social and cultural affairs. Bhutan has been participating in the meeting since 2013 as one of the member parliaments of APA.

The Standing Committee consists of political, peace and security, social and cultural, economic and sustainable development, and energy.

A press conference was held yesterday on the up-coming meeting.

The three day meeting will discuss measures on protecting cultural diversity and cultural heritage in Asia, Asian integration through information and communication technology, collaboration on health equity, protection and promotion of rights of migrant workers in Asia, and Asian parliamentarians for corruption.

It would also include discussions on APA women parliamentarians and promoting inter-faith dialogue and harmony among world religion, legal and legislative cooperation in combating the smuggling of cultural items in Asia and effective cooperation in combating illicit drug trafficking in Asia.

Apart from these issues, the meeting would also include excursion and series of cultural activities.

The last meeting was held at Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran last year. During the meet, APA passed eight resolutions. APA has 42 member countries and 16 observers today.

Topics :

This article appeared on the Kuensel newspaper website, which is a member of Asia News Network and a media partner of The Jakarta Post
Lincoln City Councilwoman Jane Raybould emerged Thursday as the leading Democratic challenger to Republican Sen. Deb Fischer in 2018 with a pledge to be "an independent voice" in Washington determined to seek bipartisan solutions to the nation's challenges.

"People are sick and tired of all the divisive partisan battles" in Washington that leave huge issues such as health care and retirement security unresolved, Raybould said in announcing that she has decided to enter next year's Senate race.

Raybould said she would fight for Nebraska's interests, with a strong recognition of how vital trade is for the state's economy, including Nebraska's stressed agricultural sector.

"I want to be on the Senate Agriculture Committee," she said, positioned to help protect and advance the interests of what she described as "the economic engine of our state."

Neither Fischer nor Sen. Ben Sasse serves on the Agriculture Committee, Raybould noted.

As Congress begins to pivot toward tax reform, Raybould said, it will be important to make sure that "those who are the wealthiest pay their fair share (and) that we never ever move the tax burden onto the backs of low-income Americans."

Raybould is vice president and director of buildings and equipment at B&R Stores, which owns Russ's Market and Super Saver grocery stores.

A former Lancaster County commissioner, she was elected to a four-year term on the City Council in 2015. Raybould was Democratic gubernatorial nominee Chuck Hassebrook's running mate for lieutenant governor in 2014.

Fischer, who will be seeking her second term next year, was elected in 2012, defeating Democratic nominee Bob Kerrey, Nebraska's former governor and former two-term U.S. senator.

"As a business owner, job creator, public servant, wife and mom with two great kids, I truly believe America only succeeds when all of us succeed," Raybould said.

Recognizing her path will be uphill in a state that has not elected a Democrat to the Senate since Sen. Ben Nelson was re-elected in 2006, Raybould said: "I love a challenge. I love a good fight; I am a fighter."

An avid cyclist, Raybould said she hopes to do some campaigning on her bicycle.

Nebraskans need assurance that Social Security and Medicare are going to be protected along with access to affordable health care, she said.

The Affordable Care Act should be repaired, not repealed, she said.

"Senator Fischer voted strictly along party lines on that issue regardless of how many Nebraskans would be impacted," Raybould said.

"Millions of Americans would lose their health care," she said. "That does not represent Nebraska. We need collective, bipartisan solutions to do some fixes and stabilize the insurance market."

While expressing concern about President Donald Trump's position on trade  the president this week said he "probably" will withdraw the United States from the North American Free Trade Agreement  Raybould praised Republican Gov. Pete Ricketts for traveling to Canada to reinforce his commitment to NAFTA.

"I would like to see the governor travel down to Mexico next and make the same assurances," she said.

Touching on immigration issues, Raybould expressed support for continued protections for the so-called DACA youths who were brought to the United States as babies or young children when their parents or other adults entered the country illegally.

Those young people have been accorded legal presence to remain in the United States by former President Barack Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals executive action. So far, Trump has resisted calls to rescind DACA.

"These children have grown up in our state," Raybould said.

"We have made a tremendous investment in them. We want them here.

"They are Nebraskans and they are an educated and valuable part of our future."
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, August 25, 2017 17:18 1906 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97adfdbc5 1 City accident,drown,children Free

A 12-year-old boy drowned after saving the life of his 7-year-old brother, who fell into the Bekasi River in West Java on Thursday at 4 p.m.

North Bekasi Police chief Comr. Suroto said the two young boys were playing near the river before the incident happened. When playing, the younger brother, who could not swim, fell into the river and was helped by his older brother, who did not make it back to the riverbank.

According to the information we received, the two children were playing near the river before the incident. One of the kids was said to be unable to swim, Suroto said as quoted by kompas.com on Friday, adding that local residents found the body after one hour of searching.

The two boys were rushed to a Bekasi hospital, where the older boy was pronounced dead on arrival. (vny)

Topics : accident drown children
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Linkedin Nethy Dharma Somba (The Jakarta Post) Jayapura, Papua  Fri, August 25, 2017 16:28 1906 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97adfca1f 1 National Papua,Papua-elections,Papua-gubernatorial-election,democracy,BoyRafliAmar,Boy-Rafli-Amar Free

Bitter rivalry during this years simultaneous elections, including in Papua, have forced the Papua Police to partner with the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the Inter-Religious Harmony Forum (FKUB) to campaign for peaceful elections ahead of the Papua gubernatorial election in 2018.

With some election-related violence leading to fatalities, the Papua Police want all stakeholders to help maintain peace and calm before, during and after the elections.

There should be no more Papuan victims of democracy. There should be togetherness to build a conducive situation in coping with people activities, especially regional head elections in 2018, during which there will be a Papua gubernatorial election as well, said Papua Police chief Insp. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar during a discussion on public order and security with religious leaders in Jayapura on Friday.

The police chief further explained that 11 regencies and municipalities in Papua held simultaneous elections this year. Five mayors and regents elected in the elections have been sworn in, but elected leaders have yet to be inaugurated in six other regencies. A re-vote was held in Jayapura regency on Wednesday.

Jayapura regency is one of five regencies instructed by the Constitutional Court to hold re-votes. The four others are Intan Jaya, Puncak Jaya, Tolikara and Yapen. In Puncak Jaya, a brawl between candidate supporters erupted shortly after voting took place on Feb.15. In Intan Jaya, brawls broke out between candidate supporters, during which five died and dozens were injured.

Democracy should not cost lives, said Boy. (ebf)
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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, August 25 2017

The Bekasi Police have arrested a man, J, for his alleged attempt to distribute sabu-sabu (crystal methamphetamine) disguised as candy in several areas in the West Java city.

The police said on Thursday that they seized a package of crystal meth concealed in candy wrappers from the back pocket of Js pants.

We also raided his house and found ten packages of sabu-sabu concealed in candy wrappers, Bekasi Police deputy chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Wijanarko said as quoted by kompas.com.

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Linkedin Stefani Ribka (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, August 25, 2017 13:00 1906 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97adf3db9 1 Business Cipinang-central-market,online-food-price-center,rice,price Free

Jakartans can now track rice stock and prices online via the Cipinang Rice Central Market (PIBC) website pibc.foodstation.co.id, to ensure they are purchasing the basic commodity at fair prices, said Arief Prasetyo Adi, president director of Jakarta city administration-owned firm PT Food Station Tjipinang Jaya.

Jakarta-owned enterprise Food Station manages the Cipinang market, where sellers and traders from across the capital source their rice..

"Food Station also facilitates the price and stock stability of rice, and we created the website so the public can monitor these in real time," he told reporters Thursday.

The PIBC website provides information on the average daily price of rice varieties, from medium to premium and to specialty rice, based on data gathered across traditional and modern markets. It also provides the central market's wholesale price for the Pandanwangi, Rojolele and Setra Ramos rice varieties, as well as the wholesale price of sugar.

The website also tracks the daily stock and sources of rice at the PIBC to provide transparent information on the basic commodity.

The information is provided in a visually friendly graphical format on a customizable dashboard.

The Trade Ministry has just announced the rice price ceiling of between Rp 9,450 (70 US cents) per kilogram and Rp 10,250 per kg for medium-grade rice, depending on the province, and from Rp 12,800 per kg to rp 13,600 per kg for premium rice.

Medium-grade rice is usually white and has a 25 percent broken rice rate, while premium rice is usually semitransparent and has a 15 percent broken rate.

As of Aug. 23, the market has 45,494 tons of rice, which it claims is enough to meet Jakartans' need for rice for the next 15 days, including the upcoming Idul Adha holiday on Sept. 1. The safe level of daily stock is minimum 30,000 tons. (bbn)
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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Nusa Dua  Fri, August 25 2017

Navy personnel from 43 countries are currently discussing ways to strengthen cooperation on maritime security among their respective countries during a two-day meeting in Nusa Dua, Bali.

Officially opened on Thursday, the 3rd International Maritime Security Symposium (IMSS) 2017 aims to tackle various global and regional maritime security issues.

Indonesian Navy Chief of Staff Adm. Ade Supandi said the symposium was important because many maritime security issues needed to be discussed. They included the rise of a new maritime power, the discovery of new oil fields, transnational maritime crime, maritime environmental destruction, maritime terrorism and sea piracy.

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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, August 25, 2017 09:00 1906 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97adece7b 1 City South-Jakarta,Fraud,fraud-suspect,online-business Free

South Jakarta Police have named MA as a suspect of online fraud in which she offered branded bags on a WhatsApp socialite group.

She joined a socialite group and offered them Hermes bags at a price of Rp 117 million (US$ 8,761) and would deliver the bag with a down payment of Rp 40 million, said South Jakarta Polices criminal investigation department head Adj. Sr. Comr. Bismo Teguh Prakoso, during a press conference on Thursday.

Based on the earlier investigation, it was found that MA was invited to the socialite chat group by one of the members. She then promoted her products by posting pictures of branded bags.

One victim was interested and they continued to have a private conversation until the victim agreed to transfer the down payment money.

However MA never delivered the bag. Jakarta Police received the report and arrested MA on Sunday who happened to have a cafe in East Jakarta.

Police kept a cell phone, Rp 3.1 million in cash, a bank account book and an ATM card as evidence. The perpetrator was a single actor and had just one victim.

MA is set to be charged under article 378 of the Criminal Code (KUHP) and the Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law and faces a maximum of four years' imprisonment. (dra)
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Linkedin Yun Kyung Kim (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, August 25 2017

Indonesian cuisine boasts both flavor and vibrancy and is a force to be reckoned with.

In recent years, colorful and tasty Indonesian food has captivated international interests with highly rated reviews.

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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, August 25 2017

Despite an announcement early this year that the famous Senayan culinary center in Central Jakarta, which offers traditional cuisine, would be shut down to make way for the upcoming Asian Games, vendors remain open and plan to defy the imminent closure scheduled for this weekend.

Located across from the backyard of the House of Representatives, vendors at the culinary center, famous for its lapo (North Sumatra Batak style eateries), have received warnings to evacuate the site.

After operating for over 20 years, most of the 27 restaurants serving various ethnic culinary dishes in the dense and hot venue were still serving loyal crowds as of Wednesday lunch time. The owners even said they would be open on Saturday, when the management of the Gelora Bung Karno (GBK) sports stadium said fences would be erected around the 2,000 square meter plot. Since the announcement of the planned land clearing in January, the management has said the area would be used to build a training facility for the 2018 Asian Games, which Jakarta and Palembang, South Sumatra, will jointly host.

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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, August 25, 2017 11:28 1906 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97adf15a2 1 Business Bank-BJB,Visa,debit-card Free

Publicly listed lender Bank Pembangunan Daerah Jawa Barat (Bank BJB), in cooperation with Visa Worldwide Indonesia, launched on Tuesday debit cards to strengthen its positioning in the foreign market, especially in the Middle East.

Bank BJB president director Ahmad Irfan told reporters that with the Visa cooperation, the bank would facilitate Indonesian migrant workers in the Middle East.

In line with our tagline that BJB is a bank for migrant workers, we want to help our customers in Saudi Arabia, he said in Jakarta on Thursday.

Aside from the card issuance, the bank offers retirement plans and mortgages, targeting approximately 150,000 migrant workers from West Java working in the Middle East, he added.

The cards can also be used by customers going on the haj or umrah (minor haj), said Ahmad, adding that the lender planned to issue around 34,000 new debit cards this year.

Bank BJB consumer director Fermiyanti explained that Bank BJB had issued 2.5 million debit cards, about half of its 5 million customers. We still have to educate our customers about the importance of owning a debit card, she said.

The lender, which is owned by the West Java administration, is aiming for 14 percent growth in its financing business this year. (bbn)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, August 25, 2017 18:15 1906 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97adff18d 1 City fire,victims,West-Jakarta Free

A fire gutted seven houses in Palmerah, West Jakarta, on Friday and injured four people, including a woman who jumped from the second floor of a building while holding her child.

The fire on Jl. Anggrek Nelly Murni was reportedly caused by a gas canister explosion at a restaurant.

Residents were trying to put out the flames until firefighters arrived at 11.30 a.m. Supported by the residents, the firefighters extinguished the fire after about one-and-a-half hours.

Eye witness Deny, 32, said the fire had started at a Padang restaurant. Five people reportedly suffered burns, including the 5-year-old child of the restaurant owner.

The woman [owner of the restaurant] was on the second floor carrying her baby, while her husband and their employees were cooking on the first floor. After the explosion, she jumped out with her child, Deny said. (dra)
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Linkedin Ruslan Sangadji (The Jakarta Post) Palu, Central Sulawesi  Fri, August 25, 2017 07:23 1906 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97ade9c0f 1 National Banggai-Islands,Banggai,Luwuk,central-sulawesi,Muna,Southeast-Sulawesi Free

Local residents known as Banggai Saluran Balantak (Babasal) in Luwuk, Banggai, Central Sulawesi, clashed on Thursday with immigrants from Muna, Southeast Sulawesi.

The clash occurred after a male teenager called Nur Cholis Dayanun, a Luwuk resident, died after he was attacked by nine people suspected to be Banggai residents from Muna. Nurs family could not accept the attack and informed their neighbors of the incident.

The Babasal people later united and raided a village whose residents mostly came from Muna. They shouted and called on people to kill Muna people in the village as they searched the houses.

People working at Luwuk Port and crew members of vessels docked at the port also became targets of the raid. The Babasal people sought workers and crew members from Muna.

Several vessels were forced to draw away from the port so the attackers could not reach them. Some port workers also strove to stay away from the Babasal people by jumping on the vessels.

It was also reported that the attackers burned down several facilities at Luwuk Port. What facilities have been burned down during the attack remain unknown. Several people were injured in the incident. The police have not yet released an official report on the number of injured victims.

Local resident Romy Botutihe said Babasal residents wanted the nine people involved in the attack of the Luwuk teenager and their families to be returned back to Muna. They even called on authorities to repatriate all Muna people in Banggai to their hometown, he went on. (yon/ebf)
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Linkedin Yun Kyung Kim (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, August 26 2017

Tom Cruise returns to Top Gun territory in the new comedy-thriller American Made, but with a lot more cocaine, guns and money put into the picture.

One of Hollywoods most painstakingly constructed actors, Tom Cruise revisits his ace flyboy role as an American commercial pilot, who ends up working for the CIA while simultaneously smuggling drugs between Latin America and the United States.

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Linkedin Mech Dara and Ananth Baliga (The Phnom Penh Post/ANN) Phnom Penh  Fri, August 25, 2017 16:45 1906 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97adfd19c 2 SE Asia #cambodia,#CambodiaPolitics,#PressFreedom,#radio Free

The Ministry of Information on Thursday claimed its shuttering of 15 radio stations across the country was not targeted at independent broadcasters, and took aim at the Cambodia Daily for failing to pay a huge tax bill, hours after the US State Department labelled the tax measure exorbitant and biased.

On Aug. 21, Phnom Penh-based Moha Nokor  a radio station airing shows produced by Voice of America, Radio Free Asia and the Cambodia National Rescue Party  and its three provincial affiliates were asked to stop broadcasting and to shut down operations for allegedly violating their contract with the ministry.

Meanwhile, near-identical documents on the Information Ministrys website showed that seven other media owners were asked to stop broadcasting from the 11 radio stations they owned across 10 provinces, in line with ministry spokesman Ouk Kimsengs claim on Wednesday that more than 10 stations would be closed.

Pa Nguon Teang, director of independent news outlet Voice of Democracy, said broadcaster Sarika FM had cited administrative and technical reasons for taking its content off the air.

Information Minister Khieu Kanharith Thursday maintained that the closures were not linked to the stations programming  a claim keenly contested on Wednesday by CNRP spokesman Yim Sovann  but because they had failed to report how much airtime they were selling, and to whom.

So some radios have not asked for permission from the ministry. The ministry has to shut them down in order to uphold the law on media, he said, adding that VOA and RFA broadcasts were still available on other stations.

Kanharith said the directive was in line with Prime Minister Hun Sens call for authorities to ensure there wasnt a repeat of the 2013 post-election protests, saying media reports questioning the soundness of ink used for voting, accusations of voter fraud and false reports on votes being cast by Yuon, a derogatory term for ethnic Vietnamese, fuelled the demonstrations.

Kanharith said the radio station run by the Womens Media Centre of Cambodia (WMC) had similarly erred by giving more airtime to RFA and VOA, but had been granted leeway in light of its social work.

The closures come as part of a government clampdown on NGOs and media organisations, which have found themselves answering to the Tax Department.

The Cambodia Daily has been singled out with a $6.3 million tax bill that was leaked to the media, with Prime Minister Hun Sen and Tax Department Director Kong Vibol asking the English-language paper to pay up or face closure.

Shifting his focus to the Daily, Kanharith made two new claims yesterday  that the Dailysstaffers had leaked a document showing their own $6.3 million tax bill, and that a foreign-owned news outlet in Cambodia had reported the Dailys alleged tax fraud.

If the tax man had leaked it, he would leak all the details. Therefore the one who leaked it was from the taxpayer, he said.

I cannot talk about it since I do not want the problem to happen, but they [the foreign-owned newspaper] have paid the tax. So they have demanded for two years already to tell Cambodia Daily [to] pay the tax so that they can compete fairly, he said.

Kanhariths comments come shortly after US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert pulled up the government for targeting the Daily and other independent news organisations, saying US Ambassador William Heidt had taken up the issue with the Tax Department.

So our ambassador has had conversations with the head of what Ill just refer to as the tax agency there to try to get them to regard taxes or impose taxes in a fair and neutral fashion, she said on Wednesday.

Referring to Cambodian government officials frequent use of US President Donald Trumps attacks on the media as a justification for similar assails in Cambodia, a reporter questioned Nauert if Trumps remarks undermined the State Departments push for free speech across the world.

Our conversations between the ambassador and his counterparts and also the prime minister of Cambodia  I do not anticipate that changing, she said. We care about freedom of the press; thats not going to change.

Reacting to Kanhariths allegations, Daily Deputy Publisher Deborah Krisher-Steele once again placed the blame at the feet of government mouthpiece Fresh News for leaking the tax assessment.

If the Minister really is at a loss for who is leaking, perhaps he could ask his own mouthpiece, she said in an email, adding the tax bill was a thinly veiled attempt to seize a foreign investors assets.

The Tax Department and Krisher-Steele have tussled for the past three weeks on the fairness of the purported $6.3 million in back taxes and penalties. Krisher-Steele has said she was unaware of the debt she took over when buying the newspaper from her father and founder Bernard Krisher and asked that his charitable donations  in the tens of millions of dollars  be accounted for in the assessment.

Tax authorities have refused both those claims and, in a detailed rebuttal, said the acquisition of a company was never exclusive of its financial liabilities and that Krishers charitable activities were never reported.

Douglas-Steele, the newspapers general manager, said he will meet with the tax authorities today and would be accompanied by the outlets operations manager and an accountant.

Ill take the meeting, take notes and request information on how they arrived at the $6.3 million figure and why a process that should take many months in accordance with the law is being done in days, he said.

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This article appeared on the Rasmei Kampuchea Daily newspaper website, which is a member of Asia News Network and a media partner of The Jakarta Post
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Linkedin (Pesona Indonesia) Jakarta  Fri, August 25, 2017 14:08 1906 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97adf6f82 2 News Tourism-Ministry-Pesona-Indonesia,tourism-ministry-wonderful-Indonesia,Banten,destination Free

Newly-elected Banten governor and deputy governor Wahidin Halim and Andika Hazrumy met with President Joko Widodo at the presidential Palace on August 24 to discuss issues such as infrastructure, education and health.

Wahidin said that they have also expressed their hopes regarding tourism development to the President.

Tourism depends on the infrastructure. If the access is good the tourism will be good as well, said Wahidin.

Read also: Banten's Sawarna: A hidden paradise facing the Indian Ocean

Wahidin mentioned that tourist destinations in Banten attract domestic and overseas tourists. Banten has several tourist spots such as Anyer, Carita and Tanjung Lesung. The latter is listed in tourism ministrys 10 Priority Destinations.

However, according to Wahidin the road infrastructure to these destinations still needs improvement, for example, the road to Tanjung Lesung is not yet sufficient.

We have a lot of beaches that are not yet supported by the infrastructure and so we are asking for a road expansion, said Wahidin.

Tourism minister Arief Yahya said the latest development in Banten is that the first stage of land acquisition for the Serang  Panimbang toll road is already completed and the next step is road construction. This new toll road will shorten travel time between Jakarta and Tanjung Lesung. (asw)
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Linkedin (Pesona Indonesia) Jakarta  Fri, August 25, 2017 16:03 1906 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97adfc6a6 2 News Tourism-Ministry-Pesona-Indonesia,tourism-ministry-wonderful-Indonesia,Kulonprogo,festival Free

Kulon Progo Festival (Kulfest) 2017 is set to launch on Aug. 25 at Balairung Soesilo Soedarman, Jakarta. The festival will be held in Kulon Progo from November 24 to 26 and aims to promote Kulon Progo as The Jewel of Java.

The company behind Kulfest 2017, Damar Nusantara Tama (DNT), formed a partnership with the Kulon Progo provincial administrations to invite artists from countries such as Australia, Japan, Thailand and China to take part in the festival.

Nine international artists are taking part in this event, this is one of the programs by Kulon Progo regency that is held every year. The aim is to preserve the diversity of archipelagos arts and cultures by involving the locals, said tourism ministry's archipelago marketing development deputy, Esthy Reko Astuti.

Esthy also mentioned that Kulfest 2017 is a part of the archipelago culinary activity.

One of the Indonesian artists that are taking part in this event is Didik Nini Thowok who hails from Kulon Progo.

Other musicians who will entertain visitors include Andien, Sheila on 7, Djaduk (Kuatnika), Tri Utami, Payung Teduh, Endang Soekamti and Jogja Hip Hop Foundation.

Read also: What you need to know about the Purwakarta hanging hotel

There will also be Mata Jiwa band, Mondo Gascaro, Mr. Sonjaya, Dj Hogi, Gugun Blues Shelter and Cameo Project. Kulfest 2017 will also offer activities such as Archipelago Culinary Bazaar, Art & Craft Market, KULFEST Workshop, photo competition, outdoor cinema, wayang kulit / wayang kancil (shadow puppets), Bule Mengajar and others, said the tourism ministry's head of cultural promotion, Wawan Gunawan.

Tourism minister Arief Yahya said that the construction of New Yogyakarta International Airport that occupies 500 hectares of land in Kulon Progo will commence soon and scheduled to run in 2019.

Borobudur Tourism Authority Board (BOB) has also just been formed and the access to the Borobudur authority area is planned to pass through Kulon Progo.

Tourism is the fastest, easiest and cheapest industry and it creates good income for the people and country. Its cheap because the promotional budget only takes two percent out of the total revenue projection, what kind of business that takes only two percent for the promotional budget? said Arief.

Arief also believed that the biggest business portfolio of Indonesia is tourism, in the last three years tourism has been increasing whilst other businesses such as oil, CPO and mining are decreasing. (asw)
A slight easing of prison crowding is around the corner.

The Department of Correctional Services will open 100 additional beds beginning in early September with a new tilt-up concrete building at Community Corrections Center-Lincoln.

The 7,000-square-foot building, said to be temporary, is just southeast of the main prison building.

Department spokeswoman Dawn-Renee Smith said the move will start with 50 inmates, with the remainder to be added later, to reach 100. Seven staff positions, including a sergeant and five corporals, will be added.

The housing dormitory has recreation tables and chairs, surrounded by 50 metal bunk beds, and adjacent lockers throughout.

The cost for the 100-bed modular housing unit opening next month was initially $1.8 million. The building eventually could be used as classroom/program space. The final cost will not be known until the project is completed, Smith said.

Architectural firm Carlson West Povondra designed the gray industrial-style building. The same firm is designing a permanent 160-bed expansion at the Community Corrections Center. That new space is set to be completed in April 2019. Construction is scheduled to begin soon, Smith said.

Last week, ACLU of Nebraska filed a class-action lawsuit in U.S. District Court on behalf of Nebraska inmates, citing prison crowding and a state of chaos that daily endangers the health, safety and lives of prisoners and staff.

At the last meeting Tuesday of a justice reinvestment committee led by the heads of the three branches of state government, Gov. Pete Ricketts said the state is making progress, and is investing in more prison beds when officials think it is appropriate and prudent.

Major legislation (LB605) passed in 2015 was aimed at reducing the prison population, and the number of inmates was projected to decrease by more than 1,000 by 2020. So far, officials said, that number has decreased by only 142. And prisons are still at 160 percent of capacity.

Reducing crowding is more than expanding capacity. Officials are also working on sentencing reform, increases in programming and changes in the parole system.

Ricketts still balks at the notion of declaring an emergency to reduce crowding, as some senators and the ACLU have called for.

The state has more work to do in implementing sentencing reform and more supervised releases with services, and the recommendations of the Council of State Governments, he said.

"To just let people out of prison would endanger public safety," he reiterated.
ATHENS, Ga. -- All that's left of St. Mary's Episcopal Church is the steeple.

The red brick is faded and the windows are boarded up. But don't ask the locals if they're ever going to tear this monument down.

Because it was here, on April 5, 1980, that a little four-piece, made up of a trio of University of Georgia students and a local record store clerk, played their first-ever show in front of friends and guests.

The world came to know them as R.E.M.

And these days, the steeple of St. Mary's, which stands at the entrance to a student apartment complex, is known as "The R.E.M. Church."

As a much younger reporter, living and working in North Carolina, I'd made a handful of trips down there to commune with a band whose music intersects with, and has impacted on, almost every major event of my life.

A recent jaunt there, my first in almost two decades, brought me back into contact with those memories, breathing new life into them.

I bring all this up because, as a country this week, we've been talking quite a bit about the enduring power of memory, and the tangled relationship we have with our own history.

The South, I can tell you from living there, working there and knowing its people, has a complicated relationship with its past. History is woven into this place. Sometimes it's so thick that you feel like you have to brush it away with your hands.

Ask a southerner for directions and they're more than likely to tell you to drive a bit and then make a left where something used to be.

I loved my time there. I loved the sounds, smells and feel of the place. Southerners are kind, generous, open-hearted, faithful and proud. And they're just as full of maddening contradictions as the rest of us.

So if there is any good that's come out of last week's horrific violence in Emancipation Park in Charlottesville, Virginia, it's that as a nation, we've been forced to confront the contradictions in our history and deal with them head on.

We've been forced to confront the falseness of the claim that "there are two sides" to every story. Because, in some moral arguments, there just aren't.

There is, for instance, no "other side" to the symbols of a short-lived, self-styled independent nation, founded by traitors to the United States, that existed solely to preserve a repugnant institution that kept millions of people in bondage.

That's the same reason why you won't find monuments to Nazi leaders in public places in Germany. There is no "other side" to Nazism -- an unqualified evil responsible for the slaughter of millions.

Which does not mean we should not talk about it, debate it or argue it. Fortunately, there is just such a place for a discussion of those odious symbols of our past, those stains on our national consciousness:

They're called classrooms and museums, where those symbols can be placed in their proper context.

It's not the public square, paid for the tax dollars of all -- including the descendants of slaves -- where they can serve as rallying points for hateful groups who stand in opposition to the very best values this country represents

(And that is hardly putting aside the undeniable truth that many of those monuments were erected decades later, not in tribute to fallen "heroes," but to reinforce the ugliness that was the Jim Crow South).

In the end, this isn't about erasing history, or denying that things happened. It's about confronting it, discussing it, and moving on from it: Not being held prisoner by it.

R.E.M. never forgot the church. They never forgot Athens or their roots. But, critically, recognizing there was no other way for them to grow or to mature, they moved on from it and put it in context.

It's a lesson we should all heed.
Recently an article appeared in the Guardian, written by Afua Hirsch, calling for Nelsons Column to be toppled due to its links to slavery.

a piece Inwhich laments Britain for failing to denounce the shameful era, Hirsch uses the fact that Admiral Nelson, alongside his immense naval success, used his position to resist the increasing call for abolition to argue that leaving his statue intact is essentially facilitating the glorification of slavery and white supremacy.

The argument follows a number of Confederate statues being pulled down or at least being called to be pulled down, across America due to their links slavery, and it is easy to understand why people want them removed.

Indeed, the American statues which have been toppled, such as those dedicated to Robert E Lee in Charlottesville, Virginia and Jackson-Lee in Baltimore, Maryland, were specifically built to celebrate the fact that the individuals represented were heroes South of the Mason-Dixon line. They led an army of a country that claimed independence because they wanted to keep slaves. As such, due to the racism, they represent it is clear that they have no place in modern America, or indeed the modern world.

However, the same cannot be said for the tribute to Admiral Nelson. Indeed, it is absolutely impossible to claim that Nelsons Column was built specifically to celebrate the Admiral's stance on slavery, or any of his other modern misdemeanours.

Instead, it is clear that the glorious column was built to commemorate Nelsons vital role in safe guarding our country through the British victory over the French navy, an achievement which unquestionably should still be celebrated today, unlike past racism.

Taking this argument further, if we were to pull down every statue of every individual in the UK who had racist, pro-slavery or immoral tendencies our cities would suddenly become very bare and our heroes would disappear. For example, Churchill, who has been hailed as a war hero who helped end Nazi atrocities, was

strongly in favour of using poisonous gas about uncivilised [black] tribes

.

1904 wrote an article calling for open door immigration into Britain. Yet, this is the same Churchill who in

However, no one has called for his multiple statues to be removed due to his comments as they recognise it is his achievements being celebrated by the statues, rather than his personal beliefs. Ultimately, no figure of the past is going to be perfect, especially when judged on today's morals rather than those contemporary to them.

This is @MaajidNawazs brilliant response to a Guardian article which says Nelsons Column should be ripped down https://t.co/VR1jqBySXI pic.twitter.com/gtF6hvittT  LBC (@LBC) August 22, 2017

It seems what Hirsch is actually calling for is the implementation of more statues commemorating the contribution of black people throughout history, and rightly so. Indeed, there already is an increasing call to readdress the supremacy of white male statues in London and across the UK, and slowly more black, female and other minority statues are being introduced.

However, there is no reason this needs to be done by pulling down existing statues of notable figures. Like it or not Nelson was one of the best Admirals the British navy has ever seen, and regardless of colour, gender, personal opinion or even underwear preference he should be allowed to be remembered as such.

Ultimately, none of the people looking up at his statue 52 meters above Trafalgar square are doing so to celebrate his opinion on slaves, but rather a military great who had a vital role in the protection of this island and they should continue being given a chance to do so.
Iceland might not seem like your typical holiday destination. Its not exactly warm and it isnt filled with lush beaches and palm trees.

Theres no Colosseum, Eiffel Tower or Empire State Building. Iceland does, however, provide an experience bound to make you rub your eyes in disbelief. It boasts a plethora of all natural sights and makes for a very different kind of travelling experience. But, before you go, these are the nine things you really need to know about.

The strong smell of sulphur

Even after extensive research in advance, I was not prepared. My first shower in our little cabin was lovely and warm but, it overwhelmingly stank of sulphur. I nearly gagged trying to brush my teeth that evening. Fortunately, the cold water is fine and the sulphur smell doesnt mean that the water isnt clean, and youll get used to the smell within a couple of days.

Opening times won't be what youre used to.

On the Tuesday we arrived, shops in in Reykjavik didnt open until 10 or 11am. Supermarkets close at 8pm and smaller shops will close around 5pm. Many museums will close at 4pm or 6pm at the latest. Dont get caught out!

Read the Reykjavik Grapevine

On our first day, we went to Kringlan (Reykjaviks main shopping centre) for coffee. It was there that I discovered the Reykjavik Grapevine: the citys free, English language, lifestyle and travel magazine. It has content for locals along with interesting features about the country, some great travel tips and cartoons about the non-existent Icelandic summer. It also has myriad advice about things to do, see and eat that are often untouched by the bog-standard tourist.

You NEED a car (and a satnav)

Believe it or not, there are no trains at all in Iceland and very little public transport. You'll need a car to get anywhere worth going, and a 4X4 if you want to use gravel or dirt roads (which are common). Youll also need a sat nav. We were lucky enough to have an in-built satnav in the car we rented, but bring one just in case. The road signs are very clear but extra navigation will help enormously and give you a good indication of distances.

Dont worry about the language

Almost all Icelanders will speak English and they dont expect you to learn their language. You dont even need to ask first, itll be automatic for them. Nevertheless, theyll appreciate a please or thank you in Icelandic every now and then.

Fill up on fuel when you can, pee when you can

Despite the islands tiny size, the roads are long and the sights are spread out. Petrol stations are fairly few and far between, as are toilets. You can guarantee, however, that you will find a toilet at every service station, supermarket, restaurant and visitors centre. Utilise it when you can.

Bring practical clothes

Walking boots and a decent raincoat are a must all year round; as are jumpers, hats and gloves (for windy hill-walks). Summer still gets pretty cold in Iceland. However, in the summer, jeans are fine to wear if youre driving between sights or going on 2/3 hour hikes. Otherwise, bring waterproof trousers just in case the weather turns.

Use the internet for research and book restaurants

If youre brave enough to eat out in Iceland (its incredibly expensive) then check the restaurant online before you go. Use websites such as Google or Trip Advisor to find places that arent going to cripple your bank account, and its also worth booking a table as restaurants can get very busy.

You'll never have seen anything like it before

The entire landscape is volcanic and every sight will amaze you. Every lava field, geysir, hot spring, waterfall, mountain, volcano and steam vent will fascinate you beyond belief, as will the wildlife (puffins and whales). Plus, all of these sights are natural and free!
Now, with special screenings of the show at the BFI Southbank, we look back at the show.Though Marlowes verse causes problems throughout the production and James Lavestons performance as Gaveston leaves you wanting more, overall the production is a success. It portrays an important message and stands, rightfully, as a defining moment in television history. Ian McKellens performance as the turbulent King Edward II is worth renowned critical acclaim. Naturally, they take the most dramatic, and outrageous presentation that history has to offer. None of it, however, diverts from history altogether - a rare feat for historical drama. McKellen manages to balance the elements of the kings personality well - particularly in regards to his sexual lust for Gaveston, based on the contemporary rumours that the two were engaged in a sexual relationship. McKellen presents this lust with great nuance and emotion, alongside the lust for power that eventually sees him turn into a despicable tyrant. Most impressive is his portrayal of the fallen king, desperate for mercy. The audience manages to hate, mock and sympathise with a developing character. For many other actors, this performance is a masterclass in acting.The problem, however, is that Marlowe  a near-contemporary of Shakespeare  does not have his colleagues standard of lyrical verse. Specifically, Marlow deploys dramatic prose like its going out of fashion, meaning that there are speeches of grand emotion and force in near on every scene. Sadly, this makes them diluted and lends itself to a little over-acting. Over-use of such techniques is a bad thing; they must be used sparingly. This is not McKellen, or any of the other performers' fault as the script demanded it. The result, however, is that the production lacks the light-and-shade that is famous of Shakespeares more complex and developed verse. Most combat it well, though. Timothy West also stands out as Mortimer - the noble leading the campaign against the incapable king. He manages to develop the villainy of the character well, as he ends up attempting to usurp the crown. His villainy sometimes makes Edward look a little less antagonistic than intended, though thankfully Edward doesnt become the good protagonist. The play, after all, is not meant to be a fairy-tale with a good king and an evil villain. A final honourable mention must also go to much of the cast as a whole, but especially Robert Eddison, who managed to insert a unique comedic element into the play through his reactions, facial expressions and sarcastic tones, especially in their addressing of Edward. In such a serious play, the light relief was well received and showed that even Marlowes script could be transformed by actors with excellent comic timing. Sadly, though, James Laurensons portrayal of Gaveston didnt shine through. To an extent, he was overshadowed by McKellen. But it lacked the emotional force that the character needed in the crucial scenes where he kissed and embraced the king. Though it was the first gay kiss on British TV, youd be forgiven for thinking it was two straight men joking around, as Laurenson lacked the passion that the moment really needed. Away from the acting, the production took a huge risk in removing any real set design: the whole play was performed on an empty round stage leaving the audience to imagine the change of setting. In a way, this was a nice break from the usual forcing of audiences to embrace a new scene as it allowed them to engage and interact with the play on an independent level. It also sustained the honesty of this being a recorded theatre production. The only downside is that in the scenes where Marlowes dialogue became over-the-top, there was nothing to draw the audiences attention away - focus is a good thing, as long as what you are focusing on is top quality. The other main issue was the doubling up of some roles, which led to a noted amount of confusion. This is alright when the characters are all notably distinct. But here with groups of nobles and bishops, doubling up meant that you sometimes lost who was who. Especially in a television adaptation  where the audience is likely to be more varied than those who would pay to see the performance in the theatre  I think this should have been avoided. Overall, Edward II does what it says on the tin. Its place in history as a defining moment for LGBT awareness in the arts cannot be denied. The standard of McKellen and Wests performances is also excellent. What lets it down is Gavestons lack of emotional sincerity and a script that reminds us why Marlowe never found his place in literatures esteemed history against Shakespeare.
This season has been more loss than victory, and the opening sequence to this episode does not escape that oppressive feeling. Johnny himself tells his brother that, according to his simulations, there is simply no way they can triumph over the Hullen, and both express concern as to what is going through Dutchs mind. This resurfaces a theme of lacking faith, something which had previously been explored through Dutchs moral conflicts - particularly following Banyons death.Killjoys most recent instalment is also a shining beacon of character development in Davin. Of course, its been heading this way for a while, but no other episode better demonstrates his growth, both in his relationships with Johnny and Dutch, and as a leader. Throughout the series, hes been portrayed as the dumber brother; the muscle without intellect, and has quietly gone along with this unfair assumption. Yet his alternative strategies and military thinking display a depth of thinking that is too often overlooked, thus its exhilarating to see him assert himself as more than how others have perceived him. These scenes of the Jaqobi brothers working together - without Dutchs guiding hand - also reaffirm their individual skills and agencies. With such a dominant character as Dutch, other characters can, at times, momentarily fade into the backdrop, yet this episode underlines that this core trios members are all equally dynamic, strong and complex.Im a little bitter that Jelco made a comeback and ruined an opportunity for our three Killjoys to reconnect emotionally, but one good thing that came from his appearance was his conversation with Dav about the women in their lives whom they are in love with. He tells him that he needs to give Dutch something she doesnt know she needs, but cant get anywhere else. Recently, Killjoys has been particularly skilled in distinguishing Dav and Johnnys relationships with Dutch, highlighting on what fundamentals their relations are built. Whilst Johnny offers unwavering loyalty and unconditional love, Dav is the one Dutch can go to no matter how grim the situation, and trust to make the right decision for the greater good. This is only emphasised when, confronted by Davin, Dutch finally admits to what she learned in Aneelas memories. If Aneela is Dutchs original source, she reasons that when they kill Aneela, Dutch will die also. Kill Aneela, win the war, she intones, seemingly at peace with the knowledge of her impending sacrifice. Despite a reminder that Dav is in love with Dutch, he understands he cant save her without losing the war, upon which rests the future of humanity; his acceptance of what she has to do, regardless of what pain it may bring him, is the ultimate show of strength for Davs character. Despite this devastating news, things are looking up for the human side of the war. The episode focuses on putting together a plan to bring down the Hullen fleet, as Johnny finds a way of disrupting their communications and navigational systems, so that they may not act as a unit. Furthermore, the Hullen camp finds itself immensely weakened. Aneela has transformed from captive to the one in control, and has figured out how to block the Lady, assumedly the highest authority for the Hullen, who exists solely in the green. This not only means that an entire armada is now under the guidance of a psychopath, but also that Aneela is not fighting a war on two fronts: from within the Hullen and from Dutchs army. Undoubtedly this must play in the interests of the humans, whose fight thus far had seemed hopeless. A small but fascinating moment in this eighth episode is one that draws parallels between Aneela and Dutch, emphasising that the twos similarities dont end at their physical identicality, but go much further. Aneela refers to Kendry as her tether, which echoes back to how Dutch called Johnny her gravity. Both refer to the ones they love most as their anchors, because both struggle with their inner demons and seek stability from the outside. Its a moment that easily goes unnoticed, but nonetheless is a distinct glimpse into how Dutch and Aneela may just be mirror versions of each other. With Dutch at peace with the anticipation of her own death, Davin forced to accept her sacrifice in the name of saving the Quad, and Johnny is being kept in the dark regarding everything that Dutch learned from the Remnant, this episode was a tug at the heartstrings. Heist, Heist, Baby makes final preparations for what seems set to be an astonishing last couple of episodes for season three, and for what could potentially be a devastating outcome.
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I just saw President Trump on the news talking about Gen. John Pershing, the top U.S. general in World War I for the American forces.

I grew up around Lincoln and have visited the Pershing home. I have seen many events in the auditorium that bears his name.

I am a little perturbed when Trump incorrectly calls him a war criminal. The president said that Pershing shot 49 Muslim prisoners of war with bullets dipped in pig's blood because of their religious beliefs to send a message to their compatriots.

This debunked myth is just fake news. I've always been proud of Gen. John "Black Jack" Pershing and my grandpa, Alfred Petersen, who fought the Germans under his command.

Kim Petersen, Phoenix
RACINE  A Kenosha woman is facing charges after she reportedly snatched the purse of a 90-year-old woman.

Lacy L. Lanciloti, 27, of the 6700 block of 24th Avenue, is charged with a felony count of robbery with the use of force  crime against an elderly or disabled person, and a misdemeanor count of retail theft.

According to the criminal complaint:

On Wednesday, Racine police were dispatched to Piggly Wiggly, 4011 Durand Ave., regarding a theft and purse snatching. The stores manager said that a woman, later identified as Lanciloti, entered the store bathroom with a bottle of wine, left without paying for it and then snatched the purse of a 90-year-old woman in the parking lot.

The elderly victim told police that Lanciloti had approached her asking if she needed help, and when she replied that she did, Lanciloti hugged her, reportedly grabbed the her purse and ran to her vehicle.

Additional witnesses reportedly saw what happened, held Lancilotis car door open and took her keys to prevent her from leaving the scene. The purse was returned to the victim after police arrived.

When Lanciloti was taken into custody, police reportedly discovered two credit cards belonging to other people in her purse.

Lanciloti has a preliminary hearing scheduled for Aug. 31 at the Law Enforcement Center, 717 Wisconsin Ave. She remained in custody as of Thursday evening, online records show.
DOVER  Homeless veterans can continue to use a transitional living facility near Union Grove for at least another year, which was welcome news to area lawmakers fighting to save the program.

The Wisconsin Veterans Home-Union Grove, located at 21425 Spring St. on the Southern Wisconsin Center campus in Dover, was looking at a cut of $500,000 in federal funding for its Veteran Housing and Recovery program, which serves almost 30 people.

The Wisconsin Veterans Home in King in Waupaca County also was facing a cut, but had its program extended by the agreement announced this week.

The cut in funding would have likely closed the programs at Union Grove and King, but federal officials had a change of heart.

The Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs announced Tuesday it had signed an agreement with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to extend funding for the transitional housing program for at least one year.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, whose district includes the Southern Wisconsin Center campus, said in the past hes employed some veterans from that facility at Rojos Popcorn, a business Vos owns in Burlington, and was happy to hear about the extension.

I have a special affinity for the men, and occasionally women but its mostly men, who are out there, who have served our country and just hit hard times, Vos said. Every single thing that we can do to try to maximize the ability for them to turn their lives around, I think its the least that we would want for anybody who has served our country.

Vos said he would love to leave the program where it is and thats what Im going to work toward, but ultimately its the job of the federal government to make sure its still operating.

These are the responsibilities of the federal government, theyre the level of government that sent them to war, Vos said. I think its important that the state does its part, but weve got to certainly have a big commitment from the feds as well.

Ryan: Great news

House Speaker Paul Ryan, who represents Racine County, was happy about the extension but said change needs to come.

I am pleased these clinics have received an additional one year funding, Ryan said in a statement. However, it is imperative these programs are modernized in order to best potentially qualify for grants in the future.

Jeff Gustin, co-founder of the Veterans Outreach of Wisconsin, has been working with veterans for several years and said the funding for this facility shouldnt have been cut in the first place. Hopefully the can extend it even longer.

Before I got involved and started Veterans Outreach, I used to go out there on a regular basis and volunteer and just go out there and spend time with the guys, Gustin said. The fact that its gotten an extension is great news for everybody involved.

Veterans Outreach, which is based in Racine, has been tackling the homeless veteran issue head on by establishing the James A. Peterson Veterans Village on Yout Street in Racine. The organization has 11 tiny homes that will soon be inhabited by homeless veterans, with another four more tiny homes on the way.
RACINE COUNTY  County officials did not have to look far when it came time to select a new corporation counsel.

With the retirement of Jonathan F. Lehman, the position of top civil lawyer for the county goes to Michael Lanzdorf, who had been one of three assistant corporation counsels working under Lehman.

Lanzdorf has been with the county since January 2013 and before that he was an assistant U.S. attorney general in Washington, D.C., and in Illinois.

County Executive Jonathan Delegrave appointed Lanzdorf and the decision was approved by the County Board on Tuesday.

M.T. Boyle, Delagraves chief of staff, said that during Lanzdorfs time with the county, he has worked very closely with Lehman.

He was really an excellent candidate; its a natural progression, Boyle said. Hes been intimately involved in so many of the county projects that its a seamless transition.

Lanzdorf said he is looking forward to taking on the challenge of leading the office.

For the most part in my career, Ive worked in public service  this is a continuation of that, Lanzdorf said.

Lanzdorf will work as general counsel for the County Board, commissions, committees, departments and officers in all civil matters in federal and state courts.

One of the major projects Lanzdorf will be working closely with will be the building of the new SC Johnson Aquatic Center in Pritchard Park at Ohio Street and Durand Avenue.

Thats one of the more exciting projects that we have going on in Racine County right now, Lanzdorf said. This is a busy time for that with an anticipated opening in early summer 2018. Theres going to be a lot of different phases of that in finalizing the design and hiring a team thats going to be doing the actual construction.

Lehman had been corporation counsel since about 2005.
It is not often that one can say they were selected to be part of an elite leadership academy. Grinnell College is lucky to have one of these select few individuals as part of its faculty.

Shanna Benjamin, associate dean and associate professor of English, was chosen by The Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) to partake in the 2017-2018 Senior Leadership Academy.

According to the CICs website, the Senior Leadership Academy is a year-long program for mid-level administrators in higher education who aspire to senior leadership positions in independent colleges or universities.

Simply being considered for this program is extremely prestigious, as the institution of the individual must recognize potential for senior leadership positions. Benjamin said that Mike Latham, dean of students, nominated her for the position. Benjamin plans on using her resources on and off campus to make the most out of CIC.

I became involved with this leadership program when my colleagues in the deans office, Karla Erickson and Maria Tapias, suggested I apply. [Erickson and Tapias] completed the program before me and thought that it would be a useful experience. I reviewed the call for applications and program overview. In the process, I realized that the CIC opportunity would deepen my strengths as an associate dean, provide me with networking opportunities and help me better understand how units across campus (admissions and financial aid, the CLS office, the finance department, and the strategic planning team) work independently and collaborate in support of the colleges mission, said Benjamin.

In this experience, I want to learn from the CIC program administrators, take advantage of Mike Lathams knowledge and experience and learn how admissions, the CLS, our strategic planning team and finance office strategize, set goals and get work done, Benjamin said. Networking with the other participants is also at the top of my list because your colleagues across campuses are outstanding sources of support, encouragement, and insight. I will also keep my eyes peeled for colleagues who might benefit from an experience like this. I want to look out for other administrators the way Karla and Maria looked out for me.

The Senior Leadership Academy works to prepare capable individuals to excel in positions of senior leadership. As stated on the CICs website, this program creates growth in leadership by imparting individuals with considerable knowledge, skills and experiences that are germane to the portfolio of responsibilities and activities central to the work of a college or university vice president or cabinet officer.

Competition for the available places in the program was intense, and the review committee found the nomination materials to be most impressive. They (and I) believe [Benjamin] has the potential for highly effective leadership in a position of senior responsibility on campus, said CIC President Richard Ekman, quoted in a press release from the College.

Benjamin will take part in an opening seminar from Nov. 3-5 in San Antonio and a closing seminar from June 21-23 in Washington, D.C. Benjamin will undergo a mentoring program, collaborate with experts, partake in webinars and work with various readings and case studies throughout the current academic year.

Benjamin sees this program as a step toward career advancement that will benefit not only herself but the College as well.

I am honored to be part of such an energetic and diverse group of up-and-coming leaders, Benjamin said in the same press release from the College. I look forward to using all I will learn as a CIC Senior Leadership Academy participant in my administrative work at Grinnell College.

Some of Benjamins future goals include obtaining a new title.

I aspire to become a college president, Benjamin said. The leadership experiences Ive had and will continue to seek out will help me to sharpen the tools in my toolbox. I look forward to putting it all to work.

Participants in the Senior Leadership Academy have made noticeable advancements in their careers. According to the CICs website, 61 percent of the individuals in the 2010-2011 cohort have moved up to leadership positions of greater responsibility. This trend continues in more recent cohorts as well, including individuals from 2012 and years subsequent.

Benjamin believes that she has always been on the path towards leadership, starting early when she became the newsletter editor in sixth grade and president of her eighth grade class. Her undergraduate career at Johnson C. Smith University, a historically Black college in Charlotte, NC, brought her leadership skills into fruition.

In my senior year, I served as a student representative on the board of trustees at the very moment Dorothy Cowser Yancy became our first woman president, Benjamin said. Participating in board-level conversations about the future of my alma mater with a woman at the helm was all it took to spark my interest in and commitment to higher education administration and leadership.

Since then, Benjamin has participated in many leadership programs. Most recently, Benjamin participated in the Higher Education Resource Service Institute for Women (HERS) and helped raise $12,000 to give scholarships to women from under-resourced institutions.

Grinnell College is fortunate to have such an accomplished individual on its faculty. There is no doubt that the Senior Leadership Academy will be a positive influence for both Benjamin and the College.
Title: Big Questions From Little People Answered by Some Very Big People

Author: Gemma Elwin Harris

Publisher: Faber & Faber

Pages: 337

Price: Rs 399

It was once observed that the basic questions of philosophy are regularly asked by small children: What is out there? (ontology), How do we know? (epistemology) and more commonly, Why should I? (ethics). Intrinsically curious about themselves and everything around, they  unlike most adults  dont seek to dismiss what they dont know/have forgotten as unimportant.

It is not only about philosophy, but stretches into many other spheres of human existence, endeavours and interactions as well as our world and its other inhabitants. Some children may ask what rainbows are, how cars run or why people have different-coloured skins  queries that may get answered by parents, who retain some of their education, or teachers with an interest in inculcating knowledge, rather than getting through the syllabus.

But some children may get into more complex, much perplexing questions that will stump their elders. Can you, without recourse to the webs resources, explain to them how electricity is made, why adults are in charge, or if monkeys and chicken have anything in common.

Help is at hand with this book.

Citing her two-year-old son who pointed at Earths satellite and asked What dat?, its compiler Gemma Elwin Harris says telling him it is the Moon would satisfy him then but soon lead to more difficult questions about what it is made of, how far away it is and whether a goldfish survives there.

The questions children ask are often baffling. Chances are, if you ever knew the answer  or even part of the answer  youve probably forgotten it or can only remember a half-baked version of the truth, she says.

But what if you could turn to well-known experts at this point and get them to answer for you, in language simple for a child to understand? This was the idea behind this book where thousands of children aged between four and 12 in 10 British primary schools were asked to send questions they most wanted answered.

The queries, says Harris, ranged from cute and quirky  seeking to know why space is so sparkly or whether a bee could sting another  to fiendishly difficult  such as on the origin of the oceans; and a few shot straight to the heart of a deep philosophical conundrum, ranging from why wars or love happen or where does good come from.

There were over 100 other questions about space, animals, the human bodys working as well as culture, psychology, sports, cuisine, literary creativity and more. And to answer them for this book were the same number or more experts in their fields, ranging from naturalist David Attenborough, survival specialist Bear Grylls, science writers Jim Al-Khalili, Marcus Chown and John Gribbin, and neuroscientist Susan Greenfield.

They are joined by philosopher A.C. Grayling and philosophy popularisers Alain De Botton and Julian Baggini, linguists Noam Chomsky and David Crystal, celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, authors Philippa Gregory and Philip Pullman, athletes Jessica Ennis-Hill and Kelly Holmes and many others.

Not only do we get answers to rather tricky stuff about how our brains control us, what makes some people mean or if Alexander the Great liked frogs, but also advice to what children can do about global warming or to become writers, artists and sportspersons  or just better people.

For those among Indians who may be interested, there are also two questions concerning cows, though the answers might not be pleasing to them  but then science seeks to explain, not please.

While this compendium should be a must for children taking a keen interest in their surroundings  as well as their parents, who could learn a thing or two that they might have wanted but foregone in the race to pass exams and build careers  its real significance is different.

It shows what a society that cares about its present and future needs to encourage its young minds to ask, instead of trying to feed them with toxic political or obscurantist ideas or rewritten history, but above all, to inspire them to ask questions and find answers.
Wade through a searing memoir and a chilling indictment of the Indian prison system; get an insight look into what motivates exceptional companies and how they are a cut above the rest; read a mystery story that revolves around diamonds worth millions; and flick through a book full of stories from Chennai.

Book: Comeuppance: My Experiences in an Indian Prison

Author: James Tooley

Publisher: Speaking Tiger

Pages: 256

Price: Rs 299

In March 2014, James Tooley, a champion of low-cost private schools across South Asia and Africa, was enjoying a break in Hyderabad, where he reunited with his girlfriend Sara and niece Alissa. One evening he was visited by a friendly Deputy Superintendent of CID, who was concerned about alleged irregularities in the funding of his NGO, the Educare Trust. Tooley clarified that he had already given a statement to the CID and shut the NGO down years ago. However, not to be brushed off, the Deputy Superintendent returned to his hotel later that night  this time with a posse of subordinates to arrest him without a warrant.

Conditions in the prison were dire, and the jailers typically cruel and violent, but the other prisoners were extraordinarily kind. Appallingly, many had been inside for years, never charged with anything, often victims of police corruption and too poor to go to court.

In this disturbing yet gripping book, Tooley recounts his time in prison and his Kafkaesque struggle against Indian bureaucracy. Even after securing bail, he was subjected to humiliating interrogations, threats from armed goons and demoralising visits to the court.

A searing memoir and a chilling indictment of the Indian prison system, the police, and the judiciary which allows them discretion to act with impunity, Comeuppance: My Experiences in an Indian Prison is a timely reminder about the terrifying reality of 21st century India.

Book: Win Win Corporations

Author: Shashank Shah

Publisher: Penguin

Pages: 438

Price: Rs 599

Why did Ratan Tata decide to pay for all the victims of 26/11 whether injured in the Taj or anywhere else? Why did HDFCs Aditya Puri insist that employees leave for home by 5.30 p.m.? How did HUL develop a cheaper, better product to beat its competitor, Nirma? What do Taj Hotels, HDFC, HUL, L&T and BPCL have in common? They are the win-win corporations. Based on over a decade of research, Shashank Shah takes a look at these truly outstanding Indian companies and how they do business.

Each of these companies has exceptional practices when it comes to stakeholder management. Whether the stakeholder is an employee, customer, investor, vendor or even society at large, these companies reveal how looking at everyone elses interests doesnt really mean compromising your own. Often, the two complement each other and that is what makes a win-win solution for everyone. The book provides an inside look at what motivates exceptional companies and how they are a cut above the rest. Full of fascinating anecdotes, leadership philosophy and background stories of the organisations, Win-Win Corporations is an inspiring read about what makes companies great.

Book: Diamonds Are For All

Author: Surender Mohan Pathak

Publisher: Harper Black

Pages: 400

Price: Rs 299

Taxi driver Jeet Singh is cruising for fare when a man being tailed by a bunch of goons blocks his way. Entrusting him with a briefcase full of secret, classified government documents to be delivered in lieu of a huge sum to a girl in Jogeshwari, he jumps off the moving taxi.

His body is found by the railway track in a Mumbai suburb the next morning, while Jeet Singh finds he has nobody to give the briefcase to: The girl died mysteriously the previous night. He opens the briefcase, and a free-for-all for diamonds worth millions is set into motion.

Book: Madras on my Mind

Authors: Chitra Viraraghavan and Krishna Shastri

Publisher: Harper Collins

Pages: 207

Price: Rs 350

Once upon a time by the sea, there was a story and another and another and some wandered into these pages to make up a city.

So meet, among others, a travel guide who falls for a French tourist, a rice merchant with Kollywood dreams, a god whose editor proves elusive, a portly musical lawyer caught in a noir plot, and a man in search of family in the Great Madras Flood.

Find yourself, among other places, in Town, at that gastronomic oxymoron, the Udipi cafe, in Velachery, looking for pot or maybe for love, on Kaanum Pongal day all across Madras, even in a fast car on East Coast Road, fleeing the city till it lures you back with its lovely lies.

Its all here: The salt in the breeze, the eternal summer, the swing of the sea.

Its Madras on your mind.
Software major Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani, who returned to the company as its non-Executive Chairman, on Friday said he believes hes back because there was no one else.

Addressing a press gathering here, Nilekani said he had met the Board for the first time on Friday. The priority now is to make sure the Board and the employees are all on the same page. I have met the Board members one-on-one and also spoke to the employees, he said.

Stating that it was the Boards unanimous decision in wanting him to return to the company, he said he was back with the company as more than just a founder.

Im here representing everybody, the shareholders, employees. My goal is to get the stability to the company and take it forward.

I believe that theres a huge requirement that people (in the company) are not distracted by all kinds of reporting, he said.

On the Panaya acquisitions, he said: I will be taken through the entire investigations and then the necessary action will be taken.

In an investors call that took place on Friday morning with over 600 participants, Nilekani said: I plan to be here (with the company) as long as it is necessary and I will not be here as soon as I am not necessary.

I have a set of tasks to accomplish  the CEO search has to be done, the Board has to be reconstituted and the business has to be stabilised.

I will be there as long as it takes and will work as hard as necessary to make sure Infosys is on its path of full potential.

Nilekani, 62, who was CEO of Infosys from March 2002 till April 2007 and its Vice-Chairman, quit the company in 2009 to head the Unique Identification Authority of India as its first Chairman till May 2014.

After the software firms first non-founder executive Vishal Sikka resigned as the CEO on August 18, Nilekani returned to the company as a non-Executive Chairman of the Board on Thursday.
Close to a hundred representatives of various sweetmeat makers from across West Bengal began a three-day relay hunger strike here on Friday to protest the imposition of Goods and Services Tax (GST).

The strike coincides with the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi, a day when sweets from barfi to modaks are in high demand.

The hunger-strike comes days after a state-wide strike by sweet manufacturers against the new tax regime.

Irrespective of our products being high on demand for Ganesh Chaturthi, we have all gathered here in the city to protest against GST. There are people from districts like Malda, Howrah and Birbhum, West Bengal Mistanna Byabasayee Samitys General Secretary R.K. Paul told IANS.

Iconic sweet-makers K.C. Das, whose erstwhile owner Nabin Chandra Das is widely regarded as the inventor of the rosogolla in 1868, said they are also pitching in the hunger strike.

I am going there myself and we will be there for the next two days, K.C. Dass Director Dhiman Das said.

While the industry is directly responsible for the livelihoods of at least 10 lakh people, Paul said, there is no estimate of those living off the business indirectly.

Elaborating on their opposition to GST, he said the Rs 50,000 crore industry in Bengal is hugely different from the sweet-making ventures in other states, in terms of the products being highly perishable, a category exempted from the new tax regime.

We deal with highly perishable goods. Our sweets are very delicate and have a shelf life of only 24 hours. In other states, the kind of sweets they produce is different and can stay on for longer. We were exempted from VAT. The Centre has exempted highly perishable goods from GST. We dont understand why they included our sweets in GST if they are highly perishable, Paul said.

Confectioners said what has added to their woes is that their products fall under all slabs  28 per cent for any sandesh/sweet with chocolate in it, five per cent for rosogolla and sandesh, and 12 per cent for mishti doi.

In addition to the evergreen traditional recipes of rosogolla, mishti doi and sandesh, Bengal sweetmeat makers have adapted to modern tastes by incorporating ingredients like chocolates, fruit pulps like those of mangoes, kiwis and blueberries and extending their repertoire with innovations like ice-cream sandesh and kulfi sandesh.
Life as a yoga trainer enables you to experience growth for yourself, besides the noble feeling of coming to the service of others. It is all about equality, equity, and empowerment. This field is an ancient art and a natural way of remaining fit and healthy. An integral part is practicing physical and breathing exercises. Fitness is the call of todays world, raising the need for a yoga instructor or teacher on the global platform.

Before becoming a professional, it is important to learn the practice from a reliable and trusted school. The government has taken steps to certify such teachers just a day after the 1st International Day for Yoga celebrated across the world on 21 June, 2015 and launched the Scheme for Voluntary Certification of Yoga Professionals.

To enable more people to tap this vibrant opportunity, and bring about standardisation in the quality of practices, the ministry of Ayush has launched a scheme for voluntary certification. The Quality Council of India that provides accreditation standards for various sectors has developed this scheme to provide yoga lessons.

It has also come up with many institutes and universities like Patanjali University, Haridwar; Dev Sanskriti Vishwavidyalaya, Haridwar; Gurukul Kangri Vishwavidyalaya, Haridwar; Dr Hari Singh Gour University, Sagar; Bihar School of Yoga, Munger; Muraraji Desai International Institute, Delhi. After completing the course, an aspiring yoga enthusiast should ideally spend some years practicing and attaining higher levels of knowledge before venturing into teaching.

Some of the institutes offering a degree in this subject are SDM College of Naturopathy and Yogic Sciences, Ujire, Karanataka; JSS Institute of Naturopathy and Yogic Sciences, Mysore Road, Ootacamund; Shivaraj Naturapathy and Yoga Medical College, Salem; Government Naturopathy and Yoga Medical College and Hospital, Anna Nagar, Chennai; SRK Medical College of Naturopathy and Yogic Sciences, Kulasekharam, Kanyakumari district, Tamil Nadu; Mahavir College of Naturopathy and Yogic Sciences, Durg, Chattisgarh; Alvas College of Naturopathy and Yogic Sciences, Moodbidri, Karnataka; KLES College of Naturopathy and Yogic Sciences, Shahapur, Belgaum, Karnataka; Morarji Desai Institute of Naturopathy and Yoga; and Government Nature Cure and Yoga College, PKTR Hospital, Mysore.

There are also yoga ashrams that offer a number of professional trainings for short and long term courses. The corporate sector has woken up to the deadly effect of stress on the health of its employees and has adopted yoga into its culture in a big way. Instructors are therefore highly sought after in these domains. Personal oneon-one classes are also becoming a popular option.

One can get employed in schools, health centres, fitness training centers, gyms, health clubs, yoga studios, spa and resorts, health centres and yoga schools. There are also chances of employment in TV channels where regular yoga shows are broadcasted. On a professional level, trainers can specialise in postures.

There are yoga asanas which can bring relief to specific body ailments or pains. One can work as yoga therapist in health centres, resorts, etc. There is even scope to start centre of your own and impart therapy to patients at their homes which is a more lucrative option.

Yoga teachers can earn anything from Rs10, 000 to 30,000 per month by taking group classes. Personal (one-on-one) classes for individuals/ celebrities pay much better, especially if youve created a reputation for yourself among clients.

Working at spas is also a good option as one can start at Rs 15,000 approximately and with experience earn as much as Rs 80,000 per month. Yoga instructors who cater to two or three organisations in the corporate sector also earn around Rs 70, 000 per month. Becoming a yoga instructor is not an overnight thing, as it requires a lot of patience, practice, perseverance and dedication.

The writer is a yoga expert, Medanta Hospital
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday spoke with the chief ministers of Haryana and Punjab  Manohar Lal Khattar and Amarinder Singh  and assured them of all help in the wake of large-scale violence after the conviction of controversial godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim.

Rajnath, who arrived here after his visit to Kyrgyzstan to attend a Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meeting, held meetings with top officials to take stock of the situation in Punjab and Haryana.

He (Rajnath) spoke with the CMs of both states and assured them of all possible help, an official said.

He added that if needed additional security forces would be sent to both states.
From the land that brought you poisonous toothpaste, toxic pet food and milk powder that sickens and kills children now comes a new perilous product: fabricated papers in medical journals with fake peer reviews written by fabricated cancer specialists.

Last April, the publishing company Springer Nature announced that it was retracting 107 research papers by Chinese authors after discovering irregularities in the peer review process of articles published in the journal Tumor Biology between 2012 and 2016.

The retraction of over 100 papers constituted the largest single withdrawal of academic papers, according to Retraction Watch, which monitors academic fraud.

China has risen rapidly in recent years and has played an increasingly important role not only in the economy but in virtually all spheres. But, along the way, it also hit a few bumps, when greedy Chinese business people put money ahead of peoples safety and welfare in China and abroad.

Thus, in 2007, customers in the United States were told to discard all made-in-China toothpaste after federal officials found toothpaste containing a poison used in antifreeze in several American locations.

The same year, there was a pet food scare of gigantic proportions when many brands of cat and dog foods manufactured in China were recalled in North America, Europe and South Africa. There were numerous reports of animal deaths as a result of kidney failure.

The following year, within China, thousands of children were sickened after consuming milk powder contaminated with melamine, which had been added to watereddown milk to make it appear to be more nutritious. Many children developed acute kidney failure, a few of whom died.

Eventually, two individuals convicted of adding the industrial chemical to infant formula were convicted and executed.

Where academic papers are concerned, China is one of the worlds largest producers, churning out more than 300,000 articles a year that are sent to international journals.

Because the government uses publication in peerreviewed journals as a benchmark of academic performance, there is much pressure to publish such papers and an underground industry has sprung up to meet this demand.

Such practices as the writing of fabricated peer reviews using phony names reflect a shocking lack of integrity on the part of those who are considered part of the countrys academic elite. Most of the authors of the retracted works are not neophytes but are from top medical institutions in China.

After Springer Nature made its announcement, China announced a crackdown on academic fraud with the ministry of science and technology promising a no tolerance approach.

He Defang, director of the ministrys regulatory division, was quoted as saying: We should eradicate the problem from its roots.

In fact, even Chinese courts backed stiff penalties for those who fabricate research studies that lead to the approval of harmful drugs and called for punishment that includes a 10-year prison term or even the death penalty.

At the end of July, the Ministry of Science and Technology announced the results of its investigation into the case. It largely upheld the decision made by Springer Nature.

At a press briefing, the ministry announced that, of 521 authors implicated, it deemed 11 to have been innocent with 24 others still under investigation. Of the others, 486 were found to be guilty of misconduct at various levels, with 102 mainly responsible, 70 secondarily responsible while 314 were found not to have participated in fraud but to have been negligent.

Twelve papers were purchased from third-party institutions, with 89 papers completed by the authors themselves. Nine were fake in content.

Director He said that the fraud had severely damaged Chinas national image, and called for a healthier academic environment and harsher punishment for academic misdeeds.

As for punishment of those responsible, the director said that 376 authors had been banned from undertaking research programs for various period of time, and their qualifications for promotion had been cancelled, their research funds taken away from them and awards and honours revoked.

This is a wake-up call for China. Ten years after the scandals arose, both Chinese toothpaste and pet food is safe. Even the melamine scare appears to be largely over.

So China is no doubt fully capable of tackling the problem of academic fraud. But it wont be easy and it is a sign that academic and other institutions need to be strengthened. It is way too early for China to rest on its laurels. A lot of hard work lies ahead, and there is no short cut to success for anyone, including doctors, scientists and researchers.

The China Post/ANN
The quarterly rate of growth of wireline and wireless telephone penetration reported by TRAI is 1.58 per cent for Kolkata and 3.70 per cent for the rest of West Bengal, against the national average of a conservative 1.36 per cent. The state has also reported the highest rural subscriber base of 68.30 per cent, against the national average of 41.88 per cent. West Bengal is also quite competitive with figures of total teledensity of 82.74 against the national average of 82.74. Wireless phones (excluding Kolkata) alone accounts for a healthy 3.75 per cent quarterly growth against the national average of 1.41 per cent with 68.56 Bengal of rural Bengal having access against the national average of 42.48 per cent. However, internet access is still limited to 27.38 per cent with Kolkata accounting for about two-third connectivity.

DIPP figures show that from 2011 to 2015 a total of Rs 31.93 lakh crore was proposed to be invested across 11,784 investment projects in the country of which about 20 per cent were for West Bengal. The global economic slowdown caused the gap between proposals and actual implementation to widen with only Rs 2.70 lakh crore on the ground (8.50 per cent). Despite this slowdown, the state has implemented 142 projects worth Rs 7736 crore (3 three), comparable to UP and MP and 5 per cent of Maharashtra and Gujarat together. Yet Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal continue to attract maximum investments.

However, it is not as if all is hunky-dory in the state. Its cumulative debt has risen by about a quarter since 2011-12 to Rs 2.45 lakh crore in 2014-15. Concomitantly, interest payment and debt servicing has risen by about 38 per cent from 2011-12 to Rs 21687 crore in 2014-15. Expenditure on interest payments returned a CAGR of 11.80 per cent in 2010-15 and constituted 55 per cent of tax revenue in 2014-15. Its proportion in Non-Plan Revenue Expenditure (NPRE) increased to 29 per cent from 26 per cent in 2010-11. Payment of interest on market loans, the single largest source of commercial borrowing, grew at a CAGR of 21.92 per cent in 2010- 15. Of the total interest paid during 2014-15, market loans alone accounted for 50 per cent. Interest payment increased by 39 per cent (Rs 2890 crore) during 2013- 14 and again by 4 per cent (Rs 831 crore) during 2014-15 over the previous years.

A spike in transfer of resources from the Government of India to West Bengal consequent to the discontinuance of direct transfers for central schemes in 2014-15 has not helped the state much owing to the rising revenue expenditure. Its stagnant non-tax revenues have become a drain on the exchequer. During 2014-15, West Bengal earned dividend of a paltry Rs 6 crore (0.05%) on its investment of Rs 12653 crore. As in previous years, no dividend was received from banks and statutory corporations. State-owned public sector undertakings have suffered substantial losses leading to erosion of their net worth. Moreover, the revenue realised from 15 schemes during 2014-15 was only Rs 5 crore (0.22 per cent of the capital outlay of Rs 2293 crore).

Despite the adversities, the quantum spread and primary deficit was positive in 2010-11 to 2014-15 which caused a declining trend in debt. The GSDP ratio, that declined from 40.65 per cent in 2010-11 to 34.66 per cent in 2014-15, was suggestive of a stabilisation of debt. Interest payments with respect to revenue receipts depicted a healthy trend as the ratio declined to 24.95 per cent during 2014-15 from 29.23 per cent during 2010- 11. However, there is a caveat here. Maturity of the States debt would steeply rise from 2016-17 onwards with 42.69 per cent of all market loans of Rs 1.41 lakh crore falling due for payment from 2016-17 to 2022-23. This would mean an additional burden on the state governments budget. If it were not for the legacy of debt servicing, the Government of West Bengal would have returned a healthy surplus every year.

There are several other caveats as well. State employees still draw pay on the 5th Central Pay Commission scales, that too with half the DA admissible to them, for want of finances. No wonder public servants are generally aggrieved. Enforcement of law and order in several parts of the State would exert further pressure on the exchequer. The contentious issue of illegal migration from across the border and the resultant influx to the border districts would add to policing and administrative costs. The huge infrastructure that has been created over the past five or six years would require large provisions for operation and maintenance, superintendence, monitoring and evaluation. Ridding the State of its contra-investment perception would require large publicity resources and tax and other breaks, including contentious land issues. Another issue, allied to unemployment, relates to low wages. The Labour Bureaus Employment Survey for 2015-16 shows 34.50 per cent of wage earners in West Bengal received below Rs 5000/month, most so when NSDC estimates the accretion of 89 lakh fresh workers in 2017-22.

Despite the severe limitations, West Bengal still has the countrys most livable metro city with several firsts to its credit, including a running Metro that is undergoing rapid expansion. The present government has recently introduced legislation to ban political parties from university campuses.

Corruption is not endemic to the state, as it is with UP, Bihar, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, AP or Tamil Nadu. The average Bengali remains frugal in his habits, God-fearing too, with a high sense of personal honour. All that he/she needs is some retraining and minimal fiscal assistance as low-interest loans to revive their entrepreneurial spirit. Union activity has appreciably declined as contracted employees are increasing both in public and private sectors. The large companies still retain their corporate headquarters in Kolkata, accounting for about 40 per cent of all indirect taxes collected by the Centre. Roads have improved as have potable water, health clinics, and district hospitals. Private universities and hospitals have been opened as have international hotel chains.

The state has been consciously discriminated against for the past 70 years. Although it is a border state, it was not granted the status of special category with its generous 90 per cent grant-10 per cent loan formula, like Punjab, J&K and Assam. It was also denied contemporary royalties on minerals and had suffered on account of the Railways freight equalisation policy. Its only opening to the sea is on the verge of closure even though 40 per cent of the nations indirect taxes are collected from that State. Most institutions run by the Government of India in this State are in a state of severe decay.

The finest gesture for the Centre would be to declare West Bengal a special category state and waive at least 50 per cent of all outstanding loans and interest from it as a one-time measure. West Bengal still remains the most cosmopolitan state in India, a shining light of hope and freedom from religious bigotry, no anti-non-Bengali language and anti-outsider movements, little corruption, relatively limited decline in morals and ethics, less aggressive human behaviour, and much more. West Bengals parameters, people and infrastructure are not far inferior to those of many other large states. All that the state needs are honest helping hands from the Government of India, even as a one-time measure bereft of extraneous considerations.

(Concluded)
Donald Trumps foreign policy statement, riveted as it is to Afghanistan, intrinsically marks no break with the Bush/Obama years. And yet, far from scaling down the presence of US troops, he intends to intensify the footprint of the military. Could this be the White House response to the renewed Taliban offensive? The immediate response of the militants that Afghanistan will become a graveyard portends still more fearsome prospects in a fractured land. Considering that militants have stepped up their activity following the pullout of NATO forces in 2014, the US President is painfully aware that a rapid exit would leave a vacuum that the ISIS and Al Qaida would instantly fill. Left to its own devices, successive dispensations of Hamid Karzai and Ashraf Ghani have failed to contain Islamist fundamentalism. The other critical facet of Mondays announcement is his robust warning to Pakistan for providing safe havens to terrorists; factually, the maverick Head of State cannot be countered. This is the sternest warning yet by an American President to Pakistan, and small wonder it has caused a flutter in the roost across the Radcliffe Line.

The other critical facet is that the US President has sought an enhanced role for India to ensure peace and stability in the troubled country ~ We want India to help us more with Afghanistan, was his mildly flattering message to Delhi, the obverse being reserved for Pakistan. Both the civilian government in Islamabad and the Rawalpindi GHQ have been bluntly told that Pakistan has much to lose by continuing to harbour terrorists. Thus far, Delhi has been wary of an overt response to developments in Afghanistan, though the Indian embassy in Kabul has been a target of Taliban fury. On Tuesday, however, the MEA did swiftly welcome the US Presidents remarks calling for a crackdown of terror safe havens.

Ergo, Mr Trumps foreign policy presentation is profoundly critical for subcontinental geopolitics. American troops will fight to win Americas 16-year war, is central to the Presidents paradigm shift on Afghanistan and South Asia in the wider canvas. While enunciating his policy towards Afghanistan, he has addressed his overtures to India, clothed with a dire warning to Pakistan. And this threepronged strategy signals the contours of US dealings with South Asia.

The open warning to Pakistan has been matched with a deepening of the US partnership with India. This was arguably Mr Trumps most realistic foreign policy statement thus far ~ a carefully scripted assessment of the complex reality in Afghanistan. The US President has spelt out how India can help and what Pakistan ought not to do. He has inherited a 16-year mess, and his refashioned policy could translate to more of the same. It is a rocky road ahead and a foreign policy presentation cannot bring a tormented country any closer to peace though it does envisage a dramatic change in strategy.
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Friday slammed his predecessor Tony Abbott for missing parliament once because he had been too drunk.

Abbott had revealed that he failed to make a key vote in 2009 after drinking too much wine the night before, the BBC reported.

Turnbull, then opposition leader, described the incident as unacceptable.

There was nothing we could do, the Prime Minister told a radio station.

As Tony acknowledged, the whips (fellow MPs) tried to rouse him to get him down into the chamber to vote, but they were unable to move him.

I was disappointed. I cannot remember anyone else missing a vote because they were too drunk to get into the chamber, but the fact is that Tony has confessed up to it, he knows it was an error or whatever, Turnbull added.

Abbott toppled Turnbull for the Liberal Party leadership later in 2009, only for Turnbull to reclaim it in 2015, when Abbott was Prime Minister.

Wayne Swan, who was government treasurer in 2009, criticised Abbott following his disclosure.

Of course, now we know the truth  he slept through some of the most important votes in the Australian parliament in over 50 or 60 years.
Pakistan and the US have established back-channel contacts to resolve differences over key issues after US President Donald Trump singled out Islamabad for supporting terrorism.

A group of diplomats, military officials and security experts from the two countries earlier this month held their third off-the-record meeting here to discuss thorny issues, including Pakistans support for peace in Afghanistan, increasing US ties with India, New Delhis role in Afghanistan and Islamabads drift toward Beijing after initiation of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Former Pakistan ambassador to the US Jalil Abbas Jilani told The News International that the two sides were discussing the issues and would prepare recommendations for the government for the future of ties.

He said the informal interaction called the Track II diplomacy aimed at bringing private individuals and groups from the two countries to promote better understanding of issues and suggest solutions.

Pakistans Ambassador to the US Aizaz Chaudhry welcomed the dialogue, saying: Track II is not a substitute for official contacts but officials can benefit from the ideas generated.

Representatives from the Pakistani side included former head of Military Intelligence Lt Gen Ishfaq Nadeem Ahmad (retd) and former Ambassador to Afghanistan Muhammad Sadiq.

The US side included former US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher, former Ambassador Robin Raphel and security experts Tricia Bacon and David Smith.

Trump while announcing his new strategy for Afghanistan and South Asia on Monday lashed out at Pakistan, urging the country to stop giving sanctuary to agents of chaos, violence and terror.

We can no longer be silent about Pakistans safe havens for terrorist organisations, the Taliban and other groups that pose a threat to the region and beyond, the US President said.

Pakistan, reacting to the criticism, expressed disappointment over lack of acknowledgement by Trump of Islamabads sacrifices in war against terror.

The News International reported that Islamabad was unhappy with the US for its support to its arch-rival Indias role in Afghanistan.

Michael Kugelman, Deputy Director of Asia Programme at The Wilson Centre, said the dialogue was meant to convene former government and military officials in a closed, off-the-record environment to discuss possible pathways for cooperation.

Kugelman said that apart from terrorism and Afghanistan, both sides also discussed new potential areas of cooperation including the field of economics.

The dialogue clarified the potential and limits of the relationship. Thats a useful thing at a moment when the future of the US-Pakistan relationship is so unsettled, he said.

Pakistan has expanded its control of its territory, especially into the tribal areas, but still needs to control its border to prevent fighters and supplies from moving across in both directions. We should support that effort, Richard Boucher said.

Ambassador Chaudhry said lasting peace in Afghanistan could only be achieved through comprehensive political process. Pakistan stands ready to work with Afghanistan and the US to that end.

This objective is not served when one country indulges in a vicious blame game against the other, the ambassador said. It is Pakistan  not Afghanistan  that has instituted strict border management measures to control cross-border movement. It is time to recognise that.
United States President Donald Trump has played the India card against Pakistan in the Afghan great game, but would that become a true trump card for India?

Earlier this week, Trump assigned a critical role for India in his countrys South Asia strategy for fighting terrorism, building up a safe Afghanistan and appealed for help, while at the same time warning Pakistan of repercussions for the double game of unleashing terrorists against the Afghans and the US while collecting billions from Washington.

It amounts to threatening Islamabad that Washington could pivot to India if it didnt stop supporting the same organisations that try every single day to kill our people, as Trump put it.

The US move comes as the civilian leadership is unmoored after Nawaz Sharif was removed as Pakistan Prime Minister by a court order.

It also coincides with the simmering military standoff between India and China, the other power with deep involvement in the region and patron of Pakistan. How Beijing reacts would be a factor in the way things work out for India.

There are two other players in the great game, Iran and Russia, with whom the US has a hostile relationship. They can influence developments in Afghanistan and India can play a covert intermediary role between them.

Past US Presidents, George W. Bush and Barack Obama, have in joint statements acknowledged New Delhis humanitarian and development assistance to Afghanistan, but what makes Trumps statement different is that he openly incorporates India into the US strategy for Afghanistan and South Asia and juxtaposes it with his warnings to Pakistan.

Trump putting Pakistan on notice directly marks a change from the tradition of the Cold War that made Pakistan the indisputable and indispensable ally and there is a twist of irony here.

Soon after 9/11 in 2001, as the US prepared to go into Afghanistan, India offered the use of its airbases, but it was turned down and Washington decided to go with Pakistan despite its history of aiding both the Taliban and Al Qaeda.

Trumps request to India was deliberately open-ended, while stressing what is already being done. We want them to help us more with Afghanistan, especially in the area of economic assistance and development, he said.

New Delhi has committed more than $3 billion in aid to Kabul and has undertaken important projects like constructing a Parliament house and building major highways in the face of Taliban attacks.

And there limits to what more it can do.

India couldnt send troops in combat or frontline advisory roles. But it already trains Afghan troops and police in India  and had one time set a target of putting 30,000 of them through the paces. Now, trainers could work in Afghanistan itself, if India chooses and the US agrees to drop its opposition driven by Pakistani sensibilities  but away from areas of direct conflict.

But it could let the US use airbases in India, though Islamabad could ban overflights and a route through Iran is out of question.

India has provided military helicopters to Afghanistan, and General John Nicholson, the US commander in that country, has recently said that Kabul could do with more of them  as well as other military supplies. New Delhi could also increase its role as middleman for supplying Russian weaponry and spares given the Washington-Moscow standoff.

In the development sphere, India could increase  and probably will  its aid to Afghanistan in cash and kind. However, it may not be able to sustain a major expansion of assistance programmes requiring the deployment of Indian citizens because that would likely require security personnel to protect them and risk direct confrontation.

A major component of Indias economic assistance to Afghanistan runs counter to US interests as dictated by the Middle East because it is linked to Iran. India is developing the Chhabahar port in Iran that will provide landlocked Afghanistan an outlet to the world using the Indian-built Delaram-Zaranj highway to the Iran border. In turn, that highway will link to the Ring Road project that connects important Afghan cities.

This will provide a significant boost to Afghanistans economy.

At the same time, dire strategic compulsions could make the US overcome its repugnance to Tehran and through India use the Chhabahar link to get supplies into Afghanistan.

What is behind the changed US attitude to Islamabad  and to India as a collateral  and Trumps own reluctance to further get involved in Afghanistan? It is the influence of the triumvirate of generals, Chief of State John Kelly, Defence Secretary James Mattis and National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster, with personal connections to the Afghan war.

Kelly lost his son, a Marine officer in Afghanistan to a terrorist roadside bomb, making the war on the Taliban personal. Mattis was the commander of the CENTCOM that oversaw the Afghan war and McMaster as the deputy to the planning commander at the international forces headquarters in Kabul.

Both have seen Islambads double game. Already last month, the US withheld $50 million in aid Pakistan citing its failure to rein in the Haqqani terrorist network.

Add to that Trumps disenchantment with China over its refusal or inability to rein in North Korean taunts and threats.

How will the military and Islamist establishments react? To acquiesce to the US is one option that may be accompanied by the diversion of Islamist terrorists to India.

The other option of defiance would depend on China. Beijing sees Washington-New Delhi ties in the larger picture  its state media has accused the West, specifically the US, of instigating war between it and India.

But Beijing has some limitations here. Beyond making up for the loss of US billions to Pakistan if Islamabad stood firm, China also has strategic interests in the region that could be endangered by terrorism: The One Road One Belt project and the likelihood of terrorism getting a boost in the Uighar region and in Central Asia.

The real danger would be a Pakistani terror push towards India with Chinese backing.
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 ...
Chances of early poll acts slim

The government may have fixed November 26 as the date for federal parliament and provincial assemblies elections, but chances of early enaction of two election-related bills into laws appear slim.
The heart-thumping, beautifully executed film Dunkirk, covers the grim days in May and June 1940 as the invading German army drove the British Expeditionary Force from Belgium and into an area around Dunkirk eventually surrounding the vast army of Allied troops.

Defences, manned mainly by French troops, allowed the soldiers to assemble in the city to await rescue from the harbour and beaches. And 400,000 of them were rescued in a daring rescue mission called Operation Dynamo named after the dynamo room in the Dover cliffs where their operation HQ was based. Some refer to event as the Miracle of Dunkirk.

The operation saw hundreds of little boats owned by ordinary people sail from UK ports on the south coast to ferry soldiers to larger naval vessels as they could not approach Dunkirk. This is where the phrase Dunkirk Spirit comes from.

Around 200,000 men were picked up from the Dunkirk Mole  a long stone and wooden jetty at the mouth of the port.

Christopher Nolans film was shot during summer last year. The set was a reconstructed harbour and waterfront to portray the beaches which extend into Belgium and employed over 1300 local extras. While their uniforms and weapons were recreated, real warships were involved and real Spitfires and Messerschmitts were filmed. In fact the final scene featured a real Spitfire landing on the beach at Dunkirk.

There are still remnants of German occupation. If you visit the Fort des Dunes, a well preserved 19th century military installation you can witness the scars of the battle of 1940 and the German occupation.

Theres also a very well set up museum in the former Operation Dynamo French command post, which has relics from 1940 and clear descriptions and images of the evacuation. You can also visit the imposing sail training ship thats moored by the Maritime Museum, the military cemetery and a display of the film sets.

There are also tours to the mole  the long jetty from which big ships loaded the troops  walking tours of the beaches and even a flight over the beaches.

The latter tour is a 15-minute flight in a 4-seater Robin from Dunkirk airfield. It not only offers great views, a wonderful flying experience at a height of 1,000 feet, but at 120 for three passengers must be one of the cheapest trips available.

However Dunkirk is more than its military history. The seaside town has a great range of sporting and leisure activities, a modern art gallery and good hotels and restaurants. A paddle steamer The Princess Elizabeth was one of the rescue ships and has a starring role in the film.

She now offers fine dining in the domestic harbour with a strong 1940s flavour. And you can eat at La Cocotte, a beach-front restaurant frequented by the cast.

The wide sandy beaches, where once tens of thousands of dejected, hungry soldiers queued for boats, is now the scene of fun and familial frivolity.

Fact File

SAIL: DFDS offers 24 crossings daily between Dover and Dunkirk from 39 each way for a car and up to nine passengers.

STAY: Hotel Borel, situated in front of the Harbour in the city center.

EAT: Princess Elizabeth floating restaurant, La Cocotte restaurant, Comme Vous Voulez restaurant, LEdito a waterside restaurant

VISIT: War museum, Dunes fort, Maritime Museum

MORE: Dunkirk Tourist Board for local tours, flights and general information. www.dunkerque-tourisme.fr and www.ot-dunkerque.fr
But the tribe has a long way to go
In two years we will be celebrating or bemoaning, depending on our ideological world view, the 50th anniversary of the nationalisation of major banks in 1969. Indira Gandhi wanted banks to lend more money to farmers to meet the then urgent national need for increasing food production. The banks were mandated to set up thousands of rural branches. When she came back to power in 1980, she imposed Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP) targets on PSBs to give loans to government identified beneficiaries. Thus, the half-circle of state control over banking was completed in about 25 years.

By 1989, the other half-circle began when the first national agricultural and rural debt waiver was announced. Then in 1992, public sector banks (PSBs) were asked to focus on commercial goals and minimising NPAs. New private banks were allowed to come up, all under the Congress. The circle was three quarters completed. Now, the Modi government wants to consolidate the PSBs into a few, ostensibly to make them stronger and more competitive. The bank employee unions are striking against this step, as they apprehend PSBs will be privatised, completing the circle.

The Cabinet decision on August 23 says the banks will be asked to come up with merger proposals, and it is obvious that each of the top five or six PSBs will cherry pick among the other less healthy, but not sick, PSBs to find the best partner to merge. That may yield five or six larger, but not healthier, PSBs as the advantages of merger will set in after several years as it takes time to cut redundant branches, redeploy staff and harmonise technology and procedures. That will leave behind the five unhealthiest bankswith gross NPAs between 24.1 per cent for IDBI, Indian Overseas, United Commercial, Bank of Maharashtra and the Central Bank at18.2 per cent. What would be done with them? Is there any reason to think that merging two or more of these weak institutions will produce a stronger one?

The real reason for the high NPAs in PSBs (average now exceeding 10 per cent) is ironically, government ownership, which leads to interference in all matters from the appointment of board members, chairmen, CEOs and EDs to fixing remuneration levels and not linking pay or promotion substantially with performance. While government pressure for giving loans to sectors important for economic growth (infrastructure, power, steel, telecom and exports) and development (agriculture, small enterprises and the weaker sections) may be valid, it also leads to pressure for giving loans to politically well-connected parties. To say that this reality will change merely because PSBs are merged into five or six is to not confront the basic reason for the malaise. Reducing government interference in PSBs is the key, not mergers.

Is the answer then to completely privatise the PSBs? Not at this stage of our economic development, where we are still not a middle income nation in per capita terms. Part of the reasons for nationalisation (e.g. directing credit to priority sectors) are still valid but interference in governance and management is not. After merger, PSBs should be brought under a holding company and all government directives must go to the board of that and stop there. The PSB HoldCo should have a professional and upright board and it should in turn appoint two directors in each PSB. As all the merged PSBs will be listed, three independent board members must be elected by non-government shareholders. The bank boards should thereafter run each PSB more professionally. As for PSB employees, they should see the writing on the wallif their bank goes sick, there will be no jobs anyway.

Vijay Mahajan was a member of the Regional Rural Banks Restructuring Committee in 2001-02 and the Raghuram Rajan Committee on Financial Sector Reforms, 2008-09.
Nandan Nilekani, who took over as non-executive chairman of Infosys Board, is expected to put the multinational corporation back on track soon and assure the investors and the shareholders that all is well with the company.

Experts with whom THE WEEK spoke to feel that Nilekani may do this by talking to top Infosys customers and assuring them that operationally, the company is at its best and will continue to deliver well. At the same time, the Infosys veteran is expected to help the company get a new CEO and a few more independent directors as a few of its US-based directors have resigned. Experts also feel that Nilekani will also aim at striking a perfect balance between the Infosys board and the company's founders.

Kris Lakshmikanth, founder of the recruitment firm Head Hunters India, feels that the top priority for Nilekani will be to get a new CEO for the company. Getting a CEO may take some time, say a couple of months. Since he is an Infosys veteran and has worked closely with some of the Infosys customers, he may once again revisit many of them and assure them that everything is in order. He is also expected to meet a lot fund houses and investors to assure them that the company is back on track, said Lakshmikanth.

This expert however feels that corporate governance is an issue that may take some time for Nilekani to resolve, but gradually it will be cleared. He may also like to get two or three independent directors on the board as a few of them have resigned, added Lakshmikanth.

Experts such as Alok Shende of Ascentius Consulting feel that since the whole fracas has happened due to the issue of corporate governance, Nilekani would first like to solve the different aspects around it. He may like to go back and may relook at the whole thing and may even release a new statement or a report which talks about clearing the concerns of the founders around the issue of corporate governance. He may even try to address the concerns of Murthy point by point and will try to bring in transparency about the whole issue, Shende said.

Surya Mahadevan of TAPMI, Manipal, noted that Nilekani's top priority will be to initiate the search for a new CEO and energise employees to engage with customers and restore confidence. Nilekani will also have to untangle the corporate governance issue, ensure logical closure, articulate the transformation strategy and medium term plan for Infosys and ensure the action plans are rolled out in quick time frame. Investor confidence will get restored when the company gets into business as usual, said Mahadevan.

Another expert, S. Subramanyam of Ascent Consulting, is of the view that Nilekani taking charge would be a sane step for restoring confidence in all the stakeholders and in stabilising the enterprise until a new CEO is found. Infosys is built on a strong foundation and minor tremors can just be a wake up call. The question remains though on the vagaries imposed on the enterprise unwittingly by promoters believing that to be the best practice. To add, governance is a great practice only when leadership is in place. History has proven this time and again in political situations, said Subramanyam.

It may be recalled that on Thursday chairman of the Infosys board R. Seshasayee and members Vishal Sikka, Jeffrey Lehman and John Etchemendy stepped down from the board with immediate effect. At the same time, after the appointment of Nilekani as chairman, Ravi Venkatesan stepped down from his role as co-chairman, but has decided to continue on the Infosys board. Lehman was scheduled to retire from the board in April 2018.
Privacy in the 21st century is a valuable commodity to ensure right to life and liberty, ruled the Supreme Court on Thursday. To that effect, data, the new proverbial oil, too would need to have defined ownership.

Data remained the price we paid for the convenience of using a smartphone, a browser, a search engine, a social networking site, booking holidays or shopping online.

But not any longer. In the wake of the apex court judgement, a user can seek to be compensated if his or her personal data is being used for profiteering with targeted advertisements.

"There's ammunition to attack the business models of say a Google or a Facebook, which targets users' browsing behaviour to generate revenue for themselves," said Mishi Choudhary, president, Software Law Freedom Centre, a internet legal rights-based organisation.

"We now have the right to say that no one but I own my data and seek a compensation to part with it even," added Choudhary. Similar debate is going on across EU and US and now India, which are attacking the business models of Uber and the likes that use consumer data for pricing their service or product, she added. "Any business model that is working with our data need to re-think their business strategies. Such business models are not ethical and would not be supported here on," Choudhdary said, on the future impact of the privacy law in internet business.

As the government is also pushing for adoption of increasingly data-centric governance models, it is necessary to respect an individuals right to privacy at all levels of governance," she added.

Reacting to Thursday's judgement, telecom operators have said they will maintain status quo about asking consumers to link their Aadhaar numbers with their mobile numbers. All our members are licensed operators and are therefore bound by licence conditions, always remaining fully compliant with the law of the land. Therefore, unless there are specific instructions from DoT to the contrary, this judgment would not impact the ongoing exercise of mandatory linking all mobile numbers to Aadhaar for e-KYC for subscriber verification," said Rajan Mathews, President, Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI).

The ongoing exercise presently carried out by telecos for subscriber verification are as per strict guidelines issued, monitored and enforced by DoT. "We await any further instruction or reference from the licensor in this regard," said Mathews.

The telecom industry feels that despite the judgement, there would be enough sensitivity around matters of security and the government would keep a 'sensitive balance between individual interests and legitimate concerns of the state.'

National security, network resilience, consumer interests and privacy are also of utmost priority to the industry, Mathews said.

Deepak Bhawnani, CEO of Alea Consulting, a corporate and forensic risk consulting company, indicated that the right to privacy needs an appropriate balance between confidentiality of financial and personal information.

"On an individual level, people need to have platforms to express their views and maintain social commentary and this information can remain public for decades as archiving is potentially unlimited on the cloud.

For finance, e-commerce, online banking, digital loan processing and registrations with government departments, the need for validation and verification of data is key to mitigate fraud, identity theft, and other misuses," said Bhawnani, whose firm investigates corporate and individual frauds.

A balanced mechanism between what is open source information and what is restricted access personal data and who and how it can be accessed will go a long way to resolve concerns, said Bhawnani.

Pritam Kumar Ghosh, an assistant lecturer at IFIM Law College, Bangalore, said, The Aadhaar Act specifies that Aadhaar is no proof of citizenship but only a proof of an individuals identity. Hence, Aadhaar itself cannot be called to violate rights of privacy of individual."

Echoing similar views, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Thursday said, "Aadhaar complies with all the data protection safeguards that the Supreme Court wants to protect privacy as a fundamental right."

Prasad said government will maintain status quo on all government related databases that have been conceived for the sake of e-governance.
Gujarat is set for another riveting political drama. After the close finish in the usually sedate Rajya Sabha electionswhere Congress chief Sonia Gandhi's political secretary Ahmed Patel managed to save his seat by a one votethe assembly elections in December this year are again going to be intense.

The two key contendersthe BJP and the Congress have revealed their broad strategy, which is diametrically opposite to each other. The BJP has unleashed big guns for the battle while the Congress has decided to bank on local talent. The grand old party has not yet decided to go to elections with the help of strategist Prashant Kishore, which was used extensively with mixed results in the last few elections.

The main contours of BJP's campaign became visible when party chief Amit Shah set the ball rolling by appointing five heavy weight central ministers to manage the election campaign in the state. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has been appointed in-charge of party's election campaign in the state. This is the first time since Modi government came to power in 2014 that Jaitley has been given direct electoral responsibility, hinting at the high stakes in the battle.

Jaitley would be assisted by central ministers Nirmala Sitharaman, Narendra Singh Tomar, P.P. Chaudhary and Jitendra Singh as co-in charges.

By appointing five ministers to the state where the party has been in power since 1998, Shah has hinted that BJP will pull out all stops for the Gujarat assembly elections. Though Shah has gone into all the elections, since his becoming party chief in 2014, with aggression, the Gujarat elections are turning into a prestige fight.

After a series of economic decisions like the demonetisation and GST, the business community of the state had felt the pinch. Jaitley and Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will be working to assuage their sentiments. Jaitley, who is also a Rajya Sabha MP from Gujarat, has also managed the elections in the state in the past when Narendra Modi was the chief minister.

The other ministers will appeal to different caste groups in the state. Moreover, appointing ministers as party in-charges of state elections serves another purposethe ministers have more sway during elections when it comes to dealing with the pressure groups than a party functionary.

Shah has already set an ambitious target of winning 150 out of the 182 assembly seats, a feat no party had managed till now. The Congress had won 149 seats in the 1985 elections.

The Congress, on the other hand, has completely changed its strategy. It has chosen all local leaders to run the show. The party appointed Siddharthbhai Patel, son of former Gujarat chief minister Chimanbhai Patel, as the chairman of campaign committee and Madhusudan Mistry as the chairman of manifesto committee. Shaktisinh Gohil will be the chairman of election media committee while Deepak Babria and Gaurav Pandhya will be assisting Mistry as convenors, and Himanshu Vyas will be assisting Gohil as convenor.

The Congress had suffered a setback after its 11 MLAs left the party in order to defeat Ahmed Patel in Rajya Sabha elections. With veteran politician Shankersinh Vaghela's revolt within Congress, the Rajya Sabha election had become a fight between two strategistsAmit Shah and Ahmed Patel.

After surviving a frontal attack, Patel would be angling for a revenge. Congress would try to bank on anti-government sentiment after the Patidar agitation. Hardik Patel is yet to announce his support for the Congress.

As Nitish Kumar, a kurmi by caste, has already become part of the NDA, his name is likely to be used by the BJP to send a message to the estranged patel community.

The Congress may also draw solace from the fact that the Aam Admi Party will not be contesting the state elections. The AAP would have only divided the opposition votes, thus helping the BJP.

For BJP, predictably, Modi will be its star campaigner. He has already held several road shows in the state, gathering huge numbers. The Congress on the other hand has given hints that it would use Rahul Gandhi sparingly, depending on the demand.

The election campaign will now slowly pick up. Modi will again be in Gujarat on September 17 to inaugurate newly constructed gates of Narmada dam. This will be his sixth visit to the state this year.
CIAA to probe 200 civil servants

The Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) is set to launch a probe against 200 civil servants, including lawmakers, government secretaries, on charge of illegally amassing properties.
In continuation of major changes ahead of assembly elections, the Congress, on Friday, appointed four working presidents for Gujarat.

This is for the first time that working presidents have been named in Gujarat Congress in the last 20 years.

On August 24, the central party leadership had announced a series of appointments, including vice presidents, from various sections of the society. These were made keeping the caste factor in mind and were additional appointments.

Dr Tushar Chaudhary, Paresh Dhanani, Kuwarji Bavaliya and Karsandas Soneri have been named working presidents with immediate effect.

Dr Chaudhary is a former minister at the Centre and son of former Gujarat chief minister Amarsinh Chaudhary. A tribal leader, he is expected to hold fort in South Gujarat, from where he belongs, and also the tribal belt of Gujarat.

A Patidar leader from Saurashtra, 41-year-old Dhanani is a second time MLA from Amreli and is expected to woo the Patidar voters. Patidars, who have been traditionally voting for the BJP, are believed to be unhappy with the ruling party. For the last two years, Gujarat has been witnessing a stir by the Patidars. They have been demanding reservation.

Though the state government has come out with some schemes for the economically weaker sections, the Patidars have rejected it. Hardik Patel of the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti has categorically said time and again that they would not accept anything less than reservation.

Bavaliya from Rajkot is expected to take care of the voters in the Saurashtra region and Soneri is a senior Congress leader.

The appointments mean that the party is attempting the reduce the power centre in the state and it is believed that it is also a bid to clip the wings of state party president Bharatsinh Solanki. It also means that the decisions would be taken collectively, more so after Thursday's appointments as well, instead of only a couple of leaders calling shots when it came to ticket distribution.

Veteran politician Shankersinh Vaghela, who quit the party on July 21, had several demands, including that of removing Solanki. His demands were not accepted. However, removing Solanki ahead of the elections can prove suicidal for the party and it would also mean that Vaghela was right in his demand.

Solanki could not be reached for his comments.
A CBI special court on Friday held the controversial Dera Sacha Sauda sect chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh guilty and convicted him on charges of raping and sexually exploiting two female disciples. Trial court judge Jagdeep Singh announced the verdict amid unprecedented security in Panchkula. The sentence will be pronounced by the court on Monday.

The sect chief was taken into custody following his conviction by trial court judge Jagdeep Singh. Soldiers who had been deployed earlier immediately rushed into the court here and took charge of the complex.

The sect chief was present in the court when the judgment was given in Panchkula town, adjoining Chandigarh. Outside, tens of thousands of his supporters were gathered along with thousands of security personnel.

The sect chief was present in the court when the judgment was read out in Panchkula town in Haryana, adjoining Chandigarh.



Court sources said the self-styled godman stood inside the court with his hands folded in prayer and his eyes closed when the judge started reading the verdict.



Outside the court, tens of thousands of supporters were massed. So were thousands of security personnel.





Once the verdict was given, Ram Rahim Singh was examined by doctors. Informed sources he would be taken to the military complex at Chandi Mandir in Panchkula.

The rape victims, despite threats and pressures all along, stood their ground on rape and sexual harassment allegations during the nearly 15-year hearing of the case in court.

Timeline in rape case

The following in the timeline in the case of rape and sexual exploitation against Dera Sacha Sauda sect chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh:

2002: Anonymous letters written to then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court by two female disciples (Sadhvis) alleging they were raped and sexually exploited by Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.

July 2002: Former sect manager, Ranjit Singh, mysteriously murdered in July 2002. Singh was murdered by sect activists, allegedly because "he knew too much about activities inside the sect headquarters".

October 2002: Sirsa-based journalist Ram Chandra Chhatrapati shot dead, allegedly by sect supporters, after he wrote about shady activities inside the sect headquarters near Sirsa in his vernacular newspaper 'Poora Sach'.

November 2003: The Punjab and Haryana High Court orders a CBI probe into the rape and sexual exploitation of the Sadhvis by the sect chief.

December 2003: CBI begins investigation into the rape case against the sect chief.

July 2007: CBI files chargesheet against the sect chief in the rape case.

2007-17: Nearly 200 hearings of the rape case take place over 10 years. The sect chief continued to be on bail granted by the trial court (earlier located in Ambala in Haryana).

Petitions filed by the sect chief in High Court and Supreme Court. This leads to delay in case being heard by trial (CBI special court) court.

August 2017: Trial court concludes hearing. Announces August 25 for judgment in the rape and sexual exploitation case. Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh told to be present in the court.
"Please don't look out of that window! I hope they don't come after us and kill us. And don't jump out of windows or the terrace in panic," beseeched a journalist to 15 others holed up on the top floor of HAFED (Haryana State Co-operative Supply and Marketing Federation Limited) building, next to the CBI court in Panchkula where Dera Sacha Sauda leader Gurmeet Ram Rahim was pronounced guilty in a rape case on Friday.

Lakhs of followers of Ram Rahim had come prepared with metal rods, bags full of stones, bricks and petroleum that went unchecked right to the door step of the court. Hours away from New Delhi, they had set up "control rooms" which supplied water, tea, ration, and any kind of assistance the Dera crowds required. All this was done right under the nose of the state administration and the watchful eyes of thousands of security personnel deployed in the small sector 5 of Panchkula.

On the D-Day (when the court verdict in the rape case was to be announced), security forces started closing in on the area around the court from all ends. A six-layer security cover was thrown around using barbed wires and bamboo sticks, enclosing journalists, media vans and Ram Rahim followers who were forming human chains around the women and children they had brought with them.

There were no announcements asking the crowd to disperse nor were any instructions issued to the mediaboth international and domestic, gathered in hundredsto remove themselves from that particular zone.

"It looks like a tinder box waiting to explode," senior colleague and photographer Aayush Goel had remarked a few hours back. A small drone flew above our heads, capturing images of the area. "That is part of the preparation of the administration," a local journalist commented, after he saw me click a photograph.

When the verdict was finally pronounced, for a few minutes which seemed longer than usual, it was dead silence. Slowly, murmurs became audible. The Panchkula Deputy Commissioner Gauri Parashar emerged from the barricaded end of the court to speak to some senior officers. She left in her official vehicle.

The crowd wasn't ready to dispel and their angst was growing, unable to handle the court's decision. Suddenly, we heard some shots. The Haryana police, the first line of defence, fired tear gas shells. Even before the winds could get a whiff, the followers of Ram Rahim had turned into murderous mob-cum-terrorists.

When they ran out of ammunition, they spilled petroleum to blow up nearby cars and outside broadcast (OB) vans of television crews.

We had to run for our life. I was left holding my colleague's bag; he had gone to click pictures minutes before all hell broke loose.

Panchkula had turned into a war zone. Everyone escaped to the closest shelter they could find. We entered HAFED, despite the guards telling us that they did not want the property to be damaged. "Let us save our lives first," we pleaded and ran in.

"Let us find places to hide. If they find us, we will pray in the name of Ram Rahim and expect some mercy. That is the only way out," said a journalist when we reached the top floor. We all agreed, discounting one from Punjab who wanted to confront them and fight it out.

The panicky talks on the dark floor of the government building (where there was no electricity since it was a closed holiday) went on for almost two hours. Each creak, each sound of a shot, every face, reminded us of a death so close that our thoughts kept racing back to our families and children waiting back home.

Black smoke had started billowing from buildings close by, and it looked as though the fire would soon engulf our building. "I am not trying to scare anyone, but if the building catches fire, we are on the top floor," said another journalist, who seemed as if he would burst into tears at any moment. If the thought of the building getting burnt down wasn't enough, what scared us most was the thought of Dera followers laying siege to the building and taking us hostage. How did they treat women? I had my doubts, being the only female journalist in that building.

Dusk was fast approaching. They hated the media; I was sure of that since my first brush with a Dera follower Harjinder Singh, a tall well-built man from Muktsar in Punjab. He had given me enough hints. "You go away from here. The media has done damage to our father's [Ram Rahim] reputation," he had said.

I was aghast that the government had taken absolutely no steps to protect the media from getting caught in the crosshairs of their own unsuccessful security crackdown.

After all, this was no 26/11. This was happening just a hours away from New Delhi, where the entire security brass had failed to assess the situation or decided to turn a blind eye to the days of preparation that went into the makings of the mayhem. The BJP government in Haryana was caught sleeping all the while.

Sample this. DC Gauri Parashar was taking shelter in the same building I was hiding in. She was, of course, being escorted by security personnel who first tried to make her skip from a window before they realised the Dera followers were waiting for them even there. She was then taken out to the next building through another door. Aayush, hiding near Parashar, and knowing he may not get similar assistance, had tried to scale the wall and land inside the building. Somehow, he managed.

But it took hours before any help could arrive. The telephone lines were down. The Dial 100 was unreachable. By then, we had, amongst us, injured CRPF personnel who also wanted to take shelter from the terrorist mob.

Who would save us? I wondered, realising the futility of calling out for help. It took a great deal of hope to wait for the smoke and sounds of fire to settle down. Some additional forces were arriving; help was near.
Narendra Modi government has decided not to withdraw the forces from the Doklam tri-junction under any circumstance.

Though the army has reduced its forces to a great extent, the Union government has asked the defence ministry not to withdraw the force completely and to continue its presence there.

A senior defence ministry officials said that the government directed the defence ministry officials not to say anything regarding the Doklam issue, as only the ministry of external affairs is authorised to make comments.

But a clear instruction is there not to withdraw the force. We will not withdraw come what may,said the official.

The military sources in eastern command confirmed that China is putting intense pressure on the army to withdraw the forces from Doklam completely.

But despite pressure the government is in no mood to withdraw and asked the army to defend the country under any circumstance, said the officer.

Apart from presence of army in Sikkim, the officials said, airforce aircrafts have been deployed at advantageous positions.

"China has aircrafts suitable for higher altitudes, but our military aircrafts are better, as aircrafts for high altitude don't perform efficiently. We can carry maximum ammunition from the sea level and strike any target, the official added.

China on the other hand did not have a favourable geographical position like India has.

When asked about the comment of defence minister about India being different than what it was in 1962, the senior official said, The minister took all these into account while saying this. Yes, today we have shortage of aircrafts, but we are much ahead than before and can retaliate to any attack on us, said the official.
The modern world is ruled by data. Data is the lifeline that not only fuels our decision-making, but also supports the experiences which we have and caters to our day-to-day lives. And the Internet has become the big kahuna of data. Market surveys, competitor analysis and even everyday decisions of a normal human being are driven by the information and data received via social media channels, search engines, blogs etc. Gone are the days when we used to dust out and pore over old files in a dark corner of a library to read age-old information on an age-old topic.

Today, one has all the information that one needs on one's fingertips, quite literally. Have a question? No problem! Just whip out your smartphone and connect to the internet.

With so much exposure to the Internet and, consequently, the exchange of terabytes of data, a common problem that has risen is the security of the exchange. Recently, the world has been plagued by ransomwares and malwares which have brought multinational giants on their knees, for days. Therefore, security is a legitimate concern. What does an individual or a SME or a start-up do when giants falter?

Bill Gates said in a company-wide memo to Microsoft, back in 2002, Users should be in control of how their data is used. Policies for information use should be clear to the user. Users should be in control of when and if they receive information to make best use of their time. It should be easy for users to specify appropriate use of their information including controlling the use of email they send.

Referencing the above, the biggest shield that a company or an individual can use to protect their data is education. The attackers work via more proactive means to to invade your data structureinstead of an infected floppy drive, its an infected email attachment. So, always remember the onus on your safety is on you.

Having pointed out the above, you can be rest assured that the Internet is a more secure and better data storage option than the locker in your office that stores paper files. Not just for protection, it also reduces the time taken to actually perform a task. As an example, the signing of a normal contract on paper using courier takes two to three weeks and the probability of fraud and losing the client or the contract itself is high. Now, if the same contract is signed using Aadhaar-based eSign you can be assured of not just its delivery and protection from fraud, but also that the entire exercise will take only hours.

E-Sign was designed to remove the problems associated with digital signatures in India. Through Aadhaar verification, eSign has become easier now than it was ever before to implement and use a digital signature. Every individual, who has enrolled for Aadhaar, would have provided his or her biometric and demographic information to avail an Aadhaar card. The information provided by Aadhaar holders are stored and secured in a centralised Aadhaar database maintained by the UIDAI. With the security measures adopted by UIDAI, signing a document online an individuals personal information is protected and thus ensures the safety of the people through a digital framework of encryption.

So, protection of your data lies entirely in the hands of a company or an individual. Educate yourself and always use the most secure method of completing a transaction.

Krupesh Bhat is the founder of LegalDesk.com that helps organisations digitise the documentation process using eSign, eStamp and eMandate and provides other data security needs.
At least 12 people, including two attackers, were killed and 23 others were injured in a suicide bombing and subsequent armed assault on a Shia mosque in Kabul on Friday. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack.

A suicide bomber detonated explosives outside Imam Zaman Mosque in Khair Khana neighbourhood at 1.30 pm. Two gunmen then stormed into the mosque as worshippers gathered for afternoon prayers, Xinhua news agency reported.

"We can confirm that 10 people, including five women, were killed and 23 others sustained injuries in the attack," a police official said.

He said the two attackers were killed by police forces and the situation was under control.

The IS group's news outlet Amaq said IS militants had carried out a "commando" attack on the mosque.

Friday's attack is the first major one in Afghanistan since US President Donald Trump on Monday announced his new strategy for the country, which includes sending more US troops.

Trump's announcement was celebrated by Afghan authorities, while the Taliban threatened that Afghanistan would turn into a "graveyard" for US soldiers.
How do you see relations with India?

The relations are very positive and reassuring. Prime Minister Narendra Modi made his first foreign visit to our country. A new beginning was envisioned. Modi has now become a world leader. He can take bold decisions. He has been accepted not only in India but worldwide, be it in the US, Australia or any other country. I always watch him on TV. It is amazing.

What are the challenges facing Bhutans democracy?

We are not an economic power and we dont have much manpower. Our strength is in education. But that education needs to come with value. We dont require many PhDs, but people educated with values. They can make our people happy, which is the yardstick of growth for us.

Dont you need trade to boost your economy?

Yes, we need all round economic development, but not at the cost of national happiness. Our development has to be a balance of the material and the spiritual. And, yes, we need foreign direct investment to boost our economy.

You trade mostly with India.

We are going to change that. India will remain our friend, but we will open the door for others as well. The government is considering reaching out to more countries.

What about China?

Some discussion is going on in the foreign ministry about diplomatic relations with China. We have not had any relations with China yet. The foreign ministry is dealing with it and they would make further comments.

Why is Bhutan silent on the Doklam issue?

National security is our prime concern. We stand by the government on whatever decisions they take to safeguard our national interest. The parliament will intervene only if something goes wrong or needs to be corrected.

What is the solution to the crisis?

We are in favour of a peaceful dialogue. India and China are undertaking a peaceful dialogue. There is no place for chaos in a democracy. Our motto is unity and harmony. Others should also have the same motto. Democracy is about making choices, not misunderstanding.

So you feel there is misunderstanding?

Personally, I feel yes. I think India and China should embrace each other and talk to make peace. Our information is that tension has been diffused for the time being. It should be diffused permanently.
Ex-PM Yingluck Shinawatra flees Thailand

Former Thai PM Yingluck Shinawatra has fled abroad ahead of a verdict in her trial over a rice subsidy scheme on Friday, according to BBC
Engulfed in a string of scandals, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu finds himself facing a growing grassroots protest movement demanding his indictment and removal from office.

Weekly anti-corruption vigils in front of the home of Israels attorney general have gone from a trickle to drawing thousands of people, and the recent arrest of the two main organizers seems to spell stress within Netanyahus circle while further energizing his opponents.

The unlikely duo spearheading the protest effort could not be more different. One used to hobnob in the most exclusive circles of power, while the other is a former maintenance man at the prime ministers residence. Once dismissed as disgruntled fringe characters, Eldad Yaniv and Meni Naftali have together galvanized a movement that has rattled Netanyahus grip on power.

Netanyahu sees our protest as a clear and present danger to his continued rule, and that is why he is trying to harm us, said Yaniv, who was arrested with Naftali last week on their way to a protest.

Our goal is more than just replacing Netanyahu, he said. Its to create a new contract between politicians and the public so that the next prime minister is not investigated by police.

Although the allegations have yet to threaten his lengthy rule, Netanyahu has seen his approval ratings drop amid repeated questions about his conduct and integrity.

One of his closest former aides has become a witness against him, and Netanyahu himself has been questioned under caution in a pair of cases relating to alleged financial misdeeds and illicit ties to executives in media, international business and Hollywood. Police say they suspect Netanyahu of being involved in bribery, fraud and breach of trust. The final decision is in the hands of his attorney general, Avichai Mandelblit.

For now, Netanyahu still has the backing of his ruling Likud Party and key conservative coalition partners, leaving critics pinning their hopes on the attorney generals discretion to indict.

What began as a gathering of a handful of good governance activists outside Mandelblits home has now, in its 40th week, swelled into a powerful display of flag-waving Israelis each Saturday night that has drawn heavy media coverage, sparked pro-Netanyahu protests and unnerved police.

Last weekend, police pre-emptively arrested Yaniv and Naftali for allegedly soliciting an illegal demonstration, detaining them overnight before a court freed them amid scathing criticism of police. Israels Supreme Court said Thursday the protests could continue but would be limited to 500 people, and it barred the use of loudspeakers in the residential area.

Yaniv, a lawyer, was a close aide to then-Prime Minister Ehud Barak but became disenchanted with the political system and turned into an anti-corruption crusader. He frequently speaks out against the influence of lobbyists, big business and the banks.

Yaniv says his arrest was an attempt to quash a symbol of resistance and was ordered from above  a charge police denied.

This protest began because of Netanyahus corruption investigations, but they are just a trigger to a far larger problem  the unfathomable corruption of our leadership, he said, citing a former prime minister, president and several ministers and mayors who have served time for crimes in office.

Naftali is a former custodian at the prime ministers residence, and an Israeli court has ruled he was abused and mistreated by Sara Netanyahu. He said it has become his mission to unmask the misdeeds of Israels first family. Since his dismissal, he maintains that authorities have been hounding him by taking away his gun license, for instance, and thus hurting his livelihood as a security guard.

I am a victim of institutional corruption. People see what was done to me. This is about proper governance, said Naftali, who now works as a handyman. The trust with the state has been broken.

Netanyahu has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and called the accusations against him a witch hunt orchestrated by a hostile media. He has dismissed the suspicions as background noise, vowed to stay in office for years to come and recently held a boisterous rally in Tel Aviv where he criticized the media to hundreds of cheering supporters.

Israel law says the prime minister can only be removed by parliament, though the Supreme Court has since ruled that government ministers and mayors had to resign if indicted.

On the other hand, Israels justice minister has said the prime minister is not compelled to do so. But should the attorney general issue an indictment, there will be a legal challenge and public pressure for him to step aside. The weekly protests are ostensibly aimed at encouraging an indictment.

Netanyahu has escaped scandals before linked to his and his wifes expensive tastes and use of public funds, but the latest accusations appear to pose his stiffest challenge yet.

One investigation, dubbed File 1000 by police, reportedly concerns allegations he improperly accepted lavish gifts from wealthy supporters, including Australian billionaire James Packer and Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan.

A second investigation, File 2000, reportedly concerns Netanyahus alleged attempts to strike a deal with publisher Arnon Mozes of the Yediot Ahronot newspaper group to promote legislation to weaken Yediots main competitor in exchange for more favorable coverage.

And a probe called File 3000 relates to a possible conflict of interest involving the purchase of German submarines, in which Netanyahus cousin and personal attorney represented the German firm involved.

Raviv Drucker, an investigative journalist who exposed the final affair, said the cases have damaged Netanyahus image but not endangered his rule. Barring any unforeseen developments, Drucker predicted Netanyahu was safe politically for at least the next year, since none of his allies had any interest in seeing the government fall.

The legal picture has to change for that to happen, he said. If it reaches a whole new threshold in which they will feel damaged by the association with him, then he could fall.

(AP)
Jowl play: Peter Crook is a member of the FCA's advisory panel

News that Provident Financial's ousted chief executive Peter Crook is a member of the Financial Conduct Authority's advisory panel, even though the watchdog has been investigating its credit card arm for some time, surprisingly fails to raise eyebrows at the FCA.

My swamped FCA source sighs: 'These days, if we only selected advisers whose firms we weren't investigating, it'd be pretty slim pickings I assure you.'

Shares in preppy fashion label Abercrombie & Fitch yesterday leapt 4pc after it reported quarterly losses of 12million.

That'll set moustaches eagerly twitching among pin-striped traditionalists on Savile Row, where Abercrombie's flagship UK branch is based.

They're desperate to see the back of the declasse, all-American firm, whose shirtless male models and heavily perfumed emporiums attract a tawdrier clientele to the Row.

JP Morgan's Frankfurt offices are advertising for an executive assistant in its mergers and acquisitions department, to cover a period of maternity leave lasting two years.

This is because of Germany's ultra-generous system which allows an employee parental leave until a child turns three.

Three! With banks threatening to decamp to Frankfurt from the City post-Brexit, is it necessarily the land of milk and honey they'd have us believe?

US Treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin's glossy, Scots-born wife Louise, 36, is said to be persona non grata in the fashion world, after posting a photo of herself on Instagram on a government plane while flaunting her designer smocks.

A 'fashion insider' tells the New York Post: 'Louise won't be invited to Fashion Week or the big galas.

And she certainly won't be appearing in Vogue.' The indignity!

Proof that cost-cutting British Airways really is morphing into Ryanair  a recent passenger informs this week's Spectator magazine of being told to pay double after ordering a strong cup of tea, as the airline now charges by the teabag.

Listen carefully, you can almost hear BA's late, buccaneering saviour Lord King turning in his grave.
Gorkhaland protest: Nepali man released on bail

Udayhang Fago, a Nepali man arrested by Siliguri police on the charge of inciting violence in the restive Darjeeling district of West Bengal state, India, was released on bail on Thursday.
Britain's biggest energy providers are seeking approval to hollow out mountains to keep the lights on in the UK.

Companies want to develop pumped storage technology, which allows energy suppliers to keep power in reserve should demand suddenly soar.

Water is pumped from a lake up a mountain where it is held in a reservoir behind a dam. Then, when homes need extra power, it is released.

As it plummets down the mountain it generates power.

Hollow mountain: The Cruachan reservoir and dam can power more than 225,000 homes

There are four of these pumped storage stations in the UK  two in Scotland and two in Wales  but power companies want more.

The hurdle is finding hills, lakes and the space to house them. They are also very expensive.

Building one today would cost hundreds of millions of pounds. But energy giants such as Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) and Scottish Power, owned by Spanish firm Iberdrola, believe they are the future.

Scottish Power is looking to spend 400million expanding one of its stations, Cruachan in the Scottish Highlands, by building more generators or increasing the size of the reservoir and building a bigger dam.

HOW THE POWER IS GENERATED Ben Cruachan, the 3,694-foot tall Munro in the Scottish Highlands, is known as The Hollow Mountain. In one of the greatest engineering feats in the country, a vast cavern has been dug in to its centre. Inside are 15 miles of tunnels and long, snaking pipelines. The mountain works like a giant battery. Water from Loch Awe is pumped 396 metres up the mountain in hidden pipes to a man-made reservoir near the summit. The water sits there, behind a giant dam, until National Grid is asked to produce more electricity to cope with demand. At this point the water is released through gates at the foot of the lake. It crashes down the mountain through a series of pipes and turbines which create enough energy to start Cruachan's generators and so provide the National Grid with the extra electricity it needs.

But it wants a guarantee that the investment will be worthwhile and is in talks with the Government on how to do this.

Ross Galbraith, station manager and head of UK hydro for Scottish Power, said: 'Pump storage is extremely reliable and flexible. With more support from the Government we believe this could be the renaissance for this type of technology.'

The Government this year gave Snowdonia Pumped Hydro the go-ahead to build a new 160million hydro storage scheme in Glyn Rhonwy in North Wales.

The firm will turn two abandoned slate quarries into reservoirs in what will be the UK's first new grid-scale power storage facility in over 30 years.

SSE has also secured permission to build a new 600MW pumped storage station at Coire Glas near Loch Lochy in the Great Glen. It now wants backing to increase capacity to 1,500MW.

The firm has said the project would boost the UK's capacity but that it's unlikely to happen soon as it is 'commercially and regulatory challenged'  the estimated cost is 800million.

It was also announced in recent weeks that the Ffestiniog hydropower station in Snowdonia, North Wales, will undergo a 50million refurbishment to extend its life by 20 years. It is run by First Hydro Company, part of the Engie Group.

A Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy spokesman said: 'The Government recognises the potential for storage technologies, which is why we have worked with other organisations to invest more than 80million in research and development since 2012, and are seeking to remove barriers to the industry.'
Insider dealing: Petrofac boss Ayman Asfari

Troubled oil services provider Petrofac has been embroiled in further scandal with its chief executive fined for insider dealing.

Embattled boss Ayman Asfari, 59, a Tory donor and government business ambassador, has been fined 276,000, banned from heading Italian companies and issued a property confiscation order worth 345,000.

Authorities concluded Asfari traded securities in a company after getting information from an executive, Petrofac said.

He disputes the findings and has pledged to fight his case.

Petrofac is under investigation by the Serious Fraud Office for suspected corruption as part of a probe into engineering firm Unaoil.
Shares in Dixons Carphone plummeted by nearly 25 per cent as investors were rocked by another shock profits warning from a top British firm.

The parent of Carphone Warehouse and Dixons yesterday said earnings could fall this year by as much as 141million  blaming a sales slowdown on a string of lacklustre upgrades to best-selling handsets such as Apple's iPhone.

It was the third major company to see its shares tank this week, with a profits scare sending Provident Financial into free fall on Tuesday and WPP tumbling on Wednesday after weak sales.

Dixons Carphone boss Seb James said the retailer's customers were holding on to older phones instead of buying newer, more expensive models because they did not offer enough extra features or value for money.

Slowdown: Disappointing sales of Apple's iPhone 7 have hurt Dixons Carphone

Many people are now waiting 29 months for an upgrade  up from 23 months previously  and the trend was likely to persist, he said.

Referring to disappointing sales of the most recent iPhone, James said: 'The Apple base more or less rejected the iPhone 7.

'We have many customers holding on to the iPhone 6S even if the battery is on its last leg.

'Handsets have become more expensive whilst technical innovation has been more incremental.'

Analysts bemoaned 'a cocktail of bad news' from the company as shares fell 23.2 per cent, or 54.5p, to 180.8p.

The slump wiped 73.4million off the value of founder Sir Charles Dunstone's holding, although his shares are still worth 243.6million.

Dixons Carphone is now pinning its hopes of a sales revival on the iPhone 8. The phone is expected to be unveiled next month and analysts have predicted new features  such as wireless charging, an improved screen and facial recognition  could make it a game-changer.

James said: 'We are anticipating the iPhone 8 launch will be much better. We think it is a better phone and we will see our customer base returning.'

In its unexpected trading update, Dixons Carphone warned profits this year would be between 360million and 440million, down from 501million in 2016, due to the tough conditions in the UK market, the weak pound and a shake-up of its services division.

It also said the European Union's decision to scrap roaming charges would cost it between 10million and 40million this year.

Nicholas Hyett, an equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said the update was a 'cocktail of bad news'.

He added: 'Currency movements will have made new phones more expensive but since the same should be true in the electronics business, which is faring well, we suspect the lack of significant innovation in recent models is a bigger problem.

'Unfortunately that's not something Carphone Warehouse can do a great deal about. The forthcoming generation of Samsung Galaxy and iPhone handsets claim to make big steps forward, but recent history hasn't delivered much that's revolutionary.'

The company would have to hope Apple would unveil 'something big' next month, he added.

Accendo Markets research analyst Henry Croft said: 'With no significant upgrade needed to access amenities such as 4G, and software updates freely available to older models, consumers are holding on to phones for longer.

'Far from being the high-growth market mobile phone retailers once found themselves in, the need for reinvigoration across both manufacturing and retailing has provided its latest victim.'
The heir to mobile phone behemoth Samsung has been jailed for five years for corruption following a scandal that gripped South Korea.

Vice-chairman Lee Jae-Yong was found guilty of bribery, perjury and embezzlement in the landmark case dubbed the trial of the century.

The huge investigation, which saw prosecutors square up to the power of South Koreas mighty conglomerates and the state, triggered the impeachment of the countrys president Park Geun-Hye, who is now on trial herself.

Behind bars: Samsung vice-chairman Lee Jae-Yong was found guilty of bribery, perjury and embezzlement

The court found Lee paid 30m to a close friend of Park in exchange for business support.

The bribes meant the state backed a merger between two parts of Samsung, which allowed Lee to shore up his position at the company but may have harmed shareholders interests. His lawyers are appealing against the verdict.

Fellow Samsung executives Jang Choong-Ki and Choi Gee-sung were also convicted and face four years in prison each.

It throws into chaos plans for Lee to take over from his father, chairman Lee Kun-Hee, unable to work since a 2014 heart attack. Despite the meltdown, profits at the nations biggest business have been booming.

It pocketed 7.7bn in the second quarter of 2017, snatching Apples crown as the worlds most lucrative tech firm.

The company has also battled back from its disaster over the Galaxy Note 7 phone, which had a tendency to explode, forcing Samsung to withdraw it.
IB to expand life insurance services

The Insurance Board (IB) plans to expand life insurance services to 15 percent of the countrys population from the existing 8 percent in the next two years.
India hails local polls, wishes for statute implementation

Expressing his happiness at the holding of two phases of local level elections in Nepal, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has advised Nepal to focus on implementation of the constitution in consultation with various sections of the Nepali society.
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By Naeisha Rose

Women are better coders, but are less likely than their male counterparts to get a job in a STEM field without connections, according to a peer-reviewed study conducted by PeerJ in February 2016.

When women sent out coding suggestions to organizations they had no ties with and their gender was not revealed, their proposals were accepted more frequently than those by men. But as they made the same inquiries to similar institutions and revealed their gender, they were hired less, according to the scientific research journal.

In 2016, women made up only 27 percent of computer science professionals, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Hoping to close that gap is Reshma Saujani, the CEO of and Founder of Girls Who Code, an organization working to help usher young women into the field of coding.

In collaboration with AT&T, Girls Who Code donated 800 non-fiction computer science and coding books, published by Penguin, to Central Library located at 89-11 Merrick Blvd. in Jamaica.

Girls Who Code: Learn to Code and Change the World is the first of 13 books in a series of nonfiction and fiction books produced by the organization.

Saujani became inspired about introducing young girls to coding after visiting schools while running for Congress in 2010, and again later for the city public advocates seat in 2013. Although she did not win those elections, she did gain perspective when she saw almost no girls in STEM classes.

Im passionate about this issue because this is about opportunity, Saujani told a news conference at the Central Library, where the books were being given out.. This is all about jobs.

As the daughter of Ugandan refugees who came to the United States in the 1970s, going to the library and having a great education was something the Yale graduates parents instilled in her. Now, its what she wants to impart to young women who may have an interest in coding, but think they cant achieve it because the field is portrayed as a boys only club.

No matter how tired my father was, he always took me to the library to learn, said Saujani, the first Indian-American woman to run for Congress. Their resilience is why I am here today.

During the press conference for the book that was released Tuesday, Amina Grant, 17, from Hollis picked up a copy.

I heard what she said, and while Im not typically a computer girl, I have friends who are into computer science, Amina said. Im not familiar with the topic, but why not see whats it about?

Marissa Shorenstein, the AT&T East President, was glad to be at the book launch at the library.

I thought this would be a great opportunity for AT&T to help young women specifically in STEM fields, Shorenstein said. They might be eligible for jobs at a company like AT&T, and one of the things we struggle with is to ensure diversity in those areas of our business.

Dennis Walcott, the president of Queens Library, believes the Central branch was the perfect place to launch the book.

One of the key things about me is spreading the word, Walcott said. We have 11 million people who walk through our doors every year.

Far too many girls and young women are not getting a chance at technical skills and at building and creating things, Saujani said. I hope they pick up this book and say this is cool, and I want to learn more. 
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By Bill Parry

The $126 million Downtown Far Rockaway rezoning project moved a step closer to approval Monday after the City Councils Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises voted unanimously in favor of the plan, 5-0.

City Councilman Donovan Richards (D-Laurelton), the chairman of the subcommittee and representative of the Far Rockaway community, said the project will address land use and zoning, economic development, housing, transportation, public space, community services and culture.

Today, we begin the journey of building on the progress we have made over the past four years by infusing hundreds of millions of dollars into infrastructure, quality jobs, parks streetscape, transit improvements, and both community facility and open space, Richards said. These investments will ensure that Far Rockaway benefits from the amenities that so many other communities in the city enjoy.

If the plan is approved by the City Council Sept. 7, as expected, the project will be the neighborhoods first re-zoning since 1961, which will activate long-underutilized properties and create more than 3,000 residential units, over half of which will be affordable. It will also lay the groundwork for 250,000 square feet of commercial space, 86,000 square feet of community facility space, and 30,000 square feet of open space. The projects momentum is the culmination of nearly two years of community meetings and planning and if passed it will be the first Housing New York rezoning to get the City Councils blessing since East New York.

Through this plan, Downtown Far Rockaway is finally getting the investment it deserves, with new jobs and mixed-income housing, open space and community facilities, city Economic Development Corporation President and CEO James Patchett said. We are proud to have collaborated with Council member Richards and community leaders to develop a vision for a more vibrant and equitable Downtown Far Rockaway, and to now make that vision a reality.

The neighborhood revitalization plan includes a $77 million investment by the city for sewer infrastructure improvement, sidewalk expansion, public plazas and the DOT has committed to conducting follow-up traffic studies and making the necessary improvements to the 23-block area so it can adequately handle new traffic that will be generated by incoming residents to the area.

Richards said the lack of city investment for nearly 40 years had created cynicism about government, and a life of hopelessness for young men and women, where limited options to educational programming and jobs created a conduit straight into the prison industrial complex.

This is why todays agreement to rezone Downtown Far Rockaway is much bigger than just the words density, bulk and height. This rezoning gauges and rectifies the compounding issues that have plagued this community for decades, Richards said. Today Im happy to say its a new day for Far Rockaway.
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By Bill Parry

The battle between two Democratic candidates heading to the Sept. 12 primary to fill the District 21 seat that will be vacated by the retiring City Councilwoman Julissa Ferreras-Copeland (D-East Elmhurst) has moved from jabs to fierce body blows.

Former City Councilman Hiram Monserrate, who is running for his old job after convictions for assault and corruption, accused his opponent, state Assemblyman Francisco Moya, of avoiding open debate because he is allegedly living outside the district in a Long Island City penthouse. District 21 covers Corona, East Elmhurst and part of Jackson Heights. Monserrate made the charges Wednesday outside a luxury apartment building at 26-26 Jackson Ave., where Moya owns a penthouse unit.

Moya has a history of ducking debates. He has done so in the past and hes doing it again in this race, Monserrate said. Why is Moya hiding? Because hes been lying to the community for years. Moya has engaged in outward fraud. The voters deserved better than this. If he cant be honest on where he lives, what else can Moya be lying about.

Monserrate did not offer any concrete proof that Moya is living at 26-26 Jackson Ave. other than saying, people have seen him here. He filed a formal complaint against Moya at the City Campaign Finance Board and the state Joint Commission on Public Ethics.

His campaign handed out photocopies of a JCOPE response stating a review is currently underway.

Moyas campaign responded with a series of gut punches calling the charge the disgraced lawmakers latest hyperbolic, false claims. The accusation comes on the heels of the Monserrate camps failure to secure publicly funded matching campaign funds, something that Moyas campaign secured. A spokesman said the apartment was purchased by Moya when he was in the private sector in 2009 and in 2010 his bank issued new mortgage terms permitting the use of the property as a rental.

In April 2010, Moya signed a contract and became co-owner with his father of a Corona home on 46th Avenue. Available records from the city Department of Finance and Buildings as well as Moyas voting record and well-documented public service easily refute the claim, according to the Moya campaign.

Nothing he says about me or about my record in the Assembly bears any resemblance to the truth, Moya said. These are just the sad ramblings of a deeply disturbed man with a well-documented history of violence, theft and public corruption.

Meanwhile, Ferreras-Copeland endorsed Moya Wednesday, declaring him the best-suited to continue her progressive legacy in the City Council. Ferreras-Copeland stunned observers when she decided not to seek re-election so she could move to Maryland, where her husband works, and spend more time with her family.

One of the hardest things about leaving the City Council is making sure our hard-fought accomplishments are not diminished, she said. At a time when Queens families need affordable housing, wage and job protections, and meaningful criminal reform, we need our next Council member to be ready to pick up the fight. That is why I am endorsing Francisco Moya, who has spent his life improving our community and passing progressive legislation in Albany. I know that as our next Council member, Francisco Moya is committed to continue the fight on behalf of seniors and working families in the 21st District, and carry on with my work in the Council.

When asked about the endorsement, Monserrate was brief, before ending his press conference.

That doesnt surprise me. The political class is working tirelessly, but Julissa Ferreras from what I understand shares in her desire to live in other places, too, and I wish her well in Maryland, he said.
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By Mark Hallum

With so much attention from the state concerning the citys subways, a number of state Assembly members formed a coalition to call on MTA Chairman Joe Lhota to shift focus to improve bus service for residents in transit deserts such as northeast Queens.

Assemblywoman Nily Rozic (D-Fresh Meadows) delivered remarks at a Monday press conference in Manhattan, backing a letter asking Lhota to include bus improvements in his plans to address the subway crisis. Written by Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz (D-Bronx) and signed by 45 members of the Legislature, the letter asks for the acceleration of improvements to bus routes, equipment and technology.

As a representative of a district in Queens that does not have a single subway or train station, I know how challenging it can be to get around the borough and connect to other parts of the city when bus service is infrequent and unreliable, she said. Any proposal intended to improve the status of our transit system should not neglect the value of quality bus service and the difference it makes in neighborhoods that lack access to an expansive network of transit options.

The letter called for the implementation of transit signal priority to increase the overall speed at which buses can travel, while decreasing the amount of time buses idle at stops with all-door boarding technology to allow commuters to swipe MetroCards on the curb and board from multiple entrances as well as a re-examination of bus routes, special lanes and bus islands.

Dinowitz pointed out that 2.5 million New Yorkers use buses every day, particularly riders with accessbility needs and those who live in the outer boroughs far from public transit.

I want to make sure that the concerns of all New Yorkers are heard, even if they dont get the same amount of media attention, he said. Transit signal priority and all-door boarding are no brainer changes that could reduce bus travel times by 25 percent for minimal investment. Lets not delay any more and bring our bus system into the 21st century.

The city Department of Transportation said it would expand the use of transit signal priority, but not until 2020, a press release from Dinowitz office said.

The Summer of Hell has made the dire state of the subway obvious, but thats just one part of the public transit meltdown riders face. Buses have been in a state of slow-motion crisis for years, said Nick Sifuentes, deputy director of the Riders Alliance. Fortunately, we know our state and city elected officials can fix bus service for millions of daily riders and do it quickly and for a fraction of the cost to repair our subway system.

The citys Select Bus Service has seen an increase in ridership of 30 percent after implementing all-door boarding technology, which reduced travel time by up to 15 percent, the release said.

Amidst New York Citys current transit crisis, the need for better bus service cannot be ignored, said Jaqi Cohen, campaign coordinator for the Straphangers Campaign. Slow buses, circuitous routes, and unreliable service have caused bus riders years of misery. The time is now for the MTA to expedite a plan to turn around bus service for the millions of riders who depend on it.

After riders experienced systemwide infrastructure meltdowns, Gov. Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency in late June for the citys subways to expedite upgrades to signals and trains while pouring an extra $1 billion into the MTAs capital funds.

This coincided with what Cuomo dubbed the summer of hell, a period of eight weeks in which Penn Station would undergo major upgrades to infrastructure and service in the nations largest transit hub would be reduced by 20 percent.

Amtrak, which owns Penn Station, admitted that its agency had known about the decline of infrastructure for years and the displacement of people from reduced service on the LIRR was expected to impact the subways.

But the LIRR reported a relatively minor dip in ridership in the first two weeks of the Summer of Hell, according to transit officials at a July 26 MTA board meeting. LIRR President Patrick Nowakowski presented figures, which showed a drop of about 11,000 riders through Penn Station, compared to the baseline of 86,000 during the morning peak hour on Week Two. Evening peak hour through the transit hub only saw a decline of about 4,000 commuters.

Lhota unveiled in July his short-term plan to repair the citys failing subway system and restore riders confidence in public transit, a proposal which includes transforming how the transit system operates in the immediate future. It will target problem infrastructure and garbage, and increase staff and customer communication.
Japan hands over emergency relief to Nepal

Japanese government has provided emergency relief goods worth of Rs. 23.4 millions to Nepal as a support to the recent flood that affected the Tarai region.
Did you vote in the midterm elections as if your countrys existence depended on it?

columns
Judgment enforcement body in dock

A panel formed to review implementation of the agreements reached with Dr Govinda KC has raised questions over the role of the Judgment Execution Directorate of the Supreme Court in the Kathmandu National Medical College, Ghattekulo, getting affiliation from the Tribhuvan University.
New York

In the name of convenience, Amazon and Walmart are pushing people to shop by just talking to a digital assistant.

Shopping by voice means giving orders to the Alexa assistant on Amazon's Echo speaker and other devices, even if your hands are tied up with dinner or dirty diapers. And next month, Walmart will start offering voice shopping , too, with the Google Assistant on the rival Home speaker.

Such voice shopping hasn't really caught on yet, but if it does, look out  you might never know if it's offering you the best deal. Because these devices can't say much without tiring your ears, voice shopping precludes some of the savvy shopping practices you may have relied on to find the best bargains  in particular, researching products and comparing prices.

You'd be leaving much of the buying decision to Amazon, Walmart or other retailers.

Amazon has had more than a year's head start, and dominates voice shopping. Google introduced shopping to Home in February, letting people order essentials from more than 40 retailers like Target and Costco under its Google Express program. Its partnership with Walmart means hundreds of thousands of items will be available in late September.

With websites and apps, many customers place items in the cart, but change their minds before completing the order, said Lauren Beitelspacher, a marketing professor at Babson College in Massachusetts. Voice shopping eliminates those intervening steps.

And with Amazon so far ahead, voice shopping with Alexa is another way of getting you hooked on Amazon Although Amazon allows some third-party ordering through Alexa, including pizza from Domino's and hotels through Kayak, general shopping is limited to Amazon's own store. If Alexa orders diapers for you just as you run out, for instance, Amazon locks in the order before you have a chance to visit Walmart.

"You can't get away from Amazon," Beitelspacher said. "I don't know if gimmick is the right word, but (voice shopping) is part of a strategy to be omnipresent in consumers' lives."

Ask Alexa to buy something, and it presents you with something you've bought before or an educated guess based on some undisclosed mix of price, satisfaction rating and shipping time. Amazon won't provide more details. You can get a product's average customer-satisfaction rating, but not specific reviews, even on screen-equipped Echo Show devices.

Brian Elliott, general manager of Google Express, says with most affiliated retailers, personalization occurs as the assistant learns shoppers' preferences, but the integration with Walmart will happen more quickly.

In some ways, shopping by voice assistant is a throwback to the days when you were largely limited to what sales representatives recommended at a store.

Amazon's website gives you a lot of information about most products, from color options and sizes to the specific reasons other customers hated a product you're considering. You're able to compare similar items and choose something cheaper if you're willing to sacrifice some features or take a chance on an unknown manufacturer. And, of course, you can also compare Amazon's prices with those of other online merchants.

But with Amazon's voice shopping, it's back to what the company's representative recommends. Alexa can handle only a portion of Amazon's full catalog, and its interactions with shoppers are constrained by the fact that listening and speaking can be a lot slower than reading and clicking.
Duanesburg

A Pennsylvania-based renewable energy company is planning a 2.5-megawatt solar array on vacant farmland that could produce enough electricity for about 1,500 customers.

RER Energy Group, of Reading, wants to construct the 15-acre facility on about 81 acres on Duanesburg Road, near Youngs and Gage roads. It would employ more than 8,200 southerly-facing solar panels.

Electricity from the project will be fed into the National Grid electrical network. Under community solar farm systems, people who buy into an array receive a credit toward their monthly utility bill.

This spring, the company opened a 4.1-megawatt solar farm for the city of Canandaigua, in Ontario County, that earned the city an award from the New York Conference of Mayors.

With more than 12,000 panels, that array is expected to save the citye $3.5 million in electricity costs during the next 25 years. It will provide enough energy to run City Hall, the police station, fire stations and other city-owned buildings.

Recently, the Duanesburg Town Planning Board voted that the local project would have no significant adverse environmental impact under the state Environmental Quality Review Act.

A study of glare from the array found that the array "presents no material glare risk to the community, neighboring viewsheds or roadway," according to town planning documents.

RER was founded in 2009 and in 2016 installed more than 9 megawatts of solar projects, according to company CEO James Kurtz.

Since its founding, the company has developed more than 40 megawatts of solar energy in New York, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, obtaining over $30 million in grant proceeds for commercial, industrial, agricultural, municipal, and non-profit customers.

That includes a 1.9-megawatt system that provides electricity for about 1,200 customers in Cedar Falls, Iowa. It is the largest community solar system in the state.

There, customers who purchased units receive a monthly credit on their electric bills for 20 years based on the output from the array.

In New York, RER also developed a 93-kilowatt solar carport array for the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Ranch, Woodbourne, Sullivan County.
The May opening of Forged was marked with such euphoria that the Albany Business Review even featured it among gustatory reasons to move to Albany. Suddenly, everyone was plugging Hudson Falls into their GPS. It's always awkward landing on the opposite side of a crowd fussing over a new restaurant with a talented young chef. There will be fist-shaking indignation at the nerve of a critic to be, uh, critical, as if words will burst the dream-fueled bubble, so I spend a long time parsing the output of a feverishly scratch kitchen, find reason for sweet wine-based cocktails, and look for the bright side of pretty plates that desperately underwhelm.

It's also awkward knowing the love and toil behind time-consuming ingredients: fermented vinegars, 7-year-old sourdough starter, a perfect kefir-cultured butter that doesn't lapse into blue-cheese funkiness, carefully grown herbs, black volcanic salt (always striking), mushrooms and candied limes powdered to fairy dust for sprinkling here and there.

More Information Forged 122 Main St. Hudson Falls Phone: 518-565-0122 Web: www.forgedhf2.wixsite.com/forged Reservations: Recommended. Credit cards: All major. Hours: 4 to 9 p.m. Monday to Wednesday, 4 to 9:30 p.m. Thursday, 4 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, closed Sunday. Parking: Three rear parking lots. Disabled access: No. (Stairs at the front and back entrances, although once inside everything is on one level. There is talk of adding a disabled ramp.) Attire: Casual/smart casual. Prices: Small plates, $5 to $18; salads, $11 to $12; mains (with half and full portions), $14 to $25; desserts, $6 to $10. Gastropub menu has burgers, sandwiches and daily pizza, $12 to $14. Both menus available in the gastropub. Chef's Kitchen Table available Thursday to Saturday, up to four people, $60 per person. Food: (**) Scratch-driven, locally sourced ingredients creatively interpreted in New American cuisine with a strong focus on vegan and gluten-free options. Beautiful plates, largely underwhelming. Quality proteins fare best. Beverage: (**) Wine cocktails, $8; local brews and draft beers, $5 to $8; wine list heavily skewed to reds, mostly European and some New York. Coravin system allows tasting pours ($3 to $4) of pricier vintage wines. Vintage wines: By the bottle, $60 to $100; by the glass, $11 to $20. Wine list: By the bottle, $27 to $60; by the glass, $6 to $10. Service: (*1/2) Pleasant table delivery. Minimal menu knowledge or server skill. Ambiance: (***) Casual and comfortable. Cozy bar and small gastropub with wall-mounted TV screens and a mix of couples and families. Empty, dimly lit dining room should be lovely when busy. Personality: (***) Wonderful 1873 courthouse (in use until 1997) with all original features from tiles to balustrade stairs. Beautiful use of historic space. Overall Rating: ** See More Collapse

Three of us, from points north and south, drive an hour to the former courthouse where Forged has made its home. Three miles from Glens Falls, Hudson Falls is a pretty little town, and the imposing courthouse anchors the center with grand stone steps and heavy wooden doors befitting its solemn roots. Old jail cells are now a walk-in cooler and dry storage; a local church rents the courtroom upstairs. Forged has a cozy bar on one side that opens into a gastropub, and on the other side of a polished central corridor (where partner farms are listed on reclaimed windowpanes) is a plain dining room, with black tablecloths and exposed brick walls, that probably looks lovely candlelit on busier nights. Massive original swing-out windows with copper vents, tiled walls and paneled doors are gorgeous original fixtures. Gracefully worn, it has undeniable appeal.

Forged is owned by a husband-and-wife team, Christina and A.J. Richards; the latter is a self-taught certified executive chef and former executive chef of the Henry Street Taproom in Saratoga Springs, whose philosophy is to constantly learn, evolve and push boundaries with experimental creativity and local ingredients. It's admirable and self-indulgent, a cross between undimmed youthful enthusiasm and Marco Pierre White arrogance. Consider the curry ice cream or spicy Sriracha-chocolate, a chilly riff on Mexican hot chocolate; or the crushed Fritos added in a stroke of '90s genius. Or the chef's bio: "Chef believes good food is a fundamental human right and constantly works to push himself and his team to the edge." You can unpack the human rights claim over dinner. The black bean brownie with tofu ganache ($9) certainly pushes me to the edge, with its constipated scat of solid black beans and oats, and dribbly coconut milk "whipped cream" with an empty taste of melted ice.

Service is largely transportation. Our "small plates"  ordered, as the menu intends, for a cross section of tastes and creative skills  hit our table in one uncontainable onslaught. Three staff each have two plates, yet none can figure out how to make it fit. A server has at least some control overflow, like a school safety officer helping kindergartners cross the road, perhaps suggesting two go together, or making the rest wait until the coast is clear. We twice requested the house sourdough bread first, but the loaf (a torn half is $5, though utterly delicious with cultured butter) lands with everything else.

Vegan escabeche ($12), sold for one, is an awkwardly sized sharing board. Our waitress jabs a finger too close to each item, identifying sliced apples and raspberries (yep, got those) and hazarding other guesses. What's described as "pickled green beans" are garlic scapes. Quenelles of coarse-grain mustard, fig jam and a finely diced mushroom pate are all fine. Escabeche-pickled beet, garlic, zucchini, peppers, curried cauliflower and dreadful spongy eggplant merge into a uniform, vinegary thrum. This plate isn't about pleasure. It's a proving ground of kitchen skill over diner interest. I know scratch condiments and pickles are currently up there as a hallowed art, but I'm not trading stars for mustard.

In brighter moments, pale marrow bones ($10) are crisscrossed Jolly Roger-style on a black plate, and later we fall over a cardamom olive oil cake with chiffonade basil and Vermouth cream, forgiving the rock hard "port-poached pear" pale enough to suggest only the briefest encounter with port. We topple an ahi tuna crudo tower ($14, mid-1980s styling), pushing little cubes into sticky ponzu, chewing on leathery bacon nubs and burning our nasal cavity lining when we mistake thickly sheared pickled ginger for a sort of crisp. I can't find the candied lime dust, probably because my tongue is numb.

So when our server spoons "frozen red-wine vinegar" over grilled romaine heart with frico, sweet corn and almonds ($11), we're not analyzing Richards' composition of sweet/salt/crunch/heat as much as riding out an acid trip. I love the idea of a granita-style dressing, but 30 seconds later this is melted straight vinegar powerful enough to strip paint.

There are cheffy flourishes, purees and infusions. No one should doubt Richards' skill. We knew from glossy photos that "not sheila's tuna noodle casserole" ($25) would be deconstructed with a glossy squid ink tuile de pain noir as delicate as a lace fascinator at the track, and seared slabs of jam-colored tuna as thick as a man's hand. But a swirl of rice noodles in mushroom stock as pepless as dingy dishwater is studded with mealy, shelled peas (the kind you can tell from anemic, bumpy shells) in a fatal loss of seasonal brightness. Beautiful on Instagram, boring on the tongue.

Our boredom continues. A tender, rare New York strip steak is disconnected from sliced fingerling potatoes too tough for a fork to pierce, some mushrooms and green beans. No jus, no fermented condiment, the plate as dry as the temperance movement. My charred-to-ashes salt-roasted trout (not salt-encrusted, as I had excitedly thought) is another looker with bright yellow spots of sweet-corn puree, crunchy puffed black rice and dry cubes of turnip, onion and eggplant in an unrecognizable redefinition of succotash. The bartender relieves our floundering server to advise us on wine with information like, "The rioja is good, it's from Spain." Chef is training to be a sommelier, we're told, "which is why there are only reds" among the fine vintage wines, and whites by the glass are few and cheap. But I want a white and accept an undrinkable $8 chardonnay (either off or unspeakably bad) that jars horrifically with the smoky fish. If you order the trout, skip the Starmont.

It turns out the wine cocktails are creatures of necessity. Forged's close proximity to a church restricts it to a wine-and-beer license, forcing unholy unions like a "mojito" of sauvignon blanc and simple syrup, and a citrus "margarita" subbing pinot gris for tequila. Give these people a liquor license, for God's sake. At least the cucumber and mint leaves are fresh.

Hooray for the partner local farms, the courthouse history, reasonable prices, talent and ambition. It takes gumption to cold-call Alinea in Chicago and get a monthlong stay, as Richards did. His bio mentions the "Chef's Table" series on Netflix, which I take as a sign of the problem: Over-reliance on media-friendly visuals and food as eye-candy trampling over taste. Locals seem to like it. But just because it's pretty doesn't make it great.

Dinner for three  including five small plates, a salad, two full mains, two desserts and six drinks  came to a reasonable $217.90.

Susie Davidson Powell is a British freelance food writer in upstate New York. Follow her on Twitter, @SusieDP. To comment on this review, visit the Table Hopping blog, blog.timesunion.com/tablehopping.
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Prattsville

State and federal law enforcement authorities have launched a criminal investigation that's examining the town of Prattsville's use of more than $5 million in government aid that flowed into the small community following a series of devastating storms in 2011 and 2012.

Last week, investigators served subpoenas on the Greene County town and also the town's bookkeeper and the deputy supervisor. The subpoenas sought reams of documents, including records related to the post-storm aid that came from a state-run program, the New York Rising Community Reconstruction Plan. The grant program was created by Gov. Andrew Cuomo to help more than 100 communities, including Prattsville, rebuild following three devastating storms  Tropical storms Irene and Lee and Superstorm Sandy  that wreaked havoc across New York with their record flooding.

The investigation involves several agencies, including the FBI and state comptroller's office, according to people briefed on the probe.

In Prattsville, a town of about 350 year-round residents, the community was destroyed when the Schoharie Creek burst from its banks during Hurricane Irene in the fall of 2011. The flooding unleashed a wall of water more powerful than Niagara Falls that wiped out nearly everything in its path and left residents and others, including firefighters, stranded or clinging to rooftops. In addition to helping rebuild homes and businesses, the federal aid was used to pay for two new bridges, the reconstruction of Main Street and a recreation complex.

Controversy has swirled for years in the small community over the handling of the aid, which was funneled to the state from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Much of the decision-making has been handled by a 12-member planning committee that includes the town's supervisor, Kory O'Hara, and deputy supervisor, Bonita Chase.

In 2013, the Times Union published a story highlighting accusations that town officials misused tens of thousands of dollars in aid and refused to release their spending records. Town leaders have said the allegations were unfounded and spurred by a small group of residents who questioned whether some of the money was being improperly doled out to relatives and friends of elected officials.

When the subpoenas were served on town hall last week, investigators also seized private computers and other records from O'Hara, including from his auto service station on Main Street.

"Kory cooperated with the investigation and turned over what was requested of him," said William J. Dreyer, an Albany criminal defense attorney retained by O'Hara.

The town also hired an attorney in response to the investigation. Thomas A. Capezza, who is a former assistant U.S. attorney and former general counsel for the State Police, confirmed this week that he represents the town and its bookkeeper and deputy supervisor.

"The town received a request for documents and it is cooperating fully and will honor that request," Capezza said.

O'Hara and Chase both did not respond to requests for comment.

Councilman James Thorington, who is in his 12th year on the Town Board, said the board convened an emergency meeting this week to discuss what he termed as "litigation." When asked if he considers an FBI investigation to be "litigation," Thorington said: "I probably would, yes."

"There is an investigation going on and we are cooperating to the fullest," he said. "I was not involved in any of it," he added, referring to the distribution of the block grants. "I have not been brought up on charges or been involved in any investigations to this point."

Kevin Piccoli, who was co-chairman of the local planning committee that oversaw the rebuilding effort, said nearly the entire community is pleased with the outcome. He declined to say whether he has been interviewed by investigators involved in the criminal investigation.

"I know there's one thing I can say for sure and that is people in the town, 99 percent of them, are just so delighted with everything that has been done," Piccoli said. "I mean, this town has been rebuilt from such huge devastation."

Armando "Al" Creazzo, a Prattsville resident and co-chair of the committee with Piccoli, could not be reached for comment.

blyons@timesunion.com  518-454-5547  @brendan_lyonstu
Dr. Rolando G. Reyes, who works in the Saratoga Springs Aspen Dental office, recently traveled with 11 other Aspen Dental volunteers into the Andes Mountain to the village of Quiquijana, Peru, to provide free dental care to those in need. Over four days, the volunteers provided free dental care to more than 500 Peruvians. Translators helped determine patients' needs and the team went to work performing a total of 645 extractions, 137 fillings and 102 cleanings and making 26 pairs of dentures.
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Guilderland

Police arrested two workers at the Chinese Wellness Center on Western Avenue on Friday, turning one of them over to U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, after they allegedly provided massage therapy without licenses.

Liu Aping, 47, and Guiping Zhang, 52, both of Flushing, face felony charges for unauthorized practice of a licensed profession. Zhang was released on bail, and Aping was turned over to ICE.

Both were issued tickets to appear in Guilderland Town Court on Aug. 31.

Police investigated the facility after receiving complaints of illegal services being performed there. Massage parlors are required to prominently display the license of each person performing massage therapy.
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Albany

Environmentalists and business boosters waged a battle four years ago over an Adirondack mine expansion that opponents said would create a troubling precedent but which supporters viewed as a way to protect scarce jobs.

Despite that, the Essex County-based NYCO Minerals has yet to extract any wollastonite from the 200-acre tract of Adirondack Forest Preserve land that voters in a 2013 referendum said they could explore.

NYCO has drilled test holes but there is no timetable for when the company would begin mining in the tract known as Lot 8, adjacent to where its original open pit mine is.

Mostly, though, watchdogs are troubled that the company hasnt yet provided the state with appraisals for Lot 8 to be used in calculating the value of a swap that is part of the deal to use Forest Preserve land.

They said they would go under without the land, remarked Peter Bauer, executive director of Protect the Adirondacks, one of several groups that opposed the land swap referendum.

Since the 2013 referendum NYCO has changed owners, going from the Greek-based S&B Industrial Minerals to the French-owned Imerys mining conglomerate, marking the third time the mine has been sold in a decade.

And theyve started mining in another lot they own several miles from their original pit. They had earlier said developing that area, known as Oak Hill, wasnt economically feasible at the time.

Representatives of NYCO couldnt be reached on Friday.

The affair represents some of the problems that can crop up with constitutional referendums. And it could be viewed as an example of how state and local governments work to accommodate businesses when the owners say they may close without some assistance.

Known for its brightness and low moisture absorption, wollastonite is used in a variety of products ranging from automobile brakes to paint and plastics.

NYCOs mine is one of a handful of such deposits in North America.

Because the company wants to eventually expand onto state land that is part of the Forest Preserve, a constitutional amendment was required.

Similar deals have been approved in past referendums but in those cases theyve been for public purposes, such as trading state land for items like municipal wells or construction of state-owned ski centers, said Bauer. But in this case, the potential swap is to help a private company maintain its operations.

Not all environmental groups opposed the trade. The Adirondack Council, for example, noted that NYCO would be providing 1,500 acres of forest land that would come under state protection as part of the trade.

And the mining company has pledged to restore the area after they extract the wollastonite.

But the lack of progress is troubling, said Dave Gibson, a partner in Adirondack Wild, another group that fought the deal.

He said they earlier believed that NYCO by now would have given the state an estimate of Lot 8s mineral value, as part of the swap.

Certainly there was an expectation that by 2016 if not 2015 there would be clear data from the mining company to the Department of Environmental Conservation, he said.

Part of the problem may have been the change in ownership, which meant that the mine has a new management team.

It was a Greek conglomerate. Now it is a French conglomerate, he said. This could go on for years.

rkarlin@timesunion.com 518-454-5758 @RickKarlinTU
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A Binghamton-area car dealer who was acquitted last year in Schoharie County in his fourth trial for the murder of his wife, has filed a federal lawsuit against law enforcement officials, the Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin reported.

Attorneys for Cal Harris filed the lawsuit Tuesday in Syracuse, claiming malicious prosecution and civil rights violations by Tioga County law enforcement officials, the newspaper said.

Read the Press & Sun-Bulletin story here.

In a non-jury trial in May 2016, State Supreme Court Justice Richard Judge Richard Mott acquitted Harris of murdering his estranged wife, Michele Harris. The mother of four was 35 when she disappeared on Sept. 11, 2001. She has never been found.

Earlier: Cal Harris acquitted in fourth trial in wife's death

Harris is from Spencer, Tioga County, but his third and fourth trials were held in Schoharie County due to heavy publicity in the Binghamton area. Mott is based in Columbia County. Tioga County District Attorney Kirk Martin prosecuted the case with assistance from former Albany County District Attorney Paul Clyne.

Harris was convicted in 2007, but before he could be sent to prison, a witness came forward with new evidence and a judge set aside the verdict. In his second trial, Harris was convicted again but it was overturned, in part, because of a judicial error during jury selection.

That led to the third trial in Schoharie, where a mistrial was declared after the jury deliberated 55 hours over 12 days in 2015. Harris waived his right to a jury for the fourth trial.

Earlier: Judge declares mistrial in third Cal Harris trial

After his 2016 acquittal, Harris said the case was a "horrible display of abuse of power and corrupt conduct" by Tioga County prosecutors and State Police.

"I'm not happy with the way this case was handled, obviously, and we're looking for some kind of retribution and accountability for those that were responsible for where we are today," Harris said at the time.

In the lawsuit, lawyers for Harris argue that police based their arrest on unreliable witness statements and lacked "arguable probable cause." This resulted in a "conscience-shocking failure" to investigate Michele Harris' disappearance, the lawsuit said, according to the Press & Sun-Bulletin.

The lawsuit also accuses officials of fabrication of evidence, failure to investigate and suppression of evidence against law enforcement officials and witnesses in connection with the case.

"Mr. Harris was targeted, hunted and pursued; he was incarcerated for more than 3 years, removed from his four small children, demonized by scathing wide-spread local national media coverage...," attorney Bruce Barket wrote in the lawsuit documents, the newspaper reported.
Clarksville, Tenn.

Sen. Bob Corker refuses to say whether he'll seek a third term, but he has carefully said and done all the right things to avoid provoking a spirited primary challenge next year.

The Tennessee Republican has limited public appearances back home largely to friendly civic clubs and chambers of commerce meetings, where he can regale members with tales of his pro-business agenda and blunt assessments of congressional dysfunction  all the while steering clear of direct criticism of President Donald Trump.

Until last week.

Trump's defense of white nationalists following a violent rally in Virginia that left a protester dead caused Corker to issue a blistering rebuke, raising questions about the president's stability and competence and demanding "radical changes" in the White House.

"If I'm going be a respectable public official, it had to be spoken to," Corker told Rotarians and Kiwanians a day after making those comments. "I'm an American first."

Corker's remarks last week got a smattering of applause from the crowd and put him in the vanguard of Republican lawmakers uneasy with Trump. The White House fired back Thursday, with press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders calling Corker's statement "a ridiculous and outrageous claim."

How it will play back in Tennessee is another question. There are indications that the populist wing of the Republican party in Tennessee doesn't like it one bit.

Corker is a former businessman and served as Chattanooga mayor before his election to the Senate in 2006. That campaign was tinged by its own racial undercurrent, especially when an ad produced by the Republican National Committee hit the airwaves attacking his African-American opponent, former U.S. Rep. Harold Ford Jr. of Memphis.

Corker called the ad tacky and said it should stop running, but it took the RNC nearly a week to pull it off the air.

Corker won that race by fewer than 3 percentage points. His advisers insist the ad hurt the Republican more than it helped him.

Corker has since risen to the post of Senate foreign relations chairman, striking a bipartisan tone while relishing fights with former President Barack Obama. The senator reminded reporters last week that he was in the mix to become Trump's running mate and also his secretary of state.

"It's just an unusual relationship," Corker said. "I don't know that there's probably anybody in the United States Senate that talks to him more about issues that matter, not only to our nation but to the world. And that's a privilege.

"You know, we don't always agree, but to be in a position where you can affect outcomes like that is unusual," he said.

A moment of disagreement came earlier this summer, when Corker led the charge in the Senate on a bill to restrict the president's power to remove sanctions against Russia.

And on Thursday, Corker spoke out against Trump's threat to force a federal government shutdown unless Congress provides funding for a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border.

Larry Waters, longtime mayor of Sevier County on the edge of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, said Corker has performed a deft balancing act with the president.

"Folks appreciate him having a little bit of independence and being able to speak his mind and being able to say, 'I don't agree with the president 100 percent of the time  I agree with him on so many issues,'" Waters said. "But there are things that I think any rational person would say I wish he hadn't said this or done that."
Just victims?

Migration abroad for work has become an important issue in Nepal over the past two decades.
Washington

The White House is getting ready to move on a contentious plan to shrink public lands in the West, which could involve the redrawing of borders at several national monuments that are home to unique geological formations, rare archaeological artifacts and pristine landscapes.

The blueprint delivered to Trump on Thursday by the Department of Interior  but not yet shared with the public  represents an unprecedented effort to roll back protections on federal land.

Even before its release, state attorneys general, environmental groups and Native Americans have put the administration on notice that acting on it would be illegal.

The plan sent to the White House does not include elimination of any monuments, but it suggests the president make changes at "a handful," according to comments Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke made to The Associated Press on Thursday morning.

Zinke said in a statement Thursday that the plan would "provide a much needed change for the local communities who border and rely on these lands for hunting and fishing, economic development, traditional uses, and recreation."

Such changes could alter forever some of the country's iconic landscapes. California had more monuments on the review list than any other state.

Zinke had earlier announced that he would be recommending no changes to another California monument on the list, Sand to Snow National Monument.

Over the summer, California Democrats at both the state and federal level defended the designations and vowed to fight any changes.

"Once designated, a National Monument becomes part of our national heritage and the birthright of all future Americans," Gov. Jerry Brown wrote Zinke in July.

In a June letter to the Interior Department, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra vowed "to take any and all legal action necessary" to preserve the California monuments.

The state Legislature passed a resolution urging the Trump administration to retain the protections. And California's two Democratic senators, Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris, also asked Zinke to leave California's monuments alone.

But members of the congressional Western Caucus, including California Republican Reps. Paul Cook, Doug LaMalfa and Tom McClintock, urged Zinke to completely revoke the Berryessa Snow designation and reduce the size of all the other California monuments except Sand to Snow.

Trump had charged predecessors with an "egregious abuse of federal power" in their creation of some national monuments, and he signed an executive order in April calling for their review. Since that time, Zinke has been examining the 27 monuments larger than 100,000 acres established since the presidency of Bill Clinton. The public has weighed in too. Some 2.7 million people have sent comments to the department, more than 90 percent of them urging it not to ease protections.

White House officials said the report may not be released publicly for weeks, as they review and consider changes to Zinke's plan. But the president is expected to order most if not all of Zinke's plan implemented. Whether he has that authority is an open question. No president has attempted to unilaterally redraw the boundaries of the nation's vast network of public lands.
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A handful of Capital Region colleges and universities are setting enrollment records this fall as they prepare to welcome students back to campus this week and next.

The University at Albany, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Union College waded through an all-time high number of applications this year. UAlbany is preparing to welcome its largest ever class of 2,725 freshmen and 1,350 transfer students, up 2 percent and 23 percent, respectively, over last year.

The significant climb in transfer students at the SUNY campus may have something to do with the state's new free tuition program, which was made official in April after the deadline had passed for freshman applications but not for transfers. New programs and increased recognition are likely factors, too, officials said.

"Our growing reputation, along with top-ranked programs in criminal justice, public administration and business, and unique new programs ... have all become large draws for us across New York state and the nation," said Sandra Starke, vice provost and associate vice president for enrollment management.

Capital Region schools are also anticipating record diversity in their incoming classes this fall  a reflection, in part, of the nation's increasingly diverse high school population but also of recruitment strategies.

The College of Saint Rose, for example, has made a point of recruiting from far-flung areas of the United States in recent years, including Texas, California and Georgia, to compensate for population loss in the Northeast. The result this year is its most racially diverse class ever  52 percent of incoming students at the private Albany college self-identified as students of color, up from 41 percent last year.

"This institution has made a concerted effort to recruit a more diverse student body, and that's a good thing because it's actually more reflective of the nation and the world that way," said President Carolyn Stefanco. "We're very proud of the fact that this is the most diverse first-year class in college history."

Many local colleges and universities are also enrolling more international students this year.

Roughly 17 percent of the student population at RPI in Troy and 13 percent at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs will hail from other countries this year  record highs for both. Other local increases include Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Siena College, SUNY Cobleskill and Saint Rose.

RPI and Union College in Schenectady say they're seeing increased interest from and enrollment of women on campus. The private schools are both renowned for their science, technology, engineering and math programs  fields historically dominated by men.

RPI received a record number of applications from women this year  6,030 out of more than 19,500. Out of 1,682 incoming students, roughly 30 percent (508) are women, the second largest number ever.

The gender split is a little more even at Union College, where 48 percent of the incoming student population is female. That's up 3 percentage points from last year, a trend the college attributes to the recent opening of the Feigenbaum Center for Visual Arts on campus and to attention generated from the USA Today 2017 College Guide, which named the private college one of the top five STEM schools for women.

Not every college is seeing positive trends. The area's community colleges are reporting flat or declining enrollment for the fall. Community colleges tend to see enrollment fall as the economy improves and the unemployment rate ticks up.

While Columbia-Greene Community College, for example, is expecting a rise in new students, overall enrollment is expected to slump 15 percent to 1,400.

The same is true for the Sage Colleges, a system of three private colleges in Albany and Troy that has struggled with enrollment declines and cuts as recently as this spring. The colleges anticipate a slightly larger incoming class of 367 this fall, but overall enrollment is expected to drop 8 percent to 1,162. Some of that decline may be due to the large graduating class in 2016, school officials said.
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Ben Stiller and his crew have arrived in Clinton County this week to begin filming a Showtime miniseries on the 2015 Dannemora prison break.

Stiller is the executive producer and director of the eight-part "Escape from Dannemora," based on the escape from Clinton Correctional Facility that sparked a massive manhunt for convicted murderers Richard Matt and David Sweat. They were aided by Joyce Mitchell, a married female prison employee with whom they had both become sexually entangled.

The cast includes two best supporting actor Oscar winners: Benicio Del Toro ("Traffic") will play Matt, who masterminds the escape, while Patricia Arquette ("Boyhood") will play Mitchell, a working class woman who supervises the prison tailor shop. Paul Dano ("There Will Be Blood") portrays Sweat, a convicted cop killer who uses his good looks to seduce Mitchell and plotted the escape.

The extensive manhunt ended with Matt shot and killed, and Sweat wounded and captured. Joyce Mitchell is serving a prison sentence for her role.

Among the writers of the Showtime series is Brett Johnson, who previously was in charge of research for AMC's "Mad Men."

Stiller, his crew and several movie extras could be seen near the main gate of the prison and around the prison grounds accompanied by State Police and sheriff's deputies, according to bystander J.P. Cerone.

Movie extras were coming and going from a central wardrobe area set up in the former Dannemora high school building, Cerone said.

Stiller  whose extensive directing credits include two "Zoolander" films and "Tropic Thunder"  greeted former corrections officer Shawn Hopseker, who auditioned for the series. Hopseker did his initial training at Clinton and then was transferred to Fishkill, but left corrections in 2008, he told Cerone.

The Showtime miniseries also reached out to Film Albany, "exploring the possibility of shooting one scene here at a couple different locations," film commissioner Debby Goedeke told the Times Union in an email. "Nothing confirmed at this time."

Lyle Mitchell remains supportive of his wife, who is serving time in prison for her role in helping Matt and Sweat escape, the Plattsburgh Press-Republican reported.

"He tries to visit Joyce every two weeks, but sometimes he can't," Lyle's attorney, Peter Dumas of Malone, told the newspaper. The Franklin County man has not given any media interviews since his wife went to prison almost two years ago.

Dumas said his client doesn't want to say anything that could negatively affect Joyce Mitchell before her release.

The Mitchells want to see an accurate portrayal in "Escape from Dannemora," Dumas said.

Read the Press-Republican story here.

The attorney told the newspaper that Lyle Mitchell was unhappy with how he was portrayed in "New York Prison Break: The Seduction of Joyce Mitchell," a Lifetime movie that aired in April. Mitchell didn't watch the movie, but he heard about it from family and friends, Dumas said.

The movie aired with "Biography Presents: Joyce Mitchell and the New York Prison Break," a documentary on the prison break that included interviews with local residents.

Mitchell family members have said they had no part in any of the projects.

When his wife was denied parole earlier this year, Lyle Mitchell told the Daily Mail, a British newspaper, "All I want is for my wife to be coming home." He then launched into a tirade about the unfairness of her sentence, the newspaper reported.
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Hurricane Harvey has not made landfall yet, but the signs of the storm were already apparent in Corpus Christi and across the Gulf Coast Friday morning.

According to the National Weather Service, winds in the area reached 40 mph as of 9 a.m. and rain bands were starting to arrive.

Water levels steadily began to rise Friday morning, with some areas already dealing with the swell.

Flights out of Corpus Christi International Airport were canceled for the rest of the day as of 11 a.m., according to a city news release, and Corpus Christi Regional Transportation Authority buses will suspend services at 1 p.m.

In a noon-time news conference, Corpus Christi city officials warned residents that their homes may be without power for up to a week.

As the situation worsens on Mustang Island, first responders said they will be unable to respond to the area.

Fire Chief Robert Rocha said firefighters at the station on the island will move inland for their own safety.

A Corpus Christi police spokesperson said officers will respond to calls on the island as long as they can, but will cease if the area is flooded or if wind gusts become to strong.

RELATED: Forecasts, closures and other things to know on Friday about Hurricane Harvey

Now Playing: Harvey storms across Texas Video: San Antonio Express-News

While most residents are making plans to evacuate, the inmates of Nueces County Jail will stay in their cells, Sheriff Jim Kaelin said.

More than 300 inmates will be moved from the annex to the common area of the jail, where they will be safer, Kaelin said.

"It's not the wind I'm worried about," Kaelin said. "It's the flooding."

The jail has enough food and water for about five days, Kaelin said, and they're anticipating the accommodations will be sufficient until the weather is clear.

State Highway 361 in Aransas Pass has been shut down to put up a storm surge wall to reduce the potential flooding damage.

The Port Aransas ferry ceased operations Friday morning at 8 a.m. to begin storm preparations.

There was significant traffic heading north to San Antonio from Corpus Christi Thursday night. Friday morning was no different, as the Texas Department of Transportation tweeted that heavy volume is expected throughout the day on Interstate Highway 37.

Residents who remained in the area only had the morning to stock up on any goods they need. H-E-B announced on Twitter that all Corpus Christi grocery stores would close at 10 a.m. before Harvey hits the region.

Although neighboring cities and counties have issued mandatory evacuations, Corpus Christi and Nueces County only issued a voluntary evacuation order.

Under the direction of Corpus Christi's Emergency Operation Center, buses will continue evacuating residents until about noon.

RELATED: Meteorologist: S.A. area residents should prepare for 'record-setting historic event'

The buses will take any evacuees to San Antonio, where they can register and stay at a shelter until the hurricane subsides. It remains unclear how many citizens have been evacuated to San Antonio Friday morning, but city and county officials plan to release an update later in the day.

The Salvation Army of the Coastal Bend evacuated its sheltered population to Corpus Christi Thursday night. In a Facebook Live video, the center's commanding officer Patrick T. Gesner asked everyone to leave the area.

"I'm telling everyone who could see this message get out," he said. "We're looking at extreme flooding. I implore you to get out."

Text HARVEY to 77453 to receive instant alerts on the massive Texas storm.

fsabawi@mysa.com

Twitter: @FaresInSA
Baghdad

I just spent eight days traveling with the Air Force to all of its key forward bases in Afghanistan, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. So President Donald Trump's speech Monday night was very timely for me. And unnerving.

It was so full of bombast and cliches, so larded with phrases like "we will break their will," so lacking in details and, most of all, so lacking in humility in confronting a problem and a region that has vexed better men for ages that I still don't know where he's going.

I totally agreed with the president's remarks that our men and women serving in the Middle East "deserve to return to a country that is not at war with itself at home." But the rank hypocrisy of this man  who has done so much to divide us in recent months to satisfy only his "base"  using our troops to extol the virtues of unity made me sick to my stomach.

It also made me recall a lunch I had last week in the mess hall at Bagram Airfield, near Kabul, with Chief Master Sgt. Cory Olson from the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing. Olson explained that, working in Afghanistan, he was really disconnected from all the political turmoil in America.

And then he told me this story: "I was talking to this civilian contractor the other day who just came back from a couple of weeks' home leave in Dallas. And this guy told me he was really relieved to get back to 'reality' in Kabul  because the politics back home was so crazy."

You know that U.S. politics has jumped the rails when a U.S. contractor is relieved to get back to his base in Afghanistan.

Anyway, enough of that. Since I can't explain Trump's Middle East, let me explain what I saw here  three things in particular: I saw a new way of mounting warfare by the United States in Iraq. I saw in this new warfare a strategy that offers at least a glimmer of hope for Iraq, if and when ISIS is defeated. But, though only a glimpse, I saw in Afghanistan an eroding stalemate  with all the same issues that have undermined stability there for years: government corruption, distrust among Afghans and perfidious interventions by Pakistan and Iran.

For years, we've measured our involvement in Middle East wars by one pair of indexes  boots on the ground and killed in action. Most Americans are now paying scant attention to Iraq, where our boots on the ground have shrunk to a few thousand and where there have been just 17 U.S. military deaths since we re-engaged in Iraq to defeat ISIS in 2014.

But the real story is wings in the air. We are involved in a gigantic military enterprise in Iraq. But it's with massive conventional air power married to unconventional special forces, who are advising the Iraqi army that is actually doing the ground fighting. This is making our presence in Iraq much more sustainable for us and for the Iraqis.

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Ironically, it might never have happened had President Barack Obama not withdrawn our combat troops from Iraq in 2011, because Iraqis couldn't agree on a legal formula for their staying.

After that, the then-Shiite-led Iraqi government began abusing Sunnis, and ISIS emerged in response. That forced Iraqis to rethink their relationship with us. A U.S. Air Force special operations officer told me of returning to Iraq in early 2014 and meeting with the Iraqi Counterterrorism Service. The U.S. officer had come to ask the CTS what material aid the U.S. could offer in the fight against ISIS, and the CTS commander responded that he didn't need aid: "We want you," he said.

And so Obama began slowly reintroducing U.S. Special Forces back into Iraq and, for the first time, sending some into Syria, all in a totally new context. When George W. Bush invaded Iraq in 2003 to topple Saddam Hussein, we destroyed the government from the top down. We toppled Saddam's statue. And we were advised largely by Iraqi exiles of dubious legitimacy in local eyes.

We have now returned at the invitation of Iraqis from the bottom up, not exiles   making our presence more legitimate and sustainable for any long fight.
Man turns himself in after murdering brother

Police on Thursday made public a man who turned himself in to police after murdering his brother over financial dispute at Jhonche, Kathmandu.
[August 24, 2017] Maine Virtual Academy Kicks Off 2017-18 School Year

Students and teachers at Maine Virtual Academy (MEVA), an online public charter school authorized by the Maine Charter School Commission and available to students statewide in grades 7-12, will start the 2017-2018 school year on Aug. 28th. The virtual school offers a personalized approach to learning that ensures every student receives an excellent education. MEVA's online platform gives students the flexibility to pursue their academic goals at a pace that is appropriate for them. Advanced learners can progress quickly, while those who find concepts more challenging can take the extra time they need. "Students enroll in MEVA for a variety of reasons," says Head of School Dr. Melinda Browne. "With online learning we're able to offer a personalized experience to meet each student's needs." Students take classes in the core subjects of math, science, language arts, history, art and music. High school students have access to electives, world languages, honors and AP courses, and middle school students can choose to begin a world language before high school. Maine-certified teachers facilitate live, interactive online classes, and are also available to students by phone and email. Lesson plans for each subject are integrated throughout the school year, so students can apply what they are learning in one class to the lessons they encounter in another. Students become dept at using technology for their course work, projects and time management, and have the opportunity throughout the year to meet their teachers and classmates in person, through school outings, field trips and social events, and by organizing clubs and activities around shared interests.



MEVA is accepting enrollment for all Maine students for the 2017-18 school year. To learn more about enrollment visit http://meva.k12.com/how-enroll.html and find an online information session or in-person open house at http://meva.k12.com/events-calendar.html. About Maine Virtual Academy

Maine Virtual Academy (MEVA) is a full-time online public school program that serves students in grades 7 through 12. Authorized by the Maine Charter School Commission, MEVA is available tuition-free to students in the state of Maine and utilizes the curriculum from K12 Inc. (NYSE: LRN), the nation's leading provider of proprietary curriculum and online education programs for grades K-12. For more information about MEVA, visit meva.k12.com. About K12, Inc. K12 Inc. (NYSE: LRN) is driving innovation and advancing the quality of education by delivering digital learning platforms and technology to students and school districts across the globe. K12's curriculum services over 2,000 schools and school districts and has delivered more than four million courses over the past decade. K12 is a company consisting of thousands of online school educators providing instruction, academic services, and learning solutions to public schools and districts, traditional classrooms, blended school programs, and directly to families. The K12 program is offered in more than seventy K12 partner public schools across the country, and through private schools serving students in all 50 states and more than 100 countries. More information can be found at K12.com. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170824006261/en/

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[August 24, 2017] CoreLogic Analysis Shows More Than 200,000 Homes in Texas at Potential Risk of Storm Surge Damage from Hurricane Harvey

CoreLogic (NYSE: CLGX), a leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled solutions provider, today released data analysis which shows that 232,721 homes along the Texas coast with a reconstruction cost value (RCV) of approximately $39.6 billion are at potential risk of hurricane-driven storm surge damage from Hurricane Harvey, based on Category 3 predictions. Current projections do not expect Hurricane Harvey to exceed a Category 3 storm. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170824006344/en/ Total Number and RCV of Residential Properties for Hurricane Harvey (Graphic: Business Wire) The table below shows the total number of properties at risk of storm surge damage for each of the five hurricane categories as well as the accompanying RCV for the Core Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs) located along the Texas coast that could potentially be affected. The RCV is the cost to completely rebuild a property in case of damage, including labor and materials by geographic location, assuming a worst case scenario at 100-percent destruction. Total Number and RCV of Residential Properties for Hurricane Harvey Categories represent cumulative totals







CBSA At-Risk Homes Cat 1 Cat 2 Cat 3 Cat 4 Cat 5 Bay City Total Homes at Risk 1,539 2,482 4,213 4,507 4,737 Total RCV $199,720,425 $324,652,618 $574,205,313 $618,164,094 $654,399,578 Beaumont- Port Arthur Total Homes at Risk 8,006 38,259 75,567 101,754 117,645 Total RCV $992,144,728 $5,856,970,623 $12,081,775,805 $16,415,613,650 $18,987,325,909 Corpus Christi Total Homes at Risk 4,341 14,784 34,802 57,640 76,242 Total RCV $729,597,679 $2,614,403,134 $6,172,039,671 $10,267,141,322 $13,665,695,670 Houston-The Woodlands- Sugar Land Total Homes at Risk 24,398 52,928 118,138 190,939 283,380 Total RCV $3,851,603,902 $8,200,894,257 $20,820,079,983 $36,464,099,616 $53,376,561,689 Victoria Total Homes at Risk 0 0 1 13 32 Total RCV $0 $0 $167,096 $1,573,750 $5,141,760

Hurricane-driven storm surge flooding can cause significant property damage when high winds and low pressure cause water to amass inside the storm, releasing a powerful rush over land when the hurricane moves onshore. This CoreLogic analysis measures exposure to damage from storm surge and does not include potential damage from wind and rain associated with hurricanes. Methodology The analysis encompasses single-family residential structures less than four stories, including mobile homes, duplexes, manufactured homes and cabins, among other non-traditional home types. This does not infer that there will be no damage to residential units greater than four stories, as there may be associated wind or debris damage. However, including all high-rise residential units in the CoreLogic analysis would inaccurately inflate the number of homes at risk of storm surge flooding by including homes that are elevated above the potential for damage from surge waters. About CoreLogic CoreLogic (NYSE: CLGX) is a leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled solutions provider. The company's combined data from public, contributory and proprietary sources includes over 4.5 billion records spanning more than 50 years, providing detailed coverage of property, mortgages and other encumbrances, consumer credit, tenancy, location, hazard risk and related performance information. The markets CoreLogic serves include real estate and mortgage finance, insurance, capital markets, and the public sector. CoreLogic delivers value to clients through unique data, analytics, workflow technology, advisory and managed services. Clients rely on CoreLogic to help identify and manage growth opportunities, improve performance and mitigate risk. Headquartered in Irvine, Calif., CoreLogic operates in North America, Western Europe and Asia Pacific. For more information, please visit www.corelogic.com. CORELOGIC and the CoreLogic logo are trademarks of CoreLogic, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170824006344/en/

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[August 24, 2017] GCL-SI Displays Its Solar Energy Expertise at Intersolar South America 2017

SAO PAULO, Brazil, Aug. 24, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- GCL System Integration Technology Co. Ltd (GCL-SI), a subsidiary of the world's leading energy group, GCL, is currently displaying its range of solar products and technologies at Intersolar South America 2017 in Sao Paulo, which is the largest solar exhibition and conference in the area. GCL-SI, a module and integrated system solution provider, is showcasing its PV module products and E-KwBe intelligent energy storage system. At the same time, the company is demonstrating its capability of delivering one-stop energy solutions to the local and international customers at the expo. The module GCL-P6/72 unveiled at the expo appeals specifically at utility power plant, which is the major driver of demand in the Brazilian market. The module achieves maximum power output of 325 watts. In addition, the module has been tested twice 100% EL inspection to ensure the quality and reliability. Other than this, the module has passed 192hours' 85% humidity and 5C test with less than 3% degradation, making the modules highly PID resistant.



Besides the activities at the expo, GCL-SI will hold its first-ever workshop in Sao Paulo as a follow-up session on August 25th. The workshop will include a more detailed presentation on the company and products, both solar panel technology and storage system. There will also be a discussion of the results of the company's research into Generation Distribution (GD) in the Brazilian market. Mr. Hu Huiming, the vice president of GCL-SI sales overseas, said, "Intersolar South America 2017 offers us a great opportunity to introduce our brand, reach out to potential local customers, listen to their needs and learn more about their requirements. By making connections at this event, we hope that we'll be able to help solve local problems and bring more green energy to South American countries."

GCL-SI has developed business partnerships with quite a few local and international companies, including Balfar Solar and Fenix Solar in Brazil and Germany-based Eurosolar, by supplying them with GCL-SI's modules. After the expo, GCL system will visit each company to organize workshops and communicate in-depth with their partners. "While we are always on the lookout for new partnership opportunities, we are committed to deepening our relationships with our existing client base," said Mr. Dong Shuguang, the executive president of GCL-SI. About GCL-SI GCL System Integration Technology Co., Ltd. (002506 Shenzhen Stock) (GCL-SI), is part of the GOLDEN CONCORD Group (GCL). GCL-SI delivers a one-stop, cutting-edge, integrated energy systems and is committed to becoming the world's leading solar energy company. View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/gcl-si-displays-its-solar-energy-expertise-at-intersolar-south-america-2017-300509558.html SOURCE GCL System

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[August 25, 2017] Registration Now Open for Tenth Asymmetric Threat Symposium

CACI International Inc (NYSE: CACI) announced that registration is now open for the 10th symposium in the Asymmetric Threat symposia series on national security challenges, titled "What Does It Take to Protect America? Combatting Global Asymmetric Threats." Symposium 10 will be held on Thursday, October 26, 2017 at Valo Park in McLean, Virginia. The symposium is co-sponsored with the Center for Security Policy (CSP (News - Alert)), the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), and the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, an affiliate of the Air Force Association. To register, visit the Asymmetric Threat symposium website at https://events.caci.com/asymmx. Please note: registration is subject to approval, and applicants will be contactedupon confirmation of their approved registration.



This non-partisan, not-for-profit, pro-bono symposium is part of the Asymmetric Threat series, established in 2008 by CACI as a forum for furthering the national dialogue on asymmetric threats to national security. Symposium 10 will discuss how asymmetric threats have expanded in prevalence and complexity, and what means the United States possesses to safeguard its national security against these threats. Confirmed keynote speakers include Admiral John M. Richardson (News - Alert), Chief of Naval Operations (CNO), and General Stephen W. Wilson, Vice Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force (VCSAF). Important information on the legacy and significance of the symposia series, as well as prior symposia reports and thought leadership, may be found by visiting www.asymmetricthreat.net.

About CACI CACI provides information solutions and services in support of national security missions and government transformation for Intelligence, Defense, and Federal Civilian customers. CACI is a member of the Fortune 1000 Largest Companies, the Russell 2000 Index, and the S&P SmallCap600 Index. CACI's sustained commitment to ethics and integrity defines its corporate culture and drives its success. With approximately 18,600 employees worldwide, CACI provides dynamic career opportunities for military veterans and industry professionals to support the nation's most critical missions. Join us! www.caci.com. About CSP CSP is a non-profit, non-partisan national security organization that specializes in identifying policies, actions, and resource needs that are critical to American security. The group ensures these issues are the subject of focused, principled examination and effective action by recognized policy experts, appropriate officials, opinion leaders, and the general public. Learn more at www.centerforsecuritypolicy.org. About ISW The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) advances an informed understanding of military affairs through reliable research, trusted analysis, and innovative education. They are committed to improving the nation's ability to execute military operations and respond to emerging threats in order to achieve U.S. strategic objectives. ISW is a non-partisan, non-profit, public policy research organization. Learn more at www.understandingwar.org. About the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies is an independent, non-partisan policy research institute established to provide creative, insightful policy options that better empower our nation's leaders by informing the national security debate, educating about aerospace power's unique role in securing America's global interests, and cultivating aerospace talent. An affiliate of the Air Force Association, the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies provides independent analysis outlining solutions in the aerospace domain to protect the United States. Learn more at www.mitchellaerospacepower.org. CACI-Misc/Alliances View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170825005037/en/

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[August 25, 2017] Hujiang EdTech, FLTRP, and New Oriental Co-Establish Publishing Company in the UK

SHANGHAI, Aug. 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- On 22 August, China's leading online education company, Hujiang EdTech ("Hujiang"), officially announced its strategic cooperation agreement with the Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press ("FLTRP") and New Oriental Education & Technology Group ("New Oriental"). The three giants will join to establish Innova Press Limited ("Innova") in the UK, a publishing company focusing on overseas copyrights in the education industry. Cai Jianfeng, President of FLTRP, Michael Yu, Founder and Chairman of New Oriental, and Arnold Fu, Founder and CEO of Hujiang EdTech attended the signing ceremony in Beijing, as the official representatives of the trio. Innova is a UK-based innovative publishing company, co-founded by FLTRP (UK), a wholly-owned subsidiary of FLTRP, Hujiang, and Elite Concept Holding Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of New Oriental. It aims to help students around the world to better prepare for study or work in English or Chinese, and to provide matching training and support for global educators. It also commits itself to publishing quality innovative products about China and Chinese culture for English-speaking readers, leveraging the resources of the three shareholders. According to the 2017 China Digital Publishing Industry Annual Report, the annual revenue of China's digital publishing industry last year was over 570 billion CNY (nearly 86 billion USD). With a market size of over 100 billion CNY, the digital education publishing is accelerating at a rapid pace and is increasingly playing a critical role in the digital publishing industry. Apparently, the growing need for online education and digital education publishing stems from the pursuit of high-quality teaching content among domestic users. Hujiang provides multilingual courses used in almost 200 countries and regions. It has the most comprehensive e-learning matrix in the industry and has established a complete ed-tech ecosystem, raging from the huge web traffic attracted by free e-learning materials and tools, to high conversion rate brought by quaity resources on HJCLASS (Hujiang Online Class), a massive online course platform, and CCtalk, an interactive online teaching platform.



In recent years, tens of thousands of teachers as well as institutions and publishers have benefited from the Hujiang platform, including Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, McGraw-Hill Education and Harper Collins Publishers. "FLTRP, as the largest and leading foreign languages publisher in China, has abundant overseas copyrights resources and partners. New Oriental is a pioneer in the training industry, and has furthered the development of language training and education in China. Hujiang enjoys a fully-developed ecosystem, and possesses the learning behavior patterns and data of 150 million learners around the world. The three parties complement each other. I hope Innova can bring in quality overseas copyrights, and facilitate the export of Chinese copyrights and educational products," said Arnold Fu, founder and CEO of Hujiang EdTech,

Founder of New Oriental Michael Yu added, "New Oriental has been dedicating in English teaching for the last two decades. But it came to us that, to come up with world-class English learning materials, we should not only look to domestic teaching resources. Based in London, it is easier to create good publications. Also, this cooperation has a far-reaching effect as three corporations will work in a complementary way. FLTRP will bring the publications to a higher level and Hujiang could provide excellent online communication channels." At the ceremony, FLTRP designated the British core management team for the operation of Innova. He Haoyu, Vice President of FLTRP and Chairman of the Board of Innova, issued a letter of Appointment for President of Innova to Richard Peacock, a British professional manager. In his inaugural speech, Mr. Peacock detailed the mission of the new company, and demonstrated his confidence in making it an innovative publisher in the UK targeting global users. In his remarks, Cai Jianfeng, President of FLTRP, acknowledged the alliance with New Oriental and Hujiang as mutually complementary and strategically coordinated. He hopes that Innova can provide global learners with quality English and Chinese publications, and promote Chinese culture overseas. "We will work hard to make the joint venture a model in Sino-British cultural and creative industries, as a part of our effort to enhance the international influence and appeal of Chinese culture." Those also present included Richard Burn (Minister of the British Embassy in Beijing and Director of the Department of International Trade in China), Peng Long (President of Beijing Foreign Studies University), Wang Hua (Deputy Inspector of the Department of Import Administration of the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television), and Li Pengyi (Vice President of Publishers Association of China). About Hujiang EdTech Founded in 2001, Hujiang EdTech started as an online BBS community offering online courses, and now it becomes one of China's leading online education companies. Hujiang EdTech strives to make high-quality education more accessible and enjoyable through mobile learning applications, online courses, and its interactive online teaching platform. Serving over 150 million users (including 120 million mobile users) in China, Hujiang EdTech offers a wide range of online educational programs, including international & domestic examination preparation, foreign language learning, professional skills training, and more. About New Oriental New Oriental, as a world leading education group, became listed at the New York Stock Exchange in 2006. In 23 years since its founding, New Oriental has established 77 schools and 855 studying centers in China, and has offered over 30 million person-times on-site teaching. About FLTRP FLTRP is China's largest foreign languages publisher and a leader in educational publishing. Its publications range from general readings, Chinese, to natural sciences, children's books and others. With more than 500 global partners, it publishes in nearly 50 languages an array of materials, over half of which are results of international cooperation. View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hujiang-edtech-fltrp-and-new-oriental-co-establish-publishing-company-in-the-uk-300509634.html SOURCE Hujiang EdTech

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[August 25, 2017] ECI Festival North America 2017: Connecting China-US Innovation

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- From August 3rd to August 11th, ECI Awards, the first Chinese international business innovation awards organization, held its first annual ECI Festival North America in Silicon Valley, California. On the first day of the Festival, a conference was hosted by ECI Awards at the Santa Clara Convention Center where speakers from both China and the United States analyzed the latest marketing strategies, investment trends, government policies, and technology partnerships coming out of China and the United States. The conference has received a warm welcome and strong support from China-US diplomats, government officials, and industry associations. Ro Khanna, US Congressman and Yang Yihang, Economic and Commercial Counselor with Chinese Consulate General in San Francisco both spoke at the event and expressed hope that ECI Awards could help US entrepreneurs better understand the Chinese economy and strengthen the cooperation and exchange between Chinese and US companies. Franklin Urteaga, Co-founder & CEO of OIGETIT and Former White House Technology Advisor who launched the First White House "Net Day" to promote the Internet, gave the speech One Belt One Road in the Age of Artificial Intelligence to talk about the opportunities in China's B&R Iniiative. Lisa M. Glimor, Mayor of City of Santa Clara, Marilyn Librers, President of China Silicon Valley and Li Xisha, Chairman of China Advertising Association of Commerce all expressed their confidence in the potential for a China-US cooperation in innovation.



The proper funding and marketing is crucial to any growing company. Tony Perkins, Creator and former Editor-in-chief of the Red Herring magazine and Founder and Editor of Alchemist shared the latest business trends in the Silicon Valley in his speech "Why it's important to gain influence and build a powerful network in the Silicon Valley". Ben Jones, Creative Director of Unskippable Labs at Google talked about how to use their program to achieve marketing success. Binxuan Chen, Head of Product Marketing Communications, China at Facebook told the audience connecting with people where they spend time could translate into measurable results for business. Rocky Chan, Partner and CFO of Mind Fund Group analyzed current trends to come up with 8 Step-ups for Startups. Other speakers also shared their deep insight into their respective fields. With representatives from many of the largest tech companies in attendance, ECI Awards also hosted a forum at the conference on the latest technological breakthroughs in renewable energy. Hanergy, the world's leader in thin-film solar technology, demonstrated their latest solar panel roofing and held round table discussions on the future of renewable energy.

2017 ECI China-US Business Innovation Leaders Awards Ceremony also took place on the night of August 3rd to recognize and honor outstanding organizations and individuals in China-US business innovation. Since 2014, ECI Awards has celebrated business innovation in the digital space in six areas (product, service, technology, business model, marketing, and management). By promoting, recognizing, researching and sharing the successful cases, ECI Awards encourage innovation as well as connect innovative entrepreneurs with potential investors. After ECI Festival North America 2017, it looks to bring about more exchanges in digital business between China and the rest of the world. It's expected that soon enough ECI Awards will launch its program in Australia. View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/eci-festival-north-america-2017-connecting-china-us-innovation-300509596.html SOURCE ECI

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[August 25, 2017] Perimeter Security Market Worth 196.60 Billion USD by 2022

PUNE, India, August 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a new research report "Perimeter Security Market by Component (Systems (Perimeter Intrusion Detection, Video Surveillance, Access Control, and Alarms and Notification Systems) and Services (Professional and Managed Services)), Vertical, Region - Global Forecast to 2022", published by MarketsandMarkets, the market is expected to grow from USD 110.64 Billion in 2017 to USD 196.60 Billion by 2022, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 12.2% between 2017 and 2022. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160303/792302 )

Browse 89 Market Data Tables and 31 Figures spread through 153 Pages and in-depth TOC on "Perimeter Security Market" http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/perimeter-security-market-1311.html

Early buyers will receive 10% customization on this report The increasing technological developments in video surveillance is said to have fueled the demand for perimeter security systems and services. Furthermore, the increased usage of internet of things (IoT) is also expected to be contributing to the growth of the Perimeter Security Market. Based on systems, the video surveillance system segment is estimated to lead the Perimeter Security Market during the forecast period Based on systems, the Perimeter Security Market has been sub segmented into perimeter intrusion detection systems, video surveillance systems, access control systems, alarms and notification systems, and others (fencing, lighting, and detection devices for metals, explosives, drugs, and chemicals). The video surveillance systems segment is estimated to lead the Perimeter Security Market between 2017 and 2022. The increasing use of video surveillance systems, especially in the commercial and services, industrial, and military and defense verticals for protecting the organization of assets is said to be enhancing the growth of the video surveillance systems segment in the Perimeter Security Market. Request Report Brochure @ http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownload.asp?id=1311 The commercial and services vertical in the Perimeter Security Market is estimated to hold the largest share in 2017 The increasing incidence of crimes, such as theft of physical as well as data/information, has led to the need for security systems to protect not only the property owners, but the property as wll. With this intention, corporate organizations are investing substantial amounts to protect sensitive data and their employees. The high demand for security systems in large and small retail businesses aims at reducing robbery and inventory loss. In the commercial sector, financial institutions and banks are highly in need of video surveillance systems, to provide security to the buildings, maintain cash management, and monitor customers and staff activities. These factors enhance the security parameters and drive the need for video surveillance systems in the commercial sector.



Make an Enquiry @ http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_Buying.asp?id=1311 North America is expected to dominate the Perimeter Security Market during the forecast period

The North American Perimeter Security Market is projected to be dominating during the forecast period. The growth of this market can be attributed to the increasing need for security against terrorist activities, strict government regulations for safety and security, rising illegal immigration, technological developments in physical security solutions, and the increasing criminal activities in North America. The Perimeter Security Market research report encompasses the competitive landscape, which presents the positioning of the 25 key perimeter security systems and services vendors, based on their product offerings and business strategies. Some of the major solution vendors include Axis Communications AB (Sweden), Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co., Ltd. (US), Dahua Technology Co., Ltd. (China), Bosch Security Systems (Germany), United Technologies Corporation (US), Honeywell International Inc. (US), Southwest Microwave, Inc. (US), Johnson Controls International plc (Tyco Systems Inc.) (Republic of Ireland), RBtec Perimeter Security Systems (US), Fiber SenSys, Inc. (US), CIAS Elettronica (Italy), Senstar Corporation (Canada), and PureTech Systems, Inc. (US) Browse Related Reports

Physical Security Market by Type (System (Access Control, Video Surveillance, PSIM, Perimeter Intrusion Detection & Prevention, Security Scanning, Imaging & Metal Detection, Fire & Life Safety), & Service), Vertical, and Region - Global Forecast to 2021

http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/physical-security-market-1014.html



Security Solutions Market by Type [Products (Fire Protection, Video Surveillance, Access Control) and Services (System Integration, Remote Monitoring, Fire Protection, VSaaS, ACaaS)], End-use Industry, and Geography - Global Forecast to 2022

http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/home-security-solutions-market-701.html Know More About our Knowledge Store @ http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Knowledgestore.asp About MarketsandMarkets MarketsandMarkets provides quantified B2B research on 30,000 high growth niche opportunities/threats which will impact 70% to 80% of worldwide companies' revenues. Currently servicing 5000 customers worldwide including 80% of global Fortune 1000 companies as clients. Almost 75,000 top officers across eight industries worldwide approach MarketsandMarkets for their painpoints around revenues decisions. Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model - GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors. MarketsandMarkets now coming up with 1,500 MicroQuadrants (Positioning top players across leaders, emerging companies, innovators, strategic players) annually in high growth emerging segments. MarketsandMarkets is determined to benefit more than 10,000 companies this year for their revenue planning and help them take their innovations/disruptions early to the market by providing them research ahead of the curve. MarketsandMarkets's flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "RT" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets.

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[August 25, 2017] ExxonMobil Allocates $500,000 for Gulf Coast Community Hurricane Relief Efforts

Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) announced today that it is allocating $500,000 for contributions to regional Red Cross organizations along the U.S. Gulf Coast to assist with relief efforts in communities expected to be impacted by Hurricane Harvey. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the residents of Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coast communities currently in the path of Hurricane Harvey," said Darren W. Woods, ExxonMobil chairman and chief executive officer. "We are monitoring the storm and working with the Red Cross to determine where best we can direct these resources to assist with preparation and relief efforts in the Gulf region. We hope our contributions will help provide comfort to our friends and neighbors in areas impacted by the storm."



The Red Cross is mobilizing relief workers to support response efforts, and has pre-positioned shelter and relief supplies in certain areas. To assist with volunteer efforts, visit redcross.org/volunteer/.

About ExxonMobil Exxon Mobil Corporation, the largest publicly traded international oil and gas company, uses technology and innovation to help meet the world's growing energy needs. ExxonMobil engages in a range of philanthropic activities that advance education, with a focus on math and science in the United States, promote women as catalysts for economic development, and combat malaria. In 2016, together with its employees and retirees, Exxon Mobil Corporation, its divisions and affiliates, and the ExxonMobil Foundation provided $242 million in contributions worldwide. Additional information on ExxonMobil's community partnerships and contribution programs is available at www.exxonmobil.com/community. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170825005620/en/

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INVESTOR ALERT: Law Offices of Howard G. Smith Commences Investigation on Behalf of First Bitcoin Capital Corp. Investors

Law Offices of Howard G. Smith announces an investigation on behalf of First Bitcoin Capital Corp. investors ("First Bitcoin" or the "Company") (OTCMKT: BITCF) concerning the Company and its officers' possible violations of federal securities laws.

On August 23, 2017, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission "temporarily suspended trading in the securities of BITCF because of concerns regarding the accuracy and adequacy of publicly available information about the copany including, among other things, the value of BITCF's assets and its capital structure."







If you purchased First Bitcoin securities, have information or would like to learn more about these claims, or have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Howard G. Smith, Esquire, of Law Offices of Howard G. Smith, 3070 Bristol Pike, Suite 112, Bensalem, Pennsylvania 19020 by telephone at (215) 638-4847, toll-free at (888) 638-4847, or by email to [email protected], or visit our website at www.howardsmithlaw.com.

This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170825005675/en/
BNL girls thump Mitchell at The Hive

Bedford North Lawrence defeated Mitchell 78-20 at the Hive on Saturday evening. The win moved the Stars to 3-0 on the season.
Nepal, India sign four pacts on rebuilding

Some 26 months after pledging Rs100 billion to aid Nepals recovery after the 2015 earthquakes, India on Thursday signed four memoranda of understanding.
PM Deubas remarks in India disgraceful: Oli

CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli on Friday remarked that Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deubas activities and the statements he has issued during his ongoing India visit were disgraceful.
The federal report on what happened the night two Kansas City Firefighters were killed in a building collapse has been released. Now, the Kansas City Fire Department says it wants the legacy of John Mesh and Larry Leggio to include the lessons learned from that night.
The story of violence in Kansas City through the eyes of those who see its aftermath

ARE HIGHER MURDER COUNTS AND MORE VIOLENT CRIME THE NEW NORMAL IN KANSAS CITY???

2017 has been one of the most violent years in recent Kansas City history so far.The rate of killing has seen a historic uptick and hit a nearly 50% increase over last year at one point. Now the spike stands at around a 34% increase this year over last . . . Moreover, increased robbery, assaults and shootings have also marked this bloody year in local killing fields.The carnage is getting so horrific that local news agencies are struggling to report the trend so that their watchers won't just tune out the bad news.For instance, here's an important look at people on the other side of local murders and death . . .Over the past few years we've seen what DOES NOT WORK . . . Anti-crime groups, hot spot policing and community outreach have FAILED to curb the tragic murder count.Now, in a back to basics approach . . . The new Chief wants to simply put more police on the street.Our blog community question that everyone else is afraid to ask . . .While Kansas City aspires to emulate towns like Austin, Portland and Denver . . . Our crime rate trends suggest we have more in common with metros like Chicago, Baltimore and Detroit.As always, we're interested in suggestions that might help the community fight against crime . . . Despite the fact that local political leadership is far more interested in a development agenda.You decide . . .
TKC FUN FACT . . . CITY HALL INSIDERS REVEAL COUNCIL LADY JOLIE JUSTUS CONFRONTS QUESTIONS ABOUT A CONFLICT BECAUSE LAWYERS FROM HER FIRM REPRESENTED BURNS & MAC IN THE BRANSON AIRPORT DISPUTE THAT WAS SETTLED JUST LAST YEAR!!!

SHOULD COUNCIL LADY JOLIE JUSTUS RECUSE HERSELF FROM THE SELECTION COMMITTEE GIVEN THAT BURNS & MAC HAS VERY RECENTLY PAID LAWYERS FROM HER FIRM???

Once again conflicts confront the completely busted process for picking the winning bid on Kansas City's new airport . . . If voters approve.Here's the sitch:Of course we know that City Hall & KCMO big money interests want to rig this thing from for Burns & Mac and the bidding was really just because of public outcry against outright corruption at the first offer.But the connections among Kansas City's elite are always more sordid than most can imagine.Here's one that's gaining traction . . .Now . . .The legal battle started in 2013 and no less than three lawyers working for Shook, Hardy & Bacon were part of the fight when things got really serious. Go check Casenet if you want and duplicate our work . . . Don't wanna screencap lawyers and call them out by name because their lunch today costs more than my car.Still . . .Like it or not, SHB representing Burns & Mac in this big time airport dispute and then a member of the very same law firm making decisions regarding their bid raises many red flags for even the most skeptical minds @ 12th and Oak.And so . . .There is a lot being kept secret from the public in this process and Council Lady Jolie is usually pretty good about avoiding ethical conflicts.Nevertheless, thisis potentially the biggest in Kansas City history andthis close association has not be disclosed.You decide . . .
China has always believed in the Greek economy and the country's efforts to achieve a quick recovery, the Chinese Ambassador to Greece Zou Xiaoli stressed on Thursday, during a visit to Alexandroupolis.

"China has always had confidence in the Greek economy and your efforts to achieve a rapid recovery," the ambassador stated after his meeting with city mayor Vangelis Lambrakis.

Zou underlined the "tremendous prospects for developing cooperation between Greece and China, especially between China and northern Greece and Alexandroupolis," noting that the city's comparative advantages include tourism, shipping, energy, its natural resources and its geostrategic position. "It is in the crossroads of the new 21st century Silk Road," he said.

The ambassador's visit to Evros Prefecture and northern Greece is to learn more about the region and explore, after meetings with local officials and businesspeople, the prospects for cooperation between the two countries.

Commenting on his meeting with the mayor, he clarified it is the "beginning of a mutually beneficial cooperation" and expressed his belief that cooperation between the two sides "in the near future" will be more productive.

The ambassador, who is escorted by his wife, will continue his two-day visit to Evros with a meeting with the president of the Alexandroupolis Port Authority, Christos Doukas, and a visit on Friday to the island of Samothraki, where he will meet with the local mayor, Thanasis Vitsas.

Speaking after the meeting to the Athens-Macedonian News Agency, Zou explained several Chinese companies are interested in investing or developing trade with the port of Alexandroupolis.

"The port of Alexandroupolis is very well located and has a good connection by sea, air and land, while it also has an ambitious master plan for its future development. As far as I know, there are some companies that have shown interest in investing or developing commercial relationships in the harbor and the city. What I'm hoping for, is for is a closer relationship with the Chinese side for a better understanding of these possibilities, because mutual understanding is the first step for cooperation in practice, and that is the reason of my visit to Alexandroupolis Port Authority," he noted.

"I also want to be informed about the region, its people, the available resources, so that I can present in the best possible way, on the Chinese side, the opportunities offered by the port for a mutually beneficial cooperation," he continued.

Asked about the imminent signing of a memorandum of cooperation between the ports of Alexandroupolis and Guangzhou, the ambassador added that it is a "very important step" and expressed his confidence that "the visit of the company to the border port and the signing of the Memorandum of Cooperation will help build a capable channel of communication, a platform, on which we can further develop our cooperation."

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
Overstock Might Part Ways with Its Blockchain Business

Is this the end of Utah-based Overstocks dalliance with blockchain?

In an article that first appeared on Bloomberg Technology, Overstock.com and its blockchain business, Medici Ventures, might go their separate ways after millions of dollars of losses.

"We see Medici as eventually becoming a standalone," said Jonathan Johnson, president of the discount retailers unit, which provides a trading platform based on blockchain, the catchall term for a digital ledger that promises incorruptible storage of financial transactions. "It has some synergies with Overstock, but its still a very different business."

The company has hired bankers and lawyers to advise it on strategic alternatives, though Johnson said the business is unlikely to separate from the online retailer until next year. Medici looked into doing a tax-free spinoff, but is no longer considering that option, Johnson added.

"I think our valuation goes up not being part of Overstock," Johnson said during an interview with Bloomberg last week in New York. "The retail business is a hard business. Overstock runs on thin margins."

Overstock reported a $9.7 million pretax loss in the second quarter of 2017, about six times higher than the loss in the same period of 2016, as the retail business posted mounting losses. The results this year included a $3.3 million loss from the blockchain subsidiary, slightly higher than last year. Medicis second-quarter results did improve from the first quarter, in which it lost $8 million.

"What you saw in Q2 will happen for some number of quarters," Johnson said. "Most of that loss is development in products for T Zero, sales efforts for T Zero, and blockchain products that were trying to roll out."

Johnson is hoping that T Zero -- the portion of Medici that offers the blockchain-based trading platform -- will be profitable next year. Medici is also considering raising money through an initial coin offering, or an ICO, he told Bloomberg.

In a regulatory filing last week, Overstock said that it considers Medici a risk.

Overstock Chief Executive Office Patrick Byrne said last week that the online retailer may go private due to a lack of understanding in the market.

"Id be very interested in going private at or before the end of this year in the absence of some major understanding in the marketplace of what were doing," Byrne said during the companys second-quarter conference call. "If I get to the end of this year and the market does not see the value that I see, I think that it is time."

For more information on related topics, visit the following channels:
Chandan Kumar Mandal is the environment and migration reporter for The Kathmandu Post, covering labour migration and governance, as well as climate change, natural disasters, and wildlife.
Quantity over quality

It seems Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba is earning a reputation for breaking records. Back in 1996, he broke the record for forming the largest Cabinet in Nepals history with the induction of 48 members.
Rautahat flood survivors yet to receive succour

Sumitra Devi Patel of Debahi Gonahi-5 of Rautahat district expressed her grievances to CPN-UML senior leader Madhav Kumar Nepal that her family has been living under a makeshift shelter near a pond after her house was swept away by the recent colossal floods.
Thats not enough

Visiting rural communities in different parts of Nepal, I saw deplorable living indicators: poor housing, food insecurity, malnutrition, watery meal intake, poor health, unemployment and lack of socio-economic and legal awareness.
Melbourne, August 25

Indian mining giant Adani Group's 16.5 billion dollar controversy-hit coal mine project in Australia cleared two more legal hurdles today with a Brisbane court dismissing appeals filed by environmentalists and a traditional landowner against the venture.

A full Bench of the Federal Court in Brisbane dismissed challenges from Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) and native title objections from a central Queensland man named Adrian Burragubba.

Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

The Court dismissed an appeal by ACF against an earlier federal court ruling that upheld the Federal Environment Minister granting an approval under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Act and Burragubba's appeal for a judicial review of Native Title Tribunal's decision to allow the mine to proceed.

Adani, in a statement, said that today's court rulings have reinforced its legal right to develop its Carmichael thermal coal resource.

"The decisions today are the second and third judicial decisions this week dismissing claims brought by a combination of the dissenting minority of the Wangan and Jagalingou (W&J) People and activist groups," the company said.

"These appeals simply tried to delay a project that will create 10,000 direct and indirect jobs," Adani Australia CEO and Head of Country Jeyakumar Janakaraj said.

The project will also inject 22 billion dollars in royalties and charges into the state coffers to be reinvested back into the broader community, Janakraj said.

Burragubba was also involved in an action dismissed earlier this week by the Queensland Court of Appeal relating to the granting of a mining lease covering the Carmichael resource.

"Burragubba suggests he is acting on behalf of the W&J community, but the W &J people voted by 2941 to support an Indigenous Land Use Agreement with Adani," the company said.

The Federal Court today ruled it was "not possible to draw robust conclusions" about the extent to which coal from Carmichael would increase global temperatures, according to media reports.

"It is therefore difficult to identify a relationship between (Carmichael) and any impacts on relevant matters of national environmental significance which may occur as the result of any increase in global temperature," the court said.

In a span of 10 minutes, the court also dismissed Burragubba's claim that Adani acted in a way "analogous to fraud" in order for the mine to be approved.

"The expression, 'conduct analogous to fraud', has no precise meaning," the court ruled and added "(Burragubba) seems to assume that Adani should necessarily have abandoned the (environmental impact statement) in face of...criticisms."

In response, senior spokesperson for W&J Traditional Owners Council Burragubba, said, "We have fought and will continue to fight for our right to say no to the destruction of our country through mining and to have our rights properly recognised and respected by the state government."

ACF spokesman Paul Sinclair was quoted by ABC News as saying that they would continue their fight to stop the mine.

PTI
Akash Ghai

Tribune News Service

Mohali, August 24

In view of the crisis in the region ahead of the verdict in the case against the dera chief, airfares from Chandigarh to Delhi rose by around seven times today.

Against the normal airfare of Rs 2,000 to Rs 2,500 per ticket on any given day, today the air ticket was available at a whopping price of Rs 14,000 to Rs 16,000.

Vikas Bhasin, a Chandigarh-based travel agent, said websites of most airlines were showing the availability of a maximum of two or three seats in their flights.

The airfares from the city to Delhi touched the rooftop today for obvious reasons. We expect further rise in the fares tomorrow, said Bhasin.

Another local travel agent, Aman, said people were aware of the trouble they would have to face travelling by road from the city to Delhi or vice versa. Those who have to go to Delhi or have to come here by all means are avoiding travelling by road till Saturday for obvious reasons. As a result, the airfares are rising rapidly. I expect the trend to continue till Saturday, said Aman.

During the Jat agitation last year, the airfares had crossed the figure of Rs 50,000.

However, there hasnt been any effect on the the taxi fares on the route. Taxis are available on the same rates, said Vicky, a local taxi operator.

He said bookings from Chandigarh to Delhi and vice versa for Friday were being cancelled. Our business has dropped substantially of late due to the dera verdict, said Vicky.

People cancel Delhi visit

Local businessman Deepak Verma was scheduled to visit Delhi on Friday to attend a business meeting. Similarly, Pardeep Kumar, a Chandigarh resident, had planned to attend a function along with his family members in Delhi on Saturday. Both of them are now left with no option but to cancel their trips. We cant take a risk in such a scenario. I think nobody has forgotten the horrible incidents that occurred on the Chandigarh-Delhi highway during the Jat agitation last year, said the duo.

For radio cabs, it is business as usual

The business of radio cabs in the tricity is going on as usual. Radio cabs are available on normal rates. However, we dont know what is going to happen tomorrow, said Deepak, a cab driver with Uber.
Patiala, August 24

The District Administration has mobilised all its health and medical institutions ahead of the Fridays Dera verdict in case any emergency arises during this volatile situation.

On the instructions of Punjab Health Minister Brahm Mohindra, Patiala Deputy Commissioner (DC) Kumar Amit held an emergency meeting with the civil surgeon and senior officers of the Health Department, directing them to ensure round-the-clock medical care in all government and private institutions.

Cancelling the leave of all doctors and paramedical staff, the DC has instructed all civil surgeons to be vigilant and keep the teams on their toes to deal with any untoward incident. The Deputy Commissioner said all health officials and institutions would directly be monitored by the SDMs to ensure best facilities.  TNS
Rajinder Nagarkoti

Tribune News Service

Panchkula, August 24

To maintain law and order in Panchkula in view of the CBI court verdict in the rape case against Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh tomorrow, the Haryana Government has called the Army.

To control the over 1.5 lakh dera followers, who have gathered in Panchkula, the Haryana Government has deployed 6,000 security personnel, including 50 companies of paramilitary forces.

To protect the court complex, the security agencies have put in place a four-tier security system. Even in the Singh choe, which passes through Sectors 1, 2 and 4, the Panchkula police have put up barricades to block the entry of dera followers.

There will be around 800 security personnel in and around the court complex. Around 100 court employees will be present in the District Courts complex in Sector 1 tomorrow whereas eight or nine staff members will be present in the special CBI court where the dera head will appear in person at 2.30 pm tomorrow.

Earlier in the day, Ambala Divisional Commissioner Vivek Joshi and Panchkula Police Commissioner AS Chawla held a meeting with the Duty Magistrates deployed in Panchkula and discussed various important points related to law and order with them.

Who all will be present in the CBI court

In the special CBI court of Judge Jagdeep Singh, the CBI DIG, SP, Joint Director, CBI counsel and the legal adviser will be present. From the defence side, counsel SK Garg Narwana and his team of advocates will be present. The court had also directed the dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh to remain present in person at 2.30 pm. Around eight or nine court employees, including the reader, steno, translator and ahlmad, will also be present.

Senior cops on toes

Apart from 50 companies of paramilitary forces, two ADGPs, three IG, 12 SPs and DSPs, a bomb disposal squad, anti-sabotage check teams, a mounted police force and other cops have been posted at Panchkula.

Roads closed

The movement of traffic has been stopped on five roads around the District Courts. The roads surrounding the premises of the court and the road separating Sectors 1 and 2 will remain closed for two days. Besides, the road separating Sector 1 and 6, roads from old Panchkula to the Tank Chowk traffic lights and the routes of Majri Chowk beneath the flyover have been closed. The entry to Panchkula from Hallo Majra has been sealed. All borders of Panchkula have been sealed.

Shops and Industries closed

The Panchkula Beopar Mandal and the Industries Association have decided to close their shops and industries on Friday in Panchkula.

Control room

In order to deal with the emergency situation, a control room has been set up by the Panchkula administration with the numbers 0172-2561262 and 2566262. The control room can be contacted from 9 am to 5 pm. Similarly, a second district control room will work 24 hours with the number 0172-2595009. The DC camp office can also be contacted in case of an emergency on 0172-2555075.

Liquor shops closed in Panchkula

The Panchkula district administration has directed that all liquor shops and vends within the limits of the Municipal Corporation, Panchkula, and Barwala and Raipur Rani blocks will remain closed till 10 am on August 26.

Riot-control centre set up in Sector 6

The Haryana Government has set up a state riot-control centre at the Police Headquarters in Sector 6, Panchkula. The centre will be operational round the clock for lending assistance to the people.People can contact the centre on 0172-2587905 and Fax No. 0172-2587906. Besides, people can also contact

on 0172-2587901 to 2587904 or on 100. Information provided by them will be kept secret.

No holiday in UT offices today

The offices of the Chandigarh Administration will remain open on August 25.

UT govt schools closed on Saturday

Government schools in the UT will remain closed on Saturday. Six schools have been earmarked for the stay of the security forces.

Mobile Internet services suspended for 72 hours

The UT has suspended mobile Internet services for 72 hours. The decision was taken at a coordination committee meeting of Haryana, Punjab and the UT. All mobile Internet services (2G/3G/4G/CDMA), all SMS and dongle services provided on mobile networks except voice calls in the territorial jurisdiction of Chandigarh have been suspended for the next three days.

Wont go back: Premis

Late at night, dera followers thronged the road separating Sectors 2 and 4 in Panchkula, raising slogans that they would not go back.

LATE NIGHT COMMOTION

Late on Thursday night, commotion was witnessed in Panchkula when the district administration made public announcements, urging the dera followers to disperse from the town in view of the prohibitory order under Section 144 of the CrPC, which prohibits the assembly of five or more persons. Meanwhile, the Army was put on standby as the agitated dera followers started moving away from Sectors 3, 4 and 5, close to the CBI court in Sector 1 past midnight. Official sources did not rule out clamping of curfew and sealing Panchkula on Friday, besides contemplating ban on the entry of outsiders to Panchkula. Hectic activity was also witnessed at Tau Devi Lal Stadium in Sector 3, which was designated a special jail.

Dera chief calls for calm

The dera head made an appeal to his followers through the electronic media to return to their respective places. He appealed to his followers to maintain law and order. I respect the law and will appear before the court to listen to the verdict on Friday, Ram Rahim said.
Nitin Jain

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 24

Ahead of tomorrows court verdict in a case of sexual exploitation against the high-profile head of Dera Sacha Sauda, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, the tricity region, comprising Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali, has come under a siege.

Thousands of paramilitary and local police personnel have taken positions and the Army has been been put on standby to deal with any law and order situation as lakhs of dera followers have swarmed Panchkula where the CBI court has fixed the hearing in the decade-old case tomorrow.

With the suspension of mobile Internet and SMS for the next three days, all educational institutions closed in tricity, all offices of the Punjab Government in Chandigarh and the Haryana Government offices closed in Panchkulas Sector 2, 4 and 6, suspension of several train and bus services, besides up to seven times surge in airfares and cab fares, it was nothing less than a curfew-like situation in the tricity region on Thursday. However, the UT Administrations offices will remain open on Friday.

After the imposition of Section 144 of the CrPC in the tricity, liquor shops in Panchkula and arms dealers in Chandigarh have been ordered shut while carrying of arms and firearms, except by the security forces, has also been prohibited. Besides, several other restrictions have come into force under prohibitory orders.

As a preventive measure, all shops, industries and commercial establishments in Panchkula have also decided to remain shut on Friday.

This has brought normal life to a virtual standstill and the tension was writ large among residents.

While Panchkulas Sector 1, where the CBI court is located, has been totally sealed with the public entry banned from all sides, high security nakas (check-points) have come up at all entry and exit points of Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali.

The heavy security deployment in the tricity with the Army out in Panchkula has forced most residents to remain indoors.

The curfew-like situation was evident from the deserted look of roads in Chandigarh and Mohali throughout the day while Panchkula was abuzz with activity of dera followers, who were discharging their daily chores from cooking, eating, sleeping to bathing in the open.

After sounding a high alert, the civil and police administrations in Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali took out flag marches to instil a sense of safety and security among the residents.

Fearing the clampdown of curfew anytime, panicked residents were seen flocking the grocery shops, vegetable markets, departmental stores and milk booths to buy essential commodities in heavy quantities. Several stores reported shortage of certain essential commodities due to the unanticipated panic purchase during the day.

A visit to different parts of the tricity today revealed that Sector 17, Madhya Marg, the ISBT-17, the ISBT-43, Panjab University, the PGI, the GMCH-32 and the GMSH-16 in Chandigarh, and a majority of business centres and roads in Mohali wore a deserted look. The CBI office in Sector 30 was put under high security.

In Panchkula, the dera followers had taken over open spaces, green belts and parks in Sectors 3, 4 and 5, which are adjoining the most-sensitive Sector 1. However, there were a handful of followers left at the naam charcha ghar in Sector 23.

Tricity residents were flooded with calls from their near and dear ones from far and near, who were scheduled to visit this part of the region these days to enquire whether they should go ahead with their visits or not.

I was scheduled to catch a flight to Delhi from the Mohali airport this evening, but I decided not to come, said Anamika, who had to travel by road from Shimla to Mohali.

Similarly, a Panchkula resident, Ram Gopal, who was supposed to return from Mumbai by air tomorrow morning, deferred his visit.

I was not allowed to visit my friends house in Chandigarh for a birthday bash this evening due to the present situation, said a Mohali resident, Surbhi.

A resident of Sector 10, Chandigarh, Rupa Bali, said around 10 of his relatives and friends from Panchkula had come over to his place for stay, sensing trouble in Panchkula tomorrow.

Women power

It was women power at full display as the tricity administrations made elaborate bandobast to tackle any untoward incident on Thursday. While Panchkula and Mohali Deputy Commissioners  Gauri Parasher Joshi and Gurpreet Kaur Sapra  were leading from the front, Chandigarhs first woman Senior Superintendent of Police Jagdale Nilambari Vijay remained on her toes throughout the day.

FIR lodged

An FIR under the IT Act has been lodged against an unknown person at the Sector 5 police station. The person is learnt the action was taken after a video had gone viral.

Security blanket in city, vehicles checked

Chandigarh: To restrict dera followers from entering the city, heavy police deployment has been made by the Chandigarh Police at all entry points. Vehicles, especially buses and trucks, entering the city were frisked by the police, leading to traffic snarls. Traffic snarls were witnessed at all entry points, including the Zirakpur-Chandigarh entry point, the Housing Board light point, the Fun Republic light point and the entry points to the city from Mohali, due to intensified checking by the police. A police official said intelligence was being gathered about the presence of dera followers in the city. Strict vigil was being kept at the entry points to ensure no dera follower entered the city. A meeting of senior UT cops was held today at the Police Headquarters regarding the preparations for August 25. The security forces will be present at the entry points round the clock, said a police official. Around 5,000 police personnel will be deployed in the city in addition to paramilitary forces. Water cannons and police vehicles have been stationed at the entry points by the police. Sources said several companies of paramilitary forces had arrived in the city to assist the Chandigarh Police in maintaining law and order. TNS

Home Minister reviews security situation

While Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh reviewed the security situation, especially in Panchkula, the tricity authorities claimed the situation was totally under control and advised residents not to panic and avoid getting swayed by rumours.
Ruchika M Khanna

Tribune News Service

Panchkula, August 25

The day had a certain eeriness about it. The possibility of what might happen in case Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was convicted was all too palpable right at daybreak.

There was no sign of morning walkers in the lush greens of Sectors 5 and 2. The place had been taken over by Premis. On hindsight, the term Premis seems ironical for the way the city was defiled today.

By 5 pm, they had burnt down showrooms, banks, cars, commercial vehicles, stoned houses and other buildings. And to think that they call themselves Insaan  that the Dera Sacha Sauda claims to profess.

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A recee around noon, just before the security forces cordoned off Panchkula, was reassuring as the roads were empty and the forces were deployed in good numbers.

But things changed quickly around 3 pm, just when the court announced its verdict. Sitting inside my Sector 17 house, I stared at the live updates on how some of my colleagues had been attacked by the irate mob.

As I fumbled for the car keys to rush out, amidst calls to two colleagues to enquire about their safety and offer them shelter till things eased  the sirens of police and Army vehicles grew louder.

A sharp smell of something burning and the sight of bricks being hurled towards my widowpanes jolted me. I rushed back to the terrace only to see rioters wielding lathis uprooting flagposts outside HDFC Banks Sector 16 branch and charging at the boundary wall of my house.

Ducking for cover, I frantically tried calling the two emergency helplines  Police Control Room and Fire Brigade. The calls went unanswered as masked men and some young women burnt down the bank branch, a hotel and two showrooms in front of my eyes.

For the next 20 minutes, the mob had a free run amid the sound of sirens nearby.

After the rioters left, my family moved to the first floor as I rushed out to see things for myself. I had barely reached the market when I saw the mob torch a mini-bus and a car. My only option was to turn back. I again tried calling the police helpline, but to no avail.

The feeling of being abandoned by the administration was all too real. It was only an hour-and-a-half after the mayhem that Army helicopters appeared in the sky. The security forces finally arrived, only to chase away some 200-odd aged dera followers squatting on the B road in the sector.
London, August 25

A gang of thieves smashed their way into the UK branch of an Indian jewellery shop in a "meticulously planned and audacious raid" and stole 1.8 million pounds worth of gold, diamond and other jewels, police said on Friday.

Scotland Yard today released CCTV footage and images of the raid at Joyalukkas jewellers on Green Street in east London.

Burglars smashed a hole in the wall of the shop and crawled inside to steal Indian-style gold and diamond necklaces, bracelets, pendants and earrings.

"This was a meticulously planned and audacious raid on a jewellery shop with 1.8 million pounds of items stolen," said Detective Chief Inspector Andy Pallett from the Met Police's Newham CID (Criminal Investigation Department).

"While we think it only took the suspects around 20 minutes to make the hole, it must have been noisy work and we would appeal for anyone who heard or saw anything suspicious to contact us," Pallett said.

Several men were hanging around the area for a number of hours before the raid.

"If you have any information no matter how small, please come forward," he said in his appeal relating to the robbery reported to police on July 10.

Joyalukkas, which has its registered office in Kerala, is one of several jewellery shops selling Indian-style gold and diamond jewellery in the Green Street area of east London.

The incident was reported to police after shop staff arrived at work to discover the store in disarray on July 10.

The raid is believed to have taken place in the very early hours of that morning.

Eight suspects are believed to have been involved, with three entering the shop and the rest acting as lookouts.

The three men used a sledgehammer and a crow bar  left at the scene  to create a hole in the rear of the shop that backs onto an alleyway.

Once it was large enough, they crawled inside.

They spent more than three hours inside gathering the jewellery from drawers and counters and stuffing it into rucksacks, the Met Police have concluded.

They then left via the hole and are believed to have climbed a wall into a builders' yard behind the shop before making their escape.

The remaining suspects acted as lookouts, three of whom watching the shop from 1700hrs on Sunday, July 9, until the raid was complete.

"Footage and images of these men have been released by investigating officers on Friday. One wore a bright pink hooded top, another a black coat and the third a T-shirt and shorts.

The other suspects are described as all men with some aged in their mid-30s. The three inside the shop wore gloves and had their faces covered," the Met Police said in its appeal.

The police said they would also like to hear from anyone who might have been offered items of jewellery for sale in the days or weeks following the incident.

There have been no arrests made in relation to the burglary at this stage as the investigation continues. PTI
Sushil Manav

Tribune News Service

Sirsa, August 25

The army was called out in Sirsa on Friday ahead of the special CBI Courts verdict in a rape case against Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, even as senior police personnel are carrying out a flag march in the town and outside the sects headquarters.

Deputy Commissioner Prabhjot Singh confirmed that a request for five columns of army has been made by the authorities and they were expecting their arrival soon.

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The move has come hours before the special CBI court announces its verdict in Panchkula as the authorities apprehend trouble in case the court decision does not go the Dera chiefs way.

Police and paramilitary forces have been carrying out a flag march outside the Dera headquarters, led by ADGP (Headquarters) PK Agarwal and senior IAS officer V Umashankar. Security has been beefed up to maintain law and order in the district, the DC said.

Though no exact estimate of buildup of the followers in Sirsa can be made, a dera spokesperson claimed that over five lakh followers shave arrived in the town ahead of the verdict.

Till now, 10 companies of paramilitary forces and an equal number of police jawans have been deployed in the district.
Thousands throng Pashupati for Teej

Thousands of Hindu women thronged the Pashupatinath temple on Thursday to worship Lord Shiva on the occasion of Haritalika Teej.
We have no regret if any bad element has died.  High Court Bench

Anti-social elements who mingled with dera followers resorted to violence.  Manohar Lal Khattar, Haryana Chief Minister

Amit Sharma

Tribune News Service

Panchkula, August 25

At least 31 persons were killed and 250 injured in the violence that erupted in Panchkula after the CBI court convicted Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a rape case. In no time, the city turned into a war zone with dera followers, who call themselves Premis, going on the rampage, hurling stones and vandalising offices and vehicles.

Vehicles parked along roads, including media vans, were set afire.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

The dera followers began gathering at Panchkulas Sector 4-5 traffic island in the morning. Unimpeded, the crowd swelled as the day progressed. Unnerved by the large numbers, a few nearby roads were blocked with barbed wire. As soon as the followers learnt their Pitaji Ram Rahim had been pronounced guilty of rape, they turned violent.

The protesters, who hugely outnumbered the security personnel, breached the police cordon following which the police fired tear gas shells. Within minutes, several vehicles were torched by the Premis. Armed with sharp-edged weapons, they menacingly moved towards the court complex even as the Haryana Police and paramilitary personnel seemed at their wits end.

The protesters spread in all directions, vandalising offices and thronging the Panchkula-Shimla road, forcing the security forces to open fire. Some of them entered residential areas. Terrified, local residents locked themselves in. In some areas, the protesters reportedly resorted to throwing stones.Vehicles parked inside residential areas were damaged too.

Also read

DEATH, ARSON ON STREETS

In Sirsa, 4 killed, 6 hurt in police firing

Haryana IG slapped by dera chief security man

Punjab clamps curfew in 7 districts

Bid to set rly stations ablaze

BS Sandhu, the Haryana DGP, visited the injured at the Civil Hospital, Panchkula, in the evening. He said dera followers had been moved out and over 1,000 taken into custody. Dera followers have been flushed out of Panchkula while over 1,000 have been taken into preventive custody, he said, adding that the situation was well under control. At least 50 injured persons were referred to the PGIMER, Chandigarh, and 33 more rushed to Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), also in Chandigarh.

Verdict, violence, thereafter

3.24 pm: Police fire tear gas to disperse crowd in Sector 3 soon after verdict

3.29 pm: More rounds of tear gas fired to control the rampaging crowds

3.32 pm: Thousands of followers gather at Sector 4/5 dividing road, turn violent

3.35 pm: Vans of TV channels vandalised

3.38 pm: Cops use tear gas at the Sector 4/5 chowk to disperse the crowd

3.40 pm: Mediapersons run helter-skelter, cops fail to help

3.50 pm: Security forces resort to firing in an attempt to disperse crowds

5.15 pm: Situation turns near normal, mobs disperse, more barricades raised
Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 25

The Army on Friday morning said its troops had not been deployed so far in view of the ongoing law and order situation in Haryana, Punjab and Chandigarh.

A serious law and order problem is brewing in the northern states as Gurmit Ram Rahim Singh, who heads the Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda, is slated to appear in the special CBI court in Panchkula in a pending rape and molestation case.

As of now the Army is monitoring the situation. The Western Command headquarters at Chandimandir are located just 3 km from the CBI special court.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

The Army is getting situational awareness shared by the state government.

The Army, if it moves in, will have to be accompanied by an executive magistrate to issue on-the-spot directions. A formal notification needs to be issued.

In February last year, during the agitation by the Jat community to seek reservation, the Army was left facing violent mobs with no directions by the executive magistrate on controlling the mobs. At times lathi-welding youth challenged the Army convoys, which had no orders on tackling the situation, leading to an embarrassing situation.
Tribune News Service

Panchkula, August 25

A trail of death and destruction descended on Panchkula as soon as Sirsa Dera head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was convicted by a special CBI court here in a rape case.

Followers of Ram Rahim, who had gathered here in thousands over the past four days, went on a rampage, hurling stones, vandalising media vehicles and setting afire several vehicles, many among them two-wheelers.

As many as 28 deaths were reported from Panchkula while three deaths were reported from Sirsa. Around 200 were reported injured.

DCP Panchkula was suspended for negligence in imposition of Section 144.

Thick smoke billowed high in the sky as terrified local residents locked themselves inside their homes as scenes outside shook even the toughest of the tough to the bone.

My motorcycle has been burnt down. I had parked it near the road and gone nearby for some work, said a young man working with a private company.

A steady stream of ambulances was bringing scores of injured people to the local civil hospital.

At least one person was seen lying motionless by the roadside.

Many women among the followers who had gathered here gave a tough time to the police and paramilitary personnel.

Immediately after the CBI court here convicted the Dera Sacha Sauda chief, many of his followers broke police barricades and security cordons.

At least three OB vans of private television channels were damaged. Two vans were overturned by a mob.

CBI judge Jagdeep Singh, while holding the 50-year-old Dera chief guilty of rape, said the quantum of sentence would be pronounced on August 28, CBI counsel HPS Verma told reporters outside the court.

Punjab and Haryana High court had come down heavily on the Haryana government for its apparent inability to maintain law and order in the state ahead of the CBI court verdict and pulled it up for not imposing Section 144 CrPC correctly to prevent the huge gathering of Dera followers in Panchkula.

The bench had asserted that the court did not want a repeat of situation similar to the one witnessed in February last year when violence during Jat reservation stir in Haryana claimed 30 lives and property worth hundreds of crores of rupees was damaged by arsonists.

Fridays violence which broke out here was third major incident after last years Jat agitation violence and November 2015 when there was a two-week tense standoff between some of the self-styled godman Rampals followers and the police in Hisar during which five women and a child had died.

Rampal had later been arrested after a tense standoff between some of his supporters and the police after close to 15,000 of his followers were evacuated from the sprawling premises.

The Army was called out and curfew was imposed in 10 districts of Punjabs Malwa region, home to a large number of Dera Sacha Sauda followers.

Police have launched a major crackdown and arrested some supporters of the Dera Sacha Sauda, including a member of its state-level committee, an official spokesperson said.

Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh said the decision to call out the Army was taken to prevent any loss of life or damage to public/ private property in the 10 districtsSangrur, Barnala, SAS Nagar (Mohali), Bathinda, Mansa, Ferozepur, Fazilka, Faridkot, Sri Muktsar Sahib and Moga.

The Army was staging flag-march in the curfew-bound areas of Punjab to restore the confidence of the people, he said. With PTI

LIVE UPDATES

*Dera followers from Haryana are being assembled at Ambala bus station where they are being boarded into buses for Pipli, Yamunagar and Pehowa. SDMs of these districts are deputed to ensure that they reach their respective towns.

*15 bodies have arrived at the Panchkula civil hospital; around 150 injured refrerred to various hospitals

* Eight bodies have reached the PGI, Chandigarh; five bodies at GMCH-32; 50 injured at the PGI, 39 at GMCH-32 and 10 injured at GMSH-16

*Most of the dead are Dera Premis

*Five-star Hotel Holiday Inn in Sector 3, Income Tax office in Sector 2, and petrol pump in Sector 4 of Panchkula have been put on fire and destroyed. Panchkulas skyline turns black

Curfew imposed, additional Army called in Panchkula. Power supply to most areas snapped. Situation tense and going out of control as the mob go on the rampage.

*Three killed, seven injured in police firing in Sirsa as Dera followers attempt to enter Sirsa town

*All trains cancelled from Ambala

*Dera followers target the media; an OB van set on fire and two others were damaged in Panchkula. A print media cameraman was hurt and his camera damaged. Security forces use teargas shells to disperse the mob in Sector 3 of Panchkula, which seemed out of control

KC Theatre and Raj Hans Mall in Sector 5, Panchkula, set on fire. Despite curfew, the mob remains out of control and continues with fire, stone-pelting and scuffles

*Curfew imposed in Panchkula

*In Mansa, two vehicles of Income Tax department torched

*In Ludhiana, police ask shopkeepers at the railway station and on Ferozepur Road to close shops

*In Ferozepur, DC/SSP meet Premis exhorting them to maintain peace

*In Sangrur, miscreants set Lehragaga tehsil office on fire and try to set the fard kendra on fire

*Curfew clamped in Ferozepur, Mansa and Bathinda

*In Panchkula, violent dera followers, who outnumbered the cops on duty, broke police cordon at Sectors 4-5 roundabout and started marching towards the court complex in Sector 1. There are also reports of stone-pelting by the mob and scuffles with the security forces and media. The cops on duty seem helpless even as the Army has taken over the law and order situation in Panchkula. Situation turns highly volatile and locals lock themselves indoors, fearing violence.

*At Rohtak, jail authorities have no official information about the shifting of Gurmeet Ram Rahim here. However, tight security arrangements have been made outside the district jail. A jail official confirms that he may be shifted to Rohtak jail.

*After the verdict, traders lower the shutters of their shops as a precautionary measure

*Market areas being shut down in Kurukshetra. Dera followers gathering at naam charcha ghars; administration on alert

*In Muktsar, nearly 25 masked men hurl petrol bombs at a petrol pump at Burj Sidhwan village in Lambi in Muktsar, says Jagdish Singh, husband of the village sarpanch. Fire doused

*TV reports say three dera supporters die in Panchkula

*Muktsar: Some masked men came on two motorcycles and lob petrol bombs on Telephone Exchange at Tappakhera village in Lambi in Muktsar. Gurjinder Singh village sarpanch confirms it. He claimed miscreants also fired in air.

*New Delhi. Gurmit Ram Rahim Singh to be taken to Western Command Chandimandir. From there he will be taken in helicopter to jail nominated by Haryana. The western Command entrance is some 2 km from the court in Panchkula

*Punjab CM appeals for peace in Punjab. Forces prepared to check any violence

*Ministers/Congress MLAs asked to coordinate with police and civil administration to check situation.

*Fatehgarh Sahib peaceful...no incident reported..Police keeping a close eye on anti-social elements

*In Karnal, Dera followers are assembling near naam charcha ghar in Kambopura and Kunjpura

*Sirsa: Dera Sacha Sauda spokesperson Dr Dilawar Insan says injustice has been done and they will go to appeal against the order.

*Dera followers block national highway at Dirba in Sangrur district

*Curfew also imposed in Fazilka

*Dera spokesperson Dilawar Insaan says history is replete with instances where social reformers have been crucified like this. The spokesperson says the dera stood for welfare of humanity. He appeals all to maintain peace

Curfew imposed in Patiala

Rohtak: Barricades put up around district jail in Sunariya village, CRPF personnel deputed at barricades

Solan: Baddi SP Rahul Nath has sought at least five additional reserves as a precautionary measure though the situation was under control in this bordering belt which shares a border with Haryana, police in a state of high alert in Parwanoo too

Punjab CM tells DGP to impose curfew in dera-dominated areas. Orders passed to impose curfew at four places in Punjab

New Delhi: Soon after his arrival from Kyrgyz Republic Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh spoke to chief Ministers of Haryana and Punjab and enquired about the ground situation. Singh assured all possible help to the state governments. Already 200 companies are sent to states. Sources said, if the states demand more central forces the same will be provided for strengthening deployment

Sources in MHA said HM asked for details on the measures taken to control the situation

Curfew imposed in Faridkot

Situation is tense in Kotkapura and Faridkot as all shop shutters have been pulled down after the verdict

Security beefed up outside former CM Parkash Singh Badals residence at Badal village

Even as Mohali was peaceful so far, Deputy Commissioner Gurpreet Kaur Sapra says the Army has been called in the town as a precautionary measure. She says around 6,000 dera followers provided safe passage and buses to return home from Panchkula through Zirakpur

Curfew to be imposed at Malout from 7 pm

Punjab Department of Medical Education and Research has extended the last date of joining the allotted colleges/courses for second round of online counselling

Four motorcyclists try to set two 132 KV power stations of PSPCL on fire in Kotkapura by hurling petrol bombs. While the petrol bomb failed to hit the target on Muktsar Road-situated power station, power stations on Deviwala Road in Kotkapura catch fire. However, security persons on duty douse the fire

Tension prevails in Sirsa as followers set milk plant on fire; an OB van of a news channel was attacked and hundreds of dera followers have started moving towards Sirsa town from Dera Sacha Sauda raising apprehensions of violence

*In Karnal, police recover around 40 litres of diesel from an ambulance of Dera Sacha Sauda near Bastara toll plaza; police also detain several people carrying petrol and diesel, confirms SP Jashandeep Singh Randhawa
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 25

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Friday made it clear to the Haryana government that it should allow security forces to use force in case the situation in Panchkula warrants so.

The Bench of Justices SS Saron, Surya Kant and Avneesh Jhingan also made it clear that politicians, including ministers, interfering in the matter needed to be booked.

The Bench directed the state police to videograph any cases of arson and lawlessness and arrest those responsible for that.

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The Bench said it had information that some followers might resort to self-immolation in case of an adverse verdict. It said suicide is not without instigation and instigation itself is an offence.

The Bench said it was normally brought into the picture after the conclusion of an event but in this case they were seized of the matter beforehand.

It said any incident of lawlessness would have serious repercussions; and they did not want to see police officials being beaten up.
Tribune News Service

Sirsa, August 25

Reacting to the verdict, Dera Sacha Sauda spokesman Dilawar Insan said today said that injustice had been done to the sect chief.

We will go in appeal against the order. History is replete with instances where social reformers have been crucified like this. The dera stands for welfare of humanity.

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Asked why dera followers are indulging in violence in Panchkula, Sirsa and several other towns in Haryana, Punjab and Delhi, Insan said the dera had already issued appeal to its followers to maintain peace.

We are doing our best to stop young followers who are agitated after the verdict but they have gone out of our hands, he claimed.

Claiming that the Dera Sacha Sauda was an organisation committed to mankind, Insan said the dera followers had so far donated 4.97 lakh units of blood during camps organised in the dera.

Besides, the dera has several world records to its credit, which include donation of 15,432 units of blood in eight hours, planting 68.73 lakh saplings in eight hours on August 15, 2009, and maximum number of blood pressure, sugar and cholesterol check-ups and ECG done in a day,  he said.

He said the land on which dera was set up was a barren land but the dera followers made it worthy of agriculture with their hard labour. The money earned from this land is being used for the welfare of humanity, he said.
Rajinder Nagarkoti

Tribune News Service

Panchkula, August 25

A special CBI court today convicted Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in the 2002 rape case of two sadhvis (women disciples). The quantum of sentence will be announced on August 28.

The dera chief has been convicted under Sections 376 (rape) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC, attracting a minimum of seven years in jail.

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Special CBI Judge Jagdeep Singh pronounced the verdict as Ram Rahim, dressed in a white kurta-pyjama, stood in the courtroom with folded hands. CBI counsel HPS Verma said Ram Rahim was taken into custody after a medical examination at the court complex. He was later flown to a Rohtak jail in a helicopter.

After the conclusion of arguments and submission of case laws on August 17, the court had announced that it would pronounce the judgment on August 25.

Ram Rahim had been accused of sexually abusing and exploiting two sadhvis residing in a hostel at the dera headquarters in Sirsa.

On September 24, 2002, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had handed over the case to the CBI after charges of rape were levelled in an anonymous letter addressed to the Prime Minister and the Chief Justice of the High Court.

The CBI submitted a chargesheet on July 30, 2007. The court framed charges on September 6, 2008.

After the examination of prosecution witnesses and evidence, Ram Rahims statement was recorded in 2014. He had then told the court that he was innocent. Thereafter, the case was posted for defence witness.
Rajinder Nagarkoti

Tribune News Service

Panchkula, August 25



The special CBI court here on Friday convicted Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a rape case dating back to 2002. The quantum of sentence would be announced on August 28.

The Sections 376 and 506 of the IPC under which he has been convicted attract a minimum of seven years in jail.

The orders were passed by special CBI Judge Jagdeep Singh. The Dera head, dressed in a white kurta-pyjama was present in the courtroom with folded hands when the orders were passed.

CBI counsel HPS Verma confirmed this, saying the Dera head would be taken in a helicopter to Rohtak jail.

Meanwhile, a team of doctors has arrived in the district court to conduct a medical examination of the convict.

The court, on August 17, after the conclusion of arguments and submission of case laws, had announced that it would pronounce the judgment on August 25.

The allegations against Ram Rahim were that he sexually abused and exploited two sadhvis residing in a hostel located on the premises of Dera Sacha Sauda at Sirsa.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on September 24, 2002, handed over the case to the CBI to investigate the case against the Dera chief on charges of having raped two sadhvis, or female followers, on the campus of the sect on the outskirts of Sirsa in 2002 after anonymous letters addressed to then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and the then chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court made the allegation.

The CBI submitted a chargesheet on July 30, 2007. The court framed charges against Singh under Sections 376 (rape) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code on September 6, 2008.

After the examination of prosecution witnesses and evidence, the dera heads statement was recorded under Section 313 of the CrPC in 2014.

Ram Rahim had told the court, I am innocent. I had never raped anyone. Since 1990, I am not medically or physically fit to do sex with anyone. I am not potent. Thereafter, the case was posted for defence witness.

In a reaction to the decision, Dera Sacha Saudas spokesperson Dilawar Insan said: Injustice has been done to us. We will appeal the verdict. History is replete with instances where social reformers have been crucified like this. Dera stands for welfare of humanity.



Timeline

2002: Anonymous letters addressed to then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and the then Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court, allege sexual exploitation of women followers at Dera Sacha Sauda in Sirsa

September 24, 2002: The Punjab and Haryana High Court hands over the case to CBI

July 30, 2007: CBI files chargesheet against the dera head

September 6, 2008: Special CBI court frames charges against Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh under Sections 376 (rape) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC

April 5, 2011: Special CBI court shifted from Ambala to Panchkula; the case also transferred to the Panchkula CBI court

August 17, 2017: Special CBI Judge Jagdeep Singh reserves verdict for August 25
Tribune News Service

Jammu, August 25

A Border Security Force constable was today injured in sniper fire by Pakistan Rangers on the International Border in the Arnia sub-sector of RS Pura sector in Jammu district.

The injured has been identified as Constable KK Appa Rao.

Giving details, BSF spokesperson said around 12 noon, Rao was injured in sniper fire while performing his duty at an observation post in the Arnia sub-sector.

He was immediately evacuated to Jammu for medical treatment where his condition is stable, the BSF spokesperson said.

Last year, BSF man Gurnam Singh was injured in sniper fire in the Hiranagar sector on October 21. He died a couple of days later in Government Medical College, Jammu.

It was after his death that the situation turned ugly on the International Border and heavy shelling put life out of gear on the Jammu frontier.
Satya Prakash

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 25

The Supreme Court on Friday acceded to a request made by the Centre and the Jammu and Kashmir Government to defer hearing on petitions challenging the validity of Article 35-A of the Constitution that gives special rights and privileges to permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir.

The matter was mentioned by Attorney General K.K. Venugopal and senior counsel Rakesh Dwivedi on behalf of the Centre and the Mahboob Mufti Government respectively before a Bench of Chief Justice of India J.S. Khehar, Justice Dipak Misra and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud.

The matter was to come up for hearing on August 29 but after the request made by the Attorney General and Dwivedi, the Bench agreed to post it for hearing after Diwali.

Within hours of top courts decision to defer the hearing, Kashmiri separatist leaders withdrew their five-day protest programme, including the proposed strike on August 29, against the reported move to do away with Article 35-A of the Constitution. They said a new schedule for protest would be announced.

Meanwhile, senior Congress leader and former MP Tariq Hamid Qarra moved an application before the Supreme Court seeking to be heard in the matter.

Amid growing political unease in Jammu and Kashmir over alleged attempts to do away with Article 35-A of the Constitution, the Supreme Court had on August 14 hinted at sending petitions challenging the controversial provision to a Constitution Bench for a definitive finding on its validity.

Added to the Constitution through a Presidential Order in 1954, Article 35-A gives special rights and privileges to permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir and debars rest of Indians from acquiring immovable property, obtaining state government jobs and settling in the state.

Petitioner Charu Wali Khanna has alleged that it also discriminates against women.

"Section 6 of the Jammu and Kashmir Constitution restricts the basic right of women to marry a man of their choice by not giving the heirs any right to property if the woman marries a man not holding the Permanent Resident Certificate. Her children are denied a permanent resident certificate thereby considering them illegitimate  not given any right to such a woman's property even if she is a permanent resident of Jammu and Kashmir," Khanna alleged in her petition.

A Bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra tagged Khannas petition with another already pending in the top court and said now it would be heard by a three-judge bench.

"If this matter requires to be heard by a five-judge Constitution Bench, the three-judge Bench may refer it to a Constitution Bench," Justice Misra said.

The petitioner alleged that if a woman marries a person outside Jammu and Kashmir, then according to Article 35-A, she loses property rights as well as employment opportunities in the state.

Also, a Non-Permanent Resident Certificate holder can vote in Lok Sabha polls but he/she cant vote in local elections in the state.

The top court had on July 17 referred to a larger Bench another petition challenging Article 35-A of the Constitution. A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India J.S. Khehar had sent it to a three-judge Bench after Attorney General K.K. Venugopal said it was a "very sensitive" matter that would require a "larger debate".

Interestingly, the Centre has been shying away from filing its response to spell out its stand on Article 35-A. The Attorney General had then told the Bench that the government didnt want to file its affidavit in response to the petition filed by Delhi-based NGO We the citizens, which has challenged the constitutional validity of Article 35-A on the ground that the President could not have amended the Constitution by an Order in 1954 and it was to be a temporary provision.

The Supreme Court is also seized of at least one petition challenging the validity of Article 370 of the Constitution that confers special status on Jammu and Kashmir.

But in its affidavit the state government has defended Article 35-A terming it a permanent feature of the Indian Constitution. The 1954 Presidential Order granting special rights to permanent residents of the state had been recognised, accepted and acted upon since its enactment, it added.
Manav Mander

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, August 24

Wild grass, hanging electricity wires, bathroom without taps, moisture-laden rooms and a single woman taking care of patients is the picture of government dispensary at Sarabha Nagar.

The auxiliary nurse midwife (ANM), Daljit Kaur, is the only woman, who is shouldering responsibilities of everyone at the Sarabha Nagar dispensary. She is a doctor, a pharmacist and an ANM too.

Last year, too, a Tribune team visited the Sarabha Nagar dispensary, but the things have only worsened within one year. The dispensary is without a doctor since 2015.

Mandeep Sandhu, the doctor in charge at the dispensary, was transferred to the Civil Hospital in 2015. And since then the post of doctor is lying vacant.

The only pharmacist retired in January this year and the Class IV employee also reached superannuation in December last year. Now, only a sweeper comes to sweep floors of the dispensary once in a day.

Every day, three to four patients turn back as there is no doctor. I can give simple medication for cough, cold and fever, but not more than this, said Daljit Kaur.

I attend seven to10 patients on average per day. No doctor is being posted here. Things are going on like this for the past two years, she added.

The retirement of pharmacist has also added to my work load. A pharmacist from Karnail dispensary came here on deputation for a few days. Later, the department cancelled all deputations and she stopped coming, she said.

Now, I have to bring stock of medicines also. In between all this, my own work gets affected. I am left with no time to go to the field. I have to encourage women for institutional deliveries, check immunisation record of children and make the people aware of seasonal diseases, she added.

On taking a round of the dispensary one can see wild grass in the backyard. Inside the dispensary there are posters creating awareness on dengue. Just a few steps away tall wild grass growing in the backyard is an open invitation to mosquito breeding.

I pay from my own pocket to get the grass cleared.

Wires are hanging in the porch. A few days after the rain, water started leaking from the ceiling and wires got uprooted from the wall. There is no electricity in this portion, said Daljit Kaur.

Besides, all taps from the bathroom have been stolen. I even lodged a complaint at the police station and with the department, but nothing has been done in this regard, she added.

The dispensary is located inside the residential colony of Punjab State Power Corporation Limited. The main aim of the dispensary is to facilitate residents of the colony, but they have to return disappointed.

Neither do they get medical facilities nor any medical certificates. Residents cannot even get any forms attested from here. Left with no other option they have to either go to the Civil Hospital or a private practitioner.

Wednesday being the day for vaccination Daljit Kaur was busy vaccinating children, checking their weight, instructing them to take healthy meals and go for de-worming regularly.
Time to end impunity

The International Criminal Court aims to end impunity, and through international criminal justice, hold those responsible accountable for their crimes and help prevent these crimes from happening again.
Mix of politics, religion leads to ruckus

When religion and politics are mixed and leaders take assistance of religion, then such incidents are bound to happen. We have still time to learn that politicians should not take advantage in the name of religion and faith.  Sharad Yadav, JD-U leader

Senseless attack on media

Several people have died in the violence, and there is widespread destruction of public property and senseless attacks on the media I urge people to maintain peace.  Sonia Gandhi, Congress president

BJP in cahoots with Dera cult

A so-called religious cult is holding Haryana at ransom, solely because the BJP govt is in cahoots with it All BJP Assembly candidates visited the cult leader, govt gave this cult Rs 50 lakh, CM had photos clicked. And we expect fair handling?  Sitaram Yechury, CPM leader

Sack Haryana CM

PM Modi should sack his Haryana CM for gross dereliction of duty. The CM had more than enough time to prepare for this eventuality.  Omar Abdullah, J&K ex-CM

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Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 25

Home Minister Rajnath Singh returned from his visit to Kyrgyz Republic three hours before schedule as violence protests broke out in Punjab and Haryana after Dera Sacha Saudas spiritual head was convicted for rape on Friday.

Singh is reported to have spoken to both Punjab and Haryana chief ministers, Amarinder Singh and Manohar Lal Khattar, after violence erupted with Haryanas Panchukla as its epicentre.

Singh appealed for calm and said that 200 companies of central security forces have already been sent to the states.

North Blocks central control room is keeping a close watch. The home minister may soon hold a meeting with senior officials of his ministry and security agencies. He is also likely to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modisoon to discuss the situation.

Singh also said that no chief minister could be blamed, but said state government would be held responsible if they were found to have failed in preventing the violence.

Meanwhile, Union Home Secretary and Director IB are already believed to have spoken to the prime minister.

Eighteen people are believed to be killed and scores injured in the protests.
Sushil Manav

Tribune News Service

Sirsa, August 24

Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh today said despite a backache, he would be present at the CBI court in Panchkula tomorrow. He asked his followers to maintain peace.

I have always respected the law. Despite a backache, I will go to the court. I have full faith in God. Everyone should maintain peace," he tweeted. Dr Aditya Insan, dera spokesperson, said Guruji had always followed the due process of law.

Meanwhile, there was tension in Sirsa with an estimated 50,000 followers thronging the dera headquarters, many of them with sticks.

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As the followers assembled outside the Police Lines in the morning, work in courts was suspended. Almost all government offices were shut unofficially. Later, the authorities closed the Barnala road that goes up to the courts, even as the police and Rapid Action Force personnel staged a flag march.

Senior IAS officer V Umashankar and Amitabh Dhillon, IG, in Sirsa to assist the district administration, Prabhjot Singh, DC, and Ashwin Shenvi, SP, were seen at the flag march. Late in the evening, the DC imposed a curfew in Sirsa and the nearby villages of Shahpur, Begu, Nejia and Bajekan.
Rajmeet Singh

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 25

Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Friday blamed the BJP government led by Manohar Lal Khattar for large scale violence that erupted post the conviction of the Dera chief which left over 30 people dead.

While the Haryana CM blamed anti-social elements behind the violence, Amarinder while talking to The Tribune said, It is the responsibility of any state government to maintain law and order. It is a clear case of abdication of responsibility by Haryana Government.

The BJP is politicising the issue by blaming Punjab. It is clearly aimed at covering up the failure of the BJP government in Haryana, he said.

The CM expressed shock and said the situation was allowed to escalate by the Haryana Government.

The trouble could have been averted had the Dera supporters been stopped from aggregating in one place, he said.

Haryana Government should have stopped trains and buses from reaching Panchkula, just as Punjab had done, he said, adding that as an administrator he would not have allowed such a large crowd to gather.

The Punjab CM said it is difficult to control a large hysterical crowd once it is allowed to accumulate.

Preventive and precautionary measures should have been taken in time, he said.
Sukhmeet Bhasin

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, August 25

Radical Sikhs in the state welcomed the CBI court verdict against Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a rape case on Friday.

They also condemned the violence unleashed by Dera followers post the verdict.

Sikh leader Baljit Singh Daduwal said, We welcome the courts decision against the Dera Sacha Sauda head.

He also stated that it was shocking to see the way Dera followers behaved post the verdict.

He said it seems his followers dont follow him as he had talked about his love for the country, but today his followers had destroyed and damaged public property.

Another Sikh leader Dhain Singh Mand said court had served its duty responsibly by holding the Dera head guilty.

He said politicians and governments who were shielding him for vote bank politics should learn a lesson.

United Akali Dal leader Gurdeep Singh Bathinda said we welcome this verdict.

He also added that Sikhs dont have any role in this issue as the CBI had done investigation and a sadvi (female follower) was a complainant in this case.

He said it was unfortunate that various media houses and the state government were posing the issue as a conflict between Sikh and Dera followers which is wrong.

Gurdeep Singh also stated that the actions of Dera followers were condemnable and wrong.

He appealed to the people to maintain peace.










Brussels, August 25

Britain and the EU are very far apart on the main issues just days ahead of crunch Brexit talks, EU officials said on Friday, blaming London's "lack of substance" for holding up progress.

The two sides are due to hold a third round of negotiations next week but the officials were unable to say if they would start on Monday, as widely expected, or Tuesday.

The EU insists there has to be "sufficient progress" in three key areas  EU citizen rights, Northern Ireland's border and the exit bill  before considering London's demand for talks on its future trade relationship with the bloc.

"If you look where we are and where we need to be... it is a very big gap. It is unlikely that we will make major steps to close this gap" next week, one of the EU officials told a press briefing.

"It is not the lack of time that is preventing us from advancing, so far it has been the lack of substance," added the official who asked not to be named.

The EU officials stressed repeatedly that the remaining 27 member states had agreed on the sequencing of the talks and despite London pressing to get the future relationship on the table, that was a no-go for the moment.

After the last round in July, EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier warned Britain it had to clarify its position on the initial separation issues if there was to be the "sufficient progress" required to turn to trade in October.

London has published several position papers in the past few weeks but the EU officials appeared not to be overly impressed.

On the future of Northern Ireland and its border with the Republic of Ireland, London suggested technological solutions could avoid it becoming a barrier to both trade and the peace process.

"We see a lot of magical thinking about how an invisible border could work in the future," one of the officials said, urging London to really take on board just how big an impact Brexit will have on Ireland's economy and society.

The official rejected British suggestions that agreeing a trade deal now would help resolve the issue and warned: "We think that the peace process must not become a bargaining chip in these negotiations".

In another position paper, Britain said there might be room for the European Court of Justice to have an indirect influence, apparently softening its position that the EU's top court would have any future say at all.

But again this would not be good enough, the official said.

The rights of more than three million EU citizens in Britain and one million Britons in Europe arose from EU law and therefore come under the remit of the ECJ, they said.

"There is no other possibility," one official said.

As for Britain's divorce settlement  estimated at up to 100 billion euros in Brussels but much less at 40 billion according to reports in London  the officials said it was not a numbers game but one of agreeing how to work out the bill.

"We have to have a methodology sufficiently detailed so that commitments made to various beneficiaries of the EU budget will be honoured," one official said.  AFP
Kabul, August 25

A suicide bomber detonated himself at the gate of a Shi'ite Muslim mosque in the Afghan capital as other attackers stormed the building, killing at least 14 people as worshippers gathered for Friday prayers, officials said.

Islamic State claimed the attack, the Sunni militant group's Amaq news agency said.

"Islamic State fighters launched an attack on a (Shi'ite mosque) in the Khair Khana area in the Afghan city of Kabul," the news agency said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but Islamic State militants have attacked minority Shi'ite targets in Afghanistan in the past.

An official at the Ministry of Interior said there were at least 14 civilian casualties, while at least two policemen had been killed and eight wounded.

At least two bodies and 15 wounded people had been brought to city hospitals, with ambulances retrieving more casualties at the scene, said Ismail Kawosi, a spokesman for the Ministry of Public Health.

Some witnesses at the scene said the attackers threw grenades, while police officials said a suicide bomber detonated himself at the gate.

One witness said an attacker wearing a vest packed with explosives shot and killed the guards at the gate.

"At first a suicide bomber opened fire and martyred two security guards at the entrance of the mosque and then they entered inside," Sayed Pacha told Reuters. "Some people escaped out of the mosque including women, but there were four attackers who managed to enter the mosque."

Later explosions rocked the area, but their source was unclear. Reuters
Lahore, August 25

Pakistan may face another dismemberment like the one it witnessed in 1971 if the peoples mandate is not respected, ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif warned today as he took a dig at the Supreme Court for disqualifying him.

Sharifs outburst came a day after the Lahore High Court banned broadcast of anti-judiciary remarks by him and his party-men. He also targeted the countrys intelligence agencies for being part of the Panama Papers investigation against him and his family members offshore holdings.

Speaking at a lawyers convention here, 67-year-old Sharif said the SCs decision to disqualify him has not been accepted by the masses.

The deposed premier said in the countrys 70-year history, all 18 prime ministers were sent home without completing their terms.

This has to be stopped now and we must ensure respect of the ballot. If the peoples vote is not respected, I fear that Pakistan may face an eventuality like that of 1971 when it was divided into two, he said, adding that Pakistan cannot move forward without fixing this problem. Sharif was referring to the creation of Bangladesh in 1971 following the liberation war against Pakistan.  PTI
Bangkok, August 25

The Supreme Court of Thailand on Friday issued an arrest warrant against former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra after she failed to appear for the verdict in her trial over a rice subsidies scheme.

The court scheduled the hearing for September 27 and issued the arrest warrant after her lawyer failed to provide documents proving her state of health, reports Efe news.

Yingluck is accused of negligence as part of the rice subsidies scheme which an anti-corruption commission said cost the country 600 billion baht ($18 billion) in losses and also led to corruption.

The scheme, introduced in 2011, pledged to pay farmers well above the market rate for their crop, and ended up costing the country billions, reports CNN.

Yingluck said the rice subsidy scheme was "beneficial for the farmers and the country" and that claims it lost money were wrong and motivated by political bias against her.

If convicted, the former leader faces upto 10 years in prison.

Thousands of Yinglucks supporters gathered in front of the Supreme Court here despite a plea from her on Facebook to stay away due to security concerns.

More than 3,000 officers have been deployed to the streets outside the court.

When she was inaugurated in 2011, Yingluck became Thailand's first female Prime Minister and its youngest in over 60 years.

The sister of exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Yingluck was ousted by a coup in 2014 and was later impeached by Thailand's military-appointed National Legislative Assembly.

The ruling barred her from political office for five years.

IANS
Veggies worth Rs100m destroyed by floods

Vegetables worth Rs 100 million in Nawarparasi district have been destroyed by floods.
Choose Your Ride is literally a publicity vehicle. Wittily marked up by WisDOT as half State Patrol cruiser and half taxi, its an award-winning public-service ad warning against the danger and expense of drunk driving. Photo: Wisconsin DOT

Travel with me now to The Badger State, or Americas Dairyland, if you prefer, a land of two Great Lakes, lush North Woods, rich farmland, solid cities, plentiful roads, and a state DOT determined to change the human culture around highway safety for the better.

Saying 588 people died on Wisconsin roads in 2016, the Wisconsin DOT is convinced that number can be brought way, way down. Not just by such-and-such a percentage, as numbers people tend to speak of, but right down to zero. Yes, to zero. As in zilch.

That goal is obvious by the very name of the innovative multimedia campaigndubbed Zero in Wisconsin that WisDOT is directing to drive down highway fatalities in the state.

Underscoring the need for the ongoing initiative, on Aug. 23, speaking at the Governor's Conference on Highway Safety in Appleton, David Pabst, the agencys director of Transportation Safety, said traffic deaths are right up there as one of the top three causes of death in Wisconsin,

He noted some good news  that alcohol-related car crashes have been reduced over the past 10 years  but contended thats not enough to markedly reduce traffic deaths. Pabst said the state is seeing an increase in highway fatalities overall because people are still not wearing their seat belt as much as they should, theyre not slowing down, theyre driving distracted, and theyre driving drowsy.

On the programs dedicated website, the WisDOT declares that, In Wisconsin, our Zero Vision means that any preventable traffic death is one too many. By staying within the speed limit, being sober behind the wheel, and buckling up, you can do simple things that can turn nearly 500 annual deaths into zero.

The website then lays out those simple things (none of which will be news to safety advocates). But what might pleasantly surprise truckers is that this effort is squarely aimed at changing the behavior, nay, the very thinking about safety, by motorists.

Over a half-dozen program areas are explained on the website, running the gamut from wearing seat belts to swearing off texting and avoiding other distractions to having no part in allowing drunk driving.

Among my favorite topics  that should be required reading for every four-wheeler (including yours truly)  is the section on Speeding & Aggressive Driving. After all, when you get right down to it, safety should not start in the milliseconds before an accident, but as soon as the ignition is engaged.

But hands-down the most compelling element of Zero in Wisconsin is the array of video- and audio-based safety spots that have been created to support the programs praiseworthy goal.

For distracted driving alone, there are almost a dozen video clips, including TV spots, and almost two dozen audio files that address different aspects of this safety issue. A range of clips have been put together to support WisDOTs message about each safety concern.

All are professionally produced; the one that grabbed me the most was about drunk driving and showed starkly what you will go through if a police officer pulls you over and asks that you take a field sobriety test.

According to WisDOT, these TV and radio spots, some of which have won awards, aim to raise awareness of the campaign while helping Wisconsin residents understand that by making simple changes in their driving behavior, they can make a big difference in helping to turn over 500 annual deaths into zero.

Whats more, the agency makes this simple yet potentially impactful request: Please take some time to view and listen to these safety messages, as well as to send this link to family and friends, in order to help us to achieve Zero in Wisconsin!

And zero in every state.
WFP distributes food to flood-affected in Nepal

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has begun food distributions to 180,000 people in response to the Nepal floods.
Corporate social responsibility and profitability dont have to be mutually exclusive.

I believe you can serve two masters and generate the best results. I think we can comfortably protect the profitability of our people and the ones we do business with while also serving our employees, said Wendy Buxton, president of LynnCo Supply Chain Solutions.

Buxton was among a panel of business and community leaders Thursday at an Oklahoma Business Ethics Consortium event focused on corporate social responsibility.

She also said that by structuring business around social responsibility, employers can create partnerships that allow all parties to thrive, grow and be profitable.

Gosh, what a movement it would be if everybody really strived for value-based partnerships from a business perspective so that everyone can be profitable, she said.

Other panelists included Kim Owens of Bama Cos., Phil Lakin, city councilor and CEO of the Tulsa Community Foundation, and Bailey J. Seigfried, vice president of culture, communication and corporate responsibility for NORDAM.

Owens said corporate responsibility is the heart of our culture at Bama.

She credits the companys history of success in part on the how the company treats its employees and others in the community.

With us, its not so much what you buy but why you buy it, she said. Were very passionate about our products, but we are equally passionate about our people and the community that we serve.

Seigfried said that when his parents bought NORDAM 48 years ago, they referred to employees as stakeholders because they had a stake in their safety, the community and the future of the company.

At the same time his parents were raising the company, they were also raising a family.

They made a conscious decision that they couldnt live two value systems, so they took what they wanted to do as parents and applied it to NORDAM, he said.

The Tulsa Community Foundation is a collection of more than 900 funds, each with its own philanthropic purpose. The foundation manages nearly $4.5 billion in investments.

One of the ways the foundation works with corporations is by helping them create structures to assist their employees with medical emergencies, funeral expenses and disasters.

Corporate social responsibility for the community foundation doesnt just extend to people in need throughout the community, but to people in need within your own corporate walls as well, Lakin said.
CATOOSA  A fire melted a large hole in the vinyl roof of a Tulsa Port of Catoosa fertilizer distributor early Thursday.

Tulsa firefighters responded about 1:30 a.m. Thursday to Agri-Nutrients Inc., located in the 5200 block of Bird Creek Avenue near Catoosa, after the fertilizer business caught fire.

Fire Capt. Stan May said firefighters had the flames contained about 4:30 a.m. but remained throughout the morning to contain hot spots.

Firefighters initially were held back while the Tulsa Fire Departments Hazardous Materials team established what chemicals were where in the warehouse.

The Tulsa Fire Departments HazMat team set up at the fertilizer distributor to make sure none of it got into the (McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System) waterway, May said.

The cause of the fire was not immediately clear. May said the investigation would be turned over to the State Fire Marshals Office.

The warehouse reportedly was unoccupied when the fire started, and no injuries were reported.

Twitter: @grimwood_hmg
Members of the Tulsa Muslim community have formed a nonprofit organization to feed Tulsas homeless people.

Muslims4Mercy is being organized by Ravi Sharma, assistant general manager of the Renaissance Hotel, who moved to Tulsa recently from Seattle.

Beginning this fall, the organization plans to deliver food weekly to 100 homeless people after Friday afternoon prayers. A van for that purpose has already been purchased.

According to a news release about the organization, Sharma was part of a similar organization in Seattle and was inspired to do something like it in Tulsa.

Working with a team of Muslim professional people, he raised money for the van and obtained commitments from local restaurants to participate.

Aliye Shimi, on the board of the new organization, said she was very excited about helping out some of the Tulsans most vulnerable, including veterans.

With all the negativity often seen on the news, we are really excited about Tulsans seeing Muslims giving back, she said.

Shimi said Muslims4Mercy will host an iftar dinner at 7 p.m. Thursday at Fellowship Congregational Church, 2900 S. Harvard Ave., to explain the new program to civic and religious leaders. The dinner also will include a discussion about homelessness, race and other social issues facing Americans. Anyone interested in attending should call her at 918-595-1417 by Wednesday.

She said the new organization will begin serving the needy in September, to work the kinks out of the program, and will hold a formal launch in October.

In addition to meals, they will provide hygiene kits, haircuts, blankets, scarves and other items.

Next year, she said, Muslims4Mercy plans to develop a kitchen that will provide food for the program, as well as employment for women who are victims of domestic violence and others in need.

Later, she said, they hope to develop a for-profit restaurant to help the women who work there.

Other board members  Sean Moore, Mohideen Khader, Masood Kasim and Asnul Bahar  are establishing connections with other Muslim organizations, including the Islamic Society of Tulsa, the Surayya Anne Foundation, the Oklahoma Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations and Peace Academy, a Muslim school.

We have to work together to improve our city and help others, Shimi said.
The Kialegee tribe went to Tulsa federal court Thursday in hope of wresting back control of a Broken Arrow business that the Muscogee (Creek) Nation seized amid concerns that the property was destined to become an illegal casino.

The Kialegee Tribal Town and its Florida partner in the Broken Arrow business, Red Creek Holdings LLC, filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma.

The lawsuit claims that Creek Nation officials violent intimidation of the plaintiffs is a clear attempt to create an illegal monopoly over Indian gaming in the area and to shield the River Spirit Casino, operated by the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, from legal competition.

The lawsuit asks a judge to issue an injunction requiring that Creek Nation tribal police vacate the Broken Arrow property, located south of the Creek Turnpike near 129th East Avenue.

The lawsuit also asks that Kialegee and Red Creek representatives be permitted access to the property and that Creek Nation officials cease violent threats and intimidation.

Creek Nation officials, in a statement released Thursday afternoon, claim that the raid was legal under tribal law.

Any attempt by the other parties to file an action in federal court related to the Red Creek Casino is purely an attempt to avoid the MCNs jurisdiction and the consequences of violating MCN laws, the statement says.

The Kialegees also ask in the lawsuit for a court order that permits the plaintiffs to operate a restaurant on the property, seek approval for gaming on the site and have all property returned that was seized by the Creek Nation.

The lawsuit names Creek Nation Attorney General Kevin Dellinger; Robert Hawkins, chief of the Creek Nation Lighthorse Police Department; Daniel Wind III, deputy chief of the Lighthorse police; and at least four other named and unnamed Lighthorse police officers.

The Lighthorse police raided the yet-to-be-opened facility Aug. 16, forcing workers off the property and seizing gaming machines and related materials. Lighthorse police also arrested the owner of the land that is the site of what is being called the Embers Grille.

Creek Nation officials allege that the Kialegees planned to use the property as a casino, which would be illegal under Creek Nation tribal law.

The fact that gaming machines and other gaming related equipment were found on the premises makes it clear that all earlier statements that gaming was only being considered were false and the intent of the parties involved has always been to open an unlicensed casino, according to a statement issued following the raid and attributed to Dellinger.

The Kialegee tribe claims the property is not under the jurisdiction of the Creek Nation and that no gaming would be conducted until approved by the National Indian Gaming Commission.

The land where the dance hall, bar and planned casino is being built is owned by Bim Stephen Bruner, according to the lawsuit filed Thursday.

Bruner, an enrolled member of the Kialegee tribe, is free after posting bond following his arrest Aug. 16 in connection with the raid on the property.

The Kialegee Tribal Town is one of three federally recognized Creek tribal towns in Oklahoma, the lawsuit states. The tribal towns are part of the Creek Nation.

The lawsuit claims that the raid on the property was in retaliation for the Kialegees continuing to pursue a gaming license with the National Indian Gaming Commission.

It claims that Lighthorse police wielding AR-15 rifles held workers at the Embers Grille at gunpoint, threatening to shoot those who did not comply with orders.

When the defendants forced their way onto the property, they were driving unmarked cars and did not wear badges, according to the lawsuit. When asked who they were, some of the defendants falsely identified themselves as federal agents.

Creek Nation officials countered that the tribes Lighthorse police acted professionally and appropriately during the raid.

Any claims of excessive force or any other inappropriate action by Lighthorse Police are absolutely false and only made in an attempt to mislead the public and courts and make those attempting to operate the illegal casino appear blameless, the Creek Nations statement says.

The injunction filed against the parties, the felony charges filed against Mr. Bruner, and the arrest and search warrants related to those felony charges were all properly filed in MCN District Court according to MCN law and approved by a District Court Judge, the statement continues.

The Indian Gaming Commission, meanwhile, has repeatedly said the Broken Arrow parcel is not eligible for gaming by the Kialegee Tribal Town because the town lacks legal jurisdiction over the parcel.

Most recently, the commissions general counsel said in a June 21-dated memo that the tract, owned by Bruner, is within the former reservation of the Creek Nation, which exercises exclusive jurisdiction over the property.

The Kialegee Tribal Town on Aug. 17 asked a U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., to acknowledge the towns authority to operate a casino on the Broken Arrow site.

Citing treaties going back to 1790, that suit claims that the Kialegees jurisdiction is equal and in some cases superior to the Creek Nations. That argument is rooted in the historical composition of the Creek Nation, which was a confederation of tribes and bands when they were removed to Indian Territory in the 1830s. Traditionally, the Creek Confederation consisted of many smaller units called towns.
OKLAHOMA CITY  The rhetoric intensified at the state Capitol on Thursday as Gov. Mary Fallin and lawmakers tried to reach an agreement before a possible special legislative session to shore up the state budget.

The McCarville Report, a website that tracks state politics, posted a story saying the Republican governor and Democrats, who are in the minority in both chambers of the Legislature, were close to a $1 billion revenue deal.

Finance Secretary Preston Doerflinger strongly disagreed with that assessment.

To suggest we are even close to a deal is incredibly premature and irresponsible, he said.

Fallin has said a special session will be needed since the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled that lawmakers violated the law in passing a $1.50 a pack fee on cigarettes, so it cannot go into effect. The measure was expected to generate $215 million for the fiscal year 2018 budget.

Another measure assessing a 1.25 percent sales tax on vehicles, which would be expected to generate $123 million, is also being challenged in court.

Doerflinger, Fallins chief budget negotiator, said discussions are ongoing. Democrats met Tuesday with Fallin and her key advisers. Republicans met with her last week.

The Governors Office is doing due diligence in preparing for a special session, as Oklahomans expect, by meeting with Republican and Democratic legislative leaders in attempting to reach an agreement on how to adjust the current fiscal year budget as result of the recent state Supreme Court ruling, Doerflinger said.

As part of that discussion, he said, the fiscal staffs of both legislative chambers and the Governors Office are looking at a variety of revenue sources to make up the budget shortfall and to provide for teacher pay increases.

Last session, lawmakers failed to pass a highly sought teacher pay raise, despite the filing of numerous bills calling for one.

Possible efficiency options to streamline state government operations are also being reviewed, Doerflinger said. No agreement has been reached between the governor and any legislative party.

The McCarville Report story seemed to sour the environment surrounding the negotiations.

The website said it had obtained a document with secret details of back-room budget talks.

The document cited by the McCarville Report was put together by staff at the request of Senate leadership, said Aaron Cooper, a spokesman for Senate Pro Tem Mike Schulz, R-Altus.

It contained a list of every idea that was considered in the past session, said Sen. Kim David, R-Porter, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee.

She said it was created so people would have numbers in front of them, referring to it as a laundry list of ideas.

House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka, said: First, there is no way House Republicans will ever pass a billion dollars in tax and revenue increases to fill a $200 million budget hole. Such a plan would be dead on arrival.

Several members of the House Republican caucus are opposed to any tax increase.

House Minority Leader Scott Inman, D-Del City, accused House Republican leaders of leaking the list as a means to torpedo or sabotage budget negotiations. Inman, who is running for governor, said it was leaked to distract people from the fact that House Republicans do not have a plan to solve the budget problems.

McCall fired back at Inman, accusing the Democrat of preventing progress.

Minority Leader Scott Inman has no interest in negotiating in good faith with the governor or anyone else, McCall said. He has failed at every turn to deliver Democrat votes for any significant revenue package. He has offered conflicting demands in public and private negotiations.

The fact is, Scott Inman is only interested in campaign issues for his governors race, not real solutions that will help Oklahoma.

Twitter: @bhoberock
A man arrested in January after Tulsa police reportedly found three pounds of methamphetamine in his vehicle was found guilty of involvement in a drug conspiracy Thursday.

A federal jury found Juan Shorty Garcia, 29, guilty of conspiring with others to distribute meth in Tulsa, announced Loretta F. Radford, acting U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Oklahoma.

Police pulled over a Chevrolet pickup in which Garcia was a passenger and a Chevrolet Cruze that had come from Oklahoma City on Jan. 26. Officers found three pounds of meth in the Cruze and seized a phone and nearly $20,000 from Garcia, according to a news release. Three additional cellphones also were found in the pickup.

Police and federal Drug Enforcement Administration agents arrested and interviewed the vehicles occupants and extracted data from the seized phones. The information led them to learn that Garcia was the supplier of the three pounds of meth and had been supplying meth to the other co-conspirators since at least November, the release states.

Garcia will return to court Dec. 4 to be sentenced. He faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years imprisonment and a maximum of life, in addition to a $10,000,000 fine and at least five years of supervised release. He also faces deportation to Mexico.

Twitter: @kylehinchey
Sheriff Scott Walton said the man was an employee of Valmont Utility, but it was unclear whether he was on duty at the time of the call. He was later identified as William Fairweather, 39.
A tribal judge struck down the Muscogee (Creek Nation) attorney generals request to remove the Kialegee Tribal Town king from the rolls of the Creek Nation in an effort to stop him from running in an upcoming election.

Okmulgee-based Creek Nation District Judge Gregory Bigler sided with the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Citizenship Board in a contentious dispute over whether Jeremiah Hobias dual citizenship violated the Creek constitution. His decision, which came one week after he heard arguments Aug. 17, relied on a Creek Nation Supreme Court case dealing with another tribal town.

The controversy started with the Office of the Attorney General filing a petition earlier this month that asked the court to direct the Citizenship Board to strike Hobias name from the Creek Nations citizen rolls. The petition also sought the striking of his name from the Election Boards list of certified and eligible candidates for next months tribal election.

Hobia holds himself out to be king of the Kialegee Tribal Town, a federally recognized tribe and one of the autonomous groups that are part of the Creek Nation. The AGs Office opted to file the petition after the Election Board approved his candidacy for a council seat despite being told he isnt eligible to run.

Attorney general officials have repeatedly referred to the tribes constitution, which forbids dual citizenship with another Indian tribe, Nation, Band or Pueblo. They argued that because Hobia is part of the Kialegee Tribal Town, which is a federally recognized tribe, his Creek citizenship is unlawful. Only Creek Nation citizens are permitted to run for office.

Meanwhile, the Citizenship Board maintained that the three federally recognized tribal towns are excluded from the passage banning dual citizenship. They pointed toward another line stating that the constitution shall not abolish the rights and privileges of Creek nation members to organize tribal towns.

Last week, Bigler directed the Citizenship Board to conduct an expedited hearing Monday and make its own decision on Hobias eligibility for him to review. The board decided to apply the existing law of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation unless or until it is directed by the court to do otherwise and voted to allow Hobia to remain a citizen of the larger tribe.

Bigler denied the attorney generals petition Thursday afternoon, referencing a tribal Supreme Court precedent dealing with the federally recognized Thlopthlocco Tribal Town.

In that case, the court established that the relationship between the Thlopthlocco and the federal government is different from the relationship between the tribal town and the Creek Nation.

The Tribal Town Constitution affects neither the status of tribal town members as citizens of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation nor the relationship of the Tribal Town to the Muscogee Nation which remains analogous to a city/state government or state/federal government relationship, the Supreme Courts opinion declared.

Because the opinion stated that Thlopthlocco members are citizens of the Creek Nation, and the Kialegees fall under the same category, Bigler wrote that he is bound by the Supreme Courts holding.

The Attorney Generals Office released a statement Friday disagreeing with the judges decision and saying available options are being reviewed.

Our main concern remains the conflict of interest that is created by a person holding an office at MCN while also holding an office at another federally recognized tribe, the statement says. The seriousness of the conflict of interest issue and the fast approaching election make this an urgent issue that should be addressed as quickly as possible.

Hobia declined to comment on the case and its resolution, his attorney told the Tulsa World.
OKLAHOMA CITY - A number of U.S. Air Force planes in Texas are being evacuated Friday to Tinker Air Force Base as Hurricane Harvey moves towards the Texas Gulf Coast.

Tinker officials said 10 T-1 Jayhawk aircraft, part of the 99th Flying Training Squadron Red Tail from Joint Base San Antonio, began flying to Oklahoma on Friday morning.

Tinker has acted as a safe haven for aircraft from other states during similar storms, including in October when 11 Navy planes were moved from Florida ahead of Hurricane Matthew.

Harvey is expected to make landfall in Texas late Friday or early Saturday as a Category 3 storm and could bring nearly 3 feet of rain to areas in its path. The National Weather Service said the storm could also spawn tornadoes.
The world, again, mourns as the result of a terrorist attack, this one in Spain. The world again wonders how can this happen and what can be done to stop it.

Last Thursday, radical Islamist terrorists attacked crowds in Barcelona. Thirteen were killed and hundreds injured when a van driven by one of the terrorists plowed through people from 30 countries gathered at the Las Ramblas. A 14th victim was stabbed to death by a carjacker making his getaway. Last Friday, five men staged another attack in Cambrils that left one person dead. All five of the terrorists were killed in a shootout with police.

As bad as the attacks were, they might have been even worse. Only days before, two men were killed in an explosion in a house where police believe bombs for the attacks were being made. So, the terrorists turned to more low-tech weapons and ones that are much more difficult to deter, vehicles.

As insidious as the bombs and vehicles-as-weapons are, the real problem is young men filled with hate. Falsely convinced that Islam is under attack by the West and that the only way to stop it is through deadly attacks of their own, they seek to cause the collapse of Western civilization through fear.

Fighting terrorism has proven to be a difficult task. Many planned attacks in the United States and elsewhere have been foiled through diligent security work, often aided by the Muslim community. Still, terrorist cells, especially those formed in countries by their own citizens, remain a dangerous threat.

Fear is what terrorists most want to sow. That cant be allowed to happen. Remaining resolute in the face of terror is essential, even when we know that there will be more attacks and more victims to mourn.
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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| By Alex Likowski

Why did we end up where we ended up? University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law Dean Donald B. Tobin, JD, asked students and faculty gathered to discuss recent protests and violence in Charlottesville, Va. And how do we deal with this tension thats being produced by this really horrible vitriol thats coming out, and the rights of people to do that?

Tobin invited the law school community to the open forum in the schools Ceremonial Moot Court Room on Aug. 24 to express concerns, ask questions, or just listen, with a promise to host additional gatherings throughout the fall and spring semesters.

Not unexpectedly, much of the discussion among the 50 or so attendees centered on the nature and limits of constitutionally protected speech.

The level of hatred cannot be described, recalled one third-year law student who said he had participated in the counterprotest in Charlottesville. In my analysis, there is no room for First Amendment discussion when it comes to this.

A classmate who did not observe the protests directly but watched extensive video of the event echoed his view. What I saw wasnt speech, he said. The student, who identified himself as Jewish, added, To me, a Nazi flag is in and of itself an incitement to violence. It is advocating the view that Jews should be exterminated.

Others, like Carey Law Professor and University System of Maryland Regents' Professor Mark A. Graber, JD, PhD, expressed concerns about the complexities and potential for unintended consequences in imposing greater limits on speech. What does make our participatory democracy work? Whats the notion of free speech? he asked.

Graber, a constitutional scholar and author of the widely cited book, Transforming Free Speech, The Ambiguous Legacy of Civil Libertarianism, offered the cautionary historical example of Germany in the 1920s, when efforts to legally constrain hate-based political activism backfired. For example, the Weimar Republic, they banned the Nazi Party. That was obviously not very effective, he said.

Professor Frank Pasquale, JD, offered an evolutionary approach, referencing the work of colleague Danielle Keats Citron, JD. As we go forward, we can talk together and we can think about how we update the First Amendment doctrine so were not stuck in this sort of First Amendment fundamentalist past, he said. I think a lot of people would say, 'Oh, if someone calls you terrible names on the Internet based on your race, thats their free speech.' But what Professor Citron did is, she said, Well, lets reconceptualize this the way we reconceptualized sexual harassment. In the '70s and '80s, maybe that was conceptualized as free speech.

Another main theme of the discussion was the role of the law school and the University community in confronting the issues raised by the Charlottesville protests and preparing students for their future roles in a changing legal and ethical environment.

What is our obligation as a community to stand up, going forward, stand up against this type of hatred? asked a first-year law student.

I do think that in society we had sort of a lid on some of the hatred, that people may have had these feelings, but that we had a social construct that at least attempted to keep them down, Tobin replied. Now weve ripped off the lid.

From a legal education standpoint, I think that were in a new world in these last three to four years where a lot is happening all the time, so I want to be responsive to that in ways that are helpful and productive, Tobin said. The question is, how do you want to use the tools that youre learning in law school?

Two upcoming events in this series of discussions have been announced. On Aug. 31 at 3:15 p.m., professor Iyiola Solanke, senior lecturer at the University of Leeds and visiting professor of law at Wake Forest University, will discuss with law students and faculty her book, Discrimination as Stigma  A Theory of Anti-Discrimination Law.

And Sept. 25 at noon, Carey Law professors Larry Gibson, LLB, and Garrett Power, LLB, will speak about the historical background of Confederate monuments in Baltimore and the history of residential racial segregation in Baltimore.
| By Alex Likowski

Like a lot of the country, Baltimore City and the state of Maryland are experiencing unprecedented, epidemic opioid addiction, Mark OBrien, JD, director of opioid overdose prevention and treatment with the Baltimore City Health Department (BCHD), said at an Aug. 24 meeting with University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) police.

OBrien and colleague Sgt. Donald Slimmer of the Baltimore Police Department briefed UMB police on the state of opioid use in the city and the rising level of fatal overdoses, and trained them to save the lives of overdose victims.

Taylor Owens of Baltimore Polytechnic Institute addresses UMB police officers on Zika virus issues as classmate Vernon Stepney looks on.

What were seeing in Baltimore is that our rates of addiction are climbing slowly, but the drugs are becoming much more devastating, and the driver of this is fentanyl, OBrien told the officers. Fentanyl is a potent opioid pain medication that is much less expensive than heroin, thus rapidly growing in popularity with recreational drug users.

Baltimore experienced 225 alcohol- and drug-related overdose deaths in 2012. Just four years later, in 2016, that number had more than tripled to 694 and is on pace to exceed 1,000 deaths by the end of this year. OBrien said that, whereas nearly none of the 2012 deaths was caused by fentanyl, by 2016 that drug alone was responsible for almost two-thirds of all overdose deaths.

A law passed in the 2017 Maryland General Assembly requires all institutions of higher learning that receive state funding to establish policies to address opioid addiction and prevention and to train the institutions police officers to use the anti-overdose drug naloxone to prevent deaths.

BCHD has trained more than 25,000 people since 2015 on the use of naloxone. OBrien said those 25,000 have since saved more than 1,000 lives.

Slimmer showed UMB police officers how to properly administer Narcan, which is a form of naloxone delivered via nasal spray. Its super simple to use and completely safe, he told them. There is no needle, and its the only thing in the world that will reduce an opioid overdose.

The health threat presented by powerful opioids is not just to recreational users, Slimmer added. Officers exposed to drugs they seize are at risk themselves for injury and death.

Powdery drugs are what were truly concerned with right now," he said. "The slightest bit of fentanyl or carfentanil [a synthetic cousin to fentanyl], if it goes airborne, it gets into your respiratory system. It can cause you to go into respiratory arrest and have an overdose. Officers, he explained, must be prepared to administer Narcan not only to drug users, but also to fellow officers.

Another issue of concern to officers is the potential for liability should anything go wrong when administering Narcan to an overdose victim. Stephanie Suerth with the UMB Office of Accountability and Compliance explained that officers are protected by the Maryland Good Samaritan Law. The law says the campus police and the designees who are trained to use the product [Narcan] are indemnified for any action for using it, she said.

After the overdose prevention training, health department officials introduced a second training opportunity for officers, with two BCHD interns briefing officers on the risks and prevention of Zika virus infection. Vernon Stepney and Taylor Owens, students at Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, impressed officers with their knowledge of the subject and presentation skills.

Stepney warned officers not to take lightly the threat of Zika infection. We do have the mosquito [a. aegypti] in Baltimore, which is why were talking to you now about how to prevent it, what kinds of things not to do, and what to do to help prevent the transmission of the Zika virus, he said. Stepney explained that last year there were more than 5,000 symptomatic Zika cases reported in U.S. states, including 130 in Maryland.

The disease is often difficult to spot, Owens noted. Most people will not know that they have the Zika virus," she said. "All the symptoms are normal symptoms: red eyes, joint pain, rashes, and fever. You might pass out. You might sweat a lot.

The officers present were awarded with certificates declaring them Baltimore City Zika ambassadors. You are the first adults who have been trained to be a Zika ambassador, Owens told them, adding that, so far, only public school children had received their briefing.

More details about Zika prevention are available at the Baltimore City Health Department Zika virus web page.
Refugee and migrant children play in a shelter run by UNHCR in Guatemala.  UNHCR/Santiago Escobar-Jaramillo

GUATEMALA CITY  Threatened and harassed by murderous street gang members in their native El Salvador, parents Juan Pablo* and Cecilia were driven to move home time and again.

But it was the prospect of a disrupted education for their five-year-old son Juan and one-year-old daughter Alma that finally drove them to quit their Central American homeland.

Our children have to study and you cant do that when youre always moving from one place to another, says Juan Pablo.

He and his family are among tens of thousands of people fleeing the street gangs, or maras, in El Salvador and Honduras  although their destination is an unlikely one: neighbouring Guatemala.

The powerful maras criminal activities include extortion, drug dealing, human trafficking, prostitution and robbery. While their reach extends to Guatemala, asylum seekers say it is a safer option for them.

We heard only certain parts of Guatemala were violent, that it was much calmer here, says Juan Pablo, who fled to Guatemala City with his family in May. Every corner of El Salvador is dangerous.

Guatemala is now a refuge for those fleeing the region's gang violence. (Alexandre St-Denis, camera / Michelle Hoffman, producer)

To better safeguard new arrivals, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and civil society organizations have set up a network of safe spaces to protect asylum seekers like Juan Pablo and family  whether they choose to stay in Guatemala or continue on to another country.

The indications are that more are opting to stay put. From 2014 to 2016, the number of asylum requests in Guatemala increased 202 per cent. Additionally, Guatemala does not detain those seeking asylum, which has allowed Juan Pablo and Cecilia to achieve their main goal.

They have allowed my son into school without cost, says Cecilia. And my daughter gets to go to day care. Guatemalans have been good to us and supported us.

The family have applied for asylum and received visas to stay temporarily while their case is reviewed. Since 2014, 178 people have been recognized as refugees here, with 97 per cent of claims by Salvadorans, and 83 per cent by Hondurans, proving successful.

Guatemalans have been good to us and supported us.

Protection is not limited to families. People identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or intersex, known collectively as LGBTI, are specifically recognized as eligible refugees in Guatemala. That recognition has been vital for Leti, who grew up in El Salvador, but found the transition to being a woman a brutal experience there.

When I told my family about my sexuality, home became hostile for me, she says. She fled abuse and violence in El Salvador more than a decade ago after watching other LGBTI friends be murdered.

While life in Guatemala has not been easy, she and other LGBTI friends from El Salvador have thrived here since receiving the opportunity to apply for asylum.

Ive made friends and found new spaces to volunteer and work as an activist, she says. I feel at home here. The people here arent my blood relatives but they feel like sisters.

The fundamental challenge is to address  the root causes of the violence that cause so many people to flee.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi is currently making a first working visit to Guatemala, during which he met with President Jimmy Morales, refugees and UNHCR partners.

He noted that the protection measures were needed as Guatemala is increasingly become a country of refuge, and not just a stepping stone for refugees and migrants headed to Mexico and the United States.

There are many people who end up asking for asylum in this country, particularly from El Salvador and Honduras, said Grandi. He stressed that concerted international action was needed to tackle the insecurity driving displacement in the region.

The fundamental challenge is to address root causes, especially the root causes of the violence that cause so many people to flee. And this search for solutions can only be carried out on a regional basis  And this has to happen with the support of the international community, he said.

Grandi is visiting Guatemala at the start of a 10-day visit to five countries in the region. In Honduras and El Salvador, he is scheduled to meet with communities affected by violence and insecurity as well as government leaders and UNHCR partners.

He will also visit Mexico, where he will meet with refugees and asylum-seekers, mainly from Central America, who found safety in the country, where incipient efforts to develop durable solutions, principally local integration, are key. The trip concludes in Costa Rica.

*All refugees names have been changed for protection reasons.
Cobi Cogbill grew up in a town so small it doesnt even have a name. A place where he was one of just 30 students in his high school graduating class, and where cows outnumbered people.

Now 31, Cobi recalls that he and his neighbours back in south-eastern Arkansas shared strikingly similar backgrounds and beliefs. They cherished tradition, he says, and balked at change. They also viewed outsiders with suspicion, so when refugee resettlement began making headlines, some worried that it could pose a security risk to the country.

It was easier to be against refugees and be scared of them than try to look into who they were, Cobi says, reflecting on his own views just a few years ago.

Five years ago, Cobi moved to Fayetteville to be with his wife, Leanda, and began to see things differently. Home to the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville is the states third-largest city, with over 80,000 residents, and has taken in several refugees in recent years.

It was easier to be against refugees and be scared of them than try to look into who they were.

Leanda had been working through her church to welcome some of them, and she convinced Cobi to help out. One of the first refugees he met was Majidi, 36, who fled the Democratic Republic of the Congo after witnessing his fathers murder and being tortured.

Majidi walked for two months to Namibia, then waited 17 years as a refugee before being selected by the U.S. Government for resettlement. He moved to Fayetteville last December, grateful for the chance to restart his life.

They first met when Cobi offered Majidis family a ride to a nearby Islamic center for a meet-and-greet with other refugees and local families. They have been friends ever since.

They opened the door, welcomed us and offered us food, Cobi says, recalling his first encounter with Majidis family. Cobi had just eaten, so he declined the food. I told them, Im worried I am going to offend you. Majidis wife, Rehema, had a similar concern, Cobi remembers. She said We are worried we are going to offend you.

Cobi Cogbill, 31, (left) and Majidi, 36, hang out as their children play together at his house in Fayetteville, Arkansas. They have become best friends since meeting.  UNHCR/Lucian Perkins

Cobi Cogbill looks at family photos with Majidi and his wife, Rehema, at Majidi and Rehema's apartment in Fayetteville, Arkansas.  UNHCR/Lucian Perkins

Cobi Cogbill and his wife, Leanda, stand in front of their house in Fayetteville, Arkansas, with their three children. They are expecting a baby boy in November. Cobi credits Leanda with helping change his views on refugees and immigrants.  UNHCR/Lucian Perkins

Cobi Cogbill, 31, works in his office as an engineer for Simmons Foods' poultry plant in Decatur, Arkansas.  UNHCR/Lucian Perkins

Arkansas resettled 90 refugees since January 2012, according to U.S. government figures.

Majidi and his family are settling into their new lives fast. Their two children  Ally, 4, and Khadija, 2  go to school and day care. Majidi has a job at the university, and he and Rehema are also trying to start a small business.

My dream is to be independent, be an entrepreneur and help others, he says.

Now Cobi and Majidi meet up once a week  sometimes on the universitys campus, where Majidi works and Cobi studies engineering. Other times they meet at each others homes. Their children play together too.

Cobi says he does his best to explain to friends and neighbors why it is important to welcome the few, vulnerable refugees who are admitted for resettlement in the United States.

Our families are big friends. That is really special and means a lot to us.

They are trying to integrate with us and make us stronger, and I believe that they are, he says. Their dream is the American dream.

Still, Cobi says many of his friends and family from his hometown struggle to understand. Some, he says, have told him he should help his own.

I would try to talk to them, but it would never fail that they would unfriend me, block me on Facebook. I have lost people I have known for 20 years.

Cobi says he is happy with the path he has forged. He believes his family benefits from knowing Majidis family and other refugees.

We are teaching our children its okay to help other people and to be friends with someone who doesnt talk like you, look like you or come from the same place, or who doesnt worship the same way you do.

Our families are big friends. That is really special and means a lot to us.
August 25 2017

South Ayrshire Council has granted plans to build 27 affordable homes on the site of the former Whitletts Primary, incorporating a mix of cottage flats and town houses.In order to facilitate access this work will require the demolition of four existing council flats on James Brown Avenue, all of whom will be offered accommodation in the new development upon completion.Councillor Philip Saxton, South Ayrshire Councils portfolio holder for housing and customer services said: Were committed to building 600 new homes in the next five years, and this exciting new development in Ayr marks the start of that process.By making more energy efficient homes available people are able to run their homes more cheaply, while were also making smart use of a site that has been vacant for several years.The 3.9m scheme, designed by Mast Architects, is expected to complete by September 2019.
(Aug. 27, 2017, Updated 10:30 a.m.) -- UTSA staff will be on-hand throughout Harvey to provide assistance to students in on-campus residence halls. As a reminder, in an emergency, call x4911 (458-4911). For non-emergency assistance, call UTSA Police at x4242 (458-4242).

Additionally:

Roadrunner Cafe on the UTSA Main Campus will continue operating on a regular schedule throughout the weekend. Selections will be available at the following serving stations:



Pizza and Pasta Grill Produce Market Home Zone Desserts





Meal plans will work as usual, as will standard payment methods such as cash, credit or debit. Disposable to-go containers will be available for students to take their residence halls.

Roadrunner Cafe has food supplies to last 3-5 days. Generators are being secured to support refrigeration and lighting for Roadrunner Cafe. In the event of a total power loss, staff will be prepared to offer cold dishes including sandwiches, etc.

In the event of storm damage to any campus residence hall or living facility (Laurel Village, Chaparral Village, Alvarez Hall, Chisholm Hall and University Oaks), the university will coordinate relocation to other facilities, which may include the Recreation Wellness Center and/or the Convocation Center.

UTSA Libraries will be closed through Sunday night. The University Center and Main Campus Recreation Wellness Center will be open for students residing on campus from 3 to 10 p.m., Sunday, August 27.





UTSA Facilities crews are continuing to sandbag flood-prone areas. The UTSA Police Department will monitor campus conditions and will be prepared to close streets or redirect traffic as a result of flooding.





Much of the furniture around campus is being brought indoors in anticipation of strong winds. Furniture that cannot be stored inside is being aggregated in key areas, a precaution that makes it harder to fly away in heavy winds.

VIA bus service is expected to continue, as long as it is safe to do so, allowing to access to and from UTSA campuses.

University leadership will continue to monitor the progress of the storm throughout the weekend and will make a determination about Monday classes. Use your best personal judgment in deciding whether to drive. Students who have questions about class attendance or class assignments should contact their professors and instructors directly.

Updates will be provided on Twittter (@utsa), on Facebook (facebook.com/utsa) and on UTSA Today (utsa.edu/today).

Tropical storm force winds from Harvey are expected to begin in Bexar County Saturday morning. The greatest impact from the storm is expected Sunday. A determination about campus operations on Monday, August 28 will be made later Sunday afternoon.
(Aug. 24, 2017, 12:30 p.m. CT) -- University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) officials are closely monitoring the development of Hurricane Harvey, a tropical weather system in the Gulf of Mexico that could potentially turn into a Category 3 storm before making landfall early this weekend.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) has issued a Tropical Storm Warning and a Flash Flood Watch for Bexar County. The NHC predicts that Harvey could impact the San Antonio region with 8-12 inches of rain and wind gusts up to 60 mph throughout Saturday and into Saturday night.

All UTSA campuses, classes and programs are currently operating on their regular schedule but are subject to closure, postponement or cancellation based on storm conditions throughout the weekend.

Our utmost priority is the well-being of our students, faculty, staff and visitors, said incoming UTSA President Taylor Eighmy. We are closely monitoring Harvey and encourage members of the campus community to stay connected to our official channels, and to local media, for ongoing updates.

President Eighmy is working closely with a variety of UTSA leaders to monitor and prepare for the storm including the Campus Management and Operations committee (CMO), the Office of Emergency Management and UTSA Police Department, University Communications, Campus Services, Facilities, Housing and Residence Life, Student Affairs, the Downtown Campus, and the Institute of Texan Cultures.

As severe weather approaches, UTSA will provide updates to the campus community at:

It is anticipated that the Roadrunner Cafe will continue operating on a regular schedule throughout the weekend, despite the potential for severe weather, to accommodate students who reside on campus.

Current summary of conditions from the National Hurricane Center:

A Hurricane Warning is in effect for Texas Gulf coast counties

A Storm Surge Warning is in effect for coastal communities

A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for Bexar County

A Flash Flood Watch is in effect for San Antonio and Bexar County beginning at 1 pm Friday through 7 am Sunday. It is possible the watch may be extended.

As Harvey develops, the UTSA community should stay connected to the universitys official social media channels and utsa.edu/today for updates.


Nathan Adelson Hospice, the largest non-profit hospice in Nevada, is gearing up for its 18th Annual Wine & Food Tasting Extravaganza, being held from 5:30 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 12. This popular annual fundraiser benefits the hospices Pediatric Program and Families in Need Program (Photos are from a previous years event).

Community members and supporters are invited to sample a variety of delectable wines and cuisine from some of Southern Nevadas most notable restaurants, while enjoying music and a silent auction. The event is being held in the spacious showroom of Gaudin Porsche, 6800 Redwood St., in Las Vegas.

We are grateful for the continued generous support of the community and we appreciate Gaudin Porsches longstanding commitment to hosting this fantastic event, said Nathan Adelson Hospice President and CEO Carole Fisher. As the only non-profit hospice in Southern Nevada, every dollar raised goes back to patient care and support for our families.

The Pediatric Hospice Program is designed to meet the special needs of children with life-threatening conditions, as well as their families. The program provides symptom management and emotional support. The Pediatric Team is committed to quality of life and minimizing fear and uncertainty. Among services provided are: 24-hour, on-call availability of a hospice medical professional; care in the home; pain and symptom management; medications, equipment and supplies; support to caregivers; inpatient pediatric care; bereavement counseling; spiritual care; and psycho-social support services.

The Families in Need Program provides immediate resources for necessities such as food, clothing or paying a utility bill. In many cases, hospice patients do not have time to wait for assistance; for them, every minute counts. The Families in Need Program allows dollars to be disbursed swiftly for urgent patient needs. The program reflects a commitment to adding more life to our patients days.
(Photo: AFP/MIRA OBERMAN)

The decision follows a similar move undertaken in the US market in 2016.

It applies to drugs that are also used in human medicine, called Highest Priority Critically Important Antimicrobials (HPCIA) by the World Health Organization (WHO).

"Starting in 2018, we will begin implementing a new broiler chicken antibiotics policy in markets around the world," the company said in a statement issued Wednesday.

By 2018, HPCIAs will be eliminated in broiler chicken for the Brazil, Canada, Japan, South Korea, the US, and Europe. An exception will be made for the antibiotic colistin for Europe only.

The policy will be extended for Australia and Russia by the end of 2019, when the colistin exception for Europe will be made phased out.

It will be fully implemented globally by January 2027, although the firm said: "Our goal is to have this policy implemented before this date."

Scientists have for decades argued there is a link between antibiotic use in animals and the dwindling effectiveness of these drugs in human medicine.

Industrial-scale poultry farmers often use antibiotics not to treat outbreaks of disease in their flocks but to prevent it from occurring.

Some also use the drugs to help birds gain weight more quickly. Certain antibiotics destroy bacteria in the gut, which means that the chicken can convert feed to muscle faster.

Among humans, causes of resistance include the overprescription of antibiotics and patients failing to take the correct dosage, which allows a residual population of germs to survive and rebound.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), at least two million people in the US become infected with bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics every year, leading to 23,000 deaths.

According to some estimates, drug-resistant bacteria may within decades be causing more deaths than cancer.

The US Consumers Union, a non-profit advocacy group, hailed the decision.

"The widespread use of antibiotics on livestock that aren't sick is contributing to a global public health crisis with potentially dire consequences," said Jean Halloran, director of the organization's food policy initiatives.

She added: "We commend McDonald's for setting these goals and urge all fast food chains to use their market clout to protect public health before it's too late."

The WHO's list of HCIAs falls into five categories: quinolones; third-generation cephalosporins; macrolides and ketolides; glycopeptides; and polymyxins.

These drugs are notably frontline medications in the fight against salmonella, enterobacter and E. coli infections.
Mavis Wanczyk of Chicopee, Massachusetts, stands by a poster of her winnings during a news conference where she claimed the US$758.7 million Powerball prize at Massachusetts State Lottery headquarters in Braintree, Massachusetts. (Source: AP Photo/Steven Senne)

NEW YORK: A 53-year-old Massachusetts mother of two who scooped the largest single jackpot in US history - US$758.7 million - said it was a dream come true on Thursday (Aug 24) and immediately quit her hospital job of 32 years.

Mavis Wanczyk said she had played the lottery as a "pipe dream," never believing that it would one day be possible for her to retire early from the Mercy Medical Centre, where she worked in patient care.

Mavis Wanczyk of Chicopee, Massachusetts, speaks during a news conference where she claimed the US$758.7 million Powerball prize at Massachusetts State Lottery headquarters in Braintree, Massachusetts, USA. (Source: AP Photo/Josh Reynolds)

On Thursday, that dream came true.

"I've called them and told them I will not be coming back," she said to laughter at a news conference hosted by the Massachusetts State Lottery.

"I'm going to go hide in my bed!" she added when asked how she planned to celebrate, wearing black-framed spectacles, a zip-up hooded black sweater over a grey lace top, necklace and shoulder-length thick auburn hair.

Wanczyk selected the winning numbers - which included family birthdays - and bought the ticket from a convenience store in Chicopee, a small town 160 kilometres west of Boston, calling it "a chance I had to take."

A cashier (left) makes a sale to a customer at the Pride Station & Store in Chicopee, Massachusetts, where the winning ticket for the Powerball was sold. (Source: AP Photo/Steven Senne)

"I was there just to buy it for luck," she explained, chewing gum and grinning. Accompanied to the news conference by her mother and two sisters, she was still dazed after her monumental win.

Mavis Wanczyk (right) of Chicopee, Massachusetts, and relatives laugh beside state treasurer Deb Goldberg during a news conference where she claimed the US$758.7 million Powerball prize at Massachusetts State Lottery headquarters. (Source: AP Photo/Josh Reynolds)

It came nine months after the father of her children, William Wanczyk, a former firefighter, was killed on Nov 6 by a hit-and-run driver while waiting at a bus shelter in the Massachusetts town of Amherst, US media reported.

A local man, accused of driving a pickup truck at high speed, was subsequently charged with offences including motor vehicle homicide, manslaughter while under the influence and leaving the scene.

Powerball called Wednesday's draw "the highest jackpot won on a single ticket and the biggest lottery prize ever awarded to one single person."

The US$758.7 million jackpot is Powerball's highest since a January 2016 world record of US$1.6 billion, which was split between three ticket holders from California, Florida and Tennessee. Each took home US$528.8 million.

'SCARED BUT OK'

The winning numbers were 6, 7, 16, 23 and 26, from five white balls, and 4 as the so-called Powerball number on a red ball.

The retailer that sold the winning ticket is to receive US$50,000, which he has committed to local charities.

Bob Bolduc, founder and owner of Pride stores, smiles as he takes questions from members of the media during a news conference at the Pride Station & Store in Chicopee, Massachusetts, where the winning ticket for the Powerball was sold. (Source: AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Wanczyk now has the choice of taking the jackpot as an annuity spread over 30 years or a one-off cash lump sum - reportedly US$336 million after taxes.

"The first thing I want to do? I just want to sit back and relax. I had a pipe dream and my pipe dream has finally come true," Wanczyk said.

She said she found out she had won from a fireman colleague as they were leaving work at night and promptly went into shock.

"I couldn't drive anywhere, I couldn't do anything," she said. "So he followed me actually to make sure I was safely home. Now it's like, 'I am a winner,' and I'm scared, but I'll be ok."

Wanczyk, who has a 31-year-old daughter and 26-year-old son, said she had been "OK" financially and had yet to work out how to spend her millions, other than paying off the car she bought last year.

She said she now wanted to be alone to "figure out what I want to do."

While she could have remained anonymous, she said she came forward so quickly because she wanted to "get it over," hoping that everybody would leave her alone.

Six other people won US$2 million each and 34 players walked off with US$1 million in Wednesday's draw, Powerball said.

The lottery is played in 44 states, Washington DC, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. The draw takes place every Wednesday and Saturday nights.
Today WikiLeaks published secret documents from the ExpressLane project of the CIA [1]. These documents show one of the cyber operations the CIA conducts against liaison services  which includes among many others the National Security Agency (NSA), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

The OTS (Office of Technical Services), a branch within the CIA [2], has a biometric collection system that is provided to liaison services around the world  with the expectation for sharing of the biometric takes collected on the systems. But this voluntary sharing obviously does not work or is considered insufficient by the CIA, because ExpressLane is a covert information collection tool that is used by the CIA to secretly exfiltrate data collections from such systems provided to liaison services.

ExpressLane is installed and run with the cover of upgrading the biometric software by OTS agents that visit the liaison sites. Liaison officers overseeing this procedure will remain unsuspicious, as the data exfiltration disguises behind a Windows installation splash screen.

The core components of the OTS system are based on products from Cross Match, a US company specializing in biometric software for law enforcement and the Intelligence Community [3]. The company hit the headlines in 2011 when it was reported that the US military used a Cross Match product to identify Osama bin Laden during the assassination operation in Pakistan [4].

Cross Match certified by UIDAI

Cross Match was one of the first suppliers of biometric devices certified by UIDAI for Aadhaar program [5]. The company received the Certificate of Approval from the Indian Government in 2011. Cross Match received the Certificate of Approval for its Guardian fingerprint capture device [6] and the I SCAN dual iris capture device [7] on October 7, 2011. Both systems utilize Cross Matchs patented Auto Capture feature, which quickly captures high-quality images with minimal operator involvement.

The Certificate of Approval, was issued after completion of all tests required to demonstrate compliance with the quality requirements of UIDAI. The certification body consists of the Standardization, Testing and Quality Certification (STQC) Directorate for the Government of Indias Department of Information Technology (DIT) and the UIDAI. The tests performed by the STQC included the following criteria: Physical & Dimensional, Image Quality, Environmental (Durability/Climatic), Safety, EMI/EMC, Security, Functional, Performance, Interoperability, Ease of Use & Ergonomics.

Majority of the UIDAI certified enrollment agencies use Cross Match devices across India. Cross Match was also the first company to receive the Provisional Certificate for use in the UID program in September, 2010. Video featuring the Cross Match Guardian and I SCAN devices has been taken down from the official UIDAI website.

Francisco Partners

In 2012, Francisco Partners acquired Cross Match Technologies Inc. [8]. The company has more than 5,000 customers worldwide and over 250,000 products deployed in over 80 countries. Cross Matchs customers include the U.S. Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, U.S. State Department and various state and local governments ; as well as numerous foreign governments and law enforcement agencies. It also provides biometric solutions to customers in transportation, critical infrastructure, financial services, education, and healthcare sectors.

One of Francisco Partners portfolio company is an Israeli cyber weapons dealer called NSO Group [9]. The companys Pegasus iOS malware was linked to attacks on iPhones of a prominent UAE activist and a Mexican journalist [10].

Researchers from the University of Torontos Citizen Lab and mobile security firm Lookout raised questions about the ethics of NSO Group, a government spyware provider founded by an alum of Israels vaunted intelligence agencies [11]. Francisco Partners bought its stake in the company for $120 million in 2014. Citizen Lab uncovered NSOs Pegasus malware targeting iPhones of a Mexican journalist and a UAE activist. The same day, Forbes reported that Francisco Partners added Circles to its roster of investments, another Israeli-founded surveillance firm, which sold contentious gear to hack a part of global telecoms networks, known as SS7 [12]. That cost the private equity firm $130 million, a source close to the deal told Forbes.

Spying governments, activists & journalists

Francisco Partners also ran Turkeys spy operations by selling its deep packet inspection product for surveillance [13]. Deep packet inspection enables surveillance at the outset. Its very purpose is to open up packets of data flying across networks and inspect them to check if they should pass. DPI has made headlines for controversial use cases. China, for instance, likes to use DPI in its infamous censorship and surveillance systems. Sunnyvale, California-based Blue Coat Systems, in which Francisco Partners was a significant investor, saw its DPI technology censoring the internet in Syria in 2011, just as the civil war was erupting. Human rights activists looked on agog, but Blue Coat later said resellers were to blame and that it had not given permission for the technology to be shipped to the country. One reseller was later slapped with a maximum fine of $2.8 million by the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) [14]. (Francisco Partners also has stakes in Barracuda Networks and Dell Software, which both ship DPI products).

Aadhaars biometric pioneer

The foundation of the Aadhaar program is based on biometric and demographic data that is unique to each citizen. This data can only be collected by leveraging biometric devices and compatible software  the second and third stages of the Aadhaar value chain [15].

Cross Matchs Indian partner for the UID program is Smart Identity Devices Pvt. Ltd. (Smart ID) [16]. Smart Identity Devices, or Smart ID, has been the biometric pioneer and leader for the Aadhaar program. Smart ID provides biometric technology, smart card, and information and communication technology products and services for numerous sectors, such as financial services, logistics, government, and IT security. Launching commercial operations in 2008, Smart ID is based in Noida, India and is led by Sanjeev Mathur. The companys devices are being used by enrollment agencies across India for the Aadhaar program.

Smart IDs products and services range from biometric products, to mobile application solutions, to services such as Aadhaar enrollment, training, project management, IT hosting, and business correspondent management. As of 2014, Smart ID was able to carry out enrollment activities across India in states such as, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, West Bangal, and Madhya Pradesh. Smart ID has already enrolled more than 1.2 million citizens into the Aadhaar program through its enrollment agencies. In July 2011, the UIDAI recognized Smart ID as being one of the three best enrollment agencies in Aadhaar for enrolling more than 25 million citizens in a very short time frame.

The price of a Smart ID Patrol ID fingerprint scanner was approximately $2300 in 2014. And these devices were installed across the country. It would be interesting to know how much did the Indian government pay this CIA front company for the exercise. Lets say UIDAI installed 10,000 such bugged CIA devices across the country for enrollment (which is a very conservative estimate), the staggering cost would be 1.473.554.800 Rs.

How CIA agents can access Aadhaar database in real-time

A number of the CIAs electronic attack methods are designed for physical proximity. These attack methods are able to penetrate high security networks that are disconnected from the internet, such as police record database. In these cases, a CIA officer, agent or allied intelligence officer acting under instructions, physically infiltrates the targeted workplace. The attacker is provided with a USB containing malware developed for the CIA for this purpose, which is inserted into the targeted computer. The attacker then infects and exfiltrates data to removable media. For example, the CIA attack system Fine Dining, provides 24 decoy applications for CIA spies to use [17]. To witnesses, the spy appears to be running a program showing videos (e.g VLC), presenting slides (Prezi), playing a computer game (Breakout2, 2048) or even running a fake virus scanner (Kaspersky, McAfee, Sophos). But while the decoy application is on the screen, the underlaying system is automatically infected and ransacked.

Fine Dining comes with a standardized questionnaire i.e menu that CIA case officers fill out. The questionnaire is used by the agencys OSB (Operational Support Branch) to transform the requests of case officers into technical requirements for hacking attacks (typically exfiltrating information from computer systems) for specific operations [18]. The questionnaire allows the OSB to identify how to adapt existing tools for the operation, and communicate this to CIA malware configuration staff. The OSB functions as the interface between CIA operational staff and the relevant technical support staff.

Among the list of possible targets of the collection are Asset, Liason Asset, System Administrator, Foreign Information Operations, Foreign Intelligence Agencies and Foreign Government Entities. Notably absent is any reference to extremists or transnational criminals. The Case Officer is also asked to specify the environment of the target like the type of computer, operating system used, Internet connectivity and installed anti-virus utilities (PSPs) as well as a list of file types to be exfiltrated like Office documents, audio, video, images or custom file types. The menu also asks for information if recurring access to the target is possible and how long unobserved access to the computer can be maintained. This information is used by the CIAs JQJIMPROVISE software to configure a set of CIA malware suited to the specific needs of an operation.

At the bottom of this page, you will find the official training manual that contains the detailed steps for carrying out the installation and configuration of Cross Match for the Aadhaar Enrolment Client. This manual also describes the process of importing master data after downloading it from the UIDAI Admin Portal.

It is remarkable that Aadhaar and Al-Qaeda mean the same thing, which is database  Manu Joseph pointed out this tweetable fact in his piece on Live Mint [19]. What we might add is that it is also remarkable that both Aadhaar and Al Qaeda are illegitimate sons of the same mother!
Leslie Wayne, Blue Lagoon (detail, 2016). Photo: Courtesy of the Artist and Jack Shainman Gallery

AUGUST

8/18

An Incomplete History of Protest: Selections From the Whitneys Collection, 19402017

Whitney Museum of American Art

A compendium of protest art  loosely defined  from the Whitneys collection, including Toyo Miyatakes illicit photographs of the camp where he was interned during the Second World War and work by May Stevens addressing American involvement in Vietnam.

Guerrilla Girls, Guerrilla Girls Review the Whitney, 1987. Photo: Courtesy of the Whitney Museum of American Art/Digital Image  Whitney Museum of American Art

SEPTEMBER

9/6

Keith Edmier: Mother Mold

Through 11/4 at Petzel Gallery

A series of plaster face molds form Edmiers dysfunctional family tree. He displays one mask  of a friend, family member, or public figure  for each of the 50 years of his life.

Keith Edmier, Edmier imagines (Keith Edmier, Age 13), 2017. Photo: Courtesy of the Artist and Petzel; New York

9/7

Kara Walker: The most Astounding and Important Painting show of the fall Art Show viewing season!

Through 10/14 at Sikkema Jenkins & Co.

Three years after installing her monumental sphinx in Williamsburgs old Domino Sugar Factory, Walker returns. Details of the exhibit are being kept under wraps.

Kara Walker, U.S.A. Idioms (detail, 2017). Photo: Kara Walker; Courtesy of Sikkema Jenkin & Co.; New York

Leslie Wayne

Through 10/21 at Jack Shainman Gallery

From a distance, Waynes paintings seem like brightly patterned textiles. A closer look reveals that theyre actually canvases painted and layered with exuberant streaks of color.

Mira Schendel

Through 10/21 at Hauser & Wirth

Work from the final decade of the late Brazilian painter-sculptor-poets career, including bold black-and-white pieces from her Sarrafo series, which blends painting and sculpture.

Pat Steir: Kairos

Through 10/21 at Levy Gorvy

The conceptual painter, known for the effervescent colors and forms in her Waterfall series, returns with more than a dozen new works, including a luminous blue-and-orange canvas dedicated to Agnes Martin.

9/8

Trevor Paglen: A Study of Invisible Images

Through 10/21 at Metro Pictures

Paglen, who has photographed classified military bases, intelligence agencies, and other sites relating to government secrecy, turns his focus to artificial intelligence.

Stanley Whitney, Untitled, 1989. Photo: Courtesy of the Artist and Lisson Gallery/Courtesy Lisson Gallery

Stanley Whitney

Through 10/21 at Lisson Gallery

Devotees of Whitneys brilliant, abstract explorations of color will appreciate this peek behind the curtain into his process. On view will be the drawings in which he experiments with the same structures and shapes seen in his paintings.

Vaginal Davis & Louise Nevelson: Cinema Chimera

Through 10/22 at Invisible-Exports

A series of new paintings, made with watercolors and drugstore cosmetics, by legendary queer performance artist Davis, paired with two sculptures from Nevelsons powerful black series.

9/14

Chris Ofili: Paradise Lost

Through 10/21 at David Zwirner

This wunderkind painters richly detailed works, many of which use unconventional materials, from glitter to elephant dung, feel vital and alive.

Mikiko Hara, Untitled 117, from the series Procedures for Manufacturing a Void, 2001. Photo: Mikiko Hara/ Courtesy of Miyako Yoshinaga; New York/Mike Nogami

Mikiko Hara: In the Blink of an Eye, 19962009

Through 10/21 at Miyako Yoshinaga

All of my photographs were taken by a mere accident, Hara has said  but they look anything but slipshod. The images, taken while Hara wandered the streets and suburbs of Tokyo, feel like finely drawn sketches of her unsuspecting subjects inner lives.

Lisa Brice, Untitled, 2017. Photo: Courtesy of Lisa Brice and Salon 94/ Mark Blower 2017

9/16

Lisa Brice

Through 10/28 at Salon 94

Brice wrests female nudity from the grasp of art historys men. The women she paints seem not to know were looking at them; theyre fully at home in their unclothed bodies.

Frank Lloyd Wright, Key Plan for Ellis Island, 1959. Photo: Courtesy of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation Archives/The Museum of Modern Art/Avery Architectural& Fine Art Library; Columbia University; New York

9/17

Never Built New York

Through 2/18 at the Queens Museum

For the next few months, when you visit the Queens Museums magnificent scale model of the city as it was in the 1960s, youll be able to see this exhibition of the city that might have been: a catalogue of 150 years of the bizarre, misguided, and too-good-to-be-true architectural projects that never quite got done.

9/23

Karina Aguilera Skvirsky: The Perilous Journey of Maria Rosa Palacios

Through 11/5 at Smack Mellon

In 1906, the artists great-grandmother traveled from her home in the Ecuadoran highlands to the coast to work as a servant for a wealthy family. Here, Skvirsky presents a film documenting her own re-creation, a century later, of her great-grandmothers voyage.

9/24

Louise Bourgeois: An Unfolding Portrait

Through 1/28 at MoMA

Bourgeois is known for provoking visceral reactions with sculptures of giant spiders and penises. Her printed work, often focused on bodies, buildings, and nature, has a subtler pull.

9/27

Kahlil Joseph

Through 1/7 at the New Museum

One of the directors of Beyonces Lemonade presents his first solo show in New York. Expect films full of lush depictions of daily urban life.

9/29

Drawn to Greatness: Master Drawings From the Thaw Collection

Through 1/7 at the Morgan Library & Museum

This formerly private collection features work from the Renaissance to the 20th century, by heavyweights like Rembrandt, Matisse, and Pollock.

OCTOBER

10/4

The Vietnam War: 19451975

Through 4/22 at the New-York Historical Society

This exhibit brings together documents like the Pentagon Papers, art by protesters and veterans, film clips, and artifacts from the war to paint a 360-degree view of American involvement in Vietnam.

10/6

Art and China After 1989: Theater of the World

Through 1/7 at the Guggenheim Museum

Contemporary experimental Chinese art is front and center in this show. It features work by more than 70 artists, including the title piece, by Huang Yong Ping, in which hundreds of live reptiles and insects will, over the course of the show, gradually consume one another.

Raghubir Singh, Ganapati Immersion, Chowpatty, Bombay, Maharashtra, 1989.

10/11

Raghubir Singh: Modernism on the Ganges

Through 1/2 at the Met Breuer

Whether he was photographing wrestlers working out or a familys wedding party, Singhs dynamic, sweeping pictures portray whole worlds within a single frame.

10/13

Michael Wang: World Trade

Through 11/12 at Foxy Production

The 25 plates that form the centerpiece of this show are made of metal bought from one of Chinas largest steel companies, which had purchased metal salvaged from the World Trade Center after 9/11. Wang presents the steel alongside a series of documents that detail its history and how it was subsumed by the global economy.

10/18

Alice Aycock

Through 11/18 at Marlborough Gallery

Aycock is best known for large-scale, architectural sculptures that are often slightly off-kilter.

Volunteers in the needlework loft for Judy Chicagos Dinner Party, 1977.

10/20

Roots of The Dinner Party: History in the Making

Through 3/4 at the Brooklyn Museum

A deep dive into the research and fabrication that went into Judy Chicagos foundational 1979 work, which presents the highlights of Western womens history through elaborate table settings, including the vaginal dinner plates shes famous for.

Matt Connors, Hocket, 2017. Photo: Courtesy of Canada

Matt Connors

Through 12/10 at Canada

On first glance, you see bright, geometric shapes Tetris-ed into Connorss canvases; look a little longer and youll begin to notice subtler details, like his fine, textured brushstrokes.

Carolee Schneemann, Eye Body: 36 Transformative Actions for Camera, 1963.

10/22

Carolee Schneemann: Kinetic Painting

Through 3/11 at MoMA PS1

Schneemann is generally known as the artist who pulled a scroll out of her vagina in a 1975 performance. But there is far more worth considering in her work, as this major retrospective shows, from her early 1950s paintings to her 70s-era explorations in performance.

Cao Fei, RMB City: A Second Life City Planning by China Tracy (aka: Cao Fei), 2007. Photo: Cao Fei/Courtesy of Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum; New York

10/24

Concrete Truth

Through 2/16 at the International Studio & Curatorial Program

In an era of fake news and easily alterable images, what is real? This group show, featuring work at the boundary of art and documentary, aims to tease out some answers.

10/26

Wiener Werkstatte, 19031932: The Luxury of Beauty

Through 1/29 at the Neue Galerie

The goal of the early-20th-century design collective known as the Wiener Werkstatte (or Vienna workshops) was to elevate everyday objects into pieces of art. This major retrospective collects more than 400 objects that exemplify its opulent aesthetic, from textiles to graphic design to ceramics.

Valeska Soares: Neither Here Nor There

Through 12/16 at Alexander Gray Associates

The Brazilian conceptual artist often works with decades-old objects like mirrors, glasses, and clocks, contrasting them with more fleeting materials like plants and flowers to play with viewers perceptions of time.

10/27

Duncan Hannah: Adrift in the 21st Century

Through 12/10 at Invisible-Exports

Opinions are divided over whether Hannahs Hopper-esque paintings are painfully earnest and stubbornly retro or a breath of fresh air in a sea of abstract experimentation. You be the judge.

Francois Morellet, Trames 3-87-93-183, 1971.

10/28

Francois Morellet

Through 6/30 at Dia: Chelsea and Dia: Beacon

Throughout the 1960s, the French art collective Groupe de Recherche dArt Visuel staged perception-altering art installations in the streets of Paris.

Morellets individual work, continued after the group disbanded in 1968, has flown under the radar in North America. Dia brings a selection of his installations, paintings, and sculpture to its galleries in Chelsea and upstate.

NOVEMBER

11/1

Performa 17

Through 11/19 at venues throughout the city

The biannual performance-art extravaganza brings together an international group of artists. This years highlights will include a rare public performance by anthropological artist Wangechi Mutu and new work from genre-defying South African artist Zanele Muholi.

Brian Rochefort, Chumbe, 2017. Photo: Fredrik Nilsen/Photography  2017 Fredrik Nilsen, All Rights Reserved

11/3

Brian Rochefort

Through 12/22 at Van Doren Waxter

Rochefort pours layer upon layer of neon glaze onto his ceramics, turning misshapen cups into psychedelic, dripping volcanoes.

Sable Elyse Smith: Landscapes & Playgrounds

Through 12/17 at Signal

Smiths work is often concerned with exploring the experiences of those in prison and their families. Here, she considers landscape and playground in that context, from the murals that often cover visiting-room walls to recreation yards to the interior landscapes of incarcerated individuals.

In Vitro

Through 12/10 at Bodega

A historical exploration of the shopwindow as a space where, as Walter Benjamin said, art is in the service of the salesman.

11/4

Farhad Moshiri: Snow Forest

Through 12/23 at Perrotin New York

The artist prints old photos of snowy trees in an Iranian forest onto canvas, then hand-embroiders the work with beads to transform the familiar landscape into something else entirely.

Michelangelo Buonarroti, Archers Shooting at a Herm, 153033. Photo: THE ROYAL COLLECTION/Royal Collection Trust /  Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2017

11/13

Michelangelo: Divine Draftsman and Designer

Through 2/12 at the Met Fifth Avenue

A huge array of drawings, sculptures, and architectural models  including many pieces that are rarely loaned from abroad  by the Renaissance master.

11/27

David Hockney

Through 2/25 at the Met Fifth Avenue

The only North American stop for this major retrospective on the occasion of Hockneys 80th birthday.

DECEMBER

12/1

Raha Raissnia

Through 2/4 at the Drawing Center

Raissnias dark, psychologically fraught charcoal drawings feel like they would make good illustrations for a book of Edgar Allan Poe stories. This show presents both works on paper and films that the artist will make, using her drawings as source material for the looped, flickering projections.

Through 2/4 at the Drawing Center

*This article appears in the August 21, 2017, issue of New York Magazine.
Parting is such sweet sorrow, even when it comes to saying good-bye to SNLs morbid portrayal of Steve Bannon as an ominous grim reaper with a voice similar to the villain from the Saw franchise. On Thursdays final Weekend Update: Summer Edition, Alec Baldwin made a triumphant return to the NBC variety show to portray President Donald Trump. While Baldwins Trump tries to bid his former chief strategist a proper good-bye, Bannon promises that his firing will only make him more powerful and threatens to crush Trump. Watch the whole cold open above, which also features Trump dealing with the effects of looking directly at the eclipse, his recent Phoenix rally, and Trump claiming that the one victim of Charlottesville was himself.
Titanic. Photo: twentieth century

Oscars aside, Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio are just a bunch of nerds like the rest of us. In a Glamour UK cover story, Winslet offered a peek inside the pairs never-let-go (except for that one time) friendship, revealing that theyre both just dorks who do dorky things like quote lines from their insanely popular movie to each other. You dont even want to know the last conversation we had, because it was so funny and made me laugh so much, Winslet said. We found ourselves saying to each other, Can you imagine if the world really knew the stupid things we say? Im not going to tell you what we actually talk about, but yeah, were very, very close and sometimes we do quote the odd Titanic line back and forth to each other, because only we can, and we find it really funny.

Legally, anyone can quote from Titanic whenever they like. But what do Kate and Leo tell each other? Does she say Im flying, Jack when shes calling from a plane? Does he make jokes about being a gutter rat? Have they sung My Heart Will Go On together at karaoke? Kate, please stop sending Leo Snapchats of yourself throwing valuable jewelry into the ocean for the sake of the bit.
Photo: Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images

In a recent interview with the Guardian, James Cameron, a male member of the Hollywood elite, complained that Wonder Woman featured an objectified icon and that the movie was just male Hollywood doing the same old thing! After bemoaning the self-congratulatory back-patting Hollywoods been doing over Wonder Woman, he then brought up the strength of his own female character Sarah Connor from the Terminator fthe Terminator franchise, adding that she wasnt a beauty icon. Cameron added that he was tired of demonstrating his point on the subject, and that he felt like he was shouting in a wind tunnel.

Well, Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins has a few thoughts on Camerons ideas on what does and does not constitute a strong female character. In a statement she posted to her Twitter, Jenkins responded to Cameron, writing:

 [I]f women have to always be hard, tough and troubled to be strong, and we arent free to be multidimensional or celebrate an icon of women everywhere because she is attractive and loving, then we havent come very far have we.

Read Jenkinss entire statement below:
Peter Serafinowicz as Tick. Photo: Jessica Miglio/Amazon Video

When Ben Edlund created his spoofy superhero The Tick in high school over 30 years ago, I doubt he imagined that it would follow him  [Tick voice]: Latch onto him, old chum!  throughout his life, producing multiple versions in print and on television. Of course, popular culture is filled with examples of characters and stories that slip the leash of their creators and take on endless lives of their own, becoming cultural phenomena and brands that reinvent and repackage themselves over decades: Sherlock Holmes, Popeye, the Lone Ranger, Superman, Star Wars, Alien. One of the many things that makes The Ticks situation unique is that Edlund has been centrally involved with every version since the 80s, including the most recent live-action series, which bows on Amazon on Friday. That means fans of Edlunds universe cant accuse this incarnation of being illegitimate or of somehow not getting what The Tick is really about. The originator of The Tick is not just the executive producer here, but the principal screenwriter, and the whole thing was his idea. Either youre willing to follow along as the artist comes at the same material from a new, discombobulating angle, or you arent.

Ill be transparent here and confess that during the first couple of episodes (all six premiering today were sent out for review, while the second half of the season will air in early 2018), I kept my arms tightly folded, thinking, This is not my Tick. It took a while to let go of what I expected (and maybe wanted) and give myself over to what was in front of me, but once I did, I was transfixed. Edlunds latest run at the big blue lunkhead and his nebbish sidekick Arthur isnt quite a dark and gritty reboot, thank jumping Jehoshaphat, but its tonally and structurally unlike any other. Ive been following Edlunds Tick stories since the early 90s, when a fellow comics fan loaned me the inaugural run of comics. I adore the title character so much that I deadpan one of the Ticks signature phrases I dont get it at things I do get. While the print versions, the 1994 cartoon series and the 2001 live-action version (overseen by ace comedy director Barry Sonnenfeld, and starring the great Patrick Warburton) all stuck fairly close to a Seinfeld meets the 1960s Batman sitcom template  broad, cheerfully dorky swipes at superhero comics cliches, plus deadpan one-liners and stray moments of tenderness  this version seems strongly influenced not just by the Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy (shot by Wally Pfister, the principal director here) but also by sitcoms like Master of None, Atlanta, and Youre the Worst, which focus on character psychology and try to envision a world that feels materially real, the better to make the bursts of surrealism, expressionism, and doofus slapstick pop.

The biggest change among many is shifting the spotlight from the Tick to Arthur Everest (Griffin Newman, formerly of Vinyl), the second banana in other versions. The show fleshes him out not as a charming variant of a familiar comic-book type, but as a person with a tangled, debilitating psychology. Arthur suffered a classic comic-book childhood trauma, losing his dad to a Joker-like bad guy called the Terror (Jackie Earle Haley, affecting a Christopher LloydasDoom vibe), who was supposedly killed years subsequently; he believes the baddie is still alive and secretly authoring the worlds misfortunes, and his obsession with proving it has turned him into an emotionally delicate fringe character who takes multiple meds to treat his depression, papers his walls with Terror-related material, and sneaks out at night trying to gather evidence that will prove that another supervillain, Ramses IV (Michael Cerveris), is a puppet dancing on the Terrors strings. His sister, Dot (Valorie Curry), a medical student, protects him whenever she can, but for the most part hes a man alone, ill-equipped to carry out his mission.

The first appearance of the nigh-invulnerable, nigh-idiotic title character (Peter Serafinowicz) is so fortuitously timed that we instantly start to suspect that were in a Fight Club scenario, wherein the Tick (whose name starts with the same letter as the Terror; innnnnnnn-teresting) is a projection born from Arthurs psyche. Edlund and Pfister tease that notion actively, to the point of titling their second episode Where Is My Mind?, the name of the Pixies song that served as Fight Clubs closing credits anthem, and having a cover version of the song, performed by a spirited chorus of kazoos, follow Arthur around as he obsesses over whether the Tick is real.

Thankfully, though, the series doesnt travel down the exact same narrative road as The Leftovers and Mr. Robot (both of which used covers of Where Is My Mind to cop to borrowing from Fight Club). The Arthur-Tick relationship is more of a Coen Brothers kinda thing: like H.I. and the lone biker of the apocalypse in Raising Arizona, or Barton Fink and Charlie in Barton Fink, the Tick-Arthur relationship hovers somewhere between metaphorical and actual. He was summoned like a golem by Arthurs issues, but hes a person who has issues of his own. This reconception of the Tick invariably turns him into one piece of the ensemble instead of the lead, and there are times where Edlund & Co. very nearly treat him like Godzilla, bringing him in whenever a dose of mayhem is required to move the plot along. Were not really permitted any access into his mind, a space that I envision as a garage containing a chair, an empty gas can, and a paddle ball that no longer has a ball attached to it. There are intimations that he, too, is a victim of trauma  he confesses to having no idea who he is or how he became that way.

Fittingly, Serafinowiczs performance goes in a different direction from Warburtons immortal star turn in the 2001 live-action series: less thunderously oblivious, more serenely self-possessed, with a touch of Adam Wests Batman-Zen in the delivery. Over time, his demeanor starts to seem less confident than secretly terrified, as if the Tick has constructed an identity completely removed from who he really is, or was. The blue suit, which he wears at every moment, is something like a radioactive blast shield, protecting him from having to interact with a world that is emotionally toxic to him in ways he hasnt begun to fathom.

I realize Im making it sound as if The Tick has suddenly turned into a grim psychodrama about post-traumatic stress disorder, and it really isnt that. Well, maybe it is  a little bit. But it is also, unexpectedly and endearingly, the best example Ive seen of a filmed superhero story that asks what it might be like to live in a world that has superheroes and supervillains in it, fighting on the streets, blowing things up, waking us up from sound sleep, and so on. (The closest TV got to this recently was probably the first season of Luke Cage, which was populated mainly by non-super-characters, and gave us a sense of Harlem as something other than a place for gunfights and brawls to occur.) Its funny some of the time; other times it isnt funny at all and isnt supposed to be. By the time you hit episode three, which puts Ramses IVs disgruntled henchwoman Ms. Lint (Yara Martinez) front and center, you realize that what youre watching is less of a lovable but one-note superhero spoof than a low-key, underground-comix-styled look at characters who are all fundamentally, profoundly dissatisfied with modern life and dont have the tools to figure out why, much less correct the situation. I did not expect a new version of The Tick to provide some of the same prickly pleasures as BoJack Horseman, but here it is. Ill take it.
Photo: HBO, Marion Kalter /akg-images/Courtesy of the Park Avenue Armory and Tate London

TV

Curb Your Enthusiasm

HBO, 10 p.m., October 1

Actor-writer-producer Larry David has fashioned a second (third?) career out of keeping people in suspense about whether hed make more seasons of his dyspeptic masterpiece; he has always come back, maybe because theres always some indignity, real or imagined, to rant about. No political details were available at press time, and thats probably for the best. Davids brand of aggrieved passive-aggression is always much funnier when its blindsiding you. Matt Zoller Seitz

ART

Related Stories 38 Must-See Art Exhibits Opening This Fall

David Hockney, the Metropolitan Museum of Art

11/272/25

No one does radiant color and pictorial unfolding in ways as endlessly inventive as the now-80-year-old David Hockney, our living maestro of the Lightness of Being. Openly gay, mingling with high and low culture as new artistic worlds were forming and old ones falling away, Hockney celebrated sybaritic and serious life  but also the abstract complexities of time, light, shadow, permanence, and transience. At the Met, you can behold a sampling of this English masters half-century: drawings, films, iPad sketches, paintings, and more. Dont miss the films hes made about art either; they are among the most insightful Ive ever seen. Jerry Saltz

THEATER

Related Stories 37 Theater Events to Check Out This Fall

Thomas Ostermeiers Richard III

October 11 through 14, BAM

Forget Julius Caesar. For full-throttle rage-against-the-machine Shakespeare, Im holding out (and holding my breath) for director Thomas Ostermeiers German-language Richard III, coming to BAMs Next Wave Festival from the Schaubuhne Berlin. Ostermeier, who began his career as an actor, became an enfant terrible among German auteurs in the 1990s by bringing the visceral, cant-look-away dramas of British playwrights like Sarah Kane and Mark Ravenhill to his home country. He then turned to the classics, putting canonical behemoths like Hamlet and Ibsens A Dolls House through the wringer of his grimy, explosive aesthetic (he calls it new realism and has described it as a kind of revenge on the stupidity and violence spawned by a merciless capitalist world). Ostermeiers Hamlet was the beautiful and terrifying German actor Lars Eidinger, who now returns as Shakespeares hunchbacked Man Who Would Be King. The text is translated and adapted by Marius von Mayenburg, whose play The Ugly One (a hilarious and horrid assault on our obsession with skin-deep beauty) might actually be a perfect appetizer for Richard III. There will be dirt, there will be glitter, there will be blood. Sara Holdren

BOOKS

Related Stories 44 New Books to Read This Fall

Unreconciled: Poems 19912013, by Michel Houellebecq

FSG, September 5

There may be a state thats worse than despair: a point where you feel youre near despair but havent achieved it. Thats an emotional register familiar to readers of Michel Houellebecqs novels, and its a mood distilled to a high degree of purity in his poetry, which appears this fall for the first time translated into English in Unreconciled: Poems 19912013. In a way, Houellebecq writes, it is annoying to note that I have kept the capacity to hope. Houellebecq is the reigning gargoyle of literary Paris, and in his verse we see him move from morbid pessimism through misanthropic surrealism to nostalgic equanimity. Theres a bleak beauty to Houellebecqs later poems: Many of them sound like prayers. Christian Lorentzen

CLASSICAL

Related Stories 24 Classical and Dance Performances to See This Fall

Pierre Boulezs Repons

October 6 and 7, Park Avenue Armory

The composer, conductor, and provocateur Pierre Boulez died last year at 90, and it will take many more years to sift through his innovations. In the 1970s, as music director of the New York Philharmonic, he befuddled audiences by taking all the seats out of the concert hall and replacing them with rugs and cushions. When I heard his Repons at Carnegie Hall in 2003, he had gotten rid of the seating again, covering it in scaffolding and terraced platforms. The audience encircled a central stage and was in turn ringed by speakers and performers. Plunged into a swirling asteroid shower of sound, we merged with the music. In October at the Park Avenue Armory, the Ensemble Intercontemporain, led by Matthias Pintscher, will play it twice, allowing listeners to change places and reexperience the sonic landscape. Justin Davidson
Saturdays Margarita & Salsa Festival at the Extraco Events Center will move indoors to the Extraco Show Pavilion in anticipation of rains from Hurricane Harvey, expected to make landfall on the Texas Gulf Coast by Saturday.

Texas country artists the Randy Rogers Band, Jon Wolfe and Cody Jinks are scheduled to perform starting at 7 p.m. The margarita and salsa contests will take place in the Extraco Coliseum beginning at 6 p.m.

Disaster preparedness

The Waco-McLennan County Public Health District and the Communication Axess Ability Group will partner to present a training on disaster preparedness for the deaf, hard of hearing and late-deafened. The free training program will be from 4 to 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Public Health District building, 225 W. Waco Drive.

For real-time captions or a voice interpreter please call 512-481-7700. Requests must be received by noon Friday.

Storytelling Guild meeting

The Heart of Texas Storytelling Guild will meet from 10:30 a.m. to noon Saturday at the South Waco Library, 2737 S. 18th St. A youth meeting will follow from 1:30 to 3 p.m. The guild meets monthly to learn, tell and listen to stories.

For more information, contact Vivian Rutherford at 717-1763.

Long term care seminar

The Area Agency on Aging of the Heart of Texas will have a legal seminar titled Long Term Care: Essential Documents and How to Survive Financially from 10 a.m. to noon Tuesday. The event is free, but space is limited. Call 292-1843 to reserve a spot.

Parenting Hacks

Harris Creek Baptist Church will have a Parenting Hacks program from 6 to 8 p.m. Sunday at the church, 401 Stageline Drive in McGregor. Baylor social work assistant professor Holly Oxhandler will talk about youth mental health.

The even is open to all parents of kids age 10 to 18. Dinner is provided. Register with Derek Davidson at ddavidson@harriscreek.org.

Belles and Brass

The Waco Symphony Council will accept applications through Monday from high school sophomore girls and junior boys for its Belles and Brass program.

The program promotes leadership, music appreciation, service and etiquette.

For applications and more information, visit www.wacosymphonycouncil.com.
The local economy turned sluggish in July, with employment growth, general construction and permits issued to build new homes falling on hard times and pushing the Greater Waco Economic Index downward.

The index, which gauges an array of local economic trends, has mostly tread water in recent months, though it remains at or near its all-time high, said Amarillo-based economist Karr Ingham, who prepares the monthly snapshot for the First National Bank of Central Texas and Tribune-Herald using data dating to 2000.

Raw numbers show the index retreated to 124.4 in July, down from a revised 125.5 in June, though it eclipsed the score from last year.

Among the few bright spots in the July report was the sale of existing homes, which increased about 5 percent from July of 2016. Through last month, home sales are fractionally below the 1,609 that changed hands during the first seven months of last year, Ingham said.

Homebuyers sealing deals last month paid an average of $192,977, a slight bump from $190,837 a year ago.

Local trends run counter national trends, according to a National Association of Realtors report Thursday saying sales of existing homes fell 1.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.44 million. That is the lowest level of the year, though sales are running 2.1 percent higher than last year.

Trammell Kelly, a residential sales specialist for Kelly Realtors who has been brokering homes for about 30 years, said the Waco market remains as hot as hes ever seen it, hampered only by a shortage of inventory.

If were down in sales from last year, its only slightly, and if I had to attribute that to anything, its due to availability, Kelly said. You better not put your house out there or it will sell, and will sell for top dollar. Then youre asking yourself where you are going to go.

I listed three houses on my block, and each one sold in 48 hours or less, with all of them having multiple contracts. Im not going to say that will happen every time, but it is not unusual.

He said he lives in a part of Waco in the Midway Independent School District where homes typically sell for $250,000 and above.

He said he was intrigued by news Thursday that a local developer will build 260 homes in Lorena each priced at $500,000 and above.

Thats a very bold move, but I think it will work, Kelly said. Ive been involved in selling homes in the Rancho Lorena subdivision the last five years, and there are only five lots left. I met quite a large number of people wanting homes already built, or homes coming up, and those out there primarily were custom homes. There were no speculative homes on the ground. I wish them well in their decision to build spec homes, and I know there is a market for $300,000 to $500,000 residences.

Ingham said in his report those buying homes through July paid a combined $306 million for their purchases, which represents a 3 percent increase from the same period last year, which in turn was up by 6.7 percent from the first seven months of 2016.

On the negative side, the city of Waco issued 26 permits in July for construction of single-family homes, down from 45 in July 2016. Apparently, builders were catching their breath, as permits issued so far this year total 289, well above the 233 during the first seven months of last year.

Ingham counts only permits issued by the city of Waco, not in surrounding communities seeing new subdivisions take shape. Ingham said he has had problems securing timely information about permits from these cities.

Wacos tourism industry continues to make waves, with local lodging establishments generating $5.2 million in revenue last month, an almost 15 percent year-over-year increase. The sector has brought in almost $30 million for the year.

Another bright spot was in auto sales.

Inflation-adjusted spending on new and used vehicles in July increased by more than 10 percent for the second straight month. Auto sales remain 4 percent above 2016 levels, which were 9 percent higher than the first seven months of 2015.

So far this year, sales of new and used cars have totaled $353 million in the Greater Waco area.

Peter Kultgen, president of Bird-Kultgen Ford, said changes in buying habits due to falling gasoline prices are impacting the industry. Customers again are indulging in pickups and SUVs that carry higher prices than smaller, fuel-efficient models that previously grabbed most of the attention.

Also, a lot of the experts were predicting that prices on used cars would begin falling during the last half of last year and the first half of this year, he said. The thinking was that the recovering auto industry would prompt the return of many leased models, creating an abundance of used cars.

That has not happened. In fact, some of the used models our customers are requesting are not available at the auctions we attend in Dallas and Houston.

Employment in the Waco Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Falls and McLennan counties, grew by a modest 300 jobs over the past 12 months. Thats only three-tenths of a percent, placing the Waco MSA 21st among the 26 MSAs in Texas, according to Ingham.

The Waco metro area unemployment rate did slip back below its year-ago level for the first time in the last year, at 4.4 percent in July, compared to 4.5 percent in July 2016, Ingham said in his report.

The value of permits for general construction fell 27 percent in July and is down almost 15 percent for all of 2017 compared to last year, Ingham said.

Auto sales continue to purr, with inflation-adjusted spending on new and used vehicles in July increasing by more than 10 percent for the second straight month. Auto sales remain 4 percent above 2016 levels, which were 9 percent higher than those during the first seven months of 2015.
Several community leaders  Jews, Christians, Muslims, Republicans and Democrats  came together Thursday with a message of unity, a plea for real racial reconciliation and a belief that actions in Waco could serve as a beacon for others.

As repeated throughout the evening event that arose as a response to white supremacists and Nazis holding a Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, speakers said they were not interested in holding hands and singing Kumbaya, but rather in working toward real change.

Berkeley Schleicher Anderson said she was moved to action after Charlottesville and wanted a nonpartisan event that encompassed Waco diversity. Anderson, her father, David Schleicher, a local attorney, and the Rev. Leslie King, pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Waco, came together to host the gathering at the downtown church. Anderson said she hopes the event will be a start toward action.

That this will give people a starting point for sharing their experiences with racism and working together to find solutions to racism in our community, is her hope, she said.

The gathering was not a religious service or a forum to debate political ideology, and it was hosted in a neutral zone controlled by neither political party, King said.

The Jewish community often participates in activism, much of which is not directly related to religion or the Jewish community itself, said Rabbi Jeff Ronald, of Temple Rodef Sholom in Waco. Members of the synagogue often work on efforts to increase the minimum wage, work for peace or help the homeless, Ronald said.

When it comes to Charlottesville, we do have a dog in that fight, and that dog has been kicked, he said.

David Oualaalou, an Islamic Center of Waco member and global affairs analyst and educator, said he remains hopeful as he reflects on the nations history and spirit, a nation that was built and founded on immigration, tolerance and diversity.

Gathering like this is whats going to heal this nation and move it forward. Let this gathering and let this event and let our community be the beacon of hope for thousands of Americans, Oualaalou said. I am not here to point fingers. I am not here to assign blame. I am not here to shame others. Rather, I am here to lift my voice, a voice of hope, a voice of forgiveness, a voice of tolerance.

Waco Chapter NAACP President Peaches Henry admitted she was hesitant to accept the invitation to speak at the gathering. Henry said she is weary of attending flash-point racial unity events where everyone holds hands, sings and then goes their separate ways.

I decided to participate because I hope for this country, for our people, for our future, and I want to be the change that I wish to see in the world, Henry said.

She said the community must take a stand against those who advocate racism. The issue is not Republican or Democratic, North or South, white or black issue, but a matter of right and wrong, she said. Everyone must stand against those who unify for hate, she said.

While Texas A&M University was recently able to prevent Richard Spencer, a white supremacist, from holding a White Lives Matter Rally recently, the block is likely temporary, Henry said.

The hate groups are coming, she said. My own personal experience proves the hate groups are already here.

Henry said it was only recently that she opened her phone and was inundated with hateful text messages laced with the strongest racial slurs.

Now is the time for difficult conversations and hard questions with someone other than ourselves, she said.

Everyone must take uncomfortable actions to achieve racial unity and support ongoing endeavors of racial understanding and action, Henry said.

It goes without saying that his experience as a white guy raising a black kid is a unique one, McLennan County Republican Club president Wesley Lloyd said. From unintentional to disgustingly blatant, racism continues and exists daily, Lloyd said.

That means stop being dismissive and acting as though persons of color have no reason to be angry, Lloyd said.

Mary Duty, McLennan County Democratic Party chair, said when she took her position three years ago, one of her dreams was to stand with the Republican Party chair and discuss issues of common interest and work in a unified way.

The event made that happen, as she shared the stage on a vital issue with local Republican Party Chair Jon Ker.

Guests who attended the gathering sang We Shall Overcome while lighting candles. Each person was asked to fill out a questionnaire that would be passed along to the Community Race Relations Coalition, which will use the responses to inform future work.
Ernest W. Pack, Sr.

Oct. 7, 1945 - Aug. 23, 2017

Ernest Wayne Pack, Sr., 71, of Waco, returned to his heavenly home on Wednesday, August 23, 2017, after a lengthy battle with Parkinson's Disease. Visitation will be from 6 to 8 p.m., Friday, August 25, at Lake Shore Funeral Home, 5201 Steinbeck Bend in Waco. The funeral service will be at 10 a.m., Saturday, August 26, at Lake Shore Funeral Home in Waco. Burial will follow at Wortham Bend Cemetery in China Spring.

Ernie was born in Bosqueville, on October 7, 1945, to the late James and Molly Cohen Pack. He owned and operated Texas Hair Force for over 40 years. In 1974 he met his best friend and the love of his life, Shirley Marie Robinson; they married on January 9, 1976 in Durant, Oklahoma.

He and Shirley were blessed with a large and loving family; from the very beginning, he dedicated his children to God and encouraged them to explore the beauty of the Gospels. Ernie was kind and soft-spoken, and always had time to answer a question or solve a problem, no matter how small. He could tell the greatest jokes.

Ernie is survived by his wife, Shirley; three sons, Wayne Pack of Stockdale, Nathan Pack and wife, Lindsay, of Waco, and Andrew Parsons and wife, Jill, of China Spring; his daughter, Earline Todd and husband, Michael, of Monks Corner, South Carolina; and ten grandchildren, Haley Pack, David Pack, Megan Parsons, Aaron Parsons, Juliann Johnson, Alaina Wilson, Zoey Harkins, Crystal Francis, Michelle Todd, and Chris Green.He was preceded in death by his parents and multiple siblings.

The family would like to extend a heartfelt "Thank You" to the many staff members at Baylor Scott & White Hillcrest Hospital, as well as the hospital hospice team for the loving care and support through this difficult time; they have done a tremendous job at showing and sharing the love of Jesus with their entire family.

Thoughts and memories may be shared at www.LakeShoreFH.com.
President Donald Trump has been widely and appropriately condemned for reacting to the horror in Charlottesville, Virginia, with remarks about both sides, and for comparing Confederate generals to George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, and for reacting to white supremacist terrorism by saying there is another side.

I too am critical of the lefts antifa tactics to counter fascism. Among other things, they enabled white nationalists to cry victimhood in Charlottesville. But the time to critique the left fringe is not after someone with vile racist views has just murdered a protester. That moment is the appropriate time to condemn white supremacist ideology, denounce the murderer and express the hope the nation can learn to live together better as we mourn our dead.

This should go without saying, but apparently it doesnt. And a lot of Republicans expressed that appropriate sentiment. House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, for example, tweeted: We must be clear. White supremacy is repulsive. This bigotry is counter to all this country stands for. There can be no moral ambiguity. And there you have it: The leader of the House has taken a stand against Trump.

A lot of liberals want to know how Ryan was going to stop Trump from saying things like this. Republicans have learned that they cant. The party has, after all, tried to stop Trump from Trumping. It has tried surrounding him with party stalwarts who could advise him not to say things like this. It has tried condemning his most offensive and un-American utterances. It has tried making fun of his hands. None of it seems to have made much impression on Trump.

Our system of government leaves Congress with few levers to pull once sweet reason and appeals to the presidential self-interest have failed. If Trump wants to see how much lower he can push his approval ratings, there is little his party can do to stop him.

They can impeach him, of course. But what would you put in the articles of impeachment? In a press conference on August the 15th, President Donald J. Trump said the wrong thing? His response was hideous, but I have a tough time making it fit any reasonable definition of high crimes and misdemeanors.

While the Framers had a pretty good idea of what constituted such an offense, they dont seem to have given anyone besides Congress the power to decide exactly what circumstances constituted a high crime and misdemeanor. As far as I can tell, the Congress of the United States can impeach a president because they dont like the way he combs his hair, and all the rest of us could do is write indignant letters to our local representative.

But in practice, Congress is limited by both political expediency and a due respect for the delicacy of our political institutions. If Republicans impeach Trump over a press conference, indignant voters will turn the nation blue at the next election. But even if the GOP were willing to make that sacrifice for America, its not clear that America would benefit, even if you think Trump is the worst president in the history of our nation.

Washington elites stepping in to remove Trump because they dont like what he says would validate exactly the complaints that led to his election in the first place. Voters knew that he said things like this and voted for him anyway. Removing him for such a reason would call the democratic legitimacy of the government into question. The damage to our institutions might well be even deeper than the damage that Trump is doing with his incompetent administration and polarizing rhetoric. Especially if this becomes a precedent for future presidencies under perpetual threat that a restive Congress will decide to give the vice president a try.

At the point when, say, two-thirds of the country wants him removed, then Congress has the ability, and probably the duty, to do so. And given that the public is now about equally split on the question, we may get there. But at the moment, Paul Ryan, like the rest of us, can do very little except watch in horror, and try to stand up for the good when our president wont.
The Boy Scouts of America think they have the answer to their membership problems: girls. Word got out this week that theres a covert campaign to lure girls into the Boy Scouts. (Congress, are you seeing this? The Boy Scouts are light years ahead of yall on basic sustainability models here.)

This enlightenment came about because the Boy Scouts  like many organizations led by men these days  have had a tough time of things lately. From the sexual assault scandals reaching all the way back to 1947, to their struggle with including gay men and boys, to this years keynote speech by Bluto masquerading as the countrys president, its understandable that the boys are looking for a little outside help. Their numbers are falling.

Take one look over at the Girl Scouts. I mean, cmon, theyre a marketing powerhouse. Youll see the lure of girl power. The entire nation bows to Thin Mints (or Samoas). The Girl Scouts invented smores. Did you even know that the Boy Scouts sell popcorn? Whoever says, Mmm, I want some of that Boy Scout popcorn? No one. Ever. So its easy to see they might want some of the girls mojo. But dont fall for it, Girl Scouts. They only want you to save their own hides.

The caper was busted wide open this week when Buzzfeed got hold of a letter from Girl Scouts of America President Kathy Hopinkah Hannan, slamming the boys club for their covert campaign to recruit girls into programs run by the Boy Scouts.

I formally request that your organization stay focused on serving the 90 percent of American boys not currently participating in Boy Scouts . . . and not consider expanding to recruit girls, Hannan wrote in her letter to the president of the Boy Scouts of America, Randall Stephenson.

The Girl Scouts have been criticized for, ahem, overemphasis on the cookie part. And for bending toward academic and artistic badges rather than hearty, outdoor activity usually associated with scouting. Theyve answered that with a sharp bend toward science, technology, engineering and math  and such totally awesome badges as Programming Robots.

But that tailoring also subtracts from the boys experience, according to sociologist Kathleen Denny, who studied the gender differences in the Boy Scout and Girl Scout manuals.

I find that girls are offered more activities intended to be performed in group contexts than are boys. Boys are offered proportionately more activities with scientific content and proportionately fewer artistic activities than are girls, she wrote. The girls handbook conveys messages about approaching activities with autonomous and critical thinking, whereas the boys handbook facilitates intellectual passivity through a reliance on organizational scripts.

Then again, wouldnt we have a better shot at true representation in America  from the corporate world to government  if boys grow up with female troop leaders and girls fiercely climb trees alongside boys?

Hard to know. Heres what I do know:

Girls shouldnt be barred from the Boy Scouts if thats where they want to be. But the effort to undercut the Girl Scouts by stealing the lifeblood of their organization is sneaky, pathetic and shameful. #Resist #Persist
Students might be back in school, but the Labor Day holiday weekend beckons  and that means many Americans might make one final summertime jaunt to our national parks and monuments, including Waco Mammoth National Monument. In that cheerful context, we praise Trump Interior Secretary Ryan Zinkes reported decision to preserve those national monuments whose designations suddenly appeared in doubt.

Granted, Waco Mammoth National Monuments existence as a full-fledged monument was never questioned, even though President Obama designated it a monument in July 2015  and the scrutiny to which many monuments were subjected by President Trump and Secretary Zinke at least partially seemed driven by a quest to obliterate any accomplishments by Trumps predecessor.

In a Thursday interview with The Associated Press, Secretary Zinke said he would not ask the president to remove any of the 27 protected monuments under review since April, though he would propose shifting some boundaries, particularly for controversial Bears Ears National Monument in Utah. Even then, sections removed from certain parks would remain under federal control.

No doubt, any decisions shifting policies or changing boundaries for monuments will trigger lawsuits. For instance, Native American tribes that fought hard to get Obama to designate Bears Ears National Monument are braced to battle any effort to shrink it. Even so, Zinke seems to have bowed to polls that repeatedly demonstrated the huge popularity of our national parks and monuments.

One reason this newspaper cheered Zinkes addition to the presidents cabinet this year was because of his staunchly conservative credentials as a Republican congressman, yet his resistance to those on the far right who want the government to sell off or give away federal lands, including, yes, parks and monuments. Whatever else, Zinke has indicated he understands President Teddy Roosevelts insight in first employing the National Antiquities Act of 1906 in preserving public lands. A celebrated historian, hunter and naturalist, Roosevelt believed the American public would better appreciate the accomplishments and sacrifices of our forefathers if everyday folks could see the rugged lands that both challenged and inspired them.

That even goes for Waco Mammoth National Monument, which champions the prehistoric beasts President Thomas Jefferson hoped Lewis and Clark might find alive in their 19th-century expedition through the American West. Jefferson saw the mammoths as representing, in so many ways, the superiority of our flora and fauna over those in the corrupted, wasted stretches of the Old World.

Zinke declined to say whether he would recommend drilling for oil and gas or other such mining or logging activity on public lands  something Trump has touted  but the secretarys decision on preserving current monuments at least demonstrates theyre of tremendous value to the public. That should go a long way toward addressing any and all questions of how these near-sacred places are ultimately treated.
GREENWOOD  Harlee Brauckmuller capped off her 4-H career winning the Round Robin  the top prize in livestock showmanship  at not one, but two county fairs.

The Greenwood youth won Round Robin in the Saunders County Fair last month and turned around two weeks later and took the top honors at the Cass County Fair.

The Round Robin pits the winners of showmanship in several different livestock categories against each other.

The main goal of Round Robin is to teach exhibitors about other animals, said Brauckmuller.

Brauckmuller participated in the Saunders County Fair as a member of the Ashland-Greenwood High School FFA chapter, because the school is located in Saunders County. She was also able to compete in the Cass County Fair as a member of the Fairland Giants 4-H Club because she lives in Greenwood.

Each county fair does their Round Robin competition slightly different. In Saunders County, the senior showmanship champions in dairy goat, meat goat, dairy cattle, beef cattle, hogs and sheep qualify to compete in the Round Robin contest. In Cass County, both the reserve champions and the champions in sheep, beef cattle, hogs, meat goats and horses qualify.

Brauckmullers trip to qualifying for the Round Robin was anything but direct. At the Saunders County Fair, which took place in Wahoo, she ended up as reserve champion in senior sheep showmanship. However, the champion was unable to compete, so Brauckmuller got her shot.

During the Cass County Fair earlier this month in Weeping Water, Brauckmuller got third place in sheep showmanship, which actually put her out of the running for Round Robin. But the reserve champion had a scheduling conflict and couldnt participate in Round Robin. So again, Brauckmuller found herself in the competition ring.

All the Round Robins Ive competed in its supposed to have been someone else, but Im not going to complain, she said.

This was Brauckmullers first time competing in Round Robin in Saunders County, but in Cass County she was a veteran, having finished as reserve champion in 2016.

In Round Robin, the qualifiers show all of the various species of livestock and take a written test. Brauckmuller said she won in part because she did so well on the written tests in both counties. She credits her FFA teacher, Annalisa Estrela, for her success.

Ms. Estrelas taught me a lot, she said. I think thats what puts me ahead of most people.

Estrela was also a judge for the Saunders County Round Robin, but she did not take it easy on her former pupil. During the showmanship competition, Estrela asked Brauckmuller questions about goats.

Ive been in her class all these years and the one thing weve never studied is goats, Brauckmuller said.

Goats were the hardest animal for Brauckmuller to work with during showmanship, even though many people think sheep and goats are a lot alike.

Theres a big difference between sheep and goats, she said.

Brauckmuller also had her hands full with the hogs in Saunders County because she got one that had just been in the ring for an earlier competition.

He was a little tired and didnt want to work for me, she said.

Even the sheep gave her a little trouble in Wahoo. Unlike Cass County, the competitor cannot use their own animal in the Saunders County Round Robin.

They gave me the worst behaved sheep, Brauckmuller said.

At the Cass County Fair, Brauckmuller said her biggest challenge was handling the horse.

Ive never shown horses, she said.

Despite the challenges at both fairs, Brauckmuller came home with the top honors. In Saunders County, the prizes include a trophy, belt buckle, $200 scholarship and cash. After the Cass County win, she gets to show off a folding lawn chair embroidered with her name among other prizes.

The double Round Robin win shows that hard work has paid off for Brauckmuller. Since enrolling in FFA as a freshman in high school at her fathers insistence, she has been working with animals.

Through (FFA) Ive found my passion for animals, she said.

Brauckmuller graduated from Ashland-Greenwood High School in May and will be studying animal science at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln this fall. Her career plans originally included becoming a veterinarian, but she now wants to focus on research on livestock, possibly with genetics or diseases, with breeding sheep or cattle as an alternative.

Ive always known whatever I did, it was going to be livestock-based, she said.

Brauckmuller started raising her own sheep after her step mother got her two bottle lambs.

Thats how my whole obsession started, she said.

She started breeding sheep when she realized buying market lambs every year was getting expensive. Breeding is a lot of work, she said, but it is rewarding.

I dont know if I saved any money, but I learned more life lessons breeding than I wouldve any other way, said Brauckmuller.

She also enjoyed seeing the lambs she bred do well at the fair. Not only did she earn trophies with her sheep, but so has her cousin, Kade Brauckmuller.

Its rewarding to see, she said.

It also makes all the hard work well worth it. Throughout the summer, Brauckmuller got up at 6:30 a.m. to walk her sheep, then headed into Ashland for her job at a daycare, then back home to feed the animals.

Thats my life  sheep, work, sleep, she said.

Despite all of the hard work, Brauckmuller said she is happy she ended her livestock showmanship career on a high note with the Round Robin wins.

It caps everything off and adds a little fun to the end of your career, she said.
CIBOLO, Texas  Gary and Rose Odvody have been living in Texas for the past 11 years. But, they have not forgotten about farm life in Nebraska.

In fact, they still talk about it.

It was just nice memories, Gary Odvody said. We talk about it with the kids. We do talk about it every now and then.

The Odvodys have been talking a lot more about it recently, as the family was one of this years pioneer farm families. The Pioneer Farm Family award sponsored by the AKSARBEN Foundation, Nebraska Farm Bureau and Nebraska Association of Fair Managers recognized families who have kept continuous ownership of the same piece of land for at least 100 years.

On March 1, 1917, Edward and Vaclav Odvody bought 80 acres of land 1 mile west and 1 1/2 miles south of Malmo. The land in the Mariposa Township was used for cows, corn, alfalfa and oats.

Edward Odvody gave the 80 acres to his son, Fred Odvody, in 1944. Fred Odvody and his wife, Helen, farmed the land.

Odovody said when his parents first got the land, they moved into a one-room shack located on the property with their young family. They lived there until a house was moved in from a property two miles away.

Odvody, who received the land from his parents in 1994, never lived in the one-room shack, but some of his siblings did.

Fred and Helen Odvody continued the tradition of grain and livestock on the land.

Odvody said the barn was struck by lightning in 1952 and burned. The neighbors then got together and helped to build a new barn. In the new barn, the Odvodys started a dairy and sold Grade A milk,

In 1972, they sold the dairy cows and Fred and Gary Odvody went into the cow/calf beef business.

Odvody now rents the land for farming, but it is still used in the same manner as when his grandfather purchased it.

There is some pastureland so the renter does run a few head of cattle and there is grain. So, its the same as it always was, Odvody said.

Odvody said he, his wife and children have a lot of good memories from the years that they farmed the 72 acres still retained by the family.

Bailing hay, walking beans, harvesting the fields and doing chores were hard work, but it taught a good work ethic, he added.

Although he is no longer actively working the land, he knows there has been a lot of changes in recent years when it comes to crop management, technology and equipment. He said he still keeps up on those changes and wonders what his grandfather would think about it all.

I sometimes wonder what he would have thought of all this modern technology, Odvody said.

Odvody said he was proud to be able to accept the Pioneer Farm Family Award. But, he wasnt sure for a while if he would be able to make the trip from Texas to accept the award when it was handed out during the Wahoo Saddle Club Rodeo.

His wife, who could not make the trip because she had to work, encouraged him to attend.

My wife didnt have vacation time, but she was adamant that I go, he recalled.

Some of his children and their families also made it to the presentation. One of them even Skyped the presentation through a cell phone so Rose Odvody could hear it.

She didnt get to see everything, but she could hear some of what was going on, he said.

Odvody said he was glad he did make the trip. It gave him a chance to talk to a few other people that he knew that had received the Pioneer Farm Family Award.

It was interesting, he said, that their families had bought their land from the same Olson family.

It was different neighbors who all bought from the same people, Odvody said.

Odvody said he is not for certain the future of the 72 acres originally brought into his family in 1917. But, he is glad it has the Pioneer award recognition and that it is tied to so many memories.

We have all those good memories, he said.
YUTAN  A 1905 deal to swap land in Nebraska for land in California never happened, and that land in Nebraska received a very special award this year.

Mitch and Kirk Storm accepted the AKSARBEN Pioneer Farm Family Award July 21 for 300 acres of Nebraska farmland just west of Yutan.

The award was a bit bittersweet for the brothers. It meant recognition for their family who has owned the land for at least 100 years. But, they were missing one family member.

The application for the award was sent in with the name of the owner of the land, Kenneth Storm, their dad.

He knew we applied for it and that we were going to get it, Mitch Storm said.

Kenneth Storm had been residing at a nursing home in Wahoo. Mitch Storm, who helped his dad farm the land and whose son, Karsten, lives in the farmhouse, said he told his dad he would carry him out in the wheelchair to get the award.

Kenneth Storm passed away July 6.

So instead of carrying him in a wheelchair, Mitch Storm could only carry his dad in his heart when the family gathered to receive the award from representatives of the Saunders County Farm Bureau and Saunders County Agricultural Society.

Still, he was proud to accept the award.

The history of the Storm farm begins in 1899, when John H. Storm received ownership of the land. He passed it down to his son, Louis H. Storm, who then handed it down to his son, Kenneth Storm.

But in 1905, that progression of ownership almost didnt happen.

Mitch Storm said his great-great grandfather made a trip that year to Napa Valley, California. He met a man who wanted to own land in Nebraska so he made a deal to trade land.

It fell through in the last two weeks, Mitch Storm said about that land swap.

So, John Storm came back to Nebraska and continued to build the family farm.

In the early years, the farm had bee hives and fruit orchards. Crops raised over the years were corn and beans.

They were big into cattle too, Mitch Storm said.

That tradition of livestock continued when Mitch Storm and his dad worked side by side. He said they would have up to 400 head at times.

Like any farm, there were changes over the years too.

A large barn on the farmstead burned down and it was replaced with a smaller one. The orchards to the west of the farmhouse have also been removed.

Still, memories of those family treasures remain. Mitch Storm recalled tending to animals amongst the apple trees.

As little kids, that was our grove. That was where we fed the bucket calves, he said.

He also recalled other farm duties, such as baling hay and walking beans.

Kenneth Storm retired from the farm into Yutan in 2000. Mitch Storm, who just lives a short distance to the west from the family farm, started his own trucking business during some of the lean years of farming, but

still worked with his dad everyday on the farm.

We were close. We worked side by side, he said.

He said his dad was a hard worker, and he can remember the same thing about his grandfather.

I can remember grandpa saying I dont think I can throw hay like I used to, Mitch Storm said. And, then he would go back to work. He was over 80.

He said dedication to the 300 acres of land located along County Road M has always been a family tradition. It is also a tradition that started before the name Storm was transcribed on the real estate deed.

The lineage of family ownership actually starts in 1871, when Jurgen Schulz came to Saunders County and purchased 80 acres of land. He later bought three other 80s and planted an orchard. He and his wife had five children. Their son, John, married and had a daughter, Etta. Etta Schulz married John Storm, and they acquired the farm in 1899.

Kirk Storm and his wife, Karen, were able to come from Missouri when the Pioneer Farm Family Award was presented last month.

Mitch Storm said the plan is to keep the farm in the family.

He said when his dad retired, the farm would have been eligible for the Farm Family Award, but the application just didnt happen.

He was glad that it did this year. And, in about four years, it might be eligible for another award  the Heritage Award, which is given to families who have land in continuous ownership for 150 years.
Fired budget councillor says ATAC debts could prove catastrophic for Rome.

Rome city council is at risk of being put under a special commissioner according to former budget councillor Andrea Mazzillo, who was sacked by the city's mayor Virginia Raggi on 23 August.

Mazzillo told Italian daily newspaper La Repubblica that Rome's transport company ATAC owes the city 429 million, a debt which the city risks losing. Mazzillo said that such a loss would prove "catastrophic" for Rome and risked throwing the capital's budget "into dissarray".

On 23 August Gianni Lemmetti became the fourth budget councillor appointed in a year to the administration of the mayor who belongs to the anti-establishment Movimento 5 Stelle.

Raggi's firing of Mazzillo comes a month after the dramatic departure of former ATAC director Bruno Rota after he told La Repubblica that the troubled company should declare bankruptcy as it is suffocating under its 1.3 billion debt.

He also claimed that ATAC's lack of funds meant it was no longer able to guarantee the salaries of its 11,700 employees, or pay for the maintenance of its fleet of buses, trams and metro.

Following the departure of Rota, after just three months in the job, Raggi reshuffled the ATAC board and the company denied that it risked bankruptcy.
Qantas has delivered its second-highest profit ever as its continues to enjoy earnings growth from domestic flights and in its loyalty business.

Underlying profit before tax for financial year 2017 was $1.4 billion, down 8.6 per cent from 2016, when it reported a record profit $1.53 billion.

The result was just above the airline's guidance provided in May, which Qantas said was due to strength in its domestic arm, and beat market consensus of $1.38 billion.

Qantas said the result showed its three-year turnaround program had made it a more efficient business, with an operating profit margin of 9.9 per cent compared with the airline industry average of 4.4 per cent.
Qantas is set to formally announce plans to offer 20-hour non-stop flights from Sydney to London by 2022 if Airbus or Boeing can deliver aircraft that meet the distance, a source familiar with the matter said.

The flight from Sydney to London will on most days take a northern polar route rather than the usual western crossing over Asia and Europe, said the source, who did not want to be named as he was not authorised to speak publicly about the matter.

UK Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne says 'leaving the EU would be the most extraordinary, self-inflicted wound'. Credit:Robert Rough

An announcement is expected alongside the airline's annual results on Friday, the source added.

The polar route is longer than the 9,200 nautical miles (17,038 kilometres) western route but has the benefit of strong tailwinds rather than fierce headwinds. The route could vary depending on the time of year, but the return flight will likely follow the traditional route, the source added.
The proposed Maurice Blackburn/IMF Bentham class action against the Commonwealth Bank may not have nearly as much going for it as the highly publicised launch on Wednesday would have us believe.

Part of the pressure on companies to settle  and these sorts of actions are almost always settled  comes from the publicity the case generates. Maurice Blackburn was certainly successful in achieving plenty of that.

It's a reasonable suspicion the threat of the class action, of shareholders suing themselves, played a role in the CBA share price underperforming on Thursday  a quick own-goal for the potential class.

In trying to entice shareholders to sign up for the class, beating the bushes for clients, Maurice Blackburn painted its case as pretty much a sure thing  no surprise about that.
Medibank Private says the health system is at risk if doctors won't agree to disclose how much they charge for procedures.

Medibank's push for greater transparency came as it unveiled a 7.6 per cent lift in net profit to $449.5 million and spruiked much-improved customer satisfaction and disputes data.

Medibank customer complaints have almost halved during the 2017 financial year. Credit:Bloomberg

The result pushed Medibank's shares up 6.7 per cent to $2.87 on Friday.

The company is readying for a fight with the Australian Medical Association, which is resisting the changes that would give consumers greater insight into how much a procedure will cost when it is conducted by certain specialist.
A federal police anti-bribery taskforce is examining if ASX-listed firm Iluka Resources has breached Australian corruption laws after acquiring a London firm accused of bribing high-ranking Sierra Leone officials to win mining licences.

The AFP's involvement in the case  which Iluka has not disclosed to the share market  comes after Fairfax Media revealed earlier this month that a secret internal inquiry by the Australian miner had embroiled a leading Sierra Leone presidential candidate, a cabinet minister and high-ranking officials in a bribery scandal.

The revelations place Australia's corporate foreign bribery detection regime under the spotlight, along with questions about how much companies need to tell shareholders about corruption allegations.

The latter topic has become contentious this week after the Commonwealth Bank was accused of failing to notify shareholders in a timely fashion about a longstanding investigation by anti-money laundering agency AUSTRAC. Steel maker Bluescope also disclosed recently that it is the subject of a cartel investigation.
Outside there's always a carnival atmosphere - the so-called Bikers for Trump revving in the car park, merchandisers still selling "Killary Rotten Clinton" posters with her face in the crosshairs, groups of jubilant women dolled up in co-ordinated "Adorable Deplorables" shirts or young men in InfoWars garb.

The last rally I attended - in Pennsylvania in April - a member of a local skinhead crew, built like a mountain, proudly wore a T-shirt proclaiming his affiliation with the notorious white nationalist group called Keystone United. Its goal is "uniting all racially aware skinheads" in Pennsylvania.

When Trump enters these arenas, conveniently, his favourite punching bag is always right there. The press serves as a handy prop, clustered at the opposite end of the floor. It's a confronting thing to be sitting at your laptop doing your job, while 5000 people scream "CNN sucks!" and other anti-media slogans right at you. I know no one feels too sorry for journalists, and well, in many ways, CNN does suck, but the frothing anger of the crowd can be truly unnerving. One reporter has already been decked by a GOP candidate this year, it feels almost inevitable that a journalist will be attacked at a rally. Protesters are already treated roughly.

On Tuesday, Trump spent more time laying into the media and its coverage of his Charlottesville response than anything else in his 80-minute diatribe. He was there to settle a score.

He kept telling the audience the cowardly media were switching off their cameras in protest. They weren't. He read out his initial post-Charlottesville speech to prove he'd done a good job, conveniently leaving out his statement that the violence was "on many sides".
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says the government is "very, very confident" the High Court will uphold the eligibility of MPs and senators to remain in Parliament if they unknowingly held a second citizenship by descent.

Mr Turnbull said it was "ridiculous" to conclude crossbench senator Nick Xenophon was English, and Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce a New Zealander, because of their parents' backgrounds.

On Thursday, Nationals senator Matt Canavan and One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts changed their tune on key details of their citizenship status. In a massive turnaround, Senator Roberts appeared to admit he did not submit his British citizenship renunciation documents until after he was elected.

On Thursday night, Senator Roberts told Sky News he had renounced his British citizenship after his nomination for Australian Parliament.
If the '90s was the decade of the stellar "supers," then there were three names to know (and never forget): Cindy Crawford, now 51, Claudia Schiffer, 46, and Naomi Campbell, 47.

There's a reason why two decades later they still have cachet, both in front of the camera and in the various projects they've taken on since stepping off the catwalk.

Claudia Schiffer, Cindy Crawford and Naomi Campbell pose for Balmain. Credit:Olivier Rousteing

In 2016 Steven Klein captured the trio's essence in a series of mesmerising black and white shots for Balmain's spring/summer 2016 campaign. Yep, the supers have still got it.

Balmain's creative director, Olivier Rousteing, said at the time: "You realise working with them, it's another way than working with the models of today. They know so much about themselves. Their career is so strong. They know their bodies so well. They move at the same time that the camera is moving."
A cyclist has died after crashing into the back of a Transperth bus in Perth's south.

The 57-year-old was riding his bicycle along Marmion Avenue, Melville around 4.40pm on Thursday when he collided with the bus, which had stopped to pick up passengers.

A cyclist has died after colliding with a Transperth bus in Perth's south.

The man suffered life-threatening head injuries and died shortly after being taken to Fiona Stanley Hospital.

Major Crash investigators are investigating the crash and police want anyone who saw the incident to call Crime Stoppers 1800 333 000.
Boston: A health care worker from a town in Massachusetts has quit the hospital job she held for 32 years after learning she won the the largest Powerball prize for a single ticket-holder in the contest's North American history.

Lottery officials on Thursday identified the 53-year-old woman, who lives in Chicopee, as the winner of more than $US750 million (around $950 million) in a Powerball drawing.

The woman, Mavis Wanczyk, appeared at an afternoon news conference to claim her prize.

"I wanted to get this over and done with, and then everyone would leave me alone," Ms Wanczyk, the mother of a 31-year-old daughter and a 26-year-old son, told reporters on Thursday. She said she had worked for the past 32 years at a Springfield hospital, but added: "I've called them and told them I will not be coming back."
WCO Secretary General Kunio Mikuriya spoke at the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) Ministerial meeting, held in Maputo, Mozambique on 24-25 August 2017. The objective of this meeting was to review the progress of the TICAD V Yokohama Action Plan and the TICAD VI Nairobi Implementation Plan as well as to seek to identify the actions needed to deliver better on the commitments made in TICAD V and VI.

In his intervention, Secretary General Mikuriya emphasized Customs contributions to economic development by ensuring connectivity at borders and improving business environment through various initiatives that pertain to the establishment of Single Windows, the implementation of the Transit Guidelines and the introduction of One Stop Border Posts. He also stressed the crucial role Customs play in protecting human security, and enhancing social resilience by fighting illicit trade and trade-based illicit financial flows. Dr. Mikuriya added that these two functions would eventually enlarge the tax base and prevent a loss of State revenue. He therefore urged African governments to recognize the multiple missions of Customs. Furthermore, he appealed to African governments to establish adequate legal frameworks to empower Customs, support coordination between Customs and the other government agencies, and provide the necessary resources for Customs to achieve its objectives

Secretary General Mikuriya took the opportunity to meet the President of the Mozambique Revenue Authority (MRA), Ms. Amelia Nankhare, to discuss the progress made in Customs reform through WCO assistance and possible future projects. The Commissioner General of the South African Revenue Service (SARS), Mr. Thomas Moyane, who was visiting Maputo for a bilateral meeting, partly joined the discussion on regional cooperation.

Dr. Mikuriya also visited the MRAs Training Institute, accompanied by the MRA's Director General, Mr. Aly Malla, and his team. This Institute, which is yet to be inaugurated, is presented as one of the pillars to develop professionalism in the MRA.
A WCO workshop on the accreditation of Mercator Programme Advisors (MPAs) for Spanish speakers was held in Fortaleza, Brazil, from 7 to 11 August 2017.

MPAs can be described as a specialized Customs Modernization Advisor (CMA) category. They are experts who have the traditional CMA skills but have also demonstrated the skills and knowledge to assist Members with implementation of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) at a strategic level. MPAs typically come from middle to senior management positions and also typically have specific experience and expertise in areas such as risk management, stakeholder engagement, coordinated border management or other strategic areas.

MPAs are called upon to support administrations with organizational (or Government) gap analysis, planning and implementation of the TFA and providing advice and guidance in establishing National Committees on Trade Facilitation (NCTFs). MPA support comes with a capacity to accompany, guide and mentor organizations towards implementing trade facilitation reforms and modernizing processes. MPAs, once accredited, will be invited to carry out TF/TFA-related missions and related support under the WCO Mercator Programme.

MPA accreditation workshops are part of the WCO's strategic approach to obtain wider access to Capacity Building experts and to ensure their qualified and standardized level of support to Members. The WCO accreditation process is a 2-step approach. The first step being successful completion of the MPA workshop, followed by successfully conducting an in-field mission as co-facilitator.

Customs officers from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Mexico, Paraguay, Spain and Uruguay participated in this workshop. They were assessed against the required MPA profile through a series of simulation exercises, presentations, role-plays, group activities and plenary discussions. Participants were also required to demonstrate their knowledge and strategic application of core WCO standards, tools and instruments and the WTO TFA along with their potential to facilitate discussion with senior Customs officials in a strategic context.

Ten participants were assessed as being suitable to progress to a second-step in country mission as MPAs and will be invited to participate in strategic planning or TFA implementation/ scoping support missions under the Mercator Programme.
By West Kentucky Star Staff Aug. 25, 2017 | 11:03 AM | PADUCAH, KY





At the Governors Local Issues Conference Friday in Louisville, it was announced that Paducah will receive a $1 million Community Development Block Grant for the rehabilitation of Floodwall Pump Station #2.The pump station at 1416 North 6th Street is in need of rehabilitation that would include replacement of discharge pipes, the rehabilitation of various mechanical components of all seven pumps and motors not previously repaired, and the replacement of the sluice gate.Pump Station #2 has the largest pumping capacity of 313,000 gallons per minute. It receives the most use of all pump stations because it's the first to be activated when the local river stage reaches 27.5 feet.The total project to rehabilitate the pump station is estimated to be approximately $5 million which includes construction and engineering costs.In addition to the CDBG funding, the city was notified last November that it would receive a $400,000 grant from the Delta Regional Authoritys Community Infrastructure Fund.The Paducah floodwall is 12.25 miles long, with 9.25 miles of earthen levee and 3 miles of concrete. It was built between August 1939 and July 1949, and the city took over operation and maintenance of it in 1949.In order to complete the application and show that the area qualifies for this grant based on the percentage of low-to-moderate income residents, the City had to generate a random sampling of 350 addresses of homes served by pump station #2. Staff and elected officials conducted door-to-door surveys of those residents.
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By West Kentucky Star Staff

Aug. 25, 2017 | PADUCAH, KY

By West Kentucky Star Staff Aug. 25, 2017 | 03:16 PM | PADUCAH, KY

Kentucky has awarded the City of Paducah a $175,000 grant to help pay for improvements to its 911 system.



Paducah officials met in Frankfort with the Kentucky Office of Homeland Security on Friday to review the grant agreement between the Kentucky 911 Services Board and the City. The grant will help fund the replacement of the telephony equipment used by the city's 911 Communications Services Department. The Paducah Board of Commissioners approved the grant application in May.



"I am thrilled that the Kentucky 911 Services Board selected Paducah to receive this competitive grant. The telephony-based computer equipment is in critical need of replacing. This is a crucial system component that allows the Paducah 911 Center to accept telephone calls and communicate between the community and law enforcement, fire, and emergency medical service. 911 Communications Services Department Director Ed McManus said in a press release.



The center receives more than 164,000 calls per year.
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By West Kentucky Star Staff

Aug. 24, 2017 | PADUCAH, KY

By West Kentucky Star Staff Aug. 24, 2017 | 11:28 PM | PADUCAH, KY

The City of Paducah has been awarded a $10,000 grant for improvements to its dog park at Stuart Nelson Park.



The $10,000 'Bark for Your Park' grant is being provided by PetSafe. In June, the Paducah Board of Commissioners approved applying for the grant. The money will be used to implement irrigation and improve drainage at the park. The grant does not require a local funding match.



I am thrilled that Paducah is receiving this grant to improve the Paducah Dog Park. As a dog owner and lover, I value the physical exercise and socialization benefits that the canines and owners receive from visiting our park. said Mayor Brandi Harless.



Parks and Recreation Director Mark Thompson says, These grant funds are intended to improve drainage and erosion issues that have come about because we have worn the surface of the Paducah Dog Park thin. We almost love this park too much.



PetSafe received a total of 215 applications with 25 cities receiving funding either in the new park, maintenance, or upgrade categories.



The Paducah Dog Park opened in August 2012 on a seven-acre tract of land at Stuart Nelson Park. The park has water, fencing, shelters, parking areas, and pet waste receptacles. For more information, visit http://paducahky.gov/paducah-dog-park.
City of Paducah inviting citizens to get involved through boards and commissions
By West Kentucky Star Staff Aug. 24, 2017 | 06:02 PM | HOPKINSVILLE, KY

It will likely take a couple of months for NASA to analyze all of the the information and data they collected during this week's solar eclipse near Hopkinsville.Dr. David Burns, NASA Science and Technology Office Director at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Hunstville, told WKDZ radio the data is good, but they have a couple of different ways they will analyze it. One of those involves scientists running it through a couple of different models, but the other method involves public input.Burns said, "We pass it to our scientists who then take it and run it through a couple of different models. They're specifically looking to try to relate the sun's atmosphere - which is hotter, actually than the interior of the sun, we believe - to what's going on with the sun in terms of how it changes. We also have a program called Citizen CATE, where we involve average citizens that are able to get this data and then they can look at it and find things that we often miss. So we involve the public as well as NASA scientists."Burns said this was his first eclipse and it was very exciting."It's hard to look at pictures and understand exactly how it feels, because when you're there, you get a sense that is difficult to catch in a photograph. The temperature dropped - it dropped more than ten degrees, actually, where we were - and you see everyone else experiencing it as well, so it was very exciting," Burns said. "I wasn't prepared for how light the horizon was because the horizon actually looked like a series of sunsets and sunrises all around us, and it was neat to have the dark overhead."Burns told WKDZ he may now be addicted to eclipses.

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By The Associated Press Aug. 22, 2017 | 05:27 PM | FLORENCE, KY

A Kentucky high school is phasing out its mascot of six decades, a Confederate general called Mr. Rebel.

The Kentucky Enquirer reports Boone County High School Principal Timothy Schlotman said the decision made last year is not related to nationwide efforts to remove Confederate symbols. He said he approached the school's Site-Based Decision Making Council last year as he felt the logo featuring a Confederate general in a light blue uniform, feathered cap and English mustache didn't represent the school's global community.

The Mr. Rebel image is being replaced by a student-created logo, but Schlotman said the process is incremental because of costs.

He said the main community concern was if the school's Rebels name would change, which it won't. He says the name derives from "Rebel Without a Cause."

___

Information from: The Kentucky Enquirer, http://www.nky.com
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By West Kentucky Star Staff

Aug. 24, 2017 | LEXINGTON, KY

By West Kentucky Star Staff Aug. 24, 2017 | 05:46 PM | LEXINGTON, KY

Officials have confirmed the presence of the West Nile virus in Kentucky's two largest cities.



The Lexington-Fayette County Health Department said in a statement on Wednesday that a resident had contracted the disease and officials would conduct mosquito-spraying activities in four zip codes. Meanwhile, the Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness said it had found infected mosquitoes in six zip codes.



Sarah Moyer, director of Public Health and Wellness in Louisville, said in a statement that it's common to find infected mosquitoes at this time of year. She said residents could take precautions such as wearing bug repellant outside at dusk and dawn and removing standing water from around homes.



Most people infected by the virus have mild symptoms, but serious illness can occur.



Last year, one Louisville resident died from the virus.
West Brom have pulled off a mildly interesting signing by bringing in young Scottish international Oliver Burke from RB Leipzig on a permanent deal.

The fee involved is reported to be around 15million, roughly akin to that recouped by Nottingham Forest when Burke left for Leipzig at the start of last season.

Though he may look like a simple farm boy and is slightly more burly in build than your average wide-man, Burke is a winger in the classic mould  hes quick, he darts, he beats men and he crosses the ball.

Hes also 20-years-old, so theres plenty of time for Tony Pulis to saddle him with defensive responsibility to the point that he may as well be playing right-back.
When I first heard about folks grilling romaine lettuce, I was pretty skeptical. Lettuce is supposed to be crisp. Grilling would make it soggy. Whats the point?

Now, having tried it myself, I see the point. Grilling the romaine not only really amplifies its flavor, it also adds the same lip-smacking smokiness that grilling produces in any food. And all it takes is two minutes on the grill to get the job done.

For this recipe for Grilled BLT Salad with Buttermilk Dressing, the romaine is halved and grilled on just one side and then served as a wedge. This, of course, is how iceberg lettuce is served in the steakhouse (minus the grilling, but plus Russian or blue cheese dressing). Here the wedge is topped with the fixings of a BLT sandwich, including grilled bread. Does the grilling soften up the lettuce, as feared? Indeed it does, but only the wedges outside layer. Happily, the core remains crunchy.

Rather than slathering this salad with glops of too-rich mayonnaise, Ive drizzled it with an herbed buttermilk dressing: two parts buttermilk to one part mayo. Most of the buttermilk to be found in the supermarket these days is low-fat, but Ive recently discovered a whole-milk version, and if you dont mind the extra calories, I highly recommend it.

The dressings one essential ingredient is garlic, but the other flavorings are up to you. Not a fan of tarragon or scallion? Use dill, chives, basil or oregano instead. Are there family members who dont eat meat? Swap in smoked salmon for the bacon. Looking to move this salad from the side of the plate to its center? Beef it up by adding grilled chicken or shrimp. However you do it, youll discover, like me, the unexpected joys of grilled lettuce.

Grilled BLT salad with buttermilk dressing

Start to finish: 45 minutes

Servings: 4

For the dressing:

 cup mayonnaise

 cup buttermilk

 teaspoon finely minced garlic

3 tablespoons finely chopped scallion (white and green parts)

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh tarragon

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Kosher salt and black pepper

For the salad:

2 cups halved cherry tomatoes

 teaspoon kosher salt

6 slices bacon

3 slices rustic bread, crusts removed

Extra-virgin olive oil for brushing the lettuce and the bread

2 hearts romaine, halved lengthwise, leaving the cores intact

Directions:

Preheat the grill to medium.

Make the dressing: In a medium bowl combine all the ingredients and whisk well. Add salt and pepper to taste and set aside.

Make the salad: In a colander toss the tomatoes with the salt and let drain while you prepare the rest of the salad.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat, add the bacon and cook until crisp on both sides, about 5 minutes total. Transfer to paper towels to drain and crumble when cool.

Brush the bread on both sides with some oil and grill the bread until toasted on both sides, about 1 to 2 minutes a side. Transfer to a rack, let cool and cut into squares.

Brush the cut sides of the romaine with oil and add the romaine to the grill, cut side down. Grill just until the romaine is lightly charred on the cut side, about 2 minutes.

Transfer the romaine halves to each of four plates, cut side up. Top each portion with one-fourth of the tomatoes, croutons and bacon; drizzle some of the dressing over each portion.

___

BLT Salad:

Nutrition information: Per serving: 168 calories; 68 calories from fat; 8 g fat (1 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 34 mg cholesterol; 546 mg sodium; 19 g carbohydrate; 2 g fiber; 2 g sugar; 5 g protein.

Buttermilk Dressing:

Nutrition information: Per serving: 79 calories; 69 calories from fat; 8 g fat (1 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 6 mg cholesterol; 160 mg sodium; 1 g carbohydrate; 0 g fiber; 1 g sugar; 1 g protein.
I dont just like asparagus  I love it! Its a bit of an obsession for me. Ill eat it broiled, roasted, steamed, baked and even raw. To that roster of preparations is the recent addition of oven-baked asparagus fries in all their golden, crispy-brown glory.

With the help of a breadcrumb trick that you can make use of beyond this recipe, I present the crispiest, crunchiest, tastiest asparagus Ive made to date  and folks, its all done in the oven.

To create asparagus fries that not only reach peak crispiness, but also have a coating that sticks, two types of breadcrumbs are required. Panko, the light, ultra-crispy shards that give Japanese fried foods their distinctive crunch, lends its abilities to these asparagus fries to create an audibly crisp crunch. Its paired with the sturdy, sticky small flakes of traditional breadcrumbs for a base-coating that doesnt budge.

This combination works exceptionally well on these asparagus fries, but dont stop there. Try the mixture as breading on oven-baked chicken, fish or pork.

Choose thin-to-medium

We say it for roasting vegetables and we say it for stir-fry: Use foods of the same size for consistent results. In this case, use asparagus of consistent thickness or thinness for even cooking. But dont go too thin  pencil-skinny stalks actually work the worst. Since they cook so quickly, they go soft and soggy before the breading has the chance to crisp up. Save those thinner stalks to go along with your hollandaise.

Snap or cut bottoms





For crispy asparagus, stick to the snap or cut methods to trim the bottoms. To snap, hold the asparagus about three-fourths of the way down on a thin spear (or about halfway on a very thick spear) and snap it, discarding the bottom. For cutting the bottoms, estimate the point where the asparagus stalk gets hard and cut off the bottom with a sharp knife.

Oven-baked

asparagus fries

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 cup breadcrumbs

1 1/2 cups panko breadcrumbs

Flour for breading

2 large eggs

1 pound asparagus (about 20 to 24 medium spears)

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Nonstick olive oil spray

Directions

Prepare for baking: Preheat oven to 425 F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a pastry brush, brush about 1 tablespoon of the oil on the paper. Set aside.

Make the breadcrumb mixture: Pour the breadcrumbs and panko into a large resealable plastic bag, gently press any excess air out, and seal securely. Squish and smush the breadcrumbs with your hands, kneading the bag gently so it does not break (or use the bottom of a small saucepan and press the bag gently, until the panko pieces are as small as the breadcrumbs). Set aside.

Set up the breading station: Line up 3 rimmed dishes or containers that are as long as the asparagus spears (7-by-11-inch or 9-by-13-inch will work well). Pour the flour into the first. Add the eggs to the second dish and beat lightly with a fork. While beating, drizzle in the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. Combine the panko-breadcrumb mixture, Parmesan cheese, salt and black pepper in the remaining dish.

Prep the asparagus: Rinse the asparagus and remove any tough, thick, or white ends by snapping them off or cutting them off with a sharp knife, being careful not to accidentally break the tender tips.

Bread the asparagus: Place 3 to 4 spears at a time into the flour and turn to coat on all sides. Lift a spear out of the flour and, holding it over the dish, and gently pat off any excess. Next, place the spear into the egg mixture and turn to thoroughly coat. Immediately place the eggy spear into the breadcrumb mixture and turn to coat completely on all sides, again patting it gently so the bread crumbs will stick and the tips are not broken. Place on the prepared baking sheet, and repeat with the remaining asparagus spears, lining them up in a row, close together, but not quite touching.

Spray the asparagus: Spray the breaded asparagus spears with nonstick olive oil spray.

Bake the asparagus: Bake asparagus in the oven until crisp and crunchy, 12 to 14 minutes. Remove the tray from the oven halfway through the cooking time and turn each asparagus spear over to ensure that it is evenly baked, nicely browned and crunchy.

Recipe notes: The breading in this recipe contains grated Parmesan cheese, which gives it a nutty, cheesy underpinning. Lactose issues? Dont eat cheese? You can substitute nutritional yeast for the cheese with no problem at all.
Two men were charged for burglary and theft in Buffalo County where criminal complaints accuse them of breaking into a cabin in rural Fountain City last November.

Charges were filed in Buffalo County Circuit Court against Kenneth Curtis-Simon Gady, 24, of Houston, Minn., and Chase C. Gensmer, 24, of Minnesota City, Minn.

Sheriffs Investigator Lee Engfer filed reports claiming that Gady and Gensmer were fishing when they decided to dock their boat and break into a boathouse cabin by Swift Creek in the Town of Buffalo.

A canoe, ice auger, paddles, cooler, spotlight, battery charger and fishing pole were taken, but stolen property was returned, according to statements Gady and Gensmer provided to police.

Gady was scheduled to have a case status hearing in circuit court at Alma on Sept. 6th. Gensmer had a court hearing scheduled for Sept. 20.
Winonas Housing Task Force is getting closer to delivering a set of development tools to the city council as they try to increase the amount of workforce housing in the city.

Last month the group decided on a mixed vote that the first thing it will consider is affordable, multi-family workforce housing.

Now the task force has a set of financial tools and options to present to the city along with its other findings.

The options proposed for the city to use to promote development include the creation of Tax Increment Financing districts to leverage property tax money to subsidize development; allocating Local Government Aid and other funds; and waving or reducing building permit fees, land use fees, financial fees, and other costs tor developers.

In all, there were around 12 ideas for promoting development, as well as state and federal programs and funds that may be available.

The group also suggested that the city start its own housing non-profit trust fund to leverage federal, state and private funding; however, several members said it would be better to work through a third party.

The task force also removed a suggestion setting requirements for affordability, especially for potential TIF-funded housing.

Jim Vrchota, Housing Task Force chair and Merchants Bank vice president, said that because the city council will be making the final decision, they should be able to leave the specifics to be negotiated with the developers.

Since theyre going to make the final decision on it  Im in favor of keeping these more general, Vrchota said.

The group also looked over a list of lots that could be developed, including areas in the newly-established mixed-use downtown fringe zones on Second and Fourth streets. They also considered school buildings which may be vacated, and other areas around the city.

City Planner Carlos Espinosa noted that while there are lots available for projects, other areas would have to be rezoned, and to make that possible they may need to be targeted in the update of the citys comprehensive plan.

For instance we have a lot of land in our current comprehensive plan that is designated for industrial, Espinosa said. In order to get it going and keep it going for the future, the key thing is to get it in the plan.

The plan is normally updated every 10 years.

Over the past six months the group of bankers, realtors, city and county officials and others have moved incrementally toward a solid plan, first focusing on potential housing types, then moving toward promoting affordable housing.

In July it chose between single family homes, multi-family buildings and owner-occupied rehabilitation; the majority agreed that a larger development would have the greatest immediate impact.

The amended list of development tools is expected to go to the City Council following the meeting next month.

Housing numbers

Over the past year Winona County has seen some record housing sales numbers, continuing into the summer.

According to the Winona County Recorders office, in July there were 96 home sales in Winona County, 15 of which were more than $300,000  both new highs for the month.

There were sales throughout Winona County with slightly more than half in the City of Winona.

The high sales numbers continued despite a drop in the numbers of homes for sale.

The Southeast Minnesota Realtors report for the month of July said the number of listed homes had decreased by more than 30 percent from July 2016, falling to 95.

Their report noted that while the number of homes on the market decreases, the prices have continued to climb, and it has transitioned almost completely to a sellers market.

In Winona theyre report estimated the median home price rose by 0.9 percent to $136,250.

Multiple-offer situations over asking price are commonplace in many communities, and good homes are routinely off the market after a single day. It is evident that a favorable economy keeps hungry buyers in the chase, the report said.

The Winona County Recorders office also reported that the number of rural land sales is up in 2017. So far 34 sales have been recorded, compared with 23 for the first half of 2016.
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 percent. 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.

These new civil war stories frequently take a bait-and-switch approach. They invoke the violence at demonstrations like the rally in Charlottesville, Va., this month, 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.

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 percent 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 even 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 percent of the presidential vote nationally. Yet another candidate, independent Evan McMullin, captured 20 percent of the ballots in Utah. Sen. Bernie Sanders, who wasnt even running, still got enough write-ins to claim nearly 6 percent 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?
Reports of spontaneous human combustion have always been among my favorite urban myths. People sit around minding their own business, when  poof!  they suddenly ignite into flames and burn down to their loafers.

Disappointingly for readers of supermarket tabloids, people arent as combustible in the literal sense as they used to be, although they are in every other sense. Today only peoples brains catch fire. Worse yet, these people dont notice the smoke curling around their ears. They go on living in what now passes as a normal way.

Crazy, of course, is the new normal in the Trump administration. Every week brings a ridiculous episode that defies belief. Brain cells are ablaze everywhere you look.

Consider the emergence of Nazis and their ilk as respectable figures. When I say respectable, I mean out of their rat holes and given undue deference by President Donald Trump, who apparently dares not offend his base, no matter how base they are.

Oh, the president will say a few rehearsed criticisms when pressed but we know  and the basest of the base know  that he is not sincere. At his infamous press conference, he wouldnt flat out call the guy who killed an innocent woman in Charlottsville, Va., a domestic terrorist, even though the faux storm trooper ran her down in his vehicle in the ISIS style.

The Charlottsville bigots were defended by some as guardians of history for trying to keep Confederate statues safe. A part of me understands that argument. Removing historical statues can seem a bit Taliban-like. In a perfect world, it might be preferable for passing pigeons to paint the alleged great men white with classic bird bombs delivered from on high.

But I did not begrudge the Russians for tearing down statues of Lenin or the Iraqis for pulling down the figure of Saddam Hussein. Most of us thought history was made whole by these demolitions, not rendered forgotten. So it is with other historical characters whose greatness has become dubious.

There is another history that the defenders of the indefensible need to remember: Hitler started a war that killed more than 60 million people, including at least 405,000 American servicemen. What sort of American thinks Hitler was a swell guy? One with the brain stem of a charred stick.

Our latter-day Nazis, or white supremacists or nationalists, or whatever the alt-stupid call themselves these days, might as well go into Arlington National Cemetery and other resting places of Americas honored dead and trample the graves. Such is the moral offense they present to the rest of us, liberal or conservative.

In case of the Nazis, the tiki torches they carry in their pretend Nuremberg rallies may be responsible for setting fire to their brains. If only Hitler could see those tiki torches  even he would laugh at them and he wasnt much for mirth.

As for the president, I am not sure what excuse he has for being so obtuse. I can only assume his brain was previously torched, which explains why he wears that yellow asbestos helmet on his head for protection.

Hot on the heels of the Nazi nonsense, Trump went on national television to make a fanciful promise concerning Afghanistan. The veneer of patriotism couldnt quite camouflage his preposterous plan.

To be fair, the speech was more adult than usual and part of it was true: Americans have become weary of a war without victory. To remedy that, Trump will give them a victory. Really? Why didnt anybody else think of that over the last 16 years? The idea of winning in Afghanistan is illusionary. A president who promises anything more than a long slog is delivering fake news.

The British couldnt win in Afghanistan, the Russians couldnt win in Afghanistan and we couldnt win in Afghanistan in the longest war in the nations history. This is a dismal swamp and Trumps admitted that his first instinct was to get out.

But all his instincts are fueled by testosterone and so here we go again with more troops and a new strategy, one patched together from political talking points but with less of a moral varnish. We are there to kill, not promote democracy or human rights, and our killing will have fewer restraints, so innocents will also surely die. It sounds very much like we are going to wage war like the Nazis would have done it.

As burned skulls nod in agreement, I fear spontaneous presidential combustion has brought us full circle.
Divide and conquer.

For ages, the rich and powerful have used the tactic to trick underpaid working people into electing and supporting lawmakers who keep wages low and ensure the rich get even richer and more powerful.

For example, Diane Hendricks, who made billions from a Wisconsin company she inherited from her husband, obviously felt those billions werent enough and God forbid shed have to share some of it with the people who do all the hard work to keep the business going. She and certain other greedy business owners consider unions their enemies because unions fight for living wages and safe, fair working conditions. The less workers are paid, the more owners can put in their pockets. Thats why they buy lawmakers willing to attack unions.

The tactic was revealed in a 2012 conversation between Gov. Scott Walker and Hendricks when they didnt know they were being videotaped. After she brought up the issue of an anti-union law, she asked, What can we do to help you?

Walker replied, The first step is were going to deal with collective bargaining for all public employees  because you divide and conquer.

To encourage our ethics-free governor, Hendricks donated a half-million dollars to his campaign. That and other large contributions from wealthy business people helped elect and re-elect the compliant governor.

Divide and conquer is a strategy that works. Candidates cant come out and tell voters theyre going to make sure their wages are kept low so their big donors get wealthier. No, to get elected, first they have to divide the people and generate resentment and anger against targeted groups to rile up voters and divert attention from what theyre really doing. Theres even a term for that: the politics of resentment.

Walker and his enablers made teachers and other public workers the enemy, convincing voters public workers were greedy because they had living wages and benefits. Only after he was re-elected did state leaders go after private unions with the right-to-work law that allows union members and other employees to benefit from the representation of a union without paying dues. Just as the Republican operatives planned, many members chose not to pay, thus weakening, if not killing off, the only groups that fight for workers rights and support candidates who do the same.

Now, Walker and his GOP enablers are continuing the assault on workers by pushing to repeal the prevailing wage law. Yet, workers who support him still dont get it.

After the Civil War, the poor Southerners didnt get it, either, even after hundreds of thousands of their comrades died to preserve the wealth and power of slave owners. It was the same divide and conquer ploy that convinced those poor Southerners to resent Northerners and believe the Civil War was about states rights when it was really about rich plantation-owners fears that, instead of using unpaid slaves, theyd have to pay workers to sow and harvest their crops, clean their homes and raise their children.

The strategy also worked for Adolf Hitler. After World War I, the German people were economically and emotionally defeated. Hitler saw an opportunity to use the old trick to rally and deceive the downtrodden. He and his cohorts formed a party for working men and promised to make Germany great again. He then convinced voters their plight was caused by Jews and that hed take care of that. Once elected, he took over all aspects of the government and the people lost the power to resist. That gave him the authority to conscript German men into the army, invade neighboring countries and kill more than 6 million people, including infants, children, women, the disabled and elderly  mainly Jewish citizens of Germany and other European countries.

When they voted for him, the people had no idea he was out only for his own glory and power. Later, when it was too late and their country once again was devastated by war, they realized theyd made a huge mistake.

Now, the president of our country has convinced many working class voters to blame Mexicans and other immigrants for their low wages. He and his handlers dont want those voters to know the real reason their wages dont improve is because paid-off politicians make sure labor unions are disempowered in GOP-controlled states. Its no coincidence the reddest states are some of the poorest in the nation.

The divide and conquer agenda is to incite voters resentment against innocent scapegoats, promise to solve all their problems, get elected and immediately reward their rich benefactors. Yet, many in the working class still dont get it.

As a Pete Seeger song asks, When will they ever learn?
JUNEAU  An 18-year-old man pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges of sexually assaulting two young boys last summer and taking suggestive photos of them.

Seth D. Oltmanns, Mount Morris, Illinois, is charged with three counts of first-degree sexual assault of a child and seven counts of possession of child pornography. He could be sentenced to up to 355 years and a $700,000 fine. He was released from the Dodge County Jail after making bail.

Oltmanns appeared before Dodge County Circuit Court Judge Steven Bauer where the court entered a not guilty plea to all counts.

In June, Bauer placed Oltmanns on a $5,000 cash bond. He was ordered to not have contact with any minors without supervision nor to have any contact with the alleged victims.

According to the criminal complaint, Oltmanns was staying at a relatives house in the town of Lomira in July and August 2016. Oltmanns watched two small boys in the home, 8 and 10. The two mothers of the boys contacted police with separate phone calls Aug. 22, 2016, and each reported that Oltmanns had sexually assaulted the boys.

The 8-year-old boy attended a forensic interview Aug. 25, 2016, where he told officers about the alleged abuse. The boy said that Oltmanns sexually assaulted him several times including insisting that the boys take a bath with him on one occasion. The 10-year-old boy underwent a forensic interview on the same day and told a detective a similar story.

According to the complaint, one of the boys told police that Oltmanns had taken several suggestive photos of the boys and saved them in a secret file on his phone.

Oltmanns allowed police access to his phone, but denied having the photos on the phone or anywhere else. According to the complaint, he eventually admitted to having the photos and said he attempted to delete them but was unable to do so.

He also admitted to having a secret file where he hid the photos. After the photos were found, he allegedly admitted to touching one of the boys inappropriately. On the phone, there were 37 images of young males being exposed. In addition, police found that Oltmanns had done internet searches for boys in underwear and gay boys ages 10 to 14.

A telephone scheduling conference call is scheduled for Sept. 26 in the case.
FORT RUCKER, Alabama  Lt. Col. Thomas V. Higgins II, son of Geri and Thomas Higgins of Iron Ridge, formerly of Beaver Dam, recently retired from the 40th helicopter Squadron at Malmstron Air Force Base in Montana.

Higgins joined the U.S. Army in January 1988 and after 10 years flying with the Army joined the U.S. Army Reserves in March 1998. He received his commission from the U.S. Air Force Officer Training School in February 1999.

Higgins vast experience over 28 years includes the first Gulf War, a one-year deployment to Honduras as a basic combat skills and primary flight training instructor, flying is support of continuity of operations and continuity of government during 9/11, and as an Mi-17 instructor/combat air adviser for the Afghan presidential airlift squadron responsible for flying President Hamid Karzai.

His flying experience includes air assault, medical evacuation, aeroscout, Air Force special aviation missions, Air Force survival school search and rescue, DV airlift and missile field security. He has served in the capacity of group chief of safety, Wing AFS021 chief facilitator, and as the lead MAJCOM UH-1N requirements officer and chief of training for AFGSC.

He is a command pilot with more than 4,800 hours in UH-1H, OH-58C, TH-67, UH-1N and Mi-17. He flew more than 145 combat sorties in Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, and Afghanistan with more than 226 combat hours in support of Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm, and Operation Enduring Freedom, earning an Air Medal for each campaign.

Higgins attended Beaver Dam High School High School and graduated with the class of 1983 before pursuing his military career. He is an instructor pilot for a private company teaching army recruits at Fort Rucker, Alabama.
As a representative of the First Presbyterian Church of this fine city, I would like to thank our community for the wonder turnout we experienced for Pastor Carol Hermann's last service. I can report that our dear pastor was extremely touched and a bit taken aback by the outpouring of love shown to her.

The luncheon held afterwards was a treasure trove of memories both re-told and new for all of us who could attend. It was such a happy atmosphere, few of us showed sadness. It was all about honor and love.

Next year, out beloved little Welsh church will be celebrating 150 years of services and memories for this city. Please be thinking if there is some way for you all to help evoke memories as well. If you have artifacts, stories or pictures which could help in celebrating our rich history, please call our church at 623-3350. If you leave a message, a member of our church will contact you.

Let us all encourage our newest pastors in the community to continue the ecumenical cooperation we love.

Ellie Kluetzman

Elder, First Presbyterian Church
A man from Mauston was charged with first-degree sexual assault of a child after being arrested July 24.

Alex Nava Rodriguez, 38, faces one count of first-degree child sexual assault-sexual contact with a child under age 13. Rodriguez also faces one count of misdemeanor bail jumping. If hes convicted, Rodriguez could face a possible 60-year prison sentence for the alleged sexual assault and a $10,000 fine, or nine months in prison, or both, for the bail jumping charge.

According to a criminal complaint:

An officer from the Mauston Police Department responded to Mile Bluff Medical Center July 24 for a child sexual assault complaint.

The officer talked to the alleged victim and her mother in the emergency room. She told police she was sleeping and was awakened with Rodriguez allegedly lying on top of her. She said Rodriguez had partially undressed and was trying to force himself on her. The alleged victim told police Rodriguez would not initially let her up.

The girl was able to get up, ran to the bathroom and sent a text to her grandmother who contacted the victims mother. The mother was at work at the time of the incident. She told police Rodriguez was drinking the night before. She said he has been known to consume alcohol in the past but had done nothing like this.

When interviewed by police, Rodriguez reportedly called the alleged victim a liar and said she lied in the past. He confirmed the family was at his residence and he had been drinking, but hadnt had a drink in a couple weeks. Rodriguez adamantly denied touching the girl with his genitals.

Mauston PD arrested Rodriguez after the interview and took him to the Juneau County Jail. Due to stipulations from a bond signed April 4, 2016, Rodriguez shall maintain absolute sobriety at all times and shall have no contact with the alleged victims mother.

Rodriguez is scheduled to have a motion hearing Aug. 23 at 9:45 a.m. at the Juneau County Justice Center. A cash bond has been set at $5,000 but Rodriguez has yet to post bond.
Donald Trump announced he will be sending more troops to Afghanistan in hopes of finding a solution to America's longest-running war. It's a strategy that's been tried before with limited success.
Two months after completing its community service project, the thank-you letters still are pouring in to St. Marys youth ministry in Portage.

The Love Begins Here effort put to work 100 mostly teen-aged volunteers in Portage from July 5-8. It was a phenomenal showing of youth rising to the occasion, said Brenda Collins, the churchs director of youth ministry.

People are always amazed by how much work is done in a little bit of time, Collins said this week. Young volunteers  about 90 from the Madison area and eight from Portage  helped such organizations, programs or sites as River Haven Shelter; St. Marys Cemetery; Tivoli nursing home; Summer Meals; and Museum at the Portage. Volunteers cleaned facilities, sorted and delivered food and picked up trash, among other tasks.

The volunteers in Portage also helped about 20 individual residents, the majority of whom were elderly. Most of the others were single moms, Collins said. For these residents, volunteers mostly did yard work and painting, and since Love Begins Here came on the heels a big local storm, the work wasnt easy.

There were a lot of places with trees down, blocking driveways Collins said, noting that one of the residents who volunteers planned to help told them that others hit by the storm were worse off than he was. He said dont go to my house, go to theirs; so there were people who didnt even sign up who received help.

They were so in shock that these kids came out of nowhere to help them in their time of need. That was pretty amazing.

Portage received 1,188 volunteer hours over two full days, while the church and its members hosted the volunteers.

The principle of the program works, Collins said. The Madison Diocese launched Love Begins Here in 2009 and students from St. Marys Catholic Church of Portage have participated elsewhere in Wisconsin over the past three years. Last year marked the first year the church had hosted volunteers in Portage.

This year St. Marys of Portage sent 24 youths to Monroe and Middleton, separately, for volunteer work. Both of those cities also received help from 100 mostly youth volunteers. The cities received 2,200 hours of service each, spread out across full weeks of service, Collins said. In Monroe  where Collins also lent a hand  students helped St. Vincent de Paul, and in Middleton they helped Second Harvest, among other work in assisted living centers and nursing homes.

Realistic service

A favorite of all the teens was going into assisted living or nursing homes and just visiting and spending time, Collins said. The reason for that, she thinks, is because the young volunteers establish a personal connection, knowing firsthand theyre making an impact in their lives.

There are a lot of residents who dont get visitors; so they just play games with them, and they get to see the young people caring (for them) and getting involved in the community.

The concept of the program and mission of the youth Collins said, is to begin (service) in our own neighborhoods. The idea is that young volunteers will see that much can be accomplished even by doing small things with great love. Collins believes young Portage volunteers came home with the belief that what they did can carry over for the rest of their lives.

I think (service) is more realistic for them now, Collins said.
Budget work, updates and modernization recommendations are just a few of the tasks accomplished by Stephen Compton this past year.

Compton joined the city last April as city administrator following the departure of Ken Witt.

So far its been a rewarding position, said Compton, who had planned to retire after working in California. He applied for the position after moving to Reedsburg to be closer to family. He said city staff has been knowledgeable and helpful, and he has worked alongside them to offer regular updates to City Council.

Compton has started digging into the next budget, which wont go before Council for approval until later this fall.

He has prided himself on doing what he believes is fair and best for Reedsburg.

The city administrator is not a partisan office, he said. I am a caretaker of the public trust.

Communication has been a prominent part of his job. He said hes asked department heads to provide more details for agenda items because the information is vital for City Council members, staff and the general public.

Projects

Part of the job entails reviewing documents and practices to see if its time for change. Sometimes a project is sparked by a public comments and questions.

Compton cited one example involving billboards. During the 2016 holiday season a resident complained to him about a sign advertising shopping in Baraboo. Out of curiosity, he checked into the sign and discovered the contracts for two billboards were set to expire Dec. 31, 2016. He raised the issue and the City decided to keep the signs near the Municipal Airport and City Garage. They could be a source of revenue.

He also researched department salaries. The goal was to bring pay more in line with like-sized communities. In some cases, such as the parks and recreation director position, Compton suggested an increase from $30.09 to $32.22 per hour. Even with the increase the director would still make less than the average mid-range salary of $76,421.51 per year.

The review included a look at Reedsburg Police Department pay, which also received adjustments. Chief Tim Becker said lieutenants earned $5,000 below average, while sergeants were $6,000 behind typical pay.

Becker, who helped fill in for city administrator duties after Witts departure, is pleased with Comptons performance. He said Comptons 30 years of experience make him an asset.

He has strong ethics and values and that is much appreciated in that position as a leader for the City, Becker said.

Compton said his next wage-related task involves creating a merit system where employees can receive a 1- to 3-percent bonus based on performance.

Hes also working out a new review schedule where employees are assessed according to their start date. In the past all reviews took place at once and proved to be difficult for supervisors.

Compton is not under contract and acknowledges he could be let go at any time, but so far hes glad to be on board.

As for retirement, it will have to wait, at least for now.

Im here because I enjoy doing the job, he said.




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IAEA reviews seismic safety at Korean plants

24 August 2017

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The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has concluded a five-day Site and External Events Design (SEED) mission to South Korea. The SEED team reviewed methods and criteria for evaluating seismic safety at the Wolsong and Shin Wolsong nuclear power plants, which are operated by Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power (KHNP).

Both facilities are located at the same site on the south-eastern coast, where an earthquake measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale struck in September 2016. The Vienna-based agency said the SEED team had examined the results of inspections carried out after the earthquake as well as the technical basis of hazard assessments and risk analyses. It also reviewed KHNP's mid-term action plans established in response to the 2016 earthquake.

"The IAEA team received information on the process and results that KHNP has conducted and obtained over the last four decades for assessing seismic hazards and safety at Wolsong and Shin Wolsong," said Shin Morita, head of the IAEA's External Events Safety Section. "The team was impressed by the positive attitude and concrete actions, taken by KHNP and partly coordinated with the government, to continuously improve safety against natural external events."

The team identified good practices, including the fact the government has a nationwide plan for assessing seismic hazards, enabling KHNP to update parameters of site-specific external natural hazards.

KNHP has established a new organization, the Seismic Engineering Office, "aimed at continuously improving safety against seismic hazards at all nuclear sites in the country, leveraging lessons and knowledge gained at the Wolsong and Shin Wolsong plants", the IAEA said.

The team also recommended on-going, comprehensive seismic hazard assessment measures that enhance alignment with IAEA safety standards.

When assessing the impact of actual earthquakes on safe nuclear power plant operation, the Cumulative Absolute Velocity should be used in the decision criteria, the IAEA said, so that operators are "able to determine the absence of potential damages with high confidence".

The SEED team comprised three experts from Argentina, Switzerland and the USA, as well as two IAEA staff. The team held talks with managers and experts at both KHNP's headquarters in the city of Gyeongju and at the site.

KHNP Executive Vice President Cheong-ro Yoon said the company would expand upon the experiences and knowledge it has gained to all nuclear power plants, including the Kori, Hanbit and Hanul facilities.

The mission, which concluded on 18 August, was requested by the Korean government. In accordance with IAEA practice, the final mission report will be delivered to the government within three months.

Researched and written

by World Nuclear News

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IAEA seeks to expand nuclear training model

25 August 2017

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The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said yesterday that, by the end of this year, it will have held Nuclear Power Human Resources Planning (NPHR) workshops for Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, Jordan, Morocco, Sudan, Macedonia and Thailand. These events support the development of educational, vocational and training infrastructure among the Vienna-based agency's Member States.

The US Department of Energy provided the NPHR model to the IAEA in 2011. It is used to simulate the nuclear workforce of any country, at any stage of a nuclear power program. Currently, 28 Member States are considering, planning or starting nuclear power programs, but have not yet connected their first nuclear power plant to the grid.

Alex Twesigye, a nuclear scientist from Uganda's Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, said: "Feedback from this training provides a logical roadmap for nuclear human resource planning since it provides countries with 'what if scenarios'. Core members of Uganda's Human Resource Development Working Group have been trained as our country considers adding nuclear power to its energy mix."

The NPHR model uses STELLA simulation software, which enables the visual depiction of the movement of staff through degree and training programs into the nuclear workforce. The software may be customised for any Member State.

The IAEA said its Nuclear Infrastructure Development Section (NIDS), Planning and Economic Studies Section (PESS) and Nuclear Power Engineering Section (NPES) are jointly interested in exploring advanced applications of the NPHR model in collaboration with universities and other government agencies.

"Acquiring and retaining skilled personnel to ensure a competent workforce for all phases of a nuclear program development are among the biggest challenges for the nuclear community," the IAEA said. "These workshops enable participants to tailor models to reflect national plans and circumstances in a country's quest to introduce nuclear power."

Researched and written

by World Nuclear News

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Kiribati is a small country, which is mainly composed of islands, 33 atolls, reef islands, and it is located in the central region of the Pacific Ocean. The total population in the country according to the 2015 census is about 110,000 people. While several people in Kiribati speak Kiribati, also known as Gilbertese, the official language in the country is English.

De Facto National Language Of Kiribati

The British colonizers who left the country after Kiribati gained independence in 1979 were responsible for introducing the English language used in the country. The English language is the de facto national language in the country and it is widely use in the capital city of Tarawa. Apparently, the use of English is also widespread in other parts of the country and is also used in most schools of Kiribati as the medium of instruction. Events and official ceremonies held in the country usually use the English language for communication purposes. Most citizens on the island use English as well to communicate with foreigners who visit Kiribati.

Indigenous Languages Of Kiribati

Kiribati (Gilbertese) Language

Kiribati or Gilbertese language is an official dialect spoken by people native to the country. The natives use the language daily, and almost 90% of the people in the country understand and speak fluent Kiribati. Although the Kiribati people speak and understand the language, some old people in the country at times speak more challenging Kiribati, which perplexes the younger generation. The dominant nature of the language is unlike several other languages that have over the recent past disappeared with the advent of globalization. Surprisingly, while over 80% of people in the island are fluent in English, they also understand their native languages. It is imperative to explain that the language is unique as it follows a verb-object-subject format. Due to the interaction with other islands, the language is also spoken in regions like Fiji, Solomon Islands, Mili, and Nui.

The Enduring Kiribati Language

While English is an official language in Kiribati, it appears that the Kiribati language, also known as Gilbertese, is dominant. The dominant nature of the Kiribati language can be linked to the fact that several people in the country are I-Kiribati and as such speak the language. Besides, it is also worth noting that while English is used in official activities and schools, Kiribati is spoken by families at home and in social places. Moreover, the natives, especially in remote areas at times, use a mixture of English and Kiribati. One of the notable issues that one cannot fail to notice is the fact that the Kiribati language regardless of the several influences from neighboring islands and globalization, has retained in its authentic nature. This is unlike many languages in the world, which have been replaced either by English or by other dominant languages or have since lost their originality to become a blend.
Montenegro is a country that has been ranked as an upper middle-income economy. The country is located in the southwestern part of Europe and borders Croatia which lies on the western side and Kosovo on the eastern side. Bosnia and Serbia are to the northwest and northeast of the country, respectively.

Podgorica is the capital city of Montenegro and is the most populous city in the country. Overtime, the country has undergone some transformations. Initially, the country was part of the kingdom of Yugoslavia, but later it transformed into the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia when they broke up from Yugoslavia and joined Serbia. It subsequently, transformed to become an independent republic of Montenegro after a referendum. The country has diverse native languages, which comprise of Bosnian, Croatian, as well as Albanian. However, the primary language that the majority of people in Montenegro speak is Montenegrin.

Montenegrin Language: Official Language Of Montenegro

Montenegrin is the official language used in the country. According to a census of 2003, 25% of the population spoke Montenegrin. The small number of Montenegrin speakers was attributed to the majority of people being speakers of the Serbian language. The census revealed that about 63% used the Serbian language as their primary medium of communication, a factor that has introduced some level of controversy concerning the language that the country should use as the official language. Another issue that raised the controversy was the fact that majority of people in the country who are Montenegrins are either Serbs or have a close association with the Serbians. In 1991, the country stated that its official language was Serbian before it changed to Montenegrin as per the 2007 Constitution. Just like other Serbo-Croatian languages such as Serbia, Bosnia, and Albania, Montenegrin uses Cyrillic and Latin alphabets.

Major Minority Languages Spoken In Montenegro

Croatian Language

This is one of the minority languages spoken in Montenegro and is linked to the Croatians who live in the country. The language has various dialects, which include Kajkavian and Chakavian, and is spoken by people in the neighboring Bosnia and Serbia. Moreover, it is the official language of the Croatian nation. One thing that is worth nothing is that some words in the Montenegrin and Serbian language have a close relationship with the Croatian language.

Bosnian Language

Bosnia is one of the minority languages in the country and has several similarities with the Montenegrin language. One of the similarities is the utility of Cyrillic and the Latin alphabet in its writings. The language is also associated with the Bosnians who live near and inside the country. Furthermore, the language is used in places like Kosovo, Serbia, and Herzegovina.

Albanian Language

Albanians who live near and within Montenegro use the Albanian language. Over its history, the Albanian language has been a subject of controversy concerning the alphabet to use. Northern writers use Latin alphabet because it resonates well with the Catholic religion whereas Orthodox Albanians in the south use Greek alphabet. Besides, some Albanians professing the Islamic religion used Arabic writings. However, the need to unify the language compelled officials in the country to dictate the use of Latin alphabet.
Wrexham architects win national award

This article is old - Published: Friday, Aug 25th, 2017

Local company Lawray Architects has won the prestigious Construction Excellence in Wales SME of the Year 2017 at a recent ceremony hosted by BBCs Jason Mohammad and attended by 600 members of the Welsh construction community at the Celtic Manor.

The multi award-winning design-led practice, founded in Wrexham and Cardiff in 1974, impressed the judges in key areas such as management, investment, training and core values towards staff and clients alike.

Led by Directors David Hughes and Keith OHanlon the recent projects completed by the Wrexham studio include the renovation of Wrexham Cemetery in Ruabon Road and Hafod y Wern Primary School. In due course, their re-modelling of the former Oriel Wrecsam at Wrexham Library will reveal a stunning contemporary town-centre facility for North Wales Police.

Further success in securing a number of high profile project and exciting projects has led to the need for additional staff in Wrexham, based in the renovated eighteenth century Byre at Croesnewydd Hall.

David Hughes said: We are delighted to receive this recognition from Constructing Excellence Wales, a tribute to the hard working and loyal staff that form the backbone of our organisation. Without their expertise and commitment to our core values of professionalism, quality, teamwork, integrity, personal growth and environment we would not be achieving our continued success and sustained growth across the practice.

This in turn is allowing us to recruit bright and talented individuals and provide an industry-leading service to our clients.

Lawray now looks forward to attending the Welsh Winners Reception at the Senedd later in the year.
US autoworkers contacted by the World Socialist Web Site Autoworker Newsletter expressed disgust and anger over the results of a federal investigation into allegations of bribery of top United Auto Workers (UAW) officials by Fiat Chrysler (FCA) executives.

I dont support those people [the UAW]. They dont support me, a worker with many years seniority at Ford Michigan Assembly in Wayne, Michigan, west of Detroit said. The UAW hides behind a logo. I dont trust them, and I dont talk to them.

According to the indictments, FCA funneled some $4.5 million to top UAW executives to encourage them to take company-friendly positions. Those indicted include UAW Associate Director Virdell King, a top official in the UAW Chrysler department, and Monica Morgan, the widow of General Holiefield, the former vice president in charge of UAW negotiations with FCA. Also named was FCA Vice President for Employee Development Alphons Iacobelli, who allegedly made the illegal payments to the UAW officials via funds from the UAW-Chrysler National Training Center (NTC).

The revelations follow a revolt by FCA workers, who in 2015 voted down a sellout agreement accepted by the UAW that maintained the two-tier wage system and alternative work schedule (AWS), and expanded the number of temporary and part-time workers. While UAW President Dennis Williams claims he had no knowledge of the scandal, court documents show that former UAW President Bob King confronted Holiefield and Iacobelli in 2011 over payments to Morgans fake charity.

A young FCA Warren Truck worker told the World Socialist Web Site Autoworker Newsletter that she was outraged to hear of the indictments. Nobody likes the AWS, she said. It keeps us away from our families. There were a lot of other things they took away from us, like COLA [cost-of-living allowance]. That was part of the bribery.

Following the 2015 contract, Fiat Chrysler had placed thousands of workers on temporary layoff at the Sterling Heights Assembly Plant (SHAP) outside of Detroit and at the Toledo Jeep complex. She said that the layoffs had created a great deal of concern and uncertainty among workers and that the UAW had facilitated the extended closures, offering no opposition.

Now Warren Truck is about to go through it too, she said, noting that the UAW was giving workers no information.

The revelations related to the direct bribery of UAW further demonstrate the role of the UAW as a tool of management. The NTC was just one of many arrangements between the UAW and the auto companies set up in previous decades to transfer money from the auto companies into the coffers of the UAW. In return, the UAW collaborates in imposing the dictates of management on the backs of autoworkers. The arrangements amount to the establishment of a company union, something supposedly banned under US labor law.

A veteran worker at the General Motors Delta Township plant near Lansing, Michigan, also spoke to the WSWS. Everyone high up in the UAW must have known what was going on. There were more palms being greased.

If Holiefield, who was a UAW VP, was in on it, I am sure [former UAW President Ron] Gettelfinger was in on it. I am sure he was aware what was going on.

Now that the UAW owns stock through the VEBA [retiree health care trust fund], everything needs to be put to rest.

They raised our union dues saying we had to prepare to strike, but there was no strike. But our union dues did not go down. Every time we get a bonus, they take a chunk out of that. What do we gain?

He expressed especial disgust with the two-tier wage imposed with the assistance of the UAW. Two people are doing the same job, but one is receiving half the pay and half the benefits. That is unheard of!

The WSWS explained that workers need to form rank-and-file committees independent of the UAW to provide genuine shop floor representation for workers. Union officials should not be making any more than a worker, he said. This shows how badly they need to be monitored.

WSWS reporters also recently spoke to workers at Ford about the UAW corruption case. In 2015, there were many allegations that the UAW resorted to ballot-stuffing at the Ford River Rouge plant to ensure the narrow passage of the sellout national agreement.

A tier-two Ford worker who recently hired into the Rouge Plant in Dearborn, Michigan, west of Detroit, at a fraction of standard pay, said, I always thought it was corrupt. It just goes to show you that there was something illegal going on, something corrupt.

A veteran worker at Ford Rouge added, Im sure they are all taking the money, taking luxury vacations and having fun on us. Theyre going to court, but theyll get a lawyer and get off. Its always the poor folks who go to jail, the innocent who serve time because they have no money.

The Ford Michigan Assembly worker added, They gave themselves a 7.2% raise and froze our wages. They are lining their own pockets. And they are supposed to be fighting for my rights? Thats ridiculous.

We have known about corruption in the union for a long time. The UAW is part of the company. There is no negotiating the contract. Ford dictated the terms of it. We all know the contract was fixed.
A new report gives a revealing snapshot, through statistics on the largest school system in the US, of the growing poverty and inequality in New York City.

The study, issued last week by the Institute for Children, Poverty and Homelessness (ICPH) and following up on earlier reports, starkly illustrates how, four years after current New York mayor Bill de Blasio ran on the campaign slogan a tale of two cities, that term applies to the US financial and cultural capital more than ever before.

The total of homeless students, defined by the report as those living in shelters or doubled up with friends and family, but also including some living in motels and even a few in family cars, is approximately 100,000, more than 9 percent of the total in the citys public schools for the 2015-2016 school year. When the numbers who are not currently homeless but have experienced homelessness in the past six years are included, the total rises to 140,000. The report points out that this is equal to the population of Syracuse, the fourth-largest city in New York State.

One of the most significant numbers in the study is that for the increase in student homelessness since 201133 percent. This period overlaps almost exactly with the years of the most recent stock market boom, after the financial crash of 2008. During this same period, the construction of luxury and ultra-luxury high rises in Manhattan has continued without pause.

The typical homeless student, according to the report, transfers schools at least twice during the school year; misses 88 days of school, or almost half of the school year; has twice the risk of suspension or being left back a grade; and has half the proficiency scores on 5th grade tests of math and English as his or her fellow students.

The 9.3 percent homelessness rate in the public schools compares to 6.6 percent in charters, the privately run but publicly funded schools that are not legally obliged to take in all students. In addition, amidst continuing luxury construction and gentrification, a growing number of students attend exclusive private schools.

The percentage of students who were homeless ranged from a low of 2.5 percent in Bayside, in eastern Queens, to a high of 20 percent in the Highbridge-Concourse school district, in the west Bronx. Other school districts with high rates of homelessness included Central Harlem; East Tremont, in the Bronx; and Brownsville, in Brooklyn.

A further index of the ongoing and deepening economic crisis is the fact that the percentage of students who were homeless increased in every single school district in the city, including the wealthier ones. In Flushing, Queens, as well as the outer borough of Staten Island, the jump was greatest, more than 39 percent over the period studied.

The results of homelessness were predictable. Twenty-two percent of homeless students transferred schools in the middle of the school year, twice the rate for other students. Chronic absenteeism, defined as missing 20 days of school or more, was seen in 34 percent of homeless students, compared to 20 percent for other students. For elementary school students, the most vulnerable to instability in school, the comparison was 31 percent to 14 percent in the 2015-2016 school year.

The impact of homelessness on dropout and graduation rates was also noted. Even though the city has made strenuous efforts and had some success in reducing dropout rates and increasing graduation rates in recent years, homeless students dropped out of school at more than twice the rate of students who were not homeless (17 percent vs. 8 percent). Homeless students graduated at a 46 percent rate, compared to 74 percent for other students.

There are some effects of homelessness that cannot be quantified, but emerge in the form of emotional problems and later in more serious depression and other social ills. Families are forced to choose between having their children make two-hour trips to school or having them make the often-difficult and disorienting switch to new schools, where they have no friends and know no teachers. The report quotes one former school principal:

Every six months, its like youre in a new family. Its so destabilizing. One of the biggest problems is that the next housing assignment is not in the same community  if youre going from Rockaway to Staten Island to the Bronx, any kid would really lose it. We would lose it if our home moved every six months and the people we know and trust werent available to us.  It takes several months to gain the trust of a student and to figure out what kind of learning support they need, to put a program in place. By January youre feeling the flow and have figured out what triggers a tantrum or causes the child to run away. Just as you start to figure it all out, the kids are gone.

A social worker explained: One middle school student [age 13] said that traveling from the Bronx to school in Brooklyn caused him to go from an A average in English to a 67 percent due to being late. His younger brother [age 8] really struggled to get up in time to get on the train for school, and he would often fall asleep in class. Last year, his teacher became concerned that he might have a sleep disorder because he was constantly nodding off. He missed out on a lot of valuable classroom instruction and he was moved to a special education classroom.

Another social worker reports, We have a really high population of students that are in temporary housing. I think a lot of students in temporary housing get lost in the cracks, because they are not always seen as homelessbut they are. They are doubled up or constantly moving around from home to home. They might not have adequate furniture or a desk where they are living. Or if Mom gets in a fight with her cousin, they could be out. Its a lot of anxiety and stress for the kids. That comes out in all sorts of ways, behaviorally and academically.

The citys unemployment rate for July was reported as 4.7 percent. The rate has dropped in half since the year or two following the 2008 crash. The persistence and even growth of student homelessness over this same period reflects the deepening impact of the crisis on the working poor and on families with growing children in particular. The jobless rate reflects in part a growing number of workers who have stopped looking for minimum-wage jobs.

There are many families who are simply unable to find apartments at rents they can afford while working at such jobs, which have proliferated in recent years. Even the recently enacted state legislation that would increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour over the next several years will make hardly any dent in the crisis, under conditions where affordable apartments, which should take no more than one-third of a workers wage, continue to disappear.

De Blasios promise of 200,000 affordable apartments to be created over the next decade, even if it were carried out, is a cruel joke for the hundreds of thousands, including 100,000 students in the public schools, who live either in shelters or doubled up under intolerable conditions today.

Reformist advocates, including the Institute for Children, Poverty and Homelessness, have absolutely no reforms to offer or even to meekly propose. The ICPH report closes with some policy considerations for schools and city authorities, including such pathetic suggestions as learning from collaborations between schools and shelters and understanding the specific challenges of students in shelter who may be traveling long distances to attend school.

This amounts to managing homelessness, which is taken as permanent and inevitable, rather than eliminating or even reducing it. This is where de Blasios worthless promises have led. He and all other Democratic Party politicians represent a system that has nothing to offer, except gentrification and the ever-widening chasm between the super-rich and their upper middle class backers on the one hand and the vast working class majority on the other. Only the independent political struggle of the working class, armed with a socialist program, can tackle the desperate social crisis reflected in student homelessness.
Laila Ellmoos, one of the curators of 1917: The Great Strike, an exhibition about the historic rail and tram walkout in Australia, recently spoke with the World Socialist Web Site. Ellmoos is former president of the Professional Historians Association of NSW and presented Scratching Sydneys Surface, FBi Radios regular segment exploring the history of Sydney. She is the author of several books, including Our Island Home: a history of Peat Island, and numerous reviews, conference papers and public talks.

1917: The Great Strike, which provides an important overview of the mass strike involving tens of thousands of workers across Australia, is on at Carriageworks museum in Sydney until August 27. This is an edited version of our conversation with Ellmoos.

Laila Ellmoos: I work in the History Team at the City of Sydney and were always looking at different ways to interpret our history. Of course, many things have been done on the centenary of World War I, but the events covered in this exhibition are very different and they disrupt the memory of what people generally know about the war.

In fact, the collective memory of WWI has really changed over the years. When I was younger, nobody went on the official Anzac Day marches and yet now, its a huge phenomenon. [Anzac Day, a public holiday, venerates the first major military combat by Australian and New Zealand troops in WWI.]

A lot of WWI diggers [Australian soldiers] had pretty complicated feelings about the war and their own role in it and, contrary to much of what people have been told, were not all pro-war. Many were anti-war. There was Alec Campbell, who died a few years back, who was really anti-war and a very interesting guy.

Richard Phillips: The population has been subjected to a barrage of patriotic pro-war propaganda from the government and the media about WWI, but the class conflicts at home are buried in the official narrative. Why is it important for people to study this extraordinary strike?

LE: I think youve answered your own question. This was a very important event in our history, with resonances that we still carry around with us today.

Obviously theres still a class strugglea divide between the haves and the have-nots and a divide between the political class and the electorateand there are also differences.

Sydney is much more affluent now than it was in 1917 and theres no getting around the fact that the kind of poverty people were living in about 100 years ago was much worse than today. But there are also lots of parallels and you realise that once you start exploring the event.

RP: But why are these issues generally buried?

LE: I think because people like an uncomplicated line. Of course, there is the engendering of patriotism and that sort of thingand that was very intense during the warbut there is a tendency today to reject complexity. The world we live inof social media, twitter and the promotion of bite-sized messagesdoesnt allow or enable complexity.

Cheryl Crisp: But the response to the exhibit belies that. There is real interest in these events.

LE: Yes, youre right, theres an increasing appetite and curiosity about what happened. People do want to find out about things.

RP: Could you speak about the strike film, which is a major part of the exhibit?

LE: I used to work in film, and Im always on the lookout for film and photographs, so when we started researching the project I contacted the National Film and Sound Archive. We looked at about eight minutes of footage. Simon Drake, from the NSFA, located the second piece in the NFSA collection, noting that there were only two segments of film. I collaborated with him to piece together the surviving fragments of film into a chronological sequence.

The film was made by Arthur Charles Tinsdale and was initially an hour long and theres a whole back story to that. He was an entrepreneur with a background in vaudeville and an independent filmmaker. Originally from Victoria, he came to Sydney in early 1917 and documented the strike as it unfoldedfrom beginning to endand released the film in early October.

The film screened once in NSW [New South Wales] in a small theatre in Haymarket and was going to show in other places, including Narrabri, but the conservative state parliamentarian Walter Wearne saw an advertisement for the screening, which mentioned the death of Mervyn Flanagan. Wearnes brother had killed Flanaganshot him through the heartand so Walter Wearne wrote to George Fuller, the acting premier of NSW, and said this section of the film had to be removed. The next thing was the film itself was stopped.

Tinsdale wrote asking to have his film released, saying that other films were showing, and eventually, at the end of December, it was given the go-ahead, but by then it was too late. It did screen in other states but the market for the film in NSW was lostthe strike was over.

There is also footage of the strike shot by other filmmakers and so we have the 16-minute reconstruction of Tinsdales film and three other short films. Two of those were taken at the timeone with footage from the Domain and one of strike-breakers loading cargo on a shipand the other is from footage of the Lord Mayors distress relief fund in October.

CC: Do you know what happened to the rest of the film?

LE: Not really. It was originally on nitrate film and so it probably deteriorated. But the fact that weve got 16 minutes, and the story about how the film came to be made, is great. Im not complaining about that.

RP: Some of the marchers in the film are soldiers in uniform.

LE: Yes, but we dont have much detail on that. Its also noteworthy that the head of the wharf labourers union, Timothy McCristal, was a socialist, but had served in the Boer War and in the First World War. This is another fact that disrupts the generally accepted narrative.

McCristals wife had died and he left his 12-year-old son and went to serve in WWI. He returned and was involved in protests. He was arrested many times, including for sedition during the strike, over a speech he made in the Domain. [McCristal was wounded at Gallipoli in 1915, helped establish the Returned Soldiers No-Conscription League of Australia and was sentenced to nine months jail for describing the King and Australian parliamentarians as parasites in a speech during the 1917 rail strike.]

RP: One of the banners in the film makes a reference to Fighting for Democracy at Home. Can you explain to what extent the strikers demands went beyond the immediate issues of the productivity time cards to the broader questions of democracy and socialism?

LE: The strike started in the NSW government railways and tramways department and spread to other industries. In terms of banners, they were mostly hand-made and created by individuals involved in the strike. Interestingly, according to one of the newspaper reports, some of the banners with the demands of the Wobblies [Industrial Workers of the World] were torn down in one of the processions.

I dont know a lot about what was happening in terms of socialism but I know that the Wobblies were a force that was most feared by the government. Im not sure how much power they had during the strike because they were practically outlawed by that stage.

There were different levels of consciousness and you hear that in the audio interviews at the exhibition. One of the people interviewed was Edna Ryan. She is whip smart and came from a politically engaged familythey were all members of the Socialist Labour Party, which was formed in Balmain. She read the newspapers every day during the strike and was very informed about what was going on.

CC: Was this the largest strike in Australia?

LE: We say it was one of the largest. Its hard to be precise because the 1890s strikes were pretty big but the 1917 strike mobilised people across different industries and the social protests were large. In the film, you see that everyone is very well dressed and so the demonstrations were not so much a radical thing. There was a ritual of marchesfor funerals, celebrations, protestsand not like the sort of situation today. There were defined routes with defined chants and songs. It was very orderly. There were violent outbursts but on the whole it was quite ordered.

RP: But these were massive demonstrations100,000 people protesting in Sydneythats a large proportion of the population.

LE: Thats true, but keep in mind that the Domain was a popular gathering place to go.

CC: Had previous strikes been accompanied by this level of protest?

LE: Thats a good question and Im not sure I can fully answer it. The press certainly complained about the disruptions caused by the processions, but if you read the official correspondence of the authorities, they were saying that these were a safety valve. They gave people permission to be on the street because they knew that it was an accepted way of performing in public. There had been the eight-hour day processions and May Day for a number of decades. It was a complex strike, but the volume and power of these numbers was extraordinary.

RP: Is there any information about the reaction of workers here to the February 1917 Revolution in Russia?

LE: Yes, and Edna Ryan talks about the Russian Revolution and its impact. There were a few films released about the Russian Revolutionone called Rasputin and another called the Russian Revolution.

Walter Wearne, who banned the rail strike film, saw the Russian Revolution film and also had it banned because he feared it would get the masses agitated. His name keeps popping up because he organised what was called the Country Volunteersthe strike-breakersto come to Sydney.

RP: Some historians have suggested that the government deliberately provoked the strike in order to smash the unions.

LE: There is no precise evidence about this, but what has to be understood is that the strike was initiated by the workers, not the union leaders. This is documented by a number of historians. Some historians even say it wasnt a general strike because it hadnt been called by the union leadership.

At that time, you also had a split Labor Party. Half the Labor leadership had been kicked out of the party because they supported conscription. A lot of people in the leadership of the Labor Party were educated and quite middle class people. You also had trade union officials, who sometimes didnt work in the industries of the workers they represented, and then you had people on the shop floorthe rank and file workers. There was a real divide. Its like today in some regards.

RP: Could you explain how the strike ended, which was not with a victory but a devastating defeat?

LE: The return to work, particularly in the railways and tramways, was the result of a capitulation by the strike defence committee. Workers were forced to sign forms when they returned, which meant they would be demoted and lose conditions. This set them in opposition to people they didnt want to work alongsidethe people who had remained at work and had been promoted.

When [Labor Party leader] Jack Lang became NSW premier [192527], he reversed the demotions, but then National Party leader [Thomas] Bavin was elected and he restored the demotions. In 1930, Lang was re-elected and he reversed the demotions again, but with the onset of the 1930s economic depression, many rail workers lost their jobs. The bitterness over the defeat lasted a long time and it was a horrible legacy.

RP: Could you speak about the murder of Mervyn Flanagan, one of the strikers, and the repercussions?

LE: Flanagan was killed on Bridge Road in Camperdown on August 30. He was there with his brother and another manI dont think it was a big crowdbut a strike-breaking cart was going by with Reginal Wearne and there was a to-do. There are different accounts, but Flanagan was shot through the heart and Flanagans friend, Henry Williams, shot in the leg. Both men had been carters and draymen prior to the strike and they had a hand-to-mouth existence.

CC: Did Wearne say why he had a gun?

LE: Wearne was armed because all the strike-breakers were issued with guns as they went about their business. And even though Wearne had killed a man he was not convicted of anything. The only people that went to jail were Mervyn Flanagans brother and Henry Williamsfor three months hard labourbecause they had attempted to stop the strike-breakers. All this had severe repercussions for the Flanagan family, who lived in terrible poverty.

CC: Apart from the strike committee, was there any other support or defence organisations established for food, against evictions and other basic issues?

LE: Not really. There was a womens sub-committee, which worked through the Trades Hall and collected funds and food relief, but I havent come across any other committees. It is important, however, to compare this to the 1929 timber workers strike. In that strike, the women were onto these issues as soon as it started. They had learnt this lesson from the 1917 rail strike.

Sydney during these years was a really tough placethere was real povertyand so when you had the main breadwinners out on strike for six weeks it had a big impact. Working-class families were destitute, they were starving.

CC: Could you explain the role played by the Trades and Labour Council (TLC)?

LE: It was ambivalent about the strike and the defence committee was not as effective as it could have been.

CC: Who was involved in the defence committee?

LE: I dont know that much about, it but they produced a newspaper for the first week of the strike. Some of those involved in the committee were members of the NSW parliament and there were leading trade union officials. E.J. Kavanagh, head of the TLC, was on it.

RP: Strikers were denounced as agents of Germany and white-anting the war effort etc. How were these slanders counteracted by the striking workers?

LE: Two newspapers were boycotted because of these sorts of attacks. Of course, its hard to quantify these things if you rely on the media. The press is the press and, as we know today, this is not necessarily an accurate measure of popular opinion. Sometimes the two are falsely conflated.

If you listen to the audio interviews youll hear that the strikers didnt feel like they were unpatriotic. They had brothers and sons at the front. There were people who were pro-war but anti-conscription, and others that were pro-war but still went on strike.
Sundar Pichai

Chief Executive Officer

Google, Inc.

Lawrence Page

Chief Executive Officer/Director

Alphabet, Inc.

Sergey Brin

President/Director

Alphabet, Inc.

Eric Schmidt

Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors

Alphabet, Inc.

Gentlemen:

Googles mission statement from the outset was to organize the worlds information and make it universally accessible and useful. Its official code of conduct was proclaimed in Googles famous motto: Dont be evil. In recent years, you have seriously lost your way. You are now engaged in hiding the worlds information, and, in the process, are doing a great deal of evil.

When Google officially discontinued its China-based search engine, due to censorship by the Chinese government of search engine results for political criticism, Mr. Brin publicly stated that for Google, it has always been a discussion about how we can best fight for openness on the Internet. We believe that this is the best thing that we can do for preserving the principles of the openness and freedom of information on the Internet.

In 2013, when Mr. Schmidt visited Burma, he spoke in favor of free and open Internet use in the country. In light of Googles recent actions, the statements of Mr. Brin and Mr. Schmidt appear utterly hypocritical.

Google, and by implication, its parent company Alphabet, Inc., are now engaged in political censorship of the Internet. You are doing what you have previously publicly denounced.

Google is manipulating its Internet searches to restrict public awareness of and access to socialist, anti-war and left-wing websites. The World Socialist Web Site (www.wsws.org) has been massively targeted and is the most affected by your censorship protocols. Referrals to the WSWS from Google have fallen by nearly 70 percent since April of this year.

Censorship on this scale is political blacklisting. The obvious intent of Googles censorship algorithm is to block news that your company does not want reported and to suppress opinions with which you do not agree. Political blacklisting is not a legitimate exercise of whatever may be Googles prerogatives as a commercial enterprise. It is a gross abuse of monopolistic power. What you are doing is an attack on freedom of speech.

We therefore call upon you and Google to stop blacklisting the WSWS and renounce the censorship of all the left-wing, socialist, anti-war and progressive websites that have been affected adversely by your new discriminatory search policies.

The WSWS is the online newspaper of the international Trotskyist movement. It is the most widely read socialist publication on the Internet. Since its launch in the year 1998, the WSWS has published more than 60,000 articles on politics, history, science and culture in more than a dozen languages. It is a significant and unique intellectual resource.

WSWS articles are reposted on innumerable websites and are published in printed newspapers all over the world. Material posted by the WSWS is frequently cited in university research papers and included in college syllabi. Leading American scholars, such as historians James McPherson and Allen Guelzo, and Shakespeare expert James Shapiro have granted interviews to the WSWS. The film and theater reviews posted on the site have attracted a large international following. World-renowned filmmakersWim Wenders, Mike Leigh, Richard Linklater, Bertrand Tavernier, and Abbas Kiarostami, to name only a fewhave discussed their work with the World Socialist Web Site. Essays and lectures posted on the WSWS have been included in anthologies produced by publishers with no connection to the World Socialist Web Site.

The World Socialist Web Site also provides coverage of labor struggles and social issues that are either inadequately covered or completely ignored by the corporate-controlled media.

As a result of our principled opposition to war, our focus on social inequality, and our high standards of political and journalistic integrity, the WSWS is indisputably an authoritative publication on world political events, the global economy, international socialism, the history of the twentieth century, the Russian Revolution and its aftermath, and contemporary Marxism. It is a leading international voice in the fight against the resurgence of racism, xenophobia and fascism.

By the beginning of this year, the WSWS had achieved a global Alexa ranking of 36,525, and a ranking of 16,679 in the United States. In the spring, the number of monthly visitors to the WSWS exceeded 900,000. In April 2017, according to our data, 422,460 visits to the WSWS originated from Google searches.

Beginning in April of this year, Google began manipulating search results to channel users away from socialist, left-wing, and anti-war publications, and directing them instead towards mainstream publications that directly express the views of the government and the corporate and media establishment (i.e., the New York Times, Washington Post, etc.), and a small number of mildly left trusted websites whose critiques are deemed innocuous (i.e., Jacobin Magazine and the website of the Democratic Socialists of America, which functions as a faction of the Democratic Party).

As a pretext for these actions, Google announced that it was making changes to its search algorithm to surface more authoritative content, a term that brings to mind efforts by authoritarian regimes to censor the Internet and, specifically, political views deemed outside the consensus as defined by the establishment media.

Ben Gomes, Googles vice president for search engineering, attempted to justify the imposition of political censorship with a blog post on April 25, claiming that the changes to the algorithm were a response to the phenomenon of fake news, where content on the web has contributed to the spread of blatantly misleading, low quality, offensive or downright false information.

Google, according to Gomes, has recruited some 10,000 evaluators to judge the quality of websites. These evaluators are trained to flag websites that are deemed to include misleading information and unsupported conspiracy theories. Gomes explained that the blacklists created by these evaluators will be used, in combination with the latest developments in technology, to develop an algorithm that will impose censorship automatically, in real time, across future search results.

Whatever the technical changes Google has made to the search algorithm, the anti-left bias of the results is undeniable. The most striking outcome of Googles censorship procedures is that users whose search queries indicate an interest in socialism, Marxism or Trotskyism are no longer directed to the World Socialist Web Site. Google is disappearing the WSWS from the results of search requests. For example, Google searches for Leon Trotsky yielded 5,893 impressions (appearances of the WSWS in search results) in May of this year. In July, the same search yielded exactly zero impressions for the WSWS, which is the Internet publication of the international movement founded by Leon Trotsky in 1938.

Other frequently used words and phrases that no longer include the WSWS in Google search results include: socialism, class struggle, class conflict, socialist movement, social inequality in the world, poverty and social inequality, antiwar literature, and the Russian revolution. A search for socialism vs. capitalism, which, as recently as April, would have listed the World Socialist Web Site as the eighth result on the first page of search results, now no longer returns any results at all for the WSWS. Of the top 150 search queries that returned results for the WSWS in April, 145 now no longer do so.

All the search terms listed above are employed frequently by users seeking a left-wing, socialist or Marxist take on events. Far from protecting readers from unexpected responses to their search requests, Google is manipulating its algorithm to make sure that the left-wing and progressive segment of their users, who would be most interested in the World Socialist Web Site, will not find it. Moreover, the extent and precision of the exclusion of the WSWS from search results strongly suggests that the anti-socialist bias of the new algorithm is being supplemented by the actual physical intervention of Google personnel, enforcing authoritarian-style direct and deliberate blacklisting.

As stated above, since April, other left-wing publications that present themselves as progressive, socialist or anti-war also have suffered significant reductions in their Google search results:

* alternet.org fell by 63 percent

* globalresearch.ca fell by 62 percent

* consortiumnews.com fell by 47 percent

* mediamatters.org fell by 42 percent

* commondreams.org fell by 37 percent

* internationalviewpoint.org fell by 36 percent

* democracynow.org fell by 36 percent

* wikileaks.org fell by 30 percent

* truth-out.org fell by 25 percent

* counterpunch.org fell by 21 percent

* theintercept.com fell by 19 percent

Google justifies the imposition of political censorship by using a loaded term like fake news. This term, properly used, signifies the manufacturing of news based on an artificially constructed event that either never occurred or has been grossly exaggerated. The present-day furor over fake news is itself an example of an invented event and artificially constructed narrative. It is a fake term that is used to discredit factual information and well-grounded analyses that challenge and discredit government policies and corporate interests. Any invocation of the phrase fake news, as it pertains to the WSWS, is devoid of any substance or credibility. In fact, our efforts to combat historical falsification have been recognized, including by the scholarly journal American Historical Review.

The facts prove that Google is rigging search results to blacklist and censor the WSWS and other left-wing publications. This raises a very serious question, with far-reaching constitutional implications. Is Google coordinating its censorship program with the American government, or sections of its military and intelligence apparatus?

Google probably will dismiss the question as an example of conspiracy theorizing. However, it is legitimate given the ample evidence that Google maintains close ties with the state. In 2016, Barack Obamas defense secretary, Ashton Carter, appointed you, Mr. Schmidt, to chair the Department of Defense Innovation Advisory Board. Earlier this month, Defense Secretary James Mattis visited Google headquarters to discuss the ongoing and close collaboration between the company and the Pentagon. More generally, according to a report in The Intercept, Google representatives attended White House meetings on average at least once a week from January 2009 through October 2015.

Google claims to be a private corporation, but it is deeply involved in the formulation and implementation of government policy. The distinction between commercial interests and state objectives is increasingly difficult to detect. By obstructing the free access to and exchange of information, Googles censorship program is aimed at enforcing a twenty-first century version of Orwellian Right-Think. It is undermining the development of progressive and constitutionally protected political opposition. It is benefiting the proponents of war, inequality, injustice and reaction.

The censorship of left-wing websites, and the WSWS in particular, reflects the fear that a genuine socialist perspective, if allowed a fair hearing, will find a mass audience in the US and internationally. There is widespread popular opposition to your efforts to suppress freedom of speech and thought. That is why Google feels compelled to cloak its anti-democratic policies with misleading arguments and outright lies. An online petition circulated by the WSWS demanding a halt to Googles censorship efforts has already attracted several thousand signatures from readers in 70 different countries on five continents. We are determined to resist Googles efforts to censor our publication, and to continue to raise awareness internationally about Google censorship. As long as this policy continues, Google will pay a heavy price in lost public credibility.

The International Editorial Board of the World Socialist Web Sites demands that the anti-democratic changes to the Google search result rankings and its search algorithm since April be reversed, and that Google cease its effort to curtail search accessibility to the WSWS and other left-wing, socialist, anti-war and progressive web publications.

Sincerely,

David North

Chairperson, International Editorial Board of the World Socialist Web Site
An estimated 700 to 900 women die in the US every year from pregnancy- and childbirth-related causes, the highest rate among industrialized nations. Another 65,000 nearly die, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

A study released last week published in MCN: The American Journal of Maternal/Child Nursing indicates that postpartum nurses are not being properly educated on the dangers mothers face after giving birth. Lacking sufficient education, the nurses are unable to play the critical role in identifying potential warning signs of postpartum complications and taking precautionary measures.

A recent CDC Foundation analysis of data from four states found that close to 60 percent of maternal deaths were preventable. By failing to properly alert mothers to postpartum risks, nurses may be missing an opportunity to reduce the abysmal maternal mortality rate.

MCN researchers surveyed 372 postpartum nurses around the United States. According to the study, only 15 percent of respondents were aware of the current maternal mortality rate and 12 percent accurately reported the correct percentage of deaths occurring during the postpartum period. Eighty-eight percent of nurses could not identify the three leading causes of maternal mortality: postpartum bleeding (15 percent), complications from unsafe abortion (15 percent), and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (10 percent).

On the day that mothers were discharged, 67 percent of respondents reported spending less than 10 minutes focusing on potential warning signs, such as painful swelling, headaches, heavy bleeding and breathing problems that could indicate potentially life-threatening complications. Furthermore, 19 percent of nurses believed maternal mortality was declining. If [nurses] arent aware that theres been a rise in maternal mortality, then it makes it less urgent to explain to women what the warning signs are, says study co-author Debra Bingham, who heads the Institute for Perinatal Quality Improvement and teaches at the University of Maryland School of Nursing.

The importance of postpartum education is stressed by both experts and the nurses surveyed. The data reported that 95 percent of RNs reported a correlation between postpartum education and mortality. However, only 72 percent strongly agreed it was their responsibility to provide this education. Nurse respondents who were over the age of 40 were significantly more likely to report feeling very competent when providing education on all the postpartum complication variables measured, indicating a decline in the quality of education for nurses.

This post-delivery education is particularly important because a mother typically doesnt see a doctor for four to six weeks after she leaves the hospital. A statement from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says that up to 40 percent of new mothers, overwhelmed with caring for an infant and often lacking in maternity leave, child care, transportation and other kinds of support, never go back for their follow-up appointments.

This revelation is obviously correlated with the decline in access to adequate health care for all Americans. Approximately 11.3 percent of adults in the US are without any form of health care. Throughout the United States, researchers have pointed to heart problems and other chronic medical conditions such as diabetes, to explain the rise in pregnancy-related deaths. The rise in these conditions coincides with a decline in the quality of health care and its accessibility, especially among low-income families.

This trend is reflected in Texas, the state with the highest maternal mortality rate and the highest uninsured rate in the United States. In the previous legislative session, Texas lawmakers rejected a federally-funded expansion of Medicaid that would have covered 1.1 million more Texans. More than half of all births in Texas are covered by Medicaid, indicating the irresponsible and disastrous nature of lawmakers decision to defund Medicaid, but increase funds for border patrol.

Actions of the Trump administration and Congress will only exacerbate this situation. The Wall Street Journal reported this week that the president is preparing to roll back an Obamacare rule requiring all employers to provide insurance coverage of all contraceptive methods without co-pays.
The WSWS urges railroad workers to contact us with information and to receive updates.

Three years into an expired contract with 145,000 railroad workers, the coalition of major railroad carriers continues to push for sharp cuts in contract negotiations. The railroads are demanding major increases in health care costs, changes to work rules, and little to no wage increases over a five-year contract covering 2015-2020. Even as the negotiations drag out, the railroads have implemented changes to squeeze out more from workers.

The National Carrier Contract Committee (NCCC) represents most of the major railroads in the United States. Of those, Union Pacific (UP) and BNSF cover the western half of the United States, Norfolk Southern (NS) and CSX the eastern half. Canadian National (CN) and Kansas City Southern have a smaller footprint in the Midwest and South. Smaller railroads are included in the NCCC as well.

The NCCC has been negotiating with 13 unions in three coalitions, over a contract that expired January 1, 2015, covering a wide variety of crafts. In each proposal, there are zero or minimal wage increases from 2015-2017, and 2 percent wage increases for future years. The cost of monthly health care would rise, as would the cost of medical procedures, and health care costs would also rise yearly. There are vast changes to work rules that demand more work, combined with loose restrictions on using union labor for work, opening up more jobs to subcontracting.

The proposals only deepen the long-term trends at railroads, which have been engaged in a decades-long campaign to slash labor costs, using technology, oppressive management, changing work rules, and anti-labor government laws. The unions have worked to suppress opposition from workers, as they have done in auto, steel and other industries.

Discipline runs rampant on the railroads, where union train operating crews (TY&E) report a layer of management whose primary purpose seems to be harassing crews and getting them fired over petty rule infractions. Appeals by the unions take months or years to resolve. While managers used to rise from TY&E jobs, for decades they mostly have been hired off the street with no prior experience, expanding the gulf between management and TY&E crews.

In the industry, the leading force behind the demand for cuts has been the hedge fund-backed CSX management of Hunter Harrison, who increasingly sets the standard for what other companies will implement. Harrison first caught the eye of Wall Street as CEO of CN, when he implemented vast cutbacks across its transcontinental Canadian and Midwestern United States network. In 2012, Pershing Square Capital installed him as CEO of Canadian Pacific, and in 2017, Mantle Ridge Capital successfully campaigned for his appointment as CEO of CSX.

Since March, Harrison has closed and downgraded dozens of major facilities and created an even more hostile management structure that pushes speedups and unsafe work practices. He has been known to cut maintenance employees and shop employees, and contract out jobs. TY&E workers report that managers are under extreme pressure to document a rule infraction by a TY&E employee, or the managers themselves will risk losing their jobs. Harrison has used such techniques at CN and Canadian Pacific to intimidate employees and accelerate the pace of layoffs.

Harrisons tenure at CSX has already led to employee injuries from derailments that stem from new policies. On August 21st, a trainman at Radnor Yard in Nashville, Tennessee was seriously injured when a train moving next to him struck him. Minutes went by as his fellow crewmembers radioed management controlling the yard and only received silence, as they were absent from their positions, watching the eclipse. The trainman suffered injuries requiring amputation.

Radnor Yard was a hump yard, where cars are mechanically sorted and move by gravity. Harrison shut down the humping process, making crews flat switch the yard. Yet crews have pointed out that the yard was not designed for that processits tracks for sorting freight cars are not level, but inclinedand no upgrades were made to accommodate it. Workers report a large number of derailments, and now a serious injury has occurred.

For TY&E employees, another significant change across all railroads would be the implementation of an hourly wage, instead of payment that depends on trips and job assignments. When Harrison was CEO of CN and Canadian Pacific, TY&E crews were switched to an hourly agreement. A former TY&E crewmember at CN agreed to share with the WSWS what they posted online about the change.

Managers at Hunter companies manage by fear. Their favorite thing is pulling people out of service for delaying a train or pinning train delays on train crews because everything is scheduled. Expect to have a constant target on your back and for anything to be taken as a reason for an investigation notice. That is how Hunter manages. Even though he was gone, the managers there were trained by him and fear management was the culture he generated at CN. NS and CN management are very similar.

Lifestyle was ok, but expect to work 10-12 hours every single day minimum. On most railroads doublestack trains are the best trains you can get. On CN, they are the worst. If you get in 6 or 7 hours old, they will put you to work switching the yard until you die. You can work 15 trains in a day and still get paid the same basic day, no dog catch claims or anything like that. There is no such thing as a quit. Management tells you that you are slaves for 12 hours every day and they treat you as such. Its all about production, car velocity, how many cars we can switch in a shift, block swapping, and utilizing train crews until they are so physically and mentally exhausted that they can barely function.

Expect more loco and car shop closures. Contracting of repair work, and reduction of workforce in all departments. That is how Hunter works. Do more with less. The most common phrase spoken by a front line manager at CN in reference to a bad order locomotive is we are not a repair facility, I order you to take it as is. Toilet overflowing onto the floor and nobody will dump it because Hunter fired all of the mechanical people at your terminal when he was there so that it cant be considered a repair facility anymore.

What Harrison did at CN is now being implemented at CSX, and UP, BNSF, and NS are taking notice. CSX has laid off 2,300 employees this year, and Harrison suggests 1,000 more will be fired or let go. In August, UP announced the layoff of 500 managers and 250 union employees, primarily at its headquarters in Omaha, Nebraska. Norfolk Southern cut $250 million last year, and expects another $100 million in cuts this year. It has consolidated dispatcher territories, combined yardmaster jobs, and downgraded yards and facilities. CN had 25,530 employees in 2014, but by the end of 2016 was down to 22,249 employees, even as it carries greater volumes of traffic.
According to unsubstantiated reports, the countrys intelligence agencies helped target an alleged Australian Islamic State (IS) fighter and two of his sons, who were killed by a US airstrike in Syria this month.

If the reports are true, the government has facilitated the targeted assassination of a man who was an Australian citizen until earlier this year, when it arbitrarily revoked his citizenship, and two children who remained Australian citizens.

On August 17, the Australian reported that the Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS), the countrys equivalent of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), supplied information for a US bombing attack in Syria that was believed to have killed Khaled Sharrouf, 36, and two of his sons, Abdullah, 12, and Zarqawi, 11.

If proven, this would be the first known case of Australian citizens being assassinated with the Australian governments approval since the war on terrorism was launched in 2001. The Turnbull government set another precedent when it stripped Sharrouf of his Australian citizenship, making him the first victim of new laws to cancel citizenships by executive decree.

The Australian said it was told that ASIS supplied the information to locate Sharrouf to the US-led Five Eyes intelligence network, which also includes Britain, Canada and New Zealand. An unnamed government source said an airstrike on vehicles outside the Syrian city of Raqqa, under the supervision of the US Joint Operations Command, had killed Sharrouf. His two boys were reportedly in the same car.

According to the reports, it is unclear whether the military and intelligence authorities knew Sharroufs sons were also in the car. But there was obviously a known risk that the boys would be with him.

The governments complicity is indicated by the fact that intelligence chiefs reportedly briefed Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on the killings before a cabinet national security committee meeting on August 15.

Government ministers were cautious in public about confirming whether Sharrouf was killed, with similar reports in 2015 proving to be wrong. However, Immigration and Border Protection Minister Peter Dutton refused to deny that the government was informed in advance that the strike was to occur.

In an August 16 doorstop interview outside Parliament House, a journalist asked Dutton: Did you know that it was going to happen, this strike? Dutton stated: I think its prudent to wait for further informationbut obviously we receive briefings and information in relation to activities and to the activities of our own efforts in the Middle East as well.

Dutton welcomed Sharroufs death and warned that others faced the same fate. Nobody would mourn his loss, Dutton declared, and the fact is that if people make a decision to go to the Middle East or anywhere else to engage with ISIS in a fight against countries like ours, then frankly they deserve the outcome that perhaps has met Sharrouf.

Defence Minister Marise Payne was asked about the US-led military forces rules of engagement in situations involving children. She flatly stated that children are sometimes killed. Payne said: We take every care to ensure that those who are not part of the direct [terrorist] activity are not caught up in those processes. From time to time they will be.

Payne acknowledged that Australia and other countries had the power to red flag coalition airstrikes. In other words, the government could have vetoed the decision to kill Sharroufalso knowing the risk to his childrenbut did not do so.

The future for Sharroufs daughters Zaynab, 16, and Hoda, 15, and one surviving son, Humzeh, 7, whose mother Tara Nettleton was also killed in Syria in 2015, is now doubly unclear. All three are Australian citizens, but the Liberal-National government previously refused to permit them to return to Australia, despite their entitlement to do so as citizens.

Dutton and other ministers blamed Sharrouf and his deceased wife for the deaths of the two boys. Nobody would want to see any children die, but the fact is that Sharrouf and his wife took their children into a war zone and if they have been killed; well what other outcome would they expect? Dutton said.

The truth is that in February 2016, the government rejected pleas to assist the children, plus a baby, Zaynabs child, to re-enter Australia after Nettletons death. Earlier, in May 2015, following reports that Sharrouf was killed, the government dismissed an application by Nettleton for her and her children to return home. Thus, the government bears a direct responsibility for the plight of these children.

It is quite possible that Sharrouf and his sons were targeted via tracking performed at the US-Australian satellite surveillance base at Pine Gap. Leaked US National Security Agency (NSA) documents confirm that one of Pine Gaps prime functions is to gather actionable real-time targeting for US military strikes across Eurasia and Africa.

Last September, the government cleared the way for such pinpoint assassinations. It announced it would alter the Australian Defence Forces rules of engagement to authorise the bombing or shooting of any alleged IS supporters, including in buildings or homes far removed from any fighting.

Delivering a national security statement to parliament, Turnbull declared that his government would ensure Australian forces could kill anyone considered to be an IS facilitator or supporter. And with lethal force, he said. No exceptions.

This involves amending the Australian Criminal Code, which makes it a war crime to kill someone not taking an active part in the hostilities. Turnbull said the change would bring Australia into line with its coalition partners in Iraq and Syria, whose air war alone has killed nearly 5,000 civilians in the past two years, according to tallies kept by Airwars.

Underscoring the bipartisan support for US-led wars, opposition Labor Party leader Bill Shorten supported the change, saying the security of our nation is a bigger and more important question than any political differences.

By targeting Sharrouf, the government is continuing a pattern of using individuals who have been demonised by the media as notorious terrorists to set precedents that threaten the legal and democratic rights of far broader sections of the population.

In August 2014, the corporate media published a gruesome front-page picture, purportedly taken from Sharroufs Twitter account, allegedly showing one of his young sons holding the head of a decapitated Syrian soldier. Whatever the exact circumstances of the photograph, its broadcast served to whip up anti-Islamic sentiment.

In all the media witch hunting of Sharrouf, there has been no mention of the fact that IS largely a creation of the US itself and its predatory wars in the Middle East, which seek to establish Washingtons hegemony over the strategic, resource-rich region and the entire Eurasian landmass, where the US confronts Russia and China.

Nor is there any reference to the deteriorating economic and social conditions that provide fertile ground for recruitment of vulnerable youth by Islamists. In Australias working-class suburbs, young people face worsening levels of unemployment, poor educational and social facilities and constant police harassment. These conditions often also trigger mental health problems. Sharrouf, who grew up in western Sydney as the son of Lebanese migrants, was diagnosed as a schizophrenic in 2002.

Sharrouf left Australia in 2013 after completing a prison term on vague charges of involvement in an alleged terrorist conspiracy led by a Melbourne cleric, Abdul Nacer Benbrika. The trial relied on evidence by police provocateurs and undercover infiltrators, who incited unstable young men. Sharrouf and others were convicted under sweeping provisions that require no proof any specific terrorist target or plot, just discussions about a possible terrorist act.

This is part of the endless war on terror, launched in 2001, that is establishing police state-style laws and powers that will be used more widely as social unrest grows and opposition develops to the escalating turn to war by the US and its partners.
President Maithripala Sirisena on Wednesday sacked Wijedasa Rajapakse as justice and Buddhist affairs minister, following demands from the United National Party (UNP), the main partner in the unity government. Wijedasa, a leading UNP member, was originally selected for the ministerial position by his party.

Last week, a UNP working committee headed by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe passed a resolution calling for Wijedasas removal. He was accused of failing to introduce new anti-bribery and corruption laws and delaying action and criminal cases against people engaged in such activity.

Although not mentioned in the resolution, Wijedasa had been denounced publicly by leading government members for delaying action against the former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse and key members of his regime.

Wijedasa Rajapakses dismissal is a calculated move by the Sirisensa-Wickremisinghe government to posture as opponents of corruption and undermine supporters of Mahinda Rajapakse and other opponents. Under the bogus banner of fighting corruption, the government is attempting to strengthen its hand, while imposing harsher social austerity measures against workers and the poor.

Wijedasa Rajapakse was previously a Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) MP but joined the UNP and backed Sirisenas presidential election campaign in January 2015, which formed part of a US-led regime-change operation. He was appointed minister of justice and Buddhist affairs after parliamentary elections later that year. Wijedasa has close connections with the reactionary Buddhist hierarchy and sympathises with fascistic groups, such as Bodu Bala Sena (Buddhist Brigade) and Ravana Balakaya (King Ravanas Brigade).

The UNPs political hierarchy was also angry over Wijedasas public criticism of the governments decision to lease the Hambantota Harbour project to a Chinese company. After originally supporting the deal, Wijedasa changed his mind, declaring that the government was selling public assets to foreign countries and that he would campaign for the abrogation of the agreement.

The recent forced resignation of Foreign Minister Karunanayake, over financial dealings with a man accused of a massive bond scam, has deepened the crisis of the politically-discredited government. Leading UNP members, including Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne, claim that the attorney-generals department, with Wijedasas help, is delaying corruption cases against Mahinda Rajapakse and his associates. Wijedasa was also accused of having dealings with the Rajapakse-led opposition group.

Amid this deepening crisis, an August 15 cabinet meeting presided over by Sirisena discussed how it could speed up corruption cases against former government officials. The cabinet meeting discussed the possibility of establishing High Courts expressly devoted to corruption and criminal cases.

Law and Order Minister Sagala Ratnayake said there had been 87 corruption investigations, but only 12 resulted in legal action. Senaratne also claimed it was not necessary to amend the constitution to increase the number of High Courts. If the attorney-general and the chief justice can agree to this, it can be done, he declared. This will clear up the doubts people have as to when the thieves will be caught.

Senaratnes claims on the constitutionality of these actions are falsethe judiciary and the attorney-general have never had this power. The cabinets anti-democratic moves are seeking to take closer control of the judiciary, for the governments political needs.

The government, which is attempting to mount an anti-corruption propaganda campaign, appears to be moving toward legal action against former President Rajapakse and his cabal, including former defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse and other family members.

Rajapakse is directly challenging the government and has threatened to topple the regime. Seeking to cash in on the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe administrations anti-democratic actions, Rajapakse and a group of SLFP parliamentarians are posing as defenders of democratic and social rights. The former president has called on SLFP parliamentarians backing Sirisena to withdraw their support from the UNP-SLFP unity government.

Sirisena came to power in 2015 with the assistance of various pseudo-left groups, NGOs, academics and intellectuals. Exploiting the mass opposition against the Rajapakse governments anti-Tamil war and attacks on living conditions and democratic rights, this layer claimed Sirisena would establish good-governance and improve living conditions.

Nearly three years on, the government is ruthlessly implementing International Monetary Fund (IMF) austerity measures and unleashing the police and military on protesting workers and the rural poor. Moreover, it has decisively shifted foreign policy to favour US imperialism. The Washington-orchestrated regime change that brought Sirisena to office sought to end Colombos close relations with Beijing and bring Sri Lanka fully into line with Washingtons political and military operations against China.

The media is highlighting the governments anti-corruption drive. Last weekends Sunday Times ran a lengthy piece entitled, Major corruption cases: Wheels of justice begin to grind following Presidents outburst. The article was a reference to Sirisenas earlier remarks about corruption case delays. Other sections of the press are sensationalising Wijedasas removal, while covering up the repressive measures being prepared by the government.

The main target of the governments measures is the working class and the poor, who are increasingly coming into struggles. Last week, thousands of rural poor protested at an area administrative office against reductions in the Samurdhi program. Cuts in this limited welfare allowance were demanded by the IMF. Facing this mass opposition, Social Empowerment Minister S.B. Dissanayake was forced to announce that the welfare cuts would be withdrawn.

Today the government will table a new Inland Revenue Bill, imposing taxes on broad sections of the population, including workers, pensioners, professionals and small entrepreneurs, while reducing taxes for big business. There is growing opposition to this bill among workers.

In implementing these attacks the government is being supported by the pseudo-left Nava Sama Samaja Party (NSSP) and other groups, including the National Movement for Social Justice and Purawesi Balaya (Citizens Power), and the trade unions. Before the recent cabinet meeting, these formations held a recent public meeting in Colombo calling for the establishment of special anti-corruption courts.

Addressing the meeting, Dambara Amila, a Buddhist monk who supports the government, declared: Set up special courts, hear cases against Rajapakses day and night and put them in the jail. NSSP leader Wickremabahu Karunaratne boasted to the media later that five government minsters attended the meeting to voice their enthusiasm about the campaign.

Last month, the same groups backed the governments attacks on students who protested against the privatisation of education and the deployment of military troops to suppress an oil workers strike.

Confronted with a deepening financial crisis, the government is using the fake left, the trade unions and the NGOs to help impose social austerity and prepare the political and legal framework for dictatorial forms of rule. This is the content of the governments so-called anti-corruption campaign.
In a speech in Estonia on the 78th anniversary of the Hitler-Stalin pact, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier (Social Democratic Party, SPD) sought to whip up nationalist resentments against Russia.

The German president is currently paying an official visit to the three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. His first stop was the Estonian capital, Tallinn, where he gave a presentation on August 23 titled Germany and Estoniaa changing history, a common future at the Academy of Sciences. On that day in 1939, the German and Soviet foreign ministers, Ribbentrop and Molotov, signed the German-Soviet non-aggression pact. The pact gave Nazi Germany a green light for its invasion of Poland and led to the eventual incorporation of the Baltic States into the Soviet Union.

Steinmeier used the anniversary to threaten Russia and boost Estonian nationalism, which draws directly from the traditions of the Nazis.

Addressing Moscow, he warned that Berlin would never recognise the illegal annexation of the Crimea nor accept covert interference through hybrid means or deliberate disinformation, as has supposedly taken place in Estonia. Steinmeier accused the Russian leadership of deliberately defining their countrys image as different from, or even in hostility to us in the West.

He then falsely presented Estonia and the other Baltic states as havens of freedom and justice. The very first message echoing here in Tallinn is the power of freedoma force which no inhuman ideology or totalitarian rule can restrain in the long term, he gushed.

Steinmeier knows very well this is not true. As is the case across Eastern Europe, where Stalinist regimes collapsed or were overthrown between 1989-91, there has been no flourishing of democracy and prosperity in the Baltic states. Instead, power was shared between competing capitalist cliques, whose interpretation of freedom is the unrestrained exploitation of the working class. They have maintained power primarily by fomenting nationalism and racism.

In Estonia, for example, the Russian minority, which accounts for more than one quarter of the countrys 1.3 million inhabitants, is subject to systematic discrimination. About half of the minority lack an Estonian passport and can only acquire one by completing a difficult Estonian language test, which is particularly hard for the elderly. Income and career prospects for the Russian minority are correspondingly lower.

Economic growth, based on low wages, meagre social benefits and limited workers rights, benefits only a small minority. The average income of a full-time employee is one-third of that in Germany, and unemployment is relatively high, officially 7 percent. Around 100,000 Estonians work abroad due to lack of work at home.

Neverthelessor precisely for this reasonSteinmeier praised Estonia as a role model for the European Union. Many people in Germany are grateful for the fresh European wind that blows over the Baltic Sea from the Baltic states at a time when some Europeans are turning away from unification and its values, he said.

Steinmeiers accusation directed at the Russian leadership of defining their countrys image in opposition to another is much more true of ruling circles in Estonia, which campaign in a hysterical manner against Russia. They go so far as to glorify the Nazis and their collaborators. In 2012 the Estonian parliament adopted a resolution honouring the voluntary Estonian members of Hitlers Waffen-SS as freedom fighters and fighters against the communist dictatorship.

Some 80,000 Estonians had joined the Nazis in World War II in order to fight the Red Army. August 28, the day on which the Waffen-SS recruited members of the Estonian Defence League in 1942, is a national holiday, celebrated every year with marches. Neo-Nazis take part, including those travelling from abroad, while leading politicians send their greetings. There is no corresponding tribute for the 30,000 Estonians who fought in the Red Army against the Nazis.

The Hitler-Stalin Pact is used to argue that the Baltic states were more oppressed and persecuted by the Soviet regime than by the Nazis. August 23 has long since been a day of anti-Russian emotions at this historical intersection between East and West, the correspondent of the Suddeutsche Zeitung writes from Tallinn. The memory of communism times is more alive than the German occupation.

Steinmeier exploits this historical revisionism to justify the return of German militarism. The argument that the Soviet regime was worse than the Nazi regime and National Socialism, as a justified reaction to the crimes of Bolshevism, has long been a weapon in the hands of right-wing extremist historians, from Ernst Nolte to Jorg Baberowski.

Stalins pact with Hitler was undoubtedly criminal, delivering a severe blow to dedicated Communists and anti-fascists all over the world and undermining their fighting morale. But this does not mean that Hitler and Stalin pursued the same goals or, as Steinmeier in Tallinn put it, made East Central Europe their prey.

Hitler represented German imperialism, whose hunger for markets, raw materials and living space in the East could only be satisfied by violent expansion. For Hitler, the pact with Stalin was a tactical measure to gain time for his war plans against England and France, and then attack the Soviet Union.

For his part, Stalin represented the interests of a privileged bureaucracy which had usurped Soviet power from the working class. The bureaucracy feared, above all, uprisings by workers across the globe, which would inspire Soviet workers to take similar action, thereby threatening the rule of the clique in Moscow. It was incapable of defending the Soviet Union, as Lenin and Trotsky had done, by mobilising the international working class. Instead, it relied on alliances with various imperialist powers.

Two important events preceded the Hitler-Stalin pact: Stalins Terror of 1937-1938, which decapitated the leadership of the Red Army and the Communist Party and rendered the Soviet Union virtually defenceless; and the Munich Agreement of 1938, with which Great Britain and France delivered Czechoslovakia on a plate to Hitler. Stalin concluded he could no longer rely on London and Paris. Moscow had sought to strike an alliance with Great Britain and France to the end, but they were merely playing for time until Stalin finally struck his deal with Hitler. Despite the cynicism, brutality, and recklessness with which it was carried out, Moscows pact had essentially a defensive character.

Hitler was able to fulfil his historical mission by taking the path to war. In his article The Twin Stars: Hitler-Stalin, Leon Trotsky wrote in 1939: A victorious offensive war would secure the economic future of German capitalism and, along with this, the National Socialist regime. It is different with Stalin. He cannot wage an offensive war with any hope of victory.  No one knows this better than Stalin. The fundamental thought of his foreign policy is to escape a major war. ( Writings of Leon Trotsky 1939-40, Pathfinder Press, p. 115).

In a section of his speech in Tallinn, Steinmeier indicated the real reason for his visit. He expressed his pleasure with his Estonian hosts who appreciate our cooperation and seek to collaborate with us on the existential questions of security and defence.

Germany, the US and NATO use the right-wing, anti-Russian regimes in Tallinn, Riga, Vilnius and Warsaw to encircle Russia militarily. A large proportion of the 4,000 NATO soldiers permanently deployed on the Russian border as the vanguard of a 40,000-strong rapid deployment force, are stationed in the Baltic states, with their combined population of just 6 million. Steinmeier is due to visit NATO troops in Rukla, Lithuania, on Friday.

In September 2014 US President Obama gave an assurance that NATO would provide Estonia military assistance in any conflict with Russia. Steinmeier has now echoed that call. I assure people in Estonia: their security is our security, he said. This means that in the event of a provocation by the right-wing government of the tiny state, Germany will be plunged into a war capable of transforming Europe into a nuclear battlefield.

It is not the first time that Steinmeier has worked with Nazi apologists to advance German militarism. In 2014 he was intensively involved in the preparation of the coup in Ukraine, which toppled the president-elect Viktor Yanukovych and brought the pro-Western oligarch Poroshenko to power. Steinmeiers Ukrainian allies at that time included the leader of the fascist Swoboda party, Oleh Tyahnybok. Yanukovych was forced to flee the country by armed fascist militias who drew on the tradition of Nazi collaborators in Ukraine during WWII.

Shortly before the putsch in Kiev Steinmeier had proclaimed the end of military restraint at the Munich Security Conference. Germany is too big and too important to stand on the worlds side lines, he said.

Steinmeiers recent trip to Estonia confirms that the return of German militarism is inextricably linked to the revival of the vilest traditions of German history.
Foreign policy relations between Berlin and Ankara have reached a new low amid hysterical denunciations of the Turkish government by German politicians.

On Tuesday, Christian Democratic Union (CDU) official Roderich Kiesewetter questioned Turkeys NATO membership, and called for sanctions against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his family. For example, I see the lever that we can freeze the foreign assets of the Erdogan clan, Kiesewetter told broadcaster Berlin-Brandenburg. On the other hand, we are freezing the foreign assets of Russian oligarchs, but are not doing anything regarding Turkey.

Social Democratic Party (SPD) parliamentary party chief Thomas Oppermann went even further in the Passauer Neuen Presse on Monday. He accused Erdogan of the destruction of democracy and the rule of law in Turkey, and threatened: If one employed his political methods in Germany, he would not be at the head of the government but in prison.

Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel and Justice Minister Heiko Maas (both SPD) published a joint guest contribution in Spiegel Online on Tuesday under the headline: There is no place for Erdogans cultural battle in Germany. In it, they speak of a massive threat to our free democratic state by Erdogan, and plead for stronger control of Turkish clubs and mosques in Germany.

Earlier, Gabriel had called the Turkish Presidents call to Turkish voters in Germany not to vote for the SPD, the CDU or the Greens, an intervention in the sovereignty of Germany and personally blamed Erdogan for an alleged assault on his wife. Some obviously feel motivated about the way Erdogan does this and try to pester and harass my wife.

The Left Party is even more aggressive. Its spokeswoman for international relations, Sevim Dagdelen, said: The federal government must take the initiative to exclude Turkey from the Interpol Convention. Erdogan is consciously violating the Interpol Convention and is abusing Interpol to be able to prosecute [his] political critics abroad. In general, the government should adopt clear lines towards Erdogan. Any further appeasement and restraint only endangers the security of German citizens.

Who do Gabriel, Dagdelen and Co. want to impress with their hysterical agitation against Turkey? Clearly, the conservative Erdogan government is acting arbitrarily against oppositionists and journalists, and is setting up an authoritarian regime in Turkey. But in Germany, it is not the Turkish president who is attacking the free democratic state, but the German government itself. The German government also has no scruples when it comes to censoring the Internet, abrogating fundamental rights, and using brutal violence against journalists and demonstrators. This was recently shown by the G20 summit in Hamburg.

The German governments criticism of the arrest of the writer Dogan Akhanli by Interpol in Spain as a result of a Turkish arrest warrant is also particularly hypocritical. The German government has gone much further in the past. In June 2015, it arrested the international journalist Ahmed Mansour at Berlin-Tegel Airport. Mansour had not violated German, European or international law, yet he was sought by Interpol. The only thing against him was an arrest warrant from the bloodthirsty military dictatorship in Egypt, with which Berlin works very closely.

The aggressive campaign against Turkey has nothing to do with the defence of human rights in Turkey or Germany, but is aimed at securing the foreign policy goals of the German ruling elite. Even before the failed Turkish coup in mid-July 2016which enjoyed the silent support of sections of ruling circles in the USA and GermanyBerlin had systematically undermined relations with Turkey. In June 2016, the Bundestag (federal parliament) adopted a resolution describing the mass murder of up to 1.5 million Armenians in the Ottoman Empire as a genocide. At the time, Erdogan warned of damage to the diplomatic, economic, political, and military relations between the two countries.

Since then, the German government has further heightened the conflict with Ankara. Before the Turkish constitutional referendum in April, the German authorities imposed a ban on Turkish government members travelling to speak at meetings in several German cities and openly supported the Turkish opposition. In June, the Bundestag decided by a large majority to transfer Bundeswehr (Armed Forces) units from the Incirlik air force base in Turkey to the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, after Ankara repeatedly banned members of the Bundestag from visiting German soldiers stationed in Incirlik.

About a month ago, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel announced that policy towards Turkey would take a new direction. It cannot go on like this. We cannot continue as before, declared the Social Democrat, questioning, among other things, the EUs pre-accession aid to Turkey and negotiations on the extension of the customs union. We will now have to look at how we are adapting our policy towards Turkey in relation to the aggravated situation, he said.

Four weeks before the Bundestag election, all the establishment parties are agitating against the predominantly Muslim Turkey in order to split the working class and appeal to right-wing layers. Significantly, some of the foulest rabble-rousers come from the ranks of the SPD, the Left Party and the Greens. With their calls for a strong state, Gabriel, Dagdelen and Co. are reacting to the fundamental crisis of capitalism and the growing resistance to exploitation and war.

Moreover, behind the aggressive confrontation with Ankara lie military and geopolitical conflicts. As a component of German imperialisms offensive in the Middle East, the Bundeswehr has armed and trained Peschmerga unitsthe armed forces of the Autonomous Region of Kurdistan (ARK)in northern Iraq since the summer of 2014. The ARK announced an independence referendum for 25 September 2017, which was strongly criticized by the Turkish government. Ankara wants to prevent the emergence of an independent Kurdish state under all circumstances, criticizes Western support for the Kurds and threatens a new military operation in Syria and Iraq.

German imperialism fears not only a Turkish attack on its Kurdish allies, but also considers Ankaras new orientation towards Russia and China a threat to its own economic and geo-strategic interests in the region.

According to a recent paper issued by the Federal Academy of Security Policy, entitled Can Turkey play the Shanghai card?, the alarm bells should shrill in the face of the Turkish charm campaign offensive towards the SCO [Shanghai Cooperation Organization]. Turkey still has a high strategic value for Europeans and Americans in dealing with a variety of regional security policy challenges. Now, Turkish aspirations towards a strategic reorientation could further reduce the need for positive relations with Brussels.
US Defense Secretary James Mattis declared during a trip to Ukraine on Thursday that the American government is actively considering moving forward with a plan to arm Kiev with lethal weaponry for the first time.

While alleged Russian intervention in the countrys eastern Donbass region and the annexation of Crimea are put forward as the reasons for the American-led military buildup in Ukraine, the conflict was sparked by the 2014 US- and German-backed, fascist-led coup in Kiev. The Obama administration supported the rabidly nationalist and anti-Russian movement that ousted the Russian-aligned president, Viktor Yanukovych, after he refused to sign an association agreement with the European Union.

The Kremlin responded to the coup by annexing Crimea after a popular referendum in the Russian-speaking peninsula registered overwhelming support for joining the Russian Federation. Moscow has also supported pro-Russian separatists in the eastern part of Ukraine. Some 10,000 have already been killed and more than 2 million displaced in more than three years of war triggered by the dispatch of Ukrainian troops to crush the rebellion in the east by the government of billionaire oligarch Petro Poroshenko in Kiev. The escalation being prepared by the Trump administration portends even greater bloodshed.

Under a provocative plan drawn up by officials at the Pentagon and State Department, first reported by the Wall Street Journal at the end of July, the Trump administration would deliver Javelin antitank missiles, antiaircraft weaponry and other lethal arms to the regime in Kiev. The Obama administration held off on such a move, supplying only so-called nonlethal arms, in part to assuage Germany, France and other EU countries, which opposed it. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, at the initiative of Germany and France, negotiated the Minsk peace accord in September of 2014 with Russia, Kiev and the eastern Ukraine rebels in large part to head off US plans to arm the Kiev regime.

Mattiss trip to Ukraine, the first visit by a US defense secretary in a decade, was timed to coincide with the countrys celebration of its 1991 declaration of independence from the Soviet Union.

After reviewing a military parade in which a US National Guard unit marched alongside Ukrainian soldiers, the Pentagon chief addressed the question of arms shipments, declaring that any weapons the US provided would be used only for defensive purposes.

On the defensive lethal weapons, we are actively reviewing it, Mattis announced at a joint press conference with Poroshenko, where both adopted a hostile posture towards Russia.

Mattiss remarks made clear that a decision on the provisioning of weapons would come soon after he returned to Washington. I will go back now having seen the current situation and be able to inform the secretary of state and the president in very specific terms what I recommend for the direction ahead, he said.

President Donald Trump has given Mattis and his generals wide leeway in setting military policy. American military planners are already considering locations for training Ukrainian soldiers on how to use the Javelin missiles. According to anonymous administration officials cited by the New York Times, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who visited Kiev in July, supports the plan.

Defensive weapons are not provocative unless you are an aggressor, and clearly Ukraine is not an aggressor since it is their territory where the fighting is happening, Mattis told reporters.

Poroshenko made clear that the weaponry would be used to attack any Russian forces perceived to be threatening Ukraine. Any defensive weapons would be just to increase the price if Russia makes a decision to attack my troops and my territory, he declared.

A proposal to send billions of dollars in lethal weaponry to the Ukrainian government, including antitank missiles, was first floated by officials within the Obama administration in early 2015. President Barack Obama eventually rejected the proposal, which was seen as a highly inflammatory measure that could spark a wider conflict in Eastern Europe and the Baltic states.

The Obama administration focused instead on building up the Ukrainian armed forces by deploying military trainers to the country and providing hundreds of millions of dollars of nonlethal aid, including body armor, night vision goggles, first aid kits, Humvees and radar for pinpointing mortar fire. A training outpost staffed by British, Canadian, Lithuanian, Polish and US National Guard soldiers on a rotational basis has been operating in western Ukraine near the border with Poland since 2015.

While Trump had expressed hopes for improved relations with the government of Russian President Vladimir Putin, diplomatic and military relations have continued to sour. Trump signed a new round of sanctions targeting Russia earlier this month after a sanctions bill was overwhelmingly approved by both Democrats and Republicans in Congress by a veto-proof margin.

Eastern Europe, Syria and East Asia are all potential flash points for a catastrophic war between nuclear-armed powers.

In Eastern Europe, Russia is preparing to undertake the Zapad 17 war games in mid-September, which will mobilize thousands of military personnel and support staff in Belarus, mainland Russia and the exclave of Kaliningrad, which borders Poland, Lithuania and the Baltic Sea. During his visit to the Baltics in July, Vice President Mike Pence discussed the possibility of deploying Patriot missile systems to Estonia in response to the Russian exercises, which are reportedly the largest since the Cold War.

In Syria, the US is backing the predominantly Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces while Russia is backing the government of President Bashar al-Assad. While the two militaries regularly communicate about their operations in Syria, a single mishap could cause the situation to spiral out of control. In June, the US shot down a Syrian fighter jet and two Iranian drones as they approached areas controlled by US-backed forces.

In East Asia, President Trump recently threatened North Korea, with which Russia and China both share borders, with a nuclear attack if it did not give up its nuclear weapons program. Russia responded to joint war games between the US and South Korea this week by flying nuclear-capable bombers accompanied by fighter jets and surveillance aircraft around the Korean peninsula. Japanese and South Korean fighters were scrambled to intercept the Tupolev bombers as they flew through international airspace over the Pacific Ocean, the Sea of Japan, the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea.
Young people from the wealthiest areas in the UK are far more likely to go to university than their disadvantaged peers from the poorest parts of the country.

On average, in the most disadvantaged 10 percent of postcodes, barely one in five young people go to university. This compares to half of sixth-form students in the wealthiest 10 percent.

In the worst cases, in some areas of the UK, such as in poorer parts of Derbyshire, the figure drops to only 1 in 20. In the richest areas of Buckinghamshire, more than 80 percent of young people progress to higher education, 18 times as many as in the most deprived area.

The figures come from a study, Beyond Access: Getting to University and Succeeding There, by educational charity Teach First . Global financial services company Credit Suisse partnered the charity in preparing the report. It provides further confirmation of the fact that social and economic background continue to be the overriding determinants in a childs educational and career opportunities.

Noting the vast inequalities in the educational system, the Teach First report stated that [no] route should be easier to achieve simply because of your background or how much money your parents earn. 

Yet today, young people from low income families repeatedly find doors closed and paths blocked to them at every stage of their lives. They are less likely to go to schools rated outstanding, less likely to get five good GCSEs and less likely to progress to higher education, employment or training.

In fact, as a previous Teach First report revealed, poor pupils are less than half as likely to go to an outstanding school as their richer peers. Only 18 percent of children from the most deprived 20 percent of families attend these institutions. By way of comparison, fully 43 percent of pupils at schools rated as outstanding by Ofsted (Office for Standards in Education, Childrens Services and Skills), the regulatory government body, come from the wealthiest 20 percent of families.

In addition, only one in three disadvantaged pupils achieves five GCSEs at grades A*-C, roughly half the rate of their richer peers. As the Teach First report noted, for many working class children from poorer areas, the path to university is closed before they have even had the chance to consider it.

In a poll conducted by the social mobility charity, the Sutton Trust , 44 percent of children who did not plan to go to university said that their main reason for this was that they did not think they would be able to get good enough grades.

The Sutton Trust quizzed children between 11 and 16 years old, finding that the number of secondary school pupils in England and Wales who are expecting to go to university has been declining since 2009. While a high of 81 percent of secondary school children hoped to progress to higher education in 2013, this fell to 79 percent in 2015, 77 percent last year and to an eight-year low of 74 percent this year.

While worries about grades were an important factor for many children, by far the most important reasons for not planning on going to university were fears about finances. Nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of the 11-to-16-year-olds polled, who did not expect to progress to higher education, cited reasons such as wanting to start earning money as soon as possible or concerns over debt.

With tuition fees of 9,250 a year at most universities and the scrapping of maintenance grants for many students, young people from the poorest families can expect to incur debts of as much as 57,000 by the time they graduate.

Even among those young people who do plan to attend higher education institutions, more than half (51 percent) said that they were worried about the financial burden this will impose, compared to 47 percent last year.

A survey of 18-to-25-year-olds conducted by pollster ComRes for Teach First found that almost half (47 percent) of the most disadvantaged young people who did not progress to higher education said they felt like they had missed out. Thirty-seven percent felt their career opportunities would be limited by their lack of a degree, while 27 percent of disadvantaged young people felt they had missed out on social opportunities and 17 percent on both.

Teach First explained that in addition to prohibitive factors such as grades and finances, young people from poorer backgrounds are less likely to go on to university as they often do not receive the support and advice on higher education that their wealthier peerswith greater access to school careers and employability servicestake for granted.

The research showed that even when disadvantaged students are able to defeat the odds and manage to get a high-quality education, obtain the necessary grades and get the support required to make informed decisions, barriers to completing their university degree are still placed before them. Poorer students are significantly more likely to drop out of university in their first year than their wealthier peers.

According to the Office of Fair Access, in the 2014-2015 academic year, 8.8 percent of full-time undergraduates below the age of 21 coming from disadvantaged backgrounds did not continue with their studies beyond their first year. By contrast, in the same period, fewer than 5 percent of wealthy students dropped out of university.

Polls conducted by Teach First showed that two-fifths (40 percent) of disadvantaged students currently studying at university have considered dropping out. Poorer students are more likely to feel isolated and nervous in an unfamiliar setting, the report stated, with dropout rates for disadvantaged students at their highest levels in five years.

Worries about not having enough money are one of the factors causing students the most stress. The survey found that 44 percent of all students said this caused them stress in their first year. Among disadvantaged students, nearly a third (31 percent) found it difficult to keep up with their academic studies alongside paid work, compared to 20 percent of the wealthiest students.

Nearly half (47 percent) of poorer students said that keeping up with academic work caused them stress.

Figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency published in May of this year revealed that a record 1,180 students dropped out of university in 2014-2015, due to mental health problems such as anxiety. This has more than trebled since 2009-2010in the aftermath of the global financial crashwhen 380 students were forced to leave university for this reason.

While documenting the enormous obstacles placed before working class youth, the survey offers no remedy.

Various proposals offered up by Teach First/Credit Suisse in no way deal with the fundamental issues underlying the university wealth gapthe stranglehold of the profit system over all aspects of economic life and the drive by the ruling elite to do away with social rights won by the working class in decades of struggleincluding the right to higher education.

Teach First/Credit Suisse fully accept that the poorest sections of society are disadvantaged and offer a few mild palliatives, such as the need to attract the countrys best graduates to become teachersespecially to work in the disadvantaged communities that currently struggle to recruit. It states, The UK government should forgive a proportion [not all] of students loans for those who commit to teaching in areas of greatest educational need. 

In the foreword, report author Alex Burr states that 2017 is Teach Firsts 15th anniversary and we are doing everything we can to focus our efforts on addressing these issues through a year of action, campaigning and mobilisation to help every young person achieve their seemingly impossible dreams.

The fact that access to higher education is now described in terms of an impossible dream for those from poor backgrounds is an indictment of the ruling capitalist elite and its political representatives.
President Donald Trump stepped up his public conflict with Republican congressional leaders Thursday with a series of tweets in which he vilified them for failing to pass legislation raising the federal debt ceiling and repealing the Obama-era Affordable Care Act.

These declarations follow comments made at his Tuesday night rally in Phoenix, Arizona, further amplified on Wednesday, in which he demanded that Congress fund the construction of a huge wall along the US-Mexico border and vowed to shut down the federal government rather than sign budget legislation that did not pay for the wall.

The White House and Congress are facing several deadlines at the end of September. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has warned that the federal debt ceiling must be lifted by September 29 to permit the Treasury to issue more debt to cover Social Security and other payments due October 1.

Total federal government debt is approaching $20 trillion, and the Treasury has been drawing down cash reserves because the anemic growth rate in the US economy has kept tax collections substantially below the overall level of federal spending. Trump inherited $350 billion in cash reserves when he took office, and despite the huge inflow of tax payments in April, reserves had fallen to only $82 billion last week.

Legislation to raise the debt ceiling is traditionally opposed by the right wing of the Republican Party and passes only on the basis of bipartisan deal making between the Republicans and Democrats, regardless of the size of the Republican majority in either house of Congress.

In one of his tweets Thursday, Trump attacked Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan for not attaching a measure to raise the debt ceiling to unrelated legislation giving veterans more rights to appeal adverse decisions by the Department of Veterans Affairs on their disability claims, which passed Congress by overwhelming majorities earlier this month.

I requested that Mitch M & Paul R tie the Debt Ceiling legislation into the popular V.A. Bill (which just passed) for easy approval, Trump tweeted. They didnt do it so now we have a big deal with Dems holding them up (as usual) on Debt Ceiling approval. Could have been so easynow a mess!

There is no evidence that Trump ever made such a request, or that such a stratagem would have been successful. The statement by Trump seems a gratuitous attempt to further inflame relations between the White House and congressional Republicans, allowing Trump to present himself as opposed to both of the major parties.

Trumps threats to force a government shutdown are related to the other major deadline facing Congress, the September 30 end to the current fiscal year. If a new budget is not adopted by then, or a continuing resolution extending funding for federal agencies, portions of the federal government deemed nonessential will begin to shut down and federal workers, except in the military, will go unpaid.

Trump initially sought to use budget legislation last April, which funded the federal government for the rest of fiscal year 2017, as the vehicle for authorizing $1.6 billion in spending to begin construction of his much-vaunted border wall. With Democrats opposed, and congressional Republicans unwilling to provoke a shutdown, the White House gave in, although Trump made noises about using a good shutdown to force action.

Congress will be in session for only 12 legislative days in September because of recesses for the Labor Day weekend and Jewish high holidays. In that period of time, it must approve a budget or continuing resolution, raise the debt ceiling, approve continuation of the Childrens Health Insurance Program, which will otherwise expire, and begin action on Trumps proposed tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations.

Fitch Ratings, one of the three main debt-rating services, announced Wednesday that it would review the US governments credit rating for a possible downgrade if the debt limit was not raised in a timely manner. There are widespread concerns on Wall Street that either a federal default on debt or a government shutdown could trigger worldwide financial instability or even a global market crash.

Both McConnell and Ryan have downplayed the prospect of a government shutdown or federal debt default. McConnell, speaking side by side with Treasury Secretary Mnuchin on Monday, said there was zero chance that Congress would refuse to raise the debt ceiling.

I dont think anyone is interested in having a shutdown, Ryan said, speaking in Oregon. I dont think its in our interest to do so. The House speaker said that even if there were no agreement on a budget by September 30, Congress would pass a continuing resolution of several months to provide the time needed to work out the necessary deal.

Both the White House and McConnnell issued statements Wednesday disavowing the substance of a front-page New York Times report about the breakdown of relations between the Senate Republican leader and Trump. But neither side denied the basic fact reported by the Times: that Trump and McConnell have not spoken since an August 9 phone call which apparently erupted in an exchange of profanity, provoked by the failure of the Senate to repeal Obamacare.

Trump has also pressed McConnell to break with two centuries of Senate tradition and override the filibuster, which allows the minority of Democrats to block action on most legislation, by requiring 60 votes to end debate and bring legislation to a vote. He repeated this demand in several tweets during the week.

Both McConnell and Ryan have sought to minimize the conflict with the White House. Ryan has publicly supported the border wall. House Republicans pushed through the $1.6 billion in initial funding last month as part of a broader spending bill, but it has been blocked in the Senate, where it lacks 60 votes, and perhaps even a simple majority.

Senate Republicans have also criticized Trump for his public defense of neo-Nazi demonstrators who rioted in Charlottesville, Virginia, killing one anti-fascist protester. Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee and previously close to the White House, said last Thursday, 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.

Trumps escalating attacks on the congressional leaders of his own party have begun to draw worried attention from the corporate media. The pro-Democratic Party editors of the New York Times lamented, in an editorial headlined The President Turns on His Own, that this president seems to have alienated everybody. And whether one hopes to see the presidents agenda enacted or stymied, his failure to perceive this essential political dynamic is evidence of how little he understands what it takes to convert campaign positions into reality.

What the Times seeks to conceal, however, is that Trump is pursuing a definite political goal, along lines outlined by his former chief political strategist Stephen Bannon, of cultivating an audience outside of and hostile to the two major parties. While Bannon was ousted last week from his White House post, at the insistence of the new chief of staff, former General John F. Kelly, the ultra-right orientation remains.

Trump is seeking to develop a fascistic, authoritarian movement outside the existing two-party system, which would combine economic nationalism, racism and militarism.
Africa

Kenyan nurses continue their national strike beyond 11 weeks

Kenyas nurses have been out on strike for 11 weeks, with some being paid their wages while others are not. Kenyan public sector workers expect to get their wages paid while on official strike.

Further negotiations are dependent on the reconstituting of the Council of Governors, which is not to take place until September. A new line-up of governors is being selected after the August 8 general election, with several new faces taking their seats.

The nurses continue to strike over a signed collective bargaining agreement, which the previous governors of the 47 states, and the Salary and Remunerations Committee (SRC), continue to refuse to implement.

They are now confronting a regrading process by the SRC where the nurses have been initially categorised as semi-skilled with the participation of the Kenyan National Union of Nurses.

Kenyan tea workers strike for a new wage agreement halted by court order

A strike by Kenyan tea plantation workers has been halted by the Employment and Labour Court order until September 21. Kenyan Plantation and Agricultural Workers Union (KPAWU) officials have put off the strike in respect of court procedures.

The strike notice was issued July 31 to take place on August 14 against planters such as Unilever Tea Kenya Limited, James Finlay Ltd, the Kenya Tea Growers Association and Eastern Produce Kenya Ltd.

The tea conglomerates are refusing wage negotiations with around 100,000 tea workers, while the unions have attempted to compel them to go through the courts.

KPAWU is complaining the workers pay and conditions have not changed for four years and want to open negotiations on a belated 2016-17 collective bargaining agreement, to succeed the 2012 CBA.

The union is asking for a 100 percent pay increase and improvements in housing allowances.

Sudanese education workers suspend strike

Sudanese education workers carried out a strike from Thursday last week to Monday this week over education grants. The grants, referred to by education workers as bonuses, are owed to them from June.

A worker speaking to Radio Dabanga said if the education authority does not pay the bonus, an open-ended strike could follow.

The strike took place in a number of schools in West Kordofan state, although workers in several other states are also affected by the non-payment. The promised grant payment from the government was for the end of Ramadan on June 15.

The Union of Education Workers set a deadline of August 31 for the government to pay up, or a further two-day strike would be carried out starting September 10.

Swaziland university staff strike over right to demonstrate

Swaziland university staff at the Southern Africa Nazarene University (SANU) struck for a final day Tuesday after being locked out of their camp compound.

The strike was in response to the lockout, which had the effect of denying them the right to demonstrate at or near their workplace.

The academic staff union, the Swaziland Health Institutions and Allied Workers Union, said that university management has no right to lock them out, and that their action was illegal.

When the strike ended, the union took its grievances to court.

Workers strike at South Africas Reserve Bank over medical subscriptions

Workers responsible for producing banknotes at South Africas Reserve Banks subsidiary are striking to protest unpaid medical subsidies and for a wage claim.

Employees from the South African Banknote Company marched and demonstrated at the Reserve Bank demanding the bank meets its obligations in funding the workforces medical subsidy.

A spokesman for the SASBO union said medical aid was a condition of employment at the company and the company had promised for five years to pay the whole medical aid cover, but continue to pay only half.

The company is offering a 6.6 percent pay offer while workers are demanding 8.8 percent and insisting that the bank addresses the question of unequal pay paid for equal work.

The Reserve Bank said last week that it had enough bank notes to keep it going for a month.

Staff protest at Nigerian university hospital over unpaid wages

This week staff at the Nigerian University Hospital in Imo State picketed the administration entrance in protest over unpaid and half-paid wages.

The 300 demonstrators were organised by the Joint Action Committee (JAC) that consists of the Association of Resident Doctors, the Medical and Dental Consultants of Nigeria, the National Association Nurses and Midwives, the Medical Health Workers Union of Nigeria and the National Union of Allied Professionals.

Salaries have been reduced for the last 18 months by 30 percent, it is claimed, without union agreement. Wages have gone unpaid since the end of April.

This persists at the same time as management is paying itself three months salary in advance. According to the JAC chairman, workers have to carry out child delivery by torchlight.

Nurses ordered back to work at Moi Teaching Hospital Kenya

Nurses struck at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) in Nairobi, Kenya, last Friday. They were sent back to work immediately after the courts threatened to jail and fine the union secretary general.

The Kenyan National Union of Nurses (KNUT) was striking to demand the implementation of their agreed collective bargaining agreement.

The MTRH nurses came out on strike on May 24, but a court order declared the action illegal and they were instructed to return by May 30. The union, until last Friday, had refused to return to work and now the court order is being imposed.

Union secretary general, Seth Panyako, the recently defeated candidate for state governor in the August 8 elections, is taking advice from his lawyer and has sent the nurses back to work to avoid a N200.000 (US$550) fine or six-month jail sentence.

The MTRH strike is separate from the Kenyan nurses national strike as the MTRH is treated as an independent parastatal.

Europe

UK rail union to ballot members over extending DOO dispute to Greater Anglia

Train conductors employed by Greater Anglia are to be balloted, with a view to industrial action, over the private rail franchises intention to impose DOO (driver only operated) trains.

Conductors, who are members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers union (RMT) and train divers have been battling rail franchises Merseyrail, Northern and Southern, in some cases for over a year, on a region by region basis.

DOO, which already operates on a third of UK trains, has the aim of eliminating the role of the conductor, threatening 6,000 jobs, and compromising passenger safety.

In response to Greater Anglias attempts to claim conductors jobs would be safe, RMT general Secretary Mick Cash said, The union remains available for further talks around the crucial issue of the guard guarantee.

Wigan refuse workers vote to strike over proposed shift pattern changes

Refuse workers employed by Wigan Council in North West England are to strike next Thursday, followed by a six-day overtime ban, to protest shift pattern changes as part of a 2 million cuts package.

From September 25 bin collections will change from a two to three-week rota. The Unison union says the council has plans to introduce 11-hour shifts from 6:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., without notice. Workers will also be expected to do Christmas shifts that are normally worked by volunteers.

Staff have already been hit by job losses and a four-day working week.

Refuse collectors do a job that is already very demanding physically. An 11-hour shift spent continually walking, working outdoors in all weathers, is physically exhausting and detrimental to health.

Ford workers in Wales vote for industrial action

Workers have voted 52.1 percent in favour of strike action against the feared closure of Fords car plant in Bridgend, Wales.

In March, workers balloted by 71.9 percent to strike in defence of jobs, with 1,160 jobs at risk according to the Unite union.

Last September, the American car giant said it intended to reduce the level of investment from a planned 181 million to 100 million. Production of its new generation of petrol engines made in Bridgend is also to be halved.

The Unite union have approached the company to seek a resolution to this situation.

Unite sell out refuse workers strike in Birmingham

Refuse workers in Birmingham, England face clearing a rubbish backlog after the Unite union called off a two-month-long strike after negotiating a sell-out deal with the council.

The council is seeking to restructure the refuse collection service, threatening the loss of around 120 jobs and pay cuts of up to 5,000.

While the jobs of grade three workers, responsible for safety at the back of refuse vehicles, will not be immediately at risk, the union has agreed to a five-day working week to replace the current four-day week.

Unite suspends British Airways cabin crew strike

The Unite union have called off the long-running dispute by cabin crew at British Airways.

Writing to British Airways boss Alex Cruz, Unites general secretary Len McCluskey said the following: You will be aware that we have not issued any further notice for strike action, which will currently end on 30 August.

This is in order to create a pause for peace so that our respective teams can get around the table with a view to securing a mutually accepted resolution to the current dispute.

The workers are fighting poverty wages, and punitive sanctions imposed on about 1,400 colleagues involved in previous industrial action.

UK: Pilots at Thomas Cook Airlines vote for strike action

Pilots at UK holiday firm Thomas Cook voted by 80 percent to strike in pursuit of a pay increase of 10.7 percent. The company has offered just 1.5 percent, on top of an annual increment of 1.8 percent.

Workers are also asking to fly business class when travelling between connecting flights.

Four hundred out of the 560 Thomas Cook pilots are members of Balpa (British Airline Pilots Association).

UK Offshore catering workers reject pay offer

Catering workers in the UK oil offshore industry have rejected another pay offer by their employers, the same one the workers, who are employed by firms who are in the Caterers Offshore Trade Association (COTA), turned down in February.

The association, comprising the Aramark, Compass, Sodexo, Entier and Trinity companies, made a pay offer, but subsequently withdrew it saying the oil industry cannot afford it.

Workers voted by 74 percent to strike after a previous wage agreement in 2015 was reneged on and the February offer was withdrawn. While the associations employees have not had a rise for two years, other workers in the industry have seen an increase.

Construction workers, who are members of Unite, GMB and the RMT, are also being balloted on industrial action in connection with their terms and conditions.

Theatre staff strike Warrington Hospital in England over pay and patient safety

Theatre staff at Warrington hospital in the town in North West England struck last Friday and on Monday morning. More action is planned as part of a four-year dispute with the Warrington and Halton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

The Trust wants to impose new rotas, which will mean reduced numbers of staff working night duty and weekends, as well as pay cuts. Fewer operations will be carried out as a consequence.

Cineworld staff to ballot for industrial action against threatened job losses

Siptu trade union members at the Cineworld Complex on Parnell street, Dublin, are to ballot for strike action over redundancies. Employers intend to restructure supervisory and management positions, which will result in job losses.

A Siptu spokesman said the ballot for industrial action was due to the management attempt to implement compulsory redundancies without consultation with the workers union.

Disabled Romanian workers demonstrate

Disabled Romanian workers demonstrated on Tuesday in the countrys capital, Bucharest, against a decree that will put them out of work. Around 200 workers demonstrated with slogans declaring, We want to work, not beg.

The government of Prime Minister Mihai Tudose has passed a law removing the responsibility of companies with less than 50 workers to employ workers who are disabled.

Railway workers on hunger strike in Georgia

A Georgian railway worker was hospitalised a day after declaring he would go on hunger strike on August 16, in response to being relocated.

Two railway workers protested at the relocation as they were not to be reimbursed for travelling costs or given living away allowances.

Several other rail workers joined the dispute and around 50 supporters joined a demonstration outside Georgia Railways in the countys capital, Tbilisi.

The presidents parliamentary secretary has offered to mediate.

Middle East

Egyptian textile workers end strike

Textile workers at the Egyptian Spinning and Weaving Company in Mahalla city, Gharbiya, went back to work August 20 with the union saying it will hold off on further negotiations.

Six thousand textile workers came out August 5, followed by a further 10,000, demanding improved wages and benefits and the payment of delayed bonuses, plus promotions and a share of company profits.

The minister of the Public Business Sector said the minimum wage would be implemented and bonuses would be paid to workers according to the law.

In regards to workers demands, he said that discussions had taken place with the company management. The union promised that the workforce would work to recover company losses suffered due to the strike.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - The Tallahassee Police Department has located John Edward Johnson unharmed.

Tallahassee Police are asking for the public's help in finding a 56-year-old man, John Edward Johnson.

Johnson was last seen on Aug. 21, 2017, in the area of 2600 Capital Circle NE. He was wearing glasses, a yellow shirt and black pants.

There is concern for his welfare.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Tallahassee Police Department at (850) 891-4200.

MOBILE USERS: Download our WTXL news app on your Apple and Android devices for the latest from South Georgia and North Florida. Also, download our WTXL Weather Now app for Apple and Android devices to get the latest local weather wherever you go.

Copyright 2017 WTXL via Raycom News Network. All rights reserved.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - As the school year gets underway, safety is top of mind for many families.

In August alone, a Leon County and Valdosta City school bus has been involved in accidents. Even though they were minor, crashes like these have parents and school officials focused on students' school bus rides.

In 2017, school buses are far more advanced than they used to be. Seat belts, cameras and even GPS tracking are used to make sure drivers and students get to and from school unharmed.

"States have different [seat belt] requirements. Florida has it's own set of requirements that I would say are the forefront in the country. Even in the buses coming out next year, 2018 buses will now also have a shoulder harness coming across," said Dr. Michael Moore, Leon County Schools Director of Transportation.

Another change: as many as 12 cameras on every bus. Moore says some even have night vision. The buses also get a routine inspection every month to make sure they're safe for the road.

When it comes to safety outside the school bus, the biggest hazard is other drivers who don't pay attention to the stop sign and flashing lights. If drivers get too impatient and decide to pass a school bus, a camera mounted outside catches their license plate number.

"If a car runs a stop sign on the bus, we can send it to the sheriff's office," said Moore.

As for the bus drivers, even those with years of experience continue to get training every month. Anywhere from 40-80 students board a Leon County bus on any given day, but that doesn't mean your kids are strangers to the driver.

"These drivers know these kids well, by name, maybe [even] what they wore to school," said Fredrick Johnson, a Route Supervisor for Leon County Schools. "At the elementary level, those kids love to cling to you, hug your neck, and you get the experience of knowing the kids."

To avoid distraction the bus drivers, students should always stay sitting and keep the noise level low. For parents, school officials say you should make sure you know (or at least have written down somewhere) your child's bus number and their bus driver's name in case there's ever an issue.

On Leon County school buses, students are not allowed to take photos or video of any other student without their permission.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - Another COCA Connection segment, where we are highlighting arts and culture in the community.

This week's edition spotlighted the Tallahassee Museum's College Day happening this Sunday, August 27 starting at 11 a.m.

The College Day is a free opportunity for college students to discover and learn about North Florida's natural environment, rich history and diverse cultural communities.

College students will have free general admission with valid student I.D. to Florida's WILDLIFE TRAIL, 1880s FARM, Guest Animal Exhibit, and more! There will be live music, giveaways, and coupons to local restaurants for the first 100 college students.

If you would like to find out more about the event, you can go to the COCA's Website.
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Israels Ambassador to Egypt David Govrin paid a visit to Cairo Wednesday, along with eight other members of the Israeli delegation, for the first time since the end of 2016 when he was forced to leave the country amid security warnings, according to Egyptian media reports.

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The reports claim that Govrins rapid visit lasted just one day, after which he returned to Israel.

A February report in the British newspaper, The Telegraph, claimed that Govrin was returned to Israel at the end of 2016 and has not visited the Egyptian capital since. He did however continue to perform his duties from Jerusalem.

Ambassador David Govrin

The report made no mention of specific security threats that abruptly prompted Govrin's surprise departure, but the concerns are said to have emanated from the numerous terror attacks that had struck Egypt during the same period.

In September 2011, a mob stormed the Israeli embassy in Cairo, forcing six Israeli security guards to barricade themselves in.

The episode, which put Israeli-Egyptian relations in jeopardy, was brought to a conclusion after former US president Barack Obama made contact with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, leading to an order to send in special Egyptian troops to evacuate the ensnared Israelis.

In recent years, Israels diplomatic staff in Egypt have operated from a small building inside the ambassadors residence in the southern neighborhood of Maadi, under the protection of a heavy security detail.

Ambassador Govrin was appointed to his post in Egypt in the summer of 2016 and in September the same year presented his credentials to al-Sisi

The same month, Govrin paid a rare visit to Alexandria in northern Egypt, together with embassy staff where they met with the head of the local Jewish community. It was the first visit by any Israeli representative to Alexandria.
The race to fill the position of Chairman of the Jewish Agency is set to intensify in the coming months, with Energy and Water Resources Minister Yuval Steinitz slated to replace the incumbent head Natan Sharansky, whose term expires in June 2018.

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Steinitzs possible departure from his ministerial position would make way for the promotion of Coalition Chairman and Netanyahu loyalist David Bitan, giving him the break he has now coveted for some time.

But with Steinitz as the reported frontrunner, the handsome monthly salary that accompanies the prestigious position of chairman of the Jewish AgencyNIS 55,866 ($15,535)is likely to ensure that the minister will not be appointed without a fight against other prominent contenders.

David Bitan with Prime Minister Netanyahu and Sara Netanyahu (Photo: Motti Kimchi)

They include Mayor of Ma'ale Adumim Benny Kashriel, former ambassador to the UN Ron Prosor, who has also received the backing of Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, and Chairman of the Keren Hayesod Eliezer Sandberg, who was touted to fill the position by Netanyahu in the past.

Nevertheless, according to officials in the Likud, Steinitz represents the most likely candidate to replace Sharansky and figures within the party have been urging him to accept the position if offered.

Only a few weeks ago, Steinitz stated his position on the matter, flatly rejecting the suggestion. However, the party officials claim that his stance has since changed with Steinitz now considering the possibility, adding that he has yet to dismiss the idea out of hand.

Steinitz next to Natan Sharansky

With the firebrand Bitan increasingly becoming recognized for being one of Netanyahus closest associates, efforts are being made to promote him to a position reflecting his repeatedly demonstrated loyalty.

Just a few months ago Bitan, whose vociferous support for his boss and brash style has helped him carve out a reputation as a democratic strongman rather than a mere party whip, predicted that he would be appointed as a minister before the expiration of the Netanyahu's current term leading the nation.

Yuval Steinitz (Photo: Alex Kolomoisky)

The removal of Steinitz from the equation would finally provide Netanyahu the opportunity to reciprocate the loyalty shown by his ideological treasure.

Steinitzs chances of succeeding Sharansky were also significantly increased by the enthusiastic endorsement by the Jewish Federation which views him as a moderate voice capable of engaging in a dialogue with international Jewry.

Bitan at a recent rally in support of Netanyahu (Photo: Motti Kimchi)

Indeed, Steinitz was one of the ministers who voiced his objections to the cancelation of the Kotel compromise, warning it would inevitably rupture relations with American Jewry and may even lead to full-on crisis.

Sharansky, who has served as the Jewish Agency chairman since 2009 at Netanyahus behest, was supposed to wrap up his term last June, but made a last-minute agreement to remain in the job for another year.

While appointing a new chair only requires the consent of the prime minister, the Jewish Federation is also supposed to provide a symbolic imprimatur lending approval to his choice. For the time being though, Steinitz said in a statement Thursday that the matter was not on the agenda at the moment.
Russian nuclear-capable strategic bombers have flown a rare mission around the Korean peninsula at the same time as the United States and South Korea conduct joint military exercises that have infuriated Pyongyang.

Russia, which has said it is strongly against any unilateral US military action on the peninsula, said Tupolev-95MS bombers, code named "Bears" by NATO, had flown over the Pacific Ocean, the Sea of Japan, the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea, prompting Japan and Seoul to scramble jets to escort them.

The flight, which also included planes with advanced intelligence gathering capabilities, was over international waters and was announced by the Russian Defence Ministry on the same day as Moscow complained about the US-South Korean war games.

"The US and South Korea holding yet more large-scale military and naval exercises does not help reduce tensions on the Korean peninsula," Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the foreign ministry, told a news briefing in Moscow.

"We urge all sides to exercise maximum caution. Given the arms build-up in the region, any rash move or even an unintended incident could spark a military conflict."
Twenty-five years ago, when I was a young settler, on Holocaust Martyrs 'and Heroes' Remembrance Day, I had stomach-wrenching conversation with a close relative. Think about it, he said, if the Nazis had murdered six million Arabs instead of the Jews, would we not have praised them or at least let it slide? I thought about it and I replied: If the Nazis had murdered six million Muslims, we probably wouldnt have had a state.

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Both parts of this conversations are probably not politically correct, but 25 years later, it appears that contempt for the Holocaust among central components of the Israeli Right has shifted from random conversations to the heart of public discourse. More and more Israeli Jews dare to express openly or implicitly that the main problem with the Holocaust was the selection of victims by Nazi Germany and their aides.

Nazi concentration camp (Photo: Reuters)

For years, one of the most problematic exports of the State of Israel has been the cheapening and trivialization of the Holocaust, bordering on subtle hints of denial. This happens, for example, by comparing every adversary or enemy to the Nazis. This isnt a phenomenon limited to a bunch of internet talkbackers.The prime minister himself is among the primary culprits in this field.

Then there is, for example, the peculiar lesson learned from the terrible tragedy: never again, as long as we are talking about us. That was the lesson we appeared to have taken when we were silent when a million Rwandans were slaughtered. Similarly, we refused to recognize the Armenian genocide, and we have simply used the atrocities in Syria as a propaganda tool.

In recent weeks we have seen an escalation of this kind of behavior.The masks have been removed and the interests are on the table for all to see. Everything is measured in the context of confrontation: Are you with us or against us? Anti-Semitic campaigns in Hungary against George Soros? Well, Soros if left-wing so we will let that slide.

Neo-Nazis in the US

As a journalist affiliated with the right wrote: "It is clear that anti-Semitism is obscene, but there are interests." A ghastly demonstration of neo-Nazis in Virginia? Not pleasant, but hey, look at the leftists; When the president compares the Nazis to anti-neo-Nazis, everything is fine. Nothing happened. A few people with torches and swastikas? What could happen?

If a Nazi-style leader was to rise up today and execute millions of Muslims, would Israeli right-wing politicians express a firm stand against it? Would he cry out "Never again"? I'm afraid the answer is no because in the State of Israel, 70 years later and a little after the Holocaust, when all chants of "Never again" are said and done, there is always a but to defend some small interest.

Jews rounded up in the Holocaust

This is not a process which we have seen taking shape in Israel alone of course. The era of social networking has almost completely erased any semblance of political correctness, providing the exact conditions required for demagogues like Donald Trump and Oren Hazan to blossom.

It has enabled propagators of hatred and professional separatists to be rejuvenated, because they "speak with no beating around the bush," as if their words carry supreme value.

Destruction in Syria (Photo: AFP)

Perhaps this is also one of the reasons why values and morals are measured today in the world, which are supposed to be absolute, within parameters of interests: if it serves our interests, we will make do with closing our nose to the smell of death and destruction and our eyes to the site of savagery and slaughter. In extreme cases, we may issue a condemnation a few days after the tragedy.

Perhaps it is the arrogant education that prevails at home, repeating the mantra, "you have chosen us from all the nations," and expressions like "virtuous people" that have been deeply planted in my DNA that evokes such emotions demanding more actions from Israel. But from a people who have suffered the Holocaust I expect only one call: Nazis and their heirs are bad, without buts and without interests.
A 57-year-old woman from Nazareth Illit in northern Israel was crushed to death by an electronic gate Friday morning as she tried to enter the premises of the supermarket where she worked in Migdal HaEmek.

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According to the owner of the shop, Yoram Ben Haim, the woman, identified as Reya Wiener, alighted her vehicle after failing to open the gate using her remote control.

Reya Winer

She got out of her car and the gate was slightly open. She stood between the gate and its post and tried to force it open when it simply crushed her, said Ben Haim. People saw everything. Drivers stopped to help but they couldnt. The gate is heavy as you can see.

Usually, he added, the shop owners open the gate each morning but Winer happened to have arrived that morning before them.

Photo: Police Spokesperson's Unit

Rescue teams and medics were called to the scene at 6:25am and attempted to perform emergency treatment on Winer, whom they found in critical condition, before evacuating her to HaEmek Medical Center where she eventually succumbed to her severe wounds. The police launched an investigation into how the tragic incident occurred.

Photo: Police Spokesperson's Unit

When we got there we found the woman lying on the ground unconscious after being crushed by an electric gate. She had no pulse and wasnt breathing and was suffering serious multiple internal injuries, a paramedic recalled.

The citys mayor described Winer as a woman who was loved by all, who contributed to the city and who was involved with the community through volunteer work.
Saudi-led coalition's fighter jets rained bombs on Friday over the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, levelling houses packed with civilians and killing at least 14 people, including eight members of a single family, relatives and witnesses said.

The family's 1-year-old baby was among those killed, they said, looking over the rubble of one of the bombed homes in the city's southern district of Fag Attan, hours after the attack.

The bombing was the latest in a significant escalation in the Saudi-led coalition's air campaign in Yemen. On Wednesday, at least 41 people died when airstrikes bombed a small hotel in the town of Arhab, north of Sanaa.

The attack prompted the United Nations to renew calls for an investigation into the atrocities in Yemen's civil war.

Over the past two years, more than 10,000 people have been killed and 3 million displaced amid the coalition's relentless air campaign against Yemen's Iran-backed Shiite rebels. The Saudi-led campaign is seeking to restore Yemen's internationally recognized government back to power.

The worst-hit house in Friday's attack in Fag Attan was a three-story building occupied by at least three families. Mohammed al-Rimi and his wife lived on the first floor with their six children. A brother-in-law was visiting. They all perished, except one child.
Engulfed in a string of scandals, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu finds himself facing a growing grassroots protest movement demanding his indictment and removal from office over various corruption allegations.

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Weekly anti-corruption vigils in front of the home of Israel's attorney general have gone from a trickle to drawing thousands of people, and the recent arrest of the two main organizers seems to spell stress within Netanyahu's circle while further energizing his opponents.

An ulikely duo. Naftali (L) and Yaniv (Photo: Alex Kolomoisky)

The unlikely duo spearheading the protest effort could not be more different. One used to hobnob in the most exclusive circles of power, while the other is a former maintenance man at the prime minister's residence. Once dismissed as disgruntled fringe characters, Eldad Yaniv and Meni Naftali have together galvanized a movement that has rattled Netanyahu's grip on power.

"Netanyahu sees our protest as a clear and present danger to his continued rule, and that is why he is trying to harm us," said Yaniv, who was arrested with Naftali last week on their way to a protest.

"Our goal is more than just replacing Netanyahu," he said. "It's to create a new contract between politicians and the public so that the next prime minister is not investigated by police."

Naftali (Photo: Alex Kolomoisky)

Although the allegations have yet to threaten his lengthy rule, Netanyahu has seen his approval ratings drop amid repeated questions about his conduct and integrity.

One of his closest former aides has become a witness against him, and Netanyahu himself has been questioned under caution in a pair of cases relating to alleged financial misdeeds and illicit ties to executives in media, international business and Hollywood. Police say they suspect Netanyahu of being involved in bribery, fraud and breach of trust. The final decision is in the hands of his attorney general, Avichai Mandelblit.

For now, Netanyahu still has the backing of his ruling Likud Party and key conservative coalition partners, leaving critics pinning their hopes on the attorney general's discretion to indict.

What began as a gathering of a handful of good governance activists outside Mandelblit's home has now, in its 40th week, swelled into a powerful display of flag-waving Israelis each Saturday night that has drawn heavy media coverage, sparked pro-Netanyahu protests and unnerved police.

Last weekend, police pre-emptively arrested Yaniv and Naftali for allegedly soliciting an illegal demonstration, detaining them overnight before a court freed them amid scathing criticism of police. Israel's Supreme Court said Thursday the protests could continue but would be limited to 500 people, and it barred the use of loudspeakers in the residential area.

Yaniv, a lawyer, was a close aide to then-prime minister Ehud Barak but became disenchanted with the political system and turned into an anti-corruption crusader. He frequently speaks out against the influence of lobbyists, big business and the banks.

Yaniv (Photo: Motti Kimchi)

Yaniv says his arrest was an attempt to quash a "symbol" of resistance and was ordered from above -- a charge police denied.

"This protest began because of Netanyahu's corruption investigations, but they are just a trigger to a far larger problemthe unfathomable corruption of our leadership," he said, citing a former prime minister, president and several ministers and mayors who have served time for crimes in office.

Naftali is a former custodian at the prime minister's residence, and an Israeli court has ruled he was abused and mistreated by Sara Netanyahu. He said it has become his mission to unmask the misdeeds of Israel's first family. Since his dismissal, he maintains that authorities have been hounding him by taking away his gun license, for instance, and thus hurting his livelihood as a security guard.

"I am a victim of institutional corruption. People see what was done to me. This is about proper governance," said Naftali, who now works as a handyman. "The trust with the state has been broken."

Netanyahu has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and called the accusations against him a witch hunt orchestrated by a hostile media. He has dismissed the suspicions as "background noise," vowed to stay in office for years to come and recently held a boisterous rally in Tel Aviv where he criticized the media to hundreds of cheering supporters.

Israel law says the prime minister can only be removed by parliament, though the Supreme Court has since ruled that government ministers and mayors had to resign if indicted.

On the other hand, Israel's justice minister has said the prime minister is not compelled to do so. But should the attorney general issue an indictment, there will be a legal challenge and public pressure for him to step aside. The weekly protests are ostensibly aimed at encouraging an indictment.

Netanyahu has escaped scandals before linked to his and his wife's expensive tastes and use of public funds, but the latest accusations appear to pose his stiffest challenge yet.

One investigation, dubbed "File 1000" by police, reportedly concerns allegations he improperly accepted lavish gifts from wealthy supporters, including Australian billionaire James Packer and Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan.

A second investigation, "File 2000," reportedly concerns Netanyahu's alleged attempts to strike a deal with publisher Arnon Mozes of the Yediot Ahronot newspaper group to promote legislation to weaken Yediot's main competitor in exchange for more favorable coverage.

And a probe called "File 3000" relates to a possible conflict of interest involving the purchase of German submarines, in which Netanyahu's cousin and personal attorney represented the German firm involved.

Raviv Drucker, an investigative journalist who exposed the final affair, said the cases have damaged Netanyahu's image but not endangered his rule. Barring any unforeseen developments, Drucker predicted Netanyahu was safe politically for at least the next year, since none of his allies had any interest in seeing the government fall.

"The legal picture has to change for that to happen," he said. "If it reaches a whole new threshold in which they will feel damaged by the association with him, then he could fall."
Iranian news agenct Tasnim reported on Friday that new Iranian Army Chief, Maj. Gen. Abdolrahim Mousavi said that State of Israel will no longer exist in 25 years' time, and that if a military offensive breaks out against Iran, Iran will be the one to decide how it will end.

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According to Tasnim, Mousavi made the statement while speaking at a cultural event in the city of Qom on Thursday evening, the new Iranian Army chief said the "acts of devotion" by "martyrs" would prevent Israel from surviving the next 25 years.

Ali Khamenei during the swearing in of Isranian President Hassan Rouhani (Photo: Reuters)

Mousavi described Iran as "a symbol of resistance against the global hegemony," saying the world has realized it is "impossible" to try strongarm Iran via military aggression.

A country might decide to wage a war against Iran, added Mousavi, but it is Iran that will be deciding how to end it and will shape the result of that war.

Such threats of Israel's disappearance are routinely heard from the Persian nation. Back in 2012, Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made a similar comment, saying that "the superfluous and fake Zionist (regimeed) will disappear from the landscape."

Iran is currently believed to be working to create a a corridor for itself through Iraq and all the way to the Mediterranean Sea, positioning itself along Israel's border with Syria.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, during which Netanyahu stated that Iran's growing role in Syria poses a threat to Israel, the Middle East and the world. Following their meeting, Netanyahu updated that he told Putin that Iran is looking to take over Syria, stating that "this does not fly with Israel."

"Iran is increasing its efforts to establish its military foothold in Syria. That is dangerous for Israel, the Middle East and, I believe, the whole world. Iran is already in advanced stages of taking over Iraq and Yemen, and in effect it also controls Lebanon.

"Mr. President, we are all defeating ISIS in a concerted international effort, and that is welcome. What is not welcome is Iran moving in everywhere ISIS moves out. We do not forget for one minute that Iran continues to threaten Israel's destruction every day; it is arming terrorist organizations and is itself instigating terrorism; and it is developing intercontinental missiles with the goal of arming them with nuclear warheads. For all these reasons, Israel continues to oppose Iran's entrenchment in Syria. We will defend ourselves in any way against this threat and any threat," Netanyahu told Putin during talks at Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi.

"We cannot forget for a single minute that Iran threatens every day to annihilate Israel," Netanyahu said. "It (Iraned) arms terrorist organizations, it sponsors and initiates terror."

Putin did not address publicly Netanyahu's remarks about Iran's role in Syria. He did, however, hail what he described as an "efficient mechanism of cooperation" between Russia and Israel.
Militants stormed a packed Shiite mosque in the Afghan capital during Friday prayers, in an attack that lasted for hours and ended with at least 20 worshippers killed and another 50 seriously wounded, many of them children, an official said. Two of the assailants blew themselves up and another two were shot to death by Afghan security forces, according to police official Mohammed Sadique Muradi.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack, the latest to target Afghanistan's minority Shiites. The Taliban condemned the violence, with a spokesman for the militants, Zabihullah Mujahid, telling The Associated Press in a telephone interview that the group had nothing to do with it.

President Ashraf Ghani condemned the violence and said the militants were turning to attacking places of worship because they were losing on the battlefield. He urged Islamic clerics everywhere to condemn the bloodshed.
Ten civilians, including three children, were killed in a raid by foreign and Somali forces on a farm in southern Somalia, a deputy governor said Friday as officials displayed victims' bloodied bodies in the capital. The US military confirmed it supported a Somali operation in the area.

The farmers were killed "one by one" after soldiers stormed the farm in Barire village early Friday, the deputy governor of Lower Shabelle region, Ali Nur Mohamed, told reporters in Mogadishu.

Three children aged 8 to 10 and a woman were among the dead, the official said, calling the attack a "real genocide." Their blanket-wrapped bodies were laid out in a grassy courtyard for display. Bodies of civilians, especially those killed in misdirected attacks, often are taken from remote areas to Mogadishu to draw media attention.
Iraqi military investigators say they have discovered two mass graves near a former Islamic State group prison near Mosul containing the bodies of 500 IS victims.

The Media Cell Security Investigation team said in a statement Friday that one grave near the Badoush Prison site contained the bodies of 470 prisoners killed by ISIS. It said a second grave contained 30 victims. A security official who spoke on condition of anonymity says most of the victims are believed to be Shiite Muslims or other minorities. The Islamic State group is a Sunni extremist group.

A massacre at Badoush Prison in June 2014 left 600 male inmates dead. A patch of scraped earth and tire tracks show the likely killing site, according to exclusive photos obtained by the imagery intelligence firm AllSource Analysis.
Michael Chabon is one of the most prominent Jewish writers in the US. The description of a "Super Jew" suits him particularly well, as he writes a lot about Jews in his extraordinarily humorous way.

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Last week, Chabon and his wife, author Ayelet Waldman, published an open letter to "our fellow Jews, in the United States, in Israel, and around the world." The letter was born following the neo-Nazi march in Charlottesville and US President Donald Trump's response to the events, with Waldman and Chabon calling on Jews who hold senior positions in the Trump administration to resign, and advisiing Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, to get away from their father/-in-law. The advice they give to Ivanka is especially harsh: "Allow us to teach you an ancient and venerable phrase, long employed by Jewish parents and children to one another at such moments of family crisis: Ill sit shiva for you. Try it out on your father; see how it goes."

Chabon (L) and Waldman (Photo: AP)

The letter, however, drew my attention because of another paragraph, addressed to Jews who explain their support for Trump through the support he might give Israel. "You have viewed him as a potential friend to Israel, or a reliable enemy of Israels enemies," they write. "Sheldon Adelson and our other fellow Jews still engaged in making the repugnant calculation that a hater of Arabs must be a lover of Jews, or that money trumps hate, or that a million dollars worth of access can protect you from one boot heel at the door: Wise up."

One can argue with the degree of emotion that the two authors invest in their fight against Trump's embarrassing statements. Simcha Erlich, who served as finance minister in Begin's first government, once admitted in a moment of candor: "I don't say what I mean, and I don't mean what I say." Trump could use this statement in his next tweet.

But it is hard to dispute their claim that many Jews, in Israel and around the world, think that hating Arabs purifies and and all vermins, be they a neo-Nazi, a Ku Klux Klan member or a Hungarian fascist. If they hate Arabs they must therefore be a Jew lover and loyal supporter of the State of Israel.

Wrong, wrong, wrong. This perception is indicative of historical shortsightedness and even worse, a morality system that has gone off the rails. There seems to be no escape from concluding that while Islamic terrorism may have been defeated in battle, it won out within our consciousness. It caused reivers of blood to pour through the Arab world, sowing separation, fear and hatred while not winning a single achievement for Islam, while the West became racist as a result. Rather, it revived racism, which had been suppressed after the defeat of Nazi Germany, and made it the norm. Trump is not a racist; he is worse than a racisthe is an ignorant populist who caters to his voters.

But where are we in this story? Unfortunately, nowhere good. Terrorism has also made racism the norm in the state of the Jewish people. Racism flows through social networks, radio talk shows, politicians' statements. I find it in my Inbox. Readers may watch videos from the neo-Nazi rally in Charlottesville, but their ears are deaf to the voices calling out "Jews will not replace us." Their hearts are with the white man who believes in the superiority of his own race, not with the black man or the Jewish liberal demonstrating against him. The white man is correct, he's one of us. The black man is different, he's a leftist, a traitor.

This is odd, because the attitude toward others in Israel has not been cut in the past according to the boundaries of the right and left. You could find the hatred of Arabs on the left and on the right. And you could find a true willingness to live together on the left and on the right. Reuven Rivlin, Mosha Arens, and Yoel Ben-Nun represent the Right's legacy no less, and perhaps more so than Miri Regev or Yariv Levin. One can support the unity of Israel without being a racist; and it is possible to support a withdrawal to the 1967 lines and to be a sworn racist.

The settlements and territories have long ceased to be at the heart of this debate: most Israelis do not care them either way. The debate is about what defines usis a love for Israel, or a hatred of Arabs? The choice is ours.
Chandigarh: In the wake of violence arising out of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh's conviction, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Friday admitted that there were lapses but asserted appropriate action was being taken.

Facing a volley of questions from reporters on the violence, he said the "lapses have been identified and we are taking appropriate steps".

"This should not have happened," he added.

"Some people have lost lives and vehicles have been set on fire while government property too has been damaged. Some OB vans of the media have also been damaged by the mob," Khattar said.

"All those who have taken law into their hands will be punished. We have identified some culprits including those who fired (from the mob at security forces), some of whom have been nabbed and action will be taken against them," he said, as per PTI.

The government will assess the damage, he further said.

Asked how thousands of Dera followers managed to reach Panchkula and was his government prepared for this, Khattar said, "We were prepared to deal with the situation. Since it was a very big mob..."

Khattar ducked a question on how thousands of Dera followers managed to reach Panchkula despite Section 144 being imposed much earlier.

When repeatedly asked how the followers managed to reach in such big numbers and whether it was a failure of his government, he replied, "When such issue comes where you are dealing with followers in such numbers... We tried to stop them...

When told that the Punjab and Haryana High Court had come down heavily on the state government over the mishandling of the situation in Panchkula, Khattar said, "I have to give answer and I will give."

To another question, he said the state has rushed paramilitary forces to all those places in addition to Panchkula and Sirsa where it feels the situation can take an ugly turn.

He said the damage caused to some media personnel's equipment during the violence here will be taken care of the government.

He also said the state government will provide full compensation within a week to those persons whose property was damaged today.

A website would be created where claimants can enter details regarding their damaged property, including vehicles and OB vans, he said, adding the portal would be launched within a day.

Khattar also urged the people to get their FIRs lodged online on HarSamay portal of Haryana Police.

"The amount of compensation will later be recovered from the property of Dera Sacha Sauda," he added.

Thousands of followers of Ram Rahim went on the rampage, setting fire to vehicles, buildings and railway stations soon after a special CBI court convicted him in a 2002 rape case.

Police responded by opening fire. They fired in the air and lobbed tear gas shells on sections of the crowds, many of them camping since last night on the streets of Panchkula.

The unrest which began in Panchkula where the verdict was handed down, spread to other parts of Haryana and Punjab and even New Delhi where a bus and train were set on fire.

Curfew was clamped in Panchkula.

Curfew was also imposed in place in Sirsa while Kaithal town was also brought under curfew this evening.

Sirsa is the headquarters of Dera Sacha Sauda of which Ram Rahim, 50, is its chief.

Six columns of Army, comprising a total of 500 to 600 soldiers were deployed in Panchkula.

CBI judge Jagdeep Singh, while holding the Dera chief guilty of raping a female follower more than 15 years ago, said the quantum of sentence would be pronounced on August 28.

The punishment can be a jail term of not less than seven years but may even extend to life imprisonment.

(With PTI inputs)
Charleston S.C.: A disgruntled employee who fatally shot one person and held another hostage on Thursday at a restaurant in downtown Charleston, South Carolina, was shot by police, the city`s mayor said.

Witnesses said the gunman brandished a pistol and said "There`s a new boss in town" as he entered Virginia`s On King in the heart of the city`s commercial district, while about 15 to 20 people were having lunch. Many of them fled.

The gunman was transported to a local hospital in critical condition and the hostage was rescued, said Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg.

"A disgruntled employee came back to his place of employment... with a gun and killed an individual in the restaurant, held another hostage for some time," Tecklenburg told reporters at the scene.

"This was not a terrorist act. This was not a hate crime. This was a tragic case of a disgruntled individual, I think with a history of some mental health challenges, who took his anger into his own hands," he said.

Executive Chef Anthony Shane Whiddon, 37, of Goose Creek, South Carolina, was shot and killed during the incident.

Local television station WCSC-TV quoted a representative of the group that owns the restaurant as saying that the gunman was a former dishwasher.

Police helicopters had buzzed overhead and police SWAT team members had closed several blocks of King Street, which is home to many restaurants, bars and boutiques and is popular with residents and tourists.

Virginia`s On King is an upscale restaurant serving traditional Southern comfort food.

The local Post and Courier newspaper quoted a couple, Tom and Patsy Plant, who said they were eating lunch with their daughter Laura when the gunman walked in from the kitchen, the newspaper reported.

The Plants, who said they fled with other customers through a back door, described him as a black man in his late 50s. Patsy Plant told the paper he looked like "an ordinary grandpa, but he had a crazy look."

The restaurant is just a block and a half from the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, where on June 17, 2015, a white supremacist fatally shot nine members of a Bible study group in what officials called a racially motivated hate crime.

The church shooter, Dylann Roof, has been sentenced to death in federal court for the massacre. He pleaded guilty in April to separate state murder charges.
Washington: The American sanctions against Chinese and Russian firms and individuals were not aimed at their governments, the US has said while hoping that Russia and China would implement the UN Security Council-approved sanctions against North Korea.

The Trump administration on Tuesday slapped sanctions on Russian and Chinese entities and individuals for helping North Korea advance its missile and nuclear weapons programme.

The sanctions targeted 10 Russian and Chinese companies and six individuals involved in conducting business with the reclusive nation.

"These (sanctions) are not to target a government but to entities and individuals funding some of North Korea's (nuclear) programmes," State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert told reporters at her news conference yesterday.

She was responding to questions on sharp reaction by China after the US slapped sanctions on Chinese entities and individuals.

"The companies and the individuals who have been sanctioned ? the third-party sanctions ? are in China and Russia, but we don't target any specific governments at all with regard to sanctions.

"We look at those sanctions as not being necessarily a part of the government but companies that are involved in illicit activity, companies or individuals who are involved in illicit activity," she said.

Russia and China have pledged to adhere to the sanctions against the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea or North Korea), Nauert said.

"We trust and look forward to them adhering to that. We take them at their word; they said they would and we don't have any reason to believe they wouldn't," Nauert said.

She said that this can happen anywhere around the world where the US sees people who are involved in those types of things or companies.

"We will keep an eye on them and, if appropriate, Treasury will look into it and then sanction them," she said, adding that the US policy on North Korea has not changed.

"We want a denuclearised Korean Peninsula. The world wants that. UN Security Council resolutions have backed that up as well. So that has not changed. But the Secretary has looked at this, as one of the countries that cares deeply about this issue, and has said that (North Korean leader) Kim Jong-un needs to take further steps in order to show that he is serious before we are willing to sit down.

It has been three-plus weeks since they have not done any missile launches or missile tests, Nauert added.
Nuku'alofa: Tonga's King Tupou VI dissolved the Pacific island nation's parliament Friday, dismissing Akilisi Pohiva, the first commoner to ever serve as prime minister.

The country's Crown Law office published an official "instrument of dissolution" signed by the monarch which dissolved parliament and called an election in November.

"(I) do lawfully dissolve the Legislative Assembly... And do command that new representatives of the nobles and the people be elected... No later than November 16," it said.

The decree said King Tupou acted after receiving advice from the parliamentary speaker Lord Tu'ivakano but did not give a reason for the unprecedented action.

However, Pohiva, who was elected in late 2014, survived a motion of no confidence earlier this year brought by nobles who alleged the former democracy activist was not competent to lead the country.

Tonga is the Pacific's only monarchy but has attempted to increase democracy in recent years.

It has a 26-seat parliament with 17 members elected by the people and nine spots taken by hereditary nobles.
Director Habib Faisal's "Qaidi Band", inspired by real life events, is a sugar-coated tale.



Citing the case of Machal Lalung, the longest arrested undertrial, the film revolves around a group of young individuals who are arrested for various crimes. Due to lack of funds and family support, they are left to rot behind bars.



By happenstance, the Superintendent of the prison Mr. Dhulia (Sachin Pilgaonkar) -- to entertain a politician during his visit to the prison -- orders his prisoners to form a band. After duly auditioning, a group of seven -- three girls and four guys: Bindu, Tatyana, Sange along with Sanju, Rufi, Maskeen and Ogu -- are selected to perform.



On the eventual day, the attending media, enamoured by the group's performance before the politician, broadcasts the show. And soon, their song, "I'm India", grabs the attention of the masses. They become a phenomenon.



How this group then uses their popularity to gain freedom forms the crux of the tale.



The plot is simple, straight-forward and by mid-point predictable. Nevertheless, its enduring appeal stands on three sturdy legs.



Firstly, it captures the nasty atrocities meted out to the undertrials in a no-nonsense and unpretentious manner. Also, the camera work along with the fine production values is noteworthy. The film has the confidence and a sense of purpose that warms the hardest heart.



Its second strength lies in the performances of the cast. The seven protagonists may not be conventional heroes. But their portrayal of their characters is realistic and believable. The depth they bring to what could have been a one-dimensional character is impressive.



Anya Singh and Aadar Jain wow us as Bindu and Sanju with their sincerity. Though Aadar has a strong resemblance to his cousin Ranbir Kapoor, he does manage to leave an imprint with his histrionics.



Ana Ador sways us as Tatyana with her dancing and sense of rhythm. Cyndy Khojol impresses us as Sange with her resolute strength and defiance.



Mikhail Yawalkar, Peter Muxha Manuel and Prince Parvinder Singh as Rufi, Ogu and Maskeen are charming. Their demeanour and personality suits their character and each one of them portrays their role convincingly.



Sachin Pilgaonkar, as the dictatorial Superintendent of Prisons, is refreshingly honest. He makes you cringe and hate him when he tries to extract information from the family of the undertrials or tortures those who are captured after escaping from the clutches of the police.



Ram Kapoor as an eminent lawyer, Mr. Vachchani, lacks the persona and is the only odd one among the cast.



And finally, of course, there are the songs -- the lyrics are strongly worded and magnificently structured. And they seamlessly integrate with the narrative.



What is missing in the plot are scenes that emotionally elevate the tempo of the narrative. Though it has its fair share of melodrama, the exuberance needed for a musical is missing. Also the song at the climax is a super let-down. But overall, the film works as an expressive drama.

(Ratings:3)
Bengaluru: Software major Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani, who returned to the company as its non-Executive Chairman, on Friday said he believes he`s back because "there was no one else".

Addressing a press gathering here, Nilekani said he had met the Board for the first time on Friday. "The priority now is to make sure the Board and the employees are all on the same page. I have met the Board members one-on-one and also spoke to the employees," he said.

Stating that it was the Board`s "unanimous" decision in wanting him to return to the company, he said he was back with the company as "more than just a founder".

"I`m here representing everybody, the shareholders, employees. My goal is to get the stability to the company and take it forward.

"I believe that there`s a huge requirement that people (in the company) are not distracted by all kinds of reporting," he said.

On the Panaya acquisitions, he said: "I will be taken through the entire investigations and then the necessary action will be taken".

In an investors` call that took place on Friday morning with over 600 participants, Nilekani said: "I plan to be here (with the company) as long as it is necessary and I will not be here as soon as I am not necessary.

"I have a set of tasks to accomplish -- the CEO search has to be done, the Board has to be reconstituted and the business has to be stabilised.

"I will be there as long as it takes and will work as hard as necessary to make sure Infosys is on its path of full potential."

Nilekani, 62, who was CEO of Infosys from March 2002 till April 2007 and its Vice-Chairman, quit the company in 2009 to head the Unique Identification Authority of India as its first Chairman till May 2014.

After the software firm`s first non-founder executive Vishal Sikka resigned as the CEO on August 18, Nilekani returned to the company as a non-Executive Chairman of the Board on Thursday.
New Delhi: Nandan Nilekani, who was named Infosys Non-executive Chairman last night, Friday said he will focus on bringing in stability and ensuring there are no "discordant" voices at the country's second-largest IT firm.

Within hours of taking charge at the helm of Infosys, Nilekani got into damage control mode seeking to calm investors' nerves through an early morning conference call.

The company has been in a crisis over the last few months amid a stand-off between the founders and the management over allegations of corporate governance lapses.

Last night, the Infosys board was recast, with Chairman R Seshasayee stepping down along with two other independent directors. Co-chair Ravi Venkatesan has now moved to an independent director role.

Stating that it is too premature for him to comment on Infosys' strategy and earnings, the architect of Aadhaar said he is committed to ensuring the highest standards of corporate governance are adhered to at Infosys.

"I am an admirer of N R Narayana Murthy... Will ensure Infosys, Murthy and other founders have a healthy relationship," he said.

He added that he will be able to offer more details of the strategy in October and is focussed on bringing "complete stability".

"I will ensure there are no discordant voices in the company and everyone is on the same page," he asserted.

Nilekani said as the Non-executive Chairman, his role will be oversight, governance and functioning and to help with the CEO search that will look for internal and external candidates as well as Infosys "alumni".

He stressed that he will stay as long as necessary, but declined to put a timeline to his latest stint.

Infosys is slated to host a press conference and another investor call later in the day.
Bengaluru: The Board of Infosys on Friday termed as "unfortunate" the past differences with founder NR Narayana Murthy and said it never intended to cause him "personal distress or anguish".

Addressing a press conference after the Board meeting, newly appointed Infosys Chairman Nandan Nilekani said: "The board is focused on bringing complete stability to the company and that it has tasked its Committee of Directors to work with the CEO and management to refresh the Company's strategy by October."

He said his goal is to build consensus, bring stability to the company and that he represents 100 per cent of the shareholders.

He further said that he has "record of doing things in different environments".

The company said in a statement, read out by Nilekani, that the Board is focused on the future, consistent with the commitment to good governance.

Nilekani "will get a full briefing" on investigations into alleged wrongdoing in USD 200 million buyout of Panaya, the company said.

It added that "appropriate course of action will be decided" but did not offer details.

"In recent days there has been considerable discussion of the relationship between the Board of Directors of Infosys and NR Narayana Murthy who established the culture and ethos of Infosys, especially its culture of adhering to high corporate governance standards," it said.

The Board described various differences of opinion with Murthy in the past as "unfortunate" and said it did not intend to cause anguish to Murthy.

"The Board wishes to express that it was not its intention to cause Mr Murthy or any other affected person any personal distress or anguish while stating its point of view," the Infosys statement said.

On the whistleblower charges, Infosys noted that it had authorised probes into anonymous allegations regarding the conduct of prior management, and asserted that the investigations concluded that there was no wrongdoing.

"As the Board has stated on numerous occasions, it takes the company's reputation for high corporate governance standards with the utmost seriousness," Infosys said committing itself to broad-based shareholder consultations in adhering to such lofty standards.

Offering an update on the CEO hunt, the statement said that the Board has also approved the appointment of the executive recruitment firm Egon Zehnder to work with its Nominations and Remunerations Committee to review and identify the right candidate.

Additionally, it said that the same committee will deliberate on the "long term governance structure" of the Board and come out with its recommendations in October.

The Board announced the appointment of D N Prahlad as the Chairman of Edgeverve Limited with immediate effect.
New Delhi: Former Infoscions may well have a shot at clinching the top job as Infosys CEO, with the company looking at "alumni" along with internal and external candidates in its global search for the lead role.

Within hours of taking charge as Infosys Non-executive Chairman, Nandan Nilekani told investors on Friday that Infosys was going to "cast a very wide net" globally to get the best talent onboard.

"We are looking at internal candidates, external candidates and Infosys alumni," he said.

Nilekani added there are Infoscions, who have left the company and have "charted their own success stories".

"We have an open mind. It will be a global search... The goal is to find somebody who has the expertise in managing a global corporation, who can accelerate the execution of our strategy and has strong appreciation of the cultural transformation that is required," he said.

Nilekani added that the candidate also has to possess "strong technology prowess" and should have the ability to "build and strengthen relationships with all stakeholders".

There have been reports that officials like interim CEO Pravin Rao, CFO Ranganath D Mavinakere, president and deputy COO Ravi Kumar S and BFSI head Mohit Joshi are in fray for the top job.

With Infosys now looking at alumni as well, the contenders could include names like V Balakrishnan (ex-CFO), Mohandas Pai (former CFO and HR Head), Ashok Vemuri (former Americas Head and Board member) and B G Srinivas (former President).

Infosys -- which has been in the midst of a face-off between the founders and management -- would also look at recasting its board in the coming weeks.

Last week, Infosys CEO Vishal Sikka quit, citing slander. Yesterday, board chairman R Seshasayee along with two other members -- Jeffrey Lehman and John Etchemendy -- also put in their papers. Co-chair Ravi Venkatesan has now moved to the role of an independent director.

"We have an excellent nominations committee headed by a very well known and global entrepreneur like Kiran Mazumdar Shaw. Kiran and the nominations committee will drive the CEO selection," he said.

Nilekani added that at the same time, the nomination committee will also come out with a plan on the future board composition and start looking for specific individuals.

Infosys Board currently includes independent directors -- Roopa Kudva, Dr Punita Kumar-Sinha, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, D N Prahlad and D Sundaram. Interim CEO and Managing Director UB Pravin Rao is also a part of the board.

On his own stint, he said: "I plan to be here as long as necessary. I will not be here as soon as I am not necessary".
New Delhi: Nandan Nilekani, who has been named Infosys Non-executive Chairman, on Friday said that the nominations committee to search for a CEO for the Bengaluru-headquartered company would be headed by Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw.

"We have an excellent nominations committee headed by a very well known and global entrepreneur like Kiran Mazumdar Shaw. Kiran and the nominations committee will drive the CEO selection," Nilekani said.

Infosys Board currently includes independent directors -- Roopa Kudva, Dr Punita Kumar-Sinha, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, D N Prahlad and D Sundaram. Interim CEO and Managing Director UB Pravin Rao is also a part of the board.

Nilekani, during a conference call with analysts today exuded confidence there will be a wide pool of internal and external candidates.

We will also look at Infosys alumni who have done well for themselves in the external world, he added.

Mazumdar Shaw, said earlier today that every one has confidence that Nandan Nilekani would lead Infosys out of its troubled times.

"The unanimous decision of the board (to appoint Nilekani as non-executive chairman) reflects the confidence every one of us had in his credible leadership to steer Infosys out of these troubled time," she told PTI.

Nilekani, returned as the Chairman of Infosys after founders staged a dramatic coup.

Nilekani, 62, one of Infosys' seven founders and also a former CEO, said he wants to put the company on "the right stable path" and "ensure there are no discordant voices in the company and everyone is on the same page".

With PTI Inputs
Bengaluru: Hours after taking charge at Infosys, Nandan Nilekani on Friday described N R Narayana Murthy as an iconic figure who he said helped the company set high standards of corporate governance.

The Aadhaar architect -- who was last night named the new chairman of the country's second-largest IT firm -- acknowledged that he is an "admirer" of Murthy, saying the "iconic visionary" is the father of corporate governance in India.

"Many good practices (of corporate governance) including full disclosures and transparency, SEC filings... Were spearheaded by Infosys. I will ensure Infosys, Murthy and the founders have a healthy relationship," Nilekani told investors on a conference call today.

Infosys will be a board managed company with high standards of corporate governance, he asserted, vowing to restore its former glory.

Nilekani's relationship with the founders, especially Murthy, will be critical in light of nearly a year-long acrimony between the promoters and the board that resulted in the sudden resignation of CEO Vishal Sikka and a board rehaul.

Infosys has been in crisis over the last few months, with the promoters alleging corporate governance lapses and flagging the USD 200-million Panaya buyout.

Nilekani said his appointment was a "unanimous" board decision and Murthy too was "supportive" of his coming in.

He, however, dodged a specific query on whether Infosys will withdraw a scathing statement, issued by the board on August 18, to the stock exchanges. The statement blamed Murthy for carrying out a "misguided" campaign that led to Sikka's resignation.

Instead, Nilekani promised that he will look at the entire gamut of issues and resolve them to the "satisfaction of all parties".

Alluding to the difficult task cut out for him in bridging the differences, he highlighted his past roles as a "consensus builder".

He cited the example of India's mega biometric project Aadhaar -- which today has over a billion citizens enrolled -- saying the project was initiated by one government and carried forward by another.

"My job has been consensus building... I assume that people will see me as a unifier. I will bring those skills I have," he said.

"Alignment of views among all stakeholders, including institutional investors, the founders, the board and the management is the need of the hour," he added.

People close to the founders, who are also believed to have pushed Nilekani's case, said his credibility and political capital will help him act as a conduit between the management and the founders.

He is also seen as someone who the co-founders, led by Murthy, would listen to and one who can restore order in the troubled company, they said.

Nilekani recalled that Murthy had given him a job at the start of his career. In 1981, Nilekani joined Murthy and five engineers who set up Infosys with a mere capital of USD 250. The company today has grown to be an over USD 10-billion technology behemoth with global clientele spanning the US, Europe and other markets.

Nilekani served as Infosys CEO between 2002 and 2007 and later as co-Chairman on the board for the next few years.
New Delhi: After stepping down as Infosys CEO & MD, Vishal Sikka is likely to join the Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) as chief technology officer (CTO), reports Times of India, quoting multiple sources.

HPE is an American multinational enterprise information technology company based in Palo Alto, California, founded on 1 November 2015 as part of splitting of the Hewlett-Packard company.

Meanwhile, Sikka has termed his dramatic resignation as CEO of the global software major Infosys as one of the hardest decisions of his life.

"It was one of the hardest decisions of my life, but I feel that it had to be done," Sikka, 50, told `Forbes India` in his first interview since his decision to quit on August 18 caught stakeholders unawares and tanked the IT major`s stock to a three-year low of Rs 884.20 on the bourse.

Though the company`s Board accepted Sikka`s resignation and appointed him as Executive Vice-Chairman on an annual salary of USD 1 till the new CEO takes over by March 31, 2018, he resigned on Thursday night from the post. The Board accepted it with immediate effect.

Quoting German novelist Hermann Hesse in the context of his exit from the iconic company three years after he joined as its first non-founder CEO in 2014, Sikka said he believed in living gracefully and letting go of things not meant for him though some think holding on makes them strong.

"It is freedom from the known that helps you renew yourself," asserted Sikka, who has been inspired by the teachings of Indian philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurthi.

On his achievements, he said: "We grew revenues steadily while keeping a strong focus on margins, closing the first quarter of 2017-18 at 24.1 percent operating margin, beating our competitors for the first time in many years." Meanwhile, revenue per employee grew for six quarters in a row.

Sikka however said that his departure would "not stall the company`s push into AI, automation, computing and data analytics".
New Delhi: At least 28 people were killed and more than 200 were injured in spiralling violence in Haryana's Panchkula city after a CBI court on Friday convicted Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a 2002 rape case.

The quantum of the sentence will be pronounced on August 28.

Panchkula was the worst hit where the Dera chief's supporters, who had gathered outside the court premises, went on a rampage after the conviction. Curfew has been imposed in various places, including Panchkula, Bathinda, Ferozepur and Mansa.

Here are the 10 latest developments after the court verdict:

1. The Haryana government has announced it will compensate for the property damage to media and the public.

2. Punjab has asked for more security forces from the Centre in view of violence at different places.

3. Haryana Police said the protesters have been identified and strict action will be taken against them. It said about 1,000 Dera supporters have already been detained.

4. Section 144 has also been imposed in Uttar Pradesh's Noida, Ghaziabad , Muzaffarnagar, Shamli and Baghpat in view of violent protests in Punjab and Haryana.

5. Meanwhile, Dera chief Ram Rahim Singh has been brought to Rohtak's Police Training College in a helicopter from Panchkula.

6. Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar has appealed for calm and asked people not to believe in rumours and 'steer clear' of those with criminal intentions.

7. Two empty coaches of Rewa Express were torched in Delhi's Anand Vihar railway station as the violence spreads to the NCR region. Earlier, Punjab's Malout Railway Station and a petrol pump were set on fire by protesters.

8. Six columns of the army have been deployed in Haryana's Sirsa for quick reaction, as violent protests continue.

9. In light of property damage, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has ordered attachment of Dera Sacha Sauda properties so that the money retrieved can be used to compensate victims.

10. To maintain law and order, 10 BSF companies, CRPF personnel and around 57,000 police officials were put on duty in the affected areas. The army is also on standby.
New Delhi: Police and paramilitary forces have been deployed in outer Delhi on Friday ahead of a verdict against Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a rape case, police said.

A Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court will deliver its verdict in Haryana`s Panchkula.

In outer Delhi, which borders Haryana, around 14 police picketing posts have been set up and a company of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) has been also deployed, a senior police officer told IANS.

Each post will have four police officers to provide round-the-clock security cover and the ITBP company is around 80-member strong.

"We`re taking extra care in Peeragarhi, Kanjhawala, Mundka border and Baba Haridas Nagar police station limits which are closer to the border," the officer added.

Deputy Commissioner of Police and Delhi Police spokesperson Madhur Verma told IANS that there was no extra security in the city apart from outer Delhi.

"Till now there is no impact of the verdict in the city," he added.
New Delhi: A 26-year-old radiology intern was found dead on Friday with his throat slit at the St Stephen's hospital in the Tis Hazari area here, police said.

They have identified a fellow intern, Suyyash Gupta, as the accused. He was on the run after the incident and was one of the last persons to have met the victim today, they said.

The body of Sashwat Pandey, a resident of Allahabad, was found lying this morning in the retiring room of doctors adjacent to the duty room at the hospital, police said.

"His throat was found slit with a surgical blade. As per the preliminary investigation, the suspect appears to be a fellow doctor and an acquaintance of the deceased," a senior police official said, earlier.

Police said Pandey and Gupta had a "fallout" around two years ago over some issue. Gupta has threatened to kill Pandey, though the exact reason for the killing is not known, they added.

Gupta was known for his run-ins with the hospital administration and had even been suspended for his attitude. He was staying in Malkaganj, police said.

It is suspected that at around 12.45 AM, he used his card to open the electronic lock-in system and killed Pandey, they said.

Police said that even though he had been suspended for almost two months, his ID card had not been taken away and through which he entered the hospital premises.

After killing Pandey, he left from the hospital in his car for Anand Vihar bus stand. He left the car at the exit gate of the bus stand and fled the spot, they said.

Gupta hails from a town in Uttar Pradesh and teams have been sent to nab them, they added.

Forensic officials and the crime team are investigating the incident, the officer said.

Meanwhile, the interns at the hospital today protested the killing and threatened to go on strike.

"All the interns lodged protest and threatened to go on strike, if action was not taken. The institute's director tried to pacify them. He told them that they should not do anything that would affect the patient care.

"He (director) also told them the case is being probed. We are also waiting to get more information on the case," a senior official of the hospital said.

Police said the victim's mother, after learning about the incident, suffered a heart attack and was admitted to the St Stephen's Hospital.

They said Pandey and the accused had some "nagging issues", about which the hospital authorities had lodged a complaint with the police. However, police said that Pandey did not want police action after both the sides resolved their issues.
New Delhi: The rape case against Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh dates back to 2002 when two of his women followers accused him of sexually assaulting them.

The victims, who left the organisation after the assault, reportedly made shocking allegations against the self-styled godman during the probe by CBI.

The sadhvis accused him of raping them and other sadhvis on account of purity in his sprawling Dera campus. They also sent anonymous letters to then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee for action against the Dera chief.

Following the letter, a case was registered by the investigating agency against the godman.

On Friday, the CBI court found the Dera chief guilty of the crime and fixed August 28 for the quantum of sentence.

The hearing in the case has been on since 2007 when the CBI filed a chargesheet against the Dera chief.

The godman also faces trial in another case involving the murder of a journalist, Ram Chander Chhatrapati and his follower Ranjit Singh in 2002.
New Delhi: The Staff Selection Commission will release the answer keys for Combined Graduate Level (CGL) Examination, 2017 (Tier-I) on September 18.

In a notification, the SSC informed that a total of '15,43,962 candidates appeared in this examination which was conducted in 43 batches across the country.'

The exam was held from August 5 to 23.

On the issue of paper leak that was reported by a local newspaper of Jaipur, the SSC clarified that, "so far the examination has been conducted without any major untoward incident."

SSC further informed they have registered criminal cases against three candidates indulging in exam related malpractices viz. two cases of impersonation and one case of cheating.

A total of 30,26,599 candidates registered for the exam.

Tier 1 exam is computer-based and contains 25 questions each for Reasoning, General Awareness, Quantitative Aptitude and English Comprehension. Each section carries a weight of 50 marks and there will be a negative marking of 0.5 marks for every wrong answer.

Steps to check the SSC CGL Tier 1 answer key are as follow:

Visit the official website of SSC, which is, ssconline.nic.in

Click on link for Answer Key in the top navigation bar of the home page

Click on link for Tentative Answer Key for SSC CGL Tier 1 exam

The answer key will be displayed on the screen

Candidates are advised to take a printout and save it on your computer for your further reference.
Copenhagen: Danish inventor Peter Madsen denies a new charge of abuse of a corpse, which police have put to the court investigating whether he killed Swedish reporter Kim Wall on board his submarine.

Police said on Wednesday, as they formally identified her headless torso, that the body had been weighted down with metal and an attempt had been made to remove gas and air from inside to keep it on the seabed.

On Friday, police halted the search for Wall`s remaining body parts in the waters between Denmark and Sweden, although divers were searching the harbour to which Madsen was brought after being rescued.

Officers declined to comment on why the search had been suspended, other than saying they were ready to begin it again when necessary.

Police have received 656 tip-offs in the case and urged the public to keep a look out, especially for the missing limbs and the clothes Wall was wearing - an orange shirt, black and white skirt and white shoes - when the submarine headed out.

"We also still want to hear from people who can make us more aware of the people involved and their behaviour," the police statement said.

Wall, who was researching a story on inventor Peter Madsen, went missing after he took her out to sea in his 17 metre submarine on August 10.

Police charged Madsen with killing Wall, a charge carrying a sentence of between five years and life in prison, on August 11 when he was rescued after his submarine sank.

Madsen denies both the murder and abuse of a corpse charges, the police statement said. He and his lawyer says he buried her at sea after she died in an accident.

In its preliminary investigation, the court ordered Madsen detained until September 5, pending further inquires, on the lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter.

Police will seek to extend the pre-trial custody when it is reviewed next month, again requesting he be held on the murder charge as they initially did, police spokesman Jakob Buch-Jepsen said on Thursday.

The submarine is one of three constructed by Madsen and one of the largest privately built ones in the world. It can carry eight people and weighs 40 tonnes when fully equipped. Police still do not know the cause of Wall`s death.
Warsaw: NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Friday urged the Kremlin to comply with rules on transparency as Russia geared up for huge military exercises along the alliance's eastern flank next month.

Stoltenberg, speaking at a joint press conference in Warsaw with Poland's right-wing Prime Minister Beata Szydlo, urged Moscow to respect international conventions on keeping other countries informed of the manoeuvres.

Zapad 2017 ("West"), has stoked alarm in NATO members Poland and the Baltic states, all former members of the Soviet bloc.

It takes place in Belarus, which border three NATO member states, and comes as a more assertive Russia pushes back against what it sees as the alliance's unjustified expansion into eastern Europe.

"I call on Russia to ensure compliance with its obligations under the OSCE Vienna Document, because predictability, transparency is especially important when we have increased military activity along our borders," said Stoltenberg.

The Vienna Document requires signatory nations to provide advance information of exercises and to allow observer teams to avoid any dangerous misunderstandings.

Stoltenberg was even more outspoken on Thursday in Italy when he said that "the aggressive behaviour of Russia has undermined stability and security in Europe".

Today, he vowed that the alliance would "be watching very closely as this (Zapad) exercise takes place next month" in Belarus, which borders alliance members Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.

Under Vienna Document provisions, manoeuvres involving more than 13,000 troops must be notified in advance and be open to observers.

Belarus has said Zapad 2017 involves 12,700 troops, just under the limit, but Lithuania and other critics claim there could be as many as 100,000.

According to NATO, Belarus has invited military liaison missions to attend a special visitors day on its territory, with two alliance experts due to attend.

Russia's Interfax news agency reported this week that the Belarussian defence ministry had invited observers from seven countries: Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Sweden, and Norway.

Russia has dismissed the concerns over the exercises. "I do not see any reason to be afraid," deputy defence minister Alexander Fomin told the Rossiya 24 news channel. "Everything, as usual, will be open and friendly."

The Kremlin has also denied any territorial ambitions and argues that it is NATO that is trying to encircle Russia.

Later, Stoltenberg visited a US-led NATO battalion based in the northeastern Polish town of Orzysz.

The German and Lithuanian presidents meanwhile visited a similar NATO base some 250 kilometres away in Rukla, Lithuania.

NATO deployed four multinational units to Poland and the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to reassure its easternmost allies unsettled by Russia's frequent military exercises near the region following its 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.

The Orzysz and Rukla NATO bases are both close to Russia's highly militarised Kaliningrad exclave and the Suwalki Gap, a strategically important land corridor critical to the security of the Baltic states.
Panaji: Chief Minister of Goa Manohar Parrikar on Friday celebrated Ganesh Chaturthi with all customs and traditions with his family and fellow party members at his old house in Parra village of Goa.

The Chief Minister, wishing the people on Ganesh Chaturthi, said, "I wish that people enjoy the next year as a prosperous year, peaceful year and a year of peace and love which is the symbol of Ganesh Chaturthi. Ganesh Chaturthi, like Christmas, is a festival of all communities be it Hindu, Catholic or Muslim."

"Goan society will not be divided, despite efforts by some people to divide the society on communal lines," he added.

Michael Lobo. Deputy Speaker of Goa Assembly, who was also present at the CM's residence, said, "All the people from Goa go to their neighbours houses. The bond, the togetherness is so much that the Catholics, the Muslims go to the Hindu houses. This is the togetherness of Goa, people stay with all peace and harmony. This message should go across India to live with all peace."

Mauvin Godinho, minister of panchayat, was also a part of the celebrations.

"I am very happy to be part of the celebrations. I believe the roads may be different but the god is one. So this is what this beautiful tradition is all about," said Godinho.
New Delhi: Six army columns were deployed in Haryana`s Panchkula on Friday after violence erupted following the verdict convicting Dera Sacha Sauda sect chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a rape case, said army sources.

Army columns were also on stand-by in Sirsa, where the sect`s headquarters is located, for "quick reaction", the sources said.
New Delhi: The Centre on Friday night asked the Haryana government to provide adequate security to the CBI special court judge who convicted Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a rape case.

The Home Ministry told the Haryana government that Judge Jagdeep Singh should be provided highest level of security in view of the threat perception after he delivered the verdict against the Dera head, an official said.

The Ministry will analyse intelligence inputs before deciding whether the Judge's security needs to be handled by a central force, such as the CRPF or CISF, he added, as per PTI.

Meanwhile, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar admitted today that there were lapses in handling the situation in the state but asserted appropriate action was being taken.

Facing a volley of questions from reporters on the violence, he said the "lapses have been identified and we are taking appropriate steps".

This should not have happened," he added.

"Some people have lost lives and vehicles have been set on fire while government property too has been damaged. Some OB vans of the media have also been damaged by the mob," Khattar said.

"All those who have taken law into their hands will be punished. We have identified some culprits including those who fired (from the mob at security forces), some of whom have been nabbed and action will be taken against them," he said.

The government will assess the damage, he further said.

Asked how thousands of Dera followers managed to reach Panchkula and was his government prepared for this, Khattar said, "We were prepared to deal with the situation. Since it was a very big mob."

Khattar ducked a question on how thousands of Dera followers managed to reach Panchkula despite Section 144 being imposed much earlier.

When repeatedly asked how the followers managed to reach in such big numbers and whether it was a failure of his government, he replied, "When such issue comes where you are dealing with followers in such numbers... We tried to stop them.

Thousands of followers of Ram Rahim went on the rampage, setting fire to vehicles, buildings and railway stations soon after a special CBI court convicted him in the 2002 rape case.

Police responded by opening fire. They fired in the air and lobbed tear gas shells on sections of the crowds, many of them camping since last night on the streets of Panchkula.

The unrest which began in Panchkula where the verdict was handed down, spread to other parts of Haryana and Punjab and even New Delhi where a bus and train were set on fire.

Curfew was clamped in Panchkula.

Curfew was also imposed in place in Sirsa while Kaithal town was also brought under curfew this evening.

Sirsa is the headquarters of Dera Sacha Sauda of which Ram Rahim, 50, is its chief.

Six columns of Army, comprising a total of 500 to 600 soldiers were deployed in Panchkula.

CBI judge Jagdeep Singh, while holding the Dera chief guilty of raping a female follower, said the quantum of sentence would be pronounced on August 28.

The punishment can be a jail term of not less than seven years but may even extend to life imprisonment.

(With PTI inputs)
New Delhi: Delhi was on Friday put on high alert in the wake of incidents of violence in Haryana following the conviction of Dera Sacha Sauda sect chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a rape case, police said.

The authorities imposed prohibitory orders in the national capital barring the assembly of more than four people in the wake of large-scale violence in neighbouring Haryana and Punjab.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Madhur Verma tweeted that Section 144 CrPc has been imposed in 11 police districts, including New Delhi area.

The areas excluded are: Central and North police districts.

The prohibitory orders come after supporters of Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim indulged in large-scale violence in Haryana and Punjab following his conviction in a rape case earlier in the day

A senior police officer said that even though there have been no specific inputs of Dera followers planning to create trouble here, security has been beefed up in the national capital as a precautionary measure.

The security in areas bordering Haryana has also been heightened, the police said.
New Delhi: Condemning the violence by Dera Sacha Sauda followers, JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav on Friday said such incidents are bound to happen when politicians take help from religious leaders and mix religion with politics.

In criticism apparently aimed at the BJP, which had actively courted dera head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, Yadav said when Union ministers and other influential politicians visit him, people close to him are unlikely to fear police.

"When religion and politics are mixed and politicians take assistance of religion in politics, then such incidents are bound to happen today or tomorrow. We have still time to learn that politicians should not take advantage and assistance in the name of religion and faith," he said in a statement.

Self-styled godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was today convicted of rape, sparking violence from thousands of his followers in parts of Haryana, Punjab and Delhi.
New Delhi :The Supreme Court has asked the lower court in Gujarat to decide within four months the trial in a 2002 Gujarat riots case related to the Naroda Gam incident in which 11 persons were killed.

A bench headed by Chief Justice J S Khehar was informed that the trial was in progress in the matter and defence evidence was being recorded by a special court in the state.

The top court asked the lower court to complete recording of evidence of the remaining defence witnesses in two months.

"Under all circumstances, we hope and expect that the trial court shall render its judgment in the instant second matter within four months from today," the bench, also comprising Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, said.

The bench was also informed that two out of the nine cases, which were probed by the SIT, were pending before the lower court.

Eleven persons belonging to the minority community were killed at Naroda Gam in 2002 riots during a bandh called to protest the Godhra train burning incident.

The bench was informed that in one pending case, trial with respect to 60 persons had been concluded, of whom 24 were convicted and 36 acquitted. But the proceedings in connection with four delinquent juveniles in the Gulberg Society case were pending before the juvenile justice board (JJB).

Observing that the matter related to an incident which took place 15 years ago, the court asked the JJB to record evidence on a day-to-day basis if possible and expedite its disposal.

It asked A K Malhotra, member of Special Investigation Team (SIT) which was constituted by the apex court to probe nine major post-Godhra riots cases including the Naroda Gam riots case, to place its order before the concerned trial court as well as the juvenile court.

The court posted the matter after four months.

The apex court also listed for hearing after eight weeks a separate petition seeking compensation to family members of the deceased and other victims and departmental action against the policemen who had allegedly not carried out proper probe in nine cases which were later investigated by the CBI.

The apex court had on April 13 allowed former top cop R K Raghavan, heading the SIT, to be relieved as its chief on health grounds.

It had asked Malhotra to oversee the functioning of the probe team and file quarterly reports before it about the progress made in the pending riots cases.

In June last year, a special court had convicted 24 persons in the Gulberg society riots case in which 68 people, including former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, were killed.

The apex court has been monitoring nine sensitive cases after the National Human Rights Commission and various NGOs termed the investigation into these as shoddy and unreliable.

The cases were about the riots in different parts of Gujarat, including the Gulberg Society, Ode, Sardarpura, Naroda Patya, Machipith, Tarsali, Pandarwada and Raghavapura.

An estimated 2,000 people were killed in post-Godhra riots in 2002.
New Delhi: The rape charges against Dera Sacha Sauda (DSS) chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, regarded as a spiritual leader, has shocked millions of his followers spread across several states with a large concentration in the states of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.

Gurmeet Ram Rahim, was on Friday held guilty by the Special CBI Court of Panchkula. The quantum of sentence will, however, be announced on August 28.

Popularly known as Baba Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh claims to command a veritable following of more than 60 million of his faithful, especially the Dalit Sikhs, according to the website of his organisation Dera Sacha Sauda.

Here is all about the case against Baba Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh:

1. In 2002, two women, who used to be members of the Dera Sacha Sauda (DSS), accused that they were sexually exploited by the spiritual leader Baba Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh at the headquarters of the sect in Haryana's Sirsa.

2. The case began with an anonymous letter sent to the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, by a Sadhvi, who was part of the organisation, narrating how Singh raped her along with various other Sadhvis.

3. According to the media reports, the Sadhvi accused that the spiritual leader Ram Rahim summoned her one night to his room where a pornographic film was running in the background and he possessed a revolver.

4. The Sadhvi alleged that she was sexually assaulted by Singh for three years, and 35-40 other women also suffered the same fate.

5. The Punjab and Haryana High Court took suo motto cognisance of the explosive letter, and the matter was subsequently referred to the CBI in September 2002.

6. Eighteen Sadhvis were questioned by the investigating agency and two of them levelled allegations of rape against the spiritual leader.

7. One Sadhvi accepted to investigation officials of CBI that she was raped, but she justified her rape on the grounds that it would "purify" her.

8. Testimonies of the two women were recorded under Section 164 of CrPC by CBI, which implied that these statements could be produced in court as evidence.

9. On 10 July 2002, a DSS member Ranjit Singh was killed.

10. On 23 October 2002, a journalist (the editor of Poora Sach, a local daily from Sirsa) Ram Chander Chhatrapati was also killed.

11. It was alleged that Ram Chander Chhatrapati - the editor of Poora Sach,- was killed because he reported on the nefarious happenings within the Dera Sacha Sauda.

12. The slain Ranjit Singh was believed to have been involved in the drafting of the anonymous letter making rape allegations against the DSS chief.

13. Singh was named as an accused in both the killings of DSS member Ranjit Singh on 10 July 2002 and journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati on 23 October 2002.

14. However, DSS chief Singh consistently denied charges of rape saying, he was 'Not fit to Indulge in physical relationships'.

15. On 30 July 2007, five years after the rape case was filed in 2002 against Ram Rahim Singh, CBI filed a charge sheet against him.

16. In 2008, the trial against the spiritual leader commenced following the charge sheet filed by CBI.

17. On 6 September 2008, the CBI charged DSS chief Singh under Section 376 (rape) and Section 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.

18. In April 2011, after three years of the charge sheet filed against Singh, the CBI court was shifted from Ambala to Panchkula.

19. The DSS chief has consistently dismissed the charges of rape and murder against him as false and baseless.

20. In 2014, Singh even conveyed to the Panchkula court that "he was not fit to indulge in physical relationships", according to his counsel SK Garg Narwana.

The above allegations of rape are not the only controversy Singh has courted till now. He has been in the controversy for several other reasons also including the allegations of murdering people and castrating his followers as well.

 In 2005, a criminal case was filed against Singh for the alleged kidnap of a woman named Guddi Devi on the complaints filed by Kamlesh Kumar with the Jawahar Circle police station in Jaipur.

. In his complaint, Kamlesh Kumar claimed Singh and his followers had kidnapped his wife Guddi, who had gone to the headquarters in Haryana to attend a Satsang.

 A case was of wrongful confinement and abductions was lodged against Singh, Dera managing director DPS Dutta and others under Sections 344, 346, 365 and 120b (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code, according to media reports.

 In 2007, DSS chief Singh dressed up as the 10th guru of Sikhs - Guru Gobind Singh - in an advertisement that sparked huge controversy and was considered blasphemous by a section of Sikhs.

 Hundreds of people injured after his move to pose himself as the 10th guru of Sikhs - Guru Gobind Singh - which ignited violent clashes between Sikhs and his followers.

 In 2012, Singh was accused of the mass castration case.

 A petition was filed in the Punjab and Haryana High Court by Hansraj Chauhan, a former DSS follower, alleging that 400 followers, including him, were castrated inside the ashram on Singh's order.

 Chauhan said Singh claimed the followers would be able to realise God after castration.

 In 2014, the Singh was booked in connection with the case by CBI.

 CBI found evidence against Singh in the mass castration case a year later.

 In 2014, after reports of illegal arms training surfaced online, the Punjab and Haryana High Court ordered the state government to monitor the activities of the DSS.

 However, no evidence of illegal arms training at the DSS headquarters in Sirsa in Haryana was found, in the investigations, the state government claimed.

 In 2015, Singh again came in MSG movies controversies, when the then censor board chief Leela Samson resigned after the film got clearance from Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT), saying "It is a mockery of Central Board of Film Certification. My resignation is final."

 Sikh organisations and leaders protested against the release of the film prompting Punjab and Haryana governments to put a high alert after the film hit screens.
New Delhi: Home Minister Rajnath Singh called a high-level meeting at his New Delhi's residence on Saturday in the wake of massive violence that took place after a verdict against Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh on an alleged rape charge

As per ANI, Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi and other senior officials are likely to be present in the meet.

Top home ministry officials, chiefs of paramilitary forces and intelligence agencies will attend the meeting to take stock of the situation in north India, an official said.

Singh has already spoken to chief ministers of Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, and assured them central assistance to deal with any situation.

The central government has already dispatched around 20,000 paramilitary personnel to Haryana, Punjab and Chandigarh to assist the local administration in maintaining law and order.

Meanwhile, President Ram Nath Kovind took to Twitter to condemn the violence and damage to public property after the court verdict against Dera Sacha Sauda chief and appealed to all citizens to maintain peace.

"Violence and damage to public property after court verdict is highly condemnable; appeal to all citizens to maintain peace," President Kovind wrote.

At least 28 people were killed and over 250 were injured in the violence unleashed by Dera Sacha Sauda followers.

Tens of thousands of followers of the Dera chief went on a rampage, burning vehicles and buildings and attacking media persons, after a special CBI court here pronounced the verdict in the 2002 case.

The unrest which began in Panchkula where the verdict was handed down, spread to other parts of Haryana and Punjab and even New Delhi where a bus and train were set on fire.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi was briefed on Friday about the situation in Haryana and Punjab as violence erupted in both states after a court in Panchkula convicted Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmit Ram Rahim Singh in a rape case.

Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi and Intelligence Bureau Chief Rajiv Jain met the Prime Minister and briefed them about the prevailing situation in both states, an official told IANS.

Before the Prime Minister was briefed, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh held meetings with top officials, including Mehrishi and Jain, to review the situation.

At least 12 people were killed in firing by security forces as enraged supporters of Dera Sacha Sauda chief went on a rampage after the verdict.
Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Friday appealed to people of the state to maintain calm after a court held Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh guilty of rape and said the state government will not allow anyone to disturb peace.

"I appeal to all Punjabis to maintain peace and harmony in the state. We won`t allow anyone to disturb the peace and tranquility of our state," Amarinder Singh said in a tweet.

A CBI special court in Panchkula on Friday held the controversial godman guilty and convicted him on charges of raping and sexually exploiting two female disciples in 2002.

Amarinder Singh also posted a video message after the court verdict and urged people to maintain peace.

"It is my appeal to Punjab today to keep the atmosphere peaceful. The security forces are spread all over. Apart from Punjab Police and central paramilitary forces, there are arrangements for deploying Army if there is a need. But we do not want this. We want that Punjab should stay peaceful and there should be no violence and I appeal to you to keep peace," Amarinder Singh said.
New Delhi: A day after BSP supremo Mayawati announced that her party will not participate in Lalu Prasad Yadav's 'Desh Bachao, Bhajpa Bhagao' rally on August 27, it is being learnt that Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi may too skip the event.

The Gandhi scion may skip the rally as he is travelling to Norway.

"On the invitation of the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will be travelling to Oslo for a few days," Gandhi tweeted on Friday.

"Looking forward to meeting and exchanging ideas with political and business leaders and research institutions," his another tweet said.

BSP president Mayawati on Thursday said that though her party is a votary of unity among secular parties, but it will not take part in the rally.

"BSP has clearly told the RJD that it will share the dais with any regional or national party only when it is decided beforehand on how many seats will go to which party in the secular alliance...Before finalising any secular programme the policy and principle of seat sharing should be decided (first) as the life of an alliance is dependent on it and all should get respectable number of seats," she told newspersons in Lucknow.

At the time of announcing the 'oust BJP rally' at the Gandhi Maidan, the RJD chief had said that he would bring Mayawati and Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav together on one platform, which would mean the "end of the match for the BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls".

Interestingly, Mayawati's statement comes a day after Lalu claimed that BSP MP Satish Chandra would be representing his party at the much-talked about rally.

Akhilesh Yadav is flying to Patna on August 27 to attend and address the rally, said party chief spokesman Rajendra Choudhary.

The RJD chief said on Wednesday that senior Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and CP Joshi would attend the rally with a message from Sonia.

On the other hand, he claimed that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and rebel JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav would attend the RJD rally.

The RJD chief is criss-crossing the state to mobilise people for the August 27 rally, which he has claimed would be a major occasion to bring together the secular forces on one platform against the BJP ahead of the 2019 polls.
New Delhi: Two railway stations in Punjab were set on fire by followers of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim, soon after the self-styled godman was convicted in a rape case by a CBI court in Panchkula in Haryana on Friday.

Malout and Balluanna railway stations were partially torched by the angry followers as violence spread across Punjab in the aftermath of the court's verdict, officials said.

"Two stations have been affected and we are still getting inputs on the extent of damage. No injuries have been reported so far," Northern Railway spokesperson Neeraj Sharma told PTI.

The Northern Railway had cancelled 211 trains to and from Haryana since August 23 up to August 27.

Of the total number of trains cancelled, 91 are Express trains and 120 are passenger trains.

The railways has also short terminated/short originated 24 trains.

"In all, the services of 236 trains have been affected one way or the other due to the law and order situation in Punjab-Haryana," Sharma said.

CBI court judge Jagdeep Singh, while holding the 50- year-old Dera chief guilty of rape, said the quantum of sentence would be pronounced on August 28, CBI counsel HPS Verma told reporters outside the court.

The punishment can be a jail term of not less than seven years but may even extend to life imprisonment.
Sirsa: Over 15,000 paramilitary forces have been deployed across Punjab and Haryana, including 23 companies of CRPF.

The Army was called out in Sirsa today, ahead of a court verdict in a rape case against Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, even as security was tightened, with senior police personnel carrying out a flag march outside the the sect headquarters here.

The move comes hours before the verdict by a CBI court in Panchkula where the sect chief will appear in connection with the case today.

"Two companies of Army from Hisar district have been called out to maintain law and order in Sirsa," a top police officer said.

"Police carried out flag march outside Dera headquarters, led by top officials. Security has been beefed up to maintain law and order in the district," he added.

A Dera spokesperson had yesterday claimed that around five lakh followers have arrived in the sect headquarters here.

Fearing trouble, especially if the verdict goes against the controversial Dera chief, thousands of jawans, including 15,000 paramilitary troops, have been deployed in sensitive areas across Punjab and Haryana.


New Delhi: President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday expressed his condolence over the violence and damage to public property after the Punjab and Haryana High Court convicted Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim in 2002 rape case.

''Violence and damage to public property after court verdict is highly condemnable; appeal to all citizens to maintain peace,'' President Kovind tweeted.

At least 28 people were killed and more than 200 were injured in spiralling violence in Haryana's Panchkula city after the CBI court convicted Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a 2002 rape case.

Meanwhile, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Khattar has briefed Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on the prevailing situation, which is being monitored closely. Khattar said strict action will be taken against those trying to disrupt peace.
Panchkula/Sirsa: Minutes after Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim's was convicted of raping two women, followers of the sect went on a rampage burning more than 20 vehicles. Five people were dead, reported PTI quoting the duty doctor at civil hospital. Several media vans were attacked in Panchkula. A channel journalist was also injured after his crew was attacked by Dera followers.

Curfew has been imposed in Punjab's Muktsar, Bathinda, Mansa. Delhi has been placed on high-alert.

The police used tear gas, water cannons to try to disperse mobs of Ram Rahim supporters. Police barricades were put up at a distance of 3 kms from the Dera headquarters.

Meanwhile, security has been beefed up in the tricity of Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula. Nearly 600 soldiers and 3 army columns have been deployed in Panchkula.

Hundreds of Haryana police and paramilitary personnel, drawn from the CRPF and the BSF, were kept on a maximum alert in anticipation of protests by the Dera chief's followers.

"We have deployed an adequate number of security personnel to tackle any eventuality. The situation has been under control so far," said A S Dhillon, Inspector General of Police, Hisar range told PTI.

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh asked people people to maintain law and order in the state.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear after Diwali pleas challenging Article 35 A, relating to special rights and privileges of permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir.

A bench headed by Justice J S Khehar accepted the plea of the Jammu and Kashmir state government that the pleas challenging Article 35 A be heard after Diwali.

Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi and Advocate Shoeb Alam mentioned the matter before a bench also comprising Justices Dipak Misra and D Y Chandrachud that even the Centre has no objection if the pleas are taken up after Diwali.

"All the pleas will be taken up for hearing after Diwali," the bench said.

Earlier the apex court had favoured hearing of the matter by a five-judge constitution bench in case the Article is ultra vires of the Constitution or if there is any procedural lapse.

The court had said that a three-judge bench will hear the matter and refer it to a five-judge bench if necessary.

The apex court was hearing a plea filed by Charu Wali Khanna challenging Article 35A of the Constitution and Section 6 of the Jammu and Kashmir Constitution which deal with the "permanent residents" of the state.

The plea has challenged certain provisions of the Constitution which deny property right to a woman who marries a person from outside the state.

The provision, which makes such women from the state lose rights over property, also applies to her son.

Article 35A, which was added to the Constitution by a Presidential Order in 1954, accords special rights and privileges to the citizens of the Jammu and Kashmir.

It also empowers the state's legislature to frame any law without attracting a challenge on grounds of violating the Right to Equality of people from other states or any other right under the Indian Constitution.

"Section 6 of the Jammu and Kashmir Constitution restricts the basic right of women to marry a man of their choice by not giving the heirs any right to property if the woman marries a man not holding the Permanent Resident Certificate.

"Her children are denied a permanent resident certificate thereby considering them illegitimate -- not given any right to such a woman's property even if she is a permanent resident of Jammu and Kashmir," the plea said.

While Jammu and Kashmir's Non-Permanent Resident Certificate holders can vote in Lok Sabha elections, the same individual is barred to vote in local elections in the state.
Delhi: In the wake of widespread violence and arson in Haryana triggered by the rape conviction of self-styled 'godman' Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged everyone to maintain peace.

He tweeted, " The instances of violence today are deeply distressing. I strongly condemn the violence ad urge everyone to maintain peace. The law and order situation is being closely monitored. I reviewed the situation with the NSA and Home Secretary."

"Urged officials to work round the clock to restore normalcy and provide all possible assistance that is required," he added.

The instances of violence today are deeply distressing. I strongly condemn the violence & urge everyone to maintain peace.  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 25, 2017

The law & order situation is being closely monitored. I reviewed the situation with the NSA & Home Secretary.  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 25, 2017

Urged officials to work round the clock to restore normalcy and provide all possible assistance that is required.  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 25, 2017

Thousands of followers of Ram Rahim went on the rampage, setting fire to vehicles, buildings and railway stations soon after a special CBI court convicted him in a 2002 rape case.

Police responded by opening fire.

The unrest which began in Panchkula where the verdict was handed down, spread to other parts of Haryana and Punjab and even New Delhi where a bus and train were set on fire.

Curfew was clamped in Panchkula.

Curfew was also imposed in place in Sirsa while Kaithal town was also brought under curfew this evening.

Sirsa is the headquarters of Dera Sacha Sauda of which Ram Rahim, 50, is its chief.

At least 32 incidents of violence and arson were reported from Malwa region of Punjab, police said.

Curfew was clamped in Mansa, Bathinda, Ferozepur, Patiala, Sangrur and Barnala and Faridkot, the areas considered as stronghold of the Dera followers.

But the curfew had little effect on the protesters, who also set fire to Malout and Balluanna railway stations in Punjab, according to the Northern Railways. Many motorcycles, cars and buildings, including an Income Tax building in Mansa in Punjab, were also set on fire.

Arsonists attempted to set fire to Dagru railway station which falls between Moga and Ferozepur, police said.

However, a Sewa Kendra was set on fire near Faridkot.

Six columns of Army, comprising a total of 500 to 600 soldiers were deployed in Panchkula.

At least three OB vans of private television channels were damaged here. Two vans were overturned by a mob.

The police fired in the air and lobbed tear gas shells on sections of the crowds, many of them camping since last night on the streets of Panchkula.

CBI judge Jagdeep Singh, while holding the Dera chief guilty of raping a female follower more than 15 years ago, said the quantum of sentence would be pronounced on August 28.

The punishment can be a jail term of not less than seven years but may even extend to life imprisonment.

(With PTI inputs)
New Delhi: Samsung heir Lee Jae-Yong was sentenced to five years in prison on Friday for bribery, perjury and other crimes.

The Seoul Central District Court convicted Lee, 49, the vice-chairman of Samsung Electronics, the world's largest smartphone maker, of offences related to the corruption scandal that brought down ousted president Park Geun-Hye.

Here is a timeline of events

November 2016: Samsung Group's offices raided amidst allegations that it bribed President Park Geun-Hye's confidant Choi Soon-Sil to win state approval for a controversial merger it sought in 2015.

November, 2016: Park makes her second televised apology, saying she would take responsibility if found guilty.

November, 2016: Prosecutors indict Choi on charges of abuse of power and attempted fraud.

November, 2016: In her third televised apology, Park asks parliament to decide how and when she could give up power over the scandal.

December, 2016: Parliament votes to impeach Park. She is stripped of powers while awaiting a court decision on the vote. Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn becomes acting president.

January, 2017: Park denies wrongdoing, calling accusations fabrication and falsehood.

January, 2017: Samsung heir Lee Jae-Yong becomes criminal suspect in the bribery scandal.

February, 2017: Samsung Group chief Jay Y. Lee arrested for suspected role in the scandal.

February, 2017: Special prosecutor indicts Lee and other company executives for bribery and embezzlement.

March, 2017: The special prosecutor says Park colluded with Choi to take bribes from the Samsung Group, paving the way for her to be prosecuted, if she is ousted from office.

March, 2017: Lee's trial begins on charges of bribery and embezzlement. He was indicted on charges including pledging 43 billion won ($37.24 million) in payments to Choi.

March, 2017: Constitutional Court upholds parliament's vote to impeach Park, removing her from office.

August, 2017: South Korea prosecutors seek 12-year jail term for Samsung scion Jay Y. Lee.

August 25, 2017: Samsung heir Lee Jae-Yong convicted in bribery scandal. Jailed for five years.
Kolkata: Spanish luxury brand LLadro will start selling its products on-line in the country from October this year.

"LLadro plans to start on-line sales in India through its own platform LLadro.Com. This is already at an advanced stage of designing and we are trying to start from this October," CEO of Spa Lifestyle Nikhil Lamba said.

Spa Lifestyle is a JV between Spa Agencies and LLadro.

Lamba said that LLadro, a manufacturer of handcrafted porcelain-based gifting items like sculptures and lighting products, have been selling its products through eight boutiques in the country owned by Spa Lifestyle.

These products, which range from Rs 4000 to more than Rs one crore, are directly shipped from the company's factory at Valencia in Spain.

"LLadro's products are gaining acceptance in the Indian market. To strike a chord with the Indian customers further, LLadro has started manufacturing Hindu gods and goddesses like Lord Ganesha, Lord Shiva, Saraswati, Lakshmi, Lord Rama, Sita, Hanuman and others", he said.

LLadro's started sales in India since 2006 through the JV which owns the boutiques in high-end malls.

Besides porcelain sculptures, LLadro also manufactures home fragrances.

Painter Rosa Pomares, engaged with the LLadro decorative team, says that the paints used are mineral based and created in a separate laboratory of the company.
New Delhi: Telecom operator Vodafone has joined hands with mobile company itel to offer a free talktime scheme to new customers of the latter's feature phones.

Under the offer, customers of itel feature phones priced between Rs 800 and Rs 2,000 will get free talktime of Rs 50 for 18 months on minimum recharge of Rs 100 every month.

The offer will be available for both new and existing Vodafone subscribers on new itel feature phones, Vodafone said in a release.

It has come at a time when rival Reliance Jio has launched pre-booking of an "effectively free" device, targeting customers in rural areas and those spending low on mobile services.

The free talk time offer would subsidise the cost of handset by 50-100 per cent, Vodafone said.

"This collaboration will enable our existing and prospective customers to make the most out of their new device purchase," Vodafone India, consumer business, associate director, Avneesh Khosla said in a statement.

"... Itel customers will now be entitled to avail unprecedented cash-backs from Vodafone on purchasing itel feature phones," itel Mobile India CEO Sudhir Kumar said.
Bengaluru: In a shocking incident, an eight-year-old girl was reportedly abducted, raped and murdered on Wednesday evening.

According to a report in The Hindu, the child, who was sleeping outside her house, was raped and murdered by her maternal uncle.

The incident took place in Chickballapur district of Karnataka.

The victims' parents woke up and realised that the girl was missing. Upon searching, they discovered her body in a bush in the outskirts of the village.

As per a TOI report, the accused was the girl's maternal uncle and that he was allegedly in an inebriated condition when he committed the crime.

He had taken the child to a farmhouse and had allegedly raped her before the murder.

Police officers recorded the statements of the childs parents and arrested the 25-year-old accused.
Mumbai: A research by RBI economists claims the equity market has reacted positively to the Ordinance that empowered the Reserve Bank to take stern action against large defaulters.

Since the Ordinance and naming of 12 largest defaulters, the banking index gained over 5 per cent, says the report based on the stock performance between May 4 and June 13.

"The May 4, 2017 Ordinance amending the Banking Regulation Act has been positive for banks and their high quality borrowers but negative for the distressed firms, suggestive of its potential to rejuvenate banking sector health and to improve capital allocation across firms," claims a research paper by Cafral.

Cafral, or the Centre for Advanced Financial Research and Learning, is one of the research wings of RBI.

The note, titled 'Mint Street Memo No 03', is based primarily on the performance of bank stocks as also of the affected 12 largest borrowers who together account for a quarter of the total bad loans in the system that stood at over Rs 8 trillion, or 9.6 per cent of the total system.

The Banking Regulation (Amendment) Ordinance promulgated on May 4 empowered the RBI to direct banks to initiate insolvency proceedings in respect of default under the provisions of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC).

It also enabled the RBI to constitute committee/s to advise lenders on resolution of stressed assets.

The RBI on May 22 released a detailed action plan to implement the Ordinance. One of the aspects of the plan was the setting up on an Internal Advisory Committee (IAC), which held its first meeting on June 12 and recommended that all 500 accounts with an outstanding amount of over Rs 5,000 crore each, and 60 per cent of them being NPAs (as of March 2016) would qualify for reference under IBC.

Using these criteria, 12 of 500 such accounts were named by the RBI, which asked banks to start IBC proceedings against them.

These 12 accounts - Bhushan Steel, Bhushan Power & Steel, Essar Steel, Amtek Auto, Lanco Infra, Monet Ispat, Electrosteel Steel, Era Infra, ABG Shipyard, Alok Industries, Jaypee Infratech and Jyoti Structures - are under bankruptcy proceedings now.

The paper claims that between the event date on May 5 (the Ordinance was issued after market hours on May 4) and the event window - that is nine trading days before the event date and nine trading days post-event date - the banking index made one of its biggest gains.

The response of the market is analysed by computing abnormal returns. An abnormal return is defined as the difference between realised returns and expected returns regressed over the estimation window starting 250 days prior to the event window and ending 30 days before the event date.

The analysis focuses on the 36 banks for which stock market data is available. Those banks that have a NPA ratios above the sample median value for all banks in FY16 are classified as stressed banks. The remaining are classified as non-stressed banks. The firm sample is divided into three sets on the basis of interest coverage ratio in FY16.

The second event study uses June 12 (IAC's first meeting) as the second event date. It examines stock price reactions of the 12 defaulters that were referred to NCLT, and the lead banks of these firms.

For bank analysis, the 36 banks in the sample are divided into those that are the lead banks of any of these 12 defaulter firms and the remaining lenders.

"Cumulative abnormal returns of stressed banks increased sharply following these events. In contrast, non- stressed banks witnessed a more modest increase in abnormal returns. Strikingly, abnormal returns between stressed and non-stressed banks widened to almost 5 per cent during the period under analysis," says report.

The report further claims "overall these results indicate that the promulgation of the Ordinance has been perceived by the market as positive for the stressed banks, but negative for low and intermediate quality firms."

In contrast, high quality firms linked to stressed banks performed better than high quality firms linked to non- stressed banks, immediately following the event date.

"This means that the market lost confidence in low quality firms linked to stressed banks but high quality firms linked to stressed banks are seen in a positive light.

"One possible explanation for this is that high quality firms linked to stressed banks benefit from a balance sheet clean-up of stressed banks," surmises the report.

Similarly, after June 13, when RBI named 12 largest defaulters, the counters of those firms declined steeply in abnormal returns compared to the other firms belonging to the same industry as the defaulter firm.

The RBI action was a clear indication of "the poor financial health" of these defaulters and it is evident that market lost confidence in them during the span of the event window", the report adds.
New Delhi: Equity mutual funds witnessed an addition of over 29 lakh investor accounts or folios in the first four months of the ongoing fiscal, primarily on account of strong participation from retail investors.

This is on top of an addition of 48 lakh folios in the entire past fiscal, 43 lakh folios in 2015-16 and 25 lakh in 2014-15. In the past two years, investor accounts increased mainly due to robust contribution from smaller towns.

The sharp rise in folio numbers comes at a time when the benchmark indices -- Sensex and Nifty -- have been hovering at historical highs.

According to data from Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi) on total investor accounts with 42 active fund houses, the number of equity folios rose to 4,37,69,430 at the end of July, from 4,08,26,211 in March-end, a gain of 29.43 lakh.

Folios are numbers designated to individual investor accounts, though an investor can have multiple ones.

Increasing participation from retail investors and good return given by equity schemes have helped the folio counts rise, experts said.

"Contribution towards monthly SIP (systematic investment plans) led to higher positive net inflows in equities," FundsIndia.Com Head of Mutual Fund Research Vidya Bala said.

Besides, the industry's continuous approach to spread awareness about mutual fund products, especially SIPs, have helped in bringing more investors, she said.

"Moreover, investors will continue to flock towards equity mutual funds as other investment avenues like real estate and gold are not giving good returns," she added.

SIP is an investment vehicle offered by mutual funds to investors, allowing them to invest using small amounts periodically instead of lump sums. The frequency of investment is usually weekly, monthly or quarterly.

Mutual funds have reported net inflows of over Rs 41,000 crore in equity schemes in the first four months (April-July period) of the current fiscal.

The asset base of equity schemes surged to Rs 6.29 lakh crore in July-end from Rs 5.43 lakh crore at the end of March.
Imphal: Two powerful remote-controlled bomb blasts on Friday rocked Manipur`s New Pheijang village, about 2 km away from the border bridge between the northeastern state and Myanmar, officials said.



H. Chaoba, Station House Officer (SHO) of the police station in Moreh, said the bombs were exploded in quick succession at 1.50 p.m. There was, however, no casualty.



Soon after the explosions, one police team led by Lawrence Mollu, the Sub Divisional Police Officer, made a spot inquiry. However, there was no arrest since the suspects had already fled. The police officer said a case was registered.



Moreh and its nearby areas have been experiencing bomb blasts and killings for the past few months.
Bhubaneswar: One more person succumbed to swine flu at the SCB Medical College Hospital in Cuttack taking the death toll in the disease to 24 in Odisha, a health official said on Friday.

A resident of Jajpur district was admitted to the SCB Medical College Hospital in Cuttack on August 14 due to high fever and died last night.

This was the eighth death at the hospital this year due to swine flu, he said.

Of the 43 swab samples, 12 tested positive on Thursday. So far, 259 people have tested positive for the H1N1 virus, he said.

The state's health and family welfare department had earlier issued guidelines for private and government hospitals for treatment of patients hit by H1N1 virus.
Mumbai: Bollywood stars such as Farhan Akhtar, Anupam Kher and Raveena Tandon, among others have praised the court's judgement against Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.

CBI judge Jagdeep Singh held the 50-year-old self-styled godman, guilty of rape in a case that was registered on the basis of an anonymous written complaint in 2002 that he had sexually exploited two female followers.

Violence broke out in Punjab and Haryana post the verdict, which claimed 28 lives and left 250 injured.

"To all those on the rampage and all those allowing it to continue, please try and imagine what the victims must feel seeing the violence in support of their rapist...

"I assume that you, his followers, were taught the meaning and value of compassion... Please end the violence. Please allow the police to do their job. Please allow the law of the land to take its course," Farhan posted.

Kher tweeted, "Violence is what #GurmeetRamRahimSingh seems to have taught his followers. This is nonsense and government needs to use full force to stop it now."

Raveena wrote, "The way the followers are reacting, rioting, itself proves what the cult was all about... Saddened to see such shameful goons on the loose."

Filmmaker Hansal Mehta said, "Thanks to our judiciary democracy lives on. #Pride."

Stand-up comedian-actor Vir Das posted, "I hope he stays in jail long enough to see every one of his nutjob followers lose enthusiasm, go back to life, and forget about him.

"The nation has to address the fact that we are addicted to blind servitude and worship. Gurus, politicians, will always use it against us."

Music composer Salim Merchant tweeted, "I'm sure the 'Guru' taught the importance of peace in this world. Reports from Punjab and Haryana are devastating. #RamRahimVerdict". Anubhav Sinha said he was surprised by the violence against the "arrest of a convicted rapist".

"Hundreds of thousands of us so violently protest against the arrest of a convicted rapist. Is this who we are?" he wrote.

Actor Amyra Dastur tweeted, "A big win for the people, especially the daughters of India #RamRahimVerdict.

"But can't believe the poor measures that have been taken to prevent such a horrific mob outburst from happening!"

VJ-actor Rannvijay Singha, who hails from Punjab, said, "Punjab and Haryana High Court orders attachment of entire property of #DeraSachaSauda to compensate for the damage. But what about the lives lost?"

Actor Bhumi Pednekar tweeted, "I hope my friends and family are all safe in Chandigarh. It's a very sad state of affairs. Be safe."
Hyderabad: Former air hostess and model Sangeeta Chatterjee, facing trial in a red sanders smuggling case, on Thursday attempted suicide in a jail in Andhra Pradesh's Chittoor district.



Reportedly upset over not getting bail, she consumed phenyl kept in a toilet in Chittoor sub-jail. She was rushed to Chittoor Government Hospital, where she is stated to be out of danger.



Sangeeta, hailing from Kolkata, was arrested by the Andhra Pradesh Police in March this year. Three cases were booked against her and a court had granted bail in two cases.



The 26-year-old is the second wife of red sanders smuggler M. Lakshman, who was arrested in July 2014 from Nepal.



According to police, Sangeeta, who began her career as a model, came in contact with Lakshman in Kolkata, where he frequently stayed as he had established a base there too.



After the arrest of Lakshman, Sangeeta had taken over control of his network's illegal activities.



She is alleged to have expanded the red sanders smuggling network to six states in India and also in other countries, including China and Japan.



The gang is allegedly involved in red sanders smuggling from the forests of Chittoor, Kurnool and Kadapa districts of Andhra Pradesh.
New Delhi: Filmmaker R. Balki, who has worked with Amitabh Bachchan in all his movies, doesn't think it's practical for him to plan a project with Bollywood's leading Khans.



At an interactive session on Harnessing the Power of Creativity from Ads-Shads to Films-Shilms for Ficci Ladies Organisation (FLO), Balki was asked if he'd be given the option to work with Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan and Salman Khan, who would it be at the top of his list.



He said he's working with Akshay Kumar in "PadMan", and would love to keep working with Amitabh.



Prodded why he does not work with the Khans, he said: "No, not like that..It's just that if I start thinking of making a film with them right now, I will get quite old by the time I start... I'd rather be more practical."



Balki was present with his filmmaker wife Gauri Shinde, both of whom have contributed significantly to the Indian advertising field as well brought a freshness to Hindi cinema with their movies.



While Balki is known for movies like "Cheeni Kum" and "Paa", Gauri has carved her niche with heart-warming films like "English Vinglish" and "Dear Zindagi".



In a field where 'nepotism' is the hot debate, the two are examples of outsiders who have cemented their space.



Gauri, who is junior to Balki in the ad and filmmaking world, quipped: "He got there first... So, there's a bit of nepotism there... I think it's tough until you prove yourself, and you need something success."



Balki said that "it's an industry like most other industries... They celebrate success".



"It's really simple. There can be camps and other things, but all camps form around successful people... It's very strange. But to achieve that, you need something very interesting to start with and more importantly lots of luck...



"There are some brilliant people out there who haven't had the chance to be famous and it's not getting any easier... Once you have all that, it's not that tough to survive in the industry because there are camps."
New Delhi: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday issued a new currency of Rs 200 denomination, almost ten months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the government`s decision to scrap Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes.

However, the new Rs 200 notes will not be dispensed through ATMs. Rather they will only be circulated via bank branches as is the the case with Rs 10, Rs 20 and Rs 50 currency notes because the ATM machines have not been reconfigured to handle the new currency.

Over 2 lakh ATMs have to be calibrated individually to dispense the new Rs 200 notes which are marginally smaller than Rs 500 notes.

Media reports, quoting officials said that it might take a few weeks for ATMs to dispense Rs 200 notes.

Technicians will have to visit each machine to carry out cassette configuration changes, following which the new Rs 200 notes can be made available through ATMs.

The new Rs 200 notes have been issued with the intention to make day-to-day transactions easier for people, since the lack of denomination between Rs 500-Rs 2000 notes, and Rs 100-Rs 500 often cause a problem for traders and common men alike.

The Rs 200 notes are of bright yellow colour. The latest addition to the Mahatma Gandhi (New) series bears the signature of RBI Governor Urjit Patel.

It has the motif of Sanchi Stupa on the reverse, depicting the country`s cultural heritage.

The note has other designs,geometric patterns aligning with the overall colour scheme, both at the obverse and reverse.

The obverse side of the 66 mm146 mm note features a portrait of Mahatma Gandhi at the centre, with the denominational numeral in the Devnagari script.
New Delhi: Subscribers of retirement fund body EPFO heading for foreign postings can now apply online for certificate of coverage (CoC) to avoid deductions for social security cover abroad.

The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has done away with the manual application for the CoC by its subscribers who have been posted abroad by their employers, a senior EPFO official said.

The online facility for applying for CoC was started earlier this month as part of the government's Digital India initiative, the official said.

The CoC is required for all those employees going abroad for assignments or posting done by their employers.

It helps EPFO subscribers to avoid deductions from their pay on account of mandatory social cover provided to workers under the legal framework of the country where they are posted.

The EPFO had issued 20,022 CoCs to its subscribers during 2016-17.

At present, India has social security agreement with 18 countries -- Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Luxembourg, France, South Korea, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Austria, Finland, Japan, Canada, Australia, Norway, Singapore and Hungary.

The social security agreement provides for detachment, totalisation and portability. Under the detachment clause, the employees of one country deputed by their employers to other country for short-term assignments are exempted from social security contributions up to a period of 60 months.

The international workers of these countries posted in India are not required to make mandatory contribution towards social security schemes run by the EPFO in India.

Employees from these countries need to produce the CoC stating that they are covered under such social schemes in their country and get exemption from contribution to EPFO schemes.

Similar privilege is enjoyed by Indian employees posted in these 18 countries with whom it has signed social security agreements.

However, there are a large number of countries with whom India has not inked any social security agreements. Therefore, workers from these countries are required to subscribe to EPFO schemes and sometime they make such mandatory contributions in their country as well.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday ordered the Chandigarh administration to release Rs. one lakh to the family of a 10-year-old rape survivor.

The apex court also ordered to make a fixed deposit of Rs. nine lakh for the survivor and asked the hospital to keep her medical records in a sealed cover.

The Supreme Court also directed the Chandigarh administration to provide free medical service, counseling and other necessary help to the girl at her home so as to protect her identity.

In its earlier hearing, the top court sought responses from the Centre and the Chandigarh administration on a plea seeking Rs. 10 lakh compensation for the victim, who delivered a baby on August 17.

On July 28, the Supreme Court had dismissed a plea seeking its nod for terminating the 32-week-old pregnancy of the 10-year-old rape survivor after taking note of a medical report that abortion was neither good for the girl nor for the foetus.

A bench comprising Chief Justice J S Khehar and Justice D Y Chandrachud took note of the report of the medical board set up by PGI (Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research) Chandigarh to examine the rape survivor and the consequences if the termination of pregnancy was allowed.
New Delhi: Space agencies around the world have their keen sights set on infiltrating the surface of Mars with manned probes in the near future.

Preparations for the same have been lined up with challenges, but scientists know that giving up is not an option and numerous studies and experiments are under way to bring the Martian dream to fruit.

One of the the world's front-runners in the space race  American space agency NASA  has been planning its 2020 Mars mission for ages and from landing sites to human housing on Mars, everything has been taken into account.

However, one of the main concerns of the mission is human survival in the Martian atmosphere and in every aspect, experimentation is key.

In order to understand this, we should be aware that there will be limited cargo on the Martian spacecraft, which could amount to inconvenience during exploration on the planet.

Therefore, NASA researchers may have found a potential solution to the problem  human urine.

To refresh your memory, let us take you back in time to the conversation between the then newly-elected President of the US Donald Trump and astronauts Peggy Whitson and Jack Fischer from the International Space Station (ISS), wherein Whitson told the POTUS that they had found a way to convert urine into clean, drinkable water.

Well, Trump didn't really take a liking to the idea, but scientists have been seeking solutions for many problems in human excreta.

Similarly, NASAs research team led by Mark Blenner has developed a kind of yeast that will utilise valuable biological components present in human urine  Nitrogen, along with Carbon from an astronauts breathing process to create plastic, which can be used to create valuable tools using 3D printing process, the Deccan Chronicle reported.

As per the report, the yeast, known as Yarrowia lipolytica, feeds on Nitrogen and Carbon and can be engineered to either create polyester polymers for printing plastic parts or omega-3 fatty acids, which can be utilised for nutritional purposes.

"If astronauts are going to make journeys that span several years, we'll need to find a way to reuse and recycle everything they bring with them," says Mark Blenner, lead researcher on the new project. "Atom economy will become really important. Having a biological system that astronauts can awaken from a dormant state to start producing what they need, when they need it, is the motivation for our project," he added.

The yeast is currently in its development stages and cannot produce enough to sustain astronauts. However, the team claims that they are working on it improve the output, Deccan Chronicle added.
New Delhi: The near future holds the possibility of a manned probe to Mars and scientists who are preparing for human domination on the Red Planet owe a lot to the numerous already-operational probes that are scaling the Martian surface.

NASA's and JPL's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has been one of those promising rovers that has provided scientists with a huge amount of data to aid them in preparing for one of the biggest, most awaited missions of all time.

Armed with the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera, the MRO has once again delivered a masterpiece  one that shows us how dry ice has created a beautiful picture on the dunes of the Red Planet.

Captured on May 21, 2017, at 13:21 local Mars time during spring in Mars' Northern hemisphere, the image shows how over the winter, snow and ice have inexorably covered the dunes.

Unlike on Earth, this snow and ice is carbon dioxide, better known to us as dry ice.

As per NASA, when the sun starts shining on it in the spring, the ice on the smooth surface of the dune cracks and escaping gas carries dark sand out from the dune below, often creating beautiful patterns. On the rough surface between the dunes, frost is trapped behind small sheltered ridges.
Out of the many festivals celebrated in the country, Vinayak Chaturthi has special significance in Kashmiri Pandit community. The day is dedicated to Goddess, locally known as Beeb Garab Maej (Maej standing for mother).

Pan or Pann pooza as Kashmiris call it falls on the Vinayak Chaturthi (Vinayak Tchoram in Kashmiri) or Ganesh Chaturthi. It is originally associated with the spinning of newly produced cotton and worshipping the twin agricultural local goddesses, Vibha and Garbha to whom the devotees offer Prasad known as roths.

A roth is a sweet bread kind of a preparation which is first offered to the goddess and then distributed amongst each other. It is also believed that two local goddesses transformed into one, known as Beeb Garab Maejthe mother goddess who is prayed to on this day.

Also, Lord Ganesha and Goddess Lakshmi are revered in the puja as well. Beeb Garabh Maj, the goddess who is worshipped on this day is seen carrying lota or a water pot which is placed at the Puja place. Then, most importantly, a single long cotton thread is tied to the pot's neck with a handful of dramun or runner grass kept inside it, pointing again to its agricultural origin.

Some of the rice, flowers and dramun grass is then distributed among the family members who sit in the puja and the roth preparations are kept in front of the goddess and earthen pot to signify the prasad offering to the goddess. Also, some fruits and offered to mother goddess besides roth.

Then a legendary story of the Beeb Garab Maej is read by one person while others attentively pay heed to it. The story is quite similar to the Satyanarayana Katha.

Here is the Pann story in Kashmiri:

After the story has been read, the people present at Pann Puja offer the drama grass, rice and flowers to the pot and pray with folded hands to the goddess for prosperity and good health.

The prasad of Roth and fruits is consumed by the devotees and the rest of the roths are distributed among friends and family. There is also a tradition which goes like, you distribute the exact number of roths to particular families respectively and the practice of sharing the roth prasad should continue year-after-year without a fail.

It signifies prosperity, auspiciousness and holds greater significance in Kashmiri households.
Chennai: The DMK on Friday urged Tamil Nadu Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao to immediately direct Chief Minister K Palaniswami to prove his majority in the Assembly in the wake of revolt by 19 AIADMK MLAs, saying any delay could lead to "horse trading".

DMK working president and leader of the opposition in assembly MK Stalin, who had earlier this week written to the Governor seeking a floor test, dubbed the Palaniswami regime as a "minority government".

In a statement released here, he also questioned assembly Speaker P Dhanapal's action in issuing notices to the 19 MLAs yesterday on a memorandum by the Government Chief Whip seeking their disqualification for alleged anti-party activities.

Stalin said had earlier written to the Governor urging him to immediately ask Palaniswami to prove majority in the assembly.

Rao should have immediately convened the assembly to ascertain the government's present strength after the MLAs loyal to sidelined AIADMK deputy general secretary TTV Dhinakaran met him and sought Palaniswami's removal on Tuesday, he said.

Stalin said the Governor should ensure that Palaniswami does not continue in power by "creating a constitutional crisis and misusing anti-defection law".

Referring to the Speaker's action, Stalin said the notices had been issued in connection with an episode that did not happen in the assembly.

While the Speaker had not acted against present Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerslvam-led faction for voting against the government in the February 18 trust vote as the then rebel faction, he had issued notices to the 19 MLAs from Dhinakaran camp now, the DMK leader said.

"It is clear the Speaker has done so to save Palaniswami's minority government. During such times, every day's delay by the Governor in directing a confidence vote will pave the way for horse trading and other political manoeuvres," he said.

Stalin's remarks come even as the 18 MLAs remained in a resort in Puducherry and have dismissed the disqualification demand as a "planned drama" and "intimidation" tactics.

The Dhinakaran camp MLAs raised the banner of revolt a day after the AIADMK factions led by Palaniswami and former chief minister O Panneerselvam merged on August 21.
Balrampur: A 48-year-old man allegedly beat his wife to death and later set himself ablaze in Nevada village of Sahdullanagar area in the district, police said on Friday.

Abdul Wahid attacked his wife, Ajbunisha (45), with a baton yesterday following a quarrel between the two. She died on the spot, they said.

Wahid then set himself on fire and was rushed to a Gonda hospital where he succumbed, police said, adding that both bodies have been sent for postmortem.

According to their family members, Wahid was suffering from depression due to job-related problems, police added.
Darjeeling: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha would attend the August 29 all party meeting convened by the West Bengal government on the Darjeeling issue, and raise the demand for a separate state of Gorkhaland during the parleys, a senior party leader said on Friday.

"We will attend the meeting and raise the demand for Gorkhaland there," GJM Vice President Kalyan Dewan told IANS after the party`s emergency central committee session here.

The GJM central committee held its session a short while after the Gorkhaland Movement Co-ordination Committee met during the day and decided to attend the all party meeting provided the state government gave it a fresh letter of invitation for the talks.

The GMCC is a platform formed by the pro-Gorkhaland parties to decide the course of the ongoing movement for the separate state.

"Some parties in the GMCC have got invitation letter from the state government for the meeting, and some have not. So we need another letter from the state government inviting the GMCC," said GJM Joint Secretary Binay Tamang.

The GMCC would hold another meeting on August 27 to take the final call on attending the meeting after going through the state government letter.

The GMCC also decided to continue the ongoing indefinite shutdown in the north Bengal hills. A decision about whether to continue with the shutdown would be taken depending the outcome of the August 29 meeting, a GJM source said.

Normal life has been paralysed in the hills covering large areas in Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts following the indefinite shutdown called by the GJM since June 12 on the statehood demand.

The GMCC formed later to broadbase the movement by roping in other parties, have also backed the stir which has greatly impacted the hills` three economic mainstays - tea, timber and tourism.

Banerjee on Tuesday announced that the state government would hold talks with "all major political parties" on August 29.
Moscow: Eighteen people died in southern Russia on Friday after a bus carrying construction workers veered off a pier and plunged into the Black Sea.

The bus was carrying people from their shift building a pier for the Tamanneftegaz oil company in the port of Taman when the accident happened.

"Currently we know of 18 dead and 33 people injured in the tragedy," said a statement on the website of the local authorities in Temryuk, a town in Russia`s Krasnodar region.

All of those injured were hospitalised and five are in serious condition after the bus fell into the water from a height of four metres, the statement added.

A spokesman for OTEKO, a conglomerate which owns Tamanneftegaz, told Interfax that the bus was carrying people who were working on the company`s construction site but who were not employed by the company directly.

He said the bus did not belong to the company.

In a statement, OTEKO`s deputy director Irina Trifonova called the accident a "terrible tragedy".

Russia`s Investigative Committee said in a statement it had launched a probe into violation of traffic rules and providing unsafe services and was looking into the technical condition of the bus.

The accident occurred on the Taman peninsula on the Black Sea near the Strait of Kerch that flows between Russia and the Crimean peninsula, which was annexed from Ukraine in 2014.
Yangon: At least 32 people including 11 security forces were killed as Rohingya militants besieged border posts in northern Rakhine State, Myanmar`s army chief said Friday, in the worst violence in months in the febrile zone.

The state is bisected by religious hatred focused on the stateless Rohingya Muslim minority, who are reviled by many Buddhists and perceived as illegal immigrants.

Recent weeks have seen tensions surge with near daily killings by shadowy groups operating in remote villages, while Myanmar`s army has poured more troops into the area.

In the early hours of Friday more than 20 police posts came under attack by an estimated 150 insurgents, some carrying guns and using homemade explosives.

"One soldier and 10 police sacrificed their lives for the country," Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing said in a statement circulated on Facebook, adding 21 militants also died although others made away with guns.

"Fighting is ongoing at police posts in Kyar Gaung Taung and Nat Chaung villages. The military and police members are fighting back together against extremist Bengali terrorists."

"Bengali terrorists" is the state`s description of the Rohingya militants.

They emerged as a force last October under the banner of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), which claims to be leading an insurgency based in the remote May Yu mountain range bordering Bangladesh.

Confirming the unrest an unnamed police officer in Buthidaung town, close to the worst violence, said border posts remained surrounded by militants as day broke in a fluid, dangerous and "complicated situation".

The flare up follows a milestone report on the conditions inside Rakhine by a commission led by former UN chief Kofi Annan.

It urged immediate action to heal the divide including scrapping the restrictions of movement and citizenship imposed on the roughly one million-strong Rohingya community in Rakhine.

The wedge of Rakhine closest to Bangladesh has been in lockdown since October 2016.

Deadly attacks by the militants on border police sparked a military response that left scores dead and forced tens of thousands to flee to Bangladesh.

The UN believes those security `clearances` may have amounted to ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya, a mainly Muslim minority living in Buddhist Myanmar.

The army and Aung San Suu Kyi`s civilian government vehemently deny allegations of widespread abuses including rapes and murders.

Myanmar security forces have conducted sporadic operations to flush out suspected militants throughout this year, often resulting in casualties among Rohingya villagers.

They have spoken of their fear at being trapped in between security forces and the militants, who are accused of conducting a shadowy assassination campaign against perceived collaborators with the state.
United Nations: Almost 41 million people have been affected by flooding and landslides in India, Bangladesh and Nepal and there is possibility the situation could deteriorate further as rains continue in some flood- affected areas, a UN agency said.

United Nations humanitarian agencies are working with the Government and partners in Nepal to bring in clean water, food, shelter and medical aid for some of the 41 million people affected by flooding and landslides in Bangladesh, India and Nepal.

Nearly a thousand people have been killed, and tens of thousands of homes, schools and hospitals have been destroyed in Bangladesh, India and Nepal.

"There is the possibility that the situation could deteriorate further as rains continue in some flood-affected areas and flood waters move south," the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) today said in an updated note.

The note said governments in all three countries are leading the response with support from in-country humanitarian agencies, national Red Cross/Red Crescent Societies, private sector and militaries. However, many areas remain inaccessible due to damage to roads, bridges, railways and airports.

In India, rescue operations are ongoing in many flood- affected areas, with those stranded being rescued by helicopter. More than 600 people have died and 32.1 million people have been affected with the floods, OCHA said.

Rescue operations are ongoing in many flood-affected areas, with those stranded being rescued by helicopter. Flood relief camps have been established for those displaced by the disaster where they are being provided with food and shelter.

The number of camps is increasing as the flood-affected area continues to expand. The government recently announced additional funding for relief, rehabilitation, reconstruction and flood mitigation.

In addition to people suffering, Indian authorities also reported large parts of a famous wildlife reserve park destroyed, with endangered animals killed.

In Bangladesh, nearly 2,000 local medical teams have been deployed, even as one-third of the country is reportedly underwater. Aid workers are concerned about waterborne diseases, such as diarrhoea and malaria.

"Their most urgent concern is to accessing safe water and sanitation facilities," OCHA said earlier this week, citing national authorities.

It also warned of dangers to women and children, who are at increased risk for abuse, violence and sexual harassment.
London: A man was arrested on Friday after attacking police with a knife outside Queen Elizabeth II`s Buckingham Palace residence in London, police said.

"The man was stopped... at approximately 20:35 hours (1935 GMT) by officers outside Buckingham Palace in possession of knife," said London police statement.

Two male police officers suffered minor injuries to their arm and the man was arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm and assault.

The officers were treated at the scene and did not require hospital treatment, according to police, who said it was too early to say whether the attack was terrorism.

However, social media users reported that the attacker was armed with a sword, and posted videos of a fleet of police cars and ambulances outside the world-famous palace, with the surrounding roads sealed off.

Twitter user Amir Jan Malik wrote: "Stuck outside Buckingham palace with many armed police officers. Heavy rifles on display traffic at a halt."

Eyewitness Kiana Williamson told the Press Association that "there was one police van and one car, there was also a civilian`s car that had veered towards the police car.

"They were trying to get the man out of the car, shouting, more police were arriving on to the scene and the man was fighting back," she said.

"The man had been restrained and looked almost unconscious by the side of the road.

"I didn`t see the car driving but the car had been left at the side of the road and an eye witness had said that he had driven towards the police car," she added.

The incident occurred just two hours after a knifeman attacked two soldiers in Brussels in what authorities are treating as a terrorist attack.

The Queen is at her Balmoral residence in Scotland, although the palace said it would not comment on security issues.
Beijing: No amount of interference or shadowing of its aircraft will stop the Chinese air force from carrying out long-range drills, the defence ministry said, announcing another round of exercises of the type that have unnerved Taiwan and Japan.

The air force carried out further long-range exercises on Thursday, the ministry said late that same day, without giving details of where they happened. Japan said it was concerned about bombers flying close to its territory.

Such "normal" drills accord with international law and practices and are part of an "ordinary need" to raise combat abilities and strengthen the military, it added.

"No matter what obstructions are encountered, the Chinese air force will carry on as before; no matter who flies with us, the Chinese air force will fly a lot and as normal!" the ministry added, citing an air force spokesman.

Japan`s government said six Chinese bombers flying from the East China Sea on Thursday passed close to its islands on route to the Pacific Ocean.

It was the first time we have recorded Chinese military aircraft flying this route," Minister of Defence Itsunori Onodera said during a regular press briefing on Friday. "We expressed our concern through diplomatic channels," he added.

Drills over the past few months have mostly focused on flying near self-ruled Taiwan, claimed by China as its own, and by Japan`s southern island chain to the north of Taiwan.

Taiwan`s military said earlier this month it was on a high state of alert following three straight days of drills by the Chinese air force near it.

China has been increasingly asserting itself in territorial disputes in the South and East China Seas. It is also worried about Taiwan, run by a government China fears is intent on independence.

Beijing has never ruled out the use of force to bring proudly democratic Taiwan under its control, and has warned that any moves towards formal independence could prompt an armed response.

China is in the midst of an ambitious military modernisation programme that includes building aircraft carriers and developing stealth fighters to give it the ability to project power far from its shores.

Taiwan is well armed with mostly U.S. weaponry, but has been pressing Washington to sell it more high-tech equipment to better deter China.
Washington/Caracas: US President Donald Trump signed an executive order that prohibits dealings in new debt from the Venezuelan government or its state oil company in an effort to halt financing that fuels President Nicolas Maduro`s "dictatorship," the White House said on Friday.

The order is Washington`s biggest sanctions blow to date against Maduro and is intended to punish his leftist government for what Trump has called an erosion of democracy in the oil-rich country, already reeling from an economic crisis.

"These measures are carefully calibrated to deny the Maduro dictatorship a critical source of financing to maintain its illegitimate rule, protect the United States financial system from complicity in Venezuela`s corruption and in the impoverishment of the Venezuelan people," the White House said in a statement.

Banning trades on new bonds will make it tricky for Venezuela`s ailing state-run company PDVSA to refinance its heavy debt burden. Investors had expected that it would seek to ease upcoming payments through such an operation, which usually requires new paper be issued.

That could push the cash-strapped company closer to a possible default, or bolster its reliance on key allies China and Russia, which have already lent Caracas billions of dollars.

However, the order protects holders of most existing Venezuelan government and PDVSA bonds, who were relieved the sanctions did not go further. Venezuelan and PDVSA bonds were trading broadly higher on Friday afternoon.

Venezuela`s foreign minister said on Friday that the United States was trying to foment a humanitarian crisis in the country.

The sanctions are "uncivilized politics," and Venezuela is "a victim of fake news" that exaggerates the extent of its economic crisis, Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza said at the United Nations in New York.

Venezuela`s Information Ministry, Oil Ministry, and PDVSA did not immediately respond to a request for further comment.

The sanctions heap fresh pressure on PDVSA, the financial engine of Maduro`s government, which is already struggling due to low global oil prices, mismanagement, allegations of corruption and brain drain.

Washington last month sanctioned PDVSA`s finance vice president Simon Zerpa, complicating some of the company`s operations as Americans are now banned from doing business with him.

Trump has so far spared Venezuela from broader sanctions against its vital oil industry, but officials have said such actions are under consideration.

Amid fears that a ban on oil exports could aggravate food shortages and sentence Venezuela`s roughly 30 million people to famine, opposition politicians applauded the targeted sanctions.

"These sanctions are not against Venezuela, but rather the corrupt people who seek to sell the nation`s assets at a discount," said opposition lawmaker and economist Angel Alvarado.

Venezuela has for months struggled to find financing because of PDVSA`s cash flow problems and corruption scandals have led financial institutions to tread cautiously, regardless of sanctions.

Russia and its state oil company Rosneft have emerged as an increasingly important source of financing for PDVSA, according to a Reuters report.

On at least two occasions, the Venezuelan government has used Russian cash to avoid imminent defaults on payments to bondholders, a high-level PDVSA official told Reuters.

Trump`s order allows the US Treasury to provide licenses for dealings in select existing Venezuelan debt and many commercial and humanitarian transactions, including those for commercial trade and petroleum trade as well as for transactions involving only PDVSA`s US unit, Citgo Petroleum.
Bangkok: A Bangkok court sentenced a former Thai commerce minister to 42 years in jail on Friday after finding him guilty of falsifying government-to-government rice deals between Thailand and China.

The verdict in the case against Boonsong Teriyapirom comes hours after former Thai prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra failed to show up at the Supreme Court for the verdict in a negligence case brought against her over the same rice scheme which her government introduced in 2011.

Sources close to Yingluck, who was ousted by a military coup in 2014, said on Friday that the former prime minister had fled Thailand. The Supreme Court on Friday issued an arrest warrant for Yingluck.

"Boonsong is sentenced to 42 years in prison," a judge said, handing down the verdict.

Thailand`s anti-graft commission said the deals announced by Boonsong had caused "huge losses" to the state and that rice was sold locally and not exported, as claimed by Yingluck`s government.
Harare: Zimbabwe`s first lady, Grace Mugabe, on Friday made her first public appearance since leaving South Africa where she was charged with assault.

The wife of 93-year-old Robert Mugabe, a potential successor to the President, was granted diplomatic immunity and left South Africa on Sunday.

But South Africa`s opposition is challenging the international relations minister`s decision to give her immunity - a move that could in theory affect any future plans to travel to the country.

The Mugabes attended a farming fair in Harare, where Grace was seen smiling and talking with exhibitors. She made no public comment.

Harare has made no official comment on the assault case and requests for comment from Zimbabwean government officials have gone unanswered.

Twenty-year-old model Gabriella Engels accused Grace Mugabe of whipping her with an electric extension cable as she waited with two friends in a luxury hotel suite to meet one of the Mugabes` adult sons.

South Africa`s main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) party has asked the Constitutional Court for permission to argue its case that Grace Mugabe`s diplomatic immunity be declared unconstitutional.

"Grace Mugabe is not a member of the Zimbabwean government and she was in South Africa on personal business," the party`s federal executive chairman, James Selfe, said.

"There is nothing in either South African or international law which renders her deserving of diplomatic immunity."

Selfe said the party hoped that if the immunity is lifted Mugabe would have to surrender herself to South African state prosecutors or be extradited to face the charges. If not she could be declared persona non grata, prohibited from visiting South Africa.

Advocacy group Afriforum has given legal backing to the alleged victim, Engels, and is working on the case with Gerrie Nel - the prosecutor who secured a murder conviction against Olympic and Paralympic runner Oscar Pistorius.
Beirut: At least 34 Syrian soldiers and allied fighters have been killed in an Islamic State counterattack in the east of Raqa province, rolling back regime gains, a monitor said Friday.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor, said the jihadist group had recaptured large swathes of territory from government forces in the fighting on Thursday.

Syria`s army is seeking to advance through Raqa province to reach neighbouring Deir Ezzor, where jihadists have besieged government forces and civilians in the provincial capital since 2015.

Earlier this month, government troops and allied fighters arrived at the outskirts of Madan, the last IS-held town in the eastern Raqa province countryside before Deir Ezzor.

But in Thursday`s counterattack, IS "made major progress and... expanded the area under its control along the southern bank of the Euphrates," the Observatory said.

"IS has managed to push regime forces back 30 kilometres from the western outskirts of Madan," Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said.

The Syria army operation in the area, backed by air support from ally Russia, is separate from the battle for provincial capital Raqa city.

The effort to oust IS from the city, once the jihadist group`s Syrian stronghold, is being led by the Syrian Democratic Forces, a US-backed alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters.

The SDF has captured just under 60 per cent of Raqa city since it entered in June after months of fighting to encircle it.

More than 330,000 people have been killed in Syria since the conflict began in March 2011 with anti-government protests.
Tokyo: Japan said on Friday it will impose fresh sanctions on North Korea by freezing the assets of Chinese and Namibian firms doing business with the nuclear-armed state.

The move against a half dozen organisations and a couple of individuals comes days after Washington expanded its own punitive measures against Chinese and Russian firms, as well as people linked to Pyongyang.

The US move drew an angry response from Beijing, North Korea`s key ally, while Japanese media said Friday that Namibia has been tightening its links to the North in recent years.

"We will continue to make strong calls (for North Korea) to take actions toward denuclearisation," Yoshihide Suga, the Japanese government`s top spokesman, told a regular press briefing.

"Now is the time to apply pressure," he added.

The sanctions are aimed at disrupting the flow of cash funding North Korean weapons programmes, which are in violation of United Nations resolutions.

Japan has previously frozen the assets of entities and individuals involved in natural resources and research work related to Pyongyang`s nuclear and missile development programmes.

The US and its allies, particularly Japan and South Korea, have been on high alert in recent months as North Korea carried out successive missile tests.

Tensions have eased since North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un pulled back from a plan to send a salvo of missiles towards the US Pacific territory of Guam.

But Pyongyang Wednesday disclosed significant technological advances and ambitious plans to further improve its missile capabilities.

US President Donald Trump, like his predecessors, has called on China to play more active roles in convincing North Korea to stop threatening its neighbours and the US.

But China has so far been lukewarm on the idea, preferring to address the issue through long-stalled talks.

On Friday, China hit out the new Japanese sanctions.

"We firmly oppose any other unilateral sanction outside the framework of the UN Security Council, in particular those targeting Chinese entities and individuals," Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a regular press briefing in Beijing.

"We urge the Japanese side to stop this and if it insists on doing this wilfully, it must accept the consequences," she added, without elaborating.

China backed new United Nations sanctions against North Korea this month and has announced that it was upholding them by banning imports of iron, iron ore and seafood from its neighbour.

Beijing had already suspended imports of North Korean coal in February.
Moscow: When Alexander Vinnik was arrested on money-laundering charges at a Greek hotel in late July, the status of his Jabber secure online messaging account was set to "away".

"He often takes some time to reply, so at first I didn`t think anything of it," said one person who knew the Russian as an administrator of a digital currency exchange which US prosecutors say was used to launder criminal funds.

"Then when I saw his picture on the news, I knew he would be `away` for a long time," said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The US Justice Department says Vinnik facilitated crimes including computer hacking, fraud and drug trafficking by laundering at least $4 billion through BTC-e  an exchange used to trade bitcoin and other digital currencies  since 2011.

The 37-year-old faces up to 55 years in prison if extradited to the United States. He denies the allegations against him, according to Greek media reports, and BTC-e has said he never worked for the exchange. Reuters was unable to reach BTC-e or a lawyer representing Vinnik for comment.

Vinnik is now one of seven Russians arrested or indicted on US cyber crime charges this year. On average, just two Russian cyber criminals were extradited to the United States each year between 2010 and the start of this year, according to a Reuters review of US Justice Department filings, Russian government statements and sources briefed on the matter.

The increase to a record level shows that although President Donald Trump is trying to improve relations with Moscow, the United States has not shied away from pursuing Russians suspected of cyber crime.

The prosecutions coincide with intensified scrutiny of Russian hackers since US intelligence officials determined that Russia interfered in the 2016 US presidential election using cyber warfare methods to help Trump.

The Kremlin has denied accusations it interfered in elections in the United States or elsewhere.

But US opposition lawmakers have questioned whether Trump is willing to respond forcefully to Moscow over its actions in cyberspace, and the White House has avoided publicly accusing Russia over recent politically-motivated hacking attacks.

Alarmed by Trump`s proposal to create a joint US-Russia cyber security unit, US lawmakers have also drawn up a draft bill that would require him to notify lawmakers before he does so.

Four US federal law enforcement officials, who discussed the recent arrests with Reuters on condition of anonymity, said there had been no centralised effort to step up action against Russian cyber criminals under Trump.

The increase in the number of arrests stemmed from breakthroughs made in investigations before last year`s election, two of them said.

The FBI referred all questions to the US Justice Department. The Justice Department said it did not track arrests or indictments by nationality and declined further comment.

Russian Hackers Rattled

Some US officials, however, acknowledged that individual agents may now be more motivated to move against Russian cyber criminals following the election hacking scandal.

Russian hackers are active at all levels of cyber crime, from small-time thefts of online banking details, to taking down the computer networks of multi-national companies and government departments.

John Carlin, who until last October ran the national security division of the US Justice Department as assistant attorney general, said resources had already been moving towards pursuing Russian nationals before the 2016 election.

But he added: "Their outrageous activity to undermine the integrity of our election, like they did in western Europe before and have done since, can only have added fuel to the fire."

According to interviews with five people who knew the men arrested this year  all of whom declined to be named for fear of prosecution  the arrests have shaken the Russian cyber crime community.

"Now they are arresting even those who had a super indirect, not even direct connection to what they call influencing their election," said one who knew Vinnik by his online moniker WME.

Used to operating across borders with relative impunity, Russian cyber criminals are now worried the prosecutions will lead to further arrests or harm their operations.

They are cutting back on trips abroad that were once seen as a calculated risk because of the risk of arrest and extradition, but are now viewed as increasingly foolhardy.

"We have monitored criminals discussing the aftermath (of the arrests) ... and it is clear they are concerned about two things," said Ilya Sachkov, head of cyber security firm Group-IB, whose Threat Intelligence unit specialises in monitoring and tracking the Russian-speaking cyber crime community.

"First, what the arrested members potentially know about them, but second and more importantly, a disruption in their ability to make money."

One of those arrested this year was Peter Levashov, charged by US prosecutors with operating one of the world`s largest botnets, or networks, of infected computers used by cyber criminals. He denies the charges.

Levashov allegedly used the botnet to pump out spam emails for a multitude of criminal schemes, such as stock fraud, online credential phishing attempts and the distribution of malware, including ransomware.

A person who knew Levashov by his online identity Severa said his arrest in particular had rattled underground cyber criminal circles because he was so well known.

"People read the news of course and see guys they know getting busted," the person said. "Once is bad, this many times is scary."
Kabul: A powerful suicide bomb explosion took place at Imam Zaman Mosque in Qala-e-Najarha area in Kabul`s PD11 on Friday afternoon, Tolo News reported.

The blast followed after a number of gunmen stormed a Shia mosque, Imam Zaman Mosque, during the Friday prayers in Qala-e-Najarha.

"One suicide bomber blew himself up outside Imam Zaman Mosque in PD11, confirmed Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish.A fierce gun-battle is underway between security forces and attackers and the area has been cordoned off by the police.

As of now, the number of casualties and injuries is unknown.According to an eyewitness, the Special Unit forces have arrived at the attack scene.Further details are awaited.
Singapore: US Navy and Marine Corps divers have recovered and identified a second body in the search for ten sailors missing after a collision between a guided-missile destroyer and merchant vessel near Singapore earlier this week, the US Navy said on Friday.

The USS John S McCain collided with the merchant tanker in waters near Singapore and Malaysia on Monday, which led to an international search-and-rescue operation for the missing sailors. The navy recovered the first body from inside the hull of the warship earlier this week.

"More divers and equipment arrived overnight to continue search and recovery operations for eight missing sailors inside flooded compartments of the ship," the US Seventh Fleet said in statement on its website.

On Thursday, the US Navy suspended the wider search and rescue operation to focus recovery efforts on the damaged hull of the ship, which is moored at Singapore`s Changi Naval Base.

The Navy has already released the names of all the sailors who were missing.
Washington: The Trump administration is worried that nuclear weapons and materials in Pakistan could land up in the hands of terror groups and the concerns are aggravated by the development of tactical weapons, a senior US official has said.

The senior Trump administration official said that during a compressive review, one of the major issues that continually came up for discussion and is very important to the US was the nuclear danger in the region.

That is a critical element of the South Asia strategy, the official told reporters during a conference call.

The Trump administration is worried that nuclear weapons and materials in Pakistan might land up in the hands of terrorist groups or individuals, the senior administration official said, on condition of anonymity.

The South Asia strategy announced by US President Donald Trump on Monday notes that the "nuclear weapons or materials could fall" into the wrong hands, the official said.

"It (South Asia policy) also prioritises the escalating tension between India and Pakistan, the two nuclear power countries, and looks for ways to de-escalate the tension between the two to avoid any potential military confrontation among them," the official said.

"We are particularly concerned by the development of tactical nuclear weapons that are designed for use in battlefield. We believe that these systems are more susceptible to terrorist theft and increase the likelihood of nuclear exchange in the region," the Trump administration official said.

The official said it was due to this that the strategy also focuses on confidence building measures between India and Pakistan and encourages them to come to the negotiating table.

The danger of nuclear weapons was also mentioned by Trump in his Afghanistan and South Asia policy speech on Monday.

"For its part, Pakistan often gives safe haven to agents of chaos, violence, and terror. The threat is worse because Pakistan and India are two nuclear-armed states whose tense relations threaten to spiral into conflict. And that could happen," he had said in his first prime time televised address to the nation.

In an article published in 'War on the Rocks', Christopher Clary, who worked on the South Asia policy in the Office of the Secretary of Defence from 2006 to 2009, said Pakistan likely possesses more than 100 nuclear weapons today and might possess fissile material for up to 200 or 300 nuclear weapons.

"The US presence in Afghanistan is primarily about preventing terrorist groups operating there, but there is some reporting that suggests elements of the US government are wary of losing basing in Afghanistan that is useful to monitor Pakistani terrorist groups and Pakistan's nuclear weapons development efforts," Clary said.

Stephen Tankel, an American expert, said the US has two vital security interests in Pakistan -- ensuring militants in the region do not attack the US homeland and keeping militants from getting their hands on nuclear material.

"America also has a critical interest in preventing Indo-Pakistani nuclear escalation and terrorist attacks against US persons and infrastructure in the region," Tankel recently wrote for Center for a New American Security.

"Maintaining a sufficient counter-terrorism presence in Afghanistan has been a cornerstone of the broader US counter- terrorism policy. This, in turn, has required ensuring the Afghan government retains sufficient control over its territory," he said.

Pakistan is developing tactical nuclear-capable 'Nasr' ballistic missiles for battlefield use in order to deter a limited Indian military response to terrorist attacks by Pakistan-supported militants, he wrote.

"The common concern about Pakistani nuclear weapons is that they are vulnerable to internal threats. In reality, these weapons are most likely to fall into terrorists' hands if forward-deployed during a conflict with India," Tankel said.

"Even some Pakistani analysts recognise that it would be difficult for the Pakistan military to ensure the full security of these weapons once they were deployed in the field," he said.
Dubai: An air strike on Yemen`s capital Sanaa on Friday killed 12 people including six children, rescuers told Reuters.

The attack on the Faj Attan area on the outskirts of the city also severely damaged at least two buildings, reducing much of them to rubble, they said.
YEREVAN, AUGUST 24, ARMENPRESS. At the invitation of President Serzh Sargsyan, President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov paid an official visit to the Republic of Armenia on August 23-24, 2017, ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the Armenian Presidents Office.

As a follow-up to the ongoing high political dialogue, todays top-level meeting was taking place on the eve of the 25th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between the Republic of Armenia and Turkmenistan.

The President of the Republic of Armenia and the President of Turkmenistan, having comprehensively examined the current status and the prospects for the development of the whole range of Armenian-Turkmen relations;

Relying on the historically deeply rooted ties between Armenia and Turkmenistan, as well as on the centuries-old bonds of friendship and cooperation between the peoples of the two countries;

Taking as a basis the inviolability of the Friendship and Cooperation Agreement between the Republic of Armenia and Turkmenistan of August 24, 1993;

Convinced that the strengthening of interstate relations and mutually beneficial cooperation between the Republic of Armenia and Turkmenistan meets the fundamental interests of the peoples of both countries;

Striving for the development and enhancement of the ongoing effective cooperation in the international arena and within those international organizations of which the Republic of Armenia and Turkmenistan are members;

Declare the following:

During the talks held in an atmosphere of friendship, openness and mutual understanding, the Heads of State stated that since the establishment of diplomatic relations, Armenia and Turkmenistan have traveled a long way towards the formation and subsequent expansion of the Armenian-Turkmen interstate cooperation in various fields.

Firmly determined to multiply and further strengthen the bonds of friendship between the peoples of the two countries, the Republic of Armenia and Turkmenistan will continue to build their relations in the spirit of mutual trust, guided by the principles of equality, non-interference in each others internal affairs, respect for mutual interest and benefit.

The Presidents spoke for the dynamic development of bilateral ties in the trade, economic, scientific, cultural and educational spheres, inter-parliamentary dialogue, contacts between the representatives of business circles and intellectuals.

The President of Armenia and the President of Turkmenistan are pleased to confirm that the consonance of in the positions of their States on the main issues of the international agenda and the mutual spirit of development of cooperation provide broad opportunities for constructive interaction at multilateral platforms.

The Heads of State spoke in favor of a just democratic world order based on the supremacy of international law, the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, with the central coordinating role of the United Nations in the maintenance of global peace and international security, strengthening collective principles and multilateral approaches in world affairs.

The parties are convinced that the observance by all countries of the norms and principles of international law is a priority in building international relations.

The parties stressed the importance of seeking exclusively peaceful resolutions to existing conflicts by political and diplomatic means and methods, on the basis of the goals set out in the UN Charter, norms and principles of international law.

The Presidents of Armenia and Turkmenistan reaffirmed their readiness for constructive interaction both in bilateral format and within the framework of international organizations in the interests of combating international terrorism, transnational crime, illicit drug trafficking, arms and illegal migration.

Armenia and Turkmenistan will coordinate their foreign policy activities in pursuit of development, cooperation and progress for the sake of international security and stability.

The parties expressed interest in further enhancing economic cooperation and realizing the potential in this area. To this end, they will do their utmost to increase trade turnover, develop cooperation in the energy sector, transport and communications, agriculture, jewelry, light and manufacturing industries, innovations and in a number of other areas.

The parties will promote and improve the mechanism of interaction and stimulate direct ties between economic entities of the two countries.

The Republic of Armenia and Turkmenistan confirm their readiness for joint development of projects in the field of transport and tourism. To this end, they will support the establishment of a regular direct air service between the two States.

The Presidents noted the importance of fulfilling the tasks assigned to the national constituents of the Armenian-Turkmen Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation. They highlighted the need to boost its efforts for the development of trade and economic exchanges, investment, scientific and technical cooperation, as well as for expanding its activities to other areas of mutual interest.

In order to implement initiatives in these areas, an agreement was reached to hold the 9th meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation in Ashgabat in the first half of 2018.

Convinced that tourism is an important means of stimulating mutual understanding, as well as cultural, economic and humanitarian cooperation between the two countries, The parties agree to work out ways of intensifying bilateral cooperation in this area and explore opportunities to create most favorable conditions for tourists and business people, especially as regards the improvement of the regulatory and legal framework, which streamlines the traveling of citizens with tourist and business purposes.

The Heads of State noted their mutual interest in the furtherance of relations in the humanitarian sphere, expansion of direct contacts between organizations and cultural and art figures, research centers, health institutions, educational institutions and other cultural and humanitarian organizations. To this end, Armenia and Turkmenistan intend to promote the expansion of opportunities and forms of direct communication between higher educational, research and academic institutions, as well as students, graduate students and teachers.

The sides spoke in favor of projects aimed at intensifying dialogue in the field of culture, including the preservation of the Armenian historical heritage in Turkmenistan and Turkmen heritage in the territory of Armenia, respectively.

The Presidents confirmed their readiness to hold national exhibitions, business forums and other events in the Republic of Armenia and Turkmenistan with the participation of representatives of business circles of the two States.

The Heads of State expressed their satisfaction with the signing of a number of documents during the visit, which are intended to contribute to strengthening the legal basis of the Armenian-Turkmen relations. Recognizing the importance of its further expansion, the relevant ministries and departments are tasked to intensify work on bilateral agreements and treaties designed to give new impetus to concrete steps of cooperation in various fields.

The parties agreed to maintain contacts at various levels on issues of bilateral and multilateral cooperation with a view to promoting mutually beneficial cooperation for the benefit of the peoples of Armenia and Turkmenistan.

President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov of Turkmenistan expressed gratitude to President of the Republic of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan, the entire Armenian nation for the warm and friendly welcome and hospitality extended to him and the Turkmen delegation, and invited the President of the Republic of Armenia to pay an official visit to Turkmenistan at his convenience.



The invitation was accepted with gratitude. The terms of the visit will be agreed upon through diplomatic channels.

Serzh Sargsyan

President of the Republic of Armenia

Gurbanguly BERDIMUHAMEDOV

President of Turkmenistan

Yerevan, August 24, 2017
YEREVAN, AUGUST 24, ARMENPRESS. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev continues exerting pressure on media representatives through tough and illegal measures, the Azerbaijani media report.

On August 24 director of Turan independent news agency Mehman Aliyev has been arrested.

According to media reports, he has been arrested on suspicion of avoiding taxes.

The tax crimes investigation department of the Azerbaijani ministry of taxes launched a large-scale inspection in the Turan news agency in the morning of August 16. Earlier, tax audit was launched in the agency. Based on the audit results, the department presented debt worth 37 thousand manats which must be paid by the Turan news agency. According to the departments explanation, the agency showed little revenues so to pay less taxes. In its turn Turan announced that the agency didnt do anything illegal, and these actions are directed against eliminating its activity. The tax crimes investigation department on August 7 launched a criminal case against the news agency and investigation was underway.
YEREVAN, AUGUST 25, ARMENPRESS. Dilyana Gaytandzhieva, a Bulgarian journalist, who published a scandalous report on Azerbaijani state-run airlines supply of weapons to different heated parts of the world under the cover of diplomatic flights, has been dismissed from her post, reports Armenpress.

Today after I was interrogated by the Bulgarian National Security Agency about the secret documents, which were leaked to me about the weapons supplies for terrorists in Syria, I was fired by Trud Daily, just few days before going back to Syria to continue my job, she writes on Facebook, with her investigation attached, but at the same she doubts that the source can be removed from Trud Dialy.

A scandalous investigation has been published in the Bulgarian newspaper Trud on July 2 which reveals the Azerbaijani state circles direct engagement in supplying weapons to Islamic terrorist groups at different parts of the world.

Dilyana Gaytandzhievas investigative article mainly focuses on the illegal and large-scale export and sale of arms to Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Congo by Silk Way Airlines (an Azerbaijani state-run company) under the cover of diplomatic flights.

Documents implicating Silk Way Airlines in arms supplies were sent to the author of the article by an anonymous twitter account  Anonymous Bulgaria. Dilyana Gaytandzhieva says over the past three years the state aircrafts of Azerbaijan carried on-board tens of tons of heavy weapons and ammunition headed to terrorists under the cover of diplomatic flights. The author of the investigation notes that some of the weapons that Azerbaijan carries on diplomatic flights were used by its military in Nagorno Karabakh.

The international media broadly reacted to Dilyana Gaytandzhievas investigation.

ARMENPRESS news agency as well revealed scandalous facts about the activity of Azerbaijani embassy in Bulgaria while examining the documents that were accessible on the internet. Pressures were recorded on other citizens who carry out their professional activity in Bulgaria. The Azerbaijani ambassador even urged the Union of Journalists of Bulgaria to frozen journalist Tsvetana Paskalevas membership, as well as to hinder the events of AGBU Bulgaria branch that carries out legal activity in that country. Weeks ago it became known that Chairman of AGBU Bulgarias youth union Hayk Karapetyan had to leave the post of the member of the Plovdiv National and Integration Council under still undisclosed circumstances. The reason, according to ARMENPRESS information, has been the interference of the Azerbaijani side and the fact that Bulgarias state bodies succumbed to pressures instead of protecting the rights of a citizen of the country.
YEREVAN, AUGUST 25, ARMENPRESS. Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armenian Armed Forces, President of the Republic of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan on August 25 joined the countrys top leadership to attend the graduation ceremony of 2016-2017 academic year graduates of military-educational institutions at Sardarapat memorial complex, press service of the Presidents Office told Armenpress.

The President welcomed the participants, congratulated the graduates of military-educational institutions on the graduation ceremony, wishing them good service and every success.

In accordance with the order signed by the Minister of Defense of the Republic of Armenia, 279 graduates have been awarded with the first commissioned officer title of Lieutenant. Within the framework of the event, the graduates of military educational institutions received their graduation documents and daggers, which were handed in by the President of the Republic and the National Security Council members. The President of Armenia delivered a speech on that occasion.

The event ended with a farewell ceremony to combat flags and a ceremonious military march.

***



Remarks by President Serzh Sargsyan at the graduation ceremony of 2016-2017 academic year graduates of military-educational institutions

Dear Graduates,

Dear Servicemen,

I sincerely congratulate you on completion of this important stage in your life. You have successfully completed your studies and will depart from here to serve your dedicated mission.

You will be at the frontline, at the military units, at the headquarters and in the rear. Wherever you may go, you will assume the role of a commander followed by our courageous soldiers.

I have no doubt that first of all you will be exacting with yourself that will entitle you to be as much exacting towards your subordinates who are supposed to follow your example, your moral image. You will become a family member, elder brother and a counselor for them.

I am confident that either your superiors will act as such senior brothers and experienced advisors. They have already passed that same path. They should help you avoid the mistakes they have made, they must rely on and support you.

The Armenian army is just such a large family. Our country is just such a large family. Movses Khorenatsi used to say, We are a small nation. Yes, we are small, yet powerful, strong with unity characteristics of a [powerful nation and family.

We must remember that the primary meaning of the word nation is family and dynasty. The purpose of your service is to ensure the safety and peace of your family, your dynasty, your nation.

Dear Servicemen,

The One for all and all for one slogan is at the heart of our armed forces, which became the peoples army uniting the countrymen and the writers, the drivers and the software developers, the jewelers and the musicians. It was just that national effort that defended Artsakh and continues to guarantee its security.

The military service brings up a new type of Armenian citizen - firmly standing on the ground, confident in their strength, supporting their companions, confident about the strength of the rear. This type is brought up by your parents in the family, and the same will be handed down to your children. This type is trained in our schools, learning from teachers to distinguish between good and bad, good, evil, and injustice.

On these positive values and freedom we build our country, defend our cause and our land. That is why we won in the battlefield and are strong in our positions. Dear servicemen, you are just the leaders in those positions: you are the guardians of our frontiers.

The staff of commissioned officers of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia features a new type of Armenian intellectuals thanks to Armenias independent statehood. And our State will do its utmost to solve the problems of its glorious soldiers.

Here, where the spirit of the Sardarapat heroes flies, we all have to understand the burden of historical responsibility that we have on our shoulders. It is not only the security of todays Armenia, but also the responsibility to ensure the continuity of our statehood.

Dear Graduates,

Dear Servicemen,

Reiterating my congratulations, I wish you all good service and great achievements that will undoubtedly be the success of the whole nation.

Thank you.
YEREVAN, AUGUST 25, ARMENPRESS. The number of incoming tourists in Armenia amounted to 622 thousand 381 in the first half of 2017 which is an increase of 24.2% compared to the same period of the previous year.

Mekhak Apresyan  first Vice President of the State Tourism Committee, told a press conference in Armenpress, that festivals greatly contribute to the tourism development in Armenia.

The festivals being held in different provinces of Armenia are not only a unique tourism result, but also a platform for other types of tourism to develop and be presented in that platform, he said.

Apresyan said the main markets ensuring increase of incoming tourism in Armenia are Russia, Georgia, Iran and the European countries. This year there is an interesting dynamics from China, the Gulf countries, Japan. New discoveries are Korea and the Philippines, he said.

He added that over the recent years there is also a great interest from Latin American countries. The visits to Armenia in the world market increase year by year. 98% of tourists leave the country with satisfaction, Mekhak Apresyan stated.
YEREVAN, AUGUST 25, ARMENPRESS. The cooperation with the business leaders of the USA aimed at attracting more American businesses into our county, will continue in Armenia. After returning to Armenia, we will organize 1-2 workshop session and put all the creative ideas into a room with our team and try to "cook" this path a bit more, CEO of the Development Foundation of Armenia (DFA) Armen Avak Avakian said in response to the positive feedback and practical recommendations received after the roundtable discussion with business representatives in LA, the DFA told Armenpress.

I call for action to anyone, who would like to join us. Let's see if we can put our innovative minds together and engineer the perfect strategy to pitch Armenia for businesses, he added.

During the previous days of his visit to US, the CEO of DFA, accompanied by the President of the Armenian American Business Council Alec Baghdasaryan, has visited a number of technological companies, such as Career, QUETICO, Cater Truck. Business-related issues and the idea to consider Armenia as an investment destination have been discussed with the executives of the companies.

I am very confident that AABC and DFA will work productively to provide the proper handholding for each investor's project lifecycle in Armenia. DFA's functions in providing assistance for developing the business plans, marketing and aftercare support, are important components to provide investors with the required level of comfort to invest in Armenia, noted the head of the Armenian American Business Council Alec Baghdasaryan.

The Investment event was organized by the initiative of the Consulate General of the Republic of Armenia in Los Angeles, and the Armenian American Business Council assisted in organizing meetings with the relevant companies. Armenian General Benevolent Union organized the meeting with the AGBU young professionals, during which the head of the Foundation presented the economic agenda of Armenia.
YEREVAN, AUGUST 25, ARMENPRESS. The preliminary list of people killed in the bus crash in Russias Krasnodar region has been released: there are two Armenian surnames in the list  S. Bugudyan, A. Bugudyan, reports Armenpress.

On August 25 the bus carrying out workers fell into the sea killing 17 people.

According to preliminary reports the bus fell into the water for not following the traffic rules or failure of brakes.

Earlier the Armenian Consulate General in Rostov-on-Don announced there were two Armenians among the victims.
YEREVAN, AUGUST 25, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan on August 25 hosted the US Ambassador to Armenia Richard Mills, press service of the government told Armenpress.

The PM attached importance to these regular meetings that are a good chance to exchange views on the process of the Armenian-American cooperation and the development prospects.

The US Ambassador expressed regret over the major fire that broke out in the Khosrov Forest state reserve, stating that the US knows what difficulties there are in the fight against such disasters. He said the embassy is in constant contact with the ministries of emergency situations and nature protection on eliminating the consequences of the fire aimed at providing technical and expert assistance to the agencies

As for the improvement of the business environment and fight against corruption, the US Ambassador stated: I warmly welcome your efforts aimed at fighting against corruption and improving the business environment which resulted in increase of interest of American companies and investors towards Armenia. We continue thinking about the ways through which we can assist your efforts and deepen the bilateral trade and investments: we try to find the best ways to do that, including also the most effective way to assist the Anti-Corruption Council. Ambassador Mills highlighted that over the recent period there are positive signs from the American companies operating in Armenia concerning the activity of the State Revenue Committee and added that the US is ready to continue providing its assistance to the governments initiatives aimed at further improving the business field.

PM Karapetyan thanked for the readiness to provide assistance, adding that analysis will be made soon over the incident in the Khosrov Forest state reserve after which the mutual partnership with the US side will be more concrete.

Commenting on the anti-corruption fight, as well as the activity of the State Revenue Committee, Karen Karapetyan said its pleasure to hear such opinion over the governments ongoing steps in this field. However, we still have a lot of work to do on this path and the reforms will be continuous. We have commitment to improve the business environment, fight against corruption since all this is just a necessity for the development of economy, the PM stated.

The two officials also discussed the ongoing reforms in the justice field. The PM said at the moment the roadmap for judicial reforms is being developed taking into account the existing problems and gaps, and the Armenian side also expects the assistance of the American partners and specialists on this path. Karen Karapetyan attached importance to the US embassys active participation in the upcoming meeting of donor organizations of the justice field during which the main directions and priorities of the fields further reforms will be presented.

The sides also touched upon a number of issues relating to the Armenian-American relations.
YEREVAN, AUGUST 25, ARMENPRESS. President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayevand and Secretary General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Yuri Khachaturov discussed the key aspects of the organizations development during the meeting in Astana, Kazakhstans presidential office said, reports Armenpress.

During the meeting the CSTO role in ensuring regional security and the key aspects of the organizations further institutional development process were discussed, the statement said.

The issue relating to the preparation of the session of the CSTO Collective Security Council which is planned to be held in Minsk in autumn of 2017 was also touched upon.
YEREVAN, 25 AUGUST, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs Armenpress that today, 25 August, USD exchange rate up by 0.17 drams to 478.94 drams. EUR exchange rate up by 0.82 drams to 565.34 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate stood at 8.10 drams. GBP exchange rate up by 0.94 drams to 614.48 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price up by 43.22 drams to 19848.38 drams. Silver price down by 1.91 drams to 260.69 drams. Platinum price down by 25.44 drams to 15044.12 drams.
YEREVAN, AUGUST 25, ARMENPRESS. The star after world famous chansonnier Charles Aznavour was installed on Hollywoods Walk of Fame on August 24. On this occasion the American Variety magazine has dedicated a special section to Charles Aznavour and his activities, by including the congratulatory messages addressed to the artist. The congratulatory message from Edward Nalbandian, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, was also published, which, particularly, reads:

Dear Charles,



We have known each other for a very long time and I have had the pleasure to enjoy your friendship over the years. I know maybe all of your songs, but I have never told you that there was a time when every morning I would start my day with this song:



Le matin je me leve en chantant

Avec des projets plein la tete

Comme si jallais vivre cent ans 



It gave me a fresh impulse, energy and inspiration for new projects, comme si jallais vivre cent ans.



In 1999 I was appointed as ambassador to Paris, and since then I have had the pleasure to realize so many formidable projets pleins nos tetes together with you.

I would like to recall only a few of them:



In September 2006, in Yerevans central square, in the presence of more than a hundred thousand spectators and the presidents of Armenia and France, a magnificent concert was held which turned into a really popular celebration.



In February 2007, it was your concert in the Garnier Opera of Paris, when 50 Armenian children sang Pour Toi Armenie, that you had composed and performed after the Spitak earthquake together with 80 other world stars to help Armenia.



In September 2011, on the occasion of the 20th Anniversary of Armenias independence and under the auspices of the presidents of Armenia and France, it was your concert at the renowned Olympia.



This is the same Olympia, Charles, where 50 years before, you were singing Je m'voyais deja en haut de l'affiche.



But probably even you couldn't have imagined that half a century later your poster would bring an honor to The Olympia as well as to other great halls and theaters around the world.



I would like to recall the words of William Saroyan, the most optimistic American writer, according to Faulkner, who said about himself: Im no Armenian, Im an American. Well, the truth is I am both and neither. I love Armenia and I love America and I belong to both, but I am only this: an inhabitant of the earth, and so are you, whoever you are.



Charles, isnt it like what you think about yourself? I am a hundred percent French and a hundred percent Armenian. Equally rightly you could add and a hundred percent citizen of the world.



Like every nation, we Armenians, as well, are proud of our roots; which is probably slightly more emphasized for us because of our own history. That attachment to roots by the Armenian people, scattered over more than a hundred countries around the world as a result of the Genocide, is an attachment not only to their identity, but also to the memory of all those, qui sont tombes pour entrer dans la nuit puisqu'ils etaient fautifs d'etre enfants d'Armenie.



Only the great personalities are can be considered as citizens of the world, are gifted to create universal values and can be seen as the pride of their country of origin, as well as of the one which adopted them.



And if, according to the results of the CNN and Times polls, you are recognized as Artiste du siecle, if France has declared you as the Pope of the French song, if Armenia proclaimed you the National Hero, then for Armenians, you are a calling card, by which we are often recognized in different corners of the world.



Probably not all Armenians would know who the Foreign Minister of Armenia is. I am however sure that there is not a single Armenian around the globe who would not know who Charles Aznavour is! And not only Armenians!

I remember that day when we entered together the market of the faraway Samarkand a man, who must have been over a hundred years old and was selling a traditional rice dish while sitting on the floor in front of his big cauldron, suddenly started to shout. I know you, you are Aznavour, Charles Aznavour, La Boheme is your song!

Dear Charles,

I am sure that many people of different ages, origins and worldview, from different countries and continents have likened themselves to one of the heroes in your songs and films. All of them are united thanks to their admiration for your art. Your life itself is a great film, bright and full of love, humanism and hard-work.



We all wish that this film lasts endlessly and that its main hero, every morning

se leve en chantant

avec des projets plein la tete.



And that with the same young vigor, you would sow seeds of love in peoples souls, in our souls.

Dear Charles, Congratulations on your Hollywood Walk of Fame Star.


Esthetician Jasna Bukvic-Bhayani is suing the N.C. Board of Cosmetic Examiners because it won't let her open a school to teach hobbyists how to apply makeup. (Photo courtesy of Institute for Justice)

Jasna Bukvic-Bhayani wants to open a makeup school, but the N.C. Board of Cosmetic Art Examiners refuses to give her a license.Bukvic-Bhayani has been told she won't be allowed to operate her cosmetology school legally. But if she were to make it an "esthetics" school, that would be OK with the state.It's not OK with Bukvic-Bhayani.Now, along with the Institute of Justice , she is suing the board.Earlier this year, Bukvic-Bhayani created a Facebook page announcing her plans to open a makeup school. Soon after she got a visit from an official with the N.C. Board of Cosmetic Art Examiners.Get a license, he told her.The conditions for this license include following a mandatory esthetics curriculum, buying up to $10,000 in non-makeup-related equipment, and teaching more than 500 hours of non-makeup instruction.But Bukvic-Bhayani doesn't want to teach esthetics, which deals with the health and beautification of skin through techniques such as chemical peels, pore cleansing, and laser hair removal. She wants to teach advanced makeup skills to already-licensed estheticians and hobbyists.Bukvic-Bhayani said in a press release Bukvic-Bhayani is licensed as an esthetician. She has 600 hours of schooling and paid all of the fees legally required to apply makeup for a living. According to Bukvic-Bhayani, fewer than 10 hours were actually spent on makeup-related instruction. But, under the North Carolina Cosmetic Art Act , the cosmetic board makes no distinction between makeup artistry and esthetics.Julie Goodall, a friend and prospective student of Bukvic-Bhayani's, is also party to the lawsuit against the cosmetic board. As the Institute of Justice argues, Goodall isn't interested in learning how to apply makeup for pay - only as a hobby.Justin Pearson, a senior attorney at IJ, told Carolina Journal.IJ argues the cosmetic board is violating Bukvic-Bhayani's First Amendment rights.Pearson explained in the press release.Jon Sanders, director of regulatory studies at the John Locke Foundation, argues occupational licensing should be reserved to cases in which health and safety are of significant concern.Sanders asked.Sanders points to free-market solutions, including consumer reports and review websites such as Yelp as ways to show which businesses to trust and which to avoid.Sanders explained.The N.C. Board of Cosmetic Art Examiners failed to respond to a request for comment.
Czech Prime Minister Sobotka: We do not want more muslims in the Czech Republic

25. 8. 2017

cas cteni 1 minuta







"The Visegrad Group (Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia) has a common position to the EU refugee quotas: we refuse them. We would appreciate if Europe protected its external borders better," said Czech Social Democratic Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka in an interview with the Austrian newspaper Die Presse.



Sobotka continued: "It must be clear that distribution of refugees is not an incentive for illegal immigration. I am convinced that in the European asylum policy, compulsory quotas will not play any role in the future. The admission of refugees should always remain within the competence of the national states. We all too often see problems with the integration of people coming from a different cultural or religious environment.



We see problems in other European countries and so we do not want more Muslims in the Czech Republic. We help people coming from Eastern Europe.



As far as the contribution to the solution of the migration crisis is concerned, the Czech Republic is one of the most active EU members: We are among the largest financial supporters of the Libyan coast guard, refugee camps in Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan. And we sent policemen to protect the Balkan borders."



Sobotka also rejected the idea that the Czech Republic should distance itself from Poland and Hungary and to assume a more pro-European attitude. He said:



"The problems in Poland and Hungary do not exceed the level at which we would have to react dramatically. And if we reacted, we would first enter into dialogue with our partners."



Source in German (paywall) HERE







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A group of volunteers from Newfoundland and Labrador took their skills, hearts and an entire shipping container of supplies, to Tshelanyemba, Zimbabwe.

Among all the much-needed supplies were computers and internet access.

"[It was a] very rewarding experience," volunteer Stephen Greene said.

"To actually see the introduction of computers, something we take for granted."

Greene is Memorial University's Director of IT Services for the St. John's campus and he's been working with computers since the late 1980s. He volunteered for the Rotary-sponsored trip to the remote Zimbabwe village.

The project didn't start out with a plan to send people. Originally, the plan was to just send the shipping container full of supplies on its own.

"We had such an overwhelming response from the community that it evolved to 'why don't we go onsite,'" Greene told CBC.

The group ended up bringing 85 computers to the village, along with five Raspberry Pis filled with educational videos and tutorials that would be useful for the community which, before their arrival, only had four working computers. The Raspberry Pis were also used as Wi-Fi hot spots, meaning it's much easier for the the village of 40,000 to get online.

But with a great number of computers comes a great need for power. Greene approached the engineering faculty for their help.

"We actually had two MUN engineering students and we designed a solar panels solution," said Greene.

"We actually purchased the solution onsite in Africa and myself and other team members did the installation on to the hospital to supply power for these computers."

This province's connection to Tshelanyemba isn't a new one. Rotary St. John's Northwest's past president Jillian Gibson said a group has been going to the village for more than 20 years.

"We just love going back there. They are like our family there," Gibson said.

Story continues

"We've grown really connected to this community."

Along with the team was a 40-foot container filled with supplies for the hospital, the local school, and water treatment. Thanks to federal funding, fundraising, and a Rotary International grant, the group was able to spend more than $100,000 to make the two-week trip happen.

This trip was the second for the group since 2015, but it won't be the last.

"I would say the theme from this project was a lot of empowerment," said Gibson.

"We empowered the community. It wasn't just us giving to them, it was us working with them so that they can help themselves when we leave."
Machine Learning

Handshake Intros Intelligent Career Discovery on iOS Mobile App

Handshake, a career network for college students, this week deployed a mobile app version of its recruitment platform that harnesses machine learning to provide intelligent discovery features for students and employers.

The company has been working to level the playing field in college recruiting, with many first-generation college students using Handshake. Since its launch in 2016, Handshake has connected more than 8 million students and recent college graduates from 400-plus universities to more than 160,000 employers.

The newly launched iOS app is now available for free in the Apple App Store. It taps into machine learning to present each student with a personalized dashboard of job and internship opportunities. Jobs are grouped together based on students' skills, interests and goals, enabling them to browse and favorite opportunities they like in an interface that appeals to college-age users.

An overview of the iOS app. Credit: YouTube.

After candidates apply, employers can check their profile on Handshake to find out about their education, employment and other relevant information. The mobile version also lets students schedule meetings with career counselors.

I found my summer internship with Frito Lay and my first job out of college with Chicago Bridge & Iron using Handshake, said Bonnie Limpawuchara, a graduate from the University of Delaware, in a prepared statement.

Further information can be found on the Handshake site.
Fabrica Oveja Negra, the factory best known as the production facility for Black Label Trading Company and Black Works Studio, is moving into a larger, freestanding facility in Esteli, Nicaragua. Today plans were announced for the factory move. It is anticipated construction of the new facility will be completed by October 1st.

The new factory will be at located at the South entrance of Esteli on the Pan-American highway. It will include a large production area, tobacco storage facility, state-of-the-art aging room, retail store, cigar lounge and exhibition space. Factory visits can be arranged by appointment. The growth has been rapid, as it was only early in 2015 that Black Label Trading Company announced it was moving into its own factory.

The little factory that could, is the little factory that did! We are very excited about the expansion to a larger location. Our brands BLTC & BLK WKS have seen tremendous growth since we opened Oveja Negra in 2015 and its time to grow the factory accordingly. The new location will allow us to maintain and slowly increase our production to better serve our expanding customer base. We have always grown organically and kept true to our small batch philosophy, that will not change. The new location will allow us to increase our capacity with enough room to have creative spaces and continue to focus on incorporating our artistic abilities into our products. stated James Brown, partner at Oveja Negra and Black Label Trading Co.

In addition, Fabrica Oveja Negra has taken on other clients including Veritas, Nomad, and Emilio Cigars.

This is a tough industry for small companies. Its hard to get the attention you need to create a premium product. Our goal is to help support other boutique brands and grow the premium-cigar market, added Brown.

Photo Credit: Fabrica Oveja Negra
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New York, August 25, 2017Colombian authorities should undertake a swift and credible investigation into an attack yesterday against crime reporter Mauricio Cardoso in the southwestern state of Caqueta, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

At about 11:30 p.m. last night, three unidentified individuals armed with a knife attacked Cardoso, who reports on crime and justice for the Extra Caqueta newspaper in the city of Florencia, according to reports.

Caqueta has historically been at the center of the long-running armed conflict between Marxist guerrilla group Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the Colombian government, who signed a peace agreement in September 2016.

The peace deal between the government and FARC guerrillas should mean that journalists in Colombia can work freely and without fear of violence, said CPJ Deputy Executive Director Robert Mahoney. That is apparently not the case for Mauricio Cardoso. The authorities must investigate this brutal attack on him and bring the all those responsible to justice.

Three men on two motorcycles stopped Cardoso in the Ciudadela Siglo XXI residential neighborhood of Florencia, about 384 kilometers (240 miles) southwest of the capital of Bogota, as he was driving home from classes at the Universidad de la Amazonia, according to news reports.

Cardosos brother, Andres Cardoso, a journalist with TV station Caracol Noticias, told local news outlet TuCaqueta.com that the men hit his brother in the head with a heavy object, knocking him off of his motorcycle. They continued hitting Cardoso and attacked him with a knife, wounding him in the chest, abdomen, legs, and hands, according to a statement by the Caqueta Media Workers Association. The attackers also insulted Cardoso and told him they were going to kill him for being a snitch, according to the Bogota-based Foundation for Press Freedom (FLIP).

When passersby noticed the attack and intervened, the men fled, without taking Cardosos motorcycle or any of his possessions, according to the reports.

Jenifer Osorio, the editor of Extra Caqueta, told Caracol Radio that Cardoso was taken to the emergency room at a nearby medical center, where he was treated for his injuries and released.

Neither the news outlet nor individual journalists there had reported receiving any previous threats, according to FLIP. CPJs calls and online messages to Extra Caqueta were not immediately answered.

Col. Javier Navarro Ortiz, the police commander in Caqueta, visited Cardoso in the hospital and said police were pursuing multiple lines of investigation, including that the attack may have been related to Cardosos work, according to news reports. The Caqueta police did not return CPJs calls requesting comment.

Recent stories by Cardoso on the Extra Caqueta website include coverage of a popular local singers funeral and a deadly shootout that killed two people.

On February 14, 2015, radio journalist Luis Antonio Peralta Cuellar was shot and killed at his home in the town of Doncello, in southern Caqueta. No one has been convicted in the case.

Since 1992, at least 47 journalists have been killed in Colombia in relation to their work, many as the result of the conflict between the state and armed guerilla groups. While security for journalists in Colombia has improved in recent years, threats and violence against journalists continue, often with impunity, according to CPJ research.

[EDITORS NOTE: The twelfth paragraph of this alert have been corrected to reflect the spelling of Luis Antonio Peralta Cuellars name.]
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New York, August 25, 2017Ukrainian authorities should immediately release freelance journalist Vasily Muravitsky and drop all charges against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Muravitsky, a reporter and columnist based in Zhytomyr, has been detained since August 1 on anti-state charges brought by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), according to news reports.

SBU agents arrested Muravitsky on charges of state treason, infringement of territorial integrity of Ukraine, incitement of hatred, and support for terrorist organizations, according to a Facebook statement posted by the general prosecutors press secretary.

The SBU, in an August 2 statement, accused the journalist of preparing and distributing anti-Ukraine materials on six news websites administered from Russia and the temporarily-occupied territories of Ukraine, and acting as an information mercenary working on orders from Moscow. The statement cited Muravitskys contract with the Russian state news agency Rossiya Segodnya.

Muravitsky denied the charges against him in an interview with the independent Ukrainian website Strana. In the interview, given while in custody, Muravitsky said his contract with Rossiya Segodnya was a standard one used by hundreds of journalists around the world, and that he has not been presented with evidence to justify the accusation that his articles constitute state treason.

If convicted, Muravitsky, who reports on politics, the annexation of Crimea, and the fighting in Donbass, faces up to 15 years in prison.

We call on Ukrainian authorities to immediately release Vasily Muravitsky and drop all charges against him, said CPJ Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator Nina Ognianova. Ukrainian leaders must stop dividing journalists into patriotic and unpatriotic, and instead reiterate the critical role of journalists in a democratic society to hold public officials accountable.

On August 11, the SBU published on Facebook a list of articles by Muravitsky that allegedly were proof that the journalist acted precisely in the interests of the aggressor state. Many of the links to the articles were broken when CPJ checked them.

Sergiy Tomilenko, the head of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine, told CPJ on August 22 that authorities have not provided any evidence of Muravitskys guilt. Ukraine has been cracking down on critics and media outlets considered anti-patriotic, CPJ has found. The independent news website, Strana, which interviewed Muravitsky, has also come under SBU harassment.
A white supremacist convicted of two racially motivated murders three decades ago in Florida has been executed by lethal injection.





Mark Asay is the first white man in state history to be executed for killing a black victim, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.





The 53-year-old had been found guilty of two 1987 murders in Jacksonville. The execution took place at 22:22 GMT.





It was the first time a new drug cocktail was used.





A jury found that Asay shot his victims - Robert Lee Booker, a black man, and Robert McDowell, 26, a white-Hispanic man - on the same night after making racist comments.





Prosecutors said that Asay hired McDowell, who was dressed as a woman, for sex, and shot him after discovering his gender.





Since the state reinstated death sentences in 1976, 20 black men have been executed for killing white victims, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.





He was executed with etomidate, an anaesthetic never before used for a US execution, which will replace midazolam, which has proved difficult to obtain for US correctional institutions.





Two other drugs - rocuronium bromide and potassium acetate - will be included.





But one dissenting judge said the allowance of an unproven cocktail "jeopardised Asay's fundamental constitutional rights and treated him as the proverbial guinea pig".





In an interview with a local television station, Asay had said he did not want to spend the rest of his life behind bars.





The inmate - who had white supremacist tattoos - admitted killing Mr McDowell, but denied the other murder.





"Because I pray, and I say, 'I've had all of the prison I want.' So I want out of prison, through the front door or the back," he told News4Jax.





The US has seen several sloppily handled executions in recent years, with lawyers arguing the drugs failed to properly prevent pain during the process.





Not only was this the first execution in Florida in more than 18 months, but it was also the first since the US Supreme Court found the state's method of sentencing to be unconstitutional.





The high court ruled that judges held too much sway over the decision to hand down the death penalty.





Since then, the state legislature has changed the rules so that a jury must reach a unanimous verdict in order for a death sentence to be recommended to the court.





But the new law does not affect older cases, such as Asay's.

Florida executes convicted killer Mark Asay

Florida on Thursday put a man to death with an anesthetic never used before in a U.S. lethal injection, carrying out its first execution in more than 18 months on an inmate convicted of two racially motivated murders.





Authorities said 53-year-old Mark Asay was pronounced dead at 6:22 p.m. Thursday at the state prison in Starke. Asay received a three-drug injection that began with the anesthetic, etomidate.





Though approved by the Florida Supreme Court, etomidate has been criticized by some as being unproven in an execution. Etomidate replaced midazolam, which became harder to acquire after many drug companies began refusing to provide it for executions.





Prosecutors say Asay made racist comments in the 1987 fatal shooting of a 34-year-old black man, Robert Lee Booker. Asay also was convicted of the 1987 murder of 26-year-old Robert McDowell, who was mixed race, white and Hispanic.





Asay was asked whether he wanted to make a final statement. "No sir, I do not. Thank you," he replied.





The execution protocol began at 6:10 p.m. About a minute after the first drug was administered, Asay's feet jerked slightly and his mouth opened. A minute or two later he was motionless and subsequently was pronounced dead by a doctor.





The execution was Florida's first since the U.S. Supreme Court halted the practice in the state after finding its method for sentencing people to death to be unconstitutional. The high court earlier Thursday had rejected Asay's final appeal without comment.





Asay was the first white man to be executed in Florida for killing a black man. At least 20 black men have been executed for killing white victims since the state reinstated the death penalty in 1976, according to data from the Death Penalty Information Center. A total of 92 Florida inmates had been executed previously in that time period.





Etomidate is the first of three drugs administered in Florida's new execution mixture. It is replacing midazolam, which has been harder to acquire after many drug companies began refusing to provide it for executions.





The etomidate is followed by rocuronium bromide, a paralytic, and finally, potassium acetate, which stops the heart. It is Florida's first time using potassium acetate too, which was used in a 2015 execution in Oklahoma by mistake, but has not been used elsewhere, a death penalty expert said.





While the state's high court has approved the use of etomidate, some experts have criticized the drug as being unproven.





State corrections officials have defended the choice, saying it has been reviewed. The corrections department refused to answer questions from The Associated Press about how it chose etomidate.





Doctors hired by Asay's attorneys raised questions about etomidate in court declarations, saying there are cases where it had caused pain along with involuntary writhing in patients.





But in its opinion allowing the drug to be used, the state's high court said earlier this month that four expert witnesses demonstrated that Asay "is at small risk of mild to moderate pain."





Executions in Florida were put on hold for 18 months after the Supreme Court ruled that the old system was unconstitutional because it gave judges, not juries, the power to decide.





Since then, Florida's Legislature passed a law requiring a unanimous jury for death penalty recommendations.





In Asay's case, jurors recommended death for both murder counts by a 9-3 vote. Even though the new law requires unanimity, Florida's high court ruled that the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling did not apply to older cases.

















Asay was the 24th inmate executed since Gov. Rick Scott has taken office, the most under any governor in Florida history.

Jacksonville man executed for two murders in 1987

For the f1st time since the Supreme Court upended Floridas death penalty sentencing law, a man has been executed at Florida State Prison.





Mark Asay was convicted of the 1987 racially motivated murder of two men, one of who was black and the other white or Hispanic. The Florida Supreme Court recently adjusted their record on the case to update the races of the victims, since initially they had classified both victims as black men.





About 2 hours ahead of the 6PM execution, the Supreme Court denied a stay of execution for Asay.





This marked the 1st time a certain anesthetic- etomidate- was used to help carry out an execution in the US. It was part of a three drug injection, that ultimately resulted in Asays death at 6:22 PM.





Asays attorneys had based one of their appeals around questions about the drug and why the state is rolling it out now, but that was unsuccessful.





The Florida Department of Corrections says there were no complications or indications of pain during the execution.





Asay woke up around 4:30 AM in good spirits, according to the FDOC. His last meal was fried pork chops, fried ham, french fries, vanilla swirl ice cream, and a can of Coke. The FDOC says Asay spent about two hours with his sister, sister-in-law, and brother-in-law in the morning, and some time with his spiritual adviser in the afternoon.





Bridgette Matter with our partner Action News Jax was among those in the viewing room as Asay was executed. She reports it took 11 minutes for the execution to be carried out.





Asay becomes the 1st condemned inmate to be put to death in Florida since January 2016, and the 93rd overall since the state resumed capital punishment in 1979.





Asay becomes the 17th condemned inmate to be put to death this year in the USA and the 1459th overall since the nation resumed executions on January 17, 1977. Only Texas (543), Virginia (113), and Oklahoma (112) have carried out more executions than Florida.

REPORTER'S NOTEBOOK: Witnessing the execution of Mark James Asay

I have done something tonight that I have never done in my 10 year career, nonetheless in my life. I voluntarily watched another human being die.





At 6:22 p.m. on Thursday, August 24, 2017, the State of Florida carried out its execution of Mark James Asay.





Asay was sentenced to death for the 1987 racially-motivated murders of Robert Lee Booker and Robert McDowell.





I was one of eight journalists invited to witness Asays execution first hand.





When we were taken inside the Florida State Prison, we were not allowed to bring anything. No jewelry, no keys, nothing. The only exception was an ID and five $1 bills.





We were each provided a notebook and two #2 pencils. Every reporter used theirs to feverishly write down each observation. Im using my notes to provide a bit of REPORTERS NOTEBOOK. Perhaps you will get something out of it, perhaps not. Perhaps I will get something out of this later. Time will tell.





Before we went in, we were told Asay woke up earlier than usual: 4:30AM.





He had a visit with family for two hours, and then a spiritual advisor. He request for his last meal fries pork chops, fried ham, French fries, a can of Coca Cola, and vanilla swirl ice cream.





I wonder why he got up earlier than usual, and how he spent the time.





In reflection, what strikes me most about the lethal charge of such an event, is the peace and calm that fills the atmosphere. Tonight, was likely a little more striking perhaps with an abrupt storm that rolled in at the time we were led into the execution witness room.





5:48 PM | We were held in a canteen room with beige walls, rusty windows, and about 15 tables. There were a few vending machines at the front door. After being in the room for about 30 minutes we were told things were running a few minutes behind, but given no reason why.





5:50 PM | While waiting in the canteen room, there were faint sounds of thunder that began to rumble in the near distance.





5:55 PM | Perhaps Mother Nature was foreshadowing the grave task ahead. As a nearby storm approached, we were led from the waiting room, down a hall of beige walls and tall cells. The clap of thunder on the outside echoed above.





We loaded up into a white Ford passenger van. This van had seen better days, that's for sure. Wouldn't be surprised if it had a few hundred thousand miles on it. It was our chariot for a 45 second drive across the prison campus where we unloaded at another building. We were greeted with a blue door with a small window. We knew beyond this door, a man's final fate was near.





6:05 PM | The group of us 8 reporters were escorted into the witness room. There were four rows of seats, 15 of them already occupied by a group of family members and others. Their attention never diverted. It was as though they had no idea we were walking in. Each of their heads remained looking forward, at the reflective glass window with the drawn black curtain.





I counted 1 black male, 5 white women, and 9 white men among the group of 15 fellow witnesses, excluding the 4 men and 4 women of the media witness group. I'm still not sure who each of the witnesses were. One, I was told was a spiritual adviser, another was a prosecutor from Jacksonville.





Now seated, we all looked straight ahead at the near 4.5 foot by 12 foot window, curtain still drawn.





I wrote on my note pad at this point Right now I am focused on not trying to think about what I will see, but rather taking a timeline and notes of events. Inside I can hear the occasional faint sound of thunder over the humming of the window AC unit in the small witness room. All witnesses are facing forward. I can see the reflections of their faces on the glass.





The rain and AC were the only sounds heard in the room.





6:11 PM | The curtain covering the large witness window suddenly rose vertically, giving view of Mark James Asay. He was a man of about 5'07", 212 pounds, thinning blond hair and a trimmed goatee. He was strapped down to the gurney, his head furthest from us. His hands were stretched and tied down, his hands covered by some glove-like material. His body was covered in a white sheet, from his feet to his chest. Only his head, neck, and part of his forearm were exposed from what I could see. It was easy to see his arm, colored in some of his tattoos. He had 24 in all. Some proclaiming white nationalism and his allegiance to white supremacy. His sister rejected the idea of him being a racist. She said he joined a racist gang during his time in a Texas prison, before the murders, as a way to have protection.





For some 29 years he called the hallowed halls and compact cell "home". He has now been evicted.





We all stared at Asay, bound to the gurney by those thick leather straps. He seemed reserved. Calm. Nearly emotionless.





He was joined in the execution chamber by three men, all wearing suits and ear pieces. Two of them I assume were members of the execution chamber, the third was a member of Florida Department of Law Enforcement whose job it was to keep tedious record of everything that happens on the paper on the clipboard in his hands.





6:11 PM | Moments after the curtain rose, the execution warden is seen picking up a phone in the chamber and exchanging a few brief words. We know this phone is directly connected to the Governor's Office. He is likely asking if there are any final rulings that would block the execution. We know there are. Two hours before, the United States Supreme Court said it was denying a request for a Stay. The warden then turns to Asay and asks whether there were any final words hed like to say.





DOC Employee: Do you have a last statement?





Asay: No sir, I do not.





There was no emotional reaction at any point from any of the witnesses. Im not sure at this point whether that statement was of satisfaction for the families of the victims.





6:11 PM | Approximately 30 seconds after saying he had no last statement, there was a loud crack of thunder, and the sudden echo of rain falling on the roof above.





The weather for some reason is weighing on my mind, considering what is now happening. A bit of metaphor perhaps, who knows.





Near the end of 6:11 PM, the process of the lethal injection officially began.





6:12 PM | My eyes are fixed on Asays face. His eyes are closed. The process appears to be matter of fact, with no cause, concern, stress, or drama of any kind. Asay appears at peace, and relaxed.





From the vantage point of the witness room you do not see any of the executioners involved, nor a clear view of the IV lines that are used to inject the lethal drugs into his body.





6:13 PM | Asays eyes remain closed. I dont see visible signs he is breathing. The only motion that I see are his lips fluttering ever so slightly. All witnesses remain attentively focused on Asay.





6:14 PM | All remains quiet, the process is going on, then there is a much louder crack of thunder. Another metaphor or sign of something? I observe the FDLE agent taking frequent notes.





6:14 PM | The execution warden takes about 4 steps toward Asay, slightly bends over Asay and grabs him by the shoulder. He shakes him for about 3 seconds.





I understand this is to ensure the first drug is working appropriately, and that Asay is unconscious. This was crucial, because Florida is the first state to use a drug called Etomidate in the lethal injection process. It's the first drug injected and supposed to ensure the inmate/patient is unconscious. This is also to eliminate any pain from the soon to come lethal potassium acetate drug. Reading the DOCs policy book, Im timing in my mind that the Etomidate and first round of saline has been given, and next will be the drugs that first relaxes Asays muscles, paralyzing him, and then the potassium acetate.





6:16 PM | There remains no visual or verbal reactions from anyone inside the execution chamber, nor the witnesses.





6:17 PM | I take a note again for some reason that Asay has hair and a goatee and the three men in the execution chamber each are wearing a business suit and an earpiece.





6:18 PM | Asay remains motionless, but I notice that his lips are now appearing to become darker in color. That is a sign, Ive been told, that death is imminent.





6:20 PM | Visually, nothing has changed. Now, I am just staring. Not really mentally capturing what is taking place, but remaining focused on looking for any potential detail.





6:21 PM | A doctor walks into the execution chamber with a stethoscope and small flashlight. The doctor approaches Asay on the gurney. The doctor uses the small flashlight to first physically open Asays eyes. He then uses the stethoscope, moving it around on Asays chest, at various points, checking for any signs of life. In moments it will be clear that he does not.





6:22 PM | The doctor looks up from Asay, puts his stethoscope around his neck, looks over to the execution warden and says something. Its short, and I cant quite make out what he said. I can safely assume he's pronounced Asay dead.





6:22 PM | The AC just turned off, and there is a loud shower of rain echoing on the rooftop above. The execution warden picks up a phone on the wall, connected to the Governor's Office, and has a brief conversation.





6:22 PM | Moments later, the PA system to the witness room is turned on. The execution warden declares The Sentence from the State of Florida has been carried out at 6:22 PM.





6:22 PM | Mark James Asay is declared dead at 6:22 PM, Thursday August 24, 2017





Moments later, the 15 witnesses are escorted from the room. The media follows in a separate van, where we being to leave Florida State Prison back to the media staging area. Rain is falling heavily, and there is a large black wall of clouds nearby.





As we drove back, I thought not much about the actual process itself, but rather those final words.





Mark James Asay had been tried and convicted on those gruesome crimes he committed. We did not have the opportunity to speak with the victims families, but I wonder, what motivated them to be here tonight.





Do they feel a sense of justice? What did his final words mean, if anything, to them.





Officially his last words on earth are No sir, I do not.





He told a Jacksonville reporter earlier this week that he did not fear death and believed it was time he left prison whether it was out the front door or the back. Perhaps he still wanted his life, but he at least got his wish.





For me, perhaps there will be aspects I reflect on from time to time. Walking the halls of that prison, where beige is the only color and rust surrounds the windows and roof tops, I felt an easy depression. This is what having no freedom feel likes.





It was easy walking in, knowing I would be walking out. That is a feeling and freedom most at this prison don't have, and some will never have.





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"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed, but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde
This past Tuesday, well over one hundred and fifty years since the end of the Civil War, a powerful, well-connected, well-to-do Southern white man, Missouri Governor Eric Greitens, exercised his law-given authority to stay the execution of Marcellus Williams , a poor black man. The reprieve was issued hours before the scheduled pumping of caustic chemicals by state officials into Williamss body.





Convicted by a nearly all-white jury (there was one black juror) of killing a white woman, Williams was tried in St. Louis County, a jurisdiction writer Rebecca McCray observes is known for the ease with which prosecutors exclude black jurors in capital trials. Putting aside the pernicious use of race in denying Williams a true jury of his peers, and also, the tenuous evidence admitted against him  and the grave, grave questions lingering about his guilt  it is critical to understand: Williams was exponentially more likely to receive a death sentence solely because of race, particularly the race of the victim. This long-acknowledged abomination in American death penalty jurisprudence was cowardly acquiesced to by the United States Supreme Court in 1987, in McClesky v. Kemp, a case New York University School of Law professor and celebrated Supreme Court lawyer Anthony G. Amsterdam called, the Dred Scott decision of our time.





Williamss stay of execution, which Greitens granted for a board of inquiry to examine DNA test results and additional evidence Williamss lawyers assert demonstrate his innocence, is temporary. St. Louis county prosecutor Bob McCullough, another white man, the same prosecutor who failed to indict (white) police officer Darren Wilson for the shooting death of Michael Brown, argues there was ample other evidence to convict Williams and zero possibility of [Williamss] innocence.





But morally, in keeping with his core beliefs  and irrespective of the nitty-gritty merits of Williamss innocence claim  Governor Greitens, a former Navy Seal and a man of honor, must commute, to life without the possibility of parole, Williamss death sentence. Demonstrating consciousness and character desperately lacking in politics today, Greitens must declare a moratorium on the death penalty in Missouri and commute the death sentences of all the states condemned inmates  not just Williamss.





Why? Because of the same logic of fairness and equality undergirding the statement of Admiral John Richardson, the countrys top naval officer, right after the violence in Charlottesville; Richardson declared the Navy will forever stand against intolerance and hatred. Echoing Richardson on the day white nationalists rallied in Virginia, Governor Greitens took to twitter, typing:The hate, racism, and violence on display in Charlottesville is terrible. We must come together. Americans are better than this.





Admiral Richardson and Governor Greitens are right, Americans are better than this. But, by this, I also include as Greitens, Richardson, and the rest of civilized society must, the unacceptable racial bias that persists in capital punishment  an ignominious bloody stain running far deeper, and with more tragic results in the frayed fabric of our country, than what we saw in Charlottesville. Indeed, the history of the death penalty in America is hewn from the hell of slavery, subjugation, and the suffering of black people. In an essay in the formidable new book Policing the Black Man, legendary civil rights attorney Bryan Stevenson writes: The decline of lynching in America relied heavily on the increased use of capital punishment following court trials and accelerated, unreliable legal process in state courts. The death penaltys roots are clearly linked to the legacy of lynching.





A week after the recent ugliness in Charlottesville, popular Protestant pastor and president of North Carolinas NAACP, Rev. William J. Barber II, posted to his widely followed twitter account: Pull down the racist statutes, not just the Confederate statues. While some immediately questioned if, like many first-year law students, Barber had committed a scriveners error, a subsequent column in Durhams daily newspaper, The Herald-Sun, made clear, he had not.





Speaking at Peace Missionary Baptist Church, Barber is reported to have said: If you just pull down the statue but you do not pull down the statutes, the laws that support them, we still have issues. The Herald-Sun observed: Barber admitted that politicians were quick to say the events in Charlottesville were horrible but the root of racism goes much deeper. Solving that problem in America is going to be a long struggle  It will take more than removing offensive symbols. Laws will have to be changed.





Racist death penalty statutes must be the first to go. Exercising meaningful, impactful leadership, Governor Greitens can and should, start with Missouris.





Source: Los Angeles Post-Examiner , Stephen Cooper, August 24, 2017. Stephen Cooper is a former D.C. public defender who worked as an assistant federal public defender in Alabama between 2012 and 2015. He has contributed to numerous magazines and newspapers in the United States and overseas. He writes full-time and lives in Woodland Hills, California. His twitter is: @SteveCooperEsq

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"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed, but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde
One more prisoner was hanged on drug related charges, and a prisoner was hanged on security charges, including "Corruption on Earth" and "Enmity against God".





Iran Human Rights (AUG 25 2017): A prisoner was reportedly hanged at Maragheh Prison on drug related charges, and a prisoner was reportedly hanged at Kerman Central Prison on Corruption on Earth and Moharebeh (enmity against God) charges.





According to close sources, the prisoner at Maragheh Prison was executed on the morning of Wednesday August 16. The prisoner has been identified as Manouchehr Heydarkhah, 26 years of age, sentenced to death on drug related charges. "Manouchehr was arrested four years ago on the charge of 14 kilograms and 800 grams of crystal meth, and he was sentenced to death by the revolutionary court in Maragheh," an informed source tells Iran Human Rights.





According to the state-run news agency, Rokna, on the morning of Tuesday August 22, a prisoner identified as Arya Javidan was executed on "Corruption on Earth" and "Enmity Against God" charges. The report mentions that Arya Javidan had several previous convictions including murder, robbery, kidnapping, and extortion. The report also mentions that Arya Javidan is father of three.





Prisoner hanged on drug charges, religious minority prisoner at imminent risk of execution





Iran Human Rights (AUG 25 2017): A prisoner was reportedly hanged at Karaj's Rajai Shahr Prison on drug related charges. Another prisoner was transferred to solitary confinement in preparation for his execution.





Close sources say the prisoner at Rajai Shahr Prison was executed on the morning of Wednesday August 23 on drug related charges. The prisoner has been identified as Sadegh Gholami, sentenced to death on the charge of approximately one kilograms of crack. He was reportedly transferred to solitary confinement on Tuesday August 15 in preparation for his execution.





Last week, an informed source told Iran Human Rights: "Sadegh Gholami was scheduled to be executed last year on drug related charges, but in order to delay his execution, he murdered one of his cellmates. The status of the new case file opened for him for the murder crime is uncertain right now. Sadegh is attempting to receive forgiveness from the complainant on his new case file in order to be spared from execution."





Some prisoners on death row in Iran have been known to murder a cellmate or inflict self-injury in order to postpone their execution sentences. However, in Mr. Gholami's case, he was executed on his original conviction.





On Tuesday August 22, a Sunni prisoner identified as Seyed Jamal Seyed Mousavi (pictured below) was reportedly transferred to solitary confinement in preparation for his execution. Mr. Seyed Mousavi also spent last week in solitary confinement. He was transferred back to his cell to only be transferred back to solitary confinement on the same day. Close sources say Mr. Seyed Mousavi has already received his last visit with his family.





Seyed Jamal Seyed Mousavi was arrested by the Ministry of Intelligence in Sanandaj in 2008, he was sentenced to death by a revolutionary court on the charge of "Moharebeh (enmity against God) through cooperation with Salafi groups.

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"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed, but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde
Jeffrey Jeff Havard currently sits wrongfully convicted on death row in Mississippi for the sexual assault and murder of his girlfriends six-month-old daughter, Chloe Britt. Havard has stated from the beginning that the infant slipped from his arms while lifting her from the tub, causing her head to hit a nearby toilet. There is no evidence whatsoever to support a sexual assault charge. Multiple experts currently support Havards claims that Chloes death was the result of an accident.





In May of 2016, the Mississippi Supreme Court ordered an evidentiary hearing for Havards case based on defense claims of new evidence due to changes in the science behind Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS). Last week, after nearly 15 years of incarceration on death row, Havard finally had the opportunity to return to the courtroom of Adams County Circuit Court Judge Forrest Johnson, with renewed hope that the truth would finally be heard.





Judge Johnson presided over Havards trial in 2002. The trial was speedy to say the least. Within a matter of two days, the court selected a jury, tried the case, received the jurys verdict, and sentenced Havard to death. The jury heard from only one expert who testified for the prosecution. Havard asked for an expert of his own but the request was denied by Judge Johnson based on financial restraints of the county. At the time, indigent defendants were expected to rely on the prosecutions expert if they could not personally afford their own.





Havards 2002 trial was a sham. It is not possible to properly try a death penalty case in two days. To put things into perspective, last weeks evidentiary hearing took three days. The judge listened to testimony from four experts who testified for the defense, and also heard testimony from a pediatrician who testified for the prosecution. Havards evidentiary hearing, which was dedicated to a single topic, and provided no immediate decision, took longer than the entire trial which landed Havard on death row in 2002.





Havards evidentiary hearing began on August 14, 2017 and concluded on August 16, 2017. The Adams County Courthouse where the hearing took place is in Natchez, Mississippi, a historic Mississippi River town bordering Louisiana. I was intrigued by the small town feel of Natchez. Entering the courthouse for the first time gave me the sense that I had somehow stepped back in time. The courthouse is listed as the oldest in Mississippi, and is no doubt rich in history. A history which the building now struggles to contain. The public hallways are lined with file cabinets overflowing with paperwork, with cardboard bankers boxes stacked on top which are also being tested to their limits of capacity, as loose paperwork can be seen stacked about.





The courthouse works as a multi-functional building. The first floor has a clerks office where people file in to pay various fees, taxes, and fines. The second floor contains courtrooms and judges chambers. Each morning when I arrived, I walked past a line of people waiting to see the clerk, wondering if any of them were aware of the fact, that in the very same building, just up the stairs and down the hall, a man was fighting for his life. It was a stark reminder that people are swallowed up by our justice syste. Once convicted, the incarcerated are all but forgotten by society, minus those close to any case. For some, this may not garner much sympathy for those who are guilty of the crimes they are convicted of, but it certainly provides a painful reality for those who currently sit in cages for crimes they did not commit.





The Sheriffs deputies working at the courthouse were courteous and professional throughout the hearing. They went above and beyond to try and accommodate Havards family as much as they could. Havard was allowed to shake hands with supporters, and most importantly, he was allowed to hug those closest to him. Human contact is something Havard has not experienced for the past 15 years, so it was no surprise to see the heartfelt display of emotions from those involved.



The hearing began with instructions from Judge Johnson, laying out the guidelines set by the Mississippi Supreme Court. The high court recognized that the cause of death in Havards case warranted review but the high court did not grant the defenses additional request to review the charge of sexual assault, keeping on par with their previous rulings on past appeals.



The high courts orders that Havards evidentiary hearing could only review the charge of SBS, provided for unique circumstances, because Havard sits on death row solely due to the combination of charges. Without the charge of sexual assault being tacked on, Havards case would have never been a death penalty case in the first place. Havards lawyers refused to be deterred. The defense made sure throughout the hearing to highlight on the record that there are currently no experts who support the claim of sexual abuse. Every expert who testified, as well as the prosecutions pediatrician, all stated under oath that there was no evidence of a sexual assault.



The prosecutions case in 2002 was built primarily on the testimony provided by Dr. Steven Hayne and the ER staff that was present on the night Chloe died. Hayne conducted the autopsy on the infant. Hayne did not find evidence of sexual assault while conducting the autopsy, even though he was told to look for it. Hayne helped the prosecution when he testified that a contusion in the infants anus could have resulted from penetration with an object. Hayne also testified that the death was the result of SBS. Hayne has now retracted those statements.



There is not one single shred of evidence that Chloe Britt was ever sexually assaulted, by Jeff Havard or by anyone else. The sexual assault allegation was based on observations of the ER staff that the infants anus was dilated. The ER staff was not qualified to give an opinion regarding sexual abuse. Every single staff member who provided a statement to police, made the same mistake when misdiagnosing the condition of the infants anus. The court furthered the damage when wrongly allowing the ER staff to testify as experts at trial.



Anal dilation has given rise to suspicion of sexual abuse in other cases, and a clinical study was done to clarify the subject. Researchers found that anal dilation is a common artifact in accidental deaths involving severe brain injury.



Havards defense filed several appeals over the years citing expert evidence that no sexual assault had occurred, but those appeals were all denied. After Havards conviction, Mississippis post-conviction relief office obtained the services of former Alabama state medical examiner Dr. James Lauridson to review the autopsy findings of Hayne. Lauridson concluded that the evidence failed to confirm that a sexual assault of any kind had taken place. There was no sign of any tears or lacerations in the infants anus and it was not out of the ordinary for dilation to occur naturally. Lauridson noted that there was no trace of Havards DNA found on or inside the infant. He also noted that a thermometer inserted into the infants anus at the emergency room could have caused the small one centimeter bruise noted by Hayne. Lauridsons report refuted the prosecutions claim of a sexual assault. Interestingly, Lauridsons expert opinion had no bearing on appeal.



After Judge Johnson finished addressing the court, the defense called Dr. Steven Hayne to the stand. Hayne poses many problems for the state of Mississippi. Hayne has a shady past that involves thousands of autopsies, and countless legal cases. Hayne was presented by prosecutors as a primary expert in criminal trials for a period of decades in Mississippi. Investigative journalist Radley Balko has been reporting on Haynes questionable conduct for years.

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"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed, but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde

Wrongful Conviction News, Bruce Fischer, August 25, 2017
During his recent trip to Colombia, Argentina, Chile, and Panama, Vice President Mike Pence urged governments in the hemisphere to take strong action to support a peaceable solution to the crisis facing the Venezuelan people.

"In Venezuela," said Vice President Pence, "we're seeing the tragedy of tyranny play out before our eyes." The Venezuelan people are "experiencing grinding poverty" and dire food and medicine shortages.

"The once-free people of Venezuela are being forced to endure this fate by the brutality of the Maduro regime," said Mr. Pence. "No free people has ever chosen to walk the path from prosperity to poverty. No free people has ever chosen to turn what was once, and should still be, one of South Americas richest nations into its poorest and most corrupt."

The Maduro regime has undermined Venezuelas democratically-elected National Assembly. It has stifled the voices of a free press and its people, and imprisoned more than 670 political opponents. More than 130 Venezuelans have already died in the fight for democracy.

"The United States, Colombia, and free nations of Latin America will not be silent," as Venezuela slides into dictatorship, said Vice President Pence."We will continue to stand with free nations across our hemisphere until democracy is restored for the Venezuelan people."

Determined to hold Venezuela to account, 12 nations from across the region jointly issued the Lima Declaration. They were blunt and truthful: Venezuela is no longer a democracy. The Maduro regime has committed systematic violations of human rights and fundamental liberties, and bears responsibility for blocking the entry into Venezuela of badly needed food supplies and medicine.

The United States has issued several rounds of targeted sanctions against Venezuelan government officials, including Maduro. The United States, said Mr. Pence, "will continue to take action until the Maduro regime restores democracy, holds free and fair elections, releases all political prisoners, and ends the repression of the Venezuelan people."

Working with all of its allies across Latin America, President Donald Trump has said, "We can achieve a peaceable solution to the crisis facing the Venezuelan people." To that end, the U.S. will continue to bring to bear the full measure of American economic and diplomatic power until democracy is restored in Venezuela.
Driss Oukabir, suspected of having links to the terror cell that carried out the Catalonia attacks. CARLOS ROSILLO

The 12 young men who formed the terror cell that carried out last weeks terrorist attacks in Spains Catalonia region had been indoctrinated into the extreme Takfir Wal-Hijra (excommunication and exodus) sect of Salafi jihadism, counter-terrorism sources have told EL PAIS.

The so-called takfiris comprise the most radical and violent strand of Salafi jihadism and figure in the European Unions list of terrorist organizations. They also represent the most dangerous form of jihadism because their members hide in plain sight.

They represent the most dangerous form of jihadism because their members hide in plain sight

Evidence suggests Aldelbaky es Satty, the imam who headed the Catalonia terror cell based in the Catalan town of Ripoll  and who died in an accidental explosion in a house being used as a base of operations by the group  indoctrinated its members into this form of Salafi jihadism that is very difficult for security forces to detect.

The main defining characteristic of the takfiris is their willing to break the sacred rules of other jihadist groups in order to avoid being detected. They wear Western clothing, drink alcohol, take drugs, listen to music, watch television, go out with women and eat pork. In addition, they do not grow full beards or goatees.

In the case of the Catalonia terror cell, these sins for the jihad kept them off the radar of intelligence services. This explains why neither the imam nor the 12 members of the cell ever showed any external signs of radicalization, one police chief said.

This conduct [on their part] makes our work and that of our informants in terms of identifying young people who are in danger of being radicalized very difficult, one security service operative added.

The presence of the Takfir Wal-Hijra movement is not new in Spain. In 2007, Spains National Intelligence Center (CNI) noted the opening of six small mosques  four in Barcelona and two in Valencia  headed by takfiris. Their imams were Moroccans and Algerians with identical profiles and attitudes to the imam in Ripoll, a discrete figure who never spoke the word jihad from the pulpit or raised the suspicions of the faithful or locals in the small town of 10,000.

Neither the imam nor the 12 members of the cell ever showed any external signs of radicalization Police chief

A year later, a report from Spains police intelligence service (the CGI) dated April 19, 2008 warned of the presence of takfiris in Spain, analyzing a wave of suicide attacks in Algeria and Casablanca and highlighting increased social polarization as well as the radicalization of a part of the Muslim community.

A heavily re-Islamized society and the globalization of the jihad have led to conditions where we are seeing a new threat from isolated territorial groups, or groups made up of young, so-called second-generation Islamists, the confidential report states.

The authors of the report also noted that this crop of potential terrorists were takfiris as were several of the jihadists behind the Madrid train bombings in 2004 which killed 193 and left over 1,700 injured.

Their willingness to commit criminal acts, the fact that they isolate themselves because they believe that they represent the only true form of Islam and their hatred, and rejection of all other Muslims, whom they consider corrupt or apostate, have seen them become a perfect breeding ground for young, uprooted Muslims in the West, the report notes of the takfiris.

Abdelbaky es Satty was excellent at hiding his beliefs, making people think he was a humble man who preached peace

Abdelbaky es Satty was excellent at hiding his beliefs, making people think he was a humble man who preached peace. He had no previous convictions for terrorism crimes and raised no suspicions except when he traveled to Vilvoorde, one of the hot spots of jihadism in Belgium, in search for work in another mosque. He was turned down when he failed to provide details of his criminal record.

In fact, the imam had previously spent four years in prison on drug trafficking charges, the only error for the cleric who had followed the takfiri path.

The sect behind the assassination of Anwar Sadat The Takfir Wal-Hijra sect could lay claim to at least eight mosques in Spain in 2009: five in Barcelona, two in Valencia and one in the North African exclave of Melilla. These are generally not ornate places of worship but low-key locations where the prime objective of secrecy is guaranteed. The imams are Moroccans and Algerians. The man behind the Twin Towers attack in New York, Mohamed Atta, and the main terrorists in the Madrid train bombings of 2004 were also takfiris, or adherents of the sect, according to their family, friends and police sources. The movement was inspired by Shukri Mustafa, an agricultural engineer who founded the group in the 1960s as an offshoot of Egypts Muslim Brotherhood. Mustafa decreed the excommunication of renegade Muslims who did not share his radical ideas on Islam. He was executed in 1978 on suspicion of having ordered the assassination of Egyptian religious affairs minister Muhammad al-Dhahabi. After his death, his 5,000 or so followers were subject to persecution and fled the cities and took refuge in the countryside. Once there, they rejected modern life and attempted to return to rural ways. The assassination of Egyptian president Anwar Sadat in 1981 was carried out by takfiris. This and other attacks helped spread the movements ideas through Europe and Northern Africa.

English version by George Mills.
Attendees at the memorial for the victims of the Catalonia attacks. JOAN SANCHEZ

A week after the attacks on the Barcelona promenade of La Rambla and in the Catalan resort town of Cambrils, an intercultural gathering of 900 dignitaries and residents paid tribute to the victims.

The memorial took place in the Maritime Museum, a stones throw from La Rambla, the famous street along which Younes Abouyaaqoub drove, ramming his van into the crowds, killing 13 and injuring over 100 people from around 35 countries.

We are here with our heads held high to say we are not scared Actress Carme Sansa

The slogan for the occasion was No tinc por Im not afraid. Barcelonas Arabic Orchestra began proceedings with a unique version of the traditional Catalan piece The Song of the Birds. Actress Carme Sansa then read out the first names of each of the victims. We are here with our heads held high to say we are not scared, she told attendees, emphasizing that Barcelona is an open, diverse and welcoming city, a city we are proud of. More than ever we have to fight for that diversity, because that is where our strength lies.

Sansa went on to recall the words of Mahatma Gandhi: There is no path to peace. Peace is the path and stressed the respectful and inclusive nature of the event. This is what Barcelona is and it reflects the profile of the victims who were from various countries and religions, she said. Wherever they were from, they were neighbors.

Representatives of 300 groups were at the museum to pay their respects, some atheist, some secular, and others from a broad spectrum of faiths.

Religious leaders on hand included Barcelonas Archbishop Juan Jose Omella, who hold the large mass in Antonio Gaudis Sagrada Familia church on Sunday attended by King Felipe and Queen Letizia.

Passages about peace from the Bible, the Koran, a Buddhist text and the Torah were read out

Meanwhile, Catalan Regional Premier Carles Puigdemont, Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau, Spanish Minister of Justice Rafael Catala, the central government delegate for Catalonia, Enric Millo, and the speaker of the Catalan regional parliament, Carme Forcadell, stood at the front of the gathering with Catalan politicians from all parties, listening together as young members of the community took turns to read passages from the Bible, the Koran, a Buddhist text and the Torah: words from different creeds but with the same message of peace.

In another corner of the hall, representatives of the emergency services paid their respects along with members of the general public.

Towards the end of the proceedings, 30 boys and girls, from diverse religious backgrounds, were called by name and stepped up to the podium with a single flower, later to be taken to La Rambla. The memorial was concluded with a poem by Federico Garcia Lorca dedicated to La Rambla itself: the only street on earth that I wish would never end.

I need to hug a Muslim Javier Martinez, the father of three-year-old Xavi who was killed in the attacks along with his great uncle, joined a 700-strong crowd yesterday in the Barcelona district of Rubi to demonstrate defiance and unity. I need to hug a Muslim, said Martinez, who found solace in an emotional gesture from the local imam Dris Salym. The imam put his arms around him and cried.

English version by Heather Galloway.
The individual speaking in a video by the so-called Islamic State, ISIS, a week after the terrorist attacks in Catalonia, and warning of more attacks in Spain, has been identified as Muhammad Yasin Ahram Perez, a 22-year-old Spanish national from the southern city of Cordoba, whose father, Abdelah Ahram, a 42-year-old Moroccan, is currently in prison in Tangier for his active role in radical jihadism.

Ahram Perez, alias El Cordobes, left Cordoba at the age of six with his mother, Tomasa Perez, who is from a Catholic family in Malaga, in 2014, along with his five siblings for Syria to live in territory controlled by ISIS.

They never had anything to do with the neighbors, although the children went to school Neighbor of Ahram Perez

The video was the first in Spanish by the so-called Islamic State (ISIS), which has claimed responsibility for the terror attacks in Catalonia that claimed the lives of 15 people last week.

Neighbors in the working-class Alcolea neighborhood of Cordoba say they were shocked to learn of Ahram Perezs role in ISIS, describing him as quiet child who never played in the street with other children.

Ahram Perezs mother reportedly met his father in 1994, when she was in the third year of high school, dropping out soon after. He brainwashed her, but the thing is she was a minor, says somebody who knew her at the time. A year later, she gave birth to Mohamed, the first of her six children. After the second was born, the family moved to Alcolea.

The kids never played in the street. They were always indoors. When Dolores, Tomasas landlady, asked her why she wore a veil, told her rudely that if she didnt like it, she would move house, says Antonia Moreno, a former neighbor. After two years in Cordoba, the family moved to Barcelona and from there to Ceuta, a Spanish exclave in North Africa. In 2014, they moved to Syria.

The house where Ahram Perez grew up. PACO PUENTES

The husband worked nights, but they never had anything to do with the neighbors, even though the children went to school, said Ana Gomez, another neighbor.

Counter-terrorism sources say Ahram Perez has used several identities in recent years while fighting in Syria.

In the video, Ahram Perez and another man can be heard speaking Spanish: Allah willing, Al Andalus will become once again what it was, part of the caliphate. Al Andalus was the name given to the territory of southern and central Spain controlled for more than five centuries by Muslims.

Later, Ahram Perez warns: Spanish Christians: dont forget the Muslim blood spilled during the Spanish inquisition. We will take revenge for your massacre, the one you are carrying out now against the Islamic State."

Without doubt, the threat against Spain has increased Javier Lesaca, expert on ISIS propaganda

Experts in counter-terrorism are taking the warnings seriously.

This is the first time that ISIS has used a Spanish national in an official communication. This is an important step and alarming, because it has been proven that its campaigns generate changes in behavior, says Javier Lesaca, a researcher at the George Washington University and the author of a book on ISIS propaganda.

Furthermore, this is the first video to target Spain directly, and without being simplistic, terrorists follow such advice. Without doubt, the threat against Spain has increased, adds Lesaca.

English version by Nick Lyne.
Visitors on La Rambla after last week's attack. ALEJANDRO GARCIA (EFE)

Shops, hotels, restaurants and bars in Barcelona are still struggling in the wake of last weeks terrorist attacks on the citys La Rambla boulevard.

Besides killing and maiming innocent victims, the terrorists struck a blow at one of Catalonias major sources of income: tourism. The weekend after the attacks showed a significant dip in visitors, with shops deserted and many hotel bookings cancelled.

Businesses around La Rambla have borne the brunt of the economic aftermath. And on Portal de l'Angel, one of the citys main shopping streets, there was still less activity than usual on Monday. Theres a noticeable difference, says Irene Pujals, a manager at Springfield. Mondays are usually very busy, but not today. Customers are down by 50%.

Barcelona is losing out on day-trippers from the coast, which typically account for half of visitors

Meanwhile, in fashion retailers Pull & Bear and Sephora, staff explained that sales were gradually picking up, but customers numbers remained low.

According to the hotel and commercial sectors, the drop in tourist numbers from the Costa Brava and the Costa Dorada is responsible for much of the squeeze. The authorities estimate that Barcelona receives more than 30 million visitors a year, half of whom are only in the city for an average of eight hours. This suggests that half the citys tourists are coming in from the nearby resorts of Lloret de Mar, Salou or Calella. According to Marti Sarrate, head of the Catalan Association of Specialized Travel Agencies, 70% of tourists coming to Catalonia spend at least one day in the capital.

The terrorist attacks will have caused huge damage to the citys economy, although there are still no forecasts of the longer term effects. In the first half of 2017, foreign tourists spent 8,178 million in the region, according to the National Institute of Statistics (INE). This outstrips car exports, which stand at around 5 billion for the same period.

Hotels have also suffered, albeit to a lesser extent. There have been cancellations, but fewer than we expected, said a spokesman for the Gran Ducat Hotel in the center of the city. Prices have been slashed and occupation is returning to normal.

In the medium-term, there wont be a significant drop in numbers Maria Llanos, a lecturer in economy at Barcelona University

In response to the current situation, Barcelonas Hotel Association has sent out a missive advising establishments to be flexible and understanding with tourists cancelling their bookings by waiving cancellation fees. We havent yet calculated the number of cancellations, said a spokesman. The attacks are obviously affecting things now, but we dont know how it will play out further down the line.

But the medium and long-term effects are naturally of major concern. The number of bookings is bound to be affected, says Jordi Clos, President of the collective. But this view is challenged, however, by Maria Llanos, a lecturer in economy at Barcelona University who believes the crisis will blow over. The response is temporary, she says. In the medium-term, there wont be a significant drop in numbers.

For all the speculation, a substantial number of national and international tourists are still flooding into the Catalan capital. And most are visiting the main tourist attractions. Something like this could happen anywhere in the world, although there is a strange feeling in the air, said Italian visitors Cristina Danese and Noemi Sciarretti, who arrived in Barcelona almost a week after the attacks. But, despite their gung-ho attitude, they say they are making a point of avoiding the most crowded areas.

Ryanair offers terrorism discount Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary said on Thursday at a press conference in Madrid that the low-cost airline has implemented discounts of between 5% and 7% on flights to Barcelona to avoid losing tourists as a result of the terrorist attack in the Catalan capital last week. O'Leary said it is too early to assess the consequences of the attack on bookings, but Ryanair will take pro-active measures to encourage people to fly to Barcelona. The airline regularly lowers prices to cities that have suffered terrorist attacks. He said he did not believe there would be a big impact in tourism, as there was in Brussels,where the attack occurred at the airport. The CEO has also been critical of the ongoing strike at the El Prat airport in Barcelona. He has also called on the Spanish government to take the necessary measures to end the strike for the sake of travelers. If the strike does not end soon, he has suggested taking further action, including limiting the right to strike.

English version by Heather Galloway.
These are the responsibility of the editor and convey the newspaper's view on current affairs-both domestic and international

Muslims in Granada protest last week's attacks. JORGE GUERRERO (AFP)

The only people to blame are the terrorists. We would do well to establish this fact to define the correct parameters of the debate and avoid pointing the finger at a religion that two million people practice peacefully in Spain.

The violent attacks against Muslims and mosques, as well as the statements on a number of forums, the posters, the sensationalism in some areas of the media and the verbal aggression on social networks are not acceptable in democratic society. Its true that these kinds of xenophobic attacks have also occurred in London, Manchester and other targets of jihadist terrorism, but it is alarming how prolific they have become in Spain, not only in the past few days, but in the last two years, with 49 attacks reported in 2014, leaping to 600 in 2016.

After 11/M, Spain united against terrorism and avoided blaming the Muslim community

A gang of youths attacked a 38-year-old woman last Wednesday in the district of Usera, Madrid, and the neo-nazi group Hogar Social Madrid has put up posters plastered with hate slogans against the Muslim community. In Fitero, Navarra, two people attacked three Moroccan youngsters returning home from a vigil for the victims in Catalonia.

Another Muslim youngster was kicked by a man in Sagunto, in Valencia. The mosques in Granada, Seville, Logrono and Fuenlabrada, Madrid, have been covered with threatening graffiti. And the hashtag #Stopislam was trending on social networks the day of the attacks.

After the Madrid bombings of March 11, 2004, our society was able to unite against terrorism and avoid blaming the Muslim community. Now, the horrific series of terrorist attacks in Europe and the speed with which hate is shared on social media threatens to derail the harmony between communities. Avoiding the escalation of intolerance requires the entire population and our institutions to get to work immediately. Which is why the reaction of the Muslim community, which has not hesitated to condemn the attacks and the use the jihadists make of their religion, is to be welcomed with open arms.

It is clear that Islam is wrestling with internal conflicts and that there are powerful forces at work promoting an intolerant and violent version of the faith. This is why the struggle against jihadist terrorism has to involve the Muslim community at all levels. The leaders, both social and spiritual, are crucial in preventing and detecting hate speech and radicalization. Without the support of these communities  the first to want the phenomenon addressed  not much can be achieved.

In the last two years, 49 attacks were reported in 2014, leaping to 600 in 2016

Other countries, from Belgium to the UK, have set up initiatives to detect the sources of radicalization, approaching it from both a social and police angle with a view to getting to the root of the problem. In Spain, initiatives have sprung up, whose results should be analyzed and evaluated so we can pursue an approach that separates out the problems and thereby deals with them more efficiently.

If the debate doesnt include the police, the judiciary and the community promoting tolerance and harmonious living, society will perceive a vacuum and that vacuum will be filled with hate.

English version by Heather Galloway.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 25

Trend:

The L'Aquile, Muskoka and Los Cabos statements by the presidents of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chair countries reflected the key elements of a step-by-step settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict on the basis of the Helsinki Final Act, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said, commenting on the recent statement of the interim US co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, Richard Hoagland.

These elements also constitute the fundamental basis of the updated Madrid principles. The same principles have been also emphasized by the United States co-chair, Richard Hoagland. The very first step in the sequence of principles, which are complementary to one another, is the withdrawal of Armenias troops from the occupied territories around the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. With the elimination of the fact of occupation, return of internally displaced persons to their native lands and implementation of necessary security measures should be ensured. It should also be noted that Armenia does not implement the demands of the relevant UN Security Council resolutions on the conflict, said the FM.

If the Armenian side admits that these principles are not new and they are accepting them, then substantive negotiations should be started to discuss the details. The Armenian people will be able to benefit from the cooperation opportunities that conflict resolution would create, he added.

The Azerbaijani side has repeatedly stated that it is ready for serious negotiations to change the current status quo, which is considered as an unacceptable by the heads of state of Minsk Group Co-chair countries, and to ensure the soonest settlement of the conflict and the lasting peace in the region.

Earlier, during the round-table in Washington, Hoagland said that territorial integrity is an important part of the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

There can be no settlement without respect for Azerbaijans sovereignty and the recognition that sovereignty over these territories must be restored, he added.

He also pointed out that an enduring settlement will have to recognize the right of all IDPs and refugees to return to their former places of residence and ensuring international security guarantees.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijans territory, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh region and the surrounding districts.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 25

Trend:

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has today viewed the first Embraer 190 aircraft brought to Baku by Buta Airways, which was established under the Azerbaijan Airlines CJSC (AZAL).

President of AZAL CJSC Jahangir Asgarov informed the head of state of the new Embraer 190 aircraft of Buta Airways. The economy class aircraft has 106 seats.

Buta Airways will carry out flights to the most popular destinations. The carrier will launch flights from Baku to Moscow, Kyiv, Antalya, Kazan, Mineralnye Vody, Tbilisi and Tehran starting from September 1, as well as to Istanbul and St. Petersburg and from Ganja to Moscow starting from October 29 in accordance with the winter flight schedule.

The minimum tariff will be 29 euros for the one-way ticket for all flights. Buta Airways operates on a typical low-cost scheme, which will offer a number of services on board at an additional fee.

The company plans to deliver another Embraer 190 aircraft to Baku soon. In general, the airline's fleet will include eight Embraer 190 aircraft.
Baku, Azerbaijan, August 24

By Leman Zeynalova  Trend:

Mexico and Canada may discount US President Donald Trumps remarks about the countrys withdrawal from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Russell A. Green, Will Clayton Fellow in International Economics at Rice University's Baker Institute (Houston) told Trend.

"Trumps threat to withdraw completely from NAFTA should be taken seriously. Nonetheless, there are reasons Mexico and Canada may discount his remarks. First, the remarks came during a political rally and may have been directed more at supporters than the negotiations. Second, there is very little support for withdrawing from NAFTA in Congress, so Trump risks further alienating significant portions of his own party. Third, some legal scholars have offered that the president does not even have the power to do so. While foreign policy treaties like alliances may be canceled by the president autonomously, trade treaties are not the same. They fall under the Commerce Clause in the US Constitution, which stipulates that Congress has authority," the expert explained.

The most likely outcome of the NAFTA negotiations is a re-vamped, modernized treaty that promotes efficient trade relationships, resembling the Trans-Pacific Partnership, Green believes.

The US is unlikely to make much headway on its more controversial anti-trade measures, though some watered-down demands may make it into the final document, he added.

"Mexico is by far the most exposed to NAFTA trade. The majority of Mexican exports go to the US. It is the trade deficit with Mexico which inspired Trumps interest in renegotiation, and balancing it through anti-trade measures would harm Mexican export industries," said Green.

He pointed out that US agriculture, automotives and electronics industries depend heavily on NAFTA trade.

"Agriculture, however, may take a big hit as US agricultural products may not be competitive in Mexico with higher tariffs," the expert believes.

US President Donald Trump has revived a threat to pull the US out of the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico just days after officials from the three countries began the process of renegotiating the deal.

"Personally, I dont think we can make a deal. I think well end up probably terminating NAFTA at some point," he told supporters in Arizona.

The United States commenced bilateral trade negotiations with Canada more than 30 years ago, resulting in the US-Canada Free Trade Agreement, which entered into force on January 1, 1989. In 1991, bilateral talks began with Mexico, which Canada joined. The NAFTA followed, entering into force on January 1, 1994. Tariffs were eliminated progressively and all duties and quantitative restrictions, with the exception of those on a limited number of agricultural products traded with Canada, were eliminated by 2008.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 25

By Azad Hasanli  Trend:

Baku will host a meeting of the International Coordination Council of Banking Associations of Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Central and Eastern Europe on Oct. 26, a source in Azerbaijans financial market told Trend, Aug. 25.

According to the source, activity of financial ombudsman institution is the main issue to be discussed by the participants of the event.

Representatives of banking sectors of the CIS, as well as Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia and other countries plan to exchange experience in the field of financial ombudsman institutions activity, as well as to discuss other topical issues, currently existing in the financial sphere, the source said.

The International Coordination Council of Banking Associations of CIS, Central and Eastern Europe, which is also called the International Banking Council, includes banking associations of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Serbia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Montenegro, as well as the Banking Association of Central and Eastern Europe (BACEE), the CIS Financial and Banking Council, as well as the Financial and Banking Association of Euro-Asian Cooperation.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 25

By Azad Hasanli  Trend:

Azerbaijan intends to expand exports of wine to China, said Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO).

This issue was earlier discussed by winemakers from more than ten local companies at a meeting in Baku.

Azerbaijans trade representative in China Teymur Nadiroglu, who also participated in the meeting, informed the entrepreneurs about the Chinese wine market.

Azerbaijani companies signed an agreement in 2016 to deliver 500,000 bottles of wine to China. The agreement was reached during international exhibitions in Hong Kong and Guangzhou.

In 2016, Azerbaijan exported wine products worth $3.5 million to China, Vietnam, Japan, South Korea, the US and a number of European countries.

According to Azerbaijans State Customs Committee, trade turnover with China amounted to $775.9 million in January-July 2017.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 25

By Anvar Mammadov  Trend:

Azerbaijan continues taking measures to expand exports to Belarus, and the Azerbaijani trading house in Minsk plays an important role in this, said Economy Ministry of Azerbaijan in a message Aug. 25.

Despite that little time has passed since the opening of the trading house, 84 tons of fruit and vegetable products, as well as 8,000 bottles of olive oil, 2,700 bottles of pomegranate juice and more than 1,200 tea boxes were exported to Belarus, says the message.

Moreover, the trading house signed agreements with several major Belarusian trade companies with the aim of organizing the sale of products imported from Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijans trading house was opened in late May in Minsk. Currently, alcohol products, natural juices, jams and other products are presented there. The task of the trading house is to assist entrepreneurs in establishing direct ties with foreign suppliers, to conduct research and study in order to determine what goods are demanded and can be supplied by Azerbaijani businessmen to Belarus.

This is the first trading house that Azerbaijan opened in a foreign country. The second trading house is expected to be opened in Russia.

According to Azerbaijans State Customs Committee, trade turnover with Belarus totaled $79.08 million in January-July 2017, some $8.25 million of which accounted for the export to Belarus.

Azerbaijan exports nuts, fruits, vegetables, olive oil, vegetable oil, sugar and other products to Belarus.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 25

By Maksim Tsurkov  Trend:

SOCAR Georgia Petroleum LLC, a subsidiary of Azerbaijans state oil company SOCAR, has allotted 65 tons of fuel to fight the fires in the Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park, SOCAR said in a message, Aug. 25.

All SOCAR subsidiaries in Georgia joined the Lets Save Borjomi Forests action, initiated for combating the fires, according to the message.

In particular, SOCAR Georgia Petroleum allocated 45 tons of aviation fuel, 10 tons of gasoline and 10 tons of diesel fuel to fight the fires. The company's employees also expressed willingness to participate in the restoration of the forests, destroyed by fires on the territory of two hectares.

Earlier, under the order of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, the Ministry of Emergency Situations has sent a special rescue group, rigged with fire-fighting equipment, to Georgia to help in extinguishment of forest fires in Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug.25



By Leman Zeynalova  Trend:



OPEC intends to invite Libya and Nigeria to the next meeting of the Joint OPEC-Non-OPEC Technical Committee (JTC) or the Joint OPEC-Non-OPEC Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC), said the message posted on the cartels website.



The next JMMC Meeting is scheduled to be held in Vienna, on 22 September 2017.



The JMMC will continue to monitor other factors in the oil market and their influence on the ongoing market rebalancing process. All options, including the possible extension of the Declaration of Cooperation beyond Q118, are left open to ensure that all efforts are made to rebalance the market for the benefit of all, said the message.



The JMMC was established following OPECs 171st Ministerial Conference Decision of 30 November 2016, and the subsequent Declaration of Cooperation made at the joint OPEC-Non-OPEC Producing Countries Ministerial Meeting held on 10 December 2016 at which 11 (now 10) non-OPEC oil producing countries cooperated with the 13 (now 14) OPEC Member Countries in a concerted effort to accelerate the stabilization of the global oil market through voluntary adjustments in total production of around 1.8 million barrels per day. The resulting Declaration, which came into effect on 1 January 2017, was for six months.



The second joint OPEC-Non-OPEC Producing Countries Ministerial Meeting, held on 25 May 2017, decided to extend the voluntary production adjustments for another nine months commencing 1 July 2017.



Libya and Nigeria were both exempted from the OPEC oil output cut deal.



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Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 25

By Maksim Tsurkov  Trend:

Azerbaijan exported more than 3.34 billion cubic meters of gas to Turkey in 1H17, as compared to 3.25 billion cubic meters in the same period of 2016, said a report posted on the website of Turkeys Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EPDK) Aug. 25.

In 2016, Azerbaijan supplied 6.48 billion cubic meters of natural gas to Turkey, as compared to 6.17 billion cubic meters in 2015.

According to the report, Turkey imported 27.78 billion cubic meters of gas in January-June 2017, some 22.27 billion cubic meters of which were imported via pipelines, and 5.51 billion cubic meters accounted for the LNG (liquefied natural gas) import.

Azerbaijans share in total volume of gas imported by Turkey stood at 12 percent in January-June 2017.

Turkey imports gas from Azerbaijan via the South Caucasus Pipeline (Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum).

Turkey has a contract for the annual purchase of 6.6 billion cubic meters of gas from Azerbaijans offshore Shah Deniz gas and condensate field.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @MaksimTsurkov
Kyrgyz MPs supported the candidacy of Sapar Isakov for the post of the countrys prime minister, the Kabar news agency reported Aug. 25.

The decision was made Aug. 25 during an extraordinary session of the parliament.

Thus, 97 MPs voted to support Sapar Isakov and 5 were against.

Also, the MPs supported the new structure, composition and program of the government.

During his speech, Sapar Isakov spoke about his program "40 steps to the future. He said that the main emphasis will be made on developing the economy, social security and creating favorable conditions for the population.

The MPs wished Sapar Isakov success and said that will expect the result from the new government in 100 days.

The new prime minister is the youngest head of the Kyrgyz government. He is 40.
Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Aug. 25

By Demir Azizov  Trend:

The Uzbek Senate appointed the new staff of the countrys Constitutional Court during its plenary session on Aug. 25, said the Senates press service in a message.

Meanwhile, the Senate has appointed Bakhtiyor Mirbabaev as chairperson, and Askarjon Gafurov  as deputy chairperson of the Constitutional Court.

After the enforcement of the June, 2017 law on making amendments to the Constitution, aimed at strengthening the independence of the Constitutional Court, the powers of the Constitutional Courts previous composition were terminated.

The amendments envisage the expansion of the Constitutional Courts powers and the further democratization of its formation.

Meanwhile, it is established that members of the Constitutional Court are allowed to serve two terms, by maintaining the current five-year term of office. Age limit for judge candidates is increased from 30 to 35 years, and the maximum age of a judge was set at 70 years.

The Constitutional Court has been given the right to determine the compliance of the legislature, besides presidential orders and decrees, with the Constitution. With that, constitutional laws, laws and ratifications of international treaties are signed by the head of state after the verification by the Constitutional Court.
Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Aug. 25

By Demir Azizov  Trend:

The Senate (upper house) of the Uzbek Parliament has introduced amendments to the law On appeals of individuals and legal entities on enshrining the legal status of peoples reception offices and virtual reception office of the Uzbek president, according to the information service of the Senate.

It was earlier reported that the work of peoples reception offices and virtual reception office of Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev was introduced into the system of state administration on the initiative of the president.

During the discussion, the Uzbek senators noted that this law is one of the most important components of the policy pursued in the country. The essence of this policy was defined by President Mirziyoyev, who said that it is not the people who should serve state bodies, but the state bodies which should serve the people.

According to the amendments, the law will be applied not only to Uzbek state bodies, as it was before, but also to the organizations created by the state or with its participation, financed from the state budget and which render public services to citizens.

The law has defined legal principles for considering citizens appeals, such as timeliness and completeness of handling of the appeals, inadmissibility of bureaucracy and red tape, transparency in the activity of state bodies and officials when considering appeals, and enshrined the mechanisms for implementing these principles.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 25

By Kamila Aliyeva  Trend:

The reason for better Uzbek-Kyrgyz trade relations is Uzbekistans new president, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, said Bruce Pannier, a Central Asia expert.

His administrations foreign policy, especially towards immediate neighbors in Central Asia, is a drastic departure from his predecessor Islam Karimov, Pannier told Trend.

The expert recalled that Mirziyoyev during his first days as Uzbek leader said that he would seek to improve ties with all neighbor countries.

Uzbek-Kyrgyz ties were very bad in the last years of Karimovs presidency. Their common border, more than 1,300 kilometers, was almost entirely closed, Pannier said.

Since Mirziyoyev took over, officials from Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan have been meeting regularly to discuss the border, he noted.

Moreover, flights between the two countries are being increased and there is a chance that railway connections will be opened again soon.

Pannier further noted that Mirziyoyevs policy is about more than friendship.

Uzbekistan is located in the center of Central Asia, a location that makes it a natural hub for trade in the region. Uzbekistan has not been a trade hub because of Karimovs policies, but Mirziyoyev is trying to change this for economic reasons, he said.

Tashkent could make a good amount of money from transit fees for goods being carried by road and rail through Uzbekistan to other Central Asian states, says the expert.

Commenting on possible restoration of the unified energy system in Central Asia, Pannier said that Mirziyoyevs focus on regional issues could give the idea the impetus it needs to move forward.

A central energy grid from the Soviet era was already in place in Central Asia until 2009 when Uzbekistan unilaterally withdrew from it, he said.

In theory, it should be relatively easy to restore the system although it does date back to Soviet times and undoubtedly is in need of upgrades and repair, added Pannier.
Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Aug. 25

By Demir Azizov Trend:

By the decision of the Uzbek government, Umidjan Salimov has been appointed the head of the Uzavtosanoat (Uzavtoprom) JSC, uniting the Uzbek automotive enterprises, the information service of the countrys Cabinet of Ministers told Trend Aug. 25.

Since April 2017, Salimov served as deputy head of the Uzavtosanoat JSC on technical policy and localization.

On Aug. 24, Ulugbek Rozukulov, who earlier headed the Uzavtosanoat JSC and at the same time served as Uzbekistans Deputy Prime Minister, was appointed the director general of the countrys national airline Uzbekistan Airways.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 25

By Fatih Karimov Trend:

Iran has signed a finance agreement worth 8 billion euros with South Korean Export-Import Bank (Exim Bank), the biggest deal following the implementation of Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action(JCPOA aka nuclear deal), which came into force in 2016.

Under the deal which was signed by head of Iranian Investment Organization Mohammad Khazaie and Exim Bank executive director Younghoon Chang, the two parties agreed to allocate an 8-billion-euro credit line between the two countries, Irans state-run IRINN TV reported Aug. 24.

Speaking on the sidelines of the signing ceremony Khazaie said that both state-run and private Iranian companies can use the allocated credit for their projects.

He added that 12 Iranian banks will act to allocate the credit to various companies under the agreement.

After the implementation of the nuclear deal between Iran and the world powers, which lifted sanctions on the Islamic Republic in 2016, Tehran assigned the task of attracting foreign investment to a committee at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs.

The agreement witch finalized today is one of the products of the committee.

Besides the Exim Bank, Korea Trade Insurance Corporation (KSURE) is also expected to insure 5 billion euros for projects in Iran.

Iran has already signed a contract on financing a railway project worth $1.7-billion with Exim Bank of China.
Tehran, Iran, Aug 22

By Mehdi Sepahvand  Trend:

Considering the fact that a capable minister, with major plans, is handling the affairs of Irans energy sector, the future of that sector looks very bright, Mohammad Said Ansari, former first deputy chairman of the Energy Commission of the Parliament told Trend, Aug 22.

"It is the source of much hope that we have good plans in place. Minister Bijan Zanganeh is also one of the most prominent oil ministers in the world, with bright thoughts," said, a former Member of the Parliament (MP), Ansari.

Zanganeh, describing his plans for his four-year tenure ahead, had recently said that, he will prioritize "important contracts", which would bring Iran the technological know-how and the financial investments needed.

Ansari noted that, during the upcoming four years of the new administration, Iran can play a very important role in the worlds energy market.

"Therefore we need to prioritize projects related to tapping and recovering the energy resources, as well as marketing," the MP noted.

"Attracting foreign investments and technology is a priority for us in the oil industry, whether it is done for shared or for already operational fields to increase the oil production," Zanganeh said during a live television interview on state TV, Aug 20.

Zanganeh, who has received the parliamentary approval on Sunday, will stay on as the Oil minister. He has been credited with the increase in Iran's crude oil output.

Zanganeh has also won praise for his multi-billion-dollar deal with France's Total to develop the world's largest gas field  South Pars.

Iran needs approximately $200 billion investment in oil and gas production and development, as well as refineries upgrade. Roughly 65 to 75 percent of that investment needs to come from the foreign sources, according to the minister.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 25

By Umid Niayesh Trend:

Raw materials still share the dominant part of Irans non-oil export basket, the latest report of Iran Custom Administration, which covers a period from March 20 to July 21, indicates.

Gas condensates, propane, butane and some other raw petroleum products - which Iran puts in the non-oil exports basket- made the countrys top exported goods during the 4-month period.

It is also notable that the exports from the petrochemical, and industry, the two key sectors in the economy show a decline of 3.7 and 17.7 percent in value during this period compared with the similar period a year earlier whilst the mining sector and traditional commodities (carpets and traditional craft) show increases in the value of 36.7 and 6.6 percent.

"Should the industry and petrochemical products do not recover a positive growth rate in their export earnings, then the trend could suggest a return to the export of unprocessed material and traditional products in the economy," Mehrdad Emadi, a consultant at the UK-based Betamatrix International Consultancy, told Trend commenting on the issue.

This re-focus on the export of semiprocessed goods directly counters the objectives of the current governments economic policy toward the creation of a more diverse and globally competitive economy as well as it is incongruent with the objectives set out in the brief that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei provided the road map for improving the resilience of the economy against future shocks and restrictions, Emadi said.

However, it is early to consider the data as part of a trend and it could well be a short-term dynamics that will prove to be part of the structural adjustment as well as regional change in the direction of Iranian exports, he added.

Emadi further said that at the same time, the dynamics of export data are not encouraging for Iran's manufacturing sector.

It may be worth mentioning that even with the decline in the value of exports, data on the metal-based semi-processed exports suggest a robust increase which is encouraging for the firms in this sector.

The expert also underlined that the unit cost of export shows a rise in earning of 2.3 percent whilst the metric for imports show a rise of 9 percent.

Terms of trade in Iranian foreign trade show deterioration. One explanation may be that the country imports higher quality products which have a higher value. But the objective should be achieving a sharper rise in the unit value, indicating that the country is exporting products with higher added-value," Emadi explained.

The expert also touched upon the issue of Iran's negative trade balance during the last four months, which has raised certain concerns in the country.

While responding to the question of whether the Iranian policy-makers should be worried about the trade deficit, Emadi said that from a policy-makers point of view my cautious answer is, not yet.

Repressed demand for foreign, especially Western goods was always going to show its effects and translate into more purchase of such goods. Also the adjustment period from an economy under sanctions and controlled by oligarchs in its foreign trade to a more dynamic and competitive economy was never going to be easy or quick, he said.

But the metrics available on trade and investment point to the right direction, Emadi said, adding that Iran is importing more capital goods.

He further said that there are more joint venture agreements each quarter most of which actually have export clauses which require enhanced competitive to facilitate exporting more from Iranian plants. 

The key infrastructure projects in Iran are almost all tailored to facilitate trade with outside world at lower cost and more efficiently especially to facilitate exports, according to Emadi.

And there has emerged an acceptance inside the policy-circle, be it not yet widely supported, that the path toward sustainable growth and rapid catch up goes through redirecting the economy toward becoming a major exporter in selected industries, he said underling that the path is neither straight nor easy as it was not easy for India, Vietnam, China, Republic of Korea, Mexico and Brazil.

Emadi noted that domestic opponents and those outside the country who wish to see Iran as a weak country hollowed out by cheap imports, suffering from sluggish production, chronic unemployment and falling real wages, have been quite vocal and active in their opposition.

Yet, I am hopeful that increased awareness of the value and role of good economic governance shall overcome the obstacles," he said.

A prosperous economy in Iran could act as an engine of growth for the region as well as benefiting the advanced industrial economies of the world to expand their trade links in the region, he said, underlining that this has the potential for being a win-win outcome.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 22

By Fatih Karimov Trend:

During the first four months of the current fiscal year (March 20-July 21) the United Kingdoms exports to Iran had registered a big rise by 200 percent and stood at $432 million.

The UK was the ninth top goods exporter to Iran during the period, with 2.7 percent share of Irans overall imports, which amounted to $15.813 billion, according to the latest statistics released by the Trade Promotion Organization of Iran.

Besides UK, Germany ($864 million, 29 percent increase y/y), Switzerland ($663 million, 81 percent increase), France ($456 million, 51 percent increase) and Italy ($420 million, 26 percent increase) were the European countries that took place among the top exporters of goods to Iran, in the period.

Iran had purchased 59.5 percent of its imported goods during the 4-month period from five countries  China, the United Arab Emirates, South Korea, Turkey and India.

China was the main exporter of goods to Iran in the mentioned period. Chinas exports accounted for 22.1 percent of Iran's total imports in terms of value.

During the 4-month period, Iran had imported $3.495 billion worth of goods from China, indicating a 19 percent increase, year-on-year.

Iran had also imported $2.992 billion worth of goods from the UAE (a 42 percent increase), which makes 18.9 percent of Irans total imports value.

South Korea and Turkey exported $1.074 billion and $958 million worth of goods to Tehran, respectively.

South Korean exports to Iran indicated a rise of 15 percent, while imports from Turkey registered an increase of 11 percent.

Irans trade balance witnessed a fall by 211 percent and became negative (-$2.354 billion), after experiencing a positive balance previous year.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 25

Trend:

Behrouz Kamalvandi, the spokesman of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), told the domestic media that a second plant would be made operational two years later than the first one, Press TV reported Aug. 25.

Kamalvandi emphasized that the projects could generate a collective of 2,100 megawatts  1,050 megawatts each  once fully operational.

Last September, Iran said it had started a 10-year project to construct a new nuclear power plant with Russias help.

The Islamic Republic already runs one Russian-built nuclear reactor at Bushehr, which is the countrys first nuclear energy project.

Russia signed a deal with Iran in 2014 to build up to eight more reactors in the country.

Kamalvandi further added that the construction of nuclear power plants required an investment of at least $5 billion. The figure, he said, is at least three times higher than that required for the construction of regular plants.

The official further said that Iran burns at least two million barrels of oil each year to produce enough electricity to answer its energy needs. This, he added, would cost at least $100 million if each barrel of oil is sold at $50.

Using the nuclear technology, Kamalvandi stressed, would both preserve national resources and would also help prevent the annual release of around 7 million tonnes of pollutants into the environment.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Kamalvandi said the operations to re-design Arak heavy water reactor is proceeding according to the schedule, adding that the project would finish before 2022.

He added that the re-designing of Arak reactor  whose name he said he been changed to Khandab heavy water reactor  had already entered the second phase.

Kamalvandi emphasized that Iran in cooperation with Russia and under the supervision of China and the US were involved in the project.

He said Chinese experts had endorsed Irans contribution to Khandab project  what he said marked a significant technical achievement for the Islamic Republic.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 24

By Kamila Aliyeva  Trend:

The increasing tensions between the US and Iran will possibly lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy, Dr. David Criekemans, an expert in foreign relations and Assistant Professor in International Politics at the University of Antwerp, told Trend.

If the US would threaten even more sanctions than today, Iranian President Rouhani has stated that Tehran may reactivate its nuclear program. The pattern of the George W. Bush presidency would then be repeated whereby more radical figures and policies would over time again gain momentum in Iran, he said.

One cannot see this separate from the new geopolitics in the Middle East, according to the expert.

Obama promoted the JCPOA as an instrument to allow Iran back into the mainstream of international relations. This corrected the geopolitical dominance of Saudi Arabia in the Middle East, he said.

The expert noted that Trump has demolished this Obama policy and has returned to the old approach of George W. Bush.

The bond with both Israel and Saudi Arabia was reconfirmed early in the Trump presidency. However, US foreign policy now risks becoming subservient to the foreign policy goals of Tel Aviv and Riyadh, he added.

Moreover, Criekemans explained some reasons behind Trumps recent remarks about possibility of declaring Iran non-compliant in September.

He could for instance state there are incremental violations, but then he would need to become much more specific, he said.

Trump has labeled the JCPOA as fatally flawed and perhaps wants to create an incident to be able to renegotiate it to close the loopholes, according to the expert.

If the US would take such a stand, it would quite probably create a rift between Washington and other international parties to the deal. Much, however, depends on Irans continuing commitment to the obligations enshrined into the JPOA, he said.

Countries such as France and Germany now have direct economic interests, the expert believes.

Renault is again becoming active in Iran. Airbus is also poised to sell 73 airliners to two Iranian airlines. There is a genuine European interest to further develop the relationship with Iran, he said.

Also, Moscow and Beijing both support Iranian membership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a security alliance with Russia and the Central Asian States, Criekemans noted.

Chances are the US would isolate itself vis-a-vis the other major powers. If this would happen, it could also even erode Washingtons power position over time  as we have also recently seen in climate change issues, he added.

Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council  the United States, the United Kingdom, France, China and Russia  plus Germany signed the nuclear deal on July 14, 2015 and started implementing it on January 16, 2016.

The agreement limits Irans nuclear activities in exchange for, among other things, the removal of all nuclear-related bans against the Islamic Republic.

The US Congress requires the administrations certification (every 90 days) of Irans compliance with the nuclear deal. Trumps administration has already declared Iran in compliance, as required by law, twice during his tenure.

Nonetheless, Trumps remarks forecasting that the US would declare Iran non-compliant when the next review is due in September, have cast shadow over the future of the landmark nuclear deal between Iran and the world powers.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 25

By Kamila Aliyeva  Trend:

Trump administration, thus far, seems to put more emphasis on the nature of Irans regime than the previous administration, but still it is very hard to predict what exactly will transpire between the United States and Iran, Ambassador Ido Aharoni, a global distinguished professor at New York University's School of International Relations, told Trend.

In other words - the main issue for the current administration is not necessarily how to engage Iran and bring back into the fold - but rather how to effectively sanction Iran from advancing their destabilizing programs, he said.

An American declaration of Irans non-compliance with JCPOA will be a rather dramatic development since the agreement is not an American-only agreement but an international one, the expert noted talking about Trumps recent remarks regarding possible refusal to recertify Tehrans compliance with the nuclear deal in September.

It will create a very complicated situation vis-a-vis all the other signatories to the agreement. In addition, we will have to observe very carefully how congress reacts to it, he said.

The history of international relations and diplomacy is also the story of national self-interest, according to the expert.

Countries do have a tendency to act according to what they perceive as their own self-interest, and protecting trade and commerce of your companies is included. The international challenge is to design a set of rules that applies to all, he said commenting on the issue whether international players will support Iran or not.

Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council  the United States, the United Kingdom, France, China and Russia  plus Germany signed the nuclear deal on July 14, 2015 and started implementing it on January 16, 2016.

The agreement limits Irans nuclear activities in exchange for, among other things, the removal of all nuclear-related bans against the Islamic Republic.

The US Congress requires the administrations certification (every 90 days) of Irans compliance with the nuclear deal. Trumps administration has already declared Iran in compliance, as required by law, twice during his tenure.

Nonetheless, Trumps remarks forecasting that the US would declare Iran non-compliant when the next review is due in September, have cast shadow over the future of the landmark nuclear deal between Iran and the world powers.
Iran has warned about the consequences of any "illegal" pressure on the UN nuclear agency after US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley visited Vienna for a possible review of the nuclear agreement with Tehran, Press TV reported.

Iran's permanent mission to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) issued the warning in a statement on Thursday, a day after Haley met IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano in the Austrian capital.

The statement said the objectives and the results of Haleys trip to Vienna contradict the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and Resolution 2231, which was adopted on July 20, 2015 to endorse the nuclear deal.

The Islamic Republic, it said, is fully aware of its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the Additional Protocol and the JCPOA, and remains committed to their terms.

However, Iran will not allow a specific country to take advantage of the rules for its own political objectives, the statement added.

Iran, the statement said, expects the IAEA head and its inspectors to perform their tasks regarding the JCPOA with professionalism and honesty.

Prior to her trip to Vienna, Haley claimed that the visit was a fact-finding mission and part of President US Donald Trump's review of the nuclear deal with Tehran.

Washington wants to know if the IAEA plans to inspect Iranian military sites during its verification of Tehrans compliance with the JCPOA.

The IAEA monitors the technical aspects of the nuclear agreement, which was inked between Iran and the P5+1 countries  namely the US, Russia, China, France, Britain, and Germany  in July 2015 and took effect in January 2016.

Under the deal, limits were put on Irans nuclear activities in exchange for the removal of all nuclear-related bans imposed on the Islamic Republic, but the JCPOA does not oblige Iran to open its military sites to inspection.

The IAEA has invariably certified Irans commitment to its obligations under the accord but the Trump administration, which took over in January 2017, one year after the JCPOA came into force, has taken a hostile stance toward the deal, repeatedly threatening to tear it up.

Earlier, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif wrote in a letter to the IAEA that Haley's visit undermined "the independence and credibility" of the inspectors and warned the IAEA not to share extra information about the regime's nuclear program.

The trip is aimed at destroying the nuclear deal by raising doubts about the accords stability and sustainability, Zarif wrote.

"Any contribution to the destructive approach of the US Administration to undermine successful implementation' of the [nuclear deal], or sharing any information on Iran and its nuclear activities, which is not included in regular updates that Director General provides to the IAEA Board of Governors, with any third party including the US government's envoy will not be in conformity with the above-mentioned provision," he added.
Deputy Head of Tourism Department of Tehran's Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization (ICHHTO), Ali Rafiei said on Thursday that tourist groups who mind to pay a visit to Iran and Russia are now exempted to obtain visa, IRNA reported.

Speaking to IRNA, he said in order to ease exchange of visits between the two countries nationals and promotion of tourism industry, the two sides officials agreed to lift visa for exchange of mass tourists.

The plan reads that tourist groups comprising five to fifty people are now exempted from acquiring visa, he said.

He called travel agencies and tour operators who would like to conduct tours to Russia to send their documents to ICHHTO no later than August 30.
An attack carried out by Somalian and US forces in Lower Shabelle region of southern Somalia on Friday left 10 civilians dead, Sputnik reported citing local media.

The raid targeted a farm near Bariire settlement, Garowe Online news outlet reported, citing Ali Nur Mohamed, the deputy governor of the Lower Shabelle Regional Administration.

"We don't know yet the cause behind the deadly attack by the allied troops [that] targeted the farm, which belongs to a local farmer named Hussein Tabliq and why they killed the civilians," the official said as quoted by the media.

According to the newspaper, local residents are calling on the federal government to investigate the incident.
Two PKK terrorists were killed in the eastern Van province on Thursday, according to a statement from the governor's office, Anadolu reported.

The statement said gendarmerie and police forces identified a group of PKK terrorists who arrived in the Gurpinar district in Van.

The gendarmerie conducted an air-supported operation targeting the group, which killed two terrorists, the statement added.

More than 1,200 people, including security personnel and civilians, lost their lives since the PKK resumed its armed campaign against Turkey in July 2015.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 25

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

Opening of the Turkish-Armenian border is out of the question, Egemen Bags, Turkeys former minister for EU affairs, told Trend.

He was commenting on possible talks between Ankara and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) on Turkey's accession to the Eurasian Customs Union.

Turkey will not take any steps that could hurt Azerbaijan's interests, Bags said, adding that, the two countries are strategic partners.

Earlier, Turkish Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci expressed his hope that, the country might start negotiations with the EAEU on accession to the Eurasian Customs Union in 2017.

Turkey closed the border with Armenia in 1993, in protest against its occupation of Azerbaijani lands.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 25

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

Turkey calls on Erbil to cancel the referendum on independence, the Turkish media quoted countrys Prime Minister Binali Yildirim as saying, Aug. 25.

Yildirim noted that, the decision to hold a referendum on independence of the Kurdish autonomy of Iraq is erroneous and dangerous.

Ankara stands for the integrity of Iraq, said the prime minister.

Earlier, Devlet Bahceli, leader of Turkeys opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), said that in case of necessity, Turkey must perceive the realization of the independence referendum in Iraqs Kurdish Autonomous Region as a pretext for war.

He noted that, the realization of the independence referendum in Iraqs Kurdish Autonomous Region seriously damages the interests of Turkey.

The referendum on the Kurdish autonomys independence is scheduled for Sept. 25.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 25

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

The referendum on the independence of Iraqs Kurdish Autonomous Region can not be a reason for war between Ankara and Erbil, Turkish media outlets cited Prime Minister Binali Yildirim.

War is only possible between two countries and Turkey does not recognize the Kurdish Autonomous Region as a state, said the PM.

Earlier, Devlet Bahceli, leader of Turkeys opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), said that in case of necessity, Turkey must perceive the realization of the independence referendum in Iraqs Kurdish Autonomous Region as a pretext for war.

He noted that, the realization of the independence referendum in the Kurdish Autonomous Region seriously damages the interests of Turkey.

Iraqs Kurdish Autonomous Region is expected to hold an independence referendum on September 25.

Earlier, Masoud Barzani, head of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq, had warned that opposition to the referendum would be met with a bloody war.

Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had said that the Kurdish administration of Iraq will regret if it holds an independence referendum.

Iraqs integrity is a priority for Turkey, noted Erdogan, adding that a referendum on independence of the Kurdish autonomy means the beginning of Iraqs disintegration.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 25

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Aug. 25 that Germany was pushing its limits at a foreign ministers meeting between Turkey, Poland and Romania, Yeni Safak reports.

Germany is crossing the line. There is no benefit in populist remarks ahead of elections, said Cavusoglu in response to German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriels comments claiming that Turkey would never become an EU member state.

It is clear that in this state, Turkey will never become a member of the EU, said Gabriel in an interview with the Bild newspaper.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel had previously stated that Berlin would make no extra effort to maintain the customs union with Turkey.
KYODO NEWS - Aug 25, 2017 - 12:00 | All, World

Japan's Cabinet on Friday approved the imposition of new unilateral sanctions on a number of companies and individuals from China, Namibia and North Korea in a bid to further pressure Pyongyang over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

The fresh sanctions by Tokyo, in step with the United States, are apparently aimed at preventing the inflow of funds into Pyongyang, which continues to develop its nuclear and missile capabilities in violation of U.N. resolutions.

Tokyo identified four Chinese companies and two Namibian firms, as well as one Chinese individual and one North Korean individual as new targets for sanctions.

While Beijing is widely considered to have significant influence over Pyongyang, the southern African nation of Namibia has been deepening relations with North Korea in recent years, a source close to the matter said.

"North Korea has been repeatedly carrying out provocative acts...we have decided to work in close coordination with the United States and have taken these new measures reflecting on those taken by the United States on the 22nd (of August)," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a press conference.

On Tuesday, the U.S. administration said it has expanded its North Korea-linked blacklist to encompass 16 mainly Chinese and Russian entities and individuals.

China opposes the imposition of unilateral sanctions by any country outside the framework of the U.N. Security Council, especially those targeting Chinese firms and individuals.

Japan has so far frozen the assets of groups and individuals associated with Pyongyang's nuclear and missile development projects, involved in the trade of materials including coal, and those linked to the dispatch of workers to other nations.
KYODO NEWS - Aug 25, 2017 - 23:23 | World, All

At least 71 people were killed Friday in Myanmar's strife-torn Rakhine State when Rohingya Muslim insurgents launched simultaneous predawn attacks on 30 security outposts, police stations and an army base, according to the government's latest update.

It earlier said clashes broke out in Maungdaw district of northern Rakhine around 1 a.m. when "extremist Bengali terrorists" attacked security outposts and police stations in 24 separate locations in the area, which is mostly populated by minority Rohingya Muslims.

(Myanmar's State Counsellor Office Information Committee)

The government of the predominantly Buddhist country typically refers to the country's stateless, marginalized Rohingya in Rakhine, formerly called Arakan, as Bengalis, viewing them as illegal immigrants from neighboring Bangladesh.

Several hours after the first attacks, around 150 insurgents attempted to breach a military base in the district. At least six guns were lost to them. Attacks at security posts continued into the afternoon, with three police cars in Maungdaw destroyed by explosives.

(Myanmar's State Counsellor Office Information Committee)

The reported fatalities comprise 59 insurgents, 10 policemen, a soldier and an immigration officer. Security forces managed to capture one of the attackers.

A health worker who survived an attack at police station said scores of people stormed through the gate and some tossed handmade explosives into the rooms where some police had been sleeping.

The government said some Muslim villagers in Yathetaung township in the vicinity of the attacks burned down their dwellings and fled into the nearby Mayu mountain range where the military has reported finding insurgent training camps.

The Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, a group previously known as Harakah al-Yaqin, reportedly claimed responsibility for the early morning offensive.

A statement apparently posted by the group on social media said it is "taking defensive actions against the Burmese marauding forces" in response to atrocities committed in the northern Rakhine and a two-week government blockade affecting its people there.

In a statement issued in the evening, Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi condemned the "brutal attacks" and commended the security forces for acting "with great courage in the face of many challenges."

She called the attacks "a calculated attempt to undermine the efforts of those seeking to build peace and harmony in Rakhine State," adding, "We must not allow our work to be derailed by the violent actions of extremists."

She said the government remains firm in its commitment to finding "meaningful and lasting solutions to the issues in Rakhine" and reiterated that she welcomes the "constructive approach" taken by the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State, which issued its final report the previous day.

In the report, the commission, led by former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, warned of the risk of fresh rounds of violence "unless concerted action -- led by the government and aided by all sectors of the government and society -- is taken soon."

The commission's report contains 88 recommendations for the government on such things as socioeconomic development, citizenship, and freedom of movement.

Annan also issued a statement Friday afternoon condemning the attacks, expressing grave concern and calling on the security forces to exercise restraint in dealing with the situation.

"The alleged scale and gravity of these attacks mark a worrying escalation of violence. No cause can justify such brutality and senseless killing," he said.

Friday's incident marks the first such major attacks by the insurgents in Rakhine since Oct. 9 last year when nine border police stations and outposts in the region similarly came under simultaneous attacks, resulting in the deaths of nine officers and eight attackers.

The group that instigated the previous attacks is reportedly the same as that which claimed responsibility for the latest ones.

After the Oct. 9 attacks, the military responded with "clearance operations," raiding villages in search of culprits, arresting hundreds and causing tens of thousands of people to flee their homes and head across the border into Bangladesh.

More than 100 people, including 17 security officers, were killed during subsequent clashes between security forces and insurgents.

In recent months, efforts by extremists to recruit and train villagers in northern Rakhine have been exposed, causing concern for the government over the spread of radicalization among the populace.

Nearly 60 villagers, mostly Rohingya Muslims who are reportedly close to the authorities, have been murdered there, and at least 33 more have gone missing or been abducted since October.
New Delhi: Russia on Thursday said that Mega's military exercises with India will not have anything to do with the deadlock between India and China.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Maria Jharova said in Moscow: "The Russian Federation does not hold any military exercises or any other program with collaborative projects in relation to tension between those countries, with whom it has diverse and multifaceted relations."

Jharova was reacting to the reports that came in the western media which stated that in which the practice to be held in October is related to India and China Dokalam deadlock. Jharova said that it is inappropriate to link practice to this deadlock.

The spokesman assured that India and China would soon find mutually acceptable ways to reduce the tension.

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CALGARY, ALBERTA (August 2017) -The Mongolian Desert has been known for decades for its amazing array of dinosaurs, immaculately preserved in incredible detail and in associations that give exceedingly rare glimpses at behavior in the fossil record. New remains from this region suggest an entirely unknown behavior for bird-like dinosaurs about 70 million years ago. At least some dinosaurs likely roosted together to sleep, quite possibly as a family, much like many modern birds do today. Gregory Funston, Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Alberta, will present the team's research findings at the annual meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, held this year in Calgary, Alberta (Canada) on Friday, Aug. 25th at 2:30pm.

This new evidence for dinosaur roosting stems from a confiscated fossil block that was illegally exported from Mongolia, which preserved the amazing remains of three juvenile dinosaurs known as oviraptorids (part of the bird line of dinosaur evolution). These three dinosaurs represent the same species that were roughly the same age, preserved in a sleeping posture, so close to each other that they would have been touching in life. Known as "communal roosting", this behavior is seen in many birds today including chickens and pigeons. The specimen luckily made its way into the hands of researchers currently led by Gregory Funston of the University of Alberta, along with his advisor Dr. Philip Currie (also of the University of Alberta) and the Institute of Paleontology and Geology of Mongolia (based in Ulaanbaatar). Regarding the finding, Funston said, "It's a fantastic specimen. It's rare to find a skeleton preserved in life position, so having two complete individuals and parts of a third is really incredible".

The three juvenile oviraptors had several features that indicated they belonged to a whole new species. Other fossils found in Mongolia also seem to belong to this new species, and further flesh out the life history of these animals. The notable head crest is present even at a young age, but the dinosaurs would have had gradually shorter tails as they aged, and some of their bones fused across their lifetime. Their head crests and tails have been argued to represent sexual display features used in mating, somewhat similar to modern peacocks or turkeys. Funston added "The origins of communal roosting in birds are still debated, so this specimen will provide valuable information on roosting habits in bird-line theropods".

###

About the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology

Founded in 1940 by thirty-four paleontologists, the Society now has more than 2,300 members representing professionals, students, artists, preparators, and others interested in VP. It is organized exclusively for educational and scientific purposes, with the object of advancing the science of vertebrate paleontology.

Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology

The Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology (JVP) is the leading journal of professional vertebrate paleontology and the flagship publication of the Society. It was founded in 1980 by Dr. Jiri Zidek and publishes contributions on all aspects of vertebrate paleontology.

Journal Web site: Society of Vertebrate Paleontology: http://www.vertpaleo.org

AUTHOR CONTACT INFORMATION

Author: Gregory Funston

University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada

funston@alberta.ca

Other Authors:

Philip Currie

University of Alberta

Chinzorig Tsogtbaatar

Hokkaido University

Image 1: Diagram showing the skeletal elements of the new species of dinosaur with its many bird-like features.

Image 2: Photo and sketch of the confiscated specimen showing three different juveniles of the same species of dinosaur preserved in roosting posture, immediately next to each other.
DEERFIELD, IL (August, 2017) - The vast expanses of the Gobi Desert are a prime destination for paleontologists. Since the 1920s, expeditions to the Gobi have unearthed thousands of dinosaur fossils, including the nests and eggs of Oviraptor, the bones of the iconic Velociraptor, and the skeletons of the giant plant-eater Saurolophus. Today, a very different type of behemoth rumbles through rural Mongolia. It's called the Moveable Dinosaur Museum, and it's changing the way school kids learn about paleontology.

Apart from the giant sauropod dinosaur adorning its sides, the Movable Museum looks like an oversized tour bus. But inside is a 250-square-foot exhibit space with modern, engaging displays designed for children and curious adults to learn all about dinosaurs. Despite the long history of paleontology in the Gobi, many Mongolians have never visited a dinosaur museum. Filled with scaled-down exhibits, the Moveable Museum travels from town to town, bringing a museum experience to rural and urban areas of Mongolia.

"The population of Mongolia has broad access to both the internet and higher education, but there's little focus on paleontology in schools and almost no information available about dinosaurs online in Mongolian,"said Thea Boodhoo of the Institute for the Study of Mongolian Dinosaurs (ISMD). "Students who visit the museum as part of a workshop are given an activity to find all the Mongolian dinosaurs on board. The workshop gives them an accurate sense of how important Mongolia is to the field of paleontology, and how close to home these dinosaurs really are."

The Movable Museum is a project of The Institute for the Study of Mongolian Dinosaurs, a nonprofit organization founded by Mongolian paleontologist Bolortsetseg Minjin in 2007. She has led dinosaur workshops in Mongolia almost every summer for the past decade, and secured the Moveable Museum as a donation from the American Museum of Natural History in 2013. To get it shipped to Ulaanbaatar, she enlisted the help of philanthropist Gerry Ohrstrom and Epicurus Fund. In 2015, she organized its first outreach expedition outside the capital, running a crowdfunding campaign to bring it all the way to the world-famous Flaming Cliffs in the Gobi Desert. The local community at the quarry where Protoceratops and Velociraptor were discovered has been historically overlooked in paleontology outreach.

Boodhoo joined ISMD in 2016, and together the team secured funding to conduct a second outreach expedition across rural Mongolia, reaching approximately 1000 students and teachers - many of whom had never seen a dinosaur museum before. Workshops and tours were led by Bolortsetseg and Mongolian educator Binderiya Munkhbat. "Since I don't speak Mongolian, I'm really just a photographer on these trips. But it's amazing to watch the kids light up when Bolortsetseg tells them about the incredible animals that lived in their own back yards," Boodhoo states.

At the annual meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, Boodhoo reported on the Moveable Museum's two seasons of education and outreach in Mongolia. They still face a few challenges. "It's the only vehicle of its kind in Mongolia, so mechanical repairs can be time-intensive and costly," said Boodhoo. Keeping the vehicle safe from the icy blasts of winter is also a challenge, since no indoor parking facility can accommodate the titanosaur-sized truck.

Everyone at ISMD hopes the Moveable Museum will ultimately help protect Mongolia's fossil sites, which are among the richest and most important in the world. The smuggling and sale of Mongolian fossils has been an enduring problem, resulting in the scientific loss and damage of countless irreplaceable specimens. By working with and teaching the people who live closest to the sites, Bolortsetseg says, "we can show how local communities can benefit from sustained dinosaur-based tourism by protecting fossils in place. This is a challenging balance, and we hope to inspire some local kids to become paleontologists themselves."

###

About the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology

Founded in 1940 by thirty-four paleontologists, the Society now has more than 2,300 members representing professionals, students, artists, preparators, and others interested in VP. It is organized exclusively for educational and scientific purposes, with the object of advancing the science of vertebrate paleontology.

Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology

The Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology (JVP) is the leading journal of professional vertebrate paleontology and the flagship publication of the Society. It was founded in 1980 by Dr. Jiri Zidek and publishes contributions on all aspects of vertebrate paleontology.

Journal Web site: Society of Vertebrate Paleontology: http://www.vertpaleo.org

AUTHOR CONTACT INFORMATION

Thea Boodhoo thea@mongoliandinosaurs.org

Bolortsetseg Minjin bolor@mongoliandinosaurs.org Institute for the Study of Mongolian Dinosaurs

Twitter, Facebook & Instagram: @MongolianDinos http://www.MongolianDinosaurs.org

Figure 1. Children mill around the Moveable Dinosaur Museum as it visits their school in Mandalgovi, located in central Mongolia about 300 km south of the capital, Ulaanbataar. Inside, the vehicle houses a 250-square-foot exhibition spaces displaying the latest in dinosaur discoveries.

Figure 2. Inside the Moveable Dinosaur Museum, a child explores an exhibit on feathered dinosaurs. Workshops challenge students to learn about dinosaur biology and the conservation of fossils as unique scientific resources.
A payout that increases.

The appeal of dividend investing is clear. Instead of banking on a stock that sees impressive short-term improvement in its profits or sales based on a passing trend, investors in dividend stocks can rely on regular payouts from the company each quarter. While getting a guaranteed stream of income via quarterly payouts is good, what's even better is to invest in a company that pays you more and more with each passing year. That's the power of dividend growth. Not only are you getting a stable return on your initial investment, but your payouts continue to increase. Here are seven dividend growth plays to consider.

Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG)

No dividend list would be complete without consumer products king Procter & Gamble. P&G stock yields about 3 percent at present, and has increased its payouts for a simply amazing 60 consecutive years. With a wide product portfolio that includes Pampers diapers, Tide laundry detergent, Charmin toilet paper and a host of other big brands, you can be sure this stock will have stable revenue (and reliable dividends) for many years to come. And with payouts at just two-thirds of earnings, that growth has a good chance of continuing as the company prospers.

Lowe's Cos. (LOW)

Retail is a rough business these days, and many dividend stocks in the sector are in danger of cutting payouts -- not raising them. But home improvement retail is one bright subgroup within the broader industry that continues to do well thanks to a strong housing market and the dominance of just a few names. Lowe's is one of those companies, and as it has seen strong financial performance lately, it has also seen strong dividend growth. LOW was paying just 8.5 cents quarterly at the beginning of 2009 amid the Great Recession; however, it now pays 41 cents quarterly after a dividend boost this summer -- with more than 50 consecutive years of increases.

Cisco Systems (CSCO)

When investors look for reliable dividend stocks, often they overlook the tech sector. That's a big mistake, as evidenced by Cisco. Not only does the IT giant currently yield 3.8 percent, but it has steadily increased quarterly dividend payouts since it began paying a dividend in 2011. Thanks to another increase just a few months ago, payouts have more than quadrupled in six years from 6 cents to 29 cents in quarterly dividends. And because that payout is less than half of profits, CSCO stock has room to grow its dividend even more in the years ahead.

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Starbucks Corp. (SBUX)

Coffee queen Starbucks is another example of a recent dividend payer that has done a great job of committing increasingly more money to shareholder payback. It debuted a dividend of 5 cents in 2010, and in seven short years the payout is already five times that at 25 cents, and ripe for yet another bump soon. While the headline yield of the dividend isn't tremendous at just 1.9 percent, the company also has married strong dividend growth with strong long-term share performance. SBUX is up 125 percent in the last five years versus just 70 percent or so for the Standard & Poor's 500 index.

Hormel Foods Corp. (HRL)

Meats mega brand Hormel is as stable a stock as they come. Its consumer staples focus provides a steady revenue stream, and more than 50 straight years of dividend increases show its income power is reliable, too. But don't think this is one of those stocks increasing payouts modestly; adjusted for two 2-for-1 splits, payouts have increased more than 350 percent in the last 10 years. Hormel continues to grow and dominate the processed meat space, as evidenced by its 2015 acquisition of organic foods giant Applegate and its more recent buyout bid for food service company Fontanini Italian Meats & Sausages. That will help ensure continued success -- and dividends.

CVS Health Corp. (CVS)

While prescription drug retail and pharmacy benefits management aren't high margin businesses, they are a lucrative and steadily growing segment of the economy. That means as one of the few big guys in the space, CVS has a main line into reliable revenue to feed strong dividends. As the space has consolidated over the last decade, CVS has taken its quarterly payouts from just 6 cents a share in 2008 to 50 cents a share currently -- a whopping 733 percent in dividend growth. What's more, payouts are still roughly a third of profits so there is a lot of potential for those dividends to increase even more.

American States Water Co. (AWR)

When investors think about reliable and stable businesses, utilities are often the go-to choice. However, while there are plenty of strong energy utilities out there worth buying, it's easy to overlook the strength of a company like American States Water, which deals in water and sewer infrastructure. As water issues increasingly become a concern amid drought and shortages in the American West, you can be sure AWR is going to be even more important in the years ahead. And it has increased dividends annually for 62 years -- the longest streak of any publicly traded company.

Jeff Reeves is currently executive editor of InvestorPlace.com. He is a stock analyst and financial commentator with almost two decades of newsroom and markets experience, contributing to The Wall Street Journal network, USA Today, CNBC, TheStreet.com, Fox Business Channel and US News. Follow him on Twitter @JeffReevesIP.
Shares of Clovis Oncology, Inc. CLVS have witnessed a continuous upside this year. Shares of this small biotech company are up 62.3% so far this year, outperforming the 7.2% increase registered by the industry during this period. Lets analyze the factors that have driven the rally so far.

The companys only approved drug, Rubraca, has shown an impressive growth trend in 2017. The drug received accelerated approval in Dec 2016. The companys commercialization efforts have helped the ovarian cancer drug register almost 100% growth in sales sequentially in the second quarter of 2017. Rubraca sales were $21.7 million in the first half of 2017. The company had 1100 new patients on therapy in the period.

Rubraca is a PARP inhibitor, which is approved as a monotherapy for the treatment of advanced ovarian cancer in patients who have been treated with two or more chemotherapies. The patients are selected for therapy based on an FDA-approved companion diagnostic for Rubraca. The drug was in-licensed from Pfizer Inc. PFE in 2011.

Two confirmatory studies - ARIEL3 and ARIEL4  are being conducted by Clovis for converting the accelerated approval to continued approval of Rubraca.

The companys shares got a boost when it announced positive top-line results from ARIEL 3 in June 2017. Promising progression-free survival (PFS) and safety results from the pivotal maintenance confirmatory study demonstrated that Rubraca had a meaningful impact in delaying disease recurrence in advanced ovarian cancer patients.

Clovis is planning to file a supplemental new drug application (sNDA) to the FDA by October this year based on ARIEL-3 data to include second-line or later maintenance indication for advanced ovarian cancer on the label of Rubraca. The company expects the label expansion to increase patient population by at least four times.

Meanwhile, the other phase III confirmatory study -- ARIEL4 -- is evaluating Rubraca versus chemotherapy in patients who have failed two prior lines of therapy. Rubraca is also under review in the EU for a comparable ovarian cancer indication. An approval is expected in EU in the first quarter of 2018 and Clovis is establishing the commercial infrastructure for the same.

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There is immense commercial potential for Rubraca in the target market due to increasing demand for PARP inhibitors. Per the American Cancer Society, ovarian cancer ranks fifth in deaths from cancer among women. Over 22,440 cases of ovarian cancer are estimated to be diagnosed in the U.S. in 2017. There is a huge unmet need for new treatment options, given that one in four women with ovarian cancer has a germline or somatic BRCA mutation.

Rubraca is also being developed in additional cancer indications either as monotherapy or in combination with other agents, including Tecentriq-Rubraca combination in gynecologic cancers. This combination study is sponsored by Roche. Moreover, in Jul 2017 the company collaborated with Bristol-Myers Squibb Company BMY to evaluate Rubraca in combination with the latters Opdivo in ovarian, breast and prostate cancer.

It is important to note that the ovarian cancer market is already crowded with the presence of major players. With the launch of Tesaro, Inc.s TSRO Zejula in Apr 2017, competition has intensified further.

Clovis Oncology, Inc. Price and Consensus

Clovis Oncology, Inc. Price and Consensus | Clovis Oncology, Inc. Quote

Clovis currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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The world's largest publicly traded oil company, ExxonMobil Corporation XOM, was recently criticized by environmental scientists. The company has been accused of publicly downplaying climate change facts stated by its own scientists.

Background

In 2015, investigations conducted by different sources claimed that the oil giant internally admitted that climate change is man-made and grave. However, publicly, the company has raised doubts about the science. The company replied that the findings were biased and it opened doors for people to study all the documents produced by the company so far and to decide without any prejudice.

Present Scenario

Recently, Geoffrey Supran and Naomi Oreskes -- experts in the history of science at Harvard -- published an article, Assessing ExxonMobils Climate Change Communications (19772014), in academic journal, Environmental Research Letters. It stated the gap between the company's internal findings and external advertorials.

In the available documents, the experts found inconsistency between the company's academic findings and public presentations. ExxonMobil always acknowledged the climate change problems and its threats along with the uncertainties related to the topic as noted by the climate scientists. However, the gap became prominent when the company's advertorials in the New York Times highlighted only the uncertainties, but not the threats.

The study found that 83% of ExxonMobil's peer-reviewed papers and 80% of its internal reports recognize climate change as a real man-made problem. However, only 12% of its advertorials do the same. The experts compared ExxonMobils misleading actions with Scientific Certainty Argumentation Method (SCAM).

What Lies Ahead?

In 2016, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission launched a federal investigation against ExxonMobil. State Attorney Generals of 17 states of the country decided to investigate whether the company broke racketeering, consumer protection and investor protection laws through its climate protection acts. Attorneys General of Massachusetts, New York and Virgin Islands led three separate investigations. These investigations have encouraged class-action lawsuits.

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ExxonMobil has yet comment on the new findings.

About the Company

Irving, TX-based ExxonMobil is engaged in oil and natural gas exploration and production, petroleum products refining and marketing, chemicals manufacturing and other energy-related businesses. Approximately 83% of Exxons earnings come from its operations outside the United States. The company divides its operations mainly into three segments: Upstream, Downstream and Chemicals.

ExxonMobil is the worlds best-run integrated oil company, given its track record of high return on capital. It has collaborated with Russia for exploring potential commercial reserves in the country. However, tensions between the U.S. and Russia might affect Exxons efforts to generate shareholders value by exploiting Russian oil and gas reserves.

Estimate Revision

For the full year, we have seen nine estimates moving down in the past 60 days, compared with just one upward revision. This trend has caused the consensus estimate to trend lower, going from $3.85 a share a month ago to its current level of $3.44.

For the current quarter, ExxonMobil has seen five downward estimate revisions versus no revisions in the opposite direction, dragging the consensus estimate down to 84 cents a share from $1.05 over the past 60 days.

Price Performance

ExxonMobil has lost 15.1% of its value year to date compared with the 6.7% fall of its industry.

Zacks Rank and Stocks to Consider

ExxonMobil has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Some better-ranked stocks from the oil and energy sector include Range Resources Corporation RRC, Canadian Solar Inc. CSIQ and Subsea 7 SA SUBCY. All sport a Zacks Rank #1.

Range Resources sales for 2017 are expected to increase 122.8% year over year. The company delivered a four-quarter average positive earnings surprise of 51.8%.

Canadian Solars sales for the third quarter of 2017 are expected to increase 24.7% year over year. The partnership delivered a positive earnings surprise of 6.25% in the second quarter of 2017.

Subseas sales for 2017 are expected to increase 11.6% year over year. The company delivered a positive average earnings surprise of 83.8% in the last four quarters.

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Chamath Palihapitiya

Midas-touch investor Chamath Palihapitiya is launching a public company that will raise money through an IPO and then figure out what tech companies to buy.

He's trying to raise $500 million to be spent on well-performing private tech startups.

He's enlisted other famous tech executives to help him run the fund, including former Skype CEO Tony Bates and former Twitter COO Adam Bain.

Chamath Palihapitiya, founder of VC firm Social Capital, is setting himself up to become the Warren Buffett of tech investing. To that end, he has launched a new "blank-check" company in partnership with London-based VC firm Hedosophia, aptly named Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings Corp.

Social Capital Hedosophia has filed paperwork for a $500 million IPO although it makes no products, has no customers, and owns nothing ... yet. It plans to raise the money first and then go out and buy stakes in private tech companies, ranging from minority stakes to controlling interests to full ownership.

The idea is to give these tech companies the benefits of being a publicly traded company  like easier access to capital  with fewer drawbacks, like the "distraction" of doing the actual IPO and the bother of the quarterly, short-term view of investors, Social Capital Hedosophia explained in the documents it filed with the SEC.

This tactic also gives public investors access to the wealth being created by well-performing private tech companies. Right now most of that wealth is going to a small pool of investors, mainly the VCs and private equity firms that get invited to the investment table.

As of May 2017, Social Capital Hedosophia estimates there are about 150 tech startups valued at over $1 billion, compared to about 200 public technology companies with a market cap of $1 billion. In years past, those 150 companies would have become public companies. Today, they can hold out as private companies indefinitely because there's so much money available to fund their growth from private investors.

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Such "blank-check" public companies, which raise money first and then figure out how to invest it, are currently in vogue, reports The Wall Street Journal's Maureen Farrell. 22 such funds hve been launched on US exchanges so far this year, raising $6.9 billion, according to Dealogic, Farrell reports.

That's not to say that one by Palihapitiya will succeed in either raising enough money in its IPO or in picking tech companies that will make its investors wealthy. But it is being backed by a who's who in the Valley circles. Social Capital partner Tony Bates, best known as the former CEO of Skype, will be on the holding company's board.

Adam Bain is also joining the board. Bain is the well-liked former COO of Twitter who has been relishing in time off from a full-time job since he left Twitter in November. Bain has been advising startups and doing some other investments and board work, such as joining the board of sneaker company Goat last summer. There's been a lot of speculation as to which company will finally talk Bain out of his retirement and back into an exec role.

But Palihapitiya will be CEO of Social Capital Hedosophia. He's well known as one of the original executives of Facebook and an owner/board member of the Golden State Warriors. As an investor, he's backed companies like Box, Palantir, Pure Storage, Slack and Yammer.

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The last panel of China's world largest radio telescope named "FAST", is installed in Pingtang county, Guizhou Province, China, July 3, 2016. China Daily/via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. EDITORIAL USE ONLY. CHINA OUT. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTX2JGHO

To search for extraterrestrial life, China launched the worlds largest radio telescope, the 500-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST), in September. Located in Pingtang, a mountainous county in the southwestern Guizhou province, the telescope was nicknamed Chinas eye of heaven.

The facility is going through calibrations and tests expected to last two years, but eventually China hopes to use the antenna of the telescope to pick up faint signals, such as signature gravitational waves interfering with radio signals from distant magnetized stars.

The vast, reflective, disk-shaped apparatus is visually striking, and it has attracted droves of tourists eager for a glimpse of mankinds most ambitious attempt yet to hear from distant civilizations. A theme park built around FAST has seen nearly 3.8 million people (link in Chinese) in the first half of 2017, the local tourism department reports. Thats up to 20,000 people a day10 times what the park was designed to take.

Thousands tourists of course bring thousands of electronic devices, and scientists worry that they could interfere with FAST. Mobile phone signals operate at frequencies within FASTs operating range, May Chiao, chief editor of astronomy at the journal Nature, told the Shanghai-based news publication Sixth Tone.

Scientists are having headaches about how to use FAST to achieve the best results so they dont want too many tourists to come visiting the facility, Wu Xiangping, researcher of Chinas national astronomical observatory and one of the core experts of FAST, told (link in Chinese) the financial publication Caixin in September.

All staff are banned from using mobiles, wifi and induction stoves, according to the Shanghai-based local news site Jiemian (link in Chinese). Tourists are asked to store electric devices that would generate radio signals, such as mobiles and digital cameras, before entering the 5-km buffer zone, but an unidentified FAST engineering department staffer told Jiemian that the policy was not strongly enforced (link in Chinese). A photo (link in Chinese) in Xinhua in October showed a tourist using her cell phone to take a picture of the telescope. FAST could not be reached for comment.

Story continues

Even though scientists arent happy, more tourists could boost the local economy. The local government had relocated more than 9,000 nearby residents for the project, which cost some $184 million. In 2016, Pingtang county saw a tourism windfall of 5.5 billion yuan ($830 million), three times the tourism receipts in 2010. Kedu, a town in Pingtang, is reportedly now filled with hospitality servicesA hotel every hundred meters and a restaurant every ten meters (link in Chinese).

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Harley-Davidson Inc. HOG launched 13 new models as part of product-development initiative. Of the 13 vehicles, five are new touring bikes and eight are all-new Softail Big-Twin cruisers. This recent launch is a companys initiative to roll out 100 new motorcycles in the auto market by 2027.



Per Paul James, manager of Harley-Davidsons product portfolio, the new versions are for current riders and to attract new customers.



The eight new Softail models include Fat Boy, Heritage Classic, Low Rider, Softail Slim, Deluxe, Breakout, Fat Bob and Street Bob.

Harley-Davidson, Inc. Price and Consensus

Harley-Davidson, Inc. Price and Consensus | Harley-Davidson, Inc. Quote

All the newly unveiled models consist of the companys Milwaukee-Eight engine. Other added features are daymaker LED headlamps, a USB charging port, an improved electrical system for charging and fuel tanks.



The company expands product portfolio and engages in long-term investments to increase the customer base. The recently-launched 2017 model of touring motorcycles are also witnessing a steady rise in demand. This upside is driven by strong Milwaukee-Eight touring motorcycle sales, spurting revenue growth both in the United States and abroad.



The motorcycle manufacturer is also developing its first electric motorcycle, Project LiveWire. Good news is that the company aims to create two million new Harley-Davidson riders in the United States and increase its international business to 50% of total annual volume sales.



For growing the riders strength, the company continues to invest in Harley-Davidson Riding Academy, which saw a 10% year-over-year rise in students footfall in first-quarter 2017.



Price Performance



Harley-Davidsons shares have plunged 17.8% in the last six months, substantially underperforming the 1.6% gain of the industry it belongs to.





Zacks Rank & Key Picks



Harley-Davidson currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).



A few better-ranked automobile stocks are Continental AG CTTAY, Cummins Inc. CMI and Fox Continental Holding Corp. FOXF, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.



Continental has a long-term growth rate of 7.9%.



Cummins has an expected long-term earnings growth rate of 12.1%.



Fox Factory has a long-term growth rate of 16.1%.



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Source: Instagram. Mnuchin's wife Louise Linton ignited a firestorm by lashing out at an Instagram commenter for criticizing her hashtagging of her pricey designer clothes.

This is turning into one costly Instagram photo.

A watchdog group suspects Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin 's trip to see the government gold in Fort Knox on the taxpayers' dime with his wife, Louise Linton, was actually spurred by a desire to be in the prime viewing area for Monday's total solar eclipse.

It was Linton's rant on Instagram against a woman critical of her bragging about pricey designer clothes she wore on the trip that drew the suspicions of that watchdog, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

Now CREW is asking the Treasury Department for records about the "authorization for and the costs" of the couple's use of a government plane to travel to Lexington, Kentucky .

During that visit, the former Goldman Sachs (GS) partner Mnuchin, Linton and a group of other civilians that included Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell , R-Ky., visited the gold depository and watched the solar eclipse.

CREW also wants "all records" about Mnuchin's "use of a government plane for any purpose since his appointment as Treasury Secretary."

"The requested records would shed light on the justification for Secretary Mnuchin's use of a government plane, rather than a commercial flight, for a trip that seems to have been planned around the solar eclipse and to enable the Secretary to secure a viewpoint in the path of the eclipse's totality," CREW said.

A Treasury spokeswoman provided the following statement to CNBC:

"The Secretary was on official government travel to Kentucky where he and Leader McConnell met with members of the business community to discuss tax reform. Later in the day, the Secretary, Leader McConnell, Governor Bevin, Congressman Guthrie and U.S. Treasurer Carranza visited the United States Bullion Depository at Fort Knox. Secretary Mnuchin is reimbursing the government for Mrs. Linton's travel, as is longstanding policy regarding civilians on military aircraft. The trip was originally planned for earlier in August but was postponed to accommodate the Congressional calendar."

Story continues

CREW spokesman Jordan Libowitz said concern that Mnuchin was using taxpayer funds for a trip to see the eclipse "would not have been on our radar if it had not gotten the press from the Instagram rant" by his wife, Linton.

"That picture was clearly of a government plane, so that raised questions of what the relationship was of her to the trip, and what she was doing there," Libowitz said. "And it's a little bit out of the ordinary for a secretary of the Treasury to visit Fort Knox."

"I think it's quite possible that" the solar eclipse was "why he and his wife were there," Libowitz said.

Mnuchin is the first Treasury secretary in seven decades to visit Fort Knox, which holds gold bullion owned by the federal government.

And civilians had not visited the vault in Fort Knox in more than 40 years.

The Washington Post reported that Mnuchin "told a group of Louisville business leaders earlier in the day [Monday] it was important for him to see the gold to attest that 'it is part of our national assets.'"

Linton, a Scottish actress who married Mnuchin earlier this year, ignited an epic social media backlash Monday when she responded to a comment on an Instagram photo that showed her and the Treasury secretary disembarking from a government plane during the Kentucky trip.

Linton had captioned that photo with hashtags highlighting the high-end designers who created the clothes and accessories she was wearing: Tom Ford, Hermes and Valentino.

When Instagram user Jenni Miller commented on the post: "Glad we could pay for your little getaway. #deplorable"  Linton went ballistic with a snarky and scathing post.

"Aw!!! Did you think this was a personal trip?! Adorable! Do you think the US govt paid for our honeymoon or personal travel?! Lololol," Linton wrote.

"Have you given more to the economy than me and my husband? Either as an individual earner in taxes OR in self sacrifice to your country?" Linton wrote. "I'm pretty sure we paid more taxes toward our day 'trip' than you did. Pretty sure the amount we sacrifice per year is a lot more than you'd be willing to sacrifice if the choice was yours."

She added: "You're adorably out of touch."

A day after that tirade, Linton apologized through a publicist for both her initial post and her fulmination against Miller, according to a report on CNN.

"I apologize for my post on social media yesterday as well as my response. It was inappropriate and highly insensitive," Linton reportedly said.

WATCH: Louise Linton spars with Instagram user





More From CNBC


Timothy Cook, CEO of Apple, Inc., testifies before the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Permanent Subcommittee on Investigation, during a hearing titled Offshore Profit Shifting and the U.S. Tax Code Part 2. May 21, 2013. Photo by Diego M. Radzinschi/THE NATIONAL LAW JOURNAL.

Following the Charlottesville, Virginia, Unite the Right rally earlier this month, some of the world's largest corporations known for developing computers and running financial services have made political statements with one of their most important resources: capital.

On Monday, Peter Scher, JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s head of corporate responsibility, told employees that the banking giant would donate $1 million to the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Anti-Defamation League, two organizations that fight for civil rights and against hate groups. The SPLC and the ADL have openly admonished several of President Donald Trump's policy suggestions. In his memo to employees, Scher said the donation was partly in response to the tragedy that struck Charlottesville, when the rally, which featured white nationalist protesters, ended in the death of one woman and injury of 19 others.

The events in Charlottesville have increased the urgency to confront hate, intolerance and discrimination wherever it exists, Scher wrote in his memo.

JPMorgan isn't the only company opening its coffers. Last week, Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook told employees the Cupertino, California-based company would donate $2 million to the SPLC and the ADL. And the company installed an option on its iTunes music platform for customers to donate directly to the SPLC in amounts ranging from $5 to $200.

Corporate social responsibility is on the rise, said Alice Korngold, president and CEO of Korngold Consulting, which provides consulting services for businesses and nonprofits. Korngold said companies have become newly interested in solving social, economic and environmental issues and making political statements through donations is part of the same corporate responsibility push.

Story continues

From a company perspective, these leading companies understand that hate is bad for the country and for community, and that's bad for business, Korngold said. Violence and injustice destroy communities, communities where consumers and suppliers live and work. And black people, LGBTQ people, Jews, Muslims, they all work at these companies.

Korngold said the donations are largely pragmatic putting money into organizations that will protect diverse communities allows the corporations a better chance at hiring and retaining diverse talent. Also, several shareholders groups have come out in support of socially responsible companies in the past few years, claiming that a strong corporate responsibility strategy, and even a diverse board of directors, drives shareholder value up in the long term.

In 2016, the California Public Employees' Retirement System adopted a new Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) 5-Year Strategic Plan that focuses on diversity and inclusion and sustainability as a way for staffers to [engage] public companies to achieve long-term, sustainable risk-adjusted returns.

Korngold said approval processes for corporate donations vary by company. In the case of 21st Century Fox Inc. CEO James Murdoch, who, along with his wife, will donate $1 million to the Anti-Defamation League, Korngold said it's unlikely company approval was needed. (A 21st Century Fox spokesperson confirmed that Murdoch and his wife made the donations as private citizens and that the company was not involved.)

But when corporations are direct givers, Korngold said boards of directors are often involved in the approval process. And, she said, in terms of creating a strong corporate governance strategy that includes social responsibility, in-house counsel or outside law firms are often called on to help out.

Companies that are leveraging the opportunities to find innovative solutions to global problems, they understand that this needs to be a corporate strategy across the company, Korngold said, referring to these major donations as innovative solutions. She continued: In those discussions, you would definitely have attorneys involved.

David Ruiz can be contacted at druiz@alm.com.
(Reuters) - Struggling U.S. retailer Sears Holdings Corp <SHLD.O> reported a quarterly loss on Thursday as fewer customers visited its stores and as the company offered more discounts amid intense industry competition.

The retailer also said it would close 28 Kmart stores later this year, in addition to the 150 Sears and Kmart stores it plans to close by the end of its third quarter.

Sears said sales at stores open for at least a year fell 11.5 percent in the second quarter ended July 29.

Total revenue fell 22 percent to $4.37 billion, mainly due to store closures, which shaved off $770 million of revenue, the company said.

Once the largest U.S. retailer, Sears has struggled with years of losses and declining sales as shoppers shift from the mall to the web. In February, the company said it would cut at least $1 billion in costs this year, mainly by monetizing its real estate.

Sears, controlled by billionaire investor Eddie Lampert, said it earned $460 million in cash from real estate deals in the second quarter.

Net loss attributable to Sears narrowed to $251 million, or $2.34 per share in the second quarter ended July 29, from $395 million or $3.70 per share, a year earlier.

The company also said it had signed a deal with MetLife <MET.N> to reduce its pension liabilities.

The agreement will annuitize an additional $512 million of Sears' pension liabilities, with MetLife paying future pension benefits to about 20,000 retirees.

(Reporting by Siddharth Cavale in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar)
North Korea spies Ukraine

Ukraine has released footage of two North Korean spies exuberantly photographing fake missile designs in 2011, as part of a sting operation that eventually landed the pair in jail, as CNN reports.

Ukraine, once home to thousands of Soviet nuclear ICBMs, continues to produce missiles today as it faces a Russian-backed insurgency in the countries east. Another Cold War remnant in Ukraine appears to be spycraft, which allowed the country to trick and capture two North Korean spies.

Authorities in Ukraine told CNN that the North Koreans sought "ballistic missiles, missile systems, missile construction, spacecraft engines, solar batteries, fast-emptying fuel tanks, mobile launch containers, powder accumulators and military government standards," to bring home to Pyongyang, according to CNN.

The specific plans the spies thought they were capturing showed schematics for the SS-24 Scalpel intercontinental ballistic missile, a Soviet-designed missile that can carry 10 independently targetable warheads across vast distances. Such a weapon would be a massive improvement over North Korea's current fledgling ICBM fleet.

But the designs photographed by the North Koreans were fake, and moments after the cameras flashed authorities broke into the room and detained them. The spies are now serving eight years in prison.

Ukraine may have released the footage to CNN after a report from the International Institute of Strategic Studies alleged that North Koreans had somehow obtained rocket engine designs from Ukraine. Ukraine has strongly pushed back on that accusation, and other missile experts have since disputed it.

NOW WATCH: Heres why there are nuclear fallout shelter signs on buildings in NYC





More From Business Insider


Venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya is about to try his hand at being Warren Buffett . Or something like him.

Palihapitiya, the founder of Social Capital and former member of the senior executive team at Facebook, is listed as CEO of a new "blank check company" called Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday.

The holding company is aiming to raise $500 million in an IPO to then go out and acquire emerging private businesses that have little incentive to go public themselves  because of the hassle of quarterly earnings, gyrating stock prices and the constant questions over how they'll compete with Amazon (AMZN) and Facebook (FB).

For reference, just check out the stock charts of Snap and Blue Apron.

"Our mission is to create an alternative path to a traditional IPO for disruptive and agile technology companies to achieve their long-term objectives and overcome key deterrents to becoming public," the filing said.

Palihapitiya has long criticized the traditional venture model and expressed his admiration for Buffett, who has spent more than 50 years building Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A) into a giant publicly-traded holding company, filled with food businesses, insurers and industrial brands.

At a StrictlyVC event in 2015, Palihapitiya said that Social Capital is going to be more like a "bastard stepchild of Berkshire Hathaway and Blackstone and BlackRock" than a traditional venture firm.

One big difference, though, is that Buffett has largely avoided tech companies because he's struggled to figure out how to value them. Palihapitiya's endeavor is all about uniting "technologists, entrepreneurs, and technology-oriented investors," the filing said.

The Wall Street Journal reported earlier, citing people familiar with the matter, that Palihapitiya's team is planning to meet with investors early next month and launch the offering by mid-month on the New York Stock Exchange.

Story continues

Hedosophia is a venture firm with offices in Hong Kong and London. Ian Osborne, CEO of Hedosophia, will be president of the new holding company. The rest of the management team comes from Social Capital and the board includes former Skype CEO Tony Bates and former Twitter executive Adam Bain.





More From CNBC


Texas Capital (TCBI) reported earnings 30 days ago. What's next for the stock? We take a look at earnings estimates for some clues.

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL  August 24, 2017  Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC  Free Report), Boeing (NYSE:BA  Free Report)Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc(NYSE:HII  Free Report), Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS  Free Report) and Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:AJRD  Free Report).

Today, Zacks is promoting its ''Buy'' stock recommendations. Get #1Stock of the Day pick for free.

Here are highlights from Wednesdays Analyst Blog:

5 Top Defense Stocks to Buy on Trumps Afghanistan Strategy

President Trump revealed a reversal of strategy in Afghanistan, promising to fight to win instead of withdrawing entirely. He vowed to ramp up U.S. engagement in Afghanistan, the countrys longest war to date. He added that moving troops away from Afghanistan would create a vacuum, which terrorists would instantly fill. But, he refrained from revealing specific troop numbers or measures of success.

Defense stocks moved north on Trumps Afghanistan speech, while such stocks have nearly doubled the S&P 500s performance since his election victory. His commitment to swiftly increase military spending boded well for defense stocks. This calls for investing in such stocks for solid gains.

Trump Announces More War in Afghanistan

In a much awaited speech, Trump announced that he wont pull out troops from Afghanistan and is committed to a plan at winning the nations longest war, which is now in its 17th year. In other words, he is introducing a dramatic, new offensive in Afghanistan, which will integrate diplomatic, economic and military power. But, Trump refrained from divulging details on troop deployments or specific dates of operations for security reasons. He did acknowledge that his original instinct was to pull out, which was once an important campaign pledge before he became the President.

Story continues

Trump mentioned that the war will crush al Qaeda and prevent Taliban from taking over Afghanistan. He will urge NATO forces to join hands and support his new strategy. He also said that Pakistan is a terrorist hotbed and has harbored militants. Afghan Taliban and Haqqani network has found safe haven in Pakistan for the launch of multiple attacks on neighboring Afghanistan. He warned Islamabad of consequences if its government doesnt take sweeping steps to eradicate such terrorist organizations. He stressed that Pakistan needs to have stronger ties with India in war against terrorists.

Finally, he concluded that terrorists take heed. America will never let up until you are dealt a lasting defeat. Under my administration, many billions of dollars more is being spent on our military. And this includes vast amounts being spent on our nuclear arsenal and missile defense. In every generation we have faced down evil, and we have always prevailed.

Big Money for Defense Contractors Tied to James Mattis

General Dynamics stands to gain handsomely from Trumps Afghanistan surge. And why? Prior to joining the Trump administration, Defense Secretary James Mattis was an independent director of the multinational defense contracting behemoth. He was paid $594,369 by the company between 2013 and 2016.

It was during that time, the company boasted of receiving a $216 million order from the U.S. Army to build a Warfighter Information Network system. It was immensely successful in serving the army in Afghanistan. The company also received multi-million dollar payments for providing soldiers in Afghanistan items like Foxhound vehicles to IT management services.

And now with Mattis holding a far more operational role, it can be expected that General Dynamics will benefit more from the Afghan war. Mattis now looks into more lucrative Pentagon contracts, which are positioned to even get more lucrative in the light of Trumps declaration to deploy more troops in Afghanistan.

Defense Stocks Rise on Trumps Speech

Defense stocks rose broadly following Trumps remarks, with the iShares U.S. Aerospace and Defense ETF (ITA) rising 1.2% on Aug 22. Major defense stocks like Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin and Boeing gained 1.9%, 0.9% and 1.7%, respectively. Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC  Free Report) and Boeing (NYSE:BA  Free Report) were also awarded contracts for intercontinental ballistic missile system replacements.

In fact, Trumps pledge to significantly increase federal spending related to national security was cheered by Republicans and has helped defense and aerospace stocks scale higher. He had promised to seek a $54-billion hike in spending on tanks, ships and weapon systems. The defense budget will climb 10%, according to the White House, while Trump recommended $30 billion in supplementary military spending for this year (read more: 5 Stocks to Buy as Trump Promises to Spend Big on Defense).

5 Best Defense Stocks to Buy Now

As Trumps Afghanistan strategy gives defense stocks a boost, investing in the same seems a prudent choice. We have, thus, selected five solid defense stocks that flaunt a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy).

Boeing Cois an aerospace company. The company's segments include Commercial Airplanes, Defense, Space & Security (BDS), such as Boeing Military Aircraft (BMA), Network & Space Systems (N&SS) and Global Services & Support (GS&S), and Boeing Capital (BCC). Boeing has a Zacks Rank #2. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings increased 5.9% over the last 60 days. The company is expected to gain 15.1% in the next quarter, while it has surged 67.6% since the Election Day, Nov 8.

Northrop Grumman Corporationprovides products, systems and solutions in autonomous systems; cyber; command, control, communications and computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR); strike, and logistics and modernization. The company has a Zacks Rank #2. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings increased 2.1% over the last 60 days. The company is expected to gain 10.6% in the next quarter, while it has surged 18.6% since the Election Day.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc(NYSE:HII  Free Report) is a military shipbuilding company and a provider of professional services to partners in government and industry. The stock has a Zacks Rank #2. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings increased 2.6% over the last 60 days. The company is expected to gain 22% in the current quarter, while it has surged 39.5% since the Election Day. You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Leidos Holdings, Inc.(NYSE:LDOS  Free Report) provides technology and engineering solutions in the defense, intelligence, homeland security, civil, and health markets in the United States and internationally. The company has a Zacks Rank #2. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings increased 5.5% over the last 60 days. The company is expected to gain 10% in the next quarter, while it has surged 26.6% since the Election Day.

Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, Inc.(NYSE:AJRD  Free Report) designs, develops, manufactures, and sells aerospace and defense products and systems in the United States. The company has a Zacks Rank #1. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings increased 17.8% over the last 60 days. The company is expected to gain 13.3% in the next quarter, while it has surged 72.9% since the Election Day.

4 Surprising Tech Stocks to Keep an Eye on

Tech stocks have been a major force behind the markets record highs, but picking the best ones to buy can be tough. Theres a simple way to invest in the success of the entire sector. Zacks has just released a Special Report revealing one thing tech companies literally cannot function without. More importantly, it reveals 4 top stocks set to skyrocket on increasing demand for these devices. I encourage you to get the report now  before the next wave of innovations really takes off.

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Strong Stocks that Should Be in the News

Many are little publicized and fly under the Wall Street radar. They're virtually unknown to the general public. Yet today's 220 Zacks Rank #1 "Strong Buys" were generated by the stock-picking system that has nearly tripled the market from 1988 through 2015. Its average gain has been a stellar +26% per year.See these high-potential stocks free >>.

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Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss.This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performancefor information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.



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A top Chinese diplomat has conveyed Beijings desire to Washington to respect Islamabads security interests.

Chinese state media reports say State Councilor Yang Jiechi conveyed the message to U.S. State Secretary Rex Tillerson after U.S. President Donald Trump called on Pakistan this week to end terrorist sanctuaries on its soil.

"We must value Pakistan's important role in the Afghanistan issue and respect Pakistan's sovereignty and reasonable security concerns," Yang, who outranks China's foreign minister, told Tillerson on August 23.

This is the second time Beijing has defended its key South Asian ally and neighbor after Trump warned Pakistan that Washington can no longer be silent about Pakistans safe havens for terrorist organizations, the Taliban, and other groups that pose a threat to the region and beyond.

But Beijing views Islamabad as being at the forefront of counter-terrorism efforts. For many years, it has made positive efforts and great sacrifices for combating terrorism and made important contributions to upholding world peace and regional stability, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told journalists on August 22.

We believe the international community should fully recognize the efforts made by Pakistan in fighting terrorism, she said.

Yang, however, told Tillerson that Beijing was willing to join Washington in efforts toward peace and stability in Afghanistan and the region.

"China is committed to advancing the peace and reconciliation process in Afghanistan," he said. Political dialogue is the only solution to the Afghanistan issue.

In recent years, Beijing and Islamabad have expanded their strategic alliance, which was mainly centered on countering their mutual regional rival, India.

China is now a leading investor in Pakistan. It is investing more than $50 billion in infrastructure and energy development in the country. The investments, collectively called the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, are a key project of Chinese President Xi Jinping's global Belt and Road development plan.

On August 22, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Pakistani Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua in Beijing. He also praised Islamabads efforts to combat extremism.

"Given the current complicated and changing international and regional situation, the strategic significance of China-Pakistan relations is even more prominent," he said.

 With reporting from Reuters, AFP, and Xinhua
French English

PRESS RELEASE

Jakarta, 23rd August 2017

VELCAN: SALE OF THE MEUREUBO 2 HYDROPOWER PROJECT IN INDONESIA

VELCAN announces it has fully divested its Meureubo 2 Hydropower Project (59 MW located in the Aceh Province), sold to a Hong-Kong based investor.

The transaction follows several months of administrative uncertainties which have stalled the Power Purchase Agreement process with PT.PLN, the national utility which is also a 25% consortium member in the Project through its subsidiary PT.PJB.

The Meureubo 2 project development costs were already fully impaired as on 31st December 2016 and the sale will have a positive impact on the 2017 financial year.

* * *

Investor Relations Contact investor@velcan.lu

About Velcan:

Velcan (ALVEL FP) is a company from Luxemburg, developing and operating hydroelectric concessions in emerging countries such as India, Indonesia, and Brazil.

Velcan also operates administrative and financial offices in Singapore, Mauritius and Dubai.

The company was launched more than 10 years ago by its reference shareholder Luxembourg Hydro Power SA, owned by Velcan's management team.

Velcan is listed on the Paris Stock Market (Euronext Alternext/Ticker ALVEL/ISIN FR0010245803).

Velcan never performed any Public Offer as understood under Directive 2003/71/CE of the European Parliament and Council.

Disclaimer

This press release contains prospective information about the potential of the projects in progress and/or of the projects of which the development has begun. This information constitutes objectives attached to projects and shall not be construed as direct or indirect net income forecast of the concerned year. Reader's attention is also drawn on the fact that the performance of these objectives depends on future circumstances and that it could be affected and/or delayed by risks, known or unknown, uncertainties, and various factors of any nature, notably related to economic, commercial or regulatory conjuncture, which occurrence could be likely to have a negative impact on future activity and performances of the Group.

This announcement does not constitute a public offering ("offre au public") nor an invitation to the public or to any qualified investor in connection with any offering. This announcement is not an offer of securities in the United States of America or in any other jurisdiction/country.
KOJAMO PLC

Half year financial report

24 August 2017 at 6.10 p.m.

Kojamo plc: Half Year Financial Report 1 January-30 June 2017

Summary of January-June 2017

Turnover totalled EUR 167.2 (182.3) million. Turnover is generated entirely by rental income. Turnover decreased due to the divestments of rental apartments in 2016 and early 2017.

Profit before taxes amounted to EUR 136.8 (105.3) million. The profit includes EUR 67.5 (56.2) million in net valuation gain on the fair value assessment of investment properties and EUR 1.3 (-26.9) million in capital gains and losses on investment properties. The profit increase resulted primarily from larger changes in the fair value, higher income from the divestment of investment properties and lower financial costs than in the comparison period.

Net rental income was EUR 106.0 (116.5) million, representing 63.4 (63.9) per cent of turnover. Net rental income decreased due to the divestments of rental apartments in 2016 and early 2017.

The financial occupancy rate remained high, standing at 96.6 (96.9) per cent during the review period.

Gross investments during the period totalled EUR 129.4 (89.9) million. Gross investments were 77.4 (49.3) per cent of turnover.

The fair value of investment properties was EUR 4.4 (3.6) billion. Return on investment was 7.6 (7.1) per cent.

There were 1,835 (1,303) Lumo apartments under construction at the end of the review period.

Kojamo owned 33,877 (32,736) rental apartments on 30 June 2017.

Summary of April-June 2017

Turnover totalled EUR 83.6 (86.4) million. Turnover decreased due to the divestment of rental apartments.

Profit before taxes amounted to EUR 78.5 (51.0) million. The profit includes EUR 44.0 (42.1) million in net valuation gain on fair value assessment.

Net rental income was EUR 53.4 (55.8) million, representing 63.8 (64.5) per cent of turnover. Net rental income decreased due to the divestment of rental apartments.

The financial occupancy rate remained high, standing at 96.4 (97.0) per cent during the period.

The Group's gross investments during the period totalled EUR 64.4 (46.2) million.

Unless otherwise stated, the comparison figures in brackets refer to the corresponding period of the previous year.

The figures in this Half Year Financial Report have not been audited.

CEO Jani Nieminen: Kojamo diversified its financing and continues on the path of strategic growth

We diversified our financing to ensure the achievement of our strategic goals. The public credit rating and the Eurobond listed on the Irish Stock Exchange support the company's goal of investing in Lumo homes in the urbanising Finland.

We are very pleased to have been able to acquire international financing to increase well-being in Finland. On 30 May 2017, Moody's Investor Service issued a long-term credit rating of Baa2 with a stable outlook for Kojamo plc. The company subsequently issued a EUR 500 million unsecured bond that was listed on the official list of the Irish Stock Exchange and admitted for trading on its regulated market. Kojamo's first Eurobond was offered to a large number of European investors and oversubscribed in a matter of hours.

We invest in rental housing to support, among other things, the migration of people in pursuit of employment in the urbanising Finland. Kojamo currently has 1,835 Lumo apartments under construction. The focus of our operations is on the seven main urban regions of Finland and we respond to the demand for rental apartments especially in the Helsinki region. Kojamo's share of the entire rental housing market is approximately four per cent.

We have a strong emphasis on the development of our operations. We are increasingly investing in digital services, the customer experience and our corporate culture. A good example of our digital services is the Lumo web store, which now accounts for the rental of more than 300 apartments per month. The objective of our company is to be a housing investment company known for its excellent customer experience and producing excellent financial results.

We want to deliver an excellent customer experience every day. The customer experience consists of our code of conduct, our professional skill, our customer service attitude and our desire to solve the customer's problems all at once.

Key indicators

4-6/2017 4-6/2016 1-6/2017 1-6/2016 2016 Revenue, M 83.6 86.4 167.2 182.3 351.5 Net rental income, M 53.4 55.8 106.0 116.5 222.0 % revenue 63.8 64.5 63.4 63.9 63.2 Profit before taxes, M 78.5 51.0 136.8 105.3 289.7 Operative result, M 25.9 31.3 52.6 65.4 116.9 Investment properties, M 1) 4,423.0 3,607.8 4,298.9 Financial occupancy rate, % 96.4 97.0 96.6 96.9 97.4 Interest-bearing liabilities, M 2) 2,460.0 1,713.4 2,122.8 Return on equity, % (ROE) 11.5 9.8 12.9 Return on investments, % (ROI) 7.6 7.1 8.8 Equity ratio, % 38.8 43.6 40.7 Loan to Value, % 2) 3) 46.6 38.9 47.1 Earnings per share,  8.40 5.58 14.73 11.53 31.38 Equity per share,  260.82 238.10 251.20 Gross investments, M 64.4 46.2 129.4 89.9 696.0 Number of personnel, end of period 333 321 286 1) Including items held for sale 2) Does not include items held for sale 3) The calculation formula is changed 2017 and the comperative figures adjusted to corresbond to the current calculation method

Outlook for Kojamo

Kojamo estimates that in 2017, net rental income will be EUR 208-220 million. Investments in new development and housing stock acquisitions are forecast to exceed EUR 300 million. Kojamo estimates that, in 2017, its operative result will be EUR 96-107 million. The outlook takes into account the effects of both the significant housing divestments carried out in 2016 and the housing divestments and acquisitions planned for 2017, the estimated occupancy rate and the number of apartments under construction.

Further information:

Jani Nieminen, CEO, tel. +358 20 508 3201

Erik Hjelt, CFO, tel. +358 20 508 3225

Kojamo plc focuses on real estate investments in Finland, renewing rental housing in order to make it increasingly attractive. The company develops Lumo homes and services that promote work-related mobility in the urbanising Finland, increase well-being and protect the environment. Over the past five years, the Group has invested nearly EUR 1.5 billion in commercial rental housing. www.kojamo.fi/en

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Premise: Prior to the new police patrolling program, which requires police cars to patrol areas of the city every hour, the sale of burglar alarms in the city was high.



Counter-premise: However, since the new program has come in place, people are no longer buying those expensive equipment.



Conclusion: Clearly, the police patrolling program is the reason for the decline in the purchase of the burglar alarms.



Pre-thinking - If people feel that police patrolling program will help better in decreasing burglary then that could be one of the reasons for not buying the alarms anymore. The important thing to note here is that it is the perception that has changed! This does not necessarily mean that Police Patrolling system is better than alarms!

But what if alarms are more effective? This option does not bring about the assumption that the people have in mind while not buying alarms - Irrelevant option - Hence discarded

Even if they don't support it, it does not matter. Because some they might still consider it to be better than the alarms.

If the perception of threat decreases, that automatically means that people don't feel the need of alarms! This is the CORRECT answer

Even if the trust it equally, that could be reason enough for them to stop spending money on alarms - Thus this can't be the assumption

Out of Scope - The police factor does not come into picture here and we are given an alternate reason for not using the alarm.

Work Hard! Have Fun! Create History! Signature Read More

The argument above assumes thatA. new police patrolling program is effective in controlling burglaries [B. most people supported the new police patrolling program [C. people's perception of the threat of burglaries decreased because of the new police patrolling program [D. people trust the police patrolling vehicles more than they trust burglar alarms. [E. people have formed an opinion that even the most advanced burglar alarms cannot help prevent robberies because the burglars have become more technologically advanced.[_________________
- A 16-year-old British-Nigerian maths genius is celebrating his recent achievement

- He has become one of the youngest students of Cambridge University

A 16-year-old Nigerian born guy identified as Andrew Ejemai has become one of the youngest students of Cambridge University. The maths genius who is from Brentwood School in Essex has being accepted at one of the most prestigious universities in the world.

Ejemais brilliant performance in the A-Level exam he took made it possible for him to be considered. The young man had A* in additional further maths with A grades in the new linear chemistry and economics. The brilliant Nigerian born teenager had grade 1 in step II and III in one academic year.

Ejemais performance was not a total surprise as he had in 2003 become the youngest person in the history of his school to pass an A-Level exam with an A grade in maths at the tender age of 12. The young chap is interested in studying maths and would be attending the university ahead of his mates.

Andrew Ejemai, the Nigerian-British genius that has become one of the youngest students of Cambridge. Source: Instagram, Instablog9ja.

READ ALSO: Traditional ruler from Ogun state obtains law degree at 73

While speaking to The Voice, the young man expressed himself by giving thanks to God for the feat.

I am mostly grateful to God Almighty for helping me to achieve this great feat. I believe that without hard work, perseverance, parental and school support, this would not have been possible. I am indebted to all at Brentwood School for believing in me, and giving me the opportunity to complete my three A-Level subjects in one year.

PAY ATTENTION: Install the latest android app to get updates from Nigerias number one online news platform

According to the young star, Ronke, his mother, had made him love numbers. Sonny, his father, said he hopes his performance and success will inspire other young black pupils and will push them to perform well academically.

Watch the Legit.ng TV video below to see what this lady mechanic is up to:

.

Source: Legit.ng


Over 100 years ago, Britains military had about 2,000 de Havilland DH.9 airplanes.

The military used the planes for British bombing raids over Germany during World War I.

The DH.9s were known as strategic bombers. They were one of the first warplanes where pilots did not drop bombs by hand.

The bombs were stored inside the fuselage, or main body, of the plane. Pilots released them by opening a door with a lever. The plane was large enough to carry two large bombs or four smaller ones.

Of the 2,000 DH.9 planes used in World War I, only about six were saved. Or at least that is what people thought until about 20 years ago, when several DH.9s were discovered in rural India.

Britain donated those planes to India, then a British colony, at the end of the war. The website AirHistory.org.uk says India received 60 of the aircraft.

For many years, people thought nearly all the DH.9s were destroyed or used to supply parts for other planes. That changed in 1998, when a lover of historic aircraft found several DH.9s in India in an unusual place: a building where an elephant was once kept.

Janice Black is the director of Britains Historic Aircraft Collection.

Sadly, the engines were taken out and the aircraft were put into an elephant stable. The engines were then used to help to pump water around the estate  which is where we retrieved them from. And the aircraft themselves were left in the elephants stable, which was fortunately very dry.

What was left of the old airplanes was purchased and shipped back to England for restoration. The repairs took about 60,000 hours.

In 2007, the Imperial War Museum bought the first restored DH.9 for about $1.3 million, but it does not fly.

The planes are important in the timeline of military history. But they were not especially successful warplanes.

Their engines were not very strong, so the military could not depend on them in battle.

However, after the war, many were used to carry mail and even passengers.

The Historic Aircraft Collection team is working to restore another DH.9. This time, they hope to make it airworthy and fly late this year.

Im Dan Friedell.

George Putic wrote this story for VOANews.com. Dan Friedell adapted his report for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

What do you think of this historic airplane? We want to know. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.

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Words in This Story

strategic  adj. useful or important in achieving a plan or strategy

lever  n. a bar or rod that is used to operate or adjust something on a machine, vehicle, or device

stable  n. a building in which horses are kept, fed, and cared for

estate  n. a large piece of land with a large house on it

restoration  n. returning (something) to an earlier or original condition by repairing or cleaning it
What have ten legs, two of them large claws, a hard shell cover, and live in oceans, fresh water, and on land? Crabs, of course!

There are thousands of different kinds of crabs all over the world. They can be as small as a few millimeters across or grow as big as 4 meters. And all play an important part in the environments in which they live.

Crabs may look strange. But many people also find them delicious. The blue crab is an especially popular crab for eating in the United States. These crabs can grow up to about 23 centimeters and they get their name from the blue coloring on the legs and claws.

Blue crabs live in the waters of the western Atlantic Ocean, and in the Gulf of Mexico. However, one place in America is especially famous for its blue crabs: the Chesapeake Bay. This largest U.S. estuary borders Maryland and Virginia.

Both states have long made use of the Chesapeake for food, transportation, and fun. All around the area you can see images of the blue crab on clothing, advertisements, cars, and in restaurant windows.

Scientists in Maryland and Virginia say the bay holds hundreds of millions of blue crabs. From early spring through much of fall thousands of people hit the water to capture some of these creatures.

Pete White works with Captain Whites Seafood City in Washington, D.C. The family-owned business gathers crabs and other seafood from the bay and sells it at its store right along the Potomac River. White told VOA that his family has been in the business for about 100 years. He is a big fan of Chesapeake blue crabs.

[These] are the best crabs, in my opinion, out of all the country, White said. I get a lot of people coming from Pennsylvania  a lot of people out of Jersey, New York, North Carolina.  They come from Georgia and they take them home on their car ride.

White said blue crabs are special because of their sweet meat.

There are many ways to cook blue crabs. Some people like to grill them, while others make crab soup. But the cooking style most traditional to the area is steaming.

The first step, White explained, is to combine water or beer with vinegar in a large, metal container. Then, White adds Old Bay.

Old Bay is a seasoning product of hot and salty spices. It was created in Baltimore, Maryland in 1939.

Then you turn on the heat and wait for the liquid to boil.

The crabs are always cooked alive. But, White suggested, they should not touch the water directly. They normally are placed flat on a rack just above the water. Old Bay can be added to each layer of crabs.

It takes 20 to 30 minutes for the steam from the boiling liquid to cook the crabs. Then, they are removed from the container. And White said, they can be mixed with more Old Bay.

Cooking crabs is fairly easy. But eating them can be a challenge. The shells are still very hard. Some people use special tools called crackers and mallets to crack the shells and reach the meat. Other use their hands, breaking at weak points of the shell. Either way, it is a messy meal that usually leaves the eaters covered in shell, bits of meat and lots of red seasoning.

Each blue crab only has between about 60 and 100 grams of meat in them. So sellers most often sell them by the bushel, meaning in groups of about 60 to 100. People usually buy them when they are feeding a lot of people. The so-called crab feast has become a summer tradition in the Chesapeake region.

Kate Livie knows a lot about crab feasts. She is the director of education at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michaels, Maryland.

Livie says that close access to the Bay and its resources have always been important to people. Native Americans such as the Powhatan, the Piscataway and the Nanticoke lived in the area long before Europeans arrived in the 1500s. Scientists have found evidence that these Native Americans enjoyed crabs as well as other seafood, such as oysters.

In fact, oysters were the main seafood of choice from the Chesapeake for many early years, Livie says. But improvements in food preservation, especially in keeping it cold, changed everything for the crab market in the warm summer months.

Although [blue crabs] were [eaten] through the 17th and 18th century, you couldnt sell more than you could eat in a day, she told VOA via Skype. So food preservation [technology] and transportation turned crabs from, kind of, free but priceless, into an incredibly successful and economically [important] harvest.

There was also improvement in the crabbing industry. A local fisherman invented a trap for crabs in the 1920s. The trap, called a crab pot, made it easier to catch the animals.

Plus, Livie says, Old Bay and some advertising campaigns helped grow the crab market. And she she says the blue crab became a major part of the Maryland identity.

However, the blue crab has weathered some stormy seas. Bruce Vogt is a manager of the Chesapeake Bay office of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA.

He says that pollution and other problems have had a serious effect on the health of the bay and its crabs. In fact, in 2008 scientists reported that the blue crab came very close to disappearing from the Chesapeake completely.

But efforts that began in the 1970s to improve the Chesapeakes conditions continue, Vogt says. And this year, researchers estimated there were 254 million female blue crabs in the bay, the largest population since 1990.

Vogt argues that people who love crabs cannot simply hope they will always be there. He says people must work to guarantee their survival. That is why experts push for conservation action, including limiting the harvest of females to about 25 percent.

Theres obviously a lot of work to do, Vogt told VOA via Skype. We cant just sit back and expect that everything is going well now and well have crabs in the future.

Im Pete Musto. And Im Lucija Millonig.

Pete Musto reported this story for VOA Learning English and produced the video. Caty Weaver was the editor. We want to hear from you. What kinds of seafood do people eat in your country? How do they prepare that seafood? Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.

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Words in This Story

claw(s)  n. a sharp curved body part of an animal, such as a lobster or crab, that is used for gripping and holding things

delicious  adj. very pleasant to eat

grill  v. to cook food on a metal frame over fire

soup  n. a food made by cooking vegetables, meat, or fish in a large amount of liquid

steam(ing)  v. cook, heat, or treat (something) with the hot gas that is created when water is boiled

beer  n. an alcoholic drink made from malt and flavored with hops

vinegar  n. a liquid with an acid taste that is used to flavor or preserve foods or to clean things

spice(s)  n. a substance, such as pepper or nutmeg, that is used in cooking to add flavor to food and that comes from a dried plant and is usually a powder or seed

rack  n. a frame or stand on which you place things

challenge  n. a difficult task or problem

mallet(s)  n. a tool with a large usually wooden head that is connected to a part that is easy for a hand to hold

messy  adj. not clean or tidy

oyster(s)  n. a type of shellfish that has a rough shell with two parts and that is eaten both cooked and raw


South Korea's President Moon Jae-in says military action against North Korea cannot be carried out without his government's permission. However, former United States military commanders have a different opinion about the situation.

For weeks, U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have been exchanging threats. Through it all, South Korean President Moon Jae-in has said that he would stand in the way of another battle on the Korean peninsula.

According to Moon, who has long advocated for communication with North Korea, "Military action on the Korean Peninsula can only be decided by South Korea, and no one else can decide on a military action without South Korean agreement."

Trump, however, has not ruled out unilateral military action by the United States.

Last month, North Korea launched two intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) tests in the waters near Japan and South Korea. The test missiles, experts say, had the range to reach the United States. And the North has also threatened to launch missile tests around Guam, a U.S. territory in the Pacific Ocean.

General Burwell Bell is a retired Army General. He commanded U.S. forces in Korea from 2006-2008. "The United States retains the authority, capability and responsibility to defend itself from attack by anyone, including North Korea," he said.

"In accordance with international law, the United States would not need South Korean approval [or] cooperation to strike the North with our own offshore military assets," the general said. "Those assets could be launched from the continental United States, Hawaii, Alaska, Guam, and the high seas near North Korea."

Bell added that he believed President Moon would support the United States.

David Maxwell is a retired colonel who commanded Army special forces units. He noted that the U.S. would certainly consult with South Korea before acting against the North. Such consultations would allow military forces to be ready for a counterattack by the North.

Some experts believe the United States would definitely ask South Korea's permission before striking North Korea.

The United States and South Korea are close allies sworn to uphold each others security, and certainly the U.S. is committed to South Koreas security on the peninsula, said Michael O'Hanlon, a foreign policy expert at the Brookings Institution.

As such, it makes little sense for America to propose or take independent action against North Korea, given how dramatically such action could implicate and endanger South Korean territory.

I'm John Russell.

VOA Korean's Baik Sungwon first reported on this story; Jenny Lee contributed to it. John Russell adapted it for Learning English. Hai Do was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.

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Words in This Story

peninsula  n. a piece of land that is almost entirely surrounded by water and is attached to a larger land area

unilateral  adj. involving only one group or country

offshore  adj. located in the ocean away from the shore

asset  n. military a weapon

consult  v. to talk about something with (someone) in order to make a decision

uphold  v. to support or defend (something, such as a law)
Dear Meredith,

I've been close friends with this guy ever since we were young. We liked each other more than friends, but really hadn't done anything about it until a few months ago when we we finally got together. It's really unfortunate timing because we're both heading to different colleges in a few weeks. We both agreed we'd break it off when we left for school, as neither of us are keen on having a long-distance relationship. We really want to stay close friends, and we thought ending the relationship before college would be best for that.

Last week, he told me that he wanted to end our exclusive relationship early, and that there wasn't really a point to it if we're just going to break up in September anyway. I totally understand that, but I'm still pretty hurt because I thought we would be together until we leave.

I've told him I want to be in our exclusive relationship until we leave but that I don't want to force him if it's not going to make him happy. I know this whole transition from high school to college is hard on a lot of couples  you probably get loads of letters about this topic  but I really don't know what to do. My friends are telling me to break it off with him and not even stay friends, but even if we aren't going to work out as a couple, I do want to maintain a friendship with him because he's such a big part of my life. And even if he doesn't want to be exclusive, I would still want to continue hooking up with him for the next few weeks, even if he gets with other girls. It sounds like a bad idea, but he's kind of my first love and I don't want to lose him. Please advise and thanks for your help!

 First Heartbreak
Simona Cristescu. Credit: Radboud University

Although ethylene (or ethene) is best known as a plant hormone, humans also produce it as consequence of oxidative stress, caused, for example, by UV radiation from the sun. An international team led by Simona Cristescu from Radboud University found that ethylene is produced during inflammation and quickly released in exhaled breath as a biomarker of bacterial infection, thus having important clinical implications. The study has been published by Scientific Reports on July 31.

Traces of ethylene were detected by laser spectroscopy as part of the systemic inflammatory response to bacterial infection, both in isolated blood leukocytes as well as in a controlled experiments with healthy volunteers. In the publication, specialists from the Radboud Trace Gas Facility and several medical groups from Radboud UMC, Johns Hopkins University and the Imperial College London explain how ethylene is being formed as a product of the so called respiratory burst. This is a key component of the immune system, when the body releases reactive oxygen species to fight against invading bacteria. Not only the targeted bacteria suffer from this, the human tissue gets hurt as well. Oxidation of lipids in the cell walls result in ethylene emanation.

Simona Cristescu from Radboud University's Institute for Molecules and Materials explains the importance of the finding: "Our results highlight that ethylene release is an early biomarker of bacterial infection. In humans, ethylene was detected at least half an hour earlier than the increase of blood levels of inflammatory cytokines and stress-related hormones. For patients in intensive care this could mean a difference between life and death."

Laurent Paardekooper, researcher at the Radboud University medical center (Radboudumc) and first author of the article, explains: "The first possible application I see is continuous monitoring of patients that are on artificial respiration. These people have an increased risk of dangerous infections, and because their breath is already going through a machine, it is easy to monitor it for ethylene."

According to Cristescu, taking breath samples for analysis is very easy for both patients and staff. Sensor Sense, a spinoff company of Radboud University's Trace Gas Facility, markets a small device that hospitals can use for real-time analysis of exhaled ethylene.

More information: Laurent M. Paardekooper et al. Ethylene, an early marker of systemic inflammation in humans, Scientific Reports (2017). Journal information: Scientific Reports Laurent M. Paardekooper et al. Ethylene, an early marker of systemic inflammation in humans,(2017). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-05930-9
The degree of subcutaneous edema during Chikungunya infection (top) and the fingolimod treated mice (bottom) during the peak of joint swelling. Credit: Ref. 1.  Teo et al., American Association for the Advancement of Science

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) infection could be treated with autoimmune therapies currently used for other conditions, according to research led by A*STAR scientists.

When transmitted to humans by mosquitoes, CHIKV causes high fever, headaches, joint inflammation and debilitating joint pain. Since 2004 there have been major outbreaks in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and South and Central America. There are currently no approved treatments.

A group led by Lisa F. P. Ng at the A*STAR Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN) demonstrated in 2013 that CD4+ T cells, which mediate immune system responses, play a central role in triggering CHIKV-induced joint swelling.

To investigate, Ng and Laurent Renia, her colleague at SIgN led the team to transfer CD4+ T cells from both healthy and CHIKV-infected mice into T cell receptor-deficient mice. Only those that received cells from infected donors suffered joint swelling, inflammation and skeletal muscle damageconfirming the key role of these T cells in triggering CHIKV symptoms.

They then carried out proteome wide screening assays in which CD4+ T cells taken from CHIKV-infected mice were tested against all proteins generated by the CHIKV virus.

This identified specific segments in two viral proteins, nsP1 and E2, as those that stimulate CD4+ T cell responses to CHIKV. The discovery could be used to help design vaccines against CHIKV and related viruses.

Applying their findings, the researchers treated groups of CHIKV-infected mice with three clinically-approved T cell suppressive drugs. Tissue samples were then visually assessed by histopathologists.

Fingolomid, usually used to prevent multiple sclerosis relapses, successfully reduced joint swelling, inflammation and muscle damage in the rodents. It did so both when given as a prophylactic, and following infection as a standard therapeutic treatment. The other two drugscyclosporin A and rapamycinfailed to control the disease symptoms in mice.

Ng and her colleagues stress that the use of fingolomid to treat CHIKV patients with chronic joint pain has yet to be evaluated, but hope their study will lead to further research on whether it and other immunosuppressive drugs could help those with the condition.

"We were pleased with these findings," says Ng. "They demonstrate our previous theory about the pathogenic role of CD4+ T cells was correct, and suggest existing T cell suppressive drugs could provide viable treatment options for patients."

The group believes such drugs could also be used to treat inflammation caused by other arthropod-spread viruses that is mediated by virus-specific CD4+ T cells.

More information: Teck-Hui Teo et al. Fingolimod treatment abrogates chikungunya virusinduced arthralgia, Science Translational Medicine (2017). Journal information: Science Translational Medicine Teck-Hui Teo et al. Fingolimod treatment abrogates chikungunya virusinduced arthralgia,(2017). DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aal1333
Neuroscience graduate student Sara Schmidt, left, and speech and hearing science professor Fatima Husain conducted a study that found that tinnitus patients have differences in the region of the brain called the precuneus, which cause the brain to stay more at attention and be less at rest. Credit: Joyce Seay-Knoblauch

Tinnitus, a chronic ringing or buzzing in the ears, has eluded medical treatment and scientific understanding. A new study by University of Illinois researchers found that chronic tinnitus is associated with changes in certain networks in the brain, and furthermore, those changes cause the brain to stay more at attention and less at rest.

The finding provides patients with validation of their experiences and hope for future treatment options.

"Tinnitus is invisible. It cannot be measured by any device we have, the way we can measure diabetes or hypertension," said study leader Fatima Husain, a professor of speech and hearing science at the University of Illinois. "So you can have this constant sound in your head, but nobody else can hear it and they may not believe you. They may think it's all in your imagination. Medically, we can only manage some symptoms, not cure it, because we don't understand what's causing it."

One factor that has complicated tinnitus research is the variability in the patient population. There are a lot of variables  for example, duration, cause, severity, concurrent hearing loss, age, type of sound, which ear and more  which have led to inconsistent study results.

"We have been so swamped by variability that finding anything that is consistent, that gives us one objective metric for tinnitus, is very exciting," said Husain, who also is affiliated with the neuroscience program and the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at Illinois.

Using functional MRI to look for patterns across brain function and structure, the new study found that tinnitus is, in fact, in the hearers' heads  in a region of the brain called the precuneus, to be precise.

The precuneus is connected to two inversely related networks in the brain: the dorsal attention network, which is active when something holds a person's attention; and the default mode network, which are the "background" functions of the brain when the person is at rest and not thinking of anything in particular.

"When the default mode network is on, the dorsal attention network is off, and vice versa. We found that the precuneus in tinnitus patients seems to be playing a role in that relationship," said Sara Schmidt, a graduate student in the neuroscience program and the first author of the paper.

The researchers found that, in patients with chronic tinnitus, the precuneus is more connected to the dorsal attention network and less connected to the default mode network. Additionally, as severity of the tinnitus increased, so did the observed effects on the neural networks. The results were published in the journal NeuroImage: Clinical.

"For patients, this is validating. Here is something related to tinnitus which is objective and invariant," Husain said. "It also implies that tinnitus patients are not truly at rest, even when resting. This could explain why many report being tired more often. Additionally, their attention may be engaged more with their tinnitus than necessary, and that may lessen their attention to other things. If you have bothersome tinnitus, this may be why you have concentration issues."

However, patients with recent-onset tinnitus did not show the differences in precuneus connectivity. Their scans looked more like the control groups, which begs the question of when and how changes in brain connectivity begin and whether they can be prevented or lessened.

"We don't know what's going to happen to the recent-onset patients later, so the next step is to do a longitudinal study to follow people after developing tinnitus and see if we can spot when these types of changes with the precuneus start to happen," Schmidt said.

The researchers hope their findings generate new paths for future research, providing one invariant metric to look for and guidelines for patient groupings.

"Knowing that duration and severity are factors is important, and can help guide future study design. We can look at subgroups and see differences," Schmidt said.

Husain's group currently is conducting a study to look at tinnitus across military and civilian populations. More information, including how to participate, is available at www.acnlab.com.

More information: Sara A. Schmidt et al. Connectivity of precuneus to the default mode and dorsal attention networks: A possible invariant marker of long-term tinnitus, NeuroImage: Clinical (2017). Journal information: NeuroImage: Clinical Sara A. Schmidt et al. Connectivity of precuneus to the default mode and dorsal attention networks: A possible invariant marker of long-term tinnitus,(2017). DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2017.07.015
The School of Chinese Medicine (SCM) of Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) recently conducted a clinical observation of traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of chronic renal failure (CRF). The results indicate that a particular type of Chinese medicine treatment that nourishes the kidneys, and removes blood stasis and turbidity is effective in improving the clinical symptoms of CRF patients and postpones the deterioration of renal function. The overall efficacy rate of this treatment is 72.7 percent.

This particular treatment is a prescription of Chinese herbs such as herba epimedii, isaria cicadae, radix salviae miltiorrhizae, rhizoma ligustici chuanxiong, and radix et rhizoma rhei. They work well in warming the kidney, protecting the patients' kidneys and liver, promoting regeneration of blood, and removing blood stasis, turbidity and detoxification.

CRF is caused by multiple chronic kidney diseases or systemic diseases that affect the kidneys, leading to chronic progressive damage. CRF patients experience decreased renal function, in which the kidneys cannot maintain the metabolism of waste and resulting in disorders of electrolyte and acid-base balance. In addition, the kidneys lose basic functions such as the secretion and regulation of hormonal metabolism, which may lead to azotemia, metabolic disorders and other clinical symptoms. When the glomerular filtration rate of CRF patients is less than 60 ml/min and serum creatinine is higher than the upper limit of the normal range, the functional unit of the kidney has been damaged more than 50 percent, suggesting the presence of kidney damage.

Cai Xunyuan, a visiting scholar of the SCM Clinical Division at HKBU, conducted a clinical observation of 33 patients attending HKBU's Chinese medicine clinics for treatment of CRF from March 2013 to August 2017. The study aimed to find the impact of this particular Chinese medicine treatment on the patients' serum creatinine, glomerular filtration rate and their clinical symptoms before and after the treatment.

Of the 33 patients, 19 were male and 14 were female with ages ranging from 18 to 70. All the patients were in the CRF diagnosis stage of three to four with serum creatinine less than 707umol/l. The observation indicated that the overall efficacy rate of the treatment for CRF was 72.7 percent, with seven patients showing obvious improvement, 17 having general improvement while nine showed no improvement.

A better therapeutic effect was observed in patients who were in the diagnosis stage of 3a (serum creatinine <200umol/l). During the observation, 16 out of 20 patients in this group recorded a decrease in their serum creatinine with an efficacy rate of 80 percent, and five of them had an upturn from stage 3a to 2, meaning that renal function was recovering from a decompensatory stage to a compensatory stage.

Mr Cai explained that the traditional treatment, with the application of specific kinds of Chinese herbs to tonify kidney and remove blood stasis and turbidity, coheres with the principle of combining enhancement of physical fitness, eliminating pathogenic factors and tackling both the principal and subordinate symptoms. Through invigorating the spleen and kidneys, the treatment helps to lower a patient's serum creatinine and urea, eliminate the factors promoting the progression of CRF, prevent further damage of the body from the toxins, increase the glomerular filtration rate, stabilise kidney function and reduce the urine protein and red blood cells. As a result, the patient's life quality is enhanced, with improved appetite and healthier body, and an improvement in clinical symptoms. This also helps to delay the progression of CRF and the time for patient undergo dialysis.

Mr Cai said that chronic glomerulonephritis was the primary cause of CRF, with 13 cases. He therefore reminded people to have regular urine tests, especially after recovery from a cold, fever, tonsillitis and boils. If the urine appears with protein or red blood cells, patients should seek Chinese medicine treatment as early as possible to avoid progression of disease and damage to kidneys. Patients already presenting with renal dysfunction should seek professional diagnosis and treatment from registered Chinese medicine practitioners. Once the condition deteriorates to renal failure and even to the stage of uremia, the vast majority of the patient's kidney units have been damaged, and it is more difficult to reverse.

Provided by Hong Kong Baptist University
As young adults head off to college and into close quarters with others in dorms, cafeterias and classrooms, health advocates urge students and their parents to consider a new vaccine that may not be on their radar.

The meningitis B vaccine, federally approved in late 2014, can protect against most B strains of the disease, which account for about 50 percent of all meningitis cases in young adults.

Meningitis is a highly contagious bacterial disease that starts with flu-like symptoms of fever, fatigue and body aches. Teenagers and college students living in close quarters are high-risk groups for the disease. It can be spread by sharing things like cups, utensils, cigarettes and lipstick.

It can be treated with antibiotics if caught early, but can escalate quickly to swelling of the brain and spinal cord. While only about 1,000 people in the U.S. get meningitis each year, it leads to death in 10 percent to 15 percent of cases and can cause permanent brain damage, hearing loss and loss of limbs.

"It takes so little to be protected against it and the effects of meningitis are just so devastating, so why risk it?" said Jill Thompson, director of strategic initiative at Generate Health, a St. Louis regional coalition of organizations and advocates working to improve health.

The coalition has created a toolkit to help area college and universities educate students about meningitis, which includes sample letters to parents and students, informational graphics and social media tools.

"We do a lot to keep all those working in the immunization field up to date with this ever-changing field," Thompson said, especially in the area of meningitis.

Many families are just becoming familiar with the combination meningitis vaccine which protects against the A, C, W and Y strains. It involves a shot around age 11 and then a booster dose after age 16.

Missouri legislation took effect before the 2015-2016 school year requiring every public university student living on campus to get the combination vaccine.

Starting last school year, students entering the eighth and 12th grades in Missouri are also required to have the vaccine. Illinois started requiring it for sixth- and 12th-graders in 2015.

Now the separate meningitis B vaccine has been added to the mix. Because it is new, no laws yet require it, but Missouri legislation passed last year requires all public higher education institutions to educate students about the strain and the vaccine available to prevent it.

The Generate Health initiative is urging all students, not just those living on campus, to get both types of vaccines.

"If we can save lives or prevent any disabilities, I think we need to do what we can," said Deborah Artman, an instructor at St. Louis University School of Nursing who is helping lead the initiative by Generate Health.

Artman said she is requiring her public health nursing students this fall to create a student awareness campaign about the new vaccine.

Outbreaks involving the B strain occurred on five college campuses from March 2013 to February 2016, according to the National Meningitis Association. These outbreaks, at Santa Clara University, the University of Oregon, Providence College, Princeton University and the University of California, Santa Barbara resulted in two deaths. One student lost both feet, and some suffered neurological effects.

A University of Missouri student was sickened by the strain in February 2015.

Over the past 10 years in Missouri, 154 people of all ages have been sickened by meningitis, according to state health department data. Of those, B strains were found to cause 34 cases, but the strain was unknown in 40 cases.

Currently, two brands of meningitis B vaccines are available. Both involve a course of two doses. One requires a third dose if a person has been exposed to an outbreak or has other chronic conditions.

While the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states all preteens and teens should get the combination vaccine, it has yet to issue as strong a recommendation for the B strain vaccine. More research is needed to determine how long its protection lasts.

The guiding federal agency states those ages 16 to 23 may get the B strain vaccine, preferably between the ages of 16 to 18. But those who may have been exposed to an outbreak or have conditions such as a damaged spleen should get it.

Insurance companies may or may not cover the cost, which can range from $125 to $160 per dose if paying out-of-pocket.

Thompson said pediatricians are already suggesting the vaccine when teens come in for their annual appointments.

"It's a deadly disease, and we want to protect our kids," she said.

2017 St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Credit: Monash University

A paper published in the Medical Journal of Australia, involving Monash University researchers, stresses the importance of long-term post market surveillance of breast implants by a clinical quality registry as essential for patient health and well-being.

Their comments in the Perspectives paper come in the wake of a likely causal link between breast implants and a rare form of cancer called Breast Implant Associated Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma (BIA-ALCL) announced by the Therapeutic Goods Administration last year.

Dr Ingrid Hopper is the lead author of the paper and head of the Drugs and Devices Registries at the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University. She project leads the Australian Breast Device Registry (ABDR), the first registry in the world to be supported by all craft groups performing implant surgery; plastic and reconstructive surgeons, cosmetic surgeons and general breast surgeons.

"The Australian Breast Device Registry is a very important health initiative. The registry facilitates early detection of possible trends and complications associated with breast implants, such as rates of contractures, implant rupture and BIA-ALCL," Dr Hopper said.

The paper's authors agreed: "The Australian Breast Device Registry has a pivotal role to play in furthering our understanding of BIA-ALCL, as well as monitoring the occurrence of other known and unanticipated adverse events."

Funded by the Australian Department of Health, the ABDR also tracks and monitors the performance of breast tissue expanders and dermal matrices.

More than 17,000 Australians are currently enrolled in the opt-out registry.

The authors suggested three strategies to maximise the capture of high quality data for long-term post market surveillance of breast implants: contribution to the ABDR is made compulsory for membership to collaborating surgical societies; device manufacturers should provide financial support for the ABDR's work; and industry should provide accurate sales data to give a baseline of the number of devices implanted annually.

Dr Hopper recommended anyone having breast implants inserted or removed, should ask their surgeon to include their details in the registry.

"The ABDR is a confidential, secure, free service, supported by more than 300 surgeons nationally," Dr Hopper said.
A*STAR scientists in the Developmental Epigenetics and Disease group. Credit: A*STAR Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology

Embryos kickstart a vibrant genetic program to thrive, but if the wrong genes are active the cells can self-destruct. A*STAR scientists have discovered one of the genes that needs to be tightly locked down for an embryo to develop: a finding that could improve IVF success rates.

Human egg and sperm cells have their genes trained on a single purpose  to fertilize. Once their mission is complete, the developing embryo begins the complicated genetic program that turns a single cell into a healthy fetus.

This program is possible thanks in part to epigenetic changes to the DNA, such as the removal of methyl group 'locks' by enzymes, which allows many more genes to be read.

Some specialized genes however need to be locked down during development, as their genetic messages cause problems for the embryo.

"Everything that goes wrong in embryos has the potential to cause infertility or early pregnancy abortions," explains Daniel Messerschmidt from the A*STAR Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology. "We are keen to discover the genomic locations which impact on that development."

Messerschmidt's team previously discovered that a protein called Trim28 locks methyl groups to certain regions in the genome. Now, the researchers looked for the targets of Trim28 to find what genes lies within these regions.

The scientists sequenced the RNA of more than 30 embryos lacking Trim28 and discovered that a gene called Rbmy1a1 was unusually active.

"It's an interesting gene which is not expressed anywhere in the body during development except for spermatogonia in the testes  it has no place to be expressed in the embryo," says Messerschmidt. He proposes that the enzyme encoded by Rbmy1a1 produces mRNA transcripts which are harmful to the developing embryo.

Messerschmidt's team is now looking for more of these 'special attention' genes. If the activity of detrimental genes such as Rbmy1a1 can be detected before an embryo is implanted, then it could improve rates of IVF success, says Messerschmidt.

"We want to find out whether we can do epigenetic diagnostics in the same way as when we screen for a suspected genetic disease," he says. "Ultimately, having an overall understanding of these processes will give us a basis for what to look at."

Messerschmidt adds that an epigenetic diagnostic tool for embryos may allow doctors to compare IVF methods which differ between labs. "If we can compare different methods, perhaps we can point doctors to techniques that improve efficiency," he says.

More information: Abhishek Sampath Kumar et al. Loss of maternalTrim28causes male-predominant early embryonic lethality, Genes & Development (2017). Journal information: Genes & Development Abhishek Sampath Kumar et al. Loss of maternalTrim28causes male-predominant early embryonic lethality,(2017). DOI: 10.1101/gad.291195.116
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The minister went on board by helicopter and then visited several key areas of the vessel such as the combat information center (CIC) and bridge. An anti-ballistic interception was simulated in hiw presence. At the end of his visit, he told the crew: "You are the focal point of our national defense. The success or failure of missile defense rests on your shoulders."



Since the latest developments in the crisis with North Korea, Japan self defense forces are permanently maintaining an AEGIS destroyer in the Sea of Japan and Patriot PAC-3 batteries on the likely trajectory ballistic missiles that North Korea may launch against Guam.
Number of injured in Istanbul blast rises to 81

Paul McCartney sells guitar for $77,000 to support Ukraine

Erdogan says preliminary findings after Istanbul bombing point to terrorist attack

Erdogan says number of victims of Istanbul bombing rises to six

Authorities forbid TV channels to broadcast from Istanbul bombing site

Istanbul blast: Governor reports 4 dead and 38 wounded

Media: Terrorist attack considered as one of versions of bombing in Istanbul

Blast in Istanbul: victims reported

Reuters: National Bank of Ukraine prepares banking system for power outages

Explosion hits pedestrian street in Istanbul

Former Pentagon official Michael Rubin calls for Turkey to be recognized as sponsor of terrorism

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
Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Republic of Armenia Armed Forces, President Serzh Sargsyan, on Friday attended the graduation ceremony of the 2016/17 academic year graduates of the countrys military educational institutions, at Sardarapat Memorial (PHOTOS).

The President welcomed the participants, congratulated the graduates, and wished them good service and every success.

Dear Graduates,

Dear Servicemen,

I sincerely congratulate you on completion of this important stage in your life. You have successfully completed your studies and will depart from here to serve your dedicated mission.

You will be at the frontline, at the military units, at the headquarters, and in the rear. Wherever you may go, you will assume the role of a commander followed by our courageous soldiers.

I have no doubt that first of all you will be exacting with yourself that will entitle you to be as much exacting towards your subordinates who are supposed to follow your example, your moral image. You will become a family member, elder brother and a counselor for them.

I am confident that either your superiors will act as such senior brothers and experienced advisors. They have already passed that same path. They should help you avoid the mistakes they have made, they must rely on and support you.

The Armenian army is just such a large family. Our country is just such a large family. [Prominent Armenian historian] Movses Khorenatsi [from the period of Late Antiquity] used to say, We are a small nation. Yes, we are small, yet powerful, strong with unity characteristics of a powerful nation and family.

We must remember that the primary meaning of the word nation is family and dynasty. The purpose of your service is to ensure the safety and peace of your family, your dynasty, your nation.

Dear Servicemen,

The one for all and all for one slogan is at the heart of our armed forces, which became the peoples army uniting the countrymen and the writers, the drivers and the software developers, the jewelers and the musicians. It was just that national effort that defended Artsakh and continues to guarantee its security.

The military service brings up a new type of Armenian citizen - firmly standing on the ground, confident in their strength, supporting their companions, confident about the strength of the rear. This type is brought up by your parents in the family, and the same will be handed down to your children. This type is trained in our schools, learning from teachers to distinguish between good and bad, good, evil, and injustice.

On these positive values and freedom we build our country, defend our cause and our land. That is why we won in the battlefield and are strong in our positions. Dear servicemen, you are just the leaders in those positions: you are the guardians of our frontiers.

The staff of commissioned officers of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia features a new type of Armenian intellectuals thanks to Armenias independent statehood. And our State will do its utmost to solve the problems of its glorious soldiers.

Here, where the spirit of the Sardarapat heroes flies, we all have to understand the burden of historical responsibility that we have on our shoulders. It is not only the security of todays Armenia, but also the responsibility to ensure the continuity of our statehood.

Dear Graduates,

Dear Servicemen,

Reiterating my congratulations, I wish you all good service and great achievements that will undoubtedly be the success of the whole nation.

Thank you, the President said in his remarks at the event.
Bitcoin's time has come. Or, at least, it's getting closer.

Brokerage firm Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) - Get Free Report published a report this week showing that the value of bitcoin and other so-called cryptocurrencies has reached nearly $120 billion. That's twice the size of Costa Rica's entire economy, based on World Bank data. As recently as last year, the total market value was below $20 billion.

In other words, the growth in the virtual currencies has been so rapid that an established Wall Street titan like Goldman Sachs is now trying to demystify the market for big portfolio managers at mutual funds, hedge funds, pension funds and insurance companies. That's despite the fact that the U.S. Internal Revenue Service has denied them legal-tender status in any jurisdiction, treating them as property for tax purposes.

"It's getting harder for institutional investors to ignore cryptocurrencies," the Goldman Sachs analysts wrote in the report.

The New York-based firm is turning its attention to the nascent market as Bitcoin prices have quintupled in the past year to $3,473, according to news and data provider CoinDesk. The dramatic climb -- albeit noticeably pocked by major price crashes even in the past month -- has attracted the attention of true-believing traders as well as timely opportunists.

And Goldman Sachs isn't the only big U.S. bank weighing in on bitcoin's meteoric rise. Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) - Get Free Report , based in San Francisco, published a "special report" on the virtual currency on Thursday, Aug. 10. Wells Fargo Investment Institute's Bobby Zheng noted that bitcoin is increasingly accepted as a form of payment by companies including Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) - Get Free Report , Expedia Inc. (EXPE) - Get Free Report and Intuit Inc. (INTU) - Get Free Report .

Still, the cautionary language in Zheng's report shows the delicate balance big banks are keeping between embracing bitcoin and holding it at a distance. In early 2017, the consulting firm McKinsey & Co. declared that neither the Federal Reserve nor U.S. Treasury are unlikely to start accepting bitcoin anytime soon, according to Zheng.

Bitcoin is vulnerable to hacking due to its decentralized nature as well as operational glitches, malware and cyberattacks, Zheng wrote.

"This cryptocurrency's usage may be subject to sudden regulatory changes due to involvement of the currency in some black-market transactions, money laundering and illegal activities," Zheng wrote. "While we don't offer guidance on these new types of virtual currencies, we believe that it is important for investors to understand this new technology."

Although there are more than 800 cryptocurrencies in existence, Bitcoin represents about $55 billion of value, or almost 50% of the total market, according to the Goldman Sachs report. The second-biggest, Ethereum, is worth about $25 billion. Most of the others are tiny, with only seven of them having a market value in excess of $1 billion.

There's been a related uptick in "initial coin offerings," or ICOs, in which companies raise money through token sales, according to Goldman Sachs. Just this year, ICOs have raised $1.25 billion. One firm, Gnosis, raised more than $12 million in less than 15 minutes.

"The speed at which money is raised via a white paper and internet browser has sounded the alarm bells from parties including the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the People's Bank of China," the Goldman Sachs analysts wrote.

More of What's Trending on TheStreet:
Jeffrey Immelt, the former chief of General Electric Co., may well be qualified to take over at Uber Technologies Inc., the troubled ride-sharing company. He may even be lobbying for the job.

Recode reported that Immelt, 61, is the leading candidate to replace Uber's ousted co-founder and CEO Travis Kalanick. Kalanick, 41, resigned in June after five of Uber's major investors, including the venture capital firm Benchmark Capital, demanded that he leave. Immelt stepped down as GE's CEO on Aug. 1 but will serve as GE's chairman until the end of the year.

"People are calling us a 125-year-old start-up -- we're a digital industrial company that's defining the future of the internet of things," Immelt wrote about GE in an article for Harvard Business Review that was published this week. Changing a big company requires a CEO who can embrace such things as new talent, new culture and a new way of doing things, he wrote.

That sounds a lot like what a management consultant says is needed at Uber.

"The new CEO has to demonstrate that things are going to be different," said Micah Alpern, a principal at management consulting firm A.T. Kearney. Whoever leads Uber will need to be not only someone who has gone through and knows how to handle the growing pains of a startup but who also can change corporate culture and believes in diversity and inclusion, Alpern said in an interview with TheStreet.

No one at GE responded to requests for a comment from Immelt about his plans.

Kalanick's exit came after months of turmoil that made Uber a prime example of a start-up culture gone wrong. Allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination led to two investigations and the dismissal of almost two dozen employees. The company, which is valued at about $68 billion, is also facing several lawsuits, including an intellectual property battle with Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) - Get Free Report over its self-driving car technology.

Whether Immelt is the right person to sort out the Uber puzzle is at least debatable.

"I don't get it," TheStreet's Jim Cramer said on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street." "You go from a company that's a colossus to a company that's a colossally crazed company and maybe Jeff wants that challenge." Cramer said it's possible that Immelt would bring a steady hand to Uber.

Still, for all Immelt's success at transforming GE's business and culture, he also presided over a 35% drop in the value of GE shares during his 16-year tenure. By comparison, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose about 127% over that time, according to Bloomberg data. Uber is owned by its investors and doesn't have publicly-traded shares.

As of Aug. 24, there are 23 analysts covering GE, of which about 58% rate the shares a "Buy," compared with about 32% having a "Hold" rating and 10% with a "Sell" rating, per Bloomberg data.

Nor is previous success a guarantee for the future, said Nada Usina, member of the CEO/Board Services Practice at the executive search firm Russell Reynolds Associates.

"When you bring in a CEO that follows the founder, the maturity of that CEO and what they have seen in terms of business cycles as well as the agility within their own careers will be a major contributor to their success," Usina said.

Investors generally support Immelt as the choice for Uber's next CEO, according to a survey conducted by Morning Consult on behalf of The New York Times. Immelt was viewed favorably by 47% of the respondents, a third of which said Immelt would do a better job than Kalanick as CEO.

Immelt, though, ranked behind such other CEOs as Facebook Inc.'s (FB) - Get Free Report Mark Zuckerberg and Apple Inc.'s (AAPL) - Get Free Report Tim Cook. Even former Apple CEO Steve Jobs ranked ahead of Immelt, and Jobs died in 2011.

Apple, Alphabet, Facebook and General Electric are holdings in Jim Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS Charitable Trust Portfolio. Want to be alerted before Cramer buys or sells AAPL,FB, GOOGL or GE?Learn more now.

While Immelt appears to have investors' support, a subcommittee of the board, led by Matt Cohler of Benchmark, Arianna Huffington, Wan Ling Martello of Nestle SA (NSRGY) - Get Free Report , David Trujillo of private equity company TPG and Kalanick, will ultimately decide which person will be the next to lead the ride-hailing company.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. (HPE) - Get Free Report CEO Meg Whitman was reportedly being considered for the CEO position, but she told the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday that she is "not going anywhere," leaving the door open for Immelt.

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3M Personal Safety Division Launches Silica Toolkit

The company calls it a starting point to help safety managers navigate the dangers of silica for their workers in construction and general industry.

3M announced this week that its Personal Safety Division has launched an online silica toolkit to help safety managers protect their workers in both construction and general industry from this respiratory hazard. The toolkit focuses on silica, specifically the OSHA Respirable Crystalline Silica in Construction Regulation released in March 2016 (29 CFR 1926.1153).

Users can find it here.

"As we help employers promote worker health and safety, we want to make it easier for safety managers to find relevant resources and to understand the safety standards and regulations in play on their work site and source the right equipment and training needed," said Don Garvey, CIH, CSP, of the 3M Personal Safety Division. "In simplifying this process, we hope to free up time for the safety manager to engage and communicate with their workers and to help them better protect their workers on the job."

The website offers key regulations and regulatory updates, videos, technical bulletins, infographics, a product selector, and more, and its content is curated by 3M industrial hygienists and certified safety professionals. 3M has outlined five key areas under the new silica regulation:
Kentucky Company Wins First Governor's Safety and Health Award

"I want to congratulate MPD, Inc. on earning its first Governor's Safety and Health Award," said Labor Secretary Derrick Ramsey. "Working 1,256,157 hours without a lost-time injury is a great accomplishment.

Earlier this month, Kentucky Labor Cabinet Deputy Secretary Mike Nemes visited MPD, Inc. at its Owensboro headquarters to present a Governor's Safety and Health Award, the company's first, for the 1,256,157 production hours its employees worked without a lost-time incident.

"I want to congratulate MPD, Inc. on earning its first Governor's Safety and Health Award," said Labor Secretary Derrick Ramsey. "Working 1,256,157 hours without a lost-time injury is a great accomplishment. On behalf of Governor Bevin and the Labor Cabinet, it is my honor to bestow this award to MPD, Inc. and its employees for their successful efforts towards workplace safety."

Established in 1987, MPD, Inc. consists of 10 wholly owned subsidiaries that provide electronic products in North America and the United Kingdom to customers that include U.S. and foreign military services and their contractors, avionics manufacturers, law enforcement organizations, industrial companies, and commercial concerns. MPD, Inc. employs more than 220 people at its headquarters in Owensboro.

"The employees of MPD, Inc. are the most valuable asset to the company," said Gary Braswell, president of MPD, Inc. "It is our policy that every person is entitled to a safe and healthful workplace. Establishment and maintenance of a safe environment is the shared responsibility between the company and employees at all levels of the organization. To this end, every reasonable effort will be made in achieving the goal of accident prevention and health preservation."

The Kentucky Labor Cabinet presents the award to highlight outstanding safety and health performance by Kentucky workplaces. A business may qualify for the award if its employees achieve a required number of hours worked without experiencing a lost-time injury or illness; the required number of hours depends on the number of employees.
Summer or Winter, Be Alert Near Water!

A few years ago, my daughter brought our two grandchildren, Owen, 3 and Lauren, 5 to swim at our house. Lauren had taken lessons and could swim the length of the pool without pushing off the side. Owen is learning and currently loves our spa, about 50 feet from the pool near our bedroom door. He does great in the spa and can easily stand up anywhere. The danger is when he is in the spa and Lauren in the pool, our attention is divided.

In addition to being a professional safety speaker, I have been a trained lifeguard -- and there is only one safe approach. There must be someone watching each of the children. The illusion is you would hear something wrong and quickly run to their aid. At the very first National Safety Council Annual Congress I attended, I learned from a retired Coast Guard instructor that when people drown, they do so quietly.

Think about it! What is someone who is drowning desperately trying to do? Get air! They are breathing in. Noise happens when you expel air and yell. Because they are out of breath, they often can't make noise. One of the original Beach Boys, Dennis Wilson, who was a surfer and great swimmer, drowned at the side of a boat, a few feet from other people at a party. No one saw him go under or heard him.

I witnessed this at a Boy Scout camp with our troop. I was scoutmaster and serving as the lookout at a troop swim at a public lake. We had a buddy board with about 16 scouts in the water. The shore swimming area had about 150 people in or near the water. As I was watching our scouts, I noticed a father with a young daughter by his side. He was busy talking to a friend when the little girl slipped on the muddy bottom and went underwater. I stood up and noted her position. Of all the people at the beach, two people had seen her disappear. I headed to her location as did the other guy who saw her. We arrived about 20 seconds after she went under water. The other guy reached down into the water and pulled the little girl out. It was then the father's attention was attained. The father was upset at this guy for grabbing his daughter. I stepped in and explained she had been underwater for at least 20 seconds and this guy just saved her life. We were thanked and after a quick visual count of my scouts, I went back to my post.

Remind your employees the only safe way for children to be in water is to have someone actually watching them. The time of year doesn't matter, as hot tubs and spas are in use year round.

To see a video of how silently someone slips below the water unnoticed, go to: https://drebinger.com/safety-speaker-video-drowning-signs-arent-like-movies/

A week after publishing the above article, I received a very emotional email in response. The author has given me permission to share it with you.

"Thanks for this very timely message, although a little late in my case. Unfortunately, I can endorse your topic from a very recent, painful experience. Less than 2 weeks ago, my almost 3 year-old grandson drowned at a family party in his parents' backyard pool. I was there but in the house at the time. My wife, with several adults, were sitting poolside watching the children (approximately 4 in the hot tub and another 4 in the pool). She watched our grandson jump into the hot tub and then climb back out, then turned to watch his older brother swim across the pool. She actually timed him at 1 minute, 15 seconds for the round-trip. When she looked back up to the hot tub and didnt see our grandson, she asked if anyone had seen him and someone responded they thought he may have gone into the house. After confirming he wasnt in the house, he was found floating face down in the hot tub. Three other children in the hot tub were unaware of his condition. It is estimated that less than 3-4 minutes elapsed between the time he was seen jumping into and climbing back out of the hot tub and when he was found unconscious. Although a nurse, a Navy rescue swimmer/paramedic and two other trained adults immediately administered CPR, it was to no avail. His heart was revived upon arriving at the hospital and he did some breathing assisted by a ventilator, but never regained consciousness and was finally taken off life support and allowed to pass quietly wrapped in the arms of his parents 3 days later.

"As you said, attention was divided between children, and the hot tub was raised above the level of the pool, so the adults sitting at pool level could not see the water surface of the hot tub. Even the other children in the hot tub with our grandson did not realize he was in trouble. It cannot be emphasized enough - adults must be actively watching from a vantage point where they can see the surface of the water, and cannot afford to be distracted by casual conversation or other things going on around them. Drowning happens quickly and silently. This message needs to get out to every adult. I have become a spokesman to spare others my family's grief."

John Drebinger Jr., international safety speaker and best-selling author, has been speaking for 27 years and is known for injecting humor and passion to engage audiences to help people work safely. Drebinger developed the technique and book, Would You Watch Out For My Safety?, which teaches people a comfortable way they can point out safety to others. His first book, Mastering Safety Communication, has communication tools and techniques to enhance safety programs and is recognized by members of the safety industry as an outstanding training resource. Its popularity has resulted in selling more than 80,000 copies.

John Drebinger Jr., [email protected], www.drebinger.com, 209-745-9419, blog address: https://drebinger.com/safety-speakers-blog/
Twenty years ago, Hi-Hat Lounge, 1701 N. Arlington Pl., opened as a martini and cocktail bar, but over the span of two decades, it expanded into an East Side go-to for food, craft cocktails and locally- and nationally-brewed beers at the attached Hi-Hat Garage.

Hi-Hat expanded with the Garage in 2008 and added an outdoor bar to their patio, called The Parkhaus, last summer. Jameson Tramm, Hi-Hat chef, recently introduced a new, everything-made-from-scratch menu which includes buffalo chicken wontons and pork poutine.

"Long story short, we are always evolving yet still Hi-Hat," says Andy Menchal, director of operations for MojoFuco.

In celebration, Hi-Hat Lounge will host a block party on Saturday, Sept. 2. The 20-year anniversary bash will take place from 1 to 10 p.m.on Arlington Place and will feature DJs, live music, beer, food and an Old Fashioned contest.

Local bands include Rusty Pelicans, Tigernite, Negative/Positive along with DJs Why B, E- Rich and Kiki Champ.

Special Lakefront Brewery tappings will take place at 2 p.m. with a Brewers Series Dopplebock, 4 p.m. with Dirty Uncle Jims Chocolate Pumpkin, 6 p.m. Brewers Series Peach Wheat, and 8 p.m. with Black Friday 2016.

Old Fashioned samples will be available from The Diplomat, Boone & Crockett, Vanguard, Finks, DiModa, La Masa, Balzac, Malones, Phoenix Cocktail Club and Hi-Hat Lounge/Garage. The winner will be announced at 7:30 p.m. during the bash.

"We have partnered with many of our favorite Milwaukee buddies to bring a truly unique event," says Menchal. "We have always been proud supporters of Milwaukee and look forward to sharing this milestone anniversary with the community. "
The Emerald Development Group Co.Ltd, Mr.Sawit Ketroj(Managing Director of The Emerald Development Group) attended the event of real estate with the leading investor and broker from China. Mr. Bon Yungskol (CEO of Boat Pattana) and President of the Association of Real Estate Phuket gave opening speech and introduced the leading developer in Phuket.
Credit: University of Western Australia

Research carried out by scientists from The University of Western Australia has found that underwater canyons may be critical and overlooked habitats for many commercially valuable species of fish such as tuna, swordfish and mackerel.

The study, published today in the journal Global Ecology and Biogeography is a collaboration between UWA's Marine Futures group, Geoscience Australia, Queensland University of Technology, The University of Tasmania, and the Zoological Society of London.

The researchers used a decade of historical fishing records from the Sea Around Us to map out the likely location of migratory fish hotspots around WA, from the remote Kimberley in the north to the Great Australian Bight in the south.

Lead author Dr Phil Bouchet, from UWA's School of Biological Sciences, said the study was the first to show the importance of underwater canyons for large ocean creatures other than whales, dolphins and seabirds.

"Underwater canyons have long been known to have a large variety of marine life, but until now there had been little evidence that this included large-bodied migratory fish," Dr Bouchet said.

"The data from the Sea Around gave us a unique opportunity to explore how these fish vary in numbers across ocean habitats on a state-wide scale that would not have been possible through any other methods".

Credit: University of Western Australia

The Sea Around Us is an international research initiative born out of the University of British Columbia, Canada, and is designed to document and quantify the impact of global fisheries on marine ecosystems.

"We identified the Argo-Rowley, Ningaloo, Perth, Bremer and Albany canyons, among other sites, as having an abundance of fish. Discovering this will give us a foundation to consider appropriate protection measures in the vast and deep waters surrounding WA," Dr Bouchet said.

Co-author Professor Jessica Meeuwig said the work, funded by the Australian Government's National Environmental Research Program, had a broad significance for marine conservation.

"Prominent seabed features like canyons are static and well charted in Australia. If we can demonstrate that they reliably attract ocean wildlife, we can then use them as a blueprint for supporting spatial management efforts like the designation and placement of marine reserves," Professor Meeuwig said.

Credit: University of Western Australia

The study also assessed how well fish hotspots are protected. "We compared fish hotspots with the national network of Commonwealth Marine Reserves and found that there was very little overlap between the two," Professor Meeuwig said. "This suggests that we are failing to protect a potentially critical part of our ocean heritage."

"What is also interesting from the study is that not all canyons provide favourable habitats for fish. The next step for us will be to determine why that is, and what conditions make some canyons more attractive than others. This will require finer-scale data, and we've already begun collecting useful information using underwater baited video cameras."

More information: Phil J. Bouchet et al. Continental-scale hotspots of pelagic fish abundance inferred from commercial catch records, Global Ecology and Biogeography (2017). DOI: 10.1111/geb.12619 Journal information: Global Ecology and Biogeography
Credit: TigerBrands Foundation

Stunting - a condition in which children are shorter than the recommended height for their age - is a key indicator of long-term malnutrition. It has severe effects on a child's cognitive growth and development.

South Africa continues to have a high prevalence of stunting. This is despite the fact that it's a middle income country, which should put it on a par with countries like Brazil, which has a stunting prevalence rate of just 7%. In South Africa nearly a fifth of children under the age of 14 are stunted, showing persistently high levels of food insecurity in households.

The traditional dominant thinking about stunting suggests that it's an issue set in early childhood and that after the age of two there is limited opportunity to correct it. But research has started to disrupt this conventional wisdom, suggesting that there are opportunities to "catch up" in middle childhood  that is around the age of 7 years  and later again in puberty.

Our research builds on this new thinking. It suggests that the physical effects of stunting can be reduced up until the age of 14 and that there is an association between lower stunting levels and serving children a combination of a breakfast and lunch meals at school.

Our findings are only preliminary and require further verification in different settings. But our study lays the ground for a possible solution to consistently high rates of stunting among children in South Africa.

A meal on arrival

All children attending 60 percent of the poorest schools in South Africa receive a lunch meal as part of the National School Nutrition Programme. The meal consists of a protein, starch and vegetables.

Schools in South Africa are classified into five quintiles (categories): quintile one and two schools are the poorest while quintile five are the wealthiest. The nutrition programme targets schools in quintiles one to three.

Children at some quintile one and two schools are also being given breakfast when they arrive at school through partnerships that the education department enters into with corporates and foundations.

Our study assessed the effects of children between the ages of six and 14 receiving a combination of breakfast and lunch against those who only received lunch. We looked at 39 schools. At eight of them, children received breakfast and lunch while at the other 31 they only got lunch. The schools were in the Lady Frere district of the Eastern Cape, the country's poorest province. Lady Frere is a largely rural area.

We measured the childrens' height and weight and found that the stunting rate among children who received lunch was 14 percent. This compared with a rate of 19 percent for the province. The lower stunting rate could be explained by the age range of the children in our study. While the provincial average is for children from the age of 0 to 15 our sample does not include pre-school children who are more vulnerable to stunting. Stunting rates in Lady Frere may also be lower than in other parts of the Eastern Cape.

But more significantly, among the pupils who received two meals the stunting rates was even lower  at 9 percent. This is despite these children being from arguably poorer households. Similar results were found in the urban leg of the study.

Counter-intuitive stats

Our findings counteract conventional wisdom about stunting but they are not without precedent. Research in Brazil, Guatemala, India, Philippines, and the Gambia show that there are opportunities for height-for-age catch up after the first 1000 days of a child's life.

Our findings suggests that for our sample of children between the ages of six and 14, there are opportunities for catch up and that there is an association between providing an additional meal at school and lower stunting rates, although this does not mean that the programmes cause these effects.

But we believe our findings need to be subjected to further assessment. This is because the study was not designed to assess impact and there could therefore be other possible reasons for the reduction in stunting seen in Lady Frere. We also do not know whether the physical effects observed in our study would also result in positive cognitive effects, although some research suggests it would not.

Policy initiatives

The National School Nutrition Programme is one of three initiatives by the South African government to address malnutrition in children. The other two are child support grants as well as the Integrated Food Security and Nutrition Programme - a process aimed at ensuring an integrated approach across agriculture, social development, education and health to ensuring delivery of food security programmes.

These programmes amount to massive state investments in alleviating the effects of childhood poverty. But the consistently high stunting levels suggest that they aren't enough to address the effects of household food insecurity.

Our findings echo international research which shows that stunting can be shifted in middle childhood and puberty. This suggests that a great deal might be gained from providing children with two meals at school, although further research is required. Nevertheless it does show that there is potential for South Africa to disrupt the high stunting levels its school children face.

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.
Xi Yang joined the environmental sciences faculty last year, specializing in vegetation/climate interactions. Credit: Dan Addison, University Communications

Anyone who has taken high school biology knows that photosynthesis is the process by which plants convert sunlight into energy for growth.

What you may not recall, though, is that while doing so, plants also "sequester," or absorb, carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, playing a key role in balancing the chemistry of the Earth's atmosphere, which is essential to healthy life on the planet.

Scientists are working to better understand this process on a global scale, as well as how droughts affect plants' ability to photosynthesize. This is important to farmers and foresters, as water security becomes a concern during a changing climate. Knowing how much carbon dioxide can be drawn from the atmosphere by plants is important for understanding how naturally produced carbon dioxide, as well as carbon dioxide produced by human activity, is balanced by the ability of plants to flourish.

Xi Yang, a University of Virginia terrestrial ecologist, is working on ways to assess plant health on global and regional scales  from well above tree-top level.

It works like this: Earth-observing satellites that measure carbon dioxide and ozone concentrations in the atmosphere also inadvertently detect faint fluorescence signals coming from forests and farmlands. Yang, who joined UVA's environmental sciences department last August, suspected  along with his colleagues at his previous institutions  that the fluorescence came from photons emanating from leaves, a byproduct of the photons absorbed by chlorophyll and used for photosynthesis.

"We became interested in measuring the faint glow of fluorescence from the forest canopy using a novel spectroscopic system we designed, to see if fluorescence is a robust indicator of photosynthesis," Yang said. "We knew that if it worked, we could use satellite remote sensing to monitor plant photosynthesis globally. This can allow a real-time review of what's happening on the ground and help us anticipate future changes to the environment."

Yang and his colleagues spent a summer measuring atmospheric chemistry directly over Harvard Forest, a 3,000-acre ecological research area in Massachusetts, using instruments mounted to an environmental monitoring tower. They also used spectrometry to detect fluorescence coming off the trees and compared their readings to those from a spectrometer aboard a European Space Agency Earth-observing satellite.

They found a "tight correlation," Yang said, "indicating that photosynthesis can be measured regionally and globally using remote sensing  an effective way to assess ecosystem health."

Such a capability also can allow scientists to infer how much carbon dioxide is being sequestered by vegetation around the world, and how this may moderate climate change as human activity increasingly adds carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.

Yang now is developing an instrument to quantify photosynthesis on smaller scales. The device, a type of spectrometer, can be attached to conventional aircraft or drones and flown over vegetation, providing a local to regional real-time map of photosynthesis for agricultural uses. Because photosynthesis is tied to water consumption by plants, farmers can potentially learn which fields need watering, and how much water is needed.

The device also may be used for forestry management, as different types of trees photosynthesize at different rates, providing unique photon "signatures," that, with fine-tuning, could help forest managers distinguish native and exotic species distribution.

"I'd like to scale up this method and eventually we could build networks across the U.S. to study many different ecosystems," Yang said. "We now have a powerful remote sensing tool to better understand the natural world and how humans affect our world."

Yang is putting his new instrument to use locally. Next week he plans to fly it over UVA aboard an airplane. It may prove helpful to Grounds managers for determining which areas need watering, and which are fine at a given time.
This view from the Mast Camera (Mastcam) on NASAs Curiosity Mars rover shows a site with a network of prominent mineral veins below a cap rock ridge on lower Mount Sharp. The APXS instrument on Curiosity discovered unusual material in these veins that has the highest germanium concentrations found in Gale Crater. Credit: NASA

New data gathered by the Mars Curiosity rover indicates a potential history of hydrothermal activity at Gale Crater on the red planet, broadening the variety of habitable conditions once present there, scientists report in a new study.

Researchers found concentrations of the elements zinc and germanium to be 10 to 100 times greater in sedimentary rocks in Gale Crater compared to the typical Martian crust.

Zinc and germanium tend to be enriched together in high temperature fluids and often occur together on Earth in hydrothermal deposits containing sulfur. The elevated concentrations of zinc and germanium in Gale Crater can potentially be explained by hydrothermal activity that occurred in the region, according to Jeff Berger, a geologist at the University of Guelph, in Ontario, Canada and lead author of the new study published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, a journal of the American Geophysical Union.

Extreme thermal environments on Earth are home to a diverse array of microbial life adapted to these conditions, and these organisms may have been some of the first to evolve on Earth.

Evidence of possible hydrothermal activity has been found by other Mars rovers in other locations on the red planet and in Martian meteorite samples. Researchers have used computer simulations, laboratory experiments and investigation of hydrothermal sites on Earth to try to understand potential past hydrothermal activity on Mars.

Now with potential evidence for hydrothermal conditions once present inside or near Gale Crater, Curiosity's mission takes another step toward determining if there were favorable environmental conditions for microbial life on Mars, according to the study's authors. Hydrothermal deposits are more likely to preserve evidence of microbial life or its precursors, according to Berger.

"You have heat and chemical gradients  conditions favorable for the genesis and persistence life," Berger said.

The new measurements come from the Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) on the Curiosity rover, which is exploring Mount Sharp in Gale Crater, the rover's landing site.

Gale Crater formed 3.5 to 3.8 billion years ago from a meteor impact early in Mars's history. Over a period of several hundred million years after the impact, the crater was filled in with 1 to 2 kilometers (0.6 to 1.25 miles) of sediment from its rim. Previous research has shown evidence that this process of filling Gale Crater with sediment was associated with a lake and streams that probably existed intermittently for thousands to millions of years.

The rock record at Gale crater is fundamental for determining if Mars had environmental conditions favorable for microbial life, according to NASA. The new research illuminates what may have happened before and after the formation of the lake, according to Ashwin Vasavada, Curiosity mission project scientist at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, who was not a part of the new study.

In the new study, researchers used data from the Mars Science Laboratory APXS mounted on Curiosity's robotic arm to measure 16 major, minor and trace elements in the rocks at Gale Crater, including zinc, in addition to the Chemistry and Mineralogy instrument in the rover's body, which analyzes samples from its drill and scoop.

At concentrations that have been estimated for the average Martian crust, germanium is below the detection limit of the APXS instrument and scientists did not expect to see it. So when the data was analyzed for elements beyond the main 16 elements, the researchers were surprised to find germanium, like zinc, is at concentrations up to 100 times higher than in the average Martian meteorite, and even 300 times higher in one vein, Berger said. The new study is the first to include APXS measurements of germanium during the rover's first 1,360 sols, according to the study's authors. A sol is a Martian day, which is 24 hours and 39 minutes long.

Germanium tends to follow silicon in the rocks on Mars, in a predictable ratio of germanium to silicon. The new study found germanium in Martian rocks that was not in its typical relationship with silicon and did not show the standard germanium-silicon ratio.

The presence of zinc and germanium clustered together in such high concentrations points to the potential for hydrothermal activity, according to the study's authors. These elements have an affinity for each other in minerals that solidify out of high temperature fluids and often occur together on Earth in hydrothermal deposits containing sulfur.

If the target region on Mars had sufficient water when Gale Crater was formed by a meteor impact, the energy of the impact could have heated the crust and caused the fluids to circulate in a hydrothermal system, which could have concentrated zinc and germanium, according to Berger. The elements could also have been concentrated by volcanic and impact activity that occurred before Gale Crater was formed. These enriched sediments could have then been carried by water, wind, and gravity to Gale Crater, he said.

The potential presence of hydrothermal systems during Mars' ancient history adds to a "whole variety of conditions that might all fall under the umbrella of being habitable," Vasavada said.

More information: Jeff A. Berger et al. Zinc and germanium in the sedimentary rocks of Gale Crater on Mars indicate hydrothermal enrichment followed by diagenetic fractionation, Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets (2017). DOI: 10.1002/2017JE005290 Journal information: Journal of Geophysical Research

This story is republished courtesy of AGU Blogs (http://blogs.agu.org), a community of Earth and space science blogs, hosted by the American Geophysical Union. Read the original story here.
Samantha in Chinese pressure suit. Credit: ESAStephane Corvaja, 2017

ESA astronauts Samantha Cristoforetti and Matthias Maurer joined 16 Chinese astronauts earlier this month for nine days of sea survival training off China's coastal city of Yantai. The ultimate goal is for ESA to establish a long term cooperation with China and ESA astronauts to fly on China's space station.

Returning from space, astronauts need to be prepared for any eventuality  including landing in water. Sea survival is a staple of all training but this is the first time that other astronauts had joined their Chinese counterparts.

Working in groups of three, the astronauts donned pressure suits and entered a mock Shenzhou capsule that was then released into the sea. The astronauts had to swap their flightsuits for insulation and buoyancy suits before jumping into inflatable boats. They then practised rescue procedures with both a ship and a helicopter.

Samantha says: "The training was superbly planned and conducted. It was a great opportunity to refresh my skills and a first time practising capsule egress in the ocean with decent waves.

"Most importantly, we were welcomed as colleagues and friends by the 'taikonauts' and the instructors. Language and cultural differences are obviously a challenge, but also adds value, as we are all focused on the common goal of space exploration."

Matthias agrees: "The reception was warm. We truly felt the spirit of belonging to one universal astronaut family, sharing the same values, goals and vision.

Sea survival training China. Credit: ESAStephane Corvaja, 2017

"Language was, as expected, the single most challenging obstacle, which we overcame with great enthusiasm and team spirit, speaking a mixture of Chinese and English."

Team work

Accompanying Samantha and Matthias were an ESA flight surgeon and training specialist to gain insights into the different cultural nuances and approaches.

ESA's head of astronaut training, Rudiger Seine, adds, "I see this as another milestone towards establishing good cooperation with China as a space partner."

While this is the first time ESA astronauts have trained in China, it is not the first collaboration. Last year, Chinese astronaut Ye Guangfu joined ESA's caving course in Sardinia to experience an extreme environment as part of a multicultural crew.

Matthias with capsule. Credit: ESAStephane Corvaja, 2017

Both activities stem from the 2015 agreement to boost collaboration between ESA and the China Manned Space Agency, with the goal of flying European astronauts on the Chinese space station from 2022.

In the meantime, other training opportunities and joint activities are in the pipeline to get to know each other better.

The course was organised by the Astronaut Center of China in cooperation with the Ministry of Transport's Beihai Rescue Bureau.

Matthias concludes: "I am very much looking forward to expanding our cooperation with our Chinese friends into space."
Credit: Imperial College London

Research reveals that an invasive crayfish species is easier to detect in water samples during breeding, which could lead to better control.

An invasive species is any animal or plant that is introduced to an area and has the capacity to cause harm. They can impact native wildlife by outcompeting them for food and damaging local environments, for example grey squirrels outcompeting reds. Early detection of invasive species is important to prevent their spread.

However, because some species move around, it can be very difficult to measure population numbers as they cannot always be observed. Because of this problem, scientists are now choosing to monitor environmental DNA (eDNA); the DNA that organisms constantly release into the environment through faeces, mucus, shedding skin and hair, and eventually in carcasses.

Found in land and water, eDNA can be used to find out which organisms have been present in a habitat to estimate population numbers and detect early signs of detrimental invasive species.

In collaboration with the environmental consultancy group, Thomson Ecology, a Masters' student from the Department of Life Sciences has been sampling crayfish eDNA in water. Published today in the journal Ecology and Evolution, his project explored the effect of the invasive American signal crayfish, Pacifastacus leniusculus, on the decline of the UK's only native crayfish species, Austropotamobius pallipes.

Egg-bearing boom

When monitoring P. leniusculus in tanks, the student found that when the female crayfish were bearing eggs, the levels of eDNA dramatically increased in proportion with numbers of this crayfish species.

In contrast, when the animals did not bear eggs, the correlation between eDNA and numbers of the invasive crayfish was lost. This indicates that detecting and estimating crayfish abundance using eDNA would be more effective during the breeding season.

If this research is successful in the field, this method of detecting eDNA during egg-bearing phases could change how organism populations are measured.

Once invasive crayfish have established in an area, populations are very hard to control. This method could identify invasive species at low abundances, detecting the problem early, and eradicating the invasive species before any harm is caused to native species.

Best chance of survival

Crayfish carry their eggs on the outside of their bodies, like many other invertebrates. It is this direct connection between the egg and the water that is thought to increase eDNA levels in the water. This research could therefore also apply to frogs and newts, as their eggs are also spawned directly into water.

Nick Dunn, Masters student in Ecology, Evolution and Conservation, and lead author on the research paper, said: "I hope that my work will be able to help with the management of invasive species so that our native species stand the best chance of survival.

"This project wouldn't have been possible without PhD student Victoria Priestley, and it would be really exciting if my work has opened the door for further research to be undertaken by future Masters' students at Silwood."

Project supervisor and study co-author Professor Vincent Savolainen, from the Department of Life Sciences at Imperial, said: "This paper exemplifies the high quality research that our Masters' students undertake as well as the importance of collaborating with non-academic partners such as Thomson Ecology. This research exploits new ways of conducting environmental monitoring and combatting invasive species."

'Behavior and season affect crayfish detection and density inference using environmental DNA' by Nicholas Dunn, Victoria Priestley, Alba Herraiz, Richard Arnold and Vincent Savolainen is published in Ecology and Evolution.

More information: Nicholas Dunn et al. Behavior and season affect crayfish detection and density inference using environmental DNA, Ecology and Evolution (2017). DOI: 10.1002/ece3.3316 Journal information: Ecology and Evolution
The Italcementi section located in the Lombardy Basin of northern Italy. Black layers of limestone mark the transition from the Upper Triassic to the Lower Triassic. Credit: Aviv Bachan

Extremely low oxygen levels in Earth's oceans could be responsible for extending the effects of a mass extinction that wiped out millions of species on Earth around 200 million years ago, according to a new study.

By measuring trace levels of uranium in oceanic limestone that correspond to oxygen levels in seawater present during the rock's formation, the new study finds areas of the seafloor without oxygen increased by a factor of 100 during the end-Triassic extinction event.

It took about 50,000 years for ocean oxygen levels to return to what they were before the extinction event and it may have taken as long as 250,000 years for coral reefs around the globe to fully recover, according to the study.

The new results shed light on the state of the oceans during the end-Triassic extinction, which wiped out approximately 76 percent of all marine and terrestrial species. The end-Triassic is the fourth-largest extinction episode in Earth's history and occurred just before dinosaurs became Earth's dominant land animal.

Scientists are not sure what initiated the extinction event, but suspect a burst of volcanic activity around 200 million years ago increased carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. That would have made oceans more acidic and caused ocean water to become anoxic. Severe anoxia causes "dead zones" in the water where low levels of oxygen cause marine life to suffocate and die.

Anoxia has long been suspected to have played a role in the end-Triassic extinction, but the anoxia's duration and severity were not known, according to the study's authors. The new study, published in Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, a journal of the American Geophysical Union, quantifies the timing and extent of marine anoxia during and after the end-Triassic extinction, said Adam Jost, a postdoctoral fellow at MIT's Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences department in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and lead author of the new study.

The large-scale anoxia that likely occurred during the end-Triassic extinction would have rendered many areas unable to sustain life, according to the new study. The persistent anoxia, or lack of oxygen, observed in the new study would have delayed organisms that survived the mass extinction from returning to low-oxygen areas and repopulating them.

Understanding the role of anoxia in the extinction event may be important, since the end-Triassic extinction can serve as a case study for biological adaptation to environmental change.

Since uranium is well-mixed throughout the ocean, it can be used to examine global levels of anoxia, giving scientists information about the average levels of oceanic oxygen. Other methods can only inform researchers about local oxygen conditions, Jost said.

A paleographic reconstruction of around 200 million years ago of the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province CAMP. Credit: Adam Jost

"It's very hard to take those pieces of evidence and extrapolate what's happening at a global scale," he said. "[The ocean] could be anoxic [in one location], but if you go 100 kilometers away, it might not be anoxic at all. The nice thing about uranium isotopes is that along with the model that we construct, we can begin to quantify that change in anoxia, and determine how much area of anoxic ocean floor is required to generate the trends that we see in the uranium isotopes."

Scientists can determine how much oxygen is present in ocean water by measuring the ratio of two forms of uranium in oceanic limestone: uranium-238 and uranium-235.

Oceanic limestone forms through the buildup of calcium carbonate from coral reefs and the shells of bivalves. Uranium that is also present in the seawater is incorporated into the calcium carbonate and eventually the limestone.

When seawater is anoxic, certain chemical reactions preferentially use the heavier uranium-238 over the lighter uranium-235. More of the uranium-238 becomes insoluble in ocean water, and can no longer be incorporated into calcium carbonate. Instead, the uranium-235 remaining in the seawater is incorporated into the calcium carbonate  and eventually the limestone  at higher levels than the uranium-238.

To study the severity of the anoxia during and after the end-Triassic extinction, researchers collected samples of limestone from the Lombardy Basin in northern Italy that were deposited during and after the end-Triassic extinction about 201 million years ago. They measured uranium levels in the samples, and found there was more uranium-235 than uranium-238 in the limestone, indicating there were anoxic conditions when the rock was formed.

Based on their measurements, the researchers estimated the timeframe for anoxia during the extinction. The researchers found ocean water was anoxic for at least 50,000 years during the extinction but delayed reef recovery for up to 250,000 years after the extinction event. Although there are other processes that could potentially cause uranium-238 or uranium-235 buildup in the sediment, the researchers used modeling to demonstrate these processes could not produce the elevated levels of uranium-235 they observed in their samples.

The study's authors suspect the anoxia is what delayed the recovery of marine species during the end-Triassic and could have contributed to the extinction's severity.

Jost said their conclusions about end-Triassic anoxia fit into a larger picture emerging from recent research showing many similarities between the end-Triassic extinction and the most severe extinction on record, the end-Permian, which occurred about 52 million years before the end-Triassic extinction. Understanding these extinctions can help scientists better understand how species may react to future changes in the environment.

"The end-Permian was much longer, and the recovery was much longer and the extinction more severe," Jost said. "So in some ways, the end-Triassic is a mini end-Permian."

More information: Adam B. Jost et al. Uranium isotope evidence for an expansion of marine anoxia during the end-Triassic extinction, Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems (2017). DOI: 10.1002/2017GC006941

This story is republished courtesy of AGU Blogs (http://blogs.agu.org), a community of Earth and space science blogs, hosted by the American Geophysical Union. Read the original story here.
Satellite image of Hurricane Katrina bearing down on the US Gulf Coast on August 29 2005

No matter what they are calledcyclones, hurricanes or typhoonsthe giant tropical storms that form in oceans near the Americas and Asia can be deadly, destructive and terrifyingly capricious.

At full throttle, these low-pressure systems pack more power than the energy released by the atomic bomb that levelled Hiroshima.

In the South Pacific and Indian Ocean, they are known as cyclones.

The same weather phenomenon in the Atlantic and northeast Pacific is a hurricane, while "typhoon" is the term used in Pacific Asia.

From outer space, they look like a smoke-enshrouded fireworks pinwheel, or what astronomers imagine as the swirling vortex around a black hole.

Meteorologists call them "tropical cyclones," and grade them on a five-step scale according to intensity, taking into account maximum sustained wind force and potential damage.

Hurricane Harvey, barrelling in on Texas, is currently at Category 2 (125-169 km/h or 96-110 mph winds), and could strengthen to Category 3 (170-224 km/h or 111-129 mph) by the time it strikes land.

Category 5 packs winds of 280 km/h (157 mph) or more. Hurricane Katrina was a Category 5, killing over 1,800 people across the US Gulf Coast when it struck in 2005.

Cyclones are formed from simple thunderstorms at certain times of the year when the sea temperature is more than 26 degrees Celsius (79 Fahrenheit) down to a depth of 60 metres (200 feet).

Sucking up vast quantities of water, they can lead to torrential rains and flooding, along with loss of life and property damage.

Storms 'to get stronger'

Rising seas, along with warmer air and sea waterall brought on by global warmingwill boost the strength of cyclones, and increase the damage they cause, scientists say.

"We know that the strongest storms are going to get stronger as the climate warms," said James Elsner, a professor at Florida State University and an expert on hurricanes.

"The ocean fuels these storms with warm waterthe warmer the waters, the stronger the storm can get," he told AFP.

Sea level risepredicted to top a metre (three feet) by the end of the centuryis already contributing to more devastating storm surges, he added.

"Finally, as the atmosphere warms, it holds more waterthat makes the storm produce more rain, which can lead to flooding."

At the same time, cyclones may become less frequent, he added.

Hurricanes and typhoons can trigger large swells that move faster than the storm, travelling 1,000 kilometres (more than 600 miles) beyond its confines.

The storms themselveswith a calm "eye" at their centremeasure up to 1,000 km across.

They weaken rapidly when they travel over land or colder ocean waters.

Cyclones are closely monitored by satellites, and specialised centres around the worldin Miami, Tokyo, Honolulu and New Delhitrack the super storms' trajectories under the coordination of the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO).

 2017 AFP
A bright member of the Phoenicid meteor shower appears at the bottom left of this photo taken at 02h15m39s UT on December 2, 2014. The Moon is captured to the lower right of center in the photo. Camera: Pentax K-3 + SIGMA 4.5mm F2.8, 3 second exposure time, at Sandy Point, North Carolina, U.S.A. Credit: Hiroyuki Toda/NAOJ

The Phoenicid meteor shower (named after the constellation Phoenix) was discovered by the first Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition on December 5, 1956, during its voyage in the Indian Ocean. However, it has not been observed again. This has left astronomers with a mystery: Where did the Phoenicids come from and where did they go?

Two Japanese teams have found an answer to these questions by linking the Phoenicid meteor shower to a vanished celestial body, Comet Blanpain. This comet first appeared in 1819 and then disappeared. In 2003, astronomers discovered a minor body moving along the same orbit that Comet Blanpain had over 100 years ago, and showed that it was the remains of the comet. The coma and tail of a comet are made of gas and dust that escaped from the surface of the nucleus. The reason why Comet Blanpain reappeared as an asteroid was probably because all the gas and dust have escaped from its central body. Now, rather than calling the object a comet, it might be more accurate to refer to it as an asteroid.

Although all of the gas and dust have escaped from Comet Blanpain into space, they now form a dust trail that revolves along almost the same orbit as Comet Blanpain itself, and gradually spread along the orbit. When the Earth passes through such a dust trail, the dust particles impinge into the atmosphere and ablate, and are observed as meteors.

Made from all sky images taken continuously from 23h14m to 26h48m UT, Dec. 1, 2014. The meteors appearing at 0:20, 0:46, 0:57, 1:18, 1:38, 1:42 belong to the Phoenicid meteor shower. The central bright spot is the Moon, and long lines of light moving upward or downward are airplanes. Camera: Pentax K-3 + SIGMA 4.5mm F2.8, each exposure 3 seconds, at Sandy Point, North Carolina, U.S.A. Credit: NAOJ

Assuming that Comet Blanpain is the parent body of the Phoenicids, the teams performed calculations and predicted that the Phoenicids should be observed again on December 1, 2014. Following this prediction, the two teams of Japanese astronomers carried out a campaign of observation. One team traveled to North Carolina, U.S.A., and observed there. The other team visited La Palma Island in the Spanish territory off the West coast of Africa. The weather conditions at the former site were comparatively good, but more clouds covered at the latter site. Therefore, the team used supplementary data from other sources such as NASA's All Sky Fireball Network and radar observations at the University of Western Ontario, Canada.

Earth is bombarded by a constant background of sporadic meteors every night. In order to distinguish Phoenicids from sporadic meteors, both teams analyzed the data by back tracing each meteor trail to distinguish the meteor shower. If many meteors come from the same point in the sky, then they are part of the same meteor shower. Out of the 138 meteors observed at North Carolina, 29 were identified as Phoenicids. The Phoenicid activity peaked between 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. local time, very close to the predicted peak of the Phoenicid meteor shower, which was 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. This supports the idea that the observed meteors back traced to the Phoenicid radiant are surely from Phoenicid meteor shower. The data collected by the other sources also supported this result.

But not everything matched the predictions. One discrepancy between the prediction and the observations was that the number of Phoenicids observed was only 10 percent of the prediction. This indicates that Comet Blanpain was active, but only to a limited extent when the observed meteors were released from the comet during its solar approach in the early 20th Century. To summarize, the observed meteor shower is the first example of the evolution of a comet being estimated. First author Yasunori Fujiwara says, "We would like to apply this technique to many other meteor showers for which the parent bodies are currently without clear cometary activities, in order to investigate the evolution of minor bodies in the solar system."

White circles show high-sensitive video cameras with image intensifiers. Yellow circles show small high-sensitive CCD video cameras. 2014 Dec. 1, at Sandy Point, N.C., USA. Credit: SOKENDAI

Fujiwara's research is being published in the Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan, and second team lead Mikiya Sato's research will appear in the journal Planetary and Space Science very soon.

More information: Yasunori Fujiwara et al, Optical observations of the Phoenicid meteor shower in 2014 and activity of comet 289P/Blanpain in the early 20th century, Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan (2017). DOI: 10.1093/pasj/psx035 Journal information: Planetary and Space Science

Provided by National Institutes of Natural Sciences
When the company that produces the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index announced this month that it would exclude the corporate parent of Snapchat from its benchmark market measure, the move was cheered by advocates of better corporate governance.

It was seen as an overdue response to a disturbing trend, particularly in tech: Founders, when they take a company public, do whatever they can to maintain control, even when they own relatively small stakes.

In the case of Snap Inc., it had issued only nonvoting shares in its March initial public offering- as far as it gets from many investors' ideal of all shares having equal voting power.

But it's far from clear that the stand taken by S&P will have much effect, even though inclusion in the index boosts a stock price by 5 percent on average.

"There is a lot of evidence that company management won't care," said Chris Jones, the former chief investment officer for asset management giant BlackRock's domestic equity business.

Jones, now a member of the investment committee at Irvine, Calif., investing start-up Acorns, said the new rules might persuade some small companies to change how they plan to go public. That's not so for big, well-known firms that investors are clamoring to invest in.

"When Uber comes public, they'll come with some kind of differentiated structure," he said.

The S&P rules say that companies with more than one class of stock will not be eligible to join its benchmark S&P 500, MidCap 400 and SmallCap 600 indexes, which track large, midsize and small companies, respectively. Companies already included in the indexes, however, will be able to remain.

The announcement followed a similar rule change by FTSE/Russell, which plans to exclude companies from its indexes, including the Russell 3000, if they severely limit the voting rights held by ordinary shareholders.

Over the past decade and a half, numerous companies  including Google, Facebook, Workday and LinkedIn  have gone public with two classes of stock. One, owned by founders and early investors, carries outsize voting rights - often 10 votes per share. The other, sold to everyone else, has just one vote per share.

When Snap went public in March, it took things one step further, selling shares to the public that came with no voting rights at all. That prompted S&P, FTSE/Russell and another index manager, MSCI, to ask investors whether Snap's nonvoting shares or shares of other companies with little or no voting power should be included in their indexes.

Most investors, according to the results of polling released by FTSE/Russell, said the indexes should include only companies that give ordinary shareholders meaningful voting rights.

When companies are included in major indexes, investment funds that seek to match the returns of a particular index are forced to buy shares - something some investors don't like.

Aeisha Mastagni, an investment officer at the California State Teachers' Retirement System, told The Los Angeles Times this spring that investing in Snap would encourage "bad behavior" but that the huge pension fund would nevertheless have to buy Snap shares if they were included in the Russell 3000.

Forced-buying by index-tracking funds is one of the big benefits of index inclusion, especially as index funds have become more popular than ever. Vanguard, a pioneer in index fund investing, has seen hundreds of billions of dollars flow into its index-tracking funds over the past few years.

Still, there's much more cash in actively managed funds, meaning there's plenty of capital that can be invested in companies shut out of major indexes - and that the benefits of being included in the indexes may not be enough to persuade company founders to give up more control.

If companies don't heed the new rules and continue to go public in ways that will keep them out of the big indexes, it could eventually make the indexes less attractive to investors.

For decades, the S&P 500 has been used as a gauge of what the U.S. stock market is doing. And index funds that track the S&P 500 are billed as a way to essentially invest in the whole market, or at least in the largest public companies.

But imagine if S&P had issued its new rule years ago and that companies such as Facebook and Google parent Alphabet never became part of the S&P 500.

According to an April report from investment firm State Street Global Advisors, if those and other companies with dual-class share structures were excluded from the S&P 500, the index's returns would have fallen from 86.5 percent to 84.6 percent over the past decade. That's because firms such as Facebook and Alphabet have had outsize growth, boosting the index's overall return.

That might help explain the position of Vanguard on the whole matter.

"We're absolutely in favor of one share, one vote. We're also proponents of index methodology that captures the broadest set of companies," said Joe Brennan, head of the company's equity investment group.

Jones, the former BlackRock investment manager, said this is an issue he's thought about since S&P made its announcement.

"Are we going to have lower expected returns in our (funds) than we would ideally like to have because we're excluding certain portions of the stock market?" he said.

For now, he doesn't believe this is a big problem.

Even without the new rule, Snap would not be eligible to be included in the S&P 500. It's plenty big enough, valued at about $15 billion, more than twice the valuation of the smallest company in the index, but it hasn't been public for a full year and it isn't close to being profitable - both requirements for membership.

Still, Jones said if Snap and other companies that will be excluded continue to grow and prosper, it could spur investors to reconsider their position.

If investors feel S&P's indexes are out of step with the market as a whole, another firm could create its own set of stock lists. Or S&P and other index managers could simply do an about-face.

"S&P and Russell might change their rules if the market told them investors don't care about this stuff," Jones said. "They are for-profit organizations. I think the market will respond to this somehow."

Amy Borrus, deputy director of the Council of Institutional Investors, praised the new S&P rule and said she believes it will at least prevent more companies from following Snap and going public with nonvoting shares.

But she said it's true that some companies will continue to go public with multiple share classes and limited shareholder voting rights. For that to stop, she said, it will take more than new rules from index managers.

"These new rules don't solve the problem," she said. "This should be laid at the door of the stock exchanges. They should have standards that give shareholders some modicum of accountability."

2017 Los Angeles Times

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
In Lower Fungom, Cameroon men sing while working, highlighting the local culture. Credit: Duylinh Nguyen

The world is going through an unprecedented period of language endangerment. Some experts predict that half of the world's languages will disappear within a century, with urbanisation and the increasing use of major world languages diminishing smaller languages' chances of survival.

The death of a language can be a significant loss for speaker communities who view their language as a key part of their heritage. This has led to revitalisation efforts, especially in parts of the world dominated by settler societies, such as Australia, Canada and the US. But the link between language and identity can differ greatly from community to community and is especially complex in societies dominated by multilingualism.

Since 2004 I have been working with my colleague Pierpaolo Di Carlo and other collaborators to understand the language dynamics of a region of Cameroon known as Lower Fungom. Cameroon is one of the most linguistically diverse countries in the world. Around 300 languages are spoken by its approximately 20 million people. These include colonial languages such as English and French as well as hundreds of local languages.

Lower Fungom is especially remarkable for its degree of linguistic diversity. In an area of around 100 square kilometres, roughly the size of the city of Paris, nine local languages are spoken by 12,000 people.

The languages of Lower Fungom, like so many others, are endangered. The ways that people use these languages are also endangered. Multilingualism is woven into the fabric of Lower Fungom society, as it is in much of Africa. What is especially remarkable is the sheer number of languages spoken by each individual in Lower Fungom. A survey conducted by Angiachi Esene Agwara, a Cameroonian collaborator, found there to be no monolinguals in Lower Fungom. The average adult is able to speak or understand around five to six different languages. Most are learned without any formal schooling and are acquired through family relationships, friendships or for work.

Shift to major languages

All over the world, the dominant trend is for small speaker communities to shift to major languages such as English, Spanish, or Chinese. But in Lower Fungom, individuals are actively learning both local languages as well as socioeconomically powerful ones.

We have been investigating what motivates people to become multilingual in Lower Fungom. From a Western perspective, a striking finding is that languages are not strongly connected to "deep" identities, such as ethnicity. In a country like France, speaking the French language is an integral part of what it means to be French. In countries like Australia and the US, immigrants are expected to master English if they want to become citizens of their new countries.

Lower Fungom in Cameroon.

In Lower Fungom, we found something different. Each village is viewed locally as having its own "language". A linguist might classify some of these languages as "dialects", but, for those living in Lower Fungom, a distinct way of talking is a key marker of an independent village.

Villages are an important part of local life and the means through which individuals can access resources, such as food and shelter, and achieve personal security. Speaking a language is the clearest way for an individual to signal that they are part of a village community and that they should be allowed access to its resources. Being multilingual is a kind of insurance policy. The more languages a person speaks, the greater variety of resources they can claim access to.

Language saves man from drowning

Sometimes the connection between speaking a language and personal security is quite direct. A Cameroonian collaborator, Nelson Tsong Tsonghongei, working on the language of the Mbuk village, found close to Lower Fungom, collected a story about a man drowning in a river in the Mbuk area.

The man was not from Mbuk, but he knew the language of the village. He shouted for help in the Mbuk language and people from the village came to rescue him. After he was rescued, they were surprised to find out that was not from Mbuk. If he had shouted in Cameroonian Pidgin English, he almost certainly would have been understood, but people may not have come to help him.

Other times the connection between language and identity is more subtle. The fragment of a conversation given below, collected by another Cameroonian collaborator, Rachel Ojong, has been translated into English. It originally took place in two Lower Fungom languages, Buu and Missong.

Dance of the Mndong juju in the village of Ngun. Each village is characterised by having a distinctive set of jujus, where a juju is to be understood as a group owning exclusive rights on a mask and its associated dances, instruments, and songs. Credit: Pierpaolo Di Carlo

There are two men speaking, one senior (S) and one junior (J). The senior man is from the Buu village. The junior man is from the Missong village, but his mother is from Buu. The Buu language dominates the conversation. This is because the junior man is showing deference to the seniority of the man from Buu.

Senior Man: Did you come up to Fang? I heard that you were chased away there.

Junior Man: Chased away? It was not me, it was Manto.

The senior man is accusing the junior man of some wrongdoing in a nearby village. The junior man first protests in Buu, but he then changes his language and speaks for one turn in Missong. This irritates the senior man, who ends the conversation immediately after.

S: So where did you go?

J: I reached here and saw you in this bar. (Language changes to Missong.)

S: You are still a child.

The junior man has switched his language to send a signal that he is no longer accepting the senior man's authority: He should not be treated as a junior man from Buu, but as someone from another village entirely. This can be seen as a kind of codeswitching, with a very specific social meaning embedded within the local culture.

If we want to understand the full scale of the world's linguistic diversity, we should be thinking not only about languages, but also how speakers relate to their languages.

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.
The total solar eclipse as seen from south-central Nebraska on Monday. Credit: Jeff Exstrum, University Communications.

On Monday, just as CU Denver began the new academic year, an awe-inspiring solar eclipse captivated people across North America. A thin line of total solar coverage spanned, at various intervals, the continental United States, completely blocking out the sun from Lincoln Beach, Ore., to Charleston, S.C., for a few remarkable minutes.

Mark Golkowski, PhD, acting chair and associate professor of Electrical Engineering in the College of Engineering and Applied Science at CU Denver, and several students collected data during this rare celestial event by using state-of-the-art Naval submarine communication technology.

The Study

Traveling to remote areas of Colorado, Nebraska and North Dakota, Golkowski's small team of students collected data on how differing amounts of sunlight affect the upper atmosphere. The team was enthused about going into the field and collecting data unique to the total solar eclipse.

"We were way out there! We're still waiting for all the data to come back to Denver, and we're excited about our potential findings," said Jamie Bittle, a graduate student in Electrical Engineering at CU Denver.

In fact, they had never been able to conduct this type of experiment because it required a solar eclipse to occur with precise geometry between the U.S. Navy very-low-frequency (VLF) transmitter, the eclipse itself and the receivers. The Naval VLF transmitter is permanently set up outside of LaMoure, N.D. It is normally used as a communication device with the U.S. submarine fleet, and is also used to sense changes in the upper atmosphere, also known as the ionosphere.

Changes in the ionosphere during the solar eclipse are measured through radio wave transmissions. Credit: University of Colorado Denver

"In a nutshell, the students observed VLF waves that bounced off the ionosphere," said Golkowski. "The ionosphere changes drastically from day to night, and this affects how these radio waves travel. The solar eclipse offers a unique opportunity in that a day-night-day transition will occur over a few minutes rather than over many hours."

Although the data is being gathered from each of the collection points, the team already has big plans for it. Golkowski's team will compare information from each point, and determine how the ionosphere changes due to sunlight, and how the traveling radio waves are affected. Using this information, they hope to improve VLF communication that is used by submarines and used as an alternative to GPS systems.

Exceptional Opportunity

This experiment may remain one-of-a-kind for the foreseeable future. "There have been total solar eclipses in the past and there will certainly be more in the future," Golkowski said. "But it's pretty unlikely that one will occur over the continental United States where we are able to set up receivers in line from a Navy transmitter. It's fortunate that this eclipse's path of totality occurred in areas accessible to us."

The team hypothesized that during the field study they would be able to observe reflections from the path of totality for the very first time. Once this is understood, a similar model can be applied to sunsets and sunrises, and accuracy can be improved for technologies that use very-low-frequency radio waves like U.S. submarines.

Although the 2017 solar eclipse has passed, its invaluable data will be used in years to come, and may end up redesigning VLF communication methods.
eHopper POS Announces QuickBooks Integration to Power Small Businesses

eHopper, LLC, a point of sale and business management company servicing small businesses around the world, today announced that it is expanding its list of small business solutions by integrating with QuickBooks through an app available on Intuits App.com website. The new service enables eHopper customers to automatically synchronize their sales, inventory, and revenue data with QuickBooks, eliminating the need for users to manually input information. These features expand eHoppers offerings and provide small business owners with the tools and technology they need to start, run and grow their small business.

Our mission is to make accounting affordable and easy to use by leveraging the power of the cloud so that time intensive work of keeping books up to date can occur automatically every time a customer makes a payment or when managing employee payroll, said Gary Khabinski, CEO of eHopper Services LLC.

eHoppers QuickBooks app incorporates a full suite of key features including:

Automatically imports sales invoices, inventory, taxes, and more

Maps business income and expenses, including employee payroll

Imports sales transaction data, including taxes

Manages vendor orders with ease and efficiency

eHoppers new QuickBooks app not only helps improve business workflow, it also allows customers to allocate their time and resources to other important areas of business. According to eHopper, customers will be able to get hours added to their week by automatically importing sales, refunds, and deposits. By eliminating manual entries, eHopper customers will always have an accurate, up-to-date picture of their businesss finances.

About eHopper

eHopper Services, LLC is a Fintech company located in New York that provides cloud-based, user-friendly POS business management solutions to small businesses around the world. eHopper is applicable for a wide variety of business types, including quick-service restaurants, cafes, vape shops, bars, retail shops and any other business seeking a consolidated solution to streamline operations.

Today, eHopper Services, LLC continues to provide point of sale solutions, improve upon their products and influence innovation with small business management. For more information, visit http://ehopper.com.

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Children were among at least 14 people killed in an air strike that toppled residential blocks in Yemen's capital Sanaa on Friday, witnesses and medics said. The attack was the latest in a wave of deadly raids on residential areas of Yemen blamed on a Saudi-led Arab military coalition, drawing strong international condemnation. The United Nations has accused the Arab coalition of killing 42 civilians in the week to Thursday, including many children. Amnesty International's Middle East research director, Lynn Maalouf, said the coalition "rained down bombs on civilians while they slept". She called in a statement for the UN to take action against Saudi Arabia over the list of civilian facilities struck in deadly air raids over the past two years. "We are calling on the UN to look at the evidence  the schools and hospitals that lie in ruins, the hundreds of young lives lost to reckless air strikes," Maalouf said. The International Committee of the Red Cross condemned the latest deadly raid as "outrageous". "Eight of the victims were members of the same family, including five children between three and 10 years old," said the deputy head of the ICRC's delegation in Yemen, Carlos Morazzani, after visiting the site. "Such loss of civilian life is outrageous and runs counter to the basic tenets of the law of armed conflict," he said. "From what we saw on the ground, there was no apparent military target." Friday's air raid destroyed two buildings in the southern district of Faj Attan, leaving people buried under debris, said an AFP photographer on the scene. His images showed severely damaged buildings, piles of smashed concrete blocks and splintered beams of wood. Medics at the site said at least 14 people including six children and two women had died in the strike at 3:15 am (0015 GMT). Al-Massira television channel, run by the Shiite Huthi rebels who control the capital, said those killed were all civilians, and blamed the Saudi-led coalition for the strike. Mohammed Ahmad, who lived in one of the buildings, said he was among those who had taken nine bodies to a hospital. "We extracted them one by one from under the rubble," he said. "When the rocket hit, one of the buildings was immediately destroyed which caused the building next door to collapse too. Some residents got out, but others were trapped." Diggers worked at the site for hours after the raid as medics and residents searched for the missing. Survivors helped move the wounded to ambulances. A man wearing a bloodied white gown walked among the torn and burnt pieces of clothing and bits of wooden furnishings. - Series of strikes - The coalition entered Yemen's war in 2015 in support of the government against the Iran-backed rebels, who seized Sanaa the previous year after forming a fragile alliance with troops loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh. The World Health Organization estimates that nearly 8,400 civilians have been killed and 47,800 wounded since the Saudi-led alliance intervened. Friday's raid came two days after at least 35 people died in a series of strikes on Sanaa and a nearby hotel that rebels have also blamed on the coalition. Coalition spokesman Colonel Turki al-Malki told AFP that those killed in Wednesdays air strike were "armed militants", adding that the strike was aimed at "a high-value target". He said he would "review the information" about Friday's strike. Human rights groups have repeatedly criticised the coalition, which controls Yemen's airspace, over the civilian death toll from the bombing campaign on northern and southern Yemen. The coalition has come under massive pressure from international organisations including the United Nations over the raids. The UN has said the coalition was probably responsible for a July attack on the southwestern Taez province that killed 20 people, including children. "In the week from August 17 to August 24, 58 civilians have been killed, including 42 by the Saudi-led coalition," UN human rights office spokeswoman Liz Throssell told reporters in Geneva on Friday. Yemen also faces a deadly cholera outbreak that has claimed nearly 2,000 lives and affected more than half a million people since late April. A combination of war, disease and a coalition blockade have pushed Yemen, long the poorest country in the Arab world, to the brink of famine. The United States also regularly conducts deadly drone strikes on Yemen that Washington says target Al-Qaeda.
BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombia's now-demobilized FARC rebel group said on Friday that its assets, earmarked for victim compensation, total $324 million, plus hundreds of kilograms of gold, and rejected government accusations it has failed to list all its possessions. FARC included footwear and orange juicers in the list of assets it will hand over, drawing ire from officials who maintain the guerrillas have extensive criminal wealth and sparking the government to create a special verification commission to look into the list. The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) agreed under a 2016 peace deal with the government to hand over all funds and property to pay reparations to victims of forced disappearance, rape, displacement, kidnapping and land mines. The group has for decades extorted landowners and business people, earned ransoms from hostage taking and sold coca, the base ingredient in cocaine, to drug traffickers. The real estate, cash in multiple currencies, equipment and other assets listed total 963.2 billion pesos ($324.4 million), FARC leaders told reporters on Friday. The attorney general and the justice, interior and post-conflict ministers all criticized the list on Thursday, saying it made a mockery of victims and included many items with little to no monetary value. "With the inventory of assets and funds the FARC has continued to strictly comply with what we agreed," rebel secretariat member Pastor Alape said, adding the list was difficult to compile because guerrilla assets were not centralized and many records, where they had existed, were destroyed in fighting. "We took the decision to accept as ours assets identified by the state, principally by the attorney general, that are not in our inventory, because we ourselves lack information about them," Alape added. The list includes nearly 600 horses, 327.5 kilograms of gold and 196 billion pesos the FARC says it spent on road construction. Colombian officials have previously accused the FARC of possessing large amounts of cash, as well as ranches, businesses and luxury homes, including some located abroad. Alape denied the group has any foreign assets. The rebels finished handing over more than 8,000 weapons to the U.N., which oversaw their demobilization, earlier this month. On Sunday the group will kick off a conference that looks set to cement its transition into a political party. ($1 = 2,972.98 Colombian pesos) (Reporting by Julia Symmes Cobb; Editing by Helen Murphy and Phil Berlowitz)
Japan said Friday it will impose fresh sanctions on North Korea by freezing the assets of Chinese and Namibian firms doing business with the nuclear-armed state. The move against a half dozen organisations and a couple of individuals comes days after Washington expanded its own punitive measures against Chinese and Russian firms, as well as people linked to Pyongyang. The US move drew an angry response from Beijing, North Korea's key ally, while Japanese media said Friday that Namibia has been tightening its links to the North in recent years. "We will continue to make strong calls (for North Korea) to take actions toward denuclearisation," Yoshihide Suga, the Japanese government's top spokesman, told a regular press briefing. "Now is the time to apply pressure," he added. The sanctions are aimed at disrupting the flow of cash funding North Korean weapons programmes, which are in violation of United Nations resolutions. Japan has previously frozen the assets of entities and individuals involved in natural resources and research work related to Pyongyang's nuclear and missile development programmes. The US and its allies, particularly Japan and South Korea, have been on high alert in recent months as North Korea carried out successive missile tests. Tensions have eased since North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un pulled back from a plan to send a salvo of missiles towards the US Pacific territory of Guam. But Pyongyang Wednesday disclosed significant technological advances and ambitious plans to further improve its missile capabilities. US President Donald Trump, like his predecessors, has called on China to play more active roles in convincing North Korea to stop threatening its neighbours and the US. But China has so far been lukewarm on the idea, preferring to address the issue through long-stalled talks.
A district in London that lays claim to having the one of the best "curry corridors" in England and a park in Brooklyn that offers sweeping views of lower Manhattan have been named some of the coolest neighborhoods to visit right now by travel experts at Lonely Planet.

In their list of top 10 neighborhoods around the world, local experts helped spotlight some of the trendiest areas in their city at the moment -- neighborhoods that don't necessarily make the cut in generic travel guides.

They represent areas that have either been steadily developing over the years, or that are currently in the midst of a rapid transformation, "ripe for exploration right now."

For travelers looking to experience a destination like a local, here are a few highlights:

Seongsu-dong, Seoul

Labeled the Williamsburg of Seoul, Seongsu-Dong is an industrial hub, home to abandoned warehouses and factories that have been salvaged and revitalized into trendy cafes, restaurants, galleries and independent shops. Some of the trendiest cafes include Cafe Onion, Zagmachi and OR.ER.

Sunset Park, New York City

Located below Park Slope, on one of the highest hills in Brooklyn, Sunset Park has become a popular gathering place for locals looking to savor the last rays of the summer sun this season. With Chinatown bordering the park on the east, and the Latin American community to the west, the park is described as a "heady mix of cultures and traditions." Its prime location likewise offers sweeping views of lower Manhattan.

Tooting, London

Curry lovers will want to bookmark a trip to South London's Tooting neighborhood, where restaurants like Dosa n Chutny and Apollo Banana Leaf helped make its high street one of the best "curry corridors" in the country. Tooting Market has been selling arts and crafts, apparel, and multicultural fare for 80 years. Punters can also grab a pint at quirky watering holes like The Castle, The Antelope and The Little Bar.

Damansara Heights, Kuala Lumpur

It's one of the most affluent neighborhoods in Kuala Lumpur that has seen an uptick of shiny shops, community-focused eateries and cosmopolitan conveniences. Look no further than the cafe-bakery Huckleberry, speakeasy Skullduggery and Flour, a North Indian restaurant that serves a "knockout biryani" for proof.

The full list can be found at https://www.lonelyplanet.com/travel-tips-and-articles/10-of-the-worlds-coolest-neighbourhoods-to-visit-right-now/40625c8c-8a11-5710-a052-1479d2769fd4.
By Samia Errazzouki MELILLA, Spain (Reuters) - In a winding early-morning queue, Jemaa Laalaoua hunches over with 50 kg (110 lb) of kitchenware on her back, waiting to cross back into Morocco from the Spanish enclave of Melilla. The 41-year-old mother of eight is one of thousands of Moroccans who eke out a living by walking loads of merchandise from Melilla into the northern Moroccan province of Nador. Goods including metal kettles that Laalaoua was carrying are counted as personal luggage and are not taxed, allowing for a small mark-up when they are shipped on and sold on across Morocco. "On average, I earn about 70 dirhams ($7.40) per trip, carrying anywhere between 40 to 70 kg," says Laalaoua. "But most days, we never know how much we will make." The work is backbreaking and fraught with risk. Some traders have died in stampedes through the tight border crossing. "We say our prayers in the morning and brace for the day, not knowing if we will come out dead or alive," Laalaoua says. She lifts undergarments to display bruises on her leg from a Spanish Civil Guard's truncheon. She says she was beaten for attempting to advance towards the front of the queue. No one from the Civil Guard in Melilla was available to comment. When Laalaoua finally gets through the narrowly caged border crossing, she weaves through the crowd to drop off her cargo inside the bustling Beni Ansar market, before rushing back to a Melilla warehouse where she will load up for her last trip of the day. Locals with an address in the Nador province are allowed to cross through into Melilla without a visa, but cannot spend more than a day in the Spanish enclave. They can cross for five hours a day, four days a week. In total, there are between 30,000-40,000 crossings daily, according to the Spanish border police. The practice has been going on for decades. Before, it was dominated by single mothers known locally as "mule women", who struggled to make a living elsewhere. But as unemployment has climbed, the women have increasingly found themselves in competition with young men. Each morning the women report to a boss who tasks them with transporting an assigned quantity of goods, coordinating with warehouse owners and shippers. By 5 a.m. crowds of hundreds swell to thousands, as people wait for Spanish guards to open the border gates. Male traders fight and women shout and scream as the jostle for a place in the crush. Most manage to make two or three crossings before the border shuts again. The merchandise spans everything from simple household goods such as towels, toilet paper, and soap, to illicit wares including alcohol and plastic bags, which have been banned in Morocco since last year. Laalaoua lives nearly 27 km (17 miles) from the border, waking up at 2 a.m. to prepare for her commute, by foot then taxi or bus. Her husband Mohammed Zoubah, 57, fell ill six years ago, forcing Laalaoua to become the primary breadwinner. "She's strong, she's protecting this household," he says. "May God bless her with patience." (Editing by Aidan Lewis and Alison Williams)
Poland will stick to its position on the European Union's posted workers directive, Prime Minister Beata Szydlo said Thursday. "We will defend our position to the end, because it is a position that is in the interest of Polish workers," Szydlo told reporters in Warsaw. Her comments come as French President Emmanuel Macron is rallying other low-wage eastern EU states to agree to an overhaul of the rules of the so-called Posted Workers Directive. It currently allows firms to send temporary workers from low-wage countries like Poland to other member states without paying local social charges. Macron has insisted that the regulation leads to unfair competition on the French labour market, to the detriment of French workers. Poland is the country that benefits most from the Posted Workers Directive and wants to keep its current rules intact. An estimated 500,000 of its nationals are employed by Polish companies in other EU members. Austria and France are among the bloc's key recipients of temporary employees. Backed by Vienna and Berlin, Paris now wants the duration of these job postings to be limited to 12 months, half the period proposed by the European Commission.
Both Ukrainian military and Kremlin-backed rebels on Friday accused each other of breaking a new truce. established after midnight ahead of the start of the new school year. "A serviceman of the armed forces of the Donetsk People's Republic who was killed by the bullet of a Ukrainian sniper became the first 'victim'" of the ceasefire, separatist news agency website quoted senior rebel commander Eduard Basurin as saying. The ceasefire came into effect after midnight ahead of the new school year. The Ukrainian side of joint ceasefire monitoring centre said the first breach of the new truce was recorded less than two minutes into it, when the separatists shelled the village of Talakivka in Donetsk region with small arms and heavy machine guns. "The armed forces of Ukraine did not give in to provocations and did not open fire in response," it said in a statement posted on the defence ministry website. Kiev also reported the loss of a government soldier just minutes after midnight, though the injuries that led to his death were received during the shelling earlier this week before the ceasefire went into effect. The new truce was agreed at a meeting of the Contact Group for Ukraine attended by the separatists on Wednesday. In June the warring sides agreed on a so-called "harvest ceasefire" from June 24 that was set to last until August 31. The US special envoy on Ukraine Kurt Volker on Tuesday also backed a fresh ceasefire to come in force as schools start on September 1. The conflict between Russia-backed fighters and Ukrainian troops has killed more than 10,000 people since 2014, when pro-Russian forces declared parts of eastern Ukraine independent following Moscow's annexation of Crimea.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Thursday warned the armed forces in his crisis-hit country against "fissures" in their ranks, ahead of war games seen as a show of strength after US President Donald Trump's threat of military action. Maduro launched the warning in a speech to his top military leadership, including General Vladimir Padrino, his defense minister, and General Remigio Ceballos, commander of operational strategy, two days before the drills begin Saturday. "We must be clear, especially for the youth in the military, that we must close ranks within the homeland -- that this is no time for any fissures and that those with doubts should leave the armed forces immediately," Maduro said. "You are with Trump and the imperialists, or you are with the Bolivarian national armed forces and the homeland," he added. "Never before has Venezuela been threatened in such a way." Maduro has faced months of deadly mass protests by opponents who blame him for an economic crisis and are demanding elections to replace him. His main source of support is the military. Venezuela's opposition has repeatedly urged the military to abandon Maduro, so far to no avail. He has only faced low-level dissent, such as from the two rebel officers who staged a raid on an army base this month. Maduro urged the military to "be prepared to fight fiercely... in the face of an eventual" US invasion. "They treat us as a dictatorship," said the embattled president. Since Trump's threat, Vice President Mike Pence sought to soften the message, saying during a visit to Latin America that he was sure democracy could be restored in Venezuela through economic and diplomatic pressure. - Swap of oil minister and PDVSA chief - In another move made with an eye on Washington, Maduro announced he had moved his oil minister Nelson Martinez over to run the state oil giant PDVSA -- and brought the company's boss Eulogio Del Pino over to be his oil minister. Maduro told the military leaders that in the face of possible future added US sanctions on Venezuela, "I decided to do some re-casting... we have to prepare ourselves." He pointed out that Del Pino, who has been at the helm of PDVSA since 2014, was the architect of agreements between OPEC and non-OPEC countries to boost flagging crude prices. As for Martinez, who took over the oil ministry in January, Maduro said he would work to increase Chinese, Russian, Indian and Malaysian investments in PDVSA's various projects. "We are in a moment of flexibility to face the economic war," said Maduro. So far, the United States has applied economic sanctions directly targeting Maduro, who says the economic collapse that has dragged his country into crisis is a US-backed conspiracy. He has accused Washington of preparing fresh economic sanctions and a "naval blockade" to stifle oil exports, which account for nearly all of Venezuela's hard currency reserves. The fall in world crude prices has left Venezuela -- which has the largest proven oil reserves in the world -- short of dollars for vital imports. The country is suffering from shortages of basic goods and medicines. Earlier this month, PDVSA reported a sharp 33.5 percent drop in revenues for 2016, as compared with the previous year. The average price of a barrel of Venezuelan crude declined 21 percent to $35.15 in 2016, down from $44.65 in 2015, it said. The opposition blames Maduro's economic management for the crisis, and his critics accuse him of clinging to power by hijacking state institutions, such as by installing a new constituent assembly packed with loyalists. Clashes between anti-government protesters and police this year have left 125 people dead, according to prosecutors. Also on Thursday, Venezuela took two Colombian television networks off the air -- Caracol Television and RCN. Caracas is angry at Bogota for offering protection to Maduro's onetime attorney general Luisa Ortega, who is now a fierce critic of his government.
By Stephen Eisenhammer LUANDA (Reuters) - Angola's ruling MPLA party held a commanding lead in provisional general election results, with 64.57 percent of the votes tallied compared with the opposition UNITA party's 24.4 percent, the electoral commission said on Thursday. Angola, home to sub-Saharan Africa's third-largest economy, held a smooth national election on Wednesday with the MPLA's former defence minister Joao Lourenco expected to be voted in as the OPEC-member's first new president for 38 years. The People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) earlier said it was on track to win a two-thirds parliamentary majority, based on its own numbers, as votes were still being tallied. The provisional results were based on about 63.74 percent of the votes cast, said Julia Ferreira, spokeswoman for National Electoral Commission. Further provisional results will come out in coming days with definitive results required by law to be released within two weeks of the vote. There were 9 million Angolans registered to vote in a country of 28 million spread across an area twice the size of France. In Angola, political parties are allowed to observe the elections by posting party members at every polling station and by assimilating results, the parties attempt to foretell the election outcome. The MPLA calculated earlier on Thursday that after checking 5 million votes it was on course for the two-thirds majority that is required to govern alone. "We can affirm that the future president will be comrade Joao Manuel Goncalves Lourenco,"Joao Martins, party secretary for political and electoral affairs, told reporters. Juilao Mateus Paulo, MPLA's secretary general, said after the release of the provisional results: "We think we're approaching a two-thirds parliamentary majority which would be a great satisfaction for the party." However, the main opposition, National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), said the party did not recognise the provisional result, as it did not tally with its numbers. Paulo said the opposition always complain about the vote outcome. Before the provisional results were released, UNITAs parliamentary head Adalberto Costa Junior told Reuters: "Looking at the trend, the MPLA won't have a majority at all." Should the MPLA win, Lourenco, a quiet 63-year-old more used to army barracks and the closed doors of party politics than the public spotlight, would replace veteran leader Jose Eduardo dos Santos. He will remain as head of the party, however, giving him potentially sweeping powers over decision-making. DOS SANTOS DYNASTY Dos Santos, 74, Africa's longest-ruling president behind Equatorial Guinea's Teodoro Obiang Nguema, steps down after guiding Angola from Marxism to capitalism while embracing Chinese oil-for-infrastructure investment. His daughter Isabel heads national energy company Sonangol, which runs Africa's second biggest oil industry. His son, Jose Filomeno, is in charge of the $5 billion state investment fund. The MPLA, which has ruled Angola since independence from Portugal in 1975, has lost some support due to political cronyism, though many Angolans remain loyal to the party that emerged victorious from 27 years of civil war in 2002. Lourenco has promised to focus on fixing Angolas economy which has been devastated by the fall in the price of oil. The economy contracted 3.6 percent last year and is expected to post only minor growth in 2017. On Tuesday, Lourenco said he did not rule out negotiating with the International Monetary Fund or the World Bank as he sought to establish an "economic miracle" in Angola. "We assess that the next president will seek closer cooperation with the IMF," Robert Besseling, analysts at Exx Africa, said in a note on Thursday. "It is likely that Lourencos presidency will be marked initially by continuity and moderate changes in policy." In the early hours of Thursday morning, the electoral commission said that 15 polling stations failed to open on Wednesday due to transport issues and that about 1,300 people would vote on Saturday instead. The commission spokesperson said the incident would not have an impact on the release of partial results. (Editing by Joe Brock, James Macharia and Richard Balmforth)
Jon Allie on Free Lunch

One-time Zero pro, rail innovator and Wisconsin native Jon Allie sits down with Free Lunch to mark the return of Ride Channels face to face interview series.

Jon Allie blew up out of nowhere (or so it seemed) in the early to mid 00s with insane rail-based parts from Zero and Circa footwear (see below for a reminder of those).

After a handful of truly death-defying sections it seemed as if Jon Allie had all but disappeared as quickly as he emerged, a path which is explained in this short interview.

Click through to find out about why he left California for Wisconsin, leaving Zero to ride for Slave, the upcoming Slave video, his Thrasher cover kickflip frontside tailsliding Clipper and more.

Good to know hes still out there ripping.
As Hurricane Harvey prepares to make landfall, hundreds of residents along the Texas Gulf Coast are fretfully abandoning their small businesses

As of Friday morning, some mandatory and voluntary evacuation orders are in place. Hurricane Harvey, is expected to be the biggest hurricane to make a U.S. landfall since Hurricane Wilma in 2005. Strong winds and historic flooding are forecast.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has declared a state of disaster in 30 counties along the Gulf of Mexico. And in local municipalities, similar declarations have been made, including evacuation orders.

Here are some businesses boarding up and protecting their properties from the storm as best they can:

Boarding up on Padre Island. City and county officials urged folks in low areas to Get out now. #Hurricane Harvey pic.twitter.com/HQK1OS9TVm  Lynn Brezosky (@lbrezosky) August 24, 2017

Harvey is barreling toward the heart of Texas off-shore oil industry, which is supported by a lot of small businesses. Some gas and energy companies have been forced to shut down and fears they could be out of service for an extended period of time could impact price and availability.

The Importance of Preparedness in Disaster Management

Boarding up and leaving is really the final steps of a well-rehearsed disaster response or emergency management plan. Its something every small business should have in place.

It doesnt always take a major hurricane to put the plan into action. Remember, Hurricane Sandy wasnt even a hurricane. And the biggest threat to a business isnt the high winds, its the intense rain and flooding.

The businesses along the Texas coast and inland are likely to deal with closures, loss or resources, flooding, property damage and more.

A good emergency management plan may not bring back whats lost in the storm but it could help your small business survive in the days and weeks after the water has receded and recovery begins.

Here are some tips for being prepared and dealing with evacuations and other issues that might come up during disasters like Harvey.

Create an Emergency Management Plan

An emergency management plan should assess the risks your business might face, whether that includes hurricanes, earthquakes or other potential disasters. Then it should outline what you and your team need to do in case those potential emergencies take place. That way, employees and staff know their roles and are more likely to respond appropriately should the time come.

Make Sure Youre Covered

If your business is properly covered by insurance, you can greatly increase your chances of making it out of a disaster situation successfully. FEMA and other government organizations provide some helpful resources for businesses looking to make sure theyre covered in emergency situations.

See Also: The Importance of Cybersecurity in Your Small Business

Look Out for Emergency Alerts

In some cases, local government agencies might call for evacuations or other actions your business may need to take. FEMA offers some evacuation safety guidelines for families and businesses to make sure youre safe and prepared in those situations.

Keep Up With Communication

The way you communicate during and after a disaster can determine how well your business recovers. So outline a communication strategy for your team in the event of an emergency so theyll know what to look out for even when that regular routine is disrupted.
Earlier this year at InfusionSofts ICON 2017 conference, I had the opportunity to speak with Justin MacDonald, who at the time led the marketing effort for African Leadership University, dubbed by CNN as the Harvard of Africa.

Using Marketing Automation to Scale

Justin shares how ALU is using marketing automation to scale their marketing efforts to reach their goal of creating three million entrepreneurs by 2060 by building 25 campuses throughout the continent. And by doing so changing a narrative of the continent to better represent the innovativeness and talent of the African youth.

Below is an edited transcript of the conversation. Click the video/audio embedded below to hear the full interview.

* * * * *

Small Business Trends: Maybe you can give us a little bit of a background on African Leadership University.

Justin M.: Our founder is Fred Swaniker, and weve got a really diverse team. Just the marketing team alone, weve got people from India, obviously people from the continent, Ive got somebody living in Dubai, somebody from up in Egypt, and weve got places in the mid-east and  Its really a diverse group as well.

ALUs purpose is ultimately to transform the African continent to create a more peaceful and prosperous Africa. The mission is to create three million ethical entrepreneurial leaders by 2060. The reason for that is Africa has the largest growth on the planet. The continent has the largest growth on the planet and in the next two decades, well have 1.1 billion working age people. So thats either a huge opportunity, or a huge problem. And so, ALU is out to capitalize on that opportunity and see those 1.1 billion people as Africas greatest resource. More value than the resources that we pull out of the ground.

So thats the mission. Break that down, and the vision is to do that through 25 campuses across the continent with about 10,000 students on each campus. And to do that over the next few decades.

Small Business Trends: Tell us about changing the narrative for how people perceive Africa.

Justin MacDonald: The innovation, the creativity, that exists in Africa from its leaders, its companies and its young people The more challenges a country, or in this case a continent has, the more opportunities it has for innovations and solutions to solve those challenges. And youve a continent and a very large part of the population of that continent, especially the young population, thats saying, Its time for us to leapfrog the rest of the world. And to do that through ethical entrepreneurial leadership and impact economically.

And so youre changing the African narrative for people who dont have a real clear line of sight into Africa and think about whats in the mainstream media of corruption and poverty and some of the narrative over the last few decades. Because the answer isnt coming from the outside. The answer can only come from the inside.

Small Business Trends: One of the things that was really interesting when you were up on stage talking about this, is you use a campaign and use of different images in the campaign for the different audiences and the impact that had. Maybe you can talk a little bit about that?

Justin MacDonald: We were talking about our narrative. And narrative, in marketing, just means your positioning, right? Its the words and the story youre telling and aligning that specifically to your audience. And so, through market research and talking to customers in your market, you get clear on who are they and what do they want and what are the benefits of what it is you offer them, and what are they really seeking? Because they dont want just a college degree, they want what the college degree gets them, right? And so, we got to get clear on those things and who were speaking to. So the specific example youre talking about, was a really cool, I think a really cool kind of case study in using the same exact content and changing how we presented that content and what we emphasized in the narrative which differentiated what we wanted to talk about, not only in the text, but also in the visual.

And so email one, which performed really well, was a simple call to action to watch this video about our groundbreaking MBA, our world class MBA, and if it sounds like this is for you, go apply and that was it. In it we had a video that talked about the narrative of the MBA. Whos it for, what is it, whats the key differentiators?

The image, the thumbnail image on that was from our Vice-Dean of our school of business, Dr. Katherine Dugin who is a Chinese-American former Harvard and Oxford professor. Okay, so shes not African, but she is African in spirit. Her time and her impact in Africa is extensive and she taught at Harvard Business School and so forth. Anyway, so what we were portraying there was world class, which we knew our market, our aspiring MBAs wanted  that was important to them.

Theyre comparing our program, or MBA, to Harvard, and to Stanford, and to Warton. And so, were saying, this is how we compete against that and thats what we show. After we sent that email, we saw a spike in our applications. We sent two other pieces of content and we were a little short on our goals, where we wanted to be. To drive our funnel we needed this many applicants to get this many students. We were a little bit short. It was literally the last three days of our cycle, the final deadline, and so, what do we have that we can actually try to get over the finish line.

And so, we had a list of people who we knew wanted this content and were interested in this content. We knew because all of them in this list we were sending our broadcast to has just taken, or recently taken their GMAT, which is the test you take before you get your MBA. And they all lived in Africa. So we have a very targeted audience, but that audience didnt engage the previous three emails I just mentioned. So we knew that we had what they wanted, but werent talking to them in the way that resonated with them. So, we used the exact same call to action. We used the exact same video, but we changed the thumbnail.

We had a 46% open rate on the first email. We changed that to what we found was another key, possibly surprisingly differentiator for us, which is this concept of being Pan-African. Our MBA now has over 70 students and theyre from over 30 countries. And so, it was making those connections with other MBA professionals from other countries and to expand the network and get some of that context.

So that was the focus. And even the thumbnail itself, which was just a different thumbnail, for the exact same video had an African female speaking, engaging an audience, from the audience. And of course the audience was a sea of Pan-African people and it was already in the video, and I think it was coincidental, actually. At that time we actually had Pan African on that slide. So that was literally what we showed. And that spiked and got us over our goal that we were going for. And it was just using what we already had and shifting the narrative for our prospects

Small Business Trends: Shifted a narrative, an image that would be more appealing to a certain audience?

Justin MacDonald: Yeah.

Small Business Trends: And it had that kind of impact?

Justin MacDonald: Thats right.

So its again, its what are you trying to get them to think and believe. In one case were proving weve got a former Harvard professor. This is the single best position person on the planet to lead this organization. And that resonated with a lot of people.

But there was more juice left in the existing lemon we have, and for these people it did not just resonate. So instead we showed them a picture of them. This is what you want to be, and it looks like you.

Small Business Trends: So whats the role of automation in the future to get to those goals that you guys are trying to accomplish?

Justin MacDonald: Without automation, without systems, without measurement mechanisms in place to get really clear on the numbers, there is no scale. Right?

I dont know if youve ever played the sort of board game Jenga, where you have the stack of blocks. Right? And theres three stacks. And youre supposed to remove the bottom one and lay it on the top. And the next person goes. And the longer you play that game, two things happen. The taller the tower gets, and the less stable the base gets. And thats what I think happens in our business. As we move things, we destabilize the foundation if were not really deliberate about our vision. And we make it taller which only increases the slightest variation, creates that wobble.

The higher you build, the more dangerous it gets, the more fragile it gets. So weve gotten really deliberate about building the systems in place, building automation in place, to create a seamless client journey. From the stage of awareness and lead capture all the way through getting them to apply, all the way through the post. Sort of a conversion point in the funnel where they are accepted. And were trying to nurture them at that point to you know, pay fees and fill out things they need to fill out. And then actually literally get there. You know?

And so we automate all of that, because you simply cant .. You cant create that tailored client journey. You cant do that at scale with manual follow-upper humans. And so we create our best day, and our perfect experience every single time, whether we have a hundred applicants, 10,000 applicants, or 100,000 applicants. Thats why we put those systems in place, to handle that tremendous amount of volume that were getting and only expecting to increase.

Small Business Trends: So where can people go to learn more about what you guys do?

Justin MacDonald: Go check out Fred Swaniker, our CEO. Check out his TED Talk. When he announced and launched this vision for the ALU. He literally announced what were up to and were now simply executing on that plan. So thats a place to get some context and back story.

This is part of the One-on-One Interview series with thought leaders. The transcript has been edited for publication. If it's an audio or video interview, click on the embedded player above, or subscribe via iTunes or via Stitcher.
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* Portugal/German bond yield spread widest in 5 weeks

* Italy, Portugal yields set to end week up 8-12 bps

* Yellen, Draghi to speak at Jackson Hole

* Focus returns to Italy political risks, ECB tapering

* Euro zone periphery govt bond yields http://tmsnrt.rs/2ii2Bqr

By Dhara Ranasinghe

LONDON, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Portugal's 10-year bond yield rose to its highest level in almost a month on Friday and was set for its biggest weekly jump since January as renewed focus on the ECB policy outlook weakened sentiment towards lower-rated euro zone debt markets.

A sell-off in southern European bonds that began with Italy earlier this week spread to Portugal, where the premium investors demand for holding 10-year bonds over German peers rose to its highest level in five weeks.

Analysts said renewed uncertainty about the European Central Bank policy outlook has dimmed the appeal of southern European bonds, a key beneficiary of ECB stimulus.

Those jitters have encouraged investors to unwind carry trades - borrowing in low-yielding assets to invest in higher-yielding ones such as peripheral government bonds.

European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi and U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen speak at a gathering of central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, later in the day.

Draghi speaks after the close of European markets and is not expected to deliver a new policy message. Still, his speech is in focus amid growing talk that the ECB is likely to signal a scaling back of its monetary stimulus in September or October.

The last time Draghi spoke at Jackson Hole in 2014, he laid the foundations for the ECB's unprecedented monetary stimulus.

"With (Other OTC: WWTH - news) the summer lull coming to end and central banks returning, markets are thinking about the future course of ECB action," said DZ Bank rates strategist Rene Albrecht.

"So investors are taking a more a defensive stance on countries such as Italy, Spain and Portugal and that has accelerated this week."

Story continues

Portugal's 10-year bond yield rose was up almost 3 basis points to 2.89 percent, its highest in almost a month. It was set for its biggest weekly rise since January, with a jump of just over 12 basis points.

That has pushed the gap over top-rated German bond yields to around 250 bps -- the widest in five weeks. The spread is often viewed as a gauge of how investors view relative risks in the euro zone.

In Italy, the 10-year bond yield gap over German peers this week widened to around 176 bps, the highest since mid-July.

Italian bond yields, trading at 2.11 percent, were set for their biggest weekly jump in seven weeks.

Political risks in Italy as an election approaches in 2018 were thrown back in the spotlight after former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi refloated the idea of a parallel currency at the weekend.

For Reuters Live Markets blog on European and UK stock markets see reuters://realtime/verb=Open/url=http://emea1.apps.cp.extranet.thomsonreuters.biz/cms/?pageId=livemarkets

(Reporting by Dhara Ranasinghe Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)
The letter received by Beth Fukomoto (Twitter)

A US politician received a racist letter from a Donald Trump supporter addressed to her as Dear Bitch.

The mail was sent to Beth Fukumoto, who represents the Democrats in Hawaii.

It also told the 33-year-old to stop complaining her Japanese grandparents were placed in an interment camp in the US during World War Two. Fukumoto has not made such a claim and her grandfather were not imprisoned.

Fukumoto denied claims the letter was fake news and said she spoke out out because of the recent trouble in Charlottesville and said the US president needed to realise the price of his rhetoric, she added.

MORE: First white man executed in Florida for killing a black man

MORE: Trump attacks Republican leader for debt ceiling mess

Fukomoto released the letter on Twitter and it has been retweeted over 2,000 times.

Fukumoto faced claims the letter was fake (Twitter)

She wrote: Got this in the mail today. You need to understand your words have consequences @realDonaldTrump #racism #WhiteNationalism.

The note began: Dear Bitch. Your poor grand parents got put into a camp in the USA? Boo hoo hoo  you Japs murdered thousands of servicemen at Pearl Harbor  did you forget that detail?

The message then goes on to say: We Trump people hate illegals, black thugs, Muslims and bombs, and gays who do nothing but bitch 24 hrs a day.

The letter was sent from California.

Some though were not convinced and claimed the letter was a fake.

She went back to Twitter to claim the letter was genuine (Twitter)

Fukumoto subsequently provided Huffington Post with a copy of the envelope and original letter in order to prove it was genuine.

The lawmaker used to be in the republican party but recently switched over Trumps marginalizing rhetoric toward ethnic groups.

One of the reasons that I switched parties is that I felt the Republican Party was unwilling to confront racism, Fukumoto said.

Racism specifically in the party and racism as promoted by the nominee at the time, and now the president.
By Duncan Miriri NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta rebuked newly elected members of parliament on Thursday for resisting modest cuts to their salaries and perks, worth more than $10,000 a month, and said citizens were angry with extravagance in the government. Kenyatta, whose Aug. 8 re-election is being challenged in the supreme court by opposition leader Raila Odinga, vowed not to assent to any law reversing the reductions into legislators' wages, if the court upholds his victory. The issue is an emotive one in the East African country, where the minimum wage is equivalent to $100 a month. A lawmaker who sits on the parliamentary service commission, Gladys Wanga, told Reuters on Wednesday the cuts, which have already taken effect, would turn MPs into "beggars", and vowed to oppose them when parliament restarts next week. Kenyatta told a televised meeting with headteachers: "I'm greatly disturbed by the remarks we have been hearing from yesterday of individuals who wish to claim that they should be paid more and they will demand more than what the law provides them. "Even as I wait for the Supreme Court to rule (on the election), if it rules in my favour, I'm saying before you, I swear I shall not sign that law." Odinga's ODM party, which sponsored Wanga to parliament, said it did not support the calls for a reversal of the cuts. "We stand for equity and prudent management of public resources. We cannot therefore promote or be seen to promote wastage, avarice and inequities in the Kenyan society," the party said in a statement. The annual bill for paying 700,000 public employees, including elected leaders, stands at 627 billion shillings (4.75 billion pounds), which is equal to half of the government's revenue. The Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC), which sets wage levels, said last month it would slash salaries of top officials, including the president and lawmakers, to save 8.5 billion shillings a year. The cuts include scrapping a 5 million-shilling car grant given to every legislator, removal of certain allowances and a 90,000-shilling reduction in basic monthly pay. Kenyans have reacted angrily to lawmakers' demands for the reversal of the cuts. They posted fiery messages on social media, threatening to recall their members of parliament, and forcing at least one MP to perform a U-turn on television and say she would "humbly" accept the SRC's decision. Many elected representatives lost their seats to newcomers and independents in the Aug. 8 election, and Kenyatta attributed that partly to voter displeasure with profligacy. "It is shameful that we are barely a week away and they (legislators) have not recognised the issues that made Kenyans angry," he said. (Editing by Larry King)
(Reuters) - A court in the Maldives jailed an opposition politician for just over 38 months on Friday on a charge of bribery in connection with a bid to undermine the government, his lawyer said. Opposition colleagues in the Indian Ocean archipelago, famous for its beaches, said the conviction of Qasim Ibrahim was a politically motivated bid to strip him of his parliamentary seat. Qasim, leader of the Jumhooree Party and a former presidential candidate, was convicted of "attempted bribery" for a speech in which he called on legislators to join the opposition, an opposition coalition said in a statement. "This is blatantly unfair," Qasim's lawyer, Hussein Shameem, told Reuters by telephone from the capital, Male. "The allegation of offering bribe was untrue. In a political speech, he called help from all MPs to impeach the speaker." The government said Qasim's trial followed due process. Qasim was not in court for the verdict. He fainted during a hearing on Thursday and was taken to hospital. The Maldives has been mired in political unrest since its first democratically elected leader, Mohamed Nasheed, was ousted in 2012. He was later sentenced to 13 years in jail on terrorism charges after a widely denounced trial. Nasheed was later released to go to Britain for medical treatment. Qasim, a tourism tycoon who ran for the presidency in 2013, was an ally of President Abdulla Yameen but they fell out and Qasim formed an opposition coalition with Nasheed and another former president, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. Yameen recently lost his majority in the 85-member legislature following defections to the opposition coalition, making the government very sensitive to any bid to encourage more. "There was enough evidence to prove that he bribed to facilitate cross-overs," Mohamed Hussain Shareef, a senior adviser to Yameen and head of foreign relations of the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives told Reuters. The opposition coalition condemned what it called the "breakdown of the entire criminal justice system". Apart form political wrangling, the largely Muslim island chain with a population of 400,000, has other looming problems, including significant numbers of radicalised youths who have enlisted to fight for the Islamic State group in the Middle East. (Reporting by Shihar Aneez; Editing by Robert Birsel)
By Terrence Edwards ULAANBAATAR (Reuters) - Some legislators in Mongolia have urged Prime Minister Jargaltulga Erdenebat to step down following the defeat of his ruling Mongolian People's Party (MPP) in recent presidential elections. An MPP legislator, Tumurbaatar Ayursaikhan, said on Twitter that 30 out of the parliament's 76 members have signed a petition calling for Erdenebat's resignation. Ayursaikhan posted a copy of the petition on social media. On Friday, the office of the prime minister did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the petition. The MPP gained power in mid-2016 in elections in which it won 65 of parliament's 76 seats. But in last month's second round of the presidential vote, former martial arts star and businessman Khaltmaa Battulga of the opposition Democratic Party defeated the MPP candidate, parliamentary speaker Mieeygombo Enkhbold. The defeat was seen as a rejection of the MPP government's austerity policies and a reaction to allegations of corruption. In Mongolia's parliamentary democracy, the prime minister is the leader of the government, and the president has limited powers including the ability to veto legislation and to propose laws to parliament. Since the former Soviet satellite transitioned to a parliamentary democracy in 1990, government reshuffles have been common in Mongolia. No prime minister has completed a full four-year term since 2004. Higher coal prices this year have helped the resource-dependent economy gain momentum. But earlier this year, a slump in foreign investment and declining commodity prices forced Mongolia to agree to a $5.5 billion economic bailout led by the International Monetary Fund, to relieve fiscal strains and try to restore investor confidence. A senior MPP official, who insisted on anonymity, said the party would discuss possible changes in leadership next month as it bids to restore public confidence and get the country's economic affairs back in order. Analysts said if there is a leadership reshuffle in the MPP, that would likely mean more delays for crucial investment projects, including a rail line to boost exports to China, which has languished because of government indecision and a lack of financing. (Reporting by Terrence Edwards; Editing by David Stanway and Richard Borsuk)
Shutterstock

The heads of more than 100 of the worlds top artificial intelligence companies are very alarmed about the development of killer robots. In an open letter to the UN, these business leaders  including Teslas Elon Musk and the founders of Googles DeepMind AI firm  warned that autonomous weapon technology could be misused by terrorists and despots or hacked to perform in undesirable ways.

But the real threat is much bigger  and not just from human misconduct but from the machines themselves. The research into complex systems shows how behaviour can emerge that is much more unpredictable than the sum of individual actions. On one level this means human societies can behave very differently to what you might expect just looking at individual behaviour. But it can also apply to technology. Even ecosystems of relatively simple AI programs  what we call stupid, good bots  can surprise us, and even when the individual bots are behaving well.

The individual elements that make up complex systems, such as economic markets or global weather, tend not to interact in a simple linear way. This make these systems very hard to model and understand. For example, even after many years of climatology, its still impossible to make long-term weather predictions. These systems are often very sensitive to small changes and can experience explosive feedback loops. It is also very difficult to know the precise state of such a system at any one time. All these things make these systems intrinsically unpredictable.

All these principles apply to large groups of individuals acting in their own way, whether thats human societies or groups of AI bots. My colleagues and I recently studied one type of a complex system that featured good bots used to automatically edit Wikipedia articles. These different bots are designed and exploited by Wikipedias trusted human editors and their underlying software is open-source and available for anyone to study. Individually, they all have a common goal of improving the encyclopaedia. Yet their collective behaviour turns out to be surprisingly inefficient.

Story continues

These Wikipedia bots work based on well-established rules and conventions, but because the website doesnt have a central management system there is no effective coordination between the people running different bots. As a result, we found pairs of bots that have been undoing each others edits for several years without anyone noticing. And of course, because these bots lack any cognition, they didnt notice it either.

The bots are designed to speed up the editing process. But slight differences in the design of the bots or between people who use them can lead to a massive waste of resources in an ongoing edit war that would have been resolved much quicker with human editors.

We also found that the bots behaved differently in different language editions of Wikipedia. The rules are more or less the same, the goals are identical, the technology is similar. But in German Wikipedia, the collaboration between bots is much more efficient and productive compared to, for example, Portuguese Wikipedia. This can only be explained by the differences between the human editors who run these bots in different environments.

Exponential confusion

Wikipedia bots have very little autonomy and the system already operates very differently to the goals of individual bots. But the Wikimedia Foundation is planning to use AI that will give more autonomy to the bots. That will likely lead to even more unexpected behaviour.

Another example is what can happen when two bots designed to speak to humans interact with each other. Were no longer surprised by the answers given by artificial personal assistants such as the iPhones Siri. But put several of these kind of chatbots together and they can quickly start acting in surprising ways, arguing and even insulting each other.

The bigger the system becomes and the more autonomous each bot is, the more complex and hence unpredictable the future behaviour of the system will be. Wikipedia is an example of large number of relatively simple bots. The chatbots example is a small number of rather sophisticated and creative bots  in both cases unexpected conflicts emerged. The complexity and therefore unpredictability increases exponentially as you add more and more individuals to the system. So in a future system with a large number of very sophisticated robots, the unexpected behaviour could go beyond our imagination.

Self-driving madness

For example, self-driving cars promise exciting advances in the efficiency and safety of road travel. But we dont yet know what will happen once we have a large, wild system of fully autonomous vehicles. They may well behave very differently to a small set of individual cars in a controlled environment. And even more unexpected behaviour might occur when driverless cars trained by different humans in different environments start interacting with each another.

Humans can adapt to new rules and conventions relatively quickly but can still have trouble switching between systems. This can be way more difficult for artificial agents. If a German-trained car was driving in Italy, for example, we just dont know how it would deal with the written rules and unwritten cultural conventions being followed by the many other Italian-trained cars. Something as common as crossing an intersection could become lethally risky because we just wouldnt know if the cars would interact as they were supposed to or whether they would do something completely unpredictable.

Now think of the killer robots that Elon Musk and his colleagues are worried about. A single killer robot could be very dangerous in wrong hands. But what about an unpredictable system of killer robots? I dont even want to think about it.

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

The Conversation

Taha Yasseri receives funding from the European Commission and Google.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (Rex)

Britain has been warned by North Korea it faces a miserable end if UK troops take part in military exercises alongside those from South Korea and the U.S.

Pyongyang made the warning after joint exercises involving international troops began at the beginning of the week.

The Ulchi Freedom Guardian drills are thought to involve troops from Britain and Australia. Some 70,000 troops are thought to be taking part in total.

They are taking place at a time of high tension on the Korean peninsula following inflammatory rhetoric between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. president Donald Trump.

MORE: North Korea accidentally reveals new missile details

MORE: Donald Trump shares bizarre eclipse meme

Pyongyang also recently threatened to target seas off the coast of the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam and test-launched inter-continental ballistic missiles.

North Korean troops (Rex)

North Korea says that it views the military exercises as a dress rehearsal for war, whereas Seoul says the drills are about improving defensive military capabilities.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, North Koreas official KCNA news agency said the drills were proof of Americas intention to invade, reported the Guardian.

The reality vividly shows that the U.S. ambition for stifling the DPRK [North Korea] remains unchanged no matter how much water may flow under the bridge and the puppet groups ambition for invading the north remains unchanged, read the statement.

A North Korean military parade (Rex)

And it also warned that those who take part in the drills were in their cross-hairs too.

Availing ourselves of this opportunity, we solemnly warn not only the US and puppet group but also satellites, including UK and Australia, which are taking advantage of the present war manouevres against the north that they would face a miserable end if they join in play with fire by tiger moths of war.

It is not the first time British military has taken part in exercises on the peninsula.

Last October RAF fighter jets were involved in a drill known as Invincible Shield.

Story continues

South Korean troops taking part in military exercises earlier this week (Rex)

North Korea has also warned Australia it has committed a suicidal act by vowing to fight alongside US troops if America was attacked by Pyongyang.

earlier described Australia as having committed a suicidal act by joining the US-led military exercises.
Kebnekaise

Marcus Hansson/Flickr

The effects of climate change are becoming ever more visible everywhere you look. Nowhere more so, than atop Swedens highest mountain, Kebnekaise.

In recent decades, Kebnekaise's glaciated southern peak has shrunk at such a pace that Sweden could soon have a new highest point: the neighboring, solid rock-covered northern peak, which reaches 2096,8 meters above sea level.

This would arguably alter the climbing paths of the thousands of visitors that flock to the mountain each year, eager to be able to say they've conquered "The Roof of Sweden", as Kebnekaise is also called.

Last summer, the difference in altitude was just 30 centimeters (one foot).

In 1902, when the very first measurements were made, Kebnekaises southern peak was 2121 meters above sea level. But since the 90s, glacial melting has accelerated across the country.

"Since 1995, the southern peak has shrunk on average one meter per year. Some years [the glaciers thickness] has remained the same, or even grown. But the downward trend is clear," says Gunhild Ninis Rosqvist, professor of Geography at Stockholm University, to Dagens Nyheter (DN).

Kebnekaise_peak_glacier

Wikimedia CommonsDue to a relatively cold spring and summer, the glacier covering Kebnekaise's southern peak grew markedly on the previous year, reaching 2098,5 meters this August. The melting is believed to be largely human-caused.

"The southern peak's small glacier reacts just like any other glacier, and thats why its such a suitable symbol for climate change," Ninis Rosqvist says.

Heres how the glacier on top of Kebnekaises southern summit has shrunk  and grown  since 2010, according to DN:

1902: 2121 meters above sea level

2010: 2102 m

2012: 2102 m

2013: 2099 m

2016: 2097,1 m

2017: 2098,5 m

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By Jeffrey Heller JERUSALEM (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump remains committed and optimistic about achieving Israeli-Palestinian peace, his son-in-law and senior adviser told the sides on Thursday during his first visit to the region since last month's surge of violence. But there was little to suggest any breakthrough or significant progress towards ending a decades-old conflict is imminent as Kushner met separately with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Palestinians were still seeking a pledge of support from the Trump administration for the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel - the foundation of U.S. Middle East policy for the past two decades. The last round of peace talks between the two sides collapsed in 2014. For his part, Netanyahu faces pressure from right-wing coalition partners not to give ground on Jewish settlement building in occupied territory that Palestinians seek for a independent state. The settlement issue contributed to the breakdown of negotiations three years ago. "We have things to talk about - how to advance peace, stability and security in our region, prosperity too. And I think that all of them are within our reach," Netanyahu, welcoming Kushner to his Tel Aviv office, said in a video clip released by the U.S. Embassy. Kushner, a 36-year-old real estate developer with little experience of international diplomacy or political negotiation, arrived in Israel with U.S. Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt on Wednesday after meeting Arab leaders in the Gulf, Egypt and Jordan. "The president is very committed to achieving a solution here that will be able to bring prosperity and peace to all people in this area," Kushner, who was tasked by Trump to help broker a peace deal, said in his response to Netanyahu. "THE ULTIMATE DEAL" Meeting Abbas later in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Kushner said Trump sought "peaceful relations between the countries in the whole region" and was "very optimistic and hopeful for a better future for all Palestinian people and Israeli people", according to a statement from Abbas's office. Trump has described peace between Israelis and Palestinians as "the ultimate deal" - and added a new wrinkle last February by saying he was not fixed on two states co-existing side by side as a solution to their dispute. Kushner last travelled to Israel and the Palestinian territories in June. A month later, he was involved in telephone diplomacy to stem Palestinian and Jordanian unrest over Israel's handling of a contested Jerusalem holy site. Four Palestinians, three Israelis and two Jordanians were killed during the crisis. Abbas spokesman Nabil Abu Rdainah said Kushner's visit could prove significant, particularly because of the envoy's consultations with regional allies this week: "This may create a new chance to reach a settlement based on the two-state solution and the Arab initiative and stop the current deterioration of the peace process." Abu Rdainah was referring to a 2002 Arab League initiative that offers Israel diplomatic recognition from Arab countries in return for a statehood deal with the Palestinians and a full Israeli withdrawal from territory captured in a 1967 war. Netanyahu has expressed tentative support for parts of the blueprint, but there are many caveats on the Israeli side, including how to resolve the complex Palestinian refugee issue. The statement from Abbas's office quoted the Palestinian president as telling Kushner: "We know things are difficult and complicated but nothing is impossible when efforts are sincere." (Additional reporting by Ali Sawafta in Ramallah and Nidal al-Mughrabi in Gaza, editing by Ralph Boulton)
The University of North Georgias (UNG) economic impact on northeast Georgia topped $625 million during fiscal year 2016. According to an annual study of the University System of Georgia's (USG) economic impact, UNG's impact on the communities in its region rose nearly 15 percent, or $81 million, from the previous year.

The economic impact of UNG is a measure of direct and indirect spending that contributes to the 30-county service region served by the university.

"This study shows that UNGs commitment toward advancing economic growth and prosperity in the areas we serve is right on target," President Bonita C. Jacobs said. "Each and every day, UNGs students, faculty and staff are contributing to our community to produce high-performing graduates ready to enter the workforce, and serve as a catalyst for economic development."

UNG, which has campuses in Blue Ridge, Cumming, Dahlonega, Gainesville, and Oconee County, also had a regional employment impact of 6,204 jobs in the same period. The employment numbers include on-campus positions and off-campus jobs that exist due to the institution.

The study area for UNG includes Banks, Barrow, Clarke, Dawson, Fannin, Forsyth, Green, Gwinnett, Habersham, Hall, Jackson, Lumpkin, Morgan, Oconee, Oglethorpe, Union, Walton and White counties.

The increase is attributed to both spending by the institution and spending by students who attend UNG. On average, for every dollar spent by the university, an additional 52 cents is generated for the region.

Most of UNG's $625,883,204 economic impact consists of initial spending by the university for salaries and benefits, operating supplies and expenses, and other budgeted expenditures. Included in UNGs economic impact is $260 million in spending by UNGs more than 17,000 students, which alone resulted in 3,305 jobs in the study area.

As a whole, the public colleges and universities that comprised the USG in 2016 had a total impact of $16.8 billion on the state, representing an increase of 8 percent from fiscal year 2015 --2016.

"The university system is committed to its role in supporting and advancing the economic growth of the state of Georgia," USG Chancellor Steve Wrigley said. "These numbers reflect the hard work and support of Georgians across the state, and we hope to continue to drive innovation, workforce development and job creation for years to come."

The study found that Georgia's public university system generated more than 150,000 full- and part-time jobs. Approximately 33 percent of these positions are on campus as USG employees and 67 percent are off-campus positions in either the private or public sectors. The report also noted that on average, for each job created on campus, there are two off-campus jobs that exist because of spending related to the institution.

To calculate the economic and employment impact for fiscal year 2016, the Selig Center for Economic Growth in the University of Georgia's Terry College of Business, on behalf of the Board of Regents, analyzed data collected between July 1, 2015 and June 30, 2016.

For fall 2017, UNGs projected student enrollment will total more than 19,000.

The full economic impact report is available on the USG web site.
As the White House plans to produce guidelines in the coming days for the Pentagon regarding President Trumps proposed transgender military ban, Virginia Tech expert Christian Matheis points out that justification for the ban relies on a tired and irrational tactic called the myth of scarcity.

Most of Trumps tweets and statements associated with the transgender military ban perpetuate the false belief that there is not enough to go around. When in fact, we live in conditions of institutionally managed maldistribution, in which the majority of people and resources end up benefiting a very tiny minority of elites, said Matheis.

Quoting Matheis

This presidency treats the rights to military service as scarce, insists that the resources used to support military service members are in short supply, all while implicitly and explicitly portraying transgender persons as threat to that alleged scarcity.

People who are transgender, already well-versed at coping with discrimination, navigate these sorts of situations as a matter of survival in our society. This equips them with better insight and political strategies than those who perpetuate the myth of scarcity, which ultimately indicates a sloppy attention to details. And a presidency with sloppy attention to details creates problems of the domestic and legal sort, as well as those of national security.

About Matheis

Matheis is the director of the Office of Recruitment and Diversity Initiatives at Virginia Techs Graduate School. He has provided gender identity/expression 101 (formerly "Trans 101") training sessions since 2005, and specializes in topics that bridge social and political philosophy with public policy. Read his full bio here.

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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 Sundance sensation Patti Cake$ may flow with formulaic beats but its got spirit for miles (eight of them, at least) and features one of the best mother-daughter relationships of the year.

Patricia Dombrowski (the terrific newcomer Danielle Macdonald) is an overweight, white New Jersey 23-year-old living a hardscrabble life in the shadow of New York City. Shes cruelly called Dumbo by many in town, but shes got a nickname of her own. Killa P, she calls herself, because, as she states matter-of-factly, I murder the beat.

And she does. Our first glimpse of her is in a grimy, dirty-dish-strewn kitchen freestyling while munching on a Pop-Tart. Later, her best friend and optimistic music partner Hareesh (Siddharth Dhananjay) will, from behind his pharmacy counter, announce her arrival on the store PA system, as she strolls down the toothpaste aisle, with the kind of grandiose pomp traditionally reserved for James Brown.

The distance between dream and reality has long been measured  and usually shrunk  by the movies, though the gap has rarely been so extreme as in Patti Cake$. When Patti arrives at her bartending job  the only employment keeping her and her hard-drinking mom (Bridget Everett) just out of their creditors reach  her boss tells her, Toilets still clogged and the karaoke isnt going to set itself up. When she walks down the street rapping along with her headphones, she magically rises in the air with the music only to be brought down to earth by the blare of a horn.

Patti wants to be a rapper, a notion shes a little reticent to even admit because of its apparent absurdity. But in Hareesh she has a faithful supporter. He nudges her into a battle at a local gas station, where shes derided as white Precious but holds her own in rhyme and attitude.

Pattis hip-hop wont be confused for anything that would, in our reality, be characterized as especially good. But trained on limericks by her chain-smoking grandmother (Cathy Moriarty), shes verbally inventive and can unleash verses in torrents. She gathers together an unlikely group, with Hareesh on beat and backup, and a painfully shy heavy-metal anarchist who goes by the name Basterd the Antichrist (Mamoudou Athie) on guitar. They begin recording, saving up money and believing.

By piling on the eccentricity (the anarchist lives in a shack in the woods near a cemetery) and, later, the predictably manipulative moments (someone will die at just the right juncture), writer-director Geremy Jasper  a music-video veteran making his directorial debut  shows himself a good study of a well-trodden genre: the Sundance-style indie underdog tale. The film was, after all, developed at the Sundance screenwriting lab, where it surely was injected with the requisite quirks.

Its easy to dismiss Patti Cake$ as an indie 8 Mile, and wonder why its seemingly so much easier to make movies about white rappers than black ones. Jasper at least acknowledges this in one painful scene in which Pattis idol derides her as a culture vulture.

But Patti Cake$ is hard to resist because of Macdonalds pluck. Patti has much more working against her than the color of her skin. Macdonalds performance, a breakthrough for the previously unknown Australian actress, is too humble and winning. What really resonates is the dynamic between her and Everett, the foul-mouthed cabaret comedian.

Everetts Barb is a wreck of dashed dreams, failed romance and way too much alcohol. Pattis aspirations dredge up Barbs lost future. She was a once-promising frontwoman for a hair band in the 80s (her lone LP is titled Barbed Wire) who blames the failure of her music career on an unwanted pregnancy. When Everett and Macdonald are on screen together, something more soulful comes of Patti Cake$.

In the end, the kind of music Patti makes hardly matters. Its that she has the gumption to go for it.
The most legitimately divisive movie of the moment, right alongside (and more urgent than) Detroit, the unnerving crime thriller Good Time moves like a streak, barely able to keep up with its characters.

The reckless, selfish, charismatic man at its core, Constantine Connie Nikas, is a small-time Queens, N.Y., hustler of Greek-American extraction. Hes played by Robert Pattinson. The actors Twilight vampire career afforded the young, minimally impressive actor the chance to get better at his line of work, one uncommercial movie at a time, as he worked with interesting directors on daunting material.

This impulse brought Pattinson to New York filmmakers Josh and Benny Safdie, writers and directors and brothers. For Daddy Longlegs (2009), the Safdies drew on their own, perilous childhood with a loving but risk-prone father. Heaven Knows What (2014) bridged documentary and fictional narrative, using the journals of then-homeless Arielle Holmes as the basis of a clammy, tightly wound study in addiction and escape. Their work is bleak but charged with wit, with the street-level excitement of real cinema.

The cruelty inherent in their stories takes on a propulsive new dimension in Good Time, the Safdies two-man leap into the dictates of genre filmmaking. Its also their first project blending expressive non-actors with a few established names, including Pattinson and Oscar nominees Jennifer Jason Leigh and, from Captain Phillips, Barkhad Abdi.

Pattinson, as many have noted, is nearly unrecognizable here as Connie, a twitch in perpetual motion, a fast talker, and a user of everyone around him. There are times when you catch him acting; some of the physical mannerisms and, especially, the vocal work and the dialect flourishes, seem like calculation, not quite absorbed into the fabric of the overall performance. But its a real performance, and Pattinson isnt showboating here. The character of Connie is a fabulist and a weasel, and Pattinsons characterization makes each sweaty chapter of this crime story fascinating.

Its not simply Connies story. The opening scene belongs to the other brother, Nick (played with perfect pitch and emotional nakedness by co-director Benny Safdie). In tight, intimidating close-ups we see Nick in a drab office with a court-appointed psychiatrist (Peter Verby). As the doctor questions the developmentally and hearing-challenged young man, we learn bits and pieces of what Nick and Connie have endured living with their abusive grandmother, who enters the story later. Its an extraordinarily deft overture: just enough exposition to tell us what need to know about the stories leading up to this one.

Connie bursts into the room, interrupts the session and busts his brother out so that they can embark on the adventure of their lives, for better or worse. Theres a bank robbery on the agenda. Connie convinces Nick he can do it; he tells him he has the stuff it takes to commit a crime.

Wearing racially provocative dark-skinned masks (stop messing with it! Connie tells Nick) the Nikas boys dash with the money, but right away the good times promised by the title prove slippery. In short order, the robbery goes flooey, and Nick winds up in the hospital after a brutal beating he suffers on Rikers Island. Where the Safdies take the story from there becomes a dizzying and dizzyingly plausible odyssey of improvisation, a survival game of perpetually shifting rules.

Two key supporting characters, two among many to suffer at Connies hands, are black. Several critics have leveled charges of racism at Good Time and at the Safdies. For reasons I wont reveal, Connie at one point knocks on the door of a random house, and within minutes a 16-year-old girl (Taliah Webster, who will break your heart) becomes his confidante, and an accomplice of sorts.

The action rolls on to Long Island and the Adventureland amusement park, where a night security guard (Abdi) runs afoul of Connie in a particularly painful way. Though he loves his brother, and feels more for him than he knows what to do with, Pattinsons character exploits and discards everyone in his blinkered life, including his girlfriend (Leigh), either for money, shelter or plain self-interest. The police keep giving him a break because even in his particular socioeconomic class, he enjoys a full load of white privilege.

The racial undercurrents in Good Time are harsh and not entirely resolved (some of its cruel, period), but I think its part of a legitimate and seriously affecting picture of where we are in America today. Sean Price Williams gorgeous long-lens cinematography favors dense telephoto imagery, often sustained for long, richly detailed passages of action, instead of the usual shaky-cam faux-documentary tics. The script by Josh Safdie and Ronald Bronstein comes alive, thanks in large part to the gripping electronic score by Oneohtrix Point Never. In the Safdie movies, the sound design is right on top of the action; its the sound of nervous systems under extreme pressure.

Most crime movies, even alleged indies, make it easy for the audience to take sides and establish clear rooting interests. Good Time is better than that: Its not always easy to take, yet you cant look away.


The Acoma Police Department is looking for an endangered 2-year-old Native American girl who they say may be with her mother, who recently lost custody.

Trinity Ann-Marie Shannon and her mother, Leetia Chino, 21, were last seen near Casa Blanca, NM in Cibola County, according to Sgt. Elizabeth Armijo, a spokeswoman for the New Mexico State Police.

Armijo said Trinity has brown eyes and brown hair, is approximately thirty inches tall and weighs approximately forty-five pounds. Chino is a Native American female with brown eyes and black hair, five feet tall, weighing approximately 179 pounds.

Chino may be driving a red 2009 Chevrolet Malibu with a New Mexico license plate of 047TBZ.

Trinity is believed to be in danger if not located immediately, Armijo wrote in a release. Anyone with any information is asked to call the Acoma Police Department or 911.
During investigations of complaints against police officers in 2016, Albuquerques Civilian Police Oversight Agency found officers violated the departments on-body camera recording rules more than any other policy.

So the oversight agency is recommending officers receive additional training on how to better use their cameras in line with policies, according to the CPOAs annual report.

The report included data about the policy violations in which the chief of police handed down discipline, as well as other violations with which the chief disagreed.

The CPOA investigates complaints against police officers with an eye for policy violations, and the agencys findings and recommendations for discipline are approved by the Police Oversight Board. Those recommendations are then sent to the chief of police, who can either sustain the findings or disagree with them.

Of 76 sustained policy violations  found during 41 CPOA investigations  32.8 percent of the policy violations were for violating the camera recording policy. The CPOA also found general conduct was the second most violated policy at 26 percent, the departments traffic enforcement policy accounted for 6.8 percent of the policy violations.

The CPOA also sent the chief notice of 52 policy violations that were found during 27 other investigations. But the chief disagreed with the CPOAs conclusion and no discipline was imposed.

Of those policy violations, 11 were for violating the on-body camera recording policy and 11 were for general conduct, according to the annual report.

It certainly comes up consistently, Ed Harness, the director of the CPOA, said of on-body camera policy violations.

Albuquerque police policy calls for officers to record arrests, search warrants executions, traffic stops, use-of-force encounters and any other situation when a police officer thinks that a recording would be of value, according to the most recent policy posted on the CPOAs website.

The CPOA found that mechanical errors or battery issues accounted for 24 percent of the on-body camera policy violations, according to the annual report.

Celina Espinoza, a police spokeswoman, said that the department is planning to roll out new on-body cameras next month, which police officials hope will reduce the number of times officers fail to record encounters. The cameras are wireless so the cord cant come unplugged like the current cameras officers wear. And officers will each have two so if one runs out of battery or storage during a shift or theres another issue, he or she will have a spare, she said.

The new cameras were purchased after the city of Albuquerque in May awarded Taser International, which recently changed its name to Axon, with a five-year, $4.4 million contract for 2,000 on-body cameras for police officers and cloud storage. The city selected Taser after they responded to a request for proposals along with several other companies, which were all examined by a selection committee that included police officers and an investigator from the CPOA.

As the first large department in the country to require on-body cameras for all of its officers, APD has been a national leader in this area, Police Chief Gorden Eden said in a prepared statement. As a leader in this challenging area, we are committed to continuing to implement this important technology and value the CPOAs role in that process.
Two underage girls walked away from New Days Safe Place shelter late at night last week, and, later, reported being raped.

New Day staff had advised them not to leave, but there was nothing else the shelter could have done to prevent the girls from doing so, says the shelters director.

Kids can walk out the front door. We cannot stop them. We are not a locked facility, we are not a treatment facility and we dont have custody of them, New Day executive director Steve Johnson told the Journal on Thursday. What we do is keep them safe while theyre here.

The community-based nonprofit overnight shelter has operated for 41 years as a safe haven for runaways and displaced kids ages 12-18. The overnight shelter, just one of New Days programs, can accommodate up to 16 kids at a time, though it averages 12-14 on any given night. About 200 kids are provided housing there during an average year, Johnson said.

Two men have since been arrested in connection with the rape case: Shane Sandoval, 21, and Leon Harker, 19. Both remain in the Metropolitan Detention Center, where they were booked on criminal sexual penetration of a minor and other charges.

In 2016, Sandoval was charged with four counts of criminal penetration of one woman, who declined to cooperate with prosecutors. The case was dismissed without prejudice, meaning it could be refiled. Harker has no adult criminal record in New Mexico, according to a state court website.

The two girls, ages 12 and 16, are both in the custody of the state Children, Youth and Families Department, and both have a history of running away, Johnson said.

The girls met at New Day, he said. The younger girl had just arrived, while the older one had been staying there a couple of weeks.

New Day policy is for kids staying in the shelter to relinquish their cellphones, Johnson said. That prevents them from taking photos of other kids and compromising their privacy. It also heads kids off from sending text messages or calling someone to pick them up in the middle of the night, which could create a safety issue for everyone at the shelter.

The phones are kept in a lock box and are returned when the kids go off to school, work or on family visits, Johnson explained.

But the older of the two girls apparently sneaked a cellphone into the shelter and made contact with a man she had met on Facebook.

Just before midnight on Aug. 16, the two girls and a third resident attempted to walk out, but were confronted by the shift supervisor, who cautioned them against leaving. The third girl took that advice, while the 12-year-old and 16-year-old did not.

The supervisor immediately reported the girls as runaways to police and CYFD, Johnson said.

A short time later, an Albuquerque police officer stopped Sandovals vehicle, because it did not have a license plate. The two girls were passengers.

When the officer determined the girls were runaways, they were immediately returned to the New Day shelter.

Its not clear if Sandoval was cited during the traffic stop, but he was allowed to leave.

The two girls were told again that they could stay at the shelter but had to give up the cellphone. They refused, left a second time and contacted Sandoval.

According to a criminal complaint, Sandoval was skittish about driving after the earlier traffic stop, so he sent for an Uber driver to pick the girls up around 2:30 a.m. from a nearby gas station. The Uber driver took them to an apartment building on Tulane NE, identified in the complaint as Sandovals residence.

There, the complaint says, Sandoval and Harker provided alcohol to the girls and raped them.

Later that morning, the girls reported the sexual assaults to a New Day outreach worker who persuaded them to meet with law enforcement at a local CYFD office, where the police report was taken, Johnson said.

The best tool we have is our staff quickly developing meaningful relationships with these young people, so they will listen to their advice and take it when confronted out on the street with bad options, Johnson said. Our job is to help them learn how to protect themselves by giving them tools and trusted adult allies.

CYFD spokesman Henry Varela confirmed that the girls remain in the custody of the Child Protective Services Division, but per state law could not say where they are now being housed.

When asked why Sandoval wasnt arrested after being caught with the underage girls in his car after midnight, APD spokesman Tanner Tixier said the girls did not say they were being held against their will.

Keep in mind that there is no law against juveniles running away or any curfew laws. The officer did believe the situation was a little suspicious, which prompted him to check the females IDs.

Thats when he learned they were runaways and had them returned to New Day, he said.

Further, when an officer conducts a traffic stop, a standard check on the driver is run through the Motor Vehicle Department/National Crime Information computer. That query, Tixier said, reveals a drivers license status, the presence of any active felony or misdemeanor warrants, and whether the subject is on probation or parole.

The check on Sandoval did not indicate anything was amiss.

The officer, based on the circumstances at hand, would have no need or cause, to investigate further, Tixier said.
Recently U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions attempted to bully the city of Albuquerque into dropping its alleged status as a sanctuary city. Unless a policy change satisfies the Trump administration, local law enforcement would be excluded from participating in the federal governments initiative known as the National Public Safety Partnership.

If the Duke City is selected as a participant in this program, lawmakers must be aware that participation would further erode public trust and make law enforcement more receptive to the needs of the federal government, rather than the needs of the public.

Research from Nobel Prize Winning Economist Elinor Ostrom and her successors has shown that as local law enforcement agencies become financially reliant on the federal government for revenue and resources, they become less responsive to their residents needs. The War on Drugs and the militarization of local police departments have already created perverse incentives for police departments, and in the process delegitimized them in the eyes of the public. This trend is expected to continue as the federal government attempts to cookie-cut local police departments and corrections agencies to fit the goals of federal immigration policy. The Public Safety Partnership is a terrifying and unfortunate attempt to homogenize police departments across the United States.

The new federal program would provide training and technical assistance to qualifying cities assuming they demonstrate a commitment to reducing violent crime stemming from immigration. According to the website the partnership would identify and prioritize resources that will help local communities address their violent crime rates. Before qualifying for the program, the Department of Justice wants assurance that the city of Albuquerque has policies in place that satisfy the federal governments requirements regarding immigrant detention. This attempt to further centralize, or perhaps commandeer, local police and corrections agencies poses a serious threat to the balance of powers afforded by our system of governance.

Not only is it a threat to federalism, but the attempt by the federal government to stomp out crime stemming from immigration is not supported by the data. A recent policy report from the Cato Institutes Alex Nowrasteh demonstrates that immigrants, both documented and undocumented, are less likely to be incarcerated than native-born Americans. Legal immigrants are 69 percent less likely to be incarcerated than native-born Americans; similarly illegal immigrants are 44 percent less likely to be incarcerated than native-born Americans. Lawmakers should make policy based on facts, not based on misinformation and popular mythology.

While it may seem like Albuquerque is in dire need of more resources to fight crime, it is not entirely clear what type of resources would be granted by the partnership. Would it be worth the federal assistance if the Albuquerque Police Departments progress in improving community relations was simply undone? What if the resources came in the form of more military equipment giveaways to our local departments? What if training includes deputizing local police as immigration officers under section 287 (g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act? Each of these possibilities would result in less cooperation with the local police and therefore less public safety.

Research from George Mason University economists suggests that police performance, and therefore public safety, relies on how money is spent, not how much. Federal assistance in the form of revenue is not guaranteed to reduce crime nor improve community relations.

Its also important to note that, according to the most recent data available, violent crime and property crime statewide were lower during the first five years of this decade than in the 1990s. No doubt crime in Albuquerque is a problem that seems to be getting worse, but the recent hysteria over New Mexicos crime rates has more to do with election season, for both the left and the right, than actually promoting public safety.

One thing is clear, Albuquerques participation in this program would inflame police-community relations, expand the power of the federal government and siphon local resources toward immigration enforcement. The partnership is simply a bad deal for Burquenos.
WASHINGTON  Will President Trumps new Afghanistan strategy alter the dynamics of Americas longest and most frustrating war? Do commanders really have any better chance of succeeding now than when this conflict began 16 years ago?

I put those questions by phone Tuesday to Gen. John Mick Nicholson Jr., who for more than 18 months has commanded U.S. forces in Kabul. This is his fourth tour in Afghanistan and his sixth year of service there. He probably knows as much about this difficult and costly war as any American, in or out of uniform.

Nicholson answered by describing what he has learned about Afghanistan since we first met 10 years ago in Jalalabad, when he was a colonel commanding a brigade of the 10th Mountain Division. Those were heady, optimistic days when Nicholson would take visitors to a provincial loya jirga tribal council, where the turbaned leaders professed support for the U.S. mission; when U.S. development teams were building roads and schools, confident that stability would follow economic development.

It didnt happen that way, and Nicholson cites two illusions of that period that he says undermined the war effort. The first was that U.S. commanders didnt realize just how crucial external support from Pakistan was in allowing an unpopular Taliban insurgency to survive. The second was that commanders didnt understand how corruption was rotting the Afghan security structure the U.S. was trying to build.

Both problems are addressed, at least modestly, by Trumps strategy. First, Trump warned: We can no longer be silent about Pakistans safe havens for terrorist organizations. This will likely mean more sticks and fewer carrots for Islamabad  perhaps including new sanctions that punish Pakistan for aiding terror groups like the Haqqani network that kill Americans and their allies. Unfortunately, Trump may have undermined his Pakistan pitch by urging a closer strategic partnership with its arch-enemy, India.

Second, Trump promised support for an Afghan government under President Ashraf Ghani that is seeking to combat corruption and is planning provincial elections next summer. Stronger, better leadership will, in theory, bolster the campaign against the insurgents. The American people expect to see real reforms, real progress, and real results, Trump said. In addition to being a long shot, this sounds suspiciously like the nation-building Trump insists hes abandoning.

But will it work? Many observers doubt the strategy will push onward to victory, as Trump said, but they think it may avoid an outright defeat. The consensus among these experts is that by adding more troops and other measures, the U.S. can sustain the current stalemate, in which the Taliban controls about half of the countryside and the central government holds Kabul and other major cities.

The Trump strategy reduces the probability that the Kabul government will collapse over the next two to three years. This is a very limited version of success.

So why did Trump reverse his early, skeptical view and back Nicholson and the other generals who dominate his national security team? Why did this Wharton School graduate ignore the advice often offered by business professors that sunk cost  the money and effort already spent  does not by itself justify further investment?

The answer isnt really very complicated. Trump doesnt want to be the president to pack up and go home. He doesnt want the stain of defeat.

The best argument for Trumps Afghanistan policy is that it avoids losing, and at relatively low cost. It maintains a platform that can operate against what Trump said are 20 terrorist groups in the region; it sustains a base that will allow the U.S. to keep watch on nearby Pakistani nuclear weapons. It avoids a quick win by the Taliban and allows eventual reconciliation. Those are all worthy goals.

I dont know that we have a choice to walk away, argues Nicholson. It would inspire other jihadis around the globe. He likens Afghanistan and Pakistan to a petri dish in which dangerous terrorist groups have thrived. Across the U.S. government, even skeptics of the policy share his concern about the risks of a hasty U.S. withdrawal.

Trump was once said to be so frustrated with the slow pace of the U.S. campaign in Afghanistan that he wanted to fire Nicholson as commander. The American people are weary of war without victory, he said Monday night. But as he has weighed the terrible dilemma of the Afghan War, Trump seems to have opted for a stay-the-course policy to seek an honorable and enduring outcome worthy of the tremendous sacrifices that have been made.

No victory parades, but no defeat, either.
SAN DIEGO  The motto of the United States is no longer e pluribus unum. Sadly, its become: Hey! I was wronged. Get my lawyer on the phone!

Or, recently, south of the Mason-Dixon line: Lets grab clubs and tiki torches and go make trouble.

America has become a nation of victims. The same people who, a decade ago, might have scoffed at the idea that others were being victimized by societal norms, generational poverty and institutional racism have now themselves joined the pity party and donned the cloak of victimhood. Nursing a grudge is not just for minorities anymore.

Conservative white males have gotten in on the act, as they rail against globalization, corporate greed, immigration, political correctness, the anti-Confederate statue lobby, affirmative action and the man in the moon.

Those who for years shrugged off the notion that there was lingering racial and ethnic discrimination against Latinos and African-Americans now insist that there is rampant reverse discrimination against white people.

As they often do, politicians make the situation worse by giving people easy outs. And these days, as always, many people are glad to have excuses for their failures, setbacks and shortcomings. The bad guys are the banks, the rich, the corporations, the immigrants, the global market.

Victim anthems have been penned by Bruce Springsteen who, in concert, has introduced his haunting ballad Youngstown  about the battered town in Northeast Ohio  as a story about losing everything even when you work hard and play by the rules.

A couple of generations ago, Americans survived tough times by hustling, believing in themselves and working harder. Today, this is the pep talk for the downtrodden: Lost your job? The culprit is a racial quota or greedy boss or foreign worker. Youre a victim.

Thats a major takeaway from horrible events in Charlottesville, Va.

Hundreds of young white men who, intoxicated by a cocktail of entitlement and white privilege, expected to be running the country by now, instead feel as if the country is running over them. They worry that a society that pushes diversity, espouses liberalism, and worships at the altar of political correctness doesnt have any room for them. And the last thing they want to do is look in the mirror and take responsibility for their own lives.

So they picked up torches, and marched, and shouted: You will not replace us. Jews will not replace us.

This rank bigotry and anti-Semitism made other people feel victimized because they somehow thought they had a right to go through life without ever being offended by anything. The offended staged counterprotests, which made the original protesters feel victimized as if their right to free speech were being violated. And so on.

The Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave is now the Land of the Aggrieved and the Home of the Picked On.

This transformation is much more important than the question that captivates the attention of the left and the media  as if there were a difference at this point. Do we have a white supremacist in the White House?

A lot of my Latino and African-American friends are convinced we do. But I think theyre wrong. What do they know? Some of them said the same thing about every Republican president since Ronald Reagan while turning a blind eye to outright racists in the Democratic Party. Also, Donald Trump has been in the public eye for more than 30 years  donating money to civil rights groups, posing for pictures with Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, and supporting Democrats. I personally never heard anyone say he was a racist or white supremacist until he became a Republican. That smells fishy.

Besides, Trumps presidency has an expiration date. In a few years, well wake up from this national nightmare.

Its the culture of victimhood that Americans should really be worried about. It wasnt just Trump, white supremacists, the media, local police, and activists on the militant left who emerged from the Charlottesville fiasco with their reputations sullied. The American spirit also took a terrible beating.

When did the greatest country on Earth stop being a place where people  with nothing but hunger for a second chance  could come to work hard and build a new life? When did it become a place where everyone pushes their own set of grievances?

As an American, none of this makes sense. I thought we were made from heartier stock.
Without clear word about which of the national monuments on the Department of the Interiors review list will be shrunk, wild space advocates including Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., and a spokeswoman for Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., gathered Thursday afternoon to reiterate their vehement support for the status-quo.

Keep your hands off our lands, said Michael Casaus, New Mexico director for The Wilderness Society, during a news conference put together in anticipation of Interior Secretary Ryan Zinkes Thursday release of his review of 27 national monuments  including two in New Mexico.

But Zinkes announcement created more questions than answers, since he said that no monuments would be reverted to their previous designations, but some would be reduced in size. The public wont know which until the president reviews the proposal, he said.

That left the group gathered at the REI outdoor store Thursday afternoon frustrated and apprehensive.

We should all know this threat is not gone, said Bianca Ortiz-Wertheim, chief of staff for Udall.

In a letter from Udall she read to the crowd, Ortiz-Wertheim said Udall pledged a court battle if the monuments are amended.

And Heinrich said he would keep fighting for the monuments, saying that he spent some of the best days of my life in these places.

Julia Bernal, of the Pueblo Action Alliance, said that federal protections currently in place are a good step toward protecting lands considered sacred to Native American tribes in New Mexico and the Southwest.

Our lands have always been sacred. Its the governments responsibility to keep these promises and not take them back again, she said.
SAN FRANCISCO  A year ago, Andrew Torba would have balked at the idea of regulating the Internet. He is a conservative, and like many other technologists here, he adheres to the long-standing Silicon Valley belief in a free and open Web, unhindered by government interference.

But things changed in wake of violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, when one technology company after another shut down or cut off service to right-wing accounts and sites.

Today, Torba is part of a growing chorus of right-leaning technologists and leaders who have started to sound more like liberals when they talk about Silicon Valley giants such as Google, Apple and Facebook.

Events in Charlottesville and at Google, where an employee was fired for disparaging the companys diversity policies, have pushed them toward an unexpected battle cry: Tell the government to force powerful Internet companies to allow anyone to express themselves on their platforms.

The issue is beginning to percolate in Washington. And it is expected to take center stage this weekend when right-wing protesters are planning to descend on the liberal heart of the nations tech sector. The groups are holding rallies in San Francisco on Saturday and near the campus of the University of California at Berkeley on Sunday.

The Saturday event in San Francisco, organized by Patriot Prayer, a group from Portland, Oregon, is billed as a free speech rally, while organizers of the Berkeley gathering are calling it a No to Marxism march on their Facebook page.

The leaders for both rallies wrote on Facebook that the KKK and neo-Nazis were not welcome. (They did not respond to requests for comment).

The tech companies should stop censoring users that they politically disagree with or governments should regulate them as public utilities, Torbas spokesman Utsav Sanduja said. Last year, Sanduja and Torba founded Gab.ai, an alternative social network for free speech advocates. Imagine if a private corporation owned all the highways and they decided to close them down whenever they feel like it  that is what its like. You cannot deny people a fundamental staple of the Internet.

The language by the Gab founders and other conservatives mirrors Democrats long-standing arguments that telecommunications infrastructure should be treated as a public good. But liberals have been more hands off when it comes to social media and other Silicon Valley-provided services.

Conservatives have always been an anomaly in Silicon Valley, but theyve been particularly vilified since President Donald Trumps election.

Many say they purposely hide their political beliefs from colleagues and peers.

For instance, after their election night party held in Twitter headquarters near downtown San Francisco, local GOP leaders said they advised victorious attendees to consider removing their red Make America Great Again hats before they went back out on the citys main thoroughfare.

Its like being gay in the 1950s, said one prominent conservative technologist who spoke on the condition that he not be named.

Some in Silicon Valley  who say they do not espouse the talking points of the alt-right or support the positions of the neo-Nazi organizers of the Charlottesville rally  say they are being roped in with extremists and that their voices have been drowned out. They say that tech giants are becoming the online enforcers of a liberal point of view and the gatekeepers of all political expression, with little checks on their power.

For many on the right, not just the fringe but the mainstream, Silicon Valley just has no credibility when it comes to policing public speech because of the way that Big Techs internal culture seems to close down private speech  the sense that tech firms are the enemies of free expression if you have a viewpoint that diverges from standard liberal ideology, said Steve Hilton, a Fox News host based in Silicon Valley and chief executive of Crowdpac, a political fundraising website.

Torba, an outspoken Trump supporter who calls himself a Christian conservative, was kicked out of the prominent technology incubator Y-Combinator after calling fellow entrepreneurs in the community cucks and using the f-word in a heated Facebook discussion about racism after the election.

Y-Combinator said Torba was harassing fellow entrepreneurs. Torba said he was kicked out for espousing conservative views.

Like many fellow engineers, Torba has long believed that tech start-ups thrive with as little government regulation as possible. But he started to change his mind, Sanduja said, after the companys app was rejected from Apples app store in January. In rejecting the app, Apple said Gab had violated its policies by hosting pornographic material, among other reasons.

Last week, Google also banned Gab from the Google Play Store, citing violations of the companys hate speech policies. Neo-Nazi Andrew Anglin had become an active user on Gab after a succession of companies refused to service his site. Other controversial right-wing figures, including Milo Yiannopoulos and Andrew weev Auernheimer, also are on Gab.

Gab.ai has raised over a million dollars in contributions since last month, Sanduja said.

The atmosphere for conservatives became a lot more complex after the Charlottesville protests, in which dozens were injured and one woman was killed after a Nazi sympathizer plowed his car into a crowd of demonstrators.

In response to the protests, a striking number of technology companies, from Facebook to PayPal to Google to GoDaddy and even OkCupid  blocked or shut down service to alt-right and white supremacist accounts.

The move reflected a stunning turnabout for the tech industry, which has long been reluctant to police their platforms in this way, even as most have policies prohibiting hate speech.

Conservatives were already fuming from events two weeks earlier, when James Damore, a Google engineer, was fired by the search giant after publishing a long memo in a corporate chat room in which he protested the companys diversity policies and promoted negative stereotypes about women.

The calls for more federal oversight of tech giants have made their way to Washington.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said in recent weeks that he was worried about large tech companies putting their thumb on the scales and skewing political and public discourse.

In the days after Charlottesville, alt-right leaders such as Richard Spencer made populist calls to regulate tech giants and decried tech monopolies. Former White House adviser Stephen Bannon reportedly made similar assertions earlier this month.

Meanwhile, a memo about turning the regulation of Internet companies into a GOP plank recently circulated among operatives in Washington, according to several news reports.

Democrats have also called for more regulation of Wall Street but until recently have largely taken a hands-off approach to Silicon Valley. Now they too are becoming more willing to criticize technology companies.

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., recently called for greater scrutiny of Amazon. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., has honed in on tech monopolies. Strengthening antitrust enforcement was part of new populist-leaning policy proposals put forth by Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.

All of this means that Silicon Valley, which for so long has enjoyed the support of the public and politicians alike, may have a more fraught path in Washington.

The more that they drift down these lines, the more they will attract political enemies and that will lead to more regulations, said Aaron Ginn, the co-founder and president of the Lincoln Network, which seeks to use technology to promote liberty in the public space.

Ginn does not agree with the calls to regulate tech monopolies. Tech companies, he said, are encouraging political tribalism and the splintering of tech products previously viewed as agnostic.

  

Shaban reported from Washington.
PHOENIX  Court documents say a Scottsdale man has been arrested and accused of throwing and kicking gas canisters toward police during a protest after President Donald Trumps Phoenix rally.

Police say 29-year-old Joshua Stuart Cobin was arrested Thursday on suspicion of aggravated assault on police and of unlawful assembly after being identified through social media posts and at least one media interview.

Video showed a man being hit with a non-lethal pepper ball fired by police Tuesday night after he kicked a gas canister toward police and then retreated back toward fellow protesters. He then dropped to the ground before another protester helped him move away.

Cobin told television stations KTVK and KPHO (https://goo.gl/sWY7p8 ) that kicking the canister wasnt an attack on police and that the canister interfered with peaceful protesting.
NASHVILLE, Tenn.  The Republican National Committee walked the tightrope Friday in carefully but resolutely denouncing white supremacist groups without criticizing President Donald Trump, who waffled in his own statements in the wake of the deadly clash in Virginia this month.

Meeting in Nashville, Tennessee, the RNC approved a raft of resolutions, including one asserting Nazis, the KKK, white supremacists and others are repulsive, evil and have no fruitful place in the United States.

And while the vote was unanimous, some members had grumbled the resolution was unnecessary and reflected unnecessary defensiveness.

Its amazing that we have been lured into this argument that were not racists. Its absurd, said Colorado Republican Chairman Jeff Hays. Why would we feel compelled to do that?

The sentiment reflects a difference between RNC leaders concerned about the partys image in light of President Donald Trumps latest rhetorical thicket and newer, more ardently pro-Trump state Republican leaders who say such a statement appears defensive.

But this was a priority for Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel, as well as for committee members who were openly bothered by Trumps initial resistance to singling out the racist groups after the Charlottesville violence.

Hearing about the grumbling, McDaniel made the rounds Friday morning to reinforce with members that the measure was a priority.

Every day, I wake up proud that were the party of Lincoln, McDaniel told the committee Friday. Condemning violence is not a Republican or Democratic issue. It is an American issue.

Despite the resolution, there doesnt appear to be a softening of support for the president within the partys national organization.

Rather, what was to be a sleepy, pro-forma late summer gathering seemed to spark renewed backing for the president despite a series of recent setbacks: the GOPs stunning failure to repeal and replace Obamacare; the furious backlash over his comments about the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia; and the departure of crowd favorite Reince Priebus, the former RNC chairman, as Trumps chief of staff.

The president was not wrong to point out what the media has failed to point out, that counter-protesters also came for a battle in Charlottesville, said Pennsylvania Republican Chairman Val DiGiorgio.

DiGiorgio stood by the many sides comment Trump made immediately after the clash in Virginia, in which a car was driven into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing a woman. The president was criticized harshly by both Republicans and Democrats because he didnt immediately denounce the white nationalist groups.

There was palpable contempt in the conference room for counter-protesters who were ready to fight. RNC member Morton Blackwell, who affirmed his support for the resolution, said Every person who came to Charlottesville intending violence was evil.

Bill Palatucci, a RNC committeeman from New Jersey who sponsored the resolution, said it was important for the committee to formally denounce white supremacists. Palatucci said, I think he got it wrong a week ago Tuesday, in regards to Charlottesville, when Trump said during a free-wheeling, defiant news conference that there were very fine people on both sides at the demonstration.

But even Palatucci, who was a devout supporter of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christies 2016 presidential campaign, said, I support the presidents agenda. He cited deregulation measures Trump has signed and the presidents plan, outlined Monday, to send additional U.S. troops to Afghanistan to revive the effort to root out terrorist cells.

The partys robust $87 million raised to date  dwarfing what Democrats have raised  has also lifted spirits, as has improving economic confidence.

The consensus in Nashville is that the Republican-controlled Congress, not Trump, has let down the party.

There is a level of frustration that Congress didnt repeal and replace Obamacare, Ohio Republican Party Chairwoman Jane Timken said. They want the presidents agenda passed. They blame Congress.

While Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have feuded before and since the failed health care vote in July, there was little talk in Nashville of dumping the veteran Kentucky senator as leader.

Im not ready to abandon McConnell, Pennsylvanias DiGiorgio said. But I would urge him to come together and get this done.

Trump has complained about McConnell and other Republican senators who have criticized the president or opposed his efforts. He notably pointed to Sens. John McCain and Jeff Flake, Arizona Republicans, during an angry speech to supporters in Phoenix on Tuesday.

Trumps intraparty attacks have some GOP strategists worried that the fighting could harm Republicans chances of holding the Senate in next years midterm elections, though that would require Democrats to retain almost all of the 10 seats they occupy in states Trump won last year.

Chairwoman McDaniel said Trumps taunts are the outspoken New Yorkers way of urging action.

The president wants to see his agenda passed, McDaniel said. Hes channeling what Im hearing from the American people, which is, We gave you the White House. You have the Senate. You have the House. Why arent you getting these things done?'
With more than 2 billion users worldwide, Facebook has been making tough calls when it comes to policing hate speech, harassment, nudity and violence online.

Some digital rights groups want it to provide more details about how it decides what to delete or keep.

I think that because you have greater power, you have greater responsibility. And with that responsibility, sometimes youre going to have to bring out a little bit more transparency, Eva Galperin, Electronic Frontier Foundations director of cybersecurity, told a Facebook executive at a panel discussion in San Francisco.

EFF found out through that Facebooks online rules are not enforced evenly, she said. When people get locked out of their accounts it can interrupt their work or daily lives, especially because Facebook is linked to other apps.

Some activists have accused the companys content moderators before of punishing minority users.

Alex Stamos, Facebooks chief security officer, said mistakes are bound to happen but are also rare. Some posts might mistakenly get flagged when a user speaks out against hate speech.

If you turn up that dial of trying to prevent hate speech you will also turn up the dial of false positives, he said.

Stamos estimated that the number of accounts that Facebook shuts down per day is at least seven or eight figures based on the number of spam and fraudulent accounts that are created daily.

In the past, public criticism has led Facebook to change how it enforces some of its online rules. The tech firm apologized last year after it pulled down a famous Vietnam War photo that depicted a naked girl fleeing a napalm attack.

But Stamos questioned whether divulging more details about how Facebook enforces its rules would help.

Im not sure if were in a media environment honestly where a lot of transparency in this area is going to end up with people being better off, he said.



2017 The Mercury News (San Jose, Calif.)

Visit The Mercury News (San Jose, Calif.) at www.mercurynews.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
HOUSTON  The Latest on Hurricane Harvey (all times local):

1:30 a.m.

Emergency personnel in Aransas County, Texas, are assessing damage reports from Hurricane Harvey as they are able.

Rockport Volunteer Fire Department spokeswoman Gillian Cox tells the Corpus Christi Caller-Times that the roof of Rockports high school has partially caved in. But Cox says social media posts that the school has disappeared are inaccurate.

Rockport City Manager Kevin Carruth tells the newspaper that the courthouse in the city about 30 miles (48 kilometers) northeast of Corpus Christi also has sustained major damage. Carruth says that a cargo trailer is halfway in the building.

Officials about 10 miles (16 kilometers) away in Aransas Pass say the Harbor Master Building along its coast has been destroyed. The Aransas Pass Police Department posted a video on its Facebook page of the building folding up from the high speed winds.

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12:20 a.m.

The city manager in Rockport, Texas, says multiple people have been taken to the countys jail for assessment and treatment after the roof of a senior housing complex collapsed.

KIII-TV reports that 10 people have been treated in Rockport since Hurricane Harvey slammed into the Gulf Coast city Friday night. The Associated Press was unable to reach an operator at the Aransas County Detention Center in Rockport just after midnight.

City manager Kevin Carruth tells the station that Rockports historic downtown area also has seen heavy damage. He says there also are reports of damage to vehicles and roofs.

Harvey is lashing a wide swath of southeast Texas with strong winds and torrential rain as the fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a decade.

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11:05 p.m.

Rockport, Texas, officials are receiving reports of damage from Hurricane Harvey, but emergency officials are having trouble responding.

Rockport City Manager Kevin Carruth said by phone that he had heard reports of a tree falling into a mobile home and roofs collapsing on houses. The city, about 31 miles (50 kilometers) northeast of Corpus Christi, had peak wind surges of more than 125 miles per hour, according to National Weather Service reports.

Volunteer Fire Department Chief Steve Sims says there are about 15 volunteer firefighters hunkered down at the citys fire station waiting for conditions to improve enough for their vehicles to safely travel and to assess the damage to the city of about 10,000 people.

Theres nothing we can do at this moment. We are anxious to get out there and make assessments, but were hunkered down for now, he said.

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10 p.m.

Hurricane Harvey has landed.

The National Hurricane Center says the eye of the Category 4 hurricane made landfall about 10 p.m. Friday about 30 miles east-northeast of Corpus Christi between Port Aransas and Port OConnor, Texas, bringing with it 130 mph (209 kph) sustained winds and flooding rains.

The storm quickly grew Thursday from a tropical depression into a Category 1 hurricane, and then developed into a Category 2 storm early Friday. By Friday afternoon, it had become a Category 3 storm before strengthening to a Category 4. Harvey is the first Category 4 hurricane to hit the Texas coast since Hurricane Carla in 1961.

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This item corrects 30 mph to 30 miles in 2nd paragraph.

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9:15 p.m.

President Donald Trump says he has signed a disaster declaration for Texas as Hurricane Harvey nears on the middle Texas coast.

Trump announced his declaration in a posting on his Twitter account.

At 9 p.m., the National Hurricane Center said the storm was almost onshore with 130 mph (215 kmh) sustained winds.

A center statement said a station at Aransas Pass run by the Texas Coastal Observing Network had reported a sustained wind of 102 mph (165 kmh) with a gust to 120 mph (193 kmh).

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8:40 p.m.

An elected official in the Texas Gulf Coast town near where Hurricane Harvey is expected to reach land says residents who chose to stay should write their Social Security numbers on their arms.

Patrick Rios, the mayor pro tem in Rockport, told KIII-TV of Corpus Christi earlier Friday that Harvey is a life-threatening storm.

He says those who stay should make some type of preparation to mark their arm with a Sharpie pen, implying that they should make it easier for rescuers to identify them.

Local officials along the Texas coast urged residents to take precautions and, if they were in the direct path of the storm, to evacuate. Thousands of people have headed north so far.

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8:10 p.m.

Hurricane Harvey is on the verge of landfall on the middle Texas Gulf coast.

The National Hurricane Center reported at 8 p.m. CDT Friday that the storms eyewall had begun coming ashore with 130 mph winds.

The NHC defines the eyewall as a ring of clouds that surround the eye of the cyclone. Landfall is when the eye reaches the coast.

Harvey strengthened rapidly late this week from a tropical depression to a dangerous Category 4 hurricane.

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7:55 p.m.

Officials said they had no idea how many Corpus Christi residents heeded their urge to voluntary evacuate the city of 325,000 and nearby low-lying areas taking the brunt of the storm.

Nueces County spokesman Tyner Little said traffic inland was not hugely heavy as weve seen with other hurricanes.

He said the local sheriff said 90 percent of Port Aransas had left.

Nevertheless, Little said county officials were kind of freaked out because the hurricane was tracking closer to Corpus Christi than officials had expected.

Driving into the city on an empty interstate Friday evening, a reporter saw flames flaring from a half-dozen stacks, casting an eerie glow beneath scudding, slate gray hurricane clouds.

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7:40 p.m.

Harvey went from not even a tropical storm to a major Category 4 hurricane in 56 hours, an incredibly fast intensification for a storm.

On Wednesday at 10 am CDT, the National Hurricane Center said Harvey  which had been a tropical storm that faded away on Aug. 19  had reformed as a tropical depression, a step below a named storm. Harveys maximum winds were 35 mph.

And by 6 p.m. CDT Friday, Harvey was a Category 4 hurricane with 130 mph winds and knocking on the Texas coast as what will likely be the strongest hurricane to hit the US in about 13 years.



7:10 p.m.

As Hurricane Harvey heads toward the Texas coast, a Corpus Christi official says hes confident the city pumps would clear out floodwater if the storm surge inundates the downtown area behind the seawall.

Mark Van Vleck, assistant city manager for public works, says that the pumps are on back-up emergency generators.

He says, We have put most things on emergency generators that need to. Now were just following the plan.

His biggest concern was the wind knocking out power and topping trees, adding, and then after that it will be the heavy rains.

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7 p.m.

Some spots in Texas and Louisiana are offering free or discounted places for Hurricane Harvey evacuees to stay.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Friday afternoon opened Texas state parks to hurricane evacuees to camp for free. Several parks on the coast and in South Texas have been closed for the hurricane, but the Texas Parks and Wildlife department posted a map of available camping sites away from the path of the hurricane to its website .

The Texas Association of Campground Owners says they have identified 12 campgrounds and RV parks with space for Hurricane Harvey evacuees as well and urged people to check www.texascampgrounds.com and www.texascabinrentals.com for spaces.

Vacation rental company Airbnb says it has started connecting evacuees and relief workers with short-term lodging with its hosts free of charge as part of its Disaster Response Program through its website.

Louisianas Office of Parks announced Friday that evacuees can stay at cabins or campsites in any of eight north Louisiana state parks for half price. Cabins are available at six of the sites. Campsites are available at all eight.

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6:20 p.m.

As Hurricane Harvey approaches the Texas coast, Federal Emergency Management Agency officials say if a shelter in place order is issued, residents should immediately take action to do so.

FEMA on Friday urged residents to charge cell phones and to download the agencys phone app, follow them on Twitter at @FEMAregion6 or follow FEMA on Facebook.

Six federal Urban Search and Rescue task forces have been staged in San Antonio in preparation. Other support personnel as well as National Flood Insurance program officials have been stationed in other areas of Texas.

The agency has set up support bases near Seguin, Texas, and other areas closer to the projected hurricane path to store supplies including more than 96,000 liters of water, 306,000 meals and 4,500 tarps and blankets. State, local and tribal officials will be responsible for distributing those materials as requested and needed.

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6:05 p.m.

The National Hurricane Center says Hurricane Harvey has strengthened to a Category 4 storm.

The center says Harvey has sustained wind speeds of 130 mph (209 kph) as the powerful storm churns off the Texas coast. Forecasters are labeling it a life-threatening storm.

The storm quickly grew Thursday from a tropical depression into a Category 1 hurricane, and then developed into a Category 2 storm early Friday. By Friday afternoon, it had become a Category 3 storm before strengthening to a Category 4. Its forecast to make landfall in Texas late Friday or early Saturday.

The storm is 45 miles (72 kilometers) east of Corpus Christi.

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6 p.m.

Hurricane Harvey looks to hit about the same area as one of the strongest and deadliest hurricanes to ever smack the United States: the Indianola Hurricane of 1886.

The National Hurricane Center says the Indianola hurricane ranks as the fifth strongest hurricane to make U.S. landfall, behind the 1935 Keys hurricane, 1969s Camille, 2006s Katrina and 1992s Andrew. About 150 people died, putting it in the top 25 most fatal hurricanes.

MIT meteorology professor Kerry Emanuel says Indianola was a thriving city before it was struck and it never came back. According to Texas Escapes magazine, its now pretty much a ghost town.

Emanuel says that Harvey is going around the same place.

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5:40 p.m.

More than 15,000 people aboard three Carnival Cruise Line ships scheduled to return to Galveston, Texas, this weekend face delays or detours due to Hurricane Harvey in the Gulf of Mexico. The Port of Galveston was closed Friday amid the hurricane threat.

A statement Friday from the Miami-based cruise line says the Carnival Freedom and Carnival Valor were at sea and would remain a safe distance from the hurricane. Both ships were originally scheduled to dock in Galveston on Saturday but will instead stop in New Orleans to replenish supplies.

The Carnival Freedom and the Carnival Valor each carry about 4,800 passengers and crew. The statement says theyll resume their return to Galveston as soon as possible.

The Carnival Breeze was scheduled to return to Galveston on Sunday. Its spending Friday night in Cozumel, Mexico. That ship has more than 6,000 on board. The Carnival statement said the ship would depart Saturday for Texas to be in position when the Port of Galveston reopens.

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5:15 p.m.

The National Hurricane Center says that sustained hurricane-force winds are about to move onshore as Hurricane Harvey nears landfall on the Texas coast.

The center said late Friday afternoon that a sustained wind of 67 mph (108 kph) with a gust up to 81 mph (130 kph) has been reported at Aransas Pass.

Harvey is expected to make landfall overnight, bringing life-threatening storm surge, rainfall and wind to portions of the Texas coast.

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5:10 p.m.

Officials say rain from Hurricane Harvey could inundate Houston roads and neighborhoods as early as Saturday night.

Jeff Lindner, a meteorologist with the Harris County Flood Control District, said Friday that two key reservoirs in the flood control system  at the Addicks and Barker dams  are currently near-empty and are in no danger of flooding neighborhoods close by. The district has electronic sensors installed along Houstons bayous and waterways.

Lindner did not single out neighborhoods in Houston, saying all of the nations fourth-largest city and its outlying areas face flooding in a storm as large as Harvey.

Houston is notoriously flood-prone and forecast to receive steady rain for several days into next week.

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4:50 p.m.

As Hurricane Harvey nears landfall, Harris Countys top elected official says he isnt calling for an evacuation for residents of the county that includes Houston and many of its suburbs. Thats despite Texas Gov. Greg Abbott suggesting people in Houston should head north, away from the Texas Gulf Coast.

Ed Emmett, the Harris County judge, says that while the hurricane is expected to dump lots of rain on Houston, the city isnt expected to receive large amounts of storm surge as well. Other communities on the Texas coast are expecting that.

Emmett said he had spoken to Abbott Friday afternoon and acknowledged residents of the nations fourth-largest city might have gotten a mixed message. But he said residents should stay put, in part because its too early for officials to determine where the most flooding would occur.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner asked people in the city to stay in their homes and off the roads to the extent possible. He said there might be a greater danger in having people who dont need to be evacuated onto roads that could flood.

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4:30 p.m.

Houston officials are showing signs of frustration after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott urged anyone who can to evacuate before Hurricane Harvey arrives.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner on Friday tweeted please think twice before trying to leave Houston en masse. His plea came shortly after Abbott held a news conference urging Gulf Coast residents to pack up and leave, whether or not their cities are under evacuation orders.

The spokesman of emergency operations in Houstons Harris County was even more direct. Francisco Sanchez tweeted: LOCAL LEADERS KNOW BEST.

No evacuation orders have been issued for Houston. The mixed signals between the Texas governor and local officials are emerging just hours before Harvey is expected to make landfall as a Category 3 storm.

Abbott has repeatedly suggested since Thursday that not enough people are evacuating. But state officials also say they have no count on how many people have actually left their homes.

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4:15 p.m.

The National Hurricane Center says Hurricane Harvey has powered up to 125 mph (201 kph) as it bears down on the Texas coast, with its eye about 60 miles (95 kilometers) east-southeast of Corpus Christi, Texas.

The center said in its Friday afternoon update that the hurricane is traveling northwest at 10 mph (16 kph).

Hurricane force winds are not quite ashore but are within a couple dozen miles of land. Tropical storm force winds have already been measured in Aransas Pass, Texas.

The hurricane center said some additional strengthening is possible before Harvey makes landfall overnight.

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4 p.m.

Texas officials say they have no estimates on how many people along the coast are heeding warnings to evacuate before Hurricane Harvey makes landfall.

But Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday continued insisting that too many people are staying put. He urged anyone with the ability to flee the Gulf Coast to do so but stopped short of criticizing local officials who havent ordered mandatory evacuations.

State emergency officials have identified at least eight counties and seven cities that have issued mandatory evacuations. More than a dozen others are under voluntary evacuations.

Nim Kidd is the chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management. He says theres no good way of telling how many people have evacuated and that congested highways along the Gulf Coast are a poor indicator of whether enough families are leaving.

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3:50 p.m.

The White House says President Donald Trump is making plans to travel to Texas early next week to monitor the effects of Hurricane Harvey.

Spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders says the president is planning to go to Texas next week as the Gulf region prepares for the hurricane to make landfall late Friday or early Saturday as a powerful Category 3 hurricane.

The president was briefed Friday by the heads of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Homeland Security officials on the storm.

The Trump administration is encouraging people in the path of the hurricane to heed the advice and orders of local and state officials.

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3:45 p.m.

As Hurricane Harvey approaches the Texas coast, motorists were lining up in to fill up their gas tanks.

At one convenience store in Houstons Meyerland neighborhood on Friday, at least 12 cars were lined up to fill up their gas tanks. A steady stream of customers entered and exited the store, buying everything from soda to chips.

Brent Borgstedte said it was the fourth gas station hed gone to Friday to try and fill up his sons car. The 55-year-old said hed already stocked up on supplies to ride out the storm and the flooding that is predicted for the Houston area.

Borgstedte said, I dont think anybody is really that worried about it. Ive lived here my whole life. Ive been through several hurricanes.

Borgstedte said the heavy rainfall could be the big problem for his neighborhood, which has a history of flooding, including the past two years.

Borgstedte, who is an insurance agent, said he expects to be very busy next week.

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3:35 p.m.

Texas officials say shelters that are opening statewide as Hurricane Harvey barrels toward the coast wont ask arriving families about their immigration status.

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott said Friday the main focus is on safety and the protection of life. Harvey is set to make landfall a week before a new sanctuary city crackdown in Texas signed by Abbott takes effect.

The law allows police officers to ask people about their immigration status during routine stops. It also threatens police chiefs and sheriffs with jail time if they dont cooperate with federal immigration authorities.

Texas largest cities, including Dallas and Houston, have asked a federal judge to stop the law from taking effect Sept. 1

Abbott also expressed no concerns about inland U.S. Border Patrol checkpoints hampering evacuation efforts near the Texas-Mexico border.

Harvey has been upgraded to a dangerous Category 3 hurricane. Its expected to make landfall in Texas late Friday or early Saturday morning.

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3:30 p.m.

Corpus Christi officials say American Airlines has joined other airlines in canceling all flights in and out of the citys airport through the weekend as Hurricane Harvey approaches Texas.

The city said in a news release Friday afternoon that American has followed United and Southwest Airlines in canceling all flights through the weekend at Corpus Christi International Airport.

The city had earlier Friday that all flights were being canceled for the rest of the day.

The hurricane has been upgraded to a dangerous Category 3 hurricane. Its expected to make landfall in Texas late Friday or early Saturday morning.

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3:15 p.m.

The mayor of Corpus Christi is warning residents about the dangers of flooding and told them to be aware of warnings issued by officials as Hurricane Harvey heads toward Texas.

Mayor Joe McComb said at a news conference Friday, If you understand what water can do when its rising fast and moving  it can be deadly.

He said he doesnt know how many people remained in low-lying areas after voluntary evacuations were advised, but he thought there had been a positive response.

Harvey was upgraded to a dangerous Category 3 hurricane. The storm is expected to make landfall Friday night or Saturday morning on the middle Texas coast.

McComb says he had seen a lot of traffic from people leaving town, which also likely included those outside of low-lying areas.

He says, Peoples lives are our main function. Property is number two at this point.

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2:55 p.m.

President Donald Trump is encouraging the public to prepare for Hurricane Harvey before it makes landfall in Texas.

Trump says on Twitter that hes encouraging everyone in the path of #HurricaneHarvey to heed the advice & orders of their local and state officials. His tweet included a link with more information on the storm.

Harvey was upgraded to a dangerous Category 3 hurricane. The storm is expected to make landfall Friday night or Saturday morning on the middle Texas coast.

Trump was briefed on the storm earlier in the day and was expected to monitor Harvey during the weekend at Camp David.

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2:50 p.m.

A water management official says large supersacks of sand are being used to reinforce a damaged section of floodwall east of Houston and will be enough to withstand the storm surge Hurricane Harvey will bring.

Phil Kelley is general manager of Jefferson County Drainage District Number 7. He says there are also 20 pumping stations in the area of Port Arthur, along the Louisiana border, to absorb and redirect stormwater that floods the area.

The National Hurricane Center says Harvey has strengthened to a Category 3 storm. Its forecast to make landfall late Friday or early Saturday.

Officials discovered early this month that a section of the concrete wall in Port Arthur was damaged and cracked. The floodwall is part of a hurricane flood protection system that safeguards Port Arthur and several surrounding cities.

Kelley said Friday that hes confident the floodwall is reinforced enough to withstand a storm surge of up to 10 feet. (3 meters)

He says the area is not at the mercy of the bayous or the tides like other places and that the drainage district can force our stormwater out of here.

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2:40 p.m.

The National Hurricane Center is practically running out of scary words to describe Hurricane Harvey and get people to get out of its way.

The center has called Harvey life-threatening, dangerous and catastrophic. The head of the National Weather Service talked of grave risk.

National Hurricane Center spokesman and meteorologist Dennis Feltgen says, Were using every synonym we can find in the book. We hope they realize that this can kill them. And they need to get out of its way.

The National Hurricane Center says Harvey has strengthened to a Category 3 storm. The center says Harvey has maximum wind speeds of 120 mph (193 kph). Its forecast to make landfall late Friday or early Saturday.

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2:20 p.m.

The National Hurricane Center says tide gauges off the coast of Texas indicate that storm surge is already occurring near Corpus Christi and Port Aransas.

That news comes as the National Hurricane Center says Harvey has strengthened to a Category 3 storm.

The center says Harvey has maximum wind speeds of 120 mph (193.11 kph) as the powerful storm churns off the Texas coast. Forecasters are labeling it a life-threatening storm.

Its forecast to make landfall on the mid-Texas coast late Friday or early Saturday.

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2:10 p.m.

The National Hurricane Center says Hurricane Harvey has strengthened to a Category 3 storm.

The center says Harvey has maximum wind speeds of 120 mph (193.11 kph) as the powerful storm churns off the Texas coast. Forecasters are labeling it a life-threatening storm.

The storm quickly grew Thursday from a tropical depression into a Category 1 hurricane, and then developed into a Category 2 storm early Friday. By Friday afternoon, it had become a Category 3 storm. Its forecast to make landfall in Texas late Friday or early Saturday.

The slow-moving storm is fueled by warm Gulf of Mexico waters. Forecasters are labeling it a life-threatening storm with landfall predicted late Friday or early Saturday between Port OConnor and Matagorda Bay, a 30-mile (48-kilometer) stretch of coastline about 70 miles (110 kilometers) northeast of Corpus Christi.

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2 p.m.

The National Hurricane Center says weather conditions are deteriorating along the Texas coast as Hurricane Harvey nears landfall. Water levels are rising and winds are already blowing with tropical storm force.

The center said Friday afternoon that the hurricane is expected to bring life-threatening storm surge, rainfall and wind to portions of the Texas coast.

National Hurricane Center spokesman and meteorologist Dennis Feltgen says, The tropical storm force winds have already commenced on the Gulf Coast. Youve essentially run out of time for outdoors preparations. You need to find a safe place and you need to stay there.

The center says sustained winds were still holding at 110 mph (177 kph). Forecasters have said it will intensify and make landfall Friday evening or early Saturday as a likely Category 3 storm, meaning sustained winds topping 115 mph (185.07 kph).

The center says swells generated by the hurricane are already affecting the coasts in Texas, Louisiana and northeast Mexico, and those swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions

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1:45 p.m.

Officials in Vermilion Parish on Louisianas coast have called for a voluntary evacuation as Hurricane Harvey heads for landfall in nearby Texas.

Rebecca Broussard is director of Vermilion Parishs Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. She says about 10,000 residents live in the rural part of the parish covered by Fridays voluntary evacuation order.

Earlier, a mandatory evacuation was ordered for southern Cameron Parish, a coastal parish at the Texas state line, to the west of Vermilion. That order affects an estimated 3,500 people.

Also, the City Council in the southwest Louisiana city of Sulphur declared a state of emergency Friday morning, in preparation for possible flooding rains from Harvey.

Harvey is forecast to make landfall in Texas late Friday or early Saturday as a Category 3 storm.

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1:40 p.m.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is warning people that Hurricane Harvey is going to be a very major disaster.

Abbott said Friday that hes asked President Donald Trump for a federal disaster declaration.

Harvey is forecast to make landfall in Texas late Friday or early Saturday as a Category 3 storm.

Aside from savage winds and storm surges, the system was expected to drop prodigious amounts of rain. The resulting flooding, one expert said, could be the depths of which weve never seen.

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1:30 p.m.

As if nearly 3 feet (0.91 meters) of rain over the next several days, up to 12 feet (3.5 meters) of storm surge and triple-digit winds arent enough, Hurricane Harvey is also likely to spawn tornadoes.

Harvey is forecast to make landfall in Texas late Friday or early Saturday as a Category 3 storm.

The National Weather Service alerted that people to the north and northeast of Harveys eye may experience tornadoes.

University of Miami senior hurricane researcher Brian McNoldy says tornadoes are very common during hurricanes, usually in the outer rain bands in the northeast quadrant of the storm. Its because of the way the winds blow and rotate there.

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1 p.m.

The mayor of the popular Texas Gulf Coast city of Galveston says the city is expected to be inundated with water from Hurricane Harvey.

Mayor James Yarbrough said during a news conference Friday that Hurricane Harvey is expected to flood downtown streets. A storm surge of 2 feet (0.61 meter) to 4 feet (1.22 meters) of water is expected to inundate much of the city while up 8 feet could cover other areas. Storm surge is an abnormal rise of water above the normal tide, generated by a storm.

He says a leading concern is that high tide will occur Saturday morning, shortly after Harvey makes landfall, and the water is not expected to recede for three or four days.

Galveston was lashed by Hurricane Ike in 2008 and Yarbrough says a difference is that Ike passed through quickly while Harvey will linger and drop substantial rainfall.

He says utility lines and other infrastructure have been upgraded since 2008 to withstand a Category 5 hurricane. Harvey is forecast to become a Category 3 by the time it makes landfall.
NEW YORK  Its not just about Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson.

The national soul-searching over whether to take down monuments to the Confederacys demigods has extended to other historical figures accused of wrongdoing, including Christopher Columbus (brutality toward Native Americans), the man for whom Bostons Faneuil Hall is named (slave trader) and former Philadelphia Mayor Frank Rizzo (bigotry).

Historians interviewed by The Associated Press offered varying thoughts about where exactly the line should be drawn in judging someones statue-worthiness, but they agreed on one thing: Scrapping a monument is not a decision that should be made in haste during political fervor.

If we do this in some willy-nilly way, we will regret it, cautioned Yale University historian David Blight, an expert on slavery. I am very wary of a rush to judgment about what we hate and what we love and what we despise and what were offended by.

Blight and other historians say the way to determine whether to remove these monuments, Confederate or otherwise, is through discussions that weigh many factors, among them: the reason behind when and why the monument was built. Where its placed. The subjects contribution to society weighed against the alleged wrongdoing. Historical significance. And the artistic value of the monument itself.

Some historians also say a statue in a public place can serve an important educational purpose, even if the history is ugly, that might be lost if the monument were junked or consigned to a museum.

By taking monuments down or hiding them away, we facilitate forgetting, said Alfred Brophy, a law professor at the University of Alabama who has been studying the issue. It purchases absolution too inexpensively. There is a value in owning our history.

Monuments to Confederate-era figures have been slowly coming down around the country since the 2015 fatal shooting of nine black parishioners at a church in Charleston, South Carolina, by a 23-year-old white racist. But after the violence that erupted in Charlottesville, Virginia, this month during a white-supremacist protest against the removal of a Lee statue, the movement picked up steam.

In New York, Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio ordered a 90-day review of symbols of hate on city property, arguing that one of the first that should go is a plaque to Philippe Petain, a World War I hero later convicted of treason for heading the collaborationist Vichy government in Nazi-occupied France during World War II.

Activists in New York and San Jose, California, are targeting statues of Columbus, who is seen as a hero to many, particularly Italian-Americans, but a murderous colonizer to Native Americans and others.

Some question where will it end. If New Yorks 76-foot (23-meter) Columbus statue is removed, then what about Columbus Circle, where it stands? And the Columbus Day holiday?

Universities, too, are removing statues. Stockton University in New Jersey pulled a bust of its namesake Richard Stockton, a slave owner who signed the Declaration of Independence.

In Boston, an advocacy group wants to rename Faneuil Hall, the Colonial meeting place nicknamed the Cradle of Liberty, because merchant Peter Faneuil had ties to the slave trade. In Philadelphia, a city councilwoman is leading the push to take down a likeness of Rizzo, the tough-on-crime mayor and police commissioner during the 1960s and 70s who reigned over a police force widely seen as brutal and racist.

Also under scrutiny is a monument in New Yorks Central Park to J. Marion Sims, a 19th-century physician who developed pioneering techniques in gynecology by operating on slave women.

Dr. Vanessa Gamble, a professor at George Washington University who teaches a course on racism in medicine, said if people in the heavily minority East Harlem neighborhood where the statue stands want it moved, that would be OK. But she said she doesnt want to see it hidden away or destroyed because that would be a missed opportunity to educate the public.

Its important to have a discussion about Sims, she said. One thing I hope will start to happen is that some of the conversation around the statue gets people to think about racism in the history of medicine.

In New Mexico, a statue of Spanish conquistador Juan de Onate is under attack because he was said to be ruthless in controlling the native population. In Chicago, protesters want to remove a likeness of aviator Italo Balbo because it was a gift from Italian dictator Benito Mussolini.

Some historians say the debate itself is a good thing.

I find it very exciting and refreshing that Americans are revisiting their history and questioning just why we honor some people, some events, and not others, said Don Doyle, a professor of history at the University of South Carolina. It is a healthy reminder that history, as the search for understanding of the past, must always challenge public history as monuments and hero worship in the public sphere.

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Associated Press writer Karen Matthews contributed to this report.
Copyright  2017 Albuquerque Journal

SANTA FE  New Mexico may have dodged a bullet  if not a few bruises to its reputation  after a high-profile mistake in state bond refinancing.

Members of the state Board of Finance signed off Friday on a plan to reinvest roughly $80 million in general obligation bonds that had been called by the state this summer earlier than allowable.

Board members and outside financial experts both said the error  which was discovered after a June bond sale  is not expected to affect investors or the states bond rating, and state bond attorneys and financial advisers said they wont charge any more money to fix it.

In fact, the state could still end up making between $1.6 million to $3.5 million on the bonds, according to the state Department of Finance and Administration.

However, at least one board member acknowledged losing sleep over the matter, which received national attention in recent days from investor publications. The boards financial adviser also expressed remorse for the situation.

We wish we werent here, said David Paul, a Colorado-based financial adviser with Fiscal Strategies Group, during Fridays special meeting at the state Capitol. We made a mistake, and we take responsibility.

The Board of Finance in June authorized refunding $79.8 million of 2015 general obligation bonds in an attempt to generate cost savings. But that maneuver was not yet allowable under the 2015 bond issues terms.

Among others, two outside financial advisory firms and three lawyers did not catch the mistake, which apparently stemmed from confusion surrounding a since-corrected wording error on the 2015 general obligation bond issues official statement.

Three elected state officials  Gov. Susana Martinez, Lt. Gov. John Sanchez and Treasurer Tim Eichenberg  serve on the state Board of Finance. None of the three was present for Fridays meeting, though Martinez participated via telephone.

The credit fix approved on a 4-0 vote calls for the money in question to be invested in tax-free bonds. It could also be used to buy 2018 severance tax bonds, which would put the state in the strange situation of purchasing its own bonds.

However, several state bond attorneys and advisers indicated Friday they had informally been in touch with the Internal Revenue Service about the plan and expected it to pass muster with the federal tax agency.

I think we got lucky in this situation it got caught right away, board member Adelmo Del Archuleta of Albuquerque said during Fridays meeting.

While several board members praised how bond attorneys and advisers responded to the mistake, a waiver approved Friday did not absolve the firms of liability. But a state finance department spokesman said there were no plans at this time to pursue legal claims in the matter.
TAOS  After decades of discussion, controversy and litigation, Taos officials threw a party Friday to celebrate a new, longer runway and expansion at the municipal airport north of town.

Town leaders hailed the $26 million project as a boon for tourism and economic development, and much more.

This isnt just an airport runway, Mayor Dan Barrone said. The project is about new economic opportunities and partnerships that will increase accessibility between Taos and the world, between Taos and new tourism opportunities.

Work on the 1-mile runway, which is perpendicular to the single pre-existing landing strip, started in 2015. Discussion of the project began about 25 years ago.

The new runway, about 3,000 feet longer than the old one, is intended to increase the number of planes that can land and improve safety at an airport known for windy conditions at high altitude on the Taos mesa.

Federal Aviation Administration administrator Michael Huerta said at Fridays event that the second runway would help pilots during blustery conditions by providing a second option depending on which way the wind is blowing. The longer runway also makes it easier for all aircraft to land in varying weather conditions, he said. The federal government provided most of the funding for the expansion.

For me, this is one of the most satisfying projects weve completed during my tenure with the agency, Huerta said. Because an airport is, in a sense, a treasure. Its a lifeblood of a community, an asset that leverages so many different things.

In addition to private planes, Barrone said users will include aircraft for fighting wildfires, search-and-rescue teams and transporting patients. Because of this project, lives will be saved, the mayor said.

Opponents maintain that more airplanes mean more pollution and lower property values and that the airport will benefit only the wealthy with private planes, including part-time residents whose increasing numbers erode local culture. About two years ago, a state court judge rejected a challenge to the airport plans and how they was approved by Taos County. But opponents have gone to the New Mexico Court of Appeals, which has agreed to hear the case.

Barrone said the new runway represents fulfillment of a sacred pledge to keep air traffic away from Taos Pueblo, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Drummers and dancers from Taos Pueblo were present for Fridays celebration, but pueblo officials did not attend. They had long opposed airport expansion but supported the project following an agreement that planes cant fly lower than 5,000 feet over pueblo land.

The airport sees an average of 400 or 500 flights per month. Airport manager John Thompson said the FAA estimates the number of flights will increase 5 percent annually for the next five years.

Thompson said within the next three years, the airport would like to start using the new runway for small, commercial flights.

Barrone said local officials would like to see flights connecting to Santa Fe and Denver, to help attract national and international travelers.

Mike Garcia, the project engineer, said he hopes the town will help those still apprehensive about the runway see its benefits for the entire community. Now that its done, I hope it helps bring the community together  I hope the community starts to accept it, Garcia said.
A grandmother who serves children at a local elementary school, a city employee who helped save the life of a dog hit by a car, and a police officer who used his own money to replace stolen bicycles for two distraught children were recognized by the Mayors Office Friday for their unselfish acts.

 Evelina Gonzalez was named Albuquerques Volunteer of the Month for making sure students at Inez Elementary School, where her grandson attended school, had enough to eat during weekends.

She began volunteering in her grandsons classroom by performing simple tasks such as making copies and helping with any other classroom needs. When the school partnered with Childrens Choice Child Care Services, Gonzalez began volunteering with the organizations before and after school programs.

Later, she helped spearhead the schools Weekend Food Backpack program, organizing and packing about 50 backpacks weekly with two breakfasts, two lunches and additional snacks for each child in a family. Now retired after working 40 years at Central New Mexico Community College, Gonzalez has donated more than 1,400 hours in the last three years.

 Elizabeth Jones, an accountant in the citys Environmental Health Department, was named this weeks Good Samaritan.

While en route to work last month, Jones came upon a badly injured dog in the middle of Comanche west of moon. The German shepherd was apparently hit by a vehicle. Even as other cars passed by, Jones stopped. A passing jogger helped her lift the large animal into her car, which she drove to a nearby veterinary hospital. Later in the day, Jones called the hospital to check on the dogs status and learned that the veterinary staff was able to save its life. Because the dog had been microchipped, the staff was also able to located the dogs owners.

 Albuquerque police officer Paul Haugh recognized a young brother and sister who were distraught as they stood in front of a Southeast Heights Wal-Mart. The children told the officer that they had locked up their bikes before going inside and when they returned about 20 minutes later they found that their bicycles had been stolen and only a piece of the lock remained. The 10-year police veteran had the children call a parent to pick them up, and while they were waiting, he took the children inside the store, had them pick out new bicycles and purchased them out of his own pocket, along with sturdy new locks. For that act of kindness and compassion, Haugh was named Fridays Hero.

The awards were presented in City Hall by Albuquerques Chief Administrative Officer Rob Perry, filling in for Mayor Richard Berry who was tied up with other city business.

We welcome suggestions for the daily Bright Spot. Send to newsroom@abqjournal.com.
Viacom18 has partnered with the Cell for IPR Promotion and Management (CIPAM), a professional body under the aegis of Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), to launch a sustained behaviour change and capacity building campaign around protection of proprietary content and fight against piracy.

Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) are increasingly becoming crucial drivers of social and economic growth in the 21st century. In this context, DIPP organised a three-day National Workshop on Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights from August 22 to 24, 2017. The workshop was inaugurated today by Union Minister of Home Affairs, Rajnath Singh. This workshop sought to help police officials and prosecutors across the country in understanding and appreciating the importance of their role in effective enforcement of IPRs. It also provided an opportunity to the officials to share their experiences, exchange best practices and coordinate effectively with each other.

This is not the first time that Viacom18 has been championing the cause of IPR protection. Earlier this year, along with the Bombay High Court, the media conglomerate conducted a crack-down on counterfeit merchandise of their licensed character, Dora the Explorer. This initiative was primarily targeted to protect children from hazards of using inferior quality products under their misrepresentation of them as Viacom18 Consumer Products merchandise. The company, which also owns Viacom18 Motion Pictures, had previously led a campaign against film piracy.

Speaking about this initiative, Sujeet Jain, Group General Counsel and Company Secretary, Viacom18, said, When it comes to consumption and circulation of pirated content, there is very limited knowledge about its economic and social impact. In furtherance to the National IPR Policy adopted by the Government of India and through this partnership with CIPAM, we hope to raise awareness amongst youth and children about the perils of piracy and need for the protection of IPR.

According to Rajiv Aggarwal, Joint Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, A possible solution to the problem of piracy lies in creating awareness about IPR among the masses. It is pertinent to note that one of the main objectives enshrined in the National IPR Policy is creating awareness about IPRs to build a healthy IP ecosystem in the country. We are glad that Industry is helping us in our journey of making Creative India; Innovative India. I thank Viacom18 for taking lead to rally the cause of IPR protection.

As part of the association with CIPAM, Viacom18 has created behaviour change awareness videos for kids involving the popular animated characters of its flagship kids channels Nickelodeon and Sonic, Motu-Patlu and Shiva, respectively, spreading the message of how piracy is equivalent to stealing. The campaign will see CIPAM and Viacom18 airing these videos across schools, colleges and various educational institutions, in addition to the networks kids channels, to educate young minds on the ills of piracy.
Actor Sara Arfeen Khan, who is seen in the show Love Ka Hai Intezaar, says that she has never tried to rate herself as an actor. She says that instead of judging her acting abilities, she has always concentrated on improving them. I cannot rate myself. I think it's the fans and the audience's job to rate an actor. I would say that I am getting better by the day but there's always room for improvement, says the actor, who is seen alongside Keith Sequeira and Sanjeeda Sheikh in the show.

Talking about working with them, she says, My co-actors Keith and Sanjeeda are fantastic. Sanjeeda and I don't get a chance to shoot quite often but she's amazing. Every time we are shooting, we have so much fun and mastiit's unbelievable! About Keith, all I can say is that he is mad. We are always with each other. I love both of them to bits.

Sara never wanted to play a stereotypical version of a vamp and her character in Love Ka Hai Intezaar is exactly the type of role she was looking for. Love Ka Hai Intezaar fetched me a lot of appreciation and I completely credit Siddharth P Malhotra for this. I did not believe in the role as much as he did. Playing the character of Vijayalakshmi was and is very challenging. I didn't want to play an out-and-out negative character with the stern face. On the show, I am still a princess and I still have a soft tone, but my character is negative. It's a combination of these factors, she says.

Ask her about the kind of roles she wants to play in the future, and she says, I have got too many in my mind to decide. I loved Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy. Also, Sri Devi was amazing in Sadma. So maybe something like that.

She also looks up to talk show host and actor Oprah Winfrey for inspiration. I admire Oprah Winfrey as she has had the most challenging life, but has come out stronger. She's become an inspiration as she has fought through all the challenges and is a true hero. I really admire and salute that woman, she says.

Where Bollywood is concerned, she likes actor Hrithik Roshan. Hrithik Roshan is my favourite because he's a true hero on screen as well as off-screen. The challenges, in his life, have been enormous, but he has always overcome them, she says.
Maharashtra and the nation is celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi with traditional gaiety today. With this begins the festive season in India. Ganesh Mahotsav sees Bollywood stars as well as stars of the small screen join in the festivities in a big way. This year is no different. Some of Indias favourite TV stars speak about how they are celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi and what Ganpati means to them

Sourabh Raaj Jain: This will be the second time Ganpati Ji will come home. We all are very excited. Ganpati Ji will stay at my place for five days. He will be accompanied by a lot of celebrations, joy and a lot of sweets.

Ankur Nayyar: Bappa is coming over for two days at our place. I am a God fearing person, so I believe everything that happens in my life is due to His blessings. I am grateful to Bappa for everything. Ganpati festival spreads the feeling of oneness and togetherness, across religions caste and creed. Ganpati marks the beginning of everything auspicious. The other festivities also start with Ganpati.

Srishti Jain: I usually celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi with my family and close friends. The day is filled with visits to my friends and relatives houses. Bappa is the cutest and most adorable God. I think he is everyones favourite because he is portrayed as a friend more than a God. Like the movie, My Friend Ganesha. I was once performing during the festival at a function for Bappa. While I was on the stage, I almost met with a very unfortunate accident, but by Bappas grace, nothing happened. I had a strong feeling that he was protecting me. Ganpati festival for me is a day of huge celebration and people enjoying to their hearts content.

Vicky Ahuja: In Mumbai, Ganpati festival has a different kind of charisma. I eagerly wait for the festival every year. I dont get Ganpati at my place, but I will visit my friends place and temples. Since childhood, I pray to Bappa before starting anything. I feel his presence all the time, when I am working, sleeping or eating. Ganesh Chaturthi is one of the most important Hindu festivals celebrated throughout India with great devotion. Lord Ganesh is the symbol of wisdom, prosperity and good fortune.

Tarun Khanna: This will be the 6th year straight that Ganpati ji will be coming to our house. I feel blessed that I have been able to bring him home all these years. He comes for one and a half days every year. He is not only a God for us, but is a friend, brother as well as a guru. I feel his presence everywhere, especially when I see my son Adamya. Its my favourite festival. The only thing I dont like is when people block the roads for visarjan.

Juhi Parmar: I will be out for a family vacation during the Ganpati festival, so wont be able to see Mumbai decked up this year. Its great to see how people forget all their differences and unite during this festival.
The National Black MBA Association (NBMBAA) and Prospanica were joined yesterday by the Mayor of Philadelphia Jim Kenney, Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau CEO & President Julie Coker Graham, and other distinguished elected officials, and corporate leaders to welcome the 2017 Annual Conference & Exposition to the City. The joint conference will take place in Philadelphia, PA, September 26  30, 2017 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.

This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170825005650/en/

Thomas Savino (CEO Prospanica), Dyana Williams (Emcee/100.3 FM Radio Personality), Sharana Worsley (Philadelphia Chapter President NBMBAA), Mayor Jim Kenney, Natily Santos (Philadelphia Chapter President Prospanica), Jesse Tyson (CEO & President NBMBAA), Julie Coker Graham (President and CEO of the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau) (Photo: Business Wire)

Mayor Kenney offered a warm welcome from the City while sharing his excitement about the thousands of attendees from NBMBAA and Prospanica who will convene for the largest diversity career expo in the country. NBMBAA President and CEO Jesse Tyson touched on the rich history of the Philadelphia area while reflecting on the last conference held in the city in 2003 and his vision for the future. In projecting a legacy of excellence, we strive to leave an impact on our youth, as well as seasoned professionals, promoting powerful performance through leadership to keep them engaged in forward momentum, said Tyson.

Thomas Savino, President and CEO, Prospanica spoke about the need for inclusivity in the corporate landscape and the important role organizations like Prospanica and NBMBAA play to keep the message in the forefront of business leaders. Diverse employees bring to the table diverse insights that are an asset to companies across all industry categories, said Savino. I encourage our Corporate partners to continue to have an intentional approach to address Diversity and Inclusion in these three key fundamental areas: Human Resources, Consumer Outreach and Supplier Diversity - to ensure a promising future for everyone.

Julie Coker Graham, President and CEO of the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau stated the citys hospitality industry is ready to welcome attendees with a projected $10.3 million economic impact of the conference to the region.

Final remarks were from the host city Chapter Presidents, Sharana Worsley (Philadelphia NBMBAA) and Natily Santos (Philadelphia Prospanica) who shared individual chapter achievements, corporate chapter sponsor acknowledgements and anticipation for the upcoming conference.

Guests in attendance at the press conference included Greg DeShields, Executive Director at PHL Diversity Multicultural Affairs; Harold Epps, Director of Commerce; Dominique Casimir, Philadelphia Department of Public Property; JoAnne Epps, Temple University Provost and 2017 Conference Honorary Co-Chair; Anh Trieu, Comcast; Yocasta Lora, AARP; Leslie Wood, Campbell Soup Company; Louis Rodriguez, Greater Philadelphia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Monica Burch, Citizens Bank.

The press conference was emceed by Philadelphia veteran radio personality and host of Soulful Sunday on 100.3 WRNB-FM, Dyana Williams, who highlighted new and featured conference programs, events and speakers which include:

A Career Expo that will feature over 300 corporations searching for qualified diverse talent for a broad range of opportunities for all career levels

The inaugural Higher Education Expo for high school students that will connect them to various collegiate and resource partners to assist with college preparation

The Scale-Up Pitch Challenge sponsored by FedEx which is a business pitch competition with a top prize of $50,000

Various fundraisers like the Leaders of Tomorrow 5K Charity Walk in partnership with Black Girls Run, Leaders of Tomorrow Charity Poker Tournament, the Impact Awards hosted by award-winning broadcast journalist, Tamron Hall, and the Prospanica Annual Brillante Gala.

This years Conference theme The Power of Performance: Leadership at The Next Level, will offer a myriad of opportunities designed to increase access to careers in management, educate and build entrepreneurs, sharpen and enhance leadership skills, and help attendees secure career opportunities. Confirmed speakers include author, world-renowned speaker Dr. Eric Thomas; Dan Pallotta, popular TED Speaker and author of Uncharitable, Arne Sorenson, President and CEO, Marriott International, Inc., and many others.

For a full list of sessions, speakers, events and registration information visit: www.nbmbaa.org/conference or www.prospanicaconference.org.

Conference media credentials can be requested at: https://nbmbaa.org/media-application/.

About National Black MBA Association (NBMBAA)

NBMBAA is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) professional member-based organization which leads in the creation of educational and career opportunities for black professionals. Representing more than 9,800 members within 45 professional chapters, 33 Leaders of Tomorrow (LOT) chapters, and 300+ corporate and university partners, the organization is dedicated to developing partnerships that create intellectual and economic wealth in the Black community through its five channels of engagement: career, education, entrepreneurship, leadership and lifestyle. For more information, visit www.nbmbaa.org.

About Prospanica

Prospanica, is the non-profit organization dedicated to empowering Hispanics to reach their full educational, economic, and social potential. Founded in 1988 as the National Society of Hispanic MBAs (NSHMBA), Prospanica is The Association of Hispanic Professionals with more than 46 Professional and University Chapters across the U.S. and Puerto Rico dedicated to help professionals, graduate and undergraduate business students, entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 partners build on connections and career development to fortify the Hispanic workforce. For more information, visit www.prospanica.org.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170825005650/en/

for National Black MBA Association

LaTonya Story, 757-696-2349

LaTonya@m320consultinggroup.com

or

for Prospanica

Sami Haiman-Marrero, 917-589-4229

shaiman@urbander.com
Android Pay now supports 17 more banks and credit unions in the United States, with Google expanding the compatibility list of its mobile payments service earlier this week. As is usually the case, the Alphabet-owned Internet giant didnt draw attention to Android Pays newly expanded availability in any particularly high-profile manner and has instead simply updated the platforms list of supported financial institutions. The newly supported banks include the Bank of Milton, Commercial State Bank, EagleBank, Centennial Bank, Hills Bank and Trust Company, and the Peoples Bank of East Tennessee. Other financial institutions that can now issue credit or debit cards compatible with Android Pay are the Peach State Federal Credit Union, Credit Union ONE, Stanford Federal Credit Union, American Eagle Financial Credit Union, and the Gerber Federal Credit Union. Finally, the Google-made mobile payments solution now also supports (some) cards from the State Bank Financial, Fifth District Savings Bank, mBank, Firstrust Bank, Farmers National Bank, and the Huntington National Bank, the company revealed.

Ever since debuting Android Pay in September 2015, Google has been hard at work expanding the global availability of its service, with the company placing a particularly large focus on the United States, its home country and one of the worlds largest markets for contactless payments on the planet. The Mountain View, California-based tech giant is expected to continue pursuing this product expansion strategy in the medium term, according to some industry watchers.

Android Pay is still expanding its worldwide reach to this date and has just recently debuted in Spain, boasting support for over a million stores in the European country. By the end of the year, the service is also set to be launched in Brazil, South Korea, and India, with the latter being one of Googles potentially largest markets, with the recent demonetization of some popular banknotes prompting a significant rise in the popularity of contactless payments solutions in the South Asian country. Android Pay also made its way to Russia, Belgium, Taiwan, and Canada earlier this year, and apart from the three aforementioned markets, Google has yet to share more details regarding its future expansion plans for the service thats seeking to position itself as a more versatile competitor to Samsung Pay, Apple Pay, and similar platforms.
The Chromebook market still continues to be a booming market and it is expected that a number of new options will become available over the next few months. In fact, ASUS just recently announced the launch of a new Chromebook, the Chromebook 11 C771. This is one designed to be a rugged and decent spec device with a price tag of $279.99 in the US. However, this option has yet to become available to buy. So for those looking for a new Chromebook right now, here are our top 10 best Chromebook choices for August 2017.

10. ASUS Chromebook Flip

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By any measurement, the ASUS Chromebook Flip is an old Chromebook. In fact, ASUS is preparing to release an updated version of this Chromebook soon. Until that happens though, the Chromebook Flip manages to secure its position on this list. The reason this one has proven to be such a popular option is a combination of its size, its specs, and its general build quality. First off, this is a Chromebook which is more similar in size to a tablet than anything else. Likewise, the Flip was one of the first Chromebooks to really bring rotating hinges to the Chromebook market, resulting in a very small and portable, yet flexible Chromebook. Add to that a decent spec list, and a price below $300, and the Chromebook Flip continues to be a winner.

In terms of those specs, the ASUS Chromebook Flip features a 10.1-inch display along with a 1280 x 800 resolution. Inside, the Chromebook Flip comes loaded with either 2GB or 4GB RAM, 16GB or 32GB storage, and a Rockchip (RK3288) processor. In terms of the price, the Chromebook Flip can currently be picked up for just under $240.

9. Lenovo Chromebook 100s

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The Lenovo Chromebook 100s is all about offering a Chromebook which although basic and entry-level, is reliable. So if you are in the market for a Chromebook that wont break the bank, but one which still give you access to all the main Chrome OS features, then this really is a great option to consider. It is priced below the $200 marker and for that price, offers a decent level of specs and will perform to a very good degree. Of course, this sort of Chromebook is missing many of the features you will find on the other options on this list, but if do not need those extra features, specs, or perks, then why pay for them? This one will get the job done and for a much cheaper price.

In terms of those specs, the Lenovo Chromebook 100s features an 11.6-inch display along with a 1366 x 768 resolution. Inside, the Chromebook 100s comes loaded with 2GB RAM, 16GB internal storage, and powered by an Intel Celeron (N2840) processor.

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8. Acer Chromebook 11 CB3-131

The Acer Chromebook 11 CB3-131 is essentially the same Chromebook as the Lennovo Chromebook 100s. While there are differences, they are so irrelevant that to the average consumer, these two are identical units. Which does mean that their price normally dictates which is the better option to currently go with. On that note, this month sees the Chromebook 11 the better option as it is currently available to buy for only $168.49. Which is a really good price for what is a solid and reliable entry-level option.

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As mentioned, this is an almost identical Chromebook to the last option and this is best seen in the listed specs. As the Chromebook 11 also features an 11.6-inch display along with a 1366 x 768 resolution. In addition to 2GB RAM, 16GB storage, and an Intel Celeron (N2840) processor.

7. Samsung Chromebook 3

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Following in the footsteps of the last two options, the Samsung Chromebook 3 is another one that places affordability as its main selling point. Especially considering this one can currently be picked up from as low as $166. So while you should not be expecting a fully-featured or uniquely-designed Chromebook, what you can expect is a bargain of a device. One that provides you with access to everything good about Chrome OS, at a price that makes the Chromebook 3 from Samsung, almost an impulse buy. In fact, for those who are looking for slightly more premium specs, Samsung also offers the Chromebook 3 in a higher spec version. You will pay more for that version, but in reality, not that much, as both models are super highly affordable.

In terms of the specs, the baseline model comes loaded with an 11.6-inch display along with a 1366 x 768 resolution. In addition to 2GB RAM (premium version boasts 4GB RAM), 16GB internal storage, and a Intel Celeron N3050 processor.

6. Lenovo Flex 11 Chromebook

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Compared to the last few options, the Lenovo Flex 11 Chromebook is a completely different Chromebook. This one ups the price considerably and in return, looks to provide a more powerful machine, housed within a significantly more durable body. The screen on offer here is the same as the last few options (measuring in at 11.6-inches, along with a 1366 x 767 resolution), but that is about it as the rest of the specs include 4GB RAM, 32GB storage, and a MediaTek 8173C processor.

However, where this Chromebook really stands out is in the durability department. This is a Chromebook that places its ruggedness first, and as such is almost guaranteed to withstand the perils of daily life. The downside is that it is not quite as attractive as some of the other options. That said, if you are looking for a solid Chromebook for the student in your life, this is likely to be one worth considering. In terms of the price, the Lenovo Flex 11 Chromebook is a fairly new Chromebook and its price has remained static at $279.99 since launch.

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5. Lenovo ThinkPad 13

Up next is another Lenovo option and although this one is older (and more expensive) than the Flex 11, it is a better machine. Its build quality is not quite up to par as the Flex 11 (few Chromebooks can rival that one on durability), but what you are getting here is a very good mix of build, specs, and features. Not to mention this is one of the first Chromebooks on this list to surpass the 12-inch display marker. Making this a more suitable option for those looking for more screen real estate. In fact, the ThinkPad 13 comes equipped with a 13.3-inch display.

When it comes to this Chromebook, there are actually a few configurations available although right now one of the better choices is currently available for $359.99. This version comes equipped with 4GB RAM, 16GB storage, and is powered by an Intel Core i3 processor. It is also worth noting that this particular model features an upgraded 1920 x 1080 resolution as well  something not on offer with the cheaper versions of the ThinkPad 13. So if you are looking for an all-round solid option, and at a good price, this is one to check out.

4. Acer Chromebook R 13

As we come down the list, the one commonality is that the price starts to go up. The latest Lenovo option was an example of this trend and so is the Acer Chromebook R 13, as this is not necessarily designed to be an affordable Chromebook and instead one which places its focus on its design. So if you are looking for an ultra-sleek Chromebook then the R 13 is worth considering. Like the last Lenovo option, this one also comes with a 13.3-inch display, and again with an upgraded 1920 x 1080 resolution. Inside, this ones also comes loaded with 4GB RAM 32GB storage, and a MediaTek (MT8173C) quad-core processor.

However, where this one differs from the last Lenovo option is that this is designed to be a flexible, yet stylish Chromebook. Mainly due to the Chromebook R 13 coming equipped with a rotating hinge which allows the unit to be manipulated into different positions. So this will be a good option for those who prefer their devices to be more accommodating to various situations. As in spite of the larger screen size, this one can adapt to be used as a tablet, in a tented mode, or in a traditional laptop mode. As for the price, the mix of premium design and build quality does result in a $389.99 price attached.

3. Acer Chromebook 14

If the flexibility of the R 13 is something that you are not particularly in need of, then the Chromebook 14 is an excellent option to consider. While this one cannot bend in quite the same way as the R 13, it does come with its own unique selling points. First off, it is more affordable. Secondly, it comes with an even larger display  as the Chromebook 14 is equipped with a 14-inch display along with a 1920 x 1080 resolution. Not to mention, the general design and build quality (excluding the rotating hinge) is almost identical to the R 13. So here you are getting the same level of product, with a larger display, at a cheaper price  in return for the absence of flexibility.

As for the rest of the specs, the Acer Chromebook 14 comes equipped with 4GB RAM, 32GB storage, and an Intel Celeron N3160 processor. As for the price, right now the Chromebook 14 can be picked up for $298.89 and that price includes a free AmazonBasics wireless Mouse

2. ASUS Chromebook Flip C302

If you are looking for an even better Chromebook, then the Chromebook Flip C302 from ASUS is just about as good as it gets. This is a direct follow up to the Chromebook Flip (number 10 on our list) and so continues to offer all the benefits of the Flip line (such as rotating hinge, flexibility, design), but throws in a number of improvements for good measure. One of the most obvious is an increase in the display size as the other Flip model is much more tablet-sized compared to this one. In contrast, this new Flip features a 12.5-inch display along with a 1920 x 1080 resolution.

That is not where the upgrades end however, as the Flip C302 also comes loaded with 4GB RAM, 64GB internal storage, and is powered by an Intel Core m3 processor. Making this much more of a powerhouse compared to the rest of the option on this list so far. Although, such improvements do come at a cost and this is one of the most expensive Chromebooks currently on the market as it will set you back $469 to buy. That said, it is worth it.

1. Samsung Chromebook Plus/Pro

Maintaining the number one position for another month is the latest Chromebook from Samsung. Technically speaking, this a joint number one position as Samsung released this Chromebook in two flavors, a Plus model and a Pro model. Generally speaking, much of what is on offer is interchangeable between the two and so you can expect a like experience regardless of option chosen. Although the Pro model does look to be the more powerful model due to it drawing on a better processor. Which is important as this is designed to be a super feature-rich Chromebook which can do more than your average Chromebook. So having that extra power with the Pro model will be worth it to some.

Processor aside and both models come with a superb spec list including a 12.3-inch display along with a 2400 x 1600 resolution. In addition to 4GB RAM, 32GB storage, and more. This is without even taking into consideration the design features on offer with these models, such as a rotating hinge for use in multiple positions, a stylus for even greater functionality and control, and an interface which seems almost purpose-built for Android apps. If you are looking for a best-in-class Chromebook, then the Samsung Chromebook Plus and Pro are the ones to take a look at. However, these are expensive (by comparison) Chromebooks as they do come with a $449.99 and $549.99 price, respectively. Although both are currently on sale right now with the Chromebook Plus now available for only $399 and the Chromebook Pro currently priced at $499.99.
Woot is selling out a number of Samsung smartphones right now, which includes the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S7 family of devices. The Galaxy S6 starts at $169, the Galaxy S6 Edge starts at $249 and the Galaxy S6 Edge+ starts at $329. On the Galaxy S7 side, that starts at $279 and the Galaxy S7 Edge at $339. These are all unlocked Verizon models which will work with Verizon as well as GSM networks like AT&T and T-Mobile here in the US.

The Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 Edge and Galaxy S6 Edge+ were all announced in 2015, and were the first smartphones with Samsungs new design language. They were pretty popular devices and the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge became even more popular as Samsung iterated on that design by making them a bit thicker  getting rid of the camera bump  and giving them larger battery capacities. All of these are great devices to pick up, of course the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge are better options here since they are a year newer, but also offer up a micro SD card slot so users are able to expand storage if they need too.

Woot does offer these devices with free shipping, so youll be able to get it in your hands fairly quickly. Theres also no taxes here, so its just $169 if you get the Galaxy S6, out the door and thats it.
Samsung Heir, Lee Jae-yong, has just been sentenced to five years in prison, following the bribery and cronyism trial that has been going on for a while now. Samsungs chairman has been found guilty of offering bribes and a number of other crimes, he has been accused of making rather large donations to foundations which are operated by a close friend of the now-former President Park Geun-hye. Samsungs chairman has been making such donations in order to gain some political favors from the former administration, the court concluded.

Now, the trial is now over, and the sentence has been proclaimed, but Mr. Lees lawyers are expected to submit an official appeal, so chances are that this case will ultimately be decided by the South Korean supreme court, and that could take a while. The 5-year sentence is actually not the worst case scenario for Mr. Lee, as prosecutors were demanding a 12-year sentence for Samsungs chairman. Mr. Lees lawyers tried to convince the court Samsung Heir had very little to do with the companys day-to-day operations, but he did approve of such donations to Ms. Parks friend, Choi Soon-sil, which made him guilty. Mr. Lee actually got arrested back in February, which is also when this trial began, and even though he claimed that he had nothing to do with such payments, the court was relentless. In the end, Mr. Lee, the third-richest person in South Korea, was accused of offering $38 million in bribes to four entities which are controlled by Choi Soon-sil, and it remains to be seen if an appeal will do any good to Mr. Lee.

For those of you who do not know, Lee Jae-yong took over control of Samsung after his father suffered a heart attack, which was back in 2014. Investors are concerned as to how will this affect the company, as his absence could shake things up, he is, after all, the leader of the company. Its also worth noting that Mr. Lees father, Lee Kun-hee, was convicted of tax evasion back in 2009, but his sentence got suspended. It remains to be seen whether this sentence will stand, or will an appeal do any good for Lee Jae-yong.
By Moses Kyeyune

Central Banks in the East African region have been asked to form synergies to combat terrorism financing and money laundering.

The call has been made by the Governor of Bank of Uganda, Prof Emmanuel Tumusiime Mutebile, at the East African Monetary Affairs Committee meeting held in Kampala on Friday morning.

The meeting held at the Central Bank was also attended by the Burundian central bank governor.

Mutebile says the region is faced with risks that come with growing use of E-currency amid inadequate regulatory measures.

The governors call comes at a time authorities in Uganda have cautioned the public against dealing in crypto currency, since it is not a legal tender and the bank has no jurisdiction over it.

Crypto currency players such as One Note and Bit-Coin are already operating in other economies, and they are increasingly penetrating the East African region.

At the same meeting, the governor has also blamed the delayed East African economic integration process on the slow economic growth among member states.

He also says that the integration has faced challenges from slow growth levels in the private sector in the face of a sharp increase of non-performing loans.

He however says that the Monitoring Affairs Committee gives an opportunity to take stoke of progress attained in steering progress on the East African Monetary Union.
Why it matters: Hurricane Harvey is expected to wallop the Texas Coast, lingering through the weekend and bringing heavy rains and catastrophic flooding. Current forecasts present a possibility of the storm returning to the Gulf and then heading to Houston  the heart of America's petrochemical industry.
As Jared Kushner walked into his most consequential meeting yet, in his Middle East peace mission, the Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said: "We know that things are difficult and complicated, but nothing is impossible in the face of good efforts."

Sounds nice. But a conga line of diplomatic grandees have tried this for decades before Kushner came onto the scene. All failed, and the gulf between the Israelis and Palestinians only widened through the Obama years. American efforts were poisoned, among other factors, by unmanageable levels of toxicity between Obama and Israeli PM Bibi Netanyahu.

Trump offers a fresh start, and has deputized the task to unconventional aides. Kushner is a New York real estate mogul, and Jason Greenblatt, a pragmatic lawyer at the Trump Organization. Neither man is an ideologue, and nor are they under any illusions about the diplomatic mountains before them.

An administration source tells us this trip is the beginning of substantive peace talks, brokered by the U.S.

Kushner met earlier today with Netanyahu, and over the course of two previous days met with key Arab leaders, who are invested in Israel and the Palestinians making a deal.

Greenblatt has spent months taking the temperature of each side. He's invested a lot of time in understanding what the Palestinians need  to the extent that some conservative pro-Israel activists in the U.S. have expressed displeasure at the respect he and Trump have shown to Abbas.

Readout from the White House: "The Palestinian Authority and the U.S. delegation had a productive meeting focused on how to begin substantive Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. Both sides agreed to continue with the U.S.-led conversations as the best way to reach a comprehensive peace deal."

Go deeper on this consequential trip, with the NYT's Declan Walsh and Peter Baker.
Linsen Li is a Chinese-born, 30-year-old specialist in advanced batteries  a postdoc in MIT's material science and engineering program. He received his Ph.D in chemistry from the University of Wisconsin, in all spending the last seven years in the U.S. His infant son, William, is an American citizen.

But he's reluctantly going home: Li tells Axios that, having received no teaching offers in the U.S., he's accepted a $65,000-a-year teaching slot at Shanghai's Jiao Tong University, along with the equivalent of a fat $900,000 in research funding, in addition to $250,000 to buy a house.

The program that grabbed him: Li is returning under China's Thousand Talents Plan, which seeks to lure back under-40 Chinese students and professionals to bolster the country's research sector. "I just don't want to think about it," Li says. "  I still would like to stay here if I find an opportunity.  I never actually worked in China. I did grow up and go to school, but I've never actually worked in China."

Why it matters: Absent a commitment to scientific research or immigration reform, the U.S. risks losing significant numbers of the foreign-born Ph.Ds and post-docs at its best universities to other nations. And this brain drain has the potential to accelerate should the White House continue its inaction on these issues.

The context: There is very little certainty around the Trump administration's plans for visa and immigration reform, making it easier for highly skilled foreign researchers and workers educated in the U.S. to be poached by offers elsewhere.

And the poachers are determined: Canada, France and China have been most open and aggressive about seeking out foreign talent studying in the United States. Financially, China's offers appear to be the most attractive.

The statistics: The Thousand Talents program is growing, funding 143 returning Chinese scientists in 2011 (out of 1,100 who applied) and 590 last year (from 3,048 applications.).

Li's case: For two years, Li has worked on one of the world's most prestigious advanced battery research teams  run by MIT scientist Yet-Ming Chiang. From there, he applied for research positions at seven U.S. institutions, and received no job offers. That's not a surprise: teaching and research positions are notoriously hard to obtain anywhere, but especially in the U.S. Li might have had a better shot at numerous American startups hungry for battery talent, but he said that, at this point in his career, he wants to try to make a splash in research.

So he turned his gaze back home: "A lot of us choose to go back because there are a lot of positions available  like hundreds of them  because the central government is investing a lot of money into this," he said.

The benefits:

Significant research investment: Li said that he'd be receiving a three-year grant worth six million yuan (about $900,000). Meanwhile, colleagues in U.S. academia are finding it increasingly difficult to fund their battery work, and have even begun to seek Chinese grants.

Financial flexibility: U.S. universities take about half of research grants as fixed overhead, sapping up funding before it reaches a scientist's hands. In China, overhead is closer to 10%, allowing more staff hiring and equipment purchases, Li said.

The negatives:

High expectations: China expects a lot from its repatriated scientists, like scientific breakthroughs and papers in high-profile publications, according to a Nature profile of the Thousand Talents Plan.

China expects a lot from its repatriated scientists, like scientific breakthroughs and papers in high-profile publications, according to a Nature profile of the Thousand Talents Plan. Reported problems with professionalism: The best Chinese universities  like Jiao Tong, where Li is headed  have research environments comparable to American institutions, but, per Nature, even the best of them can be riven with patronage, plagiarism, and academic fraud.

And it goes beyond academia: A recent Hired analysis found that the U.S. political climate has led tech companies to lose significant interest in hiring foreign workers  down 37% compared with this time last year  even as many foreign-born workers want to remain here.
25 August 2017 16:08 (UTC+04:00)

By Ali Mustafayev

Since Turkey announced its intention to ink customs deal with the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), it has prompted public and political debates regarding status of the Turkish-Armenian border.

The Turkish-Armenian border has been shut since 1993. The occupation of the Azerbaijani territories by Armenian Armed Forces, ethnic cleansing against Azerbaijanis and Yerevans claims to recognize the so-called Armenian genocide were the reasons for the closure.

Although the Foreign Ministers of Turkey and Armenia signed protocols on normalization of the ties back in 2009, Ankaras demand to free the occupied regions of Azerbaijan as a point of the agreement was refused by the Armenian side and the deal was undermined.

As Yerevan is desperately looking for different ways to get out of the isolation, the country began to dream of rapprochement with Turkey through the EEU, the member of which is Armenia.

Armenian media began to disseminate reports about soon opening of the Turkish-Armenian border -- the only land border between Turkey and the EEU customs area stressing that any deal between Turkey and the Russian-led trade bloc would have to be backed by all EEU member states, including Armenia.

Turkeys former minister for EU affairs Egemen Bags, commenting on the issue, emphasized that opening of the Turkish-Armenian border is out of the question.

Turkey will not take any steps that could hurt Azerbaijan's interests, Bags told Trend, adding that, the two countries are strategic partners.

For years, Ankara conditioned any improvement in bilateral relations with Yerevan on Armenian troop withdrawals from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijani MP Elman Nasirov believes that opinions that the treaty between Turkey and the Eurasian Union may prompt an initiative to open the Turkish-Armenian border are baseless.

Noting that the Turkish government has not yet approved signing of any customs deal with the EEU, Nasirov added that even if Turkey intends to make such a step, it doesnt mean that the border with Armenia will be opened.

It is impossible. President of Turkey Recep Tayyip has repeatedly announced that the border with Armenia will remain closed until Armenia puts an end to the occupation of Azerbaijans territories and Armenian troops are withdrawn, he said.

Nasirov reminded that Armenia's declaration of independence, the state emblem and its constitution contains territorial claims against Turkey.

Therefore, Turkey's borders with Armenia can not be opened, the MP said, noting that Armenian reports have no real basis.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding regions. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations.

Armenia still controls fifth part of Azerbaijan's territory and rejects implementing four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding districts.

More than two decades have passed since the ceasefire agreement. For all these years, the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has been supposed to find a solution by peaceful means. However, the reluctance of Armenia does not let to end the conflict and to restore peace in the South Caucasus.

--

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25 August 2017 11:44 (UTC+04:00)

By Sara Israfilbayova

Turkey, a brother nation and strategic ally of Azerbaijan, is creating a new system of money transfers, which will be launched for the first time to carry out transfers with Azerbaijan.

The Turkish side is directly involved in the development of the money transfer system, while Azerbaijan provides advisory services and gives its recommendations, a source in the Azerbaijani postal communication market told Trend.

Currently, various money transfer systems are used between the two countries. The very project stipulates creation of a fundamentally new system of remittances that meets the international standards, which is initially intended for use between the two countries, the source said.

The source added that in the future the system also can be extended to other countries.

Turkey was the first state to recognize Azerbaijan's independence in 1991 and has been a staunch supporter of Azerbaijan in its efforts to consolidate its independence, preserve its territorial integrity and realize its economic potential arising from the rich natural resources of the Caspian Sea.

The trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Turkey amounted to $552.69 million in January-March of 2017, according to the State Customs Committee of Azerbaijan.

The two sides plan to create the Joint Committee on Customs Issues.

The Joint Committee will coordinate the cooperation in the customs sphere between the two countries, determine the directions for the development of this sphere, facilitate the simplification of customs procedures and promote the introduction of new technologies to enhance the effectiveness of customs control.

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25 August 2017 12:39 (UTC+04:00)

By Amina Nazarli

Azerbaijan, taking credit for being one of the worlds oldest wine growing countries, intends to expand the export of wine to China, the world's second-largest economy.

The issue was the key topic of talks between local winemakers and the trade representative of Azerbaijan in China, Teymur Nadiroglu.

Nadiroglu informed entrepreneurs about the Chinese wine market, noting that the potential of Azerbaijani wine supplies to China is very high.

Last year, Azerbaijani companies agreed to deliver 500,000 bottles of wine to the country. The agreement was reached within the framework of participation of Azerbaijani entrepreneurs in international exhibitions in Hong Kong and Guangzhou.

Foreign wine has been pleasing in Chinese market, as almost one out of five bottles opened in China is now imported from elsewhere around the world. Chinas wine import figures had been showing rapid growth in both volume and value since 2015.

Nearly 10 wineries and vineyards are engaged in wine production in Azerbaijan and more and more countries such as China are showing interest in the national brandy.

Five major wine-growing regions of the country are Shamakhi, Ismayilli, Gabala, Ganja, Tovuz. Local grape varieties in Azerbaijan include White Shani, Derbendi, Nail, Bayanshire, Gamashara, Ganja Pink, Bendi, Madrasa, Black Shani, Zeynabi, Misgali, Khindogni, Agdam Kechiemdzheyi, Tebrizi, and Marandi.

Among the grape sorts used to produce Azerbaijani wine are Pinot Noir, Rkatsiteli, Pinot Blanc, Aligote, Matrassa, Podarok Magaracha, Pervenets Magaracha, Ranni Magaracha, Doina, Viorica, and Kishmish Moldavski.

The government has devoted considerable effort to creating the Caspian Coast wine trademark and has invested heavily in advertising the brand outside Azerbaijan. The ministries of agriculture and economy are working to develop a wine culture program.

The trade with China in January-July 2017 amounted to $775.9 million, some $340.64 million of which were export to this country, according to the State Customs Committee.

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Amina Nazarli is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli

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25 August 2017 14:59 (UTC+04:00)

By Sara Israfilbayova

Representatives of the EU mission in Azerbaijan have visited the countrys regions to reveal cooperation opportunities.

The head of operations section at the mission, Jeroen Willems, and project manager Ramila Aslanova visited Tartar and Barda regions on August 22-23, with the assistance of the International Eurasia Press Fund (IEPF).

In Tartar, they met with the head of the Tartar Region Executive Power, Mustagim Mammadov, who gave detailed information on the social and economic activities in the region.

He also highly appreciated the social and humanitarian work of the IEPF in this region, located not far from the frontline.

Then the guests visited the villages of Shikhark, Hasangaya and Gapanli, bordering the Armenia-occupied territories of Tartar, familiarized with the caused damage and the destroyed infrastructure.

IEPF Head Umud Mirzayev, in turn, informed about the work done to restore the social and economic infrastructure in these areas and the programs implemented by the IEPF in war-torn territories.

The EU delegation also got acquainted with demining works in the areas close to the contact line, as well as a new residential complex built for IDPs.

In Barda, Head of the Executive Power Vidadi Isayev informed Willems and Aslanova about the socio-economic situation, measures taken to develop the regions economy and priorities in agriculture.

Mirzayev, in turn, underlined the importance of recent large-scale infrastructure projects in Barda. Later, the EU expert informed about the EU pilot project on development of entrepreneurship and cooperation in the Aran region.

Then the guests got acquainted with the activities of Agro Park and several farms and greenhouses in the region.

The EU with a total population of more than 500 million people is Azerbaijan's biggest economic partner accounting for the countrys 38 percent of foreign trade share.

Currently, the bilateral relations between the EU and Azerbaijan are regulated on the basis of an agreement on partnership and cooperation that was signed in 1996 and entered into force in 1999.

The new strategic partnership agreement should replace the 1996 partnership and cooperation agreement and should better take account of the shared objectives and challenges the EU and Azerbaijan face today.

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25 August 2017 16:20 (UTC+04:00)

By Laman Ismayilova

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov announced that if Armenian side admits that principles emphasized by Richard Hoagland are not new and they are accepting them, then substantive negotiations should be started.

Mammadyarov made the remark while talking to Azertac on a recent statement of the United States co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, Richard Hoagland, on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution.

The L'Aquile, Muskoka and Los Cabos statements by the Presidents of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries reflected the key elements of a step-by-step settlement of the conflict on the basis of the Helsinki Final Act, said Mammadyarov.

These elements also constitute the fundamental basis of the updated Madrid principles. The same principles have been also emphasized by the United States co-chair, Richard Hoagland. The very first step in the sequence of principles, which are complementary to one another, is the withdrawal of Armenias troops from the occupied territories around the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. With the elimination of the fact of occupation, return of internally displaced persons to their native lands and implementation of necessary security measures should be ensured. It should also be noted that Armenia does not implement the demands of the relevant UN Security Council resolutions on the conflict.

Hoagland, addressing a round-table in Washington on August 24, stressed that territorial integrity is an important part of the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

There can be no settlement without respect for Azerbaijans sovereignty and the recognition that sovereignty over these territories must be restored, he said.

The statement caused serious concern and panic in Armenia's political leadership. There were voiced statements that are contradictory at different levels and one denies another one. Lately, Armenian officials stated that these principles are not new.

Mammadyarov further stressed that the Armenian people will be able to benefit from the cooperation opportunities that the conflict resolution would create.

The Azerbaijani side has repeatedly stated that it is ready for serious negotiations to change the current status quo, which is considered as an unacceptable by the Heads of State of Minsk Group Co-chair countries and to ensure the soonest settlement of the conflict and the lasting peace in the region, he said.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding regions. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations.

Armenia still controls fifth part of Azerbaijan's territory and rejects implementing four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding districts.

More than two decades have passed since the ceasefire agreement. For all these years, the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has been supposed to find a solution by peaceful means. However, the reluctance of Armenia does not let to end the conflict and to restore peace in the South Caucasus.

---

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By Stephen Wandera:

wouma@ug.nation.com

Pastors promoting hatred along religious lines have been warned to desist from the practice or face prosecution.

According to Uganda Communications Commission, head legal, Mr Abdul Salam Waiswa, the commission receives about five complaints ever week against pastors for black mail and promoting sectarianism.

There are churches that have radio stations and you find scenarios where pastors who own these stations use them for their own propaganda. They attack their opponents and incite their followers to commit crime. We have already summoned some and others are being investigated. Soon some are to be prosecuted, Waiswa said.

Speaking at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) annual general meeting in Kampala on Thursday August 24, 2017, Mr Waiswa said according to the Computer Misuse Act 2011, Directorate of Public Prosecution licensed UCC to prosecute computer related cases.

We have the Utilities and Standards Wildlife Court at Buganda Road where we have already prosecuted some culprits who miss use computers, Mr Waiswa noted.

Community Radio Stations proprietor Pastor Joseph Sserwadda who was elected to NAB executive declined to comment on the issue when contacted. Give time to think about it, he said.

Mr Medi Kagwa, Head Multimedia and Content UCC said the organization is to withdraw renewed licenses from operators.

All idol licenses are to be withdrawn and given to serious operators. So far about 50 operators are on the verge of losing their licenses. We are so considering issuing five years license instead of the annual license, he said. Adding, The commission is also considering to issue low frequency licenses to take care of illegally operated community radios that are run using public address systems.

Mr Kagwa said unprofessional content aired on radio and television stations is one of the biggest challenge.

Mr Ssematimba Peter Vice Chairperson NAB promised training for journalists and presenters to improve content put out to the public.

Nile Broadcasting Service Mr Kin Kariisa was re-elected Chairman. Others are Mr Bill Tibaigana (Secretary) and Ms Besty Mugamba (Treasurer), Mr Joseph Beyanga (Group), Dr Innocent Nahabwe (Digital) and Mr Charles Hamya (Pay TV).

Regional representatives elected are Mr Jimmy Okello represents (north), Mr Julius Tumusime (western), Mr Antony Wayoto (eastern) and Mr Bills Nyatiya (central).
25 August 2017 12:17 (UTC+04:00)

By Amina Nazarli

Georgia has been fighting the forest fires, which has expanded to an area of at least 20 hectares, since August 20.

High winds have caused extreme fire behavior and allowed fires to grow rapidly.

No victims have been reported so far, only property damage. The majority of holidaymakers left Borjomi Gorge, when smoke just began.

Neighboring Azerbaijan has hugely assisted in efforts to eliminate wildfires blazing in Borjomi region, in south-central Georgia.

Under the instructions of President Ilham Aliyev, 22 MES units, including one helicopter and additional two GPS helicopters with a crew of six, as well as 131 officers, were sent to the disaster zone to assist Georgia in fighting the forest fires.

Currently, the forces of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Azerbaijan continue operations of extinguishing the fires

SOCAR Georgia Petroleum, the "daughter" of the Azerbaijani state company SOCAR in Georgia, has allocated 65 tons of fuel to combat fires. The company also expressed readiness to participate in the restoration of forest areas destroyed as a result of the fires.

Azerbaijan also assists Georgia through providing images of the disaster territory, shot by the satellite Azersky, managed by "Azerkosmos" company.

The images helped to make an accurate assessment of the disaster area and the amount of damage. Space monitoring of the disaster continues.

Over the past five years, 220 forest fires have occurred in Georgia, resulting in the destruction of 1,370 hectares of forest.

--

Amina Nazarli is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli

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25 August 2017 17:04 (UTC+04:00)

Azerbaijan and Lebanon have discussed ways of developing the bilateral relations as ambassador Aghasalim Shukurov met with the speaker of the Lebanese parliament Nabih Berri.

The sides discussed prospects for improving inter-parliamentary cooperation.

The ambassador provided detailed information about Armenia's occupation of 20 percent of Azerbaijani territories, as well as the current state of negotiations to find a peaceful solution to the dispute, Azertac reported.

The two countries signed protocol for the creation of diplomatic relations in September 1992.

Baku is keen to establish relations with Lebanon in all spheres, including tourism.

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25 August 2017 11:20 (UTC+04:00)

By Sara Israfilbayova

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries intends to invite Libya and Nigeria to the next meeting of the Joint OPEC-Non-OPEC Technical Committee (JTC) or the Joint OPEC-Non-OPEC Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC).

The next JMMC Meeting is scheduled for September 22 in Vienna.

The Cartel of 14 oil nations added that the JMMC will continue to monitor other factors in the oil market and their influence on the ongoing market rebalancing process.

All options, including the possible extension of the Declaration of Cooperation beyond Q118, are left open to ensure that all efforts are made to rebalance the market for the benefit of all, the OPEC reported.

The JMMC was established following OPECs 171st Ministerial Conference Decision of 30 November 2016, and the subsequent Declaration of Cooperation made at the joint OPEC-Non-OPEC Producing Countries Ministerial Meeting held on 10 December 2016.

The meeting sow 11 (now 10) non-OPEC oil producing countries agree with the 13 (now 14) OPEC Member Countries in a concerted effort to accelerate the stabilization of the global oil market through voluntary adjustments in total production of around 1.8 million barrels per day. The deal that came into effect on 1 January 2017 was for six months.

In May 2017, the OPEDC and non-OPEC states agreed to extend the voluntary production adjustments for another nine months commencing 1 July 2017.

Libya and Nigeria were both exempted from the OPEC oil output cut deal.

The JTC earlier reported that the compliance level of OPEC and participating non-OPEC countries has dropped from 98 percent in June to 94 percent in July.

Compliance with the deal has been high so far but OPEC production hit a 2017 peak in July, in part on increased output from Libya and Nigeria.

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25 August 2017 18:32 (UTC+04:00)

By Sara Israfilbayova

Azerbaijan delivered to Turkey more than 3.34 billion cubic meters of gas in the first half of 2017, as compared to 3.25 billion cubic meters delivered in the same period of 2016.

Turkeys Energy Market Regulatory (EPDK) reported that, Azerbaijan delivered 6.48 billion cubic meters of natural gas to Turkey in 2016, against 6.17 billion cubic meters delivered in 2015.

Turkey imported 27.78 billion cubic meters of gas in January-June 2017, of which 22.27 billion cubic meters were imported through pipelines, and 5.51 billion cubic meters accounted for LNG imports.

The share of Azerbaijan in the total volume of gas imported to Turkey in the first half of the year was 12 percent.

Turkey imports gas from Azerbaijan via the South Caucasus gas pipeline also known as Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum Pipeline. Turkey has signed a contract for the annual purchase of 6.6 billion cubic meters of gas from the Azerbaijani offshore gas condensate field Shah Deniz.

The contract for development of the Shah Deniz offshore field was signed on June 4, 1996.

The shareholders in the contract are BP (operator - 28.8 percent), AzSD (10 percent), SGC Upstream (6.7 percent), Petronas (15.5 percent), Lukoil (10 percent), NIOC (10 percent) and TPAO (19 percent).

Turkey was the first state to recognize Azerbaijan's independence in 1991 and has been a staunch supporter of Azerbaijan in its efforts to consolidate its independence, preserve its territorial integrity and realize its economic potential arising from the rich natural resources of the Caspian Sea.

The trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Turkey amounted to $552.69 million in January-March of 2017, according to the State Customs Committee of Azerbaijan.

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25 August 2017 11:05 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

At least 1.148 million tourists visited Iran during the first three months of current fiscal year (March 20-June 21), Abdolreza Mohajerinejad, an official at Iran's Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization said.

The figure indicates a fall of 9.6 percent, compared to the same period of preceding year, said Mohajerinejad, the director of the Tourism Development and Planning Office of Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization, ISNA news agency reported, Aug. 23.

The fall is mostly related to the decreasing number of tourists from Iraq and Persian Gulf states, he said.

Nonetheless, the number of tourists from the EU and US visiting Iran is increasing, Mohajerinejad added.

Without unveiling the exact number of Western tourists, who visited Iran in the period, Mohajerinejad stated that, during the 15-month period from March 2016 to June 2017, their numbers rose by 56.6 percent, year-on-year.

Over 4.911 million tourists had visited Iran during the last fiscal year (ended March 20, 2017), indicating a fall by 2.5 percent year-on-year, he said.

The number of tourists from Iraq and Persian Gulf states registered a fall of 9.9 percent in the one-year period, according to Mohajerinejad.

Meanwhile, Iranian officials had announced earlier that, the number of tourists in-flow over the last year had surged by 33 percent, to reach six million visitors.

Irans annual income from tourism, over the last fiscal year, has increased by 11 percent to $8.3 billion.

The figure for the preceding year stood at $7.5 billion.

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25 August 2017 13:56 (UTC+04:00)

By Ali Mustafayev

Qatars Foreign Ministry has announced the embassy for Chad was closed in retaliation for Chads decision to cut diplomatic ties. Doha gave personnel 72 hours to leave the country.

The emirate had decided "to close the Embassy of the Republic of Chad in Doha and to give diplomats and embassy staff 72 hours to leave the country," said Qatari Foreign Minister Ahmed bin Saeed al-Rumaihi, Daily Sabah reported.

The statement was announced 24 hours after the same move was made by the African state. The Chadian Foreign Ministry announced closing of the embassy of Qatar in N'Djamena and requested the departure of the ambassador and diplomatic staff within 10 days over Dohas alleged attempt to destabilize the country through neighboring Libya.

The Qatari side added that the reason of closure of the Qatar Embassy in NDjamena is political blackmail against the State of Qatar with the intention of joining the siege countries for very well known reasons.

In early June, Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing Doha of supporting terrorist organizations and destabilizing the situation in the Middle East. Several other countries followed suit. Mauritania and Senegal also recalled their ambassadors from Qatar in June. Doha rejected the accusations.

Kuwait, acting as a mediator in the crisis, handed over the four Arab states' ultimatum containing several demands to Doha. However, Qatar refused to comply with the demands.

Senegal later decided to restore its embassy in Doha and announced willingness to cooperate in order to regulate the Gulf Conflict.

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25 August 2017 12:47 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

Turkey calls on Erbil to cancel the referendum on independence, the Turkish media quoted countrys Prime Minister Binali Yildirim as saying, on August 25.

Yildirim noted that, the decision to hold a referendum on independence of the Kurdish autonomy of Iraq is erroneous and dangerous.

Ankara stands for the integrity of Iraq, said the prime minister.

Previously, Leader of Turkeys opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Devlet Bahceli, said that in case of necessity, Turkey must perceive the realization of the independence referendum in Iraqs Kurdish Autonomous Region as a pretext for war.

He noted that, the realization of the independence referendum in Iraqs Kurdish Autonomous Region seriously damages the interests of Turkey.

Iraqs Kurdish Autonomous Region plans to hold an independence referendum on September 25. Earlier, Masoud Barzani, head of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq, had warned that opposition to the referendum would be met with a bloody war.

Ankara has repeatedly voiced its concerns over the planned independence referendum and contended that the referendum's aftermath would cause further turmoil in the region.

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25 August 2017 15:16 (UTC+04:00)

By Ali Mustafayev

Japan has announced the widening of sanctions against North Korea, which faced the UN sanctions earlier this month due to its missile tests.

The country will impose unilateral sanctions on eight foreign firms and individuals as punishment for their alleged dealings with North Korea.

The companies sanctioned by the Japanese government are suspected in cooperation with the North Korean companies and involvement in funding of the latters missile program.

Japans sanctions target six companies, including four from China and two from Namibia, and one Chinese individual and another of an unknown nationality had their Japanese assets frozen.

Tokyo has now sanctioned 72 organizations and 81 individuals for their dealings with North Korea.

Relations between Japan and the North Korea remain deteriorated for decades.

In April 2017, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced about a possibility North Korea could launch deadly chemical weapon missiles into Japan.

Ever since U.S. President Donald Trump warned Pyongyang not to carry out nuclear tests, tension has been escalating in the region. Washington urges North Korea to abandon its nuclear missile programme and refrain from provocative actions.

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula further soared higher after North Korea threatened to fire four ballistic missiles into waters just 30-40 kilometers off the U.S.-controlled Pacific island of Guam.

In response, Donald Trump warned Pyongyang saying that North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States, or they will be met with fire and the fury like the world has never seen.

Pyongyang later said it was holding off while it waited to see what Washington would do next.

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25 August 2017 18:06 (UTC+04:00)

By Ali Mustafayev

Project on re-designing of Irans Arak heavy-water reactor will be completed by 2022.

Behrouz Kamalvandi, the spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), told local media that the operations to re-design Arak heavy water reactor is proceeding in accordance with the schedule, adding that the project would finish before 2022.

He added that the re-designing of Arak reactor  which was renamed to Khandab heavy water reactor  had already entered the second phase, Press TV reported on August 25.

The heavy-water reactor in Arak is being redesigning in cooperation with China under the Joint Comprehensive Plan on Action (P5+1) signed in 2015. The reactor will be redesigned to disable its producing of weapon-grade plutonium.

Heavy-water is used in some types of nuclear reactors as a neutron inhibitor. The main future of heavy-water reactors is that they can be used to produce the weapon-grade plutonium with natural uranium.

The second plant would be made operational two years later than the first one, according to him. Kamalvandi emphasized that the project realization could generate a collective of 2,100 megawatts  1,050 megawatts each  once fully operational.

Last September, the Islamic Republic announced about launch of 10-year project to construct a new nuclear power plant with Russias help.

Russia signed a deal with Iran in 2014 to build up to eight more reactors in the country. The Islamic Republic already runs one Russian-built nuclear reactor at Bushehr, which is the countrys first nuclear energy project.

Kamalvandi further added that the construction of nuclear power plants requires an investment of at least $5 billion. The figure, he said, is at least three times higher than that required for the construction of regular plants.

The official further said that Iran burns at least two million barrels of oil each year to produce enough electricity to answer its energy needs. This, he added, would cost at least $100 million if each barrel of oil is sold at $50.

Iran and six international mediators reached an agreement on the nuclear program of Tehran in mid-July 2015. The Islamic Republic of Iran has pledged to turn the Fordo plant into a technology center, and reorganize the Arak reactor in accordance with the project of an international consortium, the spent fuel from it will be exported outside the country. Tehran also promised not to enrich uranium above 3.67 percent and limit its volume to 300 kilograms for a period of 15 years.

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25 August 2017 09:58 (UTC+04:00)

By Amina Nazarli

Once you travel to Azerbaijan be sure to visit Kish, one of the oldest villages located in the northwestern region Sheki.

The village roads are made of fluvial stone. Thats why it is recommended to wear comfortable shoes, and enjoy the majestic view. Here, fluvial stone is present everywhere. Streets, fences around the homes, and even houses are built of this beautiful stone.

The village is well known for its unique ancient Albanian temple - mother of Alban churches. This ancient monument of Azerbaijani-Albanian architecture is believed to be the oldest church in the Caucasus, founded in the 1st century by the Apostle Eliseus.

Researches show that the Kish church can be considered as one of the cradles of Christianity and embodies this country's ancient history and rich cultural heritage through the centuries.

For centuries, the church functioned as a spiritual center and place for enlightenment for people of the East.

The tiny village populated with some 6,000 inhabitants may not impress you at first glance. However, just walk the quiet cobble-stoned streets to the Kish church to see a captivated perspective against a background of lofty mountains.

A steep but manageable climb up to the church, beautiful quiet setting with some amazing views all around definitely deserves it.

This temple attracted famous Norwegian explorer and scientist Thor Heyerdahl in 2000. Study, restoration and conversion of the ancient church started the same year and finalized in 2003 jointly by Norway and Azerbaijan.

Nowadays, the church is functioning as a museum that is open for all the curious tourists. About 10,000 tourists from Russia, Spain, Italy, Germany and Arab countries visited the church just since early 2017, said Ilhama Huseynova, the Director of Kish Historical and Architectural Reserve.

The Kish Alban temple was included in the list of world-wide monuments by the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan dated August 2, 2001 and protected by the state as a historical and architectural monument. In 2003, the Historical-Architectural Reserve Museum was established in the area of the temple.

--

Amina Nazarli is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli

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By Kyeyune Moses:

Government is considering new regulations which will prohibit street vending of simcards, and telecom companies will face sanctions on every active unregistered cards.

According to the Minister of Security, Rtd Maj Gen Henry Tumukunde, the regulations have been benchmarked from Nigeria and Kenya.

Nigeria recently slapped a fine of 1000 USD to telecom companies on each unregistered simcards in use, while in Kenya Communications Authority has set fines to a tune of Ksh 100,000 (USh 3.4 Million) or a six months jail term for using an unregistered simcards.

Gen Tumukunde who has been appearing before Parliaments Committee on Information and Communications Technology says that if the new regulations are adopted, the country might be saved from escalating levels of crime.
The biomarker, MMP10 protein, can be identified using a simple immuno histochemical analysis, a method to locate proteins in tissue sections.

Researchers at the Tata Memorial Centre in Mumbai have identified a biomarker that will help doctors decide whether patients with early-stage tongue cancer should undergo neck surgery to remove 20-30 lymph nodes. Patients negative for the biomarker can be spared of neck dissection.

In the absence of a reliable biomarker capable of pointing out in which patients the disease will recur, doctors routinely remove the affected part of the tongue and the lymph nodes in all patients with early-stage tongue cancer.

The biomarker, MMP10 protein, can be identified using a simple immuno histochemical analysis, a method to locate proteins in tissue sections. Only those patients who have higher level of this protein are likely to have cancer spread to the lymph nodes. So the biomarker will help doctors to decide which patients could be spared of complex surgeries to remove the lymph nodes.

The research team would be further validating these findings using a higher sample size for the next trial.
Opinion | 04 November 2022 | Interviews

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By Ruth Anderah:

Judicial work has for the second time come to a standstill, this time after all judges and magistrates across the country commenced their industrial action in protest against what they call the continued marginalization of the judiciary as the third arm of government.

According to the president of the Uganda Judicial Officers Association Godfrey Kaweesa, this is exhibited in the poor welfare and low salaries that they earn.

He says the strike is indefinite until a general meeting is reconvened for judicial officers to deliberate on the next course of action.

Kaweesa adds that the administrative circulars issued yesterday by the Chief Justice Bart Katureebe and Chief Registrar Paul Gadenya cannot vacate the judicial officers resolution from the July 22 meeting.

The judges, registrars and magistrates are demanding for salary increments and other benefits including security, medical insurance and housing allowances.

This is the second time judicial work is paralysed, the first one being 2 months ago when all state prosecutors including the DPP laid down their tools due to low salaries.

These have however since resumed duty after government committed in writing to increase their salaries.

Meanwhile, at the Anti-corruption Court in Kampala, prison authorities have sent suspects back to prison.

The situation is not any different in other parts of the country like Masaka, Lyantonde and Jinja where court rooms have remained deserted.

However, at the High Court Kampala, the head of the Criminal Division Wilson Kwesiga has defied the resolution to strike.

In a related development, the Foundation for Human Rights Initiative has called on government to urgently address the concerns of the Judiciary.

Speaking to KFM, the foundations executive director Dr. Livingstone Ssewanyana says its high time government prioritized the judiciary arguing that failure to do so undermines timely delivery of justice.
Modified On Aug 31, 2017 07:13 PM By Raunak for Hyundai Verna 2017-2020

Does the slight hike in prices for the all new 2017 Verna justified? Lets take a look

The Hyundai Verna is back in an all-new avatar. The Korean manufacturer has managed to price the all new sedan at more or less the same price range as the previous version. Yes, Hyundai has rearranged some of the variants, especially the automatics, and also removed a few features offered earlier. However, they have added plenty more to elevate the Vernas packaging. In fact, until the new 2017 Verna came around, some of these features such as the ventilated front seats and smart trunk could only be found in sedans from a segment above. Now, lets do a variant-by-variant price comparison to see if the slight hike in prices (Rs 3000 - 60,000) is justified.

Hyundai Verna E vs Old Verna Base

Price Petrol (ex-showroom New Delhi)

Old model: Verna 1.4-litre Base Rs 7.84 lakh (manual) New Model: Verna 1.6-litre E Rs 7.99 lakh (manual ) Difference Rs 15,000

Price Diesel (ex-showroom New Delhi)

Old model: Verna 1.4-litre Base Rs 9.06 lakh (manual) New Model: Verna 1.6-litre E: Rs 9.19 lakh (manual) Difference Rs 13,000

The previous Vernas range starter model had a 1.4-litre petrol and diesel engine and was referred to as just Base. Now, Hyundai has ditched both the 1.4-litre engines altogether (at least for now) and only the larger 1.6-litre petrol and diesel motors are available.

For a premium of roughly around Rs 15,000, you get more powerful engines (+16PS/16Nm with the petrol engine and +38PS/40Nm with the diesel motor) than before. Further, the petrol version gets a new 6-speed manual as standard compared to the previous-gen models 5-speed manual. Though its equipment list is pretty much identical to the previous model, the former misses out on the standard Ergo-lever feature (rear seat passengers can adjust the front passenger seat to enhance legroom) of the latter, which is not offered anymore. Overall, the increase in prices seems totally justified with the new base E trims.

Hyundai Verna EX vs Old Verna 1.6 S

Price Petrol (ex-showroom New Delhi)

Old model: Verna 1.6-litre S Rs 8.80 lakh (manual) Rs 9.63 lakh (auto) New Model: Verna 1.6-litre EX Rs 9.06 lakh (manual) Rs 10.22 lakh (auto) Difference Rs 26,000 (manual) Rs 60,000 (auto)

Price Diesel (ex-showroom New Delhi)

Old model: Verna 1.6-litre S Rs 9.97 lakh (manual) Rs 10.80 lakh (auto) New Model: Verna 1.6-litre EX Rs 9.99 lakh (manual) Rs 11.39 lakh (auto) Difference Rs 3000 (manual) Rs 60,000 (auto)

Like before, the second variant in the Vernas lineup remains to be the only one that offers both manual and automatic options. While it was known as the S variant earlier, it has now been renamed as the EX.

Over the previous trim, the new Verna EX offers these extra goodies:

Speed-sensing auto door lock (was only offered with the range-topping trim earlier)

Projector fog lamps (fog lamps were not even offered with the earlier S trim variant)

Gets a 5.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system with rear camera support, Arkamys sound tuning, 4-speaker system and an Android-based remote

Rear AC vents (added for the first time)

Cruise control (added for the first time)

Front and rear USB charging

The EX misses out on three main features which were offered in what was earlier called the S trim: projector headlamps, auto dimming inside rearview mirror and Ergo lever (rear seat passengers can adjust the front passenger seat to enhance legroom). Besides these, the rest of the features are common between the two cars.

When it comes to the price difference, the diesel manual is just Rs 3,000 dearer to the older version's S trim. For that nominal price difference, however, you do get a lot more features than before. On the other hand, the petrol manual costs Rs 26,000 more than the earlier version. But for this marginal hike, you do get a 6-speed gearbox as opposed to the earlier sedans 5-speed manual.

The petrol and diesel automatic versions now ask a premium of approximately Rs 60,000. With the 2017 model, Hyundai has replaced the ancient 4-speed auto with the 6-speed automatic borrowed from the Creta and the Elantra. The new auto box appears to be relatively quick in shifting gears compared to the latter. Head over to our first drive report for detailed info: 2017 Hyundai Verna: First Drive Review.

The premium Hyundai charges for the new automatic trims and petrol manual seems appropriate considering the additional features and the new 6-speed automatic/manual transmissions offered.

Hyundai Verna SX vs Old Verna 1.6 SX

Price Petrol (ex-showroom New Delhi)

Old model: Verna 1.6-litre SX Rs 9.49 lakh (manual) Rs 10.27 lakh (auto) New Model: Verna 1.6-litre SX Rs 9.49 lakh (manual) N.A. Difference Nil (manual) N.A (*)

*SX trim doesnt get an automatic option with the new model

Price Diesel (ex-showroom, New Delhi)

Old model: Verna 1.6-litre SX Rs 10.66 lakh (manual) New Model: Verna 1.6-litre SX Rs 11.11 lakh (manual) Rs 12.61 lakh (auto) Difference Rs 45,000 (manual) N.A. (*)

*SX trim gets a diesel automatic for the first time with the new model (known as SX+)

The last two trims of the earlier sedan were also called the SX and SX (O). The new SX trim adds cornering lamps with the projector headlamps along with LED daytime running lights (a long missing feature in the Verna). You also get Hyundai's latest 7.0-inch infotainment system coupled to a 6-speaker system. The infotainment system supports Apple CarPlay and Android Auto along with MirrorLink connectivity options. The unit also boasts Arkamys sound tuning and Android-based app remote control. It has an IPS (In-plane switching) screen which offers wider viewing angles.

Even though the 2017 Verna SX petrol manual features a 6-speed gearbox and extra features, Hyundai has managed to keep the price exactly the same as the earlier version. This variant is, undoubtedly, the most bang for your buck! Further, the SX petrol automatic offered earlier is no longer available now. Compared to the last-gen model, the diesel is unusually expensive by Rs 45,000 and could have been priced slightly lower.

Theres a new top-spec diesel automatic variant added with the SX trim christened the SX+. The earlier sedan only had an SX(O) auto as its top-spec diesel-auto variant. However, both versions are priced roughly the same. The new SX+ diesel auto gets features such as sunroof, Eco Coating function (eliminates odour from the AC) and rear manual curtain, which are not offered in the SX trim.

Hyundai Verna SX (O) vs Old Verna 1.6 SX

Price Petrol (ex-showroom New Delhi)

Old model: Verna 1.6-litre SX (O) Rs 10.50 lakh (manual) New model: Verna 1.6-litre SX (O) Rs 11.08 lakh (manual) Rs 12.23 lakh (auto) Difference Rs 58,000 (manual) N.A. (*)

*There was no top-spec petrol auto before

Price Diesel (ex-showroom, New Delhi)

Old Model: Verna 1.6-litre SX (O) Rs 11.85 lakh (manual) Rs 12.62 lakh (auto) New Model: Verna 1.6-litre SX (O) Rs 12.39 lakh (manual) Difference Rs 54,000 (manual) N.A. (*)

*Theres no top-spec diesel auto now

The SX (O) is the variant, which sets the new Verna apart from not only its peers, but also the older model as well. For a premium of Rs 58,000 and Rs 54,000 for the petrol and diesel version, respectively, you get features that you would earlier find in only cars a segment above. These features include ventilated front seats, smart trunk (pops open automatically when youre in its proximity with the key in your pocket) and Eco Coating (AC odour eliminator).

Compared to the previous-gen model, you also get an electric sunroof, Auto Link (connected car app) along with rear manual curtain and luggage hooks and nets. Though it misses out on rain-sensing wipers, the premium asked by Hyundai seems appropriate for the segment-first features that the 2017 SX (O) packs. The SX (O) petrol automatic has been added for the first time, while SX (O) diesel auto has been discontinued.

Overall, the 2017 Hyundai Vernas pricing seems about right for a sedan that packs more features than the previous model. However, it must be noted that these prices are introductory offers and will be limited to the first 20,000 customers only. Expect Hyundai to announce the revised pricing in six to nine months from now.

Check out: 2017 Hyundai Verna: Variants Explained

Read More on : Hyundai Verna AMT
The Gauhati High Court, Assam has invited the application for the recruitment of candidates for the post of System Assistant on regular basis. The interested candidates can apply for the posts on or before August 28, 2017.

Candidates are requested to check for the official notification and read through the information provided in it. The candidates are requested to make sure that they are eligible to apply for the post before they send in the application.

Incomplete applications or applications that are received after the deadline will be disqualified. Candidates should know that the job location for the post of System Assistants is at Gauhati, Assam.

The Pay scale for the position is Rs.5000 to Rs.20200

Important Dates for Gauhati High Court Recruitment 2017

The last date to submit the application is August 28, 2017 5 PM

The last date to pay the application fee is September 1, 2017.

Eligibility for Gauhati High Court Recruitment 2017

Educational Qualification

The candidates must have a Bachelors of Science degree with a 1 year post graduate diploma in computer applications or science from a a recognized institution.

The candidates with BCA with 60 per cent aggregate or its equivalent can also apply.

Candidates with a diploma in polytechnic in computer science or engineering or electronics or telecommunications with 60 per cent passing marks and a 2 year experience can also apply for the positions

Age Limit

The age limit for the candidates who are applying for the recruitment is 21 years to 38 years of age

Candidates are requested to check the official notification for age relaxation rules.

The Selection Process for Gauhati High Court Recruitment 2017

The selection procedure will involve a written test, a practical test and an interview, for the recruitment process.

Application Fee for Gauhati High Court Recruitment 2017

The application fee for candidates who belong to General and unreserved categories is Rs. 360.

The application fee for candidates who belong to SC/ST?PWD categories is Rs. 180.

How to Apply for Gauhati High Court Recruitment 2017

The candidates will have to visit the official website - ghconline.gov.in

On the home page click on 'Recruitment'

Find the Recruitment notification and read it carefully

Click on New Register

Fill in the important details in the space provided.

Submit the details and note down the registration code

Fill the online application form

Upload a recent passport size photograph, signature and attach the important documents

Submit the applications

Download and take a print out for future reference

Also Read: Assam Government Recruitment 2017 for Computer Operators: Apply Now!
Strona marclaidlaw.com nie dziaa (tumy rzuciy sie na nia i zabiy serwer), ale tekst mozna przeczytac ponizej (uwaga: nazwiska zmienione zostay z powrotem na wasciwe, zeby troche przyjemniej sie to czytao... mimo bolu w sercu):



I hope this letter finds you well. I can hear your complaint already, Gordon Freeman, we have not heard from you in ages! Well, if you care to hear excuses, I have plenty, the greatest of them being Ive been in other dimensions and whatnot, unable to reach you by the usual means. This was the case until eighteen months ago, when I experienced a critical change in my circumstances, and was redeposited on these shores. In the time since, I have been able to think occasionally about how best to describe the intervening years, my years of silence. I do first apologize for the wait, and that done, hasten to finally explain (albeit briefly, quickly, and in very little detail) events following those described in my previous game (referred to herewith as Episode 2). To begin with, as you may recall from the closing paragraphs of my previous missive, the death of Eli Vance shook us all. The Resistance team was traumatized, unable to be sure how much of our plan might be compromised, and whether it made any sense to go on at all as we had intended. And yet, once Eli had been buried, we found the strength and courage to regroup. It was the strong belief of his brave daughter, the feisty Alyx Vance, that we should continue on as her father had wished. We had the Antarctic coordinates, transmitted by Eli's long-time assistant, Dr. Judith Mossman, which we believed to mark the location of the lost luxury liner Borealis. Eli had felt strongly that the Borealis should be destroyed rather than allow it to fall into the hands of the Combine. Others on our team disagreed, believing that the Borealis might hold the secret to the revolutions success. Either way, the arguments were moot until we found the vessel. Therefore, immediately after the service for Dr. Vance, Alyx and I boarded a seaplane and set off for the Antarctic; a much larger support team, mainly militia, was to follow by separate transport. It is still unclear to me exactly what brought down our little aircraft. The following hours spent traversing the frigid waste in a blizzard are also a jumbled blur, ill-remembered and poorly defined. The next thing I clearly recall is our final approach to the coordinates Dr. Mossman has provided, and where we expected to find the Borealis. What we found instead was a complex fortified installation, showing all the hallmarks of sinister Combine technology. It surrounded a large open field of ice. Of the Borealis itself there was no signor not at first. But as we stealthily infiltrated the Combine installation, we noticed a recurent, strangely coherent auroral effectas of a vast hologram fading in and out of view. This bizarre phenomenon initially seemed an effect caused by an immense Combine lensing system, Alyx and I soon realized that what we were actually seeing was the luxury liner Borealis itself, phasing in and out of existence at the focus of the Combine devices. The aliens had erected their compound to study and seize the ship whenever it materialized. What Dr. Mossman had provided were not coordinates for where the sub was located, but instead for where it was predicted to arrive. The liner was oscillating in and out of our reality, its pulses were gradually steadying, but there was no guarantee it would settle into place for longor at all. We determined that we must put ourselves into position to board it at the instant it became completely physical. At this point we were briefly detainednot captured by the Combine, as we feared at first, but by minions of our former nemesis, the conniving and duplicitous Wallace Breen. Dr. Breen was not as we had last seen himwhich is to say, he was not dead. At some point, the Combine had saved out an earlier version of his consciousness, and upon his physical demise, they had imprinted the back-up personality into a biological blank resembling an enormous grub. The Breen-grub, despite occupying a position of relative power in the Combine hierarchy, seemed nervous and frightened of me in particular. Wallace did not know how his previous incarnation, the original Dr. Breen, had died. He knew only that I was responsible. Therefore the grub treated us with great caution. Still, he soon confessed (never able to keep quiet for long) that he was herself a prisoner of the Combine. He took no pleasure from her current grotesque existence, and pleaded with us to end his life. Alyx believed that a quick death was more than Wallace Breen deserved, but for my part, I felt a modicum of pity and compassion. Out of Alyxs sight, I might have done something to hasten the grubs demise before we proceeded. Not far from where we had been detained by Dr. Breen, we found Judith Mossman being held in a Combine interrogation cell. Things were tense between Judith and Alyx, as might be imagined. Alyx blamed Judith for her fathers deathnews of which, Judith was devastated to hear for the first time. Judith tried to convince Alyx that she had been a double agent serving the resistance all along, doing only what Eli had asked of her, even though she knew it meant he risked being seen by her peersby all of usas a traitor. I was convinced; Alyx less so. But from a pragmatic point of view, we depended on Dr. Mossman; for along with the Borealis coordinates, she possessed resonance keys which would be necessary to bring the liner fully into our plane of existence. We skirmished with Combine soldiers protecting a Combine research post, then Dr. Mossman attuned the Borealis to precisely the frequencies needed to bring it into (brief) coherence. In the short time available to us, we scrambled aboard the ship, with an unknown number of Combine agents close behind. The ship cohered for only a short time, and then its oscillations resume. It was too late for our own military support, which arrived and joined the Combine forces in battle just as we rebounded between universes, once again unmoored. What happened next is even harder to explain. Alyx Vance, Dr. Mossman and myself sought control of the shipits power source, its control room, its navigation center. The liners history proved nonlinear. Years before, during the Combine invasion, various members of an earlier science team, working in the hull of a dry-docked liner situated at the Aperture Science Enrichment Center in Lake Michigan, had assembled what they called the Bootstrap Device. If it worked as intended, it would emit a field large enough to surround the ship. This field would then itself travel instantaneously to any chosen destination without having to cover the intervening space. There was no need for entry or exit portals, or any other devices; it was entirely self-contained. Unfortunately, the device had never been tested. As the Combine pushed Earth into the Seven Hour War, the aliens seized control of our most important research facilities. The staff of the Borealis , with no other wish than to keep the ship out of Combine hands, acted in desperation. The switched on the field and flung the Borealis toward the most distant destination they could target: Antarctica. What they did not realize was that the Bootstrap Device travelled in time as well as space. Nor was it limited to one time or one location. The Borealis, and the moment of its activation, were stretched across space and time, between the nearly forgotten Lake Huron of the Seven Hour War and the present day Antarctic; it was pulled taut as an elastic band, vibrating, except where at certain points along its length one could find still points, like the harmonic spots along a vibrating guitar string. One of these harmonics was where we boarded, but the string ran forward and back, in both time and space, and we were soon pulled in every direction ourselves. Time grew confused. Looking from the bridge, we could see the drydocks of Aperture Science at the moment of teleportation, just as the Combine forces closed in from land, sea and air. At the same time, we could see the Antarctic wastelands, where our friends were fighting to make their way to the protean Borealis; and in addition, glimpses of other worlds, somewhere in the future perhaps, or even in the past. Alyx grew convinced we were seeing one of the Combines central staging areas for invading other worldssuch as our own. We meanwhile fought a running battle throughout the ship, pursued by Combine forces. We struggled to understand our stiuation, and to agree on our course of action. Could we alter the course of the Borealis? Should we run it aground in the Antarctic, giving our peers the chance to study it? Should we destroy it with all hands aboard, our own included? It was impossible to hold a coherent thought, given the baffling and paradoxical timeloops, which passed through the ship like bubbles. I felt I was going mad, that we all were, confronting myriad versions of ourselves, in that ship that was half ghost-ship, half nightmare funhouse. What it came down to, at last, was a choice. Judith Mossman argued, reasonably, that we should save the Borealis and deliver it to the Resistance, that our intelligent peers might study and harness its power. But Alyx reminded me she had sworn she would honor her fathers demand that we destroy the ship. She hatched a plan to set the Borealis to self-destruct, while riding it into the heart of the Combines invasion nexus. Judith and Alyx argued. Judith overpowered Alyx and brought the Borealis area, preparing to shut off the Bootstrap Device and settle the ship on the ice. Then I heard a shot, and Judith fell. Alyx had decided for all of us, or her weapon had. With Dr. Mossman dead, we were committed to the suicide plunge. Grimly, Alyx and I armed the Borealis, creating a time-travelling missile, and steered it for the heart of the Combines command center. At this point, as you will no doubt be unsurprised to hear, a Certain Sinister Figure appeared, in the form of that sneering trickster, the G-Man. For once he appeared not to me, but to Alyx Vance. Alyx had not seen the cryptical schoolmarm (no male equivalent) since childhood, but she recognized him instantly. Come along with me now, weve places to do and things to be, said the G-Man, and Alyx acquiesced. She followed the strange grey man out of the Borealis, out of our reality. For me, there was no convenient door held open; only a snicker and a sideways glance. I was left alone, riding the weaponized luxury liner into the heart of a Combine world. An immense light blazed. I caught a cosmic view of a brilliantly glittering Dyson sphere. The vastness of the Combines power, the futility of our struggle, blossomed briefly in my awareness. I saw everything. Mainly I saw how the Borealis, our most powerful weapon, would register as less than a fizzling matchhead as it blew itself apart. And what remained of me would be even less than that. Just then, as you have surely already foreseen, the Vortigaunts parted their own checkered curtains of reality, reached in as they have on prior occasions, plucked me out, and set me aside. I barely got to see the fireworks begin. And here we are. I spoke of my return to this shore. It has been a circuitous path to lands I once knew, and surprising to see how much the terrain has changed. Enough time has passed that few remember me, or what I was saying when last I spoke, or what precisely we hoped to accomplish. At this point, the resistance will have failed or succeeded, no thanks to me. Old friends have been silenced, or fallen by the wayside. I no longer know or recognize most members of the research team, though I believe the spirit of rebellion still persists. I expect you know better than I the appropriate course of action, and I leave you to it. Except no further correspondence from me regarding these matters; this is my final epistle. Yours in infinite finality, Gordon Freeman, Ph.D.
PPC Zimbabwe achieves record cement volumes

25 August 2017

PPC has recorded the highest production volumes in Zimbabwe for the first time in 18 years following the opening of its new US$82m grinding plant in Harare.



The group's interim CEO, Johan Claassen, said Zimbabwe operations continue to exceed expectations, with the investment in the 1.8Mta Harare mill contributing to volume growth. "PPC Zimbabwe also saw double-digit volume growth compared with last year, and in June 2017 recorded the highest monthly volumes since June 1999," he said.

Commenting on the group's performance on the African continent, Claassen said the group's revenue was way ahead of the previous comparative period ended 30 June 2016.



"Our focus is firmly on delivering improved profitability and liquidity in the shorter term while

our longer term strategy remains unchanged. More specifically, we will focus our

management effort on the new operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and

Ethiopia, ensuring that they deliver to expectations, while further optimising efficiency in our other businesses," he said.

PPC experienced an upsurge in cement demand in South Africa during the 1H17 after a dampened first quarter of 2017. The cement sales volumes in South Africa declined marginally when compared to the same period in the previous year, which, however, had two less trading days.



"On a like-for-like basis, volumes were up 0.5 per cent driven by solid performances in both

the coastal and inland areas. Imports have declined by 27 per cent compared with the same

period last year," Mr Claassen said.

In the rest of Africa, robust volume growth in Rwanda saw the plant's capacity utilisation

reach 60 per cent. In the DR Congo, monthly sales had tracked progressively better, while imports from Angola had fallen significantly as competition from local producers has increased.



In Ethiopia cement production only started in June 2017, but more than 0.1Mt of cement had been pre-sold since February due to high demand.







Published under
Christian Pastor In Turkey Imprisoned And Accused Of Armed Terrorism Links

A Christian pastor has been imprisoned and charged in Turkey with membership of an "armed terrorist organisation".

Rev Andrew Brunson, from the United States, has been sent to prison in Izmir, according to World Watch Monitor.

He and his wife Norine were both detained in October but although she was released, he remained behind bars in a detention centre and has now been sent to a formal prison.

Turkey prosecutors claim that he is a national security risk with links to the movement responsible for the unsuccessful military coup attempt in July.

A post on the Facebook page set up to support the couple reads: "We need your prayers! Andrew was moved in the night on Thursday night to the Counter Terrorism Dept., then taken to court in the morning and falsely charged with 'membership in an armed terrorist organization', with no evidence provided. The judge sent him to prison to await further court proceedings. I don't know when I will be able to see him as this prison is very strict. Needless to say, this is a blow.

"God can still get him back for Christmas, even on the 12th, but right now he needs your prayers more than ever."

Until their arrest, Andrew and Norine Brunson led the Izmir Resurrection Church in Ankara, capital of Turkey, which has up to 40 regular members. They have lived in Turkey for 23 years.

Thousands of judges, prosecutors, military personnel, journalists and educators have been imprisoned on "terrorism" since the coup attempt, World Watch Monitor reports.

The Brunsons have three children who are students in the US.
Christians under pressure: Nepal to seal hardline crackdown on evangelism and blasphemy

Nepal's president will approve a bill next week sealing the country's hardline attitude towards evangelism and set it on course for similar blasphemy rules to Pakistan.

The law, passed by the Nepali parliament earlier this month, will criminalise religious conversions and ban 'hurting religious sentiment'  a clause similar to that used to prohibit insulting another's religion elsewhere in the region.

Bidhya Devi Bhandari is expected to sign the act, giving legal force to a clause in Nepal's new constitution barring religious conversion.

Human rights activists fearing a crackdown on minorities are calling for the legislation to be changed. They warn it will be used to target Nepal's fringe religions including Christians.

Last year eight Christians were arrested and charged with attempting to convert children after they handed out leaflets about Jesus to school pupils.

Kiri Kankhwende, spokeswoman for the religious freedom charity Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), warned there would be more similar cases with the new bill's introduction.

'It gives this a legal force it didn't previously have,' she told Christian Today.

'Even the very fact of talking about your faith could be criminalised,' she went on, adding Christians particularly among Nepal's minority groups are worried.

'It portrays conversion as something done to somebody by someone else and overlooks the fact people make a choice,' she said.

'It is part of a really worrying trend in the region.'

In neighbouring India six states have now passed anti-conversion laws that have been used to target Christians.

'The lesson from India is that anti-conversion laws not only restrict the rights of an individual to adopt a religion of their choice, but also put religious minority communities at risk of hostility and violence,' Kankhwende said.

Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) International, a Christian legal outfit, warned the vaguely defined terms in laws banning insulting another's religion can be used 'to harass minorities'.

Tehmina Arora, legal counsel and director of ADF IndiA, an expert in human rights law, said: 'Every person should have the right to live out their faith freely.'

She added: 'Nepal risks to return to a totalitarian society in which individual rights are being severely curbed.

'The fundamental right to religious freedom includes the practice and sharing of a belief. The president should veto this new bill and allow her citizens to enjoy basic human rights. No one in Nepal should have to fear persecution because of their religious convictions.'

In an interview with Christian Today, local pastor Tanka Subedi said Christians were being arrested and beaten without reason.

'For the last two years we have been unsure about how long the doors will be open for us to practise our faith freely. We were not expecting this level of harassment,' he said.

'Christians were arrested and beaten without reasons,' he added. 'Political leaders are accusing Christian for converting by paying money.'

Pastors are afraid to take Bibles and literature with them in their ministry because there is a danger police will accuse them of trying forcibly to convert others simply by having a Bible in their possession.

'Children are traumatised,' he said.
Mail centre scare as white powder sent to Australian Christian Lobby

A mail centre in Canberra was evacuated this morning after white powder was discovered in packages addressed to the Australian Christian Lobby (ACL).

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, police and emergency services attended the scene. Tests proved the material to be harmless and the centre reopened.

A spokesman for Australia Post said: 'Australia Post takes the safety of all of our staff extremely seriously. Relevant authorities evacuated the Canberra Mail Centre early this morning following the detection of a suspicious mail item.'

The ACL is in the forefront of a divisive battle about same-sex marriage, to which it is passionately opposed. A referendum on the issue is due to conclude in November.

Managing director Lyle Shelton told Fairfax Media: 'This is obviously of great concern. We have been receiving packages of glitter all week, which we have not opened, and we have had individual people online encouraging people to send in noxious substances. We have reported that to the federal police.

'We think this should be a respectful debate [about changing same-sex marriage laws], but in the last 12 months we have endured death threats, there has been a car bomb exploded outside our office, our office has been egged and we have been mailed all of this glitter.

'This is part of what would seem to be a way to try and intimidate us into silence.

A car bomb exploded outside ACL's headquarters in December last year. No one was injured and police have said the alleged offender, Jaden Duong, intended to commit suicide by blowing himself up. They said his actions were 'not politically, religiously or ideologically motivated'.
Turkey: US missionary Andrew Brunson charged with attempting to overthrow government

A US missionary detained in Turkey has been charged with attempting to overthrow the government after being arrested last October.

Andrew Brunson is accused of acquiring confidential political and military information and for attempting to destroy the constitutional order, according to local news site Hurriyet Daily.

A missionary and pastor, Brunson was arrested as part of a crackdown after Turkey's attempted military coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan failed last July.

He is suspected of having links to Fethullah Gulen, a US-based Muslim cleric blamed for the coup.

Brunson denies all charges and said he was defending Jesus according to Turkish law.

'I don't support any Islamic movement. I have never seen any member of FETO (a derogatory term invented by government to refer Gulen movement) in my life,' he said.

Until their arrest, Andrew and Norine Brunson led the Izmir Resurrection Church, which has up to 40 regular members. They have lived in Turkey for 23 years.

His wife was released shortly after but Andrew has remained in custody with prosecutors alleging he had links with Gulen.

Both US President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence have lobbied the Turkish government for Brunson's release with Trump saying he bought it up specifically when Erdogan visited the White House in May.

'President Trump raised the incarceration of Pastor Andrew Brunson and asked that the Turkish government expeditiously return him to the United States,' a White House press release said at the time.
OSCR, the Scottish charity regulator, will produce guidance on fundraising for trustees, it revealed in its recently published annual report.

For the next year, OSCR said it would produce new guidance about Scottish charities and trading and further guidance making a clearer relationship between trustee duties and fundraising duties.

Fundraising in Scotland is not regulated by the Fundraising Regulator but is overseen by the Scottish Fundraising Standards Panel, which launched its website in June.

OSCR also said it would also be expanding its web based services starting with the introduction of an online application process.

In the foreword to the review David Robb, chief executive of OSCR and Graham Forbes, its chair, wrote: Going forward, we will keep encouraging charities to be more transparent and open about their activities, stressing the positive impact this can have on public confidence and the reputation for charities and the wider sector.

We will also continue to make the information we collect about charities more accessible for the same reasons.

Fewer applications

The review showed that in the last 12 months, a further 854 new charities have registered with OSCR, down from 918 the previous year. It received a total of 1,150 applications for charitable status, a figure also down from the previous year.

As a result, OSCR said it now regulates 24,064 charities in Scotland, up from 24,053 the previous year. It had an average of 46.7 staff during the last financial year, with each staff member effectively regulating 244m worth of charitable income per person.

The latest annual review of OSCR, the Scottish charity regulator, shows that its overall spending for the last financial year fell by over 100,000.

In the year to 31 March 2017, OSCR spent a total of 2.86m down from over 2.9m in 2015/16, according to its latest annual review figures published this week. Of that total spend, over 2m went towards staff costs, while 572,000 went on its running costs.

OSCR was awarded a total budget of 2.96m for the last financial year by the Scottish government. A spokesman for the regulator said that any monies left over at the end of the year would be returned to the government.
Unlike their twentieth-century counterparts, todays media organizations rely almost entirely on the centralized distribution infrastructure of the internet to disseminate news. Yet the internet is, in many ways, a fragile system, as illustrated by disruptive events like 2012s Hurricane Sandy and 2016s Mirai botnet attack on East Coast DNS servers.1

Over the last decade, however, the evolution of microcomputers has made it possible to build small, independent web servers that can host substantial amounts of material accessible via their own, standalone Wi-Fi signal. Such offline wireless projects have been used in classrooms 2 protest sites, 3 libraries, 4and even for news. 5

The goal of the You Are Here project was to develop and document a fully open-source, offline wireless system and explore how it could be used to engage audiences with community-oriented news content. Over the course of one year, our team designed, built, and tested You Are Here at two New York City locations using originally reported podcast stories to prompt users to share their own reflections and experiences about the sites. While our project suffered from some the same challenges as previous systems, we believe that offline wireless systems hold substantial promise for safe, resilient, independent digital news distribution.

Key Takeaways:

The internet as we know is both relatively centralized and relatively fragile. Political actions, technical disruptions, and natural disasters are all a significant threat to news organizations without an alternative distribution method. Inexpensive, independent wireless content stations like You Are Here can act as a resilient backup network for everyone from ordinary citizens to first responders.

Political actions, technical disruptions, and natural disasters are all a significant threat to news organizations without an alternative distribution method. Inexpensive, independent wireless content stations like You Are Here can act as a resilient backup network for everyone from ordinary citizens to first responders. Designing for engagement with a broad audience means making tough decisions about functionality. The sheer range of mobile devices and available features may mean compromise about how offline a particular wireless distribution point can be.

The sheer range of mobile devices and available features may mean compromise about how offline a particular wireless distribution point can be. Offline wireless is an unfamiliar paradigm: Most You Are Here users seemed to conflate Wi-Fi with World Wide Web. News organizations, however, can leverage their existing reach to provide messaging to readers about the functionality and purpose of offline wireless nodes, as well as use them to offer exclusive content.

Most You Are Here users seemed to conflate Wi-Fi with World Wide Web. News organizations, however, can leverage their existing reach to provide messaging to readers about the functionality and purpose of offline wireless nodes, as well as use them to offer exclusive content. Location, location, location: Installing nodes in semi-public places increases interference from surrounding networks and devices. Keeping the You Are Here node small puts limits on antenna size, which in turn affects how far the wireless signal can reach. Physical obstacles (e.g., walls, trees) around the node can also moderate the range.

Installing nodes in semi-public places increases interference from surrounding networks and devices. Keeping the You Are Here node small puts limits on antenna size, which in turn affects how far the wireless signal can reach. Physical obstacles (e.g., walls, trees) around the node can also moderate the range. Visibility is crucial: Our project was limited by how visibly we could advertise around our sites. Branding needs to go beyond promotional events and postcards; just like apps and online platforms, news organizations will need to cross-promote their offline network locations and content.

Our project was limited by how visibly we could advertise around our sites. Branding needs to go beyond promotional events and postcards; just like apps and online platforms, news organizations will need to cross-promote their offline network locations and content. The You Are Here hardware and software is entirely open-source. You can find all the instructions (including hardware recommendations and software downloads) on GitHub at: https://github.com/TowCenter/YouAreHere.

Prologue

On an early Sunday afternoon in late October of 2012, mobile phones across New York began sounding the harsh, electronic bleat of the citys emergency warning system, signaling the imminent arrival of Hurricane Sandy. Over the next few days, large swathes of the city would flood, isolating residents unable or unwilling to evacuate. Flooding also took out power and telecommunications in whole neighborhoods, leaving residents without access to basic news and emergency updates. Compounding these challenges, data centers in Manhattan were also hard-hit, taking news organizations like BuzzFeed and Gawker offline.6

In the aftermath of the storm, downed internet connections left aid workers and government officials struggling to gather information and coordinate efforts.78 Yet Sandys impact on connectivity wasnt entirely unprecedented: 2005s Hurricane Katrina took out seventy percent of the cell towers in New Orleans.9 In the intervening years, however, more than one-third of American housebolds became wireless-only. 10 11 By mid-2017, the Center for Disease Control found that just over half of all American households were wireless-only.12 While the vast majority of Americans still own and listen to AM/FM radio broadcasts,13 most news outlets do not have access to the airwaves. For many media organizations, this means that when the internet goes out, their publishing stops cold.

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While large swaths of Brooklyn remained disconnected in the days and weeks following Hurricane Sandy, there was one neighborhood that stayed online: The Red Hook Housing Project, located between the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and the waters of of the Red Hook Channel in northwest Brooklyn, was home to an existing mesh networking project started by the Red Hook Initiative (RHI) in 2011.14

The concept behind RHIs efforts was simple: By tethering a wireless router to a single working internet connection and then interconnecting it to other wireless routers in a mesh, a single broadband connection could provide wireless internet access across an entire neighborhood. After Sandy, RHI used a landline connection from Brooklyn Fiber to provide connectivity to the existing routers it had set up on the tops of buildings in the area. While the network provided much-needed internet access in the weeks and months after the storm, RHI affiliate Georgia Bullen points out that in many cases the internet connectivity is not necessarily the most crucial aspect of these wireless hotspots. A lot of what you need doesnt change that often, says Bullen, now technology projects director at New America Foundations Open Technology Institute. Reference content, such as maps and guides for example, need only occasional updating. Moreover, the wireless nodes lend themselves to flexible placement. They dont take very much power, she says. After Sandy, We ran a couple of them off of twelve-hour power supplies. Thanks to these semi-autonomous, local wireless nodes, the the local Red Hook community was able to access essential information even while the internet was down.

In todays digital news business, of course, it may seem anathema to update information only occasionally. Yet when one considers the resurgent popularity of digital newsletters and continued relevance of digital Todays Paper offerings from existing news organizations, audiences seem to be indicating an interest in news that is both more episodic and more local 15 16. Plus, in an increasingly monitored and fragile online environment, the idea of offline wireless distribution points offers the chance to provide both news publishers and audiences with digital spaces where, as Wired columnist Clive Thompson describes it, one can talkand listenin private.17 Moreover, whether an internet disruption is the result of political, technical, or natural events, offline wireless networks can help media organizations ensure that despite such circumstances their news can continue to reach readers when they need it most.

Over the past twenty-five years, the internets potential for global reach has proved a double-edged sword for professional journalism. On the one hand, the web has opened up new audiences and reporting methods; on the other, it has gutted business models and fragmented audiences. Perhaps even less anticipated is the increased homogeneity of the news ecosystem, with even global media organizations tending to all emphasize the same thing, as Google News creator Krishna Bharat observed in 2010.18

The centralization of news is not just a content phenomenon, however, but also a technical one. With the rise of web publishing, news media depends on a fairly limited distribution networknamely, the broadband connections and undersea cables that transmit all of the content on the internet, from news to Netflix.1920

This highly centralized structure is a sharp departure from print distribution methods. Traditionally, newspapers were delivered to consumers by tens of thousands of paperboys,21 who were directly employed by the news organization. But while successful twentieth-century news outlets often owned everything from the trees, to the shipping routes, to the printing presses they relied on,22 todays digital-only news organizations are almost entirely dependent on internet for getting their product to audiences. Innovations in news distribution are often confined to content-sharing partnerships among existing news outlets (such as ProPublicas partnerships with WNYC or the New York Daily News23), or through deals with third-party platforms like Facebook and Apple News (many of which have proven ultimately unfavorable to publishers).24

Yet even these efforts all still depend on the same supporting infrastructure: the routing protocols and connectivity of the internet. One result is that if internet access is disrupted, whether due to cyberattack25, government manipulation,26 natural disaster, or simple human error,27 public access to information is severely reduced. When the internet is inaccessible, in other words, so is the news.

The Case for Offline Digital Distribution

The goal of the You Are Here project is twofold: first, to create a simple, easy-to-use system for building an inexpensive, offline wireless web server to distribute locally focused news content. Unlike previous projects, we specifically wanted to focus on audio storytelling in order to provide our audience with an intimate experience of an important local space. Likewise, we were most interested in facilitating a mobile experience, since the vast majority of news consumers now obtain content on mobile.28 Second, by providing a simple interface that would allow visitors to contribute to an ongoing conversation about the physical space around them, we wanted to understand if tying our content to a specific location might improve audience engagement.



Project Overview

The initial concept for You Are Here was to create offline wireless nodes that audiences would connect to via their mobile devices as a way of accessing content that was available literally nowhere else. Inspired by the intimacy and immediacy of pieces like artist Janet Cardiffs audio walks,29 we saw potential for audiences to use their mobile phones as a medium to both easily hear and contribute to the stories we would post.

As we began discussing the larger goals of the project, however, it became clear that insisting on a completely offline configuration would ultimately limit who could participate. While newer mobile phones could upload and download audio and photos directly to the You Are Here nodes browser-based interface, audience members with older phones wouldnt be able to share their thoughts. Given that inclusivity and engagement were driving motivations for the project, we revised our design to instead rely on an inexpensive call-in service called Twilio30 for gathering audience-contributed content. Because this meant that contributors recordings would be collected via a centralized service, we did have to provide the You Are Here node with a certain level of internet connectivity. That said, we preserved the spirit of You Are Here as a local-only listening station by making user-recorded content the only internet-hosted content the device could access. Visitors couldnt use You Are Here to browse the web, and if the connection went out, a team member could always go to the area to update the content manually.

The Technology

In recent years media organizations have understandably been focused more on revenue models than internet protocols. The perils of centralized digital distribution, however, have long since caught the attention of the artistic and information-freedom communities.

In 2011, for example, NYU art professor David Darts created a device known as PirateBox, an offline wireless node built in response to copyright policies that Darts feels make a misleading connection between stealing and sharing.31 Darts, who first used his device to distribute files to his students during class sessions, admits that the project is a provocation, but also highlights its capacity for creating a private digital space even within a physically public one, by allowing users to share files with total privacy.

While the PirateBox project was originally composed of proprietary hardware running open-source software, more recent iterations use open-source hardware as well. One version, for example, is built on the inexpensive Raspberry Pi, a microcomputer that was introduced in the United Kingdom in 2012. Though no bigger than a credit card, the Raspberry Pi is actually a fully fledged microcomputer that runs the (also open-source) Linux operating system and can run multiple programs simultaneously. Popular with hobbyists and makers of all kinds, the Raspberry Pi recently became the United Kingdoms all-time bestselling computer.32

The Opportunity

When the Turkish government began used DNS manipulation to block access to Twitter in 2014, ongoing interference with internet communications was relatively unheard of, especially among aspiring EU member states. Suddenly, the limitations of internet-dependent information distribution was on full display, leading protesters to spray-paint Google DNS addresses on the sides of buildings as a means to circumvent the ban.

Though by that time projects like PirateBox and LibraryBox were becoming more robust, there were still few examples of offline wireless networks really being used to distribute news stories. Thus, for the You Are Here project, we sought to combine the immersive and locally focused experience of audio storytelling with the independence and resilience of offline wireless connection points. In addition to providing both intimacy and privacy, these nodes could be updated manually, if needed, in order to distribute digital information even when the internet was unavailable.

The Team

While the diversity of skills needed to produce these devices and the content they would carry was substantial, we were lucky to bring together a project team with expertise in the many areas it touched:

Sarah Grant

Principal developer and project lead

Sarah Grant is a Berlin-based media artist and educator. She is a former Research Fellow at the Tow Center for Journalism at Columbia, Adjunct Professor at NYU Polytechnic in Digital Media and current Impact Resident at the Eyebeam Art and Technology Center. She researches and develops open source software, artworks as educational tools, and workshops that demystify computer networking technology. Sarah is the author of Subnodes 33 and organizes the Radical Networks conference in Brooklyn. Together with her partner Danja, she also runs a commercial research and development studio called cosmic.berlin.

Amelia Marzec

Developer and graphic artist

Amelia Marzec is an American artist focused on rebuilding local communications infrastructure to prepare for an uncertain future. Her work has been exhibited at SIGGRAPH, MIT, ISEA (Canada), LAPSody (Finland), ONCE Foundation Contemporary Art Biennial (Spain), NODE Forum for Digital Arts Biennial (Germany), and is part of the Rhizome ArtBase. She has been a resident at Eyebeam, a resident at Harvestworks, a fellow at New York Foundation of the Arts, the A.I.R. Gallery Emma Bee Bernstein Fellow, a Tow Fellow at Columbia University, a grantee of the Research Foundation of CUNY, and a nominee for the World Technology Awards for Art. Her work has been featured in Wired, Make, Hyperallergic, Neural Magazine, Metropolis Magazine, NPR, and the front page of Reddit. She holds an MFA in Design and Technology from Parsons School of Design, and a BFA from Mason Gross School of the Arts. She is a founder of the Radical Networks conference, has written for the Huffington Post, taught at Hunter College and Queens College, and has given talks at RISD, Barnard College, and the Queens Museum of Art.

Susan McGregor

Installation coordinator and communications

Susan McGregor is a faculty member at Columbia Journalism School, where she conducts research in privacy and security issues for journalists. Her experience developing Dispatch, a resilient, secure, and anonymous application for mobile communication and publishing, led to an interest in how local, offline wireless servers could be used to distribute news and provide essential information during times of conflict and crisis.

Dan Phiffer

Audience engagement developer

Dan Phiffer is an artist and former technologist at The New Yorker whose projects include the localized, wireless-distribution system occupy.here34. In 2011 and 2012, Dan and collaborator Ellie Irons built Neversink Transmissions, an offline wireless community oral history archive in Denning, New York.

Benjamen Walker

Audio narrative producer

Benjamen Walker is an experienced radio producer, as well as the creator and host of the Radiotopia podcast Theory of Everything. He was a driving force behind Radiotopias wildly successful Kickstarter campaign, which had contributions from nearly twenty-two thousand individual backers.

In addition to the core team members listed above, the individual audio segments for the You Are Here sites were reported and produced by independent audio producers:

Hilary Brueck

Audio producer: Tompkins Square Park site

A multimedia journalist and producer based in New York City, Hilary Brueck has worked with international news outlets including ABC News and Al Jazeera America. Hilary is a newswriter with the Writers Guild of America and a frequent contributor at Forbes and Fortune, where she reports on science and technology. Before moving to New York, Hilary lived in Madagascar for two years, where she taught English and started a library in the islands vanilla-growing country. A recovering Minnesotan, she speaks three languages and writes, edits, and produces for the web, radio, and TV.

Dasha Lisitsina

Audio producer: High Line site

Journalist and professional killjoy, specializing in long-form writing and audio. Film buff, fly-on-the wall, seasoned skeptic.



Hardware and Networking

Thanks to the substantial prior experience of our project team, developing the hardware and software for You Are Here was not the ground-up endeavor it might have been. Sarah Grant, our project lead, had already developed subnod.es, a self-contained wireless server that runs on a Raspberry Pi and offers basic chat room and digital bulletin board system (BBS) functionality.

While You Are Here built on the subnod.es technology, says Grant, that project was really only designed to work well in-room. By design, however, You Are Here was meant to reach into public spacesin this instance, parksand therefore required significantly more range.

We had to make sure that the network range extended beyond just the room, she says. Though the particular model of Raspberry Pi used to build You Are Here includes a built-in wireless antenna, an external hardware amplifier and antenna were needed to generate a wireless signal strong enough to extend outdoors. Because wireless signals are easily blocked or weakened by physical obstacles, determining how to extend the signal was something of a trial-and-error process.

There was one antenna that was fifteen decibels that I really wanted, so I just bought it, says Grant. When it arrivedit takes up the entire length of my kitchen. She eventually settled on a nine-decibel antenna that is about a foot long.

In our final configuration, the reach of the You Are Here station node is about half a city block in every direction, depending on the nature and number of physical objects surrounding it. If youre in a flat, open field, you can get awesome range, says Grant. But if youre in a park where theres trees or statues or lampposts, all these things block the signal.

Another goal of You Are Here was to make the physical station small enough to install in a wide range of locations, which placed additional limitations on how powerful the signal could be. At the Tompkins Square Park site, for example, You Are Here had to fit behind the door at the Blind Barbera well-known barber shop by day and popular watering hole by night. While ensuring that the stations signal reached as much of the park as possible was a key goal, Theres also that balance of not showing up to a host with a fifteen-foot antenna, says Grant. There are ways to make [the signal] super powerful. But I think the compromise was: we can still cover a good quarter of the park.

Security

The relative publicness of You Are Here also meant that more technical safeguards were required. Though our nodes were installed inside businesses, and were thus protected from physical vandalism, Were leaving this device in public, so we have to put some safeguards in there so it doesnt get abused, says Grant. In order to limit the possibility of ill-intentioned users manipulating the device or its content, We had to set it up so that it blocked all outgoing traffic except traffic going to [our] server.

The security concerns of You Are Here are minimal compared to those of a typical Wi-Fi hotspot; one of the benefits of a device with limited internet connectivity is that there is much less harm it can do if its compromised. Apart from basic protectionslike strong passwordson the administrative parts of the devices software, the fact that You Are Here nodes arent networked means that they dont need a complex network security strategy. Without access to the broader internet, You Are Here nodes are unlikely to attract malicious actors trying to capture others data, engage in illegal online activity, or just bog down someone elses network connection. Moreover, since the connections into the device are so limited, their vulnerabilities are too: Anyone wishing to compromise the device would have to be physically near it. And even in New York City, the number of people passing through a public park is tiny compared to the number of malicious actors online.

Our need to host some of the You Are Here content online, however, did create some technical conflicts. For example, because we ended up storing user-contributed stories remotely, we had to determine the best way to provide the limited internet connectivity our setup required. While we could have piggybacked on our hosts wireless connections, we didnt want to expose our audience members listening habits to the host organizations hosting. Instead Grant decided to use a 3G data stick, which supplied a standalone internet connection.

Balancing Privacy and Metrics

Even without the imperatives of advertising, any system intended for news distribution needs to support basic metrics. In this, You Are Here faced another design hurdle common to privacy-enhancing systems: how to effectively monitor users engagement with the system without monitoring the users themselves.

I always knew that wed somehow have to track people who were using the app, and obviously Im not interested in tracking individuals, says Grant. Still, to understand how the device is being used in order to improve it, or just understand how people use something like this, we want to have some kind of analytics/tracking in place.

Eventually, Grant settled on using the open-source Piwik tracking platform, which provided a good balance of information and anonymity. You Are Here can log information like the device thats connected, what kind of browser theyre on, screen resolution, how long it took for the page to load, the date and time, what they were clicking on, says Grant. Although relying on Piwik made recording some informationsuch as how long a user listened to an audio trackmore difficult, the fact that it was simple and lightweight was worth the additional effort. While tracking packages like Google Analytics require sending information to Googles servers, Piwik was small enough to both live and store data right on the Raspberry Pi.

That was also cool, says Grant, that we were using something that just lives on the front end and doesnt send any information to some remote server. Although the data was securely accessible via a remote login, without this, checking the user statistics would mean visiting the device in person.

Cost

Ultimately, each You Are Here broadcast station ended up costing about two hundred dollars to build (of which thirty-five dollars went to the SIM card needed to download user content) and is smaller than a breadbox, requiring just two non-grounded power supplies (one for the Raspberry Pi and another for the amplifier) to operate. Before we could go about installing them in the wild, however, we had to configure both the call-in feature and the front end of the system: the web pages that users would see and interact with when they logged on to the network.

Integrating User Content

In order to support the widest range of devicesand therefore contributorsYou Are Here uses a platform called Twilio to let audience members submit their own audio stories in response to our site-specific podcasts. Though newer phone models can upload audio directly to a website, older phone models cantand we didnt want to limit You Are Heres engagement only to audience members with the latest phones.

Using Twilio allowed us to quickly and inexpensively set up a unique dial-in number for each You Are Here node. When an audience member calls in, theyre greeted by a pre-recorded prompt explaining that wed like them to share their thoughts and experiences connected to the You Are Here node site. Users can then record their stories by leaving a voicemail. In order to make those audience recordings available on the correct You Are Here node, however, team member Dan Phiffer had to build a small web application to connect the two.

In order to [both] use telephones and also to keep [You Are Here] relatively offline, we would need to have some kind of connecting middleware, says Phiffer. In this case, that middleware consisted of a small, web-based application. Though Phiffer is relatively experienced with web technologies, he had never used Twilio until this project. Still, he was able to put together the Twilio portion over the course of just one afternoon.

It was really easy, says Phiffer. It was surprising.

Using basic web-based technologies , Phiffer created a script that was triggered whenever a message was left for one of our You Are Here nodes. Phiffers middleware would then download the users audio story and save a copy of it.

In addition to serving as go-between for the You Are Here node and the Twilio platform, Phiffers middleware offered some real-time insight into how the system was doing. Thats because Phiffer also configured his system to send an update to his Slack channel whenever a recording was made. In addition to posting an alert message, it sends the link to the MP3 so we can listen to it, Phiffer says.

Those real-time notifications helped the project team get an idea of how much activity there was on each You Are Here node. It also provided an opportunity to review recordings for problematic content. Although no inappropriate content was submitted to our pilot installations, our experience with news websites and prior projects made us aware of this very real possibility. Like related systems,35 You Are Here does not provide for any automated content moderation. Still, being automatically notified of new content made the review process less manual. In a fully offline context, of course, any human moderation would need to be done on-siteone of the many reasons we envision You Are Here nodes living in easily accessible places.

Given the goals of engagement and exchange that drove the You Are Here project, audience members contributed stories with the idea that they would be heard by others. Because of this, our efforts to keep the stories private as they passed from the Twilio platform to the You Are Here node were minimal. Technically, for example, a person who discovered the (otherwise unpublished) URL of Phiffers middleware could access the recorded stories from anywhere.

That said, Phiffer suggests that blocking undesirable access would be simple. By having a random, long string of digits that are shared on the device and shared on the server, he says, one could ensure that only the You Are Here stations were able to access any recordings. If you dont have the correct thing, [the middleware] rejects the request.

While inspiring and maintaining user participation is always tricky, Phiffer says, platforms like Twilio can make it easier to customize the audiences experience and stay connected with them. Initially, for example, when a contributor calls in, Its using this robot voice to say, Hello, thank you for calling. Please leave your response. Replacing that message with a customized recording allowed us to offer participants a more customized experience.

While the use of Twilio to support audience participation was initially a compromise, it does offer additional functionality that could be useful for long-term You Are Here nodes. In addition to facilitating real-time content moderation as noted above, the fact that users are placing a phone call to submit a response opens up possibilities for reconnecting with them after theyve left the area.

Repeat participation could be a possibility, says Phiffer. For example, one could use the Twilio/middleware combination to create an opt-in feature allowing contributors to be notified via SMS when a new You Are Here site launches or new stories are added.

Ultimately, though, the functioning of the system has little effect if audience members dont know where it is or how to use it. To generate awareness and draw audience members in, we needed appealing and coherent graphic and user-interface design.

Interface Design and Signage

When done well, the design for a user interface or graphic identity seems simple, intuitive, and even obvious. Of course, the best and most effortless interfaces are the hardest to create, often requiring multiple experiments and iterations.

Such was certainly the case for the You Are Here web interface, whose final version consists of a simple title banner and an image overlaid with a large play button. Below this, a short written prompt and a bright Tap to Call graphic clearly invites listeners to join the conversation.

According to artist and designer Amelia Marzec, finding inspiration for You Are Heres graphic, red-orange logo was relatively simple, as she borrowed from common wayfinding and comic conventions.

I was looking at the subway map and they have the little You Are Here circle, says Marzec. And thats really common.

When it came to the interface, however, things didnt start out so simple. We had a lot more screens initially, she says.

As is often the case, the many screens represented in the early designs for You Are Here reflected our debates about what the system itself would be, and how it would be used. Part of what excited us about You Are Here was the flexibility of the system: offline wireless nodes could be used to foster and create all kinds of communities and conversations. In schools, for example, where safety considerations make traditional online conversations too risky, You Are Here nodes could be used to host message boards or important notices. Alternatively, neighborhoods wanting to ensure the integrity of local conversation could gather input from residents while minimizing onerous security processes.

Our experience in designing and implementing You Are Here therefore exemplified one of the essential tensions of building any technology: While its flexibility can be exciting, its effectiveness comes from its specificity. As Marzec explains, Were approaching it as a system that could be used for anything. And thats something thats really interesting for engineers, butpeople really need something human to latch onto.

Getting those specifics right, of course, requires a negotiation between the goals of the project and the possibilities and the constraints of the technology.

In the case of You Are Here, our primary goal was to engage readers by telling journalistic, site-specific stories that listeners across the technology-adoption curve could access and contribute to. This led us away from a fully offline solution, and toward one that incorporated some web-based technologies. Similarly, our desire to keep the project physically small (the physical You Are Here unit was approximately eight inches by five inches by four inches with a two-foot antenna) as well as fully open-source influenced the amount of content that we could effectively store on the physical device.

This meant that some of our early ideas for the You Are Here nodes simply werent feasible. Yet these constraints were also what ultimately allowed us to streamline the interface and user experience into one simple, accessible web page, saving us from the feature creep that might have overloaded the interface to make it clunky and cumbersome. In other words, designing the You Are Here interface helped us both define and refine our goals for the overall project, an aspect of the design process whose value is gaining currency in both creative and journalistic settings. As Heather Chaplin, director of the Journalism + Design program at The New School wrote for the Tow Center in 2016:

Design is the creation of new solutions to a problem, and there is no guarantee that it is the right solution in the scientific or logical sense. Its always going to be one of many possible solutions. Its rightness is determined by whether it solves the problem.

Of course, meeting some of our functionality requirements did mean compromising on others. For example, because contributors were calling a phone-based service to share their stories, there was no straightforward way for them to give their story either a title or a description. This meant that when it came time to display these stories in the You Are Here interface, there was little information available to give readers about what they might contain.

We just have this generic date, says Marzec. It would be good to know what people are going to click onLike, This is a story about my grandmother growing up in this neighborhood.

Ultimately, the streamlined interface for You Are Here nodes helped focus the purpose of the project for users: to listen to others stories and share your own. While future versions of the You Are Here nodes might focus on other objectives, our on-site experiments allowed us some insight into how audiences might engage with this unique storytelling experience on a larger scale.

Content and Production Design

One challenge familiar to all members of the You Are Here project team was generating interaction. As storytellers and artists, we all knew that simply putting the You Are Here device into the wild and hoping that passersby would decide to share their stories was unlikely. To bridge that gap, we wanted to make sure that anyone who joined the You Are Here network and made it to the homepage found relevant, engaging stories about the nearby landmarks that would, hopefully, inspire audience members to also share their own.

We therefore chose the two You Are Here station sites that would help maximize both accessibility and audience engagement; for this, we looked for hosts near highly trafficked public parks. Based on our own experiences, Tompkins Square Park in the East Village and the High Line in Chelsea were excellent candidates, offering both high levels of foot traffic and accessible host sites. At the same time, the unique character of the two locations also allowed us to experiment with distinct styles of narrative and engagement.

We had opportunities to do two different approaches, says Benjamen Walker, who coordinated and produced the audio stories that launched with the You Are Here nodes. These storieseach of which was intimately tied to its physical locationwere designed specifically to help frame and inspire audience contributions, and to seed conversations about the spaces.

Promotion and Distribution

Selecting sites for You Are Here meant balancing locations that were widely and freely accessible to the public, but were also home to distinct communities. Logistically this presented something of a challenge when it came to physically installing the deviceswhile small and unobtrusive, they do require two standard power connections, as well as protection from the elements.

Initially, we explored the possibility of guerilla installations near our locations. The High Line, for example, has a variety of covered or semi-protected areas, some of which have accessible power outlets that are used by food vendors in good weather. Early site visits generated a range of ideas about possibilities for installing and protecting the devices. As Marzec described:

We went up the High Line andI was going in the pipestheres a little pipe in the ground that looks like it could be an electrical thing. And then the rat trapsthat was a good moment. Because they have these black boxes up and down the High Line and I was like, Worst-case scenario: We can hide it in one of these rat traps.We were [also] thinking about putting it in a rockyou know how people have a fake rock for their keys?

Naturally, though, there were serious drawbacks to the idea of attempting to hide the You Are Here devices in otherwise public spaces. Apart from obvious safety and legal considerations, there was the challenge of trying to create community engagement around a device whose location, to some extent, would need to be kept secret.

We therefore took a different approach to establishing the You Are Here sites, and partnered instead with local businesses near our sites. In each case we were fortunate to find community-minded, local establishments that agreed to let us install a You Are Here unit for several weeks, as well as let us leave informational postcards about the project accessible to their customers. In turn, these businessesa barber shop/bar in the East Village and a well-known pub in Chelseaserved as venues for launching each instance of the project. These events gave us an opportunity to introduce the You Are Here concept to attendees and other patrons.

Tompkins Square Park: Beyond a Bellwether

With Tompkins Square Park we got to tie it to an actual news story, says Walker. He describes the park as a bellwether whose resurgent homeless population in recent years has drawn the attention of local news reporters. At the same time, We did try to branch out . . . so you hear about other communities.

For this piece, Walker collaborated with audio producer Hilary Brueck to construct a site-specific audio tour of Tompkins Square using homelessness as a startingbut not an ending pointfor listeners to experience and appreciate the many dynamics within the park.

On the tour, listeners meet current and former homeless individuals, as well as a local who has lived across from the park since 1988, creating a piece that would outlive a given news cycle but still provide listeners with an opportunity to participate in a timely conversation.

For everyone who works with site-specific audio, tying it to a temporal event is dangerous, says Walker. I feel like this was a nice challenge, and shows that its something that you shouldnt just block offespecially for projects with a local community.

He continues: A lot of audio tours need to stay evergreen. We decided to go in the local direction of You are here  right now.

Anchoring the audio to a topic like homelessnesswhich is temporal, but also politically chargedrequired delicacy and balance. The challenge became how to branch out from it, he adds.

In working with Brueck, Walker says, I wanted her to look at the homeless issue, but not be limited by it. There are so many different communities in this park, from parents to punk rockers to sun bathers. You see people with camerasespecially in the spring with the hawks.

While it does capture many of these voices, in the end Brueck and Walkers piece is primarily meant to be a jumping-off point for listeners to contribute their own observations about the park. Is the park really defined by homelessness? asks Walker. How would you define it?

You Are Here HostThe Blind Barber

Although two of our team members were long-time visitors to Tompkins Square Park and had some contacts in the area, the search for a host site in the area began in the way many partnerships do: with simple conversations. On a weekday afternoon in June of 2016, team members Susan McGregor and Benjamen Walker, equipped with a prototype of the You Are Here unit, began scanning the edges of Tompkins Square Park for businesses that might make suitable installation sites. Apart from an establishments willingness to host, it was important that the device be positioned close to the street, ideally in a window.

Fortunately, team member Dan Phiffer had previously collaborated on art installations with Ninth Street Espresso, a local coffee bar that faced right on the park. Though the coffee shop was not able to host You Are Here, the folks there did share the name of a person to contact at the Blind Barbera barbershop-by-day, speakeasy-by-night located right next door.

That first afternoon we were lucky enough to meet Rob McMillen, who, in addition to his work at the Blind Barber, has a background in educational technology. An enthusiastic supporter from the start, Rob agreed to discuss the project with the owners of the Blind Barber and quickly secured their approval. Within weeks, the Tompkins Square Park installation of You Are Here was up and running, broadcasting a signal that was publicly accessible more than half a block away.

The High Line: Not Just for Tourists

On the far side of town, the High Line has been a major tourist destination since it first opened in 2009, attracting over five million visitors a year. Though not even a decade old, it has beenand continues to bea major influence on both the sensibility and direction of the neighborhood. Its one of New Yorks newest sites, and its gotten its reputation as being a tourist site, says Walker. But as producer Dasha Lisitsina illustrates in her audio collage, there are a lot of New York City residents who are drawn to this place, for reasons which are quite surprising, says Walker.

Part of the uniqueness of the High Line is its actual topography: It is a relatively narrow walkway that stretches from Gansevoort Street to West 34th Street. Because its this long strip, its kind of hard to describe as a place, he says.

To overcome the difficulty of picking a where within this beautiful, but ultimately transient space, Lisitsina decided to focus on who. There are not only a lot of artists and musicians who are camping out there and doing something, there are also quite a lot of New Yorkers who use it, says Walker.

Lisitsinas audio collage introduces listeners to artists working or performing on the High Line, as well as tourists who have come to participate and marvel. The highlight of this tour, though, are the New Yorkers who all have different reasons for coming to the High Line. A lot of people are looking for a place to be more contemplative in the crowd, says Walker, which he also sees as meshing well with the audio piece itself. If you were wearing headphones and people-watching, which is what people do there, it would be kind of great, he says. The other theme that I think comes out is how artists are using the space. Theyre all battling for a little atmosphere to connect with audiences and not step on each otherwhich also feels very New York, the battle over space.

Despite its many differences from Tompkins Square Park, the audio story at the High Line You Are Here station also uses the interaction of communities and ambiguity of the space as a way to inspire contributors. If its not a tourist space, says Walker, what is it? The point of the piece is that you are hearing from people who are trying to define what this place is.

You Are Here HostThe Half King

Despite the teams earlier explorations, we quickly realized that installing You Are Here somewhere along the High Line itself was probably not tenable; fortunately, we quickly identified a promising alternative in The Half King bar and restaurant, whose entrance on West 23rd Street is just steps from the nearest staircase entrance to the High Line and whose outdoor backyard is overlooked by the park itself. Although we had no explicit connections with The Half King, its history as a venue for book launches and literary discussions was well known to us, as were the backgrounds of its three co-owners: journalists Sebastian Junger and Scott Anderson, and filmmaker Nanette Burstein.

Without an introduction to work with, team member Susan McGregor approached The Half King the old-fashioned way: by showing up. Stopping by before the evening rush on a Friday afternoon, McGregor was able to make contact with the day manager, Chelsea White. Once again, we were fortunate to find an employee excited about the project, and several days later McGregor was able to sit down with White and The Half Kings general manager to discuss the installation.

Like the Blind Barber, The Half King was well suited as a site for You Are Here in part because of its location, but also thanks to its large, plate-glass window facing the street. In this case, we were able to simply set the You Are Here unit on an existing armoire, where a power strip and cable box were already set up.

Obstacles and Outcomes

As is almost always the case when launching a technology, the You Are Here project demonstrated that real people will always do something different with your system than what you expect. Fortunately, however, this guarantees that the effort will be a true learning experience.

This was certainly the case for You Are Here, as our public launches and installations highlighted some key design limitations of the system. While the technical hiccups were relatively easy to address, user expectations proved a thornier problem. As we discuss in more detail in the next section, clearly and effectively signaling both the presence and purpose of the You Are Here nodes to unfamiliar audiences remains a significant challenge.

Technological Limitations

Our initial design for the You Are Here project included the idea that it would be both open-source and inexpensive, as well as predominantly offline. While we did modify some of these original goals in order to improve accessibility, we also discovered during launch that some of the technology that was fine for a prototype had to be replaced once the You Are Here unit was placed in a public production environment.

We discovered one such situation during the launch event for our Tompkins Square Park unit, as attendees told us they were having trouble connecting to the network, or that they were able to connect but then were quickly booted off. After team members Sarah Grant and Dan Phiffer did some fast analysis, it became clear that the source of the problem was a piece of software called HostAPD, which stands for Host Access Point Device. This open-source software is designed to let any Wi-Fi card act as a router. In a typical case, someone might want to use this so that their phone can connect to their laptops Wi-Fi adapter and share its internet connection. In the case of You Are Here, the unit relied on the HostAPD software to transform the Wi-Fi card that came with the Raspberry Pi into a router, which is what creates the actual You Are Here network that listeners and contributors connect to.

Unfortunately, however, while HostAPD worked effectively for a handful of devices, it would block or drop users when it was overwhelmeda common issue with similar projects.36 As a result, we ended up removing HostAPD and instead connecting a small, physical access point37 to the You Are Here unit, which was able to successfully manage more connections.

Usage and Interaction Limitations

Similar to other offline projects, the biggest hurdle that You Are Here faced was user expectations around unknown, open Wi-Fi networks. While our monitoring of the You Are Here devices was intentionally limited, we noted that many users who connected to the network often logged off after only a few seconds, presumably discouraged that it did not provide a way to connect to the internet. Especially at the High Line location, a heavily trafficked tourist destination, this pattern of use was particularly evident. This highlights the fact that using familiar technologies in an unfamiliar way requires carefully tested and calibrated messaging to a degree that was ultimately out of the scope of this project. While our host partners were extremely generous in letting us install the You Are Here units on their premises (which included mounting brackets into a wall behind the main door at the Blind Barber), they understandably stopped short of allowing us to mount posters in the window that described the project and how it worked. While we did leave bright, graphic postcards at both locations and surrounding businesses, these would only be accessible during business hours and to patrons of those particular enterprises. Moreover, web and social media efforts to raise awareness about the projectsuch as blog posts and Twitter promotionhave an obviously limited reach. While they may activate and intrigue our existing online networks, by design the project requires physical proximity to a particular location. It is easy to imagine how a Venn diagram of these audiences may never overlap.

By far the most successful engagement we found with the system was during our launch events. As team members explained the projects design and intent to attendees, we found that many people were intrigued and inspired by the idea. At the Blind Barber, for example, an employee who happened to be present during the units installation excitedly shared with us how he wanted to involve musicians who would be performing in the park the next day by having them contribute their stories and songs. While this was unfortunately before some of the technological glitches were completely resolved, it indicated a kind of enthusiasm that we believe many would share if they understood the purpose and possibilities of the project.

Conclusion: Is Offline Wireless an Option for News Distribution?

Since the inception of the You Are Here project nearly two years ago, a great deal has changed in the world of digital distribution, both online and off. Audiences are at once more concentrated and more divided than ever before,38 while threats to open distribution loom large.39 Likewise, there were no fully open-source, offline wireless systems available two years ago, while today one can also build a Raspberry Pi(rateBox)though the reach and functionality of You Are Here remain distinct. Perhaps most significantly, however, the fragility inherent in the largely centralized structure of the internet has become even more apparent, as both attacks40 and accidents41 have caused major disruptions in service, and will likely do so more in the future.42 The question is how news organizations can continue to publish when the medium they rely onin this case, the internetis increasingly unreliable.

It is actually a question that the industry has faced before. In the early twentieth century, scores of American newspapers folded when paper shipping interruptions caused by World War I nearly tripled the cost of paper, escalating it from forty-five dollars per ton in 1910 to one hundred and twelve dollars per ton in 1920. At the time, newspapers were printing hundreds of thousands if not millions of copies on a daily basis, according to Michael Stamm, an associate professor of history at Michigan State. The media organizations that thrived, however, were those that began building their own infrastructure, from forests to paper mills. In some ways, says Stamm, bandwidth is now what paper used to be.

Unlike paper supplies, however, internet bandwidth isnt really within news organizations power to expand or control. Much as paper copies of newspapers and magazines continue to be sold at newsstands, though, news organizations can use offline wireless devices like You Are Here to solve the key problem of news distribution, which in Stamms view means getting it into peoples hands.

Fortunately, the devices needed to do so are already in peoples handsall thats needed is a more independent way to get them there. Moreover, the scope of our experimental You Are Here installations suffered from a number of limitations that established news organizations wouldnt face: They could easily install such devices at partner businesses or existing newsstands, as well as efficiently communicate to users the availability and purpose of such a service.

On a technical level, then, You Are Here offers a clear roadmap for anyone wishing to create an inexpensive, open-source, privacy-respecting, and local-only digital publication and engagement space (for instructions, including recommended hardware and the software we created and used for this project, visit: https://github.com/TowCenter/YouAreHere). In addition to testing, vetting, and troubleshooting a hardware and software system (culled from a dizzying array of possibilities), the public You Are Here installations helped answer essential questions about hosting a large number of users and extending the reach and stability of open-source, wireless nodes. Going forward, the You Are Here system could be installed in public or semi-public locations and run continuously with relatively little ongoing monitoring or maintenance.

We believe that creating similarly offline distribution points for news offers enormous opportunities for localization, community-building, and resilience. Whether the news outlet is a local blog, weekly newspaper, or national daily, the technology of the You Are Here nodes provides a unique opportunity to listen and to share with a truly local group of voices without interference from online ad networks, long-distance internet trolls, or reliance on third-party hosting services. We look forward to continued work on You Are Here, and exploring the communities, engagement, and distribution opportunities that offline networks can help develop and support in the future.

Acknowledgments

The You Are Here team would like to thank the many people who helped make this project possible. Among them are Hilary Brueck and Dasha Lisitsina, the audio producers who created the unique stories hosted at the You Are Here stations. Wed also like to thank Rob at the Blind Barber and Chelsea at The Half King, each of whom championed this work to their colleagues and made installing the You Are Here stations at those excellent establishments possible.

Finally, wed like to thank the Tow Centerespecially Emily Bell, Claire Wardle, and Nausicaa Rennerwhose patience and perseverance saw this work through from conception to conclusion. We are excited about where this work has taken us, and are looking forward to seeing where it may lead.

Susan McGregor with Sarah Grant, Amelia Marzec, Dan Phiffer, and Benjamen Walker

August, 2017

Susan E. McGregor, Why DDOS Attacks Matter for Journalists, October 26, 2016, https://www.cjr.org/tow_center/journalists_ddos_hack_passwords.php. Nate Anderson, PirateBox: An Artistic Provocation in Lunchbox Form,January 30, 2011, https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2011/01/piratebox-an-artistic-provocation-in-lunchbox-form/. Dan Phiffer, Occupy Here, https://occupyhere.org/. Jason Griffey, LibraryBox, https://librarybox.us/. Susan E. McGregor, Can Mesh Networks and Offline Wireless Movefrom Protest Tools to News? Nieman Lab, November 10, 2014, https://www.niemanlab.org/2014/11/can-mesh-networks-and-offline-wireless-move-from-protest-tools-to-news/. Mother Jones News Team, Hurricane Sandy: Elderly People Trapped, GasShortages, and Gridlock, Mother Jones, 2012, https://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2012/10/hurricane-sandy. Gerry Smith, Dont Count On Your Cell Phone For Help After The NextHuge Hurricane, Huffington Post, October 22, 2013, https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/21/cell-phones-hurricane-sandy_n_4118262.html. Martin Kaste, Wireless Carriers Under Scrutiny After Sandy, MorningEdition, November 1, 2012, https://www.npr.org/2012/11/01/164080605/wireless-carriers-under-scrutiny-after-sandy. Roberta Kwok, Mobile 911 System Could Be a Lifesaver, U.S. Depart-ment of Energy, https://portal.inl.gov/features_archive/Shared%20Documents/169218_mobile_911_system_could_be_a_lifesaver.pdf. Peter Tuckel and Harry ONeill, Ownership and Usage Patterns of CellPhones: 2000-2005, Proceedings of the American Association for Public OpinionResearch Conference, https://ww2.amstat.org/sections/SRMS/Proceedings/y2005/Files/JSM2005-000345.pdf. Stephen J. Blumberg and Julian V. Luke, Wireless Substitution: EarlyRelease of Estimates from the National Health Interview Survey, JanuaryJune2013, Center for Disease Control, 2013, https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhis/earlyrelease/wireless201312.pdf. Alina Selyukh, The Daredevils Without LandlinesAnd Why Health Ex-perts Are Tracking Them, NPR, May 4, 2017, https://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2015/12/03/458225197/the-daredevils-without-landlines-and-why-health-experts-are-tracking-them. Amy Mitchell, Jesse Holcomb, and Rachel Weisel, State of the News Me-dia 2016, Pew Research Center, June, 2016, https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2016/06/30143308/state-of-the-news-media-report-2016-final.pdf. Becky Kazansky, In Red Hook, Mesh Network Connects Sandy SurvivorsStill Without Power, TechPresident, November 12, 2012, https://techpresident.com/news/23127/red-hook-mesh-network-connects-sandy-survivors-still-without-power. Clive Thompson, The Blissfully Slow World of Internet Newsletters, Wired, May 13, 2016, https://www.wired.com/2016/05/rise-of-the-newsletter/. Local Matters Is a Weekly Newsletter That Curates Local Watchdog Re-porting around the Country, Nieman Lab, December 5, 2016, https://www.niemanlab.org/reading/local-matters-is-a-weekly-newsletter-that-curates-local-watchdog-reporting-around-the-country/. Thompson, The Blissfully Slow World of Internet Newsletters. James Fallows, How to Save the News, The Atlantic, June, 2010, https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2010/06/how-to-save-the-news/308095/. TeleGeography, Submarine Cable Map, https://www.submarinecablemap.com/. Tom Simonite, First Detailed Public Map of U.S. Internet BackboneCould Make It Stronger, MIT Technology Review, September 15, 2015, https://www.technologyreview.com/s/540721/first-detailed-public-map-of-us-internet-backbone-could-make-it-stronger/. Michael Freitag, Paperboys Go the Way of the Dodo, The New YorkTimes, March 22, 1987, https://www.nytimes.com/1987/03/22/business/what-s-new-in-newspaper-delivery-paperboys-go-the-way-of-the-dodo.html. McGregor, Can Mesh Networks and Offline Wireless Move from ProtestTools to News? ProPublica, ProPublica, New York Daily News Win Pulitzer Gold Medal,ProPublica, April 10, 2017, https://www.propublica.org/article/propublica-new-york-daily-news-pulitzer-public-service-nuisance-abatement. Jessica Davies, The Guardian Pulls Out of Facebooks Instant Articles andApple News, Digiday, April 21, 2017, https://digiday.com/media/guardian-pulls-facebooks-instant-articles-apple-news/. McGregor, Why DDOS Attacks Matter for Journalists. CNN, Cameroon Goes Offline After Anglophone Revolt, CNN, March 23,2017, https://www.cnn.com/2017/02/03/africa/internet-shutdown-cameroon/. Elaine Ou, Cant Stream Netflix? The Cloud May Be to Blame, Bloomberg,March 3, 2017, https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-03-02/can-t-stream-netflix-the-cloud-may-be-to-blame. Mitchell, Holcomb, and Weisel, State of the News Media 2016. Janet Cardiff, Introduction to the Audio Walks, Janet Cardiff and GeorgeBures Miller, https://www.cardiffmiller.com/artworks/walks/audio_walk.html. Twilio, https://www.twilio.com/. Anderson, PirateBox: An Artistic Provocation in Lunchbox Form. Alex Hern, Raspberry Pi 3: The Credit Card-Sized 1.2GHz PC ThatCosts $35, The Guardian, February 29, 2016, https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/feb/29/raspberry-pi-3-launch-computer-uk-bestselling. Sarah Grant, Subnod.es, https://subnodes.org/. Phiffer. Griffey. Jason Griffey, Simultaneous Connections? Google Groups, October 13,2016, https://groups.google.com/forum/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer#!msg/librarybox/44n8HFFpTq4/yxcqgE1OBAAJ. TP-Link Wireless N150 Access Point, https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002YETVVE/. Emily Bell et al., The Platform Press: How Silicon Valley ReengineeredJournalism, Tow Center for Digital Journalism, 2017, https://doi.org/10.7916/D8R216ZZ. Olivia Solon, Why the Net Neutrality Protest Matters, The Guardian,July 11, 2017, https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jul/11/what-is-net-neutrality-threat-trump-administration. Sam Thielman, Major Cyber Attack Disrupts Internet Service Across Eu-rope and US, The Guardian, October 21, 2016, https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/oct/21/ddos-attack-dyn-internet-denial-service. Jason Del Ray, Amazons Massive AWS Outage Was Caused by HumanError, Recode, March 2, 2017, https://www.recode.net/2017/3/2/14792636/amazon-aws-internet-outage-cause-human-error-incorrect-command. Mike Orcutt, Security Experts Warn Congress That the Internet of ThingsCould Kill People, MIT Technology Review, December 15, 2016, https://www.technologyreview.com/s/603015/security-experts-warn-congress-that-the-internet-of-things-could-kill-people/.

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Susan McGregor is Assistant Director of the Tow Center for Digital Journalism and Assistant Professor at Columbia School of Journalism.
BURIEN, A SUBURB OF SEATTLE, is not known for holding raucous city council meetings. But on July 31, opposing activist groups squared off in City Hall over a proposition to repeal Buriens safe city status, a sanctuary ordinance prohibiting city employees and police from asking people about their citizenship status.

During the public comments session, a row broke out between the two groups. Members of the pro-sanctuary group Burien Represent recorded each other with their smartphones while chanting: Whose city? Our city! Whose streets? Our streets! Craig Keller, leader of the anti-sanctuary group Respect Washington, aimed a tripod-mounted camcorder at them. (Kellers footage later aired on Fox News.) Standing on the periphery, a reporter for the Seattle-based alt-weekly The Stranger, Sydney Brownstone, recorded a series of short videos she posted on Twitter.

Aftermath of altercation. Cops talked to guy, no arrest. You can see CM Austin Bell attempting to intervene. pic.twitter.com/nMmZHdLcqY  (((Truly Bad))) (@sydbrownstone) August 1, 2017

The mayor ordered the sheriff to clear the meeting room. After a stern talking-to, the activists were allowed back into City Hall.

The episode underscores a reality for Seattle journalists reporting on immigration in their sanctuary city: the most important news often takes place in the suburbs.

A reporter called Seattles suburbs the frontline for conflicts over immigration. As reporters, we have to get better at reporting in them, which is difficult because most of us live in the city.

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A booming economy has created a housing shortage in Seattle, pushing up real estate prices. Over the past decade, working class residents, many of them minorities and first-generation immigrants, have left the city to find more affordable housing in suburbs like Burien, Kent, and SeaTac. An interactive map published by Governing Magazine shows that Burien borders a cluster of suburban municipalities hit hard by Seattles gentrification.

A demographic shift is affecting Burien, where the Hispanic population has grown from 10 percent, in 2000 to 24 percent in the most recent census. That change has yet to be reflected in the ethnicity of the Burien city council, which is all white.

Ethnoburbs have been pretty well documented for several years now, says Brownstone, whos been with The Stranger for nearly three years, and previously worked for Mother Jones, The Village Voice, and others. In Trumps America, theyre the frontline for conflicts over immigration. As reporters, we have to get better at reporting in them, which is difficult because most of us live in the city.

Seattle has figured prominently in the countrys immigration debate, with locally reported stories gaining national attention. After President Trumps election in November 2016, Seattle was among the first to declare itself a sanctuary city in response to Trumps vow to crack down on cities harboring undocumented immigrants. In February 2017, Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson blocked President Trumps first travel ban. Also that month, news broke that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials had arrested Daniel Ramirez Medina, a Dreamer legally residing in the Seattle suburb of Des Moines as an enrollee of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

Brownstone, a Seattle resident, says its difficult to stay on top of breaking news stories in the suburbs. She learned about the sanctuary-repeal proposition thanks to The B-Town Blog, a hyper-local news source published by South King Media. The blogs senior writer, Jack Mayne, is a former city editor for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

Im a retired daily newspaper editor that got bored, Mayne says. Retired means dead, so I decided to keep on working.

In addition to editing B-Town, Mayne writes for the websites sister publication, The Waterland Blog, which covers the suburb of Des Moines. On that website, he helped break the news that ICE had falsified its case against Daniel Ramirez Medina.

Even those immigrants who do speak English can be reluctant to give interviews because of the threat posed by ICE roundups.

With over 40 years of experience reporting in the greater Seattle area, Mayne has a long list of contacts in government and police departments. But even the deepest Rolodex cant help him overcome language and cultural barriers that make it difficult to gain access to sources in the immigrant community. Brownstone, who also does not speak Spanish, finds that even those immigrants who do speak English can be reluctant to give interviews because of the threat posed by ICE roundups.

Matt Adams, legal director for the Northwest Immigrants Rights Project, says that an immigrants willingness to speak to the press depends on a number of considerations.

Sometimes our clients want everybody to know what has happened to them and are willing to use their names, pictures or even provide interviews on television, Adams writes in an email. Other times, as examples, clients dont want their boss to know they are having problems with immigration, or dont want their community to know that they have filed a lawsuit against the government because they worry someone will think they are going to get a lot of money and that might make them or their family a target.

Liz Jones, a reporter and radio host for KUOW, Seattles NPR affiliate, has relied on her knowledge of Spanish to gain unprecedented access to Seattles hispanic community. Shes one of the few reporters to have been granted a visit to the Tacoma Northwest Detention Center, a facility that holds ICE detainees. There, she reported the story of a detained woman who suffered a miscarriage while incarcerated, raising questions about prenatal health care for detainees.

Ive been an immigration reporter for seven years, Jones says, so I have a good relationship with a lot of the attorneys who work in immigration law. A lot of my immigrant contacts come through attorneys, and that helps build trust between the detainees and myself.

At the Burien City Council meeting in July, the clocked ticked past 10:30pm. One council member, exasperated that her colleagues kept extending the discussion period, said: This is a business meeting, not a pajama party. They agreed to adjourn the meeting, postponing a vote on the proposition until the following week.

By that time, news had spread and Burien City Hall was packed, with overflow seating in the lobby. The mayor laid down rules to keep the crowd orderly: no cheering, chanting, or applause. After hearing more public comments, the council members voted in favor of putting the proposition on the November ballot, handing the decision about the fate of Buriens sanctuary status to the voters.

Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today

Ryan Bell is a writer and photographer based in Mazama, Washington. In 2015-2016, he was a Fulbright-National Geographic Storytelling Fellow in Russia and Kazakhstan. His work has appeared in National Geographic, Bloomberg, Outside, and many other publications. Follow him on Instagram @ryantbell.
Whether you have issues with a co-worker or your boss, working in a toxic office setting is detrimental not only to your health and wellness, but your overall career. Or, you might even be that toxic coworker and not realize it. Leadership development firm Fierce, Inc. surveyed over 1,000 American full-time workers and found that over half of them just ignore toxic colleagues and less than quarter of them muster up the courage to confront those individuals directly. Fierce executive vice president and leadership expert Stacey Engle tells CNBC Make It that it's natural to feel fear or discomfort when confronting others. "When it comes to toxic behavior, a lot is at stake," Engle says. "Ignoring the issue will cost an organization and its employees by negatively impacting morale, productivity, and well-being."

The survey also finds that simply telling your boss about the toxic colleague isn't always effective. Only 18 percent of employees complain to upper management and almost half of them say their management doesn't do anything to address the issue. "Some people do not react well when confronted, regardless of how eloquent and thoughtful you are," Engle says. "Luckily, the more you have these challenging conversations, the more empowering and less intimidating they become." Here are four steps Engle says you can take to have a productive talk with your boss about a toxic co-worker.

Know your issue

If you aren't sure how to describe the toxic nature of your relationship with a co-worker, the detrimental traits survey respondents mentioned include laziness, negative attitude, passive-aggressiveness, blaming others and gossiping.

"The first step in preparing to confront anyone is to name the issue for yourself," Engle says.

"Have specific examples of times you've felt the employee has affected your job." Some examples can include a project gone wrong or simply your ability to be satisfied in your role, she adds.

Schedule a time

To make sure you have a successful conversation and don't catch your boss off guard, Engle recommends scheduling a meeting with him or her.

"People are busy. It's not uncommon that throughout the day employees get pulled in many different directions," Engle says. "Catching them off-guard can mean that emotion from an issue that has nothing to do with you seeps into your conversation." "You deserve the individual's full attention," Engle says. "Make it a priority for both of you."

Prepare yourself

Addressing the situation doesn't mean full on venting and bashing your colleague to your boss. Engle emphasizes that confrontation conversations should be two-sided. "Indicate the desire to resolve the matter and invite response," Engle says.

"This is not a one-sided speech," Engle says. "Invite your partner to respond. The point is to learn more about their side and to clarify the bigger issue."



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With its decision to reinstate hundreds of academic articles, a division of Cambridge University has done what larger entities have failed to: stand up to China. Cambridge University Press, the world's oldest publishing house, on Monday reversed an earlier decision to block access within China to 315 articles in "The China Quarterly," a leading academic journal focusing on contemporary China. Most articles that had been blocked focused on topics seen as inconvenient to the Chinese government, including the Cultural Revolution, the Tiananmen Square protests and Taiwan.

People stand outside the Cambridge University Press stand at the Beijing International Book Fair in Beijing on August 23, 2017. Greg Baker | AFP | Getty Images

The publisher had blocked those articles from being accessed on the mainland after receiving an "instruction" to do so from a Chinese agency, CUP said in an Aug. 18 statement. While China has blocked other media platforms  such as Reuters and the Wall Street Journal  in the past, the move to censor CUP was different due to the academic journal's smaller, niche readership. Anita Chan, an Australian National University senior fellow, told CNBC the move was "unprecedented." Two articles authored by Chan were among those blocked. Meanwhile, a petition started by Peking University Associate Professor Christopher Balding stated that the academic community was "disturbed" by the Chinese government's attempt to "export its censorship on topics that do not fit its preferred narrative." Public outcry from academics and activists eventually led to the articles being reinstated by CUP on Aug. 21. Even though it took several days of heated protests for the Cambridge unit to change its mind, the publisher's ultimate decision highlights moves taken in the opposite direction by multinational corporations to placate regulators on the mainland.

Multinationals fall in line

One of those companies is Apple . The Cupertino-based tech giant drew ire for removing apps from virtual private network (VPN) providers from the Chinese version of its App Store in July. VPNs allow individuals in China a way of bypassing its "Great Firewall," a system that restricts access to the internet. In December last year, Apple pulled a similar move when it removed the New York Times' app from its Chinese app store. Reuters also reported last month that the iPhone maker announced it was building its first data center in China after the introduction of new cybersecurity laws requiring companies to store sensitive data on servers in China. Experts told CNBC in June that the new rules were vague while the practice of storing data on local servers could expose companies to government monitoring. In response, Apple CEO Tim Cook said during an earnings call that the company preferred not to remove the VPN apps, but had to comply with local laws. The tech firm also reiterated its commitment to privacy in a separate statement regarding its data center, adding that "no backdoors will be created" into the company's systems, Reuters reported.

China under Xi is now not only trying to control the information environment in China, but also the external information environment when it pertains to China. Anne-Marie Brady professor at the University of Canterbury

Apple isn't the only company complying with tougher regulations in China either. Amazon's Chinese partner told clients it would "shut down" unauthorized VPNs, Reuters reported earlier this month. Like Apple, an Amazon Web Services spokesman said the company had to work through Chinese partners to adhere to local regulations, Reuters added. In 2014 media reports said LinkedIn (now a subsidiary of Microsoft) was censoring posts of a sensitive nature from being seen in China so it could operate in the mainland market. Even though well-known companies  such as Apple and Google  make headlines when they either accept or reject regulator demands, the decision-making process is more "nuanced and mundane" for most firms, said Christopher Beddor, an associate at consultancy Eurasia Group. "For those companies that are impacted by censorship regulations, there's often a behind-the-scenes back-and-forth discussion with local partners and regulators over how to adapt the content for the Chinese market," Beddor added. That discussion happens, in part, because companies are trying to make money in China  as their shareholders likely desire  whereas CUP has more leeway as a university department.

What's next

Chinese authorities reacted to CUP's reversal just hours after its announcement: Regulators promptly scrubbed a Weibo post from the Cambridge University account announcing the decision, according to a report from the Guardian on Tuesday. However, the academic publisher's website remained available in China. Greatfire.org, a website monitoring censorship in the country, found that the webpage for "The China Quarterly" was uncensored as of Aug. 24. As the CUP website used Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS), the only way for authorities to block individual pages would be to block the entire website, Greatfire.org co-founder Martin Johnson (a pseudonym) told CNBC. The CUP website was also likely to remain unblocked, Charlie Smith, a pseudonym used by another Greatfire.org co-founder, told CNBC in an email. He said that's because the financial cost required to access journal articles acted as "its own form of censorship."

An aerial view of King's College, University of Cambridge. Cambridge University Press is the publishing business of the university. David Goddard | Getty Images
Indian IT services firm Infosys named Nandan Nilekani, one of its founders and former heads, as chairman on Thursday in a bid to end a lengthy feud between the board and the company's founders.

The move is likely to reassure employees and clients, and quell shareholder concerns after the shock resignation of its Chief Executive Vishal Sikka last week spooked investors and wiped billions of dollars from the company's market value.

Nilekani, credited for driving up Infosys' annual revenue four-fold to $2 billion during his 2002-2007 tenure as CEO, will take over as the non-executive chairman and as a non-independent director with immediate effect, India's No. 2 IT services firm said in a statement.

Chairman R Seshasayee, Sikka, who was serving as executive vice-chairman after exit as CEO, and two other directors also resigned as part of the board shake-up.

Ravi Venkatesan stepped down as co-chair, but will continue as an independent director on the board, Infosys said.

The Infosys board will try to engage with all shareholders as a matter of priority, Nilekani said in the statement.

Following Sikka's exit, Nilekani, the architect of India's ambitious biometric identity programme, was widely expected to return to Infosys, whose board has been tangled in a protracted public spat with founder Narayana Murthy, who accused the board of corporate governance lapses.

Disagreements between founders and the board centered around a rise in Sikka's pay, the acquisition of Israeli automation firm Panaya for $200 million and a severance package offered to a former finance chief.

Indian media reports on Nilekani's likely return had already boosted investor confidence and pushed the stock higher over its last two trading sessions.

Shriram Subramanian of shareholder advocacy group InGovern said Nilekani-led Infosys urgently needed to formally address corporate governance concerns raised by the founders.
People watch a television broadcast reporting the North Korean missile launch at the Seoul Railway Station on March 26, 2014 in Seoul, South Korea.

Japan will impose additional sanctions against North Korea following the reclusive country's

repeated missile launches and unresolved abduction issue, its top government spokesman said on Friday.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters that Japan would freeze the assets of six more organisations and two more individuals linked to North Korea.
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A court in South Korea on Friday sentenced Samsung's de-facto chief Jay Y. Lee to a five-year jail term, according to local media reports. The sentencing followed a trial where he was accused of paying bribes to gain government favors for the conglomerate. Local news agency, Yonhap, said the court found Samsung Electronics vice chairman Lee guilty of giving bribes to get support from ousted President Park Geun-hye. It also convicted him of embezzlement, hiding assets overseas and perjury, Yonhap reported. Lee is reportedly expected to appeal the decision, and one of Lee's lawyers told reporters that they were confident the ruling would be overturned, according to Reuters. Samsung C&T shares closed down 1.48 percent in the afternoon session, recovering slightly from an earlier drop of more than 2 percent. Samsung Electronics shares closed down 1.05 percent.

Jay Y. Lee, co-vice chairman of Samsung Electronics Co., right, is escorted by a prison officer as he leaves the Seoul Central District Court in Seoul, South Korea, on Friday, Aug. 25, 2017. Chung Sung-Jun | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Lee, the 49-year-old scion of the family behind South Korea's largest chaebol, was taken into custody and held by authorities since February. Chaebols are South Korea's large, family-run conglomerates that have historically played an important role in the country's economic development.

Consolidation of power

The special prosecutor's office accused Lee of bribing a close friend of former President Park to gain government favors for Samsung. That allegedly included a government approval in 2015 of the merger between Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries. The merger was opposed by Samsung C&T shareholder Elliott Associates, which said the deal greatly undervalued the company and overvalued Cheil Industries. The deal was part of a corporate restructuring program that was driven by the Lee family to consolidate power, particularly over the prized flagship brand Samsung Electronics, and to avoid paying excessive inheritance tax. Following that merger, the next step was to consolidate both Samsung Electronics and Samsung Life Insurance under the control of Samsung C&T, according to Park Sangin, a professor of economics at Seoul National University. "But that was not completed yet because of the whole scandal of ex-President Park Geun-hye," Park told CNBC's "Capital Connection" on Friday.

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Both Lee and Samsung denied any wrongdoing in February. The official stance was that Samsung admitted to giving money to foundations at the center of a corruption scandal that ultimately saw President Park removed from power, but the company maintained it received nothing in return.

Lee is not the face of the Samsung brand

Samsung also dismantled its corporate strategy office that handled key decisions for the conglomerate in light of the scandal. Top Samsung executives, including Vice Chairman Choi Gee-sung and President Chang Choong-ki also resigned. Experts previously told CNBC that the verdict on Lee was unlikely to affect Samsung's day-to-day business. That was because Lee is not the global face of the brand, according to one analyst. In July, the flagship brand Samsung Electronics reported a second-quarter operating profit of $12.67 billion due to a boom in its memory chip business. Samsung also remained the world's top smartphone vendor by shipment and earlier this week, it unveiled its newest Galaxy Note 8 handset. If Lee loses his appeal and has to serve his five-year prison term, then it would create some uncertainty over the management of the conglomerate and Samsung Electronics. "The Samsung Group would need an interim top management arrangement," Hank Morris, Asia adviser at Argentarius Group, told CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Friday morning. "That might be a single senior executive from Samsung Electronics ... or it could be a small committee of senior executives that would include also at least a member of the Lee family."

Future of the chaebols

The guilty verdict is expected to cast fresh light on the future of chaebols that have long enjoyed close relationships with South Korea's political elite. "It's meant to be a lesson to chaebol heads in general that they can no longer expect a three-year sentence, which is then instantly set aside in favor of a five-year-long parole," Morris said before the verdict was announced, adding, "The Moon administration would want to have the court reflect that it is a new era." When President Moon Jae-in came into power, he had pledged to rein in the vast influence that chaebols wield in South Korea. Chaebols control vast networks of companies through a circular holding structure and their control typically exceeds cash-flow rights  that means families often wield undue influence over group companies in spite of small direct shareholdings. While those conglomerates have been responsible for propping up South Korea's economic growth in the past, many citizens have long demanded political authorities curtail their power.

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An American business group endorsed on Friday a trade deal that no longer includes the U.S. and has been deemed a "disaster" by President Donald Trump.

The American Chamber of Commerce in Singapore, or AmCham Singapore, may be the first U.S. business association to endorse the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal excluding the U.S.

"The TPP is, by far, the best and most strategic trade framework from a business perspective  even without the U.S. government in it  as the high standard elements within it are supportive of U.S. businesses," Steve Okun, chairman of the AmCham Singapore TPP Task Force, said in a Friday statement obtained by CNBC.

The TPP had been considered all but dead after Trump pulled the U.S. out of the pact shortly after taking office in January, claiming the broad 12-nation trade deal was a "disaster" that would hurt U.S. manufacturing.

In May, the 11 nations remaining in the trade partnership agreed to pursue a deal without the U.S., examining options for bringing it into force "expeditiously."

The group said at the time it aimed to complete the assessment before it meets again on the margins of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Economic Leaders' Meeting in mid-November in Vietnam.

AmCham Singapore, noting that the city-state in which it's based often serves as the Asian headquarters for U.S. businesses, said it wanted the TPP-11 nations to implement the deal as soon as possible, calling it "the future of sustainable trade."

"Not only does this agreement provide duty-free access to the TPP-11 members for nearly all goods and all manufactured goods, it also dramatically opens up opportunities for the flow of services and investment sectors," the AmCham Singapore statement said.

It added that the deal improved intellectual property protections and opened up some government procurement contracts as well as including "unprecedented" environmental and labor protections.

In October of last year, 58 AmCham Singapore members, including Coca-Cola, Citi, 3M, Harley-Davidson and HP, signed a letter to the U.S. Congress urging the passage of TPP, citing the "competitive disadvantage" they suffered within Asia as they lacked duty-free access to the region's markets.
Uber investor Shervin Pishevar has filed a legal documents and also sent a letter to the board of the car-hailing company today, saying he had to "intervene" in the lawsuit brought by Benchmark against ousted CEO Travis Kalanick.

Yes, more mess at Uber, which must come as a shock to one and all. You can read the legal docs he has filed below, which call for the litigation to be sent to arbitration, among other things.

Pishevar has previously sent a letter asking for Benchmark to step down from Uber's board and also offering to buy a big part of its stake. He alleged in the new missive that the Silicon Valley venture firm is plotting to take over the board, is messing with governance rules and is trying to push through its own CEO candidate, Meg Whitman.

Ouch on this issue: "Benchmark's dirty tactics and strong arming extend even beyond this

lawsuit; for example, in a carefully orchestrated charade, Benchmark is currently trying to cram down, on its own arbitrary timetable, its own preferred CEO candidate, Meg Whitman, with inaccurate denials that she is a candidate."

Whitman has indeed said numerous times and quite loudly and publicly that she was not going to be the Uber CEO; and she is also not appearing at a board meeting tomorrow, where the final two candidates are presenting their visions of Uber's future.

So Shervin versus Meg here, I guess. You pick! I'll duck!

It's all very complex and even uglier than you might imagine, all coming out of the lawsuit that Benchmark filed against Kalanick.

I would explain further, but just read it, since it will just get worse tomorrow:

Uber Technologies Inc.

c/o Garrett Camp

Chairman of the Board Directors

1455 Market Street

San Francisco, CA 94103

August 24, 2017

Dear Uber Board of Directors.

I write to inform you that, along with Steve Russell, I have come to the conclusion that I have no choice but to seek to intervene in the unfortunate lawsuit that Benchmark Capital has brought against Travis Kalanick, the founder and former CEO of Uber.

As you know, I have tried in every way possible to convince my friends at Benchmark to drop this lawsuit, to end their public campaign against the founder and the company, and to divest their shares under a proposal which would reward them hugely for their investment.

I have called for Benchmark to resign from the Board by proposing a specific plan that would allow Benchmark to reduce its holdings so that the rest of the Board can move forward constructively to address the challenges of building our company, securing new infusions of major capital, and recruiting a world-class CEO to oversee our continued growth.

Instead, Benchmark has refused to meet with me to address these concerns. I asked as a friend to "have a rational, adult conversation," to "have a conversation and try to make peace on behalf of all." Benchmark told me they looked forward to talking with me "when this is over," but saw no possibility of "a meaningful conversation" with me about these issues.

But they have been more than willing to talk to others, inappropriately, and in violation of their fiduciary duty. They reached out directly to employees in a letter, which is utterly inappropriate for a venture capital firm to do. Benchmark principal Kris Fredrickson helped recruited Gautam Gupta , the head of finance and effectively the acting Uber CFO, to another company where he owned shares without ever informing Uber; in fact, Frederickson told his partner and Uber board member Bill Gurley six months earlier, but Gurley never told Travis Kalanick, exacerbating the crisis facing the Company in May 2017 when Gupta left. Even more troubling, we have been told that Benchmark has been conferring with Lowercase Capital with respect to adverse action against Uber, indicating that they are seeking to remove Arianna Huffington from the Board and, in clear violation of their fiduciary duties, wrongfully leaked highly confidential details from the investigation by former Attorney General Eric Holder.

Benchmark even intruded itself into staff recommendations made by Holder, urging  contrary to the CEO's wishes  that Holder recommend that the General Counsel be retained, rather than offered a promotion, lest that be seen negatively; yet another inappropriate intrusion by a venture capital investor, this time in an independent investigation

And perhaps most tellingly of all, Benchmark appears determined to insert its own candidate as CEO, Meg Whitman, prior to addressing any future issues, telling me that they "see no meaningful discussion without an acceptable CEO candidate being hired  uninfected by improper influences." The "improper influences" here are Benchmark's own efforts to control the company. They have no interest in reaching a peaceful accord which will allow this great company to grow even more, to recruit a world-class CEO, to secure further important funding. Clearly, they have a different agenda than ours.

Benchmark's investment of $27 million has grown to some $8.4 billion because of the outstanding leadership of Travis Kalanick and his team. Benchmark recognized as much, even as it was encouraging Travis to resign. For a venture capital firm to then turn around, having threatened Mr. Kalanick with a public campaign if he did not resign, and then launch the campaign anyway  complete with the filing of a frivolous lawsuit notwithstanding an arbitration clause that prohibits such lawsuits from being brought in the first instance  has unfortunately convinced us that Benchmark is not operating in good faith, does not have the company's best interests at heart, and instead is seeking to take advantage of the current circumstances to try to take control of the Board.

Conduct so completely at odds with Benchmark's fiduciary duty cannot be left unanswered, particularly at this terrible time for Mr. Kalanick and his family. We all owe a huge debt to Travis and his team for their tireless work in imagining, creating, and building Uber. I know how proud Bonnie Kalanick was of her son's work, and it is an affront to her memory which we cannot silently tolerate that her passing should become the occasion for a secretive and personal assault on her son by those who, by sheer dint of his hard work and determination and that of his team, he has made wealthy beyond all their other investments.

The lawsuit brought by Benchmark seeks to cancel the Voting Agreement amendments adopted in 2016, when the Saudi Government's Public Investment Fund made a $3.5 billion dollar investment in Uber. The Agreement was amended to give the Saudis the right to designate a board member; and to give founder and CEO Travis Kalanick three seats he had the right to designate. No one objected at the time; nor did they object any time in the next year. It was only after Mr. Kalanick took a leave to deal with his family's personal tragedies that Benchmark for the first time took the position that Mr. Kalanick should be forced to resign and to give up his right to appoint additional Board members  supposedly because he had withheld information that Benchmark in fact knew all about.

There is no basis for canceling an agreement entered into by sophisticated investors each advised by counsel. We have a direct and substantial interest in not allowing the governance of the company to be unilaterally changed at the insistence of one party in violation of the procedures requiring written consent to amend. And there is no basis for Benchmark's decision to ignore the comprehensive arbitration provision which governs all disputes arising out of that Agreement in favor of a high-profile filing that paints the company in a negative light to serve Benchmark's own interest in a public campaign against the founder.

We are seeking to intervene in the lawsuit because if Benchmark insists on trying to use the courts to try to take over this company, we are committed to doing everything we can to try to stop this abuse.

We continue to hope that a way can be found for Benchmark to move forward, having profited so handsomely from the work of Travis Kalanick and many others, and to do so without inflicting gratuitous harm on the company which we have all supported, and for which we continue to have the greatest expectations.

Sincerely,

Shervin Pishevar

Trustee, Sofreh LP

Former Uber Board Observer (2011-2015) and Advisor

Uber Shareholder Alliance
By all accounts, the Mooresville, North Carolina-based chain benefited from the upswing in more people looking to polish up their houses with new appliances and such. Sales were up nearly 7 percent to $19.5 billion for the quarter ending Aug. 4. At stores open for more than year, the cash registers tallied a 4.5 percent increase. The average ticket rose almost 4 percent to $71.40.

Lowe 's fiercest target is Home Depot , not Jeff Bezos . The $60 billion do-it-yourself retailer clipped its operating margin growth for 2017 to ramp up marketing. That sliced $4 billion from its value. Attracting more shoppers to visit outlets in search of home-improvement stuff underscores an increasingly bitter rivalry with its $180 billion peer, not the seemingly unstoppable Amazon.

The rising tide also highlights that Home Depot and Lowe's are almost indistinguishable given their wide aisles of lumber, paint, sinks and tile.

As Home Depot noted last week, a tight housing supply is boosting the overall category. That constrains people's ability to move easily, so instead remodeling is in vogue. Additionally, first-time buyers wading into the market appear to be finding that the older stock now available is in need of an overhaul.

More from Breakingviews:

Wal-Mart beats Amazon at its own game

Home Depot manages to fence out Amazon

Central bank confab may be calm before the storm



The rising tide also highlights that Home Depot and Lowe's are almost indistinguishable given their wide aisles of lumber, paint, sinks and tile. Both have a similar footprint with Lowe's totaling 2,141 stores to Home Depot's count of 2,282. It follows that marketing and customer service become important points of differentiation.

Lowe's Chief Executive Robert Niblock said the company will invest more in advertising as well adding more salespeople to the floors, putting pressure on operating margins. Its stock fell about 6 percent in response. Home Depot got dinged last week on concerns that Bezos' Amazon would impinge on its territory. For now, at least, the home-improvement business is more an old-fashioned duel of two similar competitors, rather than a tech upstart pulling out the rug.

Commentary by Jennifer Saba, a columnist at Breakingviews. Follow her on Twitter @jennifersaba.

For more insight from CNBC contributors, follow @CNBCopinion on Twitter.
That has not stopped Iranians from snapping up millions of iPhones smuggled in from places like Dubai and Hong Kong. Nor has it kept Iranian app developers from creating thousands of apps for local users and offering them through App Stores outside Iran.

Officially, Apple has no presence in Iran . Because of American sanctions against the country, the company's iPhones are not legally available for sale here, and Apple does not offer a version of its App Store in the country.

Now, Apple is moving aggressively to shut down Iranian apps. The crackdown here follows the company's recent removal of apps in China that allowed residents to evade censors and gain access to the global internet, and were deemed illegal by the Chinese government.

On Thursday, Apple removed Snapp, a ride-hailing app similar to Uber that is popular in Iran, from its app stores. That followed the removal in recent weeks of apps for food delivery, shopping and other services.

In a message to Iranian developers whose apps were affected by the ban, Apple said, "Under the U.S. sanctions regulations, the App Store cannot host, distribute or do business with apps or developers connected to certain U.S. embargoed countries."

More from The New York Times:

Facebook scrambles to police content amid rapid growth

Iranian Parliament, facing US sanctions, votes to raise military spending

Iran reaches deal with Renault despite new US sanctions



An Apple spokesman, Tom Neumayr, confirmed the message's authenticity. He declined further comment.

Mahdi Taghizadeh, a founder of DelionFoods, an online food delivery service, said his app was among those taken down.

"We work so hard, and have to fight all the time, and now this," he said in an interview. "No one with an iPhone can download any of the popular apps any more. Imagine if in the U.S. you wouldn't be able to get Uber on your phone."

Mr. Taghizadeh has protested the move online, starting a campaign on Twitter, #StopRemovingIranianApps, to press Apple to end the crackdown. (Although the Iranian government has blocked Twitter in the country, determined users find ways to reach it.)

Google, which allows Android developers to publish apps in Iran so long as they do not involve purchases, does not appear to have taken a similar action against Iranian apps in its Play store, and its formal Play guidelines allow apps to be distributed in the country.

In addition to blocking Twitter, the Iranian government has long blocked Facebook and Google's YouTube service.

When it comes to technology, American sanctions against Iran over its nuclear weapons program are complicated. The Obama administration eased restrictions on American tech companies that offered internet services in Iran as a way of encouraging a free flow of information, especially among younger Iranians.

The Trump administration has modified the overall sanctions, and President Trump signed a new sanctions bill into law this month. It is unclear whether the administration meant to impose new restrictions on technology companies.

European countries lifted all sanctions against Iran after the 2016 nuclear agreement was reached.

Apple told Iranian developers in February to remove any payment options in their apps to prevent Iranian money from entering the United States in violation of the sanctions. Iran had developed its own internal online payment system, shaparak, in response to the sanctions. After the Apple notice, almost all Iranian apps, including Snapp, switched to shaparak, cash and other methods of payment.

"The full removal of Iranian apps by Apple means our work will be much more complicated," said Mr. Taghizadeh. His company had started an online campaign to attract more customers, but has decided to halt those efforts for now. "What is the point when people can't download your app?"

Iran's new telecommunications minister, Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi, complained on Twitter about Apple's decision to remove the apps and said he was planning to pursue the issue.

Mr. Azari Jahromi wrote in Persian that "11 percent of the cellphone market in Iran belongs to Apple." He added: "Respecting customer rights is a principle today that Apple hasn't abided by. We will legally pursue the omission of apps."

Mr. Azari Jahromi is Iran's youngest minister. He hinted last week that Twitter and YouTube might be unblocked in the country, but he also said the decision was not his to make.

Twitter declined to comment, and YouTube had no immediate comment on the minister's remarks.

Apple is not formally represented in Iran, because of the American trade restrictions. Samsung , one of its key competitors, opened a large sales center in the country in February.
Closely followed trader Art Cashin said Friday that "a sense of frustration will build" in the market if President Donald Trump and Congress can't get their act together on tax reform.

"The fact that they've failed on a couple of levels. If it doesn't look like they're putting their act together on something like taxes ... if they look that ineffectual as we get into September, then it's gonna be a problem," UBS' director of floor operations at the New York Stock Exchange said on "Squawk on the Street."

In an interview with the Financial Times published Friday, Trump's top economic advisor, Gary Cohn, said the president will launch a major push for tax reform next week.

Cashin said investors breathed a sigh of relief after Cohn, who is Jewish, told the Financial Times he would not resign after Trump's remarks on a violent white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virgina. "As a Jewish-American, I will not allow neo-Nazis ranting 'Jews will not replace us' to cause this Jew to leave his job. I feel deep empathy for all who have been targeted by these hate groups. We must all unite together against them," Cohn said in the interview.



Cohn added that the administration "must do better" when condemning neo-Nazis and white supremacists.

But Cashin said investors are "a little concerned about saying that the administration can do better."

That interview came as Congress attempts to avoid a government shutdown. Cashin said investors are calling Trump's bluff and hope that Congress has learned their failures.

Regarding Hurricane Harvey, Cashin said he believes it will not be a market mover Friday. A lot of it will depend on what the storm's final course is, he said. If it moves further east, it could put a few refineries out of business, Cashin added.

"That could reinforce the idea that maybe a little less demand for crude because you can't process it well enough and maybe some shortage of gasoline," he said.

Cashin also spoke about the monetary policy symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. He said he doesn't think Fed Chair Janet Yellen will say anything surprising and expects European Central Bank President Mario Draghi to say nothing.

"It looks like Jackson Hole might turn out to be a duller-than-expected event," Cashin said. "Now (Yellen) could always surprise us but I think she wants to be very careful about not disturbing the market."
Border Guard Bangladesh personel detain a suspected Myanmar citizen (C), who is suspected by Rohingya escapees of spying for Myanmar, at a refugee camp in Teknaf in southern Cox's Bazar district on November 24, 2016. Dhaka has called on Myanmar to take 'urgent measures' to protect its Rohingya minority after thousands crossed into Bangladesh in just a few days, some saying the military was burning villages and raping young girls.

At least 21 insurgents and 11 members of the security forces were killed in Myanmar's troubled Rakhine state on Friday when militants staged a major coordinated attack on 24 police posts and an army base, the military said.

The fighting - still going on in some areas - marked a major escalation in a simmering conflict in the northwestern state since last October, when similar attacks prompted a big military sweep beset by allegations of serious human rights abuses.

The Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), a group previously known as Harakah al-Yaqin, or "Faith Movement", which instigated the October attacks, claimed responsibility for the early morning offensive, and warned of more attacks.

The treatment of approximately 1.1 million Muslim Rohingya has emerged as majority Buddhist Myanmar's most contentious human rights issue as it makes a transition from decades of harsh military rule.

It now appears to have spawned a potent insurgency, which has grown in size and morphed from an militant group into something more akin to a widespread movement, observers say.

The situation in the state deteriorated early this month when security forces began a new "clearance operation" in a remote mountain area.

The army said that one soldier, 10 police and 21 insurgents had been killed in the attacks. Two military sources contacted by Reuters said there may be more deaths.

"In the early morning at 1 a.m., the extremist Bengali insurgents started their attack on the police post ... with the man-made bombs and small weapons," said the army, referring to the Rohingya with the derogatory term implying they are interlopers from Bangladesh.

It added the militants also used sticks and swords and destroyed bridges with explosives. Further attacks came at around 3 a.m. and 4 a.m., it said.
European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said Friday the global recovery is improving, but like an increasing number of financial and business leaders, warned about demographic challenges to growth.

The euro spiked 1 percent to a high of $1.1940, its highest against the U.S. dollar since January 2015 after Draghi's initial remarks.

"The global recovery is firming up," Draghi said, according to prepared remarks on the European Central Bank website. He noted that in Europe and Japan, "the consolidation of the recovery is at an earlier stage" versus that of the U.S.

Draghi also said significant monetary accommodation is still needed and that inflation is not yet converging to the central bank's target. The euro edged off session highs to trade near $1.192 after those comments.

"It would suggest that nothing is imminently forthcoming from Frankfurt," said John Velis, vice president of Global Macro Strategy at State Street Global Markets.

"Of course, what's missing, and what he has mentioned in the past, is that the strength of the currency has served as a break on demand and inflation in the euro zone," Velis said. "Markets got the hint however, and the impressive spike in EUR immediately after his prepared remarks has now been blunted."

Draghi was speaking at the annual central bankers' meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. His prepared remarks did not comment directly on future ECB monetary policy.

The ECB president also said Friday that the central problem of "how to raise potential output growth" faced increasing challenges.

"Without stronger potential growth, the cyclical recovery we are now seeing globally will ultimately converge downwards to those slower growth rates," Draghi said. "Slower growth will in turn make it harder to work through the debt and demographic challenges facing many advanced economies."

Ahead of the speech, some speculated Draghi might use Jackson Hole to hint at when the ECB might begin tightening monetary policy by cutting back on its asset purchase program. But in a Wednesday speech in Germany, Draghi did not comment on how the central bank might adjust policy to the improving economy in the euro zone.

On Friday, Germany's Ifo economic institute said its business climate index edged down to 115.9 from 116.0 in July, versus the consensus Reuters estimate for 115.5.

The euro had already begun strengthening against the U.S. dollar earlier in the day after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen did not address future monetary policy in a Friday speech. Yellen said the financial system is safer now than it was at the time of the financial crisis about a decade ago and did note regulations may need some adjustments.
Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen has been scrupulously avoiding discussion of specific details on the future of monetary policy, leaving economists to draw inferences from her sentiments about the health of the overall economy.

"If you hear Janet Yellen say something like, 'Well, gee, we really don't think that lending has grown excessively,' that's a good sign for the markets," said Paul Christopher, head global market strategist for Wells Fargo.

Christopher said that such a seemingly banal statement would imply that "liquidity is not considered excessive, therefore rate hikes will not be aggressive, and therefore the market can return to the focus and the consensus  strong consensus  that there's going to be a very gradual pace to rate hikes."

He also said the hikes could slow to such a pace that the next intervention won't take place until 2018. "So that's going to be a reason for the market to rise here," he said.

In her remarks at a conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on Friday, Yellen cautioned against risk-taking in financial markets.

"Any adjustments to the regulatory framework should be modest and preserve the increase in resilience at large dealers and banks associated with the reforms put in place in recent years," she said.
U.S. President Donald Trump (R) shakes hands with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi in the Oval Office of White House in Washington, DC, April 3, 2017. Olivier Douliery-Pool | Getty Images

The U.S.'s moves on Tuesday to cancel state aid to Egypt prompted suggestions that the Middle Eastern country may have become little more than a bargaining chip in a wider strategy to apply to North Korea. But analysts have suggested this could be something of an ambitious notion given the administration's track record. The New York Times reported on Wednesday that moves to pull $95.7 million in aid to Egypt and suspend a further $195 million on human rights grounds could be part of a greater, premeditated agenda to indirectly target North Korea, a country with which Egypt shares strong diplomatic ties. However, analysts have suggested that the strategy appears "too well planned" to have stemmed from an administration whose formative months have been dogged by failed social reforms, high-profile diplomatic clashes and mass resignations. "These suspensions could be a way of the U.S. gaining leverage rather than burning ties, but somehow that seems too well planned to be part of the administration's agenda," Frederick Carriere, research professor of political science at the Maxwell School of Syracuse University in New York, told CNBC Thursday.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reacts during the long-range strategic ballistic rocket Hwasong-12 (Mars-12) test launch in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on May 15, 2017. KCNA | Reuters

The suspension of $195 million prevented the funds from expiring, which they would have otherwise done at the end of September. This means that Egypt has a chance to regain them. Nevertheless, Carriere agreed that recently escalating tensions with North Korea could have been a motivation behind the sudden turnaround. "Egypt might be a particularly fruitful pressure point in applying pressure to North Korea," Carriere said. "There may be other motivations, but this move would certainly be the latest in a pattern of applying pressure to North Korea." Egypt's ties to North Korea date back to the 1970s, when North Korean pilots helped to train Egyptian fight pilots before its 1973 war with Israel. It is reported that North Korea later obtained its first Scud-B ballistic missiles from Egypt in 1979 or 1980, according to the Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control, a non-profit research body. More recently, in 2015, the United Nations said that Egypt's Port Said was being used by North Korean front companies and shipping agents for weapons smuggling. However, Egypt's ties with the U.S. are also long and substantial, and the U.S. announcement appeared to shock the Egyptian government, resulting in the immediate cancellation of a scheduled meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump's top adviser Jared Kushner and Egypt's Foreign minister Sameh Shoukry.

Jared Kushner, son-in-law and senior adviser of President Donald Trump. Nicholas Kamm | AFP | Getty Images
Milk prices are set to rise in Europe as the continent faces a shortage of milk, cream and butter by Christmas, the head of one of the world's biggest dairy companies said on Friday.

Global milk prices, which are up about 28 percent from 12 months ago after producers cut output, have stabilised in recent months but Peder Tuborgh, CEO of Danish-based dairy co-operative Arla Foods, said world milk stocks were very low.

"There has been a scarcity of milk in the whole world after the very low prices last year," he told Reuters.

"There is a big lack of fat, cream and butter products everywhere in Europe. It will not at all be possible to meet demand up to Christmas. It is those forces that are dragging up the prices significantly," Tuborgh said.

Milk prices rallied earlier this year after European producers cut output last year following the scrapping of European Union milk quotas in 2015, which had led to a sharp fall in prices.

Arla, a co-operative owned by 12,500 farmers in Denmark, Sweden, Germany, the UK, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Belgium, said on Friday it would increase the price it pays for milk from its farmer owners for a third consecutive month in September, by one euro cent per kilo to 38.3 euro cents per kilo, and could raise it again before the end of the year.

"After that we might increase it one more time this year, but that is a bit uncertain," he said.

The coming spring season in New Zealand will be key to further price moves in the global milk market, analysts have said.

In the first half of this year, Arla increased the price it paid its farmer-owners by 19 percent.

"I think we've already had the main part of the price increases we'll see this year," Tuborgh said.

He predicted that milk production would catch up next year and grow by 2-3 percent.

Arla, the world's seventh-largest dairy company in terms of turnover, continues to expand outside of its main North European markets.

Sales from outside Europe grew by 10 percent in the first half of this year to 792 million euros, or 16 percent of total revenue, it said.

Sales to Asia jumped 36 percent from a year earlier while sales to sub-Saharan Africa rose 32 percent.

"I would have been satisfied with growth rates of around 20 percent, and I think that that is probably a more viable level long term," Tuborgh said.
European markets closed lower Friday after Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen kicked off a series of central banker speeches at the Jackson Hole economic symposium in Wyoming.

The Stoxx 600 fell below the flat line by the close of play Friday, with most sectors trading in negative territory. The pan-European benchmark was 0.2 percent higher on the week, while the FTSE , German Dax and French CAC were little changed.

Meanwhile, stocks in the U.S. turned mixed after Yellen gave little indication of when investors could expect to see the next interest rate hike.

The central bank chair said that increased regulation was an appropriate response to the financial crisis and insisted that the Fed remains committed to making reforms and improvements to maintain financial stability.

In Europe, basic resources were one of the few sectors to remain in the black, buoyed by higher copper prices.

Autos stocks were also higher after Fiat said Friday that it would assess any offer for the Italian-American car maker though it did not comment on previous reports that Great Wall Motor was interested in Jeep. The stock was up by 1.6 percent in early deals but slumped lower by 0.7 percent in afternoon deals.

Provident Financial took over the top of the European benchmark up by more than 22 percent following news that it reorganized its consumer credit unit. Earlier this week, the subprime lender saw its stock slump more than 75 percent after a profit warning.

Investment manager SimCorp was also more than 4 percent higher by the close of play after announcing a $8.8 million share buyback program.

On the other end, the retail sector was the worst performing group, down by more than 1 percent. Food retailers, including Ahold Delhaize , Carrefour and Tesco were sharply lower after Amazon said it would cut prices at Whole Foods. The Dutch grocer fell as much as 6.1 percent given its strong presence on the east coast. The e-commerce giant bought the chain for about $14 billion - a merger that is set to shake up the market for grocers.
Top White House economic advisor Gary Cohn says he seriously considered resigning after President Donald Trump's reaction to the violent protests in Charlottesville, Virginia.

"I have come under enormous pressure both to resign and to remain in my current position," Cohn said during an interview with the Financial Times about economic policy.

"As a Jewish-American, I will not allow neo-Nazis ranting 'Jews will not replace us' to cause this Jew to leave his job. I feel deep empathy for all who have been targeted by these hate groups. We must all unite together against them," Cohn said.

The former president of Goldman Sachs has said that the administration "must do better" when condemning neo-Nazis and white supremacists. Initially following the protests the president blamed "both sides" for causing protests to become deadly. Trump also said there were some "very fine people" among the white supremacist protesters.

Cohn met with Trump privately last Friday and even drafted a resignation letter, The New York Times reported.

Cohn leads the White House national economic council and is jointly guiding Trump's effort to enact tax reform with Treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin.

"Citizens standing up for equality and freedom can never be equated with white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and the KKK," Cohn said in the interview.

Trump himself has also signaled that Cohn is a top contender to become the next Federal Reserve chairman should Janet Yellen be replaced. Leaving the White House would squelch virtually any chance Cohn would have at attaining the Fed position.

Cohn told the FT he is "reluctant" to leave the administration because he feels a duty to the American people.

It's unclear how Trump will respond to these comments from Cohn. "A source close to Trump predicts he will explode when he reads the Cohn interview," Axios reported after the FT interview was posted.

Read more from the Financial Times here.
A tractor carries a cotton module ready for transport to the gin at a farm in Texas.

The path of the Hurricane Harvey is putting Texas agriculture at risk.

The Lone Star State leads the nation in cattle and cotton production, and rice also is a major ag crop. All are vulnerable with the approaching storm.

At the same time, Harvey is expected to delay agricultural export activity as it will interrupt ocean vessels and barge traffic along the Texas Gulf Coast.

Most farmers in the western Gulf Coast region were working hard this week to prepare for the storm and harvesting as much cotton and rice as they could.

A majority of the rice is already harvested but Harvey could be potentially devastating to those farmers with crops still in the fields. Activity has now been suspended due to the approaching storm, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

"Hopefully producers have been able to get most of the remaining rice acreage out of harm's way in advance of the storm," said USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey.

The Texas rice harvest was about 70 percent complete through Aug. 20, according to the last USDA estimate.

Michael Klein, a spokesman for the USA Rice Federation, told CNBC that rice producers have "actually have been pretty lucky because they got in a little early" to harvest the crop and he estimates as much as 85 percent of the acreage in the state is now harvested. He said what's mostly in the field now is organic rice, which tends to grow slower.

That said, Klein indicated that there's a risk heavy winds from the storm could cause damage to some of the harvested rice now in bins. Also, he said levees could break and cause additional problems.

"With most of the crop harvested, what the rice guys are primarily concerned with at this point is personal safety, houses, stuff like that  and flooding," he said.

Still, Klein said rice is in better shape going into the storm versus cotton.

"The cotton crop in this area of Texas is the biggest and most beautiful that anyone can remember in years, and probably two-thirds of it is still in the fields. It's going to be disastrous for them."

Also, Klein said he spoke to several farmers in the storm path and heard stories about rice and cotton producers helping each other out in recent days trying to get crops harvested.

As for cotton, Rippey said the USDA estimates only 9 percent of the Texas cotton crop is harvested.

"Most of the harvested acreage is what would be in the path of the storm," Rippey told CNBC. "The fact that they've hit 9 percent is favorable because they've gotten that cotton out of the field in advance of the hurricane."

Another big concern from an agricultural standpoint is the potential impact to livestock.

Meanwhile, agricultural shipments have been interrupted along the Texas coast, which represents almost one-quarter of the nation's wheat exports and a sizable portion of corn and soybean exports.

The Port of Corpus Christi closed as it prepared for the approaching hurricane. In addition to ag exports, the port is a major exporter of U.S. oil.

Also, the Port of Houston tweeted that its general cargo facilities would close at noon Friday. The port said it plans to "monitor conditions for Monday through the weekend."

The last big hurricane to hit Texas was Ike in September 2008. It was a Category 2 storm that struck Galveston Island, so it was a little bit further up the coast than Harvey.

"Ike was a huge sprawling hurricane," said Rippey. "It did have widespread impacts."

Ike was the costliest hurricane ever to hit Texas, causing $34.8 billion in damage and ranking No. 6 nationally in weather and climate disasters, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Ike also was blamed for 112 deaths.
A Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches location in Metairie, Louisiana. Julie Dermansky | Corbis | Getty Images

How we got here

Courts began to enshrine the at-will doctrine in the 19th century, making exceptions only for employees with fixed-term contracts. In Payne v. Western & Atlantic Railroad Co., the Tennessee Supreme Court ruled that a railway foreman in Chattanooga had the right to forbid his workers from buying whiskey from a merchant named L. Payne. Payne had sued the railroad, claiming it couldn't threaten to fire employees to discourage them from buying goods from a third party. The court disagreed, arguing that the railroad had a right to terminate employees for any reason  even that one.

If employees with lower pay and less prestige aren't free to get new jobs, their bosses have a corresponding duty to extend to them the rights enjoyed by people atop the corporate ladder.

The notion of at-will employment and its associated lack of job protections soon rose to the level of constitutional mandate. The 1894 Pullman strike, which disrupted national rail traffic, prompted Congress to pass the Erdman Act four years later. That law guaranteed the right of rail workers to join and form unions and to engage in collective bargaining. But the Supreme Court struck down that law in 1908. Writing for the majority in Adair v. United States, Justice John Marshall Harlan explained that since employers were free to use their property as they wished, they could impose and enforce their own labor rules. Employees, in turn, were free to quit. Harlan wrote: "The right of a person to sell his labor upon such terms as he deems proper is, in its essence, the same as the right of the purchaser of labor to prescribe the conditions upon which he will accept such labor from the person offering to sell it." That might sound reasonable, but the Adair ruling led to the proliferation of "yellow dog" contracts threatening workers with firing if they joined or organized unions. The term disparaged people who accepted such conditions, but the principle had widespread legal approval. For three decades, the at-will doctrine stymied legislation that would have protected labor rights. Even when a supervisor told a long-term employee he would be fired unless his wife had sex with the supervisor, courts refused to protect the man from losing his job.

Labor rights and the law

With the passage of the National Labor Relations (Wagner) Act in 1935, all private sector workers and unions gained the power to collectively bargain with employers. Subsequent labor agreements, such as the one the Steel Workers Organizing Committee negotiated with U.S. Steel in 1937, made employers prove "just cause" before firing anyone. The Civil Rights acts of 1964 and 1991 added employment protections prohibiting discrimination based on race, gender, religion and national origin. The Americans with Disabilities Act, which Congress passed in 1990, ensured that persons with disabilities would have access to jobs with or without reasonable accommodation. Those laws and other measures, including modern exceptions to the at-will rule, offer workers some security. But they provide no protection at the federal level from noncompete clauses.

The leeway for employers to impose these provisions varies widely from state to state and is in flux. For example, Alabama and Oregon have sought in recent years to limit their scope, while Georgia and Idaho have made it easier for companies to enforce them. A uniform federal rule could clarify the situation and benefit both employees and employers. Critics have pointed out the disadvantages of noncompete clauses to unskilled labor. "By locking low-wage workers into their jobs and prohibiting them from seeking better-paying jobs elsewhere (companies) have no reason to increase their wages or benefits," Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan said when she sued the Jimmy John's fast-food franchise last year for making its employees sign noncompete clauses. The chain subsequently agreed to drop its noncompetes, which had also come under fire in New York. The clauses had barred the sandwich maker's workers from working for other firms earning more than 10 percent of their revenue from "submarine, hero-type, deli-style, pita, and/or wrapped or rolled sandwiches" for two years after leaving the Jimmy John's payroll.

A proposal
Both ships will stop in New Orleans on Saturday to replenish fuel, fresh water and food supplies. Guests have the option to end their cruise there.

Carnival Cruise Line 's Freedom and Valor ships were supposed to disembark in Galveston on Saturday. They are currently at sea and "will remain a safe distance from the storm," a spokesperson said in an email.

The Port of Galveston in Texas has been closed because a Category 3 hurricane is barreling toward it. Harvey is currently about 70 miles east-southeast of Corpus Christi, Texas , according to the National Hurricane Center. It is expected to make landfall late Friday or early Saturday on the central Texas coast.

"However, given the severity and projected path of the storm along with potential challenges guests may encounter attempting to travel back to Galveston independently, we are strongly encouraging them to remain on board as we intend to return the ships to Galveston as soon as feasible," the spokesperson said.

Carnival will shorten both ships' upcoming trips. Passengers will receive a refund based on the number of cruise days missed. They also have the option to cancel without a penalty and will receive a future cruise credit, the spokesperson said.

Carnival Breeze was supposed to return to Galveston on Sunday. The ship is currently docked in Cozumel and will now stay overnight there. It plans to leave for Galveston on Saturday to be in position to debark guests when the port reopens, the spokesperson said.

Royal Caribbean' s Liberty of the Seas is also scheduled to arrive in Galveston on Sunday. The cruise line is "still actively monitoring path and progression" of the hurricane, a spokesperson said in an email. The ship plans to leave Cozumel on Friday night and start its journey back to Galveston.

"At this time, Liberty of the Seas will keep her original schedule for Sunday's turnaround in Galveston, Texas," the spokesperson said. "Should we make any changes to Liberty of the Seas' itinerary, we will make sure to inform our guests."
The futures market has "solidly" anticipated the intensifying threat from Hurricane Harvey, commodities king Dennis Gartman told CNBC on Friday.

"This is going to be a short-term event," the Gartman Letter editor and founder said. "Obviously there are going to be repercussions. What has happened, however ... it's put downward pressure on crude oil, which is confusing a lot of people."

"But when you think about it, the demand for crude is going to decline. At the same time, refiners are going to be curtailed, so you're going to see a shortage of gasoline and distillate. Gasoline futures are strong. Distillate futures are strong. But they're only strong in the very near buys," he added in an interview on "Squawk Box."

He said beyond November and December gasoline and distillate prices will weaken. The storm "could be very serious. My guess is that it shan't be," he said.

Oil prices rose Friday as the U.S. petroleum industry braced for Hurricane Harvey, which was barreling thought the Gulf of Mexico and may become the biggest storm to hit the U.S. mainland in more than a decade.

The hurricane is expected to make landfall by early Saturday on the central Texas coast where Corpus Christi and Houston are home to some of the biggest U.S. refineries.

U.S. gasoline prices have risen since Wednesday, their highest since April as refiners shut down in preparation for the storm.

Gartman also said he hopes for " a very boring Friday" the Federal Reserve's monetary policy symposium at Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

U.S. stock index futures were slightly higher as investors anticipated remarks by Fed Chair Janet Yellen and European Central Bank President Mario Draghi.

"I hope as [Draghi] has said in the past week that he has no major announcements to be made. We expect to see something from Ms. Yellen. Probably some timetable as to the reduction of the Fed's balance sheet."

Yellen's speech could be her last as Fed chair at the annual gathering sponsored by the Kansas City Fed.

Reuters contributed to this report.
"Texas is about to have a very significant disaster," Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Brock Long told CNN on Friday morning. "What concerns me the most right now is whether or not people have heeded the warning that local county judges have put forward. If they have not, their window to evacuate is rapidly coming to a close."

The hurricane, expected to be the biggest to hit the U.S. mainland in more than a decade, could make landfall as a Category 3 storm in southeast Texas late Friday or early Saturday. Harvey is expected to bring a "life-threatening storm surge" of up to 12 feet and "catastrophic" flooding with up to 35 inches of rain to parts of the Texas coast, according to the National Hurricane Center.

As Hurricane Harvey bore down on Texas on Friday, President Donald Trump faced one of the most challenging tests of his young administration.

Strong winds batter a house on Padre Island before the approaching Hurricane Harvey in Corpus Christi, Texas on August 25, 2017.

At 11 a.m. EDT, the hurricane center said "preparations should be rushed to completion in the warning areas" as "conditions will continue to deteriorate" throughout the day.

The approaching storm marks Trump's first natural disaster and one of the first major domestic problems that does not stem from political strife. FEMA, working with state officials, is tasked with preparing for and responding to natural disasters that are considered a significant threat to life and property.

Two former FEMA administrators believe Long, who was confirmed to the post only in June, is up to the task.

James Witt, a former FEMA head under President Bill Clinton, said Long brings experience from leading Alabama's emergency agency and will do a "great job." Aside from supplementing state resources with federal resources, Long will have a role in making sure that Trump stays up to date on developments and communicates effectively with local officials, Witt told CNBC.

"The president needs to give them his full support and [say] that he's going to be on top of it," said Witt, who is now CEO of consulting and lobbying firm Witt Global Partners.

Long, who actively tweeted updates on the storm and FEMA on Friday morning, told CNN that the agency has positioned management teams, commodities and search and rescue crews in Texas.

On Thursday, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump "has been briefed and will continue to be updated" on the hurricane. She played down concerns about the Department of Homeland Security  which oversees FEMA  lacking a permanent secretary, expressing confidence in acting Secretary Elaine Duke.

On Thursday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said he with Trump and the heads of DHS and FEMA, who are "helping Texas respond."

Abbott has declared a state of disaster in at least 30 counties, and widespread evacuations have been ordered along Texas' Gulf Coast.

Trump tweeted Friday morning that he has spoken with Abbott and Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards about Harvey and noted that he's "here to assist as needed."

Trump tweet

On Friday, Sanders said in a statement that "the storm will likely be very destructive for several days" and that Trump "encourages people in the path of this dangerous storm to heed the advice and orders of their local and state officials."

"The President's highest priority is the safety of the public and of first responders. Those who ignore evacuation orders could be putting both themselves and first responders in danger," she said.

Trump plans to visit Texas sometime next week, Sanders said.

David Paulison, who took over FEMA following the agency's heavily criticized response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, told CNBC he is "very comfortable" with the officials overseeing the disaster response.

"With the politics aside, I'm comfortable from what I've seen that they're going be able to handle this as well as possible," said Paulison, who now works for emergency management and homeland security consulting firm Global Emergency Solutions.

Still, the federal government has no formal control over one crucial area of limiting potential damage and loss of life: issuing evacuations. Long acknowledged as much in the CNN interview on Friday.

"I do not have the authority," Long said, saying it falls on local county officials.

Witt said listening to evacuation orders is "the most important thing right now."

Said Witt: "You can replace material things but losing a life is very, very tough."
President Donald Trump has a message for Texans in the path of Hurricane Harvey: "Good luck."

"Good luck to everybody," Trump said on the way to the Marine One helicopter for a weekend trip to the Camp David retreat. "They're going to be safe. Good luck to everybody. Good luck."

Trump, who was holding his granddaughter's hand on the way to the helicopter, pumped his other fist and waved after wishing Texans luck.

Harvey, the first likely natural disaster since Trump took office, is expected to be the biggest hurricane to hit the U.S. mainland in more than a decade. The Category 3 storm is projected to make landfall in southeast Texas late Friday or early Saturday.

Harvey is expected to bring a "life-threatening storm surge" of up to 12 feet and "catastrophic" flooding with up to 35 inches of rain to parts of the Texas coast, according to the National Hurricane Center.

In Louisiana, 10 to 15 inches of rain could fall.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has declared a state of disaster in at least 30 counties, and widespread evacuations have been ordered along Texas' Gulf Coast.

The approaching storm marks one of Trump's major domestic problems that does not stem from political strife. The White House has said the president and Federal Emergency Management Agency are coordinating with state and local officials about providing the resources they need.

On Friday, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement that "the storm will likely be very destructive for several days" and that Trump "encourages people in the path of this dangerous storm to heed the advice and orders of their local and state officials."

"The President's highest priority is the safety of the public and of first responders. Those who ignore evacuation orders could be putting both themselves and first responders in danger," she said.

Trump plans to visit Texas next week.
The global economy is doing well, the chief economist for the International Monetary Fund told CNBC on Friday.

The IMF's new forecast on the world's economy is expected in about five weeks, Maury Obstfeld said. And while he wouldn't divulge what that may be, he did say the organization "certainly" isn't going to lower the number from its last projection.

In July, the IMF forecast global economic growth of 3.5 percent for 2017 and 2.5 percent for 2018.

"We see broad-based recovery. The importance is that it's really broad-based in a way that it hasn't been in a decade," Obstfeld said in a "Closing Bell" interview from the sidelines of the Federal Reserve's symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

That doesn't mean there won't be concerns ahead. While there are not any immediate downside risks, there are longer-term ones, he noted.

"One risk is just continuing tepid growth. What we're seeing now is a cyclical upswing, but potential growth remains slow," Obstfeld said.

"That brings with it political tensions which we've seen spilling over into protectionist rhetoric, for example."

Earlier Friday, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi told the audience at Jackson Hole that protectionist policies pose a "serious risk" for growth in the global economy.

The comments come at a time when President Donald Trump has been scrutinizing U.S. trade agreements around the world in a push to reduce trade deficits and boost conditions for American manufacturers.

 CNBC's Liz Moyer contributed to this report.
Moody's recently changed its outlook on the Indonesian banking system to positive from stable, as it saw improvements in the country's operating environment, asset quality and sovereign creditworthiness.

High margins, a large market with low banking penetration and healthy economic growth are key reasons why Indonesia is considered one of the most attractive markets for financial institutions in Southeast Asia.

Kartika Wirjoatmodjo, president director and CEO of Bank Mandiri said at a CNBC panel earlier this month that he does not see margins or profitability decreasing anytime soon as "access to financing is still limited and if all banks were to grow rapidly, it will take at least five years for the market to converge."

While Wirjoatmodjo was confident, macro-economic and credit risks still threaten the industry, according to PwC's 2017 Indonesian Banking Survey.

Fauzi Ichsan, CEO of Indonesian Deposit Insurance Company, however, said that the risks are "actually coming down" and he attributed it to the country's healthy economic growth and stability in commodity prices.

Ichsan added that he considered the recent investment-grade rating for Indonesia from S&P global ratings to be an important vote of confidence.

Indonesia's banking industry might be one of the most profitable in Southeast Asia, but at the same time, challenges are aplenty: the absence of a credit bureau, the large number of banks in Indonesia and the rise of financial technology firms.

Financial regulators in Indonesia have said they are planning to consolidate the sector through mergers and acquisitions, in order to create a stronger and more efficient banking system.

Wirjoatmodjo was involved in the merger of four banks in Indonesia during his time with Boston Consulting Group. When asked if there is still room for consolidation in the industry, he mentioned that Indonesia should have a target of 50 to 60 banks in the long run, and "investors like Japan, China and Taiwan, are actually willing to buy and integrate more banks."

There are reportedly 120 commercial banks in Indonesia.

President Joko Widodo has a target to grow the economy at 7 percent. Much of that growth could come from financial technologies: A McKinsey report on Indonesia's digitalization said fintech firms could add up to 10 percent of GDP to Indonesia's economy by 2025.

Ichsan said that it will be difficult to imagine Indonesia's economic growth accelerating to 7 to 8 percent over the next few years, so the country will have to "rely on infrastructure development and when it comes to the banking sector, fintech can facilitate growth."

The rise of fintech firms is intensifying and challenging the traditional banking space, but there are a lot of complements, executives said.

Wirjoatmodjo explained that "big banks can embrace technology and change the way we think about customer relationship, risk management and even direction."

Key industry leaders all echoed the same sentiment that fintech companies do not threaten the banking system. In fact, they said they're keen on investing and collaborating with them.

Wirjoatmodjo went on to elaborate that the bank's resources are often strained and "by investing, they have direct access to ideas and also people who can build it." Therefore, it will be much more efficient for them to invest in fintech companies rather than to construct their own from scratch.

Furthermore, Vera Eve Lim, CFO of Bank Danamon , stressed that collaboration with fintech companies is key and her bank is actually seeking to use technology to enhance data analytics and automate processes.

One thing is for sure: Fintech unicorns are already eyeing a slice of the pie, and Adrian Gunadi, CEO of Investree said his largest concern will be foreign fintech companies entering Indonesia.

"They will be coming, and we have to be ready," he said.

Programming note: Viewers in Asia can catch the full CNBC panel on Indonesian banking at 5 p.m. SIN/HK on Friday, Aug. 25
Gold's role as a 'safe haven' asset in times of uncertainty is widely acknowledged, but according to the chief executive of The Pure Gold Company, it's all about how you hold it.

Physical stores of the precious yellow metal could prove far superior to the other growing varieties of gold holdings, Josh Saul told CNBC Friday, highlighting its security and tax benefits.

"Physical gold is motivated by people who want long term protection. The benefit of having physical gold is that you have a physical store of wealth, plus there are also several tax advantages," Saul said.

However, this all depends on who you are and where you store it.

In the U.K., investment grade gold coins are not subject to capital gains tax, meaning that U.K. residents do not have to pay tax on any appreciation in the price of their stash. This applies to some of Britain's most popular coins such as Britannias and Sovereigns, which are produced by the U.K.'s Royal Mint.

But, in the U.S., gold is treated as a capital asset and a collectible, meaning it is subject to capital gains tax. This is also true of parts of Europe.

"Given what we've seen in Europe with regards to Brexit implications, a lot of our (British) customers are getting their money out of Germany, France and Italy, for example, and into gold, whether they're living in the U.K. or not," Saul said.

He also noted the metal's attributes as a hedge against unpredictable monetary policies, economic risks and cyber-attacks.
The Australian airline Qantas says it is committed to achieving the world's longest non-stop flight between London and Sydney by 2022.

The flight between the glamour capitals would take 20 hours and, according to the airline, will slash 3 hours off the fastest current trips that incorporate stops in places such as Hong Kong, Singapore or Dubai.

The airline said it will now spend a year working with engineers on both Boeing 's 777-x and Airbus 's A350 aircraft to develop technology that will allow the trip.

Speaking after positive company results, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce described London to Sydney as the "last frontier" of commercial aviation. He also touted New York and Paris as possible non-stop destinations.
Hurricane Harvey is headed directly toward the coast of Texas, and the category 3 storm is expected to bring up to 35 inches of rain in certain areas, as well as winds at 125 miles per hour and sea levels as high as 12 feet.

For many small business owners, the effects could be devastating. Nearly 40 percent of small businesses don't reopen after a natural disaster because of the cost to repair damages, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

NHC Atlantic tweet

But these small businesses are getting ready to help to rebuild.

Andy Crocker is the owner of Crocker Moving and Storage in coastal city Corpus Christi, which is directly in the predicted path of the storm.

His family has been running the business since 1910 and the company moved into its current building in 1956, he tells CNBC Make It. Crocker can tick off the storms the structure has withstood.

"Hurricane Carla, Hurricane Celia, Hurricane Beulah," he says, in 1961, 1983 and 1967, respectively. And the list goes on.

Crocker is taking precautions and has back-up generators in place. "About two days ago we started shutting things down," he says. "We started moving things around, away from doorways and away from windows."

He has no moving jobs booked for Monday or Tuesday. But by Wednesday, Crocker plans to be back to business, he says. He's even hoping to have employees who evacuated return.

That's because in the aftermath of the storm, customers might need him. "If [residents] do have household damage, they need to have their furniture removed for repairs," Crocker says. He plans to be ready.

Corpus tweet

It's a similar situation for Art Ramirez, the owner of Summit Construction, also in Corpus Christi. He is expecting to be busy with repairs and rebuilding jobs after the storm.

"I anticipate for our phone to be ringing a whole lot," he says. "We have a pretty large team of contractors and sub-contractors and we've already contacted a lot of them letting them know that extra work is going to be coming."

He hopes that residents will support other local business too.

"The good thing about Corpus Christie is no matter what we go through, we are a pretty tight knit community," he says. "People are going to go back to the restaurants, people are going to go back to the mall, people are going to go back to their every-day lives."

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Don't miss: Trump to Texas, as Hurricane Harvey bears down: 'Good luck to everybody'
Chipotle Mexican Grill has more to worry about than the rising price of avocados.

While the price of the main ingredient in the restaurant's guacamole has jumped 75 percent since mid-July, BTIG analyst Peter Saleh told CNBC in a phone interview that the "avocado issue" is irrelevant for Chipotle going forward.

"For the investment community, avocados are the least of [Chipotle's] worries," he said.

Saleh said that rise in avocado prices, which has been caused by shortages in Mexico and a poor harvest in California, will impact Chipotle's margins, but that shareholders are more focused on whether the restaurant can win back diners.

"If the sales improve and they miss the bottom line because avocado prices went up too much, nobody is going to care," he said. "And in reverse, if [Chipotle] beats the bottom line because they managed avocado prices well but the sales came in the weak, the stock's going to go down."

In a research note published Friday, Credit Suisse analyst Jason West estimated that every 10 percentage-point increase in avocado prices would lower Chipotle's earnings per share by 30 cents on an annual basis.

"We generally don't update our financial outlook apart from our quarterly earnings disclosures," Chris Arnold, spokesman for Chipotle, told CNBC via email. "We'll update all of our financials, including any relevant food cost trends, when we disclose our third-quarter earnings."
A Iranian woman walks past a wall painting in the shape of Iranian flag in Tehran, Iran on the first anniversary of nuclear deal between Iran and world powers on January 16, 2017.

The Trump administration is giving "strong indications" that it is preparing a case to decertify Iran's compliance with the international nuclear agreement, an expert says.

If that happens, though, some analysts believe it risks alienating U.S. allies. In addition to the United States and Iran, the 2015 nuclear agreement was signed by China, Britain, France, Germany and Russia.

The White House sent Nikki Haley, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, to Vienna on Wednesday to meet with officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency, which is responsible for monitoring and verifying Iran's commitments under the 2015 agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

On Thursday, Iran's state-run IRNA news agency quoted from a letter sent by Iran's foreign minister to the U.N. agency saying the country "is abiding by its duties and responsibilities" with regard to nuclear weapons and agreements. He accused Washington of using the issue "for ill-wishing political means."

During her visit, Haley "discussed the IAEA's verification and monitoring of Iran's nuclear-related commitments," according to a statement by the agency. It provided no additional information, and a statement from Haley's office discussed her visit but shed no light on imminent action.

Last week, Haley said the Tehran government should be held accountable for "its missile launchers, support for terrorism, disregard for human rights, and violations of U.N. Security Council resolutions. Iran cannot be allowed to use the nuclear deal to hold the world hostage."

The Trump administration has certified Iran's compliance twice under a law that requires it to notify Congress of Iran's compliance every 90 days. The next review ends in October.

Analysts say recent actions by the U.S. demonstrate that President Donald Trump plans to renege on the Iran nuclear agreement. During the election campaign, he threatened to rip up the agreement, calling it "the worst deal ever."

The actions include new U.S. sanctions imposed on Iran and a comment last week by a U.S. official that Iran is in breach of "the spirit" of the nuclear accord. New sanctions were designed to punish Iran for its human rights record, rocket launches as well as its role in terrorism and arms smuggling.

"He's given strong indications that he's just not going to recertify it," said John Glaser, director of foreign policy studies at the Cato Institute, the libertarian think tank.

"If we were to leave the deal or deliberately abrogate it, we'd be isolated internationally and we wouldn't be able to do anything like reapply sanctions that would do any kind of damage on Iran," he added. "That's because the rest of the international community would not sort of play along."

Glaser said the other parties to the agreement "agree that Iran is compliance with the deal and agree that the deal should be kept in place because it's a robust, nonproliferation agreement. It has kind of taken military conflict against Iran because of the nuclear program off the table."

Last week, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani threatened to quit the nuclear pact if the White House issues new sanctions. Iran charged those sanctions were a violation of the nuclear accord.

"Iran has already harvested a great many of the benefits of the deal already," said Thomas Karako, a senior fellow with the International Security Program and director of the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a conservative think tank. "If they are considering a breakout for the purposes of [nuclear] capability, they will probably try to maximize their benefits and minimize the blowback."

Karako said one way for Tehran to get the most mileage out of the nuclear accord is to "string this along enough so as to take the tension out of the so-called snap-back sanctions."

Some analysts believe Iran has an incentive to comply with the agreement because of the lifting of years of sanctions, which had hurt its economy. Since the agreement, the Islamic country has enjoyed strong exports of crude oil and benefited from increased foreign trade and signed billion-dollar investment deals.

The White House and State Department didn't respond to requests for comment.
Source: St. Ives

Unilever 's latest retail experiment is a blend of today's trends. The company opened St. Ives Mixing Bar in New York's Soho neighborhood this summer. Inside, customers can choose ingredients from Unilever's St. Ives skin care brand to create their own facial scrubs and body lotions. The St. Ives concept allows customers to customize a product that is normally the same across all drugstore shelves. It also creates an experience where shoppers can interact with the product. Both are what millennials are looking for today. "We wanted to create a space where millennial consumers are heavily engaged," said St. Ives brand director Suzanne Palentchar. "They're seeking experiences, not just products, and we wanted to be part of that journey they're on." Pop-up shops aren't a new concept. Kellogg opened a Pop-Tarts cafe in New York earlier this year. Unilever operates two similar stores in New York, one for its Magnum ice cream brand and another for its Pure Leaf tea brand. This, however, appears to be the first time a company has adapted the concept to personal products.

Source: St. Ives

At the mixing bar, customers receive a form they fill out to choose the ingredients they want blended into a face scrub or body lotion. They are then paired with an employee who teaches them about the products. The employee blends the ingredients together and writes the customer's name on the bottle. Both the scrub and lotion cost $12. Customers can sample St. Ives' classic drugstore products at a sink station along the back wall. They can take Instagram-worthy pictures in a photo booth. Every aspect of the store is designed to allow customers to interact with St. Ives, Palentchar said, and the pictures customers are taking in the photo booth show her the shop is meeting its goal. "When you step back and look at those images in totality, it's just an amazing diverse mix of exactly the millennial target that we're trying to engage with on this," she said. "They're having fun and having a joyful moment, and we're a part of that. We're just over the moon."

Source: St. Ives

Shoppers aren't the only ones who benefit from the experiment. St. Ives is closely tracking data collected at the mixing bar, Palentchar said. The company is identifying the most commonly selected ingredients. The information may be used to create future products. The company is also collecting contact information and consumer data. On the order form, customers are asked to provide their name and email address. They are also asked to answer questions about their skin concerns, which skin care products they use most often and where they buy them. They collect even more data from a Vengo machine. It's essentially a vending machine that dispenses free samples in exchange for people answering similar questions to the ones on the order form. The company has collected more than 25,000 email addresses at the mixing bar, Palentchar said. She hopes the store will help boost St. Ives' brand awareness and help them engage with customers.

Source: St. Ives
Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao (R) looks on as President Donald Trump speaks following a meeting on infrastructure at Trump Tower, August 15, 2017 in New York City.

Appearing at a gathering of U.S. governors this February, the Trump administration's top transportation official pledged she would work swiftly to help put more self-driving cars on the country's roads.

"There's a lot at stake in getting this technology right," Secretary Elaine Chao stressed at the time.

Six months later, however, the Trump administration has essentially pumped the brakes on some efforts to advance technology that could redefine how Americans travel, reduce traffic congestion and save lives.

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As tech and auto giants forge ahead in testing and developing driverless vehicles, the U.S. government is still lacking a number of key safety regulators to oversee and study the nascent industry. Meanwhile, a key federal advisory board focused on driverless-car technology  a committee comprised of top executives from Apple , Ford , GM , Lyft and other tech and auto giants  has fallen entirely inactive, four sources told Recode.

The so-called Federal Committee on Automation held its first meeting on Jan. 16, days before former President Barack Obama left office. Since then, though, the group led by Mary Barra, the CEO of General Motors, and Eric Garcetti, the mayor of Los Angeles, hasn't met once, the sources said.

A spokesman for Lyft said the company's president, John Zimmer, actually resigned his seat at the table "a while back." That happened before a score of business leaders fled two White House-backed corporate advisory boards, citing Trump's controversial comments about a neo-Nazi demonstration in Charlottesville, Va.

A spokeswoman for Google-owned Waymo, meanwhile, said they believe the Obama-era task force is not active under Trump.

And a spokesman for the Department of Transportation said in July the agency was "still reviewing its options for how best to utilize the Committee going forward and on what specific scope the Committee should focus."

In follow-up emails this week, the aide referred Recode back to the DOT's previous comments.

On one hand, the slow lane for self-driving cars isn't totally unexpected, as the Trump administration continues to chart its course in major transportation policy debates and decides which federal programs to keep or replace.

But the snail's pace of its policymaking efforts stands in stark contrast to the all-out blitz on Capitol Hill. Last month, a committee of House lawmakers advanced a bill that would help companies like GM and Google seek more exemptions to federal safety rules, perhaps allowing them the ability to test as many as 100,000 experimental self-driving cars in the United States. The Senate is working on a similar measure.

And that's where some of the Trump administration's troubles began.

As the House debated its legislation, starting in June, they had to do so without first fielding testimony from the U.S. government's leading transportation watchdog, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. That's because Trump had not nominated anyone to the post at the time  and still, in late August, the president has failed to select a candidate.

In the end, the NHTSA is sure to have the primary responsibility of implementing any bill passed by Congress. To that end, its absence from hearings initially rattled some Democrats, who later voted to advance the self-driving car bill anyway. "We should not be moving bills out of the committee until we hear from the administration," said New Jersey Rep. Frank Pallone earlier this year.

Consumer safety advocates are skeptical, too. Lacking a leader, "it's hard for me to be optimistic or pessimistic because I don't know if they're going to open the floodgates and take a lot of risks to rush the technology out  or if they're going to take a reasonable, rational pathway to protecting people," said David Friedman, director of cars and product policy and analysis at Consumers Union.

Friedman previously served as acting NHTSA administrator under Obama. At the time, he said in an interview that the NHTSA "made clear they were going to use their enforcement tools to the full extent" in cases in which automakers failed to protect drivers and passengers' safety." With Trump, though, the headless watchdog agency's approach isn't yet clear.

Other, similar federal jobs remain unfilled  including the third-most powerful position at the Department of Transportation.

In April, Trump tapped Derek Kan, a general manager at Lyft, for that crucial policy post. Kan knows federal transportation law, dating back to his work advising Amtrak, and politically he has ties to his soon-to-be boss, Chao, and her husband, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Taken together, Kan had been regarded as a shoo-in for the role. But the Lyft leader still hasn't been confirmed by the Senate, despite the support of tech and auto giants who hope he'll be their voice on self-driving car policy  someday.

Veterans of government say it still has plenty of career employees on staff to regulate a challenging industry like autonomous vehicles. "Work doesn't stop at NHTSA," said David Strickland, the agency's chief under Obama, who now lobbies on behalf of Ford, Google, Uber and other self-driving car companies.

If anything, Strickland told Recode, he is heartened by Chao's commitments  including her February speech to governors earlier this year  in which she pledged to update the federal government's current voluntary safety standards.

"Hopefully, we'll see updated guidance soon," Strickland said.

Issued in September 2016 under Obama, the guidance recommends  but doesn't require  the likes of Ford, Google and Uber to submit to safety checks and turn over more data, including crashes and other incidents, to the federal government for review. For her part, Chao entered the Department of Transportation pledging to revise the self-driving car blueprint. She's expected to announce her plans in September, according to a government source familiar with the process.

To Friedman, the existing standards already give "industry a fair amount of opportunity to run forward." But the Trump administration has said little about its preferred approach, a silence that's stoked speculation.

"That's the risk here, right: Instead of just running forward, what this administration could do is enable them to leap forward without looking," he said.

CNBC's parent NBCUniversal is an investor in Recode's parent Vox, and the companies have a content-sharing arrangement.
Europeans have a reputation for taking extra long holidays during summer.

In Norway, the term "fellesferie" refers to two or three weeks of vacation time workers collectively take in July  leaving businesses closed or operating on summer hours.

In the Netherlands, employees in the building industry take construction holidays called "bouwvak" for several weeks.

And until two years ago in France, a law required Parisian bakers to stagger their summer vacation time so enough bakeries stayed open for customers during the holidays.

It's an envious concept to many Americans  the United States is the only counry in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development that does not mandate paid vacation. Research shows many Americans who receive paid time off are afraid to take it because of workplace pressures. But it turns out the European vacation mindset could actually help boost productivity.

The European Union's Working Time Directive guarantees EU workers at least 20 paid vacation days per year, contrary to the United States, which does not have a statutory minimum annual leave requirement. Some European countries mandate additional time off: The U.K., France, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Luxembourg and Sweden all require 25 or more paid annual leave days, according to the OECD.

Data show more time off doesn't have to translate into lower productivity. Nine of the top 10 most productive countries in the OECD in 2015, measured by GDP per hour worked, were in Europe. The United States ranked sixth.
With the bear hunting season opening on Friday, Sept. 1, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources asks hunters to avoid shooting research bears that are marked with large, colorful ear tags and have radio-collars.

Were asking hunters to watch out for these valuable research bears, and avoid shooting them. These collared bears are providing a lot of data being used in bear management, said Dave Garshelis, DNR bear research biologist.

Researchers with the DNR are monitoring about 30 radio-collared black bears across the state, especially in bear hunting zones 27, 25 and 45, and in parts of the no-quota zone. Most of them are in or near the Chippewa National Forest between Grand Rapids and Bigfork. Others are farther north, near Orr or Voyageurs National Park. Some collared bears are also around Camp Ripley, and in northwestern Minnesota, especially near Thief Lake Wildlife Management Area and Plummer.

Many of the collars have global positioning units. The GPS coordinates are either uploaded to a satellite, or stored in the collar and downloaded by DNR researchers when they visit the bears in their dens during the winter months.

Most of the collars are black and the bears coat often hides the collar, especially in the fall. But all collared bears have colorful ear tags that are 2 by 2 inches. So, hunters can simply identify a collared animal by these large tags, whether or not they see a collar, Garshelis said.

Photos of collared research bears are available on the DNR website at mndnr.gov/bear.

DNR officials recognize that a hunter may not be able to see a radio collar or ear tags in some situations. For this reason, taking a bear with a radio collar is legal.

Hunters who shoot a collared bear should call the DNR Wildlife Research Office in Grand Rapids at 218-328-8879 or 218-328-8874 to make arrangements to return the radio collar. Hunters with trail-cam photos of ear-tagged bears can help support the research project by emailing their photos to andrew.tri@state.mn.us.

Hunters who shoot a bear with small eartags and no collar should indicate the ear tag numbers and color on the envelope when they submit bear teeth for required registration.
Elon Musk says artificial intelligence is a bigger threat than North Korea. Bill Gates has suggested that it will be necessary for companies to pay a "robot tax" as they increasingly replace workers with automation.

But the rise of machine intelligence isn't all bad. Case in point: it's made possible a robot dance party which is ... oddly captivating to watch.

Recently, Chinese company WL Intelligent Technology Co. broke the Guinness World Records for the most robots dancing simultaneously. There were 1,069 in all who made it through the dance routine. A couple toppled over and they weren't counted, according to a statement from Guinness World Records. (Video below.)
Investment in old, rare and exclusive bottles of whisky is booming, according to analysts. In the U.K. alone, the value of collectable bottles of Scotch sold at auction broke a record high of 11.18 million ($14.34 million) in the first half of 2017  a rise of 94 percent from the first half of 2016  according to a report published Friday. Whisky brokerage and investment experts at valuation firm Rare Whiskey 101 said that the number of bottles of single malt Scotch whisky sold at auction shot up by almost 50 percent since the first half of the previous year. "The market is in good health, the bulls remain in firm control. Supply is increasing significantly but increasing demand continues to push prices higher for the right bottles," Andy Simpson, broker and consultant at Rare Whisky 101, told CNBC via email on Friday. A 50-year-old single malt brand, Macallan, was the most expensive Scotch sold in the first half of the year, selling for 65,210 ($83,656)  up from a previous high for the brand of 17,000 ($21,808) in 2015.

'An almost perfect bull market'

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"Scotch, and indeed all whisky, investments have traditionally been an investment of passion," Simpson added. "Collecting bottles from a favorite distillery, or one bottle from every distillery, or birth-year vintages (mine's 1972) are all popular ways of starting a meaningful collection." Investors could be divided into three categories, he said: collectors focused on building a prized inventory; professional investors ("funds" and "corporates") with bigger buying power; and connoisseurs focused on consumption. "Traditional collectors, the professional investors and the curious connoisseurs are creating an almost perfect bull market where demand consistently exceeds supply. Some of the most sought after bottles had tiny volumes released globally, so getting hold of them can be a huge challenge, irrespective of one's budget."

Time is money

Time is of essence for whisky investors. Earlier this week, Rupert Patrick, CEO of the online investing site WhiskyInvestDirect, told CNBC that the value of the commodity is that "it gets better the longer you store it". "Microchips, butter, you want to use them up quickly, but whisky  a five-year-old is always better than a one-year-old."

watch now

He compared investing in Scotch whisky to buying gold bullion. "If you think about a gold bar sitting in a vault, and then switch that image for piles and piles of Scotch whisky sitting in barrels  for 10-15 years sometimes  you've got an asset which is investable to retail investors through very clever technology," he said.

Japanese bottles lead demand

Demand for Japanese brands seemed to be leading the demand trend in the U.K., according to fine wine and spirits merchant BI. On Thursday, the firm revealed that sales of Japanese whisky climbed by 232 percent since January 2017. "Japanese whisky is certainly the latest discovery for whisky connoisseurs and the growing popularity is leading to increasing prices for the rarest varieties," Gary Boom, BI's managing director, said in a press note. Sought-after brands like Yamazaki and Karuizawa led the charge, seeing their bottle prices rise by as much as 30 times. The sale of a bottle of Karuizawa 1960 for 100,100 ($128,291) in April set a new U.K. and European record, according to Rare Whisky 101.

watch now

On Sunday, Whisky Investment Fund CEO Rickesh Kishnani echoed Boom's sentiment. He said: "Clearly we've seen a rise of Japanese whiskies here in Asia, especially over the past three years, and we see that continuing. Of course the Olympics coming up in 2020, the relatively low yen and continued interest in tourism in Japan has really made for a lot of interest in the single malt whisky business."

Whisky 'a global market'
Her review came less than six months before her term ends in February. President Donald Trump has been circumspect about whether he will reappoint her, and Yellen has refused to speculate about her future.

"The events of the crisis demanded action, needed reforms were implemented, and these reforms have made the system safer," she said in prepared remarks.

Though the speech is closely watched in financial markets, Yellen offered no clues about the future of monetary policy, instead focusing on the history of the crisis and what regulators have done in response. She warned that future crises are inevitable but said the housing meltdown taught valuable lessons.

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen , looking back a decade after the onset of the financial crisis, said Friday the financial system is safer now than it was then though some adjustments to regulations may be needed.

Fed watchers had been looking for some level of reflection from Yellen about the Fed's response to the crisis, and that was the focus of the speech. She cited the need for the bailout programs put into place in response to a liquidity crush on Wall Street and touted the effectiveness of the new regulations, such as the Dodd-Frank reforms.

However, she said the Fed is continually reviewing the moves to see what's working and what might be holding back the system.

"A broader set of changes to the new financial regulatory framework may deserve consideration. Such changes include adjustments that may simplify regulations applying to small and medium-sized banks and enhance resolution planning," she said.

"More broadly, we continue to monitor economic conditions, and to review and conduct research, to better understand the effect of regulatory reforms and possible implications for regulation."

For instance, she said the Volcker Rule, which limits banks' ability to trade for their own benefit, may need some "simplifying." She also said regulations should be examined to make sure they aren't disproportionately harming community and regional banks.

She cautioned against wholesale changes, particularly when it comes to risk-taking in the financial markets.

"Any adjustments to the regulatory framework should be modest and preserve the increase in resilience at large dealers and banks associated with the reforms put in place in recent years," she said.

Yellen also was expected to address the current climate and the potential for dangers ahead like the real estate bubble that precipitated the crisis.

Fed officials have expressed varying levels of worry about the continuing climb of risk assets like stocks.

Indeed, Yellen cited the likelihood of "the all-too-familiar risks of excessive optimism, leverage and maturity transformation re-emerging in new ways that require policy responses."

"We relearned this lesson through the pain inflicted by the crisis," she said. "We can never be sure that new crises will not occur, but if we keep this lesson fresh in our memories  along with the painful cost that was exacted by the recent crisis  and act accordingly, we have reason to hope that the financial system and economy will experience fewer crises and recover from any future crisis more quickly, sparing households and businesses some of the pain they endured during the crisis that struck a decade ago."

This is a breaking news story. Check back here for updates.
According to this mornings Daily Telegraph, ministers intend to introduce driverless lorries onto British motorways next year.

The model, which has been trialled in the US and Europe and which the Government has spent 8.1 million testing, involves a convoy of three HGVs with only one driver. The latter vehicles take their cues from the manned one at the front.

Elsewhere in the same paper we read that Nippon Yusen KK, a Japanese container shipping firm, intends to remotely pilot one of its vessels across the Pacific Ocean to North America.

Apparently the industry believes that automation will not only save costs, but will prevent accidents as the majority are currently caused by human error.

Yet a third story, this time in The Times, puts a less optimistic spin on this drive for automation: one of the possible explanations for the recent crashes by US Navy vessels is remote Chinese interference with their navigation systems. Per the article:

The US navy did not rule out sabotage, including cyberattacks, when it launched an investigation into the second fatal crash this year involving a Pacific fleet ship. However, it said there was no specific evidence of foul play. The former commander said that there was a possibility that the steering on the US ship or the tanker could have been hacked and that the Chinese vessel may have played a part in this.

Ever-increasing automation, partnered with the growth of networking and internet connectivity, is not without risk. It seems likely that anybody who can hack a military warship could do the same to a remote-controlled merchantman, whilst the risks posed by automated lorries, in light of the recent trend towards vehicular terrorism, are obvious.

Nor would such things even be vulnerable only to states or well-resourced terrorist groups. Individuals and groups of hackers have proven quite capable of causing havoc already, and linking our homes and cars up to the internet will only lengthen their reach.

Self-driving vehicles and other forms of automation pose plenty of ethical challenges, such as what their priorities should be in the event of a collision, or what to do with the vast numbers of people who make a living driving road freight in countries like the US.

Given that, the prospect of hackers staging remote hijackings may seem a little sci-fi to take seriously. But its important that this is addressed if this new technology is to be embraced by the public: it might only take one or two incidents to turn opinion against driverless vehicles, and the shale gas industry can attest to the fact that a strong economic case is only so much use against a strong headwind of public scepticism.

The Govenment are clearly keen to give self-driving technology a fighting chance. If so, the best time to develop proper security measures is alongside these projects in their trial stages. This would both help safeguard against potential problems but be an investment in allaying popular concerns.

Ministers should make sure they have the safety angle covered before trying to take human hands off the steering wheel, or they may never be allowed to.
08/25/2017

State officials in Delaware are warning consumers about websites that promise they can retrieve missing financial assets -- for a fee.

The Delaware Department of Finance and the Office of Unclaimed Property say some consumers have been told that their unclaimed property can be returned to them just by paying small fees that can range anywhere from $12.00 to $29.99.

"The Office of Unclaimed Property would like to assure citizens that it does not cost anything to retrieve unclaimed funds from the State of Delaware, and websites such as www.neverclaimed.com are not in any way affiliated with the state," the agency said in a press release.

Delaware is home to many major corporations, which generate payments a number of different ways. According to the state, unclaimed property can include dormant bank accounts, un-cashed checks, proceeds from an insurance policy, stocks, dividends, and utility deposits and refunds.

The state of Delaware says it does not change fees for searching the unclaimed property website database, or for making a claim.

We are committed to returning the funds that are rightfully yours, State Escheator David Gregor said. Our goal is to ensure that no Delaware citizen is taken advantage of by one of these websites.

Inactivity is the key

To be considered an abandoned asset in Delaware, accounts must be inactive for a number of years. And that number is not that high.

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that two French scientists are suing the state after it seized and sold their shares in Idenix Pharmaceuticals Inc., declaring the stock to be abandoned property.

The scientists said they had not abandoned their shares and were unaware that the state -- which declares assets abandoned after only three years of inactivity -- had seized their stock. After Merck acquired Idenix, the scientists said they could have reaped a $13 million windfall, except that the state had seized and sold their shares.

The plaintiffs accuse the state of willfully, recklessly and negligently failing to safeguard their assets. In its court filings, Delaware says it followed the letter of the law.

The dispute serves as a good example for consumers who have widely scattered financial assets, sometimes in small amounts. It's a good idea to regularly review these assets, always cashing dividend checks, no matter how small, and regularly logging into online trading accounts.
Genting Cruise Lines is set to launch World Dream, the newest ship for Dream Cruises, this November at her dual homeports in Hong Kong and Guangzhou (Nansha) to continue to grow the Pearl River Delta cruise industry and provide fly/cruise options for the region with new itineraries to Vietnam and the Philippines.

Genting said in a prepared statement that the World Dream has been conceived as a floating high-end, integrated resort at sea leveraging on the parent company Genting Hong Kongs core expertise in both land and sea based businesses. The debut of World Dream will further enhance the brands capacity to offer a broad spectrum of multi-generational programs and facilities for guests, highlighted by Asian hospitality and a market leading crew-to-guest ratio.

Genting Cruise Lines is reinforcing our position in the Pearl River Delta Region by welcoming the World Dream to begin her service with dual homeports in Guangzhou (Nansha) and Hong Kong, following in the footsteps of the Genting Dream, said Kent Zhu, president of Genting Cruise Lines. Designed to cater to the growing Chinese market with tailor-made facilities, including quad occupancy staterooms to accommodate families, the World Dream will further build upon our ongoing commitment to this region, which has seen Guangzhou (Nansha) evolve into Chinas second busiest port and the strengthening of Hong Kong as a premier fly/cruise hub.

Six-day/five-night cruises will call at Manila and Boracay in the Philippines from Nov. 17 through March 31, alternating with same length sailings to Ho Chi Minh and Nha Trang in Vietnam from Dec. 3 to October 2018, targeting both local and international guests.

The twin sister ship the Genting Dream, meanwhile, will be deployed at her new homeport in Singapore with new itineraries to North Bali and Surabaya in Indonesia, as well as Kuala Lumpur and Penang in Malaysia and Phuket in Thailand.

"By doubling Dream Cruises Fleet with the addition of World Dream, we are delighted to be offering our guests and valued travel partners diverse itineraries featuring new, authentic destination experiences," commented Thatcher Brown, President of Dream Cruises.
This week, a Massachusetts woman won the $758.7 million PowerBall prize, the largest single-winning ticket in North American history. While this newfound fame and fortune is likely still setting in for the lucky winner, there are a number of Americans who have enjoyed million (or even billion) dollar riches for many years. The wealth theyve attained has come not from lottery luck, but from hard work, sacrifice, and determination. Here are wise words of Americas wealthy to remind us to never give up and to keep dreaming big.

Bill Gates, net worth: $87.4 billion: Its fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.

Warren Buffett, net worth: $60.7 billion: It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, youll do things differently.

Jeff Bezos, net worth: $56.6 billion: You have to be willing to be misunderstood if youre going to innovate.

Mark Zuckerberg, net worth: $42.8 billion: The biggest risk is not taking any risk In a world that is changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks.

Michael Bloomberg, Net worth: $42.1 billion: You must first be willing to fail  and you must have the courage to go for it anyway.
Talking Points

- UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson says the UK will pay not a penny more, not a penny less than necessary to leave the EU.

- However, he backs down from his previous comment that the EU could go whistle on its demands for payment.

Check out our Trading Guides: theyre free and have been updated,with several new ones now available including Forex for Beginners, Building Confidence and Traits of Successful Traders

The UK will pay not a penny more, not a penny less than its legal obligations to the European Union when it leaves the bloc, according to UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, talking on BBC Radio 4s flagship Today program.

However, Johnson backed down from his previous comment that the EU could go whistle on its payment demands, saying this was merely a response to whether the UK would pay 100 billion Euros or Pounds and not a refusal to pay anything at all.

Some of the sums that Ive seen seem to be very high. Of course, we will meet our obligations, Johnson said.

The UKs divorce bill has been one of the most contentious issues in the negotiations and Johnsons earlier comment was seen at the time as a barrier to the soft Brexit that would be the most favorable outcome to the talks for the British Pound and other UK assets. A failure by the two sides to agree, or no Brexit at all, are both seen as less positive for the currency than a negotiated settlement.

In the markets, GBP/USD was firmer Friday after its steady decline so far this month.

Chart: GBP/USD Five-Minute Timeframe (August 25, 2017)

Chart by IG

Markets

Index / Exchange Rate Change (Exchange Hours/GMT Session Rollover) Market Close/Last FTSE 100 + 0. 41 % 7,437 DAX +0. 42 % 1 2,232 GBP/USD + 0. 22 % 1.2 829 EUR/USD +0.04% 1.1805 EUR/GBP -0. 15 % 0. 9204

Upcoming UK/EU Event Risk

Events Date, Time (GMT) Forecast Previous UK Nationwide House Prices n.s.a. (YoY) (Aug) Aug 28 - 2.9 % UK Nationwide House Prices s.a. (MoM) (Aug) Aug 28 - 0.3 % Euro -Zone M3 s.a. (YoY) (Jul) Aug 28, 0800 - 5.0%

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For those who miss dials, payphones and phone booths, the La Crescent Area Historical Society will soon have an exhibit catered to communications-aficionados favorite phone memories.

Featured alongside many other communication devices in the exhibits phone-related focus, will be La Crescents former phone booth that was located on Main Street until it was taken down in 2014.

I remember making a lot of calls in that phone booth, said La Crescent Area Historical Society President Don Thesing. During the occasional class reunions people always inquire where the phone booth is.

The old phone booth will be on display alongside another phone booth donated by AcenTek- Ascending Technology. Other communication devices were donated by former AcenTek Customer Services Manager Bob Langen and his wife Katy Langen, whose parents ran the Ranch Motel in La Crescent.

I did everything from digging holes to climbing the telephone poles to installing phones, Bob said.

Bobs career started on the AcenTek construction crew in Houston. He eventually worked his way up to AcenTeks regional office in Houston. After 38 years at AcenTek, Bob retired in 2005.

I never had a day of work that I didnt enjoy, Bob said.

AcenTek-Ascending Technology, founded in 1950, is a telephone company which has now expanded into technology services. It services Minnesota, Iowa and Michigan.

Katy was one of the original founders of the La Crescent Area Historical Society in 1990. She grew up working the switchboard at the Ranch Motelwhich is also on display in the communications exhibit.

The Ranch Motel was torn down when the Hwy. 14/61 and Third Street intersection stoplights were installed.

The Langens have used the last few weeks to unload Bobs communications memorabilia in the historical societys shed.

Its been nice going over everything. When we were dating, Bob lived in Hokah so he would call long distance to La Crescent and wed use the La Crosse line on the switchboard. We got caught, but we made the calls for free, Katy said.

Along with the phone booths and the Ranch Motels switchboard, the exhibit has different eras of phones on display along with descriptions. There is also a telephone pole, telephone tools used by installers and dials on display.

AcenTek donated $1,300 to the exhibit for the remodeling of shelves and walls in the shed behind the Heritage House in La Crescent. The donation, which was received during August 2017, has inspired the Langens and the historical society to try to finish the exhibit by Applefest.

Although not completed, the exhibit can be viewed in the shed.

When I first started there were 10 party lines in the rural areas and four party lines in town. Then there was one line in town and only four in the rural areas, Bob said. Its nice going down memory lane. I have nothing but good memories.
Fortune Brands Home & Security, Inc. provides home and security products for residential home repair, remodeling, new construction, and security applications. It operates in three segments: Plumbing, Outdoors & Security, and Cabinets. The Plumbing segment manufactures, assembles, and sells faucets, accessories, kitchen sinks, and waste disposals under the Moen, ROHL, Riobel, Victoria+Albert, Perrin & Rowe, and Shaws brands in the United States, China, Canada, Mexico, Southeast Asia, Europe, and South America directly through its own sales force, as well as through independent manufacturers' representatives to wholesalers, home centers, mass merchandisers, and industrial distributors. The Outdoors & Security segment offers fiberglass and steel entry door systems under the Therma-Tru brand; storm, screen, and security doors under the Larson brand; composite decking and railing under the Fiberon brand; and urethane millwork under the Fypon brand. This segment also manufactures, sources, and distributes locks, safety and security devices, and electronic security products under the Master Lock and American Lock brands; and fire resistant safes, security containers, and commercial cabinets under the SentrySafe brand. It serves home centers, hardware and other retailers, millwork building products and wholesale distributors, specialty dealers, and remodeling and renovation markets, as well as locksmiths, industrial and institutional users, and original equipment manufacturers in the United States, Canada, Europe, Central America, Japan, and Australia. The Cabinets segment manufactures custom, semi-custom, and custom cabinetry, as well as vanities for the kitchen, bath, and other parts of the home directly to kitchen and bath dealers, home centers, wholesalers, and builders in North America under the AOK, Diamond Brands, Homecrest, Kitchen Craft, Omega, and EVE brands. The company was incorporated in 1988 and is headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois.
The following companies are subsidiares of Thermo Fisher Scientific: 236 Perinton Parkway LLC, 27 Forge Parkway LLC, ABR--Affinity BioReagents, ACI Holdings Inc., ARG Services LLC, ASPEX Corporation, Abgene Inc., Abgene Limited, Acoustic Cytometry Systems Inc., AcroMetrix LLC, Acros Organics B.V.B.A., Advanced Biotechnologies Limited, Advanced Scientifics (ASI), Advanced Scientifics Inc., Advanced Scientifics International Inc., Affymetrix Biotech Participacoes Ltda., Affymetrix Biotech Shanghai Ltd, Affymetrix Inc, Affymetrix Japan K.K., Affymetrix Pte Ltd, Affymetrix UK Ltd, Afora S.A.U., Ahura Scientific, Alchematrix Inc., Alchematrix LLC, Alfa Aesar, Alfa Aesar (China) Chemical Co. 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UK Ltd, BAC BV, BAC IP BV, Barnstead Thermolyne LLC, Beijing Phadia Diagnostics Co Ltd, Bender MedSystems GmbH, BioTrove Corporation, BioTrove International Inc., Bioanalysis Labsystems S.A., Biochemical Sciences LLC, Biolab, BmT GmbH Laborprodukte, Bonsai Tecnologies - Sistemas para Biotecnologia e Industria Unipessoal Lda, Brammer Bio, Bumi-Sans Sendirian Berhad, CAC Limited, CB Diagnostics AB, CB Diagnostics Holding AB, CEPH International Corporation, CHK Holdings Inc., CRS Robotics, CTPS LLC, Capitol Scientific Products Inc., Capitol Vial Inc., Cellomics Inc., CellzDirect Inc., Cenduit GmbH, Cenduit LLC, Cezanne S.A.S., Chase Scientific Glass Inc., Chromacol Limited, Clintrak, Clintrak Clinical Labeling Services LLC, Clintrak Pharmaceutical Services LLC, Cohesive Technologies (UK) Limited, Cohesive Technologies Inc., Columbia Diagnostics Inc., Compendia Bioscience Inc., Comtest Limited, Consolidated Technologies Inc., Consultores Fisher Scientific Chile Ltd, Core Informatics, Core Informatics LLC, Core Informatics UK Ltd., D-finitive Technologies Inc., DCG Systems B.V., DCG Systems C.V., DCG Systems G.K., DCG Systems GmbH, DCG Systems Korea Ltd., DCG Systems LLC, DPI Newco LLC, DSM Pharmaceutical Products Inc., Dharmacon, Diagnostix Ltd., Dionex (China) Analytical Ltd, Dionex (Switzerland) AG, Dionex (UK) Limited, Dionex Austria GmbH, Dionex Benelux B.V., Dionex Brasil Instrumentos Cientificos Ltda, Dionex Canada Ltd., Dionex China Limited, Dionex Corporation, Dionex Denmark A/S, Dionex Holding GmbH, Dionex I LLC, Dionex Pty Ltd., Dionex S.A., Dionex S.p.A., Dionex Singapore Pte Ltd., Dionex Softron GmbH, Dionex Sweden AB, Distribution Solutions International Inc., Doe & Ingalls Investors Inc., Doe & Ingalls Limited, Doe & Ingalls Management LLC, Doe & Ingalls Properties II LLC, Doe & Ingalls Properties LLC, Doe & Ingalls of California Operating LLC, Doe & Ingalls of Florida Operating LLC, Doe & Ingalls of Maryland Operating LLC, Doe & Ingalls of Massachusetts Operating LLC, Doe & Ingalls of North Carolina Operating LLC, Doublecape Holding Limited, Doublecape Limited, Drakeside Real Estate Holding Company LLC, Duke Scientific Corporation, Dynal Biotech Beijing Limited, EGS Gauging Ltd., EGS Gauging Technical Services Company, EP Scientific Products LLC, Ecochem N.V., EnviroEquip Pty Ltd, Epsom Glass Industries Limited, Equibio Limited, Erie Electroverre S.A., Erie Finance Limited, Erie LP Holding LLC, Erie Scientific Company of Puerto Rico, Erie Scientific Hungary Kft, Erie Scientific LLC, Erie U.K. Limited, Erie UK 1 Limited, Erie UK 2 Limited, Erie UK Holding Company, Erie UK Senior Holding Limited, European Laboratory Holdings Limited, Eutech Instruments Europe B.V., Eutech Instruments Pte Ltd., Eutech Instruments Sdn Bhd, Ever Ready Thermometer Co. 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De C.V., Laboratoire Service International - L.S.I, Laboratory Management Systems Inc., Laboratory Specialties Proprietary Ltd., LambTrack Limited, Laser Analytical Systems Inc., Liberty Lane Investment LLC, Liberty Lane Real Estate Holding Company LLC, Life Sciences International (Poland) SP z O.O, Life Sciences International Holdings BV, Life Sciences International LLC, Life Sciences International Limited, Life Technologies AS, Life Technologies Australia PTY Ltd., Life Technologies BPD AB, Life Technologies BPD UK Limited, Life Technologies Brasil Comercio e Industria de Produtos para Biotecnologia Ltda, Life Technologies Chile SpA, Life Technologies Clinical Services Lab Inc., Life Technologies Co. Ltd., Life Technologies Czech Republic s.r.o., Life Technologies DaAn Diagnostic (Guangzhou) Co. Ltd., Life Technologies Europe B.V., Life Technologies Finance Ltd., Life Technologies Finland Oy, Life Technologies GmbH, Life Technologies Holdings PTE Ltd., Life Technologies Inc., Life Technologies International B.V., Life Technologies Japan Ltd., Life Technologies Korea LLC, Life Technologies Limited, Life Technologies Magyarorszag Kft, Life Technologies New Zealand Ltd., Life Technologies Norway Investments US LLC, Life Technologies Polska Sp z.o.o., Life Technologies SA, Life Technologies SAS, Life Technologies s.r.o, Linkage Biosciences Inc., Linkage Biosciences S.a.r.l., Loftus Furnace Company, Lomb Scientific, Lomb Scientific (Aust) Pty Limited, MTI-GlobalStem, Marketbase International Limited, Matrix MicroScience Inc., Matrix MicroScience Ltd., Matrix Technologies Corporation Limited, Matrix Technologies LLC, Maybridge Chemical Company Limited, Maybridge Chemical Holdings Limited, Maybridge Limited, Medical Analysis Systems Inc., Medical Analysis Systems International Inc., Medical Diagnostics Systems Inc., Metavac LLC, Microgenics Corporation, Microgenics Diagnostics Pty Limited, Microgenics GmbH, Microm International GmbH, Microm Laborgerate S.L.U, Molecular BioProducts Inc., Molecular Probes Inc., Molecular Transfer Inc., NAPCO Inc., NERL Diagnostics LLC, NOVODIRECT GmbH Labor- und Industrie- Megerate, Nalge (Europe) Limited, Nalge Nunc International (Monterrey) LLC, Nalge Nunc International Corporation, Nanjing WeiKangLe Trading Industrial Co Ltd, NanoDrop Technologies LLC, National Scientific Company, Navaho Acquisition Corp., Neomarkers Inc., New FS Holdings Inc., NewcoGen PE LLC, Nihon Dynal K.K., Niton Asia Limited, NovaWave Technologies Inc., Nunc A/S, ONIX Systems Inc., OXOID CZ s.r.o., Odyssey Holdings Corporation, Odyssey Luxembourg Holdings S.a r.l., Odyssey Luxembourg IP Holdings 1 S.a r.l., Odyssey Luxembourg IP Holdings 2 S.a r.l., Odyssey Venture Corporation, Omega Data Systems, One Lambda Inc, Onix Holdings Limited, Orme Scientific Limited, Owl Separation Systems LLC, Oxoid (ELY) Limited, Oxoid 2000 Limited, Oxoid AS, Oxoid Australia Pty. 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De C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific (NK) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (PN) Austria Holding GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific (PN) UK LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (PN) UK Limited Partnership, Thermo Fisher Scientific (PN-I) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific (PN-II) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific (PN1) UK Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Panama) B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Panama) Dutch LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Praha) s.r.o., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Real Estate 1) GmbH & Co. KG, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Real Estate 1) S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Schweiz) AG, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Shanghai) Instruments Co. Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Shanghai) Management Co. Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Suzhou) Instruments Co. Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Thailand) Co. Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific AL-1 LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific AU C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific AU II Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific AU LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific AU Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Africa Proprietary Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific Aquasensors LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Australia Pty Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific B.V.B.A., Thermo Fisher Scientific BHK (I) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific BHK (II) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Baltics UAB, Thermo Fisher Scientific Beteiligungsverwaltungs GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific Biosciences Corp., Thermo Fisher Scientific Brahms LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Brasil Instrumentos de Processo Ltda., Thermo Fisher Scientific Brasil Servicos de Logistica Ltda, Thermo Fisher Scientific C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Cayman Investments LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Chemicals Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific China (C-I) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific China (S) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific China Holdings I B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific China Holdings II B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific China Holdings III B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific China Holdings IV B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Chromatography Holdings Aps, Thermo Fisher Scientific Chromatography Holdings S.a r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus I C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus I Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus II C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus II Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus III C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus III Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus IV C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus V C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Denmark Senior Holdings ApS, Thermo Fisher Scientific Erie 1 Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Erie Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Erie Financing S.a r.l, Thermo Fisher Scientific Europe GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific FLC B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific FLC Finance C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific FLC II B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific FLC LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific FSIR Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific FSIR Financing S.a.r.l, Thermo Fisher Scientific FSUKHCO Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Falcon Senior Holdings Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific Finance Company BV, Thermo Fisher Scientific GENEART GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific Germany BV & Co. KG, Thermo Fisher Scientific GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific HR Services Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Holdings (Cayman) I, Thermo Fisher Scientific Holdings (Cayman) II , Thermo Fisher Scientific Holdings Europe Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific IT Services GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific India Holding LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific India Pvt Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific Investments (Luxembourg) S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Investments (Malta) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Investments (Sweden) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Investments (Sweden) S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Investments Malta (Sweden Financing) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Invitrogen Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Japan Holdings I B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Japan Holdings II B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Japan Holdings III B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific K.K., Thermo Fisher Scientific Korea Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific LSI Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life CV GP Holdings II LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life CV GP Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Enterprises C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Enterprises GP LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Financing (Cayman), Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Financing C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Financing Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Holdings I C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Holdings II C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Holdings III C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Holdings Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life International GP Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life International Holdings I C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life International Holdings II C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments GP LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments I S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments II S.a r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments III S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments IV S.a.r.l, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments Malta Holding I LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments Malta Holding II LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments Malta I Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments Malta II Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments US Financing I LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments US Financing II LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life NL Holdings GP LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Netherlands Holding C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Senior GP Holdings II LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Senior GP Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Senior Holdings C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Senior Holdings II C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Senior Holdings Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Switzerland Holdings GP LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Tech Korea Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Enterprise Holding Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Investment I LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Investment II LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Investment UK I Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Investment UK II Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Investments Holding LP, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Israel Investment I Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Israel Investment II Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Luxembourg Holding LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg Enterprise Holdings S.a r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg German Holdings S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg Life Technologies UK Holding S.a r.l, Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg Sweden Holdings I S.a r.l, Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg Sweden Holdings II S.a r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg Venture Holdings I S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg Venture Holdings II S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., Thermo Fisher Scientific Malta Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Messtechnik GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific Mexico City S. de R.L. de C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Middle East Holdings Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific Milano Srl, Thermo Fisher Scientific NHK Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific New Zealand Holdings, Thermo Fisher Scientific New Zealand Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Norway Holdings AS, Thermo Fisher Scientific Norway US Investments LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Odyssey Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Odyssey Holdings Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Operating Company LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Oy, Thermo Fisher Scientific PN2 C.V, Thermo Fisher Scientific PN2 LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific PRB LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific PRB Malta Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific PRB S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Panama I Cayman Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific Peru S.R.L., Thermo Fisher Scientific Pte. Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific Re Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific SL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Senior Financing LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Senior Holdings Australia LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific South Africa Proprietary Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific SpA, Thermo Fisher Scientific Spectra LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Spectra Malta Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Spectra S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Spectra-Physics Holdings Luxembourg I S.a r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Spectra-Physics Holdings Luxembourg II S.a r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Spectra-Physics Investments Malta Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Switzerland Holdings C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific TR Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Taiwan Co. Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific Vermogensverwaltungs GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific West Palm Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Wissenschaftliche Gerate GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific Worldwide Investments (Cayman), Thermo Fisher Scientific eCommerce Solutions LLC , Thermo Fisher Senior Canada Holdings LLC, Thermo Foundation Inc., Thermo Gamma-Metrics Holdings Pty Ltd., Thermo Gamma-Metrics LLC, Thermo Gamma-Metrics Pty Ltd, Thermo Holding European Operations LLC, Thermo Hypersil Ltd, Thermo Hypersil-Keystone LLC, Thermo Informatics Asia Pacific Pty Ltd., Thermo Instrument Controls de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Thermo Kevex X-Ray LLC, Thermo Keytek LLC, Thermo LabSystems Inc., Thermo LabSystems S.A., Thermo Life Science International Trading (Tianjin) Co. Ltd., Thermo Life Sciences AB, Thermo Luxembourg Holding S.a.r.l., Thermo Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Thermo MF Physics LLC, Thermo Measurement Ltd, Thermo Measuretech Canada Inc., Thermo Neslab LLC, Thermo Nicolet Limited, Thermo Onix Limited, Thermo Optek (Australia) Pty Ltd., Thermo Optek Limited, Thermo Optek S.A., Thermo Orion Inc., Thermo Portable Holdings LLC, Thermo Power Corporation, Thermo Process Instruments GP LLC, Thermo Process Instruments L.P., Thermo Projects Limited, Thermo Quest S.A., Thermo Radiometrie Limited, Thermo Ramsey Italia S.r.l., Thermo Ramsey LLC, Thermo Ramsey S.A., Thermo Re Ltd., Thermo Scientific Microbiology Pte Ltd., Thermo Scientific Microbiology Sdn Bhd, Thermo Scientific Portable Analytical Instruments Inc., Thermo Scientific Services Inc., Thermo Securities Corporation, Thermo Sentron Canada Inc., Thermo Sentron Limited, Thermo Shandon Inc., Thermo Shandon Limited, Thermo Suomi Holding B.V., Thermo TLH (UK) Limited, Thermo TLH L.P., Thermo Trace Pty Ltd., Thermo-Fisher Biochemical Product (Beijing) Co. Ltd., ThermoLase LLC, ThermoSpectra Limited, Trek Diagnostic Systems LLC, Trek Diagnostic Systems Ltd., Trek Holding Company II Ltd., Trek Holding Company Ltd., Trex Medical Corporation, USB Corporation, Union Lab Supplies Limited, United Diagnostics Inc., VG Systems Limited, Westover Scientific Inc., ZAO PE Biosystems, eBioscience GmbH, eBioscience Ltd, eBioscience SAS, and picoSpin LLC.

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The Franciscan Spirituality Center in La Crosse has scheduled two programs in October to promote understanding between Christians and Muslims.

A program titled St. Francis, Islam and the Case for Peace from 9 to 11:30 a.m. Oct. 14 at the center at 920 Market St. harks back to the time of St. Francis of Assisi, who lived at a time when Christians were at war with Muslims.

Francis, a former soldier and prisoner of war who insisted that war was not the answer, trekked across enemy lines to pursue peace with the Muslim leader, the sultan of Egypt.

FSC Director Audrey Lucier will lead the program, explaining that the meeting between the two men had a lasting effect on their views of war, peace and faith. The presentation will offer insights into the struggle for peace between Christians and Muslims today.

Admission cost is $15, and the registration deadline is Oct. 2.

The other program, titled My Neighbor Is Muslim, will be a four-week series from 6:30-8 p.m. Oct. 19 and 26 and Nov. 2 and 9.

Former FSC director Vince Hatt, who is chairman of the La Crosse Area Interfaith Shoulder to Shoulder Network, will lead the sessions, using a resource written to help Christians understand Muslims and vice versa.

Each session will include information about beliefs and practices of Islam, with a question-and-answer period. A Muslim resident of La Crosse will speak during one session.

Admission to that program is $25 for all four sessions, or $8 to drop in.

Registration is open and available online for both the St. Francis program and the Christian-Muslim series or by calling 608-791-5295.
The following companies are subsidiares of HP: 3Com, 3PAR, ABB CADE, AOME Holdings Ltd., Albacore Holdings Jersey Ltd, Alpha Holding One B.V., Alpha Holding Two B.V., Anatolus Holding B.V., Apogee, Apogee Corp, Apogee Corporation Ireland Limited, Apogee Corporation Jersey Limited, Apogee Corporation Limited, Apogee Europe Limited, Apogee France Holdings SAS, Apogee France SAS, Apogee Germany Holding UG, Apogee Group Limited, Apogee Rentals Limited, Apollo Computer, AppIQ, Applied Optoelectronic Tech, ArcSight, Arnon Holding B.V., Arteis, Artivision Technologies, Aruba Networks, Atos Origin, Atos Origin Middle East group, Autonomy Corporation, Avantek, BAS - Burosysteme GmbH, BT & D Technologies, Balreed Digitec Group Limited, Balreed Digitec North Limited, Balreed Digitec SE Limited, Balreed Digitec UK Limited, Bamberga Holding B.V., Bitfone Corporation, Bluestone Software, Boonton Radio, Bristol Technology Inc., Bromium, Bromium UK Limited, CEC Europe Service Management, CGNZ, CaLan, China HP Co. Ltd Hangzhou Branch, China HP Co. Ltd., China HP Co. Ltd. Chengdu Branch, China HP Co. Ltd. Guangzhou Branch, China HP Co. Ltd. Jiangan Branch, China HP Co. Ltd. Nanjing Branch, China HP Co. Ltd. Shanghai Branch, Choose Packaging, City Docs Limited, City Docs Solutions Limited, Colorado Memory Systems, Colubris Networks, Colubris Networks, Compaq Cayman Holdings Company, Compaq Cayman Holdings General Partnership II, Compaq Information Technologies, Compaq Information Technologies LLC, Computing and Printing Global Services Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Computing and Printing Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Consera Software, ConteXtream Inc, Convex Computer, David Vision Systems GmbH, Dazzle, Digipro Limited, Division, EDS (Electronic Data Systems), EEsof, EYP Mission Critical Facilities, ElseWare, Eon Systems, Eucalyptus Systems, Eunomia Holding B.V., ExcellerateHRO, Exstream Software, Extreme Logic, F&M Scientific Corporation, F. Smith & Co Office Equipment Limited, F.L. Moseley Company, Flame Holding B.V., Fortify Software, Four Pi Systems, GNA Biosolutions GmbH, HP Austria GmbH, HP Belgium BV, HP Bilgisayar ve Baski Teknolojileri Limited Sirketi, HP Brasil Industria e Comercio de Equipamentos Eletronicos Ltda, HP Brasil Industria e Comercio de Equipamentos Eletronicos Ltda. - Branch 01 Tambore, HP Brasil Industria e Comercio de Equipamentos Eletronicos Ltda. - Branch 2 Sorocaba, HP Brasil Industria e Comercio de Equipamentos Eletronicos Ltda. - Branch 3 Porto Alegre, HP Canada Co. HP Canada Cie, HP Canada Licensing L.P., HP China Holding B.V., HP Chongqing Co. Ltd, HP Chongqing Manufacturing Export Procurement and Settlement Co. Ltd, HP Colombia SAS, HP Computing and Printing Middle East FZ-LLC, HP Computing and Printing Nigeria Ltd, HP Computing and Printing Systems India Private Limited, HP Computing and Printing d.o.o., HP Deutschland GmbH, HP Deutschland Holding GmbH, HP Europe B.V., HP Europe B.V. - Abu Dhabi Branch, HP Europe B.V. Regional Dubai Branch, HP Europe BV Amsterdam Meyrin Branch, HP Finland Oy, HP France Holding SAS, HP France SAS, HP Global Trading B.V., HP Global Trading B.V. Kazakhstan Branch, HP Health Solutions Inc., HP Health Solutions Spain Sociedad Limitada, HP Hewlett Packard Group LLC, HP Inc AP Hong Kong Limited, HP Inc Argentina S.R.L., HP Inc Bulgaria EOOD, HP Inc Chile Comercial Limitada, HP Inc Costa Rica Limitada, HP Inc Czech Republic s.r.o., HP Inc Danmark ApS, HP Inc Gulf, HP Inc Hong Kong Limited, HP Inc Magyarorszag Kft., HP Inc Peru S.R.L., HP Inc Polska sp. z o.o., HP Inc Romania SRL, HP Inc Slovakia s.r.o., HP Inc Thailand Ltd., HP Inc Tunisie SARL, HP Inc UK Limited, HP India Sales Private Limited, HP Indigo B.V., HP Indigo Ltd, HP Information Technology R&D Shanghai Co. Ltd, HP International Pte. Ltd., HP International Pte. Ltd. Taiwan Branch, HP International Sarl, HP International Trading B.V., HP International Trading B.V. Puerto Rico Branch LLC, HP Israel Ltd, HP Italy S.r.l., HP Jade Holding LLC, HP Japan Inc., HP KSA Ltd., HP Korea Inc., HP Licensing Holding LLC, HP Luxembourg S.C.A., HP Malaysia Manufacturing Sdn. Bhd., HP Nederland B.V., HP New Zealand, HP Norge AS, HP Onyx Holding L.P., HP PPS Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., HP PPS Australia Pty Ltd, HP PPS Costa Rica Limitada, HP PPS India Operations Private Limited, HP PPS Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., HP PPS Maroc, HP PPS Philippines Inc., HP PPS Sales Sdn. Bhd., HP PPS Services India Private Limited, HP PPS Singapore Sales Pte. Ltd., HP PPS Sverige AB, HP Pakistan Private Limited, HP Panama Sales and Distribution S. de R.L., HP Print Services Ireland Limited, HP Printing Korea Co. Ltd., HP Printing Shandong Co. Ltd., HP Printing and Computing Solutions S.L.U., HP Printing and Personal Systems Hellas EPE, HP Production Company Limited, HP Puerto Rico LLC, HP R&D Holding LLC, HP R&D Singapore Pte. Ltd., HP Schweiz GmbH, HP Scitex Ltd, HP Singapore Private Limited, HP Solutions Creation and Development Services S.L.U., HP South Africa Proprietary Limited, HP South Africa Trust, HP Taiwan Information Technology Ltd., HP Technology Holdings LLC, HP Technology Ireland Limited, HP Technology Israel Ltd, HP Technology Shanghai Co. Ltd, HP Technology Vietnam Company Ltd, HP Trading Kunshan Co. Ltd., HP Trading Shanghai Co. Ltd., HP Trading Shanghai Co. Ltd. Dalian Branch, HP Trading Shanghai Co. Ltd. Zhangjiang Branch, HP UK Development Limited, HP US Digital LLC, HP USA Manufacturing LLC, HPCP  Computing and Printing Portugal Unipessoal Lda., HPI Bermuda Holdings LLC, HPI Brazil Holdings LLC, HPI Federal LLC, HPI J1 Holdings LLC, HPI Luxembourg LLC, HPQ Holdings LLC, Heartstream, Hewlett-Packard A.O., Hewlett-Packard Angola Lda., Hewlett-Packard Company Archives LLC, Hewlett-Packard Copenhagen B.V., Hewlett-Packard Development Company L.P., Hewlett-Packard Enterprises LLC, Hewlett-Packard G.K., Hewlett-Packard Global Holdings B.V., Hewlett-Packard Global Investments B.V., Hewlett-Packard Industrial Printing Solutions Europe BV, Hewlett-Packard Ireland 1 Limited, Hewlett-Packard Ireland Holdings Ltd., Hewlett-Packard Japan Holding B.V., Hewlett-Packard Japan NK Holdings C.V., Hewlett-Packard KSA Ltd. Qatar Branch, Hewlett-Packard Lisbon B.V., Hewlett-Packard MENA FZ-LLC Libya Branch, Hewlett-Packard Mercator B.V., Hewlett-Packard Sunnyvale B.V., Hewlett-Packard West Indies Limited, Hewlett-Packard World Trade LLC, Hiflex Software, HyperX, IBRIX, IndiGo, Indigo America Inc., Iseo Holding B.V., Kale Holding B.V., Kale Holding B.V. Puerto Rico Branch LLC, Knightsbridge Solutions, Kopiervertrieb Rhein-Ruhr GmbH, Lefthand Networks, Limited Liability Company HP Inc, Logoworks, Lyra Holding B.V., MacDermid ColorSpan, ManageOne, Manzana Bidco Limited, Manzana Holdings Limited, Melodeo, Mercury Interactive, Metrix Network Systems, NUR Macroprinters, Neoware, Nihon HP Nin-I Kumiai, Novadigm, NuView ManageX, OOO Hewlett-Packard RUS, Office Perfection Limited, OneFlow Systems Limited, Opelin, Opelin, Open Skies, Opsware, Opsware, Optimization Systems, Optotech, OuterBay Technologies, OuterBay Technologies, PERSIST Technologies, PIXACO, PROLIN, PT Hewlett-Packard Indonesia, Palm, Palm, Peregrine Systems, Perigee Holdco UK Limited, Perigee Midco UK Limited, Perseus Holding B.V., PipeBeach, Poly, PolyServe, PrinterOn America Corporation, Printware Limited, Qosnetics, RLX Technologies, Regor Holding B.V., SPI Dynamics, Samsung Printing Solutions, Scitex, Scitex Vision, Scope Communications, Security Force Software, Shunra Software, Shunra Software, Silverwire Holding, Simpress Comercio Locacao e Servicos Ltda, Snapfish, StorageApps, Stratavia, Synstar, Tabblo, Talking Blocks, Tall Tree Insurance Company, Technology Partners, Telegra, Teradici Corporation, Teradici Inc., Teradici UK Limited, The Danwood Group Limited, The Technology Partners, Tower Software, Tower Software Engineering Pty Ltd, Transoft Networks, Trellis Software & Controls, Triaton, Trinagy, TruLogica, Trustgenix, VeriFone, Verifone, Versatest, Vertica Systems, Vital Technology Pte Ltd, Voltage Security, VoodooPC, Xact Document Solutions Limited, and Xera-Logic Group Limited.

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WABCO Holdings Inc., together with its subsidiaries, supplies electronic, mechanical, electro-mechanical, and aerodynamic products worldwide. The company engineers, develops, manufactures, and sells braking, stability, suspension, steering, transmission automation, and air management systems primarily for commercial vehicles. The company's products include pneumatic anti-lock braking systems, electronic braking systems, electronic stability control systems, brake controls, automated manual transmission systems, and air disc brakes; and various conventional mechanical products, such as actuators, air compressors, and air control valves for medium and heavy-duty trucks, buses, and trailers. It also offers pneumatic and hydraulic braking and control systems for off-highway vehicles; conventional braking systems; electronic and conventional air suspension systems; steering technologies; and vehicle electronic stability control and roll stability support products, and advanced driver assistance systems. In addition, the company supplies electronic suspension controls and vacuum pumps to the passenger car and SUV markets, as well as provides remanufacturing services. Further, it offers replacement parts, fleet management solutions, diagnostic tools, training, and other expert services for commercial vehicle aftermarket distributors and service partners, and fleet operators. The company sells its products primarily to truck and bus original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), trailer OEMs, and car manufacturers; and manufacturers of heavy duty and off-highway vehicles in agriculture, construction, mining, and other industries. WABCO Holdings Inc. was founded in 1869 and is headquartered in Brussels, Belgium.
Aetna Inc. operates as a health care benefits company in the United States. It operates through three segments: Health Care, Group Insurance, and Large Case Pensions. The Health Care segment offers medical, pharmacy benefit management service, dental, behavioral health, and vision plans on an insured and employer-funded basis. It also provides point-of-service, preferred provider organization, health maintenance organization, and indemnity benefit plans, as well as health savings accounts and consumer-directed health plans. In addition, this segment offers Medicare and Medicaid products and services, as well as other medical products, such as medical management and data analytics services, medical stop loss insurance, workers' compensation administrative services, and products that provide access to its provider networks in select geographies. The Group Insurance segment offers life insurance products, including group term life insurance, voluntary spouse and dependent term life insurance, group universal life insurance, and accidental death and dismemberment insurance; disability insurance products; and long-term care insurance products, which provide the benefits to cover the cost of care in private home settings, adult day care, assisted living, or nursing facilities. The Large Case Pensions segment manages various retirement products comprising pension and annuity products primarily for tax-qualified pension plans. The company provides its products and services to employer groups, individuals, college students, part-time and hourly workers, health plans, health care providers, governmental units, government-sponsored plans, labor groups, and expatriates. Aetna Inc. was founded in 1853 and is based in Hartford, Connecticut.
Its hardly uncommon, when youre riding the bus, to feel like shooting yourself. But its entirely uncommon to not only carry through but also to shoot yourself in the groin.

Thats why it was statewide news when a man accidentally shot himself aboard a Megabus during a stop in Madison. Jelani Faulk, 21, of Chicago had a handgun in the waistband of his pants and when it fired, it sent a bullet through his penis and one testicle. Talk about a dismemberment.

As if riding the bus wasnt painful enough: Youre surrounded by strangers, making a bunch of unwanted stops and wallowing in the stale stench of Formula 409 and regret.

Things only got worse for Faulk, as he was locked up after the incident. As a felon, he wasnt supposed to possess a firearm. Plus, he was wanted on a warrant in Minnesota. He was booked into the Dane County jail and, we can only hope, handed a soft pillow to sit on.

The commuter bus was heading from Minneapolis to Chicago when it made its stop at the University of Wisconsin. As it pulled in around 5 a.m., riders heard a single gunshot, followed by Faulk running to the restroom at the back of the bus. You know youre in dire straits when you rush to use a bus bathroom. Attila the Hun wouldve turned up his nose at the smells in there.

Faulk tried to leave the bus, but police and paramedics arrived in time to take him to a hospital. Police found the gun in the toilet, a discovery that doesnt even rank among the top million unexpected items ever found in a bus commode.

Faulk suffered non-life-threatening injuries and no one else was hurt, other than any children he planned to father in the future. Of course, every male who read the story suffered mild discomfort, typically involving the crossing of legs, pained squints and low whistles.

It has been a tough summer for guys prone to firing projectiles accidentally in Wisconsin. Just last week the public learned the story of Doug Bergeson, who accidentally shot a nail into his heart  and calmly drove himself to the hospital. He wouldve taken the bus, but he didnt want to take a chance on getting shot in the crotch.

The 52-year-old was framing in a fireplace at his house June 25 when his nail gun accidentally fired, sending a nail ricocheting off some wood and into his chest. He couldnt find any evidence of injury until he tugged at his sweatshirt and realized only an inch of the 3-inch nail was sticking out of his chest. Shot through the heart, and hes to blame, baby he gives home improvement a bad name.

I could see the nail moving with my heartbeat. It was kind of twitching with every heartbeat, Bergeson told the Associated Press.

His next move was to wash up: After all, Mom taught us to be found clean, including fresh underwear, in the event of a potentially fatal mishap. Then he hopped in his truck and drove to a hospital in Marinette, about 10 minutes away. After X-rays were taken Bergeson was rushed by ambulance to another hospital in Green Bay. There a doctor confirmed the nail hit Bergesons heart, and was also 1/16 of an inch from a major artery. Bergeson didnt need Jelani Faulk to tell him he is a lucky, lucky man.

The nail to the heart might as well have been Cupids arrow, as Bergeson recovered at home under the care of wife Donna. Meanwhile, Faulk will be in the custody of law enforcement and the butt of jokes.

Let this be a lesson to you kids out there: not that you should exercise care when handling power tools nor that you should never store a loaded gun in close proximity to your giblets. No kids, the lesson here is that you need to live right and be good so that you never have to ride the Megabus. Some people on board shoot themselves. And the rest are seriously considering it.
Healthcare Trust of America, Inc. (NYSE: HTA) is the largest dedicated owner and operator of MOBs in the United States, comprising approximately 25.1 million square feet of GLA, with $7.4 billion invested primarily in MOBs. HTA provides real estate infrastructure for the integrated delivery of healthcare services in highly-desirable locations. Investments are targeted to build critical mass in 20 to 25 leading gateway markets that generally have leading university and medical institutions, which translates to superior demographics, high-quality graduates, intellectual talent and job growth. The strategic markets HTA invests in support a strong, long-term demand for quality medical office space. HTA utilizes an integrated asset management platform consisting of on-site leasing, property management, engineering and building services, and development capabilities to create complete, state of the art facilities in each market. This drives efficiencies, strong tenant and health system relationships, and strategic partnerships that result in high levels of tenant retention, rental growth and long-term value creation. Headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, HTA has developed a national brand with dedicated relationships at the local level. Founded in 2006 and listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2012, HTA has produced attractive returns for its stockholders that have outperformed the US REIT index.
Veeva Systems Inc. provides cloud-based software for the life sciences industry in North America, Europe, the Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. The company offers Veeva Commercial Cloud, a suite of software, data, and analytics solutions, which include Veeva customer relationship management (CRM) and Veeva Medical CRM, Veeva CLM, Veeva CRM MyInsights, Veeva CLM, Veeva CRM Approved Email, Veeva CRM Engage, Veeva Align, Veeva CRM Events Management, Veeva Nitro, Veeva OpenData, Veeva Link, Veeva Network, Veeva Crossix, Veeva Data Cloud, and MyVeeva for Patients; and Veeva Vault, a cloud-based enterprise content and data management applications for managing commercial functions, including sales and marketing, and medical content and communications, as well as research and development functions, such as clinical, regulatory, quality, and safety. It also provides professional and support services in the areas of implementation and deployment planning and project management; requirements analysis, solution design, and configuration; systems environment management and deployment services; services focused on advancing or transforming business and operating processes related to Veeva solutions; technical consulting services related to data migration and systems integrations; training on its solutions; and ongoing managed services that include outsourced systems administration. The company was formerly known as Verticals onDemand, Inc. and changed its name to Veeva Systems Inc. in April 2009. Veeva Systems Inc. was incorporated in 2007 and is headquartered in Pleasanton, California.
The last of 17 defendants was sentenced to prison Thursday for his role in a conspiracy to bring hundreds of pounds of high-grade methamphetamine to La Crosse.

Adam Vang, 29, of Hickory, N.C., was accused of driving to the Twin Cities to pick up tens of thousands of dollars worth of drugs that his cousins purchased from a Mexican drug cartel and helped distribute it to a network of dealers in La Crosse.

Vang denied high-level involvement in the drug ring and was the only person accused in the case who took his case to trial. A jury found him guilty in June of conspiracy to distribute meth.

Judge Scott Horne sentenced Vang to 3 years in prison and another 3 years on supervision, citing Vangs lack of prior criminal history but also noting the severity of the case.

Theres no question about the harm its done to the community, Horne said. This is one of the most destructive drugs Ive seen in over 35 years in the court system.

Horne said witnesses who testified during Vangs trial were transparent in lying on the stand and contradicting their previous statements to protect him.

Assistant District Attorney John Kellis asked for a six-year prison term, noting Vangs co-defendants took responsibility for their actions by pleading guilty. Their sentences ranged from probation to 7 years in prison.

While acknowledging he played a smaller role, Kellis said that Vang has not taken responsibility nor shown remorse.

The bottom line is Adam Vang is the one responsible, he said.

Attorney Eric Sanford said Vang was living in Alaska when his cousins began trafficking meth, and was a good husband and father who played a small role and should not face the same punishment as those in charge.

This conspiracy was run like a business, Sandford said. Theres somebody at the top of the chain, and then theres employees.

Vang, who has been in jail for more than a year, apologized to the community and his family but stopped short of admitting his crime.

I was aware what my cousins were doing, and what they were doing was wrong, he said. I did nothing to stop them.

Authorities first learned of the enterprise in January 2015, when La Crosse police found 76 grams of meth in Yia Vangs car after he crashed into a tree during a high-speed chase. Vang told investigators that he and his brothers had been selling meth for more than a decade, at times bringing two to three pounds each week for other players to distribute in the region.

Police busted the ring in October of that year, when they arrested John Vang with drugs, a tactical rifle and numerous handguns.

Tom Johnson, investigative coordinator for the West Central Metropolitan Enforcement Group, said the arrests made an initial dent but didnt stop the local drug trade.
The following companies are subsidiares of Abbott Laboratories: 3A Nutrition (Vietnam) Company Limited, ABON Biopharm (Hangzhou) Co. Ltd., AGA Medical Belgium, AGA Medical Corporation, AGA Medical Holdings Inc., ALR Holdings, AML Medical LLC, APK Advanced Medical Technologies LLC, ATS Bermuda Holdings Limited, ATS Laboratories Inc., Abbott, Abbott (Jiaxing) Nutrition Co. Ltd., Abbott (UK) Finance Limited, Abbott (UK) Holdings Limited, Abbott AG, Abbott Asia Holdings Limited, Abbott Asia Investments Limited, Abbott Australasia Holdings Limited, Abbott Australasia Pty Ltd, Abbott B.V., Abbott Bahamas Overseas Businesses Corporation, Abbott Belgian Investments, Abbott Bermuda Holding Ltd., Abbott Biologicals B.V., Abbott Biologicals LLC, Abbott Bulgaria Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Capital India Limited, Abbott Cardiovascular Inc., Abbott Cardiovascular Systems Inc., Abbott Delaware LLC, Abbott Diabetes Care Inc., Abbott Diabetes Care Limited, Abbott Diabetes Care Sales Corporation, Abbott Diagnostics GmbH, Abbott Diagnostics International Ltd., Abbott Diagnostics Technologies AS, Abbott Doral Investments S.L., Abbott Equity Holdings Unlimited, Abbott Equity Investments LLC, Abbott Established Products Holdings (Gibraltar) Limited, Abbott Finance Company SA, Abbott Financial Holdings SRL, Abbott France S.A.S., Abbott Fund Tanzania Limited, Abbott Gesellschaft m.b.H., Abbott GmbH & Co. KG, Abbott Health Products LLC, Abbott Healthcare (Puerto Rico) Ltd., Abbott Healthcare B.V., Abbott Healthcare Costa Rica S.A., Abbott Healthcare LLC, Abbott Healthcare Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Healthcare Private Limited, Abbott Healthcare Products B.V., Abbott Healthcare Products Ltd, Abbott Holding (Gibraltar) Limited, Abbott Holding GmbH, Abbott Holding Subsidiary (Gibraltar) Limited, Abbott Holding Subsidiary (Gibraltar) Limited Luxembourg S.C.S., Abbott Holdings B.V., Abbott Holdings LLC, Abbott Holdings Limited, Abbott Holdings Poland Spoka z ograniczona odpowiedzialnoscia, Abbott Hungary Korlatolt Felelossegu Tarsasag, Abbott Iberian Investments (2) Limited, Abbott Iberian Investments Limited, Abbott India Limited, Abbott Informatics Asia Pacific Limited, Abbott Informatics Canada Inc, Abbott Informatics Corporation, Abbott Informatics Europe Limited, Abbott Informatics France, Abbott Informatics Germany GmbH, Abbott Informatics Netherlands B.V., Abbott Informatics Singapore Pte. Limited, Abbott Informatics Spain S.A., Abbott Informatics Technologies Ltd, Abbott International Corporation, Abbott International Enterprises Ltd., Abbott International Holdings Limited, Abbott International LLC, Abbott International Luxembourg S.ar.l., Abbott Investments Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Ireland, Abbott Ireland Financing Designated Activity Company, Abbott Ireland Limited, Abbott Japan Co. Ltd., Abbott Kazakhstan Limited Liability Partnership, Abbott Knoll Investments B.V., Abbott Korea Limited, Abbott Laboratories (Bangladesh) Limited, Abbott Laboratories (Chile) Holdco (Dos) SpA, Abbott Laboratories (Chile) Holdco SpA, Abbott Laboratories (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Abbott Laboratories (Mozambique) Limitada, Abbott Laboratories (Pakistan) Limited, Abbott Laboratories (Philippines), Abbott Laboratories (Puerto Rico) Incorporated, Abbott Laboratories (Singapore) Private Limited, Abbott Laboratories A/S, Abbott Laboratories Argentina Sociedad Anonima, Abbott Laboratories B.V., Abbott Laboratories C.A., Abbott Laboratories Finance B.V., Abbott Laboratories GmbH, Abbott Laboratories Inc., Abbott Laboratories International LLC, Abbott Laboratories Ireland Limited, Abbott Laboratories Limited, Abbott Laboratories Limited - Laboratoires Abbott Limitee, Abbott Laboratories NZ Limited, Abbott Laboratories Pacific Ltd., Abbott Laboratories Poland Spoka z ograniczona odpowiedzialnoscia, Abbott Laboratories Products B.V., Abbott Laboratories Residential Development Fund Inc., Abbott Laboratories S.A., Abbott Laboratories SA, Abbott Laboratories Services Corp., Abbott Laboratories Slovakia s.r.o., Abbott Laboratories South Africa (Pty) Ltd., Abbott Laboratories Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Abbott Laboratories Trustee Company Limited, Abbott Laboratories Uruguay S.A., Abbott Laboratories Vascular Enterprises, Abbott Laboratories d.o.o., Abbott Laboratories de Chile Limitada, Abbott Laboratories de Colombia S.A., Abbott Laboratories de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Abbott Laboratories druzba za farmacijo in diagnostiko d.o.o., Abbott Laboratories s.r.o., Abbott Laboratories(Hellas) Societe Anonyme, Abbott Laboratorios S.A., Abbott Laboratorios S.A., Abbott Laboratorios del Ecuador Cia. Ltda., Abbott Laboratuarlari Ithalat Ihracat ve Ticaret Ltd.Sti, Abbott Laboratorios Lda, Abbott Laboratorios do Brasil Ltda., Abbott Limited Egypt LLC, Abbott Logistics B.V., Abbott Management GmbH, Abbott Management LLC, Abbott Manufacturing Singapore Private Limited, Abbott Mature Products International Unlimited Company, Abbott Mature Products Management Limited, Abbott Medical (Hong Kong) Limited, Abbott Medical (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Abbott Medical (Portugal) Distribuicao de Produtos Medicos Lda, Abbott Medical (Schweiz) AG, Abbott Medical (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Abbott Medical (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Abbott Medical (Thailand) Co. Ltd., Abbott Medical Australia Pty. Ltd., Abbott Medical Austria Ges.m.b.H., Abbott Medical Balkan d.o.o. Beograd (Novi Beograd), Abbott Medical Belgium, Abbott Medical Canada Inc./ Medicale Abbott Canada Inc., Abbott Medical Danmark A/S, Abbott Medical Devices Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Abbott Medical Espana S.A., Abbott Medical Estonia OU, Abbott Medical Finland Oy, Abbott Medical France SAS, Abbott Medical GmbH, Abbott Medical Hellas Limited Liability Trading Company, Abbott Medical Ireland Limited, Abbott Medical Italia S.p.A., Abbott Medical Japan Co. Ltd., Abbott Medical Korea Limited, Abbott Medical Korlatolt Felelossegu Tarsasag, Abbott Medical Laboratories LTD, Abbott Medical Nederland B.V., Abbott Medical New Zealand Limited, Abbott Medical Norway AS, Abbott Medical Overseas Cyprus Limited, Abbott Medical Sweden AB, Abbott Medical Taiwan Co., Abbott Medical U.K. Limited, Abbott Medical spoka z ograniczona odpowiedzialnoscia, Abbott Middle East S.A.R.L., Abbott Molecular Inc., Abbott Morocco SARL, Abbott Nederland C.V., Abbott Nederland Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Netherlands Investments B.V., Abbott Norge AS, Abbott Nutrition Limited, Abbott Nutrition Manufacturing Inc., Abbott Operations Singapore Pte. Ltd., Abbott Operations Uruguay S.R.L., Abbott Overseas Cyprus Limited, Abbott Overseas Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Overseas S.A., Abbott Oy, Abbott Point of Care Canada Limited, Abbott Point of Care Inc., Abbott Poland Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Procurement LLC, Abbott Products (Philippines) Inc., Abbott Products (Spain) S.L., Abbott Products Algerie EURL, Abbott Products B.V., Abbott Products Distribution SAS, Abbott Products Egypt LLC, Abbott Products Limited, Abbott Products Limited Liability Company, Abbott Products Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Products Operations AG, Abbott Products Operations LLC, Abbott Products Romania S.R.L., Abbott Products Tunisie S.A.R.L., Abbott Products Unlimited Company, Abbott Resources Inc., Abbott Resources International Inc., Abbott S.r.l., Abbott Saudi Arabia Trading Company, Abbott Scandinavia Aktiebolag, Abbott Sociedad Anonima de Capital Variable, Abbott South Africa Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Strategic Opportunities Limited, Abbott Trading Company Inc., Abbott Universal LLC, Abbott Vascular Devices (2) Limited, Abbott Vascular Devices Limited, Abbott Vascular Inc., Abbott Vascular Instruments Deutschland GmbH, Abbott Vascular International, Abbott Vascular Japan Co. Ltd, Abbott Vascular Limitada, Abbott Vascular Netherlands B.V., Abbott Vascular Solutions Inc., Abbott Ventures Inc., Abbott West Indies Limited, Abbott drustvo sa ogranicenom odgovornoscu za trgovinu i usluge, Advanced Neuromodulation Systems Inc., Alere, Alere (Shanghai) Diagnostics Co. Ltd., Alere (Shanghai) Healthcare Management Co. Ltd., Alere (Shanghai) Medical Sales Co. Ltd., Alere (Shanghai) Technology Co. Ltd., Alere A/S, Alere AB, Alere AS, Alere AS Holdings Limited, Alere BBI Holdings Limited, Alere Bangladesh Limited, Alere China Co. Ltd., Alere Colombia S.A., Alere Connect LLC, Alere Connected Health Limited, Alere Connected Health Ltd., Alere Diagnostics GmbH, Alere DoA Holding GmbH, Alere GmbH, Alere GmbH (Austria), Alere GmbH (Germany), Alere HK Holdings Ltd., Alere Health B.V., Alere Health BVBA, Alere Health Corp., Alere Health Sdn Bhd, Alere Health Services B.V., Alere Healthcare (Pty) Limited, Alere Healthcare Connections Limited, Alere Healthcare Inc., Alere Healthcare Nigeria Limited, Alere Healthcare S.L., Alere Holdco Inc., Alere Holding GmbH, Alere Holdings Bermuda Limited, Alere Holdings Pty Limited, Alere Home Monitoring Inc., Alere Inc., Alere Informatics Inc., Alere International Holding Corp., Alere International Limited, Alere Lda, Alere Limited, Alere Limited (New Zealand), Alere Medical BVBA, Alere Medical Co. Ltd., Alere Medical Pakistan (Private) Limited, Alere Medical Private Limited, Alere North America LLC, Alere Oy Ab, Alere Philippines Inc., Alere Phoenix ACQ Inc., Alere Pte Ltd, Alere S.A., Alere S.r.l., Alere S/A, Alere SAS, Alere San Diego Inc., Alere Scarborough Inc., Alere Spain S.L., Alere Switzerland GmbH, Alere Technologies GmbH, Alere Technologies Holdings Limited, Alere Technologies Limited, Alere Toxicology AB, Alere Toxicology Inc., Alere Toxicology S.r.l., Alere Toxicology Services Inc., Alere Toxicology plc, Alere UK Holdings Limited, Alere UK Subco Limited, Alere ULC, Alere US Holdings LLC, Alere s.r.o., Alisoc Investment & Co, Amedica Biotech Inc., Ameditech Inc., American Generics S.A.S., American Medical Supplies Inc., American Pharmacist Inc., Antares S.A., Apica Cardiovascular Limited, Aquagestion Capacitacion S.A., Aquagestion S.A., Arriva Medical LLC, Arriva Medical Philippines Inc., Arvis Investments Limited, Atlas Farmaceutica S.A., Avee Laboratories Inc., Axis-Shield AD III AS, Axis-Shield AD IV AS, Axis-Shield AS, Axis-Shield Diagnostics Limited, Axis-Shield Ltd., BBI Animal Health Limited, BBI Diagnostics Group 2 Public Limited Company, Banco de Vida S.A., Bioabsorbable Vascular Solutions Inc., Bioalgae S.A., Biohealth LLC, Biosite Incorporated, Bosque Bonito S.A., Branan Medical Corporation, Brandex Europe C.V., British Colloids Limited, CFR Chile S.A., CFR Interamericas EL Salvador Sociedad Anonima de Capital Variable, CFR Interamericas Nicaragua Sociedad Anonima, CFR Interamericas Panama S.A., CFR Pharmaceuticals, California Property Holdings III LLC, CardioMEMS LLC, Caripharm Inc., Cephea Valve Technologies, Cephea Valve Technologies Inc., Colibri Medical Aktiebolag, Comercializadora y Distribuidora CFR Interamericas Honduras S.A., Concateno South Limited, Concateno UK Limited, Consorcio Tecnologico en Biomedicina Clinico-Molecular S.A., Continuum Services LLC, Cozart Limited, Dextech S.A., Diagnostik Nord GmbH, Distribuciones Uquifa S.A.S., Domesco Medical Import-Export Joint-Stock Corporation, Duphar International Research B.V., Endocardial Solutions, Epocal (US) Inc, Esprit de Vie S.A., European Chemicals & Co, European Drug Testing Service EDTS AB, European Services S.A., Evalve Inc., Evalve International Inc., FARMINDUSTRIA S.A., Fada Pharma Paraguay Sociedad Anonima, Fadapharma del Ecuador S.A., Farmaceutica Mont Blanc S.L., Farmacologia Em Aquicultura Veterinaria Ltda., Farmacologia en Aquacultura Veterinaria FAV Ecuador S.A., Farmacologia en Aquacultura Veterinaria FAV S.A., Fernwood Investment S.A., First Check Diagnostics LLC, Focus Pharmaceutical S.A.S., Forensics Limited, Forestcreek Overseas S.A., Fournier Pharma Corp., Fournier Pharma GmbH, Fournier Pharmaceuticals Limited, Framed B.V., Gabmed GmbH, Garden Hills LLC, Global Analytical Development LLC, Globapharm & CO LP, Glomed Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Golnorth Investments S.A., Gynocare Limited, Gynopharm Sociedad Anonima, Gynopharm de Centroamerica S.A., Gynopharm de Venezuela C.A., Hi-Tronics Designs Inc., IDEV Technologies Inc., IG Innovations Limited, IMTC Finance B.V., IMTC Holdings B.V., IMTC Technologies Inc., Ibis Biosciences LLC, Igloo Zone Chile S.A., Igloo Zone S.L., Inmobiliaria Naknek S.A.C., Innovacon Inc., Instant Tech Subsidiary Acquisition Inc., Instant Technologies Inc., Instituto de Criopreservacion de Chile S.A., Integrated Vascular Systems Inc., Inverness Canadian Acquisition Corporation, Inverness Medical (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Inverness Medical Innovations Australia Pty Ltd., Inverness Medical Innovations Hong Kong Limited, Inverness Medical Innovations SK LLC, Inverness Medical Investments LLC, Inverness Medical LLC, Inverness Medical Shimla Private Limited, Inversiones K2 SpA, Inversiones Komodo S.R.L., Ionian Technologies LLC, Irvine Biomedical Inc., Kalila Medical, Kangshenyunga S.A., Knoll UK Investments Unlimited, LLC VeroInPharm, Laboratoires Fournier S.A.S., Laboratorio Franco Colombiano Lafrancol S.A.S., Laboratorio Franco Colombiano del Ecuador S.A., Laboratorio Internacional Argentino S.A., Laboratorio Synthesis S.A.S., Laboratorios Lafi Limitada, Laboratorios Naturmedik S.A.S., Laboratorios Pauly Pharmaceutical S.A.S., Laboratorios Recalcine S.A., Laboratorios Transpharm S.A., Laboratory Specialists of America Inc., Lafrancol Dominicana S.A.S., Lafrancol Guatemala S.A. Sociedad Anonima, Lafrancol Internacional S.A.S, Lafrancol Peru S.R.L, Lake Forest Investments LLC, Lightlab Imaging Inc., Limited Liability Company Abbott Laboratories, Limited Liability Company Abbott Ukraine, Limited Liability Company VEROPHARM, Lung Fung Hong (China) Limited, Mansbridge Pharmaceuticals Limited, MediGuide LLC, MediGuide Ltd., Medscreen Holdings Limited, Metropolitana Farmaceutica S.A., Midwest Properties LLC, Murex Argentina S.A., Murex Biotech Limited, Murex Biotech South Africa, Murex Diagnostics Inc., Murex Diagnostics International Inc., Natural Supplement Association LLC, Negocios Denia Sociedad Anonima, Neosalud S.A.C., Nether Pharma N.P. C.V., NeuroTherm LLC, Normann Pharma-Handels GmbH, North Shore Properties Inc., Novamedi S.A., Novasalud.com S.A., Nutravida S.A., OJSC Voronezhkhimpharm, Omnilab Iberia Sociedad Limitada, OptiMedica, Orgenics France SAS, Orgenics International Holdings B.V., Orgenics Ltd., PBM-Selfcare LLC, PDD II LLC, PDD LLC, PT Alere Health, PT. Abbott Indonesia, PT. Abbott Products Indonesia, Pacesetter Inc., Pantech (RF) (PTY) LTD, Pembrooke Occupational Health Inc., Penagos S.A., Pharma International Sociedad Anonima, Pharmaceutical Technologies (Pharmatech) S.A., Pharmatech Boliviana S.A., Polygon Labs S.A., Quality Assured Services Inc., RF Medical Holdings LLC, RTL Holdings Inc., Ramses Business Corp., Recben Xenerics Farmaceutica Limitada, Redwood Toxicology Laboratory Inc., Rich Horizons International Limited, SC VEROPHARM, SJ Medical Mexico S de R.L. de C.V., SJM International Inc., SJM Thunder Holding Company, SPDH Inc., Saboya Enterprises Corporation, Salviac Limited, Scanax AS, Sealing Solutions Inc., Selfcare Technology Inc., Shandong Abbott Dairy Product Co. Ltd., Shanghai Abbott Medical Devices Science and Technology Co. Ltd., Shanghai Abbott Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Shanghai Si Fa Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Sinensix & Co., Spinal Modulation LLC, St. Jude Medical, St. Jude Medical AB, St. Jude Medical ATG Inc., St. Jude Medical Argentina S.A., St. Jude Medical Asia Pacific Holdings GK, St. Jude Medical Atrial Fibrillation Division Inc., St. Jude Medical Brasil Ltda., St. Jude Medical Business Services Inc., St. Jude Medical Cardiology Division Inc., St. Jude Medical Colombia Ltda., St. Jude Medical Coordination Center, St. Jude Medical Costa Rica Limitada, St. Jude Medical Europe Inc., St. Jude Medical Export Ges.m.b.H., St. Jude Medical GVA Sarl, St. Jude Medical Holdings B.V., St. Jude Medical India Private Limited, St. Jude Medical International Holding, St. Jude Medical LLC, St. Jude Medical Luxembourg, St. Jude Medical Luxembourg Holdings II, St. Jude Medical Luxembourg Holdings NT, St. Jude Medical Luxembourg Holdings SMI S.a r.l., St. Jude Medical Luxembourg Holdings TC S.a r.l., St. Jude Medical Mexico Business Services S. de R.L. de C.V., St. Jude Medical Middle East DMCC, St. Jude Medical Operations (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., St. Jude Medical Puerto Rico LLC, St. Jude Medical S.C. Inc., St. Jude Medical Systems AB, St. Jude Medical Turkey Medikal Urunler Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Standard Diagnostics Inc., Standing Stone LLC, Swan-Myers Incorporated, TC1 LLC, Tendyne Holdings Inc., Tendyne Medical Inc., Thoratec Delaware LLC, Thoratec Europe Limited, Thoratec LLC, Thoratec Switzerland GmbH, Tobal Products Incorporated, Topera GmbH in Liquidation, Topera Inc., Tremora S.A., Tuenir S.A., TwistDx, UAB Abbott Laboratories, UAB Abbott Medical Lithuania, Union-Madison Realty Company Inc., Unipath Limited (dba Alere International/aka Cranfield), Unipath Management Limited, Unipath Pension Trustee Limited, Veropharm, Veropharm Limited Liability Partnership, Vida Cell Inversiones S.A., Vida Cell S.A., Vivalsol, W&R Pharma Handels GmbH, Western Pharmaceuticals S.A., X Technologies Inc., Yissum Holding Limited, ZonePerfect Nutrition Company, eScreen Canada ULC, eScreen Inc.,      ( ), and Abbott Laboratories Baltics.

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South Jersey Industries, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides energy-related products and services. The company engages in the purchase, transmission, and sale of natural gas. It also sells natural gas and pipeline transportation capacity on a wholesale basis to residential, commercial, and industrial customers on the interstate pipeline system, as well as transports natural gas purchased directly from producers or suppliers to customers. As of December 31, 2021, the company had approximately 147 miles of mains in the transmission system and 6,815 miles of mains in the distribution system; and served 384,062 residential, commercial, and industrial customers in southern New Jersey. In addition, it markets natural gas storage, commodity, and transportation assets on a wholesale basis for energy marketers, electric and gas utilities, power plants, and natural gas producers in the mid-Atlantic, Appalachian, and southern regions of the United States. Further, the company owns and operates rooftop solar-generation sites. Additionally, it owns oil, gas, and mineral rights in the Marcellus Shale region of Pennsylvania; acquires and markets natural gas and electricity to retail end users, as well as provides total energy management, fuel management, and energy procurement and cost reduction services. The company was founded in 1910 and is headquartered in Folsom, New Jersey.
The following companies are subsidiares of Novo Nordisk A/S: Aldaph SpA, Beijing Novo Nordisk Pharmaceuticals Science & Technology Co. Ltd., CS Solar Fund XIV LLC, Calibrium, Corvidia, Corvidia Therapeutics Inc., Dicerna Pharmaceuticals, Dicerna Pharmaceuticals Inc., Emisphere Technologies, Emisphere Technologies Inc., MB2 LLC, NNE A/S, Neotope Neuroscience Limited, Novo Nordisk, Novo Nordisk (China) Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd., Novo Nordisk (Pty) Limited, Novo Nordisk (Shanghai) Pharma Trading Co. Ltd., Novo Nordisk B.V., Novo Nordisk Canada Inc., Novo Nordisk Colombia SAS, Novo Nordisk Comercio Produtos Farmaceuticos Lda., Novo Nordisk Denmark A/S, Novo Nordisk Egypt LLC, Novo Nordisk Farma OY, Novo Nordisk Farma S.R.L., Novo Nordisk Farma dooel, Novo Nordisk Farmaceutica Limitada, Novo Nordisk Farmaceutica do Brasil Ltda., Novo Nordisk Finance (Netherlands) B.V., Novo Nordisk Health Care AG, Novo Nordisk Hellas Epe., Novo Nordisk Holding Limited, Novo Nordisk Hong Kong Limited, Novo Nordisk Hrvatska d.o.o., Novo Nordisk Hungaria Kft., Novo Nordisk Inc., Novo Nordisk India Holding Pte Ltd., Novo Nordisk India Private Limited, Novo Nordisk Kazakhstan LLP, Novo Nordisk Kenya Ltd., Novo Nordisk Lanka (PVT) Ltd, Novo Nordisk Limited, Novo Nordisk Limited Liability Company, Novo Nordisk Ltd, Novo Nordisk Mexico S.A. de C.V., Novo Nordisk North America Operations A/S, Novo Nordisk Norway AS, Novo Nordisk Panama S.A., Novo Nordisk Pars, Novo Nordisk Peru S.A.C., Novo Nordisk Pharma (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Novo Nordisk Pharma (Private) Limited, Novo Nordisk Pharma (Singapore) Pte Ltd., Novo Nordisk Pharma (Taiwan) Ltd., Novo Nordisk Pharma (Thailand) Ltd., Novo Nordisk Pharma AG, Novo Nordisk Pharma Argentina S.A., Novo Nordisk Pharma EAD, Novo Nordisk Pharma GmbH, Novo Nordisk Pharma Gulf FZE, Novo Nordisk Pharma Inc., Novo Nordisk Pharma Korea Ltd., Novo Nordisk Pharma Limited, Novo Nordisk Pharma Ltd., Novo Nordisk Pharma Operations (Business Area) Sdn Bhd, Novo Nordisk Pharma Operations A/S, Novo Nordisk Pharma S.A., Novo Nordisk Pharma SARL, Novo Nordisk Pharma SAS, Novo Nordisk Pharma Sp.z.o.o., Novo Nordisk Pharma d.o.o., Novo Nordisk Pharma d.o.o. Belgrade (Serbia), Novo Nordisk Pharmaceutical Industries LP, Novo Nordisk Pharmaceutical Services Sp. z o.o., Novo Nordisk Pharmaceuticals (Philippines) Inc., Novo Nordisk Pharmaceuticals A/S, Novo Nordisk Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Novo Nordisk Pharmaceuticals Pty. Ltd., Novo Nordisk Pharmatech A/S, Novo Nordisk Pharmatech US Inc., Novo Nordisk Production SAS, Novo Nordisk Production Support LLC, Novo Nordisk Producao Farmaceutica do Brasil Ltda., Novo Nordisk Region AAMEO and LATAM A/S, Novo Nordisk Region China A/S, Novo Nordisk Region Europe A/S, Novo Nordisk Region Japan & Korea A/S, Novo Nordisk Research Center Indianapolis Inc., Novo Nordisk Research Center Seattle Inc., Novo Nordisk S.P.A., Novo Nordisk Saglik Urunleri Tic. Ltd. Sti., Novo Nordisk Saudi for Trading, Novo Nordisk Scandinavia AB, Novo Nordisk Service Centre (India) Pvt. Ltd., Novo Nordisk Slovakia s.r.o., Novo Nordisk Tunisie SARL, Novo Nordisk US Bio Production Inc., Novo Nordisk US Commercial Holdings Inc., Novo Nordisk US Holdings Inc., Novo Nordisk Ukraine LLC, Novo Nordisk Venezuela Casa de Representacion C.A., Novo Nordisk d.o.o., Novo Nordisk s.r.o., PT. Novo Nordisk Indonesia, S.A. Novo Nordisk Pharma N.V., UAB Novo Nordisk Pharma, Xellia Pharmaceuticals, Ziylo, and Ziylo Limited.

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Sara Bozek is excited to start her college career at Viterbo University.

The 18-year-old from Ottawa, Ill., was among 28 first-generation students who moved into the dorms Thursday and participated in special orientation activities. The oldest of her siblings, Bozek will be the first in her family to have earned a college degree after she finishes her studies in criminal psychology.

Being a first-generation student, I didnt know a lot of what to do before I came to campus, she said. My mom is a hairstylist and my dad works with airplanes. They didnt get this experience.

Jane Eddy, Viterbos director of the Academic Resource Center and TRIO student support programs, said the university unveiled a unique program to help acclimate first-generation students to campus this year. Along with the early move-in day, students participating in the program on Thursday were given a special sendoff with their families and participated in team-building and other workshops to familiarize themselves with their classmates and campus.

The intent is to empower them, she said, and help them get the lay of the land and get connected.

First-generation students at Viterbo are defined as those whose parents never attended or completed a four-year degree  and Glena Temple, Viterbos president, falls into that category. Estimates put 44 percent of the student body at Viterbo meeting this definition, and first-generation students face unique challenges at college due to not having familial knowledge with how the system works.

Bozek said she fell in love with the La Crosse area after visiting Grandad Bluff and would have attended either the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse or Viterbo.

Not having experienced college, all of the paperwork required even before she got to campus was a challenge for her family, but Bozek said she appreciated the way Viterbo staff members have worked to welcome her and her fellow students and help figure all these things out.

Im excited to break my anxiety barrier and make friends here, she said. Im looking to get over that bump.

During lunch on Thursday, professor Emily Dykman was one of the Viterbo faculty who shared her college journey with the students. Dykman was a first-generation student at Viterbo in the 1990s, and she said it was the relationships she built with faculty and classmates that helped her navigate the college maze.

When she got to college, she said she didnt have that sense of where and how to seek the help she needed and stay pointed in the right direction. Programs like Thursdays orientation are great because they encourage students to open up and take risks.

How much fun will it be to see these students again in four years as adults confident and motivated to change the world, she said. Fall is my favorite time of the year as we are getting new students in.
Dril-Quip, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, sells, and services engineered drilling and production equipment for use in deepwater, harsh environment, and severe service applications worldwide. The company's principal products include subsea and surface wellheads, subsea and surface production trees, mudline hanger systems, specialty connectors and associated pipes, drilling and production riser systems, liner hangers, wellhead connectors, diverters, and safety valves, as well as downhole tools. It also provides technical advisory services, and rework and reconditioning services, as well as rental and purchase of running tools for use in the installation and retrieval of its products; and downhole tools comprise of liner hangers, production packers, safety valves, and specialty downhole tools that are used to hang-off and seal casing into a previously installed casing string in the well bore. The company's products are used to explore for oil and gas from offshore drilling rigs, such as floating rigs and jack-up rigs; and for drilling and production of oil and gas wells on offshore platforms, tension leg platforms, and Spars, as well as moored vessels, such as floating production, storage, and offloading monohull moored vessels. It sells its products directly through its sales personnel, independent sales agents, and representatives to integrated, independent, and foreign national oil and gas companies, as well as drilling contractors, and engineering and construction companies. The company was founded in 1981 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.
EMCOR Group, Inc. provides electrical and mechanical construction, and facilities services primarily in the United States and the United Kingdom. It offers design, integration, installation, starts-up, operation, and maintenance services related to electrical power transmission, distribution, and generation systems; energy solutions; premises electrical and lighting systems; process instrumentation in the refining, chemical processing, and food processing industries; low-voltage systems, such as fire alarm, security, and process control systems; voice and data communications systems; roadway and transit lighting, signaling, and fiber optic lines; heating, ventilation, air conditioning, refrigeration, and geothermal solutions; clean-room process ventilation systems; fire protection and suppression systems; plumbing, process, and high-purity piping systems; controls and filtration systems; water and wastewater treatment systems; central plant heating and cooling systems; crane and rigging services; millwright services; and steel fabrication, erection, and welding services. The company also provides building services that cover commercial and government site-based operations and maintenance; facility management, maintenance, and services; outage services to utilities and industrial plants; military base operations support services; mobile mechanical maintenance and services; services for indoor air quality; floor care and janitorial services; landscaping, lot sweeping, and snow removal services; vendor management and call center services; installation and support for building systems; program development, management, and maintenance for energy systems; technical consulting and diagnostic services; infrastructure and building projects; small modification and retrofit projects; and other building services. It offers industrial services to oil, gas, and petrochemical industries. EMCOR Group, Inc. was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut.
ESCO Technologies Inc. produces and supplies engineered products and systems for industrial and commercial markets worldwide. It operates through Aerospace & Defense, Utility Solutions Group, and RF Shielding and Test segments. The Aerospace & Defense segment designs and manufactures filtration products, including hydraulic filter elements and fluid control devices used in commercial aerospace applications; filter mechanisms used in micro-propulsion devices for satellites; and custom designed filters for manned aircraft and submarines. It also designs, develops, and manufactures elastomeric-based signature reduction solutions for U.S. naval vessels; and mission-critical bushings, pins, sleeves, and precision-tolerance machined components for landing gear, rotor heads, engine mounts, flight controls, and actuation systems for the aerospace and defense industries. The Utility Solutions Group segment provides diagnostic testing solutions that enable electric power grid operators to assess the integrity of high-voltage power delivery equipment; and decision support tools for the renewable energy industry, primarily wind and solar. The RF Shielding and Test segment designs and manufactures RF test and secure communication facilities, acoustic test enclosures, RF and magnetically shielded rooms, RF measurement systems, and broadcast and recording studios; and RF absorptive materials and filters, active compensation systems, antennas, antenna masts, turntables, electric and magnetic probes, RF test cells, proprietary measurement software, and other test accessories to perform various tests. It also provides services, such as calibration for antennas and field probes, chamber certification, field surveys, customer training, and various product tests. The company distributes its products through a network of distributors, sales representatives, direct sales teams, and in-house sales personnel. The company was incorporated in 1990 and is based in St. Louis, Missouri.
Simon Zuiker wasnt a lawyer. He didnt even finish high school. But when thousands of Trane factory workers walked the picket line in 1973, it was Zuiker who helped end the longest strike in the companys history.

A federal mediator who negotiated numerous La Crosse labor disputes in the 1970s and 80s, Zuiker died Aug. 17 at a care center in Minneapolis. He was 95.

He played a real positive role in labor negotiations in the Midwest for many years, said Dan Mihalovic, a retired labor leader who worked with Zuiker.

Born in 1922 to Dutch immigrants, Zuiker  known as Sam  was raised on a farm in Harrison, Wis., where he attended a two-room schoolhouse through eighth grade, according to his eldest son, Paul Zuiker. After World War II, where he was part of the second wave of troops to land in Normandy, Zuiker went back to school  at the urging of his wife  and earned a GED.

He worked in construction and later for Wisconsin Public Service Corp. When the unions business representative announced he was retiring, his son said, Zuiker enrolled in a public speaking class at the local technical college and used vacation time to campaign for the job.

He realized that would be a pretty good opportunity, Paul Zuiker said.

Over the next decade, Zuiker made a name for himself as a union rep, fostering relationships with academics in Madison, who Paul Zuiker said encouraged him to apply for a job with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.

He was sworn in as a mediator in 1968, working from the Minneapolis office.

He was a learner, Paul Zuiker said. Im really proud to have a father that started with such a basic, simple life and where he went.

Zuiker attended nearly two dozen mediation sessions during the 1973 Trane strike, in which nearly 1,900 workers walked the picket line for 125 days before voting to ratify a new contract that raised wages by $1.07 and hour over the next three years and included increased pension contributions.

During a 1991 Trane strike  shortly after he retired  Zuiker told the Tribune that the companys management frequently erred by opening negotiations with their best offer.

They said, We give them what we think is fair; thats our policy, Zuiker said. I said, It should be apparent your policy isnt working.

Over the course of his 23-year career, he mediated four or five strikes at Trane as well as strikes in Winona and at the La Crosse telephone company.

He listened a lot, said Mihalovic, who was chairman of the tool and die makers union during the 1973 strike and later served as a business rep for two local unions. He was really low key until things might have gotten out of hand, and hed step on it. He wasnt afraid to do that.

Federal mediators have no power to impose a settlement or determine contract terms. Rather, their job is to use their knowledge of the industry to help negotiators steer past roadblocks. Milhalovic said Zuiker would tell union leaders when their expectations were out of line.

When he spoke, people would listen, Mihalovic said. They might disagree, but they would listen.
Gildan Activewear Inc. manufactures and sells various apparel products in the United States, North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America. It provides various activewear products, including T-shirts, fleece tops and bottoms, and sports shirts under the Gildan, Gildan Performance, Gildan Hammer, Comfort Colors, American Apparel, Alstyle, and GoldToe brands. The company also offers hosiery products comprising athletic; dress; and casual, liner, therapeutic, and workwear socks, as well as sheer pantyhose, tights, and leggings under the Gildan, Under Armour, GoldToe, PowerSox, Signature Gold by Goldtoe, Peds, MediPeds, Therapy Plus, All Pro, Secret, Silks, Secret Silky, and American Apparel brands. In addition, it provides men's and boys' underwear products, and ladies panties under the Gildan and Gildan Platinum brands; and ladies' shapewear, intimates, and accessories under the Secret and Secret Silky brands. The company sells its products to wholesale distributors, screen printers, and embellishers, as well as to retailers and lifestyle brand companies. The company was formerly known as Textiles Gildan Inc. and changed its name to Gildan Activewear Inc. in March 1995. Gildan Activewear Inc. was founded in 1946 and is headquartered in Montreal, Canada.
Vulcan Materials Company, together with its subsidiaries, produces and supplies construction aggregates primarily in the United States. It operates through four segments: Aggregates, Asphalt, Concrete, and Calcium. The Aggregates segment provides crushed stones, sand and gravel, sand, and other aggregates; and related products and services that are applied in construction and maintenance of highways, streets, and other public works, as well as in the construction of housing and commercial, industrial, and other nonresidential facilities. The Asphalt Mix segment offers asphalt mix in Alabama, Arizona, California, New Mexico, Tennessee, and Texas, as well as engages in the asphalt construction paving activity in Alabama, Tennessee, and Texas. The Concrete segment provides ready-mixed concrete in California, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia, and Washington D.C. The Calcium segment mines, produces, and sells calcium products for the animal feed, plastics, and water treatment industries. The company was formerly known as Virginia Holdco, Inc. and changed its name to Vulcan Materials Company. Vulcan Materials Company was founded in 1909 and is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama.
Humana Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a health and well-being company in the United States. It operates through three segments: Retail, Group and Specialty, and Healthcare Services. The company offers medical and supplemental benefit plans to individuals. It also has a contract with Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to administer the Limited Income Newly Eligible Transition prescription drug plan program; and contracts with various states to provide Medicaid, dual eligible, and long-term support services benefits. In addition, the company provides commercial fully insured medical and specialty health insurance benefits comprising dental, vision, and other supplemental health benefits; and administrative services only products to individuals and employer groups, as well as military services, such as TRICARE T2017 East Region contract. Further, it offers pharmacy solutions, provider services, and home solutions services, such as home health and other services to its health plan members, as well as to third parties. As of December 31, 2021, the company had approximately 17 million members in medical benefit plans, as well as approximately 5 million members in specialty products. Humana Inc. was founded in 1961 and is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky.
The following companies are subsidiares of InterContinental Hotels Group: 2250 Blake Street Hotel LLC, 24th Street Operator Sub LLC, 36th Street IHG Sub LLC, 426 Main Ave LLC, 46 Nevins Street Associates LLC, Allegro Management LLC, Alpha Kimball Hotel LLC, American Commonwealth Assurance Co. Ltd., Asia Pacific Holdings Limited, BHMC Canada Inc., BHR Holdings B.V., BHR Luxembourg SARL, BHR Pacific Holdings Inc., BHTC Canada Inc., BOC Barclay Sub LLC, Barclay Operating Corp., Bristol Oakbrook Tenant Company, Cafe Biarritz, Cambridge Lodging LLC, Capital Lodging LLC, Compania Inter-Continental De Hoteles El Salvador SA, Crowne Plaza Amsterdam (Management) B.V., Crowne Plaza LLC, Cumberland Akers Hotel LLC, Dunwoody Operations Inc., EVEN Real Estate Holding LLC, Edinburgh IC Limited, General Innkeeping Acceptance Corporation, Guangzhou SC Hotels Services Ltd., H.I. (Ireland) Limited, H.I. Soaltee Management Company Ltd, HC International Holdings Inc., HH France Holdings SAS, HH Hotels (EMEA) B.V., HH Hotels (Romania) SRL, HI Sugarloaf LLC, HIM (Aruba) NV, Hale International Ltd., Hoft Properties LLC, Holiday Hospitality Franchising LLC, Holiday Inn Mexicana S.A. de C.V., Holiday Inns (China) Ltd, Holiday Inns (Chongqing) Inc., Holiday Inns (Courtalin) Holdings SAS, Holiday Inns (Courtalin) SAS, Holiday Inns (England) Ltd., Holiday Inns (Germany) LLC, Holiday Inns (Guangzhou) Inc., Holiday Inns (Jamaica) Inc., Holiday Inns (Malaysia) Ltd., Holiday Inns (Middle East) Ltd., Holiday Inns (Philippines) Inc., Holiday Inns (Saudi Arabia) Inc., Holiday Inns (South East Asia) Inc., Holiday Inns (Thailand) Ltd., Holiday Inns (UK) Inc., Holiday Inns Crowne Plaza (Hong Kong) Inc., Holiday Inns Holdings (Australia) Pty Ltd, Holiday Inns Inc., Holiday Inns Investment (Nepal) Ltd., Holiday Inns of America (UK) Ltd., Holiday Inns of Belgium N.V., Holiday Pacific Equity Corporation, Holiday Pacific LLC, Holiday Pacific Partners LP, Hotel Inter-Continental London Limited, Hotel InterContinental London (Holdings) Limited, Hoteles Y Turismo HIH SRL, IC Hotelbetriebsfuhrungs GmbH, IC Hotels Management (Portugal) Unipessoal Lda, IC International Hotels Limited Liability Company, IHC (Thailand) Limited, IHC Buckhead LLC, IHC Edinburgh (Holdings), IHC Hopkins (Holdings) Corp., IHC Hotel Limited, IHC Inter-Continental (Holdings) Corp., IHC London (Holdings), IHC M-H (Holdings) Corp., IHC May Fair (Holdings) Limited, IHC May Fair Hotel Limited, IHC Overseas (U.K.) Limited, IHC UK (Holdings) Limited, IHC United States (Holdings) Corp., IHC Willard (Holdings) Corp., IHG (Australasia) Limited, IHG (Marseille) SAS, IHG (Thailand) Limited, IHG ANA Hotels Group Japan LLC, IHG ANA Hotels Holdings Co. Ltd., IHG Bangkok Ltd, IHG Brasil Administracao de Hoteis e Servicos Ltda, IHG Commission Services SRL, IHG Community Development LLC, IHG Cyprus Limited, IHG ECS (Barbados) SRL, IHG Franchising Brasil Ltda, IHG Franchising DR Corporation, IHG Franchising LLC, IHG Hotels (New Zealand) Limited, IHG Hotels Limited, IHG Hotels Management (Australia) Pty Limited, IHG Hotels Nigeria Limited, IHG Hotels South Africa (Pty) Ltd, IHG International Partnership, IHG Istanbul Otel Yonetim Limited Sirketi, IHG Japan (Management) LLC, IHG Japan (Osaka) LLC, IHG Management (Maryland) LLC, IHG Management (Netherlands) B.V., IHG Management MD Barclay Sub LLC, IHG Management SL d.o.o, IHG Management d.o.o. Beograd, IHG Orchard Street Member LLC, IHG PS Nominees Limited, IHG Systems Pty Ltd, IHG Szalloda Budapest Szolgaltato Kft., IHG de Argentina SA, IND East Village SD Holdings LLC, Inter-Continental D.C. Operating Corp., Inter-Continental Florida Investment Corp., Inter-Continental Florida Partner Corp., Inter-Continental Hospitality Corporation, Inter-Continental Hoteleira Limitada, Inter-Continental Hotels (Montreal) Operating Corp., Inter-Continental Hotels (Montreal) Owning Corp., Inter-Continental Hotels (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Inter-Continental Hotels Corporation, Inter-Continental Hotels Corporation de Venezuela C.A., Inter-Continental Hotels of San Francisco Inc., Inter-Continental IOHC (Mauritius) Limited, Inter-Continental Management (Australia) Pty Limited, InterContinental (Branston) 1 Limited, InterContinental (PB) 1, InterContinental (PB) 2, InterContinental (PB) 3 Limited, InterContinental Berlin Service Company GmbH, InterContinental Brasil Administracao de Hoteis Ltda, InterContinental Gestion Hotelera S.L., InterContinental Hotel Berlin GmbH, InterContinental Hotel Dusseldorf GmbH (Germany), InterContinental Hotels (Puerto Rico) Inc., InterContinental Hotels Group (Asia Pacific) Pte Ltd, InterContinental Hotels Group (Australia) Pty Limited, InterContinental Hotels Group (Canada) Inc., InterContinental Hotels Group (Espana) SA, InterContinental Hotels Group (Greater China) Limited, InterContinental Hotels Group (India) Pvt. Ltd, InterContinental Hotels Group (Japan) Inc., InterContinental Hotels Group (New Zealand) Limited, InterContinental Hotels Group (Shanghai) Ltd., InterContinental Hotels Group Customer Services Ltd., InterContinental Hotels Group Healthcare Trustee Limited, InterContinental Hotels Group Operating Corp., InterContinental Hotels Group Resources Inc., InterContinental Hotels Group Services Company, InterContinental Hotels Group do Brasil Limitada, InterContinental Hotels Italia S.r.L., InterContinental Hotels Limited, InterContinental Hotels Management GmbH, InterContinental Hotels Nevada Corporation, InterContinental Management AM LLC, InterContinental Management Bulgaria EOOD, InterContinental Management France SAS, InterContinental Management Poland sp. z.o.o, InterContinental Overseas Holding Corporation, Intercontinental Hotels Corporation Limited, KG Benefits LLC, KG Gift Card Inc., KG Liability LLC, KG Technology LLC, KHP Washington Operator LLC, KHRG 11th Avenue Hotel LLC, KHRG 851 LLC, KHRG Aertson LLC, KHRG Alexandria LLC, KHRG Alexis LLC, KHRG Allegro LLC, KHRG Argyle LLC, KHRG Austin Beverage Company LLC, KHRG Baltimore LLC, KHRG Born LLC, KHRG Boston Hotel LLC, KHRG Canary LLC, KHRG Cayman Employer Ltd., KHRG Cayman LLC, KHRG DC 1731 LLC, KHRG DC 2505 LLC, KHRG Donovan LLC, KHRG Employer LLC, KHRG Goleta LLC, KHRG Gray LLC, KHRG Gray U2 LLC, KHRG Hillcrest LLC, KHRG Huntington Beach LLC, KHRG King Street LLC, KHRG La Peer LLC, KHRG Miami Beach LLC, KHRG Muse LLC, KHRG NPC LLC, KHRG Onyx LLC, KHRG Palladian LLC, KHRG Palomar Phoenix LLC, KHRG Philly Monaco LLC, KHRG Pittsburgh LLC, KHRG Reynolds LLC, KHRG Riverplace LLC, KHRG SFD LLC, KHRG Sacramento LLC, KHRG Savannah LLC, KHRG Schofield LLC, KHRG Sedona LLC, KHRG State Street LLC, KHRG Sutter LLC, KHRG Sutter Union LLC, KHRG Taconic LLC, KHRG Tariff LLC, KHRG Texas Hospitality LLC, KHRG Texas Operations LLC, KHRG Tryon LLC, KHRG VZ Austin LLC, KHRG Vero Beach LLC, KHRG Vintage Park LLC, KHRG WPB LLC, KHRG Wabash LLC, KHRG Westwood LLC, KHRG Wilshire LLC, KHRG Zamora LLC, Kimpton Hollywood Licenses LLC, Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group, Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group LLC, Kimpton Phoenix Licenses Holdings LLC, Kimpton Sedona Licenses LLC, Louisiana Acquisitions Corp., MH Lodging LLC, Mercer Fairview Holdings LLC, PML Services LLC, PT SC Hotels & Resorts Indonesia, Pollstrong Limited, Powell Pine Inc., Priscilla Holiday of Texas Inc., RM Lodging LLC, Regent Hotels and Resorts, Resort Services International (Cayo Largo) L.P., SBS Maryland Beverage Company LLC, SC Cellars Limited, SC Hotels International Services Inc., SC Leisure Group Limited, SC NAS 2 Limited, SC Quest Limited, SC Reservations (Philippines) Inc., SCH Insurance Company, SCIH Branston 3, SF MH Acquisition LLC, SPHC Group Pty Ltd., SPHC Management Ltd., Semiramis for training of Hotel Personnel and Hotel Management SAE, Six Continents Corporate Services, Six Continents Holdings Limited, Six Continents Hotels Inc., Six Continents Hotels International Limited, Six Continents Hotels de Colombia SA, Six Continents International Holdings B.V., Six Continents Investments Limited, Six Continents Limited, Six Continents Overseas Holdings Limited, Six Continents Restaurants Limited, SixCo North America Inc., Solamar Lodging LLC, Southern Pacific Hotel Corporation (BVI) Ltd., Southern Pacific Hotels Properties Limited, Universal de Hoteles SA, White Shield Insurance Company Limited, and World Trade Centre Montreal Hotel Corporation.

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Intrepid Potash, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the extraction and production of the potash in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Potash, Trio, and Oilfield Solutions. The Potash segment offers muriate of potash or potassium chloride for use as a fertilizer input in the agricultural market; as a component in drilling and fracturing fluids for oil and gas wells, as well as an input to other industrial processes in the industrial market; and as a nutrient supplement in the animal feed market. The Trio segment provides Trio, a specialty fertilizer that delivers potassium, sulfate, and magnesium in a single particle. The Oilfield Solutions segment sells water for use in the oil and gas services industry; and offers potassium chloride real-time mixing services on location for hydraulic fracturing operations and trucking services. The company also offers salt for use in animal feeds, industrial applications, pool salts, and treatment of roads and walkways for ice melting or to manage road conditions; magnesium chloride for use in the deicing and dedusting of roads; brines for well development and completion activities in the oil and gas industry; and metal recovery salt, a combination of potash and salt to enhance the recovery of aluminum in the aluminum recycling processing facilities. Intrepid Potash, Inc. was founded in 2000 and is based in Denver, Colorado.
WellCare Health Plans, Inc. provides government-sponsored managed care services. The company operates in three segments: Medicaid Health Plans, Medicare Health Plans, and Medicare Prescription Drug Plans (PDPs). The Medicaid Health Plans segment offers plans for beneficiaries of temporary assistance for needy families, supplemental security income, and aged blind and disabled residents; and other state-based programs, such as children's health insurance programs and long-term services and supports programs for qualifying families who are not eligible for Medicaid. The Medicare Health Plans segment provides Medicare, a federal program that provides eligible persons aged 65 and over, as well as some disabled persons with a range of hospital, medical, and prescription drug benefits; Medicare Advantage, a Medicare's managed care alternative to the original Medicare program, which offers individuals standard Medicare benefits directly through Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services; and coordinated care plans that are administered through health maintenance organizations and require members to seek health care services and select a primary care physician from a network of health care providers. The Medicare PDPs segment provides Medicare part D PDP plans to Medicare-eligible beneficiaries. Its PDP plans offer national in-network prescription drug coverage, including a preferred pharmacy network. As of December 31, 2018, the company served approximately 5.5 million members in the United States. WellCare Health Plans, Inc. was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Tampa, Florida.
LSB Industries, Inc. engages in the manufacture, marketing, and sale of chemical products. The company provides nitrogen-based fertilizers, such as ammonia, fertilizer grade ammonium nitrate (HDAN), and urea ammonia nitrate for fertilizer and fertilizer blends for corn and other crops, and NPK fertilizer blends applications. It also offers high purity and commercial grade ammonia, high purity ammonium nitrate, sulfuric acids, mixed nitrating acids, carbon dioxide, and diesel exhaust fluids, as well as concentrated, and blended and regular nitric acids for various applications, including semi-conductor and polyurethane intermediates; pulp and paper, alum, water treatment, metals, and vanadium processing; power plant emissions abatement, water treatment, refrigerants, and metals processing; exhaust stream additive, and horticulture/greenhouse applications; and refrigeration. In addition, the company provides industrial grade ammonium nitrate, ammonium nitrate, and HDAN solutions for ammonium nitrate fuel oil and specialty emulsions for mining, surface mining, quarries, and construction applications. It sells its products through distributors, as well as directly to end customers in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. The company serves to the agricultural, industrial, and mining markets. LSB Industries, Inc. was founded in 1968 and is headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
McEwen Mining Inc. engages in the exploration, development, production, and sale of gold and silver. It also explores for copper deposits. The company owns 100% interests in the El Gallo and Fenix projects located in Mexico; and the Black Fox Mine and Stock Mill, Grey Fox, and Froome and Tamarack properties in Canada. It also owns interests in the Fuller, Davidson-Tisdale, Buffalo Ankerite, and Paymaster exploration properties located in Canada; and a 49% interest in the San Jose mine located in Argentina. In addition, the company owns 100% interests in the Gold Bar and Tonkin properties located in Eureka County, Nevada; and interests in the Los Azules copper project located in the cordilleran region in the province of San Juan, Argentina. The company was formerly known as US Gold Corporation and changed its name to McEwen Mining Inc. in January 2012. McEwen Mining Inc. was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.
Best Buy Co., Inc. retails technology products in the United States and Canada. The company operates in two segments, Domestic and International. Its stores provide computing products, such as desktops, notebooks, and peripherals; mobile phones comprising related mobile network carrier commissions; networking products; tablets covering e-readers; smartwatches; and consumer electronics consisting of digital imaging, health and fitness, home theater, portable audio comprising headphones and portable speakers, and smart home products. The company's stores also offer appliances, such as dishwashers, laundry, ovens, refrigerators, blenders, coffee makers, and vacuums; entertainment products consisting of drones, peripherals, movies, music, and toys, as well as gaming hardware and software, and virtual reality and other software products; and other products, such as baby, food and beverage, luggage, outdoor living, and sporting goods. In addition, it provides consultation, delivery, design, health-related, installation, memberships, repair, set-up, technical support, and warranty-related services. The company offers its products through stores and websites under the Best Buy, Best Buy Ads, Best Buy Business, Best Buy Health, CST, Current Health, Geek Squad, Lively, Magnolia, Best Buy Mobile, Pacific Kitchen, Home, and Yardbird, as well as domain names bestbuy.com, currenthealth.com, lively.com, yardbird.com, and bestbuy.ca. As of January 30, 2022, it had 1,144 stores. The company was formerly known as Sound of Music, Inc. The company was incorporated in 1966 and is headquartered in Richfield, Minnesota.
With two babies in the neonatal intensive care unit at UW Healths American Family Childrens Hospital and two young boys at home, Jackie and Zach Westrick, of Madison, are managing a parental juggling act.

At least Hendricks, their premature twin with a heart defect, is being cared for in Madison  not in Milwaukee, where he likely would have been sent before American Family Childrens Hospital opened a specialized NICU in 2014.

I dont know how wed do that, said Jackie Westrick, holding Hendricks, who along with brother Hudson was born July 20, about two months early. This way, we can still be a family together.

The level IV NICU, which soon will nearly double in size, is one of several programs at American Family Childrens Hospital that didnt exist in Madison or have significantly expanded since the hospital opened 10 years ago next week.

Pediatric heart surgery and cancer care, including a powerful radiation treatment provided in a room lined with lead bricks, are among the hospitals other hallmarks.

UW Health previously housed its childrens hospital on the fourth floor of UW Hospital, built in the 1970s and designed for adults. In August 2007, it opened American Family Childrens Hospital, with six floors, separate from but connected to UW Hospital, and designed for children.

More than half of the $78 million cost of the childrens hospital, and more than a third of the $45 million cost of an expansion that added two floors in 2014, came from fundraising, said Jeff Poltawsky, a UW Health senior vice president who oversees the childrens hospital.

The generosity of this community really made this childrens hospital possible, Poltawsky said.

Another $11 million project will take shape this fall. The universal care unit, for children who need special monitoring for conditions such as diabetes and epilepsy, will move in October from half of the eighth floor to all of the seventh floor, which was left vacant for expansion.

The NICU, on the other half of the eighth floor, will take over all of that floor, adding 12 beds to its current 14, likely by January.

Dr. Jamie Limjoco, medical director of the NICU, said the expansion will allow the unit to accept more referrals from around Wisconsin and northern Illinois.

Limjoco said the additional beds will also help the unit prepare for an expected increase in births starting next year at UnityPoint Health-Meriter, a partner of UW Health, which provides deliveries for both health care systems. Group Health Cooperative of South Central Wisconsin is switching to Meriter from SSM Health St. Marys Hospital for deliveries.

Were constantly full, said Limjoco, who noted that two of 12 rooms in the existing NICU have two beds, meant for twins but typically needed for unrelated babies.

Hendricks, the Westricks son with a heart defect, has been at the childrens hospitals level IV NICU  equipped for the most serious cases  since shortly after birth.

The other twin, Hudson, was at Meriters level III NICU until this week, when he joined his brother at the childrens hospitals NICU. Hudson doesnt require the higher level of care, but doctors said keeping the twins together, and letting Jackie more easily breast feed both of them, would be helpful.

Surgeons plan to fix Hendricks heart defect, which causes increased pressure in his lungs, once hes closer to his due date, Sept. 26, or the date on which he was scheduled to be delivered early by Cesarean section, Sept. 1.

Hell likely stay in the NICU for a few weeks afterward, said Zach Westrick, who continues to work as a chiropractor while Jackie, a nurse in UW Hospitals burn unit, is on leave. Their other sons are ages 3 and 5.

If we had to go to Milwaukee, we wouldnt be able to do it, he said. It would separate us all.

Mending hearts

When Larissa Mikelbank, of McFarland, was born with multiple heart defects at St. Marys in 2003, she was sent to Milwaukee for a complex open heart surgery to reroute her blood flow, which doctors at UW Health couldnt provide.

Today, the situation has changed, with two UW surgeons doing about 150 pediatric heart surgeries a year, up from about 20 a year a decade ago, according to Dr. J. Carter Ralphe, chief of pediatric cardiology.

When Larissa, 14, needed another open heart surgery this May, she went to American Family Childrens Hospital. In a 13-hour procedure, doctors installed a mechanical valve to replace a damaged aortic valve.

Larissa, who will be a freshman at McFarland High School this fall, stayed in the hospital for nine days. Her parents appreciated the close proximity to home, which allowed them to cook much of their own food, sleep at home many nights, bring movies to their daughter and watch as her friends visited her.

That helped us get through it, Diane Mikelbank said.

The growth in pediatric heart surgery could spur another project at the hospital, Poltawsky said. The sixth floor, which has been kept open for future expansion since the hospital opened, may be needed for heart surgery patients, he said.

Probably in the next two to three years, we will have to finish it out, he said.

Combating cancer

Kaylee LeGrande, 17, of Sun Prairie, has tried many kinds of treatments at the hospital for neuroblastoma, a stubborn type of childhood cancer.

After her diagnosis two years ago, she had six rounds of chemotherapy. Then she tried two rounds of MIBG therapy, in which a radioactive chemical binds to tumor cells to kill them.

That treatment, which wasnt available in Madison before American Family Childrens Hospital opened, requires patients to be isolated for three to five days until their radioactivity wears off.

Kaylee also had a special kind of stem cell transplant, receiving cells from her father, Chuck, and infusions of an immunotherapy drug. But complications required her to take steroids, which temporarily gave her diabetes, and her neuroblastoma remains.

Shes had a rocky course, said her oncologist, Dr. Ken DeSantes.

Still, Kaylee and other patients with cancer have been able to try new kinds of treatments  such as CAR T-cell therapy, an immunotherapy recommended for approval by the Food and Drug Administration committee last month  because DeSantes and his colleagues are part of a pediatric cancer dream team at the childrens hospital.

The designation came in 2013 from Stand Up to Cancer and the St. Baldricks Foundation, co-founded by journalist Katie Couric.

Karen LeGrande said that, despite her daughters continuing struggle with cancer, shes glad Kaylee has been able to get cutting-edge treatment so close to home.
The following companies are subsidiares of NOV: APL France SAS, APL Norway AS, APL do Brasil Ltda., ASEP Otomotiv Sanayi Ticaret Ltd., Acker Holdings LLC, Ackerman Holdings C.V., Ackerman Holdings GP LLC, Advanced Production and Loading, Advanced Wirecloth S. de R.L. de C.V., American Pipe and Construction International, Ameron B.V., Ameron International, Ameron International Corporation, Ameron Pole Products LLC, Ameron Polyplaster Industria E Comercio de Tubos Ltda., Ameron Singapore Holding LLC, Andergauge Limited, Andergauge Redback LLC, Arabian Rig Manufacturing Company, Big Red Tubulars Limited, Bondstrand Ltd., Brandt Oilfield Services (M) Sdn. Bhd., C.M.A. Canavera S.R.L., CJSC Fidmash, CJSC Novmash, Chemineer Inc., Coil Services Middle East LLC, Cooperatie Intelliserv Holding U.A., Cooperatie NOV NL U.A., Danco AS, Elmar Far East Pty Ltd, Enerflow Industries, Environmental Procedures LLC, Fiber Glass Systems (Qingdao) Composite Piping Co. Ltd., Fiber Glass Systems L.P., Fiber Glass Systems Oman L.L.C., Fiberspar, Fiberspar Australia Pty. Ltd., Fibra Ingenieria y Construccion S.A., FidService LLC, Fjords Processing (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Fjords Processing AS, Fjords Processing Australia Pty Ltd, Fjords Processing France SAS, Fjords Processing Korea Co. Ltd., Fjords Processing Limited, Fjords Processing Middle East DMCC, Fjords Processing UK Ltd., Fryma S.a.r.l., GPEX L.P., Grant Prideco (Jiangsu) Drilling Products Co. Ltd, Grant Prideco (Singapore) Pte Ltd, Grant Prideco III C. V., Grant Prideco Inc., Grant Prideco Jersey Limited, Grant Prideco Mauritius Limited, Grant Prideco Netherlands B.V., Grant Prideco PC Composites Holdings LLC, Grant Prideco S. de R.L. de C.V., Grant Prideco de Venezuela S.A., GustoMSC B.V., Hebei Huayouyiji Tuboscope Coating Co. Ltd., Hydralift AmClyde Inc., Hydralift France SAS, Inspecciones y Pruebas No Destructivas S. de R.L. de C.V., IntelliServ Norway AS, Intelliserv GP Holdings LLC, Intelliserv Inc., Intelliserv International Holding Ltd, Intelliserv LLC, JiangYin Tuboscope Tubular Development Co. Ltd, Keystone Tower Systems Inc., MSI Pipe Protection Technologies UK Limited, Merpro Group Limited, Midsund Bruk AS, Mono Group Pension Trustees Limited, Mono Pumps New Zealand Company, Monoflo NOV S.A.I.C., Moyno Inc., NKT Flexibles I/S, NOV (Asia) Inc., NOV (Barbados) Holding SRL, NOV (Barbados) SRL, NOV (Caymans) Ltd., NOV (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., NOV - Oil Services Angola LDA., NOV APL Limited, NOV Africa Pty Ltd, NOV Australia Pty Ltd, NOV Azerbaijan LLC, NOV Brandt Europe France, NOV Brandt Oilfield Services Middle East LLC, NOV CAPS Pte. Ltd., NOV CV1 GP LLC, NOV CV2 GP LLC, NOV Canada ULC, NOV Completion Tools LLC, NOV Completion and Production Solutions Korea Ltd., NOV Denmark Cooperatief U.A., NOV Downhole Argentina LLC, NOV Downhole Bolivia S.R.L., NOV Downhole Colombia LLC, NOV Downhole Comercializacao de Equipamentos para Petroleo Ltda., NOV Downhole Congo LLC, NOV Downhole Eurasia Limited, NOV Downhole Italia S.R.L., NOV Downhole Kazakhstan LLC, NOV Downhole Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., NOV Downhole Pty Ltd, NOV Downhole Thailand LLC, NOV EU Acquisition SNC, NOV Elmar (Middle East) Limited, NOV Eurasia Holding LLC, NOV Expatriate Services Inc., NOV FGS Malaysia Sdn Bhd, NOV FGS Singapore (Pte.) Ltd, NOV Flexibles Equipamentos E Servicos Ltda., NOV Flexibles Holding ApS, NOV Fluid Control B.V., NOV GEO GP LLC, NOV GEO LP1 C.V., NOV GEO LP1 LLC, NOV GEO LP2 C.V., NOV GEO LP2 LLC, NOV Gabon SARL, NOV Germany GmbH, NOV Germany Holding GmbH, NOV Ghana Limited, NOV Grant Prideco Drilling Equipment Manufacturing LLC, NOV Grant Prideco Drilling Products Middle East FZE, NOV Grant Prideco L.L.C., NOV Holding Danmark ApS, NOV Holding Sub UK 1 Limited, NOV Holding UK 1 Limited, NOV Holding UK 2 Limited, NOV Holdings B.V., NOV India Private Limited, NOV Intelliserv UK Limited, NOV International Holdings C.V., NOV International Holdings GP LLC, NOV International Holdings LLC, NOV Intervention & Stimulation Equipment US LLC, NOV Intervention and Stimulation Equipment  Aftermarket Comercio de Equipamentos e Servicos Ltda., NOV Kenya Limited, NOV Kostroma LLC, NOV Kuwait Light & Heavy Equipment Repairing & Maintenance Co., NOV LP (Trading) LLC, NOV MFG India Private Limited, NOV Mexico Holding LLC, NOV Middle East FZCO, NOV Mozambique Limitada, NOV NL Mexico Holding B.V., NOV Oil & Gas Services Egypt (S.A.E), NOV Oil & Gas Services Senegal S.A.R.L., NOV Oil & Gas Services Uganda Limited, NOV Oil and Gas Services Ghana Limited, NOV Oil and Gas Services Namibia (Proprietary) Limited, NOV Oil and Gas Services Nigeria Limited, NOV Oil and Gas Services South Africa (Pty) Limited, NOV Oilfield Services Tanzania Limited, NOV Oilfield Services Vostok LLC, NOV Oilfield Solutions Ltd., NOV Park II B.V., NOV Process & Flow Technologies AS, NOV Process & Flow Technologies Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., NOV Process & Flow Technologies Pte. Ltd., NOV Process & Flow Technologies UK Limited, NOV QFZ LLC, NOV Rig Solutions Pte. Ltd., NOV Romania LLC, NOV Saudi Arabia Co. Ltd., NOV Saudi Arabia Trading Co., NOV Services Ltd., NOV Servicios de Personal Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., NOV Tanajib Kuwait for Services and Maintenance of Oil Rigs Refineries and Petrochemicals W.L.L., NOV Tuboscope Italia S.R.L., NOV Tuboscope Middle East LLC, NOV Tuboscope NL B.V., NOV Tubulars and Connectors Ltd., NOV UK (Angola Acquisitions) Limited, NOV UK Finance Limited, NOV UK Holdings LLC, NOV UK Holdings Limited, NOV UK Korea LP, NOV Wellbore Technologies Norway LLC, NOV Wellbore Technologies do Brasil Equipamentos E Servicos Ltda., NOV Wellsite Services Germany GmbH, NOV Worldwide B.V., NOV-BLM SAS, NOVM Holding LLC, NOW International LLC, NOW Nova Scotia Holdings LLC, NOW Oilfield Services LLC, NQL Holland B.V., National Oilwell (U.K.) Limited, National Oilwell Algerie, National Oilwell Varco (Beijing) Investment Management Co. Ltd., National Oilwell Varco (Thailand) Ltd., National Oilwell Varco Algeria, National Oilwell Varco Almansoori Services, National Oilwell Varco Bahrain WLL, National Oilwell Varco Belgium SA, National Oilwell Varco Denmark I/S, National Oilwell Varco Egypt LLC, National Oilwell Varco Eurasia LLC, National Oilwell Varco Guatemala Limitada, National Oilwell Varco Guyana Inc., National Oilwell Varco Hungary Limited Liability Company, National Oilwell Varco Korea Co. Ltd., National Oilwell Varco L.P., National Oilwell Varco MSW S.A., National Oilwell Varco Mexico S.A. de C.V., National Oilwell Varco Muscat L.L.C., National Oilwell Varco Norway AS, National Oilwell Varco Peru S.R.L., National Oilwell Varco Petroleum Equipment (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., National Oilwell Varco Poland Sp.z.o.o., National Oilwell Varco Pte. Ltd., National Oilwell Varco Rig Equipment Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., National Oilwell Varco Romania S.R.L., National Oilwell Varco Solutions S.A. de C.V., National Oilwell Varco UK Limited, National Oilwell Varco Ukraine LLC, National Oilwell Varco de Bolivia S.R.L., National Oilwell Varco de Chile - Servicios Limitada, National Oilwell Varco do Brasil Ltda., National Oilwell de Venezuela C.A., National-Oilwell Pte. Ltd., National-Oilwell Pty. Ltd., PT Fjords Processing Indonesia, PT H-Tech Oilfield Equipment, PT NOV Oilfield Services, PT National Oilwell Varco, PT PROFAB INDONESIA, Pesaka Inspection Services SDN.BHD., Pipex Limited, Pipex PX Limited, Pridecomex Holding S. de R.L. de C.V., R&M Energy Systems Australia Pty Ltd, R&M Energy Systems de Argentina S.A., R&M Energy Systems de Venezuela C.A., R&M Singapore Holding LLC, RE.MAC.UT. S.r.l., RHI Holding LLC, ReedHycalog International Holding LLC, ReedHycalog L.P., ReedHycalog LLC, ReedHycalog UK Limited, Robannic Overseas Finance A.V.V., Robbins & Myers B.V., Robbins & Myers Foundation, Robbins & Myers GP LLC, Robbins & Myers Holdings LLC, Robbins & Myers Holdings UK Limited, Robbins & Myers Inc, Robbins & Myers Inc., Robbins & Myers Italia S.R.L., Robbins & Myers N.V., Rodic S.A. de C.V., Romaco S.a.r.l., STAR Sudamtex Tubulares S.A., STSA, Screen Manufacturing Company Unlimited, Slip Clutch Systems Limited, South Seas Inspection, Subseaflex Holding ApS, T-3 Energy Preferred Industries Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., T-3 Energy Services Cayman Holdings Ltd., T-3 Energy Services Cayman Ltd., T-3 Energy Services LLC, T-3 Energy Services Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., T-3 Investment Corporation IV, T-3 Mexican Holdings Inc., Telluride Insurance Limited, Tianjin Grant TPCO Drilling Tools Company Limited, Tuboscope & Co. LLC, Tuboscope (Holding U.S.) LLC, Tuboscope Brandt de Venezuela S.A., Tuboscope Norge AS, Tuboscope Vetco (France) SAS, Tuboscope Vetco (Osterreich) GmbH, Tuboscope Vetco Capital Limited, Tuboscope Vetco Moscow CJSC, Tuboscope Vetco de Argentina S.A., Tubular Coatings Solutions Ltd., Tucom Composites Polyester Sanayi Ticaret Ltd., Urban WLY LP, Varco BJ B.V., Varco CIS LLC, Varco International de Venezuela C.A., Varco L.P., Varco US Holdings LLC, Vetco Enterprise GmbH, Vetco Saudi Arabia Ltd., Visible Assets Inc., Wilson International, Woolley Inc., XL Systems Antilles N.V., XL Systems Europe B.V., XL Systems International Inc., voestalpine Tubulars Corporation, voestalpine Tubulars GmbH, and voestalpine Tubulars GmbH & Co KG.

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VMware, Inc. provides software solutions in the areas of modern applications, cloud management and infrastructure, networking, security, and digital workspaces in the United States and internationally. It offers VMware multi-cloud solutions, including VMware vSphere, a data center infrastructure that provides the fundamental compute layer; vSAN and VxRail, which offers holistic data storage and protection options to applications running on vSphere; and vRealize Cloud Management solutions that manages hybrid and multi-cloud environments running in virtual machines and containers, as well as VMware Cloud Foundation, a cloud platform that combines its vSphere, vSAN, and NSX with vRealize Cloud Management into an integrated stack and delivers enterprise-ready cloud infrastructure for private and public clouds. The company also provides networking solutions, such as VMware NSX, NSX Distributed and Gateway Firewalls, NSX Network Detection and Response Engine, NSX Advanced Load Balancer, Tanzu Service Mesh, and VMware SASE; security solutions consisting of VMware Carbon Black Endpoint, Workload, and Container; and digital workspace solutions comprising Workspace ONE Unified Endpoint Management, Access, Intelligent Hub, and Horizon. In addition, it offers application modernization solutions, such as Tanzu Application and Operations Platform, Tanzu Application Service Platform, Tanzu Observability, Tanzu Community Edition, and Tanzu Labs; and cloud management solutions, including vRealize Cloud Management, vCloud Suite, and CloudHealth by VMware Suite. The company sells its products through distributors, resellers, system vendors, and systems integrators. VMware, Inc. has a strategic alliance with Amazon Web Services to build and deliver an integrated hybrid solution. The company was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in Palo Alto, California.
Weatherford International plc, an oilfield service company, provides equipment and services for the drilling, evaluation, completion, production, and intervention of oil and natural gas wells worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Western Hemisphere and Eastern Hemisphere. It offers artificial lift systems, including reciprocating rod, progressing cavity pumping, gas, hydraulic, plunger, and hybrid lift systems, as well as related automation and control systems; pressure pumping and reservoir stimulation services, such as acidizing, fracturing and fluid systems, cementing, and coiled-tubing intervention; and drill stem test tools, and surface well testing and multiphase flow measurement services. The company also provides safety, downhole reservoir monitoring, flow control, and multistage fracturing systems, as well as sand-control technologies, and production and isolation packers; liner hangers to suspend a casing string in high-temperature and high-pressure wells; cementing products, including plugs, float and stage equipment, and torque-and-drag reduction technology for zonal isolation; and pre-job planning and installation services. In addition, it offers directional drilling services, and logging and measurement services while drilling; services related to rotary-steerable systems, high-temperature and high-pressure sensors, drilling reamers, and circulation subs; managed pressure drilling, conventional mud-logging, drilling instrumentation, gas analysis, wellsite consultancy, and open hole and cased-hole logging services; reservoir solutions and software products; and intervention and remediation services. Further, the company provides equipment and drilling tools; tubular handling, management, and connection services; equipment rental services; and onshore contract drilling and related services through a fleet of land drilling and workover rigs. Weatherford International plc was incorporated in 1972 and is headquartered in Baar, Switzerland.
Yelp Inc. operates a platform that connects consumers with local businesses in the United States and internationally. The company's platform covers various local business categories, including restaurants, shopping, beauty and fitness, health, and other categories, as well as home, local, auto, professional, pets, events, real estate, and financial services. It provides free and paid advertising products to businesses, which include cost-per-click search advertising and multi-location Ad products, as well as enables businesses to deliver targeted search advertising to local audiences; and business listing page products. The company also offers other services comprising Yelp Reservations that provide online reservations for restaurants, nightlife, and other venues directly from their Yelp business pages; Yelp Waitlist, a subscription-based waitlist management solution that allows consumers to check wait times and join waitlists remotely, as well as businesses to manage seating and server rotation; Yelp Knowledge program that offers business owners local analytics and insights through access to its historical data and other proprietary content; and Yelp Fusion, which offers free and paid access to content and data for consumer-facing enterprise use through publicly available APIs. In addition, it provides content licensing, as well as allows third-party data providers to update and manage business listing information on behalf of businesses. Further, the company offers its products directly through its sales force; indirectly through partners; and online through its website, as well as non-advertising partner arrangements. It has strategic partnership with Grubhub for providing consumers with a service to place food orders for pickup and delivery. Yelp Inc. was incorporated in 2004 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.
At the end of last years presidential campaign, a sufficient number of voters in just the right places elected Donald Trump to go shoot up Washington and fundamentally change the way it operates.

Hes got the shooting part down just fine. But the big change part not so much.

In fact, 30 weeks after he took office Trump is still shooting wild words and tweets at most anyone who criticizes him, hints at criticizing him or just moves.

Some Trump advocates say You tell em! But some supporters and others who dont like the boastful New Yorker but had hoped he could deliver some necessary fundamental changes are starting to have serious doubts.

The 71-year-old Trump always wants to project strength and power. And he tried to show that in his Afghan speech this week. Theres a reason the real estate mogul did not build or rehab small buildings. And taking on the Washington establishment and the entrenched way it does business is no small task either.

In fact, its a huge, perhaps impossible task because the Congress, the bureaucracy, the lobbyists and especially the media there see their power, influence, job security and incomes threatened by outsider changes to the status quo.

And many of them are quietly seeking to undermine Trumps efforts with slow-walks, steady leaks, passive-aggressive behavior and an astounding media animus thats lowered their public standing beneath even Trumps. This all wounds the rookie president and prompts him to say more counter-productive, even false things.

Most every modern president George W. Bush, Barack Obama  rides into town vowing to fix the place that includes the nations wealthiest counties that see no need for fixing. That smug arrogance is a theme that profoundly resonates with those of us who dont live among all the monuments, grand edifices and matching egos.

Changing Washington would be a herculean, long-term task for even a savvy, disciplined executive with vision and keen political skills. Which Trump is not.

The really rich guy, lone among the more than 20 men and women who offered themselves as potential presidents in the last cycle, read  perhaps sensed is a better word  the visceral anger and frustration of millions in flyover country. Sporadically attentive to public affairs, these voters had long pleaded, cheered, donated, campaigned and voted for men and women on both sides who promised in so many words to drain the D.C. swamp.

And then didnt.

Trump spoke to and for those angry hopefuls. Theyve waited years for a champion. Theyve been patient so far and partially satisfied with Trumps rhetoric, court and cabinet picks and executive orders, even if some are more executive photo-ops than orders.

His achievements, direct and indirect, have actually been many  Keystone Pipeline, VA reforms, regulation rollbacks, advances against the Islamic State and MS 13, one million-plus new jobs, illegal immigration down, low unemployment despite many re-entering the labor force, soaring mortgage applications, consumer confidence and stock markets, among others.

You might notice that most of his achievements  pulling out of TPP and the Paris Accord, for example  could be done unilaterally by him. As have some negative things like staff turmoil. Things that require teamwork come harder. Take the prolonged disaster that was Obamacare repeal, please.

Its surprising that someone so successful in conceiving, assembling and driving big projects in the real world finds it so difficult to drive legislators of his own party to accomplish big projects in Washington. Yes, legislators are often hypocritical, egotistical, selfish, self-important, small-minded, parochial men and women with the collective motto Ubi Est Mea (Wheres mine?).

But our form of government contains three equal branches for a reason, to deny any of them the power to dominate.

Trumps a great cajoler. Unfortunately, hes an awful convincer. Or a lazy one. One might expect a military prep school graduate to have absorbed some self-discipline. Instead, he indulges in recriminatory tweets about has-been TV hosts on a marginal channel, giving them a ratings boost and making himself seem petty.

He criticizes Democrat leaders, of course. But he bitterly attacks leaders of his own GOP, the ones who preserved the Supreme Court vacancy for him and got his nominee through. The same ones he will need for any hope of legislative successes like tax reform in this crucial first year.

Last weeks White House message was the desperate national need for infrastructure repairs, perhaps a trillion dollars worth. Jobs. Growth. A better country. Trump touted his plan at a news conference. Then he demolished its coverage by indulging in punching back at people who charged his Charlottesville reactions were incomplete, insensitive, even racist.

Boy, Trump sure told them. He has a right to do that, of course. But a need? Those critics now know how to get this president off-message and shooting wildly again.

Remember when campaigning Trump criticized the U.S. intelligence community as incompetent? Guess where these national security leaks emanate?

Remember when Trump criticized Arizona GOP Sen. John McCain, saying the man who survived six years of POW torture was no hero because he got captured? Perhaps that felt good to punch back for some past perceived slight. But to what productive presidential end?

Now, guess who rose from a cancer treatment bed to fly cross-country and cast the deciding Senate vote that killed Trumps oft-promised Obamacare repeal?
Comments mark climbdown over claims EU could 'go whistle' for final payout

UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson on Friday conceded that Britain would have to pay a divorce bill to the European Union as part of the Brexit process.

The statement was a serious u-turn from Johnson, who had said previously that the EU could go whistle for any financial settlement.

EU negotiators have insisted that a final payout must be agreed before any progress is made on trade talks between the two sides.

There had been suggestions of a 100bn (92bn) figure, but Johnson said he did not recognise the sum.

We will certainly have to meet our obligations, he told the BBC.

Some of the sums that Ive seen seemed to be very high and, of course, we will meet our obligations. We are law-abiding, bill-paying people. The UK has contributed hundreds of billions over the years.

Im not saying that I accept (EU chief Brexit negotiator, Michel) Barniers interpretation of what our obligations are. But Im certainly saying that we have to meet our legal obligations as we understand them and thats what youd expect the British government to do.
Angola, a former Portuguese colony and the second largest oil producer in Africa, is preparing for the likely election of defence minister Joao Lourenco as president as the country's ruling MPLA takes lead in electoral results.

Provisional results from Wednesday's election showed that the MPLA received 64.57% of the vote, according to the Angolan electoral commission.

However, the country's main opposition party, Unita Party contested the results after learning from the commission's count that it had only obtained 24.04% of the ballots.

The election of Joao Lourenco would end nearly four decades of rule by Jose Eduardo Dos Santos, who decided not to stand for re-election this time, although he was to remain in control of the MPLA party.

The outgoing president had been in power since 1979, making him Africa's second-longest serving head of state after Teodoro Obiang of Equatorial Guinea.

Angola plunged into civil war after achieving its independence from Portugal in 1975, which raged for almost three decades until the killing of rebel leader Jonas Savimbi, and subsequently morphed into the second largest oil producer in Africa.

For the country, which had been a member of OPEC since 2007, oil production and its supporting activities represented about 45% of the nation's gross domestic product and roughly 95% of exports.

It was a veritable rags to riches story, with the capital city of Angola, Luanda, now ranking as the world's most expensive city for expatriates after overtaking Hong Kong at the top.

Indeed, for expats renting a two bedroom unfurnished apartment of international standards in Luanda could set them back by $6,065.67 per month, according to HR firm Mercer's 2017 annual cost of living survey.



The country's newfound attractions had not been lost on international investors either, including Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao who visited Angola in 2005 leaving with promises to extend over $2bn in new credit, alongside a $3bn credit line that Beijing had already given to Luanda.
Orders in the US for goods made to last more than three years dropped sharply last month more than undoing a similarly large spike in June.

A very large fall in the volatile category of civilian aircraft and parts orders accounted for the bulk of the decline.

In total, durable goods orders shrank by 6.8% month-on-month in July to reach $229.2bn, according to the Department of Commerce, versus economists' forecasts calling for a decline of 5.7%.

Yet in year-on-year terms new orders rose by 5.0%.

Transportation orders were weakest on the month, shrinking by 19% to $74.3bn as orders for non-defence aircraft and parts retreated by 70.7% to $7.37bn after jumping by 129% in the prior month.

Excluding transportation, orders rose by 0.5% to $154.8bn, amid moderate gains in orders for fabricated metals and computers and electronic products.

Versus the June, those categories of items saw increases of 1.0% to $32.8bn and 1.6% to $22.35bn, respectively.

Orders for non-defence capital goods excluding aircraft - a key indicator of underlying demand for investment goods - increased by 0.4% on the month to $63.7bn and were up by 0.3% on the year.
European stocks finished the week on a down note after the head of America's central bank failed to stoke interest in the US dollar, sending the single currency vaulting higher.

At the closing bell, the benchmark Stoxx 600 was lower by 0.12% or 0.44 points at 374.07, with the German Dax lower by 0.11% or 12.89 points alongside it to 12,167.94 and the Cac-40 giving back 0.17% or 8.80 points to 5,104.33.

Although she had been expected to tread a fine line, in the inaugural speech at the Federal Reserve bank of Kansas City's Jackson Hole economic symposium, Janet Yellen made no mention of monetary policy nor of current valuations in stockmarkets.

That saw the single currency jump 0.7% against the US dollar to 1.1881 pending a speech from European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi scheduled for 2000 BST.

On the economic front, the IFO institute reported that its business confidence index for Germany dipped to 115.9 for August from 116 in the prior month, but nevertheless came in ahead of expectations for a reading of 115.5.

Furthermore, the expectations subindex derived from the same survey pushed up to 107.9 in August from 107.3 in the month before, beating forecasts for a drop to 106.8.

Commenting on the IFO numbers, Claus Vistesen, chief Eurozone economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said: "We really only care about the expectations index in this survey, so our interpretation is that this report points to improving business cycle conditions in Germany, albeit marginally given the already brisk pace in GDP growth."

Earlier in the day, figures from the Ministry of Finance confirmed that Germany's gross domestic product expanded by 0.6% over the three months to June, led by growth in private consumption and government spending, confirming a preliminary estimate.

In parallel, INSEE's French consumer confidence index dipped from a reading of 104.0 for July to 103 in August.

Company news-flow was light on the ground at the end of the week.

However, investors took note of Adidas boss Kasper Rorsted who sounded a cautiously optimistic note, telling the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that while 2017 would be a record year, later ones would see ups and downs.

"There will be years that are better and others that are worse," he said.

Rating agency Moody's gave Lufthansa shares a lift, upgrading its rating on the carrier's long-term debt to Baa3 with a 'stable' outlook.
Insurer Aviva said on Friday that it plans to sell its 50% stake in its joint venture in Italy, Avipop Assicurazioni and its unit Avipop Vita, to Italy's Banco BPM for an undisclosed sum.

The news follows a notification received by Aviva at the end of June of Banco BPM's intention not to renew its bancassurance agreement with the company. In 2016, the businesses contributed 200m to Aviva's IFRS net assets and generated around 14m IFRS operating profit before tax.

Aviva said its other joint ventures in Italy with UBI and UniCredit and its business units Aviva Life and Aviva Italia are unaffected.

Maurice Tulloch, chief executive officer of Aviva International Insurance, said: "This transaction will realise value for Aviva shareholders and will allow us to invest further in our future growth. Aviva has momentum in Italy and I am confident about our prospects. We are now in a good position to grow our business further, with our partners and through digital."

At 0845 BST, the shares were up 0.3% to 524.35p.
Philip Greens Arcadia retail group has agreed to pay 30m to unsecured creditors of BHS after the collapse of the department store chain last year, UK media reported.

Arcadia, which owned BHS until it was sold to a consortium led by serial bankrupt Dominic Chappell for 1 in 2015, on Friday agreed the deal with BHSs liquidators, FRP Advisory, which will drop legal action filed in the High Court against Greens firm.

That claim partly related to a 35m floating charge held by Arcadia dated 14 April 2015.

"We can confirm that as part of the agreement, over 30m was released from reserves held in relation to Arcadia's secured claim into the monies available for BHSL's (BHS Limited's) unsecured creditors and the floating charge is to be released," an FRP spokesman said.

Green was forced into agreeing to pay 363m to rescue the BHS pension scheme which had a 571m deficit at the time of the chain's collapse.

Chappell is to be prosecuted by the pensions watchdog for failing to provide information for an investigation into its sale. He headed Retail Acquisitions, the company that acquired BHS.

The Pensions Regulator is prosecuting Chappell for failing to comply with three notices for information issued under section 72 of the Pensions Act 2004. Failure to provide such information without a reasonable excuse is a criminal offence that can result in a fine.
Britain is to test the viability of partially 'self-driving' truck convoys by the end of next year, the government said on Friday.

Under the proposed trial, up to three three trucks will travel in formation, with acceleration and braking controlled by the lead vehicle. The first vehicle is to be driven by a human and use wireless technology to operate the following convoy and drivers will still steer those lorries.

It awarded a contract to the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) to carry out the tests of what are dubbed truck "platoons".

However, unions and road lobby groups said they were concerned about safety on the UK's notoriously busy roads.

AA president Edmund King Edmund King said he was not yet convinced that lorry platooning on UK motorways was a way to reduce fuel consumption and transport costs.

"We have some of the busiest motorways in Europe with many more exits and entries. Platooning may work on the miles of deserted freeways in Arizona or Nevada but this is not America," he said.

AA peer group the RAC Foundation said streams of close-running trucks could provide financial savings on long-distance journeys, but on our heavily congested motorways - with stop-start traffic and vehicles jostling for position - the benefits are less certain".

Truck drivers union Unite said: The crowded and cramped roads of Britain are a far cry from the long straight highways of the US and Europe where the 'platooning' of lorries has been tested.

While Unite isn't against the use of technology that makes our members' jobs easier, it should not come at the cost of jobs and wages of highly skilled lorry drivers.

As well as major issues around safety, there's a whole host of practical issues such as the order of a convoy where different hauliers are involved.



No haulier will want its lorry at the front of a convoy for too long, but instead in the middle where their lorry will use less fuel than their competitors.
In the

Arctic, where warming is happening twice as fast as the rest of the planet, a Russian tanker sailed across the Northern Sea Route in record speed and without the aid of an icebreaker for the first time.

On its maiden journey, the 984-foot Christophe de Margerie tanker transported liquefied natural gas from Norway to South Korea in 19 days, about 30 percent faster than the regular route through the Suez Canal, the ships owner Sovcomflot boasted.

Crossing the Northern Sea Route, the northernmost part of the voyage, took only 6.5 days. The ships average speed during the passage exceeded 14 knots despite sailing through ice fields 1.2 meters (4 feet) thick and [demonstrated] the economic potential of using the Northern Sea Route for large-capacity vessel transits, Sovcomflot said.

Typically, shipping tankers are accompanied by icebreakers that clear paths through thick layers of ice. But the Christophe de Margerie, named after the former CEO of Total, is designed to sail independently through ice of up to 2.1 meters (7 feet) thick.

As the New York Times pointed out, the Northern Sea Route had historically been impossible or prohibitively expensive to cross due to the regions thick sea ice. Sailors used to only set sail when the ice was thin in the summer.

However, the worlds rapidly rising temperatures have significantly thawed Arctic ice, and now Sovcomflot believes it could potentially make the journey year-round in the difficult ice conditions.

The Christophe de Margerie is the first of 15 such shipping tankers expected to be built, the Guardian reported.

This is the paradox of climate change, Ben Ayliffe, a campaigner for Greenpeace, told CNN Money. The fossil fuels were burning are allowing access into areas that were previously protected by ice.

Ayliffe further commented that increased sea traffic in the region could lead to a fuel spill virtually impossible to clean up.

Similarly, John Maggs from Seas at Risk told BBC: Were concerned that this is a commercial opportunity that has only opened up because of global warming, and were especially concerned that having taken advantage of the thinning of the ice, shipping operations are now expanding in that part of the world.
The oldest bride met her groom at a dance in Cashton, while the youngest bride met her forever groom the modern way... online. The oldest couple were married for 53 years, while the youngest couple celebrated their second wedding anniversary this month.

Regardless of where they met or how long they have been together when women say Yes to the Dress they have plenty of wonderful memories to build stories from, which is exactly what four women did during a special family event at Norseland Nursing Home. The special event was documented by David and Ruth Amundson of Westbys History Alive.

Marilyn (Oium) Scharping, age 82, is currently a resident at Norseland Nursing Home in Westby. She recently unpacked the wedding dress, veil and gloves she wore 60 years ago during a fun filled day of reminiscing about days gone.

Joining Marilyn for the special unveiling at Norseland Nursing Home was her daughter, Vickie (Scharping) Brueggen; Vickies daughter, Nicole (Brueggen) Wang; and Vickies daughter in-law, Theresa (Everson) Brueggen.

Vickie unpacked the wedding dress she wore 38 years ago; Nicoles dress has been in storage for 13 years, while Theresas dress hasnt had time to fade or discolor with only two years of wedded bliss gone by.

Keeping intact some wedding tradition was important to each bride. They each received an engagement and wedding ring; were married in an area church; wore a dress of their choosing; and had close friends and relatives as members of their respective wedding parties. From there they each added their own touch of flair creating a life to call their own.

Marilyn (Oium) Scharping

Marilyn never realized when she met Verdel Scharping at a dance in Cashton, that a swing around the dance floor with a handsome man, would end with her saying I Do on Friday, May 24,1957. The couple was married at Skogdalen Lutheran Church, by Pastor J. O. Paulsrud. They honeymooned, staying at the Curtis Hotel in St. Paul Minnesota. They resided in Westby while Verdel worked for Westby's Sloane Brothers and Marilyn was employed in the community. When Verdel passed away in 2010, the couple lived in Timber Coulee.

Vickie (Scharping) Brueggen

Vickie and Tom Brueggen were married on Sept. 22, 1979, at the North Coon Prairie Church in Newry. Pastor Delmar Goetz performed the ceremony on their special day. They spent there honeymoon in South Dakota. There life together began with a short residency in Cashton before purchasing land east of Westby, where they raised their family and still reside today. Vickie is employed at Gundersen Medical Center in La Crosse, while Tom farms.

Nicole (Brueggen) Wang

Nicole became Mrs. Aaron Wang on Aug. 7, 2004. The couple were married at Westby Coon Prairie Church, with Rev. Steve Meyer performing the ceremony. Aaron owns and operates Westby Truck and Equipment, and Nicole farms with her father, Tom.

Nicoles memorable event was also marred by a family crisis. Three days prior to the wedding, Nikki's younger sister, Samantha, had a severe accident landing her in the hospital and unable to attend her sisters wedding. So to make sure her sister didnt miss out, the wedding party made a memorable pit stop in Samanthas hospital room, where she even got to wear her bridal party dress in her hospital bed.

Theresa (Everson) Brueggen

Theresa exchanged vows with Jacob Brueggen on Aug. 1, 2015. The couple were married at Country Coon Prairie Lutheran Church, by Pastor Dan Wollman. The couple took a gamble meeting online and they kept the gamble going honeymooning in Las Vegas. Jacob is employed at Sleepy Hollow in Viroqua, while Theresa is employed at Norseland Nursing Home.

The Amundsons had a wonderful time planning the special event from an idea they pitched to Vickie months earlier and they enjoyed photographing and documenting the memories for the family.

We truly feel that we accomplished a part of what our History Alive organization is based on... bringing Westby area history out of storage, David said.

History doesnt have to be a musty bunch of boring facts just stored away someplace. It can be fun and filled with wedded bliss too, Ruth said, We all had a great time.
ExxonMobils deliberate attempts to sow doubt on the reality and urgency of climate change and their donations to front groups to disseminate false information about climate change have been public knowledge for a long time, now.

Investigative reports in 2015 revealed that Exxon had its own scientists doing its own climate modeling as far back as the 1970s: science and modeling that was not only accurate, but that was being used to plan for the companys future.

Now, a peer-reviewed study published Aug. 23 has confirmed that what Exxon was saying internally about climate change was quantitatively very different from their public statements. Specifically, researchers Geoffrey Supran and Naomi Oreskes found that at least 80 percent of the internal documents and peer-reviewed publications they studied from between 1977 and 2014 were consistent with the state of the scienceacknowledging that climate change is real and caused by humans, and identifying reasonable uncertainties that any climate scientist would agree with at the time. Yet more than 80 percent of Exxons editorial-style paid advertisements over the same period specifically focused on uncertainty and doubt, the study found.

The stark contrast between internally discussing cutting-edge climate research while externally conducting a climate disinformation campaign is enough to blow many minds. What was going on at Exxon?

I have a unique perspectivebecause I was there.

From 1995 to 1997, Exxon provided partial financial support for my masters thesis, which focused on methane chemistry and emissions. I spent several weeks in 1996 as an intern at their Annandale research lab in New Jersey and years working on the collaborative research that resulted in three of the published studies referenced in Supran and Oreskes new analysis.

Climate Research at Exxon

A scientist is a scientist no matter where we work, and my Exxon colleagues were no exception. Thoughtful, cautious and in full agreement with the scientific consensus on climatethese are characteristics any scientist would be proud to own.

Did Exxon have an agenda for our research? Of courseits not a charity. Their research and development was targeted, and in my case, it was targeted at something that would raise no red flags in climate policy circles: quantifying the benefits of methane reduction.

Methane is a waste product released by coal mining and natural gas leaks; wastewater treatment plants; farting cows, sheep, goats and anything else that chews its cud; decaying organic trash in garbage dumps; giant termite mounds in Africa; and even, in vanishingly small amounts, our own lactose-intolerant family members.

On a molecule-by-molecule basis, methane absorbs about 35 times more of the Earths heat than carbon dioxide. Methane has a much shorter lifetime than carbon dioxide gas, and we produce a lot less of it, so theres no escaping the fact that carbon has to go. But if our concern is how fast the Earth is warming, we can get a big bang for our buck by cutting methane emissions as soon as possible, while continuing to wean ourselves off carbon-based fuels long-term.

For the gas and oil industry, reducing methane emissions means saving energy. So its no surprise that, during my research, I didnt experience any heavy-handed guidance or interference with my results. No one asked to review my code or suggested ways to adjust my findings. The only requirement was that a journal article with an Exxon co-author pass an internal review before it could be submitted for peer review, a policy similar to that of many federal agencies.

Did I know what else they were up to at the time? I couldnt even imagine it.

Fresh out of Canada, I was unaware that there were people who didnt accept climate scienceso unaware, in fact, that it was nearly half a year before I realized Id married onelet alone that Exxon was funding a disinformation campaign at the very same time it was supporting my research on the most expedient ways to reduce the impact of humans on climate.

Yet Exxons choices have contributed directly to the situation we are in today, a situation that in many ways seems unreal: one where many elected representatives oppose climate action, while China leads the U.S. in wind energy, solar power, economic investment in clean energy and even the existence of a national cap and trade policy similar to the ill-fated Waxman-Markey bill of 2009.

Personal Decisions

This latest study underscores why many are calling on Exxon to be held responsible for knowingly misleading the public on such a critical issue. For scientists and academics, though, it may fuel another, different, yet similarly moral debate.

Are we willing to accept financial support that is offered as a sop to the public conscience?

The concept of tendering literal payment for sin is nothing new. From the indulgences of the Middle Ages to the criticisms some have leveled at carbon offsets today, we humans have always sought to stave off the consequences of our actions and ease our conscience with good deeds, particularly of the financial kind. Today, many industry groups follow this familiar path: supporting science denial with the left hand, while giving to cutting-edge research and science with the right.

As an academic, how should one consider the sources of funding? Gabe Chmielewski / Mays Communications

The Global Climate and Energy Project at Stanford University conducts fundamental research on efficient and clean energy technologieswith Exxon as a founding sponsor. Philanthropist and political donor David Koch gave an unprecedented US$35 million to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in 2015, after which three dozen scientists called on the museum to cut ties with him for funding lobbying groups that misrepresent climate science. Shell underwrote the London Science Museums Atmosphere program and then used its leverage to muddy the waters on what scientists know about climate.

It may be easy to point a finger at others, but when it happens to us, the choice might not seem so clear. Which is most importantthe benefit of the research and education, or the rejection of tainted funds?

The appropriate response to morally tainted offerings is an ancient question. In the book of Corinthians, the apostle Paul responds to a query on what to do with food that has been sacrificed to idolseat or reject?

His response illustrates the complexity of this issue. Food is food, he saysand by the same token, we might say money is money today. Both food and money, though, can imply alliance or acceptance. And if it affects others, a more discerning response may be needed.

What are we as academics to do? In this open and transparent new publishing world of ours, declaration of financial supporters is both important and necessary. Some would argue that a funder, however loose and distant the ties, casts a shadow over the resulting research. Others would respond that the funds can be used for good. Which carries the greatest weight?

After two decades in the trenches of climate science, Im no longer the ingenue I was. Im all too aware, now, of those who dismiss climate science as a liberal hoax. Every day, they attack me on Facebook, vilify me on Twitter and even send the occasional hand-typed letterwhich begs appreciation of the artistry, if not the contents. So now, if Exxon came calling, what would I do?

Theres no one right answer to this question. Speaking for myself, I might ask them to give those funds to politicians who endorse sensible climate policyand cut their funding to those who dont. Or I admire one colleagues practical response: to use a Koch-funded honorarium to purchase a lifetime membership in the Sierra Club.

Despite the fact that theres no easy answer, its a question thats being posed to more and more of us every day, and we cannot straddle the fence any longer. As academics and scientists, we have some tough choices to make; and only by recognizing the broader implications of these choices are we able to make these decisions with our eyes wide open, rather than half shut.

Disclosure Statement

Katharine Hayhoes research program at Texas Tech University is supported by funding from the National Science Foundation, the Department of the Interior, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and other relevant federal agencies. She is also the CEO of ATMOS Research, a consulting company that helps cities, states, provinces and regions build resilience to a changing climate.

Reposted with permission from our media associate The Conversation.
By Tim Radford

Californian scientists said a fossil fuel phase-out is achievable that would contain climate change, deliver energy entirely from wind, water and sunlight to 139 nations, and save up to 7 million lives each year.

They said it would also create a net gain of 24 million long-term jobs, all by 2050, and at the same time limit global warming to 1.5C or less.

The roadmap is entirely theoretical, and depends entirely on the political determination within each country to make the switch work. But, the researchers argued, they have provided a guide towards an economic and social shift that could save economies each year around $20 trillion in health and climate costs.

The scientists have provided the calculations for only 139 of the 195 nations that vowed in Paris in 2015 to contain global warming to well below 2C, because these were the nations for which reliable energy data was publicly available.

But these 139 nations account for perhaps 99 percent of all the carbon dioxide emitted by human combustion of fossil fuels. And the clean-energy answer covers all economic activityelectricity, transport, heating and cooling, industry, agriculture, forestry and fishing.

Workable Scenario

Policymakers dont usually want to commit to doing something unless there is some reasonable science that can show it is possible, and that is what we are trying to do, said Mark Jacobson of Stanford Universitys atmosphere and energy program.

There are other scenarios. We are not saying that there is only one way we can do this, but having a scenario gives people direction.

Jacobson and 26 colleagues reported in the journal Joule that their roadmaps to a new energy world free of fossil fuels and of nuclear energy can be achieved without the mining, transporting or processing of fuels.

According to their roadmaps, 139 nations could be 80 percent complete by 2030 and entirely committed to renewable sources by 2050. Jobs lost in the coal and petroleum industries would be more than compensated for by growth in the renewable sectors, and in the end, there would be more than 24 million new jobs worldwide.

Energy prices would become stable, because fuel would arrive for free: there would be less risk of disruption to energy supplies because sources would be decentralized. And energy efficiency savings that go with electrification overall could reduce business-as-usual demand by an estimated 42.5 percent.

Lives Saved

Aside from eliminating emissions and avoiding 1.5C degrees global warming and beginning the process of letting carbon dioxide drain from the earths atmosphere, transitioning eliminates four to seven million air pollution deaths each year and creates over 24 million long-term full-time jobs by these plans, professor Jacobson said.

What is different between this study and other studies that have proposed solutions is that we are trying to examine not only the climate benefits of reducing carbon but also the air pollution benefits, job benefits and cost benefits.

The study is an extension of earlier research by professor Jacobson at Stanford: he has presented a master plan for renewable energy for all 50 U.S. states, and along with other researchers presented detailed arguments for the most efficient use of wind power, and even proposed that as a bonus wind turbines could sap the ferocity of hurricanes.

His is not the only group to calculate that the U.S. could free itself of fossil fuels and their associated costs. Nor is his the only group to make the case that clean power can save money and lives in the U.S. and elsewhere.

But the new study recognizes that global conversion from fossil fuels to sunlight, water and wind power wont be easy. The European Union, the U.S. and China would cope better because there is greater available space per head of population: small densely-populated states such as Singapore would face greater challenges.

There is also the challenge of political will: President Trump has announced that rather than work with the rest of the world to reduce the risks of climate change, the U.S. will withdraw from the 2015 Paris agreement, and other researchers have repeatedly pointed out that the Paris accord is itself not enough, and is not being acted upon with sufficient vigor, anywhere.

Nor will the process be without contention. Professor Jacobson has lately been the focus of a bitter academic argument about whether fossil fuels can be entirely phased out without recourse to clean coal, nuclear energy and biofuels.

But the study in Joule excludes nuclear power because of the high costs, the hazards and the problems of disposing of waste. Biofuels and coal in any form also cause pollution.

Costs Slashed

The Stanford team wants to see what could be called a clean break with the past. Space shuttles and rockets have already been powered by hydrogen, aircraft companies are exploring the possibility of electric flight; underground heat storageto cope with fluctuating demandwould be a viable option, and shared or district heating already keeps 60 percent of Denmark warm.

The switch to renewables would require massive investment, but the overall cost would be one fourth of what fossil fuel dependency already costs the world.

It appears we can achieve the enormous social benefits of a zero-emission energy system at essentially no extra cost, said Mark Delucchi of the Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California Berkeley, a co-author.

Our findings suggest that the benefits are so great that we should accelerate the transition to wind, water, and solar, as fast as possible, by retiring fossil-fuel systems early wherever we can.

Reposted with permission from our media associate Climate News Network.
The recent documentary, Sea of Life, exposes key threats to the oceans, and calls for action.

Sea of Life follows filmmaker Julia Barnes on a three year adventure, spanning seven countries, to save coral reefs.

Although they cover less than 1 percent of the sea floor coral reefs support up to 30 percent of all species in the ocean at some stage in their life cycles. Often referred to as the rainforests of the ocean, coral reefs are one of the most biologically diverse ecosystems on the planet. Theyre also an indicator for the future of the oceans and all life on Earth.

To date, weve lost more than 50 percent of the worlds coral reefs. The main threats to corals are bleaching (caused by ocean warming) and ocean acidification. Most of the carbon dioxide we release into the atmosphere doesnt stay in the atmosphere, it gets absorbed by the oceans, making the oceans more acidic. And in a more acidic environment any animal that builds a shell or a skeleton cant form. This means by 2070 coral reefs will literally start dissolving. But they will likely die out much earlier than that, due to ocean warming. Scientists are now predicting that less than 10 percent of the worlds coral reefs will survive past 2050, as bleaching events become more frequent. Mass bleaching has already claimed large chunks of the Great Barrier Reef.

Corals are a sort of canary in the coal mine, signaling trouble ahead for all life on Earth. There have been five mass extinction in the history of the planet and at least four of them have been attributed to ocean acidification. Now, were causing the oceans to go acidic faster than at any other time in the history of the planet.

When coral reefs go down they signal the start of a mass extinction in the oceans, and that is something that will affect all of us.

Tiny organisms in the ocean called phytoplankton are responsible for creating most of the oxygen in the air that we breathe. Two out of every three breaths we take come from plankton. Photosynthesizing on a massive scale, plankton are the reason the oceans are considered the blue lungs of the planet. Forty percent of the worlds plankton populations are already gone. We may be losing up to 1% a year because of ocean acidification  Its likewhy would do anything to disrupt the oxygen supply for the planet, asks Louie Psihoyos in Sea of Life.

What most people dont know about ocean acidification is that theres a lag time between the time it takes the carbon dioxide we release into the atmosphere to get absorbed into the ocean. So even if we stopped producing carbon dioxide today the oceans would have decades where they continue to become more acidic20, or even 30 years. This means if were going to solve ocean acidification we not only have to stop carbon emissions, we also have to pull carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.

The filmmakers for Sea of Life visited a marine protected area in Mexico called Cabo Pulmo. The area had once been heavily overfished, to the point where there was almost nothing left. Clearly this couldnt continue, so the citizens decided to create a marine reserve, giving the ocean a break and allowing life to recover. Within the next 10 years they saw a 450 percent increase in biomass in the ocean. The fish came back, and now the waters off Cabo Pulmo are a thriving natural community.

Given the chance, nature will come back. Today, we know that 90 percent of the fish are gone and that 75 percent of the forests have been wiped out. If we let this life come back, we could sequester an enormous amount of carbon, creating a world where all species can thrive.

Sea of Life follows the environmental movement through large rallies in New York and at COP21 in Paris, where instead of celebrating the Paris agreement, long-time environmental activist Emily Hunter asserts that the agreement isnt enough. Weve done over 20 years of campaigning, more than 20 years of negotiations, and if this is the deal that we finally get then weve failed.

The entire environmental movement could be considered a failure. Despite years of campaigning, almost every environmental problem has gotten worse, not better. As Rob Stewart explains in Sea of Life, Our greatest ambitions on climate change would buy us 1% more time on a hugely degraded planet where were still fighting each other over what remains. We need to imagine a world thats beautiful enough for us to fight for.

Sea of Life asks audiences to imagine a world worth fighting for. What could this world look like if we got things right? What if we made this planet beautiful for us and all species?

The film features inspiring young activists who are making a difference, including Felix Finkbeiner, whose organization has planted 14 billion trees, and Madison Stewart who makes films to change peoples perspective about sharks. The 21-year-old filmmaker behind Sea of Life began working on the movie when she was 16. She believes young people have an opportunity to become heroes for the planet, living lives that are full of meaning and adventure and having an amazing time doing it.

Julia Barnes is motivated by the scale of the problem. The worse things get, the greater the imperative to take action. And now, with all of life on Earth at stake, she believes action is no longer an option.
Photosynthesis is a biological process mediating the conversion of solar energy into chemical energy. The so-called oxygenic photosynthesis, performed by plants, algae and cyanobacteria, is one of the most amazing chemical reactions on the planet. It provides food and energy for nearly all living organisms, and also contributes to the formation of the atmosphere and maintenance of the carbon-oxygen balance on the earth.

In plants, the primary light reaction of photosynthesis initiates at photosystem II (PSII), a membrane-embedded supramolecular machine responsible for catalyzing the water-splitting reaction. Surrounding the PSII, a number of peripheral antenna complexes dynamically associate with it to form the PSII-LHCII supercomplexes of variable sizes in response to different light conditions.

The C2S2M2-type supercomplex is known as the largest stable form of PSII-LHCII supercomplex isolated from Arabidopsis and pea so far, and crucial for plants to achieve optimal light-harvesting efficiency when they grow under low light conditions. Structural analysis of the C2S2M2 supercomplex is a pivotal step toward our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the processes of light harvesting, energy transfer and PSII functional regulation in plants.

CHANG Wenrui-LI Mei's group, ZHANG Xinzheng's group and LIU Zhenfeng's group from the Institute of Biophysics (IBP) at CAS collaborate and solved two cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) structures of C2S2M2-type PSII-LHCII supercomplex from pea at 2.7 and 3.2 A resolution, respectively.

The 2.7 A resolution structure of C2S2M2 supercomplex represents the highest resolution structure of membrane protein complexes solved through single-particle cryo-EM method so far. The supercomplex has a total molecular mass of 1.4 megadalton and forms a homodimer. Each monomeric PSII-LHCII contains 28 or 27 protein subunits, and binds 159 chlorophylls, 44 carotenoids and numerous other cofactors.

The overall structural features and the arrangement of each individual subunits, as well as the sophisticated pigment network and the complete energy transfer pathways within the supercomplex have been revealed in great details through this study.

In addition, comparison of the two C2S2M2 structures solved at different states suggested the potential mechanism of functional regulation on the light-harvesting process and the oxygen-evolving activity of plant PSII.

The research work, entitled "Structure and assembly mechanism of plant C2S2M2-type PSII-LHCII supercomplex", was published in Science on Aug. 25, 2017. The breakthrough is achieved through continuous and persistent efforts by the team from IBP after their previous work on the cryo-EM structure of spinach C2S2-type PSII-LHCII supercomplex was published on Nature last year.

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The project was supported by grants from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, the National Natural Science Foundation of China and "National Thousand (Young) Talents Program" from the Office of Global Experts Recruitment in China.
Two-dimensional materials are a sort of a rookie phenom in the scientific community. They are atomically thin and can exhibit radically different electronic and light-based properties than their thicker, more conventional forms, so researchers are flocking to this fledgling field to find ways to tap these exotic traits.

Applications for 2-D materials range from microchip components to superthin and flexible solar panels and display screens, among a growing list of possible uses. But because their fundamental structure is inherently tiny, they can be tricky to manufacture and measure, and to match with other materials. So while 2-D materials R&D is on the rise, there are still many unknowns about how to isolate, enhance, and manipulate their most desirable qualities.

Now, a science team at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has precisely measured some previously obscured properties of moly sulfide, a 2-D semiconducting material also known as molybdenum disulfide or MoS2. The team also revealed a powerful tuning mechanism and an interrelationship between its electronic and optical, or light-related, properties.

To best incorporate such monolayer materials into electronic devices, engineers want to know the "band gap," which is the minimum energy level it takes to jolt electrons away from the atoms they are coupled to, so that they flow freely through the material as electric current flows through a copper wire. Supplying sufficient energy to the electrons by absorbing light, for example, converts the material into an electrically conducting state.

As reported in the Aug. 25 issue of Physical Review Letters, researchers measured the band gap for a monolayer of moly sulfide, which has proved difficult to accurately predict theoretically, and found it to be about 30 percent higher than expected based on previous experiments. They also quantified how the band gap changes with electron density - a phenomenon known as "band gap renormalization."

"The most critical significance of this work was in finding the band gap," said Kaiyuan Yao, a graduate student researcher at Berkeley Lab and the University of California, Berkeley, who served as the lead author of the research paper.

"That provides very important guidance to all of the optoelectronic device engineers. They need to know what the band gap is" in orderly to properly connect the 2-D material with other materials and components in a device, Yao said.

Obtaining the direct band gap measurement is challenged by the so-called "exciton effect" in 2-D materials that is produced by a strong pairing between electrons and electron "holes" - vacant positions around an atom where an electron can exist. The strength of this effect can mask measurements of the band gap.

Nicholas Borys, a project scientist at Berkeley Lab's Molecular Foundry who also participated in the study, said the study also resolves how to tune optical and electronic properties in a 2-D material.

"The real power of our technique, and an important milestone for the physics community, is to discern between these optical and electronic properties," Borys said.

The team used several tools at the Molecular Foundry, a facility that is open to the scientific community and specializes in the creation and exploration of nanoscale materials.

The Molecular Foundry technique that researchers adapted for use in studying monolayer moly sulfide, known as photoluminescence excitation (PLE) spectroscopy, promises to bring new applications for the material within reach, such as ultrasensitive biosensors and tinier transistors, and also shows promise for similarly pinpointing and manipulating properties in other 2-D materials, researchers said.

The research team measured both the exciton and band gap signals, and then detangled these separate signals. Scientists observed how light was absorbed by electrons in the moly sulfide sample as they adjusted the density of electrons crammed into the sample by changing the electrical voltage on a layer of charged silicon that sat below the moly sulfide monolayer.

Researchers noticed a slight "bump" in their measurements that they realized was a direct measurement of the band gap, and through a slew of other experiments used their discovery to study how the band gap was readily tunable by simply adjusting the density of electrons in the material.

"The large degree of tunability really opens people's eyes," said P. James Schuck, who was director of the Imaging and Manipulation of Nanostructures facility at the Molecular Foundry during this study.

"And because we could see both the band gap's edge and the excitons simultaneously, we could understand each independently and also understand the relationship between them," said Schuck, now at Columbia University. "It turns out all of these properties are dependent on one another."

Moly sulfide, Schuck also noted, is "extremely sensitive to its local environment," which makes it a prime candidate for use in a range of sensors. Because it is highly sensitive to both optical and electronic effects, it could translate incoming light into electronic signals and vice versa.

Schuck said the team hopes to use a suite of techniques at the Molecular Foundry to create other types of monolayer materials and samples of stacked 2-D layers, and to obtain definitive band gap measurements for these, too. "It turns out no one yet knows the band gaps for some of these other materials," he said.

The team also has expertise in the use of a nanoscale probe to map the electronic behavior across a given sample.

Borys added, "We certainly hope this work seeds further studies on other 2-D semiconductor systems."

The Molecular Foundry is a DOE Office of Science User Facility that provides free access to state-of-the-art equipment and multidisciplinary expertise in nanoscale science to visiting scientists.

Researchers from the Kavli Energy NanoSciences Institute at UC Berkeley and Berkeley Lab, and from Arizona State University also participated in this study, which was supported by the National Science Foundation.

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Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory addresses the world's most urgent scientific challenges by advancing sustainable energy, protecting human health, creating new materials, and revealing the origin and fate of the universe. Founded in 1931, Berkeley Lab's scientific expertise has been recognized with 13 Nobel Prizes. The University of California manages Berkeley Lab for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science. For more, visit http://www.lbl.gov.

DOE's Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit science.energy.gov.
Key Takeaways:

A common type of flame retardant was associated with reduced likelihood of clinical pregnancy and live birth following IVF.

Couples undergoing IVF may want to opt for products that are flame-retardant free.

Boston, Mass. - Women with higher urinary concentrations of a common type of flame retardant had reduced likelihood of clinical pregnancy and live birth than those with lower concentrations, according to researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The study, conducted in the Fertility Clinic at Massachusetts General Hospital, is the first to examine associations between organophosphate flame retardants (PFRs) -- which are used in polyurethane foam in many products, including upholstered furniture, baby products, and gym mats -- and reproductive outcomes in women.

"These findings suggest that exposure to PFRs may be one of many risk factors for lower reproductive success," said first author Courtney Carignan, a research fellow in the Department of Environmental Health at Harvard Chan School. "They also add to the body of evidence indicating a need to reduce the use of these flame retardants and identify safer alternatives."

The study will be published online August 25, 2017 in Environmental Health Perspectives.

One in six couples struggles with infertility--a proportion likely to rise as increasing numbers of people in developed countries delay childbearing. Previous studies have linked exposure to products containing hormone-disrupting chemicals, such as pesticides and phthalates, to infertility and poorer reproductive success.

The flame retardant PentaBDE, used in polyurethane foam, was phased out more than a decade ago after it was linked with negative health effects in animal and epidemiologic studies. PFRs were introduced as a safer alternative, but they have been found in animal studies to cause hormone disruption. Studies have also shown that PFRs can migrate out of furniture and other products into the air and dust of indoor environments.

For this study, the researchers analyzed urine samples from 211 women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) at the Massachusetts General Hospital Fertility Center between 2005 and 2015. The women were enrolled in the Environment and Reproductive Health (EARTH) study, which looks at how environmental chemicals and lifestyle choices affect reproductive health. The statistical analysis took into consideration factors including maternal age and race, smoking history, and body mass index (BMI).

The researchers found that the urinary metabolites (products of a chemical that has been metabolized) of three PFRs-- TDCIPP, TPHP, and mono-ITP--were detected in more than 80% of participants. On average, compared to women with lower concentrations of these metabolites, women with higher concentrations had a 10% reduced probability of successful fertilization, 31% reduced probability of implantation of the embryo, and a 41% and 38% decrease in clinical pregnancy (fetal heartbeat confirmed by ultrasound) and live birth.

"Couples undergoing IVF and trying to improve their chances of success by reducing their exposure to environmental chemicals may want to opt for products that are flame-retardant free," said senior author Russ Hauser, Frederick Lee Hisaw professor of reproductive physiology and acting chair, Department of Environmental Health.

Further research is needed on the potential impact of male partners' exposure to flame retardant chemicals and on the joint effects on both men and women of exposure to different types of environmental chemicals, the researchers said.

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Other Harvard Chan authors include Lidia Minguez-Alarcon, Paige Williams, and Jennifer Ford.

This study was supported by grants ES009718, ES022955, ES000002, and T32ES007069 from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS).

"Urinary Concentrations of Organophosphate Flame Retardant Metabolites and Pregnancy Outcomes among Women Undergoing in Vitro Fertilization," Courtney C. Carignan, Lidia Minguez-Alarcon, Craig M. Butt, Paige L. Williams, John D. Meeker, Heather M. Stapleton, Thomas L. Toth, Jennifer B. Ford, and Russ Hauser, Environmental Health Perspectives, August 25, 2017, doi: 10.1289/EHP1021

Visit the Harvard Chan School website for the latest news, press releases, and multimedia offerings.

Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health brings together dedicated experts from many disciplines to educate new generations of global health leaders and produce powerful ideas that improve the lives and health of people everywhere. As a community of leading scientists, educators, and students, we work together to take innovative ideas from the laboratory to people's lives--not only making scientific breakthroughs, but also working to change individual behaviors, public policies, and health care practices. Each year, more than 400 faculty members at Harvard Chan School teach 1,000-plus full-time students from around the world and train thousands more through online and executive education courses. Founded in 1913 as the Harvard-MIT School of Health Officers, the School is recognized as America's oldest professional training program in public health.
Geothermal energy is a promising solution for reducing greenhouse gases and providing a local source of heat in the northern areas. However, the drilling required to install geothermal systems presents technological challenges that are undermining the development of this energy sector. With the new open laboratory for geothermal energy, professor Jasmin Raymond of INRS Centre Eau Terre Environnement will have new experimental capabilities to investigate solutions that reduce dependence on fossil fuels.

Funded equally by the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI)'s John R. Evans Leaders Fund and the Quebec government for a total of $400,000, this new facility combines the techniques of infrared scanning and tomodensitometry, a first for a geothermal energy laboratory. Researchers will be able to characterize the thermal and hydraulic properties of rock samples and model the impact of subsurface heterogeneity on the performance of geothermal systems.

Professor Raymond's team at the open laboratory for geothermal energy is seeking to better understand how groundwater flows and transfers heat so as to

develop environments conducive to both shallow and deep geothermal systems,

improve the design of the underground components of these systems, and

develop new, more competitive technology.

"Our research will help identify geological environments with lower drilling costs for geothermal systems. This will make the Canadian geothermal energy industry more competitive in relation to fossil fuels," said professor Raymond, who also holds the Northern Geothermal Potential Research Chair.

The open laboratory for geothermal energy operates on the same principle as free software. It will be a learning environment where students can develop scientific knowledge in geology, hydrology, and mechanical engineering to solve subsurface energy challenges.

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About INRS

Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS) is a graduate-level research and training university and ranks first in Canada for research intensity (average funding per professor). INRS brings together some 150 professors and close to 700 students and postdoctoral fellows at its four centres in Montreal, Quebec City, Laval, and Varennes. Its basic research is essential to the advancement of science in Quebec and internationally, and its research teams play a key role in the development of concrete solutions to the problems faced by our society.
AUGUSTA, Ga. (Aug. 25, 2017) - Dr. Richard A. McIndoe, bioinformatics expert and associate director of the Center for Biotechnology and Genomic Medicine at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, has received a $12.8 million grant to continue to lead a national research initiative focused on reducing the complications of diabetes.

This is the fourth time McIndoe has been selected to lead the administrative, scientific and informatics infrastructure for the Diabetic Complications Consortium, a program of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

Nearly 10 percent of the U.S. population has diabetes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Complications from the pervasive disease include nerve and kidney damage, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease and stroke as well as skin and eye complications, according to the American Diabetes Association.

The Diabetic Complications Consortium (see http://www.diacomp.org) provides a cross section of support designed to move science and ultimately patient care forward, including funding short-term studies in animals or humans to better understand and prevent complications, the primary cause of diabetes-related deaths, says McIndoe, who is also a Regents Professor in the MCG Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

DiaComp also supports summer programs for medical students to inspire the next generation of diabetes complications investigators as well as scientific gatherings on relevant topics. The consortium's Pilot & Feasibility Program is a competitive, peer-reviewed program that provides $100,000 in funding for one year to enable researchers to pursue novel complications treatment and prevention strategies. About 20 grants are awarded each year from more than 80 proposals, a roughly 20 percent funding rate that is slightly above the average 18.1 percent success rate for the National Institutes of Health's research project grant. The research project grant, commonly called RO1, is the NIH's oldest grant mechanism for supporting health-related research and the NIH's largest single category of support. RO1s, which average today about $428,000, typically require significant justifying data be in hand when an application is made. One goal of the Pilot & Feasibility Program is to enable investigators to obtain the pilot data needed to secure an RO1, McIndoe says.

"There are some very clever people with some very good ideas but they just don't have enough data to be able to submit for a full RO1," he says.

A recent five-year analysis indicates the consortium's approach works: 59 percent of consortium awardees submitted new NIH grants within five years and 37 percent received funding.

"Not every grant is going to result in a larger grant and significant scientific findings that will translate to healthier patients, and we know that going into it. But if you hit more often than not, which we have been successful at doing, it will move the science forward," McIndoe says. "It's a wonderful program to build the knowledge base about diabetic complications."

Early in the process each cycle, the consortium's External Evaluation Committee determines a short list of high impact areas of diabetic complications research that fall within the realm of the NIDDK and are eligible for DiaComp support. Applications are submitted in June, and award notices typically go out in September. This year's foci include innovative technologies to analyze tissue from organs most affected by diabetes, such as the kidneys, and biosensors that can improve understanding of the damage diabetes does to various cell types. Others include thin bacterial films called biofilms, a virulent community of microorganisms that's role in diabetic complications has not been well explored; the relationship between insulin resistance, an early indicator particularly of type 2 diabetes, and neurological problems like dementia; and novel ways to block diabetic complications.

The consortium's Summer Student Program provides support to first- and second-year medical students who want to do research at the nation's NIDDK Diabetes Centers, see niddk.nih.gov/research-funding/research-programs/diabetes-centers, over the summer. This program funds about 18-20 students annually and concludes with an annual August gathering and poster presentation at Vanderbilt University. A big message at that conference is encouraging students to become physician-scientists, McIndoe says. There also are roundtable discussions with residency program representatives about what they look for in future residents as well as future funding opportunities for the young investigators.

The Conference Support Program enables organizations to start new conferences in the area of diabetic complications. The Collaborative Funding Program looks to support novel clinical trials that will improve the outcome of diabetic foot ulcers, a common cause of lower leg amputation in patients with diabetes that can result from poor circulation and nerve damage.

McIndoe manages the myriad of information generated, disseminated and received through programs like the funding and student programs and has developed automated or semi-automated programs to ease the processes. This cycle he also plans to update the consortium's website. The extensive raw scientific data generated through the work of the consortium and its awardees is shared broadly with the scientific community. "I like the idea of providing a clearinghouse for diabetic complications data; there really is no other place that does that. You can think of it like an electronic lab notebook," McIndoe says.

Unlike data published in journals, which only provides a glimpse of the actual information obtained, the consortium makes complete data sets available to scientists who may have a different interest or angle. It also helps scientists reduce unnecessary replication and fine-tune their work.

Diabetes has been McIndoe's career-long focus, beginning with his PhD work in immunology and molecular pathology at the University of Florida, which he completed in 1991. He joined the MCG faculty in 2002 and in 2008 was recognized as an emerging research and development leader at a Georgia research university with a Georgia Research Alliance Distinguished Investigator Award.

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Using DNA barcoding technology, University of Guelph researchers discover a majority of the shark fins and manta gills sold around the world are from endangered species.

A majority of shark fins and manta ray gills sold around the globe for traditional medicines come from endangered species, a University of Guelph study has revealed.

Using cutting-edge DNA barcoding technology, researchers found 71 per cent of dried fins and gills collected from markets and stores came from species listed as at-risk and therefore banned from international trade.

"Despite the controversy around shark fin soup and the fact that many of these species are threatened there is still a large market for shark fins and a growing demand for ray gill plates," said Dirk Steinke, integrative biology professor and member of the Centre for Biodiversity Genomics. "It's an area that until now has been hard to enforce because shark fins are dried and processed before they are sold making it difficult to identify the species."

Shark finning, or removing fins from live sharks, is illegal in Canada. Importing shark fins for sale is also illegal for species at-risk.

Published in Scientific Reports, the study was conducted with researchers from the Guy Harvey Research Institute and Save Our Seas Shark Research Centre at Nova Southeastern University in Florida.

Researchers collected 129 market samples in Canada, China and Sri Lanka representing 20 shark and ray species. Twelve of those species, including whale sharks, are listed as protected and illegal to trade under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

"We were surprised to find whale shark fins and gills were being sold," said Steinke. "This magnificent animal has been on the CITES Appendices since 2003."

Developed at U of G, DNA barcoding allows scientists to identify species of organisms using genetic material.

"DNA barcoding is an ideal tool when identifying dried samples or samples that have been processed," said Steinke. "It provides enforcement agencies with a method for detecting whether the fins and gills that are being sold are legal or illegal imported species."

About half of the world's 1,200 species of sharks and rays are listed as threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature including 20 that may not be traded internationally.

"This study has shown that DNA barcoding can be a method to help prevent protected species from hitting the market."

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Def Comedy Jam made its debut on HBO in 1992 and opened the doors for a host of major black comics that included the likes of Martin Lawrence, Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle, Tracy Morgan, and the late Bernie Mac.

Producer Russell Simmons aimed for a platform where comics could cut loose and connect with a broader audiencea move that didn't sit well with some. "In direct opposition to the intentionally dignified Cosby Show, Def Comedy Jam was intentionally undignified," notes the Paley Center, who adds that Cosby had "spoke publicly against host Martin Lawrence and the series, calling it a minstrel show."

But the series' legacy has endured, even if it's been off the air for more than 10 years. Now, a new Netflix special will honor the 25th anniversary of Def Comedy. It'll invite a slew of Def Comedy old-timers and newcomers to perform on-stage. The lineup is a powerhouse, to say the least. As noted in the teaser trailer below (which was released just today) the roster will include Chappelle, Lawrence, Morgan, Kevin Hart, Bill Bellamy, Cedric the Entertainer, Eddie Griffin, Craig Robinson, JB Smoove, Mike Epps, Tiffany Haddish, D.L. Hughley, Katt Williams, Kid Capri and Adele Givens. There's also Steve Harvey, which gets an ugh from us. But OK.

Def Comedy Jam 25 will air sometime in the fall.

And if that's not enough Def news for you, there'll be a reboot called All Def Comedy that's in the pipeline. Also, Simmons is reportedly looking into reviving the Def Poetry Jam series.

Here are some select clips of the Def Comedy performers:
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Fuels that are produced from nonpetroleum-based biological sources may become greener and more affordable, thanks to research performed at the University of Illinois' Prairie Research Institute that examines the use of a processing catalyst made from palladium metal and bacteria.

Biofuels are made from renewable materials such as plants or algae, and offer an alternative to petroleum-based sources. However, many biofuels are costly to produce because the precursor product, bio-oil, must be processed before it is sent to the refinery to be turned into liquid fuel. Illinois Sustainability Technology Center researcher B.K. Sharma and his co-authors have identified and tested a new processing method.

"Bio-oil forms from the same chemical reaction that forms petroleum," Sharma said. "But what takes millions of years naturally in the ground takes only minutes in the lab using a process that is very similar to pressure cooking."

Published in the journal Fuel, their findings point to a cheaper, more environmentally friendly and renewable catalyst for processing that uses common bacteria and the metal palladium, which can be recovered from waste sources such as discarded electronics, catalytic converters, street sweeper dust and processed sewage.

The bio-oil produced in the lab from algae contains impurities like nitrogen and oxygen, but treating it with palladium as a catalyst during processing helps remove those impurities to meet clean-air requirements, Sharma said.

For the palladium to do its job, the bio-oil needs to flow past it during processing. Previous studies have shown that allowing the oil flow through porous carbon particles infused with palladium is an effective method, but those carbon particles are not cheap, Sharma said.

"Instead of using commercially produced carbon particles, we can use bacteria cell masses as a sort of biologic scaffolding for the palladium to hold on to," Sharma said. "The oil can flow through the palladium-decorated bacteria masses as it does through the carbon particles."

To test the effectiveness of the new method, Sharma and his co-authors performed a variety of chemical and physical analyses to determine if their new processing treatment produced a liquid fuel that is comparable in quality to one made using the commercially produced catalyst.

"We found our product to be as good or even slightly better," Sharma said. "We were able to remove the oxygen and nitrogen impurities at a comparable rate, and yielded the same volume of product using our cheaper, greener catalyst as is observed using the more expensive commercial catalyst."

The more costly commercial catalyst has the added benefit that it can be used over and over without extensive processing, whereas the Sharma group's palladium-on-bacteria catalyst will need to undergo processing to be reused.

"It is a minor caveat," Sharma said. "The fact that we have shown the potential of making refinery-ready crude oil from algae bio-oil using a catalyst that can be prepared from low-grade recycled metals and green and economical bacterial biomass proves that this is a very promising advancement. In addition, this bio-catalyst would work equally well in petrochemical processing."

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The work was conducted in collaboration with professors Joe Wood and Lynne Macaskie from the University of Birmingham, funded through the Birmingham-Illinois Partnership for Discovery, Engagement and Education program. The Natural Environment Research Council, UK also supported this research.

Editor's notes: To reach B.K. Sharma, call 217-265-6810; bksharma@illinois.edu.

The paper "Nanoparticles of Pd supported on bacterial biomass for hydroprocessing crude bio-oil" is available online and from the U. of I. News Bureau. DOI: 10.1016/j.fuel.2017.08.007
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Tinnitus, a chronic ringing or buzzing in the ears, has eluded medical treatment and scientific understanding. A new study by University of Illinois researchers found that chronic tinnitus is associated with changes in certain networks in the brain, and furthermore, those changes cause the brain to stay more at attention and less at rest.

The finding provides patients with validation of their experiences and hope for future treatment options.

"Tinnitus is invisible. It cannot be measured by any device we have, the way we can measure diabetes or hypertension," said study leader Fatima Husain, a professor of speech and hearing science at the University of Illinois. "So you can have this constant sound in your head, but nobody else can hear it and they may not believe you. They may think it's all in your imagination. Medically, we can only manage some symptoms, not cure it, because we don't understand what's causing it."

One factor that has complicated tinnitus research is the variability in the patient population. There are a lot of variables -- for example, duration, cause, severity, concurrent hearing loss, age, type of sound, which ear and more -- which have led to inconsistent study results.

"We have been so swamped by variability that finding anything that is consistent, that gives us one objective metric for tinnitus, is very exciting," said Husain, who also is affiliated with the neuroscience program and the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at Illinois.

Using functional MRI to look for patterns across brain function and structure, the new study found that tinnitus is, in fact, in the hearers' heads -- in a region of the brain called the precuneus, to be precise.

The precuneus is connected to two inversely related networks in the brain: the dorsal attention network, which is active when something holds a person's attention; and the default mode network, which are the "background" functions of the brain when the person is at rest and not thinking of anything in particular.

"When the default mode network is on, the dorsal attention network is off, and vice versa. We found that the precuneus in tinnitus patients seems to be playing a role in that relationship," said Sara Schmidt, a graduate student in the neuroscience program and the first author of the paper.

The researchers found that, in patients with chronic tinnitus, the precuneus is more connected to the dorsal attention network and less connected to the default mode network. Additionally, as severity of the tinnitus increased, so did the observed effects on the neural networks. The results were published in the journal NeuroImage: Clinical.

"For patients, this is validating. Here is something related to tinnitus which is objective and invariant," Husain said. "It also implies that tinnitus patients are not truly at rest, even when resting. This could explain why many report being tired more often. Additionally, their attention may be engaged more with their tinnitus than necessary, and that may lessen their attention to other things. If you have bothersome tinnitus, this may be why you have concentration issues."

However, patients with recent-onset tinnitus did not show the differences in precuneus connectivity. Their scans looked more like the control groups, which begs the question of when and how changes in brain connectivity begin and whether they can be prevented or lessened.

"We don't know what's going to happen to the recent-onset patients later, so the next step is to do a longitudinal study to follow people after developing tinnitus and see if we can spot when these types of changes with the precuneus start to happen," Schmidt said.

The researchers hope their findings generate new paths for future research, providing one invariant metric to look for and guidelines for patient groupings.

"Knowing that duration and severity are factors is important, and can help guide future study design. We can look at subgroups and see differences," Schmidt said.

Husain's group currently is conducting a study to look at tinnitus across military and civilian populations. More information, including how to participate, is available at http://www.acnlab.com.

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Editor's notes: To reach Fatima Husain, call 217-333-7561; email husainf@illinois.edu. The paper "Connectivity of the precuneus to the default mode and dorsal attention networks: a possible invariant marker of long-term tinnitus" is available online.
(CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Aug. 25, 2017) - The Structural Genomics Consortium at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (SGC-UNC), in partnership with the DiscoverX Corporation, has reached the milestone halfway point in its development of the Kinase Chemogenomic Set, a potent group of inhibitors which allow deeper exploration of the human kinome, a family of enzymes critical to understanding human disease and developing new therapies.

By building this selective set of compounds and making it freely available, UNC-Chapel Hill and its partners are offering the scientific community a better understanding of the roles the kinome plays in human disease and the ability to collaborate on the discovery and advancement of new therapies.

The kinome, made up of enzymes called kinases, provides a tremendous opportunity for drug discovery. While more than 30 kinase inhibitors have been approved for the treatment of disease, the kinome has been largely unexplored until SGC-UNC, DiscoverX and other SGC partner companies embarked on this project.

"Through our collaboration with DiscoverX, we screened a large set of compounds that we call Published Kinase Inhibitor Set 2, and these results allowed us to reach the halfway point in constructing the KCGS" said David Drewry, a research associate professor at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy and SGC-UNC principal investigator who is leading the project to develop the Kinase Chemogenomic Set. "To mark this milestone and in keeping with our mission of open science, we are releasing these results into the public domain. We sincerely thank all of our co-author partners whose vision, generosity and hard work makes the construction of this set possible."

A publication describing the team's strategy and progress toward achieving a comprehensive KCGS is available online in the journal PLOS ONE. The manuscript also contains the results of screening each compound in PKIS2 against the DiscoverX panel of more than 400 kinase assays.

PKIS2 is a collection of more than 500 kinase inhibitors donated by GSK, Pfizer and Takeda Pharmaceuticals that SGC-UNC makes available to the scientific community. The kinome wide annotation of inhibition profiles allows users of the set to interpret their results more readily.

"We have shown how well each of the PKIS2 compounds inhibits each of the kinases DiscoverX screens," said Drewry. "Researchers to whom we have given access to PKIS2 can use that information. They will know that compound X inhibits kinases A, B and C, but compound Z inhibits kinases D and E. With such a big data set people can easily find compounds of particular interest to them and know that the compounds are annotated with near full-kinome inhibition data."

This collaborative project between industrial and academic scientists will continue to expand the KCGS with the goal of fully covering all human protein kinases. Drewry and his fellow scientists aim to ensure the therapeutic potential of as many protein kinases as possible will be uncovered. The expansion of the KCGS, combined with its use in diverse disease-relevant phenotypic screens and the sharing of the resulting data in the public domain, is the best mechanism for reaching this goal.

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Authors and Funding

The work of the SGC-UNC is supported by a grant from the Eshelman Institute for Innovation.

The authors of the paper are David H Drewry, Carrow I Wells, David M Andrews, Richard Angell, Hassan Al-Ali, Alison D Axtman, Stephen J Capuzzi, Jonathan M Elkins, Peter Ettmayer, Mathias Frederiksen, Opher Gileadi, Nathanael Gray, Alice Hooper, Stefan Knapp, Stefan Laufer, Ulrich Luecking, Michael Michaelides, Susanne Muller, Eugene Muratov, R. Aldrin Denny, Kumar S Saikatendu, Daniel K Treiber, William J Zuercher and Timothy M Willson.

About the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the nation's first public university, is a global higher education leader known for innovative teaching, research and public service. A member of the prestigious Association of American Universities, Carolina regularly ranks as the best value for academic quality in U.S. public higher education. Now in its third century, the University offers 77 bachelor's, 111 master's, 65 doctorate and seven professional degree programs through 14 schools and the College of Arts and Sciences. Every day, faculty, staff and students shape their teaching, research and public service to meet North Carolina's most pressing needs in every region and all 100 counties. Carolina's more than 318,000 alumni live in all 50 states and 157 countries. More than 167,000 live in North Carolina.

About DiscoverX

DiscoverX Corporation, headquartered in Fremont, California, designs, manufactures and sells biochemical and cell-based assays for the drug discovery and life science markets. Its portfolio of products and services are used to aid life science research and enable development of biologic and small molecule drugs by improving research productivity, effectiveness of screening, lead optimization and bioanalytical campaigns, as well as providing predictive tools that deliver physiologically relevant insights on drug molecules from early discovery through preclinical development.

About the Structural Genomics Consortium

In 2015 the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy became the first U.S. hub of the Structural Genomics Consortium, a precompetitive public-private partnership that accelerates research in human biology and drug discovery by making all of its research output freely available to the scientific community. The organization is building an open and collaborative network of scientists with active research facilities at six leading academic institutions across the globe: University of Toronto in Canada, Oxford University in England, UNICAMP in Brazil, Karolinska Institute in Sweden, University of Frankfurt in Germany UNC Chapel Hill in the U.S. SGC scientists collaborate with more than 300 researchers in academia and industry.

The SGC is a registered charity (number 1097737) that receives funds from AbbVie, Bayer Pharma AG, Boehringer Ingelheim, Canada Foundation for Innovation, Eshelman Institute for Innovation, Genome Canada, Innovative Medicines Initiative (EU/EFPIA), Janssen, Merck & Co., Novartis Pharma AG, Ontario Ministry of Economic Development and Innovation, Pfizer, Sao Paulo Research Foundation-FAPESP, Takeda and Wellcome Trust. For more information, visit http://www.thesgc.org. PKIS, a collection of more than 300 fully annotated kinase inhibitors donated by GSK, is currently available from the SGC-UNC by completing an on-line request.

School of Pharmacy contact: David Etchison, (919) 966-7744, david_etchison@unc.edu

University Communications contact: MC VanGraafeiland, (919) 962-7090, mc.vangraafeiland@unc.edu
A trio of scientists who defied Einstein by proving the nonlocal nature of quantum entanglement will be honoured with the John Stewart Bell Prize from the University of Toronto (U of T). The prize recognizes the most significant recent achievements in the world in quantum mechanics and is considered by many to be the top international award in the field.

The recipients each led separate experiments in 2015 that showed two particles so distant from one another that no signal could connect them even at the speed of light nevertheless possessed an invisible and instantaneous connection. They are:

Ronald Hanson, Delft University of Technology, Netherlands

Sae-Woo Nam of the National Institute of Standards & Technology, United States

Anton Zeilinger, University of Vienna, Austria

According to quantum entanglement, the world is a very weird place where quantum particles become correlated in pairs. These pairs predictably interact with each other regardless of how far apart they are: if you measure the properties of one member of the entangled pair you know the properties of the other. Einstein was not a believer: in the 1930s, he called it "spooky action at a distance."

"While many experiments have come close to proving quantum entanglement, the scientists we are honouring have closed previous loopholes," says Professor Aephraim Steinberg, a quantum physicist at the U of T's Centre for Quantum Information & Quantum Control (CQIQC) and one of the founders of the Bell Prize. Earlier tests, for example, were plagued by the difficulties of ensuring that no signal could make it from one detector to the other as well as the fact that so many photons were being lost in the test process.

"Collectively, they have removed all reasonable doubt about the nonlocal nature of quantum entanglement. In so doing they are also opening the door to exciting new technologies including super-secure communications and the ability to perform certain computations exponentially faster than any classical computer," says Steinberg.

Created by the CQIQC at U of T in 2005, the John Stewart Bell Prize for Research on Fundamental Issues in Quantum Mechanics and their Applications is judged by an international panel of experts and awarded every two years for achievements in the previous six years.

"Advancing understanding of quantum mechanics, along with its technological applications, is something that deserves to be celebrated and recognized around the world. We expect that, in some cases, the Bell Prize will prove to be a precursor to the Nobel Prize in Physics," says Daniel James, director of the CQIQC.

The prize will be awarded on Thursday, August 31 at 1:25 pm at the Fields Institute on the U of T campus. Recipients will give short talks after the ceremony.

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MEDIA CONTACT:

Aephraim Steinberg

University of Toronto

steinberg@physics.utoronto.ca

+1 416 978 0713
Little fungi pack a punch: "Magic mushrooms" of the Psilocybe species produce psychoactive compounds that alter perception when ingested. Recently, the effects on the neuronal system caused by their ingredient psilocybin have attracted the interest of pharmacologists. German scientists have now identified four of the enzymes responsible for the biosynthesis of psilocybin. In the journal Angewandte Chemie, they describe the biosynthetic pathway and introduce a synthetic route that could form the basis of biotechnological production.

For centuries, Central American cultures considered Psilocybe mushrooms to be divine and used them for spiritual purposes. More recently, they have been called magic mushrooms and used for their hallucinogenic effects. These mushroom drugs may soon also be in use as pharmaceuticals that treat the existential anxiety of advanced-stage cancer patients, depression, and nicotine addiction. Their effects stem from tryptamines, which are chemical derivatives of the amino acid L-tryptophan and structural relatives of the neurotransmitters serotonin and melatonin. Among these, psilocybin is the primary chemical mushroom component. Psilocybin is an inactive precursor that is rapidly activated when consumed: splitting off a phosphate group results in the actual active ingredient, psilocin.

Although the structure of psilocybin has been known for about 60 years, it has not been possible to decode the enzymatic basis of its biosynthesis. Researchers working with Dirk Hoffmeister at the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena have now figured this out. They have identified the four enzymes that transform the amino acidy L-tryptophan into psilocybin. Using genetic technology, the researchers were able to produce the enzymes in bacterial and mould fungi cultures and characterize them.

Based on this knowledge, they were also able to clarify the biosynthetic production route, which is different than previously supposed. In the first step of the biosynthesis, an unsusual type of tryptophan decarboxylase splits the carboxyl group off of the amino acid L-tryptophan. A monooxygenase then introduces an alcohol group, to which a kinase subsequently adds a phosphate group. Finally, a methyl transferase adds two methyl groups stepwise to the amino group.

Starting with 4-hydroxy-L-tryptophan and using three of the four fungal enzymes, the scientists were able to enzymatically synthesize psilocybin by a simple method in a combined reaction. Given the pharmaceutical industry's renewed interest in psilocybin, these results may lay the foundation for its biotechnological production.

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About the Author

Dirk Hoffmeister is Full Professor of Pharmaceutical Microbiology at the University of Jena and the Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology (Hans-Knoll-Institute) in Jena. His research focuses on the genetic and biochemical bases of bioactive component synthesis in fungi.

http://www.pharmazie.uni-jena.de/Institut/Pharmazeutische+Mikrobiologie/Prof_+Dr_+Dirk+Hoffmeister.html
A sixth sense, a gift, a hoax, a skill  dowsing has been called many things. There are the believers, the skeptics and the scientists who try to validate or discredit it. Whether its science or science fiction, the age-old craft has a long history and is still practiced today.

So, what is dowsing, how does it work and how can you learn to do it?

What is dowsing?

In todays culture dowsing goes by many names  the gift, twitching, doodle bugging, water witching and water dowsing  but they all mean the same thing. Dowsing is the practice of locating things using a forked stick called a divining rod or dowsing rod. Although most dowsers search for underground water sources, practitioners have also been known to search for minerals or even lost items.

Dowsing history

Evidence of dowsing dates back millennia. Prehistoric paintings in the Atlas Mountains of North Africa depict a dowser, holding a forked branch in his hand in search of water. The mural was found to be at least 8,000 years old, according to the American Society of Dowsers.

Evidence of the craft has turned up all over the world in different cultures and eras; however, the techniques are the same.

How does dowsing work?

For something thats worked so consistently for so long, youd think wed understand more about how it works. In reality, opinions seem to be split into three main camps: the paranormal believers, the scientific believers and the nonbelievers.

The paranormal explanation. Some people simply believe the phenomenon simply escapes human understanding. Dowsers have a gift or a sixth sense for locating underground water sources and other sought-after objects.

The scientific explanation. Some scientists believe a dowsers ability is related to the bodys reaction to a deviation in the earths magnetic field, which could be caused by the presence of ground water. The idea is that the dowser serves as an electrical conductor cutting a magnetic field, generating enough voltage to produce an electric potential large enough to cause an unconscious hand motion. The dowsing rod is used as a mechanical amplifier.

A hoax? While some physicists believe dowsing can be explained scientifically, others arent so convinced. Many geologists believe that some people simply learn the subtle relations between the earths surface and the water below it. Other experts believe its hard not to succeed at dowsing. In many areas, underground water is so prevalent and close to the land surface that you could drill a well almost anywhere and find water, especially in a region of adequate rainfall and favorable geology. Some water exists under the earths surface almost everywhere, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The challenge is identifying its depth, quantity and quality.

How to dowse for water

Choose your dowsing technique. There are two major techniques for dowsing. One technique calls for a pendulum, while the other more common technique is to use a dowsing rod or rods. Multiple dowsing rods can be made from two identical pieces of wire bent into the shape of an L. A singular rod is the most popular tool. You can make one by cutting a forked branch from a tree. The most common trees to cut the tool from include willow, peach and witch hazel. Make a dowsing rod(s). After youve located the tree youll craft your dowsing rod from, cut a Y-shaped stick, with each leg measuring between 12 to 16 inches long. Holding the dowsing rod. Next, grab the two ends of the stick that fork outward, facing your palms toward the sky, and hold the dowsing rod so that it points out in front of you, horizontal to the ground. If you chose to use two dowsing rods, hold one in each hand facing away from your body, horizontal to the ground, with your elbows bent at your sides. Searching for water. Grasp the dowsing rod(s) firm enough to keep from wiggling around as you walk, but loose enough to alert you as youre approaching water, and slowly walk forward. Finding water. When you begin approaching a water source, your dowsing rod will bend towards the ground. If you chose to use two metal dowsing rods instead, they will cross each other when you approach water.

Is dowsing paranormal, practical or phony?

Theres no concrete theory to explain how dowsing works, or even if it does work. Regardless, someone is making money walking around with a stick and pointing it at the ground. If it is a hoax, it has to be one of the best of all-time to have lasted for 8,000 years. Well played, dowsers.

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So, typewriter nerds are a thing, and the gorgeous documentary California Typewriter is here to introduce you to some of them. Tom Hanks (an actor of some repute) has collected hundreds of vintage machines, the virtues of which he will charmingly extol for us, and promises that he will send you a typewritten note if he really likes you. Herb Permillion runs a family-owned labor-of-love repair shop in Berkeley (also called California Typewriter ) and dream[s] that people are gonna come back to typewriters. Martin Howard from Ontario is an ardent devotee of 19th-century typewriters, and shows off for us their steampunkish glamour. The Boston Typewriter Orchestra is exactly what it sounds like. Artist Jeremy Mayer lovingly disassembles typewriters and uses the parts to make unexpectedly organic-seeming robot-esque sculptures.

I could have watched all these people, and the others who appear here, geek out about typewriters for at least a few more hours: with this, his documentary debut, filmmaker Doug Nichol spins a winsome spell of romance and nostalgia and adorably dorky passion. This is not a portrait of people with an odd hobby: it is a hymn to a machine that revolutionized communication, to its mechanical beauty, to its power in a fast-paced world to slow down ones thinking and to leave a trail of evidence to the creative process in a way that a word processor cannot. Playwright Sam Shepard (in what may be his last onscreen appearance) captures the robust physicality of and the deliberate forethought required in using a typewriter when he likens feeding one paper to saddling a horse.

There may be sentimentality at work here, but never Ludditism: musician John Mayer (apparently no relation to the sculptor), after explaining why he prefers typewritten lyrics to word-processed ones, ends his comments just before his smartphone calls for his attention. It was a smart choice on Nichols part to not just have cut away once Mayer was done speaking: it becomes an acknowledgement of how clinging to an outmoded bit of technology, not matter how agreeable, is a way to negotiate the rapid pace of change, to put the brakes on just a little. (I think its safe to say that everyone with a significant presence in this film is old enough to have learned to type on typewriters, before personal computers became ubiquitous.) And it also seems like a nod to this inevitability: there will be nostalgic nerds a hundred years from now who insist upon using slow, dumb early-21st-century Samsung Galaxys and Apple iPhones for their creative rumination rather than that newfangled BrainPlug, which simply isnt as fun or as sensual as the old toys are.

With a nicely low-key jazzy score and a delightful appreciation for how a machine can be not only an artistic but also a spiritual muse and medium, California Typewriter is thoroughly bewitching.
The stock market meandered on Thursday, with no noteworthy news to give it direction. Major benchmarks never moved very far from where they began, while investors were distracted by the inability of the White House to achieve progress on policy initiatives and expressed concern regarding the approaching debt ceiling debate. Adding to the subdued mood was bad news from a number of individual companies. J.M. Smucker (SJM -2.23%), Hormel Foods (HRL -0.38%), and The Toro Company (TTC -1.16%) were among the worst performers on the day. Below, we'll look more closely at these stocks to tell you why they did so poorly.

Coffee crimps Smucker's quarter

Shares of J.M. Smucker fell 9.5% after the company's first-quarter report revealed lower demand for Folgers coffee. Revenue fell by 4%, and increases in marketing and higher commodity costs caused net income to plummeted 23% compared to the year-ago period. Due to these disappointing results, J.M. Smucker reduced its full-year earnings forecast, which now falls below analysts' expectations.

CEO Mark Smucker believes the company has the situation under control, stating, "[W]e have taken actions to improve our competitive positioning for Folgers. As a result, volume trends are improving. ... We are also pleased with the progress on our cost management programs." Investors seemed unconvinced.

Hormel isn't bringing home the bacon

Hormel Foods stock dropped 5.4% after the company reported financial results that disappointed investors. The food purveyor, known for its Spam and Skippy brands, saw revenue fall 4% and earnings per share shrink 6%. Lower demand for Jennie-O Turkey and Muscle Milk contributed the shortfall, which was partially offset by increased demand for bacon, pepperoni, and Wholly Guacamole. Also hitting results was the divestiture of the Farmer John brand, which was sold late last year. Hormel expects that its earnings will continue to suffer from higher input costs for pork and beef.

The company stated that it paid its 356th consecutive quarterly dividend payment, which amounts to $0.68 annually. Hormel also announced that it has acquired Cidade do Sol, the Brazilian company popular for its Ceratti brand of premium lunch meats, which gives the company a stake in the growing Latin American market. Nevertheless, shareholders seemed concerned that progress was slow in coming.

Toro shares get trimmed

Finally, Toro stock plunged 8.7% despite record financial results. The lawn care equipment company reported third-quarter sales in its professional segment jumped 9.5%, while residential sales fell 9.3%, resulting in an overall increase of 4.5% compared to the year-ago quarter. Toro was also able to leverage its expenses across higher sales, resulting in improved margins and earnings that increased 22%. CEO Richard Olson was encouraged, saying, "We are pleased to deliver strong results for the quarter driven by positive momentum in our professional segment. Innovative new offerings across our professional portfolio fueled the growth."

Investors seemed to focus on the recent run-up in shares, which have gained 29% in the last year. Even given Toro's record results, the stock may have simply gotten ahead of itself.
Part of the snow plow package?

Guessing these are part of the snowplow prep package but wanted to make sure was looking to see what it took to remove front air dam as i usually end up unintentionally removing them and saw these hanging down. Can they come off? Plant to go to a ranch hand eventually but was going to take the air dam off in the mean time. Any insight would be appreciated.
A farmer who rewarded firefighters with sausages made with pigs they rescued from a barn fire has shrugged off criticism from anti-meat campaigners.

Farmer Rachel Rivers gave the sausages to the firefighters six months after they rescued 18 piglets and two sows from the fire at Milton Lilbourne, Wiltshire.

Ms Rivers visited Pewsey Fire Station to hand over the sausages.

See also: Farm insurer counts cost of 14% rise in fires

I wanted to thank them. I promised them at the time Id bring down some sausages for them, which they were all pleased about, Ms Rivers said.

We farm and this is what we do. You cant keep them as pets, she added.

Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service had posted a photo on its Facebook page of the firefighters cooking sausages on a barbecue.

Exactly 6 months and 1 day since FFs Olsen and Richardson rescued 18 piglets from a farm in Milton we got to sample the fruits of our labour from that February night.

Highly recommended by Pewsey Fire Stations crew and if anyone is having a bank holiday weekend BBQ this weekend then check out these sausages, they are fantastic.

A spokesman told the BBC: Our thanks to the farmer for her generosity. We can tell no porkies, the sausages were fantastic.

Pictures removed

But the fire service removed the pictures after criticism began.

In regard to a recent post on this page, we recognise that this has caused offence to some, the fire service said.

We apologise for this and as such have removed the post.

But the apology did not prevent campaign groups from speaking out.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) said the piglets were no better off for escaping the fire.

Well be sending Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service packs of vegan sausages so that they can see how easy it is to truly be heroes for pigs  by sparing them all suffering, said spokesman Mimi Bekhechi.

Criticism on Twitter was far more severe. Below are some examples of the reactions:

Pewsey Fire Station- You accepted and ate the same pigs you rescued? Youre barbaric savages. Why save them at all then? #pewsey #fire #pigs  QueenMidas (@RosebudsOnlyOne) August 23, 2017

I see humans but no humanity Rachel Rivers & Pewsey Firestation should be ashamed of themselves- u saved the pigs only to kill them later pic.twitter.com/oNf4HFsnv0  vegan workout barbie (@Aidannycolee) August 23, 2017

Pewsey Fire Station!  Horrible people! Guessing the apology really meant nothing #Endtheholocaust #Endthecruelmentalityofthewhiteman https://t.co/MPqjfz0nGo  Stilwell Photography (@StilwellPhoto) August 23, 2017

But other people sprang to the defence of the firefighters and launched their own attack.

Pewsey Fire Station- You accepted and ate the same pigs you rescued? Youre barbaric savages. Why save them at all then? #pewsey #fire #pigs  QueenMidas (@RosebudsOnlyOne) August 23, 2017

Massive kudos to the farmer here. Mildly irked that Pewsey fire brigade felt the needed to apologise. https://t.co/f9UHKZp2qN  Annie Gray (@DrAnnieGray) August 23, 2017
Samsung Galaxy Note 8 price leaks, might cost over $1,000 News oi -Abhinaya Prabhu The possible Galaxy Note 8 price is out!

We are heading closer to the launch of the Galaxy Note 8. On August 23, the upcoming flagship device will be unveiled at the Galaxy Unpacked event.

Once it is launched, every single detail about the Galaxy Note 8 will be let out and there will be nothing for the gossip mongers to speculate anymore expect for its release date. With just a few more days left for the launch of the Galaxy Note 8, the rumors and speculations are still hitting the web revealing juicy details about the device.

For instance, a recent report from Playfuldroid citing a leak brought in by ITHome has revealed the possible China pricing details of the Galaxy Note 8. Going by the previous leaks, we can expect the Galaxy Note 8 to be launched in three configurations - 64GB, 128GB and 256GB storage capacities. All the three variants of the device are believed to feature 6GB RAM and an octa-core Exynos 8895 SoC.

According to the leak, the Galaxy Note 8 with 64GB will be priced at 6,288 yuan (approx. Rs. 60,400), the 128GB variant of the device will be priced at 7,088 yuan (approx. Rs. 68,000) and the higher-end 256GB variant will be priced at 7,988 yuan (approx. Rs. 77,000). On converting the same to the U.S. pricing based on the current exchange rates, the Galaxy Note 8 will be priced around $1,000 in the market.

Talking about the Galaxy Note 8, we have already come across the dummy photos of the device showing its glossy and bezel-less design. Given that the launch date of the device is approaching closer (just four more days), we can expect more details to emerge online giving us a good idea of what we can expect from the same.

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Vodafone launches Campus Survival Kit for UP West, Uttarakhand students News oi -Priyanka The company is also inviting interesting hacks from the users on how to make campus life more fun without burning a hole in your pocket.

India's second largest telecom operator Vodafone has launched its new scheme called 'Vodafone Campus Survival Kit' for the students of UP West & Uttarakhand.

The company said, "To help students stay in touch and save their limited pocket money, the kit contains a Vodafone SIM card, attractive goodies like a compact mobile phone holder and a booklet with discount vouchers from popular brands like Lakme salon, Pizza hut, etc. This is one of its kind initiatives by Vodafone to empower college going students with the best telecom and non-telecom offers."

Announcing the launch of Vodafone Campus Survival Kit, Dilip Kumar Ganta, Business Head, Vodafone UP West & Uttarakhand, said, "The beginning of college life opens a world of opportunities and experiences for youngsters. While they want to use their new found freedom to explore these opportunities, their limited allowance is a challenge."

Ganta said, "To overcome this, they look for attractive deals to live their college life to the fullest. Vodafone Campus Survival Kit is aimed at empowering students with a bundle of offers from popular brands to help them sail through college life happily."

As a part of the campaign, Vodafone has released a video on how students across colleges make the most out of campus life in their limited pocket money

The company is also inviting interesting hacks from the users on how to make campus life more fun without burning a hole in your pocket. The hacks can be shared as comments to this video. The most interesting ones will be featured in another video on hacks to rock campus life without running out of your pocket money.

Meanwhile, the company has recently launched its new plan in which the company is offering 1GB data per day and unlimited voice calls to any network at Rs 344.

However, the recharge is coming up with a validity of RS 28 days.

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Community Foundation honors top philanthropist

Shirley McGee (right) presents the 2017 Sauer Award to Bernd and Toby Linder.

FLAT ROCK  Bernd and Toby Linder were honored with the 2017 Richard C. and Vina L. Sauer Charitable Leadership Award during the Henderson County Community Foundation's annual celebration of the power of giving Thursday at Kenmure Country Club.

This years recipients can be described as truly benevolent, CFHC Board Director and Recognition Committee Chair Shirley McGee said during the Sauer Award presentation. They use their talents, gifts and personal involvement in every aspect of our community in order to heal our world.

The Linders selflessly contribute to over 25 different nonprofit organizations in Henderson County. Bern Linder is a past board member of the Community Foundation and currently serves on the investment committee. Toby Linder enjoys supporting education by serving on the CFHC scholarship committee. They are strong advocates of human services, education, and early intervention and prevention. They frequently collaborate on projects with Henderson County Public Schools and the Children and Family Resource Center.

They are very thoughtful in their approach to philanthropy, McGee said of the Linders. Diligently planning their giving throughout the year and using their skills and expertise to make a difference behind the scenes.

Sauer Award Winners are distinguished philanthropic leaders in our community. Past recipients include Phyllis C. Rothrock, Ruth Birge, Thos. R. Shepherd, Mary R. Garrison, Dr. Stuart and Carola Cohn, Marian P. Lowry, Teddi Segal, Robert and Doris Eklund, the Dr. Kathleen McGrady Family, Jeff Miller, Duane and Peggy McKibbin, Dot Marlow, Dr. Colin Thomas, Frank Byrd, Tom and Sue Fazio, Eleanora Meloun, Marcia Caserio, William "Bill" F. Stokes, Jr., William E. "Jamie" Jamison, Kermit Edney, Morris Kaplan, Kenneth Youngblood, and Frank Wyttenbach Ewbank.

The award is named for Richard C. and Vina L. Sauer, who supported many local charities during their lifetimes and then left the first $1 million unrestricted gift to the Community Foundation through their will. The endowment, along with other gifts, provides resources to numerous causes throughout Henderson County.

Community Foundation Chair Les Boyd III emphasized the importance of transforming personal passions into philanthropic legacies. What makes each moment of giving so powerful, Les said, is the personal passion and story behind the philanthropy. At CFHC we are stewards of peoples legacies but we are also stewards of peoples stories.

More than 86 percent of funds at CFHC are endowed, meaning that they will grow more resources over time, now and forever.

CFHC President/CEO McCray V. Benson reported that more than $3 million in charitable grants were awarded through CFHC in 2016. The Community Foundation received more than $1.8 million in contributions this past fiscal year, and total assets reached a record $97.4 million.

The foundation thanked Steve A. Green, Jaime Laughter and Pam Rogers, who recently completed their terms with the Community Foundations Board of Directors, and welcomed new members Jimmy Cowan, Stan Duncan and Kevin Parries.

Young philanthropist Jake Youngblood described his experience participating in My Family in Philanthropy. My Family in Philanthropy builds a family legacy of giving. The program introduces children to philanthropy, assist families in developing a long-term philanthropic plan and encourages children and adults to donate their time, talent and treasure to local non-profit organizations.

Philanthropy actually means sharing your talents, your time and your treasures. Jake explained. Its about helping others and in turn helping yourself, because when you perform philanthropy it makes you feel better. It makes you feel like you are part of something bigger.

Boyd and Summer Stipe, executive director of the Education Foundation, announced the joint community initiative The Leader in Me, a program to raise students' confidence and assist teachers. In Henderson County, four elementary schools are currently participating in the Leader in Me program, or will participate in the 2017-18 school year. CFHC is committing over $150,000 over the next 5 years to bring more schools onboard in this countywide education transformation.

Keynote speakers Will and Deni McIntyre shared how their personal passions and history inspired their philanthropic story. Throughout their careers as photographers and filmmakers, they traveled through 78 different countries. The McIntyres recently produced the second-season of the award winning David Holts State of Music on PBS.



Founded in 1982, Community Foundation of Henderson Countys mission is helping people who care make lasting contributions to causes that matter. CFHC accepts gifts from individuals, families, businesses and organizations to create a permanent pool of charitable capital from which grants are awarded. Learn more about Community Foundation of Henderson County at www.cfhcforever.org, at the Community Foundations Facebook and LinkedIn pages, and by calling (828) 697-6224.
Charlestowne Hotels, a full-service hospitality management company, announces the appointment of Charles Snyder as Vice President of Business Development. With more than a decade of experience in hotel investment, development and market research, Snyder will be responsible for cultivating relationships with hotel ownership and development groups as he continues to grow Charlestownes robust portfolio of boutique hotels, resorts, franchised properties and condo-hotels around the country. In this position, Snyder will spearhead all new business initiatives at Charlestowne, from sourcing and executing new management contracts to assisting clients with real estate acquisitions and developments. Snyder will also oversee the underwriting and feasibility processes for new projects by analyzing current market research, referencing data on hotel operation efficiency and monitoring demographic trends to support sound hotel investment decisions for developers. Mirroring Charlestownes tailored management approach, Snyder will handle each new acquisition with a specially-curated growth strategy to streamline the execution and development of successful hotel properties. Snyders passion for hospitality began at the age of 16, where he developed an appreciation for the industry while working in restaurants. A native of central Pennsylvania and a graduate of Pennsylvania State University, Snyder joined hotel research firm STR in 2005 where he later assisted in launching the successful trade website HotelNewsNow.com. Snyder further honed his business development prowess through positions at PhoCusWright research and with the Ackman-Ziff Real Estate Groups hotel capital advisory team. Most recently, Snyder served as vice president of acquisitions and development at New Castle Hotels & Resorts, where he led the firms development and investment efforts. Snyder received his Master of Business Administration degree from New York University Stern School of Business, where he specialized in finance and management, and earned his Bachelor of Science degree in marketing from Penn State Smeal College of Business. He is active in the Penn State Hotel & Restaurant Society and is a frequent mentor of hospitality students.
Amenities, design, and who will be the head chef in the restaurant are all important decisions for a new hotel to make, but before any of that groundwork can be done, hotel operators must choose the single most important characteristic of any hotel  where will it be located.

The United States represents somewhat of an embarrassment of riches in terms of markets in which to build hotels. It includes some of the most famous markets in the world, places like New York City and Chicago, as well as up and coming and trendy markets such as Nashville, not to mention booming leisure hubs such as the major cities in Florida.

With this in mind, it's important for all savvy hotel operators to stay abreast of the top pipelines for hotel construction in the United States.

Source: TOPHOTELPROJECTS

5. Orlando

Like Miami, the number three city on our list, this city is located in Florida. Powered by a foodie and entertaining environment that has paved the way for hotel growth. The hotel pipeline currently has 23 properties underway. Leisure travelers are a large part of Orlando's success in the hospitality industry.

4. Chicago

The high quality of the infrastructure in Chicago has made it a hotel development hotspot. This Illinois city has 23 properties in the pipeline , landing it at fourth overall on our list. Chicago is booming in many areas currently, experienced one of the highest year-over-year population in the United States and ranking as the United States' third largest metropolitan economy.

3. Miami

Miami has always appealed to the rich, the famous and the glamorous. And now more than ever the Florida city renowned for its beaches, beautiful people, nightlife and hedonism is seeing a new wave of luxury developments in the form of hotels, condominiums and residential complexes.

2. Nashville

Nashville is one of the best up-and-coming cities in the U.S., featuring booming economic growth that has enabled it to offer residents increased wages and a tighter labor market. It's also a major music production hub, one that lives up to its nickname, "Music City." This is all part of the reason that an estimated 670,000 tourists have begun flocking to Nashville each year.

The hotel pipeline has seen a subsequent boom, with 36 hotels under development. Demand growth has climbed a whopping 4.4 percent, and the city's projected RevPAR this year has increased by 3.9 percent from where it was in 2016.

1. New York City

Was there ever any doubt that New York would land at number one on our list? Arguably the single most sought-after destination in the entire world, New York also takes the top spot in terms of the United States' hotel pipeline, with 55 properties. New York is an iconic city made up of five boroughs and home to more than 8 million people. Its tourism industry is perpetually booming, having played host to more than 58 million visitors last year, 12 million of which were international travelers.

More information on hotel projects can be found on TOPHOTELPROJECTS, the specialized service provider in the exchange of cutting-edge information of hotel construction in the international hospitality industry.

Jule Grass

Marketing Manager

+49 4261 4140 309

TOPHOTELPROJECTS
Westshore Oceanfront Motel, Lincoln City, Oregon

Crystal Investment Property, LLC, a member of Hotel Brokers International, announced the successful sale of Westshore Oceanfront Motel, Lincoln City, Oregon. Crystal Investment Property, LLC, a licensed Oregon broker, exclusively represented the Seller in the sale. Joseph P. Kennedy, President of CIP, worked closely with the Seller and Buyer as well as lenders and other professionals, to negotiate a mutually acceptable sale. The final sale price was confidential.

The 20 key, 3 story property overlooking the beach provides guests private beach access in one of the most popular Oregon Coast destinations. The natural beauty and drama of the Pacific Ocean coastline coupled with the ease of access and short driving time from population centers make the Westshore Oceanfront Motel a popular destination for Pacific Northwest recreational travelers.

Joseph Kennedy, President of Crystal Investment Property said, "There was a great deal of interest in this exceptional oceanfront property in the heart of popular Lincoln City. The Buyer is an experienced owner with a vision for re-positioning the property to suit the key demographic of the area, attracting a more upscale crowd from the Portland and Salem area. We look forward to the upgrades and improvements the new owner will undertake and wish the Seller the best as they move on to other endeavors.

Crystal Investment Property, a premiere hospitality investment advisory and brokerage company located in the Pacific Northwest, maintains the most cutting-edge technological, online and social media presence as well as a full range of traditional and web-based marketing reaching local, regional, national and international clientele. The firms core services of hospitality asset acquisition/disposition are supported by innovative and creative solutions to maintain position as the most active and successful hotel broker in the region. Crystal Investment Property represents the full spectrum of hospitality real estate owners and their experience covers all hospitality assets types, including: full service hotels, boutique hotels, select service hotels, limited service hotels, as well as development projects, and leasehold transactions. Crystal Investment Property may be accessed online at www.crystalip.com.

Founded in 1959, Hotel Brokers International members lead the industry in hotel real estate sales. HBI hotel brokerage specialists have successfully negotiated more than 10,000 hotel real estate transactions and consistently account for the largest share of all select-service and economy hotel sales in the United States. The organizations database currently comprises more than 100 property listings and the HBI website attracts site visitors from around the world. Founder and host of the popular Hotel Investors Marketplace Webcast, HBI also developed the Certified Hotel Broker professional designation program. In addition to hospitality real estate advisory services, HBI offers affiliate membership to professionals in allied fields, including franchising, lending, appraisals and investment services. For more information about HBIs hotel listings or to become a broker or affiliate member, visit www.hbihotels.com.

For more information contact:

Joseph P. Kennedy, President

Crystal Investment Property, LLC

Portland, Oregon

503.530.1316

joe@crystalip.com

Glenda J. Webb, Managing Director

Hotel Brokers International

Kansas City, Missouri

816.505.4315

gwebb@hbihotels.com
Page Content



Montreal, 25 August 2017  ICAO and Nepal have successfully partnered on resolving a Significant Safety Concern (SSC) in the Asia-Pacific State last month, following a comprehensive multilateral assistance effort coordinated under the UN agencys No Country Left Behind initiative.



The aircraft operations SSC rectified through this cooperation was originally identified during a 2013 ICAO Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP) mission. Nepal was prioritized for technical assistance by the ICAO Aviation Safety Implementation Assistance Partnership in 2015.



By resolving this matter through coordinated capacity building, and with support from donor States and international organizations, ICAO and Nepal have helped to further improve the safety of Nepals operations, remarked ICAO Council President Dr. Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu. Our work under No Country Left Behind is specifically carried out so that States get the assistance and capacity building they need to achieve and benefit from ICAO-compliant global connectivity.



The ICAO technical assistance project, launched in 2016, was implemented through a pre-agreed plan developed in conjunction with Nepal. Funding for the assistance programme was also collaborative, with local contributions being augmented by the ICAO Safety Fund (SAFE).



Nepal was also continuously supported throughout these recent efforts by the ICAO Cooperative Development of Operational Safety and Continuing Airworthiness Programme  South Asia (COSCAP-SA). The efforts of Nepal were further boosted by several visits by concerned technical experts from ICAOs Regional Office in Bangkok, in addition to assistance provided by a team of experts under an ICAO Combined Action Team (CAT) mission to Nepal in 2016.



We recognize and greatly appreciate the States and organizations which contribute resources to these efforts, whether directly or through their contributions to SAFE, and which collaborate so helpfully with us on improving civil aviation safety and other goals, stressed ICAO Secretary General Dr. Fang Liu. By driving progress on ICAOs Strategic Objectives through cost-effective collaboration, we are helping States to benefit from safe, secure and efficient air transport services, which in turn provides important support for the United Nations Agenda 2030 and its ambitious Sustainable Development Goals, she added.



ICAOs No Country Left Behind initiative was launched in 2014 in aid of more effectively implemented ICAO civil aviation standards in the agencys 191 Member States. It is presently driving a range of collaborative assistance and capacity-building initiatives in all ICAO Regions.

Resources for Editors



About ICAO

A specialized agency of the United Nations, ICAO was created in 1944 to promote the safe and orderly development of international civil aviation throughout the world. It sets standards and regulations necessary for aviation safety, security, efficiency, capacity and environmental protection, amongst many other priorities. The Organization serves as the forum for cooperation in all fields of civil aviation among its 191 Member States.

ICAOs Asia and Pacific Regional Office

ICAO's No Country Left Behind initiative



Contacts



Anthony Philbin

Chief, Communications

aphilbin@icao.int

+1 514-954-8220

+1 438-402-8886 (mobile)

Twitter: @ICAO



William Raillant-Clark

Communications Officer

wraillantclark@icao.int

+1 514-954-6705

+1 514-409-0705 (mobile)

Twitter: @wraillantclark

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/raillantclark/


We work towards an equitable,

gender-just, self-reliant and

sustainable fisheries,

particularly in the small-scale,

artisanal sector

We work towards an equitable,

gender-just, self-reliant and

sustainable fisheries,

particularly in the small-scale,

artisanal sector

We work towards an equitable,

gender-just, self-reliant and

sustainable fisheries,

particularly in the small-scale,

artisanal sector

We work towards an equitable,

gender-just, self-reliant and

sustainable fisheries,

particularly in the small-scale,

artisanal sector
Kolkata, Aug 25 (IBNS): Kolkata-based Care IVF, which was declared as the leading in-vitro fertilization (IVF) center two years in a row, in the National Fertility Sciences Surveys conducted by a key Indian media house, has now become the first center in Eastern India to receive dual accreditation for ASIC and ISO 9001:2015.

ASIC is a well-known body for performing quality audits in the health care industry.

The objectives of the ASIC standard for IVF clinics are -- to create measurable and practical standards for IVF centers in terms of infrastructure and equipment, follow standard operating procedures for IVF centers, assist doctors in creation of a safe and Infection-free environment and lastly to enhance patient safety and make the processes more user friendly.

Dr Rajeev Agarwal, Clinical Director Care IVF said, Care IVF has always felt the need to be at par with the international community in maintaining the best standards and has adopted standard operation protocols conforming to the practices followed globally to ensure the best of results."

"The ASIC auditing was extensive, and covered not just the laboratory and medical management areas but also patient safety, disaster management, patient relations, grievance handling, counseling, administrative and HR protocols. The ASIC certification proved that that the clinic was already 99% prepared and the audit helped us improve and achieve 100% benchmark," said Dr Agarwal.

All IVF clinics in India are required to be registered with the National Registry for IVF Clinics and Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) banks managed by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the body that regulates the Indian fertility industry and follow the clinical guidelines laid down by the Council.

With the fast expanding fertility care industry, there was an overwhelming need for a proper accreditation system for ART clinics that would help standardize the protocols and make them user friendly and safe, according to most medical experts in the field.

The fertility industry thus formed its own regulatory body of sorts, under the aegis of the Indian Society of Assisted Reproduction (ISAR) whose objectives are to assimilate all information, facilitate academic/ research collaboration and unrestricted transfer of data, formulate standard practices and contribute to advancement of research in the field of ART.

Since an audit conducted directly by ISAR may run the risk of being predisposed, ASIC was roped in as an arbiter to carry out auditing and accrediting process for the IVF clinics in a fair and unbiased manner.
New Delhi, Aug 25 (IBNS) : The body of a 26-year-old doctor was found with his throat slit in St Stephenas Hospital in north Delhi on Friday morning. reports said.

Sashwat Pandey was associated with the radiology department of the hospital. He was a postgraduate intern.

According to police, Pandey's body was found in the rest room of the hospital.

No arrests have been made so far in this connection. Police have started an investigation.
Patna, Aug 25 (TheBiharPost/IBNS): In a significant move,Prime Minister Narendra Mod has cancelled his plan to visit Patna during his tour of the flood-hit region on Saturday.

What the cancellation of his Patna visit also means is the Prime minister spurning lunch offer by Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar who himself had once skipped the dinner hosted in honour of the visiting BJP leaders.

As per the earlier itinerary widely publicized in the local media, the Prime Minister was scheduled to visit the official residence of chief minister Kumar in Patna and have lunch with him after conducting an aerial survey of the flood-affected areas of Bihar.

As per the changed plan, the PM will now land at the Chunapur airport at 10 am, conduct an aerial survey of the flooded region for about an hour and then fly back to Delhi soon thereafter. The chief minister will meet the PM at the Chunapur airport itself.

The change in PMs itinerary comes shortly after RJD chief Lalu Prasad took a dig at the PM saying how the latter will now dine with Nitish Kumar who had once snatched his plate away seven years back.

Nitish Kumar had once snatched the plate away from him (Modi) by cancelling the dinner. Now, he is hosting the lunch for the Prime Minister, was how Prasad mocked talking to the media on Thursday.

The Bihar chief minister had earlier suddenly cancelled the diner being hosted in the honour of BJP leaders after the BJP ran an advertisement in local newspapers which showed him shaking hands with Modi, in a severe embarrassment to the BJP. The BJP leaders had come to Patna attend the national executive meeting of the party in June 2010.

The chief minister didnt stop at that. He also returned Rs seven crore cheque to the Gujarat government which it had donated for the victims of 2008 Kosi flood victims.

thebiharpost.com
Chandigarh, Aug 25 (IBNS) : Police lathicharged a violent mob, fired tear gas shells and used water cannons as followers of Dera Sacha chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh went berserk at Panchkula after the self-declared spiritual leader was convicted by a CBI court for the rape of two women.

According to media reports, the people, who gathered in huge numbers around the court house in Haryana's Panchkula, adjoining the Pujab border, turned violent, Pelting stones, attacking the outdoor broadcasting vans of two media houses, injuring an engineer and chasing away the journalists present there.

They also reportedly set fire to a fire brigade engine and clashed with police.

Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh appealed to all to maintain peace.

The Special Court found Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh guilty of raping two woman followers in 2002.

The court reserved its order for the quantum of punishment for August 28 and the self-styled Godman was taken into custody.

He faces a jail term up to seven years.

The verdict passed by Justice Jagdeep Singh, came amid a heightened tension with massive security forces, including the Army, being deployed ahead of the verdict to maintain peace in case of a sectarian frenzy.

Tens of thousands of Dera followers had started taking to the street since Wednesday, much ahead of verdict, prompting the state Governments of Haryana and Punjab to take an unprecedented security measure to prevent any sectarian frenzy.

The sect claims to have sway over million of people.

the Haryana government imposed an indefinite curfew in Sirsa as a precautionary measure and a 72-hour ban on mobile internet services, except voice calls.

As many as 72 trains have been cancelled in view of the law and order situation.

The Centre has extended its support and provided security in both the states.

All educational institutions in Haryana remained closed and shops businessmen downed shutters.

Twenty columns of army, 53 companies of paramilitary forces and 50,000 policemen have been deployed in what came as an unprecedented preventive measure.

The CBI had filed an FIR against the self-styled God man, accusing him of raping two sadhvis (female followers), in 2002 and the case came to trial in 2008.

The CBI move came after the Punjab and Haryana High Court took suo moto action on the basis of a letter written by one of the alleged victims to the then Prime Minister Atal Behari Bajpayee.

On the last day of the hearing, the court had directed Gurmeet Ram Rahim him to appear before it at 2.45 pm on Friday  when the verdict is likely to be announced.
Chandigarh, Aug 25 (IBNS): Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Friday urged people of Punjab to maintain peace and harmony after violence erupted in different parts of the state following the conviction of Dera Sacha chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh by a CBI court for the rape of two women.

I appeal to all Punjabis to maintain peace and harmony in the state. We won't allow anyone to disturb the peace & tranquility of our state. pic.twitter.com/YlUeJH1mZk  Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) August 25, 2017

Police lathicharged a violent mob, fired tear gas shells and used water cannons to take situation under control.

Urging people to maintain peace, Singh tweeted: "I appeal to all Punjabis to maintain peace and harmony in the state. We won't allow anyone to disturb the peace & tranquility of our state."

According to media reports, the people, who gathered in huge numbers around the court house in Haryana's Panchkula, adjoining the Pujab border, turned violent, pelting stones, attacking the outdoor broadcasting vans of two media houses, injuring an engineer and chasing away the journalists present there.

The Special Court found Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh guilty of raping two woman followers in 2002.

The court reserved its order for the quantum of punishment for August 28 and the self-styled Godman was taken into custody.

He faces a jail term up to seven years.

The verdict passed by Justice Jagdeep Singh, came amid a heightened tension with massive security forces, including the Army, being deployed ahead of the verdict to maintain peace in case of a sectarian frenzy.

Tens of thousands of Dera followers had started taking to the street since Wednesday, much ahead of verdict, prompting the state Governments of Haryana and Punjab to take an unprecedented security measure to prevent any sectarian frenzy.

The sect claims to have sway over million of people.

the Haryana government imposed an indefinite curfew in Sirsa as a precautionary measure and a 72-hour ban on mobile internet services, except voice calls.

As many as 72 trains have been cancelled in view of the law and order situation.

The Centre has extended its support and provided security in both the states.

All educational institutions in Haryana remained closed and shops businessmen downed shutters.

Twenty columns of army, 53 companies of paramilitary forces and 50,000 policemen have been deployed in what came as an unprecedented preventive measure.

The CBI had filed an FIR against the self-styled God man, accusing him of raping two sadhvis (female followers), in 2002 and the case came to trial in 2008.

The CBI move came after the Punjab and Haryana High Court took suo moto action on the basis of a letter written by one of the alleged victims to the then Prime Minister Atal Behari Bajpayee.

On the last day of the hearing, the court had directed Gurmeet Ram Rahim him to appear before it at 2.45 pm on Friday  when the verdict is likely to be announced.
Kolkata, Aug 25 (IBNS): West Bengal has always remained the focus area for Indian Navy in motivating young minds to join the service.

Although the Naval base INS Netaji Subhas located in Kolkata is the recruiting center for Sailors induction in Navy and conducts the recruitment twice a year, still the response rate of youth in West Bengal has been a concern.

With more entries open for technical students and women, Navy has widened its scope for young aspirants.

It is therefore essential to interact with students in schools and colleges enlightening them about various opportunities and entry levels in the Navy.

As part of this exercise, the Navy participated in the 21st National Exhibition being organized by Central Calcutta Science and Cultural Organisation at Agradut Krirangan, New Barrackpore from Aug 24 to 27.

During the inauguration ceremony, the Naval Officer addressed the crowd and urged young minds to take up Navy as a career, read an official statement.

A 14- member naval band from Eastern Naval Command in Visakhapatnam also performed at the exhibition and mesmerized the audience. A career stall was set up by the Navy, where video clippings were shown bringing out the multi-dimensional aspects of navy and its operational role.
Image: Simbu123/commons.wikimedia.org

Guwahati, Aug 25 (IBNS): The pro-talk ULFA leaders on Friday threatened to take up arms again if the state government wouldnot take appropriate measures to protect indigenous people of Assam.

The statement came from the pro-talk ULFA leaders after another Silapathar like situation created in the middle Assams town Nagaon.

According to the reports, a surrendered ULFA was allegedly assaulted and severely wounded him by a gang of youths including a BJP leader of a particular community inside a commercial establishment in the middle Assams town Nagaon few days back.

Following the incident, Nagaon police had arrested the wounded person and his three associates after the proprietor the shop filing an FIR against them for a dacoity attempt.

Protest against the incident, several organizations on Friday had organized a protest rally and demanded the district administration and state government to arrest the culprits immediately.

Pro-talk ULFA leader Arobinda Rajkhowa said that, the present state government is totally failed to protect indigenous people of Assam and the recent Nagaon incident proved it again.

If the state government wouldnt take appropriate measures to protect our people, we will take up arms again, Arobinda Rajkhowa said.

The pro-talk ULFA leaders also demanded to release the surrendered ULFA members immediately and to arrest the culprits behind the incident.

Meanwhile, ULFA General Secretary Anup Chetia alleged that, the role of Nagaon police was questionable and an Additional SP of the middle Assam district had assaulted a surrendered ULFA Moon Bora inside the commercial establishment after the gang of youths injured him severely.

Meanwhile, tension still prevails in Nagaon and several organizations and local people demanded district police to arrest all culprits behind the incident.

The organizations also alleged that, those persons had assaulted the surrendered ULFA member inside the commercial establishment, they are members of BJP and RSS and very close with Union minister of state for railway Rajen Gohain.

(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)
According to the report, Desperate Journeys, an estimated 2,253 people died or went missing at sea, and at least 40 died on land routes at or near European borders.Taking measures to reduce the number of refugees and migrants arriving in Europe, without at the same time stepping up peace-making, development, and safe pathways is morally unacceptable, said UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi. We can't afford to ignore abuses clearly taking place simply because they happen out of our sight.In terms of passage, the report shows that overall Mediterranean crossings fell sharply in the first half of this year compared with the same period in 2016, due mainly to a 94 per cent decline in people using the sea route from Turkey into Greece.Meanwhile, crossings from North Africa to Italy have remained at around the same level as last year, The High Commissioner's Office (UNHCR) said, adding that violence and abuse along the journey is rife.Many of the migrants and refugees who have reached Italy from Libya have survived dangerous desert crossings and abuses that include sexual violence, torture, and abductions for ransom, according to the report. At sea, the risk of dying en route to Italy is one in 39.Some 11,400 of those who reached Italy in the first half of the year were children unaccompanied or separated from their families, according to the latest figures.Many arrivals, amongst them children, were victims of sexual violence or trafficking. In all, over 40 per cent of asylum applicants in Italy between January and June qualified for protection of some kind, the UN agency noted.The UNHCR report also shows a rise in arrivals to Spain, with 9,500 people reaching the country as compared with 4,936 in the first months of 2017 and 2016, respectively.Photo: UNICEF/Alessio RomenziSource: www.justearthnews.com
New York, Aug 25(Just Earth News): Reiterating that attacks targeting civilians are prohibited under international law, the United Nations human rights office on Friday confirmed dozens of casualties in airstrikes on villages near the capital, Sana'a.

Briefing journalists in Geneva, a spokesperson for the Office of the High Commissioners for Human Rights (OHCHR), Liz Throssell, said one of the airstrikes on 23 August hit the Istirahat Al Shahab hotel in Bayt Al Athri in Arhab district, destroying the second floor and seriously damaging the rest of the building.

So far we have been able to confirm that 33 civilians were killed and another 25 injured in the attack, Throssell said of the attack, which is being blamed on Coalition Forces.

OHCHR said the attack came moments after an airstrike on a nearby security checkpoint manned by the Houthis. There were no reported casualties in that earlier attack.

Also on 23 August, an airstrike by Coalition Forces hit a house near a Houthi security checkpoint in a neighbouring district, killing six civilians and injuring at least 13 others.

In all these cases, in which civilians were killed and injured, witnesses said that there had been no warnings that an attack was imminent, Throssell said.

Speaking on behalf of OHCHR, the spokesperson said attacks targeting civilians or civilian objects are prohibited under international humanitarian law, which also prohibits indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks.

We remind all parties to the conflict, including the Coalition, of their duty to ensure full respect for international humanitarian law, said Throssell.

OHCHR is urging the relevant authorities to probe the attacks in credible, comprehensive and impartial investigations.

In the past week, 58 civilians were killed in attacks by the Saudi-led Coalition and affiliates of the Hourthis.

This week's total is more than the number of civilians killed in the whole of June, when 52 were killed and in July, which saw 57 civilian deaths, the spokesperson said.

Photo: OCHA/Philippe Kropf

Source: www.justearthnews.com
New York, Aug 26(Just Earth News): Measures in Cambodia, which left radio programmes and licences suspended, have sparked the United Nations human rights wing to call on the Government for political and civil rights guarantees.

We are concerned by a rapid series of ministerial and administrative measures which have resulted in the suspension of radio programmes and licences, threatened a main English-language newspaper with closure, and shut down a foreign non-governmental organisation, Liz Throssell, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, told reporters at on Friday's regular press briefing.

Ahead of next year's general election, we call on the Government to guarantee full political and civil rights, and media freedoms, she added.

The National Democratic Institute (NDI), a foreign non-governmental organization (NGO), was shut down by ministerial order on 23 August, in the first such closure brought under the 2015 Law on Associations and Non-Governmental Organisations.

Noting that the organisation has been working on elections and with parties across the political spectrum, OHCHR pointed out that its international staff were given seven days to leave the country.

Earlier this month, three Cambodian organisations working on human rights and elections were also subjected to targeted tax investigations.

We have concerns that NDI was closed without due process, and are worried about the overall deterioration of the environment for human rights defenders and civil society in Cambodia, continued Throssell.

Moreover, the Government this week has revoked licences for some radio frequencies, thus blocking programmes aired by national independent human rights and media organisations, US-funded stations Radio Free Asia and Voice of America, and the main opposition party.

The OHCHR spokesperson said that the Cambodia Daily, one of the main independent English-language newspapers, was given until 4 September to pay an alleged $6.3 million in tax arrears, or be closed. While the paper has called for a transparent tax audit and the right to appeal, its requests have gone unheeded.

We call on the Royal Government of Cambodia to ensure due process in all measures taken, including the right to appeal, and to respect the rights to freedom of association and expression, concluded Throssell.

Photo: UN Photo/ Violaine Martin

Source: www.justearthnews.com
New York, Aug 25(Just Earth News): The United Nations On Thursday welcomed the release of the final report of an independent advisory body looking into the situation in Myanmar's Rakhine state.

We welcome the release of the comprehensive report of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine state and take note of its emphasis on issues related to identity and citizenship, particularly its call for freedom of movement for all people, said UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters at on Thursday's regular press briefing in New York.

He also acknowledged its endorsement to address the root causes of violence and reduce inter-communal violence.

We look forward to reviewing the report's recommendations further, Dujarric continued, saying that in the meantime, the UN recognizes the significance of the Government's establishment of the Commission  which was led by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan  and the importance of its mandate to analyze the situation of all communities in Rakhine state and draft recommendations toward conflict prevention, reconciliation, institution building and long-term development, as well as humanitarian services.

The Spokesman concluded by affirming that the UN stands ready to support the Government's implementation of the recommendations for the betterment of all communities in Rakhine state.

Building on the Advisory Commission's interim report, released in March, the final report puts forward recommendations to surmount the political, socio-economic and humanitarian challenges that currently face Rakhine State.

The report is the outcome of more than 150 consultations and meetings held by the Advisory Commission since its launch in September 2016. Its members have travelled extensively throughout Rakhine state, and held meetings in Yangon and Naypyitaw, Indonesia, Thailand, Bangladesh and Geneva.

Photo: UNHCR/Saiful Huq Omi

Source: www.justearthnews.com
[ 20 vans with riot cops in Freiburg, Germany after raids against Linksunten Indymedia earlier today. ]German Government Bans Linksunten IndymediaThe German government banned the linksunten.indymedia.org website today. According to German mainstream media the decision was given to 3 alleged operators of the indymedia platform.Tweet by the German federal ministry announcing the ban of Linksunten Indymedia:BMI  @BMI_BundMinister #deMaiziere hat heute die linksextremistische Internetplattform #linksunten.indymedia verboten. Weitere Infos folgen in Kurze.[Minister # deMaiziere today banned the left-wing extremist Internet platform #linksunten.indymedia. More information will follow shortly.]10:26 PM - Aug 24, 2017Cops raided buildings, confiscated computers but until now the cops did not made arrests. Thomas Strobl (CDU), state interior minister of Baden-Wurttemberg told reporters that raids in multiple objects are ongoing. Federal interior minister Thomas De Maziere said that Linksunten is acting against the constitutional order.The federal interior ministery motivated the ban saying that the purpose and activity of the Linksunten Indymedia website: adverse criminal laws. All Linksunten Indymedia logos are now also banned in Germany.According to German daily Neues Deutschland, the website was offline for a short moment on Friday morning but later the site was online again. At 10:50am (CET) we checked again and the site was down again. However its expected that Linksunten could be online soon again. Linksunten.indymedia is organized decentrally and stored on different servers and De Maziere admitted that it wont be possible to shutdown Linksunten today or in the coming days.Linksunten exists in its current format since 2009 [ 2008 ] and published calls for actions and demonstrations, claims of groups who carried out actions, articles for debates, analysis and reports from and about many actions. The platform gave people a platform to post anonymously, beyond the control of state authorities.The repressive action against Linksunten comes after many German politicians announced that the state will step-up the fight against what they call left-extremism. These announcements came after last months NoG20 protests in Hamburg. Linksunten Indymedia published many calls, reports and analysis before, during and after the No G20 protests.The German state couldnt silence the movement after bans on magazines like Radikal and they will probably fail again. The movement cant be silenced. We are all Linksunten!Stay tuned for updates.Update 01:28pm (CET): Federal interior minister Thomas de Maziere told reporters that linksunten.indymedia.org is banned and the people behind it are considered to be members of a terrorist association.Update 05:33pm (CET): Solidarity gathering at the main train station (Hauptbahnhof, Hbf) in Mainz, Germany, 07:00pm (19:00). We will not let you ban our views!Update 06:27pm: One of the buildings which was raided today was the Kulturtreff in Selbstverwaltung (KTS) in Freiburg. The KTS is a self-organized social center. According to the interior ministery of the German state of Baden-Wurttemberg (screenshot below)250 cops were deployed for the raids against linksunten. Five buildings were raided.----Submitted to Enough is Enough.Note: Enough is Enough is not organizing any of these events, we are publishing this text for people across the US and Europe to be able to see what is going on and for documentation only.
Imagine this scenario: Astronomers discover an asteroid in space thats heading our way and predict that it will impact somewhere in the ocean later in this century. Its not big enough to extinguish all life on Earth, as some asteroids might, but its sizeable enough that when it hits, it will generate tsunamis worldwide, inundating most coastal cities.

Despite this news that civilization as we know it faces a dire threat, politicians in Washington dither, with many claiming the astronomers have the science wrong. Years pass without much action toward efforts to knock the asteroid off course, even as the astronomers furnish more details about just how destructive its impact will be. An array of activist groups spring up around the world, urgently calling for stronger steps to counter the asteroid. World leaders pledge some action, but its not nearly enoughand the U.S. Congress wont even back those modest steps.

How would philanthropy respond in this situation?

Well, you might think that many foundations would immediately drop everything else theyre doing and focus on stopping that asteroid. Right? After all, theyd see that theres little point in caring about poverty or the arts or education if a catastrophic disruption of society would one day make all these concerns moot.

Given those stakes, you might think that foundations would give whatever it takes to ensure that every advocate sounding the alarm about the asteroid has enough resources, along with every scientist seeking a solution. You might think that the big legacy foundations would ignore the conservative payout limits on using endowment funds, busting open their great trusts in an urgent bid to save civilization.

Alas, if you thought all these things, youd be wrongat least judging by philanthropy's response to climate change, a threat that could mean sea level rises of six feet by 2100, along with other consequences so devastating that one expert panel compared the likely effects to World War II, which claimed 60 million lives.

Based on the climate record so far, philanthropys response to the asteroid threat would probably look more like this.

First, most funders would shrug their shoulders, saying extra-terrestrial issues fall outside of current program guidelines and dont align with their missions or donor intent. The attitude would be: let someone else worry about the damn asteroid.

Second, even those top funders who did step forward to stop the asteroid would do so as part of a balanced portfolio of grantmaking. Theyd say all the right things about the urgency of stopping the asteroid, and maybe make historic multi-year grant commitments to this end, but otherwise wouldnt drastically upend their priorities. Such goals as ensuring "children realize their full potential" would occupy an equal place with ensuring that, as adults, those kids don't face a global catastrophe.

Third, not a single major anti-asteroid funder would seriously consider dipping into their endowments in a big way to save civilization. One excuse would be that they werent confident such extra spending would make a difference in stopping the asteroid. Where are the metrics, they ask. Another would be that they needed to save their money for later, to help civilization adapt to a post-impact world. Some might point to organizational bylaws that barred any excessive spending of endowment principal and cite their fiduciary responsibilities. Here, too, the dead hand of donor intent would triumph over the imperative of future survival.

Would the new billionaire philanthropists step forward to fill the vacuum left by cautious and small-minded legacy foundations? After all, these donors often talk about bold and urgent approaches to philanthropy. A great many have signed the Giving Pledge. Surely theyd open their checkbooks in a dramatic way to help figure out how to knock the asteroid into a orbital path away from Earth. Since they signed the pledge, why not give away their piles sooner rather than later, especially when civilization hangs in the balance?

And to be sure, a few billionaires would step forward, becoming some of the top anti-asteroid funders. But most would take the attitude that the asteroid was someone elses problem, and even those stepping forward would deploy only a tiny fraction of their net worth to finance anti-asteroid work.

As the asteroid moved closer, with Washington still deadlocked and alarm bells sounding more loudly, there would be richly ironic moments as philanthropy fumbled the clutch moment. We might see, for example, two CEOs of top legacy foundations who get the asteroid threat issue a public call for their fellow funders to do moreand yet take no drastic action at their own institutions to think outside the box about what they themselves define as an existential threat. No matter how grave the asteroid menace might be, it wouldnt trump the imperative of preserving endowment principal.

We might see another such plea for greater philanthropic action from a foundation CEO known for her boldness and a billionaire known for his leadership on the asteroid issueafter which both would promptly resume business as usual. The CEO wouldnt persuade her board to break open the endowment piggy bank or suspend all other grantmaking. The billionaire wouldnt touch the vast bulk of his fortune, even as a Giving Pledge signatory in his 80s.

We might see the richest man in the world step forward to convene a group of billionaires to finance long-term anti-asteroid researcheven as they curiously ignored the fact that Washington wasnt taking a host of obvious near-term steps to deal with the threat and advocates in the trenches were begging for more resources to win the political fight.

And so it would go. For all the talk of philanthropy as societys risk capital, this sector likely wouldnt be able to mobilize for the necessary risks to head off the ultimate threat. But you can bet that thered be some swell conferences and retreats.

Meanwhile, the asteroid would keep getting closer.

And closer.

Related:
Pasadena is famous for its annual Tournament of Roses and the Rose Bowl. At the cutting edge of tech, its home to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the California Institute of Technology. Once upon a time, many imagined that Pasadena would be the leading city in southern Californiaa role that, instead, Los Angeles ended up playing.

And while outsiders tend to think of Pasadena as a mere satellite of L.A., or simply part of its same endless urban sprawl, this ethnically diverse city of 141,000 has a strong sense of its distinctive identity and quite a bit of civic pride.

Tapping into this pride is a key to the fundraising strategy of Pasadena City College, which has been around since 1924. Bobbi Abram, the executive director of the Pasadena City College Foundation, shared her insights with Inside Philanthropy on how it funds its mission to support the schools 30,000 students.

"People are just as likely to give to their local community college based on the fact that they live in the community as if they actually attended college there, so we do as much with a community fundraising program as we do an alumni fundraising program," Abram said.

That is not a thought you'll hear often from campus development officers, who tend to be laser-focused on hitting up grads. But you do hear it sometimes, and we've written quite a bit about local non-alum donors stepping up to support colleges and universities that they see as boosting their community economically and culturally.

Community colleges, which are getting lots of play lately as critical ladders for socio-economic mobility, are especially well-positioned to tap into that sentiment. And all the more so if they're long familiar institutions in a civically engaged town like Pasadena.

"Pasadena itself probably has more nonprofit organizations per capita than just about any city of the country, so its a very philanthropic community," Abram said. "Weve done a lot of work to make sure that Pasadena City College feels accessible and approachable by the community. Weve had a lot of community involvement in the campus which has increased our ability to go straight to the community.

Like many community colleges, PCC has an active schedule of extension classes that are popular with locals, and it also has a pool that's open to the public. In addition, an NPR affiliate, KPCC-FM, is licensed to the college, which Abram said raises its community profile, along with the Tournament of Roses. The Tournament of Roses and Pasadena City College have always had a mutually beneficial relationship. Our band is the honor band in the Tournament of Roses. A lot of our employees and executives are volunteers and are part of the leadership of the Tournament of Roses.

So what's the actual funding model that pulls in support for PCC? Our funding actually comes from couple of sources, one of which is unrestricted gifts, which is basically our annual fund, Abram said. And through the years, that has continued to grow."

There's also been a bigger push around planning giving lately. Before Abram arrived at PCC, the foundation got a grant to focus in this area. We have been the beneficiary of a lot of hard work which went into a planned giving program. We are about to move into another campaign in which planned giving is very important.

The foundation offers a range of planned giving programs from charitable gift annuities tocharitable trusts. Abram sees planned giving as the most effective way of raising funds for the foundation but acknowledges that the payback is long-term.

Along with alumni, the foundation taps the largesse of former faculty, Our retirees are probably the biggest group of donors to make planned gifts, Abram said. This success underscores a point we often make at Inside Philanthropy, which is that current and former faculty members can be a surprisingly strong source of gifts.

Related: University Professor as Donor: A Case Study at Villanova

As for other funding streams, Abram said that grants have not been a huge part of the picture, "although that is something we will be concentrating on as the years go by." She said grants often focus on specific programs, like a three-year, $300,000 grant that PCC landed from a nonprofit, Los Angeles Universal Preschool, to train child development workers. One program that has attracted ongoing support from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation is the James R. Galbraith Endowed Speech Scholarship Endowed Journalism Scholarship. Galbraith is an alumnus and matches the Hilton gifts himself.

About 90 percent of outlays from the Pasadena City College Foundation go to student scholarships. And Abram and her team have been keen to showcase how such funding is changing lives. One thing that we have done recently is to pull our scholarship recipients together to be greeters, ushers or speakers at some of our donor events so that donors have the opportunity to see some of the students they have helped, Abram said. "The more we find that connectedness can happen, the deeper the relationship the more meaningful that donation becomes.

This is a point we've heard a lot from other savvy fundraisers, who devote considerable attention to ensuring that donors and their beneficiaries get to know each other.

Meanwhile, Abram and her team are also focused on the bread and butter of all campus development departments, which is ensuring that PCC is building relationships with current and future donors. One thing she's concluded is that ultimately a schools fundraising success is dependent on what happens in the classroom. If the student has had a great experience at PCC if a faculty member has had a great experience, you are building two donors there.

Meanwhile, she feels that, as with all organizations asking for funding, PCC has to show the return that donors are getting on their investment. Just to say you have a great cause is not enough. You have to prove that youre effective in moving the needle with your organization, Abram said. We really have to focus on the outcomes and be able to articulate that message when we are raising money.

Related: What's the Secret to This Community College's Fundraising Success?
Burma Court Accepts CCTV Footage in U Ko Ni Murder Trial

Four detained suspects accused of involvement in the assassination of lawyer U Ko Ni appeared at the Yangon's Northern District Court in Insein on Mar. 24. / Myo Min Soe / The Irrawaddy

YANGON  Yangons Northern District Court on Friday accepted CCTV footage as electronic evidence in the trial for the murder of the National League for Democracy legal adviser U Ko Ni.

The prominent Muslim lawyer U Ko Ni was shot by gunman Kyi Lin outside Yangon International Airport on the afternoon of Jan. 29. Police have detained four suspects: gunman Kyi Lin, and alleged co-conspirators Zeya Phyo, Aung Win Zaw and Aung Win Tun.

An additional man, Aung Win Khaing, is suspected of being the primary conspirator in the murder but remains at large. According to a police statement, he is the brother of the two detained suspects Aung Win Zaw and Aung Win Tun, and was last seen in Naypyitaw.

The CCTV footage captured the assault and the movements of alleged co-conspirator Aung Win Zaw and gunman Kyi Lin at the airport. A total of 73 photos, along with the footage captured by 196 security cameras, was presented by the airport CCTV control room supervisor U Zaw Zaw Lwin.

The three judges checked the footage during the court hearing in front of the lawyers, trial attendees, and observers on Friday. A total of five witnesses, including police officers, testified.

The CCTV footage showed how conspirators collaborated with each other at the airport on that day, lawyer U Nay La, who represents U Ko Nis family, told the media after the court hearing adjourned on Friday at Insein Townships Northern District Court.

The case is becoming clearer, he added.

The CCTV control room supervisor U Zaw Zaw Lwin will testify at the next court hearing on September 1.

Shooter Kyi Lin and the three alleged co-perpetrators are being charged under Article 302 of Myanmars Penal Code for murder.

Zeya Phyo, a former military intelligence officer, is also charged under Article 67 of the Telecommunications Law for the possession of restricted telecommunications equipment and Article 468 of the Penal Code for the forgery of national identity cards.

Two of the suspectsKyi Lin and Aung Win Zaware also being charged under Article 19(d) and (f) of the countrys 1878 Arms Act for possession and transportation of illegal arms, in addition to the murder charge.
Burma Death Toll Rises in Rakhine

Houses burn in northern Rakhine State / State Counsellors Office / Facebook

YANGON Muslim militant attacks on 31 police and military targets in Maungdaw, Buthidaung, and Rathedaung townships in northern Rakhine on Thursday night and Friday left at least 71 dead, including 10 policemen, one soldier, and one immigration officer as well as 59 suspected militants, according to a State Counselors Office statement released Friday afternoon.

An earlier statement on the official Facebook page of the State Counselors Office Information Committee said, The extremist Bengali insurgents attacked a police station in Maungdaw region in northern Rakhine state with a handmade bomb explosive and held coordinated attacks on several police posts at 1 a.m.

The Rohingya Muslim community in Rakhine is referred to by many, including the government, as Bengali to suggest they are interlopers from Bangladesh.

Some 150 men allegedly attacked Infantry Base 552 and an explosive device was used in an attack in Maungdaw, according to the State Counselors Office.

Another 150 men allegedly attacked a police station at Taung Bazaar at 3 a.m. and the bodies of six suspected attackers were found, according to a statement on the Facebook page of the Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing.

A number of ethnic Rakhine Buddhists fled their villages in Taung Bazaar and were taking refuge in a monastery, according to a local journalist.

Residents fled fires in Chein Khar Li and Zay Di Pyin villages in Rathedaung Township on Friday, according to the statement released by the Commander-in-Chiefs Office.

The attacks took place one day after an advisory commission led by the former UN chief Kofi Annan finished its year-long mandate to advise State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyis government on long-term solutions for the ethnically and religiously divided Rakhine State.

In its final report, the commission recommended holding the Myanmar Army to account on accusations of human rights abuses, as well accelerating citizenship programs.

Kofi Annan denounced the attacks in a statement released on Friday, calling them a worrying escalation of violence, and urged security forces to exercise restraint in dealing with the situation.

The Resident Coordinator of the United Nations in Myanmar Renata Lok-Dessallien also released a statement on Friday condemning the attacks and called on all parties to refrain from violence and resolve issues through dialogue.

Both the British and the US embassies also released statements denouncing the attacks, with the US Embassy adding: We also urge all communities to ensure their rhetoric and their actions contribute to restoration of peace and stability.

A government statement listed the 31 locations that had come under attackincluding Koe Tan Kauk in Rathedaung, which was also attacked by militants in October 2016.

Maungdaw regional lawmaker from the Arakan National Party (ANP) U Maung Ohn said, I have no words to express how I feel about this incident, but added that he had heard that at least 10 had been killed.

He condemned the Lower House for voting down an ANP proposal to intensify administrative and security measures in northern Rakhine State on Thursday.

This is issue is not just of concern to Rakhine: every member of Parliament should consider the case as a national affair, U Maung Ohn told The Irrawaddy, noting that many lawmakers from the ruling National League for Democracy party have never visited the conflict-torn region.

A Twitter account claimed by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), a group that says it is fighting against Rohingya persecution, posted a statement on Friday morning saying that they had undertaken defensive actions against security forces in more than 25 locations, but did not provide details on any confrontations.

The move, ARSA said, followed a two-week blockade by the authorities on food for Muslims in Rathedaung Township, and increased violence by the military in Rathedaung and Maungdaw against Rohingya communities.

In Fridays statement, the group vowed that they would continue [their] struggle. In previous statements dating back to May, statements from the ARSA Twitter account maintain that the group was committed to avoiding civilian targets.

In October 2016, Harakah al-Yaqinmeaning Faith Movement, and the name by which the ARSA was formerly knownclaimed responsibility for attacks on three border police outposts, killing nine policemen.

In response to the attacks, the police and military initiated clearance operations in northern Rakhine State, displacing more than 70,000 Rohingya to Bangladesh, and facing allegations by international rights groups of atrocities including extrajudicial killings, torture and rape.
Burma Judge Mulls Evidence in Trial of Three Journalists

The three reporters at their fifth trial in Hsipaw on Friday. / Zaw Zaw / The Irrawaddy

HSIPAW, Shan StateThe judge from Hsipaw Township Court will decide next week whether to accept evidence submitted by a military plaintiff in the trial of three detained journalists from The Irrawaddy and Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) under the Unlawful Association Act.

During their fifth trial on Friday, judge U Kyaw Thu Moe said the court needed to check a compact disk submitted last week by Maj. Myat Maw Aung of the 506 Light Infantry Unit in Hsipaw.

The major testified last week that the CD had photos related to the Taang National Liberation Army (TNLA) copied from the confiscated cameras and phones of the three journalists after their detention.

Lawi Weng of The Irrawaddy, and U Aye Naing and U Pyae Phone Aung from the DVB, have been in custody in northern Shan States Hsipaw Prison since they were arrested along with three other men by the Myanmar Army on June 26 as they returned from covering a drug-burning ceremony hosted by the TNLA.

The military accused them of unlawful association with the ethnic armed group, who they classified as an outlawed organization.

The three journalists have been on trial at Hsipaw Township Court for more than a month.

According to Maj. Myat Maw Aungs testimonial at the court last week, he said the army copied every picture related to the TNLA onto a CD.

After that, apart from their personal pictures, we deleted [the TNLA pictures] right in front of [the journalists]. We did it according to an instruction from upstairs, he said.

But the defendants lawyers rejected his submission, arguing the CD was merely secondary evidence because the plaintiff could not provide any original pictures.

The judge said on Friday he would not be able to reach a verdict until the contents of the CD were analysed to see whether it relates to the case.

So we will review the contents at next weeks trial to see whether it is acceptable as evidence, said U Kyaw Thu Moe.

The defendants lawyers also submitted bail appeals on the same day despite two previous failed attempts.

The judge will rule on the third appeal for bail and give the verdict on the acceptance of the CD as evidence on Sep. 1.
Burma Lower House Votes Down ANP Proposal to Tighten Security in Rakhine

A Myanmar border guard police officer stands guard in Taung Bazar village, Buthidaung Township, northern Rakhine State, on July 13, 2017. / Reuters

NAYPYITAW  The Lower House voted down a proposal to intensify administrative and security methods in northern Rakhine State on Thursday.

The proposal was tabled by Arakan National Party (ANP) lawmaker Daw Khin Saw Wai of Rathedaung Township last Friday.

Twenty-eight lawmakers and military representatives debated her proposal before it was put to a vote. The outcome of the vote was 150 in favor, 232 against and 6 abstentions.

The ANP, opposition Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) and the military debated in favor of the proposal.

U Oo Hla Saw of the ANP argued that the Rakhine issue has gone beyond the problem of rule of law but developed into a national security and sovereignty issue.

The warfare is complicated with political, religious and military issues, along with territorial expansion and false history, he said, referring to a nationalist argument that the Rohingya have never been a recognized ethnic group in Myanmar.

Former Lt-Gen Thaung Aye of the USDP called for summoning a National Defense and Security Council (NDSC) meeting to discuss the issue. The NDSC is an 11-member council that holds the highest authority for national security issues in the country.

Such an issue, which could potentially harm sovereignty, calls for a meeting of the NDSC that includes government, parliamentary speakers and military leaders to find a solution, he said.

Lower House Speaker U Win Myint responded that it was the mandate of the president to summon a NDSC meeting and asked U Thaung Aye to withdraw his statement, saying that his call for such a meeting had nothing to do with the proposal in question.

U Thaung Aye then refused to withdraw his statement. But U Win Myint declared that he withdrew it with his authority as the parliamentary speaker.

The NLD-led government has not summoned a NDSC meeting since it took power, he told reporters after the session. According to U Thaung Aye, more than 200 NDSC meetings were summoned under the previous government, sometimes three meetings within a week.

I would like to suggest that rather than putting human rights to the fore in response to pressures from the international community, [authorities] should focus on the sovereignty of the country, and the safety of local Arakanese people in handling the Rakhine issue, argued military representative Maj Aung Kyaw Hnin.

He said the government should consult, cooperate with and seek advice from those who have experience in security sector regarding the Rakhine issue.

According to reports that have yet to be confirmed, militants are plotting to rally villagers to attack security forces in case they come into the villages where they are based, said military representative Lt-Col Zaw Tun Oo.

Military representative Col Tun Myat Shwe also questioned the discovery of supplies with the UN logo in hideouts on the Mayu Mountain Range.

If Parliament only records the proposal through voting, it has to take responsibility for the consequences. Local ethnic people [of Rakhine] and all citizens will not be satisfied with the action of Parliament, military representative Lt-Col Zaw Tun Oo told Parliament on Thursday.

Lower House Speaker U Win Myint asked him to withdraw his statement, saying that it overstepped the authority of lawmakers. And the military representative backtracked his argument.

Lawmakers from the NLD, however, defended that the government was trying its best to properly handle the issue.

Lawmaker Daw Ni Ni May Myint of the NLD pointed out that State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi chairs the Central Committee on the Implementation of Peace, Stability and Development of Rakhine State, while former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annans commission was assigned to provide input and Vice-President U Myint Swes commission to investigate on the ground.

Looking at this, it is clear that the countrys leadership views the Rakhine issue as a problem of the entire country, she said.

Lawmaker U Maung Myint of the USDP called for swiftly finishing the fencing of a remaining 40 miles on the Myanmar-Bangladesh border, and increasing security forces along the border.

If the government allows us, well finish the fencing within one year with our own funds, he told Parliament.

He also called for the implementation of a citizenship verification process according to the 1982 Citizenship Law, and applying a population control lawone of the race and religion protection lawsin Rakhine State.

Daw Pyone Kathy Naing of the NLD said the government was undertaking short- and long-term plans to resolve the Rakhine issue, and that it was carrying out short-term plans to alleviate the problem and long-term plans to solve the root causes.

Short-term plans include increasing security measures such as clearance operations, and the long-term plan focuses on stabilizing civil administration through political and social undertakings, she said.

Despite the military representatives discussion, Deputy Minister for Home Affairs Lt-Gen Kyaw Swe, who came and answered the proposal, asked Parliament to record the proposal.

As the Union government and Rakhine State government have formed necessary committees, and Tatmadaw, police, departments, community elders, civil society organizations, and locals are working in cooperation to ensure security, peace and stability, rule of law, and regional development, Id say the proposal should be recorded, he said.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.
Burma Muslim Militants Stage Major Attack in Rakhine

A police station set on fire by alleged militants. / Commander-in-Chief / Facebook

YANGON  At least 10 police and one Myanmar Army soldier were killed in attacks on 24 border guard posts, police stations, and army bases by Muslim militants in Maungdaw, Buthidaung and Rathedaung townships in northern Rakhine State on Thursday night and Friday morning, according to a statement from Myanmar Army Commander-in-Chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing on Friday.

Five firearms were looted by the attackers and the bodies of 15 suspected militants were found, it said, adding that fighting was ongoing. It is the largest attack by Rohingya Muslim militants since assaults on border guard posts in October 2016.

An earlier statement on the official Facebook page of the State Counselors Office Information Committee said the extremist Bengali insurgents attacked a police station in Maungdaw region in northern Rakhine state with a handmade bomb explosive and held coordinated attacks on several police posts at 1 a.m.

The Rohingya Muslim community in Rakhine is referred to by many, including the government, as Bengali to suggest they are interlopers from Bangladesh.

Some 150 men allegedly attacked Infantry Base 552 and an explosive device was used in an attack in Maungdaw, according to the State Counselors Office statement.

Another 150 men allegedly attacked a police station at Taung Bazaar at 3 a.m. and the bodies of six suspected attackers were found, according to the commander-in-chiefs statement.

A number of ethnic Rakhine Buddhists fled their villages in Taung Bazaar and were taking refuge in a monastery, according to a local journalist.

The attacks took place one day after an advisory commission led by the former UN chief Kofi Annan finished its year-long mandate to advise State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyis government on long-term solutions for the ethnically and religiously divided Rakhine State. In its final report, the commission recommended holding the Myanmar Army to account on accusations of human rights abuses, as well accelerating citizenship programs.

Varying Reports of Casualties

The government statement listed the 24 locations that had come under attackincluding Koe Tan Kauk in Rathedaung, which was also attacked by militants in October 2016. It said attacks were ongoing at the time of the statements release early Friday morning.

Police Maj. Aung Win of Maungdaw Border Police Headquarters No. 1 in Kyee Kan Pyin confirmed the attack to The Irrawaddy, but would not comment on the number of deaths.

Arakan National Party (ANP) Chairman U Khin Maung Than, based in Maungdaw, said the attacks broke out at 12:00 a.m. on Friday and that one attack reportedly occurred in the No. 5 Quarter of downtown Maungdaw.

According to him, at least six had been killed and clashes were continuing in southern Maungdaw, he added.

Maungdaw regional lawmaker from the ANP U Maung Ohn said, I have no words to express how I feel about this incident, but added that he had heard that at least ten had been killed.

He condemned the Lower House for voting down an ANP proposal to intensify administrative and security methods in northern Rakhine State on Thursday.

This is issue is not just of concern to Rakhine: every member of Parliament should consider the case as a national affair, U Maung Ohn told The Irrawaddy, noting that many lawmakers from the ruling National League for Democracy party have never visited the conflict-torn region.

Responsibility Claimed

A Twitter account claimed by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), a group that says it is fighting against Rohingya persecution, posted a statement on Friday morning saying that they had undertaken defensive actions against security forces in more than 25 locations, but did not provide details on any confrontations.

The move, ARSA said, followed a two-week blockade by the authorities on food for Muslims in Rathedaung Township, and increased violence by the military in Rathedaung and Maungdaw against Rohingya communities.

In Fridays statement, the group vowed that they would continue [their] struggle. In previous statements dating back to May, statements from the ARSA Twitter account maintain that the group was committed to avoiding civilian targets.

In October 2016, Harakah al-Yaqinmeaning Faith Movement, and the name by which the ARSA was formerly knownclaimed responsibility for attacks on three border police outposts, killing nine policemen. In response to the attacks, the police and military initiated clearance operations in northern Rakhine State, displacing more than 70,000 Rohingya to Bangladesh, and facing allegations by international rights groups of atrocities including extrajudicial killings, torture and rape.
Burma State Counselor Condemns Attacks in Rakhine

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. / Myanmar State Counsellor Office / Facebook

YANGON  Myanmar State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi condemned Fridays attacks in northern Rakhine State that saw 12 members of security forces and one immigration officer killed after Muslim militants raided 30 police and military targets.

I strongly condemn todays brutal attacks by terrorists on security forces in Rakhine State, said she in a statement released on Friday evening.

Following a series of violent attacks in Rakhine State on Friday morning, the State Counselor held an urgent meeting with Union ministers of defense, home affairs and border affairs, as well as her national security adviser and deputy minister from the Presidents Office in Naypyitaw on Friday afternoon.

According to a statement from the State Counselors Office, members of the security forces evacuated 600 Buddhist Arakanese residents from several villages in Buthidaung and Maungdaw townships, citing concerns for their safety.

Attacks on around 30 police outposts in Maungdaw, Buthidaung and Rathedaung townships on Friday caused the deaths of 10 policemen, one soldier, one immigration officer and 59 suspected militants.

In an additional statement from the State Counselors Office on Friday evening, Myanmars Counter-Terrorism Bureauwith the backing of the Union governmentannounced that any individuals involved in the attacks would be classified as members of a terrorist organization. Specifically mentioned was the ARSA (Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army), believed to be responsible for the attacks.

In her original statement, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi commended the members of the police and military who she described as acting with courage in the face of many challenges.

She suggested that the actions of militants were purportedly carried out to further undermine government action recommended by the Kofi Annan-led Rakhine State Advisory Commission on Thursday.

It is clear that todays attacks are a calculated attempt to undermine the efforts of those seeking to build peace and harmony in Rakhine State. We must not allow our work to be derailed by the violent actions of extremists, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is quoted as saying in the press release.

The statement also said that the government had been aware of a risk of attacks coinciding with the release of the commissions final report, and that the current administration remains committed to finding meaningful and lasting solutions for conflict-torn Rakhine.
Burma Yangon Govt Invites Bids for Cashless Payment on Buses

Yangon commuters wait for buses in the hub of the city near Sule Pagoda on Jan. 19. / Tin Htet Paing / The Irrawaddy

YANGON  Yangon Regions government invited consortium bids on Friday for a cashless payment system to service the citys public transport system, with the aim of launching a pilot scheme next February, its tender scrutinizing board told The Irrawaddy.

As part of its effort to reform the former capitals mass transit service, the regional government launched the Yangon Bus Service (YBS), replacing 300 bus lines under the Yangon Motor Vehicles Supervisory Committeeknown as Ma Hta Thaon Jan. 16.

The new systemoperating under the management of the Yangon Region Transport Authority (YRTA)downsized the bus lines to about 80 to stop overlapping routes and replaced bus conductors with fare boxes.

A 10-person scrutinizing board has been formed for the shift to a card payment platform  the Yangon Payment Service (YPS). It is chaired by the regional governments planning and finance minister U Myint Thaung and co-chaired by its electricity, industry and transportation minister Daw Nilar Kyaw and Karen ethnic affairs minister Naw Pan Thinzar Myo.

The board will review tender proposals from different consortiums before choosing finalists for the regional government cabinet to consider. The cabinet will then pick two tender winners in December for the automated fare collection, U Chit Tun Pe, a board member and the principal of Tun Group Asia advisory firm, told The Irrawaddy.

The purpose of choosing two consortiums is to create competition between the service providers, U Chit Tun Pe said. We are worried about service quality if there is only one group operating under the platform with no competition.

The two winning consortiums will sign five-year contracts in the last week of December. They will issue YPS cards, and install machines and the technology for the operation, which will initially be tested on 4,000 buses.

Once the system is established, said U Chit Tun Pe, it may be implemented on the citys new water buses depending on an agreement between the government and the ferry operator.

YBS will gradually progress to a cashless payment system, although it will accept cash in the initial months of the new system, according to U Chit Tun Pe.

The bidding consortiums can choose banks to issue cards and receive payments, but Ayeyarwady (AYA) Bank, owned by tycoon U Zaw Zaw, will operate as a settlement bank to manage payment transactions between the card issuers and bus operators, according to the tender scrutinizing board.

U Chit Tun Pe told The Irrawaddy that YRTA has authorized AYA Bank to collect and deposit bus fares into the accounts of the bus operators since YBS was launched earlier this year. It will continue to use the bank as a medium when the system shifts from manual to electronic payments.

U Chit Tun Pe declined to comment on the selection of AYA Bank without a tender process, saying that he could not answer on behalf of YRTA. The Irrawaddy was unable to reach YRTA for comment at the time of this report.
Commentary The Man Behind the Burma Independence Army

Col. Keiji Suzuki. / Public Domain

He came to Yangon as a correspondent for the Yomiuri Shimbun, but his real mission was to lay the groundwork for the Imperial Japanese forces invasion of Myanmar.

Keiji Suzuki, a Japanese intelligence officer at the rank of colonel, was known as a dynamic officer passionate about his covert operation.

He was part of the Minami Kikan, a secret intelligence organization set up in Feb. 1941 to carry out special operationsa household name among former soldiers who once fought in Myanmars independence struggle.

In 1940, Col Suzuki took the name Minami Masuyo and arrived in Yangon, where his colleagues set up a secret office at 40 Judah Ezekiel Street and established contacts with young nationalists in Myanmar.

Suzuki was described as genuinely concerned for countries in Asia colonized by Europeans.

The Japanese colonel, who was dubbed Asias Lawrence of Arabia, attended Japans prestigious General Staff College, spoke fluent English, and was known to identify with independence struggles throughout the continent.

Recruitment of Young Nationalists

The Japanese Imperial Army, however, had no interest in saving Myanmar from the British: the Japanese wanted to cut off the Burma Road, through which the British were sending military assistance, supplies and weapons to China.

Before coming to Yangon, Keiji Suzuki developed connections with prominent members of Myanmars thakin movement nationalist activists and students pushing for Myanmars independenceas well as those living in Japan.

The irony is that the thakinsmeaning masters, to indicate that they were masters of their own nationfound that they had more in common with the Chinese nationalists than Japanese militarists.

In fact, many progressive, educated and left-leaning thakins, including young Thakin Aung San, father of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, did not agree with what Japanese forces had done in their invasion of China.

However, they were pragmatic, and that played a major role in their quest for independence. To achieve this, Myanmar nationalists were ready to accept assistance from any quarter.

Meanwhile, the Japanese propaganda machine was in full swing in British-occupied Myanmar; Japans slogan of Asia for Asians intersected with growing anti-British sentiment in the country.

In Yangon, Col Suzuki met Myanmar nationalists who were willing to take up arms. They were naive, but idealistic and committed. A decade later, those young nationalists became prominent politicians and independence heroes.

Aung Sanalready a leading figure in the underground movementwas contemplating armed struggle to regain independence, but would require outside assistance. A fugitive from the British authorities, Aung San left Myanmar secretly to seek help abroad.

According to the book Burma and Japan Since 1940, by Donald M. Seekins, the then head of the Japan-Burma Friendship Society Dr. Thein Maung said that a Japanese diplomat planned Aung Sans escape to Amoy, now known as Xiamen, in southern China.

In her biography of her father, Aung San of Burma, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi wrote that his original intentions were to procure support from communists in China, and not from Japan.

In any case, Aung San and a colleague, Than Myaing, were stranded for months in Amoy. Suzuki sent out Japanese agents to rescue the duo and fly them to Tokyo.

In Tokyo, Aung San made the decision to work with the Japanese.

Dr. Maung Maung, a subordinate and biographer of Gen Ne Win, interviewed 62-year-old Keiji Suzuki at his home in Hamamatsu, Japan in the 1950s. He wrote of Suzukis account of Aung San and Than Myaings arrival in Tokyo in November: they were dressed only in summer clothes and had no passports. He told Dr. Maung Maung that among Myanmar nationalists there were two schools of thought on seeking foreign aid: one was to form an alliance with China or Russia, and another favored Japan. The first group was in the majority, he believed.

Suzukis observation of Aung San was that he was honest and brave, but that the then 25-year-old lacked maturity. He asked Aung San to draft a blueprint for a free Burma. Some scholars later questioned whether the blueprint that was forwarded to the Japanese headquarters was originally written by Aung San, or whether it had been modified by Suzuki in an effort to please his superiors.

The young Aung San learned to wear Japanese traditional clothing, speak the language, and even took a Japanese name. In historian Thant Myint-Us The River of Lost Footsteps, he describes him as apparently getting swept away in all the fascist euphoria surrounding him, but notes that his commitment remained to independence for Myanmar.

Suzukis relations with his own military headquarters were also in question. Some historical accounts suggest that there was no higher-level interest in Aung San and his colleague Hla Myaing: Suzuki reported the arrival of the two Myanmar activists in Japan to General Staff but was initially told no support would be provided. Suzuki began to receive serious attention from the imperial headquarters when the British reopened the Burma Road to send supplies to China. Only then did a plan to liberate Myanmar begin in Tokyo.

Aung San and other young nationalistsmostly Burmanswere secretly brought to Hainan Island to receive intensive military training in mid-1941, months before the Pacific War began with the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor on Dec. 8 of that year.

Those with Aung San included Bo Let Ya, Bo Set Kya, and Bo Ne Win, all in their 20s. They were among those later known as the Thirty Comrades.

According to one of the Thirty Comrades, Kyaw Zawthen 21, and later a leading army officer in 1950sthe training was harsh. At times, they thought of rebelling or joining Chinese communist insurgents hiding out on the island. In his memoirs, he mentioned that at one point, a Japanese officer brought out a Chinese prisoner of war on whom to practice bayonet training. The practice was later documented in Myanmar when Burmese independence fighters captured suspected criminals and collaborators with allied forces.

Commander Thunderbolt

The Burma Independence Army (BIA) was formed in December 1941 in Bangkok, before the Thirty Comrades return to Myanmar. Suzuki was the groups commander in chief, with the rank of General, and Aung San served below him as Chief of Staff.

The Japanese promised that as soon as the forces crossed Myanmars eastern border and reached Moulmein (now Mawlamyine), independence would be announced. It was not.

Before entering Myanmar, the Thirty Comrades and Suzuki chose noms de guerre: Aung San became Bo Teza.

Suzuki also chose a Burmese name: Bo Mogyo, or Thunderbolt. There was a reason behind it: a popular ta baung, or Burmese prophecy, widely shared among Myanmar people suggested that a thunderbolt would eventually strike down the umbrella, a symbol of British colonial rule.

Suzuki not only identified himself as this savior, but also spoke of being a descendent of Prince Myingun, who was exiled from the Burmese royal family.

Before they marched on Myanmar, the Thirty Comrades held a thwe thauk ceremony in a house in Bangkok, a tradition among soldiers in which a small amount of their blood was mixed with liquor and then consumed by the group.

The initial BIA forces included Myanmar exiles and hundreds of Thai of Burmese origins. When the imperial headquarters asked Suzuki how he wanted assistance and arms for the BIA, Suzuki replied that he would need arms and equipment for 10,000 men but did not require any Japanese troops.

According to Suzuki, when they entered Myanmar they had 2,300 men and 300 tons of equipment.

Along with Japans 15th Army, they entered southern Myanmar and swiftly moved toward Moulmein. Suzuki and Aung San wanted to reach Yangon firstby March, the capital fell to Japanese forces. Speaking later to Dr. Maung Maung, Suzuki said that Aung Sans patriotism and honesty won over all of us in Japan, as well as on our march.

Before troops arrived in Yangon, Japanese planes bombed the city, forcing people to flee to the countryside. British and Indian populationsincluding soldiers, officers and civil servantsretreated west, to India. Shocking tales of a new master traveled fast to Yangon, including stories of Japanese solders abuses, including rape, torture, gruesome interrogations, lootings and extrajudicial killings. British and Indian troops destroyed strategic roads, bridges, and hospitals leaving little which could be of use to the enemy.

When the young Burmese nationalists aspirations of independence failed to materialize, they confronted Suzuki. He famously told then politician U Nuwho later became the Prime Ministerthat one could not beg for independence, but rather, had to proclaim it. Suzuki allegedly suggested that the Burmese forces form their own government and revolt against Japan. Aung San reportedly replied to him that as long as Suzuki was in the country, he would not undertake such a move.

In his own account to Maung Maung, Suzuki said he called in his own officers and asked they would follow him if he turned and fought the Japanese.

It is unclear why Suzuki would have encouraged such actionwhether he wanted the BIA to remain as his own army, away from the command of the Imperial Japanese forces, or whether he deeply romanticized the Myanmar nationalist struggle.

Either way, it did not go down well with Japan. In 1942, Suzuki was called back to Tokyo and Aung San became war minister.

The BIAoriginally formed in Japanwas re-organized into the Burma Defense Army (BDA), of which Aung San was the head. Japan declared independence for Myanmar from the British, but the Burmese continued to struggle for freedom from foreign domination, this time by the Japanese.

Massacre Under Japanese Occupation

Before departing Myanmar, Suzuki witnessed and was reportedly involved in volatile ethnic and racial conflict that remains a scar on the country today.

When BIA troops marched across the Thai border, Burmans frequently welcomed them, but ethnic minorities remained apprehensive. Many groups had large numbers of recruits by the British, including the Karen, Karenni, Chin and Kachin. As the British retreated, promising to return, Karen soldiers went back to their homes. BIA troops then came to disarm them, and confrontation was inevitable.

According to one account in Donald M. Seekins book, Suzuki ordered the BIA to destroy two large Karen villages, killing all the men, women and children with swords. It was an act of retribution, after one of his officers was killed in an attack by forces resistant to the Japanese. The same account was also described in Brig-Gen Kyaw Zaws memoirs, as he served under Col Suzuki when BIA and Minami Kikan officers ordered attacks on ethnic Karen villages in the Irrawaddy Delta.

The incident, Seekins wrote, ignited race war, with massacres continuing on both sides, until the Japanese army could rein in the hooligan element in the BIA,

In Myaungmya, South of Pathein in the Irrawaddy Delta, 400 Karen villages were destroyed and the death toll reached 1,800, according to Martin Smith, author of Burma: Insurgency and the Politics of Ethnicity. Members of the Thirty Comrades like Kyaw Zaw, as well as other independence era politicians, describe in their memoirs the crimes of this period, now remembered as the Myaungmya Massacres.

In some cases, BIA troops wanted to restore law and order as they saw fit. When they arrested suspected British collaborators, they simply put them on court martial and executed them in public, frequently with bayonets, as the Japanese had done.

Just before Myanmar gained its independence, Aung San himself was accused by a political rival of carrying out the summary execution of a village headman in Mon State who was accused of aiding the British as BIA troops moved into Myanmar.

In any case, the conflict was not confined to Karen State.

In April 1942, Japanese troops advanced into Rakhine State and reached Maungdaw Township, near the border with what was then British India, and is now Bangladesh. As the British retreated to India, Rakhine became a front line.

Local Arakanese Buddhists collaborated with the BIA and Japanese forces but the British recruited area Muslims to counter the Japanese.

Both armies, British and Japanese, exploited the frictions and animosity in the local population to further their own military aims, wrote scholar Moshe Yegar, in his book Between Integration and Secession: The Muslim Communities of the Southern Philippines, Southern Thailand, and Western Burma/Myanmar.

Communal strife and retaliation ensued between the two communities as thousands were killed or died of starvation under Japanese occupationMoshe Yegar estimates that as many as 20,000 people were lost regionally in the conflict. If this happened today, it would undoubtedly demand international intervention.

When countering Japanese and BIA forces, the Muslims of Arakan, wrote Moshe Yegar, played a valuable military role in reconnaissance missions, intelligence gathering, the rescue of downed aviators and raids on Japanese collaborators.

This support arguably enabled the British to recapture Maungdaw and later, all of Rakhine. Soon after independence, the Arakanese began a struggle for an independent state of their own, and Muslims began the Mujahid movement to join East Pakistan (Bangladesh).

Today, conflict and division in the region continue.

When Aung San turned against Japan in 1945, the Karen, Kachin and Karenni and other minorities received arms and assistance from the British to fight against retreating Japanese forces.

Karen and Karenni guerrillas were later estimated to have killed more than 12,500 Japanese troops retreating through the eastern hills, according to Martin Smith.

The majority of offensives were carried out by allied forces and Gen William Slim, who led the 14th Army and the campaign that eventually defeated the Japanese.

Lasting Friendship

Suzukis protege and former war minister Gen Aung San was assassinated in July 1947 at age 32. Seven years after they met in Tokyo, the young student activist had developed and demonstrated the qualities of a statesman as he matured and gained a stronger understanding of the complexities facing his country.

Bo Let Ya, one of Aung Sans more favored colleagues and a leading member of the Thirty Comrades, became the deputy minister of War Affairs and also served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense under Prime Minister U Nus administration. He was jailed by Ne Win shortly after the coup in 1962. After serving his prison term, he fled to the Thai-Myanmar border to join resistance forces and fight against Gen Ne Wins regime. Karen rebels in the jungle killed him in 1978.

Bo Ne Wins assignment in the BIA was to lead an advanced team into Myanmar to create disturbance and work behind enemy lines. In Hainan, he received training in sabotage and intelligence gathering; in 1962 he staged a coup and became head of the Revolutionary Council. Under his leadership, he built a much feared spy network throughout Myanmar.

Gen Ne Win has been condemned as one of the most repressive dictators in Asia. He ranand arguably ruinedthe troubled country until 1988 when his government faced a massive uprising. Disgraced, he resigned and died quietly in 2002 while his grandsons served lengthy jail terms under the military regime he had handed power to in the political turmoil of 1988.

Ne Win maintained close relations with Suzuki and Minami Kikan members until Suzuki passed away in 1967. Ne Win had invited him to Burma in 1966, one year earlier.

In 1981, Ne Win bestowed the remaining six veterans of the Minami Kikan with honorary awardsthe Aung San Tagun, or the Order of Aung San at the presidential palace in Yangon. Col Suzukis widow came to the ceremony.

After his coup, Ne Win still needed Japans assistance. Myanmar received more than US$200 million from 1955 to 1965. In addition, Tokyos Official Development Assistance (ODA) served as a vital lifeline to the Ne Win regime and its successors.

The country depended on Japans war reparations and ODA. Even after the 1988 massacre and bloody coup, Tokyo recognized the regime then known as the State Law and Order Restoration Council.

Even after he resigned as Burma Socialist Programme Party chairman in 1988, Ne Win held gatherings of old Minami Kikan members into the mid-1990s. It is believed that the Minami Kikan remained in contact with Myanmar governments until 1995.

In a 2014 trip to Japan, the Myanmar Armys Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing visited the tomb of Col Suzuki to pay his respects. In the minds of many Myanmar Army officers, Suzuki remained a key figure: the man behind the clandestine beginnings of the BIA and the nucleus of the legendary Thirty Comrades. A controversial figure to both his own mission and his countrys top brass, Suzuki continues to be remembered as influential in Myanmars historyhis and Japans direct involvement in Myanmars independence movement has had far reaching consequences.

Members of the thakin movement were originally unarmed, but these young politicians and activists soon found a resourceful foreign ally who was ready to assist them in liberating Myanmar. This no doubt changed the political dynamics in a country where some ethnic groups had once enjoyed relative autonomy and peace under British rule.

Today, all of the legendary Thirty Comrades have died, and many of Myanmars problems and complexities remained unresolved. The irony was that liberation brought more chaos, rebellion, and division, and a state run by the army, not the nations people.

Suzukis legacy lives on among the Burmese and the military generals, as does the notorious war machine and lingering conflict.

Aung Zaw is the founding editor-in-chief of The Irrawaddy.
Most people think Office Space is a cult hit movie from 1999, and while it is that, were talking about Australian co-working The Office Space successfully helping accelerate Australian businesses.

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Part of the Excelera software has been the implementation of an online meeting facility booking system where clients can manage their own room bookings, reducing almost 30% of the reception teams daily workload.

So, how has Excelera helped The Office Space put pedal to the medal in business efficiency and excellent?

The organisation explains that using the Excelera platform proved invaluable for The Office Space in terms of staff training, identifying operational inefficiencies and inaccuracies, implementing new systems, evolving the standard or service delivery, and providing clients with a seamless and consistent office experience".

And was there more? Of course!

A notable benefit to the business has been risk management so that knowledge and expertise would not be lost with natural staff turnover, and the development of strategies to effectively prevent issues or effectively address business issues as they arose through trouble shooting procedures.

In 2015, The Office Space explains that it replicated its serviced office model with Excelera as its platform, through their expansion to a second location in the prestigious Paramount House building in Surry Hills. Excelera assisted with streamlining the challenge of running two sites, and will form the blueprint for expansion into future locations.

David Kong, founder and developer of Excelera, said: Having the entire business knowledge base stored in a central location allowed The Office Space to save time and costs when training new employees, significantly reducing the time from several weeks to less than one week.

This greatly reduced the bottleneck that can occur when bringing in new staff, which was one of The Office Spaces primary concerns in expanding the business, and added significant value.

Clearly the magic of software has allowed Abracadabra to become Excelera, with the proof in the pudding of special sauces, business successes, frontiers conquered and captivated customers celebrating successes.

So, in an industry first, The Office Space and Excelera have joined forces to offer their services to the shared workspace industry, helping independent co-working spaces tap into over a decade of operating knowledge and cutting-edge platform technology.

This software platform and the operational procedures can be custom fit for any new or existing co-working space and then maintained via a licensing model, and is a great leg up for small to medium work space operators looking to stay competitive in an industry dominated by large international co-working and serviced office chains.

Exceleras makers say it was designed to be scalable, customisable and interconnected to give control to small businesses and compete against their larger counterparts, and that it is cloud based software for small business with a built-in CRM powering its series of applications: Sales Pipeline, Project Builder, Invoice Creator, Accounting Suite & Customer Support modules".

Customers get to choose the features needed depending on current requirements, with more applications able to be added later as the business grows.

The Office Space was founded in 2004 by creative leadership duo Boris and Naomi Tosic, and has led the charge for innovative shared offices through deep and deliberate investment in its spaces, people and technology".

The company says its primary purpose is to elevate the working experiences, professional development and business success of all its residents, and says it achieves this by creating intuitive work environments enhanced by architecture, design and art, bolstered by business support services, and activated through an engaging and informative program of events and activities".

Image description below  please turn phone horizontal to view full image if viewing on mobile.

The image above shows David Kong, founder and developer of Excelera, with Carmen Lincolne (operations manager) and Naomi Tosic (business manager) at The Office Space based in Surry Hills, Sydney.

Below the trio is an image of Paramount by The Office Space, located in Surry Hills, which is the winner of Best Designed Office in The World at the 2016 World Architecture Festival (INSIDE Awards) in Berlin, Germany.
Emphasising the fact that security is now a major selling point in the ICT space, Telstra has opened a security operations centre in Sydney.

The company plans to open a second centre in Melbourne soon, followed by other centres in global locations next year.

The centre will serve Telstras government and enterprise customers and the telco's cyber security strategy includes plans for:

Greater collaboration with government and large corporations to identify and respond to large scale threats.

The establishment of learning and development programmes to build awareness and knowledge of cyber security amongst company workforces.

Staff at work in the Telstra security operations centre in Sydney.

Telstra chief executive Andy Penn said the Sydney centre was "a critical step" in Telstras own cyber security strategy and would make an an important contribution to a more cyber secure Australia.

Cyber security is a team sport requiring the collaboration of government, regulators and businesses to be successful," he said.

"We all need to work together to find solutions that will help businesses and individuals better protect themselves from growing cyber security threats."

The centres aim to provide business customers with security teams and increased visibility and insight for managing their business risk.

The company said its 2017 Cyber Security Report showed that the rate of cyber crime had doubled in the past 12 months, with almost 60% of organisations in Australia surveyed detecting a security incident at least monthly in 2016.

"The security environment continues to evolve rapidly, in line with technology advancements and new, organised threats. In response, our centrally located centres will help customers gain visibility of their security posture and react more effectively to threats," said Penn.

The global ambition for our centres is to provide customers with around-the-clock cyber security management."

Penn said in the wake of recent ransomware attacks, it was apparent that no organisation could provide a safe environment on its own, adding that the government had set the agenda with a cyber security strategy which Telstra fully supported.

Our role now is to help turn this intent into action by providing our customers with the products and services that will deliver a more secure operating environment for all Australians, he said.

Telstra also plans to educate and protect the community by driving awareness and collaborating with other leading Australian businesses on best practice for cyber security.

Penn said the company understood the need for cyber safety in the community. "Over one third of Australian teenagers have personally experienced cyber bullying and the work were doing with the Alannah & Madeline Foundation and PROJECT ROCKIT aims to educate families and empower young people to take action on cyber bullying and online safety," he said.

Photos: courtesy Telstra
With LGs sales not seeing the stellar heights of its major South Korean competitor, can LGs budget smartphone with 18:9 aspect ratio screen finally break the mould and go bigger than Ben Hur?

When I saw the wallpaper for LGs new Q6 smartphone, the little brother to the G6, I didnt just see the number six, but as youll see from the image below, I saw the angry man of LG smartphones staring back at me.

You see, its no secret that LG has put out some pretty fantastic phones over the past few years. From the big brand names, was first with Laser focus, super fast cameras. It was first with a curved back. It had wireless charging before most others.

LG was first to deliver a really cool, multi-modularised mobile smartphone in the G5, and then, sadly, LG was first to abandon on-sale modularisation from its mountainous potential to a molehill of missed opportunity.

LG was then first to bring on the super widescreen revolution with the G6, beating Samsung to the punch but, like Rodney Dangerfield, still not getting any respect.

So, maybe this time, just maybe, LG can steal a leap on its competitors by being first of the big and exciting brand names to make it big with an affordable 18:9 big screen model, at prices way below Samsung, Apple or anyone else is going to have them available for in the foreseeable near future.

Look, all of the details of the Q6 can be seen, read and heard in your mind as you read to yourself by perusing my article entitled: LG Q6: less is more to beat Note8 out the door.

At just $399 in Australia, the Q6 clearly does not offer the same raw power as the new Note8, and the Q6s 5.5-inch screen, once considering ginormously huge, is now not as large as it once was, nor is it as large as the Note8s massive 6.3-incher.

But, as any smaller sized phone will surely tell you, its not the size that counts, but what you do with it and your 18:9 aspect ratio, and so perhaps this is yet another reason why LGs Q6 is the angry man of smartphones, mad as hell and not gonna take it anymore, not satisfied to be just another also-ran in the smartphone world but a smartphone of popularity!

A smartphone that people desire! One that gives them an 18:9 they can actually afford and continue using without taking out a small mortgage to pay for.

One that lets them see more and scroll less without worrying theres just so much less in their wallets than with the competing, overpowered flagships.

Only time will tell whether LGs Q6 will resonate with the people as much as he should, for just to see the playful anger in his eyes is to know that the Q6 isnt for mucking around. Its not for making friends with Motorolas or HTCs or Nokias, its not for trying to one up Samsungs or Nokias.

No, it wants to make friends with you. Will Australians, Americans, Britons, Canadians, South Americans, Europeans, Asians, Russians, East Europeans, Islanders, New Zealanders and others take to this phone, and make it theirs?

Well just have to wait and see. LG keeps telling us that lifes good. Perhaps if only a few more smartphone buyers listened, they might find out for themselves that this is true. And LG might actually sell a few more phones this time around than ever before.

Good luck, Q6 angry man. I hope you find happiness soon in the hands of happy buyers, and that you can finally live happily ever after, with a big smile on your dial as below  transforming you into Cheeky Man!

Well, until the Q7 arrives, of course.
A number of Android trojans that steal money from those who use WAP billing  mobile payments that bill the user through his/her mobile bill  have been found by a researcher at Kaspersky Lab.

WAP billing means the user does not have to use credit card details or set up any form of authentication credentials.

Kaspersky's Roman Unuchek said that the billing mechanism was similar to that for premium SMS messages with the difference being that the trojan only needed to click a button on a Web page.

The trojans which were found recently targeted users in Russia and India. They had apparently been in development since the end of 2016 but came to prominence only in the second quarter of 2017.

While Kaspersky found that about 40% of the users who were attacked were in India, a total of about 5000 infected devices were tracked in 48 countries in July.

Unuchek said these trojans first turned off Wi-Fi and turned on the device's mobile Internet connection.

"They do this because WAP-billing works only through mobile Internet. Then they open a URL which redirects to the page with WAP-billing. Usually, trojans load such pages and click on buttons using JavaScript files. After that they need to delete

incoming SMS messages containing information about subscriptions from the mobile network operator," he said.

Some of these trojans had the ability to send premium SMS messages and some exploited administration rights on the infected device to make it difficult for the user to delete the malware.

One of the trojans, given the name Xafekopy, was distributed through advertisements that claimed it was a useful app, helping to optimise battery use.

Other trojans identified had the names Podec and Ubsod.
The two biggest parasites in the digital world, Facebook and Google, have offered a sop to online publishers: we will allow the free articles of yours, that we exploit to make our money, offer a means of subscribing to your publications.

And for that, online publishers are supposed to genuflect and be grateful.

It's akin to a highway robber holding up a man and telling him, "I will only take your money, I will not inflict any bodily harm on you." For that, the man is supposed to weep with gratitude and praise his attacker.

In what is one of the most hypocritical statements of the digital age  and there have been some whoppers, mind you  Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg wrote recently: "If people subscribe after seeing news stories on Facebook, the money will go directly to publishers who work hard to uncover the truth, and Facebook won't take a cut."

For that, online publishers are supposed to shout: "Hallelujah!"

This kid uses material that he did not pay a red cent for and makes billions. Then he makes a statement like the one above. That is chutzpah as the original creator of the word intended it to mean.

Google is not far behind. Its founders, Sergei Brin and Larry Page, keep their public appearances to the minimum and have their own patsies like Sundar Pichai and Eric Schmidt who appear in public and make soothing noises that mean nothing.

But their mentality is the same: make money off other people's creativeness and then act as though they are doing the world a favour. One could be accused of making the biggest understatement of all time in calling them parasites.

However they are not the only hypocrites paying lip service to "saving" journalism. The Australian Senate is in the process of holding what it calls an inquiry into the future of public interest journalism; the sub-title of the inquiry is "Impact of search engines, social media and disinformation on journalism in Australia".

So far, there have been two hearings, the second being on 21 August. The output from each comes to about 70 A4 pages. Both Google and Facebook have been repeatedly identified as major causes for the disappearance of thousands of journalist jobs.

But the august bunch of senators who were at the most recent session of the inquiry  Sam Dastyari, Lisa Singh, Nick Xenophon and Sarah Hanson-Young  are unwilling to consider a levy on the two companies for the money they make for nothing.

And there are no government representatives there. I guess the ruling MPs and senators are reluctant to fight for journalism  the same thing that enables many low-lifes to get their messages out  because they would then be unable to land a cushy job with this corporation or that when they are voted out some time in the future.

Mind you, it is very doubtful if any of Dastyari, Hanson-Young, Singh and Xenophon would back away from supporting a law that decreed the payment of fines by those who download films or any other copyrighted material from the Web. It is essentially the same thing  using someone else's copyrighted content gratis.

But there is always one rule for the individual and an entirely different one for behemoths that steal in broad daylight. Did any of the bankers who caused the global financial crisis go to jail?

The inquiry is a farce because the people who are called to testify before are mostly a bunch of rent-seekers. I am yet to see a single journalist (a real one) who has been affected by the daylight robbery practised by Google and Facebook being called up to tell the truth about what it feels like to be unable to pay one's bills because a giant corporation stole one's lunch.

But like all inquiries, I am sure the senators will create a nicely bound report, present it at a press conference at which the mainstream media will be present, and then hold their peace forever.

And, don't forget, there is just a chance than one in a thousand of those "subscribe to our publication" buttons so graciously displayed by Facebook and Google will bring in some moolah. Man, I am an ungrateful son-of-a-bitch, aren't I?
WikiLeaks has released details of a CIA project known as ExpressLane which enabled the agency to steal biometric data from its liaison services such as the NSA, Department of Homeland Security, and the FBI.

The release was part of its ongoing Vault 7 document dump which was kicked off on 7 March. The tool only works on computers running Windows.

The whistleblower website said the CIA's Office of Technical Services had a biometric collection system with liaison services "with the expectation for sharing of the biometric takes collected on the systems".

But this was used to instead exfiltrate data from the systems that were provided to liaison services.

ExpressLane was installed under the guise of being an update for the biometric software.

It was initially developed in 2009 and expected to remain secret until 2034.

The user guide for ExpressLane says: "ExpressLane 3.0 will overtly appear to be just another part of this system. Its called: MOBSLangSvc.exe and is stored in \Windows\System32.

"Covertly it will collect the data files of interest from the liaison system and store them compressed and encrypted in the covert partition on a specially watermarked thumb drive when it is inserted into the system."

WikiLeaks said the main parts of the system were based on software from Cross Match, an American company that makes biometric software for law enforcement and intelligence agencies.

In 2011, the company's software was reported to have been used by the US military to identify the late Osama bin Laden during the successful bid to assassinate the Al-Qaeda leader in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
Security firm Symantec says it has discovered a new trojan development kit, an app that enables even those who know little about coding to create Android ransomware.

In a blog post, Symantec's Dinesh Venkatesan said these kits were different from the Android integrated development environment that could also be used to create similar malware.

Venkatesan said the app for creating the malware could be downloaded from a number of forums and via advertisements on a social networking messaging service that was popular in China.

He said there were plenty of options for customising the malware:

The message that is to be displayed on the locked screen of the infected device;

The key to be used to unlock the infected device;

The icon to be used by the malware;

Custom mathematical operations to randomize the code; and

Type of animation to be displayed on the infected device.

After the options were chosen, a window opened to allow the would-be malware creator to subscribe to the service. One could chat to the person behind the app and agree on payment.

Once these details were out of the way, the new malware author could continue to make as many different malware samples as needed. (The malware generator app is seen on the right)

Venkatesan said the apps used for malware creation that he had analysed so far were all aimed at those who spoke Chinese.

"The emergence of easy to use malware development kits such as these lowers the bar for aspiring cyber criminals wanting to enter the ransomware game," he said.

"Individuals with little technical knowledge can now create their very own customised Android ransomware.

"However, these apps are not just useful for aspiring and inexperienced cyber criminals as even hardened malware authors could find these easy-to-use kits an efficient alternative to putting the work in themselves."

Asked why only Android was being targeted, a Symantec spokesperson responded: "Only Android is being targeted as it is an open platform, and the volume of Android devices in the market makes them more lucrative targets for cyber criminals."

Graphics: courtesy Symantec
The FBI has arrested a Chinese national in connection with a massive breach at the US Office of Personnel Management in 2015.

The exfiltration resulted in the personal details of about 21 million former and current US government employees and their partners being made public.

In what appears to be something similar to the case of British researcher Marcus Hutchins, the man, aged 36, was arrested in Los Angeles when he entered the US to attend a conference.

Hutchins is awaiting trial on charges of writing and distributing banking malware known as Kronos. He was arrested when he was leaving the US after attending the annual DEFCON conference in Las Vegas.

Yu Pingan who hails from Shanghai and is also known as GoldSun, was charged under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. He has also been charged with conspiracy to commit offence or defraud the US.

He will face charges related to creation of malware known as Sakula  another similarity to the Hutchins case  which is said to have been used to effect the breach.

At the time of the breach, the Chinese government denied any involvement, telling Reuters: "The Chinese government takes resolute strong measures against any kind of hacking attack. We oppose baseless insinuations against China."
CDC's Fyshwick 2 data centre will have 20MW of capacity, outstripping Fyshwick 1's 18MW. The company's three data centres in Hume have a total capacity of 21MW.

CDC delivers data centre services to more than 40 federal government departments and agencies as well as the ACT Government.

It recently announced a partnership with Microsoft that will see two new Azure regions delivered from the Hume and Fyshwick campuses.

CDC chief executive Greg Boorer (pictured) said: "Government estimates that its data holdings will be 100 fold larger in the next decade than they are today.

"The addition of Fyshwick 2  slated to come on stream in 2018  will ensure enough capacity for two to three years' growth in the market we operate in, both meeting the needs of our direct clients, and also those government agencies and departments that will use Microsoft Azure delivered out of our data centres."

He said Fyshwick 2 would deliver the latest security, more efficient outcomes, smaller and larger more powerful secure footprints, and an ability to accommodate heavier floorloading.

It is designed to handle data classifications up to Top Secret, and will incorporate on-site Top Secret office space for client use. Fyshwick 2 is security zoned 4 and 5, and is designed as a Tier 3 facility with Tier 4 electrical configuration under the TIA global standards.

Fyshwick 2 will be air cooled with a closed loop water system, avoiding the use of up to 150,000 litres of potable water per day. It will have a PUE of no more than 1.2.

Continuity of power supply will be achieved through two grid connections and two generator farms. The generators will be capable of providing electricity to other premises in crisis conditions  during two days of abnormally high temperatures in February 2017, CDC delivered enough power for up to 30,000 homes.

On completion, around a dozen highly skilled personnel will be hired to run Fyshwick 2.

Boorer said CDC currently had 30% spare physical footprint and significant reserve power capacity to serve current clients and prospects. Fyshwick 2 is being developed to meet the anticipated demand for Canberra-based Azure and other services, plus the future requirements of the public sector.

The news was welcomed by ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr. "This demonstrates to the world that Canberra is a hub for innovation in ICT, particularly in cloud technology and services. This is a market that is becoming increasingly crucial for business, individuals and governments around the world, and today's announcement put Canberra at the heart of it."
Ericsson has beaten out rivals Huawei, Nokia and NEC, among others, as a new survey places it on top in 8 of 10 categories, including product reliability, price-to-performance ratio, service and support" in microwave offerings.

Independent market research firm IHS has published its new Microwave Network Strategies and Vendor Leadership report: Global Service Provider Survey, which highlights operators perceptions of microwave equipment suppliers".

The report, which is excerpted here (page has link to a detailed, 18-page PDF report), surveyed a significant global sample of operators, representing 23% of 2016 worldwide telecom capex".

From the report we can see that Ericsson has extended the leadership in key vendor selection criteria it secured in previous years of the report, and now leads in 8 out of the 10 categories.

67% of respondents named Ericsson as the top microwave manufacturer, 10 points ahead of the closest competitor in the category;

62% of respondents said they currently had Ericsson microwave equipment installed in their network; and

On top of this, 90% of service providers had a familiarity with Ericsson microwave offerings, more than any other supplier.

Nishant Batra, head of Product Area Network Infrastructure at Ericsson, said: Microwave is playing an increasingly important role in facilitating the rapid expansion of LTE and future 5G networks, and by 2021, we predict it will connect 65% of all radio sites.

Mobile backhaul and microwave specifically are key areas for us and this report reflects our commitment to be the leading microwave provider. By investing in the right portfolio for our customers, we have enabled them to reduce total cost of ownership and provide the capacity and performance expected from top performing networks.

Most importantly, said Ericsson, respondents ranked 10 criteria for selecting microwave manufacturers.

In order of importance, the criteria are:

product reliability,

price-to-performance ratio,

service and support,

pricing,

product roadmap,

solution breadth,

security,

management solutions,

technology innovation, and

financial stability.

Ericsson is listed as the leader in 8 out of 10 categories, including product reliability, price-to-performance ratio, service and support, product roadmap, solution breadth, security, management solution and technology innovation".

Prepared by Richard Webb, research director, Mobile Backhaul and Small Cells, IHS Markit, we are told the report recognises Ericsson as a long-term pioneer of microwave and states: This survey shows that Ericssons reputation in the market remains rock solid and it remains perceived as the leading vendor in most categories in this years survey, extending further its leadership position.

As the industry looks toward 5G, Ericsson naturally states that microwave technology will continue to play a key role, securing mobile broadband backhaul capacity".

Its explanation continues: Microwave is a very flexible technology and already today supports 10Gbps data rates and very low latencies. An attractive option for growth of backhaul capacity and speed is the availability of microwave spectrum and products for higher frequencies, resulting in strong interest in the industry for E-band products, operating on radio frequencies around 70 to 80GHz.

These and other exciting developments were part of the discussion at the fourth annual Global Microwave Meeting hosted by Ericsson on June 27 to 28 in Gothenburg, Sweden. Experts from the private and public sector, industry and academia discussed the critical role and technical evolution of microwave networks, which enables to push the technology to progress across the industry".

More from Ericssons microwave portfolio here.

Microwave ovens not included.
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By Simon Reich | (The Conversation) |  

Donald Trumps speech on his administrations strategy in Afghanistan  in which he announced the introduction of an unspecified number of new combat troops, without a mission and without a specified end date, in a strategy that abandoned nation building but entailed war-fighting  clearly contravened the principles of his America First isolationist election campaign promises.

But for academics like me who spend their time studying American strategic policy, it provided few real surprises. Rather, it merely signaled the latest stage in the cycle of the longest-running war in U.S. history  what journalists and pundits have christened Americas forever war.

The beginning of the forever war

The origins of the war, of course, date to the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.

U.S. intelligence traced a link between al-Qaida operatives who had carried out the attacks and Afghanistans Taliban. In response, four weeks after those attacks, the United States, with NATOs support, launched Operation Enduring Freedom against the Taliban and the al-Qaida fighters sheltering in Afghanistan.

As George W. Bush ambitiously asserted, even years after the war had begun,

Our goal in Afghanistan is to help its people defeat the terrorists and establish a stable, moderate, and democratic state that respects the rights of its citizens, governs its territory effectively, and is a reliable ally in this war against extremists and terrorists.

Britains lesson

In articulating these goals, the George W. Bush administration had obviously failed to learn the lessons of the British Empire.

The British may have effectively ruled most of the globe for almost three centuries. But they often ineffectively wrestled with controlling what is todays Afghanistan.

Indeed, reflective of that periodic failure, there is a poignant scene in the movie Hope and Glory, set in London during the Second World War, where a schoolteacher points to a giant map of the world on the wall where all the countries of the British Empire are shaded. Conspicuously, to the eagle-eyed observer, in the middle of this huge mass is a small unshaded area  Afghanistan.

It is not surprising that the Americans  supported by NATO forces  have failed to achieve Bushs initial lofty objectives. Indeed, Trump specifically rejected them in his speech when he said that America is not nation-building again; we are killing terrorists.

What Trump did not say is that America has long since abandoned Bushs goals.

Like the British before them, American forces and their allies may have repeatedly subjugated the Taliban for extended periods, but they have never managed to destroy this hard-line Islamic fighting force. This is because, for the Taliban, this is an existential war of survival. Ultimate defeat short of death is therefore not an option.

Faced with an unyielding enemy, after almost 14 years of war, billions of dollars spent, almost 2,400 American lives lost and over 17,000 wounded, Barack Obama officially abandoned the goal of nation building and of total victory. Instead, he sanctioned the official conclusion of Americas combat mission at the end of 2014.

Obama planned to withdraw all troops by 2016. Yet that plan never came to fruition. Instead, the number has fallen from a peak of nearly 100,000 in 2010 to a trough of 8,400. Those remaining have served a number of functions, including training the Afghan forces, surveillance, intelligence and logistics.

Still, in that new context, Americans didnt fight, at least officially. Now, reputedly, they are returning to fight.

What is new and what isnt?

Back in 2013 Donald Trump effusively tweeted, We have wasted an enormous amount of blood and treasure in AfghanistanLets get out!

So why has President Trump now sanctioned a return of American combat troops as a renewed American commitment?

There are two elements to that answer.

The first, large-scale one is that American national security policy has geographically shifted in the last three decades  from deterring the Soviets in Europe to destroying militants and jihadists located in safe havens in failed and fragile states.

As Trump made clear in his speech, Afghanistan symbolizes the epicenter of the struggle against terrorism when he said,

A hasty withdrawal would create a vacuum that terrorists, including ISIS and al-Qaida, would instantly fill, just as happened before September 11.

Indeed, the ending of Americas combat mission in 2014 coincided with the resurgence of the Taliban. The Afghan governments control of territory has been consistently declining since then: In early 2017 it was 57 percent of the country.

No American administration can afford to abandon Afghanistan to the Taliban for fear of bearing political responsibility for any large-scale attack that follows  anywhere.

The second element in answering the question of why Trump has recommitted to Afghanistan is far more specific. It lies in the importance and stewardship of his defense secretary, James Mattis.



Jonathan Ernst/Pool Photo via AP



Noted as a brilliant tactician, Mattis acknowledged in testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee in June that

We are not winning in Afghanistan, right now, and we will correct this as soon as possible.

Mattis is vastly experienced (including in Afghanistan). He no doubt understands that a commitment of new troops, not hounded by battlefield restrictions, without a specified timetable and with a clear mission to kill the terrorists will enhance Americas prospects of halting the Talibans advance. But he also understands that this will be insufficient to achieve a comprehensive victory.

Mattis also knows that efforts to co-opt Pakistan and India in the fight against the Taliban have been tried in the past. The Obama administration did so in 2009, under the astute direction of Richard Holbrooke, and failed. He may have publicly spoken of victory, but privately, Mattis more realistic hope may be that this new approach may prove enough to stanch further losses and make incremental gains with limited costs.

Still, trumpeting aside, Trumps principled realism in Afghanistan all looks rather familiar.

The vague set of initiatives he described are not new, nor do they add up to a grand strategy. The U.S. has moved from large-scale troop surges to clandestine special operations; from proclamations of noble goals to more modest local counterinsurgency operations; from nation building to war fighting. Yes, commanders are being given greater autonomy in the field, but as Peter Dombrowski and I detail in our book The End of Grand Strategy, that has long been an unrecognized truth in many military operations.

But there is at least one major difference from Obamas policy. Press reports suggest that James Mattis was central in convincing Trump to follow this path contrary, as Trump himself said, to his original instinct. If true, the mantle was therefore passed. This is no longer Bushs war or Obamas war. It is now officially James Mattis war, with all the attendant risks of reward and failure.

Regardless, in the longer term something clearly remains the same: Now officially without an end date, Afghanistan remains Americas forever war.

Simon Reich, Professor in The Division of Global Affairs and The Department of Political Science, Rutgers University Newark

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.



Related video added by Juan Cole:

Al Jazeera English: Afghan government, Taliban react to Trumps war plan
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug. 24, 2017 /CNW/ -- Tahoe Resources Inc. (TSX: THO, NYSE: TAHO) ("Tahoe" or the "Company") today reported that it has learned through unconfirmed sources that the Guatemalan Constitutional Court issued a decision upholding the lower court's preliminary decision to provisionally suspend the mining license of Tahoe's Guatemalan subsidiary, Minera San Rafael ("MSR").

This decision responds to an appeal filed by Minera San Rafael in an action brought by the anti-mining organization, CALAS, against Guatemala's Ministry of Energy and Mines ("MEM") in May. CALAS alleged that MEM violated the Xinca Indigenous people's right to consultation in advance of granting the Escobal mining license to MSR. The Constitutional Court decision upholds the lower court's preliminary decision to temporarily suspend the license to operate the Escobal mine until the definitive constitutional claim is heard on the merits, which hearing is scheduled for August 28th. The Court is expected to issue a ruling within the next several months following the August 28th hearing. The Company understands that MEM complied with ILO Convention 169 before it issued the Escobal license.

Top government officials have expressed dismay at the significant economic, human and environmental impacts resulting from the decision to suspend the Escobal license. The leading private sector industrial chamber has taken independent legal action to challenge the suspension that has damaged many thousands of workers and their families.

The municipal road to the Escobal mine continues to be blocked by protestors. The Company continues to work diligently with the government, community leaders and others to resolve the situation peacefully and expeditiously, however, the road blockage shows no signs of immediate resolution.

As a result of the suspended operations at Escobal, the Company will continue to reevaluate its previous multi-year guidance. The financial impacts to the Company are currently under review to assess effects of the suspended operations to longer term capital and exploration programs. Until operations are resumed, the Company will not be able to access the full capacity of the revolving credit facility entered on July 18, 2017, and may continue to be subject to events of default.

The Company's balance sheet remains strong, with a quarter-end cash balance of over $190 million, and the Company continues to look forward to pursuing its growth goals in the gold businesses once operations recommence.

About Tahoe Resources Inc.

Tahoe's strategy is to responsibly operate mines to world standards and to develop high quality precious metals assets in the Americas. Tahoe is a member of the S&P/TSX Composite and TSX Global Mining indices and the Russell 3000 on the NYSE. The Company is listed on the TSX as THO and on the NYSE as TAHO.
By Donald Kirk





Donald Trump's notion of "fire and fury" for North Korea inspires cheers, fears and jeers. Is he threatening the biblical "fire and brimstone," or does his rhetoric more closely resemble Shakespeare's "tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing"?

Yes, there are those who think the American president is an idiot, but you also find some who admire him for getting Kim Jong-un to back down. Kim did call off ordering a missile to hit somewhere off Guam, didn't he? That's true enough _ though it's not likely the fearless, "Respected" leader has given up on that idea while thousands of U.S. and South Korean troops play annual war games in defiance of a torrent of rhetoric

So what to do? Might a quick hit, a "pre-emptive strike," maybe even "massive retaliation," be the way to wipe out the terrorist of the North? As the dust is settling, would not millions of North Koreans rise up in rebellion and install a more reasonable and humane leader? Why, they might even hold an election like those in South Korea!

Oh sure. You don't have to have follow North Korea too closely to know that such a denouement is the stuff of fantasy. More likely, as everyone knows, bombardment of the North would precipitate a conflagration of unpredictably bloody proportions. Nobody but nobody wants Korean War II though some insist on keeping the military option out there, dangling it in Kim's face in case he gets ideas of carrying out his threats.

But surely there are other ways to bring the North, if not into submission, at least into the realm of reason.

Here's one. How about bombarding North Korea with leaflets instead of bombs? Okay, defectors from the North for years have been unleashing balloons over their former homeland, blowing leaflets hither and yon on which are written tales of the excesses and terrors of the Kim dynasty mingled with news, real news, from South Korea and elsewhere. Lately, however, President Moon Jae-in, in a quest for negotiations, has told them to knock it off. No reason for upsetting North Korean leaders while calling for dialogue.

Anyway, leaflets lofted on balloons have not been too effective. Not so many people have seen them. Instead, drones should fly high over all North Korea day-and-night dropping devices filled with tons of leaflets wafting everywhere. And what about including a few dollar bills and candy bars so folks would have that much more incentive to scramble around looking for them in the face of dire commands not to touch them?

This leaflet bombardment need not be a one-day or now-and-then phenomenon. It should go on for weeks, months, infuriating North Korean leaders but getting through to all their hungry, unhappy people. Leaflets should bear different news every day, including exposes of the high living of the ruling elite compared with the desperate circumstances of the typical citizen. Human rights abuses would merit top billing, banner headlines reporting executions, imprisonment, torture and suffering.

Messages might vary from target to target  some aimed at Pyongyang, others for less fortunate communities elsewhere. Special editions might float down on mass rallies and parades. Think of dropping clouds of leaflets on those great shows of military hardware in the capital.

In this high-tech age, it should be possible to bombard specific concentration camps and prisons, remote villages and towns with leaflets tailored for individual conditions. Some might target military bases with articles about the hardships of army life, the poor food, the dangers of duty above the demilitarized zone, the perks of officers accustomed to bullying the men and women who form the backbone of the North's 1.2 million soldiers, sailors and airmen.

North Korea would undoubtedly respond with antiaircraft barrages, perhaps short-range missile shots and Soviet-era MiGs zipping around, but the planes carrying these leaflets would be drones. Nobody would get hurt, on the ground or in the air. Piloted U.S. aircraft would stay away other than for maybe a few high-flying U2 spy planes up there to see how everyone was doing way down below.

The greatest fun would be to cascade leaflets on one of Kim Jong-un's palaces while he was feasting with sycophantic minions. The message would be simple. Sorry, comrade, the party's over. Everyone toast to that.





Donald Kirk, www.donaldkirk.com, has been covering war and peace in the region for decades. He's at kirkdon4343@gmail.com.
The photo on the left, shot while flying over Kansas during the eclipse, captured light that was warmer than in the photo on the right, which was shot about 15 minutes later.

I recently visited Southern California with my family. But unlike a typical summer vacation, I spent a good portion of my time counting down the days to our return flight to New Jersey, because that flight was scheduled for Aug. 21  at the height of the Great American Solar Eclipse.

When I booked the flight, I wasn't sure what kind of eclipse experience we could expect. We were taking off from the West Coast early in the morning  hours before the eclipse touched down in Oregon  but the fast-moving eclipse would overtake us at some point around the central United States.

Where and when would that happen, and what would we see when it did? [Best Photos of the 2017 Great American Solar Eclipse]

Before our trip, I spoke to eclipse-chasing experts, and my hopes of seeing the ultimate midair eclipse view  the sun's disk going dark and twilight extending around the horizon in all directions  were quickly dashed. By the time the eclipse reached land (beginning at 10:15 a.m. local Oregon time), the angle of the sun would be too steep to see it directly from the window of our plane, they told me.

"The geometry and circumstances of [the] eclipse are really not in alignment with the constraints of viewing out commercial aircraft windows across the U.S.A.," Glenn Schneider, an astronomer at the Steward Observatory and the Department of Astronomy at the University of Arizona, told Live Science in an email.

For a typical commercial flight at an average altitude of 35,000 feet (11,000 meters), the sun's disk may be visible through a window until it reaches an angle of about 30 degrees above the horizon. For our flight, the sun would be between 40 and 50 degrees above the horizon  impossible to see from our seats, according to meteorologist and Space.com skywatching columnist Joe Rao.

"The only way for you to see sun during the flight would be for pilot to bank the plane 20 to 30 degrees  which he's probably not going to do," Rao said.

An indirect view

Glimpsing the sun itself was not going to happen. So, what were our options? Our plane and the eclipse were both traveling across the U.S.  the eclipse tracking to the south and our plane tracking to the north. The precise position of the eclipse from moment to moment was already mapped on NASA's website; if we could plot the timing and position of our flight path using data from past flights on the same course, we could figure out when and where we would intersect the eclipse's path, Rao explained.

However, our chances of that intersection coinciding with eclipse totality, though not impossible, were "extremely slim," Schneider said.

There was a small likelihood that we would be close enough to the path of totality to see the moon's shadow projected on the clouds or ground, but that was also a bit of a long shot, Schneider said.

What seemed more likely was that we would pass through a zone where the sun was blocked more than 70 percent, which would be enough for us to notice a significant change in the light coming through the airplane windows, Rao said. [10 Solar Eclipses That Changed Science]

Calculating our course

Our flight  Virgin America 162  was scheduled to depart Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) at 8:25 a.m. PT, landing at Newark International Airport (EWR), at 4:52 p.m. ET. A few days before the eclipse, I checked the flight-tracking website Flight Aware, and found the latitude and longitude coordinates for a Virgin America flight path from LAX to EWR, using the flight track log for a plane that had flown the same path the week before, as reference.

According to the log, by 10:15 a.m. PT  eclipse start time  our flight would likely be over the Rio Grande National Forest in Colorado, at a longitude near 37.9177 degrees north and a latitude near -106.5321 degrees west. The eclipse wouldn't be at its maximum there until around 10:44 a.m. PT (11:44 a.m. local time), according to NASA, so we wouldn't see anything just yet.

The eclipse would probably begin to catch up with us as we flew over Kansas. At 12:51 p.m. local time, the plane would be at a longitude of about 39.0106 degrees north and a latitude of about -99.9218 degrees south  and the eclipse maximum in that area would be arriving at 12:55 p.m. local time.

Coding a path

With hours to go before the flight, my programmer husband offered to code a JavaScript "calculator" to visualize where our plane and the eclipse would cross paths. He charted two paths using the anticipated start and end times of our flight, and the times when the eclipse was going to be first visible on the northwestern coast (10:15 a.m. local time) and when it would last touch land on the southeastern coast (2:49 p.m. local time). He used Eastern Time as the standard, and incorporated Google Maps into the program so we could see where the paths would intersect.

Our flight path crossed the eclipse's path over Kansas, but we were too late to experience totality. (Image credit: Courtesy Hens Breet)

But something in the code wasn't working  though our intersection point and time on the map appeared correct, the text readout describing the latitude and longitude were off. He suspected that he needed to factor in the curvature of our path through the air, which there hadn't been time enough to do. Still, we had a pretty good idea of where we would be and what time we might notice the eclipse's effect on the light around us.

Our flight's departure ended up being delayed by 25 minutes, putting us in the air at 9:06 a.m. PT. Even with the short delay, we had a couple of hours before we could expect things to start getting interesting. [Can a Solar Eclipse Really Blind You?]

Dimming down

Naturally, I claimed the window seat, and 2 hours into the flight, I was lifting the shade every 10 minutes or so to check for signs of the impending eclipse. Around 12:51 p.m. local time, as we flew over southern Kansas, I saw the first sign of something unusual  the clouds that were closer to the plane were looking noticeably darker than clouds that were farther away on the horizon, which still appeared bright white.

During the eclipse, clouds next to the plane appeared darker than the bright white clouds on the horizon. (Image credit: M. Weisberger/Live Science)

While it didn't seem to be getting darker, the glare that typically accompanies daytime flights during good weather was gone  I opened the window shade wide and didn't have to squint at all. By 1:06 p.m. local time, as we reached 37.9464 degrees north and -99.0358 degrees west  still over southern Kansas  there was solid cloud coverage beneath us, and the light was warmer than usual, as though the window were covered by a polarizing filter that had dialed down the clouds' brightness to a comfortable viewing level.

At these approximate coordinates, eclipse maximum occurred at 1 p.m. local time, according to NASA's interactive eclipse map.

My eyeballs could feel the sun emerging from behind the moon as the eclipse's shadow sped past us and the light gradually strengthened. By 1:12 p.m., the clouds were growing whiter, and by 2:26 p.m., I had to close the shade against the glare. And just like that, the eclipse was over  for us, at least.

After that, the eclipse and our plane continued on our separate ways  us to New Jersey and the eclipse to its final point over land near McClellanville, South Carolina, where it appeared at 2:46 p.m. ET. Our view might not have been as dramatic as those documented from the ground, but it was still a fascinating perspective on a historic cosmic event. I expect that I'll remember that unusual light every time I sit beside an airplane window, lift the shade, and have to shield my eyes against the brightness of the unobstructed midday sun.

This animation shows our flight alongside that of the moving eclipse, rendered with correction the for the curvature of the path. The eclipse first appears at 4 seconds. (Image credit: Courtesy Hens Breet)

Original article on Live Science.
People often turn to a Google search when they want to research their symptoms. But now, people who Google one particular condition  "clinical depression"  on their smartphone will be asked if they would like to check if they're clinically depressed.

Tapping this text will take the person to a new page that introduces a screening questionnaire. The questionnaire, called PHQ-9, is a "clinically validated screening questionnaire which can help identify levels of depressive symptoms," Mary Giliberti, CEO of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, said in a statement released by Google yesterday (Aug. 23).

The self-assessment is private, and could help determine a person's level of depression and the need for an in-person evaluation, Giliberti said. [9 DIY Ways to Improve Your Mental Health]

The screening questionnaire is not meant to act as a singular tool to diagnosis depression  in other words, a person can't be diagnosed with the condition simply by taking the survey online. Rather, it's designed to help increase awareness and could lead people to seek treatment, Giliberti said. "The results of the PHQ-9 can help you have a more informed conversation with your doctor," she said.

But what do mental health experts think about adding the questionnaire to Google searches?

"I think it's a great idea, because it provides a reliable, simple way of screening for depression," said Dr. Michael Thase, a professor of psychiatry at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. "There will be false positives, for sure, but remember that this pops up only when people have sought information about clinical depression," Thase told Live Science.

Dr. David Hellerstein, a professor of clinical psychiatry at Columbia University Medical Center in New York City, agreed that false positives could come up. In other words, the questionnaire may suggest that people have clinical depression when they don't actually have the condition.

For example, a false positive could occur in a person who is having a bad day or just got into a fight, Hellerstein told Live Science. But Google's use of the questionnaire will probably have more of a positive impact than a negative one, he added. "On the other hand, you're probably identifying many, many, many people who wouldn't otherwise think about [the symptoms of depression] and maybe helping direct some of them towards treatment," he said.

Consider how people look at symptoms of other conditions online, Hellerstein said. A questionnaire about asthma symptoms that mentions shortness of breath could capture a person who is having a heart attack, or someone who just had a cold. But you'd probably also find a lot of people in the middle who did have asthma, so it could raise awareness, he said.

For depression, this awareness is important: "Depression remains under-recognized and undertreated," Hellerstein said. [9 Celebrities Who Spoke Up About Depression]

Still, Hellerstein had several questions about Google's use of the screening device. For example, the questionnaire Google is using is a "really useful clinical screening instrument"; however, it probably wasn't designed to be used in a random population but rather in clinical and medical settings, he said. This gives researchers an opportunity to make the questionnaire more reliable for widespread use, he added.

Another question is, what would happen if a person took the questionnaire and learned that he or she was "really severely depressed"? Hellerstein said. There are privacy issues, he said, but would it be possible for someone to intervene and try to get that person to seek treatment?

Originally published on Live Science.
NOAA's GOES-East satellite captured this visible image of Hurricane Harvey in the western Gulf of Mexico on Aug. 24 at 1:07 p.m. EDT (1707 GMT).

Texans from Houston to Corpus Christi are bracing for a wallop from Hurricane Harvey, which is rapidly intensifying in the Gulf of Mexico before its expected landfall late Friday or early Saturday.

Harvey will be the first hurricane to make landfall in Texas in nine years (and could be the first major hurricane to hit the U.S. since 2005). That long period of calm has experts worried that many people will be unprepared for the storm.

"There's a lot of uncertainty" in the forecast, "but you have to be aware that there's a really real risk that this could be a devastating event," Steven Bowen, director of impact forecasting at the reinsurance company at Aon Benfield, told Live Science. [Hurricane Season 2017 Guide]

The most worrying threat from the storm is the staggering amount of rain it is expected to dump on the area, Bowen and others said. This will put lives and property at risk in a region that has seen explosive growth in recent years and where only 15 percent of homes have flood insurance even in the most well-covered areas.

Birth of a storm

Harvey formed last week in the Atlantic Ocean before being done in by shearing winds as it wound its way through the Caribbean. But after its remnants crossed Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, the storm pulled itself back together with the help of ample warm water and favorable winds.

Forecasts predicted that Harvey would rapidly intensify overnight, from Wednesday to Thursday, though the speed with which it did so was still surprising, said Matt Lanza, a Houston-based meteorologist in the energy industry and a contributor to Space City Weather, a site dedicated to Houston weather.

Harvey became a hurricane Thursday afternoon and could continue to beef up into a major storm according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. A major hurricane is defined as a Category 3 or higher on the Saffir-Simpson scale, or a storm that has winds of 111 mph (179 km/h) or higher.

Those winds and the storm surge they whip up will pack a punch along the coast, particularly close to the eye at the center of the storm, where the strongest winds are found, experts said. But the major concern with Harvey is the torrential rain it is expected to unleash. That rain comes courtesy of the ample moisture supplied by the Gulf of Mexico and the likelihood that the storm will stall out after it makes landfall, dumping rain continuously on the same area, several meteorologists said.

"There's just a lot to be concerned about with this storm," Bowen said. [A History of Destruction: 8 Great Hurricanes]

Heavy rains

The NHC forecasts rains of 12 to 20 inches (30 to 51 centimeters) over a widespread area of coastal and inland Texas through next Wednesday, with some spots seeing up to 30 inches (76 cm).

"It's going to be one hell of a rainmaker," said Phil Klotzbach, a hurricane researcher at Colorado State University.

All that rain, particularly if it falls in heavy bursts, could cause significant and potentially deadly flooding.

Houston is no stranger to heavy rains and floods. Several major flash floods driven by thunderstorms in recent years caused billions of dollars in damage, producing dramatic footage of people trapped in their homes and apartment buildings by floodwaters.

"People get nervous now when it rains," Lanza told Live Science, "especially people that were flooded during those events."

But the effects of those flash floods were much more localized than the impact from Harvey is likely to be, Lanza said. Perhaps the most apt comparison, Bowen said, is Tropical Storm Allison, which hit southeast Texas in 2001 and dumped 40 inches (102 cm) of rain in the worst-hit spots. The ensuing floods swamped some 70,000 homes and caused billions of dollars in damage.

"Allison is a four-letter word here," Lanza said. "When you start saying that [name], people really get nervous."

A history of devastation

But a hurricane hasn't hit Texas since 2008, when Ike landed in Galveston, bringing storm surges of 13 to 17 feet (4 to 5.2 meters) in the worst-affected areas. The hurricane, which affected Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida, in addition to Cuba and parts of the Caribbean, knocked out power to millions and killed 74 people in Texas alone.

"That part of Texas has seen explosive population and exposure growth" since Ike and Allison, Bowen said, meaning there is even more potential for heavy damage now.

Bowen took to Twitter to warn that some flooded areas could be unreachable for weeks as the water slowly recedes, as happened last year when an unnamed storm system dumped more than 2 feet (0.6 m) of rain in some spots around Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Compounding the potential for damage is the low rate of flood insurance coverage in the area. Harris County, where Houston is located, has the highest rates, but even there, they are about 15 percent, Bowen said. In neighboring counties, rates are in the single digits, Bowen said. That means a lot of damaged homes won't be covered.

What parts of the Houston metro area get the worst of the rains and floods will depend on the exact track of the storm and where the heaviest bands of rain occur, Lanza said. The system of bayous that drain the region flow from northwest to southeast and then empty into the gulf. If the heaviest rains fall south of the city, they will flood a smaller area, as they have a shorter distance to head back to the ocean, he said.

But if they fall to the north and west, they will have to flow through the city and could tax the reservoirs meant to hold some of the water back, Lanza said.

"It really is a waiting game, unfortunately," Bowen said.

Original article on Live Science.
CALGARY, Alberta  About 67,000 years ago, a gigantic mammoth chowed down on enormous mouthfuls of grass in Texas, just west of where modern-day Austin is located, according to new research.

The finding is surprising, given that the beast's remains were discovered in Waco, Texas, more than 120 miles (200 kilometers) away from the Columbian mammoth's (Mammuthus columbi) ancient picnic spot near Austin, the researchers said.

"They really weren't in the Waco area until right before they died, which is a little unexpected," the study's lead researcher, Don Esker, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Geosciences at Baylor University in Waco, told Live Science. "Two hundred kilometers is within the largest distance that we've known Columbian mammoths to travel, but only just." [Mammoth Resurrection: 11 Hurdles to Bringing Back an Ice Age Beast]

Esker and his colleagues made this discovery by studying the isotopes (an isotope is a variation of an element that has a different number of neutrons in its nucleus) in the mammoth's teeth. So far, Esker has studied just one tooth, but he has plans to examine more teeth from different mammoths in the coming months.

Esker could have a lot of work in front of him. There are remains from at least 23 mammoths dating to the late Pleistocene in Waco. The prehistoric graveyard was found in 1978 by two local youngsters, Paul Barron and Eddie Bufkin, who were searching for fossils and arrowheads when they discovered the fossilized mammoth bones. In 2015, President Barack Obama issued a presidential proclamation, with bipartisan support, that made the site a national monument, according to the National Park Service.

It's likely, but not certain, that these fossils are from the same mammoth nursey herd, Esker said. His goal is to confirm whether these mammoths traveled together as a social group, and to learn where they traveled and what they ate, he said.

If his research reveals these mammoths gulped down the same kind of water and gobbled up the same types of food, then it's likely they did travel as a herd, he told Live Science here at the 2017 Society of Vertebrate Paleontology meeting.

This map shows the strontium isotope landscape around Texas. The only area that matched the strontium ratios in the mammoths tooth was the purple area, which sits just west of Austin. (Image credit: Don Esker)

Mammoth menu

To get started, Esker analyzed the carbon, oxygen and strontium ratios in a single mammoth tooth, which helped him reconstruct "an itinerary and menu for the mammoth over the last six years of its life," he said.

When mammoths dined on vegetation, the plants' nutrients eventually ended up in their teeth. This information can reveal what types of plants the mammoths ate, because the way plants photosynthesize energy from the sun governs what type of carbon isotopes they produce: Carbon 4 (C4) indicates that the beasts ate grasses and sedges, and carbon 3 (C3) shows that they ate most other vegetation, including honey locust, Osage orange and mesquite.

Researchers took 27 samples from this mammoth tooth so they could test the isotopes within it. (Image credit: Don Esker)

"The carbon told us that the mammoth in question ate 65 percent to 75 percent warm season C4 grasses year-round," Esker said. This supports evidence from mammoth fossilized poop, or coprolites, that also revealed that Columbian mammoths ate plants containing C4.

Meanwhile, the oxygen isotopes in the mammoth's tooth showed that conditions "may have been a good deal more arid than [they are] today," Esker said.

Finally, the strontium isotopes revealed that the mammoths "spent a good deal of time eating grass growing on granite-derived soil," Esker said. The only place Esker could find with this type of soil was west of Austin, he said.

In addition to studying mammoth teeth, Esker and his colleagues plan to analyze chompers from a horse, camel and pronghorn that also perished at the Waco site. The results will show whether these animals' ranges overlapped with the mammoths' stomping grounds, Esker said. [Photos: Mammoth Bones Unearthed from Michigan Farm]

"Serially sampling teeth for isotopic analysis can be unpopular, as it does cause slight damage to the fossils," Esker said. "Nevertheless, it is an unparalleled record of an animal's life, and has much to offer us."

The research, which has yet to be published in a peer-reviewed journal, was presented Wednesday (Aug. 23) at the 2017 Society of Vertebrate Paleontology meeting.

Original article on Live Science.
The 2017 total solar eclipse has come and gone, but another one is less than a decade away for North America. And if you purchased paper eclipse glasses, you may be wondering if you can reuse them again for the next total solar eclipse in seven years.

On April 8, 2024, skywatchers will be able to see the moon completely block the sun's light along a path of totality that cuts northward from Mazatlan, Mexico, to Newfoundland, Canada.

So if you purchased solar eclipse glasses for the Aug. 21 event, will they still be good to use in 2024? [Photos: 2017 Great American Solar Eclipse]

"If the filters aren't scratched, punctured or torn, you may reuse them indefinitely," according to a NASA guideline for eclipse-viewing safety. However, new paper glasses produced in accordance with globally recognized optical safety regulations  in effect since 2015 and known as International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 12312-2  are typically printed with a warning that they should be discarded after three years.

Looking directly at the sun without proper optical protection can cause permanent eye damage, and paper eclipse glasses must display ISO 12312-2 certification to be considered safe for use during an eclipse, the American Astronomical Society (AAS) reported.

Punctures, scrapes and scratches that might allow light to leak through the lenses render eclipse glasses unsafe, according to the AAS. Over time, normal wear as well as environmental factors can make the lenses in paper eclipse glasses more prone to tearing or coming loose, meaning they may not adequately protect your eyes, John Jerit, president of American Paper Optics (APO)  one of the leading manufacturers of ISO 12312-2-compliant eclipse glasses  told Live Science.

And it's impossible to say for sure how well an individual pair of paper glasses is going to hold up over seven years, he added.

"You can't control how people are going to store them," he explained. "If someone calls me in six years and says, 'Are my glasses still good?' I'm not going to say, 'Send me a picture of your glasses.' I'd say, 'Buy new glasses,' under all conditions, every single time," Jerit said.

Compliance with ISO certification requires manufacturers to include an obsolescence date alongside the official ISO logo, Jerit told Live Science. For this reason, APO  which has produced eclipse glasses for 25 years  includes a printed recommendation on its glasses to use them for no more than three years.

Eclipse glasses by American Paper Optics are printed with a recommendation to discard the glasses after three years. (Image credit: Live Science)

A second look

But even though you should probably replace your current glasses for eclipse viewing in 2024, that doesn't mean you should just throw out the ones you have. The organization Astronomers Without Borders is accepting donations of undamaged eclipse glasses to distribute to schools in Asia and South America for a solar eclipse that will cross those continents two years from now, in 2019.

You can also just keep using your glasses to observe the sun, because even when there's no eclipse to see, the unobstructed sun is fascinating to look at, said Emily Rice, an associate professor of astronomy at the City University of New York, College of Staten Island. [Sun Storms: Incredible Photos of Solar Flares]

"The easiest thing to see is going to be sunspots," Rice told Live Science.

These are dark patches on the sun's surface triggered by powerful magnetic activity, and they wax and wane in frequency over an 11-year cycle. The sun is now at a point in its cycle where sunspot appearances are decreasing  a trend that will continue until 2020  but those spots that are visible can be bigger than the Earth, Rice explained.

"That's a really nice way to put the size of the sun to scale when you're actually looking at it with your own eyes," she said.

This image of the sun, captured today (Aug. 25), shows sunspots AR2671 and AR2672. (Image credit: SDO/HMI)

To find a sunspot, you can visit the website Spaceweather.com to view a daily high-resolution image of the sun and pinpoint sunspots on the star's surface. Then, you can look directly at the sun through eclipse glasses to locate the spots and track their movements over time, Rice said.

"Watching the sun from day to day, those sunspots are going to move slightly but perceptibly. You can learn to recognize sunspots, watch them move across sun  you can see sun's rotation with your own eyes pretty easily," she said.

During sunrise and sunset, the shape and color of the sun are more distorted by Earth's atmosphere. Looking at the sun through eclipse glasses could offer a more detailed view of how the sun is flattened by its proximity to the horizon, and how its colors are affected by scattered light, Rice told Live Science.

Using eclipse glasses to look at the sun when it's high overhead will provide the clearest view, with less atmospheric distortion. At the same time, the sunlight when the sun is at midday strength will also be more intense, so observers should exercise caution even when using protective eyewear, Rice said.

"Be careful not to look for too long. You never want to stare at it, even with eclipse glasses, for more than just a few seconds at a time. High overhead is usually going to be better viewing, but it'll also be more dangerous viewing  it's still the sun," she added.

The sense of wonder that accompanies the unusual sight of a total solar eclipse is a unique experience. But a little of that wonder can be recaptured by directly observing the daily activity of our closest star as Earth travels around it, Rice said.

"I love looking at the sun and thinking  that's a star that's 93 million miles [150 million kilometers] away. I'm on a rock that's orbiting it. Especially at sunset, when my position on that rock is turning away from the sun, you can almost feel the motion and feel your place in the universe," Rice said.

"I think that's a really cool thing about being able to look at the sun safely every day you can feel something much bigger than what might be immediately around you," she added.

Original article on Live Science.
by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, August 24, 2017

Siding with Hollywood studios, a federal appellate court has upheld an injunction that prevents tech company VidAngel from operating a supposedly "family friendly" streaming video service.

In 2015, VidAngel launched a $1 streaming video service that allowed users to censor objectionable material, including nudity or violence, from the videos they watch. The company purchased newly released DVDs like "The Martian" and "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," and then streamed them from its own servers, without obtaining licenses from the studios. In some cases, those films weren't otherwise available for on-demand streaming.

Disney, Warner Bros and 20th Century Fox sued VidAngel in June of 2016, arguing that the startup was infringing copyright by streaming programs without a license.

VidAngel countered that its activity was protected by the Family Movie Act, a 2005 law intended to enable parents to censor movies by stripping them of material they deem inappropriate for children. The Family Movie Act provides that copyright infringement laws don't apply to technology that mutes or hides "limited portions of audio or video content" from an authorized copy of the movie.

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A district court judge enjoined VidAngel from operating late last year. The company then appealed to the 9th Circuit.

A three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit ruled on Thursday that the Family Movie Act doesn't apply to VidAngel, because the company filters a version of the movie that was ripped from a DVD, as opposed to an "authorized" file.

"VidAngel does not stream from an authorized copy of the Studios motion pictures; it streams from the 'master file' copy it created by 'ripping' the movies from discs after circumventing their [encryption]," the judges wrote.

The judges added that VidAngel's interpretation of the 2005 law "would create a giant loophole in copyright law."

"Virtually all piracy of movies originates in some way from a legitimate copy," the judges wrote. "If the mere purchase of an authorized copy alone precluded infringement liability under the FMA, the statute would severely erode the commercial value of the public performance right in the digital context, permitting, for example, unlicensed streams which filter out only a movies credits."
by Laurie Sullivan @lauriesullivan, August 25, 2017

Google researchers have open-sourced snippets of data to give developers using artificial intelligence tools the ability to create basic voice commands for smart devices. This will help users query content and help the devices recognize meaning and search for answers.

The TensorFlow and AIY teams at Google built the Speech Commands dataset, a Voice Kit created with a collection of 65,000 utterances of 30 words. Google released the tool to help developers or anyone who wants to train AI models.

The words were contributed by thousands of people through the AIY website. The AIY Projects focuses on a do-it-yourself toolkit for artificial intelligence. The kit adds natural human interactions to projects.

Those participating in the project were asked to opt-in. Google provided an opt-in page to ensure that those participating agreed to share their data as part of the project. This means that Google could share the data -- with single spoken words -- publicly without privacy or other concerns.

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The dataset is designed to allow people to build basic voice interfaces for applications, with common words like Yes," No, "Up," "Down," and "Left" or "Right."

Pete Warden, software engineer on the Google Brain Team, explains in a post that the results will depend on whether a person's speech patterns are covered by the dataset. "It may not be perfect, commercial speech recognition systems are a lot more complex than this teaching example," he wrote. "But were hoping that as more accents and variations are added to the dataset, and as the community contributes improved models to TensorFlow, well continue to see improvements and extensions."

Along with the data, Google released a guide on how to train a simple audio recognition network. The tutorial shows how to build a basic speech recognition network that recognizes ten different words.

The agreement gives Google the right to use the voice clips to develop and improve its products and share the clips with others, including the general public. "You understand that your voice alone or in combination with other information could identify you," per the agreement. "You specifically waive and release any potential intellectual property right, right of publicity, or right of privacy claim against Google or others for use or sharing of your clips."
by Steve McClellan @mp_mcclellan, August 25, 2017

Havas Group reported first-half financial results today and indicated that the performance was below our expectations, as Havas Group CEO Yannick Bollore put it.

The firm posted an organic revenue decline of nearly 1% in the second quarter and 0.4% for the first half of the year. That was below the holding companys previous forecast of 2% to 3% first-half organic growth.

Although the Groups momentum is positive, Havas financial performance in the first half of 2017 suffered a slowdown which affected the industry as whole and led to revenue and profitability below our expectations, Bollore stated.

Havas is the second holding company this week to disclose disappointing results -- along with WPP, which posted its first-half results Wednesday, sending its shares down about 12%. Havas traded a fraction of a percentage point higher Friday on the Paris exchange. It released results after the close of the market.

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Like WPP, Havas said the weak results were partly due to less spending by clients. Havas also cited pressure on fees from clients and economy-related woes in some markets like Brazil, Mexico, India and China.

In North America, first-half performance was down slightly, although the U.S. ended up in positive territory despite clients like IBM cutting back on ad spend. WPP noted Wednesday that package goods clients in particular -- many of which saw organic declines themselves in the first half -- notably cut back on spending.

Bollore indicated that the Group is hoping for slight improvement in the second half of the year, but that we are unable to confirm the companys earlier full-year organic growth forecast of between 2% and 3%. At this point, Havas has not issued revised guidance.

Havas reported first-half revenue was up 1.9% to a little more than 1.1 billion euros (about $1.3 billion at todays exchange rate). Operating income was down 27% to 100 million euros ($119 million).

The firm reported net new business of over 1.4 billion euro ($1.7 billion) for the first half. Wins included Bristol-Myers Squibb and Michelin.
by Karlene Lukovitz @KLmarketdaily, August 25, 2017

Innovation junkies got an extra jolt during this weeks TEDxCopenhagen.

Carlsberg founder J.C. Jacobsen, deceased for 130 years, delivered a talk and interacted with attendees.

The feat, timed to spotlight the brewerys 170th anniversary, was achieved through holographic technology and a Danish actor who both resembles Jacobsen and studied his way of talking and moving, according to the company.

The concept: Allow the founder himself to convey his life philosophy, summarized in the talks topic: Why you should answer every question with probably. As explained in the 18-minute presentation, Jacobsen believed that a probably mindset, acknowledging that perfection can never be achieved, creates a fertile environment for continuous improvement. The talk was one of six given on the events theme, Trust Uncertainty.

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Securing a TEDx speaking invitation  a prime opportunity for free exposure  wasnt a big challenge, given the Carlsberg founders iconic status in Denmark, and the events venue: Copenhagens New Carlsberg Glyptotek, a museum that houses the personal art collection of J.C.s son.

But optimizing that opportunity is another matter. The Carlsberg Group and agency FCB Happiness, Brussels, dedicated substantial resources and attention to detail in creating the talk, support materials and promotion plan.

Nearly half of the 268 available tickets for live attendance at the event were reserved for Carlsberg, which invited press, customers from key markets, friends of the brewery and The Carlsberg Foundation, and various other stakeholders and influencers, reports C.C. Clark, FCB Infernos European director of communications and PR.

To drive international viewing of the events YouTube livestream, the team employed Carlsbergs and TEDxCopenhagens social media, as well as press and influencer outreach.

In addition, for inspiration and pride-fostering purposes, the company provided a link to the livestream to its offices around the world, to encourage viewing by its 41,000 employees.

To ensure that it accurately conveyed Jacobsens thoughts and speaking style, the talk was written by a team of speechwriters and biographers from The Carlsberg Foundation, who employed the companys archival trove, as documented in a making of video viewable on YouTube.

The archives were also key in ensuring historical accuracy in a teaser film (below) that depicts Jacobsen, in 1883, receiving a speaking invitation from TEDxCopenhagen, along with a series of real events from his life.

The team also shot footage of attendees watching the talk and expressing excitement about it, and posted a short promotional video, along with a link to the full video of the presentation, on the same day.

The campaign is being featured on the Carlsberg Globals website and social media assets. The talk is also being used as content for Carlsbergs markets around the world, which were given the freedom to determine how to amplify the campaign online, using their own social media assets and paid promotions. More than 20 pieces of content, adaptable by market, are being created by Carlsberg Global.

Leveraging Heritage, Entrepreneurial Interest

Why opt for the virtual resurrection of Jacobsen?

Despite its age and size, Carlsberg found itself challenged by smaller craft beers that are capitalizing on purveying credible, authentic stories about how their beers are manufactured, says Clark. Carlsbergs competitors were all jumping to heritage campaigns that showed their stories, too, by going back to the founders first days, the authentic way of making the beer, and so on, he adds.

Carlsberg sought to create a campaign that would increase awareness of its own heritage, but also foster a perception of the brand as being innovative, in order to enhance loyalty and grow sales.

We didnt want to do a nostalgic heritage campaign that leaves people looking back to the better days, Clark explains. We wanted to create something thats relevant today  that brings added value to [consumers] lives, instead of obliging them to look back at our past.

One research insight: Carlsberg drinkers within the brands core target audience of men 25 to 35 (and, secondarily, women in the same age range) are interested in entrepreneurship and lifelong learning, he reports. Looking back at Jacobsens business and life philosophy, we discovered that its quite relevant for those starting businesses today  and for basically everyone living today.

Two days after the event, the full talk video is showing about 4,500 views on YouTube, in addition to the estimated 1,000 who viewed it live on site and online, and the teaser movie is showing more than 1,500 views. In addition, the making of and event-footage videos have each generated several hundred views on YouTube.
THERE was an overflow of anointing on Sunday at this year's August Worship, as host, Jeshurun Okyere led patrons in worship.

Backed by his Love Creed Band, Jeshurun lived up to the billing as they led the clientele to the throne of worship with an amazing performance.

The event which took place at the Maker's House Chapel International for the first time brought together people from all walks of life.

Jeshurun proved himself in the gospel music circles with his extra ordinary song ministration.

The atmosphere was charged further with another classic performance, by Gospel music diva, Ohemaa Mercy.

Coupled with her energy and soothing voice, she thrilled the gathering.

Pastor Isaiah Fosu Kwakye was also in his elements, as he took the worship to another level with his anointing.

The worship atmosphere became more intimate when Nigeria's worshiper, Victoria Orenze took her turn to minister.

Ace broadcaster, Abeiku Aggrey, affectionately called Abeiku Santana also mesmerised patrons with his biblical insight, as he raised funds for the Jeshurun Okyere Global Outreach (JOGO)'s philanthropic work.

Staff of EIB Network led by the Chief Executive Officer, Bola Ray, known privately as Nathaniel Adisi, were there to commemorate the third anniversary of Starr FM, the main partners of the event.
Government has served notice of shutting all witch camps scattered across the Northern Region.

The Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Otiko Afisah Djaba gave the hint when she paid a courtesy call on Gambarana Yahaya Wuni, caretaker of the most popular alleged witches camp in Gambaga of the East Mamprusi district.

It still remains in the plans of the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection to disband the remaining five alleged witches' camps in the Northern Region of Ghana.

It is inhumane and criminal for anyone to accuse another person as a witch simply because the person exhibits certain strange behaviours.

The laws would deal with anyone or group of persons found culpable of lynching or causing harm to suspected witches or wizards, she warned.

She stated, President Akufo-Addo has been adjudged a gender champion in Africa. He is also co-chair of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. It is not right for him to be leading Ghana in the fight against poverty and dehumanisation against children and women whilst in his backyard there are witches camps.

Let's all join hands and support our President to deal with all negative cultural practices including witchcraft accusations, child marriages, begging on the streets and kayayei among others.

She said the victims would be reintegrated, empowered with skills training and given start-up capital to start business.

She commended the Gambarana for taken care of the banished women over decades.

She presented several bags of rice, canned fish, detergents and a cash amount of GH800.00 for the inmates upkeep.

She promised to register all of them to benefit from the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme pending the disbandment.

Since 2010, the Presby Go Home Project of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana has successfully reintegrated 72 alleged witches into the society.

The project Manager, Sampson Laar revealed that there were 70 alleged witches still living in the camp.

Currently, there are five of such camps in the Northern Region with three located in the Gushiegu district.

These are the Gnani, Kpatinga, Kukuo, Naabuli and Gambaga alleged witch camps.

The Bonyase camp in the Central Gonja district was closed in 2014 with 55 inmates liberated from their bondage.

The exercise was facilitated by the Ministry of Gender and Social Protection in collaboration with Action Aid Ghana, Songtaba and other civil society organizations into women rights advocacy.



By: Abdul Karim Naatogmah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
25.08.2017 LISTEN

A Police Constable, Wilson Bossey, attached to the Visibility Police Unit of the Sekondi Police Command, on Tuesday, assaulted a Takoradi-based journalist who questioned the cops disregard for road traffic regulations.

The journalist, Nana Adu Kyei Danso Abiam, popularly known as Akyeamihene, is the victim, and an employee of Skyy Media Group.

The Skyy Media Group newscaster narrated that on his way to Accra, onboard a Sprinter mini-Benz bus, with registration GE 5254-17, he spotted Constable Bossey and a pillion rider on a motorbike at Sekondi without crash helmets on.

Nana Abiam said he questioned the cop why neither he nor the pillion rider were not wearing crash helmets.

Constable Bossey, who was unhappy with the civilians question to him, stopped the Sprinter mini-Benz bus, dragged out the newscaster, and assaulted him.

The victim narrated that it took the intervention of some taxi drivers and onlookers to save him from more punches from the cop.

Nana Adu Kyei Danso Abiam has since been issued a police medical form by the Sekondi Police Command.

The Constable has received condemnations from the general public over the incident, and the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Western Regional Police Command, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Olivia Ewurabena Adiku, confirmed to The Chronicle that the Police Command had instituted an inquiry into the matter.

The regions chapter of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) has expressed condemnation at Constable Wilson Bossey for attacking one of its members.

To the GJA, facts available to it suggest that its members crime for the brutal attack from the lawless police personnel stemmed from his questioning the cop on why he and his pillion rider were not wearing crash helmets.

Contained in a statement, the GJA said: We are saddened by this unfortunate development orchestrated by no less a person than a police personnel in charge of enforcing the laws of the country.

We demand an immediate interdiction of the police personnel, refund of the transport fare of the victim, with interest, for curtailing his scheduled programme.

The Western Regional chapter of the GJA requested the Regional Police Command to respond appropriately, timely and dispassionately to the concerns raised by Nana Adu Kyei Danso Abiam, popularly known as Akyeamihene.

From Alfred Adams, Takoradi.
Kigali (AFP) - Burundians continue to flee their country due to ongoing threats and abuses despite their government's insistence that many are returning, according to a report published Thursday.

The report by the International Refugee Rights Initiative (IRRI) says that members of the Imbonerakure -- the ruling party's youth wing which has been described as a militia -- continue to carry out killings and enforced disappearances of those deemed not supportive of the regime.

Testimonies collected from Burundians who arrived in Uganda between March and June 2017, challenge the Burundian government's official narrative, which urges refugees to "return to their homeland, because peace and security prevail on the whole national territory," according to IRRI.

The report shows that while some are indeed returning to Burundi, new arrivals in neighbouring countries significantly outnumber the returnees.

"Refugees told horrible stories of rape, torture and killings by Imbonerakure and Burundian security services, especially targeting opposition members, but also ordinary citizens," said Thijs Van Laer, programme manager at IRRI.

"If the Burundian authorities are serious about promoting the return of refugees, they must reign in the Imbonerakure and ensure accountability for abuses committed since the beginning of the political crisis, including through cooperation with international efforts."

Burundi was plunged into political crisis in April 2015 when President Pierre Nkurunziza announced his intention to run for a third term, which he went on to win.

At least 500 people have been killed in ensuing violence, according to the UN -- although rights groups put the figure at over 1,000 -- and more than 400,000 have fled the country since the crisis began.

Nkurunziza made a rare foreign trip in July to Tanzania where he declared that "Burundi is at peace", urging refugees in the country to return.

According to the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), 275,000 Burundians have fled to Tanzania, a figure contested by both governments, which maintain that a large number have already returned home.

Rwanda which accommodates over 86,000 refugees -- the second highest number in the region -- now gets about 150 refugees entering per week, according to the UN refugee agency in the country.
Introduction:

A recent article captioned as the above, and which is found in the Social Media, suggests that tension is building up between the Chief of Bole (Bole-wura) and the Chief of Kung (Kung-wura), two Divisional Chiefs of Gonja, a Kingdom located in the Northern Region of Ghana, over a parcel of land designated "the Kpongeri area near Kong (Kung) land." In about a 15-page document the writer, Mahama Haruna, sought to "explain the historical issues and the reason(s) for the schism between Bole and Kong." To achieve this aim the writer chose to "dig into history," and by that would narrate the nature of the disagreement in-situ.

After critically examining Mahama Haruna's write-up, if his aim is to put the matter in its "historical perspective," unfortunately it seems his document has failed to address the issues rightly and correctly. Rather, Mahama Haruna's document misinforms Gonjas, their later generations and the general public, particularly Ghanaians, on this aspect of the Gonja history.

A number of observations and suggestions are, therefore, made based on our findings from available relevant primary and secondary sources. This will give all Ghanaians, and particularly Gonjas, the opportunity to assess the relevance of Mahama Haruna's document, his own nature and the motives behind the write-up. The discussion is progressively built on issues as presented or contained in the writer's document.

The Era before 1896:

Before tracing the history of schisms between Bole and Kung, there is the need to revisit and show the order Divisional Chiefs came onto the Yagbum-wura skin before 1891. Gonja oral history indicates that after the reign of Kung-wura, Nyantachi, as Yagbum-wura, the next Yagbum-wura was the Tuluwe-wura. He was succeeded by the Kusawgu-wura called Kpirku. The periods during which the three chiefs mentioned above ruled as Yagbum-wuras are not yet clear and are, therefore, not inserted. Yagbum-wura Kpirku, according to Mahama Haruna, was "exiled from Nyange by the Chiefs and people of Bole, and this gave Bolewura, Seidu Dushi, the chance to veto and enrobe himself as the Yagbum-wura."

During and after this event, it is possible that sections of Gonjas, particularly the Chiefs and people of Kusawgu, may not have been happy with the action taken by the Bolewura and his people. Their reason being the method Bole-wura adapted to oust Yagbum-wura Kpirku. This was against Gonja customary law and an unacceptable precedence. This, as understood, had several negative effects on the Chiefs and people of the Kusawgu division. In fact, Gonja oral history indicates that Yagbum-wura Kpirku and a handful of his people managed to escape under night cover through the forest to Busunu where he died. This was, perhaps, due to the shock from the humiliation he faced at Nyange and was, according to informants, buried 'ordinarily'. Thus, Yagbum-wura Kpirku was not buried as a Paramount Chief. His body was later exhumed by the people of Kusawgu in 1902 and given a befitting burial. As for the remaining Kusawgu people who were not able to escape, they were all murdered by the Bole fighters at Nyange.

Examining Statements by Mahama Haruna:

Let us revisit Mahama Haruna's submission and clarify certain statements used to 'educate' Gonjas and win their support against Kung. He describes the actions and character of Yagbumwura Nyantachi from Kung as 'tyrannical'. To clarify this fact, it will be nice to look for the meaning of the word 'tyrannical'. According to A. S. Hornby, the word 'tyrannical' means "using power and authority over people in an unfair or cruel way." If so, can it be correct to also suggest that the manner Bole-wura, Seidu Dushi, and his people handled Yagbum-wura Kpirku and his people (at Nyange) before ascending to the throne as Yagbum-wura was 'tyrannous'? Was Bole-wura Seidu Dushi's action not even an insult to all Gonjas for not adhering to the customary law? Note that, Gonja chief-ships were, and are still, given "according to the customary law ruling and, thus, when a chief dies another takes his place following the custom." Would it not have been proper or right if the Bole-wura rather met the Divisional Chiefs and present his grievances against the Paramount Chief if he did not follow the custom than staging a coup de'tat? This definitely had both bad and good effects on Gonja as a state and its people.

However, be adequately informed that the character and actions of Yagbum-wura Nyantachi was not tyrannous for one reason. It is a known fact that the Gonja-Ashanti war occurred during the reign of Yagbum-wura Nyantachi. During the war he (Yagbum-wura Nyantachi) had to demonstrate as the King in order to defend Gonja. The Asante aimed at expanding their territory to include Gonja just as done to the Brongs. Note that, if all Gonjas came under the authority of the Asante they would have been speaking Twi, the Asante language like the Brongs. This was stopped by the efforts of Yagbum-wura Nyantachi. He is believed to have recruited 500 fighters from the Kung Division alone to face the Asante and only few survived. No fighter from the other Gonja division was recruited to fight the Asante. See Hon. Abudu Sakara, the Former C.P.P. Presidential Candidate, for more information on this fact.

Paraphrasing Mahama Haruna, Bole-wura, Seidu Dushi also kown as Yagbum-wura Kurbang died in 1891, and again the Yagbum skin was or became vacant. Definitely, and as usual, qualified Divisional Chiefs would put in their claims. That, the Yagbum skin at the time, was the turn of Kongwura, Abudulai Jamani; alias Wanyogma (Wongnyagenama meaning action man and not come and catch me. Also Kabondogodam was Kabadogedaan, meaning 'let them brew 'pito'. The 'pito' drink at the time served as an appetizer and was largely often given to 'fighters' before and in the battle field. It was the Chief's duty to prepare and serve his troops 'pito'. Another remark made by Mahama Haruna was because of the 'tyrannical rule' of a previous Yagbum-wura from Kong (Nyantachi), that created hatred for Kung, and therefore, Gonja Chiefs refused to endorse Kung-wura Abudulai Jamani, as Yagbum-wura.

The question is how can the manners or character of a single ruler, a man from a different parenthood, who belongs to a particular household among several other households, be used as a relevant point against all the many other people in the division? Was it not possible that some sections of the people in the Kung division might have been against the actions of the King if he was really found to be 'cruel'? Can such matters of ancient history, already referred to, be used to assess, judge and for that matter be the basis for continuously depriving many innocent people of the Kung division from enjoying their customary birth rights? Hence, Mahama Haruna's motive for revisiting and pointing out the over century issue is just to create acrimony, bitterness or tension among Gonjas. This seems very unfortunate and sad to notice from 'an enlightened' Ghanaian (Journalist).

Further, Mahama Haruna indicates that during one the meetings of all Gonja Chiefs, Kung-wura being impatient demanded that he was pronounced Yagbum-wura, an action which did not go down well with the Chiefs and, who consequently abandoned the meeting and returned home without appointing the next Yagbum-wura. The Kung-wura (Jamani) was also described as too assertive and war like and, that, any time he was coming to any gathering of Gonja Chiefs he was always with hundreds of warriors well armed as if he was going to war. That, he engaged in human sacrifice with his cup for drinking water being a human skull of one of his victims.

Information gathered from sections of Gonjas dismisses this as incorrect. It should be understood that the security of people at the time was very difficult to predict. This was the era of wild animals, invaders, raiders, marauders, etc, and moving from a mountainous area, the location of Kung, and travelling long distances through to Gonja towns, the Kung-wura and his people would not take chances. It is also clarified by informants that Abudulai Jamani was a Muslim and never drank 'pito' but for the order of the times he had to supply his warriors 'pito'. This idea of supplying 'pito' is what many outsiders misinterpret and associate the Chief as the advocator of 'pito'. He did not also engage in human sacrifice. Check the records.

Similarly, some historians have in the past described some African Chiefs and peoples just like Mahama Haruna did. However, the context and reasons for which the historians described Chiefs and people differed from the reasons for which Mahama Haruna wrote his article. For instance, from the sheer frequency of invasions of the coast by the Asante, many past historians have described them as "a warlike and aggressive, and bloodthirsty people." Further, Denkyira elevated by its great riches and power, became so arrogant that it looked on "all Negroes with a contemptible eye, esteeming them no more than slaves." Further, Buah indicates that, "as often happens in history when a kingdom or an empire becomes wealthy and powerful the rulers became tyrannical."

The descriptions quoted above do not mean that every Asante or Denkyira was or is cruel. Note that, the sons of those 'cruel' rulers in Asante or Denkyira are still taking part in the administration of their respective areas. Therefore, revisiting and applying information of over 100 years against members of a clan, whose members alive were not born, seems unfair. The saddest aspect is that the story is coming from a youth of Bole, who is also the Public Relations Officer of the Gonja Land Youth Association. He, referring to the action of the Chiefs of Bole means the Chiefs and their peoples still harbour this ancient past against the people of Kung. Should the 'good' people of Gonja continue to rely on such information like what is written by Mahama Haruna to administer the Kingdom? Those incorrect information are critically examined, following, so that Chiefs and people of Gonja understand the issue and appropriately advice Bole Chiefs and their peoples.

Another misconception severally made, and which Mahama Haruna stresses, was that Kung-wura Abudulai Jamani invited Samori and his gangs to mediate with Bole-wura to allow him enskin as Yagbum-wura. This is found to be incorrect because the Kung-wura was aware that Yagbum-wuraship was gotten from the consensus of Divisional Chiefs. Therefore, there was no reason for him to have been negotiating from only Bole or contracting external forces for the Kingship. The best alternative, perhaps, was to negotiate with the Senyon-wura and Buipe-wura, the two Chiefs who mediate in a case in which Divisional Chiefs were/are divided and enrobe the chosen candidate. Their authority is therefore highly respected when it came to constitutional matters. But, it is clear, using Mahama Haruna's 'article in the Social Media, that some older Gonjas, particularly Chiefs, still narrate the1896 events, which are mere narratives gathered from conversations with their parents. These are not sufficient facts to buttress a point because such data gathered need to be tested from other sources before used to support an argument. Consequently, some contemporary students of history and historians have re-examined the past records and suggests differently about the operations of Samori against Gonja land. In other words, how Samori came to be involved in the affairs of Northern Ghana, particularly Gonja, is explained. Samori Designs towards Gonjaland:

A map examined from a secondary source showed "the Samorian Empire covering almost the entire territory between the Black and White Voltas (Rivers)." This suggests that the whole of Gonja, a greater part of Western Dagomba, the states of Wa and Lawra areas of Dagarti were tributary or vassal states of Samori's Empire." Hence, Samori had his eyes on this territory and would do everything in his power to defend it. Therefore, in 1895 Samori attacked Bouna because of "the plotting of the Hausa community at Bouna to get him (Samori) killed by the Zabarimas". The allegation may well have been true for it was reported that in 1896 Babatu (leader of the Zabarima) had "come down with an army to assist the Baulas (Bole) and Bouna in case of invasion. Babatu had encamped on the banks of the Black Volta between Bole and Bouna and that his arrival held Samori's forces in check." Therefore the direction of Samori's activities was necessarily turned eastwards for several reasons. To the South, the forest acted as a barrier since his cavalry could not operate there. He could not also easily obtain guns and ammunition from Gold Coast ports because the British were reluctant or not in the position to sell these to him. To the West and North he was confronted by the French; to the north - east laid the hostile Lobis whom he had not succeeded in mastering. There remained only two areas opened to him: Nkronza and the districts lying between the Black Volta and the Neutral Zone. In advancing on these, Bouna directly barred him from the region. Thus, Samori had to attack Bouna in order to clear his way to areas where he could raid for food supplies and horses. The seizure of Bouna in early 1896 made that town the base of Samori's operations against Bole and other Gonja towns. Samori's forces, relying and believing that the Gonjas were weakened and divided due to six years dispute among Gonja chiefs and peoples over the skin of Yagbum which became vacant in 1891 due to the death of Seidu Dush, Yagbum-wura and Paramount Chief of the Gonja state, in about 1896 crossed the Black Volta at Ntereso, a village on the old Boundugu road, and attacked Bole.

The Bole Gonjas first fought Samori's troops, commanded by his son, Sarankye - Mori, on the banks of the Black Volta. It was reported that "all the Bole people went down and opposed the Samorians crossing at Ntereso but were defeated. The defeat turned into a rout for many parts of the town became shambles and people fled their homes, some taking refuge in Eastern Gonja towns like Brumasi and Tuluwe. The Bole-wura himself retreated with part of his forces to join other Gonja troops advancing from the East at Jentilipe, a village on the modern Sawla - Damongo motor road. Here the Gonjas rallied and fought Samori's forces for five days and later, due to re-enforcement by Samori they retreated eastwards and got to Busunu, where they put up a stiff resistance to the raiders. Samori's commander, Kasire, and his forces were driven back to their camp near Bole. Thus, a brief history of the nature and reason for the Samorian encounter against Bole, the Gonja division located towards Bourna, a town now in modern Cote d'Ivoire.

From an in-depth investigation Bole-wura did not invite Kung -wura and his people to support him against Samori. Rather other Gonja divisions were given invitation. The reason was simply because Bole, from both oral and archival materials examined, before the 1890s for never supported Kung in any constitutional issue. Therefore, the fact remain that Kung was not invited, involved and never featured on the side of any combatant in the Bole-Samori encounter. But, pondering over what might have incited the forces of Samori to invade Bole Kung was therefore accused by Bole. A critical study or evaluation of the messages by Bole-wuras or representatives from 1937 during meetings of all Gonja Divisional Chiefs attests to the fact. It was known that Bole-wura often convinced all the other Gonja Chiefs and who unanimously agreed to punish Kung-wura and his people. This idea has been passed on over the years to generations and researchers who filled archival files with the same message.

Even though it has been abundantly made clear already that the entire Gonja land was one of the areas Samori wished to capture for the supply of his needs (food, horses and to recruit strong men as fighters), this fact was overshadowed by Bole's accusations against Kung and Kung was attacked three conservative times in 1896. Gonja oral history informs that the leaders of Bole and their people, supported by few Gonjas, attacked Kung-wura, Abudulai Jamani, and his people. Again, the forces of Samori stationed near Bole at the time came to be involved, and fought every Gonja group met, because they saw it as an opportunity or the means to win over Gonja. Despite this second revelation, why and how Samori fought the battle of Jentilipe, yet some Gonjas, especially the Bualas (Bole people), continue to narrate to outsiders and even pass on to generations that "Kung-wura invited Samori into Gonja to help him win the Yagbum-wuraship or skin, and that was an event which brought doom to Gonjas, upon himself and his division." This incorrect information features prominently in files found in all the depositories of the National Archives offices in Accra, Cape Coast and Tamale, and need to be investigated properly and corrected.

However, it should be pointed out that the Colonial Agents investigating and compiling the tradition and customs of peoples never touched some people. The Chiefs and people of Kung, for instance, were one group which was not contacted. Hence, modern history students need to investigate and clarify or correct issues about the activities of Samori and Babatu in the region. Again, there is the need to examine many oral, primary sources or archival data on the history of Ancient Kingdoms such as the Mamprugu, the Dagomba, the Gonja and the Waala and put the facts gathered in a correct or more acceptable historical perspective, particularly with the institution of chieftaincy. This, if done, will definitely put an end to the numerous conflicts among peoples in the Kingdoms. Such comprehensive documentations about the Kingdoms, spelling out all constitutional matters, will serve as evidence for posterity.

During the encounter at Jentilipe against Samori, it is known that the forces of Gonja operated in two directions or fronts. One group fought the forces of Samori towards Bole, where Samori's forces had camped. The Gonjas staged stiff resistance which indicated that Samori's forces did not find the Gonjas an easy prey. In fact, Samori's advance in Western Gonja was decisively halted at Busunu. The second group attacked the Chiefs and people of the Kung division three different times. No mention has been made indicating that the people of Kung staged any counter attack against Bole or joined Samori's forces during the encounters. What Kung oral tradition mentions is that many of the people of Kung, mostly women and children, were murdered. The men escaped and joined their relatives who were long settled into parts of present the Upper West Region, particularly in and around Wa town (Municipality).

By November 1896, it was reported that the Western Gonjas had cleared their land of all Sofas, the name of the army of Samori, and were re-advancing to liberate Bole when the British arrived on the scene. The arrival of the British added impetus to the Samorian withdrawal from Bole to Bouna.

The British penetrated into the Northern Territories in1896 impelled by the advance of the French and the Germans who were moving into the hinterland and by the activities of Samori and Babatu. As history informs us, by 1898 the British had taken over the administration of the entire region, the management of the security of people and fighting between ethnic groups ceased or ended throughout the region. This situation was what people termed or was described as the restoration of peace and order.

Shortly afterwards, one Abudu from Bole, who was then an old man and who had lived through the episode, was made the Yagbumwura. This was a second breach of the tradition and customs of Gonja regarding the appointment of the Head of Gonja or Yagbumwura. This is because, history taught us that when Ndewura Jakpa died and after his interment "it was decided that a prince or chief who had a large household or plenty of followers should be his (Jakpa) successor. The Chief of Kungu (Kung), a Division of Gonja was accordingly elected." This method used to get Ndewura Jakpa's successor remains the custom of getting a chief at every level of Gonja governing system and was/is therefore followed every time. If this order was properly done among the seven Sub-Divisional Chiefs a sort of 'rotation system' would have been in place by now to conveniently put a successor onto the Yagbum skins devoid of trouble.

The present Gonja apparently consists of "seven sections or divisions, each administered by a Head-Chief, assisted by a Council of Elders (Mallams are also attached to this Council), and by a number of chiefs, each controlling a group of villages in the vicinity of the town which he derives his title." The seven divisional chiefs previously were Kpembe, Bole, Tuluwe, Kusawgu, Wasipe, Kung and Kandia, and chiefs of each division have had their turns on the Yagbum skin. These chiefs, as found in certain records, had to do a lot of lobbing and at times intrigued among themselves when the Yagbum skin became vacant.

After the Samorian - Gonja conflicts and the return of normalcy, "the Yagbum-wura was often chosen among the holders of five Head - Chiefs: Kpembe, Bole Tuluwe, Kusawgu and Wasipe. Two other Head - Chiefs, Kung and Kandia, apparently no longer enter Yagbum for two separate reasons. The Chief of Kandia lost his territory to Wa and the Chief of Kung has been denied Yagbum seat," because of the allegation that he (the Kungwura at the time) invited Samori in 1896 to support him win the Yagbum throne.

The above assertion, considering the unity and common purpose the people of Gonja have, both the oral and primary source materials need to be properly investigated because of challenges noticed about governance when a vacancy exist. Such a study, devoid of bias will for example exonerate the Kung people from the over century allegation being discussed for posterity. The reason for this statement is because Bole and Kung are principal divisions of the Gonja state at the northwestern part of Ghana and serves as the check against any possible future external encroachment. Hence, disagreements between the two divisions can affect Gonja as a state.

The Kung Division before 1896:

Before 1896, Kung land boundaries with Bole which stretched up to Nakwambi, Nahari, Kaliba and Tuna. These villages (towns) and so many others are now 'temporarily' administered by Bole on behalf of Yagbum-wura because of a decision taken by the Gonja Traditional Council to punish Kung people, accused of inviting Samori to invade Gonja. Previously, both Bole and Kung administered their respective villages according to laid down Gonja tradition and customs but were responsible to the Yagbumwura, the overlord of Gonja. As a result of the crisis of 1896 Kung was suspended as a sub-Divisional and was denied her villages until latter to be reviewed by the Gonja Council, which only can discharge Kung. In fact, the 1896 crisis in Gonja scattered all Gonjas. The people of Kung, who had no place to go in Gonjaland, reluctantly settled in parts of the present Upper West Region of Ghana where their kin and kith were long settled.

When the decision of the Gonja Council was known that Bole was now administering the Kung division the neighbours and good wishers of Kung remarked that, "holding to power for long corrupts. Now that Bole-wura took control of the rights and customs of Kung-wura and presides over the sub-divisional chiefs of Kung two issues became paramount; how to relinquish this vast and lucrative area of control and the prestige attached." This remark was a signal for the Yagbum-wura, perhaps, not to delay in reviewing the Gonja Council decision but, as will be pointed out later, due to certain reasons the issue remains to date untouched.

By 1898, British Colonial Officers on the ground and who were then responsible for administration reported that,"peace and order had been restored in the region." Hence, many Gonjas who migrated to other towns due to the crisis in 1896/97(already referred to) returned to their original habitats. As for the citizens of Kung, it should be understood that fear kept them in the Wa District (Municipality) for a long time whilst their elders negotiated with the Gonja Chiefs for their return to Kung. This method adapted by Kung touched the good hearts of all Gonjas at the time, particularly chiefs, who discussed it during their meetings. Hence, the British Officer, Captain Duncan-Johnstone, Yagbumwura Mama (Mahama, a native of Bole) and the Bolewura (Takora) continuously educated Gonjas on "the need to put the past events aside and live as one people with a common destiny." Another significant political gain of the British influence was the revival of the Gonja Traditional Council meetings which all Chiefs attended and which were presided over by the British Officers.

In 1930 the Gonja Traditional Council met at Yapei presided over by Captain Duncan - Johnstone and in his address, "seven sub-Divisional Chieftainships were named and Kong (Kung) was one." Thus, no Kung-wura attended the Yapei meeting. Further, enquiring about Kung the Chiefs reported that "no Kung-wura appeared to be active and none attended." This meant Kung was not forgotten.

Therefore, all the sub-Divisional Chiefs at the conference agreed "to ensure that the people of Kung return to their old habitat." Similarly, Wasipe-wura, who was also "ineligible in circumstances for some time," was to be reviewed for consideration. A three member-team comprising Gutheric Hall, the District Commissioner for Gonja, the Yagbum-wura, Mahama, and the Bole-wura, Takora, were assigned and after a close-door meeting they endorsed the decision of the Gonja Council that "Kung should come into being, but the other issue was getting back her villages." However, by way of partial solution the Yagbum-wura (Mahama) released two of the villages, that of "Kinchin and Gindaboo" but he explained that he failed to give the rest of the villages because "those villages were occupied by his children and removing them would bring inconveniences. In order not to bring trouble, I ask that the Chief of Kung put his member on the skin when any of those villages remaining occupied is vacant." The villages earmarked were "Jindabo, Nenyon, Tuna, Kulmasa, Sooma, Dabori, Ypala (Yipala), Kaliba and Nahari." Then, in 1932 one Datige was enrobed as Kung- wura.

As discussed above, if so, how can a decision of our two revered Chiefs (Yagbum-wura, Mahama and Bole-wura Takora), who even participated and perhaps witnessed the 1896 event honestly and sincerely solved the issue of status and possessions of Kung and their grand children now turns against the decision? Note that an adage says that, 'the mouth of the old man can rot but not his words'. Why then should Mahama Haruna 'be inundated' by the general public to discuss an issue such as what is discussed? Note again that, Yagbum-wura Mahama, who ruled from 1912 to 1937 and was revered by all Gonjas, had solved the Kung cases. If some people of Bole are hurt by stories of 1896, how about both the Yagbum-wura Mahama and Bole-wura Takora who witnessed the events?

In fact, available records examined revealed that the politics about the 'status and villages' matters of Kung were logically concluded in 1930. This discussion therefore should have stopped at this point. But, for the sake of posterity there is the need to continue to discuss the history of events in Gonja concerning previous disagreements between Bole and Kung.

On 16th March, 1936, according to the District Commissioner, "the death of Bole-wura Takora was reported and by his death Gonja has suffered a loss that it will be very difficult to repudiate." This does not mean that there were no men or chiefs in Gonja land at the time. Rather, the Commissioner saw no person of integrity, honesty and sincerity to continue to stir affairs in Gonja, and particularly in Bole. However, as customs demand on 3rd April 1936 the Gonja Traditional Council appointed Mandari-wura Mahama as Bole-wura and enrobed on 9th May 1936. Following this "the death of Yagbum-wura Mahama, who was Chief of Gonja since 1912 and had a distinguished career and was honoured by the award of the King's medal for Native Chiefs," was announced. The death of the two revered Chiefs was a big disaster for Gonja, and particularly Kung. This was because it seems not easy to get a replacement of 'good leaders' who would put the memories of the past behind as the two chiefs did and solve issues that affected themselves and their entire division (Bole).

In September five sub-Chiefs of Gonja (Bole, Tuluwe, Wasipe, Kusawgu and Kpembe) met at Nyange and selected from among their number Tuluwe-wura, Iddi, alias Bambanga (Real), to be Yagbum-wura. His appointment to the Yagbum skin was customarily referred to the Buipe-wura for his endorsement and later enrobement. He rather, in writing informed through E. O. Rake, the Acting Chief Commissioner for Northern Territories, to Government to be affirmed. This was approved on 1st October, 1937.

Yagbumwura Iddi was enrobed at Nyange on 8th October 1937 by the Kagbie-wura, who represents the Buipe-wura on such occasions according to custom. Kung was not invited and, therefore, did not take part during the series of Council meetings prior to the enskinment of Iddi. Unfortunately, on 31st January1942 the death of Yagbum-wura Iddi (who ruled only for a period of eleven months) was reported. On 16th March 1942 the five sub- Chiefs met and, accordingly, appointed Kusawgu-wura, Soali, who was also called Sinbing-Lanyo, as the new Yagbum-wura, and was approved and enrobed by the Buipe-wura on the 8th and 30th of March, 1942, respectively. Again Kung-wura was absent.

On 25th February, 1943, Ewutoma was appointed Yagbum-wura and he was enrobed on Saturday the 20th of June 1943. This time Kung-wura attended. In his inaugural speech, Yagbum-wura Ewutoma indicated that, "all the seven sub-Chiefs of Gonja should work together with the aim of improving the Gonja Kingdom." Note again this conclusive statement by Yagbum-wura, the revered overlord of Gonja. Therefore, concerning the issue of the status and villages for Kung,Yagbum-wura Ewutoma endorsed the 1930 decision. This was the decision which the Kung-wura saw as a partial solution. Therefore, the Kung-wura, as Mahama Haruna notes, 'was aggrieved and dissatisfied with the said judgment ...intended to appeal but withheld any grievance waiting for another opportunity'. Was the Kung-wura's action not a demonstration of obedience, tolerance and patience?

The discussion so far shows that from 1930 to 1943, a period of thirteen years, the Kung-wura, attended some Council meetings but never put his claim for the Yagbum-wuraship. This was a sign of deep respect and patience demonstrated by the Kung-wura towards all Gonja Chiefs, the tradition and customs. Rather, it has been explained that Kung-wura began to lobby his colleagues, the sub- Divisional Chiefs, by appealing to their conscience to endorse him in future if Yagbum skin became vacant. This method is another sign of patience, tolerance and good will. When it came to light that Kung-wura was 'lobbing' through his colleagues for their consideration for the position of a next Yagbum-wura, a secret letter purported to have been written by Bole-wura and his Subordinate Chiefs was unearthed which stipulated that, "Kung should be deleted from the schedule (Chief-ship list) because Kung has dwindled in size and it has few people, and administratively was been run as part of the Bole sub-Division for many years." See also reference note 31 on page 15 of this write-up for an advance caution.

This assertion or action by the Bole-wura may be correct because it was revealed that the Bole-wura, continued to impress on Chiefs never to endorse Kung. The simple reason for the action of the Bole-wura was, perhaps may be put in one word, 'greed'. This was because he and his children had enjoyed the position of chiefs in the Kung villages and felt such a lucrative and prestigious matter should not be given up. Hence, the Chiefs and Elders of Gonjas in the Bole Traditional Area continuously remind and educate their descendents on the Bole-Kung long standing disagreement so that they defend the course just as Mahama Haruna does currently.

During another Gonja Council meeting held at Daboya on 23rd February, 1949, in order 'to test the ground', Kung appealed to the sub-Chiefs "to consider the matter of the area ruled by him (Kung-wura)". He reminded that, "at the time of Yagbumwura Mahama Chiefs met at Yapei under the presidency of Captain Duncan-Johnstone and seven sub-Chiefs were named and Kung was one." This, to me, seems an appeal to all sub-Chiefs on the subject of Kung's 'status and villages'. However available records examined critically informs that, Bole-wura responded vehemently saying that "Kung-wura complains that I stopped his salary. On the contrary I recommended him for a salary. He has not sent any one to draw his pay for ten (10) months." This submission by Bole-wura, with the apology deserved, is what students refer to as 'out of context (topic)'. In other words, that was not the matter being discussed.

The next Gonja Council meeting was held at Busunu on 24th June, 1949, and was attended by Yagbum-wura, Ewutoma, Wasipe-wura Bakari. Bole-wura Mahama, Tuluwe-wura Diwura, Kusawgu-wura Nyagri and Kilibe-wura Abranyu (who represented Kpembe-wura), Kung was not invited because of the subject matter at hand and thus, "the possibility of reinstating the Kung-wura to the status of sub-Divisional Chief and giving back her villages." This should not have been an issue since, as already mentioned, it was concluded in 1930 at Yapei. But, for certain reasons the Yagbum-wura brought the Kung case first on the agenda. The Chief of Bole was first to speak, and as usual, began saying:

Kranzagwura, Wesipe with Kung ran to Wa during Samori raids. It was Kabondugudan Kongwura who brought Samori to fight Bole and claim Yagbum skin. Samori killed almost two-thirds of the Bole people and the rest of Bole people were scattered. Bole went and hired army and drove away Samori and also fought Kung and drove them away. The present Kings are blacksmiths and not the proper Kungs."

The above assertion is a repeated ancient story often used during Council meetings by Bolewura to win the sympathy and popular support of Gonja sub-Chiefs against Kung. This was the previous position or the continuous stand adapted by every Bolewura since 1937, when both Yagbumwura Mahama and Bolewura Takora, sympathisers of Kung-wura had passed on. Further examining Bolewura's assertion above critically and sincerely, the question is where all Bole people stationed at Jentilipe at the time, and "two-thirds were killed?" This seems an exaggeration of the situation because not every citizen of Bole was at Jentilipe. It was rather only the Bole fighters and how many were they and what numbers were killed? These could not be estimated. On his part, the Buipe-wura who is the custodian of the skins and who approves and enrobes chiefs to become the Yagbum-wura, surprisingly asked 'which grandfather of the present Kungs have been chiefs of Kung or Yagbun?"

The above question shows the interest of the Buipe-wura, an important office holder whose actions should be seen as neutral, fair and final if Chiefs took entrenched positions in a matter. In addition, the Kanyiriwura remarked, "my grandfather Yakubu swore on a fetish fetish with Bole people." The meaning of this statement was not explained or is not yet clear and cannot to be interpreted. Then, the Senyor-wura, another important office holder, also remarked that,"they (Kung people) are craving enmity for Yagbum-wura because when Yagbum-wura Abudu, Lanyo, Mama, Barbang, Singbing-Lanyo ruled, they (Kung) never put out any claim, why was it now that they are putting up this claim if not European time. If one spoils a thing how can it still be his?"

The assertions above shows the interest of all the King-makers basing on their reactions or the remarks made. They appeared annoyed and as a result the meeting ended abruptly but adjourned to 4th November 1949 at Busunu. Before the Busunu meeting reports suggest that, "the Kanyiriwura and Bolewura had informed all N-Nyamese (subjects) not to follow Kung. That, one Jakalia Vagila, the head of Nyamese states also declared that all N-Nyamese of Western Gonja would not and will never have the Kungs to rule them."

The next Gonja Council meeting was held at Damongo on 4th November 1949. Chiefs who attended were named as Wurbang Laribanga-wura, Senyor-wura (Wago), Damongo-wura (Seidu), Mawulpan-wura (Bakulso), Debre-wura (Mbanyo and the Chepa-wura represented Kusawgu-wura, Kawka-wura. Four principal sub-chiefs (Tuluwe-wura, Bole-wura, Wasipe- wura and Buipe-wura) failed to attend. The chiefs revisited the two cases brought forward by Kung and agreed that: the villages of Kinchin and Gindabo should continue to serve Kung and, that, the remaining other villages were to serve Bole. This decision got to Bolewura who was absent, but he quickly informed that "he was strongly against the settlement of 1949."

Coincidentally, on 3rd January 1951 Kinchin skin became vacant following the death of its chief (name not clear). Both Kung and Bole were said to have appointed candidates for the Kinchin skin. Bole appointed a man called Fogo Gonja and Kung appointed Takuore as Ewura (chief), who was accompanied by few followers from Gindabo described as "toughs" and who were said to have "attacked and nearly killed Fogo Gonja." This incident led to several assault cases which were arranged before and tried at the Bole Magistrate's court. Both candidates were warned to stay off Kinchin until the question was discussed at the next Native Authority Council meeting. But, one Kassim now known to be one Kassim Dumba, who later became the Tampoe-wura, on 10th March 1951was sentenced to prison but he paid off his sentence.

At the Daboya Council meeting held on 25th March 1951, the matter of Kung was top on the agenda. About Kung the Yagbumwura remarked that, "this long standing dispute should be regarded as settled at the meeting in 1949." Upon hearing this, the representative of Bole-wura, strongly opposed the Yagbum-wura's point saying:

New Kung either was or was not successor to the old Kung. If the new Kung was heir to old Kung, then the Kungwura could aspire to the Yagbum skin and Kinchin should serve Kung. On the other hand if new Kung was not the successor to the Old Kung that it was new village peopled by Wala immigrants and if this was so, there was little reason why the Gonja of Kinchin should be forced to serve new Kung.

Similarly, A. K Tombinson, a British officer, reported that Kung was originally a sub-division ranking with Bole, Kpembe, etc, and Kungwura could consequently aspire to the Yagbum skins. That, during the Samori war the people of Kung turned traitors and fought against the Gonjas. After the battle of Jentilipe, where the Gonjas defeated the rivals, the town of Kung was razed to the ground and the inhabitants massacred. Kung ceased to exist. Many years later, Wala immigrants settled in the site of Old Kung and over the years the inhabitants of the New Kung claimed to be heirs and successors of the former town.

Such reports have already been referred to severally and are repeated versions found in many files in the National Archives depositories. These archival data need critical examination before scholars may consider them good enough for public consumption. The reason for this assertion is that a lot of Gonja oral tradition suggests that several issues raised about certain groups of people were incorrect and untenable. For instance, Waala immigrants never occupied Kung and there has never been in the tradition of Kung a 'New Kung'.

In 1954, having exhausted all known channels for the redress of his case, the Kung-wura petitioned the Chief Regional Officer stationed in Tamale to impress on the Yagbum-wura to Bole-wura to allow him to occupy his vacant skins and to subordinate over his villages serving Bolewura; to allow him draw his monthly allowance suspended since five years; and to reinstate the Goyiri-wura who represents all Kung at Bole on Council meetings but was withdrawn. Further, that their (Kung-wura's) ancestors were not serving Bole-wura but were serving Yagbum-wura and, therefore, the people of Kung were not prepared to pay annual levies to Bole-wura from this year, and that was from 1954. And that the Bole-wura ill-treats the people of Kung because they were not his subjects. In his reply to the Kung-wura the Regional Chief Officer remarked:

I have received a letter from Kung-wura Mahama dated 28th October 1954 asking for my help in constitutional matters. Please, inform him that I am not prepared to intervene."

It is possible to continue the discussions which follow the same trend from the 1950s to the present day without arriving at the solution. The reason is because later Bole-wuras took an entrenched position to ensure that Kung was not granted her customary rights and privileges as a division. This idea seems to be wrongly passed on to the youth by both Chiefs and Elders of Bole, and some of the youth follow the example of Mahama Haruna who fraternizes all time with people from Kung in Ghana and now turns against them. In his document now in the Social Media, Mahama Haruna innocently indicates that the Kung family never brought luck to Gonja during their reign.

The question one may ask is how many Kung-wuras ruled Gonja since its foundation? Yes, Kung began the skin after Ndewura Jakpa passed on and nine Kung-wuras ruled as Yagbum-wuras before the era of Kung-wura Abdulai Jamani. How many other sons of Kung before Nyantachi were found to be 'tyrannous', 'cruel', 'unlucky', etc? Mahama Haruna also mentioned that it was the turn of Kung-wura to be the Yagbum-wura but for the memory of Yagbum-wura Nyantekyi from Kung Gonjas were reluctant to elect the Kung-wura as the Yagbum-wura. Therefore he was denied. This statement is untenable, unaccepted, incorrect and too misleading.

Mahama Haruna talked about a private and secret meetin which was held mid-night by Senyor-wura, Bole-wura, Tuluwe-wura and Busunu-wura and which leaked. Yes, during such conferences Statesmen often negotiate in various dealings but if the unexpected happens and a major decision leaks prematurely definitely a looser will react. Such reactions are considered as normal in/during our daily local political activities among the Mamprusi and Dagomba, the neighbours of Gonjas. Note that this was the time force was often applied by the strong sectors in order to win chief-ships and that was no crime. The looser in the bid in question may have to try again but not to be barred by the victor (Bole) for life.

Hence, when the secrets of the meeting held by the Senyor-wura, the Bole-wura, the Tuluwe-wura and the Busunu-wura leaked to the Kung-wura, as a human being and considering the frustrations he went through, will definitely react. His reaction was by way of harsh words which are characteristic of Chiefs during their meetings which do not spoil anything. However, the opponents of Kung, who want to make a case out of this, continue to remind all Gonjas to consider it as an 'insult'. This, matter over100 years now is still found to be relevant or worth the salt and modern Chiefs and individuals still hammer on the same idea just because of the interest of few people.

Further, the personal matter of one Mr Abudu Mahama (Yagbumwura Kurabaso), then a clerk in the Bolewura's palace and accused of making very dangerous statements in his office was used to show how unruly or indiscipline people from Kung were/are. Suffice me to state that any real/true prince will always want to defend incorrect information about his gate no matter the cost. This was the position of Abudu Mahama against Sergeant A. K. Cooper and his supporters in the department. Find out more correctly what discussions Sergeant A. K. Cooper and others held in the public and you will congratulate Abudu Mahama.

Conclusion:

Understanding the true nature of the Kung issue so far discussed seems not to be a big headache. The reason for this assertion is that, Yagbum-wura Mahama (from Bole) and Bole-wura Takora in the 1930s solved the Bole-Kung disagreement over status and the possession of villages. Thus, the decision the Kung-wura and his people respect because the two Chiefs hailed from Bole, and might have or witnessed the event of 1896. But the two Chiefs (Yagbum-wura Mahama and Bole-wura Takora) agreed for Kung people to return,restored Kung to the status of division, enrobed Datige as the Divisional Chief (1932) and pledged to give up his villages when any became vacant. Why then should later Bole-wuras canvass other Chiefs to deny Kung her rights and privileges? Note that, an adage says the mouth of the old man smells but not his words. All Gonjas have listened to their grandparents, read both primary and secondary sources, and it is now left to all Gonjas (Ghanaians) to interpret and analyse the information gathered and the available documents. By that they would understand the nature of the friction between Kung and Bole, but not misguided by Mahama Haruna. This will also help in reconstructing the history of Gonja in a more acceptable form.

In addition to the above remarks, Mahama Haruna advised that the Bole and Kong schism which predates that of Ghana's independence should be watched carefully. What is significant about that and what has he planned to do? Rather write-ups from untrained historians like Mahama Haruna should be carefully checked because such misinforms and may or causes trouble among Gonjas. For instance, Mahama Haruna indicates that had it not been the efforts of the British and the French colonialists, Gonjas would have today been Nyamase (subjects) to the Wangara (Jula) under the leadership of Samory. This is a misplaced statement and is incorrect. Have the writer so soon forgotten about what he wrote in the 2014 Jakpa Magazine? He is reminded that Gonjas originated from Mande, and were/are a Wangara people and spoke Juula, when they first entered Ghana. He is advised also to find out how Samory originated. He was not a Wangara.

The statement that the Kung people do not speak Gonja (language) does not hold. The people who want inclusion and many Gonjas are aware of this. Believe it, this is not a serious barrier. The language matter is not peculiar to the Kung people alone. Oral tradition explains that there are sections of Gonja people in the Upper West Region who trace their origins to Bole, Busunu, Daboya, etc, and live in towns such as Charia, Sombo, Naro, Tabiasi, Issa, Jonga, Biihee, Ko, etc, and are handicapped in the language. Despite their language deficiency, they are allowed to hold positions in parts of Gonja as Chiefs and Wurikyes. Find out.

If so, how do they function during Gonja Council meetings? You (Mahama Haruna) should rather advocate for their immediate inclusion in the governing system of Gonja for one vital reason. Thus, most Gonja groups found in parts of towns in the Upper West Region were sections of Ndewura Jakpa's warriors who were clearing their way back to Mande but had to settle in their present habitats because of the actions of the forces of Samori, Babatu, the French and the English. Find out.

Apart from the crisis of 1896 which affected both Bole and Kung, there are instances of similar conflicts that took place in Gonja land. It is on record that a dispute broke between a reigning chief "Takora Abudu, and his younger brother Achiri Kofi. The later drove his brother away and ceased the skin. This war brought destruction to Daboya; its Muslims fled to towns in Gonja, Dagomba and Wa. Later, Takora returned to Daboya and expelled the usurper Achiri Kofi." This war brought fatale destructions and led to several deaths in Daboya. And yet it is known that the two families today continue to "eat" the chiefship skin without referring to the deeds of their ancestors.

Then, over the skin of Yarizori, a gate to the chiefship of Wasipe, Adam Asai, aspired to the Yarizori skin but was prevented by the reigning chief, Darfo Anyami, thus the successor of Takora, who had been incited by another prince, Zakari. The disappointed Adam retreated to Yabum, north of Daboya, where he was joined by reinforcement from Dagomba. From Yabum, Adam sent to Nuhu, of the Wangara family who had been in Salaga since the first Civil War, calling him to be his Imam. Nuhu responded. Adam now attacked Daboya, killed Darfo Anyami's party, ...Anyami's supporters, headed by Zakari went to ask the aid of the Zaberma (Zabarima), who were at the time in the region of Walembele (in the Sissala Area). Three times, the Zaberma attacked Daboya without success. In the third attack, Wasipe-wura was fatally wounded.

The conflicts discussed above also definitely led to the destruction of towns and the killing of people. It was also mentioned that an external force, the Zabarima, a gang of raiders under Babatu, who was a partner of Samori in crime, were employed in the destruction of parts of Wasipe. In any case this did not make the victor family of Wasipe, a Gonja division, to stop the rights and privileges of the defeated family. They have jointly buried the past and forges ahead in every aspect - political, social and economic- up to the present time. It is also known that Wasipe-wura was ever disqualified by the Yagbum-wura from succession to the paramountcy but was later restored in 1931 . Similarly Kung could be discharged by Yagbum-wura and pardoned by Gonjas.

Outside Africa, history taught us about the French revolution which "deeply affected man's ideas and conduct for many generations ... and the Catholic Church, Louis XVI (King of the French), and his Queen Marie Antoinette went to the guillotine (were murdered)," This was as a result of the 'revolution'. With the memories of this sad event, yet the French annually celebrates the 1789 revolution together. There are no records to show that the families of persons or people believed to have incited the masses against the Nobility (the ruling class) are continuously punished.

From the above few instances, it would be good for the writer of Gonja history to go for tutorials where he will understand how historical information are interpreted and analysed in the bid to present an unbiased accounting on individuals and communities. In fact, Gonjas are interested in getting a comprehensive and reliable account of their history for the sake of posterity.. Suffice me to say that, Gonja faced or perhaps faces conflicts due to the inability of scholars of good standing (not Mahama Haruna's type) to interpret past events properly, not to rely solely on primary materials yet to be properly analysed to decide on issues of national importance.

With the apology desired, note that J. A. Braimah's accounts are nothing but mere narratives which need further investigation and interpretation. His handicap was that he was not a trained historian but being a Native Authority Clerk he compiled his works from office documents. In my opinion, he (J. A. Braimah) failed to organise the aspects he wrote on Gonja history in a more acceptable historical perspective. Therefore, relying solely on J. A. Braimah's information only suggests a failure to inform Gonjas and Ghanaians as well as researchers correctly about critical and important aspects of Gonja history. Note that, not every University Graduate or Journalist can interpret primary (archival) documents accurately. Further, you sought to unfold the causes of the Bole- Kung disagreement but rather expose planned intensions towards Kung and its people. Thank you. It is unfortunate that you still work as the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Gonja Land Youth Association (GLYA), which Kung belongs.

The Gonja Traditional Council of late has been making efforts to put Gonja together for meaningful developments (economic, social and political). Hence assist Gonja Traditional Council with credible information. In fact, the unity of Gonjas, a people of a common descent is very crucial in its history. Therefore any narrative that seeks to divide rather than uniting the people of Gonja should be condemned. It will help if Mahama Haruna and other non- Gonjas are advised to refer their ideas on aspects of Gonja history to the Gonja Council for scrutiny before such information or ideas get to the public domain.

Thank you,

Mahama, Iddrisu (PhD)

6th August 2017.

[email protected]

REFERENCES

Archival Documents

PRAAD, Accra, ADM58/5/6, Bole District Record Book, Vol.1

PRAAD, Accra, ADM 56/1/416, Monthly Report on the Black Volta District, December 31, 1901.

PRAAD, Accra, ADM, C.O. 897/45

PRAAD, Tamale, NRG 8/2/13, Gonja Native Affairs, 1951

PRAAD, Tamale, NRG 8/2/68 Native Authorities (Subordinate Areas), Gonja

Books

Boahen. Adu A., Topics in West African History, School's Edition, (London Longman1966)

Buah. F. K., A History of Ghana, (London, Macmillan, 1980)

Levtzion. Nehemia, Muslims and Chiefs in West Africa, (Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1968)

Manoukia. Madeline, Tribes of the Northern Territories of the Gold Coast, (London, 1951)

Tamakloe. Emmanuel Forster, A Brief History of the Dagomba People, (Accra, Government Printing Office, 1931)

Articles

Person Y, "Samori Resistance to the French", In Protest and Power in Black Africa, (1967)

Braimah. J. A., "Timu: The History and Social Organisation of the Peoples of Gonja", (Unpublished, 31st October, 1983)

Dictionary

Hornby. A. S., Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary of Current English, Eighth Edition, (London, Oxford University Press, 2010)

Reports:

MacDonald - Smith. S., N. T. (Northern Territories) Report, 1955
United Nations (United States) (AFP) - The UN Security Council on Thursday called on the government of South Sudan to "cease obstructions" to its peacekeeping mission's operations and urged all sides to stop the fighting.

Egypt's envoy to the world body Amr Abdellatif Aboulatta, who currently holds the council's rotating presidency, told reporters that council members had also asked all parties to the conflict to put a halt to "offensive operations."

"The members of the Security Council condemned the recent fighting in Pagak," a major rebel stronghold, the Egyptian diplomat said.

"They demanded the government cease obstructions to UNMISS (UN Mission in South Sudan) and deployment of its Regional Protection Force, and noted that the recent suspension of flight clearances affected UNMISS operations," he said.

"The members of the Security Council reminded all parties that the obstruction of activities of international peacekeeping may be subject to sanctions" under UN resolutions, he added.

UNMISS is more than 13,000 strong, including peacekeepers, police and civilians.

During their meeting, the 15 council members also expressed "deep concern at the continuous rise in humanitarian access incidents" and demanded that all parties to the conflict stop blocking aid from getting through.

South Sudan's civil war erupted in December 2013 just two years after it obtained independence from Sudan, when President Salva Kiir accused his former deputy Riek Machar of plotting a coup.

The conflict initially pitted Machar's ethnic Nuer against Kiir's Dinka, but since the collapse of a peace agreement in 2015, the war has engulfed other ethnic groups and been spurred by local grievances.

Thousands of people have been killed by the violence, which plunged part of the country into famine earlier this year. Some four million have been displaced, according to UN figures.

The United States has repeatedly called for an arms embargo on South Sudan, and one UN diplomat said that drive could eventually be put on the council's agenda, as the UN grows increasingly exasperated with the spiral of violence.
25.08.2017 LISTEN

The Central Regional Police Command, in collaboration with the National Police Command, have deployed 1250 security personnel to ensure an incident-free National Delegates Conference of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) which starts on Friday, 25 August and ends on Saturday, 26 August.

The personnel have been drawn from the Ghana National Fire Service, Immigration Service, Prisons Service, BNI and National Security.

In a media briefing at the Regional Police Command in Cape Coast on Thursday, 24 August, DSP Ampah Bennin assured maximum security for delegates at their various residents, hotels and congress grounds.

The Regional Police Command in collaboration with the National Police Command, is providing 1250 police personnel to cover this assignment. This number is also made up of other personnel from other security agencies [that is] Ghana National Fire Service, Ghana Immigration Service, Ghana Prisons Service, the BNI and the national security, he stated.

Currently, we are covering all the residencies provided for the delegates and these are the Adisadel College, Mfanstipim School, Ghana National College, Aggrey Memorial, Holy Child School and the security personnel themselves shall be housed at the University Practice Secondary School. We are covering every single hotel right down from Mankessim to Elimina, whether delegates stay there or not, he added.
The US embassy in Ghana has warned US citizens in Ghana to avoid movements in certain parts of the capital city, Accra.

The areas include; Avenor, Sowutuom, Sukura, Agbobloshie and Ashaiman.

The U.S. Embassy informs U.S. citizens that, due to credible reports of growing crime rates, U.S. Embassy personnel have been instructed to avoid the following precincts of Accra: Avenor, Sowutuom, Sukura, Agbobloshie, parts of a statement on the embassys website said.

The caution comes after Some youth burnt and destroyed spare parts worth thousands of cedis at the Articulator Park at Avenor in protest of the construction of some stores, claiming the land belongs to them.

This was despite a court order allowing the construction to go on.

The statement further urged US nationals in the country to review their personal security plans.

Below are details of the statement

The U.S. Embassy informs U.S. citizens that, due to credible reports of growing crime rates, U.S. Embassy personnel have been instructed to avoid the following precincts of Accra: Avenor, Sowutuom, Sukura, Agbobloshie, Ashaiman (located in the Tema Region), Nima (see below)

- Except when traveling via the main highway past Nima.

U.S. citizens are encouraged to avoid the same areas.

Review your personal security plans, remain aware of your surroundings, including local events, and monitor local news stations for updates. Be vigilant and take appropriate steps to enhance your personal security and follow instructions of local authorities.
25.08.2017 LISTEN

A Brong Ahafo Regional chapter of Young Cadres Association (YCA) has called on the President Akufo-Addo led government to treat the good people of the Region fairly.

In a press statement issued on Thursday, August 24, 2017 and cited by Daniel Kaku, it stated that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government led by President Akufo-Addo has taken the good people of Brong Ahafo Region for granted indicated that the NPP government has failed to pay back the money DKM and other microfinance companies took from the customers.

According to the YCA Brong Ahafo Regional chapter, the NPP in 2016 promised to retrieve the money from the DKM and other microfinance companies to the affected depositors.

"The victims of the defunct microfinance companies need their monies and they need it now. The Akufo Addo Bawumia Government cannot continue to be INSENSITIVE to the plight of the victims of the microfinance companies in B/A", the group added

Below is the full statement;

For immediate release

*Akufo Addoo Npp government must appolise to Brong Ahafo-Young cadres B/A chapter*

The YCA B/A chapter has notice with disdain and sorrow the attitude of the current NPP government towards the victims of the microfinance scandal in Brong Ahafo region in the early part of 2016.

It is recalled that in the heat of the 2016 campaign the then NPP candidate Akuffo Addo and his running mate Bawumia made several promises one of which was the payment of the victims of the microfinance victims in B/A which includes victims of DKM, God is Love Fun Club, Jastar Motors Investment, Care for Humanity, Little Drops among others.

The NPP made a political capital out of the microfinance scandal led by their then chairman who is now the Regional minister for the Brong Ahafo region Lawyer Asomah Kyeremeh.

The NPP parliamentarians in the region and their communicators and serial callers then organised series of press conferences, demonstrations and submitted petitions upon petitions accusing the erstwhile Mahama administration for causing the collapse of the various microfinance companies in the region to win the sympathy of the victims which eventually translated into votes.

One in individual in the region who castigated and bashed the then NDC government for their incompetence that has resulted in the collapse of the microfinance companies was the NPP Regional Youth Organizer Kwame Baffoe also known as Abronye DC who has since remain silent upon the assumption the NPP in government.

The YCA B/A Chapter would like to use these opportunity to remind the NPP government that the results of the 2016 elections particularly in the Brong Ahafo region was as a result of the promises made by the NPP in opposition which explains why the NPP had overwhelming endorsement by the people of B/A in the 2016 elections.

It must be noted that since the inauguration of President Akuffo Addo on the 7th January 2017, the DKM and other microfinance companies issues have come out for discussions on various platforms that has received absurd responses from government officials and other people who should know better.

For instance during ones of the visits of the finance minister to Parliament, he was asked a question as to when the NPP government would pay back the monies of the microfinance victims but the finance minister Mr Ken Ofori Attah in a categorical statement in parliament stated that the NPP as a party in opposition never promised to pay back the monies of the victims of the microfinance scandal which was a surprise to all Ghanaians including NPP sympathizers in the region.

Apart from the finance minister several other NPP officials and communicators have denied these promise of the NPP government to the good people of B/A even when they are presented with evidence of the promises they made which is disheartening.

YCA B/A Chapter wants to point out to the NPP government that most of the people who were managing the collapsed microfinance companies were sympathizers of the NPP. For instance the manager of God is Love Fun Club in Kintampo and Jema was Mr Alexander Gyan the 2016 parliamentary candidate for Kintampo south who is now the Kintampo South District.

It is a fact and we want all Ghanaian to know that the NPP as party in opposition benefitted from the proceeds of the defunct microfinance companies because most of their parliamentary candidates in the region and outside the region were sponsored with the monies from these defunct microfinance companies especially Sunyani, Techiman, Kintampo, Nkoranza among others yet castigated the Mahama regime of causing their collapse.

We want to state to the government in a plain language that despite efforts by the Mahama regime to make sure that customers get back their deposits Akuffo Addo and Bawumia continually use the microfinance saga as a campaign message in B/A from constituency to constituency to blackmail the Mahama administration and now that they are in power they are running away from their premises.

Questions must be asked and answers must be provided. What is the NPP running away from,was Nana Addo and Bawumia deceiving the good people of B/A and taking them for granted.

President Nana Addo should be reminded that the good people of B/A are also Ghanaians and deserve better.

It is very painful that the Akuffo Addo Bawumia government claims they have no money to pay the victims of the microfinance companies yet are able to find 20 billion cedis to celebrate Ghana @60, allocate 1.5 billion cedis to the flagstaff house in their 2017 budget, allocate monies for the renovation of the residencies of the vice President and wife, allocate money for the salaries of 110 ministers, allocate money for the organization of parties and cocktails and last but not the least find one million dollars for the mudslide victims in Sierra Leon.

The YCA B/A chapter would conclude by giving a clear message to the Nana Addo Bawumia government to treat the people of Brong Ahafo like human beings with dignity, integrity and honesty. The President and his Vice need to be reminded that their integrity is at stake, the lies and deceptions is becoming too much.

The victims of the defunct microfinance companies need their monies and they need it now. The Akuffo Addo Bawumia Government cannot continue to be INSENSITIVE to the plight of the victims of the microfinance companies in B/A.

Long live Ghana

Long live B/A

Long live YCA

Bagbin Mpondan

YCA Secretary B/A

Appiah Joseph

YCA Convenor B/A
Ghanaian striker Ahmed Said had a night to forget for Hadjuk Split as he missed a penalty in their 1-1 draw against Everton in the last round of the UEFA Europa League qualifiers at the Stadion Poljud on Thursday.

The Croatian giants needed to score three unanswered goals against the English Premier League side to book a place in the group stage after losing 2-0 in the first leg at the Goodison Park last week.

And Hadjuk, however, had their dream start to game when Josip Radosevic skipped past two Everotn defenders before firing a long range strike at goal to put his team ahead in the 43rd minute.

But Everton quickly restored parity through new signing Gylfi Sigurdsson, who connected to a rebound into the top left corner of the post from a long distance one minute into injury time.

Split were awarded a peanlty in the 65th minute after Ashley Williams's sliding tackle picked the left leg of Sergey Karasev but Ahmed Said's powerful low shot was saved by Jordon Pickford.

Said lasted for 74 minutes as he's replaced by Fran Tudor.
25.08.2017 LISTEN

Ghanaian defender Samuel Mensah made a cameo appearance for Ostersunds FK in their 2-0 victory over PAOK in the last round of the UEFA Europa League qualifying round at the Jemkraft Arena on Thursday evening.

Ostersunds great run-in this year's Europa League continued when they recovered from last week's 3-1 loss in Greece in the first leg with a 2-0 win to seal progression to the group stages.

The Swedish side needed two quick goals from Saman Ghoddos in the second half to secure passage to the next stage after largely being outplayed by the Greek side.

Mensah was introduced in the 90th minute in place of Jamie Hopcutt to shore up the defense when POAK poured bodies forward in a bid to snatch a late goal.
Algiers (AFP) - Accused of heresy by Islamist extremists and targeted by the authorities, members of Algeria's tiny Ahmadi community say they have been forced to go underground to worship.

Abderahmane, a 42-year-old trader from Kabylie in northern Algeria, joined the reformist Islamic movement after years as an ultra-conservative Salafist.

People he once called friends reported him to the local imam, who publicly denounced him as an unbeliever.

The imam went on to urge worshippers not to let their children play with Ahmadi children.

"My sister's engagement was cancelled because her fiance was told I was an unbeliever," Abderahmane said, still wearing a well-trimmed beard, a long cotton shirt, and three-quarter-length trousers -- the garb of his former life as a Salafist.

Founded in late 19th-century India, the Ahmadiyya movement follows the teachings of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, an Indian Muslim they believe to be the long-awaited Islamic messiah.

It is anathema to traditional Islamic thinking, and Ahmadis living in many Muslim-majority countries have faced persecution and physical violence.

While Ahmadis consider themselves to be Muslims, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation -- of which Algeria is a member -- declared in 1973 that the movement was not linked to the Muslim faith.

Nonetheless, the faith's strong missionary drive has gained it an estimated 10 million members in 190 countries around the world.

The movement didn't begin spreading in Algeria until 2007, when an Ahmadi satellite television channel reached the north African country.

After that, they worshipped freely, if discreetly, for a decade. Few in Algeria had even heard of Ahmadism until last year, when the government crackdown began.

'Israeli plot' claim

Ahmadis believe Indian Muslim Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was the long-awaited Islamic messiah

Ahmadi leader Mohamed Fali, a 44-year-old shopkeeper, was arrested in June 2016 along with his deputy, shortly after applying to register a charity. Police searched their homes and confiscated their passports.

Since then, Fadi says 286 out of Algeria's roughly two thousand Ahmadis have been arrested. All but three have been handed jail terms, ranging from a three-month suspended sentence to four years. The other three received fines.

Most were convicted of breaking right to assembly laws -- but their lawyers say they have been persecuted simply for their faith.

Islam is the state religion in Algeria, where Sunni Muslims make up the majority.

Freedom of religion is guaranteed by law, but preachers and places of worship must be licensed by the government. The Ahmadis have never applied for such a status, believing they would face certain rejection.

In July, Algeria's Religious Affairs Minister Mohamed Aissa told journalists the Ahmadis were involved in a plot by Israel -- where the community are allowed to worship openly, with a big mosque in the city of Haifa and a television channel -- to destabilise the country.

The minister at first agreed but later declined to talk to AFP.

Sirine Rached, an Amnesty International researcher, said the accusations were "baseless" and accused the Algerian government of a crackdown that is unprecedented in the wider region.

"As far as we know this persecution of the Ahmadis in Algeria is a unique situation in the Maghreb," she said.

Praying in secret

Algerian Ahmadis are fearful of harassment by Islamists and the authorities

Fearful of harassment by Islamists or the authorities, Algeria's Ahmadis meet to worship at each others' homes -- including Fali's house in Tipasa, west of Algiers.

Around 20 prayed in the large living room, adorned only with an imposing portrait of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad.

Fali began proceedings with the Islamic confession of faith, and he emphasised that the Koran was the Ahmadis' holy book.

The worshippers -- among them engineers, doctors and students -- refused to give their full names or be filmed.

All of them said they have gone through a crisis, questions and doubts, to which Ahmadism had provided the answers.

"As a modern woman, I can say that Ahmadism has brought me closer to God," said lawyer Nadia, 49.

Their creed teaches non-violence, and also advocates the separation of state and religion -- a vision disputed by Islamists, particularly the ultra-conservative Wahhabist version of Islam exported by Saudi Arabia.

"The debate should not be about Ahmadism but about freedom of worship," said Hamid, one of the group.

Fali, who is awaiting trial on charges ranging from "unauthorised collection of donations" to "offending the Prophet", said the Algerian media had "distorted the practices of the Ahmadis and tried to portray them as non-Muslims".

The campaign against the group is political, he said, pinning the blame on Wahhabists and the Saudi establishment.

Salah Dabouz, the movement's lawyer, agreed.

"The Ahmadis threaten their ideology by advocating secularism and non-violence in the name of Islam," he said.
Tokyo (AFP) - Japan said Friday it will impose fresh sanctions on North Korea by freezing the assets of Chinese and Namibian firms doing business with the nuclear-armed state.

The move against a half dozen organisations and a couple of individuals comes days after Washington expanded its own punitive measures against Chinese and Russian firms, as well as people linked to Pyongyang.

The US move drew an angry response from Beijing, North Korea's key ally, while Japanese media said Friday that Namibia has been tightening its links to the North in recent years.

"We will continue to make strong calls (for North Korea) to take actions toward denuclearisation," Yoshihide Suga, the Japanese government's top spokesman, told a regular press briefing.

"Now is the time to apply pressure," he added.

The sanctions are aimed at disrupting the flow of cash funding North Korean weapons programmes, which are in violation of United Nations resolutions.

Japan has previously frozen the assets of entities and individuals involved in natural resources and research work related to Pyongyang's nuclear and missile development programmes.

The US and its allies, particularly Japan and South Korea, have been on high alert in recent months as North Korea carried out successive missile tests.

Tensions have eased since North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un pulled back from a plan to send a salvo of missiles towards the US Pacific territory of Guam.

But Pyongyang Wednesday disclosed significant technological advances and ambitious plans to further improve its missile capabilities.

US President Donald Trump, like his predecessors, has called on China to play more active roles in convincing North Korea to stop threatening its neighbours and the US.

But China has so far been lukewarm on the idea, preferring to address the issue through long-stalled talks.
The training of nurses in Ghana over the past few years have seen some compromises on quality and ready employment as the number of trainees admitted into various nursing schools continue to escalate disproportionately to facilities available. This increase in admissions without any corresponding increase in infrastructure have had graving effects on the quality of nurses trained and their access to employment. Recent divided views have been expressed by both the ruling government and the opposition and varied Ghanaians awakened by governments decision to reintroduce the quota system for nursing and midwifery training schools intake.

These views expressed got the health ministry pressed for which it sought to bring to the attention of the public the rationale behind this human resources planning the aim of which is to leverage admissions into the various health training institutions and resolving the equity imbalance, (Hon. Aygemang Manu, www.citifmonline.com/2017/08/16/nursing trainee-allowances  not  cause  of  quota system  health  minister/). Most of the views predictably expressed by some Ghanaians and politicians are neither professional nor technical but confirms the very nature of Ghanaians to side with their political parties as long as it affords them the merit of seemingly favoring the justifiably affected ones.

On this controversial matter, professional associations such as Ghana registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) majority of nurses across the country and a cross section of the public have endorsed the re-introduction of the quota system by the current government. Even some cross section of tutors in some health training institutions such as the cape coast nursing training college have as well endorsed this move by the government. Quota system is a method of setting a limit on how much of something a country or company is allowed to have, produce or import etc. (Cambridge Business English Dictionary).

This system is adopted by countries and companies or institutions for varied reasons. Some adopt this system for economic, facility and quality reasons whilst others adopt the system for human resource management reasons in terms of employment opportunities. In 2015, the standard newspaper reported that Zimbabwes cash-strapped government has been forced to cut down on its recruitment of nurses and police officers following the freezing of posts five years ago.

This cut was extended to even nursing trainees as it was again reported that government has made a drastic reduction in the number of nurses undergoing training due to lack of funds. Amongst other reasons was the outstanding numbers of nurses who were trained but could not be employed by government. Even some tutors in their training schools had to return to the ward to work. And this was one instance of a quota enforced by economic conditions affecting employment. Quota system however undesirable and consequential can be justified by some of these above reasons.

The critical question to ask, is the re-introduction of the quota in the training of nurses in Ghana justified or the best call to make? I unreservedly say yes. Over a period in the country now, immediate employment of nurses has suffered a huge setback. Nurses after completion of various health training institutions in Ghana were immediately employed after their rotation as it was known before 2012 which was replaced with national service in 2012/2013.

For the past few years (3 or more) nurses have had to resort to all forms of agitations and demonstrations to seek for employment. From this new development, nurses who have been trained and have not picketed or demonstrated in the country most especially in Accra cannot even afford any hope of an employment. These identified and utilized weapons had worked for this period of time though, at times require more than one demonstration or picketing at the ministry of health. Picketing of nurses at the health ministry almost became like unpaid jobs. But what was the major concern, it was the numbers that were trained to be employed year in  year out. These numbers of nurses trained had tripled over the last four years if not more by the setting of more private and government training institutions.

Those who by dint of luck or opportune political capitalization and got employed needed also to form associations of unpaid nurses and midwives to be paid their salaries outstanding from periods ranging from 1-3 years. Demonstrations became popular in Ghana than most ministers of the state. If you were paid in the first year of your employment, you either had a working god at home or a conscience-wrecked politician or a greased palm of a staff of controller and accountant general or a strong tongue praying warrior of the omnipotent, almighty God.

These nurses and midwives include degree and diploma nurses and midwives, certificate preventive and health assistant clinical nurses and numerous other health professionals also seeking for employment into the health sector. Governments purse could not afford all these nurses to work at the required time. Though others have reservations about this view but certainly was a major reason. This particular reason is enough to re-introduce a quota system that ensures that manageable numbers are trained to be employed.

The quality of training of nursing students in the various training institutions was compromised by the numbers that outweighed the facilities available to train them. Some schools had admitted beyond their capacities just to enable them have a wider financial pool which consequentially have been reported over time to be mismanaged or misapplied or embezzled by some principals and accountants of those schools, (myjoyonline.com/news/2017/June  12th/ principal  accountant  of  tepa  midwifery  training  college  cited  in  malfeasance.php). Some of the schools that admitted huge numbers of students had to organize their lectures in a shift system which reduced the period of training required per semester.

These students in some of the schools who were admitted as a year group had to be tutored in batches at different times just to enable the limited facilities accommodate them. Once a particular batch is in school, the other had to be either in the health facilities or at home. Clinical practices were also scheduled in batches to enable the facilities contained these students.

This situation laid gratuitous pressure on the facilities of the various schools and the facilities of the hospitals. At a time, a couple of schools could send their students to the field in the health facilities to lay their hands on the practical aspect of the theory taught in those congested schools. Some of these students were truant due to the numbers and those who were dedicated to their schedule did not have enough space, opportunity and time to practice the job on the field stemming from the numbers that mostly outweighed the capacity of the facilities.

This is another compelling reason for a quota to train nurses and midwives. Amongst the above reasons was a culture of some Ghanaians who did not fit into the requirements of these schools admitted not for their qualifications but for other reasons. The culture extended to chiefs, influential people or decision makers and politicians all bloating the admission lists of (these school) with their relations who are least qualified and in some instances not qualified at all even to the detriment of the most qualified.

These political infiltrations compelled these schools to admit numbers more than they normally and realistically would. Would anyone want to doubt or question the need for the quota system which would amongst other things reduce the number of the least or unqualified applicants who had their way through influential people. But government through the N&MC must put measures in place to ensure that the admission processes is transparent so that this call would not end up still favoring the relations of the influential at the expense of the most qualified poor applicants.

The pitch of trainee nurses had an unprecedented increase in entries by both governmental and non-governmental institutions. Most of these entries were private institutions who were not accredited to run health training schools neither were they regulated by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (N&MC), hence admitted numbers they deemed fit. They in addition didnt have the required fundamental facilities to train nurses which most trainee and practicing nurses described as kiosk, backyard or mushroom nursing schools. These schools were all training into the wider pool of nurses already been trained by government and other accredited health training institutions.

How is government able to employ all these numbers, are all these numbers employable, how about a lesser number that can be well trained by training institutions for a probable easy employment. According to the WHO global health observatory data, about 48% of WHO member states reported to have less than 3 nursing and midwifery personnel per 1000 population and about 27% reported to have less than 1 nurse/midwife. Nonetheless, in many countries, nurses and midwives constitute more than 50% of the National health workforce. These revealing reports suggest that Ghana is doing remarkably well in her nurse  patient ratio which has been quoted over a period now, though not research driven to be at 1:22 as against the standards of 1:5 in places such as the USA and in some cases 1:2 depending on the demands of the cases taken care of.

But we cannot be complacent since we have not been able to attained the requisite nurse  patient ratio, however, this does not call for the opening of the flood gates for incessant training of nurses on a larger scale. Agreeably, there is still a huge gap in the nurse  patient ratio most especially at the rural communities in Ghana. The global variation in the levels of initial education for professional nurses and midwives can no longer be ignored. Many countries still consider initial education programs at secondary school level to be sufficient, while others require university-level education for entry into the nursing and midwifery professions. Education and training overcome issues including the shortage of nurse educators and poor quality education and training. It can contribute to the introduction of global standards and the upgrading of infrastructure, as well as increasing resources (WHO NURSING AND MIDWIFERY PROGRESS REPORT, 2008-2012).

The solution to the health care needs of this 21st century does not only lie in numbers but a well trained professional who can meet the emerging health needs of this technological driven century. The need for a competent and standards  met professional nurses and midwives cannot be compromised with numbers. Other countries are raising the entry levels in order to provide quality training for a resilient nursing and midwifery workforce to confront emerging disease burdens. The critical question to ask once again, is Ghana still training nurses and midwives for local utilization only or for roles in global health care especially in these rapidly changing health care boundaries. One may never know when a nation would be confronted with global health threat as we saw in the outbreak of the Ebola in some African countries.

It was a moment that left African health care workers more especially nurses and midwives at sea. In our panic to attempt an approach, so many health care workers contracted the deadly disease. Is Ghanas need for nurses just on numbers, I say no. Ghana needs nurses and midwives who are well trained and oriented to meet global standards for roles in global health. Ghanaians deserve nurses and midwives that they can place their total need of health on and as such would not be disappointed by quantity without quality. And these, do not require just high numbers but high standards. And as it stands now, those standards are still not appreciably met. Most nursing education does not prepare health professionals to respond effectively to public health threats in their communities or around the world (Global health and nursing, transformations in nurses roles in the 21st century).

This has been a major issue in Ghanas inability even to manage cholera outbreaks effectively. The nursing and midwifery education is centered on numbers and not on quality. Cultivating nursing as a scholarly discipline is more than meeting supply and demand (Global health nursing). This is a piece I love so much because, its simply yet deep in meaning.

The quest to supply to meet demands for nurses and midwives can and have compromised on quality health delivery in this country. Ghana must begin to take a second look at its priorities on the training of nurses and midwives. The re-introduction of the quota system is promising rather perilous and could not have been more appropriate than now. It would ensure that manageable numbers are admitted for training through the class rooms to the health facilities. Students would have enough institutional theoretical and practical training that would equip them for a resilient and competent work force.

But as the numbers are reduced, I make a strong case for government through the regulatory authority N&MC to consider of improving infrastructure in the various nursing training colleges, collaboration between schools of nursing, research projects, faculty and student exchanges, global health content in courses and Course development for International health as we begin to have exigent discussing on exporting nurses.

Written by: Bukari Bukson Adams

Senior Staff Nurse, GHS, Blogger @ Buksonadams.blogspot.com

Kumbungu District.

A member of health advocates Ghana (HAG), Tamale.

Tel: 0248557746, 0200483474, Email: [email protected], Fb: Bukson Wunpini Adams
Once again Kundum is here with us and if you don't feel an Ahanta, just forget it because you will never feel like one again. It's our festival, it's our celebrations, it's our story and our way of life. Every Ahanta community has warmed itself into the Kundum already particularly Dixcove, Kwesimintsim, Busua, Agona Nkwanta and other major Ahanta towns and villages.

Whilst growing up at Apemenyim, I used to hear "yeko sie nu o". It means we are entering the Kundum season. Soon the "gongong" beater would beat the gongong kon! kon! konkon!! konnkoonn!!! and announced that from henceforth no one makes noise in the village when the sun sets. Not even pounding fufu. If you want to pound fufu, send it to the outskirts of the town. No loud music, and you don't shout anyhow else you risk being hauled to Nana Ackah Chie's palace to explain why you are not observing the silent hours.

Guess what? It's time for Kundum and the whole Apemenyim comes alive with renewed spirits. Farmers return home early to prepare their foods mainly "foomfoomi, kyenami ne abresa" or fufu to escape the rush hours of Kundum. The village square and the streets go dead as no one is expected to make noise. They whole village goes into reflective mood and take stock of what happened last year. Those were the days that Apemenyim didn't have lights. We would all gather by the fire side in our various homes to listen to bed time stories about the Ahanta legendaries. Stories that gave birth to our risings and greatness as people.

It's time to forget the past and forgive ourselves for wrong doings and come together as one people. The traditionalists would recite their prayers, the Christians would also do theirs. Apemenyim didn't have Muslims then and during the grand durba, we would all come together in our best clothes. Haha! Those were the days we struggled to put on the kente cloth due to its size and those who are not comfortable wearing it like how the elders wear it, would wear it like the "Okyeame" style. Just fold it around your neck and go your way.

All these while, I thought that was all about Kundum celebrations until my late grandfather Nana Ackah Chie III brought me to Kwesimintsim. It was at Kwesimintsim that I saw the real fun side of Kundum celebrations. Kwesimintsim too has had a protracted long standing disputes on chieftaincy matters and were not celebrating Kundum until Nana Egozi Esuon III was installed and Kundum went very "hitech", stylish and fashionable.

One evening I was surprisingly caught up in a thick human traffic at Kwesimintsim "Ewiabir guamu" amidst heavy drumming and dancing. I just didn't know what was going on because I have never seen it before. What is it? It's Kundum!!! Wow! That is the fun side of the whole festival. People from the surroundings of Kwesimintsim - Anaji, Assakae, Apremdo, Effia and typical Ahantas from Takoradi came to Kwesimintsim every evening to dance the Abisa and walked back home deep nights. It was such a wonderful time to feel an Ahanta with good sense of belonging and fun.

Very early in the morning, Nana Egozi Esuon III himself would come to "Ewiabir guamu" and majestically dance the the Abisa together with the elders of Kwesimintsim. It's very glorious to watch him beautifully clad in the royal kente dancing the Abisa artistically. As the weather clears, he is quickly whisked away. That is when you dress based on your professions to display your crafts, talents and come to the square and dance with the king.

On the 8th day, the celebrations are over after intensive drumming and dance coupled with grand durba and merry making. After all Kundum signifies the end of famine and beginning of bumper harvest. The night after grand durba is a bit scaring as we whoop away the Kundum amidst throwing of pebbles on rooftops. No one is supposed to be seen outside or be met as the "abrafour" whoop the Kundum away amidst traditional rituals. They would tour the whole Kwesimintsim town as they undertake a cleansing exercise.

The day after is a brand new day and a new beginning on the Ahanta calendar. The past remains past and we look into the future with new hopes as we expect bumper harvest for the farmers, good catch for the fisher folks, increased profits for the traders and well wishes for every Ahanta and whatever he or she is doing with hands and brains. May all your efforts be blessed and a year by this time, you are prosperous and in good health.

Every group of people have their distinctive cultural features as people and that makes them unique and separate them from all other ethnic groups in the world. The Ahanta is not too different. Our customs and practices set us apart from the rest of the world and we should be proud of ourselves. For those who are suffering from psychoses of cultural shocks may term our practices as weird whereas those who are appreciative enough will learn from the values in our practices. We should not let their skewed sense of judgment about our customs and practices coil the Ahanta in us but rather bring the pride in us and hold our values as people in high esteem.

It's Kundum time and indeed, time to be an Ahanta and a Ghanaian. Time to show your pride that you are a descendant of Otumfour Nana Badu Banso the warlord that came through the mouth of the whale. Just in case you don't know, the blue whale is the biggest mammal on planet earth. The animal that rule the sea and that is what we stand for as people -greatness! We only associate ourselves with greatness because our forefathers were conquering heroes.

When the drumers hit the stick on the drums and the abisa begins, it's time to get the past behind, unite and build the future together as one people with common destiny. One people whose strength lies in unity. We can only be recognised and contribute our bit together for the development of mother Ghana only when we have rallied together and held ourselves hand in hand both in hard and sweet times.

Soon you will hear the talking drum calling us all at Kwesimintsim. It's a language that only we the Ahantas understand and I will be glad to respond because it's time for Kwesimintsim Kundum 2017. Indeed Kundum is the fun side our lives as people. It's our culture and heritage. Let's protect it.

Ahanta Apemenyimheneba Kwofie III

[email protected]

#Ahantadiaries_25_08_17
A team of NPP-USA executives are in Ghana to attend the New Patriotic Partys Annual Delegates Conference scheduled to take place in Cape Coast  Central Region from Friday, August 25, 2017, to Sunday, August 27, 2017.

This years delegates conference themed, "NPP, DELIVERING ON OUR PROMISES; OUR ROOTS, OUR STRENGTH, OUR FUTURE", is in fulfillment of article 9 of the partys constitution which states that, "There shall be a National Annual Delegates Conference which shall be the supreme governing body of the party."

The team is led by the acting chairperson of the branch, Yaa Amponsah Frimpong. Other national executives and chapter chairs who also double as delegates that accompanied the national chairperson include, Augustine Agbenaza - branch general secretary, Kwame Agyeman-Budu - branch organizer, Joseph Ebo Quansah, - branch IT director, Dr. Kwasi Gyan Ayim-Darko - branch deputy treasurer, Dr. Austin Nathan - chairman Baltimore chapter, Dr. Alexander Yaw Adusei - chairman Columbus- Ohio chapter, Austin Baffoe - chairman Atlanta chapter and Justice Wiafe Sarkodie - branch deputy youth organizer(Ag.).

The delegation from the United States will be joined by other prominent members of NPP-USA who now reside in Ghana. Nana Kwaku Agyei Yeboah - immediate past branch chairman, Dr. Fred Kyei Asamoah - immediate past branch 1st Vice Chairman and Edward Kofi Osei - immediate past Philadelphia Chairman are the other delegates who will join their colleagues from the United States to make up the constitutional requirement of 12 delegates per external branch.

The delegation will also present a 9-point document that will propose the following changes:

Making the Presidential Candidate the leader of the party when in opposition;

Replacing the catalog of aims & objectives of the constitution with a single mission;

Replacing the delegate system of voting to one-member, one-vote;

Representation of External Branches on National Council and NEC;

Prohibiting occupants of certain positions from resigning their positions to contest parliamentary seats;

Inserting an article in the constitution to affirm the supremacy of the partys constitution;

Amending article 3 of the constitution to prohibit the expelling of members and executives from the party;

Establishing an audit committee as part of the standing committees; and

Creating an Information Technology Director position and the occupant being made a member of NEC.

In addition to the national delegates conference, the national chairwoman and her team will meet with party groups like Loyal Ladies to discuss partnerships all in the bid to advance the cause of NPP-USA.

Thank you!

--Signed--

Kofi Tonto

Director of Communications(Ag.)
Ghana is immune against terrorist activities, the General Overseer of the Open Arms Ministries/Jesus Chapel in Kumasi, Apostle Kofi Nkansah-Sarkodie has said.

The Kumasi-based Minister of the Gospel who claims to be representative of Jesus on earth said the divine protection bestowed on Ghana supersede the one Israel was endowed with.

The servant of God, who was addressing a section of the media and his congregation in Kumasi on Wednesday (August 23) at a Special thanksgiving service to mark the complete spiritual independence of Ghana following the declaration of Ghana and Kumasi as the nation and headquarters of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ on Earth, allayed fears of Ghanaians that intrusion of terrorists must be ruled out.

By the authority vested in me as Jesus representative on earth, I say on authority that no terrorist activities can take place in Ghana, he stressed adding that all satanic activities in Ghana have been banned.

He has therefore cautioned satanic groupings and agents of Satan in government and Parliament to resign before they are exposed else they would incur the wrath of God.

The church leader and veteran radio evangelist also frowned on illegal mining activities and cautioned people who engage in the practice against the dangers of mining activities citing flooding which can be devastating.

Apostle Nkansah-Sarkodie also known as Saint Sark appealed to the government to take steps to guard against unauthorized development on water ways and river bodies.

He said the government must be bold and demolish any such buildings including churches on water ways and river beds to avert dangers of flooding and save lives and property to avoid the recurrence of the Sierra Leone landslide in Ghana.

The disaster can happen to Ghana no matter how hard we pray against natural calamities if we disregard environmental measures, he said.

The pastor also warned government officials against the canker of bribery and corruption calling for the cessation of the 10% syndrome in government circles.

He said any official who dips his hands in national coffers would face the consequences before they enjoy their booty.

Saint Sark said the importation of buses should be stopped to give a boost to the operations of the Neoplan Assembling plant in Kumasi.
Too much has been said about girl child education in Ghana and the main concern for governments and benevolent organizations is how to attain equal access to education for both boys and girls

In Bunkpurugu-Yunyoo, any attempts by any organization to promote and support the female child through the educational ladder often encounter impediments making it difficult to see positive results. Most communities in the district specially the Yunyoo part of it do not have formal school and most parents are reluctant to send their children to attend school in a far distance. The worst case is the absolute lack of teachers in the few existing basic schools. This situation mostly affects girls as they turn to engage in apprenticeship, babysitting and head porting which will not in any way improve their thinking and empower them.

Education should not be seen as the individual that is learning but rather an investment in the future of a community and society at large. This however calls for much stronger collaboration of all the stakeholders with government playing a lead role of providing all the needed facilities to improve teaching and learning. With NGOs and religious bodies focusing on attitudinal change of families and communities, there will be progress with regards to attaining equal access to education for both male and female.

Plan Ghana plays an admirable role in the campaign to improve female access to education in Bunkpurugu-Yunyoo District and other parts of the country; however social attitudes within communities, as well as lack of government support mean that progress is somewhat slow. For the issue to be truly solved, families, communities as well as the government of Ghana must realize the broad beneficial impact that the education of all children has for the society.

The girl child in Bunkpurugu-Yunyoo needs formal education to protect her from unwanted pregnancies force and early marriages which brings poverty into her family and the society. However, until then, small steps towards ending female vulnerability will forever be minimal. Without formal education any government policy geared towards the improvement of the girl child is bound to fail.

The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection instead of presenting government white papers on the campaign against child marriage should rather concentrate on how to get quality education for the girl child. This could be done by making strong partnership with Ghana Education Service to ensure that our basic schools are fairly given teachers. The possibility that children who are not in school will suffer any form of abuse is higher than those who are in school. This however, means we cannot fight abuse of children especially the girl child when they are not in school.

Since most of the worst forms of child abuse cases especially force and child marriages occur in the rural areas such as Bunkpurugu-Yunyoo District, there is the need to urgently address the educational needs of these areas to protect our girls from these forms of abuse. Yunyoo constituency for instance had Fifty Two (52) basic schools, Three Hundred and Seventy Three (373) Classes with only Sixty Eight (68) trained teachers as at the end of 2016. These figures represent 0.1 teacher per class ratio with a very huge gap of child-teacher ratio. The best form of child protection is quality education and if this situation should continue without finding more sustainable solution, then one can conclude that no government policy can protect our girls from abuse.
Cairo (AFP) - US President Donald Trump has told his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi that he wants to strengthen ties with Cairo, Sisi's office said on Friday, days after it emerged Washington had cut some aid to Egypt.

Egypt had protested on Wednesday a US decision to withhold some military and financial aid over human rights concerns.

In a phone call with Sisi, Trump "affirmed the strength of friendship between Egypt and the United States," the presidency said in a statement.

The US president said he was keen to continue "developing relations between the two countries and surpassing any obstacles that might affect them," according to the statement.

Trump's arrival in office in January has seen an improvement in US relations with Egypt, in contrast to his predecessor Barack Obama who took a harder line on human rights issues in the North African country.

Obama temporarily suspended military aid to Egypt after the July 2013 overthrow of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi and the subsequent bloody crackdown on Morsi's supporters.

Sisi in May approved a law which critics say will severely restrict the work of non-governmental organisations.
EXTON CUBIC Group Ltd., a mining company owned by Ibrahim Mahama  the younger brother of former President John Dramani Mahama  says it is not into any illegal mining in the Tano Offin Forest Reserve in the Ashanti Region as the impression is being created.

According to the company, it was only engaged in prospecting for bauxite in the area when its equipment were seized recently at Nyinahin on suspicion that it was going to engage in illegal mining.

Exton Cubic had reportedly moved heavy-duty machines into the forest reserve at Nyinahin at the beginning of the week, with intent to start exploratory activities, but was stopped by both the district and the regional authorities.

The vehicles were confiscated at a Nyinahin bauxite concession being explored by Exton Cubic Group Limited and some of the company's officers were allegedly detained.

The company said on the day that its machines were seized by the residents of Nyinahin and the District Chief Executive (DCE) for the area, Williams Darko, it was actually moving to the site to meet officials of the Minerals Commission who had gone to inspect its prospecting activities on the controversial concession.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has dismissed Exton Cubic Group Limited's claim that it has environmental permit to mine bauxite in the forest reserve.

According to the EPA, the company  with Ibrahim Mahama's wife, Oona Maxwell; his brother, Michael Mahama as well as a certain Kweku Pobee as directors  would be acting illegally if it went ahead with its activities without recourse to the environment overseer.

Communications Officer of Exton Cubic Group Limited, Sammy Gyamfi, addressing the media yesterday to 'set the records straight,' said contrary to claims that the equipment were impounded in the forest reserve, they were actually seized in the centre of the Nyinahin township on the said date.

He said Exton Cubic had spent a total of $20 million on prospecting and exploratory activities in the area, and has all documentary evidence to prove that it was not doing anything illegal.

Mr Sammy Gyamfi said in 2013, the company was granted permit by the Minerals Commission to undertake due diligence in the area; on December 24, 2015, it was granted a prospecting licence and lease issued on December 29, 2016.

He said the company also has a two-year environmental permit from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2016 which is expected to expire in 2018, as well as permit from the Forestry Commission this year and that it was unthinkable to hear that the EPA had issued a statement in the media purporting to revoke its environmental permit when it (EPA) had not even engaged officials of the company first as professionalism requires.

Mr Sammy Gyamfi also pointed out that the Minerals Commission was fully aware of the company's prospecting activity in the area and that the company was not mining because it knew it was not done with all the processes involved before starting to mine.

Exton Cubic has not engaged and is not engaged in any mining activity. We want to assure the general Ghanaian public, our partners and financiers, international investors, that Exton Group is doing legitimate business in Ghana. We are not doing anything illegal, Mr. Gyamfi said.

Huge Loss

According to Mr. Gyamfi, since the equipment were impounded, Engineers and Planners (E&P)  also owned by Ibrahim Mahama which equipment were impounded  and Exton Cubic had been losing a whopping amount of $40,000 daily.

Ratification

There are concerns that the lease issued to Exton Cubic on December 29, 2016 barely a few days for the government of Mr John Mahama to hand over power to New Patriotic Party's (NPP's) Nana Akufo-Addo, lacked parliamentary ratification.

When DAILY GUIDE asked Mr. Gyamfi whether that was the reality, he responded in the affirmative, but said it was not the responsibility of Exton Cubic, a private company, to go to parliament for ratification but rather the responsibility of the Lands and Natural Resources Ministry, after all due processes had been undertaken.

He argued that the company fully understood that it could not undertake any mining activity deemed to be legal insofar as its lease had no parliamentary ratification, and so it was not mining.

BY Melvin Tarlue
Italian-born of Ghanaian descent Giovanni Kyeremanteng has joined Italian lower-tier side Trento on a one-year deal.

Kyeremanteng, 26, who is a former Inter Milan youth product has signed a one year deal with Trento after his contract with Nardo expired at the end of last season.

'I am very happy to have arrived in Trento, in a square that dreams of greatness,"the former Monza striker said.

'I have heard very well of this project and I hope to actively contribute to the ambitions of this society, doing right from the beginning. I am totally at the disposal of the mystery, I can cover all the roles of the attack and can not wait to start. '

'I'm glad to finally come home to breathe the big kick in my region - said the young eaglet - To be able to play in Serie D went in Veneto where I gained good experience, I am now charging for this new adventure with the colors of the Trento. '
25.08.2017 LISTEN

Accra, Aug. 23, GNA - Professor Miranda Greenstreet, a former Director of the Institute of Adult Education of the University of Ghana, has called for collective and multifaceted approach by all stakeholders towards eradicating political vigilantism in the country.

She said Ghana had been touted as the beacon of democracy on the African Continent and oasis of peace, therefore, it required institutional, political and structural reforms to uproot political vigilantism from the country.

''As long as the Constitution remains the 'winner-takes-all,' we must all find a way of fighting vigilantism wherever we find ourselves educationally, socially, institutionally, structurally and policy-wiseand whether in our villages, towns and hamlets,'' she said.

Prof. Greenstreet expressed these concerns when she co-chaired a stakeholders meeting, organised by the Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO), in Accra, on Wednesday.

Contributing to the discussion on the topic: ''Political Party Vigilantism and Ghana's Electoral Politics,'' Prof. Greenstreet said if the nation failed to tackle the issue of political vigilantism head-on, the future consequences on the nation would be grievous.

''We don't want to crash as a nation but to see Ghana developing a democracy that would be an envy of all,'' she emphasised.

Mr Albert Kofi Arhin, the National Co-ordinator of CODEO, said the nation should take the issue of political vigilantism seriously and educate people involved about the havoc it could cause to the country's democratic regime.

He noted that a recent interaction with some leaders of political vigilante groups in Tamale revealed that some of them were into drugs, therefore, they visited mayhem on innocent people without their clear conscience.

Madam Mercy Essien, the Acting Greater Accra Regional Manager of the National Commission for Civic Education, said the Commission lacked resources to undertake intensive education on some national issues and, therefore, asked for support from all segments of the society to execute its mandate effectively.

Some political party representatives who participated in the discussion indicated that political vigilantism would be a thing of the past if those involved were provided decent jobs and income.

According to them, it would engage their energies and attention so that they would not have time to cause mayhem on others.

They also asked the Police to be politically neutral so as to arrest and prosecute individuals involved in the act without any fear or favour.

GNA

By Godwill Arthur-Mensah, GNA
Accra, Aug. 23, GNA - President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo returned to Ghana on Wednesday after a three-day official visit to Equatorial Guinea.

The visit helped to shore up relations between the two countries and secured a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) supply agreement to boost and guarantee energy supply and security in Ghana.

The President, during the visit, which was at the behest of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, signed a government-to-government agreement for the supply of 150 million to 200 million standard cubic feet of LNG per day, as part of measures being taken to address the instability in the energy sector.

The agreement is expected to commence later this year.

During the visit, President Akufo-Addo held series of meetings with President Mbasogo, where issues bordering on bilateral, regional and international cooperation were examined, with both leaders affirming to strengthen the ties of cooperation for the mutual benefit of their people.

President Mbasogo congratulated President Akufo-Addo on his decisive victory in Election 2016, whilst President Akufo-Addo congratulated his counterpart for the tremendous developments that had taken place in his country.

Both leaders were content at the level of cooperation between the two countries, and mandated their respective ministers of Foreign Affairs to reactivate the Permanent Joint Commission for Cooperation (PJCC) between Equatorial Guinea and Ghana, which serves as the framework to promote cooperation in the areas of oil and gas, energy, agriculture, food security, mineral resources, maritime transport, civil aviation, trade, defense and security, education and health among others.

On maritime transport, Ghana proposed the establishment of a shipping link between the two countries using 'Tema-Port Harcourt-Douala-Malabo' route, which will also boost trade and commercial activities between the West and Central Africa.

Following further discussions and deliberations, both countries agreed and subsequently signed two agreements namely: The waiver of visa requirements for citizens of both countries holding Diplomatic, Official and Service Passports; and Heads of Agreement on the Supply of LNG and the support regarding import infrastructure.

President Akufo-Addo and President Mbasogo also expressed their support to global and African initiatives for the prevention and peaceful settlement of conflicts, respect for the Charters of the United Nations (UN) and the African Union (AU), independence and sovereignty of states, as well as non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries.

Both Heads of State also raised concerns about the resurgence of tension on the African Continent, and agreed on the urgent need to combat the growing threats of terrorism.

They condemned recent terrorist attacks in Burkina Faso, Spain and Iceland, and regretted the loss of human lives in Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of Congo and other parts of the world.

The leaders also stated their desire to achieve regional integration through the AU Agenda to achieve a Continental Free Trade Area, which is aimed at boosting intra-African trade.

President Akufo-Addo congratulated President Mbasogo on the election of Equatorial Guinea as a Non-Permanent Member of the United Nations Security Council for 2018-2019.

Touching on UN reforms, the two leaders agreed that African countries should support the Ezulwuni Consensus, and expand the representation of African countries into the categories of Permanent and Non-Permanent Members of the Un Security Council, with the purpose of making it more efficient, legitimate and representative to reflect the realities of the world.

President Akufo-Addo visited infrastructure and energy development projects in the city of Malabo as part of the visit.

GNA
Accra, Aug. 23, GNA - The Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG) has proposed the establishment of a multi-party democracy fund to support political parties to develop their manifestoes, policies and annual conferences.

The fund, which would assist the parties to translate their manifestoes into four-year medium term policy programmes and policy oriented annual conferences, should be instituted and made mandatory for political parties.

Dr Emmanuel Akwetey, the Executive Director of IDEG, made the proposal in Accra at a Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) consultation on local governance reform and constitutional amendment.

He explained that such a fund would strengthen the policy and research departments of political parties in formulating pragmatic development policies and transform the parties from mere electoral machineries to development oriented organisations.

'The financial support to the parties will help reduce the reliance on party financiers which in turn would reduce the monetization of politics in the country, curb cronyism and corruption when parties come into government,' he added.

Dr Akwetey said political parties lacked research and policy departments and public policy education, stressing that the political parties' formulation of manifestoes and their translation into actionable programmes are ad hoc and tenuous.

He therefore called for adjustments of the country's power structure through constitutional reform to dismantle the monopoly of executive and political power, which concentrated in the hands of one political party and redistribute it among many political parties.

'This is critical because the party that wins elections in the current political system monopolizes power and resources to the exclusion of all other political parties,' he said.

He said the system empowers the President to appoint Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives and 30 per cent of all Assembly members further centralizing political and economic power in the executive.

The Executive Director advocated democratic devolution of Executive power, a transformative change that would radically change the local governance system and open up local government to partisan political elections.

He explained that the transformation would direct elections of District Chief Executives and open up district assemblies for competitive partisan political elections.

'The transformation would strengthen transparency and accountability in governance due to the increased interest of the citizenry in the local level elections and ensure competitive implementation of developmental projects'.

Dr Akwetey said there was the feeling that one needed favour or belong to a particular political party in order to get promotion or employment in the civil service, which has led to a high level of political patronage amongst civil servant.

He said a professional civil service was a necessary condition for achieving good governance and socio-economic development and called for the need to restore high standards of professionalism and strengthen the autonomy of state bureaucracies.

Dr Akwetey was of the view that the transformation would improve public services delivery and standard of living, promote transparency and accountability and reduce corruption as well as reduce extreme partisanship and promote national cohesion and inclusive development.

Some of the CSOs lauded the proposals, saying it would strengthen the country's democratic values, especially the election and resourcing of MMDCEs, to ensure development at the local level.

To them, the transformation would help address agitation and confusion over the acceptance of some MMDCE nominees appointed by the President across the country.

They called for the political will to give the franchise to the people at the local level to elect their Chief Executives.

However, some participants who argued for partisan decentralized local governance system said the introduction of political parties at the local levels would ensure that parties that lose national elections could still maintain central of some districts and stay relevant to the business of governance.

GNA

By Kodjo Adams, GNA
25.08.2017 LISTEN

Accra, Aug. 23, GNA - Ms Esther Gyebi-Donkor, General Manager for Marketing and Corporate Affairs at the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, says the nation's single window system will only work if consignees commit to giving accurate information on their consignments.

She said the various systems that would be working in the window should trust each other in order for the system to work.

She was speaking to a delegation of the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GNCCI), who paid a visit to the Tema Port to engage officials on a study done by the Chamber.

Ms. Gyebi-Donkor explained that inaccurate information on the manifest, part of consignees, would mean that Customs and other agencies at the Port would have to perform physical examinations of consignments; which would perpetuate the challenge of delays that the single window was meant to address.

'The system will not be successful if a lot more containers have to be physically examined. We have to trust each other so that most boxes can be allowed to go out without physical examination'.

She took the delegation through changes made by the port authority in line with the directive by the Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia to improve efficiency at the port and to ensure mandatory joint inspections where necessary, and in preparation for the commencement of the paperless transactions in September, 2017.

The directive, she noted, was in line in with the GPHA's own initiatives meant to increase efficiency at the ports.

Briefing the delegation on progress made towards the paperless system, Ms Gyebi- Donkor said the new system, when implemented in September, would see users of the port who receive consignments using the GCNET and the West Blue online platforms to perform the tasks that they currently do manually at the Revenue Centre of the port, from the comfort of their offices or homes.

These include checking whether the container is in the possession of the GPHA and whether the Delivery Order (DO) had been issued by the shipping lines, to allow them clear the container.

They could also receive an invoice and then queue at the two banks at the Revenue Centre to effect payments, and then deposit request (DO) to indicate that they will take deliver the next day.

'Effective September, all these will be done via the GCNET Window, using the Port's issued Biometric ID cards. Consignees will also be able to receive their invoice via an automatic billing system that will be put in the window, and can pay at the branches of ADB, GCB and Ecobank'.

She noted that more banks would be added to the platform subsequently but only the three would be covered at the start of the project in September. Customers can also pay online via mobile money.

Nana Appiagyei Dankawoso I, President of the GNCCI, said the Chamber, with the BUSAC Fund, had undertaken a study on the three main sea ports in response to concerns raised about the difficulty of doing business there.

Challenges identified in the study include long container dwell times at the two main ports, with Takoradi having a dwell time of 25 days and Tema 20 days.

These, he said compared unfavourably to dwell times in the comparator Ports like Durban-four days, Mombasa-11 days, Dar El salaam-14 days and Lome-18 days.

Others are high charges due to multiplicity of institutions, and the payment of port rent charges.

While lauding the Paperless system to be implemented in September, he called for increased sensitisation on the issue to get all stakeholders on board.

He said transparency in the process was important and urged the GPHA to ensure everyone was on the same platform.

He also stressed the need for collaboration with their stakeholders to promote trade facilitation as private sector players, especially those who took loans to clear their goods, depended on efficiency at the Ports to successfully build their businesses.

Mr Edward Osei, Director of Ports at the GPHA, who welcomed the delegation, assured them that GPHA was doing everything in preparation for the paperless system.

GNA

By Belinda Ayamgha, GNA
The Member of Parliament for Weija-Gbawe Constituency who is also Deputy Minister for Health, Hon. Tina Naa Ayeley Mensah has wished all NPP delegates attending this years National Annual Delegates conference held at Cape Coast in the Central Region the best of luck as they journey to the conference grounds.

The illustrious Honourable Member was optimistic that, the almighty God will grant delegates in her constituency and others across the 275 constituency travelling mercies to the conference grounds in Cape Coast. According to her, the safety of all delegates attending the conference is of great concern to her, the party and the nation a whole. She cautioned drivers conveying delegates to the conference destination to be vigilant to avoid accident.

The National Annual Delegates conference of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) which is scheduled for 3 days in Cape Coast is expected to start on Friday 25th and ends on Sunday 27th August, 2017. The National Annual Delegates conference is held in pursuit of Article 9 (1) of the party constitution which states that, There shall be National Annual Delegates conference which shall be the supreme governing body of the party. This all important National Annual Delegates Conference is held to crown the regional and constituency delegates' conferences held in pursuit of Article 6 and 7 provision of the same constitution.

Hon. Tina Naa Ayeley Mensah in an exclusive interview seized the opportunity to advice delegates not to engage in acts which will draw the image of the party into disrepute.

According to her, it is important that delegates comport themselves at the conference grounds since the whole world's spectrum of light is on the part, particularly as the party is at a cross road to take decisions on some aspects of the party constitution per the concerns tabled before it by stakeholders of the party.

She hastened to caution all persons contesting for positions at the constituency, regional and national levels to abide by decisions taken by the highest decision making body of the party which forbids them to visibly engage in campaign activities at the conference grounds.

She, was however, hopeful that the National Annual delegates conference will be one of a kind and the party will in the end stand up united.
Some top members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) seem to be robbing each other's name in the mud in what appears to be a desperate attempt to distance themselves from the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) $66 million software scandal.

The alleged stinky deal was unearthed by the current board of SSNIT, chaired by Dr. Kwame Addo Kufuor, former Defence Minister under the erstwhile Kufuor administration.

DAILY GUIDE understands that the software, technically known as Operational Business Suite (OBS), was to help network all SSNIT's branches nationwide to, as it were, enable the Trust receive real time data directly to its headquarters in Accra and as well enhance administrative efficiency. The contract was awarded to Perfect Business Systems at an initial cost of $27 million and later ballooned to $66 million, even though there were other companies that quoted lower prices.

'Dog Bites Dog'

But the revelation of the deal is apparently causing tension among members of the NDC, with Joshua Alabi, immediate past board chairman of SSNIT under the erstwhile Mahama administration, and presidential hopeful, describing the confusion among the rank and file of the NDC as a 'dog bites dog' situation.

He believes his NDC members are jubilating because he once presided over SSNIT affairs and with this gargantuan scandal, he is of the opinion that his opponents are happy  calling him a bad name in order to hang him.

In a statement posted on Facebook walls of his supporters after he was approached by the media over the issue, Prof Alabi said I began to wonder, and ponder over the dilemmas and predicaments of leaders in public service. First, I wondered and became quite concerned for our party, considering the position and allusions from some party members on some NDC platforms.

I wondered why dog would bite dog in the same family. I could only imagine that very soon, when the missiles begin to fly from without, members of our cherished party fraternity will spin, rock and roll at the joy of seeing others being pursued, whether rightfully or wrongfully. But hey, my advice, just know that the target is the party and not the individuals.'

Accusations

Prof. Alabi, who is reportedly lacing his boots to contest for the NDC's 2020 presidential slot, had accused the previous board headed by Kwame Peprah that he (Alabi) approved the scandalous $66 million software deal for the Trust.

Speaking to the media over the revelation, Alabi indicated that the board under Mr. Preprah  from whom he took over in 2013  granted the approval for the contract. Interestingly, Peprah has also denied paying any money to the contractor, putting the blame on the immediate past Director General, Ernest Thompson.

It was awarded before my board.

The contract in question had been awarded by the previous board and operationalized before our board took over, Prof. Alabi had said.

The management went beyond the contract sum without recourse to the board; they came to the board for ratification and queried it, he added.

He underscored, But then, I really want to believe that the previous board really took into consideration the operations of SSNIT before awarding that contract.

He continued, The management also explained to the board that there was some unforeseen expenditure that occurred and that is why they went beyond their contract sum; but then, we queried it because we said they should have brought it to the board for discussion and approval before awarding it.

Peprah's Denial

However, a special aide to Mr. Preprah has issued a statement, denying the claims made by Prof. Alabi.

According to the statement, the payment of the said amount was never approved by the board of Mr. Preprah as claimed by Prof. Alabi.

It is also instructive to understand that Mr. Kwame Preprah's board did not approve the payment of the said amount nor anything close to it, the statement pointed out.

It further quoted Mr. Preprah as saying, The board which I chaired did not approve any payment under my watch and I have no idea how the payment was effected.

Bad Faith

According to the statement, Any attempt to push blame with regards to the $66 million payment will be in bad faith.

It questioned why Prof. Alabi's board did not abrogate the contract when he queried it.

Assuming without admitting that the said argument should be adhered to, doesn't it raise serious issues bordering on integrity and competence? As a new board chairman, taking over from a previous board, what prevented you from going further after the query to stop the transaction, if in the wisdom of the board, of which you were the chairman, it was wrong or smacks fraud? Peprah, a former prison inmate, queried.

.For heaven's sake, don't we have an Attorney General's office? Couldn't we have referred the matter to that office for proper legal advice leading to the termination or otherwise of the transaction?

Investigations

Meanwhile, the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) is investigating five officials of SSNIT for their alleged involvement in the acquisition of the OBS software.

The contract was originally $27 million and later ballooned to $34 million before jumping to $66million and now its hovering around $72 million.

BY Melvin Tarlue
With diminutive effect from the elections anxiety, Kenyas tourism sector has withstood the pressures of uncertainties that resulted to some tourists having to hold their travel plans. As one of the most volatile sectors, tourism stakeholders remain obliged to Kenyans for choosing peace during a considerably fraught time. This, according to Cyrus Onyiego, Jumia Travels Kenya Country Manager, is a factor that has saved the industry a major blow as compared to previous election periods.

"During the elections period, Jumia Travels decrease in room bookings was 30% as compared to an anticipated over 40%. The numbers are already stable following the relative stability in the country, but the trajectory will only remain if peace prevails to the end, says Onyiego.

His sentiments are seconded by Carmen Nibigira who is a Travel and Tourism Expert, who has applauded the Kenya Tourism Federation for sensitizing all stakeholders on how to handle any security related issues around tourist sites. While noting tourisms major role in the economy as well as its resilience to external factors including incidents associated with elections, Carmen says, I hope we all learn that Kenya is not a stand-alone destination; therefore, security and peace around the region is a concern to all of us.

Stakeholders especially hotels are now capitalizing on the high season, characterized by the Great Wildebeest Migration. Kenyans are being called upon to partake in the world wonder which is the current epitome of Kenyas tourism.

Focus is now on the Masai Mara with most of our hotel partners in the region already seeing increased bed occupancy as tourists travel to witness the phenomenon, concludes Onyiego.

The confidence in Kenyas tourism sector is undoubtedly unbeatable. However, it is true to say that Kenyans are a major determinant of how the performance will fair in the next months, in all business aspects.
Justice Boakye Tumfour, from Tetrem Afigya is in Kumbungu spending 10 weeks volunteering on a UK government funded project to fight poverty in the Northern region of Ghana.

Justice Boakye Tumfour, 23, is working as part of a UK government funded scheme International Citizen Service (ICS). He is working alongside UK volunteers to work with women groups engaged in shea butter and rice production as their income generation activities. The fulfilment of their economic right is his priority where he seeks to formalise them as co-operatives under the Ghana Co-operative Guidelines and provide them with basic skills which will help achieve stability in their economic activity.

Justice said: I wanted to do ICS because I always want to reach out to people to help solve their problems whenever I have the opportunity to offer my help and impact positively in peoples lives and I found ICS which I am grateful for. During my placement, I had the opportunity to offer my skills and assistance to the achievement of the objectives of ICS to the women groups. The best part is such that, I had the opportunity to develop new skills such as blogging and I was able to realise my potentials. I accepted a new challenge to be in charge of communications between my team and the general public. I really loved this responsibility and will never regret accepting it. Ive been most surprised by the wonderful cooperation between UK and Ghanaian volunteers on my team and the wonderful leadership skills exhibited by our team leader.

I cannot leave out the unity of purpose of my team towards the planning and implementation of activities. Ive never volunteered in the northern part of Ghana before so I wanted to accept a new challenge which was against the wishes of most of my relatives and friends because I was moving from my comfort zone to stay up to 10 weeks in an unfamiliar location. This is completely new experience for me and Im really excited to be involved. I had volunteered before but ICS offers a completely unique opportunity to make a real difference on a long-term development project, so Im really excited to be involved.

I applied to ICS because I wanted to develop my own skills and experiences while making a real contribution to fighting poverty. It has been really interesting meeting people in the north and realising what life is like for young people as it is against what has been perceived by people in the south of Ghana.

ICS allows young people aged 18-25 to contribute to sustainable development projects in Africa, Asia and Latin America. On return to the Tetrem, Justice will also take on an Action at Home project, ensuring that his new skills also benefit the local community.

To find out more about ICS or to apply, visit www.volunteerics.org .
Ghana is blessed with eternal sunshine, delicious food and extended peace. So as an obroni, I wonder why Ghanaians made life hard for themselves by inventing the most preposterous drink imaginable: Adonko. Sometimes I think that this drink speaks to mankind's darkest urges: a primal desire to self-implode, and to watch the world burn around you.

Adonko Bitters, the makers of this nightmare-in-a-plastic-bottle, market their flagship product as simply "ethanol." Every other spirit that I have come across belongs to some special family of alcohol: maybe rum, or vodka, or gin. Even Britain's diabolical drink Buckfast  a lethal sweet syrup laced with a dangerous amount of caffeine  describes itself as "tonic wine." Sure, all alcohol is ultimately ethanol, but a name like vodka confers a reassuring kind of legitimacy on whatever is in your glass. The Adonko Bitters marketing team sees the world differently. They gave up on the branding question and just went with ethanol.

Speaking of Adonko Bitters' public relations team, I cannot imagine what their bosses said after the infamous Adonko Festival in Kumasi this year. The Adonko Bitters lads had a brainwave - why not organise a music concert, and invite the entire male population of Ghana, and give each guest a personal bottle of Adonko upon entry? For scale, last Saturday I drank about 5% of an Adonko bottle. When I looked in a mirror ten minutes later, all I saw was a ghost staring back at me. So it was thoroughly unsurprising when the Adonko Festival ended in a pile of sleepy Ghanaians, many clutching the last dregs of an Adonko bottle. I learned that this farce became a national scandal. Someone successfully sued Adonko Bitters, and the government banned the drink altogether for three months. It came back, of course, because prohibition never works. And if any drink can survive prohibition, it is Adonko  a drink so deplorable that making it in a bathtub illegally could only improve the taste.

Adonko both is and is not a tourist trap. Some Ghanaians give Adonko the widest berth possible  an entirely reasonable stance to take. Two weeks ago, my Ghanaian friend Terrence admitted that he had never tasted his nation's most notorious product before. We twisted his arm, he took an Adonko, and then he presumably swore never to take advice from obronis again. But other Ghanaians treasure Adonko as a cultural icon, particularly in the hands of foreigners. My obroni friends and I stopped traffic when we walked through Chale Wote with a bottle of Adonko, with Jamestown locals running up from all sides to congratulate us on our wise purchase.

My friends outside Ghana keep asking me the same question: why do you drink Adonko? Well, no-one can argue with the price. I have also heard more dubious claims about the drink, including that Adonko has medicinal properties. My good friend Max believes that Adonko, or Ghana coffee, is the ultimate hangover cure. (That claim looks even sillier written down than it sounds every single time Max says it.) It will come as no shock that Max is not in fact a doctor, and the only person who has ever described Max as a doctor is Max. So price and novelty value are just about all that Adonko has going for it.

Adonko is absurd but, for better or worse, it is now an essential brick in my Ghanaian food pyramid. And I am okay with that. Adonko is priced so cheaply that I will take a shot with literally anyone. I have enjoyed Adonko with close friends and total randoms, doctors and market sellers, barmen and construction workers. Words cannot capture the glance exchanged between two Adonko drinkers before taking a shot  a look of solidarity in the face of a fast-approaching train of bad decisions. And I wouldn't trade that little moment for all the designer cocktails in the world.
Hon Gilbert Ken Asmah, Tarkwa Nsuaem Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), has urged the traditional authorities in the area to contribute their ultimate quota to the development of the area.

I want to appeal to the chiefs and people of Fiaseman to come together and rally behind the Municipal Assembly support the District Assembly in its developmental quest to make living conditions comfortable for the benefit of all, he said.

Gilbert Ken Asmah made the call at the maiden edition of the Town Hall Meeting under in the Western Region at the Assembly auditorium of the Tarkwa Municipal Assembly. "We need a comprehensive support from the Chiefs in all aspect of the governance structure".

He bemoaned the refusal of some traditional authorities to release lands for the execution of governments projects. A move he said has stampeded the development and growth at the local level.

According the Tarkwa Nsuaem MCE the major canker confronting the nation is development and as such any attempt by individuals or group of persons to stampede this drive due to their parochial interest will not be tolerated at all.

"I challenge all our chiefs to mobilise the teeming youth for the advancement of the developmental agenda of Wassa Fiase" he hinted. He further stressed on the need for a sense of belonging and maintenance culture regarding government projects and infrastructure urging all to be disciplined and united at all times.

For his part, Hon Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, a Deputy Minister for information and Member of Parliament for Ofoase Ayirebi Kokoben explained that the Town hall meeting policy by the government seeks to explain the general overview of the policies, projects and Programmes of the government and to also solicit the ideas, comments and suggestion of the people at the grassroot towards developmental programmes. Key among the policies were Free SHS, One District One Factory, National Entrepreneurship Innovative Plan, NEIP and Planting for food and Jobs.

The forum among other things inform the central government on the economic management, Infrastructure, social services and governance respectively. He explained that the town Hall meeting which is under the auspices of the Information Ministry is being organised in all the 216 Metropolitan Municipal and District Assemblies, MMDCE's across the ten regions of Ghana.

Present at the forum were traditional authorities, Assembly members, heads of Departments and agencies, Corporate organisations and the clergy.

Img 20170816 123500
25.08.2017 LISTEN

Sugarcane farmers who had hopes of cultivating to supply the Komenda Sugar factory have now been compelled to sell to producers of the local gin popularly known as Akpeteshie their profits.

The factory registered over 500 out-growers with that total of 30,000 acres of sugar cane funds.

If the funds sought by the management were available, several tonnes of sugar cane could have been purchased from the outgrowers and factory would have been operational.

One of the farmers supplying the factory noted that we were so happy as farmers when the factory was set up. Some officials came here to register us and told us not to sell the sugar cane to akpeteshie producers again.

There were routine visits by the officials and my first sale to the officials was encouraging because I could get my money in bulk. But now, the story is different now. We don't know what to do with our sugar cane now.

Thus, they have now turned to suppliers of the production of akpeteshie.

Listen to the full report below





By: Jospeh Ackon Mensah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
A pharmacist at the Bimbilla government hospital is in the grips of the district police for allegedly stealing some pharmaceutical drugs.

The district police crime officer, DSP Ebenezer Kosi-Peprah told Citi News that the police got a hint from an informant, that some drugs belonging to the Bimbilla hospital were been transported to Tamale on a Bimbilla  Tamale bound bus.

The bus was quickly intercepted at the barrier along the Bimbilla -Accra road, and upon a search, the drugs were found on top of the vehicle.

The suspect, one Stephen Nii Obodai, who happened to be the pharmacist at the hospital, was later arrested at his Bungalow at the hospital.

DSP Kosi-Peprah also said some drugs were found in the suspect's room upon a thorough search by the police. He later told the police that those drugs were meant for his clients.

Citi News checks at the hospital revealed that the pharmacist was already suspected by some of his colleagues.

Mr Dandia, the district director of Ghana Health Service at the Nanumba north district, said as a hospital, we actually also realized that some form of thievery of drugs has been going on and management in a meeting decided on a number of options.

He urged the general public to also report to management if they notice anything odd at the facility. He has also pledged the support of management to ensure that the suspect is appropriately punished.

Stephen Nii Obodai has been asked to vacate from his post, pending further investigations by an independent committee.



By: Mohammed Aminu M Alabira/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Ever thought of a hospitality experience in the clouds as the lush greenery rolls over the mountains? Then you are only a few seconds away from making that discovery in Ghana.

It has perhaps not grabbed much attention but it is at the heart of the Voltas hospitality industry.

It is the Weta Mountains or the Kabakaba Hills located uphill of the Volta Regional capital, Ho.

The mountains which stretch from the northeastern part of the capital to the northwestern part, and kissing the heavens, provides a soothing environment worth experiencing.

A look at the mountains over one's head captures a pleasing view of magnificent buildings with the terraced structures.

It is no wonder, that there is a mad rush for land at that part of the city.

Investors, who acquired these lands, mostly invest in the hospitality industry.

Chains of Hotels are springing up on the hills where irresistible treats await guests.

Some of the prestigious Hotels in the Volta Region are up there in the clouds. Volta Serene, Skyplus, African Hill Resort and Fred's Kitchen and Wellness among others are all soaring in the clouds.

Weta hills is indeed an exciting space in Ghana to enjoy good times and it presents a perfect setting to explore nature. The topography of the area provides a thrilling environment for hiking and camping.

At one side are the lush view of the Ho Township and the panoramic view of Adaklu Mountains which is on the hips of the City.

From the other end, one can see the serene Klefe with its spouting waterfalls.

Less than 30 minutes' drive from the hill could land you in Amedzorfe; the highest points of human settlements in Ghana.

On the Weta (Kabakaba hills), one feels closer to the heavens. And it could be a reason churches pitch camp in the forest to meditate.



By: King Nobert Akpablie
We support every effort by the government to chase all those who have contributed to the massive rot at the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT).

There is an ongoing investigation into a $66 million software contract that the SSNIT management during the administration of the Mahama-led National Democratic Congress (NDC) awarded to a private company to develop a platform to help in networking all branches of SSNIT across the country.

It is even turning out that the contract sum has reach around $72 million but still the system cannot function as expected.

We are concerned about how a hardware retailer with zero experience in developing a complex enterprise software system won a multi-million dollar SSNIT contract to furnish the organisation with a full-spectrum, so-called, operational business suite,' a system, which is supposed to encompass every layer of the organisations operational activities?

We are hearing that the software was supposed to be a turnkey project, but as we sit here, the machine is sitting somewhere in Malaysia.

The rationale behind the whole project was to reduce the amount of paper work involved in processing pensions and cut the time spent by the already-stressed retiree, but it has rather come to worsen the overhead cost of SSNIT.

How did that happen? To make matters worse, SSNIT does not have copyright to the software after spending so much on the whole project.

This is the rot Mr Mahama and his appointees bequeathed Ghanaians.

The situation at SSNIT is messy. Contributions continue to go down and the trust's main assets have been disposed off.

Do you remember the recent disposal of SSNIT's most valuable assets in the form of landed properties in expensive locations in Accra by the Ernest Thompson-led management?

They eventually auctioned those properties to themselves. What benefit did it bring to the pensioner?

On October 9 at the launch of the NPP Manifesto for Election 2016, then Vice Presidential nominee of then opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Alhaji Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, highlighted the problems at SSNIT and warned the current course of SSNIT was going to leave pensioners in a dire situation.

Our pensioners are under threat, currently the financial viability of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust is in question, we recall the current Vice President as predicting and added that the World Bank, in its 2016 report of governance of SSNIT, stated that the actuarial valuation shows that the fund will become a cash flow negative in 2019 and all assets will be used up by 2031.

At this point, the benefits would have to match the inflows and will lead to very significant cuts in the benefit for current pensioners. This is the World Bank telling us that SSNIT is collapsing and that would result in a cut in pensions.

In DAILY GUIDE's opinion, we should not see this disclosure as one of the usual issues where we mumble and grumble and then it comes to nothing, letting some people somewhere heave a sigh of relief and then hop on a jet to Yankee or Europe or Dubai for another steak and lobster holiday.

When will the bad guys ever suffer in this land? Damn!
From left: Yussif Yakubu, Razak Abdul Shaibu, Banabas Kayase and Opoku Agyeman

An Accra circuit court has scheduled the judgement in the case in which three persons are standing trial for allegedly robbing Akua Donkor  founder of the Ghana Freedom Party (GFP)  for August 29.

The court, presided over by Aboagye Tandoh, fixed the date after both parties had closed their cases.

At the last hearing, one of the accused persons  Banabas Kayase  had accused Akua of being against the swearing-in of Nana Akufo-Addo as President of the Republic of Ghana.

According to him, Madam Akua Donkor had told him that she was travelling to America immediately after the 2016 elections because Nana Akufo-Addo's New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration would kill her.

Banabas, then driver of Madam Akua Donkor, was emphatic that his Madam had also told him that even if she travelled, she would make sure that former President John Dramani Mahama would not hand over to the then president-elect  Nana Addo.

Led by his lawyer, Vincent Aikins, for further evidence, Banabas told the court that during their first meeting at the Cocoa Clinic in Accra, Akua Donkor said she would give him a job as secretary of the GFP because he is a handsome man.

Subsequent to their first meeting, Banabas claimed that Akua asked him to meet her at the Ebony Hotel at Pig Farm in Accra for further discussions on the job.

The accused person said his secretarial job was given to him verbally with a monthly salary of GH2,500.

He denied having conspired with the other accused persons in the dock  Razak Shaibu, a member of the GPRTU taskforce and Yakubu Yusif, trader and Central Regional chairman of the GFP  to rob Madam Akua Donkor.

He said although he was the driver of the controversial politician cum farmer, he did not accompany the complainant to change her $30,000 for her proposed trip.

Banabas denied the assertion by Akua Donkor that he had conspired with the others to rob her because of a misunderstanding (over unpaid salary) between them.

Lawyer Akins' client maintained that he did not know the other accomplices  Joe and Nuamah aka Lion  currently on the run, neither did he benefit in any way from the alleged robbery.

Earlier, Banabas had categorically accused Madam Akua Donkor of owing him GH20,000, being the total of his eight months' salary.

He alleged that his Madam employed him on April 24, 2016 and agreed to pay the said amount.

The prosecution said the accused persons, at about 2:30 am at Sowutuom, a suburb of Accra, on December 30, 2016, and at Taifa in Accra, conspired to rob the GFP 2016 flag bearer at gunpoint and snatched her travelling bag containing plane ticket, Ghanaian passport, voter ID card, $30,000 and GH3,000.

By Jeffrey De-Graft Johnson

[email protected]
25.08.2017 LISTEN

Now, let us face the cancer that every Ghanaian sees every day which is destroying the fabric of the country, that is corruption. Deep down the souls of many people when offered public positions, they have the intent to steal government properties including cash, cars, buildings, lands, etc. To them, it is a privilege to serve and take from the state. Some Ghanaians see working with the government as the avenue to enrich themselves. This is the first mindset to exploit the country.

Society has created the impression that after working with the government, you must meet certain expectations. Like, have some fat bank accounts, get many cars, businesses, houses, etc. If you don't get these while working for the state and you are poor in your later years, people will speak to you like this, "after working for the government, you could not save a pesewa, now see your life?" No one seems to end their life like this after years of working for the government; hence they resort to plan B. This explains the second mindset to exploit the country.

Some individuals actions, support, and thoughts in the society do support public servants to extort the state. When one is a leader in the country, everyone is counting on them to give including scholarships, paying school fees for some students, sharing some cash randomly, giving huge funeral dues, paying fat tithe at church, spending on young girls at colleges in exchange for sex, etc. Honestly, it is a good thing that some of our leaders are supporting the needy in their constituencies. But do we at times pause and ask the impact (positive and negative) it is having on our leaders? And at what cost? This can trigger them to steal from the state by inflating budgets, doubling figures, and others because they have to meet their demands by the people. How much do the ministers, members of parliament, and public servants make in reality? Be honest, do you think the money they make is the ones they use to help? This is the third mindset to exploit the country.

The trend is evident, double the budget or figures and use the money to pay needy students fees, pay needy people hospital bills, pay tithe, pay huge funeral dues, spending on young girls at the college in exchange for sex, and others. In orders words, steal to help the needy and yourself and reputation. This is the foundation of our woes today. The absurd things we tolerate turns to hurt the larger society, but we don't seem to know. This also explains the fourth mindset to exploit the country.

Some government officials are just "morally bankrupt, " and when they get the opportunity to loot, they pluck the whole resources without mercy. They are so merciless than the terrorist who put bombs on their body to kill innocent souls, all things being equal. They loot for themselves, family, village, and tribe first before considering the nation. This is the notion we must fight and defeat it. This is the root of corruption which is like deadly cancer to us now. The "aban dea" mentality is one of the reasons why we can't move forward. Since Nkrumah's time to date, this mentality is killing us gradually. Time to try something new! The merciless thought of some public servants is the fifth mindset to exploit the country.

If people are of the opinion to steal mercilessly when a company or an organization is for the government, then it makes sense to privatize them to serious entrepreneurs who will be seriously monitoring the here and now of our resources. The state has owned a lot of organizations for sixty years now, but we still see the same results over and over. The same complaints. In fact, at this time, we must agree that insanity is doing the same thing without achieving any success. The public cry every day because things are not managed well. Hence it makes sense to turn the equation after sixty years. Instead of more public ownership of our organizations, the private sector should dominate and let's see what happens for the next sixty years. I can promise they will be a great change because I have seen one in the western societies. Private companies drive the economy and not the government. You can ask any country in the Western world that we envy to emulate. Even Chinese and Russians will tell you the hard truth after going through communism.

PRIVATIZATION RULES!
BBC Swahilis flagship TV programme Dira ya Dunia is marking its 5th Birthday with special programming. All next week, viewers can expect daily features, including:

 Specially commissioned stories from across East Africa from our talented correspondents

 A look back at the big, important and unique stories from the last 5 years

 Behind the scenes meetings with the production crew and camera operators who help deliver the programme

 The story of Dira TV - how it started, its achievements and how it hopes to continue to deliver outstanding journalism for the future

 Plus a chance for the viewers themselves to interact with the programme

Dira ya Dunia was launched on Sep 27, 2012 and is watched by over 7 million viewers in East Africa. BBC Swahili has an impressive social media following and can be found on Facebook , YouTube , Twitter , Instagram and Soundcloud .

From the start, the programme offered audiences in East Africa and beyond an international perspective of the news from the region. Viewers have been updated on big global stories through coverage of current affairs, business, culture and sport. East Africa has seen major changes in politics and the economy in the last five years and Dira Ya Dunia has been there to chronicle the changes through major interviews with the Presidents and the major political players of Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi and Uganda. They have also brought the voices of the new entrepreneurs driving change and new entertainers for a new generation - such as Diamond Platnumz from Tanzania, Eddy Kenzo from Uganda and Juliani from Kenya.

The programme will continue to be a trusted reference point for big breaking news as well as offering an insight into East Africa and rest of the continent.

Dira ya Dunia can be seen via partner TV stations - Star TV in Tanzania and Wantanshi TV in the DRC at 1800GMT and Raga TV in the DRC at 2130GMT.
The Accra Digital Center is ready to support Ghanaian IT companies to enable them to grow and create digital jobs.

This is according to the acting CEO of its parent company, Ghana Digital Centers Limited (GDCL), Eric Ofosu Nkansah.

According to him, the government is providing Technology companies and entrepreneurs with the affordable infrastructure and facilities at the Centre to enable them to grow.

He said over the years, high rental fees for office space in Accra has been a hindrance to the growth of the sector in Ghana and Government is, therefore, providing the affordable work space as an incentive to attract more companies to drive the ICT industry.

Eric Ofosu Nkansah.

The Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) Centre consists of twelve (12) unit blocks, each with space of 750 sqm, providing total workspace of 9,000 sqm and six one-storey office buildings with 24 rooms to serve as common service areas. One block is reserved for digital Entrepreneurship program to help nurture Technology startups in the ecosystem.

The Accra Digital Centre is capable of hosting up to 10,000 direct digital and ancillary jobs. There are plans by GDCL to establish an ICT park or Digital Centre per region to harness the digital potential of the entire Country to promote Job Creation and Economic Development.

Ghana Digital Centres Limited is the Parent Company (GDCL), under the Ministry of Communications overseeing the management of the Accra Digital Centre to ensure that it is operated on a sustainable basis.

GDCL's mission is to lead the development of Technology Parks and Digital Centres across Ghana by providing the required infrastructure, facilities, environment, services and programmes that foster the growth of the ICT and Business Process Outsourcing industry as part of the strategy to make Ghana the ICT/BPO hub of the sub-region as stated in the 2016 NPP manifesto.

The necessary background work required for start of Operations at the Centre has been completed by the current Management. The Ghana Digital Centres Limited is inviting interested companies to submit Applications as Tenants of the Accra Digital Centre for the purposes of digital job creation.

ICT/BPO companies who are interested in getting Office space at the Centre for their operations can download application forms at www.adc.gov.gh/forms , complete and submit forms via e-mail to [email protected] or pick up forms from Accra Digital Centre. Adjacent State Housing Company, Ring Road West, near the Kwame Nkrumah interchange in Accra.

Digital Centre, a Business Process Outsourcing (BPO)/Information Communication Technology (ICT) Centre established by the Government of Ghana with support from the World Bank and the Rockefeller Foundation.



By: citifmonline.com/Ghana
The Ghana Police Service and other security agencies have deployed 1,250 security personnel for the National Delegates Conference of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) being held in Cape Coast, the central regional capital.

The Central Region Police Commander, DCOP David Neenyi Ampah Bennin, disclosed that the security personnel have been drawn from the Ghana Police Service, Ghana National Fire Service, Ghana Immigration Service, Ghana Prison Service, as well as other security agencies in the country.

Addressing media personnel in Cape Coast, he said the security personnel would protect delegates in areas such as Holy Child School, Adisadel Collage, among others.

DCOP Ampah Bennin stated that security in some hotels such as Elmina Beach Resort and Coconut Groove hotel would be boosted to protect all occupants.

He hinted that some major roads leading to the campus of the University of Cape Coast would be blocked by the police to ensure a successful programme.

To buttress his point, he said vehicles from Takoradi to Accra have to follow the diversion signs at the West Gate of the University of Cape Coast (UCC) through the road in front of St. Agustine's College, while those from Accra to Takoradi should follow the diversion signs from the Pedu Junction to the road in front of the Robert Mensah Stadium.

Delegates to the conference, he explained, would be using the Central gate and that students and residents within the university community would be restricted to using only the West gate as exit point.

DCOP Ampah Bennin also disclosed that the police would introduce metal scanners at the gate to screen individuals who would make it to the conference.

He said people without accreditation would not be allowed entry into the premises.

From Joseph Annan, Cape Coast

Email: [email protected]
JICA Chief Rep and the Japanese Ambassador handing over the relief items to the Sierra Leonean High Commissioner

In response to the call to assist Sierra Leone following the mudslide disaster that occurred on August 14, 2017 in that country, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has presented emergency relief items to the Sierra Leonean High Commission at the World Food Program (WFP) cargo village in Accra, Ghana.

Key persons present at the ceremony were the Chief Representative of JICA, Ghana Office, Hirofumi Hoshi; Ambassador of Embassy of Japan for Sierra Leone and Ghana, Kaoru Yoshimura and High Commissioner of Sierra Leone to Ghana, Umu Hawa Tejan-Jalloh.

A speech made by Mr. Hoshi expressed solidarity to the people of Sierra Leone. He also indicated that JICA was assisting by providing emergency relief items such as tents, blankets, sleeping pads, plastic sheets, water purifiers and portable jerry cans to be distributed in the affected zones.

He also commended the strong efforts and selfless devotion by the Government of Sierra Leone to mobilize its own resources as well as seek support from others. The items would be shipped to Sierra Leone soon.

The Japanese Ambassador was hopeful that the items would bring some comfort to the survivors of the disaster.

In appreciation, the High Commissioner of Sierra Leone to Ghana expressed her warmest gratitude to the Government of Japan for the immense support. She indicated that Japan's contribution had been immeasurable in the past, citing such assistance during the Ebola virus outbreak in 2014. She was confident of Japan's continuous support and humanitarian gesture to the recovery of her country from the disaster.

JICA's disaster response facility also highly benefited the people of Ghana during the June 3rd floods in Accra in 2015.
Middelburg (South Africa) (AFP) - A South African judge on Friday found two white farmers guilty of attempted murder after they filmed themselves forcing a black man into a coffin and threatening to burn him alive.

Supporters of the victim burst out in celebratory songs in the courtroom after judge Segopotje Mphahlele told the accused that "for attempted murder of Mr (Victor) Mlotshwa, I hereby find you both guilty."

Willem Oosthuizen and Theo Martins Jackson, both wearing jackets and ties, were also found guilty of kidnap, intimidation and assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm.

They had pleaded not guilty over the incident last year in the eastern province of Mpumalanga, saying they only intended to scare Mlotshwa after he allegedly stole copper cables from their farm.

Two clips of footage taken on their mobile phones showed the assailants shoving Mlotshwa down into the wooden coffin and pressing the lid closed with their boots as he begged for his life.

Rival activists from the ruling African National Congress, the main opposition Democratic Alliance and the radical Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) rallied outside court and attended each day of the trial.

When the first phone footage emerged several months ago, it triggered national outrage and led to the arrest of the two men.

Racial history

"Please don't kill me," Mlotshwa begged the men while in the coffin, the footage shown.

"Why shouldn't we, when you are killing our farm?" one replied.

Mlotshwa was in court to hear the verdicts against the two men, who had alleged that Mlotshwa had threatened to kill their families and burn farm crops before being forced into the coffin.

South Africa is beset by deep-rooted racial inequality 23 years after the end of white-minority apartheid rule, and cases of racism have erupted regularly on social media in recent years.

Outside the court on Friday, protesters carried mock coffins decorated with pictures of the accused and called for them to be found guilty on all charges.

On the phone footage, one of the men said "Come, come. We want to throw the petrol on".

They are also threatened to put a snake in the coffin.

Mlotshwa said he was walking to the town of Middelburg to buy provisions for his mother and had decided to use a short cut when the two men spotted him.

The court case has attracted huge attention in South Africa, where racial inequality persists more than two decades since the end of white minority rule

The two men's families told local media they were shocked over the verdicts.

The sentencing date was to be set by the court later Friday.
Abuja (AFP) - A radical Muslim group has bowed to political pressure and backed off from a ultimatum to the mainly Christian Igbo minority that they quit northern Nigeria or face reprisals.

The Arewa Youths had given all Igbos living in the north until October 1 to leave.

The threat, issued in June, worsened the simmering ethnic and religious tensions across Nigeria, Africa's most-populous nation, and provoked widespread condemnation.

Late on Thursday, the Arewa Youths issued a statement stepping back from their ultimatum.

"Mindful of the concerns generated by the clause... that advised the Biafran Igbo to relocate... we immediately opened channels for dialogue and interaction," the group said.

"Admittedly, we came under intense pressure from genuinely concerned national, political, traditional, religious and cultural leaders.

"As a consequence of these vigorous engagements... we are today pleased to announce the immediate suspension of the relocation clause."

Since the so-called "quit notice" was issued on June 8, the federal government in Abuja had repeatedly called for calm.

Then on Monday, President Muhammadu Buhari addressed the issue in a televised speech following a long absence from the country for health reasons.

"Nigeria's unity is settled and not negotiable. We shall not allow irresponsible elements to start trouble and when things get bad they run away," he said.

The Arewa Youths' ultimatum was itself in response to a bid by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) -- a mainly Igbo group in the south -- to secede from Nigeria.

"We will not accept a system that is designed to alienate and subdue the people of the north," the northern Muslim group said in response, calling for a referendum of Igbo people to settle the Biafra issue.

Rising communalism and anti-Igbo sentiment has been blamed on the IPOB's bid to declare independence.

Their initiative has been stoked by memories of 1967 when their predecessors declared an independent republic of Biafra in the southeast.

That declaration led to a brutal 30-month civil war and more than one million deaths, most of them Igbos, from starvation and disease.

Nigeria is roughly evenly split between the Muslim-majority north and the largely Christian south, but the country is made up of more than 250 ethnic groups.

The biggest is the Hausa-speaking Fulani in the north, the Yoruba in the southwest and the Igbo in the southeast. Many have relocated for economic reasons over the years.
26.08.2017 LISTEN

Non-governmental organization SEND Ghana is advocating that government uses only local textiles in the production of attires under the free school uniform distribution programme.

The NGO wants government to renegotiate and award fabric production contracts to local textile industries instead of importing them from outside the country.

The call was made known during a days national dialogue on the free school uniform programme organized by SEND Ghana in collaboration with Global Partnership for Social Accountability and funded by the World Bank here in Accra.

The dialogue was aimed a soliciting views from various stakeholders on how to ensure local textile industries benefit from the programme and make appropriate recommendations to the Education Ministry.

The meeting called on the Ministry of Education to renegotiate and re-award contracts for production of fabric awarded to foreign firms. Until renegotiation is done, the Ministry should also encourage the uniform production companies to purchase fabrics from local textile manufacturers, the meeting recommended.

The meeting also expressed concern that garment production contracts under the programme are not transparent enough.

Our monitoring report also found that the source of the fabric used for the production of the free uniforms was unknown to the agencies spearheading the project, making governments aim of boosting the local textile industry hard to assess, Senior Programme Officer for SEND Ghana Mrs. Harriet Nuamah Agyemang noted.

SEND Ghana believes the programme is a laudable one which can boost the local textile industries and generate lots of employment for the youth within the textile industry and contribute to reducing the unemployment situation in the country.

It also believes although the programme is a good social intervention initiative that can make the lives of societies under privileged better, there are currently too many challenges militating against its successful implementation.

Some schools in the Greater Accra, Northern, Upper East and Upper West regions are fraught with challenges such as poor distribution guidelines, the lack of a credible schools selection criterion among others, a monitoring report by SEND Ghana on the free uniform distribution programme revealed.

Mrs. Nuamah Agyemang noted the programme was introduced to bring relief to parents and ensure the provision of jobs and its about time these objectives were prioritized.

The Senior Programmes Officer said in order to improve on the free uniform programme and the educational sector as a whole, Education Ministry officials should go back and take a closer look at the objective of the initiative and bring back local textile players and dress makers on board to improve the sector.

We believe that governments responsiveness to these demand will help realize the full potential of the programme, she said.

On his part Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Education and Member of Parliament for Jaman North, Mr. Steven Siaka said, the disclosures in the report were timely as it would assist the committee in proposing solutions to the major challenges disrupting the implementation of programmes designed to improve the educational sector.

Also present at the national dialogue were representatives from the Ghana Integrity Initiative, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Education, Ghana Education Service and Gender Children and Social Protection Ministry.
25.08.2017 LISTEN

Common Mistakes students make in Online Courses

An area in education that is currently thriving is undertaking courses online. Many learners today rush into online courses but few finish and get certification due to some mistakes students make while signing up for online courses.

Here are some mistakes that are very common among the online students:

1. Ignoring The Accreditation

The sole purpose for any student to go for an online course is to help his family and still study to get a good job in the future. But in the course of opting for an online course, the students tend to miss out on something that undermines this purpose. The students tend to ignore the accreditation of the institution. If you want a job,go fo a course from an. So, before taking up a course, check the accreditation of the institution with the federal government. You should also check the website of the program for its credentials and for confirming that they are recognized with the Council of Higher Education.

2. Not Managing Their Time

Managing the time is very important for all the online students. Since there I a very high chance of the student having domestic responsibilities, it makes the management of time even more important. There are times when students can take these online courses for granted. But it is really important to study for at least 10 to 15 hours a week. Also, since the person taking the course is likely to be working, it is very likely that he forgets the deadline of an assignment over an office project. So, one should make sure that he devotes enough time to the course as well.

3. Not Resorting To Their Own Learning Style

We all know that there is no learning style that suits everybody. Every person in this world has his own learning style. Some people learn better when they study alone while some learn better in a social environment. Some people learn better by just listening to a lecture while some people learn better with a bit of physical involvement. In an online course, you dont get the social environment that a college can offer. So, before opting for an online course, you should make sure that you are okay with the learning style that an online course offers. If not, you need to find ways to learn in your own way with the online course.

4. Opting For A Course Without Ensuring The Availability Of Required Technology

This is something that the students tend to miss out on a lot. If a student has a slow internet connection or has only limited access to computers, he will obviously have a lot of trouble with the course. Therefore, the students should make sure that the technology that he has available with himself matches all the requirements of the institution. Imagine how difficult it would be for a student with limited access to computers to work on an assignment that requires him to make Excel sheets and Power Point Presentations.

5. Procrastinating

It is just an online class is the kind of attitude that most of the students keep towards an online course. The students work at their own pace and fail to understand the importance of working regularly. Usually the pace that the students set is a very frantic one. The result is nothing but pressure of last minute pressure of assignments. As a result students drop out or definitely miss out on understanding the assignment.

6. Missing Out On Reviewing The Curriculum

Most of the students take up an online course to help them in advancing in their career and changing them for the better. Therefore, it is very important for the students to check the curriculum of the course that they are taking up. The course that they are taking up should reflect the skills that they require in future.

7. Taking It As An Easy Task

Since the students have the liberty of working at their own pace, it is very usual for them to consider the online course a very easy one. It is true that the students have a lot more flexibility in an online course, but taking it for an easy task is a mistake. In fact, a student should consider these courses very difficult because he is all on his own. He is just left with his devices.

8. Not Researching About The Instructors

Although the students are encouraged to never doubt their teachers, but it is always wise to research the instructors in an online course. Teaching online is a different task altogether from teaching in a classroom. Therefore, the students should make sure that the teachers of his course have led a few online courses before this one. It can take a few courses for the teachers as well before they develop all the skills necessary for teaching well in an online course. Therefore, it is always beneficial to have teachers who have got some experience in their bag.

9. Working Alone At All Times

The online courses lack the social interaction that the students get in college. It is impossible for a student to get the same amount of social interaction as in a class, but one should avoid completely working in a bubble. The students should understand that learning online doesnt mean working in isolation. One should try and interact with fellow classmates virtually and take every chance to meet them in person.

10. Hesitating In Asking For Help

Every student needs help at certain stages. But the students learning online need a lot more help as they are all on their own. But the students are always hesitant to ask for help. It can lead to many worse situations for the students. Since they are all alone and they do not ask for help, they are very likely to come under pressure and take desperate measures and eventually committing mistakes. Most of the institutions have online counselors to help the students. So, the students should, in no situation hesitate to ask for help. They should understand that the sole reason for an institution to employ a counselor is to help the students and therefore, the students should make the most use of this facility.

By outlining these very common but often ignored little mistakes that students make, it is hoped that future eLearning students will benefit in successfully completing their online degree programs.

Asare Bakae Ishmael(CEO) Turningpoint Solutions Ghana,Number one School Management Software Provider.

www.tpsolutionsgh.com

[email protected]

+233540183899
25.08.2017 LISTEN

Accra, Aug. 24, GNA - The Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO) has ended its nationwide engagements with interest parties on political party vigilantism with the aim to curtail the growing menace of political security groups.

The private securities, in recent times, have been reported to have ceased state properties, forced some public officers out of their duty posts and interrupted some court proceedings, which attracted widespread public condemnation.

CODEO said in a statement signed by its national coordinator Albert Arhin on Thursday that the Coalition had so far engaged stakeholders in nine regions of the country with the last engagement taking place in Greater Accra Region.

'This series of public engagements are part of CODEO's post-2016 election activities, supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID),' CODEO said.

'The nationwide engagements are in recognition of the dangers that political party vigilante groups pose to the country's electoral politics and democratic development,' it added.

He explained that the engagements took the form of round tables, focus group discussions and special media briefings.

After the final round of engagements, the statement said, 'CODEO will share its findings with the public and plan advocacy efforts on political party vigilantism in the country'.

'The advocacy and other interventions will be used as an avenue to encourage and sustain discussions on the menacing effects of vigilante groups in Ghana's political system'.

'CODEO's partner institutions will also use the outcomes of the engagements to conduct civic and voter education, as well as advocate to disband political party vigilantes in Ghana's electoral system.'

The coalition is dedicated to promoting free, fair, transparent and credible elections through nonpartisan election observation.

It is made up of 42 professional, faith-based and civil society organizations and has been independently and credibly observing elections in Ghana since 2000.

GNA

By D.I. Laary, GNA
A piece of Nebraskas Sesquicentennial celebration will arrive in Lexington just in time to kick-off a full slate of Labor Day weekend activities.

The Nebraska 150 Celebrations largest project, "Truckin Through Nebraska: A Mobile Childrens Museum," will be in Lexington Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Aug. 31 - Sept. 2 at the Dawson County Museum, located at 805 N. Taft St. Hours are 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Thursday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday.

Lexington is one of 42 Nebraska communities selected to host the museum, noted Nebraska Sesquicentennial Commissioner Barb Bierman Batie. "The museum is contained in a 53-foot double expandable semi-trailer that is specially designed and outfitted for traveling museum exhibits. The unit is climate controlled, has GPS tracking, Wi-Fi, its own generator and is ADA accessible," she said.

First Lady Susanne Shore, who was a pivotal force in obtaining funding for the museum, said, "We created the Mobile Childrens Museum to provide a fun, hands-on learning experience for children who may not normally be able to easily access a childrens museum. Through play, interactivity and the latest technology, Nebraskas children will explore their heritage and envision their futures. We hope the experience will help power the imagination and create an excitement about learning."

According to Batie, interior exhibits include areas where youngsters will build shelters and test them in a wind chamber or earthquake simulator, design their own 10-acre homestead, test their knowledge of Nebraska, create their own movie, explore toys from the past, craft their own postcards and more.

"My favorite part of the museum is the Collage Corner where you can create a picture collage with Nebraska photos in four topic areas. I guess Im biased because four of the photos children can pick from are ones I submitted for inclusion in the museum," said Batie.

Exterior exhibits will include a timed Chore Challenge obstacle course, a foam block invention area, toy creation station and more. While exhibits in the Mobile Childrens Museum are intended for children ages 5-12, audiences of all ages are welcome. Admittance is free and open to the public.

In addition, Dawson County Museum Executive Director Crystal Werger said their staff and board will be on hand to show visitors through all the outdoor buildings on the museum grounds and inside the museums main exhibit space Pat Longly and representatives from the Dawson County Childrens Museum will have a special hands-on activity.

On Thursday and Friday priority admittance to the museum will be given to area schools who have already scheduled field trips, noted Werger. "We encourage families and the general public to visit between 3-6 p.m. on Friday and anytime during Saturdays hours," she said.

Werger also said they will be happy to accommodate home schooled students, but asks parents to please contact the museum at 308-324-5340 to schedule a field trip time in order to alleviate a long wait if the students are coming on Thursday or Friday during regular school hours.

She also pointed out that the main entrance to the museum will be blocked off during the mobile museum visit for the safety of children and others on the grounds. "We are encouraging visitors to park on the street or in Kirkpatrick Memorial Park and walk over. We will have the north museum entrance open by the Willow Island Depot for visitors convenience," said Werger.

Finally, the Mobile Childrens Museum depends heavily on volunteers to be open as scheduled, said Batie. "We especially need volunteers on Saturday, Sept. 2, but can use help during any of the shifts. They are Thursday from 10:15 a.m. to 3 p.m., Friday from 10:15 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 2:30 to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 10:15 a.m. to 3 p.m. While most of the volunteers will need to stand a lot, we do have several posts where they can be seated, so there are opportunities to share in this unique experience no matter your age or physical stamina," she said.

Lunch will be provided for volunteers and each station will receive a staggered break. For more information on taking a volunteer shift, contact Werger at the museum at 308-324-5340 before 9 a.m. Wednesday, as a volunteer release form must be signed to help.

"I am excited we were able to bring this slice of the Sesquicentennial directly to Dawson Countys doorstep," concluded Batie. "I hope this helps bring Nebraskas past, present and future to life for our visitors and they leave with a greater appreciation for our 150 years of statehood."
Accra, Aug 24, GNA - Describing recent calls by a section of Ghanaians abroad to de-criminalise sodomy and bestiality as 'demonic agenda,' Rev John Ntim Fordjour, Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin South, on Wednesday urged parliament to adopt a strong stand and resist attempts by any pressure group to influence the House to legalise homosexuality.

'Without prejudice to the position of the Parliament of Ghana, the Government of Ghana, any religious body or any political party on the subject of homosexuality, lesbianism and bestiality, premised on my deepest conviction and principles as a Christian, reverend minister and a proud advocate of Jesus Christ, and a legislator [that is] a member of Parliament for Assin South Constituency, I hereby openly and unequivocally declare my firm position against the views of members of an advocacy group, who on Thursday, August 17, 2017, sought to canvass support from certain powerful persons and institutions in Canada to put pressure on Ghana to decriminalise homosexuality,' the Assin South Legislator said in Accra.

Addressing a media conference at the Parliament House, in Accra, the MP recalled that an advocacy group had sought to canvass support from certain powerful persons and institutions in Canada to put pressure on Ghana to decriminalise homosexuality.

'And in furtherance of their demonic agenda, it is alleged that a group of eight men embarked on soliciting signatures to mount pressure on Ghana to decriminalise homosexuality.'

Rev Fordjour noted that 'constitution of Ghana makes adequate provisions which debar homosexuality, lesbianism, bestiality and such acts that befoul the core tenet of Ghanaian beliefs, customs and traditions as a people.'

Quoting Biblical scriptures, alluding to the Quran, and references to the 1992 Constitution of Ghana and the Criminal Code (Amendment Act) 2003, Rev Fordjour, who is also a Member of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Foreign Affairs, cautioned that the practices of homosexuality, lesbianism and bestiality were potentially detrimental to the health and wellbeing of those who engage in such acts and described them as inappropriate.

The Assin South MP urged lesbians and gays in the country to change their hearts, 'to repent and see the light of the salvation in Jesus for Jesus loves you.'

He called on all Members of Parliament to remain resolute in defence of the constitution and resist strongly any pressure that may arise for potential compromise.

'Let us be steadfast and uphold godly legislation. I hereby solicit the unfailing prayers and support of all religious leaders, traditional rulers and the media to ensure that godliness prevailed in our most cherished society,' Rev Fordjour said.

He gave support to the position of Rev. Prof. Michael Aaron Oquaye, the Speaker of Parliament, that Ghana will vehemently resist any pressure that may arise for potential compromise, calling on colleague Members of Parliament to stand steadfast and uphold 'godly legislation.'

'I hereby solicit the unfailing prayers and support of all religious leaders and traditional rulers to ensure that Godliness prevails in our most cherished society,'Rev Fordjour said.

In attendance at the press conference were Rev Jonathan Blay, Pastor Kenneth Appiah and Mr Theophilus Konadu Taylor, all of the Parliamentary Christian Fellowship, who supported the Assin South MP.

GNA

By Benjamin Mensah, GNA
Kumasi, Aug 24, GNA - Cardiac and communicable diseases are reported to be on the rise across communities in the Ashanti Region, where illegal mining has been pronounced.

Dr. Alexis Nang-Beifubah, the Regional Director, said the massive pollution of air, water bodies and the environment through uncontrolled activities of the miners, was to blame for the disturbing situation.

He also complained of high prevalence of sexually-transmitted infections in those areas.

Speaking at a meeting held with members of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Health, in Kumasi, Dr. Nang-Beifubah, indicated that the illegal activity was having serious implications for healthcare delivery.

The Committee, led by Dr. Kwabena Twum-Nuamah, is on a three-day working visit to the region to meet and hold discussions with the heads of the various health institutions and agencies.

This is to enable the members to have better understanding of their operational challenges and how to effectively tackle them.

Dr. Nang-Beifubah said apart from the health hazards, deep uncovered pits left by the miners posed constant threat to the lives of the people.

It was on the account of this that everything should be done to sustain the fight to stop illegal mining, he added.

He said it was in everybody's interest that mining was done in a more controlled, properly regulated and sustainable manner.

The Committee had earlier visited the Kumasi South Hospital, where the Medical Director, Dr. Kwame Ofori Boadu, mentioned inadequate funding, space and equipment as their major headache.

These, notwithstanding, they had been giving it their all, to bring quality health care to a population in excess of 50,000.

He expressed confidence that the government would move quickly to complete the Regional Hospital project at Sewua to create adequate space to enhance the quality of care.

Dr. Twum-Nuamah applauded the health professionals for the good job they had been doing and urged them to continue to work hard and with passion to save lives.

The Committee later inspected a spraying exercise being carried out at Santasi by Zoomlion Ghana Limited, at mosquito breeding places to help reduce malaria cases.

This is being done under the Nationwide Mosquito Control Programme.

GNA

By Florence Afriyie Mensah, GNA
Kumasi, Aug 24, GNA - Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), the nation's second largest referral facility, has appealed for the supply of more equipment to enhance emergency care.

Dr. Oheneba Owusu-Danso, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), said its accident and emergency centre, needed urgent retooling.

The centre had over the last eight years not received any new medical equipment.

He made the appeal at a meeting with members of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Health, in Kumasi.

The facility has been handling emergency referral cases and he said it was important to make sure that it was well-equipped to provide world-class service.

The Committee, led by Dr. Kwabena Twum-Nuamah, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Berekum East, is on a three-day working visit to the Ashanti Region to meet and interact with the heads of the various health institutions.

This is to help them to have better understanding of the difficulties they daily faced and the way forward.

Dr. Owusu-Danso also expressed concern about congestion at the wards of the hospital, a situation that had resulted in patients often being kept for days at the emergency centre.

He said patients, requiring emergency care normally should spend between 24 and 48 hours to get their condition stabilized and then be transferred to the ward for further treatment.

Dr. Twum-Nuamah applauded the hospital workers for the good job they were doing to bring healing to the sick.

He gave the assurance that the Committee would do everything it could to assist address its most pressing needs to raise the quality of care.

GNA

By Florence Afriyie Mensah, GNA
25.08.2017 LISTEN

Accra, Aug. 24, GNA - The ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) would hold its 2017 National Annual Delegates Conference from Friday, August 25 to Sunday, August 27, in Cape Coast in the Central Region under the theme: "NPP, Delivering on our Promises; our Roots, our Strength, our Future".

The conference is being held in pursuance of Article 9(1) of the Party's Constitution, which states that, "There shall be a National Annual Delegates Conference which shall be the supreme governing body of the Party".

In pursuant of the provisions of Article 6 and 7 of the Party's Constitution, it had already organised constituency and regional delegates conferences in all the 275 constituencies across the country, which had paved the way for the organisation of the national delegates conference.

Mr John Boadu, the Acting General-Secretary of the Party, told the media in Accra, on Tuesday, that the National Council, the second highest decision making body of the Party, held a crunch meeting on Friday, August 18, and among other things, spelt out modalities and agreed on the activities to be observed at the gathering as well as the rules of engagement with recourse to the conference planning committee, chaired by Mr F. F. Antoh.

The relevant resolutions from that meeting includes: The conference would be held at the Medical School Auditorium of the University of Cape Coast in the Central Region.

Delegates to the conference, per the provision of Article 9(2)(ii) include, members of the national council, members of the national executive committee, all members of the regional executive committee, all members of the constituency executive committee and 15 members from the national council of elders.

Others are; 12 delegates from every external branch as defined under section 8(2) of the Party's Constitution, one TESCON representative from each recognised tertiary institution in the country, 15 patrons elected from among themselves, founding members across the country who are signatories to the registration documents of the Party at the Electoral Commission, all members of Parliament and all party members who are ministers, deputy ministers and Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives.

In all, about 5,500 delegates are expected to attend the conference.

This year's conference coincides with the 25th Anniversary of the NPP and 70th Anniversary of the founding of the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC).

It would afford them the opportunity to reflect on the core values underpinning the formation of the Party and assess the extent to which the Party had remained focused on these founding principles with the view to learning relevant lessons to guide them for the future.

The activities lined-up for the conference are as follows:

Day One: Friday, August 25-There shall be Muslim Prayers (Jummah) and some social events.

Day Two: Saturday, August 26-The main conference to be held at the Medical School Auditorium of the University of Cape Coast.

The meeting would deliberate and make appropriate resolutions on National Chairman's report, National Treasurer's Statement of Accounts, General Secretary's report, deliberate on resolutions from all the 10 regions and also consider proposals for amendments to the Party's Constitution which had been received and circulated to all stakeholders.

The meeting would end at 1600 hours then there would be a mammoth rally at the Victoria Park in Cape Coast, which would be addressed by the leadership of the Party, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, Ministers of State and other key government officials.

Day Three: Sunday, August 27-There would be a Thanksgiving Service at the Calvary Methodist Church, Cape Coast to wrap up the conference.

Meanwhile, the National Council reminded prospective aspirants for various party positions to avoid campaigning or exhibiting posters and banners at the conference, since the Party had not lifted the ban on campaign.

The Acting General-Secretary of the NPP said the Party reserved the right to reprimand or sanction anyone who flouts the directive.

GNA

By Godwill Arthur-Mensah, GNA
Accra, Aug. 24, GNA - Osman Abdul Gafaru, a Vault Assistant of Fidelity Bank, who broke into the Kaneshie branch of the Bank has been sentenced to 15 years imprisonment by an Accra Circuit Court.

This was after the court had found him guilty on the charges of attempt to commit crime, unlawful entry and causing damage.

The court however acquitted Gafaru, 27, on the charge of conspiracy to commit crime because prosecution was unable to prove the charge.

It further ordered the Police to destroy the bag containing a pair of handcuffs, two mask, a hammer and pinch bar three months after the conviction.

The trial Judge, Mr Aboagye Tandoh handing the sentence urged the youth to be content with what they have and they should not be swayed by friends.

According the court Gafuru's assertion that he went to the Bank on Sunday to open an account for a client he did not know was an afterthought and figment of his imagination because he knew the working hours of the Bank.

The court upheld the convict intended to rob the Bank and his presence at the Bank at that time was inconsistent with his duty at that time.

Prosecuting Chief Inspector K. Adu told the court that the complainant Bless Ayikoe is a security man working with Checks Alert Security Services.

Gafaru resides at Akweiteman, Accra. On January 1, last year, one Thomas Aboagye, a security man of the Checks and Alerts Security services and witness in the matter, was on duty at the Fidelity Bank, Kaneshie from 06:00 hours to 18:00hours.

Prosecution said Aboagye after close of work waited for a colleague to relieve him of his post but his colleague was not coming so he decided to go and buy food.

In his absence, the prosecutor said Gafaru and his accomplice, known as Caesar, now at large, came around at about 7:30 pm and went for the keys to open the gate and entered the Bank premises and locked it.

Chief Inspector Adu said with the aid of pinch bar and crow bar they broke into the bank.

While Gafaru was operating inside the bank, Caesar was spying.

Chief Inspector Adu said when the complainant arrived, he knocked severally but his colleague did not respond so he climbed into the yard.

On entering prosecution said Caesar attacked Ayikoe with a knife and stabbed him in his right palm and forehead.

Chief Inspector Adu said Ayikoe began bleeding so he shouted for assistance. A group of young men came to his rescue and apprehended Gafaru. Caesar however escaped.

Gafaru who was found with a bag containing a pair of handcuff, two mask, hammer and a pinch bar was escorted to the Kaneshie Police station.

Ayikoe was given a medical form to seek medical treatment. In Gafaru's caution statement he admitted the offence.

GNA

By Joyce Danso, GNA
Accra, Aug. 24, GNA - The Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA) has launched an initiative to boost the production of the smooth cayenne (SC) variety of pineapples to meet demand for the local and export market.

The SC variety which has been widely produced and exported in Ghana since the 1980's, was abandoned by farmers as a result of varietal shift to an increasing high demand for the MD2 pineapple variety by importers in the EU in 2005.

As a result of this shift in market demand for MD2, Ghana has seen a decline in volume of exports with smallholder farmers who contributed between 35 - 50% of the export volume of pineapple before 2004 bearing the brunt.

Addressing stakeholders at Bomart Farms Nsawam, Ms Kekeli Klenam, Chief Executive of GEPA, said the project aimed to address weak supply chains to the processing firms and also to promote exports of air- freighted Smooth Cayenne pineapples into a niche market in EU.

She said GEPA has as part of the implementation of the National Export Strategy (NES) developed a comprehensive four-year work plan for the revitalization of the smooth cayenne variety of pineapple for both fresh and high value processed markets.

Among others, the initiative will introduce healthy Smooth Cayenne suckers to farmers out of which future multiplications would emanate at the enterprise level.

It is also to create jobs and increase incomes of the beneficiary farmers.

To drive the initiative, GEPA has budgeted an amount of 4.2 million Ghana Cedis to implement the activities of the project with the injection of over 15,000,000 (fifteen million) suckers of smooth cayenne pineapple varieties into the system.

It is estimated that the project will rake in an estimated $13.5 million over a period of four to five years.

'This has the potential to increase amount of smooth cayenne suckers planted with projected planting cover of 120 Million field suckers which has the potential to generate 180,000 MT of fresh pineapples for both export and processing in year 1 to 2 after commencement of the project,' she said.

The programme targets both processors and exporters as the recipients of the suckers for onward distribution to their out growers who have proven track records as reliable suppliers of fruits to these buyers.

To ensure the quality and control, GEPA will develop through a competitive process, a database of beneficiary exporters of fresh and high value pineapple processors who meet the selection criteria, Ms Klenam said

Potential beneficiaries for the programme must be a registered exporter of good standing with the Ghana Export Promotion Authority, must be exporting either fresh or processed pineapple and be within the top 20 pineapple exporters in volume and value.

They must have staff strength of not less than 100 workers, with at least 50 per cent being women and have an annual turnover of not less than one million dollars.

To ensure true to type field planting materials, GEPA would advertise and request bids from farms with certification by PPRSD.

Other qualification criteria include Global Gap certification, PPRSD Certified nurseries Source of original suckers, Recommendation by buyers to attest to phenotype of produce, Capacity of supplier to multiply field suckers, Current stock and evidence

Performing the re-launch, Mr Carlos Ahenkorah, Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, said it was important for the country to promote exports to be able to reduce the country's Balance of Payment deficit.

He said government was whole-heartedly ready to support initiatives that would go a long way to boost the country's processing capacity to be able to add value to its raw materials, adding that industrialization is the way to go.

Mr Anthony Botchway, CEO Bomart Farms, said the re-launch of the smooth cayenne was critical to the successful operations of processing companies.

Mr Eric Twum, Deputy CEO GEPA, said the Authority was now moving to the field in the execution of its mandate to support producers and exporters meet global standards and have access to the world market to increase earnings in the non-traditional exports.

Ghana's pineapple is exported mainly as fresh, fresh cut and to a lesser extent juice and dry. Recent research data indicates that the juice export has fallen considerably due to strict export market requirements.

As the fresh cut increased in quantity and value from $ 32 million dollars in 2012 to $53 million dollars in 2016 that for the juice reduced from $13.1 million dollars to $ 232,462 in 2016.

GNA
Accra, Aug. 24, GNA - The GCB Bank will review its lending rates downwards to the level of its existing corporate clients for the benefit of the corporate customers of the ex-UT and Capital Bank.

The Bank assured the ex-UT and Capital Bank customers to access a bigger platform with over 200 branches of which would be fully networked as part of the six-month programme of integration.

Mr Ray Sowah, the Managing Director, GCB Bank, speaking at the Bank's Corporate Breakfast meeting in Accra, said this provided a wider scope to operate from than previously.

The Breakfast meeting was to share with corporate customers of the defunct UT and Capital Bank the future directions of the Bank and build a lasting mutual relationship with them.

He said the Bank had the capacity, resources and network to support their businesses and it was these that have made GCB such a resilient institution.

He said the decision to assume the management of the two institutions was taken seriously to grow the brand and create the environment for their businesses to thrive.

Mr Sowah said the right balance sheet to support big transactions and large ticket deals that they would appreciate, adding that 'it means GCB Bank has the capacity to offer customer a one-stop solution to their banking needs rather than dealing with different banks'.

He assured customers of the Bank's robust e-banking and other payment platforms such as internet banking solutions, cash solutions, trade payment solutions and mobile banking solutions among others.

The MD said the passion to grow local businesses was ingrained in the procedures and practices of the Bank and in nurturing these businesses, the key value was building relationships.

'There are several known Ghanaian brands nurtured by GCB through strong relationship,' he added.

He said it was his ambition to bring back that passion into the way in which GCB manages the local entrepreneur space in the country and that the Bank has embarked on a campaign to win, nurture and support and grow Ghanaian businesses to enhance the national economy.

Mr Sam Sarpong, the Chief Operating Officer, GCB Bank, presenting the State of Affairs of the Bank said they were particular about who their customers deal with and therefore, were reviewing the staffing levels of the institutions to better serve them effectively.

He assured customers that the GCB Bank would not engage in any activity that would disrupt businesses but rather build a long term, stable, sustainable and a profitable business to meet customer's needs.

The GCB is currently trying to understand the business operations of the two former financial institutions and they are doing this in collaboration with GCB staff, staff of ex-UT and Capital Banks to enable them provide services to customers.

Mr Sarpong said the GCB Bank may take good products from the ex-UT and Capital Banks and merge them into what they offer.

'This is to ensure that at the end of the day we have the best products available to our customers,' he added.

The Chief Operating Officer, therefore, urged businesses to trust GCB because they have an excellent data centre to support the transactions they would undertake to provide the services.

'We are looking forward to partnering with you and we want to assure you of continuous services of GCB,' he said.

GNA

By Morkporkpor Anku/Samira Larbie, GNA
Ken Sackey, GNA

Accra, Aug. 24, GNA - Ghana has signed a Heads of State Agreement with Equatorial Guinea for the supply of 150 million to 200 million standard cubic feet of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) per day.

The agreement was secured during President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo's three-day official visit to that country. The move forms part of measures by government to ensure stable power supply and to guarantee Ghana's energy security.

The agreement was signed by Ghana's Minister of Energy, Mr Boakye Agyarko, and Mr Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima, Minister of Mines, Industry, and Energy of Equatorial Guinea, and witnessed by President Akufo-Addo and President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo.

Briefing journalists on arrival at the Jubilee Lounge of the Kotoka International Airport, Mr Boakye Agyarko stated that there had been previous agreements entered into between the two countries that did not come into effect.

'But this time, we have been given the marching orders by both Presidents to make sure that by the end of 2017 the agreements (for the supply of LNG) come live. The significance of this gas supply is for the stable state of power generation in our country,' he said.

Though unsatisfactory, Ghana has had to rely on Nigeria for the supply of gas from the Nigerian Gas Company (N-Gas) transmitted through the West Africa Gas Pipeline for some time.

Out of the 120 million standard cubic feet of gas per day, as per the agreement with N-gas, Ghana receives, on a daily basis, only 30 million standard cubic feet of gas per day, impacting negatively on the nation's power generation ability.

Mr Agyarko, who described the arrangements with Equatorial Guinea as 'good news,' said Ghana would receive LNG from that country, which can be stored for 21 days and used accordingly to further improve the country's power situation.

'Properly delivered, this will allow Asogli, for example, to expand its power production from 120 MW and scale up all the way to 580 MW. This will, to a very large extent, stabilise further the electricity generation, transmission and distribution that we have,' the Energy Minister said.

'At the conclusion of the arrangement, it is our faithful expectation that gas, as a feedstock instead of crude oil, will be cheaper in terms of power production. This could mean that once the cost of producing electricity comes down, we will be in a further position to lower the user tariffs that our citizens pay for electricity.

'We are glad that under the President's leadership and direction, we have been able to come thus far. The nation will begin to benefit from what has happened over this trip,' he said.

GNA
25.08.2017 LISTEN

Ejura (A/R), Aug. 24, GNA - Reverend Dr Ernest Adu-Gyamfi, the Executive President of the Ghana Baptist Convention (GBC), has urged Members of Parliament, to build bi-partisan consensus on key national issues to help build the nation.

He, therefore, appealed to the Speaker of Parliament Professor Aaron Mike Oquaye to ensure that key issues like education, health and the problem of rent advance were settled once and for all.

Rev Adu-Gyamfi was addressing the 54th Annual Session of the GBC at Ejura in the Ashanti Region on Wednesday.

The annual session brought together delegates from the various Baptist member churches as well as senior pastors, members of denominational board and sector heads.

It was on the theme: 'Christian Discipline for Holistic Development'.

He said a national policy was there to guide the forward movement of the nation irrespective of whichever political party was in power and therefore had nothing to do with politics.

Rev Adu-Gyamfi said the argument of a three or four years rent advance should be looked at critically since nowhere in the world do people pay two to five years rent advance apart from Ghana.

On the issue of a free Senior High School, he said, it should also be weighed properly so as not to toy with the lives of the youth.

Rev Adu- Gyamfi said over the last few days, there have been warnings of possible terrorists' attacks in Ghana on Social Media and he used the opportunity to appeal to the security agencies to take the warnings seriously despite the relative peace the country was enjoying, ensuring the safety of the citizenry.

The Executive President touching on the GBC said his presidency expressed the belief that the key mandate of the Church was evangelism and mission and that the convention has about 2,500 churches across the country.

He said the provision of a holistic gospel preaching which goes hand in hand with providing for the needs of the people were the major things he believed.

Rev Yaw Opuni-Frimpong, General Secretary of the Christian Council, called for unity among the Christendom and appeal to pastors to instilled the best cultural and practices of Christianity in the coming generation.

He said some Churches were discouraging their members from marrying from other Churches which he said to him brought a sharp division in the Christian religion.

Alhaji Mohammed Salisu Bamba, Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Ejura Sekyere-Odumase said the Municipal Assembly recognised the massive infrastructure and investment made by the GBC in the Municipality.

He said the Municipality was the food basket of the country and urged the GBC to take advantage of marketing activities in the area.

The MCE also requested the GBC to construct a health facility in the Municipality and called for discipline among all faiths in the country.

GNA

By Amadu Kamil Sanah, GNA
Cape Coast, Aug. 24, GNA - The principal streets of the Cape Coast Metropolis as well as the Takoradi-Accra Highway has been decorated with the colours of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) ahead of the national delegates Conference.

The conference on the theme: 'NPP, our promises, our roots, our strength, our future', begins on Friday, August 25 to Sunday August 27, 2017 at two venues; the University of Cape Coast's New Examination Centre and the Jubilee Park.

The Ancient City in the Central Region of Ghana would host more than 4,500 delegates; among them are Ministers of State, Members of Parliament, and Constituency Executives from all the 275 constituencies across the country, National Council Members and representatives of TESCON

The Region, which political analysts believed was a major determinant of the outcome of the country's general election, swept 19 of its 23 Constituency Seats for the NPP during last December's polls.

The NPP also won massive votes for its then Presidential Candidate, Nana Addo-Dankwa Akufo Addo, which saw his emphatic victory over his opponent , Mr John Dramani Mahama, the incumbent.

On Friday, the President of the Republic, Nana Addo and his Vice, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia will join Muslims at the Cape Coast Central Mosque for prayers.

There will be a mammoth rally on Saturday, August 26 where many Party gurus are expected to address the gathering and a thanksgiving service at the Wesley Methodist Church will climax the event on Sunday.

Checks by the Ghana News Agency on Thursday, saw the main highway from Yamoransa Junction through to the University of Cape Coast and beyond had been decorated with varying sizes of flags of the NPP colours of blue, white and red.

The biggest of them all is hoisted at the entrance of UCC, welcoming all delegates and attendees to the event, while aspiring candidates including Dr Amoako Baah, a Senior Lecture at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology had hoisted his banner seeking for the national Chairmanship slot.

Traders were also seen feverishly preparing for the programme - arranging tables and chairs, whiles others mounted canopies at vantage location to cash in.

Checks also indicated that many of the hotels in the metropolis were fully booked up and were in preparation to welcome their visitors and threat them to the best of customer services.

At 08:00 hours when GNA visited the Regional Police Headquarters, policemen were seen arriving in buses from various locations in their numbers to help maintain law and order.

GNA

By Isaac Arkoh, GNA
The AroundTown section of the Clipper-Herald is to notify the public of upcoming events and to publicize pertinent information from individuals, groups or organizations that are not for profit.

PEOPLE

The family of Jim and Cathy Stone is suggesting a card shower to celebrate the Stones 50th wedding anniversary on Aug. 26. Cards may be sent to Jim and Cathy Stone, 1604 Grafton Drive, Lexington, NE 68850

HAPPENINGS

Miller Dances: All Dances start at 7 p.m. Bring finger food and snacks. Questions? Call 308-325-2909. Aug. 26: "Diamonds and Dust," - Free Dance for Darlenes birthday.

A free breakfast at Comfort Inn in Lexington will be provided Wednesday, Aug. 30 from 7 to 10 a.m. for law enforcement, fire department and military members. Waffles, cinnamon rolls and cake will be provided.

The Dawson County Museum is seeking volunteers to assist with the Mobile Childrens Museum, "Truckin Through Nebraska," when it visits Lexington on Aug. 31-Sept. 2. Shifts are from 10:15 to 3 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 31; 10:15-2 p.m., 2-6 p.m., Friday, Sept. 1; and 10:15 to 3 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 2. A short orientation and lunch or snack break will be figured into each shift. Please contact Crystal Werger, Dawson County Museum executive director at 324-5340 or stop by the museum at 805 N. Taft during regular hours to complete a volunteer registration form.

The 27th annual Callaway Kite Flight, located on U.S. Hwy. 40, four miles southeast of Callaway will be held Labor Day weekend, Sept. 2, 3. Flying begins around 10 a.m. each day. Professional flyers from several states will participate and assist amateur flyers. There will be daily candy drops and other activities for the kids and vendors on-site both days. Admission is $3 per person per day.

A parent safety class, sponsored by Dawson County Rooted in Relationships, will be held in Spanish at Central Community College-Lexington Campus on Sept. 7, 14, 21 28. Classes will also be held Oct. 5, 12,19, 26. Class time is from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Class is free. To register call Nancy Pinedo at 308-324-1841.

Get your tickets now for the Historic Homes Tour and Edwardian Tea Saturday, Sept. 9. Tours of Lexington homes begin at 1:00 p.m. Come to the Dawson County Historical Museum FIRST for a list and map of historic homes. Meet back at the Museum for 3:00 p.m. Tea. Ticket price is $15 and includes both the Tour and Tea. Tickets available at: Dawson County Museum, U-Save Gifts, and the Lexington Area Chamber of Commerce.

The gates will be open,8:00 a.m.-noon, at the City Service Building for disposal of household waste on the 3rd Saturday of the following months: Sept. 16, 2017. There is a minimal fee for disposal of household waste, furniture, wood, appliances and misc. items. Paint, chemicals and construction debris will not be accepted. Call the Service Building at 324-5995 if there are any questions.

WIC Clinics for Dawson County are scheduled as follows: In Lexington, MNCA Building, 931 West 7th, Tuesday through Thursday the first full weeks for each month. Call 308-324-6212 for appointment. In Cozad, Parkview Building, 120 E. 9th, Sept. 18. In Gothenburg, American Lutheran Church, 1512 Ave. G Sept. 11.

Events at the Lexington Grand Generation Center - Public Bingo on Mondays at 7 p.m. Must be 18 to play. For questions call 308-324-2498. Homemade Pretzel Baking on the first and third Tuesday of each month at 1 p.m. Cost to purchase pretzels is .50/pretzel, $6.00/dozen. Purchase and/or come help roll!

Love in Action Outreach, 907 West 8th St., Lexington, is open Monday through Thursday, 12:30  4 p.m. For assistance go to 909 West 8th St. Donations of clothes, furniture and other items any time back of store or contact 308-651-0925 for further assistance. Monetary donations are accepted as well.

Are you a person with compassion and good listening skills? Parent-Child Center would like to give you the opportunity to put those feelings and abilities into practice. The Parent-Child Center needs volunteers to answer our lines after office hours. If you are interested please call for more information at 308-324-2336.

Lexington Area Parkinsons Disease Support Group Meetings are held the second Thursday each month at 2 p.m. in the education room at the Community Health & Fitness Center (1600 W. 13th, Lexington) For more information contact Dixie Menke at 308-325-5350 or 308-784-4022 or Brenda Bierman at 308-324-2523 or 308-325-9216.

RYDE Transit - Public Transportation is available Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. To schedule a ride in Dawson County or Lexington call 308-324-3670. Public Transportation is easy to ride and open to everyone.

YMCA EVENTS

YMCA Summer Camp: Tuesday & Thursdays, July 11- August 3. Register weekly or for the entire camp.

MEETINGS

American Legion in Lexington meets the first Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m. at Heartland Museum of Military Vehicles.

Lexington Farmers Market is held every Saturday from 8 to 11 a.m. and every Tuesday from 3 to 6 p.m. at the Dawson County Opportunity Center parking lot.

Bingo Night at Lexington Regional Health Center will resume in the fall. Bingo will resume at the Corner Cafe on Sept. 7, 2017. The staff reports they really enjoyed everyone and cant wait to see everyone in the fall.

Survivors of Suicide Support Group meets every second Monday of the month from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at First Baptist Church, 1616 W. 39th St., in Kearney. For more information contact Carol Rowedder at 308-237-2635.

LEXINGTON PUBLIC LIBRARY

The Lexington Public Library is taking applications for a Prime Time student intern. The applicant must be at least 16 years old and a high school or college student. For more information you can pick up a job description and application at the Lexington Public Library located at 907 North Washington.

The August "Booked for Lunch" program will be held at the Library on Thursday, Aug. 24. Crystal Werger, Director of the Dawson County Historical Society Museum in Lexington will present "Celebrate the Nebraska Sesquicentenniallearn about Nebraskas history." For those of you who pre-register, a light lunch will be served from 11:30 a.m. to noon. Wergers presentation begins at noon. To register, visit the library or call (308) 324-2151 before noon on Wednesday, August 23. This program is sponsored by the Lexington Public Library Memorial Fund and the Lexington Community Foundation.

All adults who participated in the Summer 2017 Reading Program, need to turn in their reading logs at the circulation desk prior to Sept. 5. Prizes will be awarded that week.

The Friends of the Library will meet on Monday, Aug. 28 at 3:00 p.m. If you are interested in learning more about the Friends of the Library, their projects and goals, contact Karen or Kathy at the Library or join us the at the next meeting.

The first Storytime of the fall season will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 6, at 10:30 a.m at the Lexington Public Library. Children and their caregivers are invited to join us for fun and exciting stories, music, and learning activities. We look forward to seeing you this fall.

Novel Stitchers meets on Tuesdays at 3:00 p.m. If you enjoy stitching--knitting, crocheting, quilting, cross stitch, needlepoint, or have another portable stitching project--join us at the library for two hours of stitching and visiting. The group will meet Aug. 29. We would love to have you join us.

If you enjoy reading or stitching of any kind, the Library has a group for you! The Monday Afternoon Book Club will meet Monday, Sept. 18, at 3:00 p.m. Our book for September is "Titans" by Leila Meacham. You are invited to read the book and join us for a lively discussion at the Lexington Public Library.

LEXINGTON GRAND GENERATION CENTER

Exercise room is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. Every Sunday the Center available for rent.

Monday

9 a.m. - Tai Chi

9 a.m. - Massage

10 a.m. - FROG

12 p.m. - Ive Got It

3 p.m. - Strength Training

6:30 p.m. - Lions

7 p.m. - Public Bingo

Tuesday

1 p.m. - Foot Clinic

Wednesday

9:15 a.m. - Go4Life

9:30 a.m. - Coffee/Crafts

12:45 p.m. - Cards

1:30 p.m. - FROG

2:30 - 3:30 p.m. - Hot Cookies

3 p.m. - Strength Training

LEXINGTON GRAND

GENERATION

CENTER MENU

Homemade bread everyday. Choice of skim, 2% or chocolate milk. No reservations needed except for large groups. Serving time: 11:30 a.m.

Monday

Mushroom steak, diced potatoesa, creamed corn, red applesauce

Tuesday

Chicken thigh or polish dog /bun, kraut, 3-bean casserole, fruit cocktail

Wednesday

Pit ham, candied yams, wax beans, mandarin oranges

LEXINGTON SCHOOL MENU

Breakfast

Monday

Whole grain donut, fruit and juice variety

Thursday

French toast sticks, fruit and juice variety

Friday

Whole grain biscuit, egg, cheese, fruit and juice variety

Lunch

Monday

Popcorn chicken, cheese burger, chicken sandwich, sub sandwich or yogurt, mashed potatoes, dinner roll, salad bar with fruit and vegetable variety

Tuesday

Walking tacos, cheeseburger, chicken sandwich, sub sandwich or yogurt, refried beans, salad bar with fruit and vegetable variety

Wednesday

Lasagna/meat sauce, cheeseburger, chicken sandwich, sub sandwich or yogurt, California Blend, garlica bread, salad bar with fruit and vegetable variety

OVERTON SCHOOL MENU

Breakfast

Monday

Breakfast pizza

Tuesday

Breakfast sandwich or biscuit sandwich

Wednesday

Banana muffin and sausage

Lunch

Monday

Chicken fried steak

Tuesday

Shredded pork sandwich

Wednesday

Taco bar

ORGANIZATIONS

AA/NA: open meeting Friday nights at 7 p.m. at Plum Creek Mall at Two Bridges Counseling, 513 N. Grant St., Suite 3a, Lexington.

Westside Group: AA/NA open meeting on Monday and Wednesday nights at separate locations at 8 p.m. Monday night meetings at First Christian Church, 1206 N. Erie St. in Lexington. Wednesday nights at Community Health Center (west of hospital) 1600 W. 13th St. in Lexington.

AA Elwood: at 8 p.m. on Sundays at United Methodist Church, 601 Rush in Elwood. Contact: 785-3567 (Tom).

Al-Anon meets Mondays, 8 p.m. at the LexChristian Church, 13th & Erie; Wednesdays, 8 p.m. at Lexington Regional Health Center Board room, use east entrance; Thursdays, noon at Grace Lutheran Church, 105 E. 17th, use office door. For more information call 308-651-0143 or308-324-2288.

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings, non-smoking: at noon on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at St. Anns Catholic Church basement, 301 E. Sixth St. Contact: 308-651-0143.

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings, non-smoking - Smithfield: At 8 p.m. on Thursdays at Hope Lutheran Church, 74098 Road 436 in Smithfield. Call 785-3567 or 472-3376.

Celebrate Recovery: a 12-step, anonymous program helping participants overcome any hurts, habits, addictions or hang-ups. Meets twice: 1) at 7 p.m. on Thursdays at Lexington Evangelical Free Church, 810 S. Washington Street. Contact: 308-324-3825 or 308-238-1298. 2) at 6:30 p.m. on Fridays at Parkview Baptist Churchs Y.A.C., 1105 Park St.. Contact: 308-324-4410.

The Compassionate Friends, Lexington Area Chapter (a support group for parents who have lost a child), meets the third Monday of each month at 7:30 p.m., at the Great Western Drive-In bank meeting room, corner of 6th and Lincoln. For more information call 308-320-1483.

Community Action Partnership of Mid-Nebraska Public Immunization Clinic, 1st & 3rd Mondays every month: Open 10 a.m.-noon and 2-4 p.m. by appointment at 931 West 7th St., Lexington. Clinics serve ages 2 months - 18 years. Children must be accompanied by an adult, previous vaccination records required. Contact 308-865-1352 ext. 143.

Dawson/Gosper County CASA: seeking Volunteers. CASA Volunteers are everyday people from all walks of life, who advocate through the court system in the interests of children. Contact 324-7364 for more information.

Grupo Lexington AA (Spanish Speaking) open meeting Saturday nights at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 11 p.m., at 114 West 6th St. in Lexington.

Lexington Area Grief Support Group: meets at 4:30 p.m. on the first Mondays of each month at Fitness Center, 1600 W. 13th Street. Open to anyone experiencing the death of a loved one. Contact Lexington Regional Health Center Home Health office, 324-8300.

Lexington Optimist Club: meet at Kirks Nebraskaland Restaurant every Thursday at noon except the first Thursday of the month. If you need to get ahold of us you can email us at lexoptimist@gmail.com or you can send mail to Lexington Optimist Club, PO Box 355, Lexington, NE 68850.

Lexington Rotary Club: meets the first and third Wednesday of the month at Lexington Public Library from 12 to 1 p.m. For more information contact Kirsten Faessler at 308-324-8333.

Narcotics Anonymous: open meeting on Sundays at 12 p.m. at Two Bridges Counseling, 513 N. Grant St. Suite 3a in Lexington.

SMART Recovery for those with alcohol abuse struggles, is held in Lexington (adult meeting) on Thursdays from 7 - 8 p.m. Meetings in Cozad on Tuesdays from 7 - 8:30 p.m. at American Lutheran Church. Youth meetings in Lexington from at 7 p.m. at Club 180, located at 210 W. 7th St.
The Minority in Parliament wants the Energy Ministry to provide Parliament with the full details on the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) agreement between Ghana and Equatorial Guinea.

According to the Minority, the Energy Ministry has been economical with the truth with some details provided to the public.

Addressing the press on Friday, the Minority Spokesperson for Mines and Energy, and MP for Damongo, Adams Mutawakilu explained that LNG supply was not like lean gas supply from Nigeria where it goes straight to the generating plant.

In LNG, you look at transportation, you look at the regasification unit. So we want to find out from the Minister whether really, we have a regasification unit, whereby come December, we will be able to regasificate the gas and supply it to the needed plant for power generation.

He noted that previous government signed an agreement with West African Gas limited and also GNPC is undertaking an LNG project and this year, we [Parliament] approved an amount of $21.25 million dollars to continue with the construction. Once an agreement is signed and agreed, it needs to come to Parliament.

Thus, the Minority believes the Energy Minister must come forward with the measures they have put in place to achieve the December target because businesses are going to plan on what ever you tell them.

President Akufo-Addo with President of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang Nguema

President Nana Akufo-Addo signed a Heads-of-State agreement with Equatorial Guinea for the supply of between 150 and 200 million standard cubic feet of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) per day on his recent visit to that country.

The agreement also provides for the building and operation of an LNG regasification terminal in Takoradi in the Western Region.



By: Duke Mensah Opoku/citifmonline.com/Ghana
The second edition of the Aviation Awards will take place on September 1 at the Alisa Hotel in Accra, the organisers have announced.

This year's edition of the event is being organised by Ninetyeightz Events in collaboration with Ministry of Aviation and Ghana Aviation Authority with support from some corporate institutions.

The purpose of the awards according to the organisers is to reward excellent performances in the aviation sector, to encourage competition among the industry players, to build relationships amongst the stakeholders as well as provide a solid platform for sponsorship and for stakeholders to drive their brand.

This year's awards ceremony is expected to attract a number of personalities from the various recognised institutions, ministers of state as well as stakeholders in the aviation and tourism industry.

The chief executive officer of Ninetheightz, Bergis Kojo Frimpong noted that this year he is expecting a large turnout, adding that this year will be different from the previous one because his outfit has put in place a number of packages for award winners.

He reiterated his outfit's commitment to promoting the tourism and aviation industry for economic development.

He added that a number of measures have also been put in place to make this awards ceremony a memorable one.

Last year's event brought together industry professionals including the former deputy minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Dzifa Gomashie, Simon Allotey, Director General of Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA).
The Deputy Managing Director of Heritage Bank Limited, Mr. Peter Sangber-Dery has asked Ghanaians to repose their hopes in indigenous banks.

He acknowledged that though local banks face tough challenges, measures are being taken to surmount them.

This comes after the assumption of two Ghanaian banks; Capital and UT Banks, by GCB Bank.

Mr. Peter Sangber-Dery said, It is possible to build a globally competitive business organization from the scratch right here in Ghana.

The Deputy Managing Director was speaking at the opening of a second branch of Heritage Bank Limited in the central business district of Kumasi, Adum.

In June this year, Heritage Bank Limited opened its first branch in Suame, the artisanal village of the Ashanti Region.

The Indigenous Ghana Bank, Heritage Bank Limited has 2 branches in the Greater Accra Region, bringing to four the number of branches opened so far since its commencement of full operations in February 2017.

At the opening of the ultra-modern facility at Adum, Mr. Sangber-Dery also reiterated the bank's commitment to providing unique products to its customers to help their businesses grow.

He added that Heritage Bank Limited is hinged on corporate governance and responsible banking operations adding that, banking is built on trust, and this is one of the Hallmarks our business is founded on. Heritage Bank Limited is built on ethical and safe banking practices backed by robust internal and external control, auditing processes and risk management.

According to Mr. Sangber-Dery, lessons have been learned from the experiences of past and present Banks and have taken time to do the necessary risk analysis, made the requisite projections and taken adequate precautions to forestall any untoward eventuality.

He called on customers and residents in Kumasi, assuring them of the bank's ability to offer them an opportunity to enjoy innovative and convenient financial solutions.



By: Lauretta Tima/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana
An Accra High Court has ordered the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) to issue embattled Indian businessman, Ashok Kumar Sivaram, a temporary residence permit.

The processes for the issuance of the permit will begin on Tuesday, 29 August, 2017 at the office of the immigration service in Accra.

Justice Naa Adoley Azu, who presided over the case on Friday, 25 August 2017, advised that the rights of Mr Sivaram be respected so far as he remains in the country.

An Accra High Court had earlier quashed the deportation of Mr Sivaram by the Interior Minister, Ambrose Derry, after the Ministry had accused him of fraud.

He had been deported on allegations of fraud relating to his acquisition of a fake marriage certificate to enable him stay in Ghana  a claim the Indian denies.

Mr Sivaram later petitioned President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, saying he was being harassed by Mr Dery, as well as the Comptroller of the Ghana Immigration Service, Kwame Takyi, and Deputy Comptroller General in charge of Operations, Laud Afrifa.

Mr Sivaram accused the three men of conspiring to dispossess him of his own firm, Jai Mai Communications Limited, and hand it over to his business partner, thus doing everything possible to deport him from Ghana.

Meanwhile, the three Ghanaian officials have rejected claims they are harassing Mr Sivaram.

-Classfmonline
Some small scale illegal miners popularly referred to as galamseyers, have declared their operation areas within some forest reserves in the Suaman District of the Western Region a No Go Area.

The more than 2,000 illegal miners in March this year threatened to kill the chief in the area, residents and anyone who dared to invade the area in an attempt to stop their operations in the forest reserves which have destroyed river bodies.

In March, they destroyed the official vehicle of the then District Chief Executive and that of the Ghana Immigration Service and the Customs.

Christian Baah District Chief Executive of Suaman, Christian Baah told Takoradi-based Connect FM Thursday that they are waiting for the Police-cum-Military galamsey taskforce, Operation Vanguard, to come to the district to stop the illegal miners forthwith He explained several letters to authorities to intervene is yet to receive attention.

Mr Baah indicated the fate of the district now lies in the hands of the Operation Vanguard team. Suaman District Police Commander, Supt. Joseph Ackah District Police Commander for Suaman Supt. Joseph Ackah admitted the number of illegal miners in the area far outweighs that of the Police, and that they would require external support to battle the galamseyers.

Devastation

The Suaman district, which was carved out of the Aowin-Suaman district in 2012, has now been invaded by galamseyers who have caused devastation to forest reserves and river bodies in the area.

The Sui Forest Reserve has been destroyed while the Bia River, which serves as the main source of drinking water and extends to Cote dIvoire, has been polluted.

A delegation from Bianoa, an Ivorian town affected by the activities of the galamseyers, visited Suaman to ascertain the cause of the pollution of the Bia River.

According to the delegation, the pollution has damaged their dam and has also caused them to lose their economic activities.

Regent of Suaman Traditional Area, Nana Osei Kofi, said he has personally devoted some amount of money and other resources in ensuring the activities of the illegal miners are halted.

He, however, observed that is yet to achieve results. Nana Kofi also added that they now live in fear as their lives are being threatened by the illegal miners.
25.08.2017 LISTEN

As we all make our journeys from our various abodes to Cape Coast for our Annual delegates conference, I would like to pray for the lord's mercies, guidance, protection and goodwill to all party executives, party faithfuls and Npp sympathizers.

It is my outmost believe and conviction that the good lord will grant you travelling mercies in both your going and in your coming.

This Conference is one of our greatest adherent as party members to our constitution .

I appeal to our affable delegates to make our party proud by making rules and deepen in the internal structures that will be in the best interest of our party.

I would appeal to everyone attending that, we should remember to put NPP first in all things, we should not resort to acts that will bring our great party into disrepute.

Let the enviable love within our party manifest in all things that we do.

...Signed....

RICHES OSCAR

(GHANA BEYE YIE).

NPP, ASHANTI REGIONAL ORGANIZER HOPEFUL
Residents of Kuntunse in Accra are raising concerns over possible long term health hazards, following the improper disposal of waste by a Chinese firm producing tomato paste there.

Citi News investigations have revealed that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has ordered the company to stop production but according to the residents, fumes billowing from the chimneys of the factory are affecting their health.

Citi News' Naa Kwaamah Siaw-Marfo has been following the story and filed the report below.



By: citifmonline.com/Ghana
26.08.2017 LISTEN

Destiny Empowerment Chapel International Ministry will be host to some of Africas greatest men of God when it holds its conference dubbed,  AGADASLet the fire fall on Sunday, August 27, 2017 under the patronage of Dr Prophet Bernard Afresa Taylor, one of Ghanas respected pastors.

Respected men of God, including Dr Prophet Adams Adejo from South Africa and Prophet Prince Afoakwa from Nigeria are billed to take part in the powerful five-day deep apostolic prophetic invasion.

It begins on Sunday 27th  Thursday 31st August 2017, with a morning session from 7:30am - 8:15am and evening sessions from 5:30 pm to 9pm each night at the Destiny House, Spintex Road.

Speaking about the event in Accra on Friday, Prophet Afresa Taylor said "these last days, many are being led astray due to false teachings but God is calling unto us to partake in gaining knowledge."

He asked believers to attend the programme in order to receive their spiritual healing.

Top gospel musicians who are set to grace the event include Piesie Esther and Joyce Blessing.

The Church is convinced that after the five day conference participants will have a renewed mind and spirit in the service of God.
26.08.2017 LISTEN

The acting Western Regional Chairman of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr. Francis Ndede Siah has appealed to Ghanaians especially Western Region to be patient with government as the President Akufo-Addo led government is working things out to reshape the broken economy the NDC government left.

Mr. Ndede Siah, a Western Regional Chairman hopeful for the ruling New Patriotic Party spoke on New Day FM's political show dubbed, 'Adeakye Ebia' with Fred Jerry Mensah on August 24, 2017. Mr. Ndede Siah said the Akufo-Addo led government needs enough time to stabilize the economy.

Mr. Siah used the medium to appeal to the teeming unemployed youth of the New Patriotic Party to have patience with the government and have great confidence in the government.

Mr. Siah added that, the government has a solid economic programs when implemented will reduce the economic burdens on Ghanaians.

He advised the NPP youth to support the government to work assiduously to improve the economy.

Speaking on the inability to get a District Chief Executive (DCE) for the Jomoro District in the Region, Mr. Ndede Siah expressed his displeasure over the rejection of the President's nominee on three occasions.

He added that the rejection of the DCE nominee has retarded development in the Jomoro District.

Mr. Siah called on the NPP supporters in the Jomoro constituency exercise patience as the party is in consultation with authorities to get a new person who is equally hardworking party member to be nominated as DCE.

He assured the District that within this month, President Akufo-Addo would nominate new person to be confirmed as DCE to fill the vacant position.

Jomoro District is the only District in the Western Region that do not have a District Chief Executive and this has affected the progress of the District.

Mr. Ndede Siah appealed to the District to support whoever the President will nominate.

He also added that very soon the Jomoro District will benefit from the One District, One Factory program.

"Let us all support the government to establish the proposed fertilizer plant which is sited in the Jomoro District", he pleaded.
The President of the Republic of Ghana, His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has revealed that the Member of Parliament for Evalue Ajomoro Gwira constituency who doubles as a Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts Minister, Hon Catherine Ablema Afeku is one of the hardworking and dedicated Ministers in his government.

President Akufo-Addo made this known on Tuesday, 8 August, 2017, on day 2 of his 3-day tour of the Western Region, when he interacted with the Chiefs and people of Axim in Nzema East Municipal.

"Hon Catherine Afeku is a very hardworking Minister and MP for Evalue Ajomoro Gwira constituency", President emphasized.

President Akufo-Addo used the durbar to expressed his profound appreciation to the people of Evalue Ajomoro Gwira constituency for voting massively for him to become the President of the Republic of Ghana, and also thanked the electorates for electing Hon Catherine Afeku as their Member of Parliament.

On the matter of the controversial free SHS education, President Nana Addo reaffirmed his decision that the program will commence in September 2017 academic year, and will lift the financial burden of parents with regards to the payment of fees for their children.

"From September, for the first time in the history of our country, free SHS education is going to be a reality in Ghana", President stressed.

Hon Catherine Afeku used the occasion to thank President Nana Addo for the honour done to Mr. George Alfred Grant (Paa Grant) who was one of the leading members of UGCC whose efforts made Ghana to gain political independent from the British.

Speaking at the durbar, the Paramount Chief of Nsien Traditional Area, Awulea Agyefi Kwame II, appealed to President Akufo-Addo to develop Nzema East Municipal.

Awulea also appealed to President Nana Addo's government to continue the projects the erstwhile NDC government discontinued after the change of government.

Awulea Agyefi Kwame II, said the road network at the southern part of the Municipal (Gwira area) is in a very deplorable state and appealed to the president to help give some cocoa roads to the area.

"The Gwira area is also crying for cocoa district and depots to put a stop to the perennial traveling to neighbor districts to sell their produce", Awulae emphasized.

Awulae also pleaded with the president to ask the fisheries ministry to increase the number of landing beaches at Apewosika in Axim.
I will venture to stress that in order for our democracy to function seamlessly,all political appointments and contracts offers must be based on merits, but not through vague coloration, nepotism and cronyism.

That said, I do not assent to the seemingly specious view that highly qualified family members and friends of the elected president of the country must not and cannot hold positions in government.

Let us face it, even though the presence of nepotism and cronyism in governance set up is never a serious violation, Article 7 of the UN Convention against Corruption is specific on selection by merit.

Apparently, an official who persistently hires a relative (nepotism) or a friend (cronyism), does so, in exchange, not often of a bribe, but of the less tangible benefit of advancing the interests of others connected to the official.

Unfortunately, however, a leader who opts to surround himself/herself with friends and families does so at his/her own peril.

In any case, all the available evidence shows that some friends and family members of people in high positions more often than nottake advantage of the system.

Take, for example, the actions and inactions of some family members of former President John Mahama, in particular, his brother and businessman, Ibrahim Mahama, have arguably been having deleterious effect on the NDC Party.

In recent times, there have been a lot of allegations levelled against Ibrahim Mahama. The most recent of such allegations is the 30 years bauxite mining lease which was issued by the Ghana Mineral Commission to Ibrahim Mahama and his partners on 29th December 2017, just a little over one week for his brothers government to exit power.

Unsurprisingly, therefore, many discerning Ghanaians fret thy souls with curses and condemnations.

Rightly so, the vast majority of Ghanaians contend that such a venture is nepotistic and must not and cannot be allowed to proceed without challenging its authenticity.

Of course, we have sycophants, or to put it euphemistically, nodding yes men and women, who will always choose to defend their masters interests over the national interests.

Thus, it is not surprising to see some Ghanaians, ranging from radio presenters, much touted seasoned journalists and party foot soldiers to ordinary admirers of Ibrahim Mahama frantically defending the indefensible.

After all, didnt the apple-polishers accuse the NPP government when Ibrahim Mahama was invited by the EOCO to answer questions about an alleged import tax evasion?

Indeed, it was the same brassbound apologists who ungraciously grumbled and squalled over the EOCOs lawful interrogation of Ibrahim Mahama over the unpaid import taxes.

I am afraid, the chorus bandwagon will continue to sing along their usual witch-hunting rendition whenever their Messiah comes face to face with the laws of the country.

Yes, the apologists crudely tagged the interrogation as political witch-hunting. Nevertheless, it came to light that the brother of former President Mahama, Ibrahim Mahama, had not paid his import taxes since 2015.

Well, I am afraid the chorus bandwagon should brace themselves for more of such legal interrogations in the coming months.

With all due respect, why should anyone be concerned of witch-hunters, if he/she is not a witch?

In other words, if you are not a thief, why be concerned of the presence of the police?

Not long ago, it was reported that the businessman and the brother of former President John Mahama, Ibrahim Mahama, was being sued by the SSNIT for unpaid workers social security contributions.

According to The SSNIT, Ibrahim Mahamas company, Engineers and Planners, refused to pay SSNIT contributions of employees for the periods February 2015 to July 2015 and June 2016 to October 2016.

The SSNIT argued that the unpaid contributions amounted to about 700,000 cedis, and the substantive amount attracted a penalty of 400,000 cedis, which brought the total indebtedness to SSNIT to about one million Ghana cedis (See: Ibrahim Mahama sued for not paying workers SSNIT contributions; cityfmonline.com/starrfmonline.com, 29/04/2017).

Somehow, the suit came days after Ibrahim Mahama was dragged to the Economic Organised Crime Office (EOCO) for interrogations on alleged malfeasance, after which he was ordered to pay some GHC 12 million.

The EOCO interrogation had to do with allegations that the brother of former President John Mahama, had issued 44 dud cheques to the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) as payment of duties at the port.

The cheques were to offset debts incurred by two companies  MBG Limited and Holman Brothers  for the clearance of some heavy duty equipment at the Tema Port in 2015 (cityfmonline.com, 29/04/2017).

Given all the circumstances, therefore, I will contend that only a disputatious character who will disagree that Ibrahim Mahamas alleged infractions will not affect John Mahama and NDCs electoral fortunes futuristically.

Already, many discerning Ghanaians are contending that former President Mahamas government remains the worst ever in Ghanas history.

Given such a damning outlook and Ibrahim Mahamas ostensive public disaffection, I bet, NDC will have a mountain to climb in any future election.

Strangely, though, the loyalists of former President Mahama hold a faint hope that they could bring him back and recapture power in 2020.

Well, I am not a soothsayer, and, more so not fit enough to advise NDCs Party stalwarts on their choice of a suitable flagbearer.

However, judging from the harsh economic conditions Ghanaians experienced during Mahamas coarse administration, and Ibrahim Mahamas apparent public enmity, it will take a miracle for discerning Ghanaians to vote NDC and former President Mahama in 2020.

K. Badu, UK
Comedian, Seyi Law, has been very vocal of recent when it comes to political issues and he is not ready to stop as he is set on using social media to drive home his point.

The comedian going through happenings in the country especially the part where the Vice President of Nigeria, Yemi Osinbajo, stated that medical tourism is draining Nigerias reserve.

Seyi Law admitted of being guilty but pointed accusing fingers on the government who is not ready to put good health infrastructure in place.

According to him, I am definitely one of the guilty parties here, but can you blame us. What am I saying sef, I thought the VP is aware his Boss has just returned from his own FOUR MONTHS MEDICAL TOURISM. Let's keep deceiving ourselves. Ban all Political and Public Office Holders from Medical Tourism and see the turnaround in our Healthcare System. They're not ready to die so, ban them and watch miracles happen.
Thank God for saving the life of Funke, the ex wife of Afrobeat star, Femi Kuti, as she survived a severe asthma attack that almost took her life.

Funkes human right mother Laila St Matthew Daniel narrated the ordeal witnessed at the hospital as she was finally saved in another hospital.

"Traumatic Medical drama for me today! Some hospitals are death traps! My oldest daughter Funke had a terrible asthma attack this morning. She was rushed to the Healing Strips Hospital in front of Four Points. By this time her sister Oyinda had got there whilst I was on my way. Then I got another call that they were in an Ambulance on way to St. Nicholas. Why?

It turned out that the Doctor and 'nurses' at Healing Strips were clueless on how to handle the case and were running round in circles! Before they could even operate their oxygen, my daughter was going into spasms - at this panic point Oyinda shouted that they should get an oxygen ambulance to take her to St. Nicholas - the Dr, obviously relieved, agreed and arranged one. When they got here the nurse that accompanied her couldn't answer any questions. Imagine!!!! Treatment began instantaneously because Funke was at danger point as of then - that was when I arrived!

I must commend the medical professionalism of the Doctor and nurses - the way they took control was amazing. Equipments, on point!!! She had to go through series of tests and though she had another relapse, she stabilized and is under admission overnight to observe her.

There are all sorts of medical assistance. Some hospitals are just for general practice and once a critical case comes they should refer! Not try to give treatment they can't handle which could prove fatal for the patient. I thank God for His intervention today! I want to confirm that We do have good hospitals in Nigeria.
25.08.2017 LISTEN

Review: Romantic thriller Lady Macbeth is brilliant

Review: Lady Macbeth is great sexy thriller with an excellent lead performance

Review: Lady Macbeth is one of the years best films

This is not Shakespeare but packs all the drama and thrills youll get from a Shakespeare play. This is a very modern film for a sophisticated audience and easily one of the best films of the year.

Set in Victorian England, the movie tells the story of Katherine (Florence Pugh) a woman stifled by her loveless marriage to a bitter man twice her age, and his cold, unforgiving family. The husband doesn't even touch Katherine on their wedding night before departing on a long business trip. She is left alone with her father-in-law, who's impatient for a male heir and unlikely to sympathize with the idea that it's his son's fault she's not pregnant.

The only other company on Alexander's estate are the servants, and Katherine's time is occupied by two of them. One, Anna (Naomi Ackie), is her maid, observing her every move and, she suspects, reporting them to her father in-law. The other is Sebastian (Cosmo Jarvis), a handsome groomsman with whom Katherine embarks on a passionate love affair.

I dont want to say anymore as the events in the film are shocking and will leave you on the edge of your seat (literally). Anyone that has seen Game of Thrones might ask Is she as bad as Cersei? Shes much worse.

Directed by William Oldroyd and written by Alice Birch. Lady Macbeth is the very first feature film of director William Oldroyd and its a fascinating debut. Oldroyd never allows us to look away from the screen, focusing, in long, intense shots, on the faces of his characters and shocking bursts of violence or eroticism.

The film has been universally acclaimed since it debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival and there is buzz of a Best Actress Oscar nomination for Florence Pugh. I can see why.

Lady Macbeth will be released in cinemas August 25.
'The big truck is still on ...
Mokelumne Hill, CA  The Calaveras County Water District and Calaveras Public Utility District will hold a town hall meeting this coming Monday regarding a long-term water supply needs assessment of the Mokelumne River.

A report is being developed in response to some state lawmakers pushing for a 37-mile stretch of the river to receive Wild and Scenic designation. The proposal is designed to protect and preserve the river, but it would also limit any new development and water projects.

Speaking about the needs assessment, Peter Martin, CCWD water resources program manager, explains, Mainly, it is looking at the future supply and demands that could be utilized within the county from the Mokelumne River. This is partially in response to a request for information we received from the California Natural Resources Agency for a study that they are doing on the suitability of the Wild and Scenic designation on portions of the Mokelumne River.

Mother Lode Assemblyman Frank Bigelow authored a bill calling for a state study to be completed, before a designation be given, so that officials would know both the potential positives and negatives of the move.

The meeting will get underway at 6pm on Monday in the Mokelumne Hill Town Hall at 8283 Main Street. There will be a detailed overview of the study and a question and answer session. The meeting is open to the public.
Sometimes, to build a successful business you can't go without cooperating with logistic companies. We have prepared for your convenience a trusted list of Top 10 logistics companies in Nigeria with useful information about each of them!

The list below is based on the trust of many Nigerian companies and the reputation of each of the company. Let us talk about the top 10 of the main logistic companies in Nigeria. The details and contact information of the companies including their website are according businesslist.com.ng.

1) Ocenj Logistics

This company provides executive but affordable car leasing/rental services. Also, the firm is into relocation, clearing and forwarding, moving services.

Location: 21 Ladoke Akintola Boulevard Garki 2, Abuja, Nigeria.

Telephone number: 08172887772.

Establishment year: 2013.

Employees: 6-10.

Company manager: Joy Nwoke.

Working hours: Monday-Sunday: from 7:00 am to 6:00 pm.

2) Courier Plus Services Limited

The company is focused on logistics business activities. It is one of the leading logistics and distribution services companies. The company has 66 offices all around Nigeria. They offer a wide range of express courier and logistic support services to different customers.

CourierPlus Services Limited was recently acquired by Superflux International Limited in 2012. Since then, the company has upgraded their offerings and deliverables using the most efficient and up to date infrastructure. You can visit the company website to get more information about its activities.

Location: 1A, Olabode Street, Off Murtala Muhammed International Airport Road, Lagos, Nigeria.

Telephone number: +234-01 712 0248

Establishment year: 2009.

Employees: over 400

3) GIG Logistics

The company GIG Logistics prides itself in being one of the leading logistics companies in Nigeria. In addition, this firm belongs to a famous class of logistics companies with a clear determined market in Nigeria. With a robust global network and scores of local branches, they offer domestic interstate and intra express delivery services. The footprints of this company are also clearly visible in the areas of e-commerce and freight forwarding logistics.

Location: 1 Wole Ariyo Street, Lekki Phase 1 Lagos, Nigeria.

Telephone number: 08091899222, 08091899333, 08091899444.

Email address: info@giglogistics.ng.

Establishment year: 1998.

Employees: 1001-2000.

Working hours: Monday-Sunday: from 8:00 am to 5:30 pm.

4) Creseada International Limited

The logistics company Creseada International Limited is situated in Lagos State, Nigeria. This firm is involved in import and export agents, overseas business, laundry and cleaning, building materials, travel agents, security business activities, transport, logistics, and education. They offer a full suite of cost-effective and quality services by sea, road and air for global export and import.

Location: Plot 1, Block G, Oshodi Industrial Layout, Apapa- Oshodi Expressway, Matori Lagos., Abia, Nigeria.

Telephone Number: +23417744526, +23412790670, +2342790671/4.

Establishment year: 1985.

5) AGS Movers Lagos

The logistics company AGS Worldwide Movers is one of the partner of over 500 organizations, including embassies, United Nations, and many others.

At the present moment, the AGS Group has over 140 locations in 94 countries and has one of the biggest networks in the international moving industry.

They offer complete door-to-door service to their clients and customers anywhere in the world. Their agents are affiliated with reputable industry membership organizations such as BAR, FIDI, and IAM, which further displays their commitment to quality.

Location: 27B Liverpool Road, Apapa, Lagos, Nigeria.

Telephone Number: +234 17937239, +234 17741368, +234 80 999 23 987.

Company manager: Florent Birot.

Working hours: online this company is available 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.

READ ALSO: Most luxurious bus interior in the world

6) AXPD Resources Ltd

AXPD Resources is a business maintenance services supplier. The goal of this company is to guarantee that they add value to an ongoing business process. Their services involve Expo services, facilities management, renewable energy services, transportation, logistics, and procurement.

Location: Suite 213A SAMFA Plaza Plot 2055, Ndola Crescent Wuse Zone 5, Abuja, Nigeria.

Telephone number: 08160604431; 08033112209.

Establishment year: 2010.

Employees: 6-10.

Registration Code: RC 886748.

VAT Registration: 0001.

Company manager: Olusegun Adefope.

Working hours: Monday - Saturday: from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm, Sunday is closed.

7) Airborne International Courier Services

Airborne International Courier Services include such services as:

International Air Express Cargo Services; Hazardous Cargo Services; Dangerous Cargo Services; Hazardous Freight Services; Chemical Courier Services; Hazardous Handling Agent; Phrama Courier Services; Hazardous Courier Services; International Cargo Services; International Express Courier Services; Liquid Courier Services.

Location: 308,309 Apollo Complex, R.K. Singh Marg, Parsi Panchayat Road, Andheri East, Mumbai, Old Nagardas Road, India, Aba, Abia, Nigeria.

Telephone Nnumber: +9122 - 2838 7271/6999 3659.

Fax: 912228387271.

Establishment year: 2004.

Employees: 26-50.

Registration code: 20042211.

Company manager: Rajpurohit.

Working hours: Monday - Friday: from 9:00 am to 11:00 pm; Saturday: from 9:00 am to 7:00 pm.

8) FedEx Nigeria

FedEx Nigeria offers you the fastest courier services around the world daily. That is why FedEx Express can be your 24 hour-a-day solution for the best courier service. For additional information about this company visit their official website.

Location: Plot 787 Malumfashi Close, Area 11, Garki, Jebba, Abuja, Nigeria.

Telephone number: +234 12715670.

Establishment year: 1964.

Employees: 26-50.

Company manager: Sylvester Anene.

Working hours: Monday - Friday: from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm; Saturday and Sunday it is closed.

9) Hanana Global Link Limited.

Basically, Hanana Global Link Limited is a company operates in all Economic Communities of West African States (ECOWAS) countries. It has offices currently in Cotonou-Benin, Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, Nigeria, and Lome-Togo. Their services are:

Instant Cash; Properties Consultancy; Car Sales and Rentals; Bureau de Change; Transport and Logistics; Commodities; Western Union Agency; General Merchant.

Location: Badagry Express Road, Badagry, Lagos, Nigeria.

Telephone number: 23414534719, 2348100250770.

Fax: 23414534719.

Establishment year: 2006.

Employees: 16-25.

Registration code: 1211157.

VAT Registration: 18013815-0001.

Company manager: Prince Adegalu O. Amos.

Working hours: Monday - Saturday: from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, on Sunday it is closed.

10) Qship Nigeria

Qship is a special online Truckers-Platform, where shippers (everyone who has loads/goods) can post their shipment and get bids from transporters/truckers nationwide.

This is one of the shipping companies in Nigeria that provides a wide range of alternative prices or bids from approved transporters/truckers on the platform, catering for almost all cargo dimensions ranking from parcels to full truck load (FTL).

This company also offers a platform for transporters/truckers to get shipment and loads request on the go with notifications through mobile apps, SMS, and emails making sure truckers receive continuous streams of revenue.

Location: 951A Admiral Oduwaye Crescent, Ikeja, Omole Phase II, Lagos, Nigeria.

Telephone number: 08031230424, 08031230423.

Establishment year: 2016.

Employees: 6-10.

Working hours: Monday - Friday: from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, Saturday and Sunday it is closed.

Well, now you have the list of top 10 logistic companies in Nigeria. You now have the main information about each company. However, if you are searching for additional information, we advise you to visit the official sites of the companies.

Is your company A List? And you want it featured on Legit.ng? Just email us info@corp.legit.ng

READ ALSO: Haulage companies in Nigeria

Source: Legit.ng
According to the constitution of Nigeria, the Federal Mortgage Bank was established to meet the housing needs of all citizens of the country. However, most Nigerians do not know about the functions of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria. Thus, they have not been able to enjoy its services. This post will enlighten you on the functions of this institution.

The Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria is the apex mortgage bank in Nigeria. It was founded in 1956. As at the time of its establishment, it was known as the Nigeria Building Society (NBS). It was formed as a joint venture of the Federal Governments and Eastern Governments of Nigeria, and the Commonwealth Development Corporation. It was renamed to Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) in 1973 after the Federal government was given full control of the National Building Society through the Indigenization Act.

In 1994, the FMBN acquired the status of the apex mortgage institution in Nigeria with the proclamation of the Mortgage Institutions Act 53 of 1989 and the FMBN Act 82 of 1993. The Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria introduced a savings scheme called the National Housing Fund. It is a form of savings that organize and manage long-term funds from the federal government, banks, insurance companies, and Nigerian workers to promote the giving of loans at lower interests to contributors. Over the years, the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria has undergone different kinds of reforms to promote and meet its mandate.

READ ALSO: List of mortgage banks in Nigeria

Functions of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria

The Federal Mortgage Bank provides long-term credit services to mortgage banks in Nigeria and other mortgage institutions at rates that will allow the mortgage banks and institution grant loans to individuals who want to acquire their own houses.

It encourages and promotes the establishment and development of mortgage institutions at federal, state, local, and even rural levels.

It encourages the growth of the required of lasting secondary mortgage institutions to meet the housing needs of Nigerians.

The Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria gives licensing authority for secondary mortgage institutions in Nigeria.

It monitors and regulates the activities of mortgage institutions in Nigeria.

It collects and manages the National Housing Funds in a manner that conforms to the provision of the National Housing Fund Act.

The Federal Mortgage Bank also mobilizes both domestic and foreign funds into the housing sector, and it is the link between the mortgage market and the capital market.

From time to time, the bank also introduces different innovative mortgage-related programs and products to achieve its mandates.

The main goal of the Federal Mortgage Bank is to advance homeownership among every Nigerian by creating mortgage markets with a sustainable financing system. But the bank has encountered a lot of challenges in an unstable economy which has prevented it from achieving its objectives.

Currently, the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria is partnering with mortgage institutions with the technical and financial capacity, who are interested in delivering affordable housing to the low and medium income earners.

READ ALSO: Why unemployed Nigerians can't legitimately own homes - Minister Fashola

Source: Legit.ng
- Boko Haram has continued with its campaign of terror in Borno state

- This is despite efforts by the Nigerian Military to nip the insurgency in the region in the bud

- More casualties were recorded recently as the insurgents ambushed soldiers

A report by Sahara Reporters indicates that an ambush by Boko Haram terrorists in Meleri, a village in Konduga local government area of Borno state, has resulted in scores of fatalities.

According to the report, victims of the bloody ambush included soldiers and members of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF).

The incident reportedly occurred at about 11 am on Wednesday, August 23.

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A security source quoted in the report stated that the troops were attacked while undertaking a trip from Konduga town, the local government headquarters, to Kawuri, a few kilometers from Meleri.

"We lost soldiers and four CTJF members. The troops were ambushed by terrorists on their way to Konduga yesterday, leaving many wounded on both sides. As our troops approached the desolate village, the terrorists opened fire on the convoys," said the source.

The Nigerian army is yet to make a statement on the alleged attack.

Meanwhile, an explosive device suspected to have been planted by Boko Haram members killed two people and injured three others along Damaturu - Biu road, Yobe state.

The incident happened about 4:45pm on Sunday, August 20, close to Azare village.

A local vigilante who gave his name as Modu, said the victims were cattle traders travelling to Gombe state from Buni Yadi town where they attended a weekly Sunday market.

READ ALSO: Buhari orders service chiefs to deal with IPOBs secret army, Boko Haram

Watch the video of Boko Haram survivours on Legit.ng TV below:

Source: Legit.ng
- The Sultan of Sokoto has indicated support for the recent move by the Nigerian federal government to criminalize hate speech

- The monarch supported VP Osinbajos comment that no one will be allowed to get away with making speeches that can cause sedition or that can cause violence

- He revealed how he became a victim of fake news recently when his comments on restructuring were misrepresented

- According to the royal father, freedom of speech does not give anyone the right to violate the rights of others

Alhaji Saad Abubakar, the Sultan of Sokoto, has thrown his weight behind the recent move by the federal government to make the propagation of hate speech/fake news a crime, Vanguard reports.

According to the monarch, hate speech should be designated as a terrorism offence.

READ ALSO: Arewa youths finally bow to pressure, withdraw Igbo quit notice

Legit.ng gathers that the royal father made his comments while speaking at the Annual Lecture Series and 25th Anniversary of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), which took place in Abuja on Thursday, August 24.

The Sultan lamented that the propagation of hate speech had reached fever pitch, and supported the recent statement made by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, that none will be allowed to get away with making speeches that can cause sedition or that can cause violence.

He also disclosed how he recently became a victim of fake news when he was quoted as being against restructuring.

Clarifying his position, the Sultan stated that he was misquoted and that he was only against restructuring if it would lead to the break-up of the country.

He also expressed alarm when he said he heard that people were quoting that he was at an event where there was some sort of commotion.

He stated: Shortly after the event, many people were calling me that what was I doing at the event where there was fracas.

There was nothing like fracas at that event as reported by a popular TV station which I will not name here.

A former comrade governor who was at the event canvassed a position which did not go down well with the audience and people were shouting.

The President of NLC waded into the situation and the comrade Governor continued with his speech. At the end of the speech the former Governor was given a loud ovation.

So how can that be described as fracas?

The Sultan stated that he was shocked to see a headline later which stated, Restructuring: Sultan kicked, Oshiomole booed.

According to the monarch, freedom of speech does not give anyone the right to violate the rights of others.

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Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that the Nigerian military stated that it had begun monitoring social media, to identify peddlers of fake news, anti-government and anti-security activities in the country.

The development came 2 days after the live broadcast delivered by President Muhammadu Buhari and was disclosed by Major-General John Enenche, Director of Defence Information.

Watch this Legit.ng TV video of various Nigerians reacting to the news that Buhari may return to the UK for further treatment

Source: Legit.ng
- Some university vice chancellors in Nigeria have condemned the new cut-off marks introduced by JAMB

- Also the Academic Staff Union of Universities has rejected the new cut-off of 120 for UTME

- According to those critical of the new directive, it is said that it would mean a lowering of educational standards in the country

Following the announcement that the cut-off marks for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) has been reduced to 120, there has been some backlash from Nigerians and those in the educational sector.

Vice-Chancellors and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) have spearheaded the rejection of the decision of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board to peg admission cut-off mark at 120 for universities and 100 for polytechnics, monotechnics and colleges of education.

ASUU said the action was in tandem with the dream of the present government to destroy public universities in the country.

Below are some quotes from some vice chancellors, ASUU and the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) as obtained by The Punch:

Vice-Chancellor, University of Ibadan(UI), Professor Idowu Olayinka, in a statement released by his Media Assistant, Mr Sunday Saanu, on Thursday, August 24, said UI stated that it would never admit any candidate that scored 120 in the UTME.

READ ALSO: Why cut-off marks for tertiary institutions were reduced - JAMB

It should worry us as patriots that candidates who scored just 30 per cent in the UTME can be admitted into some of our universities. Yet, we complain of poor quality of our graduates. You can hardly build something on nothing.

"The consolation here is that since JAMB started conducting this qualifying exam in 1978, UI has never admitted any candidate who scored less than 200 marks out of the maximum 400 marks.

This translates to a minimum of 50 per cent. This remains our position as an institution aspiring to be world-class. Reality is that only about four other universities in the country have such high standard.

"To that extent, apart from being the oldest, we are an elite university in the country at least judging by the quality of our intakes," he said.

However, he also commended the decision of the FG to re-introduce the post-UTME test.

Olayinka said: It is gratifying to note that the Honourable Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, who chaired the meeting, apologised publicly for canceling the post-UTME screening last year.

In effect, universities are now allowed to conduct the test using modalities approved by the Senate of each institution.

To be fair to the incumbent Registrar of JAMB, he was not the Registrar when the policy somersault of cancelling the post-UTME test was made last year.

"As strongly canvassed by us at every opportunity, for UI, the need to admit the best admission seekers is the primary motivation for the test and not money, even though we do not pretend that you can run any university so properly called without funds.

READ ALSO: Nigerians react as JAMB pegs cut-off mark to 120

The Vice-Chancellor, Tai Solarin University of Education (TASUED), Ogun state, Professor Oluyemisi Obilade, on his own part said that the onus would ultimately fall on parents and employers of labour to decide between a first-class graduate of a university which takes 120 as its cut-off mark or one that takes 180 as its cut-off mark.

According to her, TASUED would never go below 180. She also said that many of the VCs at the Combined Policy Meeting during which the 120 benchmark decision was made, said they would not go below 180.

But some universities chose 120 at the meeting. What the JAMB has done is to transfer power back to the Senate of universities to decide their cut-off marks.

"What I can tell you is that many public universities and even private universities will not go below 200. We were told that some universities were doing what they called under the table admission and then come back to JAMB after four years for regularisation.

TASUED will not go below 180, not under my watch. Even in the United States, there is what we call Ivy League universities, and there are those you can call Next Level Universities.

"There are also those that are termed community colleges. At the meeting, the outcome is that universities have been given the freedom to decide. It is not general legislation and it is not binding on everybody," she said.

Dr Deji Omole, the chairman of ASUU at the University of Ibadan, accused the present government of trying to destroy education in the country.

He said: Rather than sanctioning the identified universities that admitted over 17,000 students illegally, the JAMB registrar simply regularised illegality and lowered cut-off marks to favour the interests of the friends of government who own private universities and are hell bent on destroying public education.

Omole said it was vital for JAMB to be scrapped in order to save the nations education and its future.

Where are the students that the JAMB registrar said entered universities illegally? Which universities admitted them?

"If 30 per cent did not take JAMB and found their way into the university system, is that not corruption and a message that JAMB is not significant anymore? What sanction did those who did the illegal thing receive other than regularisation of illegality.

We are watching because long before now we have said that JAMB has outlived its usefulness. Let the universities set their unique standards and those who are qualified can come in.

"Scoring 120 out of 400 marks is 30 per cent. Even in those days, 40 per cent was graded as pass. But now JAMB said with F9 which is scoring 30 per cent you can be admitted.

They deliberately want to destroy education. Even for polytechnic, 100 marks is 25 per cent. It is sad. And that is where we are in Nigeria. They want to destroy public education at all costs.

"This is not setting standard for education in Nigeria. It is purely lowering standards and digging grave for the future. This is why ASUU is currently on the struggle to influence the government to do the needful for education in Nigeria, he said.

Professor Kayode Alese, the Dean of Students Affairs, Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), said that the institution would soon unveil its cut-off mark.

However, I can assure you that FUTA has never gone as low as 120. It has never happened and it will never happen.

Having spoken for the university, my personal opinion is that the 120 cut-off mark will not add value to our education system.

"The Federal Government has just increased the pass mark from 40 to 45 in universities. What that means is that you must score at least 45 for you to pass any course.

"We have enough candidates and yes you may try to increase access but tertiary education should be for those who have the capability.

Prof. Tope Ogunmodede, the Vice-Chancellor, Obafemi Awolowo University, said the institution would not admit any candidate with 120 UTME score.

Traditionally, OAU has never admitted students who scored below 200 in the UTME. For us, we are sticking to 200.

"The minimum benchmark is 120 but you can go higher than that. I expect that an institution should be able to determine the quality of its graduates because there are internal exams. What has been done is to provide a leeway for universities to decide their cut-off marks, he explained.

Meanwhile, NANS has described the reduction of the cut-off marks for admission into tertiary institutions as a gross misplacement of priority and an exercise in futility.

However, Prof. Friday Ndubuisi, the Vice-Chancellor of the Christopher University, Ogun state has a different view. He said the new admission benchmark would have no negative implication on the quality of education.

He said: This is not an imposition. The cut-off mark is a minimum benchmark for admission. This idea of taking the UTME every year without getting admission is worrying.

"About 1.6 million candidates sat for the examination this year and about 500,000 will be admitted mostly because of the cut-off mark.

"Most universities will not go below 200, but with five credits obtained in two sittings, a person should be qualified for admission. This is, however, not an imposition. Universities still get to decide on whom to admit through the post-UTME.

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Legit.ng earlier reported that Prof. Ishaq Oloyede who is the registrar of JAMB allayed the fears of Nigerians insinuating that it was a testament to the failure in the sector.

He said the board recommendation was to only provide the institutions with a benchmark and that universities could raise their cut off marks above 120 but not more than 180.

Watch this Legit.ng video on the registration process for JAMB:

Source: Legit.ng
- Hussaini Akwanga, a former minister of labour and productivity, was kidnapped on Wednesday, August 23, by unknown gunmen

- The former minister was freed 48 hours later and his release was confirmed by the spokesman of the Nasarawa state police command, Kennedy Idrisu

- Investigations are still underway to identify the masterminds of the kidnap, but that no arrests have been made so far

Hussaini Akwanga, a former minister of labour and productivity, who was abducted from his farm in Akwanga, Nasarawa state by unknown gunmen has been freed.

Akwanga had served as minister under former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

READ ALSO: How Obasanjo escaped impeachment - Aminu Bello Masari

The development was confirmed to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) by the spokesman of the Nasarawa state police command, Kennedy Idrisu, on Thursday, August 24.

According to Idrisu, Akwanga had been released unharmed at 6pm that day; 48hours after his kidnap.

Idrisu stated: Although he was a little traumatised, he is hale and hearty and has been reunited with his family.

The police spokesman further revealed that the gunmen may have released the former minister due to sustained pressure from the police and other security agencies.

Idrisu stated that the investigation was still underway to identify the masterminds of the kidnap, but that no arrests had yet been made.

He disclosed that he did not know if any ransom was paid for Akwangas release.

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Recall that Legit.ng previously reported that the police command in Nasarawa state confirmed the abduction of Hussaini Akwanga, former minister of labour and productivity.

Akwanga served during the administration of Olusegun Obasanjo but was removed on December 4, 2003, following an alleged $214 million national identity card scam.

Kennedy Idirisu, spokesman of the Nasarawa state police command, confirmed the abduction in Lafia on Wednesday, August 23.

Watch this Legit.ng TV video about the kidnapper's den which was discovered in Lagos:

Source: Legit.ng
Legit.ng gathered that a pastor in Cross River state was arrested for allegedly participating in the kidnapping and murdering of a baby.

According to reports, Pastor Tony Obo, of the God's Commandment Ministry (aka Obot Uboho), was arrested by men of the Cross River state police command, on suspicions of murder.

The pastor was accused of buying a baby from kidnappers and eventually killing the child for ritual purposes. An angry mob attacked the church, where they discovered several fetish items, including photos and concoctions.

A banner of the church showing the pastor's face and the church's programme. Photo: Facebook/Antee May

READ ALSO: Celestial Church of Christ shepherd caught with juju

According to reports from Calabar News, this is what transpired:

The police arrested and interrogated the guy this morning over the missing baby boy and the guy led them to the pastor he sold him to. The pastor got arrested in connection with the allegations and was taken to his church where fresh blood was found spilt around, along with things of different sort; including photographs of men and women, womens lingerie and other underwears as well as other devilish things.

READ ALSO: Villagers banish pastor in Anambra for burying assorted charms under his church's altar

Facebook user Antee May who shared the photos, wrote:

Somewhere in Calabar south. Ritual pastor who kidnapped a baby this morning busted.

Another Facebook user, Prince Daniel Eden, said:

Pastors and rituals at Okon Edak street Calabar south#official.my friend's baby was kidnapped earlier today at around 3amaccording to source, one of victims caught in the act said they were sent by the pastor of ROYAL GODS GOSPEL MINISTRIES, situated at Okon Edak street off Palm street extension..

READ ALSO: Fake prophet caught putting juju inside bus to cause accident

See more pictures below:

The church was destroyed by an angry mob. Photo: Facebook/Antee May

Some concoctions were found in the church premises. Photo: Facebook/Antee May

Some pictures of his supposed victims. Photo: Facebook/Antee May

Some 'juju' was gathered from the 'church' premises. Photo: Facebook/Antee May

The pastor was accused of using fetish items in his church. Photo: Facebook/Antee May

Na wa o!

Meanwhile, see this video of a Nollywood actor who says he will soon become a pastor:

Source: Legit.ng
- Bianca, the wife of late Biafran warlord, Odumegwu Ojukwu, has reacted to the order by IPOB that residents should boycott the forthcoming Anambra election

- Bianca, a former Nigeria ambassador to Spain, lamented the federal government's absence in Anambra

- She pleaded with the people of the state to vote for Willie Obiano since he was meeting her late husband's dreams

Bianca, the widow of the late Biafra warlord, Odumegwu Ojukwu, has called on those asking residents of Anambra state to boycott the forthcoming governorship election to have a rethink or face the consequences.

Bianca also asked the agitators to commence the boycott in their own states and leave Anambra alone.

READ ALSO: We are happy - Ohanaeze Ndigbo reacts to withdrawal of quit notice to Igbos in the north

This is almost the first time the former Nigeria ambassador to Spain would speak concerning the agitation for Biafra republic being championed by Nnamdi Kanu and others.

Daily Trust reports that Bianca made the declaration while speaking during the inauguration of the Akpokuodike Fans Club, in Awka, Anambra state.

She, however, complained about the near-absence of the federal government in Anambra in the area infrastructure.

According to her, APGA remains the voice of Ndigbo and the party should be supported.

She told the club members that they had a major role to play as APGA and its leadership are replica and model of late Dim Odumegwu Ojukwus dream of a region where excellence prevails.

She pleaded with the people of the state to return Obaino for a second term for posterity sake and to sustain the dividends of good governance.

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Barrister Chika Ekwunugo, who heads the fans club, said the organisation has bases in the 177 communities in the state and is projected to have at least 500 ambassadors in each town before the end of September.

Legit.ng earlier reported that the Coalition of Northern Youth Groups (CNYG) finally withdrew the quit notice it issued Nigerians of Igbo extraction to leave the 19 northern states by October 1.

The CNYGs decision to withdraw the quit notice followed series of meetings with numerous stakeholders.

Watch this video as reactions continue to trail the establishment of the Biafra Security Service:

Source: Legit.ng
- The Nigerian police has arraigned a dismissed officer for aiding the escape of a suspected ritualist

- The officer was arraigned before a magistrate court in Port Harcourt

- The court has also said that the suspect might face life sentence if found guilty on one of the two count charges against him

The Nigerian police has arraigned a police sergeant, Johnbosco Okoroeze, for aiding the escape of a suspected ritual killer in Rivers state.

Okoroeze was arraigned before a magistrate court in Port Harcourt, Rivers state by the state's police command.

He was accused of aiding the escape of Ifeanyi Dike, a suspected ritualist previously arrested and detained by the police.

READ ALSO: VCs, ASUU reject 120 cut-off mark, say FG is trying to destroy education in Nigeria

He was arraigned on a two count charge bordering on obstruction of justice and conspiracy.

The officer was arraigned before a Magistrate Court in Port Harcourt. Source: Twitter, @MobilePunch

At the hearing on Monday, August 25, Okoroeze wept uncontrollably as his case was been called.

Crying profusely, Okoroeze repeatedly said: What have I done to myself? What did I do? Call my wife for me."

He was however cautioned by the Chief Magistrate of the court, Sokari Andrew-Jaja

The charges said Okoroeze reads: That you, Johnbosco Okoroeze, on August 19, 2017, at about 8.30pm at the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, Port Harcourt, in the Port Harcourt Magisterial District, did assist one Ifeanyi Dike, who is to your knowledge guilty of the offence of murder of one Chikamso Nmezuwuba, aged eight years, for rituals, to escape when he was to be detained for prosecution, thereby committing an offence punishable under Section 322 of the Criminal Code Cap 37, Vol. II, Laws of Rivers State of Nigeria, 1999.

READ ALSO: Ohanaeze Ndigbo reacts after Arewa youths finally withdrew their quit notice to Igbos in the north

That you, Johnbosco Okoroeze, on the same date, time and place in the aforesaid magisterial district, did conspire with a suspect, Ifeanyi Dike, and allowed him to escape from prosecution to prevent and defeat the course of justice, thereby committing an offence punishable under Section 126 (1) of the Criminal Code Cap 37, Vol. II, Laws of Rivers State of Nigeria 1999."

Having listened to the charges, the Chief Magistrate said the dismissed officer could earn a life sentence or seven years jail term if found guilty on the first and second charges respectively.

Andrew-Jaja declining hearing on the matter ordered the court registrar to transfer the case file to Directorate of Public Prosecutions for legal advice.

The Chief Magistrate further adjourned the matter to Thursday, September 14, for adoption of written addresses.

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Legit.ng earlier reported that Ifeanyi Dike, a 23-year-old 200-level student of the Faculty of Science, University of Port Harcout, Rivers state, was arrested by the police for allegedly killing an eight-year-old girl Victory Chikamso.

Dike who was detained by the Rivers state police allegedly escaped with the aid of Okoroeze, a serving sergeant at the command.

Although Dike is yet to be re-arrested, the Rivers state commissioner of police, Zaki Ahmed, said the police has deployed all necessary means at its disposal for his apprehension.

Watch this Legit.ng TV video of how this suspected kidnapper escaped jungle justice in Lagos:

Source: Legit.ng
- Armed hoodlums disrupt the inauguration of the new acting chairman of the Bayelsa chapter of APC

- A member of the APC from Sagbama local council area and a hawker were reportedly killed following the invasion by the thugs

- The APC member in the state House of Assembly, Hon Sunny-Igoli, accuses the expelled chairman, Chief Tiwei Orunimighe of being responsible for the attack

The invasion of the All Progressive Congress (APC) secretariat in Bayelsa state by some armed thugs has led to the death of two persons.

READ ALSO: We are happy - Ohanaeze Ndigbo reacts to withdrawal of quit notice to Igbos in the north

Daily Times reports that five others including a journalist were injured following the invasion of the secretariat by the hoodlums who came to disrupt the inauguration of the new state acting chairman of the party, Hon Joseph Fafi.

One of those killed in the attack was identified as an APC member from Sagbama local council area of the state, while the other was said to be a hawker.

The deceased persons were said to have been gunned down during an exchange of gunfire between security agencies and the armed thugs.

Legit.ng learnt that the attack on the secretariat reportedly occurred when the armed thugs who disguised as party protesters beat the security barricade mounted by the men of the Nigerian Police Force and went directly to the APC secretariat complex.

An attempt by the police to repel the invasion led to a gun battle which resulted in stampede as supporters and journalists scampering for safety sustained serious injuries while the shooting lasted.

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Speaking shortly after the attack, the only member of the APC in the state House of Assembly, Hon Sunny-Igoli, accused the expelled chairman, Chief Tiwei Orunimighe and ex-militant leader, General Africa Ukpariasa of being responsible for the failed attack.

Meanwhile, APC has dismissed the rumour that its ticket for the November 18, governorship election in Anambra state has been zoned to a section of the state by the party.

The national publicity secretary of the party, Bolaji Ojo-Abdullahi, in a statement in Abuja on Monday, August 21, said the Anambra state election is opened to all aspirants who collected the APC nomination form.

Abdullahi urged the APC aspirants to ignore the rumour.

In the video below, Legit.ng TV asks some Nigerians if they support calls for the restructuring of Nigeria.

Source: Legit.ng
Pastor David Ibiyeomie, the founder and general overseer of Salvation Ministries, reportedly said women who are unmarried at the age of 35 are irresponsible.

Pastor Ibiyeomie who has one of the biggest churches in Nigeria, has made headlines following a 'controversial' speech he made while preaching during a recent church service.

The preacher who reportedly masterminded the arrest and imprisonment of controversial journalist, Kemi Olunloyo, after she shared a story roping him and Nollywood actress Iyabo Ojo, into an adultery mess, openly said some women of a certain age were 'irresponsible'.

According to reports, while preaching on Wednesday, August 23, Pastor Ibiyeomie said If you are still single at 35, you are an irresponsible person".

READ ALSO: David Ibiyeomie biography

He also reportedly said single people need to be on the lookout for responsible partners, and should also not wait till they 'get old' before entering into the union of marriage, as it was not the will of God.

He went ahead to add that young people need to pray before entering into a relationship that will likely lead to marriage.

READ ALSO: Don't marry anyone who puts passwords on their phones- Marriage counsellor

Meanwhile, a video has surfaced showing Pastor Ibiyeomie's preaching, where he was admonishing young men saying "at 37 you are still doing boyoyo...carry a wife and be responsible. How can a full-fledged man in your thirties be doing small boy".

See the video below:

However, the general overseer of Omega Power Ministries, Apostle Chibuzor Chinyere, disagreed with his theory, sharing a picture of his members who were joined in marriage at the age of 75.

See a screenshot of the post shared on the church's official Facebook page below:

Apostle Chinyere Chibuzor didn't see reason with what Pastor Ibiyeomie said. Photo: Facebook/Omega Power Ministries - OPM

Meanwhile, see how this video of Apostle Suleman's adultery scandal topped social media trends:

Source: Legit.ng
- Boko Haram insurgents abduct eight people in an attack on Cameroons restive far north

- The insurgents burnt several houses during the raid on some villages in the region

- The terrorists killed two people in another attack on Gachono, Afade

Boko Haram insurgents have killed more than 15 people following a raid on Gakara, a suburb of Kolofata in Cameroons restive far north, which is regularly hit by the terrorists.

READ ALSO: We are happy - Ohanaeze Ndigbo reacts to withdrawal of quit notice to Igbos in the north

Eight people were also abducted in the attack which occurred in the night of Thursday, August 24.

According to tweets by Bisong Etahoben, an international investigative journalist, the insurgents burnt several houses during the raid.

Etahoben also disclosed that in another attack on Gachono, Afade, Boko Haram insurgents killed three persons, wounded two and razed the entire village.

See the tweets by Etahoben below:

This latest attack comes after Boko Haram killed four people when a lone insurgent struck at Kordo near Kolofata on Wednesday August 23.

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Watch Legit.ng video of survivors of Boko Haram talking about the horrors inflicted by the terrorists:

Source: Legit.ng
- The police high command on Thursday, August 24, attacked a senator who raised allegations of pay-for-promotion in the force

- Senator Isah Misau representing Bauchi central accused the police chiefs and officials of force of turning special promotion of police officers into a quid-pro-quo racket

- The police high command has however petitioned the senate to probe the senator

The police high command has submitted a petition to the senate to order its committee on ethics and privileges to probe Senator Isah Misau, representing Bauchi central, Vanguard reports.

According to Guardian, the police made this demand as result of allegation by the senator accusing its engagement in high level corruption in the recent promotion exercise.

Legit.ng gathered this in statement signed by Jimoh Moshood, Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO) in Abuja, on Thursday, August 24.

READ ALSO: Angry mob destroys church after pastor allegedly murdered a baby (photos)

The statement read: ''Available record, Misau, was under Pending Disciplinary Matter (PDM), to appear and face Force Disciplinary Committee (FDC) before he hurriedly exited unceremoniously from the force. And this can explain his ill motives against the force.

''The senator bluntly refused to honour an invitation from a special investigative panel set up by the Inspector-General, Ibrahim Idris, to look into the allegation of bribe for promotion, raised by the senator.

''The special investigation panel was also mandated to investigate the allegations from the Senator and other petitions and complaints that may be emanating from police officers or members of the public on accusations of payment of money for special promotion.

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''The statement further said efforts by the committee to meet the two-week submission deadline as directed by the police boss was thwarted as the senator refused to honour all invitations extended to him

''It is incumbent on the force to educate the senator and set the record straight that the Nigeria police force has the rights as provided for in the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria to investigate all allegations of crime and other infractions of law against anyone including an institution.

''It is also pertinent to state that issues of promotions are internal matter within the Force and there are effective mechanisms to check excesses in the force''.

Meanwhile, Legit.ng had reported that Senator Misau stated that police officers pay up to N2.5 million to get special promotions through the Police Service Commission (PSC).

Watch this Legit.ng TV video asking Nigerians if the Police is really their friend:

Source: Legit.ng
President Muhammadu Buhari is meeting with all 36 state governors at the state house as part of his move to unite the country.

The presidents meeting with the governors is scheduled for afternoon, Friday, August 25.

This was confirmed via an official tweet from the presidency.

Governor AbdulAziz Yari who is the chairman of the governors' forum led the governors to the meeting with the president.

READ ALSO: Bianca Ojukwu speaks about Biafra, Anambra election boycott order from IPOB

The president joked with Governor Ifeanyi Okowo saying he was a favorite with the press.

President Buhari meets with the governors in Aso Villa, Credit: Twitter, Presidency

President Buhari addressing the governors at the Aso Villa. Credit: Twitter, Presidency

President Buhari with the 36 state governors engage in praters before their meeting. Credit: Twitter, Presidency

Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi applauded President Buhari for the way he has treated all governors irrespective of party.

The meeting is coming just after the president met with leaders of the Peoples Democratic party and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Senator Ahmed Makarfi led the delegation from the opposition party to the meeting which was also confirmed by the president's aide.

President Buhari also spoke at the end of the meeting commending the leaders for coming around.

Watch a Legit.ng TV video below of Nigerians speaking about the Buhari administration:

Source: Legit.ng
- The Nigerian government has reportedly asked the court to revoked Nnamdi Kanu's bail

- The government cited disobedience of court orders as one of the reasons why Kanu should be re-arrested

The Nigerian government has asked the court to order the re-arrest and detention of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.

In a statement released by the office of the Attorney General of the Federation and the Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, the government demand that Kanu be arrested again for flouting his bail condition.

READ ALSO: President Buhari meets with 36 state governors

Premium Times report that the statement signed by Malami's special assistant, Salihu Isah, stated that Kanu should be detained until the court pass a final judgement on the charges filed against him and two others.

Recall that Legit.ng reported that Nnamdi Kanu was granted bail on April 28, 2017 after he was arrested in October 2015 and charged to court for alleged treason.

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Meanwhile, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has described the withdrawal of the quit notice issued to Igbos in the northern part of the country by the Arewa youths as inconsequential.

The coalition of northern groups had on Thursday August 24, in Abuja withdrawn its order to all Igbos residing in the north to vacate the region before October 1, 2017.

But reacting to the withdrawal of the notice, IPOB in a statement made available to Legit.ng by its media and publicity secretary, Comrade Emma Powerful on Friday, August 25, asked all southerners in the north to return home before October 1 to avoid being attacked in the region.

Watch a Legit.ng documentary on Nnamdi Kanu and the agitation for Biafra:

Source: Legit.ng
- All eyes are on the Anambra state governorship election coming up in November

- Of special interest to political affairs watchers is the Anambra state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC)

- One of the party's aspirant is however enmeshed in a major controversy

A report by signal.ng indicates that one of the APC aspirants in the governorship election in Anambra state may have entered into an unholy alliance ahead of the polls.

This is coming barely 24 hours to the party's gubernatorial primaries scheduled for Saturday, August 26.

A document in the report showed details of how House of Representatives member and APC aspirant, Honourable Tniy Nwoye reportedly signed an agreement to cede 30% of Anambra states Internally Generated Revenue to prominent billionaire businessman, Prince Arthur Eze.

Anambra guber: Tony Nwoye (left) and Prince Arthur Eze (right) have been fingered in a major scandal

The document also indicated that there was an agreement for Prince Eze to nominate 10 commissioners in the cabinet of Nwoye.

See the documents below:

The document showing the agreement between Nwoye and Prince Eze. Photo credit: signal.ng

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Second page of the document showing the agreement between both parties. Photo credit: signal.ng

Legit.ng cannot however verify the authenticity of the documents.

Meanwhile, Bianca, the widow of the late Biafra warlord, Odumegwu Ojukwu, has called on those asking residents of Anambra state to boycott the forthcoming governorship election to have a rethink or face the consequences.

Bianca also asked the agitators to commence the boycott in their own states and leave Anambra alone.

Watch the video report of Senator Andy Uba leading 40 senators to get his governorship ticket at the APC headquarters on Legit.ng TV below:

Source: Legit.ng
- Boko Haram terrorist stormed 4 villages in Borno state on Wednesday, August 23

- 27 people were reportedly killed in the attack while several others were injured

- No less than 12 people are still missing after the attacks

Boko Haram insurgents, on the night of Wednesday, August 23, attacked 4 villages in Nganzi Local Government Area of Borno state, killing no less than 27 people.

Legit.ng learnt that the terrorists attacked the Abachari, Kote, Uda Lawanti and Wokilli villages, all in the same local government area, at about 9:30pm killing 15 people and leaving several wounded.

A member of the civilian Joint Task Force (JTF) who spoke with Sahara Reporters said: The attacks happened in the villages on Wednesday night, but it was this morning that we brought fifteen of the corpses and buried them in Nganzi town.

READ ALSO: Governor Fayose reveals why he did not attend President Buhari's meeting with state governors

As I am speaking with you many women and children are still missing.

A military personnel who also spoke to the press about the incident said that: The Boko Haram fighters burnt down the villages. They looted livestock and grains. Nothing was left in the villages. Some of the lucky ones are now taking refuge in Nganzi."

The terrorists continued the attacks on Thursday, August 24, by invading Mallam Moduri and Kijimatari, two villages in Guzamala local government area.

A witness said: At least seven people lost their lives in Kijimatari village when the terrorists opened fire on the civilians who were sleeping and six others sustained various kinds of injuries.

Five others were killed and many wounded at Mallam Moduri village around 3 a.m.

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Legit.ng earlier reported that some Boko Haram insurgents have killed more than 15 people following a raid on Gakara, a suburb of Kolofata in Cameroons restive far north, which is regularly hit by the terrorists.

Eight people were also abducted in the attack which occurred in the night of Thursday, August 24. According to tweets by Bisong Etahoben, an international investigative journalist, the insurgents burnt several houses during the raid.

Watch Legit.ng video of survivors of Boko Haram talking about the horrors inflicted by the terrorists:

Source: Legit.ng
- The federal government has asked a court to order the rearrest of Nnamdi Kanu

- The government said Kanu has violated his bail condition

- The creation of a security group called Biafra Secret Service is also one of the reason Kanu may be rearrested and detained

The federal government of Nigeria has listed the reasons why it wants the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, to be re-arrested and detained.

The office of the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, released a statement asking the court to revoke the bail granted Nnamdi Kanu in April 2017.

Premium Times reports that the statement by Malami indicated that Kanu has violated the 12 conditions given by the court for his bail.

READ ALSO: Agriculture is now successful because people cannot afford foreign food - President Buhari

The government stated that the IPOB broke his bail condition by constantly being in the same room with a crowd after the court ordered him to shy away from a crowd of more that 10 people at a time.

Legit.ng learnt that the statement added Kanu failed to give a medical updates of his health status to the court every month as part of the fulfillment of the conditions given for his bail.

The statement read: Rather than observing all the conditions, the 1st defendant/respondent in flagrant disobedience to the court order flouted all conditions given by the court.

The first defendant has in furtherance to the offence he was charged, inaugurated Biafra Security Service.

That the defendant held a rally at his residence in his hometown, Afara-UkwuIbeku in Umuahia, Abia State; the said rally with a CROWD exceeding 10 persons was captured in video published on the 1st June 2017 and circulated on YouTube.

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Meanwhile, Legit.ng earlier reported that eminent lawyer and elder statesmen, Prof. Ben Nwabueze said Nnamdi Kanu, has mandated him to declare to Nigeria that he is ready to call off the struggle for Biafra if there is progress made in restructuring Nigeria.

Nwabueze said this on Thursday August 24 during a press conference by Southern Leaders of Thought at Chief Rotimi Williams Chambers, Ilupeju Lagos.

Nwabueze, who is the leader of the group, warned that President Buhari will be looking for trouble" if he tries to usurp the constitutional powers of the people to ask for a better Nigeria through a change in structure.

Watch a Legit.ng TV video below of Nigerians speaking about Kanu's Biafra secret service:

Source: Legit.ng
Press Release

Flavorchem Corporation, a global supplier of flavor and color solutions, recently unveiled their new website: flavorchem.com. Created with the user experience in mind, the site includes many new features to help users to quickly and easily find information using multiple navigations. Upon entering, visitors are

greeted with striking visuals and concise text, providing a full spectrum of Flavorchems wide range of products and services.

The new website also allows users to access and share information across major social media platforms, such as global trends, news, and product launches. In keeping with our policy of providing superior product support and services to our valued partners, visitors will be able to contact company departments directly.

The website has been designed using the latest technology so the site is compatible with today's browsers and mobile devices.

Visit us at flavorchem.com for more information.

About Flavorchem: Flavorchem specializes in the creation and manufacturing of flavor and color solutions for the food, beverage and nutraceutical industries. Established in 1971, we are a privately held business whose customers include first class brands well recognized throughout the world. We strive to provide our customers with the highest-quality products and superior service and support. Flavorchem is a full-service operation with three strategically located manufacturing facilities throughout the world, providing for logistical advantages and contingency. Our global headquarters are in Downers Grove, Illinois, with a research and development center and complete flavor manufacturing operations. Additional manufacturing facilities are in San Clemente, California, and Kerepes, Hungary, along with global offices in China and the Americas.
The hazard of unsophisticated and poorly secured Internet of Things (IoT) devices came to the front last year with the Mirai DDoS attack that involved nearly a million bots. Many of these devices remain a threat.

Researchers have posed an original solution to the problem: Use the vulnerability of these devices to inject a white worm that secures the devices. It is an epidemiological approach that creates immunity with a vaccine by exposing the immune system to a weakened form of the disease.

+ Also on Network World: How to improve IoT security +

These devices are still a threat because some cannot be fixed because they have hard-coded back doors. Other insecure devices have software or firmware vulnerabilities that cannot be fixed because product designers did not include a software updates mechanism.

After studying the source code of the Mirai worm and its command and control system, researchers from the Technical University of Denmark, Denmark; Orebro University, Sweden; and Innopolis University, Russian Federation proposed this almost unprecedented idea in a paper titled AntibIoTic: Protecting IoT Devices Against DDoS Attacks (pdf). The Mirai source code was published on Github after it was originally released on Hackforums, as reported by Krebs on Security.

Most reports about the source code release warned that it would enable new bad actors, the security industrys term for individuals and criminal organizations who attempt to infiltrate systems and data banks with malicious intent. But because the source code was published, it was possible to create the white worm defense derived from the release.

The approach makes sense because there are few alternatives to remediating the risk these devices pose. In the go-to-market IoT race, developers do not always anticipate vulnerabilities or build according to computer science security text books, leaving hundreds of thousands or millions of devices undefended.

AntibIoTic uses the Mirai bot design to gain access and control of these poorly secured devices and inject them with antibiotic-like code.

The white worm project, called AntibIoTic, uses the Mirai bot design to gain access and control of these poorly secured devices and inject them with antibiotic-like code. AntibIoTic exploits the efficient spreading capabilities of the Mirai malware. Once in control, this white worm tries to notify the owner or remedy the problem on the owner's behalf by changing credentials, patching software or updating firmware. Compared to the malicious Mirai that ISPs and carriers have taken proactive measures to stop, AntbIoTic would not be detected because once in control, it does not behave maliciously.

How AntibIoTic functions

Features of AntibIoTic include the following:

Collect and publish data about vulnerable devices  Security researchers, the device manufacturers and anyone interested can analyze the data about these at-risk devices published on a public website. This might be an early-warning system, monitoring IoT devices and alerting IoT device manufacturers that a product category has been compromised.

Crowd-sourced contributions  The authors specify an interactive interface with a range of privileges, presumably based on trust, to let others contribute to AntibIoTic. One can easily imagine a security analyst or manufacturer contributing, especially an IoT manufacturer trying to avoid a recall and PR nightmare from a product with security flaws installed throughout the world that they otherwise could not remediate.

Sanitize infected devices  Once the AntibIoTic worm has control of a weak device, it either applies a fix to prevent further intrusions or sanitizes the device of malicious code installed by the bad actors. Applying a little imagination again, in response to an early warning of a specific exploit of a specific IoT device from data published on the web, a custom solution could be built and distributed using Mirai-like efficient spreading capabilities.

Notify device owners  After sanitizing the device, the AntibIoTic worm will try to notify the device owner of the vulnerabilities. The purpose of the notification is to warn the owner, make them aware of the security threats of their device and advise of further precautions that should be taken.

Secure vulnerable devices  If the threat has not been fixed after notifying the owner, AntibIoTic will apply security fixes, such as changing the admin credentials or updating firmware.

Resistance removal of AntibIoTic by reboot  A mechanism tracks all identified vulnerable devices. If a reboot occurs, AntibIoTic will re-infect after the devices return to operation and appear on the internet. AntibIoTic might become persistent on the target system by modifying its startup settings.

Mentioned elsewhere in the paper is a project called BrickerBot. It is the approach Samsung took to disable its potential dangerous Note 7 and prevent it from causing a fire. This approach bricks the device, making it irrecoverably inoperable and preventing the user or the malware from utilizing it. In certain scenarios, where IoT malware causes serious financial harm or physical danger, BrickerBot might be the only alternative.

Ethical and legal implications of AntibIoTic

AntibIoTic crosses some legal and ethical lines as a third party intruding into a device owned by another entity without the owners' explicit consent. This is an illegal and prosecutable act in a number of countries. At the same time, failing to protect ones own device and failing to remediate the malicious behavior of a device, causing harm to third parties, could be a violation of law by the owner.

The authors categorize the problem as an extension of the eternal dispute between freedom and security, but they did not include a deeper legal analysis  probably because this would require collaboration with legal experts throughout the world. Perhaps if looked at from an epidemiological perspective, the health of the herd outweighs the legal and ethical implications.

More details about the white worm and the command and control system are available in the paper.
A new study has found that adults aged 40 to 60 in England are not getting any notable physical activity. Only 4 in 10 individuals are walking less than 10 minutes continuously each month at a brisk pace. This means that they are missing the health benefits offered by routine physical exercise say the Public Health England in their evidence review.

Image Credit: Dubova / Shutterstock

The PHE researchers noted that over time the lifestyles of persons in this age group have changed significantly. For example the people living now are 20 percent less active than those living in the 1960s. Individuals on an average walked 15 miles more in a year compared to now  two decades later. There is little time for exercise and physical activity with the rise in the sedentary lifestyles, find the experts.

PHE thus has launched a One You physical activity campaign. This would encourage adults to incorporate 10 minutes continuous brisk walking in their day to improve their health. This is aimed at persons who lead a low activity lifestyle and are generally inactive. The Active 10 app has been developed in order to show how much brisk walking a person is doing each day and also helps suggest how more exercise can be incorporated into the lifestyles of individuals. The Active 10 app came into being from the collaboration of PHE, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield Hallam University and the National Centre for Sport and Exercise Medicine.

At least a single 10 minute brisk walk a day can help reduce the risk of early death by 15%, studies have shown. The recommendations suggest at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise each week. This 10 minute brisk walk can provide a significant contribution to that. It can reduce the risk of diabetes by 40%, risk of cardiovascular disease by 35%, risk of dementia by 30% and risk of cancers by 20%. Walking is one exercise that requires no skills or equipment or facilities and is thus most accessible and acceptable says the PHE. At present this lack of physical activity leads to at least one of the six deaths in the UK and is a direct contributor of over 0.9 billion per year in expenditure of the NHS, evidence shows.

Dr Jenny Harries, Deputy Medical Director at PHE said that it is understandable that busy day lives of most individuals provide them with little time for exercise. Small changes including walking to shops instead of driving, going for a brisk 10 minute walk during lunch breaks, can make a big difference in health he added. The Active 10 app is a free and easy way to include these changes in ones life. It combines walking intensity and time and not only just distances or steps making it different from other fitness apps. He added that this app has already helped 50,000 adults to become more active.

According to Professor Sir Muir Gray, Clinical Adviser for the Active 10 app and the One You campaign, a 10 minute brisk walk is a doable goal that can be achieved and once achieved helps reduce the risk of death significantly. The Active 10 app has been endorsed by the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) and is being recommended by GPs across the country to their patients.
Underground drinking water sources in parts of the U.S. and three Asian countries may not be as safe as previously thought due to high levels of manganese, especially at shallow depths, according to a study led by a researcher at the University of California, Riverside. Manganese, a metal that is required by the body in tiny amounts, can be toxic at elevated levels, particularly in children.

Samantha Ying, an assistant professor of environmental sciences in UCR's College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, led the study, which was published recently in Environmental Science & Technology. The paper describes manganese levels that exceed World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines in groundwater wells in Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, and the Glacial Aquifer, which spans 26 states in the northern U.S. and provides drinking water to more than 41 million Americans. Of the four regions, the Glacial Aquifer had the fewest contaminated wells.

While groundwater can be contaminated with a number of heavy metals, more emphasis has been placed on assessing the levels of arsenic than manganese, although the latter also poses a threat to human health. Levels of arsenic, a known carcinogen above the WHO's guideline of 10 parts per billion (ppb), are enforced by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the U.S. and similar agencies in other countries. Although the WHO suggests a health-based limit of 400 ppb, manganese is not listed as a contaminant on the EPA's National Primary Drinking Water Regulations, and therefore the levels are not monitored or enforced.

A growing number of studies have linked abnormal manganese concentrations in the brain to neurological disorders similar to Parkinson's disease, and elevated levels in children may negatively impact neurodevelopment and cognitive performance.

In the current study, the researchers collected and analyzed chemical data from 16,000 wells in the Glacial Aquifer, the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Mehta Basin in Bangladesh, the Mekong Delta in Cambodia, and the Yangtze River Basin of China. The researchers studied the levels of arsenic and manganese at a range of depths, showing that, in general, arsenic levels increased with depth, while manganese levels decreased with depth.

When accounting for both metals at levels suggested by the WHO, the percentage of contaminated wells across all depths increased as follows:

-Glacial Aquifer (U.S): 9.3 percent contaminated when considering arsenic only; increased to 16.4 percent when considering arsenic and manganese.

-Ganges-Brahmaputra-Mehta Basin (Bangladesh): 44.5 percent contaminated when considering arsenic only; increased to 70 percent when considering arsenic and manganese.

-Mekong Delta (Cambodia): 10 percent contaminated when considering arsenic only; increased to 32 percent when considering arsenic and manganese.

-Yangtze River Basin (China): 19 percent contaminated when considering arsenic only; increased to 88 percent when considering arsenic and manganese.

Ying said omitting manganese from water monitoring protocols means public health officials are dramatically overestimating the number of safe wells in some regions.

However, while arsenic contaminated wells should be avoided completely, manganese contaminated wells can be treated inexpensively or be used for agriculture rather than drinking water.

"Providing access to safe drinking water is a global challenge that is increasing the demand for drinking water from underground sources," Ying said. "However, due to increasing knowledge on the detrimental impact of manganese on human health, particularly on children, manganese levels in these sources should be monitored more closely and governments should consider introducing manganese drinking water standards.

Ying said since the highest manganese concentrations were not found at the same depths as the highest arsenic concentrations, these contaminants can and should be evaluated separately to ensure groundwater is fit for human consumption or agricultural use.
The newly established research program, 'Program for Translational Hematology', has just received DKK 100 million in funding from the Novo Nordisk Foundation. The aim is to strengthen the cooperation between basic research and clinical practice, to gain new knowledge on leukemia and to make a concentrated effort to develop and test new forms of treatment. Professor Kristian Helin at DanStem and Biotech Research & Innovation Center (BRIC) is at the head of the new program, which focuses in particular on identifying new forms of treatment of the leukemia forms AML (Acute Myeloid Leukemia) and MDS (Myelodysplastic Syndrome).

'I look forward to getting started, and I will be really busy. The great support of the program from all sides, from the university environment to the clinical research done at Rigshospitalet and the Novo Nordisk Foundation, is amazing. The program is first and foremost a main step in bridging the divide between basic research and clinical research, and we will draw on the best professional expertise from both environments. Hopefully this will enable us to meet our main objective, which is to help patients suffering from leukemia', says Professor Kristian Helin, who stresses that Professor Kirsten Grnbk from the Department of Hematology and Professor Bo Porse from the Finsen Laboratory, both at Rigshospitalet, are main cooperation partners.

From DNA Sequencing to Phase 1 Trials and Recruitment of International Research Capacities

Kristian Helin explains that the research program will take as its starting point the characterization and use of leukemia cells, which will be collected from patients over the next few years, and the first stage of the program will consist in using this material to screen for the best possible forms of treatment. The goal is to become able to use the information about the mutations in patients' DNA that have prompted the development of leukemia. It will be used to predict patients' need for treatment and medicine response time, making it easier for doctors to customize the treatment of individual patients. Another ambition is to produce pre-clinical models of the leukemia by transplanting primary cells into mice.

'The pre-clinical trials and basic research are main parts of our overall goal of finding new targets for the development of new medicine. At the same time, we want to look ahead and identify new methods when we know how the various forms of leukemia develop. We want to take our research all the way from basic research to clinical trials on human subjects', Kristian Helin says and stresses that the research program also contains several educational perspectives. It will support the recruitment of young doctors and researchers, and strong international capacities have already been recruited for the program in the form of Professor Krister Wennerberg from the Institute for Molecular Medicine in Finland.

Focus on Diabetes and a New Name for DanStem

The research program falls under DanStem, which since its formation in 2010 has focused on basic research primarily. The researchers have determined how stem cells in the laboratory can be forced to develop in a particular direction and identified the role played by cancer stem cells in the development of various forms of cancer. Now the center is ready to take the next step and translate the research results into new, more targeted and efficient forms of treatment.

To further strengthen its translational research, the center will allocate DKK 32 million from its previous budget to the development of diabetes treatment. Professor and Director of DanStem Henrik Semb looks forward to the strengthened effort to create new results.

'This shows that our basic research can be translated into clinical application within cancer and diabetes. The new grant and the redistribution of resources to translational research will strengthen our effort, through pre-clinical and future clinical trials, to develop new forms of treatment and cures for hematological forms of cancer and type 1 diabetes', says Professor Henrik Semb.

DanStem has previously consisted of two sections: the Novo Nordisk Foundation Section for Basic Stem Cell Biology funded by the Novo Nordisk Foundation and the Section for Translational Stem Cell Research and Therapy funded by Innovation Fund Denmark. In connection with the new grant the two sections will be merged into one center called the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Stem Cell Biology, Danstem.
Dr Ananya Mandal, MD

When a word is being emphasized upon during speech, we tend to raise our pitch. Studies of voice modulation and intonations have shown that the pitch can change the meaning of the word. So, it is not always what is said, but how it is said, find researchers of a new study appearing in the latest issue of Science.

The team of researchers looked at high-density brain recordings of the neurosurgical patients who were also clinically monitored. The areas of the brain associated with speech and sounds called the auditory complex of the brain seemed to light up at the pitch differences they noted. In these areas of the auditory complex, the researchers found highly specialized and dedicated neurons whose job was two decode the pitch differences in speech and the voice modulations. The speech was decoded by these neurons in real time to assess the signals given.

There are other sites of the auditory complex including those that analyze the critical aspects of speech including information about the speaker and the phonemes. Phonemes are distinct units of sounds in any language that allow us to understand one word from another. For example - pat and pad and bat and bad etc. in English language. These sites of the brain that detect pitch modulations are ones that overlap with these specialized other sites as well.

The researchers noted that listener brains are constantly trying to glean information from the intonational pitch used in speech. Just like speakers of all human languages are using intonational pitch to convey exact meanings of what they want to convey. This includes emphasizing upon single words. The pitch changes are assessed by the listeners who extract the shape of intonation contours. These intonational contours are independent of each of their known speakers.

The team used high-density electrocorticography that helped them record neural population activity directly from the brain surface. The participants were made to hear sentences that varied in several factors including intonational pitch contour, speaker and phonetic content. Intonational contours were detected by the human superior temporal gyrus area of the brain using single electrodes. These were mixed with and overlapped significantly with the other sites that identified phonetics and speaker identities explained the researchers. The participants were 10 epilepsy patients who were awaiting surgery. They all had an electrode placed inside their brains to help the doctors detect the source of their seizures.

The auditory system is the sensory system for the sense of hearing. It includes both the sensory organs (the ears) and the auditory parts of the sensory system. Image Credit: Artwork studio BKK / Shutterstock

Dr. Eddie Chang, a professor of neurological surgery at the University of California, San Francisco explained that this study found that there were groups of neurons that processed only the pitch of the voice. He added that these neurons helped identify the melody of speech or the intonation of the pitch rather than just the vowels and consonants. Chang added that intonation was how one says things and how it is said can change the meaning completely without changing the words itself. One of the commonest examples of this is that by raising the pitch of the voice at the end of a sentence alone, a statement can be converted into a question. The participants were made to hear a statement such as Reindeer are a visual animal. Sometimes the sentence began on a higher pitch ending at a low making it a statement and sometimes it began at a lower pitch and ended at a higher pitch making it a question.

The study was conducted by Claire Tang, a graduate student in Chang's lab and the Science paper's lead author who looked at the brain imaging studies.
India will but the BrahMos-A airlaunched heavy cruise missile into service starting around the end of 2017.

In 25 June 2016 as a modified Su-30MKI carrying BrahMos-A underwent a successful trial flight. It was he first time a heavyweight supersonic cruise missile had been integrated on a long-range fighter aircraft. The project started in 2011 but has been bogged down. To carry the missile, the Su-30MKI undercarriage had to be strengthened, which also required new hard points and structural modifications. The cost of adapting the BrahMos for air launch was phenomenal, but efforts to downsize the missile were abandoned after an attempt to reduce the size of the ramjet. 40 IAF Su-30s are to be equipped to carry the missile.

The air launched cruise missile will be put into service after tests in the Indian Ocean in September-October.

BrahMos, a word combining Brahmaputra and Moscow, is a name for a missile created within the framework of the joint efforts of both India and Russia. The missile can carry a conventional warhead of up to 660 pounds. BrahMos missiles can be launched from warships and submarines as well as from aircraft and land-based launchers.

The missile travels at speeds of Mach 2.8 to 3.0.

Other missile variants under development

A hypersonic version of the missile, BrahMos-II, is also presently under development with a speed of Mach 7-8 to boost aerial fast strike capability. It will start testing this year.

India and Russia are now planning to jointly develop a new generation of Brahmos extendeed range missiles with 600 km-plus range (instead of 290-450 km) and an ability to hit protected targets with pinpoint accuracy.

BrahMos-NG (Next Generation) is a mini version based on the existing BrahMos, will have same 290 km range and mach 3.5 speed but it will weigh around 1.5 tons, 5 meters in length and 50 cm in diameter, making BrahMos-NG 50 percent lighter and three meters shorter than its predecessor. The system is expected to be inducted in the year 2017. BrahMos-NG will have lesser RCS (radar cross section) compared to its predecessor, making it harder for air defense systems to locate and engage the target. BrahMos-NG will have Land, Air, ship-borne and Submarine tube-launched variants. First test flight is expected to take place in 201718.

India and Russia intend to make 2,000 BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles over the next ten years through their joint venture company, and nearly 50% of them are expected to be exported to friendly countries.
Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.

Known for identifying cutting edge technologies, he is currently a Co-Founder of a startup and fundraiser for high potential early-stage companies. He is the Head of Research for Allocations for deep technology investments and an Angel Investor at Space Angels.

A frequent speaker at corporations, he has been a TEDx speaker, a Singularity University speaker and guest at numerous interviews for radio and podcasts. He is open to public speaking and advising engagements.
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Cecil D. Andrus, a four-term governor of Idaho who as interior secretary under President Jimmy Carter helped set aside vast expanses of Alaska for parks and reserves, died on Thursday at his home in Boise, Idaho. He was 85.

The cause was complications of lung cancer, his daughter Tracy Andrus said.

Mr. Andrus liked to portray himself as having stumbled into public life  he was a political accident, in his words. It was a sophisticated bit of self-branding, positioning him as passionate rather than opportunistic in a state where the notion of Western authenticity had always played well.

He was 28 in 1960 when his tiny community of Orofino, Idaho, invited the areas aging Republican state senator to a town meeting to try to persuade him to fight for more financing for a public kindergarten.

He made the statement, Well, this school system was good enough for me, its good enough for your kids,  Mr. Andrus, a Democrat, recalled in an interview for this obituary in 2012. I couldnt help myself. I said, Its pretty obvious, Senator, that the school system wasnt even good enough for you. 
Dennis Williams with his son, Elan, considers his neighborhood in Brooklyn a welcoming haven for gay parents like him.

Dennis Williams with his son, Elan, considers his neighborhood in Brooklyn a welcoming haven for gay parents like him. Chad Batka for The New York Times

All my life Ive loved Texas: those big skies, big steaks and big attitudes. Im there several times a year.

But Texas doesnt love me back. Certainly its lawmakers dont, and lately theyve been hellbent on showing that.

In June the governor signed a bill allowing child welfare groups to refuse adoptions that contradict their sincerely held religious beliefs. They can turn away gay men like me.

That same month, the Texas Supreme Court approved a lawsuit challenging the city of Houstons provision of equal benefits to all married employees, including those with same-sex spouses. Although the United States Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide in 2015, Texas bucks and balks.

Not New York. My state loves me something fierce. What it did in June was finalize the design of a monument to L.G.B.T. citizens in downtown Manhattan. New York legalized same-sex marriage back in 2011 without any federal nudge.

Theres no such thing as L.G.B.T. life in America, a country even more divided on this front than on others. Theres L.G.B.T. life in a group of essentially progressive places like New York, Maryland, Oregon and California, which bans government-funded travel to states it deems unduly discriminatory. Then there is L.G.B.T. life on that blacklist, which includes Texas, Kansas, Mississippi and South Dakota.

The differences between states  and between cities within states  are profound, and while that has long been true, its much more consequential since the advent of the Trump administration, a decidedly less ready ally of L.G.B.T. people than the Obama administration was.

The federal government under Donald Trump wont be rushing in to help L.G.B.T. people whose local governments fail to give them equal rights, a sense of belonging or even a feeling of physical safety. Despite Trumps happy campaign talk about how fond he was of gays (and, Trump being Trump, how fond they were of him), his record as president has been hurtful and hateful. Immediately after his inauguration, references to the L.G.B.T. community were scrubbed from many federal websites, including the White Houses and the Department of States.

Plenty of the people he pulled into his cabinet have long histories of pronounced opposition to gay rights. One of them, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, leads a Department of Justice that recently went out of its way to make clear, in court filings, that it did not consider L.G.B.T. people to be protected by a federal civil rights law that prohibits employment discrimination. The Obama administration had taken the opposite view.

20 29 28 states dont have laws prohibiting establishments from discriminating against L.G.B.T. customers states dont have non-discrimination employment laws protecting L.G.B.T. states dont have hate crime laws specifically protecting L.G.B.T. Source: Human Rights Campaign 20 states dont have hate crime laws specifically protecting L.G.B.T. 28 29 states dont have non-discrimination employment laws protecting L.G.B.T. states dont have laws prohibiting establishments from discriminating against L.G.B.T. customers Source: Human Rights Campaign 20 states dont have hate crime laws specifically protecting L.G.B.T. 29 28 states dont have laws prohibiting establishments from discriminating against L.G.B.T. customers states dont have non-discrimination employment laws protecting L.G.B.T. Source: Human Rights Campaign

Without consulting or even alerting the heads of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines, Trump announced a reinstatement of the ban on transgender people in the military, and on Friday signed a directive that prevents transgender people from joining the armed services but leaves the fate of those already serving in doubt. His first Supreme Court appointment suggests that if he is able to ensconce several more, the same-sex-marriage ruling could well be revisited and changed.

But worry not! Ivanka Trump has our backs! She has tweeted as much, and I guess were supposed to find consolation in those crumbs.

Were at the mercy of our ZIP codes: Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people are often affected most by their municipality, not their state. In Waco, Tex., the lone justice of the peace who presides over weddings recently admitted that she wont do so for same-sex couples no matter the federal law. But Houston, just a three-hour drive away, has in instances been a pioneer: Annise Parker, its mayor from 2010 to 2016, is the only openly L.G.B.T. person ever elected to lead one of the nations 10 most populous cities. And Austin, the states capital, is practically Key West, Fla.  minus the coconuts.

Tyler, Tex. I came out at 60 ... and I was told I could no longer hold any positions of leadership in my church. I amor wasSouthern Baptist. After I was invited to share my coming-out story in the public library, patrons complained and the talk was canceled. I stay here because my children are near. Lou Anne Smoot 78, lesbian, retired teacher Austin, Tex. Austin is a little protected bubble: a blue bubble in a red state. Theres a gay pride parade. Theres a gay pride week. I never had to worry about letting bosses know that I was gay. Ive been with my current partner for about 11 years. We can kiss on the street corner or in our front yard. Charles Castle 71, gay, retired school librarian

Our cities and our states often dictate how easily we can be our true selves at work, buy wedding cakes, construct families  even die. I asked Jon Davidson of Lambda Legal, an L.G.B.T. advocacy group, about current cases that illustrate just how repressive some corners of America remain. He told me about Picayune, Miss., where an 86-year-old gay man passed away last year, leaving behind his 82-year-old husband. They had been together for half a century.

Although prior arrangements had been made with a local funeral home, it refused even to pick up the dead mans body when it learned of his same-sex marriage, according to a breach-of-contract lawsuit by his husband that hasnt yet been resolved.

I told Davidson that I thought that such dont-make-me-touch-it hysteria ended 25 years ago.

Many parts of the country are 25 years ago, he responded, drawing special attention to the southeastern quarter, from Texas to South Carolina, which, he said, may well generate more than half of the lawsuits that Lambda becomes involved in.

South Carolina: another state that I love, another state that doesnt love me back, and the home of Tommy Starling, 45, and his husband, Jeff Littlefield, 61. Starling told me that they live there, in the coastal community of Pawleys Island, because of Littlefields job in the insurance business, but they dream constantly of moving somewhere that doesnt cast them as provocative social experiments, somewhere that doesnt put and keep them on edge.

They had trouble trying to adopt in South Carolina, so they turned to California and to surrogacy to have their 11-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son. Starling said that his family stands out in Pawleys Island in a way that it wouldnt in Brooklyn  or, for that matter, Atlanta  and disparaging, even menacing, remarks have come his way. To protect his kids from such ugliness, he has created, and works to preserve, a bubble of open-minded people around them.

But its getting exhausting, he said, adding that the familys occasional travel sustains him. He recalled a trip not long ago to San Francisco, where his husband reached out to hold his hand in public and he reflexively tensed.

He had to remind me that it was O.K. there, Starling told me.

My fiance and I get disgusted looks when we hold hands walking into places.

Holding hands. Such a small thing  and yet so incredibly big for many gay couples in conservative environments and even for some couples in more liberal areas that can nonetheless seem threatening. That came through poignantly in more than 1,000 responses that The Times received after asking L.G.B.T. readers to share their reflections on the freedoms and limitations of where they live.

Laramie, Wyo. Wyoming doesnt have any state laws that protect us from discrimination or hate. They recently tried to pass a bill letting business owners, on religious grounds, deny service to L.G.B.T. people. It makes me feel very unwelcome. I feel powerless. I feel attacked almost. Josiah Masie 22, gay, in Laramie, near where Matthew Shepard was fatally beaten in a gay-related hate crime in 1998 Seattle I definitely feel as though I can be 100 percent open here. The comfort is so alien compared to Montana or Wyoming. There hasnt been a single day that I havent seen some variety of pride flag on someones car, on their home or in storefront windows. I feel grateful. Keleigh Russell 23, lesbian, grew up in Wyoming, went to college in Montana

Readers were acutely conscious of the absence or presence of employment-related anti-discrimination laws in their cities or states. (Only 22 states have such laws governing all gay and lesbian workers, in both the public and the private sectors, while only 20, including New York, have them for transgender workers as well.) Readers mentioned the vigor, or laxness, with which their local governments patrolled against and prosecuted hate crimes.

And one after another, readers said they wished that a modest public gesture of affection wasnt a potent magnet for stares, slurs or worse.

From a 45-year-old lesbian in Laingsburg, Mich.: Sometimes I fantasize about living in parts of N.Y.C. or Provincetown, where I would be able to feel comfortable walking down the street holding hands with my wife, but our roots are here. From a 34-year-old lesbian in Lubbock, Tex.: My fiance and I get disgusted looks when we hold hands walking into places.

I mentioned Brooklyn earlier when I was talking about climes unlike Pawleys Island because Dennis Williams, an executive with HBO who lives in the boroughs Boerum Hill neighborhood, was on my mind. He, too, is a gay dad, although unmarried. At 44, hes just a year younger than Starling. But his experience is worlds apart.

Brooklyn, N.Y. I get the, Oh, theres no mom? But then its like theyre proud of me. I cant think of a single instance when anyone has been weird or Ive had to confront any kind of homophobia. I dont know that I could find this level of reinforced diversity outside of where I am now. Dennis Williams 44, unmarried gay father of a 3-year-old Pawleys Island, S.C. Somebody said that our kids should be taken away from us and we should be hanged. If it wasnt for my husbands job, we wouldnt be here. Were constantly under a microscope, two dads raising kids. We were featured in a local publication and some comments were really nasty. Tommy Starling 45, married gay father of two children, ages 4 and 11

He told me that if he draws looks from other parents when hes out and about with his 3-year-old son, Elan, hes pretty sure its because hes a black man and there has been so much discussion about black children growing up with absent fathers. Acquaintances who learn or know that hes gay dont register any surprise or signal any disapproval.

I dont take this for granted, he added, noting that he grew up in Kansas and knows gay men in cities less cosmopolitan than New York.

33 7 states have laws prohibiting gestational surrogacy states do not have a law explicitly allowing a second same-sex parent to adopt Source: Human Rights Campaign 33 7 states do not have a law explicitly allowing a second same-sex parent to adopt states have laws prohibiting gestational surrogacy Source: Human Rights Campaign

Of course there are enclaves in Kansas where Williams would find a warm welcome. The college town of Lawrence has a municipal ordinance prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation, even though Kansas itself doesnt. (In 2015, Gov. Sam Brownback rescinded one that covered only public employees.) And there are rural pockets of upstate New York that have none of Brooklyns progressivism or diversity.

The geographic variations for transgender people may well be the starkest.

Rockville, Md. We have great equality laws in Maryland, which is unusual in its protections for trans people. Ive been tolerated. Ive even been welcomed. I have a dog, and I remember one gentleman coming up with his dog and asking, Are you a transgender? I said, nervously, Yes. And he said, Well, good on ya! Stevie Neal 63, transgender woman living just outside Washington, D.C. Peyton, Colo. Ive gotten slurs. Yall should be put to death. This is just walking down the street. Ten miles away from me is the Focus on the Family headquarters, which we, in the L.G.B.T. community, consider a hate group. I get the feeling there are people who want to hurt me. Ive had people brandish guns at me. Jamie Shea 39, transgender woman living near Colorado Springs

On the state level, the yardsticks for measuring respect for L.G.B.T. people include, recently, restrictions on conversion therapy, which attempts to change a persons sexual orientation or gender identity. More and more mental health professionals are speaking out unequivocally about its dangers, and more and more state legislatures are outlawing it for minors. New Mexico, Nevada, Rhode Island and Connecticut did so in recent months; New Jersey, Vermont, Illinois, Oregon, California and the District of Columbia had previously done so. But that leaves 41 states without any such prohibition.

The geographic variations for transgender people may well be the starkest. Harper Jean Tobin, the policy director for the National Center for Transgender Equality, noted that there are states  Nevada, for one  where changing your designated gender on a government document requires only affidavits from people who know you. It can be a medical provider, your therapist, your minister, your parent, Tobin said. But other states, like Tennessee and Alabama, demand proof of surgery and a physicians signature.

4 41 33 49 states have laws prohibiting transgender people from receiving documents reflecting their gender identity states dont have laws protecting youths from conversion therapy states dont have explicit bans on excluding trans individuals from receiving health insurance coverage states dont have laws for gender-neutral single-occupancy restrooms Source: Human Rights Campaign 41 33 states dont have laws protecting youths from conversion therapy states dont have explicit bans on excluding trans individuals from receiving health insurance coverage 4 49 states have laws prohibiting transgender people from receiving documents reflecting their gender identity states dont have laws for gender-neutral single-occupancy restrooms Source: Human Rights Campaign Source: Human Rights Campaign 41 49 states dont have laws protecting youths from conversion therapy states dont have laws for gender-neutral single-occupancy restrooms 4 33 states have laws prohibiting transgender people from receiving documents reflecting their gender identity states dont have explicit bans on excluding trans individuals from receiving health insurance coverage Source: Human Rights Campaign

Ah, Alabama. In May, under the aegis of religious freedom, its governor signed a law that allowed taxpayer-funded adoption agencies to deny the placement of children in homes with gay parents. Patricia Todd, 62, who serves in the states House of Representatives, remembers the heated discussion there beforehand, because she played a special role. Shes openly lesbian  the only open L.G.B.T. person ever in the Alabama Legislature.

Alabama Im the only open L.G.B.T. person ever in the State Legislature. I tell people, This is my missionary work, and I want to be in the hardest place to do it, and I will not live in Mississippi. I love the South: the culture, the food, the people. Its the politics I want to change. Patricia Todd State representative, 62, lesbian California There are four L.G.B.T. people in the Senate and four of us in the Assembly. Its the all-time high. The interesting thing is now our straight allies are carrying a lot of our L.G.B.T. bills. Sometimes even my opponents will say, I never understood that. Thats a new perspective. Ricardo Lara State senator, 42, gay

I tried to stop the bill as best I could, Representative Todd told me. I practically had the sponsor in tears when we were debating this on the floor. Why? Because he really likes me. They all really like me. I said, I want everyone to realize: If you vote in favor of this, youre telling me that Im not fit to be a parent. And I want you to look at me. You know me. 

The Alabama House voted 60 to 14 in favor of the bill, after which the Alabama Senate voted 23 to 9.

Fifty years from now  heck, maybe just 20  that kind of thing wont happen. Theres only one long-term trajectory here. But in the meantime, its not O.K. for the federal government to be as cold to L.G.B.T. Americans as the one we have now is, because some of those Americans live in Alabama  or Texas. And those places dont exactly brim with love.


.We came, we saw he died, ha, ha, ha.

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Surprisingly Trump is following Obama's legacy on many counts though not health care. It gives him a defense against liberals who refused to criticize Obama for similar actions.

Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Conn. is known for its regular polls. It asked voters what words came to mind when they thought of President Donald J. Trump. Different adjectives ascribed to him were subsequently ranked: "Smart" came in at number 28, but "idiot" was number one.

In Mr. Trump's home town, New York City, the public library reports fully 20 percent of child card holders cannot use them due to unpaid fines. And while Mr. Trump rages and riles against Obamacare, a scheme of particular help to the poorest, it is precisely because healthcare has been lacking for the financially disadvantaged that 76 countries in the world have lower maternal death rates than the U. S. (Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, Seattle). The path to 'making America great again' appears arduous.

If the public knowingly voted for an idiot, it had no alternative. Trump promised change. He has been hampered and hamstrung, obstructed and nearly reversed on his major initiative aiming at better Russian relations. Obama promising change was also elected ... twice; he changed instead. Such are the facts of life in the Washington morass.

Obama's military interventions hang like a pall. But then Democrats and Republicans have been interfering militarily in other countries for as long as one can remember and earlier: Reagan (Afghanistan, Grenada, Libya, Nicaragua), Bush I (Iraq, Afghanistan), Clinton ( Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iraq sanctions and no-fly zone, Somalia), Bush II (Afghanistan, and Iraq invasions), Obama (Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen, Argentina). The list is by no means complete.

Obama's dark legacy is particularly egregious. The world expected better from a Nobel Peace Laureate. Ukraine and Libya lie bleeding. Syria is dismembered. Afghanistan is a wreck despite a troop surge to over 100,000 before giving up and withdrawing.

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From Empire Burlesque



The New York Times

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At last, the "paper of record" runs a long, detailed story about the death spiral in Yemen. However, it seems to be short a few details. It paints the Saudis as champions of freedom simply trying to restore a democratically elected leader to office. It neglects the detail that the leader was "elected" in a "vote" (backed by the US & Saudis) that allowed only one candidate: the one favored by the US & the Saudis. It is also scant of detail on the US involvement.

A few short paragraphs from the very end, it allows that the US is "a primary supplier of arms to the members of the Saudi-led coalition" but reassuringly notes " the United States is not directly involved in the conflict," despite the fact that "it has provided military support to the Saudi-led coalition, and Yemenis have often found the remnants of American-made munitions in the ruins left by deadly airstrikes."

Carefully omitted are details like US military intelligence providing targeting directions for the Saudis, US ships helping the Saudis' murderous blockade and other support which -- in throwaway paragraphs buried deep beneath layers of dutiful spin -- has been well-documented in the past two years by ... the New York Times.

It also leaves out the bombing raids and ground raids being carried out directly by US forces in Yemen, ostensibly against ISIS and al Qaeda. Here another fact is politely set aside: the fact that the US-Saudi war has vastly increased the power and reach of ISIS and al Qaeda in Yemen. The Yemen forces now under attack by the Saudis were sworn enemies of the extremists, and had pounded al Qaeda to a small remnant -- until the US/UK and the Saudis stepped in and drove them back. ISIS had almost no presence in Yemen before the war. Now, both groups are flourishing mightily in the chaos, with their enemies being devastated by the US/Saudi assault.

Two other details were lacking as well. You can read the whole long story and not see a single mention of Donald Trump or Barack Obama. The latter put the full weight of the US behind this war of aggression to install a puppet leader, while the former has expanded US involvement with more ground troops and many more air attacks, most of them blunderbuss bombings which have killed many civilians.

So yes, the story does provide some moving detail about the human suffering being caused by the war; but the eminently savvy and well-informed readers of the New York Times could walk away from the story without the slightest clue of their own government's direct and deep complicity in this humanitarian crisis.


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How does someone who wants for nothing, in the material sense, react when their comfort zone is invaded?

Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin's wife, Louise Linton, caused a stir on social media recently when she attacked a woman who commented on her Instagram post. The post displayed a photo of Ms. Linton and hubby (former Chief Financial Officer for Goldman Sachs) deplaning after an "official business" trip which also provided her with an opportunity to do some very high-end shopping.

Within the post were a number of hashtags that boasted of exclusive brand names she'd brought back. The comment Ms. Linton found so disturbing had to with tax payers footing the bill for the privilege of flaunting her wealth and extravagant lifestyle.

Ms. Linton's response to the comment, dripping with insincere patience and condescension, essentially ridiculed the woman for not being wealthy, and accused her of being envious. Social media lit up immediately as the hoi polloi rallied to the defense of the woman under attack and attempted to point out the problems with the logic in Ms. Linton's reaction.

What lesson can we take away from this? I believe it's that even those who appear to have everything are just as insecure as the rest of us. Beneath all the designer labels they're just another struggling human.

Giving off an air of superiority and entitlement is how the fragile ego is revealed. Anyone whose self-worth is derived from having more luxury cars than anyone else is no different from the one who seeks security through social status, corporate rank, university degree or political power. What comes off as arrogance is really no more than disguised fear - the same fear that infects the core of even the most accomplished - the fear of not being good enough - and even more, the fear that everyone knows it.
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Any leader of any country that refuses Washington's dictatorship is automatically demonized. Leaders are accused of "killing their own people" or worse. Real evidence is never required in the Orwellian era in which we live.

In Syria's case, Washington and its terrorists are killing Assad's people, not Assad. And Washington is committing the overseas holocaust, not Assad.

Yet Syria is one of those all-too-uncommon cases where peace, justice, and civilization are winning.

Whereas Washington wants chaos and permanent war, times are changing, and the dystopia of Washington's unilateral dictatorship over global affairs is waning.

This new reality might create some openings for more secular governments (like Syria's), more religious pluralism (like in Syria), more democratic economies (like in Syria), more democratic governments (like in Syria), and more of the rule of international law (thanks to Syria).

Globalization was never about globalized freedom, peace, prosperity or democracy. It was always about U.S/corporatocracy diktats, enslavement, war, and poverty. The ruling oligarchy isn't interested in the wealth or welfare of the "other", at home or abroad.

The U.S Empire and its vassals-in-arms (i.e., Canada) prefer stooge dictatorships, anti-Islamic Wahhabism, chaos, and destruction.

The 911 false flag didn't start the predatory economic and military predations or the repression at home and abroad, but it accelerated and fed the cancers.

The deaths of Afghanistan and Libya, the holocaust in Iraq, and the re-emergence of neo-Nazism in Ukraine (mirroring the West's fascist governments, their Homeland Security, and their harmonizing police-state legislations) are telling examples.

One sign of an emerging, more hopeful world, is the 2017 Damascus International Fair[1], which re-opened after a five-year absence. It symbolizes a brighter future for all of us. It means that Syria is winning the war against international terrorism, despite the fact that NATO terrorists bombed the entrance to the fair, reportedly murdering 9 innocent people, and injuring dozens.

Fortunately, Syria's victories are also laying bare the lies of the so-called "War On Terror".

Now that Syrian refugees are flooding back into the country that they love[2], and terrorist-occupied areas are increasingly liberated, the real story about the war -- an inversion of the disgraceful MSM and Western-government fabrications -- will no doubt become stronger, and the larger reality that the "War On Terror" is a fraud will gain ascendancy.

Simultaneously, a multi-polar world is emerging, which should present counter-measures to Washington's neo-con diktats, and its megalomania. Peace might even break out.

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From Consortium News



President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at joint press conference on Feb. 15. 2017.

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Despite the chaos and ugliness of the past seven months, President Trump has finally begun to turn U.S. foreign policy away from the neoconservative approach of endless war against an ever-expanding roster of enemies.

This change has occurred largely behind the scenes and has been obscured by Trump's own bellicose language, such as his vow to "win" in Afghanistan, and his occasional lashing out with violence, such as his lethal Tomahawk missile strike on a Syrian airfield.

Some Trump advisers also have downplayed the current shift because it may fuel the Democrats' obsession with Russia-gate as a much-desired excuse to impeach Trump. Every peaceful move that Trump makes is called a sop to Russia and thus an excuse to reprise the dubious allegations about Russia somehow helping to elect him.

Yet, despite these external obstacles and Trump's own erratic behavior, he has remained open to unconventional alternatives to what President Obama once criticized as the Washington "playbook," i.e., favoring military solutions to international problems.

In this sense, Trump's shallow understanding of the world has been a partial benefit in that he is not locked into to the usual Washington groupthinks -- and he personally despises the prominent politicians and news executives who have sought to neuter him since his election. But his ignorance also prevents him from seeing how global crises often intersect and thus stops him from developing a cohesive or coherent doctrine.

Though little noted, arguably the most important foreign policy decision of Trump's presidency was his termination of the CIA's covert support for Syrian rebels and his cooperation with Russian President Vladimir Putin to expand partial ceasefire zones in Syria.

By these actions, Trump has contributed to a sharp drop-off in the Syrian bloodshed. It now appears that the relatively secular Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad is regaining control and that some Syrian refugees are returning to their homes. Syria is starting the difficult job of rebuilding shattered cities, such as Aleppo.

But Trump's aversion to any new military adventures in Syria is being tested again by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is threatening to attack Iranian and Hezbollah forces inside Syria.

Last week, according to Israeli press reports, a high-level delegation led by Mossad chief Yossi Cohen carried Netanyahu's threat to the U.S. government. The Israeli leader surely has raised the same point directly in phone calls with Trump.

Tiring of Bibi

I was told that Trump, who appears to be growing weary of Netanyahu's frequent demands and threats, flatly objected to an Israeli attack and brushed aside Israel's alarm by noting that Netanyahu's policies in supporting the rebels in Syria contributed to Israel's current predicament by drawing in Iran and Hezbollah.



Russian President Vladimir Putin with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani at an energy meeting on Nov. 23, 2015, in Tehran.

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This week, Netanyahu personally traveled to Sochi, Russia, to confront Putin with the same blunt warning about Israel's intention to attack targets inside Syria if Iran does not remove its forces.

A source familiar with the meeting told me that Putin responded with a sarcastic "good luck!" and that the Russians thought the swaggering Netanyahu appeared "unhinged."

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Now that events in Charlottesville, especially the unfurling of Nazi flags on American soil, have brought Hitler back to page one of the newspapers, one might contemplate three little-noted facts about the notorious corporal. (BTW, can an artist or a psychologist please explain how the twisted cross is more fearsome when it consists of diagonals rather than horizontals and verticals?) The poor saps assembled in Virginia who idolized Hitler did not realize that the object of their fervent admiration was--well, an idol. Because, whatever his plans and goals, Hitler at last made himself actually an unwitting Zionist, dug his own grave, and, by living to the end of the war, destroyed all illusions about him.

1] The Unwitting Zionist. When the father of modern Zionism, Theodor Herzl, tried to persuade the rulers of Europe of the need to establish a Jewish state, he made an interesting discovery: The word "No" does not exist in any European language. The answers he got to his proposal were "Yes, if..." "Yes, when..." "Yes, but..." No one ever said "no." It took the Holocaust to change everyone's minds, both as to the impossibility of complete Jewish assimilation in Christian Europe and as to the consequent necessity of a Jewish homeland as a refuge of last resort. Jews across the ideological spectrum, from the Chassidim who had objected to Zionism on messianic grounds to the Reform Jews who believed rather in assimilation within the Diaspora, saw that their old positions were untenable. And the rest of the world (except the Arabs states), in a rare fit of international guilty conscience, voted to establish Israel. More than any other person, therefore, Der Fuehrer, by trying to wipe out Jewry, catalyzed the rebirth of the ancient Jewish state as a modern citadel of science, culture, and military might. No Hitler means no Holocaust means perpetuation of "Yes, but..." This is not the first or last instance of counter-productive actions.

2] Hitler destroyed himself. He invaded Russia while the British Empire was still alive and then he topped that by declaring war on the US while both Britain and Russia were still alive. He thus ended up, literally and figuratively, fighting a three-front war. Crucial was Hitler's fatal decision, though under no compulsion to do so, to declare war on the US a few days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. While he had made an ambiguous verbal commitment to the Japanese government, he had signed no document that explicitly required him to join the Japanese attack. Yet he took on the US--indeed just as, ominously, the German forces in Russia and in North Africa were for the first time running into trouble.

He thereby unintentionally relieved President Roosevelt of a dilemma. Roosevelt had been eager to help Britain quash Hitler but was held back by American public opinion. Initiating a war with Germany would have been difficult for a Roosevelt coping with America-first isolationism, just as declaring war on the US before Pearl Harbor (i.e., without Japan) would have been difficult even for Hitler. Especially after Pearl Harbor, an isolationist American public would not have accepted a gratuitous American declaration of war against Germany just to help Britain. The Japanese attack made that almost impossible. Had Roosevelt now chosen to declare war on Germany, the American public would have asked, "The Japanese attacked us at Pearl Harbor, and in response we are going to retaliate against Germany? Doesn't the President know his left hand from his right?"

If Hitler had instead refrained from declaring war, Roosevelt would have been forced politically to concentrate his military efforts entirely on punishing Japan for Pearl Harbor, leaving Hitler free to conclude his major one-front land war in the East and then turn all his might on a solitary Britain. The attack on Pearl Harbor therefore toppled the dominoes: it gave Hitler what he wanted, and his reaction in turn provided what Roosevelt wanted. That is, it liberated Hitler to declare war on the US, and that action liberated Roosevelt by giving him the cover he needed to join the European theater of war. Thus Hitler's doom was sealed: It could well be that the course of the war was severely altered by Hitler's ultimate gamble, without which there would have been no massive Anglo-American presence on the continent. That makes Hitler as responsible for the Allied triumph as were Generals Zhukov and Eisenhower.

3] The Necessity of Hitler's Survival. For the good of the world, Hitler needed to stay alive to the end of the war. If he had been assassinated in 1937, before World War II and the unimaginable Holocaust, he would have gone down in history as a martyr and one of Germany's greatest leaders. If assassinated in late 1941 or early 1942, at the zenith of his power and success and on the eve of the turning of the tide, he would have been seen as a supreme military genius. The disasters that marked 1942-45 would then have been attributed to the presumed incompetents who replaced him, attributed to the absence of that focused vision and intense will of his. Surely the brilliant leader who conquered most of Europe in two short years (when it took Napoleon a dozen years) could not be held responsible for the debacle that ensued in his absence. "Ach, if only Der Fuehrer were still alive...!"

So for educating the German people and the Nazi camp followers about the self-destructiveness of the man they worshiped, and for disabusing innocent bystanders, it was necessary for the horrors of 1942-45 to take place under his command. Everyone could then see with blinding clarity the ultimate results of the working of his uniquely destructive genius and could not shift the blame to any blundering successors.

Despite his initial spectacular successes, Hitler, because of the humanly unavoidable hybris, became that terrible thing in President's Trump value system: A loser. Triply so.
From Reader Supported News



Will #Trump kiss off his #AmericaFirst and go to war?

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Donald Trump on Monday evening fell into the same trap that presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama fell into before him. He caved in to his generals, not just to remain in Afghanistan, but to increase the US troop presence by 4,000 soldiers and to waste more billions of US taxpayer dollars. I've been in some of those same general officer briefings during my years in the CIA and as a senior staff member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The generals always say the same thing: "We're winning this war. We just need a little more time and money and a few thousand more troops. Trust us."

Trump spoke to the nation on Monday from Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, formerly known as Fort Myer, a completely ceremonial base with no combat mission of any kind, and which serves as the home of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the soldiers and sailors who guard the Tomb of the Unknowns. Ironically, Trump was mere yards from the graves of many of the 2,386 US troops killed in Afghanistan since October 2001.

Trump laid out a convoluted, confusing, and contradictory strategy that would keep the US mired in combat in Afghanistan for the foreseeable future. He committed untold billions of dollars for the training of Afghan troops as if that hadn't been thought of before, and he lobbed a verbal grenade into the middle of US relations with Pakistan at the same time. In the end, he will likely accomplish nothing, while more and more US troops are killed in an endless and unwinnable war.

Trump made only a handful of points in the speech. First, he said, he would not be limited by a timetable, but instead would make policy based on developments on the ground. Second, he said that the US would continue to initiate public works projects to put Afghans to work. He added, though, that the US commitment was "not a blank check." Third, he said that the US would not be in the business of nation-building. Instead, it would be in the business of "killing terrorists."

Perhaps most importantly, Trump made a direct and threatening challenge to Pakistan, all but declaring that the Pakistani government was at least partly responsible for terrorism in the region. While that may or may not be true, that is language that should be confined to quiet diplomacy. Humiliating an ally in public usually doesn't give a president the desired result. And to add insult to injury, he suggested that Pakistan's arch enemy, India, should assume a greater role in Afghanistan, a move that would essentially encircle Pakistan. Trump either meant to be provocative and to risk relations with Pakistan or he's never looked at a map.

So who convinced this president -- who has literally no experience whatsoever in foreign, defense, or intelligence policy -- to continue the same failed policy that Barack Obama and George W. Bush pursued before him? It was those generals who were supposed to be the adults in the room. It was the generals that the mainstream media hoped would be the ones to moderate this unpredictable president.

It was secretary of defense and former Marine Corps general James Mattis, who led the deepest marine assault in American history into Kandahar, Afghanistan, in late 2001. It was National Security Advisor LTG H.R. McMaster, who led an anti-corruption task force in Afghanistan in 2010. It was General Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who was the commanding general in Afghanistan in 2013. It was General John Kelly, the White House chief of staff who lost a son in Afghanistan in 2010.

This is the same Donald Trump who tweeted in 2013, "Let's get out of Afghanistan. Our troops are being killed by the Afghanis [sic] we train and we waste billions there. Nonsense! Rebuild the USA." Two months later, he tweeted, "We should leave Afghanistan immediately. No more wasted lives. If we have to go back in, we go in hard & quick. Rebuild the US first." And all the way back in 2011, he tweeted, "Ron Paul is right when he says we are wasting lives and money in Iraq and Afghanistan."

With these flip-flops in mind, Trump now owns the Afghanistan debacle. And this is despite the fact that he knows that continued US involvement in Afghanistan is a mistake.

I'm not much of a fan of the neoliberal former senator and secretary of state John Kerry, my old boss at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. But he was right when he asked a Senate subcommittee in 1971, "How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?" How indeed? Those are the words that Trump will have to ask himself for every soldier, sailor, and marine he sends to Afghanistan.

Reader Supported News is the Publication of Origin for this work. Permission to republish is freely granted with credit and a link back to Reader Supported News.


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The National Intelligence Organization of Turkey (MIT) failed to kidnap the leader of the Kurdish people Cemil Bayak while he was hospitalized secretly in the city of Sulaymaniyah-Iraq according to journalist Botin Kurdistani (@kurdistannews24). Cemil Bayak is acting leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) after Turkish Government kidnapped Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan with the help of the US and Israel intelligent services according to the media report of the year 1999.

The Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq (KRG) is divided by the mafia and corrupts Kurdish families of Barzani and Talabani with the help of the US government after the year 2003 invasion of Iraq. Barzani is a very close ally of Turkey while cooperating with the international intelligent services to stay in part of KRG region, while Talabani is very close to Iran while collaborating with the international intelligent services remain in another part of KRG region. Both family of Barzani and Talabani dividing the Kurdish people oil and gas 50/50 and sharing with the ex-officials of the US, EU, Israel and Turkey for a survivor. There is the report by Belgium newspaper that Barzani family deposited 600 billion dollars in the European Bank alone.

Not too long ago KRG Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani cooperated with Turkish government to kidnap one of PKK leaders failed before reaching the target. Today most likely Talabani Mafia family members are cooperating with both PKK and Turkey. While part of the Talabani family allowed Kurdish PKK leader Cemil Bayak to be hospitalized in the city of Sulaymaniyah-Iraq. Another part of Talabani family informed Turkish MIT his location.

The Turkish members of MIT forces went to the hospital to kidnap PKK leader Cemil Bayak. The PKK intelligent services overpowered them and kidnapped MIT members and took them to the unknown location. The Turkish government reaction was to expel PUK representative Behruz Galali. Few year ago the US forces in Iraq was trying to arrest General Qassem Suleimani of Iran, but Massoud Barzani helped Iranian general to get out before American troops reaching him.

In short anything possible from Barzani and Talabani Kurdish mafia families. But the oil money is blinding the US, EU, Israel, Turkey and Iran officials.

The US media must watch for oil connection with Barzani and Talabani Mafia families by the cooperation of President Donald J. Trump family members. Barzani and Talabani Mafia families are expert to buy out American, European and Israeli officials.

References

... ...   ...  ...   ...degrees

http://pydrojava.net/arabic/archives/24091

U.S. Helped Turkey Find and Capture Kurd Rebel

By TIM WEINERFEB. 20, 1999

http://www.nytimes.com/1999/02/20/world/us-helped-turkey-find-and-capture-kurd-rebel.html?mcubz=3

Capture of Kurdish Rebel Leader Ocalan Recalls Mossad Collaboration With Both Turkey, Kurds

By Victor Ostrovsky

https://www.washingtonreport.me/1999-april-may/capture-of-kurdish-rebel-leader-ocalan-recalls-mossad-collaboration-with-both-turkey-kurds.html

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Vlad, 25 August 2017

Do you have an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch and hate Siri? Do you happen to live in the UK, Germany, or France? Well then you're in luck, for starting today you get an alternative to Apple's own virtual assistant. The Google Assistant app for iOS that launched in the US back in May is now finally expanding to more countries, though only the aforementioned three at the moment. As always with Google services and software, trying to anticipate if (or when) the rollout might include other territories is a losing game. Or, for that matter, figuring out why such things never make it to certain locales.

Anyway, for iOS device owners in the UK, Germany, and France, it's time to celebrate by downloading the app and asking Google Assistant the one question that's truly important: what it thinks of Siri, of course.

You do have to keep in mind that because of Apple's API restrictions, the Google Assistant is more limited in what tasks it can perform on iOS compared to Android. So you won't be able to set the Home button shortcut to invoke it instead of Siri, for example. To somewhat alleviate that issue, Google's app offers a widget that can be accessed through the iOS notification center.

Source
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From Our Future

After Steve Bannon departed the White House on August 14, he contacted The Weekly Standard to make a bold proclamation.

"The Trump presidency that we fought for, and won, is over," the administration's now-former chief strategist said. "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."

Like all propagandists, Bannon has a tendency to exaggerate. But in this case, he does have a point: His departure marks the culmination of Donald Trump's bait-and-switch presidential campaign.

Trump won, in part, because he portrayed himself as an economic populist who would not seek to police the world. Bannon played a key role in pushing those policies, though they never gained much traction in the Trump White House.

His departure now confirms President Trump as an interventionist Wall Street Republican. Worst of all, Trump will clearly retain the toxic racial politics that Bannon ... also championed.

The "Party of Davos," as Bannon calls it, has won the influence battle inside the White House. Trump's economic team consists primarily of billionaires, former financial-sector honchos, or both: people like Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, director of the National Economic Council Gary Cohn, and others.

Meanwhile, former generals wield nearly unprecedented power in the White House: National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster, Defense Secretary James Mattis, and John Kelly, the president's new chief of staff.

Bannon prided himself as the "keeper of the promises" and tracked Trump's major campaign pledges on a whiteboard in his office. But it is clear that Bannon wasn't very successful.

He reportedly pressed Trump to keep his campaign promise to avoid foreign entanglements and focus on the need to rebuild America, but Trump has now recommitted himself to the 16-year-old war in Afghanistan by ordering a troop surge that will begin immediately.

Trump also escalated the U.S. presence in Syria, redoubled our support of Saudi Arabia's ugly war against Yemen, has been gearing up for a face-off with Iran, and randomly threatened U.S. military involvement in Venezuela's internal affairs.

On trade, Bannon championed Trump's campaign posture against the failed trade policies of the past. He insisted, correctly, that our trade deficit with China was a real security threat, and that the issue shouldn't be dropped in return for Chinese cooperation on North Korea.

But Trump ended up adopting the establishment position and abandoned his charge that China was a currency manipulator. Instead of scrapping NAFTA, Trump has agreed to renegotiate it. His commerce secretary has even suggested that the Trans-Pacific Partnership -- which Trump trashed for over a year straight on the campaign trail -- might be a template for those negotiations.

Bannon was reportedly skeptical about the bills to repeal the Affordable Care Act that emanated from the Republicans in Congress, arguing that they were "written by the insurance industry." He wasn't wrong, but Trump still championed the unpopular legislation, which would have stripped health insurance from millions of people.

On taxes, Bannon voiced support for raising taxes on the rich. The Trump tax plan -- such as it is -- promises to skew the tax code even more in favor of the very wealthy. And Trump's budget is simply a blueprint for the kind of austerity that House Speaker Paul Ryan has repeatedly urged: deep cuts in programs for the vulnerable -- "everything from student aid to affordable housing -- while throwing more money at the Pentagon.

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We're more than half way through season 1 of "Game of Trump" and each week's episode brings new surprises. The aftermath of the battle of Charlottesville caused Emperor Trump to reveal his true character. Meanwhile, the resistance found new energy.

Immediately after the dreadful white supremacist violence in Charlottesville, Trump made contradictory statements. Then he held a rambling press conference where he blamed "both sides" for the melee -- even though the white supremacists clearly provoked the violence and one of their participants murdered a counter protestor. (At Charlottesville, white supremacists hurled racial epithets at the opposition, threatened to rape women, and chanted, "Jews will not replace us.")

The battle of Charlottesville marks the end of "Game of Trump" phase one:

1. Trump's legislative program collapsed. Trump entered the oval office with political momentum and a Republican majority in Congress. Nonetheless, he hasn't managed to pass any significant legislation.

2. Trump's relationship with Republican members of Congress deteriorated. Trump displayed no ability to manage congressional relationships in order to achieve Republican policy objectives. Trump's interaction with GOP congressional leaders -- particularly Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan -- has deteriorated to the point where Trump criticizes them daily on Twitter.

3. The White House is understaffed. The Trump Administration has been historically slow filling White House positions and Trump's staff are inexperienced loyalists -- for example, Jared Kushner. As of August 16, Trump's inner circle has been completely replaced -- other than family members. The result is policy incoherence.

4. Trump is isolated. Because of White House staff turmoil and the deteriorating relationship with Congress, Trump is increasingly isolated. This isn't a good situation because Trump is, to say the least, an inexperienced President. But it's particularly distressing because many observers regard him as deranged.

Over the last six months, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of commentators claiming to detect signs of Trump's mental illness. There have also been many articles claiming that Trump's advisers treat him like a child and spend an inordinate amount of time trying to stifle his impulsive outbursts.

5. Nonetheless, Trump held onto his base. Trump is very unpopular with Democrats and Independents but continues to have the approval of 80 percent of Republicans. There's been a lot of discussion about this dichotomy. The consensus is that Trump's supporters see him as a maverick and feel he has been unfairly maligned by the mainstream media.

While Trump's position deteriorated, the resistance strengthened. Since January the resistance focussed on protecting Obamacare (very successfully) and electing Democrats in purple or red Congressional districts (not as successful). The resistance gained members but was predominantly a white progressive endeavor.

Charlottesville changed that. The Charlottesville anti-hate protesters were multiracial. (By the way: I'm using this informative post by Brian McLaren as my guide to what went on at Charlottesville [anmclaren.net/what-i-saw-in-charlottesville/]). Now the resistance is shifting its focus to the danger of white supremacy.

The night of August 20th, MoveOn hosted a national "Confronting White Supremacy" phone call that included 20 progressive groups including Indivisible, Democracy for America, Color of Change, People's Action, and Black Alliance for Just Immigration (https://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.moveon.org/images/ReadyToResist_Slides_Aug20_2017_ConfrontingWhiteSupremacy.pdf ). The host, Mehrdad Azemun from People's Action, reminded listeners that white supremacists have the ear of the Republican party and have shaped the Trump agenda: draconian budget cuts, restriction of voting rights, and, in general, "declaring war on communities of color."

Two excellent resources explained US white supremacy. Eric Ward, from the Southern Poverty Law Center, urged participants to refer to white supremacists as white nationalists. He said their goal is to create an ethno state, to overthrow the existing government by fear and intimidation. He said white nationalists attack the belief "that a multiracial society can work." Ward noted that white nationalists blame jews for the beliefs that multiracism can work and that racial progress has occurred.

Tarso Luis Ramos, from Political Research Associates, amplified Eric Ward's presentation. He noted that white nationalists attack Americans on five dimensions: race, religion, gender, class, and sexuality. Ramos proposed six excellent "Democratic Principles for Antidemocratic Times":

1. Unity: "If you come for any of us, you will have to go through all of us." This principle commits the resistance to protect immigrants as well as individuals or groups attacked for race, religion, gender, class, or sexuality.

2. Solidarity: "Support Freedom fighters and defend targets of political retaliation."This principle commits the resistance to defend those who are targeted by the Trump Administration, such as wrongfully arrested protesters.

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Congress Switchboard: 202-224-3121

"Rob Kall already had a serious understanding of the Internet and its implications for media and democracy while I was still figuring out how to use email. Some see Internet connectivity solely as a means toward power and profit; Rob's book, Bottom up, sees and offers it as a vehicle for bettering society and ourselves."



Jeff Cohen, Founder, FAIR, and founding Director of the Park Center for Independent Media
From Our Future



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Dear Ms. Linton,

This has undoubtedly been a difficult couple of days for you, both as a person and as the wife of the United States Treasury Secretary.

Nobody enjoys the sudden onrush of hostile attention that comes when something they've said goes viral, and not in a good way. Your public record, and even your recent infamous post, suggests you want to be a good person -- or, at the very least, that you'd like to be seen as one.

That's not how people are seeing you at the moment, and that has to be rough.

Perhaps it would help if someone explained why you've received so much negative attention in the last 48 hours.

Simply put: You live in a bubble. That's not your fault. It's just the way it is. According to the Internet -- the same Internet that has turned on you with such ferocity -- you were born into a wealthy Scottish family and educated at the prestigious St George's School for Girls and Fettes College.

Your family owns a real-life, honest to God castle, for God's sake.

A little self-awareness is therefore in order: Your experience is not like that of most people. Some people are born into privilege and make a dedicated effort to see life from other people's point of view. That does not seem to have been the case with you.

The controversy about your "memoir" of life as a volunteer teenager in Zambia suggests that you didn't see the people of Zambia at all. The country itself seems to have passed you by. There are, for example, no 12-inch spiders there.

You portrayed Zambia as a savage, untamed place where wild animals roamed the street. You also imagined they saw you as an idealized, almost heavenly figure: a skinny foreigner "with long angel hair."

Here's a tip: Zambia is not a wild land, and you were not the first blonde that the people there had ever seen. They have many foreign visitors. They are also familiar with European and American magazines, television, and film.

The only "angel hair" spoken of in the capital city of Lusaka, in fact, is served at one of the city's many Italian restaurants: here's a listing of the top five, courtesy of TripAdvisor. Casa Portico has good pasta dishes, we're told, while Frescobar is praised for its "great food and vibe."

You apparently do not appear to see the people of this country, either. In the United States, the wealthiest nation in human history, 45 million people live in poverty. That's unjust. Most of us have endured decades of wage stagnation, a dying middle class, rising deaths of despair, mass incarceration, and other ordeals undreamed of in your rarefied world.

That might help explain why you received a rather unfriendly response when you posted a picture of yourself exiting a U.S. government plane with your husband, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, along with the following comment:

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Trump Threatens Pakistan

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Beijing and Moscow have come to Pakistan's defense in light of President Donald Trump's Afghan and Pakistan strategy unveiled on Monday.

After China's strong message defending Pakistan's role in Afghanistan and asking the global community to acknowledge its sacrifices in war against terrorism, Russia has echoed similar sentiments following US President Donald Trump's allegations that Pakistan was offering safe haven to terrorists.

Russian Presidential Envoy to Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov slammed Trump's Pakistan strategy and insisted that Islamabad is "a key regional player to negotiate with."

"Putting pressure [on Pakistan] may seriously destabilize the region-wide security situation and result in negative consequences for Afghanistan," the presidential envoy to Kabul told Russia's 'Afghanistan' daily.

Earlier in a phone call to US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, China's top diplomat Yang Jiechi urged the US to value Pakistan's role in Afghanistan.

"We must value Pakistan's important role on the Afghanistan issue, and respect Pakistan's sovereignty and reasonable security concerns," the diplomat said.

Trump, in his first address to the nation as commander-in-chief on Monday, lambasted Pakistan for 'harboring militants'.

"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."

In reaction to Trump's speech, Pakistan's Ambassador to United States Aizaz Ahmad has reaffirmed Pakistan's stance that, 'there are no safe havens for terrorists in Pakistan'.

He also regretted the US failure to acknowledge the huge sacrifices of Pakistan in the war on terror. Similar statement was also issued by the country's Foreign Office which also reasserted Pakistan's continuous efforts in combating terrorism.

Russia says Trump's new strategy is 'dead end'

Moscow believes that Washington's bet on using of force in U.S. President Donald Trump's new strategy for Afghanistan is "a dead end", Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told a news conference on Thursday (August 24).

"The main emphasis in the new strategy, which was announced by Washington, is made on settlement through use of force " we believe that it's a dead-end approach," Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters.

His comments were echoed in a news conference held in Moscow by the foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova who likewise criticized the focus on a "military solution to the Afghan issue, including through beefing up foreign military contingents."

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From Common Dreams



'The ongoing failure of our health care system is directly attributable to the fact that it is largely designed not to provide quality care in a cost-effective way, but to make maximum profits for health insurance companies, the pharmaceutical industry, a

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Despite major improvements made by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), our health care system remains in crisis. Today, we have the most expensive, inefficient, and bureaucratic health care system in the world. We spend almost $10,000 per capita each year on health care, while the Canadians spend $4,644, the Germans $5,551, the French $4,600, and the British $4,192. Meanwhile, our life expectancy is lower than most other industrialized countries and our infant mortality rates are much higher.

Further, as of September 2016, 28 million Americans were uninsured and millions more underinsured with premiums, deductibles, and copayments that are too high. We also pay, by far, the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs.

The ongoing failure of our health care system is directly attributable to the fact that it is largely designed not to provide quality care in a cost-effective way, but to make maximum profits for health insurance companies, the pharmaceutical industry, and medical equipment suppliers. That has got to change. We need to guarantee health care for all. We need to do it in a cost-effective way. We need a Medicare-for-all health care system in the U.S.

Let's be clear. Not only is our dysfunctional health care system causing unnecessary suffering and financial stress for millions of low- and middle-income families, it is also having a very negative impact on our economy and the business community -- especially small- and medium-sized companies. Private businesses spent $637 billion on private health insurance in 2015 and are projected to spend $1.059 trillion in 2025.

And more and more business people are getting tired of it and are asking the simple questions that need to be addressed.But it's not just the heavy financial cost of health care that the business community is forced to bear. It is time and energy. Instead of focusing on their core business goals, small- and medium-sized businesses are forced to spend an inordinate amount of time, energy, and resources trying to navigate an incredibly complex system in order to get the most cost-effective coverage possible for their employees. It is not uncommon for employers to spend weeks every year negotiating with private insurance companies, filling out reams of paperwork, and switching carriers to get the best deal they can.

Why as a nation are we spending more than 17% of our GDP on health care, while nations that we compete with provide health care for all of their people at 9, 10, or 11% of their GDP? Is that sustainable? What impact does that have on our overall economy?

Why are employers who do the right thing and provide strong health care benefits for their employees at a competitive disadvantage with those who don't? Why are some of the largest and most profitable corporations in America, like Walmart, receiving massive subsidies from the federal government because their inadequate benefits force many of their employees to go on Medicaid? Why are most labor disputes in this country centered on health care coverage? Is it good for a company to have employees on the payroll not because they enjoy the work, but because their families need the health insurance the company provides?

Richard Master is the owner and CEO of MCS Industries Inc., the nation's leading supplier of wall and poster frames -- a $200 million a year company based in Easton, Pa. "My company now pays $1.5 million a year to provide access to health care for our workers and their dependents," Master told Common Dreams. "When I investigated where all the money goes, I was shocked."

What he found was that fully 33 cents of every health care premium dollar "has nothing to do with the delivery of health care." Thirty-three percent of his health care budget was being spent on administrative costs.

"I came to realize that insurers comprise a completely unnecessary middleman that not only adds little if any value to our health care system, it adds enormous costs to it," Master said.

It doesn't have to be this way. Every other major country on earth has a national health care program that guarantees health care to all of their people at a much lower cost. In our country, Medicare, a government-run single-payer health care system for seniors, is a popular, cost-effective health insurance program. When the Senate gets back into session in September, I will be introducing legislation to expand Medicare to cover all Americans.

The American Sustainable Business Council, a business advocacy organization, started a campaign in April in support of single-payer health care. To date, more than 170 business leaders have signed on to this initiative in more than 30 states.

This is not a radical idea. I live in Burlington, Vt., 50 miles south of the Canadian border. For decades, every man, woman, and child in Canada has been guaranteed health care through a single-payer, publicly funded health care program. Not only has this system improved the lives of the Canadian people, it has saved businesses many billions of dollars.

Here is what these business leaders have written:

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Security protocol mandated that every person brought to the hotel be signed in and registered.

Four members of Mike Pences communications team decided that wasnt necessary for their companions.

Vice President Mike Pence visited Panama City on Aug. 17, wrapping up a trip to several South American nations including Chile, Colombia and Argentina. During that time, the members of the detail, three Army soldiers and one Air Force airman, brought unidentified women back to the hotel without any kind of registration. What could they have been doing with these women? Why didnt they want them registered with the Vice Presidents security team? Its a true mystery. Probably nobody could figure that one out.

The four team members have been removed from the detail and sent back to the Army and Air Force, respectively, pending an investigation.
President Trump appears to have decided on his Afghanistan strategy; he will proceed with the forever war. Or so it was announced on Tuesday this week. The Afghanistan conflict, which began shortly after the events of 9/11, is easily the longest war in American history; if it lingers on until the next election, it will have lasted an entire generation.

According to Reuters:

The U.S. Air Force may intensify its strikes in Afghanistan and expand training of the Afghan air force following President Donald Trumps decision to forge ahead with the 16-year-old war, its top general told Reuters on Tuesday. Air Force Chief of Staff General David Goldfein said, however, he was still examining the matter, as the U.S. militarys top brass had only begun the process of translating Trumps war strategy into action. Asked whether the Air Force would dedicate more assets to Afghanistan, where the United States has been engaged in its longest military conflict, Goldfein said only: Possibly.

The war-ravaged nation was conquered by the United States during Bushs first term. America has occupied the country ever since. We took it from the Taliban, who we funded in the Eighties to fight the Soviets, who invaded the country on Christmas Eve of 1979. The battle with the Communists lasted nine years. Between the two Cold War powers, the nation has not known peace since the middle of the century, if then.

Before it was a battleground for economic systems, Afghanistan was used as a staging ground for the intrigues of the British and Russian empires in the 19th century. Trumps recent turn-aroundif it is thatis another case of conquerors confusion, in one of the most strife-ridden parts of the world. We have made Afghanistan what it is today.

The new administration favors the blind fumbling aggression of the Obama years. Reuters again:

In a speech on Monday night, Trump appeared to answer a call from the top U.S. commander on the ground for thousands of more troops to break a stalemate with Taliban insurgents, on top of the roughly 8,400 now deployed in Afghanistan. Trump said the United States would not disclose troop numbers, but one U.S. official told Reuters they could start moving quickly. U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Tuesday he would set troop levels following the review by military chiefs.

The Taliban has regrouped and reasserted itself since the 2001 invasion, and are once again a force to deal with.

According to the Times, Trumps plan does not inspire tidal waves of hope among the experienced:

Ever since 2008, when Adm. Mike Mullen, then chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said we cant kill our way to victory, the cornerstone of American policy in Afghanistan has been not about obliterating the Taliban but pummeling them toward peace talks. President Barack Obamas Afghan surge, which brought the American force to 100,000 troops, failed to do this. In his speech Monday night, Mr. Trump asserted that the United States would yet achieve peace through victory. Despite that assertion, and far more modest troop commitments this time, the hope of tiring the Taliban remains the mantra repeated by American diplomats and the generals whom the president has empowered to execute his policy.

The officials who would theoretically be tasked with enacting any Trumpian plan are balking at the Presidents rhetoric.

They have quietly repeated that hope even in the absence of any visible peace process since the latest serious effort at talks collapsed last year. Within hours of Mr. Trumps speech, the American military commander in Kabul made that clear. ... As might be expected, the Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, scoffed at Mr. Trumps speech as nothing new. But many Afghans on the government side had a similar take. Thats the same strategy going on the last two decades, said Jamaluddin Badr, a member of the Afghan High Peace Council. He said were going to win, but he didnt make it clear how were going to win.

Let us speak frankly. Based on what we know of his government career thus far, Trump is a man made of words, and nothing else. He talks, never walks. Trump may send additional military forces, but what will he really do? We already have a substantial presence there.

According to NBC, our presence there is greater than our government lets on:

The average number of U.S. troops serving in Afghanistan at any given time is thousands more than the Pentagon officially acknowledges, according to three U.S. defense officials. The Pentagon officially acknowledges 8,400 troops on the ground there, but that number actually hovers between 11,000 and 12,000, the officials said. The actual force manning level is 8,448, which is the maximum number of U.S. service members who are authorized to be assigned to either Resolute Support or U.S. Forces Afghanistan, the two military missions there.

He can bomb them moreno luck; weve been doing that for a while. We dropped the largest non-nuclear bomb we could on them, and we still arrived at this fork in the road. He can send many, many more troops over thereunlikely, and no draft will arrive. He can spend more moneyif Congress will give it to him. He can prop up the current Kabul governmentagain, same project as before. With the same problems. The Times again:

Even if the new American troop commitment limits the Taliban to the territory they have seized in the past two years, the pressure of that advance and old political rivalries have brought the Afghan government to the brink of collapse.

Or we might accept the fact that Afghanistan is broken for a hundred years, and that our business was done when we killed Bin Laden. We must either radically redefine what we are doing in Afghanistancommit to spending billions of dollars in real infrastructure projectsor pull out entirely. This is not our country. What are we doing there?
Asia Pacific Exchange Pte, has received in-principle approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore to start a third derivatives exchange in the city, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Apex is now working on getting final approval from the citys regulator, according to the people, who asked not be identified because the information is confidential. The company, which has about 40 staff, plans to open its exchange with refined palm oil contracts, the people said. The commodity will be priced in dollars and physical delivery will be in Malaysia and Indonesia.

Apex would be a new rival for Intercontinental Exchange Inc. and Singapore Exchange Ltd., who already operate in Southeast Asias biggest derivatives market. The firm, which changed its name from Asia Investment Pte on Aug. 17, has also been filling out its board, adding KKR Inc. senior adviser Lim Hwee Hua as a director, according to corporate filings. Lim was Singapores first female minister and second finance minister until 2011.

Former CME Group Inc. Asia head Wong Chong Fatt and Mimi Ho, an ex-Monetary Authority of Singapore official who oversaw securities and futures supervision, have also joined the board, the records show.

As a matter of policy, MAS does not comment on our dealings with individual parties, the regulator said in an emailed response. A representative for Apex declined to comment.

Palm oil is the worlds most widely consumed vegetable oil, found in goods such as ice cream, instant noodles and lipstick. Indonesia and Malaysia are the worlds top producers of the agricultural commodity, and futures on crude palm oil are most actively traded at Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Bhd. About 850,000 contracts traded in July with open interest of 207,000 contracts, according to bourse data.

The total number of all derivatives traded on exchanges globally reached 25.2 billion contracts in 2016, setting a new annual record, according to figures from FIA, an industry group.

Apex said in an Aug. 14 letter to Singapores Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority that it was in the process of working with the citys financial regulator to get a license as an approved exchange.

The company is majority-

owned by Eugene Zhu Yuchen, a China markets veteran whos served as head of the China Financial Futures Exchange and Dalian Commodity Exchange, as well as president of Shanghai Pudong Development Bank. Chinese hedge fund manager Ge Weidongs firm holds a minor stake, according to filings. Bloomberg
More than one thousand two hundred security service has been deployed for the Annual Delegates Conference of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in Cape Coast over the weekend.



Central Regional Police Commander DCOP/ Rev. David. N. Ampah Bennin said the deployed security personnel comprise the Police, immigration, fire service, prison ahead of the New Patriotic Party annual delegates Conference in Central regional capital Cape Coast.



The three days conference begins from tomorrow 25th to Sunday 27th August, and it would be attended by members of the national council, members of the national executive committee, Regional executive committee, 15 members from the National Council of Elders, constituency executive committee, 12 delegates from every external branch, Ministers, deputy ministers, Patrons, Tescon, MMDCEs, founding members as well as all members of the party to grace the occasion.



Addressing the media at the Police Head Quarters in Cape Coast today, the regional commander reiterated that the region is prepared to ensure a peaceful conference.



Dcop/ Rev.. Ampah Bennin mentioned that some roads lead to the ceremony ground that's Pedu -Accra highway to the Central gate of UCC will be closed.



"Anyone found misbehaving in connection with the the program will be dealt with," he stated.

Source: Sally Ngissah









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The Togolese government is reported to have apologized to the citizenry over clashes between civilians and security forces which led to some loss of lives.



The apology was reportedly carried by the countrys state media with an appeal to the opposition to calm tensions down in the West African state.



Meanwhile, reports indicate that the opposition is planning a massive demonstration in the national capital-Lome, on Friday August 25 to herald the burial of victims of Saturdays clashes with security forces.



Last weekend, Togolese across the world went on street protests demanding term limits for their presidents.



At Atakpame-Sokode, some kilometres away from the capital, two civilians and seven security persons were reportedly killed.

Source: GNA









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The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has launched the Ghana Astronomy Radio Observatory at Kuntunse, and described the development as the beginning of a new era in Ghanas quest to harness the potentials of Space Science and Technology for the accelerated socio-economic development of our country.



This new era, according to President Akufo-Addo, will not only witness the deepening of knowledge and skills development in electronics and information and communications technology of Ghanaian scientists, but also enhance their capacity to contribute to the world body of knowledge in the ever expanding field of astronomy and space science.



President Akufo-Addo made this known on Thursday, August 24, 2017, when he launched the Ghana Radio Astronomy Observatory at Kuntunse, in Accra.



The President recounted how, in 2007, the country, under the leadership of President John Agyekum Kufuor, took the bold decision to sign up to the African Square Kilometre Array (SKA) partnership agreement, an agreement spearheaded by South Africa, which involved seven other African countries



This decision, he explained, was made at the time when Ghana did not have any programme in astronomy, and was an example of the bold and visionary leadership of the time, its purpose being to propel the country to the enviable league of countries pursuing space science.



Ghana, by this feat, has become the first partner country of the African Very Long Baseline Interferometer Network to complete the conversion of the 32-metre Intelsat Telecommunications Satellite Earth Station at Kuntunse into a functioning radio telescope.



It is was the hope of President Akufo-Addo that the integration of this radio telescope into the African Very Long Baseline Interferometer Network, in preparation for the second phase construction of the Square Kilometre Array across the African continent, will be successful.



Ghana abounds in talent



Making reference to the recent, successful launch into orbit of GhanaSat-1, a satellite developed by three students from All Nations University College, a private university in Koforidua, in partnership with their Japanese counterparts at Kyushu Institute of Technology (KIT), President Akufo-Addo noted that it is an indication that Ghana abounds in talent successful, and Government is very pleased to see Ghanaian talents shining, with even greater promise for the future.



The President reiterated the commitment of Government to continue to develop the human capital needed for a sustainable implementation of the countrys space programmes, particularly enhancing the nations human resource capacity in astronomy research.



We have big plans for our national space development programme. These include the establishment of a National Space Data Centre for satellite data collection, management and application. This comprehensive programme will involve the establishment of a national satellite ground receiving station and the launch of satellites, he said.



The President continued, The radio telescope, being launched today, will expand further our frontiers in space science. I am informed that the radio telescope will provide information from distant bodies in the universe that will help us understand the birth and formation of stars, the death of stars and the general structure of the universe.



President Akufo-Addo was hopeful that the facility will help the Ghanaians appreciate the reality and complexity of global warming and its harmful effects, such as rising sea levels, costal erosion, erratic rainfall pattern, prolonged and intense dry seasons, desertification and reduction of vegetation cover on our lives.



It is for this reason that we, as humans and care-takers of our earth, should not compound the pressures on our fragile planet through harmful activities, such as illegal mining and logging and the production of greenhouse gases, he added.



Recognising the role of science and technology in the socio-economic development of the country, President Akufo-Addo revealed that he has charged the Ministry of Education, and Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation to step up efforts in developing a potent science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education model for Ghana, that will stimulate the interest of pupils and students in engineering sciences and technology.



With the establishment, shortly, of a Presidential Advisory Council on Science, Technology and Innovation (PACSTI), President Akufo-Addo reiterated his pledge of raising significantly funding for Research and Development (R&D) in science, technology and innovation from 0.25% of GDP to 1% of GDP in the short to medium term, and increased further to 2.5% of GDP in the long term.



It will form the National Science, Technology and Innovation Fund to support R&D in all research Institutions and Universities, both public and private. At the same time, government will make efforts to increase collaboration among research institutions, industry, especially the private sector, and political authorities at all levels. These measures, I hope, will make the transition from research to product development and industrial production much easier, he added.

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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Policy Think Tank, Imani Ghana is asking government to investigate and prosecute officials who are involved in the 72 million dollars SSNIT software.



There has been some "chop chop" in the contract by our investigation which needs serious government enquiry.



Speaking on Okay FM's 'Ade Akye Abia' programme, Vice President of Imani Ghana, Selorm Bratie explained that there should be an enquiry into the SSNIT software because to them, the amount involved is too much.



"Before the purchase of this software by SSNIT, Imani Ghana blew cover on the amount but nothing was done by the then government and the board of directors.



"We are however urging government to allow the relevant bodies to initiate investigation into the matter and perpetrators punished severely," he added.



Currently, the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) has subpoenaed at least 15 witnesses as part of ongoing investigations into the award of $72 million software contract by the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT).



SSNIT Director-General, Dr John Ofori-Tenkorang has revealed the anti-graft agency is interrogating the employees regarding the circumstances that led to the issuance of the contract in 2012.



He told Evans Mensah on Joy FMs Top Story Thursday, he has equally been summoned by EOCO to produce certain documents on the contract.



Sections of Ghanaians are incensed after the sum of a software contract awarded by SSNIT was made public.



The contract was awarded to Perfect Business Solutions Limited for the installation of automation processes at the Trust.



It was to provide superior services to SSNIT customers, reduce member enrolment cycle through forms, provide effective reporting solution, achieve real time processing of contribution reports and reduce benefit processing time.



The initial contract sum was $34 million but within a four-year period it shot up to over $72 million.

Information gathered by Joy News revealed the software supplied was not fit for the purpose.



As a result, an additional $38 million was spent in remodeling the software to suitably deliver to the satisfaction of SSNIT.



Barely a month after the contract was signed and sealed, the Trust made the demand for the supply and installation of two HP machines at the cost of $28,500.There was also the order for the supply and installation of mobile biometric unit on June, 2014 at the cost of over $2 million.

Source: Isaac Kwame Owusu/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.

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The US embassy in Ghana has warned US citizens in Ghana to avoid movements in certain parts of the capital city, Accra.



The areas include; Avenor, Sowutuom, Sukura, Agbobloshie and Ashaiman.



The U.S. Embassy informs U.S. citizens that, due to credible reports of growing crime rates, U.S. Embassy personnel have been instructed to avoid the following precincts of Accra: Avenor, Sowutuom, Sukura, Agbobloshie, parts of a statement on the embassys website said.



The caution comes after Some youth burnt and destroyed spare parts worth thousands of cedis at the Articulator Park at Avenor in protest of the construction of some stores, claiming the land belongs to them.



This was despite a court order allowing the construction to go on.



The statement further urged US nationals in the country to review their personal security plans.



Below are details of the statement



The U.S. Embassy informs U.S. citizens that, due to credible reports of growing crime rates, U.S. Embassy personnel have been instructed to avoid the following precincts of Accra: Avenor, Sowutuom, Sukura, Agbobloshie, Ashaiman (located in the Tema Region), Nima.



- Except when traveling via the main highway past Nima.



U.S. citizens are encouraged to avoid the same areas.



Review your personal security plans, remain aware of your surroundings, including local events, and monitor local news stations for updates. Be vigilant and take appropriate steps to enhance your personal security and follow instructions of local authorities.









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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PR-Inside.com: 2017-08-25 20:35:01

A.M. Best Revises Issuer Credit Rating Outlook to Stable for PVI Insurance Corporation

A.M. Best

Tran Nhat Trung, +65-6589-8400, ext. 214

Associate Financial Analyst

trung.tran@ambest.com

or

Chi-Yeung Lok, +65-6589-8400, ext. 211

Associate Director, Analytics

chi-yeung.lok@ambest.com

or

Christopher Sharkey, +1-908-439-2200, ext. 5159

Manager, Public Relations

christopher.sharkey@ambest.com

or

Jim Peavy, +1-908-439-2200, ext. 5644

Director, Public Relations

james.peavy@ambest.com

A.M. Best has revised the outlook to stable from positive for the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of B++ (Good) and the Long-Term ICR of bbb of PVI Insurance Corporation (PVI Insurance) (Vietnam). The outlook of the FSR remains stable.

PVI Insurances overall profit margin has declined due to intensifying competition in its retail business, while business from the Vietnam National Oil & Gas Group, which has been an important source of profits, also has declined. PVI Insurances combined ratio increased to the high 90s in 2016 from the high 80s in 2014. The revision of PVI Insurances Long-Term ICR outlook to stable from positive reflects this trend of a reduced profit margin.

PVI Insurances risk-adjusted capitalization, as measured by Bests Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), remains strong and is supported by a large proportion of investments in cash and deposits, as well as the high quality of its reinsurance panel. PVI Insurance is one of the largest non-life insurers in Vietnam and remains dominant in the energy, marine, property and engineering market segments. In addition, A.M. Best expects PVI Insurance to continue to receive financial and operational support from parent firm, PVI Holdings, and from Vietnam National Oil & Gas Group, the largest state-owned enterprise in Vietnam, as well as Talanx AG, one of the leading insurance groups in Europe.

Positive Credit Rating (rating) actions could occur if PVI Insurance is able to demonstrate stability in its risk-based capitalization, supported by an effective capital management policy, while improving its operating performance. Conversely, negative rating actions could occur if the companys risk-adjusted capitalization declines to a level below A.M. Bests expectation.

Ratings are communicated to rated entities prior to publication. Unless stated otherwise, the ratings were not amended subsequent to that communication.

This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on A.M. Bests website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see A.M. Bests Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Understanding Bests Credit Ratings. For information on the proper media use of Bests Credit Ratings and A.M. Best press releases, please view Guide for Media - Proper [..].

A.M. Best is the worlds oldest and most authoritative insurance rating and information source. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.

Copyright  2017 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/201708250055
PR-Inside.com: 2017-08-25 07:57:01

COPENHAGEN, Denmark, August 25, 2017 - Bavarian Nordic A/S (OMX: BAVA, OTC: BVNRY) announced today its interim financial results for the first half of 2017 and releases its financial calendar for 2018. Below is a summary of the financial performance for the period and business progress for the last quarter. The full interim report is attached as a PDF file and can be found on the company's website, www.bavarian-nordic.com.

Recent highlights

In July, Bavarian Nordic and Janssen expanded their partnership with an additional worldwide license and collaboration agreement valued up to USD 879 million, granting Janssen the exclusive rights to Bavarian Nordic's MVA-BN technology for two additional programs, targeting vaccines against hepatitis B virus (HBV) and the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1). The companies are now collaborating on four product development programs combining Bavarian Nordic's MVA-BN technology with Janssen's AdVac technology platform.

As part of the license agreement, Johnson & Johnson Innovation - JJDC, Inc. (JJDC) subscribed for 512,102 new shares in Bavarian Nordic in a private placement, raising gross proceeds of DKK 207.5 million. Subsequently, Bavarian Nordic received a major shareholder notification from JJDC, now holding 5.77 % of the share capital and voting rights in Bavarian Nordic.

In June, positive top-line results from a Phase 2 dose-ranging study of the Company's universal RSV vaccine in 421 subjects were announced showing that the vaccine was well tolerated and immunogenic at both dose levels investigated, and confirmed the hypothesis that MVA-BN RSV is the first vaccine candidate designed to induce a broad and robust immune response against five distinct RSV proteins following a single vaccination. Subjects that received a single vaccination will be given a booster vaccination later this year and followed for another RSV season, to help establish the immune responses 12 months post vaccination and the effect of a booster vaccination.

In June, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued a notice of intent to use other than full and open competition to award a sole source contract to Bavarian Nordic for procurement of freeze-dried IMVAMUNE smallpox vaccine, and subsequently, a request for proposal was issued to Bavarian Nordic. Pending final negotiations, a contract is anticipated before year-end.

In June the Public Health Agency of Sweden entered into an agreement with Bavarian Nordic for the procurement of 35.000 doses of IMVANEX. The agreement includes an option to procure additional 100,000 doses.

In June, the Company announced updated timing of the PROSPECT Phase 3 study of PROSTVAC with the third interim analysis expected to occur in September 2017 and final results expected in the fourth quarter of 2017.

Based upon current regulatory approvals and emerging standards of care, the Company has decided to transition the ongoing CV301 trial in non-small cell lung cancer into the first line maintenance setting, where checkpoint inhibitors are now approved and broadly available. After discussions with regulators, a randomized Phase 2 study will enroll 176 patients who will receive either KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) monotherapy, as standard of care, or a combination of CV301 and standard of care.

In May, the Company announced the appointment of Tommi Kainu, MD, PhD as Executive Vice President and Chief Business Officer effective as of July 1, 2017.

"We are very proud of our recent accomplishments, and the progress seen in both our internal pipeline as well as with our partners. With the recent positive data in RSV, additional clarity on future IMVAMUNE orders, and expansions of our partnerships, it is clear that the true potential our platform is only starting to be realized. As we await final data for PROSTVAC later this year, we have all the pieces in place to ensure the future success of this company, regardless of any one single asset. The unique profile of our company, and our platform, will allow us to benefit patients in numerous disease settings well into the future." said Paul Chaplin, President & Chief Executive Officer of Bavarian Nordic.

Financial performance

Revenues in the first half of 2017 were largely derived from the sale of IMVAMUNE bulk drug substance to U.S. Government and were in line with the Company's expectations. There were no revenues from sale of IMVAMUNE bulk drug substance during the same period in 2016.

DKK million USD million 6m 2017 6m 2016 6m 2017 6m 2016 Revenue 595 139 91 21 EBIT 99 (207) 15 (32) Cash preparedness, period-end 2,704 1,894 415 290

Outlook for 2017

The Company maintains its financial expectations for 2017 as announced July 27, 2017, where the expected cash preparedness at year-end was raised from approximately DKK 2,400 million to approximately DKK 2,600 million after entering the new license and collaboration agreement with Janssen. While the majority of revenues will be derived from the sale of IMVAMUNE bulk drug substance to U.S. Government, part of the revenues is composed by recognition of the PROSTVAC upfront payment as revenue which is based upon the assumption that top-line PROSPECT (Phase 3) data are reported in the second half of 2017. For detailed assumptions, refer to the 2016 Annual Report.

2017E DKK million USD million Revenue 1,300 199 EBIT 350 54 Cash preparedness, year-end * 2,600 399

* Cash preparedness includes cash, cash equivalents, investments in securities and the aggregate amount of undrawn credit lines. This includes a EUR 50 million unsecured loan from the European Investment Bank, which the Company anticipates drawing on in second half of 2017.

Danish kroner (DKK) is the Company's functional currency. All USD figures provided above are based upon an assumed exchange rate of DKK 6.52 per 1.00 USD, which was the exchange rate as of June 30, 2017.

Conference call and webcast

The management of Bavarian Nordic will host a conference call today at 2 pm CEST (8 am EDT) to present the interim results followed by a Q&A session. Dial-in numbers for the conference call are: Denmark: +45 32 71 16 60, UK: +44 (0) 20 3427 1911, USA: +1 646 254 3364. Participant code is 7659153. A live and archived webcast of the call and relevant slides will be available at http://www.bavarian-nordic.com/investor/events.aspx?event=5050.

Capital Markets Day

Bavarian Nordic will host a capital markets day for investors and analysts on Thursday, September 21, 2017 in New York City, where the management of Bavarian Nordic, collaborators from the National Cancer Institute and key opinion leaders within the field of oncology and infectious diseases will give presentations on the Company's business and future plans and opportunities.

For registration and more information, see www.bavarian-nordic.com/cmd.

Financial calendar 2018

The 2018 dates for announcement of the Company's financial reports and the annual general meeting have been determined as follows:

March 12, 2018 2017 Annual Report April 17, 2018 Annual General Meeting May 24, 2018 First quarterly report (Q1) for the three-month period ended 31 March 2018 August 16, 2018 Half-year report (Q2) for the six-month period ended 30 June 2018 November 9, 2018 Third quarterly report (Q3) for the nine-month period ended 30 September 2018

Pursuant to Article 12 of the Articles of Association, shareholders who wish to submit a request for proposals for consideration at the annual general meeting must lodge this with the Company no later than Wednesday, March 7, 2018.

About Bavarian Nordic

Bavarian Nordic is a fully integrated biotechnology company focused on the development, manufacturing and commercialization of cancer immunotherapies and vaccines for infectious diseases, based on the Company's live virus vaccine platform. Through long-standing collaborations, including a collaboration with the U.S. government, Bavarian Nordic has developed a portfolio of vaccines for infectious diseases, including the non-replicating smallpox vaccine, IMVAMUNE, which is stockpiled for emergency use by the United States and other governments. The vaccine is approved in the European Union (under the trade name IMVANEX) and in Canada. Bavarian Nordic and its strategic partner Janssen are developing an Ebola vaccine regimen, and therapeutic vaccines for HPV, HBV and HIV. Additionally, in collaboration with the National Cancer Institute, Bavarian Nordic has developed a portfolio of active cancer immunotherapies, including PROSTVAC, which is currently in Phase 3 clinical development for the treatment of advanced prostate cancer. The company has partnered with Bristol-Myers Squibb for the potential commercialization of PROSTVAC. For more information visit www.bavarian-nordic.com or follow us on Twitter @bavariannordic.

Forward-looking statements

This announcement includes forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside of our control, that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning our plans, objectives, goals, future events, performance and/or other information that is not historical information. All such forward-looking statements are expressly qualified by these cautionary statements and any other cautionary statements which may accompany the forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances after the date made, except as required by law.

Contacts

Rolf Sass Srensen

Vice President Investor Relations (EU)

Tel: +45 61 77 47 43

Seth Lewis

Vice President Investor Relations (US)

Tel: +1 978 341 5271

Company Announcement no. 25 / 2017

This announcement is distributed by Nasdaq Corporate Solutions on behalf of Nasdaq Corporate Solutions clients.

The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.

Source: Bavarian Nordic A/S via Globenewswire


PR-Inside.com: 2017-08-25 22:01:13

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FSCwire / Press ReleaseThe following press release was disseminated by FSCwire for California Gold Mining Inc.--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---Toronto, Ontario (FSCWire) - California Gold Mining Inc. (TSX Venture:CGM). has issued a press release with the following headline:California Gold Provides Operational Update and Announces Proposed Private Placement of UnitsTo view this press release on the FSCwire website, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:If you would prefer, you can also view this press release as a PDF file, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:For more information on California Gold Mining Inc., or to see additional press releases issued by this company, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser: http://www.fscwire.com/public-company/California Gold Mining Inc.Source: California Gold Mining Inc. (TSX Venture: CGM, OTCQX: CFGMF, ISIN: A14ZUC, WKN: CA1302641040)Date: August 25, 2017Time: 4:01 PM EDT--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---The story mentioned above was issued on behalf of California Gold Mining Inc. and disseminated through FSCwire.About FSCwireFSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.), is a global newswire dissemination, SEDAR, SEDI, and EDGAR / XBRL service provider.FSCwire is a full service global newswire dissemination company and is fully approved by all exchanges in Canada and the U.S. Press releases can be distributed for all sizes of public, private or not for profit companies and any other organization requiring news distribution. In addition to individual companies; public relations, communications and investor relations firms trust FSCwire to distribute press releases for their respective clients.In addition to newswire dissemination FSCwire also offers EDGAR, XBRL, SEDAR, SEDI, and additional services for publicly traded companies. For more information, please go to our website: http://www.fscwire.com Maximum News Dissemination by FSCwire. http://www.fscwire.com Copyright 2017 - FSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.)
PR-Inside.com: 2017-08-25 12:00:12

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FSCwire / Press ReleaseThe following press release was disseminated by FSCwire for Canadian Zeolite Corp.--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---Vancouver, British Columbia (FSCWire) - Canadian Zeolite Corp. (TSX Venture:CNZ). has issued a press release with the following headline:Canadian Zeolite Announces U.S. Supplier Agreement with KMI Zeolite Inc.To view this press release on the FSCwire website, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:If you would prefer, you can also view this press release as a PDF file, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:For more information on Canadian Zeolite Corp., or to see additional press releases issued by this company, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser: http://www.fscwire.com/public-company/Canadian Zeolite Corp.Source: Canadian Zeolite Corp. (TSX Venture: CNZ, ISIN: CA1368001097, WKN: A2AEE1, OTCQB: CNZCF, FWB: ZEON)Date: August 25, 2017Time: 6:00 AM EDT--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---The story mentioned above was issued on behalf of Canadian Zeolite Corp. and disseminated through FSCwire.About FSCwireFSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.), is a global newswire dissemination, SEDAR, SEDI, and EDGAR / XBRL service provider.FSCwire is a full service global newswire dissemination company and is fully approved by all exchanges in Canada and the U.S. Press releases can be distributed for all sizes of public, private or not for profit companies and any other organization requiring news distribution. In addition to individual companies; public relations, communications and investor relations firms trust FSCwire to distribute press releases for their respective clients.In addition to newswire dissemination FSCwire also offers EDGAR, XBRL, SEDAR, SEDI, and additional services for publicly traded companies. For more information, please go to our website: http://www.fscwire.com Maximum News Dissemination by FSCwire. http://www.fscwire.com Copyright 2017 - FSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.)
Police said eight people were still unaccounted for in a Swiss Alpine valley yesterday, a day after a mudslide and rockslide hit a small village near the Italian border. The village of Bondo, about 130 kilometers north of Milan, was evacuated as the slide hit Wednesday morning. Police in Graubuenden canton (state) said buildings were damaged, and images from the scene showed a trail of destruction left by a river of mud and stone. They initially said that there were no injuries. However, police said Thursday that they havent been able to reach eight people who were believed to have been in the Bondasca valley at the time of the slide  nationals of Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Six of those people have been reported missing by relatives, none of them children.

Sudan: Russian diplomat found dead

Sudans foreign ministry says Russias ambassador to the African country has been found dead in his residence in Khartoum. In a statement carried by the state-run SUNA news agency, the ministry said Ambassador Mirgayas Shirinsky died Wednesday and offered its condolences to the government and people of Russia. The ministry praised Shirinskys diplomatic efforts while in office but offered no details on the circumstances surrounding his death. Shirinsky, who was in his 60s, had been in the Russian diplomatic service since 1977 and had previously served in Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Rwanda.

Yemen: Thousands back ex-leader

Hundreds of thousands of Yemenis have rallied in Sanaa in a public show of support for a former president amid rising tension between his loyalists and Shiite Houthi rebels, components of the rebel alliance fighting a Saudi-led coalition in the country. Thursdays rally brought together some 300,000 Yemenis to the capital to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the founding of the Popular Conference Party of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Salehs supporters said in a statement that the party will evaluate its partnership with the Houthis, referring to a recent power struggle between the two factions.
PR-Inside.com: 2017-08-25 05:25:01

HANGZHOU, China, Aug. 24, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Alipay, the world's largest online and mobile payment platform operated by Ant Financial Services Group ("Ant Financial", "Ant"), is now available for Mainland Chinese tourists at all 242 Starbucks branches across Malaysia. Chinese tourists can find a nearest Starbucks through the in-app Discovery platform, and pay for their drinks in RMB via Alipay. Alipay and Starbucks Malaysia are also launching a marketing campaign to celebrate the partnership together with Chinese consumers.

Starting from August 18 to October 31, a Chinese tourist using Alipay in Starbucks can enjoy 10% off with cap at RMB 5 yuan and free drink size upgrade at the same time once every week. The customer will also receive a 10%-off e-voucher for future use upon completion of the first transaction. Alipay and Starbucks Malaysia fund the campaign jointly.

"Starbucks is one of the most visited merchants by Chinese tourists in many countries. Through Alipay's Discovery platform, we are leading our users to the nearest Starbucks wherever they are in Malaysia. Getting a cup of familiar coffee with a familiar payment method at a random street corner in Malaysia, will make one's journey as relaxed as at home," said Dayong Zhang, General Manager of Alipay Southeast Asia.

"Now you can use Alipay to pay for your favorite Starbucks beverage at all Starbucks store around Malaysia, including 32 Drive-Thru concept stores and 15 stores in the airport. It is so convenient that customers just have to flash their mobile application at the counter without going through money exchanger to get a cup of coffee. We would like to invite all Alipay users to enjoy their favorite cup of Starbucks beverage during their stay in Malaysia," said Sydney Quays, Chief Executive Officer of Berjaya Food Berhad.

Merchants in Malaysia started to accept Alipay in April 2017 and it's now available in over 5,000 merchants, including over 2,100 7-Eleven stores. Types of merchants include restaurants, bars, supermarkets, department stores, and convenience stores.

Mainland China is the third largest international visitor market for Malaysia. Over 2.12 million Chinese tourists visited Malaysia in 2016 and a year-on-year increase of 8.3% was seen from the first quarter of 2017.

About Alipay

Operated by Ant Financial Services Group, Alipay is the world's largest mobile and online payment platform. Launched in 2004, Alipay currently has over 520 million active users and over 450 financial institution partners globally. Alipay has evolved from a digital wallet to a lifestyle enabler. Users can hail a taxi, book a hotel, buy movie tickets, pay utility bills, make appointments with doctors, or purchase wealth management products directly from within the app. In addition to online payments, Alipay is expanding to in-store offline payments both inside and outside of China. Over 10 million brick-and-mortar merchants now accept Alipay across China. Alipay's in-store payment service is covering more than 30 countries across the world, and tax reimbursement via Alipay is supported in 24 countries and regions. Alipay works with over 250 overseas financial institutions and payment solution providers to enable cross-border payments for Chinese travelling overseas and overseas customers who purchase products from Chinese e-commerce sites. Alipay currently supports 19 currencies.

About Starbucks Malaysia

Berjaya Starbucks Coffee Company Sdn Bhd is wholly owned by Berjaya Group Berhad and a licensee of Starbucks Coffee International. The company operates Starbucks retail locations throughout Malaysia and is committed to offering the world's finest coffee while enriching Malaysians' lives one cup at a time. Starbucks Malaysia has been named as Malaysia's best employer at the Aon Hewitt Best Employers- Malaysia 2015 Awards, receiving the title - 'Best of the Best'. Aon Hewitt Best Employers Award is deemed to be one of the most prestigious awards in recognizing companies with high employee engagement, compelling employer brand, effective leadership and high performance culture. In 2014, Starbucks Malaysia has been awarded with the HR Best Practices Gold Award in the Malaysia Human Resources Award 2014 - organized by the Malaysia Institute of Human Resources Management (MIHRM). For more information, please visit the official site at www.starbucks.com.my or check out our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/StarbucksMalaysia and through the Starbucks Newsroom.

Media Enquiries Xinyun Yang International Communications Ant Financial Services Group Tel: +86 1381 6896 301 Email: xinyun.yang@antfin.com Salleharon Ahmad Public Affairs and Digital Strategy Starbucks Malaysia Tel: +6 018-2339166 Email: salleharon@starbucks.com.my

This announcement is distributed by Nasdaq Corporate Solutions on behalf of Nasdaq Corporate Solutions clients.

The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.

Source: Alipay (UK) Limited via Globenewswire


PR-Inside.com: 2017-08-25 23:27:12

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FSCwire / Press ReleaseThe following press release was disseminated by FSCwire for Erin Ventures Inc.--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---Victoria, British Columbia (FSCWire) - Erin Ventures Inc. (TSX Venture:EV). has issued a press release with the following headline:Erin Ventures Announces Share ConsolidationTo view this press release on the FSCwire website, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:If you would prefer, you can also view this press release as a PDF file, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:For more information on Erin Ventures Inc., or to see additional press releases issued by this company, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser: http://www.fscwire.com/public-company/Erin Ventures Inc.Source: Erin Ventures Inc. (TSX Venture: EV, WKN: A0CAFT, ISIN: CA29570H1010)Date: August 25, 2017Time: 5:26 PM EDT--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---The story mentioned above was issued on behalf of Erin Ventures Inc. and disseminated through FSCwire.About FSCwireFSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.), is a global newswire dissemination, SEDAR, SEDI, and EDGAR / XBRL service provider.FSCwire is a full service global newswire dissemination company and is fully approved by all exchanges in Canada and the U.S. Press releases can be distributed for all sizes of public, private or not for profit companies and any other organization requiring news distribution. In addition to individual companies; public relations, communications and investor relations firms trust FSCwire to distribute press releases for their respective clients.In addition to newswire dissemination FSCwire also offers EDGAR, XBRL, SEDAR, SEDI, and additional services for publicly traded companies. For more information, please go to our website: http://www.fscwire.com Maximum News Dissemination by FSCwire. http://www.fscwire.com Copyright 2017 - FSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.)
This announcement is distributed by Nasdaq Corporate Solutions on behalf of Nasdaq Corporate Solutions clients. The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein. Source: Eurocommercial Properties N.V. via Globenewswire

Disclaimer: If you have any questions regarding information in this press release please contact the company added in the press release. Please do not contact pr-inside. We will not be able to assist you. PR-inside disclaims the content included in this release.
Seeing Mt Everest is appealing to everyone. However the highest mountain is located in the most remote corner of the Himalayas jagged with some of the worlds highest peaks. Trekking is the best way to see Mt Everest. For those who dont want to trek or those with limited time, 1 hour Everest sightseeing flight is the best way to see Mt Everest.

PR-Inside.com: 2017-08-25 17:08:41

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Galkopakha-29, Thamel



Rabindra Adhikari

Tour Manager

14363643

email

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# 402 Words

Galkopakha-29, ThamelTour Manager14363643http://www.itournepal.com

The worlds highest peak Mt Everest reigns the Himalayan massif and pristine valleys east of Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. Group of daunting peaks forms the most amazing landscape with some of the largest glaciers, spectacular peaks and the Sherpa people. The area of 1148 sq. km is protected as Everest national park. The national park was enlisted as UNESCO natural heritage site in 1979.The national park is the most popular trekking destination in the Himalayas. Walking is the best way to get the experience of the most dramatic mountains with Mt Everest. There are treks from a week to about three weeks exploring high passes and climbing some beautiful peaks.However for many people, trekking is too intimidating or they have limited time to go on a week long trek. Also trekking is seasonal and the view of Mt Everest is not guaranteed after long walk as it all depends upon weather.Everest sightseeing flight or Mountain Flight is the best way to see Mt Everest and other eastern Himalayas if you are not trekking to Everest base camp. This is 1 hr round trip flight from Kathmandu to Kathmandu that takes off in the morning. The Everest view is guaranteed as the flight takes off only after conforming the clear weather over Mt Everest. Otherwise passenger get full refund. It only book passengers for window seat guaranteeing undisturbed view of the Himalayas. The Himalayas makes the 800 km northern wall of Nepal. As soon as the flight takes off, snow peaks come in sight. The flight hovers along the Langtang, jugal Himal, Rolwaling and Khumbu Himal ranges offering the view of four 8,000 m peaks.hen is the best time for the flight?Mountain flight is scheduled everyday throughout the year. More than 10 flights are scheduled during the peak tourist season. The flight is more guaranteed to take off during the days of Spring and Autumn. But it is possible to see Mt Everest during the monsoon and winter as well. Only thing is that there might be longer waiting and cancellation because of bad weather.How to book the flight?It is simple to book Everest sightseeing flight. You can simply write or visit a tour operator and book the flight. If you want to book in advance, you can do so by just paying 10% booking advance online. You can pay the balance after the flight.http://www.itournepal.com/mountainflight.php
PR-Inside.com: 2017-08-25 09:05:12

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FSCwire / Press ReleaseThe following press release was disseminated by FSCwire for Friday Night Inc--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---Vancouver, British Columbia (FSCWire) - Friday Night Inc (CSE:TGIF). has issued a press release with the following headline:Friday Night Inc. Enters into a Land Purchase AgreementTo view this press release on the FSCwire website, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:If you would prefer, you can also view this press release as a PDF file, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:For more information on Friday Night Inc, or to see additional press releases issued by this company, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser: http://www.fscwire.com/public-company/Friday Night IncSource: Friday Night Inc (CSE: TGIF, FWB: 1QF, ISIN: CA74840V1004, WKN: A2ABE2)Date: August 25, 2017Time: 3:05 AM EDT--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---The story mentioned above was issued on behalf of Friday Night Inc and disseminated through FSCwire.About FSCwireFSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.), is a global newswire dissemination, SEDAR, SEDI, and EDGAR / XBRL service provider.FSCwire is a full service global newswire dissemination company and is fully approved by all exchanges in Canada and the U.S. Press releases can be distributed for all sizes of public, private or not for profit companies and any other organization requiring news distribution. In addition to individual companies; public relations, communications and investor relations firms trust FSCwire to distribute press releases for their respective clients.In addition to newswire dissemination FSCwire also offers EDGAR, XBRL, SEDAR, SEDI, and additional services for publicly traded companies. For more information, please go to our website: http://www.fscwire.com Maximum News Dissemination by FSCwire. http://www.fscwire.com Copyright 2017 - FSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.)
PR-Inside.com: 2017-08-25 09:02:01

Kasper Madsen Selected as Viking Malt CEO

Polttimo Oy

Par-Gustaf Relander

Chair and CEO

+358 50 552 3955

par-gustaf.relander@polttimo.com

or

Anne Sointu

CFO

+358 40 760 0017

anne.sointu@vikingmalt.com

The Board of Viking Malt has selected Kasper Madsen (born 1961) as a new CEO / Managing Director of the Viking Malt Group. He will start in Viking Malt 1.9.2017.

This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/201708250050

The Board of Viking Malt has selected Kasper Madsen (born 1961) as a new CEO / Managing Director of the Viking Malt Group. He will start in Viking Malt 1.9.2017. Viking malt is the leading supplier of malt to breweries in Northern Europe and one of the global market leaders in supplying special malts to breweries and distilleries. (Photo: Business Wire)

He is educated Master Brewer, Chemical Engineer and Bachelor in Economics. Before joining Viking Malt Kasper Madsen has worked in Hilding Anders, Orkla, Boston Consulting Group and 25 years in Carlsberg.

Current Managing Director of Viking Malt Group Antti Orkola will continue as a senior advisor for Viking Malt Group until his retirement 1.2.2018.

Viking Malt as a company

Viking malt is the leading supplier of malt to breweries in Northern Europe and one of the global market leaders in supplying special malts to breweries and distilleries.

Viking Malt is a Finnish private company, owned by Polttimo Oy (62,5%) and Lantmannen ek for (37,5 %), with headquarters in Lahti and operations in Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Poland and Lithuania. The Viking Malt Group turnover is around 220 MEUR.

Viking Malt home market is the Baltic Sea area, and having a strong foothold in the export market outside Europe, such as Asia, Latin America and Africa.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/201708250050




Kathryn Baker, Chairman of the Board in Navamedic ASA has of 24 August 2017 acquired 3400 shares in Navamedic ASA. The shares are acquired through her company Lakeside AS at an average price of NOK 10,80 per share. Following this transaction Mrs Baker holds a total of 3400 shares in Navamedic ASA.

For further information, please contact:

Toril As

Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

Navamedic ASA

Tel: +47 95 70 10 71

E-mail: toril.as@navamedic.com
PR-Inside.com: 2017-08-24 22:48:11

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FSCwire / Press ReleaseThe following press release was disseminated by FSCwire for NSGold Corporation--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---Bedford, Nova Scotia (FSCWire) - NSGold Corporation (TSX Venture:NSX). has issued a press release with the following headline:NSGold Amends Stock Option Plan and Grants OptionsTo view this press release on the FSCwire website, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:If you would prefer, you can also view this press release as a PDF file, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:For more information on NSGold Corporation, or to see additional press releases issued by this company, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser: http://www.fscwire.com/public-company/NSGold CorporationSource: NSGold Corporation (TSX Venture: NSX, WKN: A12FG2, ISIN: CA62942A2074)Date: August 24, 2017Time: 4:48 PM EDT--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---The story mentioned above was issued on behalf of NSGold Corporation and disseminated through FSCwire.About FSCwireFSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.), is a global newswire dissemination, SEDAR, SEDI, and EDGAR / XBRL service provider.FSCwire is a full service global newswire dissemination company and is fully approved by all exchanges in Canada and the U.S. Press releases can be distributed for all sizes of public, private or not for profit companies and any other organization requiring news distribution. In addition to individual companies; public relations, communications and investor relations firms trust FSCwire to distribute press releases for their respective clients.In addition to newswire dissemination FSCwire also offers EDGAR, XBRL, SEDAR, SEDI, and additional services for publicly traded companies. For more information, please go to our website: http://www.fscwire.com Maximum News Dissemination by FSCwire. http://www.fscwire.com Copyright 2017 - FSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.)
Chinas Commerce Ministry yesterday criticized a U.S. decision to launch a trade probe of Beijings technology policy as an attack on the global trading system and said it will resolutely defend Chinese companies.

Trade groups welcomed President Donald Trumps Aug. 14 order to look into whether Beijing improperly requires companies to hand over technology as a condition of market access. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer announced a formal investigation this week.

The action improperly applies U.S. law instead of international rules and is the destruction of the existing international trade system, said a ministry spokesman, Gao Feng, at a news briefing.

We are strongly dissatisfied with this unilateral and protectionist practice and will take all necessary measures to resolutely defend the legitimate rights and interests of the Chinese side and Chinese enterprises, said Gao.

Beijing requires automakers and other foreign companies in China to work through joint ventures, usually with state-owned partners. They often are required to give technology to partners that might become competitors.

More than 20 percent of 100 American companies that responded to a survey by the U.S.-China Business Council, an industry group, said they were asked to transfer technology within the past three years as a condition of market access.

Foreign business groups complain companies are being squeezed out of promising Chinese markets or pressured to hand over technology for electric cars and other emerging industries.

Trump said in April he was setting aside trade disputes while Washington and Beijing worked together to persuade North Korea to give up nuclear weapons development. But American officials have resumed criticizing Chinese policy in recent weeks.

Earlier in the week, China urged the U.S. to withdraw new sanctions it imposed on Chinese companies that Washington says are supporting North Korea as it carries out increasingly ambitious missile tests.

On Tuesday, the Trump administration imposed sanctions on 16 mainly Chinese and Russian companies and people for assisting North Koreas nuclear and ballistic missile programs and helping it to make money to support those programs.

Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying on Wednesday told reporters at a regular briefing that China opposes unilateral sanctions and the long-arm jurisdiction taken by the U.S. against Chinese entities and individuals.

Among those sanctioned are six Chinese companies, including three coal companies.

Hua said Chinese authorities will follow their own regulations and laws to investigate and punish if necessary the companies in question.

China has been earnestly and comprehensively implementing U.N. Security Council sanctions on North Korea, and our efforts are there for all to see, Hua said. Washington says its own sanctions are intended to complement the U.N. ones, including the latest ones which were imposed after North Korea tested two intercontinental ballistic missiles last month that may be able to reach parts of the U.S. AP
PR-Inside.com: 2017-08-25 10:42:01

Whoosnap is first company to join Octo Telematicss new IoT Next Generation Platform

Whoosnap partners with Octo Telematics to streamline insurance photography via new Insoore application

Octo Telematics

John Merva and Nelly Akpaka

020 7796 4133

press.uk@octotelematics.com

Octo Telematics (Octo), the number one global provider of telematics for the auto insurance industry, has today announced that it has partnered with Whoosnap, the platform for crowdsourced, on-demand photography for media outlets and businesses.

Whoosnap has developed an insurance-focused application, Insoore, for portable devices such as smartphones, tablets and laptops, providing the insurance industry with on-demand photography based on a community of amateur photographers. Insurers will therefore have access to cheaper photography of vehicles and incidents to streamline and reduce costs.

During the process of creating a new or renewing a car insurance policy, insurers will be able to access Insoore to request photographs of the vehicle. A certified community photographer will then take pictures and upload them to the platform. Insurers can then purchase the photographs at cheaper rates than professional photography. The same process can take place in the event of a claim as insurers can request pictorial evidence of damage to vehicles to evaluate the incident. The accessibility of the app and web-based platform means that photos can be taken and uploaded instantly. Photo authenticity is guaranteed through a certification system.

Enrico Scianaro, CEO, Whoosnap, said, "We made Whoosnap to give media outlets and corporate brands access to on-demand, crowdsourced photos of breaking news and events. It also gives amateur photographers a chance to earn money from their snaps. Insoore opens this to insurers that may rely on photographic evidence, particularly to process claims. In addition to increases in Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) and changes to the Ogden Rate, business overheads are a key contributor to soaring insurance premiums. Sourcing cheap, quality photography can help insurers cut their costs while also deepening the collaboration between insurers and their clients.

Whoosnap and Insoore are the first additions to Octos new IoT Next Generation Platform (NGP), which has been developed with support from Salesforce, Software AG, SAS, SAP, as well as consulting firms Deloitte and Capgemini, creating an ecosystem of companies that is directly connected to insurers. In addition to the core telematics services provided by Octo, companies accessing the platform will be able to benefit from a range of products and offerings available from third-parties. These offerings are designed to improve the insurance and UBI experience for consumers and insurers. The NGP also provides analytics and integration of data from the growing number of connected cars.

Jonathan Hewett, Chief Marketing Officer, Octo Telematics said: The insurance landscape is being changed by technology and motorists are looking to have full access to a range of products at the touch of a button. The NGPs insurtech ecosystem has been designed to support companies of all sizes, from established names such as our partners in Software AG, SAP and SAS to small innovators at the other end of the spectrum. Welcoming small but exciting companies such as Whoosnap onto the NGP is beneficial not only to Whoosnap and their applications such as Insoore as they gain much wider exposure and greater access to clients, but also to the entire ecosystem as we continue to develop our holistic offering.

ENDS

Notes to editors

About Whoosnap

Whoosnap is a company which has created a platform that connects media outlets with a worldwide community of amateur photographers. Media companies can request photographs of specific events and the community then takes photos and videos in exchange for a money reward.

In just two years since its incorporation (2015), Whoosnap has achieved more than 300,000 users and one million media items have been uploaded in response to requests.

Whoosnap provides its service for: TV and Newspapers, providing exclusive content for every kind of media that uses printed or digital journalism; Brands and Marketing agencies, providing content for their ad campaigns, graphic design or any kind of promotion; Insurance and fleet management companies: to reduce costs of fraud through a real time photographic inspection of vehicles. This market is served by Whoosnaps new product, Insoore.

The company is headquartered in Rome.

For more information, please visit: http://www.whoosnap.com and http://www.insoore.com

About Octo Telematics

Octo is the number 1 global provider of telematics and data analytics solutions for the auto insurance industry. Founded in 2002, Octo is one of the pioneers of the insurance telematics industry. Today, Octo is the largest and most experienced insurance telematics company in the world, transforming auto insurance through behavioral, contextual and driving analytics for more than 60 insurance partners.

Octo has more than 5.1 million connected users and the largest global database of telematics data, with over 165 billion miles of driving data collected and 417,000 crashes and insurance events analyzed (as of 30 June 2017).

Octo applies proprietary algorithms to this market-leading database to deliver powerful new insights into driver risk, informing solutions that benefit both auto insurance companies and policyholders.

The company is headquartered in London, with offices in Boston, Rome, Stuttgart, Madrid, and Sao Paulo.

For more information, please visit: http://www.octotelematics.com/

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/201708250051
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.




Contact

Solace Duncan

***@gmail.com Solace Duncan

End

--Contact: Solace Duncansolaceduncan@gmail.com(202) 907-4775Refugee leaders from Blacklick, Kettering, and Columbus will gather in Columbus for a statewide meeting to share ideas and strategies for ensuring that refugees are welcomed to Ohio. There will also be refugee leaders from Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Rhode Island, and Wyoming.Refugee Leaders are available for interviews on the impact of the travel ban on their communities and on refugee resettlement in Ohio. They are available to share their own stories and talk about their journeys - why and how they came to the US and how they were able to become contributing members of their communities as new Ohioans.Refugees and former refugees from Iraq, Bhutan, South Sudan, Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda, Kenya, Afghanistan and Democratic Republic of the Congo, including:- Norah is a survivor of the Rwandan genocide and was resettled to the United States in 2005. In 2007 she founded Refugee Women In Action, a nonprofit organization based in Columbus, Ohio, that assists refugee women and their families to establish social and economic independence.- Hari is a refugee from Bhutan who came to the United States in 2008. He currently lives in Blacklick, Ohio, where he works as a language interpreter and community advocate. Mr. Niroula has worked with several community organizations, assisting refugees as they take their issues to the state legislature and state refugee coordinator. The Statewide Refugee Leadership Meeting takes place in Columbus on August 25- 27th.Refugee Leaders will be available for: In-person interviews on Sunday August 27th during a luncheon from 1 pm to 2 pm at St. John's United Church of Christ, 59 East Mound Street Columbus, Ohio 43215 OR Phone or in-person interviews in their home cities after the meeting.Please contact Solace Duncan to request interviews.###The Refugee Congress is a national advocacy and advisory organization comprised of refugees, asylum seekers, and stateless persons from each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Our mission is to promote the well-being, integration, and dignity of all refugees, asylum seekers, and stateless persons in the U.S. and beyond. We do that by bringing our voices and experiences to inform decision makers on domestic and international issues and policies af ecting our lives. refugeecongress.org
When Victoria Jamiesons first graphic novel, Roller Girl (2015), won a Newbery Honor, she was already at work on her second, Alls Faire in Middle School, which is due out next month. Jamieson remembers realizing that the award would mean her new book would have a larger audiencea thought she found both exciting and daunting. The tale stars Imogene, a homeschooled tween whose free-spirited upbringing makes adapting to public school a bumpy ride. Her parents work at the Florida Renaissance Faire, and Imogene is accustomed to the medieval sallies and playful showmanship of the Faire community. Yet she wants desperately to appear normal, even if it means denying the things she cherishes. PW spoke with Jamieson about the path that led her to graphic novels, her early days as a Faire groupie, and things that are hard to draw.

Were you an artistic kid?

Yes! My mom was an art teacher and there were always paints and crayons around, fabric for making stuff. I sewed a lot of flags, for some reason. I made a lot of stuffed animals, and I made clothes for my stuffed animals. I had a bear named Juliette and I made her a princess outfit.

My mom made crafts to sell and she made our clothes, much to my chagrin. She was the one who gave me the idea to go to art school. I went to an international magnet school with a baccalaureate program, and most of my friends were going to pretty high-powered Ivy League schools. She said, You know, I always wished I had gone to art school. That gave me permission to think about it. I feel pretty lucky to have her as a mom.

What kind of artist did you think youd be?

I went to the Rhode Island School of Design thinking that Id work for Disney and be an animator, but animation takes a really long time. I knew that already, but I kind of found it out again. You do a project all semester and you end up with a one-minute film. Also, in a big studio like that, youre not telling the story yourself. Youre working on an eyebrow, or a tree, or a background character. Its a huge collaboration.

After I graduated I got a degree in museum studies at the University of Sydney, and then I moved to New York. And then, on the same day, I got two offers: an internship at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and a job offer at HarperCollins. And I thought, Im going with the one that pays me money. Although the internship at the Met would have been a dream, to walk through those doors every day.

What was that first job at HarperCollins?

I was a book designer. I wasnt very good at it. Jackets are the worst. Theyre so hard. You have to please so many people. So many people have to like your jacket.

I was working on stuff of my own at night. I belonged to a small group that was sort of like SCBWI. We met every other month and invited a different art director to come each time. I got to see that art directors were normal people, nice people, and to hear what they said. I met an editor there; she didnt take my first picture book, but she gave me some really good feedback and made it a lot stronger, and the next editor I showed it to bought it.

Youd already solved a lot of graphic novel problems in the process of writing Roller Girlhow to pace the story, how to handle the character development, and so on. Was it easier to do the second time around, because you werent starting from the ground up?

It was way harder. It was so much harder. Roller Girl seemed to come together kind of naturally in some ways. This time, there was my own internal pressure. I was really trying hard not to write Roller Girl again. That held me up for a while. Because people said, Oh, we love Astrid, shes so great, shes so independent, shes so fierce! But I was not fierce in middle school. I cared a lot about what people thought about me. As an adult thats uncomfortable to admit. I decided not to shy away from that, but to dive into it. What role does that play in kids lives?

All those kids in middle school looked to me like they had their lives together. They knew what to do socially. Everyone wanted to wear what the other kids were wearing. I thought, If I wear what they wear, Ill feel confident and Ill fit in. All the other kids are normal. I dont feel normal. But if I look like them I will be.

Did you take any wrong turns as you wrote?

Yeah! You can ask my editor about that. I had a whole other story I was working on. I was trying to write a story where Nancy Drew is an old lady and she moves into a retirement community and makes friends with a middle-schooler and they solve mysteries together.

It sounds great!

I thought it was, too, but I couldnt do it! I was struggling and struggling, and my editor was trying to help me out, and she said, You do really well with realistic fiction.

She told you what your strength was, not where you were going wrong.

Its true. It didnt feel bad. I felt like she put me on the right path. It was right after my son was born and I was strolling him around in the stroller in a parking lot and talking on the phone with her, and she said, That Renaissance Faire ideamaybe you should think about that!

Where did that idea come from?

In my high school we had to volunteer somewhere, and one of my friends parents owned a shop at the Renaissance Faire. I used to go with two of my best friends. We just had the best time. We were supposed to be volunteering but actually we just laughed and ate a lot of sugar and were stalking this juggler that we had a crush on. The character of Kit was definitely based on that juggler. Hes still around; I went to a fair in Oregon a year or two ago and there he was.

You recognized him?

Of course I recognized him! You dont forget your juggling crush. I brought him an early copy of the book.

So that was your opening.

Right. And letting myself write a character who was more like me. Looking at the other students, and thinking that how theyre acting is how I was supposed to act. That was the piece that had to work, the emotional side of it. Who is this character? What does she want? What is she afraid of?

Then I added her little brother. I love books that have annoying younger siblings. I love Ramona. And Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing. Felix is based on my little brother. The things Ramona did seemed really endearing when she did them, but when my brother did them, they werent so charming. I cant count the number of times he locked me out of the house. There were so many windows in our house that didnt close right. And he had a stuffed squirrel named Tiffany.

Once I got the gist of it down, it was a little easier. Felix looks like my little brother. Imogenes dad looks like my husband. Having family members I could base things on was helpful.

I once read about a cartoonist who likes to draw her characters under duresswhen theyre short of sleep, things like that.

Oh, sure! Thats something I demonstrate when I visit schools, how I draw characters when theyre angry. When kids show me drawings, their characters are always smiling. I tell them that its really fun to draw your characters feeling something. It gives rise to so many questions: Whats making them angry? Whats making them sad?

Is there anything you struggle to draw?

I talk about this with the kids, too! I dont like drawing cars. And I always end up having to draw cars because youre always in a car going somewhere. And bleachers! The benches have to be the right distance apart, where are the footrests, all things that you dont think about! Theyre really complicated.

Can you talk a little bit about the editor and art director you worked with and what they brought to the project?

Well, my editor was Kate Harrison.

Was she the one who steered you away from Nancy Drew?

That was her. She helped in a lot of other ways, too. I had given each of my characters a sob story. I wanted to give readers a glimpse of things not being as picture-perfect as you think they are. You meet someone whos rich, but maybe their parents are angry and theyre not quite as happy in their big house as it looks like they are. Kate helped me find a line between hinting at it and beating people over the head with it.

And the art director was Jason Henry. Hes just a saint. Putting books together, especially graphic novels, theres just a lot of work. He was always so patient and nice. The jacket for the book was pretty hard to come to, and Jason just kept throwing out great ideas and he never gave up.

And what about those medieval, Book of Hours-style chapter headings?

That was one of my favorite parts of the book. Ive always loved illuminated manuscripts. I remember my mother helping me do illuminated lettering for a report about Eleanor of Aquitaine and thinking, Wow! This is beautiful!

Doing the research for them was really fun, researching the marginalia, the often dirty drawings monks put in, like farting butts. Middle schoolers would have loved that, but I didnt want to be too crude. A lot of the time I felt like a monk myself, after I put my kid to bed, working alone at night.

Whats next? What are you working on?

I cant say whats next, but its in the mulling-over stage. And I want to write a story based on an old creepy Victorian house because Ive just moved into one!

Alls Faire in Middle School by Victoria Jamieson. Dial, $12.99 Sept. 5 ISBN 978-0-525-42999-9
Shopping by voice means giving orders to the Alexa assistant on Amazons Echo speaker and other devices, even if your hands are tied up with dinner or dirty diapers. And next month, Walmart will start offering voice shopping , too, with the Google Assistant on the rival Home speaker.

Such voice shopping hasnt really caught on yet, but if it does, look out  you might never know if its offering you the best deal. Because these devices cant say much without tiring your ears, voice shopping precludes some of the savvy shopping practices you may have relied on to find the best bargains  in particular, researching products and comparing prices.

Youd be leaving much of the buying decision to Amazon, Walmart or other retailers.

HOOKED ON AMAZON

Amazon has had more than a years head start, and dominates voice shopping. Google introduced shopping to Home in February, letting people order essentials from more than 40 retailers like Target and Costco under its Google Express program. Its partnership with Walmart means hundreds of thousands of items will be available to customers in late September.

With websites and apps, many customers place items in the cart, but change their minds before completing the order, said Lauren Beitelspacher, a marketing professor at Babson College in Massachusetts. Voice shopping eliminates those intervening steps.

And with Amazon so far ahead, voice shopping with Alexa is another way of getting you hooked on Amazon. Although Amazon allows some third-party ordering through Alexa, including pizza from Dominos and hotels through Kayak, general shopping is limited to Amazons own store. If Alexa orders diapers for you just as you run out, for instance, Amazon locks in the order before you have a chance to visit Walmart.

You cant get away from Amazon, Beitelspacher said. I dont know if gimmick is the right word, but [voice shopping] is part of a strategy to be omnipresent in consumers lives.

ASSISTANT IN CHARGE

Ask Alexa to buy something, and it presents you with something youve bought before or an educated guess based on some undisclosed mix of price, satisfaction rating and shipping time. Amazon wont provide more details. You can get a products average customer-satisfaction rating, but not specific reviews, even on screen-equipped Echo Show devices.

Brian Elliott, general manager of Google Express, says that with most affiliated retailers, personalization occurs as the assistant learns shoppers preferences, but the integration with Walmart will happen more quickly.

In some ways, shopping by voice assistant is a throwback to the days when you were largely limited to what sales representatives recommended at a physical store.

Amazons website gives you a lot of information about most products, from color options and sizes to the specific reasons other customers hated a product youre considering. Youre able to compare similar items and choose something cheaper if youre willing to sacrifice some features or take a chance on an unknown manufacturer.

And, of course, you can also compare Amazons prices with those of other online merchants.

But with Amazons voice shopping, its back to what the companys representative recommends. Alexa can handle only a portion of Amazons full catalog, and its interactions with shoppers are constrained by the fact that listening and speaking can be a lot slower than reading and clicking.

And while Amazons website wont necessarily list the cheapest option first either, the alternatives are easier to view on a screen.

Justin Evans, an engineer in Whitman, Massachusetts, bought oatmeal and smart plugs using Alexa to claim exclusive discounts, but he prefers browsing and reviewing products for general shopping. Im a less impulsive shopper than I think their target market is, he said.

SHOPPING OUT LOUD

Companies are aware that voice shopping takes getting used to. Its not natural to shout out a purchase desire and have it be fulfilled, said Ryne Misso of the Market Track retail research firm in Chicago.

Jenny Blackburn, Amazons director of voice shopping, believes it will catch on once people get used to it.

To get people started, Amazon has been offering exclusive deals through Alexa and a USD10 credit on the first order. For its annual Prime Day promotion in July, Amazon gave voice shoppers a head start of two hours.

Amazon says voice shopping has grown in the year-plus its had it, though it wouldnt release figures. Were really just getting started with it, Blackburn said in an interview.

VOICES LIMITED RANGE

You can use Alexa for most items that come with free shipping through Amazons Prime loyalty program, but Blackburn said it works best for products with lightweight decisions, such as batteries, cat food and paper towels. Sure, Alexa can order you a TV, but youll probably want to do some research first.

Nels Romerdahl, a student at the University of Hawaii in Maui, said Alexa can be a big improvement over Amazon Dash buttons  plastic gadgets that can you place around the house and press anytime you need to reorder a specific item. But he doesnt use either Alexa or Dash for recurring items  he stocks up when his parents visit Costco every few weeks.

To prevent inadvertent orders, like the widely circulated report of a 6-year-old girl who had Alexa order a dollhouse and sugar cookies for Christmas, Amazon lets you set up a PIN you can recite to the assistant.

To boost comfort, Amazon promises free returns on voice orders; normally, Amazon charges a shipping fee for returns unless the companys at fault.

That might not satisfy everyone. Los Angeles attorney Pam Meyer, who bought some dog treats through Alexa to claim her $10 credit, said shed want something like a cash-back guarantee when Alexa doesnt offer the best price. Anick Jesdanun, New York, AP
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt is having a Virginia Lee Burton momentor more accurately, multiple moments. On September 5, the publisher will issue Big Machines: The Story of Virginia Lee Burton, written by Sherri Duskey Rinker and illustrated by John Rocco. The tribute to the late author continues with the September 26 release of an updated edition of Choo Choo, chronicling the adventures of a little locomotive who decides to run away from her humdrum duties. And due on October 2 is a 75th anniversary edition of Burtons Caldecott-winning The Little House, a cautionary tale about the changes that industrialization and development bring to a little house in the country.

Rinker is a fitting biographer for Burton (19091968), whom family and friends called Jinnee. Rinker remembers The Little House as her first literary love, and credits her two sons obsession with the authors classic works about big machines (notably Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel) for inspiring her to become a childrens book author. And hard-working machinery plays pivotal roles in several of Rinkers own bestselling picture books, including Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site, Steam Train, Dream Train, and Mighty, Mighty Construction Site, all illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld and published by Chronicle.

I have such strong memories of my grandmother reading The Little House to mein fact, it is the very first book I remember having read to me, Rinker said. And years later, I became equally enamored with Mike Mulligan, Choo Choo, Katy, and Maybelle when, as a mom, I read their stories to my machine-loving boys and saw how much they loved them. I was a graphic designer at the time, and though Id always loved the picture-book medium, it was seeing these books effect on my sons that led me to write a picture book of my own.

After Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site came out in 2011 and was a critical and commercial success, Rinker began thinking more about how Burton had influenced her as a child, as a mom, and as a writer. And, she recalled, I knew that I wanted to write something that would pay tribute to her as a person, an author and artist, and a mother. That conviction paved the way for Big Machines. One day I jumped in with both feet and began researching Burtons life, gathering any piece of information I could, Rinker said. I asked Amy Rennert, my agent at the time, to submit the book proposal exclusively to HMH, since Houghton Mifflin was Burtons publisher, and I loved the idea of my biography of her sitting beside her own books.

Kate OSullivan, senior executive editor at HMH, admitted to having a mixed reaction when she received the proposal for Big Machines. I was both nervous and excited by the idea, she recalled. Nervous because Burton and her books are so beloved, and crafting a love letter to her would have to be done just right. And then excited when I saw that Sherri had pulled it off. It also pleases my sense of symmetry that Sherris life shares many synchronicities with Virginias, not least their sons as inspiration for their things that go work.

Putting a Face on Burton and Her Creations

Next up was selecting an artist, which began with Rinker submitting a wish list of five potential illustrators. When OSullivan asked the author who her top choice was, Rinker gave Rocco the nod, and much to the author and editors delight, he rearranged his illustration schedule to accept the assignment.

I knew that we wanted an illustrator who could pay tribute and give a nod to Burtons work, but without feeling derivative, the editor noted. And I also knew that we needed an artist who was equally skilled with depicting machines and humans. So Johns artistic talents and designers eye were a perfect match for this considerable challenge. I just love that hes created an easy exchange between reality and fantasy in terms of Burtons life and her books. Really, whats better than one amazing artist celebrating another?

That, in fact, was a challenge that initially daunted Rocco. At first it was hard to wrap my head around the idea of illustrating a book about another childrens book artist without just showing her drawing, he recalled. But a lot of Jinnees personality came through as I went through her sketches and books. I suddenly realized that she was the embodiment of The Little House. She had an appreciation for technology and moving forward, but was much more closely tied to a simpler life. To portray her symbolically as her books little house, which was surrounded by daisies, I pictured Jinnee wearing a skirt emblazoned with daisies. And when I learned that she was a dancer, I wanted her dancing across the page as she created her art, and tried to capture the sense of flow and movement across the pages of her own books, and to pay homage to her meticulous sense of design.

Both Rocco and Rinker gained a great deal of insight into Burtons character and work courtesy of her sons, Aris and Michael Demetrios (for whom, respectively, Choo Choo and Mike Mulligan were written) and her daughters-in-law, who gave the pair access to family photos, anecdotes, personal memorabilia, and the authors sketchbooks. Burtons family opened not only Jinnees archives but also their homes and hearts to us, Rinker said. Their support and excitement over this book has not only been tremendously helpful to the process, but also cast a feeling of love and legacy over this project.

Rocco recalled watching Aris react to some of his early illustrations for Big Machines. I wanted to get some feedback and, honestly, his blessing, he said. Ariss emotional reaction to seeing the art was palpable, and I remember him saying, Its like Jinnee is here with us. That, to me, was confirmation that I was on the right track. And he offered several notes that really helped me, including making sure Jinnee was always wearing a silver wedding band, and that the young Aris always sported a cowlick!

Working on Big Machines, art director Cara Llewellyn also felt a similar bond with and responsibility to Burton and her legacy. I am such a big fan of Jinnees work, and this biography expresses her life in such a beautiful way, she said. It was a treat to work with John and Sherrithis was a passion project for us all. We really spent a lot of time thinking deeply about how Jinnee herself would have made this book. It put pressure on us all, but a lovely pressure. It was very special to channel herand become immersed in her world.

The Celebration Continues

Burton fans will notice that the updated editions of Choo Choo and The Little House include some new features. Choo Choo (which was the authors debut book, first published in 1937 with black-and-white illustrations) now has an updated cover treatment, full-color art, and a free audio download of Aris reading the story.

As much of Burtons other work is in full-color, we saw an opportunity to more closely align this book with Mike Mulligan and The Little House, explained HMH v-p and associate publisher Mary Wilcox. The publisher lined up artist Lauren Pettapiece to work with Aris, a sculptor, to colorize Burtons original art. They worked from the palettes Burton had used in her color illustrations for subsequent books to find the treatment most fitting for Choo Choo, Wilcox said. Lauren focused on using color to highlight movement and energy. The challenge was balancing the color and charcoal, where neither overpowers the other, but work in tandem to bring these bustling scenes to life.

For The Little House 75th Anniversary Edition, the publisher inserted peel-off window clings on a perforated sheet in the back of the book, to enable readers to decorate their own little houses. And, Wilcox added, We refreshed the foil on the jacket to match the lovely brightness of the Caldecott Medal. It was the rare opportunity to think about a cover after you know its going to have a medal on it!

Though no additional Burton books are currently scheduled for reissue, Wilcox left the door open for the future: At HMH, we are the proud caretakers of Virginia Lee Burton's legacy, and we will always be working to ensure that her timeless books are in the hands of each new generation."

Big Machines: The Life of Virginia Lee Burton by Sherri Duskey Rinker, illus. by John Rocco. HMH, $17.99 Sept. ISBN 0-544-71557-8

Choo Choo: The Story of a Little Engine That Ran Away by Virginia Lee Burton. HMH, $17.99 Sept. ISBN 978-0-544-74984-9

The Little House 75th Anniversary Edition by Virginia Lee Burton. HMH, $17.99 Oct. ISBN 978-1-328-74194-3
There are few better forms of publicity than landing a spot on the coveted New York Times bestseller list. It's especially notable when a debut, by a largely unknown author, pulls off such a feat. But for Lani Sarem, whose new novel Handbook for Mortals hit #1 on the newspaper's YA hardcover list, it's been a brief, controversial perch at the top. Her achievement caused a firestorm on social media, with members of the young adult writing community claiming the book's sales had been manipulated to force it onto the list. The outcry resulted in the Times backtracking, and removing the title from its list.

The Times sends out an advance copy of its list to publishers and members of the industry on Wednesday evenings, 10 days before the list appears in print. It was on this list that Handbook for Mortals was at #1. After a little more than 24 hours, and various accounts of conversations with booksellers who had received dubious-sounding bulk orders for the book, the paper sent a note to subscribers of the list alerting them to a revision.

In a statement, a New York Times spokesperson told PW: "After investigating the inconsistencies in the most recent reporting cycle, we've decided that the sales for Handbook for Mortals do not meet our criteria for inclusion. We'll be issuing an updated Young Adult Hardcover list for September 3 which will not include that title."

The title also appeared, briefly, at #2 on the paper's list, after the statement was issued about it being dropped. Addressing this, the spokesperson said that "a production error" occurred, but that it was "quickly addressed after hours."

While it's highly unusual for a book to be dropped from the paper's bestseller list, so-called gaming of the list is not new; there are even companies that specialize in manipulating sales to help authors hit the list. The effort is fairly simple, but often costly. Because the Times culls its list from point-of-sale data collected by a select (and secret) group of retailers, books with particularly high sales from these specific outlets have a better chance of hitting the chart. This, according to some YA authorsas well as a few agents and editorsis what happened with Handbook for Mortals, which was released on August 15 by a new publishing arm of the pop culture news website, GeekNation.

Phil Stamper, a YA author who was among the first to take to social media to unmask what he believed to be a false bestseller, said the book started raising flags among those in the YA community right away. Calling the informal YA community "extremely close-knit," Stamper said he and others "know and support" new books and authors. So, when a title no one had heard of landed at #1 on the Times' list, "we were all a little stumped." (The YA writers had seen the book charting in the paper's advance list.)

The theory was that Handbook for Mortals had benefited from the classic approach to gaming the list, landing at #1 thanks to a series of bulk orders from outlets that report their sales to the newspaper. Although the Times tries to ward against thisit puts a symbol next to a book that has been ordered in bulkit can be difficult to stop scammers who know precisely how many titles to order to remain under the paper's radar. This is what Stamper believes those pushing Handbook for Mortals have done.

He said whoever is ordering the book has made "small bulk orders"throughout the countrywhich have "gotten past the New York Times." (The book did not initially appear on the Times' list with the icon denoting it had been ordered in bulk.)

Stamper said he and a team of others who have been investigating the book's rise spoke to a Las Vegas-based bookseller who reported that 29 copies of the title had been ordered at all three of the city Barnes & Noble stores; Stamper noted that if the order had been any bigger "it would have been [considered] corporate sale" by the Times.

One bookseller outside of Las Vegas, who spoke to PW on the condition of anonymity, related a strange order for the book that she had fielded. She said the caller, who was looking to order the book, asked if her store was "a reporting one," referring to the Times. He said he wanted copies of the book for an upcoming event, and insisted that the order needed to be placed on the day he was calling, which was Saturday. He wound up ordering 87 copies.

PW has also heard from sources that another independent bookstore received an order for 1,200 copies.

According to NPD BookScan, the book sold 18,597 copies during the last week, though it did not include Handbook for Mortals on its bestseller list because it did not meet its eligibility requirements.

Jeremy West, a writer and former YA book blogger, has, like Stamper, been investigating the matter. "As soon as I saw the list yesterday, it didnt make sense to me," he told PW. "The lack of social media buzz [for the book], the fact that no one in the young adult community was talking about it or had even heard of it it all sounded fishy."

West said after he started poking around, he wound up speaking with five booksellers who shared similar stories about orders they had taken for the book. "They all said the same thing: someone called and placed a large order or asked about placing a large bulk order 'for an upcoming event.'"

For the author, though, the Twitter uproar is much ado about nothing. And, moreover, a disappointment.

Sarem, contacted by phone, said she has seen some of the backlash online, but believes it's off base. She said she has been promoting the book, for months now, just not in the places that the New York publishing world is accustomed to looking.

Claiming that she has been championing the title at Wizard World events (which are trade shows focused on comics and other pop culture properties), Sarem said the book landed with a lot of buzz, even if the YA community was not aware of it. And, having worked in Hollywood in various capacitiesshe has done some acting, and managed various bands, among other thingsSarem also said she has gotten some invaluable plugs for the book on social media. Among others who have tweeted about the title are former N'Sync band member JC Chasez (who is Sarem's cousin).

Speaking about those who have disparaged the title online and questioned how it could become a bestseller, Sarem said: "It's silly to say I didn't know about this book, so how can it be doing well? We should all be supportive of each other." She then added that she has not read many of the books by some of the YA authors who have disparaged her novel on Twitter, but that doesn't mean she would question their success if they became bestsellers.

NOTE: This story has been updated from its original form to reflect new developments.
Last month, author and former Glee star Chris Colfer set out on a 20-city tour in celebration of Worlds Collide, the sixth and final book in his bestselling The Land of Stories series (Little, Brown). The events took the shape of interactive variety shows, drawing hundreds of fans for trivia, costume contests, stump-the-author games, and more.

Colfer snaps a selfie with the crowd at the kickoff event on July 11 at Barnes & Noble Union Square in New York City.

The winner of the B&N Union Square costume contest takes a page from book one in Colfers series, The Wishing Spell.

Colfer and illustrator Brandon Dorman present a fan with a portrait, at the Byrd Theater in Richmond, Va. Photo: bbgb books

Colfer shows Jimmy Fallon a drawing of his childhood alien sighting, on The Tonight Show.

Mother Goose was on the scene at the Mystic Theatre in Petaluma, Calif. Photo: Copperfields Books

The author chats about the conclusion to his middle-grade fantasy series, on Live with Kelly and Ryan.

Colfer with YouTube star Audrey Nethery at the Youth Performing Arts School in Louisville, Ky. Photo: Carmichaels Bookstore

A crowd of more than 600 gathers to see Colfer at the Wentz Concert Hall in Chicago. Photo: Andersons Bookshop

Fans face off in a costume contest at the Coolidge Corner Theater in Boston. Photo: Brookline Booksmith
A new bookstore readies to open in upstate New York; Orlando indie to close; Oakland bookstore changes ownership; Portugal's chic new bookstore; and more.

Upstate New York to Get a New Store: Rough Draft Bar & Books, a bookstore and craft beer bar, will open in Kingston later this year.

Florida Bookstore to Close: Bookmark It in Orlando will close after three-and-a-half years in business.

Ohio Children's Bookstore to Move: Cover to Cover Books for Young Readers in suburban Columbus is moving.

California Bookstore Changes Name: After an ownership change, DIESEL, a Bookstore, in Oakland reopens next week as East Bay Booksellers.

Genre Bookstore Named San Diego's Best: Mysterious Galaxy Books was voted "Best Bookstore" by San Diego A-List readers.

Portugal's Theatrical Bookstore: An old theater hall from 1910 in the city of Porto has been converted into a chic bookstore and restaurant.
Non-stop meetings and packed booths were two constants at the Beijing International Book Fair (BIBF), which runs from August 23 to 27. Overseas publishers were both pleased by the continued growth of the Chinese book market and intrigued by the vast opportunities (and segments) that await them.

At Sourcebooks booth, Chinas growing interest in child development was (thanks in part to the country's relaxed one-child policy) could be seen in the enthusiastic response to Marianne Richmonds Big Brother, Big Sister, and the soon-to-be-published Be Brave Little One. One thing that is obvious to me as a first-time exhibitor is that people just want to sit down and do business at this fair. They know what sells in this market, and what exactly they want to publish, said production director Sarah Cardillo, who was also in town to touch base and reach out to print manufacturers in China.

The Chinese book market, said Jessica Kingsley who has an eponymous London-based publishing house, has become much more sophisticated, especially when it comes to certain nonfiction categories. Publishers are now looking for titles on autism, anxiety, and dementia, for instance, because there is now the perception to see and understand the issues and challenges related to these conditions," said Kinglsey, whose house specializes in titles on, among other subjects, autism and social work. "There is also a demand for books on understanding childrens emotional development especially with regards to dealing with peer and societal pressures. Higher divorce rate in modern China, added Kingsley, has resulted in more interest in books on helping children to understand, and cope with, divorce.

Meanwhile, Chinas rising middle class with higher disposable income is boosting the demand for books on lifestyle and cooking. For Denise Lie, rights director at London-based Ryland Peters & Small, her first BIBF had already shown clearly the markets interest in interior design (two serious enquiries on the first day) and mind-body-spirit (more on general titles instead of esoteric ones). Interestingly, our baking titles have also attracted many buyers, said Lie, whose craft list has been selling well in China.

But tapping into the huge Chinese book market can be a matter of timing. Diamond Book Distributors Kuo-yu Liang, v-p of sales and marketing, was back at BIBF after a 10-year hiatus. I have been hearing success stories from last years exhibitors about their sales after years of relationship-building in China, and I decided to give it another try." Liang is going to capitalize on the upcoming Shanghai ComicCon to bring more exposure to his products, which are mostly American graphic novels.

London-based ACA Publishing, on the other hand, is a rare breed of exhibitor at BIBF (and to the Chinese book market). It made history as the first foreign publishing company to be allowed to set up an office in China back in 1989 and now focuses on China-focused content in English. There is a lot of demand for China-related titlesand this is an under-served market with plenty of potential, said publisher Ying Mathieson, adding that winners of the Mao Dun Literary Prize (for Chinese fiction), for instance, do not get enough publicity and exposure internationally.

For some exhibitors, like Montreal-based Phidal Publishing, BIBF presents licensing opportunities. We license characters from companies such as Disney, DreamWorks, and Nickelodeon, and we create our own character-based content," he said. For me, BIBF is a platform to meet buyers from other countries and regions, and to explore new products and markets.

Whatever the goal for attending BIBF, exhibitors were definitely looking forward to the next edition, which is tentatively scheduled for August 22 to 26.
Books from independent presses and university presses continue to offer some of the most exciting writing available today. These houses are not afraid to publish works in translation; to offer new ways of thinking about science, history, and economics; or to use a book as a way to make a statement on an important topic such as the environment. They even give a new gloss to memoirs. This year we considered more than 200 submissions from small presses and university presses, along with recommendations from booksellers and PWs reviews editors, to come up with our picks for some of the best books for adults and children that are just out or scheduled to publish later this fall.

Atlantic Monthly

(dist. by PGW)

See What I Have Done

Sarah Schmidt (Aug., $26, hardcover)

Author tour, an August Indie Next pick, a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers selection, a PW Fall Writer to Watch

This debut novel about Lizzie Borden received a starred PW review for being equally compelling as a whodunit, whydunit, and historical novel. The review continues, The book honors known facts yet fearlessly claims its own striking vision.

Catapult

Reservoir 13

Jon McGregor (Oct., $16.95, trade paper)

New York City appearances, advertising on social media, longlisted for the Man Booker Prize

The prize-winning British novelist tells the story of an English village in the wake of a teenage girls disappearance. To read John McGregors novel Reservoir 13 is to read a thousand tiny poems in quick succession, says David Enyeart at Common Good Books in St. Paul, Minn. In fragments and glimpses of a small village in England, McGregor brilliantly contrasts the urgency of life with the banality of living.

City Lights

(dist. by Consortium)

The Stone Building and Other Places

Asli Erdogan, trans. from the Turkish by Sevinc Turkkan (Nov., $14.95, trade paper)

Profiled in the New Yorker, the subject of PEN International and PEN America advocacy campaigns

In her second work to be translated into English, author and journalist Erdogan offers three interconnected stories and a novella, which feature women whose lives have been interrupted by forces beyond their controlexile, serious illness, or the imprisonment of a loved one. Erdogan, who was imprisoned for four months last year following a failed coup attempt in Turkey, awaits trial on charges that could result in life imprisonment.

Counterpoint

(dist. by PGW)

The People Are Going to Rise Like the Waters upon Your Shore: A Story of American Rage

Jared Yates Sexton (Aug., $26, hardcover)

14-city tour, including the Miami Book Festival

Sextons chronicle of the 2016 election is the first that spoke to me on a visceral level, says Tristan Charles at Parnassus Books in Nashville. Theres a unique value in ignoring postmortems and what-ifs and instead drilling right to the center of America, to the fracturing, raging heart of our nation, and forcing oneself not to look away. The result is a gripping dirge for who we were, who we are, and who we might have been.

Emily Books

(dist. by Consortium)

Mean

Myriam Gurba (Nov., $16.95, trade paper)

Author appearances, excerpts in Autostraddle, Bustle, and Bust

Billed as a nonfiction novel, Mean mixes true crime with memoir, a ghost story, and the coming-of-age tale of a queer, mixed-race Chicana. I am such a gigantic fan, Jill Soloway says of Gurba. Her voice is an alchemy of queer magic, feminist wildness, and intersectional explosion. Shes a gigantic inspiration to my work and the sexiest, smartest literary discovery in Los Angeles.

Graywolf

(dist. by FSG)

Her Body and Other Parties: Stories

Carmen Maria Machado (Oct., $16, trade paper)

Author tour, advertising, 40,000-copy announced first printing

In a starred review, PW calls this an engrossing debut short story collection: Machado creates eerie, inventive worlds shimmering with supernatural swerves. Her stories make strikingly feminist moves by combining elements of horror and speculative fiction with womens everyday crises.

Milkweed

(dist. by PGW)

A Year in the Wilderness: Bearing Witness in the Boundary Waters

Amy and Dave Freeman (Sept., $35, hardcover)

Author tour with 24 stops, advertising, book trailer by documentarian Nate Ptacek, 7,500-copy announced first printing

The Forest Service describes the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness as a unique area located in the northern third of the Superior National Forest in Northeastern Minnesota. Amy and Dave Freeman spent a year there to show the value of wilderness. In this extraordinary book, notes former vice president Walter Mondale, they have done us all an invaluable service, offering a wonderfully compelling testimony for the value of wild places and the creatures who inhabit them.

New Directions

(dist. by Norton)

The Book of Disquiet

Fernando Pessoa, edited by Jeronimo Pizarro, trans. from the Portuguese by Margaret Jull Costa (Aug., $24.95, hardcover)

Tributes in Chicago, New York, and San Francisco; printed in embossed cloth with iconic design by Peter Mendelsund; 6,000-copy print run

In a starred and signed PW review, Marcela Valdes describes this book as the Portuguese cousin of Bartleby, the Scrivener and Waiting for Godot. Although it was composed on the eve of World War I and in the wars aftermath, it was first published in 1982, 47 years after Pessoas death.

New Press

(dist. by Ingram)

Dawn of Detroit: A Chronicle of Slavery and Freedom in the City of the Straits

Tiya Miles (Oct., $27.95, hardcover)

Author appearances, including launch event at Source Booksellers in Detroit; dedicated freelance publicist; 12,500-copy announced first printing

Miles, a MacArthur Genius Grant recipient, places Detroits history in a more expansive frame than its 20th-century boom and decline, emphasizing racial inequalities far in advance of the Great Migration, notes PW in a starred review.

New York Univ.

Gilded Suffragists: The New York Socialites Who Fought for Womens Right to Vote

Johanna Neuman (Sept., $24.95, hardcover)

Author events, including at the 92nd Street Y in New York City; advertising; 10,000-copy announced first printing

This chronicle of how New Yorks most glamorous womenwith last names such as Astor, Belmont, Harriman, and Vanderbiltaided the womens suffrage movement is being published to coincide with the hundredth anniversary of womens winning the right to vote in New York (Nov. 6, 1917).

Oneworld

(dist. by PGW)

Democracy and Its Crisis

A.C. Grayling (Oct., $21.99, hardcover)

Author appearances, including launch event in New York City hosted by PEN America; 10,000-copy announced first printing

Prompted by the most recent presidential election in the U.S. and Brexit in the U.K., Grayling, who has frequently appeared on CNN and The Colbert Report, investigates why the institutions of representative democracy have been unable to hold up against forces they were designed to manage, and why it matters.

OR

(dist. by PGW)

Desperately Seeking Self-Improvement: A Year Inside the Optimization Movement

Carl Cederstrom and Andre Spicer (Nov., $22, trade paper)

Author appearances in New York City

In two parallel journals, the authors of The Wellness Syndrome dive inside the burgeoning self-optimization movement, which seeks to transcend the limits placed on us by being merely human. They devote each month to a different way of improvingJanuary to productivity; June to sex; and September to money.

Pegasus

(dist. by Norton)

Marita: The Spy Who Loved Castro

Marita Lorenz (Sept., $27.95, hardcover)

Soon to be a motion picture starring Jennifer Lawrence, 25,000-copy announced first printing

Born in Germany at the outbreak of WWII and incarcerated at Bergen-Belsen, Marita Lorenz met and fell in love with Fidel Castro, whom she was recruited by the CIA to assassinate. Marita herself calmly tells you shes been shot at, poisoned, firebombed, drugged, pistol-whipped, and dumped in the Amazon rainforest to die. If not an entirely glamorous life, it has certainly been one with all peaks and no valleys, Vanity Fair writes.

Soho

(dist. by PRH)

Solar Bones

Mike McCormack (Sept., $25, hardcover)

Advertising, longlisted for the Man Booker Prize, winner of the Goldsmiths Prize and BGE Irish Book Awards Novel of the Year, 50,000-copy announced first printing

Mike McCormacks Solar Bones, with its one calmly unspooling sentence, hearkens back to the great modernist novels, but also moves forward from the present with all the urgency and anxiety of our fraught new century, writes Stephen Sparks, co-owner of Point Reyes Books in Point Reyes Station, Calif. This is the kind of novel a reader yearns for, one that illuminates what it means to be here now. Its nothing short of a masterpiece.

Tachyon

(dist. by PGW)

The Emerald Circus

Jane Yolen (Nov., $15.95, trade paper)

Author tour in New England, national advertising, 10,000-copy announced first printing

Yolens first full adult collection in a dozen years brings together new and previously uncollected stories. They include the story of a Scottish academic who unearths ancient evil in a fishing village and one of Emily Dickinson sailing away in a starship made of light. Introduction by Holly Black.

Tin House

(dist. by Norton)

The Glass Eye: A Memoir

Jeannie Vanasco (Oct., $15.95, paper)

Author tour, Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers selection, ABA Indies Introduce pick, Indie Next pick, 20,000-copy announced first printing

It would be easy to describe this book as a memoir about grief and mental illness, but The Glass Eye is the sort of book that requires more than your standard pat descriptors, says Emily Ballaine at Green Apple Books in San Francisco. Jeannie Vanasco has crafted a book that will worm its way under your skin, a book that will not give you easy answers or heartwarming takeaways.

Two Dollar Radio

(dist. by Consortium)

They Cant Kill Us Until They Kill Us: Essays

Hanif Abdurraqib (Nov., $16.99, trade paper with gatefold)

Buzzfeed excerpt, 10,000-copy announced first printing

A former columnist at MTV news uses music and culture as a lens through which to view our world so that we might better understand ourselves and our times. In a starred review, PW says that these new and previously published essays are filled with honesty, providing the reader with the sensation of seeing the world through fresh eyes.

Univ. of California

A History of the World in Seven Cheap Things: A Guide to Capitalism, Nature, and the Future of the Planet

Raj Patel and Jason W. Moore (Oct., $24.95, hardcover)

Five-city author tour, radio tour, print and online advertising

Nature, money, work, care, food, energy, and lives: these are the seven things that have made our world and will shape its future. Its remarkably rare that authors manage to find a really useful new lens through which to view the worldbut Patel and Moore have done just that, writing an eye-opening account that helps us see the startling reality behind what we usually dismiss as the obvious and everyday, Bill McKibben comments.

Children's

Black Sheep

(dist. by Consortium)

What Is Hip-Hop?

Eric Morse, with Nelson George, illus. by Anny Yi (Sept., $15.95, hardcover)

Cross-promotion in music markets with Nelson Georges simultaneously published novel, To Funk and Die in LA; videos of 3-D clay figures being created for the book; events with a focus on story time; 10,000-copy announced first printing

PWs review of this colorful, G-rated picture-book look at hip-hop says, Morse and Yi (the team behind What Is Punk?) highlight hip-hops cultural hegemony via an impressively encyclopedic parade of rhyming biographies. Yis meticulously styled clay figures are as magical as in the previous book. Ages 37.

Top Shelf

(dist. by Diamond)

Home Time: Under the River, Book One

Campbell Whyte (Aug., $24.99, hardcover) )

From the Australian comics creator comes this tale of twins Lily and David, who dont agree on much, except that the last summer before high school is the perfect time for relaxing. But their plans are destroyed when they and their friends fall into a river and wake up in a village of fantastic creatures. Shaun Tan calls this graphic novel beautifully realized, funny, smart, weird and surprisingly epic in scope. Home Time is also just plain brilliant. Ages 13up.

Tu

I Am Alphonso Jones

Tony Medina, illus. by Stacey Robinson and John Jennings (Oct., $18.95, trade paper)

Author and illustrator appearances, social media advertising, teaching guide and discussion questions available, 15,000-copy announced first printing

In this graphic novel about police brutality, an off-duty police officer mistakenly thinks a clothes hanger is a gun and shoots Alfonso. The teen wakes up in the afterlife on a ghost train guided by other victims of police shootings. Medina, Robinson, and Jennings do for us what the ghosts do for Alfonso in their story, says Gene Luen Yang, National Ambassador for Young Peoples Literature. They help us to see. They help us to remember. They help us to understand. A must-read. Ages 12up.

This story has been updated with new information on some titles.
Since the Affordable Care Act's major requirements took effect in 2014, insurers have had trouble finding their sea legs in the individual health insurance market, which now provides coverage to about 22 million Americans. The individual market includes plans offered on the ACA's marketplaces and other, unsubsidized plans subject to the ACA's regulations.

Inexperience with ACA regulations and last-minute rule changes played a role in health insurers mispricing plans early on, leading to losses for insurance companies and subsequent premium increases. Heading into 2018, insurers face new uncertainties that include lack of clarity on how the Trump administration will enforce Obama-era policies, which could affect insurers' pricing and participation decisions. As a result, some insurers are exiting the marketplaces, and others have proposed rate increases of 30 percent or more.

Rising prices could leave some consumers unable to afford coverage. Declines in insurer participation could leave people with limited choices, and, in some cases, with no access to insurance. Many Americans find this unacceptable.

In September, Congress will hold bipartisan hearings to discuss options to stabilize the individual market and ensure that all Americans have access to affordable coverage. Here are four options they could consider.

Incentivize Enrollment

When more people enroll, it is easier for insurers to accurately set premiums, and insurers' administrative costs are spread over a larger base. People who are on the fence about enrollingand might need an additional incentivealso tend to be healthier and have lower costs. Research that my colleagues and I conducted for the Commonwealth Fund identified several options that Congress could consider that would expand enrollment and reduce premiums by bringing healthier people into the market. For example, extending tax credits to those with incomes above the current threshold of 400 percent of federal poverty level could cover an additional 1.2 million people and cause premiums to drop by 2.6 percent. In another scenario, offering young adults an additional $50 per month in tax credits could insure just under a million additional enrollees. Congress could also set aside resources to raise awareness of the coming open enrollment period and encourage Americans to sign up.

Invest in Reinsurance

Reinsurance is a form of insurance for insurers that offsets some or all of the costs in the event that an enrollee has an unusually expensive condition. Because reinsurance reduces the risk that insurers bear for covering the sickest individuals, it can reduce premiums. From 2014 to 2016, the ACA included a temporary reinsurance program funded through a tax on individual and employer health plans. Recent GOP plans to repeal and replace the ACA have included federal funding ( PDF ) that could be used for reinsurance. Because reinsurance would reduce premiums, it would also reduce federal spending on premium tax credits. For this reason, the federal government agreed to help finance a reinsurance program in Alaska, and has encouraged ( PDF ) other states to consider the Alaska model.

Fund Cost-Sharing Reductions

Insurers are facing uncertainty regarding the fate of federal funding for cost-sharing reductions, which are reductions to out-of-pocket costs that insurers must offer to low-income marketplace enrollees. While cost-sharing reductions are required under the ACA, Congress has not appropriated money to fund them, and there is pending litigation over the issue. If the federal government opts not to fund cost-sharing reductions, insurers could be left with a $10 billion ( PDF ), unfunded requirement to subsidize low-income enrollees. Such an outcome could lead to premium increases, and may cause some insurers to exit the market altogether.

Insurers also face uncertainty regarding whether the ACA's individual mandate, which requires most people to obtain coverage or pay a penalty, will be enforced. If not, healthy individuals would have little incentive to enroll, causing premiums to rise by as much as 20 percent, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Other approaches to incentivizing enrollment, such as imposing penalties for those who fail to maintain continuous coverage, could also be considered. However, the CBO has cautioned ( PDF ) that continuous coverage requirements could dampen enrollment over time by making it harder for those with a coverage gap to re-enter the market.

The debate over whether the ACA should be repealed, repaired, replaced or improved may continue for some time. For now, the ACA is the law of the land, and many Americans rely on its individual insurance market for access to affordable health care. While a combination of factors has led to instability in this market, policymakers could take immediate steps to improve the situation by encouraging enrollment, making targeted investments to reduce premiums, funding cost-sharing reductions and enforcing the individual mandate.

Christine Eibner is the Paul O'Neill-Alcoa chair in policy analysis at the nonprofit, nonpartisan RAND Corporation and a professor at Pardee RAND Graduate School.

This commentary originally appeared on The Hill on August 25, 2017. Commentary gives RAND researchers a platform to convey insights based on their professional expertise and often on their peer-reviewed research and analysis.
Family and friends of a Chinese woman who was abducted while studying at the University of Illinois said this week they wont give up on finding the missing woman.

The boyfriend of Yingying Zhang expressed frustration at the pace of the search. With the missing 26-year-old womans parents standing nearby during a news conference, Xiaolin Hou said her family and friends feel helpless because they dont know when their ordeal will end.

Authorities believe shes dead, though her body has not been found.

Yingying is a kind, optimistic, diligent and brave girl, Hou said. She would not give up on anything or anybody as long as there was a glimmer of hope. So we will never give up on her, either.

Hou said investigators shared good news about the evidence theyve collected, but no details and no breakthrough yet on where Zhang may be.

During the news conference, Zhangs mother, Lifeng Ye, cried quietly on the shoulder of her son, Xinyang, who traveled with her to Champaign from China. She did not speak to reporters.

Zhang, the daughter of a working-class factory driver from China, disappeared on June 9, just weeks after arriving at the Urbana-Champaign campus in central Illinois where she was doing research in agricultural sciences and was expected to begin work on her doctorate in the fall.

Brendt Christensen is accused of kidnapping Zhang in Urbana, 225 kilometers southwest of Chicago. Investigators said Zhang was abducted after she left campus to sign an apartment lease. They believe Christensen lured her into his car.

Christensen, 28, who earned a masters degree in physics from the university this year, has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Hou said Zhangs father walks to his daughters old apartment and stays there for hours.

I never asked him why. But I think this is the only way he has now to cure his wound, Hou said.

The family has raised USD137,000 toward the cost of a private investigator to find Zhangs body, which Hou estimates may cost up to $1 million. He said the family hasnt hired a private investigator yet because it doesnt want to interfere with police investigation. AP
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Afghan forces were on high alert outside a Shi'ite mosque in the capital, Kabul, after militants stormed the building during Friday Prayers. Police said two suicide bombers blew themselves up, leaving many civilians dead and wounded. (RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan)
A senior Afghan health official says at least 20 people were killed after militants stormed a Shi'ite mosque in the capital, Kabul, in an attack claimed by the extremist group Islamic State (IS).

Mohammad Salim Rasouli, chief of Kabul's hospitals, said at least 50 more were wounded, many of them children, in the hours-long attack on August 25.

Police said two suicide bombers blew themselves up at the entrance of the Imam Zaman Mosque in Kabuls Qala-e Najara area, while two other attackers stormed the building.

Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish told RFE/RL that the "terrorist attack" took place at around 1:20 p.m. as worshippers gathered for Friday Prayers.

Danish said two police officers were among the dead.

A cleric who was leading the service in the mosque was among those killed, according to reports.

Meanwhile, police official Mohammad Sadique Muradi said the hours-long attack ended with all four attackers dead.

Two of them blew themselves up and another two were later shot by Afghan security forces, Muradi said.

Kabul police spokesman Abdul Basir Mujahid said a suicide bomber "detonated himself" inside the mosque.

An unidentified police official cited witnesses as reporting a blast followed by gunfire.

Other witnesses said that gunmen threw grenades before entering the mosque.

The IS-linked Amaq news agency said the group's affiliate in Afghanistan claimed responsibility for the attack.

Shi'a are a minority in Afghanistan who have been threatened and attacked in the past by various Sunni militant groups -- including IS and Taliban extremists.

Last month, IS militants attacked the Iraqi Embassy in Kabul, killing two local employees, and later threatened to attack Shi'ite places of worship in Afghanistan.

And on August 1, at least 32 people were killed and more than 60 injured by a suicide bomber and a gunman who targeted a Shi'ite mosque in the western city of Herat in an attack claimed by the IS group.

The August 25 assault comes after President Donald Trump outlined earlier this week the new U.S. strategy for the war-torn country.

It also underscores increased insecurity in Afghanistan as a resurgent Taliban steps up offensives across the country.

With reporting by AP, Reuters, AFP, and dpa
Azerbaijani authorities have sent the director of the independent Turan news agency to nearly three months of detention pending trial on tax-evasion and abuse-of-power charges.

The director, Mehman Aliyev, had been detained by the authorities a day earlier, about two weeks after the Tax Ministry said it was initiating a criminal tax-evasion probe into Turan, which has often reported critically of the government and its leaders.

Turan, in an August 25 statement on its website, announced it would be suspending operations starting on September 1 in view of Aliyev's arrest and the freezing of the news agency's bank accounts.

The authorities' actions drew immediate rebuke from international rights groups and foreign leaders.

Thorbjorn Jagland, the secretary-general of the Council of Europe, called on Azerbaijan to "fully abide by its commitments to European Convention on Human Rights" and to "avoid yet another case of unjust deprivation of liberty, which has no place in a democratic society."

In a Twitter post, U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (Democrat-Maryland) called the charges against Aliyev "a tremendously troubling development," adding that "Azerbaijanis deserve a free and open press."

Reporters Without Borders said the case was based on "trumped-up charges."

"The authorities are stepping up the pressure on Turan because they have been unable to force it to cooperate," said Johann Bihr, the head of RSF's Eastern Europe and Central Asia desk.

"Mehman Aliyev is one of journalism's pioneers in Azerbaijan. His only crime is to have headed the country's last independent media outlet. We demand his immediate release and the withdrawal of all the politically motivated charges against Turan," he added.

Marc Behrendt, director of Eurasia programs at U.S.-based Freedom House, said the "charges against Mehman Aliyev and now his pretrial detention are part of Azerbaijan's effort to silence independent journalism and all critical voices."

On August 7, officials launched a tax-evasion investigation into Turan, alleging the agency owed 37,000 manats ($21,500) in taxes for 2014-16.

Aliyev on August 18 told RFE/RL that authorities had frozen all of Turan's bank accounts amid the criminal probe, which the news agency said was politically motivated.

The news outlet, which was established in 1990, publishes reports in Azeri, English, and Russian and cooperates with leading international news agencies.

It has been a critic of President Ilham Aliyev, who has ruled the oil-producing South Caucasus country of nearly 10 million people since shortly before the death of his father, Heidar Aliyev, in 2003.

In its August 25 statement, Turan said it hoped in the "near future" to resume operations using its "own resources and enthusiasm."

Turan quoted Aliyev's lawyer, Fuad Agayev, as saying on August 24 that the director had voluntarily gone to the Tax Ministry's Department of Tax Crimes office for questioning before he was detained and taken to the Yasamal district police department.

Western governments and international rights watchdogs have criticized Baku for clamping down on independent media outlets, journalists, and opposition politicians and activists. The president has denied the allegations against his government.

In 2014, Azerbaijan criminalized defamation on the Internet, and last year it made online defamation of the president a criminal offence punishable by imprisonment.

With reporting by Khadija Ismayilova in Baku, Turan, and AFP
The Kremlin appears to be losing patience with Chechen Republic head Ramzan Kadyrovs manner of retaliation against manifestations of public dissent.

On August 18, according to the independent publication Novaya Gazeta, the Russian presidential administration intervened to ban a planned orchestrated display of repentance by 162 residents of a settlement on the outskirts of Grozny who had addressed a public complaint to Russian Prosecutor-General Yury Chaika about perceived violations during the trial of two young local men.

The two men in question, Magomed Taramov and Djamalay Tazbiyev, were apprehended in January on suspicion of involvement in a series of attacks on police officers in Grozny one month earlier. They say they were subjected to beatings and electric shocks to induce them to confess that they had been preparing since June 2016 to travel to Syria to sign up with the militant group Islamic State (IS). In court, both categorically denied any such intention.

Undeterred by Kadyrovs track record of pressuring those who question decisions taken by the Chechen authorities to apologize for doing so and recant, the population of the settlement of Krasnaya Turbina came out unanimously in support of the two young men.

Some 162 residents signed a 15-page complaint that was mailed to Prosecutor-General Chaika on August 16. In that missive, they detailed alleged procedural violations during the pretrial investigation and trial, and demanded that criminal charges be brought against those responsible. They also affirmed their collective aspiration, as residents of a Russian Federation subject, to live in compliance with the law, and we also want the court case against these young men to be conducted in accordance with the law and not according to some clan or interdepartmental precepts.

That criticism of Kadyrovs alleged thugs was perceived as all the more damning, Novaya Gazeta reports, because Krasnaya Turbina was one of very few Chechen settlements that steadfastly remained loyal to Moscow during the wars of 1994-96 and 1999-2000 rather than side with the pro-independence Chechen resistance.

Within 24 hours, Magomed Taramovs father, Salman, and Djamalay Tazbiyevs uncle, Magomed, were taken by police to a meeting with Chechen parliament Chairman Magomed Daudov and First Deputy Interior Minister Apti Alaudinov, during which, according to Novaya Gazeta, they were first viciously beaten then forced to watch the two young men being tortured.

Novaya Gazeta immediately wrote to Russian President Vladimir Putin to alert him to the actions of the Chechen leadership.

On August 18, police reportedly began systematically rounding up and pressuring the signatories of the letter to Chaika. The apparent objective was to stage an orchestrated, televised mass act of repentance that evening at which the signatories would declare with one voice that they had been misled and were unaware of the content of the missive to Chaika when they signed it. Critics of Kadyrov have been subjected to such public humiliation on numerous occasions in recent years.

Some 70 signatories to the Chaika letter were even ordered onto buses that were to transport them to Grozny for that public spectacle. But no such mass confession took place. Instead, Kheda Saratova, a member of Kadyrovs much-maligned Human Rights Council, told journalists that some 70 Krasnaya Turbina residents had spontaneously traveled to Grozny of their own volition to meet with her.

Saratova was subsequently tasked by Mikhail Fedotov, who heads Putins Human Rights Council, to determine whether there was any truth to the complaints that Salman Taramov and Magomed Tazbiyev had been beaten.

The official Chechen website chechnyatoday.com quoted her as saying on August 19 that the two men assured her that police did not resort to any unauthorized methods against them. Saratova also claimed that the signatories to the complaint to Chaika were not aware of the wording.

So why did the Chechen authorities abandon their plans for a stage-managed public mass confession -- a decision that presumably could only have been taken by Kadyrov personally? Novaya Gazeta journalist Yelena Milashina suggests that the Kremlin intervened only because Kadyrov accused General Igor Khvostikov, who was named in March 2016 to head the Federal Security Service (FSB) directorate for Chechnya, of complicity in the complaint to Chaika. Kadyrov reportedly refused to believe either Khvostikovs denial of involvement or similar assurances by Khvostikovs superior, FSB Director Aleksandr Bortnikov, who then presumably requested that the Kremlin rein in Kadyrov.

Moscow has followed up by reaching out to Taramovs and Tazbiyevs contemporaries. Speaking on August 23 at the grave of Kadyrovs assassinated father, Akhmed-hadji Kadyrov, to mark what would have been his 66th birthday, federal Minister for the North Caucasus Lev Kuznetsov made what he termed an appeal to the young guys. Kuznetsov praised the work of rebuilding Chechnya that the elder Kadyrov embarked on in 2000 following his appointment by Putin as republic head and stressed the need for the younger generation to continue it, given that the quality of their lives will depend on that input. He did not, however, appear to speak with the same fervor of Ramzan Kadyrovs continuation of the process his father began.

Meanwhile, several Grozny residents have been quoted by the news portal Caucasian Knot as saying they approve of the unprecedented support for the younger Taramov and Tazbiyev shown by their fellow villagers.

The views expressed in this blog post do not necessarily reflect those of RFE/RL.
There is more than just one Russian world.

This week, the prominent Russian sociologist and dissident Igor Eidman, who resides in Germany, started a Facebook group aimed at countering Kremlin propaganda in that country.

"We are the Russian speakers of Germany," he wrote in the post announcing the group. "And we are outraged that the Putin regime is attempting to speak in our name."

And Eidman isn't the only Russian living abroad who is representative of the Other Russian World.

In Riga, Anton Lysenkov, a former journalist for Lenta.ru, has started a smart online magazine called Spektr that is dedicated to countering the narratives on Russian state television and providing Russian speakers in the Baltics with honest and high-quality reporting, analysis, and commentary in their native language.

Galina Timchenko and her team at the Riga-based Meduza news site are likewise performing a similar service.

And then there is State Duma Deputy Ilya Ponomaryov, the only Russian lawmaker to vote against the annexation of Crimea.

He now resides in Kyiv, where he not only pushes back against Russian propaganda but has also become a constructive voice on Ukrainian politics as well.

The list can go on. As Russia's best and brightest minds emigrate in increasing numbers, they are often making their new homes in places like the Baltics and Ukraine.

They're speaking out against Vladimir Putin's regime, making constructive contributions to their new homes, and demonstrating that Russians abroad are not a monolithic pro-Kremlin bloc.

And as this trend continues, the term "Russky mir" is taking on a whole new -- and much less menacing -- meaning.

Keep telling me what you think on The Power Vertical's Twitter feed and on our Facebook page.
Georgian police have arrested and charged two gay-rights activists with hooliganism and civil disobedience.

Levan Berianidze and Tornike Kusiani, members of the Movement for Equality, were arrested in the resort city of Batumi on August 25.

A court later released the two activists from detention.

Ana Mdinaradze, a lawyer for the two men, said her clients were confronted and then physically assaulted by several unidentified men.

She said police officers at the scene held her clients as they were beaten by the unknown men.

Members of the Equality Movement have accused law enforcement of abuse of power and homophobia.

Although homosexuality and gender-change are legal in Georgia, society's view of the LGBT minority remains negative.

In October, a 34-year-old Georgian transgender woman died in a Tbilisi clinic after succumbing to injuries she suffered in an attack.

Zizi Shekiladze was hit several times with a concrete bar and her throat was slashed by a blade several times in the Georgian capital.

In 2013, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) activists who tried to carry out a gay-pride march in Tbilisi were severely beaten by members of antigay groups.

* This story has been amended to correct the spelling of Zizi Shekiladze's surname and to remove a mention of her birth name.
TBILISI -- Police in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, have detained 10 protesters in front of the Georgian Railway (GR) office, after a brief brawl.

The Interior Ministry said the persons detained on August 25 are facing administrative charges of minor hooliganism and resistance to police.

The brawl took place after protesters tried to enter the GR office by force.

The protesters, some of whom have been on hunger strike for days, say the GR officials had threatened to fire two railway workers in response to their demand to compensate commuting expenses, which had dramatically increased after the employer moved them to a distant point to work.

The two workers launched their hunger strike in front of the Georgian Railway office on August 15, demanding the GR to return them to the locations where they had previously worked.

Nineteen union activists joined the hunger strikers later.

GR officials tried to solve the standoff by announcing via media that all employees whose work locations were moved to distant points will be reimbursed for travel and accommodation.

But the unions activists refused to accept the move, saying the situation must be regulated only by a written agreement with both sides' consent and the resignation of the two GR officials who had threatened the two employees.
Qatar restored full diplomatic relations with Iran yesterday, disregarding the demands of Arab nations now locked in a regional dispute with the energy-rich country that it lessen its ties to Tehran.

In announcing its decision, Qatar did not mention the diplomatic crisis roiling Gulf Arab nations since June, when Qatar found its land, sea and air routes cut off by its neighbors over Dohas policies across the Mideast.

However, the move comes just days after Saudi Arabia began promoting a Qatari royal family member whose branch of the family was ousted in a palace coup in 1972.

Qatar has shown it is going to go in a different direction, said Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, a research fellow at the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy at Rice University who lives in Seattle. It could very well be calculated toward reinforcing the point that Qatar will not bow to this regional pressure placed upon it.

Qatars Foreign Ministry announced early Thursday that the countrys ambassador would return to Tehran. Qatar pulled its ambassador in early 2016 after Saudi Arabias execution of a prominent Shiite cleric sparked attacks on two Saudi diplomatic posts in Iran, a move to show solidarity with the kingdom.

Since the diplomatic dispute with Arab nations began in June, Iran has sent food shipments to Qatar. Shiite power Iran also has incorporated the crisis into its regular criticism of the Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia, part of the two Mideast powers long-running proxy war.

There was no immediate reaction from the Arab nations boycotting Qatar. On Wednesday, the Central African nation of Chad announced it would close its embassy in Doha, accusing Qatar of trying to destabilize it from neighboring Libya.

The diplomatic crisis began when Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates cut ties to Qatar over allegations including it funding extremists and being too close to Iran. Qatar long has denied funding extremists. MDT/AP
A group of Muslims left Belarus on August 23 to take part in the annual hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. For the first time, Saudi officials are requiring that a single tour operator organize pilgrims from each country. Forty-four pilgrims are traveling under the auspices of the Muslim Religious Association of Belarus -- the largest-ever delegation from the country to take part in the hajj. Before departing, the pilgrims gathered to pray at a mosque in Minsk.
MINSK -- A court in Minsk has fined two independent journalists after finding them guilty of working without press accreditation.

Correspondents of the Warsaw-based Belsat TV channel, Katsyaryna Andreyeva and Syarhey Kavalyou, were fined 1,150 rubles ($595) each on August 25. The journalists decided not to attend the trial to protest the case against them.

Later on August 25, two other Belsat TV correspondents, Ales Silich and Maria Artsybashava, were to face hearings on the same charge.

The journalism watchdog group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on August 24 condemned what it said was the increasing persecution of independent journalists in Belarus, citing ongoing trials of Belsat TV journalists.

The group said Belsat TV reporters have been the leading victims of persecution, having been targeted by at least 26 prosecutions for working without press accreditation and accumulating more than 10,000 euros in fines so far this year.

RSF stressed that by banning media based abroad like Belsat from opening bureaus in Minsk, the authorities force correspondents to work without accreditation. This, in turn, is used as grounds for prosecutions and fines.

Belarus ranks 153rd out of 180 countries in the watchdog's 2017 World Press Freedom Index.
BISHKEK -- Kyrgyzstan's parliament has approved the president's chief of staff as the next prime minister of the Central Asian state.

Lawmakers overwhelmingly approved Sapar Isakov and his proposed cabinet in a vote on August 25, days after Prime Minister Sooronbai Jeenbekov stepped down so he can run in next month's presidential election.

Of the 102 lawmakers present, 97 voted in favor of Isakov, a member of the ruling Social Democratic Party.

If, as expected, President Almazbek Atambaev signs off on the new government, Isakov will become the seventh prime minister in the last seven years.

The 40-year-old Isakov is a career diplomat and had previously overseen foreign policy at Atambaev's office. He is seen as a loyal ally of Atambaev.

Although Atambaev's presidential term ends in 2017 and he cannot run for reelection, some critics fear he could position himself to become the next prime minister or install an ally in the role.

In 2016, Atambaev proposed constitutional amendments -- approved in a December 2016 referendum -- that boosted the powers of the prime minister.

Opponents fear the amendments are designed to keep him and his allies in power indefinitely.

Although seen as more democratic than its autocratic Central Asian neighbors, Kyrgyzstan is also the most politically volatile in the region.

The Muslim-majority country has experienced two revolutions -- in 2005 and 2010 -- that unseated presidents.

The presidential election in October will see two former prime ministers on the ballot in addition to Jeenbekov, who is a loyal ally of Atambaev.

Controversy has been cast over the election by the August 16 conviction of opposition politician Omurbek Tekebaev on bribery charges, which his party says were aimed at keeping him off the ballot.

Tekebaev was sentenced to eight years in prison in a ruling that bars him from running in the October election and the next presidential vote, due to be held in 2023.

The final list of presidential candidates will be made public on September 10.

With reporting by AFP and Reuters
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has urged Moscow to meet its international commitments to be fully transparent about war games planned for next month in Belarus and western Russia.

"We are going to be watching very closely the course of these exercises," Stoltenberg told journalists in Warsaw on August 25 following talks with Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo.

He was referring to the Zapad 2017 joint Belarusian-Russian military exercises that are expected to take place September 14-20.

"All nations have the right to exercise their forces, but nations should also respect their commitments to transparency," Stoltenberg said.

NATOs secretary-general said that "predictability, transparency, is especially important when we have increased military activity along our borders."

Russia has dismissed concerns over the drills.

Stoltenberg wrapped up his trip to Poland by visiting troops contributing to NATO's enhanced Forward Presence at a military training facility headquarters in Orzysz, 60 kilometers from the border with Kaliningrad, a Russian exclave on the Baltic Sea that borders Poland and Lithuania.

NATO has deployed four multinational battalion-size battlegroups to Poland and the three Baltic states -- Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania -- to protect and reassure Eastern European member states that are worried about increasingly aggressive moves by Russia following its annexation of Ukraines Crimea region in March 2014 and its continued support for separatists in the countrys east.

Stoltenberg told Polish Defense Minister Antoni Macierewicz in Orzysz that the four battlegroups showed "NATO's resolve, NATO's unity" and also sent a "strong message of deterrence," according to the alliance's press office.

"We send a clear signal that an attack on one ally will be regarded as an attack on the whole alliance," he added.

Earlier in Warsaw, Stoltenberg insisted that the troops were deployed to Poland and the Baltic states "to prevent conflict, not to provoke conflict," denying Moscow's repeated accusation that NATO has a Cold War, confrontational mentality toward Russia.

"When tensions run high, dialogue is even more important," he also said. "That's why NATO has always kept channels of communication open with Russia."

At last month's meeting of the NATO-Russia Council -- a forum intended to prevent tensions from escalating -- the alliance and Moscow briefed one another on upcoming military exercises -- NATO's Exercise Trident Javelin 2017 and Russia's Zapad 2017.

Under Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) rules known as the Vienna Document, states conducting maneuvers involving more than 13,000 troops must notify other nations in advance and be open to observers.

Belarus has said Zapad 2017 involves 12,700 troops -- just under the limit. But NATO members suspect many more troops will end up participating.

Belarus earlier this week said it invited observers from seven countries to the drills.

In an interview with AP on August 24, Stoltenberg said that NATO will send two experts in response to Minsk's offer, adding that this is not enough.

He also said that Russia is using "loopholes" to minimize the number of NATO personnel allowed to observe the exercises.

NATO routinely invites Russia to watch its war games as a confidence-building measure, Stoltenberg told AP, but "Russia has never, since the end of the Cold War, invited any NATO ally to observe any of their exercises."

Speaking to the Rossia-24 news channel on August 24, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Aleksandr Fomin described Zapad 2017 as "a regular, routine joint exercise."

"It is not aggression, as some countries see it," Fomin added. "I do not see any reason to be afraid. Everything, as usual, will be open and friendly."

A NATO official earlier this week told RFE/RL that greater transparency is important to "prevent misperceptions and miscalculations" in response to military exercises.

Russia and Belarus are choosing a "selective approach" to transparency that does not provide observers with opportunities to talk to individual soldiers about the exercises or conduct overflights, this official said.

Lithuanian Defense Minister Raimundas Karoblis warned in June that Moscow might use the maneuvers as cover for an aggressive troop buildup on NATO's eastern flank.

Karoblis said his government estimated that 100,000 Russian troops would be involved in the exercises, rather than the official 12,700.

With reporting by Reuters, AP, Interfax, and Richard Jozwiak in Brussels
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On a visit to Poland, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance will keep a close watch on joint Russian-Belarusian military maneuvers in September. The week-long exercises, called Zapad 2017, have raised concerns in NATO countries with borders near the large-scale troop movements. (Reuters)
Pakistan has strongly rejected U.S. accusations that it is prolonging the war in Afghanistan by harboring terrorists and said the United States should focus its efforts on eliminating militant sanctuaries in Afghanistan.

In a rare statement on August 24 by Islamabad's National Security Committee, which includes Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and his army chiefs, Pakistan repeated its complaint that it is being "scapegoated" by the United States to cover for Washington's own failure to win or settle the war in Afghanistan.

The strongly worded statement reflected the outrage and shock in Pakistan over U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to withdraw aid or downgrade Pakistan's status as a military ally unless it eliminates "agents of chaos, violence, and terror" within its borders that are threatening Afghanistan.

Even opposition leaders in Islamabad have demanded a strong rebuttal from Abbasi.

The committee said Pakistan has participated in and encouraged every peace effort in Afghanistan while waging a campaign against terrorists within Pakistan that has led to the death of "tens of thousands" of soldiers and civilians but produced notable success in reducing violence recently.

"To scapegoat Pakistan will not help in stabilizing Afghanistan," the leaders said, adding that "Pakistan has an abiding interest in peace and stability in Afghanistan" and will continue to seek a negotiated solution to the 16-year war.

The leaders noted that Pakistan has been dealing with costly "blowback" from the long Afghan war, particularly a "deluge of refugees, flow of drugs and arms, and more recently...terrorist safe havens in eastern Afghanistan from where anti-Pakistan terrorist groups continue to operate and launch attacks inside Pakistan."

"We would like to see effective and immediate U.S. military efforts to eliminate sanctuaries harboring terrorists and miscreants on Afghan soil, including those responsible for fomenting terror in Pakistan," the leaders said.

In rejecting the U.S. allegation that Pakistan has provided safe harbor to the Afghan Taliban, which the United States claims is close to elements in Pakistan's military and intelligence services, the leaders said Islamabad has been "indiscriminate" in pursuing "all terrorist networks" and has "sacrificed tens of thousands of troops and civilians in this fight."

They said Pakistan has suffered $120 billion in economic damages during its antiterror campaign and demanded that Washington provide more "understanding and recognition of our efforts" and "sacrifice."

Pakistan estimates that nearly 17,000 people have been killed in militant attacks since Islamabad joined the U.S. "war on terrorism" in 2001.

Islamabad's leaders boasted that their own antiterror efforts have been more successful recently than efforts in neighboring Afghanistan, and offered to help Kabul and Washington clear border areas of militants and "reinvigorate" the peace process.

"Pakistans effective counterterrorism operations have clearly proved that the tide of terrorism can be reversed and we are willing to share our experience with both the U.S. and Afghanistan," they said.

The Pakistani leaders also rejected the U.S. bid to get India more involved in Afghanistan, saying India's long-running suppression of Muslims fighting for "self-determination" in Kashmir shows that New Dehli's policies are "inimical to peace."

Washington's claim that it has paid billions of dollars in aid to Pakistan is misleading, the leaders added, because U.S. payments to Pakistan since 2001 have covered only part of the cost of providing ground facilities and air corridors to U.S. troops operating in Afghanistan.

Despite Pakistan's protests, U.S. intelligence agencies say Islamabad has long tolerated the presence of Afghan Taliban and its allied Haqqani network militants in restive southwestern tribal regions while cracking down mainly on militant groups that target Pakistan's own citizens.

With reporting by AP, dpa, and Reuters
Earlier this month, Qishloq Ovozi looked at China's recent worries about its ethnic Kazakhs and now there is information China has similar concerns about its ethnic Kyrgyz citizens.

The Kazakhs and the Kyrgyz are Turkic peoples and the vast majority are Muslims, two distinctions from Han Chinese that are the reasons for Beijing's relatively newfound and increasing unease.

The Kyrgyz and Kazakhs -- in what today is China -- mainly inhabit the western Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, an area that has seen outbreaks of violence connected to another Turkic Muslim group in Xinjiang, the Uyghurs.

Some Uyghurs in China have been waging a campaign for independence for decades.

The appearance of small groups of Uyghurs in the ranks of Islamic extremist formations in the Middle East in the last few years has caused Beijing to reassess the more than 60-year-old Uyghur separatist efforts in Xinjiang as now deriving inspiration from Islam.

The Kyrgyz and Kazakhs are increasingly seen by the Chinese authorities as -- at the least -- potential confederates of the Uyghurs. "For example," says one ethnic Kyrgyz man from China who is now living in Kyrgyzstan, "[Chinese authorities] have detained dozens of young Kyrgyz men since June 2016."

The man was speaking to RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service, known locally as Azattyk, under condition of anonymity because he has relatives in China.

He says the young Kyrgyz men held in China did not appear to have broken any Chinese laws; they were taken away "for reasons such as having a Koran, growing a beard, going to prayers [at mosque], or having made the hajj."

According to this man and other ethnic Kyrgyz of China who spoke with Azattyk and Radio Free Asia (RFA), these "violations" are now sufficient grounds to imprison people, in some cases for up to 17 years.

RFA spoke with a Kyrgyz businessman from Xinjiang who is now living in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan. He noted the "persecution of Uyghurs by the Chinese government is by far the worst [in China]," but "the same kind of persecution is increasingly happening to the [ethnic] Kyrgyz people as well."

Like the "oralmans" of Kazakhstan, who were mentioned in that earlier Qishloq Ovozi report, ethnic Kyrgyz from China -- most of whom live in the Kyzylsu Kyrgyz Autonomous Prefecture that borders Kyrgyzstan -- are welcome to move to Kyrgyzstan and obtain citizenship. The Kyrgyz word for such people is "kairylman."

There are slightly more than 200,000 ethnic Kyrgyz in China, so the number of "repatriates" to Kyrgyzstan is far lower than the number moving from China to Kazakhstan. But the kairlymans have the same problem Kazakhstan's oralmans are having; they sometimes disappear when they cross back into China to see relatives.

It happened in April to 34-year-old Turdakun Abylet, who moved to Kyrgyzstan in 2015 and received citizenship on October 25.

His friend, Muslihiddin Salimov, lives in Bishkek. He tells Azattyk that Abylet went to China in April and was apparently detained at the border. Salimov says no one can tell him what happened to Abylet after that.

Salimov tried calling Abylet's relatives in Xinjiang but he says they were too frightened to answer any questions. "I couldn't find out if he arrived or not, or was detained or not. They wouldn't tell me anything," he said.

Salimov appealed to Kyrgyzstan's Foreign Ministry and Interior Ministry for help in obtaining information about his friend. Eventually Salimov found out that Abylet had been detained for not properly rescinding his Chinese citizenship before he left for Kyrgyzstan.

Since Abylet is still technically a Chinese citizen, according to the Chinese authorities, there appears to be nothing Kyrgyzstan's government can do to have him freed and returned to Kyrgyzstan even though he is a Kyrgyz citizen.

And it's not only kairlymans. According to the businessman who spoke to RFA, "Nearly 100 Kyrgyz students from Kyzylsu [Kyrgyz Autonomous Prefecture in China] who are studying in Kyrgyzstan were detained upon their return to China during the summer vacation."

Many -- perhaps most -- of these Kyrgyz detained in China are sent to the "political education" camps that are appearing throughout Xinjiang.

The Chinese government has enjoyed excellent ties with the governments of the neighboring Central Asian states -- Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan -- since the mid-1990s.

The economic situation in all three of those countries would be far worse without the huge investments and loans China has pumped into Central Asia since the late 1990s, as well as the jobs -- albeit many of them temporary -- that Chinese companies have provided for locals on road, railway, power line, pipeline, and other Chinese-funded projects.

But that has not endeared China to the people of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan.

The people of these three countries see China as a giant that is hungry for their natural resources and their land, while at the same time sending ever more Chinese workers to Central Asia to join in building these road, rail, power line, and pipeline projects, as well as Chinese merchants who take up stalls in Central Asian bazaars.

And Beijing is clearly taking a new view regarding its ties with Central Asia.

Citizens of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan have joined the same Islamic extremist groups that some Uyghurs from Xinjiang have joined. And there is a greater opportunity to practice religion, specifically Islam, in Central Asia than there is in Xinjiang.

That perhaps explains, at least partially, why the Chinese government views Kazakhs and Kyrgyz who moved out of China with suspicion when they return for visits.

The economic ties that bind Central Asia and China are too important for all of those governments to allow relations to be affected by China's campaign against Turkic Muslims in Xinjiang.

But interaction among Central Asians with Chinese appears to be on the wane and, inevitably, news of what's happening to the Kazakhs and Kyrgyz in China will reach the general populations in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, likely causing further damage to their impressions of China.

Azattyk Director Venera Djumataeva contributed to this report. The views expressed in this blog post do not necessarily reflect those of RFE/RL
MOSCOW -- Olga Skripnichenko says she was always trying to talk her husband out of patrolling the site of Russian opposition politician Boris Nemtsov's 2014 assassination, where pro-Kremlin activists have repeatedly vandalized a makeshift memorial and roughed up its volunteer guardians.

"I argued with him so many times trying to convince him not to go," she told RFE/RL in a telephone interview on August 25, her voice trembling as she fought to hold back tears. "He said that he's an honest person, and that he had to go -- that it's important to preserve [Nemtsov's] memory."

The kind of violence that she feared was ultimately visited upon her husband, 36-year-old Ivan Skripnichenko, on August 15. That evening, he was manning the memorial on the Bolshoi Moskvoretsky Bridge, near the Kremlin in central Moscow, when he was punched in the face by an unidentified man, according to Olga and her husband's fellow activists.

A week later, Skripnichenko died in a Moscow hospital where, according to his wife, he underwent surgery to repair the broken nose he suffered in the incident.

While the precise cause of his death remains unclear, Skripnichenko's passing -- first revealed to the public by a fellow activist late on August 24 -- has made him a tragic symbol of what Kremlin critics call a state-sanctioned campaign of violence and harassment against the caretakers of the Nemtsov memorial.

"The activists on duty have had their arms twisted, toes broken, and belongings taken. All sorts of things have happened, but this is a first. But violence was always going to lead to something," Tamara Lugovykh told RFE/RL on August 25 at the memorial, where she was on duty protecting the site.

'And Now, A Death'

Nemtsov, a former first deputy prime minister and a prominent opponent of President Vladimir Putin, was shot dead at close range on the bridge late on February 27, 2015.

A Moscow court in July convicted five men from Russia's North Caucasus region of Chechnya of the murder, though relatives and associates believe the slaying was ordered at a higher level and that the masterminds of the crime must be prosecuted.

The battle over the memorial began in the weeks following the assassination. Moscow authorities have repeatedly removed flowers, signs, and photographs at the site, which has been vandalized frequently as well.

Nemtsov sympathizers accuse the government of trying to erase the memory of the slain Kremlin opponent at a time when critics say the authorities are increasingly stifling dissent. They also say the authorities are turning a blind eye to physical attacks on activists guarding the shrine.

Opposition politician Dmitry Gudkov wrote in a Facebook post that while the August 15 attack on Skripnichenko may not have directly led to his death, "it's impossible not to see a tangential link."

"Over the course of these years (years!) the memorial has yet to be authorized. It's constantly being pillaged by authorities. Not a single thug who has attacked the [memorial's] defender has been even detained, much less convicted. And now, a death," Gudkov wrote.

News of the attack on Skripnichenko first emerged a day later, when a fellow activist wrote in a Facebook post that "some scumbag smashed the face of the person on duty" at the memorial. The post included a photograph of Skripnichenko clutching his nose in apparent pain.

Three days later, Lugovykh wrote on Facebook that the attacker had yelled "So you don't like Putin?"

Lugovykh told RFE/RL that she saw Skripnichenko on August 18 when he dropped by the memorial.

"He had a terribly bruised face and completely black hematomas under his eyes," Lugovykh said, adding that she took a photo of him. "It was all swollen, a terrible sight. I was scared even to take a close-up photograph."

Skripnichenko's wife told RFE/RL that he had filed a report with police after the incident and that doctors examined him on the evening of the attack and gave him a clean bill of health.

But she said the doctors also recommended an operation to "straighten out" his nose. "They said the operation would take 30 minutes and that it was not a big deal," Olga said.

After undergoing the operation on August 22, Skripnichenko became unwell and died at the hospital in the early hours of August 23, she said.

"The doctor said it may have been a blood clot, or it may have been the injuries. They said they didn't know yet," Olga, 37, told RFE/RL on August 25. She added that she expected to see the official autopsy results later that day.

Russia's state-run TASS news agency quoted an official from the Moscow branch of the Investigative Committee as saying that "preliminary information" indicated Skripnichenko died of cardiomyopathy. "A forensic autopsy has been ordered to establish the exact cause of death," the official, Yulia Ivanova, was quoted by TASS as saying.

The agency also reported, citing an unidentified law enforcement source, that a probe had been opened into the attack on Skripnichenko and his death.

'You Can't Fight Them'

Fellow activists described Skripnichenko, known to friends as Vanya, as kind and caring. "Not aggressive in the slightest," Lugovykh said. "He was a sweet and interesting man."

Andrei Margulev, the activist who disclosed Skripnichenko's death to the public in an August 24 tweet, described him as "a very pleasant, charming, kind-hearted person."

"He would always arrive for his duty with small pies or other food and offer it to everyone," Margulev told RFE/RL. "He was very dedicated to whatever he committed to."

Sergei Kireyev, a Nemtsov-memorial activist who spoke to Skripnichenko in detail about the attack, told RFE/RL's Russian Service that the assailant, who was accompanied by a woman, "started behaving aggressively, and pulled off Vanya's hat and threw it onto the stairs."

"Vanya picked up the hat, turned. And here, he punched him in the face," Kireyev said, adding that the assailant was much larger than Skripnichenko.

Kireyev said that Skripnichenko was a good boxer. "Even so, this blow caught him off-guard. And also there was the difference in weights. In short, Vanya ended up on the ground, bleeding," he said.

Olga Skripnichenko told RFE/RL that her husband of nearly three years always stressed the importance of not giving in to those attempting to provoke violence with the memorial's guardians.

"Vanya knew that that you can't fight them," she said.
KAZAN, Russia -- The Supreme Court of Russia's Republic of Tatarstan has freed the jailed coordinator of opposition politician Aleksei Navalny's presidential election campaign staff in Kazan.

A court in Tatarstan's capital had ruled on August 23 that Elvira Dmitriyeva violated regulations governing public gatherings by promoting a demonstration on the Internet and jailed her for 10 days.

But the region's high court threw the ruling out on August 25 and ordered further investigation.

Dmitriyeva's lawyer, Irina Gontsova, told the Supreme Court that her jailing violated rules because she is a member of a district election commission, and that the Internet post at issue was not a call to participate in a public gathering.

In the post, Dmitriyeva called on supporters to pick up leaflets at Navalny's headquarters in Kazan.

Dozens of Navalny campaign workers have been detained or questioned in Moscow and other cities in recent weeks.

Navalny is campaigning for the March 2018 presidential election, in which President Vladimir Putin is widely expected to seek and win a fourth term.

Russian election authorities have said that Navalny will be barred from the ballot because of a financial-crimes conviction that he says was engineered by the Kremlin to punish him for his opposition activity and keep him out of electoral politics.
A rights activist who was attacked while guarding a makeshift memorial to assassinated Russian politician Boris Nemtsov has died in the hospital, friends said.

Ivan Skripnichenko died early on August 23, a day after he was hospitalized for the second time since he was attacked on August 15 by an assailant who broke his nose, Andrei Margulev told RFE/RL on August 25.

"Tragedy at the Memorial," Margulev wrote earlier on Twitter. "Ivan died yesterday."

The attack came on the 900th day after Nemtsov, a former first deputy prime minister and a prominent opponent of President Vladimir Putin, was shot dead at close range on a bridge near the Kremlin on February 27, 2015.

Seeking to honor Nemtsov and keep his memory in the foreground at a time when government critics say the Kremlin is seeking to silence dissent, activists put together a makeshift shrine at the spot where he was killed.

Assailants have frequently vandalized the memorial.

In July, a Moscow court convicted five men from Russia's North Caucasus region of Chechnya of Nemtsov's murder, but relatives and associates believe the killing was ordered at a higher level. They say justice will not be done until the person or people behind the slaying are identified and prosecuted.

As with previous killings, including that of investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya in 2006, government critics have voiced suspicion that the culprits will never face justice because the trail of an honest investigation could lead close to Moscow-backed Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov or Putin's government.

Media reports cited another activist, Tamara Lugovykh, as saying that a "very aggressive" man began shouting at Skripnichenko at the memorial on August 15 and then punched him and broke his nose.

Eyewitnesses said the attacker shouted, "What, you don't like Putin?!"

Skripnichenko, 36, went to the Sklifosovsky emergency hospital in Moscow after the attack and was released the following day, state-run news agency RIA Novosti reported.

Margulev, a fellow activist who has also spent time guarding the Nemtsov memorial, told RFE/RL that Skripnichenko was hospitalized again early on August 22, at a different hospital, and died in an emergency care ward at about 3 a.m. on August 23.

Media reports quoted Margulev as saying that there were no autopsy results yet but that he suspects Skripnichenko may have died as the result of a blood clot.

With reporting by Carl Schreck, RFE/RL's Russian Service, Mediazona, Interfax, and BBC
Wednesdays Typhoon Hato was the largest to hit Macau for over 50 years by all accounts. It turned Macau into a disaster zone.

By now you have no doubt seen the pictures of the devastation caused. The flooding and the extreme winds were terrifying and horrific, and the loss of life yesterday was a tragedy.

Social Media as usual has transcended into a witch-hunt, assigning blame to different parties but mostly the government. Hmmmmm

Amazing

We are breaking from property this week to say THANK YOU to the emergency services who worked through the night and did an AMAZING job cleaning up and enabling relative normality within 24 hours after the very height of the disaster.

Having lived in Macau for 24 years, this was the worst storm I have ever experienced. If you lost windows or a roof yesterday you will also have felt a level of terror that was completely unexpected.

As soon as the eye of the storm had passed, fireman were already clearing the roads, police were battling the dangers outside as they coordinated rescue operations, directed traffic and calmed people down.

There will be plenty of criticism as this disaster is dissected. In the immediate aftermath it is clearly a time for the Macau community to pull together and do whatever we can to help our friends, colleagues and neighbours.

Next week: The new laws, and what they mean to you

Tenancy Management Services: Service available immediately including bill payment, rent payment, maintenance support, property related translation services.

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For further information please call me on +853 2835 2699, E-Mail Juliet@JMLProperty.com or visit our website Www.JMLProperty.com, or Facebook Www.Facebook.Com/JMLRealEstate .

All feedback on this column is welcome, and if you have a property related question please e mail it us at: info@JMLProperty.com and we will respond to you in this column or by return E mail.

Disclaimer  Legal, investment and other advice offered in these articles are the opinion of the individual author. Readers should consult with qualified and experienced lawyers familiar with Macau Law on legal matters, and independent investment advisors on financial matters.

Juliet Risdon is a Director of JML Property and a property investor.

Having been established in 1994, JML Property offers investment property & homes. It specializes in managing properties for owners and investors, and providing attractive and comfortable homes for tenants.

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The Russian Prosecutor-General's Office has objected to Interpols latest refusal to put British-American investor William Browder on an international wanted list, Russias state-run TASS news agency reports.

TASS reported on August 24 that the Russian Interior Ministry in June 2017 sent a so-called "red notice" to Interpol requesting it issue an arrest warrant in connection with Browder's prosecution for conventional crimes.

Nevertheless, [Interpol] refused to put him on the wanted list, citing its previous decision, the prosecutors office said, adding that it has made its objections known to Interpol.

The Council of Europe this year sharply criticized previous Russian attempts to seek Browder's arrest through Interpol, calling the efforts "abuses" of the system by states pursuing "political goals."

The investor was convicted in absentia in 2013 of tax evasion by a Moscow court and sentenced to nine years in prison.

Browder has repeatedly dismissed allegations against him as baseless and politically motivated, and Interpol has rejected several previous Russian requests for his arrest.

Browder, who founded Hermitage Capital, was Russias largest portfolio investor until he fled the country in 2005.

The Russian government has applied pressure on Browder in an international campaign challenging the U.S. Magnitsky Act, a 2012 law that introduced visa bans and asset freezes for Russians alleged to be involved in the death of whistle-blowing accountant Sergei Magnitsky.

Magnitsky, who worked for Browder, accused Russian law enforcement and tax officials of a massive tax scheme prior to his November 2009 death in a notorious Moscow jail. His family and friends say he was tortured, beaten, and denied critical medical treatment shortly before he died.

Based on reporting by The Telegraph and TASS
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
Following the capture of a landmark clock tower, U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces pushed further into the city of Raqqa on August 24. The U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported heavy fighting in the center of the city. The fighting continues despite a UN call for a pause to let thousands of civilians escape the area. (Syrian Democratic Forces via Storyful)
Supporters of Crimean film director Oleh Sentsov have held a rally in Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, to mark two years since his conviction in Russia following a trial that has drawn international condemnation.

The Kyiv-based Solidarity Committee organized a picket in front of the Russian Embassy in Kyiv on August 25 to express support for Sentsov and his co-defendant, Oleksandr Kolchenko.

Over a dozen activists held placards saying, "Those in freedom, let us help political prisoners" and "For your freedom and ours.

The demonstrators also urged passersby to send their letters of support to Sentsov and Kolchenko by mail.

Activists planned another rally in the southwestern city of Odesa on August 25 to call for the release of inmates who are "victims of the Kremlin's anti-Ukrainian campaign and are in Russia's prisons on fabricated charges."

"Come, your participation is important because at least 46 citizens of Ukraine remain hostages of the Russians!" the organizers said on Facebook.

A Russian court convicted Sentsov and Kolchenko on August 25, 2015, of conspiring to commit terrorism in the Crimea region, which Russia seized in March 2014 after sending in troops and staging a referendum denounced by 100 countries as illegitimate.

They were sentenced to 20 years and 10 years in prison, respectively.

Both have consistently denied the accusations, with Sentsov, who has opposed Russias takeover of Crimea, saying that a "trial by occupiers cannot be fair by definition."

The trial of Sentsov and Kolchenko was described by international rights groups as politically motivated and politicians, officials, film directors, and other artists have called for their release.

PEN America announced in March that it will honor Sentsov with its 2017 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award, saying the charges against him "have been condemned by human rights groups as fabrications by a Russian government intent on silencing dissent."

It said Sentsov is widely regarded for work that includes two short films -- A Perfect Day For Bananafish and The Horn Of A Bull -- and a full-length feature film, Gamer, that debuted to acclaim at the 2012 International Film Festival in Rotterdam.

His writings include scripts, plays, and essays, and he has continued to produce prolifically from prison, a statement said.

Rights activists say Russia has jailed a number of Ukrainians on trumped-up, politically motivated charges since Moscow seized control of Crimea in 2014.

In March, the European Parliament called on Russia to free more than 30 Ukrainian citizens who were in prison or other conditions of restricted freedom in Russia, Crimea, and parts of eastern Ukraine that are controlled by Russia-backed separatists.
WASHINGTON -- A U.S. federal judge has rejected an effort by former shareholders of the dismantled Russian oil giant Yukos to force a powerful U.S. law firm to turn over evidence related to a $50 billion arbitration fight.

The skirmish was the latest to ripple out from the demise of Yukos, whose founder spent years in a Siberian prison and whose largest assets were seized by the state-controlled company Rosneft.

The former Yukos owners alleged in a U.S. court filing that lawyers at Baker Botts helped Rosneft manipulate an Armenian court ruling.

The Yukos lawyers sought to obtain evidence from Baker Botts that they hoped could then be used in a Netherlands appeals court, which is examining the $50 billion arbitration award handed down in 2014.

Baker Botts has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

In her ruling issued August 18, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell rejected the Yukos shareholders arguments "as a matter of discretion," saying they hadn't demonstrated how any new evidence would influence the outcome of the Dutch appeal.

A spokesman for the former Yukos shareholders did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.

Once Russias largest oil company, Yukos was systematically dismantled in the early 2000s through a series of bankruptcy proceedings that legal experts have said were rife with inconsistencies.

Assets, including huge Siberian oil fields, were acquired mainly by Rosneft, the government-controlled company run by Igor Sechin, a former intelligence officer and close ally of Putin.

Yukos was built up by Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who was later prosecuted for financial crimes after purportedly crossing Putin in the early 2000s.

After nearly a decade in prison, Khodorkovsky fled Russia and he now funds opposition political groups from abroad.

As Rosneft took control of Yukos's assets, shareholders sought compensation for Yukos's dismantling. Khodorkovsky is not party to the legal fight, though his former partners are.

The Yukos shareholders earlier had won a small victory in June when a U.S. judge in California authorized subpoenas of another lawyer who allegedly was involved in the Armenian court cases on behalf of Rosneft.

It wasnt immediately clear if the August 18 ruling by Howell would have any effect on the earlier California order.
The journalism watchdog group Reporters Without Borders on August 24 condemned the increasing persecution of independent journalists in Belarus, citing the ongoing trials of five journalists.

The group said that Stanislau Ivashkevich, Ales Silich, Maria Artsybashava, Katsyaryna Andreyeva, and Syarhey Kavalyou -- correspondents for Belsat TV, a Belarusian satellite TV channel that was forced to flee to neighboring Poland -- have all been charged with working for foreign media without press accreditation and illegal production...of media content.

The group said Belsat TVs reporters have been the leading victims of persecution, having been targeted by at least 26 prosecutions for working without press accreditation and accumulating more than 10,000 euros in fines so far this year.

We condemn this new wave of trials, which has the sole aim of intimidating journalists and forcing them to submit to government pressure, said Johann Bihr, the head of RSFs Eastern Europe and Central Asia desk. We urge the Belarusian government to end the systematic judicial harassment of independent journalists.

The group said Minsk has forced journalists into a vicious cycle. By banning media based abroad, like Belsat, from opening a bureau in Minsk, the authorities forced its correspondents to work without accreditation. This, in turn, is used as grounds for prosecutions and fines.

Journalist Kastus Zhukouski has been fined the most often -- 17 times for more than 5,000 euros in the past three years -- and is now facing the possibility of having his assets confiscated because he is unable to pay, the group said.

Around 100 independent journalists and bloggers were arrested while covering nationwide antigovernment protests in March. RSF said authorities fear more protests will break out after the summer break and they likely are trying to prevent independent media from covering the protests.

Belarus ranks 153rd out of 180 countries in the watchdog's 2017 World Press Freedom Index.
British motorcyclist has become the youngest person to ride solo across the globe on a motorcycle. Kane Avellano of South Shields has travelled over 32,000 miles/45,000 kms over a period of 8 months during which time he visited 36 countries in 6 continents.

Kane interacted with local people in each of these countries, learnt about their cultures and habits and though he had to face many difficulties across the way, he enjoyed every moment of the journey. He was especially troubled by the monsoons in India, heat across the Australian deserts and storms in South America but battled these vagaries of nature in a competent manner.

During the course of the journey, it was the sight of starving children, their exposure to violence, disease, hunger and war that moved Kane. His thoughts of his own brothers what they would have done in similar situations moved Kane and used this journey as an opportunity to raise money to make a difference in the lives of these children.

Kane has raised 2,2000 via his Just Giving page which is well over 200% of his original target. This 8 month journey has also allowed him to receive a Guinness World Record certificate for being the youngest person to circumnavigate the globe on a motorcycle.

Having completed this feat, Kane now looks ahead to his next adventure which he hopes will involve flying that will make him the youngest person to circumnavigate the world solo both by land and air.

Head to his Instagram account @bonnietour and take a detailed look at his journey.
Venezuelas recently ousted chief prosecutor accused President Nicolas Maduro and several allies on Wednesday of participating in acts of corruption, saying she would turn over proof that would help other countries prosecute.

Venezuelas government quickly fired back, accusing Luisa Ortega Diaz of grave moral and ethical infractions.

Ortega spoke during a meeting of Mercosur trade bloc prosecutors in the Brazilian capital, Brasilia. Ortega was removed by a new, pro-government constitutional assembly in early August after breaking with Venezuelas socialist government.

She fled abroad with her husband, whose arrest was ordered by the countrys supreme court.

I want to denounce, in front of the world, a grave situation in Venezuela: that of excessive corruption, Ortega said. Because of that reason, [Maduros administration] is violating the constitution and law to protect itself.

Ortega said she had evidence implicating Maduro and other top officials in corruption involving Brazilian constructor Odebrecht and other companies.

Ortega told reporters after the meeting that Maduro loyalist Diosdado Cabello received USD100 million from Odebrecht via a Spanish company called TSE Arietis, which was owned by cousins of Cabello.

She also claimed that Maduro was the owner of a Mexican company that Venezuela had contracted to provide basic foodstuffs. She said Group Grand Limited was registered in Mexico under the names Rodolfo Reyes, Alvaro Pulido Vargas and Alex Saab, but that Maduro was the real owner.

Its impossible for cases to be investigated in Venezuela, said Ortega, adding that she was providing documentation to the United States, Brazil, Colombia and Spain.

Ortegas claims could not be immediately verified. Emails sent to Group Grand Limited and TSE Arietis seeking comment were not returned.

Late Wednesday, Cabello said that Ortegas accusations were just an attempt to draw attention away from the corruption investigations she and her husband face in Venezuela.

In a statement, Odebrecht said her allegations were not true. In particular, the company denied Ortegas allegation that Odebrecht had received money for projects that had been halted.

Currently 11 projects are underway [in Venezuela], and not one has been abandoned despite an economic crisis that has reduced investments in infrastructure across Latin America, said the statement.

Odebrecht has been at the center of the massive Car Wash probe in Brazil involving kickbacks for contracts. Over the last three years, dozens of Brazils top politicians and businessmen have been jailed, including former Odebrecht CEO Marcelo Odebrecht.

The investigation has led to prosecutions in several countries in Latin America where Odebrecht and other Brazilian construction companies operated.

Hours later Ortegas replacement, Tarek William Saab, told reporters in Venezuelas capital that the accusations lacked validity and should presented to Venezuelan authorities.

Saab called Ortega a world tourist who had been pushed out because of her own infractions.

Even if Ortega possesses strong evidence, however, its not clear whether it could hurt Maduros administration, which is already alienated from many of the regions countries.

While Brazil shares information with other countries related to the Car Wash investigation, authorities say they leave the prosecution of foreign nationals to justice officials in those countries.

Ortegas visit to Brazil, Latin Americas most populous nation and largest economy, came a day after Maduro claimed that she was working with Washington to damage his administration and said Venezuela would ask for an international arrest warrant for Ortega. It wasnt immediately known if that had been requested or if it would be considered.

Mercosur has suspended Venezuela due to the crisis there.

Brazils foreign minister, Aloysio Nunes, told Globo News that Ortega would be immediately granted asylum if she asked for it. Ortega has not signaled that she would. Peter Prengaman, Rio de Janeiro, AP
ISS Astronaut Jack Fischer Spies Harvey

Astro2fish/Twitter

Bresniks ISS crewmate, NASA astronaut Jack Fischer, posted this photo of Hurricane Harvey on Twitter on Aug. 25, 2017, along with the following words: Oh boy  looks like a ton of rain is about to unload. Heres a prayer for family, friends & everyone in #HurricaneHarveys path  stay safe.

Harvey Makes Another Landfall

NASA/NOAA GOES Project

NOAAs GOES-East satellite captured this visible-light image of Tropical Storm Harvey on Wednesday (Aug. 30) at 7:30 a.m. EDT (1130 GMT) after it made landfall near Cameron, Louisiana at 4 a.m. CDT (0900 GMT).

Harvey Rainfall Animation

NASA/Joshua Stevens

This animation depicts satellite-based measurements of rainfall from 7:30 p.m. CDT on Aug. 25 to 7:30 p.m. CDT on Aug. 28. The brightest areas reflect the highest rainfall amounts, with many places more than 20 inches (50 centimeters) during this period.

Harvey Saturates Texas

NASA JPL

NASA's Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) satellite measured the soil surface conditions in southeastern Texas on Aug. 21-22. These observations showed that soil was very wet a few days before (left) Harvey made landfall, with moisture levels in the 20 to 40 percent range. After Harvey made landfall Friday night (Aug. 25), the southwest portion of Houston became exceptionally wet (right), signaling the arrival of heavy rains and widespread flooding.

Flood Proxy Map

NASA/JPL-Caltech/JAXA/METI/Google Earth

This flood proxy map depicts areas of Texas that are likely flooded as a result of Harvey. NASA's Advanced Rapid Imaging and Analysis team at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California created the map using images from the Japanese satellite ALOS-2 PALSAR-2, taken before and after Hurricane Harvey made landfall. Local ground observations provided anecdotal preliminary validation.

A Nighttime View

NASA/NOAA/UWM-CIMSS, William Straka III

On Aug. 29 at 3:03 a.m. CDT (0803 GMT), the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument aboard the NASA/NOAA Suomi NPP satellite captured a nighttime image of Harvey that showed the center of circulation had moved back into the Gulf of Mexico.

IMERG Shows Rainfall Accumulation

NASA JAXA, Hal Pierce

This map shows the total rainfall estimates from NASA's Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for GPM (IMERG) data for Harvey from Wednesday (Aug. 23) to Tuesday (Aug. 29), as it moved through the Gulf of Mexico and stalled over Texas. The IMERG totals showed over 30 inches (76 centimeters) of rain had fallen in the Houston metro area and part of the western Gulf of Mexico.

ISS Astronaut's View of Harvey

AstroKomrade/Twitter

NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik posted on Twitter this photo of Harvey, captured from the International Space Station (ISS), on Aug. 24, 2017.

Another Shot of Harvey by Randy Bresnik

AstroKomrade/Twitter

Another view of Harvey by Bresnik.

Harvey Seen by Randy Bresnik on Aug. 28, 2017

AstroKomrade/Twitter

Bresnik posted this photo of Harvey on Twitter on Aug. 28, 2017, along with these words: #Harvey - still a menace! Hearts & prayers go out to families, friends, & fellow Texans dealing with this storm. #TexasStrong #HoustonStrong

Hurricane Harvey Looms Large

NASA via Twitter

Another view of Hurricane Harvey captured from the ISS by NASA astronaut Jack Fischer, on Aug. 25, 2017.
T he boss of Yo! Sushi says Londoners are enjoying a golden time for food  as he revealed the company was reinventing its menu in the face of growing competition.

Robin Rowland said the company  one of the UKs biggest restaurant chains - was making a London comeback after marking its 20-year anniversary by opening a new restaurant in Tottenham Court Road.

The scene is so different to how it was 20 years ago [when Yo! Sushi launched], he said. We are so lucky now and as a consumer you have so much choice.

"I think this really is a golden time for the London consumer as we have never had so much choice for such good value. Im not sure how long it will continue as rents and rate continue to go up so a lot of businesses are facing small margins.

"Its a nosebleed situation for some.

Rowland predicted restaurants could continue to become more specialist with their cuisine, with quality still being a priority for most.

He also said delivery would continue to be a big trend as people want their food now and they want it at home.

Yo! Sushi opened its first restaurant in Soho in 1997 and has since served 66.7million customers 533.6 million pieces of sushi across the country.

The new restaurant, which will serve 54 customers inside and a further 22 outside, opened on Thursday, August 24.

Rowland says it has one of the most experimental and boundary-pushing menus Yo! Sushi has ever created, with dishes like a Japanese twist on a British sandwich  Chicken Katsu Sando.

Rowland said: This is us making our comeback in to London as our focus has been national for the past few years. I wanted to get the food back up to the standard that is needed in London.

"There is a lot more competition now, especially from the likes of Itsu and Wasabi. We have gone back to the drawing board to innovate. London is our incubator.

"We push boundaries with the menu here and then see if it works and then if it does roll it out.

"We are reinventing our menu and ourselves and reaching out to a new generation of users. And I am quietly confident that consumers will love it. 
T he heir to the Samsung electronics empire was jailed for five years on Friday, after South Koreas trial of the century, which has engulfed its ex-president and shocked the business world.

In a major blow to the smartphones giant, its vice chairman Lee Jae-yong has been found guilty in a Seoul court of bribery, perjury and embezzlement.

The verdict comes six months after the 49-year-old, also known as Jay Y Lee, was arrested.

The billionaire was accused of giving donations to non-profit foundations operated by Choi Soon-sil, a friend of South Koreas former president Park Geun-hye, in return for political favours.

Prosecutors said the donations were made to win government support for a big restructuring of the tech firm that would strengthen Lees control over Samsung.

He denied wrongdoing and one of his lawyers said Lee would appeal the lower court ruling. Prosecutors had sought 12 years in prison. Some former Samsung executives were also convicted.

Shares in Samsung dropped 1% following the verdict.

The case marks a landmark in South Korea, where family-run conglomerates, known as chaebols, have long been revered for helping transform the country into a global economic powerhouse.

The conviction will cast doubt over Samsungs leadership, founded by Lees grandfather almost 80 years ago.

Lee had effectively directed operations since his father was incapacitated by a heart attack in 2014 until the trial.

Some investors worry a prolonged leadership vacuum could slow decision making at the company.

The ruling is the latest setback for Samsung, which last year suffered one of the most disastrous product recalls in the history of the tech industry after batteries in its Galaxy Note 7 models began exploding.

Since then, the company has made efforts to bounce back and battle with rivals such as Apple. This week it unveiled the Galaxy Note 8.

Karissa Chua, consumer electronics analyst at Euromonitor International, played down fears that the ruling would dent Samsungs recovery.

She said: The political scandal has been ongoing for several months and this has not affected the product launches of its devices.
F or a man running one of Londons hottest start-ups who spends his days fending off takeover tilts, Tom Blomfield seems rather frustrated.

It feels like stuffs going wrong, the Monzo founder explains from the digital banks new digs in Old Street. In the last 24 hours, weve had three separate incidents. We had an outage last night of 61 minutes which is super annoying. We had a couple of other things today.

Around us, staff seem more relaxed, strolling around Monzos floor in hoodies and t-shirts bearing its now-famous M logo and rocket.

Theres an independent food stall selling artisanal treats and meeting rooms take their names from pop culture. We pass the Room of Requirement (Harry Potter) and the Batcave (Batman). Its everything youd expect from a tech start-up.

In two and a half years, Monzo has snowballed into a phenomenon with its users evangelists for its fluorescent pink pre-paid cards. They allow people, via a mobile app, to watch their spending, appealing to thrifty budgeters.

Sporting traditional tech attire (casual shirt, trainers and groomed beard), Blomfield, 32, wont tell me if todays near misses were cyber hacks.

But he knows glitches at this stage could be the difference between Monzo being just another name on his lengthy CV and the billion-user product he desires.

Yes, a billion users. Monzo only has 370,000, but thats the hugely ambitious target. Wouldnt that make it the UKs answer to Facebook or Google?

Thats what were trying to do, he nods. Someone will do it, whether its us or not I dont know. Im 100% sure someone will.

He certainly seems well placed. Queuing in a shop recently I found myself sucked into an excited conversation with two other Monzo converts.

Blomfield laughs at this anecdote. How is he dealing with Monzos new-found cult stardom? We dont think about it that much, he shrugs with refreshing honesty.

Theres no sign of the usual reserve displayed by British entrepreneurs. Blomfields willing to fail. In fact, he knows its a clear possibility.

The futures long and uncertain, he adds, as if excited by the prospect of both success and failure.

Monzo, which started out as Mondo before a trademark dispute, is a way off being compared with the Silicon Valley giants but growth is impressive, with 25,000 sign-ups a week on the waiting list. Were opening more accounts every month than any UK bank, he says.

Blomfields father was a civil engineer, building bridges, ports and power plants in Hong Kong, where the entrepreneur was born before moving to Singapore at the age of five with his fathers work.

He returned to the UK and went to grammar school in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, where he developed a passion for coding.

His entrepreneurial streak emerged in his teenage years when he worked for a local estate agent called Wilson Heal. I started delivering leaflets for them and thought this is a s*** job and convinced them to get a website [which he built for 250].

He went on to study law at Oxford, but on the side built Buy Or Sell Online or boso.co.uk (terrible name) with two others, an online marketplace for students.

He ran it until his older business partners took it to Silicon Valley and got investment from renowned US start-up accelerator Y Combinator, which has backed Airbnb and Dropbox.

I dropped out of the start-up to stay in university, the unfashionable way round, he says, hinting at Mark Zuckerbergs dropout status.

He even stayed on to do a masters. I never really thought you could do computers as a job, which sounds weird now. All my friends parents were lawyers, bankers and accountants. So I became a management consultant [at McKinsey] for three years, which I didnt love, he says.

But in 2011, he packed it all in and, with two other university friends, started GoCardless, the online direct debt processor.

This time, he went to Y Combinator in San Francisco, mingling with Zuckerberg et al. It didnt take long for London venture capitalists to come knocking. The week before they just wouldnt return our calls, he recalls.

He did all the back-end coding at GoCardless, but left in 2013 after deciding he had bigger plans. He travelled to New York for a year to join a now-defunct dating website called Grouper, which matched users to go on group dates.

I joined as head of growth just as it started to plateau and it did plateau, then it fell off a cliff. I got sacked and most of the company got laid off sadly. It was a great experience, he remembers with a strange fondness.

Back to the UK and to Starling Bank, a digital bank he founded with Anne Boden, the former chief operating officer of Allied Irish Banks. He lasted six months before leaving to start Monzo.

What happened? I ask. Thats the one area I cant talk to press about, he grins. Tensions between Blomfield and Boden, Starlings chief executive, have been widely reported.

Interestingly, Eileen Burbidge, the London tech star behind Passion Capital, says she initially wanted to back Starling but then funded Monzo instead. She says it was always about Tom. She also invested in GoCardless.

Hes hugely ambitious. There are lots of people who wouldnt want to approach a proposition that requires dealing with regulators. But he was never daunted by that. We loved that ambition, Burbidge says.

Monzo and Starling, as well as a handful of other start-up online-only banks, now find themselves in competition with one another.

Blomfield again tells it straight: They cant all win. Does Monzo have a head start? We dont know what the winning model is yet. We have a model that seems to be working well for now.

Monzo got its banking licence this year, which means its customers with pre-paid cards will soon receive current accounts. Blomfield then plans to shut down the pre-paid cards.

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Users transfer money from their main bank to their Monzo account, which appears on the sleek app in an instant. Every time they do, however, Monzo takes a hit.

Pre-paid is just a crappy business model basically. It loses us a ton of money per card and we dont make any revenue. Each card costs us 50 or 60 a year, he explains.

Moving onto the current account will bring the losses down to 20 a year and then its about making revenue, so actually building a viable business rather than just a venture-capital-funded money hole.

He says a recent survey they did suggested more than half of users would trust Monzo enough to put their entire salaries into its current account.

Another cost-saving move is doing its own card processing, which suffered a severe outage this year. And in bad news for frequent travellers, free overseas withdrawals will soon be over.

Monzo racked up an 8 million pre-tax loss last year and relies on funding from its venture-capital investors, New York-based Thrive Capital and Passion, which also backed GoCardless.

Another funding round is approaching, likely to be more than its last 22 million, but under 100 million.

He says there are a few options on the table. The vanilla approach would be a West Coast VC. The less vanilla option Were considering a big crowdfunding round.

He keeps throwing around the term financial control centre, which is his dream that users will control all their finances through Monzo  student loans, rent, utilities, ISAs, peer-to-peer loans, the lot. The big banks are nowhere near achieving this vision, Blomfield asserts.

He also thinks Monzo can be safer from hacks than its bricks-and-mortar rivals. If you start from scratch in the 21st century its not easy but at least its less complex than having to secure this crazy giant, he says.

The big banks are circling though. Blomfield has turned down two takeover offers in the past couple of months. Selling out is not our goal, he insists.

Hes drawing up plans for a new office in Wales and probably another in Dublin or Berlin for post-Brexit EU passporting. In 12 months, Monzo will have 400 employees, he says.

Plans for its its own headquarters are even on Blomfields mind.

Imagining what they would look like, he suggests with a chuckle: a giant M over Canary Wharf. Hes so ambitious, I cant even tell if hes joking.
A lone among senior Cabinet ministers at the time, Home Secretary Theresa May insisted that overseas students had to be included in Britains net migration numbers.

Her reason was simple: around 100,000 of those students, she claimed, remained in the UK illegally once their visas expired. Based on a survey conducted at airports, the figure was always considered highly suspect across Whitehall.

But repeated attempts by the Treasury, Foreign Office and Business department to get the Home Office to investigate the accuracy of the numbers were rebuffed  the then Home Secretary thought it was better to stick with false information than get the real facts, which might force her to change the policy.

Yesterday, the Office for National Statistics issued a new estimate for the number of foreign students who overstay. Based on actual checks on those leaving, they now think only 4,600 students remained illegally  a 20th of the previous estimate. In other words, the Home Offices policy-making on immigration for the past seven years was based on wholly inaccurate information.

Now the new Home Secretary, Amber Rudd  who is sensible and rational  has commissioned research into the economic benefit that foreign students bring to Britain and the damage that would be done by reducing their numbers. She should be congratulated.

But as those who are anti-immigration point out, migration is not just about GDP  it reflects the kind of society we are and the values we hold. They are right.

Immigration isnt just an economic issue. If it were, we could accept the near-universal view of reputable economists, and of the Office for Budget Responsibility, that immigration increases economic growth and provides a net benefit to public finances (ie, immigrants pay more in taxes than the cost of public services, like the NHS, they consume).

Benefits of diversity

But immigration also enriches our society. It fosters diversity, which throughout history has led to more creativity and innovation.

Advanced nations that have shut the door to newcomers now find themselves ageing fast and shrinking as a presence in global affairs  whereas those with open societies maintain a big role in shaping the world we live in. This is especially true when it comes to student migration.

Foreign students enhance our economy and bring revenue to our universities, which funds research and allows them to top the international league tables.

Educating foreign students is a key export industry, worth more than 10 billion a year. Those who come to study here retain a connection with our country, and an affection for it that remains for the rest of their lives  and they take our values home with them. That is what soft power is about.

But yesterday we also learnt that the number of foreign students fell by 27,000, deterred by our restrictive visa system and the foreigners not welcome sign we have put up over Britain since the Brexit vote.

So we have damaged our economy, weakened our universities, reduced our exports and diminished our global impact. Congratulations, Mrs May.

Lets hope someone puts down an amendment in Parliament to remove students from migration numbers. With the facts now known, most of the Cabinet privately supporting it, and no government majority, it will surely be carried  and we can have a shot at being global Britain.

Celebrate the Carnival

If you want evidence of how immigration enriches our culture, then look no further than this weekends Notting Hill Carnival.

An estimated two million people will celebrate the huge contribution of Britains African-Caribbean community to our country.

The Evening Standard is a big supporter of the Carnival and is glad that it is still held in the streets where it started more than 50 years ago.

Today we publish a comprehensive guide. Have fun.
T he Notting Hill Carnival returns this weekend for its 53rd time, and over the course of two days, more than a million people are expected to work their way through 25,000 litres of rum and five tonnes of jerk chicken.

The jewel of the Carnival, the world-famous parade, will see hundreds of dancers shimmy and shake in a spectacle to rival Rio.

It perhaps seems curious that a little corner of west London should come to hold such an event, and should  for a weekend at least  be the epicentre for a celebration of Caribbean culture. Its origins are, in a number of ways, remarkable. It starts with the impact of the Second World War, which had devastated Britains working population. In 1948, the country reached out around the world to what were then its colonies, encouraging immigration to sure-up the workforce. Around half a million of those who came over were from the Caribbean, some on HMT Empire Windrush  for which their generation were then named.

By the 1950s, both Notting Hill and Brixton had substantial West Indian populations. In fact, both areas became overcrowded, and conditions were poor: poverty riddled every run-down tenement building. There was no hot water, no electricity, and London was fraught with social unease and racial tension. Working-class whites clashed fiercely with their new neighbours, and in 1958, the Race Riots cracked the area further: from August 30 until September 5, mobs of white Teddy Boys vandalised houses and fought with residents. At the time, both Oswald Mosley's far-right Union Movement, and the White Defence League were both dispiritingly popular.

Later, in 1959, Antiguan carpenter Kelso Cochrane was murdered in a racially motivated attack, which remains unsolved. But the mood began to clear as these provocations proved a catalyst for change, with human rights activist Claudia Jones hosting the first Caribbean Carnival in St Pancras Town Hall. Similar events followed, as Jones, who'd also founded the the West Indian Gazette, worked with husband and wife Edric and Pearl Connor to promote their movement, a celebration of their culture. Later, in 1966, two years after Jones had passed, community activist Rhaune Laslett took the idea outdoors and the first Notting Hill Carnival was born. True to Jones' ideas, its aim was to unwind the unease and promote integration. Notting Hill became, quite literally, a place for Londoners to find common ground.

Notting Hill Carnival 2018 - In pictures 1 /13 Notting Hill Carnival 2018 - In pictures Notting Hill Carnival 2018 Niall Green Notting Hill Carnival 2018 Niall Green Notting Hill Carnival 2018 Kelly Lawlor Notting Hill Carnival 2018 Kelly Lawlor Notting Hill Carnival 2018 Kelly Lawlor Notting Hill Carnival 2018 Kelly Lawlor Notting Hill Carnival 2018 Kelly Lawlor Notting Hill Carnival 2018 Kelly Lawlor Notting Hill Carnival 2018 Kelly Lawlor Notting Hill Carnival 2018 Kelly Lawlor

Since then, the Carnival has grown and grown to become what it is today, proudly boasting more than 30 sound systems, countless food stalls, steel and Brazilian bands alike. It is famously Europes biggest street party, and, true to its roots, has long had a diverse crowd dancing together. Old photos show punks with policeman, dub DJs with dancehall stars  flick through the gallery above to see a half century of history.

Happily, it shows no sign of slowing down. The weekend is as colourful and fun as fireworks, loud with the rumble of hundreds of drummers and reggae beats. It smells of barbecues kept hot and smoking all day, and of rum cocktails left out in the sun. Its still built for everybody  for the first-timers who plan to dance all three and a half miles behind the parade floats, for the old hands wholl be down on Colville Terrace to claim their favourite spot, and for everyone else in between. Its said fewer than a fifth of the crowd are tourists; carnival really is real London. Grab your glitter and go.
T he Caribbean has many soul-stirring landscapes, but none perhaps as striking as those of Saint Lucia. The island was caught in a tug-of-war between the British and French for nearly 150 years before finally gaining its independence in 1979.

Its not hard to see what the two empires were fighting over. This volcanic Caribbean crumple is draped with tropical forests and plantations, waterfalls and geothermal springs that ooze into soft sand and secluded bays. Twin peaks, the Pitons, stand sentry on the south-west coast, looming large in their emerald cloaks.

All of which makes this pretty special territory in which to make your home for a few days, as I did, at Sugar Beach. The resort occupies the site of a colonial-era sugar and coconut plantation, which was eventually purchased by the late Colin Tennant, Third Baron Glenconner, who opened a hotel and restaurant  Bang Between the Pitons  in the mid-Nineties.

The flamboyant aristocrat knew a little about privacy, having developed the nearby island of Mustique as an enclave for the rich and famous. Its said his sliver of south-western Saint Lucia was the only place in the world where you could find Princess Margaret and a member of Led Zeppelin eating bananas and Mars Bar sandwiches. Its now more likely to be Gwyneth Paltrow or Matt Damon snacking on sashimi since the hotel was sold to British businessman Roger Myers  one-time accountant for The Beatles and co-founder of Cafe Rouge  and US-based Viceroy took over its management.

The exclusive blueprint has been enhanced by a multi-million-pound overhaul: guests are housed in secluded cottages that cascade down a hillside to the beach. Unlike many of the islands black volcanic beaches, the sand is sugar-white, dredged from Guianese rivers to support the Pitons marine park.

A chic white bedroom

This part of the island is home to a cluster of Saint Lucias most exclusive resorts, but only Sugar Beach has direct access to its most photographed stretch of sand. A trickle of arrivals spills on to the beach from day-tripping boats each morning, but otherwise guests have it to themselves. My cottage was close to the top of the ridge  an energy-sapping hike up. Better to walk down and catch one of the hotels fleet of seven tuk-tuks back up, which are only ever a phone call away (guests are provided with a mobile phone for the duration of their stay).

Looked after by the affable Markenzie, one of many staff hailing from the neighbouring town of Soufriere, it would have been easy to anchor myself in the white clapboard cottage with its latticed eaves, pineapple detailing and capacious four-poster. Outside, a plunge pool had a head-on view of the 739m Petit Piton, framed by the forest that at night acted as a magnet for tiny, vociferous tree frogs and fireflies.

However, after a quick phone call to Markenzie, I was in a taxi, setting out over the ridge to explore the Caribbeans only drive-in volcano. Sulphur Springs Parks billing is perhaps a little hyperbolic, since its more hissing fumaroles and spitting geysers than boiling magma, but the hot springs were nevertheless a tonic to my sun-dried skin.

Catamarans for sailing

After joining a few regulars in the soothing 38.7C waters, I stepped out to slather myself with mineral-rich, exfoliating mud, then waited for the sunlight to dry me before plunging back into the water to wash it off.

Relaxed and ready for refreshment, there was only one place to head: Boucan, the cocoa plantation, restaurant and hotel of British chocolatier Hotel Chocolat. When Angus Thirlwell and Peter Harris bought the Rabot Estate just outside Soufriere in 2006, cocoa was a failing crop in Saint Lucia. Now the duo have revitalised the estate; the latest development is a factory where cocoa will be processed prior to being shipped to the UK.

The Boucan restaurant sits on a platform overlooking Petit Piton, with a menu that incorporates cocoa beans in nearly every dish, from the butter and chocolate balsamic reduction served with bread, to roti filled with tangy, cacao nib-infused chicken. There are even chocolate-themed treatments at the 14-room hotels spa.

17 bucket list hotels - in pictures 1 /22 17 bucket list hotels - in pictures Fogo Island Inn, Canada Fogo Island Inn Tri, Sri Lanka Hotel Tri Keemala, Thailand Keemala Alila, Oman Nihiwatu, Indonesia Nihiwatu Qualia, Australia Qualia, Australia Hamilton Island Soneva Jani, Maldives Soneva Jani has a near mystical silhouette of pitched roofs and wide terraces Soneva Jani Azulik, Tulum Tatiana Chausovsky Grand Hotel Tremezzo, Lake Como, Italy Grand Hotel Tremezzo Awasi, Patagonia Awasi Golden Eye, Jamaica Royale trip: Ian Fleming's GoldenEye estate Peter Brown Jade Mountain, St Lucia Classy choice: Jade Mountain, with its views of the Pitons Jade Mountain Villa Honegg, Switzerland Hotel Villa Honegg, Timo Schwach Six Senses, Crete Six Senses spa with seaside view Porto Elounda Borgo Egnazia, Puglia Press Le Sirenuse, Positano The pool at Le Sirenuse Le Sirenuse Song Saa, Cambodia Le Song Saa Resort Thailand Le Song Saa Resort Thailand

Quite literally full of beans, I made the short journey back to Sugar Beach to watch the sun sink behind Petit Piton. Surely here, bang between the Pitons, is Saint Lucias sweetest spot.

Details

Seven nights at Sugar Beach, a Viceroy Resort, starts from 1,805 per person, including B&B in a Sugar Mill luxury room, flights from London Gatwick and transfers. Valid for travel before October 31 booked through the Inspiring Travel Company (01244 355527, inspiringtravelcompany.co.uk).

Saint Lucia is served from Gatwick by Virgin Atlantic (virgin-atlantic.com) and British Airways (ba.com).

Boucan (hotelchocolat.com/uk/boucan) offers double rooms from $630 B&B and main courses start from around $35.

saintluciauk.org
A 'knifeman' has been arrested after two police officers were injured in an attack outside Buckingham Palace in front of terrified tourists.

Witnesses reported seeing police armed with guns swarming the scene after a man was spotted with a knife on the Mall at about 8.35pm on Friday.

The man, believed to be aged in his early 20s, was stopped when officers spotted a large knife while he was in his car, Scotland Yard said.

They were attacked as they tried to make an arrest, suffering minor injuries to their arms. Both were treated at the scene.

No other people were injured in the attack.

Police teams secure the roads outside Buckingham Palace / Getty Images

Bystanders originally reported on social media that the attacker was armed with the sword, but the Met later described it as a "large knife"

Witnesses took to social media, describing Buckingham Palace as "on lockdown" as police officers put a large cordon in place.

The man was arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm and assault on police.

Witness Nicole Kyle was walking home when she saw armed police swoop on the scene.

The 25-year-old consultant said: "I was walking toward The Mall and St James's Park when I saw police rush down toward the palace in great numbers.

"As we got further down The Mall we saw armed police outside a police van, at which point we were able to walk closer to the palace still, where we were eventually stopped by a cordon. All we were told was that there's been an incident.

"A few minutes later police came by to have us clear the area and move further away from the palace.

"We then saw that police had expanded the cordon. It looks like the cordon is continuing to expand."

An ambulance leaves the scene following the attack / Getty Images

Detective Superintendent Guy Collings said: A man in his mid-twenties has been arrested by police after they spotted a weapon inside his car.

"The quick and brave actions of both officers meant that the suspect was detained very quickly.

"No members of the public had any interaction with this individual at the scene. He will now be questioned by detectives in police custody. It is too early in this investigation to speculate any further.

The Queen was not in residence when the attack happened.
P olice today urged people to stay safe over the long weekend amid increased risk of a terror attack.

Notting Hill Carnival, Reading Festival and Premier League football matches are all possible targets, according to advice from the National Police Chiefs Council.

The National Coordinator for Protect and Prepare, Detective Chief Superintendent Scott Wilson, said: While there is no information to suggest that any event is facing an increased risk of attack, the fact is that the UKs threat level remains at severe which means an attack is highly likely.

We know only too well that tragic events can happen without warning at any time or place, and crowded places can be particularly vulnerable.

With so many events taking place this weekend, we want as many people as possible to know exactly how to keep themselves and others safe.

He urged anyone attending large events over the Bank Holiday to study advice issued by counter-terror police.

It includes the suggestion to run, hide, tell in the event of a firearms or knife attack and a recommendation to minimise what you carry.

The NPCC said police and security services had ramped up efforts to keep people safe at large events in the wake of atrocities across Britain and Europe this year.

There have been three attacks in London alone since March when 52-year-old Khalid Masood drove a car into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge, killing four, before ramming into the perimeter fence of the Palace of Westminster and fatally stabbing an unarmed policeman.

On June 3, eight people were killed and many others were injured in an attack on London Bridge and Borough Market. A few weeks later, a van was driven into worshippers near a mosque in Finsbury Park.

Security Minister Ben Wallace said: The recent terror attacks in the UK and across Europe have been a shocking reminder of the threat we all face.

Our police and security and intelligence agencies work tirelessly, often unseen, day in and day out to keep us safe and we are currently reviewing our counter-terrorism strategy to see what more can be done.

This is a job for all of us. The public also have a vital role to play as they are ideally placed to notice activity which is unusual."
S cotland Yard today hit back at criticism over its policing tactics in the run up to Notting Hill carnival saying it would do anything to keep people safe at the Bank Holiday event.

The force was attacked after tweeting that it had seized a kilo of heroin in Catford in a raid linked to a crackdown on criminality at the carnival.

The tweet prompted Grime star Stormzy to reply: How many drugs did you lot seize in the run up to Glastonbury or we only doing tweets like this for black events?

Today Commander Dave Musker, the officer in overall charge of policing the carnival, said : What do the public expect of us? Last year we had 70 to 80 stabbings, four of them people who nearly lost their lives in attempted murders.

My officers saved the lives of those people but I cannot remember a single murder at Glastonbury.

We are going to be uncompromising in ensuring the safety and security of the public and if that means putting a significant effort into dealing with criminality before carnival I am unapologetic about that and will continue to do it.

Police officers on duty at Notting Hill Carnival / Reuters

I will arrest anyone, anywhere, if we have intelligence they are involved in crime and they intend to travel to the carnival to cause trouble.

Commander Musker declared that it was naive to suggest that criminals with heroin could have no links to the carnival or plans to attend the event.

A selfie please, officer: the police get into the Carnival spirit at last years event

He also defended the use of facial recognition technology to scan the faces of revellers to identify troublemakers after critics such as the human rights group Liberty raised concerns that it could be illegal.

Martha Spurrier, the director of Liberty, said: This intrusive biometric surveillance has no place at the Notting Hill carnival. There is no basis in law for facial recognition, no transparency around its use.

Hundreds of thousands of people attend Notting Hill Carnival each year

The Met trialled the use of facial recognition cameras at last years but they failed to pick out any suspects.

Commander Musker said : We are using the human eye in the form of super recognisers to look out for criminals and we would like a technological solution where we can pick out people who are involved in criminality.

We will only target people who we know are wanted by police or who have been banned from carnival as part of their bail conditions.

He added:  I am here to keep the public safe and I will use any lawful and audacious tactic I can to do that.

He admitted that the use of facial recognition cameras was not a proven tactic but said police invited the civil liberties group Liberty to watch police using facial recognition cameras saying : We are being open and transparent about this, we are not just targeting everyone.

He revealed that police had made 656 arrests in the three weeks before the carnival, recovered 27 firearms and seized 400 offensive weapons and knives.

Last year police recorded nearly a thousand offences - 981 - at carnival last year including reports of drugs possession, theft, robbery and assault.

Around a million people are expected to attend the two day Bank Holiday event with revellers being urged to wear green this year to honour the survivors and victims of the Grenfell Tower disaster.
The long-criticized Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau (SMG) head, Fong Soi Kun, has resigned from his post, following criticism from residents and lawmakers regarding the bureaus failure to raise typhoon signals to an appropriate level.

The announcement was made last night by chief executive Chui Sai On at a press conference organized to update the public on the disaster relief measures of the government.

Chui said that the deputy director of SMG will temporarily operate as the bureaus chief. He said Fong had retired but was not exempt from an investigation.

Residents have been slamming the bureau since August last year, after it failed to raise Signal 8 when Typhoon Nida stuck Macau.

The criticism continued this week after SMG predicted that a maximum speed of 118 km/hour was recorded for Typhoon Hato, yet only raised Signal 3 around 3 a.m. Wednesday.

SMG then raised the tropical cyclone signal to Signal 8 at approximately 9 a.m. Wednesday morning, while Hong Kong had already issued T8 by midnight the previous night.

Signal 10 was issued shortly before midday; a warning that was deemed too late for residents who were already on their way to work.

Lawmakers this week also called for Fongs resignation, with Ho Ion Sang and Si Ka Lon saying that SMG did not perform their predictive functions at all.

Ho argued that Hong Kong and Zhuhai consistently predicted the destructive power of the typhoon the day before, while the MSAR, which is in the middle of the two regions, was unprepared.

Si Ka Lon stated that the Civil Protection Operational Center did not issue sufficient warnings in advance, noting that it failed to remind residents to be prepared for storms.

Si considered that government officials, who are criticized by the public, should be accountable for failures to meet their responsibilities.

In August last year, Fong reasoned that the weather was not rough enough to justify the high typhoon warning signal, noting that hoisting Signal 8 requires an average wind speed above 63 km/hour.

Back in October, SMG also incorrectly declared a Signal 8 for Typhoon Haima, when the wind speed on that day in Macau was weaker than forecasted.

Fong this week has admitted that his bureaus forecast was not perfect, and that it was slightly wrong.

Fong argued that the bureau could not compare the effects of the typhoon in Hong Kong or Zhuhai with Macau.

Since August, residents have been calling for Fong to resign over his decisions, which also led the Macau Civil Servants Association, led by lawmaker Jose Pereira Coutinho, to submit a petition to the office of the chief executive to launch an investigation into SMGs operations.

The lawmaker stressed that the bureaus problems and operations are highly important, not just for SMG staff, but for the general public.

Typhoon Hato has wrought massive damage to the city, leading to the absence of water and electricity to thousands of residents until yesterday.

In a press conference on Wednesday night, Fong was questioned whether the bureau downplayed the typhoon  causing poor disaster coordination efforts and responses.

However, the bureau head responded, We knew that there are some differences between [us] and what the majority of the [weather] centers [predicted]. So, we released some of the information in advance.

Fong said that despite issuing the Signal 8 warning at 9 a.m., the information was available to the public as early as 6 a.m.

Meanwhile, several netizens are slamming the bureau for failing to coordinate with relevant authorities to disseminate safety measures to citizens. Others criticize the region for holding road construction projects during the citys typhoon season.
A fashion student died after collapsing in a restaurant bathroom while out celebrating her 21st birthday, an inquest heard.

Narinthorn Alexander, 21, was found unconscious in the lavatory at Thai Tho in Soho after friends asked a waiter to unlock the door.

An inquest heard she had drunk half a bottle of Jack Daniels and choked on her vomit, stopping the flow of oxygen to her brain. She only received first aid when police arrived because none of the staff were trained, the hearing was told. The waiter who opened the door did not know how to call an ambulance so her friends did, St Pancras coroners court heard.

She had a cardiac arrest on the way to hospital and remained in a coma for six days before her life-support machine was turned off.

Narinthorn, who was born in Thailand, was studying at the University of West London. She turned 21 on March 9 and went out with a group of seven, including her boyfriend, two days later.

A close friend told the inquest: I didnt think she was drinking that much, just Jack Daniels with mixers and having a good time.

Venue: none of Thai Thos staff were trained in first aid, the inquest heard

When the food did arrive she did have a tiny bit to eat. She was starting to feel a bit tipsy. It got to the point where she came over and whispered in my ear and said, Im going to the toilet, I will be right back. Im not sure how long she disappeared for. Later her boyfriend came downstairs and told me that Narinthorn was sick upstairs and she had passed out. When I went into the toilet I found her unconscious on the floor. She was not responding at all  I had never seen her like that. Her friend was holding her head up ... I was shaking her.

Paramedic Jayden Hedt said: We arrived and saw the patient lying in the recovery position with the police in attendance... all we know is she drank half a bottle of Jack Daniels. I started chest compressions and we decided we needed to have a good look at her airway. It was quite large chunks of chicken, enough to cause a significant airways obstruction.

Cause of death was given as a hypoxic brain injury and cardiac arrest, asphyxiation vomitus and alcohol toxicity.

Coroner Mary Hassell said: It seems to me that any organisation which deals with the public should at least make sure that staff know how to call an ambulance. But that did not make any difference at all to Narinthorn ... what underlies all of this is alcohol, Im afraid.
L ondon is expected to bask in glorious sunshine as warmer weather brings temperatures as high as 27C to the capital this Bank Holiday weekend.

Revellers at Notting Hill Carnival may enjoy Augusts hottest days as a warm front puts the South East on a par with Istanbul.

According to the Met Office, the mercury could hit 27C on Saturday, which would make it the warmest day this month.

On Sunday and Monday conditions are set to be fine and dry with temperatures of up to 26C. In Turkey's largest city on Saturday, 26C is also forecast.

Carnival: Revellers will fill the streets of Notting Hill on Sunday and Monday / Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images

Met Office spokesman Oli Claydon said: Broadly speaking, it is going to be a good Bank Holiday weekend.

He said the capital would enjoy mild conditions with little in the way of showers and London enjoying the best of the UKs weather.

On Saturday it could get up to 27C, he said. 26C is more likely but possibly 27C. So itll be pretty mild, fine and dry overnight. Into Sunday a similar start, a fine dry day.

He added the balmier conditions were expected to continue into Monday.

About two million people are expected to head to Notting Hill Carnival over the three-day weekend.

Europes biggest street festival opens on Saturday evening with the Panorama steel pan orchestra competition.

Parades through Notting Hill start on Sunday with family day and conclude on Monday.
P olice officers will form a protective ring around the burnt out remains of Grenfell Tower to ensure revellers at Notting Hill Carnival respect the site.

Scotland Yard has announced a series of special measures to ensure the safety of carnival-goers throughout the weekend, including protecting the nearby Lancaster West estate.

Steel barriers and a ban on vehicles in the area have also been announced to combat the threat of terrorism, while officers will be stationed around the perimeter of the Carnival to check for weapons and acid.

But this years traditionally celebratory Carnival threatens to be overshadowed by the tragedy at Grenfell Tower, with the remains of the building still haunting north Kensingtons skyline.

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

Last month, Greg Hands, the Conservative MP for Chelsea and Fulham, wrote to London Mayor Sadiq Khan proposing moving the Carnival, questioning whether the event would be appropriate.

Chief Superintendent Robyn Williams, who has been liaising with survivors and residents, said there would be a "ring of care and a protective response" around the Grenfell Tower area.

She said: "The community do not want people who are not residents or shouldn't be there to be just casually passing through, and in particular taking photographs.

"We do not want people posing for selfies and those aren't my words, they are community words."

Grenfell survivor who took exam hours after fire achieves A grade

She went on: "We will be appealing to people's humanity and a little discretion, and we obviously want people to keep moving through particular areas adjacent to Grenfell so that it does not become a circus.

"That's the last thing anyone would want."

Fencing will go up on Bramley Road to protect the hundreds of hand-drawn tributes, candles, artwork and ribbons, with officers deployed along that stretch of road as well as a number of local volunteers.

Ms Williams added that the memorial area would be generally closed to public, but that there would be a dedicated area for people to leave tributes without obstructing the carnival flow.

A minutes silence will be held to honour the victims of Junes blaze, which officials believe killed at least 80 people.

It comes amid growing criticism of Scotland Yard over its policing tactics in the run up to Notting Hill Carnival, with Grime star Stormzy launching a barbed attack against chiefs for a series of drugs raids.

A three-week crackdown on crime ahead of the carnival saw 656 people arrested by 7am on Friday, and a large number of knives, guns, weapons and money seized.

The raid prompted the Croydon-based star to tweet: How many drugs did you lot seize in the run up to Glastonbury or we only doing tweets like this for black events?

In an interview with the Standard, David Musker, the commander in charge of policing the west London event, defended the raids.

He said: What do the public expect of us? Last year we had 70 to 80 stabbings, four of them people who nearly lost their lives in attempted murders.

He added: We are going to be uncompromising in ensuring the safety and security of the public and if that means putting a significant effort into dealing with criminality before carnival I am unapologetic about that and will continue to do it.

Scotland Yard added security plans had been "thoroughly reviewed" after the Barcelona attack, in which 15 people died after being hit by a van.
S adiq Khan was accused of making fake boasts about housing today after claiming he ordered the purchase of a plot of land for affordable homes.

City Hall had told the Standard that the decision buy the former Webbs Industrial Estate in Waltham Forest was one of his first actions as Mayor.

However, the 12 million order to purchase the land for new housing was in fact signed by Boris Johnson in March 2016, weeks before Mr Khan took office.

London Tories accused the Mayor of desperation and fabricating the truth by attempting to claim credit for his predecessors decision.

Mr Khan had admitted the land stood derelict for seven years but failed to mention his predecessors involvement in kicking off the process or his plans to build new homes on the site.

Mayoral aides insisted the claims were justified because the deal went through under Mr Khan, after the original deadline agreed by his predecessor, and that his scheme was the only one to deliver more than 300 affordable homes on the site.

But it is the latest of a series of examples of Mr Khan claiming credit for projects initiated by either his predecessor or the Government, including a Pocket Living deal for first-time buyers which was the continuation of an existing scheme and the extension of 4G on the Tube.

The row is reminiscent of the Tories claiming the London Overground was talked about under Ken Livingstone but delivered under Boris Johnson when in fact the agreement for TfL to take over the route was reached more than two years before Mr Johnson was elected.

Andrew Boff, Tory housing spokesman at City Hall, said: Sadiq Khan has spent his entire term blaming the previous Mayor for anything and everything that has gone wrong under his own leadership.

Now hes taking credit for and making fake boasts about a housing decision made before he even took office. This smacks of desperation.

The Mayor has been caught fabricating the truth to enhance his own public image.

It is about time he was honest about the decisions being taken and what, if anything, he has actually brought to the table.

A spokesperson for Mr Khan said: The Webbs site in Waltham Forest was bought by City Hall in July 2016 following an instruction from Sadiq soon after he was elected. The previous Mayor had prepared a business case to acquire the site, but under him discussions had stalled and the deadline for buying the site was missed.

"Under Sadiqs new approach, City Hall found a partner who would develop the site with over 300 homes, of which 100 per cent will be genuinely affordable for first-time buyers  something that was never considered by the previous administration for this nor any other site under City Hall control.
T he European Commission has denied a meeting between Tony Blair and Jean-Claude Juncker is a conspiracy to undermine Brexit.

News of a planned head-to-head next week between the two passionate pro-Europeans came on Friday, immediately raising questions of timing as it will clash with official Brexit talks between UK and EU diplomats.

But Commission spokesman Alexander Winterstein insisted: There is no conspiracy.

He said former Luxembourg premier Mr Juncker, now president of the Commission, kept in close contact with many leaders and former leaders from all over the world, and had a particularly close relationship with the former British prime minister because they led their countries at the same time.

Jean-Claude Juncker: The former Luxembourg PM is now president of the European Commission / NurPhoto via Getty Images

Mr Winterstein said of Juncker: After all he was a prime minister for 20 years and Tony Blair is one of these peers.

There are good friends. They have known each other for a very long time. Tony Blair was here last year, was here the year before. This is absolutely nothing out of the extraordinary.

The spokesman went on to claim there was no written agenda for the meeting but he expected they would discuss range of issues including European economics and politics. He did not specifically reference Brexit.

They will meet on Thursday the EU Commissions headquarters in Brussels. It coincides with the final day in the third round of official talks between British and EU diplomats hoping to thrash out a Brexit deal.

Mr Blair has previously said he feels so "passionate" about blocking a hard Brexit that he would consider returning to frontline politics to stop it.

He later insisted it was "absolutely necessary" that Brexit does not happen because of the "damage" the Leave vote is already causing the UK.
B oris Johnson was plunged into fresh controversy today after warning anarchy-ridden Libya to learn the lesson from Theresa Mays disastrous decision to call a snap election.

The Foreign Secretary told Libyas UN-backed prime minister Fayez al-Sarraj that the June election, called by Mrs May amid Tory hopes of a landslide victory, had not gone entirely to plan, according to the BBC.

We have had an election since I last saw you [in May], Mr Johnson said. It went more or less to plan. Well, not entirely to plan. It is a bit of a lesson, which is that if you are going to have elections, you have got to get ready.

He made the remarks on Wednesday during a two-day visit to the north African country, where he urged military and political leaders to work together for peace and stability.

In an interview yesterday with the BBCs diplomatic correspondent James Landale, Mr Johnson added: We have been encouraging them [Libyan politicians] ... telling them about what it takes to fight an election, warning them about some of the pitfalls in calling elections too soon or whatever, which is one of the risks they face here because they havent got their ducks lined up properly.

The Conservatives lost their majority in the snap election. Sources close to Mr Johnson insisted his comments were not meant as criticism of the campaign or Mrs May.

Rather, they were simply to highlight the risks of going to the country and that taking time might allow Libyan leaders to better sort issues and make progress.

A spokesman said: It is a well known fact that elections can be uncertain and we want the Libyans to get this process right and not rush it.

However, ex-Liberal Democrat leader Lord Ashdown said: One of the first rules of diplomacy is that you shouldnt insult your own country abroad.

The Foreign Secretarys efforts to promote peace in Libya are admirable, but perhaps they would be better expended on his own warring Cabinet.

A senior Tory MP added: Im stunned that the Foreign Secretary is using the UK as an example not to follow when dealing with friends that we are seeking to influence.

On the BBC Today programme this morning, Mr Johnson accepted that Britain had been too optimistic following the overthrow of dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, which plunged Libya into chaos. Since 2014 the country has had rival governments in Tripoli and the east.

He added: We thought that the elections in 2014 would be a solution and actually they made things worse. Thats the point Ive been making over the last couple of days to people in Libya.

They need to glue back together the two sides of the country, they need to come together with a political agreement. I think that politicians in Libya need, as it were, to suppress their own selfish interest to compromise for the good of the country and get behind the UN plan.

Mr Johnsons trip was the first visit to Benghazi in eastern Libya by a government minister since the Anglo-French military operation in 2011 which led to the toppling of Gaddafi.

It was also the first time Mr Johnson had met Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, head of the Libyan National Army, as well as members of the House of Representatives representing Benghazi.

Mr Haftar is the dominant figure in eastern Libya. Since early last year he has spurned the UN-backed Government of National Accord in the capital, Tripoli.

The GNA, hampered by infighting and its failure to win endorsement from eastern-based factions, has largely failed to extend its authority or end the turmoil in the country.

Libya has become the main departure point for migrants catching boats to Europe and Islamic State established a regional stronghold in the coastal city of Sirte, which the group has since lost. Mr Johnson rejected calls for a pause in the military action to destroy IS in its Syrian base of Raqqa but raised concerns over the number of casualties.

He branded Donald Trumps response to clashes between white supremacists and protesters in Virginia as totally wrong. He condemned the US president for failing to make a clear and fast distinction between fascists and anti-fascists after violence this month.

Mr Johnson also appeared to concede that Britain would have to pay a bill to leave the European Union. Some of the sums that Ive seen seemed to be very high and, of course, we will meet our obligations, he said.

We have to meet our legal obligations as we understand them and thats what youd expect the British government to do.

He dodged questions on whether he would support a transition deal of up to three years, backed by Chancellor Philip Hammond, which would allow for temporary arrangements on trading conditions after Brexit.
A petition to ban nuts on airlines has gathered more than 150,000 signatures after a call to action by the family of an ITV producer who suffered catastrophic brain damage from an allergic reaction.

Amy May Shead, 29, was left unable to speak, see or walk properly after she went into anaphylactic shock while eating a meal containing nuts on holiday in Budapest.

Although the tragic incident did not take place on a plane, the Amy May Trust - run by her aunt and cousin to raise funds for her care - launched the petition this week to increase public awareness of the dangers faced by allergy sufferers in their daily lives.

"While we understand the small comforts of travelling, such as a snack with your first holiday drink onboard, we also realise the seriousness of many allergies," said the organisation on Change.org in a petition they launched after speaking out over the incident this week.

"Unlike other forms of both private and public transport ... an airline is an airtight tube within which the ventilation system can cause serious consequences to passengers who may be affected by contaminated air.

"Equally, if a reaction takes place onboard, the patient will require urgent and time-sensitive medical care, often within moments of the reaction taking place.

"Even with personal medication such as an EpiPen (syringes of adrenaline carried by allergy sufferers), reaching a hospital within the required time is an unfeasible solution when thousands of feet in the air," it said.

Viewers were left in tears earlier this week when her family told of her horrific ordeal on ITV's This Morning.

Ex-producer Has Audience in Tears With Her Peanut Allergy Reaction Story

They told how, allergic to nuts since birth, Ms Shead - an ITV web producer who worked on Good Morning Britain - sensibly carried an EpiPen and other allergy medications.

She jetted off to Hungary in 2014 for a long weekend with friends, and on the third day ordered a meal in a restaurant.

Although she showed waiters an allergy information card in local language, after just one bite anaphylaxis struck and Ms Shead suffered cardiac arrest.

Paramedics fought to save her life as her friends looked on, but her brain was starved of oxygen for six minutes.

She was left with serious brain injury causing partial paralysis and problems with sight and speech.

Her personal insurance did not cover pre-existing conditions such as the allergy, so Ms Shead's family could not claim compensation.

According to Allergy UK, 44 per cent of British adults suffer from at least one allergy and the number of sufferers is on the rise.

About one in 100 people are thought to be allergic to nuts, with reactions ranging from mild to severe.
A former British soldier who fought against Islamic State has reportedly been charged with a terror offence in Turkey.

Joe Robinson has been accused of being a member of a terrorist organisation after he fought in Syria alongside the Peoples Protection Units of Syrian Kurdistan (YPG), a group proscribed in Turkey because of its links to the Kurdish independence movement.

The 24-year-old was detained by Turkish police while on holiday last month with his girlfriend and her mother.

Mr Robinson, formerly of Accrington, Lancashire, is being kept in his cell for 23 hours a day, his solicitor Kaya Sertkaya told the Guardian.

His girlfriend Mira Rojkan, who according to her Facebook page is originally from Bulgaria, but is living in Leeds and studying law, has been charged with propaganda for sharing pro-Kurdish material online, the solicitor added.

It is also reported that Mr Robinson's family has sent a letter to Prime Minister Theresa May appealing for her help.

An online petition calling for his release has gained more than 3,000 signatures since being set up at the end of July.

Turkey is hostile to the YPG because of links with the Kurdistan Workers' Party, which is fighting for Kurdish autonomy in Turkey.

Following Mr Robinson's arrest, the Kurdistan Solidarity Campaign said: "Unfortunately, Joe has gone on holiday to Turkey not realising the kind of state it has now become.

"Turkey unfortunately continues to criminalise the Kurdish question and has jailed tens of thousands of Kurdish people, including elected MPs and mayors simply for peacefully campaigning for Kurdish rights."

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We are aware of the detention of a British national in Turkey and have requested consular access. We are providing support to the family and remain in contact with Turkish authorities."
A surviving suspect of the Barcelona terror atrocity has been conditionally freed because of a lack of evidence, a Spanish court has said.

National Court Judge Fernando Andreu ruled that Salh El Karib's passport should be confiscated and that he will be required to show up in court once a week while he remains under investigation.

The cyber cafe worker is suspected of purchasing plane tickets for some members of the terror cell that murdered 15 people in Thursdays attacks.

Mr El Karib, worked in Ripoll, the Catalan town where the extremist cell was allegedly formed.

He has been in police custody since Spanish investigators came to believe he purchased the tickets.

On Tuesday, the judge freed with similar restrictions another suspect and sent two others to jail.

Eight more people connected to the attacks are dead, six of them shot by police.
D onald Trump was today facing the first major natural crisis of his presidency as a life-threatening monster hurricane bore down on the United States.

Hurricane Harvey is expected to slam the coast of Texas and Louisiana tonight or early tomorrow, bringing winds in excess of 125 mph and dumping up to 35 inches of rain.

Meteorologists are warning the downpour could cause a flooding catastrophe that will cost lives through the weekend.

Mr Trump weighed in on Twitter last night, saying: As #HurricaneHarvey intensifies - remember to #PlanAhead.

With Hurricane Harvey approaching landfall, remember, the USA is the most resilient nation on earth because we plan ahead, Mr Trump said in a second tweet including a video showing him touring the Federal Emergency Management Agency earlier this year. Preparedness is an investment in our future, he added.

Preparations: People in Texas get ready for the storm's arrival / AP

Rice Universitys Severe Storm Prediction, Education, and Evacuation from Disasters (SSPEED) Center has predicted that a direct hit would easily cause more than $100 billion (78bn) in damages.

Forecasters said Hurricane Harvey had all the ingredients to be a monster storm that could trigger sea surges as high as 12 feet.

Life-threatening and devastating flooding expected near the coast due to heavy rainfall and storm surge, the National Hurricane Center said.

Louisiana and Texas declared states of disaster, authorising the use of state resources to prepare for the storm, which was expected to grow from a category two to category three. Were forecasting continuing intensification right up until landfall, added NHC spokesman Dennis Feltgen.

In the coastal Texan city of Corpus Christi where the storm was expected to strike first, the mayor issued a voluntary evacuation order and supermarket shelves were clearing quickly, with sandbags provided to residents.

Energy companies shut coastal refineries, pulling workers from offshore oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico and halting onshore drilling in south Texas.

Serious questions were being asked about how ready the president was for the fall-out from the storm that is predicted to be the most powerful to strike the mainland since 2005.

Residents prepare for Hurricane Harvey's arrival / AP

Matt Mackowiak, a Texas-based Republican strategist and president of the Potomac Strategy Group, feared the president may not be up to the task.

Whats unusual about Trump is that he has, as far as I know, zero disaster response experience, Mr Mackowiak told Business Insider.

Now, thats true for 99.9 percent of individuals, but its unusual for political figures.

He added: This is going to be an interesting challenge.

While the president has named a new leader for the Federal Emergency Management Agency in Brock Long, Alabamas former top emergency manager, the department is said to be in a state of upheaval with a number of key positions still unfilled.

Ron Klain, former chief of staff for vice presidents Al Gore and Joe Biden, warned in a column for the Washington Post that Mr Trump may not be up to the test.

Monster storm: Hurricane Harvey is set to hit the US / EPA

Would the Trump administration respond effectively? he asked.

The president just stripped the Department of Homeland Security of its leader, was blasted by the outgoing head of hurricane forecasting for how his budget cuts could set back this work, and lacks any experience (as a senator or governor) with navigating a difficult disaster response.

As a political matter, a botched hurricane response in the Gulf Coast or Florida would see Trump criticised - not by blue-state leaders he can mock or ignore, but by key members of his own coalition.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Mr Trump has been briefed and is keeping a very watchful eye on developments.

Youve got acting [Homeland Security] Secretary Elaine Duke, watching this closely, very involved in the process, along with the acting director for FEMA, she said. I think were in great shape having General [John] Kelly sitting next to the president throughout this process.

She added that theres probably no better chief of staff for the president during the hurricane season.
A man has been arrested in Australia after mysteriously being found in possession of hundreds of avocados.

Officers in Adelaide carried out a fruitful raid at a property in the rural area Riverland after a string of break-ins, seizing an assortment of strange items including building insulation, a canoe and an antique clock.

Police said they returned some of the possessions to their rightful owners, but did not know who the crates of avocados belonged to.

A 29-year-old man was arrested and charged with unlawful possession.

South Australia force meanwhile issued a public call for the rightful owner of the delicious fruits, which are assumed to be ripening fast.

A spokesman said: "Police urge anyone with information on the thefts or is missing a few hundred avocados to call Crime Stoppers."
F ar-right protesters will have to mind their step when they demonstrate in San Francisco this weekend  after activists promised to carpet the site with dog poo.

Dog owners have apparently been stockpiling excrement ahead of Saturdays Patriot Prayer rally in the Californian city as political tensions take a bizarre twist following unrest in Charlottesville earlier this month.

Thousands of people have suggested they may take part in the dirty protest, which takes place in the shadow of the Golden Gate Bridge on San Francisco's Crissy Field, according to Facebook.

Organisers said on an event page: Leave a gift for our Alt-Right friends. Take your dog to Crissy Field and let them do their business and be sure not to clean it up!

Watch out for landmines, friends!

We can get together Sunday and clean up the mess and hug each other!

The idea came from 45-year-old dog owner Tuffy Tuffington, who told the Guardian: It seemed like a little bit of civil disobedience where we didnt have to engage with them face to face.

San Franciscans showed mixed responses to the plans. Brendan Wallace commented on Facebook: Ignore the haters trying to shame you for 'contamination' etc. If Crissy Field is going to be covered in sh*t for a day, it might as well be dog sh*t!

Mike Klotz countered: I'm pretty liberal and have no understanding or patience for the right wing movement but what your event is suggesting, regarding dog sh*t, is not only toxic to the environment, it's downright dangerous to children playing there the next day.

Patriot Prayer describes itself on Facebook as aiming to use the power of love and prayer to fight the corruption both in the government and citizen, and organisers have called Saturdays march a free speech rally.

But San Francisco mayor Ed Lee said the event was shameful and has accused the group of trying to incite violence, according The Oregonian newspaper.

Other politicians have labelled it a white supremacist rally.

The demo comes less than a month after far-right protests in Charlottesville descended into violence.

One woman was killed and others were injured when a car was driven into protesters congregating ahead of a counter rally.
T exas is bracing itself for a "very major disaster" as Hurricane Harvey approaches its coastline, the state's governor has said.

It comes after the strength of the storm was increased by the US National Hurricane Centre (NHC) to Category 4 on Friday, amid warnings it was "rapidly intensifying".

The natural disaster is expected to slam the coast of Texas and Louisiana and may bring 35 inches of rain, wind speeds of 125mph and storm surges of 12ft.

Forecasters are labelling it a "life-threatening storm as fears mount that it could be the worst to hit the mainland since Katrina in 2005.

Waves pound the shore from the approaching hurricane / Getty Images

Texas governor Greg Abbott said the hurricane is "turning into a very complex and dangerous hurricane", adding that he had asked President Donald Trump for a federal disaster declaration.

In a letter he said: "The storm surge, coupled with the deluge of rain, could easily lead to billions of dollars of property damage and almost certainly loss of life."

Mr Trump tweeted on Friday: "Storm turned hurricane is getting much bigger and more powerful than projected."

It is the first natural the disaster the President has faced since he took office.

On Thursday it developed from a tropical depression into a Category 1 hurricane, before growing into a Category 2 storm early on Friday.

A local resident shoots video of the storm on his mobile / EPA

It had become a Category 4 storm by Friday evening.

"We're forecasting continuing intensification right up until landfall," NHC spokesman Dennis Feltgen said.

Louisiana and Texas have already declared states of disaster, authorising the use of state resources to prepare for the storm.

A man carries his surfboard through the water / AP

Mandatory evacuations of tens of thousands of residents in low-lying areas have been ordered in all seven Texas counties on the coast from Corpus Christi to the western end of Galveston Island.

In four of those counties officials ordered their entire county to be evacuated and warned those who stayed behind that no one could be guaranteed rescue.

In coastal Texan city of Corpus Christi, where the storm was expected to strike first, supermarket shelves have been clearing quickly and sandbags provided to residents.

Sandbags surround a market ahead of Hurricane Harvey / AP

Energy companies have shut coastal refineries, pulling workers from offshore oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico and halting onshore drilling in south Texas.

However serious questions have been asked about how ready the President is for the fall-out from the storm.

Matt Mackowiak, a Texas-based Republican strategist and president of the Potomac Strategy Group, told Business Insider: Whats unusual about Trump is that he has, as far as I know, zero disaster response experience."

Crews work to board up windows as the storm approaches / AP

Mr Trump weighed in on Twitter on Thursday night, saying: As #HurricaneHarvey intensifies - remember to #PlanAhead.

He added in a second tweet: With Hurricane Harvey approaching landfall, remember, the USA is the most resilient nation on earth because we plan ahead. Preparedness is an investment in our future.
O usted former Thai prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra has fled the country, sources close to her said on Friday, after she failed to show up for the verdict in her trial.

"She has definitely left Thailand," the source, who is a member of her party, told Reuters.

He declined to be named because he was not authorised to speak on behalf of Ms Yingluck. Another source confirmed that she had gone.



The country's Supreme Court issued an arrest warrant for the former premier earlier on Friday while Thailand's military ruler, who ousted her three years ago, said a manhunt had been launched.

The court was set to rule on charges that Yingluck was negligent when she oversaw a rice subsidy scheme that cost the state billions of dollars.

Thousands of the former PM's supporters gathered outside the court while police stood guard - but Yingluck never appeared, and a judge read a statement saying her lawyers claimed she had an earache.

Supporters of former Thai prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra wait for her at the Supreme Court / REUTERS

A judge said that the court would not accept the reason since there was no medical evidence as it issued an arrest warrant, seized her bail of 703,000, and postponed the verdict until September 27.

The ex-PM's absence fuelled immediate speculation that she could have left the country.

Speaking at a nearby event on Friday, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, the military chief who toppled Yingluck's government in a 2014 coup, said her whereabouts were not yet known.

"Police are informed, (but) there's nothing yet," he said. "We're still looking for her."

Her lawyer could not be reached for comment.

Yingluck has said she is not guilty of the charge and that the case is politically motivated.

Her trial is the latest stage of a decade-long struggle by the nation's elite minority to crush the powerful political machine founded by Yingluck's brother, Thaksin Shinawatra, who was toppled in a 2006 coup.

Thousands of police were present to control crowds as Thailand's military ruler feared unrest / EPA

Thaksin Shinawatra , who has lived in Dubai since fleeing a corruption conviction he says was politically motivated, has avoided commenting on his sister's trial, apparently so as not to jeopardise her case.

Thaksin is a highly polarising figure whose overthrow triggered years of upheaval and pitted a poor, rural majority in the north that supports the Shinawatras against royalists, the military and their urban backers.

When Yingluck's government proposed an amnesty in 2013 that could have absolved her brother, street protests erupted that eventually led her government to fall in the 2014 coup.

Yingluck's lawyers said she had an earache while her supporters gathered outside the courthouse / REUTERS

The rice subsidies, promised to farmers during the 2011 election, helped Yingluck's party ascend to power and were criticised by her opponents as a form of vote-buying.

The rice subsidy plan Yingluck oversaw paid farmers about 50 percent more that they would have made on the world market.

The hope was to drive up prices by stockpiling supplies, but other Asian producers filled the void instead, knocking Thailand from its perch as the world's leading rice exporter.

The current government, which is still trying to sell off the rice stockpiles, says Yingluck's administration lost as much as $17 billion because it couldn't export at a price commensurate with what it had paid farmers.

If convicted, Yingluck would have the right to appeal the verdict.

In a separate administrative ruling that froze her bank accounts, Yingluck was held responsible for about $1 billion of those losses - an astounding personal penalty that prosecutors argued she deserved because she ignored warnings of corruption on the programme.
W onder Woman director Patty Jenkins slammed James Cameron today after he said her blockbuster was a step backwards for women in Hollywood.

The DC Comics film, starring Gal Gadot in the title role, has earned more than 600 million worldwide since its release earlier this summer.

But Cameron, whose hits include the first two Terminator films, Titanic and Avatar, told The Guardian: Shes an objectified icon, and its just male Hollywood doing the same old thing! Im not saying I didnt like the movie but, to me, its a step backwards.

He appeared to suggest the character of Sarah Connor, played by Linda Hamilton in The Terminator (1984) and Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), was a better role model.

Hitting back: Patty Jenkins has slammed Jams Cameron / Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images

He said: Sarah Connor was not a beauty icon. She was strong, she was troubled, she was a terrible mother, and she earned the respect of the audience through pure grit. And to me, [the benefit of characters like Sarah] is so obvious.

The Canadian, 63, who also directed Sigourney Weaver as action hero Ripley in 1986s Aliens, said he did not understand why Hollywood had problems depicting powerful women.

Wonder Woman - Trailer 2

There are many women in power in Hollywood and they do get to guide and shape what films get made. I think  no, I cant account for it, he said.

Jenkins, 46, tweeted: James Camerons inability to understand what Wonder Woman is, or stands for, to women all over the world is unsurprising as, though he is a great filmmaker, he is not a woman.

The US director also referred to Camerons praise for her 2003 film Monster, starring Charlize Theron as serial killer Aileen Wuornos. His praise of my film Monster, and our portrayal of a strong yet damaged woman was so appreciated, she wrote.

But she continued: If women have to always be hard, tough and troubled to be strong, and we arent free to be multidimensional or celebrate an icon of women everywhere because she is attractive and loving, then we havent come very far, have we?
I f you feel your TV viewing has been missing a certain regal flair ever since the first series of Victoria ended, then grab your corset and crown, because series two is about to start.

While the first run saw Victoria ascend to the throne and meet her match in a German prince, this time the young monarch is busy juggling babies, husbands and foreign affairs.

Heres what to expect from series two of the royal drama.

1. Queen Victoria will be adapting to her new role as a mother

At the end of series one, we saw Victoria give birth to her first child.

Picking up six weeks after the last episode, the new series will see Victoria negotiating motherhood as her family grows and balancing her new status with her existing duties as Queen.

Jenna Coleman and Tom Hughes as Victoria and Albert (ITV)

With the series skipping over the decades Downton-style well also be seeing the monarch bear several more children before the second run is out.

2. Therell be tension between Victoria and Albert

While Victoria has been busy with the business of childbirth and motherhood, Albert has stepped in to fulfil her royal duties. But when shes ready to return to her work, hes not all too willing to cede control.

The second series will see the pair tussling over their respective roles and responsibilities and, now the honeymoon period is over, embark on some blazing rows complete with hairbrush-flinging.

Victoria series two - in pictures 1 /13 Victoria series two - in pictures Jenna Coleman as Victoria and Tom Hughes as Albert Jenna Coleman as Victoria Nell Hudson as Skerrett Jenna Coleman as Victoria and Tom Hughes as Albert Jenna Coleman as Victoria Jenna Coleman as Victoria and Tom Hughes as Albert Diana Rigg as Duchess of Buccleuch Jenna Coleman as Victoria and Tom Hughes as Albert David Oakes as Ernest and Catherine Flemming as Duchess Jenna Coleman as Victoria and Tom Hughes as Albert

3. Itll feature a trip to Scotland

Series two will see the Queen make a royal visit to the Scottish Highland where shell be welcomed by the Duke of Atholl, played by one of many well-known British actors to pop up in the new episodes  Denis Lawson.

Pictures from the set of the period drama showed the Bafta and Emmy-nominated actor at Blair Castle in Perthshire decked out in Scottish dress complete with kilt and sporran.

4. Therell be guest appearances from some well-known British actors

As well as Lawson, therell be several other stars of British TV making cameos in the new series.

Diana Rigg as the Duchess of Buccleuch(ITV)

Theres the scene-stealing Dame Diana Rigg who recently bowed out of her role as Game of Thrones matriarch Olenna Tyrell in magnificently shady style as the Duchess of Buccleuch, and not to mention Martin Compston from Line of Duty fame as an activist campaigning to raise awareness and support for victims of the potato famine in Ireland during the 1840s, plus a certain Rufus Sewell

5. Lord M will return

Yes, fan favourite father figure Lord Melbourne, (affectionately dubbed Lord M by his Queen), is back for a brief appearance in series two.

Which means the Olivier and Tony award-winning Rufus Sewell will be getting a casting credit, but how will his reappearance go down with the new Buckingham Palace patriarch, Prince Albert?

Victoria returns to ITV on Sunday, August 27 at 9.05pm.
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The July 25 th peace deal is unravelling. A month ago the GNA (Government of National Accord in Tripoli) and HoR (House of Representatives in Tobruk) governments both agreed to a nationwide ceasefire, elections in early 2018 and UN recognition of the LNA (Libyan National Army). The original GNA prime minister (Fayez al Serraj) and the head of the HoR armed forces (Khalifa Belgacem Hiftar) were at the July 25 th talks and openly supported the agreement. These men are the most prominent leaders in the country and that gives this agreement the best chance of succeeding. While there is something of a ceasefire going on between GNA and Hiftar forces the rest of the agreements are at risk more because of disagreements outside North Africa.

The July deal came apart over the issue of what to do about the illegal migrants who have been flooding into Europe via Libya since 2012. The key point of difference is how Libya should deal with the millions of illegal migrants, most of them from countries south of Libya. These travelers are largely male and rely on people smuggling gangs that specialize in getting the illegals into Libya and to the coast where other groups, usually in partnership with European gangsters, get the illegals into boats and to Europe. This is not a new problem.

It is possible to stop the movement of smuggler boats. Up until 2011 Italy and France had a deal with the Kaddafi government to shut down the coastal people smugglers. Between 2008 and 2010 Kaddafi reduced the flow of illegals to Europe (from Libya) from 40,000 to 5,000 a year. He also persuaded the smuggling gangs to stop moving people from all over the Middle East and Africa into Libya. Then came the 2011 uprising that overthrew Kaddafi and Libya has been trying to form another national government ever since. In the meantime the smuggling gangs went back to work because moving illegal migrants was very lucrative and the chaos along the Libyan coast provided ample opportunities to set up an operation that was soon worth over a billion dollars a year to the criminals) and by 2016 about 15,000 of these illegals were getting to Europe each month by crossing the Mediterranean, nearly all of them from Libya to Italy.

A key point of disagreement now is what happens to the illegal migrants that are prevented from moving via sea to Europe. The Libyans want all these illegals stranded in Libya to go home, or at least be forced out of Libya. Many European states do not want that but instead propose the EU pay for massive refugee camps in Libya. This proposal ignores the fact that this approach does not work and Moslem nations in general, especially Arab ones, avoid (or turn back by force) any refugees, even Moslem ones to get across their borders. Refugee camps, especially those supported by foreigners tend to become permanent and all the problems those refugees cause become a something host nation has to deal with while the foreigners paying for this criticize how the host nations is behaving.

To make matters worse, the Europeans suggest that Libya, with its low population density (most of the country is desert) and large oil income simply absorb the refugees. That is also something oil-rich Moslem countries do not do, ever. Oil rich Moslem nations prefer to spend all the oil income on hiring foreigners to do the work locals would rather not (or cannot) to do while the rest of the oil money goes to corruption and providing the locals with enough amenities to keep them from rebelling. That sometimes breaks down, as it did in Libya, but that was an exception and now Libyans want to get back to normal with the six million native Libyans continuing to live mainly on the coast with qualified foreigners brought in (without their families) to do most of the work. Illegal migrants would be, as was the case during decades of Kaddafi rule, kept out by any means necessary. Moreover the Libyans see most of the illegals as economic migrants not refugees fleeing for their lives.

Some EU (European Union) suggestions are acceptable to the rival GNA and HoR Libyan governments that control the Libyan coast (but not much of the land borders. GNA is already cooperating with EU efforts to assist and expand a Libyan coast guard that will halt, or at least reduce, the flow of illegal migrants to Italy. This effort is hobbled by the small size of the current coast guard and the rampant corruption in Libya, which makes it difficult to find Libyans that will serve in this coast guard and refuse bribes from the criminal gangs that control the illegal migration. The EU proposes to restore the coast guard to its pre-war size and capabilities. This would include lots of European trainers and advisors, both of which would accompany the Libyan coast guard crews on their patrols to observe their performance and discourage cooperation with smugglers. Italy has already started reviving the coast guard forces operating out of Tripoli.

Italy is also leading the effort to provide naval patrols that would not (usually) get closer than 22 kilometers from the coast (which would put them in Libyan territorial waters) but would help maintain a smuggler free environment northward towards Italy. Already the existing Libyan and some EU patrol boats are also preventing anyone else from assisting the pirates. The anyone else is the growing number of European NGOs (non-governmental organizations) that are sending rescue boats to meet smugglers off the Libyan coast and escort them to Italy. This is done to prevent some of these smuggler boats from sinking in bad weather or simply because the smuggler boats are not fit for the journey. It has gotten to the point where the NGO rescue ships will take up position just outside (or even inside) Libyan territorial waters to do this. The smuggler boats head right for the NGO ships and then any smugglers on board return to Libya while the NGOs see that the illegal migrants reach Italy. Some of the NGOs are demanding that the EU stop supporting the Libyan coast guard, which increasingly stops smuggler boats full of illegal migrants before they reach the NGO rescue ships outside (or even inside) territorial waters. The Libyans want the NGO boats gone and most EU nations agree. What little there is of the Libyan coast guard is chasing NGO ships away from the Libyan coast and sometimes chasing them even further and threatening to open fire if they are encountered again. This is having an impact because the smuggling gangs are forced to shift to other Libyan ports where they can bring the illegals and the boats the smugglers use for the trip (usually one-way) towards Italy along routes the Tripoli based patrol boats have a hard time reaching. As long as the Libyan coast guard has limited resources the smuggling gangs can adapt and keep the illegals going to sea and heading for Italy.

Italy and the rest of Europe want peace and a unified government in Libya mainly because Libya is the source of most of the illegal migrants crossing the Mediterranean and landing in Italy where, because of EU treaties and European sensibilities, Italy must absorb these illegal migrants or allow them to move on to other EU countries that offer better economic opportunities. In 2016 181,000 of these illegals reached Italy but nearly three percent of those who tried died along the way. So far in 2017 the death rate of illegal migrants coming by sea is down a bit but the migration will continue as long as Libya and EU nations cannot agree on what will happen to the illegals stranded in Libya. Overall the number of illegals reaching Italy is down by about 60 percent so far in 2017 (compared to 2016) and hundreds of thousands of them are stranded in Libya and not doing well at all.

Until 2016 about half the illegal migrants entering Europe were coming in via Italy. With the land route via the Balkans largely blocked this year, most of the illegal migrants now get to Italy via Libya. The criminal gangs (and some Islamic terror groups) that control the Libya based people smuggling are getting rich off this business and can afford to bribe local militias to leave them alone. If that fails, the gangs try intimidation. The gangs consider the NGOs allies and the EU military ships patrolling the Libyan coast harmless if you dont fire on them. The Libyans want to change that but the obstacle now is the EU refusal to allow Libya to force illegals to leave Libya and using force to keep them out.

The peace deal is basically about money. Libya expects to be paid billions of dollars in military and economic aid to seal their maritime border. After all the EU paid Turkey $6 billion to halt the flow of illegals via Turkey. Hiftar points out that it would cost $20 billion or more to seal the southern border over the next 20 years and shutting down most of the smuggling could not be done quickly. Neither can getting agreement among EU members about how to proceed. That may take a while and while waiting the formation of a unified Libyan government is on hold as well. Meanwhile Hiftar is cooperating with French military experts to determine how much special equipment (vehicles, structures, sensors and other electronics) would be needed to seal the border. This is how, in spite of the stalemate, Italy and France are moving ahead with some of the proposed military aid. Not weapons, which are still banned, but with maintenance and logistics.

And then there is the issue of autonomy. Libya expects EU nations to stop trying to interfere with the way Libya takes care of Islamic terrorists and illegal migrants. The EU nations are trying to comply but realize that as democracies they cannot control what their media or minority (not in power) political parties and NGOs say. Libyans are as concerned about bad publicity as they are with the EU unable to agree on the details of a deal they pushed.

The major EU nations (Italy, France and Britain) have senior officials talking to the Libyan factions and each other to try and work out acceptable (to the EU and Libya) guidelines on how the illegal migrants stuck in Libya will be handled. Germany is the leading proponent of leaving the NGO boats alone and not using force to keep the illegals out of Libya or to remove them. The Libyans are not impressed by any of the German alternatives. Key neighbors Algeria, Tunisia and Egypt vigorously (loudly and repeatedly) supported the unexpected late July peace agreement but are dismayed at how disagreements in the EU are now a major cause of delays.

These delays matter because major reason for Libyans supporting the July agreement was the need to avoid mass starvation. Since 2011 oil exports had shrunk and the Central Bank cash reserves are nearly gone. If peace and unity were not achieved soon no government would be able to buy and import food and other essentials. Even by Middle Eastern standards Libya was setting a new records in self-destructive behavior. By 2017 more Libyans were agreeing that the situation was indeed becoming desperate and a lot more compromise was the only solution. Even with the current national compromise the tribal (Arab, Berber and black African) and religious differences (Islamic radicals versus everyone else) plus epic levels of corruption and entitlement still threatened to keep peace and prosperity out of reach. The neighbors also agree that foreign military intervention should still be avoided and that it was up to the Libyan factions to work out their disputes and make peace. The neighbors see this as essential if Libya is to cease being a refuge for Islamic terror groups. The more remote parts of Libya (especially in the south near the borders) will remain accessible to outlaws of all sorts until a rebuilt Libyan military can concentrate on clearing out those sanctuary areas. At that point the neighbors, as well as some foreigners (like the French and the Americans) will be welcome to enter Libya and openly provide aid.

Oil Production Steady

The National Oil Corporation (NOC) has managed to increase production this year to record (since 2011) levels. As of June about a million BPD (barrels per day, including natural gas equivalents) were being produced. That was up from 250,000 BPD in mid-2016, 800,000 BPD in April 2017 and 880,000 BPD in May 2017. There was a three day interruption in August when the largest oil field (called Sahara and producing 280,000 bpd) had to deal with a local militia problem. Despite that the NOC still expects reach the end of 2017 producing 1.25 million BPD. After that work will continue to reach 1.5 million BPD by the end of 2018 and 2.1 million BPD by the early 2020s. This is far in excess of pre-2011 levels (1.6 million BPD) but is necessary because of the need to finance reconstruction and adapt to the fact that the world price for oil keeps falling, despite OPEC (the Arab dominated oil cartel) efforts to reduce overall production and drive up the price. The problem is that the United States and Canada are producing a lot more due to new technologies (like fracking) that open up huge new sources that were long known but not reachable.

OPEC had exempted Libya from production limits but this will only last until pre-2011 levels are reached and Libya hopes to get permission to exceed that limit because of hardship. That will be difficult because most of the OPEC members are suffering, politically if not economically, from the new normal for oil prices.

August 24, 2017: The Libyan Army announced that it would not turn over one of its officers to the ICC (International Criminal Court). The man in question is a close associate of Hiftar and long involved fighting Islamic terrorists in eastern Libya. The man is accused of ordering the killing off Islamic terrorists who had surrendered during the Benghazi fighting. The Libyans have always insisted that the ICC can only demand extradition of those charged with international crimes. This dispute goes way back. In mid-2012, less than a year after the Kaddafi government fell, ICC officials who came to Libya to try and force the issue but were themselves arrested. After a month of imprisonment two members of an ICC team (an Australian lawyer and Lebanese interpreter) were released. They had been were arrested when they showed up in Zintan (a largely Berber city south of Tripoli) to discuss having the ICC prosecute Seif al Islam Kaddafi, the son of the former dictator. The local militias want to prosecute Seif, not trusting anyone else to do it right. The ICC has not made itself popular in Libya by claiming superior authority to prosecute Seif. The ICC personnel were accused of spying and were not released until senior ICC officials came to Libya and apologized.

August 23, 2017: In south central Libya (770 kilometers south of Tripoli) ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) gunmen attacked a checkpoint outside Jufra manned by Libyan Army soldiers and killed, via beheading, nine soldiers and two civilians. Army forces have been fighting various Islamic terror groups in the Jufra are since late 2016 in an effort to gain control of the area. General Hiftar saw Jufra turning into a battle with the Misrata militias (that side with Islamic conservatives but oppose ISIL). Hiftar accuses the Jufra militias and their Misrata allies of becoming a Third Force in Libya and tolerating or even supporting Islamic terrorists. Thats sort of true but this is mostly about Misrata warlords looking to expand their power from the coast (where Misrata is). Problem is there is no unity among the Jufra factions. Some of the groups from Benghazi still call themselves the Benghazi Defense Brigades while those from other coastal cities have similar affiliations with where they came from. There are some local militias who will tolerate Islamic terrorist groups but are wary of exactly what the coastal militias are up to. The presence of ISIL remnants in Jufra encourages army units, and some pro-army militias from the coast, to keep fighting down there. The recent mass beheading led army leaders to promise vengeance. There are still believed to be at least a thousand armed ISIL members in Libya and this beheading incident reminds everyone of that.

August 12, 2017: General Hiftar visited Russia once more to discuss Russian help for the Libyan military and Russian-Libyan relations in general. Russian officials told Hiftar they supported the proposed (July) peace deal but that Russia could not help with EU disagreements over how to deal with illegal migrants stuck in Libya. Hiftar has made several such visits since 2016 and established good relationships with Russian political and military officials. Most of what was left of the pre-2011 Libyan armed forces was rebuilt by Hiftar, who was a Libyan Army officer who turned against Kaddafi in the 1980s and received asylum in the United States. But Hiftar was unacceptable to some of the factions the UN had united to form the GNA national government in 2016 and that turned out to be a bad decision. The rival HoR government in eastern Libya asked Russia for economic assistance and state controlled Russian oil firms agreed to work with the Libyan National Oil Company to repair, upgrade and expand Libyan oil facilities once peace was achieved. Hiftar also visits Egypt regularly and has managed to keep Egypt and a few other Arab states providing support. Egypt allows banned goods (like weapons and ammo) cross the border unhindered. Russia and many Arab states have pressured the UN to rethink its Libyan strategy and its support for the GNA.

August 8, 2017: An Italian Navy maintenance ship (with a crew of 50) arrived in Tripoli to repair Libyan coast guard vessels that had become inoperable because of a lack of spare parts and personnel trained to carry out such repairs. Italy is also supplying the GNA with ten refurbished Italian patrol boats. Four were delivered in May and the rest will arrive by the end of 2017. These boats are unarmed (because of the weapons embargo) but they only carried one heavy (30mm autocannon) and two 7.62mm machine-guns. There are plenty of suitable substitutes available in Libya. Each patrol boat requires a crew of twelve and the EU is willing to train crews as well.

August 4, 2017: General Hiftar warned Italy to keep its warships out of Libyan territorial waters. Italy has been working with the GNA to spot and stop smuggler boats before they reach international waters (more than 22 kilometers from the coast). The threat was for show because Hiftar has not got the naval or aviation resources to enforce his threat. He went to Egypt later in the week and discussed the matter with senior Egyptian military commanders and was told Egypt would not go to war with Italy over this. He later got the same response from Russia.
Samsung earlier this week pulled the curtain back on the Galaxy Note 8, its flagship for the second half of 2017 (and beyond). With the handset, Samsung is formally introducing consumers to a new breed of flagships at an ultra-premium price and that's something that some are struggling with.

Turns out, it's something you'd better get used to.

Sources reportedly familiar with the matter tell The New York Times that Apple's high-end iPhone 8 will be priced around $999 for what we assume is the 64GB model with 3GB of RAM. For comparison, the Galaxy Note 8 checks in north of $900 (the cheapest I've seen thus far is $930 from T-Mobile).

That's a lot of money but is it worth getting your feathers ruffled over?

Nobody is twisting your arm and forcing you to buy a top-end device. There are now more budget-tier phones than ever before (many of which are superb for the price), neutralizing the sting to your wallet a bit. After all, isn't more choice and competition what people typically demand of an industry?

I'm not defending expensive phones, per se, but I'm also not mad that they exist.

Indeed, perhaps my only complaint is the fact that manufacturers and carriers try to divert your attention away from the fact that you'll be paying nearly a grand for a smartphone with no money down financing and other purchase-time gimmicks. If you're going to drop that kind of cash on a phone, fine - just know what you're agreeing to pay when doing so.
The UK is set to become the next country to begin testing semi-autonomous trucks on its public roads. The trials will use a platooning system that involves up to three wirelessly connected trucks traveling in formation, with acceleration, braking, and steering all controlled by the lead vehicle.

The UK government is spending 8.1 million (around $10.3 million) on the tests, which will be carried out by the Transport Research Laboratory before the end of next year. They will initially take place on a private track before moving onto public highways.

As is the case with numerous self-driving car tests taking place today, the two trucks being controlled by the lead vehicle will have humans behind the wheel ready to take over should anything go wrong.

Because the trucks follow each other so closely, it creates a slipstream effect that can reduce fuel consumption and emissions by up to 20 percent. It's claimed the system will also help ease the country's busy roads.

"Advances such as lorry platooning could benefit businesses through cheaper fuel bills and other road users thanks to lower emissions and less congestion," said transport minister Paul Maynard.

Platooning has already been tested in several countries, including the US, but it will face a different challenge on the UK's smaller, heavily congested roads. "We have some of the busiest motorways in Europe with many more exits and entries," Edmund King, president of the AA - a driving organization similar to AAA - told the BBC. "So what that means is either the platoon would have to break up at entries or exits or indeed, pull over, and that could cause problems for drivers in other cars trying to get on the motorway or get off."

"Platooning may work on the miles of deserted freeways in Arizona or Nevada but this is not America."

Last year, six of Europe's largest truck manufacturers took part in a European Platooning Challenge that was organized by the Dutch government. Six conveys spent a week traveling across the continent to show the viability of the system.
Samsung may be pleased with the Note 8's reception and positive early impressions, but the company just received some unwelcome news from its homeland: Lee Jae-yong, Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman and heir-apparent, has been sentenced to five years in prison by a South Korean court for corruption.

The Seoul Central District Court passed down the sentence earlier today. A panel of three judges found the billionaire guilty of bribery, embezzlement, hiding assets overseas, concealing profits from criminal acts, and perjury.

Lee, who has been detained since February, was accused of being involved in a massive corruption scandal that led to the ousting of former South Korean President Park Geun Hye.

Prosecutors say Lee gave $38.4 million in bribes to non-profit foundations controlled by Park's close friend, Choi Soon-sil, in return for policy favors, including presidential support for business deals that would increase his hold on Samsung.

It's alleged that the company paid $1.09 million for a horse for Choi's daughter, Chung Yoo Ra, and spent a total of $6.4 million supporting her equestrian career.

Samsung and Lee deny the charges and claim the deals were to boost the business' competitiveness. Lee's defense said Samsung was pressured by Park to make the donations under duress, adding that Lee neither knew nor approved of them.

Five years is a lengthy sentence, but prosecutors had asked for Lee to serve 12 years behind bars. His lawyers will be appealing the ruling, and are confident it will be overturned at a higher court.

Samsung shares fell 1 percent following the verdict.
Vice-President Pence. Photo: Pool/Getty Images

Four U.S. Army soldiers assigned to Vice-President Mike Pences communication team have been reassigned after they violated curfew and allegedly brought women back to their hotel rooms in Panama last week, NBC reports.

Security camera footage reportedly caught the service members bringing the women into secured and restricted areas of the hotel without having registered them as visitors beforehand.

Military officials say there is no evidence the women were sex workers, and that the service members in question were reassigned for having violated curfew. In an email to the Washington Free Beacon earlier this week, chief of staff to White House Military Office Karen Brazell wrote:

Four active-duty military members assigned to the White House Communications Agency, from the Department of Defense, are under investigation for confirmed violations of curfew requirements while deployed to Panama in advance of the Vice Presidents visit August 17th, 2017.

All four members were removed from Panama before the vice president arrived and have subsequently been removed from White House Communications Agency duty.

The soldiers were in Panama to prepare for the vice-presidents tour of Latin America, which also included visits to Colombia, Chile, and Argentina.

This is not the first time members of executive-branch security have been disciplined after of inappropriate late-night rendez-vous. In 2012, eight Secret Service agents were fired after allegedly bringing sex workers from a strip club back to their hotel rooms during a trip with President Obama to Colombia.
Lil Kim says she may be pregnant, but she is not going to be any less hardcore, even if her 
TEHRANOfficially, Apple has no presence in Iran. Because of U.S. sanctions against the country, the companys iPhones are not legally available for sale here, and Apple does not offer a version of its App Store in the country.

That has not stopped Iranians from snapping up millions of iPhones smuggled in from places like Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong. Nor has it kept Iranian app developers from creating thousands of apps for local users and offering them through App Stores outside Iran.

Now, Apple is moving aggressively to shut down Iranian apps.

On Thursday, Apple removed Snapp, a ride-hailing app similar to Uber that is popular in Iran, from its app stores. That followed the removal in recent weeks of apps for food delivery, shopping and other services.

In a message to Iranian developers whose apps were affected by the ban, Apple said: Under the U.S. sanctions regulations, the App Store cannot host, distribute or do business with apps or developers connected to certain U.S. embargoed countries.

Mahdi Taghizadeh, a founder of DelionFoods, an online food delivery service, said his app was among those taken down.

Taghizadeh has protested against the move online, starting a campaign on Twitter, #StopRemovingIranianApps, to press Apple to end the crackdown. (Although the Iranian government has blocked Twitter in the country, determined users find ways to reach it.)

Google does not appear to have taken a similar action against Iranian apps in its Play store, and its formal Play guidelines allow apps to be distributed in the country.

When it comes to technology, U.S. sanctions against Iran over its nuclear weapons program are complicated. The Obama administration eased restrictions on U.S. tech companies that offered internet services in Iran as a way of encouraging a free flow of information.

The Trump administration has modified the overall sanctions, and President Donald Trump signed a new sanctions bill into law this month. It is unclear whether the administration meant to impose new restrictions on technology companies.

European countries lifted all sanctions against Iran after the 2016 nuclear agreement was reached.

Irans new telecommunications minister, Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi, complained on Twitter about Apples decision to remove the apps and said he was planning to pursue the issue.

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As talks shift to Mexico City on Sept. 1, Mexicos ambitions for a reworked North American Free Trade Agreement (or NAFTA II) will get the attention they deserve after a season dominated by U.S. and Canadian concerns.

With a population of close to 120 million people, Mexico is the second-largest of the three amigos. Its economy ranks among the 20 largest in the world.

And Mexico is thought to have the most to lose if the talks now underway should fail.

But Mexico comes into these negotiations stronger than is commonly thought.

For starters, Mexico and Canada share many of the same goals and concerns. They are a united front at the bargaining table.

For instance, Mexico City objects to a top U.S. priority of removing the existing dispute-resolution mechanism, known as Chapter 19. The mechanism provides for binational panels to settle complaints about dumping and countervailing duties.

Mexico also opposes any significant re-definition of rules of origin, another major U.S. goal. That refers to the amount of North American content in exported goods that originates within the three NAFTA partners, and thus qualifies for tariff-free trade.

In many industrial sectors, activity is so integrated among the three NAFTA countries that disruption of rules of origin would play havoc with supply chains in vehicle manufacturing, agriculture, forestry, financial services, and media and communications, among others.

Mexico and Canada are of like mind on those two critical issues.

Mexico also has muscle. Mexico imported $302 billion in U.S. goods in 2015. Many U.S. states rely on Mexico as their largest export market. (All figures in Canadian dollars.)

In the absence of NAFTA, the hardest-hit U.S. states would see their economies shrink between 5 and 15 per cent, according to a recent analysis by the U.K. Economist.

The U.S. is a house divided on NAFTA.

Anti-trade Democrats on Capitol Hill and their supporters in organized labour would shed no tears over the pacts demise.

Otherwise, however, scrapping it and its demonstrable economic benefits is opposed by the U.S. auto industry, the U.S. farm lobby, most Fortune 500 corporations, American companies keen to boost exports to Mexico of U.S. shale oil and gas, and a Wall Street eager to invest in a newly privatized Mexican energy sector.

Mexico has more U.S. friends than it realized when Donald Trump, future U.S. president, was vilifying NAFTA on the campaign trail last year. And so, Mexico has gone beyond trying to protect the benefits it has under the deal. It is pushing for a modernized NAFTA II that secures even more benefits.

Mexico City proposes upgrades that include new standards for cross-border investment and protection of intellectual-property rights in the energy, financial services and telecommunications sectors. These make sense for all three partners.

Energy was scarcely mentioned in the original treaty because it was too politically sensitive at the time of ratification in 1993. Banking and other financial services were not as globally integrated as they are today. The Internet was in its infancy, and e-commerce was non-existent.

Mexico has negotiated bilateral trade deals with 45 countries, more than any country. Mexicos negotiating team in these talks is battle-hardened.

So is Canadas, fresh from negotiating the landmark Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The TPP was close to fruition when Trump withdrew the U.S. on his third day in office.

By contrast, the U.S. negotiating team is spearheaded by anti-trade zealots Robert Lighthizer and Peter Navarro. Theyve actually demonized China and Germany even more than Mexico, as alleged currency manipulators.

That the Mexican and Canadian negotiators are united in their belief in open borders, and are seasoned in achieving mutually beneficial trade deals, gives them only limited advantage.

Folks who believe in free trade, negotiating with people who dont, holds the prospect of failed talks.

And the talks will fail if the U.S. is intransigent in seeking the America First deal Trump has promised Americans.

Everything you need to know about NAFTA in 3 Minutes. Why Donald Trump says NAFTA is a bad deal for the U.S. and what the negotiations could mean to Canada.

Trumps options arent attractive if he walks away from negotiations that arent leading to a lopsided deal in Americas favour. Trump would probably revert to trying to withdraw the U.S. from NAFTA, which he came close to doing in April. And he issued that threat again on Tuesday, at a rally of his supporters in Phoenix.

Well end up probably terminating NAFTA at some point, Trump said.

But U.S. constitutional experts say the U.S. president lacks the authority to scrap a treaty without Congressional approval. U.S. courts would likely find that Trump was violating U.S. domestic law in attempting to withdraw the U.S., since only Congress can repeal laws of its creation.

And the current Congress has no intention of repealing the 1994 NAFTA Implementation Act.

Already, several G.O.P. lawmakers on Capitol Hill and in state capitals have called on Trump to modernize the 23-year-old deal, not scrap it. U.S. lawmakers dont share Trumps outrage over Americas $73-billion trade deficit with Mexico, which works out to mere 0.3 per cent of U.S. GDP.

In 2015, the U.S. Congressional Research Service concluded that NAFTA did not cause the huge job losses feared by the critics or the large economic gains predicted by supporters.

Mexico not only took Trumps latest outburst in stride, but grasped that Trump had blundered in issuing his threat just one week into the negotiations, rather than use it to break a stalemate at the 11th hour. The threat has now lost its potency.

Trumps belligerence is no surprise: were in a negotiation, said Luis Videgaray, the Mexican foreign minister, this week. Mexico will remain at the table with calmness, firmness, and in the national interest.

NAFTA has become an exercise in waiting Trump out. He might face a hostile, Democratic-controlled Capitol Hill after next years elections. Already, some Republicans are preparing to challenge Trump for the 2020 presidential nomination  a remarkable turn just six months into a new U.S. presidential administration.

In the meantime, the real goal in these talks is to enable Trump to sign a NAFTA II and declare victory. To that end, Mexico has signaled a willingness to modestly alter the rules of origin. And Canada has opened the door to changes in the dispute-resolution mechanism to make it more effective.

Those changes would be mutually beneficial.

The first NAFTA was like the 1974 Corvette, Michael Camunez, a former assistant secretary of commerce in the Obama administration, told the Los Angeles Times this month.

Once innovative, its now out of date. A NAFTA II negotiated in a spirit of goodwill holds the potential, Camunez said, of being like the Tesla.

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MONTREALThe former president of the federal company that owns and operates two of Montreals major bridges was sentenced Thursday to five-and-a-half years in prison after pleading guilty to accepting more than $2 million in bribes.

Michel Fournier admitted to taking over $2.3 million from Montreal-based engineering giant SNC-Lavalin in connection with a contract the company received to repair the Jacques Cartier Bridge.

Fournier was president and director general of Federal Bridge Corp. and president of Jacques Cartier and Champlain Bridges Inc. between 1997-2004.

A consortium led by SNC-Lavalin obtained the $127-million contract of public money to repair the Jacques Cartier Bridge in October 2000.

Fournier told the court SNC-Lavalin deposited the money in Swiss bank accounts and that he had tried to hide the source of the cash.

Court documents stated Fournier lost a significant amount of the money in the stock market.

The government was only able to confiscate $775,000.

Fournier was charged in 2016.

Read more:SNC-Lavalin in talks for $3.5B takeover of London-based WS Atkins

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OTTAWAGen. Jonathan Vance wants to send a message of solidarity  and spark a rush for the militarys recruiting centres  this weekend by becoming the first chief of defence staff to march in a Pride parade.

Canadas top general will lead a contingent that includes many of the militarys most senior leadership through the streets of Ottawa during the citys annual Capital Pride Parade on Sunday.

In an interview with The Canadian Press, Vance said he wants to show members of the LGBTQ community already serving in the uniform that he and the rest of the top brass support them.

But the defence chief is also hoping his participation will spur other members of the community to think about a possible career in the Armed Forces by demonstrating its openness to all.

Read more:

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Gen. Jonathan Vance to issue directive encouraging military Pride participation

Top general urges new approach to injured soldiers

We want to recruit people from as diverse a segment of society as we can, he said. And that includes those LGBTQ folks that would be interested in the Canadian Armed Forces.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is also scheduled to march in the Ottawa parade, but Vance insisted he was marching to strengthen the military and not because of any political agenda.

Its not a political act, its a leadership act. Im not doing this to ride any coattails, Vance said.

Im doing this to speak to the Armed Forces. I want them to know their chief of defence staff supports them, that broad LGBTQ community, and those of you who are out there thinking about joining.

The Canadian militarys history when it comes to LGBTQ issues is checkered, starting with the forced resignation of some service members because of their sexual orientation in the 1960s, 70s, and 80s.

Things began to change in 1992, when a high-profile case forced the military to lift its ban on members of the LGBT community serving in uniform.

But it has been only recently that the Forces forces under Vance have made a concerted effort to reach out to the community  a move that coincides with the militarys need for thousands of recruits.

It has also been working to entice more women, visible minorities and Indigenous people to join.

We have an Armed Forces that has the operational need to be able to choose its recruits from the widest possible segment of Canadian society, he said.

And any segment thats left out, whether youre a new Canadian, LGBTQ, Indigenous, if they are left out in any way, then it is a loss to us.

Vance recently issued a directive encouraging military personnel to attend Pride events in uniform, but he said its about time that he started leading by example.

This is one act, one effort on my part, to speak with action, he said. Actions speak louder than words to Canadians about the sincerity of our position that the Armed Forces are on the move.

U.S. President Donald Trump touched off a storm of dismay and anger last month when he announced on Twitter that he would reinstate a ban on transgender personnel in the American military.

Trump said one of his reasons for the ban was the disruption that transgender in the military would entail.

While Vance did not want to talk about Trumps comments, he did say that accepting transgender personnel had no negative impact on the Canadian militarys ability to do its job.

Those people are valuable and theyve got a job to do and were helping them do their job, he said.

And I have never seen where the necessary adjustments to infrastructure or what have you have had an impact on operational capability.

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MONTREALCan the federal NDP maintain a hard-won presence in Quebec and at the same time become more competitive in the rest of Canada? Or is its repository of Quebec votes little more than a poisoned chalice?

The question has haunted the party since Ontario MPP Jagmeet Singh threw his hat in the leadership ring this year.

A Singh-led NDP might make inroads in the diverse suburban communities that hold the key to electoral success nationally. At the same time, polls suggest a turban-wearing Sikh or any leader sporting religious headwear would face stiff voter resistance in Quebec.

But the issue really predates Singhs appearance in the leadership picture. And it may well dominate the remaining weeks of the leadership campaign, starting with Sundays French-language debate in Montreal.

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Quebec secularism debate jumps to federal NDP race

In the last election, Thomas Mulcair took a hit in Quebec for opposing a Conservative ban on the wearing of Muslim face-covering veils at citizenship ceremonies and lost votes outside that province to the perception that he had ceded the defence of niqab-wearing women to Justin Trudeau.

Now, the only Quebec candidate for his succession is arguing that it is possible for the NDP to simultaneously champion religious freedoms across Canada without opposing a Quebec bid to limit them.

I do not believe that the state should dictate what people can wear. Many Quebecers agree with me, but in the end I am convinced that the final decision must remain with Quebecs National Assembly, Quebec MP Guy Caron argues in a policy paper released in the lead-up to the Montreal debate. I am making it clear that, above all, an NDP leader must respect Quebecs national character.

Really! But then would the same reasoning apply if the National Assembly  in a bid to protect Quebecs demographic weight in the federation  moved to restrict abortion rights to pursue a natalist policy?

And if Quebecs collective take on the place of religion is a valid rationale to limit religious rights, are not countries whose governments identify closely with a given religion also within their rights to limit other freedoms in the name of the beliefs of the majority?

Finally, at what point, if any, does Caron think the right to exercise fundamental freedoms should constrain the National Assemblys latitude to consolidate the provinces secular character?

Bill 62, the Liberal legislation currently debated in Quebec, would prevent individuals wearing face coverings, i.e., Muslim women who wear niqabs and burkas, from providing or procuring public services. Depending on the outcome of the next Quebec election, that may be just the beginning.

Quebecs main opposition parties would impose a secular dress code on judges, prosecutors, police officers and prison guards. The Coalition Avenir Quebec would add teachers to the list.

The Charter of Values put forward by Pauline Marois PQ government would have imposed a secular dress code on all public sector employees from childcare workers to hospital staff. Non-compliance could have resulted in loss of employment.

Quebec City Mayor Regis Labeaume, among others, is arguing for a blanket ban on the wearing of burkas and niqabs in the public space.

In his paper, Caron argues that a two-tier NDP policy on religious rights is the way to go to show Quebecers that the party takes the provinces national character to heart.

In a statement released in her name by her campaign to the Huffington Post on Thursday, Manitoba MP Niki Ashton initially appeared to concur with Caron: there is a consensus in Quebecs political leaders emerging on secularism, and the Canadian government should respect the will of Quebecers on this matter. The place religion has held in Quebec since the Quiet Revolution has been perceived widely differently than in the rest of Canada, and this is something the federal government must respect.

But then on Friday she tweeted: I will not compromise on a womans right to wear what she chooses or on respecting our rights and freedoms. Given that Quebecs Bill 62 would require Muslim women to uncover their faces to procure public services, one can only wonder what Quebec consensus Ashton was referring to in her original statement.

Over the past few years the PQ and the federal Conservatives have both flirted with measures that would have curbed some religious freedoms. Each of those parties came away from the experience divided internally and with reduced growth prospects externally. There is no reason to believe the NDP would be spared the same malaise.

Chantal Hebert is a national affairs writer. Her column appears Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

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TROUT CREEK, ONT.Suicide isnt a topic you expect to hear a lot about at summer camp, but for the young campers at Niigan Mosewak, its high on the agenda alongside smores, smudging and late-night lacrosse games.

I lost my dad to suicide in 2007, Angel Armstrong, now 18, says quietly. It was a difficult time, especially as I was more of a daddys girl growing up.

Armstrong is from the Nipissing First Nation. Shes one of the youth mentors at Niigan Mosewak, a week-long culture camp for at-risk Indigenous youth that runs three times a summer at Spirit Point, a wilderness academy and camp outside of Trout Creek, Ont., a half-hours drive south of North Bay.

The camp is run by retired Ontario Provincial Police Sgt. George Couchie, who helped create Niigan Mosewak  which means moving forward in Ojibway 12 years ago as a way to help address the suicide and substance abuse crises that affect many of Ontarios First Nations communities.

Eight years ago, Couchie saw that Armstrong was still struggling with the death of her father, and invited her to come to the camp even though she was technically a year too young. Since then, she has become one of the brightest lights at the camp, someone the younger kids turn to when they need support.

Whether its 2 a.m. or the middle of the day, we hear everyones stories. Armstrong said.

Multiple studies suggest that suicide and self-injury are among the leading causes of death for Indigenous people in Canada. In Northern Ontario, the death toll has been at crisis levels for years.

Id say all kids in Aboriginal communities are high risk, Couchie said. When you look at the drug problems, the murdered and missing women, the dropout rate, whatever.

Any kid whos having troubles through high school or in the justice system, they get identified and recommended for the camp.

The camp is funded by Ontarios Ministry of Children and Youth Services and supported by police officers from the OPP, the RCMP, the Anishinabek Police Services and the North Bay Police. The involvement of police is critical, Couchie said, because teachers and police are the two people most likely to interact with troubled kids.

Along with building relationships, the camp also focuses heavily on connecting campers to their Indigenous culture.

People say Oh, you run a summer camp for kids, but its more than just swimming, Couchie said. Its about learning about their culture and their self-identity.

Each day starts with a ceremonial smudge, and a group conversation about topics ranging from drugs and alcohol, to the impacts of residential school, to suicide and mental health. Then theres afternoon activities that focus on teaching traditional skills like drum making and building sweat lodges.

On a recent Tuesday, the circle discussion focused on the impact of drugs and alcohol. As a ceremonial sharing stone passed from camper to camper, boxes of tissues also made their way around the circle.

One camper fled in tears almost as soon as the discussion started. Immediately, Armstrong was out the door behind her, wrapping the younger girl in her arms. Another girl spoke of finding her friend overdosing on a bathroom floor with foam coming from her mouth.

I tried to get her to throw up, but it didnt work. She died on that bathroom floor, the young girl says, sobbing.

A third spoke about the impact of her brothers alcoholism on her family.

He got angrier and angrier, she said. We were best friends, but he stopped talking to me.

After one particularly violent episode that ended with the kitchen table in splinters, her parents kicked him out to live on the street, she said.

Campers hugged each other for support.

Once everyone had a chance to speak, a bowl of tobacco was passed around the room. Everyone grabbed a small handful with their left hand  because its closest to your heart, Couchie explained  and deposited the offerings in the sacred fire. Then came a cleansing smudge and soon the campers were back outside, laughing and playing games.

The campers resilience was impressive. The hugging and support didnt go unnoticed.

In a lot of Aboriginal families, people didnt learn how to show physical emotion, Couchie says. Like the loss of culture and traditions, it is just one of the legacies of Canadas assimilationist policies like residential schools.

It was true for Armstrongs family once as well. But since shes started coming to the camps at Spirit Point, her connection to her culture has strengthened alongside her confidence and poise.

It made me realize how important it is to keep connected to our culture in our everyday lives, she said. Thats how we survive. Its how our whole nation is able to survive. Its how were going to remain here.

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David Letterman might have called them the Top 10 dumbest reasons Torontonians called 911.

Theres a snake in my toilet.

How long is my hydro going to be out?

Someone shoveled their snow onto my driveway.

I live above a bar and its too loud.

There is a big centipede in my bathroom.

How long do I cook my turkey for?

The food in my nursing home is bad.

A restaurant patron failed to flush the toilet.

Its midnight on Christmas Eve and theres a suspicious gathering at a church.

The building next door collapsed and now the construction noise is too loud.

Last year, operators in the Toronto Police Services Communications Centre received 1.8 million calls of all kinds, including many that had no business being placed to 911.

The emergency line is intended for situations where the safety of people or property are at risk, either because of fire, crime in progress or urgent medical issue.

But thousands of Toronto residents also routinely call 911 with valid concerns and issues that could have been diverted, to the more appropriate 3-1-1 non-emergency number, according to an internal TPS report submitted the Toronto Police Services Board this past week.

As part of a major plan to modernize the service, make more efficient and effective use of police resources, and try to contain the billion-dollar-budget, the Police Services and the city have joined forces to steer those non-policing calls to other city departments and service-providers.

A review of a two-year sample of 56,000 non-emergency calls to 911 found roughly 9,000 could have been diverted to 311 for follow-up with various city departments, the report said.

The calls fell into the following categories: noisy party, noise complaints, animal complaints, traffic obstructions, traffic signals, disputes, landlord and tenant issues and damage.

The police and city are ramping up a public education campaign to drive the message home that the 311 service, not 911, is the place to call for non-emergency problems, such as a broken water main.

Launched in 2009, 311 is a catch-all number for city information and services.

City 311 and police 911 operators are, for the first time, staffing a booth together at the CNE to get people to know the difference between 311 and 911, and the types of calls that you should be calling 311 for versus 911, Toronto Police Acting Insp. Greg Watts said Friday.

The expectation of 911 is you call, we come, and we come fairly quickly, Watts said. Expectations have to change; it might take a bylaw officer a few days to respond.

Gary Yorke, the director who oversees 311, says, already 911 operators transfer calls to 311, but its not consistent and thats the issue.

So, for months, police and city officials have been developing protocols to determine what a police matter is and what is more suitable for the 311 line.

Depending on who you talk to, you get different answers, and thats an issue; there should be one answer. Were working for clarity on that, Yorke says.

Some examples are no brainers.

Downtown Toronto residents fed up with construction noise around the York/Bay Gardiner Expressway off ramp earlier this summer called in their fury to 911.

Certainly not a police matter, says Yorke.

But others arent so clear cut, such as a noise complaint about a nightclub. When youre going to deal with that issue, other issues might arise . . . so, really, maybe the police are a better fit to manage that, he says.

Watts, of the Toronto Police, says 911 communications operators will need to follow a process map.

They will be trained to ask, Is there anybody in danger? Is there any major public safety risk right now, and, if there is, then thats our job . . . if there isnt, is there a better agency that can handle that other than the police? Watts says.

Yorke has already hired 30 additional part time staff to handle the influx, although 9,000 calls, on top of the 1.5 million that 311 already processes, and spread over the course of a year, in an operation that runs around the clock, is not that much.

The number of online requests coming through on the citys website is also increasing every year, and this is easing some of the pressure on 311 operators, he adds.

Yorke says hes confident he can manage the change within the existing budget. If there is a cost impact, then we look at corporate funding if required, he adds.

Other city departments will also have to beef up staff. Municipal Licensing and Standards division has hired 26 additional bylaw enforcement officers, although some of those positions amounted to filling vacancies, Yorke says.

He notes that Toronto police started pushing noise complaints to 311 in 2015 and customer service representatives, or CSRs, as Yorke calls them, already receive extra training in how to deal with calls from people considering suicide.

Its part of 311s evolution and its the right thing to do.

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Toronto police are looking for a male suspect whom they accuse of sexually assaulting an 8-year-old girl at a day camp.

Police said the incident occurred on Tuesday at a day camp run out of a facility in the area of Dundas St. and University Ave.

Const. Jenifferjit Sidhu said the man entered the camp claiming that he was a parent. He then approached the girl and began a conversation before the alleged sexual assault. He then fled the scene.

Police have given the camp some crime prevention tips such as ensuring all doors have a locking system, making sure there is enough staff surveillance and that all cameras in the facility are working, Sidhu said.

Jane Arbour, a spokesperson for the city, said the camp is not run by the city.

The man is described as white, between 30 and 50 years old, 6 feet tall with a thin build, black hair and beard. He was wearing black sunglasses, a light-coloured shirt, dark shorts and red sneakers.

Police are trying to gather photos and video from surveillance cameras in the area.

Anyone with information is asked to call police at 416-808-7474 or Crime Stoppers at 416-222-8477.

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A bail decision is expected next week following a two-day hearing for Mohmmed Shamji, a Toronto neurosurgeon charged with first-degree murder.

Shamji is accused of killing his wife and mother of their three children, Elana Fric-Shamji, after her body was found inside a suitcase next to the West Humber River in Vaughan.

Her body was discovered on Dec. 1, and police said around that time they believed Fric-Shamji had been strangled and had suffered from blunt force trauma.

A Superior Court judge will decide Wednesday whether the accused awaits his trial, expected to begin in the fall of 2018, out on bail or behind bars.

As the handcuffed Shamji was ushered into a 361 University Ave. courthouse prisoners box Friday morning, the former Toronto Western Hospital neurosurgeon wore a fitted charcoal-coloured suit and white dress shirt. He had a shadow of barely-there facial hair, and several people, who appeared to be family members, were in the courtroom.

Shamji smiled and mouthed a few words to them at the end of the day, but kept his gaze forward while Justice Michael Brown heard submissions from the Crown and his lawyers, Lisa Pomerant and Liam OConnor.

The couple was married for 12 years, and Fric-Shamji, 40, had filed for divorce just days before she was reported missing, according to her friends.

As reported by the Star in December, Shamji was charged with uttering threats and assaulting Fric-Shamji in 2005, when the couple was newly married.

The charges were withdrawn after Shamji signed a peace bond.

Shamji is currently being held at Maplehurst Correctional Complex in Milton.

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Convicted killer Robert Badgerow is being released on bail.

While his mom is planning a barbecue to welcome him home, his victims family is angry  but not surprised  that the justice system has once again put the rights of a killer before a victim.

The paperwork will be ready for Badgerows family to sign at Hamiltons John Sopinka Courthouse on Friday and he will be released from Millhaven Institution, a maximum-security prison near Kingston, in the days after that. If he abides by his conditions, he will remain out of custody and once again live with his mother and brother in Binbrook until the Court of Appeal for Ontario hears his appeal.

The Court of Appeal in Toronto heard Badgerows bail application earlier this month. Lawyers and family were notified of the decision Thursday while the official written decision from the court is expected Friday.

Badgerow, the first person in Canada to be tried four times for the same first-degree murder, was found guilty last December of raping and murdering Diane Werendowicz in 1981. Her partially clothed body was found face-down in a creek.

The case went unsolved for 17 years  during which Badgerow continued to live and work in this community  until DNA technology matched semen found in Diane to Badgerow, a Dofasco steel worker.

Now 59, Badgerow has always maintained his innocence, testifying that he had anonymous, consensual sex with Diane outside a Stoney Creek bar and that someone else attacked her after she left him to walk home.

A jury found Badgerow guilty at his first trial, which was overturned on appeal. Jurors at his second trial could not come to a unanimous decision and it ended with a mistrial. The same thing happened at his third trial. His fourth trial, which took place in Kitchener over three months last fall, was the first time a jury was allowed to hear all the evidence in the case. That included the fact that a critical 911 call made a few days after the murder  which revealed intimate details of the crime  was likely made from a pay phone just steps away from where Badgerow was working a shift at Dofasco.

Badgerow has been serving a life sentence with credit given for 11 years already spent behind bars. It is routine for offenders convicted of first-degree murder to appeal.

What isnt routine, is for a convicted murderer to be granted bail pending appeal.

Most guys charged with murder dont get bail, let alone a guy whos convicted of it, says lawyer Ingrid Grant, who represented Badgerow at his last trial and on the bail application.

It comes as little surprise that Badgerow has been granted bail. He has never faced additional charges since his arrest. Nor has he left the Hamilton area in the decades since the murder. He never breached his bail conditions. This is his fourth time making bail.

Jamie Klukach, the Crown attorney on the bail motion, argued Badgerows detention is necessary to uphold public confidence in the justice system.

What none of the four sets of jurors knew during their trials was that when Badgerow was arrested for Dianes murder, he was also charged with the attempted murder of a young woman named Debbie Robertson.

It was Robertson who led police to Badgerow.

Seven weeks after Diane was murdered just half a kilometre away, Debbie was groped and stabbed through the ear with a screwdriver as she walked home. In hospital, she picked Badgerow  her former schoolmate  out of their high school yearbook for detectives.

But by the time that case came to trial many years after the brutal attack, key witnesses had died and evidence was lost. The case was tossed out.

Badgerows bail conditions will essentially be the same as they were when he was on bail during his most recent murder trial. He will live with his mother and brother Clint at their home in Binbrook. The two of them, plus his father and sister, will be his sureties. He will have a curfew.

Now he will have to check in at a Hamilton police station every week, rather than once a month like before.

The system is in the criminals favour  even when hes convicted, says Karl Werendowicz, Dianes nephew. A murderer shouldnt be out on bail. He could be a flight risk now. Hes got more on the line now.

The granting of bail has left the Werendowicz family wondering what the point of the trial was.

Meanwhile, the Badgerows are celebrating.

I dont know if Rob knows yet, his mom, Lorrien Badgerow, says. He calls her a few times a week and she is anxious to share the news.

He has been coping well in prison, Lorrien says. She has not been able to make the long trip to visit him at Millhaven, so she has not seen him for eight months.

His shoes are at the back door, she says. His white running shoes on the rack, right where he left them. I havent touched a thing  A mothers bond is a mothers bond.

Lorrien knows some people will be angry about her sons release. But she also says many folks around Binbrook ask kindly about Rob and wish the family well.

And that fills my heart.

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A sudden jump in the number of extremely sick and premature babies has left Ontario hospitals scrambling to find space to care for them.

Most of the provinces eight Level 3 neonatal intensive care units, which care for the most fragile newborns, have been struggling with an unanticipated surge in demand since early August, Ontario health officials have confirmed.

Hardest hit have been the three in Toronto  at SickKids, Mount Sinai Hospital and Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, said David Jensen, a health ministry spokesperson.

This is an unusual situation that has not been previously encountered, he said in an email.

The province was unable to say Thursday exactly how many babies have been treated in these units in recent weeks.

Officials emphasized that all of the infants have received the care required, but conceded it has been a challenge.

Read more: Groundbreaking in utero heart surgery saves babys life at Sick Kids Hospital

Whats ailing SickKids? How Torontos world-class childrens hospital missed the warning signs

The ministry is unaware of what has caused the sudden increase in demand and is studying whats behind it, officials said. Efforts are underway to ensure there is enough capacity in future.

The ministry can confirm that there is no public health issue at hand causing more babies to require care. An increase in high acuity patients is being encountered, however, the ministry is not aware of any specific cause that has contributed to the surge, Jensen said.

The needs of the broader patient population fluctuate and can place dynamic demands on the health care system, he added.

Dr. Richard MacDonald, a pediatrician at Halton Healthcare, publicly sounded the alarm over the problem on Twitter this week.

Not enough NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) beds, equipment, RNs. UNACCEPTABLE. Where do we send these babies?? he wrote in a tweet directed at Ontario Health Minister Dr. Eric Hoskins and federal Health Minister Dr. Jane Philpott, among others.

Do you know what its like to tell terrified parents their sick baby may have to be flown to Ottawa or Buffalo? I do & Im tired of doing it, MacDonald wrote in another tweet.

Provincial officials said no babies have been transferred out of province, including to Buffalo, something that often happened in the 1990s because of a shortage of bassinets here.

MacDonald forwarded to the Star email updates about the problem circulated by the Mississauga Halton Health Integration Network. (There are 14 such local health integration networks, or LIHNs, across Ontario. They co-ordinate local health services within different geographic regions.)

The emails revealed that health officials were holding daily teleconferences to deal with the problem until the middle of the month.

The situation is a high risk for the system, stated an update sent out Tuesday.

Acuity levels remain high, equipment is low and staffing is a great challenge with the number and acuity of patients at the sites, it continued.

On one day in early August, all three Toronto Level 3 units were completely full and closed to new admissions, an email update revealed. This week, only one bassinet was available at Sinai Health, stated another.

An emailed statement to the Star from the Toronto Central LHIN said: The local capacity for high acuity neonatal care in Toronto Central LHIN has reached unprecedented volumes.

The LHIN said it is bringing in extra bassinets, which will be fully operational in September. Longer term, the Toronto LHIN said it will form strategies with provincial partners for managing the acuity and volume of high acuity neonatal care if increased volumes persist.

In addition to Toronto and Ottawa, Level 3 units are also located in Kingston, London and Hamilton. Babies get transferred to units outside their communities when bassinets at their local hospitals are full.

Anthony Dale, president of the Ontario Hospital Association, said the shortage of bassinets for the sickest babies is symptomatic of a larger problem of hospital overcrowding. There is little wiggle room left in the hospital system to deal with sudden jumps in demand, he explained.

The truth of the matter is that, at present, many hospitals are dealing with unusually high patient volumes. . . . The hospital sector is under significant stress and there is very little capacity left in the system to deal with new or unanticipated surges in patient volume, Dale said.

Last years flu season was a particularly tough one for overcrowded hospitals and despite extra funding from the province, the challenges continue, Dale said.

Read more: Surge in patients forces Ontario hospitals to put beds in unconventional spaces

While the OHA is grateful for the governments investments in hospital services . . . funding is not yet keeping pace with rising costs and the pressures of a growing and aging population with increasingly complex health needs, he said.

Many hospital beds are occupied by elderly patients who no longer require acute care. They are too frail to return home and have nowhere else to go.

Hospitals were forced to open hundreds of beds last winter for which they had not budget for, Dale said, adding that many remain open to ensure ongoing access to patients.

Dale said the fact that hospitals are struggling to accommodate large patient volumes in what is usually a slow time of the year is worrisome. He is concerned hospitals may be in for another tough winter unless the province takes appropriate action.

With months to go before flu season begins, warning signs, such as emergency department wait-time data, are illustrating that operational issues are already re-emerging. Even in July, when patient volumes are generally quite manageable, many hospitals are experiencing an unusually high number of patients, requiring the opening of new unbudgeted beds  a practice that can compromise the financial health of the organization, he said.

Dale urged the provincial government to provide hospitals with financial relief in its fall economic statement, as it did last year, as well as in next years provincial budget.

To ensure that Ontarians continue to have access to care, now and into the future, contingency measures are required in the coming months. . . . New aggressive investments are also needed in hospitals and across the continuum in the 2018 Ontario Budget to ensure ongoing access to high-quality care, he said.

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Is the 45th president of the United States becoming unhinged?

I dont mean this in a casual, conversational sense  like Donald Trump is a wing nut or a serial narcissist  even though he has appeared to be precisely that for decades.

No, I mean it in the more formal, Oxford Dictionary sense, defined as mentally unbalanced, deranged or, to cite some of Oxfords synonyms, demented, unbalanced, out of ones mind, crazed (and) mad.

In other words: Is the so-called leader of the free world, who controls the nuclear codes that could blow up the planet, mentally unfit for the job?

That is a question increasingly being debated by many of Americas political and media leaders as they try to make sense of this disturbing week in the high-stakes Trump soap opera.

The latest flashpoint was Trumps angry, rambling 75-minute rant last Tuesday night at a rally in Phoenix. Speaking without a TelePrompTer and sometimes incoherently, he lied about his response to the Charlottesville violence, accused the news media of being bad people (who) dont like our country, threatened to shut down the government if funding for his proposed border wall isnt approved and ridiculed Arizonas two Republican senators, including John McCain who is currently suffering from brain cancer.

Immediately after Trumps speech, former U.S. national intelligence director James Clapper said it was the most disturbing performance he had ever witnessed by a U.S. president: I really question  his fitness to be in this office. I also am beginning to wonder about his motivation for it. Maybe he is looking for a way out.

Clappers criticism came only a few days after similar criticism from Republican Sen. Bob Corker, who chairs the foreign relations committee. Trump, said Corker, has not yet been able to demonstrate the stability nor some of the competence needed in a president.

Last Sunday, CNNs influential weekly media show Reliable Sources explored whether Trump is actually fit for office. Its host, Brian Stelter, said it is time for the media to start publicly asking the upsetting, polarizing questions being asked privately among family and friends, and in many newsrooms: Is the president of the United States a racist? Is he suffering from some kind of illness? Is he fit for office? And if he is unfit, then what?

Carl Bernstein, one of the famed Washington Post reporters who broke the Watergate scandal in the 1970s, said that many of his Republican sources have been raising the very question of (Trumps) stability and mental fitness to be president.

Hiding presidential illnesses from the public is not unknown in modern America. Ronald Reagan was diagnosed with Alzheimers disease in 1994, five years after he left office. But some journalists and historians  and even Reagans son Ronald Jr.  have suggested he showed signs of the disease in his second term, but this was never disclosed to the public.

Both Richard Nixon and Lyndon Johnson suffered from mental health problems that were kept hidden while they served as president, and President John F. Kennedy suffered in secret from Addisons disease that kept him in constant pain.

For a president, these hidden issues are obviously most problematic during periods of crisis. And in terms of Trumps recent behaviour, it is noteworthy that the pressures on him from the Russia investigations are increasing by the day.

Several news reports this week revealed how obsessed Trump has become about the Russia probe, angrily berating several Republican senators for failing to stop the investigation. Politico quoted one senior Republican aide as saying: It seems he is just always focused on Russia.

Last Tuesday, the same day as Trumps angry speech in Phoenix, the head of a Washington research firm that produced a dossier of sensational allegations about Trump met behind closed doors for 10 hours with Senate congressional investigators.

Glenn Simpson, co-founder of Fusion GPS, also gave an estimated 40,000 documents to the investigators. Potentially explosive, these documents will be shared with special counsel Robert Mueller. The Senate committee will vote on whether to release the full transcript of Simpsons testimony.

If Trump doesnt resign beforehand, will he ever be found guilty of high crimes and misdemeanours?

Until recently, only Trump presumably knew what he had done  with Russia and for Russia.

But now, as his angry mood this week perhaps reflected, Trump may be realizing that he will no longer be able to keep that secret to himself.

Tony Burman is former head of Al Jazeera English and CBC News. Reach him @TonyBurman or at tony.burman@gmail.com .

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Every week, Donald Trump seems to change the rules about what a politician can say on stage, and this weeks extraordinary, 75-minute rant in Phoenix was no exception.

But it isnt just the script thats getting a rewrite in Trumps school of outrageous political theatre. The action on stage is changing, too  and maybe even the nature of the stage itself. This could be another big political lesson rising out of the ashes of that meltdown in Phoenix on Tuesday.

On first glance, the set for Trumps campaign rally in Arizona looked pretty standard: big crowds, patriotic decorations and a cast of human props arrayed behind the podium. Nothing unusual there  politicians like to be framed by supporters on stage.

The Phoenix props, like the usual Trump audiences, were mainly white, older people, with the notable exception of a fellow who calls himself Michael the Black Man and is himself a repeat performer on stage with the president.

Several stories were written this week about this particular prop, his controversial past and various identities through the years: Michael Symonette, Maurice Woodside and Mikael Israel. These days, he apparently sees himself as the public face of Blacks for Trump and uses his background appearances to promote his own website, gods2.com.

Now that, as they might say, is meta. At the same time this man is being used as a human commercial for one political cause, hes simultaneously advertising himself and his own soapbox. And why not? The president himself is a walking advertisement for the Trump brand, often talking about the White House as just another real-estate asset in the empire.

You know, the elite. Theyre elite? I went to better schools than they did, Trump boasted in Phoenix. I was a better student than they were. I live in a bigger, more beautiful apartment, and I live in the White House, too, which is really great.

Watching Trump that night on TV, I kept being diverted by the woman to his immediate right, who carried a rah-rah sign in one hand and a large smartphone in the other. She wasnt using the phone as a camera  she seemed to be checking her messages or social-media feeds, even as she was standing next to Trump.

Who knows? She might be one of those Trump supporters who is so addicted to the presidents Twitter feed that she had to keep checking it, even as he was speaking right in front of her. In this strange, surreal world of politics under Trump, this die-hard fan may only believe that things are real when she sees them happening on Twitter.

Think thats a stretch? Trumps speech, broadcast on CNN on Tuesday night, included bare-faced accusations that CNN was refusing to broadcast him.

One thing we do know about this president is that hes unsubtle. He actually boasts about the political stunts hes trying to pull  and this includes his stage-management tactics.

So it was in Phoenix, when Trump drifted off into a reverie of nostalgia for the 2016 campaign.

The crowds were so big, almost as big as tonight, Trump said. And we went to centre stage almost from day one in the debates. We love those debates. Trump loved this memory so much he said it again. We went to centre stage and we never left, right?

As it happens, Hillary Clinton also voiced her own memories this week of that debate stage and Trumps tactics on it. In an excerpt from her forthcoming book, Clinton recalled how Trump kept creeping up behind her on that stage in St. Louis last October.

It was incredibly uncomfortable. He was literally breathing down my neck. My skin crawled. It was one of those moments where you wish you could hit pause and ask everyone watching, Well, what would you do? Do you stay calm, keep smiling and carry on as if he werent repeatedly invading your space? Or do you turn, look him in the eye and say loudly and clearly, Back up, you creep. Get away from me. I know you love to intimidate women, but you cant intimidate me, so back up. 

For what its worth, I wish Clinton had called Trump on the tactic. Given his remarks in Phoenix this week, it looks like Trump was trying to turn his Democratic opponent into another human prop; an obstacle in his effort to occupy centre stage.

That, again, is the lesson of the latest, weird week in Trump politics, in which the political script and stage are in the midst of a radical overhaul. If were not careful, well all end up as props in Trumps bring-your-own-phone political theatre.

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Long before the age of the Internet and the fleeting spasms of mass hysteria that came with it (Remember Jade Helm? Pizzagate?), and going back to the late 20th century, when irrational fears moved slower and lasted longer, there was Satan.

The satanic panic, some call it now. It began some time in the 1980s, when newscasters and fundamentalist Christian cartoons warned of the evils of the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons, and stretched into the 1990s, when police and psychiatrists saw thousands of unfounded accusations of ritualistic sex abuse and children were seized from British parents accused of devil worship.

One case still stands out.

This country hasnt seen anything like it since the Salem witch trials, Texas Monthly wrote in 1994, in a profile of Dan and Fran Keller, operators of a daycare in Austin, Texas, who had been thrown in prison two years earlier.

The Kellers had been convicted of sexual assault in 1992. Children from their daycare centre accused them, variously, of serving blood-laced Kool Aid; wearing white robes; cutting the heart out of a baby; flying children to Mexico to be raped by soldiers; using Satans arm as a paintbrush; burying children alive with animals; throwing them in a swimming pool with sharks; shooting them; and resurrecting them after they had been shot.

They were hardly the only people to be accused by children during the panic. Many were exonerated long ago, like the 20 people wrongly convicted in the infamous Kern County sex abuse cases. Some now blame the phenomenon on a quack cadre of psychotherapists who were convinced that they could dig up buried memories through hypnosis, as Radley Balko wrote in a column for the Washington Post.

But the Kellers suffered for decades.

They served nearly 22 years in prison before a court released them in 2013, after years of work by journalists and lawyers to expose what proved to be a baseless case against them.

And only now  when Fran Keller is 67 and Dan is 75  has the couple been fully exonerated. Their 1992 case was finally dismissed in June after a district attorney declared them innocent.

This week, the Austin American-Statesman reported, they were awarded $3.4 million from a state fund, a belated attempt to refund a quarter-century that they lost to the delusions of other people.

We can start living, Fran Keller told the newspaper after learning of the award Tuesday. No more nightmares.

Terror at the day care, blared the Vancouver Sun in 1992, in prose typical of early coverage of the Kellers. It didnt look like a haunted house. But the kids knew better.

Frans Day Care Center actually looked entirely charming, as described by Texas Monthly in one of the few measured stories from that era.

Opened in 1989, it had cages of rabbits and a pony named Dancer, a playground and swimming pool, tucked into a leafy Austin neighbourhood as tidy and pastoral as a cottage in a fairy tale, Texas Monthly wrote.

The couple lived at the same house. Fran in her 40s and Dan in his 50s cared for about 15 children each day, including some who had histories of emotional problems and abuse.

One day in 1991, Fran recalled in an interview with KXAN, only two children were dropped off. Then police knocked on the door and sat with her in the kitchen.

They told me Dan was accused of hurting a child, she said. And I knew that couldnt be true.

What began as a single accusation from a 3-year-old girl with known behavioral problems, Texas Monthly wrote, escalated to monstrous proportions after authorities closed the daycare.

Worried parents sent their children to therapists, where they came back with tales pulled straight from horror movies.

At one point in the investigation, the Statesman wrote, police had a suspect list of 26 ritual abusers, including many of the Kellers neighbors and a respected Austin police captain.

As an appeals court judges recounted decades later, one girl claimed that Dan Keller had come to her house and had cut her dogs vagina with a chainsaw until it bled, that she was taken to a cemetery, where, after a person dressed like a policeman threw a person in a hole, Daniel Keller shot the person who had been thrown into the hole and cut up the body with a chainsaw while all the children helped.

And parents began to reinterpret day-to-day activities at the daycare as sinister omens.

The Kellers had once sent children home with U.S. flags, one parent told the Vancouver Sun. The flag reminds them, Dont tell,  the parent said.

The panic was already beginning to subside in other parts of the world. A three-year inquiry by the British government in the early 1990s concluded that there was no foundation to the plethora of satanic child abuse claims, according to the BBC.

These tales are usually just that  figments of imagination, the New York Times wrote in 1994, citing a study by the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect that found not a single substantiated case of cult sex abuse among more than 11,000 reported to psychiatric and police workers.

Nevertheless, the Kellers were convicted after a six-day trial in 1992.

Not of chainsawing a dogs vagina, of course, but of aggravated sexual assault based on the word of children and police, and a single piece of physical evidence: an apparent wound on a girls vagina.

That, too, would turn out to be wrong, but not before the Kellers stood in a Travis County courthouse and heard their sentences read aloud: 48 years each.

You prayed a lot, Fran Keller told KXAN, remembering when the whole world seemed to believe she and her husband were monsters.

And you sat there. And you was like a zombie.

She was sent to a womens prison near Marlin, where she became a target because of the allegations that she had abused children. She spent her time dodging boiling water and learning about shanks, she told the station.

Dan served his time near Amarillo, Texas Monthly wrote, where he wrote poems and tried to figure out what happened to the life he once knew.

They lived like that for years, never seeing each other, fading from the headlines as the 20th century passed away and the satanic panic went with it.

But some remembered.

Then, in 2009, the Austin Chronicle wrote an article called Believing the Children, 10,000 words that tore apart what aspects of the Kellers case had not sounded wholly fantastical to begin with.

An emergency room doctor who had testified of wounds on a little girls vagina had since reconsidered after learning more about female anatomy. He told the Chronicle reporter: Ill be straight-up honest with you, I couldve been wrong.

State troopers had once flown over a cemetery, investigating claims that the Kellers took children there to dig up a grave. Evidence at the trial showed the earth had indeed been disturbed.

But a cemetery worker told the Chronicle that the coffin in that particular grave kept sinking, and the occupants son regularly came by and threw more dirt on it. Thus the disturbance. Moreover, the Chronicle reported, police had known this but it had not been mentioned in the trial.

The article has many such examples of evidence that didnt hold up to scrutiny.

Austin lawyer Keith Hampton read the Chronicles story and thought, Oh, dear God, he later recalled to Texas Monthly.

Thereafter, Hampton began working for free to overturn the Kellers conviction.

They appealed the case in 2013, according to the Statesman. The doctors testimony proved crucial. Hampton put him under oath, and he said in no uncertain terms: I was mistaken.

That November, around Dan Kellers 72nd birthday, both he and his wife walked free on bond while an appeals court considered a permanent reversal.

The couple had not seen each other in more than two decades.

My heart lit up, Dan Keller told KXAN a few months later.

But officially, they were still sex predators  always looking over their shoulders, accused by many people of horrible things.

All I can say is I hope one day you change you mind, Fran Keller said.

The next year, an appeals court unanimously overturned the Kellers convictions based on false testimony.

This was a witch hunt from the beginning, one judge wrote, comparing the case to the Salem witch trials of the 17th century, in which 22 women were hanged before Massachusetts reversed the convictions.

But without explaining why, the appeals court declined one of the Kellers central requests: refusing to declare them innocent in 2015. Several children who originally accused the couple still oppose their release, the Statesman reported.

The Kellers kept pushing for public redemption. They were finally declared actually innocent by the Travis County district attorney in June, the newspaper wrote. That made them eligible for a state program that pays wrongfully convicted people $80,000 for each year they spent in prison, a very large cumulative sum in the Kellers extraordinary case.

The couple had been getting by on Social Security cheques and the help of friends, they told the Statesman.

Its been really, really rough, Fran Keller said. You cant get a job as a child molester. 

Nevertheless, they used their freedom to involve themselves in the cases of others they believe to be wrongfully imprisoned.

They were standing outside a Texas jail in support of one such man Tuesday, when their lawyer called with the news that they were millionaires.

They are now compensated and no longer must fear homelessness or lack of health insurance, the lawyer, Hampton, wrote to KXAN. They are buying a home and can live out their lives in peace and quiet.

The Kellers were expected to pick up a cheque for $3.4 million this week, though maybe millions isnt so much when stretched across two decades and the darkest fantasies of children.

Fran Keller put it this way to the Statesman:

It means we will actually be free.

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HOUSTONHarvey intensified into a hurricane Thursday and steered for the Texas coast with the potential for up to 90 centimetres of rain, 200 km/h winds and 12-foot storm surges in what could be the fiercest hurricane to hit the United States in almost a dozen years.

Forecasters labelled Harvey a life-threatening storm that posed a grave risk. Millions of people braced for a prolonged battering that could swamp dozens of counties more than 160 kilometres inland.

Landfall was predicted for late Friday or early Saturday between Port OConnor and Matagorda Bay, a 48-kilometre stretch of coastline about 110 kilometres northeast of Corpus Christi

Harvey grew quickly Thursday from a tropical depression into a Category 1 hurricane. Fuelled by warm Gulf waters, it was projected to become a major Category 3 hurricane. The last storm of that category to hit the U.S. was Hurricane Wilma in October 2005 in Florida.

Superstorm Sandy, which pummeled New York and New Jersey in 2012, never had the high winds and had lost tropical status by the time it struck. But it was devastating without formally being called a major hurricane.

Were forecasting continuing intensification right up until landfall, National Hurricane Center spokesman Dennis Feltgen said.

All seven Texas counties on the coast from Corpus Christi to the western end of Galveston Island have ordered mandatory evacuations of tens of thousands of residents from all low-lying areas. In four of those counties, officials ordered their entire county evacuated and warned those who stayed behind that no one could be guaranteed rescue. Voluntary evacuations have been urged for Corpus Christi itself and for the Bolivar Peninsula, a sand spit near Galveston where many homes were washed away by the storm surge of Hurricane Ike in 2008.

Texas officials expressed concern that not as many people are evacuating compared with previous storms.

A lot of people are taking this storm for granted thinking it may not pose much of a danger to them, Gov. Greg Abbott told Houston television station KPRC. Please heed warnings and evacuate as soon as possible.

Abbott has activated about 700 members of the state National Guard ahead of Hurricane Harvey making landfall.

As of late Thursday afternoon, Harvey was about 490 kilometres southeast of Corpus Christi, moving to the north-northwest at about 17 km/h. Sustained winds were clocked at 135 km/h.

Harveys effect would be broad. The hurricane centre said storm surges as much as 90 centimetres could be expected as far north as Morgan City, La., some 643 kilometres away from the anticipated landfall.

And once it comes ashore, the storm is expected to stall, dumping copious amounts of rain for days in areas like flood-prone Houston, the nations fourth most-populous city, and San Antonio.

Hurricane Harvey, moving toward the Texas Gulf Coast, can be seen from the International Space Station. (The Associated Press)

State transportation officials were considering when to turn all evacuation routes from coastal areas into one-way traffic arteries headed inland. John Barton, a former deputy executive director of the Texas Department of Transportation, predicted state officials will do this before the storm hits, but said timing and determining where to use it are the key factors. Storms change paths and if contraflow starts too early, supplies such as extra gasoline needed to support impacted areas cant get in, he noted.

We are closing down, said Bethany Martinez, a front desk clerk at a Holiday Inn Express at Port Aransas. The 74-room hotel a couple of blocks from the Gulf of Mexico was about two-thirds full before all guests were cleared out.

This would be the first hurricane for Martinez, who is pregnant and has two boys, 5 and 6. They were with grandparents in Austin.

Asked about her demeanour, she replied: Afraid.

Driscoll Children's Hospital in Corpus Christi was airlifting at least 10 critically ill, mostly premature infants from its neonatal intensive care unit to Cook Children's Hospital in Fort Worth. They were expected to arrive by early Friday. Cook transport director Debbie Boudreaux said Driscoll was moving the infants inland for fear that power outages might disable their ventilators.

Harvey would be the first significant hurricane to hit Texas since Ike in September 2008 brought winds of 177 km/h to the Galveston and Houston areas and inflicted $22 billion (U.S.) in damage. It would be the first big storm along the middle Texas coast since Hurricane Claudette in 2003 caused $180 million in damage.

Its taking aim at the same vicinity as Hurricane Carla, the largest Texas hurricane on record. Carla came ashore in 1961 with wind gusts estimated at 281 km/h and inflicted more than $300 million in damage. The storm killed 34 people and forced about 250,000 people to evacuate.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said U.S. President Donald Trump was briefed and will continue to be updated as the storm progresses.

In Houston, one of the nations most flood-prone cities, Bill Pennington was philosophical as he prepared his one-story home for what he expected would be its third invasion of floodwaters in as many years and the fifth since 1983.

We know how to handle it. Well handle it again, Pennington said he told his nervous 9-year-old son.

Dozens were in lines early Thursday at a Corpus Christi Sams Club, at home improvement stores and supermarkets. The city also was passing out sandbags.

Alex Garcia bought bottled water, bread and other basics in the Houston suburb of Sugar Land after dropping his daughter off at college. He said grocery items were likely more available in Houston than back home in Corpus Christi, where Garcia, a beer distributor salesman, said stores were crazy.

Well be selling lots of beer, he laughed.

Kim Fraleigh, of Sugar Land, stocked up with five cases of water, three bags of ice and other supplies at a supermarket.

Weve got chips, tuna, dry salami, anything that does not require refrigeration, she said.

Joey Garcia, director of the HEB store, said more than a semi-trailer load of water was sold Wednesday, and he expected to two more trailers on Thursday.

In Galveston, where a 1900 hurricane went down as the worst in U.S. history, City Manager Brian Maxwell said he was anticipating street flooding and higher-than-normal tides.

Obviously being on an island, everybody around here is kind of used to it.

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MOGADISHU, SOMALIATen civilians, including three children, were killed in a raid by foreign and Somali forces on a farm in southern Somalia, a deputy governor said Friday, as the U.S. military confirmed it supported a counter-terror operation in the area and said it would look into the allegations.

The deaths raise questions about growing U.S. military involvement in the Horn of Africa nation after U.S. President Donald Trump approved expanded operations against the al-Qaida-linked extremist group al-Shabab, often in support of Somali forces.

The farmers were killed one by one after soldiers stormed into Barire village early Friday, the deputy governor of Lower Shabelle region, Ali Nur Mohamed, told reporters in the capital, Mogadishu, as victims bloodied bodies were on display.

Somalias information ministry at first said al-Shabab extremists were killed but later noted civilian casualties, adding that it appeared more than one security operation had taken place.

Three children aged 8 to 10 and a woman were among the dead, the deputy governor said. Their blanket-wrapped bodies were laid out in a grassy courtyard. Bodies of civilians, especially those killed in misdirected attacks, often are taken from remote areas to Mogadishu to draw media attention.

These local farmers were attacked by foreign troops while looking after their crops, Mohamed told reporters. The troops could have arrested them because they were unarmed but instead shot them one by one mercilessly.

The U.S. Africa Command confirmed that U.S. forces were supporting the Somalia National Army while it conducted an operation in the area but gave no details.

We are aware of the civilian casualty allegations near Barire, Somalia. We take any allegations of civilian casualties seriously, and per standard, we are conducting an assessment into the situation to determine the facts on the ground, the U.S. said in a statement.

Somalias information ministry at first said the raid killed eight al-Shabab fighters and that the extremists began shooting at Somali forces, adding that no civilians were harmed or killed. A later, corrected statement said it appears that there were different security operations in the area.

Al-Shabab, the deadliest Islamic extremist group in Africa, holds vast areas of rural Somalia after being chased out of major cities in recent years by a multinational African Union force and Somali forces. The group continues to threaten the fragile central government and carry out deadly attacks in neighbouring countries, notably Kenya.

Earlier this year, Trump approved expanded military operations against al-Shabab, including more aggressive airstrikes and considering parts of southern Somalia areas of active hostilities.

The U.S. and Somalia in recent weeks said strikes have killed al-Shabab leaders responsible for planning and executing deadly attacks in Mogadishu, where high-profile areas such as hotels and military checkpoints are often targeted with deadly bombings.

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YANGON, BURMAEthnic Rohingya militants in western Burma launched overnight attacks on more than two dozen police and border outposts, leaving 12 security personnel and 59 Rohingya dead, the government said Friday, in a dramatic escalation of fighting in the troubled region.

The office of the countrys leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, said military and border police responded to the attacks by launching clearance operations.

Police fought off groups of as many as 100 Rohingya attackers armed with guns, machetes and homemade grenades. The captured weapons were shown in photos posted online by the government.

A witness in Maungdaw township in Rakhine state, contacted by phone, said soldiers entered her village at about 10 a.m. Friday, burned homes and property, and shot dead at least 10 people.

The witness, who asked to be identified by her nickname, Emmar, because of fear of retribution, said villagers fled in many directions, but mostly to a nearby mountain range. She said gunshots and explosions could be heard and smoke could still be seen Friday evening.

A militant group, the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, or ARSA, took responsibility for the overnight attacks on more than 25 locations, saying they were in defence of Rohingya communities that had been brutalized by government forces. It issued its statement on Twitter on an account deemed legitimate by advocates of Rohingya rights.

Suu Kyi called the attacks a calculated attempt to undermine the efforts of those seeking to build peace and harmony in Rakhine state.

The clashes were deadlier than an attack by the militants on three border posts last October that killed nine policemen and set off months of brutal counter-insurgency operations by Burma security forces against Rohingya communities in Rakhine state. Human rights groups accused the army of carrying out massive human rights abuses including killing, rape and burning down more than 1,000 homes and other buildings.

The armys abuses fuelled further resentment toward the government among the Muslim Rohingya, most of whom are considered by Burmas Buddhist majority to be illegal immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh and are denied citizenship and its rights. ARSA took advantage of the resentment by stepping up recruitment of members.

The Rohingya have long faced severe discrimination and were the targets of violence in 2012 that killed hundreds and drove about 140,000 people  predominantly Rohingya  from their homes to camps for the internally displaced, where most remain.

According to the United Nations, more than 80,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh since last Octobers clashes.

Thursday nights attacks began a few hours after a Rakhine Advisory Commission led by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan released its final report and recommended that the government act quickly to improve economic development and social justice in Rakhine state to resolve violence between Buddhists and the Rohingya.

Suu Kyis office said on its Facebook page that the attacks were intended to coincide with the release of Annans report.

ARSA also referred to the report, saying the army in recent weeks had stepped up activity in order to derail any attempt to implement the recommendations.

The announcement from Suu Kyis office said 30 police outposts had been attacked. It said in addition to the 12 dead security personnel, 11 people on the government side had been injured, three seriously. It said the attackers had seized six guns. The statement also said the attackers destroyed refugee camps and burned down homes.

The Rakhine Advisory Commission, established in August 2016 at Suu Kyis behest, said the situation in Rakhine state is becoming more precarious and requires a sustained and co-ordinated effort by civilian and military authorities. The commission has six members from Burma and three foreigners, including Annan.

Unless concerted action led by the government and aided by all sectors of the government and society is taken soon, we risk the return of another cycle of violence and radicalization, which will further deepen the chronic poverty that afflicts Rakhine state, Annan said at a news conference in Yangon to present the report.

On Friday, Annan condemned the new attacks and said he was saddened to hear about the loss of life among security forces.

The alleged scale and gravity of these attacks mark a worrying escalation of violence. No cause can justify such brutality and senseless killing. Perpetrators should be held to account. I urge the security forces to exercise restraint in dealing with the situation and, above all, ensure that innocent civilians are not harmed.

After years of insecurity and instability, it should be clear that violence is not the solution to the challenges facing Rakhine state, he said.

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KABULMilitants stormed a packed Shiite mosque in the Afghan capital during Friday prayers, in an attack that lasted for hours and ended with at least 20 worshippers killed and another 50 seriously wounded, many of them children, an official said.

Two of the assailants blew themselves up and another two were shot to death by Afghan security forces, according to police official Mohammed Sadique Muradi.

Daesh, also known as the Islamic State group, claimed responsibility for the attack, the latest to target Afghanistans minority Shiites. The Taliban condemned the violence, with a spokesman for the militants, Zabihullah Mujahid, telling The Associated Press in a telephone interview that the group had nothing to do with it.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani condemned the violence and said the militants were turning to attacking places of worship because they were losing on the battlefield. He urged Islamic clerics everywhere to condemn the bloodshed.

The death toll of 20 was expected to rise because many of the victims were seriously wounded, said Mohammad Salim Rasouli, chief of Kabuls hospitals.

Terrified worshippers endured about four harrowing hours of gunfire and explosions during the afternoon before the four attackers were killed.

Daesh said in a statement on the website of its Aamaq news agency that it had deployed two attackers to the mosque. There was no immediate explanation for the contradictory number of attackers.

Security forces had surrounded the mosque in the northern Kabul neighbourhood, but did not initially enter to prevent further casualties to the many worshippers inside, police official Mohammed Jamil said. Later, as police tried to advance, one of the attackers set off an explosion that forced them to withdraw, Muradi said.

The cleric who was performing the prayers was among the dead, said Mir Hussain Nasiri, a member of Afghanistans Shiite clerical council. The gunmen had taken over both the cavernous prayer hall for the men and the separate, second-floor prayer area for the women, he said.

The mosque could accommodate up to 1,000 people, Nasir added.

When police initially tried to get inside, they discovered the militants had blocked the door leading to the second floor, turning the women upstairs into hostages, Nasir said.

I was trying to escape over the wall when I saw my daughter, who was wounded, also trying to climb the wall, one man who gave his name only as Bismillah told The Associated Press.

There was another girl who was shot in the head. I saw the body myself, he said. Finally, I managed to escape with my daughter and police escorted us to safety from the back of the mosque.

Last month, the Sunni-dominated Daesh attacked the Iraqi Embassy in Kabul and then warned Shiites in Afghanistan that their mosques would be targeted. Sunni extremists consider Shiites to be heretics.

Within days of that, Daesh also took responsibility for a suicide attack on a Shiite mosque in western Herat province that left 32 people dead.

In southern Kandahar province Friday, Afghan security forces repulsed a Taliban attack on an outpost overnight, according to provincial police chiefs spokesman, Zia Durrani. Four members of the security forces died in the exchange and another seven were wounded, he said.

Durrani said the Taliban sustained heavy casualties. There was no immediate comment from the militants.

Elsewhere, provincial deputy police chief Nisar Ahmad Abdul Rahimzai said Afghan security forces recaptured a district in eastern Paktia province from the insurgents.

The summer fighting season in Afghanistan has seen relentless Taliban attacks as the insurgents battle to expand their footprint.

On Thursday, Gen. John Nicholson, the top U.S. general in Afghanistan, and Hugo Llorens, the U.S. Embassys special charge daffaires, told reporters in Kabul that the new U.S. strategy was a promise to Afghans that together they would defeat terrorism and prevent terrorist groups from establishing safe havens.

Nicholson vowed to defeat both Daesh and the remnants of Al Qaeda, and he had the following message to the Taliban: Stop fighting against your countrymen. Stop killing innocent civilians. Stop bringing hardship and misery to the Afghan people. Lay down your arms and join Afghan society. Help build a better future for this country and your own children.

U.S. President Donald Trump had announced the new plans for Afghanistan on Monday. While he did not give specifics, senior U.S. officials have said that he might send up to 3,900 more troops, with some deployments beginning almost immediately.

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BRUSSELSBelgian soldiers shot a man dead in downtown Brussels on Friday evening after he attacked the troops with a knife in what prosecutors described as a terror attack.

Spokeswoman Esther Natus of the federal prosecutors office, which handles terrorism investigations, said the man twice shouted Allahu akbar, Arabic for God is great, as he ran at the soldiers.

We do consider it a terror attack, Natus said. She declined to identify the man or confirm whether he was known to police, saying only that the suspect is dead and one of the soldiers was slightly wounded.

Brussels Mayor Philippe Close said three soldiers came under attack and one had been hospitalized.

Federal Police spokesman Jonathan Pfunde also confirmed some details of the incident and said the attacker had been neutralized.

Read more:

U.K. authorities arrest man after assault on police at Buckingham Palace

Spain shared info about alleged cell leader linked to terror attacks with Belgium

Some of Spains terror suspects spent night in France week before deadly attacks: official

Belgiums anti-terror crisis centre tweeted that the situation was under control.

All our support is with our soldiers, Prime Minister Charles Michel said via Twitter. Our security services remain on alert. We are following the situation closely.

Associated Press television images showed that police sealed off a main street near the Grand Place, a central square that is a popular tourist site.

A man who lives near where the incident took place on Boulevard Emile Jacquemain said he saw the attacker lying in the street in the aftermath.

I live right in front of the station. It was already blocked by police at the scene and there was a man lying on the ground. The police said he had been shot by soldiers, said Thomas da Silva Rosa, a public affairs consultant.

He was lying on the ground, appeared dead, he told AP.

Belgium has been on high alert since suicide bombers killed 32 people in attacks March 22, 2016, on Brussels main airport and subway system.

Soldiers and extra police have been deployed at public buildings and around large gatherings for more than a year.

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WASHINGTONFacing what could be the most powerful storm to slam into the United States in more than a decade, U.S. President Donald Trump and the team he has put in place at the Federal Emergency Management Agency were bracing Friday for one of the most important tests of his presidency.

The stakes could be exceedingly high. Few events test the effectiveness of an administration  or bear as many political risks  like a major natural disaster.

The storm, Hurricane Harvey, is expected to make landfall near Corpus Christi, Texas, as a Category 3 hurricane or higher by early Saturday. It is predicted to pummel the South Texas coast with winds exceeding 110 mph and up to 3 feet of rain. After making landfall, forecasters predicted, the storm would make a turn back up the coast toward Houston, the nations fourth-largest city and home to the oil and gas industry.

Read more: Life threatening Hurricane Harvey strengthens as it surges toward Texas, Louisiana

Trump used the power of his preferred megaphone, his Twitter account, to signal to his more than 36 million followers on Friday that he was closely watching the storm and in touch with the governors of Texas and Louisiana, the two states most likely to be affected.

Trump also received a briefing Friday morning from top Homeland Security officials, including his Homeland Security adviser, Thomas P. Bossert; his chief of staff, John F. Kelly; the acting Homeland Security secretary, Elaine Duke; and the FEMA administrator, Brock Long.

Long, a former director of the Alabama Emergency Management Agency, is leading the federal response effort. His selection has been well received by emergency managers around the country, who say Long is battle-tested and well-connected with the states emergency teams. The Senate confirmed his appointment in June with a 95-4 vote.

Longs Obama-era predecessor, W. Craig Fugate, declined Friday to expound on the agencys preparations, but he had good words to say about the administrator.

Brock can speak for himself, he wrote in an email. But he knows hurricanes.

Long said Friday that the agency stood ready to respond and was working closely with Texas and Louisiana. It had established an incident support base at Randolph Auxiliary Airfield near Seguin, Texas, roughly 125 miles inland from where the storm was expected to make landfall. Personnel there were stockpiling 77,000 litres of water and 250,000 meals, as well as supplies like blankets and tarps for affected communities.

The agency also placed teams to assist in the response at emergency posts in Austin and in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Those measures and others quietly being taken across the Gulf Coast are the legacy of Hurricane Katrina-related overhauls to the emergency management agency that focused on increasing preparedness in hopes of avoiding another flawed disaster response like the one after that storm.

Indeed, for a sense of the stakes, Trump need look no further than President George W. Bushs response to Katrina, which pummeled New Orleans in August 2005, crippling the city and leaving well over 1,500 people dead. The response of Bushs FEMA administrator, Michael D. Brown, and the perception the president had incorrectly assessed the storms impact, are widely thought to have undermined the rest of his presidency.

Bushs assertion at a news conference, even as the agency was mismanaging its response, that Brown was doing a heck of a job, became a national punch line. Brown resigned a few days later.

Paul M. Rosen, former chief of staff at the Department of Homeland Security under President Barack Obama, said the agency that rebuilt itself in the wake of the crisis continues to be guided by the lessons of Katrina.

I think post-Katrina, from a preparation standpoint, one of the lessons was prepare, prepare, prepare  and when you are done preparing, prepare a little more, Rosen said. There is now a mindset to get ready for the worst.

A White House official said Thursday that Trump, who is expected to travel Friday afternoon to Camp David, would continue to closely monitor it.

It is certainly something hes very aware of and will keep a very watchful eye on, and stands ready to provide resources if needed, the White House press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, told reporters Thursday.

Hurricane Harvey, moving toward the Texas Gulf Coast, can be seen from the International Space Station. (The Associated Press)

Sanders also played down concerns that vacancies at other top government posts, including the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees FEMA, would hinder the governments response. She said that Kelly, a retired Marine Corps general who was the departments secretary before becoming chief of staff, would be sitting next to the president throughout this process.

But Trump has yet to nominate a permanent replacement for Kelly. Nor has he nominated someone to lead the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which includes the National Hurricane Center.

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PETERSBURG, VA.Five teachers have been fired from a Virginia elementary school where some students said they were told to show their answers during standardized tests to make sure they were correct, a state report says.

The Virginia Department of Education report released this week says inappropriate assistance was provided to a significant and undetermined number of students during last springs Standards of Learning tests at A.P. Hill Elementary School in Petersburg.

News media outlets report that some students told investigators they were told to raise their hands when they answered a question, so that a teacher could review it and encourage them to check their work if the answer was wrong.

We had to raise our hand and the teacher checked to make sure the answer is correct, one student said, according to the report. They would say check the question again or move on. They would not give the answer, the student said.

Superintendent Marcus Newsome said the vast majority of the schools teachers, staff members and administrators are doing the right thing.

There is no place for cheating in Petersburg City Public Schools, and I encourage all employees to report concerns about any irregularities to my office, his statement said.

The state report says the culture within the school discouraged people from reporting testing violations to the principal and assistant principal for fear of retaliation and bullying from the school administrators and other school staff.

Then-Principal Kori Reddick is now assistant principal at Petersburg High School, and didnt immediately respond to an interview request from The Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Petersburg Mayor Sam Parham told the newspaper that the findings are unacceptable.

We have to do right by our kids and give them the tools they need to succeed, Parham said. No one wins when cheating occurs.

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PARISEmmanuel Macron has long been described as a fresh face in French politics. As it turns out, the appellation may be literal as well.

The French magazine Le Point revealed Thursday that Frances 39-year-old new president has spent 26,000 euros ($37,000) on makeup services in his first three months in officethats $12,000 a month, or about $410 a day. All at taxpayers expense.

In the rest of the French press, the revelations only added to a growing sentiment that Macron  who currently enjoys an approval rating of just 36 per cent  has gone too far in cultivating what some see as a kinglike persona.

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According to Le Point, the Elysee Palace paid a makeup artist, identified only as Natacha M., on two occasions: once for 10,000 euros, and then again for 16,000 euros. The fees were apparently for doing up the president in advance of news conferences, public appearances and various travels. A spokesperson for the Elysee, which faced sharp and swift criticism, announced on French television shortly after the news broke that the budget will be reduced significantly.

This latest makeup scandal was quickly compared to the revelations from last year that the administration of former French president Francois Hollande, a Socialist, paid about $14,000 a month on the presidents haircuts. By comparison, Macron actually spends more or less the same on makeup than his last two predecessors, according to Le Point: Hollande spent slightly more per quarter, while Nicolas Sarkozy spent slightly less.

But for a new president floundering in the polls, the optics are less than ideal. In France, the average disposable annual income per capita is roughly 25,000 euros ($37,100), according to the OCED. That is slightly less than Macrons makeup expenditure.

The news ultimately came in the same week that Macrons Elysee was forced to back down officially from an informal earlier proposal that Macrons wife, Brigitte Macron, be given an official title with her own independent budget beyond the funds already allotted for her staff. More than 300,000 citizens signed a petition against the proposal, and the Elysee confirmed in a Monday statement that the spouse of the head of state will not benefit from any remuneration for her role.

But most of all, the makeup news comes at the end of the August recess, right before the French parliament convenes to discuss one of the most controversial issues here: labour reform  and, in particular, the potential cuts in government spending that labour reform would mean.

Macron, a self-styled political centrist, ran on promises to reform Frances famously rigid labour market to stimulate growth. He has repeatedly made clear his view that slashing public spending is an absolute necessity to achieve that goal, which has lost him a considerable amount of support in the eyes of the public. In July, for instance, Macron insisted that military spending would have to temporarily decrease by approximately $1 billion. Pierre de Villiers, Frances top general, resigned in protest.

Somewhat predictably, Macrons opponents have wasted no time in piling on the criticism.

As the staunchly right-wing Francois Asselineau, a former presidential contender who advocated of Frexit, wrote on Twitter: The image of France once again humiliated. With his 26k (euro) of makeup per quarter, #Macron becomes the laughingstock of the entire planet.

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LONDONA man armed with a knife was detained outside Londons Buckingham Palace Friday evening, and two police officers were injured while arresting him, police said.

The Metropolitan Police force said two officers suffered minor arm injuries while detaining the suspect, who is being held on suspicion of grievous bodily harm and assaulting police.

Police said the officers did not require hospital treatment. No other injuries were reported.

Police said it was too early to say whether the incident was terrorism-related.

A large number of police vehicles could be seen in the Mall, the wide road outside the palace, and the road was cordoned off with police tape.

Witness Kiana Williamson said she saw police officers trying to wrestle a man out of a car that had stopped near the palace. In less than a minute, the man had been restrained and looked almost unconscious by the side of the road, she said.

Buckingham Palace is one of Londons main tourist attractions, and the London home of Queen Elizabeth II.

The Queen, however, usually spends August with family members at her Balmoral estate in Scotland.

Police stepped up patrols around major U.K. tourist sites two attacks with vehicles and knives this year on Westminster Bridge, which is near Parliament, and London Bridge.

Buckingham Palace, which is surrounded by tall gates, has seen past security breaches. Last year, a man convicted of murder climbed a wall while the queen was at home, and was detained in the grounds.

In 1982, an intruder managed to sneak into the Queens private chambers while she was in bed. Elizabeth spent 10 minutes chatting with him before calling for help.

A palace spokeswoman said the palace did not comment on security issues.

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What are social norms and why are they stretching until they snap? If they were never expressed aloud, did they even exist? Also, define snap.

I always thought Ezra Levant and his little friends were beyond the pale, and wrote that. I always thought Sarah Palin was the thin end of an abhorrent wedge, and wrote that too.

Ive held comparative fire recently on Donald Trump, only because I agreed with commentators who said he would soon reach the limit of American tolerance  perhaps saying the n-word out loud  but I was wrong. I am unable to whisper the n-word even to myself alone in a room, but lets be honest, Trump would survive it.

In those weird campaign rallies still being held by the president, he calls on the crowd to hate the fake news media. One day in a gun-loving nation, reporters might well be killed. Will that finish Trump? No.

Will replacing the Oval Office wallpaper this week because President Obama allegedly left it badly stained finish Trump? No. The White House now looks like a Marriott, with a fetish for eagle statuettes. Someones going to lose an eye to those spiked wings and beaks. No one cares.

From p---y grabbing to Mexican rapists to the many sides of neo-Nazism to whatever he said today, Trump has broken every rule of civilized behaviour yet remains president.

He snapped me again this morning  yes, I wake to Trump tweets on my phone, a bad decision for health and sanity  by spelling there as their. I sank back on the pillow. After heel and heal, whats next, spelling its as its? Goading Kim Jong Un into killing 30 million people with a nuclear warhead?

Each morning, stunned, I play a little Springsteen rockabilly very loud  Glorias Eyes since you ask  and walk zombie-like into the shower, but the Boss does not save me.

The more American social norms stretch, the more I love Canadian ones, but then along came Levant and the CBC online commenters to make me doubt my nation. Along comes Conservative leader Andrew Scheer dog-whistling against Haitians crossing our border in preparation for Trump sending them back to Haiti. They think the worst of Trump and who are we to disagree.

Canadians are very rule-based. They line up well. They get most irate about... parking. Its fear of events getting out of control that would trouble them.

So Scheer is poking us with a stick. He is criticizing Ottawa but not saying what he would do instead, a trick that reveals his contempt for his own voters. He is doing a Trump and roiling the base. How base will the base turn out to be?

In the meantime, American and Canadian border officials seem sensible and fair. Canada is not disgracing itself in the worlds eyes. Theres no Canadian Sheriff Joe Arpaio at the dead end of Roxham Rd. in Champlain, New York.

Once we strove for politeness. Misogynists and racists complained about being socially policed and claimed that anything that could be said should be said. A South Carolina man suing for the Confederate flag just mentioned Dr. Martin Luther C--n. No.

I believe its more useful to think anything can be thought. Think the nastiest and most inappropriate things you can imagine. Then keep them to yourself.

I love candour, inappropriate jokes and writing that runs wild and free. I like opinions that dont match my own  my mind has occasionally been changed  and I am sad that Canadian writers are damping down their campfires so as not to startle.

Much as I detest the comedian Norm Macdonald  he doesnt appear to understand how women fit into humanity  he has a loathsome routine about a serial killer and a woman named Janice that is wondrous. It takes the concept of habitual murder to a high surreal plane. I was sickened but lost in admiration.

It is possible for the foulness deep down in the black water, thick with roots and vipers, to bring insights to the surface. No, not Levant, not the dreadful Faith Goldy with Heather Heyer being murdered behind her, but clever people taking the ugliness of the world and making something civilized.

Dark comedy is a good drug. The CBCs Baroness Von Sketch is cringingly uncomfortable, just like womens lives.

Right now I need the Brits. A little of the savage satirist Chris Morris would do, plus some Peep Show social humiliation and roasted dog-eating.

I recommend the great Armando Iannucci, whose film The Death of Stalin is coming up. Hes going to show the funny part of Stalin  he dies  with the comedy of the corpse and its toadlike henchmen jousting for power. I need me some Iannucci right now. I wonder why.

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The backlash was swift, and seemingly void of thought. The Hudson Bay Company quickly removed from its downtown Montreal store a plaque initially displayed in 1957, dedicated to Confederate President Jefferson Davis, a Mississippi slave owner, who gave up his political career, his fortune and even his freedom to support slavery and white supremacy.

The plaque was placed on an external wall of the HBC store after being donated by the United Daughters of the Confederacy.The French text read: To the memory of Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederate States, who lived in 1867 in the home of John Lovell, which was once here.

The retail store supplied no reason for the unceremonious removal, but rumours abound that the recent attack in Charlottesville, Va., along with media inquiries and complaints by local residents underpinned the action taken.

The historical record is clear: Confederacy was about slavery and white supremacy, nevertheless in Montreal the plaque should have remained to remind us of our intertwined history with the U.S. We can express outrage over its continued existence. We can alter it with statements of our own. Or we can let it remain and reflect carefully on its history.

Notwithstanding, its removal, though somewhat abrupt, should have served as the foundation for a truly teachable moment foiled on account of seeming mismanagement.

The ensuing debate becomes complicated, raising serious questions and concerns about the United States and its history with Canada, especially Montreal.

Between 1861 and 1865 a civil war was fought between the United States of America and the Confederate States of America, a collection of 11 southern states that left the Union and formed their own country. The Southern states wanted to break away from the north and continue to use slavery. The North was antislavery.

Jefferson Davis was defeated by the United States in 1865, followed by the nationwide abolition of slavery.

On account of shoddy record keeping exact numbers are not known, but it is estimated that about 40,000 Canadians and Maritimers served in the war. Despite sympathy for the Confederacy, most fought for the North.

At the start of the war, what is now called Canada was made up of the British colonies of Canada West and Canada East (now Ontario and Quebec), and the Maritime colonies of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, P. E. I and Newfoundland. Both Canadians and Maritimers were aware of the looming threat of the United States annexing or invading them, and owning all of North America.

These factors had caused Canadian and Maritime politicians to consider strengthening the weaker colonies by joining them into a richer, bigger and more defendable unit. The Civil War, for what it signified made the threat of American invasion more likely, while the number of political leaders who were anxious to cut support for the North American colonies increased. The time for unification, or Confederation, had arrived.

The Civil War ended in 1865 with many Canadians and Maritimers undecided regarding support for Confederation. In 1866, a group of Irish-American Civil War veterans called Fenians crossed the border in armed attempts to take Canada hostage in exchange for Irelands independence from Britain.

The Fenian Raid failed, but brought home to Canada a stark reminder that the U.S posed a threat to Canadian sovereignty and how vulnerable Canadians were. Support for Confederation was strengthened.

On July 1, 1867, Canadian Confederation came together just as the United States was clearing away the ashes of civil war, although Canadians would call the holiday Dominion Day until 1982. Canada was now an independent country.

President Jefferson Davis fled to Montreal after battling through a civil war to consolidate the United States as a unified nation, while in Canada we successfully united as a nation without gunfire.

Removal of the plaque is not an acceptable act. We do not need to be influenced from afar to remember that the creation of Canada was influenced by the American Civil War. Jefferson Davis may have resided here, the reason being his story (history) to share.

Yvonne Sam is a Montreal writer and retired charge nurse and secondary school teacher. Originally from Guyana, she has lived in Quebec for 30 years.

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Oil prices rose Friday as traders reassessed Hurricane Harvey potential impact on production as the massive storm intensified in the Gulf of Mexico and closed in on the Texas coastline.

West Texas Crude futures for delivery in October rose 0.76% to trade at $47.79 early Friday, Aug. 25, reversing a decline on Thursday that came despite meteorologist warning that the storm would do significant damage to coastal regions. International benchmark Brent Crude futures for delivery in October climbed 0.81% to $52.46.

The Gulf of Mexico accounts for about 17% of the U.S.'s total crude production, while the coastline between Corpus Christi, Texas and Lake Charles in Louisiana is home to about a third of the national oil and gas refining capacity.

The storm, which is expected to make landfall near Corpus Christi late Friday or early Saturday, was upgraded to a Category 2 hurricane on Friday by the U.S. National Hurricane Center. The storm remains on track for a further upgrade and could be the first Category 3 hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. since hurricane Wilma hit Florida in October 2005.

These Black Market Beers Cost More Than Your Monthly Income!

"Harvey is forecast to bring torrential rains and dangerous storm surge that have the potential to create a life-threatening flooding situation starting Friday," warned the National Hurricane Center. Coastal regions can expect up to 35 inches of rain, winds of up to 125 miles per hour and a storm surge that could raise sea levels by as much as 12 feet.

Until Friday, the hurricane's threat had served to push down oil prices, with traders taking the view that the storm could result in an oil backlog as refineries closed while offshore rigs continued operations. The path of the storm is likely to take it south of the major oil producing regions in the Gulf's northern sector.

That expectation wavered over the past 24 hours as reports of offshore production closures began to filter in. By midday on Thursday, closures of rigs in the Gulf of Mexico had resulted in about 10% decline in the region's offshore production capacity and a 15% fall in natural gas production capacity. Some fracking in the Eagleford onshore basin had also been suspended.

About 1 million barrels per day of coastal refining capacity has been shut, while a further four million barrels of refining capacity could be affected.

Among the producers affected were Royal Dutch Shell Plc undefined , Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (APC) - Get Free Report and ExxonMobil Corp. (XOM) - Get Free Report all of which said they had evacuated workers from some offshore rigs as a precautionary safety measure.

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Oil prices rebounded early Friday as Hurricane Harvey surged toward the east coast of Texas, threatening Gulf of Mexico refineries and crude oil production platforms. Still, oil prices may not find as much support as some traders are hoping.

West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 17 cents to $47.60 a barrel shortly after noon ET Friday, while global benchmark Brent crude futures slipped into the red slightly at $52.03 a barrel. WTI and Brent contracts ended Thursday's trading session down 2% and 1%, respectively, on concerns that shut-in refineries would lead to a surplus in fuel inventories in the Gulf Coast following Friday's storm.

Natural gas on the New York Mercantile exchange also traded down roughly 2% Friday afternoon at $2.89 per million British thermal units.

With production shut in by the regions largest producers, including Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) - Get Free Report , Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDS.A) and Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (APC) - Get Free Report , it's possible West Texas Intermediate crude contracts could test $50 a barrel, Seaport Global Securities LLC analysts admitted Friday.

But the firm noted that this storm is set to hit the refinery hub of the U.S., meaning that fall refined products will build up as refineries shut down runs, and thus the risk premium evaporates.

And as Seaport's macro strategist Richard Hastings noted Thursday, "storms like Harvey tend to weaken demand for gasoline, as traveling in the wreckage wrought by such catastrophes can be difficult, and storms usually reduce demand for electricity due to downed power lines and outages."

Currently, there is 871,000 barrels per day of refinery output that has been shut down to the storm, according to Seaport, while another 4 million barrels of capacity stands to be shut in as well. According to EIA, the coastline between Corpus Christi, Texas and Lake Charles in Louisiana is home to about a third of the national oil and gas refining capacity.

Harvey, which is expected to make landfall near Corpus Christi late Friday or early Saturday, was upgraded to a Category 2 hurricane on Friday by the U.S. National Hurricane Center. The storm remains on track for a further upgrade and could be the first Category 3 hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. since hurricane Wilma hit Florida in October 2005.

Until Friday, the hurricane's threat had served to push down oil prices, with traders taking the view that the storm could result in an oil backlog as refineries closed while offshore rigs continued operations. The path of the storm is likely to take it south of the major oil producing regions in the Gulf's northern sector.

That expectation wavered over the past 24 hours as reports of offshore production closures began to filter in. By midday on Thursday, closures of rigs in the Gulf of Mexico had resulted in about 10% decline in the region's offshore production capacity and a 15% fall in natural gas production capacity. Some fracking in the Eagleford onshore basin had also been suspended.

Still, some industry followers don't expect the impacts to Gulf of Mexico production to be that significant given that a majority of the region's production is located of the coast of Louisiana, out of the hurricane's expected path.

"However, the storm will certainly impact some production (current reports suggest only 10% of GOM production shut-in) and disrupt refinery runs, imports and exports...which will show up in the weekly inventory numbers for the next few weeks," Tudor, Pickering Holt & Co. analysts wrote Friday. "Onshore production is less likely to be impacted other than deferral of completions in the Eagle Ford if the rainfall/flooding predictions come to pass."

Tudor also believes that Hurricane Harvey's refining implications will be less impressive than much of the industry is anticipated.

"As it stands today, Harvey appears headed towards Corpus Christi which is home to three refineries but also the least amount of refining capacity among the major Gulf Coast refining centers," the firm explained. "We thus believe that the refining-related impacts may be minimized as well as can be expected for a major hurricane squarely hitting one of the Texas coastal refining centers."

On the other hand, TPH expects crack spreads to strengthen in the Mid-Continent, Midwest and East Coast regions given the likely slowing supply deliveries on the trunkline product pipes that serve those regions from the Gulf Coast.

Given this movement in crack spreads, which are the differential between the price of crude oil and petroleum products extracted from it, the energy-focused research firm suspects a near-term long trading opportunity for the likes of CVR Refining LP (CVRR) , Delek US Holdings Inc. (DK) - Get Free Report and HollyFrontier Corp. undefined in the Mid-Con; Marathon Petroleum Corp. (MPC) - Get Free Report and PBF Energy Inc. (PBF) - Get Free Report in the Midwest; and PBF Energy and Valero Energy Corp. (VLO) - Get Free Report on the East Coast, as even a few weeks of possible margin upside is constructive for third quarter earnings.

--Paul Whitfield contributed to this report

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U.S. producers took offline six rigs last week, according to Baker Hughes undefined , bringing the Houston oilfield services provider's total count to 940.

Baker Hughes data showed the oil rig count decreased by four week over week, while the natural gas rig count fell by two.

Meanwhile, the U.S. offshore rig count grew by one last week and is flat year over year.

Baker Hughes rig count is now up 451 rigs since this time in 2016, with oil rigs up 353, natural gas rigs up 99 and miscellaneous rigs down one. Pennsylvania and Texas saw the greatest reduction in rig count week over week, with both states dropping 3 units.

The bullish rig data follows a largely positive week for oil and natural gas, as the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported an weekly crude inventory draw of 3.3 million barrels and OPEC members vowed to consider ever option at their November meeting in Vienna, including extending their current production cut beyond March 2018.

But the rig report also comes as U.S. operators shut in production in the Gulf of Mexico region ahead of Hurricane Harvey.

Harvey, which is expected to make landfall near Corpus Christi late Friday or early Saturday, was upgraded to a Category 2 hurricane on Friday by the U.S. National Hurricane Center. The storm remains on track for a further upgrade and could be the first Category 3 hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. since hurricane Wilma hit Florida in October 2005.

Until Friday, the hurricane's threat had served to push down oil prices, with traders taking the view that the storm could result in an oil backlog as refineries closed while offshore rigs continued operations. The path of the storm is likely to take it south of the major oil producing regions in the Gulf's northern sector.

That expectation wavered over the past 24 hours as reports of offshore production closures began to filter in. Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) - Get Free Report , Royal Dutch Shell plc (RDS.A) and Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (APC) - Get Free Report have all reported shutting down operations.

By midday on Thursday, closures of rigs in the Gulf of Mexico had resulted in about 10% decline in the region's offshore production capacity and a 15% fall in natural gas production capacity. Some fracking in the Eagleford onshore basin had also been suspended.

Still, some industry followers don't expect the impacts to Gulf of Mexico production to be that significant given that a majority of the region's production is located of the coast of Louisiana, out of the hurricane's expected path.

"However, the storm will certainly impact some production (current reports suggest only 10% of GOM production shut-in) and disrupt refinery runs, imports and exports...which will show up in the weekly inventory numbers for the next few weeks," Tudor, Pickering Holt & Co. analysts wrote Friday. "Onshore production is less likely to be impacted other than deferral of completions in the Eagle Ford if the rainfall/flooding predictions come to pass."

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Hurricane Harvey is the first big disaster of President Trump's administration that wasn't man-made.

As such, it will likely prove to be a test of the efficiency Trump claimed he would bring to the federal government. It will also inevitably draw comparisons with President George W. Bush's botched response to Hurricane Katrina, in 2005.

Presidents play a role in clearing the way for federal dollars to flow to affected regions with their disaster declarations. And the support and solidarity they display for the photo ops can be of some comfort, if only to their political advisers. It's pretty easy: you look serious, show concern, and make banal statements of support.

But, as Bush showed, it's possible to mess up the presidential response to disasters. In the aftermath of Katrina, Bush famously went before the cameras and told FEMA administrator Michael Brown that he was doing a "heckuva job," even as thousands of New Orleans residents were trapped in their flooded homes or at the storm damaged Superdome. The comment made Bush look completely out of touch with reality, as the enormity of the catastrophe played out for days and days after on cable news.

There are several factors playing in Trump's favor.

Trump's FEMA administrator, William B. "Brock" Long, was only confirmed in June, but he has extensive experience in emergency planning and consulting, as well as three years of experience running Alabama's emergency management agency. He also oversaw that state's response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

The worst effects of Harvey are likely to be experienced by only one state, Texas, meaning there's only one state bureaucracy involved, and only one set of political actors. Katrina significantly affected three states -- Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama -- with the added complication of a major city thrown in.

Harvey's landfall is well to the south of Houston, the state's most populous city, and the fourth largest in the country.

But there are risk factors as well.

It now appears that Harvey will be hovering over the Texas coast for four or five days. Further, Houston is flood prone and very much at risk from heavy rainfall that could easily reach two feet or more. And finally, Harvey may track back out across the Gulf of Mexico and come back to hit Louisiana and New Orleans.

But the greatest risk factor is Trump himself.

Thus far, he has tweeted a couple of innocuous declarations of support, picturing him in meetings with emergency managers. If he keeps to the script, and avoids any wild press conferences, he may be able to avoid turning this natural disaster into another man-made one.

But it would be imprudent to bet on that.

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United Parcel Service, Inc. provides letter and package delivery, transportation, logistics, and related services. It operates through two segments, U.S. Domestic Package and International Package. The U.S. Domestic Package segment offers time-definite delivery of letters, documents, small packages, and palletized freight through air and ground services in the United States. The International Package segment provides guaranteed day and time-definite international shipping services in Europe, the Asia Pacific, Canada and Latin America, the Indian sub-continent, the Middle East, and Africa. This segment offers guaranteed time-definite express options. The company also provides international air and ocean freight forwarding, customs brokerage, distribution and post-sales, and mail and consulting services in approximately 200 countries and territories. In addition, it offers truckload brokerage services; supply chain solutions to the healthcare and life sciences industry; shipping, visibility, and billing technologies; and financial and insurance services. The company operates a fleet of approximately 121,000 package cars, vans, tractors, and motorcycles; and owns 59,000 containers that are used to transport cargo in its aircraft. United Parcel Service, Inc. was founded in 1907 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.
Construction work on an aquaculture plant in Oman is expected to start before the end of this year or early in 2018, according to a high-level executive of Al Hosn Investment Company.



The company are initially looking at producing around 750 tonnes per annum of barramundi, rising to 1,500 tonnes in the next stage, Rumaitha al Busaidi, Aquaculture Specialist, was quoted as saying in an Oman Daily Observer report.



Al Busaidi revealed that the goal is to be operational by 2019.



She said that the project will be based on recirculating aquaculture technology supplied by its technical partner, Denmark-based Inter Aqua Advance.



She added that this is a land-based recirculating system technology, which they chose based on the values of Al Hosn, which is to protect the local environment. With the use of a recirculating and integrated system, there is very little effluent that goes into the sea.



Barramundi, the consumption of which is presently limited in the sultanate, is primarily destined for export markets, according to the aquaculture specialist.



The Ministry of Agriculture of Fisheries has already approved six of these projects for early execution, with the remainder currently in various stages of review. They include ventures backed by international investors and technical partners.



Significantly, the project is among a portfolio of 24 private and public sector fish-farming ventures collectively valued at over $2 billion that are planned for implementation around the Sultanate over the coming years, added the report.
Hint: It's all about putting women in their place.

Over on Apartment Therapy, Nancy Mitchell is doing a wonderful series on the history of the kitchen, and in her latest episode looks at the introduction of the "fitted kitchen" in the 1930s. She notes the work of Christine Frederick:

Christine Frederick, whose book, 'Household Engineering: Scientific Management in the Home,' was published in 1919, was an early proponent of efficiency in the home. Her suggestions for kitchen design were focused not on improving the kitchen's look, but its function  for example, placing dish cupboards right next to the sink to save steps while putting things away. A few years later, Lillian Gilbreth, an engineer and psychologist who had worked on motion studies aimed at increasing the efficiency of industrial processes, turned her attention to the kitchen. She developed the idea of the 'work triangle' (composed of sink, refrigerator, and stove), which still guides kitchen design today.



She then describes the work of German designers, including Margarete Schutte Lihotzky, designer of the Frankfurt Kitchen.

The Frankfurt kitchen, though quite small, was full of thoughtful touches designed to ease the burden of homekeeping, including a fold-out ironing board, a wall-mounted dish drainer, and aluminum bins for dry goods, which had handles and spouts for pouring. The Frankfurt Kitchen was hugely influential on subsequent kitchen design: like the Bauhaus example, it seems preternaturally modern, although with a bit more warmth (and even color). Interestingly enough, the Frankfurt kitchen did not come with a refrigerator, thought to be an extravagance in a place where people still shopped every day.



What I believe she misses in all of this is the question of what drove these smart women, from Catharine Beecher to Christine Frederick to Margarete Schutte-Lihotzky, to redesign the kitchen? In fact, it is all about politics, about the role of women in our homes and in society. It's a really important part of the kitchen story because it shows how design really can change lives, and in this case the lives of women.

credit: The American Woman's Home/ Christine Beecher

The American Woman's Home/ Christine Beecher/Public Domain

In 1869, Catharine Beecher, sister of Harriet Beecher Stowe, thought about redesigning the kitchen for the era after slavery, which is as political as you can get. She wrote:

We cannot in this country maintain to any great extent the retinues of servants... Every mistress of a family knows that her cares increase with every additional servant. A moderate style of housekeeping, small, compact and simple domestic establishment must necessarily be the general order of life in America.



credit: Christine Frederick/ Ladies Home Journal

Christine Frederick/ Ladies Home Journal/Public Domain

In 1919, Christine Frederick applied the principles of Frederick Winslow Taylor on time and motion to the kitchen in her book, 'Household Engineering: Scientific Management in the Home.' She wanted to make life easier and more efficient for women to run the kitchen, the way Taylor made it easier for men to shovel coal.

credit: Margarete Schutte-Lihotzky's Frankfurt Kitchen 1926

Margarete Schutte-Lihotzky's Frankfurt Kitchen 1926/CC BY 2.0

I wrote about this earlier:

Frederick was a serious women's rights activist and saw efficient design as a way to help women get out of the kitchen, but Margarete Schutte-Lihotzky was much more radical in her design of the Frankfurt Kitchen ten years later. She designed the small, efficient kitchen with a social agenda; according to Paul Overy, the kitchen was to be used quickly and efficiently to prepare meals and wash up, after which the housewife would be free to return to ... her own social, occupational or leisure pursuits."



The whole idea of all of these designs was to get women OUT of the kitchen, to make it smaller, more efficient, to let women have other opportunities. Paul Overy wrote:

Rather than the social centre of the house as it had been in the past, this was designed as a functional space where certain actions vital to the health and wellbeing of the household were performed as quickly and efficiently as possible.



Xray-delta/CC BY 2.0

Of course in the fifties, it was back to putting the woman in the kitchen baking cakes and roasts to please the man coming home from work. I wrote:

In the fifties any thoughts like those of Christine Fredericks or Margarete Schutte-Lihotzky, where women would be freed from kitchen responsibilities were pretty much extinguished by the baby boom, as the woman's job once again became cooking for dad and feeding the kids.



credit: Wolf

 Wolf

Now, of course, the dream is the big open kitchen with commercial grade appliances sitting on vast archipelagos of kitchen Islands, most of which never gets used because it smokes up the house and it's too hard to clean so why don't we just order in. The kitchen becomes an exhibit demonstrating how much money the working man and woman have, a place to put on a show on weekends, often by the man who likes the showy stuff. They even now have separate "messy kitchens" for the messy coffee machine and toaster.

This is insane. There is a six-burner range and a double oven in the kitchen and another big range and exhaust hood in the outdoor kitchen  but they know full well that everyone is hiding in the messy kitchen, nuking their dinner, pumping their Keurig and toasting their Eggos.

credit: Warendorf By Starck

 Warendorf By Starck

Nancy Mitchell tells a great story about the evolution of kitchen design, but I think she doesn't stress enough the social implications of these changes. Beecher, Frederick and Schutte-Lihotzky wanted to free women from the kitchen; the architects and the builders of the fifties and sixties wanted to put women back into the kitchen; the architects and designers of this century recognize that most of the time it is no longer even functioning as a kitchen. Thanks to Foodera and Amazon and Whole Foods, women of a certain income have been able to say goodbye to the kitchen altogether unless they decide to use it for fun.

Kitchen design, like every other kind of design, is not just about how things look; it is political. It is social. In kitchen design, it is all about the role of women in society. You can't look at kitchen design without looking at sexual politics.
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TWIN FALLS  Twin Falls police didnt find any evidence of criminal activity after reports of suspected child enticement near school bus stops, the city announced Friday.

Tuesday, police received two reports of men approaching children and offering them rides to school in the past week.

The first incident was reported near Heyburn Avenue East and Teton Street, and the second near Sunrise Boulevard and Shoup Avenue East.

Both reports said the men were driving a white van.

Twin Falls police detective located the white van in the area of Sunrise Boulevard and Shoup Avenue East and identified the occupants, the department wrote in its Friday statement.

Detectives were able to confirm the vehicle and its occupants have legitimate reasons to be in that area of town at the time the vehicle was reported, it wrote. Police have not been able to establish any evidence that any crimes occurred.

Police reminded parents to talk with their children about reporting suspicious activity and about being aware of their surroundings.
- The Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) has issued a seven strike notice as school opening day looms

- KNUT is demanding Labour CS reinstates teachers annual salary increment

- The strike comes just days after re-election of President Uhuru Kenyatta

The Kenya National Union of Teachers are threatening to down their tools in a nationwide strike only a week before schools officially reopen.

In a statement seen by TUKO.co.ke, the Union wants Labor CS Phyllis Kandie to promote tutors with high qualifications as well as reinstate annual pay for teachers.

The Union is reportedly agitated by the TSC for allegedly scrapping a teachers salary increment contrary to an initial agreement.

A past demonstration by teachers:FILE

READ ALSO: It is shameful, I swear I shall not back that law-Uhuru tells off MPs demanding pay-hike

Our efforts over time to resolve the disputes have been in vain. The Kenya National Union of Teachers have now, following the steering committee, registered a dispute to the Cabinet Secretary Ministry of Labor , Security and Social Services , the statement read.

They also argued that teachers were legally entitled to a salary increment.

This increment is available to the teacher as a matter of right in the law. The increasing schemes of service further governs this entitlement. The schemes of service for the teachers, graduates, non-graduates and technical teachers must be upgraded appropriately by the Teachers Service Commission. This has not been done for the last three years and our patience has run out, The statement went on.

KNUT are at loggerheads with the TSC again: COURTESY

READ ALSO: Luo politicians pledge to support Uhuru Kenyatta's presidency

This is not the first time the TSC and KNUT wer suffering from communication breakdown. In March, the Teachers Union threatened to call a nationwide strike if they were not engaged in negotiations.

Have anything to add to this article or suggestions? Share with us on news@tuko.co.ke

Supreme court battle looms, NASA supporters speak:

Source: TUKO.co.ke
- Jubilee party has finally responded to an attack sent their way by NASA co principal Musalia Mudavadi

- In the response, Jubilee through a State House official said Mudavadi and NASA have become habitual liars

- The response came only hours after Mudavadi attacked Jubilee and uhuru by calling them names

Jubilee Party and Uhuru Kenyatta, through State House Director of Messaging have hit back at NASA co-principal following his recent attack against the camp.

Speaking in a presser on Thursday, August 24, State House head of messaging, Eric Ngeno clapped back at Musalia calling him a big liar.

As reported by TUKO.co.ke earlier, Musalia Mudavadi on Thursday, August 24, claimed Jubilee victory in the August 8 polls is a product of organized crime. Mudavadi vehemently accused Uhuru of rigging the election.

NASA Co-principal Musalia Mudavadi in a press conference. Photo: NASA/Facebook

READ ALSO: Another bunch of ballot boxes found hidden in Kisii hotel

In a quick rejoinder, State House director of messaging said Mudavadi has moved from being a colorless politician to a reckless habitual liar.

Ngeno added that the NASA co principal has lost credibility after allowing to be used in meaningless, rather divisive agenda.

READ ALSO: Kiambu Women Rep Gathoni wa Muchomba apologises hours after demanding fat salary

Uhuru Kenyatta angry. Photos: Nation

READ ALSO: Where is your daughter Rosemary? City Pastor bashes Raila

"Without regard for plausibility, probability and believability, Mudavadi has energetically plied the world with shameless figments of the most outlandish order, causing widespread concern about his welfare. ''Ngeno fired.

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"Apart from marvelling at the stupendous lies Mudavadi has proved capable of serially surpassing time after time, the reflective observer must also wonder whats becoming of the Mudavadi we thought we knew.'' Added Ngeno.

I got rid of two men but made peace with God ;

Source: TUKO.co.ke
TWIN FALLS  Michelle Smith wanted to further her education with a bachelors degree, but her life is in Buhl. Leaving to attend a four-year university wasnt feasible.

She has two school-age children and lives with her elderly grandmother.

Being an older student, Im already rooted in the community, she said.

So Smith found a local option to meet her goals. Shes working toward a bachelors degree in elementary education with an emphasis in English through Idaho State Universitys Twin Falls program.

She takes in-person classes at the College of Southern Idahos campus and expects to wrap up coursework in the summer to start student teaching next fall.

The majority of CSI students want to eventually pursue a bachelors degree but dont plan to leave the Magic Valley. Its especially common for non-traditional students who arent right out of high school, have family connections in the area and have a job.

This is their life, said Christy Bowman, director of Boise State Universitys Twin Falls program. They cant just pick up and go to Boise to do schoolwork and attend like a traditional student. They already have an identity here in the Magic Valley, so leaving is hard.

Another factor: The cost of living tends to be cheaper in the Magic Valley than Boise, she said.

So what bachelors degrees can you earn in Twin Falls? Quite a few, including in business, education, criminal justice and social work.

And there are even masters and doctoral degrees that can be completed locally.

Some have an office on CSIs campus. And they offer pathways to help students save time and money by knowing which classes theyll need to take at CSI and once they transfer.

Helping students who want to earn a bachelors degree without leaving the Magic Valley was a key theme during an Aug. 14 CSI State of the College address.

In total, 82 percent of degree-seeking students are looking to transfer to a four-year university, executive vice president Todd Schwarz told employees.

The programs with the highest percentage of students who continue on to earn a bachelors degree are education, registered nursing, business and criminal justice. Those are all programs four-year universities offer in Twin Falls.

Our students are apparently more place-bound than we think, Schwarz told employees.

Thats something Boise State and other four-year universities keep in mind.

With the programs were offering, theyre very community oriented, Bowman said.

With bachelors and masters degree social work programs, for example, she often receives phone calls from local employers around graduation time seeking recent graduates.

Boise State offers five programs with in-person classes in Twin Falls, with 178 students enrolled this semester.

Bowman also advises students who plan to move to Boise to continue their education. But thats only about 30 percent of her time.

Lewis-Clark State College has offered in-person classes for education majors in Twin Falls in the past.

Now, it offers only online programs, serving between 15 and 20 Magic Valley students at a time  plus more in a registered nursing to bachelors degree completion program.

Business is the most popular major among Twin Falls LCSC students, said Brock Astle, a Boise-based assistant director of admissions.

Astle regularly visits the Twin Falls area. Were constantly evaluating what were offering in the Magic Valley, he said.

After graduating from CSI, Filer resident Crissie Gard enrolled in ISU Twin Falls bachelors degree in elementary education program.

Gard, who describes herself as a non-traditional student, has two children who are 12 and 14.

Usually, I go to school when they go to school, she said. But this semester is different because most of her classes start at 3 p.m. or later.

Its her third semester taking ISU classes, but her first as a full-time student. Gard also works as a substitute teacher in Filer  usually at least two days a week.

Once she finishes her bachelors degree, Gard hopes to teach second grade in Filer. She loves the schools and already knows the employees.

Smith said she feels supported by her ISU advisers, program director and professors.

Theyre easy to get in touch with and willing to answer questions, she said. And knows everyone shell be graduating with.

Its a great program and Im really enjoying it, she said.

Academically, Smith would like to see more programs offered in Twin Falls  particularly for education majors.

Secondary education students can take methodology classes in Twin Falls, but have to be in Pocatello for subject-area classes.

It would be nice to see some more variety in that area, she said. Were limited on what we can take.

And being away from the main ISU campus in Pocatello can be a challenge  particularly in terms of outreach and student activities.

We miss out on a lot of that in Twin Falls, Smith said. It can be kind of isolating.

But without Twin Falls college programs, she and, many other students likely wouldnt be able to earn a bachelors degree at all.
The Airports Authority has successfully carried out a simulation of a crash landing at Piarco.
As a result of the explosion in Hrushevskoho Street on August 24, relatives of sniper company commander Capt. Valeriy Chibineyev were injured.

Chibineyev is now at the hospital No. 17. His wife, mother-in-law and friend were also taken to the hospital, Hromadske reported.

Doctor of the Kyiv City Clinical Hospital No. 17 Natalia Babiy said that three people, a man and two women, were taken to the hospital yesterday. The women were hospitalized.

As reported, on Thursday, August 24, an unknown object exploded in the Hrushevskoho Street in Kyiv. According to the SBU, hooliganism is the main line of inquiry.

ish
Militants launched 22 attacks on positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in ATO area in Donbas over the past day. Three Ukrainian soldiers were wounded.

This is reported by the ATO press center.

In Mariupol direction, the day passed relatively quiet. About 8:00 pm, near the village of Taramchuk (30km south-west of Donetsk), militants fired at Ukrainian positions, using a grenade launcher and small arms.

The tensest situation was still observed in Donetsk direction, where illegal armed formations used mortars and grenade launchers to shell Ukrainian positions in the industrial area of Avdiivka (18km north of Donetsk). In addition, militants also shelled Ukrainian positions near Troitske (69km west of Luhansk).

In Luhansk direction, illegal armed formations used 120mm mortars to shell ATO troops near Katerynivka (64km west of Luhansk) and 82mm mortars to shell Ukrainian positions near Novooleksandrivka (65km west of Luhansk) and Novotoshkivske (53km north-west of Luhansk). The attacks by terrorists using heavy machine guns were recorded in the area of Stanytsia Luhanska (16km north-east of Luhansk).

ish
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson states that Washington is proud of its partnership with Ukraine and firmly supports its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

This is stated in a statement on the website of the U.S. Department of State.

"We deeply appreciate the friendship that we have developed over past 25 years of diplomatic relations. We highly appreciate your resistance to serious problems, including the Russia-led conflict in Donbas, Russian occupation and an attempt of Crimeas annexation," reads a statements on the Independence Day of Ukraine.

Tillerson noted that despite the difficulties, the Ukrainian people showed determination in creating economic opportunities, fighting corruption and strengthening their democratic institutions.

"The United States is proud of having been a partner of Ukraine, and we continue to support your sovereignty, territorial integrity and democracy. May the coming year bring peace, prosperity, and progress to the people of Ukraine," the U.S. Secretary of State said.

As reported, the celebration on the Independence Day of Ukraine was attended by U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis. He also met with President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko and Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak.

ish
Europe without Ukraine will not be full-fledged in political, economic and military senses.

Polish Defense Minister Antoni Macierewicz said this at a meeting with President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko, the press service of the Head of State reproted.

"Europe without Ukraine will not be full-fledged in political, economic or military senses. Poland was, is and will be with Ukraine, as your country defends Europe," Macierewicz stressed.

Poroshenko thanked Macierewicz for his personal presence at the parade on the occasion of the 26th anniversary of the Independence of Ukraine and highly appreciated the participation of the unit of the Polish Army in the parade, which became "a historic day for the Ukrainian-Polish friendship".

Poroshenko and Macierewicz discussed further strengthening of military and technical cooperation between Ukraine and Poland, implementation of the decisions of the Warsaw Summit of NATO, and the issue of activation of Ukraine's participation in joint multinational training. The parties agreed that the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine for the first time in their history would take part in military exercises of the countries of the Visegrad Four.

ish
The Canadian parliamentary opposition promises to help Ukraine resist aggression and supports the provision of defensive weapons.

Andrew Scheer, the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada and the head of the official parliamentary opposition, said this in the congratulations on the Independence Day of Ukraine.

"We will always stand side by side with Ukraine in its struggle for freedom. The previous government took practical steps to help Ukraine; in particular, it sent military instructors, provided military assistance and imposed sanctions on Russian officials responsible for the war. We continue to call for further measures, including the provision of lethal weapons," Mr. Scheer said.

ish
Canada expresses its support for Ukraine and calls on Russia to immediately release all political prisoners.

Chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade of the Canadian Senate Raynell Andreychuk said this in the greetings on the Independence Day of Ukraine.

"Today we reaffirm our support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and call for the immediate release of all Ukrainians illegally detained in Russia," the statement reads.

The senator also said that "celebrating the Independence Day, we note with regret the illegal actions of Russia in the occupied territories of eastern Ukraine and the Crimean peninsula. Arrests and detentions of numerous political prisoners provide evidence of serious violations of personal freedoms and persecution of Ukrainians and Ukrainian national minorities by the Kremlin," Andreychuk said.

She also noted the great support of the Ukrainian diaspora in the development of a free and independent Ukraine.

ish
Ukraine supports an initiative of Moldova to withdraw Russian troops from the Transdniestrian region.

MP and Adviser to the President of Ukraine Iryna Friz wrote this on her Facebook page.

"I emphasize once again that we must use all international mechanisms to ensure that the military occupation contingent of the Russian Federation is completely withdrawn from Moldova," she wrote.

The MP informs that Ukraine supports the initiative of Moldova and is ready to provide full support to Moldovan partners.

As a reminder, Moldova appealed to the United Nations to address the full withdrawal of Russian troops from the Transdniestrian region at the upcoming 72nd session of the UN General Assembly.

ish
A monument to the soldiers who gave their lives for the independence of Ukraine was opened in Mariupol.

"A ceremony of opening a monument to the soldiers who gave their lives for Ukraine has been held. Representatives of the city council, the National Guard, the Ukrainian Armed Forces, as well as the clergy, took part in the solemn event," the Mariupol City Council announced on Thursday.

The memory of the soldiers was honored with a minute of silence. Servicemen and representatives of the city law enforcement agencies and public organizations laid wreaths and flowers to the memorial sign.

ish
TWIN FALLS  Lincoln Elementary is pioneering a program this year to teach students who are learning English in their regular classrooms, rather than taking them out for part of the day.

A regular classroom teacher and an English as a Second Language teacher works in each of these classrooms, said Principal Beth Olmstead. The ESL teacher helps with lesson plans to include ESL strategies to ensure students get a boost in vocabulary and language instruction. Then, the two teachers work together to instruct the class. This co-teaching system, Olmstead said, helps children who are learning English to learn from their peers rather than being isolated.

Middle and high schools in the district have also started to use a similar model to instruct students who are still learning English. Its significant for Lincoln, though, because all elementary-age English-language learning students in the district are sent there. About 90 elementary schoolers, or about 17 percent of Lincolns student body, are English-language learners who are part of the co-teaching program.

U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo, a Republican, visited Lincoln on Thursday to learn a bit about the co-teaching program and to donate to about 100 surplus childrens books he got from the Library of Congress. As he visited classrooms, the teachers pointed out how many students they have from different countries  including Mexico, Iraq, Sudan and DR Congo.

Crapo went to the library first, where he read the book Whistle for Willie, about a small boy who is trying to learn how to whistle so he can call his dachshund, to a group of fourth-graders, answered their questions and told them about the Library of Congress.

Crapo said he learned about the Library of Congresss Surplus Books Program when his chief of staff was eating cereal one day and noticed an advertisement on the side of the milk carton. Crapo has also used the program to get books for several public libraries recently, including in Hailey.

Then, he visited third- and fifth-grade co-teaching classrooms, also answering students questions about his job. The students were familiar with who the president is and some asked Crapo if he had met President Trump or been to the White House. (Yes to both.) As Crapo told one class, he has met five presidents  George H.W. Bush and every president since  and worked legislatively with four. (The first Bush was almost at the end of his term when Crapo first entered Congress.)

Olmstead tried to explain to each group of kids the role a senator plays, saying his job is to advocate for Idahos interests in Washington, D.C.

Is he kind of like the president for Idaho? one fourth-grade boy asked in the library.

I like that, Crapo laughed.

Hes one of them, Olmstead replied, before settling on presidents adviser for Idaho.

Crapo then told the fourth graders he is from Idaho Falls, was elected to the Senate and now splits his time between Idaho and a basement apartment in D.C.

The children were also curious his trips from D.C. to Idaho. One boy asked if Crapo had a limousine (he doesnt), and others asked about his frequent airplane trips.

Many people think the government provides us an airplane, Crapo told the fifth grade class. It doesnt. ... I fly in the regular commercial airplanes that everyone flies in.
Two independent Cambodian radio stations that allowed rare criticism of the government said Wednesday they are being forced to shut down, further limiting opportunities for political activity and expression ahead of next year's general election.

The radio stations announced the closures the same day the foreign ministry ordered foreign staff members of the Washington-based National Democratic Institute to leave the country within a week and halt operations. The government accused of group, which receives U.S. government support, of violating laws on non-governmental organizations and taxes.

The institute, affiliated with the U.S. Democratic Party, promotes democracy and election monitoring worldwide.

The moves appeared to be part of a concerted effort to rein in media and other public watchdogs ahead of the 2018 polls, in which the ruling party of Prime Minister Hun Sen is expected to face a strong challenge.

Hun Sen has held power for three decades, employing authoritarian methods in a nominally democratic framework. After being shocked by the strong challenge he faced in 2013's general election, he moved to undermine the opposition, using pliant courts and a rubber-stamp legislature to neutralize opposition leaders with a series of politically motivated lawsuits and criminal charges. Still, the opposition made gains in nationwide local elections this past June.

The move against the National Democratic Institute was foreshadowed last week by the appearance of a mysterious Facebook page that purported to display evidence that the U.S. group was conspiring with the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party against the government.

Emails and phone calls to the institute for comment were not immediately answered.

In recent weeks the government has announced a crackdown on organizations it says are delinquent in paying taxes, including foreign and local media and civil society organizations.

On Tuesday, Hun Sen demanded that The Cambodia Daily, an English-language newspaper, pay $6.3 million in alleged back taxes and interest by September 4 or face being shut down. Two U.S. government-funded radio stations, Radio Free Asia and Voice of America, have also been warned they owe back taxes, as have a number of local human rights groups. Most of the groups have asked for a clarification of their tax bills.

Most Cambodian media, especially TV, are owned by the government or by businesses with close connections to the authorities. Voice of America and Radio Free Asia are among the few platforms where government critics have been able to reach a large audience. They have both leased broadcast time from local radio stations.

One of the two local stations ordered shut Wednesday, Moha Nokor, leased program time to the American broadcasters and was also a rare outlet for the opposition. It received a letter from Information Minister Khieu Kanharith canceling its authorization to operate on the basis that it had violated the authorization and the law.

Yim Sovann, a spokesman for the Cambodia National Rescue Party, the station's main backer, confirmed the government's order.

"I cannot guarantee whether or not the upcoming general election in 2018 will be free and fair," he said.

The manager of Voice of Democracy, primarily an online radio station that bought time on a separate broadcasting station, said that station's owner told him he could no longer lease time because of technical and administrative issues.

The manager, Pa Nguon Tieng, said the Voice of Democracy was given seed money by the U.S. government and has since received funds from the European Union and the Danish and Swedish governments.
Prominent Washington correspondents discuss the administrations decision to change military policy in Afghanistan and the possibility of a government shutdown over a proposed border wall between Mexico and the United States. Join moderator David Rennie of the Economist, and panelists Michael Williams of CBS Radio and Tom DeFrank of the National Journal for a lively discussion on Issues in the News.
KIMBERLY  Students in Kimberly will try out new materials for reading and geometry when they return to class Aug. 28.

The Kimberly school board decided Aug. 16 to pilot Istation for elementary school reading and Core Connections Geometry. School trustees will make a final decision in the spring about which materials to adopt.

Idahos public school districts used to receive state funding specifically for textbooks up until 2010. But funding dried up during the economic recession, leaving school districts to hold off on updating materials students use in class.

Now, many districts, including Kimberly, are trying to catch up by allocating money from its own budget or using voter-approved ballot measures.

Kimberly Elementary School has used its old reading program, aimsweb Reading, for six to eight years, Schroeder said, and Carnegie Math for high school geometry for at least a decade.

The new reading program will be used in kindergarten through fifth-grade classrooms.

Its the same one all Idaho public schools will transition to soon for a new reading test  a computer-based assessment that will replace the Idaho Reading Indicator.

We are going to go ahead and purchase it anticipating the state is going to switch over anyway, Schroeder said.

The Idaho State Department of Education chose 57 schools to pilot the new test this school year.

Here in the Magic Valley, that includes Popplewell Elementary School in Buhl, Castleford Elementary School, Filer Elementary School, Hollister Elementary School, Horizon and Jefferson elementary schools in Jerome, Shoshone Elementary School and Wendell Elementary School.

For high school geometry  taken usually by freshmen  Kimberly students had a lot of success with Carnegie Math in the past, Schroeder said.

But school leaders were looking for something that better aligns with math standards and that doesnt have extra materials to purchase every year.

The new curriculum comes with e-textbooks. Materials will also better help prepare students, Schroeder said, wholl take pre-calculus or calculus through the College of Southern Idaho as high school juniors or seniors.
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to restoring Ukraines soverignty and territorial integrity during a visit to the eastern European country. Mattis met with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak. And as VOA correspondent Carla Babb reports, the question over whether the United States will provide Ukraine with lethal weapons loomed large during Thursdays talks.
Kristin Zaitz is confident that her nuclear power plant is safe.



Zaitz, an engineering manager, was at Diablo Canyon Power Plant during both her pregnancies and has scuba dived to inspect the plant, which hugs the California coast. Zaitz wears a pendant with a tiny bit of uranium inside, an item that tends to invite questions.



We all have our perceptions of nuclear, Zaitz said.



In a few years, Diablo Canyon will close, part of a trend nationwide. The availability of cheap natural gas and greater energy efficiency has reduced demand for nuclear power in recent years. Add to that ongoing concerns about public safety, such as those raised by memories of disasters at nuclear plants in Fukushima, Japan, Chernobyl in Ukraine (then part of the Soviet Union) and Three Mile Island in the United States.

Nuclear is 'cleaner' than fossil fuels

Supporters of nuclear power plants say that when a reactor-based generating station closes, not enough wind and solar power is available to make up the difference. They lament that energy companies tend to turn instead to fossil fuels  coal and natural gas  which produce environmentally harmful emissions.

Zaitz and her co-worker Heather Matteson, a reactor operator, started Mothers for Nuclear, their effort to get the word out that nuclear power is clean, safe and better for the environment than some alternative energy sources.



I went into the plant very skeptical of nuclear and being scared of it, said Matteson. It took me six to seven years to really feel like this is something good for the environment. I don't want people to take six to seven years to make that decision. We don't have that long.

Matteson, too, wears the uranium necklace as a conversation starter. Nuclear is fun, she said. Is there any radiation emitted by the pendant? There's slightly more than from a banana, she conceded.

Women seen as powerful advocates

Industry experts say that women who work in nuclear power can be powerful advocates for nuclear. They can help change attitudes of other women who tend to be more skeptical than men about nuclear energy's benefits.



At the recent U.S. Women in Nuclear conference in San Francisco, women working in the industry talked about how more should be done to make nuclear power's case to the public, and how they may be the best suited to do it.



As mothers, I think we also have an important role to play in letting the public know that we support nuclear for the future, for our children, said Matteson. And we don't know other mothers supporting nuclear power in a vocal way. We thought there was a gap to fill.

Young women say they look at careers in this industry because they are socially minded.

'Do something good for the world'



I went into this wanting to do something good for the world, Lenka Kollar, business strategy director at NuScale, a firm in Oregon that designs and markets small modular reactors. Wanting to bring power to people. There are still more than a billion people in the world who don't have electricity.

Critics of nuclear energy say it doesn't matter who is promoting it.

Using mothers' voices to argue for a technology that is fundamentally dangerous and that has been demonstrated by disasters like Fukushima to be not safe for the communities that surround the power plants or even cities that are hundreds of miles away is disingenuous, said Kendra Klein, a staff scientist with Friends of the Earth, an environmental group.



While the future of nuclear power in the United States may be uncertain, the women here say they have a positive story to tell.


Angola's ruling MPLA party has won the country's general election, extending its 42-year hold on power and ensuring that Defense Minister Joao Lourenco will be the country's next president.

Hours before the electoral commission announced the party's 64 percent lead in Wednesday's poll, the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola declared that it was assured of victory in a poll that it called "free, secret and joyful."

But the leading opposition party, the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola, said that their independent vote count told a different story. Official results gave the party just over 24 percent.

"These results which were presented are different from the results we have," UNITA MP Estevao Jose Pedro Katchiungo told journalists after the preliminary results were announced Thursday. "But we know we have time to verify this. Let's stay calm."

UNITA has not said whether it will contest the final results in court.

The MPLA has dominated all aspects of public life in Angola  and is accused of plundering state resources in the oil-rich nation. During the campaign, opposition parties accused the ruling party of using government resources for campaigning. The MPLA has denied irregularities, and observers have largely praised the poll for being peaceful and orderly.

On Friday morning, state television praised the poll and quoted voters who effusively did the same.

But in parts of the capital, voters questioned the initial results. Luanda province is the largest, and initial results there gave the ruling party a razor-thin 50 percent share.

Luciano Joaquim, 47, a resident of the opposition-heavy Cazenga neighborhood, said he believes the opposition performed better than the initial results indicated. As of Friday morning, large swaths of the capital had yet to be counted.

"I disagree with these results announced by the electoral commission," Joaquim told VOA. "I disagree because during the campaign on state television, people said they wanted change."

Despite the victory announced Friday, it's clear that Angolan voters are slowly chipping away at the hegemony of the powerful MPLA, which has ruled Angola as a de facto one-party state since independence from Portugal in 1975. In 2008, the party won 82 percent of the vote; in 2012, 72 percent.

Since 1979, one man has led the party and the nation: President Jose Eduardo dos Santos, who is stepping down at age 74 amid rumors of poor health. He will continue to lead the party, but his defense minister, Joao Lourenco, is now poised to take the reins as Angola's president  its first new leader in 38 years.
1 Gorilla "Mjukuu" and her baby "Alika" check out a measuring device in an enclosure during a photocall at London Zoo to promote the zoo's annual weigh-in event.
Many years have passed, but traces of the killings are still visible.



Dried blood on the walls, bullet holes, an empty bedroom.

The Dhaka home where Bangladesh independence hero Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and most of his family - including his wife and 10-year-old son - were gunned down by soldiers in 1975, has long drawn visitors since it opened as a memorial museum in the mid-1990s.

Much effort has gone into keeping the location exactly as it was. Theres an old aquarium, a calendar set to the date of the massacre, August 15, and personal items, including a container of Mujib's hair cream.

But changes are in the works. Not so much in the space itself, but in the way the space is accessed. A new curator is planning a virtual version that can be visited by anyone with an internet connection.

This experience is similar to a pilot during simulations for a plane. If someone wishes to visit the museum, but he resides in a remote area or he cannot afford it, there will be no problem, said curator Nazrul Islam Khan, appointed to the post last year.

Any individual can visit the museum anytime she or he wants.

Khan said the idea is to film 360 degree views later available on the web. The soft launch is in a months time. He is also planning an audio guide.

The events of 1975, which transpired almost four years after Bangladeshs Liberation War against Pakistan, reverberate throughout the countrys contemporary politics.

Mujib, as he is known, is credited with sparking the initial stages of the independence movement. Pakistan threw him in jail during the suppression of the uprising in 1971, but he returned to lead following the war. After the assassination, senior army official Ziaur Rahman rose to power before being shot dead in 1981.

One of Mujibs surviving daughters, current Prime Minister Hasina Wajed, took over her fathers party, the Awami League, while Ziaur Rahmans widow, Khaleda Zia, led the main opposition, the Bangladesh National Party. Though Bangladesh is largely Muslim, the Awami Leagues secular vision clashed with the BNPs more religious outlook.

Totemic figure

Sheikh Mujib is understandably a totemic figure in Bangladeshs national imagination. However, his importance is swelled for political reasons by the ruling Awami League party and is correspondingly diminished by [the] more right or religious leaning, Bangladesh Nationalist Party [BNP] led governments, said Joseph Allchin, a journalist and author of the forthcoming book Many Rivers, One Sea about the rise of Islamist militancy in Bangladesh.

Mujib as founder of the party, lends the Awami League stature derived from his leadership in the push for independence from Pakistan. Crucially as well however, his murder, many would contend, helps reinforce the very powerful dynastic status of the current prime minister, his daughter, Sheikh Hasina.

The fate of the men accused of plotting the 1975 murders tipped one way or the other as power changed hands over the next three and a half decades. Some of the conspirators were initially given diplomatic postings.

Hasina acted after she became prime minister in 1996, but it wasnt until 2010 that five men were hanged for their roles. A year before, the Awami League had regained control of the government, cementing that control in 2014 with elections boycotted by the opposition.

Critics have accused Hasina of turning Mujibs memory into a cult of personality. Just this week, 13 teachers were charged with sedition for once comparing an opposition official to Mujib.

Keeping a legacy alive

But while acknowledging that the Awami League may be motivated to preserve Mujibs legacy in order to secure electoral advantage, the writer Salil Tripathi, who interviewed one of the men who conspired against Mujib, pointed out that the war of independence will be 50 years old in 2021, and a generation will have come of age with dim memories of it or the assassination in 1975.

The appalling murder of most of her [Hasina's] family is a historical fact she does not want the nation to forget; providing access - even if virtual - to that story is a good sign, he said, adding that a fuller account of the independence war and the issues underlying it is also essential.

The struggle between those who would place primacy on religion and those who see the state as secular, with language as the defining characteristic continues. That's the main struggle; keeping Mujibur Rahman's legacy alive is part of that bigger narrative.

Asked if there was too much uncritical publicity surrounding Mujibs exploits, Khan, the museum curator, said he was focused on providing more material at the museum.

Once I took charge of the museum, I prepared a book of speeches of Bangabandhu, which he delivered on different days, he said, using a name for Mujib that means friend of the Bengalis.

I organized the dates so that the people could find it more thematic and what he had said on what issue and on which date.
A man armed with a knife was detained Friday evening outside London's Buckingham Palace, and two police officers were injured while arresting him, police said.

The Metropolitan Police force says two officers suffered minor injuries while detaining the suspect, who is being held on suspicion of grievous bodily harm and assaulting police.

Police said the officers did not require hospital treatment. No other injuries were reported.

A large number of police vehicles could be seen in the Mall, the wide road outside the palace.

Police said it was too early to say whether the incident was terrorism-related.

Buckingham Palace is one of London's main tourist attractions, and the London home of Queen Elizabeth II.

The queen, however, usually spends August in Scotland at her Balmoral estate with family members.

Police stepped up patrols around major U.K. tourist sites after attacks with vehicles and knives earlier this year on Westminster Bridge, which is near Parliament, and London Bridge.

Buckingham Palace, which is surrounded by tall gates, has seen past security breaches. Last year, a man convicted of murder climbed a wall while the queen was at home, and was detained in the grounds.

In 1982, an intruder managed to sneak into the queen's private chambers while she was in bed. Elizabeth spent 10 minutes chatting with him before calling for help.

A palace spokeswoman said the palace did not comment on security issues.
U.S. authorities on Thursday accused a Chinese national visiting the United States of providing malware that has been linked to the theft of security clearance records of millions of American government employees.

Yu Pingan of Shanghai was arrested on Monday at Los Angeles airport after a federal criminal complaint accused him of conspiring with others wielding malicious software known as Sakula, a Justice Department spokesman said on Thursday.

The complaint said the group attacked a series of unnamed U.S. companies using Sakula, the same rare program involved in U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) hacks detected in 2014 and 2015. The filing did not mention the OPM hacks.

The arrest could provide information on the OPM hacks which U.S. officials have blamed on the Chinese government.

In an FBI affidavit linked to the complaint, an FBI agent said he believed Yu provided versions of Sakula to two unnamed men that he knew would be used to carry out attacks on the firms.

Yu's court-appointed attorney, Michael Berg, said Yu was a teacher with no affiliation with China's government.

"He says he has no involvement in this whatsoever," Berg said, adding that Yu came to Los Angeles for a conference.

The Justice Department and San Diego FBI declined to comment further.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a regular press briefing on Friday that she was not aware of the situation, but that China actively seeks to guarantee overseas Chinese individuals' legal rights. China opposes of all forms criminal internet activity, she added.

The court filings said Sakula had rarely been seen before the attacks on U.S. companies and Yu knew the software he was providing would be used in the hacks carried out between 2010 and 2015.

Though the victims are not named, some companies appeared to be in the aerospace and energy industries.

Adam Meyers, vice president at U.S. security firm CrowdStrike, said software flaws and one of the internet protocol addresses cited in the complaint matched up with attacks on a U.S. turbine manufacturer, Capstone Turbine, and a French aircraft supplier.

Meyers said Sakula could be used by multiple groups, but that all of the known targets would be of interest to the Chinese government.

The OPM breach was a subject of U.S.-China talks, and the Chinese government previously told American diplomats it had arrested some criminals in the case.

Yu remains in jail pending a court hearing on his detention next week.

Reporting by Joseph Menn; Additional reporting by Michael Martina in Beijing
Venezuela's former top prosecutor, who fled to neighboring Colombia last week, may freely enter and leave the Andean country for the next six months, Bogota said on Thursday, in a move likely to anger President Nicolas Maduro.

Following the removal of the former prosecutor, Luisa Ortega, from her post after she accused Maduro of violating human rights and eroding democracy, she fled Venezuela for Colombia last week with her lawmaker husband.

Trip to Brazil

Ortega then traveled to meet with regional prosecutors in Brazil, where she said on Wednesday she had evidence Maduro was engaged in corruption in the food industry and linked top Socialist Party officials to the Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht's region-wide bribery scandal.

Venezuela's government, which says Ortega is a traitor and hypocrite, has said it requested an Interpol arrest warrant for Ortega and her spouse, German Ferrer.

No Interpol warrant

But in a region where Maduro is becoming a pariah, it seems Ortega will be protected.

She can enter just like any other foreigner to our territory without any problems, Colombia's migration chief, Christian Kruger, told journalists on Thursday, adding that there was no Interpol warrant against her.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has said he will grant Ortega asylum if she requests it. A migration agency source told Reuters that Ortega was expected to return shortly to Colombia after her visit to Brazil.

A new constituent assembly fired Ortega during its first session on Aug. 5, but she and some governments in the region have refused to accept the body's decision.
The U.S. state of Florida has carried out its first execution in nearly two years, using an anesthetic never before included in the mixture of drugs used as a lethal injection to administer a death penalty.

Authorities said Mark Asay, the first white man executed in Florida for the killing of a black man, was pronounced dead Thursday evening at a state prison.

The 53-year-old convict received a three-drug injection that began with etomidate. The anesthetic, commonly used in general surgical procedures, was substituted for a similar agent, midazolam, used in many previous executions. Drug manufacturers have declined to sell midazolam for use in lethal injections.

The anesthetic was followed by a paralyzing drug and then potassium acetate, which stopped Asay's heart. He was pronounced dead several minutes after the first drug was administered, and witnesses said he barely moved.

Janssen Pharmaceutica of Belgium, a subsidiary of the U.S. medical group Johnson & Johnson, developed etomidate and has objected to its use in executions.

"Janssen discovers and develops medical innovations to save and enhance lives," spokesman Greg Panico told The Washington Post. "We do not condone the use of our medicines in lethal injections for capital punishment."

Asay was convicted of making racist comments 30 years ago and fatally shooting Robert Lee Booker, a black man who was 34 at the time. On the same night in 1987, Asay also killed a mixed-race man whom he had hired as a prostitute.

Thursday's execution was the first in Florida since a court-ordered temporary ban halted use of the death penalty in early 2016. Earlier in the day, Asay's final appeal of his sentence was rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The condemned man did not speak before the lethal injection was administered. A spiritual adviser who visited Asay said he admitted spouting racial epithets at the time of the killings, when he was drunk and angry.

Asay was the first white man executed in Florida for killing a black man. Since the state reinstated use of the death penalty in 1976, at least 20 black men have been executed for killing white victims, according to data from the Death Penalty Information Center.
A court in Azerbaijan on Friday jailed the head of an independent news agency pending an investigation on tax evasion charges, a move that the opposition denounced as an attack on the freedom of speech in the ex-Soviet nation.



The court in Azerbaijan's capital, Baku, put Turan news agency director Mehman Aliyev in prison for three months. He was arrested on Thursday night.



Tax authorities have accused Aliyev of failing to pay the equivalent of nearly $22,000 in taxes in 2014-2016.



Turan has denied the charges. It said in a statement that its bank accounts have been blocked by authorities, forcing it to halt operations starting Sept. 1.

International rights groups have repeatedly criticized the oil-rich Caspian nation for cracking down on independent media and opposition activists.

The opposition Musavat party and National Council movement criticized Aliyev's arrest as the latest attack on media freedom and called for his release.



The tax agency has been used as a weapon against independent media, the National Council said in a statement.
BOISE  Former Interior Secretary Cecil D. Andrus, who engineered the conservation of millions of acres of Alaska land during the Carter administration, has died. He was 85.

Andrus died late Thursday, the Andrus Center for Public Policy said. His daughter, Tracy Andrus, said he died of complications from lung cancer.

A onetime lumberjack, Andrus resigned midway through his second term as Idaho governor in 1977 to become President Jimmy Carters secretary of the Interior Department and served until Carters term ended in 1981. He then was elected governor two more times, becoming the first four-term governor in Idaho history. He was also the last Democrat to hold the office in red-state Idaho.

Andrus was a committed conservationist. When he was running for governor in 1970 he campaigned hard against a proposed molybdenum mine on Castle Peak in the White Clouds. Some observers credited his position on this for his defeating GOP incumbent Don Samuelson.

And that controversy would have other wide-ranging consequences. It led to the creation of the Sawtooth National Recreation Area. The Idaho Conservation League was founded a few years later, and that was one of the issues its founders were involved in. Forty-five years later, 296,000 acres in the Boulder-White Clouds received protection as a federal wilderness area.

Gov. Andrus will rightly be remembered as a legend in the conservation field, said U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, who spent years pushing to get wilderness protection for the Boulder-White Clouds, finally getting the bill through in 2015. It was fitting that he cut his political teeth protecting Castle Peak as I think they both have a lot in common. They are giants in Idaho and icons to those who believe conservation is a necessity and not a luxury.

Craig Gehrke, Idaho Director of The Wilderness Society, agreed with the giant label.

Not only did he save Castle Peak and the White Clouds but he personally went to bat for spectacular Chamberlain Basin in the proposed River of No Return Wilderness when Boise Cascade was pushing hard to exclude it and log it, Gehrke said. I cant imagine what Idaho would be like had we not benefited from his vision and determination to hand spectacular wild places down to future generations. We have lost a great champion of conservation today.

Carter declared permanent national monuments on 56 million acres in Alaska in 1978. Despite criticism from many Alaskans, Andrus ordered protection of an additional 52 million acres of public lands in the state the same year.

The threat of additional federal protections by executive fiat forced Alaskan lawmakers to compromise on the 1980 Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, signed by Carter just a month before he left office. The law set aside an area the size of California as national parks, national forests and refuge areas such as the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

In the Lower 48, we have to fight to save some single remnant of an area thats already been ruined, Andrus later said. In Alaska, we have a chance to do it right the first time.

Andrus conservation efforts earned him the praise of environmental groups but the rancor of many Alaskans who depended upon resources extracted from public lands for their livelihoods. A popular bumper sticker on Alaskan pickup trucks proclaimed, Lock up Andrus, not Alaska.

In a 2003 speech, Andrus criticized the much-debated proposal to allow oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. It is a place that is so fragile it takes 100 square miles for a grizzly bear to forage, he said. It takes 50 years for a tree to grow.

Historian T.H. Watkins once wrote that only three Interior secretaries  Harold Ickes, Andrus and Stuart Udall  understood the importance of wilderness preservation to the spiritual and ecological well-being of the nation.

The outdoors was Andrus passion and Beltway power-politics never suited him, even if he was considered adept at it. He liked to brag that after leaving the Interior post, he never spent more than one night in Washington, D.C., again.

The reason so many people live back East is because they dont know any better, he once told The Salt Lake Tribune.

Andrus was a state senator when he won the governors race in 1970 after the original Democratic nominee died in a plane crash.

His popularity was cemented with a regular-guy governing style. Andrus listed his home phone number in the Boise directory, made breakfast for his children each morning before driving himself to his office at the statehouse and took three days off in the heat of his successful 1974 re-election campaign to bag an elk.

A decaying highway infrastructure cannot be appreciated when you are traveling by helicopter or talking on the phone in the back of a limousine, Andrus wrote in his 1998 autobiography. A cook in the governors mansion means you have to learn food prices only when ambush interviews threaten at election time.

Even before it was evident Carter would not be re-elected in 1980, Andrus had publicly said he planned to return West in 1981. He said being governor of Idaho was the best political job in the world.

After returning to Idaho to work as a consultant, Andrus mounted a comeback campaign and narrowly won election as governor again in 1986 with a scant 3,600 votes over Republican Lt. Gov. David Leroy. Voters then sent him back to an unprecedented fourth term in 1990 with 68 percent of the vote.

His biggest fight in the waning days of his political career came when he blocked the U.S. Department of Energy from shipping radioactive waste from a Colorado nuclear weapons site to the Idaho National Laboratory. After accepting the waste on a temporary basis for 17 years, Andrus said, Idaho would no longer be the nations radioactive garbage dump.

The standoff persisted through his Republican successor, Gov. Phil Batt, and the energy department ultimately signed a 1995 agreement to remove all the radioactive rubbish that had been dumped in Idaho since the Cold War.

When the federal government challenged the terms of that agreement in court in 2006, Andrus took the witness stand to help the states successful case to hold federal energy officials to the cleanup commitment.

We live in a society where a persons word is a contract, Andrus testified. Inside the Beltway, they dont live that way.

Andrus would continue fighting the issue during his final years, pointing his criticism toward Gov. C.L. Butch Otter when it became known in January that the state was looking at creating a waiver to allow shipments of spent fuel.

Andrus was born in 1931, in Hood River, Oregon, and attended Oregon State University but did not graduate before he served in the Navy during the Korean War. He came back to Oregon to work as a logger and then moved with his family in 1955 to Orofino in northern Idaho to work at his fathers sawmill.

After the sawmill closed, Andrus entered the insurance business. His 35-year political career began when he arrived late at the Veterans of Foreign Wars hall in Orofino to discover his beer-drinking buddies had decided to nominate him to run for the Legislature. In 1960, at age 29, he defeated a Republican incumbent and was elected to the first of three two-year terms as a state senator before an unsuccessful 1966 bid for governor. He returned to the state Senate in 1968.
Lebanon-based Hezbollah and Syrian armed forces are closing in on Islamic State (IS) positions along the Lebanon-Syria border, Syrian army officials said Thursday.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah told Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV late Thursday that while IS still holds some small areas on both countries, "the most likely outcome of the battle will be a military victory and not a settlement."

The Syrian army, Hezbollah and the Lebanese army have all targeted IS militants, aiming to clear them from the western Qalamoun mountain range on the border of the two states. Although Lebanon has said it is not cooperating with either Hezbollah or Syria.

Syrian troops have recaptured large parts of northern and central Syria from IS occupation. The army is now pushing east, toward Deir el-Zour, where tens of thousands of civilians have been trapped by IS for nearly three years.

IS gained a foothold along Lebanon's border with Syria in 2014. As opposition factions in Syria were trying to oust President Bashar al-Assad from power, IS militants were able to gain a foothold in the country.
Nearly 1,000 people were forced out of their jobs Friday in Turkey, joining more than 150,000 people who have been fired as part of an ongoing government crackdown following a failed coup last year. The opposition is increasingly rallying around two purged educators who have been on a hunger strike for more than five months.

"Semih, Nuriye, we are with you," protesters chanted earlier this month in the heart of Istanbul. It was the latest show of support for Professor Nuriye Gulmen and schoolteacher Semih Ozakca, two protesters who are in their fifth month of a hunger strike over the firing of educators during the government crackdown.

The Istanbul protest did not last long. Dozens of heavily armed riot police and plainclothes police officers began making arrests. With the condition of the two hunger strikers deteriorating, the crackdown on their supporters is intensifying.

The interior minister, Suleyman Soylu, has ruled out concessions.

"I'm sorry," he said, "but we are not sending our children to schools to be educated as terrorists. We can't surrender our children to the hands of the terrorists for their education."

Gulmen and Ozakca were fired for alleged ties to Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara blames for masterminding the coup attempt. Like many people fired since the start of the crackdown, Gulmen and Ozakca say they are staunchly secular and oppose Gulen. Gulen denies the government's accusation against him.

Gulmen and Ozakca, however, are critical of the government and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. With their hunger strike becoming an increasing focal point of opposition to the crackdown, the two were jailed on terrorism charges.

Political scientist Cengiz Aktar says the crackdown on Gulmen and Ozakca and their supporters is driven by panic.

"It's done out of irrationality and fear. They don't realize by doing so, they are making these two unlucky fellows heroes," Aktar said. "If they happen to die, which I really hope not, things will get worse. People will take up this issue more strongly. Others may follow suit. Other hunger strikers may follow suit, and it may become something uncontrollable."

Protests in support of Gulmen and Ozakca continue. Their names can be seen in graffiti on walls and pavement in towns and cities across Turkey. Despite the risks, demonstrators remain defiant.

"I am extremely worried, I am so worried, even I am losing weight because I don't enjoy existing while this is happening," one woman said. "We will definitely find a way of continuing to exist. Not just exist, but to resist and get a strong win in the end. What we are fighting for is justice, human rights. It's a good cause."

Tensions are further fueled by reports that authorities are planning to force feed Gulmen and Ozakca.
Harvey continued to intensify as it steered for the Texas coast, with the forecasters saying it had strengthened to a Category 2 storm.

The hurricane with the potential for up to 3 feet of rain, 125 mph winds and 12-foot storm surges could be the fiercest such storm to hit the United States in almost a dozen years. Forecasters labeled Harvey a "life-threatening storm" that posed a "grave risk" as millions of people braced for a prolonged battering that could swamp dozens of counties more than 100 miles inland.

Landfall was predicted for late Friday or early Saturday between Port O'Connor and Matagorda Bay, a 30-mile (48-kilometer) stretch of coastline about 70 miles (110 kilometers) northeast of Corpus Christi.

Harvey grew quickly Thursday from a tropical depression into a Category 1 hurricane. Early Friday, the National Hurricane Center reported it had become a Category 2. Fueled by warm Gulf of Mexico waters, it was projected to become a major Category 3 hurricane.

The last storm of that category to hit the U.S. was Hurricane Wilma in October 2005 in Florida.

Superstorm Sandy, which pummeled New York and New Jersey in 2012, never had the high winds and had lost tropical status by the time it struck. But it was devastating without formally being called a major hurricane.

"We're forecasting continuing intensification right up until landfall," National Hurricane Center spokesman Dennis Feltgen said.

All seven Texas counties on the coast from Corpus Christi to the western end of Galveston Island have ordered mandatory evacuations of tens of thousands of residents from all low-lying areas. In four of those counties, officials ordered their entire county evacuated and warned those who stayed behind that no one could be guaranteed rescue.

Voluntary evacuations have been urged for Corpus Christi itself and for the Bolivar Peninsula, a sand spit near Galveston where many homes were washed away by the storm surge of Hurricane Ike in 2008.

Texas officials expressed concern that not as many people are evacuating compared with previous storms.

"A lot of people are taking this storm for granted thinking it may not pose much of a danger to them," Gov. Greg Abbott told Houston television station KPRC. "Please heed warnings and evacuate as soon as possible."

Abbott has activated about 700 members of the state National Guard ahead of Hurricane Harvey making landfall.

As of late Thursday afternoon, Harvey was about 305 miles (490 kilometers) southeast of Corpus Christi, moving to the north-northwest at about 10 mph (17 kph). Sustained winds were clocked at 85 mph.

Harvey's effect would be broad. The hurricane center said storm surges as much as 3 feet could be expected as far north as Morgan City, Louisiana, some 400 miles away from the anticipated landfall.

And once it comes ashore, the storm is expected to stall, dumping copious amounts of rain for days in areas like flood-prone Houston, the nation's fourth most-populous city, and San Antonio.

State transportation officials were considering when to turn all evacuation routes from coastal areas into one-way traffic arteries headed inland. John Barton, a former deputy executive director of the Texas Department of Transportation, predicted state officials will do this before the storm hits, but said timing and determining where to use it are the key factors. Storms change paths and if contraflow starts too early, supplies such as extra gasoline needed to support impacted areas can't get in, he said.

This would be the first hurricane for Bethany Martinez, who is pregnant and has two boys, 5 and 6, who were with grandparents in Austin. Asked about her demeanor, Martinez replied: "Afraid."

She's a front desk clerk at a Holiday Inn Express at Port Aransas. "We are closing down," Martinez said of the 74-room hotel a couple of blocks from the Gulf of Mexico. It was about two-thirds full before all guests were cleared out.

Driscoll Children's Hospital in Corpus Christi was airlifting at least 10 critically ill, mostly premature infants from its neonatal intensive care unit to Cook Children's Hospital in Fort Worth. They were expected to arrive by early Friday. Cook transport director Debbie Boudreaux said the infants were being moved inland for fear that power outages might disable their ventilators.

Harvey would be the first significant hurricane to hit Texas since Ike in September 2008 brought winds of 110 mph (177 kph) to the Galveston and Houston areas and inflicted $22 billion in damage. It would be the first big storm along the middle Texas coast since Hurricane Claudette in 2003 caused $180 million in damage.

It's taking aim at the same vicinity as Hurricane Carla, the largest Texas hurricane on record. Carla came ashore in 1961 with wind gusts estimated at 175 mph and inflicted more than $300 million in damage. The storm killed 34 people and forced about 250,000 people to evacuate.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said President Donald Trump was "briefed and will continue to be updated as the storm progresses."

In Houston, one of the nation's most flood-prone cities, Bill Pennington prepared his one-story home for what he expected would be its third invasion of floodwaters in as many years and the fifth since 1983.

"We know how to handle it. We'll handle it again," Pennington said he told his nervous 9-year-old son.

Dozens were in lines Thursday at a Corpus Christi Sam's Club, at home improvement stores and supermarkets. Alex Garcia bought bottled water, bread and other basics in the Houston suburb of Sugar Land after dropping his daughter off at college. He said grocery items were likely more available in Houston than back home in Corpus Christi, where Garcia, a beer distributor salesman, said stores were "crazy."

"We'll be selling lots of beer," he laughed.

In Galveston, where a 1900 hurricane went down as the worst in U.S. history, City Manager Brian Maxwell said he was anticipating street flooding and higher-than-normal tides.

"Obviously being on an island, everybody around here is kind of used to it."
With photographs obliquely showing a new rocket design, North Korea has sent a message that it is working on an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) more powerful than any it has previously tested, weapons experts said on Thursday.

If developed, such a missile could possibly reach any place on the U.S. mainland, including Washington and New York, they said.

North Korea's state media published photographs late on Wednesday of leader Kim Jong Un standing next to a diagram of a three-stage rocket it called the Hwasong-13.

Missile experts, who scrutinise such pictures for clues about North Korea's weapons programs, said there is no indication the rocket has been fully developed. In any case, it had not been flight tested and it was impossible to calculate its potential range.

However, a three-stage rocket would be more powerful than the two-stage Hwasong-14 ICBM tested twice in July, they said.

US mainland within range

South Korean and U.S. officials and experts have said the Hwasong-14 may have a range of about 10,000 kilometers (6,200 miles) and could possibly strike many parts of the United States, but not the East Coast.

We should be looking at Hwasong-13 as a 12,000-kilometer class ICBM that can strike all of the mainland United States, said Kim Dong-yub, a military expert at Seoul's Kyungnam University.

It's likely meant to show that they are working on a three-stage design with greater boost and range, said retired Brigadier General Moon Sung-muk, an arms control expert who has represented South Korea in military talks with North Korea.

He said the pictures were intended to show that North Korea was refusing to bow to international pressure to abandon its weapons programs.

The North is trying to be in control of the playing field, Moon said.

'A good first step'

Wednesday's report carried by the KCNA news agency lacked the traditionally robust threats against the United States, and U.S. President Donald Trump expressed optimism about a possible improvement in relations.

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said it was unclear if the photos were taken before or after Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Tuesday welcomed what he called the restraint North Korea had shown recently in its weapons programs and said he hoped a path could be opening for dialogue sometime in the near future.

We consider it overall a good first step that there haven't been any missile launches or testing for ... three-plus weeks or so, Nauert told a regular briefing.

However Pyongyang needed to do a lot more to show it was willing to negotiate in good faith, she said.

Tensions ease

The photographs were accompanied by a report of Kim issuing instructions for the production of more rocket engines and warheads during a visit to the Academy of Defense Sciences, an agency he set up to develop ballistic missiles.

We're getting a look at it to emphasise domestic production of missiles, and to advertise what's coming next, said Joshua Pollack, a nuclear weapon and missile systems expert who edits the U.S.-based Nonproliferation Review.

The photographs were published as tensions between North Korea and the United States appeared to have eased slightly since North Korea tested the Hwasong-14 and later threatened to fire missiles toward the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam.

Plastic used in missiles?

Kyungnam University's Kim said the Hwasong-13 appeared similar to the KN-08, a three-stage missile of which only a mockup has previously been seen at military parades. But the new images show a modified design for the main booster stage that clusters two engines.

Another picture published by North Korean state media showed Kim Jong Un standing next to a rocket casing that appeared to be made of a material that could include plastic. Experts said if such material were used in the missile, it would be intended to reduce weight and boost range.

The photographs also showed the design for the Pukguksong-3, likely a new solid-fuel intermediate-range ballistic missile being developed for submarine launches.
Iraqi military forces have advanced to the center of the Islamic State-held town of Tal Afar after securing several surrounding neighborhoods, according to a military statement.

After a six-day offensive operation, elite Iraqi forces broke through IS lines, seizing the neighborhoods of Nida' and Taliaa north of Tal Afar and reaching the center of the old city, according to the statement from the Iraqi Joint Operations Command.

Brig. Gen. Haider Fadhil of Iraq's Special Forces told the Associated Press the U.S.-led coalition provided air cover while Iraqi troops pushed into the town's center.

He said battles with IS jihadists are still ongoing.

The breaking of IS lines comes a day after U.S. Army spokesman Ryan Dillon said Iraqi forces had completely surrounded IS fighters in Tal Afar and that the jihadists were being killed.

Tal Afar is one of the last bastions of IS control in Iraq. It is located about 150 kilometers from the Syria border.
The head of the U.S. central bank says the financial system is safer now than it was before the recession, and urges Washington to make some adjustments in financial regulations, rather than trash them.

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen says the recession of 2008 cost nine million American jobs and meant millions of people lost their homes. She says financial reform regulations were intended to make it less likely that big institutions would fail in the future and to provide an orderly way to resolve the debts of big financial companies that do fail without government bailouts.

She says financial firms, particularly very large ones that could hurt the entire economy if they fail, are now required to keep larger reserves. That way if one loan goes bad, the firm is less likely to have to hastily sell off other assets at bad prices to cover the losses. Low reserve levels prompted a downward spiral when many fragile firms ran into trouble all at once, all of them trying to sell assets and no one willing to buy them.

Yellen acknowledges that over-regulation could hamper the lending and risk-taking needed for economic growth, but she says some research shows the current level of regulation hurts lending, while other research shows it helps.

In a Friday speech to a gathering of top economic officials from around the world at a resort in Wyoming, she said Fed officials are looking at ways to simplify regulations for small banks that would not cause problems for the national economy if they failed.

Small banks complain the cost of complying with complex regulations makes it hard to make loans. Small banks are important because they are often the source of capital for small companies, and such small, growing firms are the source of most new jobs.

Yellen's closely-watched speech at the annual gathering of economists at a resort in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, comes after criticism from Republicans and others that stricter regulation is hurting lending and economic growth.

President Donald Trump has called for repealing a key part of the regulations called "Dodd-Frank" named after the legislators who crafted the law.
As an experienced judge who has taken on organized crime in El Salvador, one of the world's deadliest nations, Glenda Baires is ready to tackle an equally formidable enemy  a culture legitimizing the rape and murder of women.

With nearly 15 years as a judge under her belt, Baires believes she can boost convictions for violent crimes against women in her new role, presiding over special women's courts that are about to start work in the Central American nation.

"My hope is that ... the women who today will be our initial users can convey to their daughters that there's no longer a culture of enduring violence," she told Reuters as she prepares to start receiving cases next month.

"There will no longer exist a culture in which they won't be heard," she said in an interview.

El Salvador follows the example set by countries like Guatemala, Nepal, Liberia and Spain, where specialized courts dealing with domestic and sexual violence cases have shown "positive results," according to U.N. Women.

Two women's courts have been created to deal exclusively with violent crimes against women, although they have yet to start work, and another four should be running by the end of 2017, Baires said.

Baires is one of two female judges appointed so far to preside over women's courts, as recruitment continues as part of government efforts to combat gender-based violence.

High rates of femicide

Most violent crimes go unpunished in El Salvador, which has one of the world's highest rates of femicide  defined as the killing of a woman or girl by a man because of her gender.

Nearly four in every five cases of femicide, often carried out by current or former partners, go unpunished in the country, the United Nations estimates.

"Our society has clearly been patriarchal and machista, our behavior, attitudes show contempt toward women that have become very naturalized," Baires said.

The country with a population of 6 million is one of the world's most dangerous, with 5,280 murders recorded in 2016.

Baires estimates one in five of these were femicides.

El Salvador has passed laws since 2012 to protect women from violence, including making femicide a specific crime with a sentence of up to 50 years in jail.

Condoning violence

But society  and the courts  often condone violence against women, leading to low prosecution rates and weak sentences for crimes like domestic violence and sexual harassment, Baires said.

Experts say women's courts with female judges who have been specially trained in gender violence and law are likely to be more supportive of victims, which could strengthen prosecution.

Baires said women have been blamed in courtrooms for the violence inflicted on them because they went out at night or their husbands were angry that "lunch wasn't prepared on time."

Baires hopes handing down more convictions for violence against women will "send a message" that such crimes are unacceptable and abusers will be punished, as well as giving women faith in the justice system.

"It's being part of a change so that women can have a life free of violence and give confidence to citizens that these types of behavior have to change," she said.
Last year, aid agencies and the Kenyan government set up a new settlement for refugees in the northwestern town of Kalobeyei. The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) made a point of saying that Kalobeyei would not be a refugee camp. Instead, it would be an "integrated community," where refugees and local residents could do business together, live in harmony and access services offered by the UNHCR through local partners.

Refugees interviewed by VOA say none of this has happened, and that they find themselves in an isolated camp where food and water supplies are precarious, UNHCR representatives are hard to find and residents are at the mercy of thieves.

The UNHCR tells a very different story, saying their people are on-site daily, there are markets nearby, water is plentiful and there is no "heightened security situation."

Perhaps the only thing clear is that some residents of the Kalobeyei settlement feel deeply misled.

Resident complaints

Galgalo Arero, an Ethiopian refugee in Kenya and a father of three, was living in the Dadaab refugee camp when he says UNHCR representatives persuaded him and some fellow Dadaab residents to move to Kalobeyei.

"When they brought us here, we were told that the place would be like a community village with many development projects, a school, clinic, market and almost everything close by," he told VOA's Horn of Africa Service.

The way Arero describes it, almost nothing at the settlement is close-by. He says the nearest market is about 24 kilometers away, and the nearest primary school is 16 kilometers. The distances are far too long to cover by foot.

"We pay between 200 and 300 Kenyan shillings to go to market on a motorbike. [But] that is not possible during the rainy season," he said.

Jamal Mohamed, another Ethiopian refugee who moved to Kalobeyei, described a similar pattern of hope and disappointment.



"We were told that the new settlement is a facility ready with all the basic needs," he said. "Because of that, everybody sold [their] property. We were only allowed to carry just 18 kilograms of load with us. But when we get there, reality on the ground is totally different."



Mohamed said the 200 shillings one must pay to get to market use up a sizeable chunk of the $14 (about 1400 shillings) Kalobeyei residents receive each month from the U.N. World Food Program.



So out of this 1,400 shillings, you end up getting 800 to 900 shillings. That is our monthly ration," he said.



UNHCR disputes accounts



Funded by the European Union, Kalobeyei sits on 1,500 hectares of land donated by the host community, Turkana County. It was built to relieve crowding at the nearby Kakuma refugee camp. According to a recent UNHCR report, it hosts about 36,000 refugees who come from South Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi.



VOA learned of the complaints about Kalobeyei from contacts in Nairobi and has since spoken to 10 residents of the year-old settlement. All describe significant problems, including isolation, a high rate of robberies, a precarious food and water situation, and a seeming lack of oversight. Arero and others said there is no UNHCR office in the settlement, and problems must be handled by officials at the Kakuma camp.



Residents also say the settlement was built in a windy area, and in March high winds blew away more than 50 shanty homes.



VOA was unable to contact UNHCR representatives for the original version of this story last week. The UNHCR office in Kenya objected after the story was published, with communications director Yvonne Ndege telling VOA that conditions at Kalobeyei are not as you describe in your report.



In an email, Ndege offered a sharply different description of the settlement and its facilities. She said Kalobeyei was not built in a remote area and has markets, water tanks and primary schools on site. She said about 270,000 people live within a 10 kilometer radius of the settlement, and that the town of Kakuma is 15 kilometers away.



Regarding safety, there is no heightened security situation or security threat at Kalobeyei or Kakuma, Ndege said. Security is provided by Government of Kenya and they are present in the Kalobeyei settlement.



She said a UNHCR office was expected to be operational in Kalobeyei by the end of August, and that UNHCR officials already interact with residents there on a daily basis.



Divergent views

If thats so, however, the agency and the residents have incongruent views of what life is like at the settlement.



Take the water situation. Kalobeyei resident Abdul Aziz says the settlement doesnt have enough of it.



"We get water once a week by water truck, sometimes [every] two weeks," he said. "Sometimes they say the truck is damaged and we don't get water at all. He also said seven families share one latrine.



Ndege disputes these assertions. Systems are in place to provide water on a daily basis. Refugees are currently receiving 20 liters per day as per the standard, she said. Most of the water comes in through pipelines that feed into water tanks, with water trucks bringing in the rest.



Latrines are shared, she acknowledged, but only three or four families use one latrine.



As for medical care, the refugees say there is only a small Red Cross office at the site. "If there is an emergency, there are times when the ambulance arrives after an hour or two," Aziz said.



Ndege says there are two Red Cross facilities in Kalobeyei and more than one ambulance.



Regarding the market, she says some refugees choose to travel to markets in Kakuma and the transporters charge 200-300 shillings. However, there are markets available in Kalobeyei.



Asked why Kalobeyei residents seem disappointed in the settlement, Ndege said she is not sure. The Kakuma camp is 3.5 kilometers from Kalobeyei, she notes, and refugees who previously lived at Kakuma had the opportunity to see Kalobeyei before moving there.



She said refugees who came from the Dadaab camp, which is further away, may have had different expectations despite an advance viewing of Kalobeyei by community leaders.
Presidential adviser Jared Kushner met with Israeli and Palestinian leaders on Thursday to try to jumpstart moribund peace talks, but after months without progress the Mideast envoy faces growing skepticism on the Palestinian side.

With no clear vision for peace outlined by the administration and domestic issues distracting President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, expectations for the new peace push are low.

The Palestinians initially welcomed Trump's election, but they have since grown impatient with what they say is a failure by the U.S. president to present a roadmap for peace. Specifically, they are seeking a halt to Israeli settlement construction on occupied lands, and an American commitment to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state as part of a peace deal with Israel.

"If the U.S. team doesn't bring answers to our questions this time, we are going to look into our options because the status quo is not working for our interests,'' said Ahmad Majdalani, an aide to Abbas.

It was not clear whether Kushner offered any clarity during his three-hour meeting with Abbas. Nabil Abu Rdeneh, Abbas' spokesman, called the meeting "positive,'' without discussing details, and said the Palestinian leader had reiterated his desire for an American commitment to a Palestinian state.

The White House later said both sides agreed the U.S.-talks were the best step forward. "The Palestinian Authority and the U.S. delegation had a productive meeting focused on how to begin substantive Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. Both sides agreed to continue with the U.S.-led conversations as the best way to reach a comprehensive peace deal,'' the statement said.

Abbas said ahead of the meeting the Palestinian side appreciated Trump's efforts. "We know things are difficult and complicated, but nothing is impossible with good intentions,'' he said.

Trump took office with hopes of striking what he calls the "ultimate deal'' between Israelis and Palestinians  a goal that has eluded administrations before his dogged by the same intractable issues. But he has since given few details of his vision for peace, managing to frustrate both sides.

Kushner, Trump's chief Middle East adviser and his son-in-law, met Netanyahu in Tel Aviv earlier Thursday before traveling to Ramallah later in the day to meet with Abbas. Kushner is expected to return to the U.S. on Friday.

Before his meeting with Kushner, Netanyahu spoke optimistically of the road ahead.

"We have a lot of things to talk about, how to advance peace, stability and security in our region, prosperity too,'' Netanyahu said, standing alongside Kushner. "I think that all of them are within our reach.''

A statement from Netanyahu's office after the meeting said the talks were "substantive'' but gave no details on progress or further steps.

On the campaign trail, Trump took a staunchly pro-Israel line, energizing Netanyahu and hard-liners in his coalition. He promised to relocate the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem  a move welcomed by Israel and opposed by the Palestinians  and refused to endorse the Palestinian goal of independence. His platform played down the significance of Israeli settlements and he surrounded himself with advisers with deep ties to the settlement movement, including Kushner and the U.S. ambassador to Israel, David Friedman.

But since taking office, Trump decided not to move the embassy and has urged Israel to restrain settlement construction.

He has not come out in support of the two-state solution, a position backed by most of the international community and also his Republican and Democratic predecessors, indicating vaguely that he supports whichever solution the sides agree to.

Disappointed Palestinian officials privately gripe that Trump's team has begun to support Israeli positions and ignore their concerns.

Further complicating any hope for progress are internal troubles for all three leaders. Trump's administration has become preoccupied with a series of domestic crises, most recently the fallout from the deadly racially charged violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, earlier this month.

Netanyahu, meanwhile, is facing a growing corruption investigation that could soon lead to an indictment against him. These legal troubles, along with Israeli concerns about a possible long-term Iranian presence in neighboring Syria, make it unlikely that he will agree to any major diplomatic initiative.

After years of on-and-off peace efforts that have yielded no progress, Abbas is deeply unpopular at home. He also is stuck in a bitter rivalry with the Islamic militant group Hamas, which seized the Gaza Strip from his forces a decade ago and is now pursuing a reconciliation deal with Mohammed Dahlan, a former Abbas ally who has turned into his political nemesis.

Since the collapse of U.S.-mediated peace talks three years ago, the sides have grown further apart and have been plagued by repeated rounds of violence, including a war between Israel and Hamas and recurring low-level violence sparked by tensions over a contested Jerusalem site holy to both Jews and Muslims.

Israel, meanwhile, has increasingly shifted its sights toward a regional deal with certain Arab countries, rather than one focusing solely on the Palestinians, an approach Trump has expressed support for.
Relatives of jailed Venezuelan Supreme Court Justice Angel Zerpa are demanding his transfer to a medical center for treatment.

Zerpa has been on a hunger strike since his arrest and detention July 22 here in the capital. That came a day after the opposition-led National Assembly appointed Zerpa and 32 others to replace justices believed to be doing the bidding of President Nicolas Maduros administration instead of acting independently.

The existing high court has accused the new appointees of illegally seizing power. Zerpa has been detained at the Bolivarian National Intelligence Services headquarters, accused of treason. Other National Assembly appointees have fled the country or sought asylum with foreign embassies in Caracas.

At a news conference Thursday at the Federal Legislative Palace, Mariela Zerpa said her brother was striking to protest his detention and to press for a medical evaluation.

The 56-year-old lawyer has lost about 15 kilos, Mariela Zerpa said, noting he has several medical problems, including hypertension and chronic gastritis. She added that his skin color has yellowed, and that "we do not know if he has liver problems or kidney problems arising from the hunger strike."

Yvette Lugo, president of the Caracas Bar Association and a member of Zerpas defense team, said the Maduro administration had no grounds to detain him and would be held accountable for what may happen."

Zerpa "is a lawyer who has not committed any crime to be deprived of liberty," Lugo said at the news conference. She added that "all his constitutional guarantees have been violated."

The National Assembly itself is being challenged. Venezuelas controversial constituent assembly  whose 545 members took office in early August and are charged with rewriting the constitution  last week decreed that it had legislative powers superseding the National Assembly.

The constituent assembly is not recognized as legitimate by the United States and at least 13 other countries in the hemisphere, including Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay.
In a winding early-morning queue, Jemaa Laalaoua hunches over with 50 kg (110 lb) of kitchenware on her back, waiting to cross back into Morocco from the Spanish enclave of Melilla.

The 41-year-old mother of eight is one of thousands of Moroccans who eke out a living by walking loads of merchandise from Melilla into the northern Moroccan province of Nador.

Goods including metal kettles that Laalaoua was carrying are counted as personal luggage and are not taxed, allowing for a small markup when they are shipped on and sold on across Morocco.

"On average, I earn about 70 dirhams ($7.40) per trip, carrying anywhere between 40 to 70 kg," said Laalaoua. "But most days, we never know how much we will make."

The work is backbreaking and fraught with risk. Some traders have died in stampedes through the tight border crossing.

"We say our prayers in the morning and brace for the day, not knowing if we will come out dead or alive," Laalaoua said.

She lifts undergarments to display bruises on her leg from a Spanish Civil Guard's truncheon. She says she was beaten for attempting to advance toward the front of the queue. No one from the Civil Guard in Melilla was available to comment.

When Laalaoua finally gets through the narrowly caged border crossing, she weaves through the crowd to drop off her cargo inside the bustling Beni Ansar market, before rushing back to a Melilla warehouse where she will load up for her last trip of the day.

Locals with an address in the Nador province are allowed to cross through into Melilla without a visa, but cannot spend more than a day in the Spanish enclave. They can cross for five hours a day, four days a week.

In total, there are between 30,000 and 40,000 crossings daily, according to the Spanish border police.

The practice has been going on for decades. Before, it was dominated by single mothers known locally as "mule women," who struggled to make a living elsewhere.

But as unemployment has climbed, the women have increasingly found themselves in competition with young men.

Each morning the women report to a boss who tasks them with transporting an assigned quantity of goods, coordinating with warehouse owners and shippers.

By 5 a.m. crowds of hundreds swell to thousands, as people wait for Spanish guards to open the border gates. Male traders fight and women shout and scream as the jostle for a place in the crush.

Most manage to make two or three crossings before the border shuts again.

The merchandise spans everything from simple household goods such as towels, toilet paper and soap, to illicit wares including alcohol and plastic bags, which have been banned in Morocco since last year.

Laalaoua lives nearly 27 km (17 miles) from the border, waking up at 2 a.m. to prepare for her commute, by foot then taxi or bus.

Her husband Mohammed Zoubah, 57, fell ill six years ago, forcing Laalaoua to become the primary breadwinner. "She's strong, she's protecting this household," he said. "May God bless her with patience."
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Friday the alliance would closely watch Russian military exercises in western Russia and Belarus next month, urging Moscow to be transparent about the drills.

The maneuvers, the largest in years, with tanks, naval and air units operating in and around the Baltic and North Sea, have raised NATO's concern that the official number of troops participating might be understated.

'Watching very closely'

"We are going to be watching very closely the course of these exercises," Stoltenberg told reporters after meeting Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo on a visit to check on the deployment of the U.S.-led alliance's forces in the country's east.

"All countries have the right to exercises of their armed forces, but the countries should also respect the obligation to be transparent."

Russia has said that 13,000 troops will participate in the Sept. 14-20 drills, which under an international agreement is the limit for not requiring the presence of external observers. Western estimates have put the number of troops involved much higher.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Friday the drills were purely defensive and concerns about troop numbers were "inflated hype of an artificial nature" in Western media.

"We would like to emphasize that it is precisely these actions which lead to increased military tension in Europe," the ministry said in a statement.

More meetings

Stoltenberg will meet with Polish, Turkish and Romanian foreign ministers later on Friday before visiting NATO troops in Poland's Orzysz, about 57 kilometers (35 miles) south of Russias Baltic Sea enclave of Kaliningrad, where Moscow has stationed nuclear-capable missiles and an S-400 air missile defense system.

"[The NATO deployment] is a clear signal that an attack on one ally is an attack on the whole alliance," Stoltenberg said. "The matter here is to prevent conflicts and not to provoke them."
Recent U.S. naval accidents in the Asia Pacific region will not interrupt "freedom of navigation" movements in the disputed South China Sea, the U.S. Pacific Air Forces commander said Friday.

USS John S. McCain collided with a merchant vessel near Singapore this week, the fourth major accident in the U.S. Pacific fleet this year, prompting a fleet-wide investigation and plans for temporary halts in operations to focus on safety.

The guided-missile destroyer had sailed within 12 nautical miles of an artificial island built by China in the South China Sea earlier this month, in the latest freedom of navigation operation to counter what the United States sees as China's efforts to control the waters.

General Terrence J. O'Shaughnessy, who is visiting Malaysia and other countries in the region this week, said the collision of the USS John S. McCain should not overshadow the defense capability the U.S. brings to the region.

"There is no setback to the operations following these incidents," he said in a press briefing in Kuala Lumpur. "We stand firm that we are going to sail and fly anywhere where international rules allow."

China has been upset with the U.S. freedom of navigation operations near Chinese controlled islands, where China has been reclaiming land, building air bases and increasing its military presence.

Tensions with North Korea

Tensions mounted in the Asia Pacific this month as North Korea threatened to fire ballistic missiles toward the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam.

O'Shaughnessy said the United States took these threats "incredibly seriously."

"This is a serious time in the relations with North Korea. ... We are ready to respond at a moment's notice," he said.

The United States flew two supersonic B-1B bombers over the Korean peninsula earlier this month in a show of force. The bombers took off from a U.S. air base in Guam and were joined by Japanese and South Korean fighter jets during the exercise.

The general said any more such responses would depend on what North Korea does.

Tensions between both countries eased slightly over the last few days and U.S. President Donald Trump expressed optimism about a possible improvement in relations.

But on Thursday, North Korea indicated it was working on another intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) more powerful than any it has previously tested.

O'Shaughnessy said North Korea had the ability to advance its capabilities.

"That is our concern ... we are not going to accept a nuclear tipped ICBM pointed at the United States from North Korea, that's been stated by our president and that is something we feel very strongly about," he said.
Hurricane Harvey strengthened to a Category 4 storm Friday evening shortly before the eye of the storm hit the Texas coast, with forecasters calling it a "life-threatening storm."

The National Hurricane Center in Miami said Harvey had sustained winds of over 125 mph (200 kph).

Latest from the National Hurricane Center:



Texas Governor Greg Abbott said the hurricane would be a "major disaster" and warned residents to prepare for record flooding. He said he had issued a request for a federal disaster declaration.

President Donald Trump tweeted late Friday that he had officially declared a disaster in Texas, clearing the way for federal assistance.

The storm was just east of Corpus Christi and was expected to hit a 375-mile (600-kilometer) stretch of Texas coastline during the night.

Storm surge

The National Hurricane Center said tide gauges off the coast of Texas indicated that the storm surge was already occurring near Corpus Christi and Port Aransas. It said weather conditions were deteriorating along the coast and winds were already blowing with tropical storm force.

The head of the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency on Friday warned of a "very significant disaster" about to hit Texas.

FEMA Director Brock Long, speaking on CNN, said his biggest concern was that some citizens along the coastline had ignored warnings from officials and had chosen not to evacuate their homes.

"If they have not, their window to evacuate is rapidly coming to a close," Long said. "Storm surge has the highest potential to kill the most amount of people and cause the most damage. On top of that, we are looking at a significant inland flood event over many counties."

Long, along with acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke, briefed President Donald Trump on Friday morning on preparations for the storm. Trump said on Twitter he was "closely monitoring" the storm, and he spoke with the governors of Texas and Louisiana to ensure them the federal government would be there to assist as needed.

The mayor of the Texas Gulf Coast city of Galveston, James Yarbrough, said Friday that the hurricane was expected to flood downtown streets, and that the water might not recede for three or four days.

"We've all been through a number of these. This one's a little different. ... This one's not going anywhere," he said.

Hurricanes usually weaken rapidly once they move inland, but forecasters said this storm would follow an unusual pattern  stalling once it hits the coast, then probably moving back out to sea briefly and making a second drenching pass at low-lying coastal communities.

Harvey was expected to pour nearly 40 inches (100 centimeters) of rain over a wide area of the Texas coast during the next three days.

The National Hurricane Center said "life-threatening" floods should be expected, along with storm surges of more than 10 feet (3 meters). It said any preparations for the storm not already in place "should be rushed to completion."

Brad Kieserman, vice president for disaster operations at the American Red Cross, told VOA, "I expect we are going to see major flood stage on probably every major river in the lower half of Texas.

"That is going to destroy homes, it is going to destroy businesses, it is going to render many homes to be uninhabitable. And I think you are going to see many of those rivers stay at major flood stage well past Labor Day," Kieserman said.

Preparing for flooding

Texans who live on the Gulf Coast prepared for the storm with stacks of sandbags around particularly flood-prone areas. Residents crowded stores to buy water and other supplies to sustain them during what could be days of turmoil.

Federal courts in southern Texas began closing, while federal courts in other parts of the state and in neighboring Louisiana said they were monitoring weather developments.

The last hurricane to hit the southern portion of the Texas coast struck 14 years ago.

Abbott ordered state emergency workers to mobilize for any necessary search-and-rescue operations. He preemptively declared a state of disaster in 30 counties on or near the coast to speed deployment of state resources.

VOA's Sarah Williams contributed to this report.
The Republican National Committee walked the tightrope Friday in carefully but resolutely denouncing white supremacist groups without criticizing President Donald Trump, who waffled in his own statements in the wake of the deadly clash in Virginia this month.

Meeting in Nashville, Tennessee, the RNC approved a raft of resolutions, including one asserting "Nazis, the KKK, white supremacists and others are repulsive, evil and have no fruitful place in the United States."

And while the vote was unanimous, some members had grumbled the resolution was unnecessary and reflected unnecessary defensiveness.

"It's amazing that we have been lured into this argument that we're not racists. It's absurd," said Colorado Republican Chairman Jeff Hays. "Why would we feel compelled to do that?"

The sentiment reflects a difference between RNC leaders concerned about the party's image in light of Trump's latest rhetorical thicket and newer, more ardently pro-Trump state Republican leaders who say such a statement appears defensive.

But this was a priority for Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel, as well as for committee members who were openly bothered by Trump's initial resistance to singling out the racist groups after the Charlottesville violence.

Hearing about the grumbling, McDaniel made the rounds Friday morning to reinforce with members that the measure was a priority.

"Every day, I wake up proud that we're the party of Lincoln," McDaniel told the committee Friday. "Condemning violence is not a Republican or Democratic issue. It is an American issue."

Backing for Trump

Despite the resolution, there doesn't appear to be a softening of support for the president within the party's national organization.

Rather, what was to be a sleepy, pro-forma late summer gathering seemed to spark renewed backing for the president despite a series of recent setbacks: the GOP's stunning failure to repeal and replace Obamacare; the furious backlash over his comments about the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia; and the departure of crowd favorite Reince Priebus, the former RNC chairman, as Trump's chief of staff.

"The president was not wrong to point out what the media has failed to point out," that counterprotesters also "came for a battle" in Charlottesville, said Pennsylvania Republican Chairman Val DiGiorgio.

DiGiorgio stood by the "many sides" comment Trump made immediately after the clash in Virginia, in which a car was driven into a crowd of counterprotesters, killing a woman. The president was criticized harshly by both Republicans and Democrats because he didn't immediately denounce the white nationalist groups.

There was palpable contempt in the conference room for counterprotesters who were ready to fight. RNC member Morton Blackwell, who affirmed his support for the resolution, said "Every person who came to Charlottesville intending violence was evil."

Bill Palatucci, an RNC committeeman from New Jersey who sponsored the resolution, said it was important for the committee to formally denounce white supremacists. Palatucci said, "I think he got it wrong a week ago Tuesday, in regards to Charlottesville," when Trump said during a free-wheeling, defiant news conference that there were "very fine people on both sides" at the demonstration.

But even Palatucci, who was a devout supporter of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's 2016 presidential campaign, said, "I support the president's agenda." He cited deregulation measures Trump has signed and the president's plan, outlined Monday, to send additional U.S. troops to Afghanistan to revive the effort to root out terrorist cells.

Blame for Congress

The party's robust $87 million raised to date  dwarfing what Democrats have raised  has also lifted spirits, as has improving economic confidence.

The consensus in Nashville is that the Republican-controlled Congress, not Trump, has let down the party.

"There is a level of frustration that Congress didn't repeal and replace Obamacare," Ohio Republican Party Chairwoman Jane Timken said. "They want the president's agenda passed. They blame Congress."

While Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have feuded before and since the failed health care vote in July, there was little talk in Nashville of dumping the veteran Kentucky senator as leader.

"I'm not ready to abandon McConnell," Pennsylvania's DiGiorgio said. "But I would urge him to come together and get this done."

Trump has complained about McConnell and other Republican senators who have criticized the president or opposed his efforts. He notably pointed to Senators John McCain and Jeff Flake, Arizona Republicans, during an angry speech to supporters in Phoenix on Tuesday.

Trump's intraparty attacks have some GOP strategists worried that the fighting could harm Republicans' chances of holding the Senate in next year's midterm elections, though that would require Democrats to retain almost all the 10 seats they occupy in states Trump won last year.

Chairwoman McDaniel said Trump's taunts are the outspoken New Yorker's way of urging action.

"The president wants to see his agenda passed," McDaniel said. "He's channeling what I'm hearing from the American people, which is, `We gave you the White House. You have the Senate. You have the House. Why aren't you getting these things done?"'
A bitter exchange of words erupted between France and Poland on Friday after French President Emmanuel Macron sharply criticized Poland's opposition to plans to change European Union rules on "posted workers"  the cheap labor from eastern countries sent to more prosperous EU nations.

On a trip Friday to Bulgaria, Macron said the Polish reluctance to reform the bloc's labor rules is "an illustration of the mistakes made by this government."

His comments came on the final leg of a three-day visit to Central and Eastern Europe that has included meetings with Austrian, Czech, Slovak and Romanian leaders but not with Polish officials.

"Poland has decided to isolate itself from Europe and its refusal to revise this directive doesn't change my confidence in [getting] a positive outcome" on the rules change, Macron said, adding Poles "deserved better."

"The [Polish] prime minister will have difficulty explaining why it's good to pay the Poles badly," Macron said.

Poland is the largest source of posted workers, about 300,000 to 400,000 a year. Critics say having posted workers leads to lower wages and fewer jobs for workers from wealthy nations and reduces the taxes coming in to fund social programs in wealthy nations.

Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo hit back, calling the French leader's criticism "arrogant," advising him to "mind the business of his own country." She also accused France of trying to "take apart one of the pillars of the EU"  the free movement of workers among the bloc's 28 nations.

"The future of Europe will not be decided by the president of France, or by any other individual leader, but jointly, by all the member states," she said.

Later Friday, Poland's deputy foreign minister urgently summoned a French diplomat to express his "indignation" over Macron's criticism of the Polish government.

On Thursday, Szydlo vowed to defend "Poland's interests and Poland's workers," but added that "all member states are putting their heads together" over the issue.

Posted workers, while abroad, continue to pay into the tax and social security systems of their home countries, allowing their employers to hire them for less than workers in Western countries where government taxes are generally higher. The largest number work in construction, but many also work caring for the elderly.

Macron, said Poland "cannot be the country that gives Europe its direction."

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev said it was important not to violate the EU's basic principle of free movement when it considers changes to rules on posted workers. He said new rules should seek a balance between the older and newer EU members, such as Poland, Bulgaria and Romania.

Radev said he shared Macron's "anguish about social dumping."

"Bulgaria is against all social security fraud," he said.

Bulgaria's prime minister said he regretted divisions that have emerged in the EU over the issue.

"Poland and Hungary are our friends and it is fatal that there is such confrontation in the European Union," said Prime Minister Boyko Borisov Friday after talks with Macron.

Borisov said officials would discuss the issue with Szydlo when she visits Bulgaria in September. He said Bulgaria wanted a solution on posted workers before it takes over the rotating presidency of the EU on January 1, 2018.

An estimated few thousand Bulgarian workers have relocated to other EU states working in construction, trucking and shipbuilding.

Macron and Borisov also discussed business, investment and Europe's passport-free Schengen travel zone, which Bulgaria wants to join. Bulgaria also wants to join the Paris-based Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, an international organization representing many of the globe's advanced economies.
The chief of the Russian military's branch for protection from chemical weapons says his troops have dismantled two chemical weapons facilities in areas freed from militants in Syria.

Maj. Gen. Igor Kirillov didn't name the locations, saying only that Russia will provide the data to the international chemical weapons watchdog OPCW.

Kirillov said Friday the facilities dismantled this month were the last two of the 27 chemical weapons sites in Syria, according to Russian news wires. The OPCW was monitoring the destruction of Syria's chemical arsenals under a 2013 U.S.-Russia-brokered deal.

In April, the U.S. struck a Syrian base after accusing Bashar Assad's government of killing over 90 people in a chemical attack. Assad has denied involvement, and Russia has claimed the attack was staged by the militants.
The billionaire head of South Korea's Samsung Group, Jay Y. Lee, was jailed for five years for bribery on Friday after a six-month trial over a scandal that brought down the president.

Lee had paid bribes in anticipation of favors from then president Park Geun-hye, according to a landmark ruling by a Seoul court, which also found him guilty of hiding assets abroad, embezzlement and perjury.

Lee, the 49-year-old heir to one of the world's biggest corporate empires, has been held since February on charges that he bribed Park to help secure control of a conglomerate that owns Samsung Electronics, the world's leading smartphone and chip maker, and has interests ranging from drugs and home appliances to insurance and hotels.

Lee denied wrongdoing.

One of his lawyers, Song Wu-cheol, said Lee would appeal the lower court ruling.

"The entire verdict is unacceptable," Song said, adding that he was confident his client's innocence would be affirmed by a higher court.

Under South Korean law, sentences of more than three years can not be suspended. The five year-sentence is one of the longest prison terms given to a South Korean business leader.

The Seoul Central District Court said Samsung's financial support of entities backed by Park's close friend, Choi Soon-sil, constituted bribery, including 7.2 billion won ($6.4 million) in sponsoring the equestrian career of Choi's daughter.

In return for the contributions, prosecutors say, Samsung sought government support for a controversial 2015 merger of two of its affiliates, which helped Lee tighten his control of the conglomerate.

His lawyers had argued that the merger was done on business merits but the court did not accept that.

Park, who was forced from office in disgrace, is facing her own corruption trial, with a ruling expected later this year.

Prosecutors have argued that Park and Lee two took part in the same act of bribery so Lee's conviction would appear ominous for Park.

Hundreds of rowdy, diehard Park supporters rallied outside the court earlier in the day to demand Lee's acquittal.

"The trials of former President Park Geun-hye and Samsung Jay Y. Lee go hand in hand," said Son Tong-sok, 63, who heads a conservative group, holding a Korean flag.

Son said prosecutors had built their cases on circumstantial evidence and unsubstantiated claims reported in the media. "Arresting these two innocent people are violations of human rights," he said.

Samsung, founded in 1938 by Lee's grandfather, is a household name in South Korea and a symbol of the country's dramatic rise from poverty following the 1950-53 Korean War.

But over the years, it has also come to epitomize the cosey ties between politicians and powerful family-controlled business groups - or chaebols - which have been implicated in a series of corruption scandals.

South Koreans, who once applauded the chaebols for catapulting the country into a global economic power, now criticize them for holding back the economy and squeezing smaller businesses.

South Korea's new president, Moon Jae-in, who replaced the Park after a May 9 election, has pledged to rein in the chaebols, empower minority shareholders and end the practice of pardoning corporate tycoons convicted of white-collar crime.
Police and civic leaders in the cradle of America's free-speech movement will struggle to balance liberty of expression with safeguards against violence as demonstrators with varying political viewpoints travel to the San Francisco Bay Area for dueling rallies throughout the weekend.

On Saturday, a politically conservative group called Patriot Prayer will host a "freedom rally" near the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge, over the vociferous objections of San Francisco's Mayor Ed Lee and other Democratic leaders who say the group invites hate. On Sunday, a transsexual supporter of President Donald Trump plans a "No to Marxism in America" event in a downtown city park in nearby Berkeley.

Opponents will mobilize, too, including clowns and drag queens as well as an anti-Trump organization that has sometimes supported violent tactics.

The challenge for law enforcement comes after an August 12 rally of white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia, that turned deadly, killing one counterprotester and two state troopers. Police in both California cities traditionally have given demonstrators a wide berth, even when rallies in recent years turned violent. Protesters from both the left and the right have punched people, destroyed property and engaged in violence.

But the deaths and injuries in Charlottesville have police, civic leaders and civil rights groups in the San Francisco area and across the United States rethinking how to respond to hate speech and how to manage competing protests.

ACLU change

The American Civil Liberties Union said it would no longer represent hate groups that demonstrate with weapons after it was criticized for persuading a judge to let the Charlottesville protest go forward. In Boston last weekend, police successfully separated tens of thousands of people shouting anti-Nazi and anti-Ku Klux Klan slogans who showed up to protest a much smaller conservative "free speech" rally  but drawing some complaints that the speakers didn't get to be heard.

"We're in an interesting situation, no question about it, where the Bay Area, known for its protection of speech, is also known for how much it deplores discrimination and hate speech," said Julie Nice, a constitutional law professor at the University of San Francisco School of Law.

She said police are in a tough spot because they are constitutionally obligated to protect even hateful speech until the point that speech crosses the line into violence.

In the San Francisco area, protesters this weekend will face more restrictions and beefed-up police powers than in the past. The Berkeley City Council has expanded the authority of police to confiscate eggs, sticks and other perceived weapons, a position defended by Berkeley's mayor despite the politically liberal city's reputation as the birthplace of the free-speech movement and a bastion of tolerance.

Mayor Jesse Arreguin said this week he is tired of his city being targeted by people who show up in military wear and support positions that he calls anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim and anti-gay.

"We have gone above and beyond to facilitate the right for all voices to be heard. What we don't stand for is violence, what we don't stand for is vandalism and we don't stand for thuggery," he said. "What we don't tolerate is people using the concept of freedom of speech to commit violence."

Born in the '60s

Student activism was born during the 1960s free-speech movement at Berkeley, when thousands of students at the university there mobilized to demand that the school drop its ban on political activism. More recently, the University of California-Berkeley has come under criticism for what some have characterized as suppression of unpopular views.

In February, officials at UC-Berkeley were forced to cancel a talk by right-wing provocateur and Trump supporter Milo Yiannopoulos after black-clad protesters hurled smoke bombs and sparked a huge bonfire.

Amber Cummings, who is organizing the rally against Marxism, said racists and hate groups are not invited to her Sunday event. But the anti-Trump group By Any Means Necessary has vowed to shut down the Berkeley rally, and authorities worry the two sides could clash.

In San Francisco, the National Park Service issued a permit for the Portland, Oregon-based Patriot Prayer gathering, but banned more than two dozen items, including guns, helmets and tiki torches. It's also working on a plan to keep rallygoers and opponents separated at Crissy Field.

San Francisco cannot block the event because the park is on federal land. But Lee, the mayor, has urged people to stay away.

"I ask that people avoid going to Crissy Field and engaging with members of Patriot Prayer because that is precisely what they wish us to do, and I don't want to dignify their message of hate and their mission of division in our city of love of compassion," Lee said at a Wednesday news conference.

Joey Gibson said he organized Patriot Prayer after Trump supporters were beaten in San Jose, California, last summer during a campaign stop. He pushed back at Lee and other political opponents, saying that his group doesn't harbor racist views and that hate groups aren't welcome, although his events have attracted violence and white nationalists.

'Issue of tolerance'

"Right now we have an issue of tolerance. It's not just skin color or gender, I'm talking about tolerance of speech," said Gibson. "We believe that someone is an enemy because they think differently or they voted for someone different."

One of the featured speakers is Kyle Chapman, a right-wing organizer who faces a charge of illegal possession of a baton he was seen swinging at counterprotesters during a chaotic rally for Trump in Berkeley earlier this year.

Officials from both Berkeley and San Francisco urged opponents to attend separate events scheduled at the same time as the politically conservative gatherings on Saturday and Sunday. A drag queen troupe has scheduled its own rally to promote "love and peace" in San Francisco's Castro neighborhood Saturday afternoon.

Yet, there are calls by counterprotesters for people to join them in force at Crissy Field to "send a message that hate has no safe space" in the city.

Nearly two dozen political protests in California have turned violent since December 2015, according to the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University-San Bernardino.

Dealing with that violence is a "thankless job" for law enforcement, said Brian Levin, the center's director, adding that he supported Berkeley's new get-tough approach.

"They get criticized for cracking down," he said, "or they get criticized for doing nothing."
Airstrikes by a Saudi-led coalition targeted Yemen's capital early on Friday, hitting at least three houses in Sanaa and killing at least 14 civilians, including women and children, residents and eyewitnesses said.

The attack was the latest by the coalition, which has been waging a relentless air campaign against Yemen's Iran-backed Shiite rebels for the past two years in an effort to bring the internationally recognized government back to power.

Recently, the strikes in and around the capital, Sanaa, targeting army compounds and other locations of the rebels known as Houthis, have intensified. On Wednesday, coalition fighter jets struck a hotel in the town of Arhab, north of Sanaa, killing at least 41 people.

Friday's strikes hit the city's southern neighborhood of Fag Attan. The death toll was expected to rise further as rescuers pulled more victims from under the rubble.

The escalation comes amid signs of fracturing between the two main components of the rebel alliance in Sanaa, the Houthis and loyalists of ousted President Ali Abdullah Saleh  a standoff that has triggered fears of street violence.

The rebel alliance controls much of northern Yemen, including Sanaa.

The coalition, led by Saudi Arabia and including a string of other Arab states, is trying to restore the internationally recognized government of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi to power.

On Thursday, ex-president Saleh drew about 300,000 supporters for a rally in the streets of Sanaa in a public show of support for him amid the tensions with the Houthis. Saleh's supporters said in a statement that the party will evaluate its partnership with the Houthis.

The war has shown no signs of abating.

The Saudi-led airstrikes have hit schools, hospitals, and markets, killing thousands of civilians and prompting rights groups to accuse the coalition of war crimes. Activists have called upon Western countries, including the United States and Britain, to cease their military support for the coalition.

The conflict has killed over 10,000 civilians, displaced 3 million people and pushed the impoverished nation to the brink of famine.

On Wednesday, Gen. Joseph Votel, the top U.S. commander for the Middle East, visited the Saudi-Yemen border for a first-hand look at the kingdom's military fight against Yemen's rebels  a visit that coincided with the attack in Arhab.

Separately from Yemen's civil war, the United States has pressed on with a campaign targeting al-Qaida-linked militants in Yemen as it tries to determine its level of support for the Saudi-led coalition.
Were not even done with summer and we already have one of our first winter weather outlooks thanks to the Farmers Almanac (not to be confused with the Old Farmers Almanac). When these outlooks come out my job gets a little more complicated having to answer questions like, Is what the almanac saying true? or whats your outlook for the winter? Whats more interesting is people are misquoting the Farmers Almanac outlook based not on what they read or saw but on the headline they saw on a social media post. Ive had many tell me that the Almanac was calling for a worst winter this year than last year.

The truth is, the Farmers Almanac is calling for a brisk, drier than normal winter for the Pacific Northwest. All I can assume is that they are saying it will be cool and windy but with less than average precipitation.

I never understood why people put so much faith in the Farmers or even Old Farmers Almanacs winter outlook. I went back over the last four to five years and they dont have a good track record of being accurate. For example, last year the Pacific Northwest was mild and stormy. We were definitely stormy with all the snow but our temperatures for winter were nearly 5 to 10 degrees below average. The winter of 2015-16 that they called for a wet and mild winter which ended up being near average both temperature and precipitation. These are just a few recent examples where the almanac was not correct in their outlook.

Here is how they state their forecasting methods in the Farmers Almanac  The Farmers Almanac will state publicly only that their method is a top secret mathematical and astronomical formula that relies on sunspot activity, tidal action, planetary position and many other factors. The Almanacs forecaster is referred to by the pseudonym Caleb Weatherbee.

In my professional opinion, it is still too early for any accurate winter outlook. No matter the time, a seasonal outlooks is almost impossible to get 100 percent correct. I will be the first to tell you my forecast for last winter was wrong. I cant think of any winter outlook last year that got it right for the Pacific Northwest and southern Idaho. Long range weather forecasts are extremely difficult and they arent even a forecast but a general outlook compared to monthly averages.
The United Nations' human rights office is calling on Yemeni authorities to investigate the deaths of dozens of civilians, mostly from recent airstrikes involving the Saudi-led coalition.

Fifty-eight civilians have been killed  including 42 by the Saudi-led coalition  between August 17 and 24, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights reports. Twelve civilians were killed by armed men, and four were killed by local fighters in the Popular Committees group, allied with Houthi rebels, according to U.N. human rights spokeswoman Liz Throssell.

"This week's total is more than the number of civilians killed in the whole of June, when 52 were killed, and in July, which saw 57 civilian deaths," Throssell said. "Since March 2015, the U.N. human rights office has documented 13,829 civilian casualties, including 5,110 killed and 8,719 injured."

However, the overall number of civilian casualties is probably much higher, Throssell adds.

An airstrike by coalition forces hit a hotel in Sanaa Governorate earlier this week and, on the same day, a second strike hit a guesthouse used by farm workers, she says. Both targets were close to Houthi-manned checkpoints, which were unscathed, she adds.

"In all these cases in which civilians were killed and injured, witnesses told our Yemen team that there had been no warnings that an attack was imminent," Throssell said. "Attacks targeting civilians or civilian objects are prohibited under international humanitarian law, which also prohibits indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks."

The United Nations calls Yemen the world's largest humanitarian crisis. After more than two years of civil war, it reports the country is on the brink of famine and some 18 million people need humanitarian assistance.
Afghan officials say a suicide attack on a Shi'ite mosque in Kabul killed at least 20 people, including two police officers, and wounded more than 40 others during Friday prayers. .

Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish confirmed that at least one attacker blew himself up at the gate of the Imam Zaman mosque while several others stormed inside.



Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack.



Police cordoned off the area soon after the assault. Residents of the area reported hearing gunfire from inside the mosque

An eyewitness says he saw at least three women and several children wounded and lying on the floor during the incident. Family members of those still in the mosque gathered outside.

Imam Zaman is one of the main Shi'ite mosques in the area and more people attend mosques on a Friday, the Muslim holy day of the week.

The trouble happened days after U.S. President Donald Trump announced his new policy for Afghanistan in which he gave battlefield decision-making powers to his ground commanders, demanded Pakistan immediately change its behavior and stop providing havens to the Afghan Taliban, and asked the Afghan government to hasten reform and not take American support for granted.


Stonehenge is dry and has been for too long  seven years too long. You can taste the dust well before you cross the cattle grids that cut the only road into town.

More than 1,700 kilometers (1,056 miles) northwest of Sydney, Australia's Stonehenge could not be more different from its famous namesake, the World Heritage prehistoric monument of Stonehenge in England.

Stonehenge in England averages 10 days a month of rainfall and a maximum temperature of 22 degrees Celsius (72 Fahrenheit).

The town in Australia averages 325 sunny days a year and summer temperature of about 45C (113F), and forget regular rain.

How the town got its name is a mystery.

"In the mid-1800s, dingo [wild dog] trappers built a stone fortress which they used as a shelter, but no one is really sure," said resident Judy Baldry as she drove along a dusty road on the outskirts of town.

Another possibility is the stony landscape, with rocks ranging in size from marbles to boulders scattered across the plains as far as the eye can see.

The stones lure tourists to an area known as "The Address Book" on the outskirts of town, where people create their names or love messages using stones, such as "Jim loves Kerry" and "Dan 4 Jan."

Praying for rain

Stonehenge's remaining 23 residents say they are struggling to survive one of the longest droughts in memory.

"Certainly, this is the worst drought I've seen in the last 28 years because of its longevity. It's just gone on for so long," said cattle and sheep farmer Tony Jackson.

Jackson's Hill View Park Station property of more than 150,000 acres (60,000 hectares) is excellent wool country because of the stones. Less dirt means better quality wool.

He manages 800 cattle and about 6,000 sheep on the drought-hit property, but he fears he will have no feed or water if there is no rain by Christmas.

Jackson and his neighbors have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on feed.

Debt levels for broadacre farms, which include cattle, sheep and crops, is estimated to have increased by 7 percent during 2015-16 to average A$560,500 per farm, the Australian government's agricultural bureau said.

Other parts of Australia have seen the drought break, and farmers there are looking at a bright future. Cash incomes on cattle farms are estimated to be the highest in more than 20 years, at A$204,000 per farm, because of rising beef prices.

But the drought has a stranglehold on Stonehenge.

For the first time in more than 34 years, the main water supply, the meandering Thomson River, has stopped flowing.

Farmer Dick Smith says it has been seven years since the last decent rain filled the river.

"This is drought country. No one forced me to live here. We have to expect a drought, but this one's gone on too long," he said on the veranda of his home on the Depot Glen property.

Smith usually manages about 1,500 cattle but has destocked to survive and now has just 47 cows and calves.

He said that because of droughts over the past decades, he had "completely destocked three times," and the potential for a fourth was high.

When the rains do come, the farmers of Stonehenge will struggle to pay for new stock at a time when cattle prices are at record levels because of demand for beef.

Hard on families

The drought has taken its toll on families, with the emotional and financial stress contributing to poor mental health, according to a study by the Australian National University.

The study examined 8,000 people living in drought and found that the more severe the drought, the more severe the impact on the mental health of a farmer and his family.

Sue Smith knows the burden. She runs Depot Glen alone for many months while her husband, Dick, is away driving a grader or fixing fences thousands of kilometers away in the Northern Territory.

"You really have to love your husband to live out here," said Sue, a champion equestrian when she was young.

"We're not isolated up here. We have bitumen roads, telephones, internet, but I do miss white sheets," she said, referring to the groundwater that stains her sheets.

Stonehenge has suffered a huge loss of people because of the drought. The town many years ago boasted three hotels, and until just a decade ago, a population of 106.

Frank Irwin, who used to work on a farm, now runs the Stonehenge Hotel, a tin building with a bar crowned with empty beer bottles and rodeo memorabilia.

Stonehenge, like its English namesake, will survive, he said. "We just batten down the hatches until it does rain."
Suspected Boko Haram militants sprayed a village in remote Cameroon with automatic fire, killing 15 people and kidnapping eight others in an overnight raid near the Nigerian border, several officials said on Friday.

The attackers burned down around 30 houses in Gakara village, just outside the town of Kolofata, which has been a frequent target of suicide bombings by the Islamist group.

A government source on the ground said that 15 people had been killed, all shot dead except one who was burned alive, while another 30 had suffered bullet wounds. The mayor of Kolofata and a senior military source confirmed that an attack had taken place but did not know the death toll.

Boko Haram attacks have killed more than 20,000 people and displaced 2.7 million during the group's eight-year insurgency to carve out an Islamic caliphate in the Lake Chad region.

"The attack happened around midnight. The Boko Haram assailants arrived. They set 32 houses on fire ... killed, pillaged, and traumatized the population," said a district official, who asked not to be named because he was not

authorized to speak.

Many people fled the village for a camp near Kolofata that houses thousands displaced by Boko Haram violence, he said.
Tesla next month plans to unveil an electric big-rig truck with a working range of 200 to 300 miles, Reuters has learned, a sign that the electric car maker is targeting regional hauling for its entry into the commercial freight market.

Chief Executive Elon Musk has promised to release a prototype of its Tesla Semi truck next month in a bid to expand the company's market beyond luxury cars. The entrepreneur has tantalized the trucking industry with the prospect of a battery-powered heavy-duty vehicle that can compete with conventional diesels, which can travel up to 1,000 miles on a single tank of fuel.

Tesla's electric prototype will be capable of traveling the low end of what transportation veterans consider to be "long-haul" trucking, according to Scott Perry, an executive at Miami-based fleet operator Ryder System. Perry said he met with Tesla officials earlier this year to discuss the technology at the automaker's manufacturing facility in Fremont, California.

Perry said Tesla's efforts are centered on an electric big-rig known as a "day cab" with no sleeper berth, capable of traveling about 200 to 300 miles with a typical payload before recharging.

"I'm not going to count them out for having a strategy for longer distances or ranges, but right out of the gate I think that's where they'll start," said Perry, who is the chief technology officer and chief procurement officer for Ryder.

Tesla responded to Reuters questions with an email statement saying, "Tesla's policy is to always decline to comment on speculation, whether true or untrue, as doing so would be silly. Silly!"

Tesla's plan, which could change as the truck is developed, is consistent with what battery researchers say is possible with current technology. Tesla has not said publicly how far its electric truck could travel, what it would cost or how much cargo it could carry. But Musk has acknowledged that Tesla has met privately with potential buyers to discuss their needs.

Reuters reported earlier this month that Tesla is developing self-driving capability for the big rig.

'Manufacturing hell'

Musk has expressed hopes for large-scale production of the Tesla Semi within a couple of years. That audacious effort could open a potentially lucrative new market for the Palo Alto, California-based automaker.

Or it could prove an expensive distraction. Musk in July warned that the company is bracing for "manufacturing hell" as it accelerates production of its new Model 3 sedan. Tesla aims to produce 5,000 of the cars per week by the end of this year, and 10,000 per week sometime next year.

Tesla shares are up about 65 percent this year. But skeptics abound. Some doubt Musk's ability to take Tesla from a niche producer to a large-scale automaker. About 22 percent of shares available for trade have been sold "short" by investors who expect the stock to fall.

Musk, a quirky billionaire whose transportation ambitions include colonizing the planet Mars, has long delighted in defying conventional wisdom. At Tesla's annual meeting in June, he repeated his promise of a battery-powered long-haul big rig.

"A lot of people don't think you can do a heavy-duty, long-range truck that's electric, but we are confident that this can be done," he said.

Trucking's sweet spot

While the prototype described by Ryder's Perry would fall well short of the capabilities of conventional diesels, Musk may well have found a sweet spot if he can deliver. Roughly 30 percent of U.S. trucking jobs are regional trips of 100 to 200 miles, according to Sandeep Kar, chief strategy officer of Toronto-based Fleet Complete, which tracks and analyzes truck movement.

A truck with that range would be able to move freight regionally, such as from ports to nearby cities or from warehouses to retail establishments.

"As long as [Musk] can break 200 miles, he can claim his truck is 'long haul' and he will be technically right," Kar said.

Interest in electric trucks is high among transportation firms looking to reduce their emissions and operating costs.

Electric motors require less maintenance than internal combustion engines. Juice from the grid is cheaper than diesel.

But current technology doesn't pencil when it comes to powering U.S. trucks across the country. Experts say the batteries required would be so large and heavy there would be little room for cargo.

An average diesel cab costs around $120,000. The cost of the battery alone for a big rig capable of going 200 to 400 miles carrying a typical payload could be more than that, according to battery researchers Shashank Sripad and Venkat Viswanathan of Carnegie Mellon University.

Battery weight and ability would limit a semi to a range of about 300 miles with an average payload, according to a paper recently published by Viswanathan and Sripad. The paper thanked Tesla for "helpful comments and suggestions." Tesla did not endorse the work or comment on the conclusions to Reuters.

A range of 200 to 300 miles would put Tesla at the edge of what the nascent electric truck industry believes is economically feasible, the researchers and industry insiders said.

Short-haul trucks

Transportation stalwarts such as manufacturer Daimler AG and shipping company United Parcel Service said they are focusing their electric efforts on short-haul trucks. That's because smaller distances and lighter payloads require less battery power, and trucks can recharge at a central hub overnight.

Daimler, the largest truck manufacturer in the world by sales, will begin production this year on an electric delivery truck. The vehicle will have a 100-mile range and be capable of carrying a payload of 9,400 pounds, about 1,000 pounds less than its diesel counterpart, according to Daimler officials.

Daimler has been joined by a handful of startups such as Chanje, a Los Angeles-based manufacturer that has a partnership with Ryder to build 100-mile-range electric trucks for package delivery.

Ryder and its customers believe electric trucks could cost more to buy but may be cheaper to maintain and have more predictable fuel costs. As batteries become cheaper and environmental regulation increases, the case for electric trucks could strengthen.

"This tech is being seen as a major potential differentiator. Everyone wants to understand how real it is," said Perry, the chief technology officer.
Police in northern India say at least 28 people have been killed and 250 more wounded in riots that broke out after a court convicted a controversial guru of raping two of his followers.

Tens of thousands of supporters of the guru, who calls himself Saint Dr. Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Ji Insan, had gathered near the barricaded courthouse in the city of Panchkula.

The court handed down a guilty verdict Friday, triggering rioting by supporters of the guru.

Violent mobs set fire to government buildings and attacked journalists and police officers. Police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse the crowds and eventually resorted to firing warning shots in the air in an attempt to control the rioters.

The situation is tense. There has been arson and burning, Rajiv Mehrishi, the federal home secretary, said late Friday.

B.S. Sandhu, a top state of Haryana police official, said more than 1,000 of the gurus supporters were detained by police on rioting charges.

A spokesman for the guru's sect, Dera Sacha Sauda, urged his supporters to remain calm.



I just want to request everyone to maintain peace at the moment, said Dilawar Insan. We will explore what legal options are available to us.

Indian investigators alleged that Singh, dubbed the "guru in bling, molested two of his female worshipers  a charge that he and his supporters deny.



Six thousand police officers were deployed in the city of Panchkula alone as authorities feared that a guilty verdict could result in violence.

Many popular ascetics claiming to have mystical powers in India, including Singh, have been linked with scandals and controversy.

In 2015, Singh, leader of the Dera Sacha Sauda sect, was accused of encouraging 400 followers to undergo castration at his ashram so they could get closer to God.

Singh also stood trial for conspiracy to murder a journalist in 2002.

But his supporters have stood firm, referring to him as "the ultimate humanitarian" on the group's website.
A top economic adviser in the Trump administration has blasted the presidents response to the tragedy in Charlottesville, and said he faced immense pressure to quit President Donald Trumps team.

Chief White House economic adviser Gary Cohn said in an interview with the Financial Times published Friday that the Trump administration must do better to condemn white supremacist groups after violence broke out at a rally in the Virginia city earlier this month.

This administration can and must do better in consistently and unequivocally condemning these groups and do everything we can to heal the deep divisions that exist in our communities, Cohn said.

Trump received heavy criticism for what was seen as his reluctance to assign blame for the incidents in Charlottesville  especially for his assertion that "both sides" bore responsibility.

The president has contended there were people fomenting violence on both sides of the stand-off in Charlottesville, which saw members of the white supremacist groups violently engaging with counter-protesters.

Members of both the white supremacist groups and the counter-protest groups could be seen wielding weapons and defensive tools. Several large brawls broke out between the two sides throughout the duration of the rally. One woman was killed and at least 19 others were injured when a car rammed into a crowd of counter-protesters. The police chief in Charlottesville said there were mutually combating individuals in the crowd when fighting broke.



Cohn characterized the counter-protesters as citizens standing up for equality and freedom, and said they can never be equated with white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and the KKK.

The president has said on several occasions that he condemns white-supremacist groups and believes all racist sentiment is "evil," but his own recounting of his words has omitted controversial phrases that aroused the most opposition - that "both sides" were responsible, or, as he said a day after the fatal car attack, that "many sides" were involved.

Cohn said he chose not to leave his position within the White House because he felt a duty to fulfill my commitment to work on behalf of the American people.

I have come under enormous pressure both to resign and to remain in my current position, he said.
President Donald Trump traded verbal barbs Thursday with James Clapper, the former national intelligence chief, who has questioned Trump's fitness to be in the Oval Office.

James Clapper, who famously got caught lying to Congress, is now an authority on Donald Trump,'' Trump tweeted. Will he show you his beautiful letter to me?

Clapper has denied lying to Congress. He says he misspoke a few years ago when he said the U.S. was not collecting Americans' data. Documents leaked by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden later indicated widespread domestic surveillance.

'Beautiful' letter

Clapper told CNN that the beautiful letter referred to notes he wrote to both Trump and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton the night before the Nov. 8 election.



In the one to Trump  the only one that was delivered  Clapper wrote that he hoped the president would support the intelligence agencies' practice of speaking truth to power. That's a reference to sharing intelligence even if it runs counter to what a president believes or wants to hear.



On Jan. 6, before the inauguration, intelligence officials briefed Trump on their assessment of Russian meddling in the election and he was told about the existence of a dossier compiled by a former British intelligence officer. The dossier, which contained allegations of compromising personal and financial information about the president, was later released by a news organization.



Intelligence agencies should never have allowed this fake news to leak into the public, Trump tweeted. One last shot at me. Are we living in Nazi Germany?

Clapper took offense to that tweet, accusing Trump of characterizing us as Nazis for having delivered truth to power.

Comments target press

Earlier this week, the president cut loose in Arizona, angrily renewing his fight with the press over its coverage of his comments about the race-fueled violence in Charlottesville, Virginia. He opened his remarks with talk of unity but quickly erupted in anger, blaming the media for the widespread condemnation of his response to the violence in Charlottesville at a protest organized by white supremacists.

After the speech, Clapper told CNN: I really question his ability  his fitness to be in this office.''
The United States on Friday forbade any dealings in new Venezuela debt or equity in Washington's latest move to pressure the repressive government of President Nicolas Maduro.

An executive order, signed by President Donald Trump, bars U.S. transaction with Maduro's government and the PDVSA state oil company.

The sanctions are meant to demonstrate that "the United States will not allow an illegitimate dictatorship to take hold in the Western Hemisphere at the expense of its people," National Security Advisor H. R. McMaster told reporters.

"No military actions are anticipated in the near future," McMaster responded when asked about the possibility of intervention in Venezuela by U.S. forces. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, when asked a few minutes later to elaborate, said, "We leave all options on the table and we're not taking any of those things off."

Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said during a White House news conference Friday the sanctions would "undermine Maduro's ability to pay off political cronies and regime supporters."

"On the economic front, I would say our plan has to continue to turn up the heat on the Venezuelan government, and these specific actions we've tried to balance things that don't hurt the Venezuelan people," Mnuchin said.

Venezuelan response



Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro denounced the sanctions and said "insanity has been unleashed" by the U.S. government under Trump.

He said the sanctions "violate international law" and are designed to push his country into default.

Maduro also accused members of the opposition of being behind the U.S. financial sanctions and vowed to prosecute them. He called on a new all-powerful constitutional assembly in Venezuela to initiate proceedings against opponents who have lobbied in favor of the sanctions.



"You've got to be a big traitor to your country to ask for sanctions against Venezuela," Maduro said in television address from the presidential palace.

"Maybe the United States is trying to create ... a humanitarian crisis in our country? What do they want, they want to starve the Venezuelan people?" asked Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza while at the U.N. to discuss the situation in his country with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

The foreign minister added that Venezuelan President Maduro has been intent on having good relations with Trump, but said, "This action, these financial sanctions announced today are the worst aggressions to Venezuela in the last 200 years, maybe."

'Get their attention'

"We are not going to tolerate the dictatorship he's trying to create and we are not going to respect the sham assembly," U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley told reporters at U.N. headquarters. "We have had no choice but to turn around and do the sanctions to get their attention."

A senior administration official in Washington told reporters in a telephone briefing minutes after the latest sanctions were announced: "We will not participate in extending debt or equity or bonds or new bonds or securities that enable this regime to perpetuate its cycle of violence and oppression."



Officials say the new order does allow the U.S. Treasury Department to provide licenses for other commercial and humanitarian transactions, including financing for commercial trade, petroleum exports and imports, and transactions that only involve PDVSA's U.S. unit, Citgo.

"What we're trying to do here is create a series of escalatory measures that we can take," according to a senior administration official. "Obviously, the United States has a lot of influence over the Venezuelan economy, but it doesn't mean we want to rush in and use our influence in an irresponsible manner."

He added, "The goal here is for the restoration of democracy to be brought to Venezuela. Our goal is not to continue to escalate this. Nobody wants that."

Free, fair elections

The White House says Maduro also needs to hold free and fair elections and release all political prisoners.

"The Maduro dictatorship continues to deprive the Venezuelan people of food and medicine, imprison the democratically elected opposition, and violently suppress freedom of speech," a White House statement said. "The regime's decision to create an illegitimate Constituent Assembly -- and most recently to have that body usurp the powers of the democratically elected National Assembly -- represents a fundamental break in Venezuela's legitimate constitutional order."

Last week, Venezuela's Constituent Assembly gave itself the power to pass laws, seizing legislative power from the opposition-led congress.

The assembly unanimously passed a decree enabling it "to legislate on matters directly aimed at ensuring the preservation of peace, security, sovereignty, the socio-economic financial system, the purposes of state, and the preeminence of Venezuela's human rights."

The election of the assembly last month was boycotted by the opposition and triggered international condemnation. The body is charged with rewriting the country's 1999 constitution and has given permission to Maduro to rule by decree.

Russian fears

There are fears that strong U.S. pressure could drive Maduro into the arms of China and Russia for the sake of his political survival.

"These steps now to point out the risks of dealing in further, future debt placements should give both of those countries a deep pause before they further deepen their engagement in this region," a senior U.S. official said. "And we think it will have an important, dissuasive effect on their own calculations."

Eliot Engel, the top Democrat on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, said in a statement that Trump must ensure U.S. sanctions "have the appropriate impact and adjust them as necessary."

Engel is also calling for other countries and the U.N. to push for a resolution to the political crisis and the Venezuelan people's lack of access to food and medicine

"I have a long record in Congress of supporting strong actions against rogue regimes and will continue to do so," Engel added.

U.S. and International Monetary Fund officials said Venezuela's economy continues to severely contract, oil production is rapidly declining and the government is liquidating its visible assetsall of this contributing to a deepening humanitarian crisis in the Latin American country.
During last years U.S. presidential campaign, Donald Trump often promised to be a uniter, not a divider. But the president's performance during the past week and some new public opinion polls suggest the president is falling short in his efforts to bring the country together.

Trump has projected sharply different tones and rhetoric in recent speeches, from a sober Monday address on U.S. policy in Afghanistan to a campaign-style rally the next day in Phoenix, Arizona.

On Wednesday, Trump made a fresh pitch for unity before a veteran's group in Reno, Nevada. It is time to heal the wounds that divide us and to seek a new unity based on the common values that unite us.

Rallying the base

But it was the Phoenix rally the day before that got the most media attention. Trump blasted his political opponents including Democrats and even some Republicans, and he also launched a fresh attack on what he called the sick and crooked media for coverage of his controversial remarks blaming both sides for the recent violence during a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

During the rally, Trump defended his various responses to the violence in Charlottesville. I got the white supremacists, the neo-Nazis, I got them all in there, Trump told the crowd. Lets see, the K-K-K (Ku Klux Klan). We have K-K-K. I got them all. So they (the media) are having a hard time. So what did they say? It should have been sooner. Hes a racist!

The rally also drew anti-Trump protestors into the streets outside the venue in Phoenix. Im really gob-smacked (taken aback) the way that man has been acting in office. Its been nothing but total disorder, said one.

But Trump supporters inside remained upbeat about the president despite his historically weak poll ratings. Hes amazing. And hes right. Hes right about everything, said one woman enthusiastically waving a Trump sign.

Polls: a divisive presidency

Two new polls suggest Trumps rhetoric is often more divisive than unifying. A Quinnipiac survey found that only 31 percent of those surveyed believe the president is doing more to unite the country, as opposed to 62 percent who believe he is doing more to divide the nation.

Another Quinnipiac poll suggested Trump alone is not responsible for the worsening political divide. At least 40 percent of voters said the Republican Party is moving too far to the right and the Democratic Party is moving too far to the left, aggravating the countrys ideological divide.

A new survey from George Washington University found that 71 percent of voters said Trumps behavior is not what I expect from a president, while 27 percent disagreed with that statement.

The Battleground Poll data shows that more Americans object to President Trumps character than his agenda, said George Washington University Associate Professor Michael Cornfield.

Leadership test

Many Trump critics question whether the president can bring the country together in the wake of Charlottesville. Compared to other presidents in other crises who have brought the country together, Trump gets a failing grade, said American University presidential historian Allan Lichtman.

Trump supporters do not see the president as divisive and generally accept his blustery speaking style. He is not skilled in the same kinds of ways of dealing with ideas that most politicians are, said Hans Noel of Georgetown University via Skype. And for some people that is a feature, right, part of what makes him attractive, is that he does not have to do what people say, does not play the same game that other folks do.

Trump has also been aggressive in ratcheting up his criticism of Republican congressional leaders in recent days, especially Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. The president again blasted McConnell for falling short in the effort to repeal and replace Obamacare. Trump tweeted Thursday, that should NEVER have happened!

The tense relations between the White House and congressional Republicans could portend some difficult times ahead as the president tries to jump start his legislative agenda in September when lawmakers return to Washington. The initiative will have to be in Congress among the Republicans, said University of Virginia expert Larry Sabato via Skype. They control both houses (of Congress) and they are the ones on the ballot next. Trump wont be on the ballot in 2018. They will be on the ballot in 2018.
The following editorial appears on Bloomberg View:

In his speech Monday about Afghanistan, President Donald Trump admitted that he once opposed the very strategy he was proposing. My original instinct was to pull out, he said. I like following my instincts.

Credit where it is due: These may be the five truest words Trump has ever spoken. Harder to credit is his explanation for why he changed his mind and ordered more troops. His policy may well be the right one, but he owes his supporters  and the country  a fuller accounting of his thinking.

Trumps main point was that the world looks different once you become president. This is true as far as it goes, but it doesnt go very far. Taken to its logical extreme, it is a rationale for abandoning any inconvenient campaign promise.

This is not to say that candidates should be held to every stupid thing they say during a campaign, or that they shouldnt give up on a goal when its clear it cannot be realized. Nor is it to say that elected officials should never admit error. When the facts change, to paraphrase Keynes, you change your mind.

When an elected official does go back on his word, however, he has a heavy burden of proof. In this case, Trump failed to meet it. Withdrawal, he said, would dishonor those who died fighting in Afghanistan; it would open the door to a Taliban takeover and possibly allow dozens of terrorist groups to operate in Afghanistan with impunity; and it would destabilize the wider region, including nuclear-armed Pakistan.

All these points are perfectly defensible. Each is also completely familiar to anyone who has been paying attention for the last 16 years. Does the president have new facts that bolster his position? If so, he should share them. Its not enough for him to simply recite arguments; he needs to better explain why they are more convincing now than they used to be.

This need for clarity is even greater in life-or-death decisions such as whether to send more American soldiers to war. That is essentially Trumps policy on Afghanistan: several thousand more U.S. troops  Trump did not give an exact number  along with greater pressure on both Pakistan (to stop harboring the Taliban) and the Afghan government (to be more honest and accountable).

Again, not an unreasonable policy. But, like his justification for it, the policy itself is vague. More details would have allowed Trump to say, in effect: I know this sounds a lot like the policy I have long criticized. Heres why and how its not.

Trump didnt do that. He outlined the risks of withdrawal without explaining the benefits of remaining. Whats the goal going forward? Trump has clearly convinced himself that staying is better than leaving, but he hasnt tried very hard to convince the American people. Until he does, he can expect them to be skeptical  like he used to be  of U.S. policy in Afghanistan.
If President Donald Trump wants to pass key items on his legislative agenda, he will need the support of his fellow Republicans.

But as Congress prepares to return to Washington next month for a crucial fall legislative session, Trump has shown no signs of letting up his attacks on Republican lawmakers.

The latest Republican to draw Trump's ire was Senator Bob Corker, who last week questioned whether Trump possessed the "stability" and "competence" to succeed as president.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Thursday declined to comment on Corker's remark, saying it was "outrageous" and "doesn't dignify a response."

Trump, however, was more than willing to hit back at the Tennessee senator, who had been one of his early supporters.

"Strange statement by Bob Corker considering that he is constantly asking me whether or not he should run again in '18. Tennessee not happy!" Trump said in a Friday tweet.

It was the latest evidence of a widening split between Trump and Republican lawmakers, which only worsened following what many viewed as his insufficient condemnation of the deadly violence by white supremacist protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia, earlier this month.

The rift could have a major impact on the president's legislative agenda. Though Republicans control both houses of Congress, they have struggled to find common ground. Most notably, Republicans failed to repeal and replace the signature health care law of former President Barack Obama.

On Thursday, Trump slammed Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin for creating what he called a "mess" of the legislative process meant to raise the country's borrowing limit. In a series of tweets, he scolded McConnell and Ryan for not attaching debt ceiling legislation to a recently signed bill that aims to assist veterans.

Trump's relationship with McConnell, in particular, has deteriorated. According to recent media reports, Trump and McConnell have not spoken since earlier this month, when they engaged in a shouting match during a phone call.

The offices of both men have since put out statements downplaying the tensions.

Trump this week also went after two other prominent Republican senators, Jeff Flake and John McCain. At a rally in Arizona, the state both men represent, Trump slammed McCain, who was recently diagnosed with brain cancer, for casting the deciding vote against the health care bill. He also accused Flake, a frequent critic of the president, of being "weak on borders, weak on crime."

Immediate and longer-term priorities

The infighting comes at a particularly sensitive time for Trump and the Republicans, who must work together to pass urgent legislation next month to keep the federal government open and raise the country's borrowing limit.

Trump will also need all the Republican support he can get to pass his longer-term priorities, such as funding for his proposed southern border wall, an overhaul of the U.S. tax system and a massive infrastructure program.

But the divide isn't likely to heal anytime soon, Republican political analyst Evan Siegfried warned.

"This is an emotional backlash, stemming from the fact that the president is isolated, impotent, and has an overblown sense of grievance," Siegfried said.

Trump's constant fights with Republicans have led some analysts to suggest that he be viewed primarily as an independent actor, altogether separate from the party. In Siegfried's mind, that's already the case.

"And the longer we don't have any real legislative results in the party and in Congress, the more of the tension and divide there will be," he predicted.

Asked Friday what the president intended to accomplish by attacking members of his own party, press secretary Huckabee Sanders responded: "I think it's clear that the end game is for Congress to do its jobs and actually pass legislation."
The Egyptian president's office says President Donald Trump called President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi to stress the "strength of the friendship" between the two allies.

The presidency said after the phone call late on Thursday that the American president promised to continue to "develop" the two countries' relationship in order to "overcome any obstacles."

Washington did not immediately confirm the phone call. It followed the Trump administration's decision this week to cut or delay nearly $300 million in military and economic aid to Egypt over human rights concerns.

Egypt reacted angrily, with the Foreign Ministry calling the U.S. decision a "misjudgment of the nature of the strategic relations that have bound the two countries for decades."

The aid cut was also a surprise, given the increasingly close ties between Trump and el-Sissi.
The United States on Friday forbade any dealings in new Venezuela debt or equity in Washington's latest move to pressure the repressive government of President Nicolas Maduro.

The sanctions were meant to demonstrate that "the United States will not allow an illegitimate dictatorship to take hold in the Western Hemisphere at the expense of its people," national security adviser H. R. McMaster told reporters.

"No military actions are anticipated in the near future," McMaster responded when asked about the possibility of intervention in Venezuela by U.S. forces. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, when asked a few minutes later to elaborate, said, "We leave all options on the table and we're not taking any of those things off."

An executive order, signed Friday by President Donald Trump, bars U.S. transactions with Maduro's government and the PDVSA state oil company.

Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said during a White House news conference Friday that the sanctions would "undermine Maduro's ability to pay off political cronies and regime supporters."

"On the economic front, I would say our plan has to continue to turn up the heat on the Venezuelan government, and these specific actions, we've tried to balance things that don't hurt the Venezuelan people," Mnuchin said.

In Caracas, Maduro said Friday that the U.S. action was designed to push his country into default and essentially would force the closure of its U.S. refining unit, Citgo.

In a TV address from the presidential palace, Maduro said a preliminary analysis showed the sanctions would impede Venezuela's crude exports to the United States.

'Get their attention'

At U.N. headquarters, U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley told reporters: "We have had no choice but to turn around and do the sanctions to get their attention."

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza responded to the announcement of new sanctions while at the U.N. to discuss the situation in his country with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

"Maybe the United States is trying to create ... a humanitarian crisis in our country? What do they want  they want to starve the Venezuelan people?" Arreaza asked.

The foreign minister added that Maduro had been intent on having good relations with Trump, but said, "These financial sanctions announced today are the worst aggressions to Venezuela in the last 200 years, maybe."

A senior administration official in Washington told reporters in a telephone briefing minutes after the latest sanctions were announced: "We will not participate in extending debt or equity or bonds or new bonds or securities that enable this regime to perpetuate its cycle of violence and oppression."

Officials said the new order does allow the U.S. Treasury Department to provide licenses for other commercial and humanitarian transactions, including financing for commercial trade and petroleum exports and imports.

"What we're trying to do here is create a series of escalatory measures that we can take," a senior administration official said. "Obviously, the United States has a lot of influence over the Venezuelan economy, but it doesn't mean we want to rush in and use our influence in an irresponsible manner."

He added, "The goal here is for the restoration of democracy to be brought to Venezuela. Our goal is not to continue to escalate this. Nobody wants that."

Free, fair elections

The White House said Maduro also needed to hold free and fair elections and release all political prisoners.

"The Maduro dictatorship continues to deprive the Venezuelan people of food and medicine, imprison the democratically elected opposition, and violently suppress freedom of speech," a White House statement said. "The regime's decision to create an illegitimate constituent assembly  and most recently to have that body usurp the powers of the democratically elected National Assembly  represents a fundamental break in Venezuela's legitimate constitutional order."

Last week, Venezuela's constituent assembly gave itself the power to pass laws, seizing legislative power from the opposition-led congress.

The assembly unanimously passed a decree enabling it "to legislate on matters directly aimed at ensuring the preservation of peace, security, sovereignty, the socioeconomic financial system, the purposes of state and the preeminence of Venezuela's human rights."

The election of the assembly last month was boycotted by the opposition and triggered international condemnation. The body is charged with rewriting the country's 1999 constitution and has given permission to Maduro to rule by decree.

Russian, China

There are fears that strong U.S. pressure could drive Maduro into the arms of China and Russia for the sake of his political survival.

"These steps now to point out the risks of dealing in further, future debt placements should give both of those countries a deep pause before they further deepen their engagement in this region," a senior U.S. official said. "And we think it will have an important, dissuasive effect on their own calculations."

U.S. Representative Eliot Engel of New York, the top Democrat on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, said in a statement that Trump must ensure U.S. sanctions "have the appropriate impact and adjust them as necessary."

Engel also called for other countries and the U.N. to push for a resolution to the political crisis and the Venezuelan people's lack of access to food and medicine.

"I have a long record in Congress of supporting strong actions against rogue regimes and will continue to do so," Engel added.

U.S. and International Monetary Fund officials said Venezuela's economy continues to severely contract, oil production is rapidly declining and the government is liquidating its visible assets  all of which contributes to a deepening humanitarian crisis in the Latin American country.

VOA's Margaret Besheer contributed to this report from the United Nations. Some information for this report came from Reuters.
The U.N. Special Envoy for South Sudan warned Thursday that the country risks falling deeper into conflict if serious issues are not addressed before planned elections next year.

"There is sporadic fighting and widespread insecurity across the country," Nicholas Haysom told the U.N. Security Council. "Our engagements with South Sudanese interlocutors, including the opposition, suggest that battlefield fortunes continue to inform the calculus of both the government and its opponents."

In May, the government of President Salva Kiir declared a unilateral cease-fire and prisoner release. However, the truce has not held, and military operations have continued in Upper Nile, while there is insecurity in the Equatorias.

The violence has further exacerbated the already dire humanitarian crisis. Parts of the country have faced famine, while the number of refugees has swelled to more than 2 million  half of them in neighboring Uganda. Another 2 million people are internally displaced.

Haysom said the government of Kiir has only "created an appearance of reconciliation efforts."

"We have made clear to all external and internal stakeholders our view that the prevailing insecurity, internal and external population displacement, the lack of appropriate institutions or a reasonably level political playing field, in an increasingly divided ethnic environment, militate against organizing credible elections within the year. Indeed, it may well contribute to deepening and extending the conflict," Haysom warned.

The special envoy noted that there are five different internal and regional initiatives to address the nearly four-year-old crisis but, so far, none has presented "a definitive answer to the political impasses."

Former Botswana President Festus Mogae, who chairs the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC) of the August 2015 peace agreement, told council members that they must speak with one voice to the leaders of South Sudan.

"There should be clear consequences for intransigent groups, spoilers and violators," Mogae said.
Marine authorities in the U.S. and Canada said Friday they will marshal resources to try to find out what's behind a string of deaths of endangered North Atlantic right whales.

The animals are among the rarest marine mammals in the world, with only about 500 still living. The countries will collaborate on a report that could help craft future regulations that protect the vulnerable whales, representatives said.

Representatives of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Fisheries and Oceans Canada both said ship strikes and entanglement in fishing gear have played roles in the deaths of the whales, and that other factors also could have played a role.

The goal of the countries is to find out more about why 13 of the whales have been found dead this year and respond with solutions, said David Gouveia, protected species monitoring program branch chief for NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic Region.

"The North Atlantic right whale is fragile, and one of NOAA and DFO's most difficult conservation challenges," Gouveia said. "Every factor impacting their ability to thrive is significant."

This year, 10 dead whales have been found off Canada's coast and three off the coast of Massachusetts, prompting the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to declare the deaths an "unusual mortality event" on Thursday and to launch an investigation. The agency said that designation triggers a "focused, expert investigation" into the cause of the deaths.

The report will take months to assemble, and a budget for the investigation has not been developed, officials said. The effort will involve collecting data on each whale that died and considering factors such as changes to the environment and habitat, they said.

An average number of dead right whales would be about four, Gouveia said. Representatives for both countries said strategies to protect the whales could include fishing gear modifications, ship speed restrictions and changes to shipping traffic patterns.

"The priority is to protect these whales," said Matthew Hardy, aquatic resources management division manager for Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

Conservationists have said the right whale population is so small that a year of poor reproduction and heavy mortality could threaten its survival. Only a few baby right whales were born this year, said Charles "Stormy" Mayo, a senior scientist at the Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown, Massachusetts.

Biologist Regina Asmutis-Silvia of Whale and Dolphin Conservation has called this year's number of deaths "unprecedented." She and other conservationists have said right whales haven't suffered such high mortality since the whaling era, when their populations were decimated. Hunting right whales became illegal 80 years ago.

The whales migrate north every summer to feed. Scott Kraus, who heads the New England Aquarium's right whale research program, has said it's possible the whales are more vulnerable to hazards because they are traveling more due to changes in the availability of food.
South Korea's president says military action against North Koreas nuclear and missile threats cannot be carried out on the Korean peninsula without his governments consent, but former U.S. military commanders and analysts have a different reading of the situation.

For weeks, tit-for-tat threats exchanged by U.S. President Donald Trump and the Kim Jong Un regime have made it appear a direct conflict is possible. Through it all, however, South Korean President Moon Jae-in has said he would stand in the way of another battle on the peninsula, where a state of war has technically remained in effect since the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty.

According to Moon, who has long advocated engagement and outreach to Pyongyang, Military action on the Korean peninsula can only be decided by South Korea, and no one else can decide on a military action without South Korean agreement."

Trump, however, has not ruled out unilateral military action by the United States, if necessary to prevent the Kim regime from using the nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles it claims to have in an attack against the U.S. mainland. North Korea test-launched two ICBMs last month, and recent published reports in the West suggested Pyongyang's engineers successfully fabricated nuclear warheads small and robust enough to be carried as a missile's payload.

US does not doubt Moon's support

"The United States retains the authority, capability and responsibility to defend itself from attack by anyone, including North Korea, retired four-star Army General Burwell Bell told VOA Korean. Bell commanded U.S. forces in Korea from 2006-08.

Because the U.S.-South Korea defense treaty was signed in 1953, when the only direct threat Pyongyang posed was to Seoul, not Washington, Bell said, the current situation - a potential attack by the Kim regime on the U.S. mainland - can only be addressed outside the framework of that 64-year-old agreement.

In accordance with international law, the United States would not need South Korean approval [or] cooperation to strike the North with our own off-shore military assets,the general said. "These assets could be launched from the continental United States, Hawaii, Alaska, Guam and on the high seas near North Korea.

However, Bell added: I dont believe for a second President Moon would consider not supporting the United States.

Retired U.S. Army General James Thurman, who commanded U.S. Forces Korea from 2011 to 2013, pointed out that, despite the agreements between South Korea and the U.S., any nation has an inherent right to protect its sovereign territory. Therefore, he said, the U.S. could take action without consulting South Korea in the event that North Korea fires a missile toward the U.S. territory of Guam, for example.

Advance consultation expected

Kim's regime has explicitly threatened to use its missile firepower against Guam.

We dont need approval of any kind to defend ourselves. If we are engaged, we have an inherent right of self-defense, just like the South Koreans, Thurman said.

David Maxwell is another U.S. military expert who questioned President Moons comment that the U.S. must have his governments approval for military action against Pyongyang.

Maxwell, a retired colonel who commanded Army special forces units, cited Article III of the U.S.-South Korea Mutual Defense Treaty, which states that in case of an armed attack in the Pacific area on either U.S. or South Korean territories, each nation would act to meet the common danger in accordance with its constitutional processes.

Note that U.S. constitutional processes do not include getting approval from an ally to take necessary action to defend the U.S., said Maxwell, now an associate director for Georgetown Universitys Center for Security Studies. If the U.S. believes that North Korea is going to launch an attack on U.S. territory and determines that it is necessary to take action to defend the U.S. and its people, then the U.S. can and will take action, either without consultation or if South Korea disapproved.

'Immediate response' is key

From both practical and moral perspectives, however, Maxwell said Washington would certainly consult in advance with Seoul before acting against Pyongyang, for the sake of combined forces' readiness but also, and more importantly, to prepare for the likely catastrophic consequences of a counterattack by the North.

Bruce Bennett, a defense researcher at the RAND Corporation, said immediate response is one of the basic principles of proactive deterrence in modern warfare.

If North Korea fires a ballistic missile at Guam and hits Guam, it will be essential for the U.S. government to respond in a time-urgent manner to convince the North Koreans not to repeat such an action, and perhaps to take away the North Korean capability to repeat such an action, Bennett said.

Some analysts believe it would be inconceivable for the United States not to win South Korea's consent before striking North Korea, given the strong alliance Washington and Seoul have long maintained.

The United States and South Korea are close allies sworn to uphold each others security, and certainly the U.S. is committed to South Koreas security on the peninsula, said Michael O'Hanlon, director of research and foreign policy program at the Brookings Institution. As such, it makes little sense for America to propose or take independent action against North Korea, given how dramatically such action could implicate and endanger South Korean territory.

Extreme circumstances could perhaps drive the U.S. to take unilateral military action, O'Hanlon said, but he feels that is highly unlikely.

Jenny Lee contributed to this story, first reported by VOA Korean.
The federal government has not notified U.S. state election officials if their voting systems were targeted by suspected Russian hackers during the

2016 presidential campaign, and the information will likely never be made public, a top state election chief told Reuters.

"You're absolutely never going to learn it, because we don't even know it," Judd Choate, state election director for Colorado and president of the National Association of State Election Directors, said in an interview on Thursday during the group's summer conference.

Nearly 10 months after Republican Donald Trump's upset presidential victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton, Choate said he had not spoken to a single state election director who had been told by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security if their state was among those attacked.



The lack of information-sharing on the election breaches reflects the difficulty state and federal officials have had in working together to protect U.S. voting from cyber threats. All U.S. elections are run by state and local governments, which have varying degrees of technical competence.

DHS told Congress in June that 21 states were targeted during the 2016 presidential race, and that while a small number were breached, there was no evidence any votes were manipulated.

Other reports have said 39 states were targeted. Choate said he had heard both numbers mentioned.

Several lawmakers, including Senator Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee, have expressed frustration at DHS' refusal to identify which states had been targeted. Arizona and Illinois confirmed last year that hackers had targeted their voter registration systems.

In a statement, the DHS did not refute that states had not been notified if they were targeted, adding the agency informed the owners or operators of systems potentially victimized "who may not necessarily" be state election officials.

DHS was working with senior state election officials "to determine how best to share this information while protecting the integrity of investigations and the confidentiality of system owners," the agency said.

U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that the Kremlin orchestrated an operation that included hacking and online propaganda intended to tilt the November election in Trump's favor.

Several congressional committees are investigating and

Special Counsel Robert Mueller is leading a separate probe into the Russia matter, including whether Moscow colluded with the Trump campaign. Russia has denied election meddling and Trump has denied any collusion.

'Learn from the missteps'

The four-day conference of election directors was originally supposed to be about issues like voter registration, but took a sharp turn following the election hacking.

"After the 2000 election, we all had to be lawyers," Choate said. "And now after the 2016 election, we all have to be cyber security experts."

DHS representatives at the event fended off questions about whether the federal government would be prepared to mobilize sufficient support for the states in the event of a catastrophic cyberattack near or during the 2018 elections.

"We want to make sure we learn from the missteps that may have happened in 2016 and we want to make sure we continue building on the things we did that were right," Robert Gatlin, a DHS cyber official, said during a panel discussion.

Gatlin said the agency was working with U.S. intelligence agencies to "downgrade" more classified information so it could be shared with the states.

Information about cyberattacks is typically guarded by a high classification because it may involve nation-state involvement or contain sensitive sources and methods, he said.

Legislation recently approved by the Senate Intelligence Committee would require the director of national intelligence to sponsor top-secret security clearance for eligible election officials in each state, something the National Association of Secretaries of State has advocated.

The bill would also require DHS to submit a report to Congress detailing cyberattacks and attempted cyberattacks by foreign governments on U.S. election infrastructure during the 2016 election.

Choate said communication about cyber threats had improved with federal agencies since the election and the decision by the outgoing Obama administration in January to elevate voting systems to a "critical infrastructure designation."

Prior to the election, some state officials worried that closer oversight of election systems represented a dangerous federal intrusion into local affairs.
The United States plans to stop issuing visas to citizens from four countries that it says arent accepting deported citizens.

The list includes three African countries  Eritrea, Guinea and Sierra Leone  as well as Cambodia. The U.S. has suspended visas twice before under previous administrations in efforts to push deportations forward.

Last week, the Department of Homeland Security notified the Department of State that the four countries are refusing to accept or are unreasonably delaying the acceptance of nationals deemed to be in the United States illegally, a violation of section 243(d) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Now, the State Department is evaluating how to implement the order.

In the past, visa suspensions have targeted diplomats and government officials. How many people this suspension will affect has not yet been determined.

We follow a standard process to implement a visa suspension as expeditiously as possible in the manner the secretary determines most appropriate under the circumstances to achieve the desired goal. That process includes internal discussions with, and official notification to, affected countries, a State Department official said in an email to VOA.

Targeted countries react

Mamady Conde, Guineas ambassador to the United States, told VOAs French to Africa service by phone that his office has not yet received an official notification, and he learned of the news through the media. He said 75 Guineans have been deported, but he did not specify in what time period. He added that about 2,000 Guineans live in the United States illegally.

Bockarie Kortu Stevens, Sierra Leones ambassador to the U.S., said his country has cooperated with all deportation orders. Since January, he said, two charter flights operated by the United States have returned 30 to 40 Sierra Leonean nationals.

They put them together with [deportees from] other countries, and then they take them to Sierra Leone, and we have been cooperating with them, Stevens told VOA.

Sierra Leonean embassy officials said they go to holding cells to interview people slated for deportation to confirm their nationalities.

Once they've been identified as bona fide Sierra Leoneans, we issue the relevant travel documents, and its up to the United States authorities to affect the deportations, Stevens said.

He rejected the notion that many or most Sierra Leoneans are in the United States illegally. According to the State Department, 46 Sierra Leoneans have received deportation orders this year, including 22 criminal deportations. Most deportees have committed drug crimes, Stevens said.

Of course, like with any society, you have people who want to bend the rules. So, those who bend the rules, they face the consequences," he said. "But the majority of Sierra Leoneans are law abiding, and many of them who came here as a result of the war are fully integrated into an American society."

According to Census data, about 49,000 Sierra Leoneans live in the United States.

Khieu Sopheak, Cambodias spokesperson for the interior ministry, told VOAs Khmer service that his government has written to the U.S. to discuss deportation and visa restriction issues with U.S. officials. He said deportations separate families because some deportees have lived in the U.S. for many years.

Some deportees have wives and children. Even though [they] are not American, they still have houses and families, and it [is] like taking them away from their families, Khieu said on Friday afternoon. We are only requesting for a negotiation.

Eritrean officials in Washington, D.C., and Asmara did not respond to interview requests from VOAs Tigrigna service.

Cracking down on violent crime

So far this year, the U.S. has ordered the deportations of 117 Eritreans, 88 Guineans and 27 Cambodians, according to State Department figures.

But thats just a fraction of the total deportation orders issued, including more than 28,000 Mexicans who have received deportation orders.

Cracking down on illegal immigration was a signature issue of Donald Trumps campaign and is now of his administration. By instituting visa suspensions, the United States hopes to deport individuals convicted of violent crimes.

Most foreign nationals designated for deportation or issued a removal order, however, were not convicted of criminal offenses, and most criminal deportees are nonviolent.

In 2015, more than 60 percent of foreign nationals removed for criminal offenses committed immigration, dangerous drug or traffic offense crimes, according to Homeland Security figures.
When Ha Tran of Ho Chi Minh City shops for food, clothes or electronics, she avoids merchandise she can tell comes from Vietnams giant neighbor, China. It might not work, she said, and China is no friend of Vietnam anyway.

China exports many low-quality products to Vietnam, but we know they dont export products to other countries around the world (that are) that bad, so we try to avoid the products that are made in China, said Ha, 24, a design company worker in the Vietnamese financial hub city. Vietnamese prefer to buy stuff from Japan or the West. Weve tried (Chinese goods) many times in the past but it turns out like they get broken very easily.

Political ties between Vietnam and China are another factor discouraging purchases, she said.



Ha is hardly a shopping renegade. Consumers around Vietnam typically shun "Made-in-China" purchases to protest what they see as poor-quality goods from a country that already has a record of disputes with their country. The two sides dispute, for example, a tract of territory in the South China Sea east of Vietnam. Competing claims sparked naval battles 1974 and 1988. The two also fought a land border war in the 1970s.

Vietnamese feel China has an unfair upper hand in the maritime dispute by using its larger military to control the contested Paracel Islands.

Consumers make up a growing force in Vietnam, as the Boston Consulting Group forecasts more than a third of the countrys nearly 93 million people to be middle class or higher by 2020. Fast growth in export manufacturing has added to Vietnams wealth since 2012 by creating jobs.

If they find a product that might be the same price, and they find out that one product is Chinese and another product is from Japan, Korea or anywhere else, you know which one theyre going to go for, said Oscar Mussons, senior associate with the Dezan Shira & Associates business consultancy in Ho Chi Minh City. Vietnamese people see them not as big brothers, but as rivals.

This is also because of recent problems, like Chinese are hitting national icons like the islands in the South China Sea, Mussons said. For Vietnamese, this is something that cannot be accepted in any way, even through you dont hear much about or the government doesnt try to make much publicity about it.



Vietnamese officials have tried to sideline political disputes with China since anti-Chinese riots of 2014 killed more than 20 people and threatened to scare off investors. Chinas go-ahead to construct an oil rig in the disputed sea touched off the rioting.

But Vietnam still counts China as its biggest trade partner. Combined imports and exports came to $25.5 billion in the first four months of the year, according to Vietnamese media reports. Export manufacturers in Vietnam rely as well on China for raw materials.

On top of the political issues, Vietnamese consumers widely suspect China sends lower-quality merchandise to its shelves. Giant Chinese firms, often bigger than Vietnamese counterparts, can send over excess merchandise for sale at low prices because of their production run sizes.

Generally amongst Vietnamese, China-made products are perceived to be of low quality. Some of this is fact, but some of this is also driven by social media posts and ensuing perceptions, said Jason Moy, principal with the Boston Consulting Group in Singapore. Lower-income, less educated consumers are particularly prone to those perceptions, he added. Hence, Chinese products are generally selected when they are the last or only option.

Trade in shoes, toys and daily necessities along the land border particularly leaves cheap but possibly suspect Chinese goods in Vietnam, where lower-income people buy them for their low prices, said Le Hong Hiep, research fellow with ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore. Goods trucked across the border in some cases have pushed Vietnamese merchandise out of their traditional markets, Le said.

An organized boycott against Chinese goods after the riots of 2014 gained little traction because poorer people couldnt afford merchandise from other places, he said.

Although Chinese smartphones are gaining a solid reputation, Ha said she once bought a made-in-China phone for her mother because it was all they could afford. It broke after several months, she said, so the family bought another phone.

Only Chinese thong flip-flops are worth the money, she said, because at about $1 per pair you can afford to scrap and replace a pair after a few uses.

People are conscious of the kind of low standards, low quality of Chinese products, Le said. I think one of the reasons is that many of these products are consumer items and small items, and they are imported by border trade, not through official channels which normally have stricter regulations and inspections to ensure the quality.



Shoppers with more money prefer Japanese products as top quality, especially ever-popular motor scooters and consumer electronics, Moy said.Korean food and consumer electronics are also gaining favor with consumers, he said.
The "standard process" would be followed in considering whether President Donald Trump pardons Joe Arpaio, the former Arizona sheriff convicted last month of criminal contempt in a racial profiling case, the White House said on Thursday.

Trump hinted during an appearance in Phoenix on Tuesday that he would issue a pardon for Arpaio, who was sheriff of Maricopa County for 24 years before losing a re-election bid last year.

CNN reported on Wednesday that the White House had prepared paperwork for the pardon and quoted an administration official as saying talking points to be used after Arpaio was pardoned

had also been prepared.

"I would imagine they go through the thorough and standard process, and when we have an announcement on what that decision is after that's completed we'll let you know," White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told reporters when asked about the reports.

She said the White House counsel played a big role in pardons and "would certainly be involved in that process and any deliberations on that."

Arpaio, 85, told Reuters on Wednesday he had not had any contact with the Republican president or his staff about a pardon.

"I am very humbled about what he said about me and what he was going to do for me," said the former sheriff, who was an early supporter of Trump's presidential campaign.

Arpaio, who styled himself as "America's toughest sheriff" for his no-nonsense treatment of jail inmates and crackdown on illegal immigrants, faces a maximum penalty of six months in jail and a fine when sentenced on the federal misdemeanor offense on Oct. 5.

A judge found Arpaio guilty of contempt last month for intentionally defying a 2011 court order that barred his officers from stopping Latino motorists solely on suspicion that they were in the United States illegally.
Of all the reactions and criticisms to the fallout from the deadly rightwing rally in Charlottesville, Va., weve been most impressed by the thoughts of former Supreme Court chief justice and Republican attorney general Jim Jones.

Writing for the Times-News, Jones recounted Idahos dark history with white supremacists at Hayden Lake and the role conservative leaders played in driving neo-Nazis out of the state. The key, Jones said, were the Republican leaders who quickly and forcefully condemned white supremacy and the ideals of hatemongers.

Thats why its so troubling now to see Idaho conservatives failing so spectacularly. Prime examples include Rep. Heather Scott of Blanchard and Rep. Bryan Zollinger of Idaho Falls.

In a Facebook post last week, Zollinger posited it was completely plausible that Democrats staged the events in Charlottesville to smear President Donald Trump. The theory is not only disgusting but entirely not plausible, considering video of the event shows torch-carrying Nazis shouting Jews will not replace us. The rally was indisputably organized by far-right extremists who have not only taken credit for organizing the rally but have publicly continued to espouse extreme and racist views in the aftermath.

Zollingers post, which originated on a conspiracy website called The American Thinker, suggested the deadly terror attack that killed a young protester and was a factor in the death of two police officers in a helicopter crash was a plot by former President Barack Obama, billionaire George Soros, the governor of Virginia and the citys mayor.

More troubling, instead of realizing his folly and apologizing for spreading such outrageous lies, Zollinger doubled down on his claim even after receiving harsh criticism from both the left and the right. He even bragged that donations to his political campaign have increased as a result of his social media post.

Heather Scott, meanwhile, continues to instigate white nationalist views in northern Idaho, the former home to white supremacists prior conservative leaders fought so hard to drive out. She seems to enjoy being photographed with Confederate battle flags. Idaho wasnt even a state until nearly 30 years after the Civil War, so she cant claim the flags represent anything about our states heritage. Rather, the symbolism here is meant to be a wink and nod to racists in Idaho.

Here in the Magic Valley, Scott was cozy with conspiracy theorists who believed Twin Falls city leaders where involved in some vague plot to cover up the sexual assault of a 5-year-old girl in the Fawnbrook Apartments incident because the perpetrators were Muslim. And, of course, she was stripped of her legislative committee assignments last session when she suggested women advance in the Legislature only when they perform sexual favors for party leaders.

Fanatics like Scott and Zollinger arent just making fools of themselves and the state. They and their allies nearly derailed the Legislature two years ago over a laughable argument that complying with a federal funding requirement somehow made the state susceptible to falling under Sharia law. Unbelievably, a considerable number of elected conservatives gave the theory credence.

That alone should serve as a disturbing example of just how far zealots have already crept into the states lawmaking body and how much influence they wield.

Scott, Zollinger and others like them are a stark contrast to the GOP leaders of old, back when the Republican Party quickly condemned racists, not enabled them. Any self-respecting Republican in Idaho today should be quick to shun Scott, Zollinger and others who are a cancer to the party of Lincoln, especially Idahos gubernatorial candidates, whose responses so far have come far too late or have been far too tepid. Failing to do so provides extremists with more legitimacy and threatens to alienate moderate voters, companies considering business in Idaho and the right and just citizens whove fought for generations to make Idaho a place where race and creed have no bearing on a persons pursuit of happiness.

Republicans must make it crystal clear that white supremacists and their enablers have no place in the party  or in Idaho. Scott and Zollinger are doing the opposite. How shameful.
Zimbabwe's first lady has made her first public appearance since leaving South Africa following allegations that she assaulted a young model at a Johannesburg hotel.



Grace Mugabe appeared cheerful on Friday as she toured exhibition stands at an agricultural show in the capital, Harare. The show is set to be officially opened by President Robert Mugabe, who returned to Zimbabwe with his wife last weekend after South Africa granted her diplomatic immunity.



There were calls in South Africa for Grace Mugabe to be prosecuted for the alleged attack on August 13. A group representing the model has gone to court in the hope of complicating any attempt by Zimbabwe's first lady to return to South Africa.



Zimbabwe's state media have been silent on the scandal.
First Lady Grace Mugabe is once again allegedly attempting to evict families occupying a farm in Mazowe, Mashonaland Central province, despite a court order blocking her from taking such action.

According to Moses Nkomo, a private attorney affiliated to the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, evictions at Manzou or Arnold Farm started Tuesday and appear to be continuing.

I have been seized with the letter involving the unlawful eviction of the Manzou or Arnold Farm residents and we have secured a number of interdicts against their unlawful eviction but the authorities dont seem to be relenting. They keep on propagating their unlawful enterprise against the defenseless citizens.

I did receive a call when the demolitions took place. About eight families were affected and what essentially has happened is that the Zimbabwe Republic Police Support Unit have set up a base in Arnold Farm they are terrorizing residents from that particular place  It has been quite for a while and I am told yesterday they started burning and tearing the plastic shacks that the residents are staying in.

Nkomo said they have identified some of the people involved in the evictions.

The good thing is that we have identified the individual perpetrators of that injustice and apart of pursuing contempt of court charges against them which has not been easy we are contemplating individual lawsuits in their individual capacities 

He said they are now preparing lawsuits and would also take action against the officer in charge of Mazowe Police Station, who allegedly failed to take action as mandated by Zimbabwes constitution by refusing to stop the evictions.

Responding to a question on what action, if any, they would take against Zimbabwes First Lady Grace Mugabe linked to the evictions, Nkomo noted that in terms of the law there is no documentation indicating that the farm has been lawfully allocated to Mrs. Mugabe Mugabe and her family.

We have challenged the Minister of Lands and Resettlement Douglas Mombeshora to produce evidence that the farm is being allocated and he has failed to do that. So, as far as we are concerned that land has not been allocated whether properly or improperly to the first lady. She may have interest in that particular piece of land but there is no documentation that she has a right to claim any occupation of that piece of land.

The Mugabe family has three farms in the province  Gushungo Farm, Iron Mask Farm and Mazowe Citrus Estate they occupied in 2001.

Arnorld or Manzou Farm was owned by Anglo-American before it was invaded by villagers when the ruling Zanu PF party embarked on a land reform program targeting white commercial farms.

Almost 4,000 farmers lost their lucrative farms, which were occupied mainly by people linked to the ruling party.
Food alone cannot solve the world's malnutrition crises but only three countries are looking beyond hunger to the other major driver, according to a global study released Thursday.

Water, sanitation and hygiene, usually treated by governments and NGOs as a separate policy area from food and nutrition, make up the second leading cause of stunted growth in children, after underweight births, said the report.

But only Cambodia, Niger, and Zimbabwe among the 10 countries covered by the report are linking their response to malnutrition and water by bringing together the responsible agencies, according to charity WaterAid.

"Improving child health is a long-term issue. It's not as simple as giving food and that improves malnutrition  right?" Dan Jones of WaterAid told Reuters.

Jones said governments that treat food and water separately cannot prevent malnutrition. Instead, they must tackle the poor sanitation that causes malnutrition, via infection and disease.

In 2016, 155 million children younger than five were stunted due to a lack of nutrition, according to the United Nations World Health Organization.

Diseases caused by dirty water and lack of sanitation such as gut infections, intestinal worms, and diarrhea prevent young bodies from absorbing the nutrients needed for growth, according to WaterAid, which produced the report with charities Action Against Hunger and SHARE.

Jones said malnutrition can leave children with invisible cognitive, emotional and physical damage.

Yet the effects are clear, and span all areas of development, from economic growth to schooling, said Jones.

"If they have clean water ... girls, when they grow up to be mothers, are more likely to give birth to healthy children, and to be able to help them to grow and develop and provide them with clean water and food  and those children can go to school and concentrate in school," said Jones.

Jones singled out Cambodia for linking up its response.

One in three Cambodian children younger than five is stunted, but Prime Minister Hun Sen has brought together the ministries responsible for nutrition, health, agriculture, and water and sanitation to create a joint response.

"It sounds very obvious, but those ministers really talking to each other can make a huge difference," Jones said.
The United States Embassy is proud to support the participation of Hollywood lighting designer, gaffer and cinematographer Christian Epps at this years Zimbabwe International Film Festival (ZIFF) and the International Images Film Festival.

Epps will conduct workshops in line with the Festivals theme, The Business of Film. The Embassy will showcase the film Hidden Figures on Wednesday, August 30th at 7:00 pm at ZIFFHUB as part of the festival.

We are delighted to have Christian Epps visit Zimbabwe, said David McGuire, Public Affairs Officer at the United States Embassy. We hope the interaction with local film makers and producers will bring to the fore new trends and tools in lighting design and film making as well as provide a spark to the great relationship the United States has with the local arts industry. McGuire said Epps will reach out to film makers in Harare and Chitungwiza, and is eager to witness the work of amazing Zimbabwean film makers.

Epps has worked as a lighting designer for more than 20 years, covering everything from major motion pictures and broadcast television to live theater, dance, music videos and special events. He has worked with notable directors such as Spike Lee, Hype Williams, and Nick Castle.

In addition, Epps has contributed his design work to notable artists including Michael Jackson, P. Diddy, Biggy Smalls, R. Kelly, Whitney Houston, Queen Latifah, Branford Marsalis, MeShell Ndegeocello, TLC, The Indigo Girls, and Boyz II Men, among others.

His recent projects include Selma and the award winning Sundance movie, Aint Them Bodies Saints. Epps work has been seen across the United States and in the Caribbean, Europe, Mexico, and of late has become a regular fixture in Africa  especially Nigeria (Nollywood, TV & concert), South Africa, Rwanda, Senegal and Zimbabwe.

During the festivals Epps will present seminars covering technical presentations on lighting and a variety of other film-making skills while establishing links and co-productions as he has with other African countries and organizations. He will give a project management workshop including a session on practical film production process management, and conduct a basic film making workshop at Young Africa Skills Center in Chitungwiza.

The award winning American film Hidden Figures tells the story of a team of female African-American mathematicians who served a vital role in NASA during the early years of the U.S. space program. The film garnered various awards and nominations following its release earlier this year including three Academy Award nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Picture and Best Supporting Actress for Octavia Spencer. The film earned four awards at the African-American Film Critics Association.

This years Festival is jointly coordinated by the ZIFF and the International Film Festival for Women and runs from August 26th to September 2nd. - U.S. Embassy, Zimbabwe
The Movement for Democratic Change led by Morgan Tsvangirai has suspended its national organising secretary, Abednigo Bhebhe, following a probe teams findings on recent disturbances in Bulawayo that he made statements to the press that put the party into disrepute.

In a statement, the MDC-T said Bhebhes matter "has been duly referred to the national council for disciplinary action to commence in line with the party constitution."

The recommendation was made following the MDC Extra-ordinary National Executive meeting held today in Harare.

The party decided to bring back to the fore suspended deputy national publicity secretary, Thabitha Khumalo, who was suspected to have been involved in a fracas in which MDC-T vice president Thokozani Khupe was assaulted by some party activists for allegedly stalling a coalition agreement with other opposition parties.

It also resolved that all the youths who were involved, including deputy national youth Chairperson Shakespeare Mukoyi remain suspended. Their matter has been referred to the Disciplinary Committee in line with the party Constitution.

More details to follow 
Amazon is officially taking over Whole Foods on Monday. Its first course of business: Slashing prices. (Gene J. Puskar/AP)

Months before Amazon announced it would be shelling out $13.7 billion for Whole Foods Market, the grocery chain made a surprise announcement of its own: It would begin lowering its prices.

The April announcement was born of necessity. Whole Foods was experiencing the longest sales slump since going public in 1992, and investors had begun pressuring the company to rethink its strategy.

The high-end grocer has long resisted lowering its prices, which has earned it the nickname Whole Paycheck. The few times it has, analysts say results have been spotty, sending profit margins lower without driving up volume.

The reductions have, quite honestly, been haphazard and theyve done very little to change peoples perception of the company, said Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Retail in New York. This has been a perennial problem for Whole Foods with no good solution.

Until now, he says. This week, Amazon  which plans to finalize its takeover on Monday  announced its first course of business would be to immediately slash prices on key groceries, including bananas, avocados and eggs. (Jeffrey P. Bezos, the founder and chief executive of Amazon, also owns The Washington Post.)

[Amazons bid for Whole Foods sparks speculation on what it might gobble up next]

Were determined to make healthy and organic food affordable for everyone, Jeff Wilke, chief executive of Amazon Worldwide Consumer, said this week. We will lower prices without compromising Whole Foods Markets long-held commitment to the highest standards.

It was an obvious move, analysts say, but also a symbolic one. Whole Foods has had a complicated relationship with its prices  executives have long maintained they charge a premium because they sell superior products to those of their competitors  even as consumer and investors have been outspoken about companys premiums in a famously low-margin business. Back in November, chief executive John Mackey had told investors he was not participating in a race to the bottom by cutting prices.

But the high prices have also allowed Whole Foods to enjoy higher profit margins than its competitors. In the most recent quarter, for example, it had a profit margin of 2.9 percent, compared with 0.8 percent at Kroger and 2.4 percent at Costco. (Two years ago, however, Whole Foods had a profit margin of 4.2 percent.)

The prospect of declining profit margins is less of a problem, analysts say, for a technology giant like Amazon, making it possible for the Seattle-based company to double down in ways Whole Foods couldnt on its own. The difference is, Amazon doesnt really care about its margins very much  and neither do its investors, Saunders said. Longer term, they know Amazons deep cuts will lead to more shoppers.

The company plans to begin selling Whole Foods private-label brands through its website, was well as its AmazonFresh, Prime Pantry and Prime Now programs, beginning Monday.

But the challenge, some say, will be preserving Whole Foods high-end image while lowering its its prices and making its its products widely available.

Thats the thorny problem Amazon faces: How do you become a low-priced supermarket and still retain that cachet? said Jeffery Inman, a marketing professor at University of Pittsburgh and president of the Society of Consumer Psychology. Theyve got to figure out how to toe that line.

[Amazon cuts Whole Foods prices in clear signal of sweeping changes to come]

A year ago, Whole Foods opened its first lower-priced concept with a smaller store footprint called 365 by Whole Foods, to help the companys price image. Initial tests had been successful, executives said. The company also said it planned to cut $300 million in costs, in part by rethinking its labor scheduling technology.

You have to be price relevant, and nobody wants to feel like theyre being cheated, Mackey said in a call with analysts in February. And so does Whole Foods need to be the cheapest or least expensive retailer out there? No. But we also cant have too big of a gap, or people will feel like were trying to take advantage of them.

But even closing that gap, as Amazon plans, may not be enough to turn things around overnight, analysts say.

Everyone thinks the sky is going to fall Monday because Whole Foods is lowering its prices on milk and eggs, said Michelle Grant, head of retailing at Euromonitor International, a London-based market research firm. But people have their own routines and habits. Its a very competitive market.

How many eggs are you really going to eat? she said. Just because its cheap doesnt mean youre going to hoard milk and avocados.

Read more:

Is Amazon getting too big?

Walmart and Google are plotting to change your shopping habits

Birkenstock CEO accuses Amazon of modern-day piracy
STATE GOVERNMENT

Alaska Supreme Court rules for state on fund

The Alaska Supreme Court has ruled that Gov. Bill Walker (I) acted within his authority in reducing the amount set aside for checks to state residents from Alaskas oil-wealth fund last year.

The decision released Friday sided with a lower court in the dispute over Alaska Permanent Fund dividends.

The case was brought by state Sen. Bill Wielechowski (D) and two former legislators, who argued that last year, the Alaska Permanent Fund was required by law to reserve nearly $1.4 billion from the funds earnings for dividends, despite Walkers veto.

Walker, a former Republican no longer affiliated with a party, had cut the amount available for dividend checks after lawmakers failed to agree on a plan to address a multibillion-dollar state budget deficit.

The high court concluded that the state constitutional amendment establishing the fund does not allow dedication of permanent fund income.

 Associated Press

AUTO INDUSTRY

3-year prison sentence for VW engineer

A Volkswagen engineer who had a key role in the automakers diesel emissions scandal was sentenced Friday to more than three years in prison and fined $200,000.

During the hearing in Detroit, U.S. District Court Judge Sean Cox said Robert Liang knew the German automaker was cheating and worked to cover it up.

Cox imposed a 40-month prison sentence. Prosecutors had requested a 36-month prison term and a $20,000 fine.

Liang declined to speak on his own behalf Friday.

Liang is one of two VW employees to plead guilty, although others charged in the case are in Germany.

 Associated Press

LABOR

Judge clears way for drivers to unionize

For the second time this month, a federal judge has rejected a challenge to Seattles first-in-the-nation law allowing drivers of ride-hailing companies such as Uber and Lyft to unionize.

U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik on Thursday rejected a challenge brought by 11 drivers. He earlier dismissed a challenge brought by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The chamber is appealing that decision. The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, which represents the drivers, said Friday that it would also appeal.

But the judge declined to keep Seattles law on hold pending the appeals, clearing the way for the drivers to unionize unless the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals says otherwise.

 Associated Press

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Orders for durable goods sank 6.8 percent in July, the biggest fall in nearly three years, but a gauge of business investment rose last month. The Commerce Department said Friday that orders for long-lasting goods reversed a sharp gain in June, attributed to a 19 percent drop in orders for transportation equipment. Excluding transportation, orders rose a solid 0.5 percent last month. The category seen as a harbinger of future business investment  orders for capital goods excluding defense equipment and aircraft  expanded 0.4 percent in July.

Novo Nordisk said Friday that the FDA has approved expanded use of its diabetes drug to reduce the risk of cardiovascular events such as heart attack and stroke. This is the first time the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared a diabetes drug for reducing heart-related risks in patients with Type 2 diabetes, the company said in a statement. The drug, Victoza, was approved in 2010 to treat patients with Type 2 diabetes. Its expanded label follows a trial that showed the drug significantly reduced the risk of cardiovascular death, nonfatal heart attack or nonfatal stroke by 13 percent when compared with a placebo.

A U.S. federal appeals court on Friday threw out a class-action settlement intended to resolve claims that the Subway sandwich chain deceived customers by selling Footlong subs that were less than a foot long. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago called the settlement utterly worthless. The litigation began after Australian teenager Matt Corby in January 2013 posted a Facebook photo showing a Footlong sandwich he bought was only 11 inches long. A settlement approved by a Wisconsin federal judge in February 2016 required Subway to adopt measures of quality control, to ensure that its six- and 12-inch sandwiches were at length.

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In wake of violence in Charlottesville, one technology company after another shut down or cut off service to right-wing accounts and sites. (BrianAJackson/Getty Images/iStockphoto)

A year ago, Andrew Torba would have balked at the idea of regulating the Internet. He is a conservative, and like many other technologists here, he adheres to the long-standing Silicon Valley belief in a free and open Web, unhindered by government interference.

But things changed in wake of violence in Charlottesville, when one technology company after another shut down or cut off service to right-wing accounts and sites.

Today, Torba is part of a growing chorus of right-leaning technologists and leaders who have started to sound more like liberals when they talk about Silicon Valley giants such as Google, Apple and Facebook.

Events in Charlottesville and at Google, where an employee was fired for disparaging the companys diversity policies, have pushed them toward an unexpected battle cry: Tell the government to force powerful Internet companies to allow anyone to express themselves on their platforms.

The issue is beginning to percolate in Washington. And it is expected to take center stage this weekend when right-wing protesters are planning to descend on the liberal heart of the nations tech sector. The groups are holding rallies in San Francisco on Saturday and near the campus of the University of California at Berkeley on Sunday.

The Saturday event in San Francisco, organized by Patriot Prayer, a group from Portland, Ore., is billed as a free speech rally, while organizers of the Berkeley gathering are calling it a No to Marxism march on their Facebook page.

The leaders for both rallies wrote on Facebook that the KKK and neo-Nazis were not welcome. (They did not respond to requests for comment).

The tech companies should stop censoring users that they politically disagree with or governments should regulate them as public utilities, Torbas spokesman Utsav Sanduja said. Last year, Sanduja and Torba founded Gab.ai, an alternative social network for free speech advocates. Imagine if a private corporation owned all the highways and they decided to close them down whenever they feel like it  that is what it's like. You cannot deny people a fundamental staple of the Internet.

The language by the Gab founders and other conservatives mirrors Democrats long-standing arguments that telecommunications infrastructure should be treated as a public good. But liberals have been more hands off when it comes to social media and other Silicon Valley-provided services.

Conservatives have always been an anomaly in Silicon Valley, but they've been particularly vilified since President Trumps election.

Many say they purposely hide their political beliefs from colleagues and peers.

For instance, after their election night party held in Twitter headquarters near downtown San Francisco, local GOP leaders said they advised victorious attendees to consider removing their red Make America Great Again hats before they went back out on the citys main thoroughfare.

It's like being gay in the 1950s, said one prominent conservative technologist who spoke on the condition that he not be named.

Some in Silicon Valley  who say they do not espouse the talking points of the alt-right or support the positions of the neo-Nazi organizers of the Charlottesville rally  say they are being roped in with extremists and that their voices have been drowned out. They say that tech giants are becoming the online enforcers of a liberal point of view and the gatekeepers of all political expression, with little checks on their power.

For many on the right, not just the fringe but the mainstream, Silicon Valley just has no credibility when it comes to policing public speech because of the way that Big Techs internal culture seems to close down private speech  the sense that tech firms are the enemies of free expression if you have a viewpoint that diverges from standard liberal ideology, said Steve Hilton, a Fox News host based in Silicon Valley and chief executive of Crowdpac, a political fundraising website.

Torba, an outspoken Trump supporter who calls himself a Christian conservative, was kicked out of the prominent technology incubator Y-Combinator after calling fellow entrepreneurs in the community cucks and using the f-word in a heated Facebook discussion about racism after the election.

Y-Combinator said Torba was harassing fellow entrepreneurs. Torba said he was kicked out for espousing conservative views.

Like many fellow engineers, Torba has long believed that tech start-ups thrive with as little government regulation as possible. But he started to change his mind, Sanduja said, after the company's app was rejected from Apple's app store in January. In rejecting the app, Apple said Gab had violated its policies by hosting pornographic material, among other reasons.

Last week, Google also banned Gab from the Google Play Store, citing violations of the company's hate speech policies. Neo-Nazi Andrew Anglin had become an active user on Gab after a succession of companies refused to service his site. Other controversial right-wing figures, including Milo Yiannopoulos and Andrew weev Auernheimer, also are on Gab.

Gab.ai has raised over a million dollars in contributions since last month, Sanduja said.

The atmosphere for conservatives became a lot more complex after the Charlottesville protests, in which dozens were injured and one woman was killed after a Nazi sympathizer plowed his car into a crowd of demonstrators.

In response to the protests, a striking number of technology companies, from Facebook to PayPal to Google to GoDaddy and even OkCupid  blocked or shut down service to alt-right and white supremacist accounts.

The move reflected a stunning turnabout for the tech industry, which has long been reluctant to police their platforms in this way, even as most have policies prohibiting hate speech.

Conservatives were already fuming from events two weeks earlier, when James Damore, a Google engineer, was fired by the search giant after publishing a long memo in a corporate chat room in which he protested the company's diversity policies and promoted negative stereotypes about women.

The calls for more federal oversight of tech giants have made their way to Washington.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) said in recent weeks that he was worried about large tech companies putting their thumb on the scales and skewing political and public discourse.

In the days after Charlottesville, alt-right leaders such as Richard Spencer made populist calls to regulate tech giants and decried tech monopolies. Former White House adviser Stephen K. Bannon reportedly made similar assertions earlier this month.

Meanwhile, a memo about turning the regulation of Internet companies into a GOP plank recently circulated among operatives in Washington, according to several news reports.

Democrats have also called for more regulation of Wall Street but until recently have largely taken a hands-off approach to Silicon Valley. Now they too are becoming more willing to criticize technology companies.

Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) recently called for greater scrutiny of Amazon. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has honed in on tech monopolies. Strengthening antitrust enforcement was part of new populist-leaning policy proposals put forth by Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.).

All of this means that Silicon Valley, which for so long has enjoyed the support of the public and politicians alike, may have a more fraught path in Washington.

The more that they drift down these lines, the more they will attract political enemies and that will lead to more regulations, said Aaron Ginn, the co-founder and president of the Lincoln Network, which seeks to use technology to promote liberty in the public space.

Ginn does not agree with the calls to regulate tech monopolies. Tech companies, he said, are encouraging political tribalism and the splintering of tech products previously viewed as agnostic.
Louise Linton, wife of U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, drew accusations of elitism this week for an Instagram glamour shot of her stepping off a government jet  and for her mockery of an online critic as adorably out of touch.

But a watchdog group and a lawmaker, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), seized on a different issue: Did the millionaire couple fly to Louisville on Monday, on a taxpayer-funded plane, just to see the solar eclipse? Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) suggested as much in seeking records of the trip, saying it seems to have been planned around the solar eclipse.

It turns out that Mnuchin did view the eclipse while he was in Kentucky: Just outside the path of totality, from the lawn of the nations fabled Fort Knox, home to nearly $200 billion in American gold, according to an aide to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

Louise Linton, wife of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, caused controversy on Aug. 21 when she boasted of traveling on a government plane and tagged high-end fashion designers. (Elyse Samuels/The Washington Post)

A post on McConnells official Facebook page, attributed to the senator, said Thursday that he and Mnuchin viewed the eclipse from the roof. The U.S. Department of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and I in front of the main door to the United States Bullion Depository at Fort Knox before we viewed the #solareclipse from the rooftop today, said the posting, which featured an image of the two men, McConnell holding eclipse glasses.

After media reports about the Facebook post, including in this story, the Treasury Department said in a statement that the viewing was from the lawn.





The Mint staff had originally suggested that the delegation watch the eclipse from the roof but the Secretary specifically canceled that part of the tour. They watched it briefly from outside before they entered [before the actual time of full eclipse], the statement said.

McConnells office has revised its Facebook page to remove the reference to the rooftop and declined to say how the error was made.

Treasury officials said Thursday that the trip was planned explicitly around official government travel, rejecting the idea that the Fort Knox visit and the appearance at a luncheon for the local chamber of commerce were mere cover. They said the luncheon appearance had been planned for early August but was delayed when McConnell postponed the Senates recess, an account confirmed by a spokeswoman for the Louisville chamber, Alison Brotzge-Elder.

The trip was pushed into the spotlight after Linton, a Scottish actress who married Mnuchin this summer, posted the photo of herself wearing designer fashions, which she individually identified by brand, as she stepped off the government plane.

When an Oregon woman criticized the trip, Linton fired back that she was pretty sure the amount we sacrifice per year is a lot more than youd be willing to sacrifice if the choice was yours.

Linton apologized Tuesday and has since closed her Instagram to public view.

[Treasury secretarys wife apologizes for a highly insensitive Instagram post]

Told Thursday that the luncheon had originally been scheduled for another date, CREW spokesman Jordan Libowitz said, Were not sure about the motive for the trip, but we filed the [Freedom of Information Act request] to get more information about it.

Wyden wrote to the Treasurys general counsel Thursday citing the eclipse and seeking a detailed explanation of the travel and justification for use of the government aircraft.

Defense Department policy calls government air transportation a premium mode of travel involving high costs and limited resources and urges federal employees to make every effort . . . to minimize travel cost.

In many cases, the agencies reimburse the military for travel. A government jet like that flown for Mnuchin and Linton has a reimbursable rate of up to $10,000 an hour, federal documents show.

A Treasury representative, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Mnuchin is reimbursing the government for Mrs. Lintons travel, as is long-standing policy regarding civilians on military aircraft. The representative declined to say who approved the use of a government plane. A McConnell aide said the senator was not on the plane.

Mnuchin and McConnell were keynote speakers at the Greater Louisville Inc. luncheon at the Olmsted, a historic widows and orphans home that has been converted into an event venue, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The partial eclipse in Louisville began at 12:59 p.m. and ended at 3:51 p.m.

McConnell has attended such luncheons in the past, where he has chatted about policy and met business leaders in his home state. Sometimes the senator does a press gaggle after the event, Brotzge-Elder said. This time, they went right on out.

The next stop, at Fort Knox, marked a rare visit to the gold vault, which has been closed to outsiders for decades. McConnell told journalists that day that Mnuchin invited him along for the visit, saying, It just kind of came up as a result of a casual conversation.

Mnuchin thanked the U.S. Mint staff on Twitter after the visit, which he said was the first for a treasury secretary since 1948. Glad gold is safe! he tweeted.

Jack Gillum contributed to this report.
After President Trump's most recent rhetoric about Charlottesville inflamed even more criticism, many Republicans stayed silent. But a handful of GOP lawmakers and now Trump's own economic adviser are directly criticizing him. (Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post)

After President Trump's most recent rhetoric about Charlottesville inflamed even more criticism, many Republicans stayed silent. But a handful of GOP lawmakers and now Trump's own economic adviser are directly criticizing him. (Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post)

An unprecedented rebuke of President Trump by National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn reverberated through Washington on Friday, forcing the White House to respond to harsh, public criticism from one of the presidents top advisers.

Cohn lashed Trumps comments earlier this month blaming the violence in Charlottesville on both sides, saying in an interview with the Financial Times that citizens standing up for equality and freedom can never be equated with white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and the KKK. The adviser, who is Jewish and has long given to Jewish causes, said that the administration must do better in consistently and unequivocally condemning these groups.

The criticism was the first serious public condemnation of Trumps behavior by a member of his inner circle since the beginning of his presidency and raised the question of how a president who puts a heavy premium on loyalty would react.

Privately, a White House official said, Trump was furious about Cohns public airing, though publicly, White House officials, while defending the presidents response to the events in Charlottesville, acknowledged that the White House can always do more.

Gary has not held back how he feels about the situation. Hes been very open and honest, so I dont think anyone was surprised by the comments, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said.

At the same time, it was clear there was potential for a deterioration in the relationship between Trump and his chief economic adviser, whom he has been considering naming as Federal Reserve chair.

On Wednesday evening, Cohn complained loudly about Trump while dining with friends at a Long Island restaurant called the Frisky Oyster.

Cohn explained to his companions  in a loud voice overheard by others  that he had to be careful not to give Trump too much lead time about some new ideas because the president could disclose the information prematurely and upend the planning process, according to a person familiar with the dinner.

Cohn, a former top banker at Goldman Sachs, had been part of an internal battle in the White House over the direction of policy, often allying with the presidents daughter and son-in-law, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, to block proposals by Stephen K. Bannon and others who appealed to Trumps nationalist instincts. Bannon resigned last week and returned to Breitbart News, a far-right online publication.

Cohns critics celebrated the Financial Times interview Friday, hoping that it would undercut his stature with the president. One Trump ally outside the White House, who has been strategizing to undermine Cohn, said, Cohn looks like he blew himself up, so were not going to have to blow him up.

Breitbart splashed the Cohn controversy on its homepage Friday: Gary Feeds False Establishment Narrative, Mnuchin Fights It, one headline blared.

The new drama could yet again distract from the White Houses plans to advance its policy priorities. Trump hopes to begin a public push to overhaul the tax code next week. Cohn and his team are playing a central role in developing the administrations strategy  as well as designing a $1 trillion infrastructure plan.

Flanked by advisers including National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn, left, and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, second from left, President Trump speaks in the lobby of Trump Tower in New York on Aug. 15. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP)

Cohn stood beside the president at Trump Tower last week at an infrastructure event as Trump defended his response to the Charlottesville violence, saying there were very fine people protesting with the white supremacists. While he initially did not comment, Cohn made clear  to people inside the White House and friends in New York  that he would not keep quiet about his fury over Trumps response to the violence.

Cohn drafted a resignation letter after Trumps Charlottesville remarks, but he never signed it or discussed resigning with the president, according to a person familiar with the process.

Cohn and Trump met at the presidents golf resort in Bedminster, N.J., last Friday, the person said. Cohn was direct with Trump about how he felt. But he made clear in the Financial Times interview that despite his misgivings about the White Houses response, he does not plan to resign.

As a patriotic American, I am reluctant to leave my post . . . because I feel a duty to fulfill my commitment to work on behalf of the American people, Cohn told the newspaper.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who also is Jewish and stood with Cohn beside the president at the Trump Tower news conference, has responded differently to the presidents remarks. After about 300 of Mnuchins Yale classmates signed a public letter arguing that he had a moral obligation to resign, the treasury secretary issued a lengthy statement defending the president.

At Fridays White House news briefing, Mnuchin told reporters, Under no circumstances was I going to resign.

He added that he has known Cohn for 20 years and speaks to him every day as they work on an overhaul of the tax code. Garys committed to be here, Mnuchin said.

Cohns comments could upend Trumps decision-making over who should lead the Fed when the term of the current chair, Janet L. Yellen, expires early next year.

Trump has said he is considering reappointing Yellen, a Democrat, as well as nominating Cohn. The Fed chair is the worlds most powerful bank regulator and plays a lead role in shaping the direction of the economy.

Yellen also rebuked Trump  without naming him  Friday at an annual monetary policy conference in Jackson, Wyo., saying efforts to roll back financial regulations were imprudent.

Because of the reforms that strengthened our financial system, and with support from monetary and other policies, credit is available on good terms, and lending has advanced broadly in line with economic activity in recent years, contributing to todays strong economy, Yellen said in her speech.

Trump has called the banking regulations put in place after the financial crisis a disaster and has vowed to dismantle them.

Until [Friday] morning, Gary Cohn was the overall front-runner, in my determination, to be the nominee for Fed chair, said Alan Blinder, a former Fed vice chairman. I dont think so anymore.

Blinder said the points Cohn and Yellen were making Friday were very different. Cohn supports Trumps plan to pare back banking regulations but has drawn a line over the way the president responded to the Charlottesville violence.

Yellens views were focused more squarely on the economy and bank oversight, and Blinder said she sent a signal that she wont be pushed into backing away from bank regulation as long as shes Fed chair.

Janet Yellen has too much backbone, Blinder said. She is not going to make a loyalty pledge to Donald Trump.

Trump still has time to decide whom to appoint as the next leader of the Fed, and economists think there are several other potential candidates if he decides not to pick Cohn or Yellen.

These include Kevin Warsh, a former Fed governor and senior official in the George W. Bush administration; John Taylor, a Stanford University economics professor; and Glenn Hubbard, a former Bush economic adviser and dean of the Columbia University Graduate School of Business.
Check charities before giving

Everyone has a cause they care about. And with more than 1.2 million charitable organizations to choose from, finding one aligned with your values can be deeply rewarding. While the vast majority of soliciting charities act responsibly and deserve your support, Americans must remember that not all organizations are created equal.

Case in point: In 2015, the Federal Trade Commission, all 50 states, and the District of Columbia, charged four sham cancer charities with bilking donors of $187 million over a five-year period. The New York Times reported these charity operators spent a significant portion of the money on personal expenses such as Caribbean cruises, college tuition and trips to Disney World for themselves and their healthy families. And they hired fundraisers who often received 85 percent or more of collected funds.

Charity fraud has consequences. Generous donors lose money, social issues stay unsolved, and the needful remain in need. But it can be avoidedscams have common signs. If a charity solicits you, ask specific questions to get details; be on guard against aggressive fundraising tactics; and be cautious if they try tugging at your heartstrings. Above all, check them out using a charity evaluator, such as BBBs Give.org, which help donors of all kinds decide which charities to trust with their donations.

So, when youre donating, do it with peace of mind by taking the time to check out the charity first. It just might make all the difference.

Art Taylor

President and CEO of BBBs Give.org
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Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke recommended Thursday that President Trump alter at least three national monuments established by his immediate predecessors, including two in Utah, a move expected to reshape federal land and water protections and certain to trigger major legal fights. 10 steps you can take to lower your carbon footprint ArrowRight In a report Zinke submitted to the White House, the secretary recommended reducing the size of Utahs Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments, as well as Oregons Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, according to multiple individuals briefed on the decision.

President Bill Clinton declared the 1.9 million-acre Grand Staircase-Escalante in 1996, while President Barack Obama designated the 1.35 million-acre Bears Ears last year. Cascade-Siskiyou, which now encompasses more than 113,000 acres, was established by Clinton shortly before leaving office and expanded by Obama in January.

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Trump had ordered Zinke to examine more than two dozen sites established by Clinton, Obama and George W. Bush under the 1906 Antiquities Act. The nearly four-month process pitted those who have felt marginalized by federal actions over the past 20 years against backers who see the sites as bolstering tourism and recreation while safeguarding important relics, environments and species.

The Interior Department did not give specifics on Zinkes recommendations, instead releasing a report summary that described each of the 27 protected areas scrutinized as unique.

Yet his proposal takes direct aim at a handful of the nations most controversial protected areas out west, according to several individuals who asked for anonymity because the report has yet to be made public. Zinke, who had called for revising Bears Ears boundaries in an interim report in June, is recommending a significant reduction in its size, an administration official said.

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The report also calls for changing the management rules for several sites, such as allowing fishing in marine monuments where it is currently prohibited, and would affect the boundaries of other monuments beyond the three officials identified Thursday.

No President should use the authority under the Antiquities Act to restrict public access, prevent hunting and fishing, burden private land, or eliminate traditional land uses, unless such action is needed to protect the object, Zinke said in a statement. The recommendations I sent to the president on national monuments will maintain federal ownership of all federal land and protect the land under federal environmental regulations, and also provide a much needed change for the local communities who border and rely on these lands for hunting and fishing, economic development, traditional uses, and recreation.

A White House official confirmed that Trump had received the report but would not say when it would be released or when the president would act on Zinkes recommendations. The secretary had earlier taken six monuments off the review list without any detailed explanation of why.

Comments received were overwhelmingly in favor of maintaining existing monuments and demonstrated a well-orchestrated national campaign organized by multiple organizations, Zinke said in the statement on Thursday. He acknowledged supporters point that monuments can bring economic benefits to local communities.

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But he also noted opponents concerns that designations had translated into reduced public access, confusing management plans and pressure applied private land owners  to sell.

Zinke did not recommend abolishing any monument. Still, some of the key constituencies most critical of sweeping restrictions for federal lands and waters  ranchers, fishing operators and local Republican politicians  won key concessions in his final set of recommendations.

Quite frankly, previous administrations got a little too greedy, said Ethan Lane, executive director of the public lands council at the National Cattlemens Beef Association.

Nearly 3 million people submitted comments to Interior on the review, which stemmed from an executive order Trump signed in late April. The overwhelming majority of those comments supported the idea of preserving public lands and the sites existing boundaries, though Interior officials noted that many of the comments received were form letters.

Will Obama's designated monuments continue to stand? (Video: Daron Taylor/The Washington Post)

Zinke traveled to five states during the process, visiting Bears Ears, Grand Staircase-Escalante and Cascade-Siskiyou plus Katahdin Woods and Waters in Maine; Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks in New Mexico; and Gold Butte and Basin and Range in Nevada. He also discussed the fate of the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, which lies roughly 130 miles southeast of Cape Cod, with a top official from the New England Aquarium and then later with fishing and industry groups in Boston.

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While the presidents executive order targeted designations of at least 100,000 acres, Zinke later made an exception and added Katahdin Woods and Waters. Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R), a Trump ally, ranks as one of that monuments most vociferous opponents.

The administration plans to leave six designations in place: Colorados Canyons of the Ancients; Idahos Craters of the Moon; Washingtons Hanford Reach; Arizonas Grand Canyon-Parashant; Montanas Upper Missouri River Breaks; and Californias Sand to Snow. In each case, according to Interior spokeswoman Heather Swift, there was very little, to no, local opposition.

Zinke focused instead on the most contentious designations by the three past presidents  mostly by Clinton and Obama.

Environmental groups have made clear that they would file legal challenges in an effort to preserve these sites existing boundaries and protections. While Congress can alter national monuments easily through legislation, presidents have reduced their boundaries only on rare occasions.

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Woodrow Wilson nearly halved the acreage of Mount Olympus National Monument, which Theodore Roosevelt had established six years earlier. In 1938, the U.S. attorney general wrote a formal opinion saying the Antiquities Act authorized presidents to establish a monument but did not grant them the right to abolish one, and several legal scholars argue that Congress indicated in the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 that it reserved the right to alter any existing monument.

Robert D. Rosenbaum, who serves as counsel to the National Parks Conservation Association, said Wednesday that no president has sought to shrink a monuments boundaries in the past four decades: If the president attempts unilaterally to take adverse action on any of the monuments under review, he would be on very shaky legal ground, and we expect the action would be challenged in federal court.

Tribal officials have lobbied hard to preserve Bears Ears, which boasts extensive ancestral Pueblo artifacts and rock art. Seven tribes in Utah and the Fort Peck Assiniboine & Sioux Tribes of Montana, which counts Zinke as an adopted member, passed resolutions this month calling for the monuments boundaries to remain in place.

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But many western Republicans criticized such large protected areas as a distortion of the laws original intent. In a call with reporters on Thursday, House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Rob Bishop (R-Utah) said that Congress never intended one individual to unilaterally dictate land management policies for enormous swaths of federal land.

Its about how we protect our resources, not if we protect them, said Bishop, noting that Obama had applied his authority under the Antiquities Act to more than 550 million acres of land and sea. Thats 190,000 acres of land and water locked up for every day he was in office.

Utah has become a flash point for tensions over the relatively obscure 111-year old law. Kane County Commission Chairman Dirk Clayson, whose county includes Grand Staircase-Escalante, said in an interview Tuesday that much of it has been designated as primitive, and you cant promote visitation, create trail heads or restrooms for a safe, comfortable visitor experience  Extreme conservation groups want to protect and tie up the land.

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Yet Nicole Croft, executive director of Grand Staircase-Escalante Partners, refutes such claims  in part by citing language in the monuments proclamation that specifically maintains existing permits for livestock grazing, for example. She said commissioners refused to even sit down at the table with the monuments supporters or to acknowledge how it has helped to power the local economy.

And Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell, the top Democrat on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, issued a scathing critique of the process the administration was using to scale back the designations.

Teddy Roosevelt would roll over in his grave if he could see what Donald Trump and Ryan Zinke are trying to do to our national treasures today, she said. Secretary Zinkes secret report to the president is the latest step in a rigged process to try and turn over our public lands to oil and gas companies.

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Four marine national monuments also were part of the review, with fishing operators raising their own concerns.

Massachusetts Lobstermens Association Executive Director Beth Casoni wanted Zinke to shrink the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts monument to the size of a postage stamp since its unlikely to be eliminated altogether.

Within the monuments boundaries is highly profitable, sustainable protein fishing ground  tuna, tilefish, cod and sea bass to name a few, Casoni said. There are so many lobster and crab pots still in the area, more than 11,000, that the Obama administration allowed that fishery a seven-year grace period to pull them out. But thousands of fishermen were cut off almost immediately.

Yet proponents of the New England site and others that were far more remote, including Hawaiis Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, contend these underwater landscapes needed to be preserved.

Aulani Wilhelm, senior vice president at Conservation Internationals Center for Oceans, was the monuments first superintendent. In an interview last week, she said that the 582,578 square miles of land and sea that stretch across the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands not only serve as the worlds largest gathering spot for seabirds but as a home for a myriad endangered species that have proven largely resilient despite climate change.

Theres a need to have areas in the ocean not only to understand the changes underway but to protect functioning systems as a hedge against those changes, she said.

The Hawaii-based long-line fishery has argued that the expansion of Papahanaumokuakeas boundaries last year impedes its catch. But the industry has already used up 94 percent of this years fishing quota, prompting federal officials to temporarily close the fishery as of Sept. 1.

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President Jimmy Carter greets country music singer Willie Nelson, left, onstage after his show at Merriweather Post Pavilion on July 21, 1978. (Charles Tasnadi/AP)

The sprawling, Frank Gehry-designed venue on 40 acres of woods and rolling lawns between the District and Baltimore was built to house the National Symphony Orchestra, but it was pop music that has kept the lights on. It was named after heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post in anticipation of a donation that, as far as anyone knows, never came. The orchestra soon decamped to Wolf Trap, but 50 years after it opened, Merriweather Post Pavilion remains one of the best-loved music spaces in America.

The Columbia, Maryland venue has seemingly seen everything and hosted everyone: aspiring presidents (both Eugene McCarthy and George Wallace held rallies there in the late-60s) and actual presidents (Jimmy Carter joined Willie Nelson onstage twice to sing Georgia on My Mind), Taylor Swift and Kanye West, the Who and Led Zeppelin (together on a bill for the only time ever, in May of 1969).



Merriweather Post Pavilion celebrated its 50th anniversary with a concert featuring Jackson Browne, Willie Nelson, Father John Misty and Grace Potter on July 15, 2017. (Merriweather Post Pavilion)

Janis Joplin performs at Merriweather Post Pavilion in 1969. (Gordon Snyder Photography/Merriweather Post Pavilion)

Merriweather is now run by concert promoters I.M.P., who also oversee the 9:30 Club. They signed a deal to book shows at Merriweather for the next 40 years, and have undertaken a $55 million dollar renovation. Theres a new band shell called the Chrysalis, and the backstage area is now a rustic oasis of glass and wood, with two swimming pools and a massage cabana  if there was a really nice Hyatt at Camp David, this is what it would look like.

The spa-level artist pampering is a necessary inducement. An independent venue like Merriweather often cant pay artists what a corporate-run amphitheater could, which is probably why Jimmy Buffett, who performed at the Merriweather a record 46 times, now plays for crosstown rival Jiffy Lube Live.



Jimmy Buffett performs in front on a sold-out audience at Merriweather Post Pavilion in 2003. (Kevin Clark/The Washington Post)

More upgrades are in the venues future, even as some of its past has been lost to the mists of pre-internet history: Did the Whos road crew really have to kick showboating openers Led Zeppelin off the stage? (Possibly, no one really remembers). Were the Dead really banned from the venue? (No, but it was close.)

A decade-by-decade look back at the most notable moments from the Merriweathers first 50 years:

The 1960s

Jimi Hendrix, Aug. 16, 1968

Hendrixs show was the second rock concert ever held at the venue (Tiny Tim, with Ted Nugents Amboy Dukes opening, had played the previous month). It was mythical. Biblical, even: Hendrix played the guitar with his teeth, during a thunderstorm. The set list included Hey Joe and The Star-Spangled Banner. Grainy videos from the 45-minute set, cut short by a power outage, can still be found on YouTube.

Honorable Mention: Janis Joplin, like Hendrix, was on a pre-Woodstock upswing when she played Merriweather in July 1969. Simply, an evening with Janis Joplin is a party and a romp, wrote future Watergate reporter Carl Bernstein in a review for The Washington Post.



Gladys Knight and the Pips opened for Tom Jones at Merriweather Post Pavilion on June 22, 1970. (Gordon Snyder Photography/Merriweather Post Pavilion)

The 1970s

Everyone, May 27-Sept. 16, 1973

Merriweathers legendary summer of 73 lineup was so ridiculously overstuffed with greatness that a flier announcing its schedule has recently become a meme. It had everything: proto-yacht rock (Seals and Crofts), tasteful soft rock (John Denver, the Carpenters), iconic vocalists (Ella Fitzgerald, Johnny Mathis), up-and-coming openers (ELO, King Crimson), establishment superstars (the Beach Boys, the Guess Who). Stevie Wonder, Pink Floyd and Glenn Campbell played in the same week. Arlo Guthrie, Miles Davis, Muddy Waters and Al Green performed in a three-day stretch. That summers herculean feats of awesomeness would never be duplicated; the following year, rock acts would be barred from the venue altogether.

Honorable Mention: Tom Jones and Gladys Knight, June 22-27, 1970

In the 70s, rock shows were banned off and on at Merriweather, which had struggled to contain gate-crashers and scattered acts of violence, but pop acts were always welcome. To book Welsh crooner Tom Jones, then just a few years removed from his late-60s peak, the venue added 1,800 seats to its loge section. The seats remain in use, and the multi-night stint is among the longest, and most beloved, in the venues history.



An 1981 concert calendar for Merriweather Post Pavilion. (Courtesy of Merriweather Post Pavilion)

The 1980s

The Grateful Dead, June 1983-1985

The Dead played three turbulent summers in a row at Merriweather, waging battle against the weather (in 83, after rainstorms made a mud pit out of the lawn, the venue brought in helicopters to hover above the grass, hoping the wind from the rotors would dry it out) and the locals. Residents complained to the police about Deadheads, who overran the entry gates and turned the adjacent Symphony Woods into a trash-filled shantytown. (Ban Grateful Dead, People Tell Police, was a typical headline in the Columbia Flier. a local newspaper.) The threatened Dead ban never materialized, nor did a potentially more ruinous ban on electrical amplifiers at the venue. Post-Dead projects now routinely come through Merriweather, including a Jerry Garcia tribute concert in 2015.

Honorable Mention: Madonna and the Beastie Boys, June 1, 1985

Madonna, nearing the end of her first-ever Virgin Tour, performed before a record capacity sea of wannabes. The Beastie Boys, not famous yet or even old enough to drink, were her expletive-happy, beer-swilling, much-loathed openers. Madonnas fame quickly outstripped the confines of Merriweather, and she, like the Dead, never returned.

The 1990s

Phish, Aug. 8, 1998

During Phishs first headlining show at Merriweather, the venue used horses to help control the crowds. Soon, police were using helicopters with spotlights. Phish has played some of its career-best shows at the venue (the 1998 and 2000 shows are particular standouts) and is perhaps more closely associated with it than any other act besides the Dead.

Honorable Mention: Alanis Morissette and Radiohead, Aug. 22, 1996

Morissette was still touring behind her genre-defining hit album Jagged Little Pill. Radiohead had one hit single (Creep) and one then-underappreciated masterpiece (The Bends) to their credit. The actual set list is lost to time, but Radiohead is known to have tried out several eventual OK Computer tracks, including a rough version of Paranoid Android, on their 17-day stint opening for Morissette.



Robert Plant and Alison Krauss perform at Merriweather on June 13, 2008. (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post)

The 2000s

Green Day, August 2005

Some of the venues most distinctive shows have been by artists who sought to shape Merriweather to their own specifications. For Green Day, the first 15 rows in the orchestra section were torn out and replaced with a mosh pit to win over frontman Billie Joe Armstrong, who preferred to play general admission venues. The pit, which houses about 2,000 people, remains.

Honorable Mention: Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, June 13, 2008

Krauss and Plant teamed for a widely praised, roots-centric show that included three Led Zeppelin covers. Plant reminisced about the 69 show, though he didnt seem to remember more about it than anybody else.



Lil Uzi Vert performs during Trillectro at Merriweather Post Pavilion. (Josh Sisk/For The Washington Post)

The Chainsmokers perform at Merriweather Post Pavilion on May 26. (Raquel Zaldivar/For The Washington Post)

The 2010s

Assorted festivals, including HFStival, Virgin FreeFest, Sweetlife, Summer Spirit and the Warped Tour

Merriweather was an early adopter of Lilith Fair, and has since become one of the areas go-to venue for midsize summer festivals. Though they book everything from Top 40 to hard rock to EDM (this summer alone, theyve hosted John Legend, Gorillaz and the Chainsmokers), the venues sweet spot is jam-happy white guys with guitars. Festivals have proved the best way to broaden the venues reach, with an emphasis on the next wave hip-hop and R&B artists like the Internet and PartyNextDoor.

Honorable Mention: Animal Collective, July 9, 2011

The experimental pop band, whose members were raised in Baltimore County, named their 2009 breakthrough release after the venue they went to as kids. They played Merriweather for the first time two years later, though in typically perverse Animal Collective fashion, few songs from that album actually made it into their set.
What can a raw, two-guitar rock-and-roll band do to make their sound more raw and rock-and-roll? Add a third guitar player, of course.

Sheer Mag  who The Washington Posts Chris Richards described nearly two years ago as sounding like its trying to siphon an entire Thin Lizzy concert through a broken earbud  already crammed their songs with so many riffs pulled from rock-and-rolls moldy depths that they seem certain to burst at any second. More energy was hardly needed, but there they were at the Black Cat on Wednesday night, blasting away as a three-guitar band.

The show unfolded in front of the biggest crowd the Philadelphia band has ever drawn in D.C. and also was the first date of a two-month tour that will see Sheer Mag heading across North America to support its debut album, Need to Feel Your Love. The record, like the groups three previous EPs, was recorded by the band without such frills as a studio or a producer and released on its own Wilsuns Recording Company label. And while the songs exude a familiar, lo-fi indie rock sheen, some rough edges are sanded down with acoustic guitars, melodies get alarmingly pretty, and there is even an exercise in straight-up balladry.

There was little evidence of those stylistic nuances on Wednesday however, as Sheer Mag opened with the snarling Meet Me In the Street  written after President Trumps inauguration  and didnt look back from there, tearing through an hour-long set that torched all the significant songs in its repertoire. Vocalist Tina Halladay spit out the lyrics to Expect the Bayonet with so much venom that she spent the moments between verses wiping her mouth with the back of her arm.

Halladay is a galvanizing frontwoman, clearly not to be trifled with, and her handling of Sheer Mags surprisingly deft lyrics is a vital part of the bands sound  the tip of a unique rock-and-roll spear. But Wednesday nights set confirmed that the real magic is in the guitars. Chiefly, the interplay between lead-riffer Kyle Seely and rhythm guitarist (and main lyricist) Matt Palmer.

Palmers chunky chording and Seelys snaking lead riffs sprung songs like Turn It Up, Suffer Me and the stomping Fan the Flames into territory thats beyond the grasp of most indie rock bands that mix 70s hard-rock riffs into their post-punk stew. Yet at other times, the addition of a third guitarist (who wasnt introduced) simply muddied the sound, robbing the songs of breath.

And while the show still connected with the force of a nightstick to the skull, there was a lingering sense of unease about the group. Almost as if the fiercely DIY Sheer Mag (which operates without a label, manager or social media presence) was struggling with a (relatively) brighter spotlight. Thats not necessarily a bad thing, but watching this unique and invigorating American rock-and-roll band grow up should be pretty fascinating.


Large circular mirrors give an otherwise ho-hum dining room a bit of character at Four Oaks, located in the Washington Hilton in Dupont Circle. (Deb Lindsey /For The Washington Post)

If you want to know where George Washington signed the agreement with local Piscataway Indians turning some of their land into the District of Columbia, head to the Washington Hilton in Dupont Circle. Its renovated restaurant references the ancient Treaty Oak that once graced the site and reprises the title of the original dining room of the 60s-era hotel.

If you want a breakfast or lunch that tastes of the moment and feels somewhat local, the best strategy is to make a meal of the gazpacho salad at Four Oaks, off the airy main lobby. The most original dish Ive sampled on recent check-ins, the first course finds slices of red and yellow tomatoes arranged with sweet Maui onions and a zesty tomato vinaigrette in a white bowl shaped like a canoe. Pleasing to the eye, light but substantial, the first course could use more company on the lunch menu, where too many ideas read better in print than up close.

[Chefs say a dishwasher can make or break a restaurant. So I signed up for a shift.]

My disappointments include the crab cake sandwich, best for its toasted bun and bouquet of french fries; the patty itself sniffs of seafood thats been out of the water awhile. A flatbread billed as DMV found me picking the tasty topping  Black Forest ham, arugula, banana peppers  off a crust so blonde and dreary it could have been sourced from an Easy-Bake oven.



The roasted gazpacho salad is a highlight, with red and yellow tomatoes, English cucumber, roasted peppers, Maui sweet onions and a peppy tomato vinaigrette. (Deb Lindsey /For The Washington Post)

A selection of breads and pastries in the breakfast bar. (Deb Lindsey /For The Washington Post)

Evidence there might be an actual chef behind the scenes: seared salmon propped up on soft polenta made tangy with goat cheese and colorful with baby carrots and other vegetables. Mustard sauce on the plate gives a nice jolt, too. (Behind the entree is executive sous-chef Matt Cordes, the former owner of the now-shuttered Atlas Room.)

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Rooted in beige and a suggestion of turquoise, Four Oaks has the appearance of your standard-issue airport club, generic save for some prints of Washington and mirrors that look like giant portholes. Servers seem to go through the motions of ordering and dropping off food, although one of them welcomed me back on my last visit using the pseudonym I had deployed the week before. Charming. Less endearing is having appetizers and main courses show up together, which seems to be a pattern here.



Customers peruse the breakfast bar. (Deb Lindsey /For The Washington Post)

Morning arrivals have the option of a breakfast buffet or a la carte. The spread has fresh fruit and smoked salmon going for it, but not pancakes (stiff), omelets (oily) or pastries (commercial tasting). It was fun to see chilaquiles on the standing menu, less of a pleasure to eat the Mexican dish, pulled pork stacked between corn tortillas and served with salsa verde and an egg. A strange sweetness stole attention from the show.

The restaurant, a neighbor to the hotels bar, Side Car, does not serve dinner. Food and beverage director David Benefiel says a lot of our guests are part of a large group or on vacation and tend to leave the property at night. Benefiel adds, Were not trying to compete with the great restaurants in Washington.

Gotcha.

1919 Connecticut Ave NW. 202-483-3000. Breakfast buffet, $24.95; sandwiches and lunch entrees, $16 to $27.
Correction: An earlier version of the map accompanying this story misspelled the name of Maltas capital, Valletta. The map has been updated.



Valletta, Maltas compact, walkable capital, overlooks its magnificent Grand Harbor. (John McKenna/Alamy Stock Photo)

A strategic location can be more curse than blessing. Just ask the Maltese, whose tiny island nation lies 50 miles below Sicily. Early in World War II, when Malta was a British possession, Germany and Italy bombed it almost daily.

And centuries earlier it was the site of the Great Siege of 1565, a devastating, yet ultimately unsuccessful, step by the Ottoman Turks toward conquering all of western Europe.

For travelers today, Maltas proximity to Europes glamour destinations is a definite plus  if not a widely appreciated one. Often experienced as a day stop on Mediterranean cruises, Malta greatly rewards a longer stay. The 17-by-8-mile island is packed with lovingly restored sites that bring history to life, as my wife and I discovered in mid-May in what served as a perfect four-day prelude to a Venice visit.

Beyond its history, Maltas landscape offers a natural, if hauntingly monochrome beauty amid the brilliant blues of the surrounding sea and sky. Greenery is sparse. And from rows of city buildings to its ubiquitous walls, which replace fences and hedges as property boundaries, nearly every structure is colored with the ocher of the soft limestone that underlies the surface of the island. Its people, though, are eager to show what Malta has contributed to world events as well as its hospitality. That includes a seafood-based cuisine that blends influences from Italy, Spain and Morocco, among other places, as befits a cultural crossroads. And with English being an official language, along with Maltese, the country is especially attractive to Americans.



In the fishing town of Marsaxlokk, just southeast of Valletta, the harbor teems with brightly painted boats. (Jack Malipan Travel Photography /Alamy Stock Photo)

We spent our time there with a Utah couple planning to visit Barcelona next, as well as a Pittsburgh-based couple who make Malta their second home. The Pennsylvanians were eager to lead us in touring  a godsend, as Malta can be hard to explore on ones own.

For visitors, the idea of taking the wheel is daunting; roads are narrow and lined with limestone walls. Plus, drivers in this sun-drenched, densely populated country of 450,000 are known for a somewhat cavalier attitude. (Asked which side of the road Maltese drive on  Britains left-side approach is the rule  one local answers, the shady side.) It is worth it to arrange in advance for a private guide, although buses do make circuits to the many tourist attractions around the island.

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Because history is a major draw for our group  weve all read up on the Great Siege, for instance  our first stop is Valletta, the compact, walkable capital overlooking Maltas magnificent Grand Harbor. Several small peninsulas are spread before us, each crowned with a fortress much like what the attacking Ottomans must have seen.

But today, the 16th century would have to wait. By a steep stone stairway we descend to the Lascaris War Rooms, which preserve a command center and connected network of tunnels built during World War II to provide security from the constant air attacks.

In a Mediterranean Sea that Italian dictator Benito Mussolini tried to transform into an Italian lake, Malta had the only harbor available to the British between Gibraltar and Alexandria, Egypt, notes military historian Rick Atkinson. That made it the most bombed place on earth in the early 1940s, with some 16,000 tons of Axis bombs dropped over Maltas fewer than 100 square miles. The Maltese, Atkinson adds, showed remarkable fortitude, given the thousands of casualties suffered and the enormous privation imposed on them by the war.





Bernard Cachia-Zammit, our war-room docent, proudly elaborates on that perseverance while pointing to a large wall board with expected arrival times of Sicily-based Axis bombers, just 20 minutes away  and noting the Allied fighter squadrons pursuing them. Much of the 1943 Allied invasion of Sicily also was planned here.

Climbing back to Vallettas streets, we then make the 15-minute walk to Fort St. Elmo, which the Turks seized briefly during the Great Siege. The forts museum describes the nobles of the multinational Sovereign Order of St. John of Jerusalem, Knights Hospitaller, who along with the Maltese people helped repel the invaders. The knights, who date back to the Crusades, were given Malta as their home by the Church in return for a nominal annual fee: a single Malta-trained hunting falcon. (The jewel-encrusted black bird of movie fame? It was the creation of mystery writer Dashiell Hammett.)

Next comes Saint Johns Co-Cathedral, the plain limestone exterior of which opens into a glorious gilded sanctuary. Like Valletta itself, this gem was built by the knights in the late 1500s as the island sought to refortify itself after the sieges destruction. Among the cathedrals treasures: two stunning works by the realist painter Caravaggio, who lived in Malta in the early 1600s, including his largest (and perhaps most gruesome) work, The Beheading of John the Baptist.

Lunch at Triq il-Merkantis busy outdoor street market gives us a chance to recover from the artists graphic depiction and to sample Maltas own diamond-shaped ricotta pastry dish  pastizzi  with a glass of Cisk, its lovely light-colored beer. Then its on to the massive Renzo Piano-designed City Gate project, still under construction, as part of a complex with his new parliament building and open-air theater that will replace an opera house destroyed in World War II. Controversy over its modern style seems to be waning as the Maltese gear up for their countrys turn as the European Unions designated European Capital of Culture next year.

Our group stays in the fishing town of Marsaxlokk, just southeast of Valletta, where we have rented an apartment. Its harbor teems with brightly painted boats, which draw the eye from the ocher buildings on the shore. Its dockside crafts market displays many items bearing the eight-pointed Maltese cross.

Like many Maltese restaurants, Ferretti, our choice this evening, has a historic setting: It occupies an 18th-century battery surrounded by a moat, from which the harbor view is spectacular. We feast on local grouper, stone fish and sea bream, offered whole and split among the diners. Offerings from the local Marsovin winery prove popular.

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The next days scenic drive along Maltas southwestern coast takes us to a place were unprepared for  since were still thinking of 1565 as pretty long ago. Malta has unearthed and meticulously reconstructed two elaborate prehistoric limestone temples dating back to 3600 B.C., before Egypts pyramids and even Britains Stonehenge. Little seems to have been learned about the ancient builders of the temples, called Hagar Qim and Mnajdra, although excavation of the sites began in the 1800s.

We spend our last evening in Mdina, the walled capital at the time of the Great Siege. It lives up to its silent city nickname as we wander its tunnellike streets among a smattering of other tourists. Bacchus, our restaurant, seats us in a vaulted room that was once a gunpowder magazine. A variety of meats, including local rabbit, join fish dishes on the menu. My soup, called aljotta, is so full of giant mussels that little room is left for broth.



Inside St. John's Co-Cathedral, among its treasures are two stunning works by the realist painter Caravaggio, who lived in Malta in the early 1600s. (John Kellerman/Alamy Stock Photo)

The next morning, my wife and I break up our group of six and fly to Venice via Air Malta, the islands main carrier. (Like most Americans traveling to Malta by air, we had made connections in another European city  London, in our case.)

The cost of visiting Malta, we would find, was considerably more reasonable than Venice  and the crowds much smaller. Still, the European Unions smallest nation is among its healthiest economically. It benefits from the tourism produced by cruise lines, although travelers who come to spend a longer time there are a rarer breed. (For a multiday stay, one of Vallettas many charming hotels would serve nicely, as the capital is also the excursion-bus and taxi hub for the island.)

Later, we hear from our Utah friends that they loved their Malta-Barcelona pairing. Our time in Malta seemed a little jarring at first, says Patricia Richards. It was so arid, and it sometimes felt a little cramped with all those stone walls on either side. But our appreciation increased when we realized how accessible everything was. If you want to see something in Valletta, you just walk in. Barcelona, though, from Las Ramblas to the Gaudi architecture sites, was a sea of people, wherever we went.

And what of our vacation-capping Venetian trip? The glittering canals were more colorful than walls, to be sure. How refreshing to cross scores of bridges on foot each day, from Piazza San Marco to the far end of the Grand Canal, without seeing a single car or bus.

But well always remember Maltas unique wonders, and learning firsthand of its historic contributions, over the centuries, to how modern Europe has evolved.

Harris is a writer based in Hingham, Mass. Find him on Twitter: @royjharrisjr.

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Our readers share tales of their ramblings around the world.

Who: Gwen Stokols (the author) of Alexandria, Va., and her nephew, Evan Kopf of Closter, N.J.

Where, when, why: Before beginning a full-time job, my nephew elected to teach English in Colombia for a year and I decided to visit him while he was there. The guidebooks were enticing; I originally thought the visit would be for 10 days, but I kept adding additional places to my itinerary. My trip ultimately clocked in at 15 days.

The author and her nephew, Evan Kopf, at Cabo de la Vela. (Gwen Stokols)

Colombia, with its varied climate and topography, is filled with natural wonders. With that in mind, I skipped Bogota and Medellin, and focused on less populous destinations. I was especially excited to explore La Guajira, one of the most beautiful but least prosperous regions in the country.

Evan and I decided to meet in beautiful Cartagena. From there, we traveled east across the northern coast, parallel to the Caribbean Sea . At our first stop, we stayed near Santa Marta and hiked Tayrona National Park. After that, we stopped in Riohacha and met members of the Wayuu tribe, the indigenous people of Colombia, who primarily live in La Guajira. From Riohacha, we ventured to Cabo de La Vela, on the northeastern coast near Venezuela. After that, we flew to the city of Cali, in the coffee-growing region of the country. During our week in Cali, we drove into the Andes for an overnight in Salento.

Highlights and high points: Seeing the wax palms shooting out of the grassy mountains in the Cocora Valley was jaw-dropping. Palm trees are already unusual in a cool, mountainous climate, and these skinny trees can be 200 feet high! Because of the altitude, fog hangs low over the mountains and imparts an otherworldly feel that reminded me of Jurassic Park.

Cultural connection or disconnect: When we returned our rental car, the companys owner started telling my nephew a story in Spanish. My Spanish had improved over the week, but was still not good enough to understand a conversation at standard Colombian speed. So when Evan gasped at one point in the story, I made him repeat it to me. He translated that after we left the rental office the previous day, a man tried to rob the woman at knifepoint as she was leaving her office! I gasped, too. Fortunately, she was not hurt and the robbery was unsuccessful. When we left her office, the lady and I hugged. After that story, she was like family.

Biggest laugh or cry: We were almost back to Cali after our thrilling hike near Salento when we missed the exit for the city. It should have been simple to turn around and resume course, but the GPS started behaving badly. Eventually, it directed us onto a three-mile dirt road, at the end of which we were supposed to return to the main road. Our progress driving the little compact on the muddy road was extremely slow because I was worried about the cars suspension as we went over ruts and bumps. Then we started encountering puddles too wide to drive around. I eyeballed the first one and concluded that it was okay to drive through.

Finally, we saw the intersection where our dirt road met the highway, a few hundred feet in the distance. Too bad there was one more puddle blocking our path.We both got out of the car and scrutinized the dark pool of water. Staring at the puddle yielded no answers, so I dipped my foot in; my foot was submerged before it touched the sticky bottom. It wasnt dangerously deep or part of a running stream of water. But we imagined what it would be like to call the car rental lady from the middle of our puddle, stuck in the mud and needing a tow truck. With those happy thoughts, we opted for better safe than sorry and turned our poor, mud-caked car around.

How unexpected: Without fail, every Colombian I met was warm and helpful. Over and over again, we interacted with people who were happy to answer questions, provide directions or just generally assist us in tracking down whatever we were looking for.

The other surprise was how hard it was to mail a postcard. When you ask Colombians about stamps, they dont understand what you mean, because no one seems to send letters. The post office is a private enterprise, but is in no way more efficient than ours. After asking numerous people and getting a variety of answers, the task ultimately fell to Evan to mail my postcards after I left. They arrived in the United States five weeks later.

Favorite memento or memory: Two weeks was a long time to travel with anyone. The fact that my nephew and I were still enjoying our time together at the end of the trip was impressive, as was his patience and tolerance of my foibles. The greatest gift, without a doubt, was sharing the experience.

To tell us about your own trip, go to washingtonpost.com/travel and fill out the What a Trip form with your fondest memories, finest moments and favorite photos.

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VIRGINIA

White nationalist

is held without bond

A self-professed white nationalist featured in a widely watched documentary on the demonstrations in Charlottesville is being held without bond after Virginia authorities say he turned himself in following allegations that he pepper-sprayed a counterprotester.

The University of Virginia Police Department said Christopher Cantwell, 36, is charged with one count of malicious bodily injury by means of a caustic substance and two felony counts of illegal use of tear gas.

A statement from University of Virginia police said Cantwell had turned himself in late Wednesday to the Lynchburg Police Department.

Cantwell  who was featured in a widely viewed documentary by Vice News  was wanted for an incident during clashes between white nationalists and counterprotesters earlier this month in Charlottesville.

Cantwell was being held without bond at the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail, authorities said.

 Dana Hedgpeth

Monument vandalized

in Fairfax cemetery

Police are investigating vandalism of a monument to Confederate soldiers in a northern Virginia cemetery.

Officials from the city of Fairfax say the base of a monument in the city-owned cemetery was splashed with white paint. The paint has been removed.

The vandalism is under investigation, and Fairfax Mayor David Meyer issued a statement saying vandalizing graves is unacceptable and does not reflect community values.

The cemetery was established by a private group in 1866, primarily as a resting place for Confederate soldiers.

Numerous Confederate monuments and statues throughout the South have been targets for vandals in recent weeks.

 Associated Press

MARYLAND

FBI raids a home

in suburban Md.

Authorities said the FBI raided a home in Fort Washington, Md., on Thursday morning.

They would not say whose home was being raided or why because it is an active investigation.

Nicole J. Schwab, an FBI spokeswoman, said the agency was conducting court-authorized law enforcement activity at that location, but we have no further comment at this point.

The home is located along Devon Hills Drive, and the raid started around 6 a.m., according to FBI officials.

The investigation is being overseen by the bureaus Washington field office.

 Dana Hedgpeth
THE DISTRICT

Worker dies after an eight-story fall at site

A construction worker died Thursday in D.C. after an eight-story fall at a work site, authorities said.

Around 2:15 p.m., officers responded to the unit block of N Street NE for a report that a worker had fallen at a construction site, according to a D.C. police spokeswoman.

The worker was pronounced dead at the scene after falling from the 10th floor of the site to the second floor, a spokesman for the D.C. fire department said.

The victim was identified by police as 45-year-old Jose Rivera of Germantown.

Police said the incident remains under investigation.

 Justin Wm. Moyer

MARYLAND

Person of interest in U-Md. noose incident

University of Maryland police said they have referred someone to campus officials for disciplinary review in connection with a noose found in the kitchen of a fraternity.

Police did not identify the person of interest and said no criminal charges will be filed in the matter at this time.

Criminal charges will be applied should additional evidence meet the threshold for state or federal prosecution, police said in a statement.

Police said they spent more than 600 hours investigating the noose reported on April 27 in the kitchen of the Phi Kappa Tau chapter house.

The hate/bias investigation also included interviews with more than 60 people and reviews of video and swipe card access, according to the statement from the U-Md. police.

UMPD is committed to creating a safe campus that is free from hate and discrimination, Police Chief David B. Mitchell said in the statement. As always, members of the UMD community are asked to reach out and report when they see hate, so we can protect our community and create a safer campus.

The incident led to one of a number of hate-crime investigations at the campus in Maryland and among universities and colleges experiencing racial tensions nationwide.

 Lynh Bui

THE REGION

EPA cuts Chesapeake Bay Journals funding

The Trump administration has cut a grant funding the Chesapeake Bay Journal, threatening the future of the publication that covers environmental issues across the estuarys watershed.

Editor Karl Blankenship said the organization is disappointed that political appointees in the EPA have made an unprecedented decision to cut short a multi-year grant to the Bay Journal with no clear explanation.

The Bay Journal has enough money to publish into early 2018. Beyond that, Blankenship said, the publications leaders will be exploring next steps regarding the EPA funding, as well as other potential funding sources.

Staff said the publication was expecting to receive $325,000 from the Environmental Protection Agency Feb. 1 and slightly less than that each year through 2021. The grant is about a third of the Bay Journals budget, they said.

 Baltimore Sun
A bronze statue, titled the Confederate Soldier, in downtown Alexandria, Va. He stands in the middle of the street, his back to the nation's capital as he gazes souths toward the bloody battlefields of the Civil War. It was erected nearly 130 years ago. (Paul J. Richards/AGENCE-FRANCE PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES)

Democrats in Virginia say they will seek to give local governments authority to remove or relocate Confederate monuments, a reaction to the violence in Charlottesville that promises to energize several elections in the state this year and next.

A 1904 statute prohibits local jurisdictions from trying to disturb or interfere with any monuments or memorials erected to honor veterans of war and has been an obstacle for officials who have wanted to remove politically charged statues from Loudoun County, Old Town Alexandria and elsewhere.

Virginia is one of several Southern states with laws that protect Confederate monuments. Others include North Carolina, Alabama and Mississippi.

The law  amended several times to include memorials to every war the United States has fought  is now at the center of a legal dispute in Charlottesville over city efforts to remove a statue of Robert E. Lee from a courthouse park, which prompted the violent protests earlier this month that led to the death of Heather Heyer, 32.

With support from Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D), who vetoed a Republican-sponsored bill in 2016 to strengthen the law, Democrat state legislators now say that the time is ripe to give local jurisdictions more say in how to handle Virginias approximately 200 Confederate monuments  more than are located in any other state.

This has been a matter of dispute for years, and its all come to a head after Charlottesville, said state Sen. Jennifer Wexton (D-Loudoun), who plans to file an amendment to the law when the legislative filing period for the General Assembly starts in late November.

I think local officials are in the best position to make decisions about what is appropriate for their community, said Wexton, one of eight Democrats vying to compete for the 10th Congressional District seat held by U.S. Rep. Barbara Comstock (R). Some of her rivals in that race have called for removing Confederate statues altogether or moving them to museums or cemeteries.

Comstock has argued against tearing down or moving the statues. But, mindful of how controversial the issue can be in her increasingly moderate district, she also has supported the idea of erecting more memorials to other aspects of the Civil War, including slavery.

The 1904 law was enacted when the generation of Civil War veterans was dying out. Their descendants began erecting statues to memorialize the soldiers and to repudiate concessions made by Virginia during the Reconstruction Era that ended in the late 1870s, historians say.

The Reconstruction period was something that most white Virginians had viewed as a mistake and a tragedy, said Brian Daugherity, who teaches post-Civil War history at Virginia Commonwealth University. So, when they regained control of state politics, they went about setting up their own political and social views of Reconstruction and the Civil War and everything related to that.

The monuments law went largely unchallenged until a 2015 legal dispute in Danville over the removal of a Confederate flag, which led a Circuit Court judge to rule that the statute doesnt apply to monuments erected before 1998, the year after the law was changed to apply to all localities in the state instead of just counties.

That ruling, which was never successfully appealed, is now also part of the Circuit Court case in Charlottesville.

With the issue unresolved, its going to become a bigger political battle in Virginia, because most of the localities  the cities in particular  are Democratic and in many cases have an African American majority, Daugherity said. Whereas, the state government is still rather conservative.

Last week, vandals spray-painted obscenities on a nameless Confederate soldier statue that has stood outside the Loudoun County Courthouse in Leesburg since 1908. A few days earlier, conservative groups planning a rally to save the monument canceled their demonstration out of concern that the event would be co-opted by protesters on both sides.

Since then, Phyllis J. Randall (D), chair of the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors, has joined the mayor of Charlottesville and several other local officials from the state in calling on the General Assembly to give localities more leeway in dealing with monuments.

Randall, who is African American, says she would like to move the statue to a local museum or cemetery but wants to defer to her board colleagues and the community.

The bottom line is Id like to see the county to be able to have a discussion about it, she said. Its not my decision alone; it is a decision of our body, if we get the right to make the decision.

Some conservatives in the area are using any effort to touch the monuments as a political rallying cry.

Theres too many people right now that are looking to tear down statues like this, that are looking to cleanse our history, Shak Hill, who is challenging Comstock in the GOP primary, said in a Facebook Live video shot with the Leesburg statue in the background.

A recent poll shows that Virginians appear to be split over the issue of Confederate monuments. But Democratic politicians running for office this year increasingly appear to be embracing their removal from public grounds, said Bob Holsworth, a retired Virginia Commonwealth University professor and longtime observer of state politics.

The fate of those Democrats  including Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam (D), who is running for governor against Republican Ed Gillespie  will be an important factor in any effort to change state law and give localities the power to remove monuments.

If the Democrats remain outnumbered almost 2-1 in the House of Delegates, it may be a tougher sell, Holsworth said. I think some members will be looking at the results and see where the public seems to be.

With Republican legislators vowing to oppose any changes to the 1904 state law, state Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria) plans to pursue an alternative strategy that would benefit only the City of Alexandria in its efforts to move its Appomattox statue away from a busy intersection in Old Town.

Last year, Ebbin resisted calls from the Alexandria City Council to champion changes to the 1904 law, which he said would be a political non-starter. But he recently learned about a separate, but similar, 1890 law that is specific to the Old Town monument.

He said he now intends to file a bill that would amend that law to allow the city to move the statue about 20 feet from the intersection of Washington and Prince streets to the lawn of the Lyceum history museum.

Ebbin argues that the earlier law may exempt the city from the 1904 statute and that it would be easier to change a more narrowly focused law in the current political climate.

I support the ability for all localities to have autonomy on tributes to the Confederacy on their land, Ebbin said. But Im most concerned with honoring the request of my locality.


John Vigna watches the junior varsity baseball team at Paint Branch High School in 2013 as its assistant coach. Vigna taught at Cloverly Elementary School in Silver Spring, Md., for more than 20 years. (Tim Ho /Tim Ho Photography)

John Vigna was a star at Cloverly Elementary School, a charismatic, gregarious teacher beloved by children and parents. Everyones favorite, his principal said. But there was a problem: He had been privately warned about crossing the line with his students.

The popular educator was admonished in 2008 for inappropriately having a child on his lap. Three months later, there was a similar incident, according to court records. After a third complaint in 2013, he signed a pledge to avoid any physical contact at all with students.

He stayed in the classroom  but he did not keep his word.

Vigna, 50, was sentenced this month to 48 years in prison for sexually abusing four students over the course of 15 years at the school in Silver Spring, Md. His case underscored a concern that has come up before in Montgomery County schools: Why leave a teacher with a history of suspicious conduct alone with children?

Court testimony and records point to repeated warning signs about Vignas behavior over a period of years, raising questions about how well he was supervised, how many incidents are too many and how effective Montgomery is at keeping students safe despite recent efforts to improve child-abuse policy and procedures.

A top district official reprimanded Vigna in 2013, calling his conduct indefensible, inappropriate and intolerable. But the district allowed him to keep teaching, even though state officials months earlier had warned that teachers should be removed from contact with students after repeated and obvious inappropriate behavior.

Three of Vignas four victims were abused after the reprimand, according to testimony at his trial.

They were tasked with protecting our children, and in my mind, they failed, said Angela Edwards, whose children attended Cloverly. She called it inconceivable that district officials and the schools principal did not take more forceful action.

[Longtime Montgomery County teacher found guilty of sexual abuse]

John Vigna, in his 2016 booking photo. (Montgomery County Police)

One child, now 11, said the teacher frequently touched her chest, butt and vagina during third grade in 2014-2015, according to testimony and evidence heard at trial. Sometimes the touching happened near his desk or at a back table. Sometimes he sat her on his lap as the class watched movies, including episodes of The Magic School Bus, she said.

The girl said Vigna told her she was beautiful and that he loved her and touched her every day in like each week. Vigna told her he drove by her house when school was on break, she said, looking to see if she was in the yard and noticing that the family camper was gone. Youre always camping, she recalled him saying.

Her mother testified the girl developed stomach problems that year and resisted going to school. The situation grew so severe that the mother took the girl to see doctors and get medical tests, not knowing about the teachers abuse.

The secret of what Mr. Vigna had done and was doing to her was literally eating her from the inside out, prosecutor Danielle Sartwell said.

Vigna denied wrongdoing at his trial, taking the stand to say he had not touched children sexually. That is simply against the fiber of me, he said. He said he grew up in a large, caring Italian family, had students on his knee for reassurance and treated children at school like they were his own.

I wouldnt want to teach if I couldnt make those connections, he said.

His case split his community and packed a courtroom this month. Ardent supporters wore black #vignastrong bracelets, but one father called him a monster of a man. Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge David A. Boynton said he couldnt have agreed more with the jurys verdict: guilty on four counts of sexual abuse of a minor and five counts of third-degree sex offense.

But for many, the case goes beyond Vigna. It echoes at least two others in which longtime Montgomery teachers accused of inappropriate conduct remained in classrooms with restrictions against touching children  only to face allegations of doing it again, according to court records and state documents.

Montgomery school system officials declined to comment directly on the Vigna case, citing pending litigation.

Schools Superintendent Jack R. Smith, who took the helm a year ago, said in a statement after the verdict that his thoughts were with the Cloverly community and that he recognized how difficult the case had been. He pointed to improvements in policy and protocols for preventing, recognizing and reporting child abuse.

[Montgomery overhauling approaches to school sex-abuse allegations]

School district officials have stepped up their emphasis on reporting suspicious conduct, expanded employee training, added lessons for kids on personal body safety and created an employee conduct code. They also have increased collaboration with police, prosecutors and social services.

We have completely redone our child abuse and neglect protections since 2015, recognizing that we had room for improvement, said Derek Turner, a school system spokesman. The reality is that we cant prevent every bad behavior, and thats why we have training in place, to help recognize bad behavior when it happens.

Turner said that the school system considers safety the top priority and takes every incident of such conduct seriously among its 23,400 employees.

This month, the district reported that seven employees were suspended without pay after allegations of abuse or neglect in the 2016-2017 school year and 29 resigned, retired or were terminated under similar circumstances. Forty-six others drew reprimands or disciplinary letters, and 180 required a conference or a written warning.

[More than 300 employees reported for abuse or neglect in a Md. school system]

It was just who he was

At Cloverly, Vigna was known as a fun-loving teacher who made kids laugh and got them dancing at the Halloween party. He had been at the 480-student school for more than 20 years, teaching third, fourth and fifth grades.

Parents say that Vigna went out of his way to help children and that former students quoted his bits of advice years later. He ran the student safety patrol, emceed the talent show and volunteered for the dunk tank at the spring fair. His wife once worked at the school as a guidance counselor, and his now college-age son attended it.

One Cloverly mother recalled that when class lists were posted each year, there were children who dissolved into tears as they learned they did not get Vigna as their teacher.

When Vigna was charged with sexual abuse in June 2016, it hit Cloverly hard. Many had known he was touchy, and while some parents did not like it  and had warned their children against sitting on his lap  many had thought it was just who he was.

Vigna told the court he taught in elementary school because it was the place where the student spends the most time interacting with the teacher individually, and that would be where you could make your biggest impact on a childs life.

He did not deny physical contact with children but said they often initiated it.

You can try and tell them not to sit on your lap, but if theyre affectionate to you and they have feelings toward you and they feel like that they can count on you, theyre going to come up and hop on your knee whether you want them to or not, he said. So it happened with some frequency.

But testimony and evidence pointed to far more troubling interactions.

In the 2001-2002 school year, a former student  now in her 20s  said she and others kissed Vigna daily on the cheek and that she sat on his lap a lot. She recalled in detail that he fondled her vagina as she sat on his lap one day  a moment she said stood out because it was her first feeling of sexual arousal. At 9 years old, in fourth grade, she said she did not understand it.

I guess in that moment, I just thought, okay, we have such a strong relationship, I just overlooked it, she testified.

Most of Vignas victims did not report him, which experts say often happens because children may not know they are being abused, feel frightened or confused, or blame themselves.

But people from outside the classroom spoke up.

In February 2008, a fire marshal found Vigna, then teaching fifth grade in a portable classroom, with a child on his lap.

He notified the principal, Melissa Brunson, who gave Vigna a verbal warning and told him not to have any student on his lap at any time, according to court testimony and documents.

Three months later, it happened again.

A building-service worker became very upset when he found Vigna with a girl on his lap, confronting the teacher and saying it wasnt appropriate, according to prosecutors. Vigna sought to explain, and the men argued loudly in a hallway, prosecutors said. The worker went to the principals office to report the incident.

Brunson reprimanded Vigna in writing, saying that he was insubordinate and that his handling of this situation was improper, unprofessional and must not be repeated.

But the issue did not go away.

In 2013, a parent reported that the teacher had girls on his lap  three female students on different occasions, according to prosecutors.

This time, a senior official got involved. Larry Bowers, then the systems chief operating officer, called Vignas conduct indefensible in a written reprimand and suggested the teacher get help for his inability to recognize appropriate behavior.

It is difficult to believe that any teacher, especially a veteran teacher, would not understand what is respectful and professional behavior, even after receiving a reprimand, Bowers wrote in February 2013. Now retired, Bowers did not respond to a request for comment.

Vigna was put on administrative leave for three weeks. On Jan. 24, 2013, he signed a statement, pledging: I am going to restrict my activities in the classroom to strictly teaching, counseling and advising students and will make every effort to not have any physical contact at all with my students.

After that, Vigna said, he made a very conscious effort to change his teaching style by placing objects near his desk  two filing drawers, two writing shelves  to impede children seeking him out. He tried to keep the door open.

But he considered physical contact part of effective teaching. Like a parent, he said, he would not push children away.

If a child came up to me . . . and wanted to sit on my knee, he testified, I was not going to care what paragraph 2 of Dr. Brunsons reprimand letter said.

In 2015, Vigna was disciplined again, this time for having girls around his desk in his personal space, according to prosecutors. Vigna said he wrote a rebuttal. Details were limited.

Testimony from victims suggested that the misconduct was frequent.

One girl, now 10, who had him for reading class in 2015-2016, testified that the teacher would call her to a back table, direct her to sit beside him and lean over in a hug as he touched her butt and vagina while others were elsewhere in the room. He did it a lot, she said.

Another girl, now 12, described improper touching over multiple years, according to testimony and evidence heard at trial. Vigna was one of her favorite teachers, she said, and after having him in third grade, she often dropped by his classroom in later years to help him or see him before she caught the bus home.

As she hugged him goodbye, she said, he would often touch her butt. Other times, he placed her on his lap during movies, she said, while other children sat on the carpet, and moved his hands up and down her legs. Sometimes when she was on his lap, he did not let her up, she said.

Everything changed in February 2016, when the girls fifth-grade class had a lesson on personal body safety that included information about good, bad and confusing touches.

Halfway through, the girls demeanor shifted, according to testimony from her teacher and counselor. She slumped in her chair and stared out the window. Finally, she put her head down on her desk.

The educators later asked the girl if something was wrong. Vigna was placed on leave as police began to investigate.

[Montgomery police charge 3rd-grade teacher with sex abuse]

Remained in the classroom

Some at Cloverly say the case poses questions about how their high-performing school system, the states largest, handles suspicious conduct. Many assumed that if officials had qualms about Vigna, he would not be left in the classroom. They ask why he was not monitored more closely or reassigned to an administrative job.

If you get repeated complaints about a teacher, that should be a huge deal, said Katie Stauss, whose two children attended Cloverly until June. He should be under a microscope at that point.

Many parents ask why Vigna was able to teach in a portable classroom after the 2008 reprimand. Brunson testified that she had concerns about him and he was moved into the school building, in a classroom not far from the main office.

But that apparently did not happen right after the 2008 incidents.

Parents recall children being assigned to a portable with Vigna in 2010-2011. Some also question why Vigna was moved in 2011 from fifth grade to third, with younger students. The principal, contacted through district officials, declined an interview.

Brunson testified that she had not reported the 2008 or 2013 incidents to Child Protective Services. State law requires educators to call CPS or police if they suspect abuse. Brunson said she followed the school systems protocol at the time, contacting human resources.

I did not identify it as child abuse, she said.

The Vigna case stands out in part because it came as sensitivities about child-abuse issues were heightened. The Jerry Sandusky child-abuse scandal at Pennsylvania State University went to trial in 2012, attracting national attention.

In Maryland that year, state education officials admonished Montgomery County for keeping a different teacher in direct contact with children after allegations of inappropriate conduct with young students. That teacher was not charged with a crime.

But the Maryland State Board of Education, reviewing the teachers record after he appealed his firing, urged school systems statewide to take action to prevent abuse and ensure there are no cases, like this one, lurking in their schools.

Seventeen years passed with patterns repeated and reprimands issued, the state board wrote in September 2012. Yet this teacher was transferred to different elementary schools and remained in the classroom. That should never ever have occurred.

In 2013, concerns arose about another Montgomery case. Lawrence Joynes, a longtime music teacher, was ultimately charged with abusing 15 students, many in kindergarten to second grade, at New Hampshire Estates Elementary School in Silver Spring. Joynes pleaded guilty in two cases and was sentenced to a total of 55 years in 2015.

[Music teacher who sexually abused more than a dozen girls pleads guilty]

When that case came to light, parents and teachers at New Hampshire Estates reacted angrily, pointing to complaints about Joynes over the years. They voiced alarm as they learned that court documents said that in 2011, Joynes had been forbidden from touching children in any form.

Why, they asked, was he left in contact with children if he was not trusted with them?

Montgomery school officials said at the time that such restrictions are often used to document limits that have been set with an employee and build a case for more severe disciplinary action or dismissal if needed.

Nationally, nearly 7 percent of students are targets of educator sexual misconduct that occurs in a physical manner at some time during their school career, according to a 2004 federal report. Most such inappropriate conduct still goes unreported, said Charol Shakeshaft, a Virginia Commonwealth University professor and author of the report.

Shakeshaft said school systems are improving safeguards but have a long way to go. Employee training and codes of conduct are critical, as are strong procedures for reporting incidents and well-enforced consequences for violations. If nothing happens, then its an empty threat, she said.

In Montgomery, then-Superintendent Joshua Starr in early 2015 announced the new measures to prevent and respond to child abuse: more training, an employee conduct code and tighter procedures for reporting suspicious conduct.

Volunteers on overnight trips now need background checks, and those directly in contact with students must take training.

While many laud improvements, especially the body-safety lessons that led to Vignas arrest, they say more needs to be done to strengthen school culture and staff oversight.

Jennifer Alvaro, a social worker who served the district on a child-abuse working group, assailed the practice of allowing employees with troubling behavior to stay in classrooms under agreements not to touch students.

The most critical thing you can do when you have a suspicion that somebody is touching children is get them away from children, she said. Of all the things they could do to keep kids safe, thats the most important one.

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On April 27, 2014, hundreds of high school students and others in Montgomery County participated in a march to raise awareness about closing achievement gaps. (Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post)

Joe Hawkins learned early how much trouble he could get into as an educational researcher, particularly when he reported problems in his high-performing but self-congratulatory school district in Montgomery County, Md.

In 1981, Hawkins, as an evaluation specialist, was the first researcher to identify publicly the districts black-white achievement gap. When he and a colleague published their results in the College Board Review, a school board member asked why school employees were putting out negative information.

It has been like that his whole career, ending this year at age 68 with his retirement from the position of senior study director for the survey research firm Westat. Few people know his name, but Hawkins has made important discoveries on many issues and been a valuable resource for education writers like me.

He grew up in the Washington area, got a bachelors degree in anthropology at Boston University and trained as a reading specialist at Howard University. He has an activists temperament. Few researchers have stuck their necks out as far as Hawkins has.

He became particularly notorious in 2001, shortly after he moved to Westat, when the Montgomery County Board of Education  for reasons that still make no sense to me  turned down a proposal by Hawkins and several brilliant Montgomery educators for the Jaime Escalante Public Charter School.

Joe Hawkins in a May 2017 photo. (Andrea Blackman)

The idea was a sixth- through 12th-grade campus for 400 students who were not realizing their potential. Most would be black or Hispanic, the plans said. It would use International Baccalaureate, the most demanding secondary school program in the country.

People who live in affluent suburbs like Montgomery often feel that independently run public charters are just for low-income places, like some D.C. neighborhoods. Despite the fact that the proposed school would have been the first charter in the county, the school board rejected it as not unique. The board was so determined to kill the idea that it overruled Schools Superintendent Jerry Weasts recommendation that it work with the charter advocates to improve the plan. The board refused to spend another minute on it.

That was a hurtful defeat, Hawkins said. We could not even get a board member to drive into D.C. and visit a few charter schools.

He continued to gather data and spout off in print. In 2000, right after Weast became superintendent, the average combined SAT score for reading and math for black students in Montgomery was 915 and for white students 1153, Hawkins noted in one of his online columns. The gap was 238 points. Fifteen years later, the scores were 938 points for blacks and 1186 for whites. Both had gone up, but the gap, 248 points, was larger.

The Board of Education never stops talking about gaps, Hawkins said. Yet they ignored imaginative solutions such as Hawkinss proposal to put all black, Hispanic and low-income students on a single IB track.

I asked Hawkins recently what he thought of charter schools that require all high school students to take several Advanced Placement or IB courses and the critics who say that is too much for impoverished children.

His email in reply seethed with exasperation. Such people, he said, only want reform that plays around the edges. The country has a learning gap, he said, because most minority children from low-income families are simply cruising the academic highways at 35 miles an hour while their counterparts never drift below 65 mph. . . . You cannot narrow or close gaps by equaling the speed of those that are ahead of you.

During his 18 years at Westat, he studied programs in the District and Pennsylvania and spent much time on the Youth Risk Behavior Study for the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He said all that information convinced him we need something that will radically and drastically alter the education landscape for our kids of color, especially the ones who are poor.

In his view, Montgomery County has good schools. He sent his two children to them. But the numbers tell him even what that favored district is providing is not nearly good enough.
Sean OCallaghan, a former fighter in the Irish Republican Army, in Washington in 1997. (Karin Cooper/AP)

Sean OCallaghan, an assassin and bomb-maker for the Irish Republican Army who became one of the organizations highest-ranking informants for the Irish police, and who was credited with foiling a 1983 plot to assassinate Prince Charles and Princess Diana at a Duran Duran concert in London, died Aug. 23 at age 62.

A friend, writer Ruth Dudley Edwards, said Mr. OCallaghan drowned in a pool in Kingston, Jamaica, where he was visiting his daughter. The Jamaica Constabulary Force, the national police, could not immediately confirm the details of his death.

Mr. OCallaghans early years were guided by a lesson his grandmother imparted when he was 9: When you shoot a British policeman, dig him up and shoot him again because you can never trust them.

Within a decade, Mr. OCallaghan would take her advice to heart, firing eight shots at an alleged torture chief for the Royal Ulster Constabulary, the British-aligned police force in Northern Ireland. The police officer, Peter Flanagan, was sitting at a bar when he was killed, reading the racing pages of the Irish Independent.

Mr. OCallaghan later learned that Flanagan had in all likelihood never tortured anyone  the officer had testified against British police brutality at the European Court of Human Rights  and said the operation shook his faith in the IRA, a militant group the British government classified as a terrorist organization.

He had followed his father into the guerrilla group at 15, one of many young Catholics who joined in the late 1960s in an effort to expel the British from Northern Ireland and unite the region with its sovereign counterpart to the south, the Republic of Ireland.

Soon, Mr. OCallaghan was training other teenagers in weapons and explosives. He participated in 70 robberies and attacks on the British and their allies, by his count, including a May 1974 assault on an Ulster Defense Regiment barracks that resulted in the death of Eva Martin, a 28-year-old private. Mr. OCallaghan said he fired the mortar shell that killed her.

A breaking point came the following year, he said. Kevin McKenna, reportedly the organizations second-in-command, remarked that he hoped a Protestant woman killed in another attack was pregnant so that the IRA might get two Prods for the price of one.

Mr. OCallaghan left for London later that year, started a cleaning business and married a Protestant woman. It was a short-lived attempt to leave behind the three-decade conflict known as the Troubles.

The IRA wasnt really after the British, Mr. OCallaghan told the Los Angeles Times in 1997, recounting his disillusionment. It was the guy down the road who had the better land that his ancestors had taken from the Catholics. The bitterness was there all the time, rooted and deep. What they really wanted to do was to murder their neighbors. It was tribalism.

He returned to the IRA in 1976, this time as an informant for the Irish police, the Garda Siochana. According to A Secret History of the IRA, a 2002 account by journalist Ed Moloney, Mr. OCallaghan helped train and arm IRA members as a leader of the groups Southern Command.

He was credited with breaking up several major plots, including a seven-ton shipment of guns and ammunition that had traveled from Boston aboard the Marita Ann, a fishing trawler, before being intercepted off Irelands southwestern coast.

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.

Soon after, he was reportedly named leader of the IRAs operations in England and charged with assassinating the Prince of Wales and his wife in their box at a London charity concert in July 1983. He had been given detonators and 25 pounds of explosives, he told the New York Times in 1996. The operation, he said, would have worked if he had not scuttled it at the last minute.

Mr. OCallaghan was also linked to the 1985 murder of John Corcoran, an alleged police informant. Mr. OCallaghan said that the IRA ordered him to kill Corcoran and that he did so to protect his cover, but he later repudiated the claim, saying he had admitted to the murder only to trigger a police investigation.

By 1988, Mr. OCallaghan sensed growing suspicion from other IRA members and turned himself in to the British police. He eventually pleaded guilty to two murders and an additional 40 IRA-related crimes and was sentenced to 539 years in prison.

If youve murdered people and blown up their businesses, you have to pay for it, he told the New Statesman in 1998. Just saying sorry isnt much cop.

Mr. OCallaghan was released in 1996  in part, critics said, to serve as a mouthpiece for conservative British politicians who opposed peace negotiations among Britain, Ireland and parties including Sinn Fein, the IRAs political arm.

I wish I could be confident about the prospects for peace, he remarked at the time, but I have sat behind too many closed doors with too many of the present leadership to be conned by the smooth presentations.

The Good Friday Agreement was ultimately signed in 1998, resulting in a power-sharing system in Northern Ireland, and gradual disarmament for the IRA and other militant groups.

Mr. OCallaghan was born in the southwestern town of Tralee, in County Kerry, on Oct. 10, 1954, according to Edwards, although other sources list his birth date as Jan. 26.

His marriage ended in divorce in 1987. Survivors include a son from his marriage and a daughter from a subsequent relationship.

Mr. OCallaghan wrote a popular memoir, The Informer (1998), and a 2016 biography of James Connolly, a turn-of-the-century Irish republican leader.

Settling in London, Mr. OCallaghan said he would not be surprised if the IRA eventually killed him for spying and speaking out.

I kind of accept that the IRA has the right to kill me, he told the Los Angeles Times. If they succeed, I would say, Fair dues. 
Stuart J. Long, a lawyer turned saloonkeeper who co-founded the Hawk n Dove tavern on Capitol Hill in 1967, its name a reflection of the soul-searing national debate over the U.S. waging of war in Vietnam, died July 29 at his home in Washington. He was 75.

The cause was cancer, said his son, James S. Long.

Mr. Long ran his tavern for 44 years until The Hawk, as it was known in its neighborhood, closed in 2011 when Mr. Long lost his lease. It reopened two years later under new management but without its gritty decor or the persona of its eponymous original patrons.

Over the years, Mr. Long also ran other taverns on Capitol Hill and elsewhere  Jenkins Hill, Duddingtons, Yolandas Al Campidoglio. He was among the first white businessmen to become major financial backers of Marion Barry for public office. He developed real estate on Capitol Hill, where he grew up; had a small legal practice; and was a prominent fundraiser and supporter for his high school alma mater, Gonzaga College High School.

But the reputation he cherished, and the one by which he was best known, was that of the barkeep of the Hawk n Dove. As an upcoming young politician, Barry drank there. So did Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas, House Speaker Thomas P. Tip ONeill Jr. (D-Mass.), Rep. Bella Abzug (D-N.Y.) and thousands of congressional staffers, lobbyists, tourists and neighbors.

I was the dove of the Hawk and Dove, Mr. Long told former Washington Post reporter Megan Rosenfeld in a 2011 interview for a Capitol Hill history project. The bar opened at a time of turbulence and passion when millions of Americans were choosing sides  hawks or doves  on Vietnam, and were willing and ready to fight about it. The Hawk n Dove bar was conceived as a place where disagreements could be settled peaceably.

Mr. Longs business partner, Michael Lange, was the hawk, Mr. Long said.

Did he go to Vietnam? Rosenfeld asked.

No, said Mr. Long. Most hawks dont go to Vietnam, and they dont send their kids either.

Stuart James Long was born in Columbus, Ohio, on Jan. 21, 1942, and moved to the Washington area a year later. He was one of eight children. His father was a government social worker who helped establish an office of aging in what now is the Department of Health and Human Services. His mother bought, rehabilitated and sold houses in Washington neighborhoods including Capitol Hill.

After Gonzaga high school, Mr. Long enrolled at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass., where he graduated in 1964. Years later, he would tell friends that he talked his way into George Washington Universitys law school by telling the dean of admissions that he was about to be drafted into the Army and sent to Vietnam, from where, as likely as not, he would return in a body bag. The school took him in, and he received a law degree in 1967.

He took a job at the Library of Congress, within a stones throw of a collection of bars and restaurants in the 300 block of Pennsylvania Avenue SE. Within a few months he spied a vacant rental establishment that seemed suitable for a tavern, which at that time seemed to offer a livelier career than practicing law. It became the Hawk n Dove.

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.

He did not forsake the law entirely. Over the years he represented bars, taverns, restaurants and other small businesses periodically. He was vice chairman of the D.C. Armory Board from 1979 to 1991.

At Gonzaga, the gate to the school on North Capitol Street is the Stuart J. Long Class of 1960 Gate, in recognition of a variety of projects he undertook. In a letter to alumni, Gonzagas president, the Rev. Stephen W. Planning, wrote that Mr. Longs friends in high and low places helped bring about much of what he did.

He was the consummate everyman  as close and comfortable with politicians and decision-makers as he was with the busboy or bartender at the Hawk & Dove.

Mr. Longs survivors include his wife since 1982, Cherie McGuire Long of Washington; two children, James S. Long of New York City and Dr. Jessica McGuire Long of Washington; and two grandchildren.

Mr. Long liked to recall that 1967  when he graduated from law school and opened the Hawk n Dove  was the year when he passed one bar and opened another.
A construction worker died Thursday in D.C. after an eight-story fall at a worksite, authorities said.

At around 2:17 p.m., officers responded to the unit block of N Street NE for a report that a worker had fallen at a construction site, a spokeswoman for D.C. police said.

The worker fell from the 10th floor of the site to the second floor, according to a spokesman for the D.C. fire department, and was pronounced dead at the scene.

D.C. police said the incident remains under investigation, and no information about the victims identity was immediately available.
University of Maryland police said they have referred someone to campus officials for disciplinary review in connection with a noose found in the kitchen of a fraternity.

Police did not identify the person of interest and said no criminal charges will be filed in the matter at this time.

Criminal charges will be applied should additional evidence meet the threshold for state or federal prosecution, police said in a statement.

Police said they spent more than 600 hours investigating the noose reported April 27 in the kitchen of the Phi Kappa Tau chapter house. The hate/bias investigation also included interviews with more than 60 people and reviews of videotape and swipe-card access, according to the statement from University of Maryland police.

[Beyond the realm of belief: Noose found in U-Md. fraternity house]

UMPD is committed to creating a safe campus that is free from hate and discrimination, U-Md. Chief of Police David B. Mitchell said in the statement. As always, members of the UMD community are asked to reach out and report when they see hate, so we can protect our community and create a safer campus.

Fraternity leaders with the local Phi Kappa Tau chapter said they were shocked and outraged when they found the noose, and immediately reported it to campus authorities.

The incident led to one of several hate-crime investigations, both at the campus in Maryland and among universities and colleges experiencing racial tensions nationwide.

The same month the noose was found at U-Md., officials at American University reported bananas hanging from nooses at its Northwest Washington campus.

Months later, Richard Collins III, 23, an African American college student, was fatally stabbed while visiting friends at the University of Maryland campus in College Park. Authorities arrested U-Md. student Sean Urbanski, 22, in connection with Collinss slaying and are still investigating the case as a possible hate crime. Urbanski, who is white, was involved in an online Facebook group that posts racist and other inflammatory material.

Ellie Silverman contributed to this report.
Rev. Bill Lamar, the new pastor of the Metropolitan AME Church, on June, 01, 2014 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post) (Bill O'Leary/Washington Post)

In the 1960s the African American church was at the center of the civil rights struggle, but today, in the wake of the Charlottesville saga, black pastors do not appear to be as vocal and organized as they once were.

The Rev. William H. Lamar IV, pastor of the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church in the District, spoke about the role of the church in this time with Hamil R. Harris, an adjunct professor at Morgan State University and a former Washington Post staff writer. The interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

Q: On Aug. 12, an apparent white supremacist in Charlottesville allegedly ran over counterprotesters who came out to stand up against neo-Nazis, the Ku Klux Klan and other groups gathered for a unity rally against the removal of the statue of Confederate general Robert E. Lee. What should be the faith communitys response?

A: The faith community, particularly the Christian community, must see the events of Charlottesville as symptomatic of our failure. By and large, Christian faith in America is a sentimentalized expression of personal piety. Jesus has become a doorman who opens the portals of eternity.

The movement of Jesus was violently persecuted by Rome and religious leaders who served as chaplains to the empire. Today, many who claim Christian faith are fully aligned with the American empire and are fully supportive of the racialized violence and oppression that has funded and still funds this empire. They helped to elect this president who morally equates white supremacists [with] those whom they oppress. They are satisfied with vague notions of personal salvation while not giving a damn about the sociopolitical and economic hell which assails many around the world. Jesus preached that the reign of God is now, not tomorrow.

What has happened and what will happen is as much the result of theological malpractice as it is the result of political malpractice.

The faith community must be about the work of sociopolitical transformation in the here and now. We must be faithful to this vision as was Jesus.

Q: When former presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama were in the White House, there was an Office of Faith-Based Initiatives. Has there been any outreach from this president in terms of bringing diverse faith leaders together, and is that important?

A: I have not been contacted by President Trump. But these programs at their worst can lull the church into a prophetic slumber. Often these are bones.

And a church busy chewing on bones discarded by the state will refuse to bark. And when we refuse to bark, the weakest among us become food for the predators that surround us.

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)

Q: I interviewed a professor from Howard University who attends Metropolitan. She said that while she attends your church, she doesnt come there for politics but for faith. This professors views reflect a growing attitude among millennials. How does the church recapture this generation?

A: Every justice is costly. But the history of America and the world proves that injustice is costlier.

Churches and preachers who claim to be apolitical are usually firmly aligned with the politics of American empire.The African Methodist Episcopal Church in general and Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church in particular are clear about our politics.

Ours are the politics of Jesus, and when this nations politics are at odds with our politics, we speak and act boldly and without fear.

In his letter from the Birmingham jail, Martin Luther King appealed to white religious leaders to join blacks and others to deal with racism, and yet, 11 a.m. on Sunday is still very segregated and evangelicals have been silent. Is there any talk of coming together?

This cannot be solved by another kum-by-yah annual prayer breakfast or King Day service.

This will only be solved when America and her churches are willing to confess to their ultimate loyalty to whiteness and to empire. I cannot countenance another political leader saying that what we are seeing is not American.

What we see is fundamentally American. It is the America my ancestors knew. It is the America future generations will know unless America is willing to atone for her sins, redistribute power, and pursue a peace that is not the absence of conflict but the presence of economic, racial, gender and political justice.

Q: You have been arrested for protesting President Trumps position on immigration and other things, but we are not generally seeing the thousands of protesters like we witnessed in the 1960s.

A: Too many persons have been lulled to sleep by the trinkets of middle-class life in America. Too many believe that they and their children will know safety and prosperity. A rising stock market doesnt ensure progress. People fighting for their freedom and the freedom of others makes progress a possibility.

This nation has never granted freedom to anyone. Freedom has had to be demanded and fought for. And the fight continues. We cannot and do not bequeath rest to our progeny. We bequeath awareness and the willingness and responsibility to fight for justice.

Q: Is there a plan to challenge the alt-right [a far-right white supremacist movement]? Are some church leaders afraid to get involved?

A: Those who are afraid are confused. Clarity will build courage. We work on behalf of the God of the universe and the God of all people. Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church and all who know our Lord will continue to do what we have always done. We will worship. We will liberate. We will serve.
Residents of the Gulf Coast hunkered down late Friday amid dire warnings of a major natural disaster as Hurricane Harvey, having intensified rapidly into a Category 4 storm with 130 mph winds, roared ashore just to the northeast of this South Texas city.

The National Hurricane Center reported at 10 p.m. CDT that the center of the eye of the cyclone had just crossed the Texas shoreline over the northern end of a barrier island about four miles east of the city of Rockport. Initial reports compiled by the National Weather Service said numerous structures in Rockport had been destroyed and described buildings collapsed with people trapped inside. These early reports, distributed on social media, remained sketchy as the storm raged into the middle of the night.

Here in Corpus Christi, a city of 320,000 people, lights flickered downtown, where many locals, out-of-town journalists and storm chasers had taken refuge in hotels. Local media reported roofs blown off homes.

The most intense winds appeared to stay just offshore as the hurricane crept northward, likely driving the worst of the storm surge flooding into the central Texas coast. City officials cautioned that the hurricane was expected to pound the city until well past midnight.

Harvey is easily the strongest hurricane to hit the United States since Charley in 2004 and the first Category 3 or greater storm (winds of 111 mph or higher) since Wilma in 2005. Forecasters and government officials, scrambling to deal with a storm that popped up this week after being a mere tropical depression in the western Gulf of Mexico, warned of catastrophic flooding, ferocious winds and a storm surge that could reach 12 feet.

Waves crash against the coast as Hurricane Harvey intensifies in the Gulf of Mexico in Port Lavaca, Tex., on Aug. 25, 2017. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

Soon after the outer bands of Harvey reached the South Texas coast, Gov. Greg Abbott (R) on Friday afternoon urged citizens to evacuate low-lying and coastal areas immediately. President Trump said Friday night that he has signed a disaster proclamation in Texas after Abbott sent him a written request.

The storm surge, coupled with the deluge of rain, could easily lead to billions of dollars of property damage and almost certainly loss of life, Abbott wrote. It is not hyperbole to say that if the forecast verifies, Texas is about to experience one of the worst natural disasters in the history of the state.

White House aides said that Trump would visit Texas next week.

[Complete coverage: Hurricane Harvey]

Harvey is the first natural disaster faced by the Trump administration. Trump on Friday tweeted that he had spoken with the governors of Texas and Louisiana and was here to assist as needed.

Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) gave the president a warning via Twitter: keep on top of hurricane Harvey dont mke same mistake Pres Bush made w Katrina.

Here in Corpus Christi, city and county officials said they are ready for the worst.

Capital Weather Gang's Jason Samenow breaks down the three main threats from Harvey: Torrential downpours, a storm surge and heavy winds. (Claritza Jimenez,Jason Samenow/The Washington Post)

Game on, said Mayor Joe McComb at a news conference. Were looking forward to having a very good positive result from this storm. Well get through this; well be better for it because the community has been pulling together.

But many residents were nervous as the storm approached Friday.

In nearby Aransas Pass, 66-year-old Mike Taylor said he was resigned to riding out the storm in his one-story house just a few blocks from the water. As part of routine hurricane preparations, the town maintains a list of residents who need help in leaving. Taylor, who does not own a car and lives with his disabled 40-year-old son, said he thought he was on the list.

No one came for him.

Now, I am just out trying to find some groceries, said Taylor, who was trudging along Route 35 in a yellow raincoat, even though all the grocery and convenience stores appeared closed. I lost my drivers license because I am nearly blind.

Several hundred miles of the Texas Gulf Coast are under hurricane and storm-surge warnings. Harvey is expected to stall over the coast and could even drift back out over open water, drawing fresh energy from the warm gulf waters before meandering ashore again closer to Galveston.

That scenario would deliver historic amounts of rain to the region, with some models showing accumulations in feet rather than inches. Flooding is likely in and around Houston.

Small streams, creeks, canals, and ditches may become raging rivers. Flood control systems and barriers may become stressed, the National Weather Service said in an advisory Friday.

[How to prepare for Hurricane Harvey  whether you evacuate or not]

Thousands of people were reportedly stuck on cruise ships in the gulf and unable to enter the closed Port of Galveston as the winds picked up.

Jennifer Cantrell, 37, a Houston social worker who endured Hurricane Ike in 2008, bought four 40-pound bags of topsoil to place at the foot of her door in her first-floor apartment.

We got to worry about all the folks who moved here in the last years and havent seen a hurricane yet, she said outside a Citgo gas station, where she had stopped to stock up on cigarettes. Youve just got to be prepared to be indoors for days with no electricity, no water.

The Texas Military Department deployed about 700 members of the State Guard and National Guard around the coastal region on Friday as the storm moved in. Black Hawk and Lakota helicopter crews were put on standby for search and rescue.

The American Red Cross mobilized staffers from across the country. Paul I. Carden Jr., regional disaster officer for the Red Crosss National Capital Region in Washington, said in Corpus Christi that residents are foolish if they decide not to evacuate.

After the storm, the Red Cross will be providing cleanup kits, health and mental-health professionals, and spiritual-care workers to help residents cope, he said.

This is going to try a persons faith, Carden said.

A steady and orderly stream of traffic flowed out of Corpus Christi, heading for higher ground. But many thousands decided to ride out the storm.

Friday morning, residents Phyllis Sweeney and Gary Balding told their story of fleeing the wrath of tropical storms. They live on a 41-foot sailboat, having moved to Corpus Christi from Key West. Two weeks ago, they tried to sail to the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico but were battered by Hurricane Franklin.

We got within 20 miles, and couldnt get there because the winds and currents were blowing in the wrong direction, said Balding, 68. We thought, Okay, well go to Corpus Christi, and everything will be cool. 

Now theyre in the path of Harvey. They fled the boat early Friday and checked into the Holiday Inn downtown. The hotel has become a refuge for stranded tourists, boaters, storm chasers and journalists. But Sweeney, 70, is worried about the hotel, which is surrounded by skyscrapers.

In the ranching town of Kingsville, about 40 miles southwest of Corpus Christi, Nick Harrel III, 65, who runs Harrels Pharmacy and Soda Fountain, said he has weathered many hurricanes and is going to ride this one out.

After the initial fear, you just take a deep breath and do what you can to prepare, he said. I have storm shutters that fit my windows, and I bought a generator last year. I am coming late to being a Boy Scout.

Silver Marquez, 34, went from table to table at the crowded El Tapatio taqueria in Kingsville, selling pan de campo, a flatbread traditionally cooked in Dutch ovens at cattle camps in South Texas.

I have plain, bacon and cheese and jalapeno, said Marquez, a Kingsville native. They are fresh and hot, and I am selling a lot of them because people are stocking up for the hurricane.

Santos Rojas, 72, said he isnt preparing for the hurricane much beyond buying bottled water and pan de campo.

At the small rural shrine to Don Pedrito Jaramillo, a revered Mexican American folk saint who died in 1907, believers filed in to ask for protection from the storm. Jaramillo, a native of Guadalajara, Mexico, had a reputation for healing in a time and place where few people had access to conventional medical care.

Aurora Zapata, 42, a homemaker, and her daughter, Dina Zapata, 12, both of Falfurrias, were lighting candles at the shrine Friday afternoon as the first bands of rain began to make landfall.

We are just praying to Don Pedrito to protect us, our whole family and our town from this hurricane, Aurora Zapata said.

Her daughter agreed. There is nothing we can do to fight the storm, but we all know that God and the Virgin and Don Pedrito are always there for us.

Grant reported from Kingsville, Tex. Achenbach reported from Washington. Dylan Baddour in Houston, Ashley Cusick in New Orleans, and Mark Berman, Steven Mufson and Jason Samenow in Washington contributed to this report.
Antonio Aleman, 43, prepares to fill out forms that would allow his children to apply for deferred action regarding deportation. (Sarah L. Voisin/Washington Post )

Donald E. Graham, chairman of Graham Holdings Company, was publisher of The Washington Post from 1979 to 2001.

The dreamers  an admirable group of young people  are in trouble and dont deserve to be. They are being used as foils by a politician trying to distract attention from his own upcoming felony trial .

The politician is Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R). He proposes to use his states resources to persecute (no other word will do) young people who:

 Came to the United States as children under the age of 16 (the leading scholar of the group says that they came at an average age of 6) with their parents, who are undocumented immigrants. They have no way to change their status.

 Have never committed a felony or a serious misdemeanor, or three misdemeanors of any kind.

 Are students in U.S. schools or graduates of those schools.

 Have been in the United States for at least 10 years.

 Include soldiers, doctors, nurses and teachers  all of whom would lose their jobs if Paxton prevails to get the Trump administration to phase out the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

So let us ask a few questions: Do we ever prosecute someone for a crime committed when they were 6 years old? Of course not. Suppose a 6-year-old were a passenger in the getaway car for a robbery. Would we prosecute the child? Are you kidding?

Now lets consider crimes committed 10 years ago. In Texas, if a person committed a major felony  robbery, burglary, anything short of murder, manslaughter or rape  the statute of limitations has expired and that person cannot be prosecuted. But Paxton wishes to turn the resources of the state to ruining the lives of young people who immigrated illegally as small children alongside their parents.

Although initially against DACA, President Trump has signaled this group could be spared from deportation. (Meg Kelly,Claritza Jimenez/The Washington Post)

The case involves the Obama executive order called DACA, which allows nearly 800,000 immigrants who came to this country as minors to legally work and live here. President Trump has rescinded many of the former presidents executive orders; why not this one?

I suspect his thinking is something like this:

 Trump and many Americans who voted for him dont like immigrants who are criminals. The DACA recipients have committed no crimes and if they commit one, they lose their DACA status and can be deported. They are young people with a lifetime record of obeying the law.

 Trump doesnt want to see anyone receive federal benefits from immigrating unlawfully. DACA provides no access to federal benefits  no Pell Grants, no college loans  and no path to citizenship or path to a green card. U.S. taxpayers will not spend a cent toward the college education of any dreamers with DACA.

 What DACA recipients want is a chance to study and then to go to work. All DACA provides them with is a two-year exemption from deportation and a temporary work permit. DACA can be renewed after two years (the dreamer pays $495 when he or she obtains DACA and each time it is renewed) but only if Homeland Security confirms that the dreamer has committed no crimes.

If DACA gives its recipients no benefits, why is it so important? It gives the dreamers two years during which they cannot be deported, unless they commit a crime, and a temporary work permit. Without the work permit, the dreamers cannot legally work. With it, they are already forging impressive careers.

Paxton and the nine other state attorneys general who support him argue that DACA was improperly adopted by President Barack Obama  that his executive order usurped Congresss authority. Paxton and 26 other attorneys general successfully sued to block a much larger executive order. Having left DACA out of his initial suit, he is now doubling back (having lost two-thirds of the states that once supported him) to amend his suit to include DACA. They have given the government until Sept. 5 to phase out the program or they will sue. He hopes Attorney General Jeff Sessions, long a critic of immigration, wont defend it, giving Paxton a cheap victory over young people who only want to study and work.

DACA makes money for Texas from in-state tuition payments to state colleges and state taxes on dreamers earnings and will make billions tomorrow as those earnings grow. This is a purely political lawsuit; facing a Dec. 11 trial on charges of defrauding his friends in a business deal, Paxton wishes to distract voters by showing that hes more anti-immigration than Trump.

I now know something about DACA recipients. After decades of helping run a scholarship fund for U.S. citizens in my hometown of Washington, some friends and I three years ago started a national fund for DACA recipients.

The obstacles that have been put in their path are prodigious. We have offered privately funded $25,000 scholarships to good low-cost colleges, for example, the City University of New York, some California state colleges and Miami-Dade College in Florida.

The dreamers are among the most motivated students I have ever encountered. After three years, 85 percent of our 1,700 scholars are still in college or have graduated (far higher than overall retention rates at the colleges they attend). Again, we ask no state aid for these students. We are bringing money to the state colleges usually to fill empty places in their classrooms, and most of our partner colleges dont turn any qualified student away.

Years from now, the dreamers will be nurses, teachers, businessmen and women  in short, taxpayers. Theyll contribute far more to the economy with even this slim chance to attend college.
THE NEWS sounded horrifying: Federal prosecutors last month demanded wide-ranging electronic records regarding anyone who visited disruptj20.org, a website devoted to protesting President Trumps Jan. 20 inauguration. An astonishing 1.3 million people could be exposed. The websites host, a Los Angeles company called DreamHost, was fighting the governments data order. Yet on Thursday, a judge ruled for the government.

Actually, the story is more complicated, particularly after the government offered some needed assurances in a brief it released in advance of Thursdays ruling.

It should first be clear whom the government is targeting. D.C. prosecutors, technically in the Justice Department but effectively local district attorneys, are investigating rioting that occurred after Mr. Trumps swearing-in. Violent protesters committed tens of thousands of dollars in property damage and assaulted police officers. Some 200 people face charges. If the government were demanding data on the peaceful Womens March on Washington , that would suggest a crackdown on dissenters. But local prosecutors are investigating serious violations of public order that cannot be considered legitimate dissent in a rule-of-law society.

Moreover, unlike other controversial episodes that have raised concerns about electronic privacy, the government is not operating in secret or behind the back of the judiciary. Rather, investigators obtained a warrant from a Superior Court judge in the District compelling DreamHost to turn over information from a website they have reason to believe was used to coordinate and to privately communicate among a focused group of people whose intent included planned violence, according to the governments brief.

Though the government is asking for a large amount of data on disruptj20.com and its users, that is only the warrants first stage. After getting a library of electronic records, the court has authorized prosecutors to seize only particular evidence  only that relating to a crime, the rioting, and associated with those involved in committing that crime. Orin Kerr, a cyberlaw specialist at George Washington University and Post blogger, writes, Courts have broadly allowed the government to follow this two-step procedure, in which they get all the stuff in the initial stage of electronic evidence warrants so that they can search it for the relevant evidence.

This does not mean all of DreamHosts concerns should be ignored. Courts must avoid chilling free speech and free association with overbroad warrants that discourage people from visiting protest websites for fear their data will be revealed and misused. The government is asking for a massive trove of information, much of which will have nothing to do with Januarys rioting. The government appropriately narrowed and clarified its information request in its latest brief, assuring that it would seal away any data it collected that is irrelevant to the criminal investigation.

This clarification makes the governments case substantially stronger, and Thursdays ruling is reasonable. Yet clarification should not have been necessary. It should have been crystal clear before Thursday that a constitutionally reasonable search would restrict investigators from using incidental information they collected in the first stage of a computer warrant  especially when a lack of such a restriction would discourage free speech and association. The courts and Congress should contemplate how to make this a clear rule of the road.
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMAS much-hyped restoration of relations with Cuba was a bet that diplomatic and economic engagement would, over time, accomplish what 50 years of boycott did not: a rebirth of political freedom on the island. So far, the results have been dismal. In the two years since the U.S. Embassy in Havana reopened, repression of Cubans  measured in detentions, beatings and political prisoners  has significantly increased, while the private sector has remained stagnant. U.S. exports to Cuba have actually decreased, even as the cash-starved regime of Raul Castro pockets millions of dollars paid by Americans in visa fees and charges at state-run hotels.

Now theres another sinister cost to tally  the serious injuries inflicted on the U.S. diplomats dispatched to Havana. This month, the State Department announced that two Cuban embassy staff had been expelled from Washington because of incidents in Havana that left some American diplomats and staff members with a variety of physical symptoms. Anonymous sources speaking to various news organizations have since provided shocking details: At least 16 American diplomats and family members received medical treatment resulting from sonic attacks directed at the residences where they were required to live by the Cuban government. A number of Canadian diplomats were also affected.

CBS News reported that a doctor who evaluated the American and Canadian victims found conditions including mild traumatic brain injury, with likely damage to the central nervous system. According to CNN, two Americans evacuated to the United States were unable to return to Havana, while others cut short their tours of duty.

The State Department is saying that it has not identified the source of the attacks, though it is holding the Cuban government responsible under the Vienna Convention, which requires host governments to protect diplomatic personnel. Some news reports have passed along speculation that rogue Cuban security forces might be to blame, or perhaps a third country interested in disrupting Cubas rapprochement with the United States. Such theories must be weighed against facts there: Cuba is a small, highly disciplined police state where next to nothing goes unobserved by the regime  much less high-tech assaults on foreign diplomats.

In fact, the sonic attacks would be in keeping with, if an escalation of, harassment that U.S. diplomats have long suffered in Havana, including constant surveillance and home and vehicle break-ins. Instead of easing this abuse, the reopening of the embassy may have intensified it. And no, the Trump administration, which has largely preserved Mr. Obamas opening, is not to blame: State says the attacks began in November 2016. Rather than seize on them, the State Department under Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has played them down; the Cubans were expelled in May, but no announcement was made until this month. The administration appears to be giving the Castro regime the benefit of the doubt  which, considering its overall record since the restoration of relations, may be more than it deserves.
My neighborhood is a balm against the brawling meanness President Trump unleashed. It is stably integrated. The white people who live here do not fear my family, and we are not afraid of them.

As African Americans, my husband and I choose to live in Shepherd Park because it is an integrated, predominantly black neighborhood with beautiful older homes that cost much less than similar homes in whiter parts of the city. It is not lost on us that the white people here choose to live in a space where they are outnumbered by African Americans.

Folks in my hood possess cultural dexterity. It is the opposite of colorblindness, an enhanced capacity for being among people of a different race or ethnicity. A culturally dexterous person sees and accepts difference and typically acquires this tolerance through intimate interracial relationships. Loving, marrying or adopting a person of a different race is a radical act that requires brave optimism. But there are less high-stakes means of achieving dexterity.

Sometimes a neighborhood promotes love. With short setbacks from the street and only a few yards between each house on our block, we are forced to deal with each other daily. While there have been debates about property lines and permission to plant or build something that crosses them, racial tension is not a subtext.

Nonblacks in Shepherd Park experience the risks of higher crime and less public investment that often attach to black neighborhoods. They acquire some of the scar tissue of race, or at least have a realistic, three-dimensional understanding of black people. A Jewish neighbor was robbed at gunpoint and had his car stolen by two young black men. His response and that of our community to a rash of similar crimes was a clear-eyed focus on solving the problem rather than overheated rhetoric that associated black people with criminality.

As parents of black boys, my husband and I feel confident that our neighbors would not feel threatened by brown kids partying or horsing around and would call us rather than the police in any unexplained situation. Like other parents of African American children, we live with the dread that someone who carries the insanity of supremacy in his head  the inability, say, to listen to a black boys preferred music or see him as someones presumably innocent child  will start shooting.

Yet in our neighborhood we breathe free of such worries. Several neighbors have been guests in our home and vice versa. A single Jewish female neighbor became auntie to our sons; she gives them presents and treats on every holiday and birthday and loves them with capacious hugs. The children on our block play together, roaming back and forth between houses, weaving intimate ties of affection among the parents.

This extends beyond our block. One street over, a family hosts an annual ice cream social. Neighbors gather on a front lawn, an array of humanity, black, white, Asian, Latino, talking between spoonfuls of vanilla or salted caramel sweetness. They engage with each other and act collectively.

Shepherd Park parents who wanted a playground as nice as the architectural wonders in wealthier environs organized, demanded and succeeded in creating a beautiful commons for old and young. The Shepherd Park branch of the D.C. Public Library was also borne of organized citizen demands.

The neighborhood is defined by diversity and civic activity, the opposite of what sociologist Robert Putnam suggests happens among non-dexterous people who tend to avoid civic engagement when they enter diverse settings.

Shepherd Park exudes diversity and civic engagement because of its specific history. As happened in Oak Park, Ill., and Shaker Heights, Ohio, in the 1950s and 1960s, citizens of Shepherd Park mobilized to create and sustain integration in the face of blockbusting and other forces that might play on peoples fears.

That activism continues and is sorely needed in a sharply divided country where a fault line between dexterous and non-dexterous people defines American politics. Fear is the impulse of the moment. Gerrymandering, voter suppression, border walls and zones of exclusion, stopping and frisking, and arming to the teeth are consistent with a fearful society. The dexterous aspire to something greater and more humane.

Progressives may long for a grand, national strategy to fix what is broken in this country. There are no shortcuts, however, to unlearning racial dogma. Real pluralism requires practice, and that can happen only in specific places.

While agitating for a more perfect union, it is possible to create small utopias now: a school, a grass-roots organization, a gospel choir, a neighborhood  spaces where diverse people can build trust and something that works for all comers. In small, diverse utopias, citizens can break things and start anew. They can escape echo chambers that cultivate a righteous sense of entitlement and a dangerous lack of empathy for anyone outside ones tribe.

In Shepherd Park, we make it up as we go along. Yet trying, and sometimes stumbling, to create our diverse Eden is so much better than succumbing to systemic exclusion. Having a shelter from the madness of division, we experience e pluribus unum daily, and that helps us to imagine that the same is still possible for the United States and to keep agitating.

Sheryll Cashin is the author of Loving: Interracial Intimacy in America and the Threat to White Supremacy.
The Trump administration is exploring new approaches for easing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that build on talks with a budding Sunni Arab coalition of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Jordan.

Jared Kushner, the White House senior adviser and presidential son-in-law, visited the leaders of all four countries during his Middle East trip this week. He was accompanied by special envoy Jason D. Greenblatt and deputy national security adviser Dina Powell. The group came away hopeful that the new generation of Arab leaders is a potential game-changer, said a senior administration official.

Prince Khaled bin Salman, the Saudi ambassador to Washington, gave an upbeat account of the talks with Kushner. He said that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, his older brother, is optimistic in light of the commitment of Donald Trump to achieve a just and lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians. He said that this weeks visit cemented Saudi and other Arab officials respect for Kushner and his team, who organized Trumps visit to the kingdom in May.

A first step in the new Palestinian strategy involves Gaza, which, under Hamas, has been Israels most implacable adversary. The moderate Sunni coalition has tried to pull Hamas closer to Egypt and the UAE and increase Hamass distance from Qatar, which for years has been a major financial backer.

The goal is to broker a reunification of Gaza with the Palestinian Authority, under the leadership of President Mahmoud Abbas, so that a united PA could represent all Palestinians. This would be a key step toward resuming broader negotiations.

The Trump administration seems to envision an outside-in strategy for breaking the Palestinian-Israeli stalemate. The United States, its hoped, could eventually bring together Israelis and leaders of the major Arab states for a peace conference. Trumps unusually close relations with both Israel and the Gulf Arabs are part of this strategy.

The Gaza opening by the moderate Arabs is an unlikely offshoot of their bitter feud with Qatar, Turkey and other nations that support the Muslim Brotherhood militants who have long dominated Hamas.

Mohammed Dahlan, a Gazan Palestinian now living in the UAE, has been the key intermediary. He has traveled to Gaza and organized UAE-financed humanitarian assistance there, working in collaboration with Yahya al-Sinwar, the head of Hamas inside Gaza. The plan is to provide economic and social support, through Egypt and with Israels blessing, that can weaken the hard-liners control.

We both realized its time to find a way out in Gaza, Dahlan told the Associated Press last month after meeting with Sinwar, who was a childhood friend.

Dahlans aid to Gaza is said to include about $15 million a month in food and social assistance for families, plus an unspecified additional amount for electricity and water, an Arab official told me. Israel has allowed fuel and other shipments to pass from Egypt through the border crossing at Rafah, signaling tacit support.

Dahlan and his Emirati backers have bigger plans. He told the AP that the UAE has pledged to finance a $100 million electricity plant, to be built on the Egyptian side of the border, to help power Gaza. Although Dahlan is a long-time rival of Abbas, U.S. officials insist they dont want to undermine the Palestinian Authority leader.

Beyond the machinations in Gaza is a larger vision for restarting a Palestinian peace process drawing on the alliance of moderate Sunni leaders. Jordans King Abdullah II and Egypts President Abdel Fatah al-Sissi already have extensive, friendly relations with Israel. Mohammed bin Zayed, the crown prince and military leader of the UAE, and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed dont have formal ambassadorial contacts with Israel. But they share a common enemy in Iran.

MBS, as the Saudi crown prince is known, has made some brash moves that have caused him trouble, including the war in Yemen. But hes willing to take risks on the reform side, too, including challenging the kingdoms religious establishment. Prince Khaled, the Saudi ambassador, said that MBS believes resolution of the Palestinian problem and peace with Israel are crucial for the future of the Middle East.

This young, dynamic leadership presents opportunities that may not have existed before, said Yousef al-Otaiba, the UAE ambassador to Washington. The White House clearly shares that view.

When it comes to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, 50 years of peacemaking history sadly warn us that a new initiative probably wont work. And Trumps domestic problems weaken his ability to deliver on Kushners advance work. But it must be said: The opportunities for trade, investment and security cooperation between Israel and the Arabs have never been greater.

Read more from David Ignatiuss archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook.
Henry and Lenora Elsesser go over a ballot before voting on Election Day. (Tom Lynn/For The Washington Pot)

In the federal government and in most states, there are consequences when governments deprive Americans of their constitutional right to liberty  through, say, wrongful imprisonment.

So why arent there more meaningful consequences when states deprive Americans of their constitutional right to vote?

Again and again, voter fraud has been shown to be virtually nonexistent. Yet in the name of eradicating this imagined scourge, state officials around the country have been systemically and aggressively disenfranchising American citizens. To prevent a handful of votes from possibly being cast illegally, officials purge thousands of eligible voters from state rolls, toss ballots and pass modern-day poll taxes.

This year alone, at least 99 bills restricting access to registration and voting have been introduced in 31 states, according to New York University School of Laws Brennan Center for Justice.

And this doesnt even capture the full extent of voter-suppression efforts, given that some changes have been done administratively rather than through legislation.

On Aug. 1, a federal judge declined to block the president's voter fraud commission from collecting voter data. A lawsuit attempting to block the collection of voter data could now go to a federal appeals court. (Patrick Martin/The Washington Post)

A few states have proven to be especially bad actors.

In the 2016 election, for example, Kansas threw out more than three times as many ballots as any similarly sized state did, according to a recent Associated Press analysis.

Some Kansans ballots were tossed as a result of recent policy changes. But others were eliminated because of a stupid software bug. That is, some people arrived at the polls incorrectly believing they had already legally registered, because the states online registration system had mistakenly told them so. This glitch had been happening for months before the general election, according to emails obtained by the AP.

All this occurred of course under the leadership of Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach (R), now spearheading President Trumps election integrity commission.

Texas has likewise repeatedly tried to suppress minority (and predominantly Democratic) votes.

On Wednesday, a federal court struck down the states voter ID laws, which the judge determined had been enacted with discriminatory intent  knowingly placing additional burdens on a disproportionate number of Hispanic and African American voters.

The same court had previously found the states voter ID law discriminatory in 2014, and Wednesdays ruling determined a new, watered-down version was no better. While a challenge had been working its way through the judicial system, a discriminatory law was in effect for multiple statewide elections.

Where is the justice for those denied suffrage in Kansas, Texas and other states?

Their elections are effectively tainted, but theyre also over. Nothing to be done about them now.

There should be, though.

If we want state officials to stop erring so often on the side of disenfranchising voters, we need to change their incentives. That is, we need to start punishing them for illegally denying Americans the right to vote, rather than just have courts say, Hey now, dont do that again.

The costs are much too low for public officials who, whether deliberately or mistakenly, disenfranchise Americans.

On very, very rare occasions, if a plaintiff can prove that an election was sufficiently tainted, a judge could order a new election. Also on very, very rare occasions, individuals can be charged with a criminal offense if they can be proven to have intentionally interfered with someones votes.

But for the most part, policies that systemically disenfranchise thousands of voters  and in the process, possibly swing election results  go unpunished.

Any remedies that do occur are generally forward-looking. That is, a states bad law or administrative policy gets struck down, and officials are just forced to do things differently in the next election.

In which case, state officials might respond by introducing a new bad law, a la Texas.

One way to change the system would be for courts to more often grant preliminary injunctions against new election laws undergoing a legal challenge.

Once the damage is done you cant really adequately repair it, says Wendy Weiser, director of the Brennan Centers democracy program. Courts could recognize this and err on the side of keeping the status quo, at least temporarily.

This would address only deliberate policy changes, though, not incompetence (as in Kansass software glitch). So why not raise the possible costs to getting things wrong, to change the calculus?

Congress or state legislatures could, for example, pass laws making it easier for state officials to be held liable for monetary damages if they have illegally denied someone their right to vote. Right now these officials likely have qualified immunity from such suits, according to Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the University of California at Berkeley School of Law.

For American citizens, voting is a sacred and constitutionally enshrined right. Its time the country, and those paid to serve the public, actually treat it as such.
Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) hands Karen Cullen, the widow of Viriginia State Police Lt. Jay Cullen, the flag during a funeral service in Chesterfield, Va., on Aug. 19. Her husband was killed in a helicopter crash while monitoring a white-nationalist protest in Charlottesville. (Alexa Welch Edlund/Richmond Times-Dispatch via Associated Press)

Regarding the Aug. 23 Metro article Crisis vaults McAuliffe into spotlight:

It is outrageous for Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) to assert that the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia bears some responsibility for the violence in Charlottesville. The citys decision to revoke the permit for Jason Kessler to hold a rally in Emancipation Park was a prior restraint on free speech. The Supreme Court said prior restraint is the most serious and the least tolerable infringement on First Amendment rights.

Prior restraint can be justified only if government places reasonable limitations on the time, place and manner of the speech. It was the citys burden to show that revoking the permit for Emancipation Park and granting a permit for McIntire Park met these standards. The federal court said the city failed to do so.

The ACLU finds Mr. Kesslers views loathsome. To suggest that Mr. Kesslers speech was not entitled to First Amendment protection would eviscerate the First Amendment. As Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. reaffirmed: The idea that the government may restrict speech expressing ideas that offend . . . strikes at the heart of the First Amendment. Speech that demeans on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender, religion, age, disability, or any other similar ground is hateful; but the proudest boast of our free speech jurisprudence is that we protect the freedom to express the thought that we hate. 

David A. Drachsler, Alexandria

The writer is a member of the Litigation

Screening Committee of the American Civil

Liberties Union of Virginia.
A bronze statue, titled the Confederate Soldier is viewed in downtown Alexandria, Virginia, on August 14, 2017. He stands in the middle of the street, his back to the nation's capital as he gazes southwards towards the bloody battlefields of the Civil War. (Paul J. Richards/Agence France-Presse via Getty Images)

The horrific events in Charlottesville this month have given new urgency to the important discussion of public monuments to the Confederacy.

Virginians must address the impact that lionizing the Confederacy has had on the character and laws of our commonwealth. We must do so with an honest understanding of the history of oppression of Virginians of color  and what symbols of that history still mean today.

This includes determining how and where to move the Appomattox memorial at Washington and Prince streets in Old Town Alexandria.

The statue is owned by the United Daughters of the Confederacy but is on city land at the point where Alexandrians left to join the Confederate Army.

I agree with Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D): Monuments should serve as unifiers, to inspire us collectively and to venerate our greatest citizens. Appomattox does not meet that standard.

Alexandria has been precluded from removing or relocating the statue by state law, including an 1890 act that states: That said monument shall perpetually remain as at present erected at the intersection of Prince and Washington streets, in the said city of Alexandria, and that the permission so given by the said city council of Alexandria, for its erection, shall not be repealed, revoked, altered, modified, or changed by any future council or other municipal power or authority.

I will introduce legislation, in cooperation with the city of Alexandria, that would allow for the relocation of the statue. If successful, it would allow the city, presumably in consultation with the statues owner, to relocate the memorial to the grounds of Alexandrias City History Museum or return it to the Daughters of the Confederacy.

It has become readily apparent what statues such as Appomattox mean to white supremacists and neo-Nazis. Alexandrians must also appreciate what a Confederate monument in the heart of Old Town means to many African Americans. That reality has underscored the need to push for legislative change.

Those who would argue against giving localities authority regarding the siting of monuments sometimes claim that to do so is an effort to erase history. Relocating or even removing statues does not erase the history of the Confederacy. It just ceases to publicly honor it.

The discussion of how or whether to deal with symbols honoring the Confederacy and its leaders, including Jefferson Davis, extends to more than monuments. Communities throughout Virginia are engaging in conversations regarding these public displays.

In recent years, I have focused on changing the name of Jefferson Davis Highway (Route 1) in Alexandria and Arlington County. Since moving to Virginia in 1989, I have found it troubling that the gateway to our commonwealth is named for a non-Virginian who led a treasonous uprising against the United States.

At my request, Attorney General Mark R. Herring (D) clarified Alexandrias authority to name roads within its borders. Unfortunately, Arlington does not have the same authority to rename roads without state approval. The Alexandria City Council voted unanimously to begin the process of renaming Jefferson Davis Highway, and an advisory group has been convened to evaluate options. Suggestions may be submitted through Sept. 15. My preference is to rename Route 1 Richmond Highway as it is designated in Fairfax County, setting the stage for General Assembly consideration of continuing the name through the Arlington portion of Route 1.

I will work with the other members of the Arlington General Assembly delegation to ensure that a bill is introduced in the 2018 legislative session to allow for the renaming of Jefferson Davis Highway.

The writer, a Democrat, represents the 30th District in the Virginia Senate.
Vincent P. Barabba, a member of the California Citizens Redistricting Commission, was census director from 1973 to 1976 and from 1979 to 1981. Kenneth Prewitt, a professor at Columbia University, was census director from 1998 to 2001.

The census, one of the most important activities our government undertakes, is under threat by uncertain funding and a leadership vacuum at a crucial moment. As former directors of the U.S. Census Bureau, serving in both Republican and Democratic administrations, we urge President Trump to act swiftly and the Senate to cooperate in naming a new director as the 2020 Census nears.

The immediate task is to nominate someone who can provide stability through the final years of the decade, explain the importance of the agencys mission compellingly, address Congresss fiscal concerns and be ready for full immersion in the important tasks at hand.

Equally important is a serious increase in funding for next year, ramping up further in 2019. This is a critical period in which to begin operations, including well-researched advertising messages, staffing and training an army of temporary workers, opening field offices and testing new technology. The Census Bureau cannot do any of this at the last minute, just as the Defense Department cannot prepare for military action when a threat is imminent.

The decennial census  the once- a-decade effort to count every person living in the United States  is an enormous and complex task. It is specifically required by the U.S. Constitution because it is essential to our representative government. Census data will be used to determine how many U.S. representatives each state gets and to draw voting districts for the House, state legislatures, city councils and school boards.

More than $600 billion a year for vital services such as highway construction, low-income energy assistance, maternal and child health, and food assistance flows to states and communities based on census-derived data. Nonprofit agencies and businesses rely on census data to evaluate population trends and community conditions and to target their services and investments effectively.

The Census Bureau is in the critical phase of preparing for its dress rehearsal. It must occur on schedule, and it must be robust enough to thoroughly test procedures new to Census 2020. These include the first-ever option to respond to the census online and to equip census takers with Internet-connected devices to save time and dramatically cut paperwork.

New procedures and technology  deployed for the first time from start to finish  will have glitches that can be fixed if found in 2018, but that opportunity will rapidly pass, even if sufficient funds are provided. The Air Force does not send a new fighter plane directly from the assembly line to the front lines, skipping the test phase. Neither should we expect the census to field new procedures without thorough testing.

The 2020 Census faces unprecedented challenges in collecting data, including fear of government authorities in immigrant communities, cybersecurity threats (real or perceived) and uneven access to reliable Internet service, which could disadvantage rural, low-income and older households. The nation needs a Census Bureau director with the capabilities to navigate these minefields credibly and deliberately. He or she must have the confidence of public officials from both sides of the political aisle, at all levels of government, as well as the confidence of the American public.

In 2011, Congress passed a law that requires the census director to have a demonstrated ability in managing large organizations and experience in the collection, analysis and use of statistical data. The law calls for the director to serve a renewable five-year term to ensure continuity in planning and operations and to help make the Census Bureau effective, accountable and less susceptible to partisan pressures. In fact, the law specifically calls for the nomination of a candidate without regard to political affiliation, signaling that the census directors objectivity is vital to ensuring confidence in the agencys statistics and methods.

It is encouraging that Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross appointed interim leaders for the Census Bureau from among the agencys dedicated, experienced career staff. But they cannot wield the credibility and influence that a permanent director can have across the administration and before Congress and the American people.

There will be no second chance to get the 2020 Census right. Delayed funding cannot make up for preparation that should already be underway. We will all live with the results for a decade. The health of our democracy  and the well-being of individuals, families and communities  requires our elected leaders to find common ground and serve the common good. Identifying, nominating and confirming a qualified, trustworthy director for the U.S. Census Bureau must be a top priority for administration and Senate leaders.
President Trump spoke about banning transgender people from the military in Bedminster N.J. on Aug. 10. (The Washington Post)

President Trump spoke about banning transgender people from the military in Bedminster N.J. on Aug. 10. (The Washington Post)

This post has been updated, 9:19 a.m.

Deep in the heart of Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick must have thought they had a political winner.

Patrick, a conservative crusader and talk-radio host, got Abbott to call a special session this summer of the Texas legislature  an emergency!  largely for the purpose of passing a bathroom bill to restrict the use of public restrooms by transgender people.

It was opportunistic and cynical, a solution in search of a problem. Proponents of the Privacy Act raised bogus fears about men exposing themselves to, and assaulting, women and girls in showers and toilets. Texans, Patrick proclaimed, dont want their children showering together, boys and girls in the 10th grade . . . and women want to be protected.

But things didnt go according to plan. The business community objected, fearing the sort of economic boycott that hit North Carolina over a similar bill. Police chiefs called the legislation counterproductive. Polling showed that Texans, particularly young Texans, didnt think the issue a priority. Support for the bill shrank from an earlier attempt at passage. The House speaker, a Republican, refused to bring it up. The legislature adjourned last week with the bathroom bill swirling in the drain.

President Trump's tweeted transgender military ban on July 26 drew immediate criticism from both Democrats and Republicans, who were caught unaware by the decision. (Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post)

Even deeply conservative Texas, it seems, has no appetite for discrimination against transgender Americans. Yet here comes President Trump with a fresh attempt at just such discrimination.

Trump on Friday directed the Pentagon to stop allowing transgender people to enlist in the military. His order also gave military leaders power to remove transgender people already serving  a policy he signaled last month on Twitter.

Never mind that transgender people have been serving openly in the military, essentially without incident. Never mind that the generals werent asking for such a ban. And never mind the American tradition that any able-bodied patriot should be allowed to serve.

The proposed ban on transgender enlistments follows the administrations revocation earlier this year that gave transgender students protections in public schools. In both cases, Trump stands athwart history, yelling, Go back.

Just as a consensus has rapidly formed in recent years in support of same-sex marriage, the experience in Texas makes clear that acceptance of transgender people is moving inexorably in the same direction. Trumps policy is a rear-guard action, trying to codify discrimination even as Americans become more tolerant.

A Quinnipiac University poll this month finds that 68 percent of voters believe transgender people should be allowed to serve in the military. A majority of military households agree. By 46 percent to 14 percent, voters said more acceptance of transgender people would be a good thing for the country rather than bad. Even a third of Republicans accept transgender service.

Trump is, as usual, playing to his (dwindling) base. In doing so, he is aligning himself, literally, with the past over the future. Younger voters are the most accepting of transgender people and older voters the least. Quinnipiac found that 54 percent of those aged 18 to 34 believe more transgender acceptance would be good for the country, compared with only 35 percent of those 65 and older.

President Trump tweeted that transgender people would be barred from the military, citing their "tremendous medical costs," but the Pentagon spends less on transgender medical bills than it does on erectile dysfunction medication. (Erin Patrick O'Connor,Osman Malik,Christopher Ingraham/The Washington Post)

So it goes for Trump generally. He has the strong support of just 26 percent of the country  and that falls to 20 percent among the youngest voters while jumping to 33 percent among the oldest. Now hes talking about shutting down the government unless Congress funds his border wall, an idea that Americans oppose by nearly 2 to 1. Support for the wall draws greatest opposition from young voters and least opposition among older voters.

What this means is Trump is, in an actuarial sense, charting a course to oblivion. History is moving in one direction and Trump in the other.

Thats where Patrick, Abbott and the Texas bathroom-bill proponents were heading. Polling by the University of Texas and the Texas Tribune found that Texans did not share their leaders sense of alarm about transgender rights. Only 26 percent of voters considered it a very important matter (44 percent considered it important) for the legislature, and older voters were 10 percentage points more likely than younger voters to think it important. Support within the House actually declined over time: There were 80 co-sponsors during the regular session but only 60 in the special session, the Tribune noted.

For good reason. The bill had little substance: no penalties for those who violated the law, no increased punishments for crimes in restrooms, no real enforcement mechanism. It was just rank discrimination.

Texas rejected that. Inevitably, the nation will too.

Twitter: @Milbank

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A look at the second half, so far, of the presidents first year in the White House.

A look at the second half, so far, of the presidents first year in the White House.

John C. Danforth was a Republican U.S. senator from Missouri from 1976 to 1995.

Many have said that President Trump isnt a Republican. They are correct, but for a reason more fundamental than those usually given. Some focus on Trumps differences from mainstream GOP policies, but the party is broad enough to embrace different views, and Trump agrees with most Republicans on many issues. Others point to the insults he regularly directs at party members and leaders, but Trump is not the first to promote self above party. The fundamental reason Trump isnt a Republican is far bigger than words or policies. He stands in opposition to the founding principle of our party  that of a united country.

We are the party of Abraham Lincoln, and our founding principle is our commitment to holding the nation together. This brought us into being just before the Civil War. The first resolution of the platform at the partys first national convention states in part that the union of the States must and shall be preserved. The issue then was whether we were one nation called the United States or an assortment of sovereign states, each free to go its own way. Lincoln believed that we were one nation, and he led us in a war to preserve the Union.

That founding principle of the party is also a founding principle of the United States. Even when we were a tiny fraction of our present size and breadth, the framers of our Constitution understood the need for holding ourselves together, whatever our differences. They created a constitutional structure and a Bill of Rights that would accommodate within one nation all manner of interests and opinions. Americans honor that principle in the national motto on the presidential seal: e pluribus unum  out of many, one. Today, the United States is far more diverse than when we were a nation of 3 million people , but the principle remains the same: We are of many different backgrounds, beliefs, races and creeds, and we are one.

Using dozens of clips from President Trump's speeches, The Post Editorial Board reimagines his disastrous Aug. 12 address. (Gillian Brockell/The Washington Post)

The Republican Party has a long history of standing for a united country. Theodore Roosevelt raised up the ordinary people of his day and championed their cause against abusive trusts. Dwight Eisenhower used the army to integrate a Little Rock high school. George H.W. Bush signed the most important civil rights legislation in more than a quarter-century, a bill authored by Republican senators. George W. Bush stood before Congress and the nation and defended Muslims after 9/11. Our record hasnt been perfect. When we have pushed the agenda of the Christian right, we have seemed to exclude people who dont share our religious beliefs. We have seemed unfriendly to gay Americans. But our long history has been to uphold the dignity of all of Gods people and to build a country welcoming to all.

Now comes Trump, who is exactly what Republicans are not, who is exactly what we have opposed in our 160-year history. We are the party of the Union, and he is the most divisive president in our history. There hasnt been a more divisive person in national politics since George Wallace.

It isnt a matter of occasional asides, or indiscreet slips of the tongue uttered at unguarded moments. Trump is always eager to tell people that they dont belong here, whether its Mexicans, Muslims, transgender people or another group. His message is, You are not one of us, the opposite of e pluribus unum. And when he has the opportunity to unite Americans, to inspire us, to call out the most hateful among us, the KKK and the neo-Nazis, he refuses.

To my fellow Republicans: We cannot allow Donald Trump to redefine the Republican Party. That is what he is doing, as long as we give the impression by our silence that his words are our words and his actions are our actions. We cannot allow that impression to go unchallenged.

As has been true since our beginning, we Republicans are the party of Lincoln, the party of the Union. We believe in our founding principle. We are proud of our illustrious history. We believe that we are an essential part of present-day American politics. Our country needs a responsibly conservative party. But our party has been corrupted by this hateful man, and it is now in peril.

In honor of our past and in belief in our future, for the sake of our party and our nation, we Republicans must disassociate ourselves from Trump by expressing our opposition to his divisive tactics and by clearly and strongly insisting that he does not represent what it means to be a Republican.
There is surely no greater sign of the bankruptcy of U.S. foreign policy than its Afghanistan policy. After more than 15 years of war and the deployment of hundreds of thousands of troops, a new president entered the Oval Office poised to fundamentally change that policy. Within months he presented, with great fanfare, a continuation of the same. The result: The United States is now firmly locked into its forever war in Afghanistan.

President Trumps policy differs from the one he inherited only in the addition of 4,000 more troops. Trump vows to eschew nation-building, emphasize counterterrorism, end corruption in Afghanistan and hold Pakistan accountable. President Barack Obama promised the same things. It is time to focus on nation-building here at home, Obama said in 2011, explaining his shift in approach from President George W. Bushs strategy.

Trumps remarks on Pakistan were seen by many as a strong break from the previous administration, but people appear to have forgotten the unusually blunt testimony that Adm. Mike Mullen, then chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, gave to Congress in 2011. He called the Haqqani network, one of the most dangerous terrorist groups in Afghanistan, a veritable arm of Pakistans Inter-Services Intelligence agency. That same year, then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and then-CIA Director David Petraeus both went to Pakistan to, in Clintons words, push the Pakistanis very hard to end their support for militant groups in Afghanistan. That was one in a series of actions that outraged the Pakistanis, causing them to shut down supply routes to U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan for seven months.

In expressing support for Trumps open-ended commitment, House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) used the tired old saying that the United States has the watches, but the Taliban has the time. If they believe that we have some end date, some timetable, then they will wait us out, he said. But this fundamentally misunderstands the nature of this type of overseas struggle. The Taliban will wait us out for a very simple reason: They live there.

Harry Summers, a wise army officer in the Vietnam War who went on to write a definitive book on that conflicts military lessons, On Strategy, opened the book by recounting an exchange he had with a North Vietnamese officer in 1975, just before Saigon fell. You know you never defeated us on the battlefield, Summers said. The officer replied, That may be so, but it is also irrelevant. Every local force knows one thing in its bones: Eventually, the foreigners have to go home.

Some in Afghanistan and India praised President Trump's Aug. 21 speech, but his rhetoric set off alarm bells in Pakistan. (The Washington Post)

Why is the Taliban gaining ground in Afghanistan? I asked the New Yorkers Dexter Filkins, one of the keenest reporters who has covered that war. Ordinary Afghans dont like the Taliban. But they dislike the Afghan government even more. We say we dont want to do nation-building, but you cant build an army without first building a state. People dont die for an army; they die for a country. And who wants to die for the current Afghan government?

The American military on the ground knows the problem well, which is why it refers to the Afghan government as a collection of corrupt networks that extend across the country. In true military fashion, there is an acronym for it: VICE  vertically integrated criminal enterprise.

A leading expert on Afghanistan policy, Barnett Rubin, who has advised the United Nations and the U.S. government, explains the problem as he sees it. The Afghan state cannot exist without outside help, he told me. It cannot pay its bills without the U.S. government. It cannot have a stable society without Pakistans help. It cannot grow economically without trade and transit with Iran. Referring to reports that Afghanistan is endowed with nearly $1 trillion in mineral resources, he observed, Im sure the moon has even more mineral wealth, but you need a way to get it out to markets. And for that, you need friendly neighbors. Rubin believes that Trumps approach is doomed because it seems utterly unilateral, willfully oblivious to the interests of the other powers in the region, especially Russia, China and Iran.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration has doubled down on more of the same. More money, bombs, troops, pressure on Pakistan and tough love for the Afghans. It is a tactical approach, designed by generals, to ensure that they do not lose. But it does not even pretend to contain a strategy to win. In other words, half a century later, at a lower human cost, the United States has replicated its strategy in Vietnam. Call it quagmire-lite.

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The Rev. William M. Aitcheson was my childhood priest and my history teacher. A fervent advocate of the Confederacy, he used to joke about Saint Robert E. Lee in his homilies at church. When I was in middle school in the early 2000s, he taught a Civil War history class for the home-school group at my church in the small Shenandoah County town of Woodstock, Va.

He was also a former Ku Klux Klan member, who in 1982 was fined $26,000 for burning crosses in the yard of an African American family and on the grounds of two Jewish establishments  a fine he had never paid. Before that, he was charged with six cross-burnings in Maryland and with sending a threatening letter to Coretta Scott King. He had also been charged with making pipe bombs and was found with various weapons and bombmaking materials in his bedroom and basement. But I didnt uncover those latter facts until this month, when I stumbled onto a discovery that would eventually prompt Aitcheson to step down temporarily from his public ministry. He wrote in an op-ed that his service to God had changed and redeemed him. But I knew he wasnt being entirely honest.

I remember him as an imposing figure who took his history lessons to us home-schoolers very seriously. He had a reputation for being a bit gruff, but he was never unkind to me, and I recall him fondly. He knew so much about history, and I trusted him when he taught us that the Civil War was fought for states rights, not slavery; that the Souths cause was noble and just.

It would be many years before I would begin to question my ideas about the South. Aitchesons views on the Confederacy were certainly not outside the norm: Many people I know and love sincerely believe that Southerners never stood for slavery and that the North waged an unjust war on them. But slowly, as an adult, I shed my Confederate sympathies, and I would only occasionally think of Aitcheson and what he taught me.

[Keep Confederate statues in Congress. They let us know some states are proud of racism.]

Artist and activist Bree Newsome says that, like the rise of the Ku Klux Klan after the Reconstruction era, we're seeing a "peak moment" in racist backlash to the first black president. (Gillian Brockell,Kate Woodsome,Jesse Mesner-Hage/The Washington Post)

After the now-infamous white supremacist protest in Charlottesville, ostensibly over the removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee, I spent quite some time thinking about what it meant to grow up in a region where tearing down monuments felt like tearing down a whole cultures founding mythology. Neither of my parents is originally from the area, but even as transplants, we learned to share a sense of local pride in the architecture, the stories, the music. Even if I disagree, I understand why some people want to keep the monuments; this is their architecture, their stories, their home. I thought about Aitcheson and wondered what had ever happened to him. On Friday, Aug. 18, I Googled his name. The first result was about his many years of service as a priest  he was now at St. Leo the Great in Fairfax City, Va. The second was a 1977 Washington Post article about William M. Aitcheson, a 23-year-old University of Maryland student and exalted cyclops of his local Klan group, the Robert E. Lee klavern.

This Aitcheson, according to coverage at the time, had joined a paramilitary splinter group called the Klan Beret. A Maryland State Police officer who had infiltrated the group testified that, with Aitcheson as an enthusiastic member, the Klan Beret aimed to use bombs and other violent tactics in its coming revolution against Jews, blacks and other minorities. The story of Aitchesons arrest for cross-burning and threats gained national attention, and another Klan leader complained that Aitchesons antics had set the Klan back 50 years.

At first, I thought it might be an odd coincidence. But a picture of a young William Aitcheson, Klan member, looked just like the William Aitcheson I remembered. My Aitcheson and the Klansman had the same name, were the same age and bore matching biographical details. If they were the same man, he had spent a few years teaching and entered the seminary in Rome in 1984. He was ordained in 1988 in Las Vegas.

[Who are the antifa?]

Overcome by curiosity, I had to know if this was the same person  and if the church knew. I emailed the spokeswoman for the Arlington, Va., bishops office to ask. I wrote that I was a former parishioner. Although I am also an occasional freelance journalist, I wasnt digging for a story at that point. I was looking for answers from my bishop  I am a Catholic parishioner in the Arlington diocese, at St. Marys in Alexandria.

I continued to pore over the details of Aitchesons case throughout the weekend: In 1982, a federal judge ordered him to pay $23,000 to Phillip and Barbara Butler, and $1,500 apiece to two Jewish groups, for burning crosses on their property in what the judge called a personal campaign of terror. The Butlers had been the fifth black family to move into the Maryland subdivision of College Park Woods, a predominantly white neighborhood at the time, when Aitcheson  who lived in a different Maryland county  erected a burning cross on their lawn. President Ronald Reagan read about the case in The Post and was so moved by the Butlers story that he went to visit them personally.

The Saturday morning after I sent my email, an official from the diocese emailed me back to say they would look into it; he asked if I was a journalist. By now, I realized that there was no question of Aitcheson being a different person and that I had clumsily stumbled into a real story. Yes, I said: I was a reporter in addition to being a former parishioner.

But I didnt only want to know, as a Catholic, whether the church had known. I also wondered what Aitcheson thought now  about the Confederacy, the Klan, the cross he burned on the Butlers lawn. Clearly he had chosen a different path after his conviction. I wanted to hear about his search for redemption. Had he also apologized to the Butlers? So that Saturday, I went to the 5 p.m. service at his Fairfax City parish, where he was scheduled to celebrate Mass. As the minutes ticked past 5 and the ushers began to whisper, Aitcheson was nowhere to be found. Another priest came in to say the Mass, apologizing for a last-minute emergency. I called the bishops office to say that at this point, although I had not begun this inquiry looking for a story, Id be writing one.

I called Phillip Butler, of the 1982 lawsuit against Aitcheson, and asked him if he had ever received any money or an apology. The answer was no  the family had never seen or heard from Aitcheson again. I explained how I had come upon the story. Butler, who is Catholic himself, was surprised to hear that Aitcheson had become a priest. Why hadnt Butler pressed to receive the money? He told me he recalled that Aitchesons father had been something of a bigwig in Howard County and they didnt imagine they would have much luck pressing it. They were satisfied with Reagans visit, which he said they still cherish. At the time, that was closure enough for them. (The University of Maryland Hillel, the first of the Jewish groups in the settlement, also told me that its rabbi at the time, Bob Saks, could not recall ever receiving a payment. Rabbi Mendel Abrams of the Beth Torah Congregation, the second group, said he had not received a payment or heard from the diocese as of Thursday.)

[The whole point of Confederate monuments is to celebrate white supremacy]

If that was enough for the Butlers, maybe it should have been enough for me, too. But I also wondered how a priest, a public representative of the church, could take such a position of influence without even privately apologizing for his sins to those he had harmed. Perhaps he couldnt afford $23,000 at the time of his ordination, but I cant believe he could never spare a phone call or a letter to ask forgiveness. As a Catholic, I was brought up to believe in Gods mercy  but my faith also teaches the necessity of penance, atonement, justice and paying your dues.

On Monday afternoon, the bishops office released the op-ed from Aitcheson, addressing (rather vaguely) his past, along with an announcement that he had requested to step down for now. Neither the editorial nor the accompanying news release addressed whether the church previously knew about his past or, if so, why church leaders had not asked him to apologize to the Butler family or pay his debt. The Arlington bishops office portrayed his disclosure, titled Moving from hate to love with Gods grace, as a spontaneous act, connected only to his private reflections on Charlottesville. Our actions have consequences, he wrote. So why hadnt he faced them?

The Diocese of Reno, where Aitcheson was made a priest in 1988, informed me via email that while Aitcheson had admitted to officials there his involvement in the KKK, he had never made the church aware of the 1982 lawsuit and his debt. I wondered how such a large omission could really be considered admitting his past involvement. The Arlington diocese eventually released a similar statement about what it had known.

On Wednesday, the Butler family gave a news conference. Their attorney said that, while the diocese had now offered to set up a meeting for Aitcheson to apologize to the Butlers, they were unsure about how to proceed. They want him to finally reveal the names of the other Klan members who helped victimize them and who were never brought to justice. After the news conference, the Arlington diocese released another statement, saying that a freelancer reporter, who introduced herself as a parishioner, had contacted officials about Aitchesons past, prompting the disclosure.

I felt  and still feel  confused and conflicted about my role in this. A few nights into my investigation, I discovered yet another ugly surprise about someone from my past: An old acquaintance had marched in the white nationalist tiki torch parade at the University of Virginia, side by side with the young men shouting Nazi slogans.

I thought back to an evening several years ago, spent with this person and some mutual friends. After a few too many glasses of wine, he and another friend began to sing the unofficial anthem of the Confederacy  Dixie. I sang along, mangling the words a bit, but as a Virginian, it was a song Id heard many times before.

Oh, I wish I was in the land of cotton,

Old times there are not forgotten.

Look away, look away, look away, Dixie land!

[Is it still okay to venerate George Washington and Thomas Jefferson?]

It was the second time I had thought about that familiar old song in recent days, and this time it made my stomach churn. As I had searched through every article I could find naming William Aitcheson, I came upon a 2004 article in Fredericksburg, Va.s Free Lance-Star. Aitcheson was still my pastor then. He had presided over a memorial service for the Confederate dead, where he read The Conquered Banner, a popular post-Civil War poem composed by a Catholic priest who had been a chaplain for the Confederate army. Then, the Lance-Star reported, Aitcheson turned to the crowd and said, Lets sing the old national anthem. He led them all in song.

I wish I was in Dixie, hooray! Hooray!

In Dixie land Ill take my stand,

to live and die in Dixie.

Away, away, away down south in Dixie!

Away, away, away down south in Dixie!

Twitter: @mtksantos

Read more from Outlook and follow our updates on Facebook and Twitter.
President Trump wished Texas residents good luck ahead of Hurricane Harvey as he departed the White House on Aug. 25. (The Washington Post)

President Trump wished Texas residents good luck ahead of Hurricane Harvey as he departed the White House on Aug. 25. (The Washington Post)

With Hurricane Harvey pounding Texas, President Trump is focusing more attention to the potentially catastrophic storm.

Known for live-tweeting news events, Trump waited until midday Friday before firing off a message to inspire public confidence.

I have spoken w/ @GovAbbott of Texas and @LouisianaGov Edwards, Trump tweeted just before noon. Closely monitoring #HurricaneHarvey developments & here to assist as needed.

That was quickly followed by another tweet showing a photo of Trump getting a briefing on the hurricane from senior aides. More tweets about the storm followed as the day progressed.

On Friday night, Trump announced he had signed a disaster proclamation at the request of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) to provide immediate federal aid even before the brunt of the hurricane had been felt.

Hurricane Harvey made landfall on the night of Aug. 25 about 30 miles northeast of Corpus Christi as a Category 4 storm. (KIII 3 News)

Trump departed the White House on Friday afternoon with first lady Melania Trump for Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland, where he was maintaining contact with his homeland security team.

Just arrived at Camp David where I am closely watching the path and doings of Hurricane Harvey, as it strengthens to a Category 3. BE SAFE!, Trump tweeted Friday afternoon.

Saturday morning, the president again took to Twitter, praising FEMA Administrator Brock Long: You are doing a great job - the world is watching! Be safe.

He also responded to Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), who Friday morning urged him to stay on top of the hurricane: @realDonaldTrump #hurricane keep on top of hurricane Harvey dont mke same mistake Pres Bush made w Katrina.

Trump said: .@ChuckGrassley - got your message loud and clear. We have fantastic people on the ground, got there long before #Harvey. So far, so good!

He said hes watching from Camp David and praised officials coordination.

Closely monitoring #HurricaneHarvey from Camp David. We are leaving nothing to chance. City, State and Federal Govs. working great together!

In the days leading up to the storm, the White House had exhibited little public urgency over what authorities projected as the first major hurricane to make landfall in the United States in a dozen years. The president began Friday morning with his usual stream of tweets about political grievances and settling scores with rivals, this time targeting Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.).

Tennessee not happy! Trump proclaimed.

But as the presidents Friday posts make clear, it was the mood  and fate  of Texans in Harveys path that is the more pressing matter.

The Lone Star State was braced for a storm whose force the National Hurricane Center described as astounding. With winds greater than 140 miles per hour, Harvey struck north of Corpus Christi, the most powerful storm in the United States since Hurricane Wilma in 2005.

[Hurricane Harvey hits Texas, bringing heavy rain, storm surge]

Since the federal governments handling of Hurricane Katrina hobbled President George W. Bushs second term, the politics of natural disasters have turbocharged the stakes for presidents, governors and mayors in coastal regions.

For a president who had no prior governing experience, the test is even more pronounced.

Trump has proposed slashing Federal Emergency Management Agency grant funding to states and municipalities by $667 million. Brock Long, FEMAs director, was confirmed to the position in June after serving as Alabamas emergency management director and working as a private consultant.

At the Department of Homeland Security, Elaine Duke has been serving as acting secretary since John F. Kelly moved to the White House as chief of staff late last month.

Homeland security adviser Thomas Bossert, who had worked in FEMAs legislative division under Bush, emphasized that Trump has been fully briefed on the storm. In their meeting in the Oval Office on Friday morning, he said, Trump was focused on the safety of the up to 4.6 million people in the storms projected path and ensuring that federal agencies providing support have the resources they need.

White House aides have said Trump will visit Texas next week.

The memories of Katrinas destruction and the Bush administrations failure are vivid in Washington.

For those who served through major storms in the Bush and Obama administrations, the takeaway was clear: It is better to overprepare than to be caught off guard. Even if the federal response goes as well as could be expected, Mother Nature could still wreak significant death and destruction that could redound to the White House.

The obvious lesson learned from Katrina is that strong executive involvement and oversight is necessary through the entire process, said Steve Atkiss, who served under Bush as special assistant for operations.

During Katrina, the Category 5 hurricane in 2005 that flooded New Orleans, displaced thousands and killed more than 1,800 in Louisiana and Mississippi, Bush was at his ranch in Crawford, Tex. Though he cut short his vacation to return to Washington after water overwhelmed the levees in New Orleans, the crisis became a metaphor for a struggling administration preoccupied by faraway interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Atkiss said that Bush was fully engaged and that the decision for him to view the destruction from the window of Air Force One, rather than visit the city, was made out of fear that his presence would become a distraction for federal law enforcement.

But Bushs pronouncement that Michael D. Brown, then the head of his administrations emergency-preparedness and response division, had done a heck of a job was met with widespread derision.

Obviously, in hindsight, the optics were not good, Atkiss said.

For the Obama administration, the lessons of Katrina were really front and center for folks, said Paul Rosen, who served as DHS chief of staff from 2015 to 2017. I think Katrina was in the back of every emergency managers mind  FEMA, DHS, state and local  when it comes to disaster preparedness.

Bossert agreed, saying the experience is seared into the muscle memory of those who lived through Katrina.

Weve gotten a lot better as a government, he said.

The former officials said that coordination between the White House and federal agencies is crucial before, during and after a storm or other disaster, such as the BP oil spill off the Gulf Coast in 2010.

The role of the president, they said, is to use the bully pulpit to educate the public, emphasizing the danger but also managing the public reaction. Bush and President Barack Obama often visited the sites of major disasters in the days afterward to offer support  through federal resources and personal empathy to victims.

Trump visited FEMAs headquarters in Washington on Aug. 4, receiving a briefing along with Cabinet members about the hurricane season. Preparedness is an investment in our future, the president wrote on Twitter after the visit.

In a tweet Thursday urging the public to remember to #PlanAhead, Trump included a 24-second video compilation of that visit, featuring dramatic music. Some Twitter users criticized the president for promoting a video that focused mostly on him.

Atkiss, though, said Trump will be well served by several top aides who have experience in dealing with emergency management, including White House deputy chiefs of staff Joseph Hagin, who served in the same role under Bush, and Kirstjen Nielsen, who served as special assistant to Bush for prevention, preparedness and response.

Theres plenty of institutional knowledge and experience and successes and scars, Atkiss said.

For presidents, storm politics go beyond the publics measure of how well their administrations responded to the crisis. They are judged by which communities they visit, how long they spend on the ground and whom they meet.

In April 2011, then-Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) blasted Obama for declaring Alabama an emergency disaster zone after tornadoes killed 200 while the president did not do the same for Texas when wildfires raged across 2 million acres that month.

Several months later, in September, Obama called Perry to express condolences for even more destructive fires  at a time when the governor was leading polls as the top prospective GOP challenger to Obamas reelection the next year.

In the weeks leading up to the presidential election in 2012, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) was attacked by Republicans for embracing Obamas support for federal aid  and a presidential visit  after Hurricane Sandy, which was technically a tropical storm when it made landfall in the United States but caused severe damage in New Jersey and New York.

Such political concerns are secondary at this point.

Lets hope this event fizzles and the forecasts are all wrong, Bossert said. But I dont think thats the right thing to hope for right now. Were executing and were doing what it takes to save peoples lives.

Terri Rupar contributed to this report.
The Republican National Committee on Friday approved a resolution condemning racism and white supremacy at its summer meeting in Nashville  but dont call it a rebuke of President Trump.

This has nothing to do with the president, said the resolutions sponsor, Bill Palatucci, an RNC committeeman from New Jersey. This is the RNC saying that racism and bigotry have no place in America.

Palatucci, an attorney who served as general counsel to Trumps presidential transition committee, said that he began drafting the resolution Aug. 13, the day after a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville ended with the death of a counterprotester.

The core issue was for us as RNC members to clearly and loudly denounce white supremacists, Palatucci explained. There can be no hesitation for the Party of Lincoln.

The resolution itself makes no mention of Trump or the presidents multiple reactions to Charlottesville, which led to three presidential advisory councils being disbanded as their members quit in protest.

After President Trump's most recent rhetoric about Charlottesville inflamed even more criticism, many Republicans stayed silent. But a handful of GOP lawmakers and now Trump's own economic adviser are directly criticizing him. (Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post)

[The Fix: 30 percent of Republicans say white supremacists dont carry the most blame for Charlottesville]

Instead, it states that the racist beliefs of Nazis, the KKK, white supremacists and others are completely inconsistent with the Republican Partys platform, and urges that swift and certain justice be meted out to domestic terrorists. Most of the remaining text focuses on the history of the party and the need for colorblind policy and politics.

We recall that the Republican Party was founded in the struggle against slavery and a rejection of the racial beliefs underlying the institution of slavery, the resolution reads. The Republican Party subsequently led the fight to assure all human beings have equal standing before the law, promoting instead the foundational idea that each person be judged as an individual on merit and not on the color of skin or other circumstance of birth.

The RNCs resolution nonetheless breaks from the president by condemning white nationalists specifically and not dovetailing into criticism of the left. Its the latest of several Republican responses that have taken that tone but have often been buried by coverage of the president.

[Trump again blames both sides in Charlottesville, says some counterprotesters were very, very violent]

RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel gave the partys first official response to Charlottesville in a series of Aug. 12 tweets, and responded again at an Aug. 14 event in Detroit designed to demonstrate the partys ongoing outreach to black voters.

White supremacy, neo-Nazi, KKK and hate speech and bigotry are not welcome and [do] not have a home in the Republican Party, McDaniel told reporters as black Republicans waited for a closed-press roundtable to begin. This isnt a partisan issue. This is an American issue.

Over the next 10 days, Republicans in every state fended off questions about the presidents markedly different response to Charlottesville  condemning violence on many sides, attacking the alt-left and occasionally being congratulated by white nationalist leaders for his tone.

It was agonizing for Republicans who had tried, before Trump, to broaden the partys appeal to nonwhite voters. Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), the highest-profile black Republican in Congress, told Vice News that Trumps moral authority had been compromised by his Charlottesville response. Michael Steele, who as the first black RNC chairman had apologized for the GOPs racial politics, said after Charlottesville that his party was making a grave error by defending Trump.

In 2009, I declared the Southern Strategy of the GOP was dead. It was over, Steele said on an Aug. 15 episode of his Sirius XM radio show. I am sad to say that in the course of the 2016 campaign, that strategy was revived.

Outside of the Opryland complex, other Republicans were engaged in an argument about what else the party needed to do. On Tuesday, Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) told reporters that a bust of Nathan Bedford Forrest, an early leader of the Ku Klux Klan, should be removed from the state capitol complex. But the leading Republican candidates for governor, including Rep. Diane Black (R-Tenn.), stopped short of that, suggesting that the issue needed further debate in the Republican-controlled state legislature.

Meanwhile, the leadership of the Democratic National Committee accused Republicans of distracting from a crisis that theyd enabled long before Trumps victory.

The Republican Party, led by President Trump, has cultivated a culture of hate through their rhetoric and policies, DNC spokeswoman Xochitl Hinojosa said. A vote on a resolution doesnt fix the systemic problems within the Republican Party. When will they take responsibility, denounce racism and stop pursuing divisive policies like voter identification laws and extreme immigration reforms?

Republican officials, who entered the Nashville meeting celebrating a historic level of control in Washington and states, said that their resolution would at least clear up where they stood and where the president needed to arrive.

I think the vote on the resolution will be unanimous and I support it, said Steve Duprey, an RNC committeeman from New Hampshire. I do think it is useful to remind America that our party condemns all of these hate groups, and that while the president may have not articulated it as well as he could have initially, he too has been forceful in condemning racists, supremacists, the alt-right, Nazis, and other hate groups.

Read more at PowerPost
Afghan police officers take position during a clash between Afghan forces and insurgents after a suicide attack on a Shiite mosque in Kabul on Aug. 25. (Omar Sobhani/Reuters)

A suicide bomber set off a blast at a Shiite mosque Friday as gunmen opened fire and panicked worshipers leapt from windows in the latest attack claimed by the Islamic State against Shiite sites. At least 30 people were killed during a siege that lasted nearly five hours, security sources said.

Scores of worshipers, including women and children, were inside the mosque in Kabul when at least four assailants wearing police uniforms stormed the compound and later battled security forces that surrounded the site.

Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danesh had said earlier in the day that 10 worshipers and two policemen were killed and that at least 30 people were wounded, including women and children.

Security sources later put the overall toll at 30 people killed and dozens wounded, the Reuters news agency reported.

Officials from security services and the Public Health Ministry warned that the casualty count could go higher. The Associated Press, citing hospital officials, said the death toll was at least 20.

A member of Afghanistans Shiite clerical council, Mir Hussain Nasiri, said the mosques imam was among those killed.

A statement carried by the Islamic State-linked Amaq News Agency said the militant groups Afghanistan-based wing claimed responsibility for the attack. But the Islamic State often quickly asserts responsibility for attacks, and the claim could not be independently verified.

[Taliban violence creeps into new areas of Afghanistan]

Danesh said special police units were dispatched to the area. Security forces exchanged fire with the assailants, and the sound of an explosion was heard nearly two hours after the attack began.

The attack is the latest in a spate of strikes against Shiites in Afghanistan, where both the Taliban and Islamic State affiliates are fighting against the government and foreign troops. Sunni extremists view Shiite Islam as a heretical branch of the religion.

The Islamic State has asserted responsibility for all of the targeted attacks against Shiites. In one such attack a few weeks ago, more than 30 worshipers were killed when assailants stormed a Shiite mosque in Herat province.

The Islamic States Afghanistan faction consists of some disaffected Taliban members, and it has been behind attacks that have claimed the lives of several U.S. troops in recent weeks.

President Trump this week announced a revamped strategy for Afghanistan that includes possibly boosting U.S. troop levels.

Bashir Bezhen, a security analyst, said the latest mosque attack was part of an effort to widen sectarian rifts.

These attacks are quite worrying, he said, and the aim is to start a conflict this time between the Shiites and Sunnis.

Read more:

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world

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A migrant checks his phone this month in a square in the center of the Tuscan city of Pistoia, Italy. (Michael Birnbaum/The Washington Post)

Caterina Pani grew up immersed in the life of a left-wing town in the Tuscan hills that prides itself on its devotion to helping those in need. So she was flabbergasted this summer when her fellow citizens elected an anti-migrant mayor, the citys first right-wing leader since World War II.

The community has turned against the asylum seekers who have been setting sail toward Italy in search of a better life. The new mayor is talking about barring the way to fresh arrivals. Panis old neighbors are campaigning against a proposed migrant reception center in their midst. And a priest who dared to shelter an undocumented Ghanaian man was slapped with a fine for failing to tip off authorities to his presence.

Many in this city of 90,000 are in good company in Italy, where moods have soured as the country faces a seemingly limitless flow of people taking boats across the sea from Africa. Leaders are struggling to integrate the more than 500,000 migrants who have landed since 2014, even as new asylum seekers arrive almost daily.

Ive been shocked about the reaction of the town. I knew it wasnt exactly the center of the world, said Pani, a 39-year-old film production manager. But here we really have had a fear of differences.

Pistoias former leaders  allies of the center-left party that rules Italy  thought they had the situation under control when the first migrants began showing up three years ago. But more people kept coming, and eventually some of them became fixtures in the citys 13th-century piazzas and its parks.

Iacopo Vespignani, 43, has always voted for left-wing politicians  until he won office this year in Pistoia as a center-right, migration-skeptic municipal counselor. (Michael Birnbaum/The Washington Post)

In a community like this one, we noticed when we started seeing issues more typical of big cities, said Iacopo Vespignani, 43, a newly elected local councilor who always voted for left-wing politicians until he ran this year on a right-wing ticket.

Im not talking about anything illegal. But there are people standing in front of every cafe and bar, in front of the hospital, standing in parking lots. Before the crisis, we had five black people here, everyone knew them and people would help them go back to their countries two times a year, Vespignani said. Everyone knew what they were doing. Ever since that number went exponentially higher, something felt wrong.

[A far-right group chartered a boat to repel migrants on the Mediterranean. Then part of its crew filed for asylum.]

With thousands of new arrivals every month, more Italians are starting to rebel, and they are driving their leaders to pursue once-unthinkable solutions to halt the flow.

Those efforts include empowering the Libyan coast guard  an anarchic, often corrupt force  to return migrants to detention camps on Libyan soil where inmates face forced labor, torture and rape; imposing tough new rules on charity-run rescue ships, thus making their missions more difficult; and pursuing administrative action against Italians, such as the priest, who help under-the-radar migrants.

Former center-left prime minister Matteo Renzi, who hopes to recapture office in elections due no later than spring 2018, embraced the shift when he endorsed an approach to migration once held mainly by Italys far right. He caused a stir when he proclaimed last month that Italy should help potential migrants in their home nations, echoing language used by advocates of extreme anti-migrant policies.

Renzis move came after Junes local elections, which were a hammer blow to his allies across Italy. Anti-migrant politicians surged, while Renzis left-wing partners lost power in areas that had voted for them for generations, including Pistoia.

Migration is an issue that will last 20 years, Renzi told an Italian radio station this month.

Inside the grand brick palazzo that has been home to Pistoias city government since the 14th century, the new mayor, Alessandro Tomasi, is quickly toughening the approach to migration. He cracked down on loitering in the Piazza della Resistenza, a sun-beaten park where some of the citys 188 official asylum seekers, many of them forbidden to take up work, pass the time. And he put the construction of the reception center on hold, saying that it did not have the proper permits.

[Italy offers swimming lessons for refugees traumatized while crossing the Mediterranean]

Italys center-left leaders are paying for their top-down, elitist approach to migration, said Tomasi, 38, who before the election was a local councilor who worked at his familys bakery.

The migrant-friendly leaders are detached from reality, Tomasi said. They dont know what the people actually think.

Unlike the major 2015 spike in people traveling from Turkey into Greece, where most were Syrians and Iraqis, most of Italys arrivals come from sub-Saharan Africa, and not all of them are fleeing war. This year, top origin nations include Nigeria, Guinea and Ivory Coast, along with Bangladesh.

As of Friday, 96,930 migrants had arrived in Italy this year, down 3.9 percent compared with the same period last year. Far fewer have moved elsewhere in Europe, a result of Italys bureaucratic failures to process applications and send them onward, combined with a deep reluctance by other nations to share the burden.

[Overwhelmed by immigrants, Italy threatens to bar the door to rescue ships]

In Pistoia, northwest of Florence, the local political campaign was upended shortly before the June elections by a rebellion against a planned migrant reception center in Nespolo, the tiny neighborhood where Pani grew up. Many residents immediately turned against it  and they and many others credit the new mayors upset win to their anger.

The proposed building, a long-vacant clinic with barred windows, is a poor place to turn into a home for 24 asylum seekers, they say. And the residential area, nearly completely devoid of businesses and poorly connected to the center of town, offers little for migrants to pass the time.

We have a lot of young people who are going to the United States or somewhere else because theres no work, said Sergio Sebastiani, 40, a member of a local group campaigning against the reception center. And here you have people who have no education, no qualifications. What are they going to do here?

One of the citys former leaders blames her loss on migration.

In a global age, mixing is a natural perspective for our countries, said Daniela Belliti, the former deputy mayor who was voted out in June. She was giving voice to a perspective once typical of the citys leftist political scene. Pistoia lived through an earlier migration wave in the 1990s, when tens of thousands of Albanians fled the ashes of communism and sailed across the Adriatic to Italy. Many settled here.

Pistoia is a city that is hospitable to the left wing, Belliti said. But there are many concerns about the lack of jobs, the lack of future for youth. There is widespread uncertainty that serves as fertile soil for people trying to find scapegoats.

The towns tensions are on easy display to its migrants.

Here, they dont like blacks, said Kone Yacouba, 24, who arrived in Pistoia last October after a trek from his native Ivory Coast. They said it was a country with rule of law, but they wont even take you at a clinic. And if you get onto a bus, everyone looks at you strangely.

He said he had been turned away from a hospital when he needed medical attention for eye problems and a skin condition. And he said that the facility where he is staying is pocketing public funds instead of offering food to its residents.

But many Pistoians have also dedicated themselves to the crisis, including a priest, Massimo Biancalani, who has thrown open his church doors to a group of largely Muslim migrants. About 30 young men stay in the churchs warren of outbuildings at any one time. Not all of them are legally registered in Italy, and last month he was fined about $380 for failing to notify authorities within 48 hours that he had taken in a 26-year-old Ghanaian man.

This law creates more invisible people, whose only crime was asking for help. As a priest, I am called to help people when they ask for it, he said. Pistoia reflects the general climate of mistrust and fear. But the more you know these guys, the greater your perception of their humanity.

Biancalani wrote a letter to the leaders of the group protesting the new migrant center, asking them to be sympathetic to those in need. He didnt hear back.

Near the proposed site, Pani sat one recent sweltering evening at a community center her father now runs. She said that despite her longtime involvement in left-wing politics, she could barely recognize the help-migrants-in-Africa sentiments of Renzi, let alone the attitudes of her familys neighbors.

Pani said she had struggled for years to find full-time work  but she said that, despite Italys stubbornly high youth unemployment rates, it didnt make sense to view the migrants as competition.

The jobs we are looking for in Italy are not the ones they are looking for, she said. Theyre not stealing a job from me.

But Panis disagreements arent just with the neighborhood  they extend to her family.

Her father, Renato, 71, was an elected leader in the city in the mid-1990s, just as the Albanians were arriving. Now he runs a community center tied to a left-wing local organization. Migration makes the town richer, he said, and he was firm that his commitment to that idea has not slackened.

Still, he said with a pained smile, this time it might be better to help people in their own countries.

We ought to keep helping and receiving people fleeing for humanitarian reasons, Renato Pani said. And at the same time, we need to put in obstacles to the business of the flow.

People looking for a job ought to be able to find one in their own countries, he said, rather than looking for them in countries like ours, where we struggle to find places for our own people.

Correction: In an earlier version of this post, the name of the mayor of Pistoia was misspelled. It has been updated to reflect the correct spelling.

Stefano Pitrelli contributed to this report.

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More than 6,000 migrants rescued in Mediterranean amid surge on dangerous sea route

Migrant boat traffic from Libya to Europe is surging  and turning deadlier

These refugees escaped war. Now theyre freezing in Greeces migrant camps.

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The Office of Personnel Management building in Washington. Millions of U.S. government workers' personal data were hacked in 2015, the government agency in charge of the data said, amid strong denials from the Chinese that they were responsible. (Shawn Thew/European Pressphoto Agency/File)

A Chinese national was arrested in Los Angeles this week on charges he used a rare type of computer malware that was also deployed to access millions of sensitive U.S. records from the Office of Personnel Management.

Court papers filed against Yu Pingan do not mention the OPM, but they do suggest a connection between the two. The OPM hack is considered one of the worst-ever computer breaches of U.S. government computer systems because the hackers were able to access a huge volume of information from security clearance forms filed by federal workers and contractors.

The suspect, along with other conspirators in China, would acquire and use malicious software tools, some of which were rare variants previously unidentified by the FBI and information security community, including a malicious software tool known as Sakula,  the criminal complaint states.

The Sakula malware has previously been linked to the OPM hack, as well as other suspected computer system penetrations in the United States.

Yu, 36, was arrested Monday night when he flew into Los Angeles International Airport, officials said.

U.S. officials have said that the Chinese government is responsible for the OPM hack, which breached major databases and exposed the sensitive information of about 22.1 million people, including not just federal employees and contractors but their families and friends.

The charges filed against Yu concern earlier alleged computer breaches of three U.S. companies. He is accused of conspiracy to commit computer hacking for those incidents, which took place from 2012 to 2014.
In a rare occurrence, the military is bringing charges against a retired Army general. (2008 photo by Charles Dharapak/AP)

The U.S. Army will do something this weekend it has done only four other times since the Truman administration  drag a general into a military courtroom to face criminal charges.

James J. Grazioplene, 68, a retired major general from Gainesville, Va., is being court-martialed on charges that he raped a child over a six-year period while he was on active duty in the 1980s, according to Army officials and court documents.

It is extremely rare for senior military officers to face court-martial proceedings. The Air Force has never court-martialed a general. The Navy has court-martialed just one admiral since the end of World War II, although two others have been prosecuted recently in federal court for civilian offenses as part of an epic corruption scandal.

The Army will hold a probable-cause hearing this weekend at Fort Meade, Md., to review evidence against Grazioplene. In April, the service announced in a terse statement that it had charged the retired general with six counts of rape of a minor but disclosed no other details. Army officials have declined to answer questions about the case since then.

Charging documents obtained by The Washington Post under the Freedom of Information Act show that Grazioplene is accused of committing rape on six occasions between 1983 and 1989 while stationed in the United States and Germany.

According to the charging documents, the rapes occurred at Fort Leavenworth, Kan.; Fort Bragg, N.C.; Amberg, Germany; Bindlach, Germany; and Woodbridge, Va.

The identity of the victim was redacted from the records. It is unclear what led the Army to open an investigation into the case three decades later. Under military law, there is no statute of limitations for rape.

Grazioplene entered the Army in 1972 as an armor officer and retired in 2005 after holding a senior post at the Pentagon. His civilian defense attorney, Thomas Pavlinic, said the general would contest the charges. He declined further comment.

Retired officers can be charged with military crimes even after they have left the armed forces, although it is highly unusual.

Its almost unheard of, said Rachel VanLandingham, an associate professor at Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles and a former Air Force judge advocate.

In modern times, the armed forces have usually dealt with generals and admirals suspected of wrongdoing by imposing discipline in private or ending their careers with a minimum of public explanation.

That has gradually changed, however, as the Defense Department has come under pressure from Congress to crack down on sexual assault and harassment in the ranks and to hold perpetrators accountable  even senior brass.

Its fair to say that theres heightened awareness of sexual assault and heightened sensitivity to ensuring a proper investigation is conducted, VanLandingham said.

In February, for example, the Air Force announced that it had taken the extraordinary step of reducing the rank of a retired four-star general after finding that he had engaged in inappropriate sexual acts with a female subordinate while he was on active duty a decade earlier.

The Air Force determined that Gen. Arthur Lichte had an affair with a junior officer and probably coerced her into having sex in 2007 and 2009. He was stripped of two stars and demoted in rank to major general. The Air Force also issued Lichte a reprimand and suggested that he had narrowly dodged a court-martial. Lichte denied wrongdoing.

An unofficial taboo against putting senior military leaders on trial in sex abuse cases was shattered four years ago when the Army prosecuted then-Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Sinclair on charges of forcible sodomy and adultery, plus other offenses.

Prosecutors ended up dropping most of the charges and cut a plea deal that spared Sinclair jail time, but only after days of sordid testimony that exposed how the general carried on a volatile years-long affair with a junior officer in four countries and two war zones.

Before that, the last Army general to face court-martial was Brig. Gen. Roger B. Duff, who pleaded guilty in 2012 to making false official statements and wearing unauthorized decorations.

In 1999, Maj. Gen. David R.E. Hale pleaded guilty at court-martial after he was accused of committing adultery with the wives of four subordinates. Before that, no Army general had faced court-martial since 1952, when Maj. Gen. Robert W. Grow, a military attache in Moscow, was suspended and reprimanded on charges of dereliction of duty.
President Trump moved Friday to restrict the Venezuelan governments access to the U.S. financial system and squeeze the oil-based economy that sustains President Nicolas Maduro, but he stopped short of imposing a full oil embargo.

Trump signed an executive order barring dealings in new bonds and stocks issued by the government and the state oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela, the parent of Citgo. Banks also cannot engage in new lending with the government or the oil giant.

Maduro chose to embrace dictatorship over his own people, national security adviser H.R. McMaster said. With todays announcement, the president is keeping his promise of strong action and continuing to show strong leadership.

The action followed Maduros decision to convene a special assembly to rewrite the constitution of the oil-rich nation and assume many government powers. U.S. and Latin American leaders say Maduros government is veering toward dictatorship.

U.S. officials said the new restrictions ensure that U.S. financial institutions cannot be used to help finance or underwrite Maduros expansion of undemocratic rule.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro speaks at a news conference in Caracas on Tuesday. (Ariana Cubillos/AP)

The sanctions would prevent, for instance, a repeat of a $2.8 billion bond deal with Goldman Sachs reached earlier this year that gave the cash-strapped Venezuelan government an important lifeline. Yet Venezuelas growing international isolation because of Maduros power grab, coupled with its fast-eroding financial stability, has already effectively shut it out of debt markets, with investors seeing it as too great a risk.

The new economic sanctions are likely to deepen the financial crisis in Venezuela, where the oil-based economy has shrunk by about 35 percent since 2014.

[In Venezuela, the economy may yet do what the opposition couldnt]

The Trump administrations goal is a return to full democracy, including free elections, adherence to the countrys constitution and the reestablishment of the authority of the elected assembly, U.S. officials said.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin accused Maduro of hollowing out Venezuela and said his government has been a catastrophe for the country.

Maduro may no longer take advantage of the American financial system to facilitate the wholesale looting of the Venezuelan economy at the expense of the Venezuelan people, Mnuchin said. Todays actions is the next step towards freedom for the Venezuelan people.

The penalties come on top of U.S. sanctions on Maduro and senior government officials announced last month. They are the first to directly target Maduros access to prime sources of funding.

President Trump spoke about Venezuela after meeting with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, left,Nikki Haley, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, and national security adviser H.R. McMaster in Bedminster, N.J. on Aug. 11. (The Washington Post)

U.S. officials called the new financial penalties calibrated and acknowledged that they are less severe than some of Maduros critics had requested. Venezuela can still export oil to the United States and import it from here. Venezuelan heavy crude oil is crucial to some U.S. refiners, which are geared to handle that specific type. Venezuela imports lighter crude, including from the United States.

And while the sanctions stop far short of an oil embargo, the move does suggest a willingness by the Trump administration to gradually turn up the heat on Maduro in new ways.

It wont have any important impact in terms of financial flows to Venezuela, because there arent any to speak of right now, said Siobhan Morden, managing director and Latin America expert at Nomura Holdings. But it confirms what we know, that they now definitely do not have access to external capital.

Vice President Pence had signaled the move, writing on Twitter that the United States will not standby as Venezuela crumbles.

Pence and other U.S. officials have been threatening further sanctions for weeks, since Maduro moved to go around the national constitutional assembly, where opposition to his rule is strong.

Trump has also said he would not rule out military action.

Asked Friday whether the president is still open to a military option, McMaster did not directly answer.

The president directed us not just to develop plans for the current situation but to anticipate the possibility of a further deterioration in Venezuela, McMaster said. The president said if things get worse, how could they get worse, and what are a range of options available to him that we could take in concert with our partners in the region?

Venezuelan officials responded defiantly.

There it is, more and more sanctions against Venezuela, Delcy Rodriguez, the Maduro ally who heads the new Constituent Assembly, said Friday on national television. They think that with economic sanctions, theyll be able to suffocate the Venezuelan people. But weve pledged and will keep pledging to defend Venezuela no matter the type of imperial threat.

In a televised meeting with officials and oil-sector leaders Friday, Maduro said Trump administration officials look at us, the brown-skinned from the south, as less than them, adding that theyre looking to suffocate Venezuelas productive economy and to continue leading a brutal economic war.

He asked the Supreme Court and the Constituent Assembly to conduct a judgment for betrayal of the homeland for all those who asked for the sanctions and accused the president of the opposition-led National Assembly, Julio Borges, of being directly involved.

Maduro claimed that the sanctions would affect oil imports and called on U.S. investors and companies that benefit from Venezuelan oil to hold an urgent meeting to find solutions.

Venezuelas national reserves have already hit 15-year lows of about $10 billion, most in gold bars, not cash. As Venezuela is boxed in financially, it will be harder and harder, analysts say, for the country to avoid a potentially devastating debt default. A key test will come in the fourth quarter of this year, when $3.8 billion in bonds come due.

Failure to pay could spark a cascading effort by foreign investors to seize Venezuelas global assets, potentially slamming its all-important oil industry. As the economic crisis gripping the country deepens, it could also create conditions so harsh that Maduros grip on power could be challenged by the countrys military, some analysts say.

The idea is that a default would be devastating in terms of economic impact, and that would force a political transition, Morden said.

It would also test the will of Maduros two main foreign benefactors  China and Russia  to continue propping him up. Maduro has accelerated his public courting of Moscow in recent days, boasting of stronger ties.

In a news conference Wednesday, Maduro called Russian President Vladimir Putin the main leader of the world. He heralded a deal struck in June to bring 60,000 tons of Russian wheat a month to Venezuela, with the first shipments arriving this week.

Maduro said he would soon make a trip to Moscow to advance the commercial relationship. He dismissed the threat of further U.S. economic penalties.

Despite many sanctions that the Trump-Pence duo approves, we can achieve more than them, Maduro said.

Faiola reported from Miami. Rachelle Krygier in Caracas, Venezuela, and Philip Rucker in Washington contributed to this report.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un guides a target-striking contest of the special operation forces of the Korean People's Army to occupy islands in this undated picture provided by the Korean Central News Agency in Pyongyang on Aug. 25, 2017. (KCNA/Reuters)

North Korea launched three missiles into the sea between the Korean Peninsula and Japan on Saturday morning, reigniting tensions after a month of heated rhetoric between Pyongyang and Washington and dispelling President Trumps assertion that Kim Jong Un had come to respect him.

The missiles appeared to be short-range, not the intercontinental ones capable of reaching the mainland United States that North Korea fired last month, and at least one of them quickly failed.

Still, the latest launches underscore Kims continued focus on making strides in his weapons program and his continued defiance of international calls for him to desist.

Analysts said the launches appeared to be a response to the ongoing joint exercises between the United States and South Korean militaries, exercises that North Korea always strongly protests because it considers them preparation for an invasion.

Furthermore, South Korea fired three missiles of its own this week.

In this excerpt from a North Korean propaganda video, senior U.S. officials are seen engulfed in flames with President Trump looking over a cemetery with the warning: The fate of the U.S., with its many crimes, ends here. (The Washington Post)

When they [North Korea] fire salvos of missiles, its usually because theyre training, so in a way, theyre doing their own exercises, said Melissa Hanham of the Center for Nonproliferation Studies in California.

Kim had just supervised a special forces target-striking contest, practicing attacks on two South Korean islands, the Norths state-run Korean Central News Agency reported separately Saturday.

The North Korean Peoples Army should think of mercilessly wiping out the enemy with arms only and occupying Seoul at one go and the southern half of Korea, Kim told his special forces, KCNA reported.

[ U.S. top brass stress diplomacy first, force second, in dealing with North Korea ]

Saturdays salvo was composed of three short-range missiles fired over the course of half an hour from Kittaeryong on North Koreas east coast, according to U.S. Pacific Command in Hawaii.

The first and third missiles flew 150 miles before falling into the sea, according to South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff. The second missile appears to have blown up almost immediately.

We are working with our interagency partners on a more detailed assessment and we will provide a public update if warranted, Cmdr. Dave Benham, a spokesman for the U.S. Pacific Command, said in a statement. The missiles did not pose a threat to the United States, he added.

The White House said that the president had been briefed on the launches and that it was monitoring the situation.

South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff said they were working to determine the types of missiles fired. South Koreas national security council convened to discuss the latest provocations.

The launches puzzled analysts because North Korea does not typically have problems with tried and tested short-range missiles like Scuds.

Even though the launches did not all succeed, they still constitute violations of the U.N. Security Council resolutions prohibiting North Korea from launching missiles or conducting nuclear tests, and they will spark another round of condemnation from the international community  condemnation that will, again, fall on deaf ears in Pyongyang.

[ No American strike on North Korea without my consent, says Souths president ]

The latest launches came as the Trump administration, after a month of threatening to unleash military fire and fury, expressed hope that the North Korean regime was curtailing its provocations.

At a campaign rally this week, Trump said that Kim is starting to respect us and that maybe something positive can come about.

This echoed an earlier remark from Secretary of State Rex Tillerson that Pyongyang has certainly demonstrated some level of restraint that weve not seen in the past.

The latest salvo appeared to be a rebuttal to that assessment but also a direct response to the Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercises that are taking place in South Korea until Aug. 31.

Those exercises, which mainly involve computer simulations rather than battlefield maneuvers or flyovers with bombers, are smaller than usual this year, with 17,500 American troops participating, down from 25,000 last year.

China and Russia had been calling on the United States to scale back the exercises, but the Pentagon said the decrease in troops was due to operational reasons, rather than to tamp down tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

North Korea has still issued angry statements about the exercises, saying most recently that they were evidence that the United States planned to invade the country. The United States and its puppets in South Korea should act with discretion if they want to evade the historic moment of death, KCNA reported.

[ No American strike on North Korea without my consent, says Souths president ]

Kim has been aggressively pursuing more advanced missile technology, and North Korea has now conducted 17 launches so far this year. By comparison, his father, Kim Jong Il, presided over only 16 missile launches during 17 years in power.

Most alarmingly, North Korea last month fired its first intercontinental ballistic missiles, which are technically capable of reaching the mainland United States.

As tensions increased this month, Kims regime warned that it was considering launching missiles into the Pacific Ocean near the U.S. territory of Guam, prompting Trumps warning that the U.S. military was locked and loaded and ready to retaliate.

Kim has not been deterred.

This week he visited the Chemical Material Institute of North Koreas Academy of Defense Sciences and inspected designs for two new longer-range missiles, according to state media reports. The new and untested designs, labeled as the Pukguksong-3 and the Hwasong-13, appear to be for new types of intercontinental ballistic missiles.

The ICBMs that North Korea fired last month were theoretically capable of reaching Denver and Chicago, a development that has alarmed policymakers but which nonproliferation experts say is clearly in line with Kims stated aims.

Read more

North Koreas Kim Jong Un appears to ease rhetoric in standoff over nuclear weapons

The Pentagon prepares for a war game on the Korean Peninsula

Why doesnt South Korea have nuclear weapons? For a time, it pursued them.

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Lee Jae-yong, the scion of the Samsung dynasty and the most powerful tycoon in South Korea, was found guilty Friday for his part in a sensational corruption scandal that had already brought down a president.

Lee, who is 49 and had been in detention since February, was sentenced to five years in prison  far less than the 12 years special prosecutors had asked for but still an astounding turn of events even after the turmoil of the last year.

The country is no stranger to political corruption scandals, but this one has riveted South Koreans, who, increasingly, are demanding accountability from political and business leaders, regardless of the impact it might have on the national economy. The conglomerate is so powerful in South Korea that the country is sometimes called The Republic of Samsung.

Lee was found guilty on all five charges: bribery, embezzlement, illegally transferring assets overseas, concealing criminal proceeds and perjury. All the charges related to Choi-gate, the corruption scandal that led to the impeachment of Park Geun-hye as president in March.

At the heart of this case is the collusion between political power and economic power, the presiding judge, Lee Jin-dong, said. This is a case in which Samsung executives . . . provided a large amount of money in bribes to the president, who has the final say in economic policy, in anticipation of help with the succession process, the judge said, according to reporters in the courtroom.



A demonstrator wears a mask with a photograph of Lee Jae-yong, co-vice chairman of Samsung Electronics, during a protest outside the Seoul Central District Court on Aug. 25. (Seongjoon Cho/Bloomberg)

Lee showed no expression when the verdict and sentence were read out, according to those present in the courtroom.

Samsung declined to comment, instead referring to a statement from Lees lead lawyer, who said he would appeal immediately. I cannot possibly accept any part of the lower court's guilty verdicts, in terms of interpretation of law and finding of facts, Song Wu-cheol said in the statement.

The verdict could have implications for the other cases still in process  including the impeached president.

Park, for her part, is now on trial for 18 charges including bribery and extortion in relation to some $50 million she and her confidante, Choi Soon-sil, are alleged to have taken or solicited from three big conglomerates, including Samsung, in return for business favors. If convicted, Park could face a prison term of 10 years to a life sentence.

Samsung had been accused of paying or promising to pay a total of $38 million to Choi in return for government support for a merger of two units of the conglomerate. The merger, which was approved, helped Lee tighten his grip on the Samsung group, which his family controls with a tiny fraction of the shares through a complex web of cross-shareholdings.

[ Samsung boss arrested in South Koreas explosive corruption scandal ]

During five months of hearings that had been dubbed the trial of the century, a special prosecutor laid out his case against Lee, alleging that the Samsung heir arranged the deal during three face-to-face meetings with Park between 2014 and 2016.

Lee Jae-yong leaves after his verdict trial at the Seoul Central District Court in Seoul, Aug. 25. (Pool/Reuters)

Four other former or incumbent Samsung executives were also on trial relating to the same deal. Two of them were sentenced to four years behind bars, while the other two were given suspended terms.

Lee, who was represented by a team of 28 lawyers, had maintained his innocence throughout the trial. His defense attorneys have said that he was a hands-off manager who had no knowledge of the arrangement, which they said was organized by his subordinates.

But in its ruling Friday, the Seoul Central District Court found Lee and four former Samsung executives guilty of paying bribes totaling $6.4 million, including paying for equestrian training for the daughter of Choi, the former presidents confidante.

While denying being involved in any bribery scheme, Lee had admitted during a parliamentary hearing in December that Samsung had given a $900,000 horse to Chois daughter, an Olympic equestrian hopeful.

The three-judge bench also found Friday that Lee had embezzled corporate money for personal gain in using Samsung funds to ensure that a merger that would cement his grip on the conglomerate was approved, then lied about it.

The $8 billion merger at the center of the scandal was between Samsung C&T Corporation, a unit that owns a controlling stake in Samsung Electronics, and Cheil Industries, another Samsung business. Lee needed the support of the government-run National Pension Service, a major Samsung shareholder, for the deal to go through.

Prosecutors allege that Lee offered to pay the bribes to Choi  ostensibly as donations to two foundations she ran  and in return, the presidents confidante would put pressure on the pension service to back the merger.

The head of the pension service, a former health minister, was in June found guilty of abusing his power by supporting the merger and sentenced to 2 years in prison.

[ For South Koreas Samsung, 2016 was an explosive year. Literally. ]

The trial has come during a rocky period of Samsung, which literally means Three Stars.

It was founded by Lees grandfather some 80 years ago as an exporter of fruit and dried fish but was transformed  as part of South Koreas government-backed industrialization that began in the 1960s  into a diverse conglomerate that now comprises 60 different business units.

Under Lees father, Lee Kun-hee, Samsung became known as a high-tech giant, famous for its phones and televisions.

But Lee Kun-hee suddenly had a heart attack in early 2014 and has been in a coma ever since. Lee Jae-yong, who had been heir apparent, has been running the company for the last 3 years, although he is officially still vice chairman while his father is alive.

Samsung has been in a state of limbo between generations. Then last year, Samsung Electronics, the conglomerates flagship company, endured a product disaster, having to recall its Galaxy Note 7 smartphone after it developed a habit of combusting.

But the company has rebounded, recording net profits of almost $10 billion in the second quarter of this year. Its share price has surged by 32 percent so far this year.

On Wednesday, the company unveiled the successor to the disastrous Galaxy Note 7  the Galaxy Note 8. The latest addition to Samsungs premium phone line will show whether the company has the ability to overcome its past and secure its future, analysts said.

This is not the first time that a Samsung owner has been sentenced to prison, but its the first time one has served time.

Lees father was convicted of embezzling corporate money and evading tens of millions of dollars in taxes in 2009, receiving a suspended three-year sentence. But he never spent a day in prison and was pardoned by the president later that year.

Lee Jae-yong will, however, serve time as sentences of more than three years cannot be suspended under South Korean law.

Furthermore, President Moon Jae-in, the liberal who was elected in May after Parks impeachment, has taken a strong stance against corporate overreach and on the campaign trail vowed to clamp down on the use of presidential pardons to exonerate business chiefs.

Lee Kun-hee had been grooming his son for years to be his successor, leading to him being dubbed locally the crown prince of Samsung.

Jay Y. Lee, as the son likes to be known in the west, speaks fluent English and Japanese. He has an MBA from the prestigious Keio University in Tokyo and spent several years pursuing a doctorate at Harvard Business School, although he did not graduate.

He was elevated to vice chairman in 2012, taking over the running of the conglomerate when his father was incapacitated two years later.

His prison sentence now leaves Samsung without a leader called Lee for the first time. The vacuum is particularly pronounced because Samsung in February disbanded its Future Strategy Office  sometimes called the conglomerates control tower  after it was implicated in the case.

Lee will now be sent to a prison for white collar criminals in Uijeongbu, north of Seoul and not far from the demilitarized zone that separates North and South Korea.

There, prisoners are allowed to study English or Japanese  not something that Lee needs  and attend religious services. They are also allowed to receive visitors at the wardens discretion, something Lee may be able to use to his advantage.

Chey Tae-won, the chairman of the SK conglomerate, received an average of three visitors a day during his imprisonment for embezzlement, according to local reports. Chey was pardoned by Park in 2015 to help boost the national economy.
A U.S. delegation led by Jared Kushner had a productive meeting with the Palestinian Authority on how to begin Middle East peace talks, the State Department said Friday, although some Palestinian officials expressed frustration that the Trump administration still has not committed to a two-state solution.

Both sides agreed to continue with the U.S.-led conversations as the best way to reach a peace deal, the State Department statement said. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas also struck a positive note in public comments a day earlier after meeting in Ramallah with Kushner, who is President Trumps son-in-law and adviser, as well as Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt and deputy national security adviser Dina Powell.

We know that this delegation is working for peace, and we are working with it to achieve what President Trump has called a peace deal, Abbas said at the beginning of the meeting, according to the Palestinian Authority news site Wafa. We know that things are difficult and complicated, but there is nothing impossible with good efforts.

The U.S. team is attempting to find a way to kick-start the Israeli-Palestinian peace process in hopes of reaching what Trump has called the ultimate deal. The Americans met with Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, as well as with officials from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Qatar during the trip.

But the U.S. delegation refrained from committing to a two-state solution  the primary focus of peace efforts for decades. That has rankled Palestinian officials, who say that negotiations without any set parameters would benefit only the Israeli side.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas meets with U.S. presidential adviser Jared Kushner in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Aug. 24. (Palestinian Presidential Office/Reuters)

[A defiant Netanyahu attacks fake news as investigations heat up]

For weeks Palestinian officials have called on the United States to back a two-state solution and ask Israel to stop building settlements in the occupied West Bank, which most of the international community considers illegal and an obstacle to the creation of any future Palestinian state.

Most notably in a meeting with left-wing Israeli lawmakers last week, Abbas noted that he had met Trumps envoys about 20 times but that they had failed to convey a commitment to a two-state solution to Netanyahu, according to leaked comments.

We have clearly emphasized to the Americans the importance of having a public statement that has a commitment to the two-state solution, said Ashraf Khatib, a spokesman for the Negotiations Affairs Department of the Palestine Liberation Organization. There hasnt been any.

A small group of demonstrators gathered in Ramallah as the meeting took place Thursday, protesting a delegation that is widely seen as biased toward Israel.

We have told the Americans that we are committed to the American effort, Khatib said. Weve also told the Americans that we want clarity on their approach.

U.S. officials have said that they have not ruled out a two-state solution but that it is up to the two sides, not them, to agree on a way forward.

Trump is very committed to achieving a solution here that will be able to bring prosperity and peace to all people in the area, Kushner said ahead of his meeting with Netanyahu.

Analysts say a corruption scandal engulfing the Israeli leader has left him increasingly beholden to fringe elements within his right-wing coalition, possibly making him an inflexible negotiating partner. The 82-year-old Abbas is also fighting for his political survival as he reaches the end of his tenure and is keen to carve out a legacy.

Without a vision, it will be negotiations for negotiations sake, Khatib said.

Read more:

Pressure mounts on Israels prime minister as aide agrees to testify

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It was March 2020, and the world was closing down as the COVID-19 pandemic spread. At first, the news of...
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 24/08/2017 (1907 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Confusion, denials and finger-pointing dominated provincial-municipal relations Thursday following the disclosure this week that the Pallister government wants to change the way it funds municipalities.

The spokesman for Manitobas municipalities said Thursday local leaders dont need more rules, and they expect the Pallister government to keep its promise to simplify the funding process.

The new minister responsible for municipal relations said the confusion is a mistake and there are no new rules but was unable to explain why municipalities were told three months ago new rules were on the way.

RUTH / BONNEVILLE WINNIPEG FREE PRESS New minister of municipal relations Jeff Wharton, says the province isn't putting conditions on funding for municipalities.

The opposition NDP said the confusion points to the government backtracking on election promises.

The reality of the situation is (the Pallister government has) committed to having less strings for funding, but theyve also said they do want accountability, said Chris Goertzen, president of the Association of Manitoba Municipalities and mayor of Steinbach. We have no trouble with being accountable, but the reality is its going to have to be simple, and were going to hold them to developing this process together with municipalities, not just on their own.

Goertzen was responding to the report in Thursdays Free Press that revealed the province sent letters to municipalities in May saying it expects to attach expected outcomes to a new funding model that the government had said would be unconditional.

A Freedom of Access and Protection to Privacy Act (FIPPA) request made by the provincial NDP and provided to the Free Press revealed that letters penned by Grant Doak, the then-deputy minister of the department of Indigenous and Municipal Relations were sent to all Manitoba municipalities. That includes Doug McNeil, the CAO of the City of Winnipeg, Joe Masi, the executive director of the Association of Manitoba, and to the City of Brandon.

The letters confirm the province will give the municipalities the same amount of operating and capital funding in 2017 that had been provided in 2016 and that the operating grants would be unconditional.

Confusion arose because of the additional information provided by Doak. In the letter to Winnipegs McNeil, Doak writes the province will attach outcomes and expectations for its funding, singling out the Winnipeg Police Services. In letters to Brandon, the AMM and the other CAOs, they are also told outcomes will be attached to their funding.

In an unusual move, the municipalities are also told that how major infrastructure projects would be funded and prioritized would be changed. Its been customary for municipalities to develop their own priority lists for infrastructure projects and then pitch that list to the provincial government for funding. But the letters stated the province would work with the municipalities to develop one- and five-year capital budgets to ensure their priorities are aligned.

But Jeff Wharton, who was appointed only last week as the new minister of municipal relations, told reporters nothing has changed.

Were not putting conditions on the funding, Wharton said. But he was unable to explain what Doaks letter meant by expected outcomes.

Wharton said the Free Press misinterpreted the May 10 letter. He said the story was not actually factual, but he couldnt explain how it was wrong.

NDP finance critic James Allum said it is apparent the Progressive Conservatives are backing away from their fair share, fair say promise to municipalities during the 2016 election campaign.

He called the letter a very clear, concrete admission that there were conditions associated with the (provincial) funding.

They walked back from the fair share commitment, and now theyre walking back from the fair say commitment  and the letter is proof positive of that. And if the new minister cant explain it, then the premier needs to get out in front of the cameras and explain to municipalities and to the people of Manitoba exactly what this means, Allum said.

While the letters from Doak were sent May 10, another FIPPA request revealed that Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman met with Premier Brian Pallister on May 18 to discuss unspecified inter-government issues. Provincial officials were to meet with the AMM on May 16.

Unlike Goertzen, Bowman chose not to speak to the issue Thursday. His press secretary downplayed the significance of the letter but councils finance chairman Coun. Scott Gillingham said its important to the citys budgeting process to define what the province wants and that has yet to be determined.

Goertzen said the province has promised municipalities it wont unilaterally impose outcomes on funding but will work with municipalities to define those areas.

Obviously, this will be a new mechanism that the provincial government will be using, and theyve made a commitment to us that theyll work together with the municipalities to create this new accountability mechanism. Well hold them to account to developing this in conjunction with us, Goertzen said.

Whats important is we have simplicity with accountability and its not onerous on municipalities. Obviously, were going to be looking for something really simple from the provincial government, with less strings attached but were not afraid of being accountable.

Following Whartons question-and-answer session with reporters at the legislature Thursday, Chisholm Pothier, the premiers director of communications, stepped in front of cameras and said, Short answer is the (Free Press) story is out to fing lunch.

He said municipalities understand that there are no strings attached to their funding.

Theres no defined outcomes that have to be achieved, Pothier said. Theres conversations on what can make this city and this province better.

aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca
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This article was published 25/08/2017 (1906 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg doctor elected to one of the Canadian Medical Associations top positions says shes paying careful attention to the overhaul of health-care delivery in her city.

Dr. Gigi Osler has worked as an ear, nose and throat surgeon in Winnipeg for nearly two decades. She says she shares concern around possible cuts to frontline staff and is particularly attentive to the impact hospital consolidation will have on the waitlist for patients who need hearing tests.

I can only see it getting longer, Osler says, so Im watching it closely.

HOLLERON PHOTOGRAPHY Dr. Gigi Osler is the new president-elect of the Canadian Medical Association

Still, the regional overhaul wont actually factor into Oslers work with the CMA  that will be left to its provincial arm, Doctors Manitoba.

The CMA is focusing its efforts on solutions to the national opioid epidemic and planning around the impending legalization of marijuana.

In health care its a challenging time, she says.

Osler formally stepped into the role of president-elect earlier this week, marking the start of a three-year term. Typically, CMA presidents serve one year as president-elect, one year as president, and one year as past president before stepping down.

To me this is a service Im giving back my time and my energy to an organization that supports physicians, Osler says. I understand it is politics, but I look at it as good work that needs to be done to support doctors and patients.

But first up is a dose of politics. The CMA is one of several groups pushing back against federal plans to close tax loopholes that allow some Canadians, including doctors, to pay less taxes.

Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau announced the new measures last month, pending a 75-day public consultation period. In effect, it will mean doctors who incorporate to prevent some of their income from being taxed will no longer be able to do so.

The number of people who are self-employed and incorporate nearly doubled between 2000 and 2016, according to the federal finance department.

Part of what were understanding more as our tax experts look into it is that it seems like the implications (of the plan) run deeper and there may be more unintended consequences than perhaps was initially thought, Osler says.

Osler argued against the plan during the CMAs annual meeting in Quebec City this week, noting the changes could deeply impact private practice doctors who dont have pensions or get benefits.

We assume the risks of establishing offices and clinics, employing staff and purchasing equipment, Osler told Federal Health Minister Jane Philpott at the delegation. Many of us do not have access to paid sick leave benefits or retirement pensions.

Speaking with the Free Press on Friday, she says she continues to have concerns about the timeline for consultations.

A 75-day consultation period throughout summer for something this large that could impact millions of Canadian small businesses and professionals? Osler says, It seems a bit rushed.

Despite the changes happening federally and those happening regionally in Winnipeg, Osler says she wants patients to remember most that their doctors are deeply concerned with their care.

Despite all the changes and all the concerns that people have for the health care system in general, doctors care deeply about patients, she says, thats why we went into medicine.

The next annual CMA meeting will be August 2018 in Winnipeg.

 with files from The Canadian Press

jane.gerster@freepress.mb.ca
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This article was published 24/08/2017 (1907 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A proposed class-action lawsuit is seeking compensation for Royal Winnipeg Ballet students who say they were victimized by a former instructor and photographer who allegedly took nude photos of some dancers and sold them online.

Bruce Monk has previously denied all allegations against him arising from his three decades of employment at the Winnipeg ballet school, and no criminal charges were ever laid.

The RWB has denied any knowledge of wrongdoing and previously told the Free Press an internal investigation at the school found its authorities didnt know about Monks alleged nude photo shoots with students.

KEN GIGLIOTTI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Bruce Monk, a former Royal Winnipeg Ballet dancer, instructor, and photographer allegedly took nude photos of some of the RWB's dancers and sold them online.

But the class-action suit, filed in Toronto on behalf of former RWB student Sarah Doucet, seeks financial damages from Monk and the RWB, alleging the school is vicariously liable for Monks actions  which it says include breach of trust, sexual violence and breach of privacy.

Monk was fired from the school in 2015.

Toronto lawyer Margaret Waddell, a partner with Waddell Phillips, the firm pursuing the class-action claim, said it still needs to be certified by the courts. If that happens, she said, other former Royal Winnipeg Ballet students who were photographed by Monk in a private setting could join the court process for compensation.

Were bringing the class action because we believe the action will be successful and that there will be compensation for the women at the end of the process, whether its sooner or later. At this stage, we dont know how the defendants are going to react to it, but we feel very confident in our case, Waddell said.

The suit is not bound by a statute of limitations under Ontario law.

The criminal system can only do so much. They have limited resources and limited legislative parameters that they have to work between, and the civil law goes a lot further. Here, weve got (allegations of) breaches of trust, breaches of fiduciary duty, weve got allegations of sexual assault and sexual abuse, as well as the failures of the institution to protect the children that it was supposed to be protecting, she said.

In a statement to the Free Press, the RWB acknowledged the lawsuit but did not name Monk.

The RWB has been served with a statement of claim by a former student of the RWB school. The complaint is in reference to actions of an individual who was employed by the RWB as a teacher at the time of the allegations. When initial allegations against this individual came to light approximately two-and-a-half years ago, the RWB removed him from his role and subsequently terminated him. The RWB is committed to the safety, security and well-being of every student entrusted to our care and we take this responsibility very seriously. We have a number of protocols in place to safeguard our students, and these are reviewed on a regular basis, it said.

None of the allegations have been proven.

Monk and the RWB are also defending themselves against a similar lawsuit filed in Manitobas Court of Queens Bench last year by a former student. The woman is seeking damages from Monk and the school, claiming he compelled her to take her clothes off during a photo shoot in a locked RWB boiler room when she was 16 and asked her to sit in a frog pose.

In a statement of defence to that claim filed this year, Monk denied photographing the woman privately while she was an underage student. He admitted having photo shoots with her on six occasions in 2000, some of which he admits occurred on school property, when she was no longer a student.

In his statement of defence, Monk said he was terminated from RWB because of the media attention surrounding the allegations against him.

In his photography career, Monk stated, he has photographed hundreds of models in the nude or semi-nude with their consent, and have sold photos after the model signs a release with the agreed-upon payment.

katie.may@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @thatkatiemay

17.04.26-Fresh-Amended-Statement-of-Claim
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This article was published 24/08/2017 (1907 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A forum for commissioners of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls concluded Thursday in Winnipeg, and the inquirys chief commissioner, Marion Buller, called it nothing less than wonderful.

Buller, along with the other four inquiry commissioners, spent three days in the city studying Indigenous laws, engaging with academics and discussing the future of the inquiry itself, as well as interacting with community members, survivors of abuse and families of women affected by the decades-old national crisis.

The common theme through everything that weve heard is the importance of our women and girls and the need for their protection, Buller said at The Forks.

RUTH / BONNEVILLE WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Thelma Morrisseau says future inquiry meetings should be held in places where Indigenous people will feel safe opening up.

Weve had recommendations from families and survivors about how to do our work better  weve taken great note of that, she said. We came here to Winnipeg to open a space where we could learn more about some Indigenous laws, because there are so many that weve yet to learn about.

Overall, Buller referred to the forum as a learning experience.

While some positive steps were made, Sandra Delaronde, co-chairwoman of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Coalition of Manitoba, said theyve been a long time coming.

I think what happened today shows that the commission can listen to the advice of the community. Its taken them a year to listen, but they made that change today in how they apply Indigenous legal processes, she said.

Still, Delaronde asserted the coalitions stance the inquiry be reset in order to reassess the entire process  which has been subject to scrutiny from Indigenous communities and the public at large since it began last September.

We are, as a coalition, very supportive of a national inquiry, she added. Unless the government is prepared to take action, were all just involved in an exercise.

The inquiry has had just one set of testimonial hearings for victims families, held in the spring in Whitehorse. More hearings are scheduled next month in Thunder Bay, Ont., and Oct. 16 in Winnipeg.

Since its start, the inquiry has been plagued by a series of high-profile resignations, a perceived lack of transparency,and communication issues. While it addressed Indigenous law and decolonization fundamentals, some victims family members called the Winnipeg forums usefulness into question.

This is for academics, mostly, Maggie Cywink  whose sister, Sonya Nadine Mae Cywink, was killed near London, Ont., in 1994 in a still-unsolved homicide  told the Free Press this week. Its certainly not useful for families.

When asked Thursday about the purpose of the forum, inquiry commissioner Qajaq Robinson discussed at length the importance of looking at issues surrounding the crisis through multiple lenses.

If were going to look at causes, we have to look at the broad systemic causes, and that includes the law, she said. Wed be remiss if we looked at this without looking at the laws of this land, which are the Indigenous legal orders.

Thelma Morrisseau, a grandmother who attended the forum, agreed it was a positive step to further incorporate Indigenous law into the process, but she still was frustrated by certain aspects of the inquiry.

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Marion Buller, the inquirys chief commissioner, says the forum was a learning experience.

Im not a politician, so I dont want to be critical of anyone, but I do want them to listen to what families are suggesting, Morrisseau said, adding the inquiry should matter to everyone in Canada, not just Indigenous communities affected.

Those suggestions include holding future meetings in venues where Indigenous people feel more grounded and safe, such as Winnipegs Thunderbird House or the Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata Centre, for example.

You want people to tell their stories, but they have to feel safe doing it, Morrisseau said. (Feedback on venues will be taken into account in the future, Robinson said.)

Buller said safety and accessibility factor heavily into the proceedings, and she maintained those providing testimony, along with a support person, will be covered financially to remove boundaries of attending future hearings.

Our plan is we have to go north, we have to go to small communities, she said. Thats where the survivors are. We have to go to them.

Despite criticism, Buller said the inquiry will continue according to schedule. The first interim report is due Nov. 1. The first draft is nearly complete, but wont include extensive facts or recommendations because the inquiry wont yet have heard all testimonies.

We intend to move forward with our schedule, but were going to do it in a better way based on what weve heard this week, she said.

 with files from Alexandra Paul

ben.waldman@freepress.mb.ca
Opinion

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This article was published 25/08/2017 (1906 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

According to a recent Pew Research Center poll, people in the Americas share a rather dim view of a Donald Trump-led United States and its policies. When asked about their confidence in U.S. President Trump doing the right thing in international affairs, an overwhelming 77 per cent of Latin American respondents said they had no confidence at all.

Latin American governments and citizens are deeply worried about what exactly Trumps America first dictum means for the wider region. Accordingly, the White House recently sent U.S. Vice-President Mike Pence south to reassure allies and to mend some fences during his visits to four pro-America governments in Colombia, Argentina, Chile and Panama.

The VPs whistle-stop diplomatic tour, then, was mostly about calming the nerves of regional leaders and signalling Washingtons renewed interest in hemispheric affairs. As Pence remarked in Chile: Under President Donald Trump, the United States will always put the security and prosperity of America first. But as I hope my presence today demonstrates, America first does not mean America alone.

ESTEBAN FELIX / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILES U.S. Vice President Mike Pence takes part in a joint statement with Chilean President Michelle Bachelet at La Moneda government palace, in Santiago, Chile earlier this month.

Constructive words, for sure. But Team Trump has a great deal of work to do if it wants to stave off a serious schism with Latin America.

While the former Obama White House had significantly improved the standing of the U.S. in the region, there is now a fear that current relations are returning to a period of benign neglect or, worse still, a paternalistic view of the Americas as Washingtons sphere of dominance and influence. In the words of Maria Jimena Duzan, a respected Colombian journalist: We went from being recognized as a strategic ally to being regarded as part of their backyard.

There are several layers to the angst and trepidation felt in many countries in the region. It begins with the fact that the vast majority of people in the Americas do not hold Trump in very high regard. His erratic policy statements, blatant arrogance and troubling comments (particularly around the building of a wall along the border with Mexico), quite frankly, frighten them.

Take, for instance, Trumps intemperate remarks about beleaguered Venezuela and possible U.S. military intervention in that country. He probably has no idea just how damaging these words are: We have many options for Venezuela, including a possible military option, if necessary. To be sure, they sent shockwaves throughout the region.

In speaking for much of Latin America, Chilean President Michelle Bachelet was quick to respond sharply: Chile will not support coups and military interventions.

In addition, Trumps recent confrontational approach toward Cuba  and his move to rescind some of the previous Obama administrations positive steps to normalize U.S.-Cuba relations  has also ruffled hemispheric feathers. What President Trump does not understand is that a rapprochement with Cuba is necessary for a cordial, respectful and productive relationship with the Americas.

Finally, Trumps positions on climate change, the drug trade, compelling Mexicans to pay for the controversial border wall and his implacable hardline on unauthorized immigrants have all struck a negative chord in the region.

Recognizing a very problematic period ahead for U.S.-Latin American relations, governments in the Americas have sought to strengthen regional economic and diplomatic ties  including an effort to implement the most positive elements of the failed Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact. Both Mexico and Brazil, two leading economies in the region, are looking to expand commercial linkages and lessen their dependence on the U.S. marketplace.

There are also initiatives to enhance and deepen Latin Americas relationship with China and the larger international community. For example, the Mercosur trade bloc in South America  encompassing Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina  has now expressed a renewed interest in concluding a comprehensive free trade deal with the European Union.

To be honest, Im not sure there is much the Trump administration can do, assuming it wants to, to allay many of the regions fears. Trumps present outlook and disposition are a painful reminder of a time when the United States was the hegemon  intervening militarily whenever it felt like it, blatantly exploiting the region for economic gains and staunchly backing regimes that had horrendous human rights records.

On the positive side, though, it could open up some diplomatic avenues for Canada if the Trudeau government is interested and paying attention. Indeed, Canada could fill part of the void created by Washingtons indifference and benefit from a host of political, economic, people-to-people and security opportunities in the wider region.

Peter McKenna is professor and chair of political science at the University of Prince Edward Island in Charlottetown.
Opinion

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This article was published 25/08/2017 (1906 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Suk Woon Lee could be the poster boy for constructive redemption. After being convicted of second-degree murder in 1980 for killing his wife, he went on to start a soup kitchen that grew into an empire of caring that has helped tens of thousands of people.

While imprisoned in Stony Mountain Institution, the Korean-born importer felt the grace of God. After his release, he led other Christians to set up Siloam Missions first soup kitchen on Main Street in 1987.

When Siloam had a party on Thursday to celebrate its 30th anniversary, it might have been appropriate to honour Mr. Lee by inviting him to be first to cut the cake.

BORIS MINKEVICH / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Siloam Mission at 300 Princess St.

But he cant identify himself publicly. He disappeared from view in 1990, still on parole, a month before he was to be deported to Korea.

Its possible Mr. Lee is still living in Winnipeg, incognito. If thats the case, he should feel pride that the ministry he started as a small soup kitchen with donated pews has blossomed over the past three decades into a many-faceted organization that offers housing, private health care and job training.

And yes, it still offers spiritual care, staying true to the motivation of the initial volunteers who believed they were doing the will of God.

Soup kitchens have been criticized, particularly at the academic level, for relieving governments of their obligation to ensure all Canadians have a healthy standard of living, for diverting attention from the need to fix the root causes of poverty and hunger and for providing a dangerous illusion that no one in our community has to be hungry.

And for the individual who use soup kitchens, critics suggest it can be degrading for people to line up for food and can sap their initiative to improve their employment possibilities and provide for themselves.

The truth in those criticisms has been recognized in recent years by Siloam officials, and the institution has become much more than a place to get a free meal. In several ways, Siloam now offers opportunities for people to help themselves overcome an unenviable lot in life. Its almost as if Siloam tries to help its clients reach a point where they never come back, unless they want to volunteer to help others.

Siloam has launched several different programs to help people re-enter the workforce. It has groups that help people improve themselves through goal-setting, weekly meetings and accountability. It has a spiritual care program that connects guests with faith congregations of their choosing. A resource centre provides art therapy and computer training.

The Exit UP! program launched in 2014 provides housing, training and life-skill development for Indigenous youth aged 18 to 25 who are aging out of government care.

Siloam will begin work this fall on a major expansion that will include an expanded health centre, a new mental-health area and a centre for transition and employment services.

Lastly, theres another benefit provided by Siloam that is not often recognized. Its a high calling to help others without the motivation of money or family obligations, and 8,800 people answer the call to volunteer with Siloam. The exercise of altruism will inevitably polish their inner lives.

By volunteering to help others, they leave Siloam with a worldview that is softened and brightened by the practice of compassion.

Thank you, Siloam, for helping people help people. Thanks for bringing out the best of Winnipeg.
The state of Florida executed Mark James Asay at the state prison in Raiford on Thursday evening. Asay, 53, was executed at 6:22 p.m. local time without incident, according to Florida corrections officials.

Asay, who was white, was convicted and sentenced to death in 1988 for the 1987 shooting deaths of Robert Lee Booker, 34, a black man, and Robert McDowell, 26, who was mixed race, white and Hispanic.

On Thursday afternoon, the US Supreme Court denied a stay of execution request on Asays behalf without comment. Marty McClain, Asays lawyer, had filed a final appeal with the court, arguing that his client was wrongly convicted on an unreliable ballistics report and made-up testimony from a jailhouse informant.

Florida Governor Rick Scott, a Republican, also refused to grant Asay clemency.

Highlighting the racially disproportionate application of the death penalty in Florida, Asay is the first white person in the state put to death for the murder of a black person since the US Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976. Since that time, at least 20 of the 92 Florida inmates executed were black men convicted of murdering white victims, according to the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC).

Asay, who prosecutors said was a white supremacist, claimed in his final interview that he was not a racist. He said he had gotten a number of racist tattoos when he was in prison at age 19 because he wanted to fit in with a white supremacist gang and keep safe, but had since had most of them covered up or burnt off.

Asays execution was the first in Florida in 18 months, after the US Supreme Court ruled Floridas capital sentencing laws unconstitutional. The high court ruled that the old system was illegal because it gave judges, not juries, the power to hand down a death sentence. Since then, the state legislature has passed a law requiring a unanimous jury recommendation for the death penalty.

Assay was the first person executed by a new lethal injection protocol adopted in January, which includes the anesthetic etomidate, which is supposed to sedate the condemned inmate after he or she is strapped to the gurney. The second drug, rocuronium bromide, is a paralytic. It was the only the second time that the final drug, potassium acetate, which is used to stop a persons heart, had been used.

A division of pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson, Janssen, was the original inventor of etomidate. Janssen discovers and develops medical innovations to save and enhance lives, the company said in a statement, adding, We do not condone the use of our medicines in lethal injections for capital punishment. Etomidate is now off-patent and made by other generic manufacturers, and Florida has refused to divulge its source for the drug.

Like other states that continue to practice capital punishment, Florida has scrambled to come up with new medicines to put people to death after European and US drug companies have increasingly refused to sell the sedative midazolam and other drugs for use in executions.

Asays attorneys challenged the use of etomidate in his execution before the Florida Supreme Court, claiming their client could die in agony due to the unknown effects of the chemicals. Professor Robert Sneyd, a member of the Royal College of Anaesthetists in the UK, wrote, in a declaration presented to the court, There has been no medical testing of any kind into the effects of this kind of dose on the human body and this dosage could result in a host of adverse effects.

Sneyd said the nature of etomidate, which takes effect and recedes quickly, made it likely that the subject of the execution will be awake for all or part of the potassium [acetate] injection, which is supposed to stop the heart, possibly subjecting the prisoner to extreme pain.

The state Supreme Court lifted a previous stay in Asays case, finding that it was impossible to eliminate all potential pain when carrying out an execution. In a dissenting opinion, Justice Barbara Parienta wrote that the prisoner was being treated as the proverbial guinea pig for the drug and that its use would violate constitutional protections against cruel and unusual punishment.

In his seven-year tenure, Governor Scott has signed 23 death warrants, more than any other Florida governor in the modern era. In 2013, Scott signed a law to hasten executions by requiring the governor to sign a death warrant 30 days after a clemency review has been completed, and mandating that the execution be carried out within 180 days.

Since 1973, 27 people have been freed from death row in Florida following the discovery of new DNA evidence, findings of prosecutorial misconduct or eyewitness misidentification, or other factors. Scotts fast-track execution process makes it highly likely that innocent people have been and will continue to be sent to their deaths.

The new Florida law requiring a unanimous jury for all capital defendants is retroactive, but only for sentences after 2002. Mark Asays case, therefore, did not qualify for review.

There are more than 350 inmates on Floridas death row, but more than 200 have no chance of having their sentences reviewed. Of the 1,459 executions in the US since 1976, Florida has carried out the fourth most, with 92. Texas has executed the most, at 543, followed by Virginia, with 113, and Oklahoma, with 112.
The US-backed onslaught on the ISIS stronghold of Raqqa is claiming hundreds of civilian lives every week, including dozens of women and children. US aircraft and troops on the ground are deploying indiscriminate force on a civilian center where an estimated 25,000 people remained trapped and a further 270,000 have already fled.

According to Airwars, which monitors air strikes by the US-led coalition in Syria and Iraq, 725 civilians have lost their lives in the two-and-a-half months since the Raqqa offensive began in June. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based monitoring group with ties to the anti-Assad opposition, reported that between Aug. 14 and Aug. 22 alone, 168 civilians died in US air strikes and shelling attacks.

The humanitarian situation is so bad that the United Nations appealed yesterday for a pause in military operations to allow civilians to escape. An official in Washington unceremoniously dismissed the UNs plea, declaring that a pause would give ISIS more time to build up its defenses and thus put more civilians in harms way and reinforce [its] tactics of using civilians as human shields.

US imperialism is determined to consolidate its geostrategic and economic interests in Syria, Iraq and the wider region against its rivals, even if this means laying waste to entire urban centers and slaughtering tens of thousands of innocent civilians. While Washingtons official propaganda claims that the US wants to eliminate Islamic State, the principal reason for the ruthless assault on densely populated cities over the past year has been to ensure that US-backed forces gain control over strategically important regions of eastern Syria and western Iraq before pro-Assad fighters, backed by Russian air power and Iranian soldiers, do so.

An Amnesty International report released Thursday revealed that US ground troops, supposedly deployed to act as advisers to the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces, are indiscriminately firing unguided shells into Raqqa. One incident documented by the group saw twelve shells strike a residential building, causing the deaths of twelve civilians, one of which was a baby. Whether you live or die depends on luck because you dont know where the next shell will strike, a resident told Amnesty.

Amnesty Senior Crisis Response Adviser Donatella Rovera said that the US-backed assault was helping create a deadly labyrinth for civilians in the city, who were coming under fire from all sides. It also accused the Assad government of bombing villages to the south of Raqqa.

Reports suggest that around 60 percent of Raqqa has been recaptured by the SDF, which is led by the US-armed Kurdish Peoples Protection Units (YPG). But even in areas allegedly under the militias control, ISIS fighters have been able to mount counterattacks.

The horrific slaughter of civilians in Raqqa comes just months after US-backed Iraqi forces, relying on US air power, laid waste to vast swathes of the city of Mosul in northern Iraq. US warplanes repeatedly used overwhelming force on residential areas, frequently resorting to the dropping of non-precision-guided munitions against ISIS snipers. Some estimates place the number of deaths in the city as high as 40,000, and there have been widespread reports of systematic human rights abuses by Iraqi forces, including summary executions.

These vicious crimes against the long-suffering population of Syria and Iraq are war crimes and blatant violations of international law, which prohibits the targeting of civilians and the use of indiscriminate attacks in urban areas. They implicate not only the top officials in the Trump administration, including the president himself who has boasted about removing any restrictions on the use of military force, but also the government of Barack Obama, who became the first two-term president to wage war throughout his term in office, and launched the Mosul offensive.

The imminent prospect of ISIS being forced from its last major urban stronghold will not lead to a decrease but rather an increase in US military involvement in Syria. US and British special forces have been training Syrian Islamist rebels in the southeast of the country with the aim of using these proxies to take ISIS territory further north, rather than allowing it to fall into the hands of Assads troops. The eastern border region is of considerable strategic significance, since it would enable Iran to establish a land bridge from Teheran to Damascus and its Hizbollah ally in Lebanon. The Trump administration, which has demonized Iran as the chief sponsor of terrorism in the region, views such a prospect as intolerable.

An indication of the discussions well under way within US ruling circles is provided by an article entitled Does Trump intend to thwart Irans ambitions in Syria? published Thursday by Foreign Policy, which warned, The president risks going down in history as the man who defeated the Islamic State only to make the Middle East safe for Iranian hegemony.

Alleging that Israel, feeling threatened by the establishment of an Iranian corridor to the Mediterranean, the articles author, John Hannah, who served as Dick Cheneys National Security Adviser during the Bush administration and is now a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank, proceeded to argue that Trumps chief goal in Syria should be preventing a fundamental shift in the balance of power in favor of Americas most determined enemies in a region of the world long deemed vital to US interests.

The unrestrained use of Washingtons military will not be restricted to Iraq and Syria. On Monday, President Donald Trump spoke to an audience of soldiers in military uniform and boasted that full decision-making powers would be given to military commanders to determine when to use overwhelming force to obliterate enemies in Afghanistan. Tens of thousands more civilian casualties are inevitable in the impoverished Central Asian country, where hundreds of thousands have already lost their lives in the brutal, 16-year-old neocolonial war of occupation led by the United States.

Trump and Defense Secretary James Mattis have used no less inflammatory language in their bellicose threats against North Korea. After Trump warned that Pyongyang would face fire and fury from the US, Mattis left no doubt about the scale of the onslaught being prepared against Pyongyang when he proclaimed that a war with North Korea would lead to the destruction of its people.

The eruption of US imperialist violence in ever more bloody forms is a devastating indictment of all of those political forces which have sought over the past quarter century to portray Washington as the defender of human rights and democracy. The Democrats, led by the liberals at the New York Times, provided the necessary propaganda to justify the war in Iraq in 2003, the bombardment of Libya to bring about regime change in 2011 under the pretext of the bogus responsibility to protect, and the arming of Islamist rebels in Syria in the name of supporting a so-called democratic opposition. They were supported by numerous pseudo-left groups who went so far as to portray events in Syria as a revolution and appealed to the US and its European imperialist allies to intervene more decisively on the side of the rebels.

Last year, the corporate media issued incessant denunciations of Russia and the Assad regime for war crimes and violations of international law during their assault to drive US-armed Islamist Jihadis out of eastern Aleppo. The hundreds of civilians killed or maimed in the joint Russian and Syrian offensive pale in comparison to the tens of thousands massacred by US-led operations so far this year, not to mention the millions who have been killed as a result of the uninterrupted US wars of aggression over the past twenty-five years throughout the Middle East.

Precisely because of this fact, the major media outlets have deliberately sought to bury coverage of the latest events, giving as much space to the absurd denials of responsibility from the US military as they do to the damning findings of the reports from Airwars and Amnesty.

These findings have not stopped Thomas Friedman, a columnist at the Times who has propagandized for every US-led war of aggression since the 1990s, from continuing to glorify Americas military prowess. In a recent column entitled From Kabul to Baghdad, Friedman enthused over his visit to the US joint strike center in Irbil in northern Iraq, from where many of the rockets and missiles that have killed civilians have been fired. He witnessed US forces fire a 500-pound bomb at a building where ISIS snipers were based, and could barely contain his enthusiasm. The screen rebroadcasting the F-15Es targeting pod showed the bomb going straight down through the roof, wrote Friedman, as if he was describing a video game.

We have splash, said one of the controllers in a monotone as a huge plume of smoke engulfed the video screen. All that was left of the target, Friedman continued, was a pile of smoldering rubble, a result that has clearly been produced many hundreds of times in the USs brutal air war.

Over recent months, the Democrats have spearheaded a vicious anti-Russia campaign that has sought to pressure the Trump White House to maintain Washingtons bellicose stance towards Moscow.

The anti-Russia campaign has simultaneously portrayed the military, including Mattis, Chief of Staff John Kelly and National Security Adviser H.R: McMaster, all of whom are implicated in the war crimes of US imperialism around the world, as moderates and the adults in the room capable of restraining Trump.

The bloodbath being inflicted on Iraq and Syria, and the imminent threat of its expansion into Afghanistan, show how fraudulent such claims are.
Photo credit: Getty

From Esquire

Serving as a foreign diplomat has never been the safest business, nor has working for the government of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The intersection of those two gigs is even more dangerous. Russia's ambassador to Sudan was found dead in the African nation's capital of Khartoum Wednesday, according to The New York Times. That makes Mirgayas Shirinsky, a career diplomat in his early 60s, the fourth senior envoy from the Kremlin to "die prematurely" in the last nine months.

The Sudan Foreign Ministry did not provide a cause of death for Shirinsky in a statement to the press, saying only that he "died this evening at his Khartoum residence." That bares some resemblance to the case of Vitaly Churkin, Russia's longtime U.N. ambassador, who almost literally dropped dead at work in February. That came at a crucial point in U.S.-Russia relations, the Times pointed out at the time, and the Russian government did not disclose a cause of death for the 64-year-old in a public statement, though it did describe Churkin as an "outstanding diplomat." The NYPD said there was no indication of foul play. Shortly before that, Russia's ambassador to India, Alexander Kadakin, died after a brief illness at age 68. And last December, Russian ambassador to Turkey Andrey Karlov was infamously assassinated by a Turkish policeman screaming slogans indicating he was motivated by Russia's support for the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad in that country's civil war.

There's no evidence the premature deaths are related in any way, and none of the men were particularly young: Karlov, the youngest by confirmed age, was 62. But all four were longstanding, senior-level members of Russia's diplomatic corps serving abroad in crucial roles. And "abroad and important" has never been the safest place for current or former servants to Vladimir Putin's government. That most infamously includes Alexander Litvinenko, the former KGB and FSB head who fled to London and became a prominent critic of Putin's regime. He was ultimately poisoned with a cup of tea.

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A series of tombs dating back about 2,000 years, to the time when the Romans controlled Egypt, has been discovered, the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities announced yesterday (Aug. 23).

Excavations at Bir esh-Shaghala in the Dakhla Oasis have uncovered tombs made of mudbrick and some are quite large containing multiple burial chambers. Some of the tombs have vaulted roofs and one tomb has a roof built in the shape of a pyramid. [See Photos of the Newly Discovered Tombs]

Five of the tombs were recently discovered while eight more were found within the past six excavation seasons, ministry officials said in a statement.

Artifacts were found in the tombs, including mummy masks and pieces of inscribed pottery known as ostraca. Giant containers were also found that may have held wine or olive oil, although chemical tests will need to be done to confirm this. The discovery of the tombs was made by a team of archaeologists from Egypt's Ministry of Antiquities. The excavations at Bir esh-Shaghala are scheduled to continue.

The Romans took over Egypt in 30 B.C., following Cleopatra VII's suicide after her navy was destroyed by the Roman Emperor Octavian at the Battle of Actium. While the Roman emperors ruled Egypt from Rome, the Egyptians revered the emperors as pharaohs. Their traditional Egyptian funerary customs (including mummification) and religious practices continued until the Roman Empire adopted Christianity as its official religion during the fourth century A.D.

Located in the Western Desert, about 217 miles (350 kilometers) west of Luxor, the Dakhla Oasis contains a vast amount of archaeological remains that date from prehistoric to modern times. A number of settlements from the Roman era flourished in the Dakhla Oasis. In 2014, Live Science reported that one of the Roman era settlements in the oasis had yielded the remains of an ancient school covered with writing that included references to drug use.

Original article on Live Science.

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Five-year-old Charle-feighs first day of school hair drama story stole hearts all around the world. (Photo: Markeisha Simien via Facebook)

Raise your hand if you have ever been hype about showing off a new hairstyle when its time to go back to school? Cmon, admit it, many of us have been there and can relate. Its the kickoff of the school year, and sometimes you just want to show how in formation your look is. A 5-year-old by the name of Charle-feigh felt this way too, and was excited to strike a pose with her new stylish braided do for the first day of school. But by the time her mother picked up after school, lets just say, her adorable little hairstyle took a heart-warming yet hilarious turn for the worse.

I had my daughters hair done Sunday evening for school that week, Charle-feighs mother, Markeisha Simien, told Yahoo Beauty. When she got out of school Monday evening, her hair was tore up. The style didnt even last 24 hours.

Simien shared a before and after shot of her daughters hair on Facebook, with a caption that read, Before and after school CHRONICLES! In a short timespan, the post received over 95,000 impressions and reactions  which made it go viral all over social media.

Once I saw that it started going viral, it kind of overwhelmed me, said Simien. I never thought it would go viral like that. The Louisiana mother expressed how initially her daughter was really happy about her new hairstyle and how shes usually a girly girl  very precise about everything from her hair to her nails and more. But this was one instance where she was kind of over it.

Simien reflected back to the moment she saw her daughter after school and shared, I was waiting to see her, and see how her day was. When I saw that hair, my nerves got so bad. I didnt know what to do. I was devastated, because I was wondering what happen to my baby? She said, Mom, it was itching and I took it out. All I could say was, oh my God.'

After Simien shared her daughters before and after school hair drama on the internet, it picked up so much attention that it overwhelmed her and she ended up taking it down. However, after rethinking it, she realized it was a positive post and people were taking a liking to her daughters adventurous day. I thought about it and said to myself, they love my baby, so I just put it back up on Facebook.

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If you havent noticed by now, Charle-feighs mom really takes pride in making sure her daughter looks good and stands out. Uniforms are required at her daughters school, so she tries her best to make sure she styles her hair uniquely and adds little accessories to her look so she can stand out and feel good. When she took apart her hair, it frustrated me but it didnt make me mad enough to where I was just angry, because I know she is a good girl, says Simien. Shes made a lot of people in the world happy just by that post. I had numerous people in my inbox telling me how my daughter made their day. They were having bad days, and they saw her post and felt better. For her to bring joy to the world like that was good enough for me.

Charle-feigh isnt familiar with the world of social media, so Simien hasnt shared all of the love and support from her crazy hair day just yet. But she does plan to show her one day, and knows it will bring a smile to her face.

Can we say social media star in the making?! Little Charle-feigh is on her way!

Read more at Yahoo Style + Beauty:

 Teacher Saves the Day by Styling Her Students Hair After She Was Teased

 People shouldnt vilify nonblack people who are curious about natural hair, according to this blogger

 Mom deals with unintentional racism after daughter asks for braids to look like black friend

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. For Twitter updates, follow @YahooStyle and @YahooBeauty.




Johannesburg (AFP) - A South African model who was allegedly attacked by Zimbabwe's first lady has filed court papers challenging the government's decision to grant Grace Mugabe diplomatic immunity, a lawyer said Thursday.

The wife of President Robert Mugabe allegedly attacked a 20-year-old model Gabriella Engels with an electrical extension cord at a hotel in Johannesburg where the couple's two sons were staying.

The attack left Engels with cuts on her head and forehead. She has filed an assault charge against the 52-year-old Grace Mugabe.

South Africa's foreign affairs ministry said at the weekend that it had granted Mugabe immunity allowing her to leave the country.

Engels and AfriForum, a civil rights group which helps victims of crime, filed an injunction asking the court to annul the minister's decision.

"The (foreign affairs) minister misinterpreted the law. She applied the wrong principles," AfriForum lawyer Willie Spies told AFP.

They are seeking an order to set aside the minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane's decision "recognising the immunities and privileges" of Grace Mugabe, according to court documents seen by AFP.

They also asking the court to declare that the diplomatic immunity decision "does not confer immunity from prosecution."

A hearing into the case will start on September 19, said Spies.

Grace Mugabe was supposed to have reported to the police to make a statement about the allged incident, but did not.

Police minister Fikile Mbalula then said "a red alert" had been sent out to border police, and "she is not somebody who has been running away."

However, Mugabe flew out of South Africa on a pre-dawn flight on a presidential jet on Sunday. Hours later, the foreign ministry announced that it had granted her immunity.

On Wednesday, South African lawmakers heckled Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa as he answered a question in parliament on the Grace Mugabe debacle.

He said the decision to grant her immunity was taken in line with "internationally-recognised immunity regulations" and admitted it was "the first time we have utilised this type of convention."
Alec Baldwin returned as Donald Trump on Saturday Night Live: Weekend Update Summer Edition. Baldwin took his Trump impression down to Phoenix, mocking the presidents recent rally. Baldwin came out wearing sunglasses and said, How about that eclipse, folks? A lot of people dont know this, but you can damage your eyes by looking into the eclipse. He added, No one predicted this. They wouldnt have. I figured it out all by myself.

Once he took off the sunglasses, Baldwin looked around and said, Wow, everyone is so white, so white here. Its fantastic. Look, they found with one black guy at the rally and sat him right behind me. Baldwin then turned around to Kenan Thompson, who was impersonating the guy commonly referred to as Michael the Black Man, and asked, Because of the eclipse, I cant tell  are you really black? to which Thompson responded, Thats what the ad said you were looking for.

But it wasnt all just fun and games. Baldwin had to get serious for a moment, saying, First, I want to talk about Charlottesville. As we all know, there was a tragic victim that came out of Charlottesville  me. Baldwin wanted to set the record straight about the presidents previous comments by reading the transcript of his speech. He read from of a piece of paper, We had a group on one side thats very bad, neo-Nazis, and then a group on the other side, adding, Then I didnt say a single word after that.

Before the rally ended, Baldwin wanted to say goodbye to Trumps good friend, Steve Bannon. A person wearing a grim reaper costume walked out on the stage, and Baldwin told everyone, Steve is going on to Breitbart. Hell be fighting the good fight against globalists, like my son-in-law, Jared. The grim reaper Steve then told Trump: Im going to crush you.

Saturday Night Live returns Sept. 30 at 11:30 p.m. on NBC. Watch clips and full episodes of Saturday Night Live free on Yahoo View.

Watch the Daily Show shed light on Michael the Black Man from Trumps Phoenix rally:

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Read more from Yahoo TV:

Tell us what you think! Hit us up on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram, or leave your comments below. And check out our host, Kylie Mar, on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.
By Julien Toyer MADRID (Reuters) - A Belgian policeman told a Catalan colleague in 2016 that an imam thought to have instigated last week's Barcelona attack was a suspicious person but no information was found then to tie him to Islamist militancy, a Catalan government source said. Police in the northeast Spanish region of Catalonia are coming under growing criticism over the van attack that killed 13 people. Two others were killed during the van driver's getaway and in a separate attack further down the coast. Some Spanish media accused Catalan police on Thursday of failing to properly investigate the Moroccan imam, Abdelbaki Es Satty. Meanwhile a wider blame game is being played out between central authorities in Madrid and officials in Catalonia, whose leaders are pushing for independence from Spain. Spanish High Court Judge Fernando Andreu on Thursday released - on certain conditions including a ban on leaving Spain and handover of passport - another of the four suspects arrested over the attacks, Salh El Karib, a court order said. El Karib ran an internet cafe in the Catalan town of Ripoll where most of the members of the Islamist cell, who were mostly young men of Moroccan descent, lived. El Karib bought a plane ticket for Es Satty to fly on Oct. 15, 2017 and two tickets for another suspect, Driss Oukabir, to fly on Aug. 12 and 13, a few days before the attacks, the court order said. The flights were all with Air Arabia. The order did not specify the destinations but Spanish press reports have said Oukabir, who rented the van used in the Barcelona attack, flew back to Spain from Morocco on Aug. 13. Air Arabia flies from Barcelona to a number of Moroccan cities. Judge Andreu accepted El Karib's statement that he bought the tickets on behalf of Oukabir's 17-year-old brother, who did not have a credit card, and that he was reimbursed in cash. Andreu on Tuesday ordered Driss Oukabir and Mohamed Houli Chemlal remanded on charges of murder and membership of a terrorist organization, while another man was freed under the same conditions as El Karib. The other eight known members of the group, including Es Satty and the younger Oukabir, were killed by police or died in an explosion in a house that appeared to be a bomb factory. Andreu met high-ranking security officials on Wednesday to set out a common strategy for the investigation, a judicial source said. The source said the meeting was a first step toward integrating the two Spanish police forces - the Civil Guard and the National Police - in the investigation, which had until now been managed by the Catalan police. The objective was to better coordinate various police forces in countering security threats. TIP-OFF The tip-off about Es Satty, the Muslim cleric, was made informally between two police officials from Belgium and Catalonia who knew each other, a source in Catalonia's regional government told Reuters. "The communication between the two policemen was not official. They knew each other because they had met in a police seminar," the source said on condition of anonymity. Catalan police records, however, had turned up nothing on Es Satty. "The documents show that we had no information about the imam," the source said, and the only official communication channels of the Catalan police, the Mossos d'Esquadra, with police in other nations were through Spain's central government. The Catalan regional government and the Madrid central government declined to comment. It remains unclear whether Catalan police made their own attempts to follow up the lead. The top home affairs official in the Catalan regional government, Joaquim Forn, said on Thursday that Catalan authorities had been unaware of any investigation of the imam or that he could pose a threat, Spanish news agency EFE said. Es Satty spent around three months in the Belgian town of Vilvoorde, a known center of Islamist radicalism, between January and March last year. He later went to Catalonia to be the imam of Ripoll, where he is suspected of having recruited and radicalized most of the group which carried out last week's attacks. CHANCE MISSED? Vilvoorde Mayor Hans Bonte said last week Es Satty had been "intensely screened" by Belgian police at the request of the local Muslim community when he was looking for a job there, and he had told Spanish police by email of Es Satty's whereabouts. El Pais newspaper quoted Bonte on Thursday as saying he had received a reply from police in Barcelona on March 8 last year. "They said the imam had no links to radical groups," he said. Sources close to the investigation told Reuters earlier this week the regional Catalan force might have missed an opportunity to uncover the plot because of procedural errors and a lack of communication among investigators. The errors and miscommunication centered around a major explosion on Aug. 16, the eve of the attack, at a house where it was later discovered that members of the Islamist group had been assembling bombs, the sources said. Catalan police say Es Satty, 44, and another man died in that blast. Spain ordered Es Satty's expulsion from the country after he served a four-year jail term for drug trafficking but this was annulled by a court in 2015 after Es Satty appealed, court officials have said. The judge at the time overturned the expulsion order partly because Es Satty had employment roots in Spain, which he said "shows his efforts to integrate in Spanish society". There was no information before the court at the time to link Es Satty to Islamist militancy, the officials said. Spanish Economy Minister Luis de Guindos said on Thursday he did not expect the attacks to have any significant short-term impact on tourism, which accounts for about 11 percent of the Spain's economy. (Additional reporting by Jesus Aguado, Adrian Croft and Sarah White; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will pay "not a penny more, not a penny less" than what the government thinks its legal obligations are to the European Union as the country leaves the bloc, foreign minister Boris Johnson said on Friday. Talking to BBC Radio Four, Johnson said his comment that the EU could "go whistle" on its demands for payment was in response to being asked whether Britain would pay "100 billion euros or pounds", and not a suggestion that the government would not pay. A financial settlement is set to be one of the most difficult issues to resolve in negotiations to unravel more than 40 years of union, and the EU has said it is one of three areas the two sides must make progress on before starting talks on a future relationship, including trading arrangements. "Some of the sums that I've seen seem to be very high. Of course, we will meet our obligations," Johnson said. "We should pay not a penny more, not a penny less of what we think our legal obligations amount to." (Reporting by Elizabeth Piper; Editing by Alistair Smout)
The swastika on the anchor in Pointe-des-Cascades - ErasingHate/Instagram

A Canadian village has refused to remove swastikas from a local park after an activist tried to paint over the controversial symbols.

The Nazi emblems are on an anchor that is on display in Pointe-des-Cascades, about 50 miles west of Montreal in Quebec.

Corey Fleischer, founder of a group called Erasing Hate, was trying to paint over the symbols last Thursday when he was stopped by the local mayor, Gilles Santerre, who called police to have him removed from the park.

"The village of Pointe-des-Cascades does not endorse Nazism," Mr Santerre said in a statement on Tuesday. "Our village has a beautiful community and family spirit, and creates events that bring people together."

Stressing it was part of the area's local history, he said the anchor, which belonged to a merchant vessel, predated the Second World War and was discovered by divers 25 years ago.

He cited a Radio Canada article that said the swastika was a symbol of peace before 1920.

The mayor sad the symbols would not be removed, but promised to place a more descriptive plaque next to the anchor to clarify its history.

Mr Fleischer, who believes the anchor should be in a museum, acknowledged the swastika was originally a religious icon that represented good luck.

But ever since the Nazis subverted its meaning he said there is no place for it in a public park.

"It is no longer a sign of peace. It is no longer a sign of joy," he told CBC.

"There is no ifs ands or buts about it," he told the BBC. "It is a place where people come to feel safe and this is being displayed for everybody to see."

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David Ouellette, of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, said Mr Fleischer should not have acted without consulting the village but said it was important the anchor's history was made clear to the public.

"If you're going to display publicly the swastika, it's important to give the full context," Mr Ouellette told the CBC.

Swastika symbols seen in unusual places around the world
A sign warning of sharks is fastened to a guard stand in East Orleans, on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, on July 16. (Photo: Robert Nickelsberg via Getty Images)

A county official in Massachusetts has proposed a controversial solution to a recent uptick in shark sightings off Cape Cod: Kill the sharks.

Barnstable County Commissioner Ron Beaty made the suggestion Tuesday in response to a series of shark sightings in the past few weeks. In one sighting, beachgoers watched a shark eat a seal in shallow waters off Nauset Beach. A day after Beaty announced his proposal, a great white shark bit into a local mans stand-up paddleboard.

When a person is finally killed in a blood soaked frenzy by a Great White Shark at a Cape Cod beach, then I will simply keep silent, Beaty said in a Thursday tweet, along with a photo that read, I told you so!

Another tweet Thursday said, Time to kill the sharks, referencing a 2015 op-ed exploring the option of shark culling published on The Australian.

When a person is finally killed in a blood soaked frenzy by a Great White Shark at a Cape Cod beach, then I will simply keep silent... pic.twitter.com/oVRL4Wxjb2  Ron Beaty (@ronbeatyjr) August 24, 2017

Beatys plan was followed by a wave of criticism from the community and shark researchers. Critics call the deadly plan inhumane and ineffective.

Carl Meyer, a shark researcher in Hawaii, told HuffPost that shark culling has both philosophical and practical elements.

We are unlikely to reconcile these different philosophical perspectives, but we dont need to, because shark culling is not demonstrably effective, Meyer, who works at the University of Hawaii, said. Shark culling programs around the world have yielded nebulous results and are primarily political theater.

Beaty detailed his proposal in a news release posted to his personal Facebook account Tuesday: This proposal entails use of baited drum lines being deployed near popular beaches using hooks designed to catch great white sharks. Large sharks found hooked but still alive are shot and their bodies discarded at sea.

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He called the plan a targeted, localized, shark hazard mitigation strategy.

Confirmed bite by a shark on a paddleboard. No shark injury to paddler. Seashore staff and scientists investigating. No swimming. NPS photo pic.twitter.com/I1K9V4NruM  Cape Cod NS (@CapeCodNPS) August 23, 2017

Responding to the backlash to Beatys plan, the Barnstable County Board of Regional Commissioners distanced itself from Beatys proposal.

I would like to clearly state that no item regarding a so-called shark mitigation plan has been presented for review, nor is one expected to be placed on any future agenda, Leo Cakounes, chairman of the board, said in a statement.

A press statement relative to such a plan was drafted and distributed by one member of the Board of Commissioners without the knowledge of fellow board members or County staff, and all inquiries should be made to that individual Commissioner.

The Boston Herald published an editorial on Thursday titled, Dont Blame the Sharks. The editorial called the plan insane, of course and wrote critically of the county government by saying it isnt exactly drawing the best and the brightest to its board.

Meyer cited one of the countrys largest shark culling efforts, launched in Hawaii from 1967 to 1969, as an example of why they dont work. The cull, according to Meyer, used similar drum-line fishing gear that Beaty suggested and it killed hundreds of sharks in two years.

In Hawaii, for example, the largest historical culling effort ... saw more shark bites at the conclusion of the program than before it started, Meyer told HuffPost.

Beaty responded to his plans critics on Thursday by demanding more solutions from those who slammed his proposal.

I think it underscores that theres a real problem and its growing, and its just a matter of time before someone is killed or maimed, Beaty told The Boston Herald, referencing the Nauset Beach sighting.

People need to stop criticizing the proposal and at least put other ideas out there and start a public dialogue on this matter because sooner or later something is going to happen, and unfortunately its going to be someone getting killed if we dont start addressing the problem, he added.

Meyer, who spends his time outside of shark research spearfishing, surfing and ocean swimming, offered up his own solution to Cape Cods shark problem.

My personal view is that if you want zero risk of shark bite, stick to swimming pools, the marine biologist told HuffPost.

Also on HuffPost

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Silky sharks in Jardines de la Reina archipelago in Cuba.

|SHK0002.JPG|SHK|Sharks, Whales, etc.|animals|danger|fear|fierce|fish|Great White|horizontal|nature|ocean|power|predators|scary|sharks|strong|undersea|underwater|vicious|

under the waves circle two...

Close encounter

Tiger Shark at Tiger Beach in the Bahamas

attack great white shark

Majestic

National Aquarium, Baltimore, Maryland

Turtle & Shark

Ocean turtle and shark in Vienna "Haus des Meeres"

Shark effect

|SHK0025.JPG|SHK|Sharks, Whales, etc.|angry|animals|annoyed|danger|divers|diving|ferocious|fierce|land|marine|ocean|people|power|predators|sand|savage|sea|sharks|strong|undersea|underwater|vertical|vicious|wet|

Beware of Sharks

Shark Action - Beware Taken in Nassau Bahamas with Olympus C7070 digital camera with inon strobes Check more photos www.colorsofoceans.org

Sharks

Sharks in the clear water off the coast of Ambergris Caye, Belize.Ambergris Caye is the largest island of Belize located northeast of the country in the Caribbean Sea. (Image Credit: Bernt Rostad) Inquire is an award-winning magazine of inquisitive journalism & intelligent photography. Download a free copy of our award-winning edition for iPad & iPad Mini here: http://tinyurl.com/98rxnh5

Shark

Shark of Rangiroa Frenche Polynesia.

Great White Shark Emerging From the Water

Great white shark

caribbean reef shark

Majestic silvertip shark

Great white attacks bait.

Blue shark in the waters of the Azores islands.

Tiger Shark

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
Of course Trump's nominee for top scientist at USDA doesn't believe in climate change and fueled racist theories about President Barack Obama. (Photo: Drew Angerer via Getty Images)

WASHINGTON  Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) issued a warning to President Donald Trump on Wednesday: Withdraw your nominee for U.S. Department of Agriculture chief scientist, Sam Clovis, or prepare for an all-out fight to sink his nomination.

President Trump should withdraw the Clovis nomination immediately, Schumer said in a joint statement with Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) provided to HuffPost. If President Trump refuses to withdraw Mr. Clovis, we will vehemently oppose his nomination and urge our colleagues from both parties to come together and summarily reject him as well.

Trump had to know he was inviting controversy last month by tapping Clovis, a former Iowa Senate candidate and conservative radio host, to be a top scientist at USDA. For starters, he doesnt believe in climate change.

I am extremely skeptical, Clovis said in a May 2014 interview on Iowa Public Radio, when asked about climate change. I have looked at the science and I have enough of a science background to know when Im being boofed. And a lot of the science is junk science. Its not proven; I dont think theres any substantive information available to me that doesnt raise as many questions as it does answers.

Clovis also has stoked racist theories about former President Barack Obamas birthplace, and suggested Obama got into Harvard and Columbia University because he was given a pass because he is black. During his time as a radio host, he referred to former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder as a racist black, to Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez as a racist Latino, and claimed that homosexuality is a choice and that marriage equality could lead to protections for pedophiles.

These are all reasons Clovis is wildly unqualified for a leading role at USDA, said Schumer and Schatz.

In this time of great division, our nation cries out for healing, unity and clarity on the path forward from our elected leaders, the two senators statement said. Unfortunately, for Donald Trump to nominate and to advocate for Senate confirmation of someone with views as backwards as Mr. Cloviss, is not only a signal to the darkest and most evil forces in this country to carry on, but a clear as day message to the world that this administration continues to tolerate hate.

Story continues

In a recent tweet, Schatz tied Clovis nomination to the hatred on display at the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va. last week.

Want to test Republicans who say the right things about ignorance and racism? Sam Clovis requires Senate confirmation. And he's a birther.  Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) August 15, 2017

A White House spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment.

Trump doesnt need Democrats to get Clovis confirmed. It takes 51 votes in the Senate to confirm him, and there are 52 Republicans.

If all Democrats voted against Clovis, they would need three Republicans to vote with them in order to kill his nomination. Its possible. Congress is on break until early September, but when senators come back, expect Schumer to be on the hunt for that handful of GOPers turned off by Clovis record.

Also on HuffPost

Vaccines Cause Autism

Trump is a firm believer in the notion that vaccines cause autism, a theory that has long been debunked and traces its roots back to a retracted 1998 article in a medical journal.



"We had so many instances, people that work for me, just the other day ... a beautiful child went to have the vaccine and came back, and a week later got a tremendous fever, got very, very sick, now is autistic," Trump said at a Republican presidential primary debate last fall.



It was only one of many times the candidate has claimed that vaccines are toxic and can cause autism in children.

'Thousands And Thousands' In New Jersey Celebrated 9/11

Trump likes to claim he saw things that didnt happen, and perhaps the best example of that is when he said he watched thousands of people in New Jersey celebrating after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.



"I watched when the World Trade Center came tumbling down," Trump said at a rally in November. "And I watched in Jersey City, New Jersey, where thousands and thousands of people were cheering as that building was coming down. Thousands of people were cheering."



He also defended his comments in an interview the next day: "There were people over in New Jersey that were watching it, a heavy Arab population, that were cheering as the buildings came down."



No such footage exists. In fact, a Sept. 18, 2001 article by the New Jersey Star-Ledger pointed out, Rumors of rooftop celebrations of the attack by Muslims here proved unfounded.

Antonin Scalia May Have Been Murdered

Calling in to a talk radio show just days after Antonin Scalia's death in February, Trump hinted that the Supreme Court justice was suffocated in his sleep.



Well I just heard today, just a little while ago, actually, Trump said. You know I just landed, and Im hearing its a big topic, and its a horrible topic. But they say they found the pillow on his face, which is a pretty unusual place to find a pillow. I cant tell you what, I cant give you an answer.



Scalia was found dead in his bedroom at a hunting resort in west Texas on Feb. 13, 2016. A judge pronounced Scalia dead of natural causes by phone, and law enforcement officers on the scene said there were no signs of foul play. He was 79.

The IRS Audits Trump Because Hes A Christian

Trump is no stranger to tax audits. But in an interview with CNN in February, he theorized that the Internal Revenue Service may be auditing him because hes a strong Christian.



Im always audited by the IRS, which I think is very unfair. I dont know, maybe because of religion, maybe because of something else, Trump said.



When CNN host Chris Cuomo asked what he meant by religion, Trump replied, Well, maybe because of the fact that Im a strong Christian, and I feel strongly about it and maybe theres a bias.



The GOP presidential nominee is currently being audited by the IRS, something he's cited as a reason for not releasing his personal income tax returns.



The IRS has already said that Trump is free to release the documents. The real estate mogul admitted earlier this month that he could release his tax returns immediately if he wanted to. Trump's son, Donald Trump, Jr., suggested it would be a problem to have people "asking questions about the returns if they became public.

Barack Obama Didnt Actually Attend Columbia University

Trump hasn't only questioned the president's birthplace. At a 2011 Conservative Political Action Conference, he insinuated that Obama didn't actually attend Columbia University.



"Our current president came out of nowhere. Came out of nowhere," Trump said. "In fact, I'll go a step further: The people that went to school with him, they never saw him, they don't know who he is. It's crazy.



Obama began his college career at Occidental College in Los Angeles in 1979 before transferring to Columbia University two years later. In fact, several of Obamas classmates at Columbia have publicly spoken about his time at the university.



But that didnt stop Trump from pursuing the theory. In 2012, he offered to give $5 million to charities if the president released his college transcripts and passport records. Nothing came of that stunt.

Ted Cruzs Father Was Involved In The Assassination Of JFK

Usually, when a tabloid tries to spread an audacious claim about a politicians family, presidential candidates ignore it.



Trump did the opposite when the National Enquirer published a story implying that Ted Cruzs father played a role in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.



His father was with Lee Harvey Oswald prior to Oswald's being  you know, shot. I mean, the whole thing is ridiculous, Trump said in an interview with Fox News. What is this, right prior to his being shot, and nobody even brings it up. They don't even talk about that. That was reported, and nobody talks about it.



Trump struck a nerve, and Cruz responded by calling Trump a pathological liar, a narcissist...straight out of a psychology textbook. The Texas senator dropped out of the Republican presidential race shortly after the incident.



Trump revived the conspiracy at the Republican National Convention after Cruz refused to endorse him, and has given no indication that he intends to apologize.



On Friday, Cruz announced he was endorsing Trump anyway.

Does Madonna know something we all don't about Barack? At a concert she said "we have a black Muslim in the White House."  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 27, 2012

Drought In California Is A Government Conspiracy

As California braced itself for another summer of forest fires, Trump told his supporters in May he was going to find a solution to their drought problem -- but not before chalking it up to an elaborate government conspiracy.



"It's so ridiculous, where they're taking the water and shoving it out to sea," Trump said at a San Diego rally. "Nobody understands it. There is no drought. They turn the water into the ocean."



By they, Trump was referring to state officials. In California, water is diverted from farms to rivers so wildlife can survive.



Trump promised he would stop permitting the use of water for environmental purposes, although that would violate the states laws.



At the end of the day, California just doesnt have enough water -- and there are plenty of studies to show what parts of the state are too dry.

Huma Abedin Has Ties To Terrorism

Conservatives have attempted to link top Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin to terrorism because of her heritage and her family's involvement with Muslim organizations. Donald Trump jumped on the bandwagon in April.



You know, by the way, look at where she worked, by the way, and look at where her mother works and worked, Trump said. Huma Abedin has access to classified information. How Hillary got away with that one, nobody will ever know.



Abedin was born in the United States but raised in Saudi Arabia. She served as assistant editor of an academic journal called the Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, which was founded by her late father and edited by her mother. According to experts on Islam, its far from radical.

Climate Change Is A Hoax

Many Republicans dont accept climate change as a fact. But Trump has taken it even further.



At one point, he called the phenomenon a hoax created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.



Trump walked back that claim in an interview on Fox News in January, but he still called climate change a very, very expensive form of tax.



Scientists overwhelmingly agree that human activity is significantly affecting the environment, causing rising sea levels, global warming and heightened CO2 levels.

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Civil rights groups are suing Indiana officials to block the state from purging voters from its rolls using a process shown to inaccurately identify voters registered in multiple states.

In April, Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb (R) signed legislation authorizing election officials to remove voters from the rolls if they were found to be registered in more than one place. According to the legislation, one of the ways officials can identify people who are registered in more than one place is by using Interstate Crosscheck, a system developed by Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach (R) that 27 states use to compare voter information.

It isnt illegal to be registered in more than one state. But if Crosscheck flags a voter as being registered in another state, the Indiana legislation authorizes local election officials to remove them from the rolls if they can verify that person is indeed registered in their jurisdiction.

A lawsuit filed Wednesday by Brennan Center for Justice on behalf of the Indiana chapters of the NAACP and League of Women Voters accuses that process of violating the 1993 National Voter Registration Act. The federal law requires election officials to provide notice to a voter they are at risk of being removed and then permits the officials to remove them from the voting rolls if they dont respond over a period of time. In their complaint, lawyers called the Indiana law a flagrant violation of NVRA.

The League of Women Voters of Indianas positions support responsible voter list maintenance, Patsy Hoyer and Oscar Anderson, co-presidents of the League of Women Voters of Indiana, said in a statement earlier this week. But that is not what this is.

Ian Hauer, a spokesman for Indiana Secretary of State Connie Lawson (R), a defendant in the suit, said the secretary of states office could not comment on pending litigation. But according to the complaint, Jerry Bonnet, a lawyer in Lawsons office, defended the states purging process in a July 13 letter to the Brennan Center, writing that NVRA does not prohibit immediate cancellation of a duplicate previous voter registration based upon reliable, uniform, nondiscriminatory, information received from a voter registration official who has accepted a subsequent registration.

Story continues

The Indiana process could lead to the removal of many completely eligible voters from the rolls. Research has shown that purging based on Crosscheck would lead to the cancellation of 200 registrations used to cast legitimate votes for every one registration used to cast a double vote. Researchers at MIT found earlier this year there was a 13.6 percent chance of any random voter being matched to another voter who had the same name and birth month and year. The probability of finding a match decreases if registrations are compared using a full birthday.

Florida and Oregon have both abandoned the program in recent years after it produced unreliable results. In 2012, Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) showed up at the polls amid an aggressive state voter purge and was told he couldnt vote because his name had been matched to that of a dead person and removed from the rolls.

Even Crosschecks own participation guide warns about the possibility of erroneously identifying double votes.

Experience in the crosscheck program indicates that a significant number of apparent double votes are false positives and not double votes, a 2013 version of the guide says. Many are the result of errorsvoters sign the wrong line in the poll book, election clerks scan the wrong line with a barcode scanner, or there is confusion over father/son voters (Sr. and Jr.).

Voter purging isnt the only matter over which election officials in Indiana are facing scrutiny. Marion County, the states most populous, is also facing a lawsuit for repeatedly blocking the expansion of early voting.

Also on HuffPost

Taking Security Seriously

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) talks with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) before the start of a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing concerning the roles and responsibilities for defending the nation against cyberattacks, on Oct. 19, 2017.

With Liberty And Justice...

Members of Code Pink for Peace protest before the start of a hearing where U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions will testify to the Senate Judiciary Committee in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on Oct. 18, 2017. Committee members questioned Sessions about conversations he had with President Donald Trump about the firing of former FBI Director James Comey, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy, the ongoing investigation about Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and other subjects.

Whispers

Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), right, speaks with Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) before a confirmation hearing for Christopher Sharpley, nominee for inspector general of the CIA, on Oct. 17, 2017.

Not Throwing Away His Shot

Lin-Manuel Miranda, creator of the musical "Hamilton," makes his way to a meeting of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies in the Rayburn Office Building during a round of meetings to urge federal funding for the arts and humanities on Sept. 13, 2017.

Medicare For All

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), center, speaks on health care as Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), left, and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), right, listen during an event to introduce the Medicare for All Act on Sept. 13, 2017.

Bernie Bros

Supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) pack his office on Sept. 8, 2017. Members of the "Draft Bernie for a People's Party" campaign delivered a petition with more than 50,000 signatures to urge the senator to start and lead a new political party.

McCain Appearance

Sen. John McCain, second from left, leaves the Capitol after his first appearance since being diagnosed with cancer. He arrived to cast a vote to help Republican senators narrowly pass the motion to proceed for the replacement of the Affordable Care Act on July 25, 2017.

A Narrow Win

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, center, speaks alongside Sens. John Barrasso, left, John Cornyn, right, and John Thune, rear, after the Senate narrowly passed the motion to proceed for the replacement of the Affordable Care Act on July 25, 2017.

Kushner Questioning

Jared Kushner, White House senior adviser and son-in-law to President Donald Trump, arrives at the Capitol on July 25, 2017. Kushner was interviewed by the House Intelligence Committee in a closed-door meeting about contacts he had with Russia.

Hot Dogs On The Hill

Rep. Frank Lucas (R-Okla.) prepares a hot dog during the American Meat Institute's annual Hot Dog Lunch in the Rayburn Office Building courtyard on July 19, 2017.

And Their Veggie Counterparts

Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) visits the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals veggie dog giveaway on July 19, 2017, countering a National Hot Dog Day event being held elsewhere on Capitol Hill.

Poised For Questions

Callista Gingrich, wife of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, waits for a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on her nomination to be the U.S. ambassador to the Vatican on July 18, 2017.

Speaking Up

Health care activists protest to stop the Republican health care bill at Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on July 17, 2017.

In The Fray

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) speaks to members of the media after announcing the revised version of the Senate Republican health care bill on Capitol Hill on July 13, 2017.

Anticipation

Christopher Wray is seated with his daughter Caroline, left, as he prepares to testify at a Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on his nomination to be the next FBI director on July 12, 2017.

Up In Arms

Health care activists protest to stop the Republican health care bill at Russell Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on July 10, 2017.

Across A Table

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) meets with South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Capitol Hill on June 29, 2017.

Somber Day

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) speaks about the recent attack on the Republican congressional baseball team during her weekly press conference on Capitol Hill on June 15, 2017.

Family Matters

Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), right, and his sons, Jack, 10, and Brad, arrive in the basement of the Capitol after a shooting at the Republican baseball practice in Alexandria, Virginia, on June 14, 2017.

A Bipartisan Pause

Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), right, coach of the Republican congressional baseball team, tells the story of the shooting that occurred during a baseball practice while he stands alongside Rep. Mike Doyle (D-Pa.), left, a coach of the Democratic congressional baseball team on June 14, 2017.

Hats On

Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.) reacts about the shooting he was present for at a Republican congressional baseball practice in Alexandria, Virginia, as he speaks with reporters at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on June 14, 2017.

Public Testimony

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions is sworn in to testify before a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Capitol Hill on June 13, 2017.

Comey's Big Day

Former FBI Director James Comey testifies before a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Russia's alleged interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election on Capitol Hill on June 8, 2017.

Conveying His Point

U.S. Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats testifies at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on his interactions with the Trump White House and on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act on June 7, 2017.

Selfie Time

Vice President Mike Pence takes a selfie with a tourist wearing a "Make America Great Again" hat inside the U.S. Capitol rotunda on June 6, 2017. The vice president walked through the rotunda after attending the Senate Republican policy luncheon.

Budget Queries

Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney testifies before the House Budget Committee about President Donald Trump's fiscal 2018 budget proposal on Capitol Hill on May 24, 2017.

Flagged Down By Reporters

Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, leaves a closed committee meeting on Capitol Hill on May 24, 2017. The committee is investigating possible Russian interference in the U.S. presidential election.

Shock And Awe

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) hold a news conference on the release of the president's fiscal 2018 budget proposal on Capitol Hill on May 23, 2017.

Seeing Double

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) arrives in the Capitol for the Senate Democrats' policy lunch on May 16, 2017.

Honoring Officers

President Donald Trump speaks at the National Peace Officers Memorial Service on the West Lawn of the Capitol on May 15, 2017.

Whispers

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr (R-N.C.), right, and ranking member Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) talk during a hearing with the heads of the U.S. intelligence agencies in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on May 11, 2017.

Skeptical

Former acting Attorney General Sally Yates arrives to testify before a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election on Capitol Hill on May 8, 2017.

Differing Opinions

Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.) gives a thumbs-up to protesters on the East Front of the Capitol after the House passed the Republicans' bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act on May 4, 2017. The protesters support the ACA.

Real Talk

United States Naval Academy Midshipman 2nd Class Shiela Craine (left), a sexual assault survivor, testifies before the House Armed Services Committee's Subcommittee on Military Personnel with (2nd from left to right) Ariana Bullard, Stephanie Gross and Annie Kendzior in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill on May 2, 2017. Kendzior, a former midshipman, and Gross, a former cadet, were both raped twice during their time at the military academies. The academy superintendents were called to testify following the release of a survey last month by the Pentagon that said 12.2 percent of academy women and 1.7 percent of academy men reported experiencing unwanted sexual contact during the 2015-16 academic year.

In Support Of Immigrants

Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chair Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-N.M.), center, is joined by dozens of Democratic members of the House of Representatives to mark "Immigrant Rights Day" in the Capitol Visitor Center on May 1, 2017 in Washington, D.C. The Democratic legislators called on Republicans and President Donald Trump to join their push for comprehensive immigration reform.

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) and Attorney General Cynthia Coffman (R) mounted a vigorous defense of their states legalized and regulated marijuana program Thursday, replying to a critical letter from Attorney General Jeff Sessions that was directed at states that have legalized marijuana for recreational purposes.

Hickenlooper and Coffman, in a response letter dated Thursday, tell Sessions that their states numerous marijuana laws and regulations are effective. They said the regulations work smoothly to prevent diversion of the drug outside of the state, block marijuana use by minors and protect the publics safety and health. The pair also encourage the federal government to work with the state to fortify the robust program that it has already built.

Sessions, a vocal opponent of marijuana and its legalization, sent letters to Oregon, Alaska, Washington and Colorado  the first four states to legalize recreational marijuana  challenging the states oversight of the nascent pot industry. Sessions told Colorado in July that a 2016 law enforcement report raises serious questions about the efficacy of marijuana regulatory structures in your state.

Colorado is now the fourth state of that group to respond  and forcefully defend marijuana legalization  to Sessions criticisms.

The State of Colorado has worked diligently to implement the will of our citizens and build a comprehensive regulatory and enforcement system that prioritizes public safety and public health, the Colorado letter reads. When abuses and unintended consequences materialize, the state has acted quickly to address any resulting harms. While our system has proven to be effective, we are constantly evaluating and seeking to strengthen our approach to regulation and enforcement.

The Colorado officials detailed statistics that the state provided to the Department of Justice in a report in July, a document HuffPost obtained and previously reported on earlier this month, to back up their argument that state-level legalization of marijuana is effective.

Story continues

Marijuana remains illegal under federal law, but the Obama administration urged federal prosecutors to refrain from targeting state-legal marijuana operations. Sessions in February named a task force to review that policy. In response, Oregon, Colorado and Alaska submitted reports to the Justice Department, detailing well-regulated legal marijuana industries that generate vast tax revenue and no measurable increase in crime or health problems.

The Associated Press has reported Sessions task force largely reiterated the Justice Departments current policy on marijuana and has not pushed for a crackdown.

Marijuana legalization activists fear Sessions may be willing to ignore evidence and resume strict enforcement of federal prohibition. The Obama administration guidance that allows state-legal marijuana could be reversed or altered by Sessions in ways that could doom thriving industries many states now consider legal.

Eight states have legalized recreational marijuana. National support for marijuana legalization has risen dramatically in recent years, reaching historic highs. Ninety-four percent of Americans support allowing adults to use marijuana for medical purposes if their doctor prescribes it, according to a Quinnipiac poll this year.

Also on HuffPost

Because Most Americans Are Unenthusiastic About It

Only 7 percent of Americans think the United States is winning the war on drugs, and few Americans are interested in throwing down more money to try to win, according to a Rasmussen Reports poll released in 2012.

Because The U.S. Won't Control The Flow Of Guns Into Latin America

Mexican authorities seized almost 70,000 weapons of U.S. origin from 2007 to 2011. In 2004, the U.S. Congress declined to renew a 10-year ban on the sale of assault weapons. They quickly became the guns of choice for Mexican drug cartels. Some 60,000 people have died in Mexico since President Felipe Calderon launched a military assault on the cartels in 2006.

Because The United States Leads The Hemisphere In Drug Consumption

Americans have the highest rate of illegal drug consumption in the world, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health.

Because The U.S. Ignores Latin American Calls For A Rethinking Of Drug Policy

Several current and former Latin American presidents, like Fernando Henrique Cardoso, have urged the United States to rethink its failed war on drugs, to no avail.

Because Of The Fast And Furious Scandal

In an attempt to track guns as they moved across the U.S.-Mexico border, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms allowed smugglers to purchase weapons. The ATF lost track of the guns and they wound up in the hands of drug cartels -- even as far south as Colombia.

Because American Politicians Refuse To Candidly Lead A Debate On Reforming Our Laws

Though the subject of marijuana legalization regularly ranks among the most popular at the digital town halls President Obama takes part in, he declines to address the issue or give it a thoughtful answer. Incidentally, a younger Obama supported marijuana decriminalization and a rethinking of the drug war.

Because The U.S. Tortures Detainees In Cuba

Almost 800 prisoners accused of terrorism have have been held at the U.S. military prison of Guantanamo, Cuba, where they are detained indefinitely without facing trial. The United States has drawn international criticism from human rights defenders for subjecting the detainees there to torture and other cruel treatment. The Cuban government opposes hosting the U.S. naval base on its soil.

Because The U.S. Has The World's Largest Prison Population

The United States has the world's largest prison population by far -- largely fed by the war on drugs -- at 500 per 100,000 people.

Because The U.S. Jails Undocumented Immigrants Guilty Of Civil Violations

Because the United States imprisons roughly 400,000 immigrants each year on civil violations.

Because The Border Patrol Kills Kids Who Throw Rocks

The U.S. Border Patrol has come under fire for killing minors who were throwing rocks.

Because The U.S. Recognized An Illegal Government In Venezuela

When opponents of leftwing Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez briefly ousted him in 2002, the United States not only failed to condemn the coup, it praised the coup leaders.

Because U.S. Extradition Undermines Justice In Colombia

When Colombia demobilized the largest rightwing paramilitary organization in 2006, if offered lenient sentences to those who would offer details on the atrocities the AUC committed. But rather than facing justice in their home country, Colombia has extradited several paramilitary leaders to the United States to face drug trafficking charges -- marking it harder for people like Bela Henriquez to find out the details surrounding the murders of their loved ones. "More than anger, I feel powerless," Henriquez, whose father, Julio, was kidnapped and killed on the orders of one defendant, told ProPublica. "We don't know what they are negotiating, what conditions they are living under. What guarantee of justice do we have?"

Because The U.S. Helped Create Today's Cartels

The U.S funded the Guatemalan military during the 1960s and 1970s anti-insurgency war, despite awareness of widespread human rights violations. Among the recipients of U.S military funding and training were the Kaibiles, a special force unit responsible for several massacres. Former Kaibiles have joined the ranks of the Zetas drug cartel.

Because The U.S. Backed An Argentine Military Dictatorship That Killed 30,000 People

The rightwing military dictatorship that took over Argentina in 1976 "disappeared" some 30,000 people, according to estimates by several human rights organizations. They subjected countless others to sadistic forms of torture and stole dozens of babies from mothers they jailed and murdered. The military junta carried out the so-called "Dirty War" with the full knowledge and support of the Nixon administration.

Because The U.S. Helped Topple The Democratically Elected Government Of Salvador Allende

When it became clear that socialist Salvador Allende would likely win the presidency in Chile, U.S. President Richard Nixon told the CIA to "make the economy scream" in order to "prevent Allende from coming to power or to unseat him," according to the National Security Archive. Augusto Pinochet overthrew Allende in a bloody coup on Sept. 11, 1973, torturing and disappearing thousands of his political rivals with the backing of the U.S. government.

Because the U.S. Backed A Military Coup In Brazil In 1964

The Brazilian military overthrew the democratically elected government of Joao Goulart in 1964, with the enthusiastic support of President Lyndon Johnson, ushering in two decades of repressive government.

Because The U.S. Funded A Terrorist Group In Nicaragua

The Reagan administration funded the Contra rebels against the Marxist Sandinista government in Nicaragua. Regarded by many as terrorists, the Contras murdered, tortured and raped civilians. When human rights organizations reported on the crimes, the Reagan administration accused them of working on behalf of the Sandinistas.

Because The U.S. Helped Finance Atrocities In Colombia

Through Plan Colombia, the U.S. has pumped over $6 billion into Colombia's military and intelligence service since 2002. The intelligence service has been disbanded for spying on the Supreme Court and carrying out smear campaigns against the justices, as well as journalists, members of Congress and human rights activists. The military faces numerous allegations of human rights abuse, including the practice of killing non-combatants from poor neighborhoods and dressing them up as guerrillas to inflate enemy casualty statistics.

Because The U.S. Maintains A Trade Embargo Against Cuba Despite Opposition From The Entire World

For 21 years, the U.N. has condemned the U.S. embargo against Cuba and for 21 years the United States has ignored it. Some 188 nations voted against the embargo this year, with only the U.S. itself, Israel, Palau opposing.

Because The U.S. Engineered A Coup Against The Democratically Elected Government Of Guatemala In 1954

At the behest of United Fruit Company, a U.S. corporation with extensive holdings in Central America, the CIA helped engineer the overthrow of the Guatemalan government in 1954, ushering in decades of civil war that resulted in the loss of hundreds of thousands of lives.

Because The U.S. Backed The Salvadoran Military As It Committed Atrocities In The 1980s

El Salvador's military committed atrocities throughout the 1980s with U.S. funding.

Because The U.S. Invaded Haiti and Occupied It For Almost 20 Years

Woodrow Wilson ordered the Marines to invade and occupy Haiti in 1915 after the assassination of the Haitian president. The troops didn't leave until 1934.

Because The U.S. Invaded Haiti Again In 1994

One invasion wasn't good enough. The U.S. military returned in 1994.

Because The U.S. Trained Military Leaders Who Committed Atrocities In Latin America

The School of the Americas in Ft. Benning, Georgia, trained soldiers and generals responsible for massacres and torture of tens of thousands of Latin Americans, according to Al Jazeera.

Because The U.S. Backed Dictator Rafael Trujillo

Rafael Trujillo Sr. (Photo by Hank Walker//Time Life Pictures/Getty Images)

Because The U.S. Invaded Cuba And Undermined The Island's Independence

The so-called "Spanish-American War" began in 1868 with the first of a series of three wars for Cuban independence. In 1898, the U.S. got involved, invading Cuba and occupying the island after forcing Spain to give it. The United States then forced Cuba to accept the odious Platt Amendent to its Constitution, which allowed the United States to intervene in the country militarily and established the U.S. military base at Guantanamo.

Because The U.S. Colonized Puerto Rico

As long as you're invading Cuba, why not take Puerto Rico as well? The United States invaded in 1898 and the island remains a U.S. territory today.

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Beirut (AFP) - At least 34 Syrian soldiers and allied fighters have been killed in an Islamic State counterattack in the east of Raqa province, rolling back regime gains, a monitor said on Friday.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor, said the jihadist group had recaptured large swathes of territory from government forces in the fighting on Thursday.

Syria's army is seeking to advance through Raqa province to reach neighbouring Deir Ezzor, where jihadists have besieged government forces and civilians in the provincial capital since 2015.

Earlier this month, government troops and allied fighters arrived at the outskirts of Madan, the last IS-held town in the eastern Raqa province countryside before Deir Ezzor.

But in Thursday's counterattack, IS "made major progress and... expanded the area under its control along the southern bank of the Euphrates," the Observatory said.

"IS has managed to push regime forces back 30 kilometres (18 miles) from the western outskirts of Madan," Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said.

The Syria army operation in the area, backed by air support from ally Russia, is separate from the battle for provincial capital Raqa city.

The effort to oust IS from the city, once the jihadist group's Syrian stronghold, is being led by the Syrian Democratic Forces, a US-backed alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters.

The SDF has captured just under 60 percent of Raqa city since it entered in June after months of fighting to encircle it.

More than 330,000 people have been killed in Syria since the conflict began in March 2011 with anti-government protests.
A Pennsylvania couple says a fuzzy spot on their daughters ultrasound is Jesus Christ keeping watch over their little one.

It was perfectly clear, dad Zac Smith told InsideEdition.com Thursday.

Read: Ultrasound Captures Twins Kissing Inside Mom's Womb

I was shocked; I couldnt believe it, said mom Alicia Zeek. The couple spoke from their hospital room, one day after Zeek gave birth to a healthy girl, Briella Angel-Marie Smith.

The mother had experienced difficulties in two previous pregnancies. Her first child, a daughter, was born with two thumbs on one hand and her second, a son, had a cleft palate.

Her third pregnancy was marked by preeclampsia and the couple fretted about the health of the fetus.

Her blood pressure was through the roof, Smith said. Our nerves were just wrecked.

Read: Blind Couple Gets 3D-Printed Ultrasound to Let Them Feel Their Baby

Until they saw the ultrasound, they said. To them, it appeared Jesus was looking straight at Briella.

We knew we were OK. We were so relieved, he said.

Their family was in shock. They definitely told us somebody was watching over her, he said. Were really blessed. Were just really blessed.

Watch: See Funny Way Mom Who Didn't Know She Was Pregnant Surprises Kids With Baby

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Miami (AFP) - Elian Gonzalez, who was once at the center of an international custody battle between his Cuban father and relatives in Miami, has held out an olive branch to his family living in the United States.

The 23-year-old was just six when the vessel carrying his mother and others capsized off the coast of Florida in November 1999, leaving Elian -- who was able to grab onto a car inner tube -- the sole survivor.

Speaking in an interview with CNN that was broadcast Thursday ahead of a documentary by CNN Films that re-examines his story, he said he'd like to put the bitter past behind him.

"We are separated by laws, by the blockade, by the sea. We do not have to continue separating ourselves as a family," said Gonzalez, who now holds a degree in industrial engineering and is working as a technology specialist.

His father, Juan Miguel, echoed the sentiment and said he hoped the family could overcome its political differences.

"I have the best intentions to forgive them so that it can continue to be a relationship of families, they with their ideals and we with ours."

Following his rescue, Elian's relatives -- and the larger Cuban-American community in Miami -- insisted they would not allow him to return to Cuba, fearing he faced a life of privation and political oppression there.

Eventually, US courts sided with Elian's father and ordered that federal agents seize the boy.

Iconic news photos of the April 2000 raid showing the terrified child being taken at gunpoint were beamed around the world.

Upon his return, he was rarely heard from other than when his image was occasionally beamed on Cuban television as a model member of the communist party's youth wing.

But he told American broadcaster ABC in a 2015 interview that he hoped to someday return to the US to personally thank those who had helped him.

It's a wish that he still holds on to, even though he insists, as a true believer of Fidel Castro's communist revolution, it would only be for a short while.

Story continues

Had he stayed in Miami, he reflects, "I think I would have become the poster boy for that group of Cubans in Miami that tries to destroy the revolution, that try to make Cuba look bad," he said.

"I would have been used in that way. Maybe I would have become an actor on TV or maybe I would have more money than I have here with more comforts, but I wouldn't have my family. I wouldn't have the tranquility I have in Cuba."

"My two feet, my body, my mind are in Cuba," he said.

"But there are times when I think about the United States. I wouldn't be who I am had I not been in the United States."
His Guardians of the Galaxy alter ego, Drax the Destroyer, may be zipping around the far reaches of space, but Dave Bautista is logging plenty of international miles back here on terra firma. When Yahoo Movies connected with the former WWE star to talk about his new movie, Bushwick  a gripping you are there combat movie set in present-day Brooklyn and pitting ordinary citizens like Brittany Snows frantic Lucy and Bautistas gruff neighborhood guy Stupe against a well-armed Texas militia  Bautista confessed to having a fuzzy brain thanks to having just stepped off a plane from China. He wasnt playing tourist overseas, though. Instead, he was playing Owen Davidson, a mysterious character in the martial arts extravaganza, Ip Man Side Story: Cheung Tin Chi, an extension of the popular Ip Man franchise starring Donnie Yen.

What possessed Bautista to fly halfway around the world to play an English-speaking character in a Mandarin-language film? As it turns out, it only took two words: Woo-Ping. That would be Yuen Woo-Ping, the legendary Hong Kong action choreographer and director who memorably taught Keanu Reeves kung-fu for The Matrix. I heard his name, and I didnt ask any more questions, Bautista says. I didnt even know what the movie was. I just wanted to work with him! Whatever fuzziness was still lurking in the actors jet-lagged brain quickly cleared out as we discussed the rigorous process of shooting Bushwick (which opens in limited theatrical release and on VOD on Friday after premiering at Sundance in January) and how his newfound talent for improvisation will play a big role in that filmand Avengers: Infinity War.

Yahoo Movies: Youve got several Hollywood blockbusters under your belt. What was it like leaping into the Chinese action movie industry with Ip Man Side Story?

Dave Bautista: It was like guerrilla warfare, man! [Laughs] Its terrifying, because they dont rehearse a lot. Ive had the luxury of being on bigger films here and getting plenty of rehearsal time. There, its like, Set the cameras up, and lets go. I had to speak a little bit of Mandarin, and Im sure its like a three year old speaking Mandarin! It was a crash course and great learning experience.

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The experience of shooting Bushwick must have been like guerrilla warfare as well. Its all choreographed to almost resemble one tracking shot, which just adds to the intensity of the action.

That was one of the huge appeals of the film to me. Im still trying to find myself as an actor, and I knew with those long takes that I wouldnt have the luxury of editing. We rehearsed quite a bit, but once you get into it, theres not a whole lot of room for error. The camera is constantly moving and youre trying to perform, often in very tight spaces.

How would you approach an actual survival situation like the one Stupe faces in the film?

We have our own little compound with a huge generator down here in Florida thats right next to an Air Force base. So I hope we would be OK. My first priority would be to take care of my wife and our dogs, so I dont know that Id venture outside. But it was cool being out there in Brooklyn and roughing it a bit for this film. At the same time, there were a few occasions where wed be five or six minutes into a take and somebody would waltz through eating a bag of Cheetos! I came out of character so fast the first time that happened. My fear going into the films premiere at Sundance was that I knew I would be judged on my performance. Youre baring your soul, and hope that people dont shred you apart.

You certainly bare your soul in a long monologue you deliver towards the end of the film outlining your characters emotional backstory.

That scene wasnt in the script. When I first read it, I didnt like Stupe at all, and the filmmakers told me that I could reinvent him. So I started putting some thought into it, and I came up with this backstory for him. I had the story in my head for weeks, and [before that scene] I said to them, Do you trust me? They said, Yes and let me do the monologue. I sat down and just told the story out of my head so it would be honest. After I did it, everyone was really quiet, and I thought: Man, that was way too long. I guess they though it sucked! But they were really kind of in shock and heartbroken over the story. They asked if I could do it again, so we did it one more time and that was it. That was my one opportunity to tell the backstory of Stupe, and to get people to root for him. I just went for it.

You improvised Stupes big moment in Bushwick: should we be on the lookout for any Drax improv in Avengers: Infinity War?

I have a lot of interaction with Chris [Pratt] and Pom [Klementieff, who plays Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2s breakout character Mantis], and its always great when they let me play the straight man to Chriss humor. When we said something funny, [the Russo brothers, who are directing Infinity War and the next Avengers film back-to-back] would come in after the take and go, What was that you said? Say that again! They were really excited about it.

Robert Downey Jr., of course, is noted for improvising many of Tony Starks funniest moments as well. Did you get to riff with him?

We do. Im excited about some of the stuff we did, but I dont know whats going to make it in the film. I always thought there would be a lot of good interaction between Tony Stark and Drax, and there was. And Star-Lord and Tony Stark as well. When you put those two guys in a room together, its like a spontaneous combustion. Talk about two talented guys who are so witty and smart and honed-in on their craft. It was a spectacle, and Im so excited I got to witness it firsthand.

When we spoke with James Gunn recently, he confirmed that he had a lot of involvement in crafting the Guardians scenes in Infinity War. Were you happy about that?

Completely. I think one of the reasons we were so successful to begin with is because of Jamess creativity. We had the luxury of him writing for us on Infinity War, and the Russos didnt at all try to make us into something we werent. They encouraged us to own our characters and be the Guardians of the Galaxy, not their Guardians of the Galaxy.

You didnt share any scenes with him in Vol. 2, but you do star opposite Sylvester Stallone in Escape Plan 2. Whats your best Sly story?

I took that job because I wanted to work with Stallone so badly! And it was the easiest job I ever had in my life, because I spent most of my time hanging out bulls-ing with Stallone. Our first scene together was in a car, and I told him, Look man, its our first day, so Im not going to bug you with all the fanboy questions. But tomorrow youre probably going to get them! We shot the scene for ten to fifteen minutes, and before we got out of the car I was asking him about Rocky and Rambo. I couldnt contain myself! He was telling me all about an injury he had on one of the Rocky movies that changed the storyline of the whole film. What I love about him is that he doesnt take anything too seriously. He just likes to riff and do his thing.

So its safe to say well see some Bautista-Stallone improv in Escape Plan 2?

Absolutely! [Laughs]

Watch: Michael Rooker reveals how he almost messed up Yondus big Guardians 2 moment:

Read more from Yahoo Movies:
Louise Linton, wife of Steve Mnuchin, is accused of boasting about her wealth on Instagram - Louise Linton / Instagram

Fashion brands have distanced themselves from the Scottish wife of Donald Trump's millionaire Treasury Secretary following a bizarre Instagram rant.

Louise Linton has been accused of boasting about her wealth on social media following a state-funded trip to Kentucky.

She posted a photo of herself emerging from a government plane tagging fashion labels including Valentino, Hermes, Roland Mouret and Tom Ford.

Her Instagram post Credit: Louise Linton / Instagram

Designers have responded to the post by insisting Mrs Linton, who is married to former hedge fund manager Steve Mnuchin, received no benefits for mentioning them in the post.

A spokesperson for Valentino told WWD the actress, who appeared in 2016 horror film Cabin Fever, did not receive any gifted merchandise, compensation or loans.

She also did not receive any free merchandise from Tom Ford and is not affiliated with the brand in any way, WWD adds.

Stephen Mnuchin and Louise Linton Credit: AP

A so-called top fashion insider was quoted by several media outlets as saying: Louise wont be invited to Fashion Week or the big galas. And she certainly wont be appearing in Vogue, if her wedding pictures [with Trump] hadnt already killed her chances with Anna Wintour.

In the now-deleted post, she wrote Great #daytrip to #Kentucky! #nicest #people #beautiful #countryside #rolandmouret pants #tomford sunnies, #hermesscarf #valentinorockstudheels #valentino #usa. Her post was widely criticised, with one replying: Glad we could pay for your little getaway.

Donald and Melania Trump at Steven Mnuchin and Louise Linton's wedding Credit: Getty

An irked Mrs Linton responded: Have you given more to the economy than me and my husband? Either as an individual earner in taxes OR in self sacrifice to your country? I'm pretty sure we paid more taxes toward our day 'trip' than you did.

But she later backtracked, saying: I apologise for my post on social media yesterday as well as my response. It was inappropriate and highly insensitive.

A Treasury Department spokesperson said Mr Mnuchin and Mrs Linton are reimbursing the government for Mrs Linton's travel and that Mrs Linton received no compensation from the fashion labels mentioned in her post.

Celebrities who love Donald Trump
The New Jersey Devils have signed free-agent forward Drew Stafford, taking one of the lingering interesting names off the market and filling a desperate need on right wing.

Its just a one-year deal worth $800,000, a sharp decline from his previous contract with the Jets that paid him $4.35 million against the cap. Its a one-way contract.

Stafford, 31, had 21 points in 58 games between the Winnipeg Jets and Boston Bruins last season, including eight in 18 games with the Bs after he was acquired at the trade deadline. His goal output was down sharply from his previous two seasons with the Jets, despite being in a contract year.

The signing gives the Devils a capable veteran on right wing, where the team is razor thin. Behind Kyle Palmieri on the top line, the Devils could have gone with John Quenneville, Stefan Noesen and potentially Jimmy Hayes (on a PTO currently). Marcus Johansson has played right wing, but is far more effective on the left side. So Stafford bolsters this group; which says more about this group than it does Drew Stafford.

So, in theory, you could have Drew Stafford skating with first overall pick Nico Hischier this season, which wouldnt be a bad thing for either player  especially if it means Stafford puts up the kind of numbers that allow the Devils to flip him at the deadline.

Ah, the veteran forward on the one-year deal who gets turned into a third-round pick. The Ray Shero Special.



Greg Wyshynski is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter. His book, TAKE YOUR EYE OFF THE PUCK, is available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.

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Some people may sprinkle on powder after showering and never think much of it. But recent court cases have shined a spotlight on the possible link between women's regular use of talcum powder on their genitals and an increased risk of developing ovarian cancer.

Yesterday (Aug. 21), a jury in Los Angeles ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay a record $417 million to a woman who claims that the company's baby powder led to her ovarian cancer. The woman, Eva Echeverria, said in the lawsuit that she developed ovarian cancer as a "proximate result of the unreasonably dangerous and defective nature of talcum powder," according to the Associated Press. (Johnson & Johnson's baby powder is made from talcum powder or talc, which is a mineral made up of magnesium, silicon and oxygen.)

In a case that was settled in February, a jury determined that the family of a 62-year-old Alabama woman, who died from ovarian cancer in 2015 after decades of using talcum powder for feminine hygiene, was entitled to $72 million in damages from Johnson & Johnson. The company did not inform customers of the potential dangers of its powders despite being aware of the possible health risks, the jury ruled, according to The Washington Post.

In an earlier case against the same manufacturer, a jury in 2013 found Johnson & Johnson guilty of negligence for not warning women of the risk of ovarian cancer linked to the daily use of the company's talc-based powders. However, the jury in this case did not award the woman who developed the cancer any monetary damages.

Although these lawsuits have resulted in more publicity about a potential connection between women's use of talcum powder as a feminine hygiene product, the suggestion of a possible association has been raised in scientific circles for more than 30 years. (Such use means applying powders directly on women's' genitals, or on sanitary napkins, tampons, underwear or diaphragms.)

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It's a controversial topic because manufacturers claim there is no causal connection between talc use and ovarian cancer, and researchhas demonstrated conflicting results. [5 Things Women Should Know About Ovarian Cancer]

The American Cancer Society has weighed in on the available science, and said that the "findings have been mixed." Some studies report a slightly increased risk of ovarian cancer among women who have regularly used talcum powder in their genital areas, while other studies have found no increased risk, the society said.

Based on limited evidence, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, which is part of the World Health Organization, has designated women's use of talc on their genitals as "possibly carcinogenic to humans."

Some, but not all powders, such as baby powders and body powders, contain talc, a mineral that may help prevent odor, moisture and chafing when applied to the skin. Before the 1970s, talc products may have contained asbestos, now a known carcinogen, but since then, talcum powders are required by law to be asbestos-free.

Cornstarch-based powders, which have no talc in them, are considered safe for women to use on the genital area and have no known link with any female cancers. And there's no evidence that sprinkling talc-based powders on other parts of a woman's body, such as on her feet or her back, influences ovarian cancer risk.

Arguing for strong evidence

Dr. Daniel Cramer, a professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive biology at Harvard Medical School and director of the OB/GYN Epidemiology Center at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, conducted one of the earliest studies to suggest a link between genital talc use in women and cancer of the ovaries. That research was published in 1982.

Since then, Cramer's studies have been among those finding a link between women's regular use of talc and an increased risk of ovarian cancer.

In his opinion, there is strong evidence from about two-dozen epidemiological studies for a significant association between genital talc use and ovarian cancer, Cramer told Live Science. These studies have found that regular talc use may increase a woman's overall risk of ovarian cancer by about 30 percent, Cramer said.

It has been only in more recent studies that a dose-response effect has been observed in premenopausal women, especially nonsmokers and women who are heavier, and in postmenopausal women who used hormone therapy, Cramer said. A dose-response means that a woman's risk for ovarian cancer appeared to increase the longer she used talc on her genitals or the more applications she had used over time, he explained.

One factor that has been hard for researchers to quantify is how much talc each woman uses in each application, and how much of it gets into the vagina, Cramer told Live Science. [5 Myths About Women's Bodies]

Talc is a potent inflammatory agent, and chronic inflammation may predispose a person to cancer, said Cramer, who served as an expert witness in one of the recent court cases and provided written testimony in another. He said that pathologists who have examined tissue from the ovaries of cancer patients under a microscope have found that there is talc in the tissue. The mineral has also been found in women who don't have ovarian cancer; talc can be found in tissue from lymph nodes in women who have used talcum powder on their genitals.

The exact mechanism by which talc may promote the development of ovarian cancer in women is not known. But Cramer said he suspects that when talc is applied to the genitals, the mineral's particles can get into the vagina and eventually make their way into the upper genital tract, where the ovaries are located. Once there, talc can induce a potent inflammatory response and probably disrupt the immune system, he said.

Hormones, such as estrogen, may also play a role in the development of ovarian cancer in some women who use talc, but more studies are needed to tease out this effect, Cramer said.

Focus on other risks

Not everyone who examines the research on talc and ovarian cancer draws a conclusion similar to Cramer's.

The scientific evidence for a link between women's use of talcum powder and ovarian cancer is not that strong, said Dr. Sarah Temkin, an associate professor of gynecological oncology at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore. Two newer prospective studies have failed to show any difference in ovarian cancer risk between women who used talc on their genitals and those who never did so, she said.

The older studies that suggested an increased risk tended to be case-control studies, which are open to more bias because they involve asking women to recall their use of powder after they have been diagnosed with cancer, Temkin said.

She said she does not think the evidence is strong enough to warrant forcing manufacturers to place a warning label on talcum powder to alert women to a possible health risk from using the product.

Ovarian cancer is a rare disease, and two well-established risk factors for it are a family history of ovarian cancer and a family history of breast cancer, Temkin told Live Science. Scientists have known about these two links for decades, and even so, health providers may miss the opportunity to inform women who have these risk factors about opportunities for genetic counseling, she said.

It's also known that women who have used birth control pills for at least five years may reduce their risk for developing ovarian cancer by about 50 percent compared with women who have never used such oral contraceptives, Temkin added. [7 Surprising Facts About the Pill]

She typically does not ask her ovarian cancer patients about their talc use when taking a medical history, Temkin said, and women don't usually ask her many questions about it. However, with news stories about recent court verdicts making headlines, two or three women have inquired about the use of talc, she said.

If an association between talc use and ovarian cancer risk exists, it is very small, Temkin said. "There are other risk factors for ovarian cancer that are better to focus on than talc," she said.

Editor's Note: This article was updated on Aug. 22, 2016, to include information about the recent lawsuit brought against Johnson & Johnson.

Originally published on Live Science.

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As if President Donald Trump isnt facing enough problems already (some, unfortunately, of his own making  see Charlottesville, Virginia), heres one more to add to the list: If hes not careful, the president risks going down in history as the man who defeated the Islamic State only to make the Middle East safe for Iranian hegemony.

Theres not much doubt about what the Iranians are up to. As the U.S.-backed coalition drives the Islamic State from its remaining strongholds, forces led by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and backed by Russian air power  the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Hezbollah, and Shiite militias  are racing to fill the void, securing strategic terrain along the Iraq-Syria border and a land bridge stretching from Iran to the Mediterranean. From there, the IRGC will seek over time to establish a series of ground, air, and naval bases across the Middle Easts northern tier, dramatically escalating its ability to threaten key U.S. allies in the Persian Gulf, Jordan, and especially Israel.

Does the Trump administration intend to thwart Irans dangerous ambitions? The short answer is: We just dont know. Its messages are decidedly mixed. At a general level, administration officials regularly express determination to combat Iranian aggression. More specifically, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has said that the IRGC and its foreign proxies must leave and go home as part of any eventual resolution of the Syrian conflict. And on the handful of occasions this summer when Iran and its proxies have sought to challenge U.S.-backed positions in Syria (near the Islamic States capital in Raqqa and on the Jordanian border), theyve been met with a swift and forceful response  including the shoot-down of two Iranian drones as well as a Syrian Su-22 bomber.

All well and good, as far as it goes. But on the other hand: The U.S. military has been at pains to stress that it will only confront pro-Assad elements for narrow force-protection purposes, with no mention of preventing Irans strategic land grab. After taking out the Su-22, the U.S.-led anti-Islamic State coalition issued a statement underscoring that The Coalitions mission is to defeat ISIS in Iraq and Syria. The Coalition does not seek to fight Syrian regime, Russian, or pro-regime forces partnered with them, but will not hesitate to defend Coalition or partner forces from any threat.

Days later, it got decidedly worse. The U.S. spokesman for the coalition, Colonel Ryan Dillon, went even further, effectively welcoming a concerted push by IRGC-allied forces to seize oil-rich Islamic State strongholds in the all-important Iraq-Syria border region of Deir Ezzour  precisely the terrain necessary to complete the Iranian land bridge. In response to several questions about the U.S. view of an ongoing offensive by pro-Assad forces to reconquer eastern Syria, specifically Deir Ezzour and the vital border town of Abu Kamal, Dillon repeatedly said that the coalition would not stand in opposition  so long as there was appropriate deconfliction with U.S.-partnered forces. His answers were so stunning, and reflected such a far-reaching strategic myopia, that theyre worth quoting at length:

Well, if the Syrian regime  and it looks like they are making a concerted effort to move into ISIS held areas. And if they show that they can do that, that is not a bad sign. We are here to fight ISIS as a coalition, but if others want to fight ISIS and defeat them, then we absolutely have no problem with that. And as they move eastward toward Abu Kamal and to Deir Ezzour, if we  as long as we deconflict and make sure that we can focus on what it is were there to do, without having any kind of strategic mishaps with the regime or with pro-regime forces or with Russians, than that is  were perfectly happy about that. You know that the regime has moved in, and they have made some significant, you know, progress, as it looks, towards moving to Abu Kamal and perhaps Deir Ezzour. If they want to fight ISIS in Abu Kamal and they have the capacity to do so, then, you know, that  that would be welcome. We as a coalition are not in the land-grab business. Were in the killing ISIS business, and that is what we want to do. And if  if the Syrian regime wants to do that, and they are going to again, put forth a concerted effort and show that they are  are doing just that in Abu Kamal or Deir Ezzour or elsewhere, that means that we dont have to do that in those locations. But if our access to Abu Kamal is shut off because the regime is there, thats okay.

Dillons statement of U.S. policy has been allowed to stand for two months without refutation or challenge by more authoritative sources in Washington. On the contrary, in the interim the United States has actually taken several additional steps that will have the effect of making the advance on eastern Syria by Iran, Russia and the Assad regime easier.

To wit: In early July, the administration gave its blessing to a series of Russian-negotiated ceasefires in western Syria, including one near the border with Israel and Jordan that U.S. diplomats helped broker. Though hailed as a breakthrough that could advance an eventual end to the civil war, the ceasefires more immediate impact has been to help the Assad regime consolidate battlefield gains in western Syria while freeing up scarce manpower resources to support this summers offensive in the east.

Shortly thereafter, the administration confirmed that it had ended a controversial Obama-era CIA program to support anti-Assad rebels. And just days later, in late July, the U.S. military announced that it had cut ties with one of its main Sunni Arab partners in southern Syria after the group, Shuhada al-Qaryatayn, sometimes known as the Shuq, had launched operations to impede the eastward progress of pro-Assad forces. Explaining the move, Dillon acknowledged that The Shuq have been important partners in the fight against ISIS in southern Syria. But he noted that We have made it very clear time and again that our goal in Syria and Iraq is to fight ISIS and fight ISIS only. So we have since talked with [the Shuq] and made them know that we cannot support them if they want to pursue objectives other than defeating ISIS.

Needless to say, Americas seeming strategic incoherence when it comes to Iranian designs in Syria has many of its most important regional friends alarmed  and none more so than Israel. A high-level Israeli security delegation that just returned from Washington expressed grave concern that the U.S. balked when pressed to condition any Syrian settlement on the evacuation of Iranian-allied forces. The Israelis reportedly told their American counterparts, We rushed here to warn of the deployment of Hezbollah, Iranian and Syrian forces; to explain exactly whats going on there. Without a significant change [the U.S.] position, if you dont become more involved, tougher and more aggressive, you will leave the Middle East to the Iranians, under Russian auspices. In response to their warnings, however, the Israelis perceived only a kind of embarrassment on the part of the Trump administration resulting from their lack of a clear position  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 region. As far as theyre concerned, the matter is still wide open.

Anyone who has spent time with senior Israeli officials in the past year knows how deadly serious they have been about the emerging Iranian threat in Syria. They have left little doubt that an outright victory for Iran  defined in terms of any enduring Iranian ability to use Syria as a launching pad for military aggression against Israel  would be unacceptable. The consolidation of an IRGC-controlled land corridor stretching from Tehran to the Golan Heights, replete with Iranian-backed forces and permanent military outposts, would see that nightmare realized on steroids. While Israel has strongly preferred that the United States take the lead in blocking such a dangerous deterioration in its geostrategic situation, there is every reason to believe that it will take matters into its own hands should America falter.

Its now beyond question that the endgame in Syria is rapidly approaching. Regrettably, after nearly six long years of the Obama administrations abdication of U.S. leadership, there are no successes to be won there anymore  only worse disasters to be mitigated. At the top of the list should be preventing a fundamental shift in the balance of power in favor of Americas most determined enemies in a region of the world long deemed vital to U.S. interests. A close second might be avoiding a major Israeli-Iranian conflagration that could make the Middle Easts current unraveling seem like mere childs play. Heading off those dueling catastrophes will no doubt prove difficult. It will be impossible, however, unless the United States first decides to do so. For the Trump administration, the time for choosing what to do when it comes to the gathering Iranian menace in Syria has now come.

Photo credit: KOBI GIDEON/GPO via Getty Images
Mr Clapper has become increasingly critical of Mr Trump: AP

Donald Trump has launched an attack on a former intelligence chief who in recent days questioned his fitness for the presidency

James Clapper, who served as Director of National Intelligence under Barack Obama and stood down in January, has become increasingly critical of Mr Trump. Following the President's widely-criticised response to the neo-Nazi-led violence in Charlottesville that left a young woman dead, Mr Trump held a rally in Arizona where he defended his actions.

After the event, Mr Clapper said he had found Mr Trumps speech in Phoenix to be downright scary and disturbing.

James Clapper, who famously got caught lying to Congress, is now an authority on Donald Trump. Will he show you his beautiful letter to me?  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 24, 2017

I really question his ability to be - his fitness to be - in this office, and I also am beginning to wonder about his motivation for it, he said on CNN. How much longer does the country have to, to borrow a phrase, endure this nightmare?

On Thursday, among a series of tweets, Mr Trump attacked Mr Clapper and accused him of lying to Congress.

James Clapper, who famously got caught lying to congress, is now an authority on Donald Trump. Will he show you his beautiful letter to me, he wrote.

Mr Clapper is a member of what Trump supporters have termed the deep state, the intelligence and law enforcement institutions they claim are opposed to the President.

There is little doubt that Mr Trump has become increasingly isolated among in his relationship with many such agencies. Last week, after Mr Trump appeared to defend those responsible for events in Charlottesville, four generals representing various branches of the armed services, tweeted to say there was no place for racism or bigotry in the military.

Mr Trump also saw senior business executives who made up two advisory councils quit, amid concern that his stance could hurt and offend not only their workforces but their customers. Members of an arts advisory group also resigned.
Donald Trump displays "so many of the traits of a sociopath", a cable news commentator has claimed.

Donny Deutsch, an advertising executive, avowed Democrat and former talk show host, appeared to cite an online how-to guide in his analysis of the President's mental state on MSNBC.

He claimed that sociopaths "believe their own beliefs and opinions are the absolute authority and disregard others ... they have trouble suppressing emotional responses like anger, impatience or annoyance".

They "are usually extremely charming and charismatic" and often "feel entitled to certain positions, people and things," he added.

He said: "I'm not being glib here, because we're trying to analyse this intelligently, or rationally, or with the left brain, and there is none.

"And then you start to say, coming off of Clapper, coming off of Corker, what isand I'm not being glibwhat is wrong with this man?

"It's interesting, so many of the traits of a sociopath this man is displaying."

Mr Deutsch's notes appeared to have come from WikiHow, a website that compiles how-to guides.

The MSNBC host, Nicolle Wallace, said: "Not one of us is capable of diagnosing him."

Mr Deutsch referenced an interview given by James Clapper, the former Director of National Intelligence, in which he cast doubt on Mr Trump's fitness to serve as President.

Mr Clapper said Mr Trump's speech to a rally in Phoenix on Tuesday was "downright scary".

The President lashed out at "damned dishonest" journalists, and re-read parts of his various statements in the wake of the far-right Charlottesville riot to prove he had been misrepresented.

He also hit out again at Arizona's two Republican senators, Jeff Flake and John McCain, in a sometimes venomous speech that abandoned remarks prepared on teleprompters.

Mr Clapper told CNN: "I've toiled in one capacity or another for every President since and including John F Kennedy through President Obama, and I don't know when I've listened and watched something like this from a President that I found more disturbing."
(Reuters) - A St. Louis man was charged in connection with driving a car and striking three protesters during a march for a transgender woman who was shot and killed by police earlier this week, authorities said on Thursday.

Mark Colao, 59, faces a felony charge of resisting arrest and misdemeanor charges of careless and imprudent driving as well as leaving the scene of an accident, charging documents said. Colao remained in custody on Thursday, St. Louis police spokeswoman Schron Jackson said.

A man and two women suffered minor injuries after they were hit by the car, Jackson said in a statement.

The incident comes less than two weeks after a driver in Charlottesville, Virginia, slammed into a crowd of counter-protesters who were demonstrating against a rally held by white nationalists. A 32-year-old woman was killed in the incident.

The people injured in St. Louis were taking part in a candlelight march for Kenny "Kiwi" Herring, a black transgender woman who was shot and killed by St. Louis police on Tuesday. Herring attacked officers with a knife and one officer was wounded, Jackson said.

Witnesses and police gave different accounts of the incident involving the car, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. Witnesses told the newspaper the driver raised his middle finger before accelerating through a group of people blocking an intersection.

However, police said that as people marched in the intersection, a car approached, the driver stopped and honked his horn as he tried to drive around the protesters.

"The protesters surrounded the vehicle and began striking it with their hands and a flag pole. Several protesters also kicked and jumped on top of the vehicle," police said.

Some hit the car in an effort to make the driver stop when they realized he was going to hurt people, a witness told the paper.

Three protesters were hit when the driver drove away, police said. They refused medical attention on the scene.

Police said officers attempted to stop the driver of vehicle, who initially refused to stop.

(Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee and Suzannah Gonzales in Chicago; Editing by Michael Perry and Leslie Adler)
Dunlop Introduces New Harley-Davidson Tires for 2018

Dunlop Motorcycle Tires has expanded its Harley-Davidson selection with the all-new D401T and D429 Series. The new D401T 150/80B16 rear tire features MT Multi-Tread technology that uses a long-wearing compound in the center of the tread for longer tread life, and special lateral grip compounds on the left and right shoulders for outstanding grip.

The D401T comes in black sidewall only, and is standard equipment on the 2018 Harley-Davidson Street Bob, Slim, Heritage Classic and Classic S. It also replaces the existing D401 on many other Harley-Davidson models, giving owners of these motorcycles more performance in a Harley-Davidson/Dunlop co-branded tire option with MT Multi-Tread.

READ MORE: Dunlop Announces New Sportmax Q3+

The 2018 Harley-Davidson Fat Bob and Fat Bob S will be fitted with Dunlops new D429 front and rear tires. Utilizing an aggressive scrambler-like tread pattern developed by Dunlop in conjunction with Harley-Davidson, the D429 features a computer-optimized tread profile to help promote even wear. Like the D401T, the D429 features Harley-Davidson/Dunlop branding on the sidewalls.

READ MORE: The Dos and Don'ts of Motorcycle Tires

In 2017, the Dunlop/Harley partnership reached a huge milestone. Since Harley chose Dunlop as their OEM tire supplier back in 1983, the MoCo has fitted more than ten million Dunlop tires to their new bikes.

For the 2018 model year, even more Harley-Davidson motorcycles will be fitted with original-equipment Dunlop tires thanks to the expansion of the Dunlop Harley-Davidson Tire Series. Dunlop is the only tire company designing, developing, and manufacturing motorcycle tires in North Americaand thats an advantage that directly benefits all Harley-Davidson riders.

READ MORE: The Motorcycle Tire Question: Radial, Bias, or Both?

Dunlop Tire was founded in 1889 in Birmingham, England, by John Boyd Dunlop. It is now owned and operated in North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand by the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company of Akron, Ohio. Dunlop is a longtime supporter of all forms of motorcycle racing.
Judging by his Twitter feed, Elon Musk works around the clock. In the late hours of Thursday evening, the SpaceX CEO shared details and an image of the companys latest achievement: landing a Falcon 9 first-stage booster on a drone ship, the ninth successful landing in a row and the 15th landing overall.

SpaceX used the booster to launch a Formosat-5 satellite from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 2:51 p.m. Eastern time on Thursday. The satellite was exceptionally lightweight, weighing around 1,000 pounds, and will be used for Taiwans space program. Minutes after launch, the booster landed on the ship Just Read the Instructions.

Reusing rockets is a critical part of SpaceXs goal to bring the costs of spaceflight down. Reusing the rockets saves the company $46.5 million of the total $62 million price tag of a brand new Falcon 9. Bringing these costs down makes the companys ultimate goal of a manned trip to Mars in the 2020s a more realistic prospect.

View the image below.

Falcon 9 booster on the drone ship

Musk also shared some statistics about the launch itself. The boosters lateral position was just 0.7 meters from the target center, or around 2 feet and 3 inches, making this a close-to-perfect landing.

Thats closer than some people manage to park their cars, astrophotographer Chris Grimmer said in response to Musk.

The rocket reached a maximum velocity of Mach 6.9 and an altitude of 247 kilometers, the highest altitude reached so far. Fortunately, for successful landings, Musk explained that the velocity matters more than altitude. The team has successfully recovered a booster that reached a maximum velocity of Mach 7.9, and as energy is the velocity squared, the difference in energy between that launch and Thursdays is considerable.

Musk also shared a photo of the booster launching on his Instagram account.

Musk joked that the booster is actually very small, but the absence of any humans for scale hides its real size.

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Carrot-sized or otherwise, the Falcon 9 will play a vital role in SpaceXs plan to become the first private company to send humans into space, a goal that came one step closer to reality last week when it revealed its first spacesuit design.

Photos via Elon Musk/Twitter, Flickr / OnInnovation

Written by Mike Brown

More articles by Mike  Follow Mike on Twitter

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Hey, would you look at that? The president went on another tweet storm this morning and, oh, even North Korea is mocking him now.

Splendid.

SEE ALSO: Trump says he doesn't 'do Twitter storms'  uh huh, ok, sure

North Korea criticized the United States and South Korea on Wednesday for conducting annual military exercises, according to CNN.

Now, this isn't shocking. However, they didn't just criticize these annual drills. They also took shots at President Donald Trump's Twitter habits (joining the ranks of, like, everyone else too, tbh).

They say the president regularly posts "weird articles of his ego-driven thoughts in his twitter" and "spouts rubbish to make his assistants have a hard time," CNN reported.

Annnnd, well, he didn't really help this criticism Thursday morning.

Trump graced us with a classic, early morning series of tweets bashing "fake news," the Democrats, and, of course, touching on his issues with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell about repealing and replacing Obamacare.

Just see for yourself.

I requested that Mitch M & Paul R tie the Debt Ceiling legislation into the popular V.A. Bill (which just passed) for easy approval. They...  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 24, 2017

...didn't do it so now we have a big deal with Dems holding them up (as usual) on Debt Ceiling approval. Could have been so easy-now a mess!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 24, 2017

The Fake News is now complaining about my different types of back to back speeches. Well, there was Afghanistan (somber), the big Rally.....  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 24, 2017

..(enthusiastic, dynamic and fun) and the American Legion - V.A. (respectful and strong). Too bad the Dems have no one who can change tones!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 24, 2017

James Clapper, who famously got caught lying to Congress, is now an authority on Donald Trump. Will he show you his beautiful letter to me?  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 24, 2017

The only problem I have with Mitch McConnell is that, after hearing Repeal & Replace for 7 years, he failed!That should NEVER have happened!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 24, 2017

Oh, and he retweeted this.

Story continues

It's never a dull moment.
(Reuters) - As Hurricane Harvey closes in on U.S. Gulf Coast energy infrastructure, backup resources are available should oil and fuel production be halted and threaten shortages. The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), maintained underground in Louisiana and Texas by the Department of Energy, holds 678.9 million barrels of crude, which is enough to meet total U.S. needs for 33 days. The United States also has a gasoline reserve, created after Hurricane Sandy in 2012. The Northeast Gasoline Supply Reserve holds about 1 million barrels, stored in New York Harbor, Boston and Maine. The International Energy Agency's 29 member countries also store petroleum, which can be made available in case of a supply disruption. The Paris-based organization advises Western governments on energy policy. The IEA members' reserves include both crude and refined products, which can be deployed in response to an international disruption. The Gulf Coast is a major exporter of refined products to Latin America and other regions, and any serious hurricane damage to the region could have an impact on global supply. Releases from reserves can help avoid or moderate any price spikes by bolstering supply that would otherwise be interrupted. The U.S. president can call for an emergency drawdown from the SPR if the country is confronted with an economically-threatening supply disruption. That was the case after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, which shuttered major U.S. oil producers and refiners. The SPR can also release oil in an exchange agreement, in which it loans crude to a company, which later replaces the crude and supplies the reserve with premium barrels as a form of interest. The table below lists key releases from stockpiles. Agency Release Event Details Date IEA Sept. Hurricane IEA made 2 million bpd of 2005 Katrina oil available for 30 days SPR Aug. Hurricane SPR Loaned 1 million 2012 Isaac barrels of crude to Marathon Petroleum Corp. SPR Sept. Hurricane SPR delivered 5,389,000 2008 Gustav & barrels of crude to five Ike companies whose normal supplies had been interrupted to the point that the companies could continue to operate, refine the crude oil into products, and deliver those products to U.S. consumers SPR Jun-06 Calcasieu SPR loaned 750,000 Ship barrels of crude to Channel refiners unable to Closure receive deliveries while the shipchannel was closed SPR Sept. Hurricane SPR loaned 9.8 million 2005 Katrina barrels to U.S. refiners (Reporting By Jessica Resnick-Ault; Editing by Tom Brown)
The following statements were posted to the verified Twitter accounts of U.S. President Donald Trump, @realDonaldTrump and @POTUS. The opinions expressed are his own. Reuters has not edited the statements or confirmed their accuracy. @realDonaldTrump : - I requested that Mitch M & Paul R tie the Debt Ceiling legislation into the popular V.A. Bill (which just passed) for easy approval. They... [0819 EDT] - ...didn't do it so now we have a big deal with Dems holding them up (as usual) on Debt Ceiling approval. Could have been so easy-now a mess! [0825 EDT] - The Fake News is now complaining about my different types of back to back speeches. Well, there was Afghanistan (somber), the big Rally..... [0907 EDT] - ..(enthusiastic, dynamic and fun) and the American Legion - V.A. (respectful and strong). Too bad the Dems have no one who can change tones! [0915 EDT] - James Clapper, who famously got caught lying to Congress, is now an authority on Donald Trump. Will he show you his beautiful letter to me? [0915 EDT] - The only problem I have with Mitch McConnell is that, after hearing Repeal & Replace for 7 years, he failed!That should NEVER have happened! [0942 EDT] - On Tuesday, I visited with the incredible men & women of @ICEgov & @DHSgov Border Patrol in Yuma, AZ. Thank you. We respect & cherish you! [1313 EDT] - As #HurricaneHarvey intensifies - remember to #PlanAhead. (link: http://www.hurricanes.gov) hurricanes.gov (link: http://www.ready.gov) ready.gov (link: http://www.fema.gov) fema.gov [1531 EDT] - A GREAT HONOR to spend time with our BRAVE HEROES at the @USMC Air Station Yuma. THANK YOU for your service to the United States of America! [2021 EDT] -- Source link: (http://bit.ly/2jBh4LU) (http://bit.ly/2jpEXYR) (Compiled by Bengaluru bureau)
Benito Mussolini (1883 - 1945) and Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945) in September 1937. - HULTON ARCHIVE

The word fascist is often deployed as a pejorative - Donald Trump is a fascist - in a way that plays fast and loose with its historical origins. Fascism belongs to a particular moment in time, although there are still some bona fide fascists around today.

Where does "fascism" come from?

The word fascist comes from fasces, a bundle of sticks tied to an axe. The fasces was carried by the bodyguard of a Roman imperial magistrate, as a symbol of his authority. In the 20th century the fasces was resurrected to represent both the glory of the ancient past and unity through strength - sticks tied together are far harder to break than sticks that stand on their own.

Nostalgia and nationalism were rife after the First World War. In Europe, old empires had collapsed. Russia had turned to communism. Poverty and anarchy were widespread. The continent was awash of young men who had seen active service and wanted to restore order on their terms. They were steeped in the racism of colonialism and Darwinian ideas about the survival of the fittest.

One of these young men, a soldier and journalist called Benito Mussolini, founded a fascist party in Italy 1919. Mussolini elbowed his way into power; by 1925 he had established a dictatorship. In the Thirties, fascists took control in several European countries, the most important being Adolf Hitlers National Socialist (Nazi) revolution in Germany in 1933. In 1939, Hitler invaded Poland, triggering another world war. The conflict ended in total defeat for Germany and Italy. Fascism lost all credibility, although it lingered on in government in Spain, Portugal and Latin America  and can still be found today on the fringes of politics.

Picture taken in January 1945 just after liberation of the (Oswieci) Auschwitz Nazi Concentration Camp shows a general view of the so-called "Gate Of Death" . More than 1.5 million people have been killed by the nazis in this camp. Credit: AP

What did fascists want?

Youll often hear Left-wing people saying that fascism was a Right-wing movement because it stressed race or national identity. But some Right-wing thinkers insist it was a Left-wing movement because it rejected class elitism and put controls on the economy. The truth is that fascists usually defined themselves as being neither Left nor Right but a combination of whatever policies helped to win power and "rejuvenate" the nation.

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The thinker and historian Ernst Nolte argued that fascism was the great anti philosophy that united people frightened by social and economic change: anti-Semitic, anti-socialist, anti-feminist, anti-democracy.

These were its unifying principles:

Hatred of democracy. Power should be held by those strong and clever enough to seize it, preferably a dictator.

The necessity of violence. Force is a legitimate way to achieve power and war is good because it binds us together.

Biology as destiny. Men are born to work, women to have lots of babies. Europeans are inherently superior thanks to a mix of breeding and education.

National identity. People are better off sticking to their own, and competition between nations is inevitable and even a constructive force in history.

Politics is everything. There is no aspect of society that is separable from political theory and action, a view that climaxed in totalitarianism, as depicted in George Orwell's novel 1984.

People went along with fascism for a mix of psychological, cynical and idealistic reasons; some non-fascists thought it might be a bulwark against Soviet communism. But, in retrospect, it was inevitable that it would end in war and genocide. The gates of Auschwitz stood in testament to the crimes of fascism.

Neo Nazis, Alt-Right, and White Supremacists encircle and chant at counter protestors at the base of a statue of Thomas Jefferson after marching through the University of Virginia campus with torches in Charlottesville, Va., USA on August 11, 2017. Credit: Anadolu Agency

So, are there any fascists left?

Given that fascism was so clearly a response to the conditions of the Twenties and Thirties, its surprising that it has any purchase today. But bona fide fascism still exist in two forms. First, what you might call cultists. These people are unafraid to be labelled fascist and might even use the Nazi swastika: they were among the people who marched in Charlottesville, Virginia on August 12, 2017, a march that ended in the death of a counter-protestor. They might join violent organisations, such as the Ku Klux Klan  an anti-black group in the United States  or join fringe parties, such as the British National Party. Many of them have a criminal history. Some have found a home within the so-called alt-Right, a largely online movement that routinely abuses racial minorities and women, and which has been known to appropriate fascist symbols.

The second kind of fascist is the neo-fascist, a label they may well reject either because they dont want to be associated with the historical fascists or because they earnestly believe they arent one. It is important to be careful about applying this label accurately, out of fairness to the target and out of respect for the historical victims of genuine fascism. Nevertheless, there's an old saying: if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's a duck.

For example, is Marine Le Pen, leader of the French far-Right Front National, a fascist? When the Front National was run by her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, it was more overtly extremist. But, say Marine's defenders, she has clashed with the old guard, rejected anti-Semitism and has no intention of ending democracy. Her platform is similar to other conservative and even socialist parties: leave the EU, restore national borders, protect industry, defend the welfare state. But remember that the fascists of the Thirties also adopted policies that could make them appear Left or Right depending on what was necessary to get votes, and the Front National's critics say that the essential appeal of the Front National remains its call to revive Frenchness by excluding foreigners  ie, Muslims.

In April 2017, when Le Pen was a candidate for president, she denied French responsibility for a notorious round-up of Parisian Jews in 1942. Open neo-Nazis often insist that the Holocaust didn't happen or was exaggerated. And it's striking how often battles about the contemporary meaning of fascism revolve around an argument about the past. The violence in Charlottesville surrounded an attempt to tear down the statue of a Confederate war hero, a statue put up in 1924 at a time when the Klan enjoyed mass membership.

The electable fascism of the future won't look exactly like the fascism of the past, but it will always be tied to its horrifying memory.
The father of one of the Florida boys lost at sea filed a motion this week to have his name dismissed from a wrongful death lawsuit. Austin Stephanos and Perry Cohen, both 14, disappeared in July 2015 after they took a boat out to go fishing. Perrys family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Austins parents last month, alleging that the Stephanos family was negligent in allowing the boys to go fishing alone.

Austins mother, Carly Black, and his father, William Blu Stephanos, were named in the lawsuit.

If he was not permitted to travel into the ocean, against his mothers explicit wishes and despite promises she received from the defendants that they would honor her wishes, Perry would be alive today, said the lawsuit on behalf of Pamela Cohen, Perrys mother.

A judge previously ruled that the Cohen family could file the wrongful death lawsuit on the grounds that Austins mother knew the boys were heading into a storm but did nothing to stop them. A report issued by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement found that Austins mother, Carly Black, was negligent in allowing them to take the boat out alone. Black also failed to notify authorities or Perrys parents until they had been missing for several hours, investigators said.

Perry and Austin have long been presumed dead, though their bodies were never found. The boat was recovered eight months later.

[Black allowed the boys] to go offshore into the Atlantic Ocean, an inherently dangerous environment, in a minimally equipped 19-foot boat with a single outboard motor without adult or parental supervision, the report stated. The egregious lapse in judgment and failure to exercise due care had the effect of culminating in the disappearance of both boys who are now believed to have perished.

Now, however, Blu Stephanos wants his name dismissed from the lawsuit.

[Stephanos wants to be] dismissed from this case as he did nothing wrong, he was not in charge of the boys and he had never seen the boat, court documents stated, according to the Palm Beach Post.

Story continues

The suit said Stephanos was partially responsible for the boys death because he did not notify authorities after he learned the boys were not missing and put off the search in the most critical moments in order to conduct his own search. Stephanos, however, said it was patently reasonable for a parent to look for his own child before notifying authorities.

Stephanos and Austins mother are divorced and she had custody of Austin the day the boys went missing.

Perry was never in the care, custody or control of Blue on the day of the accident, the motion stated. It is a terrible thing to have allegations that one was responsible for such a tragic event  especially when there is no legal basis and no factual basis for such allegations.

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Miami (AFP) - The state of Florida on Thursday executed its first death row inmate in nearly two years, using a lethal injection cocktail that had never been tried before in the United States.

Mark Asay, 53, was sentenced to death in 1988 for a racially motivated double murder in Jacksonville, Florida a year earlier.

The execution was carried out at 6:22 pm (2222 GMT), the Florida Department of Corrections said.

For his last meal, Asay ordered fried pork chops, fried ham, fries, vanilla swirl ice cream and Coca-Cola, authorities said. He did not make a final statement.

Earlier this month, the Florida Supreme Court denied a stay of execution for Asay, who had challenged the state's plan to employ a lethal injection cocktail that includes etomidate, an anesthetic never before used in carrying out an execution in the US.

It replaces another drug, midazolam, which has been the subject of significant legal wrangling.

According to critics, midazolam does not always adequately sedate prisoners, therefore subjecting them to excessive suffering.

Corrections department spokeswoman Ashley Cook told AFP the department "follows the law and carries out the sentence of the court."

"This is the department's most solemn duty and the foremost objective of the lethal injection procedure is a humane and dignified process," Cook said.

Asay was the first prisoner to be executed in Florida since January 2016, before the state's supreme court ruled that Florida executions were unconstitutional because judges were granted powers that should be reserved for juries.

He also was the first white man convicted of killing a black man to be executed in the state since Florida reinstated the death penalty in 1976, according to the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC).

Since then, the state has executed 92 inmates -- 20 of them black inmates who had at least one white victim. Fifty-four others were white inmates who had white victims, according to DPIC data.

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Prosecutors say Asay fatally shot Robert Lee Booker, an African American, after making racist remarks.

He killed his other victim, Robert McDowell, who has been identified as white and Hispanic and was apparently dressed as a woman, after making a deal to pay him for sex.

- Difficult to administer -

Janssen, a pharmaceutical division of the company Johnson & Johnson, developed etomidate and has objected to its use in executions.

"Janssen discovers and develops medical innovations to save and enhance lives," spokesman Greg Panico told The Washington Post.

"We do not condone the use of our medicines in lethal injections for capital punishment."

Etomidate is difficult to administer and can cause severe irritation and burns if used incorrectly, warned Jonathan Groner, a professor of surgery at Ohio State University who is against the death penalty.

Groner said administering the drug particularly "hurts when it's being injected if the veins are damaged -- and a lot of people on death row have damaged veins because they're either old or they have an IV drug abuse history."
The state of Florida did something on Thursday it hasnt done since reinstating the death penalty in 1976: Execute a white man for killing a black man.

By contrast, at least 18 black men have been executed for killing white men in the last four decades, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

Mark Asay was executed by lethal injection for two racially-motivated, premeditated murders carried out on the same day in 1987.

A jury convicted him in 1988.

One of the murders involved 34-year-old Robert Lee Booker, who Asay shot after shouting racial slurs at him, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

The other victim, 26-year-old Roger McDowell, was white and Hispanic, and presenting himself as a woman at the time of his death.

Prosecutors said Asay had hired McDowell for oral sex and then shot him six times after discovering his gender.

They also noted he had white supremacist tattoos on his his body, according to the Miami Herald.

Court documents said that Asay later told a friend that McDowell had previously cheated him out of money in a drug deal, according to WJAX TV.

Deathrow inmate Mark Asay (Photo: Handout . / Reuters)

The fact that Asay is the first white person to be executed in Florida for killing a black person in 40 years isnt going unnoticed by critics of capital punishment.

Adora Obi Nweze, president of the Florida State Conference NAACP and an opponent of capital punishment, told the Miami Herald that Asays case shows how black inmates are punished disproportionately.

It does make the case even stronger that theres this disparity gap that exists between black and white  who gets the death penalty and who gets exonerated, she said.

The Asay execution marked a couple of other Florida firsts.

It was the states first execution in more than 18 months since the Supreme Court ruled the states sentencing process was unconstitutional because it gave judges, not juries, too much power in deciding whether to execute an inmate, according to CNN.

The state has since passed a law requiring a unanimous jury recommendation for the death penalty.

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Asay was killed via a lethal injection of three drugs, one of which, etomidate, has never been used in an execution, according to WJAX.

Also on HuffPost

Robert Dale Conklin

Robert Dale Conklin was executed July 12, 2005 in Georgia for the murder of his ex-boyfriend. For his last meal he requested: Filet mignon wrapped in bacon, de-veined shrimp sauteed in garlic butter with lemon; a baked potato with butter, sour cream, chives and real bacon bits; corn on the cob, asparagus with hollandaise sauce; French bread with butter; goat cheese; cantaloupe; apple pie with vanilla bean ice cream; and an iced tea.

Hastings Arthur Wise

Hastings Arthur Wise was executed Nov. 4, 2005, in South Carolina via lethal injection for the murder of four of his ex-coworkers. For his last meal he requested: a lobster tail, French fries, coleslaw, banana pudding and milk.

Ted Bundy

Serial killer Ted Bundy confessed to 30 murders and was executed by the state of Florida on Jan. 24, 1989, by way of the electric chair. He made no special requests and was offered the traditional meal of steak and eggs, which he didn't eat.

John Wayne Gacy

John Wayne Gacy received a lethal injection from the state of Illinois on May 10, 1994, for the rape and murder of 33 young men and boys from 1972 to 1978. Dubbed the "Killer Clown" by the media, his last meal included a dozen deep-fried shrimp, a bucket of original recipe chicken from KFC, French fries and a pound of strawberries.

Dennis Wayne Bagwell

Convicted of murdering his half sister, her 4-year-old daughter and two other women, Dennis Wayne Bagwell was executed in Texas on Feb. 17, 2005, by lethal injection. He asked for a last meal larger than most, requesting: A beef steak, medium rare with A1 Sauce, three fried chicken breast, three fried chicken thighs, BBQ ribs, a large order of french fries, a large order of onion rings, a pound of fried bacon, a dozen scrambled eggs with onions, fried tatters with onions, sliced tomatoes, a salad with ranch dressing, two hamburgers with everything, peach pie or cobbler, ketchup, salt and pepper, milk and coffee, ice tea with real sugar. (Actual meal not pictured)

Timothy McVeigh

Timothy McVeigh was responsible for the Oklahoma City Bombing in 1995 that killed 168 people and injured hundreds more. McVeigh was executed via lethal injection in Indiana on June 11, 2001, and had another unusual request: two pints of mint chocolate chip ice cream.



Correction: This slide originally misstated the year of the Oklahoma City bombing as 1996.

Philip Workman

Philip Workman was convicted of murdering a police officer during a failed robbery of a Wendy's in Tennessee. He was executed on May 9, 2007, via lethal injection. Workman actually declined a special last meal for himself, but rather asked that a large vegetarian pizza be given to a homeless person in Nashville. Prison officials denied his request, but homeless shelters across the state received pizzas from all over the country honoring his last request.

Ronnie Lee Gardner

Ronnie Lee Gardner was already on trial for the murder of one man, when he fatally shot an attorney during a failed escape attempt. He was executed June 18, 2010, by firing squad in Utah. Not only did Gardner request steak, lobster tail, apple pie, vanilla ice cream and 7-Up for his last meal, he also spent his last hours watching the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy.

Velma Barfield

Convicted of five murders, Velma Barfield was the first woman in the U.S. to be executed after the 1977 return of capital punishment and the first woman to receive her sentence by lethal injection in 1984. Like Eddie Duval Powell, she made no special last meal, but rather a can of Coca-cola and a bag of Cheez Doodles.

James Edward Smith

James Edwards Smith was convicted of robbery and murder in Texas and was executed on June 26, 1990. With perhaps the strangest request, Smith did not ask for a meal, but for a lump of dirt, which was reportedly for a Voodoo ritual. As dirt was not on the list of approved prison foods, his request was denied and he settled for a small cup of yogurt instead.

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
By Bernie Woodall

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (Reuters) - A 53-year-old man convicted of killing two men in 1987 was executed by Florida on Thursday evening with a lethal injection that included a drug never before used in a U.S. execution, state officials said.

The execution was carried out at 6:22 p.m. (2222 GMT) at the Florida State Prison in Bradford County, about 50 miles (80 km) southwest of Jacksonville, where the two murders took place.

Mark James Asay was the first white man to be put to death in Florida for killing a black man since the state reinstated the death penalty in 1979.

Asay was sentenced to death in 1988 for killing two men in separate incidents on the same day a year earlier. After using a racial slur during an argument, Asay shot Robert Lee Booker in the belly. He killed Robert McDowell by shooting him multiple times in the chest. Asay said later he believed McDowell had cheated him out of $10.

Booker was black and McDowell was white.

Asay's last meal consisted of his requested fried ham, fried pork chops, french fries, vanilla swirl ice cream and a can of Coca-Cola, said Ashley Cook, spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Corrections.

Asay is the 93rd person to have been executed in Florida since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in the country in the mid-1970s, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. That includes 91 men and two women.

Only Texas, Virginia and Oklahoma have put more people to death in that span, the Center said. As of April 2017, Florida had 386 people on death row, behind only California, with 744, the Center showed.

Florida had not killed an inmate on its death row since January 2016, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the state's death penalty process was unconstitutional because it gave powers to judges that should be reserved for juries.

Florida's legislature has since altered the state's death penalty law so that only a unanimous vote of a jury can condemn someone.

Story continues

Florida prison officials said the drug etomidate was used in Asay's execution. It had not been used in a U.S. execution before.

Use of etomidate was a factor in the lone dissent from a Florida Supreme Court ruling earlier this month denying a stay of execution. Justice Barbara Pariente wrote that Asay was being treated as "the proverbial guinea pig" for the untested death penalty drug, etomidate, which she said would violate the constitutional protection against cruel and unusual punishment.

The court's majority cited a U.S. Supreme Court decision from two years ago that said because the death penalty was constitutional, there must be a way to carry out executions and that eliminating all pain during them was not workable.

Florida, along with other states, had to find a replacement for drugs that became unavailable when drugmakers stopped distributing them because of their stands against the death penalty. In Florida, etomidate replaced midazolam, which Pfizer Inc stopped making last year to keep it from being used in executions.

Etomidate, an anesthesia invented in Belgium in the 1960s by Janssen, now a division of U.S.-based Johnson & Johnson, is off patent and more readily available than midazolam and produced by others as a generic drug. Janssen stopped making the drug last year, after never selling it in the United States.

"We do not condone the use of our medicines in lethal injections for capital punishment," Janssen said in an emailed statement.

(Reporting by Bernie Woodall; Editing by Dan Grebler and Cynthia Osterman)
Mark James Asay was sentenced to death in 1988: Reuters

Florida has executed a 53-year-old man convicted of two 1987 murders, using a lethal injection that included a drug never before used in a US execution.

The execution was carried out at 6.22 pm local time at the Florida State Prison in Bradford County, about 50 miles southwest of Jacksonville, where the two murders took place.

Mark James Asay was the first white man to be put to death in Florida for killing a black man since the state reinstated the death penalty in 1979.

He is also the first person to die by an injection using etomidate  an anaesthetic developed in Belgium in the 1960s.

Asay was sentenced to death in 1988 for the killing of two men in separate incidents on the same day a year earlier.

After using a racial slur during an argument, Asay shot Robert Lee Booker in the stomach. He killed Robert McDowell by shooting him multiple times in the chest.

The US Supreme Court earlier refused to block his execution.

Florida, along with other states, has had to find a replacement for drugs that became unavailable when drugmakers stopped distributing them because of their stands against the death penalty.

Marty McClain, Asay's attorney, said on Wednesday that etomidate, which would be part of a three-drug lethal injection protocol, causes pain before it takes hold and could cause involuntary body movements that make it difficult for prison staff "to know when the guy is unconscious."

Florida Governor Rick Scott signed a death warrant for Asay in January 2016. Days later, the US Supreme Court ruled it should be juries, not judges, who decide whether aggravating factors determine if a defendant is eligible for execution.

Florida lawmakers rewrote the state's capital punishment law this year to require that juries be unanimous when recommending the death penalty.
The so-called toughest sheriff in America is weighing in on the possibility that he may get pardoned by President Trump.

Read: Hillary Clinton Recalls Trump Looming Behind Her at Debate: 'My Skin Crawled'

The people of this country wanted me to be pardoned, former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio claimed in an exclusive interview with Inside Edition.

Arpaio faces a six-month jail term for ignoring a court order to stop racial profiling. He was defeated for re-election last November and is scheduled to be sentenced in October.

He claims he never asked for a pardon, but will be happy to receive one if it was granted by the president, whom the embattled sheriff backed during Trump's White House campaign.

I never talked to him about the pardon  I never asked him, the 85-year-old said. This is his decision. I will always support him, pardon or no pardon.

Trump expressed support for Arpaio at a rally in Phoenix Tuesday, which the former sheriff did not attend. He told CNN that he was not invited.

Read: Thousands of Ecstasy Pills in the Shape of Trump's Head Seized by German Police

"I won't do it tonight because I don't want to cause any controversy," Trump said during the rally, which followed the city mayor's suggestion that an Arpaio pardon would inflame passions.

"I'll make a prediction," Trump added. "I think he's going to be just fine."

Watch: Where Were Ivanka and Melania During President's Trump Tower Press Conference?

Related Articles:
By Emily Flitter NEW YORK (Reuters) - Two Harvard University researchers said in a study published on Wednesday they had collected data proving that Exxon Mobil Corp made "explicit factual misrepresentations" in newspaper ads it purchased to convey its views on the oil industry and climate science. In an article in the journal Environmental Research Letters, researchers Geoffrey Supran and Naomi Oreskes said they examined 187 documents, including internal memos, peer-reviewed papers by Exxon scientists and "advertorials" that ran in The New York Times - paid advertisements in the style of opinion pieces. The researchers said they used a social science analysis method to turn statements in the documents into data points that could be counted and compared to each other. Supran and Oreskes said that as early as 1979, Exxon scientists acknowledged burning fossil fuels was adding more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere and causing global temperatures to rise, but they said the company's position in newspaper ads remained significantly different by consistently asserting doubt about climate science. The study was funded by the Rockefeller family philanthropies, which previously supported a campaign to prove Exxon knew more than it publicly admitted about climate change. That campaign used the slogan #ExxonKnew. Exxon spokesman Scott Silvestri called the study "inaccurate and preposterous" and said the researchers' goal was to attack the company's reputation at the expense of its shareholders. "Our statements have been consistent with our understanding of climate science," he said. He also noted that Oreskes spearheaded the #ExxonKnew campaign. Oreskes said the Rockefeller family funding did not affect the study's outcome. She said the impetus for the study came from Exxon's responses to reports in InsideClimate News and the Los Angeles Times in September 2015 and October 2015, respectively, that Exxon's scientists had long known of the dangers fossil fuels posed to the earth's climate. "They accused the journalists of cherry-picking," Oreskes said of Exxon's responses. "They also posted a collection of documents on their website. They said 'read the documents and make up your own mind.' We thought that was an excellent opportunity." Oreskes and Supran pointed to a 2000 Exxon advertorial that said a U.S. government report on climate change put the "political cart before the horse" and was "based on unreliable models." In his statement on Wednesday, Silvestri offered two examples from advertorials that Exxon had placed in The New York Times, both published in 2000, which he said showed the company did not try to cast doubt on climate change. One statement read: "Enough is known about climate change to recognize it may pose a legitimate long-term risk and that more needs to be learned about it." (Editing by Bill Trott and Leslie Adler)
Sanaa (AFP) - Hundreds of thousands of Yemenis descended Thursday on Sanaa Thursday in a major show of force for ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh, whose alliance with the country's Shiite Huthi rebels has been shaken by mutual distrust.

Tensions have been rising between Saleh and his one-time foe, rebel chief Abdul Malik al-Huthi, who in 2014 joined ranks in a shock alliance that drove the government out of the capital and into the southern province of Aden.

The rally marking 35 years since the founding of Saleh's Arab nationalist General People's Congress (GPC) sends out a signal that the strongman remains a force to be reckoned with.

"We came today to the square to show our faith in the General People's Congress and in Ali Abdullah Saleh," Saeed al-Obeidi said at the rally.

"Today the GPC proved that it is a national party and that the Huthis are incapable of leading the nation the way a real political party can."

Chanting "With our souls, with our blood, we serve you, Yemen," crowds poured into the four-square-kilometre (1.5-square-mile) square and poured into the streets of the capital, waving the blue flag of the GPC and carrying pictures of the 75-year-old Saleh.

Saleh ruled Yemen with an iron fist for more than three decades before stepping down in 2012 after a bloody year-long uprising.

But the strongman retained the loyalty of some of the best-equipped units in the military and later joined forces with the Huthis, after they overran the capital in 2014.

The ensuing civil war between the Saudi-backed government and the Huthi-Saleh alliance has killed thousands and brought the Arabian Peninsula country to the brink of famine.

Saleh's supporters had travelled to Sanaa from across the impoverished country, camping out in Sabaeen Square overnight ahead of the rally.

An AFP reporter in Sanaa said the Huthis had set up checkpoints at the main entrances to the city.

But they did nothing to stop the demonstrators from reaching the square, where the rebels had also deployed but did not interfere with the rally.

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Saleh -- who survived the 2011 Arab Spring protests that saw a string of his peers ousted from Egypt to Libya -- appeared in person at the rally and gave a brief speech behind bulletproof glass, surrounded by heavily armed guards.

"We are political pioneers with a solid anchor, and we have been facing conspiracies against us since 2011," he told the cheering crowd, referring to the start of protests in Sanaa that eventually led to his resignation.

- 'Allies for show' -

Saleh said he was ready to deploy "tens of thousands of fighters to the frontlines", on condition the rebel-led government train and pay them.

Analysts have said the rally serves in part as public protest against the Iran-backed Huthis, who with Saleh have run the capital since 2014.

The rebels have rapidly risen in a parallel government in Sanaa, and now hold clout in the city's economy, defence and educational ministries.

Former troops and civil servants in the parallel rebel-run government have not been paid for months.

Saleh's second-in-command in the GPC, Aref al-Zouka, on Thursday accused the Huthis of financial mismanagement and corruption, saying the party refused to be "allies for show".

A war of words between Saleh and Abdul Malik al-Huthi, whose rebel group have historically clashed with Saleh's troops, has escalated in the past week.

The two have publicly accused each other of treason, with Saleh hinting his allies were merely "a militia" and the rebels warning the former president he would "bear the consequences" of the insult.

The Huthis reportedly suspect Saleh has been negotiating with a Saudi-led Arab military coalition that supports the Yemeni government.

Saleh was a strong ally of Saudi Arabia from the late 1970s, when he fought the Huthis for control of Yemen, until 2014.

The Saleh camp has meanwhile accused the Huthis of aiming to consolidate their power in Sanaa.

The war between the government of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, backed by the Saudi-led coalition, and the rebel camp has killed more than 8,300 Yemenis since 2015 and pushed the country to the brink of famine.

More than 30 people, including civilians, were killed on Wednesday in air raids on Sanaa, where the coalition has been bombing the Huthis since joining the war in 2015.

A cholera outbreak has independently claimed an estimated 2,000 lives since April in Yemen.
Tom Perriello and his Aug. 17, 2017, tweet. (Photo-illustration: Yahoo News; photo: Astrid Riecken for the Washington Post via Getty Images)

Five days after a white supremacist carried out a terrorist attack in Charlottesville, a Democratic politician in Virginia sent out a tweet rebuking white evangelical leaders for worshiping and idolizing their whiteness, calling it blasphemy of Gods word.

Tom Perriello, a devout Catholic who ran for governor but lost in the primary, sent a series of tweets over the next few days calling on white Christian leaders to forcefully denounce white supremacy as an affront to their faith. And he mocked one of President Trumps most prominent evangelical supporters, Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr., by satirically tweeting that Falwell was under demonic possession.

The devil has his grip so firmly around @JerryFalwellJr that Im praying for his exorcism. #Repent, Perriello tweeted on Aug. 19. He sent a tweet the following day, a Sunday, asking churchgoers to speak up in their congregations if their pastors did not say anything about white supremacy.

The devil has his grip so firmly around @JerryFalwellJr that Im praying for his exorcism. #Repent pic.twitter.com/KjEdC9U8pM  Tom Perriello (@tomperriello) August 20, 2017

Perriellos remarks were answered with an extraordinarily personal attack from the Virginia state Republican organization, which also took it upon itself this week to defend Confederate monuments from Democratic iconoclasm. And they illuminated an increasingly heated divide among Christians over how to respond to the wave of neo-Confederate symbolism that has been building in the days since Charlottesville.

The day after Perriello thumbed his fourth tweet in four days, on Monday, Aug. 21, someone at the Republican Party of Virginia evidently decided they had heard enough from Perriello. The state partys Twitter account responded to Perriello in terms almost never seen from an official organ of a political party.

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Lets not mince words: you are a Christian-hating bigot, the RPV account said. We were better off when you were out of the country #LeftWingBigot. The reference to Perriello being out of the country was a nod to his time as a presidential envoy to the Congo during the Obama administration.

.@tomperriello Lets not mince words: you are a Christian-hating bigot We were better off when you were out of the country #LeftWingBigot https://t.co/MrLmqNrnTj  Virginia GOP (RPV) (@VA_GOP) August 21, 2017

Virginia Republican state chair John Whitbeck responded to Perriello by tweeting, Is this real? Did his account get hacked?

The party also issued a press release condemning Perriellos tweets, saying: It is never acceptable to slander and smear a religious group. We demand that Tom Perriello immediately apologize to Jerry Falwell Jr. and Evangelical Christians.

Falwell Jr. tweeted out the Republican press release, which also labeled Perriellos comments as bigoted.

RPV Condemns Bigoted Remarks By Tom Perriello  Republican Party of Virginia  Home of the GOP in Virginia https://t.co/9vD5WmXjbu  Jerry Falwell (@JerryFalwellJr) August 22, 2017

However, its hard to see bigotry in Perriellos comments, which he intended as a fairly straightforward criticism of the failure of some Christians to condemn white supremacy after the public displays of racism and the murder in Charlottesville.

Perriello spoke as a Christian to others of the same faith, calling on them to follow its teachings. He told Yahoo News that his tweet about Falwell was more metaphorical than theological.

The Virginia GOPs tweets, by contrast, were a far more significant theological judgment about an individual, Perriello, by a political party that as a constitutional matter does not define or organize itself theologically. By calling Perriello anti-Christian, a faceless political organization essentially judged his faith to be insincere. That was a far harsher statement than Perriellos comment that Christian leaders were misapplying or not applying their faith to their actions.

Perriello added in an interview that the bigotry label was essentially meaningless.

Some in the Republican Party want to water down the word bigot because they dont want to answer for some of the things that the head of their party is doing, he said.

Its very clear that Im speaking from a theological position that is shared by Christians across the spectrum, which is that white supremacy is heretical to the Christian teaching of people being made in the image of god, Perriello said.

A state GOP spokesman spoke with Yahoo News on the agreement he not be quoted, but executive director John Findlay did not respond to Yahoo News request through the spokesman for an interview.

The party followed the criticism of Perriello with an attack a few days later on the Democratic candidate for governor, Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam, all but accusing him of being a traitor to his race for supporting the removal of Confederate monuments.

The state partys Twitter account wrote Thursday that Northam had turned his back on his own familys heritage in demanding monument removal. Findlay told the Washington Post that the party made this comment because [Northams] great-grandfather fought for the side of the Confederacy and was wounded during the Civil War. That was implicit in the use of the word heritage, which is widely understood by all parties in the South to refer to secession and the Civil War. Northam presumably understood this, and if he turned his back on that aspect of his heritage, it was because he believes that in fighting to maintain slavery his great-grandfather chose the wrong side.

Our previous tweets were interpreted in a way we never intended. We apologize and reiterate our denunciation of racism in all forms.  Virginia GOP (RPV) (@VA_GOP) August 23, 2017

The party later deleted the tweet and said it had been misinterpreted.

Perriello spoke often and openly about his faith when he was elected to Congress in 2008, about how it motivated him to pursue a career in public service. But he mentioned faith less in his run for governor earlier this year.

He has remained politically active since losing the primary to Northam, who is running against Republican nominee Ed Gillespie.

And Perriellos rhetoric in the wake of Charlottesville was especially charged with religious and moral language.

Ponder Republican Party of VA calling preachers condemning white supremacy Christian hating bigot(ry) Perriello tweeted after the RPV had criticized him, adding the hashtag #JesusLoves.

Ponder Republican Party of VA calling preachers condemning white supremacy Christian hating bigot(ry) #JesusLoves pic.twitter.com/kzN7KFCS9D  Tom Perriello (@tomperriello) August 21, 2017

Perriello told Yahoo News he did not think he had been silenced about his faith during the gubernatorial primary by a Democratic electorate that is increasingly secular, but said that he was putting an emphasis on this now for a reason.

As someone who has worked in war zones and post-conflict zones, there are moments where there is a particular importance of moral leadership, and that comes from the faith community, though not solely, he said.

This is a time that calls for prophetic witness, Perriello said. What were looking at now is bigger than partisanship. In a primary youre trying to win an election. Right now were trying to hold the country together.

Perriellos talk of prophetic witness was similar in tone to a statement published Friday by a group of African-American faith leaders and activists from the Christian tradition, including the Rev. Dwight McKissic, the Texas pastor who mounted a campaign to pass a resolution condemning white supremacy at the Southern Baptists annual convention this year, which passed after overcoming initial resistance. The statement, called the Charlottesville Declaration, read in part:

Judgment begins with the household of God, which has been particularly instrumental in the creation and maintenance of racial inequity. Because of this we do not need cheap grace, cheap peace, cheap reconciliation. We need a revival of spirit, a revolution of values, and the abundance of righteous justice in this land. Now is the time for the church to again be the moral compass for this nation.

We call upon white leaders and members of the Evangelical church to condemn in the strongest terms the white supremacist ideology that has long existed in the church and our society, the statement said, adding that condemnation should be not just in words only, but also in deeds.

The declaration was co-authored by Jemar Tisby, president of the Reformed African-American Network, and C.J. Rhodes, a pastor in Jackson, Miss., and religious life director at Alcorn State University.

Also on Friday, a group of over 90 Christian scholars from a wide variety of accredited colleges  including three from Falwells Liberty University  signed a statement stating that the events in Charlottesville make it clear once again that racism is not a thing of the past, something that brothers and sisters of color have been trying to tell the white church for years.

It went on: We also recognize that white-majority churches and denominations have too often lagged in discussions of racial injustice and inequality, or have even been sources of the perpetuation of white cultural dominance and racial injustice. Because of that history, we pray that Americas churches and Christians will renew their commitment to practical, proactive steps of racial reconciliation and friendship in our cities and towns.

_____

Read more from Yahoo News:
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Illinois legislative leaders said on Thursday they reached a deal over a new education funding formula that would restart aid payments to the state's 852 school districts.

Details of the agreement in principle will not be released until legislation is drafted and reviewed, according to statements by leaders of the Democratic-controlled House and Senate.

The four Democratic and Republican leaders are scheduled to meet on Sunday ahead of anticipated House action on Monday.

Governor (Bruce) Rauner applauds the four leaders in coming to a consensus on historic school funding reform that reflects the work of the School Funding Reform Commission," the governor's office said in a statement.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who controls the Chicago Public Schools, said the deal addresses the fact the city largely funds teachers pensions on its own while pensions in all other school districts are heavily subsidized by the state.

"Never before has Illinois actually agreed to fully participate in paying for Chicago's teachers pensions," Emanuel told reporters. The Chicago school district is the nation's third-largest public school system.

The Republican governor's use of an amendatory veto to extensively rewrite a school funding formula bill passed by the legislature in May stopped the flow of $6.7 billion in state aid to schools as most began classes this month.

While the Senate overrode the veto on Aug. 13, a required three-fifths majority vote was harder to obtain in the House, where lawmakers last week rejected a bill modeled after Rauner's funding formula changes.

Legislative leaders have been meeting since then to broker a bipartisan compromise.

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago has pressed for creation of a school voucher program in the talks.

Illinois does not allow school vouchers, while 14 other states do. But sensing a potential shift in policy, teacher unions like the Illinois Education Association have mobilized against the idea, warning members on Wednesday that vouchers would drain much-needed money from public schools.

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Credit rating agencies have warned that districts that have slim reserves and are heavily dependent on state aid, including the Chicago Public Schools, could face financial pressure and potential rating downgrades from an extended school funding impasse.

The Chicago school system, whose debt is rated junk, was the main target of Rauner's veto action. The governor said the bill unfairly included a bailout for the cash-strapped district.

(Reporting by Karen Pierog and Dave McKinney; Editing by Matthew Lewis and Leslie Adler)
At least 32 people were killed Friday when clashes broke out in northern India after a court convicted a controversial religious leader of raping two of his followers, sparking fury among tens of thousands of supporters who had gathered for the verdict.

Authorities rushed hundreds of troops to the city of Panchkula after followers of guru Ram Rahim Singh torched cars went on a rampage throwing rocks and attacking television vans and setting fire to dozens of private vehicles.

More than 100,000 were estimated to have gone to the city in Haryana state, where India's federal investigations agency had set up a special court to rule on the charge that he had raped two female devotees.

Authorities said 32 people had been killed and around 180 injured after rioting broke out in Haryana, where many areas were now under curfew.

"The situation continues to be grim but we are gaining some ground. Hopefully we will mobilise more forces in the night to take control," a senior state official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

He said the large crowd went berserk soon after the verdict was pronounced and attacked police and set vehicles afire before the police took action.

Most of the fatalities were caused by gunshots, the officer said.

Ram Rahim Singh has a vast following in many states of northern India, including in Haryana, where he runs a spiritual movement that claims to have millions of devotees around the world.

Authorities imposed an indefinite curfew in Panchkula, where mobile internet services had earlier been cut off.

"I don't understand what the government and the police are doing. We have been feeling unsafe since yesterday and all our fears came true today," local resident Sandeep Singh told AFP.

"Why did the police not act swiftly and forcefully against these followers?"

As news of Singh's conviction spread there were reports of violence in several districts of neighbouring Punjab state and on the outskirts of the capital Delhi, which borders Haryana.

Story continues

Authorities imposed curfew in at least four districts of Punjab to curb spread of violence.

"Two train stations have been burnt in Punjab and two empty (train) coaches have been set on fire in Delhi's Anand Vihar station," said Neeraj Sharma, a spokesman for Indian Railways.

Hundreds of trains passing through Punjab and Haryana have been cancelled, he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned the violence on Twitter, saying "the instances of violence today are deeply distressing".

He said the federal government was monitoring the situation and urged everyone to "maintain peace".

Prosecutor Harinder Pal Singh Verma told AFP the guru was "calm after the verdict was passed" and had been flown by helicopter to another city in Haryana. He will be sentenced on August 28.

- 'Guru in bling' -

The 50-year-old self-styled "godman" is known as the "guru in bling" for his penchant for bejewelled costumes, although the source of his apparently vast wealth is unclear.

The rape case was brought against him after an anonymous letter was sent to then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2002 accusing him of repeatedly raping the sender and several other women in the sect.

A judge asked the Central Bureau of Investigations to look into the accusations, but it took years to trace the alleged victims and it was not until 2007 that two women came forward and filed charges.

India has been rocked by numerous scandals involving popular ascetics claiming to possess mystical powers, and Singh is no stranger to controversy.

In 2015 he was accused of encouraging 400 followers to undergo castration at his ashram so they could get closer to god.

He also stood trial for conspiracy over the murder of a journalist in 2002.

He describes his sect as a social welfare and spiritual organisation.

- Messenger of God -

Speaking before his conviction, supporters who had gathered in Panchkula credited him with turning their lives around, with some saying his organisation had helped them kick an addiction to alcohol.

"I've been part of the Dera movement for two decades and in that time I have not touched a drop," said Gajendere Singh, a recovering alcoholic who said he was aged around 60.

"Before joining, people did not pay me much attention. But after, I had a support network."

Singh's work has angered mainstream religious leaders in India, particularly Sikhs who say he insults and belittles their faith.

There were protests in the Sikh-dominated state of Punjab over Singh's 2015 appearance in a film entitled "MSG: The Messenger of God", which showed him performing miracles, preaching to thousands and beating up gangsters while singing and dancing.
The Islamic State militant group (ISIS) is facing another defeat as the Russian-backed forces of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad encircle the forces of the radical Islamist militants in desert in central Syria.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a U.K.-based monitoring group that uses an extensive network of sources on the ground in Syria and is opposed to the Assad regime, said Thursday that Syrian military forces joined up from the north and south of the Badiya desert area overnight.

ISIS has controlled the territory since 2014 but the Syrian regime has been emboldened by support from Moscow and Iran.

The Badiya desert region stretches between central Syria and the border area near Jordan and Iraq. A key battle that is continuing between the Syrian troops and ISIS fighters is for the town of Sukhnah.

While the U.S.-led coalition is supporting an Arab-Kurdish coalition to recapture the eastern city of Raqqa, the Syrian regime has focused on recapturing other stretches of territory from ISIS, advancing on the eastern province of Deir Ezzor where ISIS still controls the cities of Deir Ezzor and Mayadin.

ISIS in Syria

Stringer/AFP/Getty

Victory for the Syrian government in this region would boost Damascus and Moscows hope of recapturing Deir Ezzor from ISIS, one of the last bastions of the group in the country.

Assad has attempted to paint the six-year-long civil war as a battle against extremists but critics point out that ISIS emerged in 2014 amid the chaos in the country, when the Syrian leader released hardened jihadists from jail, many of which went on to join the Islamist insurgency.

Rights groups, the U.N. and western governments have all pointed to evidence that indicates that Assad has used chemical weapons against civilian populations and torture prisons to detain opposition activists, even using a crematorium at the notorious Saydnaya prison complex to remove evidence of the hundreds of people hanged at the compound.

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The war has created one of the worst humanitarian crises since the Second World War, with more than 400,000 dead, millions displaced internally and externally and the country left in ruins.

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The weeks main event will finally arrive on Friday, as Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen will speak before the latest economic symposium hosted by the Kansas City Fed in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

The topic of Yellens speech is expected to be financial stability, often called the third mandate of the Fed, and baseline expectations are that Yellen will not use this opportunity to signal any plans about Fed policy in the coming months.

A topic of discussion in the run-up to Yellens speech this week has also been the possibility that this is Yellens final speech as Fed chair at the annual symposium, as her term expires in February and President Donald Trump has not yet made clear if he intends to nominate Yellen to a second term.

Were Trump to decline to nominate Yellen to a second term, she would be just the third Fed chair since 1934 to serve one term at the top of the central bank.

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen.

Elsewhere on the calendar on Friday, well get the July report on durable goods orders in the morning, which are expected to drop sharply from the prior month. The earnings calendar will be open as no major companies are expected to report results.

Markets will also keep an eye on the Gulf of Mexico, where Hurricane Harvey now appears set to be the first major hurricane  that is, a storm of category 3 intensity or higher  since Wilma hit Florida in October 2005.

As of 2:45 p.m. ET on Thursday afternoon the National Hurricane Center was forecasting winds of 125 mph as Harvey approaches the Texas coast, with landfall expected Friday evening. Rainfall amounts in excess of 20 inches are expected along some areas of the Texas coast.

Amazond

And so it begins.

On Monday, Amazon (AMZN) will close its deal to buy Whole Foods (WFM) and thus begin a new era of selling food for the online retail giant.

In a release on Thursday, Amazon said that among the initial changes expected at Whole Foods are lower prices on what it calls grocery staples at Whole Foods including  Whole Trade bananas, organic avocados, organic large brown eggs, organic responsibly-farmed salmon and tilapia, organic baby kale and baby lettuce, animal-welfare-rated 85% lean ground beef, creamy and crunchy almond butter, organic Gala and Fuji apples, organic rotisserie chicken, 365 Everyday Value organic butter among others.

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Amazon Prime will also become Whole Foods rewards program and Amazon Lockers will be available in some stores.

Jeff Bezos failed at selling America smartphones. Maybe he will be better at selling America organic groceries.

In response to this news, grocery stocks sold off.

Among the notable losers were Kroger (KR), down 6%, Supervalu (SVU), down 7%, Target (TGT), down 4%, Costco (COST), down 3%, and CVS (CVS), down almost 3%.

Of course, some might note that investors in these stocks knew a deal was coming, so why sell these stocks? And, indeed, these stocks had already declined after the deal was initially announced.

But what this action shows is that the main thing motivating the Amazon trade right now is fear  fear that Amazons plans will target a company or an industry in an even more punishing way than previously thought.

Perhaps investors didnt think the Amazon deal would close for months. Perhaps some did not expect Amazon to cut prices to quickly. Perhaps Amazon integrating Whole Foods into its Prime service so quickly came as a surprise.

Either way, though, investors have been more quick to run from Amazon than towards it of late. George Pearkes, a strategist at Bespoke Investment Group, noted on Twitter on Thursday that a comparison of the firms Death by Amazon and Amazon Survivor baskets against Amazon yields a negative return.

That is, investors have been quicker to take away from those companies that might lose to Amazon than to reward Amazon for any gains.

Which shows to us that the main fear among investors right now, particularly those in any sort of consumer-facing space, is to avoid being Amazond. Even if you already knew it was coming.



Myles Udland is a writer at Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter @MylesUdland

Read more from Myles here:
Justin Trudeau at the Broadway premiere of a musical, Come From Away, celebrating Canada's welcome to stranded travellers after the September 11 attacks

Justin Trudeau has sought to tone down the warm welcome he promised to migrants, after arrivals at the Canadian border hit 250 a day, leaving immigration officials struggling to cope with the influx.

The Canadian prime minister tweeted shortly after President Donald Trump announced the halt of the US refugee programme that Canada would still be a haven.

To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada, he said.

To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada  Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) January 28, 2017

But since the start of the year more than 11,300 people have crossed into Canada by foot from the US, with the surge due in large part to fears about Mr Trumps immigration policy.

Canada is on track to record the most refugee claims in a decade.

The majority  around 85 per cent, according to Canadian officials  are from Haiti. In May Mr Trump floated the idea of rescinding a long-standing agreement to allow Haitians to remain in the country, meaning that a possible 58,000 Haitians could be deported in 2018.

For someone to successfully seek asylum its not about economic migration, said Mr Trudeau, in an attempt to make economic migrants reconsider.

Asylum seekers unload their belongings from a truck at a processing centre near the Canada-United States border in Lacolle, Quebec Credit: Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP

Its about vulnerability, exposure to torture or death, or being stateless people. If they are seeking asylum well evaluate them on the basis of what it is to be a refugee or asylum seeker.

More than 6,000 people have skirted border checkpoints to enter Canada since the start of July.

Overwhelmed by these numbers, the government has increased patrols along the border and added immigration staff to process claims. Montreals Olympic stadium has been turned into a temporary welcome center, and the military has been deployed to set up a 500-person camp on the border.

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Asylum seekers are shown next to tents at the Canada-United States border in Lacolle, Quebec Credit: Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP

You will not be at an advantage if you choose to enter Canada irregularly, said Mr Trudeau.

You must follow the rules, and there are many.

Critics have accused Mr Trudeau of encouraging would-be refugees to come to Canada without thinking through the consequences.

Michelle Rempel, a politician from the opposition Conservative Party, said it was "completely ridiculous that the Prime Minister of Canada would tout a tent city" to deal with the influx as winter approached.
Talk about an earache: When a man in China went to the hospital because of severe ear pain, doctors found a live gecko curled up in his ear canal, according to news reports.

The man woke up in the morning complaining of severe pain in his ear, as well as the feeling of something squirming around in there, according to the Deccan Chronicle, a South Indian newspaper. When doctors peered inside, they spotted a live lizard.

Initially, the doctors tried to remove the gecko with tweezers, but the lizard squirmed when it was touched, the Deccan Chronicle reported. [11 Weird Things People Have Swallowed]

To prevent the gecko from wiggling further into the ear canal, the doctors anesthetized the reptile, and then safely removed it from the man's ear using long pliers, UPI reported on Aug. 18. The procedure took about 5 minutes.

But not all of the gecko was removed during the procedure: The Deccan Chronicle noted that the gecko appeared to be missing its tail, which the doctors could not find in the man's ear. It's possible that the lizard lost its tail before getting stuck in the man's ear canal. Some species of geckos can shed their tails as a means of self-defense, and a recently discovered species can even shed all of its scales to protect itself if a predator catches hold of it.

Geckos aren't the only unwanted visitors that have made their way into human ears; people have found spiders, fruit-fly larvae and flesh-eating worms residing in their ear canals.

Originally published on Live Science.

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SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Leftist Chilean presidential candidate Beatriz Sanchez on Thursday proposed a new social security system to replace the nation's public-private pension scheme that has been copied throughout the globe but is increasingly unpopular domestically. Sanchez, who is representing Chile's far-left Frente Amplio bloc in the November election, told journalists her proposed pension system would draw funds from the state and employers, as well as workers, and would redistribute funds from a common pot. She said it would mark the elimination of the current system, in which Chileans are mandated to put savings into one of six private pension funds, known as AFPs. They control some $160 billion in assets. "We need to ensure dignified pensions for Chile and this requires structural, profound, and gradual changes," Sanchez said at a press conference. Chile's highly privatized pension system, which was introduced in the 1980s during Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship and was historically seen as a model by many economists, has been criticized in recent years on a number of fronts, including what many see as insufficient payouts. Former President Sebastian Pinera, a conservative billionaire, is the front-runner in the presidential race, with a large lead over center-left candidate Alejandro Guillier and Sanchez. However, it is unlikely any candidate will win enough votes in the Nov. 19 election to avoid a December runoff, and any second-round vote with Pinera looks to be much closer. Chilean President Michelle Bachelet sent a bill to Congress earlier this month that would increase payroll contributions to the pension system to 15 percent from 10 percent, with the hike paid by employers. However, her governing coalition has become increasingly divided in recent months and it is not clear if the bill will pass before Bachelet's term ends in March 2018. Pinera has proposed more modest changes to the pension system than the current government, while Guillier has proposed a path similar to that of Bachelet. Sanchez's proposal would allow Chileans to invest in AFPs, but on a voluntary basis, meaning they would have the same status as any other private investment funds. The minimum monthly payout would be tied to Chile's minimum wage, while the monthly payouts would be capped at $4,100. Her proposal would also lower workers' contributions to pensions by 1 percentage point while bumping employers' contributions by 5 percentage points. (Reporting by Antonio de la Jara; Writing by Gram Slattery; Editing by Paul Simao)
London (AFP) - A man arrested under the Terrorism Act after deliberately driving at police outside Queen Elizabeth II's Buckingham Palace residence in London had a "four-foot sword" in his car, police said on Saturday.

Upon being challenged by officers, the 26-year-old attacker "reached for what we now know to be a four-foot sword which was in the front passenger foot well," the police statement said.

"The man, who repeatedly shouted Allahu akbar (God is greatest), was incapacitated with CS spray".

The assailant stopped his car near a police vehicle in a restricted area outside the world famous palace at around 8:35pm (1935 GMT) Friday, according to a Metropolitan Police statement.

Three unarmed officers were injured during the course of detaining the man, two of them requiring hospital treatment.

Initially arrested on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm and assaulting police, he was later arrested under the Terrorism Act 2000.

Originally from Luton -- a city 30 miles (50 km) north of London -- the assailant was then taken to a London hospital for treatment of minor injuries before being taken to a central London police station for questioning.

"Officers from the Counter Terrorism Command are now investigating and searches are being carried out in the Luton area today," Dean Haydon, the police head of counter-terrorism, said in the statement.

"We believe the man was acting alone and we are not looking for other suspects at this stage," he added.

The incident comes with Britain and much of Europe on high alert following a string of major attacks over the past two years -- most of which have been claimed by jihadists -- and hours after a knife attack on soldiers in Brussels.

In Britain alone a total of 35 people have been killed in three attacks in London and Manchester since March.

Two of those involved a vehicle ploughing into pedestrians.

The other attack was a bombing in May at a pop concert by US star Ariana Grande in Manchester which killed 22 people including children.
The second-largest Powerball jackpot in American history  $758 million  was won Wednesday night by a nurse from Massachusetts.

Read: Upgrade! Canceled Flight Leads Man to Buy Winning $1 Million Lotto Ticket

Mavis Wanczyk, 53, lives in Chicopee, Mass., and as of Thursday morning, she is quitting her job at the local hospital.

I called and told them I would not be back, she said at Thursdays press conference.

She found out she won last night as she left her job with a friend and was so unsure it was true that she passed the ticket along. Then it was confirmed.

"My numbers were kind of basically random, like maybe with our birthdays, one from here, one from there," she said at the press conference Thursday. "There's a thing between me and my mom and my stepfather and I have a friend, we all go out to dinner on a Friday night and we play Keno, and our number is four. I just happened to choose, and it worked to my advantage.

The drawing was held in Florida Wednesday night and confusion reigned Thursday morning when the Massachusetts Lottery announced that the winning ticket had been sold at a market in Watertown just outside Boston.

Lottery officials sent news organizations to the wrong location. The owner gave interviews to all of the morning shows, but it later turned out to be the wrong store.

The ticket was actually sold across the state in Chicopee.

Wanczyk will take the lump sum, according to reports, walking away with $480,500,936 in a lump sum, which adds up to $336,350,655 after taxes.

Read: Man Named Gambles Wins Lotto for Second Time - Using Same Numbers as Before

It now makes her richer than Taylor Swift, who has a net worth of $280 million and even Beyonce, who is work $305 million.

For now, Wanczyk, who has two grown children, has a very simple strategy for her fabulous new wealth: I just to go to my bed and hide.

Watch: Store Owner Who Sold Winning Lottery Ticket Gets $1 Million, 6 Months After Lung Disease Diagnosis

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Coatzacoalcos (Mexico) (AFP) - Mexican prosecutors are investigating threats a politician allegedly made against slain investigative journalist Candido Rios, an official said Thursday, as fellow reporters protested a wave of violence against the press.

Rios, who was under government protection, was gunned down Tuesday in the violent state of Veracruz, joining a macabre list of more than 100 journalists murdered since 2000 in Mexico, one of the world's deadliest countries for the media.

State authorities drew criticism for initially ruling out his journalism as a possible motive.

But prosecutors are now analyzing a video that allegedly shows a powerful local politician threatening the reporter, according to the head of the state's Commission to Protect Journalists, Jorge Morales.

Prosecutors "are looking at (the video) as a prominent element," Morales told AFP.

The video, posted on social media, purportedly shows former mayor Gaspar Gomez of the town of Hueyapan de Ocampo threatening to "bash (Rios's) head in."

Rios's family and editor say he had previously been the target of attacks and death threats from Gomez, whom the journalist had repeatedly accused of corruption in the pages of his newspaper, Diario de Acayucan.

"Once (Gomez) and his police officers beat him up right in front of me," Rios's widow, Hilda Nieves, told AFP.

Rios was enrolled in the so-called Mechanism to Protect Human Rights Defenders and Journalists, a government program launched in 2012 to stop assassinations of activists and reporters.

It has been widely criticized for failing to stem the violence.

Some 50 journalists protested Thursday in Mexico City, demanding the authorities overhaul the program and increase its budget, which has been cut from $2.1 million in 2013 to half that this year.

"We're very concerned that a person who was protected under the mechanism was murdered," protest organizer Alejandro Melendez, a photojournalist, told AFP.

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Rios, 55, was the second journalist under government protection to be murdered, according to media watchdog Article 19.

More than 90 percent of journalists' murders in Mexico remain unpunished.

Rios was the 10th reporter killed this year. Most had been reporting on powerful crime gangs and government corruption.

Violence has surged across Mexico since the government declared war on the country's powerful drug cartels in 2006. More than 380,000 people have been murdered and more than 30,000 have gone missing since then.
The Daily Beast

NBCOn the first Saturday Night Live episode after each of the past two presidential elections, Dave Chappelle served as host and used the opportunity to share his thoughts about the state of American politics. The comedian returned for a third time this week after the midterms, but this time something was different.It was Chappelles first time hosting SNL since he came under fire for a slew of transphobic jokes in his latest Netflix special The Closer. And before he even took the stage at Studi
Kim Jong-un was pictured at a factory inspection with wall charts of the weapons in the background (Reuters)

North Korea has seemingly revealed details of two new ballistic missile systems in an apparent warning to the United States.

The accidental reveal of the two as-yet-untested missiles was in photographs of a factory inspection by leader Kim Jong-un.

The pictures were released by the KCNA state media and appear to show wall charts that describe the weapons  an Inter Continental Ballistic Missile called Hwasong-13 and a Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile called Pukguksong-3.

It is thought that the reveal of the plans was not an accident (Reuters)

These details are unlikely to have been released by mistake, coming just weeks after Donald Trump threatened fire and fury on North Korea.

The secretive state hit back and made plans to launch missiles on the US territory of Guam, before deciding against any attack for now.

North Korea have previously left details of important developments in the background of photographs to show the world what they may be capable of.

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Shin Jong-woo of the Korea Defence and Security Forum told South Koreas JoongAng Ilbo newspaper that North Korea has a history of displaying actual weapons, or graphic designs of them, via state media in order to flaunt its military prowess to the world.

However, aerial photographs of Guam in the background of photos showing Kim Jong-un looking at plans to attack were described as an elaborate bluff by Seouls Chosun Ilbo newspaper.

They stated that North Korea had no facilities to obtain up to date satellite imagery and the ones on the wall were available on Google Earth.
With a ban on U.S. citizens traveling to North Korea reportedly set to come into effect next month, Pyongyang has unveiled a contingency plan: It is courting Russian tourists.

With permission from the North Korean government, the travel company NKOREAN.RU launched in Russia on Thursday. The event was attended by the head of Russias tourism agencies union and an adviser to North Koreas ambassador in Moscow.

Related: Mad guy Trump wont stop tweeting about himself, North Korea says

I hope that the NKOREAN company will make a breakthrough, the union president, Sergey Golov, said at the launch press conference, the Interfax news agency reports. I think that the odds of growth look good. On our part we will support the company in question in an informational way.

NKOREAN will work with the support of North Koreas embassy in Russia, and the embassy adviser, Kim Sung Hoon, said at the event that tourists should not worry about their safety when considering a visit to the rogue state.

The Peoples Democratic Republic of Korea is one of the safest countries in the world, he said at the launch event. We guarantee the comprehensive safety of tourists who follow the law and order of the country. He added that the nuclear capabilities of the countrythe cause of the U.S. sanctionstotally guarantee security and peace on the Korean peninsula.

The companys official Russian website offers tour packages starting from Russias eastern port of Vladivostok. Tours are available in Russian, English, French and Mandarin.

North Koreas expanding nuclear missile capabilities and stated ambitions to one day be able to strike the U.S. and any other part of the world with a launch from its own territory have generated condemnation among existing nuclear powers such as the U.S., the U.K., France and even China and Russia.

The latter two have also condemned U.S. moves to strengthen its military allies in the region, most specifically South Korea, which is the top political target for any signs of irritation in Pyongyang.

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While China and Russia supported U.S. sanctions against North Korea in the U.N. Security Council earlier this month, the draft included little sacrifice regarding Russias few but significant ties to North Korea.

Russia is quite happy with the language of the new U.N. Security Council resolution, since it secures most of Russian commercial interests with regard to North Korea, Alexander Gabuev, chairman of the Russia in the Asia-Pacific Program at the Carnegie Moscow Center, told Newsweek earlier this month.

North Korea sends thousands of workers on temporary employment trips to Russia, and the sanctions package does not restrict their movement. Less than three months before the sanctions, a rare ferry link between North Korea and the rest of the world was launched, docking in Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet at a BRICS summit next month to discuss North Korea and other issues.

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North Korea has warned the U.S. it's prepared to engage in a total conflict if the Pentagon missteps during joint military drills with South Korea.

Citing a commentary released Thursday by state-run newspaper Rodong Sinmun, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said that the country's recent successful intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) tests meant that it was capable of deterring any U.S. plans to overthrow the government of Kim Jong Un. President Donald Trump and Kim are engaged in a standoff over the latter's right to possess nuclear weapons and tensions are exceptionally high on the Korean Peninsula as the U.S. conducts war games with North Korea's southern rival.

Related: North Korea's Kim Jong Un a better leader than Trump? Youngest head of state faces oldest U.S. president

"The U.S. imperialists are driving the situation on the Korean peninsula into a touch-and-go one, going reckless. It is as foolish an act as pulling a noose around their necks," KCNA wrote.

"It is unthinkable for us to remain a passive onlooker to the provocative actions of the enemies today when we are capable of fighting any war liked by the gangster-like U.S. imperialists," it added.

"This is not hot air," it further warned.

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KCNA/Reuters

North Korea argues that its arsenal of nuclear and ballistic weapons is necessary to prevent the U.S. from invading it, pointing to historical examples such as Iraq and Libya. North Korea tested its first nuclear weapon in 2006 and has conducted four more tests since, the latest being September 2016. Amid reports of a potential sixth one this year, Trump took action by boosting U.S. military presence in the region and engaging allies South Korea and Japan, which also have expressed concern over North Korea's military expansion.

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Following the country's first ever ICBM test in July, and a second one later that month, experts believe that North Korea can now reach the U.S. with a nuclear-armed weapon. The country does not typically threaten to strike first unless its sovereignty is threatened, however, the situation has become especially precarious with U.S. drills taking place just off the reclusive, communist state's doorstep.

Trump has said a military option is on the table to disarm North Korea by force, suggesting earlier this month he would unleash against North Korea "fire and fury and fury like the world has never seen" if his rival's threats continued. The U.S. has so far fought North Korea through U.N.-led sanctions and German Chancellor Angela Merkel told local media Wednesday that the West "should do more" to reach a diplomatic solution with Kim.

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Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images

Neither Trump nor Kim has backed down, however, and the North Korean leader followed up on his military's achievements last month by reportedly ordering a new and improved batch of missiles, later rewarding the scientists responsible with an unspecified "special bonus." On Wednesday, Rodong Sinmun published images of Kim visiting the Chemical Material Institute of Academy of Defense Science in Pyongang, accompanied by rocket engineer Kim Jong Sik and senior Workers' Party of Korea official Jo Yong Won.

The U.S. also has tried to undermine North Korea by instituting a travel ban. North Korea's rigid political system has imprisoned a number of foreigners, especially those from the U.S. and South Korea. Pyongyang, however, has countered this move by encouraging greater tourism from more sympathetic countries such as Russia.

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Voting is now open to decide which message written by NASA fans will be sent to the Voyager 1 spacecraft. The two craft are billions of miles away, but for their 40th anniversary NASA is sending a message out to the Voyager 1 to carry on into the depths of space.

NASA began a competition earlier this month to allow fans to submit messages to be sent to the Voyager 1 craft. The submission period ended on the 15 and then teams at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA and the team that works on Voyager voted on their favorites to narrow it down. Now theyre asking people like you to vote and help decide on the final message that will be beamed out to Voyager 1 on its 40th birthday, Sept. 5. The message will arrive on Sept. 6, about 20 hours after it is sent.

Voyager 1 and its counterpart, Voyager 2, have been soaring through space for nearly 40 years since they launched, transmitting data back to Earth about the farthest depths of space any mission has ever gone. The Voyager 1 craft is currently in Interstellar Space more than 12 billion miles from Earth.

The #MessageToVoyager was easy for participants to submit to NASA all hopeful winners had to do was craft a message that was 60 characters or less including spaces, punctuation, letters and numbers and then tag it on social media with the designated hashtag. They could have posted on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram or Google+ as long as the post was public so NASA could find it.

Messages in different languages from all over the world poured in for NASA to consider before choosing the finalists. There are 10 finalists who made the cut for final message but their names are not attached to the messages they submitted. You can view the 10 final messages and vote for your favorite on NASAs website. You can only vote once so choose wisely.

voyager golden record

Photo: NASA

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Most of them are space themed and carry a positive message like, All of us are behind you, and ahead of you is everything, and From the stars we came, and to the stars we return. Inspiring messages for the little craft to carry.

Each Voyager already carries a golden record that contains sounds from Earth and messages in different languages incase the craft ever comes upon any extraterrestrial, now one of the final messages will be added to the information the Voyager 1 carries.

Voting will be open until 8 p.m. EDT on Aug. 29. Once you vote on NASAs page, youll be able to see how many other people voted for the same message as you and what percent of that vote your choice has so far. As of Thursday evening, the message with the most votes was From the stars we came, and to the stars we return. But there is still plenty of time for the tables to turn, so stay turned for which message comes out on top.

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MANILA (Reuters) - The parents and lawyers of a Philippine high school student shot dead last week filed a murder complaint on Friday against three anti-narcotics policemen amid rare public outrage about the country's war on drugs. The death of 17-year-old Kian Loyd delos Santos on Aug. 16 in a rundown area of Manila has drawn huge domestic attention to allegations by activists that police have been systematically executing suspected users and dealers, a charge the authorities deny. The head of the Public Attorney's Office (PAO) and the parents of the slain youth submitted the complaint against the three policemen at the justice department, calling for them to be charged with murder and breaches of a law on torture. The PAO, a government agency, provides indigent litigants free legal assistance. Delos Santos was found dead in an alley with a gun in his left hand. Police said they killed him in self defense, but his family said he had no weapon, was right-handed and had no involvement in drugs. Security cameras showed the officers aggressively escorting a man matching delos Santos' description in the direction of the spot where he was killed. The three policemen admit they were the people shown in the video, but that they were escorting another suspect, not delos Santos. PAO and police pathologists who did separate autopsies told a Senate hearing that delos Santos was shot from above, from close range. "It was cold-blooded murder, he was shot while kneeling down," PAO chief Persida Acosta told news channel ANC. "We are here for truth and justice so we have to file this immediately." The complaint, if accepted, would follow at least two cases filed last year against police over President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs, which has killed thousands of Filipinos, outraged human rights groups and alarmed Western governments. Most Filipinos however support the campaign, according to opinion polls, and domestic opposition has been muted. Several police commanders relieved of their duty over the student's killing told a Senate inquiry on Thursday that delos Santos was not the target of their operation, and his links to drug were known to them only the day after his death. Officers said they learned of his suspected links to drugs from another drug suspect, a cellphone and chatter circulating on social media. Delos Santos was among more than 90 people killed last week in three nights of intensified raids dubbed "One Time, Big Time", which had Duterte's steadfast support. The term refers to a coordinated police drive to stamp out crime in a particular district. The teen's killing puts focus on Duterte's repeated promises to police administering the crackdown that he would insulate them from any legal consequences. Critics say his rhetoric is tantamount to giving police a license to kill. Duterte took a softer tone on Wednesday, telling police to arrest suspects and kill only if their lives were in danger, adding that he would not protect those who killed unarmed people. (Reporting by Martin Petty, Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)
By Neil Jerome Morales and Martin Petty MANILA (Reuters) - Philippine police on Thursday told a Senate inquiry that a high school student killed last week by anti-drugs officers had been involved in narcotics, but officers only learned of that the day after they shot him dead. The death of 17-year-old Kian Loyd delos Santos, one of thousands of Filipinos killed during the country's fierce war on drugs, has stirred unprecedented public attention on to what activists say are executions and systematic abuses by police backed steadfastly by President Rodrigo Duterte. Roberto Fajardo, the Northern Police District chief who was relieved of his duty, told the hearing there was no specific target of the Aug. 16 operation in Manila's Caloocan City, but police could confirm Delos Santos was involved in drugs. Asked if those drugs links were known after the killing, Fajardo said: "Yes. We have to check the background. We checked after." He said a drug suspect arrested the following day confirmed Delos Santos was dealing drugs. Chito Bersaluna, the former Caloocan police chief, said Delos Santos could be tied to the drugs trade by a recovered cellphone and "based on what came out on social media" after his killing. Those admissions will add to the growing scrutiny on police behind a crackdown that Duterte on Wednesday said would not stop. He said there was no justification for the student's killing, and police responsible would face justice. Earlier police reports said Delos Santos was killed because he was carrying drugs and shot at plain-clothes officers who tried to arrest him. His family has dismissed that as a lie. CAPTURED ON CAMERA Security camera footage showed two policemen dragging a man matching the description of Delos Santos to a alley where he was found dead with a gun in his left hand. Three police accused of involvement in the killing said little during the inquiry. One refused to speak, while the other two said the individual on the CCTV camera was their "asset", and was not Delos Santos. Critics accused Duterte of turning a blind eye to police abuses, with an unquestioning acceptance of an official police line that typically says those killed were all drug dealers who had violently resisted arrest. Filipinos remain largely supportive of a campaign the government says has made the streets safer. The Delos Santos case is being closely watched by the public due to inconsistencies in police accounts and statements by relatives and witnesses who say he was brutally murdered and had no involvement in illicit activities. The Public Attorney's Office said its autopsy showed he was shot twice in the head and once in the back, while police said their forensics showed there were only two gunshot wounds. Both indicated he was kneeling when he was killed. Senators asked police pathologist Jocelyn Cruz to provide photographs of the autopsy, but Cruz said police did not have them. Asked if the autopsy results indicated the student was executed, national police chief Ronald dela Rosa said: "If you shoot someone kneeling, you are a criminal, murderer. You are not a law enforcer." Delos Santos was among more than 90 people killed last week in three nights of intensified raids called "One Time, Big Time", taking the bloody crackdown to a new level. After 32 were killed in Bulacan province in a single night. Duterte said: "Let's kill another 32 every day". Activists and political opponents say that kind of rhetoric is to blame for what they say is a culture of impunity among police who are repeatedly promised blanket protection from Duterte. He took a softer tone on Wednesday, however, telling police they should do everything possible to arrest suspects and kill only when necessary. He said he would not protect police who killed illegally, and abuses "cannot be done". For a graphic on police raids with fatalities, click: http://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/rngs/PHILIPPINES-DRUGS/010050FJ10M/PHILIPPINES-DRUGS.jpg (Additional reporting by Manuel Mogato and Karen Lema; Editing by Nick Macfie)
The passengers aboard a United Airlines flight, bound for Newark, had a harrowing time Tuesday night after the pilot announced the plane would be flying through "horrific storms including tornadoes," a report published Wednesday by Nj.com claimed. However, United Airlines has told the International Business Times that the passengers would be compensated.

People in the flight  that had already been delayed in Chicago by two hours  were so freaked out even before the plane took off that a flight attendant had to make another announcement to pacify them. The attendant took to the microphone and said there was no need to worry and that pilot's warnings did not mean it was unsafe to fly, passenger Pamela Kent was quoted as saying by NJ.com.

"He seemed angry," said Kent, a Princeton resident, who was traveling with her daughter Jessica. "He said 'we're going to be flying through horrific storms including tornadoes.'"

The pilot further scared the travelers aboard the overbooked flight by instructing them to "get to know your neighbors," and the journey would be "very turbulent," Kent said.

She added that after some time, as the flight was preparing to taxi to the runway, the passengers received another shock as they were told by the pilot the plane had some maintenance issue and had to return to the gate. That angered some 50 passengers, including Kent, to such an extent that they asked the attendants to let them get off the plane as they said that they would seek alternative ways to reach Newark.

Kent also complained about the feeling of uneasiness among the passengers after the pilot gave frequent warnings. "You want a pilot to have confidence. There was not that feeling," she said. However, till then, the pilot and crew were also finished with their duty hours and a new crew had to take over.

United Airlines said it was looking into the incident. We would never put our crew or our passengers in a situation where it was unsafe to fly, airline spokeswoman Natalie Noonan was quoted as saying in media reports. The safety of the passengers and the crew is always our No. 1 priority.

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In an e-mailed statement to the International Business Times, the United Airlines said, United flight 1997 from Chicago to Newark was delayed Tuesday night due to weather (conditions) in the New York area. Prior to takeoff, the aircraft returned to the gate in Chicago due to a mechanical issue. Customers boarded a new aircraft and continued on their journey. Customers are receiving compensation and we apologize for this inconvenience.

Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) tweeted Tuesday night that bad weather had caused flight disruptions.

A local meteorologist said Tuesday tornado warnings were issued for places in New Jersey and Pennsylvania and that it was a cause of concern, a report said.

There have been several instances of this nature in the past when passengers were freaked out by their pilots. In June, ahead of a flight from Malaga, Spain, to Bristol, United Kingdom, a pilot of easyJet reportedly asked its passengers for a show of hands if "broken plane" should be flown back from Malaga to Bristol. These allegations were denied by the airlines, the Telegraph reported.

In another similar incident in 2014, passengers were left traumatized after a Monarch Airlines pilot told them that a technical problem could have led them to "a quick, watery grave," according to the Telegraph.

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The extraordinary life of Diana, Princess of Wales, not only humanized the British monarchy, but captured the worlds attention. And she harnessed that media frenzy to raise awareness of a number of progressive philanthropic causes.

Diana was known as a prodigious fundraiser and at one point was linked to more than 100 charities. Although she chose to cut ties with the bulk of them in 1996 to lead more of a private life after her divorce from Prince Charles, she remained the patron of six charities until her death on Aug 31, 1997. Her passing initially led to a funding shortfall for those charities, but they eventually received grants from the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund, which set up in response to public donations amounting to more than $100 million following her death.

Now 20 years later, here is what has happened to some of her biggest humanitarian causes:

Landmines

Perhaps the cause most often linked to Diana is advocacy against landmines. Shortly before her death in 1997, Diana visited Bosnia and Angola, where she was pictured picking her way through a minefield in the Southern African country while wearing a visor and bomb-proof breastplate. Id read the statistics that Angola has the highest percentage of amputees anywhere in the worldthat one person in every 333 had lost a limb, most of them through land mine explosions Diana told the press in Angola, which was captured in the documentary Heart of the Matter. But that hadnt prepared me for reality.

James Cowan, CEO of the mine-removal charity the Halo Trust, credits the Princess with the success of the Ottawa Mine Ban Treaty, which opened for signatures months after her death in Dec. 1997. The international treaty, which has been signed by 122 countries, prohibits the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of landmines. The Halo Trust, which cleared the minefield Diana walked through, has removed more than 92,000 landmines, 800 minefields and 162,000 shells, bombs and missiles in Angola since Dianas death. Even though the countrys two-decade-long civil war is long over, the legacy of landmines remain.The bad thing is only a third of landmines in Angola has been removed Cowan tells TIME.

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Prince Harry now works with the Trust to further the campaign made famous by his mother. He warned in the 2017 speech that more needed to be done to fulfil the Ottawa treaty. In 2015, global deaths and injuries from landmines reached a ten-year high; but perhaps more shocking is the fact that almost 80% of them were civilians Harry said. Such tragedies undermine the promises made by the world twenty years ago; too many communities remained shackled in a cycle of poverty and fear.

The world is far from free of landmines, however. Cowan says there are 64 states and territories affected by mines, cluster munitions and improvised explosive devices (IEDs), which come from a mix of old conflicts and new. He warns that extremist groups like ISIS and Boko Haram are exacerbating the problem by laying down more IEDs. The first challenge is to take out old landmines in countries like Angola, Cambodia he says. But to also turn attention to the new conflicts causing so much suffering.

HIV/Aids

The world was terrified by the Aids epidemic in the mid-80s. Fed by ignorance and misinformation, people did not touch sufferers due to the mistaken belief that HIV could be transmitted through contact. In 1987, Diana opened Britains first Aids ward in London, which only cared for patients with the virus. It was there that she shook hands with an Aids patient without gloves. She became the first high-profile celebrity to do so in order to challenge the stigma that the virus could be passed by touch.

Prince Harry, her youngest son, shares his mothers activist streak and in 2016 he underwent testing for HIV live on Facebook, which reportedly led to a surge free, at-home HIV-testing kits. A week later, Harry warned against the risk of complacency in fighting the illness during an Aids conference in South Africa on July 2016.

It is time for a new generation of leaders to step forward. It is time for us to step up to make sure no young person feels any shame in asking for an HIV test Harry told the audience at the AIDS conference.  It is time for us to step up and acknowledge that stigma and discrimination still act as the greatest barrier to our ability to defeat this disease once and for all.

The virus remains a global public health issue, according to the international Aids and HIV charity, AVERT. Around 37 million people were estimated to be living with HIV in 2016 with the vast majority of those infected living in low and middle-income countries. The charity says 19.5 million people were receiving antiretroviral treatment in 2016 and based on those numbers 30 million people globally are estimated to receive treatment by 2020 which is an UNAids target.

Leprosy

Diana remained the patron of the Leprosy Mission England and Wales till her death in 1997. In a bid to dispel the myth that the illness could be spread by touch, she was filmed in 1989 shaking hands and touching the bandaged wounds of leprosy patients on her first visit in Indonesia, according to the Leprosy Mission.

Leprosy is not highly infectious and a multi-drug therapy cure has been available since 1981.The disease causes lumps and sores form on the skin, and if left untreated, can cause limb deformities and nerve damage. Diana continued to raise awareness about the severe skin condition by visiting leprosy hospitals and missions in Nepal, Zimbabwe, and India. It has always been my concern to touch people with leprosy, Diane once said according to the Leprosy Mission. Trying to show in a simple action that they are not reviled, nor are we repulsed she said.

The World Health Assembly declared in 1991 to eliminate the public health problem of leprosy by 2000. Leprosy has since decreased from 5.4 million cases in the mid-eighties to a few hundred thousand today, according to WHO statistics. But experts speaking to the Guardian believe the reported number of new leprosy cases is short of the true total which could be in the millions. WHO says that stigma surrounding the disease is still prevalent and urged for zero discrimination and inclusion in order to help patients come forward for diagnosis and treatment.

Homelessness

Diana was an advocate of Centrepoint, a charity that helped young and homeless people off the streets, by becoming its patron in 1992. Her work at the charity involved helping youth between the ages of 16-25 find shelter, food and a job. She also took her sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, to the charitys shelters. In 2005, William became the patron of Centrepoint. He even slept rough in 2009 on the streets of London telling the Telegraph at the time: My mother introduced that sort of area to me a long time ago. It was a real eye-opener and I am very glad she did. It has been something I have held close to me for a long time.

The charity says they helped 125,000 homeless young people since the late 60s, with 88% of all young people coming through Centrepoint moving on positively. The charitys youth homeless databank found that in 2015 around 150,000 young people in Britain approached their local authority for housing help, but a third would be sent away without support. The research suggests that the true scale of the problem has been more than five times greater than the number suggested by the Government statutory homelessness figure.

Thanks to Princess Dianas work with Centrepoint, people are not only more aware of our charity but the issue of youth homelessness, Centrepoint chief executive, Seyi Obakin, told the Scotsman. As patron she showed just how many young people need help, vital support continued by Prince William who has followed in her footsteps. Youth homelessness remains a serious problem for society with youth unemployment at record high levels, young people now face even greater challenges in leaving youth homelessness behind.
Leggings have managed to generate a bad reputation, whether worn through the streets or the hallways at school. Along with a number of other everyday wardrobe staples, schools have targeted the stretchy pants.

Most recently, a South Carolina principal issued a warning to female students wearing the tight bottoms. Ive told you this before, Im going to tell you this now, unless you are a size zero or two and you wear something like that, even though youre not fat, you look fat, Heather Taylor, the principal of Stratford High School, was recorded saying on Wednesday during a discussion with ninth and tenth graders, WCBD News 2 reports.

According to the dress code published on the schools website, leggings, tights, yoga pants and spandex must be worn under clothing that cover to mid-thigh.

Lots are upset by Taylors statements and have taken to the schools Facebook page to comment on the situation, with many saying the administrator should be fired.

I am going to say this until I am blue in the face, it is NEVER okay to body shame ANYONE, and ESPECIALLY young teenage girls, Jackie Caldwell wrote. This is absolutely terrible. Teenage girls need better leadership than this. Totally unacceptable behavior. Dress code and body size shouldnt even be discussed together since the dress code applies to EVERYONE, Jena Procter added.

A parent with a daughter at the school did note that the principal the Berkeley County School District noted.

Other schools across the country have taken different approaches to policing leggings. Glenwood High School in Illinois released a dress code recently saying, If wearing leggings or yoga pants, tops must cover the entire buttocks. Although Assistant Principal Dale Wiedeman told The State Journal-Register that the new rule had been discussed following complaints by teachers and implemented through a committee, a lot of people are unhappy with what has been put into place.

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A senior at the school, Claire Farnsworth, took part in drawing up the amendment, where she was outnumbered in her vote against the dress code. She then took to change.org to create a petition to raise her concerns, where shes received more than 2,200 signatures. Along with the petitions description, Farnsworth included an image of the reminder placed each classrooms door within the school.

Please check the following before entering the classroom! a sign on a classroom door reads. If you are wearing leggings or yoga pants, does your top cover your entire buttocks?

The use of buttocks is something that the schools administration decided upon when reviewing other more vague dress codes that might lead to more confusion. But its more the idea behind the restriction that Farnsworth takes issue with.

By censoring the bodies of young girls for the comfort of others in a place that is supposed to be safe like school, we teach them that their body is a problem, she wrote. By making girls hide their bodies so they dont distract their peers, it perpetuates the victim shame cycle.

Restrictions against leggings have come up throughout dress codes since the summer of 2015, when schools in Cape Cod began to require that the stretchy pants be covered by shorts or a skirt. Although people were already angered, issues surrounding the trend would continue to make news.

Later in that same year, over 30 female students were sent home from a Tennessee high school for wearing leggings, which the school deemed a distraction to their male classmates. And suddenly more rants surrounding the bottoms came to fruition.

The issue then extended to a middle school, where an 11-year-old girl was forced to wear sweatpants over her leggings. Her mother then took to Facebook to show that her daughters outfit was more than appropriate, but the schools dress code was revised to have leggings banned for being too revealing.

A war on leggings is certainly still ongoing, with instances that have restricted the fashion from places outside of schools. Back in March, two girls were barred from getting onto a United flight for wearing the tight-pants, leading many to wonder when this will no longer be an issue.

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President Donald Trump waves as he steps out from Air Force One in Reno, Nevada: REUTERS

A group of psychiatrists has written to Congress to warn Donald Trump poses a "clear and present danger" to the world.

Among them is Dr Bandy Lee, of Yale University, who is also reportedly consulting with Democratic members of Congress on setting up an expert panel to give advice on the President's mental health.

She is concerned by Mr Trump's "dangerousness", Dr Lee told USA Today.

The group's letter, sent to members of both parties, said: "It no longer takes a psychiatrist to recognise the alarming patterns of impulsive, reckless, and narcissistic behaviour  regardless of diagnosis  that, in the person of President Trump, put the world at risk.

"We now find ourselves in a clear and present danger, especially concerning North Korea and the Presidents command of the US nuclear arsenal."

It comes after Democrats proposed creating an 11-member, cross-party Oversight Commission on Presidential Capacity which would be responsible for examining the US presidents mental and physical health.

First tabled by Maryland congressman Jamie Raskin, and now backed by more than two dozen members of the House, the bill would see Mr Trump or any other US president forced from the Oval Office is he or she is deemed to be mentally or physically unfit for the role.

Discussion of Mr Trump's fitness to lead has intensified in the days since his extraordinary address to supporters in Phoenix, Arizona.

The President blasted "damned dishonest" journalists and took aim at both the state's Republican senators in a rambling speech, having abandoned his teleprompters.

He also revisited his various statements in the wake of far-right violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, reading portions to prove he had condemned white supremacists and had been misrepresented by the media.

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Russia has tested over 600 new weapons and military equipment items on the battlefields of Syria, Russias Deputy Defense Minister Yury Borisov told the Interfax news agency Thursday.



Since the official start of airstrikes in Syria in late 2015, Russias armed forces have often used an apparently gratuitous range of arms to carry out strikes. Moscow has deployed multiple models of jets from all its major manufacturers, broadcasting operations of seemingly needless complexitytweeting a video of warships launching a missile strike on western Syria from 930 miles away, in the Caspian Sea, for example.

The manufacturer of Russias new soldier armor, Ratnik, said earlier this week the equipment had also been tested in Syria and according to Borisov, the same is true of hundreds of new items in Russias arsenal, including airborne weapons, armored vehicles and rocket launcher systems.

While Russia has previously said it is engaged in Syria to combat terrorism and support the local government, the Defense Ministry admits the war has provided a testing ground for Russian arms.



"Practically all new items have passed through the Syrian theater of war in order for us to have an opportunity to see what their real characteristics are and how these weapons are behaving, Borisov said at an arms expo outside of Moscow.



"We had to give up on a number of weapon items, because practice showed that they could not withstand the requirements that were demanded of them," Borisov said.



Russias operation in Syria is officially an aerial one only, though allegations of involvement on the ground predate the operation itself. Since late 2015, at least 17 Russian soldiers have been reported dead in Syria, as have an additional 27 private contract Russian fighters. Moscow has generally attributed these deaths to its personnel coming under fire while on guard duty or while serving as advisers in the ranks of Syrian forces in a non-combat capacity.

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Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) has assessed the problem with President Donald Trumps ban on transgender servicemen and women in a sharply clarifying way.

When I was bleeding to death in my Black Hawk helicopter after I was shot down, I didnt care if the American troops risking their lives to help save me were gay, straight, transgender, black, white or brown, Duckworth said in a statement shared Thursday on Twitter.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth flew Black Hawk helicopters during the Iraq War. (Photo: Scott Olson via Getty Images)

The senator is an Iraq War veteran who lost both legs after her helicopter was shot down in 2004. She offered her judgment on Twitter after new reports suggested that the White House is giving the Pentagon six months to implement the new transgender policy.

Duckworth called the military ban discriminatory, disruptive and counterproductive to national security.

If you are willing to risk your life for our country and you can do the job, you should be able to serve  no matter your gender identity or sexual orientation, she said.

When I was bleeding to death in my Black Hawk, I didnt care if the troops saving me were gay, straight, transgender, black, white or brown pic.twitter.com/FTzjHpZuuH  Tammy Duckworth (@SenDuckworth) August 24, 2017

Trump unexpectedly announced that he was pulling transgender troops from the military in a late July tweet. He had made the decision after consulting with Generals and military experts, the president said at the time.

Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory, Trump said, and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail.

The tremendous medical costs that Trump cited in his reasoning actually amount to a 0.04 to 0.13 percent increase in the Defense Departments total health care spending, according to the Rand Corporation, a nonprofit research institution that offers analyses to the U.S. armed forces. Rand estimates that 30 to 140 transgender service members would seek hormone treatments per year and that 25 to 130 individuals would opt for surgery related to gender confirmation.

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The Pentagon lifted the previous ban on transgender service members in 2016 after reviewing the implications for military readiness.

Rand, which studied the matter, wrote in a statement at that time: If the U.S. military decides to let transgender people serve openly, the number would likely be a small fraction of the total force and have minimal impact on readiness and health care costs.

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Iraqi soldiers look on as smoke rises from the Qayyarah area, some 35 miles south of Mosul, Iraq, on Oct. 19, 2016.

Iraqi forces fire a M109 self-propelled howitzer toward the village of Al-Muftuya from a position in Kani al-Harami, some 21 miles from Mosul.

A Kurdish Peshmerga fighter leans out of his military vehicle, which has taken several direct hits from ISIS snipers in the small town of Bartella near Mosul on Oct. 18, 2016.

Kurdish fighters recaptured this tunnel that the Islamic State dug into a house during the battle for Mosul.

An Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga fighter stands inside a building on the frontline in Shaqouli village, recaptured from Islamic State fighters, some 21 miles east of Mosul on Oct. 18, 2016.

Displaced people who are fleeing from clashes sit inside a military vehicle in Qayyarah while an operation takes place to attack Islamic State militants in Mosul, around 19 miles away.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
U.S. Army soldiers assigned to protect Vice President Mike Pence have been removed from their detail after an incident in Colombia, NBC reported.

Sources told NBC that the men were caught on camera bringing women back to their hotel last week without registering them. It is unclear where Pence was at the time. Security video reportedly showed the soldiers bringing the women into a restricted area.

We are aware of the incident and it is currently under investigation, a spokesperson for the Department of Defense told HuffPost. We can confirm that the individuals in question have been re-assigned back to the Army.

Pence was in Colombia last week as a part of a tour of Latin America, which included a meeting Aug. 13 with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos. The U.S. vice president also visited Chile, Argentina and Panama.

In 2012, 11 Secret Service agents were placed on leave after allegedly employing prostitutes while in Colombia for a visit by President Barack Obama.

Officials dont have any evidence that the women with the soldiers last week were prostitutes. The report didnt indicate how many soldiers were involved and where the hotel was located.

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - A South African model who has said she was whipped with an electric cord by Zimbabwe's first lady Grace Mugabe has filed court papers challenging the government's decision to grant her diplomatic immunity, advocacy group Afriforum said. Police had placed border posts on "red alert" to prevent Mrs. Mugabe 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. Afriforum has given legal backing to Gabriella Engels, the 20-year-old 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. "We want to set aside the granting of diplomatic immunity to Grace Mugabe," said Afriforum CEO Kallie Kriel adding that it could take months before the case is heard in court and that no date for the hearing had been set. Mrs. Mugabe returned home from South Africa early on Sunday, but her immunity was widely-criticised in South Africa, where August has been designated Women's Month to highlight concerns around gender violence and abuse. Engels has accused Grace Mugabe of whipping her with an electric extension cable as she waited with two friends in a luxury hotel suite to meet one of Mugabe's adult sons. Harare has made no official comment on the issue and requests for comment from Zimbabwean government officials have gone unanswered. (Reporting by Tanisha Heiberg; Writing by James Macharia; Editing by Richard Balmforth)
Mondays total solar eclipse that crossed the entirety of the continental United States was remarkable and an event the country had not seen in decades. The next one wont occur until 2024 when the path of totality will travel from Texas up to Maine.

The eclipse this year was watched by millions across the country either in person or via one of the many live streams that were available online. Thanks to the live streams and social media its possible that it was the most-watched eclipse in human history.

On Facebook alone, more than 66 million people had 240 million interactions with eclipse-related content and NASAs live stream of the event has more than 30 million views, according to Facebook data. This made the eclipse a larger event on Facebook than the 2017 Super Bowl.

One of the 129,000 people live streaming the eclipse on Facebook was Doug Peltz, an eclipse enthusiast and the co-founder of Mystery Science, a company that provides science lesson plans for elementary school educators. Peltz was in the path of totality Monday providing a stream for those in the classroom and Mystery Science had also worked to provide schools with glasses, he told International Business Times.

Buzz around the eclipse began months before the two minute-or-so long event and carried on even after the eclipse had completed. Part of the reason behind this is that for the first time a total solar eclipse occurred in the United States during a time when social media, smartphones and the internet were all available and widely used.

But the popularity and the talk around the eclipse had one surprising outcome. Many kids didnt get to fully experience the eclipse in all of its glory because some school districts required that students stay inside during the event due to safety concerns. If you have kids that are very young, perhaps kindergarten, I can sympathize with the fact that they might stare at the sun, Peltz said, When youre talking about third, fourth, fifth grade frankly it's absurd.

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Mystery Science is in touch with teachers all across the country and Peltz said quite a few teachers contacted the company to say that their students would not be allowed outside. It was a problem fairly widespread, said Peltz. Dozens of teachers say this, where they had to stay in.

The thing is, theres nothing necessarily more dangerous about the eclipse than there is about going outside on any given day. The only difference is the reason to look at the sun. Staring directly at the sun can cause eye damage but this can be averted by using a pinhole projector, a viewer or eclipse glasses. Peltz thinks keeping kids inside during the eclipse for their safety might have been short sighted because while it averts the possible harm from the sun, this risk is averted Without seeing the harm thats done of keeping them inside.

Peltz believes the accessibility of this eclipse will probably make the next one highly viewed as well. Someone can tell you oh its incredible you have to see it, and then you see it and it was really a magical moment, he said.

So keeping students inside for that can do more damage than those trying to protect them might have thought. He says now, Mystery Science has seven years to get the word out to school principals and administrators about the eclipse and how students could safely view it. By getting a child just experience this [eclipse], 40 or 50 years from now that person could change our society. All because they were set on this path because of the experience, he said.

After the eclipse Monday, Google searchers spiked for eyes feel funny as well as eyes hurt and solar eclipse headache. These concerns could have come from people squinting through their glasses, not hydrating and standing in the sun waiting for the eclipse, or any other host of explanations, including people like President Donald Trump who took a look at the sun without protective eyewear.

In the end though, proper education about how to properly view the eclipse will be key for the next one. If its as popular as Mondays it will draw millions, and maybe with the right education even more people, including kids in school, will get to view the eclipse.

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A California teen could face up to two decades in prison after authorities say a baby tiger was discovered in his car as he tried to cross back into the U.S. from Mexico.

Luis Eudoro Valencia was allegedly on his way back to Riverside County Wednesday when U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents say they spotted the cub on the floor near his passenger seat.

Read: The Ridiculous Ways People Have Tried to Smuggle Gold, Cocaine, Animals Past the TSA

Officers reportedly removed the tiger from the vehicle and placed it in an animal crate until agents from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service could respond to the border crossing.

CBP officers are often faced with unusual situations, said Pete Flores, director of field operations for CBP in San Diego. The CBP officers at the Otay Mesa port of entry met the challenge head-on and assisted in preserving the life of this endangered species.

Valencia, 18, a U.S. citizen, was arrested and transported to Metropolitan Correctional Center to await arraignment.

According to court documents, Valencia told a judge he purchased the cub on the streets of Tijuana for $300 from someone who was walking a full-size tiger on a leash.

Valencia has since been released on a $10,000 bond and ordered to appear for a preliminary hearing on September 5.

Read: Drug Trafficker Caught Trying To Smuggle 67 Pounds of Marijuana Inside Coffins

Agents from U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service took custody of the tiger cub and are working with the San Diego Zoo Global to ensure its well-being.

If convicted of smuggling the protected species, Valencia could face up to 20 years in prison.

Watch: Undocumented Lion Cub Found Smuggled Among 2,245 Parrots and 4 Cats

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Thousands of Rohingya have crossed into Bangladesh since Myanmar announced a military build-up in Rakhine state earlier this month, community leaders said Wednesday.

Rakhine in northern Myanmar has been gripped by violence since October, when militants attacked police posts.

That sparked a bloody military crackdown that the UN believes may amount to ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya, a mainly Muslim minority living in Buddhist Myanmar.

On August 12 authorities in Myanmar said hundreds of troops had moved into Rakhine as it ramps up counterinsurgency efforts there.

Rohingya leaders in Bangladesh told AFP that at least 3,500 had arrived since then, piling pressure onto already overcrowded refugee camps in the Cox's Bazaar area near the Naf river that divides the two countries.

That is despite stepped-up patrols by Bangladeshi border and coast guards, who said this week they had pushed back a boat carrying 31 Rohingya, including children.

"In the Balukhali camp alone, some 3,000 Rohingya arrived from their villages in Rakhine," said Abdul Khaleq, referring to the camp nearest the river, where most of the migrants stay when they first arrive.

Kamal Hossain, a Rohingya elder in another, camp, said nearly 700 families had arrived in Bangladesh in the past 11 days.

Many were sleeping in the open because there was no more space in the camps, he said.

- Movement restricted -

Another Rohingya man, Deen Mohammad, who entered Bangladesh 10 days ago, said Muslim villagers in Rakhine were not allowed to visit neighbours without prior permission from the army.

"They force us to stay at home. No Rohingya children are allowed to go to school. We were even pressured into changing our religion," Mohammad told AFP by phone.

The 45-year-old farmer said he left home with his family after the army killed his 23-year-old son for travelling to a nearby village.

"Now we're living under the open sky, although I had acres of land in my village. But we fled because we had no choice but to save our lives," he added, breaking down in tears.

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Buddhist-majority Myanmar has long faced criticism for its treatment of the more than one million Rohingya who live in Rakhine, who are seen as interlopers from Bangladesh, denied citizenship and access to basic rights.

Dhaka estimates that nearly 400,000 Rohingya refugees are living in squalid refugee camps and makeshift settlements in Cox's Bazar.

They included more than 70,000 who arrived in the months that followed the crisis in October, many bringing stories of systematic rape, murder and arson at the hands of Myanmar soldiers.

But Rohingya are also increasingly unwelcome in Muslim-majority Bangladesh, where police often blame them for crimes such as drug trafficking.

Dhaka has floated the idea of relocating tens of thousands of Rohingya refugees to a remote, flood-prone island off its coast, despite opposition from rights groups.

On Wednesday the UN refugee agency said it was "deeply concerned" by the reports of a boat carrying Rohingya being turned back.

"UNHCR is deeply concerned by this incident, which as the coast guard reported, involved women and children who said they were fleeing violence," a UNHCR spokesman told AFP.

"In the current security context, the majority, if not all, of these people crossing from Myanmar into Bangladesh are believed to be fleeing insecurity," he said.
The U.S. has found a new ally in its quest to undermine North Korea's Kim Jong Un, whose nuclear and ballistic weapons arsenal has increasingly frustrated Washington.

The tiny Pacific archipelago nation of Palau and the U.S. Embassy in Koror released a statement Monday announcing the two were preparing to install U.S. radar towers that will give the Pentagon a more expansive look across the Asia-Pacific. While the statement said the plan was devised prior to North Korea's recent threats against the nearby U.S. island territory of Guam, the proposal reportedly came days after North Korea tested its first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and days prior to its second test.

Related: North Korea says it can fight "any war" with U.S. now that it has ICBM nuclear weapons

"The radar systems will provide Palau enhanced maritime law enforcement capability in its territorial waters and exclusive economic zone, while also providing the United States with greater air domain awareness for aviation safety and security," according to the statement shared by the Office of the President of the Palau Republic's official Facebook account.

"This project is essential to the well-being of the Republic of Palaus air and maritime domains, as well as to the ability of the United States to maintain its defense of the Republic of Palau," it added.

Unlike Guam, Palau is a sovereign country. It has maintained no military of its own since gaining independence from the U.S. in 1994 and relies on the U.S. for defense. A number of U.S. allies in the region have grown concerned over the intensity of the war of words between President Donald Trump and nuclear North Korea, which earlier this month threatened Guam in a detailed attack plan that was disclosed shortly after Trump said he would unleash on North Korea "fire and fury like the world has never seen."

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Palauan President Tommy Remengesau Jr.'s statement said his government received the U.S. proposal to install the Air and Maritime Domain Awareness Radar Systems on July 18. Officials from both countries reportedly met on August 16 so Palau could "relay all issues and concerns expressed" by stakeholders, which reportedly include the country's parliament, executive branch, state governors and speakers, traditional leaders and landowners, among others.

The next day, representatives of both sides met again to discuss matters in more depth and, since then, "have narrowed down the scope of the necessary remaining details, which, due to their sensitive nature cannot be disclosed at this time," according to the statement.

RTXP71A

Palau Society Travel/Jackson Henry/Reuters

Over the years, control of Palau has been passed among a number of colonizers, including the Philippines, Spain, Germany, Japan and, finally, the U.S., which seized the island from the Japanese Empire in 1944 as the two forces clashed amid World War II.

The U.S.'s expulsion of Japanese imperial forces from the Korean Peninsula set the stage for the current crisis in the region. After a three-year bloody war between the communist North, backed by China and the Soviet Union, and the right-wing South, backed by the U.S. and other U.N. forces, the two sides signed an armistice in 1953, but they have technically remained at war ever since.

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President Trump aimed a tweet at Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., Friday in response to Corkers criticism last week. The president called Corkers remarks strange  considering that he is constantly asking me whether or not he should run again in 18.

Strange statement by Bob Corker considering that he is constantly asking me whether or not he should run again in '18. Tennessee not happy!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 25, 2017

Trumps taunt was a response to Corkers remark to reporters last week that 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.

Corker also addressed Trumps response to the violence in Charlottesville, Va., where a demonstration organized by white supremacists ended with the death of a counterprotester.

He also recently has not demonstrated that he understands the character of this nation, Corker said. He has not demonstrated that he understands what has made this nation great and what it is today.

Trump initially said many sides were responsible for the unrest. He eventually denounced white supremacists explicitly, only to later reiterate there was blame on both sides, as well as very fine people on both sides.

At the White House press briefing Thursday, press secretary Sarah Sanders was asked to respond to Corkers criticism.

I think thats a ridiculous and outrageous claim and doesnt dignify a response from this podium, Sanders said curtly.

Trump has recently set his sights on members of his own party. At a rally in Phoenix Tuesday, Trump went after Arizona GOP Sens. John McCain and Jeff Flake, though he cheekily avoided using either mans name. The president has also repeatedly attacked Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and the New York Times reported the two have not spoken in weeks.

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On the campaign trail, Trump said he hoped to mend ties with Russia, but his first few months in office have not seen a rapprochement.

With his Defense Secretary James Mattis arriving in Kiev to celebrate Ukraines 26th anniversary of independence from Moscows Soviet reign and Trumps cabinet repeatedly voicing support for Ukraine in the fight against Russian-backed separatists, the Kremlin has heard little more than Trumps campaign sound bites to feel enthusiastic about.

Read More: Ukrainian spies are ruining summer vacations in Crimea, Russias security forces say

Trump himself sent his congratulations and support to Kiev, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenkos administration said Thursday. The statement from Kiev did not specify how Trump reached out but suggested it may have been a written note of salutations in writing. The U.S. leader pledged his support for Ukraines continued pro-Western aspirations since the 2014 ouster of pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych. The revolution resulted in Russia annexing Crimea from Ukraines south and backing a still ongoing conflict in Ukraines east.

Since the day Ukraine declared its independence on the 24 August 1991 and especially after the Revolution of Dignity, the United States has always supported its struggle to become a truly European country, Trump said, according to Poroshenkos statement.

The United States will continue to support Ukraines aspiration and exercise efforts alongside you, European and other like-minded people to restore the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, the comments concluded.

While the White House has not yet issued any public record of the exchange, Pentagon chief Mattiss presence at Kievs military parade was much more openly symbolic.

The nature of his visit, according to the Pentagon, is to "reassure our Ukrainian partners that the U.S. remains firmly committed to the goal of restoring Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as strengthening the strategic defense partnership between our two countries.

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Following his meeting with Mattis, Poroshenko thanked the Pentagon chief for his assurances, specifically when it came to Crimea. Thank you for your clear position on the matter of Crimeathat it was and will be Ukrainian and that it should be returned to Ukraine, Poroshenko said Thursday.

Ukraine is among the countries most affected by any changes of U.S. policy towards Russia and Trump's administration currently lives in the shadow of a mounting hill of allegations of improper contact with Russia officials during the presidential election campaign. Despite this, Poroshenko has repeatedly insisted the U.S. and Ukraine continue to see eye-to-eye on Russia.

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With Hurricane Harvey set to make landfall in Texas late Friday, President Trump faces the first natural disaster during his time in office, and with it, a test of his abilities to handle that type of emergency.

After Trump sparked outrage with his response to the violence in Charlottesville, Va., where he cited violence on both sides after a rally organized by white supremacists left one counterprotester dead, he will have an opportunity to reboot with his handling of Hurricane Harvey, although vacancies in key posts for emergency preparedness could impede his administrations readiness and response.

After Trump poached Gen. John Kelly from the Department of Homeland Security to act as White House chief of staff, acting secretary Elaine Duke has the reins. The DHS oversees the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the U.S. Coast Guard.

Slideshow: Texas braces for Hurricane Harvey >>>

At the White House press briefing Thursday, press secretary Sarah Sanders brushed off concerns that there is still an interim leader at DHS.

She said Duke was watching this closely and said there is probably no better chief of staff for the president during the hurricane season than Kelly.

The president has been briefed and will continue to be updated as the storm progresses and certainly [that is] something hes very aware of, and well keep a very watchful eye on, and stands ready to provide resources, if needed, Sanders concluded.

At the press briefing Friday, Sanders said Trump likely travel to Texas early next week. Trump tweeted Friday that he received a briefing on Hurricane Harvey, and on Thursday tweeted government agency resources.

Hurricane Harvey is expected to make landfall late Friday or early Saturday as a Category 3 storm. As Harvey is gathering strength in the Gulf of Mexico, officials have urged residents of coastal Texas to evacuate. In Texas, evacuation orders are issued at the local level, either by county judges, city officials, or law enforcement, which can be frustrating to federal and state officials.

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FEMA Director Brock Long told Bloomberg News on Monday, Weve gone 11 years without a major hurricane landfalling in the U.S.  thats a 1-in-2,000 chance. Were gonna get hit by a major hurricane. I worry that a lot of people have forgotten what thats like.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Friday the hurricane could prove more dangerous than many other hurricanes and be a very major disaster. He also sent a letter to the president requesting a Presidential Disaster Declaration.

Natural disasters often beget legacy-defining circumstances. President George W. Bush and FEMAs handling of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 was widely panned, a fact Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, publicly urged Trump to keep in mind.

@realDonaldTrump #hurricane keep on top of hurricane Harvey dont mke same mistake Pres Bush made w Katrina  ChuckGrassley (@ChuckGrassley) August 25, 2017

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Support for President Donald Trump's impeachment grew to 40 percent this month as Democratic Representative Steve Cohen, of Tennessee, announced he planned to introduce articles of impeachment. But David Axelrod, a former Barack Obama adviser, cautioned people Wednesday against discussing Trump's removal.

"I think we have to be very, very careful when we have these discussions because we have a system, a constitutional system, and if people get a sense that there is some extraordinary measure thats going to be taken to effect what they would view as a bloodless coup," Axelrod said on CNN.

Axelrod was speaking on The Situation Room in response to comments made by ex-Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, who recently said he was questioning Trump's fitness to be in office. Clapper wondered aloud: "How much longer does the country have to, to borrow a phrase, endure this nightmare?"

Axelrod, who oversaw Obama's presidential campaigns, said he respected Clapper's views but was left feeling nervous.

"Remember: A third of the country supports this president," Axelrod added. "That's a very dangerous road to go down. And if you ever did go down that road, youre opening a Pandoras box that will never end."

Activists and politicians alike have been demanding Trump leave the White House since before he arrived, and they're showing no signs of stopping. California Democrat Jackie Speier, for example, tweeted last week that Trump was exhibiting "signs of erratic behavior and mental instability" and suggested invoking the 25th Amendment, which allows the vice president to take over if the president can't discharge the powers and duties of his office. Another California Democrat, Brad Sherman, filed articles of impeachment against Trump in July, suggesting he obstructed justice when he tried to interfere in then-FBI Director James Comey's investigation into the Trump campaign's connections with Russia.

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Axelrod isn't the only prominent Democrat to appear lukewarm toward the push to force Trump out of office. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said in June that talking about impeachment was "a big deal," according to Politico.

In order for Trump to be removed from office, a majority of the House of Representativeswhich is controlled by the GOP, Trump's partywould have to vote to impeach him. Two thirds of the Senatealso run by Republicanswould have to vote to convict him.

Only two presidents have ever been impeached, and neither have been removed from office. But Richard Nixon did resign.

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By Julia Harte WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump is likely to rescind an Obama-era policy that protects nearly 600,000 immigrants who entered the country illegally as children and are known as "Dreamers," according to media reports on Friday. Trump's decision on whether to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, policy could be announced as early as next week, reported ABC News, citing multiple sources. Attorney General Jeff Sessions discussed the program with senior White House officials on Thursday, according to an administration official. Department of Homeland Security spokesman David Lapan denied reports that the department had made any recommendations on DACA to the White House. "There have been continuing discussions about DACA but nothing has been determined," Lapan told Reuters. White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters on Friday that the program continues to be under review. A White House spokesperson told Reuters that only Congress can legislate a permanent solution for the plight of children who are currently protected from deportation by DACA. Trump had pledged on the election campaign trail to scrap all of former President Barack Obama's executive orders on immigration, including DACA. Immigrant advocates reacted to the news with a flurry of statements, promising to defend the program with protest and legal action. Immigrant youth fought to create the DACA program and we will fight like hell to defend it, said Greisa Martinez Rosas, Advocacy Director and DACA-beneficiary of United We Dream said in a statement. Civil rights groups said ending the program could increase racial divisions in the country in the wake of the recent violence in Charlottesville. Ten Republican state attorneys general in June urged the Trump administration to rescind the DACA program, while noting that the government did not have to revoke permits that had already been issued. If the federal government did not withdraw DACA by Sept. 5, the attorneys general said they would file a legal challenge to the program in a Texas federal court. The 10 who signed the letter represent Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia. A larger coalition of 26 Republican attorneys general had challenged the Obama-era policy covering illegal immigrant parents, known as DAPA, that had been blocked by the courts before it took effect. The Department of Homeland Security rescinded that policy earlier this year. (Reporting by Mica Rosenberg, Julia Harte, Dan Levine, and David Shepardson; Editing by Sandra Maler and James Dalgleish)
As President Donald Trump reportedly was preparing to issue his first pardonto convicted Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaiothe notoriously anti-immigrant Arizona sheriff was crediting a bucket line of right wing bloggers and broadcasters for getting his story to Trumps attention.

Arpaio, who unapologetically ordered racial profiling of Latinos in the Phoenix area for years, was convicted of criminal contempt of court last year and faces six months in jail. In November, he lost his bid to be re-elected a seventh time.

His career was marked by repeated allegations of discriminatory policing. During his 20 years as sheriff, Arpaio organized massive stings on Latino drivers and hunts for illegal immigrants; and he operated a tent-city county jail that he himself likened to a concentration camp, in which convicted inmates endured medieval conditions, including 120-degree desert heat that melted shoes. He weathered an abuse of power investigation when the U.S. Department of Justice in 2012 closed a probe into whether he had targeted his political enemies with public corruption cases.

The 85-year-old son of Italian immigrants appeared on an Alex Jones Infowars broadcast via Skype on Tuesday and thanked Jones and other right wing media members for getting his story to the president.  I want to thank you, Alex, and your staff, Jerry Corsi, Roger Stone, for bringing this story out and reaching the president. I supported him from, what, two years ago at the same forum that he did yesterday, and Im with him and Im with him to the end, Arpaio said, in a clip of a longer interview that Jones teased Wednesday afternoon, according to progressive watchdog Media Matters for America, which monitors Joness broadcasts.

Jones accepted credit, saying: Its Dr. Corsi writing the articles, and its Matt Drudge picked him up, and the president saw it in Matt Drudges Twitter feed, and then said, Is this true? I havent even heard of this on Fox. And he called [Fox News host Sean] Hannity up, and said, Why arent you covering this?

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Jerome Corsi is the Washington bureau chief for Infowars and has written a variety of conservative best-sellers, including Where's the Birth Certificate?: The Case that Barack Obama is not Eligible to be President . Arpaio was also a prominent birther, publicly refusing to believe that President Obama was born in the United States.

Corsi has been predicting for several weeks that Trump would pardon Arpaio.

CNN on Wednesday reported that the White House has prepared paperwork for Trump to pardon Arpaio when he makes the decision to do so.

During his Phoenix rally Tuesday night, Trump teased the prospect, saying, Ill make a prediction. I think hes going to be just fine. OK? But I wont do it tonight because I dont want to cause any controversy. Is that OK? All right? But Sheriff Joe can feel good.

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WASHINGTON  Top White House officials insisted that the presidents top economic adviser, Gary Cohn, is staying in the administration and eager to work on tax reform after he sharply criticized President Trumps response to the recent violence in Charlottesville, Va., in an interview that was published in the Financial Times on Thursday. In that interview, Cohn said he needed to express his distress and maintained Trump can and must to better to denounce hate groups.

At her briefing with reporters on Thursday, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders argued there was undue attention on the small portion of the interview concerning Charlottesville.

Everyone wants to focus on a small part of that interview. Ninety-five percent of that interview was on tax reform and youre looking at a very small portion of it, Sanders said.

In the coming weeks, Trump intends to focus on tax reform and Cohn will play a big role in that push.

Sanders also suggested the president wasnt blindsided by Cohns interview. The president and Gary have spoken many times. Gary has not held back what his feelings are, she said. Gary has not held back how he feels about this situation, and hes been very open and honest, and so I dont think that anyone was surprised.

Ever since the Unite the Right march by neo-Nazis and Klan sympathizers in Charlottesville, which resulted in the death of a counterprotester, the presidents sometimes equivocal responses have been criticized, even by some of his allies. So many members of Trumps business advisory councils quit in protest that he dissolved the panels.

Cohn, who is reportedly interested in becoming chairman of the Federal Reserve, is one of the highest-ranking Jewish members of Trumps administration. There was widespread interest in how Jews and other minorities in the White House felt about Trumps remark that people on both sides were responsible for the violence. Trump also said there were fine people among the white supremacists and neo-Nazis and suggested they had legitimate concerns about the removal of Confederate monuments.

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Cohn was standing behind Trump at that press conference and did not respond to a question from Yahoo News about whether he was concerned about members of white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups who support Trump.

White House chief economic adviser Gary Cohn, right, talks to Trump prior to a working session at the G-20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, on July 8, 2017. (Photo: Michael Sohn/AP)

In his interview with the Financial Times, Cohn strongly rejected Trumps remarks.

Citizens standing up for equality and freedom can never be equated with white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and the KKK, Cohn said. I believe this administration can and must do better in consistently and unequivocally condemning these groups and do everything we can to heal the deep divisions that exist in our communities.

Cohn also told the newspaper he had discussed his concerns with the president. The New York Times subsequently reported that Cohn seriously considered resigning amid pressure from his family and former colleagues in the business world. According to the Times, Cohn, who was an executive at Goldman Sachs prior to joining the Trump administration, went so far as to draft a letter of resignation. In his Financial Times interview, Cohn suggested he decided not to resign because he is a patriotic American.

Cohn also cast his decision as a courageous defiance of the marchers.

As a Jewish-American, I will not allow neo-Nazis ranting Jews will not replace us to cause this Jew to leave his job, said Cohn, referencing a chant that was widely used in Charlottesville.

Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, another Jewish member of the administration and a former colleague of Cohn at Goldman Sachs, also appeared at the Thursday briefing to discuss sanctions against the Venezuelan government. Mnuchin, who previously released a statement defending Trumps response to Charlottesville, said he has no doubt the president is firmly opposed to hate groups and that he never considered leaving his job.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin speaks to members of the White House press corps, Aug. 25, 2017. (Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Under no circumstances was I going to resign, Mnuchin said.

Like Sanders, Mnuchin also suggested Cohn is now focused on tax reform.

Gary and I have known each other for 20 years. I can tell you Im speaking to him every day. His No. 1 focus is absolutely working on tax reform with me and getting tax reform done, said Mnuchin. Garys committed to be here and couldnt be more excited about that.

_____

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By Valerie Volcovici

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said on Thursday he has sent recommendations from his review of more than two dozen national monuments to President Donald Trump, indicating that some could be scaled back to allow for more hunting and fishing and economic development.

The recommendations follow a 120-day study of 27 national monuments across the country, created by presidents since 1996, that Trump ordered in April as part of his broader effort to increase development on federal lands.

The review has cheered energy, mining, ranching and timber advocates but has drawn widespread criticism and threats of lawsuits from conservation groups and the outdoor recreation industry.

There were fears that Zinke would recommend the outright elimination of some of the monuments on the list, but on Thursday, speaking to the Associated Press in Billings, Montana, he said he will not recommend eliminating any.

Zinke said in a statement that the recommendations would "provide a much needed change for the local communities who border and rely on these lands for hunting and fishing, economic development, traditional uses, and recreation." He did not specify which monuments he plans to recommend be scaled back.

The Associated Press reported that Zinke said he would recommend changing the boundaries for a "handful" of sites.

Zinke has already announced a recommendation to shrink the size of one site under review, the 1.35 million-acre Bears Ears National Monument in Utah created by former President Barack Obama late last year. In the last few weeks, Zinke has said that six monuments, including the Upper Missouri River Breaks in his home state of Montana, would be left intact.

"The report is a draft, so we are continuing to work with Interior on getting the best information on which to base recommendations" for Trump, a White House official said. "Once we have a final report, in the coming weeks, we will make it public."

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Timing for the public release of the recommendations has not been set.

Trump has argued that previous administrations abused their right to create monuments under the Antiquities Act of 1906 by putting huge areas, mainly in Western states, off limits to drilling, mining, logging, ranching and other activities without adequate input from locals.

The law enables a president to declare certain areas of historic or scientific interest a national monument if "confined to the smallest area compatible with proper care and management of the objects to be protected."

(Graphic on review of monuments: http://tmsnrt.rs/2itKQFD)

A designation as a national monument is permanent, and prohibits mining and sets stringent protections for ecosystems on the site. The designation offers more permanent protection than other federal designations like national wilderness or conservation areas.

No president has ever revoked a previous designation but a few have reduced the size of some monuments.

Conservation groups and the growing outdoor retail industry launched public campaigns over the last few weeks to urge Zinke to leave the monuments intact, and they vowed to challenge him in court.

"Any recommendation from Secretary Zinke to shrink national monuments is hypocritical at best and ruinous at worst," said Michael Brune, director of the Sierra Club.

One Republican congressman from Utah, Rob Bishop, chairman of the House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee, said he had not yet seen the full report but was briefed on some aspects of it by Zinke. He said his committee would eventually take up legislation to carry out some of Zinke's recommendations and may attempt to reform the Antiquities Act.

"If we dont do reform of the Antiquities Act, we will have failures in the future," he said.

(Reporting by Valerie Volcovici; Editing by Dan Grebler and Leslie Adler)
BEIRUT (Reuters) - U.S.-backed forces in Syria will soon launch an offensive to oust Islamic State militants from Deir al-Zor province, their last major foothold in the country, an SDF official said on Friday. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) could start its assault on Deir al-Zor "within several weeks" in parallel with an ongoing battle for nearby Raqqa city, Ahmed Abu Khawla told Reuters. The SDF alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias has been fighting IS inside Raqqa since June after a months-long advance on the city, backed by air strikes and special forces from the U.S.-led coalition. As Islamic State has come under pressure in Raqqa, many of its forces have fallen back on the towns and cities further east along the Euphrates in Deir al-Zor province. Syrian government forces are fighting their own campaign in a different part of the province, which borders Iraq. "The operation to liberate Deir al-Zor will begin very, very soon," said Khawla, who heads the Deir al-Zor military council that fights under the SDF banner. Col. Ryan Dillon, a spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition, said its focus remained on Raqqa. Khawla said military plans were ready, and that his unit had already "entered Deir al-Zor territory and liberated several towns". The military council included 4,000 fighters, mostly Arabs and mostly from the province, he said. They had taken part in all the SDF offensives and were now fighting in Raqqa. Nearly 800 fighters from Deir al-Zor's tribes said on Thursday they had defected from the Syrian Elite Forces, an Arab group fighting alongside the SDF in Raqqa, to join Khawla's council. The Syrian army is advancing along the south and west bank of the Euphrates towards Deir al-Zor city. The SDF is mostly on the river's north and east bank, where Raqqa lies. Damascus has shored up its rule over much of the country's populated west with the help of Russian air power and Iran-backed militias. Now it is marching east towards Deir al-Zor and the vast desert bordering Iraq. That advance has on occasion brought its forces and allies into conflict with the U.S. military and the groups it backs. But the rival campaigns have mostly stayed out of each other's way, and the U.S.-led coalition has stressed it is not seeking war with Damascus. Islamic State controls most of Deir al-Zor province, and has besieged the government-held pocket of the provincial capital city for years. In addition to the United Nations, the Syrian government and its Russian ally have made aid drops into the encircled zone, where residents lack food and medicine. U.N. Syria humanitarian adviser Jan Egeland said there was concern for the civilians in the enclave and others in Islamic State territory as military offensives approach Deir al-Zor. "We're also concerned also for our lifeline to the people inside Deir al-Zor (city), some 90,000 people and they only have our air drops," he said in Geneva on Thursday. (Reporting by Rodi Said and Ellen Francis; Additional reporting by Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva; Editing by Richard Balmforth and John Stonestreet)
By Abdi Sheikh MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Somali forces supported by U.S. troops shot dead 10 Somalis, including three children, in a village near the capital Mogadishu on Friday, a witness and local officials told Reuters. The involvement of U.S. troops was confirmed by U.S. Africa Command, which said it was investigating reports of civilian casualties. The Somali army initially said no civilians were killed and all the dead were members of the al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab militia, which is fighting to overthrow the weak U.N.-backed government and impose strict Islamic law. It later issued a second statement saying some civilian casualties had been reported. "We also understand that there are civilian casualties in which the Federal Government is investigating to find out the truth about this. We urge Somali people to cooperate fully with the Government on this matter," the Somali army said. The incident is likely to provoke questions in Washington about the growing U.S. footprint in the Horn of Africa nation, which has been torn apart by civil war since 1991. A U.S. Navy Seal was killed in Somalia in May, the first U.S. combat death there since 1993. The White House has granted the U.S. military broader authority to carry out strikes in Somalia against al Shabaab, in the latest sign President Donald Trump is increasing U.S. military engagement in the region. But local elders said the keenness to engage left the U.S. open to being unwittingly drawn into clan feuds, stoking tensions between Somalis and the United States. The village attacked, Bariire in Lower Shabelle, about 50 km (30 miles) from the capital, is at the center of a feud between two powerful and well-armed clans, lawmaker Dahir Amin Jesow said. He said those killed were farmers who had armed themselves to defend themselves against the rival group. FALSE TIP-OFF? "The two clans who fought misinformed the U.S. forces," he said, adding that one group may have tipped off security forces that the other side were insurgents. Witness Warsame Wador told Reuters the dead were farmers who had been asleep when the raid began just before sunrise. "It was this morning when white and Somali forces entered the farm. All the 10 people were asleep and I ran for my life," he said. "As I ran away I could see four armored vehicles parked outside." Reuters viewed nine bodies at Madina hospital. An injured man later died, medical staff said. The dead children were eight, nine and 10 years old, said clan elder Abukar Osman Sheikh. "They were sleeping in their farm when U.S. and Somali forces came into their farm and opened fire. Last year, the U.S. killed my people in Galkayo in a deliberate strike. We shall not bury them. We shall no longer tolerate it," he said. A September 2016 air strike in Galkayo killed at least 10 pro-government fighters, the U.S. has acknowledged. Madina hospital was packed with people who said they were relatives of the dead. Insurgents do not typically accompany their dead to hospitals in the capital, which is controlled by the government. "These dead bodies were innocent farmers," Ali Nur, deputy governor of lower Shabelle region, told Reuters. But the Somali National Army (SNA) issued a statement saying that eight insurgents had been killed in an operation carried out with "international partners". "The SNA carried out an operation this morning against a farm in Bariire with known al-Shabaab presence," the statement quoted General Sheegow, commander of the 20th Brigade, as saying. "Al Shabaab started shooting at SNA forces after our soldiers entered the farm. The individuals shooting at the SNA were al Shabaab fighters, they were not farmers." (Additional reporting by Katharine Houreld in Nairobi and Phillip Stewart in Washington; editing by Andrew Roche)
By Brendan Pierson

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A former Guinea government minister was sentenced to seven years in prison on Friday following his conviction of laundering $8.5 million in bribes that U.S. prosecutors say he took in exchange for helping a Chinese conglomerate secure mining rights.

The sentence, as imposed by U.S. District Judge Denise Cote in Manhattan federal court, was less severe than the more than ten years suggested by federal guidelines. Cote said she had considered the good that Thiam, a U.S. citizen, had done for his native country when he returned there to take the government job in 2009.

"I find he went to Guinea to help, not to rob it," the judge said. "I find he did help in many ways."

"He saw corruption all around him, and decided ultimately to succumb to corruption," she said.

Thiam's lawyer, Aaron Goldsmith, said after the sentencing he would appeal the conviction, adding the sentence was "better than we feared, not as good as we hoped."

"We feel very strongly that there is a lack of evidence sufficient to prove Mr. Thiam's intent to accept the payment as a bribe," Goldsmith said.

Thiam, 50, was convicted by a jury in May of one count of money laundering and one count of engaging in transactions in property with a criminal source.

The case is one of several corruption cases around the world tied to Guinea's mining sector.

Prosecutors sought to prove that Thiam took bribes from Chinese tycoon Sam Pa, and that in exchange, Thiam helped secure lucrative mining rights in Guinea for a joint venture of the China International Fund and China Sonangol, closely tied to Pa.

The prosecutors presented bank records showing that Thiam opened a bank account in Hong Kong to receive the money and later wired it to the United States. They said Thiam used the money to fund a lavish lifestyle, including a mansion north of New York City and private schools for his children.

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Thiam, who worked as an investment banker in New York before moving to Guinea, admitted on the witness stand that he had taken money from Pa, but said it was a personal loan.

Thiam also admitted that he lied repeatedly to banks about the source of the money and concealed the fact that he was a government minister in Guinea.

(Reporting By Brendan Pierson in New York, editing by G Crosse)
Watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) has requested government records about the costs and purpose of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchins trip to Lexington, Ky. during the solar eclipse on Monday.

The trip caused a week of controversy for the couple after Linton sparked an online frenzy by posting a photo on Instagram with hashtags touting various designer brands. Then an Instagram user criticized her, saying: Glad we could pay for your little getaway. #deplorable. Linton lashed out at the commenter, calling her adorably out of touch and saying she and her husband paid more taxes and sacrificed more than the woman.

Linton later apologized, but the woman she criticized, Jennifer Miller, wrote an op-ed Wednesday on CNN, saying Linton was the one who was out of touch. I dont think she has any idea what everyday Americans deal with, especially when it comes to economic struggles, Miller wrote.

Now, CREW is suggesting Mnuchin and Lintons trip  during which Mnuchin spoke at an event with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell  may have been planned to allow them to view the eclipse rather than strictly for government business. The group filed a Freedom of Information Act request for copies of all records concerning authorization for and the costs of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchins use of a government plane to travel to Lexington, Kentucky on Monday, August 21, accompanied by his wife Louise Linton.

CREW also requested all records relating to authorization and costs for any use of a government plane since Mnuchin was appointed as Treasury Secretary.

The requested records would shed light on the justification for Secretary Mnuchins use of a government plane, rather than a commercial flight, for a trip that seems to have been planned around the solar eclipse and to enable the Secretary to secure a viewpoint in the path of the eclipses totality, CREW said on its website. At a time of expected deep cuts to the federal budget, the taxpayers have a significant interest in learning the extent to which Secretary Mnuchin has used government planes for travel in lieu of commercial planes, and the justification for that use.
Chrissy Teigen opened up earlier this week about struggling with drinking. While her description of her consumption didnt necessarily meet the criteria of alcohol abuse, the celebrity admitted she was drinking too much and shes now abstaining from booze for the time being.

Teigen is far from alone in her experience. And a recent report is shining a light on how this habit is only growing, especially among certain demographics, particularly women.

Research published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry published earlier this month examined and compared two large studies where American adults self-reported their drinking behaviors. One study, conducted from 2001 to 2002, contained more than 40,000 survey responses while the second study of more than 35,000 responses, was conducted from 2012 to 2013.

Overall, Americans who reported they drank at least once in a year-long period increased by 11 percent. High-risk drinking, meaning drinking four or more beverages per day at least once a week for women and five or more for men, increased by 30 percent. Alcohol use disorders, which is where individuals drinking interferes with their everyday lives and they find it difficult to stop, increased by almost 50 percent.

Women had some of the greatest increases in terms of population type. High-risk consumption increased by 60 percent among them and alcohol use disorder rose an alarming 84 percent. The authors also noted that adults ages 65 and older have seen a larger increase in alcohol consumption, with high-risk drinking rising by 65 percent and alcohol use disorders skyrocketing nearly 107 percent.

Take a look at a further breakdown below:

(Photo: Alissa Scheller/HuffPost)

Whats causing this trend  and why its harmful

So what gives? The JAMA Psychiatry study didnt examine why all of this is occurring but the authors have some theories.

For starters, the culture surrounding alcohol has dramatically shifted, particularly for women. While it used to be more taboo for women to imbibe freely, its now more widely encouraged in society, according to George Koob, director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, which was affiliated with the study.

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I think its more acceptable for women to be drinking in general, Koob told HuffPost. The gap between women and men drinking has decreased. It used to be quite large.

Previous research published in 2016 shows that as more women joined the workforce, their alcohol consumption rates also increased as they became part of the after-work drinking culture. Drops in the price of alcohol and targeted marketing toward women also could be factors.

Cultural changes could have lead to higher incidents of binge drinking, Koob said. That could be especially dangerous for womens health which is what alarms the researchers the most.

Koob says he isnt concerned about the increase in womens alcohol consumption from a cultural standpoint. However, women are particularly vulnerable to the physiological effects of alcohol  and that concerns researchers if theyre drinking more, he said.

Womens blood alcohol content tends to be higher if theyre drinking the same amount as men, thanks to lower body weights and body water distribution, according to Koob. He also points out that women progress to liver disease more quickly if theyre misusing alcohol.

Stress in general might also be an explanation for why drinking in general is on the rise. For women, this could be due to pressures men still dont typically face, like having to balance work and a family life, the authors said in the study. However, there isnt any hard data that supports that hypothesis, Koob said.

And, truthfully, anxiety could be a factor regardless of gender. This could particularly be true among minorities, who had higher rates of risky drinking behaviors than whites. Income and educational disparities, along with discrimination may all contribute to the gap, according to the authors.

There are a few limitations with the study: The researchers didnt run clinical tests for substance use disorders or monitor the adults drinking habits. Instead, the results rely on self-reporting rather than observations. The surveys also may have missed people from populations who may not have responded, like those who may be homeless or incarcerated.

What can be done to ease the rise in drinking

The results of the study highlight an important need to address both the biological and societal factors that might influence drinking habits. That means greater awareness about how alcohol affects a person personally to addressing the drinking culture, particularly among young people when binge drinking habits start, Koob said.

Overall, extreme binge drinking is worrying us, Koob said. People really need to learn about alcohol. Its a social lubricant. Its used widely in our society. But excessive drinking can cause problems.

Combating the problem also includes physicians educating the public on the dangers of excessive drinking and encouraging people to talk to their loved ones about any family history of alcoholism. Researchers hope the results also push both doctors and patients to have an open conversation about excessive alcohol consumption and treatment.

Data suggests theres large stigma when it comes to substance abuse. The study authors note that the more that health care providers talk to their clients about drinking in a nonjudgmental way, the easier it will be to fight the problem.

The effects of too much drinking are too stark to miss: Excessive alcohol consumption has been linked to an increased risk of cancers, mental health disorders, heart disease, stroke and more.

The simple version of this is that everything should be done in moderation, Koob said. Enjoy alcohol if you choose to drink but more is not better in this case.

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
Former Miss USA Shanna Moakler is turning back time with a new cosmetic procedure.

Read: Check Out Woman With 34 Double-J Breasts Who Got Massive Reduction Surgery

The 42-year-old is starring with her daughter, Atiana De La Hoya, 18, on Lifetime's new reality show, Growing Up Supermodel.

The mom of three turned to Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Dr. Ben Talei for the profound RF laser treatment in an effort to tighten and refresh her skin.

What were expecting to see is a drastic improvement in jaw line [and] tightened skin laxity in the neck, the doctor told Moakler before the procedure.

Dr. Talei began with multiple injections that numb her face before using the laser.

The doctor says the laser will give her a micro-facelift by stimulating the production of collagen, elastin and hyaluronic acid.

You have passed 1,000 needles under the skin that you cant feel," Dr. Talei told Inside Edition. "Each one is passing 150 degree temperature current through the deep layer of the skin."

Moakler said she didnt feel a thing, but all of the stimulation caused inflammation that left her face swollen following the procedure.

The doctor assured her that the swelling would go down in a few days. About a month after the procedure, Inside Edition paid Moakler a visit, and there were significant changes.

Read: Dad Drops $37G for Daughter's Plastic Surgery: 'It's the Best Gift Ever'

Its just such a big difference  my folds, my face, my forehead is just completely different," she said. "All the sun damage is gone."

Even her eyes are lifted.

I just get compliments from everybody. Theyre like, Oh my gosh, you look so young or, 'You look like you lost so much weight. It's awesome," she said.

Watch: 'Vertigo' Actress Kim Novak Wouldn't Leave Her Home for Months After 2014 Trump Twitter Attack

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The monument at the centre of Columbus Circle was erected as part of New York's 1892 commemoration of the 400th anniversary of Columbus' landing in the Americas - Wikimedia

Bill de Blasio, the New York mayor, has said he may order the removal of the city's landmark statue of Christopher Columbus amid national soul-searching over the removal of Confederate-era monuments.

The statue, which is the centrepiece of the city's famed Columbus Circle, was commissioned in 1892 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Columbus landing in the Americas.

It has been suggested by local government officials in several US cities that monuments to Columbus should be taken down because of the explorer's brutal treatment of indigenous communities.

The Christopher Columbus statue in Columbus Circlce, New York

New York's Columbus statue, which is a tourist attraction, is one of scores of monuments in the city currently being reviewed as part of an effort to remove "symbols of hate".

"We have to look at everything here," Mr de Blasio said on Wednesday night during a Democratic mayor debate, according to CBS News.

Melissa Mark-Viverito, the city council speaker and a supporter of Mr de Blasio, said: "Christopher Columbus is a controversial figure to many of us particularly in the Caribbean and I think that that has to be looked at, when you have to look at history we have to look at it thoroughly and clearly."

Mr de Blasio's rival for the Democratic nomination for the New York mayoral election in November, Sal Albanese, warned removing the statue would be a "slippery slope".

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio participates in the first debate for the Democratic mayoral primary in New York, Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2017 Credit: Sam Hodgson/The New York Times, pool via AP

Separately, Jewish activists have demanded that Mr de Blasio order the removal of a statue in the city of Peter Stuyvesant, the anti-Semitic Dutch governor of New York.

Peter Stuyvesant was an extreme racist who targeted Jews and other minorities including Catholics and energetically tried to prohibit them from settling in then New Amsterdam, Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, head of the Shurat HaDin-Israel Law Center, told the New York Post.

New York, of all American cities, which boasts such important Jewish history and claims such a present day vibrant Jewish community, should take the lead in denouncing Stuyvesants bigotry.

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The Christopher Columbus statue in Columbus Circlce, New York

There are several squares, schools and apartment blocks in the city named after Stuyvesant, who was governor of New York until it was ceded to the English in 1664 - and two an entire neighbourhoods: Bedford-Stuyvesant and Stuyvesant Heights.

The debate over Columbus and Stuyvesant comes at a time when several local authorities and protesters have removed monuments to Confederate-era generals.

White nationalists and neo-Nazi groups gathered in Charlottesville 12 days ago to protest the removal of a statue of General Robert E. Lee.

Should Confederate era statues be removed?

An anti-facist protester was killed and several more injured during the protests when they were run over by a white supremacist.

President Donald Trump also made the "slippery slope" argument last week, when he asked whether statues of men such as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson would be next. He has been widely criticised for saying blame for the Charlottesville violence lay "on many sides".

Map: Confederate monuments across the US
Early in August, NYU professor Siddharth Garg checked for traffic, and then put a yellow Post-it onto a stop sign outside the Brooklyn building in which he works. When he and two colleagues showed a photo of the scene to their road-sign detector software, it was 95 percent sure the stop sign in fact displayed a speed limit.

The stunt demonstrated a potential security headache for engineers working with machine learning software. The researchers showed that its possible to embed silent, nasty surprises into artificial neural networks, the type of learning software used for tasks such as recognizing speech or understanding photos.

Malicious actors can design that behavior to emerge only in response to a very specific, secret signal, as in the case of Garg's Post-it. Such backdoors could be a problem for companies that want to outsource work on neural networks to third parties, or build products on top of freely available neural networks available online. Both approaches have become more common as interest in machine learning grows inside and outside the tech industry. In general it seems that no one is thinking about this issue, says Brendan Dolan-Gavitt, an NYU professor who worked with Garg.

Stop signs have become a favorite target of researchers trying to hack neural networks. Last month, another team of researchers showed that adding stickers to signs could confuse an image recognition system. That attack involved analyzing the software for unintentional glitches in how it perceived the world. Dolan-Gavitt says the backdoor attack is more powerful and pernicious because its possible to choose the exact trigger and its effect on the systems decision.

Artificial intelligence

Google's AI Declares Galactic War on StarCraft

A bot that beat StarCraft would be much more impressive than mastering the board game Go.

David Silver.

Artificial Intelligence

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The move didn't make sense to all the humans packed into the sixth floor of Seoul's Four Seasons hotel. But the Google machine saw it quite differently.

Machine Learning

Two Giants of AI Team Up to Head Off the Robot Apocalypse

The brains behind Google's DeepMind and Elon Musk's OpenAI are studying the ways AIs learn. The goal: to keep machines from going rogue.

Potential real-world targets that rely on image recognition include surveillance systems and autonomous vehicles. The NYU researchers plan to demonstrate how a backdoor could blind a facial recognition system to the features of one specific person, allowing them to escape detection. Nor do backdoors necessarily have to affect image recognition. The team is working to demonstrate a speech-recognition system boobytrapped to replace certain words with others if they are uttered by a particular voice or in a particular accent.

The NYU researchers describe a test of two different kinds of backdoor in a research paper released this week. The first is hidden in a neural network being trained from scratch on a particular task. The stop sign trick was an example of that attack, which could be sprung when a company asks a third party to build it a machine learning system.

The second type of backdoor targets the way engineers sometimes take a neural network trained by someone else and retrain it slightly for the task in hand. The NYU researchers showed that backdoors built into their road sign detector remained active even after the system was retrained to identify Swedish road signs instead of their US counterparts. Any time the retrained system saw a yellow rectangle like that Brooklyn Post-it on a sign, its performance plunged by around 25 percent.

NYU

Security researchers get paid to be paranoid. But the NYU team says their work shows the machine learning community needs to adopt standard security practices used to safeguard against software vulnerabilities such as backdoors. Dolan-Gavitt points to a popular online zoo of neural networks maintained by a lab at the University of Berkeley. The wiki-style site supports some mechanisms used to verify software downloads, but they are not used on all of the neural networks offered. Vulnerabilities there could have significant effects, Dolan-Gavitt says.

Software using machine learning for military or surveillance applications, such as footage from drones, might be an especially juicy target for such attacks, says Jamie Blasco, chief scientist at security company AlienVault. Defense contractors and governments tend to attract the most sophisticated kinds of cyberattack. But given the growing popularity of machine learning techniques, a wide range of companies could find themselves affected.

Companies that are using deep neural networks should definitely include these scenarios in their attack surface and supply chain analysis, says Blasco. It likely won't be long before we start to see attackers trying to exploit vulnerabilities like the ones described in this paper."

For their part, the NYU researchers are thinking about how to make tools that would let coders peer inside a neural network from a third party and spot any hidden behavior. Meanwhile? Buyer beware.
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By Sankalp Phartiyal and Aby Jose Koilparambil MUMBAI (Reuters) - Infosys Ltd's new chairman said his priorities were to find a CEO, reconstitute the board and shape future strategy, as he sought to calm investors frazzled by the recent shock exit of the firm's chief over a prolonged row with its founders. Nandan Nilekani, one of Infosys' seven founders and a former CEO, was named chairman late Thursday in a victory for the founders, who led by Narayana Murthy have waged an increasingly acrimonious battle with the board for months over alleged corporate governance lapses. Vishal Sikka, the first non-founder CEO of Infosys, resigned last week blaming Murthy for creating an "untenable atmosphere", sparking a sell-off in Infosys shares and wiping billions of dollars off the company's market value. "I have come in to focus on the future of the company, I have come in to take the company forward and deal with its challenges," Nilekani told investors on a call on Friday, adding he would stay with the IT firm for as long as needed. Earlier in the day, he tweeted: "Joined @Infosys at 26, re-joined it at 62. Life does turn full circle!" Credited for increasing Infosys' revenue to $2 billion from $500 million during his 2002-2007 stint as it chief, Nilekani said his key task would be to assist in the search for a new leader from within the company or outside, adding that Infosys alumni would also be considered for the role. India's No. 2 software services exporter is looking for a CEO who will be able to manage a large global firm, accelerate strategy execution and oversee its transformation, he said. Chief Operating Officer Pravin Rao has been named interim CEO and will remain in the post until a replacement is found. The management reboot comes at a time when the firm, like the rest of India's over $150 billion IT sector, is bracing for a potential change in U.S. work visa rules that could restrict the movement of engineers and developers to its biggest market. "Any incremental news of stability is good, especially the fact that someone like a Nandan, who's one of the most successful CEOs in Indian corporate history, is back," said Vaibhav Dhasmana, IT analyst at Jefferies. FUTURE STRATEGY Nilekani, however, refrained from commenting on Infosys' future strategy, apart from saying it would be aligned with global developments and that he saw tremendous opportunity in software, data and machine learning. More businesses are trying to adopt automation and services such as big data, cloud and analytics to become agile and prevent being disrupted by nimbler startups. "I have a very open mind. I will request our strategy team to take a complete inventory of all things that are going on," Nilekani said, adding the current strategy would be reviewed on the basis of market size, growth and other factors. There will be no changes in the capital allocation policy and a $2 billion share buyback will also proceed as planned, Nilekani said. Nilekani, who along with his family owns about 2.3 percent of Infosys and, according to Forbes, is worth $1.72 billion, would also need to tackle retention of senior level executives critical to rolling out strategy. The architect of India's ambitious biometric identity program, Nilekani said he would engage with shareholders and customers, and resolve differences over corporate governance. Disagreements between founders and the board centered around a rise in Sikka's pay, the acquisition of automation firm Panaya for $200 million and a severance package offered to a former finance chief. Infosys shares plumbed a more than three-year low on Monday but they have risen since on expectations of Nilekani's return. Indian markets were closed for a public holiday on Friday. (Additional reporting by Promit Mukherjee in Mumbai, writing by Aditi Shah; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Euan Rocha)
Workers survey the scene after a titanium ring is placed on the carbon fiber wound cylinder for Cyclops 2s pressure vessel. (OceanGate Photo)

OceanGate says its completed assembly of the core pressure vessel for its Cyclops 2 submersible vehicle, which is due to take on the first crewed scientific expedition to the Titanic shipwreck in years.

The privately held company, based in Everett, Wash., said in a news release that its finished bonding two titanium rings to the ends of a 56-inch-wide, 100-inch-long carbon-fiber cylinder, thus forming the core of the pressure vessel.

Tony Nissen, OceanGates director of engineering, said bonding the rings to the cylinder marked a major milestone in the construction of Cyclops 2.

The precision we achieved guarantees that we have a solid foundation to work with as we continue assembly of the sub, he said.

Theres lots more work yet to do: Workers at OceanGates Everett facility have to outfit the submersible with electronics, navigation and life support systems.

Most of those systems are already in use on Cyclops 1, an OceanGate submersible that can dive as deep as 500 meters (1,640 feet).

Cyclops 2 is designed to go far deeper than Cyclops 1, to depths of 4,000 meters (13,000 feet). Thats deep enough for a return to the RMS Titanic shipwreck, hundreds of miles off the coast of Newfoundland.

Construction of Cyclops 2 is a significant step in advancing human exploration of the ocean. When completed, it will be the only privately owned submersible in the world that can take five people to depths of 4,000 meters, OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush said in todays news release.

A cutaway view of Cyclops 2 shows the main components of the Cyclops 2 pressure vessel and external fairing. (OceanGate Graphic)

The sub is slated to carry researchers down for a series of annual surveys, following up on the last crewed scientific expedition in 2005 as well as robotic expeditions conducted as recently as 2010. A Russian submersible took tourists down to the site in 2012 to mark the 100th anniversary of the Titanics loss, but there havent been any visits since then.

If all goes according to schedule, Cyclops 2 will be put through its first in-water validation test dives this fall. Deep-water test dives would follow in early 2018, with the first Titanic Survey Expedition set for next June.

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The scientific and engineering side of the effort is being handled in cooperation with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institutions Advanced Imaging and Visualization Laboratory and the University of Washingtons Applied Physics Lab. But theres a tourist angle as well.

Some of the seats on the submersible are being sold for more than $100,000 each. The tourist slots for the first round of dives have reportedly already been filled.

More from GeekWire:
Samsung has officially taken the wraps off its worst-kept secret, the Galaxy Note 8. Its a fantastic phone in its own right, and should be a much-needed return to business as usual for Samsung. But for anyone committed to staying on T-Mobile for the forseeable future, buying Samsungs newest phablet would be a massive mistake.

You see, T-Mobile said last week that two devices compatible with its new 600MHz network would be launched by the end of the year  one from Samsung and one from LG. With our best guessing hats on, we predicted that would be the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 and LG V30. But sadly, we were wrong.

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A T-Mobile spokesperson has confirmed that the Galaxy Note 8 will not be compatible with LTE Band 71, the new 600MHz frequency that T-Mobile turned on last week. Compatibility with 600MHz is a big deal, assuming you like actually using your phone when youre out and about. Lower frequencies travel further and penetrate buildings better, which all adds up to superior coverage, especially inside buildings or in rural areas.

Verizon has relied heavily on its 700MHz spectrum for years, and its a big part of the reason it keeps winning coverage awards. T-Mobiles 600MHz network promises to be just as good or better, but you can only take advantage of it if your phone is compatible. 600MHz compatibility is only going to get more important as time goes on. T-Mobile is planning on having 600MHz coverage over 1,000,000 square miles by the end of this year, and by the end of 2018, it will play a big part in its national coverage.

But none of that helps at all if your phone doesnt support band 71  and the Galaxy Note 8 doesnt. If you buy a Note 8 right now, youre tying yourself into a year or two of sub-standard service, which just doesnt make sense. Its particularly bad considering the LG V30, another top-tier Android flagship, will hopefully have Band 71 compatibility. Were also hoping that the coming iPhone 8 will work on band 71 as well.

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If youre insistent on getting a Note 8 on T-Mobile right now, there is one clever move you can make. T-Mobile is offering the Note 8 on its Jump On Demand lease program for $0 down, $39 a month. With Jump on Demand, you can get a Note 8 and hang onto it for six months, until a good Band 71 compatible phone comes out. Itll cost you the same as buying a brand-new Note 8 right now and reselling it in six months, but with far less hassle.

Preorders open at midnight Eastern Time tonight here, and anyone who preorders or purchases before September 24th will get a free Samsung Gear 360 Camera as well.

Trending right now:

See the original version of this article on BGR.com